Page:Castes and Tribes of Southern India, Volume 2.djvu/444

IZHAVA danda meaning punishment or control, is a popular title in some parts. Asan, from Acharya, a teacher, is extremely common. The recipients of this honour were instructors in gymnastics and military exercises to Nāyar and Izhava soldiers in bygone times, and even now ruins of old kalaris or exercise grounds attached to their houses are discernible in many places. Some Izhavas in South Travancore appear to be honoured with the title of Mudaliyar. Many families were invested with similar honours by the ancient ruling houses of Ambalapuzha, Kayenkulam, and Jayasimhanad (Ouilon). Even now, some titles are conferred by the Rājah of Idappalli. The wives of these dignitaries are respectively known as Chānnatti, Panikkatti, etc. The houses of the Izhavas resemble those of the Nāyars in form. Each house is a group of buildings, the most substantial of which, known as the arappura, stands in the centre. On the left side is the vadakkettu or woman's apartment, including the kitchen. There is a court-yard in front of the arappura, and a little building called kizhakkettu enclosing it on the eastern side. Houses invariably face the east. The main entrance stands a little to the south of the kizhakkettu, to the south of which again is the tozhuttu or cow-shed. These buildings, of course, are found only in rich houses, the poor satisfying themselves with an arappura, a vatakketu, and a tozhuttu. A tekketu is to be seen to the south of the arappura in some cases. This is erected mainly to perpetuate the memory of some deceased member of the family known for learning, piety, or bravery. A pitha or seat, a conch, a cane, and a small bag containing ashes, are secured within. It is kept scrupulously free from pollution, and worship is offered on fixed days to the ancestors. The tekketu is enclosed on all the three sides,