Nakkala.--Nakkala or Nakka, meaning jackal, has been recorded as an

exogamous sept of Boya, Gudala, Golla, and Mutracha. The jackal is

the vehicle of the goddess Ankamma, who is the tutelary deity of the

Mutrachas. The name occurs further as a name for the Kuruvikkarans,

who manufacture spurious jackal horns as charms.

Nali (bamboo tube).--An exogamous sept of Kuruba.

Nalillakkar (people of the four illams).--A section of Mukkuvans,

which is divided into four illams.

Nalke.--The Nalkes or Nalakeyavas are described by Mr. H. A. Stuart

[82] as "a caste of mat, basket, and umbrella makers, who furnish

the devil-dancers, who play such an important part in the worship of

the Tulu people. They have the usual Tulu exogamous sub-divisions or

balis. They are generally held to be Holeyas or Pariahs. In Canarese

they are called Panaras,"

"Every village in Canara," Mr. Stuart writes further, [83] "has its

Bhutasthanam or demon temple, in which the officiating priest or

pujari is usually a man of the Billava caste, and shrines innumerable

are scattered throughout the length and breadth of the land for the

propitiation of the malevolent spirits of deceased celebrities, who,

in their lifetime, had acquired a more than usual local reputation

whether for good or evil, or had met with a sudden or violent death. In

addition to these there are demons of the jungle and demons of the

waste, demons who guard the village boundaries, and demons whose only

apparent vocation is that of playing tricks, such as throwing stones

on houses, and causing mischief generally. The demons who guard the

village boundaries seem to be the only ones who are credited with even

indirectly exercising a useful function. The others merely inspire

terror by causing sickness and misfortune, and have to be propitiated

by offerings, which often involve the shedding of blood, that of a

fowl being most common. There are also family Bhutas, and in every

non-Brahman house a room, or sometimes only a corner, is set apart for

the Bhuta, and called the Bhutakotya. The Bhutasthanam is generally a

small, plain structure, 4 or 5 yards deep by 2 or 3 yards wide, with

a door at one end covered by a portico supported on two pillars. The

roof is of thatch, and the building is without windows. In front

of it there are usually three or four T-shaped pillars. Flowers are

placed, and cocoanuts broken on them at ceremonies. The temples of the

more popular Bhutas are often substantial buildings of considerable

size. Inside the Bhutasthanam there are usually a number of images,

roughly made in brass, in human shape, or resembling animals, such

as pigs, tigers, fowls, etc. These are brought out and worshipped as

symbols of the Bhutas on various ceremonial occasions. [84] A peculiar

small goglet or vase, made of bell-metal, into which from time to time

water is poured, is kept before the Bhutas, and, on special occasions,

kepula (Ixora coccinea) flowers, and lights are placed before them. In

the larger sthanas a sword is always kept near the Bhuta, to be held

by the officiating priest when he stands possessed and trembling

with excitement before the people assembled for worship. [85] A bell

or gong is also found in all Bhutasthanams. In the case of Bhutas

connected with temples, there is a place set apart for them, called

a gudi. The Bhutasthanam of the Baiderlu is called a garudi.

"The names of the Bhutas are legion. One of the most dreaded is

named Kalkuti. Two others commonly worshipped by the Bants and the

Billavas are Koti Baidya and Chennaya Baidya, who always have Billava

pujaris. These two Bhutas are the departed spirits of two Billava

heroes. The spirit of Kujumba Kanje, a Bant of renown, belongs to

this class of Bhutas. Amongst the most well known of the others,

may be mentioned Kodamanitaya and Mundaltaya, and the jungle demons

Hakkerlu and Brahmerlu. The Holeyas worship a Bhuta of their own,

who is not recognised by any other class of the people. He goes by

the name of Kumberlu, and the place where he is said to reside is

called Kumberlu-kotya. Very often a stone of any shape, or a small

plank is placed on the ground, or fixed in a wall, and the name of a

Bhuta given to it. Other representations of Bhutas are in the shape

of an ox (Mahisandaya), a horse (Jarandaya), a pig (Panjurli), or a

giant (Baiderlu).

"The Bhuta worship of South Canara is of four kinds, viz., kola,

bandi, nema, and agelu-tambila. Kola, or devil dancing, is offered to

the Bhutas in the sthana of the village in which they are supposed

to reside. The Sudras of the village, and of those adjacent to it,

assemble near the sthana, and witness the kola ceremony in public,

sharing the cost of it by subscriptions raised among all the Sudra

families in the village in which the ceremony is held. Bandi is the

same as kola, with the addition of dragging about a clumsy kind of car,

on which the Pompada priest representing the Bhuta is seated. Nema

is a private ceremony in honour of the Bhutas, held in the house of

anyone who is so inclined. It is performed once in ten, fifteen,

or twenty years by well-to-do Billavas or Bants. The expenses of

the nema amount to about Rs. 600 or Rs. 700, and are borne by the

master of the house in which the nema takes place. During the nema,

the Bhutas, i.e., the things representing them, are brought from the

sthana to the house of the man giving the feast, and remain there

till it is over. Agelu-tambila is a kind of worship offered only to

the Baiderlu, and that annually by the Billavas only. It will be

seen that kola, bandi, and nema are applicable to all the Bhutas,

including the Baiderlu, but that the agelu-tambila is applicable only

to the Baiderlu."

The following account of Canara devil-dancers and exorcists is given

in Mr. Lavie's Manuscript History of Canara. "It is their duty to

carry a beautiful sword with a handsomely curved handle, and polished

blade of the finest steel. These they shake and flourish about in

all directions, jumping, dancing, and trembling in a most frightful

manner. Their hair is loose and flowing, and, by their inflamed eyes

and general appearance, I should suppose that they are prepared for

the occasion by intoxicating liquids or drugs.... Their power as

exorcists is exercised on any person supposed to be possessed with

the devil. I have passed by a house in which an exorcist has been

exercising his powers. He began with groans, sighs, and mutterings,

and broke forth into low mournings. Afterwards he raised his voice,

and uttered with rapidity and in a peculiar tone of voice certain

mantrams or charms, all the while trembling violently, and moving

his body backwards and forwards." The performance (of devil dances)

always takes place at night, commencing about nine o'clock. At first

the pujari, with the Bhuta sword and bell in his hands, whirls round

and round, imitating the supposed mien and gestures of the demon. But

he does not aspire to full possession; that is reserved for a Pombada

or a Nalke, a man of the lowest class, who comes forward when the

Billava pujari has exhibited himself for about half an hour. He is

naked save for a waist-band, his face is painted with ochre, and he

wears a sort of arch made of cocoanut leaves, and a metal mask. After

pacing up and down slowly for some time, he gradually works himself

up to a pitch of hysterical frenzy, while the tom-toms are beaten

furiously, and the spectators join in raising a long, monotonous

howling cry, with a peculiar vibration. At length he stops, and every

one is addressed according to his rank; if the Pombada offends a rich

Bant by omitting any of his numerous titles, he is made to suffer for

it. Matters regarding which there is any dispute are then submitted for

the decision of the Bhuta, and his award is generally accepted. Either

at this stage or earlier, the demon is fed, rice and food being offered

to the Pombada, while, if the Bhuta is of low degree, flesh and arrack

(liquor) are also presented. These festivals last for several nights,

and Dr. Burnell states that the devil-dancer receives a fee of eight

rupees for his frantic labours."

Of the three devil-dancing castes found in South Canara (Nalke,

Parava, and Pompada), the Nalkes are apparently the lowest. Even a

Koraga considers a Nalke or a Parava inferior to him. It is said that,

when a Parava meets a Koraga, he is expected to raise his hand to

his forehead. This practice does not, however, seem to be observed

at the present day. The Nalkes, though living amidst castes which

follow the aliyasantana law of inheritance (in the female line),

follow the makkalakattu law of Inheritance from father to son. The

caste has numerous balis (septs), which are evidently borrowed from

the Bants and Billavas. As examples of these, Salannaya, Bangerannaya,

Kundarannaya, and Uppenannayya may be cited. The Nalkes have a headman

called Gurikara, who settles disputes and other matters affecting

the community, and acts as the priest at marriages, death ceremonies,

and other ceremonials.

Girls are married after puberty, and a woman may marry any number

of times. The marriage ceremony is concluded in a single day. The

contracting couple are seated on planks, and the Gurikara throws

coloured rice over their heads, and ties a turmeric-dyed string with

beads strung on it round their necks. Those assembled then throw rice

over them, their hands are joined by the Gurikara or their fathers,

and the dhare water is poured thereon.

The dead are either buried or cremated. After burial or cremation,

a mound (dhupe) is, as among other castes in Canara, made over the

spot. Round it, four posts are stuck in the ground, and decorated so

as to resemble a small car (cf. Billava). The final death ceremonies

(uttarakriya) are generally performed on the fifth or seventh day. On

this day, cooked food is offered to the deceased by placing it near

the dhupe, or on the spot where he breathed his last. This is followed

by a feast. If the ceremony is not performed on one of the recognised

days, the permission of some Bants or Billavas must be obtained before

it can be carried out.

All castes in South Canara have great faith in Bhutas, and, when

any calamity or misfortune overtakes a family, the Bhutas must be

propitiated. The worship of Bhutas is a mixture of ancestor and

devil propitiation. In the Bhuta cult, the most important personage

is Brahmeru, to whom the other Bhutas are subordinate. Owing to the

influence of Brahman Tantris, Brahmeru is regarded as another name for

Brahma, and the various Bhutas are regarded as ganas or attendants on

Siva. Brahmanical influence is clearly to be traced in the various

Bhuta songs, and all Bhutas are in some manner connected with Siva

and Parvati.

