Page:Castes and Tribes of Southern India.djvu/423

Rh assists at the ceremony, the two others being represented by dharbha grass. The sacred fire is lighted, and ghī, a small quantity of raw and cooked rice, and vegetables are offered up in the fire. The Brāhmans then wash their feet, and are fed. Before they enter the space set apart for the meal, water, gingelly, and rice are sprinkled about it, to keep off evil spirits. As soon as the meal is finished, a ball of rice, called vāyasa pindam (crow's food), is offered to the pithru dēvatas (ancestors of three generations), and thrown to the crows. If they do not eat the rice, the omens are considered to be unfavourable. The Brāhmans receive betel and money in payment for their services. On one occasion my assistant was in camp at Kodaikānal on the Palni hills, the higher altitudes of which are uninhabited by crows, and he had perforce to march down to the plains, in order to perform the annual ceremony for his deceased father. The recurring annual srādh (Pratyābdhika) need not of necessity be performed. It is, however,regarded as an important ceremony, and, should an individual neglect it, he would run the risk of being excommunicated. The rites connected with the dead are based on the Garuda Purāna, according to which the libations of the ten days are said to help the growth of the body of the soul. In this connection, Monier Williams writes as follows: — * "On the first day, the ball (pinda) of rice offered by the eldest son or other near relative nourishes the spirit of the deceased in such a way as to furnish it with a head; on the second day, the offered pinda gives a neck and shoulders; on the third day a heart; on the fourth a back; on the fifth a navel; on the sixth a groin