"Lamps to the memory of their ancestors were kept burning in

little huts, and at stones used to represent the spirits of their

ancestors. At one spot, where the genii were supposed to reside, there

was a fragment of granite well oiled, and surrounded by a great number

of extinguished torches. A most fearful demon was said to reside in a

hollow tree, which had been worshipped by thousands of families. They

did not know the precise hole in which the symbol was to be found;

when discovered, it looked like the hilt of an old sword. One deity

was said by the priest of a certain hill to have placed three curious

looking rocks as resting-places for himself on his journey to the

peak. Cocoanuts are offered to famous demons, residing in certain

hills. It has been observed that, in cases of sickness, sometimes

Arayans will make offerings to a Hindu god, and that they attend the

great feasts occasionally; but in no case do they believe that they

are under any obligation to do so, their own spirits being considered

fully equal to the Hindu gods. Each village has its priest, who,

when required, calls on the 'hill' (mala), which means the demon

resident there, or the pretham, ghost. If he gets the afflatus,

he acts in the usual way, yelling and screaming out the answers

sought. The devil-dancer wears the kudumi, and has a belt, bangles,

and other implements; and invokes the demons in case of sickness.

"They have some sacred groves, where they will not fire a gun, or

speak above a breath; they have certain signs also to be observed

when fixing on land for cultivation or the site of a house, but no

other elaborate religious rites. In choosing a piece of ground for

cultivation, before cutting the jungle they take five strips of bark

of equal length, and knot all the ends together, holding them in the

left hand by the middle. If all, when tied, form a perfect circle,

the omen is lucky, and the position in which the cord falls on the

ground is carefully noted by the bystanders."

Mala Nayakkan.--A name returned by Tamil Malaiyalis at times of census.

Mala Vedan.--See Vedan.

Malai-kanda.--A sub-division of Vellala.

Malaiman.--See Udaiyan.

Malaiyadi (foot of the hills).--A sub-division of Konga Vellala.

Malakkar.--It is recorded, in the Gazetteer of Malabar, that

"the Malakkars, also called Malamuttanmar and Malapanikkar, are a

comparatively superior tribe of jungle cultivators and hunters found

in the Calicut and Ernad hills. They follow the marumakkathayam system

(of inheritance in the female line), and observe pollution for twelve

days. They call their huts illams, and, if they leave them to go down

to the plains, must bathe before returning. They consider themselves

polluted by all castes below Nayars. The name Muttan is properly a

title, meaning elder, confirmed on their headman by their janmis

(landlords). Their chief god is Maladevan. They are good forest

watchers and elephant catchers."

Malara (a bundle of glass bangles, as carried about for sale).--An

exogamous sept of Gauda.

Malasar.--The Malasars or Malsars are found in the Coimbatore district,

and in the Cochin State. The following account of them was given by

Buchanan a century ago. [161] "The forests here are divided into

Puddies, each of which has its boundary ascertained, and contains

one or more families of a rude tribe, called Malasir. Both the Puddy

and its inhabitants are considered as the property of some landlord,

who farms out the labour of these poor people, with all they collect,

to some trader (Chitty or Manadi). Having sent for some of these

poor Malasirs, they informed me that they live in small villages of

five or six huts, situated in the skirts of the woods on the hills

of Daraporam, Ani-malaya, and Pali-ghat. They speak a mixture of the

Tamul and Malayala languages. They are a better looking people than

the slaves, but are ill-clothed, nasty, and apparently ill-fed. They

collect drugs for the trader, to whom they are let, and receive from

him a subsistence, when they can procure for him anything of value. He

has the exclusive right of purchasing all that they have for sale,

and of supplying them with salt and other necessaries. A great part

of their food consists of wild yams (Dioscorea), which they dig when

they have nothing to give to the trader for rice. They cultivate some

small spots in the woods after the cotu-cadu fashion, both on their

own account and on that of the neighbouring farmers, who receive

the produce, and give the Malasirs hire. The articles cultivated in

this manner are ragi (Eleusine Coracana), avaray (Dolichos Lablab),

and tonda (Ricinus communis). They are also hired to cut timber and

firewood. The god of their tribe is called Mallung, who is represented

by a stone that is encircled by a wall, which serves for a temple. Once

a year, in April, a sacrifice of goats, and offerings of rice, honey,

and the like, are made by the Malasir to this rude idol. If this be

neglected, the god sends elephants and tigers to destroy both them

and their houses."

The Malasars are described, in the Madras Census Report, 1901, as "a

forest tribe living by hill cultivation and day labour. They are good

at game-tracking, and very handy with their axes, with the help of

which they will construct a bamboo house for the wandering sportsman

in a few hours. They reside in hamlets known as pathis, each of which

has a headman, called Vendari, who exercises the usual authority,

with the assistance of a panchayat (council). One of the punishments

inflicted by panchayats is to make the culprit carry a heavy load of

sand for some distance, and then stand with it on his head and beg for

forgiveness. They worship Kali and Mariamman, the small-pox goddess,

but their special deity is Manakadatta, to whom they sacrifice fowls

and sheep in the Masi. A man of the tribe acts as priest on these

occasions, and keeps the heads of the offerings as his perquisite. An

unusual item in their wedding ceremonies is the tying of an iron ring

to the bridegroom's wrist. They will eat and drink almost anything,

except vermin and cobras. The Kadans regard themselves as superior to

the Malasars." It is noted, in the Manual of the Coimbatore district,

that "the Malasars live at a much lower elevation than the Kadars. They

are found almost down on the plains, and along the slopes near the

foot of the hills. They are somewhat sturdier in general build, but

have not the characteristic features of regular hillmen. They are not

to be depended on in any way, but will desert en masse on the smallest

excuse. They commit dacoities whenever they see an opportunity, and,

in fact, even to this day, the roads near the foot of the hills are

rarely traversed by low-country natives except in small bands, from

fear of the Malasars. On the other hand, the Malasars are useful

as being excellent axemen; and as baggage coolies they can hardly

be dispensed with. They carry for the most part on their heads like

low-country coolies, but unlike the Kadars and Puliyars, who, when

they can be induced to carry at all, carry loads on their backs."

There may be said to be three grades of Malasars, viz., the Malai

(hill) Malasars, who live on the hills (e.g., at Mount Stuart

on Anaimalais), and the Malasars who live on the slopes and the

plains. It is said that Kadirs and Eravalars are admitted into

the Malasar caste. The Kadirs abstain from eating the flesh of the

'bison' and cow, whereas the Malasars will eat the carrion of these

animals. The settlements of the Malasars are called padhis or pathis,

and their streets salais. These are Tamil names, denoting villages and

rows. The padhis are named after the owners of the land on which they

are built, e.g., Sircar (Government) padhi, Karuppa Goundan padhi. On

the hills, the dwelling huts are made of bamboo matting thatched with

grass and teak leaves, whereas on the plains the walls are made of mud,

and are roofed with grass and bamboo. Like the Yanadis and Chenchus,

the Malasars seem to have an objection to well-built houses, and a

Malasar forester prefers his own rude hut to Government quarters.

Some Malasars work as coolies, while others are employed as

agricultural labourers, or in collecting honey. A landlord keeps

under him a number of Malasars, to whom he gives land free of rent,

on which they raise their food-crops. In return, they are expected to

work in the fields, and do other services for their landlord (Mannadi),

who exercises absolute control over them. Sometimes, if a landholder

has a grievance against another, it is not difficult to induce his

Malasars to damage the crops of his enemy. The operations connected

with the catching and taming of wild elephants are carried out by

Malasars. They are proverbially lazy, and will take a week's wages

in advance, and spend a good portion thereof on drink on the same

day. With the remainder provisions are purchased, and they may only

put in three or four days' work in the week. Like other hill tribes,

they dig up yams when food is scarce.

Marriage is generally adult, though infant marriage is not

prohibited. The Malasars of the plains perform the marriage ceremonies

at the home of the bride. Monday is considered an auspicious day for

their celebration. On the previous day, the contracting couple stand

on a pestle, and are anointed, and bathe. Two balls of cooked rice,

coloured red and black, are placed in a tray, and lighted wicks are

stuck into them. The flames from the two wicks should be of the same

height, or the omens would be considered unfavourable. The lights

are waved in front of the bride and bridegroom, to ward off the evil

eye. After bathing, the couple are seated on a dais within the marriage

pandal (booth), and the bridegroom ties the tali (marriage badge)

on the neck of the bride, and their hands are joined by the Muppan

(headman). The tali consists of a brass disc, tied to a string dyed

with turmeric. The couple eat from the same leaf or plate, and the

ceremony is at an end.

The Malai Malasars bring the bride to the home of the bridegroom for

the marriage ceremonies. The bridegroom goes on a Wednesday to the

bride's house and takes her to his home on the following day. A pandal,

made of Sorghum and bamboo stems, is erected. Towards evening, the tali

is tied, and the fingers of the contracting couple are linked together

(kaidharam). They eat together from the same plate. The bridegroom

should feed his relations and friends at his own house, as well as

at that of the bride. He generally presents his mother-in-law with

a female cloth, with an eight anna bit tied in the skirt thereof.

Ancestor worship is important among the Malayans. Before commencing

their ceremonies, cooked rice and the flesh of the fowl are offered

to the ancestors on seven leaves. On the occasion of a marriage,

a little of the food is eaten by the bridegroom on a Wednesday,

before he proceeds to the home of the bride.

When a girl reaches maturity, she occupies a separate hut for seven

days. On the seventh day, she bathes and goes to the dwelling hut. A

measure and a lamp are placed before the hut, and the girl has to

go over them with her right foot foremost. She then steps backwards,

and again goes over them before entering the hut.

The dead are usually buried, face upward. If the dead person was

an elder, his personal effects, such as pillows, walking-stick, and

clothes, are buried with him, or his corpse is cremated. Sometimes,

the dead are buried in a sitting posture, in a niche excavated on

one side of the grave. In the case of the Malasars of the plains,

the widow chews betel leaf and areca nuts, and spits the betel over

the eyes and neck of the corpse. On the third day after death, cooked

rice and meat are offered to the soul of the deceased on seven arka

(Calotropis gigantea) leaves. The male members of the family then

eat from the same leaf.

The Malasars who live in the plains consider the Ficus glomerata tree

sacred, and worship it once a year. At least one branch thereof should

be used in the construction of the marriage pandal, and the menstrual

hut should be made of it. The Malasars of the plains also avoid the use

of the Pongamia glabra tree for any purpose. The hill Malasars worship,

among other deities, Ponnalamman (Mariamma), Pullarappachi (Ganesa),

and Kaliamman. To Ponnalamman, pigs and buffaloes are sacrificed once

a year. The deity worshipped by the Malasars of the plains is Mariayi

(Mariamma), at whose festival a stake is fixed in the ground, and

eventually shaken by the Malasars, and removed by Paraiyans. The

Malasar women of the plains wear glass bangles only on the left

wrist. If a woman puts such bangles on both wrists, the Paraiyans

are said to break them, and report the matter to the Muppan, who is

expected to fine the woman. As Paraiyan women, like the Malasars, only

wear glass bangles on one wrist, they take the wearing of bangles on

both wrists by Malasar women, who are only their equals, as an insult.

