Page:Castes and Tribes of Southern India, Volume 2.djvu/68

CHERUMAN on the roadside, and yelling in a shrill voice 'Ambrāne, Ambarāne, give me some pice, and throw them on the cloth.'] His position is intolerable in the Native States of Cochin and Travancore, where Brāhman influence is in the ascendant; while in the Palghāt tāluk the Cherumars cannot, even to this day, enter the bazaar." A melancholy picture has been drawn of the Cherumans tramping along the marshes in mud, often wet up to their waists, to avoid polluting their superiors. In 1904, a Cheruman came within polluting distance of a Nāyar, and was struck with a stick. The Cheruman went off and fetched another, whereupon the Nāyar ran away. He was, however, pursued by the Cherumans. In defending himself with a spade, the Nāyar struck the foremost Cheruman on the head, and killed him.* In another case, a Cheruman, who was the servant of a Māppilla, was fetching grass for his master, when he inadvertently approached some Tiyans, and thereby polluted them. The indignant Tiyans gave not only the Cheruman, but his master also, a sound beating by way of avenging the insult offered to them.

The status of the Pulayas of the Cochin State is thus described by Mr. Anantha Krishna Iyer. "They abstain from eating food prepared by the Velakkathalavans (barbers), Mannans (washermen), Pānāns, Vettuvans, Parayans, Nayādis, Ulladans, Malayans, and Kādars. The Pulayas in the southern parts of the State have to stand at a distance of 90 feet from Brāhmans and 64 feet from Nāyars, and this distance gradually diminishes towards the lower castes. They are polluted by Pula Cherumas, Parayas, Nayādis, and Ulladans. [The Pula Cherumas are said to eat beef, and sell the