Castes and Tribes of Southern India. Vol. 5 of 7

by Edgar Thurston

Mutyāla (pearl).—An exogamous sept, and name of a sub-division of Balijas who deal in pearls. The Ambalakārans say that they were born of the sweat (muttu, a pearl or bead of perspiration) of Paramasiva.

Muvvāri.—Recorded[71] as “a North Malabar caste of domestic servants under the Embrāntiri Brāhmans. Their customs resemble those of the Nāyars, but the Elayads and the Mārayāns will not serve them.”

Myāsa.—Myāsa, meaning grass-land or forest, is one of the two main divisions, Ūrū (village) and Myāsa, of the Bēdars and Bōyas. Among the Myāsa Bēdars, the rite of circumcision is practiced, and is said to be the survival of a custom which originated when they were included in the army of Haidar Āli

---

[1] Gazetteer of the South Arcot District.

[2] Gazetteer of the South Arcot district.

[3] Madras Census Report, 1891.

[4] The Rangāris are Marātha dyers and tailors.

[5] Ind. Ant., VII, 1878.

[6] Our Viceregal Life in India, 1884–88.