The following graphic account of a Kama Mystery Play, in which Malasars

are represented, has been given by Mr. S. G. Roberts. [162] "The play,

as the writer saw it in a little village on the banks of the Amravati

river, was at once a mystery or miracle play, a mime, a tragedy

that strangely recalled the Greek choral tragedies, and a satyric

drama. These various ingredients gave it a quaint nebulous character,

the play now crystallising into mere drama, and again dissolving into

a religious rite. Just as an understanding of the Greek mythology is

necessary for the full grasping of the meaning of a Greek tragedy,

so it is necessary to portray the legend which is the basis of this

mystery, all the more as the characters are Hindu gods. Kama, then, is

the Hindu Cupid, not a tiny little child like the Roman god of love,

but more like Eros. He has beautiful attributes. His bow is of the

sugar-cane; his arrows are tipped with flowers; and his bow-string

is a chain of bees--a pretty touch that recalls the swallow song of

the Homeric bowstring. For all that, the genius of the country has

modified the local idea of Eros. He has long ago found his Psyche:

in point of fact, this Hindu Eros is a married man. His wife, Rathi,

is the other speaking character, and she certainly displays a beautiful

eloquence not unfitting her position. Moreover, like every married

man, Kama has a father-in-law, and here the tragedy begins to loom

out of the playful surroundings of a god of love of whatever nation or

clime. Siva, the destroyer, he of the bright blue neck, the dweller,

as Kama tauntingly says, among graves and dead men's ashes; Siva,

mighty in penance, is father of Rathi. In the play itself, he is not

even a muta persona; he does not appear at all. What he does is only

adumbrated by the action or song of the other characters. The legend

strikingly illustrates the Hindu view of penance. Briefly stated,

it is that anyone who performs any penance for a sufficiently long

time acquires such a store of power and virtue, that the very gods

themselves cannot stand against it. Hindu mythology affords many

examples of this belief. Siva himself, in one of his incarnations,

saved the whole Indian Olympus and the universe at large from a

demi-god, who, by years of penance, had become charged, as it were,

with power, like a religious electric 'accumulator.' The early sages

and heroes of Indian story had greater facilities for the acquisition

of this reserve of power, in that their lives lasted for centuries

or even æons. It may be imagined that three centuries of penance

increased the performer's strength to a degree not expressible in

modern figures! In this case, the gods had viewed with alarm a penance

which Siva had begun, and which threatened to make him master of all

creation. In spite of a few grotesque attributes, the mythology lends

to Siva a character at once terrific and awe-inspiring. When his third

eye was closed on one occasion, the universe was involved in darkness,

and the legend under discussion presents a solemn picture of the

god, sitting with his rosary in sackcloth and ashes, immersed in his

unending penance. Kama was deputed to break the spell. Accompanied by

his nymphs, he sported before the recluse, taking all shapes that could

'shake the saintship of an anchorite,' till this oriental St. Anthony,

but too thoroughly aroused, opened his tremendous frontal eye, and,

with a flashing glance of rage, consumed the rash intruder on his

solitude. Such is the legend which supplies the closing scene of the

life of Kama, a life that is celebrated, as March begins, with several

days' rejoicing in every town and village of Southern India. The writer

had seen the heap of bricks that support the Kama pillar in a village

which he visited a few months after first landing in India. As March

came round, he saw them in whatever village his work brought him,

and the legend was impressed on his memory by a case in court, in

which the momentous word 'Kamadakshinasivalingamedai' (or the high

place of the emblem of Siva who consumed Kama) was pronounced by

the various witnesses. It was not, however, till the spring of 1900

that an opportunity presented itself for witnessing the performance

of the Kama mystery. The time of representation was the night, the

playtime for old and young in India. It has this special advantage,

from a theatrical point of view, that everything in a village street

takes on an adventitious beauty. The heaps of dust, the ragged huts,

lose their prominence, the palm trees become beautiful, and the tower

of the temple grows in majesty. Everything that is ugly or incongruous

seems to disappear, till the façade of a wealthy Hindu's house wears

the dignity of the old Grecian palace proscenium. The rag torches

give a soft strong light, that adds effect to the spangled and laced

robes of the actors, and leaves the auditory in semi-darkness, quite

in accordance with Wagnerian stage tradition. Kama was represented

in full dress, with a towering, crocketed, gilded mitre or helmet,

such as is worn by the images of South Indian gods. He is not like

the unadorned Eros of the Greeks, and he shows his Indian blood by

the green which paints the upper half of his face. Kama had the bow

of sugar-cane, and Rathi, otherwise dressed like a wealthy Hindu

bride, also bore a smaller bow of the same. The buffoon must not

be omitted. He figures in every Indian play, and here, besides the

distinction of a girdle of massive cow bells gracefully supporting

his paunch, he showed his connection with this love drama by a small

bow of sugar-cane fastened upright, by one tip, to the peak of a high

dunce's cap. The play began by Kama boastfully, and at great length,

announcing his intention of disturbing Siva's penance. Rathi did her

best to dissuade him, but every argument she could use only stirred

up his pride, and made him more determined on the adventure. The

dialogue was sometimes sustained by the characters themselves;

sometimes they sang with dreadful harshness; sometimes they but

swayed to and fro, as if in a Roman mimus, while the best voice in

the company sang their songs for them. Now and then, the musicians

would break into a chorus, which strikingly recalled, but for the

absence of dancing, the Greek tragic chorus, especially in their idea

of inevitable destiny, and in their lamentations over the disastrous

end of the undertaking. Meanwhile, the buffoon played his part with

more or less success, and backed up the astonishingly skilful and

witty acting of the players, who provided the comic relief. In most

Tamil dramas the action of the play is now and again suspended,

while one or more comedians stroll on to the stage, and amuse the

audience by a vesham, i.e., an impersonation of different well-known

street characters representing men (and women) not only of different

castes, but of different nations. Needless to say, the parts they

play have little or nothing to do with the subject of the drama, but

they afford great scope for delineation of character. There is not,

of course, in Southern India, the uniformity in dress that we notice

in England of the present day. A man's trade, profession, religion,

and sect are expressed by his dress and ornament--or lack of both. To

mention three of the different veshangal shown on this occasion,

there were a Mahrattah tattooing-woman, a north country fakir, and

a man and woman of the Malsar caste, each of the parts being dressed

to perfection, and admirably sustained. The Malsars are a low caste,

and employed in certain parts as bearers of announcements of death

(written on palm leaves) from the family of the deceased to relatives

at a distance. As they hobbled about, bending over their short crooked

crutch sticks, with turbans of twisted straw and bark, and girt with

scanty and dirty sackcloth kilts, they would have made a mummy laugh;

and they were equally mirth-provoking when they broke into a rough

song and dance peculiar to chucklers (leather-workers) when more than

usually intoxicated. When Kama had finally declared his unalterable

determination to engage in his contest with Siva--a point which was

only reached after discussion almost as interminable as a dialogue of

Euripides--the performers, and part of the audience, moved off in a

procession, which slowly perambulated the town, and halted for prayer

before the village temple. The 'stage wait' was filled up by some

simple playing and singing by a few local amateurs. This brought on

the climax of the tragedy. The Kama stake, to give it an appropriate

English name, was now ready. This was a slight stake or pole, a little

above a man's height, planted among a few bricks, and made inflammable

by a thatching or coating of cholum straw bound round it. The top of

this straw pillar was composed of a separate sheaf. When all was ready,

and the chorus had sung a strain expressive of grief at Kama's doom,

a rocket, representing Siva's fiery glance, shot along a string,

and (with some external assistance) lighted the Kama stake, thus

closely following the procedure in an Italian church festival. The

player who represented Kama now retired into the background, as he

was supposed to be dead, and the rest, hopping and dancing, circled

slowly round the fire wailing for his fate. It seemed to be a matter

of special import to the audience that the stake should be completely

consumed. This was an omen of prosperity in the coming year. The

funeral dance round the fire continued for a long while, and, when it

was but a short time to sunrise, the mummers were still beating their

breasts round the smouldering ashes. It seemed that, though some of

the songs were composed for the occasion, a great part of the play was

traditional, and the audience knew what to expect at any given period

in the performance. At one stage it was whispered that now the giant

would come in, and lift up a sheep with his teeth. In a few moments

he made his appearance, and proved to be a highly comic monster. His

arms, legs, and body were tightly swathed in neatly twisted straw

ropes, leaving only his feet and hands bare. His head was covered

by a huge canvas mask, flat on front and back, so that the actor had

the appearance of having introduced his head into the empty shell of

some gigantic crab. On the flat front of this mask-dial was painted a

terrible giant's face with portentous tusks. Thus equipped, the giant

skipped round the various characters, to the terror of the buffoon,

brandishing a quarter-staff, and executing vigorous moulinets. An

unwilling sheep was pushed into the ring, and the giant, after much

struggling, tossed the animal bodily over his head with a dexterous

fling that convinced most of the onlookers that he had really performed

the feat with his teeth."

Malava.--The Malavas or Mala Bhovis are a small cultivating caste

in South Canara, "the members of which were formerly hunters and

fishermen. They profess Vaishnavism, and employ Shivalli Brahmans

as their priests. Hanuman is their favourite deity. Like the Bants

and other castes of Tuluva, they are divided into exogamous septs

called balis, and they have the dhare form of marriage. They speak

Canarese." [163] They are said to be really Mogers, who have separated

from the fishing community. The term Bhovi is used to denote Mogers

who carry palanquins, etc.

Malavarayan.--A title of Ambalakkaran.

Malayali.--The Malayalis or Malaialis, whom I examined in the Salem

district, dwell on the summits and slopes of the Shevaroy hills,

and earn their living by cultivating grain, and working on coffee

estates. Suspicious and superstitious to a degree, they openly

expressed their fear that I was the dreaded settlement officer,

and had come to take possession of their lands in the name of the

Government, and transport them to the Andaman islands (the Indian

penal settlement). When I was engaged in the innocent occupation of

photographing a village, the camera was mistaken for a surveying

instrument, and a protest raised. Many of them, while willing to

part with their ornaments of the baser metals, were loth to sell or

let me see their gold and silver jewelry, from fear lest I should

use it officially as evidence of their too prosperous condition. One

man told me to my face that he would rather have his throat cut than

submit to my measuring operations, and fled precipitately. The women

stolidly refused to entrust themselves in my hands. Nor would they

bring their children (unwashed specimens of brown humanity) to me,

lest they should fall sick under the influence of my evil eye.

In the account which follows I am largely indebted to Mr. H. LeFanu's

admirable, and at times amusing, Manual of the Salem district.

The word Malaiali denotes inhabitant of the hills (malai = hill or

mountain). The Malaialis have not, however, like the Todas of the

Nilgiris, any claim to be considered as an ancient hill tribe, but are

a Tamil-speaking people, who migrated from the plains to the hills in

comparatively recent times. As a shrewd, but unscientific observer put

it concisely to me, they are Tamils of the plains with the addition of

a kambli or blanket; which kambli is a luxury denied to the females,

but does duty for males, young and old, in the triple capacity of great

coat, waterproof, and blanket. According to tradition, the Malaialis

originally belonged to the Vellala caste of cultivators, and emigrated

from the sacred city of Kanchipuram (Conjeeveram) to the hills about

ten generations ago, when Muhammadan rule was dominant in Southern

India. When they left Kanchi, they took with them, according to their

story, three brothers, of whom the eldest came to the Shevaroy hills,

the second to the Kollaimalais, and the youngest to the Pachaimalais

(green hills). The Malaialis of the Shevaroys are called the Peria

(big) Malaialis, those of the Kollaimalais the Chinna (little)

Malaialis. According to another version "the Malaiali deity Kariraman,

finding himself uncomfortable at Kanchi, took up a new abode. Three of

his followers, named Periyanan, Naduvanan, and Chinnanan (the eldest,

the middle-man, and the youngest) started with their families to

follow him from Kanchi, and came to the Salem district, where they

took different routes, Periyanan going to the Shevaroys, Naduvanan

to the Pachaimalais and Anjur hills, and Chinnanan to Manjavadi."

A further version of the legendary origin of the Malaialis of the

Trichinopoly district is given by Mr. F. R. Hemingway, who writes

as follows. "Their traditions are embodied in a collection of songs

(nattukattu). The story goes that they are descended from a priest of

Conjeeveram, who was the brother of the king, and, having quarrelled

with the latter, left the place, and entered this country with his

three sons and daughters. The country was then ruled by Vedans and

Vellalans, who resisted the new-comers. But 'the conch-shell blew

and the quoit cut,' and the invaders won the day. They then spread

themselves about the hills, the eldest son (Periyanan), whose name

was Sadaya Kavundan, selecting the Shevaroys in Salem, the second son

(Naduvanan, the middle brother) the Pachaimalais, and the youngest

(Chinnanan) the Kollaimalais. They married women of the country,

Periyanan taking a Kaikolan, Naduvanan a Vedan, and Chinnanan a 'Deva

Indra' Pallan. They gave their sister in marriage to a Tottiyan

stranger, in exchange for some food supplied by him after their

battle with the men of the country. Some curious customs survive,

which are pointed to in support of this story. Thus, the women

of the Pachaimalai Malaiyalis put aside a portion of each meal in

honour of their Vedan ancestors before serving their husbands, and,

at their marriages, they wear a comb, which is said to have been a

characteristic ornament of the Vedans. Bridegrooms place a sword and

an arrow in the marriage booth, to typify the hunting habits of the

Vedans, and their own conquest of the country. The Malaiyalis of

the Kollaimalais are addressed by Pallan women as brother-in-law

(macchan), though the Malaiyalis do not relish this. It is also

said that Tottiyan men regard Malaiyalis as their brothers-in-law,

and always treat them kindly, and that the Tottiyan women regard

the Malaiyalis as their brothers, but treat them very coldly, in

remembrance of their having sold their sister 'for a mess of pottage.'"

