bridegroom's head, leaving the usual forelock on the crown, which is
never cut. He performs the operation in a little shed to the east
of the house, and a plantain leaf is placed so that the hair may
fall on it. As a rule, the barber sits in front of the person whose
hair he is shaving, while the latter, sitting cross-legged on the
ground, bends forward. But, on this occasion, the bridegroom sits
on a low wooden stool. Close by are a lamp and a measure of rice
on a plantain leaf. The barber also shaves the two friends of the
bridegroom (changathis), and receives a fanam and the rice for his
trouble. The three youths then bathe, smear themselves with sandal
paste, and proceed to dress. The bridegroom must wear round the
loins a white cloth, new and unwashed. Round the top of the loin
cloth he wears a narrow waist-band (kacha) of silk, from 14 to 21
cubits in length, with the ends hanging in front and behind. Over
the shoulders is thrown a silk lace handkerchief. He puts in his ears
gold ear-rings, round the neck a necklace called chakra (wheel) mala,
[21] on the right wrist a gold bracelet, gold rings on the fingers,
a gold or silver chain round the loins, and a gold or silver-handled
knife with a sheath of the same metal. The two companions are dressed
in much the same way, but they wear neither necklace nor bracelet. The
women wear as many ornaments as they please. Sisters of the bridegroom
must wear bracelets on both wrists, a necklace, and a silk cloth
(virali) on the shoulders. The bracelet worn by men is called vala,
and must be made of one piece of metal. Those worn by women are
called kadakam, and must be made in two pieces. When all are ready,
mats, and other things are once more placed in the middle room, and
the bridegroom and his two companions sit on the mats. They at once
rise, and proceed to the little shed which has been erected in the
front yard, and again seat themselves on the mats, which, with the
other articles, have been brought thither from the middle room. Then
the Tandan gives betel to the bridegroom and his two companions, who
must chew it. The Tandan's wife, the elder woman of the house, and the
bridegroom's sisters sprinkle rice on their heads. The Tandan gives a
sword to the bridegroom and each of his companions. The procession then
starts. In front walk two Nayars supplied by the Koyma of the desam
(represented by the Nayar landlord). Then come the Tandan and a few
elders, followed by the Tandan's wife and some of the elder women,
the bridegroom with his two companions, his sisters, and finally
the general crowd. As the procession moves slowly on, there is much
dancing, and swinging of swords and shields. At the bride's house,
the party is received by the wife of the Tandan of the tara holding a
lighted lamp, the oldest woman of the family with a plate containing
a measure of rice and a folded cloth, and another woman, who may be
a friend, with a kindi of water. They sprinkle a little rice on the
heads of the party as they enter the yard. The bridegroom sits on a
mat, close to which the lamp and other articles are set. The bride's
Tandan takes charge of the swords, betel is distributed, and a hearty
meal partaken of. The six cloths, which the bridegroom is required
to bring are in reality three double cloths, one of which is for the
use of the bride. It is the privilege of the bridegroom's sisters and
the Tandan's wife to dress her. Her waist-cloth is tied in a peculiar
way for the occasion, and she is enveloped from head to foot in a
silken cloth, leaving only the eyes visible. The bridegroom, after
his arrival at the bride's house, has to put on a peculiar turban
of conical shape, made of a stiff towel-like material, tied round
with a silk handkerchief. The bridegroom's sister leads the bride
to the little shed (pandal) in the yard, and seats her behind the
bridegroom. The kanam, and the remaining four cloths are then given
by the bridegroom's sister to the bride's mother, and they, having
tied a silk handkerchief across the body like a Brahman's thread,
stand behind the bridegroom, the mother to the right and the sister
to the left. The latter says three times "Let the kanam be given,"
and hands it to the bride's mother, who, as she receives it, says
thrice "Let me receive the kanam." The mother at once hands it
over to her husband, or the senior male member of the family. The
Tandan then places plantain leaves, for use as plates, before the
bridegroom and his two companions, and, facing the bridegroom,
holds a vessel of cooked rice in front of him. The bride's mother,
standing behind him, serves out thrice some rice out of the pot on
to the leaf in front of the bridegroom, and the Tandan does the same
for his two companions. The bride's mother then mixes some plantains,
pappadams (large thin biscuits), sugar, and ghi (clarified butter)
with the rice on the bridegroom's leaf-plate, and offers the food to
him three times. She will not, however, allow him to taste it. It is
taken from his lips, and removed by the washerwomen. The bridegroom's
sister has the same play with the bride. The rice, which has thus been
made a feature of the ceremony, is called ayini. A few days prior
to the marriage, two small bundles of betel leaves, each containing
areca nuts, half a dozen tobacco leaves, and two fanams are given
