Eddulu (bulls).—See Yeddulu.

Ediannaya (hornet’s nest).—An exogamous sept of Bant.

Egadavan.—Recorded, at times of census, as an exogamous sept of Anappans, who are Canarese cattle-grazers settled in the Tamil country. Possibly it is a corruption of Heggade, a title among Kurubas.

Ekakshara.—A sub-division of Satani. The name is derived from Ekakshara, meaning one syllable, i.e., the mystic syllable Om.

Ekari.—This caste is summed up in the Madras Census Report, 1901, under the names Ekari, Ekali, Yakari, and Yakarlu, as a sub-caste of Mutracha. Mr. H. A. Stuart writes1 that “Ekaris or Yakarlu are a class of cultivators and village watchmen, found chiefly in the northern taluks of North Arcot, and in the adjoining district of Cuddapah. It is very doubtful whether the Ekaris and Mutrachas are identical castes. The census statistics are, I think, sufficient to throw grave doubt on this view. Neither name, for instance, appears as a sub-division of the other, although this would certainly be the case if they were synonymous. Nor is there any similarity in the sub-divisions that are given. They are said, in the Nellore Manual, to be hunters and mercenaries, and in Cuddapah, where they are known to some as Boyas and Kiratas, they are classed as a forest tribe. It is clear, however, that they enjoyed some authority, for several rose to be poligars. Thus the poligars of Kallur, Tumba, Pulicherla, Bangari and Gudipati are of this caste, and many of its members are village policemen. They do not wear the sacred thread, but employ Brahmans as their priests. Their ceremonies differ very little from those of the Kapus. They are flesh-eaters, and their titles are Naidu and Dora. The caste possesses some interest as being that which had, in 1891, the highest proportion of widowed among females between the ages of 15 and 39. Little is known of the caste history. Some assert that they were formerly Hindu cotton cleaners, and that their name is derived from the verb yekuta, to clean cotton. They returned 74 sub-divisions, of which the most important seem to be Dodda (big) and Pala.”

There is neither intermarriage, nor free interdining between Ekaris and Mutrachas. By some, Kampin, and Nagiripilla kayalu, and by others Kammi and Yerrai were given as sub-divisions.

One of the recognised names of washermen in Tamil is Egali or Ekali.

Elakayan.—A sub-division of Nayar. It is recorded, in the Madras Census Report, 1901, that “its hereditary occupation is to get plantain leaves for the use of the Cherukunnu temple, where travellers are fed daily by the Chirakkal Raja.”

Elayad.—For the following note on the Elayads or Ilayatus I am indebted to Mr. N. Subramani Aiyar. Ilayatu literally means younger, and the name is employed to denote a caste, which is supposed to be the last among the numerous sub-divisions of Malabar Brahmans. The caste-men make use of two titles, Ilayatu and Nambiyatiri, the latter of which has the same origin as Nambutiri, meaning a person worthy of worship. Women are generally known as Ilayammas, and, in some parts of North Travancore, also Kunjammas. By the caste-men themselves the women are called Akattulavar, or those inside, in the same way as Nambutiri women. Children are called Kunjunnis. The Ilayatus exact from the Nayars the name of Ilayachchan, or little father.

According to the Jatinirnaya, a work ascribed to Parasurama, the Ilayatus were once Brahmans of undiminished purity, but became degraded owing to the priestly service which was performed for a Nayar servant attached to one of their households. Two members of the house of Azhvancheri Tamprakkal were brothers. The younger resolved to go to a foreign country, and could get no other Nayar servant than one who was obliged to perform his mother’s anniversary ceremony on the way. He promised to act as the priest on this occasion, and is even believed to have eaten the food prepared by the Nayar. When the matter became known to his elder brother, he assembled all the Vaidik Brahmans, and the younger brother was excommunicated. This tradition, like the majority of Malabar traditions, has to be accepted with reserve. The Ilayatus assert that, until interdicted by Rama Iyen Dalawa in revenge for a supposed dishonour to him, they had the privilege of commensality with Nambutiri Brahmans; but Rama Iyen’s authority, large as it was, did not extend to Cochin and British Malabar, where too the Ilayatus appear to labour under the same difficulty. Those who encouraged the higher classes of Nayars with ritualistic functions became Onnam Parisha or the first party of Ilayatus, the remainder being grouped in another class known as Randam or second party. The latter are lower in the social scale than the former. The two sections do not intermarry, and interdining is restricted to the male sex.

The Ilayatus generally have a dejected appearance, and their poverty is proverbial. Most of them earn only a scanty living by their traditional occupation, and yet it is notorious that other walks of life have absolutely no attraction for them. Not only is English education not welcomed, but even the study of Sanskrit finds only a few steadfast votaries. The Ilayatus are, however, a naturally clever, and intelligent community, and, under favourable conditions, are found to take a more prominent place in society.

The house of an Ilayatu is, like that of a Nambutiri, called illam. It is generally large, being the gift of some pious Nayar. Every Ilayatu house possesses a serpent grove, where periodical offerings are made. The dress and ornaments of the Ilayatus are exactly like those of the Nambutiris. The wedding ornament is called kettu-tali. Children wear a ring tied to a thread round the neck from the moment of the first feeding ceremony. The Ilayatus are strict vegetarians, and, though in some of their temples they have to make offerings of liquor to the deity, they are strictly forbidden by caste rules from partaking thereof.

The chief occupation of the Ilayatus is the priesthood of the Nayars. The first division perform this service only for the Ilakkar or highest class of Nayars, while the second division do not decline to be the priests of any section of that community. In performing such services, the Ilayatus recite various liturgic texts, but hardly any Vedic hymns. The Ilayatus have also been the recognised priests in several North Travancore temples, the chief of which are the Kainikkara Bhagavata shrine, the Payappara Sasta shrine, and the Parekkavu Siva temple at Kuttattukulam. Ilayatus are the priests in most of the snake groves of Malabar, that at Mannarsalay commanding the greatest popularity and respect.