The account, which the Malaialis of the Javadi hills in North

Arcot give of their origin, is as follows. [164] "In S.S. 1055 (1132

A.D.) some of the Vedars of Kangundi asked that wives should be given

them by the Karaikkat Vellalas of Conjeeveram. They were scornfully

refused, and in anger kidnapped seven young Vellala maidens, whom they

carried away to Kangundi. To recover them, seven Vellala men set out

with seven dogs, leaving instructions with their wives that, if the

dogs returned alone, they should consider that they had perished, and

should cause the funeral ceremonies to be performed. Arriving at the

Palar, they found the river in flood, and crossed it with difficulty ;

but their dogs, after swimming half way, turned back and returned to

Conjeeveram. The men, however, continued their journey, and killed

the Vedars who had taken away their maidens, after which they went

back to their homes, but found that they had been given up as lost,

their wives had become widows, their funeral ceremonies performed,

and they were in consequence outcastes. Under these circumstances,

they contracted marriages with some Vedar women, and retired to the

Javadis, where they took to cultivation, and became the ancestors of

the Malaiali caste. This account has been preserved by the Malaialis

in a small palm-leaf book." There is, Mr. Francis writes, [165] a

tradition in the South Arcot district that "the hills were inhabited by

Vedans, and that the Malaialis killed the men, and wedded the women;

and at marriages a gun is still fired in the air to represent the

death of the Vedan husband." The Malaialis returned themselves, at the

last census, as Karaikkat Vellalas. The Malaialis of South Arcot call

themselves Kongu Vellalas. All the branches of the community agree

in saying that they are Vellalans, who emigrated from Kanchipuram,

bringing with them their god Kariraman, and, at the weddings of the

Kalrayans in South Arcot, the presiding priest sings a kind of chant

just before the tali is tied, which begins with the words Kanchi,

the (sacred) place, and Kariraman in front. Copper sasanams show

that the migration occurred at least as early as the beginning of

the sixteenth century.

The Malaialis of the Shevaroys call themselves Kanchimandalam. Many, at

the last census, returned themselves as Vellala and Karalan. Malakkaran

and Mala Nayakkan are also used as synonyms for Malaiali. All have

Goundan as their second name, which is universally used in hailing

them. The first name is sometimes derived from a Hindu god, and my

notes record Mr. Green, Mr. Black, Mr. Little, Mr. Short, Mr. Large,

and Mr. Big nose.

As regards the conditions under which the Malaialis of the Salem

district hold land, I learn from the Manual that, in 1866, the

Collector fixed an area around each village for the cultivation of

the Malaialis exclusively, and, in view to prevent aggression on

the part of the planters, had the boundaries of these areas surveyed

and demarcated. This area is known as the "village green." With this

survey the old system of charging the Malaialis on ploughs and hoes

appears to have been discontinued, and they are now charged at one

rupee per acre on the extent of their holdings. The lands within

the green are given under the ordinary darakhast [166] rules to the

Malaialis, but outside it they are sold under the special waste land

rules of 1863. In 1870 the Board of Revenue decided that, where the

lands within the green are all occupied, and the Malaialis require

more land for cultivation, land outside the limits of the green may

be given them under the ordinary darakhast rules. In 1871 it was

discovered that the planters tried to get lands outside the green

by making the Malaialis first apply for it, thereby evading the

waste land rules. The Board then ordered that, if there was reason

to suspect that a Malaiali was applying for lands outside the green

on account of the planters, the patta (deed of lease) might be refused.

Subscribing vaguely to the Hindu religion, the Malaialis, who

believe that their progenitors wore the sacred thread, give a

nominal allegiance to both Siva and Vishnu, as well as to a number of

minor deities, and believe in the efficacy of a thread to ward off

sickness and attacks by devils or evil spirits. "In the year 1852,"

Mr. LeFanu writes, "a searching enquiry into the traditions, customs,

and origin of these Malaialis was made. They then stated that smearing

the face with ashes indicates the religion of Siva, and putting

namam that of Vishnu, but that there is no difference between the two

religions; that, though Sivaratri sacred to Siva, and Sriramanavami and

Gokulashtami sacred to Vishnu, appear outwardly to denote a difference,

there is really none. Though they observe the Saturdays of the month

Peratasi sacred to Vishnu, still worship is performed without reference

to Vishnu or Siva. They have, indeed, certain observances, which would

seem to point to a division into Vaishnavas and Saivas, the existence

of which they deny; as for instance, some, out of respect to Siva,

abstain from sexual intercourse on Sundays and Mondays; and others,

for the sake of Vishnu, do the same on Fridays and Saturdays. So,

too, offerings are made to Vishnu on Fridays and Saturdays, and to

Siva on Sundays and Mondays; but they denied the existence of sects

among them."

"On the Kalrayans," Mr. Francis writes, [167] "are very many

shrines to the lesser gods. The Malaialis themselves do the puja

(worship). The deities include Mariamma, Draupadi, and many other

village goddesses. In some of the temples are placed the prehistoric

celts and other stone implements which are found on these hills. The

people do not understand what these are, and reverence them

accordingly. The practice of taking oaths before these shrines to

settle disputes is common. The party makes a solemn affidavit of the

truth of his case in the presence of the god, holding some burning

camphor in his hand. Having made his statement, he blows out the

flame to signify that, if he is lying, the god is welcome to snuff

him out in the same sudden manner."

In April 1896, I paid a visit to the picturesquely situated village

of Kiliur, not far distant from the town of Yercaud, on the occasion

of a religious festival. The villagers were discovered, early in the

morning, painting pseudo-sect-marks on their foreheads with blue and

pink coal-tar dyes, with the assistance of hand looking-glasses of

European manufacture purchased at the weekly market, and decorating

their turbans and ears with the leafy stems of Artemisia austriaca,

var. orientalis, and hedge-roses. The scene of the ceremonial was in a

neighbouring sacred grove of lofty forest trees, wherein were two hut

temples, of which one contained images of the goddess Draupadi and

eight minor deities, the other images of Perumal and his wife. All

the gods and goddesses were represented by human figures of brass

and clay. Two processional cars were gaily decorated with plantain

leaves and flags, some made in Germany. As the villagers arrived,

they prostrated themselves before the temples, and whiled away the

time, till the serious business of the day began, in gossiping with

their friends, and partaking of light refreshment purchased from

the fruit and sweetmeat sellers, who were doing a brisk trade. At

10 A.M. the proceedings were enlivened by a band of music, which

played at intervals throughout the performance, and the gods were

decorated with flowers and jewelry. An hour later, puja was done to

the stone image of the god Vigneswara, within a small shrine built of

slabs of rock. Before this idol cooked rice was offered, and camphor

burnt. The plantain stems, with leaves, were tied to a tree in the

vicinity of the temples, and cooked rice and cocoanuts placed beneath

the tree. A man holding a sword, issued forth, and, in unison with

the collected assemblage, screamed out "Govinda, Govinda" (the name

of their god). The plantain stems were next removed from the tree,

carried in procession with musical honours, and placed before the

threshold of one of the temples. Then some men appeared on the scene

to the cry of "Govinda," bearing in one hand a light, and ringing a

bell held in the other. Holy water was sprinkled over the plantain

stems, and puja done to the god Perumal by offering samai (grain)

and burning camphor. Outside one of the temples a cloth was spread

on the ground, and the images of Draupadi and other deities placed

therein. From the other temple Perumal and his wife were brought forth

in state, and placed on two cars. A yellow powder was distributed

among the crowd, and smeared over the face. A cocoanut was broken,

and camphor burnt before Perumal. Then all the gods, followed by the

spectators, were carried in procession round the grove, and a man,

becoming inspired and seized with a fine religious frenzy, waved

a sword wildly around him, but with due respect for his own bodily

safety, and pointed it in a threatening manner at the crowd. Asked,

as an oracle, whether the omens were propitious to the village, he

gave vent to the oracular (and true) response that for three years

there would be a scarcity of rain, and that there would be famine

in the land, and consequent suffering. This performance concluded,

a bamboo pole was erected, bearing a pulley at the top, with which

cocoanuts and plantains were connected by a string. By means of

this string, the fruits were alternately raised and lowered, and

men, armed with sticks, tried to hit them, while turmeric water was

dashed in their faces just as they were on the point of striking. The

fruits, being at last successfully hit, were received as a prize by

the winner. The gods were then taken back to their temple, and three

men, overcome by a mock convulsive seizure, were brought to their

senses by stripes on the back administered with a rope by the pujari

(officiating priest). A sheep being produced, mantrams (prayers)

were recited over it. The pujari, going to a pool close by, bathed,

and smeared turmeric powder over his face. A pretence was made to cut

the sheep's throat, and blood drawn with a knife. The pujari, after

sucking the blood, returned to the pool, and indulged in a ceremonial

ablution, while the unhappy sheep was escorted to the village, and

eventually eaten at a banquet by the villagers and their guests.

An annual festival, in honour of the god Servarayan, is held at

the shrine on the summit of the Shevarayan hill, past which a stream

flows. At this festival, in 1904, "on one side of the temple, two long

rows of fruit, flower, and grain stalls were erected. Supported on

two posts was a merry-go-round with wooden seats instead of boats, the

cost of a ride thereon being a quarter of an anna. Women carried their

children to a pool of water beside the temple, known as the wishing

well, and, after sprinkling some of the holy fluid on themselves and

their offspring, spoke their wishes aloud, fully believing that they

would be granted. Suddenly there was a beating of drums, and blowing

of trumpets, and horns, which announced the time when the god was

to be brought out, and shown to the people, who made a rush to the

temple, to obtain a good view. The god was carried by two priests

robed in white, with garlands of jasmine round their necks. Then

followed two other priests, clothed in the same manner, who bore the

goddess on their shoulders. Another carried the holy water and fire

in silver vessels from the temple, sprinkling the former in front of

the deities, and the latter they passed before them. These services

being completed, each deity was placed on a wooden horse with gay

trappings, and carried to the top of the hill, where they were met

with shouts from the people. The deities were placed in a palanquin,

and carried to the four points of the hill, and, at each point, the men

put their burden down, and cocoanuts were broken in front of them, and

fruit, grain, and even copper coins were scattered. Those who wished

to take the vow to be faithful to their god had to receive fifteen

lashes on their bare backs with a stout leather thong, administered

by the chief priest. When questioned about the pain, they answered,

'Oh, it is nothing. It is just like being scratched by an ant.' The

god and goddess were then carried back into the temple." [168]

Of this festival, as celebrated in May, 1908, the following account

has been given. [169] "The annual Malayali festival was held on the

top of Shevarayan. It was the occasion of the marriage anniversary

of the god Servarayan, after whom the Shevaroy Hills have been named,

to a goddess, the presiding deity of the Cauvery river. This hill is

believed by the Malayalis to be the place where their god Servarayan

lived, died, and was buried. On one side of the hill, the temple of

the god nestles in the midst of a sacred grove of trees. Some say that

there is a secret tunnel leading from the shrine to another part of

the hill, and a second one opening lower down into Bear's Cave. It was

an interesting sight to watch visitors and devotees as they came from

the four quarters of the Shevaroys. A few hill-men danced a serpentine

dance, stepping to the music supplied by village drums, and occasional

shrill blasts from the horns. Huge cauldrons were sending up blue

wreaths of smoke into the sky, which, it was explained to us, contained

food to be dispensed as charity to the poor. The temple yard was hung

with flowers and leaves, with which also the rude structure known

as the temple gate was decorated. On the summit of the hill, wares

of all sorts and conditions were displayed to tempt purchasers. The

articles for sale consisted of fruits, palm sugar, cocoanuts, monkey

nuts, and other nuts, mirrors which proved very popular among the

fair sex, fancy boxes, coloured powder for caste marks, cloth bags,

strings of sweet-scented flowers, rattles for children, etc.... We

were startled by hearing the noise of loud drums and shrill trumpets,

and were told that the god was about to be brought forth. This was

accompanied by shouting, clapping, and the beating of drums. The god

and goddess were placed in two chariots, bedecked with flowers, jewels

and tapestries, and umbrellas and fans also figured prominently. The

procession passed up to the left of the temple, the deities being

supported on the shoulders of sturdy Malayalis. As the people met it,

they threw fruit, nuts, and cocoanut water after the cars. The god

was next placed by the temple pujari (priest) in the triumphal car,

and was led with the goddess to that part of the hill from which

the Cauvery can best be seen. Here the procession halted while the

priest recited some incantations. Then it marched down the hill,

sometimes resting the god on cairns specially built for the purpose,

from where a view of the outlying villages is obtained. The belief

is that, as the god glances at these villages, he invokes blessings

on them, and the villagers will always live in prosperity."

