Page:Castes and tribes of southern India, Volume 5.djvu/16

MARAN OR MARAVAN sambandham), inheritance, period of pollution, etc., they follow customs exactly like those of Nāyars. In the southern tāluks Elayads officiate as purōhits, but, in the northern tāluks, their own castemen take the part of the Elayads in their srādha ceremonies. The tāli-kettu is likewise performed by Tirumalpāds in the southern tāluks, but by their own castemen, called Enangan, in the northern tāluks. Their castemen or Brāhmans unite themselves with their women in sambandham. As among Nāyars, purificatory ceremonies after funerals, etc., are performed by Cheethiyans or Nāyar priests."

For the following detailed note on the Mārāns of Travancore I am indebted to Mr. N. Subramani Iyer. The name Mārān has nothing to do with maranam or death, as has been supposed, but is derived from the Tamil root mar, to beat. In the Tanjore inscriptions of the eleventh century, the caste on the Coromandel coast appears to have been known by this name. The Mārāns correspond to the Ōcchans of the Tamil country, and a class of Mārāns in North Malabar are sometimes called by this designation. In the old revenue records of the Travancore State, Mangalyam appears to be the term made use of. The two well-known titles of the caste are Kuruppu and Panikkar, both conveying the idea of a person who has some allotted work to perform. In modern days, English-educated men appear to have given these up for Pillai, the titular affix added to the name of the Sūdra population generally.

Mārāns may be divided into two main divisions, viz., Mārāns who called themselves Mārārs in North Travancore, and who now hesitate to assist other castes in the performance of their funeral rites; and Mārāns who do not convert their caste designation into an honorific plural, and act as priests for other castes. This distinction