Ilayatus are, in all matters of caste such as Smarta-vicharam, or enquiry into charges of adultery, etc., governed by the Nambutiris, who are assisted by Vaidiks belonging to the caste itself. It is the latter who are the regular priests of the Ilayatus, and, though ignorant of the Vedas, they seem to possess considerable knowledge of the priestly functions as carried out in Malabar. Nambutiris are sometimes invited to perform Isvaraseva, Sarpabali, and other religious rites. Purification rites are performed by the caste priests only, and no Nambutiri is called on to assist. Brahmans do not cook food in the houses of Ilayatus.

The Ilayatus are divided mostly into two septs or gotras, called Visvamitra and Bharadvaja. The marriage of girls is performed before or after puberty, between the twelfth and eighteenth years. No bride-price is paid, but a sum of not less than Rs. 140 has to be paid to the bridegroom. This is owing to the fact that, in an Ilayatu family, as among the Nambutiris, only the eldest son can lead a married life. All male members of a family, except the eldest, take to themselves some Nayar or Ambalavasi woman. Widows do not remove their tuft of hair on the death of their husband, but throw their marriage ornament on to the funeral pyre, probably as a symbol of the performance of sati. The Ilayatus resemble the Nambutiris in all questions of inheritance.

The Ilayatus do not omit any of the sixteen religious ceremonies of the Brahmans. The rules of name given are that the eldest son should be named after the paternal grandfather, the second after the maternal grandfather, and the third after the father. A parallel rule obtains in giving names to daughters.

The Ilayatus belong in the main to the white and black branches of the Yajurveda, and observe the sutras of Bodhayana and Asvalayana. They recite only twenty-four Gayatri hymns, thrice a day. Women are believed to be polluted for ninety days after childbirth.

It is noted in the Cochin Census Report, 1901, that the Elayads are “their own priests, and for this reason, and from the fact that Nayars perform sradhas (memorial service) in the houses of Elayads, the Nambudris do not cook or take meals in their houses, nor do they, Kshatriyas or Nampidis, take water from Elayads. In former times, the Elayads used to take their meals in Nayar houses during the performance of the sradha ceremony of the Nayars, as Brahmans generally do on such ceremonial occasions amongst themselves, but they now decline to do it, except in a few wealthy and influential families. Muthads and Elayads wear the sacred thread. Though in many respects the Elayads are more Brahmanical than the Muthads, the majority of the Ambalavasi castes do not take the food cooked or touched by the Elayads. There are some temples, in which they officiate as chief priests. The Muthad and Elayad females are gosha. They both practice polygamy, and perform Sarvaswadanam marriages like the Nambudris.”

Ella (boundary).—An exogamous sept of Mutracha.

Elugoti (assembly).—An exogamous sept of Devanga.

Elugu (bear).—An exogamous sept of Yanadi.

Eluttacchan.—Eluttacchan or Ezhuttacchan, meaning teacher or master of learning, is the name for educated Kadupattans of Malabar employed as schoolmasters.

Eman.—A corruption of Yajamanan, lord, recorded, in the Travancore Census Report, 1901, as a title of Nayar.

Embrantiri.—Embrantiri or Embran is “a Malayalam name for Tulu Brahmans settled in Malabar. They speak both Tulu and Malayalam. Some of them call themselves Nambudris, but they never intermarry with that class.”2 By Wigram they are defined3 as “a class of sacrificing Brahmans, chiefly Tulu, who officiate at Sudra ceremonies.” It is a name for the Tulu Shivalli Brahmans.

Emme (buffalo).—See Yemme.

Ena Korava.—See Korava.

Enadi.—Recorded, in the Madras Census Report, 1901, as “a name for Shanans, derived from Enadi Nayanar, a Saivite saint. It also means Ambattan, or barber.” The word denotes a chief, barber, or minister.

Enangan.—Enangan or Inangan is defined by Mr. K. Kannan Nayar4 as “a member of an Inangu, this being a community of a number of tarwads, the members of which may interdine or intermarry, and are bound to assist one another, if required, in the performance of certain social and religious rites.” It is noted, in the Gazetteer of Malabar, that “an Enangan or Inangan is a man of the same caste and sub-division or marriage groups. It is usually translated kinsman, but is at once wider and narrower in its connotation. My Enangans are all who can marry the same people that I can. An Enangatti is a female member of an Enangan’s family.”

Eneti.—Said to be mendicants, who beg from Gamallas. (See Yanati.)

Entamara.—See Yanati.

Era.—Era Cheruman, or Eralan, is a sub-division of Cheruman.

Eradi.—Eradi has been defined5 as meaning “a cow-herd. A sub-division of the Nayar caste, which formerly ruled in what is now the Ernad taluk” of Malabar. In the Malabar Manual, Ernad is said to be derived from Eradu, the bullock country. Eradi denotes, according to the Census Report, 1891, “a settlement in Ernad. The caste of Samantas, to which the Zamorin of Calicut belongs.”

Eravallar.—The Eravallars are a small forest tribe inhabiting the Coimbatore district and Malabar. For the following note on the Eravallars of Cochin, I am indebted to Mr. L. K. Anantha Krishna Iyer.6

Eravallars are a wild tribe of inoffensive hill-men found in the forests of the Cochin State, especially in the Chittur taluk. They are also called Villu Vedans (hunters using bows). Their language is Tamil, though some speak Malayalam. In addressing the elderly members of the caste, they use the titles Muthan (elder) and Pattan (grandfather). Names in use for males are Kannan (Krishna), Otukan, Kothandan, Kecharan, and Attukaran, while females are called Kanni, Keyi, Kaikayi, Otuka, and Ramayi. These Hindu divine names are recent innovations after the names of members of the higher castes, with whom they frequently come in contact.

