Part 9

Polygamy is not common among the Paraiyans, but Mr. Clayton has known a few instances in which a Paraiyan had two regularly married wives, each wearing a tali. But it is very common to find that a Paraiyan has, in addition to his formally married wife, another woman who occupies a recognised position in his household. The first wears the tali. The other woman does not, but is called the second wife. She cannot be dismissed without the sanction of the paracheri council. The man who maintains her is called her husband, and her children are recognised as part of his family. Mr. Clayton believes that a second wife is usually taken only when the more formally married wife has no children, or when an additional worker is wanted in the house, or to help in the daily work. Thus a horsekeeper will often have two wives, one to prepare his meals and boil the gram for the horse, the other to go out day by day to collect grass for the horse. The Tamil proverb "The experience of a man with two wives is anguish" applies to all these double unions. There are constant quarrels between the two women, and the man is generally involved, often to his own great inconvenience. It is quite common for a Paraiyan to marry his deceased wife's sister, if she is not already married.

A Paraiya woman usually goes to her mother's house a month or two before she expects the birth of her first child, which is born there. Sometimes a medicine woman (maruttuvacchi), who possesses or professes some knowledge of drugs and midwifery, is called in, if the case is a bad one. Generally her barbarous treatment is but additional torture to the patient. Immediately after the birth of the child, the mother drinks a decoction called kashayam, in which there is much ginger. Hence the Tamil proverb "Is there any decoction without ginger in it?" About a week after the birth, the mother, as a purificatory ceremony, is rubbed with oil and bathed.

Among Sudras there is a family ceremony, to which the Sanskrit name Simanta has been assigned, though it is not the true Simanta observed by Brahmans. It occurs only in connection with a first pregnancy. The expectant mother stands bending over a rice mortar, and water or human milk is poured on her back by her husband's elder or younger sister. Money is also given to buy jewels for the expected child. The ceremony is of no interest to anyone outside the family. Hence the proverb "Come, ye villagers, and pour water on this woman's back." This is used when outsiders are called in to do for a member of a family what the relatives ought to do. This ceremony is sometimes observed by Paraiyans. Among Brahmans it is believed to affect the sex of the child. It should be added that it is firmly believed that, if a woman dies during pregnancy or in childbed, her spirit becomes an exceedingly malignant ghost, and haunts the precincts of the village where she dies.

A widow does not wear the tali, which is removed at a gathering of relatives some days after her husband's death. "The removal of the tali of a widow," Mr. Francis writes, [59] "is effected in a curious manner. On the sixteenth day after the husband's death, another woman stands behind the widow, who stoops forward, and unties the tali in such a way that it falls into a vessel of milk placed to receive it. Adoption ceremonies are also odd. The adoptee's feet are washed in turmeric water by the adopter, who then drinks a little of the liquid. Adoption is accordingly known as manjanir kudikkiradu, or the drinking of turmeric water, and the adopted son as the manjanir pillai, or turmeric water boy." Paraiya women do not wear any distinctive dress when they are widows, and do not shave their heads. But they cease to paint the vermilion mark (kunkumam) on their foreheads, which married women who are living with their husbands always wear, except at times when they are considered ceremonially unclean. The widow of a Paraiyan, if not too old to bear children, generally lives with another man as his wife. Sometimes she is ceremonially married to him, and then wears the tali. A widow practically chooses her own second husband, and is not restricted to any particular relative, such as her husband's elder or younger brother. The practice of the Levirate, by which the younger brother takes the widow of the elder, is non-existent as a custom among Paraiyas, though instances of such unions may be found. Indeed the popular opinion of the Tamil caste credits the Paraiyan with little regard for any of the restrictions of consanguinity, either prohibitive or permissive. "The palmyra palm has no shadow: the Paraiyan has no regard for seemliness" is a common Tamil proverb.

It is stated, in the Madras Census Report, 1891, that "the Paraiyans have been but little affected by Brahmanical doctrines and customs, though in respect to ceremonies they have not escaped their influence. Paraiyans are nominally Saivites, but in reality they are demon worshippers." The Homakulam tank in the South Arcot district is reputed to be the place where Nanda, the Paraiyan saint, bathed before he performed sacrifice preparatory to his transfiguration to Brahmanhood. [60] Brahman influence has scarcely affected the Paraiyan at all, even in ceremonial. No Paraiyan may enter any Vaishnava or Saiva temple even of the humblest sort, though of course his offerings of money are accepted, if presented by the hands of some friendly Sudra, even in such exclusive shrines as that of Sri Vira Raghava Swami at Tiruvallur. It is true that Paraiyans are often termed Saivites, but there are many nominal Vaishnavas among them, who regularly wear the namam of Vishnu on their foreheads. The truth is that the feminine deities, commonly called devata, have been identified by Hindus with the feminine energy of Siva, and thus the Paraiyans who worship them have received the sectarian epithet. As a matter of fact, the wearing of the namam of Vishnu, or the smearing of the ashes of Siva, is of no meaning to a Paraiyan. They are neither Saivites nor Vaishnavites.

