“Trolling from the shore at the river’s mouth is only carried on of a morning or evening, during the winter months of the year, when the sea is smooth. The line is from 80 to 100 yards in length, and held wound round the left hand; the hook is fastened to the line by a brass wire, and the bait is a live fish. The fisherman, after giving the line an impetus by twirling it round and round his head, throws it with great precision from 50 to 60 yards. A man is always close by with a cast net, catching baits, which he sells for one quarter of an anna each. This mode of fishing is very exciting sport, but is very uncertain in its results, and therefore usually carried on by coolies either before their day’s work has commenced, or after its termination.“Fishing with a bait continues all day long in Cochin during the monsoon months, when work is almost at a standstill, and five or six persons may be perceived at each jetty, busily engaged in this occupation. TheBagrustribe is then plentiful, and, as it bites readily, large numbers are captured.“Fishing in small boats appears at times to be a dangerous occupation; the small canoe only steadied by the paddle of one man seated in it looks as if it must every minute be swamped. Very large fish are sometimes caught in this way. Should one be hooked too large for the fisherman to manage, the man in the next boat comes to his assistance, and receives a quarter of the fish for his trouble. This is carried on all through the year, and the size of some of the Bagri is enormous.“Fish are shot in various ways, by a Chittagong bamboo, which is a hollow tube, down which the arrow is propelled by the marksman’s mouth. This mode is sometimes very remunerative, and is followed by persons who quietly sneak along the shores, either of sluggish streams or of the backwater. Sometimes they climb up into trees, and there await a good shot. Or, during the monsoon, the sportsman quietly seats himself near some narrow channel that passes from one wide piece of water into another, and watches for his prey. Other fishermen shoot with bows and arrows, and again others with cross-bows, the iron arrow or bolt of which is attached by a line to the bow, to prevent its being lost. But netting fish, catching them with hooks, or shooting them with arrows, are not the only means employed for their capture. Bamboo labyrinths, bamboo baskets, and even men’s hands alone, are called into use.“Persons fish for crabs in shallow brackish water, provided with baskets like those employed in Europe for catching eels, but open at both ends. The fishermen walk about in the mud, and, when they feel a fish move, endeavour to cover it with the larger end of the basket, which is forced down some distance into the mud, and the hand is then passed downward through the upper extremity, and the fish taken out. Another plan of catching them by the hand is by having two lines to which white cocoanut leaves are attached tied to the fisherman’s two great toes, from which they diverge; the other end of each being held by another man a good way off, and some distance apart. On these lines being shaken, the fish become frightened, and, strange as it may appear, cluster for protection around the man’s feet, who is able to stoop down, and catch them with his hands, by watching his opportunity.“Bamboo labyrinths are common all along the backwater, in which a good many fish, especially eels and crabs, are captured. These labyrinths are formed of a screen of split bamboos, passing perpendicularly out of the water, and leading into a larger baited chamber. A dead cat is often employed as a bait for crabs. A string is attached to its body, and, after it has been in the water some days, it is pulled up with these crustacea adherent to it. Persons are often surprised at crabs being considered unwholesome, but their astonishment would cease, if they were aware what extremely unclean feeders they are.“Fish are obtained from the inland rivers by poisoning them, but this can only be done when the water is low. A dam is thrown across a certain portion, and the poison placed within it. It generally consists ofCocculus indicus(berries) pounded with rice; croton oil seeds, etc.”Valangai.—Valangai, Valangan, Valangamattān, or Balagai, meaning those who belong to the right-hand faction, has, at times of census, been returned as a sub-division, synonym or title of Dēva-dāsis, Holeyas, Nōkkans, Panisavans, Paraiyans, and Sāliyans. Some Dēva-dāsis have returned themselves as belonging to the left-hand (idangai) faction.Valayakāra Chetti.—A Tamil synonym of Gāzula Balijas who sell glass bangles. The equivalent Vala Chetti is also recorded.Vālēkāra.—A Badaga form of Billēkāra or belted peon. The word frequently occurs in Badaga ballads. Tāluk peons on the Nīlgiris are called Vālēkāras.Vāli Sugrīva.—A synonym of the Lambādis, who claim descent from Vāli and Sugrīva, the two monkey chiefs of the Rāmāyana.Valinchiyan.—SeeVelakkattalavan.Valiyatān(valiya, great, tān, a title of dignity).—Recorded, in the Travancore Census Report, 1901, as a title of Nāyar.Vallabarayan.—A title of Ōcchan.Vallamban.—The Vallambans are a small Tamil cultivating class living in the Tanjore, Trichinopoly, and Madura districts. They are said16to be “the offspring of a Vellālan and a Valaiya woman, now a small and insignificant caste of cultivators. Some of them assert that their ancestors were the lords of the soil, for whose sole benefit the Vellālans used to carry on cultivation. Tradition makes the Vellambans to have joined the Kallans in attacking and driving away the Vellālans. It is customary among the Vallambans, when demising land, to refer to the fact of their being descendants of the Vallambans who lost Vallam,i.e., the Vallama nādu in Tanjore, their proper country.” Some Vallambans claim to be flesh-eating Vellālas, or to be superior to Kallans and Maravans by reason of their Vellāla ancestry. They call themselves Vallamtōtta Vellālas, or the Vellālas who lost Vallam, and say that they were Vellālas of Vallam in the Tanjore district, who left their native place in a time of famine.Portions of the Madura and Tanjore districts are divided into areas known as nādus, in each of which a certain caste, called the Nāttar, is the predominant factor. For example, the Vallambans and Kallans are called the Nāttars of the Pālaya nādu in the Sivaganga zemindari of the Madura district. In dealing with the tribal affairs of the various castes inhabiting a particular nādu, the lead is taken by the Nāttars, by whom certain privileges are enjoyed, as for example in the distributionto them, after the Brāhman and zamindar, of the flowers and sacred ashes used in temple worship. For the purposes of caste council meetings the Vallambans collect together representatives from fourteen nādus, as they consider that the council should be composed of delegates from a head village and its branches, generally thirteen in number.It is noted by Mr. F. R. Hemingway that the Vallambans “speak of five sub-divisions, namely, Chenjinādu, Amaravatinādu, Palayanādu, Mēlnādu, and Kilnādu. The Mēl and Kilnādu people intermarry, but are distinguishable by the fact that the former have moustaches, and the latter have not. The women dress like the Nāttukōttai Chettis. Tattooing is not allowed, and those who practice it are expelled from the caste. The men generally have no title, but some who enjoy State service inams call themselves Ambalakāran. The Mēlnādu people have no exogamous divisions, though they observe the rule about Kōvil Pangōlis. The Kilnādus have exogamous kilais, karais, and pattams.” As examples of exogamous septs, the following may be cited:—Sōlangal (Chōla), Pāndiangal (Pāndyan), Nariangal (jackal), and Piliyangal (tiger).The headman of the Vallambans is referred to generally as the Servaikāran. The headman of a group of nādus is entitled Nāttuservai, while the headman of a village is known as Ūr Servai, or simply Servai.Marriage is celebrated between adults, and the remarriage of widows is not objected to. It is stated17that “the maternal uncle’s or paternal aunt’s daughter is claimed as a matter of right by a boy, so that a boy of ten may be wedded to a mature woman of twenty ortwenty-five years, if she happens to be unmarried and without issue. Any elderly male member of the boy’s family—his elder brother, uncle, or even his father—will have intercourse with her, and beget children, which the boy, when he comes of age, will accept as his own, and legitimatise.” This system of marriage, in which there is a marked disparity in the ages of the contracting couple, is referred to in the proverb: “The tāli should be tied at least by a log of wood.” The marriage rites are as a rule non-Brāhmanical, but in some well-to-do families the services of a Brāhman purōhit are enlisted. The presence of the Umbalakāran or caste headman at a marriage is essential. On the wedding day the contracting couple offer, at their homes, manaipongal (boiled rice), and the alangu ceremony is performed by waving coloured rice round them, or touching the knees, shoulders, and head with cakes, and throwing them over the head. The wrist-threads, consisting of a piece of old cloth dyed with turmeric, are tied on by the maternal uncle. Cooked rice and vegetables are placed in front of the marriage dais, and offered to the gods. Four betel leaves are given to the bridegroom, who goes round the dais, and salutes the four cardinal points of the compass by pouring water from a leaf. He then sits down on a plank on the dais, and hands the tāli (marriage badge) to his sister. Taking the tāli, she proceeds to the bride’s house, where the bride, after performing the alangu ceremony, is awaiting her arrival. On reaching the house, she asks for the bride’s presents, and one of her brothers replies that such a piece of land, naming one, is given as a dowry. The bridegroom’s sister then removes the string of black and gold beads, such as is worn before marriage, from the bride’s neck, and replaces it by the tāli. The conch shell should be blown bywomen or children during the performance of manaipongal, and when the tāli is tied. The bride is conveyed to the house of the bridegroom, and sits with him on the dais while the relations make presents to them.The messenger who conveys the news of a death in the community is a Paraiyan. The corpse is placed within a pandal (booth) supported on four posts, which is erected in front of the house. Some paddy (unhusked rice) is poured from a winnow on to the ground, and rice is thrown over the face of the corpse. On the second day rice, and other articles of food, are carried by a barber to the spot where the corpse has been buried or burnt. If the latter course has been adopted, the barber picks out some of the remains of the bones, and hands them to the son of the deceased. On the third day, the widow goes round the pandal three times, and, entering within it, removes her tāli string, and new clothes are thrown over her neck. On the sixteenth day the final death ceremonies (karmāndhiram) are performed. A feast is given, and new cloths are tied on the heads of those under pollution. Pollution lasts for thirty days.The Vallambans profess to be Saivaites, but they consider Periya Nāyaki of Vēlangkudi as their tribal goddess, and each nādu has its own special deity, such as Vēmbu Aiyanar, Nelliyandi Aiyanar, etc. In some places the tribal deity is worshipped on a Tuesday at a festival called Sevvai (Tuesday). On this day pots containing fermented rice liquor, which must have been made by the caste people and not purchased, are taken to the place of worship. On a Friday, those families which are to take part in the festival allow a quantity of paddy (rice) to germinate by soaking it in water, and on the following Tuesday flower spikes of the palmyra palm are added to the malted rice liquor in the pots. Thepots of ordinary families may be placed in their houses, but those of the Umbalakārans and Servaikārans must be taken to the temple as representing the deity. Into these pots the flower spikes should be placed by some respected elder of the community. A week later, a small quantity of rice liquor is poured into other pots, which are carried by women to the temple car, round which they go three times. They then throw the liquor into a tank or pond. The pots of the Umbalakāran and Servaikāran must be carried by young virgins, or grown-up women who are not under menstrual pollution. One of the women who carries these pots usually becomes possessed by the village deity. At the time of the festival, cradles, horses, human figures, elephants, etc., made by the potter, are brought to the temple as votive offerings to the god.Valli Ammai Kuttam.—A synonym of the Koravas, meaning followers of Valli Ammai, the wife of the God Subrahmanya, whom they claim to have been a Korava woman.Vallōdi.—The name denotes a settlement in the Valluvanād tāluk of Malabar, and has been returned as a sub-division of Nāyar and Sāmantan, to which the Rāja of Valluvanād belongs.Valluvan.—The Valluvans are summed up by Mr. H. A. Stuart18as being “the priests of the Paraiyans and Pallans. Tiruvalluvar, the famous Tamil poet, author of the Kurāl, belonged to this caste, which is usually regarded as a sub-division of Paraiyans. It appears that the Valluvans were priests to the Pallava kings before the introduction of the Brāhmans, and even for some time after it.19In an unpublished Vatteluttuinscription, believed to be of the ninth century, the following sentence occurs ‘Sri Velluvam Pūvanavan, the Uvac’chan (Ōc’chan) of this temple, will employ daily six men for doing the temple service.’ Again, the Valluvans must have formerly held a position at least equal to that of the Vellālas, if the story that Tiruvalluva Nāyanar married a Vellāla girl is true.20He is said to have “refused to acknowledge the distinctions of caste, and succeeded in obtaining a Vellāla woman as his wife, from whom a section of the Valluvans say it has its descent. As their ancestor amused himself in the intervals between his studies by weaving, they employ themselves in mending torn linen, but chiefly live by astrology, and by acting as priests of Paraiyans, and officiating at their funerals and marriages, though some refuse to take part in the former inauspicious ceremony, and leave the duty to those whom they consider impure Valluvans called Paraiya Tādas. Another section of the Valluvans is called Ālvar Dāsari or Tāvadadhāri (those who wear the necklace of tulsi beads). Both Saivites and Vaishnavites eat together, but do not intermarry. Unlike Paraiyans, they forbid remarriage of widows and even polygamy, and all males above twelve wear the sacred thread.” According to one account, the Valluvans are the descendants of an alliance between a Brāhman sage and a Paraiyan woman, whose children complained to their father of their lowly position. He blessed them, and told them that they would become very clever astrologers, and, in consequence, much respected. At the Travancore census, 1901, the Valluvans were defined as a sub-division of the Pulayas, for whom they perform priestly functions.“Both men and women are employed as astrologers and doctors, and are often consulted by all classes of people. In many villages they have the privilege of receiving from each ryot a handful of grain during the harvest time.”21Of three Valluvans, whom I interviewed at Coimbatore, one, with a flowing white beard, had a lingam wrapped up in a pink cloth round the neck, and a charm tied in a pink cloth round the right upper arm. Another, with a black beard, had a salmon-coloured turban. The third was wearing a discarded British soldier’s tunic. All wore necklaces of rūdrāksha (Elæocarpus Ganitrus) beads, and their foreheads were smeared with oblong patches of sandal paste. Each of them had a collection of panchangams, or calendars for determining auspicious dates, and a bundle of palm leaf strips (ulla mudyan) inscribed with slōkas for astrological purposes. Their professional duties included writing charms for sick people, preparing horoscopes, and making forecasts of good or evil by means of cabalistic squares marked on the ground. Some Valluvans would have us believe that those who officiate as priests are not true Valluvans, and that the true Valluvan, who carries out the duties of an astrologer, will not perform priestly functions for the Paraiyans.Valluvan dressed up as Siva at Malayanūr festival.Valluvan dressed up as Siva at Malayanūr festival.The most important sub-divisions of the Valluvans, returned at times of census, are Paraiyan, Tāvidadāri, and Tiruvalluvan. From information supplied to me, I gather that there are two main divisions, called Arupathu Katchi (sixty house section) and Narpathu Katchi (forty house section). The former are supposed to be descendants of Nandi Gurukkal, and take his nameas their gōtra. The gōtra of the latter is Sidambara Sayichya Ayyamgar. Sidambara, or Chidambaram, is the site of one of the most sacred Siva temples. The sub-division Ālvār claims descent from Tiruppān Ālvār, one of the twelve Vaishnava saints. In the Tanjore district, the Valluvans have exogamous septs or pattaperu, named after persons,e.g., Marulipichan, Govindazhvan, etc.The Valluvans include in their ranks both Vaishnavites and Saivites. The majority of the latter, both males and females, wear the lingam. The affairs of the community are adjusted by a caste council and there are, in most places, two hereditary officers called Kōlkaran and Kanakkan.At the betrothal ceremony the bride’s money (pariyam), betel, jewels, flowers, and fruit, are placed in the future bride’s lap. The money ranges from seven to ten rupees if the bridegroom’s village is on the same side of a river as the bride’s, and from ten to twenty rupees if it is on the other side. A small sum of money, called uramurai kattu (money paid to relations) and panda varisai (money paid in the pandal), is also paid by the bridegroom’s party for a feast of toddy to the relations. This is the proper time for settling caste disputes by the village council. On the wedding day, the milk-post, consisting of a green bamboo pole, is set up, and a number of pots, brought from the potter’s house, are placed near it. On the dais are set four lamps, viz., an ordinary brass lamp, kudavilakku (pot light), alankāra vilakku (ornamental light), and pāligai vilakku (seedling light). The bride and bridegroom bring some sand, spread it on the floor near the dais, and place seven leaves on it. Cotton threads, dyed with turmeric, are tied to the pots and the milk-post. On the leaves are set cakes and rice, and the contracting couple worshipthe pots and the family gods. The Valluvan priest repeats a jumble of corrupt Sanskrit, and ties the kankanams (threads) on their wrists. They are then led into the house, and garlanded with jasmine orNeriumflowers. The pots are arranged on the dais, and the sand is spread thereon close to the milk-post. Into one of the pots the female relations put grain seedlings, and four other pots are filled with water by the bridegroom’s party. A small quantity of the seedlings is usually wrapped up in a cloth, and placed over the seedling pot. Next morning the bundle is untied, and examined, to see if the seedlings are in good condition. If they are so, the bride is considered a worthy one; if not, the bride is either bad, or will die prematurely. The usual nalagu ceremony is next performed, bride and bridegroom being anointed with oil, and smeared withPhaseolus Mungopaste. This is followed by the offering of food on eleven leaves to the ancestors and house gods. Towards evening, the dais is got ready for its occupation by the bridal couple, two planks being placed on it, and covered with cloths lent by a washerman. The couple, sitting on the planks, exchange betel and paddy nine or twelve times, and rice twenty-seven times. The priest kindles the sacred fire (hōmam), and pours some ghī (clarified butter) into it from a mango leaf. The bridegroom is asked whether he sees Arundati (the pole-star) thrice, and replies in the affirmative. The tāli is shown the sky, smoked over burning camphor, and placed on a tray together with a rupee. After being blessed by those present, it is tied round the neck of the bride by the bridegroom, who has his right leg on her lap. On the second day there is a procession through the village, and, on the following day, the wrist-threads are removed.In some places, the Valluvans, at their marriages, like the Pallis and some other castes, use the pandamutti, or pile of pots reaching to the top of the pandal.The Saivite lingam wearers bury their dead in a sitting posture in a niche excavated in the side of the grave. After death has set in, a cocoanut is broken, and camphor burnt. The corpse is washed by relations, who bring nine pots of water for the purpose. The lingam is tied on to the head, and a cloth bundle, containing a rupee, seven bilva (Ægle Marmelos) leaves, nine twigs of the tulsi (Ocimum sanctum), and nineLeucas asperaflowers, to the right arm. The corpse is carried to the grave on a car surmounted by five brass vessels. The grave is purified by the sprinkling of cow’s urine and cow-dung water before the corpse is lowered into it. On the way to the burial-ground, the priest keeps on chanting various songs, such as “This is Kailāsa. This is Kailāsa thillai (Chidambaram). Our request is this. Nallia Mutthan of the Nandidarma gōtra died on Thursday in the month Thai in the year Subakruthu. He must enter the fourth stage (sayichyam), passing through Sālokam, Sāmīpa, and Sārupa. He crosses the rivers of stones, of thorns, of fire, and of snakes, holding the tail of the bull Nandi. To enable him to reach heaven safely, we pound rice, and put lights of rice.” The priest receives a fee for his services, which he places before an image made on the grave after it has been filled in. The money is usually spent in making a sacred bull, lingam, or stone slab, to place on the grave. On the third day after death, the female relatives of the deceased pour milk within the house into a vessel, which is taken by the male relatives to the burial-ground, and offered at the grave, which is cleaned. A small platform, made of mud, and composedof several tiers, decreasing in size from below upwards, is erected thereon, and surmounted by a lingam. At the north and south corners of this platform, a bull and paradēsi (mendicant) made of mud are placed, and at each corner leaves are laid, on which the offerings in the form of rice, fruits, vegetables, etc., are laid. The final death ceremonies are celebrated on the seventeenth day. A pandal (booth) is set up, and closed in with cloths. Within it are placed a pot and five pestles and mortars, to which threads are tied. Five married women, taking hold of the pestles, pound some rice contained in the pot, and with the flour make a lamp, which is placed on a tray. The eldest son of the deceased goes, with the lamp on his head, to an enclosure having an entrance at the four cardinal points. The enclosure is either a permanent one with mud walls, or temporary one made out of mats. Within the enclosure, five pots are set up in the centre, and four at each side. The pots are cleansed by washing them with the urine of cows of five different colours, red, white, black, grey, and spotted. Near the pots the articles required for pūja (worship) are placed, and the officiating priest sits near them. The enclosure is supposed to represent heaven, and the entrances are the gates leading thereto, before which food is placed on leaves. The eldest son, with the lamp, stands at the eastern entrance, while Siva is worshipped. The priest then repeats certain stanzas, of which the following is the substance. “You who come like Siddars (attendants in the abode of Siva) at midnight, muttering Siva’s name, why do you come near Sivapadam? I will pierce you with my trident. Get away. Let these be taken to yamapuri, or hell.” Then Siva and Parvati, hearing the noise, ask “Oh! sons, who are you that keep on saying Hara, Hara? Give out truly your names and nativity.”To which the reply is given “Oh! Lord, I am a devotee of that Being who graced Markandeya, and am a Vīrasaiva by faith. I have come to enter heaven. We have all led pure lives, and have performed acts of charity. So it is not just that we should be prevented from entering. Men who ill-treat their parents, or superiors, those addicted to all kinds of vice, blasphemers, murderers, perverts from their own faith and priests, and other such people, are driven to hell by the southern gate.” At this stage, a thread is passed round the enclosure. The son, still bearing the lamp, goes from the eastern entrance past the south and western entrances, and, breaking the thread, goes into the enclosure through the northern entrance. The Nandikōl (hereditary village official) then ties a cloth first round the head of the eldest son, and afterwards round the heads of the other sons and agnates.The Valluvans abstain from eating beef. Though they mix freely with the Paraiyans, they will not eat with them, and never live in the Paraiyan quarter.The Valluvans are sometimes called Pandāram or Valluva Pandāram. In some places, the priests of the Valluvans are Vellāla Pandārams.Valluvan.—A small inferior caste of fishermen and boatmen in Malabar.22Vālmika.—Vālmīka or Vālmīki is a name assumed by the Bōyas and Paidis, who claim to be descended from Vālmīki, the author of the Rāmāyana, who did penance for so long in one spot that a white-ant hill (vālmīkam) grew up round him. In a note before me, Vālmīki is referred to as the Spenser of India. In the North Arcot Manual, Vālmīkulu, as a synonym of the Vēdans,is made to mean those who live on the products of ant-hills.Vāl Nambi.—Recorded, in the Madras Census Report, 1901, as “a synonym for Mūssad. Nambi is a title of Brāhmans, and vāl means a sword. The tradition is that the name arose from the ancestors of the caste having lost some of the privileges of the Vēdic Brāhmans owing to their having served as soldiers when Malabar was ruled by the Brāhmans prior to the days of the Perumāls.”Valuvādi.—The Valuvādis are returned, in the Madras Census Report, 1901, as cultivators in the Pudukōttai State. I am informed that the Valuvādis are a section of the Valaiyan caste, to which the Zamindar of Nagaram belongs. The name Valuvādi was originally a title of respect, appended to the name of the Nagaram Zamindars. The name of the present Zamindar is Balasubramanya Valuvādiar. Thirty years ago there is said to have been no Valuvādi caste. Some Valaiyans in prosperous circumstances, and others who became relatives of the Nagaram Zamindar by marriage, have changed their caste name, to show that they are superior in social status to the rest of the community.Vamme.—A gōtra of Janappans, the members of which abstain from eating the fish called bombadai, because, when some of their ancestors went to fetch water in the marriage pot, they found a number of this fish in the water contained in the pot.Vana Palli.—A name, meaning forest Palli, assumed by some Irulas in South Arcot.Vandikkāran.—An occupational name for Nāyars who work as cartmen (vandi, cart) for carrying fuel.Vandula or Vandi Rāja.—A sub-division of Bhatrāzu, named after one Vandi, who is said to have been a herald at the marriage of Siva.Vangu(cave).—A sub-division of Irula.Vāni.—“The Vānis or Bāndēkars,” Mr. H. A. Stuart writes,23“have been wrongly classified in the census returns (1891) as oil-pressers; they are in reality traders. They are said to have come from Goa, and they speak Konkani. Their spiritual guru is the head of the Kumbakōnam math.” In the Census Report, 1901, it is noted that Vāni, meaning literally a trader, is a Konkani-speaking trading caste, of which Bāndēkara is a synonym. “They ape the Brāhmanical customs, and call themselves by the curious hybrid name of Vaisya Brāhmans.” Hari Chetti has been returned as a further synonym.Vāniyan.—The Vāniyans are, Mr. Francis writes,24“oil-pressers among the Tamils, corresponding to the Telugu Gāndlas, Canarese Gānigas, Malabar Chakkāns, and Oriya Tellis. For some obscure reason, Manu classed oil-pressing as a base occupation, and all followers of the calling are held in small esteem, and, in Tinnevelly, they are not allowed to enter the temples. In consequence, however, of their services in lighting the temples (in token of which all of them, except the Malabar Vāniyans and Chakkāns, wear the sacred thread), they are earning a high position, and some of them use the sonorous title of Jōti Nagarattār (dwellers in the city of light) and Tiru-vilakku Nagarattār (dwellers in the city of holy lamps). They employ Brāhmans as priests, practice infant marriage, and prohibit widow marriage, usually burn their dead, and decline to eat in the houses of any caste below Brāhmans. However, even the washermen decline to eat with them. Like the Gāndlas they have two sub-divisions, Ottai-sekkān and Irattai-sekkān,who use respectively one bullock and two bullocks in their mills. Oddly enough, the former belong to the right-hand faction, and the latter to the left. Their usual title is Chetti. The name Vānuvan has been assumed by Vāniyans, who have left their traditional occupation, and taken to the grain and other trades.”“The word Vānijyam,” Mr. H. A. Stuart informs us,25“signifies trade, and trade in oil, as well as its manufacture, is the usual employment of this caste, who assert that they are Vaisyas, and claim the Vaisya-Apurānam as their holy book. They are said to have assumed the thread only within the last fifty or sixty years, and are reputed to be the result of a yāgam (sacrifice by fire) performed by a saint called Vakkuna Mahārishi. The caste contains four sub-divisions called Kāmākshiamma, Visālākshiamma, Ac’chu-tāli, and Toppa-tāli, the two first referring to the goddesses principally worshipped by each, and the two last to the peculiar kinds of tālis, or marriage tokens, worn by their women. They have the same customs as the Bēri Chettis, but are not particular in observing the rule which forbids the eating of flesh. A bastard branch of the Vāniyas is called the Pillai Kūttam, which is said to have sprung from the concubine of a Vāniyan, who lived many years ago. The members of this class are never found except where Vāniyans live, and are supposed to have a right to be fed and clothed by them. Should this be refused, they utter the most terrible curse, and, in this manner, eventually intimidate the uncharitable into giving them alms.” In the Census Report, 1891, Mr. Stuart writes further that the Vāniyans “were formerly called Sekkān (oil-mill man), and it is curiousthat the oil-mongers alone came to be called Vāniyan or trader. They have returned 126 sub-divisions, of which only one, Ilai Vāniyan, is numerically important. One sub-division is Iranderudu, or two bullocks, which refers to the use of two bullocks in working the mill. This separation of those who use two bullocks from those who employ only one is found in nearly every oil-pressing caste in India. The Vāniyans of Malabar resemble the Nāyars in their customs and habits, and neither wear the sacred thread, nor employ Brāhmans as priests. In North Malabar, Nāyars are polluted by their touch, but in the south, where they are called Vattakādans, they have succeeded in forcing themselves into the ranks of the Nāyar community. A large number of them returned Nāyar as their main caste.” In this connection, Mr. Francis states26that followers of the calling of oil-pressers (Chakkāns) are “known as Vattakādans in South Malabar, and as Vāniyans in North Malabar; but the former are the higher in social status, the Nāyars being polluted by the touch of the Vāniyans and Chakkāns but not by that of the Vattakādans. Chakkāns and Vāniyans may not enter Brāhman temples. Their customs and manners are similar to those of the Nāyars, who will not, however, marry their women.”Of the Vāniyans of Cochin, it is stated in the Cochin Census Report, 1901, that “they are Vaisyas, and wear the sacred thread. In regard to marriage, inheritance, ceremonies, dress, ornaments, etc., there is practically no difference between them and the Konkanis. But, as they do not altogether abstain from meat and spirituous liquors, they are not allowed free access to the houses of Konkanis, nor are they permitted to touch their tanksand wells. They are Saivites. They have their own priests, who are called Panditars. They observe birth and death pollution for ten days, and are like Brāhmans in this respect. They are mostly petty merchants and shop-keepers. Some can read and write Malayālam, but they are very backward in English education.”The oils expressed by the Vāniyans are said to be “gingelly (Sesamum indicum), cocoanut, iluppei (Bassia longifolia), pinnei (Calophyllum inophyllum), and ground-nut (Arachis hypogæa). According to the sāstras the crushing of gingelly seeds, and the sale of gingelly oil, are sinful acts, and no one, who does not belong to the Vāniyan class, will either express or sell gingelly oil.”27When a Vāniyan dies a bachelor, apost-mortemmock ceremony is performed as by the Gānigas, and the corpse is married to the arka plant (Calotropis gigantea), and decorated with a wreath made of the flowers thereof.Vankāyala(brinjal or egg plant:Solanum Melongena).—An exogamous sept of Golla. The fruit is eaten by Natives, and, stuffed with minced meat, is a common article of Anglo-Indian dietary.Vanki(armlet).—A gōtra of Kurni.Vannān.—The Vannāns are washermen in the Tamil and Malayalām countries. The name Vannān is, Mr. H. A. Stuart writes,28“derived from vannam, beauty. There is a tradition that they are descendants of the mythological hero Vīrabadra, who was ordered by Siva to wash the clothes of all men, as an expiation of the sin of putting many people to death in Daksha’s Yāga. Hence the Tamil washermen are frequentlycalled Vīrabadran. Having to purify all the filthy linen of the villagers, they are naturally regarded as a low, unclean class of Sūdras, and are always poor. They add to their income by hiring out the clothes of their customers to funeral parties, who lay them on the ground before the pall-bearers, so that these may not step upon the ground, and by letting them out on the sly to persons wishing to use them without having to purchase for themselves. In social standing the Vannāns are placed next below the barbers. They profess to be Saivites in the southern districts, and Vaishnavites in the north. The marriage of girls generally takes place after puberty. Widow remarriage is permitted among some, if not all, sub-divisions. Divorce may be obtained by either party at pleasure on payment of double the bride-price, which is usually Rs. 10–8–0. They are flesh-eaters, and drink liquor. The dead are either burned or buried. The Pothara (or Podora) Vannāns are of inferior status, because they wash only for Paraiyans, Pallans, and other inferior castes.”It is noted, in the Madura Manual, that those who have seen the abominable substances, which it is the lot of the Vannāns to make clean, cannot feel any surprise at the contempt with which their occupation is regarded. In the Tanjore Manual, it is recorded that, in the rural parts of the district, the Vannāns are not allowed to enter the house of a Brāhman or a Vellāla; clothes washed by them not being worn or mixed up with other clothes in the house until they have undergone another wash by a caste man.It is on record that, on one occasion, a party of Europeans, when out shooting, met a funeral procession on its way to the burial-ground. The bier was draped in many folds of clean cloth, which one of theparty recognised by the initials as one of his bed-sheets. Another identified as his sheet the cloth on which the corpse was lying. He cut off the corner with the initials, and a few days later the sheet was returned by the washerman, who pretended ignorance of the mutilation, and gave as an explanation that it must have been done, in his absence, by one of his assistants. On another occasion, a European met an Eurasian, in a village not far from his bungalow, wearing a suit of clothes exactly similar to his own, and, on close examination, found they were his. They had been newly washed and dressed.The most important divisions numerically returned by Vannāns at times of census are Pāndiyan, Peru (big), Tamil, and Vaduga (northerner). It is recorded, in the Gazetteer of the Madura district, that Vannān “is rather an occupational term than a caste title, and, besides the Pāndya Vannāns or Vannāns proper, includes the Vaduga Vannāns or Tsākalas of the Telugu country, and the Palla, Pudara, and Tulukka Vannāns, who wash for the Pallans, Paraiyans, and Musalmans respectively. The Pāndya Vannāns have a headman called the Periya Manishan (big man). A man can claim the hand of his paternal aunt’s daughter. At weddings, the bridegroom’s sister ties the tāli (marriage badge). Nambis officiate. Divorce is freely allowed to either party on payment of twice the bride-price, and divorcées may marry again. The caste god is Gurunāthan, in whose temples the pūjāri (priest) is usually a Vannān. The dead are generally burnt, and, on the sixteenth day, the house is purified from pollution by a Nambi.”Some Vannāns have assumed the name Irkuli Vellāla, and Rājakan and Kāttavarāya vamsam have also been recorded as synonyms of the caste name.The Vannāns of Malabar are also called Mannān or Bannān. They are, Mr. Francis writes,29“a low class of Malabar washermen, who wash only for the polluting castes, and for the higher castes when they are under pollution following births, deaths, etc. It is believed by the higher castes that such pollution can only be removed by wearing clothes washed by Mannāns, though at other times these cause pollution to them. The washing is generally done by the women, and the men are exorcists, devil-dancers and physicians, even to the higher castes. Their women are midwives, like those of the Velakkatalavan and Vēlan castes. This caste should not be confused with the Mannān hill tribe of Travancore.”It is recorded, in the Gazetteer of Malabar, that “the Mannāns, a makkattāyam caste of South Malabar, apparently identical with the marumakkattāyam Vannāns of the north, are a caste of washermen; and their services are indispensable to the higher castes in certain purificatory ceremonies when they have to present clean cloths (māttu). They are also devil-dancers and tailors. They practice fraternal polyandry in the south. Mannāns are divided into two endogamous classes, Peru-mannāns (peru, great), and Tinda-mannāns (tinda, pollution); and, in Walavanād, into four endogamous classes called Chōppan, Peru-mannān, Punnekādan, and Puliyakkōdam. The Tinda-mannān and Puliyakkōdam divisions perform the purificatory sprinklings for the others.”The services of the Mannān, Mr. T. K. Gopal Panikkar writes,30“are in requisition at the Nāyar Thirandukaliānam ceremonies on the attainment of puberty by a girl, when they sing ballads, and have to bring, for the girl’s use, the māttu or sacred dress.Then, on occasions of death pollution, they have a similar duty to perform. Among the Nāyars, on the fourth, or rarely the third day after the menses, the woman has to use, during her bath, clothes supplied by Mannān females. The same duty they have to perform during the confinement of Nāyar females. All the dirty cloths and bed sheets used, these Mannān females have to wash.” Mr. S. Appadorai Iyer informs us that those Mannāns who are employed by the Kammālan, or artisan class, as barbers, are not admitted into the Mannān caste, which follows the more honourable profession of washing clothes. The Mannāns perform certain ceremonies in connection with Mundian, the deity who is responsible for the weal or woe of cattle; and, at Pūram festivals, carry the vengida koda or prosperity umbrella, composed of many tiers of red, green, orange, black and white cloth, supported on a long bamboo pole, before the goddess.It is recorded by Bishop Whitehead31that, in various places in Malabar, there are temples in honour of Bhagavati, at which the pūjāris (priests) are of the Vannān caste. “There is an annual feast called gurusi tarpanam (giving to the guru) about March, when the hot weather begins, and the people are at leisure. Its object is to appease the wrath of the goddess. During the festival, the pūjāri sits in the courtyard outside the temple, thickly garlanded with red flowers, and with red kunkuma marks on his forehead. Goats and fowls are then brought to him by the devotees, and he kills them with one blow of the large sacrificial sword or chopper. It is thought auspicious for the head to be severed at one blow, and, apparently, pūjāris who are skilful indecapitation are much in request. When the head is cut off, the pūjāri takes the carcase, and holds it over a large copper vessel partly filled with water, turmeric, kunkuma, and a little rice, and lets the blood flow into it. When all the animals are killed, the pūjāribailsout the blood and water on the ground, uttering mantrams (sacred lines or verses) the while. The people stand a little way off. When the vessel is nearly empty, the pūjāri turns it upside down as a sign that the ceremony is ended. During these proceedings, a number of Vannāns, dressed in fantastic costumes, dance three times round the temple. During the festival, processions are held round the various houses, and special swords with a curved hook at the end, called palli val (great or honourable sword), are carried by the worshippers. These swords are worshipped during the Dusserah festival in October, and, in some shrines, they form the only emblem of the deity. The Tiyans have small shrines in their own gardens sacred to the family deity, which may be Bhagavati, or some demon, or the spirit of an ancestor. Once a year, Vannāns come dressed in fancy costume, with crowns on their heads, and dance round the courtyard to the sound of music and tom-toms, while a Tiyan priest presents the family offerings, uncooked rice and young cocoanuts, with camphor and incense, and then rice fried with sugar and ghī (clarified butter).”In an account of the Tiyans, Mr. Logan writes32that “this caste is much given to devil-charming, or devil-driving as it is often called. The washermen (Vannān) are the high priests of this superstition, and with chants, ringing cymbals, magic figures, and waving lights, they drive out evil spirits from their votaries of this caste atcertain epochs in their married lives. One ceremony in particular, called teyyāttam—a corrupt form of Dēva and āttam, that is, playing at gods—takes place occasionally in the fifth month of pregnancy. A leafy arbour is constructed, and in front of it is placed a terrible figure of Chāmundi, the queen of the demons, made of rice flour, turmeric powder, and charcoal powder. A party of not less than eighteen washermen is organized to represent the demons and furies—Kuttichāttan (a mischievous imp), and many others. On being invoked, these demons bound on to the stage in pairs, dance, caper, jump, roar, fight, and drench each other with saffron (turmeric) water. Their capers and exertions gradually work up their excitement, until they are veritably possessed of the devil. At this juncture, fowls and animals are sometimes thrown to them, to appease their fury. These they attack with their teeth, and kill and tear as a tiger does his prey. After about twenty minutes the convulsions cease, the demon or spirit declares its pleasure, and, much fatigued, retires to give place to others; and thus the whole night is spent, with much tom-tomming and noise and shouting, making it impossible, for Europeans at least, to sleep within earshot of the din.”Vannattān.