A number of exogamous septs occur among the Dandasis, of which the following may be noted. Members of the Santarasi sept must avoid using mats made of the sedge which goes by this name. Kilalendias avoid touching the bamboo posts used by washermen to support the ropes on which cloths are hung to dry. They sacrifice a pig and seven fowls to their gods on the new-moon day, on which the head of a male child is first shaved. Diyasis show special reverence for the sun, and cloths, mokkutos (forehead chaplets), garlands, and other articles to be used by the bride and bridegroom at a wedding, are placed outside the house, so that they may be exposed to it. Members of the Ekopothiriya sept are regarded as low in the social scale, and the following legend is narrated to account for this. A Dandasi went, with his relations and friends, to the house of a Dandasi of the Ekopothiriya sept, to arrange a marriage. The guests were hospitably received, and the prospective bride asked her father what kind of curry was going to be served to them. He replied that barikolora (backyard Momordica) [46] was to be cooked. This aroused the curiosity of some of the guests, who went to the backyard, where, instead of Momordica, they saw several blood-suckers (lizards) running about. They jumped to the conclusion that these were what the host referred to as barikolora, and all the guests took their departure. Ekopothiriyas will not partake of food from the same plate as their grown-up children, even if a married daughter comes on a visit to them. The Dandasis worship various Takuranis (village deities), e.g., Sankaithuni, Kulladankuni, Kombesari and Kalimuki. The gods are either represented temporarily by brass vessels, or permanently by three masses of clay, into each of which a small bit of gold is thrust. When Bassia (mahua) buds or mangoes are first eaten in their season, a sacrifice is made, and a goat and fowl are killed before the produce of the harvest is first partaken of. The Dandasis have a headman, called Behara, who exercises authority over several groups of villages, and each group is under a Nayako, who is assisted by a Dondia. For every village there is a Bholloboya, and, in some places, there is an officer, called Boda Mundi, appointed by the Zamindar, to whom irregularities in the community have to be reported. When a woman is delivered of a still-born child, the whole family is under pollution for eleven days. The headman is then invited to attend, and presents are given to him. He sprinkles water over members of the family, and they are thereby freed from this pollution. A certain portion of the property stolen by Dandasis is set apart for the headman, and, like the Tamil Kallans and Maravans, they seem to have a blackmailing system. If a Dandasi is engaged as a watchman, property is safe, or, if stolen, is recovered and restored to its owner.