Chapter VIII: Part 8

(1) Garbhadhanam, performed soon after marriage. There is a
homam, and the husband puts the juice of some panic grass into
his wife's nostrils.
(2) Garbharakshana secures the unborn child from dangers. It is
not considered important, and is not always done.
(3) Pumsavana, performed in the third month of pregnancy for the
purpose of securing male offspring. The desire of the Hindu for
male rather than female children need not be dilated on. Putra
(a son) is the one who saves from hell (put). It is by every
religious text made clear that it is the duty of every man to
produce a son. The Nambutiri may have practically any number of
wives in succession, until he begets a son by one of them, and he
may adopt a son through the sarvasvadanam form of marriage. On
the day devoted to the pumsavana ceremony, the wife fasts until
she is fed by her husband with one grain of corn, symbolising
the generative organs of the male.
(4) Simantonnayana is the next ceremony performed for the benefit
of the unborn child. It is done between the sixth and eighth
months of pregnancy, and consists in a burnt sacrifice to the
deity, and the husband parting the hair of his wife's head with
a porcupine quill, or with three blades of the sacred kusa grass,
repeating the while Vedic verses.
(5) Jatakarma is the name of the birth ceremony, and is performed
by the father of the child. Honey and ghi are introduced into the
mouth of the infant with a golden spoon or rod, to symbolise good
fortune. Then the ears and shoulders are touched with the spoon
or rod, while Vedic texts are recited.
(6) Medhajananam, rarely done, is for inducing intelligence.
(7) Ayusha, for prolonging life, is the next in order. The father
gives the child a secret name, having an even number of syllables
for a male and an uneven number for a female, which is never
revealed to any one except the mother.
(8) Namakarana is the ceremony, at which the child is named, and
is said to be done on the tenth day after birth. The naming of a
child is an important religious act, which is supposed to carry
consequences throughout life. The parents, assisted by a Vadhyan,
make a burnt sacrifice to the deity.
(9) Annaprasana is the ceremony at which food other than that from
nature's fount is first given. It is done in the sixth month after
birth. The father carries the child to a group of friends and
relations. The Vadhyan or purohit is present and repeats Vedic
texts, while the father places a little rice and butter in the
child's mouth.
(10) Chaula is the ceremony when the hair is cut for the first
time in the Nambutiri fashion.
(11) Karna vedha is the occasion on which the ears are bored.

On the Vidyadasami day, the tenth of Asvayuja, when a male child is five years old, the father goes through the form of initiating him into the mysteries of the alphabet.

The following details of some of the above ceremonies are given in the Gazetteer of Malabar. "The chief ceremonies connected with pregnancy are Pumsavanam or rite to secure male offspring, at which the husband puts a grain of barley and two beans, to represent the male organ, into his wife's hand, and pours some curds over them, which the wife then swallows, and also pours some juice of karuga grass into her right nostril; and Simantham, a ceremony usually performed in the fourth month of pregnancy, at which the husband parts the wife's hair four times from back to front with a sprig of atti (Ficus glomerata), a porcupine quill which must have three white marks on it, and three blades of darba grass, all tied together, after which mantrams are sung to the accompaniment of vinas. The first ceremony to be performed on the birth of a child is jathakarmam. A little gold dust is mingled with ghee and honey, and the father takes up some of the mixture with a piece of gold, and smears the child's lips with it, once with a mantram and once in silence. He next washes the gold, and touches the child's ears, shoulders and head with it, and finally makes a gift of the bit of gold and performs nandimukham. The ceremony of naming the child, or namakarmam, takes place on the twelfth day. The father ties a string round the child's waist, and marks its body with the sacred ash (bhasmam). Then, after the usual 'gifts' he pronounces thrice in the child's right ear the words 'Devadatta Sarmmasi,' or if the child be a girl, 'Nili dasi.' He then calls out the name thrice. Then, taking the child from its mother, he again calls out the name thrice, and finally gives the child back to its mother, who in turn calls out the name thrice. Gifts and nandimukham complete the ceremony. In the fourth month, the child is ceremonially taken out of doors (nishkramana or vittil purapattu) by the father, who carries it to a cocoanut, round which he makes three pradakshinams."