—A synonym of Veluttēdan, the caste of washermen, who wash for Nāyars and higher castes.Vanni Kula Kshatriya.—A synonym of the Pallis, who claim to belong to the fire race of Kshatriyas.Vanniyan.—A synonym of Palli. The name further occurs as a sub-division of Ambalakāran and Valaiyan. Some Maravans also are known as Vanniyan or Vannikutti. Tēn (honey) Vanniyan is the name adopted by some Irulas in the South Arcot district.Vantari.—SeeTelaga.Vanuvan.—A name assumed by Vāniyans who have abandoned their hereditary occupation of oil-pressing, and taken to trade in grain and other articles.Vārakurup.—Recorded, in the Madras Census Report, 1901, as a title of Malayālam Paravans.Varige(millet).—An exogamous sept of Kāpu.Vāriyar.—For the following note on the Vāriyar section of the Ambalavāsis, I am indebted to Mr. N. Subramani Aiyar. The name is believed to be derived from Parasava, which, according to Yajnavalkya and other law-givers, is the name given to the son of a Brāhman begotten on a Sūdra woman, and suggests the fact that the Vāriyar is no Brāhman, though the blood of the latter may course through his veins, and though such marriages were regarded as sacraments in early days. This is the derivation given by Pachumuttalu in his Kēralavisēshamāhātmya, who adds that the chief occupation of the Vāriyars is to sweep the floor of the temples. In some of the Asauchavidhis (works on pollution) of Kērala, the commentator explains the word Parasava as Vāriya. Many Vāriyars add the title Parasava to their name, when writing in Sanskrit. Some derive the word from varija or one born of water, in accordance with a tradition that Parasurāma created from water a class of persons for special service in temples, and to take the place of Sūdras, who, being meat-eaters, were ineligible for the same. Others again, like the late Professor Sundaram Pillay, would take Vāriyar as being derived from varuka, to sweep. Recently, some ingenuity has been displayed in splitting the word into two words, giving it a meaning equivalent to pseudo-Aryan. The title Asan, or teacher, is possessed by certain families, whose members have held the hereditary position of tutors in noblemen’s houses. Inmediæval times, many Vāriyar families received royal edicts, conferring upon them the privileges of being tutors and astrologers. These special rights are even now possessed by them.The following legend is narrated concerning the origin of theVāriyars. A Sūdra woman removed a bone from within a temple in obedience to the wish of certain Brāhman priests, and was excommunicated from her caste. The priests, on hearing this, were anxious to better her condition, and made her the progenitor of a class of Ambalavāsis or temple servants, who were afterwards known as Vāriyars. According to another legend, the corpse of a Mārān, which was found inside a Nambūtiri’s house, was promptly removed by certain Nāyars, who on that account were raised in the social scale, and organised into a separate caste called Vāriyar. There is a still further tradition that, in the Treta Yuga, a Sūdra woman had five sons, the first of whom became the progenitor of the Tiyatunnis, and the second that of Vāriyars. A fourth account is given in the Kēralamahātmya. A young Brāhman girl was married to an aged man. Not confident in unaided human effort, under circumstances such as hers, she devoted a portion of her time daily to preparing flower garlands for the deity of the nearest temple, and conceived. But the Brāhman welcomed the little stranger by getting the mother thrown out of caste. Her garlands could no longer be accepted, but, nothing daunted, she worked as usual, and made a mental offering of the garlands she prepared, which, through an unseen agency, became visible on the person of the deity. Though the people were struck with shame at their unkind treatment of the innocent girl, they were not prepared to take her back. The Vāriyan caste was accordingly constituted, and her child was brought up bythe Azhancheri Tambrakkal, and accommodated in the padippura or out-house at the entrance gate. In the Pāsupata Tantra, the Vāriyars are called Kailāsavāsins, or those who live in Kailās, as they are supposed to be specially devoted to the worship of Siva. Kailāsa is the abode of Siva, whither the blessed go after death.The Vāriyars of Travancore are divided into four groups, called Onattukara, Venattukara, Ilayetattunad (or Ilayathu), and Tekkumkur. The Venattukaras have the privilege of interdining with the Onattukaras, and having their ceremonies performed by priests from that group. But the ceremonies of the Onattukaras appear to be performed without the Venattukaras being admitted into their midst. The third and fourth groups take food in the houses of the first and second, though the reverse seldom happens. The Vāriyars in British Malabar are divided into several other groups.The Vāriyars are generally well-read, especially in Sanskrit, make excellent astrologers, and are also medical practitioners. A Vāriyar’s house is called variyam, as the Pishārati’s is known as pishāram.Married women have the hair-knot on the left side of the head, like Nāyar ladies. They cover the breast with a folded cloth, and never wear a bodice or other innovations in the matter of dress. The marriage ornament is called mātra, and is in the shape of a maddalam or drum. Other neck ornaments are called entram and kuzhal. The todu, or ornament of Nāyar women, is worn in the ear-lobes. Women mark their foreheads, like Nambūtiri ladies, with sandal paste.The Vāriyars, Pushpakans, and Pishāratis, are said to constitute the three original garland-making castes of Malabar, appointed by Parasurāma. At the present day, in all the important temples, except in SouthTravancore, where Kurukkals perform that function, garlands can only be prepared by one of these castes. The technical occupation of a Vāriyar in a temple is called kazhakam, which is probably derived from the Dravidian root kazhaku, to cleanse. Kazhakam is of two kinds, viz., malakkazhakam or garland-making service, and talikkazhakam or sweeping service, of which the former is more dignified than the latter. Under the generic term kazhakar are included making flower garlands for the temple, preparing materials for the offering of food, sweeping the beli offering, carrying lights and holding umbrellas when the god is carried in procession, having the custody of the temple jewels, etc. The Vāriyar is at the beck and call of the temple priest, and has to do sundry little services from morning till evening. He is remunerated with some of the cooked food, after it has been offered to the deity. The Vāriyars are to Saivite temples what the Pishāratis are to Vaishnavite temples. Their prayers are prominently addressed only to Siva, but they also worship Vishnu, Subramanya, Sasta, Ganēsa, and Bhadrakāli. Their chief amusement is the farce called Kūttappāthakam, the hero of which is one Vankāla Nikkan, and the heroine Naityar. An Ilayatu is the stage-manager, and a Pishārati the actor. Parangotan is the buffoon, and Māppa his wife. In the eighteenth century, a grand festival lasting over twenty-eight days, called mamangam, was celebrated in British Malabar. The above characters are represented as proceeding to this festival, which came off once in twelve years on the Magha asterism in the month of Magha, and is hence popularly called Mahāmagha.The Vāriyar caste is governed in all matters by the Nambūtiri Brahmans, but they have their own priests.The Ilayatus believe that they were the preceptors of all the Ambalavāsi castes in former times, but were dislodged from that position owing to most of them employing priests from among their own caste men. Even at the present day, Ilayatus are known to express their displeasure when they are asked to drink water from a Vāriyar’s well. As, however, consecrated water from the Nambūtiris is taken to a Vāriyar for its purification, they entertain no scruples about cooking their food there, provided they carry with them the aupasana fire.Inheritance among the Vāriyars of Cochin and British Malabar is in the female line (marumakkathāyam). Among the Vāriyars of Travancore, chiefly these belonging to the Onattukara section, a kind of qualified makkathāyam prevails, in accordance with which both sons and daughters have an equal right to inherit ancestral property. The eldest male member is entitled to the management of the estate in all undivided families. Partition, however, is largely followed in practice.The tāli-kettu ceremony of the Vāriyars generally takes place before a girl reaches puberty, and, in the case of boys, after the ceremony of Sivadiksha has been performed, that is between the twelfth and sixteenth years. If the marriage is in the kudi-vaippu form, or, in other words, if there is an intention on the part of both parties to treat the marital alliance as permanent, no separate sambandham need be celebrated afterwards; and, in all cases where marriages are celebrated between members of the same section, the kudi-vaippu form is in vogue. If a girl is unmarried when she reaches puberty, she is not permitted to take part in any religious ceremonies, or enter any temple until she is married.The first item of a Vāriyar’s marriage is ayani-unu, when the bridegroom, decked in new clothes and ornaments, dines sumptuously with his relations. He then goes in procession to the bride’s house, and, after bathing, puts on clothes touched by the bride. After this some prayers are recited, and a sacrifice is offered. The bride is then brought to the marriage hall, and, all the Brāhmanical rites are strictly observed. After sunset, some grass and a leopard’s skin are placed on the floor on which white cloth is spread. The bridegroom, who is seated on the northern side, worships Ganapati, after which the couple take their seats on the cloth bed spread on the floor. Lights are then waved in front of them. This ceremony is known as dikshavirikkuka. In the kudi-vaippu form of marriage, the bride is taken to the house of the bridegroom, where the dikshavirippu is observed. Otherwise the marital rite becomes a mere tāli-kattu ceremony, and the girl, when she comes of age, may receive clothes in token of conjugal connection with another person. When the first husband dies, clothes may be received from another Vāriyar, or a Brāhman, whose wife the woman becomes.Most of the ceremonies observed by Malayāli Brāhmans are also performed by the Vāriyars, the vratas and upanayana being among those which are omitted. Sivadiksha, as already indicated, is observed between the twelfth and sixteenth years. The festival lasts for four days, though the religious rites are over on the first day. At an auspicious hour, the priest and the Vāriyar youth put on the tattu dress, or dress worn for ceremonial purposes, and worship a pot full of water with incense and flowers, the contents of which are then poured by the priest over the youth. The priest and a Mārān then perform the tonsure, and theyouth bathes. Some Nambūtiris are then engaged to perform the purificatory rite, after which the Vāriyar wears the tattu as well as an upper cloth, marks his forehead with ashes and sandal paste, and decorates himself with jewels, rudrāksha (Elæocarpus Ganitrus) beads, and flowers. Alms are received by the young Vāriyar from his mother, and he takes seven steps in a northerly direction which symbolise his pilgrimage to Benares. It is only after the performance of this rite that the Vāriyar is believed to become a grihastha (married person, as opposed to a bachelor). The funeral rites of the caste have been elaborated in many places. Death pollution lasts for twelve days, and the sanchayana (milk ceremony) is observed on the seventh or ninth day. Anniversary ceremonies are celebrated in memory of close relations, and others are propitiated by the performance of srādh, and the feeding of a Vāriyar on a new-moon day.In an account of a royal wedding in Travancore in 1906, I read that “a number of Vāriyars left the thēvarathu koikal, or palace where worship is performed, for a compound (garden) close by to bring an areca palm. It is supposed that they do this task under divine inspiration and guidance. One man is given a small rod by the Potti or priest in the palace, and, after receiving this, he dances forward, followed by his comrades, and all wend their way to a compound about a furlong away. On reaching the spot, they uproot a big areca palm without the use of any implement of iron, and take it away to the thēvarathu koikal without its touching the ground, to the accompaniment of music. They then plant it in front of the portico, and do some pūja (worship) after the manner of Brāhmans. The function is comparable to the dhwajarohanam, or hoisting of the flag during temple utsavams. TheVāriyarsdance roundthe tree, singing songs, and performing pūja. A piece of white cloth is tied to the top of the tree, to serve as a flag, and a lamp is lighted, and placed at the foot of the tree.”The Vāriyars are described, in the Gazetteer of Malabar, as “a caste whose traditional duty is to sweep the temple precincts (vāruga). At the present day, some members of the caste are important land-owners or petty chieftains, occupying a very high social position. They generally follow the marumakkatāyam principle, but they have also a form of marriage called Kudivekkal similar to the Brahman Sarvasvadhānam, by which the wife is adopted as a member of the family into which she marries, and her children also belong to it. The Vāriyar’s names and ceremonies indicate Sivaite proclivities, just as those of the Pishārodi are tinged with Vishnavism. The Vāriyar’s house is called a Vāriyam, and his woman-folk Varassiars. This class is perhaps the most progressive among the Ambalavāsis, some of its members having received a Western education and entered the learned professions.”Varugu Bhatta.—A mendicant class, which begs from Perikes.Varuna.—Some Pattanavan fishermen have adopted the name of Varunakula Vellāla or Varunakula Mudali after Varuna the god of the waters.Vasa(new).—A sub-division of Kurubas, who are said to weave only white blankets.Vasishta.—A Brāhmanical gōtra adopted by Khatris and Toreyas. Vasishta, one of the seven great Rishis, was the son of Mitra and Varuna, whose quarrels with Viswamitra are narrated in the Rāmayana.Vastra.—One division of the Koragas is called Vastra, meaning cloths suchasare used as a shroud for acorpse, which were given to them as an act of charity, the wearing of new cloths by them being prohibited. Vastrala (cloth) further occurs as an exogamous sept of the Karna Sālē and Dēvānga weavers.Vattakādan.—Recorded as a sub-division of Nāyar, the occupation of which is expressing oil, chiefly for use in temples. Mr. F. Fawcett writes33that, in North Malabar, he has frequently been told by Nāyars of the superior classes that they do not admit the Vattakādans to be Nāyars. According to them, the Vattakādans have adopted the honorary affix Nāyar to their names quite recently. In the Madras Census Report, 1891, Vattakādan is stated to be a synonym of Vāniyan; and in the report, 1901, this name is said to mean a Native of Vattakād, and to be given to the Chakkāns.Vattē(camel).—A gōtra of Kurni.Vātti.—Vātti or Vāttikurup has been recorded at times of census as a sub-division of Nāyar, and a synonym of Kāvutiyan and Tōlkollan. Vātti is said to mean one who prays for happiness.Vayani.—The Vayanis, Vayinis, Vaguniyans, or Pavinis, are a section of Mādigas, the members of which play on a single-stringed mandoline, and go about from village to village, singing the praises of the village goddesses. Each Vayani has his recognised beat. He plays a prominent part in the celebration of the annual festival of the village goddess, and receives a sacred thread (kappu), which is usually tied to his mandoline, before the commencement of the festival. He regards himself as superior in social position to ordinary Mādigas, with whom he will not marry. The name Vayani is said to be a corruption of varnane, meaning todescribe. In some localities,e.g., the Chingleput district, the Vayani enjoys mirāsi rights in connection with land.Vēdan.—The Vēdans are described by Mr. H. A. Stuart, in the North Arcot Manual, as having been “formerly hunters and soldiers, and it is this caste which furnished a considerable and valuable contingent to the early Hindu kings, and later to the armies of Hyder and Tippoo. They are supposed by some to be the remnants of the earliest inhabitants of the peninsula, and identical with the Veddahs of Ceylon. They are also called Vālmīkulu, which means those who live on the products of ant-hills (vālmīkum).” It is noted, in the Census Report, 1891, that the two castes Bēdar (or Bōya) and Vēdan were, “through a misapprehension of instructions, treated as identical in the tabulation papers. The two words are, no doubt, etymologically identical, the one being Canarese and the other Tamil, but the castes are quite distinct.” It may be noted that the name Vālmīka or Vālmīki is assumed by the Bōyas, who claim descent from Vālmīki, the author of the Rāmayana, who did penance for so long in one spot that a white-ant hill grew up round him.In the Madras Census Report, 1901, the Vēdans are described as “a Tamil-speaking labouring and hunting caste, the members of which were formerly soldiers, and subsequently dacoits. The name means a hunter, and is loosely applied to the Irulas in some places (e.g., Chingleput). There is some connection between the Vēdans and Tamil Vēttuvans, but its precise nature is not clear. The Vēttuvans now consider themselves superior to the Vēdans, and are even taking to calling themselves Vēttuva Vellālas. Marriage (among the Vēdans) is either infant or adult. Widows may marry their late husband’s brother or agnates. Some employ Brāhmans as priests. They either burn or bury theirdead. They claim descent from Kannappa Nāyanar, one of the sixty-three Saivite saints. Ambalakārans also claim to be descended from Kannappa Nāyanār. In Tanjore, the Valaiyans declare themselves to have a similar origin. The title of the Vēdans is Nāyakkan.” In the Madura Manual, the Vēdans are described as a very low caste, who get their living in the jungles. They are not numerous now. They appear to have been naked savages not very long ago, and their civilisation is far from complete. They are held in the greatest contempt by men of all classes. They are described further, in the Coimbatore Manual, as “a very degraded, poor tribe, living by basket-making, snaring small game, and so on. They speak a low Canarese, and are as simple as savage. The delight of a party at the gift of a rupee is something curious.” In the Salem district some Vēdans are said34to be “known by the caste name Tiruvalar, who aredistinguishedas the Kattukudugirajāti, a name derived from a custom among them, which authorises temporary matrimonial arrangements.”The following story in connection with bears and Vēdans is worthy of being placed on record. The bears are said to collect ripe wood-apples (Feronia elephantum) during the season, and store them in the forest. After a small quantity has been collected, they remove the rind of the fruits, and heap together all the pulp. They then bring honey and petals of sweet-smelling flowers, put them on the heap of pulp, and thresh them with their feet and with sticks in their hands. When the whole has become a consistent mass, they feed on it. The Vēdan, who knows the season, is said to drive off the bears by shooting at them, and rob them of theirfeast, which is sold as karadi panchamritham, or bear delicacy made of five ingredients.
“Trolling from the shore at the river’s mouth is only carried on of a morning or evening, during the winter months of the year, when the sea is smooth. The line is from 80 to 100 yards in length, and held wound round the left hand; the hook is fastened to the line by a brass wire, and the bait is a live fish. The fisherman, after giving the line an impetus by twirling it round and round his head, throws it with great precision from 50 to 60 yards. A man is always close by with a cast net, catching baits, which he sells for one quarter of an anna each. This mode of fishing is very exciting sport, but is very uncertain in its results, and therefore usually carried on by coolies either before their day’s work has commenced, or after its termination.“Fishing with a bait continues all day long in Cochin during the monsoon months, when work is almost at a standstill, and five or six persons may be perceived at each jetty, busily engaged in this occupation. TheBagrustribe is then plentiful, and, as it bites readily, large numbers are captured.“Fishing in small boats appears at times to be a dangerous occupation; the small canoe only steadied by the paddle of one man seated in it looks as if it must every minute be swamped. Very large fish are sometimes caught in this way. Should one be hooked too large for the fisherman to manage, the man in the next boat comes to his assistance, and receives a quarter of the fish for his trouble. This is carried on all through the year, and the size of some of the Bagri is enormous.“Fish are shot in various ways, by a Chittagong bamboo, which is a hollow tube, down which the arrow is propelled by the marksman’s mouth. This mode is sometimes very remunerative, and is followed by persons who quietly sneak along the shores, either of sluggish streams or of the backwater. Sometimes they climb up into trees, and there await a good shot. Or, during the monsoon, the sportsman quietly seats himself near some narrow channel that passes from one wide piece of water into another, and watches for his prey. Other fishermen shoot with bows and arrows, and again others with cross-bows, the iron arrow or bolt of which is attached by a line to the bow, to prevent its being lost. But netting fish, catching them with hooks, or shooting them with arrows, are not the only means employed for their capture. Bamboo labyrinths, bamboo baskets, and even men’s hands alone, are called into use.“Persons fish for crabs in shallow brackish water, provided with baskets like those employed in Europe for catching eels, but open at both ends. The fishermen walk about in the mud, and, when they feel a fish move, endeavour to cover it with the larger end of the basket, which is forced down some distance into the mud, and the hand is then passed downward through the upper extremity, and the fish taken out. Another plan of catching them by the hand is by having two lines to which white cocoanut leaves are attached tied to the fisherman’s two great toes, from which they diverge; the other end of each being held by another man a good way off, and some distance apart. On these lines being shaken, the fish become frightened, and, strange as it may appear, cluster for protection around the man’s feet, who is able to stoop down, and catch them with his hands, by watching his opportunity.“Bamboo labyrinths are common all along the backwater, in which a good many fish, especially eels and crabs, are captured. These labyrinths are formed of a screen of split bamboos, passing perpendicularly out of the water, and leading into a larger baited chamber. A dead cat is often employed as a bait for crabs. A string is attached to its body, and, after it has been in the water some days, it is pulled up with these crustacea adherent to it. Persons are often surprised at crabs being considered unwholesome, but their astonishment would cease, if they were aware what extremely unclean feeders they are.“Fish are obtained from the inland rivers by poisoning them, but this can only be done when the water is low. A dam is thrown across a certain portion, and the poison placed within it. It generally consists ofCocculus indicus(berries) pounded with rice; croton oil seeds, etc.”Valangai.—Valangai, Valangan, Valangamattān, or Balagai, meaning those who belong to the right-hand faction, has, at times of census, been returned as a sub-division, synonym or title of Dēva-dāsis, Holeyas, Nōkkans, Panisavans, Paraiyans, and Sāliyans. Some Dēva-dāsis have returned themselves as belonging to the left-hand (idangai) faction.Valayakāra Chetti.—A Tamil synonym of Gāzula Balijas who sell glass bangles. The equivalent Vala Chetti is also recorded.Vālēkāra.—A Badaga form of Billēkāra or belted peon. The word frequently occurs in Badaga ballads. Tāluk peons on the Nīlgiris are called Vālēkāras.Vāli Sugrīva.—A synonym of the Lambādis, who claim descent from Vāli and Sugrīva, the two monkey chiefs of the Rāmāyana.Valinchiyan.—SeeVelakkattalavan.Valiyatān(valiya, great, tān, a title of dignity).—Recorded, in the Travancore Census Report, 1901, as a title of Nāyar.Vallabarayan.—A title of Ōcchan.Vallamban.—The Vallambans are a small Tamil cultivating class living in the Tanjore, Trichinopoly, and Madura districts. They are said16to be “the offspring of a Vellālan and a Valaiya woman, now a small and insignificant caste of cultivators. Some of them assert that their ancestors were the lords of the soil, for whose sole benefit the Vellālans used to carry on cultivation. Tradition makes the Vellambans to have joined the Kallans in attacking and driving away the Vellālans. It is customary among the Vallambans, when demising land, to refer to the fact of their being descendants of the Vallambans who lost Vallam,i.e., the Vallama nādu in Tanjore, their proper country.” Some Vallambans claim to be flesh-eating Vellālas, or to be superior to Kallans and Maravans by reason of their Vellāla ancestry. They call themselves Vallamtōtta Vellālas, or the Vellālas who lost Vallam, and say that they were Vellālas of Vallam in the Tanjore district, who left their native place in a time of famine.Portions of the Madura and Tanjore districts are divided into areas known as nādus, in each of which a certain caste, called the Nāttar, is the predominant factor. For example, the Vallambans and Kallans are called the Nāttars of the Pālaya nādu in the Sivaganga zemindari of the Madura district. In dealing with the tribal affairs of the various castes inhabiting a particular nādu, the lead is taken by the Nāttars, by whom certain privileges are enjoyed, as for example in the distributionto them, after the Brāhman and zamindar, of the flowers and sacred ashes used in temple worship. For the purposes of caste council meetings the Vallambans collect together representatives from fourteen nādus, as they consider that the council should be composed of delegates from a head village and its branches, generally thirteen in number.It is noted by Mr. F. R. Hemingway that the Vallambans “speak of five sub-divisions, namely, Chenjinādu, Amaravatinādu, Palayanādu, Mēlnādu, and Kilnādu. The Mēl and Kilnādu people intermarry, but are distinguishable by the fact that the former have moustaches, and the latter have not. The women dress like the Nāttukōttai Chettis. Tattooing is not allowed, and those who practice it are expelled from the caste. The men generally have no title, but some who enjoy State service inams call themselves Ambalakāran. The Mēlnādu people have no exogamous divisions, though they observe the rule about Kōvil Pangōlis. The Kilnādus have exogamous kilais, karais, and pattams.” As examples of exogamous septs, the following may be cited:—Sōlangal (Chōla), Pāndiangal (Pāndyan), Nariangal (jackal), and Piliyangal (tiger).The headman of the Vallambans is referred to generally as the Servaikāran. The headman of a group of nādus is entitled Nāttuservai, while the headman of a village is known as Ūr Servai, or simply Servai.Marriage is celebrated between adults, and the remarriage of widows is not objected to. It is stated17that “the maternal uncle’s or paternal aunt’s daughter is claimed as a matter of right by a boy, so that a boy of ten may be wedded to a mature woman of twenty ortwenty-five years, if she happens to be unmarried and without issue. Any elderly male member of the boy’s family—his elder brother, uncle, or even his father—will have intercourse with her, and beget children, which the boy, when he comes of age, will accept as his own, and legitimatise.” This system of marriage, in which there is a marked disparity in the ages of the contracting couple, is referred to in the proverb: “The tāli should be tied at least by a log of wood.” The marriage rites are as a rule non-Brāhmanical, but in some well-to-do families the services of a Brāhman purōhit are enlisted. The presence of the Umbalakāran or caste headman at a marriage is essential. On the wedding day the contracting couple offer, at their homes, manaipongal (boiled rice), and the alangu ceremony is performed by waving coloured rice round them, or touching the knees, shoulders, and head with cakes, and throwing them over the head. The wrist-threads, consisting of a piece of old cloth dyed with turmeric, are tied on by the maternal uncle. Cooked rice and vegetables are placed in front of the marriage dais, and offered to the gods. Four betel leaves are given to the bridegroom, who goes round the dais, and salutes the four cardinal points of the compass by pouring water from a leaf. He then sits down on a plank on the dais, and hands the tāli (marriage badge) to his sister. Taking the tāli, she proceeds to the bride’s house, where the bride, after performing the alangu ceremony, is awaiting her arrival. On reaching the house, she asks for the bride’s presents, and one of her brothers replies that such a piece of land, naming one, is given as a dowry. The bridegroom’s sister then removes the string of black and gold beads, such as is worn before marriage, from the bride’s neck, and replaces it by the tāli. The conch shell should be blown bywomen or children during the performance of manaipongal, and when the tāli is tied. The bride is conveyed to the house of the bridegroom, and sits with him on the dais while the relations make presents to them.The messenger who conveys the news of a death in the community is a Paraiyan. The corpse is placed within a pandal (booth) supported on four posts, which is erected in front of the house. Some paddy (unhusked rice) is poured from a winnow on to the ground, and rice is thrown over the face of the corpse. On the second day rice, and other articles of food, are carried by a barber to the spot where the corpse has been buried or burnt. If the latter course has been adopted, the barber picks out some of the remains of the bones, and hands them to the son of the deceased. On the third day, the widow goes round the pandal three times, and, entering within it, removes her tāli string, and new clothes are thrown over her neck. On the sixteenth day the final death ceremonies (karmāndhiram) are performed. A feast is given, and new cloths are tied on the heads of those under pollution. Pollution lasts for thirty days.The Vallambans profess to be Saivaites, but they consider Periya Nāyaki of Vēlangkudi as their tribal goddess, and each nādu has its own special deity, such as Vēmbu Aiyanar, Nelliyandi Aiyanar, etc. In some places the tribal deity is worshipped on a Tuesday at a festival called Sevvai (Tuesday). On this day pots containing fermented rice liquor, which must have been made by the caste people and not purchased, are taken to the place of worship. On a Friday, those families which are to take part in the festival allow a quantity of paddy (rice) to germinate by soaking it in water, and on the following Tuesday flower spikes of the palmyra palm are added to the malted rice liquor in the pots. Thepots of ordinary families may be placed in their houses, but those of the Umbalakārans and Servaikārans must be taken to the temple as representing the deity. Into these pots the flower spikes should be placed by some respected elder of the community. A week later, a small quantity of rice liquor is poured into other pots, which are carried by women to the temple car, round which they go three times. They then throw the liquor into a tank or pond. The pots of the Umbalakāran and Servaikāran must be carried by young virgins, or grown-up women who are not under menstrual pollution. One of the women who carries these pots usually becomes possessed by the village deity. At the time of the festival, cradles, horses, human figures, elephants, etc., made by the potter, are brought to the temple as votive offerings to the god.Valli Ammai Kuttam.—A synonym of the Koravas, meaning followers of Valli Ammai, the wife of the God Subrahmanya, whom they claim to have been a Korava woman.Vallōdi.—The name denotes a settlement in the Valluvanād tāluk of Malabar, and has been returned as a sub-division of Nāyar and Sāmantan, to which the Rāja of Valluvanād belongs.Valluvan.—The Valluvans are summed up by Mr. H. A. Stuart18as being “the priests of the Paraiyans and Pallans. Tiruvalluvar, the famous Tamil poet, author of the Kurāl, belonged to this caste, which is usually regarded as a sub-division of Paraiyans. It appears that the Valluvans were priests to the Pallava kings before the introduction of the Brāhmans, and even for some time after it.19In an unpublished Vatteluttuinscription, believed to be of the ninth century, the following sentence occurs ‘Sri Velluvam Pūvanavan, the Uvac’chan (Ōc’chan) of this temple, will employ daily six men for doing the temple service.’ Again, the Valluvans must have formerly held a position at least equal to that of the Vellālas, if the story that Tiruvalluva Nāyanar married a Vellāla girl is true.20He is said to have “refused to acknowledge the distinctions of caste, and succeeded in obtaining a Vellāla woman as his wife, from whom a section of the Valluvans say it has its descent. As their ancestor amused himself in the intervals between his studies by weaving, they employ themselves in mending torn linen, but chiefly live by astrology, and by acting as priests of Paraiyans, and officiating at their funerals and marriages, though some refuse to take part in the former inauspicious ceremony, and leave the duty to those whom they consider impure Valluvans called Paraiya Tādas. Another section of the Valluvans is called Ālvar Dāsari or Tāvadadhāri (those who wear the necklace of tulsi beads). Both Saivites and Vaishnavites eat together, but do not intermarry. Unlike Paraiyans, they forbid remarriage of widows and even polygamy, and all males above twelve wear the sacred thread.” According to one account, the Valluvans are the descendants of an alliance between a Brāhman sage and a Paraiyan woman, whose children complained to their father of their lowly position. He blessed them, and told them that they would become very clever astrologers, and, in consequence, much respected. At the Travancore census, 1901, the Valluvans were defined as a sub-division of the Pulayas, for whom they perform priestly functions.“Both men and women are employed as astrologers and doctors, and are often consulted by all classes of people. In many villages they have the privilege of receiving from each ryot a handful of grain during the harvest time.”21Of three Valluvans, whom I interviewed at Coimbatore, one, with a flowing white beard, had a lingam wrapped up in a pink cloth round the neck, and a charm tied in a pink cloth round the right upper arm. Another, with a black beard, had a salmon-coloured turban. The third was wearing a discarded British soldier’s tunic. All wore necklaces of rūdrāksha (Elæocarpus Ganitrus) beads, and their foreheads were smeared with oblong patches of sandal paste. Each of them had a collection of panchangams, or calendars for determining auspicious dates, and a bundle of palm leaf strips (ulla mudyan) inscribed with slōkas for astrological purposes. Their professional duties included writing charms for sick people, preparing horoscopes, and making forecasts of good or evil by means of cabalistic squares marked on the ground. Some Valluvans would have us believe that those who officiate as priests are not true Valluvans, and that the true Valluvan, who carries out the duties of an astrologer, will not perform priestly functions for the Paraiyans.Valluvan dressed up as Siva at Malayanūr festival.Valluvan dressed up as Siva at Malayanūr festival.The most important sub-divisions of the Valluvans, returned at times of census, are Paraiyan, Tāvidadāri, and Tiruvalluvan. From information supplied to me, I gather that there are two main divisions, called Arupathu Katchi (sixty house section) and Narpathu Katchi (forty house section). The former are supposed to be descendants of Nandi Gurukkal, and take his nameas their gōtra. The gōtra of the latter is Sidambara Sayichya Ayyamgar. Sidambara, or Chidambaram, is the site of one of the most sacred Siva temples. The sub-division Ālvār claims descent from Tiruppān Ālvār, one of the twelve Vaishnava saints. In the Tanjore district, the Valluvans have exogamous septs or pattaperu, named after persons,e.g., Marulipichan, Govindazhvan, etc.The Valluvans include in their ranks both Vaishnavites and Saivites. The majority of the latter, both males and females, wear the lingam. The affairs of the community are adjusted by a caste council and there are, in most places, two hereditary officers called Kōlkaran and Kanakkan.At the betrothal ceremony the bride’s money (pariyam), betel, jewels, flowers, and fruit, are placed in the future bride’s lap. The money ranges from seven to ten rupees if the bridegroom’s village is on the same side of a river as the bride’s, and from ten to twenty rupees if it is on the other side. A small sum of money, called uramurai kattu (money paid to relations) and panda varisai (money paid in the pandal), is also paid by the bridegroom’s party for a feast of toddy to the relations. This is the proper time for settling caste disputes by the village council. On the wedding day, the milk-post, consisting of a green bamboo pole, is set up, and a number of pots, brought from the potter’s house, are placed near it. On the dais are set four lamps, viz., an ordinary brass lamp, kudavilakku (pot light), alankāra vilakku (ornamental light), and pāligai vilakku (seedling light). The bride and bridegroom bring some sand, spread it on the floor near the dais, and place seven leaves on it. Cotton threads, dyed with turmeric, are tied to the pots and the milk-post. On the leaves are set cakes and rice, and the contracting couple worshipthe pots and the family gods. The Valluvan priest repeats a jumble of corrupt Sanskrit, and ties the kankanams (threads) on their wrists. They are then led into the house, and garlanded with jasmine orNeriumflowers. The pots are arranged on the dais, and the sand is spread thereon close to the milk-post. Into one of the pots the female relations put grain seedlings, and four other pots are filled with water by the bridegroom’s party. A small quantity of the seedlings is usually wrapped up in a cloth, and placed over the seedling pot. Next morning the bundle is untied, and examined, to see if the seedlings are in good condition. If they are so, the bride is considered a worthy one; if not, the bride is either bad, or will die prematurely. The usual nalagu ceremony is next performed, bride and bridegroom being anointed with oil, and smeared withPhaseolus Mungopaste. This is followed by the offering of food on eleven leaves to the ancestors and house gods. Towards evening, the dais is got ready for its occupation by the bridal couple, two planks being placed on it, and covered with cloths lent by a washerman. The couple, sitting on the planks, exchange betel and paddy nine or twelve times, and rice twenty-seven times. The priest kindles the sacred fire (hōmam), and pours some ghī (clarified butter) into it from a mango leaf. The bridegroom is asked whether he sees Arundati (the pole-star) thrice, and replies in the affirmative. The tāli is shown the sky, smoked over burning camphor, and placed on a tray together with a rupee. After being blessed by those present, it is tied round the neck of the bride by the bridegroom, who has his right leg on her lap. On the second day there is a procession through the village, and, on the following day, the wrist-threads are removed.In some places, the Valluvans, at their marriages, like the Pallis and some other castes, use the pandamutti, or pile of pots reaching to the top of the pandal.The Saivite lingam wearers bury their dead in a sitting posture in a niche excavated in the side of the grave. After death has set in, a cocoanut is broken, and camphor burnt. The corpse is washed by relations, who bring nine pots of water for the purpose. The lingam is tied on to the head, and a cloth bundle, containing a rupee, seven bilva (Ægle Marmelos) leaves, nine twigs of the tulsi (Ocimum sanctum), and nineLeucas asperaflowers, to the right arm. The corpse is carried to the grave on a car surmounted by five brass vessels. The grave is purified by the sprinkling of cow’s urine and cow-dung water before the corpse is lowered into it. On the way to the burial-ground, the priest keeps on chanting various songs, such as “This is Kailāsa. This is Kailāsa thillai (Chidambaram). Our request is this. Nallia Mutthan of the Nandidarma gōtra died on Thursday in the month Thai in the year Subakruthu. He must enter the fourth stage (sayichyam), passing through Sālokam, Sāmīpa, and Sārupa. He crosses the rivers of stones, of thorns, of fire, and of snakes, holding the tail of the bull Nandi. To enable him to reach heaven safely, we pound rice, and put lights of rice.” The priest receives a fee for his services, which he places before an image made on the grave after it has been filled in. The money is usually spent in making a sacred bull, lingam, or stone slab, to place on the grave. On the third day after death, the female relatives of the deceased pour milk within the house into a vessel, which is taken by the male relatives to the burial-ground, and offered at the grave, which is cleaned. A small platform, made of mud, and composedof several tiers, decreasing in size from below upwards, is erected thereon, and surmounted by a lingam. At the north and south corners of this platform, a bull and paradēsi (mendicant) made of mud are placed, and at each corner leaves are laid, on which the offerings in the form of rice, fruits, vegetables, etc., are laid. The final death ceremonies are celebrated on the seventeenth day. A pandal (booth) is set up, and closed in with cloths. Within it are placed a pot and five pestles and mortars, to which threads are tied. Five married women, taking hold of the pestles, pound some rice contained in the pot, and with the flour make a lamp, which is placed on a tray. The eldest son of the deceased goes, with the lamp on his head, to an enclosure having an entrance at the four cardinal points. The enclosure is either a permanent one with mud walls, or temporary one made out of mats. Within the enclosure, five pots are set up in the centre, and four at each side. The pots are cleansed by washing them with the urine of cows of five different colours, red, white, black, grey, and spotted. Near the pots the articles required for pūja (worship) are placed, and the officiating priest sits near them. The enclosure is supposed to represent heaven, and the entrances are the gates leading thereto, before which food is placed on leaves. The eldest son, with the lamp, stands at the eastern entrance, while Siva is worshipped. The priest then repeats certain stanzas, of which the following is the substance. “You who come like Siddars (attendants in the abode of Siva) at midnight, muttering Siva’s name, why do you come near Sivapadam? I will pierce you with my trident. Get away. Let these be taken to yamapuri, or hell.” Then Siva and Parvati, hearing the noise, ask “Oh! sons, who are you that keep on saying Hara, Hara? Give out truly your names and nativity.”To which the reply is given “Oh! Lord, I am a devotee of that Being who graced Markandeya, and am a Vīrasaiva by faith. I have come to enter heaven. We have all led pure lives, and have performed acts of charity. So it is not just that we should be prevented from entering. Men who ill-treat their parents, or superiors, those addicted to all kinds of vice, blasphemers, murderers, perverts from their own faith and priests, and other such people, are driven to hell by the southern gate.” At this stage, a thread is passed round the enclosure. The son, still bearing the lamp, goes from the eastern entrance past the south and western entrances, and, breaking the thread, goes into the enclosure through the northern entrance. The Nandikōl (hereditary village official) then ties a cloth first round the head of the eldest son, and afterwards round the heads of the other sons and agnates.The Valluvans abstain from eating beef. Though they mix freely with the Paraiyans, they will not eat with them, and never live in the Paraiyan quarter.The Valluvans are sometimes called Pandāram or Valluva Pandāram. In some places, the priests of the Valluvans are Vellāla Pandārams.Valluvan.