Page:Castes and Tribes of Southern India, Volume 4.djvu/135

Rh and foretells coming events for such Kuravas as are assembled. The headmen of the Kuravas are called Ūrāli and Panikkan, and they must be paid a fee of not less than ten chuckrams on all religious occasions. The priest is known as Kaikkaran. The Kuravas observe two forms of marriage ceremonial, viz., the tāli-kettu before puberty, and sambandham. At the former, an elderly Kuratti (Kurava woman) ties the minnu or wedding ornament round the neck of the girl. When a Kurava wishes to marry a girl, he must pay twelve fanams to her maternal uncle. Widows remarry, and divorce, though void without the consent of the headmen, is easily effected. The form of inheritance is marumakkathāyam (in the female line).

The dead are buried, and death pollution is observed for twelve days. The Kuravas are obliged to stand, according to some at forty-eight, and according to others at sixty-four paces from a high-caste Hindu. They regard themselves as higher in the social scale than Pulaiyas and Paraiyans.  Kuravan.— Recorded, in the Travancore Census Report, 1901, as a sub-division of Nāyar.  Kurēshi.— Recorded, in the Madras Census Report, 1901, as a territorial name returned by Muhammadans, Kurēshi being a village in Arabia; also one of the subdivisions of the Navāyat tribe.  Kuricchan.——The Kuricchans, or Kuricchiyans, are described by Mr. H. A. Stuart * as "the hunting caste of Malabar. Some derive the word from kurikke, to mark or assign, as they say that this caste fixed the 