Page:Castes and Tribes of Southern India, Volume 4.djvu/435

Rh which must be kindled by the friction of two pieces of wood. All assemble before this sacred fire, and join in singing or reciting the Dandakamu, after which the Dāsaris dance a dance called the request dance. A lotus flower is simulated by arranging betel leaves in a small chembu (metal vessel), and this is placed in a plate along with the severed head. The tray is then carried three times round the corpse by the wife of the deceased if he was married; if not, by his mother; and, if he had no kin, by a Basavi. The head is then taken by the Guru, and fixed properly to the trunk, the junction being plentifully daubed with sacred earth (tirumani). A new cloth is then spread over the corpse, and a network of flowers over all. The Dāsaris again walk round the corpse, calling on Tembaru Manara, repeating at the same time a mantram. Then Kurumayya, the caste Guru, strokes the corpse from head to foot three times with his staff, after which he places his foot on the head of the corpse, and calls on the body to rise. The ability of the Dāsaris to perform this marvel is implicitly believed in. Some I have asked have seen it attempted, but on one occasion it failed because the wife was unwell (under menstrual pollution). On another occasion, the ceremony was not carried out with fitting reverence, and failed in consequence. "The chief people among the Dāsaris are Guru, Annalayya, Godugulayya (umbrella men), and Tuttulayya (horn-blowers). The Dāsaris have got certain badges of office, which are supposed to have been given by Chennudu on the conquest of Vijayanagar. [According to tradition, between the 8th and nth centuries A.D. there was great rivalry between the Saivite and Vishnuvite sects, and it is supposed that Kurumayya, fighting on the side of the Vishnuvites, by the aid of the