district, are thus described by Mr. K. Rangachari. The corpse is
washed, dressed, and carried on a bier to the burning or burial
ground. Just before it is placed on the bier, all the relations,
who are under pollution, go round it three times, carrying an iron
measure round which straw has been wrapped, and containing a light. On
the way to the burial ground, the son or grandson scatters paddy,
which has been fried by the agnates. A pot of fire is carried by
the Vettiyan. At a certain spot the bier is placed on the ground,
and the son goes round it, carrying a pot of cooked rice, which he
breaks near the head of the corpse. This rice should not be touched
by man or beast, and it is generally buried. When the corpse has been
placed on the pyre, or laid in the grave, rice is thrown over it by
the relations. The son, carrying a pot of water, goes thrice round it,
and asks those assembled if he may finish the ceremony. On receiving
their assent, he again goes three times round the corpse, and, making
three holes in the pot, throws it down, and goes home without looking
back. If the dead person is unmarried, a mock marriage ceremony,
called kanni kaziththal (removing bachelorhood), is performed before
the corpse is laid on the bier. A garland of arka (Calotropis gigantea)
flowers and leaves is placed round its neck, and balls of mud from a
gutter are laid on the head, knees, and other parts of the body. In
some places a variant of the ceremony consists in the erection of a
mimic marriage booth which is covered with leaves of the arka plant,
flowers of which are placed round the neck as a garland. On the
third day after death, cooked rice, milk, fruits, etc., are offered
to the soul of the departed on two leaves placed one near the head,
the other near the feet of the corpse. Of these, the former is taken
by men, and the latter by women, and eaten. The karmanthiram, or final
ceremony, takes place on the twelfth or sixteenth day. All concerned in
it proceed to a tank with cooked rice, cakes, etc. A figure of Ganesa
(Pillayar) is made with mud, and five kalasam (vessels) are placed near
it. The various articles which have been brought are set out in front
of it. Two bricks, on which the figures of a man and woman are drawn,
are given to the son, who washes them, and does puja to them after an
effigy has been made at the waterside by a washerman. He then says
"I gave calves and money. Enter Kailasam (the abode of Siva). Find
your way to paralokam (the other world). I gave you milk and fruit. Go
to the world of the dead. I gave gingelly (Sesamum) and milk. Enter
yamalokam (abode of the god of death). Eleven descendants on the
mother's side and ten on the father's, twenty-one in all, may they
all enter heaven." He then puts the bricks into the water. On their
return home, the sons of the deceased are presented with new clothes.
It is recorded, in the Gazetteer of the Tanjore district, that, when
a man dies, camphor is not burnt in the house, but at the junction of
three lanes. Some Paraiyans, on the occurrence of a death in a family,
put a pot filled with dung or water, a broomstick and a fire-brand at
some place where three roads meet, or in front of the house, in order
to prevent the ghost from returning. An impression of the dead man's
palm is taken in cow-dung, and stuck on the wall. In some places,
e.g., at Tirutturaippundi, the Paraiyans observe a ceremony rather
like that observed by Valaiyans and Karaiyans on the heir's return
from the burning-ground on the second day. Three rice-pounders and a
chembu (vessel) of water are placed outside the door, and the heir
sits on these, chews a piece of fish, spits thrice, and then goes
and worships a light burning in the house.
Tattooing is practiced on women and children of both sexes, but not on
grown men. With children it is confined to a simple line drawn down
the forehead. Among Paraiyans who have become Roman Catholics, the
device is sometimes a cross. Women, like those of other Tamil castes,
frequently have their arms elaborately tattooed, and sometimes have a
small pattern between the breasts. A legend runs to the effect that,
many years ago, a Paraiyan woman wished her upper arms and chest to
be tattooed in the form of a bodice. The operation was successfully
carried out till the region of the heart was reached, and then a
vulnerable part was punctured by the needles, with the result that the
woman died. Whence has arisen a superstitious objection to tattooing
of the breasts.
