Edgar Thurston

Palli or Vanniyan.—Writing concerning this caste the Census Superintendent, 1871, records that “a book has been written by a native to show that the Pallis (Pullies or Vanniar) of the south are descendants of the fire races (Agnikulas) of the Kshatriyas, and that the Tamil Pullies were at one time the shepherd kings of Egypt.” At the time of the census, 1871, a petition was submitted to Government by representatives of the caste, praying that they might be classified as Kshatriyas, and twenty years later, in connection with the census, 1891, a book entitled ‘Vannikula Vilakkam: a treatise on the Vanniya caste,’ was compiled by Mr. T. Aiyakannu Nayakar, in support of the caste claim to be returned as Kshatriyas, for details concerning which claim I must refer the reader to the book itself. In 1907, a book entitled Varuna Darpanam (Mirror of Castes) was published, in which an attempt is made to connect the caste with the Pallavas.

Kulasekhara, one of the early Travancore kings, and one of the most renowned Alwars reverenced by the Sri Vaishnava community in Southern India, is claimed by the Pallis as a king of their caste. Even now, at the Parthasarathi temple in Triplicane (in the city of Madras), which according to inscriptions is a Pallava temple, Pallis celebrate his anniversary with great Éclat. The Pallis of Komalesvaranpettah in the city of Madras have a Kulasekhara Perumal Sabha, which manages the celebration of the anniversary. The temple has recently been converted at considerable cost into a temple for the great Alwar. A similar celebration is held at the Chintadripettah Adikesava Perumal temple in Madras. The Pallis have the right to present the most important camphor offering of the Mylapore Siva temple. They allege that the temple was originally theirs, but by degrees they lost their hold over it until this bare right was left to them. Some years ago, there was a dispute concerning the exercise of this right, and the case came before the High Court of Madras, which decided the point at issue in favour of the Pallis. One of the principal gopuras (pyramidal towers) of the Ekamranatha temple at Big Conjeeveram, the ancient capital of the Pallavas, is known as Palligopuram. The Pallis of that town claim it as their own, and repair it from time to time. In like manner, they claim that the founder of the Chidambaram temple, by name Sweta Varman, subsequently known as Hiranya Varman (sixth century A.D.) was a Pallava king. At Pichavaram, four miles east of Chidambaram, lives a Palli family, which claims to be descended from Hiranya Varman. A curious ceremony is even now celebrated at the Chidambaram temple, on the steps leading to the central sanctuary. As soon as the eldest son of this family is married, he and his wife, accompanied by a local Vellala, repair to the sacred shrine, and there, amidst crowds of their castemen and others, a homam (sacrificial fire) is raised, and offerings are made to it. The couple are then anointed with nine different kinds of holy water, and the Vellala places the temple crown on their heads. The Vellala who officiates at this ceremony, assisted by the temple priests, is said to belong to the family of a former minister of a descendant of Hiranya Varman. It is said that, as the ceremony is a costly one, and the expenses have to be paid by the individual who undergoes it, it often happens that the eldest son of the family has to remain a bachelor for half his lifetime. The Pallis who reside at St. ThomÉ in the city of Madras allege that they became Christians, with their King Kandappa Raja, who, they say, ruled over Mylapore during the time of the visit of St. Thomas. In 1907, Mr. T. Varadappa Nayakar, the only High Court Vakil (pleader) among the Palli community practising in Madras, brought out a Tamil book on the history of the connection of the caste with the ancient Pallava kings.

In reply to one of a series of questions promulgated by the Census Superintendent, it was stated that “the caste is known by the following names:—Agnikulas and Vanniyas. The etymology of these is the same, being derived from the Sanskrit Agni or Vahni, meaning fire. The following, taken from Dr. Oppert’s article on the original inhabitants of Bharatavarsa or India, explains the name of the caste with its etymology:—‘The word Vanniyan is generally derived from the Sanskrit Vahni, fire. Agni, the god of fire, is connected with regal office, as kings hold in their hands the fire-wheel or Agneya-chakra, and the Vanniyas urge in support of their name the regal descent they claim.’ The existence of these fire races, Agnikula or Vahnikula (Vanniya), in North and South India is a remarkable fact. No one can refuse to a scion of the non-Aryan warrior tribe the title of Rajputra, but in so doing we establish at once Aryan and non-Aryan Rajaputras or Rajputs. The Vanniyan of South India may be accepted as a representative of the non-Aryan Rajput element.”

The name Vanniyan is, Mr. H. A. Stuart writes,1 “derived from the Sanskrit vanhi (fire) in consequence of the following legend. In the olden times, two giants named Vatapi and Mahi, worshipped Brahma with such devotion that they obtained from him immunity from death from every cause save fire, which element they had carelessly omitted to include in their enumeration. Protected thus, they harried the country, and Vatapi went the length of swallowing Vayu, the god of the winds, while Mahi devoured the sun. The earth was therefore enveloped in perpetual darkness and stillness, a condition of affairs which struck terror into the minds of the devatas, and led them to appeal to Brahma. He, recollecting the omission made by the giants, directed his suppliants to desire the rishi Jambava Mahamuni to perform a yagam, or sacrifice by fire. The order having been obeyed, armed horse men sprung from the flames, who undertook twelve expeditions against Vatapi and Mahi, whom they first destroyed, and afterwards released Vayu and the sun from their bodies. Their leader then assumed the government of the country under the name Rudra Vanniya Maharaja, who had five sons, the ancestors of the Vanniya caste. These facts are said to be recorded in the Vaidiswara temple in the Tanjore district.”

The Vaidiswara temple here referred to is the Vaidiswara kovil near Shiyali. Mr. Stuart adds that “this tradition alludes to the destruction of the city of Vapi by Narasimha Varma, king of the Pallis or Pallavas.” Vapi, or Va-api, was the ancient name of Vatapi or Badami in the Bombay Presidency. It was the capital of the Chalukyas, who, during the seventh century, were at feud with the Pallavas of the south. “The son of Mahendra Varman I,” writes Rai Bahadur V. Venkayya, “was Narasimha Varman I, who retrieved the fortunes of the family by repeatedly defeating the Cholas, Keralas, Kalabhras, and Pandyas. He also claims to have written the word victory as on a plate on Pulikesin’s2 back, which was caused to be visible (i.e., which was turned in flight after defeat) at several battles. Narasimha Varman carried the war into Chalukyan territory, and actually captured Vatapi their capital. This claim of his is established by an inscription found at Badami, from which it appears that Narasimha Varman bore the title Mahamalla. In later times, too, this Pallava king was known as Vatapi Konda Narasingapottaraiyan. Dr. Fleet assigns the capture of the Chalukya capital to about A.D. 642. The war of Narasimha Varman with Pulikesin is mentioned in the Sinhalese chronicle Mahavamsa. It is also hinted at in the Tamil Periyapuranam. The well-known saint Siruttonda, who had his only son cut up and cooked in order to satisfy the appetite of the god Siva disguised as a devotee, is said to have reduced to dust the city of Vatapi for his royal master, who could be no other than the Pallava king Narasimha Varman.”

I gather, from a note by Mr. F. R. Hemingway, that the Pallis “tell a long story of how they are descendants of one Vira Vanniyan, who was created by a sage named Sambuha when he was destroying the two demons named Vatapi and Enatapi. This Vira Vanniyan married a daughter of the god Indra, and had five sons, named Rudra, Brahma, Krishna, Sambuha, and Kai, whose descendants now live respectively in the country north of the Palar in the Cauvery delta, between the Palar and Pennar. They have written a Puranam and a drama bearing on this tale. They declare that they are superior to Brahmans, since, while the latter must be invested with the sacred thread after birth, they bring their sacred thread with them at birth itself.”

“The Vanniyans,” Mr. Nelson states,3 “are at the present time a small and obscure agricultural caste, but there is reason to believe that they are descendants of ancestors who, in former times, held a good position among the tribes of South India. A manuscript, abstracted at page 90 of the Catalogue raisonnÉ (Mackenzie Manuscripts), states that the Vanniyans belong to the Agnikula, and are descended from the Muni Sambhu; and that they gained victories by means of their skill in archery. And another manuscript, abstracted at page 427, shows that two of their chiefs enjoyed considerable power, and refused to pay the customary tribute to the Rayar, who was for a long time unable to reduce them to submission. Armies of Vanniyans are often mentioned in Ceylon annals. And a Hindu History of Ceylon, translated in the Royal As. Soc. Journal, Vol. XXIV, states that, in the year 3300 of the Kali Yuga, a Pandya princess went over to Ceylon, and married its king, and was accompanied by sixty bands of Vanniyans.”

The terms Vanni and Vanniyan are used in Tamil poems to denote king. Thus, in the classical Tamil poem Kalladam, which has been attributed to the time of Tiruvalluvar, the author of the sacred Kural, Vanni is used in the sense of king. Kamban, the author of the Tamil Ramayana, uses it in a similar sense. In an inscription dated 1189 A.D., published by Dr. E. Hultzsch,4 Vanniya Nayan appears among the titles of the local chief of Tiruchchuram, who made a grant of land to the Vishnu temple at Manimangalam. Tiruchchuram is identical with Tiruvidaichuram about four miles south-east of Chingleput, where there is a ruined fort, and also a Siva temple celebrated in the hymns of Tirugnana Sambandhar, the great Saiva saint who lived in the 9th century. Local tradition, confirmed by one of the Mackenzie manuscripts,5 says that this place was, during the time of the Vijayanagar King Krishna Raya (1509–30 A.D.), ruled over by two feudal chiefs of the Vanniya caste named Kandavarayan and Sendavarayan. They, it is said, neglected to pay tribute to their sovereign lord, who sent an army to exact it. The brothers proved invincible, but one of their dancing-girls was guilty of treachery. Acting under instructions, she poisoned Kandavarayan. His brother Sendavarayan caught hold of her and her children, and drowned them in the local tank. The tank and the hillock close by still go by the name of Kuppichi kulam and Kuppichi kunru, after Kuppi the dancing-girl. An inscription of the Vijayanagar king Deva Raya II (1419–44 A.D.) gives him the title of the lord who took the heads of the eighteen Vanniyas.6 This inscription records a grant by one Muttayya Nayakan, son of Mukka Nayakan of Vanniraya gotram. Another inscription,7 dated 1456 A.D., states that, when one Raja Vallabha ruled at Conjeeveram, a general, named Vanniya Chinna Pillai, obtained a piece of land at Sattankad near Madras. Reference is made by Orme8 to the assistance which the Vaniah of Sevagherry gave Muhammad Yusuf in his reduction of Tinnevelly in 1757. The Vaniah here referred to is the Zamindar of Sivagiri in the Tinnevelly district, a Vanniya by caste. Vanniyas are mentioned in Ceylon archives. Wanni is the name of a district in Ceylon. It is, Mr. W. Hamilton writes,9 “situated towards Trincomalee in the north-east quarter. At different periods its Wannies or princes, taking advantage of the wars between the Candian sovereigns and their European enemies, endeavoured to establish an authority independent of both, but they finally, after their country had been much desolated by all parties, submitted to the Dutch.” Further, Sir J. E. Tennent writes,10 that “in modern times, the Wanny was governed by native princes styled Wannyahs, and occasionally by females with the title of Wunniches.”

The terms Sambhu and Sambhava Rayan are connected with the Pallis. The story goes that Agni was the original ancestor of all kings. His son was Sambhu, whose descendants called themselves Sambhukula, or those of the Sambhu family. Some inscriptions11 of the time of the Chola kings Kulottunga III and Raja Raja III record Sambukula Perumal Sambuvarayan and Alagiya Pallavan Edirili Sola Sambuvarayan as titles of local chiefs. A well-known verse of Irattayar in praise of Conjeeveram Ekamranathaswami refers to the Pallava king as being of the Sambu race. The later descendants of the Pallavas apparently took Sambuvarayar and its allied forms as their titles, as the Pallis in Tanjore and South Arcot still do. At Conjeeveram there lives the family of the Mahanattar of the Vanniyans, which calls itself “of the family of Vira Sambu.”

Pallas performing Pongal ceremonies.

Pallas performing Pongal ceremonies.

“The name Vanniyan,” Mr. H. A. Stuart writes,12 seems to have been introduced by the Brahmans, possibly to gratify the desire of the Pallis for genealogical distinction. Padaiyachi means a soldier, and is also of late origin. That the Pallis were once an influential and independent community may be admitted, and in their present desire to be classed as Kshatriyas they are merely giving expression to this belief, but, unless an entirely new meaning is to be given to the term Kshatriya, their claim must be dismissed as absurd. After the fall of the Pallava dynasty, the Pallis became agricultural servants under the Vellalas, and it is only since the advent of British rule that they have begun to assert their claims to a higher position.” Further, Mr. W. Francis writes13 that “this caste has been referred to as being one of those which are claiming for themselves a position higher than that which Hindu society is inclined to accord them. Their ancestors were socially superior to themselves, but they do not content themselves with stating this, but in places are taking to wearing the sacred thread of the twice-born, and claim to be Kshatriyas. They have published pamphlets to prove their descent from that caste, and they returned themselves in thousands, especially in Godavari, as Agnikula Kshatriyas or Vannikula Kshatriyas, meaning Kshatriyas of the fire race.” “As a relic,” it has been said,14 “of the origin of the Vannikula Kshatriyas from fire, the fire-pot, which comes in procession on a fixed day during the annual festivities of Draupadi and other goddesses, is borne on the head of a Vanniya. Also, in dramatic plays, the king personÆ (sic) has always been taken by a Kshatriya, who is generally a Vanniya. These peculiarities, however, are becoming common now-a-days, when privileges peculiar to one caste are being trenched upon by other caste men. In the Tirupporur temple, the practice of beating the mazhu (red-hot iron) is done by a dancing-girl serving the Vanniya caste. The privilege of treading on the fire is also peculiar to the Vanniyas.” It is recorded by Mr. Francis15 that, in the South Arcot district, “Draupadi’s temples are very numerous, and the priest at them is generally a Palli by caste, and Pallis take the leading part in the ceremonies at them. Why this should be so is not clear. The Pallis say it is because both the Pandava brothers and themselves were born of fire, and are therefore related. Festivals to Draupadi always involve two points of ritual—the recital or acting of a part of the Mahabharata and a fire-walking ceremony. The first of these is usually done by the Pallis, who are very fond of the great epic, and many of whom know it uncommonly well. [In the city of Madras there are several Draupadi Amman temples belonging to the Pallis. The fire-walking ceremony cannot be observed thereat without the help of a member of this caste, who is the first to walk over the hot ashes.]

Kuvvakkam is known for its festival to Aravan (more correctly Iravan) or Kuttandar, which is one of the most popular feasts with Sudras in the whole district. Aravan was the son of Arjuna, one of the five Pandava brothers. Local tradition says that, when the great war which is described in the Mahabharata was about to begin, the Kauravas, the opponents of the Pandavas, sacrificed, to bring them success, a white elephant. The Pandavas were in despair of being able to find any such uncommon object with which to propitiate the gods, until Arjuna suggested that they should offer up his son Aravan. Aravan agreed to yield his life for the good of the cause, and, when eventually the Pandavas were victorious, he was deified for the self-abnegation which had thus brought his side success. Since he died in his youth, before he had been married, it is held to please him if men, even though grown up and already wedded, come now and offer to espouse him, and men who are afflicted with serious diseases take a vow to marry him at his annual festival in the hope of thereby being cured. The festival occurs in May, and for eighteen nights the Mahabharata is recited by a Palli, large numbers of people, especially of that caste, assembling to hear it read. On the eighteenth night, a wooden image of Kuttandar is taken to a tope (grove), and seated there. This is the signal for the sacrifice of an enormous number of fowls. Every one who comes brings one or two, and the number killed runs literally into thousands. Such sacrifices are most uncommon in South Arcot, though frequent enough in other parts of the Presidency—the Ceded Districts for example—and this instance is noteworthy. While this is going on, all the men who have taken vows to be married to the deity appear before his image dressed like women, make obeisance, offer to the priest (who is a Palli by caste) a few annas, and give into his hands the talis (marriage badges) which they have brought with them. These the priest, as representing the God, ties round their necks. The God is brought back to his shrine that night, and when in front of the building he is hidden by a cloth being held before him. This symbolises the sacrifice of Aravan, and the men who have just been married to him set up loud lamentations at the death of their husband. Similar vows are taken and ceremonies performed, it is said, at the shrines to Kuttandar at Kottattai (two miles north-west of Porto Novo), and Adivarahanattum (five miles north-west of Chidambaram), and, in recent years, at Tiruvarkkulam (one mile east of the latter place); other cases probably occur.”

The Pallis, Mr. Francis writes further,16 “as far back as 1833 tried to procure a decree in Pondicherry, declaring that they were not a low caste, and of late years they have, in this (South Arcot) district, been closely bound together by an organisation managed by one of their caste, who was a prominent person in these parts. In South Arcot they take a somewhat higher social rank than in other places—Tanjore, for example—and their esprit de corps is now surprisingly strong. They are tending gradually to approach the Brahmanical standard of social conduct, discouraging adult marriage, meat-eating, and widow re-marriage, and they also actively repress open immorality or other social sins, which might serve to give the community a bad name. In 1904 a document came before one of the courts, which showed that, in the year previous, the representatives of the caste in thirty-four villages in this district had bound themselves in writing, under penalty of excommunication, to refrain (except with the consent of all parties) from the practices formerly in existence of marrying two wives, and of allowing a woman to marry again during the lifetime of her first husband. Some of the caste have taken to calling themselves Vannikula Kshatriyas or Agnikula Kshatriyas, and others even declare that they are Brahmans. These last always wear the sacred thread, tie their cloths in the Brahman fashion (though their women do not follow the Brahman ladies in this matter), forbid widow remarriage, and are vegetarians.”

Palli worshipping Muneswara.

Palli worshipping Muneswara.

Some Palli Poligars have very high-sounding names, such as Agni Kudirai Eriya Raya Ravutha Minda Nainar, i.e., Nainar who conquered Raya Ravutha and mounted a fire horse. This name is said to commemorate a contest between a Palli and a Ravutha, at which the former sat on a red-hot metal horse. Further names are Samidurai Surappa Sozhaganar and Anjada Singam (fearless lion). Some Pallis have adopted Gupta as a title.

A few Palli families now maintain a temple of their own, dedicated to Srinivasa, at the village of Kumalam in the South Arcot district, live round the temple, and are largely dependent on it for their livelihood. Most of them dress exactly like the temple Battars, and a stranger would certainly take them for Battar Brahmans. Some of them are well versed in the temple ritual, and their youths are being taught the Sandyavandhana (morning prayer) and Vedas by a Brahman priest. Ordinary Palli girls are taken by them in marriage, but their own girls are not allowed to marry ordinary Pallis; and, as a result of this practice of hypergamy, the Kumalam men sometimes have to take to themselves more than one wife, in order that their young women may be provided with husbands. These Kumalam Pallis are regarded as priests of the Pallis, and style themselves Kovilar, or temple people. But, by other castes, they are nicknamed Kumalam Brahmans. They claim to be Kshatriyas, and have adopted the title Rayar.

Other titles, “indicating authority, bravery, and superiority,” assumed by Pallis are Nayakar, Varma, Padaiyachi (head of an army), Kandar, Chera, Chola, Pandya, Nayanar, Udaiyar, Samburayar, etc.17 Still further titles are Pillai, Reddi, Goundan, and Kavandan. Some say that they belong to the Chola race, and that, as such, they should be called Chembians.18 Iranya Varma, the name of one of the early Pallava kings, was returned as their caste by certain wealthy Pallis, who also gave themselves the title of Solakanar (descendant of Chola kings) at the census, 1901.

In reply to a question by the Census Superintendent, 1891, as to the names of the sub-divisions of the caste, it was stated that “the Vanniyans are either of the solar and lunar or Agnikula race, or Ruthra Vanniyar, Krishna Vanniyar, Samboo Vanniyar, Brahma Vanniyar, and Indra Vanniyar.” The most important of the sub-divisions returned at the census were Agamudaiyan, Agni, Arasu (Raja), Kshatriya, Nagavadam (cobra’s hood, or ear ornament of that shape), Nattaman, Olai (palm leaf), Pandamuttu, and Perumal gotra. Pandamuttu is made by Winslow to mean torches arranged so as to represent an elephant. But the Pallis derive the name from panda muttu, or touching the pandal, in reference to the pile of marriage pots reaching to the top of the pandal. The lowest pot is decorated with figures of elephants and horses. At a marriage among the Pandamuttu Pallis, the bride and bridegroom, in token of their Kshatriya descent, are seated on a raised dais, which represents a simhasanam or throne. The bride wears a necklace of glass beads with the tali, and the officiating priest is a Telugu Brahman. Other sub-castes of the Pallis, recorded in the Census Report, 1901, are Kallangi in Chingleput, bearing the title Reddi, and Kallaveli, or Kallan’s fence, in the Madura district. The occupational title Kottan (bricklayer) was returned by some Pallis in Coimbatore. In the Salem district some Pallis are divided into Anju-nal (five days) and Pannendu-nal (twelve days), according as they perform the final death ceremonies on the fifth or twelfth day after death, to distinguish them from those who perform them on the sixteenth day.19 Another division of Pallis in the Salem district is based on the kind of ear ornament which is worn. The Olai Pallis wear a circular ornament (olai), and the Nagavadam Pallis wear an ornament in shape like a cobra and called nagavadam.

Mannarswami in front of shrine.

Mannarswami in front of shrine.

The Pallis are classed with the left-hand section. But the Census Superintendent, 1871, records that “the wives of the agricultural labourers (Pallis) side with the left hand, while the husbands help in fighting the battles of the right; and the shoe-makers’ (Chakkiliyan) wives also take the side opposed to their husbands. During these factional disturbances, the ladies deny to their husbands all the privileges of the connubial state.” This has not, however, been confirmed in recent investigations into the customs of the caste.

The Pallis are Saivites or Vaishnavites, but are also demonolaters, and worship Mutyalamma, Mariamma, Ayanar, Muneswara, Ankalamma, and other minor deities. Writing nearly a century ago concerning the Vana Pallis settled at Kolar in Mysore, Buchanan states20 that “they are much addicted to the worship of the saktis, or destructive powers, and endeavour to avert their wrath by bloody sacrifices. These are performed by cutting off the animal’s head before the door of the temple, and invoking the deity to partake of the sacrifice. There is no altar, nor is the blood sprinkled on the image, and the body serves the votaries for a feast. The Pallivanlu have temples dedicated to a female spirit of this kind named Mutialamma, and served by pujaris (priests) of their own caste. They also offer sacrifices to Mariamma, whose pujaris are Kurubaru.”

Palli pu karagam.

Palli pu karagam.

Huge human figures, representing Mannarswami in a sitting posture, constructed of bricks and mortar, and painted, are conspicuous objects in the vicinity of the Lawrence Asylum Press, Mount Road, and in the Kottawal bazar, Madras. At the village of Tirumalavayal near Avadi, there is a similar figure as tall as a palmyra palm, with a shrine of Pachaiamman close by. Mannarswami is worshipped mainly by Pallis and Beri Chettis. An annual festival is held in honour of Pachaiamman and Mannarswami, in which the Beri Chettis take a prominent part.

During the festivals of village deities, the goddess is frequently represented by a pile of seven pots, called karagam, decorated with garlands and flowers. Even when there is an idol in the temple, the karagam is set up in a corner thereof, and taken daily, morning and evening, in procession, carried on the head of a pujari or other person. On the last day of the festival, the karagam is elaborately decorated with parrots, dolls, flowers, etc., made of pith (Æschynomene aspera), and called pu karagam (flower pot).

The Pallis live in separate streets or quarters distinctively known as the Palli teru or Kudi teru (ryots’ quarter). The bulk of them are labourers, but many now farm their own lands, while others are engaged in trade or in Government service. The occupations of those whom I have examined at Madras and Chingleput were as follows:—

Merchant. Cultivator. Bullock and pony cart driver. Printer. Lascar. Sweetmeat vendor. Flower vendor.

Fitter. Sawyer. Oil-presser. Gardener. Polisher. Bricklayer. Mason.

Some of the Chingleput Palli men were tattooed, like the Irulas, with a dot or vertical stripe on the forehead. Some Irulas, it may be noted en passant, call themselves Ten (honey) Vanniyans, or Vana (forest) Pallis.

Like many other castes, the Pallis have their own caste beggars, called Nokkan, who receive presents at marriages and on other occasions. The time-honoured panchayat system still prevails, and the caste has headmen, entitled Perithanakkaran or Nattamaikkaran, who decide all social matters affecting the community, and must be present at the ceremonial distribution of pansupari.

The Kovilars, and some others who aspire to a high social status, practice infant marriage, but adult marriage is the rule. At the betrothal ceremony, the future bridegroom goes to the house of his prospective father-in-law, where the headman of the future bride must be present. The bridegroom’s headman or father places on a tray betel, flowers, the bride-price (pariyam) in money or jewels, the milk money (mulapal kuli), and a cocoanut. Milk money is the present given to the mother of the bride, in return for her having given nourishment to the girl during her infancy. All these things are handed by the bridegroom’s headman to the father or headman of the bride, saying “The money is yours. The girl is ours.” The bride’s father, receiving them, says “The money is mine. The girl is yours.” This performance is repeated thrice, and pan-supari is distributed, the first recipient being the maternal uncle. The ceremony is in a way binding, and marriage, as a rule, follows close on the betrothal. If, in the interval, a girl’s intended husband dies, she may marry some one else. A girl may not marry without the consent of her maternal uncle, and, if he disapproves of a match, he has the right to carry her off even when the ceremony is in progress, and marry her to a man of his selection. It is stated, in the Vannikula Vilakkam, that at a marriage among the Pallis “the bride, after her betrothal, is asked to touch the bow and sword of the bridegroom. The latter adorns himself with all regal pomp, and, mounting a horse, goes in procession to the bride’s house where the marriage ceremony is celebrated.”

The marriage ceremony is, in ordinary cases, completed in one day, but the tendency is to spread it over three days, and introduce the standard Puranic form of ritual. On the day preceding the wedding-day, the bride is brought in procession to the house of the bridegroom, and the marriage pots are brought by a woman of the potter caste. On the wedding morning, the marriage dais is got ready, and the milk-post, pots, and lights are placed thereon. Bride and bridegroom go separately through the nalagu ceremony. They are seated on a plank, and five women smear them with oil by means of a culm of grass (Cynodon Dactylon), and afterwards with Phaseolus Mungo (green gram) paste. Water coloured with turmeric and chunam (arathi) is then waved round them, to avert the evil eye, and they are conducted to the bathing-place. While they are bathing, five small cakes are placed on various parts of the body—knees, shoulders, head, etc. When the bridegroom is about to leave the spot, cooked rice, contained in a sieve, is waved before him, and thrown away. The bridal couple are next taken three times round the dais, and they offer pongal (cooked rice) to the village and house gods and the ancestors, in five pots, in which the rice has been very carefully prepared, so as to avoid pollution of any kind, by a woman who has given birth to a first child. They then dress themselves in their wedding finery, and get ready for the tying of the tali. Meanwhile, the milk-post, made of Odina Wodier, Erythrina indica, or the handle of a plough, has been set up. At its side are placed a grindstone, a large pot, and two lamps called kuda-vilakku (pot light) and alankara-vilakku (ornamental light). The former consists of a lighted wick in an earthenware tray placed on a pot, and the latter of a wooden stand with several branches supporting a number of lamps. It is considered an unlucky omen if the pot light goes out before the conclusion of the ceremonial. It is stated by Mr. H. A. Stuart21 that in the North Arcot district “in the marriage ceremony of the Vanniyans or Pallis, the first of the posts supporting the booth must be cut from the vanni (Prosopis spicigera), a tree which they hold in much reverence because they believe that the five Pandava Princes, who were like themselves Kshatriyas, during the last year of their wanderings, deposited their arms in a tree of this species. On the tree the arms turned into snakes, and remained untouched till the owners’ return.” The Prosopis tree is worshipped in order to obtain pardon from sins, success over enemies, and the realisation of the devotee’s wishes.

Pandamutti (marriage pots).

Pandamutti (marriage pots).

When the bride and bridegroom come to the wedding booth dressed in their new clothes, the Brahman purohit gives them the threads (kankanam), which are to be tied round their wrists. The tali is passed round to be blessed by those assembled, and handed to the bridegroom, who ties it on the bride’s neck. While he is so doing, his sister holds a light called Kamakshi vilakku. Kamakshi, the goddess at Conjeeveram, is a synonym for Siva’s consort Parvathi. The music of the flute is sometimes accompanied by the blowing of the conch shell while the tali is being tied, and omens are taken from the sounds produced thereby. The tali-tying ceremony concluded, the couple change their seats, and the ends of their clothes are tied together. Rice is thrown on their heads, and in front of them, and the near relations may tie gold or silver plates called pattam. The first to do this is the maternal uncle. Bride and bridegroom then go round the dais and milk-post, and, at the end of the second turn, the bridegroom lifts the bride’s left foot, and places it on the grindstone. At the end of the third turn, the brother-in-law, in like manner, places the bridegroom’s left foot on the stone, and puts on a toe-ring. For so doing, he receives a rupee and betel. The contracting couple are then shown the pole-star (Arundhati), and milk and fruit are given to them. Towards evening, the wrist-threads are removed, and they proceed to a tank for a mock ploughing ceremony. The bridegroom carries a ploughshare, and the bride a small pot containing conji (rice gruel). A small patch of ground is turned up, and puddled so as to resemble a miniature field, wherein the bridegroom plants some grain seedlings. A miniature Pillayar (Ganesa) is made with cow-dung, and betel offered to it. The bridegroom then sits down, feigning fatigue, and the bride gives him a handful of rice, which his brother-in-law tries to prevent him from eating. The newly-married couple remain for about a week at the bride’s house, and are then conducted to that of the bridegroom, the brother-in-law carrying a hundred or a hundred and ten cakes. Before they enter the house, coloured water and a cocoanut are waved in front of them, and, as soon as she puts foot within her new home, the bride must touch pots containing rice and salt with her right hand. A curious custom among the Pallis at Kumbakonam is that the bride’s mother, and often all her relatives, are debarred from attending her marriage. The bride is also kept gosha (in seclusion) for all the days of the wedding.22

It is noted by Mr. Hemingway that some of the Pandamuttu Pallis of the Trichinopoly district “practice the betrothal of infant girls, the ceremony consisting of pouring cow-dung water into the mouth of the baby. They allow a girl to marry a boy younger than herself, and make the latter swallow a two-anna bit, to neutralise the disadvantages of such a match. Weddings are generally performed at the boy’s house, and the bride’s mother does not attend. The bride is concealed from view by a screen.”

It is said that, some years ago, a marriage took place at Panruti near Cuddalore on the old Svayamvara principle described in the story of Nala and Damayanti in the Mahabharata. According to this custom, a girl selects a husband from a large number of competitors, who are assembled for the purpose.

Widow remarriage is permitted. At the marriage of a widow, the tali is tied by a married woman, the bridegroom standing by the side, usually inside the house. Widow marriage is known as naduvittu tali, as the tali-tying ceremony takes place within the house (naduvidu).

To get rid of the pollution of the first menstrual period, holy water is sprinkled over the girl by a Brahman, after she has bathed. She seats herself on a plank, and rice cakes (puttu), a pounding stone, and arathi are waved in front of her. Sugar and betel are then distributed among those present.

The dead are sometimes burnt, and sometimes buried. As soon as an individual dies, the son goes three times round the corpse, carrying an iron measure (marakkal), wherein a lamp rests on unhusked rice. The corpse is washed, and the widow bathes in such a way that the water falls on it. Omission to perform this rite would entail disgrace, and there is an abusive phrase “May the water from the woman’s body not fall on that of the corpse.” The dead man and his widow exchange betel three times. The corpse is carried to the burning or burial-ground on a bamboo stretcher, and, on the way thither, is set down near a stone representing Arichandra, to whom food is offered. Arichandra was a king who became a slave of the Paraiyans, and is in charge of the burial-ground. By some Pallis a two-anna piece is placed on the forehead, and a pot of rice on the breast of the corpse. These are taken away by the officiating barber and Paraiyan respectively.23 Men who die before they are married have to go through a post-mortem mock marriage ceremony. A garland of arka (Calotropis gigantea) flowers is placed round the neck of the corpse, and mud from a gutter is shaped into cakes, which, like the cakes at a real marriage, are placed on various parts of the body.

A curious death ceremony is said by Mr. Hemingway to be observed by the Arasu Pallis in the Trichinopoly district. On the day after the funeral, two pots of water are placed near the spot where the corpse was cremated. If a cow drinks of the water, they think it is the soul of the dead come to quench its thirst.

In some places, Palli women live in strict seclusion (Gosha). This is particularly the case in the old Palaigar families of Ariyalur, Udaiyarpalaiyam, Pichavaram, and Sivagiri.

The caste has a well-organised Sangham (association) called Chennai Vannikula Kshatriya Maha Sangham, which was established in 1888 by leaders of the caste. Besides creating a strong esprit de corps among members of the caste in various parts of the Madras Presidency, it has been instrumental in the opening of seven schools, of which three are in Madras, and the others at Conjeeveram, Madhurantakam, Tirukalikundram and Kumalam. It has also established chuttrams (rest-houses) at five places of pilgrimage. Chengalvaraya Nayakar’s Technical School, attached to Pachaiappa’s College in Madras, was founded in 1865 by a member of the Palli caste, who bequeathed a large legacy for its maintenance. There is also an orphanage named after him in Madras, for Palli boys. Govindappa Nayakar’s School, which forms the lower secondary branch of Pachaiappa’s College, is another institution which owes its existence to the munificence of a member of the Palli caste. The latest venture of the Pallis is the publication of a newspaper called Agnikuladittan (the sun of the Agnikula), which was started in 1908.

Concerning the Pallis, Pallilu, or Palles, who are settled in the Telugu country as fishermen, carpenters, and agriculturists, Mr. H. A. Stuart writes24 that “it seems probable that they are a branch of the great Palli or Vanniya tribe, for Buchanan refers to the Mina (fish) Pallis and Vana Pallis.” As sub-castes of these Pallis, Vada (boatmen), Marakkadu and Edakula are given in the Census Report, 1901. In the North Arcot Manual, Palli is given as a sub-division of the Telugu Kapus. In some places the Pallis call themselves Palle Kapulu, and give as their gotram Jambumaharishi, which is a gotram of the Pallis. Though they do not intermarry, the Palle Kapulu may interdine with the Kapus.

Concerning the caste-beggars of the Pallis, and their legendary history, I read the following account.25 “I came upon a noisy procession entering one of the main streets of a town not far from Madras. It was headed by spearmen, swordsmen, and banner-bearers, the last carrying huge flags (palempores) with representations of lions, tigers, monkeys, Brahmany kites, goblins and dwarfs. The centre of attraction consisted of some half dozen men and women in all the bravery of painted faces and gay clothing, and armed with swords, lances, and daggers. Tom-toms, trumpets, cymbals, and horns furnished the usual concomitant of ear-piercing music, while the painted men and women moved, in time with it, their hands and feet, which were encircled by rows of tiny bells. A motley following of the tag-rag and bob-tail of the population, which had been allured thither by the noise and clamour, brought up the rear of the procession, which stopped at each crossing. At each halt, the trumpeters blew a great and sonorous blast, while one of the central figures, with a conspicuous abdominal development, stepped forward, and, in a stentorian voice, proclaimed the brave deeds performed by them in the days gone by, and challenged all comers to try conclusions with them, or own themselves beaten. I was told that the chief personages in the show were Jatipillays (literally, children of the caste), who had arrived in the town in the course of their annual tour of the country, for collecting their perquisites from all members of the Palli or Padiachi caste, and that this was how they announced their arrival. The perquisite levied is known as the talaikattu vari (poll-tax, or literally the turban tax), a significant expression when it is borne in mind that only the adult male members of the caste (those who are entitled to tie a cloth round their heads) are liable to pay it, and not the women and children. It amounts to but one anna per head, and is easily collected. The Jatipillays also claim occult powers, and undertake to exhibit their skill in magic by the exorcism of devils, witchcraft and sorcery, and the removal of spells, however potent. This operation is called modi edukkirathu, or the breaking of spells, and sometimes the challenge is taken up by a rival magician of a different caste. A wager is fixed, and won or lost according to the superior skill of the challenger or challenged. Entering into friendly chat with one of the leading members of the class, I gleaned the following legend of its origin, and of the homage accorded to it by the Pallis. In remote times, when Salivahana was king of the Chola country, with its capital at Conjeeveram, all the principal castes of South India had their head-quarters at the seat of government, where each, after its own way, did homage to the triple deities of the place, namely, Kamakshi Amman, Ekambrasvarar, and Sri Varadarajaswami. Each caste got up an annual car festival to these deities. On one of these occasions, owing to a difference which had arisen between the Seniyans (weavers), who form a considerable portion of the population of Conjeeveram, on one side, and the Pallis or Vanniyans on the other, some members of the former caste, who were adepts in magic, through sheer malevolence worked spells upon the cars of the Pallis, whose progress through the streets first became slow and tedious, and was finally completely arrested, the whole lot of them having come to a stand-still, and remaining rooted on the spot in one of the much frequented thoroughfares of the city. The Pallis put on more men to draw the cars, and even employed elephants and horses to haul them, but all to no purpose. As if even this was not sufficient to satisfy their malignity, the unscrupulous Seniyars actually went to King Salivahana, and bitterly complained against the Pallis of having caused a public nuisance by leaving their cars in a common highway to the detriment of the public traffic. The king summoned the Pallis, and called them to account, but they pleaded that it was through no fault of theirs that the cars had stuck in a thoroughfare, that they had not been negligent, but had essayed all possible methods of hauling them to their destination by adding to the number of men employed in pulling them, and by having further tried to accelerate their progress with the aid of elephants, camels, and horses, but all in vain. They further declared their conviction that the Seniyars had played them an ill-turn, and placed the cars under a spell. King Salivahana, however, turned a deaf ear to these representations, and decreed that it was open to the Pallis to counteract the spells of their adversaries, and he prescribed a period within which this was to be effected. He also tacked on a threat that, in default of compliance with his mandate, the Pallis must leave his kingdom for good and ever. The Pallis sought refuge and protection of the goddess Kamakshi Amman, whose pity was touched by their sad plight, and who came to their aid. She appeared to one of the elders of the caste in a dream, and revealed to him that there was a staunch devotee of hers—a member of their caste—who alone could remove the spells wrought by the Seniyars, and that this man, Ramasawmy Naikan, was Prime Minister in the service of the Kodagu (Coorg) Raja. The desperate plight they were in induced the Pallis to send a powerful deputation to the Raja, and to beg of him to lend them the services of Ramasawmy Naik, in order to save them from the catastrophe which was imminent. The Raja was kind enough to comply. The Naik arrived, and, by virtue of his clairvoyant powers, took in the situation at a glance. He found myriads of imps and uncanny beings around each of the car-wheels, who gripped them as by a vice, and pulled them back with their sinewy legs and hands every time an attempt was made to drag them forwards. Ramasawmy Naik by no means liked the look of things, for he found that he had all his work cut out for him to keep these little devils from doing him bodily harm, let alone any attempt to cast them off by spells. He saw that more than common powers were needed to face the situation, and prayed to Kamakshi Amman to disclose a way of overcoming the enemy. After long fasting and prayers, he slept a night in the temple of Kamakshi Amman, in the hope that a revelation might come to him in his slumber. While he slept, Kamakshi Amman appeared, and declared to him that the only way of overcoming the foe was for the Pallis to render a propitiatory sacrifice, but of a most revolting kind, namely, to offer up as a victim a woman pregnant with her first child. The Pallis trembled at the enormity of the demand, and declared that they would sooner submit to Salivahana’s decree of perpetual exile than offer such a horrible sacrifice. Ramasawmy Naik, however, rose to the occasion, and resolved to sacrifice his own girl-wife, who was then pregnant with her first child. He succeeded in propitiating the deity by offering this heroic sacrifice, and the spells of the Seniyars instantly collapsed, and the whole legion of imps and devils, who had impeded the progress of the Pallis’ car, vanished into thin air. The coast having thus been cleared of hostile influences, Ramasawmy Naik, with no more help than his own occult powers gave him, succeeded in hauling the whole lot of cars to their destination, and in a single trip, by means of a rope passed through a hole in his nose. The Pallis, whose gratitude knew no bounds, called down benedictions on his head, and, falling prostrate before him, begged him to name his reward for the priceless service rendered by him to their community. Ramasawmy Naik only asked that the memory of his services to the caste might be perpetuated by the bestowal upon him and his descendants of the title Jati-pillay, or children of the caste, and of the privilege of receiving alms at the hands of the Pallis; and that they might henceforth be allowed the honour of carrying the badges of the caste—banners, state umbrellas, trumpets, and other paraphernalia—in proof of the signal victory they had gained over the Seniyars.”

Palli Dasari.—A name for Tamil-speaking Dasaris, as distinguished from Telugu-speaking Dasaris.

Palli Idiga.—A name given by Telugu people to Tamil Shanans, whose occupation is, like that of Idigas, toddy-drawing.

Pallicchan.—A sub-division of Nayars, the hereditary occupation of which is palanquin-bearing. In the Cochin Census Report, the Pallicchans are recorded as being palanquin-bearers for Brahmans.

Pallikkillam.—An exogamous sept or illam of Tamil Panikkans.

Palua.—A sub-division of Badhoyi.

Pambaikkaran.—An occupational name for Paraiyans, who play on a drum called pambai.

Pambala.—The Pambalas, or drum (pamba) people, are Malas who act as musicians at Mala marriages and festivals in honour of their deities. They also take part in the recitation of the story of Ankamma, and making muggu (designs on the floor) at the peddadinamu death ceremony of the Gamallas.

Pammi (a common lamp).—An exogamous sept of Devanga.

Pamula (snake people).—A name for snake-charming Koravas, and Jogis, who, in the character of itinerant showmen, exhibit snakes to the public. The name also occurs as an exogamous sept of Mala and Yanadi.

Panam (palmyra palm: Borassus flabellifer.)—A sub-division of Shanan. It also occurs as a branch or kothu of Kondaiyamkotti Maravans.

Panan.—The Tamil Panans are said, in the Census Report, 1901, to be also called Mestris. They are “tailors among Tamils in Madura and Tinnevelly. They employ Brahmans and Vellalas as purohits. Though barbers and washermen will not eat food prepared by them, they are allowed to enter Hindu temples.” The Malayalam Panans are described in the same report as “exorcists and devil-dancers. The men also make umbrellas, and the women act as midwives. In parts they are called Malayans, and they may be descendants of that hill tribe who have settled in the plains.” In the South Canara Manual, the Panans are said to be “the Malayalam caste corresponding to the Nalkes and Pombadas. They are numerous in Malabar, where they are also known by the name of Malayan. The devils whom they personify are supposed to have influence over crops, and at the time of harvest the Panans go about begging from house to house, dancing with umbrellas in their hands. On such occasions, however, it is only boys and girls who personify the demons.” “The village magician or conjurer,” Mr. Gopal Panikkar writes,26 “goes by different names, such as Panan, Malayan, etc. His work consists in casting out petty devils from the bodies of persons (chiefly children) possessed, in writing charms for them to wear, removing the pernicious effects of the evil eye, and so on.” On certain ceremonial occasions, the Panan plays on an hour-glass shaped drum, called thudi.