The death ceremonies of the Nambutiris are commenced shortly before death actually takes place. When death is believed to be unmistakably near, some verses from the Taittirya Upanishad are spoken in the dying man's ears. These are called karna mantras, or ear hymns. A bed of kusa grass, called darbhasana, is prepared in the verandah or some convenient place outside the foundations of the house, and the dying man is placed on it. When life is extinct, the body is washed, dressed in a new white cloth, and placed on a bier made of bamboos covered with a new white cloth. The bier is then carried on the shoulders of four of the nearest relatives to the place of cremation within the compound of the illam, and laid on a pile of firewood, which must include some sandalwood. This should be done by brothers or sons if there are such; if not, by more distant relatives or friends. The pyre need not of necessity be prepared by Nambutiris. Properly speaking, according to the sacred texts, which govern almost every act of the Nambutiri's life, relatives and friends, male and female, should accompany the bier to the place of cremation, but, as a rule, women do not join the little procession. The bier is laid on the pyre, and the corpse is uncovered. Rice is scattered over the face by the blood-relations present, and small pieces of gold are thrust into the nine openings of the body, while mantras are recited by the Vadhyayar or priest. The gold is said to be used on this occasion as part of the offering in the yagam--the last sacrifice, as the burning of the body is called--and not in any way to assist the deceased in his journey to "the undiscovered country." Soon after the bier is laid on the funeral pyre, a homam is made. Fire taken from it is placed on the chest of the deceased, and then the pyre is lighted in three places. The performer of the crematory rites carries an earthen pot round the pyre. The officiating priest punctures the pot with a knife, and receives the water in another pot. He throws this water on the pyre, and the pot is then smashed and flung away. This part of the ceremony is said to symbolise that the deceased has had his ablution in the water of the Ganges, and the fire god, Agni, represented by the homam, was witness to the same. The fire god is supposed to witness every ceremony enjoined by the Vedas. After the body is burnt, those who attended go away and bathe. The disembodied soul is supposed to enter a body called Sukshma Sarira, and eventually goes to heaven or hell as it deserves. But, before it can reach its destination, certain ceremonies must be performed. These consist chiefly of oblations on each of the ten days following death, for the purpose of causing the preta (spirit) to grow out of the Dhananjaya Vayu, which causes deformities and changes in the deceased after death. Each day's ceremony completes a limb or part of the preta, and the body is complete in ten days. On the third day after death, the ashes of the deceased are collected in an urn, and buried at the place of cremation or close to it. This is called ekoddishta. On the eleventh day, all the members of the family go through a purificatory ceremony, which consists in swallowing the panchagavya, and changing the sacred thread. They then perform a sraddha, offering balls of rice, etc., to the deceased and three of his ancestors, and give a dinner and presents of money and cloths to Brahmans. Twelve sraddhas must be performed, one in each month following, when water and balls of rice (pindas) are offered to the spirit. The twelfth sraddha is the sapindi karana, which elevates the spirit of the deceased to the rank of an ancestor. Following this, there is only the annual sraddha, or anniversary of death, calculated according to the lunar or astronomical year, when not less than three Brahmans are fed, and receive presents of money and cloths.

Concerning the death ceremonies, Mr. Subramani Aiyar writes as follows. "After death, the blood relations of the deceased bathe, and, with wet clothes on, place two pieces of the stem of the plantain tree, one at the head and the other at the feet of the corpse. The hair of the head and face is shaved a little, and the body is bathed with water in which turmeric and mailanchi, a red vegetable substance, are dissolved. The Vaishnavite gopi mark is drawn vertically, as also are sandal paste marks on various parts of the body, and flowers and garlands are thrown over it. The corpse is then covered with an unbleached cloth, which is kept in position by a rope of kusa grass. It is carried to the pyre by Nambutiris who are not within the pollution circle of the deceased, the eldest son supporting the head and the younger ones the legs. A cremation pit is dug in the south-east portion of the compound, and a mango tree, which has been felled, is used as fuel. In all these ceremonies, the eldest son is the karta or chief mourner and responsible ritualist, with whom the younger ones have to keep up physical contact while the several rites are being gone through. When the body is almost reduced to ashes, the principal performer of the ceremonies and his brothers bathe, and, taking some earth from the adjoining stream or tank, make with it a representation of the deceased. Throughout the funeral ceremonies, the Maran is an indispensable factor. The handing of the kusa grass and gingelly (Sesamum) seeds for the oblation must be done by a member of that caste. Sanchayanam, or the collection and disposal of the burnt bones of the deceased, takes place on the fourth day. On the eleventh day the pollution ceases, and the daily sraddha begins. A term of diksha or special observance is kept up for three fortnights, but generally for a whole year. On the twelfth day is the sapinda karana sraddha, or ceremony of what may be called joining the fathers, after which the dead person passes from the stage of preta to join the manes or spirits. There are then the monthly ceremonies (masikas) and ashta sraddhas (eight sraddhas). The abdika or first anniversary, known in Malabar by the name of masam, is a very important ceremony, and one on which unstinted expenditure is the rule."

A further account of the death ceremonies is given in the Gazetteer of Malabar. "When death is believed to be near, the dying man is taken to the west of the hearth of the sacred fire (aupasana agni), and laid with his head to the south on a bed of sand and darbha grass, while the ottu mantram is whispered in his ear. When life is extinct, the body is washed and covered with a plantain leaf. The mourners dress themselves in tattu fashion, and tear up a new cloth breadthwise into pieces called sesham, which they each wear round their waist. The body is then dressed in an undercloth; the forehead is smeared with the pounded root of the creeper mettoni, and tulasi flowers are put on the head; the kudumi (hair knot) is untied, and the punul (sacred thread) arranged to hang round the neck in front. The body is tied on to a bamboo ladder and covered with a new cloth, and then carried by four of the nearest relatives to the place of cremation within the compound of the illam. A trench is dug on the north-east of the pyre, and some water put into it, which is sprinkled on the pyre with twigs of chamatha and darbha. The body is then laid on the pyre with the head to the south, and the fire is kindled. The ladder is thrown away, and a homam performed of ghee and darbha grass made to represent the deceased, while mantrams are recited. Then comes the ceremony called kumbhapradakshinam. The mourners go round the pyre three times, the eldest son leading the way, carrying an earthen pot of water on his left shoulder. The water should run through the bottom of the pot, one hole being made for the first round, two for the second, and three for the third, and other mourners should sprinkle it on the pyre. At the end of the third round the pot is thrown on to the pyre, and all the mourners come away, the eldest son leaving last, and being careful not to look back. After bathing and shaving, the sons and other persons entitled to celebrate the obsequies, each perform an oblation of water (udagakriya) to a piece of karuga grass stuck up to represent the spirit of the dead, concluding the ceremony by touching iron, granite, a firebrand, cow-dung, paddy and gold three times, throwing away the sesham, and receiving a clean cloth (mattu). They then return to the nadumittam, when they make offerings (bali or veli) of rice balls (pindams) to a piece of karuga grass. Both these ceremonies have to be repeated twice daily for ten days. On the fourth day after death, provided it is not a Tuesday or Friday, the ceremony of collecting the bones (sanchyanam) is performed. The eldest son goes to the pyre with a pala (pot made of the spathe of an areca palm) of milk, which he sprinkles on the pyre with a brush of chamatha tied with karuga grass. Three palas are placed on the west of the pyre parallel to the places where the feet, waist and head of the corpse rested, and bones are removed from the feet, waist and head with tongs of chamatha, and placed in the respective palas. The bones are then washed in milk, and all put into an earthen pot (kudam) with some karuga grass on the top. The pot is covered with a cloth, taken to a cocoanut tree and buried in a pit, the cloth being removed and the top filled with mud. A plantain is planted in the trench that was dug near the pyre. On the eleventh day, all the members of the family purify themselves, and perform oblations of water and balls of rice. This constitutes the first sraddha, which must be repeated on each anniversary of the eleventh day."

