CASTES AND TRIBES OF SOUTHERN INDIA By EDGAR THURSTON, C.I.E., Superintendent, Madras Government Museum; Correspondant Étranger, Société d'Anthropologie de Paris; Socio Corrispondante, Societa, Romana di Anthropologia. Assisted by K. Rangachari, M.A., of the Madras Government Museum. Volume III--K Government Press, Madras 1909. CASTES AND TRIBES OF SOUTHERN INDIA. VOLUME III. K Kabbera.--The Kabberas are a caste of Canarese fishermen and cultivators. "They are," Mr. W. Francis writes, [1] "grouped into two divisions, the Gaurimakkalu or sons of Gauri (Parvati) and the Gangimakkalu or sons of Ganga, the goddess of water, and they do not intermarry, but will dine together. Each has its bedagus (exogamous septs), and these seem to be different in the two sub-divisions. The Gaurimakkalu are scarce in Bellary, and belong chiefly to Mysore. They seem to be higher in the social scale (as such things are measured among Hindus) than the Gangimakkalu, as they employ Brahmans as priests instead of men of their own caste, burn their dead instead of burying them, hold annual ceremonies in memory of them, and prohibit the remarriage of widows. The Gangimakkalu were apparently engaged originally in all the pursuits connected with water, such as propelling boats, catching fish, and so forth, and they are especially numerous in villages along the banks of the Tungabhadra." Coracles are still used on various South Indian rivers, e.g., the Cauvery, Bhavani, and Tungabhadra. Tavernier, on his way to Golgonda, wrote that "the boats employed in crossing the river are like large baskets, covered outside with ox-hides, at the bottom of which some faggots are placed, upon which carpets are spread to put the baggage and goods upon, for fear they should get wet." Bishop Whitehead has recently [2] placed on record his experiences of coracles as a means of conveyance. "We embarked," he writes, "in a boat (at Hampi on the Tungabhadra) which exactly corresponds to my idea of the coracle of the ancient Britons. It consists of a very large, round wicker basket, about eight or nine feet in diameter, covered over with leather, and propelled by paddles. As a rule, it spins round and round, but the boatmen can keep it fairly straight, when exhorted to do so, as they were on this occasion. Some straw had been placed in the bottom of the coracle, and we were also allowed the luxury of chairs to sit upon, but it is safer to sit on the straw, as a chair in a coracle is generally in a state of unstable equilibrium. I remember once crossing a river in the Trichinopoly district in a coracle, to