The Eravallars have no knowledge of the origin of their caste. They appear to be a rude and primitive people, like the other jungle tribes of the State, but are somewhat improving their status under their masters. Their habits are less migratory than those of the Malayars and Kadars. They live in villages called pathis, situated in the forests. Their huts are similar to those of the Malayars and Kadars. They propitiate their sylvan deities before the construction of their huts, and also before their occupation. Some days are believed to be lucky, as Mondays for sowing and weddings, Wednesdays for building, and Fridays for reaping.

Eravallars do not live as small independent communities, but are mostly attached to farmers, under whom they work for a daily wage of two edangazhis and a half of paddy (unhusked rice). The women also work for the same wage, but never agree to serve in a state of bondage. During the festival kathira in the village temple of their landlords, when sheaves of corn are brought, every male member gets from his landlord two veshtis (a cloth with a coloured border 3 yards in length), and every woman a potava (coloured cloth 8 yards in length). During the Onam and Vishu festivals, one para of paddy, two cocoanuts, a small quantity of gingelly (Sesamum) and cocoanut oil are also given. The landlords partly defray their marriage and funeral expenses by a grant of a few paras of paddy, some salt and chillies. Sometimes they agree to work for twenty valloms (a large corn measure) a year. To improve their condition, they borrow money from their landlords, and purchase a bullock or buffalo or two, to cultivate a plot of land, after clearing a portion of the forest belonging to their master. They raise some crops, and make some saving to pay off the debt. Should they be so unfortunate as to fail in the undertaking, they willingly mortgage themselves to their master, or to some other, for the wages above mentioned, and wait for some favourable opportunity to pay off the debt. Women never surrender themselves to work in a state of bondage, but are independent day-labourers. The Eravallars are, as certified by their masters, always truthful, honest, faithful and god-fearing, and never, like the Pulayas of the northern parts of the State, ungratefully run away from their masters.

A girl, when she comes of age, is lodged in a separate hut (muttuchala) erected at a distance of a furlong from the main hut. Only a few girl friends are allowed to be in company with her during the period of her seclusion, which is generally seven days, during which food is served to her at a distance, when she comes to take it. No grown-up member approaches her, for fear of pollution. She bathes on the morning of the seventh day, and is then allowed to enter the hut. The day is one of festivity to her friends and relations. If a girl is married before she attains puberty, her husband contributes something for the expenses of the ceremony. Should a woman cohabit with a man before marriage and become pregnant, she used, in former times, to be put to death, but is now turned out of caste. Instances of the kind are, they say, extremely rare.

An Eravallan who wishes to see his son married visits the parents of a girl with his brother-in-law and a few relatives, who make the proposal. If the parents agree, the wedding day is fixed, and all the preliminary arrangements are made at the hut of the bride, where the relatives assembled are treated to a dinner. The bride’s price is only a rupee. The parents of the bride and bridegroom visit their respective landlords with a few packets of betel leaves, areca nuts, and tobacco, and inform them of the marriage proposal. The landlords give a few paras of paddy to defray a portion of the wedding expenses. They celebrate their weddings on Mondays. On a Monday previous to the wedding ceremony, the sister of the bridegroom, with a few of her relations and friends, goes to the bride’s hut, and presents her parents with the bride’s money, and a brass ring for the bride. On the Monday chosen for the wedding, the same company, and a few more, go there, and dress the girl in the new garment brought by them. They are treated to a dinner as on the previous occasion. They then return with the bride to the hut of the bridegroom, where also the parties assembled are entertained. On the Monday after this, the bridegroom and bride are taken to the bride’s hut, where they stay for a week, and then return to the bridegroom’s hut. Marriage is now formally over. The tali (marriage badge) tying is dispensed with. This custom of marriage prevails among the Izhuvas of the Chittur taluk. The bridegroom gets nothing as a present during the wedding, but this is reserved for the Karkadaka Sankranthi, when he is invited by his father-in-law, and given two veshtis and a turban, after sumptuously feeding him. A widow can only marry a widower. It is called Mundakettuka (marrying a widow). When they both have children, the widower must make a solemn promise to his castemen that he will treat and support the children by both marriages impartially. The present of a brass ring and cloth is essential. A man can divorce his wife, if he is not satisfied with her. The divorced wife can mate only with a widower. Such cases, they say, are very rare among them.

No ceremony is performed for a pregnant woman during the fifth or seventh month. If she dreams of dogs, cats, or wild animals coming to threaten her, it is believed that she is possessed of demons. Then a devil-driver from this or some other caste is called in. He draws a hideous figure (kolam) on the floor with powdered rice, turmeric, and charcoal, and the woman is seated in front of it. He sings and beats his small drum, or mutters his mantram (consecrated formula). A lamp is lighted, and frankincense is burned. A kaibali is waved round the woman’s face. She is worked up to a hysterical state, and makes frantic movements. Boiled rice, flattened rice, plantains, cocoanuts, and fowl are offered to the demon. Quite satisfied, the demon leaves her, or offers to leave her on certain conditions. If the woman remains silent and unmoved all the time, it is supposed that no demon resides in her body. Very often a yantram (charm) is made on a piece of cadjan (palm) leaf, and rolled. It is attached to a thread, and worn round the neck.

A woman in childbirth is located in a separate small hut (muttuchala) erected at a distance from the main hut. Nobody attends upon her, except her mother or some old woman to nurse her. As soon as delivery takes place, the mother and child are bathed. Her pollution is for seven days, during which she stays in the hut. She then bathes, and is removed to another hut close to the main hut, and is again under pollution for five months. Her diet during this period is simple, and she is strictly forbidden to take meat. The only medicine administered to her during the period is a mixture of pepper, dried ginger, and palm sugar mixed with toddy. She comes back to the main hut after purifying herself by a bath at the end of the five months. The day is one of festivity.

The Eravallers bury their dead, and observe death pollution for five days. On the morning of the sixth day, the chief mourner, who may be the son or younger brother, gets shaved, bathes, and offers to the spirit of the departed boiled rice, parched rice, plantains, and fowl. A feast is given to the castemen once a year, when they have some savings. They think of their ancestors, who are propitiated with offerings.

