Page:Castes and tribes of southern India, Volume 5.djvu/144

MUTTAN become a Tarakan, and then a Nāyar. Both these castes follow closely the customs and manners of Nāyars, but there are some differences. I have not, however, been able to get at the real state of affairs, as the members of the caste are very reticent on the subject, and simply assert that they are in all respects the same as Nāyars. One difference is that a Brāhmani does not sing at their tāli-kettu marriages. Again, instead of having a Mārayān, Attikurissi, or Elayad as their priest, they employ a man of their own caste, called Chōrattōn. This man assists at their funeral ceremonies, and purifies them at the end of pollution, just as the Attikurissi does for Nāyars. Kāli temples seem to be specially affected by this caste, and these Chōrattōns are also priests in these temples. The Muttan and Tarakan castes are practically confined to Pālghat and Walluvanād tāluks." In a note on some castes in Malabar which are most likely of foreign origin, it is stated, in the Gazetteer of Malabar, that "this is certainly true of the Mūttāns, who are found only in the Pālghat tāluk and in the parts of Walavanād bordering on it, a part of the country where there is a large admixture of Tamils in the population. They are now advancing a claim to be Vaisyas, and some of them have adopted the title Gupta which is proper to that caste, while a few have the title Ezhutacchan. Some Mūttāns in Palghat are called Mānnādiars, a title also apparently borne by some Taragans. The Mūttāns follow makkattāyam (inheritance from father to son), and do not enter into the loose connections known as sambandhams; their women are called Chettichiars, clearly indicating their eastern origin; and their period of pollution is ten days, according to which test they would rank as a high caste. On