Chapter XI: Part 11

In addition to other occupations already noted, Satanis sell turmeric, coloured powders, and sacred balls of white clay used by Vaishnavites. Some act as priests to Balijas and Komatis, at whose death ceremonies the presence of a Satani is essential. Immediately after death, the Satani is summoned, and he puts sect marks on the corpse. At the grave, cooked food is offered, and eaten by the Satani and members of the family of the deceased. On the last day of the death ceremonies (karmandiram), the Satani comes to the house of the dead person late in the evening, bringing with him certain idols, which are worshipped with offerings of cooked rice, flesh, and liquor in jars. The food is distributed among those present, and the liquor is doled out from a spoon called parikam, or a broom dipped in the liquor, which is drunk as it drips therefrom.

Satani women dress just like Vaishnava Brahman women, from whom it is difficult to distinguish them. In former days, the Satanis used to observe a festival called ravikala (bodice) utchavam, which now goes by the name of gandapodi (sandal powder) utchavam. The festival, as originally carried out, was a very obscene rite. After the worship of the god by throwing sandal powder, etc., the Satanis returned home, and indulged in copious libations of liquor. The women threw their bodices into vessel, and they were picked out at random by the men. The woman whose bodice was thus secured became the partner of the man for the day.

For the following note on Satanis in the Vizagapatam district, I am indebted to Mr. C. Hayavadana Rao. Satani is said to be the shortened form of Saththadavan, the uncovered man. They are prohibited from covering three different parts of their bodies, viz., the head with the usual tuft of hair, the body with the sacred thread, and the waist with the customary strip of cloth. All devout Satanis shave their heads completely. [There is a proverb "Tie a knot on the Satani's tuft of hair, and on the ascetic's holy thread." The Satanis shave the whole head, and the Sanyasis have no sacred thread.] [147] The caste is divided into exogamous septs, or intiperulu. The custom of menarikam, according to which a man marries his maternal uncle's daughter, is observed. The remarriage of widows and divorce are not allowed. Attempts have been made by some members of the caste, in other parts of the Madras Presidency, to connect themselves with Chaitanya. But, so far as the Vizagapatam district is concerned, this is repudiated. They are Ramanuja Vaishnavas of the Tenkalai persuasion. Their gurus are known as Paravasthuvaru--a corruption of Paravasu Deva, whose figure is on the vimana of the Srirangam temple, and who must be visited before entering the principal sanctuary. They live at Gumsur in Ganjam, and have Sadacharulu, or ever-devout followers, who act as their agents in Vizagapatam. They brand the shoulders of Satanis with the Vaishnavite emblems, the sankha and chakra, and initiate them into the mysteries of the Vaishnava religion by whispering into their ears the word Ramanuja. The Satani learns by heart various songs in eulogy of Srirangam and its deity, by means of which he earns his living. He rises in the early morning, and, after a bath, adorns his forehead and body with the Vaishnavite namam, ties round his clean-shaved head a string of tulsi (Ocimum sanctum) beads known as thirupavithram, puts a tulsi garland round his neck, and takes a fan called gajakarnam, or elephant's ear, in his right hand. In his left hand he carries a copper gourd-shaped vessel. He is generally accompanied by another Satani similarly got up. When begging, they sing the songs referred to above, and collect the rice which is given to them in their vessels. At the end of their round they return home, and their wives clean the rice, bow down before it, and cook it. No portion of the rice obtained by begging should be sold for money. The Satanis play an important part in the social life of the Vaishnavites of the district, and are the gurus of some of the cultivating and other classes. They preside at the final death ceremonies of the non-Brahman Vaishnavite castes. They burn their dead, and perform the chinna (little) and pedda rozu (big day) death ceremonies.

Sathu.--A synonym, meaning a company of merchants or travellers, of Perike and Janappan.

Saurashtra.--A synonym of the Patnulkarans, derived from the Saurashtra country, whence they came southward. They also style themselves Saurashtra Brahmans.