They are pure animists, and believe that the forests and hills are full of demons disposed to do them harm. Many of them are supposed to live in trees, and to rule wild beasts. They also believe that there are certain local demons, which are supposed to reside in rocks, trees, or peaks, having influence over particular families or villages, and that services rendered to them are intended to mitigate their hunger rather than to seek benefits. Their gods are Kali, Muni, Kannimar, and Karappu Rayan. Kali is adored to obtain her protection for themselves and their families while living in the forest. Muni is worshipped for the protection of their cattle, and to secure good harvest. Kannimar (the seven virgins) and Karappu Rayan are their family deities, who watch over their welfare. Offerings of boiled rice, plantains, cocoanuts, and flattened rice are given to propitiate them. Kali and Muni are worshipped in the forest, and the others in their huts.

The main occupation of the Eravallers is ploughing dry lands for the cultivation of chama (Panicum miliaceum), cholam (Sorghum vulgare), dholl (Cajanus indicus) and gingelly (Sesamum indicum) seeds, and sowing the seeds, which begin in the middle of May, and harvesting in November. During these months, they are wholly occupied with agriculture. During the other months of the year, gardening, fencing, and thatching are their chief occupations. Offerings are made to Kali and Muni, when they plough, sow, and reap. They are so propitiated, as they are supposed to protect their corn from destruction by wild beasts. The Eravallers are skilful hunters. Owing to their familiarity and acquaintance with the forests, they can point out places frequented by wild beasts, which they can recognise by smell, either to warn travellers against danger, or to guide sportsmen to the game. Ten or fifteen of them form a party, and are armed with knives, bows and arrows. Some of them act as beaters, and the animal is driven to a particular spot, where it is caught in a large net already spread, shot, or beaten to death. Animals hunted are hares, porcupines, and wild pigs. The game is always equally divided. Being good marksmen, they take skilful aim at birds, and kill them when flying.

The ordinary dietary is kanji (gruel) of chama or cholam, mixed with tamarind, salt and chillies, prepared overnight, and taken in the morning. The same is prepared for the midday meal, with a vegetable curry consisting of dholl, horse gram (Dolichos biflorus), and other grains grown in the garden of their masters, which they have to watch. They eat the flesh of sheep, fowls, pigs, hares, quails, and doves. They take food at the hands of Brahmans, Nayars, Kammalars, and Izhuvas. They refuse to take anything cooked by Mannans, Panans, Parayans, and Cherumans. They bathe when touched by a Chakkiliyan, Parayan, or Cheruman. They stand a long way off from Brahmans and Nayars.

Both men and women are decently clad. Males wear veshtis, one end of which hangs loose, and the other is tucked in between the legs. They have a shoulder cloth, either hanging loosely over their shoulders, or sometimes tied to the turban. They allow their hair to grow long, but do not, for want of means, anoint it with oil. They grow moustaches. They wear round the neck a necklace of small white beads to distinguish them from Malayars, who are always afraid of them. Some wear brass finger rings. Women wear a potava (coloured cloth), half of which is worn round the loins, while the other half serves to cover the body. The hair is not smoothed with oil. It is twisted into a knot on the back. It is said that they take an oil bath once a week. Their ear ornament is made of a long palmyra leaf rolled into a disc, and the ear lobes are sufficiently dilated to contain them.

Erkollar.—A Tamil form of the Telugu Yerragolla, which is sub-division of Tottiyan.

Ernadan.—In the Madras Census Report, 1901, the Aranadans are described as a hill tribe in Malabar, who kill pythons, and extract an oil from them, which they sell to people on the plains as a remedy for leprosy. These are, I have no doubt, the Ernadans, concerning whom Mr. G. Hadfield writes to me as follows. They are a small jungle tribe, found exclusively in Malabar, and are considered to be the lowest of the jungle tribes by the inhabitants of Malabar, who consider themselves polluted if an Ernadan approaches within a hundred yards. Even Paniyans and Pariahs give them a wide berth, and they are prohibited from coming within four hundred yards of a village. One of their customs is very singular, viz., the father of a family takes (or used to take) his eldest daughter as his second wife. The Ernadans use bows and arrows, principally for shooting monkeys, to the flesh of which they are very partial. They are not particular as to what they eat, and are, in fact, on a par with jackals in this respect, devouring snakes and the putrid flesh of various animals. They are fond of collecting the fat of snakes, and selling it. Muhammadans employ them in felling timber, and cultivating fields. Their clothing is exceedingly scanty, and, when hard up, they use wild plantain leaves for this purpose.

Through Mr. Hadfield’s influence with the tribe, Mr. F. Fawcett was able to examine a few members thereof, who appeared before him accompanied by their Mappilla master, at a signal from whom they ran off like hares, to attend to their work in the fields. Their most important measurements were as follows:—

The Ernadans, according to these figures, are short of stature, platyrhine, with an unusually high cephalic index.

Erra.—See Yerra.

Erudandi.—See Gangeddu.

Erudukkaran.—See Gangeddu.

Erumai (buffalo).—An exogamous sept of Toreya.

Eruman.—A sub-division of Kolayan.

Ettarai (eight and a half).—An exogamous sept of Tamil goldsmiths.

Ettuvitan.—Recorded, in the Travancore Census Report, 1901, as a sub-division of Nayar.

Eurasian.—Eurasian (Eur-asian) may, after the definition in ‘Hobson-Jobson,’7 be summed up as a modern name for persons of mixed European and Indian blood, devised as being more euphemistic than half-caste, and more precise than East-Indian. When the European and Anglo-Indian Defence Association was established 17 years ago, the term Anglo-Indian, after much consideration, was adopted as best designating the community. According to Stocqueler,8 the name Eurasian was invented by the Marquis of Hastings. East Indian is defined by Balfour9 as “a term which has been adopted by all classes of India to distinguish the descendants of Europeans and Native mothers. Other names, such as half-caste, chatikar, and chi-chi, are derogatory designations. Chattikar is from chitta (trousers) and kar (a person who uses them). The Muhammadans equally wear trousers, but concealed by their outer long gowns. The East Indians are also known as Farangi (Frank), a person of Europe. The humbler East Indians, if asked their race, reply that they are Wallandez or Oollanday, which is a modification of Hollandais, the name having been brought down through the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries from the Dutch. East Indians have, in India, all the rights and privileges of Europeans. Races with a mixture of European with Asiatic blood possess a proud and susceptible tone of mind.” For the purposes of the Lawrence Asylum, Ootacamund, the word East Indian is restricted to the children of European fathers by East Indian or Native mothers, or of East Indian fathers and mothers, both of whom are the children of European fathers.

