Lallē lallē lallē ho.
“On the European plantations in the Wynād the Cherumans are in great request, and many are to be seen travelling nowadays without fear in railway carriages on their way to the plantations. A few also work in the gold mines of Mysore.”
Like other servile classes, the Cherumans possess special privileges on special occasions. For example, at the chāl (furrow) ceremony in Malabar “the master of the house, the cultivating agent, and Cherumans assemble in the barn, a portion of the yard in front of the building is painted with rice-water, and a lighted bell-lamp is placed near at hand with some paddy and rice, and several cups made of the leaves of the kanniram (Strychnos nux-vomica)—as many cups as there are varieties of seed in the barn. Then, placing implicit faith in his gods, and deceased ancestors, the master of the house opens the barn door, followed by the Cheruman with a new painted basket containing the leaf cups. The master then takes a handful of seed from a seed-basket, and fills one of the cups, and the cultivating agent, head Cheruman, and others who are interested in a good harvest, fill the cups till the seeds are exhausted. The basket, with the cups, is next taken to the decorated portion of the yard. A new ploughshare is fastened to a new plough, and a pair of cattle are brought on to the scene. Plough, cattle, and basket are all painted with rice-water. A procession proceeds to the fields, on reaching which the head Cheruman lays down the basket, and makes a mound of earth with the spade. To this a little manure is added, and the master throws a handful of seed into it. The cattle are then yoked, and one turn is ploughed by the head Cheruman. Inside this at least seven furrows are made, and the plough is dropped to the right. An offering is made to Ganapathi (the elephant god), and the master throws some seed into a furrow. Next the head Cheruman calls out ‘May the gods on high and the deceased ancestors bless the seed, which has been thrown broadcast, and the cattle which are let loose; the mother and children of the house, the master, and the slaves, may they also vouchsafe to us a good crop, good sunshine, and good harvest.’ A cocoanut is then cut on the ploughshare, and from the cut portions several deductions are made. If the hinder part is larger than the front one, the harvest will be moderate. If the cut passes through the eyes of the nut, or if no water is left in the cut portions, certain misfortune is foreboded. The cut fragments are then taken with a little water inside them, and a leaf of the tulsi plant (Ocimum sanctum) dropped in. If the leaf turns to the right, a prosperous harvest is assured; whereas, if it turns to the left, certain calamity will follow. This ceremonial concluded, there is much shouting, and the names of all the gods may be heard called out in a confused prayer. The party then breaks up, and the unused seeds are divided among the workmen.”[32] At the ceremony in Malabar, when the transplantation of rice is completed, during which a goat is sacrificed to Mūni, the protector of cattle and field labourers, the officiating priest is generally the cultivation agent of the family, who is a Nāyar, or sometimes a Cheruman.
In connection with the harvest ceremonial in Cochin, Mr. Anantha Krishna Iyer writes as follows. “There are some curious customs connected with the harvest, prevailing among the Pulayas of the southern parts of the State. Before reaping, the Pulaya headman asks his master whether he may begin to reap. With his permission, he faces the east, and puts the sickle to the stalks. The first bundle he reserves for the gods of his master, and the second for those of his castemen. Before thrashing, the same headman takes a few bundles of corn from the sheaf intended for their gods, and sprinkles toddy on them. Another Pulayan does the same for the various reapers, and says, as he does so ‘Come, thrashing corn, increase.’ This is called filling the thrashing floor, and each man thrashes his own sheaves. When the thrashing is over, the headman puts his master’s sheaf in the centre of the floor, and his own at a short distance outside, in order that the two sets of gods may look kindly on them. The headman is privileged to measure the corn sitting with his two assistants, saying ‘Come, paddy, increase,’ as he counts. He also calls out ‘Good paddy, one’, ‘bad paddy, two’, and so on, until he counts ten. The eleventh is the share for the reaper. He takes a handful, and places it in a basket, half of which falls to him, his assistants and the watchman, while the other half is given away in charity to the poor men that come to the thrashing place. In the northern parts of the State, before reaping, offerings of goats, fowls, and cocoanuts, are made to Mallan and Mūni. The Cheruma headman faces east, and applies his sickle to the stalks, reserving the first stalk for the deities above mentioned. The corn is thrashed and measured by one of them, and, as he does so, he says ‘Labham’ (profit) for one, ‘Chetham’ (loss) for two, and counts up to ten. The eleventh goes to the share of the reapers. Thus they get one para for every ten paras of corn. The poor people that attend are also given a handful of the grain. After reaping, the members of the castes named in the table below receive a small portion of the corn for their services rendered to the farmers in the course of the months during which cultivation has been carried on:—
| Caste. | Purpose for which paddy is given. | Remuneration. |
| Carpenters | For making and repairing ploughs, etc. | A big bundle of corn. |
| Blacksmiths | For making sickles, knives, and other tools. | Do. |
| Parayan | For lifting and placing the loads of stalks on the heads of the Cherumans, who carry them to the farmyard. | Do. |
| Washerman or Mannān. | For keeping off birds, insects, etc., from the fields by magic. | Do. |
| Vilkurup | For treating Cherumas during their illness, and for shampooing them. | Do. |
| Kaniyan or astrologer. | For giving information of the auspicious times for ploughing, sowing, transplanting and reaping, and also of the time for giving rice, vegetables, oil, etc., to the Cherumas during the Onam festival. | Do. |
“The Pulayans receive, in return for watching, a small portion of the field near the watchman’s rest-hut, which is left unreaped for him. It fetches him a para of paddy.
