Page:Castes and Tribes of Southern India, Volume 3.djvu/550

KORAVA From a note on the Yerukalas of the Nellore district, I gather that, as a rule, the dead are buried, though respected elders of the community are cremated. Married individuals are carried to the grave on a bier, those who die unmarried wrapped in a mat. On the second day, some cooked food, and a fowl, are placed near the grave, to be eaten by crows. A pot of water is carried thrice round the grave, and then thrown down. On the ninth day, food is once more offered for the crows. The final death ceremonies are generally performed after two or three months. Cooked food, onions, brinjals (fruits of Solanum Melongena), Phaseolus pulse, squash gourd (Cucurbita maxima), pork, and mutton are placed on a number of castor (Ricinus) leaves spread on the floor, and offered to the soul of the deceased, which is represented by a human figure drawn on a new cloth. At the conclusion of the worship, the food is placed on new winnowing trays provided for the purpose, and given to the relations, who place the winnows on the roof of the house till the following day, when the food is eaten. By some Koravas, a ceremony in honour of the departed ancestors is performed at the time of the November new moon. A well-polished brass vessel, with red and white marks on it, is placed in the corner of a room, which has previously been swept, and purified with cow-dung. In front of the pot is placed a leaf plate, on which cooked rice and other edibles are set. Incense is burned, and the eldest son of the house partakes of the food in the hope that he, in due course, will be honoured by his offspring.

The Koramas of Mysore are said to experience considerable difficulty in finding men to undertake the work of carrying the corpse to the grave. Should the dead Korama be a man who has left a young widow, it is