Page:Castes and tribes of southern India, Volume 5.djvu/115

Rh the bridegroom's house. The bride cooks some of the rice which has already been measured with water brought from the stream, and the pair partake thereof. A caste feast, with much drinking, is held on this and the two following days. The newly-married couple then proceed, in the company of an old man, to the bride's house, and remain there from three to five days. If the girl is adult, she then goes to the home of her husband. When a girl reaches puberty, she is placed apart in a room, and sits within a triangular enclosure made by means of three arrows stuck in the ground, and connected together by three rownds of thread. From the roof a cradle, containing a stone, is placed. On the last day, a twig of the nērēdi tree is plucked, planted on the way to the village stream, and watered. As she passes the spot, the girl pulls it out of the ground, and takes it to the stream, into which she throws it. She then bathes therein. The dead are, as a rule, burnt, and death pollution is observed for three days, during which the caste occupation is not carried out. On the fourth day, a ceremony, called pasupu muttukōvadam, or touching turmeric, is performed. The relations of the deceased repair to the spot where the corpse was burnt, collect the ashes, and sprinkle cow-dung, nērēdi and tamarind water over the spot. Some food is cooked, and three handfuls are thrown to the crows. They then perform a ceremonial ablution. The ceremony corresponds to the chinnarōzu,or little day ceremony, of the low-country castes. The more well-to-do Mūka Doras perform the peddarōzu, or big day ceremony, on the twelfth day, or later on. The relations of the deceased then plant a plantain on the spot where he was burnt, and throw turmeric, castor-oil, and money according to their means. The coins are