—A small inferior caste of fishermen and boatmen in Malabar.22Vālmika.—Vālmīka or Vālmīki is a name assumed by the Bōyas and Paidis, who claim to be descended from Vālmīki, the author of the Rāmāyana, who did penance for so long in one spot that a white-ant hill (vālmīkam) grew up round him. In a note before me, Vālmīki is referred to as the Spenser of India. In the North Arcot Manual, Vālmīkulu, as a synonym of the Vēdans,is made to mean those who live on the products of ant-hills.Vāl Nambi.—Recorded, in the Madras Census Report, 1901, as “a synonym for Mūssad. Nambi is a title of Brāhmans, and vāl means a sword. The tradition is that the name arose from the ancestors of the caste having lost some of the privileges of the Vēdic Brāhmans owing to their having served as soldiers when Malabar was ruled by the Brāhmans prior to the days of the Perumāls.”Valuvādi.—The Valuvādis are returned, in the Madras Census Report, 1901, as cultivators in the Pudukōttai State. I am informed that the Valuvādis are a section of the Valaiyan caste, to which the Zamindar of Nagaram belongs. The name Valuvādi was originally a title of respect, appended to the name of the Nagaram Zamindars. The name of the present Zamindar is Balasubramanya Valuvādiar. Thirty years ago there is said to have been no Valuvādi caste. Some Valaiyans in prosperous circumstances, and others who became relatives of the Nagaram Zamindar by marriage, have changed their caste name, to show that they are superior in social status to the rest of the community.Vamme.—A gōtra of Janappans, the members of which abstain from eating the fish called bombadai, because, when some of their ancestors went to fetch water in the marriage pot, they found a number of this fish in the water contained in the pot.Vana Palli.—A name, meaning forest Palli, assumed by some Irulas in South Arcot.Vandikkāran.—An occupational name for Nāyars who work as cartmen (vandi, cart) for carrying fuel.Vandula or Vandi Rāja.—A sub-division of Bhatrāzu, named after one Vandi, who is said to have been a herald at the marriage of Siva.Vangu(cave).—A sub-division of Irula.Vāni.—“The Vānis or Bāndēkars,” Mr. H. A. Stuart writes,23“have been wrongly classified in the census returns (1891) as oil-pressers; they are in reality traders. They are said to have come from Goa, and they speak Konkani. Their spiritual guru is the head of the Kumbakōnam math.” In the Census Report, 1901, it is noted that Vāni, meaning literally a trader, is a Konkani-speaking trading caste, of which Bāndēkara is a synonym. “They ape the Brāhmanical customs, and call themselves by the curious hybrid name of Vaisya Brāhmans.” Hari Chetti has been returned as a further synonym.Vāniyan.—The Vāniyans are, Mr. Francis writes,24“oil-pressers among the Tamils, corresponding to the Telugu Gāndlas, Canarese Gānigas, Malabar Chakkāns, and Oriya Tellis. For some obscure reason, Manu classed oil-pressing as a base occupation, and all followers of the calling are held in small esteem, and, in Tinnevelly, they are not allowed to enter the temples. In consequence, however, of their services in lighting the temples (in token of which all of them, except the Malabar Vāniyans and Chakkāns, wear the sacred thread), they are earning a high position, and some of them use the sonorous title of Jōti Nagarattār (dwellers in the city of light) and Tiru-vilakku Nagarattār (dwellers in the city of holy lamps). They employ Brāhmans as priests, practice infant marriage, and prohibit widow marriage, usually burn their dead, and decline to eat in the houses of any caste below Brāhmans. However, even the washermen decline to eat with them. Like the Gāndlas they have two sub-divisions, Ottai-sekkān and Irattai-sekkān,who use respectively one bullock and two bullocks in their mills. Oddly enough, the former belong to the right-hand faction, and the latter to the left. Their usual title is Chetti. The name Vānuvan has been assumed by Vāniyans, who have left their traditional occupation, and taken to the grain and other trades.”“The word Vānijyam,” Mr. H. A. Stuart informs us,25“signifies trade, and trade in oil, as well as its manufacture, is the usual employment of this caste, who assert that they are Vaisyas, and claim the Vaisya-Apurānam as their holy book. They are said to have assumed the thread only within the last fifty or sixty years, and are reputed to be the result of a yāgam (sacrifice by fire) performed by a saint called Vakkuna Mahārishi. The caste contains four sub-divisions called Kāmākshiamma, Visālākshiamma, Ac’chu-tāli, and Toppa-tāli, the two first referring to the goddesses principally worshipped by each, and the two last to the peculiar kinds of tālis, or marriage tokens, worn by their women. They have the same customs as the Bēri Chettis, but are not particular in observing the rule which forbids the eating of flesh. A bastard branch of the Vāniyas is called the Pillai Kūttam, which is said to have sprung from the concubine of a Vāniyan, who lived many years ago. The members of this class are never found except where Vāniyans live, and are supposed to have a right to be fed and clothed by them. Should this be refused, they utter the most terrible curse, and, in this manner, eventually intimidate the uncharitable into giving them alms.” In the Census Report, 1891, Mr. Stuart writes further that the Vāniyans “were formerly called Sekkān (oil-mill man), and it is curiousthat the oil-mongers alone came to be called Vāniyan or trader. They have returned 126 sub-divisions, of which only one, Ilai Vāniyan, is numerically important. One sub-division is Iranderudu, or two bullocks, which refers to the use of two bullocks in working the mill. This separation of those who use two bullocks from those who employ only one is found in nearly every oil-pressing caste in India. The Vāniyans of Malabar resemble the Nāyars in their customs and habits, and neither wear the sacred thread, nor employ Brāhmans as priests. In North Malabar, Nāyars are polluted by their touch, but in the south, where they are called Vattakādans, they have succeeded in forcing themselves into the ranks of the Nāyar community. A large number of them returned Nāyar as their main caste.” In this connection, Mr. Francis states26that followers of the calling of oil-pressers (Chakkāns) are “known as Vattakādans in South Malabar, and as Vāniyans in North Malabar; but the former are the higher in social status, the Nāyars being polluted by the touch of the Vāniyans and Chakkāns but not by that of the Vattakādans. Chakkāns and Vāniyans may not enter Brāhman temples. Their customs and manners are similar to those of the Nāyars, who will not, however, marry their women.”Of the Vāniyans of Cochin, it is stated in the Cochin Census Report, 1901, that “they are Vaisyas, and wear the sacred thread. In regard to marriage, inheritance, ceremonies, dress, ornaments, etc., there is practically no difference between them and the Konkanis. But, as they do not altogether abstain from meat and spirituous liquors, they are not allowed free access to the houses of Konkanis, nor are they permitted to touch their tanksand wells. They are Saivites. They have their own priests, who are called Panditars. They observe birth and death pollution for ten days, and are like Brāhmans in this respect. They are mostly petty merchants and shop-keepers. Some can read and write Malayālam, but they are very backward in English education.”The oils expressed by the Vāniyans are said to be “gingelly (Sesamum indicum), cocoanut, iluppei (Bassia longifolia), pinnei (Calophyllum inophyllum), and ground-nut (Arachis hypogæa). According to the sāstras the crushing of gingelly seeds, and the sale of gingelly oil, are sinful acts, and no one, who does not belong to the Vāniyan class, will either express or sell gingelly oil.”27When a Vāniyan dies a bachelor, apost-mortemmock ceremony is performed as by the Gānigas, and the corpse is married to the arka plant (Calotropis gigantea), and decorated with a wreath made of the flowers thereof.Vankāyala(brinjal or egg plant:Solanum Melongena).—An exogamous sept of Golla. The fruit is eaten by Natives, and, stuffed with minced meat, is a common article of Anglo-Indian dietary.Vanki(armlet).—A gōtra of Kurni.Vannān.—The Vannāns are washermen in the Tamil and Malayalām countries. The name Vannān is, Mr. H. A. Stuart writes,28“derived from vannam, beauty. There is a tradition that they are descendants of the mythological hero Vīrabadra, who was ordered by Siva to wash the clothes of all men, as an expiation of the sin of putting many people to death in Daksha’s Yāga. Hence the Tamil washermen are frequentlycalled Vīrabadran. Having to purify all the filthy linen of the villagers, they are naturally regarded as a low, unclean class of Sūdras, and are always poor. They add to their income by hiring out the clothes of their customers to funeral parties, who lay them on the ground before the pall-bearers, so that these may not step upon the ground, and by letting them out on the sly to persons wishing to use them without having to purchase for themselves. In social standing the Vannāns are placed next below the barbers. They profess to be Saivites in the southern districts, and Vaishnavites in the north. The marriage of girls generally takes place after puberty. Widow remarriage is permitted among some, if not all, sub-divisions. Divorce may be obtained by either party at pleasure on payment of double the bride-price, which is usually Rs. 10–8–0. They are flesh-eaters, and drink liquor. The dead are either burned or buried. The Pothara (or Podora) Vannāns are of inferior status, because they wash only for Paraiyans, Pallans, and other inferior castes.”It is noted, in the Madura Manual, that those who have seen the abominable substances, which it is the lot of the Vannāns to make clean, cannot feel any surprise at the contempt with which their occupation is regarded. In the Tanjore Manual, it is recorded that, in the rural parts of the district, the Vannāns are not allowed to enter the house of a Brāhman or a Vellāla; clothes washed by them not being worn or mixed up with other clothes in the house until they have undergone another wash by a caste man.It is on record that, on one occasion, a party of Europeans, when out shooting, met a funeral procession on its way to the burial-ground. The bier was draped in many folds of clean cloth, which one of theparty recognised by the initials as one of his bed-sheets. Another identified as his sheet the cloth on which the corpse was lying. He cut off the corner with the initials, and a few days later the sheet was returned by the washerman, who pretended ignorance of the mutilation, and gave as an explanation that it must have been done, in his absence, by one of his assistants. On another occasion, a European met an Eurasian, in a village not far from his bungalow, wearing a suit of clothes exactly similar to his own, and, on close examination, found they were his. They had been newly washed and dressed.The most important divisions numerically returned by Vannāns at times of census are Pāndiyan, Peru (big), Tamil, and Vaduga (northerner). It is recorded, in the Gazetteer of the Madura district, that Vannān “is rather an occupational term than a caste title, and, besides the Pāndya Vannāns or Vannāns proper, includes the Vaduga Vannāns or Tsākalas of the Telugu country, and the Palla, Pudara, and Tulukka Vannāns, who wash for the Pallans, Paraiyans, and Musalmans respectively. The Pāndya Vannāns have a headman called the Periya Manishan (big man). A man can claim the hand of his paternal aunt’s daughter. At weddings, the bridegroom’s sister ties the tāli (marriage badge). Nambis officiate. Divorce is freely allowed to either party on payment of twice the bride-price, and divorcées may marry again. The caste god is Gurunāthan, in whose temples the pūjāri (priest) is usually a Vannān. The dead are generally burnt, and, on the sixteenth day, the house is purified from pollution by a Nambi.”Some Vannāns have assumed the name Irkuli Vellāla, and Rājakan and Kāttavarāya vamsam have also been recorded as synonyms of the caste name.The Vannāns of Malabar are also called Mannān or Bannān. They are, Mr. Francis writes,29“a low class of Malabar washermen, who wash only for the polluting castes, and for the higher castes when they are under pollution following births, deaths, etc. It is believed by the higher castes that such pollution can only be removed by wearing clothes washed by Mannāns, though at other times these cause pollution to them. The washing is generally done by the women, and the men are exorcists, devil-dancers and physicians, even to the higher castes. Their women are midwives, like those of the Velakkatalavan and Vēlan castes. This caste should not be confused with the Mannān hill tribe of Travancore.”It is recorded, in the Gazetteer of Malabar, that “the Mannāns, a makkattāyam caste of South Malabar, apparently identical with the marumakkattāyam Vannāns of the north, are a caste of washermen; and their services are indispensable to the higher castes in certain purificatory ceremonies when they have to present clean cloths (māttu). They are also devil-dancers and tailors. They practice fraternal polyandry in the south. Mannāns are divided into two endogamous classes, Peru-mannāns (peru, great), and Tinda-mannāns (tinda, pollution); and, in Walavanād, into four endogamous classes called Chōppan, Peru-mannān, Punnekādan, and Puliyakkōdam. The Tinda-mannān and Puliyakkōdam divisions perform the purificatory sprinklings for the others.”The services of the Mannān, Mr. T. K. Gopal Panikkar writes,30“are in requisition at the Nāyar Thirandukaliānam ceremonies on the attainment of puberty by a girl, when they sing ballads, and have to bring, for the girl’s use, the māttu or sacred dress.Then, on occasions of death pollution, they have a similar duty to perform. Among the Nāyars, on the fourth, or rarely the third day after the menses, the woman has to use, during her bath, clothes supplied by Mannān females. The same duty they have to perform during the confinement of Nāyar females. All the dirty cloths and bed sheets used, these Mannān females have to wash.” Mr. S. Appadorai Iyer informs us that those Mannāns who are employed by the Kammālan, or artisan class, as barbers, are not admitted into the Mannān caste, which follows the more honourable profession of washing clothes. The Mannāns perform certain ceremonies in connection with Mundian, the deity who is responsible for the weal or woe of cattle; and, at Pūram festivals, carry the vengida koda or prosperity umbrella, composed of many tiers of red, green, orange, black and white cloth, supported on a long bamboo pole, before the goddess.It is recorded by Bishop Whitehead31that, in various places in Malabar, there are temples in honour of Bhagavati, at which the pūjāris (priests) are of the Vannān caste. “There is an annual feast called gurusi tarpanam (giving to the guru) about March, when the hot weather begins, and the people are at leisure. Its object is to appease the wrath of the goddess. During the festival, the pūjāri sits in the courtyard outside the temple, thickly garlanded with red flowers, and with red kunkuma marks on his forehead. Goats and fowls are then brought to him by the devotees, and he kills them with one blow of the large sacrificial sword or chopper. It is thought auspicious for the head to be severed at one blow, and, apparently, pūjāris who are skilful indecapitation are much in request. When the head is cut off, the pūjāri takes the carcase, and holds it over a large copper vessel partly filled with water, turmeric, kunkuma, and a little rice, and lets the blood flow into it. When all the animals are killed, the pūjāribailsout the blood and water on the ground, uttering mantrams (sacred lines or verses) the while. The people stand a little way off. When the vessel is nearly empty, the pūjāri turns it upside down as a sign that the ceremony is ended. During these proceedings, a number of Vannāns, dressed in fantastic costumes, dance three times round the temple. During the festival, processions are held round the various houses, and special swords with a curved hook at the end, called palli val (great or honourable sword), are carried by the worshippers. These swords are worshipped during the Dusserah festival in October, and, in some shrines, they form the only emblem of the deity. The Tiyans have small shrines in their own gardens sacred to the family deity, which may be Bhagavati, or some demon, or the spirit of an ancestor. Once a year, Vannāns come dressed in fancy costume, with crowns on their heads, and dance round the courtyard to the sound of music and tom-toms, while a Tiyan priest presents the family offerings, uncooked rice and young cocoanuts, with camphor and incense, and then rice fried with sugar and ghī (clarified butter).”In an account of the Tiyans, Mr. Logan writes32that “this caste is much given to devil-charming, or devil-driving as it is often called. The washermen (Vannān) are the high priests of this superstition, and with chants, ringing cymbals, magic figures, and waving lights, they drive out evil spirits from their votaries of this caste atcertain epochs in their married lives. One ceremony in particular, called teyyāttam—a corrupt form of Dēva and āttam, that is, playing at gods—takes place occasionally in the fifth month of pregnancy. A leafy arbour is constructed, and in front of it is placed a terrible figure of Chāmundi, the queen of the demons, made of rice flour, turmeric powder, and charcoal powder. A party of not less than eighteen washermen is organized to represent the demons and furies—Kuttichāttan (a mischievous imp), and many others. On being invoked, these demons bound on to the stage in pairs, dance, caper, jump, roar, fight, and drench each other with saffron (turmeric) water. Their capers and exertions gradually work up their excitement, until they are veritably possessed of the devil. At this juncture, fowls and animals are sometimes thrown to them, to appease their fury. These they attack with their teeth, and kill and tear as a tiger does his prey. After about twenty minutes the convulsions cease, the demon or spirit declares its pleasure, and, much fatigued, retires to give place to others; and thus the whole night is spent, with much tom-tomming and noise and shouting, making it impossible, for Europeans at least, to sleep within earshot of the din.”Vannattān.—A synonym of Veluttēdan, the caste of washermen, who wash for Nāyars and higher castes.Vanni Kula Kshatriya.—A synonym of the Pallis, who claim to belong to the fire race of Kshatriyas.Vanniyan.—A synonym of Palli. The name further occurs as a sub-division of Ambalakāran and Valaiyan. Some Maravans also are known as Vanniyan or Vannikutti. Tēn (honey) Vanniyan is the name adopted by some Irulas in the South Arcot district.Vantari.—SeeTelaga.Vanuvan.—A name assumed by Vāniyans who have abandoned their hereditary occupation of oil-pressing, and taken to trade in grain and other articles.Vārakurup.—Recorded, in the Madras Census Report, 1901, as a title of Malayālam Paravans.Varige(millet).—An exogamous sept of Kāpu.Vāriyar.—For the following note on the Vāriyar section of the Ambalavāsis, I am indebted to Mr. N. Subramani Aiyar. The name is believed to be derived from Parasava, which, according to Yajnavalkya and other law-givers, is the name given to the son of a Brāhman begotten on a Sūdra woman, and suggests the fact that the Vāriyar is no Brāhman, though the blood of the latter may course through his veins, and though such marriages were regarded as sacraments in early days. This is the derivation given by Pachumuttalu in his Kēralavisēshamāhātmya, who adds that the chief occupation of the Vāriyars is to sweep the floor of the temples. In some of the Asauchavidhis (works on pollution) of Kērala, the commentator explains the word Parasava as Vāriya. Many Vāriyars add the title Parasava to their name, when writing in Sanskrit. Some derive the word from varija or one born of water, in accordance with a tradition that Parasurāma created from water a class of persons for special service in temples, and to take the place of Sūdras, who, being meat-eaters, were ineligible for the same. Others again, like the late Professor Sundaram Pillay, would take Vāriyar as being derived from varuka, to sweep. Recently, some ingenuity has been displayed in splitting the word into two words, giving it a meaning equivalent to pseudo-Aryan. The title Asan, or teacher, is possessed by certain families, whose members have held the hereditary position of tutors in noblemen’s houses. Inmediæval times, many Vāriyar families received royal edicts, conferring upon them the privileges of being tutors and astrologers. These special rights are even now possessed by them.The following legend is narrated concerning the origin of theVāriyars. A Sūdra woman removed a bone from within a temple in obedience to the wish of certain Brāhman priests, and was excommunicated from her caste. The priests, on hearing this, were anxious to better her condition, and made her the progenitor of a class of Ambalavāsis or temple servants, who were afterwards known as Vāriyars. According to another legend, the corpse of a Mārān, which was found inside a Nambūtiri’s house, was promptly removed by certain Nāyars, who on that account were raised in the social scale, and organised into a separate caste called Vāriyar. There is a still further tradition that, in the Treta Yuga, a Sūdra woman had five sons, the first of whom became the progenitor of the Tiyatunnis, and the second that of Vāriyars. A fourth account is given in the Kēralamahātmya. A young Brāhman girl was married to an aged man. Not confident in unaided human effort, under circumstances such as hers, she devoted a portion of her time daily to preparing flower garlands for the deity of the nearest temple, and conceived. But the Brāhman welcomed the little stranger by getting the mother thrown out of caste. Her garlands could no longer be accepted, but, nothing daunted, she worked as usual, and made a mental offering of the garlands she prepared, which, through an unseen agency, became visible on the person of the deity. Though the people were struck with shame at their unkind treatment of the innocent girl, they were not prepared to take her back. The Vāriyan caste was accordingly constituted, and her child was brought up bythe Azhancheri Tambrakkal, and accommodated in the padippura or out-house at the entrance gate. In the Pāsupata Tantra, the Vāriyars are called Kailāsavāsins, or those who live in Kailās, as they are supposed to be specially devoted to the worship of Siva. Kailāsa is the abode of Siva, whither the blessed go after death.The Vāriyars of Travancore are divided into four groups, called Onattukara, Venattukara, Ilayetattunad (or Ilayathu), and Tekkumkur. The Venattukaras have the privilege of interdining with the Onattukaras, and having their ceremonies performed by priests from that group. But the ceremonies of the Onattukaras appear to be performed without the Venattukaras being admitted into their midst. The third and fourth groups take food in the houses of the first and second, though the reverse seldom happens. The Vāriyars in British Malabar are divided into several other groups.The Vāriyars are generally well-read, especially in Sanskrit, make excellent astrologers, and are also medical practitioners. A Vāriyar’s house is called variyam, as the Pishārati’s is known as pishāram.Married women have the hair-knot on the left side of the head, like Nāyar ladies. They cover the breast with a folded cloth, and never wear a bodice or other innovations in the matter of dress. The marriage ornament is called mātra, and is in the shape of a maddalam or drum. Other neck ornaments are called entram and kuzhal. The todu, or ornament of Nāyar women, is worn in the ear-lobes. Women mark their foreheads, like Nambūtiri ladies, with sandal paste.The Vāriyars, Pushpakans, and Pishāratis, are said to constitute the three original garland-making castes of Malabar, appointed by Parasurāma. At the present day, in all the important temples, except in SouthTravancore, where Kurukkals perform that function, garlands can only be prepared by one of these castes. The technical occupation of a Vāriyar in a temple is called kazhakam, which is probably derived from the Dravidian root kazhaku, to cleanse. Kazhakam is of two kinds, viz., malakkazhakam or garland-making service, and talikkazhakam or sweeping service, of which the former is more dignified than the latter. Under the generic term kazhakar are included making flower garlands for the temple, preparing materials for the offering of food, sweeping the beli offering, carrying lights and holding umbrellas when the god is carried in procession, having the custody of the temple jewels, etc. The Vāriyar is at the beck and call of the temple priest, and has to do sundry little services from morning till evening. He is remunerated with some of the cooked food, after it has been offered to the deity. The Vāriyars are to Saivite temples what the Pishāratis are to Vaishnavite temples. Their prayers are prominently addressed only to Siva, but they also worship Vishnu, Subramanya, Sasta, Ganēsa, and Bhadrakāli. Their chief amusement is the farce called Kūttappāthakam, the hero of which is one Vankāla Nikkan, and the heroine Naityar. An Ilayatu is the stage-manager, and a Pishārati the actor. Parangotan is the buffoon, and Māppa his wife. In the eighteenth century, a grand festival lasting over twenty-eight days, called mamangam, was celebrated in British Malabar. The above characters are represented as proceeding to this festival, which came off once in twelve years on the Magha asterism in the month of Magha, and is hence popularly called Mahāmagha.The Vāriyar caste is governed in all matters by the Nambūtiri Brahmans, but they have their own priests.The Ilayatus believe that they were the preceptors of all the Ambalavāsi castes in former times, but were dislodged from that position owing to most of them employing priests from among their own caste men. Even at the present day, Ilayatus are known to express their displeasure when they are asked to drink water from a Vāriyar’s well. As, however, consecrated water from the Nambūtiris is taken to a Vāriyar for its purification, they entertain no scruples about cooking their food there, provided they carry with them the aupasana fire.Inheritance among the Vāriyars of Cochin and British Malabar is in the female line (marumakkathāyam). Among the Vāriyars of Travancore, chiefly these belonging to the Onattukara section, a kind of qualified makkathāyam prevails, in accordance with which both sons and daughters have an equal right to inherit ancestral property. The eldest male member is entitled to the management of the estate in all undivided families. Partition, however, is largely followed in practice.The tāli-kettu ceremony of the Vāriyars generally takes place before a girl reaches puberty, and, in the case of boys, after the ceremony of Sivadiksha has been performed, that is between the twelfth and sixteenth years. If the marriage is in the kudi-vaippu form, or, in other words, if there is an intention on the part of both parties to treat the marital alliance as permanent, no separate sambandham need be celebrated afterwards; and, in all cases where marriages are celebrated between members of the same section, the kudi-vaippu form is in vogue. If a girl is unmarried when she reaches puberty, she is not permitted to take part in any religious ceremonies, or enter any temple until she is married.The first item of a Vāriyar’s marriage is ayani-unu, when the bridegroom, decked in new clothes and ornaments, dines sumptuously with his relations. He then goes in procession to the bride’s house, and, after bathing, puts on clothes touched by the bride. After this some prayers are recited, and a sacrifice is offered. The bride is then brought to the marriage hall, and, all the Brāhmanical rites are strictly observed. After sunset, some grass and a leopard’s skin are placed on the floor on which white cloth is spread. The bridegroom, who is seated on the northern side, worships Ganapati, after which the couple take their seats on the cloth bed spread on the floor. Lights are then waved in front of them. This ceremony is known as dikshavirikkuka. In the kudi-vaippu form of marriage, the bride is taken to the house of the bridegroom, where the dikshavirippu is observed. Otherwise the marital rite becomes a mere tāli-kattu ceremony, and the girl, when she comes of age, may receive clothes in token of conjugal connection with another person. When the first husband dies, clothes may be received from another Vāriyar, or a Brāhman, whose wife the woman becomes.Most of the ceremonies observed by Malayāli Brāhmans are also performed by the Vāriyars, the vratas and upanayana being among those which are omitted. Sivadiksha, as already indicated, is observed between the twelfth and sixteenth years. The festival lasts for four days, though the religious rites are over on the first day. At an auspicious hour, the priest and the Vāriyar youth put on the tattu dress, or dress worn for ceremonial purposes, and worship a pot full of water with incense and flowers, the contents of which are then poured by the priest over the youth. The priest and a Mārān then perform the tonsure, and theyouth bathes. Some Nambūtiris are then engaged to perform the purificatory rite, after which the Vāriyar wears the tattu as well as an upper cloth, marks his forehead with ashes and sandal paste, and decorates himself with jewels, rudrāksha (Elæocarpus Ganitrus) beads, and flowers. Alms are received by the young Vāriyar from his mother, and he takes seven steps in a northerly direction which symbolise his pilgrimage to Benares. It is only after the performance of this rite that the Vāriyar is believed to become a grihastha (married person, as opposed to a bachelor). The funeral rites of the caste have been elaborated in many places. Death pollution lasts for twelve days, and the sanchayana (milk ceremony) is observed on the seventh or ninth day. Anniversary ceremonies are celebrated in memory of close relations, and others are propitiated by the performance of srādh, and the feeding of a Vāriyar on a new-moon day.In an account of a royal wedding in Travancore in 1906, I read that “a number of Vāriyars left the thēvarathu koikal, or palace where worship is performed, for a compound (garden) close by to bring an areca palm. It is supposed that they do this task under divine inspiration and guidance. One man is given a small rod by the Potti or priest in the palace, and, after receiving this, he dances forward, followed by his comrades, and all wend their way to a compound about a furlong away. On reaching the spot, they uproot a big areca palm without the use of any implement of iron, and take it away to the thēvarathu koikal without its touching the ground, to the accompaniment of music. They then plant it in front of the portico, and do some pūja (worship) after the manner of Brāhmans. The function is comparable to the dhwajarohanam, or hoisting of the flag during temple utsavams. TheVāriyarsdance roundthe tree, singing songs, and performing pūja. A piece of white cloth is tied to the top of the tree, to serve as a flag, and a lamp is lighted, and placed at the foot of the tree.”The Vāriyars are described, in the Gazetteer of Malabar, as “a caste whose traditional duty is to sweep the temple precincts (vāruga). At the present day, some members of the caste are important land-owners or petty chieftains, occupying a very high social position. They generally follow the marumakkatāyam principle, but they have also a form of marriage called Kudivekkal similar to the Brahman Sarvasvadhānam, by which the wife is adopted as a member of the family into which she marries, and her children also belong to it. The Vāriyar’s names and ceremonies indicate Sivaite proclivities, just as those of the Pishārodi are tinged with Vishnavism. The Vāriyar’s house is called a Vāriyam, and his woman-folk Varassiars. This class is perhaps the most progressive among the Ambalavāsis, some of its members having received a Western education and entered the learned professions.”Varugu Bhatta.—A mendicant class, which begs from Perikes.Varuna.—Some Pattanavan fishermen have adopted the name of Varunakula Vellāla or Varunakula Mudali after Varuna the god of the waters.Vasa(new).—A sub-division of Kurubas, who are said to weave only white blankets.Vasishta.—A Brāhmanical gōtra adopted by Khatris and Toreyas. Vasishta, one of the seven great Rishis, was the son of Mitra and Varuna, whose quarrels with Viswamitra are narrated in the Rāmayana.Vastra.—One division of the Koragas is called Vastra, meaning cloths suchasare used as a shroud for acorpse, which were given to them as an act of charity, the wearing of new cloths by them being prohibited. Vastrala (cloth) further occurs as an exogamous sept of the Karna Sālē and Dēvānga weavers.Vattakādan.—Recorded as a sub-division of Nāyar, the occupation of which is expressing oil, chiefly for use in temples. Mr. F. Fawcett writes33that, in North Malabar, he has frequently been told by Nāyars of the superior classes that they do not admit the Vattakādans to be Nāyars. According to them, the Vattakādans have adopted the honorary affix Nāyar to their names quite recently. In the Madras Census Report, 1891, Vattakādan is stated to be a synonym of Vāniyan; and in the report, 1901, this name is said to mean a Native of Vattakād, and to be given to the Chakkāns.Vattē(camel).—A gōtra of Kurni.Vātti.—Vātti or Vāttikurup has been recorded at times of census as a sub-division of Nāyar, and a synonym of Kāvutiyan and Tōlkollan. Vātti is said to mean one who prays for happiness.Vayani.—The Vayanis, Vayinis, Vaguniyans, or Pavinis, are a section of Mādigas, the members of which play on a single-stringed mandoline, and go about from village to village, singing the praises of the village goddesses. Each Vayani has his recognised beat. He plays a prominent part in the celebration of the annual festival of the village goddess, and receives a sacred thread (kappu), which is usually tied to his mandoline, before the commencement of the festival. He regards himself as superior in social position to ordinary Mādigas, with whom he will not marry. The name Vayani is said to be a corruption of varnane, meaning todescribe. In some localities,e.g., the Chingleput district, the Vayani enjoys mirāsi rights in connection with land.Vēdan.—The Vēdans are described by Mr. H. A. Stuart, in the North Arcot Manual, as having been “formerly hunters and soldiers, and it is this caste which furnished a considerable and valuable contingent to the early Hindu kings, and later to the armies of Hyder and Tippoo. They are supposed by some to be the remnants of the earliest inhabitants of the peninsula, and identical with the Veddahs of Ceylon. They are also called Vālmīkulu, which means those who live on the products of ant-hills (vālmīkum).” It is noted, in the Census Report, 1891, that the two castes Bēdar (or Bōya) and Vēdan were, “through a misapprehension of instructions, treated as identical in the tabulation papers. The two words are, no doubt, etymologically identical, the one being Canarese and the other Tamil, but the castes are quite distinct.” It may be noted that the name Vālmīka or Vālmīki is assumed by the Bōyas, who claim descent from Vālmīki, the author of the Rāmayana, who did penance for so long in one spot that a white-ant hill grew up round him.In the Madras Census Report, 1901, the Vēdans are described as “a Tamil-speaking labouring and hunting caste, the members of which were formerly soldiers, and subsequently dacoits. The name means a hunter, and is loosely applied to the Irulas in some places (e.g., Chingleput). There is some connection between the Vēdans and Tamil Vēttuvans, but its precise nature is not clear. The Vēttuvans now consider themselves superior to the Vēdans, and are even taking to calling themselves Vēttuva Vellālas. Marriage (among the Vēdans) is either infant or adult. Widows may marry their late husband’s brother or agnates. Some employ Brāhmans as priests. They either burn or bury theirdead. They claim descent from Kannappa Nāyanar, one of the sixty-three Saivite saints. Ambalakārans also claim to be descended from Kannappa Nāyanār. In Tanjore, the Valaiyans declare themselves to have a similar origin. The title of the Vēdans is Nāyakkan.” In the Madura Manual, the Vēdans are described as a very low caste, who get their living in the jungles. They are not numerous now. They appear to have been naked savages not very long ago, and their civilisation is far from complete. They are held in the greatest contempt by men of all classes. They are described further, in the Coimbatore Manual, as “a very degraded, poor tribe, living by basket-making, snaring small game, and so on. They speak a low Canarese, and are as simple as savage. The delight of a party at the gift of a rupee is something curious.” In the Salem district some Vēdans are said34to be “known by the caste name Tiruvalar, who aredistinguishedas the Kattukudugirajāti, a name derived from a custom among them, which authorises temporary matrimonial arrangements.”The following story in connection with bears and Vēdans is worthy of being placed on record. The bears are said to collect ripe wood-apples (Feronia elephantum) during the season, and store them in the forest. After a small quantity has been collected, they remove the rind of the fruits, and heap together all the pulp. They then bring honey and petals of sweet-smelling flowers, put them on the heap of pulp, and thresh them with their feet and with sticks in their hands. When the whole has become a consistent mass, they feed on it. The Vēdan, who knows the season, is said to drive off the bears by shooting at them, and rob them of theirfeast, which is sold as karadi panchamritham, or bear delicacy made of five ingredients.