Savalaikkaran.--A Tamil name for fishermen, who fish in the sea. Savalai or saval thadi is the flattened paddle used for rowing boats. The Savalaikkarans are more akin to the Pallis or Vanniyans than to the Sembadavans. Though a large number are agriculturists, some play on the nagasaram (reed instrument). In the Tinnevelly district, where Melakkarans are scarce, the temple musicians are either Savalaikkarans or Panisavans. The agricultural Savalaikkarans use the title Padayachi, and the musicians the title Annavi. Their marriages last three days, and the milk-post is made of teak-wood. Widow remarriage is prohibited. The dead are always buried. Socially they are on a par with the Maravans, with whom they interdine.

Savali.--A synonym of Budubudike.

Savantiya.--A synonym of Samantiya.

Savara.--The Savaras, Sawaras, or Saoras, are an important hill-tribe in Ganjam and Vizagapatam.The name is derived by General Cunningham from the Scythian sagar, an axe, in reference to the axe which they carry in their hands. In Sanskrit, sabara or savara means a mountaineer, barbarian, or savage. The tribe has been identified by various authorities with the Suari of Pliny and Sabarai of Ptolemy. "Towards the Ganges," the latter writes, "are the Sabarai, in whose country the diamond is found in great abundance." This diamond-producing country is located by Cunningham near Sambalpur in the Central Provinces. In one of his grants, Nandivarma Pallavamalla, a Pallava king, claims to have released the hostile king of the Sabaras, Udayana by name, and captured his mirror-banner made of peacock's feathers. The Rev. T. Foulkes [148] identifies the Sabaras of this copper-plate grant with the Savaras of the eastern ghats. But Dr. E. Hultzsch, who has re-edited the grant, [149] is of opinion that these Sabaras cannot be identified with the Savaras. The Aitareya Brahmana of the Rig-veda makes the Savaras the descendants of the sons of Visvamitra, who were cursed to become impure by their father for an act of disobedience, while the Ramayana describes them as having emanated from the body of Vasishta's cow to fight against the sage Visvamitra.

The language of the Savaras is included by Mr. G. A. Grierson [150] in the Munda family. It has, he writes, "been largely influenced by Telugu, and is no longer an unmixed form of speech. It is most closely related to Kharia and Juang, but in some characteristics differs from them, and agrees with the various dialects of the language which has in this (linguistic) survey been described under the denomination of Kherwari."

The Savaras are described by Mr. F. Fawcett [151] as being much more industrious than the Khonds. "Many a time," he writes, "have I tried to find a place for an extra paddy (rice) field might be made, but never with success. It is not too much to say that paddy is grown on every available foot of arable ground, all the hill streams being utilized for this purpose. From almost the very tops of the hills, in fact from wherever the springs are, there are paddy fields; at the top of every small area a few square yards, the front perpendicular revetment [of large masses of stones] sometimes as large in area as the area of the field; and larger and larger, down the hillside, taking every advantage of every available foot of ground there are fields below fields to the bottoms of the valleys. The Saoras show remarkable engineering skill in constructing their paddy fields, and I wish I could do it justice. They seem to construct them in the most impossible places, and certainly at the expense of great labour. Yet, with all their superior activity and industry, the Saoras are decidedly physically inferior to the Khonds. It seems hard the Saoras should not be allowed to reap the benefit of their industry, but must give half of it to the parasitic Bissoyis and their retainers. The greater part of the Saoras' hills have been denuded of forest owing to the persistent hacking down of trees for the purpose of growing dry crops, so much so that, in places, the hills look almost bare in the dry weather. Nearly all the jungle (mostly sal, Shorea robusta) is cut down every few years. When the Saoras want to work a piece of new ground, where the jungle has been allowed to grow for a few years, the trees are cut down, and, when dry, burned, and the ground is grubbed up by the women with a kind of hoe. The hoe is used on the steep hill sides, where the ground is very stony and rocky, and the stumps of the felled trees are numerous, and the plough cannot be used. In the paddy fields, or on any flat ground, they use ploughs of lighter and simpler make than those used in the plains. They use cattle for ploughing." It is noted by Mr. G. V. Ramamurti Pantulu, in an article on the Savaras, that "in some cases the Bissoyi, who was originally a feudatory chief under the authority of the zemindar, and in other cases the zemindar claims a fixed rent in kind or cash, or both. Subject to the rents payable to the Bissoyis, the Savaras under them are said to exercise their right to sell or mortgage their lands. Below the ghats, in the plains, the Savara has lost his right, and the mustajars or the renters to whom the Savara villages are farmed out take half of whatever crops are raised by the Savaras." Mr. Ramamurti states further that a new-comer should obtain the permission of the Gomongo (headman) and the Boya before he can reclaim any jungle land, and that, at the time of sale or mortgage, the village elders should be present, and partake of the flesh of the pig sacrificed on the occasion. In some places, the Savaras are said to be entirely in the power of Paidi settlers from the plains, who seize their entire produce on the plea of debts contracted at a usurious rate of interests. In recent years, some Savaras emigrated to Assam to work in the tea-gardens. But emigration has now stopped by edict.

