Hindu Manners, Customs and Ceremonies - DUBOIS, Abbé Hindu Manners, Customs and Ceremonies, Dubois | Page 131

THE WEALTHIEST CLASS OF HINDUS
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Their wealth consists partly of
the other castes.
ma-niams, or hereditary lands exempt from taxation,
partly of gardens planted with arecas, cocoanut and other
fruit trees, and partly also of trinkets, money, and cattle.
Besides this, they speculate in the same way as the natives
Some of them occupy the position
of the preceding class.
of assistant collectors of public revenue, magistrates' clerks,
and other posts in the public service. They are proud of
the comfort they enjoy, and their arrogance is unrivalled.
Properties valued at more than £500 sterling are rarely
to be met with in the villages.
Natives who possess more
than this live in agraharams, or Brah