Edgar Thurston

Vada.—On the coast of Ganjam and Vizagapatam, the sea fishermen are either Vadas or Jalaris, both of which are Telugu castes. The fishing operations are carried on by the men, and the fish are sold by the women in markets and villages. Various Oriya castes, e.g., Kevuto, Kondra, Tiyoro, etc., are employed as fishermen, but only in fresh-water. The Vadas seem to be a section of the Palles, with whom they will interdine and intermarry. They call themselves Vada Balijas, though they have no claim to be regarded as Balijas. Sometimes they are called Kalasis by Oriya people.

Socially the Vadas occupy a low position. Their language is a corrupt and vulgar form of Telugu. The men wear a conical palm leaf cap, such as is worn by the Pattanavan fishermen in the Tamil country. In the presence of a superior, they remove their loin-cloth and place it round their neck and shoulders as a mark of respect. Among many other castes, this would, on the contrary, be regarded as an act of impertinence.

Vada gods.

Vada gods.

Like other Telugu castes, the Vadas have exogamous intiperus, some of which seem to be peculiar to them, e.g., Mailapilli, Ganupilli, Sodupilli, Davulupilli. Other intiperus are such as are common to many Telugu castes. The caste headmen are entitled Kularaju and Pilla, and the appointments are apparently held by members of particular septs. At Chatrapur, for example, they belong to the Mailapilli and Vanka septs. There is also a caste servant styled Samayanodu. The headmen seem to have more power among the Vadas than among other Telugu castes, and all kinds of caste matters are referred to them for disposal. They receive a fee for every marriage, and arrange various details in connection with the wedding ceremonial. This is based on the Telugu type, with a few variations. When a young man’s relations proceed to the house of the girl whom it is proposed that he should marry, the elders of her family offer water in a brass vessel to their guests, if they approve of the match. During the marriage rites, the bride and bridegroom sit within a pandal (booth), and the men of the bridegroom’s party exhibit to those assembled betel leaf, areca nuts, oil, turmeric paste, etc., in which no foreign matter, such as fragments of paper, rags, etc., must be found. If they are discovered, a fine is inflicted.

There is exhibited in the Madras Museum a collection of clay figures, such as are worshipped by fishermen on the Ganjam coast, concerning which Mr. H. D’A. C. Reilly writes to me as follows. “I am sending you specimens of the chief gods worshipped by the fishermen. The Tahsildar of Berhampur got them made by the potter and carpenter, who usually make such figures for the Gopalpur fishermen. I have found fishermen’s shrines at several places. Separate families appear to have separate shrines, some consisting of large chatties (earthen pots), occasionally ornamented, and turned upside down, with an opening on one side. Others are made of brick and chunam (lime). All that I have seen had their opening towards the sea. Two classes of figures are placed in these shrines, viz., clay figures of gods, which are worshipped before fishing expeditions, and when there is danger from a particular disease which they prevent; and wooden figures of deceased relations, which are quite as imaginative as the clay figures. Figures of gods and relations are placed in the same family shrine. There are hundreds of gods to choose from, and the selection appears to be a matter of family taste and tradition. The figures, which I have sent, were made by a potter at Venkatarayapalle, and painted by a carpenter at Uppulapathi, both villages near Gopalpur. The Tahsildar tells me that, when he was inspecting them at the Gopalpur travellers’ bungalow, sixty or seventy fisher people came and worshipped them, and at first objected to their gods being taken away. He pacified them by telling them that it was because the Government had heard of their devotion to their gods that they wanted to have some of them in Madras.” The collection of clay figures includes the following:—

Bengali Babu wears a hat, and rides on a black horse. He blesses the fishermen, secures large hauls of fish for them, and guards them against danger when out fishing. It has been observed that “this affinity between the Ganjam fishermen and the Bengali Babu, resulting in the apotheosis of the latter, is certainly a striking manifestation of the catholicity of hero-worship, and it would be interesting to have the origin of this particular form of it, to know how long, and for what reasons the conception of protection has appealed to the followers of the piscatory industry. It was Sir George Campbell, the Lieutenant-Governor of Bengal, who compelled his Bengali officials, much against their inclination, to cultivate the art of equitation.”

Vada pot shrines.

Vada pot shrines.

Samalamma wears a red skirt and green coat, and protects the fishermen from fever.

Rajamma, a female figure, with a sword in her right hand, riding on a black elephant. She blesses barren women with children, and favours her devotees with big catches when they go out fishing.

Yerenamma, riding on a white horse, with a sword in her right hand. She protects fishermen from drowning, and from being caught by big fish.

Bhagirathamma, riding on an elephant, and having eight or twelve hands. She helps fishermen when fishing at night, and protects them against cholera, dysentery, and other intestinal disorders.

Nukalamma wears a red jacket and green skirt, and protects the fishing community against small-pox.

Orusandi Ammavaru prevents the boats from being sunk or damaged.

Bhagadevi rides on a tiger, and protects the community from cholera.

Veyyi Kannula Ammavaru, or goddess of a thousand eyes, represented by a pot pierced with holes, in which a gingelly (Sesamum) oil light is burnt. She attends to the general welfare of the fisher folk.

The chief sea goddess of the Vadas seems to be Orusandiamma, whose image must be made out of the wood of the nim (Melia Azadirachta) tree. She is supposed to have four arms. Many of the pot temples set up on the sea-shore are her shrines. On no account should she be provoked, lest the fishing boat should be upset. She is regarded as constantly roaming over the sea in a boat at night. Associated with her is a male deity, named Ramasondi, who is her brother. His vahanam (vehicle) is an elephant. Orusandi is worshipped separately by each family. At the time of worship, flowers, two cloths, a fowl, a goat, and a bottle of toddy or arrack, are carried in procession to the sea-shore. Before the procession starts, people collect in front of the house of the person who is doing the puja (worship), and tie him and the goat to a long post set up in front thereof. A toy boat is placed before the post, and Ramasondi is invoked by a person called Mannaru, who becomes inspired by the entrance of the deity into him. A fowl is sacrificed, and, with the boat on his head, the Mannaru proceeds towards the shore. Orusandi is then invoked, but does not come so easily as Ramasondi. Repeated invocations are necessary before some one becomes inspired. The goat, post, and a pot shrine for the goddess are taken to the shore. A small platform is erected there, on which the shrine, smeared with chunam (lime), is placed, and in it the image is deposited. Worship is then performed, and the goat sacrificed if it crawls along on all fours and shivers. If it does not do so, another goat is substituted for it. As every family sets up its own pot shrine, the number of these is considerable, and they extend over several furlongs.

The sea goddess Marulupolamma is housed in a small shed made of date palm leaves. A goddess who is very much feared, and worshipped at the burial-ground, is Bulokamma. Her worship is carried out at noon or midnight. She is represented by a pot, of which the neck is removed. In the sides of the pot four holes are made, into each of which a twig is inserted. The ends of the twigs are tied together with thread, so that they represent a miniature pandal (booth). The pot is carried by a Mannaru, dressed up like a woman in black and white cloths, together with another pot representing Enuga Sakthi. The former is carried in the bend of the left elbow, and the latter on the head. The pots are accompanied in procession to the burial-ground, and on the way thither some one becomes inspired, and narrates the following legend:—“I am Bulokasakthi. Ages ago I was in an egg, of which the upper half became the sky and the lower half the earth, and was released. The moon was the mark on my forehead, and the sun was my mirror. Seven gadhis (a measure of time) after my birth, a west wind arose. By that time I had grown into an adult woman, and so I embraced the wind, which impregnated me, and, after nine gadhis, Brahma was born. He grew into a young man, and I asked him to embrace me, but he refused, and, as a curse, I caused him to become a stone. Vishnu underwent the same fate, but Siva promised to satisfy me, if I gave him my third eye, shoulder-bag, and cane. This I did, and lost my power. Then all the water disappeared, and I was covered with mud. Siva again caused water to appear, and of it I took three handfuls, and threw them over my body. The third handful consumed me, and reduced me to ashes. From these were created Sarasvati, Parvati, and Bulokamma. I am that Bulokamma. I asked a favour of Siva. He made me remain within this earth, and, drawing three lines, said that I should not come out, and should receive offerings of fowls and goats.” At this stage, a chicken is given to the Mannaru, who bites, and kills it. At the burial-ground worship is performed, and a goat sacrificed. The goddess being confined within the earth, no shrine is erected to her, and she is not represented by an image. A small pandal is erected, and the pot placed near it.

The goddess Kalimukkamma is represented by a paper or wooden mask painted black, with protruding tongue. With her is associated her brother Baithari. She is believed to be one of the sisters created by Brahma from his face at the request of Iswara, the others being Polamma, Maridipoli, Kothapoli, Jungapoli, Nukapoli, Runjamma, and Kundamma. The shrine of Kalimukkamma is a low hut made of straw. At the time of worship to her, a Mannaru, dressed up as a woman, puts on the mask, and thus represents her. A stone slab, containing a figure of Kalimukkamma, is carried by a woman. She is the only goddess who may be represented by a stone. To her pigs are offered.

Peddamma or Polamma is represented by a wooden effigy. Along with her, Maridiamma is also worshipped. The offerings to Peddamma consist of a goat or sheep, and a pot of milk. A pig is sacrificed to Maridiamma. When the people proceed in procession to the place of worship, a toy cart is tied to the person representing Maridiamma, and some one must carry a toy boat. At a distance from the house, the cart is detached, and a pig is killed by an abdominal incision.

Samalamma is a mild goddess, with vegetarian propensities, to whom animal food must not be offered. She is associated with the aforesaid Bengali Babu riding on a horse. Her image may only be carried by young girls, and grown-up women may not touch it.

Of the Sakthis worshipped by the Vadas, the chief is Koralu Sakthi. The man who performs the worship is tied to a country cart, to which a central stake, and a stake at each corner are attached. Dressed up in female attire, he drags the cart, with which he makes three rounds. A chicken is then impaled on each of the corner stakes, and a pig on the central stake.

Vada shrines.

Vada shrines.

In former times, the images of the deities were made in clay, but it has been found by experience that wooden images are more durable, and do not require to be replaced so often. Along with the images of gods and goddesses, the Vadas place figures representing deceased relatives, after the peddadinam (final death ceremony).

The Mannarus are very important individuals, for not only do they perform worship, but are consulted on many points. If a man does not secure good catches of fish, he goes to the Mannaru, to ascertain the cause of his bad luck. The Mannaru holds in his hand a string, to which a stone is tied, and invokes various gods and goddesses by name. Every time a name is mentioned, the stone either swings to and fro like a pendulum, or performs a circular movement. If the former occurs, it is a sign that the deity whose name has been pronounced is the cause of the misfortune, and must be propitiated in a suitable manner.

Vadakkupurattu.—A synonym, meaning belonging to the north side of the temple, of Marans in Travancore.

Vadra.—Vadra, Vadrangi, or Vadla is a name of a sub-division of Telugu Kamsalas, the professional calling of which is carpentering. It is noted, in the Gazetteer of Tanjore, that “wood-carving of a very fair quality is done at several places in the Tanjore district by a class of workmen called car carpenters, from the fact that their skill is generally exercised in carving images on temple cars. They are found at Tanjore, Mannargudi, Tiruvadaturai and Tiruvadi, and perhaps elsewhere. The workmen at the last-named place are Vaddis. The Vaddis of the Godavari district are also found to do wood-carving, sometimes with great skill.”

Vadugan.—At the census, 1891, 180,884 individuals were returned as Vadugan, which is described as meaning “a native of the northern or Telugu country, but in ordinary usage it refers to the Balijas.” I find, however, that 56,380 Vadugars have returned their sub-division as Kammavar or Kammas, and that the term has been used to denote many Telugu castes. At the census, 1901, the number of people returning themselves as Vadugan dropped to 95,924, and the name is defined by the Census Superintendent as a “linguistic term meaning a Telugu man, wrongly returned as a caste name by Kammas, Kapus and Balijas in the Tamil districts.” In the Salem Manual, Vaduga is noted as including all who speak Telugu in the Tamil districts, e.g., Odde, Bestha, etc.

It is recorded, in the Gazetteer of Malabar, that “of the same social standing as the Kammalans are the Vadugans (northerners), a makkattayam caste of foreigners found in Palghat and the adjoining part of Waluvanad. They are divided into two exogamous classes, one of which is regarded as inferior to the other, and performs purificatory ceremonies for the caste. They cut their hair close all over the head, and have no kudumis (hair knot).”

It is noted by Mr. L. Moore1 that “Xavier, writing in 1542 to 1544, makes frequent references to men whom he calls Badages, who are said to have been collectors of royal taxes, and to have grievously oppressed Xavier’s converts among the fishermen of Travancore.”2 Dr. Caldwell, alluding to Xavier’s letters, says3 that these Badages were no doubt Vadages or men from the North, and is of opinion that a Jesuit writer of the time who called them Nayars was mistaken, and that they were really Nayakans from Madura. I believe, however, that the Jesuit rightly called them Nayars, for I find that Father Organtino, writing in 1568, speaks of these Badages as people from Narasinga, a kingdom north of Madura, lying close to Bishnaghur. Bishnaghur is, of course, Vijayanagar, and the kingdom of Narasinga was the name frequently given by the Portuguese to Vijayanagar. There is a considerable amount of evidence to show that the Nayars of Malabar are closely connected by origin with the Nayakans of Vijayanagar.” (See Nayar.)

Vadugayan (Telugu shepherd).—A Tamil synonym for Golla.

Vagiri or Vagirivala.—See Kuruvikkaran.

Vagiti (doorway or court-yard).—An exogamous sept of Jogi.

Vaguniyan.—See Vayani.

Vaidyan.—Vaidyon or Baidya, meaning physician or medicine-man, occurs as a title of Kshaurakas, Billavas, and Pulluvans, and, at times of census, has been returned as an occupational sub-division of Paraiyans.

Village physicians are known as Vaidyans, and may belong to any caste, high or low. The Vaidyan diagnoses all diseases by feeling the pulse, and, after doing this for a sufficiently long time, remarks that there is an excess of vatham, pitham, ushnam, and so on. His stock phrases are vatham, pitham, ushnam, sleshmam, karakam, megham or meham, saithyam, etc. Orthodox men and women do not allow the Vaidyan to feel the pulse by direct contact of the fingers, and a silk cloth is placed on the patient’s wrist. The pulse of males is felt with the right hand, and that of females with the left. Some Vaidyans crack the finger and wrist-joints before they proceed to feel the pulse. Some are general practitioners, and others specialists in the treatment of fever, piles, jaundice, syphilis, rheumatism, and other diseases. The specialists are generally hereditary practitioners. In the treatment of cases, the Vaidyan prescribes powders and pills, and a decoction or infusion (kashayam) of various drugs which can easily be obtained at the village drug-shop, or with the help of the village herbalist. Among these are ginger, pepper, Abies Webbiana, Acorus calamus, nim (Melia Azadirachta), or Andrographis paniculata sticks, Alpinia Galanga, etc. If the medicine has to be taken for a long time, the drugs are compounded together in the form of a lehyam, e.g., bilvadi, kushpanda, and purnadi lehyam. Some Vaidyans prepare powders (basmam), such as swarna (gold) basmam, pavala (coral powder) basmam, or sankha (chank shell powder) basmam. Special pills (mathre), prepared at considerable cost, are sometimes kept by Vaidyans, and passed on from generation to generation as heirlooms. Such pills are usually intended for well-known specific diseases. These pills are used in very minute quantities, and consequently last for a long time. A drop of honey or butter is placed on a slab of sandstone, on which the pill is rubbed. The honey or butter is then administered to the patient. A standing rule of the Vaidyan is to keep his patient on a very low diet, such as rice gruel without salt. His usual saying is “Langanam paramoushadam,” i.e., fasting is an excellent medicine. A well-known treatment in cases of jaundice is the drinking of curds, in which twigs of Phyllanthus Niruri have been well mashed.

In a very interesting note4 on couching of the lens as practiced by native practitioners, Major R. H. Elliot, I.M.S., writes as follows. “The ignorance and stupidity of the ryot (villager) is so great that he will not very infrequently try one eye in an English hospital, and one in a Vaithyan’s hands. It is a very common thing for a native patient to deny ever having visited a native doctor, when he first comes to hospital. After the other eye has been successfully operated on, he will sometimes own up to the fact.... Here in the south, there appear to be two classes of operators, the resident men who live for long periods in one bazaar, and the travellers who move continuously from place to place. Both are Mahomedans. The former appear to get somewhat better results than the latter, and are spoken of as ‘men of experience.’ The latter seem never to stop long in one place. They collect a number of victims, operate on them, and then move on before their sins can find them out. Both kinds of operators seem to be innocent of any attempt at securing asepsis or antisepsis; they use a dirty needle or a sharp wooden skewer; no anÆsthetic is employed; a bandage is kept on for ten days, and counter-irritation is freely resorted to, to combat iritis, etc. Many of the victims are ashamed to come to a European hospital after the failure of their hopes. It has been said that, if the Vaithyan did not get good results, he would be dropped, and the practice would die out. This remark can only have come from one who knew nothing of the Indian character, or the crass ignorance of the lower classes of the people. It is hard for those who have not lived and worked among them to realise how easily the ryot falls a dupe to impudent self-advertisement. He is a simple kindly person, whose implicit trust in confident self-assertion will bring him to grief for many another generation. The vision of these poor unfortunate people sitting down in a dusty bazaar to let an ignorant charlatan thrust a dirty needle into their blind eyes has evoked the indignation of the English surgeon from the time of our first occupation of the country. Side by side with a well-equipped English hospital, which turns out its ninety odd per cent. of useful vision, there sits in the neighbouring bazaar even to-day the charlatan, whose fee is fixed at anything from 3d. to 8 shillings, plus, in every case, a fowl or other animal. The latter is ostensibly for sacrificial purposes, but I understand ends uniformly in the Vaithyan’s curry-pot. Weirdest, perhaps, of all the Vaithyan’s methods is the use of the saffron-coloured rag, with which pus is wiped away from the patient’s inflamed eye. On this colour, the pus, etc., cannot be seen, and therefore all is well. It is the fabled ostrich again, only this time in real life, with vital interests at stake.”

It is noted5 in connection with the various classes of Nambutiri Brahmans that “the Vaidyans or physicians, known as Mussads, are to study the medical science, and to practice the same. As the profession of a doctor necessitates the performance of surgical operations entailing the shedding of blood, the Mussads are considered as slightly degraded.”

Further information concerning native medicine-men will be found in the articles on Kusavans and Mandulas.

Vaikhanasa.—Followers of the Rishi Vaikhanasa. They are Archaka Brahman priests in the Telugu country.

Vairavan Kovil.—An exogamous section or kovil (temple) of Nattukottai Chetti.

Vairavi.—The equivalent of Bairagi or Vairagi. Recorded, in the Madras Census Report, 1901, as “a sub-caste of Pandaram. They are found only in the Tinnevelly district, where they are measurers of grain, and pujaris in village temples.” In the Madura district, Vairavis are members of the Melakkaran caste, who officiate as servants at the temples of the Nattukottai Chettis.

Vaisya.—Vaisya is the third of the traditional castes of Manu. “It is,” Mr. Francis writes,6 “doubtful whether there are any true Dravidian Vaisyas, but some of the Dravidian trading castes (with the title Chetti), notably the Komatis, are treated as Vaisyas by the Brahmans, though the latter do not admit their right to perform the religious ceremonies which are restricted by the Vedas to the twice-born, and require them to follow only the Puranic rites. The Muttans (trading caste in Malabar) formerly claimed to be Nayars, but recently they have gone further, and some of them have returned themselves as Vaisyas, and added the Vaisya title of Gupta to their names. They do not, however, wear the sacred thread or perform any Vedic rites, and Nayars consider themselves polluted by their touch.” Some Vellalas and Nattukottai Chettis describe themselves as being Bhu (earth) Vaisyas, and some Gollas claim to be regarded as Go(cow) Vaisyas.6 Some Ganigas and Nagartas call themselves Dharmasivachar Vaisyas,7 and, like the Canarese Ganigas (oil-pressers), the Tamil oil-pressers (Vaniyan) claim to rank as Vaisyas. Vaisya Brahman is noted8 as being a curious hybrid name, by which the Konkani Vanis (traders) style themselves. A small colony of “Baniyans,” who call themselves Jain Vaisyas, is said9 to have settled in Native Cochin. Vaisya is recorded as the caste of various title-holders, whose title is Chetti or Chettiyar, in the Madras Quarterly Civil List.

Vajjira (diamond).—An exogamous sept of Toreya.

Vakkaliga.—See Okkiliyan.

Valagadava.—An occupational name for various classes in South Canara, e.g., Sappaligas, Mogilis, and Patramelas, who are engaged as musicians.

Valai (net).—The name, said to indicate those who hunt with nets, of a section of Paraiyans. The Ambalakkarans, who are also called Valaiyans, claim that, when Siva’s ring was swallowed by a fish in the Ganges, one of their ancestors invented the first net made in the world.

Valaiyal.—A sub-division of Kavarai, i.e., the Tamil equivalent of Gazula (glass bangle) Balija.

Valaiyan.—The Valaiyans are described, in the Manual of Madura district (1868), as “a low and debased class. Their name is supposed to be derived from valai, a net, and to have been given to them from their being constantly employed in netting game in the jungles. Many of them still live by the net; some catch fish; some smelt iron. Many are engaged in cultivation, as bearers of burdens, and in ordinary cooly work. The tradition that a Valaiya woman was the mother of the Vallambans seems to show that the Valaiyans must be one of the most ancient castes in the country.” In the Tanjore Manual they are described as “inhabitants of the country inland who live by snaring birds, and fishing in fresh waters. They engage also in agricultural labour and cooly work, such as carrying loads, husking paddy (rice), and cutting and selling fire-wood. They are a poor and degraded class.” The Valaiyans are expert at making cunningly devised traps for catching rats and jungle fowl. They have “a comical fairy-tale of the origin of the war, which still goes on between them and the rat tribe. It relates how the chiefs of the rats met in conclave, and devised the various means for arranging and harassing the enemy, which they still practice with such effect.”10 The Valaiyans say that they were once the friends of Siva, but were degraded for the sin of eating rats and frogs.

Valayan hunting festival.

Valayan hunting festival.

In the Census Report, 1901, the Valaiyans are described as “a shikari (hunting) caste in Madura and Tanjore. In the latter the names Ambalakaran, Servaikaran, Vedan, Siviyan, and Kuruvikkaran are indiscriminately applied to the caste.” There is some connection between Ambalakarans, Muttiriyans, Mutrachas, Uralis, Vedans, Valaiyans, and Vettuvans, but in what it exactly consists remains to be ascertained. It seems likely that all of them are descended from one common parent stock. Ambalakarans claim to be descended from Kannappa Nayanar, one of the sixty-three Saivite saints, who was a Vedan or hunter by caste. In Tanjore the Valaiyans declare themselves to have a similar origin, and in that district Ambalakaran and Muttiriyan seem to be synonymous with Valaiyan. Moreover, the statistics of the distribution of the Valaiyans show that they are numerous in the districts where Ambalakarans are few, and vice versÂ, which looks as though certain sections had taken to calling themselves Ambalakarans. The upper sections of the Ambalakarans style themselves Pillai, which is a title properly belonging to Vellalas, but the others are usually called Muppan in Tanjore, and Ambalakaran, Muttiriyan, and Servaikaran in Trichinopoly. The usual title of the Valaiyans, so far as I can gather, is Muppan, but some style themselves Servai and Ambalakaran.”

The Madura Valaiyans are said11 to be “less brahmanised than those in Tanjore, the latter employing Brahmans as priests, forbidding the marriage of widows, occasionally burning their dead, and being particular what they eat. But they still cling to the worship of all the usual village gods and goddesses.” In some places, it is said,12 the Valaiyans will eat almost anything, including rats, cats, frogs and squirrels.

Like the Pallans and Paraiyans, the Valaiyans, in some places, live in streets of their own, or in settlements outside the villages. At times of census, they have returned a large number of sub-divisions, of which the following may be cited as examples:—

• Monathinni. Those who eat the vermin of the soil.
• Pasikatti (pasi, glass bead).
• Saragu, withered leaves.
• Vanniyan. Synonym of the Palli caste.
• Vellamputtu, white-ant hill.

In some places the Saruku or Saragu Valaiyans have exogamous kilais or septs, which, as among the Maravans and Kallans, run in the female line. Brothers and sisters belong to the same kilai as that of their mother and maternal uncle, and not of their father.

It is stated, in the Gazetteer of the Madura district, that “the Valaiyans are grouped into four endogamous sub-divisions, namely, Vahni, Valattu, Karadi, and Kangu. The last of these is again divided into Pasikatti, those who use a bead necklet instead of a tali (as a marriage badge), and Karaikatti, those whose women wear horsehair necklaces like the Kallans. The caste title is Muppan. Caste matters are settled by a headman called the Kambliyan (blanket man), who lives at Aruppukottai, and comes round in state to any village which requires his services, seated on a horse, and accompanied by servants who hold an umbrella over his head and fan him. He holds his court seated on a blanket. The fines imposed go in equal shares to the aramanai (literally palace, i.e., to the headman himself), and to the oramanai, that is, the caste people.

It is noted by Mr. F. R. Hemingway that “the Valaiyans of the Trichinopoly district say that they have eight endogamous sub-divisions, namely, Sarahu (or Saragu), Ettarai Koppu, Tanambanadu or Valuvadi, Nadunattu or Asal, Kurumba, Vanniya, Ambunadu, and Punal. Some of these are similar to those of the Kallans and Ambalakarans.”

In the Gazetteer of the Tanjore district, it is recorded that the Valaiyans are said to possess “endogamous sub-divisions called Vedan, Sulundukkaran and Ambalakkaran. The members of the first are said to be hunters, those of the second torch-bearers, and those of the last cultivators. They are a low caste, are refused admittance into the temples, and pollute a Vellalan by touch. Their occupations are chiefly cultivation of a low order, cooly work, and hunting. They are also said to be addicted to crime, being employed by Kallans as their tools.”

Adult marriage is the rule, and the consent of the maternal uncle is necessary. Remarriage of widows is freely permitted. At the marriage ceremony, the bridegroom’s sister takes up the tali (marriage badge), and, after showing it to those assembled, ties it tightly round the neck of the bride. To tie it loosely so that the tali string touches the collar-bone would be considered a breach of custom, and the woman who tied it would be fined. The tali-tying ceremony always takes place at night, and the bridegroom’s sister performs it, as, if it was tied by the bridegroom, it could not be removed on his death, and replaced if his widow wished to marry again. Marriages generally take place from January to May, and consummation should not be effected till the end of the month Adi, lest the first child should be born in the month of Chithre, which would be very inauspicious. There are two Tamil proverbs to the effect that “the girl should remain in her mother’s house during Adi,” and “if a child is born in Chithre, it is ruinous to the house of the mother-in-law.”

In the Gazetteer of the Madura district, it is stated that “at weddings, the bridegroom’s sister ties the tali, and then hurries the bride off to her brother’s house, where he is waiting. When a girl attains maturity, she is made to live for a fortnight in a temporary hut, which she afterwards burns down. While she is there, the little girls of the caste meet outside it, and sing a song illustrative of the charms of womanhood, and its power of alleviating the unhappy lot of the bachelor. Two of the verses say:—

What of the hair of a man?

It is twisted, and matted, and a burden.

What of the tresses of a woman?

They are as flowers in a garland, and a glory.

What of the life of a man?

It is that of the dog at the palace gate.

What of the days of a woman?

They are like the gently waving leaves in a festoon.

“Divorce is readily permitted on the usual payments, and divorcÉes and widows may remarry. A married woman who goes astray is brought before the Kambliyan, who delivers a homily, and then orders the man’s waist-string to be tied round her neck. This legitimatises any children they may have.” The Valaiyans of Pattukkottai in the Tanjore district say that intimacy between a man and woman before marriage is tolerated, and that the children of such a union are regarded as members of the caste, and permitted to intermarry with others, provided the parents pay a nominal penalty imposed by the caste council.