In an account of the funeral ceremonies of the Tiyans, Mr. Logan writes27 that “early on the morning of the third day after death, the Kurup or caste barber adopts measures to entice the spirit of the deceased out of the room in which he breathed his last. This is done by the nearest relative bringing into the room a steaming pot of savoury funeral rice. It is immediately removed, and the spirit, after three days’ fasting, is understood greedily to follow the odour of the tempting food. The Kurup at once closes the door, and shuts out the spirit. The Kurup belongs to the Panan caste. He is the barber of the polluting classes above Cherumans, and by profession he is also an umbrella maker. But, curiously enough, though an umbrella maker, he cannot make the whole of an umbrella. He may only make the framework; the covering of it is the portion of the females of his caste. If he has no female relative of his own capable of finishing off his umbrellas, he must seek the services of the females of other families in the neighbourhood to finish his for him. The basket-makers are called Kavaras. Nothing will induce them to take hold of an umbrella, as they have a motto, Do not take hold of Panan’s leg.”

In an account of a ceremonial at the Pishari temple near Quilandy in Malabar, Mr. F. Fawcett writes28 that “early on the seventh and last day, when the morning procession is over, there comes to the temple a man of the Panan caste. He carries a small cadjan (palm leaf) umbrella which he has made himself, adorned all round the edges with a fringe of the young leaves of the cocoanut palm. The umbrella should have a long handle, and with this in his hand he performs a dance before the temple. He receives about 10 lbs. of raw rice for his performance.” It is further recorded by Mr. Fawcett that, when a Tiyan is cremated, a watch is kept at the burning-ground for five days by Panans, who beat drums all night to scare away the evil spirits which haunt such spots.

The following account of the Panans is given in the Gazetteer of Malabar. “The name is perhaps connected with pan, music. They follow the makkattayam family system (of inheritance from father to son), and practice fraternal polyandry. In South Malabar there are said to be four sub-divisions, called Tirurengan, Kodaketti (umbrella tying), Minpidi (fish catching), and Pulluvan, of which the last named is inferior in status to the other three. They are also divided into exogamous illams or kiriyams. They worship Kali, and inferior deities such as Parakutti, Karinkutti, Gulikan, and Kutti Chattan. Their methods of exorcism are various. If any one is considered to be possessed by demons, it is usual, after consulting the astrologer, to ascertain what Murti (lit. form) is causing the trouble, to call in Panans, who perform a ceremony called Teyattam, in which they wear masks, and, so attired, sing, dance, tom-tom, and play on rude and strident pipes. Other of their ceremonies for driving out devils called Ucchaveli seem to be survivals of imitations of human sacrifice, or instances of sympathetic magic. One of these consists of a mock living burial of the principal performer, who is placed in a pit which is covered with planks, on the top of which a sacrifice (homam) is performed with a fire kindled with jack (Artocarpus integrifolia) branches. In another variety, the Panan cuts his left forearm, and smears his face with the blood thus drawn. Panans also take part with Mannans in various ceremonies at Badrakali and other temples, in which the performers personate, in suitable costumes, some of the minor deities or demons, and fowls are sacrificed, while a Velicchapad dances himself into a frenzy, and pronounces oracles.” It is further noted, in the Gazetteer of Malabar, that “to constitute a valid divorce, the husband pulls a thread from his cloth, and gives it to his wife’s brother, saying ‘Your parisha is over.’ It is a traditional duty of the Panans to furnish a messenger to announce to an Izhuvan (or Tandan) girl’s mother or husband (according to where she is staying) that she has attained puberty.”

In the Census Report, 1901, Anjuttan (men of the five hundred) and Munnuttan (men of the three hundred) are returned as sub-castes of the Malayalan Panans.

For the following account of the Panans of Travancore, I am indebted to Mr. N. Subramani Aiyar. The word is of Tamil origin, and means a tailor. The title taken by them is Panikkan, the usual honorific appellation of most of the industrial castes of Malabar. They are supposed to be one with the Panans of the Tamil country, though much below them in the social scale. They observe a pollution distance of thirty-six feet, but keep Mannans and Vedans at a distance of eight, and Pulayas and Paraiyas at a distance of thirty-two feet from them. They are their own barbers and washermen. They will eat food prepared by Kammalans, of whom there is a tradition that they are a degraded branch. Tiruvarangan, one of the popular sages of Malabar, who are reputed to be the descendants of a Paraiya woman, is said to have been a Panan, and the Panans pay him due reverence. In the Keralolpatti, the traditional occupation of the Panans is said to be exorcism, and in British Malabar this occupation seems to be continued at the present day. Umbrella-making is a secondary occupation for the men. In Travancore, however, the only occupation pursued by the Panans is tailoring. The tali-kettu celebration takes place before the girl attains puberty. If this ceremony is intended to signify a real marriage, the girl is taken to her husband’s house on the fourth day of the first menstrual period, and they remain thenceforth man and wife. Otherwise a sambandham ceremony has to be performed either by the tali-tier or some one else, to establish conjugal relations. Inheritance is mostly paternal. The dead are buried, and death pollution lasts for sixteen days. The spirits of deceased ancestors are appeased once a year by the offering of cooked food on the new-moon day in the month of Karkatakam (July-August). Ancestors who died from some untoward accident are propitiated in the month of Avani (August-September) by offerings of flesh and liquor. The latter ceremonial is termed vellamkuli or water drinking. Small earthen sheds, called gurusalas or kuriyalas and matams, are erected in memory of some ancestors.

The following account of the Panans of the Cochin State is extracted from a note by Mr. L. K. Ananta Krishna Aiyar.29

“The Panans give, as the traditional account of their origin, a distorted version of the tradition as to the origin of the Izhuvans, which is found in the Mackenzie Manuscripts. The Panan version of the story is as follows. One day a washerman of Cheraman Perumal chanced to wash his dress very clean. On being asked by the Perumal as to the cause of it, the washerman said that it was due to the suggestion of a handsome carpenter girl, who saw him while washing. The Perumal, pleased with the girl, desired her to be married to his washerman. The parents of the girl were duly consulted, and they could not refuse the offer, as it came from their sovereign. But his fellow carpenters resented it, for, if the proposal was accepted, and the marriage celebrated, it might not only place the members of her family under a ban, but would also bring dishonour to the castemen. To avert the contemplated union, they resorted to the following device. A pandal (marriage booth) was erected and tastefully decorated. Just at the auspicious hour, when the bridegroom and his party were properly seated on mats in the pandal, the carpenters brought a puppet exactly resembling the bride, and placed it by his side, when suddenly, by a clever artifice, the carpenters caused the building to tumble down, and thereby killed all those who were in it. They immediately left the Perumal’s country, and took refuge in the island of Ceylon. The ruler was much embarrassed by the disaster to the washerman, and by the flight of the carpenters, for he had none in his country to build houses. A few Panans were sent for, and they brought the carpenters back. On their return, they were given some fruit of the palmyra palm, which they ate. They sowed the seeds in their own places, and these grew into large fruit-bearing palms. The Panans possessed the privilege of keeping these trees as their own, but subsequently made them over to the Izhuvans, who, in memory of this, give even to-day two dishes of food to the Panans on all ceremonial occasions in their houses. They have been, on that account, called by the Izhuvans nettaries, for their having originally planted these trees.

“There are no titles among the Panans, but one, who was brought for examination at Trichur, told me that one of his ancestors got the title of Panikkan, and that he had the privilege of wearing a gold ear-ring, carrying a walking-stick lined with silver, and using a knife provided with a style. Kapradan is a title given to the headman in the Palghat taluk. In Palghat, when the Kapradan dies, the Raja is informed, and he sends to the chief mourner (the son) a sword, a shield, a spear, a few small guns with some gunpowder, a silver bangle, and a few necklaces. As the dead body is taken to the burial ground, the chief mourner, wearing the ornaments above mentioned, goes behind it. In front go a few persons armed with the weapons referred to. Three discharges are made (1) when the dead body is removed from the house, (2) when it is placed on the ground, (3) when it is burnt. The next day, the chief mourner pays his respects to the Raja, with an umbrella of his own making, when the Raja bestows upon him the title of Kapradan.

“There are magicians and sorcerers among the Panans, who sometimes, at the request even of the high-caste men, practice the black art. Some of the Panans, like the Parayans, engage in magical rites of a repulsive nature, in order to become possessors of a powerful medicine, the possession of which is believed to confer the power of obtaining anything he wishes. They also believe in the existence of a demoniacal hierarchy. Changili Karuppan, Pechi, Oodara Karuppan, Kali, Chotala Karuppan, Chotala Bhadrakali, Yakshi, Gandharvan, and Hanuman are the names of the chief demons whom they profess to control with the aid of mantrams (consecrated formulÆ) and offerings. They also profess that they can send one or more of these demons into the bodies of men, and cast them out when persons are possessed of them. They profess to cure all kinds of diseases in children with the aid of magic and medicines, and all the castemen believe that harm or even death may be caused to men with the aid of sorcerers. In such cases, an astrologer is consulted, and, according to his calculations, the aid of a magician is sought for. When a person is suffering from what are believed to be demoniacal attacks, he is relieved by the performance of the following ceremony, called pathalahomam. A pit about six feet in length, three feet in depth, and a foot or two in breadth, is dug. A Panan, covered with a new piece of cloth, is made to lie in the pit, which is filled in with earth, leaving a small hole for him to breathe. Over the middle of his body, the earth is raised and made level. A sacred fire (homam) is made over this with the branches of a jack tree. Near it a large square is drawn with sixty-four small divisions, in each of which a small leaf, with some paddy (unhusked rice), rice, flour, and lighted torches, is placed. Gingelly (Sesamum) seeds, mustard seeds, grains of chama (Panicum miliaceum), horse gram (Dolichos biflorus), eight fragrant things, the skin of snakes, dung of the elephant, milk of the pala tree, twigs of the banyan tree, dharba grass, nila narakam (Naregamia alata) oil, and ghee (clarified butter) are put into it until it burns bright. The sick man is brought in front of it, and the sorcerer authoritatively asks him—or rather the demon residing in his body—to take these things. The sorcerer puts the above mentioned substances into the fire, muttering all the while his mantrams invoking the favour of Vira Bhadra or Kandakaruna. The significance of these is ‘Oh! Kandakaruna, the King of the Devas, I have no body, that is, my body is getting weaker and weaker, and am possessed of some demon, which is killing me, kindly help me, and give me strength.’ This done, another operation is begun. A fowl is buried, and a small portion of the earth above it is raised and made level. The figure of a man is drawn by the side of it. Three homams (sacred fires) are raised, one at the head, one in the middle, and one at the feet. The above mentioned grains, and other substances, are put into the fire. A large square with sixty-four smaller squares in it is drawn, in each of which a leaf, with grains of paddy, rice, and flowers, is placed. Another mantram in praise of the demons already mentioned is uttered, and a song is sung. After finishing this, a small structure in the form of a temple is made. A small plantain tree is placed by the side of it. A padmam is drawn, and a puja (worship) is performed for the Paradevatha, the queen of demons. The sorcerer makes offerings of toddy, beaten rice, plantains, and cocoanuts, and soon turns oracle, and, as one inspired, tells what the deity wishes, and gives information as regards the departure of the demons from the body. It is now believed that the patient is free from all demoniacal attacks. The buried man is exhumed, and allowed to go home.

“In the Palghat taluk, the following form of sorcery is practiced, which is believed to relieve persons from demoniacal attacks and disease. If, in the house of any casteman, it is suspected that some malign influence is being exercised by demons, a Panan is sent for, who comes in the evening with his colleagues. A homam is lighted with the branches of the trees already mentioned, and into it are thrown six kinds of grains, as well as oil and ghee. As this is being done, Kallatikode Nili, the presiding archdemon, is propitiated with songs and offerings. The next part of the ceremony consists in bringing a bier and placing a Panan on it, and a measure of rice is placed at his head. He is, as in the case of a dead body, covered with a piece of new cloth, and a small plantain tree is placed between the thighs. At his head a sheep and at his feet a fowl are killed. He pretends gradually to recover consciousness. In this state he is taken outside the compound. The Panan, lying on the bier, evidently pretends to be dead, as if killed by the attack of some demon. The propitiation with songs and offerings is intended to gratify the demons. This is an instance of sympathetic magic.

“Some among the Panans practice the oti (or odi) cult, like the Parayas. The following medicines, with the aid of magic, are serviceable to them in enticing pregnant women from their houses. Their preparation is described as follows. A Panan, who is an adept in the black art, bathes early in the morning, dresses in a cloth unwashed, and performs puja to his deity, after which he goes in search of a Kotuveli plant (Manihot utilissima). When he finds such a one as he wants, he goes round it three times every day, and continues to do so for ninety days, prostrating himself every day before it. On the last night, which must be a new-moon night, at twelve o’clock he performs puja to the plant, burning camphor, and, after going round it three times, prostrates himself before it. He then places three small torches on it, and advances twenty paces in front of it. With his mouth closed, and without any fear, he plucks the plant by the root, and buries it in the ashes on the cremation ground, on which he pours the water of seven green cocoanuts. He then goes round it twenty-one times, muttering all the while certain mantrams, after which he plunges himself in the water, and stands erect until it extends to his mouth. He takes a mouthful of water, which he empties on the spot, and then takes the plant with the root, which he believes to possess peculiar virtues. When it is taken to the closed door of a house, it has the power to entice a pregnant woman, when the foetus is removed (cf. article Parayan). It is all secretly done on a dark midnight. The head, hands and legs are cut off, and the trunk is taken to a dark-coloured rock, on which it is cut into nine pieces, which are all burned until they are blackened. At this stage, one piece boils, and is placed in a new earthen pot, with the addition of the water of nine green cocoanuts. The pot is removed to the burial-ground. The Panan performs a puja here in favour of his favourite deity. Here he fixes two poles deep in the earth, at a distance of thirty feet from each other.

The poles are connected by a strong wire, from which is suspended the pot to be heated and boiled. Seven fire-places are made, beneath the wire. The branches of bamboo, katalati (Achyranthes Emblica), conga (Bauhinea variegata), cocoanut palm, jack tree (Artocarpus integrifolia), and pavatta (Pavatta indica), are used in forming a bright fire. The mixture in the pot soon boils and becomes oily, at which stage it is passed through a fine cloth. The oil is preserved, and a mark made with it on the forehead enables the possessor to realise anything that is thought of. The sorcerer must be in a state of vow for twenty-one days, and live on a diet of chama kanji. The deity, whose aid is necessary, is propitiated with offerings.

“One of the ceremonies which the Panans perform is called Thukil Onarthuka (waking thukil, a kind of drum). In the month of Karkadakam (July-August), a Panan, with his wife, provided with a drum and kuzhithalam (circular bell-metal cymbals), goes to the houses of Brahmans and Nayars after midnight, and sings sacred songs. During the week, they sing standing underneath a banyan tree near the western gate of the Trichur temple. From the temple authorities they get five measures of paddy, half a measure of rice, some gingelly oil, and a cocoanut. For their services in other houses, they receive a similar remuneration. This is intended to drive evil spirits, if any, from houses. Another of their festivals is known as Panan Kali. The traditional account therefor is as follows. Once, when a Panan and his wife went to a forest to bring bamboos for the manufacture of umbrellas, they missed their way, night approached, and they could not return. They began to be frightened by the varieties of noise heard by them in the wilderness. They collected pieces of dry bamboo and leaves of trees, and burned them. In the presence of the light thus obtained, the woman caught hold of a creeper hanging from a tree, and danced in honour of Bhagavathi, while her husband sang songs praising her. The day dawned at last, and they found their way home in safety. In memory of this incident, the Panans organise a party for a regular play. There are ten male and two female actors, and the play is acted during the whole night.

“The religion of the Panans consists of an all-pervading demonology. Their chief gods are Mukkan, Chathan, Kappiri, Malankorathi, and Kali. Pujas are performed to them on the first of Medom (April-May), Karkadakam (July-August), Desara, and on Tuesday in Makaram (January-February). These deities are represented by stones placed under a tree. They are washed with water on the aforesaid days, and offerings of sheep and fowls, malar (parched rice), plantains, cocoanuts, and boiled rice are made to them. Their belief is that these deities are ever prone to do harm to them, and should therefore be propitiated with offerings. The Panans also worship the spirits of their ancestors, who pass for their household gods, and whose help they seek in all times of danger. They fast on new-moon nights, and on the eleventh night after full-moon or new-moon.

“The Panan is the barber of the polluting castes above Cherumans. By profession he is an umbrella-maker. Panans are also engaged in all kinds of agricultural work. In villages, they build mud walls. Their women act as midwives.

“As regards social status, the Panans eat at the hands of Brahmans, Nayars, Kammalans, and Izhuvans. They have to stand at a distance of thirty-two feet from Brahmans. Panans and Kaniyans pollute one another if they touch, and both bathe should they happen to do so. They are their own barbers and washermen. They live in the vicinity of the Izhuvans, but cannot live in the Nayar tharas. Nor can they take water from the wells of the Kammalans. They cannot approach the outer walls of Brahman temples, and are not allowed to enter the Brahman streets in Palghat.”

In the Census Report, 1891, Panan occurs as a sub-division of the Paraiyans. Their chief occupation as leather-workers is said to be the manufacture of drum-heads.30

Panasa.—The Panasas are a class of beggars in the Telugu country, who are said to ask alms only from Kamsalas. The word panasa means constant repetition of words, and, in its application to the Panasa, probably indicates that they, like the Bhatrazu bards and panegyrists, make up verses eulogising those from whom they beg. It is stated in the Kurnool Manual (1886) that “they take alms from the Beri Komatis and goldsmiths (Kamsalas), and no others. The story goes that, in Golkonda, a tribe of Komatis named Bacheluvaru were imprisoned for non-payment of arrears of revenue. Finding certain men of the artificer class who passed by in the street spit betel nut, they got it into their mouths, and begged the artificers to get them released. The artificers, pitying them, paid the arrears, and procured their release. It was then that the Kamsalis fixed a vartana or annual house-fee for the maintenance of the Panasa class, on condition that they should not beg alms from the other castes.” The Panasas appear every year in the Kurnool district to collect their dues.

Pancha.—Pancha, meaning five, is recorded as a sub-division of the Linga Balijas, and Panchachara or Panchamsale as a sub-division of Lingayats. In all these, pancha has reference to the five acharas or ceremonial observances of the Lingayats, which seem to vary according to locality. Wearing the lingam, worshipping it before meals, and paying reverence to the Jangam priests, are included among the observances.

Panchala.—A synonym for Canarese Kammalans, among whom five (panch) classes of workers are included, viz., gold and silver, brass and copper, iron, and stone.

Panchalinga (five lingams).—An exogamous sept of Boya. The lingam is the symbol of Siva.

Panchama.—The Panchamas are, in the Madras Census Report, 1871, summed up as being “that great division of the people, spoken of by themselves as the fifth caste, and described by Buchanan and other writers as the Pancham Bandam.” According to Buchanan,31 the Pancham Bandum “consist of four tribes, the Parriar, the Baluan, the Shekliar, and the Toti.” Buchanan further makes mention of Panchama Banijigaru and Panchama Cumbharu (potters). The Panchamas were, in the Department of Public Instruction, called “Paraiyas and kindred classes” till 1893. This classification was replaced, for convenience of reference, by Panchama, which included Chacchadis, Godaris, Pulayas, Holeyas, Madigas, Malas, Pallans, Paraiyans, Totis, and Valluvans. “It is,” the Director of Public Instruction wrote in 1902, “for Government to consider whether the various classes concerned should, for the sake of brevity, be described by one simple name. The terms Paraiya, low caste, outcaste, carry with them a derogatory meaning, and are unsuitable. The expression Pancham Banda, or more briefly Panchama, seems more appropriate.” The Government ruled that there is no objection to the proposal that Paraiyas and kindred classes should be designated Panchama Bandham or Panchama in future, but it would be simpler to style them the fifth class.

The following educational privileges according to the various classes classified as Panchama may be noted:—

(1) They are admitted into schools at half the standard rates of fees.

(2) Under the result grant system (recently abolished), grants were passed for Panchama pupils at rates 50 per cent. higher than in ordinary cases, and 15 per cent. higher in backward localities.

(3) Panchama schools were exempted from the attendance restriction, i.e., grants were given to them, however small the attendance. Ordinary schools had to have an attendance of ten at least to earn grants.

(4) Panchama students under training as teachers get stipends at rates nearly double of those for ordinary Hindus.

An interesting account of the system of education at the Olcott Panchama Free Schools has been written by Mrs. Courtright.32

Panchama is returned, in the Census Reports, 1891 and 1901, as a sub-division of Balija and Banajiga.

Pancharamkatti.—A sub-division of Idaiyan, which derives its name from the neck ornament (pancharam) worn by the women.

Pandamuttu.—A sub-division of Palli. The name is made by Winslow to mean a number of torches arranged so as to represent an elephant. The Pallis, however, explain it as referring to the pile of pots, which reaches to the top of the marriage pandal (pandal, booth, mutti, touching). The lowest pot is decorated with figures of elephants and horses.

Pandaram.—Pandaram is described by Mr. H. A. Stuart33 as being “the name rather of an occupation than a caste, and used to denote any non-Brahmanical priest. The Pandarams seem to receive numerous recruits from the Saivite Sudra castes, who choose to make a profession of piety, and wander about begging. They are in reality very lax in their modes of life, often drinking liquor and eating animal food furnished by any respectable Sudra. They often serve in Siva temples, where they make garlands of flowers to decorate the lingam, and blow brazen trumpets when offerings are made, or processions take place. Tirutanni is one of the chief places, in which they congregate.”

It is recorded, in the Gazetteer of the Trichinopoly district, that “the water for the god’s bath at Ratnagiri is brought by a caste of non-Brahmans known as Tirumanjana Pandarams, who fetch it every day from the Cauvery. They say that they are descended from an Aryan king, who came to the god with the hope of getting rubies from him. The god, in the guise of a Brahman, tested his devotion by making him fill a magic vessel with Cauvery water. The vessel would not fill, and the Aryan stranger in a fit of anger cut off the Brahman’s head. The dead body at once turned into a lingam, and the Aryan was ordered to carry water for the temple till eternity.”

Pandaram is used both as the name of a caste, and of a class composed of recruits from various castes (e.g., Vellala and Palli). The Pandaram caste is composed of respectable people who have settled down as land-holders, and of Sanyasis and priests of certain matams (religious institutions), and managers of richly endowed temples, such as those at Tiruvadudurai in Tanjore and Mailam in South Arcot. The common name for these managers is Tambiran. The caste Pandarams are staunch Saivites and strict vegetarians. Those who lead a celibate life wear the lingam. They are said to have been originally Sozhia Vellalas, with whom intermarriage still takes place. They are initiated into the Saivite religion by a rite called Dhikshai, which is divided into five stages, viz., Samaya, Nirvana, Visesha, Kalasothanai, and Acharya Abhishekam. Some are temple servants, and supply flowers for the god, while others sing devaram (hymns to the god) during the temple service. On this account, they are known as Meikaval (body-guard of the god), and Oduvar (reader). The caste Pandarams have two divisions, called Abhisheka and Desikar, and the latter name is often taken as a title, e.g., Kandasami Desikar. An Abhisheka Pandaram is one who is made to pass through some ceremonies connected with Saiva Agama.

The mendicant Pandarams, who are recruited from various classes, wear the lingam, and do not abstain from eating flesh. Many villages have a Pandaram as the priest of the shrine of the village deity, who is frequently a Palli who has become a Pandaram by donning the lingam. The females are said to live, in some cases, by prostitution.

The Lingayat Pandarams differ in many respects from the true Lingayats. The latter respect their Jangam, and use the sacred water, in which the feet of the Jangam are washed, for washing their stone lingam. To the Pandarams, and Tamil Lingayats in general, this proceeding would amount to sacrilege of the worst type. Canarese and Telugu Lingayats regard a Jangam as superior to the stone lingam. In the matter of pollution ceremonies the Tamil Lingayats are very particular, whereas the orthodox Lingayats observe no pollution. The investiture with the lingam does not take place so early among the Tamil as among the Canarese Lingayats.

For the following note, I am indebted to Mr. C. Hayavadana Rao. “Dr. H. H. Wilson34 is of opinion that the word Pandaram is ‘more properly Panduranga, pale complexioned, from their smearing themselves with ashes. It is so used in Hemachandra’s history of Mahavira, when speaking of the Saiva Brahmans.’ A more popular derivation of the name is from Bandaram, a public treasury. A good many well-to-do Pandarams are managers of Siva temples in Southern India, and accordingly have the temple treasuries under their care. It is, however, possible that the name has been acquired by the caste by reason of their keeping a yellow powder, called pandaram, in a little box, and giving it in return for the alms which they receive.

Opinions are divided as to whether the Pandarams are Lingayats or not. The opinion held by F. W. Ellis, the well-known Tamil scholar and translator of the Kural of Tiruvalluvar, is thus summarised by Colonel Wilks.35 “Mr. Ellis considers the Jangam of the upper countries, and the Pandaram of the lower, to be of the same sect, and both deny in the most unequivocal terms the doctrine of the metempsychosis. A manuscript in the Mackenzie collection ascribes the origin of the Pandarams as a sacerdotal order of the servile caste to the religious disputes, which terminated in the suppression of the Jain religion in the Pandian (Madura) kingdom, and the influence which they attained by the aid which they rendered to the Brahmans in that controversy, but this origin seems to require confirmation. In a large portion, perhaps in the whole of the Brahmanical temples dedicated to Siva in the provinces of Arcot, Tanjore, Trichinopoly, Madura and Tinnevelly, the Pandaram is the highest of the temple, and has the entire direction of the revenues, but allows the Brahmans to officiate in the ceremonial part according to their own good pleasure, as a concern altogether below his note. He has generally the reputation of an irreproachable life, and is treated by the Brahmans of the temple with great reverence, while on his part he looks with compassion at the absurd trifles which occupy their attention. These facts seem to point to some former revolution, in which a Jangam government obtained a superiority over the Brahmanical establishments, and adopted this mode of superseding the substantial part of their authority. It is a curious instance of the Sooder (Sudra) being the spiritual lord of the Brahman, and is worthy of further historical investigation.” Dr. Wilson36 also thinks that the Pandarams are Lingayats. Mr. H. A. Stuart37 says that they are a class of priests who serve the non-Brahman castes. They have returned 115 sub-divisions, of which only two are sufficiently large to require mention, Andi of Tinnevelly and Malabar, and Lingadari of Chingleput and Tinnevelly. Andi is a quasi-caste of beggars recruited from all castes, and the Lingadari Pandarams are the same as Jangams. Pandaram is, in fact, a class name rather than the name of a caste, and it consists of priests and beggars. Mr. C. P. Brown38 thinks that the Pandarams are not Lingayats. ‘The Saiva worshippers among the Tamils are called Pandarams: these are not Vira Saivas, nor do they wear the linga or adore Basava. I name them here chiefly because they are often mentioned as being Vira Saivas, whereas in truth they are (like the Smartas) Purva Saivas, and worship the image of Siva in their houses.’ It must be remarked that Mr. Brown appears to have had a confused idea of Pandarams. Pandarams wear the linga on their bodies in one of the usual modes, are priests to others professing the Lingayat religion, and are fed by them on funeral and other ceremonial occasions. At the same time, it must be added that they are—more especially the begging sections—very lax as regards their food and drink. This characteristic distinguishes them from the more orthodox Lingayats. Moreover, Lingayats remarry their widows, whereas the Pandarams, as a caste, will not.

“Pandarams speak Tamil. They are of two classes, the married and celibate. The former are far more numerous than the latter, and dress in the usual Hindu manner. They have the hind-lock of hair known as the kudumi, put on sacred ashes, and paint the point between the eyebrows with a sandal paste dot. The celibates wear orange-tawny cloths, and daub sacred ashes all over their bodies. They allow the hair of the head to become matted. They wear sandals with iron spikes, and carry in their hands an iron trisulam (the emblem of Siva), and a wooden baton called dandayudha (another emblem of Siva). When they go about the streets, they sing popular Tamil hymns, and beat against their begging bowl an iron chain tied by a hole to one of its sides. Married men also beg, but only use a bell-metal gong and a wooden mallet. Most of these help pilgrims going to the more famous Siva temples in the Madras Presidency, e.g., Tirutani, Palni, Tiruvannamalai, or Tirupparankunram. Among both sections, the dead are buried in the sitting posture, as among other Lingayats. A samadhi is erected over the spot where they are buried. This consists of a linga and bull in miniature, which are worshipped as often as may be found convenient.

“The managers of temples and mutts (religious institutions), known as Pandara Sannadhis, belong to the celibate class. They are usually learned in the Agamas and Puranas. A good many of them are Tamil scholars, and well versed in Saiva Siddhanta philosophy. They call themselves Tambirans—a title which is often usurped by the uneducated beggars.”

In the Census Report, 1901, Vairavi is returned as a sub-caste of Pandaram, and said to be found only in the Tinnevelly district, where they are measurers of grains and pujaris in village temples. Vairavi is further used as a name for members of the Melakkaran caste, who officiate as servants at the temples of the Nattukottai Chettis.

Pandaram is a title of the Panisavans and Valluvan priests of the Paraiyans.

A class of people called hill Pandarams are described39 by the Rev. S. Mateer as “miserable beings without clothing, implements, or huts of any kind, living in holes, rocks, or trees. They bring wax, ivory (tusks), and other produce to the Arayans, and get salt from them. They dig roots, snare the ibex (wild goat, Hemitragus hylocrius) of the hills, and jungle fowls, eat rats and snakes, and even crocodiles found in the pools among the hill streams. They were perfectly naked and filthy, and very timid. They spoke Malayalam in a curious tone, and said that twenty-two of their party had been devoured by tigers within two monsoons.” Concerning these hill Pandarams, Mr. N. Subramani Aiyar writes that they live on the banks of streams in crevices of rocks, caves, and hollows of trees. They are known to the dwellers on the plains as Kattumanushyar, or forest men. They clad themselves in the bark of trees, and, in the rainy and cold seasons, protect their bodies with plantain leaves. They speak a corrupt form of Tamil. They fear the sight of other men, and try to avoid approaching them. A former European magistrate of the Cardamom Hills took some of them to his residence, but, during their three days’ stay there, they refused to eat or talk. There is a chieftain for every four hills, but his authority is little more than nominal. When women are married, the earth and hills are invoked as witnesses. They have Hindu names, such as Raman, Kittan (Krishna), and Govindan.

In a lecture delivered some years ago at Trivandrum, Mr. O. H. Bensley described the hill Pandarams as being “skilful in catching fish, their mode of cooking which is to place the fish on roots on a rock, and cover them with fire. They keep dogs, and, by their aid, replenish their larder with rats, mungooses, iguanas (lizard, Varanus), and other delicacies. I was told that the authority recognised by these people is the head Arayan, to whom they give a yearly offering of jungle produce, receiving in exchange the scanty clothing required by them. We had an opportunity of examining their stock-in-trade, which consisted of a bill-hook similar to those used by other hillmen, a few earthen cooking-pots, and a good stock of white flour, which was, they said, obtained from the bark of a tree, the name of which sounded like ahlum. They were all small in stature, with the exception of one young woman, and, both in appearance and intelligence, compared favourably with the Uralis.”

Pandariyar.—Pandariyar or Pandarattar, denoting custodians of the treasury, has been returned as a title of Nattaman, Malaiman, and Sudarman.

Pandava-kulam.—A title, indicative “of the caste of the Pandava kings,” assumed by Jatapus and Konda Doras, who worship the Pandavas. The Pandava kings were the heroes of the Mahabharata, who fought a great battle with the Kauravas, and are said to have belonged to the lunar race of Kshatriyas. The Pandavas had a single wife named Draupadi, whom the Pallis or Vanniyans worship, and celebrate annually in her honour a fire-walking festival. The Pallis claim to belong to the fire race of Kshatriyas, and style themselves Agnikula Kshatriyas, or Vannikula Kshatriyas.

Pandi (pig).—Recorded as an exogamous sept of Asili, Boya, and Gamalla. Pandipattu (pig catchers) and Pandikottu (pig killers) occur as exogamous septs of Odde.

Pandito.—Pandit or Pundit (pandita, a learned man) has been defined40 as “properly a man learned in Sanskrit lore. The Pundit of the Supreme Court was a Hindu law-officer, whose duty it was to advise the English Judges when needful on questions of Hindu law. The office became extinct on the constitution of the High Court (in 1862). In the Mahratta and Telugu countries, the word Pandit is usually pronounced Pant (in English colloquial Punt).” In the countries noted, Pant occurs widely as a title of Brahmans, who are also referred to as Pantulu varu. The titles Sanskrit Pundit, Telugu Pundit, etc., are still officially recognised at several colleges in the Madras Presidency. Pandit sometimes occurs as an honorific prefix, e.g., Pandit S. M. Natesa Sastri, and Panditan is a name given to Tamil barbers (Ambattan). In some parts of the Tamil country, Panditar is used as a name for Madhva Brahmans, because, it is said, many of them were formerly engaged as pandits at the Law Courts.

Pandito is further the name of “an Oriya caste of astrologers and physicians. They wear the sacred thread, and accept drinking water only from Brahmans and Gaudos. Infant marriage is practiced, and widow marriage is prohibited.”41 I am informed that these Panditos engage Brahmans for their ceremonials, do not drink liquor, and eat fish and mutton, but not fowls or beef. The females wear glass bangles. They are known by the name of Khodikaro, from khodi, a kind of stone, with which they write figures on the floor, when making astrological calculations. The stone is said to be something like soapstone.

Pandita occurs as an exogamous sept of Stanikas.

Pandya.—The territorial name Pandya, Pandiya, Pandiyan, or Pandi has been returned, at recent times of census, as a sub-division of various Tamil classes, e.g., Ambattan, Kammalan, Occhan, Pallan, Vannan, and Vellala. Pandiya is further a title of some Shanans. In Travancore, Pandi has been returned by some Izhavans. The variant Pandiangal occurs as an exogamous sept of the Tamil Vallambans, and Pandu as a Tamil synonym for Kapu or Reddi.

Panikkar.—Panikkar, meaning teacher or worker, has been recorded, in the Malayalam country, as a title of barbers, Kammalan, Maran, Nayar, Panan, and Paraiyan. In former times, the name was applied, in Malabar, to fencing-masters, as the following quotations show :—

A class of people called Panikkan are settled in the Madura and Tinnevelly districts. Some of them are barbers to Shanans. Others have taken to weaving as a profession, and will not intermarry with those who are employed as barbers. “The Panikkans are,” Mr. Francis writes,42 “weavers, agriculturists, and traders. They employ Brahmans as priests, but these are apparently not received on terms of equality by other Brahmans. The Panikkans now frequently call themselves Illam Vellalas, and change their title in deeds and official papers from Panikkan to Pillai. They are also taking to wearing the sacred thread and giving up eating meat. The caste is divided into three vagais or endogamous classes, namely, Mital, Pattanam, and Malayalam, and each of these again has five partly exogamous septs or illams (families), namely, Muttillam, Toranattillam, Pallikkillam, Manjanattillam, and Soliya-illam. It is stated that the Mital and Pattanam sections will eat together though they do not intermarry, but that the Malayalam section can neither dine with nor marry into the other two. They are reported to have an elaborate system of caste government, under which eleven villages form a gadistalam (or stage), and send representatives to its council to settle caste matters; and eleven gadistalams form a nadu (or country), and send representatives to a chief council, which decides questions which are beyond the competence of the gadistalams.” The occurrence of Malayam as the name of a sub-division, and of the Malayalam word illam as that of the exogamous septs, would seem to indicate that the Panikkans are immigrants from the westward into the Tamil country.

Panimagan (work children).—A name for Mukkuvans who are employed as barbers for members of their caste.

Panisavan.—Panisavan is defined in the Salem Manual as “a corruption of paniseygiravan (panisaivon), literally meaning one who works (or does service), and is the caste name of the class, whose business it is to carry news of death to the relations of the deceased, and to blow the tharai or long trumpet.” According to Mr. H. A. Stuart,43 Panisavan appears to answer among the Tamilians to the Dasaris or Tadas of the Telugus. It is a mendicant caste, worshipping Siva. Unlike the Tadas, however, they often employ themselves in cultivation, and are, on the whole, a more temperate and respectable class. Their priests are Brahmans, and they eat flesh, and drink alcoholic liquor very freely. The dead are generally burned.

There are two classes of Panisavans, of which one works for the right-hand section, and the other for the left. This division is purely professional, and there is apparently no bar to intermarriage between the two classes. The insignia of a Panisavan are the conch-shell (Turbinella rapa) and tharai, which he supports from the ground by means of a bamboo pole while he blows it. At marriage processions, it is his duty to go in front, sounding the tharai from time to time. On such occasions, and at festivals of the village goddesses, the tharai is decorated with a string bearing a number of small triangular pieces of cloth, and tufts of yak’s hair. The cloth should be white for the right-hand section, and of five different colours for the left. At the present day, the Panisavan is more in request for funerals than for weddings. In the city of Madras, all the materials necessary for the bier are sold by Panisavans, who also keep palanquins for the conveyance of the corpse in stock, which are let out on hire. At funerals, the Panisavan has to follow the corpse, blowing his conch-shell. The tharai is only used if the deceased was an important personage. When the son goes round the corpse with a pot of water, the Panisavan accompanies him, and blows the conch. On the last day of the death ceremonies (karmandhiram), the Panisavan should be present, and blow his conch, especially when the tali (marriage badge) is removed from a widow’s neck. In some places, the Panisavan conveys the news of death, while in others this duty is carried out by a barber. In the Chingleput and North Arcot districts, the Panisavans constitute a separate caste, and have no connection with the Nokkans, who are beggars attached to the Palli or Vanniyan caste. In South Arcot and Tanjore, on the other hand, the name Nokkan is used to signify the caste, which performs the duties of the Panisavan, for which it seems to be a synonym. The Panisavans of the Tinnevelly district have nothing in common with those of the northern districts, e.g., Chingleput and North Arcot, whose duty it is to attend to the funeral ceremonies of the non-Brahman castes. The main occupations of the Tinnevelly Panisavans are playing in temples on the nagasaram (reed instrument), and teaching Deva-dasis dancing. Another occupation, which is peculiar to the Tinnevelly Panisavans, is achu velai, i.e., the preparation of the comb to which the warp threads of a weaving loom are tied. Socially the Panisavans occupy a lowly position, but they use the title Pulavar. Their other titles are Pandaram, Pillai, and Mudali.

Paniyan.—The Paniyans are a dark-skinned tribe, short in stature, with broad noses, and curly or wavy hair, inhabiting the Wynad, and those portions of the Ernad, Calicut, Kurumbranad and Kottayam taluks of Malabar, which skirt the base of the ghats, and the Mudanad, Cherangod, and Namblakod amshams of the Nilgiri district.

A common belief, based on their general appearance, prevails among the European planting community that the Paniyans are of African origin, and descended from ancestors who were wrecked on the Malabar coast. This theory, however, breaks down on investigation. Of their origin nothing definite is known. The Nayar Janmis (landlords) say that, when surprised in the act of some mischief or alarmed, the Paniyan calls out ‘Ippi’! ‘Ippi’! as he runs away, and they believe this to have been the name of the country whence they came originally; but they are ignorant as to where Ippimala, as they call it, is situated. Kapiri (Africa or the Cape?) is also sometimes suggested as their original habitat, but only by those who have had the remarks of Europeans communicated to them. The Paniyan himself, though he occasionally puts forward one or other of the above places as the home of his forefathers, has no fixed tradition bearing on their arrival in Malabar, beyond one to the effect that they were brought from a far country, where they were found living by a Raja, who captured them, and carried them off in such a miserable condition that a man and his wife only possessed one cloth between them, and were so timid that it was only by means of hunting nets that they were captured.

The number of Paniyans, returned at the census, 1891, was 33,282, and nine sub-divisions were registered; but, as Mr. H. A. Stuart, the Census Commissioner, observes:—“Most of these are not real, and none has been returned by any considerable number of persons.” Their position is said to be very little removed from that of a slave, for every Paniyan is some landlord’s ‘man’; and, though he is, of course, free to leave his master, he is at once traced, and good care is taken that he does not get employment elsewhere.

In the fifties of the last century, when planters first began to settle in the Wynad, they purchased the land with the Paniyans living on it, who were practically slaves of the land-owners. The Paniyans used formerly to be employed by rich receivers as professional coffee thieves, going out by night to strip the bushes of their berries, which were delivered to the receiver before morning. Unlike the Badagas of the Nilgiris, who are also coffee thieves, and are afraid to be out after dark, the Paniyans are not afraid of bogies by night, and would not hesitate to commit nocturnal depredations. My friend, Mr. G. Romilly, on whose estate my investigation of the Paniyans was mainly carried out, assures me that, according to his experience, the domesticated Paniyan, if well paid, is honest, and fit to be entrusted with the responsible duties of night watchman.

In some localities, where the Janmis have sold the bulk of their land, and have consequently ceased to find regular employment for them, the Paniyans have taken kindly to working on coffee estates, but comparatively few are thus employed. The word Paniyan means labourer, and they believe that their original occupation was agriculture as it is, for the most part, at the present day. Those, however, who earn their livelihood on estates, only cultivate rice and ragi (Eleusine coracana) for their own cultivation; and women and children may be seen digging up jungle roots, or gathering pot-herbs for food. They will not eat the flesh of jackals, snakes, vultures, lizards, rats, or other vermin. But I am told that they eat land-crabs, in lieu of expensive lotions, to prevent baldness and grey hairs. They have a distinct partiality for alcohol, and those who came to be measured by me were made more than happy by a present of a two-anna piece, a cheroot, and a liberal allowance of undiluted fiery brandy from the Meppadi bazar. The women are naturally of a shy disposition, and used formerly to run away and hide at the sight of a European. They were at first afraid to come and see me, but confidence was subsequently established, and all the women came to visit me, some to go through the ordeal of measurement, others to laugh at and make derisive comments on those who were undergoing the operation.

Practically the whole of the rice cultivation in the Wynad is carried out by the Paniyans attached to edoms (houses or places) or devasoms (temple property) of the great Nayar landlords; and Chettis and Mappillas also frequently have a few Paniyans, whom they have bought or hired by the year at from four to eight rupees per family from a Janmi. When planting paddy or herding cattle, the Paniyan is seldom seen without the kontai or basket-work protection from the rain. This curious, but most effective substitute for the umbrella-hat of the Malabar coast, is made of split reeds interwoven with ‘arrow-root’ leaves, and shaped something like a huge inverted coal-scoop turned on end, and gives to the individual wearing it the appearance of a gigantic mushroom. From the nature of his daily occupation the Paniyan is often brought in contact with wild animals, and is generally a bold, and, if excited, as he usually is on an occasion such as the netting of a tiger, a reckless fellow. The young men of the villages vie with each other in the zeal which they display in carrying out the really dangerous work of cutting back the jungle to within a couple of spear-lengths of the place where the quarry lies hidden, and often make a show of their indifference by turning and conversing with their friends outside the net.

