Page:Castes and Tribes of Southern India, Volume 6.djvu/148

PARAIYAN :(10) Like Paraiya and Brāhman, i.e., as different as possible.


 * (11) Not even a Paraiyan will plough on a full moon day.


 * (12) Parachēri manure gives a better yield than any other manure.


 * (13) The drum is beaten at weddings, and also at funerals. Said, according to the Rev. H. Jensen, of a double-dealing unreliable person, who is as ready for good as for evil.


 * (14) The harvest of the Paraiya never comes home.

The term Paraiya, it may be noted, is applied to the common dog of Indian towns and villages, and to the scavenger kite, Milvus Govinda. The Paraiyans are included by Mr. F. S. Mullaly in his 'Notes on Criminal Classes of the Madras Presidency.' "The local criminals," he writes, "throughout the Presidency in all villages are the Paraiyas, and, though they cannot be considered de facto a criminal tribe, yet a very large proportion of the criminals of the Presidency are of this caste, notable among them being the Vēpūr Paraiyas of South Arcot." For an account of these Vēpūr Paraiyas and their methods I must refer the reader to Mr. Mullaly's description thereof. Concerning these criminal Paraiyans, Mr. Francis writes as follows.* "There is one branch of them in Suttukulam, a hamlet of cuddalore. They are often known as the Tiruttu (thieving) Paraiyans. The crimes to which they are most addicted are house-breaking and the theft of cattle, sheep and goats, and the difficulty of bringing them to book is increased by the organised manner in which they carry on their depredations. They are, for example, commonly in