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Castes and tribes of Southern India. Vol. 6 of 7

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Title: Castes and tribes of Southern India. Vol. 6 of 7

Author: Edgar Thurston

Contributor: K. Rangachari


        
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*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK CASTES AND TRIBES OF SOUTHERN INDIA. VOL. 6 OF 7 ***

                           CASTES AND TRIBES
                                   OF
                             SOUTHERN INDIA

                                   By

                        EDGAR THURSTON, C.I.E.,

   Superintendent, Madras Government Museum; Correspondant Étranger,
    Société d'Anthropologie de Paris; Socio Corrispondante, Societa,
                        Romana di Anthropologia.

                              Assisted by

                          K. Rangachari, M.A.,
                    of the Madras Government Museum.



                           VOLUME VI--P TO S

                        GOVERNMENT PRESS, MADRAS

                                 1909.










                  CASTES AND TRIBES OF SOUTHERN INDIA.

                               VOLUME VI.


P


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

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

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

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

The Vaidiswara temple here referred to is the Vaidiswara kovil
near Shiyali. Mr. Stuart adds that "this tradition alludes to the
destruction of the city of Vapi by Narasimha Varma, king of the Pallis
or Pallavas." Vapi, or Va-api, was the ancient name of Vatapi or
Badami in the Bombay Presidency. It was the capital of the Chalukyas,
who, during the seventh century, were at feud with the Pallavas
of the south. "The son of Mahendra Varman I," writes Rai Bahadur
V. Venkayya, "was Narasimha Varman I, who retrieved the fortunes of
the family by repeatedly defeating the Cholas, Keralas, Kalabhras, and
Pandyas. He also claims to have written the word victory as on a plate
on Pulikesin's [2] back, which was caused to be visible (i.e., which
was turned in flight after defeat) at several battles. Narasimha Varman
carried the war into Chalukyan territory, and actually captured Vatapi
their capital. This claim of his is established by an inscription
found at Badami, from which it appears that Narasimha Varman bore the
title Mahamalla. In later times, too, this Pallava king was known as
Vatapi Konda Narasingapottaraiyan. Dr. Fleet assigns the capture of
the Chalukya capital to about A.D. 642. The war of Narasimha Varman
with Pulikesin is mentioned in the Sinhalese chronicle Mahavamsa. It
is also hinted at in the Tamil Periyapuranam. The well-known saint
Siruttonda, who had his only son cut up and cooked in order to satisfy
the appetite of the god Siva disguised as a devotee, is said to have
reduced to dust the city of Vatapi for his royal master, who could
be no other than the Pallava king Narasimha Varman."

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

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

The terms Vanni and Vanniyan are used in Tamil poems to denote
king. Thus, in the classical Tamil poem Kalladam, which has been
attributed to the time of Tiruvalluvar, the author of the sacred Kural,
Vanni is used in the sense of king. Kamban, the author of the Tamil
Ramayana, uses it in a similar sense. In an inscription dated 1189
A.D., published by Dr. E. Hultzsch, [4] Vanniya Nayan appears among
the titles of the local chief of Tiruchchuram, who made a grant of
land to the Vishnu temple at Manimangalam. Tiruchchuram is identical
with Tiruvidaichuram about four miles south-east of Chingleput,
where there is a ruined fort, and also a Siva temple celebrated in
the hymns of Tirugnana Sambandhar, the great Saiva saint who lived in
the 9th century. Local tradition, confirmed by one of the Mackenzie
manuscripts, [5] says that this place was, during the time of the
Vijayanagar King Krishna Raya (1509-30 A.D.), ruled over by two feudal
chiefs of the Vanniya caste named Kandavarayan and Sendavarayan. They,
it is said, neglected to pay tribute to their sovereign lord, who
sent an army to exact it. The brothers proved invincible, but one of
their dancing-girls was guilty of treachery. Acting under instructions,
she poisoned Kandavarayan. His brother Sendavarayan caught hold of her
and her children, and drowned them in the local tank. The tank and the
hillock close by still go by the name of Kuppichi kulam and Kuppichi
kunru, after Kuppi the dancing-girl. An inscription of the Vijayanagar
king Deva Raya II (1419-44 A.D.) gives him the title of the lord who
took the heads of the eighteen Vanniyas. [6] This inscription records
a grant by one Muttayya Nayakan, son of Mukka Nayakan of Vanniraya
gotram. Another inscription, [7] dated 1456 A.D., states that, when
one Raja Vallabha ruled at Conjeeveram, a general, named Vanniya Chinna
Pillai, obtained a piece of land at Sattankad near Madras. Reference is
made by Orme [8] to the assistance which the Vaniah of Sevagherry gave
Muhammad Yusuf in his reduction of Tinnevelly in 1757. The Vaniah here
referred to is the Zamindar of Sivagiri in the Tinnevelly district,
a Vanniya by caste. Vanniyas are mentioned in Ceylon archives. Wanni
is the name of a district in Ceylon. It is, Mr. W. Hamilton writes,
[9] "situated towards Trincomalee in the north-east quarter. At
different periods its Wannies or princes, taking advantage of the
wars between the Candian sovereigns and their European enemies,
endeavoured to establish an authority independent of both, but they
finally, after their country had been much desolated by all parties,
submitted to the Dutch." Further, Sir J. E. Tennent writes, [10] that
"in modern times, the Wanny was governed by native princes styled
Wannyahs, and occasionally by females with the title of Wunniches."

The terms Sambhu and Sambhava Rayan are connected with the Pallis. The
story goes that Agni was the original ancestor of all kings. His
son was Sambhu, whose descendants called themselves Sambhukula, or
those of the Sambhu family. Some inscriptions [11] of the time of
the Chola kings Kulottunga III and Raja Raja III record Sambukula
Perumal Sambuvarayan and Alagiya Pallavan Edirili Sola Sambuvarayan
as titles of local chiefs. A well-known verse of Irattayar in praise
of Conjeeveram Ekamranathaswami refers to the Pallava king as being
of the Sambu race. The later descendants of the Pallavas apparently
took Sambuvarayar and its allied forms as their titles, as the Pallis
in Tanjore and South Arcot still do. At Conjeeveram there lives
the family of the Mahanattar of the Vanniyans, which calls itself
"of the family of Vira Sambu."

