Read Ebook: Castes and Tribes of Southern India. Vol. 4 of 7 by Thurston Edgar Rangachari K Contributor

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Kshauraka.--A Sanskrit name for barber, by which barbers of various classes--Mangala, Ambattan, Kelasi, etc.--are sometimes called. It is commonly used by Canarese-speaking barbers of the Madras Presidency and Mysore.

Kshetravasinah .--A name for Ambalavasis.

Kudaikatti .--A sub-division of Palli or Vanniyan. At the census, 1901, some Koravas also returned themselves as Kudaikatti Vanniyan.

Kudan.--For the following note on the Kudans, or "Kootans" of the west coast, I am indebted to Mr. L. K. Anantha Krishna Aiyar :--

The Kootans are agricultural labourers, and take part in every kind of work connected with agriculture, such as turning the soil, ploughing, sowing, manuring, weeding, transplanting, and the like. As soon as the monsoon is over, they work in gardens, turning the soil, watering, and fencing. They form one of the divisions of the slave castes, working under some landlord or farmer for a daily wage of an edangazhy of paddy during the rainy months of June, July, and August and of two edangazhis during the other months of the year. They receive, for the Onam and Vishu festivals, a para of paddy, some salt, cocoanuts, oil, and chillies. On the day of the village festival, every male gets a mundu or two, and every female a kacha or two, in addition to toddy and arrack , and the other articles mentioned above. They dress themselves in their cloths, and are treated to a sumptuous dinner. With shouts of joy, they attend, and take part in the village festival. When they fall ill, they are properly looked after by their masters, both on account of their good feelings towards them, and also of the loss of work they may have to sustain, should they be laid up for a long time. Whenever a landlord or farmer has more men than he can afford to give work and wages to, he generally lends their services to some one else on a pattom of four paras of paddy a year for a male, and three for a female. The new master gives them work and wages, and sends them back when they are no longer wanted. Should a Kootan run away from his master, he is brought back either by threat or mild word; but, should these fail, there is no remedy to force him back. In spite of the abolition of slavery some sixty years ago, the Kootans are in a state of bondage. They live in small huts with insufficient food, plodding on from day to day with no hope of improving their condition. Their huts are erected on four bamboo posts. The roofs are thatched, and the sides protected by mud walls, or covered with palm leaves. A bamboo framework, with similar leaves, serves the purpose of a door. There is a verandah in front. The Kootans have a few earthen and bamboo utensils for domestic use. They take rice kanji prepared the previous night, with salt and chillies. They have some leisure at midday, during which they go to their huts, and take kanji with a fish or two boiled in it, or sometimes with some vegetable curry. At night, boiled rice, or kanji with fish or curry made of vegetables from their kitchen garden, form their chief food. All their provisions are acquired by exchange of paddy from a petty shop-keeper in their vicinity.

They eat and drink at the hands of all castes except Paraiyans, Pulayans, Ulladans, and Nayadis. In some parts of the State, they approach the houses of Izhuvas, and no other castes eat with them. They have to keep at a distance of forty-eight feet from all high-caste Hindus. They are polluted by Pulayas, Nayadis, and Ulladans, who have to stand at some distance from them. They may take water from the wells of Mappillas. They are their own barbers and washermen, and may approach the temple of their village goddess Kali on some special days, while, at other times, they have to stand far away.

When a girl attains puberty, she is lodged in a corner of the hut. The inmates thereof may neither touch nor approach her on the score of pollution. Four or seven girls, who are invited, bathe the girl on the first day. The pollution lasts for seven days, and, on the morning of the seventh day, seven girls take her to a tank or river to bathe. A kai-bali is waved round her face, and, as she bathes, it is floated on the water. On their return to the hut, the girls are fed, and allowed to depart with a present of an anna each. Their relatives, and others who are invited, are well entertained. A kai-bali is an offering held in the hand of a woman, and may take the form of a sacrificed fowl, plantain fruits, boiled rice, etc.

