Page:Castes and Tribes of Southern India, Volume 2.djvu/226

DUDEKULA two names are assumed by an individual, one a Hindu name for every day use, the other Muhammadan for ceremonial occasions. The Dūdēkulas depend for the performance of their ceremonies largely on the Khāzi, by whom even the killing of a fowl for domestic purposes has to be carried out. The Dūdēkula, like other Muhammadans, is averse to taking animal life without due religious rites, and the zabh, or killing of an animal for food, is an important matter. One who is about to do so should first make vazu (ablution), by cleaning his teeth and washing his mouth, hands, face, forearms, head and feet. He should then face the west, and an assistant holds the animal to be slaughtered upside down, and facing west. Water is poured into its mouth, and the words Bismillā hi Allā hu Akbar uttered. The operator then cuts the throat, taking care that the jugular veins are divided. In remote villages, where a Khāzi is not available, the Dūdēkulas keep a sacrificial knife, which has been sanctified by the Khāzi repeating over it the same words from the Korān as are used when an animal is slaughtered. The first words which a Muhammadan child should hear are those of the azān, or call to prayer, which are uttered in its ear immediately after birth. This ceremony is observed by those Dūdēkulas who live in towns or big villages, or can afford the services of a Khāzi. It is noted by Mr. Francis that the Dūdēkulas raise the azān at sunset. A few, who have been through a course of religious instruction at a Madrasa (school), may be able to do this. A Muhammadan is supposed to raise the azān five times daily, viz., before sunrise, between noon and 3 P.M., between 4 and 6 P.M., at sunset, and between 8 P.M. and midnight.