To Mr. W. Mahon Daly, I am indebted for the following account of a

Malaiali bull dance, at which he was present as an eye-witness. "It is

the custom on the Shevaroy hills, as well as the plains, to have a bull

dance after the Pongal festival, and I had the pleasure of witnessing

one in a Malaiali village. It was held in an open enclosure called

the manthay, adjoining the village. It faces the Mariamma shrine,

and is the place of resort on festive occasions. The village councils,

marriages, and other ceremonies are held here. On our arrival, we were

courteously invited to sit under a wide spreading fig-tree. The bull

dance would literally mean a bull dancing, but I give the translation

of the Tamil 'yerothu-attum,' the word attum meaning dance. This is a

sport which is much in vogue among the Malaialis, and is celebrated

with much éclat immediately after Pongal, this being the principal

festival observed by them. No doubt they have received the custom from

those in the plains. A shooting excursion follows as the next sport,

and, if they be so fortunate as to hunt down a wild boar or deer,

or any big game, a second bull dance is got up. We were just in time

to see the tamasha (spectacle). The manthay was becoming crowded,

a regular influx of spectators, mostly women arrayed in their best

cloths, coming in from the neighbouring villages. These were marshalled

in a circle round the manthay, all standing. I was told that they were

not invited, but that it was customary for them to pour in of their

own accord when any sports or ceremonial took place in a village; and

the inhabitants of the particular village were prepared to expect a

large company, whom they fed on such occasions. After the company had

collected, drums were beaten, and the long brass bugles were blown;

and, just at this juncture, we saw an elderly Malaiali bring from his

hut a coil of rope made of leather, and hand it over to the pujari or

priest in charge of the temple. The latter placed it in front of the

shrine, worshipped it thrice, some of the villagers following suit,

and, after offering incense, delivered it to a few respectable village

men, who in turn made it over to a lot of Malaiali men, whose business

it was to attach it to the bulls. This rope the oldest inhabitant

of the village had the right to keep. The bulls had been previously

selected, and penned alongside of the manthay, from which they were

brought one by one, and tied with the rope, leaving an equal length

on either side. The rope being fixed on, the bull was brought to

the manthay, held on both sides by any number who were willing,

or as many as the rope would permit. More than fifteen on either

side held on to a bull, which was far too many, for the animal had

not the slightest chance of making a dart or plunge at the man in

front, who was trying to provoke it by using a long bamboo with a

skin attached to the end. When the bull was timid, and avoided his

persecutors, he was hissed and hooted by those behind, and, if these

modes of provocation failed to rouse his anger, he was simply dragged

to and fro by main force, and let loose when his strength was almost

exhausted. A dozen or more bulls are taken up and down the manthay,

and the tamasha is over. When the manthay happens to have a slope,

the Malaialis have very little control over the bull, and, in some

instances, I have seen them actually dragged headlong to the ground

at the expense of a few damaged heads. The spectators, and all the

estate coolies who were present, were fed that night, and slept in

the village. If a death occurs in the village a few days before the

festival, I am told that the dance is postponed for a week. This

certainly, as far as I know, is not the custom in the plains."

The man of highest rank is the guru, who is invited to settle

disputes in villages, to which he comes, on pony-back or on foot,

with an umbrella over him, and accompanied by music. The office of

guru is hereditary, and, when he dies, his son succeeds him, unless

he is a minor, in which case the brother of the deceased man steps

into his shoes. If, in sweeping the hut, the broom touches any one,

or when a Malaiali has been kicked by a European or released from

prison, he must be received back into his caste. For this purpose

he goes to the guru, who takes him to the temple, where a screen is

put up between the guru and the applicant for restoration of caste

privileges. Holy water is dedicated to the swami(god), by the guru,

and a portion thereof drunk by the man, who prostrates himself before

the guru, and subsequently gives a feast of pork, mutton, and other

delicacies. The Malaialis, it may be noted, will eat sheep, pigs,

fowls, various birds, and black monkeys.

Each village on the Shevaroys has its own headman, an honorary

appointment, carrying with it the privilege of an extra share of the

good things, when a feast is being held. A Kangani is appointed to

do duty under the headman, and receives annually from every hut two

ballams of grain. When disputes occur, e.g., between two brothers

regarding a woman or partition of property, the headman summons a

panchayat (village council), which has the power to inflict fines in

money, sheep, etc., according to the gravity of the offence. For every

group of ten villages there is a Pattakaran (head of a division), who

is expected to attend on the occasion of marriages and car festivals. A

bridegroom has to give him eight days before his marriage a rupee,

a packet of betel leaves, and half a measure of nuts. Serving under

the Pattakaran is the Maniakaran, whose duty it is to give notice of

a marriage to the ten villages, and to summon the villagers thereto.

In April 1898, on receipt of news of a wedding at a distant village,

I proceeded thither through coffee estates rich with white flowers

bursting into flower under the grateful influence of a thunderstorm. En

route, a view was obtained of the Golden Horn, an overhanging rock

with a drop of a thousand feet, down which the Malaialis swing

themselves in search for honey. On the track through the jungle a

rock, known from the fancied resemblance of the holes produced by

weathering to hoof-marks as the kudre panji (horse's footprints),

was passed. Concerning this rock, the legend runs that a horse jumped

on to it at one leap from the top of the Shevarayan hill, and at the

next leap reached the plains at the foot of the hills. The village,

which was the scene of the festivities, was, like other Malaiali

villages, made up of detached bee-hive huts of bamboo, thatched with

palm-leaves and grass, and containing a central room surrounded

by a verandah--the home of pigs, goats, and fowls. Other huts, of

similar bee-hive shape, but smaller, were used as storehouses for

the grain collected at the harvest-season. These grain-stores have

no entrance, and the thatched roof has to be removed, to take out the

grain for use. Tiled roofs, such as are common in the Badaga villages

on the Nilgiris, are forbidden, as their use would be an innovation,

which would excite the anger of the Malaiali gods. The Malaialis

have religious scruples against planing or smoothing with an adze

the trees which they fell. The area of lands used to be ascertained

by guesswork, not measurement, and much opposition was made to an

attempt to introduce chain measurements, the Malaialis expressing

themselves willing to pay any rent imposed, if their lands were

not measured. Huts built on piles contain the flocks, which, during

the day, are herded in pens which are removable, and, by moving the

pens, the villagers manage to get the different parts of their fields

manured. Round the village a low wall usually runs, and, close by, are

the coffee, tobacco, and other cultivated crops. Outside the village,

beneath a lofty tree, was a small stone shrine, capped with a stone

slab, wherein were stacked a number of neolithic celts, which the

Malaialis reverence as thunderbolts from heaven. I was introduced to

the youthful and anxious bridegroom, clad in his wedding finery, who

stripped before the assembled crowd, in order that I might record his

jewelry and garments. On the first day, the bridegroom, accompanied by

his relations, takes the modest dowry of grain and money (usually five

rupees) to the bride's village, and arranges for the performance of

the nalangu ceremony on the following day. If the bride and bridegroom

belong to the same village, this ceremony is performed by the pair

seated on a cot. Otherwise it is performed by each separately. The

elders of the village take a few drops of castor-oil, and rub it into

the heads of the bride and bridegroom; afterwards washing the oil off

with punac (Bassia oil-cake) and alum water. One of the elders then

dips betel-leaves and arugum-pillu (Cynodon Dactylon) in milk, and with

them describes a circle round the heads of the young couple, who do

obeisance by bowing their heads. The proceedings wind up with a feast

of pork and other luxuries. On the following day, the ceremony of tying

the tali (marriage emblem) round the bride's neck is performed. The

bride, escorted by her party, comes to the bridegroom's village, and

remains outside it, while the bridegroom brings a light, a new mat,

and three bundles of betel leaves and half a measure of areca nuts,

which are distributed among the crowd. The happy pair then enter the

village, accompanied by music. Beneath a pandal (booth) there is a

stone representing the god, marked with the namam, and decorated with

burning lamps and painted earthen pots. Before this stone the bride and

bridegroom seat themselves in the presence of the guru, who is seated

on a raised dais. Flowers are distributed among the wedding guests,

and the tali, made of gold, is tied round the bride's neck. This

done, the feet of both bride and bridegroom are washed with alum

water, and presents of small coin received. The contracting parties

then walk three times round the stone, before which they prostrate

themselves, and receive the blessing of the assembled elders. The

ceremony concluded, they go round the village, riding on the same

pony. The proceedings again terminate with a feast. I gather that

the bride lives apart from her husband for eleven or fifteen days,

during which time he is permitted to visit her at meal times, with the

object, as my interpreter expressed it, of "finding out if the bride

loves her husband or not. If she does not love him, she is advised

by the guru and headman to do so, because there are many cases in

which the girls, after marriage, if they are matured, go away with

other Malaialis. If this matter comes to the notice of the guru,

she says that she does not like to live with him. After enquiry,

the husband is permitted to marry another girl."

A curious custom prevailing among the Malaialis, which illustrates

the Hindu love of offspring, is thus referred to by Mr. Le Fanu. "The

sons, when mere children, are married to mature females, and the

father-in-law of the bride assumes the performance of the procreative

function, thus assuming for himself and his son a descendant to take

them out of Put. When the putative father comes of age, and, in their

turn, his wife's male offspring are married, he performs for them

the same office which his father did for him. Thus, not only is the

religious idea involved in the words Putra and Kumaran carried out,

but also the premature strain on the generative faculties, which this

tradition entails, is avoided. The accommodation is reciprocal, and

there is something on physiological grounds to recommend it." Putra

means literally one who saves from Put, a hell into which those who

have not produced a son fall. Hindus believe that a son can, by the

performance of certain rites, save the souls of his ancestors from this

place of torture. Hence the anxiety of every Hindu to get married,

and beget male offspring. Kumaran is the second stage in the life of

an individual, which is divided into infancy, childhood, manhood,

and old age. Writing to me recently, a Native official assures me

that "the custom of linking a boy in marriage to a mature female,

though still existing, has, with the advance of the times, undergone a

slight yet decent change. The father-in-law of the bride has relieved

himself of the awkward predicament into which the custom drove him,

and now leaves the performance of the procreative function to others

accepted by the bride."

Widow remarriage among the Peria Malaialis is, I am informed,

forbidden, though widows are permitted to contract irregular

alliances. But, writing concerning the Malaialis of the Dharmapuri

taluk of the Salem district, Mr. Le Fanu states that "it is almost

imperative on a widow to marry again. Even at eighty years of age,

a widow is not exempted from this rule, which nothing but the most

persistent obstinacy on her part can evade. It is said that, in case

a widow be not remarried at once, the Pattakar sends for her to his

own house, to avoid which the women consent to re-enter the state of

bondage." Of the marriage customs of the Malaialis of the Javadi hills

the same author writes that "these hills are inhabited by Malaialis,

who style themselves Vellalars and Pachai Vellalars, the latter being

distinguished by the fact that their females are not allowed to tattoo

themselves, or tie their hair in the knot called 'kondai.' The two

classes do not intermarry. In their marriage ceremonies they dispense

with the service of a Brahman. Monday is the day chosen for the

commencement of the ceremony, and the tali is tied on the following

Friday, the only essential being that the Monday and Friday concerned

must not follow new-moon days. They are indifferent about choosing a

'lakkinam' (muhurtham or auspicious day) for the commencement of the

marriage, or for tying the tali. Widows are allowed to remarry. When

a virgin or a widow has to be married, the selection of a husband is

not left to the woman concerned, or to her parents. It is the duty

of the Urgoundan to inquire what marriageable women there may be in

the village, and then to summon the Pattan, or headman of the caste,

to the spot. The latter, on his arrival, convenes a panchayat of

the residents, and, with their assistance, selects a bridegroom. The

parents of the happy couple then fix the wedding day, and the ceremony

is performed accordingly. The marriage of a virgin is called 'kalianam'

or 'marriage proper'; that of a widow being styled 'kattigiradu'

or 'tying' (cf. Anglice noose, nuptial knot). Adultery is regarded

with different degrees of disfavour according to the social position

of the co-respondents. If a married woman, virgin or widow, commits

adultery with a man of another caste, or if a male Vellalan commits

adultery with a woman of another caste, the penalty is expulsion from

caste. Where, however, the paramour belongs to the Vellala caste,

a caste panchayat is held, and the woman is fined Rs. 3-8-9, and

the man Rs. 7. After the imposition of the fine, Brahman supremacy

is recognised, the guru having the privilege of administering the

tirtam, or holy water, to the culprits for their purification. For

the performance of this rite his fee varies from 4 annas to 12

rupees. The tirtam may either be administered by the guru in person,

or may be sent by him to the Nattan for the purpose. The fine imposed

on the offenders is payable by their relatives, however distant;

and, if there be no relatives, then the offenders are transported

from their village to a distant place. Where the adulteress is a

married woman, she is permitted to return to her husband, taking any

issue she may have had by her paramour. In special cases a widow is

permitted to marry her deceased husband's brother. Should a widow

remarry, her issue by her former husband belong to his relatives,

and are not transferable to the second husband. The same rule holds

good in successive remarriages. Where there may be no relatives of

the deceased husband forthcoming to take charge of the children,

the duty of caring for them devolves on the Urgoundan, who is bound

to receive and protect them. The Vellalars generally bury their dead,

except in cases where a woman quick with child, or a man afflicted with

leprosy has died, the bodies in these cases being burnt. No ceremony

is performed at child-birth; but the little stranger receives a name

on the fifteenth day. When a girl attains puberty, she is relegated

to a hut outside the village, where her food is brought to her,

and she is forbidden to leave the hut either day or night. The same

menstrual and death customs are observed by the Peria Malaialis,

who bury their dead in the equivalent of a cemetery, and mark the

site by a mound of earth and stones. At the time of the funeral,

guns are discharged by a firing party, and, at the grave, handfuls of

earth are, as at a Christian burial service, thrown over the corpse."