“Trolling from the shore at the river’s mouth is only carried on of a morning or evening, during the winter months of the year, when the sea is smooth. The line is from 80 to 100 yards in length, and held wound round the left hand; the hook is fastened to the line by a brass wire, and the bait is a live fish. The fisherman, after giving the line an impetus by twirling it round and round his head, throws it with great precision from 50 to 60 yards. A man is always close by with a cast net, catching baits, which he sells for one quarter of an anna each. This mode of fishing is very exciting sport, but is very uncertain in its results, and therefore usually carried on by coolies either before their day’s work has commenced, or after its termination.“Fishing with a bait continues all day long in Cochin during the monsoon months, when work is almost at a standstill, and five or six persons may be perceived at each jetty, busily engaged in this occupation. TheBagrustribe is then plentiful, and, as it bites readily, large numbers are captured.“Fishing in small boats appears at times to be a dangerous occupation; the small canoe only steadied by the paddle of one man seated in it looks as if it must every minute be swamped. Very large fish are sometimes caught in this way. Should one be hooked too large for the fisherman to manage, the man in the next boat comes to his assistance, and receives a quarter of the fish for his trouble. This is carried on all through the year, and the size of some of the Bagri is enormous.“Fish are shot in various ways, by a Chittagong bamboo, which is a hollow tube, down which the arrow is propelled by the marksman’s mouth. This mode is sometimes very remunerative, and is followed by persons who quietly sneak along the shores, either of sluggish streams or of the backwater. Sometimes they climb up into trees, and there await a good shot. Or, during the monsoon, the sportsman quietly seats himself near some narrow channel that passes from one wide piece of water into another, and watches for his prey. Other fishermen shoot with bows and arrows, and again others with cross-bows, the iron arrow or bolt of which is attached by a line to the bow, to prevent its being lost. But netting fish, catching them with hooks, or shooting them with arrows, are not the only means employed for their capture. Bamboo labyrinths, bamboo baskets, and even men’s hands alone, are called into use.“Persons fish for crabs in shallow brackish water, provided with baskets like those employed in Europe for catching eels, but open at both ends. The fishermen walk about in the mud, and, when they feel a fish move, endeavour to cover it with the larger end of the basket, which is forced down some distance into the mud, and the hand is then passed downward through the upper extremity, and the fish taken out. Another plan of catching them by the hand is by having two lines to which white cocoanut leaves are attached tied to the fisherman’s two great toes, from which they diverge; the other end of each being held by another man a good way off, and some distance apart. On these lines being shaken, the fish become frightened, and, strange as it may appear, cluster for protection around the man’s feet, who is able to stoop down, and catch them with his hands, by watching his opportunity.“Bamboo labyrinths are common all along the backwater, in which a good many fish, especially eels and crabs, are captured. These labyrinths are formed of a screen of split bamboos, passing perpendicularly out of the water, and leading into a larger baited chamber. A dead cat is often employed as a bait for crabs. A string is attached to its body, and, after it has been in the water some days, it is pulled up with these crustacea adherent to it. Persons are often surprised at crabs being considered unwholesome, but their astonishment would cease, if they were aware what extremely unclean feeders they are.“Fish are obtained from the inland rivers by poisoning them, but this can only be done when the water is low. A dam is thrown across a certain portion, and the poison placed within it. It generally consists ofCocculus indicus(berries) pounded with rice; croton oil seeds, etc.”Valangai.—Valangai, Valangan, Valangamattān, or Balagai, meaning those who belong to the right-hand faction, has, at times of census, been returned as a sub-division, synonym or title of Dēva-dāsis, Holeyas, Nōkkans, Panisavans, Paraiyans, and Sāliyans. Some Dēva-dāsis have returned themselves as belonging to the left-hand (idangai) faction.Valayakāra Chetti.—A Tamil synonym of Gāzula Balijas who sell glass bangles. The equivalent Vala Chetti is also recorded.Vālēkāra.—A Badaga form of Billēkāra or belted peon. The word frequently occurs in Badaga ballads. Tāluk peons on the Nīlgiris are called Vālēkāras.Vāli Sugrīva.—A synonym of the Lambādis, who claim descent from Vāli and Sugrīva, the two monkey chiefs of the Rāmāyana.Valinchiyan.—SeeVelakkattalavan.Valiyatān(valiya, great, tān, a title of dignity).—Recorded, in the Travancore Census Report, 1901, as a title of Nāyar.Vallabarayan.—A title of Ōcchan.Vallamban.—The Vallambans are a small Tamil cultivating class living in the Tanjore, Trichinopoly, and Madura districts. They are said16to be “the offspring of a Vellālan and a Valaiya woman, now a small and insignificant caste of cultivators. Some of them assert that their ancestors were the lords of the soil, for whose sole benefit the Vellālans used to carry on cultivation. Tradition makes the Vellambans to have joined the Kallans in attacking and driving away the Vellālans. It is customary among the Vallambans, when demising land, to refer to the fact of their being descendants of the Vallambans who lost Vallam,i.e., the Vallama nādu in Tanjore, their proper country.” Some Vallambans claim to be flesh-eating Vellālas, or to be superior to Kallans and Maravans by reason of their Vellāla ancestry. They call themselves Vallamtōtta Vellālas, or the Vellālas who lost Vallam, and say that they were Vellālas of Vallam in the Tanjore district, who left their native place in a time of famine.Portions of the Madura and Tanjore districts are divided into areas known as nādus, in each of which a certain caste, called the Nāttar, is the predominant factor. For example, the Vallambans and Kallans are called the Nāttars of the Pālaya nādu in the Sivaganga zemindari of the Madura district. In dealing with the tribal affairs of the various castes inhabiting a particular nādu, the lead is taken by the Nāttars, by whom certain privileges are enjoyed, as for example in the distributionto them, after the Brāhman and zamindar, of the flowers and sacred ashes used in temple worship. For the purposes of caste council meetings the Vallambans collect together representatives from fourteen nādus, as they consider that the council should be composed of delegates from a head village and its branches, generally thirteen in number.It is noted by Mr. F. R. Hemingway that the Vallambans “speak of five sub-divisions, namely, Chenjinādu, Amaravatinādu, Palayanādu, Mēlnādu, and Kilnādu. The Mēl and Kilnādu people intermarry, but are distinguishable by the fact that the former have moustaches, and the latter have not. The women dress like the Nāttukōttai Chettis. Tattooing is not allowed, and those who practice it are expelled from the caste. The men generally have no title, but some who enjoy State service inams call themselves Ambalakāran. The Mēlnādu people have no exogamous divisions, though they observe the rule about Kōvil Pangōlis. The Kilnādus have exogamous kilais, karais, and pattams.” As examples of exogamous septs, the following may be cited:—Sōlangal (Chōla), Pāndiangal (Pāndyan), Nariangal (jackal), and Piliyangal (tiger).The headman of the Vallambans is referred to generally as the Servaikāran. The headman of a group of nādus is entitled Nāttuservai, while the headman of a village is known as Ūr Servai, or simply Servai.Marriage is celebrated between adults, and the remarriage of widows is not objected to. It is stated17that “the maternal uncle’s or paternal aunt’s daughter is claimed as a matter of right by a boy, so that a boy of ten may be wedded to a mature woman of twenty ortwenty-five years, if she happens to be unmarried and without issue. Any elderly male member of the boy’s family—his elder brother, uncle, or even his father—will have intercourse with her, and beget children, which the boy, when he comes of age, will accept as his own, and legitimatise.” This system of marriage, in which there is a marked disparity in the ages of the contracting couple, is referred to in the proverb: “The tāli should be tied at least by a log of wood.” The marriage rites are as a rule non-Brāhmanical, but in some well-to-do families the services of a Brāhman purōhit are enlisted. The presence of the Umbalakāran or caste headman at a marriage is essential. On the wedding day the contracting couple offer, at their homes, manaipongal (boiled rice), and the alangu ceremony is performed by waving coloured rice round them, or touching the knees, shoulders, and head with cakes, and throwing them over the head. The wrist-threads, consisting of a piece of old cloth dyed with turmeric, are tied on by the maternal uncle. Cooked rice and vegetables are placed in front of the marriage dais, and offered to the gods. Four betel leaves are given to the bridegroom, who goes round the dais, and salutes the four cardinal points of the compass by pouring water from a leaf. He then sits down on a plank on the dais, and hands the tāli (marriage badge) to his sister. Taking the tāli, she proceeds to the bride’s house, where the bride, after performing the alangu ceremony, is awaiting her arrival. On reaching the house, she asks for the bride’s presents, and one of her brothers replies that such a piece of land, naming one, is given as a dowry. The bridegroom’s sister then removes the string of black and gold beads, such as is worn before marriage, from the bride’s neck, and replaces it by the tāli. The conch shell should be blown bywomen or children during the performance of manaipongal, and when the tāli is tied. The bride is conveyed to the house of the bridegroom, and sits with him on the dais while the relations make presents to them.The messenger who conveys the news of a death in the community is a Paraiyan. The corpse is placed within a pandal (booth) supported on four posts, which is erected in front of the house. Some paddy (unhusked rice) is poured from a winnow on to the ground, and rice is thrown over the face of the corpse. On the second day rice, and other articles of food, are carried by a barber to the spot where the corpse has been buried or burnt. If the latter course has been adopted, the barber picks out some of the remains of the bones, and hands them to the son of the deceased. On the third day, the widow goes round the pandal three times, and, entering within it, removes her tāli string, and new clothes are thrown over her neck. On the sixteenth day the final death ceremonies (karmāndhiram) are performed. A feast is given, and new cloths are tied on the heads of those under pollution. Pollution lasts for thirty days.The Vallambans profess to be Saivaites, but they consider Periya Nāyaki of Vēlangkudi as their tribal goddess, and each nādu has its own special deity, such as Vēmbu Aiyanar, Nelliyandi Aiyanar, etc. In some places the tribal deity is worshipped on a Tuesday at a festival called Sevvai (Tuesday). On this day pots containing fermented rice liquor, which must have been made by the caste people and not purchased, are taken to the place of worship. On a Friday, those families which are to take part in the festival allow a quantity of paddy (rice) to germinate by soaking it in water, and on the following Tuesday flower spikes of the palmyra palm are added to the malted rice liquor in the pots. Thepots of ordinary families may be placed in their houses, but those of the Umbalakārans and Servaikārans must be taken to the temple as representing the deity. Into these pots the flower spikes should be placed by some respected elder of the community. A week later, a small quantity of rice liquor is poured into other pots, which are carried by women to the temple car, round which they go three times. They then throw the liquor into a tank or pond. The pots of the Umbalakāran and Servaikāran must be carried by young virgins, or grown-up women who are not under menstrual pollution. One of the women who carries these pots usually becomes possessed by the village deity. At the time of the festival, cradles, horses, human figures, elephants, etc., made by the potter, are brought to the temple as votive offerings to the god.Valli Ammai Kuttam.—A synonym of the Koravas, meaning followers of Valli Ammai, the wife of the God Subrahmanya, whom they claim to have been a Korava woman.Vallōdi.—The name denotes a settlement in the Valluvanād tāluk of Malabar, and has been returned as a sub-division of Nāyar and Sāmantan, to which the Rāja of Valluvanād belongs.Valluvan.—The Valluvans are summed up by Mr. H. A. Stuart18as being “the priests of the Paraiyans and Pallans. Tiruvalluvar, the famous Tamil poet, author of the Kurāl, belonged to this caste, which is usually regarded as a sub-division of Paraiyans. It appears that the Valluvans were priests to the Pallava kings before the introduction of the Brāhmans, and even for some time after it.19In an unpublished Vatteluttuinscription, believed to be of the ninth century, the following sentence occurs ‘Sri Velluvam Pūvanavan, the Uvac’chan (Ōc’chan) of this temple, will employ daily six men for doing the temple service.’ Again, the Valluvans must have formerly held a position at least equal to that of the Vellālas, if the story that Tiruvalluva Nāyanar married a Vellāla girl is true.20He is said to have “refused to acknowledge the distinctions of caste, and succeeded in obtaining a Vellāla woman as his wife, from whom a section of the Valluvans say it has its descent. As their ancestor amused himself in the intervals between his studies by weaving, they employ themselves in mending torn linen, but chiefly live by astrology, and by acting as priests of Paraiyans, and officiating at their funerals and marriages, though some refuse to take part in the former inauspicious ceremony, and leave the duty to those whom they consider impure Valluvans called Paraiya Tādas. Another section of the Valluvans is called Ālvar Dāsari or Tāvadadhāri (those who wear the necklace of tulsi beads). Both Saivites and Vaishnavites eat together, but do not intermarry. Unlike Paraiyans, they forbid remarriage of widows and even polygamy, and all males above twelve wear the sacred thread.” According to one account, the Valluvans are the descendants of an alliance between a Brāhman sage and a Paraiyan woman, whose children complained to their father of their lowly position. He blessed them, and told them that they would become very clever astrologers, and, in consequence, much respected. At the Travancore census, 1901, the Valluvans were defined as a sub-division of the Pulayas, for whom they perform priestly functions.“Both men and women are employed as astrologers and doctors, and are often consulted by all classes of people. In many villages they have the privilege of receiving from each ryot a handful of grain during the harvest time.”21Of three Valluvans, whom I interviewed at Coimbatore, one, with a flowing white beard, had a lingam wrapped up in a pink cloth round the neck, and a charm tied in a pink cloth round the right upper arm. Another, with a black beard, had a salmon-coloured turban. The third was wearing a discarded British soldier’s tunic. All wore necklaces of rūdrāksha (Elæocarpus Ganitrus) beads, and their foreheads were smeared with oblong patches of sandal paste. Each of them had a collection of panchangams, or calendars for determining auspicious dates, and a bundle of palm leaf strips (ulla mudyan) inscribed with slōkas for astrological purposes. Their professional duties included writing charms for sick people, preparing horoscopes, and making forecasts of good or evil by means of cabalistic squares marked on the ground. Some Valluvans would have us believe that those who officiate as priests are not true Valluvans, and that the true Valluvan, who carries out the duties of an astrologer, will not perform priestly functions for the Paraiyans.Valluvan dressed up as Siva at Malayanūr festival.Valluvan dressed up as Siva at Malayanūr festival.The most important sub-divisions of the Valluvans, returned at times of census, are Paraiyan, Tāvidadāri, and Tiruvalluvan. From information supplied to me, I gather that there are two main divisions, called Arupathu Katchi (sixty house section) and Narpathu Katchi (forty house section). The former are supposed to be descendants of Nandi Gurukkal, and take his nameas their gōtra. The gōtra of the latter is Sidambara Sayichya Ayyamgar. Sidambara, or Chidambaram, is the site of one of the most sacred Siva temples. The sub-division Ālvār claims descent from Tiruppān Ālvār, one of the twelve Vaishnava saints. In the Tanjore district, the Valluvans have exogamous septs or pattaperu, named after persons,e.g., Marulipichan, Govindazhvan, etc.The Valluvans include in their ranks both Vaishnavites and Saivites. The majority of the latter, both males and females, wear the lingam. The affairs of the community are adjusted by a caste council and there are, in most places, two hereditary officers called Kōlkaran and Kanakkan.At the betrothal ceremony the bride’s money (pariyam), betel, jewels, flowers, and fruit, are placed in the future bride’s lap. The money ranges from seven to ten rupees if the bridegroom’s village is on the same side of a river as the bride’s, and from ten to twenty rupees if it is on the other side. A small sum of money, called uramurai kattu (money paid to relations) and panda varisai (money paid in the pandal), is also paid by the bridegroom’s party for a feast of toddy to the relations. This is the proper time for settling caste disputes by the village council. On the wedding day, the milk-post, consisting of a green bamboo pole, is set up, and a number of pots, brought from the potter’s house, are placed near it. On the dais are set four lamps, viz., an ordinary brass lamp, kudavilakku (pot light), alankāra vilakku (ornamental light), and pāligai vilakku (seedling light). The bride and bridegroom bring some sand, spread it on the floor near the dais, and place seven leaves on it. Cotton threads, dyed with turmeric, are tied to the pots and the milk-post. On the leaves are set cakes and rice, and the contracting couple worshipthe pots and the family gods. The Valluvan priest repeats a jumble of corrupt Sanskrit, and ties the kankanams (threads) on their wrists. They are then led into the house, and garlanded with jasmine orNeriumflowers. The pots are arranged on the dais, and the sand is spread thereon close to the milk-post. Into one of the pots the female relations put grain seedlings, and four other pots are filled with water by the bridegroom’s party. A small quantity of the seedlings is usually wrapped up in a cloth, and placed over the seedling pot. Next morning the bundle is untied, and examined, to see if the seedlings are in good condition. If they are so, the bride is considered a worthy one; if not, the bride is either bad, or will die prematurely. The usual nalagu ceremony is next performed, bride and bridegroom being anointed with oil, and smeared withPhaseolus Mungopaste. This is followed by the offering of food on eleven leaves to the ancestors and house gods. Towards evening, the dais is got ready for its occupation by the bridal couple, two planks being placed on it, and covered with cloths lent by a washerman. The couple, sitting on the planks, exchange betel and paddy nine or twelve times, and rice twenty-seven times. The priest kindles the sacred fire (hōmam), and pours some ghī (clarified butter) into it from a mango leaf. The bridegroom is asked whether he sees Arundati (the pole-star) thrice, and replies in the affirmative. The tāli is shown the sky, smoked over burning camphor, and placed on a tray together with a rupee. After being blessed by those present, it is tied round the neck of the bride by the bridegroom, who has his right leg on her lap. On the second day there is a procession through the village, and, on the following day, the wrist-threads are removed.In some places, the Valluvans, at their marriages, like the Pallis and some other castes, use the pandamutti, or pile of pots reaching to the top of the pandal.The Saivite lingam wearers bury their dead in a sitting posture in a niche excavated in the side of the grave. After death has set in, a cocoanut is broken, and camphor burnt. The corpse is washed by relations, who bring nine pots of water for the purpose. The lingam is tied on to the head, and a cloth bundle, containing a rupee, seven bilva (Ægle Marmelos) leaves, nine twigs of the tulsi (Ocimum sanctum), and nineLeucas asperaflowers, to the right arm. The corpse is carried to the grave on a car surmounted by five brass vessels. The grave is purified by the sprinkling of cow’s urine and cow-dung water before the corpse is lowered into it. On the way to the burial-ground, the priest keeps on chanting various songs, such as “This is Kailāsa. This is Kailāsa thillai (Chidambaram). Our request is this. Nallia Mutthan of the Nandidarma gōtra died on Thursday in the month Thai in the year Subakruthu. He must enter the fourth stage (sayichyam), passing through Sālokam, Sāmīpa, and Sārupa. He crosses the rivers of stones, of thorns, of fire, and of snakes, holding the tail of the bull Nandi. To enable him to reach heaven safely, we pound rice, and put lights of rice.” The priest receives a fee for his services, which he places before an image made on the grave after it has been filled in. The money is usually spent in making a sacred bull, lingam, or stone slab, to place on the grave. On the third day after death, the female relatives of the deceased pour milk within the house into a vessel, which is taken by the male relatives to the burial-ground, and offered at the grave, which is cleaned. A small platform, made of mud, and composedof several tiers, decreasing in size from below upwards, is erected thereon, and surmounted by a lingam. At the north and south corners of this platform, a bull and paradēsi (mendicant) made of mud are placed, and at each corner leaves are laid, on which the offerings in the form of rice, fruits, vegetables, etc., are laid. The final death ceremonies are celebrated on the seventeenth day. A pandal (booth) is set up, and closed in with cloths. Within it are placed a pot and five pestles and mortars, to which threads are tied. Five married women, taking hold of the pestles, pound some rice contained in the pot, and with the flour make a lamp, which is placed on a tray. The eldest son of the deceased goes, with the lamp on his head, to an enclosure having an entrance at the four cardinal points. The enclosure is either a permanent one with mud walls, or temporary one made out of mats. Within the enclosure, five pots are set up in the centre, and four at each side. The pots are cleansed by washing them with the urine of cows of five different colours, red, white, black, grey, and spotted. Near the pots the articles required for pūja (worship) are placed, and the officiating priest sits near them. The enclosure is supposed to represent heaven, and the entrances are the gates leading thereto, before which food is placed on leaves. The eldest son, with the lamp, stands at the eastern entrance, while Siva is worshipped. The priest then repeats certain stanzas, of which the following is the substance. “You who come like Siddars (attendants in the abode of Siva) at midnight, muttering Siva’s name, why do you come near Sivapadam? I will pierce you with my trident. Get away. Let these be taken to yamapuri, or hell.” Then Siva and Parvati, hearing the noise, ask “Oh! sons, who are you that keep on saying Hara, Hara? Give out truly your names and nativity.”To which the reply is given “Oh! Lord, I am a devotee of that Being who graced Markandeya, and am a Vīrasaiva by faith. I have come to enter heaven. We have all led pure lives, and have performed acts of charity. So it is not just that we should be prevented from entering. Men who ill-treat their parents, or superiors, those addicted to all kinds of vice, blasphemers, murderers, perverts from their own faith and priests, and other such people, are driven to hell by the southern gate.” At this stage, a thread is passed round the enclosure. The son, still bearing the lamp, goes from the eastern entrance past the south and western entrances, and, breaking the thread, goes into the enclosure through the northern entrance. The Nandikōl (hereditary village official) then ties a cloth first round the head of the eldest son, and afterwards round the heads of the other sons and agnates.The Valluvans abstain from eating beef. Though they mix freely with the Paraiyans, they will not eat with them, and never live in the Paraiyan quarter.The Valluvans are sometimes called Pandāram or Valluva Pandāram. In some places, the priests of the Valluvans are Vellāla Pandārams.Valluvan.—A small inferior caste of fishermen and boatmen in Malabar.22Vālmika.—Vālmīka or Vālmīki is a name assumed by the Bōyas and Paidis, who claim to be descended from Vālmīki, the author of the Rāmāyana, who did penance for so long in one spot that a white-ant hill (vālmīkam) grew up round him. In a note before me, Vālmīki is referred to as the Spenser of India. In the North Arcot Manual, Vālmīkulu, as a synonym of the Vēdans,is made to mean those who live on the products of ant-hills.Vāl Nambi.—Recorded, in the Madras Census Report, 1901, as “a synonym for Mūssad. Nambi is a title of Brāhmans, and vāl means a sword. The tradition is that the name arose from the ancestors of the caste having lost some of the privileges of the Vēdic Brāhmans owing to their having served as soldiers when Malabar was ruled by the Brāhmans prior to the days of the Perumāls.”Valuvādi.—The Valuvādis are returned, in the Madras Census Report, 1901, as cultivators in the Pudukōttai State. I am informed that the Valuvādis are a section of the Valaiyan caste, to which the Zamindar of Nagaram belongs. The name Valuvādi was originally a title of respect, appended to the name of the Nagaram Zamindars. The name of the present Zamindar is Balasubramanya Valuvādiar. Thirty years ago there is said to have been no Valuvādi caste. Some Valaiyans in prosperous circumstances, and others who became relatives of the Nagaram Zamindar by marriage, have changed their caste name, to show that they are superior in social status to the rest of the community.Vamme.—A gōtra of Janappans, the members of which abstain from eating the fish called bombadai, because, when some of their ancestors went to fetch water in the marriage pot, they found a number of this fish in the water contained in the pot.Vana Palli.—A name, meaning forest Palli, assumed by some Irulas in South Arcot.Vandikkāran.—An occupational name for Nāyars who work as cartmen (vandi, cart) for carrying fuel.Vandula or Vandi Rāja.—A sub-division of Bhatrāzu, named after one Vandi, who is said to have been a herald at the marriage of Siva.Vangu(cave).—A sub-division of Irula.Vāni.—“The Vānis or Bāndēkars,” Mr. H. A. Stuart writes,23“have been wrongly classified in the census returns (1891) as oil-pressers; they are in reality traders. They are said to have come from Goa, and they speak Konkani. Their spiritual guru is the head of the Kumbakōnam math.” In the Census Report, 1901, it is noted that Vāni, meaning literally a trader, is a Konkani-speaking trading caste, of which Bāndēkara is a synonym. “They ape the Brāhmanical customs, and call themselves by the curious hybrid name of Vaisya Brāhmans.” Hari Chetti has been returned as a further synonym.Vāniyan.—The Vāniyans are, Mr. Francis writes,24“oil-pressers among the Tamils, corresponding to the Telugu Gāndlas, Canarese Gānigas, Malabar Chakkāns, and Oriya Tellis. For some obscure reason, Manu classed oil-pressing as a base occupation, and all followers of the calling are held in small esteem, and, in Tinnevelly, they are not allowed to enter the temples. In consequence, however, of their services in lighting the temples (in token of which all of them, except the Malabar Vāniyans and Chakkāns, wear the sacred thread), they are earning a high position, and some of them use the sonorous title of Jōti Nagarattār (dwellers in the city of light) and Tiru-vilakku Nagarattār (dwellers in the city of holy lamps). They employ Brāhmans as priests, practice infant marriage, and prohibit widow marriage, usually burn their dead, and decline to eat in the houses of any caste below Brāhmans. However, even the washermen decline to eat with them. Like the Gāndlas they have two sub-divisions, Ottai-sekkān and Irattai-sekkān,who use respectively one bullock and two bullocks in their mills. Oddly enough, the former belong to the right-hand faction, and the latter to the left. Their usual title is Chetti. The name Vānuvan has been assumed by Vāniyans, who have left their traditional occupation, and taken to the grain and other trades.”“The word Vānijyam,” Mr. H. A. Stuart informs us,25“signifies trade, and trade in oil, as well as its manufacture, is the usual employment of this caste, who assert that they are Vaisyas, and claim the Vaisya-Apurānam as their holy book. They are said to have assumed the thread only within the last fifty or sixty years, and are reputed to be the result of a yāgam (sacrifice by fire) performed by a saint called Vakkuna Mahārishi. The caste contains four sub-divisions called Kāmākshiamma, Visālākshiamma, Ac’chu-tāli, and Toppa-tāli, the two first referring to the goddesses principally worshipped by each, and the two last to the peculiar kinds of tālis, or marriage tokens, worn by their women. They have the same customs as the Bēri Chettis, but are not particular in observing the rule which forbids the eating of flesh. A bastard branch of the Vāniyas is called the Pillai Kūttam, which is said to have sprung from the concubine of a Vāniyan, who lived many years ago. The members of this class are never found except where Vāniyans live, and are supposed to have a right to be fed and clothed by them. Should this be refused, they utter the most terrible curse, and, in this manner, eventually intimidate the uncharitable into giving them alms.” In the Census Report, 1891, Mr. Stuart writes further that the Vāniyans “were formerly called Sekkān (oil-mill man), and it is curiousthat the oil-mongers alone came to be called Vāniyan or trader. They have returned 126 sub-divisions, of which only one, Ilai Vāniyan, is numerically important. One sub-division is Iranderudu, or two bullocks, which refers to the use of two bullocks in working the mill. This separation of those who use two bullocks from those who employ only one is found in nearly every oil-pressing caste in India. The Vāniyans of Malabar resemble the Nāyars in their customs and habits, and neither wear the sacred thread, nor employ Brāhmans as priests. In North Malabar, Nāyars are polluted by their touch, but in the south, where they are called Vattakādans, they have succeeded in forcing themselves into the ranks of the Nāyar community. A large number of them returned Nāyar as their main caste.” In this connection, Mr. Francis states26that followers of the calling of oil-pressers (Chakkāns) are “known as Vattakādans in South Malabar, and as Vāniyans in North Malabar; but the former are the higher in social status, the Nāyars being polluted by the touch of the Vāniyans and Chakkāns but not by that of the Vattakādans. Chakkāns and Vāniyans may not enter Brāhman temples. Their customs and manners are similar to those of the Nāyars, who will not, however, marry their women.”Of the Vāniyans of Cochin, it is stated in the Cochin Census Report, 1901, that “they are Vaisyas, and wear the sacred thread. In regard to marriage, inheritance, ceremonies, dress, ornaments, etc., there is practically no difference between them and the Konkanis. But, as they do not altogether abstain from meat and spirituous liquors, they are not allowed free access to the houses of Konkanis, nor are they permitted to touch their tanksand wells. They are Saivites. They have their own priests, who are called Panditars. They observe birth and death pollution for ten days, and are like Brāhmans in this respect. They are mostly petty merchants and shop-keepers. Some can read and write Malayālam, but they are very backward in English education.”The oils expressed by the Vāniyans are said to be “gingelly (Sesamum indicum), cocoanut, iluppei (Bassia longifolia), pinnei (Calophyllum inophyllum), and ground-nut (Arachis hypogæa). According to the sāstras the crushing of gingelly seeds, and the sale of gingelly oil, are sinful acts, and no one, who does not belong to the Vāniyan class, will either express or sell gingelly oil.”27When a Vāniyan dies a bachelor, apost-mortemmock ceremony is performed as by the Gānigas, and the corpse is married to the arka plant (Calotropis gigantea), and decorated with a wreath made of the flowers thereof.Vankāyala(brinjal or egg plant:Solanum Melongena).