In connection with the Valaiyans of the Trichinopoly district, Mr. Hemingway writes that “they recognise three forms of marriage, the most usual of which consists in the bridegroom’s party going to the girl’s house with three marakkals of rice and a cock on an auspicious day, and in both parties having a feast there. Sometimes the young man’s sister goes to the girl’s house, ties a tali round her neck, and takes her away. The ordinary form of marriage, called big marriage, is sometimes used with variations, but the Valaiyans do not like it, and say that the two other forms result in more prolific unions. They tolerate unchastity before marriage, and allow parties to marry even after several children have been born, the marriage legitimatising them. They permit remarriage of widows and divorced women. Women convicted of immorality are garlanded with erukku (Calotropis gigantea) flowers, and made to carry a basket of mud round the village. Men who too frequently offend in this respect are made to sit with their toes tied to the neck by a creeper. When a woman is divorced, her male children go to the husband, and she is allowed to keep the girls.”

The tribal gods of the Valaiyans are Singa Pidari (Aiyanar) and Padinettampadi Karuppan. Once a year, on the day after the new-moon in the month Masi (February to March), the Valaiyans assemble to worship the deity. Early in the morning they proceed to the Aiyanar temple, and, after doing homage to the god, go off to the forest to hunt hares and other small game. On their return they are met by the Valaiyan matrons carrying coloured water or rice (alam), garlands of flowers, betel leaves and areca nuts. The alam is waved over the men, some of whom become inspired and are garlanded. While they are under inspiration, the mothers appeal to them to name their babies. The products of the chase are taken to the house of the headman and distributed. At a festival, at which Mr. K. Rangachari was present, at about ten o’clock in the morning all the Valaiya men, women, and children, dressed up in holiday attire, swarmed out of their huts, and proceeded to a neighbouring grove. The men and boys each carried a throwing stick, or a digging stick tipped with iron. On arrival at the grove, they stood in a row, facing east, and, throwing down their sticks, saluted them, and prostrated themselves before them. Then all took up their sticks, and some played on reed pipes. Some of the women brought garlands of flowers, and placed them round the necks of four men, who for a time stood holding in their hands their sticks, of which the ends were stuck in the ground. After a time they began to shiver, move quickly about, and kick those around them. Under the influence of their inspiration, they exhibited remarkable physical strength, and five or six men could not hold them. Calling various people by name, they expressed a hope that they would respect the gods, worship them, and offer to them pongal (boiled rice) and animal sacrifices. The women brought their babies to them to be named. In some places, the naming of infants is performed at the Aiyanar temple by any one who is under the influence of inspiration. Failing such a one, several flowers, each with a name attached to it, are thrown in front of the idol. A boy, or the pujari (priest) picks up one of the flowers, and the infant receives the name which is connected with it.

The Valaiyans are devoted to devil worship, and, at Orattanadu in the Tanjore district, every Valaiyan backyard is said to contain an odiyan (Odina Wodier) tree, in which the devil is supposed to live.13 It is noted by Mr. W. Francis14 that “certain of the Valaiyans who live at Ammayanayakkanur are the hereditary pujaris to the gods of the Sirumalai hills. Some of these deities are uncommon, and one of them, Papparayan, is said to be the spirit of a Brahman astrologer whose monsoon forecast was falsified by events, and who, filled with a shame rare in unsuccessful weather prophets, threw himself off a high point on the range.”

According to Mr. Hemingway, the Valaiyans have a special caste god, named Muttal Ravuttan, who is the spirit of a dead Muhammadan, about whom nothing seems to be known.

The dead are as a rule buried with rites similar to those of the Kallans and Agamudaiyans. The final death ceremonies (karmandhiram) are performed on the sixteenth day. On the night of the previous day, a vessel filled with water is placed on the spot where the deceased breathed his last, and two cocoanuts, with the pores (’eyes’) open, are deposited near it. On the following morning, all proceed to a grove or tank (pond). The eldest son, or other celebrant, after shaving and bathing, marks out a square space on the ground, and, placing a few dry twigs of Ficus religiosa and Ficus bengalensis therein, sets fire to them. Presents of rice and other food-stuffs are given to beggars and others. The ceremony closes with the son and sapindas, who have to observe pollution, placing new cloths on their heads. Mr. Francis records that, at the funeral ceremonies, “the relations go three times round a basket of grain placed under a pandal (booth), beating their breasts and singing:—

For us the kanji (rice gruel): kailasam (the abode of Siva) for thee;

Rice for us; for thee Svargalokam,

and then wind turbans round the head of the deceased’s heir, in recognition of his new position as chief of the family. When a woman loses her husband, she goes three times round the village mandai (common), with a pot of water on her shoulder. After each of the first two journeys, the barber makes a hole in the pot, and at the end of the third he hurls down the vessel, and cries out an adjuration to the departed spirit to leave the widow and children in peace.” It is noted, in the Gazetteer of the Tanjore district, that “one of the funeral ceremonies is peculiar, though it is paralleled by practices among the Paraiyans and Karaiyans. When the heir departs to the burning-ground on the second day, a mortar is placed near the outer door of his house, and a lamp is lit inside. On his return, he has to upset the mortar, and worship the light.”

Valan.—For the following note on the Valan and Katal Arayan fishing castes of the Cochin State, I am indebted to Mr. L. K. Anantha Krishna Aiyar.

The name Valan is derived from vala, meaning fish in a tank. Some consider the word to be another form of Valayan, which signifies a person who throws a net for fishing. According to the tradition and current belief of these people, they were brought to Kerala by Parasurama for plying boats and conveying passengers across the rivers and backwaters on the west coast. Another tradition is that the Valans were Arayans, and they became a separate caste only after one of the Perumals had selected some of their families for boat service, and conferred on them special privileges. They even now pride themselves that their caste is one of remote antiquity, and that Vedavyasa, the author of the Puranas, and Guha, who rendered the boat service to the divine Rama, Sita, and Lakshmana, across the Ganges in the course of their exile to the forest, were among the caste-men.

There are no sub-divisions in the caste, but the members thereof are said to belong to four exogamous illams (houses of Nambutiris), namely, Alayakad, Ennalu, Vaisyagiriam, and Vazhapally, which correspond to the gotras of the Brahmans, or to four clans, the members of each of which are perhaps descended from a common ancestor. According to a tradition current among them, they were once attached to the four Nambutiri illams above mentioned for service of some kind, and were even the descendants of the members of the illams, but were doomed to the present state of degradation on account of some misconduct. Evidently, the story is looked up to to elevate themselves in social status. I am inclined to believe that they must have been the Atiyars (slaves) of the four aforesaid Brahman families, owing a kind of allegiance (nambikooru) like the Kanakkans to the Chittur Manakkal Nambutripad in Perumanam of the Trichur taluk. Even now, these Brahman families are held in great respect by the Valans, who, when afflicted with family calamities, visit the respective illams with presents of a few packets of betel leaves and a few annas, to receive the blessings of their Brahman masters, which, according to their belief, may tend to avert them.

The low sandy tract of land on each side of the backwater is the abode of these fishermen. In some places, more especially south of Cranganore, their houses are dotted along the banks of the backwater, often nearly hidden by cocoanut trees, while at intervals the white picturesque fronts of numerous Roman Catholic and Romo-Syrian churches are perceived. These houses are in fact mere flimsy huts, a few of which, occupied by the members of several families, may be seen huddled together in the same compound abounding in a growth of cocoanut trees, with hardly enough space to dry their fish and nets. In the majority of cases, the compounds belong to jenmis (landlords), who lease them out either rent-free or on nominal rent, and who often are so kind as to allow them some cocoanuts for their consumption, and leaves sufficient to thatch their houses. About ten per cent. of their houses are built of wood and stones, while a large majority of them are made of mud or bamboo framework, and hardly spacious enough to accommodate the members of the family during the summer months. Cooking is done outside the house, and very few take rest inside after hard work, for their compounds are shady and breezy, and they may be seen basking in the sun after midnight toil, or drying the nets or fish. Their utensils are few, consisting of earthen vessels and enamel dishes, and their furniture of a few wooden planks and coarse mats to serve as beds.

The girls of the Valans are married both before and after puberty, but the tali-kettu kalyanam (tali-tying marriage) is indispensable before they come of age, as otherwise they and their parents are put out of caste. Both for the tali-tying ceremony and for the real marriage, the bride and bridegroom must be of different illams or gotras. In regard to the former, as soon as an auspicious day is fixed, the girl’s party visit the Aravan with a present of six annas and eight pies, and a few packets of betel leaves, when he gives his permission, and issues an order to the Ponamban, his subordinate of the kadavu (village), to see that the ceremony is properly conducted. The Ponamban, the bridegroom and his party, go to the house of the bride. At the appointed hour, the Ponambans and the castemen of the two kadavus assemble after depositing six annas and eight pies in recognition of the presence of the Aravan, and the tali is handed over by the priest to the bridegroom, who ties it round the neck of the bride amidst the joyous shouts of the multitude assembled. The ceremony always takes place at night, and the festivities generally last for two days. It must be understood that the tali tier is not necessarily the husband of the girl, but is merely the pseudo-bridegroom or pseudo-husband, who is sent away with two pieces of cloth and a few annas at the termination of the ceremony. Should he, however, wish to have the girl as his wife, he should, at his own expense, provide her with a tali, a wedding dress, and a few rupees as the price of the bride. Generally it is the maternal uncle of the girl who provides her with the first two at the time of the ceremony.

The actual marriage is more ceremonial in its nature. The maternal uncle, or the father of a young Valan who wishes to marry, first visits the girl, and, if he approves of the match for his nephew or son, the astrologer is consulted so as to ensure that the horoscopes agree. If astrology does not stand in the way, they forthwith proceed to the girl’s house, where they are well entertained. The bride’s parents and relatives return the visit at the bridegroom’s house, where they are likewise treated to a feast. The two parties then decide on a day for the formal declaration of the proposed union. On that day, a Valan from the bridegroom’s village, seven to nine elders, and the Ponamban under whom the bride is, meet, and, in the presence of those assembled, a Valan from each party deposits on a plank four annas and a few betel leaves in token of enangu mattam or exchange of co-castemen from each party for the due fulfilment of the contract thus publicly entered into. Then they fix the date of the marriage, and retire from the bride’s house. On the appointed day, the bridegroom’s party proceed to the bride’s house with two pieces of cloth, a rupee or a rupee and a half, rice, packets of betel leaves, etc. The bride is already dressed and adorned in her best, and one piece of cloth, rice and money, are paid to her mother as the price of the bride. After a feast, the bridal party go to the bridegroom’s house, which is entered at an auspicious hour. They are received at the gate with a lamp and a vessel of water, a small quantity of which is sprinkled on the married couple. They are welcomed by the seniors of the house and seated together, when sweets are given, and the bride is formally declared to be a member of the bridegroom’s family. The ceremony closes with a feast, the expenses in connection with which are the same on both sides.

A man may marry more than one wife, but no woman may enter into conjugal relations with more than one man. A widow may, with the consent of her parents, enter into wedlock with any member of her caste except her brothers-in-law, in which case her children by her first husband will be looked after by the members of his family. Divorce is effected by either party making an application to the Aravan, who has to be presented with from twelve annas to six rupees and a half according to the means of the applicant. The Aravan, in token of dissolution, issues a letter to the members of the particular village to which the applicant belongs, and, on the declaration of the same, he or she has to pay to his or her village castemen four annas.

When a Valan girl comes of age, she is lodged in a room of the house, and is under pollution for four days. She is bathed on the fourth day, and the castemen and women of the neighbourhood, with the relatives and friends, are treated to a sumptuous dinner. There is a curious custom called theralikka, i.e., causing the girl to attain maturity, which consists in placing her in seclusion in a separate room, and proclaiming that she has come of age. Under such circumstances, the caste-women of the neighbourhood, with the washerwoman, assemble at the house of the girl, when the latter pours a small quantity of gingelly (Sesamum) oil on her head, and rubs her body with turmeric powder, after which she is proclaimed as having attained puberty. She is bathed, and lodged in a separate room as before, and the four days’ pollution is observed. This custom, which exists also among other castes, is now being abandoned by a large majority of the community.

In respect of inheritance, the Valans follow a system, which partakes of the character of succession from father to son, and from maternal uncle to nephew. The self-acquired property is generally divided equally between brothers and sons, while the ancestral property, if any, goes to the brothers. The great majority of the Valans are mere day-labourers, and the property usually consists of a few tools, implements, or other equipments of their calling.

The Valans, like other castes, have their tribal organisation, and their headman (Aravan or Aravar) is appointed by thitturam or writ issued by His Highness the Raja. The Aravan appoints other social heads, called Ponamban, one, two, or three of whom are stationed at each desam (village) or kadavu. Before the development of the Government authority and the establishment of administrative departments, the Aravans wielded great influence and authority, as they still do to a limited extent, not only in matters social, but also in civil and criminal disputes between members of the community. For all social functions, matrimonial, funeral, etc., their permission has to be obtained and paid for. The members of the community have to visit their headman, with presents of betel leaves, money, and sometimes rice and paddy (unhusked rice). The headman generally directs the proper conduct of all ceremonies by writs issued to the Ponambans under him. The Ponambans also are entitled to small perquisites on ceremonial occasions. The appointment of Aravan, though not virtually hereditary, passes at his death to the next qualified senior member of his family, who may be his brother, son, or nephew, but this rule has been violated by the appointment of a person from a different family. The Aravan has the honour of receiving from His Highness the Raja a present of two cloths at the Onam festival, six annas and eight pies on the Athachamayam day, and a similar sum for the Vishu. At his death, the ruler of the State sends a piece of silk cloth, a piece of sandal-wood, and about ten rupees, for defraying the expenses of the funeral ceremonies.

The Valans profess Hinduism, and Siva, Vishnu, and the heroes of the Hindu Puranas are all worshipped. Like other castes, they entertain special reverence for Bhagavathi, who is propitiated with offerings of rice-flour, toddy, green cocoanuts, plantain fruits, and fowls, on Tuesdays and Fridays. A grand festival, called Kumbhom Bharani (cock festival), is held in the middle of March, when Nayars and low caste men offer up cocks to Bhagavathi, beseeching immunity from diseases during the ensuing year. In fact, people from all parts of Malabar, Cochin, and Travancore, attend the festival, and the whole country near the line of march rings with shouts of “Nada, nada” (walk or march) of the pilgrims to Cranganore, the holy residence of the goddess. In their passage up to the shrine, the cry of “Nada, nada” is varied by unmeasured abuse of the goddess. The abusive language, it is believed, is acceptable to her, and, on arrival at the shrine, they desecrate it in every conceivable manner, in the belief that this too is acceptable. They throw stones and filth, howling volleys of abuse at the shrine. The chief of the Arayan caste, Koolimuttah Arayan, has the privilege of being the first to be present on the occasion. The image in the temple is said to have been recently introduced. There is a door in the temple which is apparently of stone, fixed in a half-opened position. A tradition, believed by Hindus and Christians, is attached to this, which asserts that St. Thomas and Bhagavathi held a discussion at Palliport about the respective merits of the Christian and Hindu religions. The argument became heated, and Bhagavathi, considering it best to cease further discussion, decamped, and, jumping across the Cranganore river, made straight for the temple. St. Thomas, not to be outdone, rapidly gave chase, and, just as the deity got inside the door, the saint reached its outside, and, setting his foot between it and the door-post, prevented its closure. There they both stood until the door turned to stone, one not allowing its being opened, and the other its being shut.

Another important festival, which is held at Cranganore, is the Makara Vilakku, which falls on the first of Makaram (about the 15th January), during the night of which there is a good deal of illumination both in and round the temple. A procession of ten or twelve elephants, all fully decorated, goes round it several times, accompanied by drums and instrumental music.

Chourimala Iyappan or Sastha, a sylvan deity, whose abode is Chourimala in Travancore, is a favourite deity of the Valans. In addition, they worship the demi-gods or demons Kallachan Muri and Kochu Mallan, who are ever disposed to do them harm, and who are therefore propitiated with offerings of fowls. They have a patron, who is also worshipped at Cranganore. The spirits of their ancestors are also held in great veneration by these people, and are propitiated with offerings on the new moon and Sankranthi days of Karkadakam, Thulam, and Makaram.

The most important festivals observed by the Valans in common with other castes are Mandalam Vilakku, Sivarathri, Vishu, Onam, and Desara.

Mandalam Vilakku takes place during the last seven days of Mandalam (November to December). During this festival the Valans enjoy themselves with music and drum-beating during the day. At night, some of them, developing hysterical fits, profess to be oracles, with demons such as Gandharva, Yakshi, or Bhagavathi, dwelling in their bodies in their incorporeal forms. Consultations are held as to future events, and their advice is thankfully received and acted upon. Sacrifices of sheep, fowls, green cocoanuts, and plantain fruits are offered to the demons believed to be residing within, and are afterwards liberally distributed among the castemen and others present.

The Sivarathri festival comes on the last day of Magha. The whole day and night are devoted to the worship of Siva, and the Valans, like other castes, go to Alvai, bathe in the river, and keep awake during the night, reading the Siva Purana and reciting his names. Early on the following morning, they bathe, and make offerings of rice balls to the spirits of the ancestors before returning home.

The Valans have no temples of their own, but, on all important occasions, worship the deities of the temples of the higher castes, standing at a long distance from the outer walls of the sacred edifice. On important religious occasions, Embrans are invited to perform the Kalasam ceremony, for which they are liberally rewarded. A kalasam is a pot, which is filled with water. Mango leaves and dharba grass are placed in it. Vedic hymns are repeated, with one end of the grass in the water, and the other in the hand. Water thus sanctified is used for bathing the image. From a comparison of the religion of the Valans with that of allied castes, it may be safely said that they were animists, but have rapidly imbibed the higher forms of worship. They are becoming more and more literate, and this helps the study of the religious works. There are some among them, who compose Vanchipattu (songs sung while rowing) with plots from their Puranic studies.

The Valans either burn or bury their dead. The chief mourner is either the son or nephew of the dead person, and he performs the death ceremonies as directed by the priest (Chithayan), who attends wearing a new cloth, turban, and the sacred thread. The ceremonies commence on the second, fifth, or seventh day, when the chief mourner, bathing early in the morning, offers pinda bali (offerings of rice balls) to the spirit of the deceased. This is continued till the thirteenth day, when the nearest relatives get shaved. On the fifteenth day, the castemen of the locality, the friends and relatives, are treated to a grand dinner, and, on the sixteenth day, another offering (mana pindam) is made to the spirit of the departed, and thrown into the backwater close by. Every day during the ceremonies, a vessel full of rice is given to the priest, who also receives ten rupees for his services. If the death ceremonies are not properly performed, the ghost of the deceased is believed to haunt the house. An astrologer is then consulted, and his advice is invariably followed. What is called Samhara Homam (sacred fire) is kept up, and an image of the dead man in silver or gold is purified by the recitation of holy mantrams. Another purificatory ceremony is performed, after which the image is handed over to a priest at the temple, with a rupee or two. This done, the death ceremonies are performed.

The ears of Valan girls are, as among some other castes, pierced when they are a year old, or even less, and a small quill, a piece of cotton thread, or a bit of wood, is inserted into the hole. The wound is gradually healed by the application of cocoanut oil. A piece of lead is then inserted in the hole, which is gradually enlarged by means of a piece of plantain, cocoanut, or palmyra leaf rolled up.

The Valans are expert rowers, and possess the special privilege of rowing from Thripunathura the boat of His Highness the Raja for his installation at the Cochin palace, when the Aravan, with sword in hand, has to stand in front of him in the boat. Further, on the occasion of any journey of the Raja along the backwaters on occasions of State functions, such as a visit of the Governor of Madras, or other dignitary, the headman leads the way as an escort in a snake-boat rowed with paddles, and has to supply the requisite number of men for rowing the boats of the high official and his retinue.

The Katal Arayans, or sea Arayans, who are also called Katakkoti, are lower in status than the Valans, and, like them, live along the coast. They were of great service to the Portuguese and the Dutch in their palmy days, acting as boatmen in transhipping their commodities and supplying them with fish. The Katal Arayans were, in former times, owing to their social degradation, precluded from travelling along the public roads. This disability was, during the days of the Portuguese supremacy, taken advantage of by the Roman Catholic missionaries, who turned their attention to the conversion of these poor fishermen, a large number of whom were thus elevated in the social scale. The Katal Arayans are sea fishermen. On the death of a prince of Malabar, all fishing is temporarily prohibited, and only renewed after three days, when the spirit of the departed is supposed to have had time enough to choose its abode without molestation.

Among their own community, the Katal Arayans distinguish themselves by four distinct appellations, viz., Sankhan, Bharatan, Amukkuvan, and Mukkuvan. Of these, Amukkuvans do priestly functions. The castemen belong to four septs or illams, namely, Kattotillam, Karotillam, Chempotillam, and Ponnotillam.

Katal Arayan girls are married both before and after puberty. The tali-tying ceremony, which is compulsory in the case of Valan girls before they come of age, is put off, and takes place along with the real marriage. The preliminary negotiations and settlements thereof are substantially the same as those prevailing among the Valans. The auspicious hour for marriage is between three and eight in the morning, and, on the previous evening, the bridegroom and his party arrive at the house of the bride, where they are welcomed and treated to a grand feast, after which the guests, along with the bride and bridegroom seated somewhat apart, in a pandal tastefully decorated and brightly illuminated, are entertained with songs of the Velan (washerman) and his wife alluding to the marriage of Sita or Parvathi, in the belief that they will bring about a happy conjugal union. These are continued till sunrise, when the priest hands over the marriage badge to the bridegroom, who ties it round the neck of the bride. The songs are again continued for an hour or two, after which poli begins. The guests who have assembled contribute a rupee, eight annas, or four annas, according to their means, which go towards the remuneration of the priest, songsters, and drummers. The guests are again sumptuously entertained at twelve o’clock, after which the bridegroom and his party return with the bride to his house. At the time of departure, or nearly an hour before it, the bridegroom ties a few rupees or a sovereign to a corner of the bride’s body-cloth, probably to induce her to accompany him. Just then, the bride-price, which is 101 puthans, or Rs. 5–12–4, is paid to her parents. The bridal party is entertained at the bridegroom’s house, where, at an auspicious hour, the newly married couple are seated together, and served with a few pieces of plantain fruits and some milk, when the bride is formally declared to be a member of her husband’s family. If a girl attains maturity after her marriage, she is secluded for a period of eleven days. She bathes on the first, fourth, seventh, and eleventh days, and, on the last day the caste people are entertained with a grand feast, the expenses connected with which are met by the husband. The Katal Arayans rarely have more than one wife. A widow may, a year after the death of her husband, enter into conjugal relations with any member of the caste, except her brother-in-law. Succession is in the male line.

The Katal Arayans have headmen (Aravans), whose duties are the same as those of the headmen of the Valans. When the senior male or female member of the ruling family dies, the Aravan has the special privilege of being the first successor to the masnad with his tirumul kazcha (nuzzer), which consists of a small quantity of salt packed in a plantain leaf with rope and a Venetian ducat or other gold coin. During the period of mourning, visits of condolence from durbar officials and sthanis or noblemen are received only after the Aravan’s visit. When the Bhagavathi temple of Cranganore is defiled during the cock festival, Koolimutteth Aravan has the special privilege of entering the temple in preference to other castemen.

The Katal Arayans profess Hinduism, and their modes of worship, and other religious observances, are the same as those of the Velans. The dead are either burnt or buried. The period of death pollution is eleven days, and the agnates are freed from it by a bath on the eleventh day. On the twelfth day, the castemen of the village, including the relatives and friends, are treated to a grand feast. The son, who is the chief mourner, observes the diksha, or vow by which he does not shave, for a year. He performs the sradha (memorial service) every year in honour of the dead.

Some of the methods of catching fish at Cochin are thus described by Dr. Francis Day.15 “Cast nets are employed from the shore, by a number of fishermen, who station themselves either in the early morning or in the afternoon, along the coast from 50 to 100 yards apart. They keep a careful watch on the water, and, on perceiving a fish rise sufficiently near the land, rush down and attempt to throw their nets over it. This is not done as in Europe by twisting the net round and round the head until it has acquired the necessary impetus, and then throwing it; but by the person twirling himself and the net round and round at the same time, and then casting it. He not infrequently gets knocked over by a wave. When fish are caught, they are buried in the sand, to prevent their tainting. In the wide inland rivers, fishermen employ cast nets in the following manner. Each man is in a boat, which is propelled by a boy with a bamboo. The fisherman has a cast net, and a small empty cocoanut shell. This last he throws into the river, about twenty yards before the boat, and it comes down with a splash, said to be done to scare away the crocodiles. As the boat approaches the place where the cocoanut shell was thrown, the man casts his net around the spot. This method is only for obtaining small fish, and as many as fifteen boats at a time are to be seen thus employed in one place, one following the other in rapid succession, some trying the centre, others the sides of the river.

“Double rows of long bamboos, firmly fixed in the mud, are placed at intervals across the backwater, and on these nets are fixed at the flood tide, so that fish which have entered are unable to return to the sea. Numbers of very large ones are occasionally captured in this way. A species of Chinese nets is also used along the river’s banks. They are about 16 feet square, suspended by bamboos from each corner, and let down like buckets into the water, and then after a few minutes drawn up again. A piece of string, to which are attached portions of the white leaves of the cocoanut tree, is tied at short intervals along the ebb side of the net, which effectually prevents fish from going that way. A plan somewhat analogous is employed on a small scale for catching crabs. A net three feet square is supported at the four corners by two pieces of stick fastened crosswise. From the centre of these sticks where they cross is a string to pull it up by or let it down, and a piece of meat is tied to the middle of the net inside. This is let down from a wharf, left under water for a few minutes, and then pulled up. Crabs coming to feed are thus caught.

“Fishing with a line is seldom attempted in the deep sea, excepting for sharks, rays, and other large fish. The hooks employed are of two descriptions, the roughest, although perhaps the strongest, being of native manufacture; the others are of English make, denominated China hooks. The hook is fastened to a species of fibre called thumboo, said to be derived from a seaweed, but more probably from one of the species of palms. The lines are either hemp, cotton, or the fibre of the talipot palm (Caryota urens), which is obtained by maceration. In Europe they are called Indian gut.

“Trolling from the shore at the river’s mouth is only carried on of a morning or evening, during the winter months of the year, when the sea is smooth. The line is from 80 to 100 yards in length, and held wound round the left hand; the hook is fastened to the line by a brass wire, and the bait is a live fish. The fisherman, after giving the line an impetus by twirling it round and round his head, throws it with great precision from 50 to 60 yards. A man is always close by with a cast net, catching baits, which he sells for one quarter of an anna each. This mode of fishing is very exciting sport, but is very uncertain in its results, and therefore usually carried on by coolies either before their day’s work has commenced, or after its termination.

“Fishing with a bait continues all day long in Cochin during the monsoon months, when work is almost at a standstill, and five or six persons may be perceived at each jetty, busily engaged in this occupation. The Bagrus tribe is then plentiful, and, as it bites readily, large numbers are captured.

“Fishing in small boats appears at times to be a dangerous occupation; the small canoe only steadied by the paddle of one man seated in it looks as if it must every minute be swamped. Very large fish are sometimes caught in this way. Should one be hooked too large for the fisherman to manage, the man in the next boat comes to his assistance, and receives a quarter of the fish for his trouble. This is carried on all through the year, and the size of some of the Bagri is enormous.

“Fish are shot in various ways, by a Chittagong bamboo, which is a hollow tube, down which the arrow is propelled by the marksman’s mouth. This mode is sometimes very remunerative, and is followed by persons who quietly sneak along the shores, either of sluggish streams or of the backwater. Sometimes they climb up into trees, and there await a good shot. Or, during the monsoon, the sportsman quietly seats himself near some narrow channel that passes from one wide piece of water into another, and watches for his prey. Other fishermen shoot with bows and arrows, and again others with cross-bows, the iron arrow or bolt of which is attached by a line to the bow, to prevent its being lost. But netting fish, catching them with hooks, or shooting them with arrows, are not the only means employed for their capture. Bamboo labyrinths, bamboo baskets, and even men’s hands alone, are called into use.

“Persons fish for crabs in shallow brackish water, provided with baskets like those employed in Europe for catching eels, but open at both ends. The fishermen walk about in the mud, and, when they feel a fish move, endeavour to cover it with the larger end of the basket, which is forced down some distance into the mud, and the hand is then passed downward through the upper extremity, and the fish taken out. Another plan of catching them by the hand is by having two lines to which white cocoanut leaves are attached tied to the fisherman’s two great toes, from which they diverge; the other end of each being held by another man a good way off, and some distance apart. On these lines being shaken, the fish become frightened, and, strange as it may appear, cluster for protection around the man’s feet, who is able to stoop down, and catch them with his hands, by watching his opportunity.