If a woman among the Malaialis of the Javadi hills commits adultery,

the young men of the tribe are said to be let loose on her, to

work their wicked way, after which she is put in a pit filled with

cow-dung and other filth. An old man naively remarked that adultery

was very rare.

At a wedding among the Malaialis of the South Arcot district, "after

the tali is tied, the happy couple crook their little fingers together,

and a two-anna bit is placed between the fingers, and water is poured

over their hands. The priest offers betel and nut to Kari Raman,

and then a gun is fired into the air." [170]

The father of a would-be bridegroom among the Malaialis of the

Yelagiris, when he hears of the existence of a suitable bride,

repairs to her village, with some of his relations, and seeks out the

Urgoundan or headman, between whom and the visitors mutual embraces are

exchanged. The object of the visit is explained, and the father says

that he will abide by the voice of four in the matter. If the match is

fixed up, he gives a feast in honour of the event. When the visitors

enter the future bride's house, the eldest daughter-in-law of the

house appears on the threshold, and takes charge of the walking-stick

of each person who goes in. She then, with some specially prepared

sandal-paste, makes a circular mark on the foreheads of the guests,

and retires. The feast then takes place, and she again appears before

the party retire, and returns the walking-sticks. [171]

At a marriage among the Malai Vellalas of the Coimbatore district,

the bride has to cry during the whole ceremony, which lasts three

days. Otherwise she is considered an "ill woman." When she can no

longer produce genuine tears, she must bawl out. If she does not do

this, the bridegroom will not marry her. In the North Arcot district,

Mr. H. A. Stuart writes, [172] "a Malaiali bride is sometimes carried

off by force, but this custom is viewed with much disfavour, and

the bridegroom who resorts to it must paint his face with black and

white dots, and carry an old basket filled with broken pots and other

rubbish, holding a torn sieve over him as an umbrella, before the

celebration of the marriage. At the wedding, the bridegroom gives the

girl's father a present of money, and a pile of firewood sufficient

for the two days' feast. On the first day the food consists of rice

and dhal (Cajanus indicus), and on the second day pork curry is

consumed. At sunrise on the third day the bridegroom produces the

tali. A sword is then laid on the laps of the bridal pair, and the

Nattan (headman), or an elderly man blesses the tali, and gives it to

the bridegroom, who ties it round the bride's neck. Before marriage,

a man has to serve for at least a year in the house of the bride,

in order to receive the consent of her parents."

"The North Arcot Malaialis," Mr. Stuart writes, "occupy eighteen

nadus or districts. The Nattan (headman) of Kanamalai nadu is

called the Periya (big) Nadan, and is the headman of the caste. He

has the power to nominate Nattans for other nadus, to call caste

panchayats, to preside over any such meetings, and to impose fines,

and excommunicate any Malaiali. He can inflict corporal punishment,

such as whipping with a tamarind switch, on those persons who violate

their tribal customs. This power is sometimes delegated by him to

the other Nattans. Of the fines collected, the Periya Nattan takes

two shares, and the rest is distributed equally among the Urans

(village heads). The village precincts are considered sacred, and

even Brahmans are desired to walk barefoot along their alleys. They

are both Saivites and Vaishnavites, and worship Kali and Perumal,

wearing the namam and sacred ashes alike. Their worship is somewhat

peculiar, and kept more or less a mystery. Its chief object is Kali, in

whose honour they celebrate a feast once a year, lasting for fifteen

days. During this time no people of the plains venture near them,

believing that no intruder will ever leave the spot alive. Even the

Malaiali women are studiously debarred from witnessing the rites, and

those who take part in them are not permitted to speak to a woman,

even should she be his wife. The ceremonies take place in the open

air, at a particular spot on the hills, where the goddess is to be

adored in the shape of a stone called Vellandiswami. The nature of

the rites it is difficult to learn. In the village they worship,

also excluding women, small images of Venkateswara of Tirupati,

which are carefully concealed in caskets, and not allowed to be seen

by people of other castes. A few bundles of tobacco are buried with

the dead. When any one falls ill, the Malaialis do not administer

medicine, but send for a pujari, and ask him which god or goddess the

patient had offended. The assessment paid to Government by them is

a fixed charge for each plough or hoe possessed, without reference

to the extent of land cultivated. They collect jungle produce,

particularly the glandular hairs of the fruits of a certain flower

(Mallotus philippinensis), which is used by the Rangaris for dyeing

silk a rich orange, and the roots of a plant called shenalinsedi,

supposed to possess wonderful medicinal virtues, curing, among other

things, snake-bite." The Malaialis of the Javadi hills in the North

Arcot district also earn a living by felling bamboos and sandal trees.

The Malaialis snare with nets, and shoot big game--deer, tigers,

leopards, bears, and pigs--with guns of European manufacture. Mr. Le

Fanu narrates that, during the Pongal feast, all the Malaialis of

the Kalrayans go hunting, or, as they term it, for parvettai. Should

the Palaiagar fail to bring something down, usage requires that the

pujari should deprive him of his kudumi or top-knot. He generally

begs himself off the personal degradation, and a servant undergoes

the operation in his stead. A few years ago, a party of Malaialis of

the Shevaroys went out shooting with blunderbusses and other quaint

weapons, and bagged a leopard, which they carried on a frame-work, with

jaws wide open and tail erect, round Yercaud, preceded by tom-toms,

and with men dancing around.

The Malaiali men on the Shevaroys wear a turban and brown kumbli

(blanket), which does duty as great coat, mackintosh, and umbrella. A

bag contains their supply of betel and tobacco, and they carry a

bill-hook and gourd water-vessel, and a coffee walking-stick. As

ornaments they wear bangles, rings on the fingers and toes, and in

the nose and ears. The women are tattooed by Korava women who come

round on circuit, on the forehead, outside the orbits, cheeks, arms,

and hands. Golden ornaments adorn their ears and nose, and they also

wear armlets, toe-rings, and bangles, which are sometimes supplemented

by a tooth-pick and ear-scoop pendent from a string round the neck. For

dress, a sari made of florid imported cotton fabric is worn. I have

seen women smoking cheroots, made from tobacco locally cultivated,

wrapped up in a leaf of Gmelina arborea. Tattooing is said to be

forbidden among the Malaialis of the Javadi hills in North Arcot.

Concerning the Malaialis of the Trichinopoly district,

Mr. F. R. Hemingway writes as follows. "As far as this district

is concerned, they are inhabitants of the Pachaimalais and

Kollaimalais. The Malaialis of the two ranges will not intermarry,

but have no objection to dining together. For purposes of the

caste discipline, the villages of both sub-divisions are grouped

into nadus. Each nadu contains some twenty or thirty villages. Each

village has a headman called on the Pachaimalais Muppan, and on the

Kollaimalais Ur-Kavundan or Kutti-Maniyam. Again, on the Pachaimalais,

every five or ten villages make up a sittambalam, over which is

a Kavundan, and each nadu is ruled by a Periya Kavundan. In the

Kollaimalais there are no sittambalams, but the nadu there is also

presided over by a Periya Kavundan, who is sometimes called a Sadi

Kavundan. Again, on the Kollaimalais, the first four nadus are grouped

into one pattam under the Pattakaran of Valappur, and the other three

into another under the Pattakaran of Sakkiratti. The nadu headmen on

the Pachaimalais also do duty as Pattakarans. All these appointments

are hereditary. The permission of the Pattakaran has to be obtained

before a marriage can take place, but, on the Kollaimalais, he deputes

this power to the Sadi Kavundan. The Pattakarans of both ranges have

recognised privileges, such as the right to ride on horseback, and

use umbrellas, which are denied to the common folk.

"The Malaiyalis recognise the sanctity of the large Vishnu temple

at Srirangam, and of the Siva temple at Anaplesvaran Kovil on the

Kollaimalais. To the festival of the latter in Adi (July-August)

the Malaiyalis of all three divisions flock. In every village is a

temple or image of Perumal. Kali is also commonly worshipped, but

the Malaiyalis do not connect her with Siva. Almost every village

further contains temples to Mariyayi, the goddess of cholera, and to

the village goddess Pidari. On the Kollaimalais, Kali is also looked

upon as a village goddess, but she has no attendant Karuppans, nor is

she worshipped by shedding blood. Pidari is often called Manu Pidari

on the Pachaimalais, and is represented by a heap of mud. At midnight,

a sheep and some cooked rice are taken to this, a man cleaning the

pathway to the temple by dragging a bunch of leaves. The sheep is

killed, and its lungs are inflated and placed on the heap. On the

Kollaimalais two other goddesses, Nachi and Kongalayi, are commonly

worshipped. At the worship of the former, perfect silence must be

observed, and women are not allowed to be in the village at the

time. It is supposed that, if anyone speaks during the ceremony, he

will be stung by bees or other insects. The goddess has no image,

but is supposed to appear from the surface of the ground, and to

glitter like the comb of a cock. Kongalayi has an image, and her

worship is accompanied by music. All these goddesses are worshipped

every year before the ground is cultivated. The Malaiyalis, like the

people of the plains, worship Pattavans. But, on the Kollaimalais,

instead of thinking that these are people who have died a violent

death, they say they are virtuous men and good sportsmen, who have

lived to a ripe old age. The test of the apotheosis of such a one

is that his castemen should have a successful day's sport on some

day that they have set aside in his honour. They sometimes offer

regular sacrifices to the Pattavans, but more usually offer the head

of any game they shoot. Sometimes a man will dream of some evil spirit

turning Pattavan, and then he is taken to a Strychnos Nux-vomica tree,

and his hair nailed to the trunk and cut. This is supposed to free

the caste from further molestation. The same practice is observed

on the Pachaimalais, if the ghost appears in a dream accompanied

by a Panchama. On the Kollaimalais, holy bulls, dedicated to the

Srirangam temple, are taken round with drums on their backs by men

with feathers stuck in their hair, and alms are collected. When

these animals die, they are buried, and an alari tree is planted

over the grave. This practice is, however, confined to Vaishnavites,

and to a few families. Saivites set free bulls called poli yerudu in

honour of the Anaplesvaram god. These bulls are of good class, and,

like the tamatams, are honoured at their death.

"The Malaiyali houses are built of tattis (mats) of split bamboo,

and roofed with jungle grass. The use of tiles or bricks is believed

to excite the anger of the gods. The Kollaimalai houses seem always

to have a loft inside, approached by a ladder. The eaves project

greatly, so as almost to touch the ground. In the pial (platform at the

entrance) a hole is made to pen fowls in. On the tops of the houses,

tufts of jungle grass and rags are placed, to keep off owls, the

ill-omened kottan birds. The villages are surrounded with a fence,

to keep the village pigs from destroying the crops outside. The

Pachaimalai women wear the kusavam fold in their cloth on the right

side, but do not cover the breasts. The Kollaimalai women do not

wear any kusavam, but carefully cover their breasts, especially

when at work outside the village site, for fear of displeasing the

gods. The Pachaimalai people tattoo, but this custom is anathema

on the Kollaimalais, where the Malaiyalis will not allow a tattooed

person into their houses for fear of offending their gods.