—An exogamous sept of Golla. The fruit is eaten by Natives, and, stuffed with minced meat, is a common article of Anglo-Indian dietary.Vanki(armlet).—A gōtra of Kurni.Vannān.—The Vannāns are washermen in the Tamil and Malayalām countries. The name Vannān is, Mr. H. A. Stuart writes,28“derived from vannam, beauty. There is a tradition that they are descendants of the mythological hero Vīrabadra, who was ordered by Siva to wash the clothes of all men, as an expiation of the sin of putting many people to death in Daksha’s Yāga. Hence the Tamil washermen are frequentlycalled Vīrabadran. Having to purify all the filthy linen of the villagers, they are naturally regarded as a low, unclean class of Sūdras, and are always poor. They add to their income by hiring out the clothes of their customers to funeral parties, who lay them on the ground before the pall-bearers, so that these may not step upon the ground, and by letting them out on the sly to persons wishing to use them without having to purchase for themselves. In social standing the Vannāns are placed next below the barbers. They profess to be Saivites in the southern districts, and Vaishnavites in the north. The marriage of girls generally takes place after puberty. Widow remarriage is permitted among some, if not all, sub-divisions. Divorce may be obtained by either party at pleasure on payment of double the bride-price, which is usually Rs. 10–8–0. They are flesh-eaters, and drink liquor. The dead are either burned or buried. The Pothara (or Podora) Vannāns are of inferior status, because they wash only for Paraiyans, Pallans, and other inferior castes.”It is noted, in the Madura Manual, that those who have seen the abominable substances, which it is the lot of the Vannāns to make clean, cannot feel any surprise at the contempt with which their occupation is regarded. In the Tanjore Manual, it is recorded that, in the rural parts of the district, the Vannāns are not allowed to enter the house of a Brāhman or a Vellāla; clothes washed by them not being worn or mixed up with other clothes in the house until they have undergone another wash by a caste man.It is on record that, on one occasion, a party of Europeans, when out shooting, met a funeral procession on its way to the burial-ground. The bier was draped in many folds of clean cloth, which one of theparty recognised by the initials as one of his bed-sheets. Another identified as his sheet the cloth on which the corpse was lying. He cut off the corner with the initials, and a few days later the sheet was returned by the washerman, who pretended ignorance of the mutilation, and gave as an explanation that it must have been done, in his absence, by one of his assistants. On another occasion, a European met an Eurasian, in a village not far from his bungalow, wearing a suit of clothes exactly similar to his own, and, on close examination, found they were his. They had been newly washed and dressed.The most important divisions numerically returned by Vannāns at times of census are Pāndiyan, Peru (big), Tamil, and Vaduga (northerner). It is recorded, in the Gazetteer of the Madura district, that Vannān “is rather an occupational term than a caste title, and, besides the Pāndya Vannāns or Vannāns proper, includes the Vaduga Vannāns or Tsākalas of the Telugu country, and the Palla, Pudara, and Tulukka Vannāns, who wash for the Pallans, Paraiyans, and Musalmans respectively. The Pāndya Vannāns have a headman called the Periya Manishan (big man). A man can claim the hand of his paternal aunt’s daughter. At weddings, the bridegroom’s sister ties the tāli (marriage badge). Nambis officiate. Divorce is freely allowed to either party on payment of twice the bride-price, and divorcées may marry again. The caste god is Gurunāthan, in whose temples the pūjāri (priest) is usually a Vannān. The dead are generally burnt, and, on the sixteenth day, the house is purified from pollution by a Nambi.”Some Vannāns have assumed the name Irkuli Vellāla, and Rājakan and Kāttavarāya vamsam have also been recorded as synonyms of the caste name.The Vannāns of Malabar are also called Mannān or Bannān. They are, Mr. Francis writes,29“a low class of Malabar washermen, who wash only for the polluting castes, and for the higher castes when they are under pollution following births, deaths, etc. It is believed by the higher castes that such pollution can only be removed by wearing clothes washed by Mannāns, though at other times these cause pollution to them. The washing is generally done by the women, and the men are exorcists, devil-dancers and physicians, even to the higher castes. Their women are midwives, like those of the Velakkatalavan and Vēlan castes. This caste should not be confused with the Mannān hill tribe of Travancore.”It is recorded, in the Gazetteer of Malabar, that “the Mannāns, a makkattāyam caste of South Malabar, apparently identical with the marumakkattāyam Vannāns of the north, are a caste of washermen; and their services are indispensable to the higher castes in certain purificatory ceremonies when they have to present clean cloths (māttu). They are also devil-dancers and tailors. They practice fraternal polyandry in the south. Mannāns are divided into two endogamous classes, Peru-mannāns (peru, great), and Tinda-mannāns (tinda, pollution); and, in Walavanād, into four endogamous classes called Chōppan, Peru-mannān, Punnekādan, and Puliyakkōdam. The Tinda-mannān and Puliyakkōdam divisions perform the purificatory sprinklings for the others.”The services of the Mannān, Mr. T. K. Gopal Panikkar writes,30“are in requisition at the Nāyar Thirandukaliānam ceremonies on the attainment of puberty by a girl, when they sing ballads, and have to bring, for the girl’s use, the māttu or sacred dress.Then, on occasions of death pollution, they have a similar duty to perform. Among the Nāyars, on the fourth, or rarely the third day after the menses, the woman has to use, during her bath, clothes supplied by Mannān females. The same duty they have to perform during the confinement of Nāyar females. All the dirty cloths and bed sheets used, these Mannān females have to wash.” Mr. S. Appadorai Iyer informs us that those Mannāns who are employed by the Kammālan, or artisan class, as barbers, are not admitted into the Mannān caste, which follows the more honourable profession of washing clothes. The Mannāns perform certain ceremonies in connection with Mundian, the deity who is responsible for the weal or woe of cattle; and, at Pūram festivals, carry the vengida koda or prosperity umbrella, composed of many tiers of red, green, orange, black and white cloth, supported on a long bamboo pole, before the goddess.It is recorded by Bishop Whitehead31that, in various places in Malabar, there are temples in honour of Bhagavati, at which the pūjāris (priests) are of the Vannān caste. “There is an annual feast called gurusi tarpanam (giving to the guru) about March, when the hot weather begins, and the people are at leisure. Its object is to appease the wrath of the goddess. During the festival, the pūjāri sits in the courtyard outside the temple, thickly garlanded with red flowers, and with red kunkuma marks on his forehead. Goats and fowls are then brought to him by the devotees, and he kills them with one blow of the large sacrificial sword or chopper. It is thought auspicious for the head to be severed at one blow, and, apparently, pūjāris who are skilful indecapitation are much in request. When the head is cut off, the pūjāri takes the carcase, and holds it over a large copper vessel partly filled with water, turmeric, kunkuma, and a little rice, and lets the blood flow into it. When all the animals are killed, the pūjāribailsout the blood and water on the ground, uttering mantrams (sacred lines or verses) the while. The people stand a little way off. When the vessel is nearly empty, the pūjāri turns it upside down as a sign that the ceremony is ended. During these proceedings, a number of Vannāns, dressed in fantastic costumes, dance three times round the temple. During the festival, processions are held round the various houses, and special swords with a curved hook at the end, called palli val (great or honourable sword), are carried by the worshippers. These swords are worshipped during the Dusserah festival in October, and, in some shrines, they form the only emblem of the deity. The Tiyans have small shrines in their own gardens sacred to the family deity, which may be Bhagavati, or some demon, or the spirit of an ancestor. Once a year, Vannāns come dressed in fancy costume, with crowns on their heads, and dance round the courtyard to the sound of music and tom-toms, while a Tiyan priest presents the family offerings, uncooked rice and young cocoanuts, with camphor and incense, and then rice fried with sugar and ghī (clarified butter).”In an account of the Tiyans, Mr. Logan writes32that “this caste is much given to devil-charming, or devil-driving as it is often called. The washermen (Vannān) are the high priests of this superstition, and with chants, ringing cymbals, magic figures, and waving lights, they drive out evil spirits from their votaries of this caste atcertain epochs in their married lives. One ceremony in particular, called teyyāttam—a corrupt form of Dēva and āttam, that is, playing at gods—takes place occasionally in the fifth month of pregnancy. A leafy arbour is constructed, and in front of it is placed a terrible figure of Chāmundi, the queen of the demons, made of rice flour, turmeric powder, and charcoal powder. A party of not less than eighteen washermen is organized to represent the demons and furies—Kuttichāttan (a mischievous imp), and many others. On being invoked, these demons bound on to the stage in pairs, dance, caper, jump, roar, fight, and drench each other with saffron (turmeric) water. Their capers and exertions gradually work up their excitement, until they are veritably possessed of the devil. At this juncture, fowls and animals are sometimes thrown to them, to appease their fury. These they attack with their teeth, and kill and tear as a tiger does his prey. After about twenty minutes the convulsions cease, the demon or spirit declares its pleasure, and, much fatigued, retires to give place to others; and thus the whole night is spent, with much tom-tomming and noise and shouting, making it impossible, for Europeans at least, to sleep within earshot of the din.”Vannattān.—A synonym of Veluttēdan, the caste of washermen, who wash for Nāyars and higher castes.Vanni Kula Kshatriya.—A synonym of the Pallis, who claim to belong to the fire race of Kshatriyas.Vanniyan.—A synonym of Palli. The name further occurs as a sub-division of Ambalakāran and Valaiyan. Some Maravans also are known as Vanniyan or Vannikutti. Tēn (honey) Vanniyan is the name adopted by some Irulas in the South Arcot district.Vantari.—SeeTelaga.Vanuvan.—A name assumed by Vāniyans who have abandoned their hereditary occupation of oil-pressing, and taken to trade in grain and other articles.Vārakurup.—Recorded, in the Madras Census Report, 1901, as a title of Malayālam Paravans.Varige(millet).—An exogamous sept of Kāpu.Vāriyar.—For the following note on the Vāriyar section of the Ambalavāsis, I am indebted to Mr. N. Subramani Aiyar. The name is believed to be derived from Parasava, which, according to Yajnavalkya and other law-givers, is the name given to the son of a Brāhman begotten on a Sūdra woman, and suggests the fact that the Vāriyar is no Brāhman, though the blood of the latter may course through his veins, and though such marriages were regarded as sacraments in early days. This is the derivation given by Pachumuttalu in his Kēralavisēshamāhātmya, who adds that the chief occupation of the Vāriyars is to sweep the floor of the temples. In some of the Asauchavidhis (works on pollution) of Kērala, the commentator explains the word Parasava as Vāriya. Many Vāriyars add the title Parasava to their name, when writing in Sanskrit. Some derive the word from varija or one born of water, in accordance with a tradition that Parasurāma created from water a class of persons for special service in temples, and to take the place of Sūdras, who, being meat-eaters, were ineligible for the same. Others again, like the late Professor Sundaram Pillay, would take Vāriyar as being derived from varuka, to sweep. Recently, some ingenuity has been displayed in splitting the word into two words, giving it a meaning equivalent to pseudo-Aryan. The title Asan, or teacher, is possessed by certain families, whose members have held the hereditary position of tutors in noblemen’s houses. Inmediæval times, many Vāriyar families received royal edicts, conferring upon them the privileges of being tutors and astrologers. These special rights are even now possessed by them.The following legend is narrated concerning the origin of theVāriyars. A Sūdra woman removed a bone from within a temple in obedience to the wish of certain Brāhman priests, and was excommunicated from her caste. The priests, on hearing this, were anxious to better her condition, and made her the progenitor of a class of Ambalavāsis or temple servants, who were afterwards known as Vāriyars. According to another legend, the corpse of a Mārān, which was found inside a Nambūtiri’s house, was promptly removed by certain Nāyars, who on that account were raised in the social scale, and organised into a separate caste called Vāriyar. There is a still further tradition that, in the Treta Yuga, a Sūdra woman had five sons, the first of whom became the progenitor of the Tiyatunnis, and the second that of Vāriyars. A fourth account is given in the Kēralamahātmya. A young Brāhman girl was married to an aged man. Not confident in unaided human effort, under circumstances such as hers, she devoted a portion of her time daily to preparing flower garlands for the deity of the nearest temple, and conceived. But the Brāhman welcomed the little stranger by getting the mother thrown out of caste. Her garlands could no longer be accepted, but, nothing daunted, she worked as usual, and made a mental offering of the garlands she prepared, which, through an unseen agency, became visible on the person of the deity. Though the people were struck with shame at their unkind treatment of the innocent girl, they were not prepared to take her back. The Vāriyan caste was accordingly constituted, and her child was brought up bythe Azhancheri Tambrakkal, and accommodated in the padippura or out-house at the entrance gate. In the Pāsupata Tantra, the Vāriyars are called Kailāsavāsins, or those who live in Kailās, as they are supposed to be specially devoted to the worship of Siva. Kailāsa is the abode of Siva, whither the blessed go after death.The Vāriyars of Travancore are divided into four groups, called Onattukara, Venattukara, Ilayetattunad (or Ilayathu), and Tekkumkur. The Venattukaras have the privilege of interdining with the Onattukaras, and having their ceremonies performed by priests from that group. But the ceremonies of the Onattukaras appear to be performed without the Venattukaras being admitted into their midst. The third and fourth groups take food in the houses of the first and second, though the reverse seldom happens. The Vāriyars in British Malabar are divided into several other groups.The Vāriyars are generally well-read, especially in Sanskrit, make excellent astrologers, and are also medical practitioners. A Vāriyar’s house is called variyam, as the Pishārati’s is known as pishāram.Married women have the hair-knot on the left side of the head, like Nāyar ladies. They cover the breast with a folded cloth, and never wear a bodice or other innovations in the matter of dress. The marriage ornament is called mātra, and is in the shape of a maddalam or drum. Other neck ornaments are called entram and kuzhal. The todu, or ornament of Nāyar women, is worn in the ear-lobes. Women mark their foreheads, like Nambūtiri ladies, with sandal paste.The Vāriyars, Pushpakans, and Pishāratis, are said to constitute the three original garland-making castes of Malabar, appointed by Parasurāma. At the present day, in all the important temples, except in SouthTravancore, where Kurukkals perform that function, garlands can only be prepared by one of these castes. The technical occupation of a Vāriyar in a temple is called kazhakam, which is probably derived from the Dravidian root kazhaku, to cleanse. Kazhakam is of two kinds, viz., malakkazhakam or garland-making service, and talikkazhakam or sweeping service, of which the former is more dignified than the latter. Under the generic term kazhakar are included making flower garlands for the temple, preparing materials for the offering of food, sweeping the beli offering, carrying lights and holding umbrellas when the god is carried in procession, having the custody of the temple jewels, etc. The Vāriyar is at the beck and call of the temple priest, and has to do sundry little services from morning till evening. He is remunerated with some of the cooked food, after it has been offered to the deity. The Vāriyars are to Saivite temples what the Pishāratis are to Vaishnavite temples. Their prayers are prominently addressed only to Siva, but they also worship Vishnu, Subramanya, Sasta, Ganēsa, and Bhadrakāli. Their chief amusement is the farce called Kūttappāthakam, the hero of which is one Vankāla Nikkan, and the heroine Naityar. An Ilayatu is the stage-manager, and a Pishārati the actor. Parangotan is the buffoon, and Māppa his wife. In the eighteenth century, a grand festival lasting over twenty-eight days, called mamangam, was celebrated in British Malabar. The above characters are represented as proceeding to this festival, which came off once in twelve years on the Magha asterism in the month of Magha, and is hence popularly called Mahāmagha.The Vāriyar caste is governed in all matters by the Nambūtiri Brahmans, but they have their own priests.The Ilayatus believe that they were the preceptors of all the Ambalavāsi castes in former times, but were dislodged from that position owing to most of them employing priests from among their own caste men. Even at the present day, Ilayatus are known to express their displeasure when they are asked to drink water from a Vāriyar’s well. As, however, consecrated water from the Nambūtiris is taken to a Vāriyar for its purification, they entertain no scruples about cooking their food there, provided they carry with them the aupasana fire.Inheritance among the Vāriyars of Cochin and British Malabar is in the female line (marumakkathāyam). Among the Vāriyars of Travancore, chiefly these belonging to the Onattukara section, a kind of qualified makkathāyam prevails, in accordance with which both sons and daughters have an equal right to inherit ancestral property. The eldest male member is entitled to the management of the estate in all undivided families. Partition, however, is largely followed in practice.The tāli-kettu ceremony of the Vāriyars generally takes place before a girl reaches puberty, and, in the case of boys, after the ceremony of Sivadiksha has been performed, that is between the twelfth and sixteenth years. If the marriage is in the kudi-vaippu form, or, in other words, if there is an intention on the part of both parties to treat the marital alliance as permanent, no separate sambandham need be celebrated afterwards; and, in all cases where marriages are celebrated between members of the same section, the kudi-vaippu form is in vogue. If a girl is unmarried when she reaches puberty, she is not permitted to take part in any religious ceremonies, or enter any temple until she is married.The first item of a Vāriyar’s marriage is ayani-unu, when the bridegroom, decked in new clothes and ornaments, dines sumptuously with his relations. He then goes in procession to the bride’s house, and, after bathing, puts on clothes touched by the bride. After this some prayers are recited, and a sacrifice is offered. The bride is then brought to the marriage hall, and, all the Brāhmanical rites are strictly observed. After sunset, some grass and a leopard’s skin are placed on the floor on which white cloth is spread. The bridegroom, who is seated on the northern side, worships Ganapati, after which the couple take their seats on the cloth bed spread on the floor. Lights are then waved in front of them. This ceremony is known as dikshavirikkuka. In the kudi-vaippu form of marriage, the bride is taken to the house of the bridegroom, where the dikshavirippu is observed. Otherwise the marital rite becomes a mere tāli-kattu ceremony, and the girl, when she comes of age, may receive clothes in token of conjugal connection with another person. When the first husband dies, clothes may be received from another Vāriyar, or a Brāhman, whose wife the woman becomes.Most of the ceremonies observed by Malayāli Brāhmans are also performed by the Vāriyars, the vratas and upanayana being among those which are omitted. Sivadiksha, as already indicated, is observed between the twelfth and sixteenth years. The festival lasts for four days, though the religious rites are over on the first day. At an auspicious hour, the priest and the Vāriyar youth put on the tattu dress, or dress worn for ceremonial purposes, and worship a pot full of water with incense and flowers, the contents of which are then poured by the priest over the youth. The priest and a Mārān then perform the tonsure, and theyouth bathes. Some Nambūtiris are then engaged to perform the purificatory rite, after which the Vāriyar wears the tattu as well as an upper cloth, marks his forehead with ashes and sandal paste, and decorates himself with jewels, rudrāksha (Elæocarpus Ganitrus) beads, and flowers. Alms are received by the young Vāriyar from his mother, and he takes seven steps in a northerly direction which symbolise his pilgrimage to Benares. It is only after the performance of this rite that the Vāriyar is believed to become a grihastha (married person, as opposed to a bachelor). The funeral rites of the caste have been elaborated in many places. Death pollution lasts for twelve days, and the sanchayana (milk ceremony) is observed on the seventh or ninth day. Anniversary ceremonies are celebrated in memory of close relations, and others are propitiated by the performance of srādh, and the feeding of a Vāriyar on a new-moon day.In an account of a royal wedding in Travancore in 1906, I read that “a number of Vāriyars left the thēvarathu koikal, or palace where worship is performed, for a compound (garden) close by to bring an areca palm. It is supposed that they do this task under divine inspiration and guidance. One man is given a small rod by the Potti or priest in the palace, and, after receiving this, he dances forward, followed by his comrades, and all wend their way to a compound about a furlong away. On reaching the spot, they uproot a big areca palm without the use of any implement of iron, and take it away to the thēvarathu koikal without its touching the ground, to the accompaniment of music. They then plant it in front of the portico, and do some pūja (worship) after the manner of Brāhmans. The function is comparable to the dhwajarohanam, or hoisting of the flag during temple utsavams. TheVāriyarsdance roundthe tree, singing songs, and performing pūja. A piece of white cloth is tied to the top of the tree, to serve as a flag, and a lamp is lighted, and placed at the foot of the tree.”The Vāriyars are described, in the Gazetteer of Malabar, as “a caste whose traditional duty is to sweep the temple precincts (vāruga). At the present day, some members of the caste are important land-owners or petty chieftains, occupying a very high social position. They generally follow the marumakkatāyam principle, but they have also a form of marriage called Kudivekkal similar to the Brahman Sarvasvadhānam, by which the wife is adopted as a member of the family into which she marries, and her children also belong to it. The Vāriyar’s names and ceremonies indicate Sivaite proclivities, just as those of the Pishārodi are tinged with Vishnavism. The Vāriyar’s house is called a Vāriyam, and his woman-folk Varassiars. This class is perhaps the most progressive among the Ambalavāsis, some of its members having received a Western education and entered the learned professions.”Varugu Bhatta.—A mendicant class, which begs from Perikes.Varuna.—Some Pattanavan fishermen have adopted the name of Varunakula Vellāla or Varunakula Mudali after Varuna the god of the waters.Vasa(new).—A sub-division of Kurubas, who are said to weave only white blankets.Vasishta.—A Brāhmanical gōtra adopted by Khatris and Toreyas. Vasishta, one of the seven great Rishis, was the son of Mitra and Varuna, whose quarrels with Viswamitra are narrated in the Rāmayana.Vastra.—One division of the Koragas is called Vastra, meaning cloths suchasare used as a shroud for acorpse, which were given to them as an act of charity, the wearing of new cloths by them being prohibited. Vastrala (cloth) further occurs as an exogamous sept of the Karna Sālē and Dēvānga weavers.Vattakādan.—Recorded as a sub-division of Nāyar, the occupation of which is expressing oil, chiefly for use in temples. Mr. F. Fawcett writes33that, in North Malabar, he has frequently been told by Nāyars of the superior classes that they do not admit the Vattakādans to be Nāyars. According to them, the Vattakādans have adopted the honorary affix Nāyar to their names quite recently. In the Madras Census Report, 1891, Vattakādan is stated to be a synonym of Vāniyan; and in the report, 1901, this name is said to mean a Native of Vattakād, and to be given to the Chakkāns.Vattē(camel).—A gōtra of Kurni.Vātti.—Vātti or Vāttikurup has been recorded at times of census as a sub-division of Nāyar, and a synonym of Kāvutiyan and Tōlkollan. Vātti is said to mean one who prays for happiness.Vayani.—The Vayanis, Vayinis, Vaguniyans, or Pavinis, are a section of Mādigas, the members of which play on a single-stringed mandoline, and go about from village to village, singing the praises of the village goddesses. Each Vayani has his recognised beat. He plays a prominent part in the celebration of the annual festival of the village goddess, and receives a sacred thread (kappu), which is usually tied to his mandoline, before the commencement of the festival. He regards himself as superior in social position to ordinary Mādigas, with whom he will not marry. The name Vayani is said to be a corruption of varnane, meaning todescribe. In some localities,e.g., the Chingleput district, the Vayani enjoys mirāsi rights in connection with land.Vēdan.—The Vēdans are described by Mr. H. A. Stuart, in the North Arcot Manual, as having been “formerly hunters and soldiers, and it is this caste which furnished a considerable and valuable contingent to the early Hindu kings, and later to the armies of Hyder and Tippoo. They are supposed by some to be the remnants of the earliest inhabitants of the peninsula, and identical with the Veddahs of Ceylon. They are also called Vālmīkulu, which means those who live on the products of ant-hills (vālmīkum).” It is noted, in the Census Report, 1891, that the two castes Bēdar (or Bōya) and Vēdan were, “through a misapprehension of instructions, treated as identical in the tabulation papers. The two words are, no doubt, etymologically identical, the one being Canarese and the other Tamil, but the castes are quite distinct.” It may be noted that the name Vālmīka or Vālmīki is assumed by the Bōyas, who claim descent from Vālmīki, the author of the Rāmayana, who did penance for so long in one spot that a white-ant hill grew up round him.In the Madras Census Report, 1901, the Vēdans are described as “a Tamil-speaking labouring and hunting caste, the members of which were formerly soldiers, and subsequently dacoits. The name means a hunter, and is loosely applied to the Irulas in some places (e.g., Chingleput). There is some connection between the Vēdans and Tamil Vēttuvans, but its precise nature is not clear. The Vēttuvans now consider themselves superior to the Vēdans, and are even taking to calling themselves Vēttuva Vellālas. Marriage (among the Vēdans) is either infant or adult. Widows may marry their late husband’s brother or agnates. Some employ Brāhmans as priests. They either burn or bury theirdead. They claim descent from Kannappa Nāyanar, one of the sixty-three Saivite saints. Ambalakārans also claim to be descended from Kannappa Nāyanār. In Tanjore, the Valaiyans declare themselves to have a similar origin. The title of the Vēdans is Nāyakkan.” In the Madura Manual, the Vēdans are described as a very low caste, who get their living in the jungles. They are not numerous now. They appear to have been naked savages not very long ago, and their civilisation is far from complete. They are held in the greatest contempt by men of all classes. They are described further, in the Coimbatore Manual, as “a very degraded, poor tribe, living by basket-making, snaring small game, and so on. They speak a low Canarese, and are as simple as savage. The delight of a party at the gift of a rupee is something curious.” In the Salem district some Vēdans are said34to be “known by the caste name Tiruvalar, who aredistinguishedas the Kattukudugirajāti, a name derived from a custom among them, which authorises temporary matrimonial arrangements.”The following story in connection with bears and Vēdans is worthy of being placed on record. The bears are said to collect ripe wood-apples (Feronia elephantum) during the season, and store them in the forest. After a small quantity has been collected, they remove the rind of the fruits, and heap together all the pulp. They then bring honey and petals of sweet-smelling flowers, put them on the heap of pulp, and thresh them with their feet and with sticks in their hands. When the whole has become a consistent mass, they feed on it. The Vēdan, who knows the season, is said to drive off the bears by shooting at them, and rob them of theirfeast, which is sold as karadi panchamritham, or bear delicacy made of five ingredients.