Sometimes an arei-mudi, shaped like the leaf of the puvarasa tree
(Thespesia populnea), made of silver or silvered brass, is tied
round the waist of female infants as an ornament. Small, flat plates
of copper, called takudu, are frequently worn by children. One side
is divided into sixteen squares, in which, what look like the Telugu
numerals nine, ten, eleven and twelve are engraved. On the other side
a circle is drawn, which is divided into eight segments, in each of
which a Telugu letter is inscribed. This charm is supposed to protect
the wearer from harm coming from any of the eight cardinal points of
the Indian compass. Charms, in the form of metal cylinders, are worn
for the same purpose by adults and children, and procured from some
exorcist. Similar or the same charms are worn to avoid the baneful
influence of the evil eye. To prevent this from affecting their crops,
Paraiyans put up scarecrows in their fields. These are usually small
broken earthen pots, whitewashed or covered with spots of whitewash,
or even adorned with huge clay noses and ears, and made into grotesque
faces. They are set up on the end of poles, to attract the eye of the
passer-by from the crop. For the same reason more elaborate figures,
made of mud and twigs, in human shape, are sometimes set up. Before
wells are sunk, a charmer (mantirakkaran) is called in to recite
spells and find a likely spot, cocoanuts are broken, and the milk
thereof poured out to propitiate the gods of the place.
The Paraiyans are very largely employed as domestic servants by
Europeans. And it has been said that "so necessary to the comfort of
the public is the Paraiya that orthodox Brahman gentlemen may be seen
employing Paraiya coachmen and syces (footmen). The Christian Paraiya
has become 'Native Christian' caste, and has achieved, among other
things, University honours, the wearing of the surplice, and the rod
of the pedagogue." [62] Vast numbers of Paraiyans are agricultural
labourers. Till a score or so of years ago some were actually bond
serfs, and there are instances on record in quite recent years, which
show that it was no infrequent thing for a Paraiyan to mortgage his
son as security for the repayment of a loan. Some Paraiya families
own much land.
It is noted by Mr. Francis [63] that in the South Arcot district,
"their numbers, and the comparative wealth which ground-nut (Arachis
hypogæa) cultivation has brought them, have caused them to take
a rather better social position here than elsewhere, and they are
actually beginning to copy the social ways of the higher castes,
sometimes burning their dead (though those who have died of cholera
or small-pox are still always buried), marrying their children when
infants, and looking with disfavour on the remarriage of widows."
Current Tamil speech and custom divide the landless labouring Paraiyans
into padiyal and kuliyal. The padiyal is definitely and hereditarily
attached to some land-holding family in the Hindu grama. He can work
for no one else, and cannot change masters. His privilege is that in
times of drought and famine his master must support him. The kuliyal
is a mere day labourer, only employed, and therefore only receiving
pay (kuli) when required. He has no claim for maintenance in seasons
of scarcity, and, though no man's serf, is worse off than the padiyal.
Three communal servants, the grave-digger (Vettiyan), watchman
(Talaiyari), and scavenger (Toti) are all Paraiyans. The Vettiyan
officiates when a corpse is buried or burned. Hence the proverb
against meddling in what ought to be left to some one else:--"Let the
Vettiyan and the corpse struggle together." The Rev. H. Jensen notes
[64] in connection with this proverb that "when fire is applied to the
pyre at the burning-ground, it sometimes happens that the muscles of
the corpse contract in such a fashion that the body moves, and the
grave-digger has to beat it down into the fire. It looks as if the
two were engaged in a struggle. But no one else should interfere. The
grave-digger knows his own work best."
It is noted by Mr. H. A. Stuart [65] that "among the lower class of
Vellam Paraiyans, who are the village totis, the following legend is
current, accounting for the perquisites which they get for performing
the menial work of the village. When Adi Sesha was supporting the
earth, he became weary, and prayed to Siva for assistance. Siva ordered
a Paraiyan to beat upon his drum, and cry 'Let the ripe decay.' The
Paraiyan enquired what should be his reward, and was granted the
following privileges, viz., mankuli (reward for burning corpses),
san tuni (a span cloth), vaykkarisi (the rice in the corpse's mouth),
pinda soru (morsel of boiled rice), and suttu kuli (fee for bringing
firewood). This seemed to the Paraiya very little, and so, to increase
the death-rate and consequently his perquisites, he cried 'Let the
ripe and the unripe decay.' The swami (god) remonstrated with him,
for the result of his cry was that children and the middle-aged among
men died. The man pleaded poverty, and was given four additional
privileges, viz., a merkal to measure grain, a rod to measure the
ground, a scythe to cut grass, and the privilege of carrying the
karagam-pot when annually running over the village boundary. All the
above privileges still belong to the village vettis, who receive fees
for performing the duties referred to in the legend."
