Page:Castes and Tribes of Southern India, Volume 2.djvu/33

Rh of their own caste. During their performances, flesh and toddy may not be offered to the deceased person.  Chembian.— A name assumed by some Pallis or Vanniyans, who claim that they belong to the Chōla race, on the supposition that Chembinādu is a synonym for Chōla.  Chembillam (chembu, copper). — An exogamous section of Mukkuvan.  '''Chembōtti. —''' In the Madras Census Report, 1901, it is stated that the name Chembotti is derived from "chembu, copper, and kotti, he who beats." They are coppersmiths in Malabar, who are distinct from the Malabar Kammālans. They are supposed to be descendants of men who made copper idols for temples, and so rank above the Kammālans in social position, and about equally with the lower sections of the Nāyars. The name is also used as an occupational term by the Konkan Native Christian coppersmiths. In the Cochin and Travancore Census Reports, Chembukotti is recorded as an occupational title or sub-caste of Nāyars who work in copper, chiefly in temples and Brāhman houses. In the Gazetteer of the Malabar district, the Chembōttis are described as copper-workers, whose traditional business is the roofing of the Sri-kōvil, or inner shrine of the temple with that metal. They are said to have originally formed part of the Kammālan community. " When the great temple at Taliparamba was completed, it was purified on a scale of unprecedented grandeur, no less than a thousand Brāhmans being employed. What was their dismay when the ceremony was well forward, to see a Chembōtti coming from the Sri-kōvil, where he had been putting finishing touches to the roof. This appeared to involve a recommencement of the whole 