Like all other Dravidians, the Paraiyans acknowledge the existence of a supreme, omnipresent, personal spiritual Being, the source of all, whom they call Kadavul (He who is). Kadavul possesses no temples, and is not worshipped, but he is the highest conception of Paraiya thought. Paraiyans worship at least three classes of godlings or devata, generally called the mothers (amma). Sometimes they are worshipped as the virgins (Kanniyamma) or the seven virgins. These mothers may be worshipped collectively in a group. They are then symbolised by seven stones or bricks, perhaps within a little enclosure, or on a little platform in the Paraiya hamlet, or under a margosa (Melia Azadirachta) tree, or sheltered by a wattle hut, or even by a small brick temple. This temple is universally known as the Amman Koil. More usually, one particular mother is worshipped at the Paraiya shrine. She is then called the grama devata, or village goddess, of the particular hamlet. The names of these goddesses are legion. Each village claims that its own mother is not the same as that of the next village, but all are supposed to be sisters. Each is supposed to be the guardian of the boundaries of the cheri or gramam where her temple lies, sometimes of both gramam and cheri. She is believed to protect its inhabitants and its livestock from disease, disaster and famine, to promote the fecundity of cattle and goats, and to give children. In a word, she is called the benefactress of the place, and of all in it who worship her. The following are a few of the names of these village tutelary deities:--

Ellamma, goddess of the boundary, worshipped by Tamil and Telugu Paraiyans.

Mungilamma, bamboo goddess.

Padeiyattal or Padeiyacchi.

Parrapotamma, a Telugu goddess supposed to cure cattle diseases.

Pidariyamma, sometimes called Ellei Pidari.

The symbol of the goddess may be a conical stone, or a carved idol. Occasionally a rude figure of the bull Nandi, and an iron trident mark the shrine. A lamp is often lighted before it at night.

The ceremonial of worship of all classes of devata is very simple. The worshipper prostrates himself before the symbol of the deity, whether one stone, seven stones, or an image. He anoints it with oil, smears it with saffron, daubs it with vermilion, garlands it with flowers (Nerium odorum by preference), burns a bit of camphor, and circumambulates the shrine, keeping his right side towards it. On special occasions he breaks cocoanuts, kills fowls, goats or sheep, of which the two last must be killed at one blow, pours out their blood, perhaps offers a little money, and goes his way, satisfied that he has done his best to propitiate the devata whom he has honoured.

Special shrines attain very great fame. Thus the goddess Bavaniyammal of Periyapalayam, some sixteen miles from Madras, is well known, and crowds come to her annual festival. Paraiyans, Pallis, and Chakkilians form the majority of the worshippers, but of late years Sudras and even Brahmans are to be found at her shrine. The homage rendered to her is twofold. Her worshippers sacrifice some thousands of sheep on the river bank outside her temple, and, entirely divesting themselves of their garments, and covering themselves with bunches of margosa leaves, go round the temple. Except on the five Sundays, usually in July and August, on which the festival is held, the shrine is forsaken, and the goddess is said to be a vegetarian; but on the five festival Sundays she is said to be as greedy for flesh as a leather-dresser's (Chakkiliyan) wife.

Two goddesses hold a position distinct from the mothers as a group, or as tutelary goddesses. These are Gangammal and Mariyattal, and their peculiarity is that they are itinerant deities. Gangammal is often described as the goddess of cholera, and Mariyattal, as the goddess of small-pox, though both diseases are frequently ascribed to the latter. Mariyattal is worshipped under the names of Poleramma and Ammavaru by Telugus. For instance, near Arcotkuppam in the North Arcot district, a festival is held in honour of Gangammal in the Tamil month Vaikasi (May-June), in which Sudras join. The main feature of the festival is the boiling of new rice as at Pongal. Men also put on women's clothes, and perform grotesque dances. In the same way, in the ten days' festival in honour of Mariyattal held at Uttaramallur during the Tamil month Avani (August), the goddess is carried about by washermen (Vannan), who perform a kind of pantomime (vilas) in her honour. There is a curious belief that these goddesses (or Gangammal, if they are distinguished) must travel along roads and paths, and cannot go across country, and that they cannot pass over the leaves of the margosa or the stems of the plant called in Tamil perandei (Vitis quadrangularis). Consequently, when cholera is about, and the goddess is supposed to be travelling from village to village seeking victims, branches of margosa and long strings of perandei are placed on all the paths leading into the gramam or cheri. Sometimes, also, leaves of the margosa are strung together, and hung across the village street. These are called toranam.

