Page:Castes and tribes of southern India, Volume 5.djvu/140

MUTRACHA members are poor, even when they have left the profession of taliāri, and taken to agriculture. They eat in the houses of most other castes, and are not trammelled by many restrictions. In Chendragiri they rarely marry, but form connections with women of their caste, which are often permanent, though not sanctioned by the marriage ceremony, and the offspring of such associations are regarded as legitimate."

In the Nellore Manual, the Mutrāchas are summed up as being hunters, fishermen, bearers, palanquin-bearers, and hereditary watchmen in the villages. At times of census, Mutrācha or Mutarāsan has been recorded as a sub-division of Ūrāli, and a title of Ambalakkāran. Muttiriyan, which is simply a Tamil form of Mutrācha,appears as a title and sub-division of Ambalakkāran {q.v.). Further, Tolagari is recorded as a sub-division of Mutrācha. The Tolagaris are stated * to be a small cultivating caste, who were formerly hunters, like the Pālayakkārans. Most of the Mutrāchas are engaged in agriculture. At Pāniyam, in the Kurnool district, I found some employed in collecting winged white-ants (Termites), which they sun-dry, and store in large pots as an article of food. They are said to make use of some special powder as a means of attracting the insects, in catching which they are very expert. In some places, the relations between the Mutrāchas and Gollas, both of which castes belong to the left-hand section, are strained. On occasions of marriage among the Mādigas, some pān-supāri (betel leaves and areca nuts) is set apart for the Mutrāchas, as a mark of respect. In consequence of the fact that some Mutrāchas have been petty chieftains, they claim to be Kshatriyas, and