Page:Castes and Tribes of Southern India, Volume 6.djvu/349

Rh for worship, carry torches before the goddess during processions, and watch the gate of the temple during the night. The small income which they derive from the temple is supplemented by the manufacture and sale of palmyra leaf baskets, and umbrellas made from Pandanus leaves. As a class, the Sātānis are given to liquor, and all important ceremonial occasions are made the excuse for copious potations. This weakness is so well known that, in the north of the Presidency, the term Rāmānuja Matham is used to denote the consumption of meat and drink at death or srādh ceremonies, just as Saivam signifies vegetarianism. The Sātāni mendicant can be recognised by the peculiar flat gourd-shaped brass pot and palm leaf fan which he carries. The Sātānis claim to have sprung from the sweat of Virāt Purusha (lord of the universe). The following legend is told, as accounting for the removal of the kudumi (tuft of hair on the head), and wearing the cloth without a fold behind. In the time of Rāmānuja, the Sātānis enjoyed certain privileges in the temples, but, not satisfied with these, they claimed to take rank next to Brāhmans. This privilege was accorded, and, when flowers and other things used in the worship of the god were to be distributed, they were handed over to the Sātānis. They, however, were unable to decide who should be deputed to represent the community, each person decrying the others as being of low caste. Rāmānuja accordingly directed that they should shave their heads, and wear their loin-cloths with a fold in front only. In addition to other occupations already noted, Sātānis sell turmeric, coloured powders, and sacred balls of white clay used by Vaishnavites. Some act as priests to Balijas and Kōmatis, at whose death ceremonies the presence of a Sātāni is essential. Immediately after