The sub-divisions among the Savaras, which, so far as I can gather, are recognised, are as follows:--

A.--Hill Savaras.

(1) Savara, Jati Savara (Savaras par excellence), or Maliah Savara. They regard themselves as superior to the other divisions. They will eat the flesh of the buffalo, but not of the cow.

(2) Arsi, Arisi, or Lombo Lanjiya. Arsi means monkey, and Lombo Lanjiya, indicating long-tailed, is the name by which members of this section are called, in reference to the long piece of cloth, which the males allow to hang down. The occupation is said to be weaving the coarse cloths worn by members of the tribe, as well as agriculture.

(3) Luara or Muli. Workers in iron, who make arrow heads, and other articles.

(4) Kindal. Basket-makers, who manufacture rough baskets for holding grain.

(5) Jadu. Said to be a name among the Savaras for the hill country beyond Kollakota and Puttasingi.

(6) Kumbi. Potters who make earthen pots. "These pots," Mr. Fawcett writes, "are made in a few villages in the Saora hills. Earthen vessels are used for cooking, or for hanging up in houses as fetishes of ancestral spirits or certain deities."

B.--Savaras of the low country.

(7) Kapu (denoting cultivator), or Pallapu.

(8) Suddho (good).

It has been noted that the pure Savara tribes have restricted themselves to the tracts of hill and jungle-covered valleys. But, as the plains are approached, traces of amalgamation become apparent, resulting in a hybrid race, whose appearance and manners differ but little from those of the ordinary denizens of the low country. The Kapu Savaras are said to retain many of the Savara customs, whereas the Suddho Savaras have adopted the language and customs of the Oriya castes. The Kapu section is sometimes called Kudunga or Baseng, and the latter name is said by Mr. Ramamurti to be derived from the Savara word basi, salt. It is, he states, applied to the plains below the ghats, as, in the fairs held there, salt is purchased by the Savaras of the hills, and the name is used to designate the Savaras living there. A class name Kampu is referred to by Mr. Ramamurti, who says that the name "implies that the Savaras of this class have adopted the customs of the Hindu Kampus (Oriya for Kapu). Kudumba is another name by which they are known, but it is reported that there is a sub-division of them called by this name." He further refers to Bobbili and Bhima as the names of distinct sub-divisions. Bobbili is a town in the Vizagapatam district, and Bhima was the second of the five Pandava brothers.

In an account of the Maliya Savarulu, published in the 'Catalogue Raisonné of Oriental Manuscripts,' [152] it is recorded that "they build houses over mountain torrents, previously throwing trees across the chasms; and these houses are in the midst of forests of fifty or more miles in extent. The reason of choosing such situations is stated to be in order that they may more readily escape by passing underneath their houses, and through the defile, in the event of any disagreement and hostile attack in reference to other rulers or neighbours. They cultivate independently, and pay tax or tribute to no one. If the zemindar of the neighbourhood troubles them for tribute, they go in a body to his house by night, set it on fire, plunder, and kill; and then retreat, with their entire households, into the wilds and fastnesses. They do in like manner with any of the zemindar's subordinates, if troublesome to them. If they are courted, and a compact is made with them, they will then abstain from any wrong or disturbance. If the zemindar, unable to bear with them, raise troops and proceed to destroy their houses, they escape underneath by a private way, as above mentioned. The invaders usually burn the houses, and retire. If the zemindar forego his demands, and make an agreement with them, they rebuild their houses in the same situations, and then render assistance to him."

