The following proverbs are not complimentary to the Kanakkan, who, as an influential village official, is not always a popular individual:—
Though babies are sold for a pie each, we do not want a Kanakka baby.
Wherever you meet with a Kanakka child or with a crow’s young one, put out its eyes.
In Travancore, Kanakkan is a name by which Kammālans are addressed, and a prefix to the name of Todupūzha Vellālas. It further occurs, on the west coast, as a sub-division of Cheruman or Pulayan.
For the following note on the Kanakkans of the Cochin State, I am indebted to Mr. L. K. Anantha Krishna Aiyar.[86]
The Kanakkans belong to the slave castes, and are even now attached to some landlords. In the tāluks of Trichūr, Mukandapuram, and Cranganūr, where I obtained all my information about them, I learnt that they are the Atiyars (slaves) of Chittūr Manakkal Nambūdiripad at Perumanom near Trichūr, and they owe him a kind of allegiance. The Nambūdiri landlord told me that the members of the caste, not only from almost all parts of the State, but also from the British tāluks of Ponnāni, Chowghat, and even from Calicut, come to him with a Thirumulkazhcha, i.e., a few annas in token of their allegiance. This fact was also confirmed by a Kanakkanar (headman) at Cranganūr, who told me that he and his castemen were the slaves of the same landlord, though, in disputes connected with the caste, they abide by the decision of the local Rāja. In the event of illness or calamity in the family of a Kanakkan, an astrologer (Kaniyan), who is consulted as to the cause and remedy, sometimes reminds the members thereof of the negligence in their allegiance to the landlord, and suggests the advisability of paying respects to him (Nambikuru) with a few annas. On the Puyām day in Makaram (January-February), these people from various parts of the State present themselves in a body with a few annas each, to own their allegiance to him. The following story is mentioned by him. One of his ancestors chanced to pay his respects to one of the rulers of the State, when the residence of the Royal Family was in Cochin. On arriving near the town, the boat capsised in a storm, but was luckily saved by the bravery of a few rowers of this caste. The Rāja, who witnessed the incident from a window of his palace, admired their valour, and desired to enlist some Kanakkans into his service.
There are four endogamous sub-divisions among the Kanakkans, viz., Patunna, the members of which formerly worked in salt-pans, Vettuva, Chavala, and Parāttu. Each of these is further sub-divided into clans (kiriyam), which are exogamous.
A young man may marry the daughter of his maternal uncle, but this is not permissible in some places. Marriage is both infant and adult, and may be celebrated by Patunna Kanakkans at any time between the tenth and thirteenth years of a girl, while the Vettuva Kanakkans may celebrate it only after girls attain puberty. They often choose the bridegroom beforehand, with the intention of performing the ceremony after puberty.
When a girl attains maturity, she is kept apart in a part of the house on the score of pollution, which lasts for seven days. She bathes on the fourth day. On the morning of the seventh day seven girls are invited, and they accompany the girl to a tank (pond) or a river. They all have an oil bath, after which they return home. The girl, dressed and adorned in her best, is seated on a plank in a conspicuous part of the hut, or in a pandal (booth) put up for the time in front of it. A small vessel full of paddy[87] (nerapara), a cocoanut, and a lighted lamp, are placed in front of her. Her Enangan begins his musical tunes, and continues for an hour or two, after which he takes for himself the above things, while his wife, who has purified the girl by sprinkling cow-dung water, gets a few annas for her service. It is now, at the lucky moment, that the girl’s mother ties the tāli round her neck. The seven girls are fed, and given an anna each. The relations, and other castemen who are invited, are treated to a sumptuous dinner. The guests as they depart give a few annas each to the chief host, to meet the expenses of the ceremony and the feast. This old custom of mutual help prevails largely among the Pulayas also. The girl is now privileged to enter the kitchen, and discharge her domestic duties. The parents of the bridegroom contribute to the ceremony a small packet of jaggery (crude sugar), a muri (piece of cloth), some oil and incha (Acacia Intsia), the soft fibre of which is used as soap. This contribution is called bhendu nyayam. If the girl is married before puberty, and she attains her maturity during her stay with her husband, the ceremony is performed in his hut, and the expenses are met by the parents of the bridegroom, while those of the bride contribute a share.
When a Vettuva Kanakka girl comes of age, the headman (Vatikāran) of the caste is informed. He comes, along with his wife, to help the girl’s parents in the performance of the ceremony. Seven girls are invited. Each of them breaks a cocoanut, and pours the water on the girl’s head. Water is also poured over her. As soon as she is thus bathed, she is allowed to remain in a room, or in a part of the hut. Near her are placed a mirror made of metal, a vessel of paddy, a pot full of water, and a lighted lamp. The young man who has been chosen as her husband is invited. He has to climb a cocoanut tree to pluck a tender cocoanut for the girl, and a cluster of flowers. He then takes a meal in the girl’s hut, and departs. The same proceedings are repeated on the fourth day, and, on the seventh day, he takes the cluster of flowers, and throws it on water.