"The name Vanniyan," Mr. H. A. Stuart writes, [12] seems to have
been introduced by the Brahmans, possibly to gratify the desire of
the Pallis for genealogical distinction. Padaiyachi means a soldier,
and is also of late origin. That the Pallis were once an influential
and independent community may be admitted, and in their present desire
to be classed as Kshatriyas they are merely giving expression to this
belief, but, unless an entirely new meaning is to be given to the term
Kshatriya, their claim must be dismissed as absurd. After the fall of
the Pallava dynasty, the Pallis became agricultural servants under the
Vellalas, and it is only since the advent of British rule that they
have begun to assert their claims to a higher position." Further,
Mr. W. Francis writes [13] that "this caste has been referred to
as being one of those which are claiming for themselves a position
higher than that which Hindu society is inclined to accord them. Their
ancestors were socially superior to themselves, but they do not content
themselves with stating this, but in places are taking to wearing the
sacred thread of the twice-born, and claim to be Kshatriyas. They
have published pamphlets to prove their descent from that caste,
and they returned themselves in thousands, especially in Godavari, as
Agnikula Kshatriyas or Vannikula Kshatriyas, meaning Kshatriyas of the
fire race." "As a relic," it has been said, [14] "of the origin of the
Vannikula Kshatriyas from fire, the fire-pot, which comes in procession
on a fixed day during the annual festivities of Draupadi and other
goddesses, is borne on the head of a Vanniya. Also, in dramatic plays,
the king personæ (sic) has always been taken by a Kshatriya, who is
generally a Vanniya. These peculiarities, however, are becoming common
now-a-days, when privileges peculiar to one caste are being trenched
upon by other caste men. In the Tirupporur temple, the practice of
beating the mazhu (red-hot iron) is done by a dancing-girl serving
the Vanniya caste. The privilege of treading on the fire is also
peculiar to the Vanniyas." It is recorded by Mr. Francis [15] that,
in the South Arcot district, "Draupadi's temples are very numerous,
and the priest at them is generally a Palli by caste, and Pallis take
the leading part in the ceremonies at them. Why this should be so is
not clear. The Pallis say it is because both the Pandava brothers and
themselves were born of fire, and are therefore related. Festivals to
Draupadi always involve two points of ritual--the recital or acting
of a part of the Mahabharata and a fire-walking ceremony. The first
of these is usually done by the Pallis, who are very fond of the great
epic, and many of whom know it uncommonly well. [In the city of Madras
there are several Draupadi Amman temples belonging to the Pallis. The
fire-walking ceremony cannot be observed thereat without the help of
a member of this caste, who is the first to walk over the hot ashes.]

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The Pallis are Saivites or Vaishnavites, but are also demonolaters,
and worship Mutyalamma, Mariamma, Ayanar, Muneswara, Ankalamma, and
other minor deities. Writing nearly a century ago concerning the Vana
Pallis settled at Kolar in Mysore, Buchanan states [20] that "they are
much addicted to the worship of the saktis, or destructive powers,
and endeavour to avert their wrath by bloody sacrifices. These are
performed by cutting off the animal's head before the door of the
temple, and invoking the deity to partake of the sacrifice. There is
no altar, nor is the blood sprinkled on the image, and the body serves
the votaries for a feast. The Pallivanlu have temples dedicated to
a female spirit of this kind named Mutialamma, and served by pujaris
(priests) of their own caste. They also offer sacrifices to Mariamma,
whose pujaris are Kurubaru."

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

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

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


    Merchant.
    Cultivator.
    Bullock and pony cart driver.
    Printer.
    Lascar.
    Sweetmeat vendor.
    Flower vendor.
    Fitter.
    Sawyer.
    Oil-presser.
    Gardener.
    Polisher.
    Bricklayer.
    Mason.


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

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

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

The marriage ceremony is, in ordinary cases, completed in one day,
but the tendency is to spread it over three days, and introduce the
standard Puranic form of ritual. On the day preceding the wedding-day,
the bride is brought in procession to the house of the bridegroom,
and the marriage pots are brought by a woman of the potter caste. On
the wedding morning, the marriage dais is got ready, and the milk-post,
pots, and lights are placed thereon. Bride and bridegroom go separately
through the nalagu ceremony. They are seated on a plank, and five women
smear them with oil by means of a culm of grass (Cynodon Dactylon),
and afterwards with Phaseolus Mungo (green gram) paste. Water coloured
with turmeric and chunam (arathi) is then waved round them, to avert
the evil eye, and they are conducted to the bathing-place. While they
are bathing, five small cakes are placed on various parts of the
body--knees, shoulders, head, etc. When the bridegroom is about to
leave the spot, cooked rice, contained in a sieve, is waved before
him, and thrown away. The bridal couple are next taken three times
round the dais, and they offer pongal (cooked rice) to the village
and house gods and the ancestors, in five pots, in which the rice has
been very carefully prepared, so as to avoid pollution of any kind,
by a woman who has given birth to a first child. They then dress
themselves in their wedding finery, and get ready for the tying of
the tali. Meanwhile, the milk-post, made of Odina Wodier, Erythrina
indica, or the handle of a plough, has been set up. At its side are
placed a grindstone, a large pot, and two lamps called kuda-vilakku
(pot light) and alankara-vilakku (ornamental light). The former
consists of a lighted wick in an earthenware tray placed on a pot,
and the latter of a wooden stand with several branches supporting a
number of lamps. It is considered an unlucky omen if the pot light
goes out before the conclusion of the ceremonial. It is stated
by Mr. H. A. Stuart [21] that in the North Arcot district "in the
marriage ceremony of the Vanniyans or Pallis, the first of the posts
supporting the booth must be cut from the vanni (Prosopis spicigera),
a tree which they hold in much reverence because they believe that
the five Pandava Princes, who were like themselves Kshatriyas, during
the last year of their wanderings, deposited their arms in a tree of
this species. On the tree the arms turned into snakes, and remained
untouched till the owners' return." The Prosopis tree is worshipped
in order to obtain pardon from sins, success over enemies, and the
realisation of the devotee's wishes.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Concerning the Pallis, Pallilu, or Palles, who are settled in
the Telugu country as fishermen, carpenters, and agriculturists,
Mr. H. A. Stuart writes [24] that "it seems probable that they are a
branch of the great Palli or Vanniya tribe, for Buchanan refers to the
Mina (fish) Pallis and Vana Pallis." As sub-castes of these Pallis,
Vada (boatmen), Marakkadu and Edakula are given in the Census Report,
1901. In the North Arcot Manual, Palli is given as a sub-division of
the Telugu Kapus. In some places the Pallis call themselves Palle
Kapulu, and give as their gotram Jambumaharishi, which is a gotram
of the Pallis. Though they do not intermarry, the Palle Kapulu may
interdine with the Kapus.