Whenever people want to propitiate the Bhutas, a Nalke or Parava is

engaged. In some places, the Nalke disguises himself as any Bhuta,

but, where Paravas are also to be found, the Nalke may not dress up

as the Baiderkulu, Kodamanitaya, or Rakteswari. The propitiation of

the Bhuta takes the form of a ceremony called Kola, Nema, or Agelu

Tambila. Of these, Kola is a periodical ceremony, in which various

castes take part, and is always performed near a Bhutasthana. Nema

is usually undertaken by a single family, and is performed at the

house. Agelu Tambila is celebrated by Billavas at their homes. The

Kola ceremony is usually performed for the propitiation of Bhutas other

than the Baiderkulu. The Muktesar or chief man, with the assistance of

a Brahman, fixes an auspicious day for its celebration. The jewels,

and votive offerings made to the Bhutas, are kept in the custody of

the Muktesar. On the Kola day, the people go in procession from the

sthana to the Muktesar's house, and return to the sthana with the

jewels and other articles. These are arranged on cots, and a Billava

pujari places seven plantain leaves in a row on a cot, and heaps rice

thereon. On each heap, a cocoanut is placed for the propitiation

of the most important Bhuta. To the minor Bhutas, these things are

offered on three or five leaves placed on cots, or on the floor of the

sthana, according to the importance of the Bhuta. A seven-branched

torch must be kept burning near the cot of the principal Bhuta. The

pujari goes to the courtyard of the sthana, and piles up a conical

mass of cooked rice on a stool. Over this pieces of plantain fruits

are scattered. Round the mass several sheaths of plantain leaves are

arranged, and on them tender cocoanut leaves, cut in various ways,

are stuck. The pujari, who wears a metal belt and other jewelry, does

puja to the Bhutas, and retires. The Nalkes or Paravas then advance

dressed up as Bhutas, and request permission to put on their canopy

(ani) and brass anklet (guggire). They then dance, and sing songs

connected with the Bhutas which are being propitiated. When they are

exhausted and retire, the pujari steps forwards, and addresses the

assembly in the following terms:-- "Oh! great men who are assembled,

with your permission I salute you all. Oh! Brahmans who are assembled,

I salute you. Oh! priest, I salute you." In this manner, he is

expected to run through the names of all important personages who

are present. When he has finished, the devil-dancers do the same,

and the ceremony is at an end.

Of the Bhutas, the best known are Brahmeru, Kodamanitaya, Kukkintaya,

Jumadi, Sarlu Jumadi, Pancha Jumadi, Rakteswari, Panjurli,

Kuppe Panjurli, Rakta Panjurli, Urundarayya, Hosadevata (or Hosa

Bhuta), Devanajiri, Kalkutta, Ukkatiri, Gulige, Bobbariya, Nicha,

Duggalaya, Mahisandaya, Varte, Chamundi, Baiderukulu, Okkuballala, and

Oditaya. According to some, Jumadi is the small-pox goddess Mari. There

are only two female Bhutas--Ukkatiri and Kallurti. The Bhutas are

supposed to belong to different castes. For example, Okkuballala

and Devanajiri are Jains, Kodamanitaya and Kukkinataya are Bants,

Kalkutta is a smith, Bobbariya is a Mappilla, and Nicha a Koraga.

In some temples dedicated to Siva, the Tantris offer food, etc.,

to the various Bhutas on special occasions, such as Dipavali and

Sankaranthi. At Udipi, the Sanyasis of the various mutts (religious

institutions) seem to believe in some of the Bhutas, as they give money

for the performance of Kola to Panjurli, Sarla Jumadi, and Chamundi.

At Hiriadkap in South Canara, where the Nalkes performed before me,

the dancers wore spathes of the areca palm, forming spats to prevent

the skin from being injured by the metal bells round their ankles as

they danced.

The songs sung by the devil dancers are very numerous, and vary in

different localities. Of the stories relating to Bhutas, a very full

account has been given by Mr. A. C. Burnell. [86]

A collection of stories (padanollu) belonging to the demon-worshippers

of the Tulu country, and recited at their annual festivals, was

published at the Mangalore Basel Mission Press in 1886.

Nalla (black).--An exogamous sept of Koppala Velama.

Nallur.--Nallur and Naluvitan are recorded, in the Travancore Census

Report, 1901, as sub-divisions of Nayar.

Namadari.--A name, indicating one who wears the Vaishnava sectarian

mark (namam). The equivalent Namala occurs as an exogamous sept

of Boya.

Nambidi.--A class, included among the Ambalavasis. It is recorded,

in the Travancore Census Report, 1901, that "Nampitis are of two

classes, the thread-wearing and the threadless. The former have

their own priests, while the Ilayatus perform the required sacerdotal

functions for the latter. Their ceremonies are very much like those

of the Kshatriyas. Tradition connects them with royalty acquired under

rather unenviable circumstances. They are, therefore, called Tampurans

(lords) by the Sudras, and also Muppinnu (elder) or Karanavappat

(uncle) head of a matriarchal family. They observe twelve days'

pollution, and inherit in the female line. Their women are called

Mantalu. The chief man among the Nampitis is the Karanavappat of

Kakkat in British Malabar." In the Cochin Census Report, 1901, it

is noted that of the Nampidis "the Aiynikoor Nampidis, or the five

families of Nampidis, are historically and socially the most important;

the eldest male member possesses the honorific title of Karanavarpad,

enjoying special privileges at the hands of the rulers of Cochin, as

the members of the family once held responsible posts in the militia

of the State. According to tradition, they were Nambudris. One of

the Perumals or Viceroys of Kerala having proved troublesome, the

Brahmans resolved upon his removal. In the struggle that followed,

the Perumal was killed by the Brahmans. When those who had slain him

returned to the place where the Brahmans had met in solemn conclave,

they were gladly welcomed, and asked to sit in their midst; but,

feeling that they had committed a heinous crime and thus disqualified

themselves from sitting along with the Brahmans, they volunteered to

sit apart on the threshold of the council room by saying nam padimel

(we on the threshold), which fact is supposed to account for the

origin of their name Nampadi. They and their companions have since

been regarded as having almost lost their social status as Brahmans,

and they are now classed along with the intermediate castes, having

but a few privileges other than those enjoyed by the group. They

wear the sacred thread, and have Gayatri. Nambudri Brahmans officiate

as priests at marriage ceremonies, sradhas, and purification at the

end of birth or death pollution, which lasts only for ten days. They

follow the marumakkatayam law of inheritance (in the female line). The

tali (marriage badge) is tied by their own caste men. Nambudris,

or their own caste men, unite themselves in sambandham with Nampidi

females. Nampidis are allowed to consort with Nayar women. At public

feasts they are not privileged to sit and eat with Nambudris. Their

women are called Manolpads."

Nambiyassan.--A division of the Ambalavasis. It is noted, in the

Travancore Census Report, 1901, that "the Nampiassans, otherwise

called Nampiyars or Nampis, have at present no temple service of

any kind. They keep gymnasia or schools of training suited to the

Indian system of warfare. They were the gurus (preceptors) of the

fighting Nayars. They seem, however, at one time to have followed the

profession of garland-making in temples. It is still the occupation of

many Nampiassans in Cochin and British Malabar." In the Cochin Census

Report, 1901, it is stated that Nambiyar is rather a misleading title,

as it is applied to more than one class of people. Some Nayars are

known by that title. In some places, Muthads and Elayads are also

called Nambiyars. Chakkiyar Nambiyars beat a drum of a peculiar shape

at intervals during the discourses or acting of the Chakkiyars, while

their females, called Nangiyars, keep time. The Nangiyars also assume

the figure of mythical characters, and perform a sort of pantomime

on the Chakkiyar's stage. (See Unni.)

Nambiyatiri (a person worthy of worship).--A synonym of Elayad.

Nambutiri Brahman. [87]--The name Nambutiri has been variously

derived. The least objectionable origin seems to be nambu (sacred or

trustworthy) and tiri (a light). The latter occurs as an honorific

suffix among Malabar Brahmans, and other castes above the Nayars. The

Nambutiris form the socio-spiritual aristocracy of Malabar, and, as

the traditional landlords of Parasu Rama's land, they are everywhere

held in great reverence.

A Nambutiri, when questioned about the past, refers to the

Keralolpatti. The Nambutiris and their organization according to

gramams owe their origin in legend, so far as Malabar is concerned, to

Parasu Rama. Parasu Rama (Rama of the axe), an incarnation of Vishnu,

had, according to the puranic story, slain his mother in a fit of

wrath, and was advised by the sages to expiate his sin by extirpating

the Kshatriyas twenty-one times. He did so, and handed over the land

to the sages. But this annoyed the Brahmans exceedingly, for they got

no share in the arrangement; so they banished Parasu Rama from the

land. By the performance of austerities he gained from the gods the

boon to reclaim some land from Varuna, the sea god. Malabar was then

non-existent. He was allowed to throw his axe from Cape Comorin, and

possess all the land within the distance of his throw. So he threw his

axe as far as Gokarnam in the South Canara district, and immediately

there was land between these two places, within the direct line and

the western ghats, now consisting of Travancore and Cochin, Malabar,

and part of South Canara. To this land he gave the name Karma Bhumi,

or the country in which salvation or the reverse depends altogether on

man's individual actions, and blessed it that there be plenty of rain

and no famine in it. But he was alone. To relieve his loneliness, he

brought some Brahmans from the banks of the Krishna river, but they

did not remain long, for they were frightened by the snakes. Then

he brought some Brahmans from the north, and, lest they too should

flee, gave them peculiar customs, and located them in sixty-four

gramams. He told them also to follow the marumakkattayam law of

succession (in the female line), but only a few, the Nambutiris of

Payyanur, obeyed him. The Brahmans ruled the land with severity,

so that the people (who had somehow come into existence) resolved

to have a king under whom they could live in peace. And, as it was

impossible to choose one among themselves, they chose Keya Perumal,

who was the first king of Malabar, and Malabar was called Keralam

after him. The truths underlying this legend are that the littoral

strip between the western ghats and the sea is certainly of recent

formation geologically. It is not very long, geologically, since it

was under the sea, and it is certain that the Nambutiris came from

the north. The capital of the Chera kingdom was very probably on the

west coast not far from Cranganore in the Travancore State, the site

of it being now called Tiruvanjikkulam. There is still a Siva temple

there, and about a quarter of a mile to the south-west of it are the

foundations of the old palace. The rainfall of Malabar is very high,

ranging from 300 inches in the hills to about 120 inches on the coast.