Girls are generally married after puberty. A Kootan can enter into a sambandham with a woman of his own caste, or with a Pulaya woman. He has to bathe before he returns to his hut, if he should stay for the night with a woman of the latter caste. This proves that he belongs to a caste superior to that of the Pulayas, and the union resembles that of a Brahman with a Sudra woman. Should a woman of the Kootan caste mate with a Pulaya, she is at once turned out of caste. A Kootan, who wishes to enter into a sambandham with a woman of his own or the Pulaya caste, goes to her hut with one or two of his relations or friends, to recommend him to the parents of the woman to permit him to enter into conjugal relations with their daughter, or form kutikuduka. With their permission, they become a kind of husband and wife. In most cases, the will of the man and the woman is sufficient for the union. The woman generally stays with her parents, and very often her lover comes to her with his wages after the day's hard work, and stays with her for the night. Should she wish to accompany him to his hut, she does so with her wages in the evening. They exercise sexual license even before marriage. If a woman who has no open lover becomes pregnant, her fault is condoned when she mentions her lover's name. When one dislikes the other for some reason or other, they separate, and are at liberty to form new unions. Widows may remarry, and may even associate with their brothers-in-law. The Kootans follow the marumakkathayam law of inheritance . They have no property, except sometimes a sheep or a few fowls.

The Kootans believe in magic and sorcery. Mannans and Muhammadan Mappillas are sometimes consulted, and these dupe them. They profess the lower forms of Hinduism, and worship the local village deity , and the spirits of their ancestors, whom they represent by means of stones placed on a raised floor under a tree, and to whom boiled rice, parched grain, toddy, plantain fruits, and cocoanuts are offered at the Vishu and Onam festivals, and on Karkatakam, Thulam, and Makara Sankranti. Care is always taken to have the offerings served separately on leaves, lest the ancestors should quarrel with one another, and do them harm. Should illness, such as cholera, small-pox, or fever occur in a family, some fowls and an anna or two are offered at the temple to the goddess Bhagavathi, who is believed to be able to save them from the impending calamity.

When a member of the caste breathes his last, the landlord gives a spade to dig the grave, an axe or knife for cutting wood to serve as fuel if the corpse is to be burned, a piece of cloth for covering the dead body, and also some paddy and millet to meet the funeral expenses. A cocoanut is broken, and placed on the neck of the corpse, which is covered with the cloth, and carried on a bier to the burial-ground, which is sprinkled over with water mixed with turmeric. When the funeral is over, the people who attended it, including the relatives and friends of the deceased, bathe, and go to the hut of the dead person, where they are served with kanji and toddy, after which they depart. The members of the family, and close relatives of the deceased, fast for the night. In the case of a man dying, his nephew is the chief mourner, while, in that of a woman, her eldest son and daughter are the chief mourners, who do not go to work for two weeks. The chief mourners bathe in the early morning, cook a small quantity of rice, and offer it to the spirit of the deceased. It is eaten up by the crows. This is continued for fourteen days, and, on the fourteenth night, all fast. On the fifteenth morning, they regard themselves as having been cleansed from the pollution. All the castemen of the kara are invited, and bring with them rice, curry-stuffs, and toddy. Their Enangan cleans and sweeps the hut, while the rest go to the grave-yard, turn the earth, and make it level. They bathe, and the Enangans sprinkle cow-dung water on the grave. They return home, and partake of a sumptuous meal, after which they all take leave of the chief mourner, who observes the diksha, bathes in the early morning, and offers the bali before he goes to work. This he continues for a whole year, after which he gets shaved, and celebrates a feast in honour of the dead.

Kudianavar .--A name commonly assumed by Pallis and Vellalas.

Kudikkar .--A name for Deva-dasis in Travancore, who are given a house rent-free by the Sirkar .

Kudimaghan .--A name for Tamil Ambattans.

Kudire .--An exogamous sept or gotra of Vakkaliga and Kurni. Gurram, also meaning horse, has been recorded as an exogamous sept of Chenchu, Golla, Mala, Padma Sale, and Togata. Gurram Togatas will not ride on horseback.