The modern Savara settlement is described by Mr. Fawcett as having two rows of huts parallel and facing each other. "Huts," he writes, "are generally built of upright pieces of wood stuck in the ground, 6 or 8 inches apart, and the intervals filled in with stones and mud laid alternately, and the whole plastered over with red mud. Huts are invariably built a few feet above the level of the ground, often, when the ground is very uneven, 5 feet above the ground in front. Roofs are always thatched with grass. There is usually but one door, near one end wall; no windows or ventilators, every chink being filled up. In front of the doorway there is room for six or eight people to stand, and there is a loft, made by cross-beams, about 5 feet from the floor, on which grain is stored in baskets, and under which the inmates crawl to do their cooking. Bits of sun-dried buffalo meat and bones, not smelling over-sweet, are suspended from the rafters, or here and there stuck in between the rafters and the thatch; knives, a tangi (battle-axe), a sword, and bows and arrows may also be seen stuck in somewhere under the thatch. Agricultural implements may be seen, too, small ones stuck under the roof or on the loft, and larger ones against the wall. As in Ireland, the pig is of sufficient importance to have a room in the house. There is generally merely a low wall between the pig's room and the rest of the house, and a separate door, so that it may go in and out without going through that part of the house occupied by the family. Rude drawings are very common in Saora houses. They are invariably, if not always, in some way that I could never clearly apprehend, connected with one of the fetishes in the house." "When," Mr. Ramamurti writes, "a tiger enters a cottage and carries away an inmate, the villages are deserted, and sacrifices are offered to some spirits by all the inhabitants. The prevalence of small-pox in a village requires its abandonment. A succession of calamities leads to the same result. If a Savara has a number of wives, each of them sometimes requires a separate house, and the house sites are frequently shifted according to the caprice of the women. The death or disease of cattle is occasionally followed by the desertion of the house."

When selecting a site for a new dwelling hut, the Maliah Savaras place on the proposed site as many grains of rice in pairs as there are married members in the family, and cover them over with a cocoanut shell. They are examined on the following day, and, if they are all there, the site is considered auspicious. Among the Kapu Savaras, the grains of rice are folded up in leaflets of the bael tree (Ægle Marmelos), and placed in split bamboo.

It is recorded by Mr. Fawcett, in connection with the use of the duodecimal system by the Savaras that, "on asking a Gomango how he reckoned when selling produce to the Panos, he began to count on his fingers. In order to count 20, he began on the left foot (he was squatting), and counted 5; then with the left hand 5 more; then with the two first fingers of the right hand he made 2 more, i.e., 12 altogether; then with the thumb of the right hand and the other two fingers of the same, and the toes of the right foot he made 8 more. And so it was always. They have names for numerals up to 12 only, and to count 20 always count first twelve and then eight in the manner described, except that they may begin on either hand or foot. To count 50 or 60, they count by twenties, and put down a stone or some mark for each twenty. There is a Saora story accounting for their numerals being limited to 12. One day, long ago, some Saoras were measuring grain in a field, and, when they had measured 12 measures of some kind, a tiger pounced in on them and devoured them. So, ever after, they dare not have a numeral above 12, for fear of a tiger repeating the performance."