“Bamboo labyrinths are common all along the backwater, in which a good many fish, especially eels and crabs, are captured. These labyrinths are formed of a screen of split bamboos, passing perpendicularly out of the water, and leading into a larger baited chamber. A dead cat is often employed as a bait for crabs. A string is attached to its body, and, after it has been in the water some days, it is pulled up with these crustacea adherent to it. Persons are often surprised at crabs being considered unwholesome, but their astonishment would cease, if they were aware what extremely unclean feeders they are.

“Fish are obtained from the inland rivers by poisoning them, but this can only be done when the water is low. A dam is thrown across a certain portion, and the poison placed within it. It generally consists of Cocculus indicus (berries) pounded with rice; croton oil seeds, etc.”

Valangai.—Valangai, Valangan, Valangamattan, or Balagai, meaning those who belong to the right-hand faction, has, at times of census, been returned as a sub-division, synonym or title of Deva-dasis, Holeyas, Nokkans, Panisavans, Paraiyans, and Saliyans. Some Deva-dasis have returned themselves as belonging to the left-hand (idangai) faction.

Valayakara Chetti.—A Tamil synonym of Gazula Balijas who sell glass bangles. The equivalent Vala Chetti is also recorded.

Valekara.—A Badaga form of Billekara or belted peon. The word frequently occurs in Badaga ballads. Taluk peons on the Nilgiris are called Valekaras.

Vali Sugriva.—A synonym of the Lambadis, who claim descent from Vali and Sugriva, the two monkey chiefs of the Ramayana.

Valinchiyan.—See Velakkattalavan.

Valiyatan (valiya, great, tan, a title of dignity).—Recorded, in the Travancore Census Report, 1901, as a title of Nayar.

Vallabarayan.—A title of Occhan.

Vallamban.—The Vallambans are a small Tamil cultivating class living in the Tanjore, Trichinopoly, and Madura districts. They are said16 to be “the offspring of a Vellalan and a Valaiya woman, now a small and insignificant caste of cultivators. Some of them assert that their ancestors were the lords of the soil, for whose sole benefit the Vellalans used to carry on cultivation. Tradition makes the Vellambans to have joined the Kallans in attacking and driving away the Vellalans. It is customary among the Vallambans, when demising land, to refer to the fact of their being descendants of the Vallambans who lost Vallam, i.e., the Vallama nadu in Tanjore, their proper country.” Some Vallambans claim to be flesh-eating Vellalas, or to be superior to Kallans and Maravans by reason of their Vellala ancestry. They call themselves Vallamtotta Vellalas, or the Vellalas who lost Vallam, and say that they were Vellalas of Vallam in the Tanjore district, who left their native place in a time of famine.

Portions of the Madura and Tanjore districts are divided into areas known as nadus, in each of which a certain caste, called the Nattar, is the predominant factor. For example, the Vallambans and Kallans are called the Nattars of the Palaya nadu in the Sivaganga zemindari of the Madura district. In dealing with the tribal affairs of the various castes inhabiting a particular nadu, the lead is taken by the Nattars, by whom certain privileges are enjoyed, as for example in the distribution to them, after the Brahman and zamindar, of the flowers and sacred ashes used in temple worship. For the purposes of caste council meetings the Vallambans collect together representatives from fourteen nadus, as they consider that the council should be composed of delegates from a head village and its branches, generally thirteen in number.

It is noted by Mr. F. R. Hemingway that the Vallambans “speak of five sub-divisions, namely, Chenjinadu, Amaravatinadu, Palayanadu, Melnadu, and Kilnadu. The Mel and Kilnadu people intermarry, but are distinguishable by the fact that the former have moustaches, and the latter have not. The women dress like the Nattukottai Chettis. Tattooing is not allowed, and those who practice it are expelled from the caste. The men generally have no title, but some who enjoy State service inams call themselves Ambalakaran. The Melnadu people have no exogamous divisions, though they observe the rule about Kovil Pangolis. The Kilnadus have exogamous kilais, karais, and pattams.” As examples of exogamous septs, the following may be cited:—Solangal (Chola), Pandiangal (Pandyan), Nariangal (jackal), and Piliyangal (tiger).

The headman of the Vallambans is referred to generally as the Servaikaran. The headman of a group of nadus is entitled Nattuservai, while the headman of a village is known as Ur Servai, or simply Servai.

Marriage is celebrated between adults, and the remarriage of widows is not objected to. It is stated17 that “the maternal uncle’s or paternal aunt’s daughter is claimed as a matter of right by a boy, so that a boy of ten may be wedded to a mature woman of twenty or twenty-five years, if she happens to be unmarried and without issue. Any elderly male member of the boy’s family—his elder brother, uncle, or even his father—will have intercourse with her, and beget children, which the boy, when he comes of age, will accept as his own, and legitimatise.” This system of marriage, in which there is a marked disparity in the ages of the contracting couple, is referred to in the proverb: “The tali should be tied at least by a log of wood.” The marriage rites are as a rule non-Brahmanical, but in some well-to-do families the services of a Brahman purohit are enlisted. The presence of the Umbalakaran or caste headman at a marriage is essential. On the wedding day the contracting couple offer, at their homes, manaipongal (boiled rice), and the alangu ceremony is performed by waving coloured rice round them, or touching the knees, shoulders, and head with cakes, and throwing them over the head. The wrist-threads, consisting of a piece of old cloth dyed with turmeric, are tied on by the maternal uncle. Cooked rice and vegetables are placed in front of the marriage dais, and offered to the gods. Four betel leaves are given to the bridegroom, who goes round the dais, and salutes the four cardinal points of the compass by pouring water from a leaf. He then sits down on a plank on the dais, and hands the tali (marriage badge) to his sister. Taking the tali, she proceeds to the bride’s house, where the bride, after performing the alangu ceremony, is awaiting her arrival. On reaching the house, she asks for the bride’s presents, and one of her brothers replies that such a piece of land, naming one, is given as a dowry. The bridegroom’s sister then removes the string of black and gold beads, such as is worn before marriage, from the bride’s neck, and replaces it by the tali. The conch shell should be blown by women or children during the performance of manaipongal, and when the tali is tied. The bride is conveyed to the house of the bridegroom, and sits with him on the dais while the relations make presents to them.

The messenger who conveys the news of a death in the community is a Paraiyan. The corpse is placed within a pandal (booth) supported on four posts, which is erected in front of the house. Some paddy (unhusked rice) is poured from a winnow on to the ground, and rice is thrown over the face of the corpse. On the second day rice, and other articles of food, are carried by a barber to the spot where the corpse has been buried or burnt. If the latter course has been adopted, the barber picks out some of the remains of the bones, and hands them to the son of the deceased. On the third day, the widow goes round the pandal three times, and, entering within it, removes her tali string, and new clothes are thrown over her neck. On the sixteenth day the final death ceremonies (karmandhiram) are performed. A feast is given, and new cloths are tied on the heads of those under pollution. Pollution lasts for thirty days.

The Vallambans profess to be Saivaites, but they consider Periya Nayaki of Velangkudi as their tribal goddess, and each nadu has its own special deity, such as Vembu Aiyanar, Nelliyandi Aiyanar, etc. In some places the tribal deity is worshipped on a Tuesday at a festival called Sevvai (Tuesday). On this day pots containing fermented rice liquor, which must have been made by the caste people and not purchased, are taken to the place of worship. On a Friday, those families which are to take part in the festival allow a quantity of paddy (rice) to germinate by soaking it in water, and on the following Tuesday flower spikes of the palmyra palm are added to the malted rice liquor in the pots. The pots of ordinary families may be placed in their houses, but those of the Umbalakarans and Servaikarans must be taken to the temple as representing the deity. Into these pots the flower spikes should be placed by some respected elder of the community. A week later, a small quantity of rice liquor is poured into other pots, which are carried by women to the temple car, round which they go three times. They then throw the liquor into a tank or pond. The pots of the Umbalakaran and Servaikaran must be carried by young virgins, or grown-up women who are not under menstrual pollution. One of the women who carries these pots usually becomes possessed by the village deity. At the time of the festival, cradles, horses, human figures, elephants, etc., made by the potter, are brought to the temple as votive offerings to the god.

Valli Ammai Kuttam.—A synonym of the Koravas, meaning followers of Valli Ammai, the wife of the God Subrahmanya, whom they claim to have been a Korava woman.

Vallodi.—The name denotes a settlement in the Valluvanad taluk of Malabar, and has been returned as a sub-division of Nayar and Samantan, to which the Raja of Valluvanad belongs.

Valluvan.—The Valluvans are summed up by Mr. H. A. Stuart18 as being “the priests of the Paraiyans and Pallans. Tiruvalluvar, the famous Tamil poet, author of the Kural, belonged to this caste, which is usually regarded as a sub-division of Paraiyans. It appears that the Valluvans were priests to the Pallava kings before the introduction of the Brahmans, and even for some time after it.19 In an unpublished Vatteluttu inscription, believed to be of the ninth century, the following sentence occurs ‘Sri Velluvam Puvanavan, the Uvac’chan (Oc’chan) of this temple, will employ daily six men for doing the temple service.’ Again, the Valluvans must have formerly held a position at least equal to that of the Vellalas, if the story that Tiruvalluva Nayanar married a Vellala girl is true.20 He is said to have “refused to acknowledge the distinctions of caste, and succeeded in obtaining a Vellala woman as his wife, from whom a section of the Valluvans say it has its descent. As their ancestor amused himself in the intervals between his studies by weaving, they employ themselves in mending torn linen, but chiefly live by astrology, and by acting as priests of Paraiyans, and officiating at their funerals and marriages, though some refuse to take part in the former inauspicious ceremony, and leave the duty to those whom they consider impure Valluvans called Paraiya Tadas. Another section of the Valluvans is called Alvar Dasari or Tavadadhari (those who wear the necklace of tulsi beads). Both Saivites and Vaishnavites eat together, but do not intermarry. Unlike Paraiyans, they forbid remarriage of widows and even polygamy, and all males above twelve wear the sacred thread.” According to one account, the Valluvans are the descendants of an alliance between a Brahman sage and a Paraiyan woman, whose children complained to their father of their lowly position. He blessed them, and told them that they would become very clever astrologers, and, in consequence, much respected. At the Travancore census, 1901, the Valluvans were defined as a sub-division of the Pulayas, for whom they perform priestly functions.

“Both men and women are employed as astrologers and doctors, and are often consulted by all classes of people. In many villages they have the privilege of receiving from each ryot a handful of grain during the harvest time.”21 Of three Valluvans, whom I interviewed at Coimbatore, one, with a flowing white beard, had a lingam wrapped up in a pink cloth round the neck, and a charm tied in a pink cloth round the right upper arm. Another, with a black beard, had a salmon-coloured turban. The third was wearing a discarded British soldier’s tunic. All wore necklaces of rudraksha (ElÆocarpus Ganitrus) beads, and their foreheads were smeared with oblong patches of sandal paste. Each of them had a collection of panchangams, or calendars for determining auspicious dates, and a bundle of palm leaf strips (ulla mudyan) inscribed with slokas for astrological purposes. Their professional duties included writing charms for sick people, preparing horoscopes, and making forecasts of good or evil by means of cabalistic squares marked on the ground. Some Valluvans would have us believe that those who officiate as priests are not true Valluvans, and that the true Valluvan, who carries out the duties of an astrologer, will not perform priestly functions for the Paraiyans.

The most important sub-divisions of the Valluvans, returned at times of census, are Paraiyan, Tavidadari, and Tiruvalluvan. From information supplied to me, I gather that there are two main divisions, called Arupathu Katchi (sixty house section) and Narpathu Katchi (forty house section). The former are supposed to be descendants of Nandi Gurukkal, and take his name as their gotra. The gotra of the latter is Sidambara Sayichya Ayyamgar. Sidambara, or Chidambaram, is the site of one of the most sacred Siva temples. The sub-division Alvar claims descent from Tiruppan Alvar, one of the twelve Vaishnava saints. In the Tanjore district, the Valluvans have exogamous septs or pattaperu, named after persons, e.g., Marulipichan, Govindazhvan, etc.

The Valluvans include in their ranks both Vaishnavites and Saivites. The majority of the latter, both males and females, wear the lingam. The affairs of the community are adjusted by a caste council and there are, in most places, two hereditary officers called Kolkaran and Kanakkan.

At the betrothal ceremony the bride’s money (pariyam), betel, jewels, flowers, and fruit, are placed in the future bride’s lap. The money ranges from seven to ten rupees if the bridegroom’s village is on the same side of a river as the bride’s, and from ten to twenty rupees if it is on the other side. A small sum of money, called uramurai kattu (money paid to relations) and panda varisai (money paid in the pandal), is also paid by the bridegroom’s party for a feast of toddy to the relations. This is the proper time for settling caste disputes by the village council. On the wedding day, the milk-post, consisting of a green bamboo pole, is set up, and a number of pots, brought from the potter’s house, are placed near it. On the dais are set four lamps, viz., an ordinary brass lamp, kudavilakku (pot light), alankara vilakku (ornamental light), and paligai vilakku (seedling light). The bride and bridegroom bring some sand, spread it on the floor near the dais, and place seven leaves on it. Cotton threads, dyed with turmeric, are tied to the pots and the milk-post. On the leaves are set cakes and rice, and the contracting couple worship the pots and the family gods. The Valluvan priest repeats a jumble of corrupt Sanskrit, and ties the kankanams (threads) on their wrists. They are then led into the house, and garlanded with jasmine or Nerium flowers. The pots are arranged on the dais, and the sand is spread thereon close to the milk-post. Into one of the pots the female relations put grain seedlings, and four other pots are filled with water by the bridegroom’s party. A small quantity of the seedlings is usually wrapped up in a cloth, and placed over the seedling pot. Next morning the bundle is untied, and examined, to see if the seedlings are in good condition. If they are so, the bride is considered a worthy one; if not, the bride is either bad, or will die prematurely. The usual nalagu ceremony is next performed, bride and bridegroom being anointed with oil, and smeared with Phaseolus Mungo paste. This is followed by the offering of food on eleven leaves to the ancestors and house gods. Towards evening, the dais is got ready for its occupation by the bridal couple, two planks being placed on it, and covered with cloths lent by a washerman. The couple, sitting on the planks, exchange betel and paddy nine or twelve times, and rice twenty-seven times. The priest kindles the sacred fire (homam), and pours some ghi (clarified butter) into it from a mango leaf. The bridegroom is asked whether he sees Arundati (the pole-star) thrice, and replies in the affirmative. The tali is shown the sky, smoked over burning camphor, and placed on a tray together with a rupee. After being blessed by those present, it is tied round the neck of the bride by the bridegroom, who has his right leg on her lap. On the second day there is a procession through the village, and, on the following day, the wrist-threads are removed.

In some places, the Valluvans, at their marriages, like the Pallis and some other castes, use the pandamutti, or pile of pots reaching to the top of the pandal.

The Saivite lingam wearers bury their dead in a sitting posture in a niche excavated in the side of the grave. After death has set in, a cocoanut is broken, and camphor burnt. The corpse is washed by relations, who bring nine pots of water for the purpose. The lingam is tied on to the head, and a cloth bundle, containing a rupee, seven bilva (Ægle Marmelos) leaves, nine twigs of the tulsi (Ocimum sanctum), and nine Leucas aspera flowers, to the right arm. The corpse is carried to the grave on a car surmounted by five brass vessels. The grave is purified by the sprinkling of cow’s urine and cow-dung water before the corpse is lowered into it. On the way to the burial-ground, the priest keeps on chanting various songs, such as “This is Kailasa. This is Kailasa thillai (Chidambaram). Our request is this. Nallia Mutthan of the Nandidarma gotra died on Thursday in the month Thai in the year Subakruthu. He must enter the fourth stage (sayichyam), passing through Salokam, Samipa, and Sarupa. He crosses the rivers of stones, of thorns, of fire, and of snakes, holding the tail of the bull Nandi. To enable him to reach heaven safely, we pound rice, and put lights of rice.” The priest receives a fee for his services, which he places before an image made on the grave after it has been filled in. The money is usually spent in making a sacred bull, lingam, or stone slab, to place on the grave. On the third day after death, the female relatives of the deceased pour milk within the house into a vessel, which is taken by the male relatives to the burial-ground, and offered at the grave, which is cleaned. A small platform, made of mud, and composed of several tiers, decreasing in size from below upwards, is erected thereon, and surmounted by a lingam. At the north and south corners of this platform, a bull and paradesi (mendicant) made of mud are placed, and at each corner leaves are laid, on which the offerings in the form of rice, fruits, vegetables, etc., are laid. The final death ceremonies are celebrated on the seventeenth day. A pandal (booth) is set up, and closed in with cloths. Within it are placed a pot and five pestles and mortars, to which threads are tied. Five married women, taking hold of the pestles, pound some rice contained in the pot, and with the flour make a lamp, which is placed on a tray. The eldest son of the deceased goes, with the lamp on his head, to an enclosure having an entrance at the four cardinal points. The enclosure is either a permanent one with mud walls, or temporary one made out of mats. Within the enclosure, five pots are set up in the centre, and four at each side. The pots are cleansed by washing them with the urine of cows of five different colours, red, white, black, grey, and spotted. Near the pots the articles required for puja (worship) are placed, and the officiating priest sits near them. The enclosure is supposed to represent heaven, and the entrances are the gates leading thereto, before which food is placed on leaves. The eldest son, with the lamp, stands at the eastern entrance, while Siva is worshipped. The priest then repeats certain stanzas, of which the following is the substance. “You who come like Siddars (attendants in the abode of Siva) at midnight, muttering Siva’s name, why do you come near Sivapadam? I will pierce you with my trident. Get away. Let these be taken to yamapuri, or hell.” Then Siva and Parvati, hearing the noise, ask “Oh! sons, who are you that keep on saying Hara, Hara? Give out truly your names and nativity.” To which the reply is given “Oh! Lord, I am a devotee of that Being who graced Markandeya, and am a Virasaiva by faith. I have come to enter heaven. We have all led pure lives, and have performed acts of charity. So it is not just that we should be prevented from entering. Men who ill-treat their parents, or superiors, those addicted to all kinds of vice, blasphemers, murderers, perverts from their own faith and priests, and other such people, are driven to hell by the southern gate.” At this stage, a thread is passed round the enclosure. The son, still bearing the lamp, goes from the eastern entrance past the south and western entrances, and, breaking the thread, goes into the enclosure through the northern entrance. The Nandikol (hereditary village official) then ties a cloth first round the head of the eldest son, and afterwards round the heads of the other sons and agnates.

The Valluvans abstain from eating beef. Though they mix freely with the Paraiyans, they will not eat with them, and never live in the Paraiyan quarter.

The Valluvans are sometimes called Pandaram or Valluva Pandaram. In some places, the priests of the Valluvans are Vellala Pandarams.

Valluvan.—A small inferior caste of fishermen and boatmen in Malabar.22

Valmika.—Valmika or Valmiki is a name assumed by the Boyas and Paidis, who claim to be descended from Valmiki, the author of the Ramayana, who did penance for so long in one spot that a white-ant hill (valmikam) grew up round him. In a note before me, Valmiki is referred to as the Spenser of India. In the North Arcot Manual, Valmikulu, as a synonym of the Vedans, is made to mean those who live on the products of ant-hills.

Val Nambi.—Recorded, in the Madras Census Report, 1901, as “a synonym for Mussad. Nambi is a title of Brahmans, and val means a sword. The tradition is that the name arose from the ancestors of the caste having lost some of the privileges of the Vedic Brahmans owing to their having served as soldiers when Malabar was ruled by the Brahmans prior to the days of the Perumals.”

Valuvadi.—The Valuvadis are returned, in the Madras Census Report, 1901, as cultivators in the Pudukottai State. I am informed that the Valuvadis are a section of the Valaiyan caste, to which the Zamindar of Nagaram belongs. The name Valuvadi was originally a title of respect, appended to the name of the Nagaram Zamindars. The name of the present Zamindar is Balasubramanya Valuvadiar. Thirty years ago there is said to have been no Valuvadi caste. Some Valaiyans in prosperous circumstances, and others who became relatives of the Nagaram Zamindar by marriage, have changed their caste name, to show that they are superior in social status to the rest of the community.

Vamme.—A gotra of Janappans, the members of which abstain from eating the fish called bombadai, because, when some of their ancestors went to fetch water in the marriage pot, they found a number of this fish in the water contained in the pot.

Vana Palli.—A name, meaning forest Palli, assumed by some Irulas in South Arcot.

Vandikkaran.—An occupational name for Nayars who work as cartmen (vandi, cart) for carrying fuel.

Vandula or Vandi Raja.—A sub-division of Bhatrazu, named after one Vandi, who is said to have been a herald at the marriage of Siva.

Vangu (cave).—A sub-division of Irula.

Vani.—“The Vanis or Bandekars,” Mr. H. A. Stuart writes,23 “have been wrongly classified in the census returns (1891) as oil-pressers; they are in reality traders. They are said to have come from Goa, and they speak Konkani. Their spiritual guru is the head of the Kumbakonam math.” In the Census Report, 1901, it is noted that Vani, meaning literally a trader, is a Konkani-speaking trading caste, of which Bandekara is a synonym. “They ape the Brahmanical customs, and call themselves by the curious hybrid name of Vaisya Brahmans.” Hari Chetti has been returned as a further synonym.

Vaniyan.—The Vaniyans are, Mr. Francis writes,24 “oil-pressers among the Tamils, corresponding to the Telugu Gandlas, Canarese Ganigas, Malabar Chakkans, and Oriya Tellis. For some obscure reason, Manu classed oil-pressing as a base occupation, and all followers of the calling are held in small esteem, and, in Tinnevelly, they are not allowed to enter the temples. In consequence, however, of their services in lighting the temples (in token of which all of them, except the Malabar Vaniyans and Chakkans, wear the sacred thread), they are earning a high position, and some of them use the sonorous title of Joti Nagarattar (dwellers in the city of light) and Tiru-vilakku Nagarattar (dwellers in the city of holy lamps). They employ Brahmans as priests, practice infant marriage, and prohibit widow marriage, usually burn their dead, and decline to eat in the houses of any caste below Brahmans. However, even the washermen decline to eat with them. Like the Gandlas they have two sub-divisions, Ottai-sekkan and Irattai-sekkan, who use respectively one bullock and two bullocks in their mills. Oddly enough, the former belong to the right-hand faction, and the latter to the left. Their usual title is Chetti. The name Vanuvan has been assumed by Vaniyans, who have left their traditional occupation, and taken to the grain and other trades.”

“The word Vanijyam,” Mr. H. A. Stuart informs us,25 “signifies trade, and trade in oil, as well as its manufacture, is the usual employment of this caste, who assert that they are Vaisyas, and claim the Vaisya-Apuranam as their holy book. They are said to have assumed the thread only within the last fifty or sixty years, and are reputed to be the result of a yagam (sacrifice by fire) performed by a saint called Vakkuna Maharishi. The caste contains four sub-divisions called Kamakshiamma, Visalakshiamma, Ac’chu-tali, and Toppa-tali, the two first referring to the goddesses principally worshipped by each, and the two last to the peculiar kinds of talis, or marriage tokens, worn by their women. They have the same customs as the Beri Chettis, but are not particular in observing the rule which forbids the eating of flesh. A bastard branch of the Vaniyas is called the Pillai Kuttam, which is said to have sprung from the concubine of a Vaniyan, who lived many years ago. The members of this class are never found except where Vaniyans live, and are supposed to have a right to be fed and clothed by them. Should this be refused, they utter the most terrible curse, and, in this manner, eventually intimidate the uncharitable into giving them alms.” In the Census Report, 1891, Mr. Stuart writes further that the Vaniyans “were formerly called Sekkan (oil-mill man), and it is curious that the oil-mongers alone came to be called Vaniyan or trader. They have returned 126 sub-divisions, of which only one, Ilai Vaniyan, is numerically important. One sub-division is Iranderudu, or two bullocks, which refers to the use of two bullocks in working the mill. This separation of those who use two bullocks from those who employ only one is found in nearly every oil-pressing caste in India. The Vaniyans of Malabar resemble the Nayars in their customs and habits, and neither wear the sacred thread, nor employ Brahmans as priests. In North Malabar, Nayars are polluted by their touch, but in the south, where they are called Vattakadans, they have succeeded in forcing themselves into the ranks of the Nayar community. A large number of them returned Nayar as their main caste.” In this connection, Mr. Francis states26 that followers of the calling of oil-pressers (Chakkans) are “known as Vattakadans in South Malabar, and as Vaniyans in North Malabar; but the former are the higher in social status, the Nayars being polluted by the touch of the Vaniyans and Chakkans but not by that of the Vattakadans. Chakkans and Vaniyans may not enter Brahman temples. Their customs and manners are similar to those of the Nayars, who will not, however, marry their women.”

Of the Vaniyans of Cochin, it is stated in the Cochin Census Report, 1901, that “they are Vaisyas, and wear the sacred thread. In regard to marriage, inheritance, ceremonies, dress, ornaments, etc., there is practically no difference between them and the Konkanis. But, as they do not altogether abstain from meat and spirituous liquors, they are not allowed free access to the houses of Konkanis, nor are they permitted to touch their tanks and wells. They are Saivites. They have their own priests, who are called Panditars. They observe birth and death pollution for ten days, and are like Brahmans in this respect. They are mostly petty merchants and shop-keepers. Some can read and write Malayalam, but they are very backward in English education.”

The oils expressed by the Vaniyans are said to be “gingelly (Sesamum indicum), cocoanut, iluppei (Bassia longifolia), pinnei (Calophyllum inophyllum), and ground-nut (Arachis hypogÆa). According to the sastras the crushing of gingelly seeds, and the sale of gingelly oil, are sinful acts, and no one, who does not belong to the Vaniyan class, will either express or sell gingelly oil.”27

When a Vaniyan dies a bachelor, a post-mortem mock ceremony is performed as by the Ganigas, and the corpse is married to the arka plant (Calotropis gigantea), and decorated with a wreath made of the flowers thereof.

Vankayala (brinjal or egg plant: Solanum Melongena).—An exogamous sept of Golla. The fruit is eaten by Natives, and, stuffed with minced meat, is a common article of Anglo-Indian dietary.

Vanki (armlet).—A gotra of Kurni.

Vannan.—The Vannans are washermen in the Tamil and Malayalam countries. The name Vannan is, Mr. H. A. Stuart writes,28 “derived from vannam, beauty. There is a tradition that they are descendants of the mythological hero Virabadra, who was ordered by Siva to wash the clothes of all men, as an expiation of the sin of putting many people to death in Daksha’s Yaga. Hence the Tamil washermen are frequently called Virabadran. Having to purify all the filthy linen of the villagers, they are naturally regarded as a low, unclean class of Sudras, and are always poor. They add to their income by hiring out the clothes of their customers to funeral parties, who lay them on the ground before the pall-bearers, so that these may not step upon the ground, and by letting them out on the sly to persons wishing to use them without having to purchase for themselves. In social standing the Vannans are placed next below the barbers. They profess to be Saivites in the southern districts, and Vaishnavites in the north. The marriage of girls generally takes place after puberty. Widow remarriage is permitted among some, if not all, sub-divisions. Divorce may be obtained by either party at pleasure on payment of double the bride-price, which is usually Rs. 10–8–0. They are flesh-eaters, and drink liquor. The dead are either burned or buried. The Pothara (or Podora) Vannans are of inferior status, because they wash only for Paraiyans, Pallans, and other inferior castes.”

It is noted, in the Madura Manual, that those who have seen the abominable substances, which it is the lot of the Vannans to make clean, cannot feel any surprise at the contempt with which their occupation is regarded. In the Tanjore Manual, it is recorded that, in the rural parts of the district, the Vannans are not allowed to enter the house of a Brahman or a Vellala; clothes washed by them not being worn or mixed up with other clothes in the house until they have undergone another wash by a caste man.

