Page:Castes and Tribes of Southern India, Volume 4.djvu/10

 fish, and the flesh of goats and deer. The Uriya Koronos observe the gosha system, and carry it to such an extent that, after a girl attains puberty, she is not allowed to appear before her elder brother. Their titles are Patnaik and Mahanti."

The heads of the Ganjam villages are, Mr. S. P. Rice informs us, "called Korono, the doer, and Karji, the manager. The Korono, who is really only the accountant, but who, by reason of his higher education, is generally the ultimate authority in the village, appropriates to himself the title Potonaiko, as his caste distinction. The word signifies the Naik or head of the town." It has been noted that "in the Telugu districts, the Karnam is usually a Brāhman. Being in some respects the most intelligent, and the most unpopular man in the village, he is both feared and hated. Murders of accountants, though infrequent, are not unknown." Of proverbs relating to Karnams, the following may be quoted :—


 * Even if a thousand pagodas are levied from a village, not even a cash will be levied from the Karnam (a pagoda is a gold, and a cash a copper coin).


 * The Karnam is the cause of the Kapu's (cultivator caste) death.


 * The hungry Karnam looks into his old accounts (to worry his creditors).


 * The co-operation of the Karnam is as necessary as the axles to the wheels of a cart.


 * One Karnam to one village.


 * A quiet Karnam is as little cared for as a tame elephant.


 * If a Karnam trusts another, his end is near.


 * If an enemy is his neighbour; if another Karnam is his superior; if the Kāpu bears complaints against him, a Karnam cannot live on.