Kudiya.--The Kudiyas or Male Kudiyas are found at Neriya, Darmasthala, and Sisila in the South Canara district. Those who live at the two former places are agrestic slaves of landlords who own cardamom plantations on the ghats. They live for the most part in the jungles, beneath rocks, in caves, or in low huts, and shift from one spot to another. At the season of the cardamom crop, they come down to the plains once a week with the produce. They are said to carry off cardamoms to the Mysore frontier, and sell them fraudulently to contractors or merchants. They make fire traces for the Forest Department.

Except in stature, the Kudiyas have not retained the characters of a primitive race, and, as the result of racial admixture, or contact metamorphosis, some individuals are to be seen with comparatively light coloured skins, and mesorhine or leptorhine noses. In the matter of personal names, septs, and ceremonial observances, they have been much influenced by other castes. They speak a corrupt form of Tulu, and say that they follow the aliya santana law of inheritance , though some, especially at Sisala and on the Mysore frontier, follow the law of succession from father to son . They are not regarded as a polluting class, and can enter all parts of their landlords' houses, except the kitchen and dining-room. They are presided over by a headman, called Gurikara, who inquires into transgression of caste rules, and assists on ceremonial occasions. Their chief deities are Bhairava, Kamandevaru, and the Pancha Pandavas , but they also believe in certain bhuthas , such as Male Kallurti and Ambatadaiva.

The Kudiyas do not object to marriage between a widowed woman and her eldest son. Among those attached to a landlord at Neriya, two such cases were pointed out. In one, there was no issue, but in the other a son had been born to the mother-wife.

When the arrangement of a match is in contemplation, the father of the prospective bridegroom goes, accompanied by two women, to the girl's home, and takes with him betel leaves, areca-nuts, and gingelly oil. If the girl's parents consent to the match, they accept the oil; otherwise they refuse it. The binding part of the marriage ceremony consists of the bridal couple standing with their hands united, and the pouring of water thereon by the bride's father. The Kudiyas who have settled on the plains have adopted the ceremonial observances of the Bants and other castes. The remarriage of widows is permitted. There is no elaborate marriage ceremony, but sometimes the contracting couple stand in the presence of the headman and a few others, and make a round mark with sandal paste on each other's foreheads.

If a member of the tribe dies near the settlement, the body is cremated, and, if far away therefrom, buried. On the third day, a visit is paid to the place where cremation took place, and the son or some near relative of the deceased goes round the spot on which the corpse was burnt three times, and sprinkles rice thereon thrice. Five leaves of the teak or plantain, or other big leaves, are spread on the ground, and fowl's flesh, cooked rice, and vegetables are placed thereon, and the ancestors are invoked in the words "Oh! old souls, gather up the new soul, and support it, making it one of you." On the sixteenth day, food is again offered on leaves. In cases where burial is resorted to, an effigy of the deceased is made in straw, and burnt. On the third day, the ashes are taken to the grave, and buried.

In a note on the Kudiyas of the plains, it is recorded that "the dead are either burned or buried, the former being the custom in the case of rich men. On the seventh day after cremation or burial, a pandal is erected over the grave or the place of cremation, and a bleached cloth is spread on it by the washerman. A wick floating in half a cocoanut shell full of oil is then lighted, and placed at each corner of the pandal. The relations of the deceased then gather round the place, and weep, and throw a handful of rice over the spot."

The Kudiyas are fond of toddy, and eat black monkeys, and the big red squirrel, which they catch with snares.

Kudiyalu .--A synonym for Lambadi, apparently used by members of the tribe who have settled down to agriculture.

Kudlukara.--Kudlukara or Kudaldeshkara is a sub-division of Rajapuri.

