The dead are buried with the body lying on its left side, and the head to the south. On their return home from a funeral, those who have been present thereat salute a lighted lamp. On the spot where the dead person breathed his last, a little rāgi (Eleusine Coracana) paste and water are placed, and here, on the fourth day, a goat is sacrificed, and offered up to the soul of the departed. After this the son proceeds to the burial ground, carrying a stone, and followed by men selected from each of the exogamous septs. Arrived near the grave, they sit down, while the son places the stone on the ground, and they then lift it in succession. The last man to do so is said to fall into a trance. On his recovery, leaves (plantain, teak, etc.) corresponding in number to the exogamous septs, are arranged round the stone, and, on each leaf, different kinds of food are placed. The men partake of the food, each from the leaf allotted to his sept. The meal concluded, the son holds the stone in his hands, while his companions pour rāgi and water over it, and then carries it away to the gopamane (burial-ground) of his sept, and sets it up there.
On the occasion of a death in a Mala Vellāla village, the Shōlagas come in crowds, with clarionets and drums, and bells on their legs, and dance in front of the house. And the corpse is borne, in musical procession, to the burning-ground.
The staple food of the Shōlagas is rāgi paste and yams (Dioscorea), which, like the Urālis, they supplement by sundry jungle animals and birds. Paroquets they will not eat, as they regard them as their children.
Their main occupation is to collect minor forest produce, myrabolams, vembadam bark (Ventilago madraspatana), avaram bark (Cassia auriculata), deers’ horns, tamarinds, gum, honey, soap-nuts, sheekoy (Acacia Concinna),etc. The forests have been divided into blocks, and a certain place within each block has been selected for the forest depôt. To this place the collecting agents, mostly Shōlagas and Urālis, bring the produce, and there it is sorted and paid for by special supervisors appointed for the work.
Shōlaga.
In the Coimbatore district the Shōlagas are said to collect honey from rocky crevices. The combs are much larger than those found on trees, and are supposed to contain twice as much wax in proportion to the honey. On the Nilgiri hills honey-combs are collected by Jēn Kurumbas and Shōlagas. The supply of honey varies according to the nature of the season, and is especially plentiful and of good quality when Strobilanthes Wightianus, S. Kunthiana, and other species are in flower.
It has been said that even wild beasts will scent a Shōlaga, and flee before the aroma.
The Shōlagas, who were examined by Dr. Rivers and myself, came to the conclusion that the object of our enquiry was to settle them in a certain place near London, and that the wools of different colours (used for testing colour vision) given to them for selection, were for tying them captive with. Others said that they could not understand why the different organs of their bodies were measured; perhaps to reduce or increase the size of their body to suit the different works, which they were expected to do near London. It has been pointed out to me, as an interesting fact, that a similarity of idea concerning the modification of different organs to suit men for the doing of special work has been arrived at by the jungle folk, and by Mr. Wells in his book, ‘The first men in the moon,’ where the lunar inhabitants are described as carrying on the practice.
Of the experiences of a Shōlaga when out with a European on a shooting expedition, the following account has recently been given.[51] “My husband was after a bear, and tracked Bruin to his cave. He had torches made, and these he ordered to be thrust into the cave in the hope of smoking the bear out, but, as nothing happened, he went into the cave, accompanied by a Sholigar carrying a torch. As soon as they got used to the light, they saw a small aperture leading into an inner cave, and the Sholigar was told to put the torch in there. Hardly was this done, when out rushed a large bear, knocking over the Sholigar, and extinguishing the torch. My husband could not get his gun up in time to fire, as the bear rushed through the cave into the jungle. Just as the Sholigar was picking himself up, out rushed another bear. This time my husband was ready, and fired. To the Sholigar’s horror, Bruin sank down wounded at the entrance to the outer cave, thus blocking the exit, and keeping both tracker and my husband prisoners. The Sholigar began whimpering, saying he was the father of a large family, and did not wish to leave the children fatherless. Soon the bear, though very badly wounded, managed to get to its feet, and crawl away into the jungle, so liberating the prisoners.”