Page:Castes and Tribes of Southern India, Volume 7.djvu/448

VEMU religious purposes; and clothes polluted by a member of a low caste are purified by the Veluttēdan sprinkling ashes and water over them.  Vēmu (margosa or nīm: Melia Azadirachta). — An exogamous sept of Mūka Dora.  Vēngai Puli (cruel-handed tiger). — An exogamous section of Kallan.  Veralu Ichē Kāpulu or Vēlu Ichē Kāpulu (those who dedicate their fingers). — See Morasu.  Vēshya (Sansk: Bēshya). — A name denoting prostitute, applied to dancing-girls.  Vētagiri.— A Tamil class found in the Chingleput district. The members thereof are employed in hunting, cultivation, and the manufacture of wild date baskets. Their title is Nāyakan.  Vettaikāran (hunter). — An occupational name of Bōyas, Irulas, and Koravas, returned at times of census.  Vettile (betel vine: Piper Betle). — A kothu or tree of Kondaiyamkotti Maravans. <section end="H448" /> <section begin="I448" />Vettiyān.— Vettiyān is the name applied to one of the officials of a Tamil Paraiyan settlement, who is also called Tōti or Thōtti. The former title is said to be more respectful as an appellation than the latter, but this is a distinction without a difference.* The name Vettiyān is said to be equivalent to Bittiyān (bitti, for nothing),or one who does service, e.g., collecting grass, firewood, etc., without remuneration. Tōti is derived from thott, to go round, as he is the purveyor of news, and has to summon people to appear before the village tribunal, or from tondu, to dig.

The duties of the Vettiyān are multifarious. He it is who goes round the rice fields, and diverts the <section end="I448" />