Kudubi.--The Kudubis are found mainly in the Kundapur taluk of the South Canara district. Among themselves, they use Kaluvadi as the caste name. They say that they are divided into the following sections: Are, Goa, Jogi, Kodiyal, and Kariya. Of these, the Are, Goa, and Kodiyal Kudubis are confined to the Kundapur taluk, and the other two sections are found in villages near Mudbidri. Both the Are and Jogi sections speak Marathi, and the latter are considered inferior to the former, who will not eat in their houses. Are women clad themselves in black or red garments, whereas Jogi women are said to wear white cloths. The Goa and Kariya Kudubis speak Konkani, and do not mix with the Ares and Jogis, even for meals. They are much influenced by Brahmanical priests, by whom they are guided in their ceremonial observances, and have adopted the dhare form of marriage . The Goa Kudubis say that they emigrated to South Canara owing to the oppression from which they suffered, bringing with them the sweet potato , cashew nut , chrysanthemum, and Indian spinach . Among the Goa Kudubis, an adulterer has to undergo a curious form of punishment. His head is clean-shaved, and his moustache removed. He then stands in a pit, and leaf-platters, off which food has been eaten, are thrown on his head. A money fine is imposed by the headman. If a woman does not confess her guilt, she is made to stand in the sun with an iron rod on her shoulders.

The Are Kudubis have exogamous septs, or wargs. Each warg is said to have its own god, which is kept in the house of some elderly or respected member of the sept. A corner of the house, or a special room, is set apart for the god, and a member of the family is the pujari . He is expected to do puja to the god every Monday. Ordinarily, rice, fruits, etc., are offered to it; but, during the big festival in November-December, fowls are sacrificed. Like other Marathi castes, the Are Kudubis regard the Holi festival. On the first day, they collect together, and worship the tulsi katte--a square structure on which a tulsi plant is growing. On the following days, they go about in detached groups, some males being dressed up as females, with drums and cymbals, and dance and sing. On the last day of the festival, rice is cooked, offered with liquor to Kalabhairava, and eaten. The Are Kudubis sometimes worship bhuthas , e.g., Jettiga, and Hola Hayaguli. Special reverence is shown to the tulsi plant, and, at almost every house, it is planted in a brindhavan or katte. To it vegetables and fruits are offered.

Girls are married either before or after puberty. Widows are allowed to remarry, but may not marry a man of the sept to which her deceased husband belonged. Marriage ceremonies last over five days, and commence with the ide karuchi, or betrothal, at the house of the bride-elect. Pan-supari is distributed to at least one member of each warg present according to a recognised code of precedence, commencing with the Hivelekar warg, which is considered superior. On the second day, a post made of the wood of the silk-cotton tree is set up beneath the marriage pandal . The bridegroom and his party go in procession to the bride's house, where the contracting couple are decorated with jewels, and turmeric-dyed strings are tied round their necks. The bride's father ties a kankanam on his own wrist. The couple stand facing each other, with a screen stretched between them. After the exchange of garlands, their hands are joined, and the screen is removed. They then go five times round the Bombax post and marriage dais, and sit down. Dhare water is poured over their united hands by the bride's father. Rice is then thrown over them, and presents are given. The proceedings terminate with the waving of coloured water, a light, etc. The dhare ceremony is celebrated at night. On the third day, the bridal couple go five times round the Bombax post set up at the bridegroom's house, and take their seats on the dais. Rice is thrown, and betel leaves and areca-nuts are distributed. On the fourth and fifth days, the same items are gone through at the bride's house.

In the case of the remarriage of a widow, the bride and bridegroom take their seats, and rice is thrown over them. The dhare water is not poured over their hands. Sometimes, the marriage consists merely in the holding of a feast.

