78 THE MALAI-KONDIGARUS
In several parts of Malabar a tribe is to be found called the Malai-Kondigaru , which , though as wild as those mentioned above , has perhaps a little more in common with civilized humanity . They live in the forests , and their principal occupation is to extract the juice of the palmtree , part of which they drink , the rest they sell . The women climb the trees to obtain it , and they do so in a surprisingly agile manner . These people always go about naked . The women only wear a little rag , which flutters about in the wind and most imperfectly covers that portion of their bodies which it is supposed to hide . During one of the expeditions which the last Sultan of Mysore made into the mountains , he met a horde of these savages , and for , however
was much shocked at their state of nudity ; depraved Mahomedans may be in their private life , nothing
can equal the decency and modesty of their conduct in public . They are horrified at word or look that even verges on indecency or immodesty , especially on the part of their women . The Sultan therefore caused the headmen of the Malai-Kondigarus to be brought before him , and asked them why they and their women did not cover
their bodies more decently . They excused themselves on the plea of poverty , and that it was the custom of their caste . Tippu replied that he must require them to wear clothing like the other inhabitants of the country , and that if they had not the means wherewith to buy it , he would every year provide them gratuitously with the cotton cloths
necessary for the purpose . The savages , however , though urged by the Sultan , made humble remonstrances , and begged hard to be allowed to dispense with the encumbrance of clothing . They finally told him that if they were forced to wear clothing , contrary to the rules of their caste , they would all leave the country rather than put up with so great an inconvenience ; they preferred to go and live in some other distant forest , where they would be allowed to follow their customs unmolested . The Sultan
was accordingly obliged to give way .
In and around Coorg is another tribe of savages known
by the name of Yeruvaru . It is akin to the Pariah caste ,
and is composed of several communities scattered about in the jungles . These people , however , work for their