Besides the deities already referred to, there are a number of ghosts, ghouls, and goblins (pey or pisasu), whom Paraiyans propitiate. Mathureiviran and Virabadran are, for example, two well-known demons.

Among Tamil Paraiyans there are families in almost every village, who hold a kind of sacerdotal rank in the esteem of their fellows. They are called Valluvans, Valluva Pandarams, or Valluva Paraiyans. Their position and authority depend largely on their own astuteness. Sometimes they are respected even by Brahmans for their powers as exorcists. It is often impossible to see any difference between the Valluvans and the ordinary Paraiyans, except that their houses are usually a little apart from other houses in the cheri. They take a leading part in local Paraiya festivals. At marriages they pronounce the blessing when the tali is tied round the bride's neck.

In cases of supposed possession by demons, or by the mothers, the Valluvan is consulted as to the meaning of the portent, and takes part in driving the spirit out of the victim, sometimes using violence and blows to compel the spirit to deliver its message and be gone. The Census Report, 1901, states that Valluvans do not eat or intermarry with other sections of the Paraiyans. Mr. Clayton is unable to confirm this, and is inclined to doubt whether it is generally true.

The dead are buried as a rule, but sometimes the corpses are burnt. A portion of the village waste land is allotted for the purpose. Only Paraiyans are buried in it. The funeral rites are very simple. The corpse is carried on a temporary litter of palm leaf mats and bamboos, wrapped in a cotton cloth, which is a new one if it can be afforded, and interred or burnt. About the third or fifth day after death, the pal sadangu, or milk ceremony, should take place, when some milk is poured out by the next-of-kin as an offering to the spirit of the deceased. This spirit is then supposed to assume a sort of corporeity, and to depart to the place of respite till fate decrees that it be re-born. This ceremony is accompanied by a family feast. On the fifteenth day after death, another family gathering is held, and food is offered to the spirit of the dead person. This ceremony is called Karumantaram, or expiatory ceremony. Occasionally, for some months after the death, a few flowers are placed on the grave, and a cocoanut is broken over it; and some attempt is even made to recognise the anniversary of the date. But there is no regular custom and it is probably an imitation of Brahmanical usages. The ordinary Paraiyan's conception of life after death is merely a vague belief that the departed soul continues its existence somewhere. He has no ordered eschatology. If a first-born male child dies, it is buried close to or even within the house, so that its corpse may not be carried off by a witch or sorcerer, to be used in magic rites, as the body of a first-born child is supposed to possess special virtues. It is noted by Mr. H. A. Stuart [61] that "the Tangalans profess to have once been a very respectable class, and wear the sacred thread at weddings and funerals, while the other divisions never assume it."

The following note on the death ceremonies of the Paraiyans at Coimbatore was supplied by Mr. V. Govindan. If the deceased was a married man, the corpse is placed in a sitting posture in a booth made of twigs of margosa and milk-hedge (Euphorbia Tirucalli), and supported behind by a mortar. The widow puts on all her ornaments, and decorates her hair with flowers. She seats herself on the left side of the corpse, in the hands of which some paddy (unhusked rice) or salt is placed. Taking hold of its hands, some one pours the contents thereof into the hands of the widow, who replaces them in those of the corpse. This is done thrice, and the widow then ties the rice in her cloth. On the way to the burial ground (sudukadu), the son carries a new pot, the barber a pot of cooked rice and brinjal (Solanum Melongena) fruits and other things required for doing puja. The Paraiyan in charge of the burial ground carries a fire-brand. The mats and other articles used by the deceased, and the materials of which the booth was made, are carried in front by the washerman, who deposits them at a spot between the house of the deceased and the burial ground called the idukadu, which is made to represent the shrine of Arichandra. Arichandra was a king, who became a slave of the Paraiyans, and is in charge of the burial ground. At the idukadu the corpse is placed on the ground, and the son, going thrice round it, breaks the pot of rice near its head. The barber makes a mark at the four corners of the bier, and the son places a quarter anna on three of the marks, and some cowdung on the mark at the north-east corner. The widow seats herself at the feet of the corpse, and another widowed woman breaks her tali string, and throws it on the corpse. Arrived at the grave, the gurukal (priest) descends into it, does puja and applies vibhuti (sacred ashes) to its sides. The body is lowered into it, and half a yard of cloth from the winding-sheet is given to the Paraiyan, and a quarter of a yard to an Andi (religious mendicant). The grave is filled in up to the neck of the corpse, and bael (Ægle Marmelos) leaves, salt, and vibhuti are placed on its head by the gurukal. The grave is then filled in, and a stone and thorny branch placed at the head end. As the son goes, carrying the water-pot, three times round the grave, the barber makes a hole in the pot, which is thrown on the stone. The son and other relations bathe and return to the house, where a vessel containing milk is set on a mortar, and another containing water placed at the door. They dip twigs of the pipal (Ficus religiosa) into the milk, and throw them on the roof. They also worship a lighted lamp. On the third day, cooked rice, and other food for which the deceased had a special liking, are taken to the grave, and placed on plantain leaves. Puja is done, and the crows are attracted to the spot. If they do not turn up, the gurukal prays, and throws up water three times. On the seventeenth day, the son and others, accompanied by the gurukal, carry a new brick and articles required for puja to the river. The brick is placed under water, and the son bathes. The articles for puja are spread on a plantain leaf, before which the son places the brick. Puja is done to it, and a piece of new cloth tied on it. It is then again carried to the water, and immersed therein. The ceremonial concludes with the lighting of the sacred fire (homam).