"It is said that Parasu Rama ruled that all Nambudri women should carry

with them an umbrella whenever they go out, to prevent their being

seen by those of the male sex, that a Nayar woman called a Vrishali

should invariably precede them, that they should be covered with a

cloth from neck to foot, and that they should not wear jewels. These

women are therefore always attended by a Nayar woman in their outdoor

movements, and they go sheltering their faces from public gaze with

a cadjan (palm leaf) umbrella." [88]

The Keralolpatti relates the story of the exclusion of the Panniyur

Brahmans from the Vedas. There were in the beginning two religious

factions among the Nambutiris, the Vaishnavas or worshippers of Vishnu

in his incarnation as a boar, and the Saivas; the former residing in

Panniyur (boar village), and the latter in Chovur (Siva's village). The

Saivas gained the upper hand, and, completely dominating the others,

excluded them altogether from the Vedas. So now the Nambutiris of

Panniyur are said to be prohibited from studying the Vedas. It is said,

however, that this prohibition is not observed, and that, as a matter

of fact, the Panniyur Nambutiris perform all the Vedic ceremonies.

"Tradition," Mr. N. Subramani Aiyar writes, "as recorded in the

Keralamahatmiya, traces the Nambutiris to Ahikshetra, whence Parasu

Rama invited Brahmans to settle in his newly reclaimed territory. In

view to preventing the invited settlers from relinquishing it, he is

said to have introduced, on the advice of the sage Narada, certain

deep and distinctive changes in their personal, domestic, and communal

institutions. The banks of the Nerbudda, the Krishna, and the Kaveri

are believed to have given Brahmans to Malabar. I have come across

Nambutiris who have referred to traditions in their families regarding

villages on the east coast whence their ancestors originally came,

and the sub-divisions of the Smarta caste, Vadama, Brihatcharanam,

Ashtasahasram, Sanketi, etc., to which they belonged. Even to this

day, an east coast Brahman of the Vadadesattu Vadama caste has to

pour water into the hands of a Nambutiri Sanyasi as part of the

latter's breakfast ritual. Broach in Kathiwar, one of the greatest

emporiums of trade in the middle ages, is also mentioned as one of

the ancient recruiting districts of the Nambutiri Brahmans. Broach was

the ancient Bhrigucachchha, where Parasu Rama made his avabhritasnana

(final bathing) after his great triumph over the Kshatriyas, and where

to this day a set of people called Bhargava Brahmans live. Their

comparatively low social status is ascribed to the original sin of

their Brahman progenitor or founder having taken to the profession

of arms. The date of the first settlement of the Nambutiris is not

known. Orthodox tradition would place it in the Tretayuga, or the

second great Hindu cycle. The reference to the gramams of Chovvur

and Panniyur contained in the Manigramam Syrian Christian grant of

the eighth century, and its absence in the Jewish, have suggested to

antiquarians some time between the seventh and eighth centuries as

the probable period. The writings of Ptolemy and the Periplus furnish

evidence of Brahman settlements on the Malabar coast as early as the

first century, and it is probable that immigrant Brahman families

began to pour in with the ascendancy of the Western Chalukya kings

in the fourth and fifth centuries, and became gradually welded with

the pre-existing Nambutiris. All these Nambutiris were grouped under

two great sections:--(a) the Vaishnavites or Panniyur Gramakkar, who

came with the patronage of the Vaishnavites of the Chalukya dynasty

with the boar as their royal emblem; (b) the Saivites or Chovvur

Gramakkar, who readily accepted the Saivite teachings from the Chera,

Chola, and Pandya kings who followed the Chalukyans. They included in

all sixty-four gramams, which, in many cases, were only families. Of

these, not more than ten belong to modern Travancore. These gramams

constituted a regular autocracy, with four talis or administrative

bodies having their head-quarters at Cranganore. It appears that a

Raja or Perumal, as he was called, from the adjoining Chera kingdom,

including the present districts of Salem and Coimbatore, was, as

an improved arrangement, invited to rule for a duodecennial period,

and was afterwards confirmed, whether by the lapse of time or by a

formal act of the Brahman owners it is not known. The Chera Viceroys,

by virtue of their isolation from their own fatherland, had then to

arrange for marital alliances being made, as best they could, with

the highest indigenous caste, the Nambutiris, the males consorting

with Sudra women. The matriarchal form of inheritance was thus a

necessary consequence. Certain tracts of Kerala, however, continued

under direct Brahman sovereignty, of which the Ettappalli chief is

almost the only surviving representative."

Writing in the eighteenth century, Hamilton observes [89] that "the

Nambouries are the first in both capacities of Church and State, and

some of them are Popes, being Sovereign Princes in both." Unlike the

Brahmans of the remainder of the Madras Presidency, who so largely

absorb all appointments worth having under Government, who engage in

trade, in, one may say, every profitable profession and business,

the Nambutiris hold almost entirely aloof from what the poet Gray

calls "the busy world's ignoble strife," and, more than any class of

Brahmans, retain their sacerdotal position, which is of course the

highest. They are for the most part landholders. A very large portion

of Malabar is owned by Nambutiris, especially in Walluvanad, most of

which taluk is the property of Nambutiris. They are the aristocracy

of the land, marked most impressively by two characteristics,

exclusiveness and simplicity. Now and then a Nambutiri journeys to

Benares, but, as a rule, he stays at home. Their simplicity is really

proverbial, [90] and they have not been influenced by contact with

the English. This contact, which has influenced every other caste or

race, has left the Nambutiri just where he was before the English knew

India. He is perhaps, as his measurements seem to prove, the truest

Aryan in Southern India, and not only physically, but in his customs,

habits, and ceremonies, which are so welded into him that forsake them

he cannot if he would. It is noted, in the Gazetteer of Malabar, that

"as a class, the Nambudiris may be described as less affected than

any other caste, except the very lowest, by western influences of

whatever nature. One Nambudiri is known to have accepted a clerical

post in Government service; a good many are Adhigaris (village

headmen), and one member of the caste possesses a Tile-works and is

partner in a Cotton-mill. The bicycle now claims several votaries

among the caste, and photography at least one other. But these are

exceptions, and exceptions which, unimportant as they may seem to

any one unacquainted with the remarkable conservatism of the caste,

would certainly have caused considerable surprise to the author of

the first Malabar Manual."

Concerning the occupations of the Nambutiris, Mr. Subramani Aiyar

writes that "service in temples, unless very remunerative, does not

attract them. Teaching as a means of living is rank heterodoxy. And,

if anywhere Manu's dictum to the Brahman 'Never serve' is strictly

observed, it is in Malabar. Judging from the records left by

travellers, the Nambutiris used to be selected by kings as messengers

during times of war. Writing concerning them, Barbosa states that

"these are the messengers who go on the road from one kingdom to

another with letters and money and merchandise, because they pass in

safety without any one molesting them, even though the king may be

at war. These Brahmans are well read ... and possess many books, and

are learned and masters of many arts; and so the kings honour them

as such." As the pre-historic heirs to the entire land of Kerala,

the Nambutiris live on agriculture. But inefficiency in adaptation

to changing environments operates as a severe handicap in the race

for progressive affluence, for which the initial equipment was

exceptionally favourable. The difficulties incidental to an effete

landlordism have contributed to making the Nambutiris a litigious

population, and the ruinous scale of expenditure necessary for the

disposal of a girl, be it of the most plebeian kind, has brought their

general prosperity to a very low level. The feeling of responsible

co-operation on the part of the unmarried males of a Nambutiri

household in the interests of the family is fast decreasing; old

maids are increasing; and the lot of the average Nambutiri man, and

more especially woman, is very hard indeed. As matters now stand,

the traditional hospitality of the Hindu kings of Malabar, which,

fortunately for them, has not yet relaxed, is the only sustenance and

support of the ordinary Nambutiri. The characteristic features of the

Nambutiri are his faith in God and resignation to his will, hospitality

to strangers, scrupulous veracity, punctiliousness as regards the

ordinances prescribed, and extreme gentility in manners. The sustaining

power of his belief in divine providence is so great, that calamities

of whatsoever kind do not exasperate him unduly. The story is told

with great admiration of a Nambutiri who, with his large ancestral

house on fire, his only son just tumbled into a deep disused well,

while his wife was expiring undelivered, quietly called out to his

servant for his betel-box. Evening baths, and daily prayers at sunrise,

noon and sunset, are strictly observed. A tradition, illustrative

of the miracles which spiritual power can work, is often told of

the islet in the Vempanat lake known as Patiramanal (midnight sand)

having been conjured into existence by the Tarananallur Nambutiripad,

when, during a journey to Trivandrum, it was past evening, and the

prayers to Sandhya had to be made after the usual ablutions. To the

lower animals, the attitude of the Nambutiri is one of child-like

innocence. In his relation to man, his guilelessness is a remarkable

feature. Harshness of language is unknown to the Nambutiris, and

it is commonly said that the severest expression of his resentment

at an insult offered is generally that he (the Nambutiri) expects

the adversary to take back the insult a hundred times over. Of

course, the modern Nambutiri is not the unadulterated specimen of

goodness, purity, and piety that he once was. But, on the whole, the

Nambutiris form an interesting community, whose existence is indeed

a treasure untold to all lovers of antiquity. Their present economic

condition is, however, far from re-assuring. They are no doubt the

traditional owners of Kerala, and hold in their hands the janmom or

proprietary interest in a large portion of Malabar. But their woeful

want of accommodativeness to the altered conditions of present day

life threatens to be their ruin. Their simplicity and absence of

business-like habits have made them a prey to intrigue, fraudulence,

and grievous neglect, and an unencumbered and well ordered estate is

a rarity among Malabar Brahmans, at least in Travancore."

