Page:Castes and Tribes of Southern India, Volume 6.djvu/54

PANAN it is burnt. The next day, the chief mourner pays his respects to the Rāja, with an umbrella of his own making, when the Rāja bestows upon him the title of Kapradan.

"There are magicians and sorcerers among the Pānāns, who sometimes, at the request even of the high-caste men, practice the black art. Some of the Pānāns, like the Parayans, engage in magical rites of a repulsive nature, in order to become possessors of a powerful medicine, the possession of which is believed to confer the power of obtaining anything he wishes. They also believe in the existence of a demoniacal hierarchy. Changili Karuppan, Pechi, Oodara Karuppan. Kāli, Chotala Karuppan, Chotala Bhadrakāli, Yakshi, Gandharvan, and Hanumān are the names of the chief demons whom they profess to control with the aid of mantrams (consecrated formulæ) and offerings. They also profess that they can send one or more of these demons into the bodies of men, and cast them out when persons are possessed of them. They profess to cure all kinds of diseases in children with the aid of magic and medicines, and all the castemen believe that harm or even death may be caused to men with the aid of sorcerers. In such cases, an astrologer is consulted, and, according to his calculations, the aid of a magician is sought for. When a person is suffering from what are believed to be demoniacal attacks, he is relieved by the performance of the following ceremony, called pathalahōmam. A pit about six feet in length, three feet in depth, and a foot or two in breadth, is dug. A Pānān, covered with a new piece of cloth, is made to lie in the pit, which is filled in with earth, leaving a small hole for him to breathe. Over the middle of his body, the earth is raised and made level. A sacred fire (hōmam) is made over this with the branches of a