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
"There are no titles among the Panans, but one, who was brought for
examination at Trichur, told me that one of his ancestors got the
title of Panikkan, and that he had the privilege of wearing a gold
ear-ring, carrying a walking-stick lined with silver, and using
a knife provided with a style. Kapradan is a title given to the
headman in the Palghat taluk. In Palghat, when the Kapradan dies,
the Raja is informed, and he sends to the chief mourner (the son)
a sword, a shield, a spear, a few small guns with some gunpowder,
a silver bangle, and a few necklaces. As the dead body is taken to
the burial ground, the chief mourner, wearing the ornaments above
mentioned, goes behind it. In front go a few persons armed with the
weapons referred to. Three discharges are made (1) when the dead body
is removed from the house, (2) when it is placed on the ground, (3)
when it is burnt. The next day, the chief mourner pays his respects
to the Raja, with an umbrella of his own making, when the Raja bestows
upon him the title of Kapradan.
"There are magicians and sorcerers among the Panans, who sometimes,
at the request even of the high-caste men, practice the black
art. Some of the Panans, like the Parayans, engage in magical
rites of a repulsive nature, in order to become possessors of a
powerful medicine, the possession of which is believed to confer
the power of obtaining anything he wishes. They also believe in
the existence of a demoniacal hierarchy. Changili Karuppan, Pechi,
Oodara Karuppan, Kali, Chotala Karuppan, Chotala Bhadrakali, Yakshi,
Gandharvan, and Hanuman are the names of the chief demons whom they
profess to control with the aid of mantrams (consecrated formulæ)
and offerings. They also profess that they can send one or more of
these demons into the bodies of men, and cast them out when persons
are possessed of them. They profess to cure all kinds of diseases in
children with the aid of magic and medicines, and all the castemen
believe that harm or even death may be caused to men with the aid of
sorcerers. In such cases, an astrologer is consulted, and, according
to his calculations, the aid of a magician is sought for. When a
person is suffering from what are believed to be demoniacal attacks,
he is relieved by the performance of the following ceremony, called
pathalahomam. A pit about six feet in length, three feet in depth,
and a foot or two in breadth, is dug. A Panan, covered with a new
piece of cloth, is made to lie in the pit, which is filled in with
earth, leaving a small hole for him to breathe. Over the middle of
his body, the earth is raised and made level. A sacred fire (homam)
is made over this with the branches of a jack tree. Near it a large
square is drawn with sixty-four small divisions, in each of which
a small leaf, with some paddy (unhusked rice), rice, flour, and
lighted torches, is placed. Gingelly (Sesamum) seeds, mustard seeds,
grains of chama (Panicum miliaceum), horse gram (Dolichos biflorus),
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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