"All the Malaiyalis are keen sportsmen, and complain that sport is

spoilt by the forest rules. The Kollaimalai people have a great beat

on the first of Ani (June-July), and another on the day of the first

sowing of the year. The date of the latter is settled by the headman

of each village, and he alone is allowed to sow seeds on that day,

everyone else being debarred on pain of punishment from doing any

manner of work, and going out to hunt instead. On the Kollaimalais,

bull-baiting is practiced at the time of the Mariyayi festival in Masi

(February-March). A number of bulls are taken in front of the goddess,

one after the other, and, while some of the crowd hold the animals with

ropes, a man in front, and another behind, urge it on to unavailing

efforts to get free. When one bull is tired out, another is brought

up to take its place.

"The Malaiyalis have a good many superstitions of their own, which

are apparently different from those of the plains. If they want rain,

they pelt each other with balls of cow-dung, an image of Pillaiyar

(Ganesa) is buried in a manure pit, and a pig is killed with a kind of

spear. When the rain comes, the Pillaiyar is dug up. If a man suffers

from hemicrania, he sets free a red cock in honour of the sun on a

Tuesday. A man who grinds his teeth in his sleep may be broken off

the habit by eating some of the food offered to the village goddess,

brought by stealth from her altar. People suffering from small-pox are

taken down to the plains, and left in some village. Cholera patients

are abandoned, and left to die. Lepers are driven out without the

slightest mercy, to shift for themselves.

"With regard to marriage, the Malaiyalis of the Trichinopoly district

recognise the desirability of a boy's marrying his maternal aunt's

daughter. This sometimes results in a young boy marrying a grown-up

woman, but the Malaiyalis in this district declare that the boy's

father does not then take over the duties of a husband. On the

Kollaimalais, a wife may leave her husband for a paramour within the

caste, but her husband has a right to the children of such intercourse,

and they generally go to him in the end. You may ask a man, without

giving offence, if he has lent his wife to anyone. Both sections

practice polygamy. A betrothal on the Pachaimalais is effected by

the boy's taking an oil bath, followed by a bath in hot water at

the bride's house, and watching whether there is any ill omen during

the process. On the Kollaimalais, the matter is settled by a simple

interview. On both hill ranges, the wedding ceremonies last only one

day, and on the Pachaimalais a Thursday is generally selected. The

marriage on the latter range consists in all the relatives present

dropping castor-oil on to the heads of the pair with a wisp of grass,

and then pronouncing a blessing on them. The terms of the blessing are

the same as those used by the Konga Vellalas. The bridegroom ties the

tali. On the Kollaimalais, the girl is formally invited to come and be

married by the other party's taking her a sheep and some rice. On the

appointed day, offerings of a cock and a hen are made to the gods in

the houses of both. The girl then comes to the other house, and she

and the bridegroom are garlanded by the leading persons present. The

bridegroom ties the tali, and the couple are then made to walk seven

steps, and are blessed. The garlands are then thrown into a well,

and, if they float together, it is an omen that the two will love

each other.

"Both sections bury their dead. On the Kollaimalais, a gun is fired

when the corpse is taken out for burial, and tobacco, cigars, betel

and nut, etc., are buried with the body.

"Two curious customs in connection with labour are recognised on both

ranges. If a man has a press of work, he can compel the whole village

to come and help him, by the simple method of inviting them all to a

feast. He need not pay them for their services. A different custom is

that, when there is threshing to be done, any labourer of the caste

who offers himself has to be taken, whether there is work for him or

not, and paid as if he had done a good day's work. This is a very hard

rule in times of scarcity, and it is said that sometimes the employer

will have not only to pay out the whole of the harvest, but will also

have to get something extra from home to satisfy the labourers."

It is noted by Mr. Garstin [173] that "in his time (1878) the Malaialis

of the South Arcot district kept the accounts of their payments of

revenue by tying knots in a bit of string, and that some of them once

lodged a complaint against their village headman for collecting more

from them than was due, basing their case on the fact that there

were more knots in the current year's string than in that of the

year preceding. The poligars, he adds, used to intimate the amount

of revenue due by sending each of the cultivators a leaf bearing on

it as many thumb-nail marks as there were rupees to be paid."

Malayali.--A territorial name, denoting an inhabitant of the Malayalam

country. It is noted, in the Mysore Census Report, 1901, that this

name came in very handy to class several of the Malabar tribes, who

have immigrated to the province, and whose names were unfamiliar to

census officials. There is, in the city of Madras, a Malayali club

for inhabitants of the Malayalam country, who are there employed in

Government services, as lawyers, or in other vocations. I read that,

in 1906, the Malabar Onam festival was celebrated at the Victoria

Public Hall under the auspices of this club, and a dramatised version

of the Malayalam novel Indulekha was performed.

Malayan.--Concerning the Malayans, Mr. A. R. Loftus-Tottenham writes as

follows. "The Malayans are a makkathayam caste, observing twelve days'

pollution, found in North Malabar. Their name, signifying hill-men,

points to their having been at one time a jungle tribe, but they have

by no means the dark complexion and debased physiognomy characteristic

of the classes which still occupy that position. They are divided into

nine exogamous illams, five of which have the names Kotukudi, Velupa,

Cheni, Palankudi, and Kalliath. The men do not shave their heads,

but allow the hair to grow long, and either part it in the middle,

or tie it into a knot behind, like the castes of the east coast,

or tie it in a knot in front in the genuine Malayali fashion. The

principal occupation of the caste is exorcism, which they perform by

various methods.

"If any one is considered to be possessed by demons, it is usual,

after consulting the astrologer in order to ascertain what murti

(form, i.e., demon) is causing the trouble, to call in the Malayan,

who performs a ceremony known as tiyattam, in which they wear masks,

and, so disguised, sing, dance, tom-tom, and play on a rude and

strident pipe. Another ceremony, known as ucchaveli, has several forms,

all of which seem to be either survivals, or at least imitations of

human sacrifice. One of these consists of a mock living burial of the

principal performer, who is placed in a pit, which is covered with

planks, on the top of which a sacrifice is performed, with a fire

kindled with jack wood (Artocarpus integrifolia) and a plant called

erinna. In another variety, the Malayan cuts his left forearm, and

smears his face with the blood thus drawn. Malayans also take part

with Peruvannans (big barbers) in various ceremonies at Badrakali

and other temples, in which the performer impersonates, in suitable

costume, some of the minor deities or demons, fowls are sacrificed,

and a Velicchapad pronounces oracular statements."

As the profession of exorcists does not keep the Malayans fully

occupied, they go about begging during the harvest season, in various

disguises, of which that of a hobby-horse is a very common one. They

further add to their income by singing songs, at which they are very

expert. Like the Nalkes and Paravas of South Canara, the Malayans

exorcise various kinds of devils, with appropriate disguises. For

Nenaveli (bloody sacrifice), the performer smears the upper part of his

body and face with a paste made of rice-flour reddened with turmeric

powder and chunam (lime) to indicate a bloody sacrifice. Before

the paste dries, parched paddy (unhusked rice) grains, representing

small-pox pustules, are sprinkled over it. Strips of young cocoanut

leaves, strung together so as to form a petticoat, are tied round the

waist, a ball of sacred ashes (vibhuthi) is fixed on the tip of the

nose, and two strips of palmyra palm leaf are stuck in the mouth to

represent fangs. If it is thought that a human sacrifice is necessary

to propitiate the devil, the man representing Nenaveli puts round his

neck a kind of framework made of plantain leaf sheaths; and, after

he has danced with it on, it is removed, and placed on the ground in

front of him. A number of lighted wicks are stuck in the middle of

the framework, which is sprinkled with the blood of a fowl, and then

beaten and crushed. Sometimes this is not regarded as sufficient,

and the performer is made to lie down in a pit, which is covered

over by a plank, and a fire kindled. A Malayan, who acted the part

of Nenaveli before me at Tellicherry, danced and gesticulated wildly,

while a small boy, concealed behind him, sang songs in praise of the

demon whom he represented, to the accompaniment of a drum. At the

end of the performance, he feigned extreme exhaustion, and laid on

the ground in a state of apparent collapse, while he was drenched

with water brought in pots from a neighbouring well.

The disguise of Uchchaveli is also assumed for the propitiation of the

demon, when a human sacrifice is considered necessary. The Malayan who

is to take the part puts on a cap made of strips of cocoanut leaf,

and strips of the same leaves tied to a bent bamboo stick round his

waist. His face and chest are daubed with yellow paint, and designs

are drawn thereon in red or black. Strings are tied tightly round the

left arm near the elbow and wrist, and the swollen area is pierced

with a knife. The blood spouts out, and the performer waves the arm,

so that his face is covered with the blood. A fowl is waved before him,

and decapitated. He puts the neck in his mouth, and sucks the blood.

The disguises are generally assumed at night. The exorcism consists

in drawing complicated designs of squares, circles, and triangles,

on the ground with white, black, and yellow flour. While the man who

has assumed the disguise dances about to the accompaniment of drums,

songs are sung by Malayan men and women.

Malayan.--A division of Panikkans in the Tamil country, whose exogamous

septs are known by the Malayalam name illam (house).

Maldivi.--A territorial name, meaning a native of the Maldive islands,

returned by twenty-two persons in Tanjore at the Census, 1901.

Male Kudiya.--A synonym of Kudiya, denoting those who live in the

hills.

Maleru.--It is noted, in the Mysore Census Report, 1901, that "in some

temples of the Malnad there exists a set of females, who, though not

belonging to the Natuva class, are yet temple servants like them, and

are known by the name of Maleru. Any woman who eats the sacrificial

rice strewn on the balipitam (sacrificial altar) at once loses caste,

and becomes a public woman, or Maleru." The children of Malerus by

Brahmans are termed Golakas. Any Maleru woman cohabiting with one of

a lower caste than her own is degraded into a Gaudi. In the Madras

Census Report, 1901, Male or Malera is returned as a sub-caste of

Stanika. They are said, however, not to be equal to Stanikas. They

are attached to temples, and their ranks are swelled by outcaste

Brahman and Konkani women.

Maleyava.--Recorded, in the Madras Census Report, 1901, as a small

Canarese-speaking caste of beggars. In the South Canara Manual, it

is stated that they are "classed as mendicants, as there is a small

body of Malayalam gypsies of that name. But there may have been some

confusion with Malava and Male Kudiya."

Mali.--"The Malis," Mr. H. A. Stuart writes, [174] "are now mostly

cultivators, but their traditional occupation (from which the

caste name is derived) is making garlands, and providing flowers

for the service of Hindu temples. They are especially clever in

growing vegetables. Their vernacular is Uriya." It is noted, in

the Census Report, 1901, that the temple servants wear the sacred

thread, and employ Brahmans as priests. It is further recorded, in

the Census Report, 1871, that "the Malis are, as their name denotes,

gardeners. They chose for their settlements sites where they were able

to turn a stream to irrigate a bit of land near their dwellings. Here

they raise fine crops of vegetables, which they carry to the numerous

markets throughout the country. Their rights to the lands acquired

from the Parjas (Porojas) are of a substantial nature, and the only

evidence to show their possessions were formerly Parja bhumi (Poroja

lands) is perhaps a row of upright stones erected by the older race

to the memory of their village chiefs."

For the following note, I am indebted to Mr. C. Hayavadana Rao. The

Malis say that their ancestors lived originally at Kasi (Benares),

whence they emigrated to serve under the Raja of Jeypore. They are

divided into the following sub-divisions:--Bodo, Pondra, Kosalya,

Pannara, Sonkuva, and Dongrudiya. The name Pondra is said to be

derived from podoro, a dry field. I am informed that, if a Pondra is

so prosperous as to possess a garden which requires the employment

of a picottah, he is bound to entertain as many men of his caste

as choose to go to his house. A man without a picottah may refuse

to receive such visits. A picottah is the old-fashioned form of a

machine still used for raising water, and consists of a long lever

or yard pivotted on an upright post, weighted on the short arm,

and bearing a line and bucket on the long arm.

Among the Bodo Malis, a man can claim his paternal aunt's daughter in

marriage, which takes place before the girl reaches puberty. A jholla

tonka (bride-price) of forty rupees is paid, and the girl is conducted

to the house of the bridegroom, in front of which a pandal (booth)

has been erected, with nine pots, one above the other, placed at the

four corners and in the centre. In the middle of the pandal a mattress

is spread, and to the pandal a cloth, with a myrabolam (Terminalia

fruit), rice, and money tied up in it, is attached. The contracting

couple sit together, and a sacred thread is given to the bridegroom

by the officiating priest. The bride is presented with necklaces,

nose-screws, and other ornaments by the bridegroom's party. They

then repair to the bridegroom's house. The ceremonies are repeated

during the next three days, and on the fifth day the pair are bathed

with turmeric water, and repair to a stream, in which they bathe. On

their return home, the bridegroom is presented with some cheap jewelry.

