Page:On the Coromandel Coast.djvu/19

 It takes place at night and its performance is picturesque and impressive. The sacrificial fires are lighted on the sand near the rolling surf. The worshippers group themselves round the flickering light of the flames and perform a pujah without the assistance of their priests. The ceremonies are more suggestive of the practices of the Dravidian followers of local demons than of a Christian rite. Yet the Muckwas cannot be called anything else but staunch Christians. They possess their own churches in the various villages along the coast. Their ritual is jealously preserved, and any attempt to eliminate unorthodox ceremonial meets with opposition and resentment. The want of education renders reformation difficult, and of late years the priests who serve their churches have thought it wiser not to interfere. These priests are of Portuguese extraction and come from Goa. They are chosen by the fisher-folk because they belong to the same national church to which their beloved saint belonged. In retaining the services of these men the same conservative spirit is shown as that which prompts the retention of the doubtful Christian ceremonies.

Their churches usually stand within sound of the sea. The fishermen present the first catch of the season in the buildings, bringing the fish fresh and dripping from the nets. Although close to the waves the highest points on the shore have been chosen as sites, and the fishermen's huts cluster round them. The presence of the church, instead of the temple, is a marked feature of the Muckwa hamlet, and reminds the voyager of the sunny coasts of Italy. The church in Madras is dedicated to St. Peter. It occupies a large piece of ground granted a century ago when land on the Coromandel Coast was less valuable than it is now. In former days the Muckwa village stood near the opening of the river Cooum. The fishermen had built themselves a little church similar in character to