Page:Castes and Tribes of Southern India, Volume 7.djvu/281

Rh reply, the friend either closes the open hand of the chief mourner with his own as a form of embrace, or flings himself on the ground in the booth, and weeps. Each visitor then goes to a meeting of the nādu which is being held outside the village, and a Paraiyan and three Urālis inform the headman who have visited the booth and who have not, and ask if it may be removed. Permission being given, the plantains are cut down, and the woman-folk wail round a chembu (vessel) placed there. All then proceed to the nādu meeting, where a turban is put on a Paraiyan, a dancing-girl and a Pandāram, and the Paraiyan (called Nāttu Sāmban) beats his drum, and pronounces a blessing on the nādu. Finally all repair to the house of the deceased, where the headman puts three handfuls of kambu (millet) into the cloth of his wife or some other member of the family, and throws a mortar on the ground. Punishments for caste offences take some curious forms. A margosa (Melia Azadirachta) leaf is put on the house of anyone who is excommunicated. If a man seduces a girl of the caste, an enquiry is held, and the pair are married. The waist-string of the man is tied round the neck of the woman, and a Tottiyan is called in to take away the pollution which they and their relatives have incurred. They are taken to a tank (pond), where 108 holes have been made by the Tottiyan, and are made to bathe in every hole, sprinkling the water over their heads. A sheep is then killed by a Tottiyan and a Chakkiliyan, its head is buried, and the couple and their relatives are made to walk over the spot. The blood of the animal is then smeared on their foreheads, and they all have to bathe again. They are next given cow's urine to drink, and then once more bathe. After that they are given milk, and are made to prostrate themselves before the panchāyat (council). Finally they have to give a