Page:Castes and Tribes of Southern India, Volume 6.djvu/376

SAVARA spirits, that they may not be angry with the man who has married the woman, as he has paid the penalty prescribed by the elders according to the immemorial custom of the Savaras.

From a still further account of the ceremonial observances in connection with marriage, with variations, I gather that the liquor is the fermented juice of the Salop or sago palm (Caryota urens), and is called ara-sāl. On arrival at the girl's house, on the first occasion, the young man's party sit at the door thereof, and, making three cups from the leaves kiredol (Uncaria Gambier) or jāk (ArtocarpuS integrifolia), pour the liquor into them, and lay them on the ground. As the liquor is being poured into the cups, certain names, which seem to be those of the ancestors, are called out. The liquor is then drunk, and an arrow (ām) is stuck in the roof, and a brass bangle (khadu) left, before the visitors take their departure. If the match is unacceptable to the girl's family, the arrow and bangle are returned. The second visit is called pank-sāl, or sang-sang-dal-sol, because the liquor pots are smeared with turmeric paste. Sometimes it is called nyanga-dal-sol, because the future bridegroom carries a small pot of liquor on a stick borne on the shoulder; or pojang, because the arrow, which has been stuck in the roof, is set up in the ground close to one of the pots of liquor. In some places, several visits take place subsequent to the first visit, at one. of which, called rodai-sāl, a quarrel arises. It is noted by Mr. Ramamurti Pantulu that, among the Savaras who have settled in the low country, some differences have arisen in the marriage rites "owing to the introduction of Hindu custom, i.e., those obtaining among the Sūdra castes. Some of the Savaras who are more Hinduised than others consult their medicine men