By a ruling of the Government of India a few years ago, it was decided that Eurasians appointed in England to official posts in India are, if they are not statutory Natives, to be treated as Europeans as regards the receipt of exchange compensation allowance.

Some Eurasians have, it may be noted, had decorations or knighthood conferred on them, and risen to the highest position in, and gained the blue ribbon of, Government service. Others have held, or still hold, positions of distinction in the various learned professions, legal, medical, educational, and ecclesiastical.

The influence of the various European nations—Portuguese, Dutch, British, Danish, and French—which have at different times acquired territory in peninsular India, is clearly visible in the polyglot medley of Eurasian surnames, e.g., Gomes, Da Souza, Gonsalvez, Rozario, Cabral, Da Cruz, Da Costa, Da Silva, Da Souza, Fernandez, Fonseca, Lazaro, Henriquez, Xavier, Mendonza, Rodriguez, Saldana, Almeyda, Heldt, Van Spall, Jansen, Augustine, Brisson, Corneille, La Grange, Lavocat, Pascal, DeVine, Aubert, Ryan, McKertish, Macpherson, Harris, Johnson, Smith, etc. Little did the early adventurers, in the dawn of the seventeenth century, think that, as the result of their alliances with the native women, within three centuries banns of marriage would be declared weekly in Madras churches between, for example, Ben Jonson and Alice Almeyda, Emmanuel Henricus and Mary Smith, Augustus Rozario and Minnie Fonseca, John Harris and Clara Corneille. Yet this has come to pass, and the Eurasian holds a recognised place among the half-breed races of the world.

The pedigree of the early Eurasian community is veiled in obscurity. But the various modes of creation of a half-breed, which were adopted in those early days, when the sturdy European pioneers first came in contact with the native females, were probably as follows:—

The Eurasian half-breed, thus established, has been perpetuated by a variety of possible combinations:—

In the early days of the British occupation of Madras, the traders and soldiers, arriving with an inadequate equipment of females, contracted alliances, regular or irregular, with the women of the country. And in these early days, when our territorial possessions were keenly contested with both European and Native enemies, an attempt was made, under authority from high places, to obtain, through the medium of the British soldier, and in accordance with the creed that crossing is an essential means of improving a race, and rendering it vigorous by the infusion of fresh blood from a separate stock, a good cross, which should be available for military purposes. Later on, as the number of the British settlers increased, connexions, either with the Native women, or with the females of the recently established Eurasian type, were kept up owing to the difficulty of communication with the mother-country, and consequent difficulty in securing English brides. Of these barbaric days the detached or semi-detached bungalows in the spacious grounds of the old private houses in Madras remain as a memorial. At the present day the conditions of life in India are, as the result of steamer traffic, very different, and far more wholesome. The Eurasian man seeks a wife as a rule among his own community; and, in this manner, the race is mainly maintained.

The number of Eurasians within the limits of the Madras Presidency was returned, at the census, 1891, as 26,643. But on this point I must call Mr. H. A. Stuart, the Census Commissioner, into the witness box. “The number of Eurasians,” he writes, “is 26,643, which is 20.76 per cent. more than the number returned in 1881.” The figures for the last three enumerations are given in the following statement:—

“It will be seen that, between 1871 and 1881, there was a great decrease, and that the numbers in 1891 are slightly higher than they were twenty years ago. The figures, however, are most untrustworthy. The cause is not far to seek; many persons, who are really Natives, claim to be Eurasians, and some who are Eurasians return themselves as Europeans. It might be thought that the errors due to these circumstances would be fairly constant, but the district figures show that this cannot be the case. Take Malabar, for example, which has the largest number of Eurasians after Madras, and where the division between Native Christians with European names and people of real mixed race is very shadowy. In 1871 there were in this district 5,413 Eurasians; in 1881 the number had apparently fallen to 1,676; while in 1891 it had again risen to 4,193, or, if we include South-east Wynaad, as we should do, to 4,439. It is to be regretted that trustworthy statistics cannot be obtained, for the question whether the true Eurasian community is increasing or decreasing is of considerable scientific and administrative importance. The Eurasians form but a very small proportion of the community, for there is only one Eurasian in every 1,337 of the population of the Madras Presidency, and it is more than probable that a considerable proportion of those returned as Eurasians are in reality pure Natives who have embraced the Christian religion, taken an English or Portuguese name, and adopted the European dress and mode of living. In the matter of education, or at least elementary education, they are more advanced than any other class of the community, and compare favourably with the population of any country in the world. They live for the most part in towns, nearly one-half of their number being found in the city of Madras.”

In connection with the fact that, at times of census, Native Christians and Pariahs, who masquerade in European clothes, return themselves as Eurasians, and vice versÂ, it may be accepted that some benefit must be derived by the individual in return for the masking of his or her nationality. And it has been pointed out to me that (as newspaper advertisements testify) many ladies will employ a Native ayah rather than a Eurasian nurse, and that some employers will take Eurasian clerks into their service, but not Native Christians. It occasionally happens that pure-bred Natives, with European name and costume, successfully pass themselves off as Eurasians, and are placed on a footing of equality with Eurasians in the matter of diet, being allowed the luxury of bread and butter, coffee, etc.

