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

by Edgar Thurston

Remember, ’tis fate decides whom you shall have.

“All the young men, who are eligible for marriage, arm themselves with a stick each, and begin to dance round the hut, inside which the bride is seated. This goes on for close on an hour, when each of them thrusts his stick inside the hut through the leafy covering. The girl has then to take hold of one of these sticks from the inside, and the owner of the stick which she seizes becomes the husband of the concealed bride. This ceremony is followed up by feasting, after which the marriage is consummated.”

A photograph by Mr. F. Fawcett shows a young man with a ring hanging round his neck, as a sign that he was still unattached. But he was soon about to part with it, for a present of a rupee enabled him to find a girl, and fix up a marriage, within two days.

Nāyādis making fire.

Adultery is regarded with abhorrence, and there is a belief that those who are guilty of it are liable to be attacked by wild beasts or demons. On the occasion of the marriage of a divorced woman’s son or daughter, the mother attends the festivities, if she receives a cordial invitation from her children. But she does not look her former husband straight in the face, and returns to her home the same evening.

When a man lies at the point of death, it is usual to distribute rice kanji to the people, who, after taking their fill, become possessed with the power of predicting the fate in store for the sick man. According as the taste of the kanji turns to that of a corpse, or remains unaltered, the death or recovery of the patient is foretold in their deep and loud voices.[47] The Nāyādis either burn or bury their dead. Several layers of stones are placed within the grave, and its site is marked by three big stones, one in the middle, and one at each end. The burnt ashes of the bones are collected, and preserved in a pot, which is kept close to the hut of the deceased. Pollution is observed for ten days, during which the enangan (relations by marriage) cook for the mourners. On the tenth day, the sons of the deceased go, together with their relations, to the nearest stream, and bury the bones on the bank. The sons bathe, and perform beli, so that the soul of the departed may enter heaven, and ghosts may not trouble them. After the bath, a sand-heap, representing the deceased, is constructed, and on it are placed a piece of plantain leaf, some unboiled rice, and karuka grass (Cynodon Dactylon). Over these water is poured twelve times, and the sons reverently prostrate themselves before the heap. They then return home, and cow-dung, mixed with water, is sprinkled over them by their relations, and poured over the floor of the hut. In this manner they are purified. Some time during the seventh month after death, according to another account, the grave, in which the corpse has been buried, is dug up, and the bones are carefully collected, and spread out on a layer of sticks arranged on four stones placed at the corners of a pit. The bones are then covered with more sticks, and the pile is lighted. The partially burnt bones are subsequently collected by the eldest son of the deceased, and carried to the hut in a new pot, which is tied to a branch of a neighbouring tree. This rite concluded, he bathes, and, on his return, the adiyanthiram (death ceremony) day is fixed. On this day, the eldest son removes the pot, and buries it by the side of a stream, near which a heap of sand is piled up. On this all the agnates pour water three times, prostrate themselves before it, and disperse. The ceremony is brought to a close with a square meal. Some time ago an old Nāyādi, who had the reputation of being a good shot, died. His son obtained a handful of gunpowder from a gun-license holder, and set fire to it near the grave, with a view to satisfying the soul of the deceased.

The chief gods of the Nāyādis are Mallan, Malavazhi, and Parakutti, to whom offerings of toddy, rice, and the flesh of monkeys are made. Parakutti it is who aids them in their hunting expeditions, bringing the game to them, and protecting them from wild beasts. If they do not succeed in bagging the expected game, they abuse him.

The Nāyādis are also ancestor worshippers, and keep representations of the departed, to which offerings of rice and toddy are made during the Ōnam, Vishu, and other festivals. Beneath a mango tree in a paramba (garden) were forty-four stones set up in a circle round the tree. One of the stones was a beli-kal (beli stone), such as is placed round the inner shrines of temples. The remainder resembled survey stones, but were smaller in size. The stones represented forty-four Nāyādis, who had left the world. On the ceremonial occasions referred to above, a sheep or fowl is killed, and the blood allowed to fall on them, pūja (worship) is performed, and solemn prayers are offered that the souls of the departed may protect them against wild beasts and snakes. A Nāyādi asserted that, if he came across a tiger, he would invoke the aid of his ancestors, and the animal would be rendered harmless.

Whenever the Nāyādis labour under any calamity or disease, they consult the Parayan astrologer. And, when a woman is possessed by devils, the Parayan is summoned. He is furnished with a thread and some toddy. Muttering certain prayers to Parakutti and other deities, he ties the thread round the woman’s neck, drinks the toddy, and the devil leaves her. When a person is believed to be under the influence of a devil or the evil eye, salt, chillies, tamarind, oil, mustard, cocoanut, and a few pice (copper coins) in a vessel are waved thrice round the head of the affected individual, and given to a Nāyādi, whose curse is asked for. There is this peculiarity about a Nāyādi’s curse, that it always has the opposite effect. So, when he is asked to curse one who has given him alms, he does so by invoking misery and evil upon him. By the Nāyādi money is called chembu kāsu (copper coin), food elamāttam (exchange of leaves), and having no food nakkān illa (nothing to lick on). As a protection against snake-bite, the Nāyādis wear a brass toe-ring. And, when engaged in catching rats in their holes, they wear round the wrist a snake-shaped metal ring, to render them safe against snakes which may be concealed in the hole.