Page:Castes and Tribes of Southern India, Volume 6.djvu/225

Rh corpse is cremated, fire is carried to the burning-ground by a barber. When the corpse has been laid on the pyre, rice is thrown over it. The son, accompanied by a barber and a Panisavan or washerman, and carrying a pot of water on his shoulder, goes thrice round the pyre. At the third round, the Panisavan or washerman makes holes in the pot, and it is thrown away. On the day of the funeral, all the agnates shave their heads. On the following day, they go to the burial or burning ground with tender cocoanuts, milk, cakes, etc., and Arichandra, who presides over the burial-ground, is worshipped. Milk is then poured over the grave, or the remains of the bones, which are thrown into the sea. On the night of the fifteenth day, Panisavans blow the conch and horn, and red cloths are presented to the widow of the deceased by her relations. At about 4 A.M., a white cloth is thrown on her neck, and the tāli string is cut by an old woman. The tāli is removed therefrom, and dropped into a new pot filled with water. Hence, a form of abuse among Pattanavan women is, May your tāli be snapped, and thrown into water. The tāli is removed from the pot, which is thrown into the sea. The tāli is laid on a dish containing milk, and all those who visit the widow must set eyes on it before they see her. In the city of Madras, the Pattanavans have the privilege of supplying bearers at temples, and the atmosphere surrounding them as they carry the idols on their sturdy shoulders through Triplicane is said to be "redolent of brine and the toddy shop."

In a judgment of the High Court of Judicature, Madras, it is recorded that, in the eighteenth century, some boat-owners and boatmen belonging to the Curukula Vamsha or Varunakula Mudali caste, who