Mr. Stuart had at his command no special statistics of the occupations resorted to by Eurasians, but states that the majority of them are clerks, while very few obtain their livelihood by agriculture. In the course of my investigations in the city of Madras, the following occupations were recorded:—

Accountant. Attendant, Lunatic Asylum. Baker. Bandsman. Bill collector. Blacksmith. Boarding-house keeper. Boatswain. Boiler smith. Carpenter. Chemist’s assistant. Clerk, Government. Clerk, commercial. Commission agent. Compositor. Compounder. Contractor. Coppersmith. Crane attendant, harbour. Draftsman. Electric tram driver. Electric tram inspector. Engine-driver, ice factory. Evangelist. Filer. Fireman. Fitter.

Hammerer. Harness-maker. Jewel-smith. Joiner. Labourer. Livery stable-keeper. Mechanic. Moulder. Painter. Petition writer. Police Inspector. Porter. Printer. Proof-reader. Railway— Auditor. Chargeman. Engine-driver. Engineer. Goods clerk. Guard. Locomotive Inspector. Parcels clerk. Prosecuting Inspector. Shunter. Signaller. Station-master. Storekeeper. Ticket collector. Tool-keeper. Block signaller. Carriage examiner. Reporter. Rivetter. Saddler. Schoolmaster. Sexton. Spring-smith. Stereotyper. Steward. Telegraph clerk. Watchmaker. Watchman.

In the Census Report, 1901, the following statistics of the occupation of 5,718 Eurasians in Madras city (4,083), Malabar (1,149) and Chingleput (486) are given. Most of those in the last of these three reside in Perambur, just outside the Madras municipal limits:—

As bearing on the subject of Eurasian marriage, I am enabled, through the courtesy of a railway chaplain and the chaplain of one of the principal churches in the city of Madras, to place on record the following statistics abstracted from the registers. It may, in explanation, be noted that M indicates the bridegroom, F the bride, and W widow or widower remarriage:—

(a) Railway.

(b) Madras City.

Analysing these figures, with the omission of remarriages, we obtain the following results:—

(a) Railway.

(b) Madras City.

From the analysis of a hundred male cases in Madras, in which enquiries were made with reference to the married state, in individuals ranging in age from 21 to 50, with an average age of 33, I learn that 74 were married; that 141 male and 130 female children had been born to them; and that 26, whose average age was 25, were unmarried. The limits of age of the men at the time of marriage were 32 and 16; of their wives 25 and 13. The greatest number of children born to a single pair was 10. In only three cases, out of the seventy-four, was there no issue. In fifty cases, which were examined, of married men, with an average age of 34, 207 children had been born, of whom 91 had died, for the most part in early life, from ‘fever’ and other causes.

The racial position of Eurasians, and the proportion of black blood in their veins, are commonly indicated, not by the terms mulatto, quadroon, octoroon, sambo (or zambo), etc., but in fractions of a rupee. The European pure breed being represented by Rs. 0–0–0, and the Native pure breed by 16 annas (= 1 rupee), the resultant cross is, by reference to colour and other tests, gauged as being half an anna in the rupee (faint admixture of black blood), approaching European types; eight annas (half and half); fifteen annas (predominant admixture of black blood), approaching Native types, etc.

The Eurasian body being enveloped in clothes, it was not till they stripped before me, for the purpose of anthropometry, that I became aware how prevalent is the practice of tattooing among the male members of the community. Nearly all the hundred and thirty men (of the lower classes) whom I examined were, in fact, tattooed to a greater or less extent on the breasts, upper arms, forearms, wrists, back of the hands, or shoulders. The following varied selection of devices in blue, with occasional red, is recorded in my case-book:—

Anchor. Ballet girl with flag, stars and stripes. Bracelets round wrists. Burmese lady carrying umbrella. Bird. Bugles. Conventional artistic devices. Cross and anchor. Crown and flags. Crossed swords and pistols. Dancing-girl. Dancing-girl playing with cobras. Elephant. Floral devices. Flowers in pot. Hands joined in centre of a heart.

Hands joined, and clasping a flower. Heart. Heart and cross. Initials of the individual, his friends, relatives, and inamorata, sometimes within a heart or laurel wreath. Lizard. Mercy (word on left breast). Mermaid. Portraits of the man and his lady-love. Queen Alexandra. Royal arms and banners. Sailing boat. Scorpion. Solomon’s seal. Steam boat. Svastika (Buddhist emblem). Watteau shepherdess.

The most elaborate patterns were executed by Burmese tattooers. The initials of the individual’s Christian and surnames, which preponderated over other devices, were, as a rule, in Roman, but occasionally in Tamil characters.

In colour the Eurasians afford examples of the entire colour scale, through sundry shades of brown and yellow, to pale white, and even florid or rosy. The pilous or hairy system was, in the cases recorded by me, uniformly black. The colour of the iris, like that of the skin, is liable to great variation, from lustrous black to light, with a predominance of dark tints. Blue was observed only in a solitary instance.

The Eurasian resists exposure to the sun better than the European, and, while many wear solah topis (pith sun-hats), it is by no means uncommon to see a Eurasian walking about in the middle of a hot day with his head protected only by a straw hat or cap.

The average height of the Eurasians examined by me in Madras, according to my measurements of 130 subjects, is 166.6 cm. (5 feet 5½ inches), and compares as follows with that of the English and various Native classes inhabiting the city of Madras:—

The height, as might be expected, comes between that of the two parent stocks, European and Native, and had, in the cases examined, the wide range of 30.8 cm., the difference between a maximum of 183.8 cm. (6 feet) and a minimum of 153 cm. (5 feet).