by the bridegroom to the Nayar chieftain of the desam as his fee for
furnishing an escort. In return for these offerings, he gives a new
cloth to the bridegroom. Three measures of raw rice, ten or twelve
pappadams, plantains, a cocoanut, and some dry uncooked curry-stuff
are given by the bridegroom to each of the Nayars provided as escort
on the eve of the marriage. When they arrive on the scene on the
wedding day, they are given some beaten rice, rice cakes, cocoanuts,
plantains, and a drink of arrack (spirit). When the bride's parents and
relations come for the Vathil ceremony, the same escort is provided,
and the same presents are given. Just as the bridegroom and all are
ready to leave, the bride's father's sister's son called the machunan,
steps forward, and demands two fanams from the bridegroom's party
in return for permission to take away the bride. He gets his money,
and the party starts for the bridegroom's house, after rice has been
sprinkled over the heads of the contracting couple, the sisters of
the bridegroom leading the bride. The swords, which have been returned
by the Tandan, are again used in flourishing and dancing en route.
It is a prevalent custom throughout Southern India that a
girl's father's sister's son has the first right to her hand in
marriage. This obtains not only among the Dravidian peoples, but
also among Brahmans. The Malayalam word for son-in-law (marumakan)
means nephew. If a stranger should marry a girl, he also is called
nephew. But the unmarried nephew, having the first admitted right
to the girl, must be paid eight annas, or two fanams, before he will
allow her to be taken away. The argument is said to be as follows. A
sister pays forty-two fanams as kanam for her brother's wife. When
the product, i.e., a daughter, is transferred to a stranger, the son
claims compensation on his mother's investment at the same rate as
that at which a cocoanut tree is valued--eight annas. At all events,
the nephew has the first right to a girl, and must be compensated
before she can be taken away by another.
At the bridegroom's house, the party is received by the wife of
the Tandan and the lady of the house. Following the bride should
come her parents and other relations, two Nayars representing the
chieftain, and the Tandan of his tara. The formalities with mats and
rice are gone through as before. Rice is sprinkled over the heads,
the Tandan receives the swords, and all sit in the shed. The ayini
rice ceremony is repeated for the bride by the bridegroom's mother
and sisters. The happy pair then proceed to the inner room of the
house, where sweetmeats are served to them. Then is observed, as a
rule, the asaram or gift ceremony. Relations are expected to give 101
fanams (Rs. 25-4), but the poorest of them are allowed to reduce the
gift to 21 fanams (Rs. 5-4), and the others give according to their
means. These gifts are supposed to be repaid with interest. The Tandan
sees that a regular account of all the gifts is made out, and handed
over to the bridegroom, and receives eight annas for his trouble. The
accountant who prepares the accounts, and the person who tests the
genuineness of the coins, each receives a bundle of betel leaves,
four areca nuts, and two tobacco leaves. Betel leaves, areca nuts,
and tobacco, are also given to each giver of gifts. After this, there
is the vatil or house ceremony. Two large bundles of betel leaves
are prepared, each of which contains a thousand or fifteen hundred
leaves, and with them are placed forty or fifty tobacco leaves, and
seventy to a hundred areca nuts. The bride's Tandan pays two or four
rupees as vatil kanam to the Tandan of the bridegroom, who hands
the money to the bridegroom's father. The bridegroom then places
one bundle of betel leaves, with half the tobacco and areca nuts,
before the bride's father, and the other before her mother, and they
are distributed by the Tandan of the girl's tara and his wife among
the men and women who are present. Sweetmeats are then distributed,
and the marriage ceremony is concluded. A formal visit must be made
subsequently by the women of the bride's house to the bridegroom's,
and is returned by the bride and bridegroom. The first visit is
paid by a party consisting of the bride's mother, her uncle's and
brother's wives, the wife of the Tandan, and other relations. They
are expected to bring with them plenty of sweetmeats and bread for
general distribution. When the return visit is made by the bride and
bridegroom, the sister of the latter, and other relations and friends,
should accompany them, and they should take with them a lot of betel
leaves, areca nuts, tobacco, and sweetmeats. This exchange of visits
does not, however, complete those which are de rigueur. For, at the
next Onam and Vishu festivals, the newly married couple should visit
the house of the bride's family. Onam is the beginning of the first
harvest, and Vishu the agricultural new year. On these occasions, the
bridegroom takes with him the inevitable betel leaves, and presents
a new cloth to the parents of the bride and every one else in the
house. When the annual Tiruvathira festival takes place between the
betrothal and marriage ceremonies, the bridegroom is expected to
send to the temple, through his Tandan and one of his own relations,
a quantity of ripe and unripe plantains.
