Castes and Tribes of Southern India. Vol. 6 of 7Thurston, Edgar
History
Castes and Tribes of Southern India. Vol. 6 of 7
Thurston, Edgar
Caste -- India, South; Ethnology -- India, South; India, South -- Social life and customs; Tribes -- India, South
In an account of the funeral ceremonies of the Tiyans, Mr. Logan
writes [27] that "early on the morning of the third day after death,
the Kurup or caste barber adopts measures to entice the spirit of
the deceased out of the room in which he breathed his last. This is
done by the nearest relative bringing into the room a steaming pot
of savoury funeral rice. It is immediately removed, and the spirit,
after three days' fasting, is understood greedily to follow the odour
of the tempting food. The Kurup at once closes the door, and shuts out
the spirit. The Kurup belongs to the Panan caste. He is the barber of
the polluting classes above Cherumans, and by profession he is also
an umbrella maker. But, curiously enough, though an umbrella maker, he
cannot make the whole of an umbrella. He may only make the framework;
the covering of it is the portion of the females of his caste. If
he has no female relative of his own capable of finishing off his
umbrellas, he must seek the services of the females of other families
in the neighbourhood to finish his for him. The basket-makers are
called Kavaras. Nothing will induce them to take hold of an umbrella,
as they have a motto, Do not take hold of Panan's leg."
In an account of a ceremonial at the Pishari temple near Quilandy in
Malabar, Mr. F. Fawcett writes [28] that "early on the seventh and last
day, when the morning procession is over, there comes to the temple a
man of the Panan caste. He carries a small cadjan (palm leaf) umbrella
which he has made himself, adorned all round the edges with a fringe
of the young leaves of the cocoanut palm. The umbrella should have a
long handle, and with this in his hand he performs a dance before the
temple. He receives about 10 lbs. of raw rice for his performance." It
is further recorded by Mr. Fawcett that, when a Tiyan is cremated, a
watch is kept at the burning-ground for five days by Panans, who beat
drums all night to scare away the evil spirits which haunt such spots.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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