The orthodox view of the Nambutiri is thus stated in an official

document of Travancore. "His person is holy; his directions are

commands; his movements are a procession; his meal is nectar; he

is the holiest of human beings; he is the representative of god on

earth." It may be noted that the priest at the temple of Badrinath in

Gurhwal, which is said to have been established by Sankaracharya, and

at the temple at Tiruvettiyur, eight miles north of Madras, must be

a Nambutiri. The birth-place of Sankara has been located in a small

village named Kaladi in Travancore. It is stated by Mr. Subramani

Aiyar that "at some part of his eventful life, Sankara is believed

to have returned to his native village, to do the last offices to his

mother. Every assistance was withdrawn, and he became so helpless that

he had to throw aside the orthodox ceremonials of cremation, which he

could not get his relations to help him in, made a sacrificial pit

in his garden, and there consigned his mother's mortal remains. The

compound (garden) can still be seen on the banks of the Periyar river

on the Travancore side, with a masonry wall enclosing the crematorium,

and embowered by a thick grove of trees."

Every Nambutiri is, theoretically, a life-long student of the

Vedas. Some admit that religious study or exercise occupies a bare

half hour in the day; others devote to these a couple of hours or

more. It is certain that every Nambutiri is under close study between

the ages of seven and fifteen, or for about eight years of his life,

and nothing whatsoever is allowed to interfere with this. Should

circumstances compel interruption of Vedic study, the whole course is,

I believe, re-commenced and gone through da capo. A few years ago,

a Nambutiri boy was wanted, to be informally examined in the matter

of a dacoity in his father's illam; but he had to be left alone, as,

among other unpleasant consequences of being treated as a witness,

he would have had to begin again his whole course of Vedic study. The

Nambutiris are probably more familiar with Sanskrit than any other

Brahmans, even though their scholarship may not be of a high order,

and certainly none other is to the same extent governed by the letter

of the law handed down in Sanskrit.

As already said, the Nambutiris are for the most part landholders,

or of that class. They are also temple priests. The rich have their

own temples, on which they spend much money. All over Malabar there

are to be seen Pattar Brahmans, wandering here and there, fed free

at the illams of rich Nambutiris, or at the various kovilakams and

temples. And they are always to be found at important ceremonial

functions, marriage or the like, which they attend uninvited, and

receive a small money present (dakshina). But the Nambutiri never

goes anywhere, unless invited. From what I have seen, the presents

to Brahmans on these occasions are usually given on the following

scale:--eight annas to each Nambutiri, six annas to each Embrantiri,

four annas to each Pattar Brahman. The Nambutiri is sometimes a

money-lender.

Of the two divisions, Nambutiri and Nambutiripad, the latter are

supposed to be stricter, and to rank higher than the former. Pad,

meaning power or authority, is often used to all Nambutiris when

addressing them. Thus, some who are called Nambutiripads may

really be Nambutiris. It may not be strictly correct to divide the

Nambutiris thus, for neither so-called division is separated from

the other by interdiction of marriage. The class distinctions are

more properly denoted the Adhyan and Asyan, of which the former is

the higher. An Adhyan is never a priest; he is a being above even

such functions as are sacerdotal in the temple. But there are also

divisions according to the number of yagams or sacrifices performed

by individuals, thus:--Somatiri or Somayaji, Akkitiri or Agnihotri,

and Adittiri. A man may reach the first stage of these three, and

become an Addittiripad by going through a certain ceremony. At this,

three Nambutiri Vaidikars, or men well versed in the Vedas, must

officiate. A square pit is made. Fire raised by friction between

two pieces of pipal (Ficus religiosa) wood with a little cotton is

placed in it. This fire is called aupasana. The ceremony cannot

be performed until after marriage. It is only those belonging to

certain gotras who may perform yagams, and, by so doing, acquire the

three personal distinctions already named. Again, there are other

divisions according to professions. Thus it is noted, in the Cochin

Census Report, 1901, that "the Adhyans are to study the Vedas and

Sastras; they are prohibited from taking parannam (literally meals

belonging to another), from taking part in the funeral ceremonies of

others, and from receiving presents. Those who perform the sacrifice

of adhana are known as Aditiris, those who perform some yaga are

called Somayagis or Chomatiris, while those who perform agni are

called Agnihotris or Akkitiris. Only married men are qualified to

perform the sacrifices. The Nayar is an indispensable factor in

the performance of these sacrifices. The Bhattatiris are to study

and teach the Sastras; the Orthikans are to teach the Vedas, and to

officiate as family priests. The Vadhyans are to teach the Vedas, and

to supervise the moral conduct of their pupils. The Vydikans are the

highest authority to decide what does or does not constitute violation

of caste rules, and to prescribe expiatory ceremonies. The Smarthas

are to study the Smritis and other Sastras relating to customs,

with the special object of qualifying themselves to preside over

caste panchayats, or courts, and to investigate, under the orders

of the sovereign, cases of conjugal infidelity arising among the

Nambutiris. The rulers of Cochin and Travancore issue the writs

convening the committee in the case of offences committed within

their territory. The Zamorin of Calicut, and other Chiefs or Rajas,

also continue to exercise the privilege of issuing such orders in

regard to cases occurring in Malabar. The Tantris officiate as high

priests in temples. They also practice exorcism. There are Adhyans

among this class also. Having received weapons from Parasu Rama and

practiced the art of war, the Sastrangakars are treated as somewhat

degraded Brahmans. They are prohibited from studying the Vedas, but

are entitled to muthalmura, that is, reading the Vedas, or hearing

them recited once. Having had to devote their time and energy to

the practice of the art of war, they could not possibly spend their

time in the study of the Vedas. The Vaidyans or physicians, known

as Mussads, are to study the medical science, and to practice the

same. As the profession of a doctor necessitates the performance of

surgical operations entailing the shedding of blood, the Mussads are

also considered as slightly degraded. They too are entitled only

to muthalmura. Of these, there are eight families, known as Ashta

Vaidyans. The Gramanis are alleged to have suffered degradation by

reason of their having, at the command of Parasu Rama, undertaken the

onerous duties of protecting the Brahman villages, and having had,

as Rakshapurushas or protectors, to discharge the functions assigned

to Kshatriyas. Ooril Parisha Mussads are supposed to have undergone

degradation on account of their having accepted from Parasu Rama the

accumulated sin of having killed the warrior Kshatriyas thrice seven

times, along with immense gifts in the shape of landed estates. They

are not allowed to read the Vedas even once."

"There are," Mr. Subramani Aiyar writes, "five sub-divisions among

the Nambutiris, which may be referred to:--

(1) Tampurakkal.--This is a corruption of the Sanskrit name Samrat,

and has probable reference to temporal as much as to secular

sovereignty. Of the two Tampurakkal families in South Malabar,

Kalpancheri and Azhvancheri, the latter alone now remains. As spiritual

Samrats (sovereigns) they are entitled to (1) bhadrasanam, or the

highest position in an assembly, (2) brahmavarchasa, or authority in

Vedic lore, and consequent sanctity, (3) brahmasamragyam, or lordship

over Brahmans, (4) sarvamanyam, or universal acknowledgment of

reverence. Once in six years, the Azhvancheri Tampurakkal is invited

by the Maharaja of Travancore, who accords him the highest honours,

and pays him the homage of a sashtanganamaskaram, or prostration

obeisance. Even now, the Samrats form a saintly class in all

Malabar. Though considered higher than all other sub-divisions of

Nambutiris, they form, with the Adhyas, an endogamous community.

(2) Adhyas.--They form eight families, called Ashtadhyas, and are

said by tradition to be descended from the eight sons of a great

Brahman sage, who lived on the banks of the river Krishna. The fund of

accumulated spirituality inherited from remote ancestors is considered

to be so large that sacrifices (yagas), as well as vanaprastha and

sanyasa (the two last stages of the Brahman's life), are reckoned as

being supererogatory for even the last in descent. They are, however,

very strict in the observance of religious ordinances, and constantly

engage themselves in the reverent study of Hindu scriptures. The

Tantris are Adhyas with temple administration as their specialised

function. They are the constituted gurus of the temple priests,

and are the final authorities in all matters of temple ritual.

(3) Visishta.--These are of two classes, Agnihotris and

Bhattatiris. The former are the ritualists, and are of three

kinds:--(1) Akkittiris, who have performed the agnichayanayaga, (2)

Adittiris, who have done the ceremony of agniadhana, (3) Chomatiris,

who have performed the soma sacrifice. The Bhattatiris are the

philosophers, and are, in a spirit of judicious economy, which is the

characteristic feature of all early caste proscriptions, actually

prohibited from trenching on the province of the Agnihotris. They

study tarkka (logic), vedanta (religious philosophy or theology),

vyakarana (grammar), mimamsa (ritualism), bhatta, from which they

receive their name, and prabhakara, which are the six sciences of the

early Nambutiris. They were the great religious teachers of Malabar,

and always had a large number of disciples about them. Under this

head come the Vadyars or heads of Vedic schools, of which there are

two, one at Trichur in Cochin, and the other at Tirunavai in British

Malabar; the six Vaidikas or expounders of the caste canons, and the

Smartas, who preside at the smartavicharams or socio-moral tribunals

of Brahmanical Malabar.

