who are entitled to respect from other Kaikolans. Another name for Kaikolans of the mahanadu seems to be Andavar; but in practice this name is confined to the headman of the mahanadu, and members of his family. They have the privilege of sitting at council meetings with their backs supported by pillows, and consequently bear the title Thindusarndan (resting on pillows). At present there are two sections of Kaikolans at Conjeeveram, one living at Ayyampettai, and the other at Pillaipalayam. The former claim Ayyampettai as the mahanadu, and refuse to recognise Pillaipalayam, which is in the heart of Conjeeveram, as the mahanadu. Disputes arose, and recourse was had to the Vellore Court in 1904, where it was decided that Ayyampettai possesses no claim to be called the mahanadu. Many Kaikolan families have now abandoned their hereditary employment as weavers in favour of agriculture and trade, and some of the poorer members of the caste work as cart-drivers and coolies. At Coimbatore some hereditary weavers have become cart-drivers, and some cart-drivers have become weavers de necessité in the local jail. In every Kaikolan family, at least one girl should be set apart for, and dedicated to temple service. And the rule seems to be that, so long as this girl or her descendants, born to her or adopted, continue to live, another girl is not dedicated. But, when the line becomes extinct, another girl must be dedicated. All the Kaikolans deny their connection with the Deva-dasi (dancing-girl) caste. But Kaikolans freely take meals in Dasi houses on ceremonial occasions, and it would not be difficult to cite cases of genuine Dasis who have relationship with rich Kaikolans. Kaikolan girls are made Dasis either by regular dedication to a temple, or by the headman tying the tali (nattu pottu). The latter method is at the present day adopted because it is considered a sin to dedicate a girl to the god after she has reached puberty, and because the securing of the requisite official certificate for a girl to become a Dasi involves considerable trouble. "It is said," Mr. Stuart writes, [23] "that, where the head of a house dies, leaving only female issue, one of the girls is made a Dasi in order to allow of her working like a man at the loom, for no woman not dedicated in this manner may do so."