Hindu Manners, Customs and Ceremonies - DUBOIS, Abbé Hindu Manners, Customs and Ceremonies, Dubois | Page 97

PARIAH SLAVERY
57
exist still amongst the Nairs, the Coorgs, and the
Tulus, the three aboriginal tribes of the Malabar coast.
This is, I believe, the only province in India where pro-
prietary right has been preserved intact until the present
day. Everywhere else the soil belongs to the ruler, and
the cultivator is merely his tenant. The lands which he
tills are given to him or taken away from him according
On
to the w ill of the Government for the time being.
the Malabar coast, however, the lands belong to those
who have inherited them from their forefathers, and these
in their turn possess the right of handing them down to
Here the lands may be alienated, sold,
their descendants.
given away, or disposed of according to the will of the
owners. In a word, the jus utendi et abutendi, which is the
Every
basis of proprietary right, belongs entirely to them.
landed proprietor in that country possesses a community
of Pariahs to cultivate his fields, who are actually his
All
slaves and form an integral part of his property.
children born of these Pariahs are serfs by birth, just as
and their master has the right, if he
their parents were
choose, to sell or dispose of parents and children in any
way that he pleases. If one of these Pariahs escapes and
takes service under another master, his real master can
recover him anywhere as his own property. If a proprietor
happens to possess more slaves than he requires for cultivat-
ing his land, he sells some to other landlords who are less
fortunate than himself. It is by no means uncommon to
see a debtor, who is unable to pay his debts in hard cash,
satisfy his creditors by handing over to them a number of
The price of these is not exorbitant.
his Pariah slaves.
A male still young enough to work will fetch three rupees
and a hundred seers of rice, which is about the value of
and
r
;
a bullock.
But the landed proprietors do not usually sell their
and even then
slaves except in cases of great emergency
they can only sell them within the borders of their own
country. In no case have they a right to export them
;
for sale to foreigners.
Each land- owner in the province of Malabar lives in
a house that is isolated in the middle of his estate. Here
he dwells, surrounded by his community of Pariah serfs,