(4) Samanyas.--They form the Nambutiri proletariat, from whom the

study of the Vedas is all that is expected. They take up the study of

mantravada (mystic enchantment), puja (temple ritual), and reciting

the sacred accounts of the Avatara and astrology.

(5) Jatimatras.--The eight leading physician families of Malabar,

or Ashta Vaidyas, are, by an inexcusable misuse of language, called

Gatimatras or nominal Nambutiris. The class of Nambutiris called

Yatrakalikkar (a corruption of Sastrakalikkar) also comes under

this head. They are believed to be the Brahmans, who accepted the

profession of arms from their great founder. Those that actually

received the territory from the hands of Parasu Rama, called Gramani

Nambutiris or Gramani Adhyas, are also Gatimatras. They were the

virtual sovereigns of their respective lands. The physicians, the

soldiers, and the landed kings, having other duties to perform,

were not able to devote all their time to Vedic recitations. The

mutalmura or first study was, of course, gone through. In course of

time, this fact was unfortunately taken by the religious conscience

of the people to lower the Brahmans who were deputed under the scheme

of Parasu Rama for special functions in the service of the nation in

the scale of Nambutiri society, and to mean a formal prohibition as

of men unworthy to be engaged in Vedic study.

Papagrastas are Nambutiris, who are supposed to have questioned the

divine nature of Parasu Rama, The Urilparisha Mussus, who too are

Brahmans who received gifts of land from Parasu Rama, the Nambitis,

the Panniyur Gramakkar, and the Payyanur Gramakkar or the Ammuvans

(uncles), so called from their matriarchal system of inheritance,

form other sections of Nambutiris."

It is recorded, in the Cochin Census Report, 1901, that "certain

special privileges in regard to the performance of religious rites and

other matters of a purely social nature serve as the best basis for

a sub-division of the Nambutiris in the order of social precedence

as recognised amongst themselves. For this purpose, the privileges

may be grouped under two main classes, as given in the following

mnemonic formula:--

A

1. Edu (the leaf of a cadjan grandha or book): the right of studying

and teaching the Vedas and Sastras.

2. Piccha (mendicancy symbolic of family priests): the right of

officiating as family priests.

3. Othu (Vedas): the right of studying the Vedas.

4. Adukala (kitchen): the right of cooking for all classes of

Brahmans.

5. Katavu (bathing place or ghat): the right of bathing in the

same bathing place with other Brahmans, or the right of

touching after bathing, without thereby disqualifying the

person touched for performing religious services.

B

1. Adu (sheep): the right of performing holy sacrifices.

2. Bhiksha (receiving alms): the right of becoming a Sanyasi.

3. Santhi (officiating as temple priests): the right of performing

priestly functions in temples.

4. Arangu (stage): the right of taking part in the performance of

Sastrangam Nambudris.

5. Panthi (row of eaters): the right of messing in the same row with

other Brahmans.

Those who enjoy the privilege of No. 1 in A are entitled to all

the privileges in A and B; those enjoying No. 2 in A have all the

privileges from No. 2 downwards in A and B; those having No. 3 in A

have similarly all the privileges from No. 3 downwards in A and B, and

so on. Those entitled to No.1 in B have all the privileges except No. 1

in A; similarly those entitled to No. 2 in B have all the privileges

from No. 2 downwards in B, but only from No. 3 downwards in A, and

so on."

Among the people of good caste in Malabar, to speak of one as a hairy

man is to speak of him reproachfully. Yet, putting aside Muhammadans,

the highest of all, the Nambutiris are certainly the most hairy. In

the young Nambutiri, the hair on the head is plentiful, glossy,

and wavy. The hair is allowed to grow over an oval patch from the

vertex or a little behind it to a little back from the forehead. This

is the regular Malabar fashion. The hair thus grown is done into a

knot hanging over the forehead or at one side according to fancy,

never hanging behind. The rest of the head, and also the face is

shaved. The whole body, excepting this knot and the back, is shaved

periodically. Karkkadakam, Kanni, Kumbham and Dhanu are months in which

shaving should be avoided as far as possible. An auspicious day is

always selected by the Nambutiri for being shaved. Gingelly oil (enna)

is commonly used for the hair. When a Nambutiri's wife is pregnant,

he refrains from the barber, letting his hair grow as it will. And,

as he may have as many as four wives, and he does not shave when

any of them is in an interesting condition, he sometimes has a long

beard. A marked difference observed between the Nambutiri and those

allied to him, and the lower races, is this. The former have whiskers

in the shape of a full growth of hair on the cheeks, while in the

latter this is scanty or entirely absent. Also, while the Nambutiris

have very commonly a hairy chest, the others have little or no hair

on the chest. So, too, in the case of hair on the arms and legs. One

Nambutiri examined had hair all over the body, except over the ribs.

In connection with a hypothesis that the Todas of the Nilgiris

are an offshoot of one of the races now existing in Malabar,

Dr. W. H. R. Rivers writes as follows. [91] "Of all the castes or

tribes of Malabar, the Nambutiris perhaps show the greatest number

of resemblances to the customs of the Todas, and it is therefore

interesting to note that Mr. Fawcett describes these people as the

hairiest of all the races of Malabar, and especially notes that one

individual he examined was like a Toda."

It is noted by Mr. Subramani Aiyar that "the Nambutiris are passionate

growers of finger-nails, which are sometimes more than a foot long,

and serve several useful purposes. As in everything else, the Nambutiri

is orthodox even in the matter of dress. Locally-manufactured cloths

are alone purchased, and Indian publicists who deplore the crushing

of indigenous industries by the importation of foreign goods may

congratulate the Kerala Brahmans on their protectionist habits. Silk

and coloured cloths are not worn by either sex. The style of dress is

peculiar. That of the males is known as tattutukkuka. Unlike the Nayar

dress, which the Nambutiris wear during other than religious hours,

the cloth worn has a portion passing between the thighs and tucked in

at the front and behind, with the front portion arranged in a number

of characteristic reduplications. The Nambutiri wears wooden shoes,

but never shoes made of leather. Nambutiri women have two styles

of dress, viz., okkum koluttum vachchutukkuka for the Adhyans, and

ngoringutukkuka for ordinary Nambutiris. Undyed cloths constitute

the daily wearing apparel of Nambutiri women. It is interesting to

notice that all Brahman women, during a yagnam (sacrifice), when,

as at other ceremonials, all recent introductions are given up in

favour of the old, wear undyed cloths. Beyond plain finger-rings and

a golden amulet (elassu) attached to the waist-string, the Nambutiri

wears no ornaments. His ears are bored, but no ear-rings are worn

unless he is an Agnihotri, when ear-pendants of an elongated pattern

(kundalam) are used. The ornaments of the Nambutiri women have

several peculiarities. Gold bracelets are, as it were, proscribed

even for the most wealthy. Hollow bangles of brass or bell-metal for

ordinary Nambutiris, and of solid silver for the Adhyas, are the ones

in use. The chuttu is their ear ornament. A peculiar necklace called

cheru-tali is also worn, and beneath this Adhya women wear three

garlands of manis or gold pieces, along with other jewels called

kasumala, puttali, and kazhuttila. The Nambutiris do not bore their

noses or wear nose-rings, and, in this respect, present a striking

contrast to the Nayar women. No restriction, except the removal of the

tali, is placed on the use of ornaments by Nambutiri women. Tattooing

is taboo to Nambutiri women. They put on three horizontal lines of

sandal paste after bathing. These marks have, in the case of Adhya

women, a crescentic shape (ampilikkuri). Kunkuma, or red powder, is

never applied by Nambutiri women to the forehead. Turmeric powder

as a cosmetic wash for the face is also not in vogue. Mr. Fawcett

states that, on festive occasions, turmeric is used by the

Brahmans of Malabar. But this is not borne out by the usage in

Travancore. Eye-salves are applied, and may be seen extending as dark

lines up to the ears on either side."

The ornaments and marks worn by individual Nambutiri males are thus

recorded by Mr. Fawcett:--

(1) Left hand: gold ring with large green stone on first finger;

four plain gold rings on third finger; a ring, in which an anavarahan

coin is set, on little finger. This is a very lucky ring. Spurious

imitations are often set in rings, but it is the genuine coin which

brings good luck. Right hand: two plain gold rings, and a pavitram

on the third finger. The pavitram is of about the thickness of an

ordinary English wedding ring, shaped like a figure of eight, with a

dotted pattern at each side, and the rest plain. It is made of gold,

but, as every Nambutiri must wear a pavitram while performing or

undergoing certain ceremonies, those who do not possess one of gold

wear one made of darbha grass. They do not say so, but I think the

ring of darbha grass is orthodox.

(2) Golden amulet-case fastened to a string round the waist, and

containing a figure (yantram) written or marked on a silver plate. He

had worn it three years, having put it on because he used to feel

hot during the cool season, and attributed the circumstance to the

influence of an evil spirit.

(3) Youth, aged 12. Wears a yak skin sash, an inch wide, over the

left shoulder, fastened at the ends by a thong of the same skin. He

put it on when he was seven, and will wear it till he is fifteen,

when he will have completed his course of Vedic study. A ring,

hanging to a string in front of his throat, called modiram, was put

on in the sixth month when he was named, and will be worn until he is

fifteen. The ears are pierced. He wears two amulets at the back, one

of gold, the other of silver. In each are some chakrams (Travancore

silver coins), and a gold leaf, on which a charm is inscribed. One

of the charms was prepared by a Mappilla, the other by a Nambutiri.