The Savaras are described by Mr. Fawcett as "below the middle height; face rather flat; lips thick; nose broad and flat; cheek bones high; eyes slightly oblique. They are as fair as the Uriyas, and fairer than the Telugus of the plains. Not only is the Saora shorter and fairer than other hill people, but his face is distinctly Mongolian, the obliquity of the eyes being sometimes very marked, and the inner corners of the eyes are generally very oblique. [The Mongolian type is clearly brought out in the illustration.] The Saora's endurance in going up and down hill, whether carrying heavy loads or not, is wonderful. Four Saoras have been known to carry a 10-stone man in a chair straight up a 3,800 feet hill without relief, and without rest. Usually, the Saora's dress (his full dress) consists of a large bunch of feathers (generally white) stuck in his hair on the crown of his head, a coloured cloth round his head as a turban, and worn much on the back of the head, and folded tightly, so as to be a good protection to the head. When feathers are not worn, the hair is tied on the top of the head, or a little at the side of it. A piece of flat brass is another head ornament. It is stuck in the hair, which is tied in a knot at the crown of the head, at an angle of about 40° from the perpendicular, and its waving up and down motion as a man walks has a curious effect. Another head ornament is a piece of wood, about 8 or 9 inches in length and 3/4 inch in diameter, with a flat button about 2 inches in diameter on the top, all covered with hair or coloured thread, and worn in the same position as the flat piece of brass. A peacock's feather, or one or two of the tail feathers of the jungle cock, may be often seen stuck in the knot of hair on the top of the head. A cheroot or two, perhaps half smoked, may often be seen sticking in the hair of a man or woman, to be used again when wanted. They also smoke pipes, and the old women seem particularly fond of them. Round the Saora's neck are brass and bead necklaces. A man will wear as many as thirty necklaces at a time, or rather necklaces of various lengths passed as many as thirty times round his neck. Round the Saora's waist, and under his fork, is tied a cloth with coloured ends hanging in front and behind. When a cloth on the body is worn, it is usually worn crossed in front. The women wear necklaces like the men. Their hair is tied at the back of the head, and is sometimes confined with a fillet. They wear only one cloth, tied round the waist. During feasts, or when dancing, they generally wear a cloth over the shoulders. Every male wears a small ring, generally of silver, in the right nostril, and every female wears a similar ring in each nostril, and in the septum. As I have been told, these rings are put in the nose on the eighth or tenth day after birth. Bangles are often worn by men and women. Anklets, too, are sometimes worn by the women. Brass necklets and many other ornaments are made in Saora hills by the Gangsis, a low tribe of workers in brass. The Saora's weapons are the bow, sometimes ornamented with peacock's feathers, sword, dagger, and tangi. The bow used by the Saoras is much smaller than the bow used by any of the other hill people. It is generally about 3 1/2 feet long, and the arrows from 18 to 21 inches. The bow is always made of bamboo, and so is the string. The arrows are reeds tipped with iron, and leathered on two sides only. A blunt-headed arrow is used for shooting birds. Every Saora can use the bow from boyhood, and can shoot straight up to 25 or 30 yards."

As regards the marriage customs of the Savaras, Mr. Fawcett writes that "a Saora may marry a woman of his own or of any other village. A man may have as many as three wives, or, if he is a man of importance, such as Gomango of a large village, he may have four. Not that there is any law in the matter, but it is considered that three, or at most four, are as many as a man can manage. For his first marriage, a man chooses a young woman he fancies; his other wives are perhaps her sisters, or other women who have come to him. A woman may leave her husband whenever she pleases. Her husband cannot prevent her. When a woman leaves her husband to join herself to another, the other pays the husband she has left a buffalo and a pig. Formerly, it is said, if he did not pay up, the man she left would kill the man to whom she went. Now arbitration comes into play. I believe a man usually takes a second wife after his first has had a child; if he did so before, the first wife would say he was impotent. As the getting of the first wife is more troublesome and expensive than getting the others, she is treated the best. In some places, all a man's wives are said to live together peaceably. It is not the custom in the Kolakotta villages. Knowing the wives would fight if together, domestic felicity is maintained by keeping up different establishments. A man's wives will visit one another in the daytime, but one wife will never spend the night in the house of another. An exception to this is that the first wife may invite one of the other wives to sleep in her house with the husband. As each wife has her separate house, so has she her separate piece of ground on the hill-side to cultivate. The wives will not co-operate in working each other's cultivation, but they will work together, with the husband, in the paddy fields. Each wife keeps the produce of the ground she cultivates in her own house. Produce of the paddy fields is divided into equal shares among the wives. If a wife will not work properly, or if she gives away anything belonging to her husband, she may be divorced. Any man may marry a divorced woman, but she must pay to her former husband a buffalo and a pig. If a man catches his wife in adultery (he must see her in the act), he thinks he has a right to kill her, and her lover too. But this is now generally (but not always) settled by arbitration, and the lover pays up. A wife caught in adultery will never be retained as a wife. As any man may have as many as three wives, illicit attachments are common. During large feasts, when the Saoras give themselves up to sensuality, there is no doubt a great deal of promiscuous intercourse. A widow is considered bound to marry her husband's brother, or his brother's sons if he has no younger brothers. A number of Saoras once came to me to settle a dispute. They were in their full dress, with feathers and weapons. The dispute was this. A young woman's husband was dead, and his younger brother was almost of an age to take her to wife. She had fixed her affections on a man of another village, and made up her mind to have him and no one else. Her village people wanted compensation in the shape of a buffalo, and also wanted her ornaments. The men of the other village said no, they could not give a buffalo. Well, they should give a pig at least--no, they had no pig. Then they must give some equivalent. They would give one rupee. That was not enough--at least three rupees. They were trying to carry the young woman off by force to make her marry her brother-in-law, but were induced to accept the rupee, and have the matter settled by their respective Bissoyis. The young woman was most obstinate, and insisted on having her own choice, and keeping her ornaments. Her village people had no objection to her choice, provided the usual compensation was paid.