Some Paraiyans eat carrion, and Mr. Clayton has known them dig up
a buffalo which had been buried some hours, and eat its flesh. It is
said that even the lowest Paraiyans will not eat the flesh of cows, but
leave that to the leather-dressers (Chakkiliyans). Mr. Stuart, however,
states [66] that "the Konga Paraiyans and the Vellam Paraiyans, who
do scavenging work, will eat cows that have died a natural death,
while Tangalans only eat such as have been slaughtered." In time of
famine, the Paraiyans dig into ant-hills to rob the ants of their
store of grass seed. This is called pillarisi or grass rice.
There are many proverbs in Tamil, which refer to Paraiyans, from
which the following are selected:--
(1) If a Paraiyan boils rice, will it not reach God? i.e., God will
notice all piety, even that of a Paraiyan.
(2) When a Paraiya woman eats betel, her ten fingers (will be daubed
with) lime. The Paraiya woman is a proverbial slut.
(3) Though a Paraiya woman's child be put to school, it will still
say Ayye. Ayye is vulgar Tamil for Aiyar, meaning Sir.
(4) The palmyra palm has no shadow; the Paraiyan has no decency. A
contemptuous reference to Paraiya morality.
(5) The gourd flower and the Paraiyan's song have no savour. Paraiyans
use this saying about their own singing.
(6) Though seventy years of age, a Paraiyan will only do what he
is compelled.
(7) You may believe a Paraiyan, even in ten ways; you cannot believe
a Brahman. Almost the only saying in favour of the Paraiyan.
(8) Is the sepoy who massacred a thousand horse now living in disgrace
with the dogs of the paracheri?
(9) Paraiyan's talk is half-talk. A reference to Paraiya vulgarisms
of speech.
(10) Like Paraiya and Brahman, i.e., as different as possible.
(11) Not even a Paraiyan will plough on a full moon day.
(12) Paracheri manure gives a better yield than any other manure.
(13) The drum is beaten at weddings, and also at funerals. Said,
according to the Rev. H. Jensen, of a double-dealing unreliable person,
who is as ready for good as for evil.
(14) The harvest of the Paraiya never comes home.
The term Paraiya, it may be noted, is applied to the common dog of
Indian towns and villages, and to the scavenger kite, Milvus Govinda.
The Paraiyans are included by Mr. F. S. Mullaly in his 'Notes on
Criminal Classes of the Madras Presidency.' "The local criminals," he
writes, "throughout the Presidency in all villages are the Paraiyas,
and, though they cannot be considered de facto a criminal tribe,
yet a very large proportion of the criminals of the Presidency are
of this caste, notable among them being the Vepur Paraiyas of South
Arcot." For an account of these Vepur Paraiyas and their methods I must
refer the reader to Mr. Mullaly's description thereof. Concerning these
criminal Paraiyans, Mr. Francis writes as follows. [67] "There is one
branch of them in Suttukulam, a hamlet of Cuddalore. They are often
known as the Tiruttu (thieving) Paraiyans. The crimes to which they
are most addicted are house-breaking and the theft of cattle, sheep
and goats, and the difficulty of bringing them to book is increased by
the organised manner in which they carry on their depredations. They
are, for example, commonly in league with the very heads of villages,
who ought to be doing their utmost to secure their arrest, and they
have useful allies in some of the Udaiyans of these parts. It is
commonly declared that their relations are sometimes of a closer
nature, and that the wives of Vepur Paraiyans who are in enforced
retirement are cared for by the Udaiyans. To this is popularly
attributed the undoubted fact that these Paraiyans are often much
fairer in complexion than other members of that caste." It is said
to be traditional among the Vepur Paraiyans that the talis (marriage
badges) of Hindu women and lamps should not be stolen from a house,
and that personal violence should not be resorted to, except when
unavoidably necessary for the purpose of escape or self-defence.