Years ago it was not unusual for people to come long distance for the purpose of engaging Wynad Paniyans to help them in carrying out some more than usually desperate robbery or murder. Their mode of procedure, when engaged in an enterprise of this sort, is evidenced by two cases, which had in them a strong element of savagery. On both these occasions the thatched homesteads were surrounded at dead of night by gangs of Paniyans carrying large bundles of rice straw. After carefully piling up the straw on all sides of the building marked for destruction, torches were, at a given signal, applied, and those of the wretched inmates who attempted to escape were knocked on the head with clubs, and thrust into the fiery furnace.

The Paniyans settle down happily on estates, living in a settlement consisting of rows of huts and detached huts, single or double storied, built of bamboo and thatched. During the hot weather, in the unhealthy months which precede the advent of the south-west monsoon, they shift their quarters to live near streams, or in other cool, shady spots, returning to their head quarters when the rains set in.

They catch fish either by means of big flat bamboo mats, or, in a less orthodox manner, by damming a stream and poisoning the water with herbs, bark, and fruit, which are beaten to a pulp and thrown into the water. The fish, becoming stupified, float on the surface, and fall an easy and unfairly earned prey.

It is recorded by Mr. H. C. Wilson44 that the section of the Moyar river “stretching from the bottom of the Pykara falls down to the sheer drop into the Mysore ditch below Teppakadu is occupied principally by Carnatic carp. In the upper reaches I found traces of small traps placed across side runners or ditches, which were then dry. They had evidently been in use during the last floods, and allowed to remain. Constructed of wood in the shape of a large rake head with long teeth close together, they are fastened securely across the ditch or runner at a slight angle with teeth in the gravel. The object is to catch the small fry which frequent these side places for protection during flood times. Judging by their primitive nature and poor construction, they are not effective, but will do a certain amount of damage. The nearest hamlet to this place is called Torappalli, occupied by a few fisher people called Paniyans. These are no doubt the makers of the traps, and, from information I received, they are said to possess better fry and other traps. They are also accredited with having fine-mesh nets, which they use when the waters are low.”

In 1907, rules were issued, under the Indian Fisheries Act, IV of 1897, for the protection of fish in the Bhavani and Moyar rivers. These rules referred to the erection and use of fixed engines, the construction of weirs, and the use of nets, the meshes of which are less than one and a half inches square for the capture or destruction of fish, and the prohibition of fishing between the 15th March and 15th September annually. Notice of the rules was given by beat of tom-tom (drum) in the villages lying on the banks of the rivers, to which the rules applied.

The Paniyan language is a debased Malayalam patois spoken in a curious nasal sing-song, difficult to imitate; but most of the Paniyans employed on estates can also converse in Kanarese.

Wholly uneducated and associating with no other tribes, the Paniyans have only very crude ideas of religion. Believing in devils of all sorts and sizes, and professing to worship the Hindu divinities, they reverence especially the god of the jungles, Kad Bhagavadi, or, according to another version, a deity called Kuli, a malignant and terrible being of neither sex, whose shrines take the form of a stone placed under a tree, or sometimes a cairn of stones. At their rude shrines they contribute as offerings to the swami (god) rice boiled in the husk, roasted and pounded, half-a-cocoanut, and small coins. The banyan and a lofty tree, apparently of the fig tribe, are reverenced by them, inasmuch as evil spirits are reputed to haunt them at times. Trees so haunted must not be touched, and, if the Paniyans attempt to cut them, they fall sick.

Some Paniyans are believed to be gifted with the power of changing themselves into animals; and there is a belief among the Paniyan dwellers in the plains that, if they wish to secure a woman whom they lust after, one of the men gifted with this special power goes to her house at night with a hollow bamboo, and encircles the house three times. The woman then comes out, and the man, changing himself into a bull or dog, works his wicked will. The woman, it is believed, dies in the course of two or three days.

In 1904 some Paniyans were employed by a Mappilla (Muhammadan) to murder his mistress, who was pregnant, and threatened that she would noise abroad his responsibility for her condition. He brooded over the matter, and one day, meeting a Paniyan, promised him ten rupees if he would kill the woman. The Paniyan agreed to commit the crime, and went with his brothers to a place on a hill, where the Mappilla and the woman were in the habit of gratifying their passions. Thither the man and woman followed the Paniyans, of whom one ran out, and struck his victim on the head with a chopper. She was then gagged with a cloth, carried some distance, and killed. The two Paniyans and the Mappilla were sentenced to be hanged.

Monogamy appears to be the general rule among the Paniyans, but there is no obstacle to a man taking unto himself as many wives as he can afford to support.

Apparently the bride is selected for a young man by his parents, and, in the same way that a wealthy European sometimes sends his betrothed a daily present of a bouquet, the more humble Paniyan bridegroom-elect has to take a bundle of firewood to the house of the fiancÉe every day for six months. The marriage ceremony (and the marriage knot does not appear to be very binding) is of a very simple nature. The ceremony is conducted by a Paniyan Chemmi (a corruption of Janmi). A present of sixteen fanams (coins) and some new cloths is given by the bridegroom to the Chemmi, who hands them over to the parents of the bride. A feast is prepared, at which the Paniyan women (Panichis) dance to the music of drum and pipe. The tali (or marriage badge) is tied round the neck of the bride by the female relations of the bridegroom, who also invest the bride with such crude jewelry as they may be able to afford. The Chemmi seals the contract by pouring water over the head and feet of the young couple. It is said45 that a husband has to make an annual present to his wife’s parents; and failure to do so entitles them to demand their daughter back. A man may, I was told, not have two sisters as wives; nor may he marry his deceased wife’s sister. Remarriage of widows is permitted. Adultery and other forms of vice are adjudicated on by a panchayat (or council) of headmen, who settle disputes and decide on the fine or punishment to be inflicted on the guilty. At nearly every considerable Paniyan village there is a headman called Kuttan, who has been appointed by Nayar Janmi to look after his interests, and be responsible to him for the other inhabitants of the village. The investiture of the Kuttan with the powers of office is celebrated with a feast and dance, at which a bangle is presented to the Kuttan as a badge of authority. Next in rank to the Kuttan is the Mudali or head of the family, and they usually constitute the panchayat. Both Kuttan and Mudali are called Muppanmar or elders. The whole caste is sometimes loosely spoken of as Muppan. In a case of proved adultery, a fine of sixteen fanams (the amount of the marriage fee), and a sum equal to the expenses of the wedding, including the present to the parents of the bride, is the usual form of punishment.

The Chemmi or Shemmi is, I am informed, a sort of priest or minister. He was appointed, in olden days, by the chieftains under whom the Paniyans worked, and each Chemmi held authority over a group of villages. The office is hereditary, but, should a Chemmi family fail, it can be filled up by election.

No ceremony takes place in celebration of the birth of children. One of the old women of the village acts as midwife, and receives a small present in return for her services. As soon as a child is old enough to be of use, it accompanies its parents to their work, or on their fishing and hunting expeditions, and is initiated into the various ways of adding to the stock of provisions for the household.

The dead are buried in the following manner. A trench, four or five feet deep, and large enough to receive the body to be interred, is dug, due north and south, on a hill near the village. At the bottom of this excavation the earth is scooped out from the western side on a level with the floor throughout the length of the grave, so as to form a receptacle for the corpse, which, placed on a mat, is laid therein upon its left side with the head pointing to the south and the feet to the north. After a little cooked rice has been put into the grave for the use of the departed spirit, the mat, which has been made broad enough for the purpose, is folded up and tucked in under the roof of the cavity, and the trench filled up. It has probably been found by experience that the corpse, when thus protected, is safe from the ravages of scavenger jackals and pariah dogs. For seven days after death, a little rice gruel is placed at distance of from fifty to a hundred yards from the grave by the Chemmi, who claps his hands as a signal to the evil spirits in the vicinity, who, in the shape of a pair of crows, are supposed to partake of the food, which is hence called kaka conji or crow’s rice.

The noombu or mourning ceremonies are the ti polay, seven days after death; the kaka polay or karuvelli held for three years in succession in the month of Magaram (January-February); and the matham polay held once in every three or four years, when possible, as a memorial service in honour of those who are specially respected. On all these occasions the Chemmi presides, and acts as a sort of master of the ceremonies. As the ceremonial carried out differs only in degree, an account of the kaka polay will do for all.

In the month of Magaram, the noombukarrans or mourners (who have lost relatives) begin to cook and eat in a pandal or shed set apart from the rest of the village, but otherwise go about their business as usual. They wash and eat twice a day, but abstain from eating meat or fish. On the last day of the month, arrangements are made, under the supervision of the Chemmi, for the ceremony which brings the period of mourning to a close. The mourners, who have fasted since daybreak, take up their position in the pandal, and the Chemmi, holding on his crossed arms two winnowing sieves, each containing a seer or two of rice, walks round three times, and finally deposits the sieves in the centre of the pandal. If, among the male relatives of the deceased, one is to be found sufficiently hysterical, or actor enough, to simulate possession and perform the functions of an oracle, well and good; but, should they all be of a stolid temperament, there is always at hand a professional corresponding to the Komaran or Vellichipad of other Hindus. This individual is called the Patalykaran. With a new cloth (mundu) on his head, and smeared on the body and arms with a paste made of rice flour and ghi (clarified butter), he enters on the scene with his legs girt with bells, the music of which is supposed to drive away the attendant evil spirits (payanmar). Advancing with short steps and rolling his eyes, he staggers to and fro, sawing the air with two small sticks which he holds in either hand, and works himself up into a frenzied state of inspiration, while the mourners cry out and ask why the dead have been taken away from them. Presently a convulsive shiver attacks the performer, who staggers more violently and falls prostrate on the ground, or seeks the support of one of the posts of the pandal, while he gasps out disjointed sentences, which are taken to be the words of the god. The mourners now make obeisance, and are marked on the forehead with the paste of rice flour and ghi. This done, a mat is spread for the accommodation of the headmen and Chemmi; and the Patalykaran, from whose legs the bells have been removed and put with the rice in the sieves, takes these in his hands, and, shaking them as he speaks, commences a funeral chant, which lasts till dawn. Meanwhile food has been prepared for all present except the mourners, and when this has been partaken of, dancing is kept up round the central group till daybreak, when the pandal is pulled down and the kaka polay is over. Those who have been precluded from eating make up for lost time, and relatives, who have allowed their hair to grow long, shave. The ordinary Paniyan does not profess to know the meaning of the funeral orations, but contents himself with a belief that it is known to those who are initiated. The women attend the ceremony, but do not take part in the dance. In fact, the nearest approach to a dance that they ever attempt (and this only on festive occasions) resembles the ordinary occupation of planting rice, carried out in dumb show to the music of a drum. The bodies of the performers stoop and move in time with the music, and the arms are swung from side to side as in the act of placing the rice seedlings in their rows. To see a long line of Paniyan women, up to their knees in the mud of a rice field, bobbing up and down and putting on the pace as the music grows quicker and quicker, and to hear the wild yells of Hou! Hou! like a chorus of hungry dogs, which form the vocal accompaniment as they dab the green bunches in from side to side, is highly amusing.

The foregoing account of the Paniyan death ceremonies was supplied by Mr. Colin Mackenzie, to whom, as also to Mr. F. Fawcett, Mr. G. Romilly, and Martelli, I am indebted for many of the facts recorded in the present note. From Mr. Fawcett the following account of a further ceremony was obtained:—

At a Paniyan village, on a coffee estate where the annual ceremony was being celebrated, men and boys were dancing round a wooden upright to the music of a small drum hanging at the left hip. Some of the dancers had bells round the leg below the knee. Close to the upright a man was seated, playing a pipe, which emitted sounds like those of a bagpipe. In dancing, the dancers went round against the sun. At some little distance a crowd of females indulged in a dance by themselves. A characteristic of the dance, specially noticeable among the women, was stooping and waving of the arms in front. The dancers perspired freely, and kept up the dance for many hours to rhythmic music, the tune of which changed from time to time. There were three chief dancers, of whom one represented the goddess, the others her ministers. They were smeared with streaks on the chest, abdomen, arms and legs, had bells on the legs, and carried a short stick about two feet in length in each hand. The sticks were held over the head, while the performers quivered as if in a religious frenzy. Now and again, the sticks were waved or beaten together. The Paniyans believe that, when the goddess first appeared to them, she carried two sticks in her hands. The mock goddess and her attendants, holding the sticks above the head and shivering, went to each male elder, and apparently received his blessing, the elder placing his hand on their faces as a form of salutation, and then applying his hand to his own face. The villagers partook of a light meal in the early morning, and would not eat again until the end of the ceremony, which concluded by the man-goddess seating himself on the upright, and addressing the crowd on behalf of the goddess concerning their conduct and morality.

The Paniyans “worship animistic deities, of which the chief is Kuli, whom they worship on a raised platform called Kulitara, offering cocoanuts, but no blood.”46 They further worship Kattu Bhagavati, or Bhagavati of the woods. “Shrines in her honour are to be found at most centres of the caste, and contain no image, but a box in which are kept the clothing and jewels presented to her by the devout. An annual ceremony lasting a week is held in her honour, at which the Komaran and a kind of priest, called Nolambukaran, take the chief parts. The former dresses in the goddess’ clothing, and the divine afflatus descends upon him, and he prophesies both good and evil.”

Games.—A long strip of cane is suspended from the branch of a tree, and a cross-bar fixed to its lower end. On the bar a boy sits, and swings himself in all directions. In another game a bar, twelve to fourteen feet in length, is balanced by means of a point in a socket on an upright reaching about four feet and-a-half above the ground. Over the end of the horizontal bar a boy hangs, and, touching the ground with the feet, spins himself round.

Some Paniyans have a thread tied round the wrist, ankle, or neck, as a charm to ward off fever and other diseases. Some of the men have the hair of the head hanging down in matted tails in performance of a vow. The men wear brass, steel, and copper rings on their fingers and brass rings in the ears.

The women, in like manner, wear finger rings, and, in addition, bangles on the wrist, and have the lobes of the ears widely dilated, and plugged with cadjan (palm leaf) rolls. In some the nostril is pierced, and plugged with wood.

The Paniyans, who dwell in settlements at the base of the ghats, make fire by what is known as the Malay or sawing method. A piece of bamboo, about a foot in length, in which two nodes are included, is split longitudinally into two equal parts. On one half a sharp edge is cut with a knife. In the other a longitudinal slit is made through about two-thirds of its length, which is stuffed with a piece of cotton cloth. It is then held firmly on the ground with its convex surface upwards, and the cutting edge drawn, with a gradually quickening sawing motion, rapidly to and fro across it by two men, until the cloth is ignited by the incandescent particles of wood in the groove cut by the sharp edge. The cloth is then blown with the lips into a blaze, and the tobacco or cooking fire can be lighted.

Paniyans making fire.

At Pudupadi an elephant mahout was jealously guarding a bit of bamboo stick with notches cut in it, each notch representing a day for which wages were due to him. The stick in question had six notches, representing six days’ wages.

Average height 157.4 cm. Nasal index 95 (max. 108.6). The average distance from the tip of the middle finger to the top of the patella was 4.6 cm. relative to stature = 100, which approximates very closely to the recorded results of measurement of long-limbed African negroes.

Panjai.—Recorded, in the Madras Census Report, 1901, as a sub-division of Pandya Vellala. The name Panjai, indicating a poverty-stricken individual, is usually applied to mendicant Pandarams.

Panjaram.—Panjaram or Pancharamkatti is the name of a sub-division of the Idaiyans, derived from the peculiar gold ornament, which the women wear. It is said that, in this division, widow marriage is commonly practiced, because Krishna used to place a similar ornament round the necks of Idaiyan widows of whom he became enamoured, and that this sub-division was the result of his amours with them.

Panjukkara (cotton-man).—An occupational name of a sub-division of Vellalas, who are not at the present day connected with the cotton trade. They call themselves Panjukkara Chettis. The equivalent panjari (pinjari) or Panjukotti occurs as a Tamil synonym for Dudekula (Muhammadan cotton-cleaners).

Pannadai (sheath of the cocoanut leaf).—A sub-division of Vettuvan.

Pannaiyan.—A title of Alavan.

Pannara.—A sub-division of Mali.

Pannendu Nal (twelve days).—A name for those Pallis who, like Brahmans, perform the final death ceremonies on the twelfth day.

Pannirendam (twelfth) Chetti.—A section of the Chettis.

Pano.—In the Madras Census Report, 1891, the Panos are described as “a caste of weavers found in the Ganjam district. This caste is no doubt identical with the Pans, a weaving, basket-making, and servile caste of Orissa and Chota Nagpore. The Panos occupy the same position among the Khonds of Ganjam as the Dombs hold among the inhabitants of the Vizagapatam hills, and the words Pano and Dombo are generally regarded as synonyms [See Domb]. The members of the Sitra sub-division are workers in metal.” It is further noted, in the Census Report, 1901, that the Panos are “an extensive caste of hill weavers found chiefly in the Ganjam Agency. The Khond synonym for this word is Domboloko, which helps to confirm the connection between this caste and the Dombas of Vizagapatam. They speak Khond and Oriya.” In a note on the Panos, I read that “their occupations are trading, weaving, and theft. They live on the ignorance and superstition of the Khonds as brokers, pedlars, sycophants, and cheats. In those parts where there are no Oriyas, they possess much influence, and are always consulted by the Khonds in questions of boundary disputes.” In a brief account of the Panos, Mr. C. F. MacCartie writes47 that “the Panos, also known by the title of Dombo or Sitra in some parts, are supposed to be Paraiya [Telugu Mala] emigrants from the low country. Their profession is weaving or brass work, the monotony of which they vary by petty trading in horns, skins and live cattle, and occasionally enliven by house-breaking and theft at the expense of the Khonds, who have an incautious trick of leaving their habitations utterly unguarded when they go off to the hills to cultivate. [In the Madras Census Report, 1901, the Sitras are said to be supposed to be the progeny of a Khond man and a Haddi woman, who manufacture the brass rings and bangles worn by the Khonds.] The Panos are drunken, immoral, and dirty in their habits. The Khonds refuse to eat with them, but I do not find that this objection extends to drinking, at which both Khond and Pano display surprising capabilities. Panos are also the professional musicians of the country, and attend weddings, deaths and sacrifices in this character, for which they are recompensed with food, liquor, and cloths. The generality of Khond and Pano houses are constructed of broad sÂl (Shorea robusta) logs, hewn out with the axe and thatched with jungle grass, which is impervious to white-ants. In bamboo jungles, of course, bamboo is substituted for sÂl. The Panos generally affect a detached quarter, known as Dombo sai. Intermarriage between Khonds, Panos, and Uriyas is not recognised, but cases do occur when a Pano induces a Khond woman to go off with him. She may live with him as his wife, but no ceremony takes place. [A few years ago, a young Khond was betrothed to the daughter of another Khond, and, after a few years, managed to pay up the necessary number of gifts. He then applied to the girl’s father to name the day for the marriage. Before the wedding took place however, a Pano went to the girl’s father, and said that she was his daughter (she had been born before her parents were married), and that he was the man to whom the gifts should have been paid. The case was referred to a council, which decided in favour of the Pano.] If a Pano commits adultery with a Khond married woman, he has to pay a paronjo, or a fine of a buffalo to the husband (who retains his wife), and in addition a goat, a pig, a basket of paddy (rice), a rupee, and a load of pots. There is close communication between the Panos and the Khonds, as the former act as the advisers of the latter in all cases of doubt or difficulty. The Uriyas live apart from both, and mix but little with either, except on the occasion of sacrifices or other solemn assemblages, when buffaloes are slaughtered for Panos and Khonds, and goats or sheep for Uriya visitors. [It is noted, in the Ganjam Manual, in connection with Khond death ceremonies, that “if a man has been killed by a tiger, purification is made by the sacrifice of a pig, the head of which is cut off with a tangi (axe) by a Pano, and passed between the legs of the men in the village, who stand in a line astraddle. It is a bad omen to him, if the head touches any man’s legs.] Among the products of the jungles may be included myrabolams (Terminalia fruits), tasar silk cocoons, and dammer, all of which are bartered by the finders to trading Panos in small quantities, generally for salt.” In the Ganjam Maliahs, the jungles are said to be searched by Panos for tasar cocoons, and, just across the border in Boad, the collection of these cocoons is a regular industry among them. Small portions of jungle are regularly reserved, and divided up into small allotments. Each of these is given to a Pano for rent, and here he cultivates the silkworms, and collects the silk, which is sent to Berhampur and Sambalpur for manufacture.

The Panos are divided into two distinct sections, viz., the Khonda Panos who live amidst the Khonds, and the Desa Panos of the plains. The former have adopted some of the customs of the Khonds, while the latter follow the customs of the Uriya castes which dwell in the lowland. The Khond Panos are governed by the Molikos (headmen) of the Khonds. In some cases, the fines inflicted for breach of caste rules are rather severe. For example, in the neighbourhood of Baliguda, a man who is convicted of adultery has to pay two rupees, and give two buffaloes to the council which tries the case. Further south, for a similar offence twelve buffaloes are demanded, and the culprit has to pay twice the amount of the bride-price to the injured husband. The Desa Panos conform to the standard Uriya type of caste council, and have a headman called Behara, who is assisted by a Nayako, and caste servants entitled Bhollobaya or Gonjari.

The marriage ceremonies of the Desa Panos are closely allied to those of the Dandasis and Haddis, whereas those of the Khonda Panos bear a close resemblance to the ceremonies of the Khonds. Like Khond girls, unmarried Khond Pano girls sleep in quarters (dhangadi) specially set apart for them, and, as among the Khonds, wedding presents in the form of gontis are given. It is noted with reference to the Khonds, in the Ganjam Manual, that “the bride is looked upon as a commercial speculation, and is paid for in gontis. A gonti is one of anything, such as a buffalo, a pig, or a brass pot; for instance, a hundred gontis might consist of ten bullocks, ten buffaloes, ten sacks of corn, ten sets of brass, twenty sheep, ten pigs, and thirty fowls.” At a Khond Pano marriage, the fingers of the contracting couple are linked together, and an important item of the ceremonial, which adds dignity thereto, is placing in front of the house at which a marriage is being celebrated a big brass vessel containing water, with which the guests wash their feet.

The Panos pay reverence to ancestors, to whom, when a death occurs in a family, food is offered. In some Pano villages, when a child is born, it is customary to consult a pujari (priest) as to whether the grandfather or great-grandfather is re-born in it. If the answer is in the affirmative, pigs are sacrificed to the ancestors. Some Panos have adopted the worship of Takuranis (village deities), to whom rice and turmeric are offered by placing them before the image in the form of a figure-of-eight. A fowl is sacrificed, and its blood allowed to flow on to one loop of the figure. In some places, Dharmadevata and Gagnasuni are worshipped, a castrated goat being sacrificed annually to the former, and fowls and an entire goat to the latter.

Pano women, who live among the Khonds, tattoo their faces in like manner, and in other respects resemble Khond women.

I am informed that, on more than one occasion, Panos have been known to rifle the grave of a European, in the belief that buried treasure will be found.

Panta (a crop).—A sub-division of Kapu and Yanadi. In the Gazetteer of South Arcot, Pan Reddi is recorded as a caste of Telugu-speaking ryots (Kapus).

Pantala.—Recorded, in Travancore, as a sub-division of Samantan. The name is said to be derived from Bhandarattil, or belonging to the royal treasury.

Pantari.—Recorded, in the Travancore Census Report, as synonymous with the Idacheri sub-division of Nayar. Pantrantu Vitan is also there recorded as a sub-division of Nayar.

Pappadam.—People calling themselves Pappadam Chetti are largely found in Malabar, living by the manufacture and sale of cakes called pappadam, which are purchased by all classes, including Nambutiri Brahmans.

Pappini.—A name for Brahmanis, a class of Ambalavasi.

Pappu (split pulse).—An exogamous sept of Balija.

Paradesi.—Recorded, in the Madras Census Report, 1901, as a class of Malayalam beggars. The name indicates strangers (paradesa, a foreign country), and is applied to the White Jews of Cochin, in connection with whom it occurs in Sirkar (State) accounts and royal writs granted to them.

Paraiya Tada.—Recorded, in the North Arcot Manual, as a name for those who are considered impure Valluvans. The name literally means Paraiya Tadan or Dasari.

Paraiyan.—The Paraiyans or, as they are commonly termed, Pariahs of the Tamil country number, according to recent census returns, over two million souls, and a large proportion of those who returned themselves as Native Christians are said also to belong to this class. For the following note I am mainly indebted to an account of the Paraiyans by the Rev. A. C. Clayton.48

The late Bishop Caldwell derived the name Paraiyan from the Tamil word parai a drum, as certain Paraiyans act as drummers at marriages, funerals, village festivals, and on occasions when Government or commercial announcements are proclaimed. Mr. H. A. Stuart, however, seems to question this derivation, remarking49 that “it is only one section of Paraiyans that act as drummers. Nor is the occupation confined to Paraiyans. It seems in the highest degree improbable that a large, and at one time powerful, community should owe its name to an occasional occupation, which one of its divisions shares with other castes. The word Paraiyan is not found in Divakaram, a Tamil dictionary of the eleventh century A.D., and the word Pulayan was then used to denote this section of the population, as it is still in Malayalam to this day.” In the legend of the Saivite saint, Nandan is, in the prose version of the Periya Puranam, called a Pulayan, though a native of Sholamandalam, which was a distinctly Tamil kingdom. Mr. W. Francis writes50 that “the old Tamil poems and works of the early centuries of the Christian era do not mention the name Paraiyan, but contain many descriptions of a tribe called the Eyinas, who seem to have been quite distinct from the rest of the population, and did not live in the villages, but in forts of their own. Ambur and Vellore are mentioned as the sites of two of these. They may perhaps have been the ancestors of the Paraiyans of to-day.”

In a note on the Paraiyans, Sonnerat, writing51 in the eighteenth century, says that “they are prohibited from drawing water from the wells of other castes; but have particular wells of their own near their inhabitations, round which they place the bones of animals, that they may be known and avoided. When an Indian of any other caste permits a Paraiya to speak to him, this unfortunate being is obliged to hold his hand before his mouth, lest the Indian may be contaminated with his breath; and, if he is met on the highway, he must turn on one side to let the other pass. If any Indian whatever, even a Choutre, by accident touches a Paraiya, he is obliged to purify himself in a bath. The Brahmans cannot behold them, and they are obliged to fly when they appear. Great care is taken not to eat anything dressed by a Paraiya, nor even to drink out of the vessel he has used; they dare not enter the house of an Indian of another caste; or, if they are employed in any work, a door is purposely made for them; but they must work with their eyes on the ground; for, if it is perceived they have glanced at the kitchen, all the utensils must be broken. The infamy of the Paraiyas is reflected on the Europeans: last are held in more detestation, because, setting aside the little respect they have for the cow, whose flesh they eat, the Indians reproach them with spitting in their houses, and even their temples: that when drinking they put the cup to their lips, and their fingers to their mouths in such a manner that they are defiled with the spittle.”

Paraiyans are to be found throughout the Tamil districts from North Arcot to Tinnevelly, and in the southern extremity of the Native State of Travancore. In the Telugu country the Malas and Madigas and in the Canarese country the Holeyas take their place.

Some of the most common names of Paraiyan males are—

Among females the most common names are Tai, Parpathi, Ammai, Kanni, Muttammal, Rajammal, Ammani, Selli, Gangammal. In one village, where the Paraiyans were almost all Vaishnavas, by profession not by practice, Mr. Clayton found the inhabitants all named after heroes of the Mahabharata, and dirty naked children answered to the names of Ikshvakan, Karnan, Bhiman, and Draupadi. It is usual to give the father’s name when distinguishing one Paraiyan from another, e.g., Tamburan, son of Kannan. In legal documents the prefix Para denotes a Paraiyan, e.g., Para Kanni, the Paraiyan Kanni, but this is a purely clerical formula. The Paraiyan delights in nicknames, and men sometimes grow so accustomed to these that they have almost forgotten their real names. The following nicknames are very common :—

• Nondi, lame.
• Kallan, thief.
• Kullan, dwarf.
• Vellei, white or light complexioned.
• Kannan, with eyes.
• Muthalai, crocodile.
• Kudiyan, drunkard.

No name, indicating virtue or merit, is given, lest the wrath of malevolent spirits should be aroused.

At the census, 1891, 348 sub-divisions were returned, of which the following were strongest in point of numbers :—Amma found chiefly in Tanjore and Madura; Katti in Salem and Trichinopoly; Kizhakkatti (eastern) in Salem; Koliyan (weavers) in Chingleput, Tanjore and Trichinopoly; Konga in Salem; Korava in Coimbatore; Kottai (fort) in South Arcot; Morasu (drum) in Salem; Mottai in Madura; Pacchai (green) in Coimbatore; Samban in South Arcot; Sangidum (sanku, conch, or chank shell) in Coimbatore; Sozhia (natives of the Sozha or Chola country) in Tanjore and Madura; Tangalan in North and South Arcot, Chingleput, Salem, and Trichinopoly; and Valangamattu in South Arcot. The members of the various sub-divisions do not intermarry.

It has been suggested to me that the Morasu Paraiyans, included in the above list, are Canarese Holeyas, who have settled in the Tamil country. In the south their women, like the Kallans, wear a horsehair thread round the neck. As additional sub-divisions, the following may be noted :—

Aruththukattatha, or those who, having once cut the tali-string, do not tie it a second time, i.e., those who do not permit remarriage of widows.

Valai (a net).—Paraiyans who hunt.

Sanku (conch-shell).—Those who act as conch-blowers at funerals.

Thatha.—Thathan is the name given to mendicants who profess Vaishnavism. Such Paraiyans are Vaishnavites, and some are beggars.

In the Census Report, 1901, Mr. Francis notes that the term Paraiyan “is now almost a generic one, and the caste is split up into many sub-divisions, which differ in manners and ways. For example, the Koliyans, who are weavers, and the Valluvans, who are medicine men and priests and wear the sacred thread, will not intermarry or eat with the others, and are now practically distinct castes.” As occupational titles of Paraiyans Mr. Francis gives Urumikkaran and Pambaikkaran, or those who play on drums (urumi and pambai), and Podarayan or Podara Vannan, who are washermen. The title Valangamattan, or people of the right-hand division, is assumed by some Paraiyans.

Mr. Clayton states that he knows of no legend or popular belief among the Paraiyans, indicating that they believe themselves to have come from any other part of the country than that where they now find themselves. There is, however, some evidence that the race has had a long past, and one in which they had independence, and possibly great importance in the peninsula. Mr. Stuart mentions52 that the Valluvans were priests to the Pallava kings before the introduction of the Brahmans, and even for some time after it. He quotes an unpublished Vatteluttu inscription, believed to be of the ninth century, in which it is noted that “Sri Valluvam Puvanavan, the Uvacchan (or temple ministrant), will employ six men daily, and do the temple service.” The inference is that the Valluvan was a man of recognised priestly rank, and of great influence. The prefix Sri is a notable honorific. By itself this inscription would prove little, but the whole legendary history of the greatest of all Tamil poets, Tiruvalluvar, “the holy Valluvan,” confirms all that can be deduced from it. His date can only be fixed approximately, but it is probable that he flourished not later than the tenth century A.D. It is safe to say that this extraordinary sage could not have attained the fame he did, or have received the honours that were bestowed upon him, had not the Valluvans, and therefore the Paraiyans, been in the circle of respectable society in his day. This conjecture is strengthened by the legend that he married a Vellala girl. The same hypothesis is the only one that will account for the education and the vogue of the sister of the poet, the aphoristic poetess Avvei.

In the Census Report, 1901, Mr. Francis mentions an inscription of the Chola King Raja Raja, dated about the eleventh century A.D., in which the Paraiyan caste is called by its own name. It had then two sub-divisions, the Nesavu or weavers, and Ulavu or ploughmen. The caste had even then its own hamlets, wells and burning-grounds.

There are certain privileges possessed by Paraiyans, which they could never have gained for themselves from orthodox Hinduism. They seem to be survivals of a past, in which Paraiyans held a much higher position than they do now. It is noted by Mr. M. J. Walhouse53 that “in the great festival of Siva at Trivalur in Tanjore the headman of the Pareyars is mounted on the elephant with the god, and carries his chauri (yak-tail fly fan). In Madras, at the annual festival of Egatta, the goddess of the Black,54 now George, Town, when a tali is tied round the neck of the idol in the name of the entire community, a Pareyan is chosen to represent the bridegroom. At Melkotta in Mysore, the chief seat of the followers of Ramanuja Acharya, and at the Brahman temple at Belur, the Holeyas or Pareyars have the right of entering the temple on three days in the year specially set apart for them.” At Melkote, the Holeyas and Madigas are said to have been granted the privilege of entering the sanctum sanctorum along with Brahmans and others on three days by Ramanuja. In 1799, however, the right to enter the temple was stopped at the dhvajastambham, or consecrated monolithic column. At both Belur and Melkote, as soon as the festival is over, the temples are ceremonially purified. At Sriperumbudur in the Chingleput district, the Paraiyans enjoy a similar privilege to those at Tiruvalur, in return for having sheltered an image of the locally-worshipped incarnation of Vishnu during a Muhammadan raid. It is noted by Mr. Stuart that the lower village offices, the Vettiyan, Taliari, Dandasi or Barike, and the Toti, are, in the majority of Madras villages, held by persons of the Paraiyan caste. Paraiyans are allowed to take part in pulling the cars of the idols in the great festivals at Conjeeveram, Kumbakonam, and Srivilliputtur. Their touch is not reckoned to defile the ropes used, so that other Hindus will pull with them. With this may be compared the fact that the Telugu Malas are custodians of the goddess Gauri, the bull Nandi, and Ganesa, the chief gods of the Saiva Kapus and Balijas. It may also be noted that the Komatis, who claim to be Vaisyas, are bound to invite Madigas to their marriages, though they take care that the latter do not hear the invitation. Mr. Clayton records that he has heard well-authenticated instances of Brahman women worshipping at Paraiyan shrines in order to procure children, and states that he once saw a Paraiyan exorciser treating a Brahman by uttering mantrams (consecrated formulÆ), and waving a sickle up and down the sufferer’s back, as he stood in a threshing floor.

In a note on the Paraiyans of the Trichinopoly district, Mr. F. R. Hemingway writes as follows. “They have a very exalted account of their lineage, saying that they are descended from the Brahman priest Sala Sambavan, who was employed in a Siva temple to worship the god with offerings of beef, but who incurred the anger of the god by one day concealing a portion of the meat, to give it to his pregnant wife, and was therefore turned into a Paraiyan. The god appointed his brother to do duty instead of him, and the Paraiyans say that Brahman priests are their cousins. For this reason they wear a sacred thread at their marriages and funerals. At the festival of the village goddesses, they repeat an extravagant praise of their caste, which runs as follows. ‘The Paraiyans were the first creation, the first who wore the sacred thread, the uppermost in the social scale, the differentiators of castes, the winners of laurels. They have been seated on the white elephant, the Vira Sambavans who beat the victorious drum.’ It is a curious fact that, at the feast of the village goddess, a Paraiyan is honoured by being invested with a sacred thread for the occasion by the pujari (priest) of the temple, by having a turmeric thread tied to his wrists, and being allowed to head the procession. This, the Paraiyans say, is owing to their exalted origin.”

In times of drought some of the lower orders, instead of addressing their prayers to the rain god Varuna, try to induce a spirit or devata named Kodumpavi (wicked one) to send her paramour Sukra to the affected area. The belief seems to be that Sukra goes away to his concubine for about six months, and, if he does not then return, drought ensues. The ceremony consists in making a huge figure of Kodumpavi in clay, which is placed on a cart, and dragged through the streets for seven to ten days. On the last day, the final death ceremonies of the figure are celebrated. It is disfigured, especially in those parts which are usually concealed. Vettiyans (Paraiyan grave-diggers), who have been shaved, accompany the figure, and perform the funeral ceremonies. This procedure is believed to put Kodumpavi to shame, and to get her to induce Sukra to return, and stay the drought. Paraiyans are said55 to wail as though they were at a funeral, and to beat drums in the funeral time.

The Paraiyans are said by Mr. Francis56 to have a curious share in the ceremonies in connection with the annual buffalo sacrifice at the Kali shrine at Mangalam in South Arcot. “Eight men of this community are chosen from eight adjoining villages, and one of them is selected as leader. His wife must not be with child at the’ time, and she is made to prove that she is above all suspicion by undergoing the ordeal of thrusting her hand into boiling gingelly (Sesamum) oil. On each of ten days for which the festival lasts, this Paraiyan has to go round some part of the boundaries of the eight villages, and he is fed gratis by the villagers during this time. On the day of the sacrifice itself, he marches in front of the priest as the latter kills the buffaloes. The Paraiyans of the eight villages have the right to the carcases of the slaughtered animals.”

The Paraiyans know the village boundaries better than anyone else, and are very expert in this matter, unerringly pointing out where boundaries should run, even when the Government demarcation stones are completely overgrown by prickly-pear, or have been removed. Mr. Stuart records a custom which prevails in some parts of making a Paraiyan walk the boundaries of a field with a pot of water on his head, when there is any dispute about their exact position. He thinks that the only satisfactory explanation of this is that the connection of the Paraiyans with the soil is of much longer standing than that of other castes. The admitted proprietary right which Paraiyans have in the site known as cheri-nattam, on which their huts stand, is a confirmation of this. These sites are entered as such on the official village maps. They cannot be taken from the Paraiyans, and date from time immemorial. Throughout the whole of the Tamil country it is usual to find that the land allotted for house-site (nattam) is in two portions in every village (Ur). One part is known by the Sanskrit name gramam (village), the inhabited place. The other is called by the Dravidian name cheri (gathering place).

Sometimes the latter is called by the fuller title paracheri (Anglice parcheri, parcherry), i.e., the gathering place of the Paraiyans. In the gramam live the Brahmans, who sometimes dwell, in a quarter by themselves known as the agrahara, and also other Hindus. In the paracheri live the Paraiyans. The paracheri and the gramam are always separated, at least by a road or lane, and often by several fields. And not only is it usual thus to find that, in every village, the Paraiyans as a community possess a house-site, but there are many cases in which more than one cheri is attached to a gramam. This seems to repudiate the suggestion that at some period or periods the higher castes relegated the Paraiyans to these cheris. Indeed, in some cases, the very names of the cheris suggest what appears to be the more correct view, viz., that the cheris had a distinct origin. For instance, the whole revenue village of Teiyar near Chingleput consists of one Sudra gramam and seven Paraiyan cheris, each with a name of its own, Periyapilleri, Komancheri, etc. In other cases, e.g., Ideipalayam in the north of the district, and Varadarajapuram near Vandalur, only Paraiyan hamlets exist; there is no gramam. In South Arcot there are at least two villages, Govindanallur and Andapet, inhabited only by Paraiyans, where even the Maniyakkaran (munsiff or village headman) is a Paraiyan. Other instances might be quoted in proof of the same opinion. And, when the ceremonial antipathy between Brahman and Paraiyan is examined, it points in the same direction. It is well known that a Brahman considers himself polluted by the touch, presence, or shadow of a Paraiyan, and will not allow him to enter his house, or even the street in which he lives, if it is an agrahara. But it is not so well known that the Paraiyans will not allow a Brahman to enter the cheri. Should a Brahman venture into the Paraiyan’s quarter, water with which cow-dung has been mixed is thrown on his head, and he is driven out. It is stated57 by Captain J. S. F. Mackenzie that “Brahmans in Mysore consider that great luck will await them if they can manage to pass through the Holeya quarter of a village unmolested, and that, should a Brahman attempt to enter their quarters, they turn out in a body and slipper him, in former times it is said to death.” Some Brahmans consider a forsaken paracheri an auspicious site for an agrahara. A very peculiar case is that of the gramam founded for, and occupied by the clerks of the earliest Collectors (district magistrates) of the jagir of Karunguli from 1795 to 1825 A.D. These clerks were Brahmans, and it was called the agraharam. It was deserted when the head-quarters of the Collector were removed to Conjeeveram. It is now occupied by Paraiyans, but is still called the agraharam.

The facts, taken together, seem to show that the Paraiyan priests (Valluvans), and therefore the Paraiyans as a race, are very ancient, that ten centuries ago they were a respectable community, and that many were weavers. The privileges they enjoy are relics of an exceedingly long association with the land. The institution of the paracheri points to original independence, and even to possession of much of the land. If the account of the colonisation of Tondeimandalam by Vellalans in the eighth century A.D. is historic, then it is possible that at that time the Paraiyans lost the land, and that their degradation as a race began.

The Paraiyans have long been a settled race. And, though a number of them emigrate to Ceylon, Mauritius, South Africa, the West Indies, the Straits Settlements, and even to Fiji, the vast majority live and die within a mile or two of the spot where they were born. The houses in which they live are not temporary erections, or intended for use during certain seasons of the year only. The rudest form is a hut made by tying a few leaves of the palmyra palm on to a framework of poles or bamboos. The better class of houses are a series of rooms with low mud walls and thatched roof, but generally without doors, surrounding a small courtyard, in which the family goats, buffaloes, and fowls have their homes. The cooking is done anywhere where it is convenient either indoors or out, as there is no fear of pollution from the glance or shadow of any passer-by. Very occasionally the walls of the house, especially those facing the street, are whitewashed, or decorated with variegated patterns or figures in red and white. Paraiya women, like higher caste women, are much given to tracing exceedingly intricate symmetrical designs (kolam) with rice flour on the smooth space or pathway immediately before the doors of their houses, it is said, to prevent the entrance of evil spirits. Mr. S. P. Rice writes to me that the patterns on the floor or threshold are generally traced with white powder, e.g., chalk, as rice is too costly; and that the original object of the custom was not to drive away evil spirits, but to provide food for the lowest creatures of creation—ants, insects, etc.

Admissions to the Paraiyan caste from higher castes sometimes occur. Mr. Clayton records having met an Aiyangar Brahman who was working as a cooly with some Paraiyan labourers at Kodaikanal on the Palni hills. He had become infatuated with a Paraiya woman, and had consequently been excommunicated, and became a Paraiyan.

In every Paraiya settlement a small number of the more important men are known as Panakkaran (money-man). The application of the term may, Mr. Clayton suggests, be due to their comparative opulence, or may have arisen from the custom of paying them a small sum (panam) for various services to the community. But Panikkar or Panakkar is usually said to be derived from pani, meaning work. They form a committee or council to decide ordinary quarrels, and to amerce the damages in cases of assault, seduction, rape, and adultery. They have power to dissolve marriages on account of the wife, or if the husband has deserted his wife. In these cases their authority is really based on the public opinion of the paracheri, and goes no further than that public opinion will enforce it. There is no headman in a Paraiya hamlet corresponding to the munsiff or village magistrate of the Hindu village (grama). In modern practice the Paraiyans are, for police purposes, under the authority of the munsiff of the grama, and there is a growing tendency on their part to refer all disputes and assaults to the munsiff, or even directly to the police. On the other hand, cases of a more domestic nature, such as disputes about betrothals, seduction, etc., are still dealt with, generally acutely and fairly, by the village council. It should be added that the rank of Panakkaran is hereditary, and is regarded as honourable.