The main occupation of the Kudubis is shifting cultivation. Some, however, are employed in the preparation of cutch from the wood of Acacia Catechu, of which the following account is given by Mr. H. A. Latham of the Forest Department. "In South Canara, one of our most profitable sources of revenue is the extract obtained by boiling the wood of the catechu tree. The tree is confined to the laterite plateaux in the Coondapur taluk, situated as a rule within 15 miles of the sea, and gradually dies out as we proceed southwards, until near Coondapur itself the tree will hardly grow. It appears again to a small extent in the Kasaragod taluk 80 miles further south, but no extraction is done there now. The extract is astringent, and, besides the other uses it is put to, it appears to be a remedy for diarrhoea, dysentery, and diabetes. It is, however, chiefly used for chewing with pan supari. Locally, it is used pure in small pieces, the size of a pea, and rolled up with the other ingredients in the betel leaf to form a chew. In Mysore, the catechu bought by the merchants from us is dissolved in water, and the areca-nut is, after being boiled and sliced, steeped in the solution, and then put out in the sun on mats to dry, this operation being repeated until sufficient catechu has been taken up to form a red, shining, semi-transparent film, through which the ruminated albumen of the areca-nut is just visible; the brighter the red colour so obtained, the better the quality of the nut. As we sell it, the catechu is in the shape of hard round balls covered with a whitish dust, the ashes with which the balls are covered to prevent them adhering to one another. On breaking, the interior of the balls should show a vitreous conchoidal fracture similar to quartz, and be of a warm reddish brown colour. The manufacture of catechu is carried out under departmental supervision by a contractor, who is paid on the outturn, and is bound, for the actual boiling, to employ only Kudubis. So far as the department is concerned, a locality where there are plenty of catechu trees is selected, and all trees over 6 inches in diameter are allowed to be cut. The contractor has to engage the Kudubis and select the site for the ovens, conveniently situated both for water and firewood, and also as close to the majority of catechu trees as he can get it. The site usually selected is a rice field, for which the contractor may have to pay a small rent. Generally, however, no rent is charged, as the owner is only too glad to have the ashes, obtained in extracting, to plough into his field. On this field the encampment is made, consisting of rows of thatched huts made of grass and bamboos. The first thing to do is to erect the ovens, known as wolle. These are made by a party of men a fortnight or so before the main body come. The ordinary soil of the field is used, and the ovens are built to a height of 18 inches, and placed about 5 yards in front of the huts at irregular distances, 1 or 2 to each hut. The oven is an oblong, about 2 feet wide by 3 feet long, with two openings above about 1 foot in diameter, on which the boilers, common ovoid earthenware pots are placed. The opening for the fire is placed on the windward side, and extends to the far side of the second opening in the top of the oven, the smoke, etc., escaping through the spaces between the boilers and the oven. The earth forms the hearth. To proceed to the details of the working, the guard and the watcher go out the first thing in the morning, and mark trees for the Kudubis to cut, noting the name of the man, the girth and length of the workable stem and branches. The Kudubi then cuts the tree, and chips off the sapwood, a ring about 1 inch wide, with his axe, and brings it into the camp, where a Forester is stationed, who measures the length and girth of the pieces, and takes the weight of wood brought in. The Kudubi then takes it off to his shelter, and proceeds to chip it. In the afternoon he may have to go and get firewood, but generally he can get enough firewood in a day to serve for several days' boiling. So much for the men's work. Mrs. Kudubi puts the chips into the pot nearest the mouth of the oven, and fills it up with water, putting a large flat wooden spoon on the top, partly to keep the chips down, and, lighting her fire, allows it to boil. As soon as this occurs, the pot is tipped into a wooden trough placed alongside the oven, and the pot with the chips is refilled. This process is repeated six times. The contents of the trough are put into the second pot, which is used purely for evaporating. The contents of this pot are replenished from the trough with a cocoanut bailer until all the extract obtained from the chips has been evaporated to a nearly solid residue. The contents are then poured into a broken half pot, and allowed to dry naturally, being stirred at intervals to enable the drying to proceed evenly. The extract is of a yellowish brown colour when stirred, the surface being of rich red-brown. This stirring is done with a one-sided spoon . To make the balls, the woman covers her hands with a little wood ash to prevent the extract adhering to them, and takes up as much catechu as she can close her hands on, and presses it into shape. These balls are paid for at Rs. 1-2-0 per 100, and are counted before the Forester next morning, and delivered to the contractor. This ends the work done by the Kudubis. When the balls have been counted, they are rolled by special men engaged for the purpose on a board sprinkled with a little wood ash, and this is repeated daily for three or four days to consolidate them. After this daily rolling, the balls are spread out in the receiving shed to dry, in a single layer for the first day or two, and after that they may be in two layers. After the fourth or fifth day's rolling, they are put in a pit, and covered with wood ashes on which a little water is poured, and, on being taken out the next day, are gone over, and all balls which are soft or broken are then rejected, the good ones being put on the upper storey of the stone shed to get quite hard and dry."