In a kindly note on the Paraiya classes, Surgeon-Major W. R. Cornish
sums them up as follows. [68] "A laborious, frugal, and pleasure-loving
people, they are the very life-blood of the country, in whatever field
of labour they engage in. The British administration has freed them,
as a community, from the yoke of hereditary slavery, and from the
legal disabilities under which they suffered; but they still remain in
the lowest depths of social degradation. The Christian missionaries,
to their undying honour be it said, have, as a rule, persevered in
breaking through the time-honoured custom of treating the Paraiya as
dirt, and have admitted him to equal rights and privileges in their
schools and churches, and, whatever may be the present position
of the Paraiya community in regard to education, intelligence, and
ability to hold a place for themselves, they owe it almost wholly
to the Christian men and women who have given up their lives to win
souls for their great Master."
Paraiyans of Malabar, Cochin and Travancore.--For the following note on
the Paraiyans or Paraiyas of Cochin I am indebted to Mr. L. K. Anantha
Krishna Aiyar. [69] Paraiyas belong to a very low caste of the agrestic
serfs of Cochin, next to Pulayas in order of social precedence. They
will eat at the hands of all castes, save Ulladans, Nayadis, and
Pulayas. But orthodox Pulayas have to bathe five times, and let
blood flow, in order to be purified from pollution if they touch a
Paraiya. In rural parts, a Paraiya's hut may be seen far away on
the hill-side. At the approach of a member of some higher caste,
the inmates run away to the forest. They cannot walk along the public
roads, or in the vicinity of houses occupied by the higher castes. It
is said that they at times steal the children of Nayars, and hide
them in the forest, to bring them up as their own. They are extremely
filthy in person and habits. They very rarely bathe, or wash their
bodies, and a cloth, purchased at harvest time, is worn till it falls
to pieces. They will eat the flesh of cattle, and are on this account
despised even by the Pulayas. They are their own barbers and washermen.
A legend runs to the effect that Vararuchi, the famous astrologer,
and son of a Brahman named Chandragupta and his Brahman wife,
became the King of Avanthi, and ruled till Vikramaditya, the son of
Chandragupta by his Kshatriya wife, came of age, when he abdicated
in his favour. Once, when he was resting under an ashwastha tree
(Ficus religiosa), invoking the support of the deity living therein, he
overheard the conversation of two Gandarvas on the tree, to the effect
that he would marry a Paraiya girl. This he prevented by requesting
the king to have her enclosed in a box, and floated down a river
with a nail stuck into her head. The box was taken possession of by
a Brahman, who was bathing lower down, and, on opening it, he found a
beautiful girl, whom he considered to be a divine gift, and regarded
as his own daughter. One day the Brahman, seeing Vararuchi passing
by, invited him to mess with him, and his invitation was accepted on
condition that he would prepare eighteen curries, and give him what
remained after feeding a hundred Brahmans. The Brahman was puzzled,
but the maiden, taking a long leaf, placed thereon a preparation of
ginger corresponding to eighteen curries, and with it some boiled rice
used as an offering at the Vaiswadeva ceremony, as the equivalent of
the food for Brahmans. Knowing this to be the work of the maiden,
Vararuchi desired to marry her, and his wish was acceded to by the
Brahman. One day, while conversing with his wife about their past
lives, he chanced to see a nail stuck in her head, and he knew her
to be the girl whom he had caused to be floated down the stream. He
accordingly resolved to go on a pilgrimage with his wife, bathing in
rivers, and worshipping at temples. At last they came to Kerala, where
the woman bore him twelve sons, all of whom, except one, were taken
care of by members of different castes. They were all remarkable for
their wisdom, and believed to be the avatar (incarnation) of Vishnu,
gifted with the power of performing miracles. One of them was Pakkanar,
the great Malayalam bard. Once, it is said, when some Brahmans
resolved to go to Benares, Pakkanar tried to dissuade them from so
doing by telling them that the journey to the sacred city would not be
productive of salvation. To prove the fruitlessness of their journey,
he plucked a lotus flower from a stagnant pool, and gave it to them