The Paraiyans, like all the other right-hand castes, come under the jurisdiction of the Desayi Chettis, who have held a sort of censorship since the days of the Nawabs of Arcot over some twenty-four of these right-hand castes, chiefly in North Arcot. The Desayi Chetti has nominal power to deal with all moral offences, and is supposed to have a representative in every village, who reports every offence. But, though his authority is great in North Arcot, and the fines levied there bring in an income of hundreds of rupees yearly, it is not so much dreaded in other districts. The punishment usually inflicted is a fine, but sometimes a delinquent Paraiyan will be made to crawl on his hands and knees on the ground between the legs of a Paraiya woman as a final humiliation. The punishment of excommunication, i.e., cutting off from fire and water, is sometimes the fate of the recalcitrant, either before the council or the Desayi Chetti, but it is seldom effective for more than a short time. Mr. K. Rangachari adds that, in certain places, the Desayi Chetti appoints the Panakkaran, who is subordinate to the Desayi, and that a man called the Variyan or Shalavathi is sometimes appointed as assistant to the Panakkaran. He also mentions some other punishments. The fine for adultery is from 7 pagodas 14 fanams to 11 pagodas, when the wronged woman is unmarried. If she is married, the amount ranges from 12 pagodas 14 fanams to 16 pagodas. The fine is said to be divided between the woman, her husband, the members of council, and the Panakkarans. Formerly an offender against the Paraiyan community was tied to a post at the beginning of his trial, and, if found guilty, was beaten. He might escape the flogging by paying a fine of two fanams per stripe. Sometimes a delinquent is paraded through the hamlet, carrying a rubbish basket, or is ordered to make a heap of rubbish at a certain spot. Or a cord is passed from one big toe over the bowed neck of the culprit, and tied to his other big toe, and then a stone is placed on his bent back. In some places, when an unmarried woman is convicted of adultery, she is publicly given a new cloth and a bit of straw or a twig, apparently in mockery. It is said that formerly, if the chastity of a bride was suspected, she had to pick some cakes out of boiling oil. This she had to do just after the tali had been tied in the wedding ceremony. Her hair, nails, and clothes were examined, to see that she had no charm concealed. After lifting the cakes from the oil, she had to husk some rice with her bare hand. If she could do this, her virtue was established. In the South Arcot district, according to Mr. Francis,58 the Paraiyans “have caste headmen called the Periya (big) Nattan and the Chinna (little) Nattan or Tangalan (our man), whose posts are usually hereditary. The Tangalan carries out the sentence of caste panchayats, administering a thrashing to the accused for example, if such be the order of the court. Of the fines inflicted by these assemblies, a fifth is usually handed over to the local Mariamma shrine, and the remaining four-fifths are laid out in drinks for the panchayatdars. Until recently, a part of the fine was in some cases, in these parts, paid to the local poligar.”

Excommunicated Paraiyans are said to go to a mythical place called Vinnamangalam. In some documents signed by Paraiyans, the words “If I fail to fulfil the conditions of our agreement, I shall go to Vinnamangalam” are inserted. In all enquiries by the police, the council, or the Desayi Chetti, the Paraiyan only tells what in his opinion it is expedient to tell. But evidence given after burning a piece of camphor is said to be reliable.

The attainment of puberty by girls is a subject of greedy curiosity to most of the women in a Paraiya village. This has been said to be due to the fact that “the menstrual fluid is held in horror, dire consequences being supposed to result from not merely the contact, but even the very sight of it. Hence the isolation and purification of women during the menstrual period, and the extreme care and anxiety with which the first approach of puberty in a girl is watched.” The girl at once begins to wear a covering of some sort, even it be the most pathetic rag, over her left shoulder and breast. Till this time, a bit of cotton cloth round her waist has been considered sufficient. Among the Tangalan Paraiyans, when a girl attains puberty, she is kept apart either in the house or in a separate hut. Pollution is supposed to last eight days. On the ninth day, the girl is bathed, and seated in the courtyard. Ten small lamps of flour paste (called drishti mavu vilakku), to avert the evil eye, are put on a sieve, and waved before her three times. Then coloured water (arati or alam) and burning camphor are waved before her. Some near female relatives then stand behind her, and strike her waist and sides with puttu (flour cake) tied in a cloth. This is believed to make her strong. At the same time other women strike the ground behind the girl with a rice-pestle. Then presents are given to the girl. In some places the girl is beaten within the house by her mother-in-law or paternal aunt. The latter repeatedly asks the girl to promise that her daughter shall marry her paternal aunt’s son.

In marriages among the Paraiyans, difference in religion is of little moment. A Christian Paraiyan will marry a heathen girl, though it should be said that she is usually baptised at or about the time of the marriage. A Christian girl is sometimes married to a heathen Paraiyan. Mr. Clayton thinks that the fact that certain Paraiyans paint the namam of Vishnu on their foreheads, while others smear their foreheads with the ashes of Siva, prevents marriages between them.

The bridegroom must be older than the bride. Subject to this condition, it is usual for a youth to marry his father’s sister’s daughter, or his mother’s brother’s daughter. A girl should be married to her mother’s brother’s son if he is old enough, but not, as among the Konga Vellalas and some Reddis, if he is a child. In short, Paraiyans follow the usual Tamil custom, but it is often neglected.

Marriage contracts are sometimes made by parents while the parties most concerned are still infants, often while they are still children; in the majority of cases when the girl attains the marriageable age. The bridegroom may be many years older than the bride, especially when custom, as noted above, settles who shall be his bride. The bride has absolutely no choice in the matter; but, if the bridegroom is a man of some years or position, his preferences are consulted. The elder sister should be given in marriage before her younger sisters are married. The arrangements are more or less a bargain. Presents of clothes, paltry jewels, rice, vegetables, and perhaps a few rupees, are exchanged between the families of the bride and bridegroom. The household that seeks the marriage naturally gives the larger gifts. The actual marriage ceremony is very simple. The essential part is the tying of a small token or ornament (tali), varying in value from a few annas to four or five rupees by a turmeric-stained string, round the neck of the bride. This is done by the bridegroom in the presence of a Valluvan, who mutters some kind of blessing on the marriage. A series of feasts, lasting over two or three days, is given to all the relatives of both parties by the parents of the newly-married couple. The bride and bridegroom do not live together immediately, even if the girl is old enough. The exact date at which their life together may begin is settled by the bride’s mother. The occasion, called soppana muhurtham, is celebrated by another feast and much merry-making, not always seemly.

The following detailed account of the marriage ceremonies among the Tangalan Paraiyans was furnished by Mr. K. Rangachari. The parents or near relations of the contracting parties meet, and talk over the match. If an agreement is arrived at, an adjournment is made to the nearest liquor shop, and a day fixed for the formal exchange of betel leaves, which is the sign of a binding engagement. A Paraiyan, when he goes to seek the hand of a girl in marriage, will not eat at her house if her family refuse to consider the alliance, to which the consent of the girl’s maternal uncle is essential. The Paraiyan is particular in the observation of omens, and, if a cat or a valiyan (a bird) crosses his path when he sets out in quest of a bride, he will give her up. The betrothal ceremony, or pariyam, is binding as long as the contracting couple are alive. They may live together as man and wife without performing the marriage ceremony, and children born to them are considered as legitimate. But, when their offspring marry, the parents must first go through the marriage rites, and the children are then married in the same pandal on the same day. At the betrothal ceremony, the headman, father, maternal uncle, and two near relations of the bridegroom-elect, proceed to the girl’s house, where they are received, and sit on seats or mats. Drink and plantain fruits are offered to them. Some conversation takes place between the headmen of the two parties, such as “Have you seen the girl? Have you seen her house and relations? Are you disposed to recommend and arrange the match?” If he assents, the girl’s headman says “As long as stones and the Kaveri river exist, so that the sky goddess Akasavani and the earth goddess Bhumadevi may know it; so that the water-pot (used at the marriage ceremony), and the sun and moon may know it; so that this assembly may know it; I ... give this girl.” The headman of the bridegroom then says “The girl shall be received into the house by marriage. These thirty-six pieces of gold are yours, and the girl is mine.” He then hands betel leaves and areca nuts to the other headman, who returns them. The exchange of betel is carried out three times. Near the headmen is placed a tray containing betel nuts, a rupee, a turmeric-dyed cloth in which a fanam (2½ annas) is tied, a cocoanut, flowers, and the bride’s money varying in amount from seven to twenty rupees. The fanam and bride’s money are handed to the headman of the girl, and the rupee is divided between the two headmen. On the betrothal day, the relations of the girl offer flowers, cocoanuts, etc., to their ancestors, who are supposed to be without food or drink. The Paraiyans believe that the ancestors will be ill-disposed towards them, if they are not propitiated with offerings of rice and other things. For the purpose of worship, the ancestors are represented by a number of cloths kept in a box made of bamboo or other material, to which the offerings are made. On the conclusion of the ancestor worship, the two headmen go to a liquor shop, and exchange drinks of toddy. This exchange is called mel sambandham kural, or proclaiming relationship. After the lapse of a few days, the girl’s family is expected to pay a return visit, and the party should include at least seven men. Betel is again exchanged, and the guests are fed, or presented with a small gift of money. When marriage follows close on betrothal, the girl is taken to the houses of her relations, and goes through the nalugu ceremony, which consists of smearing her with turmeric paste, an oil bath, and presentation of betel and sweets. The auspicious day and hour for the marriage are fixed by the Valluvan, or priest of the Paraiyans. The ceremonial is generally carried through in a single day. On the morning of the wedding day, three male and two married female relations of the bridegroom go to the potter’s house to fetch the pots, which have been already ordered. The potter’s fee is a fowl, pumpkin, paddy, betel, and a few annas. The bride, accompanied by the headman and her relations, goes to the bridegroom’s village, bringing with her a number of articles called petti varisai or box presents. These consist of a lamp, cup, brass vessel, ear-ornament called kalappu, twenty-five betel leaves and areca nuts, onions, and cakes, a lump of jaggery (crude sugar), grass mat, silver toe-ring, rice, a bundle of betel leaves and five cocoanuts, which are placed inside a bamboo box. The next item in the proceedings is the erection of the milk-post, which is made of a pestle of tamarind or Soymida febrifuga wood, or a green bamboo. To the post leafy twigs of the mango or pipal (Ficus religiosa) are tied. In some places, a pole of the Odina Wodier tree is said to be set up, and afterwards planted near the house, to see if it will grow. Near the marriage dais a pit is dug, into which are thrown nine kinds of grain, and milk is poured. The milk-post is supported on a grindstone painted with turmeric stripes, washed with milk and cow’s urine, and worshipped, with the Valluvan as the celebrant priest. The post is then set up in the pit by three men and two women. A string with a bit of turmeric (kankanam) is tied to the milk-post, and to it and the dais boiled rice is offered. Kankanams are also tied round the wrists of the bride and bridegroom. The bridegroom’s party go to the temple or house where the bride is awaiting them, bringing with them a brass lamp, vessel and cup, castor and gingelly oil, combs, confectionery, turmeric, and betel leaves. The procession is headed by Paraiyans beating tom-toms, and blowing on trumpets. When their destination is reached, all take their seats on mats, and the various articles which they have brought are handed over to the headman, who returns them. The bride is then taken in procession to the marriage house, which she is the first to enter. She is then told to touch with her right hand some paddy, salt, and rice, placed in three pots inside the house. Touching them with the left hand would be an evil omen, and every mishap which might occur in the family would be traced to the new daughter-in-law. The bride and bridegroom next go through the nalugu ceremony, and some of the relations proceed with the ceremony of bringing sand (manal vari sadangu). A cousin of the bridegroom and his wife take three pots called sal karagam and kuresal, and repair to a river, tank (pond) or well, accompanied by a few men and women. The pots are set on the ground, and close to them are placed a lamp, and a leaf with cakes, betel leaves and nuts set on it. Puja (worship) is made to the pots by burning camphor and breaking cocoanuts. The Vettiyan then says “The sun, the moon, the pots, and the owner of the girl have come to the pandal. So make haste and fill the pot with water.” The woman dips a small pot in water, and, after putting some sand or mud into a big pot, pours the water therein. The pots are then again worshipped. After the performance of the nalugu, the bridal couple go through a ceremony for removing the evil eye, called “sige kazhippu.” A leaf of Ficus religiosa, with its tail downwards, is held over their foreheads, and all the close relations pour water over it, so that it trickles over their faces; or seven cakes are placed by each of the relations on the head, shoulders, knees, feet, and other parts of the body of the bridegroom. The cakes are subsequently given to a washerman. The parents of the bridal couple, accompanied by some of their relations, next proceed to an open field, taking with them the cloths, tali, jewels, and other things which have been purchased for the wedding. A cloth is laid on the ground, and on it seven leaves are placed, and cooked rice, vegetables, etc., heaped up thereon. Puja is done, and a goat is sacrificed to the ancestors (Tangalanmar). By some the offerings are made to the village goddess Pidari, instead of to the ancestors. Meanwhile the bridegroom has been taken in procession round the village on horseback, and the headmen have been exchanging betel in the pandal. On the bridegroom’s return, he and the bride seat themselves on planks placed on the dais, and are garlanded by their maternal uncle with wreaths of Nerium odorum flowers. The maternal uncle of the bride presents her with a ring. In some places, the bride is carried to the dais on the shoulders or in the arms of the maternal uncle. While the couple are seated on the dais the Valluvan priest lights the sacred fire (homam), and, repeating some words in corrupt Sanskrit, pours gingelly oil into the fire. He then does puja to the tali, and passes it round, to be touched and blessed by those assembled. The bridegroom, taking up the tali, shows it through a hole in the pandal to the sky or sun, and, on receipt of permission from those present, ties it round the neck of the bride. Thin plates of gold or silver, called pattam, are then tied on the foreheads of the contracting couple, first by the mother-in-law and sister-in-law. With Brahman and non-Brahman castes it is customary for the bride and bridegroom to fast until the tali has been tied. With Paraiyans, on the contrary, the rite is performed after a good meal. Towards the close of the marriage day, fruit, flowers, and betel are placed on a tray before the couple, and all the kankanams, seven in number, are removed, and put on the tray. After burning camphor, the bridegroom hands the tray to his wife, and it is exchanged between them three times. It is then given to the washerman. The proceedings terminate by the two going with linked hands three times round the pandal. On the following day, the bride’s relatives purchase some good curds, a number of plantains, sugar and pepper, which are mixed together. All assemble at the pandal, and some of the mixture is given to the headman, the newly married couple, and all who are present. All the articles which constitute the bride’s dowry are then placed in the pandal, and examined by the headman. If they are found to be correct, he proclaims the union of the couple, and more of the mixture is doled out. This ceremony is known as sambandham kural or sambandham piriththal (proclaiming relationship). Two or three days after the marriage, the bridegroom goes to the house of the bride, and remains there for three days. He is stopped at the entrance by his brother-in-law, who washes his feet, puts rings on the second toe, and keeps on pinching his feet until he has extracted a promise that the bridegroom will give his daughter, if one is born to him, in marriage to the son of his brother-in-law. The ring is put on the foot of the bride by her maternal uncle at the time of the marriage ceremony, after the wrist threads have been removed. In some places it is done by the mother-in-law or sister-in-law, before the tali is tied, behind a screen.

Polygamy is not common among the Paraiyans, but Mr. Clayton has known a few instances in which a Paraiyan had two regularly married wives, each wearing a tali. But it is very common to find that a Paraiyan has, in addition to his formally married wife, another woman who occupies a recognised position in his household. The first wears the tali. The other woman does not, but is called the second wife. She cannot be dismissed without the sanction of the paracheri council. The man who maintains her is called her husband, and her children are recognised as part of his family. Mr. Clayton believes that a second wife is usually taken only when the more formally married wife has no children, or when an additional worker is wanted in the house, or to help in the daily work. Thus a horsekeeper will often have two wives, one to prepare his meals and boil the gram for the horse, the other to go out day by day to collect grass for the horse. The Tamil proverb “The experience of a man with two wives is anguish” applies to all these double unions. There are constant quarrels between the two women, and the man is generally involved, often to his own great inconvenience. It is quite common for a Paraiyan to marry his deceased wife’s sister, if she is not already married.

A Paraiya woman usually goes to her mother’s house a month or two before she expects the birth of her first child, which is born there. Sometimes a medicine woman (maruttuvacchi), who possesses or professes some knowledge of drugs and midwifery, is called in, if the case is a bad one. Generally her barbarous treatment is but additional torture to the patient. Immediately after the birth of the child, the mother drinks a decoction called kashayam, in which there is much ginger. Hence the Tamil proverb “Is there any decoction without ginger in it?” About a week after the birth, the mother, as a purificatory ceremony, is rubbed with oil and bathed.

Among Sudras there is a family ceremony, to which the Sanskrit name Simanta has been assigned, though it is not the true Simanta observed by Brahmans. It occurs only in connection with a first pregnancy. The expectant mother stands bending over a rice mortar, and water or human milk is poured on her back by her husband’s elder or younger sister. Money is also given to buy jewels for the expected child. The ceremony is of no interest to anyone outside the family. Hence the proverb “Come, ye villagers, and pour water on this woman’s back.” This is used when outsiders are called in to do for a member of a family what the relatives ought to do. This ceremony is sometimes observed by Paraiyans. Among Brahmans it is believed to affect the sex of the child. It should be added that it is firmly believed that, if a woman dies during pregnancy or in childbed, her spirit becomes an exceedingly malignant ghost, and haunts the precincts of the village where she dies.

A widow does not wear the tali, which is removed at a gathering of relatives some days after her husband’s death. “The removal of the tali of a widow,” Mr. Francis writes,59 “is effected in a curious manner. On the sixteenth day after the husband’s death, another woman stands behind the widow, who stoops forward, and unties the tali in such a way that it falls into a vessel of milk placed to receive it. Adoption ceremonies are also odd. The adoptee’s feet are washed in turmeric water by the adopter, who then drinks a little of the liquid. Adoption is accordingly known as manjanir kudikkiradu, or the drinking of turmeric water, and the adopted son as the manjanir pillai, or turmeric water boy.” Paraiya women do not wear any distinctive dress when they are widows, and do not shave their heads. But they cease to paint the vermilion mark (kunkumam) on their foreheads, which married women who are living with their husbands always wear, except at times when they are considered ceremonially unclean. The widow of a Paraiyan, if not too old to bear children, generally lives with another man as his wife. Sometimes she is ceremonially married to him, and then wears the tali. A widow practically chooses her own second husband, and is not restricted to any particular relative, such as her husband’s elder or younger brother. The practice of the Levirate, by which the younger brother takes the widow of the elder, is non-existent as a custom among Paraiyas, though instances of such unions may be found. Indeed the popular opinion of the Tamil caste credits the Paraiyan with little regard for any of the restrictions of consanguinity, either prohibitive or permissive. “The palmyra palm has no shadow: the Paraiyan has no regard for seemliness” is a common Tamil proverb.

It is stated, in the Madras Census Report, 1891, that “the Paraiyans have been but little affected by Brahmanical doctrines and customs, though in respect to ceremonies they have not escaped their influence. Paraiyans are nominally Saivites, but in reality they are demon worshippers.” The Homakulam tank in the South Arcot district is reputed to be the place where Nanda, the Paraiyan saint, bathed before he performed sacrifice preparatory to his transfiguration to Brahmanhood.60 Brahman influence has scarcely affected the Paraiyan at all, even in ceremonial. No Paraiyan may enter any Vaishnava or Saiva temple even of the humblest sort, though of course his offerings of money are accepted, if presented by the hands of some friendly Sudra, even in such exclusive shrines as that of Sri Vira Raghava Swami at Tiruvallur. It is true that Paraiyans are often termed Saivites, but there are many nominal Vaishnavas among them, who regularly wear the namam of Vishnu on their foreheads. The truth is that the feminine deities, commonly called devata, have been identified by Hindus with the feminine energy of Siva, and thus the Paraiyans who worship them have received the sectarian epithet. As a matter of fact, the wearing of the namam of Vishnu, or the smearing of the ashes of Siva, is of no meaning to a Paraiyan. They are neither Saivites nor Vaishnavites.

Paraiyans.

Like all other Dravidians, the Paraiyans acknowledge the existence of a supreme, omnipresent, personal spiritual Being, the source of all, whom they call Kadavul (He who is). Kadavul possesses no temples, and is not worshipped, but he is the highest conception of Paraiya thought. Paraiyans worship at least three classes of godlings or devata, generally called the mothers (amma). Sometimes they are worshipped as the virgins (Kanniyamma) or the seven virgins. These mothers may be worshipped collectively in a group. They are then symbolised by seven stones or bricks, perhaps within a little enclosure, or on a little platform in the Paraiya hamlet, or under a margosa (Melia Azadirachta) tree, or sheltered by a wattle hut, or even by a small brick temple. This temple is universally known as the Amman Koil. More usually, one particular mother is worshipped at the Paraiya shrine. She is then called the grama devata, or village goddess, of the particular hamlet. The names of these goddesses are legion. Each village claims that its own mother is not the same as that of the next village, but all are supposed to be sisters. Each is supposed to be the guardian of the boundaries of the cheri or gramam where her temple lies, sometimes of both gramam and cheri. She is believed to protect its inhabitants and its livestock from disease, disaster and famine, to promote the fecundity of cattle and goats, and to give children. In a word, she is called the benefactress of the place, and of all in it who worship her. The following are a few of the names of these village tutelary deities:—

The symbol of the goddess may be a conical stone, or a carved idol. Occasionally a rude figure of the bull Nandi, and an iron trident mark the shrine. A lamp is often lighted before it at night.

The ceremonial of worship of all classes of devata is very simple. The worshipper prostrates himself before the symbol of the deity, whether one stone, seven stones, or an image. He anoints it with oil, smears it with saffron, daubs it with vermilion, garlands it with flowers (Nerium odorum by preference), burns a bit of camphor, and circumambulates the shrine, keeping his right side towards it. On special occasions he breaks cocoanuts, kills fowls, goats or sheep, of which the two last must be killed at one blow, pours out their blood, perhaps offers a little money, and goes his way, satisfied that he has done his best to propitiate the devata whom he has honoured.

Special shrines attain very great fame. Thus the goddess Bavaniyammal of Periyapalayam, some sixteen miles from Madras, is well known, and crowds come to her annual festival. Paraiyans, Pallis, and Chakkilians form the majority of the worshippers, but of late years Sudras and even Brahmans are to be found at her shrine. The homage rendered to her is twofold. Her worshippers sacrifice some thousands of sheep on the river bank outside her temple, and, entirely divesting themselves of their garments, and covering themselves with bunches of margosa leaves, go round the temple. Except on the five Sundays, usually in July and August, on which the festival is held, the shrine is forsaken, and the goddess is said to be a vegetarian; but on the five festival Sundays she is said to be as greedy for flesh as a leather-dresser’s (Chakkiliyan) wife.

Two goddesses hold a position distinct from the mothers as a group, or as tutelary goddesses. These are Gangammal and Mariyattal, and their peculiarity is that they are itinerant deities. Gangammal is often described as the goddess of cholera, and Mariyattal, as the goddess of small-pox, though both diseases are frequently ascribed to the latter. Mariyattal is worshipped under the names of Poleramma and Ammavaru by Telugus. For instance, near Arcotkuppam in the North Arcot district, a festival is held in honour of Gangammal in the Tamil month Vaikasi (May-June), in which Sudras join. The main feature of the festival is the boiling of new rice as at Pongal. Men also put on women’s clothes, and perform grotesque dances. In the same way, in the ten days’ festival in honour of Mariyattal held at Uttaramallur during the Tamil month Avani (August), the goddess is carried about by washermen (Vannan), who perform a kind of pantomime (vilas) in her honour. There is a curious belief that these goddesses (or Gangammal, if they are distinguished) must travel along roads and paths, and cannot go across country, and that they cannot pass over the leaves of the margosa or the stems of the plant called in Tamil perandei (Vitis quadrangularis). Consequently, when cholera is about, and the goddess is supposed to be travelling from village to village seeking victims, branches of margosa and long strings of perandei are placed on all the paths leading into the gramam or cheri. Sometimes, also, leaves of the margosa are strung together, and hung across the village street. These are called toranam.

Besides the deities already referred to, there are a number of ghosts, ghouls, and goblins (pey or pisasu), whom Paraiyans propitiate. Mathureiviran and Virabadran are, for example, two well-known demons.

Among Tamil Paraiyans there are families in almost every village, who hold a kind of sacerdotal rank in the esteem of their fellows. They are called Valluvans, Valluva Pandarams, or Valluva Paraiyans. Their position and authority depend largely on their own astuteness. Sometimes they are respected even by Brahmans for their powers as exorcists. It is often impossible to see any difference between the Valluvans and the ordinary Paraiyans, except that their houses are usually a little apart from other houses in the cheri. They take a leading part in local Paraiya festivals. At marriages they pronounce the blessing when the tali is tied round the bride’s neck.

In cases of supposed possession by demons, or by the mothers, the Valluvan is consulted as to the meaning of the portent, and takes part in driving the spirit out of the victim, sometimes using violence and blows to compel the spirit to deliver its message and be gone. The Census Report, 1901, states that Valluvans do not eat or intermarry with other sections of the Paraiyans. Mr. Clayton is unable to confirm this, and is inclined to doubt whether it is generally true.

The dead are buried as a rule, but sometimes the corpses are burnt. A portion of the village waste land is allotted for the purpose. Only Paraiyans are buried in it. The funeral rites are very simple. The corpse is carried on a temporary litter of palm leaf mats and bamboos, wrapped in a cotton cloth, which is a new one if it can be afforded, and interred or burnt. About the third or fifth day after death, the pal sadangu, or milk ceremony, should take place, when some milk is poured out by the next-of-kin as an offering to the spirit of the deceased. This spirit is then supposed to assume a sort of corporeity, and to depart to the place of respite till fate decrees that it be re-born. This ceremony is accompanied by a family feast. On the fifteenth day after death, another family gathering is held, and food is offered to the spirit of the dead person. This ceremony is called Karumantaram, or expiatory ceremony. Occasionally, for some months after the death, a few flowers are placed on the grave, and a cocoanut is broken over it; and some attempt is even made to recognise the anniversary of the date. But there is no regular custom and it is probably an imitation of Brahmanical usages. The ordinary Paraiyan’s conception of life after death is merely a vague belief that the departed soul continues its existence somewhere. He has no ordered eschatology. If a first-born male child dies, it is buried close to or even within the house, so that its corpse may not be carried off by a witch or sorcerer, to be used in magic rites, as the body of a first-born child is supposed to possess special virtues. It is noted by Mr. H. A. Stuart61 that “the Tangalans profess to have once been a very respectable class, and wear the sacred thread at weddings and funerals, while the other divisions never assume it.”

The following note on the death ceremonies of the Paraiyans at Coimbatore was supplied by Mr. V. Govindan. If the deceased was a married man, the corpse is placed in a sitting posture in a booth made of twigs of margosa and milk-hedge (Euphorbia Tirucalli), and supported behind by a mortar. The widow puts on all her ornaments, and decorates her hair with flowers. She seats herself on the left side of the corpse, in the hands of which some paddy (unhusked rice) or salt is placed. Taking hold of its hands, some one pours the contents thereof into the hands of the widow, who replaces them in those of the corpse. This is done thrice, and the widow then ties the rice in her cloth. On the way to the burial ground (sudukadu), the son carries a new pot, the barber a pot of cooked rice and brinjal (Solanum Melongena) fruits and other things required for doing puja. The Paraiyan in charge of the burial ground carries a fire-brand. The mats and other articles used by the deceased, and the materials of which the booth was made, are carried in front by the washerman, who deposits them at a spot between the house of the deceased and the burial ground called the idukadu, which is made to represent the shrine of Arichandra. Arichandra was a king, who became a slave of the Paraiyans, and is in charge of the burial ground. At the idukadu the corpse is placed on the ground, and the son, going thrice round it, breaks the pot of rice near its head. The barber makes a mark at the four corners of the bier, and the son places a quarter anna on three of the marks, and some cowdung on the mark at the north-east corner. The widow seats herself at the feet of the corpse, and another widowed woman breaks her tali string, and throws it on the corpse. Arrived at the grave, the gurukal (priest) descends into it, does puja and applies vibhuti (sacred ashes) to its sides. The body is lowered into it, and half a yard of cloth from the winding-sheet is given to the Paraiyan, and a quarter of a yard to an Andi (religious mendicant). The grave is filled in up to the neck of the corpse, and bael (Ægle Marmelos) leaves, salt, and vibhuti are placed on its head by the gurukal. The grave is then filled in, and a stone and thorny branch placed at the head end. As the son goes, carrying the water-pot, three times round the grave, the barber makes a hole in the pot, which is thrown on the stone. The son and other relations bathe and return to the house, where a vessel containing milk is set on a mortar, and another containing water placed at the door. They dip twigs of the pipal (Ficus religiosa) into the milk, and throw them on the roof. They also worship a lighted lamp. On the third day, cooked rice, and other food for which the deceased had a special liking, are taken to the grave, and placed on plantain leaves. Puja is done, and the crows are attracted to the spot. If they do not turn up, the gurukal prays, and throws up water three times. On the seventeenth day, the son and others, accompanied by the gurukal, carry a new brick and articles required for puja to the river. The brick is placed under water, and the son bathes. The articles for puja are spread on a plantain leaf, before which the son places the brick. Puja is done to it, and a piece of new cloth tied on it. It is then again carried to the water, and immersed therein. The ceremonial concludes with the lighting of the sacred fire (homam).

The death ceremonies of the Paraiyan, as carried out in the Chingleput district, are thus described by Mr. K. Rangachari. The corpse is washed, dressed, and carried on a bier to the burning or burial ground. Just before it is placed on the bier, all the relations, who are under pollution, go round it three times, carrying an iron measure round which straw has been wrapped, and containing a light. On the way to the burial ground, the son or grandson scatters paddy, which has been fried by the agnates. A pot of fire is carried by the Vettiyan. At a certain spot the bier is placed on the ground, and the son goes round it, carrying a pot of cooked rice, which he breaks near the head of the corpse. This rice should not be touched by man or beast, and it is generally buried. When the corpse has been placed on the pyre, or laid in the grave, rice is thrown over it by the relations. The son, carrying a pot of water, goes thrice round it, and asks those assembled if he may finish the ceremony. On receiving their assent, he again goes three times round the corpse, and, making three holes in the pot, throws it down, and goes home without looking back. If the dead person is unmarried, a mock marriage ceremony, called kanni kaziththal (removing bachelorhood), is performed before the corpse is laid on the bier. A garland of arka (Calotropis gigantea) flowers and leaves is placed round its neck, and balls of mud from a gutter are laid on the head, knees, and other parts of the body. In some places a variant of the ceremony consists in the erection of a mimic marriage booth which is covered with leaves of the arka plant, flowers of which are placed round the neck as a garland. On the third day after death, cooked rice, milk, fruits, etc., are offered to the soul of the departed on two leaves placed one near the head, the other near the feet of the corpse. Of these, the former is taken by men, and the latter by women, and eaten. The karmanthiram, or final ceremony, takes place on the twelfth or sixteenth day. All concerned in it proceed to a tank with cooked rice, cakes, etc. A figure of Ganesa (Pillayar) is made with mud, and five kalasam (vessels) are placed near it. The various articles which have been brought are set out in front of it. Two bricks, on which the figures of a man and woman are drawn, are given to the son, who washes them, and does puja to them after an effigy has been made at the waterside by a washerman. He then says “I gave calves and money. Enter Kailasam (the abode of Siva). Find your way to paralokam (the other world). I gave you milk and fruit. Go to the world of the dead. I gave gingelly (Sesamum) and milk. Enter yamalokam (abode of the god of death). Eleven descendants on the mother’s side and ten on the father’s, twenty-one in all, may they all enter heaven.” He then puts the bricks into the water. On their return home, the sons of the deceased are presented with new clothes.

It is recorded, in the Gazetteer of the Tanjore district, that, when a man dies, camphor is not burnt in the house, but at the junction of three lanes. Some Paraiyans, on the occurrence of a death in a family, put a pot filled with dung or water, a broomstick and a fire-brand at some place where three roads meet, or in front of the house, in order to prevent the ghost from returning. An impression of the dead man’s palm is taken in cow-dung, and stuck on the wall. In some places, e.g., at Tirutturaippundi, the Paraiyans observe a ceremony rather like that observed by Valaiyans and Karaiyans on the heir’s return from the burning-ground on the second day. Three rice-pounders and a chembu (vessel) of water are placed outside the door, and the heir sits on these, chews a piece of fish, spits thrice, and then goes and worships a light burning in the house.

Tattooing is practiced on women and children of both sexes, but not on grown men. With children it is confined to a simple line drawn down the forehead. Among Paraiyans who have become Roman Catholics, the device is sometimes a cross. Women, like those of other Tamil castes, frequently have their arms elaborately tattooed, and sometimes have a small pattern between the breasts. A legend runs to the effect that, many years ago, a Paraiyan woman wished her upper arms and chest to be tattooed in the form of a bodice. The operation was successfully carried out till the region of the heart was reached, and then a vulnerable part was punctured by the needles, with the result that the woman died. Whence has arisen a superstitious objection to tattooing of the breasts.

Sometimes an arei-mudi, shaped like the leaf of the puvarasa tree (Thespesia populnea), made of silver or silvered brass, is tied round the waist of female infants as an ornament. Small, flat plates of copper, called takudu, are frequently worn by children. One side is divided into sixteen squares, in which, what look like the Telugu numerals nine, ten, eleven and twelve are engraved. On the other side a circle is drawn, which is divided into eight segments, in each of which a Telugu letter is inscribed. This charm is supposed to protect the wearer from harm coming from any of the eight cardinal points of the Indian compass. Charms, in the form of metal cylinders, are worn for the same purpose by adults and children, and procured from some exorcist. Similar or the same charms are worn to avoid the baneful influence of the evil eye. To prevent this from affecting their crops, Paraiyans put up scarecrows in their fields. These are usually small broken earthen pots, whitewashed or covered with spots of whitewash, or even adorned with huge clay noses and ears, and made into grotesque faces. They are set up on the end of poles, to attract the eye of the passer-by from the crop. For the same reason more elaborate figures, made of mud and twigs, in human shape, are sometimes set up. Before wells are sunk, a charmer (mantirakkaran) is called in to recite spells and find a likely spot, cocoanuts are broken, and the milk thereof poured out to propitiate the gods of the place.

The Paraiyans are very largely employed as domestic servants by Europeans. And it has been said that “so necessary to the comfort of the public is the Paraiya that orthodox Brahman gentlemen may be seen employing Paraiya coachmen and syces (footmen). The Christian Paraiya has become ‘Native Christian’ caste, and has achieved, among other things, University honours, the wearing of the surplice, and the rod of the pedagogue.”62 Vast numbers of Paraiyans are agricultural labourers. Till a score or so of years ago some were actually bond serfs, and there are instances on record in quite recent years, which show that it was no infrequent thing for a Paraiyan to mortgage his son as security for the repayment of a loan. Some Paraiya families own much land.

It is noted by Mr. Francis63 that in the South Arcot district, “their numbers, and the comparative wealth which ground-nut (Arachis hypogÆa) cultivation has brought them, have caused them to take a rather better social position here than elsewhere, and they are actually beginning to copy the social ways of the higher castes, sometimes burning their dead (though those who have died of cholera or small-pox are still always buried), marrying their children when infants, and looking with disfavour on the remarriage of widows.”

Current Tamil speech and custom divide the landless labouring Paraiyans into padiyal and kuliyal. The padiyal is definitely and hereditarily attached to some land-holding family in the Hindu grama. He can work for no one else, and cannot change masters. His privilege is that in times of drought and famine his master must support him. The kuliyal is a mere day labourer, only employed, and therefore only receiving pay (kuli) when required. He has no claim for maintenance in seasons of scarcity, and, though no man’s serf, is worse off than the padiyal.

Three communal servants, the grave-digger (Vettiyan), watchman (Talaiyari), and scavenger (Toti) are all Paraiyans. The Vettiyan officiates when a corpse is buried or burned. Hence the proverb against meddling in what ought to be left to some one else:—“Let the Vettiyan and the corpse struggle together.” The Rev. H. Jensen notes64 in connection with this proverb that “when fire is applied to the pyre at the burning-ground, it sometimes happens that the muscles of the corpse contract in such a fashion that the body moves, and the grave-digger has to beat it down into the fire. It looks as if the two were engaged in a struggle. But no one else should interfere. The grave-digger knows his own work best.”

It is noted by Mr. H. A. Stuart65 that “among the lower class of Vellam Paraiyans, who are the village totis, the following legend is current, accounting for the perquisites which they get for performing the menial work of the village. When Adi Sesha was supporting the earth, he became weary, and prayed to Siva for assistance. Siva ordered a Paraiyan to beat upon his drum, and cry ‘Let the ripe decay.’ The Paraiyan enquired what should be his reward, and was granted the following privileges, viz., mankuli (reward for burning corpses), san tuni (a span cloth), vaykkarisi (the rice in the corpse’s mouth), pinda soru (morsel of boiled rice), and suttu kuli (fee for bringing firewood). This seemed to the Paraiya very little, and so, to increase the death-rate and consequently his perquisites, he cried ‘Let the ripe and the unripe decay.’ The swami (god) remonstrated with him, for the result of his cry was that children and the middle-aged among men died. The man pleaded poverty, and was given four additional privileges, viz., a merkal to measure grain, a rod to measure the ground, a scythe to cut grass, and the privilege of carrying the karagam-pot when annually running over the village boundary. All the above privileges still belong to the village vettis, who receive fees for performing the duties referred to in the legend.”

Some Paraiyans eat carrion, and Mr. Clayton has known them dig up a buffalo which had been buried some hours, and eat its flesh. It is said that even the lowest Paraiyans will not eat the flesh of cows, but leave that to the leather-dressers (Chakkiliyans). Mr. Stuart, however, states66 that “the Konga Paraiyans and the Vellam Paraiyans, who do scavenging work, will eat cows that have died a natural death, while Tangalans only eat such as have been slaughtered.” In time of famine, the Paraiyans dig into ant-hills to rob the ants of their store of grass seed. This is called pillarisi or grass rice.

There are many proverbs in Tamil, which refer to Paraiyans, from which the following are selected:—

• (1) If a Paraiyan boils rice, will it not reach God? i.e., God will notice all piety, even that of a Paraiyan.
• (2) When a Paraiya woman eats betel, her ten fingers (will be daubed with) lime. The Paraiya woman is a proverbial slut.
• (3) Though a Paraiya woman’s child be put to school, it will still say Ayye. Ayye is vulgar Tamil for Aiyar, meaning Sir.
• (4) The palmyra palm has no shadow; the Paraiyan has no decency. A contemptuous reference to Paraiya morality.
• (5) The gourd flower and the Paraiyan’s song have no savour. Paraiyans use this saying about their own singing.
• (6) Though seventy years of age, a Paraiyan will only do what he is compelled.
• (7) You may believe a Paraiyan, even in ten ways; you cannot believe a Brahman. Almost the only saying in favour of the Paraiyan.
• (8) Is the sepoy who massacred a thousand horse now living in disgrace with the dogs of the paracheri?
• (9) Paraiyan’s talk is half-talk. A reference to Paraiya vulgarisms of speech.
• (10) Like Paraiya and Brahman, i.e., as different as possible.
• (11) Not even a Paraiyan will plough on a full moon day.
• (12) Paracheri manure gives a better yield than any other manure.
• (13) The drum is beaten at weddings, and also at funerals. Said, according to the Rev. H. Jensen, of a double-dealing unreliable person, who is as ready for good as for evil.
• (14) The harvest of the Paraiya never comes home.

The term Paraiya, it may be noted, is applied to the common dog of Indian towns and villages, and to the scavenger kite, Milvus Govinda.

The Paraiyans are included by Mr. F. S. Mullaly in his ‘Notes on Criminal Classes of the Madras Presidency.’ “The local criminals,” he writes, “throughout the Presidency in all villages are the Paraiyas, and, though they cannot be considered de facto a criminal tribe, yet a very large proportion of the criminals of the Presidency are of this caste, notable among them being the Vepur Paraiyas of South Arcot.” For an account of these Vepur Paraiyas and their methods I must refer the reader to Mr. Mullaly’s description thereof. Concerning these criminal Paraiyans, Mr. Francis writes as follows.67 “There is one branch of them in Suttukulam, a hamlet of Cuddalore. They are often known as the Tiruttu (thieving) Paraiyans. The crimes to which they are most addicted are house-breaking and the theft of cattle, sheep and goats, and the difficulty of bringing them to book is increased by the organised manner in which they carry on their depredations. They are, for example, commonly in league with the very heads of villages, who ought to be doing their utmost to secure their arrest, and they have useful allies in some of the Udaiyans of these parts. It is commonly declared that their relations are sometimes of a closer nature, and that the wives of Vepur Paraiyans who are in enforced retirement are cared for by the Udaiyans. To this is popularly attributed the undoubted fact that these Paraiyans are often much fairer in complexion than other members of that caste.” It is said to be traditional among the Vepur Paraiyans that the talis (marriage badges) of Hindu women and lamps should not be stolen from a house, and that personal violence should not be resorted to, except when unavoidably necessary for the purpose of escape or self-defence.

In a kindly note on the Paraiya classes, Surgeon-Major W. R. Cornish sums them up as follows.68 “A laborious, frugal, and pleasure-loving people, they are the very life-blood of the country, in whatever field of labour they engage in. The British administration has freed them, as a community, from the yoke of hereditary slavery, and from the legal disabilities under which they suffered; but they still remain in the lowest depths of social degradation. The Christian missionaries, to their undying honour be it said, have, as a rule, persevered in breaking through the time-honoured custom of treating the Paraiya as dirt, and have admitted him to equal rights and privileges in their schools and churches, and, whatever may be the present position of the Paraiya community in regard to education, intelligence, and ability to hold a place for themselves, they owe it almost wholly to the Christian men and women who have given up their lives to win souls for their great Master.”

Paraiyans of Malabar, Cochin and Travancore.—For the following note on the Paraiyans or Paraiyas of Cochin I am indebted to Mr. L. K. Anantha Krishna Aiyar.69 Paraiyas belong to a very low caste of the agrestic serfs of Cochin, next to Pulayas in order of social precedence. They will eat at the hands of all castes, save Ulladans, Nayadis, and Pulayas. But orthodox Pulayas have to bathe five times, and let blood flow, in order to be purified from pollution if they touch a Paraiya. In rural parts, a Paraiya’s hut may be seen far away on the hill-side. At the approach of a member of some higher caste, the inmates run away to the forest. They cannot walk along the public roads, or in the vicinity of houses occupied by the higher castes. It is said that they at times steal the children of Nayars, and hide them in the forest, to bring them up as their own. They are extremely filthy in person and habits. They very rarely bathe, or wash their bodies, and a cloth, purchased at harvest time, is worn till it falls to pieces. They will eat the flesh of cattle, and are on this account despised even by the Pulayas. They are their own barbers and washermen.

