Page:Castes and tribes of southern India, Volume 5.djvu/131

Rh Brāhmans dedicated to the worship of Siva, occupying a lower position in Malabar society than that of the Brāhmans. One of them, disguised as a Nambūtiri, married a Nambūtiri's daughter, but his real status became known before the marriage was consummated, and the pair were degraded, and allotted a separate place in society. This tradition is not necessary to account for the present position of the Mūttatus in Kērala, as, all over India, worship of fixed images was viewed with disfavour even in the days of Manu. Worship in Saivite temples was not sought by Brāhmans, and was even considered as despiritualising on account of the divine displeasure which may be expected as the result of misfeasance. It was for a similar reason that the Nambiyans of even Vaishnavite temples on the east coast became degraded in society. The Illayatus and Mūttatus have been long known in Malabar as Nyūnas or castes slightly lower than the Brāhmans, and Avantaras or castes intermediate between Brāhmans and Ambalavāsis. As, in subsequent days, the Brāhmans themselves undertook with impunity the priestly profession in Hindu temples, Saivite as well as Vaishnavite, the Mūttatus had to be content with a more lowly occupation, viz., that of guarding the temples and images. According to Suchindra Mahatmyam, eleven Brāhmans were ordered by Parasu Rama to partake of the remnants of the food offered to Siva, and to bear the Saivite image in procession round the shrine on occasions of festivals; and, according to the Vaikam Sthalapurānam, three families of Sivadvijas were brought over by the same sage from eastern districts for service at that temple. Whatever may be said in regard to the antiquity or authenticity of many of these Sthalapurānams, corroborative evidence of the Brāhmanical origin of the Mūttatus