Page:Castes and Tribes of Southern India, Volume 3.djvu/171

Rh the Tamil tāli), and hands it to the bridegroom, who ties it round the bride's neck, his sister or other elderly matron seeing that it is properly tied. The bride's father comes forward, and, placing his daughter's right hand in the bridegroom's right, pours water on them. The other ceremonies are exactly similar to those practiced by the Brāhmans." Girls are invariably married before puberty. Widows are not allowed to remarry, and divorce is not recognised. The Kamsalas are either Mādhvas, Saivites, or Lingāyats. All revere the caste goddess Kāmākshi Amma, who is represented by each sub-division in a special manner. Thus the Kanchāra represents her by the stone on which he beats his metal work, the goldsmith by one of his implements, and the blacksmith by his bellows. On the eighteenth day of the Dasara festival, an annual festival is celebrated in honour of the goddess. The dead are buried in a seated posture, but, in recent years, some Kamsalas have taken to cremation. The death rites closely follow the Brāhmanical form. Death pollution is observed for twelve days. In the Vizagapatam district, some artisans are engaged in the ivory-carving industry. They " manufacture for European clients fancy articles, such as chess- boards, photograph frames, card-cases, trinket boxes, and so on, from tortoise-shell, horn, porcupine quills, and ivory. The industry is in a flourishing state, and has won many medals at exhibitions. It is stated to have been introduced by Mr. Fane, who was Collector of the district from 1859 to 1862, and to have then been developed by the Kamsalis, and men of other castes who eventually took it up. The foundation of the fancy articles is usually sandal-wood, which is imported from