A legend runs to the effect that Vararuchi, the famous astrologer, and son of a Brahman named Chandragupta and his Brahman wife, became the King of Avanthi, and ruled till Vikramaditya, the son of Chandragupta by his Kshatriya wife, came of age, when he abdicated in his favour. Once, when he was resting under an ashwastha tree (Ficus religiosa), invoking the support of the deity living therein, he overheard the conversation of two Gandarvas on the tree, to the effect that he would marry a Paraiya girl. This he prevented by requesting the king to have her enclosed in a box, and floated down a river with a nail stuck into her head. The box was taken possession of by a Brahman, who was bathing lower down, and, on opening it, he found a beautiful girl, whom he considered to be a divine gift, and regarded as his own daughter. One day the Brahman, seeing Vararuchi passing by, invited him to mess with him, and his invitation was accepted on condition that he would prepare eighteen curries, and give him what remained after feeding a hundred Brahmans. The Brahman was puzzled, but the maiden, taking a long leaf, placed thereon a preparation of ginger corresponding to eighteen curries, and with it some boiled rice used as an offering at the Vaiswadeva ceremony, as the equivalent of the food for Brahmans. Knowing this to be the work of the maiden, Vararuchi desired to marry her, and his wish was acceded to by the Brahman. One day, while conversing with his wife about their past lives, he chanced to see a nail stuck in her head, and he knew her to be the girl whom he had caused to be floated down the stream. He accordingly resolved to go on a pilgrimage with his wife, bathing in rivers, and worshipping at temples. At last they came to Kerala, where the woman bore him twelve sons, all of whom, except one, were taken care of by members of different castes. They were all remarkable for their wisdom, and believed to be the avatar (incarnation) of Vishnu, gifted with the power of performing miracles. One of them was Pakkanar, the great Malayalam bard. Once, it is said, when some Brahmans resolved to go to Benares, Pakkanar tried to dissuade them from so doing by telling them that the journey to the sacred city would not be productive of salvation. To prove the fruitlessness of their journey, he plucked a lotus flower from a stagnant pool, and gave it to them with instructions to deliver it to a hand which would rise from the Ganges, when they were to say that it was a present for the goddess Ganga from Pakkanar. They did as directed, and returned with news of the miracle. Pakkanar then led them to the stagnant pool, and said “Please return the lotus flower, Oh! Ganga,” when it appeared in his hand. Pakkanar is said to have earned his living by the sale of the wicker-work, which he made. One day he could not sell his baskets, and he had to go starving. A neighbour, however, gave him some milk, which Pakkanar accepted, and told the donor to think of him if ever he was in danger. The neighbour had a married daughter living with him, who, some time after, was dying of snake-bite. But her father remembered the words of Pakkanar, who came to the rescue, and cured her. One of Pakkanar’s brothers was named Narayana Branthan, who pretended to be a lunatic, and whose special delight was in rolling huge stones up a hill, for the pleasure of seeing them roll down. Though the son of a Brahman, he mixed freely with members of all castes, and had no scruple about dining with them. A Nambutiri Brahman once asked him to choose an auspicious day for the performance of his son’s upanayanam (thread ceremony). He selected a most inauspicious day and hour, when the boy’s family assembled and asked Narayana whether the rite should be celebrated. He told the father to look at the sky, which became brilliantly illuminated, and a Brahman was seen changing his sacred thread. The omen being considered favourable, the investiture ceremony was proceeded with.

The Paraiyas of Malabar and Cochin are celebrated for their knowledge of black magic, and are consulted in matters relating to theft, demoniacal influence, and the killing of enemies. Whenever anything is stolen, the Paraiya magician is consulted. Giving hopes of the recovery of the stolen article, he receives from his client some paddy (rice) and a few panams (money), with which he purchases plantain fruits, a cocoanut or two, toddy, camphor, frankincense, and rice flour. After bathing, he offers these to his favourite deity Parakutti, who is represented by a stone placed in front of his hut. Rattling an iron instrument, and singing till his voice almost fails, he invokes the god. If the lost property does not turn up, he resorts to a more indignant and abusive form of invocation. If the thief has to be caught, his prayers are redoubled, and he becomes possessed, and blood passes out of his nose and mouth. When a person is ill, or under the influence of a demon, an astrologer and a magician named by the former are consulted. The magician, taking a cadjan (palm) leaf or copper or silver sheet, draws thereon cabalistic figures, and utters a mantram (prayer). Rolling up the leaf or sheet, he ties it to a thread, and it is worn round the neck in the case of a woman, and round the loins in the case of a man. Sometimes the magician, taking a thread, makes several knots in it, while reciting a mantram. The thread is worn round the neck or wrist. Or ashes are thrown over a sick person, and rubbed over the forehead and breast, while a mantram is repeated. Of mantrams, the following may be cited as examples. “Salutation to god with a thousand locks of matted hair, a thousand hands filling the three worlds and overflowing the same. Oh! Goddess mother, out of the supreme soul, descend. Oh! Sundara Yaksha (handsome she-devil), Swaha (an efficacious word).” “Salutation to god. He bears a lion on his head, or is in the form of a lion in the upper part of his body. In the mooladhara sits Garuda, the lord of birds, enemy of serpents, and vahana (vehicle) of Vishnu. He has Lakshmana to the left, Rama to the right, Hanuman in front, Ravana behind, and all around, above, below, everywhere he has Sri Narayana Swaha. Mayst thou watch over or protect me.”

The Paraiyans are notorious for the performance of marana kriyakal, or ceremonies for the killing of enemies. They resort to various methods, of which the following are examples:—

(1) Make an image in wax in the form of your enemy. Take it in your right hand, and your chain of beads in your left hand. Then burn the image with due rites, and it shall slay your enemy in a fortnight.

(2) Take a human bone from a burial-ground, and recite over it a thousand times the following mantra:—“Oh, swine-faced goddess! seize him, seize him as a victim. Drink his blood; eat, eat his flesh. Oh, image of imminent death! Malayala Bhagavathi.” The bone, thrown into the enemy’s house, will cause his ruin.

Odi or oti cult (breaking the human body) is the name given to a form of black magic practiced by the Paraiyans, who, when proficient in it, are believed to be able to render themselves invisible, or assume the form of a bull, cat, or dog. They are supposed to be able to entice pregnant women from their houses at dead of night, to destroy the foetus in the womb, and substitute other substances for it; to bring sickness and death upon people; and so to bewitch people as to transport them from one place to another. A Paraiya who wishes to practice the cult goes to a guru (preceptor), and, falling at his feet, humbly requests that he may be admitted into the mysteries of the art. The master first tries to dissuade him, but the disciple persists in the desire to learn it. He is then tried by various tests as to his fitness. He follows his master to the forests and lonely places at midnight. The master suddenly makes himself invisible, and soon appears before him in the form of a terrible bull, a ferocious dog, or an elephant, when the novice should remain calm and collected. He is also required to pass a night or two in the forest, which, according to his firm belief, is full of strange beings howling horribly. He should remain unmoved. By these and other trials, he is tested as to his fitness. Having passed through the various ordeals, the guru initiates him into the brotherhood by the performance of puja on an auspicious day to his favourite Nili, called also Kallatikode Nili, through whose aid he works his black art. Flesh and liquor are consumed, and the disciple is taught how to prepare pilla thilam and angola thilam, which are the potent medicines for the working of his cult. The chief ingredient in the preparation of pilla thilam, or baby oil, is the sixth or seventh month’s foetus of a primipara, who should belong to a caste other than that of the sorcerer. Having satisfied himself that the omens are favourable, he sets out at midnight for the house of the woman selected as his victim, and walks several times round it, waving a cocoanut shell containing a mixture of lime and turmeric water (gurusi), and muttering mantrams to secure the aid of the deity. He also draws yantrams (cabalistic devices) on the ground. The woman is compelled to come out of her house. Even if the door is locked, she will bang her head against it, and force it open. The sorcerer leads her to a retired spot, strips her naked, and tells her to lie flat on the ground. This she does, and a vessel made of a gourd (Lagenaria) is placed close to her vagina. The uterus then contracts, and the foetus emerges. Sometimes, it is said, the uterus is filled with some rubbish, and the woman instantly dies. Care is taken that the foetus does not touch the ground, as the potency of the drug would thereby be ruined. The foetus is cut to pieces, and smoked over a fire. It is then placed in a vessel provided with a few holes, below which is another vessel. The two are placed in a larger receptacle filled with water, which is heated over a fire. From the foetus a liquid exudes, which is collected in the lower vessel. A human skull is then reduced to a fine powder, which is mixed with a portion of the liquid (thilam). With the mixture a mark is made on the forehead of the sorcerer, who rubs some of it over various parts of his body, and drinks a small quantity of cow-dung water. He then thinks that he can assume the form of any animal he likes, and achieve his object in view, be it murder or bodily injury. The magic oil, called angola thilam, is extracted from the angola tree (Alangium Lamarckii), which bears a very large number of fruits. One of these is believed to be endowed with life and power of motion, and to be capable of descending and returning to its original position on dark nights. Its possession can be attained by demons, or by an expert watching at the foot of the tree. When it has been secured, the extraction of the oil involves the same operations as those for extracting the pilla thilam, and they must be carried out within seven hours. A mark made on the forehead with the oil enables its wearer to achieve his desires, and to transform himself into some animal.

When a person has an enemy whom he wishes to get rid of, the Paraiya magician is consulted, and the name of the enemy given to him. Identifying his residence, the Paraiya starts off on a dark night, and anyone whom he comes across is at once dispatched with a blow. The victim comes out of his house in a state of stupefaction, and the magician puts him to death either by a blow on the head, or by suffocating him with two sticks applied to his neck. Odi cult is said to have been practiced till only a few years ago in the rural parts of the northern part of the State, and in the taluks of Palghat and Walluvanad in Malabar, and even now it has not entirely died out. But cases of extracting foetuses and putting persons to death are not heard of at the present day, owing to the fear of Government officials, landlords, and others. The story is current of a Nayar village official, who had two fine bullocks, which a Mappila wished to purchase. The Nayar, however, was unwilling to part with them. The Mappila accordingly engaged some men to steal the animals. Availing themselves of the absence of the Nayar from home, the robbers went to his house, where they saw a Paraiya and his wife practicing the odi cult, and compelling a young woman to come out of the house, and lie on the ground. Catching hold of the Paraiya, the robbers tied him to a tree, and secured him. The man and his wife were beaten, and the would-be robbers rewarded with a present of the bullocks.

The Paraiyans have no temples of their own, but worship Siva or Kali. According to a legend, in Tretayuga (the second age), a Paraiya named Samvara, and his wife Pulini were living in a forest, and one day came across a Sivalinga (stone lingam) at a dilapidated temple, which they kept, and worshipped with offerings of flesh, and by smearing it with ashes from the burial-ground. On a certain day, no ashes were available, and the woman offered to have her body burnt, so that the ashes thereof might be used. With much reluctance her husband sacrificed her, and performed puja. Then he turned round to offer, as usual, the prasadam to his wife forgetting that she was dead, and he was surprised to see her standing before him, receiving his offering (prasadam), in flesh and blood. Highly pleased with their conduct, Siva appeared in person before them, and gave them absolution.

In every small village in the rural parts, is a small Bhagavati temple, to the deity of which the Paraiyas are devotedly attached, and look to it for protection in times of cholera, small-pox, or other calamities. Kodungallur Bhagavati is their guardian deity, and they take part in the festivals (yela) at the shrine. A few days before the festival, a piece of cloth is given to the Velichapad (oracle), who dresses himself in it, wears a piece of red cloth round his neck, a peculiar dress around his loins, and ties a few small bells (chelamba) round his legs. Accompanied by others with drums and fife and a basket, he goes to every Nayar house daily for seven days, and receives presents of paddy, wherewith to defray the expenses of the festival. During the celebration thereof, the Velichapad and others go to a shed at a distance from the temple (kavu), some dressed up as ghosts, and dance and sing, to the accompaniment of a band, in honour of the deity.

In a note on the Paraiyans of Malabar, Mr. T. K. Gopaul Panikkar writes70 that “at certain periods of the year the Paraiyas have to assume the garb of an evil deity, with large head-dresses and paintings on the body and face, and tender cocoanut leaves hanging loose around their waists, all these embellishments being of the rudest patterns. With figures such as these, terror-striking in themselves, dancing with tom-toms sounding and horns blowing, representing the various temple deities, they visit the Nair houses, professing thereby to drive off any evil deities that may be haunting their neighbourhood. After their dues have been given to them, they go their ways; and, on the last day, after finishing their house-to-house visits, they collect near their special temples to take part in the vela tamasha (spectacle).”

On the first of every month, a ceremony called kalasam is performed on behalf of the spirits of the departed. Fish, cooked meat, rice, parched grain, plantain fruits, cocoanuts, toddy, and other things, are placed on a leaf with a lighted lamp in front of it. A prayer is then uttered, expressing a hope that the ancestors will partake of the food which has been procured for them with much difficulty, and protect the living. One man, becoming inspired, acts the part of an oracle, and addresses those assembled.

The following story is narrated concerning the origin of the Elankunnapuzha temple on the island of Vypin. When some Paraiyas were cutting reeds, one of them discovered a remarkable idol and fell into a trance, under the influence of which he informed the Raja of Cochin that the idol originally belonged to the Trichendur temple in Tinnevelly, and that he must build a shrine for it. This was accordingly done, and to the Paraiyan who discovered the idol a daily allowance of rice, and a larger quantity of rice during the annual temple festival were given. In return, he had to supply cadjan (palm leaf) umbrellas used at the daily procession, and bamboo baskets required for washing the rice offered to the idol. These allowances were received by the Perum or big Paraiyan up to a recent date, even if he is not receiving them at the present day.

When a Paraiyan woman is delivered, she is secluded for two weeks in a temporary hut erected at a short distance from the dwelling hut. On the tenth day, some male member of the family goes to his Brahman or Nayar landlord, from whom he receives some milk, which is sprinkled over the woman and her infant. She can then come to the verandah of her home, and remains there for five days, when she is purified by bathing. The temporary hut is burnt down.

The dead are buried, and the corpse, after being laid in the grave, is covered with a mat.

The Paraiyas are engaged in the manufacture of wicker baskets, bamboo mats, and cadjan umbrellas. They also take part in all kinds of agricultural work, and, when ploughing, will not use buffaloes, which are regarded as unclean beasts, the touch of which necessitates a ceremonial ablution.

Many Paraiyans become converts to Christianity, and thereby receive a rise in the social scale, and a freedom from the disabilities under which their lowly position in the social scale places them.

In 1829 several natives of Malabar were charged with having proceeded, in company with a Paraiyan, to the house of a pregnant woman, who was beaten and otherwise ill-treated, and with having taken the foetus out of her uterus, and introduced in lieu thereof the skin of a calf and an earthen pot. The prisoners confessed before the police, but were acquitted, mainly on the ground that the earthen pot was of a size which rendered it impossible to credit its introduction during life.

In 1834 the inhabitants of several villages in Malabar attacked a village of Paraiyans on the alleged ground that deaths of people and cattle, and the protracted labour of a woman in childbed, had been caused by the practice of sorcery by the Paraiyans. They were beaten inhumanely, with their hands tied behind their backs, so that several died. The villagers were driven, bound, into a river, immersed under water so as nearly to produce suffocation, and their own children were forced to rub sand into their wounds. Their settlement was then razed to the ground and they were driven into banishment.

The following extract is taken from a note on the Paraiyans of Travancore by Mr. N. Subramani Aiyar. The Paraiyas may be broadly divided into two classes, viz., the Tamil-speaking Paraiyas of the east coast who are found in considerable numbers in the southern taluks, and the indigenous Paraiyas, who mostly abound in Central Travancore, avoiding the sea-coast taluks. The latter only are considered here. The titles owned by some are Velan conferred upon certain families for their skill in magic; Panikkan; and Muppan. The Paraiyas may be mainly divided into four divisions, viz., Vellam (water or jaggery?), Vel (a lance), Natuvile (middle), and Pani (work). The last is considered to be the lowest in the social scale, and members thereof are not admitted into the houses of the other divisions. One theory of the origin of the Paraiyas is that they were formerly one with the Pulayas, from whom they separated on account of their eating beef. The Paraiyas have a dialect of their own, with which the Pulayas are not familiar, and which would seem to be worthy of study. In the Keralolpathi, they are classed as one of the sixteen hill tribes. Concerning their origin the following tradition is current. They were originally Brahmans, but, on certain coparceners partitioning the common inheritance, the carcase of a cow, which was one of the articles to be partitioned, was burnt as being useless. A drop of oil fell from the burning animal on to one of the parties, and he licked it up with his tongue. For this act he was cast out of society, and his descendants, under the name of Paraiyas, became cow-eaters. Pakkanar is said to have been born a Paraiyan, though subsequent tradition honours him with Brahmanical parentage.

The houses of the Paraiyas are, like those of the Pulayas, mean thatched sheds, with a couple of cocoanut leaves often serving as the wall between one room and another. The village sites are shifted from place to place, according to the exigencies of the inhabitants thereof. The Paraiyas imbibe freely, and toddy is the drink most scrupulously prescribed for those who are under a vow. Like the Pulayas, the Paraiyas work in the rice fields and cocoanut gardens, and are employed in hill cultivation, and the manufacture of wicker baskets. The sun god is their principal deity, and in his name all solemn oaths are uttered. It is believed that the Brahman who originally became a Paraiya cursed Brahma. To remove the evil effects of the curse, the sun gave to his descendants as objects of worship forty-eight thousand gods and eight special deities. A certain portion of the house is regarded as their own, and to them offerings of beaten rice and toddy are made on the first of every month, and, if convenient, every Tuesday and Friday. To these deities small shrines are dedicated, whereat the priests, on the 28th of Makaram (January-February), become inspired, and answer questions concerning the future put to them by the assembled Paraiyas. The priests are known as Kaikkarans, and belong ordinarily to the lowest or Pani division.

Adultery, be it said to the credit of the Paraiyas, is an offence which is severely punished. The man is fined, and the erring woman has to jump over a fire which is blazing in a deep pit. This ordeal recalls to mind the smarthavicharam of the Namburi Brahman.

Pollution, on the occurrence of the first monthly period, lasts for seven days. The headmen and elders, called Jajamanmar and Karanavanmar, are invited to attend, and direct four women of the village to take the girl to a hut erected at a considerable distance from the house. This hut is called pachchakottilil kutiyiruttuka, or seating a person within a hut made of green leaves. On the fourth day the girl has a bath, and the Kaikkaran waves paddy and flowers in front of her. On the morning of the eighth day the shed is burnt down, and the place occupied by it cleansed with water and cow-dung. The girl bathes, and is thus rendered free from pollution. A woman, during her menses, should remain at a distance of sixty-four feet from others.

The Paraiyas observe two marriage rites, the tali-kettu and sambandham. The former ceremony must be performed before the girl reaches puberty, and the tali-tier is her maternal uncle’s or paternal aunt’s son. The Kaikkaran invites at least four headmen to be present, and they prescribe the manner in which the ceremony is to be performed. The auspicious time for the marriage celebration is fixed by a Kaniyan (astrologer), and, on the day before the wedding, the Kaikkaran invites the Paraiyas of the village to be present at the tunniruttal, or erection of the pandal (booth). All those who attend are presented with betel, tobacco, and a liberal allowance of toddy. The next item in the programme is the vachchorukkal, or placing beaten and cooked rice, flowers, toddy, and other things in the pandal, under the direction of the Kaikkaran. Some of the assembled males then sing a song called maranpattu, or song of the god of love. The bride then becomes inspired, and dances, while the sorcerer rolls out mystic hymns. On the following morning, the bridegroom goes to the home of the bride in procession, and is led to a wooden seat in the centre of the pandal, where he is joined by the bride, who seats herself on his left. He then ties the minnu (marriage badge) round her neck, and retires with her to the maniyara, or bedroom, where they remain together for some minutes. On the final day of the ceremonies, the bride is bathed.

When a Kaikkaran dies, a conch shell is buried with the corpse. Once a year, and on some new moon day, offerings are made to all the deceased ancestors.

The Paraiyas have a dramatic entertainment called Paraiyan Kali, in which the performer plays his part, standing on a mortar, to the accompaniment of music.

Paraiyas are required to keep at a distance of 128 feet from Brahmans, i.e., double the distance required of a Pulaya. But they will not receive food at the hands of the Pulayas.

In a further note on the “Paraiya Caste in Travancore,” the Rev. S. Mateer writes as follows.71 “They were formerly bought and sold like cattle, starved, flogged ‘like buffaloes,’ made to work all day for a little rice, and kept at a distance as polluted; and they still are in a position of subservience and deep degradation, not vitally differing from that of the Pulayas and Vedars. One particular characteristic of this caste, and most offensive to others, is that they eat the flesh of bullocks and cows left dead by the roadside. They cut it up, and bear it away; what they leave the vultures and dogs devour. This disgusting practice is to a great extent disappearing among the Christian castes. The Paraiyas of Nevandrum (Trivandrum?) district live in clusters of huts, and eat the putrid flesh of dead cattle, tigers, and other animals. Their girls are ‘married’ when very young for mere form to their cousins, but, when grown up, are selected by others, who give them a cloth, and live with them in concubinage. Cases of polygamy occur, and sometimes also of polyandry. They eat the seed of Ochlandra Rheedii, which abounds in an unusually dry season, as does also the bamboo. Jungle roots, land crabs, and snails form part of their food. Some of them have enough of rice at harvest time, but seldom at any other period of the year. They are zealous devil worshippers, their chief demons being Madan (the cow one), Rathachamandy Mallan (the giant) and Muvaratta Mallan, Karunkali (black kali), Chavus (departed spirits), Bhutham, Mantramurtti, and other Murttis (ghosts), with many other evil beings, to whom groves and altars are dedicated. The souls of their deceased ancestors are called Marutta (ghosts), for whose worship young cocoanut leaves are tied at the bottom of a tree, and a small shed is erected on poles, and decorated with garlands of flowers. Presents of cocoanuts, parched rice, and arrack are offered, and cocks killed in sacrifice. In the devil-dancing they use clubs and rattans, bells, handkerchiefs, and cloths dedicated to their deities. Other castes generally dread incurring the displeasure and malice of these deities. Sudras and Shanars frequently employ the Paraiya devil-dancers and sorcerers to exorcise demons, search for and dig out magical charms buried in the earth by enemies, and counteract their enchantments; and, in cases of sickness, send for them to beat the drum, and so discover what demon has caused the affliction, and what is to be done to remove it. Sometimes a present of a cow is given for those services. These pretended sorcerers are slightly acquainted with a few medicines, profess to cure snake-bite, and can repeat some tales of the Hindu gods. They also profess to discover thieves, who sometimes indeed through fear actually take ill, confess, and restore the property. One priest whom I knew used to pretend that he had a ‘bird devil’ in his possession, by which he could cast out other devils. On one occasion, however, when he made the attempt in the presence of a large concourse of Sudras and others, he utterly failed, and hurt himself severely by beating his chest with a cocoanut and leaping into the fire. He soon after resolved to abandon this course of life, and became a Christian.

“After the wife’s confinement, the husband is starved for seven days, eating no cooked rice or other food, only roots and fruits, and drinking only arrack or toddy. The shed, in which she was confined, is burnt down.

“In cases of sickness, the diviner is first consulted as to its cause. He names a demon, and offerings are demanded of rice, fruits, flowers, and fowls. Being daily supplied with these articles, the diviner spreads cow-dung thinly over a small space in the yard, where he places the offerings on three plantain leaves, invokes the presence of the demons, dances and repeats mantras, looking towards the east. He catches the demon that is supposed to come in an old piece of cloth filled with flowers and parched rice, and carries both demon and offerings into the jungle, where, again preparing a spot as before, two torches are set, the food arranged, and, after further mantras, a fowl is sacrificed. He takes the whole afterwards for himself, gets a good meal, and is also paid twelve chuckrams (small silver coins) for the service.

“In cases of small-pox, one who has had this disease is called in to attend. He takes the patient to a temporary hut in a lonely place, and is well paid, and supplied with all that he requires. Through fear, none of the relatives will go near. Should the patient die, the attendant buries him on the spot, performing the ceremonies himself, then comes to the house, repeats mantras, and waves his hands round the head of each to remove further alarm. If a woman with child dies, she is buried at a great distance away. Occasionally the remains of an aged man are burnt on a funeral pile, as being more honourable than burial, and providing some merit to the soul.

“Let us pay a visit to one of the rural hamlets of the Kolam Paraiyans, a considerable sub-division of this caste. The cattle manure is saved, but handed over to the Sudra farmers. The Paraiyas plant a few trees around their settlement as otti (mortgage) and kurikanam (a kind of tenant right), then pay a sum to the Sudra landowner to permit them to enjoy the produce, as it is so difficult for them to get waste lands registered in their own name. Some have cleared lands, and possess a few cocoanut and betel-nut palms, mangoes, etc. They may have a few cattle also, and let out a milch cow to the shepherds at one rupee per month. They grow some vegetables, etc., in waste valley lands temporarily cleared and cultivated. They work in the rice fields, sowing, planting, and reaping, for which they are paid in paddy. During the slack season they work at making mats of Ochlandra Rheedii, for which the men bring loads of the reeds from the hills, and the women do the work of plaiting. This art they are said to have learnt from the Kanikar hill-men.

“Some Paraiyas in Nanjinad have enjoyed ancestral property for six generations, and a few still have good properties. Titles were purchased for money of the Rajas of Travancore, e.g., Sambavan, an old name for Pandi Paraiyas. The Raja gave to such a headman a cane, and authority to claim a double allowance of betel, etc. He, however, had in his turn to give double at funerals and festivals to his visitors. This head Paraiyan would be met with drums and marks of honour by his people, and the arrangement would enable the Government to rule the Paraiyas more easily. It is said that some Raja, fleeing in war, hid himself in Paraiya huts at Changankadei, and was thereby saved, for which he gave them a small grant of land producing a few fanams annually, which they still enjoy. They have a tradition that, in M.E. 102 (A.D. 927), one Vanji Mannan Raja granted privileges to Paraiyas. During the war with Tippu, proclamation was made that every Paraiyan in this district must have a Nayar or master, and belong to some one or other. All who were not private property would be made slaves of the Sirkar (Government), which was greatly dreaded on account of the merciless oppression, and obliged to cut grass for the troops, and do other services. Many, therefore, became nominally slaves to some respectable man, asking it as a kindness to free them from Government slavery. Several respectable families begged the Namburi high priest, visiting Suchindram and other temples, to call them his slaves, for which they paid him one fanam a head per annum. This payment is still kept up. This priest conferred upon them additional benefits, for in their troubles and oppressions, he wrote to the Government, requiring from them justice and proper treatment. The slaves of the Namburi would also be treated with consideration on account of his sacred position and rank. These families, ‘Potty slaves,’ still intermarry only among themselves, as in this case the wife could not be claimed by a different owner from the husband’s.

Parava devil-dancer.

“Lastly, as to the Paraiyas of North Travancore. Their condition seems lowest of all, as they enter further into the Malayalam country, and enjoy fewer opportunities of escape from caste degradation and from bitter servitude. ‘Their own tradition,’ the Rev. G. Matthan writes,72 ‘has it that they were a division of the Brahmans, who were entrapped into a breach of caste by their enemies, through making them eat beef. They eat carrion and other loathsome things. The carcases of all domestic animals are claimed by them as belonging to them by right. They frequently poison cows, and otherwise kill them for the sake of their flesh. They are also charged with kidnapping women of the higher castes, whom they are said to treat in the most brutal manner. It is their custom to turn robbers in the month of February, in which month they pretend the wrong was done them, to break into the houses of the Brahmans and Nairs, and to carry away their women, children, and property, to which they are actuated more by motives of revenge than of interest, and to justify which they plead the injury their caste had received from these parties. In former times, they appear to have been able to perpetrate these cruelties almost with impunity, from the fear of which the people still betray great uneasiness, though the custom has now grown into disuse.’”

Parasaivan.—A title of Occhans, who are Saivites, and priests at temples of Grama Devatas (village deities). In the Malayalam country Parasava occurs as a title of Variyar, a section of Ambalavasi. The word indicates the son of a Brahman by a Sudra woman.

Parava.—The Tulu-speaking Paravas of South Canara are, like the Nalkes and Pombadas, devil-dancers, and are further employed in the manufacture of baskets and umbrellas. Socially, they occupy a higher position than the Nalkes, but rank below the Pombadas. The bhuthas (devils) whose disguise they assume are Kodamanitaya and the Baiderukalu, who may not be represented by Nalkes; and they have no objection to putting on the disguise of other bhuthas. Paravas are engaged for all kinds of devil-dances when Nalkes are not available. (See Nalke.)

Paravan.—Concerning the origin of the Parava fishing community of the south-east coast, the following legends are current.73 The author of the Historia Ecclesiastica (published in Tamil at Tranquebar in 1735) identifies them with the Parvaim of the Scriptures, and adds that, in the time of Solomon, they were famous among those who made voyages by sea; but it does not appear that there is any solid foundation for this hypothesis. It is the general belief among the Paravas that their original country was Ayodhya, or Oudh; and it appears that, previously to the war of Mahabharata, they inhabited the territory bordering on the river Yamuna or Jumna. At present they are chiefly found in the seaport towns of the Tinnevelly district in the south of India, and also in some of the provinces on the north-west coast of Ceylon. With regard to their origin, there is a variety as well as discordancy of opinions. Some of the Tantras represent them to be descended from a Brahman by a Sudra woman, while the Jatibedi Nul (a work of some celebrity among the Tamils) states them to be the offspring of a Kurava (or basket-maker) begotten clandestinely on a female of the Chetty (or merchant) tribe. But the Paravas have among themselves quite a different tradition concerning their origin, which is founded on mythological fable. They relate that their progenitors were of the race Varuna (god of the sea), and on the occasion, when Siva had called Kartikeya (god of arms) into existence, for destroying the overwhelming power of the Asuras (evil spirits), they sprang up with him from the sacred lake Sarawana, and were like him nursed by the constellation Kartika. At the close of the last kalpa, when the whole earth was covered with a deluge, they constructed a dhoni or boat, and by it escaped the general destruction; and, when dry land appeared, they settled on the spot where the dhoni rested; hence it is called Dhonipura, or the city of the boat. The Paravas were once a very powerful people, and no doubt derived much of their ascendancy over other tribes from their knowledge of navigation. They had a succession of kings among them, distinguished by the title of Adiyarasen, some of whom seem to have resided at Uttara Kosamangay, called at that time the city of Mangay, a famous place of Hindu pilgrimage in the neighbourhood of Ramnad. In the Purana entitled Valevisu Puranam we meet with the following fable. Parvati, the consort of Siva, and her son Kartikeya, having offended the deity by revealing some ineffable mystery, were condemned to quit their celestial mansions, and pass through an infinite number of mortal forms, before they could be re-admitted to the divine presence. On the entreaty of Parvati, however, they were allowed, as a mitigation of the punishment, each to undergo but one transmigration. And, as about this time, Triambaka, King of the Paravas, and Varuna Valli his consort were making tapas (acts of devotion) to obtain issue, Parvati condescended to be incarnated as their daughter under the name of Tiryser Madente. Her son Kartikeya, transforming himself into a fish, was roaming for some time in the north sea. It appears, however, that he left the north, and made his way into the south sea, where, growing to an immense size, he attacked the vessels employed by the Paravas in their fisheries, and threatened to destroy their trade. Whereupon the King Triambaka made a public declaration that whoever would catch the fish should have his daughter to wife. Siva, now assuming the character of a Parava, caught the fish, and became re-united to his consort. In that section of the Mahabharata entitled Adiparva it is said that the King of the Paravas, who resided on the banks of the Jumna, having found an infant girl in the belly of a fish, adopted her as his own daughter, giving her the name of Machchakindi, and that, when she grew up, she was employed, as was customary with the females of the Parava tribe, to ferry passengers over the river. On a certain day, the sage Parasara having chanced to meet her at the ferry, she became with child by him, and was subsequently delivered of a son, the famous Vyasa who composed the Puranas. Her great personal charms afterwards induced King Santanu of the lunar race to admit her to his royal bed, and by him she became the mother of Vichitravirya, the grandsire of the Pandavas and Kauravas, whose contentions for the throne of Hastinapura form the subject of the Mahabharata. Hence the Paravas boast of being allied to the lunar race, and call themselves accordingly, besides displaying at their wedding feasts the banners and emblems peculiar to it. In the drama of Alliarasany, who is supposed to have resided at Kudremalle on the north-west coast of Ceylon, the Paravas act a conspicuous part. We find them employed by the princess in fishing for pearls off the coast, and that under a severe penalty they were obliged to furnish her with ten kalams of pearls every season.

It is noted, in the Madras Census Report, 1901, that “there are in reality three castes which answer to the name Paravan, and which speak Tamil, Malayalam, and Canarese respectively. Probably all three are descended from the Tamil Paravans or Paratavans. The Tamil Paravans are fishermen on the sea coast. Their head-quarters is Tuticorin, and their headman is called Talavan. They are mostly Native Christians. They claim to be Kshatriyas of the Pandyan line of kings, and will eat only in the houses of Brahmans. The Malayalam Paravans are shell collectors, lime burners and gymnasts, and their women act as midwives. Their titles are Kurup, Varakurup, and Nurankurup (nuru, lime). The Canarese Paravas are umbrella-makers and devil-dancers.” It has been suggested that the west coast Paravas are the descendants of those who fled from Tinnevelly, in order to avoid the oppression of the Muhammadans.

In the Census Report, 1871, the Paravas are summed up as being a fishing caste on the Madura and Tinnevelly coast, who “were found by the Portuguese, on their arrival in India, to be groaning under the Muhammadan yoke, and were assisted by the Portuguese on condition of their becoming Christians. This general conversion, for political ends, explains why the fishing population of the present day along the south-east coast is to a considerable extent Roman Catholic.” It is noted by Mr. S. P. Rice74 that the fishermen “who live in the extreme south are devout Catholics, and have preserved the Portuguese names by which their fathers were baptized into the Church, so that, incongruous as it sounds, Jose Fernandez and Maria Santiago are but humble folk, catching fish in a primitive way, with no more clothing on than a small loin cloth and a picture of the Virgin.”

Concerning the Paravas, BaldÆus75 writes as follows. “The kingdom of Trevancor borders upon that of Coulang: All along the Sea-shore inhabit the Paruas, who being for the most part Christians, you see the Shore all along as far as Comoryn, and even beyond it to Tutecoryn, full of little Churches, some of Wood, others of Stone. These People owe their Conversion to Franciscus Xaverius, he being the first who planted the Principles of Christianity among them; they being so much taken with the reasonableness of the Ten Commandments, that they receiv’d Baptism in great numbers, tho an accidental Quarrel between a Parua and a Mahometan prov’d a strong Motive to their Conversion.... The Paruas being sorely oppress’d by the Mahometans, one John de Crus, a Native of Malabar, but who had been in Portugal, and honourably treated by John, the then king of Portugal, advised them to seek for Aid at Cochin against the Moors, and to receive Baptism. Accordingly some of the chief Men among them (call’d Patangatays in their Language) were sent upon that Errand to Cochin, where being kindly receiv’d, they (in honour of him who had given His Advice) took upon them the Sirname of Crus, a name still retain’d by most Persons of Note among the Paruas. In short, being deliver’d from the Moorish Yoke, and the Pearl-fishery (which formerly belong’d to them) restor’d to the right Owners, above 20,000 of them receiv’d Baptism.”

“The commencement of the Roman Catholic Mission in Tinnevelly,” Bishop Caldwell writes,76 “dates from 1532, when certain Paravas, representatives of the Paravas or fishing caste, visited Cochin for the purpose of supplicating the aid of the Portuguese against their Muhammadan oppressors, and were baptized there by Michael Vaz, Vicar-General of the Bishop of Goa. The same ecclesiastic, with other priests, accompanied the fleet which sailed for the purpose of chastising the Muhammadans, and, as soon as that object was accomplished, set about baptizing the Paravas all along the coast, in accordance with the agreement into which their representatives had entered. The entire Parava caste adopted the religion of their Portuguese deliverers and most of them received baptism. Some, however, did not receive baptism for some cause till Xavier’s time, ten years afterwards. Xavier, on his arrival in the south, could not speak Tamil, and spent some months in committing to memory Tamil translations of the Creed, Lord’s Prayer, Ave Maria, and Decalogue. He then proceeded to visit all the villages of the coast, bell in hand, to collect the inhabitants, and gave them Christian instruction. The Paravas thus christianised—called generally at that time the Comorin Christians—inhabited thirty villages, and numbered, according to the most credible account, twenty thousand souls. These villages extended all the way along the coast at irregular intervals from Cape Comorin to the island promontory of Ramesvaram, if not beyond. It does not appear that any village in the interior joined in the movement.” “It appears,” Mr. Casie Chitty states, “that the Portuguese treated the Paravas with great kindness, permitted intermarriages, and even allowed them to assume their surnames, so that we find among them many Da Limas, Da Cruzs, Da Andrados, Da Canhas, etc. They gave the chief of the Paravas the title of Dom, and allowed him the exclusive right of wearing a gold chain with a cross as a badge of nobility. [The name of a recent hereditary chief or Jati Talaivan or Talaivamore of the Paravas was Gabriel de Cruz Lazarus Motha Vas.] As soon as the Dutch took possession of Tutocoryn (Tuticorin) and other adjacent towns where the Paravas are found, they employed Dr. BaldÆus and a few other ministers of their persuasion to suppress the Roman Catholic faith, and to persuade the Paravas to adopt their own in its stead; but in this they met with a total failure, and were once very nearly bringing on a general revolt. Notwithstanding the intolerance of the Dutch with regard to the Romish Church, the Paravas still remember them with gratitude, as they afforded them the means of extensive livelihood by establishing in their principal town (Tutocoryn) a public manufactory of cloth, and thus maintaining a considerable working capital.”

Concerning the history of the Paravas, and their connection with the pearl-fisheries on the Indian side of the Gulf of Manaar, much information is given by Mr. J. Hornell,77 from whose account the following extracts are taken. “When the Portuguese rounded Cape Comorin, they found the pearl fisheries of the Gulf of Manaar in the hands of the Paravas, whom tradition shows to have had control of this industry from time immemorial. Of the origin of these people we know extremely little. We know, however, that in the old days, from 600 B.C. and for 1,500 years or more thereafter, the country now comprehended in the districts of Madura and Tinnevelly formed the great Tamil kingdom of Pandya. And, in the old Tamil work called the Kalveddu, the position of the pearl-fishing caste to this monarchy is incidentally mentioned in the following extract: ‘Vidanarayanen Cheddi and the Paravu men who fished pearls by paying tribute to Alliyarasani, daughter of Pandya, king of Madura, who went on a voyage, experienced bad weather in the sea, and were driven to the shores of Lanka, where they founded Karainerkai and Kutiraimalai. Vidanarayanen Cheddi had the treasures of his ship stored there by the Paravas, and established pearl fisheries at Kadalihilapam and Kallachihilapam, and introduced the trees which change iron into gold.’ In the Maduraik-kanchi the Paravas are described as being most powerful in the country round Korkai. ‘Well fed on fish and armed with bows, their hordes terrified their enemies by their dashing valour.’ The Maduraik-kanchi describes Korkai as the chief town in the country of Parathavar and the seat of the pearl fishery, with a population consisting chiefly of pearl divers and chank cutters.78 When the Pandyan kingdom was powerful, the Paravas had grants of certain rights from the monarchy, paying tribute from the produce of the fisheries, and receiving protection and immunity from taxation in return. The conditions under which the Paravas lived at the opening of the sixteenth century are graphically set forth in a report, dated 19th December, 1669, written by Van Reede and Laurens Pyh, respectively Commandant of the coast of Malabar and Canara and senior merchant and Chief of the sea-ports of Madura. Under the protection of those Rajas there lived a people, which had come to these parts from other countries79—they are called Paravas—they lived a seafaring life, gaining their bread by fishing and by diving for pearls; they had purchased from the petty Rajas small streaks of the shore, along which they settled and built villages, and they divided themselves as their numbers progressively increased. In these purchased lands they lived under the rule of their own headmen, paying to the Rajas only an annual present, free from all other taxes which bore upon the natives so heavily, looked upon as strangers, exempt from tribute or subjection to the Rajas, having a chief of their own election, whose descendants are still called kings of the Paravas, and who drew a revenue from the whole people, which in process of time has spread itself from Quilon to Bengal. Their importance and power have not been reduced by this dispersion, for they are seen at every pearl fishery (on which occasions the Paravas assemble together) surpassing in distinction, dignity and outward honours all other persons there. The pearl fishery was the principal resource and expedient from which the Paravas obtained a livelihood, but as from their residence so near the sea they had no manner of disposing of their pearls, they made an agreement with the Rajas that a market day should be proclaimed throughout their dominions, when merchants might securely come from all parts of India, and at which the divers and sutlers necessary to furnish provisions for the multitude might also meet; and, as this assemblage would consist of two different races, namely, the Paravas and subjects of the Rajas, as well as strangers and travellers, two kinds of guards and tribunals were to be established to prevent all disputes and quarrels arising during this open market, every man being subject to his own judge, and his case being decided by him; all payments were then also divided among the headmen of the Paravas, who were the owners of that fishery, and who hence became rich and powerful; they had weapons and soldiers of their own, with which they were able to defend themselves against the violence of the Rajas or their subjects. The Moors who had spread themselves over India, and principally along the coasts of Madura, were strengthened by the natives professing Muhammadanism, and by the Arabs, Saracens, and the privateers of the Sammoryn,80 and they began also to take to pearl-diving as an occupation, but being led away by ill-feeling and hope of gain, they often attempted to outreach the Paravas, some of whom even they gained to their party and to their religion, by which means they obtained so much importance, that the Rajas joined themselves to the Moors, anticipating great advantages from the trade which they carried on, and from their power at sea; and thus the Paravas were oppressed, although they frequently rose against their adversaries, but they always got the worst of it, until at last in a pearl fishery at Tutucoryn, having purposely raised a dispute, they fell upon the Moors, and killed some thousands of them, burnt their vessels, and remained masters of the country, though much in fear that the Moors, joined by the pirates of Calicut, would rise against them in revenge. The Portuguese arrived about this time with one ship at Tutucoryn; the Paravas requested them for assistance, and obtained a promise of it, on conditions that they should become Christians; this they generally agreed to, and, having sent Commissioners with some of the Portuguese to Goa, they were received under the protection of that nation, and their Commissioners returned with priests, and a naval force conveying troops, on which all the Paravas of the seven ports were baptized, accepted as subjects of the King of Portugal, and they dwindled thus from having their own chiefs and their own laws into subordination to priests and Portuguese, who however settled the rights and privileges of the Paravas so firmly that the Rajas no longer dared interfere with them, or attempt to impede or abridge their prerogative; on the contrary they were compelled to admit of separate laws for the Paravas from those which bound their own subjects. The Portuguese kept for themselves the command at sea, the pearl fisheries, the sovereignty over the Paravas, their villages and harbours, whilst the Naick of Madura, who was a subject of the King of the Carnatic, made himself master at this time of the lands about Madura, and in a short time afterwards of all the lower countries from Cape Comoryn to Tanjore, expelling and rooting out all the princes and land proprietors, who were living and reigning there; but, on obtaining the sovereignty of all these countries, he wished to subject the Paravas to his authority, in which attempt he was opposed by the Portuguese, who often, not being powerful enough effectually to resist, left the land with the priests and Paravas, and went to the islands of Manaar and Jaffnapatam, from whence they sent coasting vessels along the Madura shores, and caused so much disquiet that the revenue was ruined, trade circumscribed, and almost annihilated, for which reasons the Naick himself was obliged to solicit the Portuguese to come back again. The Political Government of India, perceiving the great benefit of the pearl fishery, appointed in the name of the King of Portugal military chiefs and captains to superintend it, leaving the churches and their administration to the priests. Those captains obtained from the fisheries each time a profit of 6,000 rix-dollars for the king, leaving the remainder of the income from them for the Paravas; but, seeing they could not retain their superiority in that manner over the people, which was becoming rich, luxurious, drunken, with prosperity, and with the help of the priests, who protected them, threatening the captains, which often occasioned great disorders, the latter determined to build a fort for the king at Tutucoryn, which was the chief place of all the villages; but the priests who feared by this to lose much of their consequence as well as of their revenue, insisted that, if such a measure was proceeded with, they would all be ruined, on which account they urged on the people to commit irregularities, and made the Paravas fear that the step was a preliminary one to the making all of them slaves; and they therefore raised such hindrances to the work that it never could be completed.

