Page:Castes and Tribes of Southern India, Volume 7.djvu/354

VALLUVAN as their gōtra. The gōtra of the latter is Sidambara Say ichya Ayyamgar. Sidambara, or Chidambaram, is the site of one of the most sacred Siva temples. The sub-division Ālvār claims descent from Tiruppān Ālvār, one of the twelve Vaishnava saints. In the Tanjore district, the Valluvans have exogamous septs or pattaperu, named after persons, e.g., Marulipichan, Govindazhvan, etc.

The Valluvans include in their ranks both Vaishnavites and Saivites. The majority of the latter, both males and females, wear the lingam. The affairs of the community are adjusted by a caste council and there are, in most places, two hereditary officers called Kōlkaran and Kanakkan. At the betrothal ceremony the bride's money (pariyam), betel, jewels, flowers, and fruit, are placed in the future bride's lap. The money ranges from seven to ten rupees if the bridegroom's village is on the same side of a river as the bride's, and from ten to twenty rupees if it is on the other side. A small sum of money, called uramurai kattu (money paid to relations) and panda varisai (money paid in the pandal), is also paid by the bridegroom's party for a feast of toddy to the relations. This is the proper time for settling caste disputes by the village council. On the wedding day, the milk-post, consisting of a green bamboo pole, is set up, and a number of pots, brought from the potter's house, are placed near it. On the dais are set four lamps, viz., an ordinary brass lamp, kudavilakku (pot light), alankāra vilakku (ornamental light), and pāligai vilakku (seedling light). The bride and bridegroom bring some sand, spread it on the floor near the dais, and place seven leaves on it. Cotton threads, dyed with turmeric, are tied to the pots and the milk-post. On the leaves are set cakes and rice, and the contracting couple worship