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
"The women are inflexibly vindictive and furious on the least injury,
even on suspicion, which prompts them to the most violent revenge
without any regard to consequences. A horrible custom exists among
the females of the Colleries when a quarrel or dissension arises
between them. The insulted woman brings her child to the house of the
aggressor, and kills it at her door to avenge herself. Although her
vengeance is attended with the most cruel barbarity, she immediately
thereafter proceeds to a neighbouring village with all her goods,
etc. In this attempt she is opposed by her neighbours, which gives
rise to clamour and outrage. The complaint is then carried to the head
Amblacaur, who lays it before the elders of the village, and solicits
their interference to terminate the quarrel. In the course of this
investigation, if the husband finds that sufficient evidence has been
brought against his wife, that she had given cause for provocation and
aggression, then he proceeds unobserved by the assembly to his house,
and brings one of his children, and, in the presence of witness,
kills his child at the door of the woman who had first killed her
child at his. By this mode of proceeding he considers that he has
saved himself much trouble and expense, which would otherwise have
devolved on him. This circumstance is soon brought to the notice of
the tribunal, who proclaim that the offence committed is sufficiently
avenged. But, should this voluntary retribution of revenge not be
executed by the convicted person, the tribunal is prorogued to a
limited time, fifteen days generally. Before the expiration of that
period, one of the children of that convicted person must be killed. At
the same time he is to bear all expenses for providing food, etc.,
for the assembly during those days.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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