Then, the eighth after Kewi-apa, comes the day Ha-chu, on which they take back the devil to the jungle with more ceremony. Having returned from this, they engage in a hunt, with the aid of dogs, for jungle pigs.
The day following is Anoi-ila; on the next, a second pig hunt takes place; and finally, one more "day of rest" ends the festival.
Maya, or Vani-el-kui, means "top decoration," and for this, long green bamboos are brought from the jungle and encircled with leaves from top to bottom. They are then fixed round the graveyard at Elpanam, to the accompaniment of ceremonies led by the tamiluanas, with spirit exorcising paraphernalia.
During the three days following, the people prepare two large rafts, of canoe shape, and equip them with sails of palm leaf, dry palm leaf torches, and bunches of "devil-expelling" leaves. This work is done by the young men and women, the tamiluanas and other elderly people being engaged, meanwhile, in singing by turns, through night and day, in one of the houses at Elpanam. The tamiluanas frequently come down and walk along the beach with their exorcising rods, and forbid the devil to enter the village.
The fourth day is called Yintovna Síya—expelling the devil by sails. In the evening, the whole of the village assembles at Elpanam with bunches of "devil-expelling" leaves, the women with baskets of ashes in addition.
A number of men, with an escort of tamiluanas, carry one of the floats to the sea, on the right side of the cemetery, and propel it some distance from the shore; when they return, another body of men despatches the other craft from the left side of the graveyard. The bearers, on reaching shore, are supplied with bundles of leaves, and as soon as the vessels reach deep water, the women throw ashes from the shore, and the whole crowd shouts, "Fly away, devil, fly away, never come again." Then all the decorated bamboos are removed, one after another, and all the leaves thrown into the sea; from each bamboo, as it is taken down, the devil is expelled.
Should the canoes sail off toward Chaura, much rejoicing is occasioned. One seems to contain an evil, the other a benignant spirit. The latter may possibly return and inform the tamiluanas that the devil has reached Chaura, and in token of this, there will be found near the graveyard a new Chaura pot, a chicken, a paddle, or similar objects.
If this occurs, there is a day of rejoicing, called Amhai, when pigs and fowls are offered as a sacrifice to the conquering spirit, and a grand feast and dance take place at night.
This is an annual ceremony, commemorated in turn by all the village, but unfortunately, as with their other customs and ceremonies, the islanders, whose knowledge of their origin is limited, can give no clear reason for its inception, although there must be a perfectly adequate one, and state only that they do it because it is "custom."
Festivals called Maya and Inturga are also commemorated to drive the jungle devils into the sea.