In the Gazetteer of the Madura district, it is stated that “at weddings, the bridegroom’s sister ties the tāli, and then hurries the bride off to her brother’s house, where he is waiting. When a girl attains maturity, she is made to live for a fortnight in a temporary hut, which she afterwards burns down. While she is there, the little girls of the caste meet outside it, and sing a song illustrative of the charms of womanhood, and its power of alleviating the unhappy lot of the bachelor. Two of the verses say:—
What of the hair of a man?
It is twisted, and matted, and a burden.
What of the tresses of a woman?
They are as flowers in a garland, and a glory.
What of the life of a man?
It is that of the dog at the palace gate.
What of the days of a woman?
They are like the gently waving leaves in a festoon.
“Divorce is readily permitted on the usual payments, and divorcées and widows may remarry. A married woman who goes astray is brought before the Kambliyan, who delivers a homily, and then orders the man’s waist-string to be tied round her neck. This legitimatises any children they may have.” The Valaiyans of Pattukkōttai in the Tanjore district say that intimacy between a man and woman before marriage is tolerated, and that the children of such a union are regarded as members of the caste, and permitted to intermarry with others, provided the parents pay a nominal penalty imposed by the caste council.