“Trolling from the shore at the river’s mouth is only carried on of a morning or evening, during the winter months of the year, when the sea is smooth. The line is from 80 to 100 yards in length, and held wound round the left hand; the hook is fastened to the line by a brass wire, and the bait is a live fish. The fisherman, after giving the line an impetus by twirling it round and round his head, throws it with great precision from 50 to 60 yards. A man is always close by with a cast net, catching baits, which he sells for one quarter of an anna each. This mode of fishing is very exciting sport, but is very uncertain in its results, and therefore usually carried on by coolies either before their day’s work has commenced, or after its termination.“Fishing with a bait continues all day long in Cochin during the monsoon months, when work is almost at a standstill, and five or six persons may be perceived at each jetty, busily engaged in this occupation. TheBagrustribe is then plentiful, and, as it bites readily, large numbers are captured.“Fishing in small boats appears at times to be a dangerous occupation; the small canoe only steadied by the paddle of one man seated in it looks as if it must every minute be swamped. Very large fish are sometimes caught in this way. Should one be hooked too large for the fisherman to manage, the man in the next boat comes to his assistance, and receives a quarter of the fish for his trouble. This is carried on all through the year, and the size of some of the Bagri is enormous.“Fish are shot in various ways, by a Chittagong bamboo, which is a hollow tube, down which the arrow is propelled by the marksman’s mouth. This mode is sometimes very remunerative, and is followed by persons who quietly sneak along the shores, either of sluggish streams or of the backwater. Sometimes they climb up into trees, and there await a good shot. Or, during the monsoon, the sportsman quietly seats himself near some narrow channel that passes from one wide piece of water into another, and watches for his prey. Other fishermen shoot with bows and arrows, and again others with cross-bows, the iron arrow or bolt of which is attached by a line to the bow, to prevent its being lost. But netting fish, catching them with hooks, or shooting them with arrows, are not the only means employed for their capture. Bamboo labyrinths, bamboo baskets, and even men’s hands alone, are called into use.“Persons fish for crabs in shallow brackish water, provided with baskets like those employed in Europe for catching eels, but open at both ends. The fishermen walk about in the mud, and, when they feel a fish move, endeavour to cover it with the larger end of the basket, which is forced down some distance into the mud, and the hand is then passed downward through the upper extremity, and the fish taken out. Another plan of catching them by the hand is by having two lines to which white cocoanut leaves are attached tied to the fisherman’s two great toes, from which they diverge; the other end of each being held by another man a good way off, and some distance apart. On these lines being shaken, the fish become frightened, and, strange as it may appear, cluster for protection around the man’s feet, who is able to stoop down, and catch them with his hands, by watching his opportunity.“Bamboo labyrinths are common all along the backwater, in which a good many fish, especially eels and crabs, are captured. These labyrinths are formed of a screen of split bamboos, passing perpendicularly out of the water, and leading into a larger baited chamber. A dead cat is often employed as a bait for crabs. A string is attached to its body, and, after it has been in the water some days, it is pulled up with these crustacea adherent to it. Persons are often surprised at crabs being considered unwholesome, but their astonishment would cease, if they were aware what extremely unclean feeders they are.“Fish are obtained from the inland rivers by poisoning them, but this can only be done when the water is low. A dam is thrown across a certain portion, and the poison placed within it. It generally consists ofCocculus indicus(berries) pounded with rice; croton oil seeds, etc.”Valangai.—Valangai, Valangan, Valangamattān, or Balagai, meaning those who belong to the right-hand faction, has, at times of census, been returned as a sub-division, synonym or title of Dēva-dāsis, Holeyas, Nōkkans, Panisavans, Paraiyans, and Sāliyans. Some Dēva-dāsis have returned themselves as belonging to the left-hand (idangai) faction.Valayakāra Chetti.—A Tamil synonym of Gāzula Balijas who sell glass bangles. The equivalent Vala Chetti is also recorded.Vālēkāra.—A Badaga form of Billēkāra or belted peon. The word frequently occurs in Badaga ballads. Tāluk peons on the Nīlgiris are called Vālēkāras.Vāli Sugrīva.—A synonym of the Lambādis, who claim descent from Vāli and Sugrīva, the two monkey chiefs of the Rāmāyana.Valinchiyan.—SeeVelakkattalavan.Valiyatān(valiya, great, tān, a title of dignity).—Recorded, in the Travancore Census Report, 1901, as a title of Nāyar.Vallabarayan.—A title of Ōcchan.Vallamban.—The Vallambans are a small Tamil cultivating class living in the Tanjore, Trichinopoly, and Madura districts. They are said16to be “the offspring of a Vellālan and a Valaiya woman, now a small and insignificant caste of cultivators. Some of them assert that their ancestors were the lords of the soil, for whose sole benefit the Vellālans used to carry on cultivation. Tradition makes the Vellambans to have joined the Kallans in attacking and driving away the Vellālans. It is customary among the Vallambans, when demising land, to refer to the fact of their being descendants of the Vallambans who lost Vallam,i.e., the Vallama nādu in Tanjore, their proper country.” Some Vallambans claim to be flesh-eating Vellālas, or to be superior to Kallans and Maravans by reason of their Vellāla ancestry. They call themselves Vallamtōtta Vellālas, or the Vellālas who lost Vallam, and say that they were Vellālas of Vallam in the Tanjore district, who left their native place in a time of famine.Portions of the Madura and Tanjore districts are divided into areas known as nādus, in each of which a certain caste, called the Nāttar, is the predominant factor. For example, the Vallambans and Kallans are called the Nāttars of the Pālaya nādu in the Sivaganga zemindari of the Madura district. In dealing with the tribal affairs of the various castes inhabiting a particular nādu, the lead is taken by the Nāttars, by whom certain privileges are enjoyed, as for example in the distributionto them, after the Brāhman and zamindar, of the flowers and sacred ashes used in temple worship. For the purposes of caste council meetings the Vallambans collect together representatives from fourteen nādus, as they consider that the council should be composed of delegates from a head village and its branches, generally thirteen in number.It is noted by Mr. F. R. Hemingway that the Vallambans “speak of five sub-divisions, namely, Chenjinādu, Amaravatinādu, Palayanādu, Mēlnādu, and Kilnādu. The Mēl and Kilnādu people intermarry, but are distinguishable by the fact that the former have moustaches, and the latter have not. The women dress like the Nāttukōttai Chettis. Tattooing is not allowed, and those who practice it are expelled from the caste. The men generally have no title, but some who enjoy State service inams call themselves Ambalakāran. The Mēlnādu people have no exogamous divisions, though they observe the rule about Kōvil Pangōlis. The Kilnādus have exogamous kilais, karais, and pattams.” As examples of exogamous septs, the following may be cited:—Sōlangal (Chōla), Pāndiangal (Pāndyan), Nariangal (jackal), and Piliyangal (tiger).The headman of the Vallambans is referred to generally as the Servaikāran. The headman of a group of nādus is entitled Nāttuservai, while the headman of a village is known as Ūr Servai, or simply Servai.Marriage is celebrated between adults, and the remarriage of widows is not objected to. It is stated17that “the maternal uncle’s or paternal aunt’s daughter is claimed as a matter of right by a boy, so that a boy of ten may be wedded to a mature woman of twenty ortwenty-five years, if she happens to be unmarried and without issue. Any elderly male member of the boy’s family—his elder brother, uncle, or even his father—will have intercourse with her, and beget children, which the boy, when he comes of age, will accept as his own, and legitimatise.” This system of marriage, in which there is a marked disparity in the ages of the contracting couple, is referred to in the proverb: “The tāli should be tied at least by a log of wood.” The marriage rites are as a rule non-Brāhmanical, but in some well-to-do families the services of a Brāhman purōhit are enlisted. The presence of the Umbalakāran or caste headman at a marriage is essential. On the wedding day the contracting couple offer, at their homes, manaipongal (boiled rice), and the alangu ceremony is performed by waving coloured rice round them, or touching the knees, shoulders, and head with cakes, and throwing them over the head. The wrist-threads, consisting of a piece of old cloth dyed with turmeric, are tied on by the maternal uncle. Cooked rice and vegetables are placed in front of the marriage dais, and offered to the gods. Four betel leaves are given to the bridegroom, who goes round the dais, and salutes the four cardinal points of the compass by pouring water from a leaf. He then sits down on a plank on the dais, and hands the tāli (marriage badge) to his sister. Taking the tāli, she proceeds to the bride’s house, where the bride, after performing the alangu ceremony, is awaiting her arrival. On reaching the house, she asks for the bride’s presents, and one of her brothers replies that such a piece of land, naming one, is given as a dowry. The bridegroom’s sister then removes the string of black and gold beads, such as is worn before marriage, from the bride’s neck, and replaces it by the tāli. The conch shell should be blown bywomen or children during the performance of manaipongal, and when the tāli is tied. The bride is conveyed to the house of the bridegroom, and sits with him on the dais while the relations make presents to them.The messenger who conveys the news of a death in the community is a Paraiyan. The corpse is placed within a pandal (booth) supported on four posts, which is erected in front of the house. Some paddy (unhusked rice) is poured from a winnow on to the ground, and rice is thrown over the face of the corpse. On the second day rice, and other articles of food, are carried by a barber to the spot where the corpse has been buried or burnt. If the latter course has been adopted, the barber picks out some of the remains of the bones, and hands them to the son of the deceased. On the third day, the widow goes round the pandal three times, and, entering within it, removes her tāli string, and new clothes are thrown over her neck. On the sixteenth day the final death ceremonies (karmāndhiram) are performed. A feast is given, and new cloths are tied on the heads of those under pollution. Pollution lasts for thirty days.The Vallambans profess to be Saivaites, but they consider Periya Nāyaki of Vēlangkudi as their tribal goddess, and each nādu has its own special deity, such as Vēmbu Aiyanar, Nelliyandi Aiyanar, etc. In some places the tribal deity is worshipped on a Tuesday at a festival called Sevvai (Tuesday). On this day pots containing fermented rice liquor, which must have been made by the caste people and not purchased, are taken to the place of worship. On a Friday, those families which are to take part in the festival allow a quantity of paddy (rice) to germinate by soaking it in water, and on the following Tuesday flower spikes of the palmyra palm are added to the malted rice liquor in the pots. Thepots of ordinary families may be placed in their houses, but those of the Umbalakārans and Servaikārans must be taken to the temple as representing the deity. Into these pots the flower spikes should be placed by some respected elder of the community. A week later, a small quantity of rice liquor is poured into other pots, which are carried by women to the temple car, round which they go three times. They then throw the liquor into a tank or pond. The pots of the Umbalakāran and Servaikāran must be carried by young virgins, or grown-up women who are not under menstrual pollution. One of the women who carries these pots usually becomes possessed by the village deity. At the time of the festival, cradles, horses, human figures, elephants, etc., made by the potter, are brought to the temple as votive offerings to the god.Valli Ammai Kuttam.—A synonym of the Koravas, meaning followers of Valli Ammai, the wife of the God Subrahmanya, whom they claim to have been a Korava woman.Vallōdi.—The name denotes a settlement in the Valluvanād tāluk of Malabar, and has been returned as a sub-division of Nāyar and Sāmantan, to which the Rāja of Valluvanād belongs.Valluvan.—The Valluvans are summed up by Mr. H. A. Stuart18as being “the priests of the Paraiyans and Pallans. Tiruvalluvar, the famous Tamil poet, author of the Kurāl, belonged to this caste, which is usually regarded as a sub-division of Paraiyans. It appears that the Valluvans were priests to the Pallava kings before the introduction of the Brāhmans, and even for some time after it.19In an unpublished Vatteluttuinscription, believed to be of the ninth century, the following sentence occurs ‘Sri Velluvam Pūvanavan, the Uvac’chan (Ōc’chan) of this temple, will employ daily six men for doing the temple service.’ Again, the Valluvans must have formerly held a position at least equal to that of the Vellālas, if the story that Tiruvalluva Nāyanar married a Vellāla girl is true.20He is said to have “refused to acknowledge the distinctions of caste, and succeeded in obtaining a Vellāla woman as his wife, from whom a section of the Valluvans say it has its descent. As their ancestor amused himself in the intervals between his studies by weaving, they employ themselves in mending torn linen, but chiefly live by astrology, and by acting as priests of Paraiyans, and officiating at their funerals and marriages, though some refuse to take part in the former inauspicious ceremony, and leave the duty to those whom they consider impure Valluvans called Paraiya Tādas. Another section of the Valluvans is called Ālvar Dāsari or Tāvadadhāri (those who wear the necklace of tulsi beads). Both Saivites and Vaishnavites eat together, but do not intermarry. Unlike Paraiyans, they forbid remarriage of widows and even polygamy, and all males above twelve wear the sacred thread.” According to one account, the Valluvans are the descendants of an alliance between a Brāhman sage and a Paraiyan woman, whose children complained to their father of their lowly position. He blessed them, and told them that they would become very clever astrologers, and, in consequence, much respected. At the Travancore census, 1901, the Valluvans were defined as a sub-division of the Pulayas, for whom they perform priestly functions.“Both men and women are employed as astrologers and doctors, and are often consulted by all classes of people. In many villages they have the privilege of receiving from each ryot a handful of grain during the harvest time.”21Of three Valluvans, whom I interviewed at Coimbatore, one, with a flowing white beard, had a lingam wrapped up in a pink cloth round the neck, and a charm tied in a pink cloth round the right upper arm. Another, with a black beard, had a salmon-coloured turban. The third was wearing a discarded British soldier’s tunic. All wore necklaces of rūdrāksha (Elæocarpus Ganitrus) beads, and their foreheads were smeared with oblong patches of sandal paste. Each of them had a collection of panchangams, or calendars for determining auspicious dates, and a bundle of palm leaf strips (ulla mudyan) inscribed with slōkas for astrological purposes. Their professional duties included writing charms for sick people, preparing horoscopes, and making forecasts of good or evil by means of cabalistic squares marked on the ground. Some Valluvans would have us believe that those who officiate as priests are not true Valluvans, and that the true Valluvan, who carries out the duties of an astrologer, will not perform priestly functions for the Paraiyans.Valluvan dressed up as Siva at Malayanūr festival.Valluvan dressed up as Siva at Malayanūr festival.The most important sub-divisions of the Valluvans, returned at times of census, are Paraiyan, Tāvidadāri, and Tiruvalluvan. From information supplied to me, I gather that there are two main divisions, called Arupathu Katchi (sixty house section) and Narpathu Katchi (forty house section). The former are supposed to be descendants of Nandi Gurukkal, and take his nameas their gōtra. The gōtra of the latter is Sidambara Sayichya Ayyamgar. Sidambara, or Chidambaram, is the site of one of the most sacred Siva temples. The sub-division Ālvār claims descent from Tiruppān Ālvār, one of the twelve Vaishnava saints. In the Tanjore district, the Valluvans have exogamous septs or pattaperu, named after persons,e.g., Marulipichan, Govindazhvan, etc.The Valluvans include in their ranks both Vaishnavites and Saivites. The majority of the latter, both males and females, wear the lingam. The affairs of the community are adjusted by a caste council and there are, in most places, two hereditary officers called Kōlkaran and Kanakkan.At the betrothal ceremony the bride’s money (pariyam), betel, jewels, flowers, and fruit, are placed in the future bride’s lap. The money ranges from seven to ten rupees if the bridegroom’s village is on the same side of a river as the bride’s, and from ten to twenty rupees if it is on the other side. A small sum of money, called uramurai kattu (money paid to relations) and panda varisai (money paid in the pandal), is also paid by the bridegroom’s party for a feast of toddy to the relations. This is the proper time for settling caste disputes by the village council. On the wedding day, the milk-post, consisting of a green bamboo pole, is set up, and a number of pots, brought from the potter’s house, are placed near it. On the dais are set four lamps, viz., an ordinary brass lamp, kudavilakku (pot light), alankāra vilakku (ornamental light), and pāligai vilakku (seedling light). The bride and bridegroom bring some sand, spread it on the floor near the dais, and place seven leaves on it. Cotton threads, dyed with turmeric, are tied to the pots and the milk-post. On the leaves are set cakes and rice, and the contracting couple worshipthe pots and the family gods. The Valluvan priest repeats a jumble of corrupt Sanskrit, and ties the kankanams (threads) on their wrists. They are then led into the house, and garlanded with jasmine orNeriumflowers. The pots are arranged on the dais, and the sand is spread thereon close to the milk-post. Into one of the pots the female relations put grain seedlings, and four other pots are filled with water by the bridegroom’s party. A small quantity of the seedlings is usually wrapped up in a cloth, and placed over the seedling pot. Next morning the bundle is untied, and examined, to see if the seedlings are in good condition. If they are so, the bride is considered a worthy one; if not, the bride is either bad, or will die prematurely. The usual nalagu ceremony is next performed, bride and bridegroom being anointed with oil, and smeared withPhaseolus Mungopaste. This is followed by the offering of food on eleven leaves to the ancestors and house gods. Towards evening, the dais is got ready for its occupation by the bridal couple, two planks being placed on it, and covered with cloths lent by a washerman. The couple, sitting on the planks, exchange betel and paddy nine or twelve times, and rice twenty-seven times. The priest kindles the sacred fire (hōmam), and pours some ghī (clarified butter) into it from a mango leaf. The bridegroom is asked whether he sees Arundati (the pole-star) thrice, and replies in the affirmative. The tāli is shown the sky, smoked over burning camphor, and placed on a tray together with a rupee. After being blessed by those present, it is tied round the neck of the bride by the bridegroom, who has his right leg on her lap. On the second day there is a procession through the village, and, on the following day, the wrist-threads are removed.In some places, the Valluvans, at their marriages, like the Pallis and some other castes, use the pandamutti, or pile of pots reaching to the top of the pandal.The Saivite lingam wearers bury their dead in a sitting posture in a niche excavated in the side of the grave. After death has set in, a cocoanut is broken, and camphor burnt. The corpse is washed by relations, who bring nine pots of water for the purpose. The lingam is tied on to the head, and a cloth bundle, containing a rupee, seven bilva (Ægle Marmelos) leaves, nine twigs of the tulsi (Ocimum sanctum), and nineLeucas asperaflowers, to the right arm. The corpse is carried to the grave on a car surmounted by five brass vessels. The grave is purified by the sprinkling of cow’s urine and cow-dung water before the corpse is lowered into it. On the way to the burial-ground, the priest keeps on chanting various songs, such as “This is Kailāsa. This is Kailāsa thillai (Chidambaram). Our request is this. Nallia Mutthan of the Nandidarma gōtra died on Thursday in the month Thai in the year Subakruthu. He must enter the fourth stage (sayichyam), passing through Sālokam, Sāmīpa, and Sārupa. He crosses the rivers of stones, of thorns, of fire, and of snakes, holding the tail of the bull Nandi. To enable him to reach heaven safely, we pound rice, and put lights of rice.” The priest receives a fee for his services, which he places before an image made on the grave after it has been filled in. The money is usually spent in making a sacred bull, lingam, or stone slab, to place on the grave. On the third day after death, the female relatives of the deceased pour milk within the house into a vessel, which is taken by the male relatives to the burial-ground, and offered at the grave, which is cleaned. A small platform, made of mud, and composedof several tiers, decreasing in size from below upwards, is erected thereon, and surmounted by a lingam. At the north and south corners of this platform, a bull and paradēsi (mendicant) made of mud are placed, and at each corner leaves are laid, on which the offerings in the form of rice, fruits, vegetables, etc., are laid. The final death ceremonies are celebrated on the seventeenth day. A pandal (booth) is set up, and closed in with cloths. Within it are placed a pot and five pestles and mortars, to which threads are tied. Five married women, taking hold of the pestles, pound some rice contained in the pot, and with the flour make a lamp, which is placed on a tray. The eldest son of the deceased goes, with the lamp on his head, to an enclosure having an entrance at the four cardinal points. The enclosure is either a permanent one with mud walls, or temporary one made out of mats. Within the enclosure, five pots are set up in the centre, and four at each side. The pots are cleansed by washing them with the urine of cows of five different colours, red, white, black, grey, and spotted. Near the pots the articles required for pūja (worship) are placed, and the officiating priest sits near them. The enclosure is supposed to represent heaven, and the entrances are the gates leading thereto, before which food is placed on leaves. The eldest son, with the lamp, stands at the eastern entrance, while Siva is worshipped. The priest then repeats certain stanzas, of which the following is the substance. “You who come like Siddars (attendants in the abode of Siva) at midnight, muttering Siva’s name, why do you come near Sivapadam? I will pierce you with my trident. Get away. Let these be taken to yamapuri, or hell.” Then Siva and Parvati, hearing the noise, ask “Oh! sons, who are you that keep on saying Hara, Hara? Give out truly your names and nativity.”To which the reply is given “Oh! Lord, I am a devotee of that Being who graced Markandeya, and am a Vīrasaiva by faith. I have come to enter heaven. We have all led pure lives, and have performed acts of charity. So it is not just that we should be prevented from entering. Men who ill-treat their parents, or superiors, those addicted to all kinds of vice, blasphemers, murderers, perverts from their own faith and priests, and other such people, are driven to hell by the southern gate.” At this stage, a thread is passed round the enclosure. The son, still bearing the lamp, goes from the eastern entrance past the south and western entrances, and, breaking the thread, goes into the enclosure through the northern entrance. The Nandikōl (hereditary village official) then ties a cloth first round the head of the eldest son, and afterwards round the heads of the other sons and agnates.The Valluvans abstain from eating beef. Though they mix freely with the Paraiyans, they will not eat with them, and never live in the Paraiyan quarter.The Valluvans are sometimes called Pandāram or Valluva Pandāram. In some places, the priests of the Valluvans are Vellāla Pandārams.Valluvan.—A small inferior caste of fishermen and boatmen in Malabar.22Vālmika.—Vālmīka or Vālmīki is a name assumed by the Bōyas and Paidis, who claim to be descended from Vālmīki, the author of the Rāmāyana, who did penance for so long in one spot that a white-ant hill (vālmīkam) grew up round him. In a note before me, Vālmīki is referred to as the Spenser of India. In the North Arcot Manual, Vālmīkulu, as a synonym of the Vēdans,is made to mean those who live on the products of ant-hills.Vāl Nambi.—Recorded, in the Madras Census Report, 1901, as “a synonym for Mūssad. Nambi is a title of Brāhmans, and vāl means a sword. The tradition is that the name arose from the ancestors of the caste having lost some of the privileges of the Vēdic Brāhmans owing to their having served as soldiers when Malabar was ruled by the Brāhmans prior to the days of the Perumāls.”Valuvādi.—The Valuvādis are returned, in the Madras Census Report, 1901, as cultivators in the Pudukōttai State. I am informed that the Valuvādis are a section of the Valaiyan caste, to which the Zamindar of Nagaram belongs. The name Valuvādi was originally a title of respect, appended to the name of the Nagaram Zamindars. The name of the present Zamindar is Balasubramanya Valuvādiar. Thirty years ago there is said to have been no Valuvādi caste. Some Valaiyans in prosperous circumstances, and others who became relatives of the Nagaram Zamindar by marriage, have changed their caste name, to show that they are superior in social status to the rest of the community.Vamme.—A gōtra of Janappans, the members of which abstain from eating the fish called bombadai, because, when some of their ancestors went to fetch water in the marriage pot, they found a number of this fish in the water contained in the pot.Vana Palli.—A name, meaning forest Palli, assumed by some Irulas in South Arcot.Vandikkāran.—An occupational name for Nāyars who work as cartmen (vandi, cart) for carrying fuel.Vandula or Vandi Rāja.—A sub-division of Bhatrāzu, named after one Vandi, who is said to have been a herald at the marriage of Siva.Vangu(cave).—A sub-division of Irula.Vāni.—“The Vānis or Bāndēkars,” Mr. H. A. Stuart writes,23“have been wrongly classified in the census returns (1891) as oil-pressers; they are in reality traders. They are said to have come from Goa, and they speak Konkani. Their spiritual guru is the head of the Kumbakōnam math.” In the Census Report, 1901, it is noted that Vāni, meaning literally a trader, is a Konkani-speaking trading caste, of which Bāndēkara is a synonym. “They ape the Brāhmanical customs, and call themselves by the curious hybrid name of Vaisya Brāhmans.” Hari Chetti has been returned as a further synonym.Vāniyan.—The Vāniyans are, Mr. Francis writes,24“oil-pressers among the Tamils, corresponding to the Telugu Gāndlas, Canarese Gānigas, Malabar Chakkāns, and Oriya Tellis. For some obscure reason, Manu classed oil-pressing as a base occupation, and all followers of the calling are held in small esteem, and, in Tinnevelly, they are not allowed to enter the temples. In consequence, however, of their services in lighting the temples (in token of which all of them, except the Malabar Vāniyans and Chakkāns, wear the sacred thread), they are earning a high position, and some of them use the sonorous title of Jōti Nagarattār (dwellers in the city of light) and Tiru-vilakku Nagarattār (dwellers in the city of holy lamps). They employ Brāhmans as priests, practice infant marriage, and prohibit widow marriage, usually burn their dead, and decline to eat in the houses of any caste below Brāhmans. However, even the washermen decline to eat with them. Like the Gāndlas they have two sub-divisions, Ottai-sekkān and Irattai-sekkān,who use respectively one bullock and two bullocks in their mills. Oddly enough, the former belong to the right-hand faction, and the latter to the left. Their usual title is Chetti. The name Vānuvan has been assumed by Vāniyans, who have left their traditional occupation, and taken to the grain and other trades.”“The word Vānijyam,” Mr. H. A. Stuart informs us,25“signifies trade, and trade in oil, as well as its manufacture, is the usual employment of this caste, who assert that they are Vaisyas, and claim the Vaisya-Apurānam as their holy book. They are said to have assumed the thread only within the last fifty or sixty years, and are reputed to be the result of a yāgam (sacrifice by fire) performed by a saint called Vakkuna Mahārishi. The caste contains four sub-divisions called Kāmākshiamma, Visālākshiamma, Ac’chu-tāli, and Toppa-tāli, the two first referring to the goddesses principally worshipped by each, and the two last to the peculiar kinds of tālis, or marriage tokens, worn by their women. They have the same customs as the Bēri Chettis, but are not particular in observing the rule which forbids the eating of flesh. A bastard branch of the Vāniyas is called the Pillai Kūttam, which is said to have sprung from the concubine of a Vāniyan, who lived many years ago. The members of this class are never found except where Vāniyans live, and are supposed to have a right to be fed and clothed by them. Should this be refused, they utter the most terrible curse, and, in this manner, eventually intimidate the uncharitable into giving them alms.” In the Census Report, 1891, Mr. Stuart writes further that the Vāniyans “were formerly called Sekkān (oil-mill man), and it is curiousthat the oil-mongers alone came to be called Vāniyan or trader. They have returned 126 sub-divisions, of which only one, Ilai Vāniyan, is numerically important. One sub-division is Iranderudu, or two bullocks, which refers to the use of two bullocks in working the mill. This separation of those who use two bullocks from those who employ only one is found in nearly every oil-pressing caste in India. The Vāniyans of Malabar resemble the Nāyars in their customs and habits, and neither wear the sacred thread, nor employ Brāhmans as priests. In North Malabar, Nāyars are polluted by their touch, but in the south, where they are called Vattakādans, they have succeeded in forcing themselves into the ranks of the Nāyar community. A large number of them returned Nāyar as their main caste.” In this connection, Mr. Francis states26that followers of the calling of oil-pressers (Chakkāns) are “known as Vattakādans in South Malabar, and as Vāniyans in North Malabar; but the former are the higher in social status, the Nāyars being polluted by the touch of the Vāniyans and Chakkāns but not by that of the Vattakādans. Chakkāns and Vāniyans may not enter Brāhman temples. Their customs and manners are similar to those of the Nāyars, who will not, however, marry their women.”Of the Vāniyans of Cochin, it is stated in the Cochin Census Report, 1901, that “they are Vaisyas, and wear the sacred thread. In regard to marriage, inheritance, ceremonies, dress, ornaments, etc., there is practically no difference between them and the Konkanis. But, as they do not altogether abstain from meat and spirituous liquors, they are not allowed free access to the houses of Konkanis, nor are they permitted to touch their tanksand wells. They are Saivites. They have their own priests, who are called Panditars. They observe birth and death pollution for ten days, and are like Brāhmans in this respect. They are mostly petty merchants and shop-keepers. Some can read and write Malayālam, but they are very backward in English education.”The oils expressed by the Vāniyans are said to be “gingelly (Sesamum indicum), cocoanut, iluppei (Bassia longifolia), pinnei (Calophyllum inophyllum), and ground-nut (Arachis hypogæa). According to the sāstras the crushing of gingelly seeds, and the sale of gingelly oil, are sinful acts, and no one, who does not belong to the Vāniyan class, will either express or sell gingelly oil.”27When a Vāniyan dies a bachelor, apost-mortemmock ceremony is performed as by the Gānigas, and the corpse is married to the arka plant (Calotropis gigantea), and decorated with a wreath made of the flowers thereof.Vankāyala(brinjal or egg plant:Solanum Melongena).—An exogamous sept of Golla. The fruit is eaten by Natives, and, stuffed with minced meat, is a common article of Anglo-Indian dietary.Vanki(armlet).—A gōtra of Kurni.Vannān.—The Vannāns are washermen in the Tamil and Malayalām countries. The name Vannān is, Mr. H. A. Stuart writes,28“derived from vannam, beauty. There is a tradition that they are descendants of the mythological hero Vīrabadra, who was ordered by Siva to wash the clothes of all men, as an expiation of the sin of putting many people to death in Daksha’s Yāga. Hence the Tamil washermen are frequentlycalled Vīrabadran. Having to purify all the filthy linen of the villagers, they are naturally regarded as a low, unclean class of Sūdras, and are always poor. They add to their income by hiring out the clothes of their customers to funeral parties, who lay them on the ground before the pall-bearers, so that these may not step upon the ground, and by letting them out on the sly to persons wishing to use them without having to purchase for themselves. In social standing the Vannāns are placed next below the barbers. They profess to be Saivites in the southern districts, and Vaishnavites in the north. The marriage of girls generally takes place after puberty. Widow remarriage is permitted among some, if not all, sub-divisions. Divorce may be obtained by either party at pleasure on payment of double the bride-price, which is usually Rs. 10–8–0. They are flesh-eaters, and drink liquor. The dead are either burned or buried. The Pothara (or Podora) Vannāns are of inferior status, because they wash only for Paraiyans, Pallans, and other inferior castes.”It is noted, in the Madura Manual, that those who have seen the abominable substances, which it is the lot of the Vannāns to make clean, cannot feel any surprise at the contempt with which their occupation is regarded. In the Tanjore Manual, it is recorded that, in the rural parts of the district, the Vannāns are not allowed to enter the house of a Brāhman or a Vellāla; clothes washed by them not being worn or mixed up with other clothes in the house until they have undergone another wash by a caste man.It is on record that, on one occasion, a party of Europeans, when out shooting, met a funeral procession on its way to the burial-ground. The bier was draped in many folds of clean cloth, which one of theparty recognised by the initials as one of his bed-sheets. Another identified as his sheet the cloth on which the corpse was lying. He cut off the corner with the initials, and a few days later the sheet was returned by the washerman, who pretended ignorance of the mutilation, and gave as an explanation that it must have been done, in his absence, by one of his assistants. On another occasion, a European met an Eurasian, in a village not far from his bungalow, wearing a suit of clothes exactly similar to his own, and, on close examination, found they were his. They had been newly washed and dressed.The most important divisions numerically returned by Vannāns at times of census are Pāndiyan, Peru (big), Tamil, and Vaduga (northerner). It is recorded, in the Gazetteer of the Madura district, that Vannān “is rather an occupational term than a caste title, and, besides the Pāndya Vannāns or Vannāns proper, includes the Vaduga Vannāns or Tsākalas of the Telugu country, and the Palla, Pudara, and Tulukka Vannāns, who wash for the Pallans, Paraiyans, and Musalmans respectively. The Pāndya Vannāns have a headman called the Periya Manishan (big man). A man can claim the hand of his paternal aunt’s daughter. At weddings, the bridegroom’s sister ties the tāli (marriage badge). Nambis officiate. Divorce is freely allowed to either party on payment of twice the bride-price, and divorcées may marry again. The caste god is Gurunāthan, in whose temples the pūjāri (priest) is usually a Vannān. The dead are generally burnt, and, on the sixteenth day, the house is purified from pollution by a Nambi.”Some Vannāns have assumed the name Irkuli Vellāla, and Rājakan and Kāttavarāya vamsam have also been recorded as synonyms of the caste name.The Vannāns of Malabar are also called Mannān or Bannān. They are, Mr. Francis writes,29“a low class of Malabar washermen, who wash only for the polluting castes, and for the higher castes when they are under pollution following births, deaths, etc. It is believed by the higher castes that such pollution can only be removed by wearing clothes washed by Mannāns, though at other times these cause pollution to them. The washing is generally done by the women, and the men are exorcists, devil-dancers and physicians, even to the higher castes. Their women are midwives, like those of the Velakkatalavan and Vēlan castes. This caste should not be confused with the Mannān hill tribe of Travancore.”It is recorded, in the Gazetteer of Malabar, that “the Mannāns, a makkattāyam caste of South Malabar, apparently identical with the marumakkattāyam Vannāns of the north, are a caste of washermen; and their services are indispensable to the higher castes in certain purificatory ceremonies when they have to present clean cloths (māttu). They are also devil-dancers and tailors. They practice fraternal polyandry in the south. Mannāns are divided into two endogamous classes, Peru-mannāns (peru, great), and Tinda-mannāns (tinda, pollution); and, in Walavanād, into four endogamous classes called Chōppan, Peru-mannān, Punnekādan, and Puliyakkōdam. The Tinda-mannān and Puliyakkōdam divisions perform the purificatory sprinklings for the others.”The services of the Mannān, Mr. T. K. Gopal Panikkar writes,30“are in requisition at the Nāyar Thirandukaliānam ceremonies on the attainment of puberty by a girl, when they sing ballads, and have to bring, for the girl’s use, the māttu or sacred dress.Then, on occasions of death pollution, they have a similar duty to perform. Among the Nāyars, on the fourth, or rarely the third day after the menses, the woman has to use, during her bath, clothes supplied by Mannān females. The same duty they have to perform during the confinement of Nāyar females. All the dirty cloths and bed sheets used, these Mannān females have to wash.” Mr. S. Appadorai Iyer informs us that those Mannāns who are employed by the Kammālan, or artisan class, as barbers, are not admitted into the Mannān caste, which follows the more honourable profession of washing clothes. The Mannāns perform certain ceremonies in connection with Mundian, the deity who is responsible for the weal or woe of cattle; and, at Pūram festivals, carry the vengida koda or prosperity umbrella, composed of many tiers of red, green, orange, black and white cloth, supported on a long bamboo pole, before the goddess.It is recorded by Bishop Whitehead31that, in various places in Malabar, there are temples in honour of Bhagavati, at which the pūjāris (priests) are of the Vannān caste. “There is an annual feast called gurusi tarpanam (giving to the guru) about March, when the hot weather begins, and the people are at leisure. Its object is to appease the wrath of the goddess. During the festival, the pūjāri sits in the courtyard outside the temple, thickly garlanded with red flowers, and with red kunkuma marks on his forehead. Goats and fowls are then brought to him by the devotees, and he kills them with one blow of the large sacrificial sword or chopper. It is thought auspicious for the head to be severed at one blow, and, apparently, pūjāris who are skilful indecapitation are much in request. When the head is cut off, the pūjāri takes the carcase, and holds it over a large copper vessel partly filled with water, turmeric, kunkuma, and a little rice, and lets the blood flow into it. When all the animals are killed, the pūjāribailsout the blood and water on the ground, uttering mantrams (sacred lines or verses) the while. The people stand a little way off. When the vessel is nearly empty, the pūjāri turns it upside down as a sign that the ceremony is ended. During these proceedings, a number of Vannāns, dressed in fantastic costumes, dance three times round the temple. During the festival, processions are held round the various houses, and special swords with a curved hook at the end, called palli val (great or honourable sword), are carried by the worshippers. These swords are worshipped during the Dusserah festival in October, and, in some shrines, they form the only emblem of the deity. The Tiyans have small shrines in their own gardens sacred to the family deity, which may be Bhagavati, or some demon, or the spirit of an ancestor. Once a year, Vannāns come dressed in fancy costume, with crowns on their heads, and dance round the courtyard to the sound of music and tom-toms, while a Tiyan priest presents the family offerings, uncooked rice and young cocoanuts, with camphor and incense, and then rice fried with sugar and ghī (clarified butter).”In an account of the Tiyans, Mr. Logan writes32that “this caste is much given to devil-charming, or devil-driving as it is often called. The washermen (Vannān) are the high priests of this superstition, and with chants, ringing cymbals, magic figures, and waving lights, they drive out evil spirits from their votaries of this caste atcertain epochs in their married lives. One ceremony in particular, called teyyāttam—a corrupt form of Dēva and āttam, that is, playing at gods—takes place occasionally in the fifth month of pregnancy. A leafy arbour is constructed, and in front of it is placed a terrible figure of Chāmundi, the queen of the demons, made of rice flour, turmeric powder, and charcoal powder. A party of not less than eighteen washermen is organized to represent the demons and furies—Kuttichāttan (a mischievous imp), and many others. On being invoked, these demons bound on to the stage in pairs, dance, caper, jump, roar, fight, and drench each other with saffron (turmeric) water. Their capers and exertions gradually work up their excitement, until they are veritably possessed of the devil. At this juncture, fowls and animals are sometimes thrown to them, to appease their fury. These they attack with their teeth, and kill and tear as a tiger does his prey. After about twenty minutes the convulsions cease, the demon or spirit declares its pleasure, and, much fatigued, retires to give place to others; and thus the whole night is spent, with much tom-tomming and noise and shouting, making it impossible, for Europeans at least, to sleep within earshot of the din.”Vannattān.—A synonym of Veluttēdan, the caste of washermen, who wash for Nāyars and higher castes.Vanni Kula Kshatriya.—A synonym of the Pallis, who claim to belong to the fire race of Kshatriyas.Vanniyan.—A synonym of Palli. The name further occurs as a sub-division of Ambalakāran and Valaiyan. Some Maravans also are known as Vanniyan or Vannikutti. Tēn (honey) Vanniyan is the name adopted by some Irulas in the South Arcot district.Vantari.—SeeTelaga.Vanuvan.