A Pandaram offers fruit, food, etc., to the deceased. Eight days afterwards, a feast, at which meat is partaken of for the first time since the death, is given to the relations of the dead person, and their pollution is at an end. They may not, however, enter a temple for thirty days. On the sixteenth day after death, the final death ceremonies (karmandhiram) are performed, and liberal presents of money, religious books, such as the Ramayana, Mahabharata, and Periya Puranam, wooden spoons for domestic use, etc., are given to Brahmans. There are three matams, whereat the Nattukottai Chettis are initiated into their religion, at Patharakkudi (or Padanakkudi) and Kila for males, and Tulavur for females. They are Saivites, but also, more especially the women, worship such minor deities as Aiyanar, Muneswara, and Karuppan. They are also said to worship two village goddesses, called Sellattamman and Kannudayamman, at Nattarasankottai. Nattukottai men have the lobes of the ears artificially dilated, but seldom wear ornaments therein. They frequently have a gold chain round the loins, and wear finger rings set with diamonds. The wives even of wealthy men wear a cheap body cloth, and do menial house work, such as cleaning the kitchen utensils. They plait baskets, and, in some houses, wheels for spinning cotton may be seen. Like other trading classes in Southern India, the Nattukottai Chettis have a trade language of their own, which varies according to locality. In the city of Madras they have three tables, for annas, rupees, and tens of rupees respectively. Each of these is formed out of the syllables of certain words. Thus, the anna table is composed of the syllables of Tiripurasundari, the goddess at Madura, which is a great centre for Nattukottai Chettis. The syllables (in the inverse order), and their money equivalent are as follows:-- Ri 1/2 anna. Da 3/4 anna. Un 1 anna. Su 2 annas. Ra 3 annas. Pu 4 annas. Ri 8 annas. Ti 12 annas. The rupee table is composed of the word Vedagirisvararthunai, meaning with the help of Vedagirisvarar, the god at Tirukalikundram near Madras:-- Ve 1 rupee. Da 2 rupees. Gi 3 rupees. Ri 4 rupees. I 5 rupees. Is 6 rupees. Va 7 rupees. Ra 8 rupees. A 9 rupees. Thu 10 rupees. Nai 11 rupees. The tens-of-rupees table is made up from the word Tirukalikundram:--