Chendi (Cerbera Odollum), Honne (Calophyllum inophyllum), Tolar (wolf), Devana (god) and Ganga. It is recorded [160] of the Halepaiks of the Canara district in the Bombay Presidency that "each exogamous section, known as a bali (literally a creeper), is named after some animal or tree, which is held sacred by the members of the same. This animal, tree or flower, etc., seems to have been once considered the common ancestor of the members of the bali, and to the present day it is both worshipped by them, and held sacred in the sense that they will not injure it. Thus the members of the nagbali, named apparently after the nagchampa flower, will not wear this flower in their hair, as this would involve injury to the plant. The Kadavebali will not kill the sambhar (deer: kadave), from which they take their name." The Halepaiks of South Canara seem to attach no such importance to the sept names. Some, however, avoid eating a fish called Srinivasa, because they fancy that the streaks on the body have a resemblance to the Vaishnavite sectarian mark (namam). All the Halepaiks of the Kundapur taluk profess to be Vaishnavites, and have become the disciples of a Vaishnava Brahman settled in the village of Sankarappakodlu near Wondse in that taluk. Though Venkataramana is regarded as their chief deity, they worship Baiderkulu, Panjurli, and other bhuthas (devils). The Pujaris (priests) avoid eating new grain, new areca nuts, new sugarcane, cucumbers and pumpkins, until a feast, called kaidha puja, has been held. This is usually celebrated in November-December, and consists in offering food, etc., to Baiderkulu. Somebody gets possessed by the bhutha, and pierces his abdomen with an arrow. In their caste organisation, marriage and death ceremonies, the Halepaiks closely follow the Billavas. They do not, however, construct a car for the final death ceremonies. As they are Vaishnavites, after purification from death pollution by their own caste barber, a Vaishnavite mendicant, called Dassaya, is called in, and purifies them by sprinkling holy water and putting the namam on their foreheads. There are said to be some differences between the Halepaiks and Billavas in the method of carrying out the process of drawing toddy. For example, the Halepaiks generally grasp the knife with the fingers directed upwards and the thumb to the right, while the Billavas hold the knife with the fingers directed downwards and the thumb to the left. For crushing the flower-buds within the spathe of the palm, Billavas generally use a stone, and the Halepaiks a bone. There is a belief that, if the spathe is beaten with the bone of a buffalo which has been killed by a tiger, the yield of toddy will, if the bone has not touched the ground, be greater than if an ordinary bone is used. The Billavas generally carry a long gourd, and the Halepaiks a pot, for collecting the toddy in. Halige (plank).--A gotra of Kurni.