—A name assumed by Vāniyans who have abandoned their hereditary occupation of oil-pressing, and taken to trade in grain and other articles.Vārakurup.—Recorded, in the Madras Census Report, 1901, as a title of Malayālam Paravans.Varige(millet).—An exogamous sept of Kāpu.Vāriyar.—For the following note on the Vāriyar section of the Ambalavāsis, I am indebted to Mr. N. Subramani Aiyar. The name is believed to be derived from Parasava, which, according to Yajnavalkya and other law-givers, is the name given to the son of a Brāhman begotten on a Sūdra woman, and suggests the fact that the Vāriyar is no Brāhman, though the blood of the latter may course through his veins, and though such marriages were regarded as sacraments in early days. This is the derivation given by Pachumuttalu in his Kēralavisēshamāhātmya, who adds that the chief occupation of the Vāriyars is to sweep the floor of the temples. In some of the Asauchavidhis (works on pollution) of Kērala, the commentator explains the word Parasava as Vāriya. Many Vāriyars add the title Parasava to their name, when writing in Sanskrit. Some derive the word from varija or one born of water, in accordance with a tradition that Parasurāma created from water a class of persons for special service in temples, and to take the place of Sūdras, who, being meat-eaters, were ineligible for the same. Others again, like the late Professor Sundaram Pillay, would take Vāriyar as being derived from varuka, to sweep. Recently, some ingenuity has been displayed in splitting the word into two words, giving it a meaning equivalent to pseudo-Aryan. The title Asan, or teacher, is possessed by certain families, whose members have held the hereditary position of tutors in noblemen’s houses. Inmediæval times, many Vāriyar families received royal edicts, conferring upon them the privileges of being tutors and astrologers. These special rights are even now possessed by them.The following legend is narrated concerning the origin of theVāriyars. A Sūdra woman removed a bone from within a temple in obedience to the wish of certain Brāhman priests, and was excommunicated from her caste. The priests, on hearing this, were anxious to better her condition, and made her the progenitor of a class of Ambalavāsis or temple servants, who were afterwards known as Vāriyars. According to another legend, the corpse of a Mārān, which was found inside a Nambūtiri’s house, was promptly removed by certain Nāyars, who on that account were raised in the social scale, and organised into a separate caste called Vāriyar. There is a still further tradition that, in the Treta Yuga, a Sūdra woman had five sons, the first of whom became the progenitor of the Tiyatunnis, and the second that of Vāriyars. A fourth account is given in the Kēralamahātmya. A young Brāhman girl was married to an aged man. Not confident in unaided human effort, under circumstances such as hers, she devoted a portion of her time daily to preparing flower garlands for the deity of the nearest temple, and conceived. But the Brāhman welcomed the little stranger by getting the mother thrown out of caste. Her garlands could no longer be accepted, but, nothing daunted, she worked as usual, and made a mental offering of the garlands she prepared, which, through an unseen agency, became visible on the person of the deity. Though the people were struck with shame at their unkind treatment of the innocent girl, they were not prepared to take her back. The Vāriyan caste was accordingly constituted, and her child was brought up bythe Azhancheri Tambrakkal, and accommodated in the padippura or out-house at the entrance gate. In the Pāsupata Tantra, the Vāriyars are called Kailāsavāsins, or those who live in Kailās, as they are supposed to be specially devoted to the worship of Siva. Kailāsa is the abode of Siva, whither the blessed go after death.The Vāriyars of Travancore are divided into four groups, called Onattukara, Venattukara, Ilayetattunad (or Ilayathu), and Tekkumkur. The Venattukaras have the privilege of interdining with the Onattukaras, and having their ceremonies performed by priests from that group. But the ceremonies of the Onattukaras appear to be performed without the Venattukaras being admitted into their midst. The third and fourth groups take food in the houses of the first and second, though the reverse seldom happens. The Vāriyars in British Malabar are divided into several other groups.The Vāriyars are generally well-read, especially in Sanskrit, make excellent astrologers, and are also medical practitioners. A Vāriyar’s house is called variyam, as the Pishārati’s is known as pishāram.Married women have the hair-knot on the left side of the head, like Nāyar ladies. They cover the breast with a folded cloth, and never wear a bodice or other innovations in the matter of dress. The marriage ornament is called mātra, and is in the shape of a maddalam or drum. Other neck ornaments are called entram and kuzhal. The todu, or ornament of Nāyar women, is worn in the ear-lobes. Women mark their foreheads, like Nambūtiri ladies, with sandal paste.The Vāriyars, Pushpakans, and Pishāratis, are said to constitute the three original garland-making castes of Malabar, appointed by Parasurāma. At the present day, in all the important temples, except in SouthTravancore, where Kurukkals perform that function, garlands can only be prepared by one of these castes. The technical occupation of a Vāriyar in a temple is called kazhakam, which is probably derived from the Dravidian root kazhaku, to cleanse. Kazhakam is of two kinds, viz., malakkazhakam or garland-making service, and talikkazhakam or sweeping service, of which the former is more dignified than the latter. Under the generic term kazhakar are included making flower garlands for the temple, preparing materials for the offering of food, sweeping the beli offering, carrying lights and holding umbrellas when the god is carried in procession, having the custody of the temple jewels, etc. The Vāriyar is at the beck and call of the temple priest, and has to do sundry little services from morning till evening. He is remunerated with some of the cooked food, after it has been offered to the deity. The Vāriyars are to Saivite temples what the Pishāratis are to Vaishnavite temples. Their prayers are prominently addressed only to Siva, but they also worship Vishnu, Subramanya, Sasta, Ganēsa, and Bhadrakāli. Their chief amusement is the farce called Kūttappāthakam, the hero of which is one Vankāla Nikkan, and the heroine Naityar. An Ilayatu is the stage-manager, and a Pishārati the actor. Parangotan is the buffoon, and Māppa his wife. In the eighteenth century, a grand festival lasting over twenty-eight days, called mamangam, was celebrated in British Malabar. The above characters are represented as proceeding to this festival, which came off once in twelve years on the Magha asterism in the month of Magha, and is hence popularly called Mahāmagha.The Vāriyar caste is governed in all matters by the Nambūtiri Brahmans, but they have their own priests.The Ilayatus believe that they were the preceptors of all the Ambalavāsi castes in former times, but were dislodged from that position owing to most of them employing priests from among their own caste men. Even at the present day, Ilayatus are known to express their displeasure when they are asked to drink water from a Vāriyar’s well. As, however, consecrated water from the Nambūtiris is taken to a Vāriyar for its purification, they entertain no scruples about cooking their food there, provided they carry with them the aupasana fire.Inheritance among the Vāriyars of Cochin and British Malabar is in the female line (marumakkathāyam). Among the Vāriyars of Travancore, chiefly these belonging to the Onattukara section, a kind of qualified makkathāyam prevails, in accordance with which both sons and daughters have an equal right to inherit ancestral property. The eldest male member is entitled to the management of the estate in all undivided families. Partition, however, is largely followed in practice.The tāli-kettu ceremony of the Vāriyars generally takes place before a girl reaches puberty, and, in the case of boys, after the ceremony of Sivadiksha has been performed, that is between the twelfth and sixteenth years. If the marriage is in the kudi-vaippu form, or, in other words, if there is an intention on the part of both parties to treat the marital alliance as permanent, no separate sambandham need be celebrated afterwards; and, in all cases where marriages are celebrated between members of the same section, the kudi-vaippu form is in vogue. If a girl is unmarried when she reaches puberty, she is not permitted to take part in any religious ceremonies, or enter any temple until she is married.The first item of a Vāriyar’s marriage is ayani-unu, when the bridegroom, decked in new clothes and ornaments, dines sumptuously with his relations. He then goes in procession to the bride’s house, and, after bathing, puts on clothes touched by the bride. After this some prayers are recited, and a sacrifice is offered. The bride is then brought to the marriage hall, and, all the Brāhmanical rites are strictly observed. After sunset, some grass and a leopard’s skin are placed on the floor on which white cloth is spread. The bridegroom, who is seated on the northern side, worships Ganapati, after which the couple take their seats on the cloth bed spread on the floor. Lights are then waved in front of them. This ceremony is known as dikshavirikkuka. In the kudi-vaippu form of marriage, the bride is taken to the house of the bridegroom, where the dikshavirippu is observed. Otherwise the marital rite becomes a mere tāli-kattu ceremony, and the girl, when she comes of age, may receive clothes in token of conjugal connection with another person. When the first husband dies, clothes may be received from another Vāriyar, or a Brāhman, whose wife the woman becomes.Most of the ceremonies observed by Malayāli Brāhmans are also performed by the Vāriyars, the vratas and upanayana being among those which are omitted. Sivadiksha, as already indicated, is observed between the twelfth and sixteenth years. The festival lasts for four days, though the religious rites are over on the first day. At an auspicious hour, the priest and the Vāriyar youth put on the tattu dress, or dress worn for ceremonial purposes, and worship a pot full of water with incense and flowers, the contents of which are then poured by the priest over the youth. The priest and a Mārān then perform the tonsure, and theyouth bathes. Some Nambūtiris are then engaged to perform the purificatory rite, after which the Vāriyar wears the tattu as well as an upper cloth, marks his forehead with ashes and sandal paste, and decorates himself with jewels, rudrāksha (Elæocarpus Ganitrus) beads, and flowers. Alms are received by the young Vāriyar from his mother, and he takes seven steps in a northerly direction which symbolise his pilgrimage to Benares. It is only after the performance of this rite that the Vāriyar is believed to become a grihastha (married person, as opposed to a bachelor). The funeral rites of the caste have been elaborated in many places. Death pollution lasts for twelve days, and the sanchayana (milk ceremony) is observed on the seventh or ninth day. Anniversary ceremonies are celebrated in memory of close relations, and others are propitiated by the performance of srādh, and the feeding of a Vāriyar on a new-moon day.In an account of a royal wedding in Travancore in 1906, I read that “a number of Vāriyars left the thēvarathu koikal, or palace where worship is performed, for a compound (garden) close by to bring an areca palm. It is supposed that they do this task under divine inspiration and guidance. One man is given a small rod by the Potti or priest in the palace, and, after receiving this, he dances forward, followed by his comrades, and all wend their way to a compound about a furlong away. On reaching the spot, they uproot a big areca palm without the use of any implement of iron, and take it away to the thēvarathu koikal without its touching the ground, to the accompaniment of music. They then plant it in front of the portico, and do some pūja (worship) after the manner of Brāhmans. The function is comparable to the dhwajarohanam, or hoisting of the flag during temple utsavams. TheVāriyarsdance roundthe tree, singing songs, and performing pūja. A piece of white cloth is tied to the top of the tree, to serve as a flag, and a lamp is lighted, and placed at the foot of the tree.”The Vāriyars are described, in the Gazetteer of Malabar, as “a caste whose traditional duty is to sweep the temple precincts (vāruga). At the present day, some members of the caste are important land-owners or petty chieftains, occupying a very high social position. They generally follow the marumakkatāyam principle, but they have also a form of marriage called Kudivekkal similar to the Brahman Sarvasvadhānam, by which the wife is adopted as a member of the family into which she marries, and her children also belong to it. The Vāriyar’s names and ceremonies indicate Sivaite proclivities, just as those of the Pishārodi are tinged with Vishnavism. The Vāriyar’s house is called a Vāriyam, and his woman-folk Varassiars. This class is perhaps the most progressive among the Ambalavāsis, some of its members having received a Western education and entered the learned professions.”Varugu Bhatta.—A mendicant class, which begs from Perikes.Varuna.—Some Pattanavan fishermen have adopted the name of Varunakula Vellāla or Varunakula Mudali after Varuna the god of the waters.Vasa(new).—A sub-division of Kurubas, who are said to weave only white blankets.Vasishta.—A Brāhmanical gōtra adopted by Khatris and Toreyas. Vasishta, one of the seven great Rishis, was the son of Mitra and Varuna, whose quarrels with Viswamitra are narrated in the Rāmayana.Vastra.—One division of the Koragas is called Vastra, meaning cloths suchasare used as a shroud for acorpse, which were given to them as an act of charity, the wearing of new cloths by them being prohibited. Vastrala (cloth) further occurs as an exogamous sept of the Karna Sālē and Dēvānga weavers.Vattakādan.—Recorded as a sub-division of Nāyar, the occupation of which is expressing oil, chiefly for use in temples. Mr. F. Fawcett writes33that, in North Malabar, he has frequently been told by Nāyars of the superior classes that they do not admit the Vattakādans to be Nāyars. According to them, the Vattakādans have adopted the honorary affix Nāyar to their names quite recently. In the Madras Census Report, 1891, Vattakādan is stated to be a synonym of Vāniyan; and in the report, 1901, this name is said to mean a Native of Vattakād, and to be given to the Chakkāns.Vattē(camel).—A gōtra of Kurni.Vātti.—Vātti or Vāttikurup has been recorded at times of census as a sub-division of Nāyar, and a synonym of Kāvutiyan and Tōlkollan. Vātti is said to mean one who prays for happiness.Vayani.—The Vayanis, Vayinis, Vaguniyans, or Pavinis, are a section of Mādigas, the members of which play on a single-stringed mandoline, and go about from village to village, singing the praises of the village goddesses. Each Vayani has his recognised beat. He plays a prominent part in the celebration of the annual festival of the village goddess, and receives a sacred thread (kappu), which is usually tied to his mandoline, before the commencement of the festival. He regards himself as superior in social position to ordinary Mādigas, with whom he will not marry. The name Vayani is said to be a corruption of varnane, meaning todescribe. In some localities,e.g., the Chingleput district, the Vayani enjoys mirāsi rights in connection with land.Vēdan.—The Vēdans are described by Mr. H. A. Stuart, in the North Arcot Manual, as having been “formerly hunters and soldiers, and it is this caste which furnished a considerable and valuable contingent to the early Hindu kings, and later to the armies of Hyder and Tippoo. They are supposed by some to be the remnants of the earliest inhabitants of the peninsula, and identical with the Veddahs of Ceylon. They are also called Vālmīkulu, which means those who live on the products of ant-hills (vālmīkum).” It is noted, in the Census Report, 1891, that the two castes Bēdar (or Bōya) and Vēdan were, “through a misapprehension of instructions, treated as identical in the tabulation papers. The two words are, no doubt, etymologically identical, the one being Canarese and the other Tamil, but the castes are quite distinct.” It may be noted that the name Vālmīka or Vālmīki is assumed by the Bōyas, who claim descent from Vālmīki, the author of the Rāmayana, who did penance for so long in one spot that a white-ant hill grew up round him.In the Madras Census Report, 1901, the Vēdans are described as “a Tamil-speaking labouring and hunting caste, the members of which were formerly soldiers, and subsequently dacoits. The name means a hunter, and is loosely applied to the Irulas in some places (e.g., Chingleput). There is some connection between the Vēdans and Tamil Vēttuvans, but its precise nature is not clear. The Vēttuvans now consider themselves superior to the Vēdans, and are even taking to calling themselves Vēttuva Vellālas. Marriage (among the Vēdans) is either infant or adult. Widows may marry their late husband’s brother or agnates. Some employ Brāhmans as priests. They either burn or bury theirdead. They claim descent from Kannappa Nāyanar, one of the sixty-three Saivite saints. Ambalakārans also claim to be descended from Kannappa Nāyanār. In Tanjore, the Valaiyans declare themselves to have a similar origin. The title of the Vēdans is Nāyakkan.” In the Madura Manual, the Vēdans are described as a very low caste, who get their living in the jungles. They are not numerous now. They appear to have been naked savages not very long ago, and their civilisation is far from complete. They are held in the greatest contempt by men of all classes. They are described further, in the Coimbatore Manual, as “a very degraded, poor tribe, living by basket-making, snaring small game, and so on. They speak a low Canarese, and are as simple as savage. The delight of a party at the gift of a rupee is something curious.” In the Salem district some Vēdans are said34to be “known by the caste name Tiruvalar, who aredistinguishedas the Kattukudugirajāti, a name derived from a custom among them, which authorises temporary matrimonial arrangements.”The following story in connection with bears and Vēdans is worthy of being placed on record. The bears are said to collect ripe wood-apples (Feronia elephantum) during the season, and store them in the forest. After a small quantity has been collected, they remove the rind of the fruits, and heap together all the pulp. They then bring honey and petals of sweet-smelling flowers, put them on the heap of pulp, and thresh them with their feet and with sticks in their hands. When the whole has become a consistent mass, they feed on it. The Vēdan, who knows the season, is said to drive off the bears by shooting at them, and rob them of theirfeast, which is sold as karadi panchamritham, or bear delicacy made of five ingredients.
“Trolling from the shore at the river’s mouth is only carried on of a morning or evening, during the winter months of the year, when the sea is smooth. The line is from 80 to 100 yards in length, and held wound round the left hand; the hook is fastened to the line by a brass wire, and the bait is a live fish. The fisherman, after giving the line an impetus by twirling it round and round his head, throws it with great precision from 50 to 60 yards. A man is always close by with a cast net, catching baits, which he sells for one quarter of an anna each. This mode of fishing is very exciting sport, but is very uncertain in its results, and therefore usually carried on by coolies either before their day’s work has commenced, or after its termination.
“Fishing with a bait continues all day long in Cochin during the monsoon months, when work is almost at a standstill, and five or six persons may be perceived at each jetty, busily engaged in this occupation. TheBagrustribe is then plentiful, and, as it bites readily, large numbers are captured.
“Fishing in small boats appears at times to be a dangerous occupation; the small canoe only steadied by the paddle of one man seated in it looks as if it must every minute be swamped. Very large fish are sometimes caught in this way. Should one be hooked too large for the fisherman to manage, the man in the next boat comes to his assistance, and receives a quarter of the fish for his trouble. This is carried on all through the year, and the size of some of the Bagri is enormous.
“Fish are shot in various ways, by a Chittagong bamboo, which is a hollow tube, down which the arrow is propelled by the marksman’s mouth. This mode is sometimes very remunerative, and is followed by persons who quietly sneak along the shores, either of sluggish streams or of the backwater. Sometimes they climb up into trees, and there await a good shot. Or, during the monsoon, the sportsman quietly seats himself near some narrow channel that passes from one wide piece of water into another, and watches for his prey. Other fishermen shoot with bows and arrows, and again others with cross-bows, the iron arrow or bolt of which is attached by a line to the bow, to prevent its being lost. But netting fish, catching them with hooks, or shooting them with arrows, are not the only means employed for their capture. Bamboo labyrinths, bamboo baskets, and even men’s hands alone, are called into use.
“Persons fish for crabs in shallow brackish water, provided with baskets like those employed in Europe for catching eels, but open at both ends. The fishermen walk about in the mud, and, when they feel a fish move, endeavour to cover it with the larger end of the basket, which is forced down some distance into the mud, and the hand is then passed downward through the upper extremity, and the fish taken out. Another plan of catching them by the hand is by having two lines to which white cocoanut leaves are attached tied to the fisherman’s two great toes, from which they diverge; the other end of each being held by another man a good way off, and some distance apart. On these lines being shaken, the fish become frightened, and, strange as it may appear, cluster for protection around the man’s feet, who is able to stoop down, and catch them with his hands, by watching his opportunity.
“Bamboo labyrinths are common all along the backwater, in which a good many fish, especially eels and crabs, are captured. These labyrinths are formed of a screen of split bamboos, passing perpendicularly out of the water, and leading into a larger baited chamber. A dead cat is often employed as a bait for crabs. A string is attached to its body, and, after it has been in the water some days, it is pulled up with these crustacea adherent to it. Persons are often surprised at crabs being considered unwholesome, but their astonishment would cease, if they were aware what extremely unclean feeders they are.
“Fish are obtained from the inland rivers by poisoning them, but this can only be done when the water is low. A dam is thrown across a certain portion, and the poison placed within it. It generally consists ofCocculus indicus(berries) pounded with rice; croton oil seeds, etc.”
Valangai.—Valangai, Valangan, Valangamattān, or Balagai, meaning those who belong to the right-hand faction, has, at times of census, been returned as a sub-division, synonym or title of Dēva-dāsis, Holeyas, Nōkkans, Panisavans, Paraiyans, and Sāliyans. Some Dēva-dāsis have returned themselves as belonging to the left-hand (idangai) faction.
Valayakāra Chetti.—A Tamil synonym of Gāzula Balijas who sell glass bangles. The equivalent Vala Chetti is also recorded.
Vālēkāra.—A Badaga form of Billēkāra or belted peon. The word frequently occurs in Badaga ballads. Tāluk peons on the Nīlgiris are called Vālēkāras.
Vāli Sugrīva.—A synonym of the Lambādis, who claim descent from Vāli and Sugrīva, the two monkey chiefs of the Rāmāyana.
Valinchiyan.—SeeVelakkattalavan.
Valiyatān(valiya, great, tān, a title of dignity).—Recorded, in the Travancore Census Report, 1901, as a title of Nāyar.
Vallabarayan.—A title of Ōcchan.
Vallamban.—The Vallambans are a small Tamil cultivating class living in the Tanjore, Trichinopoly, and Madura districts. They are said16to be “the offspring of a Vellālan and a Valaiya woman, now a small and insignificant caste of cultivators. Some of them assert that their ancestors were the lords of the soil, for whose sole benefit the Vellālans used to carry on cultivation. Tradition makes the Vellambans to have joined the Kallans in attacking and driving away the Vellālans. It is customary among the Vallambans, when demising land, to refer to the fact of their being descendants of the Vallambans who lost Vallam,i.e., the Vallama nādu in Tanjore, their proper country.” Some Vallambans claim to be flesh-eating Vellālas, or to be superior to Kallans and Maravans by reason of their Vellāla ancestry. They call themselves Vallamtōtta Vellālas, or the Vellālas who lost Vallam, and say that they were Vellālas of Vallam in the Tanjore district, who left their native place in a time of famine.
Portions of the Madura and Tanjore districts are divided into areas known as nādus, in each of which a certain caste, called the Nāttar, is the predominant factor. For example, the Vallambans and Kallans are called the Nāttars of the Pālaya nādu in the Sivaganga zemindari of the Madura district. In dealing with the tribal affairs of the various castes inhabiting a particular nādu, the lead is taken by the Nāttars, by whom certain privileges are enjoyed, as for example in the distributionto them, after the Brāhman and zamindar, of the flowers and sacred ashes used in temple worship. For the purposes of caste council meetings the Vallambans collect together representatives from fourteen nādus, as they consider that the council should be composed of delegates from a head village and its branches, generally thirteen in number.
It is noted by Mr. F. R. Hemingway that the Vallambans “speak of five sub-divisions, namely, Chenjinādu, Amaravatinādu, Palayanādu, Mēlnādu, and Kilnādu. The Mēl and Kilnādu people intermarry, but are distinguishable by the fact that the former have moustaches, and the latter have not. The women dress like the Nāttukōttai Chettis. Tattooing is not allowed, and those who practice it are expelled from the caste. The men generally have no title, but some who enjoy State service inams call themselves Ambalakāran. The Mēlnādu people have no exogamous divisions, though they observe the rule about Kōvil Pangōlis. The Kilnādus have exogamous kilais, karais, and pattams.” As examples of exogamous septs, the following may be cited:—Sōlangal (Chōla), Pāndiangal (Pāndyan), Nariangal (jackal), and Piliyangal (tiger).
The headman of the Vallambans is referred to generally as the Servaikāran. The headman of a group of nādus is entitled Nāttuservai, while the headman of a village is known as Ūr Servai, or simply Servai.
Marriage is celebrated between adults, and the remarriage of widows is not objected to. It is stated17that “the maternal uncle’s or paternal aunt’s daughter is claimed as a matter of right by a boy, so that a boy of ten may be wedded to a mature woman of twenty ortwenty-five years, if she happens to be unmarried and without issue. Any elderly male member of the boy’s family—his elder brother, uncle, or even his father—will have intercourse with her, and beget children, which the boy, when he comes of age, will accept as his own, and legitimatise.” This system of marriage, in which there is a marked disparity in the ages of the contracting couple, is referred to in the proverb: “The tāli should be tied at least by a log of wood.” The marriage rites are as a rule non-Brāhmanical, but in some well-to-do families the services of a Brāhman purōhit are enlisted. The presence of the Umbalakāran or caste headman at a marriage is essential. On the wedding day the contracting couple offer, at their homes, manaipongal (boiled rice), and the alangu ceremony is performed by waving coloured rice round them, or touching the knees, shoulders, and head with cakes, and throwing them over the head. The wrist-threads, consisting of a piece of old cloth dyed with turmeric, are tied on by the maternal uncle. Cooked rice and vegetables are placed in front of the marriage dais, and offered to the gods. Four betel leaves are given to the bridegroom, who goes round the dais, and salutes the four cardinal points of the compass by pouring water from a leaf. He then sits down on a plank on the dais, and hands the tāli (marriage badge) to his sister. Taking the tāli, she proceeds to the bride’s house, where the bride, after performing the alangu ceremony, is awaiting her arrival. On reaching the house, she asks for the bride’s presents, and one of her brothers replies that such a piece of land, naming one, is given as a dowry. The bridegroom’s sister then removes the string of black and gold beads, such as is worn before marriage, from the bride’s neck, and replaces it by the tāli. The conch shell should be blown bywomen or children during the performance of manaipongal, and when the tāli is tied. The bride is conveyed to the house of the bridegroom, and sits with him on the dais while the relations make presents to them.
The messenger who conveys the news of a death in the community is a Paraiyan. The corpse is placed within a pandal (booth) supported on four posts, which is erected in front of the house. Some paddy (unhusked rice) is poured from a winnow on to the ground, and rice is thrown over the face of the corpse. On the second day rice, and other articles of food, are carried by a barber to the spot where the corpse has been buried or burnt. If the latter course has been adopted, the barber picks out some of the remains of the bones, and hands them to the son of the deceased. On the third day, the widow goes round the pandal three times, and, entering within it, removes her tāli string, and new clothes are thrown over her neck. On the sixteenth day the final death ceremonies (karmāndhiram) are performed. A feast is given, and new cloths are tied on the heads of those under pollution. Pollution lasts for thirty days.
The Vallambans profess to be Saivaites, but they consider Periya Nāyaki of Vēlangkudi as their tribal goddess, and each nādu has its own special deity, such as Vēmbu Aiyanar, Nelliyandi Aiyanar, etc. In some places the tribal deity is worshipped on a Tuesday at a festival called Sevvai (Tuesday). On this day pots containing fermented rice liquor, which must have been made by the caste people and not purchased, are taken to the place of worship. On a Friday, those families which are to take part in the festival allow a quantity of paddy (rice) to germinate by soaking it in water, and on the following Tuesday flower spikes of the palmyra palm are added to the malted rice liquor in the pots. Thepots of ordinary families may be placed in their houses, but those of the Umbalakārans and Servaikārans must be taken to the temple as representing the deity. Into these pots the flower spikes should be placed by some respected elder of the community. A week later, a small quantity of rice liquor is poured into other pots, which are carried by women to the temple car, round which they go three times. They then throw the liquor into a tank or pond. The pots of the Umbalakāran and Servaikāran must be carried by young virgins, or grown-up women who are not under menstrual pollution. One of the women who carries these pots usually becomes possessed by the village deity. At the time of the festival, cradles, horses, human figures, elephants, etc., made by the potter, are brought to the temple as votive offerings to the god.
Valli Ammai Kuttam.—A synonym of the Koravas, meaning followers of Valli Ammai, the wife of the God Subrahmanya, whom they claim to have been a Korava woman.
Vallōdi.—The name denotes a settlement in the Valluvanād tāluk of Malabar, and has been returned as a sub-division of Nāyar and Sāmantan, to which the Rāja of Valluvanād belongs.
Valluvan.—The Valluvans are summed up by Mr. H. A. Stuart18as being “the priests of the Paraiyans and Pallans. Tiruvalluvar, the famous Tamil poet, author of the Kurāl, belonged to this caste, which is usually regarded as a sub-division of Paraiyans. It appears that the Valluvans were priests to the Pallava kings before the introduction of the Brāhmans, and even for some time after it.19In an unpublished Vatteluttuinscription, believed to be of the ninth century, the following sentence occurs ‘Sri Velluvam Pūvanavan, the Uvac’chan (Ōc’chan) of this temple, will employ daily six men for doing the temple service.’ Again, the Valluvans must have formerly held a position at least equal to that of the Vellālas, if the story that Tiruvalluva Nāyanar married a Vellāla girl is true.20He is said to have “refused to acknowledge the distinctions of caste, and succeeded in obtaining a Vellāla woman as his wife, from whom a section of the Valluvans say it has its descent. As their ancestor amused himself in the intervals between his studies by weaving, they employ themselves in mending torn linen, but chiefly live by astrology, and by acting as priests of Paraiyans, and officiating at their funerals and marriages, though some refuse to take part in the former inauspicious ceremony, and leave the duty to those whom they consider impure Valluvans called Paraiya Tādas. Another section of the Valluvans is called Ālvar Dāsari or Tāvadadhāri (those who wear the necklace of tulsi beads). Both Saivites and Vaishnavites eat together, but do not intermarry. Unlike Paraiyans, they forbid remarriage of widows and even polygamy, and all males above twelve wear the sacred thread.” According to one account, the Valluvans are the descendants of an alliance between a Brāhman sage and a Paraiyan woman, whose children complained to their father of their lowly position. He blessed them, and told them that they would become very clever astrologers, and, in consequence, much respected. At the Travancore census, 1901, the Valluvans were defined as a sub-division of the Pulayas, for whom they perform priestly functions.
“Both men and women are employed as astrologers and doctors, and are often consulted by all classes of people. In many villages they have the privilege of receiving from each ryot a handful of grain during the harvest time.”21Of three Valluvans, whom I interviewed at Coimbatore, one, with a flowing white beard, had a lingam wrapped up in a pink cloth round the neck, and a charm tied in a pink cloth round the right upper arm. Another, with a black beard, had a salmon-coloured turban. The third was wearing a discarded British soldier’s tunic. All wore necklaces of rūdrāksha (Elæocarpus Ganitrus) beads, and their foreheads were smeared with oblong patches of sandal paste. Each of them had a collection of panchangams, or calendars for determining auspicious dates, and a bundle of palm leaf strips (ulla mudyan) inscribed with slōkas for astrological purposes. Their professional duties included writing charms for sick people, preparing horoscopes, and making forecasts of good or evil by means of cabalistic squares marked on the ground. Some Valluvans would have us believe that those who officiate as priests are not true Valluvans, and that the true Valluvan, who carries out the duties of an astrologer, will not perform priestly functions for the Paraiyans.
Valluvan dressed up as Siva at Malayanūr festival.Valluvan dressed up as Siva at Malayanūr festival.
Valluvan dressed up as Siva at Malayanūr festival.
The most important sub-divisions of the Valluvans, returned at times of census, are Paraiyan, Tāvidadāri, and Tiruvalluvan. From information supplied to me, I gather that there are two main divisions, called Arupathu Katchi (sixty house section) and Narpathu Katchi (forty house section). The former are supposed to be descendants of Nandi Gurukkal, and take his nameas their gōtra. The gōtra of the latter is Sidambara Sayichya Ayyamgar. Sidambara, or Chidambaram, is the site of one of the most sacred Siva temples. The sub-division Ālvār claims descent from Tiruppān Ālvār, one of the twelve Vaishnava saints. In the Tanjore district, the Valluvans have exogamous septs or pattaperu, named after persons,e.g., Marulipichan, Govindazhvan, etc.
The Valluvans include in their ranks both Vaishnavites and Saivites. The majority of the latter, both males and females, wear the lingam. The affairs of the community are adjusted by a caste council and there are, in most places, two hereditary officers called Kōlkaran and Kanakkan.
At the betrothal ceremony the bride’s money (pariyam), betel, jewels, flowers, and fruit, are placed in the future bride’s lap. The money ranges from seven to ten rupees if the bridegroom’s village is on the same side of a river as the bride’s, and from ten to twenty rupees if it is on the other side. A small sum of money, called uramurai kattu (money paid to relations) and panda varisai (money paid in the pandal), is also paid by the bridegroom’s party for a feast of toddy to the relations. This is the proper time for settling caste disputes by the village council. On the wedding day, the milk-post, consisting of a green bamboo pole, is set up, and a number of pots, brought from the potter’s house, are placed near it. On the dais are set four lamps, viz., an ordinary brass lamp, kudavilakku (pot light), alankāra vilakku (ornamental light), and pāligai vilakku (seedling light). The bride and bridegroom bring some sand, spread it on the floor near the dais, and place seven leaves on it. Cotton threads, dyed with turmeric, are tied to the pots and the milk-post. On the leaves are set cakes and rice, and the contracting couple worshipthe pots and the family gods. The Valluvan priest repeats a jumble of corrupt Sanskrit, and ties the kankanams (threads) on their wrists. They are then led into the house, and garlanded with jasmine orNeriumflowers. The pots are arranged on the dais, and the sand is spread thereon close to the milk-post. Into one of the pots the female relations put grain seedlings, and four other pots are filled with water by the bridegroom’s party. A small quantity of the seedlings is usually wrapped up in a cloth, and placed over the seedling pot. Next morning the bundle is untied, and examined, to see if the seedlings are in good condition. If they are so, the bride is considered a worthy one; if not, the bride is either bad, or will die prematurely. The usual nalagu ceremony is next performed, bride and bridegroom being anointed with oil, and smeared withPhaseolus Mungopaste. This is followed by the offering of food on eleven leaves to the ancestors and house gods. Towards evening, the dais is got ready for its occupation by the bridal couple, two planks being placed on it, and covered with cloths lent by a washerman. The couple, sitting on the planks, exchange betel and paddy nine or twelve times, and rice twenty-seven times. The priest kindles the sacred fire (hōmam), and pours some ghī (clarified butter) into it from a mango leaf. The bridegroom is asked whether he sees Arundati (the pole-star) thrice, and replies in the affirmative. The tāli is shown the sky, smoked over burning camphor, and placed on a tray together with a rupee. After being blessed by those present, it is tied round the neck of the bride by the bridegroom, who has his right leg on her lap. On the second day there is a procession through the village, and, on the following day, the wrist-threads are removed.
In some places, the Valluvans, at their marriages, like the Pallis and some other castes, use the pandamutti, or pile of pots reaching to the top of the pandal.
The Saivite lingam wearers bury their dead in a sitting posture in a niche excavated in the side of the grave. After death has set in, a cocoanut is broken, and camphor burnt. The corpse is washed by relations, who bring nine pots of water for the purpose. The lingam is tied on to the head, and a cloth bundle, containing a rupee, seven bilva (Ægle Marmelos) leaves, nine twigs of the tulsi (Ocimum sanctum), and nineLeucas asperaflowers, to the right arm. The corpse is carried to the grave on a car surmounted by five brass vessels. The grave is purified by the sprinkling of cow’s urine and cow-dung water before the corpse is lowered into it. On the way to the burial-ground, the priest keeps on chanting various songs, such as “This is Kailāsa. This is Kailāsa thillai (Chidambaram). Our request is this. Nallia Mutthan of the Nandidarma gōtra died on Thursday in the month Thai in the year Subakruthu. He must enter the fourth stage (sayichyam), passing through Sālokam, Sāmīpa, and Sārupa. He crosses the rivers of stones, of thorns, of fire, and of snakes, holding the tail of the bull Nandi. To enable him to reach heaven safely, we pound rice, and put lights of rice.” The priest receives a fee for his services, which he places before an image made on the grave after it has been filled in. The money is usually spent in making a sacred bull, lingam, or stone slab, to place on the grave. On the third day after death, the female relatives of the deceased pour milk within the house into a vessel, which is taken by the male relatives to the burial-ground, and offered at the grave, which is cleaned. A small platform, made of mud, and composedof several tiers, decreasing in size from below upwards, is erected thereon, and surmounted by a lingam. At the north and south corners of this platform, a bull and paradēsi (mendicant) made of mud are placed, and at each corner leaves are laid, on which the offerings in the form of rice, fruits, vegetables, etc., are laid. The final death ceremonies are celebrated on the seventeenth day. A pandal (booth) is set up, and closed in with cloths. Within it are placed a pot and five pestles and mortars, to which threads are tied. Five married women, taking hold of the pestles, pound some rice contained in the pot, and with the flour make a lamp, which is placed on a tray. The eldest son of the deceased goes, with the lamp on his head, to an enclosure having an entrance at the four cardinal points. The enclosure is either a permanent one with mud walls, or temporary one made out of mats. Within the enclosure, five pots are set up in the centre, and four at each side. The pots are cleansed by washing them with the urine of cows of five different colours, red, white, black, grey, and spotted. Near the pots the articles required for pūja (worship) are placed, and the officiating priest sits near them. The enclosure is supposed to represent heaven, and the entrances are the gates leading thereto, before which food is placed on leaves. The eldest son, with the lamp, stands at the eastern entrance, while Siva is worshipped. The priest then repeats certain stanzas, of which the following is the substance. “You who come like Siddars (attendants in the abode of Siva) at midnight, muttering Siva’s name, why do you come near Sivapadam? I will pierce you with my trident. Get away. Let these be taken to yamapuri, or hell.” Then Siva and Parvati, hearing the noise, ask “Oh! sons, who are you that keep on saying Hara, Hara? Give out truly your names and nativity.”To which the reply is given “Oh! Lord, I am a devotee of that Being who graced Markandeya, and am a Vīrasaiva by faith. I have come to enter heaven. We have all led pure lives, and have performed acts of charity. So it is not just that we should be prevented from entering. Men who ill-treat their parents, or superiors, those addicted to all kinds of vice, blasphemers, murderers, perverts from their own faith and priests, and other such people, are driven to hell by the southern gate.” At this stage, a thread is passed round the enclosure. The son, still bearing the lamp, goes from the eastern entrance past the south and western entrances, and, breaking the thread, goes into the enclosure through the northern entrance. The Nandikōl (hereditary village official) then ties a cloth first round the head of the eldest son, and afterwards round the heads of the other sons and agnates.
