Chapter VI: Part 6

Kanakkan.--Kanakkan is a Tamil accountant caste, corresponding to the Oriya Korono. In an account thereof, in the North Arcot Manual, Mr. H. A. Stuart writes that they are "found chiefly in the districts of North Arcot, South Arcot, and Chingleput. The name is derived from the Tamil word kanakku, which means an account. They were employed as village accountants by the ancient kings. In the inscriptions the word Karanam or Kanakkan occurs very often, and their title is invariably given as Velan, which is possibly a contracted form of Vellalan. These accountants of the Tamil districts seem to be quite distinct from those of Ganjam and other Telugu provinces (see Korono), some of whom claim to be Kshatriyas, or even Brahmans. It is true that the Karnams themselves claim to be the sons of Brahma, but others maintain that they are the offspring of a Sudra woman by a Vaisya. The caste is said to have four divisions, Sir (Sri), Sarattu, Kaikatti, and Solia. The Sir Karnams are considered of highest rank, and are generally the most intelligent accountants, though they are sadly deficient when compared with the Brahmans who perform the duty of keeping the village accounts above the ghats. The Kai-katti Karnams (or Karnams who show the hand) derive their name from a peculiar custom existing among them, by which a daughter-in-law is never allowed to speak to her mother-in-law except by signs. The reason may perhaps be surmised. The members of the four divisions cannot intermarry. In their customs the caste is somewhat peculiar. They wear the thread, disallow liquor-drinking, flesh-eating, and widow remarriage. Most of them worship Siva, but there are some who are Vaishnavites, and a very few are Lingayats." Their title is Pillai. In the records relating to the Tamil country, Conicopoly, Conicoply, Canacappel, and other variants appear as a corrupt form of Kanakka Pillai. For example, in the records of Fort St. George, 1680, it is noted that "the Governour, accompanyed with the Councell and several persons of the factory, attended by six files of soldyers, the Company's Peons, 300 of the Washers, the Pedda Naigue, the Cancoply of the Towne and of the grounds, went the circuit of Madras ground, which was described by the Cancoply of the grounds." It is recorded by Baldæus (1672) that Xaverius set everywhere teachers called Canacappels. [85] The title Conicopillay is still applied to the examiner of accounts by the Corporation of Madras.

It is laid down in the Village Officers' Manual that "the Karnam, who is entrusted with the keeping of village accounts, is subordinate to the Head of the village. He should help and advise the Head of the village in every way. He is the clerk of the Head of the village in his capacity of village munsif and magistrate. He has to prepare reports, accounts, statements, etc., which it is necessary to put in writing." When sudden or unnatural death takes place within the limits of a village, the Karnam takes down in writing the evidence of persons who are examined, and frames a report of the whole proceedings. He keeps the register of those who are confined, or placed in the stocks by the Head of the village for offences of a trivial nature, such as using abusive language, or petty assaults or affrays. It is the Karnam who keeps the revenue accounts, and registers of the price of all kinds of grain, strangers passing or re-passing through the village, births and deaths, and cattle mortality when cattle disease, e.g., anthrax or rinderpest, exists. Further, it is the duty of the Karnam to take proper care of Government survey instruments, and, when revenue survey is being carried out, to satisfy himself that the village and field boundary marks are properly erected.

In their marriage and death ceremonies, the Kanakkans closely follow the Tamil Puranic type as observed by Vellalas. The Kaikatti section, however, has one peculiar custom. After the marriage ceremony, the girl is kept inside the house, and not allowed to move about freely, for at least two or three days. She is considered to be under some kind of pollution. It is said that, in former times, she was confined in the house for forty days, and, as occupation, had to separate dhal (peas) and rice, which had been mixed together.

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 Kammalans are addressed, and a prefix to the name of Todupuzha Vellalas. 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 taluks of Trichur, Mukandapuram, and Cranganur, where I obtained all my information about them, I learnt that they are the Atiyars (slaves) of Chittur Manakkal Nambudiripad at Perumanom near Trichur, and they owe him a kind of allegiance. The Nambudiri landlord told me that the members of the caste, not only from almost all parts of the State, but also from the British taluks of Ponnani, 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 Cranganur, 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 Raja. 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 Puyam 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 Raja, 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 Parattu. 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 tali 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 (Vatikaran) 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.

