For marital purposes they recognise tribal sub-divisions in a very vague way. Marriage is not a very impressive ceremonial. The bridegroom has to present new cloths to the bride, and his future father- and mother-in-law. The cloth given to the last-named is called the pal kuli (milk money) for having nursed the bride. Marriage is celebrated on any day, except Saturday. A very modest banquet, in proportion to their slender means, is held, and toddy provided, if the state of the finances will run to it. Towards evening the bride and bridegroom stand in front of the house, and the latter ties the tali, which consists of a bead necklace with a round brass disc. In the case of a marriage which took place during my visit, the bride had been wearing her new bridal cloth for a month before the event. The Irulas worship periodically Kanniamma, their tribal deity, and Mari, the general goddess of epidemic disease. The deity is represented by five pots arranged in the form of a square, with a single pot in the centre, filled with turmeric water. Close to these a lamp is lighted, and raw rice, jaggery (crude sugar), rice flour, betel leaves and areca nuts are offered before it. Mari is represented by a white rag flag dyed with turmeric, hoisted on a bamboo in an open space near their dwellings, to which fowls, sheep, and other cooked articles, are offered. The dead are buried lying flat on the face, with the head to the north, and the face turned towards the east. When the grave has been half filled in, they throw into it a prickly-pear (Opuntia Dillenii) shrub, and make a mound over it. Around this they place a row or two of prickly-pear stems to keep off jackals. No monumental stone is placed over the grave. By means of the following table a comparison can be readily made between the stature and nasal index of the jungle Sholagas and Nilgiri Irulas, and of the more civilised Irulas of Chingleput and Uralis of Coimbatore:-- ===================+==========+============+============+============ | Stature, |Nasal index,|Nasal index,|Nasal index, | average. | average. | maximum. | minimum. -------------------+----------+------------+------------+------------ Sholagas | 159.3 | 85·1 | 107·7 | 72·8 Irulas, Nilgiris | 159·8 | 84·9 | 100 | 72·3 Irulas, Chingleput | 159·9 | 80·3 | 90·5 | 70 Uralis | 159·5 | 80·1 | 97·7 | 65·3 ===================+==========+============+============+============