It is on record that, on one occasion, a party of Europeans, when out shooting, met a funeral procession on its way to the burial-ground. The bier was draped in many folds of clean cloth, which one of the party recognised by the initials as one of his bed-sheets. Another identified as his sheet the cloth on which the corpse was lying. He cut off the corner with the initials, and a few days later the sheet was returned by the washerman, who pretended ignorance of the mutilation, and gave as an explanation that it must have been done, in his absence, by one of his assistants. On another occasion, a European met an Eurasian, in a village not far from his bungalow, wearing a suit of clothes exactly similar to his own, and, on close examination, found they were his. They had been newly washed and dressed.

The most important divisions numerically returned by Vannans at times of census are Pandiyan, Peru (big), Tamil, and Vaduga (northerner). It is recorded, in the Gazetteer of the Madura district, that Vannan “is rather an occupational term than a caste title, and, besides the Pandya Vannans or Vannans proper, includes the Vaduga Vannans or Tsakalas of the Telugu country, and the Palla, Pudara, and Tulukka Vannans, who wash for the Pallans, Paraiyans, and Musalmans respectively. The Pandya Vannans have a headman called the Periya Manishan (big man). A man can claim the hand of his paternal aunt’s daughter. At weddings, the bridegroom’s sister ties the tali (marriage badge). Nambis officiate. Divorce is freely allowed to either party on payment of twice the bride-price, and divorcÉes may marry again. The caste god is Gurunathan, in whose temples the pujari (priest) is usually a Vannan. The dead are generally burnt, and, on the sixteenth day, the house is purified from pollution by a Nambi.”

Some Vannans have assumed the name Irkuli Vellala, and Rajakan and Kattavaraya vamsam have also been recorded as synonyms of the caste name.

The Vannans of Malabar are also called Mannan or Bannan. They are, Mr. Francis writes,29 “a low class of Malabar washermen, who wash only for the polluting castes, and for the higher castes when they are under pollution following births, deaths, etc. It is believed by the higher castes that such pollution can only be removed by wearing clothes washed by Mannans, though at other times these cause pollution to them. The washing is generally done by the women, and the men are exorcists, devil-dancers and physicians, even to the higher castes. Their women are midwives, like those of the Velakkatalavan and Velan castes. This caste should not be confused with the Mannan hill tribe of Travancore.”

It is recorded, in the Gazetteer of Malabar, that “the Mannans, a makkattayam caste of South Malabar, apparently identical with the marumakkattayam Vannans of the north, are a caste of washermen; and their services are indispensable to the higher castes in certain purificatory ceremonies when they have to present clean cloths (mattu). They are also devil-dancers and tailors. They practice fraternal polyandry in the south. Mannans are divided into two endogamous classes, Peru-mannans (peru, great), and Tinda-mannans (tinda, pollution); and, in Walavanad, into four endogamous classes called Choppan, Peru-mannan, Punnekadan, and Puliyakkodam. The Tinda-mannan and Puliyakkodam divisions perform the purificatory sprinklings for the others.”

The services of the Mannan, Mr. T. K. Gopal Panikkar writes,30 “are in requisition at the Nayar Thirandukalianam ceremonies on the attainment of puberty by a girl, when they sing ballads, and have to bring, for the girl’s use, the mattu or sacred dress. Then, on occasions of death pollution, they have a similar duty to perform. Among the Nayars, on the fourth, or rarely the third day after the menses, the woman has to use, during her bath, clothes supplied by Mannan females. The same duty they have to perform during the confinement of Nayar females. All the dirty cloths and bed sheets used, these Mannan females have to wash.” Mr. S. Appadorai Iyer informs us that those Mannans who are employed by the Kammalan, or artisan class, as barbers, are not admitted into the Mannan caste, which follows the more honourable profession of washing clothes. The Mannans perform certain ceremonies in connection with Mundian, the deity who is responsible for the weal or woe of cattle; and, at Puram festivals, carry the vengida koda or prosperity umbrella, composed of many tiers of red, green, orange, black and white cloth, supported on a long bamboo pole, before the goddess.

It is recorded by Bishop Whitehead31 that, in various places in Malabar, there are temples in honour of Bhagavati, at which the pujaris (priests) are of the Vannan caste. “There is an annual feast called gurusi tarpanam (giving to the guru) about March, when the hot weather begins, and the people are at leisure. Its object is to appease the wrath of the goddess. During the festival, the pujari sits in the courtyard outside the temple, thickly garlanded with red flowers, and with red kunkuma marks on his forehead. Goats and fowls are then brought to him by the devotees, and he kills them with one blow of the large sacrificial sword or chopper. It is thought auspicious for the head to be severed at one blow, and, apparently, pujaris who are skilful in decapitation are much in request. When the head is cut off, the pujari takes the carcase, and holds it over a large copper vessel partly filled with water, turmeric, kunkuma, and a little rice, and lets the blood flow into it. When all the animals are killed, the pujari bails out the blood and water on the ground, uttering mantrams (sacred lines or verses) the while. The people stand a little way off. When the vessel is nearly empty, the pujari turns it upside down as a sign that the ceremony is ended. During these proceedings, a number of Vannans, dressed in fantastic costumes, dance three times round the temple. During the festival, processions are held round the various houses, and special swords with a curved hook at the end, called palli val (great or honourable sword), are carried by the worshippers. These swords are worshipped during the Dusserah festival in October, and, in some shrines, they form the only emblem of the deity. The Tiyans have small shrines in their own gardens sacred to the family deity, which may be Bhagavati, or some demon, or the spirit of an ancestor. Once a year, Vannans come dressed in fancy costume, with crowns on their heads, and dance round the courtyard to the sound of music and tom-toms, while a Tiyan priest presents the family offerings, uncooked rice and young cocoanuts, with camphor and incense, and then rice fried with sugar and ghi (clarified butter).”

In an account of the Tiyans, Mr. Logan writes32 that “this caste is much given to devil-charming, or devil-driving as it is often called. The washermen (Vannan) are the high priests of this superstition, and with chants, ringing cymbals, magic figures, and waving lights, they drive out evil spirits from their votaries of this caste at certain epochs in their married lives. One ceremony in particular, called teyyattam—a corrupt form of Deva and attam, that is, playing at gods—takes place occasionally in the fifth month of pregnancy. A leafy arbour is constructed, and in front of it is placed a terrible figure of Chamundi, the queen of the demons, made of rice flour, turmeric powder, and charcoal powder. A party of not less than eighteen washermen is organized to represent the demons and furies—Kuttichattan (a mischievous imp), and many others. On being invoked, these demons bound on to the stage in pairs, dance, caper, jump, roar, fight, and drench each other with saffron (turmeric) water. Their capers and exertions gradually work up their excitement, until they are veritably possessed of the devil. At this juncture, fowls and animals are sometimes thrown to them, to appease their fury. These they attack with their teeth, and kill and tear as a tiger does his prey. After about twenty minutes the convulsions cease, the demon or spirit declares its pleasure, and, much fatigued, retires to give place to others; and thus the whole night is spent, with much tom-tomming and noise and shouting, making it impossible, for Europeans at least, to sleep within earshot of the din.”

Vannattan.—A synonym of Veluttedan, the caste of washermen, who wash for Nayars and higher castes.

Vanni Kula Kshatriya.—A synonym of the Pallis, who claim to belong to the fire race of Kshatriyas.

Vanniyan.—A synonym of Palli. The name further occurs as a sub-division of Ambalakaran and Valaiyan. Some Maravans also are known as Vanniyan or Vannikutti. Ten (honey) Vanniyan is the name adopted by some Irulas in the South Arcot district.

Vantari.—See Telaga.

Vanuvan.—A name assumed by Vaniyans who have abandoned their hereditary occupation of oil-pressing, and taken to trade in grain and other articles.

Varakurup.—Recorded, in the Madras Census Report, 1901, as a title of Malayalam Paravans.

Varige (millet).—An exogamous sept of Kapu.

Variyar.—For the following note on the Variyar section of the Ambalavasis, I am indebted to Mr. N. Subramani Aiyar. The name is believed to be derived from Parasava, which, according to Yajnavalkya and other law-givers, is the name given to the son of a Brahman begotten on a Sudra woman, and suggests the fact that the Variyar is no Brahman, though the blood of the latter may course through his veins, and though such marriages were regarded as sacraments in early days. This is the derivation given by Pachumuttalu in his Keralaviseshamahatmya, who adds that the chief occupation of the Variyars is to sweep the floor of the temples. In some of the Asauchavidhis (works on pollution) of Kerala, the commentator explains the word Parasava as Variya. Many Variyars add the title Parasava to their name, when writing in Sanskrit. Some derive the word from varija or one born of water, in accordance with a tradition that Parasurama created from water a class of persons for special service in temples, and to take the place of Sudras, who, being meat-eaters, were ineligible for the same. Others again, like the late Professor Sundaram Pillay, would take Variyar as being derived from varuka, to sweep. Recently, some ingenuity has been displayed in splitting the word into two words, giving it a meaning equivalent to pseudo-Aryan. The title Asan, or teacher, is possessed by certain families, whose members have held the hereditary position of tutors in noblemen’s houses. In mediÆval times, many Variyar families received royal edicts, conferring upon them the privileges of being tutors and astrologers. These special rights are even now possessed by them.

The following legend is narrated concerning the origin of the Variyars. A Sudra woman removed a bone from within a temple in obedience to the wish of certain Brahman priests, and was excommunicated from her caste. The priests, on hearing this, were anxious to better her condition, and made her the progenitor of a class of Ambalavasis or temple servants, who were afterwards known as Variyars. According to another legend, the corpse of a Maran, which was found inside a Nambutiri’s house, was promptly removed by certain Nayars, who on that account were raised in the social scale, and organised into a separate caste called Variyar. There is a still further tradition that, in the Treta Yuga, a Sudra woman had five sons, the first of whom became the progenitor of the Tiyatunnis, and the second that of Variyars. A fourth account is given in the Keralamahatmya. A young Brahman girl was married to an aged man. Not confident in unaided human effort, under circumstances such as hers, she devoted a portion of her time daily to preparing flower garlands for the deity of the nearest temple, and conceived. But the Brahman welcomed the little stranger by getting the mother thrown out of caste. Her garlands could no longer be accepted, but, nothing daunted, she worked as usual, and made a mental offering of the garlands she prepared, which, through an unseen agency, became visible on the person of the deity. Though the people were struck with shame at their unkind treatment of the innocent girl, they were not prepared to take her back. The Variyan caste was accordingly constituted, and her child was brought up by the Azhancheri Tambrakkal, and accommodated in the padippura or out-house at the entrance gate. In the Pasupata Tantra, the Variyars are called Kailasavasins, or those who live in Kailas, as they are supposed to be specially devoted to the worship of Siva. Kailasa is the abode of Siva, whither the blessed go after death.

The Variyars of Travancore are divided into four groups, called Onattukara, Venattukara, Ilayetattunad (or Ilayathu), and Tekkumkur. The Venattukaras have the privilege of interdining with the Onattukaras, and having their ceremonies performed by priests from that group. But the ceremonies of the Onattukaras appear to be performed without the Venattukaras being admitted into their midst. The third and fourth groups take food in the houses of the first and second, though the reverse seldom happens. The Variyars in British Malabar are divided into several other groups.

The Variyars are generally well-read, especially in Sanskrit, make excellent astrologers, and are also medical practitioners. A Variyar’s house is called variyam, as the Pisharati’s is known as pisharam.

Married women have the hair-knot on the left side of the head, like Nayar ladies. They cover the breast with a folded cloth, and never wear a bodice or other innovations in the matter of dress. The marriage ornament is called matra, and is in the shape of a maddalam or drum. Other neck ornaments are called entram and kuzhal. The todu, or ornament of Nayar women, is worn in the ear-lobes. Women mark their foreheads, like Nambutiri ladies, with sandal paste.

The Variyars, Pushpakans, and Pisharatis, are said to constitute the three original garland-making castes of Malabar, appointed by Parasurama. At the present day, in all the important temples, except in South Travancore, where Kurukkals perform that function, garlands can only be prepared by one of these castes. The technical occupation of a Variyar in a temple is called kazhakam, which is probably derived from the Dravidian root kazhaku, to cleanse. Kazhakam is of two kinds, viz., malakkazhakam or garland-making service, and talikkazhakam or sweeping service, of which the former is more dignified than the latter. Under the generic term kazhakar are included making flower garlands for the temple, preparing materials for the offering of food, sweeping the beli offering, carrying lights and holding umbrellas when the god is carried in procession, having the custody of the temple jewels, etc. The Variyar is at the beck and call of the temple priest, and has to do sundry little services from morning till evening. He is remunerated with some of the cooked food, after it has been offered to the deity. The Variyars are to Saivite temples what the Pisharatis are to Vaishnavite temples. Their prayers are prominently addressed only to Siva, but they also worship Vishnu, Subramanya, Sasta, Ganesa, and Bhadrakali. Their chief amusement is the farce called Kuttappathakam, the hero of which is one Vankala Nikkan, and the heroine Naityar. An Ilayatu is the stage-manager, and a Pisharati the actor. Parangotan is the buffoon, and Mappa his wife. In the eighteenth century, a grand festival lasting over twenty-eight days, called mamangam, was celebrated in British Malabar. The above characters are represented as proceeding to this festival, which came off once in twelve years on the Magha asterism in the month of Magha, and is hence popularly called Mahamagha.

The Variyar caste is governed in all matters by the Nambutiri Brahmans, but they have their own priests. The Ilayatus believe that they were the preceptors of all the Ambalavasi castes in former times, but were dislodged from that position owing to most of them employing priests from among their own caste men. Even at the present day, Ilayatus are known to express their displeasure when they are asked to drink water from a Variyar’s well. As, however, consecrated water from the Nambutiris is taken to a Variyar for its purification, they entertain no scruples about cooking their food there, provided they carry with them the aupasana fire.

Inheritance among the Variyars of Cochin and British Malabar is in the female line (marumakkathayam). Among the Variyars of Travancore, chiefly these belonging to the Onattukara section, a kind of qualified makkathayam prevails, in accordance with which both sons and daughters have an equal right to inherit ancestral property. The eldest male member is entitled to the management of the estate in all undivided families. Partition, however, is largely followed in practice.

The tali-kettu ceremony of the Variyars generally takes place before a girl reaches puberty, and, in the case of boys, after the ceremony of Sivadiksha has been performed, that is between the twelfth and sixteenth years. If the marriage is in the kudi-vaippu form, or, in other words, if there is an intention on the part of both parties to treat the marital alliance as permanent, no separate sambandham need be celebrated afterwards; and, in all cases where marriages are celebrated between members of the same section, the kudi-vaippu form is in vogue. If a girl is unmarried when she reaches puberty, she is not permitted to take part in any religious ceremonies, or enter any temple until she is married. The first item of a Variyar’s marriage is ayani-unu, when the bridegroom, decked in new clothes and ornaments, dines sumptuously with his relations. He then goes in procession to the bride’s house, and, after bathing, puts on clothes touched by the bride. After this some prayers are recited, and a sacrifice is offered. The bride is then brought to the marriage hall, and, all the Brahmanical rites are strictly observed. After sunset, some grass and a leopard’s skin are placed on the floor on which white cloth is spread. The bridegroom, who is seated on the northern side, worships Ganapati, after which the couple take their seats on the cloth bed spread on the floor. Lights are then waved in front of them. This ceremony is known as dikshavirikkuka. In the kudi-vaippu form of marriage, the bride is taken to the house of the bridegroom, where the dikshavirippu is observed. Otherwise the marital rite becomes a mere tali-kattu ceremony, and the girl, when she comes of age, may receive clothes in token of conjugal connection with another person. When the first husband dies, clothes may be received from another Variyar, or a Brahman, whose wife the woman becomes.

Most of the ceremonies observed by Malayali Brahmans are also performed by the Variyars, the vratas and upanayana being among those which are omitted. Sivadiksha, as already indicated, is observed between the twelfth and sixteenth years. The festival lasts for four days, though the religious rites are over on the first day. At an auspicious hour, the priest and the Variyar youth put on the tattu dress, or dress worn for ceremonial purposes, and worship a pot full of water with incense and flowers, the contents of which are then poured by the priest over the youth. The priest and a Maran then perform the tonsure, and the youth bathes. Some Nambutiris are then engaged to perform the purificatory rite, after which the Variyar wears the tattu as well as an upper cloth, marks his forehead with ashes and sandal paste, and decorates himself with jewels, rudraksha (ElÆocarpus Ganitrus) beads, and flowers. Alms are received by the young Variyar from his mother, and he takes seven steps in a northerly direction which symbolise his pilgrimage to Benares. It is only after the performance of this rite that the Variyar is believed to become a grihastha (married person, as opposed to a bachelor). The funeral rites of the caste have been elaborated in many places. Death pollution lasts for twelve days, and the sanchayana (milk ceremony) is observed on the seventh or ninth day. Anniversary ceremonies are celebrated in memory of close relations, and others are propitiated by the performance of sradh, and the feeding of a Variyar on a new-moon day.

In an account of a royal wedding in Travancore in 1906, I read that “a number of Variyars left the thevarathu koikal, or palace where worship is performed, for a compound (garden) close by to bring an areca palm. It is supposed that they do this task under divine inspiration and guidance. One man is given a small rod by the Potti or priest in the palace, and, after receiving this, he dances forward, followed by his comrades, and all wend their way to a compound about a furlong away. On reaching the spot, they uproot a big areca palm without the use of any implement of iron, and take it away to the thevarathu koikal without its touching the ground, to the accompaniment of music. They then plant it in front of the portico, and do some puja (worship) after the manner of Brahmans. The function is comparable to the dhwajarohanam, or hoisting of the flag during temple utsavams. The Variyars dance round the tree, singing songs, and performing puja. A piece of white cloth is tied to the top of the tree, to serve as a flag, and a lamp is lighted, and placed at the foot of the tree.”

The Variyars are described, in the Gazetteer of Malabar, as “a caste whose traditional duty is to sweep the temple precincts (varuga). At the present day, some members of the caste are important land-owners or petty chieftains, occupying a very high social position. They generally follow the marumakkatayam principle, but they have also a form of marriage called Kudivekkal similar to the Brahman Sarvasvadhanam, by which the wife is adopted as a member of the family into which she marries, and her children also belong to it. The Variyar’s names and ceremonies indicate Sivaite proclivities, just as those of the Pisharodi are tinged with Vishnavism. The Variyar’s house is called a Variyam, and his woman-folk Varassiars. This class is perhaps the most progressive among the Ambalavasis, some of its members having received a Western education and entered the learned professions.”

Varugu Bhatta.—A mendicant class, which begs from Perikes.

Varuna.—Some Pattanavan fishermen have adopted the name of Varunakula Vellala or Varunakula Mudali after Varuna the god of the waters.

Vasa (new).—A sub-division of Kurubas, who are said to weave only white blankets.

Vasishta.—A Brahmanical gotra adopted by Khatris and Toreyas. Vasishta, one of the seven great Rishis, was the son of Mitra and Varuna, whose quarrels with Viswamitra are narrated in the Ramayana.

Vastra.—One division of the Koragas is called Vastra, meaning cloths such as are used as a shroud for a corpse, which were given to them as an act of charity, the wearing of new cloths by them being prohibited. Vastrala (cloth) further occurs as an exogamous sept of the Karna Sale and Devanga weavers.

Vattakadan.—Recorded as a sub-division of Nayar, the occupation of which is expressing oil, chiefly for use in temples. Mr. F. Fawcett writes33 that, in North Malabar, he has frequently been told by Nayars of the superior classes that they do not admit the Vattakadans to be Nayars. According to them, the Vattakadans have adopted the honorary affix Nayar to their names quite recently. In the Madras Census Report, 1891, Vattakadan is stated to be a synonym of Vaniyan; and in the report, 1901, this name is said to mean a Native of Vattakad, and to be given to the Chakkans.

Vatte (camel).—A gotra of Kurni.

Vatti.—Vatti or Vattikurup has been recorded at times of census as a sub-division of Nayar, and a synonym of Kavutiyan and Tolkollan. Vatti is said to mean one who prays for happiness.

Vayani.—The Vayanis, Vayinis, Vaguniyans, or Pavinis, are a section of Madigas, the members of which play on a single-stringed mandoline, and go about from village to village, singing the praises of the village goddesses. Each Vayani has his recognised beat. He plays a prominent part in the celebration of the annual festival of the village goddess, and receives a sacred thread (kappu), which is usually tied to his mandoline, before the commencement of the festival. He regards himself as superior in social position to ordinary Madigas, with whom he will not marry. The name Vayani is said to be a corruption of varnane, meaning to describe. In some localities, e.g., the Chingleput district, the Vayani enjoys mirasi rights in connection with land.

Vedan.—The Vedans are described by Mr. H. A. Stuart, in the North Arcot Manual, as having been “formerly hunters and soldiers, and it is this caste which furnished a considerable and valuable contingent to the early Hindu kings, and later to the armies of Hyder and Tippoo. They are supposed by some to be the remnants of the earliest inhabitants of the peninsula, and identical with the Veddahs of Ceylon. They are also called Valmikulu, which means those who live on the products of ant-hills (valmikum).” It is noted, in the Census Report, 1891, that the two castes Bedar (or Boya) and Vedan were, “through a misapprehension of instructions, treated as identical in the tabulation papers. The two words are, no doubt, etymologically identical, the one being Canarese and the other Tamil, but the castes are quite distinct.” It may be noted that the name Valmika or Valmiki is assumed by the Boyas, who claim descent from Valmiki, the author of the Ramayana, who did penance for so long in one spot that a white-ant hill grew up round him.

In the Madras Census Report, 1901, the Vedans are described as “a Tamil-speaking labouring and hunting caste, the members of which were formerly soldiers, and subsequently dacoits. The name means a hunter, and is loosely applied to the Irulas in some places (e.g., Chingleput). There is some connection between the Vedans and Tamil Vettuvans, but its precise nature is not clear. The Vettuvans now consider themselves superior to the Vedans, and are even taking to calling themselves Vettuva Vellalas. Marriage (among the Vedans) is either infant or adult. Widows may marry their late husband’s brother or agnates. Some employ Brahmans as priests. They either burn or bury their dead. They claim descent from Kannappa Nayanar, one of the sixty-three Saivite saints. Ambalakarans also claim to be descended from Kannappa Nayanar. In Tanjore, the Valaiyans declare themselves to have a similar origin. The title of the Vedans is Nayakkan.” In the Madura Manual, the Vedans are described as a very low caste, who get their living in the jungles. They are not numerous now. They appear to have been naked savages not very long ago, and their civilisation is far from complete. They are held in the greatest contempt by men of all classes. They are described further, in the Coimbatore Manual, as “a very degraded, poor tribe, living by basket-making, snaring small game, and so on. They speak a low Canarese, and are as simple as savage. The delight of a party at the gift of a rupee is something curious.” In the Salem district some Vedans are said34 to be “known by the caste name Tiruvalar, who are distinguished as the Kattukudugirajati, a name derived from a custom among them, which authorises temporary matrimonial arrangements.”

The following story in connection with bears and Vedans is worthy of being placed on record. The bears are said to collect ripe wood-apples (Feronia elephantum) during the season, and store them in the forest. After a small quantity has been collected, they remove the rind of the fruits, and heap together all the pulp. They then bring honey and petals of sweet-smelling flowers, put them on the heap of pulp, and thresh them with their feet and with sticks in their hands. When the whole has become a consistent mass, they feed on it. The Vedan, who knows the season, is said to drive off the bears by shooting at them, and rob them of their feast, which is sold as karadi panchamritham, or bear delicacy made of five ingredients.

Mala Vedan with filed teeth.

The Vedars of Travancore are summed up by the Rev. S. Mateer35 as “living in jungle clearings or working in the rice fields, and formerly sold and bought as slaves. They have to wander about in seasons of scarcity in search of wild yams, which they boil and eat on the spot, and are thorough gluttons, eating all they can get at any time, then suffering want for days. Polygamy is common, as men are not required to provide for the support of their wives. Some, who have been converted to Christianity, show wonderful and rapid improvement in moral character, civilisation and diligence.”

For the following note on the Mala (hill) Vedans of Travancore, I am indebted to Mrs. J. W. Evans.36 “They live in wretched huts amid the rice-flats at the foot of the hills, and are employed by farmers to guard the crops from the ravages of wild beasts. The upper incisor teeth of both men and women are filed to a sharp point, like crocodile’s fangs. One ugly old man, Tiruvatiran by name (the name of a star), had the four teeth very slightly filed. On being pressed for the reason why he had not conformed to Mala Vedar fashion, he grinned, and said ‘What beauty I was born with is enough for me.’ Probably the operation had been more painful than he could bear, or, may be, he could not afford to pay the five betel leaves and areca nuts, which are the customary fee of the filer. Any man may perform the operation. A curved bill-hook, with serrated edge, is the instrument used. On being asked whether they had any tradition about the custom of tooth-filing, they replied that it was to distinguish their caste, and the god Chattan would be angry if they neglected the custom. It may be noted that tooth-filing is also practiced by the jungle Kadirs (q.v.). Both males and females wore a cotton loin-cloth, mellowed by wear and weather to a subtle greenish hue. Red and blue necklaces, interstrung with sections of the chank shell (Turbinella rapa) adorned the necks and chests. One woman was of special interest. Her neck and breasts were literally concealed by a medley of beads, shells, brass bells, and two common iron keys—these last, she said, for ornament. Around her hips, over her cloth, hung several rows of small bones of pig and sambar (Cervus unicolor). The Mala Vedans find these bones in the jungle. An aged priest said that he used to perform devil-dancing, but was now too stiff to dance, and had to labour like the younger men. The Mala Vedans apparently possess no temples or shrines, but Hindus permit them to offer money at the Hindu shrines from a distance, at times of sudden sickness or during other seasons of panic. Their god Chattan, or Sattan, has no fixed abode, but, where the Mala Vedans are, there is he in the midst of them. They bury their dead in a recumbent posture, near the hut of the deceased. The Mala Vedans practice the primitive method of kindling fire by the friction of wood (also practiced by the Kanakars), and, like the Kanakars, they eat the black monkey. Their implements are bill-hooks, and bows and arrows. They weave grass baskets, which are slung to their girdles, and contain betel, etc.”

The more important measurements of twenty-five Mala Vedans examined by myself were—

The figures show that, like other primitive jungle tribes in Southern India, the Mala Vedans are short of stature, dolichocephalic, and platyrhine.

The following menstrual ceremony has been described37 as occurring among the Vedans of Travancore. “The wife at menstruation is secluded for five days in a hut a quarter of a mile from her home, which is also used by her at childbirth. The next five days are passed in a second hut, half way between the first and her house. On the ninth day her husband holds a feast, sprinkles his floor with wine, and invites his friends to a spread of rice and palm wine. Until this evening, he has not dared to eat anything but roots, for fear of being killed by the devil. On the tenth day he must leave his house, to which he may not return until the women, his and her sister have bathed his wife, escorted her home, and eaten rice together. For four days after his return, however, he may not eat rice in his own house, or have connection with his wife.”

Vedunollu.—A gotra of Ganigas, members of which may not cut Nyctanthes Arbor-tristis. The flowers thereof are much used in Hindu worship, as the plant is supposed to have been brought from heaven by Krishna for his wife Satyabhama.

Veginadu.—A sub-division of Komatis, who belong to the Vegi or Vengi country, the former name of part of the modern Kistna district. The Vegina Komatis are said to have entered the fire-pits with the caste goddess Kanyakamma.

Vekkali Puli (cruel-legged tiger).—An exogamous section of Kallan.

Vel (lance).—A sub-division of Malayalam Paraiyans, and an exogamous sept or sub-division of Kanikars in Travancore. Velanmar (spearmen) occurs as a name for the hill tribes of Travancore.

Velakkattalavan.—Velakkattalavan or Vilakkattalavan is stated in the Travancore Census Report, 1901, to indicate chieftains among barbers, and to be the name for members of families, from which persons are selected to shave kings or nobles. In the Madras Census Report, 1891, Velakkattalavan is said to be “the name in South Malabar of the caste that shaves Nayars and higher castes. The same man is called in North Malabar Valinchiyan, Navidan, or Nasiyan. In dress and habits the caste resembles Nayars, and they call themselves Nayars in the south. Many returned their main caste as Nayar. The females of this caste frequently act as midwives to Nayars. In North Malabar, the Valinchiyan and Nasiyan follow the Nayar system of inheritance, whereas the Navidan has inheritance in the male line; but, even amongst the latter, tali-kettu and sambandham are performed separately by different bridegrooms. In South Malabar the caste generally follows descent in the male line, but in some places the other system is also found.” Sudra Kavutiyan is recorded, in the Madras Census Report, 1901, as a synonym of Velakkatalavan.