As soon as a young man is sufficiently old, his parents look out for a girl as his wife. When she is chosen, the negotiations leading to marriage are opened by the father of the bridegroom, who, along with his brother-in-law and Enangan (relations by marriage), goes to the house of the bride-elect, where, in the midst of relations and friends previously assembled, the formal arrangements are made, and a portion of the bride's money is also paid. The auspicious day for the wedding is settled, and the number of guests to be invited is fixed. There is also an entertainment for those that are assembled. A similar one is also held at the hut of the bridegroom-elect. These people are too poor to consult the local Kaniyan (astrologer); but, if it is known that the couple were born on the day of the same constellation, the match is at once rejected. On the day chosen for the celebration of the marriage, the bridegroom, neatly dressed, and with a knife and stylus, sets out from his hut, accompanied by his parents, uncles, other relatives, and men of his village, to the hut of the bride, where they are welcomed, and seated on mats in a pandal (booth) put up for the occasion. The bride, somewhat veiled, is taken to the pandal and seated along with the bridegroom, and to both of them a sweet preparation of milk, sugar and plantain fruits is given, to establish the fact that they have become husband and wife. There is no tali-tying then. The guests are treated to a sumptuous dinner. As they take leave of the chief host, each of them pays a few annas to meet the expenses of the ceremony. The bridegroom, with the bride and those who have accompanied him, returns to his hut, where some ceremonies are gone through, and the guests are well fed. The bridegroom and bride are seated together, and a sweet preparation is given, after which the parents and the maternal uncle of the former, touching the heads of both, says "My son, my daughter, my nephew, my niece," meaning that the bride has become a member of their family. They throw rice on their heads as a token of their blessings on them. After this, the couple live together as man and wife. In some places, marriage is performed by proxy. A young Vettuva Kanakkan cannot marry by proxy. Neither can the tali-tying ceremony be dispensed with.

If a woman has abandoned herself to a member of a lower caste, she is put out of caste, and becomes a Christian or Muhammadan. Adultery is regarded with abhorrence. All minor offences are dealt with by the headman, whose privileges are embodied in a Thituram (royal order), according to which he may preside at marriage, funeral, and other ceremonies, and obtain a small fee as remuneration for his services. He may use a stick, a stylus, and a knife lined with gold. He may wear a white coat, turban and ear-rings, and use an umbrella. He may also construct a shed with six posts for marriage ceremonies. He has to pay a tax of ten annas to the Sirkar (Government). Chittur Manakkal Nambudiripad in the taluk of Talapilly, the Cranganur Raja in the taluk of Cranganur, and His Highness the Maharaja exercise absolute powers in the settlement of disputes connected with this and other castes.

The Kanakkans believe in magic, sorcery, and witchcraft. Persons who practice the art are very rare among them. They go to a Panan, Velan, or Parayan, whenever they require his services. They profess Hinduism, and worship Siva, Vishnu, Ganapathi, and Subramania, Mukkan, Chathan, Kandakaranan, and the spirits of their ancestors are also adored. Vettuva Kanakkans do homage to Kappiri and Virabhadran also. Chathan cannot be worshipped at Cranganur, as he is opposed to the local deity. Wooden or brass images of their ancestors are kept in their huts, to whom regular sacrifices are offered on Karkadagom, Thulam, and Makaram Sankranthis. In their compounds is often seen a raised platform beneath a tree, on which are placed a few stones representing the images of the demons whom they much fear and respect. Sacrifices are offered to them on leaves.

Patunna Kanakkans invariably bury their dead. The funeral rites are similar to those observed by other low castes. Death pollution lasts for fifteen days. On the sixteenth morning, the hut and compound are swept and cow-dunged. The relatives and castemen are invited, and bring some rice and curry stuffs for a feast. Along with the chief mourner (the son of the deceased) and his brothers, they go to the nearest tank or river to bathe. The Enangan of the family purifies them by the sprinkling of cow-dung water. They return home, and those assembled are treated to a grand dinner. The son observes the diksha (mourning) either for forty-one days, or for a whole year, after which a grand feast called Masam is celebrated.