"The funeral rites of women are similar; but, if the woman is pregnant at the time of death, the body has first to be purified seven times with pounded kusa grass, cow-dung, cow's urine, ashes and gold, and to receive mattu. The belly is cut open four inches below the navel, and, if the child is found alive, it is taken out and brought up; if dead, it is put back in the womb with a piece of gold and some ghee. Children not more than ten days old are buried with little ceremony, but all others are burnt." [104]

When a Nambutiri is believed to have been guilty of an offence against the caste, or when there is a caste dispute in any gramam, the proper course is to represent the matter to the king (in Malabar the Zamorin), who refers it to the Smarta having jurisdiction over that particular gramam, ordering him to try the offender after holding a proper enquiry. Minor offences are punishable by infliction of penance, fasting, or doing special puja to the gods. Graver offences are dealt with by excommunication from the caste. Against the decision of the Smarta there is no appeal. Adultery between a Nambutiri woman and a man of inferior caste is perhaps the most serious of all caste offences.

The enquiry into cases of adultery is described as follows by Mr. Subramani Aiyar. "It is conducted by the Smarta, and hence arises the name (smartavicharam) by which it is known. Whenever a Nambutiri woman's chastity is suspected, she is at once handed over to society for enquiry, no considerations of personal affection or public policy intervening. The mother or brother may be the first and only spectator of a shady act, but feels no less bound to invite, and generally pay very heavily for a public enquiry by society according to its recognised rules. The suspect is at once transferred to an isolation shed in the same compound, variously called by the name of anchampura or fifth room (outside the nalukettu or quadrangle), or the pachcholappura, a new shed with green thatch roofing put up for the occasion. She may be seen here by her husband, his father and uncles, her father, father's father, father's maternal grandfather, and their sons, but by none else. Once a prohibited member sees her, the brand of infamy indubitably settles on her, and the smartavicharam is considered foreclosed. For beginning a smartavicharam, the sanction of the ruling Raja has to be obtained. The matter is carried to his ears, after a preliminary enquiry, called dasivicharam, has been gone through. For this, the woman's male relations, in conjunction with the Brahmans of the neighbourhood, interrogate the Dasi or Nayar maid-servant attached to the suspected woman. Along with the application for royal sanction in Travancore, a fee of sixty-four fanams or nine rupees has to be sent in, and is credited to the treasury of Sri Padmanabha Swami, as whose deputy the Maharaja is supposed to rule the country. The Maharaja then appoints a Smarta (judge), two Mimamsakas, an Akakkoyimma, and a Purakkoyimma. The office of Smarta is hereditary. If a family becomes extinct, the Yoga or village union nominates another in its place. The Mimamsakas are Nambutiris learned in the law, and their office is seldom hereditary. They are appointed to help the Smarta in his enquiries. The Akakkoyimma, or person whose business is to preserve order, holds his appointment by heredity. The Purakkoyimma is the proxy of the sovereign himself. In ancient days, and even so late as the time of the great Martanda Varma, the ruling sovereign himself was present during the trial, and preserved order. Now a deputy is sent by the Maharaja. He is generally the magistrate of the taluk, who, if he finds it inconvenient to attend the meeting, delegates the function to the chief village officer. The Smarta, when he receives the royal commission (neet) for holding the enquiry, receives from the woman's relations a small tribute of money (dakshina). The Mimamsakas, it may be observed, are selected by the Smarta. In Travancore alone is the Smarta's authority supreme, for no Vaidika lives in this territory, and none are generally invited. In other parts of Malabar, where Vaidikas live permanently, one of the six recognised Vaidikas has to accompany the Smarta to the place of the vicharana (enquiry), and the Smarta merely conducts the enquiry as the proxy of, and authorised and guided by the Vaidikas. Generally the council assembles at some neighbouring village temple. The suspected woman is placed within the anchampura, and her maid-servant stands at the door. All questions are addressed to her, as the gosha of the suspect has to be honoured in its entirety until the pronouncement of the final verdict. The procedure begins, not by the framing and reading out of a charge-sheet, but by arranging for the suspicion being brought to notice by the accused person herself. For this purpose, the Smarta makes a feint of entering the isolation shed, as if in ignorance of everything that has transpired. The maid-servant stops him, and informs him that her mistress is within. The Smarta, on hearing this, affects astonishment, and asks her the reason why her mistress should not be in the main building (antahpuram). With this question, the enquiry may be said to have actually begun. The next morning by eleven o'clock, the Smarta and his co-adjutors again go and stand beside the isolation hut, and, calling for the maid-servant, commence the regular enquiry. After about five o'clock in the afternoon, the Smarta, in the presence of the Akakkoyimma, relates the whole day's proceedings to the Mimamsakas, and takes their opinion as to the questions for the next day. The enquiry often lasts for months, and sometimes even for years. It is the most expensive undertaking possible, as the whole judicatory staff has to be maintained by the family, unless the sadhanam or subject gives a circumstantial confession of her guilt. It is not enough to plead guilty; she must point out all the persons who have been partakers in her guilt. Thus every day the Smarta asks "Are there any more?" After the completion of the enquiry, the council re-assembles at the village temple. The guardian of the suspect presents himself before the assembled Brahmans, and makes the customary obeisance. The Smarta then recounts the details of the enquiry, and ultimately pronounces his verdict. If the woman is declared innocent, she is re-accepted amidst universal rejoicings, and the head of the family feels amply repaid for the expenditure he has incurred in the reputation for chastity secured for a member of his family under such a severe ordeal. If things do not end so well, all the Brahmans come out of the temple and re-assemble, when a Brahman, who is usually not a Nambutiri, as the Nambutiris do not desire to condemn one of their own caste, stands up, and in a stentorian voice repeats the substance of the charge, and the judgment as given by the Smarta. The guardian of the woman then goes away, after she has been handed over by the Smarta to the custody of the Purakkoyimma. The guardian bathes, and performs all the funeral ceremonies for his ward, who from this moment is considered dead for all social and family purposes. The persons meanwhile, whose names have been given out by the woman as having been implicated in the offence, have to vindicate their character on pain of excommunication.