Before the commencement of operations, the Kudubis select an Areca Catechu tree, and place a sword, an axe, and a cocoanut on the ground near it. They prostrate themselves before the tree, with hands uplifted, burn incense, and break cocoanuts. The success of the operations is believed to depend on the good will of a deity named Siddedevaru. Before the Kudubis commence work, they pray to him, and make a vow that, if they are successful, they will offer a fowl. Failure to produce good balls of catechu is attributed to the wrath of the deity. At the close of the work, if it has prospered, a kalasam is set up, and fowls are killed. Sometimes, goats are sacrificed, cooked food and meat are placed on leaves round the kalasam, and after worshipping, the viands are partaken of.

Like some other castes, the Kudubis do not eat new rice until after the Hosthu festival. Just before reaping, a few plants are plucked, laid in the field, and worshipped. The ears are then cut, and carried to their houses, where they are tied to pillars or to the roof.

There are, among the Kudubis, magicians called Gardi, who are sought after during illness. To show his magical skill, a Gardi should be able to cut a single grain of rice in twain with a big knife.

Kudugudukaran.--The Kudugudukarans or Kuduguduppukarans are a mendicant caste, who beat a small hour-glass-shaped drum while begging from house to house.

Kudumala .--An exogamous sept of Bonthuk Savara, Gamalla, and Madiga.

Kudumba.--A sub-division of Savara.

Kudumban.--A title sometimes used by Pallans, the headman among whom goes by this name.

The Kudumis speak a corrupt form of the Konkani dialect of Marathi. They are the descendants of these Konkana Sudras, who emigrated from Goa on account of the persecutions of the Portuguese in the sixteenth century, and sought refuge along with their masters, the Konkana Brahmans, on the coast of Travancore and Cochin. Most of them set out as the domestic servants of the latter, but a few were independent traders and agriculturists. Two varieties of rice grain, chethivirippu and malarnellu, brought by them from the Konkan, are still sown in Travancore. One of the earliest occupations, in which they engaged, was the manufacture of fireworks, and, as they were bold and sturdy, they were enlisted as soldiers by the chieftains of Malabar. Relics of the existence of military training-grounds are still to be found in many of their houses.

On a raised mud platform in the court-yard of the Kudumi's house, the tulasi or pipal is invariably grown. Fish and flesh, except beef, are eaten, and intoxicating liquor is rather freely imbibed. The women wear coloured cloths, usually black, and widows are not obliged to be clad in white. A gold mukkutti is an indispensable nose ornament. Tattooing is largely resorted to by the women.

The occupation of the Kudumis is service in the houses of the Konkana Brahmans. They also prepare beaten rice, act as boatmen, porters, and agricultural labourers, clean tanks and wells, and thatch houses. The Muppans manufacture, and give displays of fireworks, which have a local reputation at the great Konkani temple of Turavur in the Shertallay taluk.

They worship at the temples of the Konkana Brahmans, as well as their own. But they are not pronounced Vaishnavites, like the Brahmans, as the teachings of Madhvacharya did not reach the lower ranks of Hinduism. On Sunday only one meal is taken. Maddu or Madan is their chief minor deity, and water-sheds are erected to propitiate him. Brahma is adored for nine days in the month of Kumbham from the full-moon day. The pipal tree is scrupulously worshipped, and a lighted lamp placed beside it every evening.

A woman, at the menstrual period, is considered impure for four days, and she stands at a distance of seven feet, closing her mouth and nostrils with the palm of the hand, as the breath of such a woman is believed to have a contaminating effect. Her shadow, too, should not fall on any one. The marriage of girls should take place before puberty. Violation of this rule would be punished by the excommunication of the family. During the marriage ceremony, the tulasi plant is worshipped, and the bride and bridegroom husk a small quantity of rice. The mother of the bridegroom prepares a new oven within the house, and places a new pot beside it. The contracting couple, assisted by five women, throw five handfuls of rice into the pot, which is cooked. They then put a quantity of paddy into a mortar, and after carefully husking it, make rice flour from it. A quantity of betel and rice is then received by the bride and bridegroom from four women. The tali is tied round the bride's neck by the bridegroom, and one of his companions then takes a thread, and fastens it to their legs. On the fifth day of the marriage rites, a piece of cloth, covering the breasts, is tied round the bride's neck, and the nose is pierced for the insertion of the mukkutti.