(4) Black spot edged with yellow in the centre of the forehead. Three

horizontal white stripes on the forehead. A dab on each arm, and a

stripe across the chest.

(5) Black spot near glabella, and two yellow horizontal stripes near

it. The same on the chest, with the spot between the lines.

(6) Red spot and white stripe on the forehead. A red dab over the

sternum, and on each arm in front of the deltoid.

(7) An oval, cream-coloured spot with red centre, an inch in greatest

length, over the glabella.

The stripes on the forehead and chest are generally made with sandal

paste. Rudraksha (nuts of Eloeocarpus Ganitrus) necklaces, mounted

in gold, are sometimes worn.

The thread worn by men over the left shoulder is made of a triple

string of country-grown cotton, and, unlike other Brahmans of Southern

India, no change is made after marriage. It may be changed on any

auspicious day. Brahmans of Southern India outside Malabar change

their thread once a year.

Concerning the habitations of the Nambutiris, Mr. Subramani Aiyar

writes as follows. "A Nambutiri's house stands within a compound

(grounds) of its own. Each house has its own name, by which the

members are known, and is called by the generic title of illam, the

term used by Brahmans, or mana, which is the reverential expression

of Sudras and others. Sometimes the two words are found combined,

e.g., Itamana illam. In the compound surrounding the house, trees

such as the tamarind, mango, and jak, grow in shady luxuriance. The

area of the compound is very extensive; in fact, no house in Malabar

is surrounded by a more picturesque or more spacious garden than that

of the Nambutiri. Plantains of all varieties are cultivated, and yams

of various kinds and peas in their respective seasons. A tank (pond)

is an inseparable accompaniment, and, in most Nambutiri houses, there

are three or four of them, the largest being used for bathing, and the

others for general and kitchen purposes. Whenever there is a temple

of any importance near at hand, the Nambutiri may prefer to bathe in

the tank attached to it, but his favourite ghat is always the tank

near his home, and owned by him. Wells are never used for bathing,

and a hot-water bath is avoided as far as possible, as plunging

in a natural reservoir would alone confer the requisite ablutional

purity. Towards the north-west corner of the house is located the

sarpakkavu or snake abode, one of the indispensables of a Malabar

house. The kavu is either an artificial jungle grown on purpose in

the compound, or a relic of the unreclaimed primeval jungle, which

every part of Malabar once was. Right in the centre of the kavu is

the carved granite image of the cobra, and several flesh-and-blood

representatives of the figure haunt the house, as if in recognition

of the memorial raised. In the centre of the compound is situated

the illam or mana, which is in most cases a costly habitat. All the

houses used until recently to be thatched as a protection against

the scorching heat of the tropical sun, which a tiled house would

only aggravate. In form the house is essentially a square building,

consisting of several courtyards in the centre, with rooms on all

sides. On the east or west of the courtyard, a room having the space

of two ordinary rooms serves as a drawing room and the dormitory of

the unmarried members of the house. The rest of the house is zenana

to the stranger. Right on the opposite side of the visitor's room,

beyond the central courtyard, is the arappura, of massive wood-work,

where the valuables are preserved. On either side of this are two

rooms, one of which serves as a storehouse, and the other as a

bed-room. The kitchen adjoins the visitor's room, and is tolerably

spacious. In the front, which is generally the east of the house,

is a spacious yard, square and flat, and leading to it is a flight of

steps, generally made of granite. These steps lead to a gate-house,

where the servants of the house keep watch at night. The whole house

is built of wood, and substantially constructed. Though the houses

look antiquated, they have a classical appearance all their own. To

the north-east is the gosala, where large numbers of oxen and cows

are housed. The furniture of a Nambutiri is extremely scanty. There

are several cots, some made of coir (cocoanut fibre), and others of

wooden planks. The kurmasana is the Nambutiri's devotional seat,

and consists of a jak (Artocarpus integrifolia) plank carved in

the form of a tortoise. Other seats, of a round or oblong shape,

are also used, and no Brahman addresses himself to his meal without

being seated on one of them. Every Brahman visitor is offered one,

and is even pressed to sit on it. When the writer went to a Brahman

house at Kalati, the native village of Sankaracharya, and wished the

hosts not to trouble themselves about a seat for him, he was told

that the contact of a Brahman's nates with the floor was harmful

to the house. Hanging cots, attached to the ceiling by chains of

iron, are common things in a Nambutiri's house, especially in the

bed-rooms. Skins of spotted deer, used to sit on during prayers,

also form part of the Nambutiri's furniture."

The Nambutiris follow the makkatayam law of inheritance from father

to son; not, however, precisely as do the other people who do so. Nor

is their system of inheritance the same as that of Brahmans to the

eastward (i.e., of Southern India generally), with whom the family

property may be divided up amongst the male members at the instance of

any one of them. The Nambutiri household is described by Mr. Subramani

Aiyar as representing a condition intermediate between the impartible

matriarchal form of the Nayars and the divided patriarchal form of the

other coast. Among the Nambutiris, the eldest male member of the family

is the Karanavan or manager of it, and has complete control over all

the property. The younger members of the family are entitled to nothing

but maintenance. The head of the family may be a female, provided there

is none of the other sex. The eldest son alone marries. The accepted

practice, as well as the recognised principle among the Nambutiris,

seems to be in consonance with the directions expounded by Manu, viz.--

Immediately on the birth of his first-born, a man is the father of a

son, and is free from the debt to the manes. That son is, therefore,

worthy to receive the whole estate.

That son alone, on whom he throws his debt, is begotten for (the

fulfilment of) the law. All the rest they consider the offspring

of desire.

As a father supports his sons, so let the eldest support his younger

brothers, and so let them, in accordance with the law, behave towards

their eldest brother as sons behave towards their father.

Should a Nambutiri eldest son die, the next marries, and so on. Women

join the family of their husband, and to this too her children

belong. Self-acquired property, that is property acquired by any junior

member of the family through his own efforts outside the taravad,

[92] lapses to the taravad at his death, unless he has disposed of

it in his lifetime. This is the custom, which our law has not yet

infringed. The taravad is the unit, and, as the senior male succeeds

to the management, it may happen that a man's sons do not succeed

directly as his heirs. The arrangement is an excellent one for the

material prosperity of the family, for there is no dispersion. Every

circumstance tends towards aggrandizement, and the family is restricted

to no more than a requisite number by one member only marrying, and

producing children. Impartibility is the fundamental principle. It

is seldom that a Nambutiri family comes to an end; and such a thing

as a Nambutiri's estate escheating to Government has been said on

eminent authority never to have been known. It happens sometimes

that there is no male member to produce progeny, and in such a case

the sarvasvadanam marriage is performed, by which a man of another

family is brought into the family and married to a daughter of it,

who, after the manner of the "appointed daughter" of old Hindu law,

hands on the property through her children. The man so brought in is

henceforth a member of the family which he has joined, and as such he

performs the sraddha or ceremonies to the dead. An exception to the

general rule of inheritance is that seventeen families of Payannur

in North Malabar follow the marumakkattayam system of inheritance,

through the female line. The other Nambutiris look askance at these,

and neither marry nor dine with them. It is supposed that they are

not pure bred, having Kshatriya blood in their veins.

Adoption among the Nambutiris is stated by Mr. Subramani Aiyar to be

of three kinds, called Pattu kaiyyal dattu, Chanchamata dattu, and

Kutivazhichcha dattu. "The first is the orthodox form. Pattukai means

ten hands, and indicates that five persons take part in the ceremony,

the two natural parents, the two adopted parents, and the son to be

adopted. The gotra and sutra of the natural family have to be the

same as those of the adoptive family. The son adopted may have had

his upanayanam already performed by his natural parents. An adoption

of this kind cannot be made without the permission of all the male

members of the family, of the Sapindas or Samanodakas who are distinct

blood relations, though some degrees removed. In the second form, the

adoption relieves the adopted son of all ceremonial duties towards

the natural parents. Involving, as it does, a position contrary to

the established ordinances of Sankaracharya, this kind of adoption is

not in favour. The third form is still less orthodox. The adoption is

made by a surviving widow, and mainly serves to keep up the lineage."

Liquor and flesh are strictly forbidden to the Nambutiris. Their staple

food is rice and curry. Upperi is a curry of chopped vegetables fried

in ghi (clarified butter), cocoanut or gingelly oil, seasoned with

gingelly (Sesamum indicum), salt, and jaggery (crude sugar). Aviyal

is another, composed of jak fruit mixed with some vegetables. Sweets

are sometimes eaten. Candied cakes of wheat or rice, and rice boiled

in milk with sugar and spices, are delicacies. Papadams (wafer-like

cakes) are eaten at almost every meal. The Nambutiri must bathe,

and pray to the deity before partaking of any meal. An offering of

rice is then made to the household fire, some rice is thrown to the

crows, and he sits down to eat. The food is served on a plantain

leaf or a bell-metal plate. It should be served by the wife; but,

if a man has other Nambutiris dining with him, it is served by men

or children. The sexes feed separately. Before a man rises from his

meal, his wife must touch the leaf or plate on which the food has

been served. The reason may lie in this. The remains of the food are

called echchil, and cannot be eaten by any one. Just before finishing

his meal and rising, the Nambutiri touches the plate or leaf with his

left hand, and at the same time his wife touches it with her right

hand. The food is then no longer echchil, and she may eat it. The

Nambutiri householder is said to be allowed by the Sastras, which

rule his life in every detail, to eat but one meal of rice a day--at

midday. He should not, strictly speaking, eat rice in the evening, but

he may do so without sinning heinously, and usually does. Fruit only

should be eaten in the evening. Women and children eat two or three

times in a day. A widow, however, is supposed to lead the life of a

Sanyasi, and eats only once a day. A Nambutiri may eat food prepared

by an east country Brahman (Pattar), or by an Embrantiri. In fact,

in the large illams, where many people are fed every day, the cooks

are generally Pattars in South Malabar. The Nambutiri woman is more

scrupulous, and will not touch food prepared by any one of a caste

inferior to her own, as the Pattar is considered to be. Tea and

coffee are objected to. The Sastras do not permit their use. At the

same time, they do not prohibit them, and some Nambutiris drink both,

but not openly. Persons observing vows are not allowed an oil bath,

to eat off bell-metal plates, or to eat certain articles of food. The

gourd called churakhai, palmyra fruit, and palmyra jaggery are taboo

to the Nambutiri at all times. Water-melons are eaten regularly during

the month Karkkataka, to promote health and prolong life.

