In a note on the Uppiliyans of the Trichinopoly district, Mr. F. R. Hemingway states that "some of the marriage ceremonies are peculiar. They allow an unborn boy to be betrothed to his unborn cousin. The bride has to be asked in marriage a number of times, before consent is given, lest it be thought that she is yielding too easily. The marriage is performed at her house, lest it should be thought that her parents are forcing her on the bridegroom. The caste does not use the marriage pole or paligai pots. Instead of the usual turmeric threads, the wrists of the contracting couple are tied together with wool. A curious custom among the Tamil section is that, at the beginning of the ceremonies, both on the first and second day, three matrons wash their faces in turmeric water, and the bride and bridegroom are bathed with the water used by them. They also have unusual observances connected with a girl's attainment of maturity. A husband may not look into his bride's eyes until this occurs. When she has at length attained maturity, the husband comes to his bride's house with a sheep and some vegetables, and kills the former. His brother-in-law then marks his forehead with the sheep's blood. The husband eats some plantain and milk, and spits it out at his bride, who is made to stand behind a screen. If the girl has attained maturity before her marriage, the Tamil section of the caste make her walk over seven wooden hoops on the wedding day. The husband has to give his formal consent to the ceremony, and a washerman has to be present. The Telugus perform this rite on the last day of the girl's first menstrual period, and her maternal uncle has to be present. The Uppiliyans allow the remarriage of widows and divorced women. A man may not shave until he marries a virgin, and, if he does not do so, he has to remain unshaved all his life." The dead are, as a rule, buried. Among the Uppiliyans, who occupy a higher social position than the Canarese and Telugu sections, death pollution is observed for seven days. Among the Upparas, the period of pollution is sixteen days. Concerning the death ceremonies, Mr. Hemingway writes as follows. "Widows of the Tamil section never remove their tali, but leave it till it drops off of itself. When a man dies, his widow is made to pretend he is still alive, and bathes him with oil, and puts garlands on him. If a man is to be buried, the chief mourner pretends to dig the grave. The karumantaram, or final death ceremony, of the Tamil section consists merely in taking some milk to an erukka (Calotropis gigantea) shrub on the sixteenth evening, just before the jackals begin to howl. They pour it over the shrub with the help of a barber, saying 'Go to Swarga (the abode of Indra), and make your way to Kailasam (heaven).'"