Inheritance is generally from father to son , but, in a few families, marumakkathayam is observed. Widow remarriage is common, and the bridegroom is generally a widower. Only the oldest members of a family are cremated, the corpses of others being buried. The Kudumis own a common burial-ground in all places, where they reside in large numbers. Pollution lasts for sixteen days.

The Kudumis and the indigenous Sudras of Travancore do not accept food from each other. They never wear the sacred thread, and may not enter the inner courtyard of a Brahmanical temple. They remove pollution by means of water sprinkled over them by a Konkana Brahman. Their favourite amusement is the koladi, in which ten or a dozen men execute a figure dance, armed with sticks, which they strike together keeping time to the music of songs relating to Krishna, and Bhagavati.

Kudumi.--Concerning the Kudumi medicine-men. I gather that "the Kudumi is a necessary adjunct to the village. His office implies a more or less intimate acquaintance with the curative herbs and roots in the forests, and their proper application to the different ailments resulting from venomous bites or stings. It is the Kudumi who procures leeches for the gouty Reddi or the phlegmatic Moodeliar, when he finds that some blood-letting will benefit their health. He prays over sprains and cricks, and binds the affected parts with the sacred cord made of the hair taken from the patient's head. He is an expert practitioner at phlebotomy, and many old Anglo-Indians domiciled in the country will recall the Kudumi when his services were in demand to heal some troublesome limb by the letting of blood. This individual is believed to possess a magic influence over wild animals and snakes, and often comes out in public as a dexterous snake-charmer. It is principally in the case of poisonous bites that the Kudumi's skill is displayed. It is partly by the application of medicinal leaves ground into a paste, and partly by exercising his magical powers, that he is believed to cure the most dangerous bites of snakes and other venomous animals."

The Kudumi often belongs to the Irula or Jogi caste.

Kudumi.--The kudumi is the tuft of hair, which is left when the head of Hindus is shaved. "For some time past," Bishop Caldwell writes, "a considerable number of European missionaries in the Tamil country have come to regard the wearing of the tuft as a badge of Hinduism, and hence require the natives employed in their missions to cut off the kudumi as a sine qu? non of their retention of mission employment". The kudumi, as the Bishop points out, would doubtless have been admired by our grandfathers, who wore a kudumi themselves, viz., the queue which followed the wig. "The Vellalas of the present day," he continues, "almost invariably wear the kudumi, but they admit that their forefathers wore their hair long. Some of the Maravars wear the kudumi, and others do not. It makes a difference in their social position. The kudumi, which was originally a sign of Aryan nationality, and then of Aryan respectability, has come to be a sign of respectability in general, and hence, whilst the poorer Maravars generally wear their hair long, the wealthier members of the caste generally wear the kudumi. The Pallars in Tinnevelly used to wear their hair long, but most of them have recently adopted the kudumi, and the wearing of the kudumi is now spreading even among the Pariahs. In short, wherever higher notions of civilization, and a regard for appearances extend, the use of the kudumi seems to extend also". Even a Toda has been known to visit the Nanjengod temple at the base of the Nilgiris, to pray for offspring, and return with a shaved head.

Kudumo.--See Kurumo.

Kukkundi.--Kukkundi or Kokkundia is the name of a small class of Oriya cultivators and fishermen, who are said to be expert in spearing fish with a long spear.

Kukru.--Kukru or Kukkuro, meaning dog, occurs as the name of a sept of Bottada, Domb, and Omanaito. The equivalent Kukkala is a sept of the Orugunta Kapus and Boyas.

Kulala.--Some members of the potter caste style themselves Kulala vamsam, as being a more dignified caste name than Kusavan, and claim descent from Kulalan, the son of Brahma.

Kulanji.--A sub-division of Maran.

Kulappan.--A synonym of Kusavan.

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