1 (> CASTES PECULIAR TO CERTAIN PROVINCES
names of MoodeUy , Agambady , Nattaman , Totiyar , Udaiyan ,
VcUeyen , Upiliyen , Pollen , and several others 1 .
It should be remarked , however , that those Sudra castes which are occupied exclusively in employments indispensable to all civilized societies are to be found everywhere under names varying with the languages of different
localities . Of such I may cite , amongst others , the gardeners , the shepherds , the weavers , the Panchalas ( the five castes of artisans , comprising the carpenters , goldsmiths , blacksmiths , founders , and in general all workers in metals ), the manufacturers and venders of oil , the fishermen , the potters , the washermen , the barbers , and some others . All these form part of the great main caste of Sudras ; but the different castes of cultivators hold the first rank and disdainfully regard as their inferiors all those belonging to the professions just mentioned , refusing
to eat with those who practise them .
In some districts there are castes which are not to be met with elsewhere , and which may be distinguished by peculiarities of their own . I am not aware , for example , that the very remarkable caste of Nairs , whose women enjoy the privilege of possessing several husbands , is to be found anywhere but in Travancore 2 . Amongst these same
people , again , is another distinct caste called Nambudiri , which observes one abominable and revolting custom . The girls of this caste are usually married before the age of puberty
; but if a girl who has arrived at an age when
the signs of puberty are apparent happens to die before having had intercourse with a man , caste custom rigorously
demands that the inanimate corpse of the deceased shall be subjected to a monstrous connexion . For this purpose the girl ' s parents are obliged to procure by a present of money some wretched fellow willing to consummate such
a disgusting form of marriage : for were the marriage
1
Moodelly , ' chief man
' or highly respectable trader . Agambady , he who performs menial offices in temples or palaces . Nattaman , a caste of cultivators . Totiyar , a caste of labourers . Udaiyan , a potter . Yaleyen , a fisherman . Upiliyen , salt manufacturer . Fallen , agriculturist . Ed .
2
It would be more correct to say West Coast . Moreover , although
Xair women are commonly described as polyandrous , they are not really
so , for though they enjoy the privilege of changing their husbands , they do not entertain more than one husband at a time .— Ed .