Though the Kolams retain some very primitive customs, those of Yeotmal,
as already stated, are hardly distinguishable from the Kunbis or
Hindu cultivators. Colonel Mackenzie notes that they are held to be
lower than the Gonds, because a Kolam will take food from a Gond,
but the latter will not return the compliment. They will eat the
flesh of rats, tigers, snakes, squirrels and of almost any animals
except dogs, donkeys and jackals. In another respect they are on a
level with the lowest aborigines, as some of them do not use water
to clean their bodies after performing natural functions, but only
leaves. Yet they are not considered as impure by the Hindus, are
permitted to enter Hindu temples, and hold themselves to be defiled
by the touch of a Mahar or a Mang. A Kolam is forbidden to beg by
the rules of the tribe, and he looks down on the Mahars and Mangs,
who are often professional beggars. In Wardha, too, the Kolams will
not collect dead-wood for sale as fuel.