In connection with the Nambutiri's dietary, Mr. Subramani Aiyar states

that "their food is extremely simple. As Camöens writes: [93]

To crown their meal no meanest life expires.

Pulse, fruit, and herb alone their food requires.

"Ghi is not in a great requisition. Gingelly oil never enters the

kitchen. Milk is not taken except as porridge, which goes by the name

of prathaman (first). A bolus-like preparation of boiled rice-flour

with cocoanut scrapings, called kozhakkatta, is in great favour,

and is known as Parasu Rama's palaharam, or the light refreshment

originally prescribed by Parasu Rama. Conji, or rice gruel, served up

with the usual accessories, is the Nambutiri's favourite luncheon. Cold

drinks are rarely taken. The drinking water is boiled, and flavoured

with coriander, cummin seeds, etc., to form a pleasant beverage."

The horse is a sacred animal, and cannot be kept. The cow, buffalo,

dog, and cat are the animals ordinarily kept in domestication; and

it is said that a parrot is sometimes taught to repeat Sanskrit slokas.

There are families, in which the business of the magician and

sorcerer is hereditary, chiefly in South Malabar and among the Chela

[94] Nambutiris, as those are termed who, in the turbulent period of

Tippu's invasion, were made Muhammadans by force. True, these returned

almost at once to their own religion, but a stigma attaches to them,

and they are not looked on as true Nambutiris.

It is extremely difficult to obtain reliable information regarding

magic or anything allied to it among any people, and most difficult

of all among the Nambutiris. They possess magic books, but they will

neither produce nor expound them. Hara Mekhala is the name of one

of these, which is most used. It is said that the sorcerer aims at

the following:--

(1) Destruction (marana).

(2) Subjection of the will of another (vasikarana).

(3) Exorcism (uchchatana).

(4) Stupefaction (stambhana).

(5) Separation of friends (vidveshana).

(6) Enticement as for love (mohana).

Of these, the first may be carried out in the following manner. A

figure representing the enemy to be destroyed is drawn on a small

sheet of metal (gold by preference), and to it some mystic diagrams

are added. It is then addressed with a statement that bodily injury

or the death of the person shall take place at a certain time. This

little sheet is wrapped up in another metal sheet or leaf (of gold if

possible), and buried in some place which the person to be injured or

destroyed is in the habit of passing. Should he pass over the place, it

is supposed that the charm will take effect at the time named. Instead

of the sheet of metal, a live frog or lizard is sometimes buried

within a cocoanut shell, after nails have been stuck into its eyes

and stomach. The deaths of the animal and the person are supposed to

take place simultaneously. For carrying out vasikarana, vidveshana,

and mohana, betel leaves, such as are ordinarily used for chewing, or

vegetables are somehow or other given to the victim, who unknowingly

takes them into his mouth. Exorcism may be treated as follows. If

a young woman is suffering from hysteria, and is supposed to be

possessed by an evil spirit, or by the discontented spirit of some

deceased ancestor, nervousness is excited by beating drums, blowing

conch-shells, and otherwise making a horrible noise close to her. When

the supreme moment is believed to have arrived, water is sprinkled

over the wretched woman, who is required to throw rice repeatedly on

certain diagrams on the ground, woven into which is a representation

of the goddess Durga, the ruler of evil spirits. An effigy of the evil

spirit is then buried in a copper vessel. By means of certain mantrams,

Hanuman or Kali is propitiated, and, with their aid, in some occult

manner, the position of buried treasure may be found. It is said

that the bones of a woman who has died immediately after childbirth,

and the fur of a black cat, are useful to the magician.

There are said to be two Nambutiris of good family, well known in

South Malabar, who are expert mantravadis or dealers in magic, and

who have complete control over Kuttichchattan, an evil mischievous

spirit, whose name is a household word in Malabar. He it is who sets

fire to houses, damages cattle, and teases interminably. Concerning

Kuttichchattan, Mr. Subramani Aiyar writes as follows. "The most

mischievous imp of Malabar demonology is an annoying, quip-loving

little spirit, as black as night, and about the size and nature of

a well-nourished twelve-year old boy. Some people say that they have

seen him, vis-à-vis, having a forelock. The nature and extent of its

capacity for evil almost beggar description. There are Nambutiris,

to whom these are so many missiles, which they throw at anybody they

choose. They are, like Ariel, little active things, and most willing

slaves of the master under whom they happen to be placed. Their

victim suffers from unbearable agony. His clothes take fire, his

food turns into ordure, his beverages become urine, stones fall in

showers on all sides of him, but curiously not on him, and his bed

becomes a literal bed of thorns. He feels like a lost man. In this

way, with grim delight, the spirit continues to torment his victim

by day as well as by night. But, with all this annoying mischief,

Kuttichchattan, or Boy Satan, does no serious harm. He oppresses and

harasses, but never injures. A celebrated Brahman of Changanacheri

is said to own more than a hundred of these Chattans. Household

articles and jewelry of value can be left on the premises of the homes

guarded by Chattan, and no thief dares to lay his hands on them. The

invisible sentry keeps diligent watch over his master's property,

and has unchecked powers of movement in any medium. As remuneration

for all these services, the Chattan demands nothing but food, but

that on a large scale. If starved, the Chattans would not hesitate to

remind the master of their power; but, if ordinarily cared for, they

would be his most willing drudges. By nature Chattan is more than a

malevolent spirit. As a safeguard against the infinite power secured

for the master by the Kuttichchattan, it is laid down that malign

acts committed through his instrumentality recoil on the prompter,

who either dies childless, or after frightful physical and mental

agony. Another method of oppressing humanity, believed to be in the

power of sorcerers, is to make men and women possessed by spirits;

women being more subject to their evil influence than men. Delayed

puberty, sterility, and still-births are not uncommon ills of a woman

possessed by a devil. Sometimes the spirits sought to be exorcised

refuse to leave the body of the victim, unless the sorcerer promises

them a habitation in the compound of his own house, and arranges

for daily offerings being given. This is agreed to as a matter of

unavoidable necessity, and money and lands are conferred upon the

Nambutiri mantravadi, to enable him to fulfil his promise."

A Nambutiri is not permitted to swear, or take oath in any way. He may,

however, declare so and so, holding the while his sacred thread between

the thumb and forefinger of the right hand, by way of invoking the

Gayatri in token of his sincerity. And he may call on the earth mother

to bear witness to his words, for she may, should he speak falsely,

relieve herself of him. The name of the Supreme Being is not used in

oath. Nambutiris have been known to take oath before a shrine, in order

to settle a point in a Civil Court, but it is not orthodox to do so.

Something has been said already concerning vows. Those who desire

offspring perform the vow called payasahavanam. Sacrifice is made

through fire (homam) to the Supreme Being. Homam is also vowed to

be done on a child's birthday, to ensure its longevity. Here we may

observe a contrast between the Nambutiri and a man of one of the

inferior castes. For, while the vow of the Nambutiri has assumed to

some extent the nature of propitiatory prayer, of which those low down

really know nothing, the other gives nothing until he has had the full

satisfaction of his vow. Mrityunjayam, or that which conquers death,

is another kind of homam in performance of a vow. A further one is

concerned with cleansing from any specific sin. Liberal presents

are made to Brahmans, when the vow is completed. In the vow called

rudrabhisheka the god Siva is bathed in consecrated water. It is

performed by way of averting misfortune. Monday is the day for it,

as it is supposed that on that day Siva amuses himself with Parvati

by dancing on Kailasa.

The custom observed by Nambutiris of letting the hair grow on the

head, face, and body, untouched by the razor, when a wife is enceinte

has been noticed already. A Nambutiri who has no male issue also

lets his hair grow in the same way for a year after the death of his

wife. Should there, however, be male issue, on the eldest son devolves

the duty of performing the ceremonies connected with the funeral of his

mother (or father), and it is he who remains unshaven for a year. In

such a case, the husband of a woman remains unshaven for twelve days

(and this seems to be usual), or until after the ceremony on the

forty-first day after death. The period during which the hair is

allowed to grow, whether for a death, a pregnant wife, or by reason

of a vow, is called diksha. During diksha, as well as during the

Brahmachari period, certain articles of food, such as the drumstick

vegetable, milk, chillies, gram, dhal, papadams, etc., are prohibited.

"Bathing," Mr.Subramani Aiyar writes, "is one of the most important

religious duties of all Hindus, and of Brahmans in particular. A

Nambutiri only wants an excuse for bathing. Every Nambutiri bathes

twice a day at least, and sometimes oftener. It is prohibited to do

so before sunrise, after which a bath ceases to be a religious rite

on the other coast. The use of a waist-cloth, the languti excepted,

during a bath in private or in public, is also prohibited. This

injunction runs counter to that of the Sutrakaras, who say 'Na

vivasanah snayat,' i.e., bathe not without clothing. The fastidious

sense of bath purity occasionally takes the form of a regular mania,

and receives the not inapt description of galappisachu or possession

by a water-devil. Never, except under extreme physical incapacity,

does a Nambutiri fail to bathe at least once a day." Before concluding

the bath, the cloth worn when it was begun, and for which another

has been substituted, is wrung out in the water. From this practice,

a patch of indurated skin between the thumb and first finger of the

right hand, where the cloth is held while wringing it, is commonly to

be seen. Almost every Nambutiri examined in North Malabar was marked

in this way.