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

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

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

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

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

Palua.--A sub-division of Badhoyi.

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

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

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

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

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

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

In an account of the funeral ceremonies of the Tiyans, Mr. Logan
writes [27] that "early on the morning of the third day after death,
the Kurup or caste barber adopts measures to entice the spirit of
the deceased out of the room in which he breathed his last. This is
done by the nearest relative bringing into the room a steaming pot
of savoury funeral rice. It is immediately removed, and the spirit,
after three days' fasting, is understood greedily to follow the odour
of the tempting food. The Kurup at once closes the door, and shuts out
the spirit. The Kurup belongs to the Panan caste. He is the barber of
the polluting classes above Cherumans, and by profession he is also
an umbrella maker. But, curiously enough, though an umbrella maker, he
cannot make the whole of an umbrella. He may only make the framework;
the covering of it is the portion of the females of his caste. If
he has no female relative of his own capable of finishing off his
umbrellas, he must seek the services of the females of other families
in the neighbourhood to finish his for him. The basket-makers are
called Kavaras. Nothing will induce them to take hold of an umbrella,
as they have a motto, Do not take hold of Panan's leg."

In an account of a ceremonial at the Pishari temple near Quilandy in
Malabar, Mr. F. Fawcett writes [28] that "early on the seventh and last
day, when the morning procession is over, there comes to the temple a
man of the Panan caste. He carries a small cadjan (palm leaf) umbrella
which he has made himself, adorned all round the edges with a fringe
of the young leaves of the cocoanut palm. The umbrella should have a
long handle, and with this in his hand he performs a dance before the
temple. He receives about 10 lbs. of raw rice for his performance." It
is further recorded by Mr. Fawcett that, when a Tiyan is cremated, a
watch is kept at the burning-ground for five days by Panans, who beat
drums all night to scare away the evil spirits which haunt such spots.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Pandaram.--Pandaram is described by Mr. H. A. Stuart [33] as being
"the name rather of an occupation than a caste, and used to denote
any non-Brahmanical priest. The Pandarams seem to receive numerous
recruits from the Saivite Sudra castes, who choose to make a profession
of piety, and wander about begging. They are in reality very lax
in their modes of life, often drinking liquor and eating animal
food furnished by any respectable Sudra. They often serve in Siva
temples, where they make garlands of flowers to decorate the lingam,
and blow brazen trumpets when offerings are made, or processions take
place. Tirutanni is one of the chief places, in which they congregate."

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

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

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

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

For the following note, I am indebted to Mr. C. Hayavadana
Rao. "Dr. H. H. Wilson [34] is of opinion that the word Pandaram is
'more properly Panduranga, pale complexioned, from their smearing
themselves with ashes. It is so used in Hemachandra's history
of Mahavira, when speaking of the Saiva Brahmans.' A more popular
derivation of the name is from Bandaram, a public treasury. A good many
well-to-do Pandarams are managers of Siva temples in Southern India,
and accordingly have the temple treasuries under their care. It is,
however, possible that the name has been acquired by the caste by
reason of their keeping a yellow powder, called pandaram, in a little
box, and giving it in return for the alms which they receive.

Opinions are divided as to whether the Pandarams are Lingayats or
not. The opinion held by F. W. Ellis, the well-known Tamil scholar and
translator of the Kural of Tiruvalluvar, is thus summarised by Colonel
Wilks. [35] "Mr. Ellis considers the Jangam of the upper countries, and
the Pandaram of the lower, to be of the same sect, and both deny in the
most unequivocal terms the doctrine of the metempsychosis. A manuscript
in the Mackenzie collection ascribes the origin of the Pandarams as
a sacerdotal order of the servile caste to the religious disputes,
which terminated in the suppression of the Jain religion in the Pandian
(Madura) kingdom, and the influence which they attained by the aid
which they rendered to the Brahmans in that controversy, but this
origin seems to require confirmation. In a large portion, perhaps in
the whole of the Brahmanical temples dedicated to Siva in the provinces
of Arcot, Tanjore, Trichinopoly, Madura and Tinnevelly, the Pandaram
is the highest of the temple, and has the entire direction of the
revenues, but allows the Brahmans to officiate in the ceremonial part
according to their own good pleasure, as a concern altogether below
his note. He has generally the reputation of an irreproachable life,
and is treated by the Brahmans of the temple with great reverence,
while on his part he looks with compassion at the absurd trifles
which occupy their attention. These facts seem to point to some former
revolution, in which a Jangam government obtained a superiority over
the Brahmanical establishments, and adopted this mode of superseding
the substantial part of their authority. It is a curious instance
of the Sooder (Sudra) being the spiritual lord of the Brahman, and
is worthy of further historical investigation." Dr. Wilson [36] also
thinks that the Pandarams are Lingayats. Mr. H. A. Stuart [37] says
that they are a class of priests who serve the non-Brahman castes. They
have returned 115 sub-divisions, of which only two are sufficiently
large to require mention, Andi of Tinnevelly and Malabar, and Lingadari
of Chingleput and Tinnevelly. Andi is a quasi-caste of beggars
recruited from all castes, and the Lingadari Pandarams are the same as
Jangams. Pandaram is, in fact, a class name rather than the name of a
caste, and it consists of priests and beggars. Mr. C. P. Brown [38]
thinks that the Pandarams are not Lingayats. 'The Saiva worshippers
among the Tamils are called Pandarams: these are not Vira Saivas,
nor do they wear the linga or adore Basava. I name them here chiefly
because they are often mentioned as being Vira Saivas, whereas in
truth they are (like the Smartas) Purva Saivas, and worship the image
of Siva in their houses.' It must be remarked that Mr. Brown appears
to have had a confused idea of Pandarams. Pandarams wear the linga
on their bodies in one of the usual modes, are priests to others
professing the Lingayat religion, and are fed by them on funeral and
other ceremonial occasions. At the same time, it must be added that
they are--more especially the begging sections--very lax as regards
their food and drink. This characteristic distinguishes them from the
more orthodox Lingayats. Moreover, Lingayats remarry their widows,
whereas the Pandarams, as a caste, will not.

