Page:Castes and Tribes of Southern India, Volume 6.djvu/95

Rh Pānos, also known by the title of Dombo or Sitra in some parts, are supposed to be Paraiya [Telugu Mala] emigrants from the low country. Their profession is weaving or brass work, the monotony of which they vary by petty trading in horns, skins and live cattle, and occasionally enliven by house-breaking and theft at the expense of the Khonds, who have an incautious trick of leaving their habitations utterly unguarded when they go off to the hills to cultivate. [In the Madras Census Report, 1901, the Sitras are said to be supposed to be the progeny of a Khond man and a Haddi woman, who manufacture the brass rings and bangles worn by the Khonds.] The Pānos are drunken, immoral, and dirty in their habits. The Khonds refuse to eat with them, but I do not find that this objection extends to drinking, at which both Khond and Pāno display surprising capabilities. Pānos are also the professional musicians of the country, and attend weddings, deaths and sacrifices in this character, for which they are recompensed with food, liquor, and cloths. The generality of Khond and Pāno houses are constructed of broad sâl (Shorea robusta) logs, hewn out with the axe and thatched with jungle grass, which is impervious to white-ants. In bamboo jungles, of course, bamboo is substituted for sâl. The Pānos generally affect a detached quarter, known as Dombo sai. Intermarriage between Khonds, Pānos, and Uriyas is not recognised, but cases do occur when a Pano induces a Khond woman to go off with him. She may live with him as his wife, but no ceremony takes place. [A few years ago, a young Khond was betrothed to the daughter of another Khond, and, after a few years, managed to pay up the necessary number of gifts. He then applied to the girl's father to name the day for the marriage. Before the wedding took place however, a