The Kanakkans are employed in fishing in the backwaters, cutting timber and floating it on bamboo rafts down rivers flooded during the monsoon, boating, pumping out water from rice fields by means of water-wheels, and all kinds of agricultural labour. They were at one time solely engaged in the manufacture of salt from the backwaters. Women are engaged in making coir (cocoanut fibre) and in agricultural labour. Vettuva Kanakkans are engaged in cocoanut cultivating, and making lime out of shells. They are very skilful in climbing cocoanut trees for plucking cocoanuts.

The Kanakkans take food prepared by members of the higher castes, and by Kammalans, Izhuvas, and Mappillas. They have a strong objection to eating at the hands of Veluthedans (washermen), Velakkathalavans (barbers), Panans, Velans, and Kaniyans. Pulayas, Ulladans, and Nayadis have to stand far away from them. They themselves have to keep at a distance of 48 feet from high caste Hindus. They pollute Izhuvas by touch, and Kammalans and Valans at a short distance. They cannot approach the temples of the higher castes, but take part in the festivals of temples in rural parts. At Cranganur, they can come as far as the kozhikallu, which is a stone outside the temple at a short distance from it, on which fowls are offered by low caste people.

Kanakku.--A prefix to the name of Nayars, e.g., Kanakku Raman Krishnan, and also adopted as a prefix by the Todupuzha Vellalas of Travancore.

Kancharan.--A Malabar caste, the occupation of which is the manufacture of brass vessels.

Kanchera.--Kanchera and Kanchari are names of the Telugu section of metal-workers.

Kanchimandalam Vellala. --A name assumed by Malaiyalis of the Salem hills, who claim to be Vellalas who emigrated from Conjeeveram (Kanchipuram).

Kanchu (bell-metal).--An exogamous sept of Kuruba. Kansukejje (bronze bell) occurs as a sub-division of Toreya.

Kanchugara.--In the Madras and Mysore Census Reports, Kanchugara is recorded as a sub-division of Panchala, the members of which are workers in brass, copper, and bell-metal. The Kanchugaras of South Canara are described by Mr. H. A. Stuart [88] as "a Canarese caste of brass-workers. They are Hindus of the Vaishnava sect, and pay special reverence to Venkatramana of Tirupati. Their spiritual guru is the head of the Ramachandrapuram math. A man cannot marry within his own gotra or family. They have the ordinary system of inheritance through males. Girls must be married before puberty, and the dhare form of marriage (see Bant) is used. The marriage of widows is not permitted, and divorce is allowed only in the case of women who have proved unchaste. The dead are either cremated, or buried in a recumbent posture. Brahmans officiate as their priests. The use of spirituous liquors, and flesh and fish is permitted. Bell-metal is largely used for making household utensils, such as lamps, goglets, basins, jugs, etc. The process of manufacturing these articles is as follows. The moulds are made of clay, dried and coated with wax to the thickness of the articles required, and left to dry again, a hole being made in them so as to allow the wax to flow out when heated. After this has been done, the molten metal is poured in. The moulds are then broken, and the articles taken out and polished."

Kandappan.--A sub-division of Occhan.

Kandulu (dal: Cajanus indicus).--An exogamous sept of Yerukala. Kandikattu (dal soup) occurs as an exogamous sept of Medara.