Among the Pondra Malis, if a girl is not provided with a husband

before she reaches puberty, a mock marriage is performed. A pandal

(booth) is erected in front of her house, and she enters it, carrying

a fan in her right hand, and sits on a mattress. A pot, containing

water and mango leaves, is set in front of her, and the females throw

turmeric-rice over her. They then mix turmeric powder with castor-oil,

and pour it over her from mango leaves. She next goes to the village

stream, and bathes. A caste feast follows after this ceremonial has

been performed. The girl is permitted to marry in the ordinary way. A

Bodo Mali girl, who does not secure a husband before she reaches

puberty, is said to be turned out of the caste.

In the regular marriage ceremony among the Pondra Malis, the

bridegroom, accompanied by his party, proceeds to the bride's village,

where they stay in a house other than that of the bride. They send

five rupees, a new cloth for the bride's mother, rice, and other

things necessary for a meal, as jholla tonka (present) to the bride's

house. Pandals, made of four poles, are erected in front of the

houses of the bride and bridegroom. Towards evening, the bridegroom

proceeds to the house of the bride, and the couple are blessed by

the assembled relations within the pandal. On the following day, the

bridegroom conducts the bride to her pandal. They take their seat

therein, separated by a screen, with the ends of their cloths tied

together. Ornaments, called maguta, corresponding to the bashinga,

are tied on their foreheads. At the auspicious moment fixed by the

presiding Desari, the bride stretches out her right hand, and the

bridegroom places his thereon. On it some rice and myrabolam fruit are

laid, and tied up with rolls of cotton thread by the Desari. On the

third day, the couple repair to a stream, and bathe. They then bury

the magutas. After a feast, the bride accompanies the bridegroom to his

village, but, if she has not reached puberty, returns to her parents.

Widow remarriage is permitted, and a younger brother usually marries

the widow of his elder brother.

The dead are burnt, and death pollution lasts for ten days, during

which those who are polluted refrain from their usual employment. On

the ninth day, a hole is dug in the house of the deceased, and a lamp

placed in it. The son, or some other close relative, eats a meal by the

side of the hole, and, when it is finished, places the platter and the

remains of the food in the hole, and buries them with the lamp. On the

tenth day, an Oriya Brahman purifies the house by raising the sacred

fire (homam). He is, in return for his services, presented with the

utensils of the deceased, half a rupee, rice, and other things.

Mali further occurs as the name of an exogamous sept of Holeya. (See

also Ravulo.)

Maliah (hill).--A sub-division of Savaras who inhabit the hill-country.

Malighai Chetti.--A synonym of Acharapakam Chettis. In the city of

Madras, the Malighai Chettis cannot, like other Beri Chettis, vote

or receive votes at elections or meetings of the Kandasami temple.

Malik.--A sect of Muhammadans, who are the followers of the Imam Abu

'Abdi 'llah Malik ibn Anas, the founder of one of the four orthodox

sects of Sunnis, who was born at Madinah, A.H. 94 (A.D. 716).

Malle.--Malle, Malli, Mallela, or Mallige, meaning jasmine, has been

recorded as an exogamous sept of Bestha, Holeya, Kamma, Korava, Kurni,

Kuruba, Madiga, Mala, Odde, and Tsakala. The Tsakalas, I am informed,

will not use jasmine flowers, or go near the plant. In like manner,

Besthas of the Malle gotra may not touch it.

Malumi.--A class of Muhammadan pilots and sailors in the Laccadive

islands. (See Mappilla.)

Mamidla (mango).--An exogamous sept of Padma Sale.

Mana (a measure).--An exogamous sept of Kuruba.

Manavalan (bridegroom).--A sub-division of Nayar.

Manayammamar.--The name for Mussad females. Mana means a Brahman's

house.

Mancha.--Recorded, in the Madras Census Report, 1901, as a Musalman

tribe in the Laccadive islands.

Manchala (cots).--An exogamous sept of Odde. The equivalent mancham

occurs as a sept of Panta Reddis, the members of which avoid sleeping

on cots.

Manchi (good).--An exogamous sept of Padma Sale and Yanadi.

Mandadan Chetti.--There are at Gudalur near the boundary between the

Nilgiri district and Malabar, and in the Wynad, two classes called

respectively Mandadan Chettis and Wynad Chettis (q.v.).

The following account of the Mandadan Chettis is given in the Gazetteer

of the Nilgiris. "They speak a corrupt Canarese, follow the makkatayam

law of inheritance (from father to son), and seem always to have

been natives of the Wynaad. Mandadan is supposed to be a corruption

of Mahavalinadu, the traditional name still applied to the country

between Nellakottai and Tippakadu, in which these Chettis principally

reside. These Chettis recognise as many as eight different headmen, who

each have names and a definite order of precedence, the latter being

accurately marked by the varying lengths of the periods of pollution

observed when they die. They are supposed to be the descendants

in the nearest direct line of the original ancestors of the caste,

and they are shown special respect on public occasions, and settle

domestic and caste disputes. Marriages take place after puberty,

and are arranged through go-betweens called Madhyastas. When matters

have been set in train, the contracting parties meet, and the boy's

parents measure out a certain quantity of paddy (unhusked rice),

and present it to the bride's people, while the Madhyastas formally

solicit the approval to the match of all the nearest relatives. The

bride is bathed and dressed in a new cloth, and the couple are

then seated under a pandal (booth). The priest of the Nambalakod

temple comes with flowers, blesses the tali, and hands it to the

bridegroom, who ties it round the bride's neck. Sometimes the young

man is made to work for the girl as Jacob did for Rachael, serving

her father for a period (generally of from one to four years), the

length of which is settled by a panchayat (council). In such cases,

the father-in-law pays the expenses of the wedding, and sets up

the young couple with a house and some land. Married women are not

prohibited from conferring favours on their husbands' brothers, but

adultery outside the caste is severely dealt with. Adoption seems to

be unknown. A widow may remarry. If she weds her deceased husband's

brother, the only ceremony is a dinner, after which the happy pair are

formally seated on the same mat; but, if she marries any one else,

a pandal and tali are provided. Divorce is allowed to both parties,

and divorcées may remarry. In their cases, however, the wedding rites

are much curtailed. The dead are usually burnt, but those who have

been killed by accidents or epidemics are buried. When any one is

at death's door, he or she is made to swallow a little water from a

vessel in which some rice and a gold coin have been placed. The body is

bathed and dressed in a new cloth, sometimes music is played and a gun

fired, and in all cases the deceased's family walk three times round

the pyre before it is fired by the chief mourner. When the period of

pollution is over, holy water is fetched from the Nambalakod temple,

and sprinkled all about the house. These Chettis are Saivites, and

worship Betarayasvami of Nambalakod, the Airu Billi of the Kurumbas,

and one or two other minor gods, and certain deified ancestors. These

minor gods have no regular shrines, but huts provided with platforms

for them to sit upon, in which lamps are lit in the evenings, are

built for them in the fields and jungles. Chetti women are often

handsome. In the house they wear only a waist-cloth, but they put on

an upper cloth when they venture abroad. They distend the lobes of

their ears, and for the first few years after marriage wear in them

circular gold ornaments somewhat resembling those affected by the

Nayar ladies. After that period they substitute a strip of rolled-up

palm leaf. They have an odd custom of wearing a big chignon made up

of plaits of their own hair cut off at intervals in their girlhood."

Mandadi.--A title of Golla.

Mandai.--An exogamous section of Kallan named after Mandai Karuppan,

the god of the village common (Mandai).

Mandha.--Mandha or Mandhala, meaning a village common, or herd of

cattle collected thereon, has been recorded as an exogamous sept of

Bedar, Karna Sale, and Madiga.

Mandi (cow).--A sept of Poroja.

Mandiri.--A sub-division of Domb.

Mandula.--The Mandulas (medicine men) are a wandering class, the

members of which go about from village to village in the Telugu

country, selling drugs (mandu, medicine) and medicinal powders. Some

of their women act as midwives. Of these people an interesting account

is given by Bishop Whitehead, [175] who writes as follows. "We found

an encampment of five or six dirty-looking huts made of matting, each

about five feet high, eight feet long and six feet wide, belonging to

a body of Mandalavaru, whose head-quarters are at Masulipatam. They

are medicine men by profession, and thieves and beggars by choice. The

headman showed us his stock of medicines in a bag, and a quaint stock

it was, consisting of a miscellaneous collection of stones and pieces

of wood, and the fruits of trees. The stones are ground to powder,

and mixed up as a medicine with various ingredients. He had a piece

of mica, a stone containing iron, and another which contained some

other metal. There was also a peculiar wood used as an antidote

against snake-bite, a piece being torn off and eaten by the person

bitten. One common treatment for children is to give them tiles, ground

to powder, to eat. In the headman's hut was a picturesque-looking

woman sitting up with an infant three days old. It had an anklet,

made of its mother's hair, tied round the right ankle, to keep off the

evil eye. The mother, too, had a similar anklet round her own left

ankle, which she put on before her confinement. She asked for some

castor-oil to smear over the child. They had a good many donkeys,

pigs, and fowls with them, and made, they said, about a rupee a day

by begging. Some time ago, they all got drunk, and had a free fight,

in which a woman got her head cut open. The police went to enquire

into the matter, but the woman declared that she only fell against a

bamboo by accident. The whole tribe meet once a year, at Masulipatam,

at the Sivaratri festival, and then sacrifice pigs and goats to their

various deities. The goddess is represented by a plain uncarved stone,

about four-and-a-half or five feet high, daubed with turmeric and

kunkuma (red powder). The animals are killed in front of the stone,

and the blood is allowed to flow on the ground. They believe that

the goddess drinks it. They cook rice on the spot, and present some

of it to the goddess. They then have a great feast of the rest of

the rice and the flesh of the victims, get very drunk with arrack,

and end up with a free fight. We noted that one of the men had on

an anklet of hair, like the woman's. He said he had been bitten by

a snake some time ago, and had put on the anklet as a charm."

The Mandula is a very imposing person, as he sits in a conspicuous

place, surrounded by paper packets piled up all round him. His method

of advertising his medicines is to take the packets one by one, and,

after opening them and folding them up, to make a fresh pile. As he

does so, he may be heard repeating very rapidly, in a sing-song tone,

"Medicine for rheumatism," etc. Mandulas are sometimes to be seen

close to the Moore Market in the city of Madras, with their heaps of

packets containing powders of various colours.

Mangala.--"The Mangalas and Ambattans," Mr. H. A. Stuart writes, [176]

"are the barber castes, and are probably of identical origin, but,

like the potters, they have, by difference of locality, separated into

Telugus and Tamilians, who do not intermarry. Both are said to be the

offspring of a Brahman by a Vaisya woman. The Telugu name is referred

to the word mangalam, which means happiness and also cleansing, and is

applied to barbers, because they take part in marriage ceremonies, and

add to the happiness on the occasion by the melodious sounds of their

flutes (nagasaram), while they also contribute to the cleanliness of

the people by shaving their bodies. The Telugus are divided into the

Reddibhumi, Murikinadu, and Kurichinadu sub-divisions, and are mostly

Vaishnavites. They consider the Tamilians as lower than themselves,

because they consent to shave the whole body, while the Telugus only

shave the upper portions. Besides their ordinary occupation, the

members of this caste pretend to some knowledge of surgery and of the

properties of herbs and drugs. Their females practice midwifery in a

barbarous fashion, not scrupling also to indulge largely in criminal

acts connected with their profession. Flesh-eating is allowed, but

not widow marriage."

"Mangalas," Mr. Stuart writes further, [177] "are also called Bajantri

(in reference to their being musicians), Kalyanakulam (marriage

people), and Angarakudu. The word angaramu means fire, charcoal, a live

coal, and angarakudu is the planet Mars. Tuesday is Mars day, and one

name for it is Angarakavaramu, but the other and more common name is

Mangalavaramu. Now mangala is a Sanskrit word, meaning happiness, and

mangala, with the soft l, is the Telugu for a barber. Mangalavaramu

and Angarakavaramu being synonymous, it is natural that the barbers

should have seized upon this, and given themselves importance by

claiming to be the caste of the planet Mars. As a matter of fact,

this planet is considered to be a star of ill omen, and Tuesday is

regarded as an inauspicious day. Barbers are also considered to be of

ill omen owing to their connection with deaths, when their services

are required to shave the heads of the mourners. On an auspicious

occasion, a barber would never be called a Mangala, but a Bajantri,

or musician. Their titles are Anna and Gadu." Anna means brother,

and Gadu is a common suffix to the names of Telugus, e.g., Ramigadu,

Subbigadu. A further title is Ayya (father).

