"The religion of the Panans consists of an all-pervading demonology. Their chief gods are Mukkan, Chathan, Kappiri, Malankorathi, and Kali. Pujas are performed to them on the first of Medom (April-May), Karkadakam (July-August), Desara, and on Tuesday in Makaram (January-February). These deities are represented by stones placed under a tree. They are washed with water on the aforesaid days, and offerings of sheep and fowls, malar (parched rice), plantains, cocoanuts, and boiled rice are made to them. Their belief is that these deities are ever prone to do harm to them, and should therefore be propitiated with offerings. The Panans also worship the spirits of their ancestors, who pass for their household gods, and whose help they seek in all times of danger. They fast on new-moon nights, and on the eleventh night after full-moon or new-moon. "The Panan is the barber of the polluting castes above Cherumans. By profession he is an umbrella-maker. Panans are also engaged in all kinds of agricultural work. In villages, they build mud walls. Their women act as midwives. "As regards social status, the Panans eat at the hands of Brahmans, Nayars, Kammalans, and Izhuvans. They have to stand at a distance of thirty-two feet from Brahmans. Panans and Kaniyans pollute one another if they touch, and both bathe should they happen to do so. They are their own barbers and washermen. They live in the vicinity of the Izhuvans, but cannot live in the Nayar tharas. Nor can they take water from the wells of the Kammalans. They cannot approach the outer walls of Brahman temples, and are not allowed to enter the Brahman streets in Palghat." In the Census Report, 1891, Panan occurs as a sub-division of the Paraiyans. Their chief occupation as leather-workers is said to be the manufacture of drum-heads. [30] Panasa.--The Panasas are a class of beggars in the Telugu country, who are said to ask alms only from Kamsalas. The word panasa means constant repetition of words, and, in its application to the Panasa, probably indicates that they, like the Bhatrazu bards and panegyrists, make up verses eulogising those from whom they beg. It is stated in the Kurnool Manual (1886) that "they take alms from the Beri Komatis and goldsmiths (Kamsalas), and no others. The story goes that, in Golkonda, a tribe of Komatis named Bacheluvaru were imprisoned for non-payment of arrears of revenue. Finding certain men of the artificer class who passed by in the street spit betel nut, they got it into their mouths, and begged the artificers to get them released. The artificers, pitying them, paid the arrears, and procured their release. It was then that the Kamsalis fixed a vartana or annual house-fee for the maintenance of the Panasa class, on condition that they should not beg alms from the other castes." The Panasas appear every year in the Kurnool district to collect their dues.