The ceremonies which have been described differ considerably from
those of the Tiyans of North Malabar, where the marumakkatayam law
of inheritance obtains. These are very simple affairs.
In the Calicut taluk, a man can marry only one wife at a time. But,
when a wife is barren, a leper, or suffering from incurable disease,
her husband may, with her formal permission, marry another wife. A
bride may be of any age. Where there is no stipulation as to dowry, it
is a point of honour to give the girl as many jewels as the bridegroom
can afford. Widows may remarry.
Divorce is admissible, when the grounds for it are sufficient. And,
when we find that incompatibility of temper is among these, it is
safe to say that it is fairly easy of accomplishment. No specific
reason need, in fact, be assigned. When it is the man who wishes to
get rid of his wife, he must pay her all her expenses towards the
marriage, as assessed by persons of the caste who fill the rôle
of mediators. He has to give up jewels received from his wife's
family, and must, in some cases, pay the discarded wife something on
account of her loss of virginity--a circumstance, which might make
it difficult for her to obtain another husband. If the wife wishes
to get rid of her husband, she must pay up all his expenses towards
the marriage. The party found to be in the wrong must pay a fee of
five to twenty rupees to the Tandan and all present, the relations
excepted. The amount is distributed then and there. The procedure to
be adopted in effecting divorce is as follows. The Tandans of both
sides, uncles and relations, and sometimes the fathers, assemble at
the house of the wife, the Tandan, or one of the relations. To the
left of a burning lamp are placed two small wooden stools. On one
of these are laid a small towel with four fanams (one rupee) tied
up in a corner of it, and another towel with a little rice and four
fanams tied up in it. Close by is the other stool, on which the wife's
uncle stretches a single thread taken from his own cloth. The husband
carries this stool to the gate, and says three times to the wife's
brother, father, or uncle--"Your sister's (daughter's or niece's)
matrimonial connection is severed." He then blows away the thread,
throws the stool down, and departs for ever. This little ceremony
cannot be performed at the husband's house, as it would involve
perpetual banishment from his own house. The coins in the cloths go
to the Tandans. It is the uncle who gives these cloths, because it
was he who received the two cloths at the conjee ceremony. A marriage
cannot be dissolved unless both parties agree.
