Page:Castes and tribes of southern India, Volume 5.djvu/164

NALKE have a headman called Gurikāra, who settles disputes and other matters affecting the community, and acts as the priest at marriages, death ceremonies, and other ceremonials. Girls are married after puberty, and a woman may marry any number of times. The marriage ceremony is concluded in a single day. The contracting couple are seated on planks, and the Gurikāra throws coloured rice over their heads, and ties a turmeric-dyed string with beads strung on it round their necks. Those assembled then throw rice over them, their hands are joined by the Gurikāra or their fathers, and the dhare water is poured thereon.

The dead are either buried or cremated. After burial or cremation, a mound (dhupe) is, as among other castes in Canara, made over the spot. Round it, four posts are stuck in the ground, and decorated so as to resemble a small car (cf. Billava). The final death ceremonies (uttarakriya) are generally performed on the fifth or seventh day. On this day, cooked food is offered to the deceased by placing it near the dhupe, or on the spot where he breathed his last. This is followed by a feast. If the ceremony is not performed on one of the recognised days, the permission of some Bants or Billavas must be obtained before it can be carried out. All castes in South Canara have great faith in Bhūtas, and, when any calamity or misfortune overtakes a family, the Bhūtas must be propitiated. The worship of Bhūtas is a mixture of ancestor and devil propitiation. In the Bhūta cult, the most important personage is Brahmeru, to whom the other Bhūtas are subordinate. Owing to the influence of Brāhman Tantris, Brahmeru is regarded as another name for Brahma, and the various