Identifier: castestribesofso03thuruoft (find matches)
Title: Castes and tribes of southern India. Assisted by K. Rangachari
Year: 1909 (1900s)
Authors: Thurston, Edgar, 1855-1935 Rangachari, K
Subjects: Caste -- India Madras (Presidency) Ethnology -- India Madras (Presidency) India -- Social conditions
Publisher: Madras Government Press
Contributing Library: Robarts - University of Toronto
Digitizing Sponsor: MSN

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eysprinkle cow-dung on their houses and in the yard, whichfinally removes the defilement. People in better circum-stances make a feast of curry and rice for all present.The cow-dung is sprinkled with leafy twigs of the mangoor jak tree, or flower stalks of the areca palm. Theashes, after cremation, are said to be collected in a potor leaf, and thrown into the nearest stream or river. Anannual ceremony, in commemoration of ancestors, isheld, at which rice is boiled and offered up. The Kanikars, like the Irulas and Yanadis of theTamil and Telugu countries, do not belong to the pol-luting classes. Pulayans, Kuruvans, and Vedans arenot allowed to approach them. The dietary of the jungle Kanikars includes wildpigs, deer, porcupines, hares, monkeys, fowls, sheep andgoats, parakeets, doves, tortoises, fish, crabs, peacocks,tigers (said to taste like black monkey), owls, squirrels andfield rats, in addition to many vegetable products of theforest. They will not eat beef or the flesh of bison.
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KANIKAR. 177 KANIKAR Some Kanikars are tattooed on the forehead with acrescent and dot, or a vertical stripe. The Kanikars say-that their ancestors wore a garment made of jungle fibre,which has been replaced by a cotton loin-cloth. Bothmen and women, Mr. M. Ratnaswami Aiyar writes, wear on the neck numerous strings of red beads andrings made of shells, which hang down to the abdomenin the case of the women. The men wear ear-rings ofbrass or silver. The women wear bangles of brass andiron, and a number of brass rings on the fingers. Themen bear suspended from one of their shoulders a clothbag containing two or more partitions, in which theykeep their vilangupetti or box containing betel, tobacco,and chunam. They carry, too, suspended from theshoulder, a cane basket wherein they place their dayscrop of grain or roots, or any other food obtained bythem. They attach to their waist-string or cloth abillhook and knife, and carry their bows and arrowsslung on their shoulders. Whenever the Ka

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