“The Paravas,” Mr. Hornell continues, “although the original holders of the fishery rights, had begun, prior to the arrival of the Portuguese, to feel the competition of the restless Muhammadan settlers on the coast, who, coming, as many must have done, from the coast of the Persian Gulf, knew already all there was to know of pearl-fishing. The descendants of these Arabs and their proselytes, known as Moros to the Portuguese, are the Moormen or Lubbais of to-day. Their chief settlement was Kayal, a town situated near the mouth of the river Tambrapurni, and which in Marco Polo’s time (1290–91) was a great and noble city. It shared with Tuticorin for fully 500 years the honour of being one of the two great pearl markets of the coast—the one being the Moor, the other the Parava, head-quarters.... Menezes, writing in 1622, states that for many years the fisheries had become extinct because of the great poverty into which the Paravas had fallen. Tuticorin, and the sovereignty of the pearl banks and of the Paravas, passed to the Dutch in 1658.

In the report of the pearl fishery, 1708, the following entries occur in the list of free stones according to ancient customs:—

• 96½ to the Naick of Madura—4 Xtian, 92½ Moorish;
• 10 to Head Moorman of Cailpatnam—5 Xtian, 5 Moorish.
• 60 to Theuver—60 Moorish.
• 185 to the Pattangatyns of this coast—all Xtian stones.

“The 185 stones,” Mr. Hornell writes, “given to the Pattangatyns or headmen of the Paravas was in the nature of remuneration to these men for assistance in inspecting the banks, in guarding any oyster banks discovered, in recruiting divers, and in superintending operations during the course of the fishery.... In 1889, the Madras Government recorded its appreciation of the assistance rendered by the Jati Talaivan, and directed that his privilege of being allowed the take of two boats be continued. Subsequently, in 1891, the Government, while confirming the general principle of privilege remuneration to the Jati Talaivan, adopted the more satisfactory regulation of placing the extent of the remuneration upon the basis of a sliding scale, allowing him but one boat when the Government boats numbered 30 or less, two for 31 to 60 boats, three for 61 to 90 boats employed, and so on in this ratio. The value of the Jati Talaivan’s two privilege boats in the 1890 fishery was Rs. 1,424, in that of 1900 only Rs. 172.” The Jadi Talaivan is said to have been denominated by the Dutch the prince of the seven havens. It is noted in the pearl fishery report, 1900, that “the Paravas are a constant source of trouble, both on the banks and in the kottoo (shed), where they were constantly being caught concealing oysters, which of course were always confiscated. Only one Arab was caught doing this, and his companions abused him for disgracing them.”

According to Mr. Casie Chitty, the Paravas are divided into thirteen classes, viz.:—

• Headmen.
• Dealers in cloth.
• Divers for corals.
• Sailors.
• Divers for pearl-oysters.
• Divers for chanks.
• Packers of cloth.
• Fishers who catch tortoises (turtles).
• Fishers who catch porpoises.
• Fishers who catch sharks and other fish.
• Palanquin bearers.
• Peons, who wait about the person of the Chief.
• Fishers, who catch crabs.

It is noted by Canon A. Margoschis that the Parava females are famous for the excessive dilatation of the lobes of the ears, and for wearing therein the heaviest and most expensive gold ear jewels made of sovereigns. Ordinary jewels are said to cost Rs. 200, but heavy jewels are worth Rs. 1,000 and even more. The longer the ears, the more jewels can be used, and this appears to be the rationale of elongated ears.

In a recent account of a Parava wedding in high life, I read81 that “the bride and bridegroom proceeded to the church at the head of an imposing procession, with music and banners. The service, which was fully choral, was conducted by a priest from their own community, after which the newly wedded couple went in procession to the residence of the Jati Talavamore, being escorted by their distinguished host in person. The Jati Talavamore, who wore a picturesque, if somewhat antiquated, robe, rode in a gorgeously upholstered palanquin, with banners, trophies, elephants, and other emblems of his high office. The bride, who was resplendent with diamonds, was becomingly attired in a purple Benares sari with gold floral designs, and wore a superb kincob bodice.”

In a note on the Paravans of Travancore, Mr. N. Subramani Aiyar writes that “they are found in most taluks of the State. The title sometimes used by them is Kuruppu. The Paravans of Chengannur and Tiruvella call themselves Chakka, a word supposed by the castemen to be derived from slaghya or praiseworthy, but perhaps more correctly from Chakku, the basket carried by them in their hands. The Paravans are divided into numerous sections. In the south, the Tamil-speaking division follows the makkathayam, while all the Malayalam-speaking sections follow the marumakathayam law of inheritance. There is also a difference in the dress and ornaments of the two sections, the former adopting the fashion of the east coast, and the latter that of the west. The Travancore Paravas are really one with the Tamil-speaking Paravas of the east coast. While most of them became converts to Christianity, in Travancore they have tried to preserve their separate existence, as they had already spread into the interior of the country before the proselytism of St. Xavier had made its enduring mark on the sea-coast villages. There is a curious legend about the settlement of the Chakkas in Central Travancore. Formerly, it would appear, they were Sudras, but, for some social offence committed by them, they were outcasted by the Edappalli chieftain. They were once great devotees of Sri Krishna, the lord of Tiruvaranmulai in the Tiruvella taluk. The Paravas say further that they are descended from a high-caste woman married to an Izhava. The word Parava is accordingly derived from para, which in Sanskrit means foreign. The Paravas engage in various occupations, of which the most important in Central Travancore are climbing palm trees, catching fish, and washing clothes for Christians, Muhammadans, and depressed classes of Hindus. In South Travancore they make wicker baskets, rattan chairs, and sofas. Women, in all parts of the State, are lime and shell burners. They worship at the Aranmula temple, and pay special worship to Bhadrakali. Their priest is known as Parakuruppu, who, having to perform four different functions, is also entitled Nalonnukaran. It is his duty to preside at marriage and other rites, to be caste barber, to carry the news of death to the relations, and to perform the priestly functions at funerals. The Paravas perform both the tali-kettu and sambandham ceremonies.”

Parel Maddiyala.—Barbers of the Billavas.

Parenga.—A sub-division of Gadaba.

Pariah.—See Paraiyan.

Parikimuggula.—Professional tattooing women in the Telugu country. The name refers to the patterns (parika or muggu), which they carry about with them, as designs for tattooing or to be drawn on the floor on occasions of festival and ceremonial.

Parivara.—A sub-division of Bant.

Parivaram.—It is noted, in the Census Report, 1891, that “this is a caste, which presents some difficulty. Parivaram means ‘an army, a retinue,’ and it is alleged that the people of this caste were formerly soldiers. Parivaram is found as a sub-division of Maravan and Agamudaiyan, and the Parivaras of Madura and Tinnevelly are probably either a sub-division or an offshoot of the Maravans. In Coimbatore, the only other district in which the Parivaras are numerous, they seem to be a sub-division of Toreyas, a fishing caste, and Mr. Rice, in his Gazetteer (of Mysore), says that Parivara is a synonym of Besta.” Further, in the Census Report, 1901, it is stated that “the word Parivaram means ‘a retinue,’ and was probably originally only an occupational term. It is now-a-days applied to the domestic servants and the Tottiya zamindars in the districts of Coimbatore, Trichinopoly, Madura, and Tinnevelly, who are recruited from several castes, but have come to form a caste by themselves. The Kotaris of South Canara are a somewhat parallel case, and probably in time the Paiks among the Oriyas, and the Khasas, who are servants to the Telugu zamindars, will similarly develop into separate castes. The caste is said to require all its members of both sexes to do such service for its masters as they may require. Persons of any caste above the Paraiyas are admitted into its ranks, and the men in it may marry a woman of any other caste with the permission of the zamindar under whom they serve. They do not habitually employ Brahmans as priests, and in places the head of the Tottiyan caste conducts their ceremonies. Their titles are Maniyagaran and Servaigaran. The latter is also used by the Agamudaiyans.”

The title Servaigaran or Servaikaran indicates that members of the caste do servai, or service, and the further title uliyakkaran is a sign that they do uliyam, or menial work. Servaikaran is also a title of the Tamil Ambalakarans, Agamudaiyans, Kallans, and Maravans, and the Canarese Toreyas, some of whom have settled in the Tamil districts of Madura and Coimbatore. It also occurs as a synonym of the Canarese Kotegaras.

The illegitimate offspring of Maravans, Kallans, and Agamudaiyans, are said to become members of the mixed Parivaram caste.

It is recorded, in the Gazetteer of the Madura district, that the Parivaram caste “is divided into two endogamous sections; the Chinna Uliyam (little services) who are palanquin-bearers, and have the title Tevan, and the Periya Uliyam (big services), who are called Maniyakaran. The Kombai Parivarams, who are the servants of the Kappiliyan Zamindars of Kombai and Tevaram in the Periyakulam taluk, are a separate community, and do not intermarry with the others. When a girl attains maturity, she is kept for sixteen days in a hut, which is guarded at night by her relations. This is afterwards burnt down, and the pots she used are broken into very small pieces, as there is an idea that, if rain-water collects in any of them, the girl will be childless. Some of the ceremonies at weddings are unusual. On the first day, a man takes a big pot of water with a smaller empty pot on top of it, and marches three times round the open space in front of the bride’s house. With him march the happy couple carrying a bamboo, to which are tied in a turmeric-coloured cloth the nine kinds of grain. After the third journey round, these things are put down at the north-east corner, and the marriage pandal is made by bringing three more poles of the same size. Afterwards the wrists of the couple are tied together, and bridegroom’s brother carries the pair a short distance. They plunge their hands into a bowl of salt. Next the husband takes an ordinary stone rolling-pin, wraps it in a bit of cloth, and gives it to his wife, saying ‘Take the child; I am going to the palace.’ She takes it, replying ‘Yes, give me the child, the milk is ready.’ This has to be repeated three times in a set formula. Several other odd rites are observed. Brahmans officiate, and the bridegroom’s sister, as usual, ties the tali. Divorce is allowed to both sides. Adultery within the caste, or with the Zamindar, is tolerated. The husbands accept as their own any children their wives may bear to the Zamindar. Such children are called Chinna Kambalattar, and may marry with Tottiyans. But adultery outside the caste is most rigorously prohibited, and sternly punished with excommunication. A mud image of the girl who so offends is made, two thorns are poked into its eyes, and it is thrown away outside the village.”

Pariyari (doctor).—A name given to Tamil barbers (Ambattan), who practice as barber-surgeons.

Pariyata.—Five individuals were recorded, at the census, 1901, under the name Pariyata or Parit, as members of a Bombay caste of washermen in South Canara.

Parvatha.—Parvatha or Parvathala, meaning hill or mountain, has been recorded as an exogamous sept of Gamalla, Kapu, Mala, and Medara.

Pasi.—A few members of this Bengal caste of toddy-drawers were returned at the Madras census, 1901. The name is said to be derived from pasa, a noose or cord, probably in reference to the sling used by them in climbing palm trees.82 Pasi, meaning coloured glass beads, occurs as a sub-division of Idaiyan, and the equivalent Pasikatti as a sub-division of Valaiyan.

Pasu.—Pasu (cow) or Pasula has been recorded as an exogamous sept of Boya, Mala and Madiga, and a sub-division of west coast Pulayans, who eat beef.

Pasupula (turmeric).—Pasula or Pasupula is an exogamous sept of Boya and Devanga. Pasupuleti occurs as a sub-division of Balija. See Arashina.

Patabonka.—A sub-division of Bonka.

Patali.—An occupational name applied to priests of temples and bhuthasthanas (devil shrines), and Stanikas in South Canara.

Patha (old).—A sub-division of Idiga, and a sept of Togata.

Pathanchitannaya (green pea sept).—An exogamous sept of Bant.

Pathi (cotton).—A sub-division of Kurubas, who use a wrist-thread made of cotton and wool mixed during the marriage ceremony. Also an exogamous sept of Gudala and Padma Sale.

Pathinettan.—The Pathinettan or eighteen are carpenters in Malabar, who “are said to be the descendants of the smiths who remained to attend to the repairs to the eighteen temples, when the rest of the community fled to Ceylon, as related in the tradition of the origin of the Tiyans”.83

Paththar.—A section of Saivite Chettis, who wear the lingam, and have separated from the Acharapakam Chettis. They bury their dead in a sitting posture. A bamboo stick is tied to the kudumi (hair-knot) of the corpse, and the head pulled by its means towards the surface of the grave. Paththar is also a name given to goldsmiths by other castes.

Patnaik.—A title of Karnam.

Patnulkaran.—The Patnulkarans are described, in the Madras Census Report, 1901, as “a caste of foreign weavers found in all the Tamil districts, but mainly in Madura town, who speak Patnuli or Khatri, a dialect of Gujarati, and came originally from Gujarat. They have always been known here as Patnulkarans, or silk thread people. They are referred to in the inscriptions of Kumara Gupta (A.D. 473) at Mandasor, south of Gujarat, by the name of Pattavayaka, which is the Sanskrit equivalent of Patnulkaran, and the sasanam of Queen Mangammal of Madura, mentioned below, speaks of them by the same name, but lately they have taken to calling themselves Saurashtras from the Saurashtra country from which they came. They also claim to be Brahmans. They thus frequently entered themselves in the schedules as Saurashtra Brahmans. They are an intelligent and hard-working community, and deserve every sympathy in the efforts which they are making to elevate the material prosperity of their members and improve their educational condition, but a claim to Brahmanhood is a difficult matter to establish. They say that their claim is denied because they are weavers by profession, which none of the Southern Brahmans are, and because the Brahmans of the Tamil country do not understand their rites, which are the northern rites. The Mandasor inscriptions, however, represent them as soldiers as well as weavers, which does not sound Brahmanical, and the Tamil Brahmans have never raised any objections to the Gauda Brahmans calling themselves such, different as their ways are from those current in the south. In Madura their claim to Brahmanhood has always been disputed. As early as 1705 A.D. the Brahmans of Madura called in question the Patnulkarans’ right to perform the annual upakarma (or renewal of the sacred thread) in the Brahman fashion. [Eighteen members of the community were arrested by the Governor of Madura for performing this ceremony.] The matter was taken to the notice of the Queen Mangammal, and she directed her State pandits to convene meetings of learned men, and to examine into it. On their advice, she issued a cadjan (palm leaf) sasanam (grant) which permitted them to follow the Brahmanical rites. But all the twice-born—whether Brahmans, Kshatriyas, or Vaisyas—are entitled to do the same, and the sasanam establishes little. The Patnuls point out that, in some cases, their gotras are Brahmanical. But, in many instances which could be quoted, Kshatriyas had also Brahmanical gotras.”

It is stated, in the Gazetteer of the Madura district, that the inscription at Mandasor in Western Malwa “relates how the Pattavayas, as the caste was then called, were induced to migrate thither from Lata on the coast of Gujarat by king Kumara Gupta (or one of his lieutenants), to practice there their art of silk-weaving. The inscription says many flattering things about the community, and poetically compares the city to a beautiful woman, and the immigrants to the silk garments in which she decks herself when she goes to meet her lover. [The inscription further records that, while the noble Bandhuvarman was governing this city of Dasapura, which had been brought to a state of great prosperity, a noble and unequalled temple of the bright-rayed (sun) was caused to be built by the silk-cloth weavers (pattavayair) as a guild with the stores of wealth acquired by (the exercise of their) craft.] On the destruction of Mandasor by the Mussalmans, the Pattavayas seem to have travelled south to Devagiri, the modern Daulatabad, the then capital of the Yadavas, and thence, when the Mussalmans again appeared on the scene at the beginning of the fourteenth century, to Vijayanagar, and eventually to Madura. A curious ceremony confirming this conjecture is performed to this day at Patnulkaran weddings in South India. Before the date of the wedding, the bridegroom’s party go to the bride’s house, and ask formally for the girl’s hand. Her relations ask them in a set form of words who they are, and whence they come, and they reply that they are from Sorath (the old name for Saurashtra or Kathiawar), resided in Devagiri, travelled south (owing to Mussalman oppression) to Vijayanagar, and thence came to Madura. They then ask the bride’s party the same question, and receive the same reply. A Marathi MS., prepared in 1822 at Salem under the direction of the then Collector, Mr. M. D. Cockburn, contains the same tradition. Mr. Sewell’s ‘A Forgotten Empire: Vijayanagar’ shows how common silk clothing and trappings were at Vijayanagar in the days of its glory. Most of the Patnulkarans can still speak Telugu, which raises the inference that they must have resided a long time in the Telugu country, while their Patnuli contains many Canarese and Telugu words, and they observe the feast of Basavanna (or Boskanna), which is almost peculiar to the Bellary country. After the downfall of Vijayanagar, some of the caste seem to have gone to Bangalore, for a weaving community called Patvegars, who speak a dialect similar to Patnuli, still reside there.” Concerning the Patnulis who have settled in the Mysore Province, it is noted, in the Mysore Census Report, 1891, that “with silk they manufacture a fine stuff called katni, which no other weavers are said to be able to prepare. It is largely used by Mussalmans for trousers and lungas (gowns). It is said that Haider Ali, while returning from his expeditions against Madras, forcibly brought with him some twenty-five families of these weavers, who were living in the Tanjore district, and established them at Ganjam near Seringapatam, and, in order to encourage silk and velvet weaving, exempted them from certain taxes. The industry flourished till the fall of Seringapatam, when most of the class fled from the country, a few only having survived those troublous times. At present there are only 254 souls returned to these people, employed in making carpets in Bangalore.”

“The Patnulkars,” Mr. H. A. Stuart writes,84 “say that they were originally Brahmans, living in a town of Surat called Devagiri, in which twelve streets were entirely peopled by them. For some reason, of which they profess themselves to be ignorant, the residents of one of these streets were excommunicated by the rest of the caste, and expelled. They travelled southwards, and settled in Tirupati, Arni, and Vellore, as well as in Trichinopoly, Tanjore, Madura, and other large towns, where they carried on their trade of silk-weaving. Another story is to the effect that they were bound to produce a certain number of silken cloths at each Dipavali feast in Devagiri for the goddess Lakshmi. One year their supply fell short, and they were cursed by the goddess, who decreed that they should no longer be regarded as Brahmans. They, however, still claim to be such, and follow the customs of that caste, though they refuse to eat with them. They acknowledge priests from among themselves, as well as from among Brahmans, and profess to look down upon all other castes. In religion they are divided into Smartas, Vaishnavas, and Vyaparis, some among the Smartas being Lingayats. Those who can write usually employ the Telugu characters in writing their language.”

The Patnulkarans, according to one tradition, claim descent from a certain Brahman sage, known as Tantuvardhanar, meaning literally a person who improves threads, i.e., manufactures and weaves them into cloths. This is, it is suggested, probably only an eponymous hero.

In the Manual of the Madura district, the Patnulkarans are described as “a caste of Surat silk-weavers, whose ancestors were induced to settle in Madura by one of the earlier Nayakkan kings, or in response to an invitation from Tirumala Naik, and who have thriven so well that they now form by far the most numerous of all the castes resident in the town of Madura. They are very skilful and industrious workmen, and many of them have become very wealthy. They keep altogether aloof from other castes, and live independently of general society, speaking a foreign tongue, and preserving intact the customs of the land of their origin. They are easily distinguished in appearance from Tamils, being of a light yellowish colour, and having handsomer and more intelligent features. They are called Chettis or merchants by Tamils.” In a recent note,85 the Patnulkarans of Madura are described as being “exceedingly gregarious; they live together in large numbers in small houses, and their social status in the country is quite unsettled. Though they delight to call themselves Saurashtra Brahmans, the Tamils consider them to be a low caste. Like the Brahmans, they wear the sacred thread, and tack on to their names such titles as Iyengar, Iyer, Rao, Bhagavather, Sastrigal, and so forth, though the conservatives among them still cling to the time-honoured simple Chetti. Child marriage is the rule, and widow marriage is never practiced. Hindus by religion, they worship indiscriminately both the Siva and Vaishnava deities, but all of them wear big Iyengar namams on their foreheads, even more prominently than do the real Iyengars themselves. All of them pass for pure vegetarians. The proud position of Madura to this day as second city in the Presidency is mainly, if not solely, due to her prosperous and industrious community of Saurashtra merchants and silk-weavers, who have now grown into nearly half her population, and who have also come to a foremost place among the ranks of her citizens. They have their representatives to-day in the Municipal Councils and in the Local and District Boards. Their perseverance has won for them a place in the Devastanam Committee of one of the most prosperous temples in the district. But, in spite of their affluence and leading position it must be confessed that they are essentially a ‘backward class’ in respect of English education and enlightenment. They are, however, making steady progress. An English high school for Saurashtra boys, and a number of elementary schools for girls, are now maintained by the Saurashtra Sabha for the proper education of their children.” In 1906, a member of the community was appointed a member of the committee of the Sri Kalla Alagar temple in the Madura district.

In an order of the Director of Public Instruction, in 1900, it was laid down that “Saurashtras having been recognised (in 1892) as a backward class falling under Pattunulgars, the manager cannot continue to enjoy the privileges accorded under the grant-in-aid code to schools intended for backward classes, if he returns his pupils as Brahmans. If the pupils have been returned as Saurashtra Brahmans, the manager should be requested to revise, as no such caste is recognised.” A deputation had an interview with the Director, and it was subsequently ruled that “Saurashtras will continue to be treated as a backward class. Pupils belonging to the above class should invariably be returned in future as Saurashtras, whether the word Brahman is added or not.”

In a “History of the Saurashtras in Southern India”86 it is recorded that “when the Saurashtras settled in the south, they reproduced the institutions of their mother country in the new land; but, owing to the influence of the Southern Dravidians, some of the institutions became extinct. During their migrations, the men were under the guidance of their leader, and the process of migration tended to increase the power of kinship. The people were divided into four heads, called Goundas (chiefs), Saulins (elders), Voyddoos (physicians), and Bhoutuls (religious men). Some traces of the division still survive in the now neglected institution of Goundans. The Goundans were supposed to be responsible for the acts and doings of their men. The masses enjoyed the property under the joint undivided Hindu family system as prescribed in the Code of Manu. The chiefs were the judges in both civil and criminal affairs. They were aided in deciding cases by a body of nobles called Saulins. The office of the Saulins is to make enquiries, and try all cases connected with the community, and to abide by the decision of the chiefs. The Voyddoos (pandits) and Bhoutuls (Josis and Kavis also ranked with Voyddas and Bhoutuls) had their honours on all important occasions, and they are placed in the same rank with the elders. The Karestuns, or the Commons, are the whole body of the masses. Their voice is necessary on certain important occasions, as during the ceremonies of excommunication, and prayaschittas for admitting renegades, and during periodical meetings of the community. The Goundans at present are not exercising any of their powers, except in some religious matters. Saurashtra Brahmans were originally leading a purely religious life, but now they have begun to do business of different descriptions fitted to their position. Their chief occupation is agriculture, but some are trading, dyeing and weaving; however, it can be safely affirmed that their business interferes in no way with their religious creed and ceremonies. The name Patnulgar means silk weavers, and is sometimes erroneously applied to the Saurashtras too; but, on the contrary, the term strictly applies to all classes of weavers in Southern India, called Seniyars, Kaikkolars, Devangas, Kshatris (Khattris), Parayas, Sengundas, Mudaliars, Saliyurs, Padmasalays, but not to the Saurashtras in any way. The Saurashtras are now seen as a mercantile community. They are brave but humble, god-fearing, hospitable, fond of festivities and amusement. The Saurashtras, it is said, were originally a class of sun worshippers, from soura meaning sun, but the term Saurashtra means inhabitants of the fruitful kingdom. Their religion is Hinduism, and they were originally Madhvas. After their settlement in Southern India, some of them, owing to the preachings of Sankaracharya and Ramanujacharya, were converted into Saivites and Vaishnavites respectively. The Saurashtras belong to the Aksobhya and Sankaracharya Matas. The Saurashtras, like other nations of India, are divided into four great divisions, viz., Brahma, Kshatriya, Vaisya and Sudra. The Vaisyas and Sudras are to be found in almost all towns and villages, and especially at Tirupati, Nagari, Naranavanam, Arni, Kottar, Palani, Palamcottah, Vilangudi, and Viravanallur.”

The affairs of the Patnulkarans at Madura are managed by a Saurashtra Sabha, which was started in 1895. Among the laudable objects for which the Sabha was established, the following may be noted:—

(a) To manage the Madura Saurashtra school, and establish reading-rooms, libraries, etc., with a view to enable members of the Saurashtra community to receive, on moderate terms, a sound, liberal, general and technical education.

(b) To manage the temple known as the Madura Sri Prasanna Venkateswara Swami’s temple, and contribute towards its maintenance by constructing, repairing and preserving buildings in connection therewith, making jewels, vehicles and other things necessary therefor, and conducting the festivals thereof.

(c) To found charitable institutions, such as orphanages, hospitals, poor-houses, choultries (resting-places for travellers), water-sheds, and other things of a like nature for the good of the Saurashtra community.

(d) To give succour to the suffering poor, and the maimed, the lame, and the blind in the Saurashtra community.

(e) To give pecuniary grants in aid of upanayanams (thread marriages) to the helpless in the Saurashtra community.

(f) To erect such works of utility as bathing ghauts, wells, water fountains, and other works of utility for the benefit of the Saurashtra community.

(g) To fix and raise subscriptions known as mahamais (a sort of income-tax).

Among the subjects of the lectures delivered in connection with the Saurashtra Upanyasa Sabha at Madura in 1901 were the life of Mrs. Annie Besant, the Paris Exhibition of 1900, Mr. Tata and higher education, Saurashtra bank, Columbus, and the Saurashtra reform hotel.

A few years ago, the Saurashtra community submitted a memorial to the Governor of Madras to the effect that “as the backward Saurashtra community have not the requisite capital of half a lakh of rupees for imparting to their members both general and technical education, the Saurashtra Sabha, Madura, suggests that a lottery office may be kept for collecting shares at one rupee each from such of the public at large as may be willing to give the same, on the understanding that, every time the collections aggregate to Rs. 6,250, Rs. 250 should be set apart for the expenses of working the said office, and two-thirds of the remainder for educational purposes, and one-third should be awarded by drawing lots among the subscribers in the shape of five prizes, ranging from Rs. 1,000 to Rs. 125.” In passing orders on this sporting scheme, the Government stated that it was not prepared to authorise the lottery. It has been well said87 that the Patnulkarans have a very strong esprit de corps, and this has stood them in good stead in their weaving, which is more scientifically carried on, and in a more flourishing condition than is usual elsewhere.

For the following note on the Patnulkaran weavers of Madura, I am indebted to Mr. A. Chatterton, Director of Technical Enquiries:—“As a general rule, they are in a flourishing condition, and much better off than the Saurashtra weavers in Salem. This is probably due to the fact that the bulk of the Madura trade is in a higher class of cloth than at Salem, and the weavers are consequently less affected by fluctuations in demand for their goods due to seasonal variations. In various ways the Saurashtras of Madura have furnished evidence that they are a progressive community, particularly in the attention which they pay to education, and the keenness with which they are on the look-out for improvements in the methods of carrying out their hereditary craft. Nearly all the so-called improvements have been tried at Madura, and the fact that they have rejected most of them may be taken to some extent as evidence of their unsuitability for Indian conditions. Some time ago, one A. A. Kuppusawmy Iyer invented certain improvements in the native shedding apparatus, whereby ornamental patterns are woven along the borders, and on the ends of the better class of silk and cotton cloths. This apparatus was undoubtedly a material improvement upon that which is ordinarily used by the weaver, and it has been taken up extensively in the town. It is said that there are 350 looms fitted with this shedding apparatus, and the inventor, who has obtained a patent for it, is trying to collect a royalty of Rs. 1–4–0 a month on each loom. But this claim is resisted by a combination of the weavers using this shedding apparatus, and a suit is at the present time (1907) pending in the District Court. One of the most important weaving enterprises at Madura is the Meenakshi Weaving Company, the partners of which are Ramachandra Iyer, Muthurama Iyer, and Kuppusawmy Iyer. Their subscribed capital is Rs. 1,00,000, of which they are spending no less than Rs. 40,000 on building a weaving shed and office. The Madura dyeing industry is in the hands of the Saurashtras, and the modern phase dates back only as far as 1895, when Mr. Tulsiram started dyeing grey yarn with alizarine red, and, in the twelve years which have since elapsed, the industry has grown to very large proportions. The total sales at Madura average at present about 24 lakhs a year. There are from 30 to 40 dye-houses, and upwards of 5,000 cwt. of alizarine red is purchased every year from the Badische Aniline Soda Fabrik. The yarn is purchased locally, mainly from the Madura Mills, but, to some extent, also from Coimbatore and Tuticorin. The mordanting is done entirely with crude native earths, containing a large percentage of potassium salts. Drying the yarn presents considerable difficulty, especially in the wet weather. To secure a fast even colour, the yarn is mordanted about ten times, and dyed twice, or for very superior work three times, and between each operation it is essential that the yarn should be dried. The suburbs of Madura are now almost entirely covered with drying yards.”

In a note on the Patnulkarans who have settled in Travancore, Mr. N. Subramani Aiyar writes as follows. “The Patnulkarans are generally of yellowish tinge, and in possession of handsomer and more intellectual features than the Tamil castes, from which they may be easily differentiated by even a casual observer. They are, however, more fair than cleanly. They keep in Travancore, as elsewhere, aloof from other castes, and live independently of general society, speaking a foreign language. This they have preserved with astonishing attachment, and recently a Saurashtra alphabet has been invented, and elementary books have begun to be written in that dialect. They are a very conservative class, religious enthusiasts of a very remarkable order, and skilful and industrious workmen. They take a peculiar pleasure in music, and many of them are excellent songsters. There are many kinds of amusement for both men and women, who generally spend their leisure in singing songs of a devotional nature. They believe largely in omens, of which the following may be noted:—

Good.—A pot full of water, a burning light, no Brahmans, a Sudra, a cow, a married woman, and gold.

Bad.—A barber, a patient, a person with some bodily defect, fuel, oil, a donkey, a pick-axe, a broom, and a fan.

Patnukaran marriage procession.

“On entering a Patnulkaran’s house, we are led to a courtyard, spacious and neat, where all the necessary arrangements are made for weaving purposes. The Patnulkarans live in streets. A male Patnulkaran resembles a Tamil Vaishnava Brahman in outward appearance, but the women follow the custom of the Telugu Brahmans alike in their costume and ornaments. Their jewels exactly resemble those of the Telugu Brahman women, and indicate a temporary residence of the caste in the Telugu country on the way from Gujarat to Madura. There is a Tamil proverb to the effect that, if a male Patnulkaran is seen without his wife, he will be taken for a Vaishnava Brahman, whereas, in the case of the Tatan caste, a woman without her husband will be taken for an Aiyangar. Children wear the karai round the neck. Tattooing prevails on a very large scale.

“The Patnulkarans may be divided into three classes on a religious basis, viz., (1) pure Vaishnavites, who wear the vertical Vaishnavite mark, and call themselves Vadakalas or northerners; (2) those who are mainly Smartas; (3) Sankara Vaishnavas, who wear gopi (sandal paste) as their sect-mark. It is to the last of these religious sects that the Travancore Patnulkarans belong, though, in recent times, a few Smartas have settled at Kottar. All these intermarry and interdine, and the religious difference does not create a distinction in the caste. The chief divinity of the Patnulkarans is Venkatachalapati of Tirupati. The month in which he is most worshipped is Kanni (September-October), and all the Saturdays and the Tiruvonam star of the month are particularly devoted to his adoration. One of their men becomes possessed on any of these days, and, holding a burning torch-light in his hand, touches the foreheads of the assembled devotees therewith. The Patnulkarans fast on those days, and take an image of Garuda in procession through the street. The Dipavali, Pannamasi in Chittiray, and the Vaikuntha Ekadasi are other important religious days. The Dusserah is observed, as also are the festivals of Sri Rama Navami, Ashtami, Rohini, Avani Avittam, and Vara Lakshmivratam. Formal worship of deities is done by those who have obtained the requisite initiation from a spiritual preceptor. Women who have husbands fast on full-moon days, Mondays, and Fridays. The serpent and the banyan tree are specially worshipped. Women sing songs in praise of Lakshmi, and offer fruits and cocoanuts to her. The Patnulkarans have a temple dedicated to Sri Rama at Kottar. This temple is visited even by Brahmans, and the priests are Aiyangars. The Acharya, or supreme religious authority of the Patnulkarans, in Travancore is a Vaishnava Brahman known as Ubhaya Vedanta Koti Kanyakadana Tatachariyar, who lives at Aravankulam near Tinnevelly, and possesses a large number of disciples. Once a year he visits his flock in Travancore, and is highly respected by them, as also by the Maharaja, who makes a donation of money to him. Elders are appointed to decide social disputes, and manage the common property of the caste. In Travancore there are said to be only three families of Patnulkaran priests. For the higher ceremonies, Brahman priests are employed.

“A girl’s marriage is usually celebrated before puberty, and sometimes when she is a mere child of four or five. Great importance is attached to gotras or exogamous septs, and it is said that the septs of the bride and bridegroom are conspicuously inscribed on the walls of a marriage house. In the selection of an auspicious hour (muhurtam) for a marriage, two favourable planetary situations, one closely following the other, are necessary; and, as such occasions are rare, a number of marriages take place at one time. A man may claim his maternal uncle’s daughter as his wife, and polygamy is permitted. The marriage ceremonial resembles the Brahmanical rites in many points. On the fourth day, a ceremonial observed by Telugu Brahmans, called Nagabali, is performed. The marriage badge, which is tied on the bride’s neck, is called bottu. [From a note on the marriage ceremonies among the Patnulkarans of Madura, I gather that, as among Telugu and Canarese castes, a number of pots are arranged, and worshipped. These pots are smaller and fewer in number than at a Telugu or Canarese wedding. A figure of a car is drawn on the wall of the house with red earth or laterite.88 On it the name of the gotra of the bridegroom is written. On the fourth day, the nagavali (or offering to Devas) is performed. The contracting couple sit near the pots, and a number of lights are arranged on the floor. The pots, which represent the Devas, are worshipped.]

“The namakarana, or name-giving ceremony, is performed on the eleventh day after birth. An eighth child, whether male or female, is called Krishna, owing to the tradition that Krishna was born as the eighth child of Vasudeva. Babies are affectionately called Duddu (milk) or Pilla (child). The annaprasana, or first feeding of the child, is sometimes celebrated at the end of the first year, but usually as a preliminary to some subsequent ceremony. Sometimes, in performance of a vow, boys are taken to the shrine at Tirupati for the tonsure ceremony. The upanayana is performed between the seventh and twelfth years, but neither brahmacharya nor samavartana is observed.

“The dead are burnt, and the remains of the bones are collected and deposited under water. Death pollution lasts only for ten days. The sradh, or annual ceremony, when oblations are offered to ancestors, is observed. Widows are allowed to retain their hair, but remove the bottu. Unlike Brahman women, they chew betel, and wear coloured cloths, even in old age.”

The Patnulkarans have a secret trade language, concerning which Mr. C. Hayavadana Rao writes as follows. “The most remarkable feature about it is the number of terms and phrases borrowed from the craft, to which special meanings are given. Thus a man of no status is stigmatised as a rikhta khandu, i.e., a spindle without the yarn. Similarly, a man of little sense is called a mhudha, the name of a thick peg which holds one side of the roller. Likewise, a talkative person is referred to as a rhetta, or roller used for winding the thread upon spindles, which makes a most unpleasant creaking noise. Kapiniker, from kapini, a technical term used for cutting the loom off, means to make short work of an undesirable person. A man who is past middle age is called porkut phillias, which, in weavers’ parlance, means that half the loom is turned.”

Patra.—The Patras are an Oriya caste, which is divided into two sections, one of which is engaged in the manufacture of silk (pata) waist-threads, tassels, etc., and the other in weaving silk cloths. The members of the two sections do not interdine. The former have exogamous septs or bamsams, the names of which are also used as titles, e.g., Sahu, Patro, and Prushti. The latter have exogamous septs, such as Tenga, Jaggali, Telaga, and Mahanayako, and Behara and Nayako as titles. The chief headman of the cloth-weaving section is called Mahanayako, and there are other officers called Behara and Bhollobaya. The headman of the other section is called Senapati, and he is assisted by a Dhanapati. Infant marriage is the rule, and, if a girl does not secure a husband before she reaches maturity, she must, if she belongs to the cloth-weaving section, go through a form of marriage with an old man, and, if to the other section, with an arrow.

The Telugu Patras are summed up, in the Madras Census Report, 1901, as “a Telugu caste of hunters and cultivators, found chiefly in the districts of Cuddapah and Kurnool. It has two divisions, the Doras (chiefs), and Gurikalas (marksmen), the former of which is supposed to be descended from the old Poligars (feudal chiefs), and the latter from their followers and servants. This theory is supported by the fact that, at the weddings of Gurikalas, the Doras receive the first pan-supari (betel leaf and areca nut). Widows may not remarry, nor is divorce recognised. They usually employ Brahmans at marriages, and Satanis at funerals. Though they are Vaishnavites, they also worship village deities, such as Gangamma and Ellamma. They bury their dead, and perform annual sraddhas (memorial services for the dead). They will eat with Gollas. Their title is Naidu.”

Patramela.—Patramela, or Patradeva, is the name of a class of dancing girls in South Canara. Patramela, Mr. H. A. Stuart writes,89 is the name by which the Konkani Kalavants (courtezans) are known above the ghauts.

Patro.—The title of the head of a group of villages in Ganjam, and also recorded, at times of census, as a title of Alia, Kalinga Komati, Dolai, and Jaggala. The conferring of a cloth (sadhi) on a Patro is said to be emblematic of conferring an estate. The Patro, among other perquisites, is entitled to a fee on occasions of marriage. I am informed that, in the Ganjam Maliahs, if a Kondh was unable to pay the fee, he met his love at night beneath two trysting trees, and retired with her into the jungle for three days and nights.

Patrudu.—The title, meaning those who are fit to receive a gift, of Aiyarakulu and Nagaralu.

Pattadhikari.—A class of Jangams, who have settled head-quarters.

Pattan.—The equivalent of the Brahman Bhatta. A name by which some Kammalans, especially goldsmiths, style themselves.

Pattanavada.—A synonym for the Moger fishing caste, the settlements of which are called pattana.

Pattanavan.—The fishermen on the east coast, from the Kistna to the Tanjore district, are popularly called Karaiyan, or sea-shore people. Some Karaiyans have, at times of census, returned themselves as Taccha (carpenter) Karaiyans.

Pattanavan means literally a dweller in a town or pattanam, which word occurs in the names of various towns on the sea-coast, e.g., Nagapattanam (Negapatam), Chennapattanam (Madras). The Pattanavans have two main divisions, Periya (big) and Chinna (small), and, in some places, for example, at Nadukuppam in the Nellore district, exogamous septs, e.g., Gengananga, Peyananga, Kathananga (children of Ganga, Peyan, and Kathanar), and Kullananga (children of dwarfs). In the Telugu country, they go by the name of Pattapu or Tulivandlu.

Some Pattanavans give themselves high-sounding caste titles, e.g., Ariyar, Ayyayiraththalaivar (the five thousand chiefs), Ariya Nattu Chetti (Chettis of the Ariyar country), Acchu Vellala, Karaiturai (sea-coast) Vellala, Varunakula Vellala or Varunakula Mudali after Varuna, the god of the waters, or Kurukula vamsam after Kuru, the ancestor of the Kauravas. Some Pattanavans have adopted the title Pillai.

The Pattanavans are said to be inferior to the Sembadavans, who will not accept food at their hands, and discard even an earthen pot which has been touched by a Pattanavan.

Concerning the origin of the caste, there is a legend that the Pattanavans were giving silk thread to Siva, and were hence called Pattanavar, a corruption of Pattanaivor, meaning knitters of silk thread. They were at the time all bachelors, and Siva suggested the following method of securing wives for them. They were told to go out fishing in the sea, and make of their catch as many heaps as there were bachelors. Each of them then stood before a heap, and called for a wife, who was created therefrom. According to another story, some five thousand years ago, during the age of the lunar race, there was one Dasa Raja, who was ruling near Hastinapura, and was childless. To secure offspring, he prayed to god, and did severe penance. In answer to his prayer, God pointed out a tank full of lotus flowers, and told the king to go thither, and call for children. Thereon, five thousand children issued forth from the flowers, to the eldest of whom the king bequeathed his kingdom, and to the others money in abundance. Those who received the money travelled southward in ships, which were wrecked, and they were cast ashore. This compelled them to make friends of local sea fishermen, whose profession they adopted. At the present day, the majority of Pattanavans are sea-fishermen, and catch fish with nets from catamarans. “Fancy,” it has been written,90 “a raft of only three logs of wood, tied together at each end when they go out to sea, and untied and left to dry on the beach when they come in again. Each catamaran has one, two or three men to manage it; they sit crouched on it upon their heels, throwing their paddles about very dexterously, but remarkably unlike rowing. In one of the early Indian voyager’s log-books there is an entry concerning a catamaran: ‘This morning, 6 A.M., saw distinctly two black devils playing at single stick. We watched these infernal imps about an hour, when they were lost in the distance. Surely this doth portend some great tempest.’ It is very curious to watch these catamarans putting out to sea. They get through the fiercest surf, sometimes dancing at their ease on the top of the waters, sometimes hidden under the waters; sometimes the man completely washed off his catamaran, and man floating one way and catamaran another, till they seem to catch each other again by magic.” In 1906, a fisherman was going out in his catamaran to fish outside the Madras harbour, and was washed off his craft, and dashed violently against a rock. Death was instantaneous. Of the catamaran, the following account is given by Colonel W. Campbell.91 “Of all the extraordinary craft which the ingenuity of man has ever invented, a Madras catamaran is the most extraordinary, the most simple, and yet, in proper hands, the most efficient. It is merely three rough logs of wood, firmly lashed together with ropes formed from the inner bark of the cocoanut tree. Upon this one, two, or three men, according to the size of the catamaran, sit on their heels in a kneeling posture, and, defying wind and weather, make their way through the raging surf which beats upon the coast, and paddle out to sea at times when no other craft can venture to face it. At a little distance, the slight fabric on which these adventurous mariners float becomes invisible, and a fleet of them approaching the land presents the absurd appearance of a host of savage-looking natives wading out towards the ship, up to their middle in water.” “A catamaran,” Lady Dufferin writes,92 in an account of a state arrival at Madras, “is two logs of wood lashed together, forming a very small and narrow raft. The rower wears a ‘fool’s cap,’ in which he carries letters (also betel and tobacco), and, when he encounters a big wave, he leaves his boat, slips through the wave himself, and picks up his catamaran on the other side of it. Some very large deep barges (masula boats), the planks of which are sewn together to give elasticity, and the interstices stuffed with straw, came out for us, with a guard of honour of the mosquito fleet, as the catamarans are called, on either side of them; two of the fool’s cap men, and a flag as big as the boat itself, on each one.” The present day masula or mussoola boat, or surf boat of the Coromandel Coast, is of the same build as several centuries ago. It is recorded,93 in 1673, that “I went ashore in a Mussoola, a boat wherein ten men paddle, the two aftermost of whom are the Steers-men, using their Paddles instead of a Rudder: The Boat is not strengthened with knee-timber, as ours are; the bended Planks are sowed together with Rope-yarn of the Cocoe, and calked with Dammar so artificially that it yields to every ambitious surf. Otherwise we could not get ashore, the Bar knocking in pieces all that are inflexible.” The old records of Madras contain repeated references to Europeans being drowned from overturning of masula boats in the surf, through which a landing had to be effected before the harbour was built.