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

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

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

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

A class of people called hill Pandarams are described [39] by the
Rev. S. Mateer as "miserable beings without clothing, implements,
or huts of any kind, living in holes, rocks, or trees. They bring
wax, ivory (tusks), and other produce to the Arayans, and get salt
from them. They dig roots, snare the ibex (wild goat, Hemitragus
hylocrius) of the hills, and jungle fowls, eat rats and snakes, and
even crocodiles found in the pools among the hill streams. They were
perfectly naked and filthy, and very timid. They spoke Malayalam in a
curious tone, and said that twenty-two of their party had been devoured
by tigers within two monsoons." Concerning these hill Pandarams,
Mr. N. Subramani Aiyar writes that they live on the banks of streams
in crevices of rocks, caves, and hollows of trees. They are known to
the dwellers on the plains as Kattumanushyar, or forest men. They clad
themselves in the bark of trees, and, in the rainy and cold seasons,
protect their bodies with plantain leaves. They speak a corrupt form of
Tamil. They fear the sight of other men, and try to avoid approaching
them. A former European magistrate of the Cardamom Hills took some
of them to his residence, but, during their three days' stay there,
they refused to eat or talk. There is a chieftain for every four hills,
but his authority is little more than nominal. When women are married,
the earth and hills are invoked as witnesses. They have Hindu names,
such as Raman, Kittan (Krishna), and Govindan.

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

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

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

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

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

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

Pandita occurs as an exogamous sept of Stanikas.

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

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


    1518. "And there are very skilful men who teach this art (fencing),
    and they are called Panicars."--Barbosa.

    1553. "And when the Naire comes to the age of 7 years, he is
    obliged to go to the fencing-school, the master of which (whom
    they call Panical) they regard as a father, on account of the
    instruction he gives them."--Barros.

    1583. "The maisters which teach them be graduates in the
    weapons which they teach, and they be called in their language
    Panycaes."--Castaneda.


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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

It is recorded by Mr. H. C. Wilson [44] that the section of the
Moyar river "stretching from the bottom of the Pykara falls down to
the sheer drop into the Mysore ditch below Teppakadu is occupied
principally by Carnatic carp. In the upper reaches I found traces
of small traps placed across side runners or ditches, which were
then dry. They had evidently been in use during the last floods, and
allowed to remain. Constructed of wood in the shape of a large rake
head with long teeth close together, they are fastened securely across
the ditch or runner at a slight angle with teeth in the gravel. The
object is to catch the small fry which frequent these side places for
protection during flood times. Judging by their primitive nature and
poor construction, they are not effective, but will do a certain amount
of damage. The nearest hamlet to this place is called Torappalli,
occupied by a few fisher people called Paniyans. These are no doubt
the makers of the traps, and, from information I received, they are
said to possess better fry and other traps. They are also accredited
with having fine-mesh nets, which they use when the waters are low."

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

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

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

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

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

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

Apparently the bride is selected for a young man by his parents, and,
in the same way that a wealthy European sometimes sends his betrothed
a daily present of a bouquet, the more humble Paniyan bridegroom-elect
has to take a bundle of firewood to the house of the fiancée every
day for six months. The marriage ceremony (and the marriage knot
does not appear to be very binding) is of a very simple nature. The
ceremony is conducted by a Paniyan Chemmi (a corruption of Janmi). A
present of sixteen fanams (coins) and some new cloths is given by the
bridegroom to the Chemmi, who hands them over to the parents of the
bride. A feast is prepared, at which the Paniyan women (Panichis)
dance to the music of drum and pipe. The tali (or marriage badge)
is tied round the neck of the bride by the female relations of the
bridegroom, who also invest the bride with such crude jewelry as
they may be able to afford. The Chemmi seals the contract by pouring
water over the head and feet of the young couple. It is said [45]
that a husband has to make an annual present to his wife's parents;
and failure to do so entitles them to demand their daughter back. A
man may, I was told, not have two sisters as wives; nor may he marry
his deceased wife's sister. Remarriage of widows is permitted. Adultery
and other forms of vice are adjudicated on by a panchayat (or council)
of headmen, who settle disputes and decide on the fine or punishment
to be inflicted on the guilty. At nearly every considerable Paniyan
village there is a headman called Kuttan, who has been appointed by
Nayar Janmi to look after his interests, and be responsible to him for
the other inhabitants of the village. The investiture of the Kuttan
with the powers of office is celebrated with a feast and dance, at
which a bangle is presented to the Kuttan as a badge of authority. Next
in rank to the Kuttan is the Mudali or head of the family, and they
usually constitute the panchayat. Both Kuttan and Mudali are called
Muppanmar or elders. The whole caste is sometimes loosely spoken of
as Muppan. In a case of proved adultery, a fine of sixteen fanams
(the amount of the marriage fee), and a sum equal to the expenses
of the wedding, including the present to the parents of the bride,
is the usual form of punishment.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Pannaiyan.--A title of Alavan.

Pannara.--A sub-division of Mali.