Kangara.--The word Kangara means servant, and the Kangaras (or Khongars) were originally village watchmen in the Vizagapatam Agency tracts, corresponding to the Kavalgars of the Tamil country. They are described as follows by Lieutenant J. Macdonald Smith, who was Assistant Agent to the Governor in Jeypore in the sixties of the last century. "A Khongar, it seems, is nothing but a Kavilgar or village watchman. That these people, in many parts of India, are little better than a community of thieves, is pretty well known, and what was the true nature of the system in Jeypore was very clearly brought to light in a case which was committed to my Court. It was simply this. Before we entered the country, the entire police and magisterial authority of a taluk was lodged in the revenue ameen or renter. Whenever a theft occurred, and the property was of sufficient importance to warrant the trouble and expense, the traveller or householder, as the case might be, resorted at once to the ameen, who (if sufficiently fed by the complainant) forthwith sent for the Head Khongar of the quarter, and desired him to recover the goods, whatever they might be. The Khongar generally knows very well where to lay his hand on the property, and would come back with such portion of it as the urgency of the ameen's order seemed to require, while the zeal of that functionary of course varied in each case, according to the extent of the gratification the complainant seemed disposed to give. This is the Khongar system of Jeypore in its length and breadth, as proved at the trial referred to. Wherever a taluk is taken up by the Police, the system of course falls down of itself. As for the Khongars, they willingly enlist in our village constabulary, and are proving themselves both intelligent and fearless." The Meriah Officers (1845-61) remarked that the former Rajas of Jeypore, and their subordinate chiefs, retained in their service great numbers of professional robbers, called Khongars, whom they employed within the Jeypore country, and in the plains, on expeditions of rapine and bloodshed.

The Khongars were generally Paidis by caste, and their descendants are even now the most notorious among the dacoits of the Vizagapatam district. Their methods are thus described in the Gazetteer of the Vizagapatam district (1907). "Like the Konda Doras, they have induced some of the people to employ watchmen of their caste as the price of immunity from theft. They are connected with the Dombus of the Rayagada and Gunupur taluks, who are even worse. These people dacoit houses at night in armed gangs of fifty or more, with their faces blackened to prevent recognition. Terrifying the villagers into staying quiet in their huts, they force their way into the house of some wealthy person (for choice the local Sondi, liquor-seller and sowcar [89]--usually the only man worth looting in an Agency village, and a shark who gets little pity from his neighbours when forced to disgorge), tie up the men, rape the women, and go off with everything of value. Their favourite method of extracting information regarding concealed property is to sprinkle the house-owner with boiling oil."

Kangayan.--A division of Idaiyans settled in Travancore.

Kaniala (land-owners).--A sub-division of Vellala.

Kanigiri (a hill in the Nellore district).--An exogamous sept of Medara.

Kanikar.--The Kanikars, who are commonly known as Kanis, are a jungle tribe inhabiting the mountains of South Travancore. Till recently they were in the habit of sending all their women into the seclusion of the dense jungle on the arrival of a stranger near their settlements. But this is now seldom done, and some Kanikars have in modern times settled in the vicinity of towns, and become domesticated. The primitive short, dark-skinned and platyrhine type, though surviving, has become changed as the result of contact metamorphosis, and many leptorhine or mesorhine individuals above middle height are to be met with.

==============+=======================+======================
| Stature. | Nasal index.
==============+=======+=======+=======+=======+=======+======
| AV. | MAX. | MIN. | AV. | MAX. | MIN.
| | | | | |
Jungle | 155.2 | 170.3 | 150.2 | 84.6 | 105 | 72.3
Domesticated | 158.7 | 170.4 | 148 | 81.2 | 90.5 | 70.8
==============+=======+=======+=======+=======+=======+======

The Kanikars are said to be characterised by a high standard of honour, and to be straightforward, honest and truthful. They are good trackers and fond of sport, and in clearing forest paths they have hardly any equals. Their help and guidance are sought by, and willingly given to any person who may have to travel through the forests.