"In one far out-of-the-way village the marriage ceremony consists in this. The bride's father is plied with liquor two or three times; a feast is made in the bridegroom's house, to which the bride comes with her father; and after the feast she remains in the man's house as his wife. They know nothing of capture. In the Kolakotta valley, below this village, a different custom prevails. The following is an account of a Saora marriage as given by the Gomango of one of the Kolakotta villages, and it may be taken as representative of the purest Saora marriage ceremony. 'I wished to marry a certain girl, and, with my brother and his son, went to her house. I carried a pot of liquor, and arrow, and one brass bangle for the girl's mother. Arrived at the house, I put the liquor and the arrow on the floor. I and the two with me drank the liquor--no one else had any. The father of the girl said 'Why have you brought the liquor?' I said 'Because I want your daughter.' He said 'Bring a big pot of liquor, and we will talk about it.' I took the arrow I brought with me, and stuck it in the thatch of the roof just above the wall, took up the empty pot, and went home with those who came with me. Four days afterwards, with the same two and three others of my village, I went to the girl's father's house with a big pot of liquor. About fifteen or twenty people of the village were present. The father said he would not give the girl, and, saying so, he smashed the pot of liquor, and, with those of his village, beat us so that we ran back to our village. I was glad of the beating, as I know by it I was pretty sure of success. About ten days afterwards, ten or twenty of my village people went with me again, carrying five pots of liquor, which we put in the girl's father's house. I carried an arrow, which I stuck in the thatch beside the first one. The father and the girl's nearest male relative each took one of the arrows I had put in the thatch, and, holding them in their left hands, drank some of the liquor. I now felt sure of success. I then put two more arrows in the father's left hand, holding them in his hand with both of my hands over his, and asked him to drink. Two fresh arrows were likewise placed in the left hands of all the girl's male relatives, while I asked them to drink. To each female relative of the girl I gave a brass bangle, which I put on their right wrists while I asked them to drink. The five pots of liquor were drunk by the girl's male and female relations, and the villagers. When the liquor was all drunk, the girl's father said 'Come again in a month, and bring more liquor.' In a month I went again, with all the people of my village, men, women and children, dancing as we went (to music of course), taking with us thirty pots of liquor, and a little rice and a cloth for the girl's mother; also some hill dholl (pulse), which we put in the father's house. The liquor was set down in the middle of the village, and the villagers, and those who came with me, drank the liquor and danced. The girl did not join in this; she was in the house. When the liquor was finished, my village people went home, but I remained in the father's house. For three days I stayed, and helped him to work in his fields. I did not sleep with the girl; the father and I slept in one part of the house, and the girl and her mother in another. At the end of the three days I went home. About ten days afterwards, I, with about ten men of my village, went to watch for the girl going to the stream for water. When we saw her, we caught her, and ran away with her. She cried out and the people of her village came after us, and fought with us. We got her off to my village, and she remained with me as my wife. After she became my wife, her mother gave her a cloth and a bangle." The same individual said that, if a man wants a girl, and cannot afford to give the liquor, etc., to her people, he takes her off by force. If she likes him, she remains, but, if not, she runs home. He will carry her off three times, but not oftener; and, if after the third time she again runs away, he leaves her. The Saoras themselves say that formerly every one took his wife by force. In a case which occurred a few years ago, a bridegroom did not comply with the usual custom of giving a feast to the bride's people, and the bride's mother objected to the marriage on that account. The bridegroom's party, however, managed to carry off the bride. Her mother raised an alarm, whereon a number of people ran up, and tried to stop the bridegroom's party. They were outnumbered, and one was knocked down, and died from rupture of the spleen.