Velama.—The Velamas, or, as they are sometimes called, Yelamas, are a caste of agriculturists, who dwell in the Telugu country and Ganjam. Concerning them Mr. H. A. Stuart writes as follows.38 “Who the Velamas were it seems difficult to decide. Some say they form a sub-division of the Balijas, but this they themselves most vehemently deny, and the Balijas derisively call them Guna Sakala (or Tsakala) vandlu (hunch-backed washermen). The pride and jealousy of Hindu castes was amusingly illustrated by the Velamas of Kalahasti. The Deputy Tahsildar of that town was desired to ascertain the origin of the name Guni Sakalavandlu, but, as soon as he asked the question, a member of the caste lodged a complaint of defamation against him before the District Magistrate. The nickname appears to have been applied to them, because, in the northern districts, some print chintzes, and, carrying their goods in a bundle on their backs, walk stooping like a laden washerman. This derivation is more than doubtful, for, in the Godavari district, the name is Guna Sakalavandlu, guna being the big pot in which they dye the chintzes. Some Velamas say that they belong to the Kammas, but divided from them in consequence of a difference of opinion on the subject of gosha, most Velama females being now kept in seclusion. [In the Kurnool Manual it is noted that the Velama women are supposed to be gosha, but, owing to poverty, the rule is not strictly observed.] Both Kammas and Velamas, before they divided, are said to have adopted gosha from the Muhammadans, but, finding that they were thus handicapped in their competition with other cultivating castes, it was proposed that the original custom of their ancestors should be reverted to. Those who agreed signed a bond, which, being upon palm leaf, was called kamma, and from it they took this name. The dissentients retained gosha, and were therefore called outsiders or Velamas. This does not, however, explain what the original name of the caste was, and the truth of the story is doubtful. Since this dispute, the Velamas have themselves had a split on the subject of gosha, those who have thrown it off being called Adi or original Velamas, and the others Padma Velamas. The Velamas seem to have come south with the Vijayanagara kings, and to have been made Menkavalgars, from which position some rose to be Poligars. Now they are chiefly the hangers-on of poligars or cultivators. To distinguish them from the Vellalas in the southern taluks, they call themselves Telugu Vellalas, but it seems very improbable that the Velamas and Vellalas ever had any connection with one another. They are styled Naidus.” [The Velamas style themselves Telugu Vellalas, not because of any connection between the two castes, but because they are at the top of the Telugu castes as the Vellalas are of the Tamil castes. For the same reason, Vellalas are sometimes called Arava (Tamil) Velamalu.]

The most important sub-divisions returned by the Velamas at the census, 1891, were Kapu, Koppala, Padma, Ponneti, and Yanadi. “It is,” the Census Superintendent writes, “curious to find the Yanadi sub-division so strongly represented, for there is at the present day a wide gulf between Velamas and Yanadis” (a Telugu forest tribe). In the Vizagapatam Manual, a class of cultivators called Yanadulu is referred to; and, in the Madras Census Report, 1901, it is recorded that entries under the name Yanati “were clubbed with Yanadi; but it has since been reported that, in Bissam-Acuttack taluk of the Vizagapatam Agency, there is a separate caste called Yanati or Yeneti Dora which is distinct from Yanadi.” It would appear that, as in the south, the Velamas call themselves Telugu Vellalas, so in the north they call themselves Yanatis.

Concerning the Guna Velamas, the Rev. J. Cain writes39 that “in years gone by, members of this class, who were desirous of getting married, had to arrange and pay the expenses of two of the Palli (fisherman) caste, but now it is regarded as sufficient to hang up a net in the house during the time of the marriage ceremony.” The custom had its origin in a legend that, generations ago, when all the members of the caste were in danger of being swept off the face of the earth by some of their enemies, the Pallis came to the rescue with their boats, and carried all the Guna Velamas to a place of safety. The Guna Velamas, Mr. Cain continues, were “formerly regarded as quite an inferior caste, but, as many members of it have been educated in Anglo-Vernacular schools, they have found their way into almost every department and risen in the social scale. Their caste occupation is that of dyeing cloth, which they dip into large pots (gunas). The term Guna Tsakala is one of reproach, and they much prefer being called Velamalu to the great disgust of the Raca (Raja) Velamalu.” To the Raca Velama section belong, among other wealthy land-owners, the Rajas of Bobbili, Venkatagiri, Pittapur, and Nuzvid. At the annual Samasthanam meeting, in 1906, the Maharaja of Bobbili announced that “none of the Velamavaru were working in any of the offices at the time when I first came to Bobbili. There were then a small number acting as mere supervisors without clerical work. Only from the commencement of my administration these people have been gradually taken into the office, and induced to read at the High School.”

For the following note on the Velamas who have settled in the Vizagapatam district, I am indebted to Mr. C. Hayavadana Rao. The following sub-divisions of the caste may be noted:—

(1) Pedda or Padma found chiefly in the Bobbili taluk. Those composing it are said to be the descendants of the military followers and dependents of Pedda Rajudu, the founder of the Bobbili family, who received a territorial grant in 1652 from Sher Muhammad Khan, the Moghul Fauzdar of Chicacole. It is to this sub-division that Orme refers, when he says40 that they “esteem themselves the highest blood of Native Indians, next to the Brahmans, equal to the Rajpoots, and support their pre-eminence by the haughtiest observances, insomuch that the breath of a different religion, and even of the meaner Indians, requires ablution; their women never transfer themselves to a second, but burn with the husband of their virginity.” The remarriage of widows is forbidden, and women remain gosha (in seclusion), and wear gold or silver bangles on both wrists, unlike those of the Koppala section. The title of members of this sub-division is Dora.

(2) Kamma Velama found chiefly in the Kistna district, from which some families are said to have emigrated in company with the early Rajas of Vizianagram. They are met with almost solely in the town of Vizianagram. The remarriage of widows is permitted, but females are gosha. The title is Nayudu.

(3) Koppala, or Toththala, who do not shave their heads, but tie the hair in a knot (koppu) on the top of the head. They are divided into sections, e.g., Naga (cobra), Sankha (chank shell, Turbinella rapa), Tulasi (Ocimum sanctum), and Tabelu (tortoise). These have no significance so far as marriage is concerned. They are further divided into exogamous septs, or intiperulu, of which the following are examples:—Nalla (black), Doddi (court-yard, cattle-pen or sheep-fold), Reddi (synonym of Kapu). The custom of menarikam, by which a man marries his maternal uncle’s daughter, is observed. A Brahman officiates at marriages. Widows are permitted to remarry seven times, and, by an unusual custom, an elder brother is allowed to marry the widow of his younger brother. Women wear on the right wrist a solid silver bangle called ghatti kadiyam, and on the left wrist two bangles called sandelu, between which are black glass bangles, which are broken when a woman becomes a widow. The titles of members of this sub-division are Anna, Ayya, and, when they become prosperous, Nayudu.

In a note on the Velamas of the Godavari district, Mr. F. R. Hemingway writes that they “admit that they always arrange for a Mala couple to marry, before they have a marriage in their own houses, and that they provide the necessary funds for the Mala marriage. They explain the custom by a story to the effect that a Mala once allowed a Velama to sacrifice him in order to obtain a hidden treasure, and they say that this custom is observed out of gratitude for the discovery of the treasure which resulted. The Rev. J. Cain gives41 a similar custom among the Velamas of Bhadrachalam in the Godavari district, only in this case it is a Palli (fisherman) who has to be married.”

There is, a correspondent informs me, a regular gradation in the social scale among the Velamas, Kammas, and Kapus, as follows:—

• Velama Dora = Velama Esquire.
• Kamma Varu = Mr. Kamma.
• Kapu.

A complaint was once made on the ground that, in a pattah (title-deed), a man was called Kamma, and not Kamma Varu.

It is noted by Mr. H. G. Prendergast42 that the custom of sending a sword to represent an unavoidably absent bridegroom at a wedding is not uncommon among the Telugu Razus and Velamas.

Velampan (rope-dancer).—Possibly a name for the Koravas of Malabar, who perform feats on the tight-rope.

Velan.—As a diminutive form of Vellala, Velan occurs as a title assumed by some Kusavans. Velan is also recorded as a title of Paraiyans in Travancore. (See Panan.)

For the following note on the Velans of the Cochin State, I am indebted to Mr. L. K. Anantha Krishna Iyer.43

The Velans, like the Panans, are a caste of devil-dancers, sorcerers and quack doctors, and are, in the northern parts of the State, called Perumannans or Mannans (washermen). My informant, a Perumannan at Trichur, told me that their castemen south of the Karuvannur bridge, about ten miles south of Trichur, are called Velans, and that they neither interdine nor intermarry, because they give mattu (a washed cloth) to carpenters to free them from pollution. The Mannans, who give the mattu to Izhuvans, do not give it to Kammalans (artisan classes), who are superior to them in social status. The Velans at Ernakulam, Cochin, and other places, are said to belong to eight illams. A similar division into illams exists among the Perumannans of the Trichur taluk. The Perumannans of the Chittur taluk have no knowledge of this illam division existing among them.

The following story was given regarding the origin of the Velans and Mannans. Once upon a time, when Parameswara and his wife Parvati were amusing themselves, the latter chanced to make an elephant with earth, which was accidentally trodden on by the former, whence arose a man who stood bowing before them. He was called the Mannan because he came out of man (earth), and to him was assigned his present occupation. This tradition is referred to in the songs which are sung on the fourth day of a girl’s first menses, when she takes a ceremonial bath to free her from pollution.

The Velans are found all over the southern parts of the State, as their brethren are in the northern parts. They live in thatched huts in cocoanut gardens, while the Mannans occupy similar dwellings in small compounds either of their own, or of some landlord whose tenant they may be.

When a girl attains puberty, she is at once bathed, and located in a room in the hut. Her period of seclusion is four days. On the morning of the fourth day, she is seated in a pandal (booth) put up in front of the hut, and made to hold in her hand a leafy vessel filled with rice, a few annas and a lighted wick, when a few of the castemen sing songs connected with puberty till so late as one or two o’clock, when the girl is bathed. After this, the castemen and women who are invited are feasted along with the girl, who is neatly dressed and adorned in her best. Again the girl takes her seat in the pandal and the tunes begin, and are continued till seven or eight o’clock next morning, when the ceremony comes to an end. The songsters are remunerated with three paras of paddy (unhusked rice), twenty-eight cocoanuts, thirteen annas and four pies, and two pieces of cloth. The songs are in some families postponed till the sixteenth day, or to the day of the girl’s marriage. Very poor people dispense with them altogether. The following is a translation of one of the songs.

One day a girl and her friends were playing merrily on the banks of a river, when one of them noticed some blood on her dress. They took her home, and her parents believed it to have been caused by some wound, but on enquiry knew that their daughter was in her menses. The daughter asked her mother as to what she did with the cloth she wore during her menses, when she was told that she bathed and came home, leaving it on a branch of a mango tree. On further enquiry, she knew that the goddess Ganga purified herself by a bath, leaving her cloth in the river; that the goddess earth buried it in earth; and that Panchali returned home after a bath, leaving her dress on a branch of a banyan tree. Unwilling to lose her dress, the girl went to the god Parameswara, and implored his aid to get somebody to have her cloth washed. When muttering a mantram (prayer), he sprinkled some water, a few drops of which went up and became stars, and from a few more, which fell on the leaves of a banyan tree, there came out a man, to whom was assigned the task of washing the cloths of the women in their courses, wearing which alone the women are purified by a bath.

When a young man of the Velan caste has attained the marriageable age, his father and maternal uncle select a suitable girl as a wife, after a proper examination and agreement of their horoscopes. The preliminaries are arranged in the hut of the girl, and a portion of the bride’s price, fifteen fanams, is paid. The auspicious day for the wedding is fixed, and the number of guests that should attend it is determined. The wedding is celebrated at the girl’s hut, in front of which a shed is put up. The ceremony generally takes place at night. A few hours before it, the bridegroom and his party arrive at the bride’s hut, where they are welcomed, and seated on mats spread on the floor in the pandal (shed). At the auspicious hour, when the relatives on both sides and the castemen are assembled, the bridegroom’s enangan (relation by marriage) hands over a metal plate containing the wedding suit, the bride’s price, and a few packets of betel leaves and nuts to the bride’s enangan, who takes everything except the cloth to be given to the bride’s mother, and returns the plate to the same man. The bridegroom’s sister dresses the bride in the new cloth, and takes her to the pandal, to seat her along with the bridegroom, and to serve one or two spoonfuls of milk and a few pieces of plantain fruit, when the bride is formally declared to be the wife of the young man and a member of his family. The guests assembled are treated to a feast, after which they are served with betel leaves, nuts, and tobacco. The rest of the night is spent in merry songs and dancing. The songs refer to the marriage of Sita, the wife of Rama, of Subhadra, wife of Arjuna, and of Panchali, wife of the Pandavas. Next morning, the bride’s party is treated to rice kanji (gruel) at eight o’clock, and to a sumptuous meal at twelve o’clock, after which they repair to the bridegroom’s hut, accompanied by the bride, her parents and relations, all of whom receive a welcome. The formalities are gone through here also, and the bride’s party is feasted. On the fourth morning, the newly married couple bathe and dress themselves neatly, to worship the deity at the local temple. After dinner they go to the bride’s hut, where they spend a week or two, after which the bridegroom returns to his hut with his wife. It is now that the bride receives a few ornaments, a metal dish for taking meals, a lamp, and a few metal utensils, which vary according to the circumstances of her parents. Henceforward, the husband and wife live with the parents of the former in their family.

Among the Mannans of the northern parts of the State, the following marriage customs are found to prevail. The bridegroom’s father, his maternal uncle, enangan, and the third or middle man, conjointly select the girl after due examination and agreement of horoscopes. The preliminaries are arranged as before, and the day for the wedding is determined. At the auspicious moment on the wedding day, when the relatives on both sides and the castemen are assembled at the shed in front of the bride’s hut, the bridegroom’s father takes up a metal plate containing the wedding dress, the bride’s price (twelve fanams), and a few bundles of betel leaves, nuts and tobacco, and repeats a formula, of which the substance runs thus. “A lighted lamp is placed in the shed. Four mats are spread round it in the direction of east, west, north and south. A metal plate, containing rice, flowers and betel leaves, is placed in front of the lamp, and the elderly members of the caste and the relatives on both sides are assembled. According to the traditional custom of the caste, the young man’s father, maternal uncle, enangan, and the middle man conjointly selected the girl after satisfying themselves with due agreement of horoscopes, and ascertaining the illams and kriyams on both sides. They have negotiated for the girl, and settled the day on which the marriage is to take place. In token of this, they have taken meals in the bride’s family. The claims of the girl for two pieces of cloth for the Onam festival, two fanams or nine annas for Thiruwatira (a festival in Dhanu, i.e., December-January), and Vishu, are satisfied, and she is by the young man taken to the village festival. They have now come for the celebration of the wedding. There have been times when he has heard of 101 fanams as the price of the bride, and has seen 51 fanams as the price of the same, but it is now 21 fanams. It thus varies, and may be increased or diminished according to the will, pleasure, and means of the parties. With four fanams as the price of the bride and eight fanams for ornaments, and with the bundles of betel leaves, nuts, and the wedding dress in a metal plate, may I, ye elderly members, give it to the girl’s parents?” “Shall I,” answers the girl’s father, “accept it?” Receiving it, he gives it to his brother-in-law, who gives it to the enangan, and he takes everything in it except the wedding suit, which he hands over to the bridegroom’s enangan, who gives it to the bridegroom’s sister, to have the bride dressed in it. The other portions of the ceremony are the same as those described above. In Palghat and the Chittur taluk, the following declaration is made. “According to the customary traditions of the caste, when a young man of one locality comes to tame a girl of another locality, and takes her as his wife, ye elderly members assembled here, may these four bundles of betel leaves, four measures of rice, two pieces of cloth, and ten fanams be given to the bride’s parents?” “Shall these be accepted?” says the bride’s enangan. When the bride accompanies the bridegroom to his hut, the following formal statement is made. “Thrash thou mayst, but not with a stick. Thou mayst not accuse her of bad conduct. Thou mayst not cut off her ears, breasts, nose and tufts of hair. Thou mayst not take her to a tank (to bathe), or to a temple (for swearing). Thou mayst keep and protect her as long as thou wantest. When thou dost not want her, give her maintenance, and take back the children, for they are thine own.”

Polygamy is not prohibited, but is rarely practiced by the Velans and Mannans. They are very poor, and find it difficult to support their wives and children born in a single married life. Want of children, bodily defect or incurable disease, or want of additional hands for work, may sometimes induce them to take more than one wife. Polyandry does not prevail among the Velans, but is common among the Mannans of the northern parts of the State. A Velan woman who loses her husband may marry another of her caste, if she likes, a year after her husband’s death. The formalities of the wedding consist in the husband giving two pieces of cloth to the woman who wishes to enter into wedlock with him. After this she forfeits all claim on the property of her former husband. Among the Mannans, a widow may marry any one of her brothers-in-law. A woman committing adultery with a member of her own caste is well thrashed. One who disposes of herself to a member of a lower caste is sent out of caste. She may then become a Christian or Muhammadan convert. If an unmarried young woman becomes pregnant, and this is known to her castemen, they convene a meeting, and find out the secret lover, whom they compel to take her as his wife. Very often they are both fined, and the fine is spent on toddy. Both among the Velans and Mannans, divorce is easy. A man who does not like his wife has only to take her to her original home and give charge of her to her parents, informing them of the circumstances which have induced him to adopt such a course. A woman who does not like her husband may relinquish him, and join her parents. In both cases, the woman is at liberty to marry again.

When a woman is pregnant, the ceremony of pulikuti (drinking of tamarind juice) is performed for her during the ninth month at the hut of her husband. The juice is extracted from tamarind (Tamarindus indica), kotapuli (Garcinia Cambogia), nerinjampuli (Hibiscus surattensis) and the leaves of ambazhampuli (Spondias mangifera). A large branch of ambazhampuli is stuck in the ground in the central courtyard, near which the pregnant woman is seated. The husband gives her three small spoonfuls, and then seven times with her cherutali (neck ornament) dipped in the juice. Among the washermen, the woman’s brother gives it three times to her. Should her sister-in-law give it in a small vessel, she has a claim to two pieces of cloth. After this, a quarter measure of gingelly (Sesamum) oil is poured upon her head, to be rubbed all over her body, and she bathes, using Acacia Intsia as soap. Those of her relatives and the castemen who are invited are sumptuously fed. Some of them crack jokes by asking the pregnant woman to promise her baby son or daughter to theirs when grown up. All bless her for a safe delivery and healthy child.

A woman who is about to become a mother is lodged in a separate room for her delivery, attended by her mother and one or two grown-up women, who act as midwives. The period of pollution is fifteen days. For the first three days the woman is given a dose of dried ginger mixed with palmyra (Borassus flabellifer) jaggery (crude sugar), and for the next three days a mixture of garlic and jaggery. Her diet during the first three days is rice kanji with scrapings of cocoanut, which are believed to help the formation of the mother’s milk. For the next three days, the juice of kotapuli (Garcinia Cambogia), cumin seeds, and kotal urikki (Achyranthes aspera), and of the leaves of muringa (Moringa pterygosperma) is given, after which, for a few more days, a dose of the flesh of fowl mixed with mustard, cumin seeds and uluva (Trigonella foenum-grÆcum) boiled in gingelly oil is taken. She bathes in water boiled with medicinal herbs on the fourth, seventh, ninth, eleventh, and sixteenth days. On the morning of the sixteenth day, her enangathi (enangan’s wife) cleans her room with water mixed with cow-dung, and sweeps the compound. Wearing a mattu (washed cloth) brought by a washerman, she bathes to be freed from pollution. She may now enter the hut, and mingle with the rest of the family.

Among Velans and Mannans, the sons inherit the property of their fathers, but they are very poor, and have little or nothing to inherit.

Velans and Mannans practice magic and sorcery. All diseases that flesh is heir to are, in the opinion of these people, caused by malignant demons, and they profess to cure, with the aid of their mantrams and amulets, people suffering from maladies. The muttering of the following mantram, and throwing of bhasmam (holy ashes), in propitiation of the small-pox demon is believed to effect a cure.

(1) Om, Oh! thou, Pallyamma, mother with tusk-like teeth, that in demoniacal form appearest on the burning ground called omkara, with burning piles flaming around, with one breast on one of thy shoulders, and playing with the other as with a ball, with thy tongue stretched out and wound round thy head, with grass, beans, and pepper in thy left hand, with gingelly seeds and chama grains in thy right hand, that scatterest and sowest broadcast the seeds of small-pox; Oh! let the seeds that thou hast sown, and those that thou hast not sown, dry up inside, and get charred outside. Be thou as if intoxicated with joy! Protect thou, protect thou!

(2) Malign influence of birds on children.

Oh! thou round-eyed, short Karinkali with big ears, born from the third incessantly burning eye of Siva, come, come and be in possession.

If this mantram be muttered sixteen times, and bhasmam thrown over the body of a child, the operator breathing violently the while, a cure will be effected. If the mantram be muttered in a vessel of water the same number of times, and the child bathed in it, the cure will be equally effective.

(3) To cure fits and fever.

Oh! thou swine-faced mother, thou catchest hold of my enemy, coming charging me, by the neck with thy tusks thrust into his body; draggest him on the ground, and standest slowly chewing and eating, thrusting thy tusks, rubbing again, and wearing down his body, chewing once more and again; thou, mother that controllest 41,448 demons presiding over all kinds of maladies, seventy-two Bhiravans, eighteen kinds of epileptic fits (korka), twelve kinds of muyalis and all other kinds of illness, as also Kandakaranans (demons with bell-shaped ears), be under my possession so long as I serve thee.

This mantram should be repeated sixteen times, with bhasmam thrown on the body of the patient.

(4) Oh! Bhadrakali, thou hast drunk the full cup. Oh! thou that holdest the sword of royalty in thy right hand, and that half sittest on a high seat. Place under control, as I am piously uttering the mantrams to serve thee, all demons, namely Yakshi, Gandharvan, Poomalagandharvan, Chutali, Nirali, Nilankari, Chuzali, and many others who cause all kinds of illness that flesh is heir to. Oh! holy mother, Bhadrakali, I vow by my preceptor.

(5) For devil driving.

Oh! thou, Karinkutti (black dwarf) of Vedapuram in Vellanad, that pluckest the fruits of the right hand branch of the strychnine tree (Strychnos Nux-vomica), and keepest toddy in its shell, drinking the blood of the black domestic fowl, drumming and keeping time on the rind of the fruit, filling and blowing thy pipe or horn through the nose. Oh! thou primeval black dwarf, so long as I utter the proper mantrams, I beg thee to cause such demons as would not dance to dance, and others to jump and drive them out. Oh! thou, Karinkutti, come, come, and enable me to succeed in my attempts.

(6) Oh! thou goddess with face. Oh! thou with face like that of a bear, and thou, a hunter. I utter thy mantrams and meditate upon thee, and therefore request thee to tread upon my enemies, burst open their bodies to drink their blood, and yawn to take complete rest; drive out such demons as cause convulsions of the body both from within and without, and all kinds of fever. Scatter them as dust. I swear by thee and my preceptor. Swahah.

(7) For the evil eye.

Salutations to thee, Oh! God. Even as the moon wanes in its brightness at the sight of the sun, even as the bird chakora (Eraya) disappears at the sight of the moon; even as the great Vasuki (king of serpents) vanishes at the sight of chakora; even as the poison vanishes from his head; so may the potency of his evil eye with thy aid vanish.

(8) To cause delay in the occurrence of menses.

Salutation to thee, Oh! Mars (the son of the goddess Earth).

If this mantram is muttered on a thread dyed yellow with turmeric, and if the thread be placed on both the palms joined together, and if the number of days to which the occurrence of the menses should be delayed be thought of, the postponement will be procured by wearing it either round the neck or the loins. The thread with a ring attached to it, and worn round the neck is equally effective.

(9) To prevent cows from giving milk.

Om, Koss, dry up the liquid, kindly present me with thy gracious aspect. Oh! thou with the great sword in thy hands, the great trident, dry up the cow’s udder even as a tiger, I swear by thee and my preceptor.

(10) To cause cows to give milk.

Even as the swelling on the holy feet of Mahadeva due to the bite of a crocodile has subsided and gone down, so go down. I swear by my preceptor.

(11) To remove a thorn from the sole of the foot.

When Parameswara and Parvathi started on their hunting expedition, a thorn entered the foot of her lady-ship. It was doubted whether it was the thorn of a bamboo, an ant, or a strychnine tree. Even so may this poison cease to hurt, Oh! Lord. I swear by my preceptor.

(12) To effect metamorphosis.

Take the head of a dog and burn it, and plant on it vellakutti plant. Burn camphor and frankincense, and adore it. Then pluck the root. Mix it with the milk of a dog and the bones of a cat. A mark made with the mixture on the forehead will enable any person to assume the figure of any animal he thinks of.

(13) Before a stick of the Malankara plant, worship with a lighted wick and incense. Then chant the Sakti mantram 101 times, and mutter the mantram to give life at the bottom. Watch carefully which way the stick inclines. Proceed to the south of the stick, and pluck the whiskers of a live tiger, and make with them a ball of the veerali silk, string it with silk, and enclose it within the ear. Stand on the palms of the hand to attain the disguise of a tiger, and, with the stick in hand, think of a cat, white bull, or other animal. Then you will, in the eyes of others, appear as such.

(14) Take the nest of a crow from a margosa tree, and bury it at the cremation ground. Then throw it into the house of your enemy. The house will soon take fire.

(15) Take the ashes of the burial-ground on which an ass has been rolling on a Saturday or Sunday, and put it in the house of your enemy. The members of the family will soon quit the house, or a severe illness will attack them.

The Velans and Mannans are animists, and worship demoniacal gods, such as Chandan, Mundian, Kandakaranan, Karinkutti, and Chathan. All of them are separately represented by stones located underneath a tree in the corners of their compounds. Offerings of sheep, fowls, plantain fruits, cocoanuts, parched rice and beaten rice, are made to them on the tenth of Dhanu (last week in December), on a Tuesday in Makaram (January-February), and on Kumbham Bharani (second asterism in March-April). They also adore the goddess Bhagavathi and the spirits of their departed ancestors, who are believed to exercise their influence in their families for good or evil. Sometimes, when they go to Cranganore to worship the goddess there, they visit the senior male members of the local Nayar, Kammalan and Izhuvan families to take leave of them, when they are given a few annas with which they purchase fowls, etc., to be given as offerings to the local goddess. Wooden or metal images, representing the spirits of their ancestors, are located in a room of their huts, and worshipped with offerings on New Moon and Sankranti nights.

The Velans and Mannans either burn or bury the dead. The son is the chief mourner who performs the funeral rites, and the nephews and brothers take part in them. Their priests are known as Kurup, and they preside at the ceremonies. Death pollution lasts for sixteen days, and on the morning of the sixteenth day the hut of the dead person is well swept and cleansed by sprinkling water mixed with cowdung. The members of the family, dressed in the mattu (a washed cloth worn before bathing) brought by the washerman, bathe to be free from pollution. The castemen, including their friends and relations, are invited and feasted. A similar funeral feast is also held at the end of the year.