The jungle Kanikars have no permanent abode, but shift about from one part of the forest to another. Their settlements, composed of lowly huts built of bamboo and reeds, are abandoned when they suffer from fever, or are harassed by wild beasts, or when the soil ceases to be productive. The settlements are generally situated, away from the tracks of elephants, on steep hill slopes, which are terraced and planted with useful trees. In their system of cultivation the Kanikars first clear a patch of forest, and then set fire to it. The ground is sown with hardly any previous tillage. When, after two or three years, the land diminishes in productiveness, they move onto another part of the forest, and follow the same rough and ready method of cultivation. Thus one patch of ground after another is used for agricultural purposes, until a whole tract of forest is cleared. But the Kanikars have now to a large extent abandoned this kind of migratory cultivation, because, according to the forest rules, forests may not be set fire to or trees felled at the unrestricted pleasure of individuals. They cultivate various kinds of cereals and pulses, as well as tapioca (Manihot utilissima), sweet potatoes (Ipomoea batatas), ganja (Indian hemp), and tobacco. Each settlement now has a forest block assigned to it for cultivation, with which other tribes are not allowed to interfere, and wherein the Kanikars are allowed to fell, clear, and grow their crops. They do not pay anything in the way of tax to the Government. Once a year they go in a group to visit the Maharaja at Trivandrum, and he "always receives them most kindly, accepting the nuzzur they offer in the shape of the bamboo plantain with large though few fruits, a parcel of Muttucheri hill rice, bamboo joints containing different varieties of honey, and virukachattam or a parcel of civet. The customary modes of court address, and the prescribed court etiquette are alike unknown to them, and the Maharaja, pleased with their simplicity and unaffected homage, rewards them with presents of cloth, money, salt, and tobacco, with which they return satisfied to their jungle home." The Rev. S. Mateer notes that he had difficulty in persuading the Kanikars to part with a sucker of the bamboo plantain, as they fancied it must be reserved for the use of the Maharaja alone.

Some Kanikars are engaged as coolies on planters' estates, or in felling timber and cutting bamboos for contractors, others in the manufacture of bows and arrows with blunt or barbed iron heads. Heated arrows are used by them, for hitting elephants which invade their sugar-cane or other crop, from the safe protection of a hut built on a platform of sticks in tall trees of branches or bamboo covered with leaves of Ochlandra Travancorica or other large leaves. In connection with these huts, which are called anamadam (elephant huts), it has been said that "the hills abound with game. 'Bison' (Bos gaurus), bears, and sambar (Cervus unicolor) are frequently met with, while elephants and tigers are so numerous that the Kanikars are in some parts compelled to build their houses high up in trees. These primitive houses are quickly and easily constructed. The walls are made of bamboo, and the roof is thatched with jungle leaves. They are generally built about fifty feet above the ground, and are securely fastened to the branches of a substantial tree, and a crude ladder of bamboo connects them with the ground. When all the inmates are safely housed for the night, the ladder is removed aloft out of the reach of elephants, who, mischievously inclined, might remove the obstruction, and leave the Kanikars to regain terra firma the best way they could." Sometimes a single bamboo, with the shoots on the sides cut short, does duty for a ladder. It has been said that, when the crops are ripening, the Kanikar watchmen are always at home in their arboreal houses, with their bows and arrows, and chanting their wild songs. Sometimes the blunt end of an arrow is used as a twirling stick in making fire by friction, for which purpose sticks made of Grewia tilioefolia, etc., are also used. In making fire, the Kanikars "procure two pieces of wood, one of which is soft, and contains a small hole or hollow about half an inch deep to receive the end of the other, which is a hard round stick about eighteen inches long, and as thick as an ordinary ruler. The Kanikar takes this stick between the palms of his hands, keeping it in a vertical position, with the end of it in the hollow referred to, and produces a quick rotary and reverse motion, and with slight pressure causes the friction necessary to produce a quantity of fluff, which soon ignites."

The Kanikars are employed by the Government to collect honey, wax, ginger, cardamoms, dammar, and elephant tusks, in return for a small remuneration known as kutivaram. Other occupations are trapping, capturing or killing elephants, tigers, and wild pigs, and making wicker-work articles of bamboo or rattan. The Rev. S. Mateer mentions having seen a wicker bridge, perhaps a hundred feet long, over which a pony could pass. A tiger trap is said to be a huge affair made of strong wooden bars, with a partition at one end for a live goat as bait. The timbers thereof are supported by a spring, which, on a wild beast entering, lets fall a crushing weight on it.

