The services of the Mannan, Mr. T. K. Gopal Panikkar writes, [114] "are in requisition at the Nayar Thirandukalianam ceremonies on the attainment of puberty by a girl, when they sing ballads, and have to bring, for the girl's use, the mattu or sacred dress. Then, on occasions of death pollution, they have a similar duty to perform. Among the Nayars, on the fourth, or rarely the third day after the menses, the woman has to use, during her bath, clothes supplied by Mannan females. The same duty they have to perform during the confinement of Nayar females. All the dirty cloths and bed sheets used, these Mannan females have to wash." Mr. S. Appadorai Iyer informs us that those Mannans who are employed by the Kammalan, or artisan class, as barbers, are not admitted into the Mannan caste, which follows the more honourable profession of washing clothes. The Mannans perform certain ceremonies in connection with Mundian, the deity who is responsible for the weal or woe of cattle; and, at Puram festivals, carry the vengida koda or prosperity umbrella, composed of many tiers of red, green, orange, black and white cloth, supported on a long bamboo pole, before the goddess. It is recorded by Bishop Whitehead [115] that, in various places in Malabar, there are temples in honour of Bhagavati, at which the pujaris (priests) are of the Vannan caste. "There is an annual feast called gurusi tarpanam (giving to the guru) about March, when the hot weather begins, and the people are at leisure. Its object is to appease the wrath of the goddess. During the festival, the pujari sits in the courtyard outside the temple, thickly garlanded with red flowers, and with red kunkuma marks on his forehead. Goats and fowls are then brought to him by the devotees, and he kills them with one blow of the large sacrificial sword or chopper. It is thought auspicious for the head to be severed at one blow, and, apparently, pujaris who are skilful in decapitation are much in request. When the head is cut off, the pujari takes the carcase, and holds it over a large copper vessel partly filled with water, turmeric, kunkuma, and a little rice, and lets the blood flow into it. When all the animals are killed, the pujari bails out the blood and water on the ground, uttering mantrams (sacred lines or verses) the while. The people stand a little way off. When the vessel is nearly empty, the pujari turns it upside down as a sign that the ceremony is ended. During these proceedings, a number of Vannans, dressed in fantastic costumes, dance three times round the temple. During the festival, processions are held round the various houses, and special swords with a curved hook at the end, called palli val (great or honourable sword), are carried by the worshippers. These swords are worshipped during the Dusserah festival in October, and, in some shrines, they form the only emblem of the deity. The Tiyans have small shrines in their own gardens sacred