The Valluvans abstain from eating beef. Though they mix freely with the Paraiyans, they will not eat with them, and never live in the Paraiyan quarter.
The Valluvans are sometimes called Pandāram or Valluva Pandāram. In some places, the priests of the Valluvans are Vellāla Pandārams.
Valluvan.—A small inferior caste of fishermen and boatmen in Malabar.22
Vālmika.—Vālmīka or Vālmīki is a name assumed by the Bōyas and Paidis, who claim to be descended from Vālmīki, the author of the Rāmāyana, who did penance for so long in one spot that a white-ant hill (vālmīkam) grew up round him. In a note before me, Vālmīki is referred to as the Spenser of India. In the North Arcot Manual, Vālmīkulu, as a synonym of the Vēdans,is made to mean those who live on the products of ant-hills.
Vāl Nambi.—Recorded, in the Madras Census Report, 1901, as “a synonym for Mūssad. Nambi is a title of Brāhmans, and vāl means a sword. The tradition is that the name arose from the ancestors of the caste having lost some of the privileges of the Vēdic Brāhmans owing to their having served as soldiers when Malabar was ruled by the Brāhmans prior to the days of the Perumāls.”
Valuvādi.—The Valuvādis are returned, in the Madras Census Report, 1901, as cultivators in the Pudukōttai State. I am informed that the Valuvādis are a section of the Valaiyan caste, to which the Zamindar of Nagaram belongs. The name Valuvādi was originally a title of respect, appended to the name of the Nagaram Zamindars. The name of the present Zamindar is Balasubramanya Valuvādiar. Thirty years ago there is said to have been no Valuvādi caste. Some Valaiyans in prosperous circumstances, and others who became relatives of the Nagaram Zamindar by marriage, have changed their caste name, to show that they are superior in social status to the rest of the community.
Vamme.—A gōtra of Janappans, the members of which abstain from eating the fish called bombadai, because, when some of their ancestors went to fetch water in the marriage pot, they found a number of this fish in the water contained in the pot.
Vana Palli.—A name, meaning forest Palli, assumed by some Irulas in South Arcot.
Vandikkāran.—An occupational name for Nāyars who work as cartmen (vandi, cart) for carrying fuel.
Vandula or Vandi Rāja.—A sub-division of Bhatrāzu, named after one Vandi, who is said to have been a herald at the marriage of Siva.
Vangu(cave).—A sub-division of Irula.
Vāni.—“The Vānis or Bāndēkars,” Mr. H. A. Stuart writes,23“have been wrongly classified in the census returns (1891) as oil-pressers; they are in reality traders. They are said to have come from Goa, and they speak Konkani. Their spiritual guru is the head of the Kumbakōnam math.” In the Census Report, 1901, it is noted that Vāni, meaning literally a trader, is a Konkani-speaking trading caste, of which Bāndēkara is a synonym. “They ape the Brāhmanical customs, and call themselves by the curious hybrid name of Vaisya Brāhmans.” Hari Chetti has been returned as a further synonym.
Vāniyan.—The Vāniyans are, Mr. Francis writes,24“oil-pressers among the Tamils, corresponding to the Telugu Gāndlas, Canarese Gānigas, Malabar Chakkāns, and Oriya Tellis. For some obscure reason, Manu classed oil-pressing as a base occupation, and all followers of the calling are held in small esteem, and, in Tinnevelly, they are not allowed to enter the temples. In consequence, however, of their services in lighting the temples (in token of which all of them, except the Malabar Vāniyans and Chakkāns, wear the sacred thread), they are earning a high position, and some of them use the sonorous title of Jōti Nagarattār (dwellers in the city of light) and Tiru-vilakku Nagarattār (dwellers in the city of holy lamps). They employ Brāhmans as priests, practice infant marriage, and prohibit widow marriage, usually burn their dead, and decline to eat in the houses of any caste below Brāhmans. However, even the washermen decline to eat with them. Like the Gāndlas they have two sub-divisions, Ottai-sekkān and Irattai-sekkān,who use respectively one bullock and two bullocks in their mills. Oddly enough, the former belong to the right-hand faction, and the latter to the left. Their usual title is Chetti. The name Vānuvan has been assumed by Vāniyans, who have left their traditional occupation, and taken to the grain and other trades.”
“The word Vānijyam,” Mr. H. A. Stuart informs us,25“signifies trade, and trade in oil, as well as its manufacture, is the usual employment of this caste, who assert that they are Vaisyas, and claim the Vaisya-Apurānam as their holy book. They are said to have assumed the thread only within the last fifty or sixty years, and are reputed to be the result of a yāgam (sacrifice by fire) performed by a saint called Vakkuna Mahārishi. The caste contains four sub-divisions called Kāmākshiamma, Visālākshiamma, Ac’chu-tāli, and Toppa-tāli, the two first referring to the goddesses principally worshipped by each, and the two last to the peculiar kinds of tālis, or marriage tokens, worn by their women. They have the same customs as the Bēri Chettis, but are not particular in observing the rule which forbids the eating of flesh. A bastard branch of the Vāniyas is called the Pillai Kūttam, which is said to have sprung from the concubine of a Vāniyan, who lived many years ago. The members of this class are never found except where Vāniyans live, and are supposed to have a right to be fed and clothed by them. Should this be refused, they utter the most terrible curse, and, in this manner, eventually intimidate the uncharitable into giving them alms.” In the Census Report, 1891, Mr. Stuart writes further that the Vāniyans “were formerly called Sekkān (oil-mill man), and it is curiousthat the oil-mongers alone came to be called Vāniyan or trader. They have returned 126 sub-divisions, of which only one, Ilai Vāniyan, is numerically important. One sub-division is Iranderudu, or two bullocks, which refers to the use of two bullocks in working the mill. This separation of those who use two bullocks from those who employ only one is found in nearly every oil-pressing caste in India. The Vāniyans of Malabar resemble the Nāyars in their customs and habits, and neither wear the sacred thread, nor employ Brāhmans as priests. In North Malabar, Nāyars are polluted by their touch, but in the south, where they are called Vattakādans, they have succeeded in forcing themselves into the ranks of the Nāyar community. A large number of them returned Nāyar as their main caste.” In this connection, Mr. Francis states26that followers of the calling of oil-pressers (Chakkāns) are “known as Vattakādans in South Malabar, and as Vāniyans in North Malabar; but the former are the higher in social status, the Nāyars being polluted by the touch of the Vāniyans and Chakkāns but not by that of the Vattakādans. Chakkāns and Vāniyans may not enter Brāhman temples. Their customs and manners are similar to those of the Nāyars, who will not, however, marry their women.”
Of the Vāniyans of Cochin, it is stated in the Cochin Census Report, 1901, that “they are Vaisyas, and wear the sacred thread. In regard to marriage, inheritance, ceremonies, dress, ornaments, etc., there is practically no difference between them and the Konkanis. But, as they do not altogether abstain from meat and spirituous liquors, they are not allowed free access to the houses of Konkanis, nor are they permitted to touch their tanksand wells. They are Saivites. They have their own priests, who are called Panditars. They observe birth and death pollution for ten days, and are like Brāhmans in this respect. They are mostly petty merchants and shop-keepers. Some can read and write Malayālam, but they are very backward in English education.”
The oils expressed by the Vāniyans are said to be “gingelly (Sesamum indicum), cocoanut, iluppei (Bassia longifolia), pinnei (Calophyllum inophyllum), and ground-nut (Arachis hypogæa). According to the sāstras the crushing of gingelly seeds, and the sale of gingelly oil, are sinful acts, and no one, who does not belong to the Vāniyan class, will either express or sell gingelly oil.”27
When a Vāniyan dies a bachelor, apost-mortemmock ceremony is performed as by the Gānigas, and the corpse is married to the arka plant (Calotropis gigantea), and decorated with a wreath made of the flowers thereof.
Vankāyala(brinjal or egg plant:Solanum Melongena).—An exogamous sept of Golla. The fruit is eaten by Natives, and, stuffed with minced meat, is a common article of Anglo-Indian dietary.
Vanki(armlet).—A gōtra of Kurni.
Vannān.—The Vannāns are washermen in the Tamil and Malayalām countries. The name Vannān is, Mr. H. A. Stuart writes,28“derived from vannam, beauty. There is a tradition that they are descendants of the mythological hero Vīrabadra, who was ordered by Siva to wash the clothes of all men, as an expiation of the sin of putting many people to death in Daksha’s Yāga. Hence the Tamil washermen are frequentlycalled Vīrabadran. Having to purify all the filthy linen of the villagers, they are naturally regarded as a low, unclean class of Sūdras, and are always poor. They add to their income by hiring out the clothes of their customers to funeral parties, who lay them on the ground before the pall-bearers, so that these may not step upon the ground, and by letting them out on the sly to persons wishing to use them without having to purchase for themselves. In social standing the Vannāns are placed next below the barbers. They profess to be Saivites in the southern districts, and Vaishnavites in the north. The marriage of girls generally takes place after puberty. Widow remarriage is permitted among some, if not all, sub-divisions. Divorce may be obtained by either party at pleasure on payment of double the bride-price, which is usually Rs. 10–8–0. They are flesh-eaters, and drink liquor. The dead are either burned or buried. The Pothara (or Podora) Vannāns are of inferior status, because they wash only for Paraiyans, Pallans, and other inferior castes.”
It is noted, in the Madura Manual, that those who have seen the abominable substances, which it is the lot of the Vannāns to make clean, cannot feel any surprise at the contempt with which their occupation is regarded. In the Tanjore Manual, it is recorded that, in the rural parts of the district, the Vannāns are not allowed to enter the house of a Brāhman or a Vellāla; clothes washed by them not being worn or mixed up with other clothes in the house until they have undergone another wash by a caste man.
It is on record that, on one occasion, a party of Europeans, when out shooting, met a funeral procession on its way to the burial-ground. The bier was draped in many folds of clean cloth, which one of theparty recognised by the initials as one of his bed-sheets. Another identified as his sheet the cloth on which the corpse was lying. He cut off the corner with the initials, and a few days later the sheet was returned by the washerman, who pretended ignorance of the mutilation, and gave as an explanation that it must have been done, in his absence, by one of his assistants. On another occasion, a European met an Eurasian, in a village not far from his bungalow, wearing a suit of clothes exactly similar to his own, and, on close examination, found they were his. They had been newly washed and dressed.
The most important divisions numerically returned by Vannāns at times of census are Pāndiyan, Peru (big), Tamil, and Vaduga (northerner). It is recorded, in the Gazetteer of the Madura district, that Vannān “is rather an occupational term than a caste title, and, besides the Pāndya Vannāns or Vannāns proper, includes the Vaduga Vannāns or Tsākalas of the Telugu country, and the Palla, Pudara, and Tulukka Vannāns, who wash for the Pallans, Paraiyans, and Musalmans respectively. The Pāndya Vannāns have a headman called the Periya Manishan (big man). A man can claim the hand of his paternal aunt’s daughter. At weddings, the bridegroom’s sister ties the tāli (marriage badge). Nambis officiate. Divorce is freely allowed to either party on payment of twice the bride-price, and divorcées may marry again. The caste god is Gurunāthan, in whose temples the pūjāri (priest) is usually a Vannān. The dead are generally burnt, and, on the sixteenth day, the house is purified from pollution by a Nambi.”
Some Vannāns have assumed the name Irkuli Vellāla, and Rājakan and Kāttavarāya vamsam have also been recorded as synonyms of the caste name.
The Vannāns of Malabar are also called Mannān or Bannān. They are, Mr. Francis writes,29“a low class of Malabar washermen, who wash only for the polluting castes, and for the higher castes when they are under pollution following births, deaths, etc. It is believed by the higher castes that such pollution can only be removed by wearing clothes washed by Mannāns, though at other times these cause pollution to them. The washing is generally done by the women, and the men are exorcists, devil-dancers and physicians, even to the higher castes. Their women are midwives, like those of the Velakkatalavan and Vēlan castes. This caste should not be confused with the Mannān hill tribe of Travancore.”
It is recorded, in the Gazetteer of Malabar, that “the Mannāns, a makkattāyam caste of South Malabar, apparently identical with the marumakkattāyam Vannāns of the north, are a caste of washermen; and their services are indispensable to the higher castes in certain purificatory ceremonies when they have to present clean cloths (māttu). They are also devil-dancers and tailors. They practice fraternal polyandry in the south. Mannāns are divided into two endogamous classes, Peru-mannāns (peru, great), and Tinda-mannāns (tinda, pollution); and, in Walavanād, into four endogamous classes called Chōppan, Peru-mannān, Punnekādan, and Puliyakkōdam. The Tinda-mannān and Puliyakkōdam divisions perform the purificatory sprinklings for the others.”
The services of the Mannān, Mr. T. K. Gopal Panikkar writes,30“are in requisition at the Nāyar Thirandukaliānam ceremonies on the attainment of puberty by a girl, when they sing ballads, and have to bring, for the girl’s use, the māttu or sacred dress.Then, on occasions of death pollution, they have a similar duty to perform. Among the Nāyars, on the fourth, or rarely the third day after the menses, the woman has to use, during her bath, clothes supplied by Mannān females. The same duty they have to perform during the confinement of Nāyar females. All the dirty cloths and bed sheets used, these Mannān females have to wash.” Mr. S. Appadorai Iyer informs us that those Mannāns who are employed by the Kammālan, or artisan class, as barbers, are not admitted into the Mannān caste, which follows the more honourable profession of washing clothes. The Mannāns perform certain ceremonies in connection with Mundian, the deity who is responsible for the weal or woe of cattle; and, at Pūram festivals, carry the vengida koda or prosperity umbrella, composed of many tiers of red, green, orange, black and white cloth, supported on a long bamboo pole, before the goddess.
It is recorded by Bishop Whitehead31that, in various places in Malabar, there are temples in honour of Bhagavati, at which the pūjāris (priests) are of the Vannān caste. “There is an annual feast called gurusi tarpanam (giving to the guru) about March, when the hot weather begins, and the people are at leisure. Its object is to appease the wrath of the goddess. During the festival, the pūjāri sits in the courtyard outside the temple, thickly garlanded with red flowers, and with red kunkuma marks on his forehead. Goats and fowls are then brought to him by the devotees, and he kills them with one blow of the large sacrificial sword or chopper. It is thought auspicious for the head to be severed at one blow, and, apparently, pūjāris who are skilful indecapitation are much in request. When the head is cut off, the pūjāri takes the carcase, and holds it over a large copper vessel partly filled with water, turmeric, kunkuma, and a little rice, and lets the blood flow into it. When all the animals are killed, the pūjāribailsout the blood and water on the ground, uttering mantrams (sacred lines or verses) the while. The people stand a little way off. When the vessel is nearly empty, the pūjāri turns it upside down as a sign that the ceremony is ended. During these proceedings, a number of Vannāns, dressed in fantastic costumes, dance three times round the temple. During the festival, processions are held round the various houses, and special swords with a curved hook at the end, called palli val (great or honourable sword), are carried by the worshippers. These swords are worshipped during the Dusserah festival in October, and, in some shrines, they form the only emblem of the deity. The Tiyans have small shrines in their own gardens sacred to the family deity, which may be Bhagavati, or some demon, or the spirit of an ancestor. Once a year, Vannāns come dressed in fancy costume, with crowns on their heads, and dance round the courtyard to the sound of music and tom-toms, while a Tiyan priest presents the family offerings, uncooked rice and young cocoanuts, with camphor and incense, and then rice fried with sugar and ghī (clarified butter).”
In an account of the Tiyans, Mr. Logan writes32that “this caste is much given to devil-charming, or devil-driving as it is often called. The washermen (Vannān) are the high priests of this superstition, and with chants, ringing cymbals, magic figures, and waving lights, they drive out evil spirits from their votaries of this caste atcertain epochs in their married lives. One ceremony in particular, called teyyāttam—a corrupt form of Dēva and āttam, that is, playing at gods—takes place occasionally in the fifth month of pregnancy. A leafy arbour is constructed, and in front of it is placed a terrible figure of Chāmundi, the queen of the demons, made of rice flour, turmeric powder, and charcoal powder. A party of not less than eighteen washermen is organized to represent the demons and furies—Kuttichāttan (a mischievous imp), and many others. On being invoked, these demons bound on to the stage in pairs, dance, caper, jump, roar, fight, and drench each other with saffron (turmeric) water. Their capers and exertions gradually work up their excitement, until they are veritably possessed of the devil. At this juncture, fowls and animals are sometimes thrown to them, to appease their fury. These they attack with their teeth, and kill and tear as a tiger does his prey. After about twenty minutes the convulsions cease, the demon or spirit declares its pleasure, and, much fatigued, retires to give place to others; and thus the whole night is spent, with much tom-tomming and noise and shouting, making it impossible, for Europeans at least, to sleep within earshot of the din.”
Vannattān.—A synonym of Veluttēdan, the caste of washermen, who wash for Nāyars and higher castes.
Vanni Kula Kshatriya.—A synonym of the Pallis, who claim to belong to the fire race of Kshatriyas.
Vanniyan.—A synonym of Palli. The name further occurs as a sub-division of Ambalakāran and Valaiyan. Some Maravans also are known as Vanniyan or Vannikutti. Tēn (honey) Vanniyan is the name adopted by some Irulas in the South Arcot district.
Vantari.—SeeTelaga.
Vanuvan.—A name assumed by Vāniyans who have abandoned their hereditary occupation of oil-pressing, and taken to trade in grain and other articles.
Vārakurup.—Recorded, in the Madras Census Report, 1901, as a title of Malayālam Paravans.
Varige(millet).—An exogamous sept of Kāpu.
Vāriyar.—For the following note on the Vāriyar section of the Ambalavāsis, I am indebted to Mr. N. Subramani Aiyar. The name is believed to be derived from Parasava, which, according to Yajnavalkya and other law-givers, is the name given to the son of a Brāhman begotten on a Sūdra woman, and suggests the fact that the Vāriyar is no Brāhman, though the blood of the latter may course through his veins, and though such marriages were regarded as sacraments in early days. This is the derivation given by Pachumuttalu in his Kēralavisēshamāhātmya, who adds that the chief occupation of the Vāriyars is to sweep the floor of the temples. In some of the Asauchavidhis (works on pollution) of Kērala, the commentator explains the word Parasava as Vāriya. Many Vāriyars add the title Parasava to their name, when writing in Sanskrit. Some derive the word from varija or one born of water, in accordance with a tradition that Parasurāma created from water a class of persons for special service in temples, and to take the place of Sūdras, who, being meat-eaters, were ineligible for the same. Others again, like the late Professor Sundaram Pillay, would take Vāriyar as being derived from varuka, to sweep. Recently, some ingenuity has been displayed in splitting the word into two words, giving it a meaning equivalent to pseudo-Aryan. The title Asan, or teacher, is possessed by certain families, whose members have held the hereditary position of tutors in noblemen’s houses. Inmediæval times, many Vāriyar families received royal edicts, conferring upon them the privileges of being tutors and astrologers. These special rights are even now possessed by them.
The following legend is narrated concerning the origin of theVāriyars. A Sūdra woman removed a bone from within a temple in obedience to the wish of certain Brāhman priests, and was excommunicated from her caste. The priests, on hearing this, were anxious to better her condition, and made her the progenitor of a class of Ambalavāsis or temple servants, who were afterwards known as Vāriyars. According to another legend, the corpse of a Mārān, which was found inside a Nambūtiri’s house, was promptly removed by certain Nāyars, who on that account were raised in the social scale, and organised into a separate caste called Vāriyar. There is a still further tradition that, in the Treta Yuga, a Sūdra woman had five sons, the first of whom became the progenitor of the Tiyatunnis, and the second that of Vāriyars. A fourth account is given in the Kēralamahātmya. A young Brāhman girl was married to an aged man. Not confident in unaided human effort, under circumstances such as hers, she devoted a portion of her time daily to preparing flower garlands for the deity of the nearest temple, and conceived. But the Brāhman welcomed the little stranger by getting the mother thrown out of caste. Her garlands could no longer be accepted, but, nothing daunted, she worked as usual, and made a mental offering of the garlands she prepared, which, through an unseen agency, became visible on the person of the deity. Though the people were struck with shame at their unkind treatment of the innocent girl, they were not prepared to take her back. The Vāriyan caste was accordingly constituted, and her child was brought up bythe Azhancheri Tambrakkal, and accommodated in the padippura or out-house at the entrance gate. In the Pāsupata Tantra, the Vāriyars are called Kailāsavāsins, or those who live in Kailās, as they are supposed to be specially devoted to the worship of Siva. Kailāsa is the abode of Siva, whither the blessed go after death.
The Vāriyars of Travancore are divided into four groups, called Onattukara, Venattukara, Ilayetattunad (or Ilayathu), and Tekkumkur. The Venattukaras have the privilege of interdining with the Onattukaras, and having their ceremonies performed by priests from that group. But the ceremonies of the Onattukaras appear to be performed without the Venattukaras being admitted into their midst. The third and fourth groups take food in the houses of the first and second, though the reverse seldom happens. The Vāriyars in British Malabar are divided into several other groups.
The Vāriyars are generally well-read, especially in Sanskrit, make excellent astrologers, and are also medical practitioners. A Vāriyar’s house is called variyam, as the Pishārati’s is known as pishāram.
Married women have the hair-knot on the left side of the head, like Nāyar ladies. They cover the breast with a folded cloth, and never wear a bodice or other innovations in the matter of dress. The marriage ornament is called mātra, and is in the shape of a maddalam or drum. Other neck ornaments are called entram and kuzhal. The todu, or ornament of Nāyar women, is worn in the ear-lobes. Women mark their foreheads, like Nambūtiri ladies, with sandal paste.
The Vāriyars, Pushpakans, and Pishāratis, are said to constitute the three original garland-making castes of Malabar, appointed by Parasurāma. At the present day, in all the important temples, except in SouthTravancore, where Kurukkals perform that function, garlands can only be prepared by one of these castes. The technical occupation of a Vāriyar in a temple is called kazhakam, which is probably derived from the Dravidian root kazhaku, to cleanse. Kazhakam is of two kinds, viz., malakkazhakam or garland-making service, and talikkazhakam or sweeping service, of which the former is more dignified than the latter. Under the generic term kazhakar are included making flower garlands for the temple, preparing materials for the offering of food, sweeping the beli offering, carrying lights and holding umbrellas when the god is carried in procession, having the custody of the temple jewels, etc. The Vāriyar is at the beck and call of the temple priest, and has to do sundry little services from morning till evening. He is remunerated with some of the cooked food, after it has been offered to the deity. The Vāriyars are to Saivite temples what the Pishāratis are to Vaishnavite temples. Their prayers are prominently addressed only to Siva, but they also worship Vishnu, Subramanya, Sasta, Ganēsa, and Bhadrakāli. Their chief amusement is the farce called Kūttappāthakam, the hero of which is one Vankāla Nikkan, and the heroine Naityar. An Ilayatu is the stage-manager, and a Pishārati the actor. Parangotan is the buffoon, and Māppa his wife. In the eighteenth century, a grand festival lasting over twenty-eight days, called mamangam, was celebrated in British Malabar. The above characters are represented as proceeding to this festival, which came off once in twelve years on the Magha asterism in the month of Magha, and is hence popularly called Mahāmagha.
The Vāriyar caste is governed in all matters by the Nambūtiri Brahmans, but they have their own priests.The Ilayatus believe that they were the preceptors of all the Ambalavāsi castes in former times, but were dislodged from that position owing to most of them employing priests from among their own caste men. Even at the present day, Ilayatus are known to express their displeasure when they are asked to drink water from a Vāriyar’s well. As, however, consecrated water from the Nambūtiris is taken to a Vāriyar for its purification, they entertain no scruples about cooking their food there, provided they carry with them the aupasana fire.
Inheritance among the Vāriyars of Cochin and British Malabar is in the female line (marumakkathāyam). Among the Vāriyars of Travancore, chiefly these belonging to the Onattukara section, a kind of qualified makkathāyam prevails, in accordance with which both sons and daughters have an equal right to inherit ancestral property. The eldest male member is entitled to the management of the estate in all undivided families. Partition, however, is largely followed in practice.
The tāli-kettu ceremony of the Vāriyars generally takes place before a girl reaches puberty, and, in the case of boys, after the ceremony of Sivadiksha has been performed, that is between the twelfth and sixteenth years. If the marriage is in the kudi-vaippu form, or, in other words, if there is an intention on the part of both parties to treat the marital alliance as permanent, no separate sambandham need be celebrated afterwards; and, in all cases where marriages are celebrated between members of the same section, the kudi-vaippu form is in vogue. If a girl is unmarried when she reaches puberty, she is not permitted to take part in any religious ceremonies, or enter any temple until she is married.The first item of a Vāriyar’s marriage is ayani-unu, when the bridegroom, decked in new clothes and ornaments, dines sumptuously with his relations. He then goes in procession to the bride’s house, and, after bathing, puts on clothes touched by the bride. After this some prayers are recited, and a sacrifice is offered. The bride is then brought to the marriage hall, and, all the Brāhmanical rites are strictly observed. After sunset, some grass and a leopard’s skin are placed on the floor on which white cloth is spread. The bridegroom, who is seated on the northern side, worships Ganapati, after which the couple take their seats on the cloth bed spread on the floor. Lights are then waved in front of them. This ceremony is known as dikshavirikkuka. In the kudi-vaippu form of marriage, the bride is taken to the house of the bridegroom, where the dikshavirippu is observed. Otherwise the marital rite becomes a mere tāli-kattu ceremony, and the girl, when she comes of age, may receive clothes in token of conjugal connection with another person. When the first husband dies, clothes may be received from another Vāriyar, or a Brāhman, whose wife the woman becomes.
Most of the ceremonies observed by Malayāli Brāhmans are also performed by the Vāriyars, the vratas and upanayana being among those which are omitted. Sivadiksha, as already indicated, is observed between the twelfth and sixteenth years. The festival lasts for four days, though the religious rites are over on the first day. At an auspicious hour, the priest and the Vāriyar youth put on the tattu dress, or dress worn for ceremonial purposes, and worship a pot full of water with incense and flowers, the contents of which are then poured by the priest over the youth. The priest and a Mārān then perform the tonsure, and theyouth bathes. Some Nambūtiris are then engaged to perform the purificatory rite, after which the Vāriyar wears the tattu as well as an upper cloth, marks his forehead with ashes and sandal paste, and decorates himself with jewels, rudrāksha (Elæocarpus Ganitrus) beads, and flowers. Alms are received by the young Vāriyar from his mother, and he takes seven steps in a northerly direction which symbolise his pilgrimage to Benares. It is only after the performance of this rite that the Vāriyar is believed to become a grihastha (married person, as opposed to a bachelor). The funeral rites of the caste have been elaborated in many places. Death pollution lasts for twelve days, and the sanchayana (milk ceremony) is observed on the seventh or ninth day. Anniversary ceremonies are celebrated in memory of close relations, and others are propitiated by the performance of srādh, and the feeding of a Vāriyar on a new-moon day.
In an account of a royal wedding in Travancore in 1906, I read that “a number of Vāriyars left the thēvarathu koikal, or palace where worship is performed, for a compound (garden) close by to bring an areca palm. It is supposed that they do this task under divine inspiration and guidance. One man is given a small rod by the Potti or priest in the palace, and, after receiving this, he dances forward, followed by his comrades, and all wend their way to a compound about a furlong away. On reaching the spot, they uproot a big areca palm without the use of any implement of iron, and take it away to the thēvarathu koikal without its touching the ground, to the accompaniment of music. They then plant it in front of the portico, and do some pūja (worship) after the manner of Brāhmans. The function is comparable to the dhwajarohanam, or hoisting of the flag during temple utsavams. TheVāriyarsdance roundthe tree, singing songs, and performing pūja. A piece of white cloth is tied to the top of the tree, to serve as a flag, and a lamp is lighted, and placed at the foot of the tree.”
The Vāriyars are described, in the Gazetteer of Malabar, as “a caste whose traditional duty is to sweep the temple precincts (vāruga). At the present day, some members of the caste are important land-owners or petty chieftains, occupying a very high social position. They generally follow the marumakkatāyam principle, but they have also a form of marriage called Kudivekkal similar to the Brahman Sarvasvadhānam, by which the wife is adopted as a member of the family into which she marries, and her children also belong to it. The Vāriyar’s names and ceremonies indicate Sivaite proclivities, just as those of the Pishārodi are tinged with Vishnavism. The Vāriyar’s house is called a Vāriyam, and his woman-folk Varassiars. This class is perhaps the most progressive among the Ambalavāsis, some of its members having received a Western education and entered the learned professions.”
Varugu Bhatta.—A mendicant class, which begs from Perikes.
Varuna.—Some Pattanavan fishermen have adopted the name of Varunakula Vellāla or Varunakula Mudali after Varuna the god of the waters.
Vasa(new).—A sub-division of Kurubas, who are said to weave only white blankets.
Vasishta.—A Brāhmanical gōtra adopted by Khatris and Toreyas. Vasishta, one of the seven great Rishis, was the son of Mitra and Varuna, whose quarrels with Viswamitra are narrated in the Rāmayana.
Vastra.—One division of the Koragas is called Vastra, meaning cloths suchasare used as a shroud for acorpse, which were given to them as an act of charity, the wearing of new cloths by them being prohibited. Vastrala (cloth) further occurs as an exogamous sept of the Karna Sālē and Dēvānga weavers.
Vattakādan.—Recorded as a sub-division of Nāyar, the occupation of which is expressing oil, chiefly for use in temples. Mr. F. Fawcett writes33that, in North Malabar, he has frequently been told by Nāyars of the superior classes that they do not admit the Vattakādans to be Nāyars. According to them, the Vattakādans have adopted the honorary affix Nāyar to their names quite recently. In the Madras Census Report, 1891, Vattakādan is stated to be a synonym of Vāniyan; and in the report, 1901, this name is said to mean a Native of Vattakād, and to be given to the Chakkāns.
Vattē(camel).—A gōtra of Kurni.
Vātti.—Vātti or Vāttikurup has been recorded at times of census as a sub-division of Nāyar, and a synonym of Kāvutiyan and Tōlkollan. Vātti is said to mean one who prays for happiness.
Vayani.—The Vayanis, Vayinis, Vaguniyans, or Pavinis, are a section of Mādigas, the members of which play on a single-stringed mandoline, and go about from village to village, singing the praises of the village goddesses. Each Vayani has his recognised beat. He plays a prominent part in the celebration of the annual festival of the village goddess, and receives a sacred thread (kappu), which is usually tied to his mandoline, before the commencement of the festival. He regards himself as superior in social position to ordinary Mādigas, with whom he will not marry. The name Vayani is said to be a corruption of varnane, meaning todescribe. In some localities,e.g., the Chingleput district, the Vayani enjoys mirāsi rights in connection with land.
Vēdan.—The Vēdans are described by Mr. H. A. Stuart, in the North Arcot Manual, as having been “formerly hunters and soldiers, and it is this caste which furnished a considerable and valuable contingent to the early Hindu kings, and later to the armies of Hyder and Tippoo. They are supposed by some to be the remnants of the earliest inhabitants of the peninsula, and identical with the Veddahs of Ceylon. They are also called Vālmīkulu, which means those who live on the products of ant-hills (vālmīkum).” It is noted, in the Census Report, 1891, that the two castes Bēdar (or Bōya) and Vēdan were, “through a misapprehension of instructions, treated as identical in the tabulation papers. The two words are, no doubt, etymologically identical, the one being Canarese and the other Tamil, but the castes are quite distinct.” It may be noted that the name Vālmīka or Vālmīki is assumed by the Bōyas, who claim descent from Vālmīki, the author of the Rāmayana, who did penance for so long in one spot that a white-ant hill grew up round him.
In the Madras Census Report, 1901, the Vēdans are described as “a Tamil-speaking labouring and hunting caste, the members of which were formerly soldiers, and subsequently dacoits. The name means a hunter, and is loosely applied to the Irulas in some places (e.g., Chingleput). There is some connection between the Vēdans and Tamil Vēttuvans, but its precise nature is not clear. The Vēttuvans now consider themselves superior to the Vēdans, and are even taking to calling themselves Vēttuva Vellālas. Marriage (among the Vēdans) is either infant or adult. Widows may marry their late husband’s brother or agnates. Some employ Brāhmans as priests. They either burn or bury theirdead. They claim descent from Kannappa Nāyanar, one of the sixty-three Saivite saints. Ambalakārans also claim to be descended from Kannappa Nāyanār. In Tanjore, the Valaiyans declare themselves to have a similar origin. The title of the Vēdans is Nāyakkan.” In the Madura Manual, the Vēdans are described as a very low caste, who get their living in the jungles. They are not numerous now. They appear to have been naked savages not very long ago, and their civilisation is far from complete. They are held in the greatest contempt by men of all classes. They are described further, in the Coimbatore Manual, as “a very degraded, poor tribe, living by basket-making, snaring small game, and so on. They speak a low Canarese, and are as simple as savage. The delight of a party at the gift of a rupee is something curious.” In the Salem district some Vēdans are said34to be “known by the caste name Tiruvalar, who aredistinguishedas the Kattukudugirajāti, a name derived from a custom among them, which authorises temporary matrimonial arrangements.”
The following story in connection with bears and Vēdans is worthy of being placed on record. The bears are said to collect ripe wood-apples (Feronia elephantum) during the season, and store them in the forest. After a small quantity has been collected, they remove the rind of the fruits, and heap together all the pulp. They then bring honey and petals of sweet-smelling flowers, put them on the heap of pulp, and thresh them with their feet and with sticks in their hands. When the whole has become a consistent mass, they feed on it. The Vēdan, who knows the season, is said to drive off the bears by shooting at them, and rob them of theirfeast, which is sold as karadi panchamritham, or bear delicacy made of five ingredients.