In 1907, two Madras fishermen were invested with silver wrist bangles, bearing a suitable inscription, which were awarded by the Government in recognition of their bravery in saving the lives of a number of boatmen during a squall in the harbour.

The following are the fishes, which are caught by the fishermen off Madras and eaten by Europeans:—

• Cybium guttatum, Bl. Schn. Seir.
• Cybium Commersonii, Lacep. Seir.
• Cybium lanceolatum, Cuv. & Val. Seir.
• Sillago sihama, Forsk. Whiting.
• Stromateus cinereus, Bloch.—
  • Immature, silver pomfret.
  • Adult, grey pomfret.
• Stromateus niger, Bloch. Black pomfret.
• Mugal subviridis, Cuv. & Val. Mullet.
• Psettodes erumei, Bl. Schn. ‘Sole.’
• Lates calcarifer, Bloch. Cock-up; the begti of Calcutta.
• Lutjanus roseus, Day.
• Lutjanus marginatus, Cuv. & Val.
• Polynemus tetradactylus, Shaw.
• Chorinemus lysan, Forsk.
• ‘Whitebait.’

The Pattanavans are Saivites, but also worship various minor gods and Grama Devatas (village deities). In some places, they regard Kuttiyandavan as their special sea god. To him animal sacrifices are not made, but goats are sacrificed to Sembu Virappan or Minnodum Pillai, an attendant on Kuttiyandavan. In Tanjore, the names of the sea gods are Pavadairayan and Padaithalaidaivam. Before setting out on a fishing expedition, the Pattanavans salute the god, the sea, and the nets. In the Tanjore district, they repair their nets once in eight days, and, before they go out fishing, pray to their gods to favour them with a big catch. On a fixed day, they make offerings to the gods on their return from fishing. The gods Pavadairayan and Padaithalaidaivam are represented by large conical heaps of wet sand and mud, and Ayyanar, Ellamma, Kuttiyandavar, Muthyalrouthar and Kiliyendhi by smaller heaps. At the Masimakam festival, the Pattanavans worship their gods on the sea-shore. The names Jattan and Jatti are given to children during the Jatre or periodic festival of the village goddesses.

The Pattanavans afford a good example of a caste, in which the time-honoured village council (panchayat) is no empty, powerless body. For every settlement or village there are one or more headmen called Yejamanan, who are assisted by a Thandakaran and a Paraiyan Chalavathi. All these offices are hereditary. Questions connected with the community, such as disrespect to elders, breach of social etiquette, insult, abuse, assault, adultery, or drinking or eating with men of lower caste, are enquired into by the council. Even when disputes are settled in courts of law, they must come before the council. Within the community, the headman is all powerful, and his decision is, in most instances, considered final. If, however, his verdict is not regarded as equitable, the case is referred to a caste headman, who holds sway over a group of villages. No ceremony may be performed without the sanction of the local headman, and the details of ceremonies, except the feasting, are arranged by the headman and the Thandakaran. In the case of a proposed marriage, the match is broken off if the headman objects to it. He should be present at the funeral rites, and see that the details thereof are properly carried out. It is the duty of the Chalavathi to convey the news of a death to the relations. Should he come to the shore when the fishes are heaped up, he has the right to take a few thereof as his perquisite. The Thandakaran, among other duties, has to summon council meetings. When the members of council have assembled, he ushers in the parties who have to appear before it, and salutes the assembly by prostrating himself on the floor. The parties take a bit of straw, or other object, and place it before the headman in token that they are willing to abide by the decision of the council. This formality is called placing the agreement (muchchilika).

The consent of the maternal uncles is necessary before a pair can be united in matrimony. When the wedding day has been fixed, the bridegroom’s party distribute grama thambulam (village pan-supari or betel) to the headman and villagers. The marriage milk-post is made of Mimusops hexandra, Erythrina indica, Casuarina equisetifolia, the green wood of some other tree, or even a pestle. In one form of the marriage ceremony, which varies in detail according to locality, the bridegroom, on the arrival of the bride at the pandal (booth), puts on the sacred thread, and the Brahman purohit makes the sacred fire, and pours ghi (clarified butter) into it. The bridegroom ties the tali round the bride’s neck, and the maternal uncles tie flat silver or gold plates, called pattam, on the foreheads of the contracting couple. Rings are put on their second toes by the brother-in-law of the bridegroom and the maternal uncle of the bride. Towards evening, the sacred thread, the threads which have been tied to the marriage pots and the milk-post, and grain seedlings used at the ceremony, are thrown into the sea. Some Pattanavans allow a couple to live together as man and wife after the betrothal, but before the marriage ceremony. This is, however, on condition that the latter is performed as soon as it is convenient. The remarriage of widows is freely permitted. No marriage pandal is erected, and the bridegroom, or a female relation, ties the tali on the bride’s neck within the house. Such marriage is, therefore, called naduvittu (interior of the house) tali. When a woman, who has been guilty of adultery, is remarried, a turmeric string is substituted for the golden tali, and is tied on the bride’s neck by a woman.

Some Pattanavans have adopted the custom of burying their dead in a seated posture (samathi). If a corpse is cremated, fire is carried to the burning-ground by a barber. When the corpse has been laid on the pyre, rice is thrown over it. The son, accompanied by a barber and a Panisavan or washerman, and carrying a pot of water on his shoulder, goes thrice round the pyre. At the third round, the Panisavan or washerman makes holes in the pot, and it is thrown away. On the day of the funeral, all the agnates shave their heads. On the following day, they go to the burial or burning ground with tender cocoanuts, milk, cakes, etc., and Arichandra, who presides over the burial-ground, is worshipped. Milk is then poured over the grave, or the remains of the bones, which are thrown into the sea. On the night of the fifteenth day, Panisavans blow the conch and horn, and red cloths are presented to the widow of the deceased by her relations. At about 4 A.M., a white cloth is thrown on her neck, and the tali string is cut by an old woman. The tali is removed therefrom, and dropped into a new pot filled with water. Hence, a form of abuse among Pattanavan women is, May your tali be snapped, and thrown into water. The tali is removed from the pot, which is thrown into the sea. The tali is laid on a dish containing milk, and all those who visit the widow must set eyes on it before they see her.

In the city of Madras, the Pattanavans have the privilege of supplying bearers at temples, and the atmosphere surrounding them as they carry the idols on their sturdy shoulders through Triplicane is said to be “redolent of brine and the toddy shop.”

In a judgment of the High Court of Judicature, Madras, it is recorded that, in the eighteenth century, some boat-owners and boatmen belonging to the Curukula Vamsha or Varunakula Mudali caste, who were residing at Chepauk in the city of Madras, had embraced Christianity, and worshipped in a chapel, which had been erected by voluntary contributions. In 1799 the site of their village was required for public purposes, and they obtained in lieu of it a grant of land at Royapuram, where a chapel was built. Partly by taxes levied on boatmen, and partly by tolls they were allowed to impose on persons for frequenting the Royapuram bazar, a fund was formed to provide for their spiritual wants, and this fund was administered by the Marine Board. In 1829, a portion of the fund was expended in the erection of the church of St. Peter, Royapuram, and the fund was transferred to Government. The administration of the fund has been the source of litigation in the High Court.94

It is noted by Mrs. F. E. Penny that some of the fisherfolk “adopted Xavier as their special patron saint, and, as time passed, almost deified him. In the present day, they appeal to him in times of danger, crying ‘Xavier! Xavier! Xavier!’ in storm and peril. Even if they are unfortunate in their catch when fishing, they turn to their saint for succour.”

As a numismatist, I resent the practice resorted to by some fishermen of melting old lead coins, and converting them into sinkers for their nets.

Pattapu.—Pattapu for Tulivandlu is a name for Tamil Pattanavans, who have migrated to the Telugu country. Pattapu also occurs as a sub-division of Yerukala.

Pattar.—The Pattars are Tamil Brahmans, who have settled in Malabar. The name is said to be derived from the Sanskrit bhatta. It is noted, in the Madras Census Report, 1901, that Pattar (teacher) has been recently assumed as a title by some Nokkans in Tanjore. (See Brahman.)

Pattariar.—Recorded, in the Madras Census Report, 1901, as a Tamil corruption of Pattu Saliyan (silk-weaver). Pattariar or Pattalia is a synonym of Tamil-speaking Saliyans.

Pattegara (headman).—An exogamous sept of Okkiliyan.

Pattindla (silk house).—An exogamous sept of Tota Balija.

Pattola Menon.—Recorded, in the Cochin Census Report, 1901, as a sub-caste of Nayars, who are accountants in aristocratic families.

Pattukuruppu.—Recorded in the Travancore Census Report, 1901, as synonymous with Vatti, a sub-division of Nayar.

Pattu Sale.—A sub-division of Sales, who weave silk (pattu) fabrics.

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

Patvegara.—The Patvegaras or Pattegaras (pattu, silk) of South Canara are described by Mr. H. A. Stuart95 as “a Canarese caste of silk weavers. They are Hindus, and worship both Siva and Vishnu, but their special deity is Durga Paramesvari at Barkur. They wear the sacred thread, and employ Brahmans for ceremonial purposes. They are governed by a body called the ten men, and pay allegiance to the guru of the Ramachandra math (religious institution). They are divided into balis (septs) and a man may not marry within his own bali. Polygamy is allowed only when a wife is barren, or suffers from some incurable disease, such as leprosy. The girls are married in infancy, and the binding portion of the ceremony is called dhare (see Bant). Widow marriage is not permitted, and divorce is only allowed in the case of an adulterous wife. They follow the ordinary Hindu law of inheritance. The dead are cremated. The sradha (memorial) ceremony is in use, and the Mahalaya ceremony for the propitiation of ancestors in general is performed annually. Female ancestors are also worshipped every year at a ceremony called vaddap, when meals are given to married women. They eat fish but not meat, and the use of alcohol is not permitted.”

In the Mysore Census Report, 1891, the Patvegars are described as “silk weavers who speak a corrupt Marathi conglomerate of Guzarati and Hindi. They worship all the Hindu deities, especially the female energy under the name of Sakti, to which a goat is sacrificed on the night of the Dasara festival, a Musalman slaughtering the animal. After the sacrifice, the family of the Patvegar partake of the flesh. Many of their females are naturally fair and handsome, but lose their beauty from early marriage and precocity.” A few Pattegaras, who speak a corrupt form of Marathi, are to be found in the Anantapur district.

Pavalamkatti (wearers of corals).—A sub-division of Konga Vellala.

Pavini.—See Vayani.

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

Pedakanti.—Pedakanti or Pedaganti is the name of a sub-division of Kapu. It is said by some to be derived from a place called Pedagallu. By others it is derived from peda, turned aside, and kamma, eye, indicating one who turns his eyes away from a person who speaks to him. Yet another suggestion is that it means stiff-necked.

Pedda (big).—A sub-division of Boya, Bagata, Konda Dora, Pattapu, and Velama.

Peddammavandlu.—A fancy name taken by some Telugu beggars.

Pedditi.—A sub-division of Golla, some members of which earn a livelihood by begging and flattery.

Pegula (intestines).—An exogamous sept of Boya.

Pekkan.—A division of Toda.

Pendukal (women).—A name applied to Deva-dasis in Travancore.

Pengu.—A sub-division of Poroja.

Pennegara.—Konkani-speaking rice-beaters in South Canara.

Pentiya.—The Pentiyas also call themselves Holuva and Halaba or Halba. In the Madras Census Report, 1901, they are called Pantia as well as Pentiya, and described as Oriya betel-leaf (panno) sellers. Their occupation, in the Jeypore Agency tracts, is that of cultivators. According to Mr. C. Hayavadana Rao, to whom I am indebted for the following note, numbers of them migrated thither from Bustar, and settled at Pentikonna, and are hence called Pentikonaya or Pentiya. Their language is Halba, which is easily understood by those who speak Oriya. They are divided into two endogamous sections, called Bodo (big or genuine), and Sanno (little), of whom the latter are said to be illegitimate descendants of the former. The Bodos are further sub-divided into a series of septs, e.g., Kurum (tortoise), Bhag (tiger), Nag (cobra), and Surya (sun). The caste is highly organized, and the head of a local centre is called Bhatha Nayako. He is assisted by a Pradhani, an Umriya Nayako, and Dolayi. The caste messenger is called Cholano, and he carries a silver baton when he summons the castemen to a meeting. An elaborate ceremony is performed when a person, who has been tried by the caste council, is to be received back into the caste. He is accompanied to the bank of a stream, where his tongue is burnt with a gold or silver wire or ornament by the Bhatha Nayako, and some offerings from the Jagannatha temple at Puri are given to him. He is then taken home, and provides a feast, at which the Nayako has the privilege of eating first. He has further to make a present of cloths to the assembled elders, and the four heads of the caste receive a larger quantity than the others. The feast over, he is again taken, carrying some cooked rice, to the stream, and with it pushed therein. This ceremonial bath frees him from pollution.

Girls are married either before or after puberty. A man can claim his paternal aunt’s daughter in marriage. The bridegroom’s party proceed, with the bridegroom, to the bride’s village, and take up their abode in a separate house. They then take three cloths for the bride’s mother, three rupees for her father, and a cloth and two annas for each of her brothers, and present them together with rice, liquor, and other articles. Pandals (booths) are erected in front of the quarters of the bridal couple, that of the bridegroom being made of nine, and that of the bride of five sal (Shorea robusta) poles, to which a pot containing myrabolams (Terminalia fruits) and rice is tied. The couple bathe, and the bridegroom proceeds to the house of the bride. The Desari, who officiates, dons the sacred thread, and divides the pandal into two by means of a screen or curtain. The couple go seven times round the pandal, and the screen is removed. They then enter the pandal, and the Desari links their little fingers together. The day’s ceremony concludes with a feast. On the following day, the bride is conducted to the house of the bridegroom, and they sprinkle each other with turmeric water. They then bathe in a stream or river. Another feast is held, with much drinking, and is followed by a wild dance. The remarriage of widows is permitted, and a younger brother may marry the widow of his elder brother. The dead are burnt, and death pollution is observed for ten days, during which the relatives of the deceased are fed by members of another sept. On the tenth day a caste feast takes place.

The Pentiyas are said96 to distribute rice, and other things, to Brahmans, once a year on the new-moon day in the month of Bhadrapadam (September-October), and to worship a female deity named Kamilli on Saturdays. No one, I am informed, other, I presume, than a Pentiya, would take anything from a house where she is worshipped, lest the goddess should accompany him, and require him to become her devotee.

The caste title is Nayako.

Peraka (tile).—An exogamous sept of Devanga.

Perike.—This word is defined, in the Madras Census Report, 1901, as meaning literally a gunny bag, and the Perikes are summed up as being a Telugu caste of gunny bag (goni) weavers, corresponding to the Janappans of the Tamil districts. Gunny bag is the popular and trading name of the coarse sacking and sacks made from the fibre of jute, much used in Indian trade. It is noted, in the Census Report, 1891, that “the Perikes claim to be a separate caste, but they seem to be in reality a sub-division, and not a very exalted sub-division, of Balijas, being in fact identical with the Uppu (salt) Balijas. Their hereditary occupation is carrying salt, grain, etc., on bullocks and donkeys in perikes or packs. Perike is found among the sub-divisions of both Kavarai and Balija. Some of them, however, have attained considerable wealth, and now claim to be Kshatriyas, saying that they are the descendants of the Kshatriyas who ran away (piriki, a coward) from the persecution of Parasurama. Others again say they are Kshatriyas who went into retirement, and made hills (giri) their abode (puri).” These Perike ‘Kshatriyas’ are known as Puragiri Kshatriya and Giri Razu. The Periki Balijas are described, in the Vizagapatam Manual, as chiefly carrying on cultivation and trade, and some of them are said to hold a high position at ‘the Presidency’ (Madras) and in the Vizagapatam district.

Perike women appear to have frequently committed sati (or suttee) on the death of their husbands in former days, and the names of those who thus sacrificed their lives are still held in reverence. A peculiar custom among the Perikes is the erection of big square structures (brindavanam), in which a tulsi (Ocimum sanctum) is planted, on the spot where the ashes of the dead are buried after cremation. I am informed that a fine series of these structures may be seen at Chipurapalli, close to Vizianagram. As a mark of respect to the dead, passers-by usually place a lac bangle or flowers thereon. The usual titles of the Perikes are Anna and Ayya, but some style themselves Rao (= Raya, king) or Rayadu, in reference to their alleged Kshatriya origin.

For the following note on the Perikes of the Godavari district, I am indebted to Mr. F. R. Hemingway. “Like some of the Kammas, they claim to be of Kshatriya stock, and say they are of the lineage of Parasu Rama, but were driven out by him for kidnapping his sister, while pretending to be gunny-bag weavers. They say that they were brought to this country by king Nala of the Mahabharata, in gratitude for their having taken care of his wife Damayanti when he quitted her during his misfortunes. They support the begging caste of Varugu Bhattas, who, they say, supported them during their exile, and to whom they gave a sanad (deed of grant) authorising them to demand alms. These people go round the Perike houses for their dues every year. The Pisu Perikes, who still weave gunny-bags, are said not to belong to the caste proper, members of which style themselves Racha Perikes.

“The Perikes say that, like the Komatis, they have 101 gotras. Their marriage ceremonies are peculiar. On the day of the wedding, the bride and bridegroom are made to fast, as also are three male relatives, whom they call suribhaktas. At the marriage, the couple sit on a gunny-bag, and another gunny, on which a representation of the god Mailar is drawn or painted, is spread between them. The same god is drawn on two pots, and these, and also a third pot, are filled with rice and dhal (Cajanus indicus), which are cooked by two married women. The food is then offered to Mailar. Next, the three suribhaktas take 101 cotton threads, fasten them together, and tie seven knots in them. The bride and bridegroom are given cloths which have been partly immersed in water coloured with turmeric and chunam (lime), and the suribhaktas are fed with the rice and dhal cooked in the pots. The couple are then taken round the village in procession, and, on their return, the knotted cotton threads are tied round the bride’s neck instead of a tali.

Some Perikes style themselves Sathu vandlu, meaning a company of merchants or travellers.

Perike Muggula is the name of a class of Telugu mendicants and exorcists.

Periya (big).—Periya or Periyanan has been recorded as a sub-division of Karalan, Kunnuvan, Occhan, and Pattanavan. The equivalent Peru or Perum occurs as a sub-division of the Malayalam Kollans and Vannans and Perim of Kanikars. Periya illom is the name of an exogamous illom of Kanikars in Travancore.

Perugadannaya (bandicoot rat sept).—An exogamous sept of Bant.

Perum Tali (big tali).—A sub-division of Idaiyan, and of Kaikolans, whose women wear a big tali (marriage badge).

Perumal.—Perumal is a synonym of Vishnu, and the name is taken by some Pallis who are staunch Vaishnavites. A class of mendicants, who travel about exhibiting performing bulls in the southern part of the Madras Presidency, is known as Perumal Madukkaran or Perumal Erudukkaran. Perumalathillom, meaning apparently big mountain house, is an exogamous sept or illom of the Kanikars of Travancore.

Pesala (seeds of Phaseolus Mungo: green gram).—An exogamous sept of Jogi.

Peta (street).—A sub-division of Balija.

Pettigeyavaru (box).—A sub-division of Gangadikara Vakkaliga.

Pichiga (sparrow).—An exogamous sept of Boya and Devanga. The equivalent Pital occurs as a sept of Mala.

Pichigunta.—The name Pichigunta means literally an assembly of beggars, who are described97 as being, in the Telugu country, a class of mendicants, who are herbalists, and physic people for fever, stomach-ache, and other ailments. They beat the village drums, relate stories and legends, and supply the place of a Herald’s Office, as they have a reputation for being learned in family histories, and manufacture pedigrees and gotras (house names) for Kapus, Kammas, Gollas, and others.

The Picchai or Pinchikuntar are described in the Salem Manual as “servants to the Kudianavars or cultivators—a name commonly assumed by Vellalas and Pallis. The story goes that a certain Vellala had a hundred and two children, of whom only one was a female. Of the males, one was lame, and his hundred brothers made a rule that one would provide him with one kolagam of grain and one fanam (a coin) each year. They got him married to a Telugu woman of a different caste, and the musicians who attended the ceremony were paid nothing, the brothers alleging that, as the bridegroom was a cripple, the musicians should officiate from charitable motives. The descendants of this married pair, having no caste of their own, became known as Picchi or Pinchikuntars (beggars, or lame). They are treated as kudipinnai (inferior) by Vellalas, and to the present day receive their prescribed miras (fee) from the Vellala descendants of the hundred brothers, to whom, on marriage and other festivals, they do service by relating the genealogies of such Vellalas as they are acquainted with. Some serve the Vellalas in the fields, and others live by begging.”97

The caste beggars of the Tottiyans are known as Pichiga-vadu.

Pidakala (cow-dung cakes or bratties).—An exogamous sept of Devanga. Dried cow-dung cakes are largely used by natives as fuel, and may be seen stuck on to the walls of houses.

Pidaran.—A section of Ambalavasis, who, according to Mr. Logan98 “drink liquor, exorcise devils, and are worshippers of Bhadrakali or of Sakti. The name is also applied to snake-catchers, and it was probably conferred on the caste owing to the snake being an emblem of the human passion embodied in the deities they worship.”

Pilapalli.—The Pilapallis are a small caste or community in Travancore, concerning which Mr. S. Subramanya Aiyar writes as follows.99 “The following sketch will show what trifling circumstances are sufficient in this land of Parasurama to call a new caste into existence. The word Pilapally is supposed to be a corruption of Belal Thalli, meaning forcibly ejected. It therefore contains, as though in a nutshell, the history of the origin of this little community, which it is used to designate. In the palmy days of the Chempakasseri Rajas, about the year 858 M.E., there lived at the court of the then ruling Prince at Ambalappuzha a Namburi Brahman who stood high in the Prince’s favour, and who therefore became an eye-sore to all his fellow courtiers. The envy and hatred of the latter grew to such a degree that one day they put their heads together to devise a plan which should at once strip him of all influence at court, and humble him in the eyes of the public. The device hit upon was a strange one, and characteristic of that dim and distant past. The Namburi was the custodian of all presents made to the Prince, and as such it was a part of his daily work to arrange the articles presented in their proper places. It was arranged that one day a dead fish, beautifully tied up and covered, should be placed among the presents laid before the Prince. The victim of the plot, little suspecting there was treachery in the air, removed all the presents as usual with his own hand. His enemies at court, who were but waiting for an opportunity of humbling him to the dust, thereupon caused the bundle to be examined before the Prince, when it became evident that it contained a dead fish. Now, for a Namburi to handle a dead fish was, according to custom, sufficient to make him lose caste. On the strength of this argument, the Prince, who was himself a Brahmin, was easily prevailed upon to put the Namburi out of the pale of caste, and the court favourite was immediately excommunicated. There is another and a slightly different version of the story, according to which the Namburi in question was the hereditary priest of the royal house, to whom fell the duty of removing and preserving the gifts. In course of time he grew so arrogant that the Prince himself wanted to get rid of him, but, the office of the priest being hereditary, he did not find an easy way of accomplishing his cherished object, and, after long deliberation with those at court in whom he could confide, came at last to the solution narrated above. It is this forcible ejection that the expression Belal Thalli (afterwards changed into Pilapally) is said to import.... It appears that the unfortunate Namburi had two wives, both of whom elected to share his fate. Accordingly, the family repaired to Paravur, a village near Kallarkode, where their royal patron made them a gift of land. Although they quitted Ambalapuzha for good, they seem to have long owned there a madathummuri (a room in a series, in which Brahmins from abroad once lived and traded), and are said to be still entitled daily to a measure of palpayasom from the temple, a sweet pudding of milk, rice and sugar, celebrated all over Malabar for its excellence. The progeny of the family now count in all about ninety members, who live in eight or nine different houses.”

Pillai.—Pillai, meaning child, is in the Tamil country primarily the title of Vellalas, but has, at recent times of census, been returned as the title of a number of classes, which include Agamudaiyan, Ambalakaran, Golla, Idaiyan, Nayar, Nokkan, Panisavan, Panikkan, Paraiyan, Saiyakkaran, Sembadavan and Senaikkudaiyans. Pilla is further used as the title of the male offspring of Deva-dasis. Many Paraiyan butlers of Europeans have assumed the title Pillai as an honorific suffix to their name. So, too, have some criminal Koravas, who pose as Vellalas.

Pillaikuttam.—Recorded, in the Manual of the North Arcot district, as a bastard branch of Vaniyan.

Pillaiyarpatti (Ganesa village).—An exogamous section or kovil of Nattukottai Chetti.

Pilli (cat).—An exogamous sept of Chembadi, Mala, and Medara.

Pindari.—In the Madras Census Report, 1901, fifty-nine Pindaris are returned as a Bombay caste of personal servants. They are more numerous in the Mysore province, where more than two thousand were returned in the same year as being engaged in agriculture and Government service. The Pindaris were formerly celebrated as a notorious class of freebooters, who, in the seventeenth century, attached themselves to the Marathas in their revolt against Aurangzib, and for a long time afterwards, committed raids in all directions, extending their operations to Southern India. It is on record that “in a raid made upon the coast extending from Masulipatam northward, the Pindaris in ten days plundered 339 villages, burning many, killing and wounding 682 persons, torturing 3,600, and carrying off or destroying property to the amount of £250,000.”100 They were finally suppressed, in Central India, during the Viceroyalty of the Marquis of Hastings, in 1817.

Pindi (flour).—An exogamous sept of Mala.

Pinjari (cotton-cleaner).—A synonym for Dudekula. Pinjala (cotton) occurs as an exogamous sept of Devanga.

Pippala (pepper: Piper longum).—An exogamous sept or gotra of Gamalla and Komati.

Pisharati.—The Pisharatis or Pisharodis are summed up in the Madras Census Report, 1901, as being a sub-caste of Ambalavasis, which makes flower garlands, and does menial service in the temples. As regards their origin, the legend runs to the effect that a Swamiyar, or Brahman ascetic, once had a disciple of the same caste, who wished to become a Sanyasi or anchorite. All the ceremonies prior to shaving the head of the novice were completed, when, alarmed at the prospect of a cheerless life and the severe austerities incidental thereto, he made himself scarce. Pishara denotes a Sanyasi’s pupil, and as he, after running away, was called Pisharodi, the children born to him of a Parasava woman by a subsequent marriage were called Pisharatis. In his ‘Early Sovereigns of Travancore,’ Mr. Sundaram Pillay says that the Pisharati’s “puzzling position among the Malabar castes, half monk and half layman, is far from being accounted for by the silly and fanciful modern derivation of Pisharakal plus Odi, Pisharakal being more mysterious than Pisharati itself.” It is suggested by him that Pisharati is a corruption of Bhattaraka-tiruvadi. According to the Jati-nirnaya, the Bhattarakas are a community degraded from the Brahmans during the Treta Yuga. As far as we are able to gather from mediÆval Travancore inscriptions, an officer known as Pidara-tiruvadi was attached to every temple. It is known that he used to receive large perquisites for temple service, and that extensive rice-lands were given to the Bhattakara of Nelliyur. It is noted, in the Gazetteer of Malabar, that “the traditional etymology of the name Pisharodi refers it to a Sanyasi novice, who, deterred by the prospects of the hardship of life on which he was about to enter, ran away (odi) at the last moment, after he had been divested of the punul (thread), but before he had performed the final ceremony of plunging thrice in a tank (pond), and of plucking out, one at each plunge, the last three hairs of his kudumi (the rest of which had been shaved off). But the termination ‘Odi’ is found in other caste titles such as Adiyodi and Vallodi, and the definition is obviously fanciful, while it does not explain the meaning of Pishar.”

The houses of Pisharatis are called pisharam. Their primary occupation is to prepare garlands of flowers for Vaishnava temples, but they frequently undertake the talikazhakam or sweeping service in temples. Being learned men, and good Sanskrit scholars, they are employed as Sanskrit and Malayalam tutors in the families of those of high rank, and, in consequence, make free use of the title Asan. They are strict Vaishnavites, and the ashtakshara, or eight letters relating to Vishnu, as opposed to the panchakshara or five letters relating to Siva, forms their daily hymn of prayer. They act as their own caste priests, but for the punyaha or purificatory ceremony and the initiation into the ashtakshara, which are necessary on special occasions, the services of Brahmans are engaged.

The Pisharatis celebrate the tali-kettu ceremony before the girl reaches puberty. The most important item therein is the joining of the hands of the bride and bridegroom. The planting of a jasmine shoot is observed as an indispensable preliminary rite. The events between this and the joining of hands are the same as with other Ambalavasis. The bride and bridegroom bathe, and wear clothes touched by each other. The girl’s mother then gives her a wedding garland and a mirror, with which she sits, her face covered with a cloth. The cherutali, or marriage ornament, is tied by the bridegroom round the girl’s neck. If this husband dies, the tali has to be removed, and the widow observes pollution. Her sons have to make oblations of cooked rice, and, for all social and religious purposes, the woman is regarded as a widow, though she is not debarred from contracting a sambandham (alliance) with a man of her own caste, or a Brahman. If the wife dies, the husband has, in like manner, to observe pollution, and make oblations of cooked rice. There are cases in which the tali-kettu is performed by a Pisharati, and sambandham contracted with a Brahman. If the tali-tier becomes the husband, no separate cloth-giving ceremony need be gone through by him after the girl has reached puberty.

Inheritance is in the female line, so much so that a wife and children are not entitled to compensation for the performance of a man’s funeral rites.

No particular month is fixed for the name-giving rite, as it suffices if this is performed before the annaprasana ceremony. The maternal uncle first names the child. When it is four or six months old, it is taken out to see the sun. On the occasion of the annaprasana, which usually takes place in the sixth month, the maternal uncle gives the first mouthful of cooked rice to the child by means of a golden ring. The Yatrakali serves as the night’s entertainment for the assembled guests. Nambutiris are invited to perform the purificatory ceremony known as punyaha, but the consecrated water is only sprinkled over the roof of the house. The inmates thereof protrude their heads beneath the eaves so as to get purified, as the Brahmans do not pour the water over them. The chaula or tonsure takes place at the third year of a child’s life. The maternal uncle first touches the boy’s head with a razor, and afterwards the Maran and barber do the same. The initiation into the ashtakshara takes place at the age of sixteen. On an auspicious day, a Brahman brings a pot of water, consecrated in a temple, to the pisharam, and pours its contents on the head of the lad who is to be initiated. The ceremony is called kalasam-ozhuk-kua, or letting a pot of water flow. After the teaching of the ashtakshara, the youth, dressed in religious garb, makes a ceremonial pretence of proceeding on a pilgrimage to Benares, as a Brahman does at the termination of the Brahmacharya stage of life. It is only after this that a Pisharati is allowed to chew betel leaf, and perform other acts, which constitute the privileges of a Grihastha.

The funeral rites of the Pisharatis are very peculiar. The corpse is seated on the ground, and a nephew recites the ashtakshara, and prostrates himself before it. The body is bathed, and dressed. A grave, nine feet deep and three feet square, is dug in a corner of the grounds, and salt and ashes, representing all the Panchabhutas, are spread. The corpse is placed in the grave in a sitting posture. As in the case of a Sanyasi, who is a Jivanmukta, or one liberated from the bondage of the flesh though alive in body, so a dead Pisharati is believed to have no suitable body requiring to be entertained with any post-mortem offerings. A few memorial rites are, however, performed. On the eleventh day, a ceremony corresponding to the ekoddishta sradh of the Brahman is carried out. A knotted piece of kusa grass, representing the soul of the deceased, is taken to a neighbouring temple, where a lighted lamp, symbolical of Maha Vishnu is worshipped, and prayers are offered. This ceremony is repeated at the end of the first year.101

Some Pisharatis are large land-owners of considerable wealth and influence.102

Pisu Perike.—Perikes who weave gunny-bags.

Pitakalu (dais, on which a priest sits).—An exogamous sept of Odde.

Pittalavadu.—A Telugu name for Kuruvikkarans.

Podapotula.—A class of mendicants, who beg from Gollas.

Podara Vannan.—The Podara, Podarayan or Pothora Vannans are washermen of inferior social status, who wash clothes for Pallans, Paraiyans, and other low classes.

Podhano.—Recorded, at times of census, as a title of Bolasi, Gaudo, Kalingi, Kudumo, and Samantiya. The Samantiyas also frequently give it as the name of their caste.

Poduval.—Defined by Mr. Wigram103 as one of the Ambalavasi castes, the members of which are as a rule employed as temple watchmen. Writing concerning the Mussads or Muttatus, Mr. N. Subramani Aiyar states that they are known as Muttatus or Mussatus in Travancore and Cochin, and Potuvals (or Poduvals) or Akapotuvals in North Malabar. Potuval means a common person, i.e., the representative of a committee, and a Muttatu’s right to this name accrues from the fact that, in the absence of the Nambutiri managers of a temple, he becomes their agent, and is invested with authority to exercise all their functions. The work of an Akapotuval always lies within the inner wall of the shrine, while that of the Purappotuval, or Potuval proper, lies outside. From Travancore, Poduvan or Potuvan is recorded as a synonym or sub-division of Marans, who are employed at funerals by various castes.

It is recorded, in the Gazetteer of Malabar, that “Pura Pothuvals are of two classes, Chenda Pothuvals or drum Pothuvals, and Mala Pothuvals or garland Pothuvals, the names of course referring to the nature of the service which they have to render in the temple. The Chenda Pothuvals would appear to be closely connected with the Marars or Marayars, who are also drummers. Mala Pothuvals follow marumakkattayam (inheritance in the female line), their women having sambandham (alliance) with men of their own caste or with Brahmans, while the men can have sambandham in their own caste, or with Nayar women of any of the sub-divisions below Kiriyattil. Their women are called Pothuvarassiar or Pothuvattimar.” It is further recorded104 that, in some cases, for instance among Mala Pothuvals and Marars in South Malabar, a fictitious consummation is an incident of the tali-kettu ; the girl and manavalan (bridegroom) being made to lie on a bed together, and left there alone for a few moments. Amongst the Mala Pothuvals this is done twice, once on the first and once on the last day, and they apparently also spend the three nights of the ceremony in the same bed-chamber, but not alone, an Enangatti sleeping there as chaperone. In these two castes, as in most if not all others, the ceremony also entails the pollution of the girl and her bridegroom. Amongst the Marars, they are purified by a Nambudiri after they leave their quasi-nuptial couch. Amongst the Mala Pothuvals, they are not allowed to bathe or to touch others during the wedding till the fourth day, when they are given mattu (change of cloths) by the Veluttedan.”

Podala occurs as a Canarese form of Poduval.

Pogandan.—A synonym of Pondan.

Pokanati.—Pokanati or Pakanati is a sub-division of Kapu.

Poladava.—A synonym of Gatti.

Poligar (feudal chief).—A synonym of Palayakkaran. According to Yule and Burnell,105 the Poligars “were properly subordinate feudal chiefs, occupying tracts more or less wild, and generally of predatory habits in former days. They are now much the same as Zemindars (land-owners) in the highest use of that term. The Southern Poligars gave much trouble about a hundred years ago, and the ‘Poligar wars’ were somewhat serious affairs. In various assaults on Panjalamkurichi, one of their forts in Tinnevelly, between 1799 and 1801, there fell fifteen British officers.” The name Poligar was further used for the predatory classes, which served under the chiefs. Thus, in Munro’s ‘Narrative of Military Operations’ (1780–84), it is stated that “the matchlock men are generally accompanied by Poligars, a set of fellows that are almost savages, and make use of no other weapon than a pointed bamboo spear, 18 or 20 feet long.”

The name Poligar is given to a South Indian breed of greyhound-like dogs in the Tinnevelly district.

Pombada.—A small class of Canarese devil-dancers, who are said,106 in South Canara, to resemble the Nalkes, but hold a somewhat higher position, and in devil-dances to represent a better class of demons. Unlike the Nalkes and Paravas, they follow the aliya santana system of inheritance. They speak Tulu, and, in their customs, follow those of the Billavas. There are two sections among the Pombadas, viz., Bailu, who are mainly cultivators, and Padarti, who are chiefly engaged in devil-dancing. The Pombadas are not, like the Nalkes and Paravas, a polluting class, and are socially a little inferior to the Billavas. They do not wear the disguises of the bhuthas (devils) Nicha, Varte, and Kamberlu, who are considered low, but wear those of Jumadi, Panjurli, Jarandaya, Mahisandeya, and Kodamanithaya. Ullaya or Dharmadevata is regarded as a superior bhutha, and the special bhutha of the Pombadas, who do not allow Nalkes or Paravas to assume his disguise. During the Jumadi Kola (festival), the Pombada who represents the bhutha Jumadi is seated on a cart, and dragged in procession through the streets. (See Nalke.)

Pon Chetti (gold merchant).—A synonym of Malayalam Kammalan goldsmiths.

Pon (gold) Illam.—A section of Mukkuvans.

Pondan.—“There are,” Mr. H. A. Stuart writes,107 “only twenty-eight persons of this caste in Malabar, and they are all in Calicut. These are the palanquin-bearers of the Zamorin. They are in dress, manners, customs, and language entirely Tamilians, and, while the Zamorin is polluted by the touch of any ordinary Tamilian, these Pondans enjoy the privilege of bearing him in a palanquin to and from the temple every day. Now there is a sub-division of the Tamil Idaiyans by name Pogondan, and I understand that these Pogondans are the palanquin-bearers of the Idaiyan caste. It seems probable that the founder, or some early member of the Zamorin, obtained palanquin-bearers of his own (cowherd) caste and granted them privileges which no other Tamilians now enjoy.”

Pondra.—Pondra, or Ponara, is a sub-division of Mali.

Ponganadu.—Ponganadu and Ponguvan have been recorded, at times of census, as a sub-division of Kapu. A corrupt form of Pakanati.

Ponnambalaththar.—A class of mendicants, who have attached themselves to the Kaikolans.

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

Poruvannurkaran.—A class of carpenters in Malabar.

Poroja.—The Porojas or Parjas are hill cultivators found in the Agency tracts of Ganjam and Vizagapatam. Concerning them, it is noted, in the Madras Census Report, 1871, that “there are held to be seven classes of these Parjas, which differ from each other in points of language, customs, and traditions. The term Parja is, as Mr. Carmichael has pointed out, merely a corruption of a Sanskrit term signifying a subject, and it is understood as such by the people themselves, who use it in contradistinction to a free hill-man. ‘Formerly,’ says a tradition that runs through the whole tribe, ‘Rajas and Parjas were brothers, but the Rajas took to riding horses (or, as the Barenja Parjas put it, sitting still) and we became carriers of burdens and Parjas.’ It is quite certain, in fact, that the term Parja is not a tribal denomination, but a class denomination, and it may be fitly rendered by the familiar epithet of ryot (cultivator). I have laid stress on this, because all native officials, and every one that has written about the country (with the above exception), always talk of the term Parja as if it signified a caste. There is no doubt, however, that by far the greater number of these Parjas are akin to the Khonds of the Ganjam Maliahs. They are thrifty, hard-working cultivators, undisturbed by the intestine broils which their cousins in the north engage in, and they bear in their breasts an inalienable reverence for their soil, the value of which they are rapidly becoming acquainted with. The Parja bhumi (land) is contained almost entirely in the upper level. Parts to the south held under Pachipenta and Madugulu (Madgole) are not Parja bhumi, nor, indeed, are some villages to the north in the possession of the Khonds. Their ancient rights to these lands are acknowledged by colonists from among the Aryans, and, when a dispute arises concerning the boundaries of a field possessed by recent arrivals, a Parja is usually called in to point out the ancient land-marks.”

The name Poroja seems to be derived from the Oriya, Po, son, and Raja, i.e., sons of Rajas. There is a tradition that, at the time when the Rajas of Jeypore rose into prominence at Nandapur, the country was occupied by a number of tribes, who, in return for the protection promised to them, surrendered their rights to the soil, which they had hitherto occupied absolutely. I am informed that the Porojas, when asked what their caste is, use ryot and Poroja as synonymous, saying we are Porojas; we are ryot people.

The Parji language is stated by Mr. G. A. Grierson108 to have “hitherto been considered as identical with Bhatri. Bhatri has now become a form of Oriya. Parji, on the other hand, is still a dialect of Gondi.” The Bhatras are a tribe inhabiting the state of Bastar in the Central Provinces.

The Porojas are not a compact caste, but rather a conglomerate, made up of several endogamous sections, and speaking a language, which varies according to locality. These sections, according to Mr. C. Hayavadana Rao, to whom I am indebted for much of the present note, are—

(1) Barang Jhodia, who eat beef and speak Oriya.

(2) Pengu Poroja, subdivided into those who eat the flesh of the buffalo, and those who do not. They speak a language, which is said to bear a close resemblance to Kondhs.

(3) Khondi or Kondi Poroja, who are a section of the Kondhs, eat beef and the flesh of buffaloes, and speak Kodu or Kondh.

(4) Parengi Poroja, who are a section of the Gadabas. They are subdivided into those who eat and do not eat the flesh of buffaloes, and speak a Gadaba dialect.

(5) Bonda, Bunda, or Nanga Poroja, who are likewise a section of the Gadabas, call themselves Bonda Gadaba, and speak a dialect of Gadaba.

(6) Tagara Poroja, who are a section of the Koyas or Koyis, and speak Koya, or, in some places, Telugu.

(7) Dur Poroja, also, it is said, known as Didayi Poroja, who speak Oriya.

Among the Barang Jhodias, the gidda (vulture), bagh (tiger), and nag (cobra) are regarded as totems. Among the Pengu, Kondhi and Dur divisions, the two last are apparently regarded as such, and, in addition to them, the Bonda Porojas have mandi (cow).

In the Barang Jhodia, Pengu, and Kondhi divisions, it is customary for a man to marry his paternal aunt’s daughter, but he cannot claim her as a matter of right, for the principle of free love is recognised among them. The dhangada and dhangadi basa system, according to which bachelors and unmarried girls sleep in separate quarters in a village, is in force among the Porojas.