A further account of the Saora marriage customs is given by Mr. Ramamurti Pantulu, who writes as follows. "When the parents of a young man consider it time to seek a bride for him, they make enquiries and even consult their relatives and friends as to a suitable girl for him. The girl's parents are informally apprised of their selection. On a certain day, the male relatives of the youth go to the girl's house to make a proposal of marriage. Her parents, having received previous notice of the visit, have the door of the house open or closed, according as they approve or disapprove of the match. On arrival at the house, the visitors knock at the door, and, if it is open, enter without further ceremony. Sometimes the door is broken open. If the girl's parents object to the match, they remain silent, and will not touch the liquor brought by the visitors, and they go away. Should, however, they regard it with favour, they charge the visitors with intruding, shower abuse on them, and beat them, it may be, so severely that wounds are inflicted, and blood is shed. This ill-treatment is borne cheerfully, and without resistance, as it is a sign that the girl's hand will be bestowed on the young man. The liquor is then placed on the floor, and, after more abuse, all present partake thereof. If the girl's parents refuse to give her in marriage after the performance of this ceremony, they have to pay a penalty to the parents of the disappointed suitor. Two or three days later, the young man's relatives go a second time to the girl's house, taking with them three pots of liquor, and a bundle composed of as many arrows as there are male members in the girl's family. The liquor is drunk, and the arrows are presented, one to each male. After an interval of some days, a third visit is paid, and three pots of liquor smeared with turmeric paste, and a quantity of turmeric, are taken to the house. The liquor is drunk, and the turmeric paste is smeared over the back and haunches of the girl's relatives. Some time afterwards, the marriage ceremony takes place. The bridegroom's party proceed to the house of the bride, dancing and singing to the accompaniment of all the musical instruments except the drum, which is only played at funerals. With them they take twenty big pots of liquor, a pair of brass bangles and a cloth for the bride's mother, and head cloths for the father, brothers, and other male relatives. When everything is ready, the priest is called in. One of the twenty pots is decorated, and an arrow is fixed in the ground at its side. The priest then repeats prayers to the invisible spirits and ancestors, and pours some of the liquor into leaf-cups prepared in the names of the ancestors [Jojonji and Yoyonji, male and female], and the chiefs of the village. This liquor is considered very sacred, and is sprinkled from a leaf over the shoulders and feet of the elders present. The father of the bride, addressing the priest, says 'Boya, I have drunk the liquor brought by the bridegroom's father, and thereby have accepted his proposal for a marriage between his son and my daughter. I do not know whether the girl will afterwards agree to go to her husband, or not. Therefore it is well that you should ask her openly to speak out her mind.' The priest accordingly asks the girl if she has any objection, and she replies 'My father and mother, and all my relatives have drunk the bridegroom's liquor. I am a Savara, and he is a Savara. Why then should I not marry him?' Then all the people assembled proclaim that the pair are husband and wife. This done, the big pot of liquor, which has been set apart from the rest, is taken into the bride's house. This pot, with another pot of liquor purchased at the expense of the bride's father, is given to the bridegroom's party when it retires. Every house-holder receives the bridegroom and his party at his house, and offers them liquor, rice, and flesh, which they cannot refuse to partake of without giving offence."

"Whoever," Mr. Ramamurti continues, "marries a widow, whether it is her husband's younger brother or some one of her own choice, must perform a religious ceremony, during which a pig is sacrificed. The flesh, with some liquor, is offered to the ghost of the widow's deceased husband, and prayers are addressed by the Boyas to propitiate the ghost, so that it may not torment the woman and her second husband. 'Oh! man,' says the priest, addressing the deceased by name, 'Here is an animal sacrificed to you, and with this all connection between this woman and you ceases. She has taken with her no property belonging to you or your children. So do not torment her within the house or outside the house, in the jungle or on the hill, when she is asleep or when she wakes. Do not send sickness on her children. Her second husband has done no harm to you. She chose him for her husband, and he consented. Oh! man, be appeased; Oh! unseen ones; Oh! ancestors, be you witnesses.' The animal sacrificed on this occasion is called long danda (inside fine), or fine paid to the spirit of a dead person inside the earth. The animal offered up, when a man marries a divorced woman, is called bayar danda (outside fine), or fine paid as compensation to a man living outside the earth. The moment that a divorcée marries another man, her former husband pounces upon him, shoots his buffalo or pig dead with an arrow, and takes it to his village, where its flesh is served up at a feast. The Boya invokes the unseen spirits, that they may not be angry with the man who has married the woman, as he has paid the penalty prescribed by the elders according to the immemorial custom of the Savaras.