In connection with a case of adultery, which was tried recently in Malabar, it is noted that the Purakkoyimma kept order in the court with sword in hand. Iswara puja (worship of Iswara) was performed in the local temple on all the days of the trial, and the suspected woman was given panchagavya (five products of the cow) so that she might tell the truth.

I am informed that, in the course of an enquiry into a charge of adultery, "it sometimes happens that the woman names innocent men as her seducers. Two courses are then open to them, in order that they may exculpate themselves, viz., ordeal by boiling oil, and ordeal by weighing. The former of these ordeals is undergone, under the sanction of the Raja, by the accused person dipping his bare hand in ghi, which has been boiling from sunrise to midday, and taking out of it a bell-metal image. The hand is immediately bandaged, and if, on examination of it on the third day, it be found unharmed, the man is declared innocent. In the other ordeal, the man is made to sit for a certain time in one of a pair of scales, and is declared innocent or guilty, according as the scale ascends or descends. But these practices do not now prevail." In former days, the ordeal of boiling ghi was undergone at the temple of Suchindram in Travancore. This temple derives its name from Indra, who, according to the legend, had illicit intercourse with Ahalya, the wife of Gautama Rishi, and had to undergo a similar ordeal at this place.

In connection with a case which came before the High Court of Madras, it is recorded [105] that "an enquiry was held into the conduct of a woman suspected. She confessed that the plaintiff had had illicit intercourse with her, and thereupon they were both declared out-casts, the plaintiff not having been charged, nor having had an opportunity to cross-examine the woman, or enter on his defence, and otherwise to vindicate his character. Held by the High Court that the declaration that the plaintiff was an outcast was illegal, and, it having been found that the defendants had not acted bonâ fide in making that declaration, the plaintiff was entitled to recover damages."

In order to mitigate to some extent the suffering caused by turning adrift a woman proved guilty of adultery, who has hitherto lived in seclusion, provision has been made by the Raja of Cherakkal. A Tiyan named Talliparamba possesses a large extent of land granted by a former Raja of Cherakkal, on condition of his taking under his protection all excommunicated females, if they choose to go with him. He has special rank and privileges, and has the title of Mannanar. Whenever an inquiry takes place, Mannanar receives information of it, and his messengers are ready to take the woman away. It was the custom in former days for Mannanar's agents to lead the woman to near his house, and leave her at a certain place from which two roads lead to the house--one to the eastern gate, and the other to the northern. If the woman happened to enter the house by the eastern gate, she became Mannanar's wife, and, if she went in by the northern gate, she was considered to be his sister by adoption. This rule, however, is not strictly adhered to at the present day.

The Nambutiris are stated by Mr. Subramani Aiyar to "belong to different sutras, gotras, or septs, and follow different Vedas. The most important of the sutras are Asvalayana, Baudhayana, Apastamba, and Kaushitaka. The best-known gotras are Kasyapa, Bhargava, Bharadvaga, Vasishta, and Kausika. There are a few Samavedins belonging to the Kitangnur and Panchal gramams, but most of them are Rigvedic, and some belong to the Yajurveda. The Rigvedic Brahmans belong to two separate yogas or unions, namely, Trichur Yoga and Tirunavai Yoga. It appears that three of the most renowned of the disciples of Sankaracharya were Nambutiri Brahmans, who received their initiation into the sanyasasrama at the great sage's hands. They established three maths or monasteries, known as the tekkematham (southern), natuvile matham (middle), and vatakke matham (northern). Succession having fallen in default in regard to the last, the property that stood in its name lapsed to the Raja of Cochin. Out of the funds of this matham, a Vedic pathasala (boarding school) was established at Trichur. A certain number of villagers became in time recognised as being entitled to instruction at this institution, and formed a yoga. Trichur then became the centre of Brahmanical learning. Later on, when the relations of the Zamorin of Calicut with the Raja of Cochin became strained, he organised another yoga at Tirunavai for the Nambutiris who lived within his territory. Here there are two yogas for Rigvedic Brahmans. In these schools, religious instruction has been imparted with sustained attention for several centuries. The heads of these schools are recruited from the houses of Changngavot and Erkara, respectively. To these two yogas two Vadhyars and six Vaidikas are attached. There are also six Smartas or judges attached to these bodies. The Vadhyars are purely religious instructors, and have no judicial duties in respect of society. The Vaidikas and Smartas are very learned in the Smritis, and it is with them that the whole caste government of the Nambutiris absolutely rests."

