Page:Castes and tribes of southern India, Volume 5.djvu/19

Rh account, many Mārāns call themselves Vadakkupurattu, or belonging to the northern side. The asu and pāni are sounded by the highest dignitaries among them. The beating of the pāni is the accompaniment of expiatory offerings to the Saptamata, or seven mothers of Hindu religious writings, viz., Brāhmi, Mahēsvari, Kaumari, Vaishnavi, Varahi, Indrāni, and Chāmunda. Offerings are made to these divine mothers during the daily sribali procession, and in important temples also during the sribhutabali hours, and on the occasion of the utsavabali at the annual utsava of the temple. There are certain well-established rules prescribing the hymns to be recited, and the music to be played. So religiously have these rules to be observed during the utsavabali, that the priest who makes the offering, the Variyar who carries the light before him and the Mārāns who perform the music all have to fast, and to dress themselves in orthodox Brāhmanical fashion, with the uttariya or upper garment worn in the manner of the sacred thread. It is sincerely believed that the smallest violation of the rules would be visited with dire consequences to the delinquents before the next utsava ceremony.

In connection with the musical instrument called the timila, the following legend is current. There was a timila in the Sri Padmanābha temple made of kuruntotti, and there was a Mārān attached to the temple, who was such an expert musician that the priest was unable to adjust his hymn recitation to the music of the Mārān's drum, and was in consequence the recipient of the divine wrath. It was contrived to get a Brāhman youth to officiate as priest, and, as he could not recite the hymns in consonance with the sounds produced by the drum, a hungry spirit lifted him up from the ground to a height of ten feet. The father of the youth, hearing what had