The average length of the head was 18.6 cm. and the breadth 14.1 cm. And it is to be noted that, in 63 per cent. of the cases examined, the breadth exceeded 14 cm.:—

The breadth of the head is very clearly brought out by the following analysis of forty subjects belonging to each of the above six classes, which shows at a glance the preponderance of heads exceeding 14 cm. in breadth in Eurasians, Brahmans, and (to a less extent) in Muhammadans:—

The head of a cross-breed, it has been said, generally takes after the father, and the breadth of the Eurasian head is a persisting result of European male influence. The effect of this influence is clearly demonstrated in the following cases, all the result of re-crossing between British men and Eurasian women:—

The character of the nose is, as those who have studied ethnology in India will appreciate, a most important factor in the differentiation of race, tribe, and class, and in the determination of pedigree. “No one,” Mr. Risley writes,10 “can have glanced at the literature of the subject, and in particular, at the VÉdic accounts of the Aryan advance, without being struck by the frequent references to the noses of the people whom the Aryans found in possession of the plains of India. So impressed were the Aryans with the shortcomings of their enemies’ noses that they often spoke of them as ‘the noseless ones,’ and their keen perception of the importance of this feature seems almost to anticipate the opinion of Dr. Collignon that the nasal index ranks higher as a distinctive character than the stature or even the cephalic index itself.”

In the subjoined table, based on the examination of forty members of each class, the high proportion of leptorhine Eurasians, Muhammadans, and Vellalas, with nasal indices ranging between 60 and 70, is at once manifest, and requires no comment:—

I pass on to the Eurasians of the west coast. My visit to Calicut, the capital of the Malabar district, was by chance coincident with the commemoration of the four hundredth anniversary of the arrival of Vasco da Gama at Calicut after his discovery of the sea-route from Europe to India. Concerning the origin of the Indo-Portuguese half-breed, I learn11 that, on his return from the recapture of Goa, Albuquerque brought with him the women he had carried away when the Portuguese were driven out of the place. As soon as affairs became tolerably settled again at that port, he had them converted to Christianity, and married them to Portuguese men. No less than 450 of his men were thus married in Goa, and others who desired to follow their example were so numerous that Albuquerque had great difficulty in granting their requests. The marriage of Portuguese men to native women had already been sanctioned by Dom Manuel, but this privilege was only to be conceded to men of proved character, and who had rendered good service. Albuquerque, however, extended the permission to many far beyond what he was authorised to do, and he took care that the women so married were the daughters of the principal men of the land. This he did in the hope of inducing them to become Christians. To those who were married Albuquerque allotted lands, houses and cattle, so as to give them a start in life, and all the landed property which had been in possession of the Moorish mosques and Hindu pagodas he gave to the principal churches of the city, which he dedicated to Santa Catherina.

The names of some members of the community at Calicut recalled to mind Pedro Alvares Cabral, who anchored before Calicut in 1500, and established a factory at Cochin; the first Portuguese Governor, Dom Franciso de Almeida; AndrÉ Furtado de Mendonca, who concluded a treaty with the king of Calicut; and many others, whose exploits are handed down to posterity in the Indo-Portuguese archives. Though Portuguese names persist at the present day, it does not follow of necessity that their owners have any Portuguese blood in their veins, for some are merely descendants of Native converts to Christianity, or of household slaves of Portuguese officers. “In Malabar,” writes the Census Commissioner, 1881, “there is a section of Europeanized Native Christians—Goa Roman Catholics—some of whom have adopted European dress and customs; and in all districts the popular interpretation of the word Eurasian is very liberal. There are many Pariahs and Native Christians, who have adopted a travesty of European clothes, and who would return themselves as Eurasians, if allowed to do so.”

A social distinction is made at Calicut between Eurasians and East Indians. With a view at clearing up the grounds on which this distinction is based, my interpreter was called on to submit a note on the subject, which arrived couched in language worthy of Mark Twain. I, therefore, reproduce it in the original Indo-Anglian.

“Eurasians are classified to those who stand second in the list of Europeans and those born in any part of India, and who are the Pedigree of European descendants, being born of father European and mother East Indian, and notwithstanding those who can prove themselves as really good Indian descendants, such as mother and father of the same sex, therefore these are called Eurasians.

“East Indians are those offsprings of Christians of the East, and they atimes gather the offsprings of Eurasians to the entering their marriage to the East Indian females in the East Indian community, thereby they are called East Indians.

“Native Christians are those of Hindu nations converted into Christians by their embracing the poles of Christianity. All Hindus thereby converted are made Christians by a second Baptism are called Native Christians.

“Coaster. They are alluded to those who belong to the Coast, and who come from a country that has a Sea Coast into that country that has not got a Sea Coast is therefore called a Coaster. A very rude word.”

Speaking in general terms, it may be said that Eurasians are of greater stature, and possess skins of lighter hue than the East Indians, who, as the result of intermarriage with Native Christian women, have reverted in the direction of the Native type.

The Eurasians examined by me at Calicut, nearly all of whom were Roman Catholics, were earning a livelihood in the following capacities:—

Bandsman. Boot-maker. Bugler. Carpenter. Clerk. Coffee estate writer. Compositor. Copyist. Mechanic.

Municipal inspector. Musician. Petition-writer. Police constable. Railway guard. Schoolmaster. Tailor. Tin-smith. Weaver.

As in Madras, so in Malabar, tattooing is very prevalent among the male members of the community, and the devices are characterised by a predominance of religious emblems and snakes. The following patterns are recorded in my notes:—

Bangle on wrist. Boat. Bird (the Holy Ghost). Chalice. Christ crucified. Conventional and geometrical designs. Cross. Cross and crown. Cross and heart. Cross and I.N.R.I. Crossed swords.

Fish. Flags. Flower. Flower and leaves. Initials. Ladder. Sacred heart. Snake encircling forearms. Snake coiled round forearm. Solomon’s seal. Steam boat.

There are, in North Malabar, many individuals, whose fathers were European. Writing, in 1887, concerning the Tiyan community, Mr. Logan states12 that “the women are not as a rule excommunicated if they live with Europeans, and the consequence is that there has been among them a large admixture of European blood, and the caste itself has been materially raised in the social scale. In appearance some of the women are almost as fair as Europeans.” On this point, the Report of the Malabar Marriage Commission, 1894, states that “in the early days of British rule, the Tiyan women incurred no social disgrace by consorting with Europeans, and, up to the last generation, if the Sudra girl could boast of her Brahmin lover, the Tiyan girl could show more substantial benefits from her alliance with a white man of the ruling race. Happily the progress of education, and the growth of a wholesome public opinion, have made shameful the position of a European’s concubine; and both races have thus been saved from a mode of life equally demoralizing to each.”

