In the absence of lucifer matches, the Chenchus make fire with flint and steel, and the slightly charred floss of the white cotton tree, Eriodendron anfractuosum, I am informed that, like the Paniyans of Malabar, they also obtain fire by friction, by means of the horizontal or sawing method, with two pieces of split bamboo.
Some Chenchus still exhibit the primitive short stature and high nasal index, which are characteristic of other jungle tribes such as the Kādirs, Paniyans, and Kurumbas. But there is a very conspicuous want of uniformity in their physical characters, and many individuals are to be met with, above middle height or tall, with long narrow noses. A case is noted in the Kurnool Manual, in which a brick-maker married a Chenchu girl. And I was told of a Bōya man who had married into the tribe, and was living in a gudem. In this way is the pure type of Chenchu metamorphosed.
| Stature, cm. | Nasal index. | ||||
| AV. | MAX. | MIN. | AV. | MAX. | MIN. |
| 162.5 | 175 | 149.6 | 81.9 | 95.7 | 68.1 |
By the dolichocephalic type of head which has persisted, and which the Chenchus possess in common with various other jungle tribes, they are, as shown by the following table, at once differentiated from the mesaticephalic dwellers in the plains near the foot of the Nallamalais:—
| Cephalic Index. | Number of cases inwhich index exceeded 80. | ||
| 40 | Chenchus | 74.3 | 1 |
| 60 | Gollas | 77.5 | 9 |
| 50 | Boyas | 77.9 | 14 |
| 39 | Tota Balijas | 78. | 10 |
| 49 | Motāti Kapus | 78. | 16 |
| 19 | Upparas | 78.8 | 4 |
| 16 | Mangalas | 78.8 | 7 |
| 17 | Yerukalas | 78.6 | 6 |
| 12 | Mēdaras | 80.7 | 8 |
The visual acuity of the Chenchus was tested with Cohn’s letter E, No. 6. For clinical purposes, the visual acuity would be represented by a fraction, of which 6 is the denominator, and the number of metres at which the position of the letter was recognised by the individual tested is the numerator, e.g.,
V.A. = 13m/6 = 2.16.
The average distances in metres, at which the letter was recognised by the various castes and tribes examined by myself and Dr. W. H. R. Rivers, were as follows:—
| 16 | Shōlagas (Rivers) | 12.9 |
| 94 | Kotas | 12.8 |
| 180 | Badagas | 12.6 |
| 50 | Paraiyans | 12.5 |
| 58 | Telugu ryats | 12.4 |
| 28 | Chenchus | 12.3 |
| 55 | Urālis (Rivers) | 12.2 |
| 30 | Brāhmans, Mysore | 12.2 |
| 30 | Non-Brāhmans, Mysore | 12.2 |