When a marriage is contemplated among the Barang Jhodias, the parents of the young man carry two pots of liquor and some rice to the parents of the girl, who accept the present, if they are favourable to the match. If it is accepted, the future bridegroom’s party renew the proposal a year later by bringing five kunchams of rice, a new female cloth, seven uddas of liquor, and a sum of money ranging from fifteen to fifty rupees. On the following evening, the bride, accompanied by her relations, goes to the village of the bridegroom. Outside his house two poles have been set up, and joined together at the top by a string, from which a gourd (Cucurbita maxima) is suspended. As soon as the contracting couple come before the house, a tall man cuts the gourd with his tangi (axe) and it falls to the ground. The pair then enter the house, and the bride is presented with a new cloth by the parents of the bridegroom. Opposite the bridegroom’s house is a square fence, forming an enclosure, from which the bride’s party watch the proceedings. They are joined by the bride and bridegroom, and the parents of the latter distribute ragi (Eleusine Corocana) liquor and ippa (Bassia) liquor. A dance, in which both males and females take part, is kept up till the small hours, and, on the following day, a feast is held. About midday, the bride is formally handed over to the bridegroom, in the presence of the Janni and Mudili (caste elders). She remains a week at her new home, and then, even though she has reached puberty, returns to her father’s house, where she remains for a year, before finally joining her husband. In another form of marriage among the Barang Jhodias, the bride is brought to the house of the bridegroom, in front of which a pandal (booth), made of six poles, is set up. The central pole is cut from the neredi chettu (Eugenia Jambolana). At the auspicious moment, which is fixed by the Disari, the maternal uncle of the bridegroom sits with the bridegroom on his lap, and the bride at his feet. Castor-oil is then applied by the bridegroom’s father, first to the bridegroom, and then to the bride. A feast follows, at which fowls and liquor are consumed. On the following day, the newly-married couple bathe, and the ceremonies are at an end.

I am informed by Mr. H. C. Daniel that there is a custom among the Porojas, and other classes in Vizagapatam (e.g., Gadabas, Ghasis, and Malis), according to which a man gives his services as a goti for a specified time to another, in return for a small original loan. His master has to keep him supplied with food, and to pay him about two rupees at the Dussera festival, as well as making him a present of a cloth and a pair of sandals. The servant must do whatever he is told, and is practically a slave until the specified time is over. A man may give his son as a goti, instead of himself. It is also fairly common to find a man serving his prospective father-in-law for a specified time, in order to secure his daughter. Men from the plains, usually of the Komati caste, who have come to the hills for the purpose of trade, go by the local name of Sundi. They are the chief upholders of the goti system, by which they get labour cheap. Mr. Daniel has never heard of a goti refusing to do his work, the contract being by both sides considered quite inviolable. But a case was recently tried in a Munsiff’s Court, in which a goti absconded from his original master, and took service with another, thereby securing a fresh loan. The original master sued him for the balance of labour due.

The language of the Bonda Porojas, as already indicated, connects them closely with the Gadabas, but any such connection is stoutly denied by them. The names Bonda and Nanga mean naked, and bear reference to the fact that the only clothing of the women is a strip of cloth made from setukudi or ankudi chettu, or kareng fibre. In a note on the Bhondas of Jaipur, Mr. J. A. May informs us109 that the female attire “consists of just a piece of cloth, either made of kerong bark and manufactured by themselves, or purchased from the weavers, about a foot square, and only sufficient to cover a part of one hip. It is attached to their waists by a string, on which it runs, and can be shifted round to any side. A most ludicrous sight has often been presented to me by a stampede among a number of these women, when I have happened to enter a village unexpectedly. On my approach, one and all hurried to their respective dwellings, and, as they ran in all directions, endeavoured to shift this rag round to the part most likely to be exposed to me.” The Bonda women have glass bead and brass ornaments hung round their necks, and covering their bosoms. The legend, which accounts for the scanty clothing of the Bondas, runs to the effect that, when Sita, the wife of Rama, was bathing in a river, she was seen by women of this tribe, who laughed at and mocked her. Thereon, she cursed them, and ordained that, in future, all the women should shave their heads, and wear no clothing except a small covering for decency’s sake. There is a further tradition that, if the Bonda women were to abandon their primitive costume, the whole tribe would be destroyed by tigers. The shaving of the women’s heads is carried out, with a knife lent by the village Komaro (blacksmith), by a member of the tribe. Round the head, the women wear a piece of bamboo tied behind with strings.

In one form of marriage, as carried out by the Bondas, a young man, with some of his friends, goes to the sleeping apartment of the maidens, where each of them selects a maid for himself. The young men and maidens then indulge in a singing contest, in which impromptu allusions to physical attributes, and bantering and repartee take place. If a girl decides to accept a young man as her suitor, he takes a burning stick from the night fire, and touches her breast with it. He then withdraws, and sends one of his friends to the girl with a brass bangle, which, after some questioning as to who sent it, she accepts. Some months later, the man’s parents go to the girl’s home, and ask for her hand on behalf of their son. A feast follows, and the girl, with a couple of girls of about her own age, goes with the man’s parents to their home. They send five kunchams of rice to the parents of the girl, and present the two girls with a similar quantity. The three girls then return to their homes. Again several months elapse, and then the man’s parents go to fetch the bride, and a feast and dance take place. The pair are then man and wife.

In another account of the marriage customs of the Nanga Porojas, it is stated that pits are dug in the ground, in which, during the cold season, the children are put at night, to keep them warm. The pit is about nine feet in diameter. In the spring, all the marriageable girls of a settlement are put into one pit, and a young man, who has really selected his bride with the consent of his parents, comes and proposes to her. If she refuses him, he tries one after another till he is accepted. On one occasion, a leopard jumped into the pit, and killed some of the maidens. In a note on Bhonda marriage, Mr. May writes110 that “a number of youths, candidates for matrimony, start off to a village, where they hope to find a corresponding number of young women, and make known their wishes to the elders, who receive them with all due ceremony. The juice of the salop (sago palm) in a fermented state is in great requisition, as nothing can be done without the exhilarating effects of their favourite beverage. They then proceed to excavate an underground chamber (if one is not already prepared), having an aperture at the top, admitting of the entrance of one at a time. Into this the young gentlemen, with a corresponding number of young girls, are introduced, when they grope about and make their selection, after which they ascend out of it, each holding the young lady of his choice by the forefinger of one of her hands. Bracelets (the equivalent of the wedding ring) are now put on her arms by the elders, and two of the young men stand as sponsors for each bridegroom. The couples are then led to their respective parents, who approve and give their consent. After another application of salop and sundry greetings, the bridegroom is permitted to take his bride home, where she lives with him for a week, and then, returning to her parents, is not allowed to see her husband for a period of one year, at the expiration of which she is finally made over to him.” In a still further account of marriage among the Bondas, I am informed that a young man and a maid retire to the jungle, and light a fire. Then the maid, taking a burning stick, applies it to the man’s gluteal region. If he cries out Am! Am! Am! he is unworthy of her, and she remains a maid. If he does not, the marriage is at once consummated. The application of the brand is probably light or severe according to the girl’s feelings towards the young man. According to another version, the girl goes off to the jungle with several men, and the scene has been described as being like a figure in the cotillion, as they come up to be switched with the brand.

Widow remarriage is permitted among all the divisions of the Porojas, and a younger brother usually marries his elder brother’s widow.

The Jhodia, Pengu, and Kondhi divisions worship Bhumi Devata (the earth goddess), who is also known as Jakar Devata, once in three years. Each village offers a cow, goat, pig, and pigeon to her as a sacrifice. She is represented by a stone under a tree outside the village. A casteman acts as pujari (priest), and all the villagers, including the Janni and Mudili, are present at the festival, which winds up with a feast and drink. The Bondas worship Takurani in the months of Chaitra and Magho, and the festival includes the sacrifice of animals. “Their religious ceremonies,” Mr. May writes, “consist in offerings to some nameless deity, or to the memory of deceased relations. At each of the principal villages, the Bhondas congregate once a year in some spot conveniently situated for their orgies, when a chicken, a few eggs, and a pig or goat are offered, after which they retire to their houses, and next day assemble again, when the salop juice is freely imbibed till the intoxicating effects have thoroughly roused their pugnacity. The process of cudgelling one another with the branches of the salop now begins, and they apply them indiscriminately without the smallest regard for each other’s feelings. This, with the attendant drums and shrieks, would give one the impression of a host of maniacs suddenly set at liberty. This amusement is continued till bruises, contusions, and bleeding heads and backs have reduced them to a comparatively sober state, and, I imagine, old scores are paid off, when they return to their several houses.”

The dead are, as a rule, burnt. By some of the Jhodia Porojas, the ashes are subsequently buried in a pit a few feet deep, near the burning-ground, and the grave is marked by a heap of stones. A pole is set up in this heap, and water poured on it for twelve days. On the fourth day, cooked rice and fish are set on the way leading to the spot where the corpse was burned. The celebrants of the death rite then take mango bark, paint it with cow-dung, and sprinkle themselves with it. The ceremony concludes with a bath, feast, and drink. Among the Bonda Porojas, some of the jewelry of the deceased person is burnt with the corpse, and the remainder given to the daughter or daughter-in-law. They observe pollution for three days, during which they do not enter their fields. On the fourth day, they anoint themselves with castor-oil and turmeric, and bathe.

Mr. G. F. Paddison informs me that he once gave medicine to the Porojas during an epidemic of cholera in a village. They all took it eagerly, but, as he was going away, asked whether it would not be quicker cure to put the witch in the next village, who had brought on the cholera, into jail.

A Bonda Poroja dance is said to be very humourous. The young men tie a string of bells round their legs, and do the active part of the dance. The women stand in a cluster, with faces to the middle, clap their hands, and scream at intervals, while the men hop and stamp, and whirl round them on their own axes. The following account of a dance by the Jhodia Poroja girls of the Koraput and Nandapuram country is given by Mr. W. Francis.111 “Picturesque in the extreme,” he writes, “is a dancing party of these cheery maidens, dressed all exactly alike in clean white cloths with cerise borders or checks, reaching barely half way to the knee; great rings on their fingers; brass bells on their toes; their substantial but shapely arms and legs tattooed from wrist to shoulder, and from ankle to knee; their left forearms hidden under a score of heavy brass bangles; and their feet loaded with chased brass anklets weighing perhaps a dozen pounds. The orchestra, which consists solely of drums of assorted shapes and sizes, dashes into an overture, and the girls quickly group themselves into a couple of corps de ballet, each under the leadership of a premiÈre danseuse, who marks the time with a long baton of peacock’s feathers. Suddenly, the drums drop to a muffled beat, and each group strings out into a long line, headed by the leader with the feathers, each maiden passing her right hand behind the next girl’s back, and grasping the left elbow of the next but one. Thus linked, and in time with the drums (which now break into allegro crescendo), the long chain of girls—dancing in perfect step, following the leader with her swaying baton, marking the time by clinking their anklets (right, left, right, clink; left, clink; right, left, right, clink; and so da capo), chanting the while (quite tunefully) in unison a refrain in a minor key ending on a sustained falling note—weave themselves into sinuous lines, curves, spirals, figures-of-eight, and back into lines again; wind in and out like some brightly-coloured snake; never halting for a moment, now backwards, now forwards, first slowly and decorously, then, as the drums quicken, faster and faster, with more and more abandon, and longer and longer steps, until suddenly some one gets out of step, and the chain snaps amid peals of breathless laughter.”

For the following supplementary note on the Bonda Porojas, I am indebted to Mr. C. A. Henderson.

These people live in the western portion of Malkanagiri taluk, along the edge of the hills, probably penetrating some distance into them. The elder men are not in any way distinguishable from their neighbours. Young unmarried men, however, tie a strip of palmyra leaf round their heads in the same way as the women of their own tribe, or of the Gadabas. The women are very distinctly dressed. They all shave their heads once a month or so, and fasten a little fillet, made of beads or plaited grass, round them. The neck and chest are covered with a mass of ornaments, by which the breasts are almost concealed. These consist, for the most part, of bead necklaces, but they have also one or more very heavy brass necklaces of various designs, some being merely collections of rings on a connecting circlet, some massive hinged devices tied together at the end with string. They wear also small ear-studs of lead. Apart from these ornaments, they are naked to the waist. Round the loins, a small thick cloth is worn. This is woven from the fibre of the ringa (Oriya sitkodai gotsho). This cloth measures about two feet by eight inches, and is of thick texture like gunny, and variously coloured. Owing to its exiguity, its wearers are compelled, for decency’s sake, to sit on their heels with their knees together, instead of squatting in the ordinary native posture. This little cloth is supported round the waist by a thread, or light chain of tin and beads, but not totally confined thereby. The upper edge of the cloth behind is free from the chain, and bulges out, exposing the upper portion of the buttocks, the thread or chain lying in the small of the back. It is noted by Mr. Sandell that “the cloth at present used is of comparatively recent introduction, and seems to be a slight infringement of the tabu. The original cloth and supporting string were undoubtedly made of jungle fibre, and the modern colouring is brought about with cotton thread. Similarly, the Bonda Poroja necklaces of cheap beads, blue and white, must be modern, and most obviously so the fragments of tin that they work into their chains. The women are said to wear cloths in their houses, but to leave them off when they go outside. It seems that the tabu is directed against appearing in public fully clothed, and not against wearing decent sized cloths, as such. The party I saw were mostly unmarried girls, but one of them had been married for a year. When not posing for the camera, or dancing, she tied a small piece of cloth round her neck, so as to hang over the shoulders. This, as far as I could make out, was not because she was married, but simply because she was more shy than the rest.

“Two houses are kept in the village, for the unmarried girls and young men respectively. Apparently marriages are matters of inclination, the parents having no say in the matter. The young couple having contracted friendship (by word of mouth, and not by deed, as it was explained to me), inform their parents of it. The young man goes to make his demand of the girl’s parents, apparently without at the time making any presents to them, contrary to the custom of the Kondhs and others. Then there seem to be a series of promises on the part of the parents to give the girl. But the witnesses were rather confused on the point. I gather that the sort of final betrothal takes place in Dyali (the month after Dusserah), and the marriage in Magha. At the time of marriage, the girl’s parents are presented with a pair of bulls, a cloth, and a pot of landa (sago-palm toddy). But no return is made for them. The father gives the girl some ornaments. The married woman, whom I saw, had been given a bracelet by her husband, but it was not a conspicuously valuable one, and in no way indicative of her status.” In connection with marriage, Mr. Sandell adds that “a youth of one village does not marry a maiden of the same village, as they are regarded as brother and sister. The marriage pit is still in use, and may last all through the cold weather. A number of small villages will club together, and have one big pit.” In the case observed by Mr. Sandell, three of the local maidens were shut up in the pit at night, and five stranger youths admitted. The pit may be twelve feet across, and is covered with tatties (mats) and earth, a trap-door being left.

“After childbirth, the mother is unclean for some days. The time is, I gather, reckoned by the dropping of the navel-string, and is given as eight to sixteen days. During that period, the woman is not allowed to cook, or even touch her meals.

“These people say that they have no puja (worship). But at the time of sowing seed, they sacrifice one egg (for the whole village) to Matera Hundi, the goddess of harvest, who is represented by a branch of the kusi or jamo (guava) tree planted in the village. The people have no pujaris, and, in this case, the priest was a Mattia by caste. He plants the branch, and performs the sacrifice. At the time of Nua Khau (new eating; first fruits) a sacrifice of an animal of some kind is also made to Matera Hundi. Her aid is, they say, sought against the perils of the jungle, but primarily she is wanted to give them a good crop. The Bonda Porojas are quite ready to tell the old story of Sita (whom they call Maha Lakshmi), and her curse upon their women, whereby they shave their heads, and may not wear cloths. It is stated by Mr. May that a Government Agent once insisted on a young woman being properly clothed, and she survived the change only three days. I understand that this case has been somewhat misrepresented. The cloth is believed not to have been forced upon the girl, but offered to, and greatly appreciated by her. Her death shortly afterwards was apparently not the result of violation of the tabu, but accidental, and due, it is believed, to small-pox. The people whom I saw had not heard of this episode, but said that a woman who wore a cloth out of doors would fall sick, not die. But the possibility of any woman of theirs wearing a cloth obviously seemed to them very remote. The Bonda Porojas have a sort of belief in ghosts—not altogether devils apparently, but the spirits of the departed (sayire). These may appear in dreams, influence life and health, and vaguely exercise a helpful influence over the crops. I did not find out if they were propitiated in any way.

“A dead body is washed, tied to a tatty (mat) hurdle, taken outside the village, and burnt. After eight days (said to be four in the case of rich men), the corpse-bearers, and the family, sit down to a funeral feast, at which drinking is not allowed. A pig, fowl, or goat, according to the circumstances of the family, forms the meal. This is done in some way for the sake of the departed, but how is not quite clear.

“The Bonda Porojas live by cultivation, keep cattle, pigs, etc., and eat beef, and even the domestic pig. They pride themselves, as against their Hindu neighbours, in that their women eat with the men, and not of their leavings, and do not leave their village. The women, however, go to shandies (markets).”

Pothoria.—Pothoria or Pothriya, meaning stone, is the name of a small class of Oriya stone-cutters in Ganjam, who are addicted to snaring antelopes by means of tame bucks, which they keep for the purpose of decoying the wild ones. They employ Brahmans as purohits. Marriage is infant, and remarriage of widows is permitted. The females wear glass bangles.

Pothu.—Pothu or Pothula, meaning male, occurs as an exogamous sept of Devanga, Medara, and Padma Sale; and Pothula, in the sense of a male buffalo, as a sept of Madiga.

Potia.—Recorded, in the Madras Census Report, 1901, as Oriya mat-makers. They are said to be immigrants from Potia in Orissa, who call themselves Doluvas. The Doluvas, however, do not recognise them, and neither eat nor intermarry with them.

Potta (abdomen).—An exogamous sept of Boya.

Potti (Tamil, worshipful).—Stated, in the Travancore Census Report, 1901, to be the name applied to all Kerala Brahmans, who do not come under the specific designation of Nambutiris.

Pouzu (quail).—An exogamous sept of Devanga.

Powaku (tobacco).—An exogamous sept of Mala.

Poyilethannaya (one who removes the evil eye).—An exogamous sept of Bant.

Pradhano (chief).—A title of Aruva, Benaiyto, Odia, Kalingi, Kevuto, and Samantiya.

Pranopakari (one who helps souls).—A name for barbers in Travancore. In the early settlement records, Pranu occurs as a corruption thereof.

Prathamasakha.—It is recorded,112 in connection with the village of Koiltirumalam or Tiru-ambamahalam, that “a new temple has been recently built, and richly endowed by Nattukottai Chettis. There is, however, an old story connected with the place, which is enacted at the largely attended festival here, and in many popular dramas. This relates that the god of the Tiruvalur temple was entreated by a pujari (priest) of this place to be present in the village at a sacrifice in his (the god’s) honour. The deity consented at length, but gave warning that he would come in a very unwelcome shape. He appeared as a Paraiyan with beef on his back and followed by the four Vedas in the form of dogs, and took his part in the sacrifice thus accoutred and attended. All the Brahmans who were present ran away, and the god was so incensed that he condemned them to be Paraiyans for one hour in the day, from noon till 1 P.M. ever afterwards. There is a class of Brahmans called Midday Brahmans, who are found in several districts, and a colony of whom reside at Sedanipuram, five miles west of Nannilam. It is believed throughout the Tanjore district that the Midday Paraiyans are the descendants of the Brahmans thus cursed by the god. They are supposed to expiate their defilement by staying outside their houses for an hour and a half every day at midday, and to bathe afterwards; and, if they do this, they are much respected. Few of them, however, observe this rule, and orthodox persons will not eat with them, because of this omission to remove the defilement. They call themselves the Prathamasakha.”

Prithvi (earth).—An exogamous sept of Devanga.

Puchcha.—Puccha or Puchcha Kaya (fruit of Citrullus Colocynthis) is the name of a gotra or sept of Boyas, Komatis, and Viramushtis, who are a class of mendicants attached to the Komatis. The same name, or picchi kaya, denoting the water-melon Citrullus vulgaris, occurs as a sept or house-name of Panta Reddis and Seniyans (Devangas), the members of which may not eat the fruit. The name Desimarada has been recently substituted by the Seniyans for picchi kaya.

Pudamuri (pudaya, a woman’s cloth; muri, cuttings).—Defined by Mr. Wigram as a so-called ‘marriage’ ceremony performed among the Nayars in North Malabar. (See Nayar.)

Pudu Nattan (new country).—A sub-division of Idaiyan.

Pu Islam.—See Putiya Islam.

Pujari.—Pujari is an occupational title, meaning priest, or performer of puja (worship). It is described by Mr. H. A. Stuart113 as “a name applied to a class of priests, who mostly preside in the temples of the female deities—the Grama Devatas or Ur Ammas—and not in those of Vishnu or Siva. They do not wear the sacred thread, except on solemn occasions.” Pujari has been recorded as a title of Billavas as they officiate as priests at bhutasthanas (devil shrines), and of Halepaiks, and Pujali as a title of some Irulas. Some families of Kusavans (potters), who manufacture clay idols, are also known as pujari. Puja occurs as a sub-division of the Gollas. Some criminal Koravas travel in the guise of Pujaris, and style themselves Korava Pujaris.

Pula.—A sub-division of Cheruman.

Pula (flowers).—An exogamous sept of Boya, Padma Sale and Yerukala.

Pulan.—Barbers of Tamil origin, who have settled in Travancore.

Pulavar.—A title of Occhan and Panisavan.

Pulayan.—See Cheruman and Thanda Pulayan.

Puli (tiger).—Recorded as an exogamous sept or gotra of Balija, Golla, Kamma, and Medara. The equivalent Puliattanaya occurs as an exogamous sept of Bant.

Puliakodan.—A class of carpenters in Malabar, whose traditional occupation is to construct oil mills.

Puliasari.—A division of Malabar Kammalans, the members of which do mason’s work (puli, earth). Paravas who are engaged in a similar calling are, in like manner, called Puli Kollan.

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

Puliyan.—A sub-division of Nayar.

Puliyattu.—Recorded, in the Travancore Census Report, 1901, as synonymous with Pulikkappanikkan, a sub-division of Nayar.

Pullakura (pot-herbs).—An exogamous sept of Idiga.

Pulluvan.—The Pulluvans of Malabar are astrologers, medicine-men, priests and singers in snake groves. The name is fancifully derived from pullu, a hawk, because the Pulluvan is clever in curing the disorders which pregnant women and babies suffer from through the evil influence of these birds. The Pulluvans are sometimes called Vaidyans (physicians).

As regards the origin of the caste, the following tradition is narrated.114 Agni, the fire god, had made several desperate but vain efforts to destroy the great primeval forest of Gandava. The eight serpents which had their home in the forest were the chosen friends of Indra, who sent down a deluge, and destroyed, every time, the fire which Agni kindled in order to burn down the forest. Eventually Agni resorted to a stratagem, and, appearing before Arjunan in the guise of a Brahman, contrived to exact a promise to do him any favour he might desire. Agni then sought the help of Arjunan in destroying the forest, and the latter created a wonderful bow and arrows, which cut off every drop of rain sent by Indra for the preservation of the forest. The birds, beasts, and other creatures which lived therein, fled in terror, but most of them were overtaken by the flames, and were burnt to cinders. Several of the serpents also were overtaken and destroyed, but one of them was rescued by the maid-servant of a Brahman, who secured the sacred reptile in a pot, which she deposited in a jasmine bower. When the Brahman came to hear of this, he had the serpent removed, and turned the maid-servant adrift, expelling at the same time a man-servant, so that the woman might not be alone and friendless. The two exiles prospered under the protection of the serpent, which the woman had rescued from the flames, and became the founders of the Pulluvans. According to another story, when the great Gandava forest was in conflagration, the snakes therein were destroyed in the flames. A large five-hooded snake, scorched and burnt by the fire, flew away in agony, and alighted at Kuttanad, which is said to have been on the site of the modern town of Alleppey. Two women were at the time on their way to draw water from a well. The snake asked them to pour seven potfuls of water over him, to alleviate his pain, and to turn the pot sideways, so that he could get into it. His request was complied with, and, having entered the pot, he would not leave it. He then desired one of the women to take him home, and place him in a room on the west side of the house. This she refused to do for fear of the snake, and she was advised to cover the mouth of the pot with a cloth. The room, in which the snake was placed, was ordered to be closed for a week. The woman’s husband, who did not know what had occurred, tried to open the door, and only succeeded by exerting all his strength. On entering the room, to his surprise he found an ant-hill, and disturbed it. Thereon the snake issued forth from it, and bit him. As the result of the bite, the man died, and his widow was left without means of support. The snake consoled her, and devised a plan, by which she could maintain herself. She was to go from house to house, and cry out “Give me alms, and be saved from snake poisoning.” The inmates would give, and the snakes, which were troubling their houses, would cease from annoying them. For this reason, a Pulluvan and his wife, when they go with their pulluva kudam (pot-drum) to a house, are asked to sing, and given money.

The Pulluvar females, Mr. T. K. Gopal Panikkar writes,115 “take a pretty large pitcher, and close its opening by means of a small circular piece of thin leather, which is fastened on to the vessel by means of strings strongly tied round its neck. Another string is adjusted to the leather cover, which, when played on by means of the fingers, produces a hoarse note, which is said to please the gods’ ears, pacify their anger, and lull them to sleep.” In the Malabar Gazetteer, this instrument is thus described. “It consists of an earthenware chatty with its bottom removed, and entirely covered, except the mouth, with leather. The portion of the leather which is stretched over the bottom of the vessel thus forms a sort of drum, to the centre of which a string is attached. The other end of the string is fixed in the cleft of a stick. The performer sits cross-legged, holding the chatty mouth downwards with his right hand, on his right knee. The stick is held firmly under the right foot, resting on the left leg. The performer strums on the string, which is thus stretched tight, with a rude plectrum of horn, or other substance. The vibrations communicated by the string to the tympanum produce a curious sonorous note, the pitch of which can be varied by increasing or relaxing the tension of the string.” This musical instrument is carried from house to house in the daytime by these Pulluvar females; and, placing the vessel in a particular position on the ground, and sitting in a particular fashion in relation to the vessel, they play on the string, which then produces a very pleasant musical note. Then they sing ballads to the accompaniment of these notes. After continuing this for some time, they stop, and, getting their customary dues from the family, go their own way. It is believed that the music, and the ballads, are peculiarly pleasing to the serpent gods, who bless those for whose sakes the music has been rendered.” The Pulluvans also play on a lute with snakes painted on the reptile skin, which is used in lieu of parchment. The skin, in a specimen at the Madras Museum, is apparently that of the big lizard Varanus bengalensis. The lute is played with a bow, to which a metal bell is attached.

The dwelling-houses of the Pulluvans are like those of the Izhuvans or Cherumas. They are generally mud huts, with thatched roof, and a verandah in front.

When a girl attains maturity, she is placed apart in a room. On the seventh day, she is anointed by seven young women, who give an offering to the demons, if she is possessed by any. This consists of the bark of a plantain tree made into the form of a triangle, on which small bits of tender cocoanuts and little torches are fixed. This is waved round the girl’s head, and floated away on water. As regards marriage, the Pulluvans observe both tali-kettu and sambandham. In the vicinity of Palghat, members of the caste in the same village intermarry, and have a prejudice against contracting alliances outside it. Thus, the Pulluvans of Palghat do not intermarry with those of Mundur and Kanghat, which are four and ten miles distant. It is said that, in former days, intercourse between brother and sister was permitted. But, when questioned on this point, the Pulluvans absolutely deny it. It is, however, possible that something of the kind was once the case, for, when a man belonging to another caste is suspected of incest, it is said that he is like the Pulluvans. Should the parents of a married woman have no objection to her being divorced, they give her husband a piece of cloth called murikotukkuka. This signifies that the cloth which he gave is returned, and divorce is effected.

The Pulluvans follow the makkathayam law of inheritance (from father to son). But they seldom have any property to leave, except their hut and a few earthen pots. They have their caste assemblies (parichas), which adjudicate on adultery, theft, and other offences.

They believe firmly in magic and sorcery, and every kind of sickness is attributed to the influence of some demon. Abortion, death of a new-born baby, prolonged labour, or the death of the woman, fever, want of milk in the breasts, and other misfortunes, are attributed to malignant influences. When pregnant women, or even children, walk out alone at midday, they are possessed by them, and may fall in convulsions. Any slight dereliction, or indifference with regard to the offering of sacrifices, is attended by domestic calamities, and sacrifices of goats and fowls are requisite. More sacrifices are promised, if the demons will help them in the achievement of an object, or in the destruction of an enemy. In some cases the village astrologer is consulted, and he, by means of his calculations, divines the cause of an illness, and suggests that a particular disease or calamity is due to the provocation of the family or other god, to whom sacrifices or offerings have not been made. Under these circumstances, a Velichapad, or oracle, is consulted. After bathing, and dressing himself in a new mundu (cloth), he enters on the scene with a sword in his hand, and his legs girt with small bells. Standing in front of the deity in pious meditation, he advances with slow steps and rolling eyes, and makes a few frantic cuts on his forehead. He is already in convulsive shivers, and works himself up to a state of frenzied possession, and utters certain disconnected sentences, which are believed to be the utterances of the gods. Believing them to be the means of cure or relief from calamity, those affected reverentially bow before the Velichapad, and obey his commands. Sometimes they resort to a curious method of calculating beforehand the result of a project, in which they are engaged, by placing before the god two bouquets of flowers, one red, the other white, of which a child picks out one with its eyes closed. Selection of the white bouquet predicts auspicious results, of the red the reverse. A man, who wishes to bring a demon under his control, must bathe in the early morning for forty-one days, and cook his own meals. He should have no association with his wife, and be free from all pollution. Every night, after 10 o’clock, he should bathe in a tank (pond) or river, and stand naked up to the loins in the water, while praying to the god, whom he wishes to propitiate, in the words “I offer thee my prayers, so that thou mayst bless me with what I want.” These, with his thoughts concentrated on the deity, he should utter 101, 1,001, and 100,001 times during the period. Should he do this, in spite of all obstacles and intimidation by the demons, the god will grant his desires. It is said to be best for a man to be trained and guided by a guru (preceptor), as, if proper precautions are not adopted, the result of his labours will be that he goes mad.

A Pulluvan and his wife preside at the ceremony called Pamban Tullal to propitiate the snake gods of the nagattan kavus, or serpent shrines. For this, a pandal (booth) is erected by driving four posts into the ground, and putting over them a silk or cotton canopy. A hideous figure of a huge snake is made on the floor with powders of five colours. Five colours are essential, as they are visible on the necks of snakes. Rice is scattered over the floor. Worship is performed to Ganesa, and cocoanuts and rice are offered. Incense is burnt, and a lamp placed on a plate. The members of the family go round the booth, and the woman, from whom the devil has to be cast out, bathes, and takes her seat on the western side, holding a bunch of palm flowers. The Pulluvan and his wife begin the music, vocal and instrumental, the woman keeping time with the pot-drum by striking on a metal vessel. As they sing songs in honour of the snake deity, the young female members of the family, who have been purified by a bath, and are seated, begin to quiver, sway their heads to and fro in time with the music, and the tresses of their hair are let loose. In their state of excitement, they beat upon the floor, and rub out the figure of the snake with palm flowers. This done, they proceed to the snake-grove, and prostrate themselves before the stone images of snakes, and recover consciousness. They take milk, water from a tender cocoanut, and plantains. The Pulluvan stops singing, and the ceremony is over. “Sometimes,” Mr. Gopal Panikkar writes, “the gods appear in the bodies of all these females, and sometimes only in those of a select few, or none at all. The refusal of the gods to enter into such persons is symbolical of some want of cleanliness in them: which contingency is looked upon as a source of anxiety to the individual.

It may also suggest the displeasure of these gods towards the family, in respect of which the ceremony is performed. In either case, such refusal on the part of the gods is an index of their ill-will or dissatisfaction. In cases where the gods refuse to appear in any one of those seated for the purpose, the ceremony is prolonged until the gods are so properly propitiated as to constrain them to manifest themselves. Then, after the lapse of the number of days fixed for the ceremony, and, after the will of the serpent gods is duly expressed, the ceremonies close.” Sometimes, it is said, it may be considered necessary to rub away the figure as many as 101 times, in which case the ceremony is prolonged over several weeks. Each time that the snake design is destroyed, one or two men, with torches in their hands, perform a dance, keeping step to the Pulluvan’s music. The family may eventually erect a small platform or shrine in a corner of their grounds, and worship at it annually. The snake deity will not, it is believed, manifest himself if any of the persons, or articles required for the ceremony, are impure, e.g., if the pot-drum has been polluted by the touch of a menstruating female. The Pulluvan, from whom a drum was purchased for the Madras Museum, was very reluctant to part with it, lest it should be touched by an impure woman.

The Pulluvans worship the gods of the Brahmanical temples, from a distance, and believe in spirits of all sorts and conditions. They worship Velayuthan, Ayyappa, Rahu, Muni, Chathan, Mukkan, Karinkutti, Parakutti, and others. Muni is a well-disposed deity, to whom, once a year, rice, plantains, and cocoanuts are offered. To Mukkan, Karinkutti, and others, sheep and fowls are offered. A floral device (padmam) is drawn on the floor with nine divisions in rice-flour, on each of which a piece of tender cocoanut leaf, and a lighted wick dipped in cocoanut oil, are placed. Parched rice, boiled beans, jaggery (crude sugar), cakes, plantains, and toddy are offered, and camphor and incense burnt. If a sheep has to be sacrificed, boiled rice is offered, and water sprinkled over the head of the sheep before it is killed. If it shakes itself, so that it frees itself from the water, it is considered as a favourable omen. On every new-moon day, offerings of mutton, fowls, rice-balls, toddy, and other things, served up on a plantain leaf, are made to the souls of the departed. The celebrants, who have bathed and cooked their own food on the previous day, prostrate themselves, and say “Ye dead ancestors, we offer what we can afford. May you take the gifts, and be pleased to protect us.”

The Pulluvans bury their dead. The place of burial is near a river, or in a secluded spot near the dwelling of the deceased. The corpse is covered with a cloth, and a cocoanut placed with it. Offerings of rice-balls are made by the son daily for fifteen days, when pollution ceases, and a feast is held.

At the present day, some Pulluvans work at various forms of labour, such as sowing, ploughing, reaping, fencing, and cutting timber, for which they are paid in money or kind. They are, in fact, day-labourers, living in huts built on the waste land of some landlord, for which they pay a nominal ground-rent. They will take food prepared by Brahmans, Nayars, Kammalans, and Izhuvas, but not that prepared by a Mannan or Kaniyan. Carpenters and Izhuvas bathe when a Pulluvan has touched them. But the Pulluvans are polluted by Cherumas, Pulayas, Paraiyans, Ulladans, and others. The women wear the kacha, like Izhuva women, folded twice, and worn round the loins, and are seldom seen with an upper body-cloth.116

Puluvan.—The Puluvans have been described117 as “a small tribe of cultivators found in the district of Coimbatore. Puluvans are the learned men among the Coimbatore Vellalas, and are supposed to be the depositaries of the poet Kamban’s works. One authority from Coimbatore writes that the traditional occupation of this caste is military service, and derives the word from bhu, earth, and valavan, a ruler; while another thinks that the correct word is Puruvan, aborigines. Their girls are married usually after they attain maturity. In the disposal of the dead, both cremation and burial are in vogue, the tendency being towards the former. They are flesh-eaters. Their customs generally resemble those of the Konga Vellalas.”

The Puluvans call themselves Puluva Vellalas.

Punamalli.—The name of a division of Vellalas derived from Poonamallee, an old military station near Madras.

Puni.—A sub-division of Golla.

Punjala (cock, or male).—An exogamous sept of Devanga.

Puppalli.—See Unni.

Puragiri Kshatriya.—A name assumed by some Perikes.

Puramalai, Puramalainadu or Piramalainadu.—A territorial sub-division of Kallan.

Puranadi.—Barbers and priests of the Velans of Travancore, who are also called Velakkuruppu.

Purattu Charna.—A sub-division of Nayar.

Purusha.—See Jogi Purusha.

Pusa (beads).—A sub-division of Balija. A sub-division of the Yerukalas is known as Pusalavadu, or sellers of glass beads.

Pusali.—A title of Occhans, or pujaris (priests) at temples of Grama Devatas (village deities).

Pusapati.—The family name of the Maharajahs of Vizianagram. From the Kshatriyas in Rajputana people of four gotrams are said to have come to the Northern Circars several centuries ago, having the Pusapati family at their head.118 The name of the present Maharaja is Mirza Rajah Sri Pusapati Viziarama Gajapati Raj Manya Sultan Bahadur Garu.

Pushpakan.—A class of Ambalavasis in Malabar and Travancore. “As their name (pushpam, a flower) implies, they are employed in bringing flowers and garlands to the temples.”119 See Unni.

Puthukka Nattar (people of the new country).—A sub-division of Idaiyan.

Putiya Islam.—Pu Islam or Putiya Islam is the name returned mostly by Mukkuvans, in reference to their new conversion to the Muhammadan faith.

Putta (ant-hill).—An exogamous sept of Kamma, Kuruba, Mala, Medara, and Padma Sale. ‘White-ant’ (Termites) hills are frequently worshipped as being the abode of snakes.

Puttiya.—A sub-division of Rona.

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

Puzhi Tacchan (sand carpenter).—The name of a small section of Malabar Kammalans.

1 Manual of the North Arcot district.

2 Pulikesin II, the Chalukyan King of Badami.

3 Manual of the Madura district.

4 South Indian Inscriptions, III, 31, page 82.

5 In the Oriental Manuscripts Library, Madras.

6 J. Burgess. ArchÆological Survey. Tamil and Sanskrit Inscriptions, No. 11, p. 150.

7 Ibid. No. 12, p. 152.

8 History of the Military Transactions of the British Nation in Indostan, 1861.

9 Geographical, statistical, and historical description of Hindostan and the adjacent countries, 1820.

10 Ceylon, 1860.

11 South Indian Inscriptions, 1, 86–7, 105, 136, and III, I, 121, 123.

12 Madras Census Report, 1891.

13 Madras Census Report, 1901.

14 Vannikula Vilakkam.

15 Gazetteer of the South Arcot district.

16 Gazetteer of the South Arcot district.

17 Vannikula Vilakkam.

18 Gazetteer of the Tanjore district.

19 Manual of the Salem district.

20 Journey through Mysore, Canara, and Malabar.

21 Manual of the North Arcot district.

22 Gazetteer of the Tanjore district.

23 Gazetteer of the Tanjore district.

24 Manual of the North Arcot district.

25 Madras Mail, 1906.

26 Malabar and its Folk, 1900.

27 Manual of Malabar.

28 Madras Mus. Bull., III, 3, 1901.

29 Monograph, Eth. Survey of Cochin.

30 A. Chatterton. Monograph on Tanning and Working in Leather, 1904.

31 Journey through Mysore, etc., 1807.

32 How we teach the Paraiya, 3rd ed., Madras, 1906.

33 Manual of the North Arcot district.

34 Works, 1, 225, foot-note.

35 History of Mysore.

36 Op. cit.

37 Madras Census Report, 1891.

38 Madras Journ. Lit. and Science, XI, 1840.

39 Native Life in Travancore.

40 Yule and Burnell. Hobson-Jobson.

41 Madras Census Report, 1901.

42 Madras Census Report, 1901.

43 Manual of the North Arcot district; Madras Census Report, 1891.

44 Report on the Methods of Capture and Supply of Fish in the Rivers of the Nilgiri district, 1907.

45 Gazetteer of the Malabar district.

46 Gazetteer of Malabar.

47 Madras Census Report, 1881.

48 Madras Mus. Bull., V, 2, 1906.

49 Madras Census Report, 1891.

50 Madras Census Report, 1901.

51 Voyage to the East Indies, 1774 and 1781.

52 Loc. cit.

53 Ind. Ant., III, 1874.

54 The name Black Town was changed to Georgetown to commemorate the visit of H.R.H. the Prince of Wales to Madras in 1906.

55 Gazetteer of the South Arcot district.

56 Gazetteer of the South Arcot district.

57 Ind. Ant. II, 1873.

58 Gazetteer of the South Arcot district.

59 Gazetteer of the South Arcot district.

60 Gazetteer of the South Arcot district.

61 Manual of the North Arcot district.

62 A. P. Smith. Malabar Quart. Review, 1904.

63 Gazetteer of the South Arcot district.

64 Classified Collection of Tamil Proverbs, 1897.

65 Manual of the North Arcot district.

66 Op. cit.

67 Gazetteer of the South Arcot district.

68 Madras Census Report, 1871.

69 Monograph Eth. Survey. Cochin.

70 Malabar and its Folk, 1900.

71 Journ. Roy. As. Soc., XVI.

72 C.M. Record, 1850.

73 Origin and History of the Paravas. Simon Casie Chitty. Journ. Roy. As. Soc., IV, 1837.

74 Occasional Essays on Native South Indian Life, 1901.

75 A description of ye East India Coasts of Malabar and Coromandel, 1703.

76 History of Tinnevelly.

77 Report on the Indian Pearl Fisheries in the Gulf of Manaar, 1905.

78 Shell of the gastropod mollusc, Turbinella rapa.

79 “This,” Mr. Hornell writes, “is most improbable. They are more probably the descendants of Naga fishermen settled in the district prior to the immigration of Tamil invaders.”

80 The Zamorin of Calicut.

81 Madras Mail, 1907.

82 Risley. Tribes and Castes of Bengal.

83 Gazetteer of the Malabar district.

84 Manual of the North Arcot district.

85 Madras Mail, 1907.

86 By the Saurashtra Literary Societies of Madura and Madras, 1891.

87 Gazetteer of the Madura district.

88 A reddish geological formation, found all over Southern India.

89 Manual of the South Canara district.

90 Letters from Madras. By a Lady, 1843.

91 My Indian Journal, 1864.

92 Our Viceregal Life in India, 1889.

93 Roe and Fryer. Travels in India in the seventeenth century.

94 See Civil Suit No. 102 of 1880.

95 Manual of the South Canara district.

96 Madras Census Report, 1901.

97 Manuals of Nellore and Kurnool.

98 Manual of Malabar.

99 Malabar Quarterly Review. V, 4, 1907.

100 Yule and Burnell. Hobson-Jobson.

101 This note is from an account by Mr. N. Subramani Aiyar.

102 Gazetteer of the Malabar district.

103 Malabar Law and Custom.

104 Ibid.

105 Hobson-Jobson.

106 Manual of the South Canara district.

107 Madras Census Report, 1891.

108 Linguistic Survey of India, IV, 1906.

109 Ind. Ant., II, 1873.

110 Loc. cit.

111 Gazetteer of the Vizagapatam district.

112 Gazetteer of the Tanjore district.

113 Manual of the North Arcot district.

114 Men and Women of India, February 1906.

115 Malabar and its Folk, 1900.

116 This account is mainly based on a note by Mr. L. K. Anantha Krishna Aiyar.

117 Madras Census Report, 1891.

118 Manual of the Vizagapatam district.

119 Manual of Malabar.