Samantan.--"This," the Census Superintendent, 1891, writes, "may be called the caste of Malayalam Rajahs and chieftains, but it is hardly a separate caste at all, at any rate at present, for those Nayars and others who have at any time been petty chieftains in the country, call themselves Samantas. The primary meaning of the word Samanta is given by Dr. Gundert [137] as the chief of a district." The number of people who returned themselves as Samantas (including a few Samantan Brahmans) at the Census, 1881, was 1,611, and in 1901 they increased to 4,351. In a suit brought against the Collector of Malabar (Mr. Logan) some years ago by one Nilambur Thachara Kovil Mana Vikrama, alias Elaya Tirumalpad, the plaintiff entered an objection to his being said by the Collector to be of "a caste (Nayar), who are permitted to eat fish and flesh, except of course beef." He stated in court that he was "a Samantan by caste, and a Samantan is neither a Brahman, nor a Kshatriya, nor a Vaisya, nor a Sudra." Samantan, according to him, is a corruption of Samantran, which, he stated, meant one who performs ceremonies without mantrams. He said that his caste observes all the ceremonies that Brahmans do, but without mantrams. And he gave the following as the main points in which his caste differs from that of the Nayars. Brahmans can take their food in the houses of members of his caste, while they cannot do so in those of Nayars. At the performance of sradhs in his caste, Brahmans are fed, while this is not done in the case of Nayars. Brahmans can prepare water for the purpose of purification in his house, but not in that of a Nayar. If a Nayar touches a Samantan, he has to bathe in the same way as a Brahman would have to do. For the performance of marriages and other ceremonies in his caste, Malabar Brahmans are absolutely necessary. At marriages the tali is tied by Kshatriyas. A Samantan has fourteen days' pollution, while a Nayar has fifteen. He can only eat what a Brahman can eat. He added that he was of the same caste as the Zamorin of Calicut. A number of witnesses, including the author of the Keralavakhsha Kramam, were examined in support of his assertions. It was noted by the District Judge that no documentary evidence was produced, or reference to public records or works of authority made in support of the theory as to the existence of a caste of Samantas who are not Nayars, and are classed under Kshatriyas, and above the Vaisyas. The following account is given by the author of the Keralavakhsha Kramam of the origin of the Samantas. Some Kshatriyas who, being afraid of Parasu Rama, were wandering in foreign parts, and not observing caste rules, came to Malabar, visited Cheraman Perumal, and asked for his protection. On this Cheraman Perumal, with the sanction of the Brahmans, and in pursuance of the rules laid down by the Maharajas who had preceded him, classed these people as members of the Samantra caste. "That this book," the Judge observed,