Page:Castes and Tribes of Southern India, Volume 7.djvu/415

Rh towards the kalasam. Evidently some deity, some spirit was present here, and spoke through the mouth of the Velichchapād. This, I think, undoubtedly represents the belief of all who were present. When he had done whizzing round the kalasam, he soon became a normal being, and stood before my camera. The fee for the self-inflicted laceration is one rupee, some rice, etc. I saw the Velichchapād about three days afterwards, going to perform elsewhere. The wound on his forehead had healed. The careful observer can always identify a Velichchapād by the triangular patch over the forehead, where the hair will not grow, and where the skin is somewhat indurated."  Velivēyabadina Rāzu. — The name, denoting Rāzus who were thrown out, of a class said to be descended from Rāzus who were excommunicated from their caste.*  Veliyam.———Recorded, in the Travancore Census Report, 1901, as a title of Nāyars. In the same report Veliyattu is described as synonymous with Pulikkappanikkan, a sub-division of Nāyar.  Vellaikāran (white man). — A Tamil name for European.  Vellāla. — " The Vellālas," Mr. H. A. Stuart writes.† " are the great farmer caste of the Tamil country, and they are strongly represented in every Tamil district. The word Vellālan is derived from vellānmai [vellam, water, anmai, management?] meaning cultivation, tillage. Dr. Oppert ‡ considers Vellālan to be etymologically connected with Pallan, Palli, etc., the word meaning the lord of the Vallas or Pallas. The story of their origin is as follows. Many thousands of years ago, 