From a still further account of the ceremonial observances in connection with marriage, with variations, I gather that the liquor is the fermented juice of the salop or sago palm (Caryota urens), and is called ara-sal. On arrival at the girl's house, on the first occasion, the young man's party sit at the door thereof, and, making three cups from the leaves kiredol (Uncaria Gambier) or jak (Artocarpus integrifolia), pour the liquor into them, and lay them on the ground. As the liquor is being poured into the cups, certain names, which seem to be those of the ancestors, are called out. The liquor is then drunk, and an arrow (am) is stuck in the roof, and a brass bangle (khadu) left, before the visitors take their departure. If the match is unacceptable to the girl's family, the arrow and bangle are returned. The second visit is called pank-sal, or sang-sang-dal-sol, because the liquor pots are smeared with turmeric paste. Sometimes it is called nyanga-dal-sol, because the future bridegroom carries a small pot of liquor on a stick borne on the shoulder; or pojang, because the arrow, which has been stuck in the roof, is set up in the ground close to one of the pots of liquor. In some places, several visits take place subsequent to the first visit, at one of which, called rodai-sal, a quarrel arises.

It is noted by Mr. Ramamurti Pantulu that, among the Savaras who have settled in the low country, some differences have arisen in the marriage rites "owing to the introduction of Hindu custom, i.e., those obtaining among the Sudra castes. Some of the Savaras who are more Hinduised than others consult their medicine men as to what day would be most auspicious for a marriage, erect pandals (booths), dispense with the use of liquor, substituting for it thick jaggery (crude sugar) water, and hold a festival for two or three days. But even the most Hinduised Savara has not yet fallen directly into the hands of the Brahman priest." At the marriage ceremony of some Kapu Savaras, the bride and bridegroom sit side by side at the auspicious moment, and partake of boiled rice (korra) from green leaf-cups, the pair exchanging cups. Before the bridegroom and his party proceed to their village with the bride, they present the males and females of her village with a rupee, which is called janjul naglipu, or money paid for taking away the girl. In another form of Kapu Savara marriage, the would-be bridegroom and his party proceed, on an auspicious day, to the house of the selected girl, and offer betel and tobacco, the acceptance of which is a sign that the match is agreeable to her parents. On a subsequent day, a small sum of money is paid as the bride-price. On the wedding day the bride is conducted to the home of the bridegroom, where the contracting couple are lifted up by two people, who dance about with them. If the bride attempts to enter the house, she is caught hold of, and made to pay a small sum of money before she is permitted to do so. Inside the house, the officiating Desari ties the ends of the cloths of the bride and bridegroom together, after the ancestors and invisible spirits have been worshipped.

Of the marriage customs of the Kapu Savaras, the following account is given in the Gazetteer of the Vizagapatam district. "The Kapu Savaras are taking to menarikam (marriage with the maternal uncle's daughter), although the hill custom requires a man to marry outside his village. Their wedding ceremonies bear a distant resemblance to those among the hill Savaras. Among the Kapu Savaras, the preliminary arrow and liquor are similarly presented, but the bridegroom goes at length on an auspicious day with a large party to the bride's house, and the marriage is marked by his eating out of the same platter with her, and by much drinking, feasting, and dancing."

Children are named after the day of the week on which they were born, and nicknames are frequently substituted for the birth name. Mr. Fawcett records, for example, that a man was called Gylo because, when a child, he was fond of breaking nuts called gylo, and smearing himself with their black juice. Another was called Dallo because, in his youthful days, he was fond of playing about with a basket (dalli) on his head.