A girl is under pollution for four days from the commencement of the
first menstrual period. During this time she must keep to the north
side of the house, where she sleeps on a grass mat of a particular
kind, in a room festooned with garlands of young cocoanut leaves. Round
the mat is a narrow ridge made of paddy (unhusked rice), rice, and
flowers of the cocoanut and areca palms. A lamp is kept burning, near
which are placed the various articles already described in connection
with marriage. Another girl keeps her company and sleeps with her, but
she must not touch any other person, tree or plant. She further must
not see the sky, and woe betide her if she catches sight of a crow or
cat. Her diet must be strictly vegetarian, without salt, tamarinds, or
chillies. She is armed against evil spirits with an iron knife carried
on her person, or placed on the mat. On the first day, she is seated on
a wooden stool in the yard to the east of the house. The fresh spathe
of a cocoanut is cut in front of her. The bunch of blossoms is placed
in a copper pot painted with perpendicular lines of chunam (lime),
and a horizontal line at the top and bottom. The spathe of an areca
palm is similarly treated, and, if the contents of both spathes are
plentiful, it is regarded as a good augury of fertility. The wife of
the girl's uncle, or, if she is married, her husband's sister pours
some gingelly (Sesamum) oil over her head, on the top of which a gold
fanam has been placed. Failing such relations, the wife of the Tandan
officiates. The operation is repeated by two other women, relatives
if possible. The oil is poured from a little cup made from a leaf
of the jak tree (Artocarpus integrifolia), flows over the forehead,
and is received with the fanam in a dish. It is a good omen if the
coin falls with the obverse upwards. Rice is cooked with jaggery,
and given to the girl. The other women partake thereof, and then have
a feast by themselves. The anointing with oil is the only bath the
girl has until the fourth day. On the third day, she is not allowed
to eat rice in any form, but she may partake of any other grain in
the form of cakes. Her uncle's wife, husband's sister, and other
relations, give her presents of cakes and bread. During the night,
the mattu, or cloth-changing ceremony, takes place. First of all,
the washerman comes along with the washerwoman, carrying two washed
cloths. In the front yard of the house a lamp with an odd number of
wicks is burning. In a bamboo basket are a small measure (edangali)
of paddy heaped up on a plantain leaf, a measure of rice on another
leaf, two separate quarter measures thereof, a piece of turmeric,
a little straw, a piece of coir (cocoanut fibre), and a cocoanut. As
soon as he enters, the washerman, using the straw and coir skilfully,
makes a bundle of the contents of the basket, and places it near the
lamp, which is standing on a wooden stool. A cocoanut is cut in half,
and placed, half on each side, by the stool. Thereon is set a flat
bell-metal dish, containing a little rice and seven rolls of betel
leaves and areca nuts. The washerwoman, having received the mattu
from the woman, places it on his head and proceeds to sing a song,
at the conclusion of which he says solemnly three times "Let me place
the mattu." He then places the cloths on the bundle, which is on the
stool. The girl's uncle's wife, and four other women, have by this time
emerged from the middle room of the house, carrying a lighted lamp,
a plate with a measure of rice, and a kindi as before. The uncle's
wife, having covered her breast with a silk cloth, and wearing all her
ornaments, leads the other four women as they walk thrice round the
mattu. She then places a fanam (or a four-anna piece) on the mattu,
lifts the stool, bundle and all, with one hand on the mattu and the
other below the stool, and leads the procession of the women, with
the lamp and other articles, to the room where the girl has been
sleeping. She deposits her burden near the spot where the girl has
laid her head. A general feast then takes place, and the washerman
appropriates the fanam, and the paddy and rice spread in the yard. So
ends the third day of these strange observances. On the fourth day,
the girl bathes in a neighbouring pool, with some ceremonial. Before
she leaves the house, the washerman fixes in the ground a branch
of a certain tree, to the top and bottom of which he ties the two
ends of a long line of thin coir rope or yarn. This is supposed to
represent the bow of Kama, the Indian Cupid. He erects a miniature
temple-like structure of young cocoanut leaves, with the stems
of young plantains near it, by the side of the pool. Close to it,
he places a burning lamp, and a small quantity of rice and paddy,
each on a separate plantain leaf. Near them he sets a cocoanut, which
has been blackened with charcoal, on some rice spread on a plantain
leaf, a cocoanut reddened with turmeric and chunam on raw rice, and
another on a leaf, containing fried paddy. [22] He further deposits
a few plantains, and two other cocoanuts. Before the girl leaves
the house, clad in one of the cloths brought on the previous night,
she is well rubbed all over with oil, and the four or six women [23]
who accompany her are similarly treated. Leading the way, they are
followed by a number of women to the pool, where the girl and her
companions bathe. After the bath, they stand by the side of the pool,
facing east and holding lighted cotton-wicks in their hands, and
go round the miniature temple three times, throwing the wicks into
it. The washerman again breaks out into song, accompanying himself by
striking a bell-metal plate with a stick. When he has finished, and
gone through a little more business on his own account, the girl's
husband or brother (if she is unmarried) appears on the scene. He
holds aloft the coir string, under the lower end of which a cocoanut
has been placed on the ground. The girl passes three times forwards
and backwards without touching it. Two cotton wicks, lighted at both
ends, are laid on the cocoanut, and the girl should cut the wicks and
