Nayar Janmi to look after his interests, and be responsible to him for the other inhabitants of the village. The investiture of the Kuttan with the powers of office is celebrated with a feast and dance, at which a bangle is presented to the Kuttan as a badge of authority. Next in rank to the Kuttan is the Mudali or head of the family, and they usually constitute the panchayat. Both Kuttan and Mudali are called Muppanmar or elders. The whole caste is sometimes loosely spoken of as Muppan. In a case of proved adultery, a fine of sixteen fanams (the amount of the marriage fee), and a sum equal to the expenses of the wedding, including the present to the parents of the bride, is the usual form of punishment. The Chemmi or Shemmi is, I am informed, a sort of priest or minister. He was appointed, in olden days, by the chieftains under whom the Paniyans worked, and each Chemmi held authority over a group of villages. The office is hereditary, but, should a Chemmi family fail, it can be filled up by election. No ceremony takes place in celebration of the birth of children. One of the old women of the village acts as midwife, and receives a small present in return for her services. As soon as a child is old enough to be of use, it accompanies its parents to their work, or on their fishing and hunting expeditions, and is initiated into the various ways of adding to the stock of provisions for the household. The dead are buried in the following manner. A trench, four or five feet deep, and large enough to receive the body to be interred, is dug, due north and south, on a hill near the village. At the bottom of this excavation the earth is scooped out from the western side on a level with the floor throughout the length of the grave, so as to form a receptacle for the corpse, which, placed on a mat, is laid therein upon its left side with the head pointing to the south and the feet to the north. After a little cooked rice has been put into the grave for the use of the departed spirit, the mat, which has been made broad enough for the purpose, is folded up and tucked in under the roof of the cavity, and the trench filled up. It has probably been found by experience that the corpse, when thus protected, is safe from the ravages of scavenger jackals and pariah dogs. For seven days after death, a little rice gruel is placed at distance of from fifty to a hundred yards from the grave by the Chemmi, who claps his hands as a signal to the evil spirits in the vicinity, who, in the shape of a pair of crows, are supposed to partake of the food, which is hence called kaka conji or crow's rice.