The death ceremonies of the Paraiyan, as carried out in the Chingleput district, are thus described by Mr. K. Rangachari. The corpse is washed, dressed, and carried on a bier to the burning or burial ground. Just before it is placed on the bier, all the relations, who are under pollution, go round it three times, carrying an iron measure round which straw has been wrapped, and containing a light. On the way to the burial ground, the son or grandson scatters paddy, which has been fried by the agnates. A pot of fire is carried by the Vettiyan. At a certain spot the bier is placed on the ground, and the son goes round it, carrying a pot of cooked rice, which he breaks near the head of the corpse. This rice should not be touched by man or beast, and it is generally buried. When the corpse has been placed on the pyre, or laid in the grave, rice is thrown over it by the relations. The son, carrying a pot of water, goes thrice round it, and asks those assembled if he may finish the ceremony. On receiving their assent, he again goes three times round the corpse, and, making three holes in the pot, throws it down, and goes home without looking back. If the dead person is unmarried, a mock marriage ceremony, called kanni kaziththal (removing bachelorhood), is performed before the corpse is laid on the bier. A garland of arka (Calotropis gigantea) flowers and leaves is placed round its neck, and balls of mud from a gutter are laid on the head, knees, and other parts of the body. In some places a variant of the ceremony consists in the erection of a mimic marriage booth which is covered with leaves of the arka plant, flowers of which are placed round the neck as a garland. On the third day after death, cooked rice, milk, fruits, etc., are offered to the soul of the departed on two leaves placed one near the head, the other near the feet of the corpse. Of these, the former is taken by men, and the latter by women, and eaten. The karmanthiram, or final ceremony, takes place on the twelfth or sixteenth day. All concerned in it proceed to a tank with cooked rice, cakes, etc. A figure of Ganesa (Pillayar) is made with mud, and five kalasam (vessels) are placed near it. The various articles which have been brought are set out in front of it. Two bricks, on which the figures of a man and woman are drawn, are given to the son, who washes them, and does puja to them after an effigy has been made at the waterside by a washerman. He then says "I gave calves and money. Enter Kailasam (the abode of Siva). Find your way to paralokam (the other world). I gave you milk and fruit. Go to the world of the dead. I gave gingelly (Sesamum) and milk. Enter yamalokam (abode of the god of death). Eleven descendants on the mother's side and ten on the father's, twenty-one in all, may they all enter heaven." He then puts the bricks into the water. On their return home, the sons of the deceased are presented with new clothes.

It is recorded, in the Gazetteer of the Tanjore district, that, when a man dies, camphor is not burnt in the house, but at the junction of three lanes. Some Paraiyans, on the occurrence of a death in a family, put a pot filled with dung or water, a broomstick and a fire-brand at some place where three roads meet, or in front of the house, in order to prevent the ghost from returning. An impression of the dead man's palm is taken in cow-dung, and stuck on the wall. In some places, e.g., at Tirutturaippundi, the Paraiyans observe a ceremony rather like that observed by Valaiyans and Karaiyans on the heir's return from the burning-ground on the second day. Three rice-pounders and a chembu (vessel) of water are placed outside the door, and the heir sits on these, chews a piece of fish, spits thrice, and then goes and worships a light burning in the house.

Tattooing is practiced on women and children of both sexes, but not on grown men. With children it is confined to a simple line drawn down the forehead. Among Paraiyans who have become Roman Catholics, the device is sometimes a cross. Women, like those of other Tamil castes, frequently have their arms elaborately tattooed, and sometimes have a small pattern between the breasts. A legend runs to the effect that, many years ago, a Paraiyan woman wished her upper arms and chest to be tattooed in the form of a bodice. The operation was successfully carried out till the region of the heart was reached, and then a vulnerable part was punctured by the needles, with the result that the woman died. Whence has arisen a superstitious objection to tattooing of the breasts.