the cocoanut through, completely severing them, with one blow of a
strong knife or chopper. If she is successful, the omen is considered
good. The girl, with her party, then bathes a second time. As she comes
out of the water, she kicks out backwards like a mule, and sends the
stem with the single cocoanut attached flying into the water with her
right foot. The second mattu cloth is then brought, and she is clad in
it. Then she is full dressed and ornamented and led back to the house
with a silk canopy over her head. She is taken to the middle room,
and cakes and rice are given to her to eat. A feast is then held. The
girl has so far been purified as regards most affairs of life, but she
cannot touch any cooking-vessel until she has undergone yet another
ceremony. This takes place on the seventh or ninth day after the first
appearance of the menses. Every day until then the girl is rubbed with
gingelly oil and turmeric. Three ordinary earthenware cooking-pots are
piled, one above the other, in the kitchen. The uppermost pot contains
cooked rice, the middle one rice boiled with jaggery, and the lowest
curry. The pots must be new, and are marked with perpendicular daubs
of chunam. Seated on a low wooden stool to the west of the pots, the
girl, facing the east, touches each pot with a knife. When the first of
all these menstruation ceremonies has taken place at the house of the
girl's husband, her mother brings some cakes on this last day. If it
has been performed at her father's house, her husband's sister should
bring the cakes. They are distributed among all present, and a small
meal is partaken of. All the expenses of the first, and seventh or
ninth day ceremonies, are borne by the people of the house, who may
be those of the family of the girl's father or husband. The expenses
of the ceremonial of the fourth day are defrayed by the girl's husband
if they have been performed at her father's house, and vice versâ.
The young wife has an easy time of it until the fifth month of
her pregnancy, when she must again submit to becoming the subject
for ceremonial. Then takes place the Belikala, for the purpose of
appeasing some of the many malignant spirits, who are unceasing
in their attempts to destroy infants in the womb. This consists
for the most part of offerings, which are repeated in the seventh
month. They are performed by members of the Mannan (washerman)
and Panan (exorcists and devil-dancers) castes. At the commencement
thereof, there is a feast. A structure, in shape something like a
Muhammadan taboot, [24] about five feet in height, is erected in the
front yard of the house. It is made of stems of young plantain trees,
and festooned with leaves of young cocoanut palms. The floor of the
little edifice, and the ground outside it to the west, are strewn
with charcoal made from paddy husk, on which are made magic squares
of white rice flour, intermingled with red, green, and yellow, each
colour being compounded with specified substances. The squares are
not always the same, but are prepared for each occasion, so as to
suit the particular spirit which is to be invoked and appeased. The
pregnant woman, with six female companions, leaves the middle room
of the house, carrying the usual lamp and other articles, and they
walk seven times round the edifice. Before completing the last round,
each throws into it a burning wick. They then stand to the west of it,
facing east, and sit down. The Mannans invoke the spirit in song,
accompanied by the clang of metal plates beaten with sticks. Drums
must not be used. The music and weird devil-dancing go on more or
less all night, and by morning some of the most nervous of the women,
overcome by the spirit, go into fits. The fees for the devil-dancing
are paid by the pregnant woman's father. Last of all, a live cock is
held against the forehead of the woman, mantrams (magical formulæ)
are repeated, and rice is thrown over her head. If she should have
a fit, the head of the cock is cut off, and the blood offered to the
demon spirit. If, however, she does not suffer from undue excitement,
the cock is simply removed alive. She is left in peace for the next
two months, when she goes to her father's house, at which there is
more devil-dancing at another Belikala ceremony. The fees are paid
by the woman's husband. They vary from five to thirty-two rupees,
according to the cost of the edifice which is erected, and the quality
of the dancing. The invocation of some of the devils requires specially
trained dancers who must be paid high fees. On the morning following
the dance, the tamarind juice drinking ceremony takes place at the
house of the woman's father. The fees in connection with this are
debited to the husband. Taking advantage of an auspicious moment, the
husband and two companions bathe in the early morning, and make a neat
toilette, the husband wearing a necklace. They then go to the nearest
tamarind, and pluck three small leafy twigs, which they bring to the
house. The husband's sister pounds the leaves in a mortar in a little
shed or pandal in the front yard. The juice is then strained through a
new double cloth eight cubits in length by the husband's sisters. If he
has no sisters, this should be done by his and his wife's mothers. Rice
conjee is then prepared with water, in which the tamarind juice has
been mixed. The husband, and his two companions, sit under the pandal,
where the usual lamp and other articles have been placed, with the
wife behind him. Her brother then feeds him thrice with the conjee
from a small gold spoon. The husband's sister feeds the wife in like
manner. One of the three twigs is planted by the husband in the front
yard, and his wife waters it every day until the child is born. In the
ninth month, the husband's sister presents his wife with a couple of
pounds of cummin seed and jaggery. The woman who brings this little
gift should be given some cakes and sweetmeats. During pregnancy,
a woman always wears an amulet concealed within a cylindrical tube
on her neck, to protect her against malignant spirits.