The names of the Nambutiris measured by Mr. Fawcett were as follows:--

Nilakantan. Bhavasarman.
Paramesvaran. Nandi.
Raman. Kuberan.
Harijayandan. Madhavan.
Chandrasekharan. Anantan.
Vasudevan. Nambiatan.
Greni. Shannan.
Damodaran. Krishnan.
Sivadasan. Sankaran.
Mahesvaran.

In connection with the names of Nambutiris, Mr. Subramani Aiyar writes as follows. "A list of names not current or unusual now among other Brahman communities in Southern India may be interesting. These are--

Vishnu. Kadamban.
Gayantan. Chitran.
Devadattan. Gadavedan.
Kiratan. Bhavadasan.
Prabhakaran. Srikumaran.
Dattareyan

"The conspicuous absence of the names of the third son of Siva (Sasta), such as Hariharaputra and Budhanatha, may be noted. Nor are the names of Ganapathi much in favour with them. Sridevi and Savitri are the two most common names, by which Nambutiri females are known. There are also certain other names of a Prakrita or non-classic character, used to denote males and females, which sometimes border on the humorous. Among these are--

Males. Females.

Nampiyattan. Nangngaya.
Ittiyattan. Nangngeli.
Uzhutran. Pappi.
Tuppan. Ittichchiri.
Nampotta. Unnima.
Chiruta.

"Some names in this list are identifiable with the names of divinities and puranic personages. For example, Uzhutran is a corruption of Rudran. In the same manner, Tuppan is the Prakrit for Subramanya, and Chiruta for Sita. Unnima is another name for Uma or Parvati. Nambutiris grudge to grant the title of Nambutiri to each other. For instance, the Tamarasseri Nambutiri calls the Mullappalli Nambutiri merely Mullapalli (house name). But, if the person addressed is an Adhya of one of the eight houses, or at least a Tantri Adhya, the title Nambutiri is added to his name. Again, if there are in a house two Nambutiris, one of them being the father and the other the son, the father whenever he writes, subscribes himself as the Achchan Nambutiri or father Nambutiri, while the son subscribes himself as the Makan or son Nambutiri. In Malabar there were two poets called Venmani Achchan Nambutiri and Venmani Makan Nambutiri, venmani signifying the name of the illam. It is only in documents and other serious papers that the proper name or sarman of the Nambutiri would be found mentioned."

When addressing each other, Nambutiris use the names of their respective illams or manas. When a Nambutiri is talking with a Nayar, or indeed with one of any other caste, the manner in which the conversation must be carried on, strictly according to custom, is such that the Nambutiri's superiority is apparent at every turn. Thus, a Nayar, addressing a Nambutiri, must speak of himself as foot-servant. If he mentions his rice, he must not call it rice, but his gritty rice. Rupees must be called his copper coins, not his rupees. He must call his house his dung-pit. He must speak of the Nambutiri's rice as his raw rice, his coppers as rupees, and his house as his illam or mana. The Nayar must not call his cloth a cloth, but an old cloth or a spider's web. But the Nambutiri's cloth is to be called his daily white cloth, or his superior cloth. The Nayar, speaking of his bathing, says that he drenches himself with water, whereas the Nambutiri sports in the water when he bathes. Should he speak of eating or drinking, the Nayar must say of himself that he takes food, or treats himself to the water in which rice has been washed. But, should he speak of the Nambutiri eating, he must say that he tastes ambrosia. The Nayar calls his sleeping lying flat, and the Nambutiri's closing his eyes, or resting like a Raja. The Nayar must speak of his own death as the falling of a forest, but of the Nambutiri's as entering fire. The Nambutiri is not shaved by the barber; his hairs are cut. He is not angry, but merely dissatisfied. He does not clean his teeth as the Nayar; he cleans his superior pearls. Nor does he laugh; he displays his superior pearls.

