Page:Castes and Tribes of Southern India, Volume 7.djvu/502

YATA They are a Telugu-speaking people, and the caste is organised on the same lines as many other Telugu castes. In each locality where they are settled, there is a headman called Kulampedda, who, with the assistance of the caste elders, settles disputes and affairs affecting the community. The caste is, like other Telugu castes, divided up into numerous intipērus or exogamous septs. The custom of mēnarikam, according to which a man marries his maternal uncle's daughter, is the rule. If the girl, whom a man claims in accordance with this custom, is not given to him, his mother raises such a howl that her brother is compelled by the castemen to come to terms. If he still refuses to give up his daughter, and bestows her on another man, the protest of his sister is said to destroy the happiness of the pair. Girls are married before or after puberty. The marriage ceremonies last over three days, and are carried out either at the house of the bride or bridegroom, the former if the parents are prosperous and influential people in the community. A Brāhman officiates, and ties the satamānam on the bride's neck. On the evening of the third day, at the bride's house, presents called katnam, in the shape of rings, waist-bands, and a gold bangle for the right upper arm, are given to the bridegroom. The value of these presents bears a fixed proportion to that of the voli or bride-price. The pair live for three days at the bride's house, and then proceed to the house of the bridegroom, where they stay during the next three days. They then return to the home of the bride, where they once more stay for three days, at the end of which the bridegroom returns to his house. The consummation ceremony is a separate event, and, if the girl has reached puberty, takes place a few days after the marriage ceremony. The remarriage of widows is permitted.