The young wife's child is born at her father's house, where she is
under the care of her mother. When the child is born, the brother of
the newly made mother goes out into the yard, and strikes the ground
three times with the stem of a dry cocoanut palm leaf. If the child
is a boy, he emits a long drawn out ku-u-u-u in high falsetto as he
does so. It is then the duty of the brother and the midwife to go and
inform the father of the event. The midwife receives from him her fee,
and a present of a cloth, and other presents from his sisters. If
the child is a boy, the brother receives a cloth, and, if a girl,
a cloth and a bell-metal plate.
The event of the birth of a child carries with it, as in the case of
death, pollution to every one in the house. This is partially removed
by ceremonies on the third day, and wholly by further ceremonies on the
ninth or eleventh day, whichever happens to be the more auspicious--a
Tuesday for example. Any one coming to the house before the first
ceremonies have taken place must bathe and wash his or her cloth to
remove the pollution. Any one visiting the house after the first, but
before the second ceremony, need not bathe, but cannot eat any food
in the house. The men of the household can get no rice at home until
after the second ceremony has been performed, and they are consequently
compelled to board elsewhere for the time being. A washerwoman carries
out the purification rites, assisted by a barber woman. First of all,
the floors of all the rooms are smeared with cow-dung. All clothes
in use are given to the washerwoman. The women rub their bodies all
over with oil, and the washerwoman brings mattu for them. The barber
woman sprinkles a mixture of cow's milk and karuka grass leaves over
the women, who then go to a pool and bathe. When the milk is about
to be sprinkled, the usual lamp, rice on a metal plate, and kindi of
water are produced. The barber woman takes the rice and one fanam,
and receives also some cocoanut and gingelly (Sesamum) oil. Much
the same things are given to the washerwoman. The second ceremony
is just like the first, but, even after its completion, the women of
the house cannot touch any cooking-vessels until after the fifteenth
day. The ceremony of touching the cooking pots, as at the time of the
first menstrual period, is then performed. These three purificatory
ceremonies must be performed after every birth.
On the twenty-seventh or fortieth day after the birth of a child,
the mother and the infant are taken back to the husband's house,
and cow's milk is for the first time given to the child. This event,
which has all the solemnity of a regular function, takes place in
the middle room, where the lamp, mat and other articles have been
arranged. The child's paternal grandfather, father's elder brother,
or other senior man administers the milk, which has been boiled. A
gold bracelet is dipped in it, and the drops of milk are made to
fall into the child's mouth. As this is being done, the celebrant
whispers in the child's right ear the name which will be formally
given to it in the sixth month. The eldest son is always named after
the paternal grandfather, and the second after the father. In like
manner, the eldest girl is named after its own mother. Relations and
friends take this opportunity to make presents of bracelets and other
articles to the infant. A feast is then held. After the ceremony is
over, the parents of the child's mother have to send about half a
bag of rice flour mixed with jaggery to her husband's house.