but are a very ungrateful sect, and their very name, viz., Nambu Vettuvan, has passed into a bye-word for ingratitude of all kinds." It is recorded, in the Gazetteer of Malabar, that "the Vettuvans of Chirakkal taluk are a low caste of jungle cultivators and basket makers, distinguished by the survival amongst their women of the custom of dressing in leaves, their only clothing being a kind of double fan-shaped apron of leaves tied round the waist with a rolled cloth. They live in huts made of split bamboo and thatched with elephant grass, called kudumbus. The Vettuvans are divided into fourteen illams, which seem to be named after the house names of the janmis (landlords) whom they serve. Their headmen, who are appointed by their janmis, are called Kiran, or sometimes Parakutti (drummer). Amongst the Vettuvans, when labour begins, the woman is put in a hole dug in a corner of the hut, and left there alone with some water till the cry of the child is heard." For the following note on the Vettuvans of the Cochin State, I am indebted to Mr. L. K. Anantha Krishna Aiyar. [152] "The Vettuvans are also called Vettuva Pulayas. They are pure agricultural labourers, taking part in every kind of work connected with agriculture, such as ploughing, sowing, weeding, transplanting, pumping water, and reaping. They are more day labourers. The males get two edangazhis of paddy (hardly worth 2 annas), and the females an edangazhi and a half. In times of scarcity, they find it difficult to support themselves. "When an unmarried woman becomes pregnant, her parents, as soon as they become aware of the fact, inform their local headman (Kanakkan or Kuruppan), who convenes a meeting of the elderly members of the community for the purpose of summoning the secret lover, and prosecuting the necessary enquiries. In the event of the confession of the charge, he is asked to marry her. The matter does not end there. They go to the local Thandan, and relate to him the incident, who thereupon gives him water in a vessel (kindi vellam). The woman is asked to drink this as well as some cow-dunged water, and is then made to let flow a few drops of blood from the body. After this he says 'dhosham thirnu' (free from guilt). Should, however, the lover be unwilling to marry her, he is thrashed and placed under a ban. If they are related to each other, they are both turned out of caste. The woman who is freed from guilt can marry again. The Thandan gets as his perquisite four annas out of the fine imposed, four packets of betel leaf, eight areca nuts, and three tobacco leaves. Their headman also has a share of the fine, etc. The balance which then remains is spent on toddy, and beaten rice for those assembled.