(a) Ashtavaidyanmar, or eight physicians, are eight families of hereditary physicians. They are called Jatimatrakaras (barely caste people), and it is supposed that they are Nambudiris slightly degraded by the necessity they may, as surgeons, be under of shedding blood. Most of them are called Mussad, but one at least is called Nambi. (b) Urili Parisha Mussad, or assembly in the village Mussad, who are said to be degraded because they accepted gifts of land from Parasu Rama, and agreed to take on themselves the sin he had contracted by slaying the Kshetriyas. This class, as a whole, is called Sapta or Saptagrastan. (2) AMBALAVASI. (c) Mussad or Muttatu.--They appear to be identical with the Agapothuvals, or inside Pothuvals, as distinguished from the Pura, or outside Pothuvals, in North Malabar. They are said to be the descendants of a Sivadvija man and pure Brahman girl. According to another account, they lost caste because they ate rice offered to Siva, which is prohibited by one of the anacharams, or rules of conduct peculiar to Kerala. They perform various duties in temples, and escort the idol when it is carried in procession on an arrangement called tadambu, which is like an inverted shield with a shelf across it, on which the idol is placed. They wear the punul, or sacred thread. (d) Karuga Mussad.--So called from the karuga grass (Cynodon Dactylon), which is used in ceremonies. Their exact position is disputed. They wear the sacred thread (cf. Karuga Nambudiris in North Malabar), who cook rice for the sradh (memorial ceremony) of Sudras, (e) Tiruvalayanath or Kovil (temple) Mussad.--They also wear the sacred thread, but perform puja in Bhadrakali temples, incidents of which are the shedding of blood and use of liquor. They seem to be almost identical with the caste called elsewhere Adigal or Pidaran, but, I think, Adigals are a little higher, and do not touch liquor, while Pidarans are divided into two classes, the lower of which does not wear the thread or perform the actual puja, but only attends to various matters subsidiary thereto. In an account of the annual ceremony at the Pishari temple near Quilandy in Malabar in honour of Bhagavati, Mr. F. Fawcett informs [67] that the Mussad priests repeat mantrams (prayers) over the goats for an hour as a preliminary to the sacrifice. Then the chief priest, with a chopper-like sword, decapitates the goats, and sacrifices several cocks. The Mussads cook some of the flesh of the goats, and one or two of the cocks with rice. This rice, when cooked, is taken to the kavu (grove) to the north of the temple, and there the Mussads again ply their mantrams. Musu Kamma.--The name of a special ear ornament worn by the Musu Kamma sub-division of Balijas. In the Salem District Manual, Musuku is recorded as a sub-division of this caste. Mutalpattukar.--A synonym of Tandan in Travancore, indicating those who received an allowance for the assistance they were called on to render to carpenters.