For the following note on the Mangalas, I am indebted to

Mr. C. Hayavadana Rao. The caste is divided into two endogamous

divisions, Telaga and Kapu, the ancestors of which were half brothers,

by different mothers. They will eat together, but will not intermarry,

as they regard themselves as cousins. The primary occupation of the

caste is shaving the heads of people belonging to the non-polluting

castes, and, for a small consideration, razors are lent to Madigas and

Malas. A Mangala, in the Vizagapatam district, carries no pollution

with him, when he is not actually engaged in his professional

duties, and may often be found as storekeeper in Hindu households,

and occupying the same position as the Bhondari, or Oriya barber,

does in the Oriya country. Unlike the Tamil Ambattan, the Mangala has

no objection to shaving Europeans. He is one of the village officials,

whose duties are to render assistance to travellers, and massage their

limbs, and, in many villages, he is rewarded for his services with a

grant of land. He is further the village musician, and an expert at

playing on the flute. Boys are taught the art of shaving when they are

about eight years old. An old chatty (earthen pot) is turned upside

down, and smeared with damp earth. When this is dry, the lad has to

scrape it off under the direction of an experienced barber.

Mangala Pujari.--The title of the caste priest of the Mogers.

Mangalyam.--A sub-division of Marans, who, at the tali-kettu

ceremony of the Nayars, carry the ashtamangalyam or eight auspicious

things. These are rice, paddy (unhusked rice), tender leaves of the

cocoanut, a mimic arrow, a metal looking-glass, a well-washed cloth,

burning fire, and a small round wooden box called cheppu. Mangalyam

occurs as the name for Marans in old Travancore records.

Mangalakkal.--This and Manigramam are recorded, in the Travancore

Census Report, 1901, as sub-divisions of Nayar.

Manikala (a measure).--An exogamous sept of Yanadi.

Manikattal.--A synonym of Deva-dasi applied to dancing-girls in the

Tamil country.

Maniyakkaran.--Maniyakkaran or Maniyagaran, meaning an overseer,

occurs as a title or synonym of Parivaram and Sembadavan. As a name

of a sub-division of the Idaiyan shepherds, the word is said to be

derived from mani, a bell, such as is tied round the necks of cattle,

sheep, and goats. Maniyakkaran has been corrupted into monegar,

the title of the headman of a village in the Tamil country.

Manjaputtur.--A sub-division of Chettis, who are said to have emigrated

to the Madura district from Cuddalore (Manjakuppam).

Manla (trees).--An exogamous sept of Chenchu.

Mannadi.--A title of Kunnavans of the Palni hills, often given as

the caste name. Also a title of Pallans and Muttans.

Mannadiyar.--A trading sub-division of Nayar.

Mannan.--The Mannans are a hill tribe of Travancore, and are said to

have been originally dependents of the kings of Madura, whom they, like

the Uralis and Muduvans, accompanied to Neriyamangalam. "Later on, they

settled in a portion of the Cardamom Hills called Makara-alum. One of

the chiefs of Poonyat nominated three of these Mannans as his agents at

three different centres in his dominions, one to live at Tollairamalai

with a silver sword as badge and with the title of Varayilkizh Mannan,

a second to live at Mannankantam with a bracelet and the title of

Gopura Mannan, and a third at Utumpanchola with a silver cane and the

title of Talamala Mannan. For these headmen, the other Mannans are

expected to do a lot of miscellaneous services. It is only with the

consent of the headmen that marriages may be contracted. Persons of

both sexes dress themselves like Maravans. Silver and brass ear-rings

are worn by the men. Necklets of white and red beads are worn on

the neck, and brass bracelets on the wrist. Mannans put up the best

huts among the hill-men. Menstrual and puerperal impurity is not so

repelling as in the case of the Uralis. About a year after a child

is born, the eldest member of the family ties a necklet of beads

round its neck, and gives it a name. The Mannans bury their dead. The

coffin is made of bamboo and reeds, and the corpse is taken to the

grave with music and the beating of drums. The personal ornaments,

if any, are not removed. Before filling in the grave, a quantity

of rice is put into the mouth of the deceased. A shed is erected

over the site of burial. After a year has passed, an offering of

food and drink is made to the dead. The language of the Mannans is

Tamil. They have neither washermen nor barbers, but wash clothes and

shave for one another. The Mannans stand ahead of the other hill-men

from their knowledge of medicine, though they resort more to Chattu

than to herbs. Drinking is a very common vice. Marumakkathayam is

the prevailing form of inheritance (in the female line); but it is

customary to give a portion to the sons also. Marriage takes the form

of tali-tying. The tali (marriage badge) is removed on the death of

the husband. Women generally wait for two years to marry a second

husband, after the death of the first. A Mannan claims the hand of

his maternal uncle's daughter. The Sasta of Sabarimala and Periyar is

devoutly worshipped. The Mannans are experts in collecting honey. They

eat the flesh of the monkey, but not that of the crocodile, snake,

buffalo or cow. They are fast decreasing in numbers, like the other

denizens of the hills." [178]

Concerning the Mannans, Mr. O. H. Bensley writes as follows. [179]

"I enjoy many pleasant reminiscences of my intercourse with these

people. Their cheery and sociable disposition, and enjoyment of

camp life, make it quite a pleasure to be thrown into contact with

them. Short, sturdy, and hairless, the Mannans have all the appearances

of an 'aboriginal' race. The Mannan country extends southward from the

limit occupied by the Muduvans on the Cardamom Hills to a point south

of the territory now submerged by the Periyar works. [180] They have,

moreover, to keep to the east of the Periyar river. Smallpox ravages

their villages, and fever lives in the air they breathe. Within

the present generation, three of their settlements were at the

point of extinction, but were recruited from other more fortunate

bands. Very few attain to old age, but there were until lately three

old patriarchs among them, who were the headmen of three of the most

important sections of the tribe. The Muduvans and Mannans pursue

the same destructive method of cultivation, but, as the latter are

much fewer in numbers, their depredations are not so serious. None

of the tribes east of the Periyar pay any tax to the Government,

but are expected, in return for their holdings, to perform certain

services in the way of building huts and clearing paths, for which

they receive fixed payment. They have also to collect forest produce,

and for this, too, they obtain fixed rates, so that their treatment

by the Government is in reality of the most liberal kind. Mannans do

not always look at things in quite the light one would expect. For

example, the heir to an English Earldom, after a pleasant shooting

trip in Travancore, bestowed upon a Mannan who had been with him

a handsome knife as a memento. Next day, the knife was seen in the

possession of a cooly on a coffee estate, and it transpired that the

Mannan had sold it to him for three rupees, instead of keeping it as

an heirloom. A remarkable trait in the character of the Mannans is

the readiness with which they fraternise with Europeans. Most of the

other tribes approach with reluctance, which requires considerable

diplomacy to overcome. Not so the Mannan. He willingly initiates a

tyro and a stranger into the mysteries of the chase. Though their

language is Tamil, and the only communication they hold with the

low country is on the Madura side, they have this custom in common

with the Malayalis, that the chieftainship of their villages goes to

the nephew, and not to the son. One does not expect to find heroic

actions among these simple people. But how else could one describe

the following incident? A Mannan, walking with his son, a lad about

twelve years old, came suddenly upon a rogue elephant. His first act

was to place his son in a position of safety by lifting him up till

he could reach the branch of a tree, and only then he began to think

of himself. But it was too late. The elephant charged down upon him,

and in a few seconds he was a shapeless mass."

Mannan (Washerman caste).--See Vannan and Velan.

Mannedora (lord of the hills).--A title assumed by Konda Doras. Manne

Sultan is a title of the Maharaja of Travancore and the Raja of

Vizianagram. The Konda Doras also style themselves Mannelu, or those

of the hills.

Mannepu-vandlu.--Said [181] to be the name, derived from mannemu,

highland, for Malas in parts of the Godavari district.

Mannu (earth).--A sub-division of Oddes, who are earth-workers. Manti,

which has also been returned by them at times of census, has a similar

significance (earthen). Man Udaiyan occurs as a synonym of Kusavan,

and Manal (sand) as an exogamous sept of Kappiliyan. Man Kavarai is

recorded in the Salem Manual as the name of a class of salt makers

from salt-earth.

Mantalayi.--Recorded, in the Travancore Census Report, 1901, as a

sub-division of Nayar.

Mappilla.--The Mappillas, or Moplahs, are defined in the Census Report,

1871, as the hybrid Mahomedan race of the western coast, whose numbers

are constantly being added to by conversion of the slave castes of

Malabar. In 1881, the Census Superintendent wrote that "among some of

them there may be a strain of Arab blood from some early generation,

but the mothers throughout have been Dravidian, and the class has been

maintained in number by wholesale adult conversion." Concerning the

origin of the Mappillas, Mr. Lewis Moore states [182] that "originally

the descendants of Arab traders by the women of the country, they

now form a powerful community. There appears to have been a large

influx of Arab settlers into Malabar in the ninth century A.D. and the

numbers have been constantly increased by proselytism. The Mappillas

came prominently forward at the time of the Portuguese invasion

at the end of the fifteenth century A.D." "The Muhammadan Arabs,"

Dr. Burnell writes, [183] "appear to have settled first in Malabar

about the beginning of the ninth century; there were heathen Arabs

there long before that in consequence of the immense trade conducted by

the Sabeans with India." "There are," Mr. B. Govinda Nambiar writes,

[184] "many accounts extant in Malabar concerning the introduction of

the faith of Islam into this district. Tradition says that, in the

ninth century of the Christian era, a party of Moslem pilgrims, on

their way to a sacred shrine in Ceylon, chanced to visit the capital

of the Perumal or king of Malabar, that they were most hospitably

entertained by that prince, and that he, becoming a convert to their

faith, subsequently accompanied them to Arabia (where he died). It

is further stated that the Perumal, becoming anxious of establishing

his new faith in Malabar, with suitable places of worship, sent his

followers with letters to all the chieftains whom he had appointed

in his stead, requiring them to give land for mosques, and to endow

them. The Perumal's instructions were carried out, and nine mosques

were founded and endowed in various parts of Malabar. Whatever truth

there may be in these accounts, it is certain that, at a very early

period, the Arabs had settled for commercial purposes on the Malabar

coast, had contracted alliances with the women of the country,

and that the mixed race thus formed had begun to be known as the

Mappillas. These Mappillas had, in the days of the Zamorin, played

an important part in the political history of Malabar, and had in

consequence obtained many valuable privileges. When Vasco da Gama

visited Calicut during the closing years of the fifteenth century,

we find their influence at court so powerful that the Portuguese

could not obtain a commercial footing there. The numerical strength

of the Mappillas was greatly increased by forcible conversions

during the period when Tippu Sultan held sway over Malabar." [At

the installation of the Zamorin, some Mappilla families at Calicut

have certain privileges; and a Mappilla woman, belonging to a certain

family, presents the Zamorin with betel nuts near the Kallai bridge,

on his return from a procession through the town.] According to one

version of the story of the Perumal, Cheraman Perumal dreamt that the

full moon appeared at Mecca on the night of the new moon, and that,

when on the meridian, it split into two, one half remaining in the

air, and the other half descending to the foot of a hill called Abu

Kubais, where the two halves joined together. Shortly afterwards,

a party of pilgrims, on their way to the foot-print shrine at Adam's

peak in Ceylon, landed in Cheraman Perumal's capital at Kodungallur,

and reported that by the same miracle, Muhammad had converted a number

of unbelievers to his religion.

The cephalic index of the Mappillas is lower than that of the other

Muhammadan classes in South India which I have examined, and this

may probably be explained by their admixture with dolichocephalic

Dravidians. The figures are as follows:--

Number examined. Cephalic index.

Mappilla 40 72.8

Sheik Muhammadan 40 75.6

Saiyad Muhammadan 40 75.6

Daira Muhammadan 50 75.6

Pathan Muhammadan 40 76.2

From the measurement of a very few Mappillas, members of the

Hyderabad Contingent, and Marathas, who went to England for the

Coronation in 1902, Mr. J. Gray arrived at the conclusion that

"the people on the west coast and in the centre of the Deccan,

namely the Moplas, Maharattas, and Hyderabad Contingent, differ

considerably from the Tamils of the east coast. Their heads are

considerably shorter. This points to admixture of the Dravidians

with some Mongolian element. There is a tradition that the Moplas

are descended from Arab traders, but the measurements indicate that

the immigrants were Turkish, or of some other Mongolian element,

probably from Persia or Baluchistan." [185]