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.