Page:Castes and Tribes of Southern India, Volume 7.djvu/450

VETTUVAN sun, the moon, the pots, and the owner of the girl have come to the marriage booth. So make haste, and fill the pots with water."

The office of the Vettiyān village official is hereditary, and the holder of it is entitled to some respect among his brethren, and to certain emoluments in kind, e.g., grain at the harvest season. There is a proverb that "whatever may be the wealth of the lord who comes to rule over him, his duty of supplying him with a bundle of grass is not to cease." This relates to the demands which were, and perhaps are still, made on him in rural parts of the country. In some places, lands, called Vettiyān Māniyam, are given rent-free to Vettiyāns.

The Vettiyān is said to possess the right of removing dead cattle from villages, and in return to supply leather for agricultural purposes. He is further said to make drum heads and tom-toms from raw hides.* The Vettiyāns belong to the right-hand section during disputes between the right and left hand factions.  Vēttuvan.— The Tamil Vēttuvans are described, in the Madras Census Report, 1901, as "an agricultural and hunting caste, found mainly in Salem, Coimbatore, and Madura. The name means 'a hunter.' They are probably of the same stock as the Vēdans, though the exact connection is not clear, but they now consider themselves superior to that caste, and are even taking to calling themselves Vēttuva Vellālas. Tradition says that the Konga kings invited Vēttuvans from the Chōla and Pāndya countries to assist them against the Kēralas. Another story says that the caste helped the Chōla king Aditya Varma to conquer the Kongu country during the latter part of the ninth century. In paragraph 538 of 