Castes and Tribes of Southern India. Vol. 2 of 7 — John Shaqi
Castes and Tribes of Southern India. Vol. 2 of 7Thurston, Edgar
History
Castes and Tribes of Southern India. Vol. 2 of 7
Thurston, Edgar
Caste -- India, South; Ethnology -- India, South; India, South -- Social life and customs; Tribes -- India, South
When he reached his house, he found the rupee had
turned into a false one. The man returned to the fakir, and complained
that the rupee was a false one. The fakir was much enraged at the
man's account of having looked back as he ran, but afterwards said
that Chapperbands would make a living in future by manufacturing
false coins. Since that time, Chapperbands have become coiners of
false money.' On every Sunday, they collect all their false rupees,
moulds, and other implements, and, placing these in front of them,
they worship Pir Makhan, also called Pir Madar. They sacrifice a fowl
to him, take out its eyes and tail, and fix them on three thorns of
the trees babul, bir, and thalmakana; and, after the worship is over,
they throw them in the direction in which they intend to start. The
Chapperbands conceal a large number of rupees in the rectum, long
misusage often forming a cavity capable of containing ten to twenty
rupees. So also cavities are formed in the mouth below the tongue."
In a case recorded by Mr. M. Kennedy, [15] "when a Chapperband was
arrested on suspicion, on his person being examined by the Civil
Surgeon, no less than seven rupees were found concealed in a cavity
in his rectum. The Civil Surgeon was of opinion that it must have
taken some considerable time to form such a cavity." A similar case
came before the Sessions Judge in South Canara a few years ago.
The following case of swindling, which occurred in the Tanjore
district, is recorded in the Police Report, 1903. "A gang of
Muhammadans professed to be able to duplicate currency notes. The
method was to place a note with some blank sheets of paper between two
pieces of glass. The whole was then tied round with string and cloth,
and smoked over a fire. On opening the packet, two notes were found,
a second genuine one having been surreptitiously introduced. The
success of the first operations with small notes soon attracted
clients, some of them wealthy; and, when the bait had had time to
work, and some very large notes had been submitted for operation, the
swindlers declared that these large notes took longer to duplicate,
and that the packet must not be opened for several days. Before the
time appointed for opening, they disappeared, and the notes were
naturally not found in the packets. One gentleman was fleeced in this
way to the value of Rs. 4,600." The administration of an enema to a
false coiner will sometimes bring to light hidden treasure.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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