Concerning the recreations and pastimes of the Nambutiris, Mr. Subramani Aiyar writes as follows. "During the intervals of Vedic or Puranic recitations, the Nambutiri engages himself in chaturangam or chess. When the players are equally matched, a game may last five, six, or even seven days. Another amusement, which the Nambutiris take a great interest in, is the Yatrakali, which is said to be a corruption of Sastrakali, a performance relating to weapons. This is a unique institution, kept up by a section of the Nambutiris, who are believed to represent the Brahmanical army of Parasu Rama. When, at a ceremony in the Travancore royal household, a Yatrakali is performed, the parties have to be received at the entrance of the Maharaja's palace in state, sword in hand. The dress and songs are peculiar. In its import, the performance seems to combine the propitiation of Siva and Parvati in the manner indicated in a tradition at Trikkariyur with exorcism and skill in swordsmanship. It is generally believed that, in ancient days, the Brahmans themselves ruled Kerala. When they found it necessary to have a separate king, one Attakat Nambutiri was deputed, with a few other Brahmans, to go and obtain a ruler from the adjoining Chera territory. The only pass in those days, connecting Malabar and Coimbatore, was that which is now known as Nerumangalam. When the Nambutiris were returning through this pass with the ruler whom they had secured from the Chera King, a strange light was observed on the adjacent hills. Two young Brahmans of Chengngamanat village, on proceeding towards the hill to investigate the source thereof, found to their amazement that it was none other than Sri Bhagavati, the consort of Siva, who enjoined them to go, viâ Trikkariyur, to Kodungngnallur, the capital of the Perumals. Seeing that the sight of Bhagavati foretold prosperity, the king called the range of hills Nerumangalam or true bliss, and made an endowment of all the surrounding land to the Brahman village of Chengngamanat, the members of which had the good fortune to see the goddess face to face. When they entered the temple of Trikkariyur, a voice was heard to exclaim "Chera Perumal," which meant that into that town, where Parasu Rama was believed to be dwelling, no Perumal (king) should ever enter--a traditional injunction still respected by the Malabar Kshatriyas. At this place, the sixth Perumal who, according to a tradition, had a pronounced predilection for the Bouddha religion (Islamism or Buddhism, we cannot say), called a meeting of the Brahmans, and told them that a religious discussion should be held between them and the Bouddhas, in view to deciding their relative superiority. The presiding deity of the local Saiva shrine was then propitiated by the Brahmans, to enable them to come out victorious from the trial. A Gangama saint appeared before them, and taught them a hymn called nalupadam (four feet or parts of a sloka) which the Nambutiris say is extracted from the Samaveda. The saint further advised them to take out a lamp from within the temple, which according to tradition had existed from the time of Sri Rama, to a room built on the western ghat of the temple tank, and pray to Siva in terms of the hymn. While this was continued for forty-one days, six Brahmans, with Mayura Bhatta at their head, arrived from the east coast to the succour of the Nambutiris. With the help of these Brahmans, the Nambutiris kept up a protracted discussion with the Bouddhas. Wishing to bring it to a close, the Perumal thought of applying a practical test. He enclosed a snake within a pot, and asked the disputants to declare its contents. The Bouddhas came out first with the correct answer, while the Brahmans followed by saying that it was a lotus flower. The Perumal was, of course, pleased with the Bouddhas; but, when the pot was opened, it was found to contain a lotus flower instead of a snake. The Bouddhas felt themselves defeated, and ever afterwards the nalupadam hymn has been sung by the Nambutiris with a view to securing a variety of objects, every one of which they expect to obtain by this means. It is also said that, when the Brahmans were propitiating Siva at Trikkariyur, diverse spirits and angels were found amusing Parvati with their quips and cranks. A voice from heaven was then heard to say that such frolics should thereafter form part of the worship of Siva.

"Engaged in these socio-religious performances are eighteen sanghas or associations. The chief office-bearers are the Vakyavritti who is the chief person, and must be an Ottu Nambutiri or a Nambutiri with full Vedic knowledge; the Parishakkaran who holds charge of the Yatrakali paraphernalia; and the guru or instructor. The chief household divinities of these soldier Nambutiris are Bhadrakali, Sasta, and Subrahmanya. On the evening of the Yatrakali day, these Brahmans assemble round the lamp, and recite the nalupadam and a few hymns in praise of their household divinities, and especially of Siva, the saviour who manifested himself at Trikkariyur. On the night of the performance they are entertained at supper, when they sing certain songs called Karisloka. They then move in slow procession to the kalam or hall, singing specially songs in the vallappattu metre, with the sacred thread hanging vertically round the neck (apiviti), and not diagonally as is the orthodox fashion. In the hall have been placed a burning lamp in the centre, a para (Malabar measure) filled with paddy, a number of bunches of cocoanuts, plantain fruits, and various kinds of flowers. The Brahmans sit in a circle round the lamp, and, after preliminary invocations to Ganapathi, sing songs in praise of Siva. After this various kinds of dumb-show are performed, and this is the time for exhibiting skill in swordsmanship. The exorcising, by the waving of a lighted torch before the face of the host, of any evil spirits that may have attached themselves is then gone through. The performance ends with a prayer to Bhagavati, that she will shower every prosperity. Following close upon this, a variety entertainment is sometimes given by the Yatrakali Nambutiris. This old institution is still in great favour in British Malabar, and, as it has a religious aspect intertwined with it, it is not likely to be swept away by the unsparing broom of the so-called parishkarakalam or reforming age of modern India.

"The Kathakali, or national drama of Malabar, is held in great esteem and favour by the Nambutiris. Most of them are conversant with the songs and shows relating to it, and severely criticise the slightest fault or failure. The Kathakali is more than three centuries old in Malabar, and is said to have been first brought into existence by a member of the ancient ruling house of Kottarakkara. As the earliest theme represented was the Ramayana, the Kathakali is also known as Ramanattam. A single play lasts for eight and even ten hours in the night. Kshatriyas, Asuras, Rakshasas, Kiratas (hunting tribes), monkeys, birds, etc., each has an appropriate make-up. The play is in dumb-show, and no character is permitted to speak on the stage. The songs are sung by the Bhagavatar or songster, and the actors literally act, and do nothing more. The Nambutiris love this antiquated form of theatrical performance, and patronise it to a remarkable extent.