The Nambutiris observe sixty-four anacharams, or irregular customs,

which are said to have been promulgated by the great reformer

Sankaracharya. These are as follows:--

(1) You must not clean your teeth with sticks.

(2) You must not bathe with cloths worn on your person.

(3) You must not rub your body with the cloths worn on your

person.

(4) You must not bathe before sunrise.

(5) You must not cook your food before you bathe.

(6) Avoid the water kept aside during the night.

(7) You must not have one particular object in view while you

bathe.

(8) The remainder of the water taken for one purpose must not be

used for another ceremony.

(9) You must bathe if you touch another, i.e., a Sudra.

(10) You must bathe if you happen to be near another, i.e.,

a Chandala.

(11) You must bathe if you touch polluted wells or tanks.

(12) You must not tread over a place that has been cleaned with

a broom, unless it is sprinkled with water.

(13) A particular mode of marking the forehead with ashes

(otherwise described as putting three horizontal lines on the

forehead with pure burnt cow-dung).

(14) You must repeat charms yourself. (You must not allow someone

else to do it.)

(15) You must avoid cold rice, etc. (food cooked on the previous

day).

(16) You must avoid leavings of meals by children.

(17) You must not eat anything that has been offered to Siva.

(18) You must not serve out food with your hands.

(19) You must not use the ghi of buffalo cows for burnt offerings.

(20) You must not use buffalo milk or ghi for funeral offerings.

(21) A particular mode of taking food (not to put too much in

the mouth, because none must be taken back).

(22) You must not chew betel while you are polluted.

(23) You must observe the conclusion of the Brahmachari period

(the samavarttanam ceremony). This should be done before

consorting with Nayar women.

(24) You must give presents to your guru or preceptor. (The

Brahmachari must do so.)

(25) You must not read the Vedas on the road.

(26) You must not sell women (receive money for girls given

in marriage).

(27) You must not fast in order to obtain fulfilment of your

desires.

(28) Bathing is all that a woman should observe if she touches

another in her menses. (A woman touching another who is in

this state should, it is said, purify herself by bathing.

A man should change his thread, and undergo sacred ablution.

Women, during their periods, are not required to keep aloof,

as is the custom among non-Malabar Brahmans.)

(29) Brahmans should not spin cotton.

(30) Brahmans should not wash cloths for themselves.

(31) Kshatriyas should avoid worshipping the lingam.

(32) Brahmans should not accept funeral gifts from Sudras.

(33) Perform the anniversary ceremony of your father (father's

father, mother's father and both grandmothers).

(34) Anniversary ceremonies should be performed on the day of the

new moon (for the gratification of the spirits of the

deceased).

(35) The death ceremony should be performed at the end of the year,

counting from the day of death.

(36) The ceremony to be performed till the end of the year after

death (Diksha is apparently referred to).

(37) Sraddhas should be performed with regard to the stars

(according to the astronomical, not the lunar year).

(38) The death ceremony should not be performed until after the

pollution caused by childbirth has been removed.

(39) A particular mode of performing sraddha by an adopted son

(who should do the ceremony for his adopted parents as well

as for his natural parents. Among non-Malabar Brahmans, an

adopted son has nothing to do with the ceremonies for his

natural father, from whose family he has become entirely

disconnected).

(40) The corpse of a man should be burnt in his own compound.

(41) Sanyasis should not look at (see) women.

(42) Sanyasis should renounce all worldly pleasures.

(43) Sraddha should not be performed for deceased Sanyasis.

(44) Brahman women must not look at any other persons besides

their own husbands.

(45) Brahman women must not go out, unless accompanied by women

servants.

(46) They should wear only white clothing.

(47) Noses should not be pierced.

(48) Brahmans should be put out of their caste if they drink

any liquor.

(49) Brahmans should forfeit their caste, if they have intercourse

with other Brahman women besides their wives.

(50) The consecration of evil spirits should be avoided. (Otherwise

said to be that worship of ancestors should not be done in

temples.)

(51) Sudras and others are not to touch an idol.

(52) Anything offered to one god should not be offered to another.

(53) Marriage etc., should not be done without a burnt offering

(homam).

(54) Brahmans should not give blessings to each other.

(55) They should not bow down to one another. (Among non-Malabar

Brahmans, juniors receive benediction from seniors. The

Nambutiris do not allow this.)

(56) Cows should not be killed in sacrifice.

(57) Do not cause distraction, some by observing the religious

rites of Siva, and others those of Vishnu.

(58) Brahmans should wear only one sacred thread.

(59) The eldest son only is entitled to marriage.

(60) The ceremony in honour of a deceased ancestor should be

performed with boiled rice.

(61) Kshatriyas, and those of other castes, should perform funeral

ceremonies to their uncles.

(62) The right of inheritance among Kshatriyas, etc., goes

towards nephews.

(63) Sati should be avoided. (This also includes directions to

widows not to shave the head, as is the custom among

non-Malabar Brahmans.)

In connection with the foregoing, Mr. Subramani Aiyar writes that

the manners and customs of the Nambutiris differ from those of the

other communities in several marked particulars. They go by the

specific name of Keralacharas, which, to the casual observer, are

so many anacharas or mal-observances, but to the sympathetic student

are not more perhaps than unique acharas. A verse runs to the effect

that they are anacharas, because they are not acharas (observances)

elsewhere. (Anyatracharanabhavat anacharaitismritah.) Of these

sixty-four acharas, about sixty will be found to be peculiar to

Malabar. These may be grouped into the following six main classes:--

(1) Personal hygiene.--Bathing.

(2) Eating.--The rules about food, either regarding the cooking

or eating of it are very religiously observed. Absolute fasting

is unknown in Malabar.

(3) Worship of the Gods and manes.--The anniversary of a person's

death is regulated not by the age of the moon at the time, but

by the star, unlike on the other coast. Again, a birth pollution

has priority over other observances, even death ceremonies. A

son who has to perform the funeral ceremonies of his father

is rendered unfit for that solemn function by an intervening

birth pollution. An adopted son is not, as in other parts

of India, relieved of the sraddha obligations to his natural

parents. Sectarian controversies in regard to Siva and Vishnu are

strictly tabooed. The establishment of Hinduism on a non-sectarian

basis was the sacred mission of Sankaracharya's life. A single

triple string (sacred thread) is worn irrespective of civil

condition. This is contrary to the usage of the other coast, where

married Brahmans wear two or three triplets. Sprinkling water is an

essential purificatory act after the use of the broom. An isolated

rule requires dead bodies to be burnt in private compounds, and

not in consecrated communal sites, as among the east coast people.

(4) Conduct in society.--Chastity is jealously guarded by the

imposition of severe ostracism on adulterers. Formal salutation,

and even namaskaras and anugrahas, or prostration before and

blessing by seniors, are prescribed. This is a striking point of

difference between Malabar and the rest of India, and is probably

based on the esoteric teaching of universal oneness.

(5) Asramas or stages of life.--It is distinctly prescribed that

a Brahman should formally conclude the Brahmachari asrama, and

that presents or dakshina to the gurus should be the crowning

act. The asura or bride-sale form of marriage is prohibited--a

prohibition which, in the case of the Nambutiris, is absolutely

unnecessary as matters now stand. An injunction in the reverse

direction against the ruinous tyranny of a bride-penalty would

be an anxiously sought relief to the strugglings of many an

indigent bride's father. The special law of Malabar, under which

the eldest son is alone entitled to be married, has already been

referred to. The anchorite stage comes in for regulation by the

Manu of Kerala. The eyes of a Sanyasin should never rest on a

woman even for a second. This rule, which, if it errs at all,

only does so on the side of safety, is not observed elsewhere,

as the stage of a Sanyasin is expected to be entered only after

the complete subjugation of the passions. No aradhana (worship)

sraddhas are performed for them, as is done in other parts. The

soul of the Sanyasin is freed from the bondage of Karma and the

chance of recurring birth, and has only to be remembered and

worshipped, unlike the ordinary Jivan or still enslaved soul,

whose salvation interests have to be furthered by propitiatory

Karmas on the part of its earthly beneficiaries.

(6) Regulation of women's conduct.--Women are not to gaze

on any face but that of their wedded lord, and never go out

unattended. They are to wear only white clothes, and are never

to pierce their noses for the wearing of jewelry. Death on

the husband's funeral pyre is not to be the sacred duty of

the Nambutiri widow, who is advised to seek in the life of a

self-sacrificing Sanyasi a sure means of salvation.

In affairs of the world, time is reckoned by the ordinary Malabar

kollam or solar year, the era beginning from the date of the departure

of the last Perumal, a sovereign of the western coast, to Arabia

in 825. The months of the kollam year are Mesha (Metam), Vrishabha

(Itavam), Mithuna, Karkkataka, Sihma (Chingga), Kanya (Kanni), Tula,

Vrischika, Dhanu, Makara, Kumbha, Mina. In affairs of religion, time

is reckoned by the salivahana saka, or lunar year, the months of

which are Chaitra, Vaisakha, Jeshta, Ashadha, Sravana, Bhadrapata,

Asvavuja, Margasirsha, Paushya, Magha, Phalguna. Every three years

or thereabouts, there is added another month, called Adhika.