with instructions to deliver it to a hand which would rise from the
Ganges, when they were to say that it was a present for the goddess
Ganga from Pakkanar. They did as directed, and returned with news of
the miracle. Pakkanar then led them to the stagnant pool, and said
"Please return the lotus flower, Oh! Ganga," when it appeared in his
hand. Pakkanar is said to have earned his living by the sale of the
wicker-work, which he made. One day he could not sell his baskets, and
he had to go starving. A neighbour, however, gave him some milk, which
Pakkanar accepted, and told the donor to think of him if ever he was
in danger. The neighbour had a married daughter living with him, who,
some time after, was dying of snake-bite. But her father remembered
the words of Pakkanar, who came to the rescue, and cured her. One of
Pakkanar's brothers was named Narayana Branthan, who pretended to
be a lunatic, and whose special delight was in rolling huge stones
up a hill, for the pleasure of seeing them roll down. Though the son
of a Brahman, he mixed freely with members of all castes, and had no
scruple about dining with them. A Nambutiri Brahman once asked him to
choose an auspicious day for the performance of his son's upanayanam
(thread ceremony). He selected a most inauspicious day and hour,
when the boy's family assembled and asked Narayana whether the rite
should be celebrated. He told the father to look at the sky, which
became brilliantly illuminated, and a Brahman was seen changing his
sacred thread. The omen being considered favourable, the investiture
ceremony was proceeded with.
The Paraiyas of Malabar and Cochin are celebrated for their knowledge
of black magic, and are consulted in matters relating to theft,
demoniacal influence, and the killing of enemies. Whenever anything is
stolen, the Paraiya magician is consulted. Giving hopes of the recovery
of the stolen article, he receives from his client some paddy (rice)
and a few panams (money), with which he purchases plantain fruits, a
cocoanut or two, toddy, camphor, frankincense, and rice flour. After
bathing, he offers these to his favourite deity Parakutti, who is
represented by a stone placed in front of his hut. Rattling an iron
instrument, and singing till his voice almost fails, he invokes the
god. If the lost property does not turn up, he resorts to a more
indignant and abusive form of invocation. If the thief has to be
caught, his prayers are redoubled, and he becomes possessed, and blood
passes out of his nose and mouth. When a person is ill, or under the
influence of a demon, an astrologer and a magician named by the former
are consulted. The magician, taking a cadjan (palm) leaf or copper or
silver sheet, draws thereon cabalistic figures, and utters a mantram
(prayer). Rolling up the leaf or sheet, he ties it to a thread,
and it is worn round the neck in the case of a woman, and round the
loins in the case of a man. Sometimes the magician, taking a thread,
makes several knots in it, while reciting a mantram. The thread is worn
round the neck or wrist. Or ashes are thrown over a sick person, and
rubbed over the forehead and breast, while a mantram is repeated. Of
mantrams, the following may be cited as examples. "Salutation to god
with a thousand locks of matted hair, a thousand hands filling the
three worlds and overflowing the same. Oh! Goddess mother, out of the
supreme soul, descend. Oh! Sundara Yaksha (handsome she-devil), Swaha
(an efficacious word)." "Salutation to god. He bears a lion on his
head, or is in the form of a lion in the upper part of his body. In
the mooladhara sits Garuda, the lord of birds, enemy of serpents,
and vahana (vehicle) of Vishnu. He has Lakshmana to the left, Rama to
the right, Hanuman in front, Ravana behind, and all around, above,
below, everywhere he has Sri Narayana Swaha. Mayst thou watch over
or protect me."
The Paraiyans are notorious for the performance of marana kriyakal,
or ceremonies for the killing of enemies. They resort to various
methods, of which the following are examples:--
(1) Make an image in wax in the form of your enemy. Take it in your
right hand, and your chain of beads in your left hand. Then burn the
image with due rites, and it shall slay your enemy in a fortnight.
(2) Take a human bone from a burial-ground, and recite over it a
thousand times the following mantra:--"Oh, swine-faced goddess! seize
him, seize him as a victim. Drink his blood; eat, eat his flesh. Oh,
image of imminent death! Malayala Bhagavathi." The bone, thrown into
the enemy's house, will cause his ruin.