Page:Castes and Tribes of Southern India, Volume 2.djvu/123

Rh that thieving is their traditional occupation, and, as such,regard it as justifiable. There is a legend that they adopted this occupation as their profession because their ancestors assisted the Pāndavas to escape from the lac fort which was constructed by the Kurus with a view to killing them, by digging a secret subterranean passage. According to another story, the Dandāsis are descended from the offspring of a clandestine amour of Krishna with Dhūthika, Rādha's handmaid. The Dandāsis perform an interesting ceremony of initiation into the profession of thieving, when a child is born. When it is three or five days old, the headman (Bēhara) is invited to attend. A breach is made in the wall, or beneath the door sill. Through this the infant is passed by the Bēhara three times, and received by some members of the family. Each time the Bēhara repeats the words "Enter, baby enter. May you excel your father! " The Dandāsis, when questioned concerning this custom, denied its existence, but some admitted that it was carried out in former days. An old woman stated that her grandchild was passed through a breach beneath the door, but was not inclined to enter into details.

A number of exogamous septs occur among the Dandāsis, of which the following may be noted. Members of the Santarāsi sept must avoid using mats made of the sedge which goes by this name. Kilalendias avoid touching the bamboo posts used by washermen to support the ropes on which cloths are hung to dry. They sacrifice a pig and seven fowls to their gods on the newmoon day, on which the head of a male child is first shaved. Diyāsis show special reverence for the sun, and cloths, mokkutos (forehead chaplets), garlands, and other articles to be used by the bride and bridegroom at a