The chief occupation of the Velans and Mannans is the giving of mattu to Brahmans, Kshatriyas, Anthalarajatis, Nayars, Kammalans and Izhuvans, for wearing before going to bathe on the day on which they are freed from pollution. A girl or woman in her courses on the morning of the fourth day, a woman in confinement on the fifth, ninth, eleventh and sixteenth days, and all the members of a family under death pollution on the sixteenth day, have to use it. They bathe wearing the washed cloth, and return it as soon as the bath is over. It may either belong to the washerman, or have been previously given to him by the members of the family. He gets an anna or a measure of paddy for his service to a woman in her menses, and a para of paddy or six annas for birth and death pollutions. The Velans give the mattu to all the castes above mentioned, while the Mannans refuse to give it to the Kammalans, and thereby profess themselves to be superior in status to them. They wash clothes to dress the idols in some of the high caste temples. Their washing consists in first plunging the dirty cloths in water mixed with cowdung, and beating them on a stone by the side of a tank (pond), canal or river, and again immersing them in water mixed with wood ashes or charamannu, after which they are exposed to steam for a few hours, and again beaten on the stone, slightly moistening in water now and then, until they are quite clean. They are then dried in the sun, and again moistened with a solution of starch and indigo, when they are exposed to the air to dry. When dry, they are folded, and beaten with a heavy club, so as to be like those ironed. The Velans of the Cranganore, Cochin, and Kanayannur taluks, climb cocoanut trees to pluck cocoanuts, and get about eight to ten annas for every hundred trees they go up. They make umbrellas. Some among them practice magic and sorcery, and some are quack doctors, who treat sickly children. Some are now engaged in agricultural operations, while a few make beds, pillows, and coats. There are also a few of them in every village who are songsters, and whose services are availed of on certain ceremonial occasions, namely, on the bathing day of a girl in her first menses, on the wedding night, and when religious ceremonies are performed, and sacrifices offered to their gods. Some are experts in drum-beating, and are invited by low caste people of the rural parts. The Mannans also follow the same occupations.

The Velans and Mannans eat at the hands of all castes above them, namely, Brahmans, Kshatriyas, Nayars, and Izhuvans. The former take food from Kammalans, while the latter abstain from so doing. They do not eat the food prepared by Kaniyans, Panans, Vilkurups, or other castes of equal or inferior status. They have to stand at a distance of twenty-four feet from Brahmans. They have their own barbers, and are their own washermen. They stand far away from the outer wall of the temples of high castes. They are not allowed to take water from the wells of high caste Sudras, nor are they allowed to live in their midst.

The following note on the Velans of Travancore has been furnished by Mr. N. Subramani Iyer.

The word Velan has been derived from vel a spear, and also from vela work. The usual title of the Velans is Panikkan. They are believed to be divided into four classes, viz., Bharata Velan, Vaha Velan, Pana Velan, and Manna Velan. While the last of these sections, in addition to their traditional occupation, are washermen and climbers of areca palm trees, the Pana Velans take sawing as a supplementary employment. Some of the members of the first and second classes are also physicians. This classification is gradually going out of vogue.

The Velans are said traditionally to have been descended from Siva, who, on one occasion, is believed to have removed the evil effects of the sorcery of demons upon Vishnu by means of exorcism. As this kind of injury began to increase among men, a man and woman were created by this deity, to prevent its dire consequences. In the Keralolpatti, this caste is mentioned as Velakkuruppu. But at present the Puranadis, who are the barbers and priests of this class, are known by this name. A Puranadi means one who stands outside, and is not admitted as of equal rank with the Velans proper. The Puranadis are not washermen. Commensal relations exist only between the male members of the Velans and Puranitis (Puranadi females).

The Velans perform a number of useful services in the body politic of Malabar. In the Keralolpatti their duty is said to be the nursing of women in their confinement. In the Kerala-Visesha-Mahatmya, exorcism, climbing of trees, and washing clothes, are mentioned as their occupations. There are various kinds of exorcism, the chief being Velan Tullal and Velan Pravarti. The former is a kind of masque performed by the Velans for warding off the effects of the evil eye, and preventing the injurious influences of demons and spirits. Atavi is a peculiar female divinity worshipped by the caste, by whose help these feats are believed to be performed in the main. She, and a host of minor gods and goddesses, are represented by them, and a dance commences. After it is over, all the characters receive presents. Velan Pravarti, or Otuka, may either last for eleven days, or may be finished on a minor scale within three days, and in emergent cases even in one day. A Puranadi acts as buffoon, and serves the purpose of a domestic servant on the occasion. This is called Pallipana when performed in temples, Pallipperu when in palaces, and Velan Pravarti or Satru-eduppu in the case of ordinary people. This is also done with a view to prevent the effect of the evil eye. On the first day, a person representing the enchanted man or woman is placed in a temporary shed built for the purpose, and lights are waved before him. On the third day, a pit is dug, and a cock sacrificed. On the fourth day, the Pattata Bali, or human sacrifice, takes place. A person is thrown into a pit which is covered with a plank of wood, upon which sacrifices are offered. The buried person soon resuscitates himself, and, advancing as if possessed, explains the cause of the disease or calamity. On the eighth day, figures of snakes, in gold or silver, are enclosed in small copper vessels, and milk and fruit are offered to them. On the ninth day, the Velans worship the lords of the eight directions, with Brahma or the creator in the midst of them. On the tenth day, there is much festivity and amusement, and the Mahabharata is sung in a condensed form. The chief of the Velans becomes possessed, and prays that, as the Pandavas emerged safely from the sorcery of the Kauravas, the person affected by the calamity may escape unhurt. On the last day, animals are sacrificed at the four corners of the compound surrounding the house. No special rite is performed on the first day, but the Ituvanabali, Kuzhibali, Pattatabali, Kitangubali, Patalabali, Sarakutabali, Pithabali, Azhibali, Digbali, and Kumpubali, are respectively observed during the remaining ten days. The Pana, of which rite the breaking of cocoanuts is the most important item, completes this long ceremony. It was once supposed that the Bharata Velans exorcised spirits in the homes of high caste Hindus, the same work being done among the middle classes by the Vaha Velans, and among the low by the Manna Velans. This rule does not hold good at the present day. The Velans are also engaged in the event of bad crops.

Besides standing thirty-two feet apart from Hindu temples, and worshipping the divinities therein, the Velans erect small sanctuaries for Siva within their own compounds, called Kuriyala. They worship this deity in preference to others, and offer tender cocoanuts, fried rice, sugar, and plantain fruits to him on the Uttradam day in the month of August.

Velanati (foreign).—A sub-division of Kapus, and other Telugu castes, and of Telugu Brahmans.

Velanga (wood apple: Feronia elephantum).—An exogamous sept of Muka Dora.

Velichchapad.—Of the Velichchapads, or oracles, of Malabar, the following account is given by Mr. F. Fawcett.44 “Far away in rural Malabar, I witnessed the ceremony in which the Velichchapad exhibited his quality. It was in the neighbourhood of a Nayar house, to which thronged all the neighbours (Nayars), men and women, boys and girls. The ceremony lasts about an hour. The Nayar said it was the custom in his family to have it done once a year, but could give no account of how the custom originated; most probably in a vow, some ancestor having vowed that, if such or such benefit be received, he would for ever after have an annual performance of this ceremony in his house. It involved some expenditure, as the Velichchapad had to be paid, and the neighbours had to be fed. Somewhere about the middle of the little courtyard, always as clean as a dinner table, the Velichchapad placed a lamp (of the Malabar pattern) having a lighted wick, a kalasam (brass vessel), some flowers, camphor, saffron (turmeric) and other paraphernalia. Bhagavati was the deity invoked, and the business involved offering flowers, and waving a lighted wick round the kalasam. The Velichchapad’s movements became quicker, and, suddenly seizing his sword (nandakam), he ran round the courtyard (against the sun, as sailors say) shouting wildly. He is under the influence of the deity who has been introduced into him, and he gives oracular utterances to the deity’s commands. What he said I know not, and no one else seemed to know or care in the least, much interested though they were in the performance. As he ran, every now and then he cut his forehead with the sword, pressing it against the skin and sawing vertically up and down. The blood streamed all over his face. Presently he became wilder and wilder, and whizzed round the lamp, bending forward towards the kalasam. Evidently some deity, some spirit was present here, and spoke through the mouth of the Velichchapad. This, I think, undoubtedly represents the belief of all who were present. When he had done whizzing round the kalasam, he soon became a normal being, and stood before my camera. The fee for the self-inflicted laceration is one rupee, some rice, etc. I saw the Velichchapad about three days afterwards, going to perform elsewhere. The wound on his forehead had healed. The careful observer can always identify a Velichchapad by the triangular patch over the forehead, where the hair will not grow, and where the skin is somewhat indurated.”

Velichchapad.

Veliveyabadina Razu.—The name, denoting Razus who were thrown out, of a class said to be descended from Razus who were excommunicated from their caste.45

Veliyam.—Recorded, in the Travancore Census Report, 1901, as a title of Nayars. In the same report Veliyattu is described as synonymous with Pulikkappanikkan, a sub-division of Nayar.

Vellaikaran (white man).—A Tamil name for European.

Vellala.—“The Vellalas,” Mr. H. A. Stuart writes,46 “are the great farmer caste of the Tamil country, and they are strongly represented in every Tamil district. The word Vellalan is derived from vellanmai [vellam, water, anmai, management?] meaning cultivation, tillage. Dr. Oppert47 considers Vellalan to be etymologically connected with Pallan, Palli, etc., the word meaning the lord of the Vallas or Pallas. The story of their origin is as follows. Many thousands of years ago, when the inhabitants of the world were rude and ignorant of agriculture, a severe drought fell upon the land, and the people prayed to Bhudevi, the goddess of the earth, for aid. She pitied them, and produced from her body a man carrying a plough, who showed them how to till the soil and support themselves. His offsprings are the Vellalas, who aspire to belong to the Vaisya caste, since that includes Govaisyas, Bhuvaisyas, and Dhanavaisyas (shepherds, cultivators and merchants). A few, therefore, constantly wear the sacred thread, but most put it on only during marriages or funerals as a mark of the sacred nature of the ceremony.”

The traditional story of the origin of the Vellalas is given as follows in the Baramahal Records.48 “In ancient days, when the God Paramesvaradu and his consort the goddess Parvati Devi resided on the top of Kailasa Parvata or mount of paradise, they one day retired to amuse themselves in private, and by chance Visvakarma, the architect of the Devatas or gods, intruded on their privacy, which enraged them, and they said to him that, since he had the audacity to intrude on their retirement, they would cause an enemy of his to be born in the Bhuloka or earthly world, who should punish him for his temerity. Visvakarma requested they would inform him in what part of the Bhuloka or earthly world he would be born, and further added that, if he knew the birth place, he would annihilate him with a single blow. The divine pair replied that the person would spring up into existence from the bowels of the earth on the banks of the Ganga river. On this, Visvakarma took his sword, mounted his aerial car, and flew through the regions of ether to the banks of the Ganga river, where he anxiously waited the birth of his enemy. One day Visvakarma observed the ground to crack near him, and a kiritam or royal diadem appeared issuing out of the bowels of the earth, which Visvakarma mistook for the head of his adversary, and made a cut at it with his sword, but only struck off the kiritam. In the meantime, the person came completely out of the earth, with a bald pate, holding in his hand a golden ploughshare, and his neck encircled with garlands of flowers. The angry Visvakarma instantly laid hold on him, when the Gods Brahma, Vishnu and Siva, and the supporters of the eight corners of the universe, appeared in all their glory, and interceded for the earth-born personage, and said to Visvakarma thou didst vow that thou wouldst annihilate him with a single blow, which vow thou hast not performed; therefore with what justice hast thou a second time laid violent hands on him? Since thou didst not succeed in thy first attempt, it is but equitable that thou shouldst now spare him. At the intercession and remonstrance of the gods, Visvakarma quitted his hold, and a peace was concluded between him and his enemy on the following stipulation, viz., that the pancha jati, or five castes of silversmiths, carpenters, ironsmiths, stone-cutters, and braziers, who were the sons of Visvakarma, should be subservient to the earth-born person. The deities bestowed on the person these three names. First Bhumi Palakudu or saviour of the earth, because he was produced by her. Second, Ganga kulam or descendant of the river Ganga, by reason of having been brought forth on her banks. Third, Murdaka Palakudu or protector of the plough, alluding to his being born with a ploughshare in his hand, and they likewise ordained that, as he had lost his diadem, he should not be eligible to sovereignty, but that he and his descendants should till the ground with this privilege, that a person of the caste should put the crown on the king’s head at the coronation. They next invested him with the yegnopavitam or string, and, in order that he might propagate his caste, they gave him in marriage the daughters of the gods Indra and Kubera. At this time, the god Siva was mounted on a white bullock, and the god Dharmaraja on a white buffalo, which they gave him to plough the ground, and from which circumstance the caste became surnamed Vellal Warus or those who plough with white bullocks. After the nuptials, the deities departed to their celestial abodes. Murdaka Palakulu had fifty-four sons by the daughter of the god Indra, and fifty-two by the daughter of the god Kubera, whom he married to the one hundred and six daughters of Nala Kubarudu, the son of Kubera, and his sons-in-law made the following agreement with him, viz., that thirty-five of them should be called Bhumi Palakulu, and should till the ground; thirty-five of them named Vellal Shetti, and their occupation be traffic; and thirty-five of them named Govu Shetlu, and their employment breeding and feeding of cattle. They gave the remaining one the choice of three orders, but he would not have any connexion with any of them, from whence they surnamed him Agmurdi or the alien. The Agmurdi had born to him two thousand five hundred children, and became a separate caste, assuming the appellation of Agmurdi Vellal Waru. The other brothers had twelve thousand children, who intermarried, and lived together as one caste, though their occupations were different.... During the reign of Krishna Rayalu, whose capital was the city of Vijayanagaram or city of victory, a person of the Vellal caste, named Umbhi or Amultan Mudaliyar, was appointed sarvadhikari or prime minister, who had a samprati or secretary of the caste of Gollavaru or cowherds, whose name was Venayaterthapalli. It so happened that a set of Bhagavata Sevar, or strolling players, came to the city, and one night acted a play in the presence of Krishna Rayalu and his court. In one of the acts, a player appeared in the garb and character of a female cowherd, and, by mimicking the actions and manners of that caste, afforded great diversion both to the Raja and his courtiers. But no person seemed to be so much pleased as the prime minister, which being perceived by his secretary, he determined on making him pay dear for his mirth by turning the Vellal caste into ridicule, and thus hurt his pride, and take revenge for the pleasure he expressed at seeing the follies of the cowherd caste exposed. For that purpose, he requested the players, when they acted another play, to dress themselves up in the habit of a female of the Vellal caste. This scheme came to the ears of the prime minister, who, being a proud man, was sadly vexed at the trick, and resolved on preventing its being carried into execution; but, having none of his own caste present to assist him, and not knowing well how to put a stop to the business, he got into his palanquin, and went to a Canardha Shetti or headman of the right-hand caste, informed him of the circumstance, and begged his advice and assistance. The Shetti replied ‘Formerly the left-hand caste had influence enough with Government to get an order issued forbidding the right-hand caste to cultivate or traffic; therefore, when we quarrel again, do you contrive to prevent the ryots of the Vellal caste from cultivating the ground, so that the public revenue will fall short, and Government will be obliged to grant us our own terms; and I will save you from the disgrace that is intended to be put on you. The prime minister agreed to the proposal, and went home. At night, when the players were coming to the royal presence to act, and one of them had on the habit of a female of the Vellal caste, the Canardha Shetti cut off his head, and saved the honour of the prime minister. The death of the player being reported to the Raja Krishna Rayalu, he enquired into the affair, and finding how matters stood, he directed the prime minister and his secretary to be more circumspect in their conduct, and not to carry their enmity to such lengths.’ Since that time, the Vellal castes have always assisted the right-hand against the left-hand castes.” (See Kammalan.)

At the time of the census, 1871, some Vellalas claimed that they had been seriously injured in reputation, and handled with great injustice, in being classed as Sudras by the Municipal Commissioners of Madras in the classification of Hindus under the four great divisions of Brahmans, Kshatriyas, Vaisyas, and Sudras. In their petition it was stated that “we shall first proceed to show that the Vellalas do come exactly within the most authoritative definition given of Vysias, and then point out that they do not come within the like definition of Sudras. First then to the definition of Vysia, Manu, the paramount authority upon these matters, says in paragraph 90 of his Institutes:—‘To keep herds of cattle, to bestow largesses, to sacrifice, to read the scripture, to carry on trade, to lend at interest, and to cultivate land, are prescribed or permitted to a Vysia.’” In the course of the petition, the Vellalas observed that “it is impossible to imagine that the Vellalas, a race of agriculturists and traders, should have had to render menial service to the three higher classes; for the very idea of service is, as it needs must be, revolting to the Vellala, whose profession teaches him perfect independence, and dependence, if it be, upon the sovereign alone for the protection of his proper interests. Hence a Vellala cannot be of the Sudra or servile class. Besides, that the Vellalas are recognised as a respectable body of the community will also appear from the following. There was a ceremony called tulabharam (weighing in scales) observed by the ancient kings of, at some part of their lives, distributing in charity to the most deserving gold and silver equal to the weight of their persons; and tradition alleges that, when the kings of Tanjore performed this ceremony, the right to weigh the king’s person was accorded to the Vellalan Chettis. This shows that the Vellalas have been recognised as a respectable body of mercantile men in charge of weights and measures (Manu 30, chap. 9). So also, in the Halasya Puranam of Madura, it is said that, when the King Somasundara Pandien, who was supposed to be the very incarnation of Siva, had to be crowned, there arose a contention as to who was to put the crown on his head. After much discussion, it was agreed that one of the Vellalas, who formed the strength of the community (note the fact that Manu says that Vysia came from the thighs of the Supreme Deity, which, as an allegory, is interpreted to mean the strength of the State) should be appointed to perform that part of the ceremony. Also, in Kamban’s Ramayana, written 1,000 and odd years ago, it is said that the priest Vasista handed the crown to a Vellala, who placed it upon great Rama’s head.”

In ‘The Tamils eighteen hundred years ago,’ Mr. V. Kanakasabhai writes that “among the pure Tamils, the class most honoured was the Arivar or Sages. Next in rank to the Arivar were the Ulavar or farmers. The Arivars were ascetics, but, of the men living in society, the farmers occupied the highest position. They formed the nobility, or the landed aristocracy, of the country. They were also called Vellalar, ‘lords of the flood,’ or ‘Karalar,’ ‘lords of the clouds,’ titles expressive of their skill in controlling floods, and in storing water for agricultural purposes. The Chera, Chola and Pandyan Kings, and most of the petty chiefs of Tamilakam, belonged to the tribe of Vellalas. The poor families of Vellalas who owned small estates were generally spoken of as the Veelkudi-Uluvar or ‘the fallen Vellalas,’ implying thereby that the rest of the Vellalas were wealthy land-holders. When Karikal the Great defeated the Aruvalar, and annexed their territory to his kingdom, he distributed the conquered lands among Vellala chiefs.49 The descendants of some of these chiefs are to this day in possession of their lands, which they hold as petty zamindars under the British Government.50 The Vellala families who conquered Vadukam, or the modern Telugu country, were called Velamas, and the great zamindars there still belong to the Velama caste. In the Canarese country, the Vellalas founded the Bellal dynasty, which ruled that country for several centuries. The Vellalas were also called the Gangakula or Gangavamsa, because they derived their descent from the great and powerful tribe named Gangvida, which inhabited the valley of the Ganges, as mentioned by Pliny and Ptolemy. A portion of Mysore which was peopled mostly by Vellalas was called Gangavadi in the tenth and eleventh centuries of the Christian era. Another dynasty of kings of this tribe, who ruled Orissa in the eleventh and twelfth centuries, was known as the Gangavamsa.... In the earliest Tamil grammar extant, which was composed by a Brahman named Tholkappiyan, in the first or second century B.C., frequent allusions are made to the Arivar or Sages. But, in the chapter in which he describes the classes of society, the author omits all mention of the Arivar, and places the Brahmins who wear the sacred thread as the first caste. The kings, he says, very guardedly, and not warriors, form the second caste, as if the three kings Chera, Chola and Pandy could form a caste; all who live by trade belong to the third caste. He does not say that either the kings or the merchants wear the sacred thread. Then he singles out the Vellalas, and states that they have no other calling than the cultivation of the soil. Here he does not say that the Vellalas are Sudras, but indirectly implies that the ordinary Vellalas should be reckoned as Sudras, and that those Vellalas who were kings should be honoured as Kshatriyas. This is the first attempt made by the Brahmins to bring the Tamils under their caste system. But, in the absence of the Kshatriya, Vaisya, and Sudra castes in Tamilakam, they could not possibly succeed; and to this day the Vellala does not take meals at the hands of a Padaiyadchi, who calls himself a Kshatriya, or a merchant who passes for a Vaisya.” In speculating on the origin of the Vellalas, Mr. J. H. Nelson51 states that “tradition uniformly declares them to be the descendants of foreign immigrants, who were introduced by the Pandyas: and it appears to be extremely probable that they are, and that an extensive Vellala immigration took place at a rather remote period, perhaps a little before or after the colonization of the Tonda-mandala by Adondai Chakravarti. The Vellalas speak a pure dialect of Tamil, and no other language. I have not heard of anything extraordinary in the customs prevailing among them, or of any peculiarities pointing to a non-Tamil origin.... With regard to the assertion so commonly made that the Pandyas belonged to the Vellala caste, it is observable that tradition is at issue with it, and declares that the Pandyas proper were Kshatriyas: but they were accustomed to marry wives of inferior castes as well as and in addition to wives of their own caste; and some of their descendants born of the inferior and irregularly married wives were Vellalans, and, after the death of Kun or Sundara Pandya, formed a new dynasty, known as that of the pseudo-Pandyas. Tradition also says that Arya Nayaga Muthali, the great general of the sixteenth century, was dissuaded by his family priest from making himself a king on the ground that he was a Vellalan, and no Vellalan ought to be a king. And, looking at all the facts of the case, it is somewhat difficult to avoid coming to the conclusion that the reason assigned for his not assuming the crown was the true one. This, however, is a question, the settlement of which requires great antiquarian learning: and it must be settled hereafter.”

In the Madras Census Report, 1871, the Vellalas are described as “a peace-loving, frugal, and industrious people, and, in the cultivation of rice, betel, tobacco, etc., have perhaps no equals in the world. They will not condescend to work of a degrading nature. Some are well educated, and employed in Government service, and as clerks, merchants, shop-keepers, etc., but the greater part of them are the peasant proprietors of the soil, and confine their attention to cultivation.” In the Madura Manual, it is recorded that “most Vellalans support themselves by husbandry, which, according to native ideas, is their only proper means of livelihood. But they will not touch the plough, if they can help it, and ordinarily they do everything by means of hired servants and predial slaves. In the Sathaga of Narayanan may be found a description of their duties and position in society, of which the following translation appears in Taylor’s work, the Oriental MSS. The Vellalans, by the effect of their ploughing (or cultivation), maintain the prayers of the Brahmans, the strength of kings, the profits of merchants, the welfare of all. Charity, donations, the enjoyments of domestic life, and connubial happiness, homage to the gods, the Sastras, the Vedas, the Puranas, and all other books, truth, reputation, renown, the very being of the gods, things of good report or integrity, the good order of castes, and (manual) skill, all these things come to pass by the merit (or efficacy) of the Vellalan’s plough. Those Vellalans who are not farmers, husbandmen, or gardeners, are employed in various ways more or less respectable; but none of them will condescend to do work of a degrading nature. Some of them are merchants, some shop-keepers, some Government servants, some sepoys, some domestic servants, some clerks, and so forth.” In the Tanjore Manual, it is stated that “many Vellalars are found in the Government service, more especially as karnams or village accountants. As accountants they are unsurpassed, and the facility with which, in by-gone days, they used to write on cadjan or palmyra leaves with iron styles, and pick up any information on any given points from a mass of these leaves, by lamp-light no less than by daylight, was most remarkable. Running by the side of the Tahsildar’s (native revenue officer) palanquin, they could write to dictation, and even make arithmetical calculations with strictest accuracy. In religious observances, they are more strict than the generality of Brahmans; they abstain from both intoxicating liquors and flesh meat.” In the Coimbatore Manual, the Vellalas are summed up as “truly the backbone of the district. It is they who, by their industry and frugality, create and develop wealth, support the administration, and find the money for imperial and district demands. As their own proverb says:—The Vellalar’s goad is the ruler’s sceptre. The bulk of them call themselves Goundans.” In the Salem Manual, the Vellala is described as “frugal and saving to the extreme; his hard-working wife knows no finery, and the Vellalichi, (Vellala woman) willingly wears for the whole year the one blue cloth, which is all that the domestic economy of the house allows her. If she gets wet, it must dry on her; and, if she would wash her sole garment, half is unwrapped to be operated upon, which in its turn relieves the other half, that is then and there similarly hammered against some stone by the side of the village tank (pond), or on the bank of the neighbouring stream. Their food is the cheapest of the ‘dry’ grains which they happen to cultivate that year, and not even the village feasts can draw the money out of a Vellalar’s clutches. It is all expended on his land, if the policy of the revenue administration of the country be liberal, and the acts of Government such as to give confidence to the ryots or husbandmen; otherwise their hoarded gains are buried. The new moon, or some high holiday, may perhaps see the head of the house enjoy a platter of rice and a little meat, but such extravagance is rare.” The Vellalas are summed up by ‘A Native,’52 as being “found in almost every station of life, from the labourer in the fields to the petty zamindar (landholder); from the owner of plantations to the cooly who works at coffee-picking; from the Deputy Collector to the peon in his office.” It is recorded, in the Census Report, 1871, that a Vellala had passed the M.A. degree examination of the Madras University. The occupations of the Vellalas whom I examined in Madras were as follows:—

In an excellent summary of the Vellalas53 Mr. W. Francis writes as follows. “By general consent, the first place in social esteem among the Tamil Sudra castes is awarded to them. To give detailed descriptions of the varying customs of a caste which numbers, as this does, over two and a quarter millions, and is found all over the Presidency, is unnecessary, but the internal construction of the caste, its self-contained and distinct sub-divisions, and the methods by which its numbers are enhanced by accretions from other castes, are so typical of the corresponding characteristics of the Madras castes, that it seems to be worth while to set them out shortly.

