Page:Castes and tribes of southern India, Volume 5.djvu/464

NUCHCHU generally held by a goldsmith, whose duty was to test the rupees when the land revenue was being gathered in, and see that they were not counterfeit.  Nuchchu (broken rice). — A gōtra of Kurni.  Nūkala (coarse grain powder). — An exogamous sept of Padma Sālē.  Nulayan.— In the Madras Census Report, 1901, ninety-six individuals are recorded as belonging to a small caste of Malayālam fishermen and boatmen. The Nulayans are found in Travancore, and were returned in the census of Malabar, as the two small British settlements of Anjengo and Tangacheri in Travancore are under the jurisdiction of the Collector of Malabar.  Nūnē (oil). — An occupational sub-division of Kōmati.  Nunia (nuno, salt). — A sub-division of Odiya.  Nūrankurup.__An occupational name for Paravans settled in Malabar, whose employment is that of lime-burners (nūru, lime).  Nūrbāsh.— Recorded, at the census, 1901, as a synonym of Dūdēkula. A corruption of nūrbaf (weaving). <section end="H464" /> <section begin="I464" />Nūvvala (gingelly : Sesamum indicum). — An exogamous sept of Kamma and Mēdara. Gingelly seeds, from which an oil is extracted, "form an essential article of certain religious ceremonies of the Hindus, and have therefore received the names of hōma-dhānya or the sacrificial grain, and pitri-tarpana or the grain that is offered as an oblation to deceased ancestors." (U. C. Dutt) During the death ceremonies of some Brāhmans, libations of water mixed with gingelly seeds, called tīlothakam, and a ball of rice, are offered daily to two stones representing the spirit of the deceased. <section end="I464" /> <section begin="J464" />Nyāyam (justice). — An exogamous sept of Padma Sālē. <section end="J464" />