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

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

Pano.--In the Madras Census Report, 1891, the Panos are described as
"a caste of weavers found in the Ganjam district. This caste is no
doubt identical with the Pans, a weaving, basket-making, and servile
caste of Orissa and Chota Nagpore. The Panos occupy the same position
among the Khonds of Ganjam as the Dombs hold among the inhabitants
of the Vizagapatam hills, and the words Pano and Dombo are generally
regarded as synonyms [See Domb]. The members of the Sitra sub-division
are workers in metal." It is further noted, in the Census Report, 1901,
that the Panos are "an extensive caste of hill weavers found chiefly
in the Ganjam Agency. The Khond synonym for this word is Domboloko,
which helps to confirm the connection between this caste and the Dombas
of Vizagapatam. They speak Khond and Oriya." In a note on the Panos, I
read that "their occupations are trading, weaving, and theft. They live
on the ignorance and superstition of the Khonds as brokers, pedlars,
sycophants, and cheats. In those parts where there are no Oriyas,
they possess much influence, and are always consulted by the Khonds
in questions of boundary disputes." In a brief account of the Panos,
Mr. C. F. MacCartie writes [47] that "the Panos, also known by the
title of Dombo or Sitra in some parts, are supposed to be Paraiya
[Telugu Mala] emigrants from the low country. Their profession is
weaving or brass work, the monotony of which they vary by petty
trading in horns, skins and live cattle, and occasionally enliven
by house-breaking and theft at the expense of the Khonds, who have
an incautious trick of leaving their habitations utterly unguarded
when they go off to the hills to cultivate. [In the Madras Census
Report, 1901, the Sitras are said to be supposed to be the progeny
of a Khond man and a Haddi woman, who manufacture the brass rings
and bangles worn by the Khonds.] The Panos are drunken, immoral,
and dirty in their habits. The Khonds refuse to eat with them, but I
do not find that this objection extends to drinking, at which both
Khond and Pano display surprising capabilities. Panos are also the
professional musicians of the country, and attend weddings, deaths
and sacrifices in this character, for which they are recompensed with
food, liquor, and cloths. The generality of Khond and Pano houses are
constructed of broad sâl (Shorea robusta) logs, hewn out with the axe
and thatched with jungle grass, which is impervious to white-ants. In
bamboo jungles, of course, bamboo is substituted for sâl. The Panos
generally affect a detached quarter, known as Dombo sai. Intermarriage
between Khonds, Panos, and Uriyas is not recognised, but cases do
occur when a Pano induces a Khond woman to go off with him. She may
live with him as his wife, but no ceremony takes place. [A few years
ago, a young Khond was betrothed to the daughter of another Khond,
and, after a few years, managed to pay up the necessary number of
gifts. He then applied to the girl's father to name the day for the
marriage. Before the wedding took place however, a Pano went to the
girl's father, and said that she was his daughter (she had been born
before her parents were married), and that he was the man to whom
the gifts should have been paid. The case was referred to a council,
which decided in favour of the Pano.] If a Pano commits adultery
with a Khond married woman, he has to pay a paronjo, or a fine of
a buffalo to the husband (who retains his wife), and in addition
a goat, a pig, a basket of paddy (rice), a rupee, and a load of
pots. There is close communication between the Panos and the Khonds,
as the former act as the advisers of the latter in all cases of doubt
or difficulty. The Uriyas live apart from both, and mix but little
with either, except on the occasion of sacrifices or other solemn
assemblages, when buffaloes are slaughtered for Panos and Khonds,
and goats or sheep for Uriya visitors. [It is noted, in the Ganjam
Manual, in connection with Khond death ceremonies, that "if a man
has been killed by a tiger, purification is made by the sacrifice
of a pig, the head of which is cut off with a tangi (axe) by a Pano,
and passed between the legs of the men in the village, who stand in a
line astraddle. It is a bad omen to him, if the head touches any man's
legs.] Among the products of the jungles may be included myrabolams
(Terminalia fruits), tasar silk cocoons, and dammer, all of which
are bartered by the finders to trading Panos in small quantities,
generally for salt." In the Ganjam Maliahs, the jungles are said to
be searched by Panos for tasar cocoons, and, just across the border
in Boad, the collection of these cocoons is a regular industry among
them. Small portions of jungle are regularly reserved, and divided
up into small allotments. Each of these is given to a Pano for rent,
and here he cultivates the silkworms, and collects the silk, which
is sent to Berhampur and Sambalpur for manufacture.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The late Bishop Caldwell derived the name Paraiyan from the Tamil
word parai a drum, as certain Paraiyans act as drummers at marriages,
funerals, village festivals, and on occasions when Government or
commercial announcements are proclaimed. Mr. H. A. Stuart, however,
seems to question this derivation, remarking [49] that "it is only
one section of Paraiyans that act as drummers. Nor is the occupation
confined to Paraiyans. It seems in the highest degree improbable that
a large, and at one time powerful, community should owe its name to
an occasional occupation, which one of its divisions shares with other
castes. The word Paraiyan is not found in Divakaram, a Tamil dictionary
of the eleventh century A.D., and the word Pulayan was then used to
denote this section of the population, as it is still in Malayalam to
this day." In the legend of the Saivite saint, Nandan is, in the prose
version of the Periya Puranam, called a Pulayan, though a native of
Sholamandalam, which was a distinctly Tamil kingdom. Mr. W. Francis
writes [50] that "the old Tamil poems and works of the early centuries
of the Christian era do not mention the name Paraiyan, but contain
many descriptions of a tribe called the Eyinas, who seem to have
been quite distinct from the rest of the population, and did not
live in the villages, but in forts of their own. Ambur and Vellore
are mentioned as the sites of two of these. They may perhaps have
been the ancestors of the Paraiyans of to-day."

In a note on the Paraiyans, Sonnerat, writing [51] in the eighteenth
century, says that "they are prohibited from drawing water from the
wells of other castes; but have particular wells of their own near
their inhabitations, round which they place the bones of animals,
that they may be known and avoided. When an Indian of any other caste
permits a Paraiya to speak to him, this unfortunate being is obliged
to hold his hand before his mouth, lest the Indian may be contaminated
with his breath; and, if he is met on the highway, he must turn on one
side to let the other pass. If any Indian whatever, even a Choutre,
by accident touches a Paraiya, he is obliged to purify himself in a
bath. The Brahmans cannot behold them, and they are obliged to fly
when they appear. Great care is taken not to eat anything dressed
by a Paraiya, nor even to drink out of the vessel he has used; they
dare not enter the house of an Indian of another caste; or, if they
are employed in any work, a door is purposely made for them; but they
must work with their eyes on the ground; for, if it is perceived they
have glanced at the kitchen, all the utensils must be broken. The
infamy of the Paraiyas is reflected on the Europeans: last are held
in more detestation, because, setting aside the little respect they
have for the cow, whose flesh they eat, the Indians reproach them with
spitting in their houses, and even their temples: that when drinking
they put the cup to their lips, and their fingers to their mouths in
such a manner that they are defiled with the spittle."