"There are a number of other recreations of an entirely non-religious character. The chief of these are called respectively seven dogs and the leopard, fifteen dogs and the leopard, and twenty-eight dogs and the leopard. Success in these games consists in so arranging the dogs as to form a thick phalanx, two abreast, round the leopard. Stones of two sizes are employed to represent the dogs and leopards, and the field is drawn on the ground.

"The ezahmattukali, or seventh amusement, is said to have been so called from the fact of its being introduced by the seventh Nambutiri gramam of Kerala. It is a miniature form of Yatrakali, but without its quasi-religious character, and is intended to serve merely as a social pastime. The players need not all be Brahmans; nor is fasting or any religious discipline part of the preliminary programme. Sitting round the lamp as at the Yatrakali, and reciting songs in praise of Siva, the players proceed to the characteristic portion of the recreation, which is a kind of competition in quick-wittedness and memory held between two yogas or parties. One among them calls himself the Kallur Nayar and is the presiding judge. There is interrogation and answering by two persons, and a third proclaims the mistakes in the answers. There are two others, who serve as bailiffs to execute the judge's orders. Humorous scenes are then introduced, such as Ittikkantappan Nayar, Prakkal, Mutti or old woman, Pattar or Paradesa Brahman, and other characters, who appear on the stage and amuse the assembly."

The Nambutiris are Vedic Brahmans: their scriptures are the Vedas. It is safe to say that the Nambutiris are Shaivas, but not to the exclusion of Vishnu. The ordinary South Indian Vaishnava Brahman has nothing to do with the Shaiva temple over the way, and takes no part or interest in the Shaiva festivals. Siva is to the Nambutiri the supreme deity, but he has temples also to Vishnu, Krishna, Narasimha, Sri Raghava, Ganapathi, Subrahmanya, Bhagavati, etc. There are said to be temples to Sastavu and Sankarnarayanan--amalgamated forms of Siva and Vishnu. The lingam is the ordinary object of worship.

Like all Brahmans, the Nambutiris believe that the eight directions or points of the compass, north, north-east, east, south-east, south, south-west, west, north-west, are presided over by eight deities, or Ashtadikpalakas, riding on various animals. Indra reigns in heaven and Yama in hell, and Surya is the sun god. All these and their wives are worshipped. Parvati shares adoration with Siva, Lakshmi with Vishnu, and so on. The Nambutiris believe in the existence of evil spirits which influence man, but they do not worship them.

It is said that the Nambutiri has of late been influenced by Vedantism, that wonderful religious idea of the existence of one spirit or atman, the only reality, outside which the world and all besides is mere illusion, and whose doctrine is wrapped up in the three words "Ekam eva advitiyam". (There is but one being without a second).

The Nambutiris call themselves Arya Brahmanar. Their legendary transmigration to Malabar from Northern India is doubtless true. Theirs is by far the purest form of the Vedic Brahmanism to be met with in Southern India. A complete account of the religion of the Nambutiris cannot be given in these pages. The Nambutiri's life is a round of sacrifices, the last of which is the burning of his body on the funeral pyre. When the Nambutiri has no male issue, he performs the putra kameshti or karmavipakaprayaschittam yagams or sacrifices to obtain it. Should he be unwell, he performs the mrittyunjaya santi yagam, so that he may be restored to good health. He performs the aja yagam, or goat sacrifice, in order to obtain salvation. Though animal food is strictly forbidden, and the rule is strictly followed, the flesh of the goat, which remains after the offering has been made in this sacrifice, is eaten by the Nambutiris present as part of the solemn ceremonial. This is the only occasion on which animal food is eaten. Namaskaram, or prostration, is much done during prayers. By some it is done some hundreds of times daily, by others not so often. It amounts to physical exercise, and is calculated to strengthen the arms and the back.

