Page:Castes and Tribes of Southern India, Volume 3.djvu/407

Rh of the children were Kasarodi and Singarodi. All these individuals sprang from the interior of the earth, together with two small plants called nangakoocha and badokoocha, on which they depended for subsistence. One day, when Karaboodi was cutting these plants for cooking, she accidentally cut the little finger of her left hand, and the blood dropped on the ground. Instantly, the wet soft earth on which it fell became dry and hard. The woman then cooked the food, and gave some of it to her son, who asked her why it tasted so much sweeter than usual. She replied that she might have a dream that night, and, if so, would let him know. Next morning, the woman told him that, if he would act on her advice, he would prosper in this world, that he was not to think of her as his mother, and was to cut away the flesh of her back, dig several holes in the ground, bury the flesh, and cover the holes with stones. This her son did, and the rest of the body was cremated. The wet soil dried up and became hard, and all kinds of animals and trees came into existence. A partridge scratched the ground with its feet, and rāgi (millet), maize, dhāl (pea), and rice sprung forth from it. The two brothers argued that, as the sacrifice of their mother brought forth such abundance, they must sacrifice their brothers, sisters, and others, once a year in future. A god, by name Boora Panoo, came, with his wife and children, to Tharthaboodi and the two young men, to whom Boora Panoo's daughters were married. They begat children, who were divided equally between Boora Panoo the grandfather and their fathers. Tharthaboodi objected to this division on the grounds that Boora Panoo's son would stand in the relation of Mamoo to the children of Kasarodi and Singarodi; that, if the child was a female, when she got married, she would have to give a rupee to her Mamoo;