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

Some of the most common names of Paraiyan males are--


    Kanni or Kanniyappan.
    Raman or Ramaswami.
    Raju.
    Velu.
    Muttan.
    Mari.
    Kanagan.
    Subban.
    Nondi.
    Tambiran.
    Perumal.
    Viran.
    Sellan.
    Amavasi.


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


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


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

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

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

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

Valai (a net).--Paraiyans who hunt.

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

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

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

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

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

There are certain privileges possessed by Paraiyans, which they could
never have gained for themselves from orthodox Hinduism. They seem
to be survivals of a past, in which Paraiyans held a much higher
position than they do now. It is noted by Mr. M. J. Walhouse [53]
that "in the great festival of Siva at Trivalur in Tanjore the headman
of the Pareyars is mounted on the elephant with the god, and carries
his chauri (yak-tail fly fan). In Madras, at the annual festival of
Egatta, the goddess of the Black, [54] now George, Town, when a tali
is tied round the neck of the idol in the name of the entire community,
a Pareyan is chosen to represent the bridegroom. At Melkotta in Mysore,
the chief seat of the followers of Ramanuja Acharya, and at the Brahman
temple at Belur, the Holeyas or Pareyars have the right of entering
the temple on three days in the year specially set apart for them." At
Melkote, the Holeyas and Madigas are said to have been granted the
privilege of entering the sanctum sanctorum along with Brahmans and
others on three days by Ramanuja. In 1799, however, the right to
enter the temple was stopped at the dhvajastambham, or consecrated
monolithic column. At both Belur and Melkote, as soon as the festival
is over, the temples are ceremonially purified. At Sriperumbudur in
the Chingleput district, the Paraiyans enjoy a similar privilege to
those at Tiruvalur, in return for having sheltered an image of the
locally-worshipped incarnation of Vishnu during a Muhammadan raid. It
is noted by Mr. Stuart that the lower village offices, the Vettiyan,
Taliari, Dandasi or Barike, and the Toti, are, in the majority of
Madras villages, held by persons of the Paraiyan caste. Paraiyans
are allowed to take part in pulling the cars of the idols in the
great festivals at Conjeeveram, Kumbakonam, and Srivilliputtur. Their
touch is not reckoned to defile the ropes used, so that other Hindus
will pull with them. With this may be compared the fact that the
Telugu Malas are custodians of the goddess Gauri, the bull Nandi,
and Ganesa, the chief gods of the Saiva Kapus and Balijas. It may
also be noted that the Komatis, who claim to be Vaisyas, are bound
to invite Madigas to their marriages, though they take care that
the latter do not hear the invitation. Mr. Clayton records that he
has heard well-authenticated instances of Brahman women worshipping
at Paraiyan shrines in order to procure children, and states that he
once saw a Paraiyan exorciser treating a Brahman by uttering mantrams
(consecrated formulæ), and waving a sickle up and down the sufferer's
back, as he stood in a threshing floor.

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

In times of drought some of the lower orders, instead of addressing
their prayers to the rain god Varuna, try to induce a spirit or
devata named Kodumpavi (wicked one) to send her paramour Sukra to
the affected area. The belief seems to be that Sukra goes away to
his concubine for about six months, and, if he does not then return,
drought ensues. The ceremony consists in making a huge figure of
Kodumpavi in clay, which is placed on a cart, and dragged through
the streets for seven to ten days. On the last day, the final
death ceremonies of the figure are celebrated. It is disfigured,
especially in those parts which are usually concealed. Vettiyans
(Paraiyan grave-diggers), who have been shaved, accompany the figure,
and perform the funeral ceremonies. This procedure is believed to
put Kodumpavi to shame, and to get her to induce Sukra to return,
and stay the drought. Paraiyans are said [55] to wail as though they
were at a funeral, and to beat drums in the funeral time.

The Paraiyans are said by Mr. Francis [56] to have a curious share
in the ceremonies in connection with the annual buffalo sacrifice
at the Kali shrine at Mangalam in South Arcot. "Eight men of this
community are chosen from eight adjoining villages, and one of them
is selected as leader. His wife must not be with child at the' time,
and she is made to prove that she is above all suspicion by undergoing
the ordeal of thrusting her hand into boiling gingelly (Sesamum)
oil. On each of ten days for which the festival lasts, this Paraiyan
has to go round some part of the boundaries of the eight villages,
and he is fed gratis by the villagers during this time. On the day
of the sacrifice itself, he marches in front of the priest as the
latter kills the buffaloes. The Paraiyans of the eight villages have
the right to the carcases of the slaughtered animals."

