Castes and Tribes of Southern India. Vol. 5 of 7Thurston, Edgar
History
Castes and Tribes of Southern India. Vol. 5 of 7
Thurston, Edgar
Caste -- India, South; Ethnology -- India, South; India, South -- Social life and customs; Tribes -- India, South
and there is continued weeping around these. On the sixteenth day,
the young plants, which have sprouted, are removed, and put into
water, weeping going on all the while; and, after this has been
done, the relatives bathe and enjoy a festive meal, after which the
karma karta is seated on a white cloth, and is presented with a new
cloth and some money by his father-in-law and other relatives who
are present. On the seventeenth day takes place the punyagavachanam
or purification, at which the Brahman priest presides, and the karma
karta takes an oil bath. The wood of the pipal tree (Ficus religiosa)
is never used for purposes of cremation."
Concerning the death ceremonies in the Trichinopoly district,
Mr. F. R. Hemingway writes as follows. "Before the corpse is removed,
the chief mourner and his wife take two balls of cow-dung, in which
the barber has mixed various kinds of grain, and stick them on to the
wall of the house. These are thrown into water on the eighth day. The
ceremonial is called pattam kattugiradu, or investing with the title,
and indicates the succession to the dead man's estate. A rocket is
fired when the corpse is taken out of the house. On the sixth day,
a pandal (booth) of naval (Eugenia, Jambolana) leaves is prepared,
and offerings are made in it to the manes of the ancestors of the
family. It is removed on the eighth day, and the chief mourner puts
a turban on, and merry-making and dances are indulged in. There
are ordinarily no karumantaram ceremonies, but they are sometimes
performed on the sixteenth day, a Brahman being called in. On the
return home from these ceremonies, each member of the party has to
dip his toe into a mortar full of cow-dung water, and the last man
has to knock it down."
Among some Kondaiyamkottai Maravans, a ceremony called palaya
karmandhiram, or old death ceremony, is performed. Some months
after the death of one who has died an unnatural death, the skull is
exhumed, and placed beneath a pandal (booth) in an open space near
the village. Libations of toddy are indulged in, and the villagers
dance wildly round the head. The ceremony lasts over three days,
and the final death ceremonies are then performed.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account