“The Cherumas who are engaged in reaping get two bundles of corn each for every field. For measuring the corn from the farmyard, a Cheruman gets an edangazhy of paddy, in addition to his daily wage. Three paras of paddy are set apart for the local village deity. During the month of Karkadakam, the masters give every Cheruman a fowl, some oil, garlic, mustard, anise seeds, pepper, and turmeric. They prepare a decoction of seeds, and boil the flesh of the fowl in it, which they take for three days, during which they are allowed to take rest. Three days’ wages are also given in advance.”
In Travancore, a festival named Macam is held, of which the following account has been published.[33] “The Macam (tenth constellation Regulus, which follows Thiru Onam in August), is regarded by Hindus as a day of great festivity. One must enjoy it even at the cost of one’s children, so runs an adage. The day is considered to be so lucky that a girl born under the star Regulus is verily born with a silver spoon in her mouth. It was on Macam, some say, that the Dēvas, to free themselves from the curse they were put under by a certain sage, had to churn the sea of milk to procure ambrosia. Be the cause which led to the celebration what it may, the Hindus of the present day have ever been enthusiastic in its observance; only some of the rude customs connected with it have died out in the course of time, or were put a stop to by Government. Sham fights were, and are still, in some places a feature of the day. Such a sham fight used to be carried on at Pallam until, about a hundred years ago, it was stopped through the intervention of Colonel Munro, the British Resident in Travancore. The place is still called Patanilam (battle field), and the tank, on opposite sides of which the contending parties assembled, Chorakulam (pool of blood). The steel swords and spears, of curious and various shapes, and shields large enough to cover a man, are even now preserved in the local temple. Many lives were lost in these fights. It is not generally known, even to people in these parts, that a sham fight takes place on Macam and the previous day every year at a place called Wezhapra, between the Changanacherry and Ambalapuzha taluks. Three banyan trees mark the place. People, especially Pulayas and Pariahs, to the number of many thousands, collect round the outside trees with steel swords, spears, and slings in their hands. A small bund (embankment) separates the two parties. They have to perform certain religious rites near the tree which stands in the middle, and, in doing so, make some movements with their swords and spears to the accompaniment of music. If those standing on one side of the bund cross it, a regular fight is the result. In order to avoid such things, without at the same time interfering with their liberty to worship at the spot, the Government this year made all the necessary arrangements. The Police were sent for the purpose. Everything went off smoothly but for one untoward event. The people had been told not to come armed with steel weapons, but with wooden ones. They had to put them down, and were then allowed to go and worship.”
Of conversion to Muhammadanism at the present time, a good example is afforded by the Cherumans. “This caste,” the Census Superintendent, 1881, writes, “numbered 99,009 in Malabar at the census of 1871, and, in 1881, is returned as only 64,735. There are 40,000 fewer Cherumans than there would have been but for some disturbing influence, and this is very well known to be conversion to Muhammadanism. The honour of Islam once conferred on the Cheruman, he moves at one spring several places higher than that which he originally occupied.” “Conversion to Muhammadanism,” Mr. Logan writes, “has had a marked effect in freeing the slave caste in Malabar from their former burthens. By conversion a Cheruman obtains a distinct rise in the social scale, and, if he is in consequence bullied or beaten, the influence of the whole Muhammadan community comes to his aid.” It has been noted[34] that Cheruman converts to Islam take part in the Moplah (Māppilla) outbreaks, which from time to time disturb the peace of Malabar.