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

Sometimes the latter is called by the fuller title paracheri (Anglice
parcheri, parcherry), i.e., the gathering place of the Paraiyans. In
the gramam live the Brahmans, who sometimes dwell, in a quarter
by themselves known as the agrahara, and also other Hindus. In the
paracheri live the Paraiyans. The paracheri and the gramam are always
separated, at least by a road or lane, and often by several fields. And
not only is it usual thus to find that, in every village, the Paraiyans
as a community possess a house-site, but there are many cases in which
more than one cheri is attached to a gramam. This seems to repudiate
the suggestion that at some period or periods the higher castes
relegated the Paraiyans to these cheris. Indeed, in some cases, the
very names of the cheris suggest what appears to be the more correct
view, viz., that the cheris had a distinct origin. For instance,
the whole revenue village of Teiyar near Chingleput consists of one
Sudra gramam and seven Paraiyan cheris, each with a name of its own,
Periyapilleri, Komancheri, etc. In other cases, e.g., Ideipalayam in
the north of the district, and Varadarajapuram near Vandalur, only
Paraiyan hamlets exist; there is no gramam. In South Arcot there
are at least two villages, Govindanallur and Andapet, inhabited
only by Paraiyans, where even the Maniyakkaran (munsiff or village
headman) is a Paraiyan. Other instances might be quoted in proof of
the same opinion. And, when the ceremonial antipathy between Brahman
and Paraiyan is examined, it points in the same direction. It is well
known that a Brahman considers himself polluted by the touch, presence,
or shadow of a Paraiyan, and will not allow him to enter his house,
or even the street in which he lives, if it is an agrahara. But it
is not so well known that the Paraiyans will not allow a Brahman to
enter the cheri. Should a Brahman venture into the Paraiyan's quarter,
water with which cow-dung has been mixed is thrown on his head, and
he is driven out. It is stated [57] by Captain J. S. F. Mackenzie
that "Brahmans in Mysore consider that great luck will await them
if they can manage to pass through the Holeya quarter of a village
unmolested, and that, should a Brahman attempt to enter their quarters,
they turn out in a body and slipper him, in former times it is said to
death." Some Brahmans consider a forsaken paracheri an auspicious site
for an agrahara. A very peculiar case is that of the gramam founded
for, and occupied by the clerks of the earliest Collectors (district
magistrates) of the jagir of Karunguli from 1795 to 1825 A.D. These
clerks were Brahmans, and it was called the agraharam. It was deserted
when the head-quarters of the Collector were removed to Conjeeveram. It
is now occupied by Paraiyans, but is still called the agraharam.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The following detailed account of the marriage ceremonies among the
Tangalan Paraiyans was furnished by Mr. K. Rangachari. The parents
or near relations of the contracting parties meet, and talk over
the match. If an agreement is arrived at, an adjournment is made to
the nearest liquor shop, and a day fixed for the formal exchange of
betel leaves, which is the sign of a binding engagement. A Paraiyan,
when he goes to seek the hand of a girl in marriage, will not eat at
her house if her family refuse to consider the alliance, to which the
consent of the girl's maternal uncle is essential. The Paraiyan is
particular in the observation of omens, and, if a cat or a valiyan
(a bird) crosses his path when he sets out in quest of a bride, he
will give her up. The betrothal ceremony, or pariyam, is binding as
long as the contracting couple are alive. They may live together as
man and wife without performing the marriage ceremony, and children
born to them are considered as legitimate. But, when their offspring
marry, the parents must first go through the marriage rites, and
the children are then married in the same pandal on the same day. At
the betrothal ceremony, the headman, father, maternal uncle, and two
near relations of the bridegroom-elect, proceed to the girl's house,
where they are received, and sit on seats or mats. Drink and plantain
fruits are offered to them. Some conversation takes place between
the headmen of the two parties, such as "Have you seen the girl? Have
you seen her house and relations? Are you disposed to recommend and
arrange the match?" If he assents, the girl's headman says "As long as
stones and the Kaveri river exist, so that the sky goddess Akasavani
and the earth goddess Bhumadevi may know it; so that the water-pot
(used at the marriage ceremony), and the sun and moon may know it;
so that this assembly may know it; I ... give this girl." The headman
of the bridegroom then says "The girl shall be received into the
house by marriage. These thirty-six pieces of gold are yours, and
the girl is mine." He then hands betel leaves and areca nuts to the
other headman, who returns them. The exchange of betel is carried out
three times. Near the headmen is placed a tray containing betel nuts,
a rupee, a turmeric-dyed cloth in which a fanam (2 1/2 annas) is tied,
a cocoanut, flowers, and the bride's money varying in amount from seven
to twenty rupees. The fanam and bride's money are handed to the headman
of the girl, and the rupee is divided between the two headmen. On the
betrothal day, the relations of the girl offer flowers, cocoanuts,
etc., to their ancestors, who are supposed to be without food or
drink. The Paraiyans believe that the ancestors will be ill-disposed
towards them, if they are not propitiated with offerings of rice and
other things. For the purpose of worship, the ancestors are represented
by a number of cloths kept in a box made of bamboo or other material,
to which the offerings are made. On the conclusion of the ancestor
worship, the two headmen go to a liquor shop, and exchange drinks of
toddy. This exchange is called mel sambandham kural, or proclaiming
relationship. After the lapse of a few days, the girl's family is
expected to pay a return visit, and the party should include at
least seven men. Betel is again exchanged, and the guests are fed,
or presented with a small gift of money. When marriage follows close
on betrothal, the girl is taken to the houses of her relations,
and goes through the nalugu ceremony, which consists of smearing
her with turmeric paste, an oil bath, and presentation of betel and
sweets. The auspicious day and hour for the marriage are fixed by
the Valluvan, or priest of the Paraiyans. The ceremonial is generally
carried through in a single day. On the morning of the wedding day,
three male and two married female relations of the bridegroom go
to the potter's house to fetch the pots, which have been already
ordered. The potter's fee is a fowl, pumpkin, paddy, betel, and a few
annas. The bride, accompanied by the headman and her relations, goes
to the bridegroom's village, bringing with her a number of articles
called petti varisai or box presents. These consist of a lamp, cup,
brass vessel, ear-ornament called kalappu, twenty-five betel leaves
and areca nuts, onions, and cakes, a lump of jaggery (crude sugar),
grass mat, silver toe-ring, rice, a bundle of betel leaves and five
cocoanuts, which are placed inside a bamboo box. The next item in
the proceedings is the erection of the milk-post, which is made of a
pestle of tamarind or Soymida febrifuga wood, or a green bamboo. To the
post leafy twigs of the mango or pipal (Ficus religiosa) are tied. In
some places, a pole of the Odina Wodier tree is said to be set up,
and afterwards planted near the house, to see if it will grow. Near
the marriage dais a pit is dug, into which are thrown nine kinds of
grain, and milk is poured. The milk-post is supported on a grindstone
painted with turmeric stripes, washed with milk and cow's urine,
and worshipped, with the Valluvan as the celebrant priest. The post
is then set up in the pit by three men and two women. A string with
a bit of turmeric (kankanam) is tied to the milk-post, and to it
and the dais boiled rice is offered. Kankanams are also tied round
the wrists of the bride and bridegroom. The bridegroom's party go to
the temple or house where the bride is awaiting them, bringing with
them a brass lamp, vessel and cup, castor and gingelly oil, combs,
confectionery, turmeric, and betel leaves. The procession is headed
by Paraiyans beating tom-toms, and blowing on trumpets. When their
destination is reached, all take their seats on mats, and the various
articles which they have brought are handed over to the headman, who
returns them. The bride is then taken in procession to the marriage
house, which she is the first to enter. She is then told to touch with
her right hand some paddy, salt, and rice, placed in three pots inside
the house. Touching them with the left hand would be an evil omen,
and every mishap which might occur in the family would be traced to
the new daughter-in-law. The bride and bridegroom next go through the
nalugu ceremony, and some of the relations proceed with the ceremony
of bringing sand (manal vari sadangu). A cousin of the bridegroom and
his wife take three pots called sal karagam and kuresal, and repair to
a river, tank (pond) or well, accompanied by a few men and women. The
pots are set on the ground, and close to them are placed a lamp, and
a leaf with cakes, betel leaves and nuts set on it. Puja (worship)
is made to the pots by burning camphor and breaking cocoanuts. The
Vettiyan then says "The sun, the moon, the pots, and the owner of
the girl have come to the pandal. So make haste and fill the pot
with water." The woman dips a small pot in water, and, after putting
some sand or mud into a big pot, pours the water therein. The pots
are then again worshipped. After the performance of the nalugu, the
bridal couple go through a ceremony for removing the evil eye, called
"sige kazhippu." A leaf of Ficus religiosa, with its tail downwards,
is held over their foreheads, and all the close relations pour
water over it, so that it trickles over their faces; or seven cakes
are placed by each of the relations on the head, shoulders, knees,
feet, and other parts of the body of the bridegroom. The cakes are
subsequently given to a washerman. The parents of the bridal couple,
accompanied by some of their relations, next proceed to an open field,
taking with them the cloths, tali, jewels, and other things which have
been purchased for the wedding. A cloth is laid on the ground, and on
it seven leaves are placed, and cooked rice, vegetables, etc., heaped
up thereon. Puja is done, and a goat is sacrificed to the ancestors
(Tangalanmar). By some the offerings are made to the village goddess
Pidari, instead of to the ancestors. Meanwhile the bridegroom has been
taken in procession round the village on horseback, and the headmen
have been exchanging betel in the pandal. On the bridegroom's return,
he and the bride seat themselves on planks placed on the dais, and
are garlanded by their maternal uncle with wreaths of Nerium odorum
flowers. The maternal uncle of the bride presents her with a ring. In
some places, the bride is carried to the dais on the shoulders or
in the arms of the maternal uncle. While the couple are seated on
the dais the Valluvan priest lights the sacred fire (homam), and,
repeating some words in corrupt Sanskrit, pours gingelly oil into
the fire. He then does puja to the tali, and passes it round, to be
touched and blessed by those assembled. The bridegroom, taking up
the tali, shows it through a hole in the pandal to the sky or sun,
and, on receipt of permission from those present, ties it round the
neck of the bride. Thin plates of gold or silver, called pattam,
are then tied on the foreheads of the contracting couple, first by
the mother-in-law and sister-in-law. With Brahman and non-Brahman
castes it is customary for the bride and bridegroom to fast until
the tali has been tied. With Paraiyans, on the contrary, the rite is
performed after a good meal. Towards the close of the marriage day,
fruit, flowers, and betel are placed on a tray before the couple,
and all the kankanams, seven in number, are removed, and put on
the tray. After burning camphor, the bridegroom hands the tray to
his wife, and it is exchanged between them three times. It is then
given to the washerman. The proceedings terminate by the two going
with linked hands three times round the pandal. On the following day,
the bride's relatives purchase some good curds, a number of plantains,
sugar and pepper, which are mixed together. All assemble at the pandal,
and some of the mixture is given to the headman, the newly married
couple, and all who are present. All the articles which constitute
the bride's dowry are then placed in the pandal, and examined by
the headman. If they are found to be correct, he proclaims the union
of the couple, and more of the mixture is doled out. This ceremony
is known as sambandham kural or sambandham piriththal (proclaiming
relationship). Two or three days after the marriage, the bridegroom
goes to the house of the bride, and remains there for three days. He
is stopped at the entrance by his brother-in-law, who washes his feet,
puts rings on the second toe, and keeps on pinching his feet until he
has extracted a promise that the bridegroom will give his daughter, if
one is born to him, in marriage to the son of his brother-in-law. The
ring is put on the foot of the bride by her maternal uncle at the time
of the marriage ceremony, after the wrist threads have been removed. In
some places it is done by the mother-in-law or sister-in-law, before
the tali is tied, behind a screen.