Reference has already been made to certain ceremonies connected with pregnancy, and the early life of a child. There are three further important ceremonies, called Upanayana, Samavartana and Upakarma, concerning which Mr. Subramani Aiyar writes as follows. "Upanayana may be called the Brahmanising ceremony. An oft-repeated Sanskrit verse runs to the effect that a Brahman is a Brahman by virtue of his karmas or actions in this life, or the lives preceding it. The meaning of the term Upanayana is a ceremony which leads one to god, i.e., to a realisation of the eternal self through the aid of a guru (preceptor). This ceremony takes place in the seventh, eighth, or ninth year of a boy's life. As ordinarily understood, it is a ceremony for males only, as they alone have to observe the four asramas. But, in ancient days, it seems to have been performed also by females. Marriage was not compulsory, and a girl might take to asceticism at once. Sita is said to have worn a yagnopavitam (sacred thread). A Brahman is not born, but made by the karmas. In other words, a Brahman boy is, at the time of his birth, only a Sudra, and it is by the performance of the necessary karmas--not merely the ceremonial rites, but the disciplinary and preparatory process in view to spiritual development--that he becomes a Dviga or twice-born. The word Upanayana is composed of upa, meaning near, and nayana, leading. What the youth is led to is, according to some, Brahmaggnana or the realisation of the eternal and universal self, and according to others only the teacher or guru. A Nambutiri Upanayana begins with the presentation of a dakshina (consolidated fee) to the Ezhuttachchan, or the Nayar or Ambalavasi teacher, who has been instructing the youth in the vernacular. The boy stands on the western side of the sacrificial fire, facing the east, and the father stands beside him, facing the same way. The second cloth (uttariya) is thrown over the boy's head, and his right hand being held up, the sacred thread, to which a strap made from the skin of a Krishnamriga (antelope) is attached, is thrown over his shoulders and under his right arm, while he stands reverently with closed eyes. The thread and skin are wrapped up in the cloth, and are not to be seen by the boy. He is then taken to an open place, where the priest introduces the new Brahmachari to the sun, and invokes him to cover his pupil with his rays. The boy next goes to the sacrificial altar, and himself offers certain sacrifices to the fire. Saluting his preceptor and obtaining his blessing, he requests that he may be initiated into the Savitrimantram. After a few preliminary ceremonies, the guru utters in the right ear of his disciple the sacred syllable Om, and repeats the Gayatri mantram nine times. He then instructs him in certain maxims of conduct, which he is to cherish and revere throughout the Brahmacharya stage. Addressing the boy, the guru says, 'You have become entitled to the study of the Vedas; perform all the duties which pertain to the asrama you are about to enter. Never sleep during the day. Study the Vedas by resigning yourself to the care of your spiritual instructor.' These exhortations, though made in Sanskrit, are explained in Malayalam, in order that the boy may understand them--a feature unknown to Brahmans on the other coast. With his words of advice, the preceptor gives the youth a danda or stick made of pipal (Ficus religiosa) wood, as if to keep him in perpetual memory of what would follow if any of the directions be disregarded. The boy then makes his obeisance to his parents and all his relations, and is given a brass vessel called bhikshapatra (alms pot), in which he collects, by house-to-house visits, food for his daily sustenance during the Brahmacharya stage. He proceeds to the kitchen of his own house with the vessel in one hand and the stick in the other. Making his obeisance in due form to his mother, who stands facing the east, he says 'Bhiksham bhavati dadatu' (May you be pleased to give me alms). The mother places five or seven handfuls of rice in the vessel. After receiving similar contributions from the assembled elders, the boy takes the vessel to his father, who is the first guru, saying 'Bhaikshmamidam' (This is my alms collection). The father blesses it, and says 'May it be good.' After the Gayatrijapa, the ceremony of Samidadhana is performed. This is the Brahmachari's daily worship of the sacred fire, corresponding to the aupasana of the Grihastha, and has to be performed twice daily. After another homam at night, the cloth covering the sacred thread and skin is removed, and the consecration of the food is done for the first time. In addition to the skin strap, the Brahmachari wears a mekhala or twisted string of kusa grass. It is doubtless of the youthful Nambutiri that Barbosa wrote as follows at the beginning of the sixteenth century. 'And when these are seven years old, they put round their necks a strap two fingers in width of an animal which they call cresnamergan, and they command him not to eat betel for seven years, and all this time he wears that strap round the neck, passing under the arm; and, when he reaches fourteen years of age, they make him a Brahman, removing from him the leather strap round his neck, and putting on another three-thread, which he wears all his life as a mark of being a Brahman. The rules which were observed with such strictness centuries ago are still observed, and every Nambutiri boy goes through his period of Brahmacharya, which lasts at least for full five years. During the whole of this period, no sandal paste, no scents, and no flowers are to be used by him. He is not to take his meals at other houses on festive occasions. He must not sleep during the day. Nor may he wear a loin-cloth in the ordinary fashion. Shoes and umbrella are also prohibited. The completion of the Brahmachari asrama, or stage of pupilage, is called Samavartana. After a few religious ceremonies in the morning, the Brahmachari shaves for the first time since the Upanayana ceremonies, casts off the skin strap and mekhala, and bathes. He puts on sandal paste marks, bedecks himself with jasmine flowers, and puts on shoes. He then holds an umbrella, and wears a pearl necklace. After this, he puts on a head-dress, and a few other ceremonials conclude the Samavartana. For three days subsequent to this, the budding Grihastha is considered ceremonially impure, and the pollution is perhaps based on the death of the old asrama, and birth of the new. In the Upakarma ceremony, hymns are sung by the preceptor, and the pupil has merely to listen to them."

In conclusion, something may be said concerning the general beliefs of the Nambutiris. All objects, animate or inanimate, organic or inorganic, are believed to be permeated by the divine spirit. Animals, trees, plants, and flowers are animate, and therefore venerated. The sun, moon, and stars are revered on account of some inherent quality in each, such as utility or strength, or owing to their connection with some deity. A god can assume any form at any time, such as that of a man, bird, beast, or tree. The various forms in which a god has appeared are ever sacred. Some animals have been used as vehicles by the gods, and are therefore revered. Cows, horses, and snakes are worshipped. The cow is the most sacred of all animals. The Puranas tell of Kamadhenu, the cow of plenty, one of the fourteen useful things which turned up out of the ocean of milk when it was churned, and which is supposed to have yielded the gods all they desired. So Kamadhenu is one who gives anything which is desired. Every hair of the cow is sacred, its urine is the most holy water, and its dung the most purificatory substance. The horse is the favourite animal of Kubera, the treasure-god. The Uchchaisravas the high-eared prototype of all horses, also came out of the churned ocean. Horse sacrifice, or Asvamedha, is the greatest of all sacrifices. Performance of a hundred of them would give the sacrificer power to displace Indra, in order to make room for him. Snakes are the fruitful progeny of the sage Kasyapa and Kadru. The Maha Sesha, their prince, is the couch and canopy of Vishnu, and supports the world on his thousand heads. But attention to snakes is probably more in the light of the harm which they may do, and propitiatory in character.