Castes and Tribes of Southern India. Vol. 3 of 7Thurston, Edgar
History
Castes and Tribes of Southern India. Vol. 3 of 7
Thurston, Edgar
Caste -- India, South; Ethnology -- India, South; India, South -- Social life and customs; Tribes -- India, South
It is noted, in the Gazetteer of the Madura district, that "the binding
portions of the marriage ceremony are the donning by the bride of a
turmeric-coloured cloth sent her by bridegroom, and of black glass
bangles (unmarried girls may only wear bangles made of lac), and
the linking of the couple's little fingers. A man's right to marry
his paternal aunt's daughter is so rigorously insisted upon that,
as among the Tottiyans, ill-assorted matches are common. A woman,
whose husband is too young to fulfil the duties of his position,
is allowed to consort with his near relations, and the children so
begotten are treated as his. [It is said that a woman does not suffer
in reputation, if she cohabits with her brothers-in-law.] Adultery
outside the caste is punished by expulsion, and, to show that the
woman is thenceforward as good as dead, funeral ceremonies are solemnly
performed to some trinket of hers, and this is afterwards burnt."
At the first menstrual period, a girl remains under pollution
for thirteen days, in a corner of the house or outside it in the
village common land (mandai). If she remains within, her maternal
uncle makes a screen, and, if outside, a temporary hut, and, in
return for his services, receives a hearty meal. On the thirteenth
day the girl bathes in a tank (pond), and, as she enters the house,
has to pass over a pestle and a cake. Near the entrance, some food is
placed, which a dog is allowed to eat. While so doing, it receives
a severe beating. The more noise it makes, the better is the omen
for a large family of children. If the poor brute does not howl,
it is supposed that the girl will bear no children. A cotton thread,
dyed with turmeric, is tied round her neck by a married woman, and,
if she herself is married, she puts on glass bangles. The hut is
burnt down and the pots she used are broken to atoms.
The caste deities are said to be Lakkamma and Vira Lakkamma,
but they also worship other deities, such as Chenraya, Thimmappa,
and Siranga Perumal. Certain septs seem to have particular deities,
whom they worship. Thus Thimmaraya is reverenced by the Dasiriyoru,
and Malamma by the Hattiyoru.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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