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

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

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

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

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

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


    Ellamma, goddess of the boundary, worshipped by Tamil and Telugu
    Paraiyans.

    Mungilamma, bamboo goddess.

    Padeiyattal or Padeiyacchi.

    Parrapotamma, a Telugu goddess supposed to cure cattle diseases.

    Pidariyamma, sometimes called Ellei Pidari.


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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The dead are buried as a rule, but sometimes the corpses are burnt. A
portion of the village waste land is allotted for the purpose. Only
Paraiyans are buried in it. The funeral rites are very simple. The
corpse is carried on a temporary litter of palm leaf mats and bamboos,
wrapped in a cotton cloth, which is a new one if it can be afforded,
and interred or burnt. About the third or fifth day after death,
the pal sadangu, or milk ceremony, should take place, when some milk
is poured out by the next-of-kin as an offering to the spirit of the
deceased. This spirit is then supposed to assume a sort of corporeity,
and to depart to the place of respite till fate decrees that it be
re-born. This ceremony is accompanied by a family feast. On the
fifteenth day after death, another family gathering is held, and
food is offered to the spirit of the dead person. This ceremony is
called Karumantaram, or expiatory ceremony. Occasionally, for some
months after the death, a few flowers are placed on the grave, and a
cocoanut is broken over it; and some attempt is even made to recognise
the anniversary of the date. But there is no regular custom and it is
probably an imitation of Brahmanical usages. The ordinary Paraiyan's
conception of life after death is merely a vague belief that the
departed soul continues its existence somewhere. He has no ordered
eschatology. If a first-born male child dies, it is buried close to
or even within the house, so that its corpse may not be carried off
by a witch or sorcerer, to be used in magic rites, as the body of a
first-born child is supposed to possess special virtues. It is noted
by Mr. H. A. Stuart [61] that "the Tangalans profess to have once been
a very respectable class, and wear the sacred thread at weddings and
funerals, while the other divisions never assume it."

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

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

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

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

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

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

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