“The caste is first of all split up into four main divisions, named after the tract of country in which the ancestors of each originally resided. These are (1) Tondamandalam, or the dwellers in the Pallava country, the present Chingleput and North Arcot districts, the titles of which division are Mudali, Reddi and Nainar; (2) Soliya (or Sozhia), or men of the Chola country, the Tanjore and Trichinopoly districts of the present day, the members of which are called Pillai; (3) Pandya, the inhabitants of the Pandyan Kingdom of Madura and Tinnevelly, which division also uses the title of Pillai; and (4) Konga, or those who resided in the Konga country, which corresponded to Coimbatore and Salem, the men of which are called Kavandans. The members of all these four main territorial divisions resemble one another in their essential customs. Marriage is either infant or adult, the Puranic wedding ceremonies are followed, and (except among the Konga Vellalas) Brahmans officiate. They all burn their dead, observe fifteen days’ pollution, and perform the karumantaram ceremony to remove the pollution on the sixteenth day. There are no marked occupational differences amongst them, most of them being cultivators or traders. Each division contains both Vaishnavites and Saivites, and (contrary to the rule among the Brahmans) differences of sect are not of themselves any bar to intermarriage. Each division has Pandarams, or priests, recruited from among its members, who officiate at funerals and minor ceremonies, and some of these wear the sacred thread, while other Vellalas only wear it at funerals. All Vellalas perform sraddhas (memorial services), and observe the ceremony of invoking their ancestors on the Mahalaya days (a piece of ritual which is confined to the twice-born and the higher classes of Sudras); all of them decline to drink alcohol or to eat in the houses of any but Brahmans; and all of them may dine together. Yet no member of any of these four main divisions may marry into another, and, moreover, each of them is split into sub-divisions (having generally a territorial origin), the members of which again may not intermarry. Thus Tondamandalam are sub-divided into the Tuluvas, who are supposed to have come from the Tulu country; the Poonamallee (or Pundamalli) Vellalas, so called from the town of that name near Madras; and the Kondaikattis (those who tie their hair in a knot without shaving it). None of these three will intermarry. The Soliya Vellalas are sub-divided into the Vellan Chettis, meaning the Vellala merchants (who are again further split up into three or four other territorial divisions); the Kodikkals (betel-garden), who grow the betel-vine; and the Kanakkilinattar, or inhabitants of Kanakkilinadu. These three similarly may not intermarry, but the last is such a small unit, and girls in it are getting so scarce, that its members are now going to other sub-divisions for their brides. The Pandya Vellalas are sub-divided into the Karkattas or Karaikatus, who, notwithstanding the legends about their origin, are probably a territorial sub-division named from a place called Karaikadu; the Nangudis and Panjais, the origin of whom is not clear; the Arumburs and Sirukudis, so called from villages of those names in the Pandya country; the Agamudaiyans, who are probably recruits from the caste of that name; the Nirpusis, meaning the wearers of the sacred ashes; and the Kottai Vellalas or fort Vellalas. These last are a small sub-division, the members of which live in Srivaikuntam fort (in Tinnevelly), and observe the strictest gosha (seclusion of females). Though they are, as has been seen, a sub-division of a caste, yet their objection to marry outside their own circle is so strong that, though they are fast dying out because there are so few girls among them, they decline to go to the other sub-divisions for brides. [See Kottai Vellala.] The Kongas are sub-divided into the Sendalais (red-headed men), Paditalais (leaders of armies), Vellikkai (the silver hands), Pavalamkatti (wearers of coral), Malaiyadi (foot of the hills), Tollakadu (ears with big holes), Attangarais (river bank), and others, the origin of none of which is clearly known, but the members of which never intermarry. In addition to all these divisions and sub-divisions of the Vellala caste proper, there are nowadays many groups which really belong to quite distinct castes, but which call themselves Vellalas, and pretend that they belong to that caste, although in origin they had no connection with it. These nominally cannot intermarry with any of the genuine Vellalas, but the caste is so widely diffused that it cannot protect itself against these invasions, and, after a few generations, the origin of the new recruits is forgotten, and they have no difficulty in passing themselves off as real members of the community. The same thing occurs among the Nayars in Malabar. It may be imagined what a mixture of blood arises from this practice, and how puzzling the variations in the cranial measurements of Vellalas taken at random are likely to become. Instances of members of other castes who have assumed the name and position of the Vellalas are the Vettuva Vellalas, who are really Vettuvans; the Puluva Vellalas, who are only Puluvans; the Illam Vellalas, who are Panikkans; the Karaiturai (lord of the shore) Vellalas, who are Karaiyans; the Karukamattai (palmyra leaf-stem) Vellalas, who are Shanans; the Gazulu (bangle) Vellalas, who are Balijas; the Guha (Rama’s boat-man) Vellalas, who are Sembadavans; and the Irkuli Vellalas, who are Vannans. The children of dancing-girls also often call themselves Mudali, and claim in time to be Vellalas; and even Paraiyans assume the title Pillai, and trust to its eventually enabling them to pass themselves off as members of the caste.” The name Acchu Vellala has been assumed by some Karaiyans, and Pattanavans call themselves Varunakula Vellala or Varunakula Mudali, after Varuna, the god of the waters. At times of census, many hill Malayalis return themselves as Vellalas, in accordance with their tradition that they are Vellalas who migrated to the hills. Some thieving Koravas style themselves Aghambadiar Vellala or Pillai, and have to some extent adopted the dress and manners of the Vellalas.54 In Travancore, to which State some Vellalas have migrated, males of the Deva-dasi (dancing-girl) caste sometimes call themselves Nanchinad Vellalas. There is a Tamil proverb to the effect that a Kallan may come to be a Maravan. By respectability he may develop into an Agamudaiyan, and, by slow degrees, become a Vellala. According to another proverb, the Vellalas are compared to the brinjal (Solanum Melongena) fruit, which will mix palatably with anything.

The account of the divisions and sub-divisions of the Vellalas recorded above may be supplemented from various sources:—

1. Arampukutti, or Arambukatti (those who tie flower-buds). According to Mr. J. A. Boyle,55 the name indicates Vellalas with wreaths of the aram flower, which is one of the decorations of Siva. They are, he writes, “a tribal group established in a series of villages in the Ramnad territory. The family tradition runs that they emigrated five centuries ago from the Tondamandalam, and that the migration was made in devendra vimanam or covered cars; and this form of vehicle is invariably used in marriage ceremonies for the conveyance of the bride and bridegroom round the village. The women never wear a cloth above the waist, but go absolutely bare on breast and shoulders. The two rivers which bound this district on the north and south are rigid limits to the travels of the women, who are on no pretext allowed to cross them. It is said that, if they make vows to the deity of a celebrated temple in Tanjore, they have to perform their pilgrimage to the temple in the most perfect secrecy, and that, if detected, they are fined. Intermarriage is prohibited ‘beyond the rivers.’ It is, with the men, a tradition never to eat the salt of the Sirkar (Government), or take any service under Government.”

2. Chetti. The members of the Vellalan subdivision of Chetti are “said to be pure Vellalas, who have taken the title of Chetti. In ancient times, they had the prerogative of weighing the person of kings on occasion of the Tulabharam ceremony. (See Tulabharam.) They were, in fact, the trading class of the Tamil nation in the south. But, after the immigration of the more skilful Telugu Komatis and other mercantile classes, the hereditary occupation of the Vellan Chettis gradually declined, and consequently they were obliged to follow different professions. The renowned poet Pattanattar is said to have belonged to this caste.”56

3. Karaikkat or Karkatta. The name is said to mean Vellalas who saved or protected the clouds, or waiters for rain. Their original profession is said to have been rain-making. Their mythological origin is as follows.

“In old times, a quarrel happened between the Raja of Pandya desa and the god Devendra, and things went to such lengths that the angry god commanded the clouds not to send down any rain on Pandya desa, so that the inhabitants were sorely distressed by the severe drought, and laid their complaints before the Raja, who flew into a rage, marched his army against Devendra, defeated him in battle, seized on the clouds and put them in prison, in consequence of which not a drop of rain fell on any part of the Bhuloka or earthly world, which threw the people into a great consternation, and the whole with one accord addressed their prayers to Devendra, the god of the firmament, and beseeched him to relieve them from their present distress. Devendra sent an ambassador to the Raja of Pandya desa, and requested that he would release the clouds, but he refused to do it unless they gave security for their future good behaviour, and likewise promise that they would never again withhold the rain from falling in due season on his kingdom. At this juncture, the Vellal caste of Pandya desa became security for the clouds, and, from that circumstance, were surnamed Karakava Vellal Waru, or redeemers of the clouds.”57 In an interesting account of the Karaikat Vellalas of the Palni hills by Lieutenant Ward in 1824,58 it is recorded that “their ceremonies, it is said, are performed by Pandarams, although Brahmans usually officiate as priests in their temples. They associate freely with the Kunnavans, and can eat food dressed by them, as also the latter can eat food dressed by a Karakat Vellalan. But, if a Kunnavan is invited to the house of a Karakat Vellalan, he must not touch the cooking utensils, or enter the cooking-room. Wives are accustomed, it is supposed, to grant the last favor to their husband’s relations. Adultery outside the husband’s family entails expulsion from caste, but the punishment is practically not very severe, inasmuch as a Kunnavan can always be found ready to afford protection and a home to the divorcÉe. A man who disgraces himself by an illicit connection with a woman of a lower caste than his own is punished in a similar manner. Formerly the punishment was in either case death.” It is recorded59 that “in 1824 the Karakat Vellalas were accustomed to purchase and keep predial slaves of the Poleiya caste, giving thirty fanams for a male, and fifty for a female. The latter was held to be the more valuable, as being likely to produce children for the benefit of her owner.” It is said that, among the Karaikkat Vellalas, a peculiar ceremony, called vilakkidu kalyanam, or the auspicious ceremony of lighting the light, is performed for girls in the seventh or ninth year or later, but before marriage. The ceremony consists in worshipping Ganesa and the Sun at the house of the girls’ parents. Her maternal uncle gives her a necklace of gold beads and coral, and a new cloth. All the relations, who are invited to be present, make gifts to the girl. The women of this section wear this ornament, which is called kodachimani (hooked jewel), even after marriage.

4. Kondaikatti. Said60 to consider themselves as the highest and proudest of the Vellalas, because, during the Nabob’s Government, they were employed in the public service. They are extremely strict in their customs, not allowing their women to travel by any public conveyance, and punishing adultery with the utmost severity.

Kondaikatti literally means one who ties his hair in a knob on the top of his head, but the name is sometimes derived from kondai, a crown, in connection with the following legend. A quarrel arose between the Komatis and Vellalas, as to which of them should be considered Vaisyas. They appeared before the king, who, being unable to decide the point at issue, gave each party five thousand rupees, and told them to return after trading for five years. The Vellalas spent one-fifth of the sum which they received in cultivating land, while the Komatis spent the whole sum in trading. At the end of the allotted time, the Vellalas had a bumper crop of sugar-cane, and all the canes contained pearls. The Komatis showed only a small profit. The king was so pleased with the Vellalas, that he bestowed on them the right to crown kings.

5. Kumbakonam. Vellalas, who migrated from Kumbakonam in the Tanjore district to Travancore.

6. Kummidichatti. Recorded, in the Manual of the North Arcot district, as a sub-division, regarded as low in position, which carried the pot (chatti) of fire at Vellala funerals. It is said that, in default of Kummidichattis, ordinary Vellalas now have to carry their own fire at funerals.

7. Nangudi or Savalai Pillaimar. (See Nangudi.)

8. Tendisai (southern country). They are found in the Coimbatore district, and it has been suggested that they are only a branch of the Konga Vellalas.

9. Tenkanchi. Vellalas, who migrated from Tenkasi in the Tinnevelly district to Travancore. (See Todupuzha Vellala.)

10. Tuluva. Immigrants from the Tulu country, a part of the modern district of South Canara. Mr. Nelson61 is of opinion that these are the original Vellalas, who were invited to Tondamandalam after its conquest by the Chola King Adondai Chakravarti. They are now found in all the Tamil districts, but are most numerous in North and South Arcot and Chingleput. It is noted, in Carr’s “Descriptive and historical papers relating to the Seven Pagodas,” that “Adondai chiefly distinguished Kanchipuram (Conjeeveram) and Tripati as his place of residence or capital. The era of Adondai is not higher up than the seventh century of our reckoning. He is said to have brought the Brahmans from Sri Sailam in Telingana, and certainly attracted a large colony of Sudra Vellalas, or agriculturists, from Tuluva or northern Canara.” At Conjeeveram, there are a Nattar and a Desayi, whose authority, in olden times, extended over the whole Presidency. The Nattar must be a Tuluva Vellala, and the Desai a Ralla Balija. The two offices conjointly are known as the Nadu Desam. The authority of these officers has in great measure ceased, but some still go to the Nadu Desam for appeal. For purposes of caste organisation, Conjeeveram is regarded as the head-quarters. All sections of the Tondamandalam Vellalas are divided into twenty-four kottams and seventy-nine nadus. The latter are subject to the former.

The following legendary account of the Tondamandalam Vellalas is given in the Baramahal Records. “During the reign of a certain Raja of Choladesa, a kingdom supposed to have comprised the present provinces south of the river Kaveri, the countries between the Kistna and Kaveri were quite a wilderness, in which many families of the Kurbavar caste or shepherds resided here and there in villages surrounded by mud walls. On a time, the Raja came forth into the wilds to take the diversion of hunting, and, in traversing the woods, he came to a place in the vicinity of the present town of Conjeeveram in the Kingdom of Arcot, where he met with a Naga Kanya or celestial nymph, fell in love with her, and asked her to yield to his embraces. She replied, ‘If I consent to your proposal, and bear you a son, will you make him your successor in the kingdom?’ He rejoined ‘I will,’ and she asked him who should witness his promise. He answered ‘the earth and sky,’ but she said that two witnesses were not sufficient, and that there must be a third. There happened to be a tree called adhonda near them, and the Raja replied ‘Let the fruit of this adhonda tree be the third witness.’ When she was satisfied respecting the witnesses, she granted the Raja his desires, and, after he had remained with her a short time, he took his leave, and returned to his metropolis, and, in a little while, abdicated his throne in favour of his eldest son, who managed the affairs of the kingdom. To return to the Naga Kanya, she conceived and brought forth a son, who remained with her three or four years, and then visited the different Rishis or hermits who resided in the forest, and learnt from them to use the sword, the bow and arrow, and the art of war, and obtained from them a knowledge of the whole circle of sciences. By this time he had attained the age of sixteen years, and, coming to his mother, he requested her to tell him who was his father. She answered ‘Thy father is the Chola Raja.’ He replied ‘I will go to him, but who is to bear witness to the truth of your assertion?’ She rejoined ‘The earth, sky, and the fruit of the adhonda tree are witness to what I have told you.’ The son plucked one of the berries of the adhonda tree, hung it by a string to his neck, took his sword and other weapons, and set out for his father’s capital. He one day took an opportunity of accompanying some of the nobles to the darbar, and called out to the old Raja ‘Behold your son.’ The Raja replied ‘I know nothing of thee;’ upon which the young man repeated everything which his mother had told him, but it had no effect on the Raja. When the son found that his father was determined not to acknowledge him he challenged him to single combat, but the Raja, not thinking it proper to accept a challenge from a rash youth, demanded if he had any witnesses to prove his claim. He answered ‘The earth and sky, and the fruit of the adhonda tree, which I wear suspended from my neck, are witnesses to the truth of my assertion.’ This circumstance brought the old occurrence to the Raja’s recollection, and he owned his son, and told him that, as he had already abdicated the throne, he trusted he would not insist upon the fulfilling of the promise which had been made to his mother, but consent to live in a private station under the dominion of his elder half-brother. The young man nobly replied ‘I with pleasure waive the performance of your promise, but point out to me your enemy, and assist me with some troops, and I will conquer a kingdom for myself.’ The Raja gave him an army, and directed him to subdue the Kurubavaru or shepherds, to clear the woods, and to form himself a kingdom between the rivers Kistna and Kaveri. He accordingly advanced into the wilderness, and, without meeting much opposition, soon subjected the Kurubavaru, who, knowing nothing of cultivation or sinking of tanks or watering the country from the rivers, and the conqueror wishing to introduce agriculture among them, he was obliged to repair to his father, and make known his difficulties. The Raja was much pleased with the enterprising spirit of his son, conferred on him the title of Adhonda Chakra, wrote and permitted him to take with him such of the Vellala caste as chose to emigrate. The young Raja held out great encouragement, and got a number of adventurers of that caste to accompany him back, to whom he gave large grants of waste land, and told them to pitch upon such spots of ground as met with their approbation, and they fixed upon the forts, districts, and villages belonging to the Kurubavaru caste, which consisted of twenty-four forts, eighty-one districts, and one thousand and nine hundred villages. This country was formerly named Dandaka Aranya. Dandaka is the name of a famous Rakshasa or Giant, who is mentioned in the Ramayana, and Aranya signifies a wilderness. It was also called Dhuntra Nadu, or the middle country, and the new Raja named it Dhanda Mandalam, or country of the tree dhonda, alluding to the fruit of the adhonda or dhonda tree, which bore testimony to his descent. The emigrants of the Vellala caste surnamed themselves Dhonda Mandala Vellala varu, and are now corruptly called Tondamandala Vellala varu.”

In connection with the sub-divisions of the Vellalas, Mr. Hemingway, in a note on the Vellalas of the Trichinopoly district, gives some still further information. “The Kondaikattis are so-called from the peculiar way in which they used to wear their hair—a custom no longer observed. They are split into two sections, called Melnadu and Kilnadu (westerns and easterns). The Dakshinattans (south country men) are immigrants from Tinnevelly. The members of the Karaikkattar sub-division in the Udaiyarpalaiyam taluk are rather looked down on by other Vellalans as being a mixed race, and are also somewhat contemptuously called Yeruttu-mattu (pack-bullocks), because, in their professional calling, they formerly used pack-bullocks. They have a curious custom by which a girl’s maternal uncle ties a tali (marriage badge) round her neck when she is seven or eight years old. The Panjukkara Chettis live in the Udaiyarpalaiyam taluk. The name is an occupational one, and denotes cotton-men, but they are not at the present day connected with the cotton trade. The Solapuram (or Cholapuram) Chettis are apparently called after the village of that name in the Kumbakonam taluk of Tanjore. The Solias (or Cholias) are numerous and ubiquitous. They are generally regarded as of doubtful descent, since parvenus, who wish to be considered Vellalans, usually claim to belong to this sub-division. The more respectable Pandarams, the Thambirans who own temples and matams, and the Oduvar or Adi Saival, belong to the Sozhia section. The Uttunattu sub-division is local in origin. Its head-quarters is the country round Uttatur. The members thereof are the special devotees of the Siva of that place. The Arunattus (six nadus) are also called Mottai (shaved) Vellalans, apparently because they always shave their moustache, and wear only a very small kudumi (hair-knot). Some of their customs are unlike those of the rest of the caste. They have exogamous septs, their widows always dress in white and wear no ornaments (a rule not universally observed in any other sub-division), they never marry their sister’s daughter, and their wives wear the tali (marriage badge), like the Panta Reddis, on a golden thread. Of their six nadus, three of which are supposed to have been located on each side of the Aiyar river, only two are now recognised. These are the Serkudi nadu in Namakkal taluk and the Omandur nadu of Musiri. The Yelur (seven villages) Vellalas are very few and far between. There is a small colony of Tuluvas, engaged in dyeing, at Illuppur. The Malaikandas are only found near the Ratnagiri hill in the Kulittalai taluk. They take their name from the fact that they are required to look at the Ratnagiri hill when they get up in the morning. They are devotees of the god there. The Kaniyalans (landowners) are scarce, but widely distributed, since the man who carries the pot of blood, when animals are sacrificed at festivals to the village goddesses, must belong to this sub-division. The Kodikkal Vellalans are so-called from their occupation of betel cultivation, which they still pursue largely.”

The Konga Vellalas differ so strikingly from the rest in many of their customs that a separate account of them is given. (See Konga Vellala.)

It is noted by Mr. Hemingway that some Vellalas “observe a curious custom (derived from Brahmans) with regard to marriage, which is not unknown among other communities. A man marrying a second wife after the death of his first has to marry a plantain tree, and cut it down before tying the tali, and, in the case of a third marriage, a man has to tie a tali first to the erukkan (arka: Calotropis gigantea) plant. The idea is that second and fourth wives do not prosper, and the tree and the plant are accordingly made to take their places.”

A peculiar ceremony, called Sevvai (Tuesday) Pillayar, is performed by some Vellala women. It is also called Avvai Nonbu, because the Tamil poetess observed it. The ceremony takes place twice in the year, on a Tuesday in the months of Thai (February-March) and Audi (August-September). It is held at midnight, and no males, even babies in arms, may be present at it, or eat the cakes which are offered. A certain number of women club together, and provide the necessary rice, which is measured on the back of the hand, or in a measure similar to those used by Madras milk-sellers, in which the bottom is fixed high up in the cylinder. At the house where the ceremony is to be performed the rice is pounded into flour, and mixed with leaves of Pongamia glabra and margosa (Melia Azadirachta). The mixture is then made into cakes, some flat, and some conical, to represent Pillayar (Ganesa). Flowers, fruits, betel, turmeric, combs, kunkumam (red powder), and other articles required in connection with the Pillayar worship, are also taken to the room in which the rites are performed. Of these it has been impossible to gather an account, as the women refused to describe them, lest ruin should fall on their families. Some say that, during the ceremony, the women are stark-naked.

In an account of an annual ceremony at Trichinopoly in connection with the festival of Kulumai Amman, who is the guardian deity against epidemics, Bishop Whitehead records62 that “a very fat pujari (priest) of the Vellala caste is lifted up above the vast crowd on the arms of two men. Some two thousand kids are then sacrificed, one after the other. The blood of the first eight or nine is collected in a large silver vessel holding about a quart, and handed up to the pujari, who drinks it. Then, as the throat of each kid is cut, the animal is handed up to him, and he sucks, or pretends to suck the blood out of the carcase.”

Of proverbs relating to the Vellalas, the following may be cited:—

Agriculture is no agriculture, unless it is performed by the Vellalas.

The Vellala ruined himself by gaudy dress; the courtesan ruined herself by coquetry and affectation.

Of all the sections of the Sudras, the Vellala is foremost; and, of all the thefts committed in the world, those of the Kallans are most notorious.

Though you may face an evil star, never oppose a Vellala.

Though apparently the Vellala will not ruin you, the palm leaf, on which he writes about you, will certainly ruin you for ever.

In the Madras Census Report, 1891, Vellala is recorded as a caste of Jains. In this connection, it is noted by Mr. Hemingway that the Nainans or Nayinars (q.v.) and the Karaikkattans of the Udaiyarpalaiyam taluk are thought to be descended from Jains who were converted to the Hindu faith.

Vellan Chetti.—A name, denoting Vellala merchant, taken by some Vellalas.

Velli (silver).—See Belli.

Velnati.—A sub-division of Kapu, named after the old Velnadu division of the Telugu country.

Veloma.—Defined as “one of the two classes of Sudras, viz., Anuloma and Veloma. The term Veloma is applied to those born of a lower caste male and higher caste female.”

Veluttedan.—The Veluttedan is defined in the Madras Census Report, 1891, as “the washerman of the Nayars and higher castes in Malabar. He calls himself a Nayar, and, in many cases, was returned as of that main caste, but these have been separated in abstraction. The caste is called Vannattan in North Malabar. The Veluttedans follow the marumakkatayam law of inheritance in the north, and makkatayam in the south. They have tali-kettu and sambandham separately. Their dress and habits are the same as those of Nayars.” In the Madras Census Report, 1901, Bannata is given as a Canarese synonym for the caste name. In the Travancore and Cochin Census Reports, 1901, Veluttetan and Veluthedan are given respectively as an occupational title and sub-division of Nayars.

For the following note on the Veluttedans of Travancore, I am indebted to Mr. N. Subramani Aiyar. The name is believed to signify a place where clothes are bleached. In the early Settlement Records the designation recorded is Ayavu, in all probability an old synonym for washing. The South Travancore Veluttedans are said to be divided into two endogamous septs, Paravur and Attingal, with four exogamous septs in each; but these distinctions may be said to have now lost their vigour and force. There is a current tradition that once upon a time a Brahman was washing cloths for a friend, and was on that account thrown out of caste by Parasurama. The occupation of the Veluttedans is washing cloths for all high-caste Hindus down to the Sudras, in which profession, for neatness and purity at any rate, if not for promptitude, they stand above the Vannans and Chayakkarans of the east coast, both of whom have now entered the field in competition with them, and, at least in the most civilised parts of the State, not entirely without success. In no case do the castemen receive cloths from classes lower in social rank than the Sudras, and this is pointed to with pride as one of the causes which keep them in their present elevated scale. It need hardly be said that, in their traditional occupation, the Veluttedans are largely and materially assisted by their females, the Veluttedathis. They do not live in a group together, but are conveniently scattered about, so as to avoid competition one with another. Their main profession is, in many cases, supplemented by agriculture. There are absolutely no educated men among them, and, as long as machine-laundries are not introduced into the country, they have no reason to abandon the profession of their forefathers in pursuit of alien ones. In the matter of food and drink, as also in their dress and ornaments, they resemble the Nayars. Clothes, it may be mentioned, are never bought by Veluttedans, as they are always in possession, though temporarily, of other peoples’ apparel. Tattooing prevails only in South Travancore. They cannot enter Brahmanical shrines, but are permitted to stand outside the talakkal or stone-paved walk round the inner sanctuary, by which the image is taken in daily procession. Besides standing here and worshipping the higher Hindu deities, they also engage in the propitiation of the minor village deities. There are two headmen in each village, who punish social delinquents, and preside over caste ceremonials. On the twenty-eighth day after the birth of a child, the name-giving ceremony is performed, and a thread is tied round the infant’s neck. Those who can afford it celebrate the first food-giving. The tali-tying and sambandham ceremonies are performed separately, just like Nayars. The former is known as muhurtham or auspicious occasion. The marriage badge is called unta minnu or puliyilla minnu. The details of the marriage ceremony do not differ from those of the Nayars. The ayani unu, bhutakkalam, appam poli, and avaltitti are all important items, and, at least in South Travancore, seldom failed to be gone through. In poor families the mother, without any formal ceremonial, ties the tali of the girl before she is twelve years old, after an oblation of cooked food to the rising sun. This is called Bhagavan tali, or god’s marriage ornament. Freedom of divorce and remarriage exist. The pulikuti (tamarind) is an indispensable ceremonial, to be gone through by a pregnant woman. Inheritance devolves in the female line (marumakkattayam). The clothes washed by Veluttedans are used by Nambutiri Brahmans, without previous washing as on the east coast, for all religious purposes; and clothes polluted by a member of a low caste are purified by the Veluttedan sprinkling ashes and water over them.

Vemu (margosa or nim: Melia Azadirachta).—An exogamous sept of Muka Dora.

Vengai Puli (cruel-handed tiger).—An exogamous section of Kallan.

Veralu Iche Kapulu or Velu Iche Kapulu (those who dedicate their fingers).—See Morasu.

Veshya (Sansk: Beshya).—A name denoting prostitute, applied to dancing-girls.

Vetagiri.—A Tamil class found in the Chingleput district. The members thereof are employed in hunting, cultivation, and the manufacture of wild date baskets. Their title is Nayakan.

Vettaikaran (hunter).—An occupational name of Boyas, Irulas, and Koravas, returned at times of census.

Vettile (betel vine: Piper Betle).—A kothu or tree of Kondaiyamkotti Maravans.

Vettiyan.—Vettiyan is the name applied to one of the officials of a Tamil Paraiyan settlement, who is also called Toti or Thotti. The former title is said to be more respectful as an appellation than the latter, but this is a distinction without a difference.63 The name Vettiyan is said to be equivalent to Bittiyan (bitti, for nothing), or one who does service, e.g., collecting grass, firewood, etc., without remuneration. Toti is derived from thott, to go round, as he is the purveyor of news, and has to summon people to appear before the village tribunal, or from tondu, to dig.

The duties of the Vettiyan are multifarious. He it is who goes round the rice fields, and diverts the water-courses to the various fields, according to the rights of the ryots (agriculturists). The Vettiyan beats the drum for public notices and ceremonies. As a servant of Government, he has to carry the revenue which has been collected to the treasury. He is sometimes entrusted with large sums of money, and has never been known to abscond with it. It is said that the Village Munsiff will trust the Vettiyan, but not the Taliari, who is never sent alone with money. The Vettiyan is in charge of the burial ground, and those who repair thither have to pay him for his services. He is also the grave-digger, and officiates when a Paraiyan corpse is burnt or buried. Hence the Tamil proverb against meddling in what ought to be left to some one else:—“Let the Vettiyan and corpse struggle together.” At a Paraiyan funeral, the Vettiyan, in some places, carries the pot of fire to the grave. To bring down rain, some of the lower classes, 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 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, 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.

At Paraiyan marriages certain pots are worshipped, and it is, in some places, the Vettiyan who says “The sun, the moon, the pots, and the owner of the girl have come to the marriage booth. So make haste, and fill the pots with water.”

The office of the Vettiyan village official is hereditary, and the holder of it is entitled to some respect among his brethren, and to certain emoluments in kind, e.g., grain at the harvest season. There is a proverb that “whatever may be the wealth of the lord who comes to rule over him, his duty of supplying him with a bundle of grass is not to cease.” This relates to the demands which were, and perhaps are still, made on him in rural parts of the country. In some places, lands, called Vettiyan Maniyam, are given rent-free to Vettiyans.

The Vettiyan is said to possess the right of removing dead cattle from villages, and in return to supply leather for agricultural purposes. He is further said to make drum heads and tom-toms from raw hides.64

The Vettiyans belong to the right-hand section during disputes between the right and left hand factions.

Vettuvan.—The Tamil Vettuvans are described, in the Madras Census Report, 1901, as “an agricultural and hunting caste, found mainly in Salem, Coimbatore, and Madura. The name means ‘a hunter.’ They are probably of the same stock as the Vedans, though the exact connection is not clear, but they now consider themselves superior to that caste, and are even taking to calling themselves Vettuva Vellalas. Tradition says that the Konga kings invited Vettuvans from the Chola and Pandya countries to assist them against the Keralas. Another story says that the caste helped the Chola king Aditya Varma to conquer the Kongu country during the latter part of the ninth century. In paragraph 538 of the Census Report, 1891, reference is made to the belief that the Vedans are identical with the Veddahs of Ceylon. In connection with this supposition, it is reported that the Vettuvans worship a goddess called Kandi-Amman, which may possibly mean ‘the goddess of Kandy’ (in Ceylon). Of the endogamous sections into which the caste is divided, the most numerically important are Venganchi, Kilangu (root), Pasari, Viragu (firewood), Pannadai (sheath of the cocoanut leaf), and Villi (bow). They have their own barbers, who seem also to form a separate sub-division, and are called Vettuva Ambattans or Navidans, both of which words mean barber. They are said to refuse to serve any one lower than a Konga Vellala. Nominally they are Hindus, but they are said to worship the seven Kannimars, or aboriginal goddesses, to whom the Irulas also pay homage. They eat meat and drink alcohol, though some of those who are endeavouring to increase their social repute are taking to vegetarianism. Widow marriage is forbidden. They either burn or bury the dead, but no ceremonies are performed for deceased ancestors. Their customs are thus a curious mixture of those followed by high castes and low ones. Their ordinary title is Kavandan.”