During a visit to Ootacamund on the Nilgiri hills, I was enabled to examine the physique of the elder boys at the Lawrence Asylum, the object of which is “to provide for children of European and East Indian officers and soldiers of Her Majesty’s Army (British and Native), and of Europeans and East Indians in the Medical Service, military and civil, who are serving, or have served within the limits of the Presidency of Madras, a refuge from the debilitating effects of a tropical climate, and from the serious drawbacks to the well-being of children incidental to a barrack life; to afford for them a plain, practical, and religious education; and to train them for employment in different trades, pursuits, and industries.” As the result of examination of thirty-three Eurasian boys, I was able to testify to the excellence of their physical condition.13 A good climate, with a mean annual temperature of 58°, good food, and physical training, have produced a set of boys well-nourished and muscular, with good chests, shoulders, and body weight.

Some final words are necessary on liability to certain diseases, as a differentiating character between Eurasians and Europeans. The Census Commissioner, 1891, states that Eurasians seem to be peculiarly liable to insanity and leprosy. To these should be added elephantiasis (filarial disease), concerning which Surgeon-Major J. Maitland writes as follows14 “Almost all the old writers on elephantiasis believed that the dark races were more susceptible to the disease than white people; but it is extremely doubtful if this is the case. It is true that, in those countries where the disease is endemic, the proportion of persons affected is much greater among the blacks than among the whites; but it has to be borne in mind that the habits of the former render them much more liable to the disease than the latter. The majority of the white people, being more civilised, are more careful regarding the purity of their drinking water than the Natives, who are proverbially careless in this respect. In India, although it is comparatively rare to meet with Europeans affected with the disease, yet such cases are from time to time recorded. Eurasians are proportionately more liable to the disease than pure Europeans, but not so much so as Natives. Doctors Patterson and Hall of Bahia15 examined the blood of 309 persons in that place, and found the following proportions affected with filaria; of whites, 1 in 26; of blacks, 1 in 10¼; of the mixed race, 1 in 9. Doctor Laville16 states that, in the Society Islands, out of a total of 13 European and American residents, 11 were affected with elephantiasis. Taking all these facts into consideration, together with our knowledge of the pathology of the disease, I do not think we are justified in saying that the black races are more susceptible to the disease than white people. On the other hand, owing to the nature of their habits, they are much more liable to the diseases than are the white races.” During the five years 1893–97, ninety-eight Eurasians suffering from filarial diseases were admitted into the General Hospital, Madras.

To Colonel W. A. Lee, I.M.S., Superintendent of the Government Leper Asylum, Madras, I am indebted for the following note on leprosy in its relation to the Eurasian and European communities. “Europeans are by no means immune to the disease, which, in the majority of instances, is contracted by them through coitus with leprous individuals. Leprosy is one of the endemic diseases of tropical and sub-tropical countries, to the risk of contracting which Europeans who settle on the plains of India, and their offspring from unions with the inhabitants of the land, as well as the descendants of the latter, become exposed, since, by the force of circumstances, they are thrown into intimate contact with the Native population. The Eurasian community furnishes a considerable number of lepers, and the disease, once introduced into a family, has a tendency to attack several of its members, and to reappear in successive generations, occasionally skipping one—a feature akin to the biological phenomenon known as atavism, but of perhaps doubtful analogy, for the possibility of a fresh infection or inoculation has always to be borne in mind. There are numerous instances of such hereditary transmission among the patients, both Native and Eurasian, in the Leper Hospital. The spread of the disease by contagion is slow, the most intimate contact even, such as that between parent and child, often failing to effect inoculation. Still there is much evidence in support of its being inoculable by cohabitation, prolonged contact, wearing the same clothing, sharing the dwelling, using the same cooking and eating utensils, and even by arm-to-arm vaccination. Influenced by a belief in the last mentioned cause, vaccination was formerly regarded with much suspicion and dislike by Eurasians in Madras. But their apprehensions on this score have abated since animal vaccine was substituted for the humanised material. It has also for long been a popular belief among the same class that the suckling of their infants by infected Native wet-nurses is a common source of the disease. Attempts to reproduce leprosy from supposed pure cultures of the leprosy bacillus have invariably failed, and this strengthens the belief that the disease would die out if sufferers from the tubercular or mixed forms were segregated, and intermarriage with members of known leprous families interdicted. Experience shows that, where such marriages are freely entered into, a notable prevalence of the disease results, as at Pondicherry for example, where the so-called creole population is said to contain a large proportion of lepers from this cause.”

Writing concerning the prevalence of insanity in different classes, the Census Commissioner, 1891, states that “it appears from the statistics that insanity is far more prevalent among the Eurasians than among any other class. The proportion is 1 insane person in every 410. For England and Wales the proportion is 1 in every 307, and it is significant that the section of the population of Madras, which shows the greatest liability to insanity, is that which has an admixture of European blood. I have no information regarding the prevalence of insanity among Eurasians for any other province or State in India except Mysore, and there the proportion is 1 in 306.”

For the following tabular statement of admissions into the Government Lunatic Asylum, Madras, I am indebted to Captain C. H. Leet-Palk, I.M.S.:—

Leaving out of question the Europeans, in whom, owing to the preponderance of the male sex in Madras, a greater number of male than female lunatics is to be expected, and considering only Eurasians and Natives, the far higher proportion of female as compared with male lunatics in the Eurasian than in the Native community, is very conspicuous. Taking, for example, the numbers remaining in the Asylum in 1894. Whereas the proportion of Eurasian males to females was 33:31, that of Natives was 30.6:6.8; and the high proportion of female Eurasian inmates was visible in other years. The subject seems to be one worthy of further study by those competent to deal with it.