Of the Malayalam Vettuvans, who live in Malabar and the southern portion of the South Canara district, it is recorded, in the Madras Census Report, 1901, that they are “agricultural serfs, shikaris (hunters), and collectors of forest produce, who live in the Malabar jungles. They have two endogamous sub-divisions, called Kodi and Peringala. The former keep their hair long, and their women wear a cloth. The latter have top-knots, and their women dress in leaves, which they wear only round their waists, and renew daily. The latter are an unclean set of people, who live in rude bamboo and reed huts, and will eat anything down to carrion. Yet they consider themselves superior to Cherumans and Pulaiyans, and are careful not to be polluted by them. This same name is also borne by a class of masons and salt-workers in the low country in Malabar.”

The Malabar Vettuvans are said to have a fantastic legend, showing that they were not originally as low as they are at the present day in the social scale. “It is related that one of their tribe went and asked a high-caste Nayar to give him a daughter in marriage. The Nayar offered to do so on condition that the whole tribe would come to his place and dance on berries, each one who fell to be shot with arrows. The tribe foolishly agreed to the condition, and went and danced, with the result that, as each one tripped and fell, he or she was mercilessly shot dead with arrows. A little girl who survived this treatment was secretly rescued, and taken away by a compassionate Nayar, who married her into his family. From this union, the present day Vettuvans affirm their origin is to be traced. Up to this day they hold the caste of that particular Nayar in very great veneration.”65 The costume of these Vettuvans has been described as follows.66 “The men wear a short loin-cloth, secured round the waist by a belt which is also used as a sling during hunting expeditions. They also wear brass ear-rings, and grow a bit of moustache, and a little stumpy beard. The dress of the women consists of three clusters of long leaves, suspended from the waist and tied on by a cheap girdle. According to a tribal legend, when, in the morning of time, costumes were being distributed by the deity to the various races of the earth, the Vettuva women, being asked to choose between a costume which needed to be changed daily, and one which needed to be changed only yearly, readily expressed a preference for the former, and the deity, considering this an unpardonable piece of vanity, decreed that thenceforth the women should dress in leaves gathered fresh every morning. Whenever it is suggested to them that they should adopt some more lasting apparel, the Vettuva women answer that they are carrying out the mandate of the deity, and can abandon their present dress only if the deity appears in person, and sanctions a change.”

On the occasion of a recent visit of the Governor of Madras to South Canara, a party of Vettuvans was paraded before him. One of the men was wearing an aluminium coronation medal, and, on being asked by the Collector who had given it to him, he folded his arms obsequiously, and replied ‘My Tamburan’ (landlord).

In a recent note on the leaf-wearing Vettuvans, it is stated that “they believe that the sun travels, after it has set, through a hole in the bowels of the earth, and emerges at morning in the east. The way they calculate time is interesting. A Vettuvan says that his children were born when his master sowed paddy (rice) on such and such hills. They are a very truthful lot, of good moral character, the chastity of their womankind being held very sacred.”

The Malabar Vettuvans are summed up by Mr. T. K. Gopal Panikkar67 as being “not exactly slaves, but their social position justifies their classification amongst the slave races. They live on the cocoanut plantations of the Nairs, and other well-to-do classes. They lead a hand-to-hand existence on the wages which they obtain for hedging and fencing cocoanut plantations, plucking cocoanuts, tilling, and other allied work. They live, with their wives and children, and sometimes other relations as well, in houses small but more decent-looking than the mere huts of the other lower classes. In point of caste restrictions they are certainly better circumstanced; and their daily contact with the higher classes in the ordinary concerns of life affords them greater facilities for increased knowledge and civilisation than their brother citizens of the slave races enjoy. They are much addicted to toddy-drinking, but their principal food is rice. Their condition is never so intolerably wretched as that of the other classes. They are sometimes employed by cultivators for agricultural purposes. Their females occupy themselves in the fields during the harvest season, but they also make thatch for houses of cocoanut leaves woven after a set model during the thatching season about December or January. Their males wear ear-rings of brass, and their females adorn themselves with nose, finger, and neck ornaments of brass or beads. The one piece of cloth supplied annually by the masters, to whose plantations they are attached, forms the dress both for males and females, which they tie round their waists. They do not eat carrion, but are exceedingly fond of fish, the flesh of the civet, and the rat, and of some other animals not generally eaten by other classes. They observe death pollution like the higher classes of Malabar, and the period of observance varies according to the particular class or caste, to which their masters belong. For instance, if they belong to a Nair’s plantation, such period is fifteen days, and, if to a Brahmin’s, it is ten days; Nairs and Brahmins observing pollution for these periods respectively. The priests who officiate at their ceremonials are selected from among their own tribesmen or Enangers, whose express recognition is necessary to give validity to the performance of the ceremony. Their marriage customs are very like those of the Tiyyars, excepting that the feasting and revelry are not so pompous in their case. Like the Nairs, they retain the front knot. The only offences of general occurrence among them are petty cases of theft of cocoanuts, plantains, areca nuts, and roots of common occurrence. The Vettuvans believe in a Supreme Creator, whom they name and invoke as Paduchathampuram, i.e., the king who created us. Likewise, they believe in certain evil deities, to whom they make offerings at particular times of the year. They are not, like the other classes, distinguished by loyalty to their masters, but are a very ungrateful sect, and their very name, viz., Nambu Vettuvan, has passed into a bye-word for ingratitude of all kinds.”

It is recorded, in the Gazetteer of Malabar, that “the Vettuvans of Chirakkal taluk are a low caste of jungle cultivators and basket makers, distinguished by the survival amongst their women of the custom of dressing in leaves, their only clothing being a kind of double fan-shaped apron of leaves tied round the waist with a rolled cloth. They live in huts made of split bamboo and thatched with elephant grass, called kudumbus. The Vettuvans are divided into fourteen illams, which seem to be named after the house names of the janmis (landlords) whom they serve. Their headmen, who are appointed by their janmis, are called Kiran, or sometimes Parakutti (drummer). Amongst the Vettuvans, when labour begins, the woman is put in a hole dug in a corner of the hut, and left there alone with some water till the cry of the child is heard.” For the following note on the Vettuvans of the Cochin State, I am indebted to Mr. L. K. Anantha Krishna Aiyar.68

“The Vettuvans are also called Vettuva Pulayas. They are pure agricultural labourers, taking part in every kind of work connected with agriculture, such as ploughing, sowing, weeding, transplanting, pumping water, and reaping. They are more day labourers. The males get two edangazhis of paddy (hardly worth 2 annas), and the females an edangazhi and a half. In times of scarcity, they find it difficult to support themselves.

“When an unmarried woman becomes pregnant, her parents, as soon as they become aware of the fact, inform their local headman (Kanakkan or Kuruppan), who convenes a meeting of the elderly members of the community for the purpose of summoning the secret lover, and prosecuting the necessary enquiries. In the event of the confession of the charge, he is asked to marry her. The matter does not end there. They go to the local Thandan, and relate to him the incident, who thereupon gives him water in a vessel (kindi vellam). The woman is asked to drink this as well as some cow-dunged water, and is then made to let flow a few drops of blood from the body. After this he says ‘dhosham thirnu’ (free from guilt). Should, however, the lover be unwilling to marry her, he is thrashed and placed under a ban. If they are related to each other, they are both turned out of caste. The woman who is freed from guilt can marry again. The Thandan gets as his perquisite four annas out of the fine imposed, four packets of betel leaf, eight areca nuts, and three tobacco leaves. Their headman also has a share of the fine, etc. The balance which then remains is spent on toddy, and beaten rice for those assembled.

Vettuvans.

“The Vettuvans profess the lower forms of Hinduism. Their chief gods are Chevva, Chathan, Karinkutti, Parakutti, Kappiri and Kandakaranan, and also Namburi Thamburan. They give regular offerings to them, lest the gods should become angry, and cause serious calamities to the members of their families. Images of gods are made of bell-metal, and worshipped in their huts. The deceased ancestors are also worshipped as gods, to whom are given a different kind of offerings. Toddy is an indispensable item in their offerings to them. In Ooragam and its neighbourhood, when I took my notes on the Vettuvans, I was told that there was no tree-tapping, and that toddy brought to them for sale was largely adulterated with water, and very costly. Their gods were very angry, for they were not satisfied with it. They caused fever, deafness, blindness, and other disorders. They worship Kali also. Kumbhom Bharani is an important festival to them. On the morning of this day, tunes are played in honour of the goddess. There are special songs called Thottampattu. Sacrifices are offered to the deity very early. A puja (worship) is also performed for the sword, anklets, and bells worn round the loins, all placed in front of the deity, and songs are again sung. One of them turns a Velichchapad (oracle), who speaks as if by inspiration. Wearing the above ornaments, they go to a temple, in front of which they empty out on a mat a few paras of paddy, and again play and sing.

“The funeral ceremonies of the Vettuvans are somewhat elaborate. When a member of the caste breathes his last, his relations, friends, and other castemen of the kara (settlement) are all informed of the event. They attend, and take part in the obsequies. The dead body is bathed, and dressed in a piece of new cloth. Some gold, rubbed on a stone in water, is poured into his mouth by his sons and daughters. Karuvanguka, or Gurutvam Vanguka, is an important ceremony performed by his sons and daughters. It consists in taking sixteen small bits of plantain leaves, with some rice on each, and placing them on the forehead, neck, chest, loins, thighs, hands, legs, feet, etc., washing the last two, and collecting the water, which is taken in by the members junior to him in the family. After this, the dead body is placed on the bier, which is carried by four persons to the grave. The nearest relatives of the family, four in number, called Bhedakars, with a mundu (cloth) tied round their heads, walk in front of the procession. The grave is dug, and a new cloth is spread, and the corpse laid on it. It is filled in with layers of earth and stones, to prevent dogs and jackals from disturbing the dead body. All those who have accompanied the chief mourner bathe, and return home. The members of the family fast for the night. The eldest son, who is the chief mourner, bathes in the early morning, and offers the pinda bali (offering of rice) to the spirit of the departed for fifteen days. On the seventh day, the chief mourner, and the Enangan, go to the graveyard, and level the slightly raised part of the grave. A piece of stone, kept near the foot, is taken, and placed on a leaf. Some toddy, arrack (alcoholic liquor) and water of the tender cocoanut, are poured over it as offerings. By some magic, the spirit is supposed to be living in it. It is brought home, and placed in a cocoanut shell containing oil mixed with turmeric, and kept outside the hut until the pollution is over. The pollution lasts for fifteen days, and on the night of the fifteenth day they fast. On the morning of the sixteenth day, all the castemen of the kara who are invited bring with them rice, curry-stuffs, and toddy. Rubbing themselves with oil, they all go to bathe, after which the Enangan sprinkles cowdunged water, to show that they are freed from pollution. The stone is also purified by a dip in water, and then brought home. Those who have assembled are fed, and then depart. The chief mourner, who has to perform the diksha, does not shave for a year, bathes in the early morning, and offers the bali before going to work. This he continues for a year, at the end of which he gets himself shaved, and celebrates a feast called masam in honour of the departed. The stone, representing the deceased, is placed on a seat in a conspicuous part of the hut. An image of wood or copper sometimes takes its place. It is thenceforward worshipped, and believed to watch over the welfare of the family. Regular offerings are given to it on Karkadagom and Thulam Sankranthi, Onam, Vishu, and the festival day of the local temple.

“The castes below the Vettuvans are Pulayan, Nayadi, and Ullatan. They consider themselves superior to Pulayas, and are careful not to be polluted by them. A Vettuvan who is polluted by a Nayadi or Ulladan fasts for seven days, subsisting on water, tender cocoanuts, and toddy. On the eighth day he bathes, and takes his regular meals. As the Vettuvans are Chandalars, any distance less than sixty-four feet will pollute the higher castes. They stand at a distance of twenty-four feet from Kammalar. Nayadis and Ullatans stand far from them. Owing to their disabilities and low wages, many turn either Christians or Muhammadans, and work for wages of two and a half to three annas a day.”

There is a class of people in Malabar called Vettan or Vettuvan, which must not be confused with the jungle Vettuvan. These people were, it is said,69 “once salt-makers, and are now masons, earth-workers, and quarrymen. They are said to be divided into two classes, the marumakkattayam (with inheritance in the female line) regarded as indigenous to Malabar, and the makkattayam (with inheritance from father to son), said to be immigrants from the south.”

Vibhaka Gunta.—Recorded in the Madras Census Report as “a low class of wandering beggars; clubbed with Mala.” Some Malas in the Vizagapatam district possess gunta manyams, or petty fields, and supplement their income by begging.

Vignesvara.—A synonym for the elephant god Ganesa, which occurs as a gotra of Nagaralu. The equivalent Vinayaka is a gotra of Medara.

Vilkurup.—The Vilkuruppu or Vilkollakuruppu are the priests and barbers of the Malayalam Kammalans, and also makers of umbrellas and bows (vil) and arrows. In former times they supplied the latter articles for the Malabar Infantry. Malabar and Travancore are, par excellence, the home of the palm-leaf umbrella, which still holds its own against umbrellas of European manufacture, which were, in 1904–1905, imported into India to the value of Rs. 18,95,064. A native policeman, protecting himself from the sun with a long-handled palm umbrella, is a common object in towns and villages on the west coast.

Concerning the Vilkurups of the Cochin State, Mr. L. K. Anantha Krishna Aiyar writes as follows.70 “In former times, their occupations were training low caste men to arms and athletic feats, to use sticks in fighting, and also to the use of bows and arrows, and pial school teaching. In these days of civilisation, their services are no longer required for these purposes, and they are employed in shampooing, umbrella making, and quarrying laterite stones for building purposes. In Nayar families, during tali-tying ceremonies, they have to give a bow and a few arrows. During the Onam festival also, they have to give a bow and arrows to every Nayar house, for which they get some paddy (rice), curry stuffs, a cocoanut, and some oil. When they are called in for shampooing, three oils are well boiled, and cooled. The patient lies on a plank, oil is poured over him, and every part of his body is well shampooed, and afterwards he is bathed in water boiled with medicinal herbs. The Vilkurups eat at the hands of Brahmans, Nayars, Izhuvans, and Kammalans, but abstain from taking the food of barbers, washermen, Panans, Kaniyans, and other low castes. They have to stand at a distance of thirty-two feet from Brahmans and Nayars. Pulayans and Parayans have to stand at a great distance. They live in localities occupied by the Izhuvans. They cannot approach the Brahman temples, but have to stand far away from the outer wall. They are their own barbers and washermen.”

Villasan (bowmen).—A synonym of Malayalam Kammalans, who formerly had to supply bows and arrows for the Travancore army.

Villi.—Villi (bow) or Villiyan (bowmen) has been recorded as a synonym of the Irulas of Chingleput. Villi also occurs as a sub-division of Vettuvan, a hunting caste of the Tamil country.

Villu Vedan (huntsmen using bows).—A synonym of Eravallar.

Vilyakara.—Recorded, in the Madras Census Report, 1901, as “a sub-caste of Servegara or Kotegara.” Vilyakara, Valekara and Olekara are names indicating the occupation of a servant under Government or a private individual.

Vinka (white-ant: Termites).—An exogamous sept of Jatapu.

Vipravinodi.—In a note on the Vipravinodis, Mr. C. Hayavadana Rao writes that they are said to be the descendants of a Brahman by a Lingayat woman. They are Lingayats, and are called Vipravinodi because they perform acrobatic feats before Vipras, or Brahmans. They generally travel about the country with their wives and children. One of their favourite feats is throwing up three stone or wooden balls in the air, and catching them, or rolling them over various parts of the body. When they perform before a mixed audience, they call themselves Naravidya varu, which is said to be an abbreviated form of Narulu Mechche Vidyalu Chese varu, or those who perform feats which men praise. The dead are buried in a sitting posture.

Virabhadra.—A synonym of the Tamil washermen (Vannan), whose patron deity is Virabhadra, from whom they claim descent.

Viragu (firewood).—A sub-division of Vettuvan.

Virakudiyan.—A synonym of Panisavans, who are engaged in blowing the conch shell on ceremonial occasions.

Virala (heroes).—An exogamous sept of Golla and Kapu.

Vira Magali (a god).—An exogamous section of Kallan.

Viramushti.—For the following account of the Viramushtis in the Vizagapatam district, I am indebted to Mr. C. Hayavadana Rao.

They are Lingayats, but do not, as a rule, wear the lingam, as it is the custom to postpone initiation until death, when the linga is tied on the corpse by a Jangam before it is buried. Those who are initiated during life wear the linga suspended from the neck. The Viramushtis seem to have several sub-divisions, e.g., Naga Mallika (Rhinacanthus communis), the roots of which are believed to cure snake-bite, Puccha Kaya (Citrullus Colocynthis), Triputa (Ipomoea Turpethum), and Ramadosa (Cucumis Melo).

Girls are married before or after puberty. The menarikam custom, according to which a man should marry his maternal uncle’s daughter, is observed. A voli (bride-price) of sixteen rupees, or half a tola of gold, in the form of jewelry, is given to the bride.

The Viramushtis are professional acrobats and mendicants, and are attached to the Devangas and Komatis. The following legends are current to account for their connection with these castes. In days gone by, there was, in a big town, a great Lingayat mutt (monastery) named Basavanna Mandiram, presided over by a Jangam priest named Basavanna. The mutt contained three hundred crores of Lingayat priests, and great wealth was stored in it. This the Viramushtis guarded against thieves. A Telaga, Chikayya by name, who was a professional thief, determined to plunder the mutt, in order to satisfy his mistress. One night, when the Viramushtis were fast asleep, he entered the mutt, but, when he saw a number of Jangams engaged in devout worship, he abandoned his project, and determined to turn Lingayat. Accordingly, at day-break, he advanced to the place where the head of the mutt was seated, made known to him who he was, and informed him of his resolution. Opinions were divided as to the fitness of receiving such an applicant, but it was finally decided that, if a man repented, he was a fit person to be received into the Lingayat fold, as the linga recognises no caste. The linga was accordingly tied on his neck. From that time Chikayya became a new man and a true Jangam, and went from place to place visiting sacred shrines. One day he happened to be at a place where lived a merchant prince, who never dined except in the company of a Jangam. On the suggestion of his wife Nilakuntaladevi, an invitation to dine was sent to Chikayya, who accepted it. After dinner, the merchant went out on business, and Nilakuntaladevi, noticing what a beautiful man Chikayya was, fell in love with him. He, however, rejected her advances, and ran away, leaving his knapsack behind him. Nilakuntaladevi cut off her golden necklace, and, having placed it in the knapsack, ran after Chikayya, and threw it at him, asking him to accept it. She then inflicted several cuts on herself, and, as soon as her husband returned home, complained that the Jangam had stolen her necklace, and attempted to ravish her. Information was sent to Basayya, the head of the mutt, and a council meeting summoned, at which it was decided that Chikayya should have his head cut off. The order to carry out this act was given to the Viramushtis, who went in search of him, and at last found him beneath the shade of a tree overhanging the bank of a river, engaged in worshipping his linga, which was in his hand. On searching the knapsack, they found the necklace, and proceeded to cut off Chikayya’s head, which went several hundred feet up into the air, and travelled towards the mutt, whither the headless trunk followed on foot. On their return to the mutt, the Viramushtis found that the three hundred crores of priests had been miraculously beheaded, and the place was a vast pool of blood. As soon, however, as the head and body of Chikayya approached, they became re-united, and Siva, appearing on the scene, translated him to kylas (heaven). At the same time, he restored the priests to life, and inflicted the following four curses on the Viramushtis:—(1) they were not to build or use houses, and are consequently found living under trees outside villages; (2) they were not to sleep on a cot; (3) they were not to use the wild broom-stick; (4) they were not to set up permanent ovens for cooking purposes, but to make impromptu stoves out of three stones. Taking compassion on them, the Devangas promised to give the Viramushtis a small sum of money annually, and to contribute towards their marriage expenses.

The Viramushtis are said to have become attached to the Komatis subsequent to the above incident. The story goes that some Komatis asked them to delay for three and half hours the march of Vishnuvardhana Raja, who was advancing with a view to marrying the daughter of one of them, named Vasavakanya (now deified into Kanyakamma). This the Viramushtis did by entertaining the Raja with their acrobatic feats. Meanwhile, the Komatis made a number of fire-pits, and put an end to themselves. Vishnuvardhana arrived too late, and had his head cut off. The Viramushtis prayed to Vasavakanya, inasmuch as they had lost both the Raja, who promised them a grant of land in return for their performance, and herself, who had promised to give a lump of gold to each gotra. The Komatis replied in a body that each family of their caste would in future give the Viramushtis an annual present of money, and help in defraying the expenses of their marriages.

In accordance with the above legends, the Viramushtis usually beg only from Devangas and Komatis. When they approach a village, they generally halt under a tree, and, early in the morning, dress up as acrobats, and appear with daggers, sticks, etc., crying Good luck! Good luck! They caper about as they advance, and, when they reach a Devanga or Komati house, perform their acrobatic feats, and wind up with a eulogium of the caste. Money and food are then doled out to them.

Whenever a Devanga, Lingayat Komati, or other Lingayat wants to make a hero (vira) of a deceased member of his family, he sends for a Viramushti (or hero-maker), and has a slab planted, with a recognised ceremonial, at the spot where he is buried.

In a further note on the Viramushtis I am informed that they correspond to the Virabhadra Kayakams of the Canarese Lingayats, like whom they dress up, and adorn themselves with small lingams, the figure of Virabhadra, a sword, a plate bearing a star, and heads of Asuras (demons). Every important Saivite temple has one or two Viramushtis attached to it, and they are supposed to be servants of the god Siva. One of their chief duties is to guard the idol during processions, and on other occasions. If, during a car procession, the car will not move, the Viramushtis cut themselves with their swords until it is set in motion. There is a Tamil proverb that the Siva Brahman (temple priest) eats well, whereas the Viramushti hurts himself with the sword, and suffers much. The custom is said to be dying out.

The principal occupation of the Viramushtis is begging from Beri Chettis, Devangas, Komatis, and washermen. In former days, they are said to have performed a ceremony called pavadam. When an orthodox Lingayat was insulted, he would swallow his lingam, and lie flat on the ground in front of the house of the offender, who had to collect some Lingayats, who would send for a Viramushti. He had to arrive accompanied by a pregnant Viramushti woman, pujaris (priests) of Draupadi, Pachaiamman and Pothuraja temples, a Sembadava pujari, Pambaikarans, Udukkaikarans, and some individuals belonging to the nearest Lingayat mutt. Arrived at the house, the pregnant woman would sit down in front of the person lying on the ground. With his sword the Viramushti man then made cuts in his scalp and chest, and sprinkled the recumbent man with the blood. He would then rise, and the lingam would come out of his mouth. Besides feeding the people, the offender was expected to pay money as pavadam to the Viramushtis and mutts.

Some Viramushtis style themselves Vastad, or athletes, in reference to their professional occupation.

Viranattan.—The name denotes those who play on a drum called viranam. It is recorded, in the Madras Census Report, 1901, that the Viranattans “were originally temple servants, but now do miscellaneous day labour. Their females are prostitutes. Their titles are Mestri and Mudali.”

Viranollu.—Viranollu and Viththanollu are gotras of Ganigas, who may not cut the wood-apple (Feronia elephantum).

Virasaiva.—A synonym for Lingayat. Some Lingayats claim to be Virasaiva Brahmans.

Visalakshiamma.—Recorded, in the Manual of the North Arcot district, as a sub-division of Vaniyan. Visalakshiamma is the goddess of Benares, who is said to be the sister of Minakshi of Madura and Kamakshi of Conjeeveram. Visalakshi means literally one with beautiful eyes, and is a name of Parvati, who is described as possessing large and beautiful eyes.

Viswakarma.—Viswakarma and Viswa Brahman are synonyms for Kammalan, the members of which class claim descent from the five faces of Viswakarma, the architect of the gods.

Vitugula-vandlu.—A fanciful name, meaning hunters or gallants, adopted by Boyas.

Vodari.—See Odari.

Vodda.—See Odde.

Vodo.—A small caste of Oriya basket-makers and cultivators in the Vizagapatam agency.

Vojali.—See Ojali.

Vokkiliyan (cultivator).—A sub-division of Kappiliyan, and Tamil form of Vakkaliga. (See Okkiliyan.)

Vudupulavallu.—An occupational name for Balijas, Velamas, etc., who paint chintzes.

Vyadha (forest men).—A synonym of Myasa Bedars.

Vyapari.—A trading section of Nayar.

Vyasa (the name of a sage or rishi).—A sub-division of Balija.

1 Malabar Law and Custom, 3rd ed., 1905.

2 Father Coleridge’s Life and Letters of St. Francis Xavier.

3 History of Tinnevelly.

4 Indian Medical Gazette, XLI, 8, 1906.

5 Cochin Census Report, 1901.

6 Madras Census Report, 1901.

7 Mysore Census Report, 1891.

8 Madras Census Report, 1901.

9 N. Sankuni Wariar, Ind. Ant. XXI, 1892.

10 Gazetteer of the Madura district.

11 Madras Census Report, 1901.

12 Ibid., 1891.

13 Gazetteer of the Tanjore district.

14 Gazetteer of the Madura district.

15 The land of the Permauls, or Cochin, its past and its present, 1863.

16 Manual of the Madura district.

17 Manual of the Madura district.

18 Madras Census Report, 1891, and Manual of the North Arcot district.

19 See Divakaram and Chudamani Nikhandu.

20 See Life of Tiruvalluvar, in Lazarus’ edition of the Kural.

21 Madras Census Report, 1891.

22 Gazetteer of Malabar.

23 Manual of the South Canara District.

24 Madras Census Report, 1901.

25 Manual of the North Arcot district.

26 Madras Census Report, 1901.

27 Manual of the Tanjore district.

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

29 Madras Census Report, 1901.

30 Malabar and its Folk, 1900.

31 Madras Dioc: Magazine, 1906.

32 Manual of Malabar.

33 Madras Museum Bull. III, 3. 1901.

34 Manual of the Salem district.

35 Native Life in Travancore.

36 Madras Museum, Bull. III, I, 1900.

37 Crawley. The Mystic Rose. Fide Jagor. Zeitsch: Ethnol. XI, 164.

38 Manual of the North Arcot district.

39 Ind. Ant. VIII, 1879.

40 History of the Military Transactions in Indostan.

41 Ind. Ant. VIII, 1879.

42 Ind. Ant. XX, 1891.

43 Monograph Eth. Survey of Cochin, No. 12, 1907.

44 Madras Museum Bull. III, 3, 1901.

45 Rev. J. Cain, Ind. Ant., VIII, 1879.

46 Madras Census Report, 1891, and Manual of the North Arcot District.

47 Madras Journal of Literature and Science, 188–788, p. 134, where the etymology of the name Vellala is fully discussed.

48 Section III. Inhabitants, Government Press, Madras, 1907.

49 Thondai-nandalap-paddiyam.

50 The zamindars of Cheyur, Chunampet, etc., in the Chingleput district.

51 Manual of the Madura district.

52 Pen and Ink Sketches of South India.

53 Madras Census Report, 1901.

54 M. Paupa Rao Naidu. History of Railway Thieves, 1900.

55 Ind. Ant. III, 1874.

56 Madras Census Report, 1891.

57 Baramahal Records.

58 Manual of the Madura district.

59 Manual of the Madura district.

60 Manual of the North Arcot district.

61 Manual of the Madura district.

62 Madras Museum Bull., V. 3, 1907.

63 Manual of the Salem district, 1883.

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

65 Madras Mail, 1907.

66 Ibid.

67 Malabar and its Folk, 1900.

68 Monograph, Ethnological Survey of Cochin, 1905.

69 Gazetteer of Malabar.

70 Monograph, Eth. Survey of Cochin.