The Kanikars wander all over the hills in search of honey, and a resident in Travancore writes that "I have seen a high rugged rock, only accessible on one side, the other side being a sheer precipice of several hundred feet, and in its deep crevices scores of bees' nests. Some of them have been there for generations, and the Kanikars perform periodically most daring feats in endeavouring to secure at least a portion of the honey. On this precipice I have seen overhanging and fluttering in the breeze a rattan rope, made in rings and strongly linked together, the whole forming a rope ladder several hundred feet long, and securely fastened to a tree at the top of the precipice. Only a short time ago these people made one of their usual raids on the 'honey rock.' One of the tribe descended the rope ladder for a considerable distance, with a basket fastened to his back to receive the honey, and carrying with him torch-wood with which to smoke the bees out of the nests. Having arrived at his goal two hundred feet from the top, and over three hundred feet from the ground below, he ignited the torch, and, after the usual smoking process, which took some little time to perform, the bees made a hurried exit from the nests, and the Kanikar began the work of destruction, and with every movement the man and the ladder swayed to and fro, as if the whole thing would collapse at any moment. However, all was safe, and, after securing as much honey as he could conveniently carry, he began the return journey. Hand and foot he went up ring after ring until he reached the top in safety, performing the ascent with an air of nonchalant ease, which would have done credit to any steeple jack." The honey is brought for sale in hollow bamboo joints.

Sometimes Kanikars come into Trivandrum, bringing with them live animals for the zoological gardens.

The word Kanikaran means a hereditary proprietor of land. There is a tradition that there were once two hill kings, Sri Rangan and Virappan, whose descendants emigrated from the Pandyan territories beyond Agastyakutam under pressure from a superior force, and never returned to the low country. The following legend is current among the Kanikars. "The sea originally covered everything, but God caused the water to roll back, and leave bare all the hills. Then Parameswara and Parvati made a man and woman, whose descendants were divided into fifty-six races, and multiplied exceedingly, so that a sore famine invaded the land. In those days men were hunters, and lived by snaring animals and plucking wild fruits off the trees. There was no corn, for men did not know how to sow rice, and cultivate it. The cry of the famine-stricken reached Parameswara and Parvati, and they visited the earth in the form of a pair of hamsam (the bird which carries Brahma), and alighted on a kanjiram tree. While seated there, the god and goddess noticed a pair of dragon-flies, which paired together, and they too, their hearts swelling with love, embraced each other, and, taking pity on mankind, willed that a field of rice should sprout on the low-lying land near the sea-shore. The Paraiyans and Pulayans, who witnessed the rice growing, were the first to taste of the crop, and became prosperous. This was in Malabar, or the far north of Travancore. The Maharaja, hearing of the new grain, sent seven green parrots to go On a journey of discovery, and they returned with seven ears of rice. These the Maharaja placed in a granary, and gave some to the Paraiyans to sow, and the grain miraculously increased. But the Maharaja wanted to know how it was to be cooked. The parrots were accordingly once more brought into requisition, and they flew away, and brought back eighteen varieties of cooked rice which a Paraiyan's wife had prepared. Then the Maharaja, having got some rice prepared by his cooks, fell to and eat heartily. After eating, he went into the yard to wash his hands, and, before drying them on a cloth, wrung his right hand to get the last drops of water off. A valuable gold ring with three stones fell therefrom, and, burying itself in the dust, was never recovered. The Maharaja was sore distressed by his loss, but, Parameswara, as some recompense, caused to grow from the ground where the ring fell three trees which are very valuable in Travancore, and which, by the sale of their produce, would make the Maharaja wealthy and prosperous. The trees were the dammar tree, the resinous gum of which is useful in religious ceremonies, the sandal-wood tree so widely used for its perfume, and lastly the bamboo, which is so useful and necessary to the well-being of the Kanikars."

The sub-divisions among the Kanikars are known as illams or families, of which five are said to be endogamous, and five exogamous. The former are called Machchampi or brother-in-law illams, and the latter Annantampi or brother illams. They are named after mountains (e.g., Palamala, Talamala), places (e.g., Vellanat), etc. The Kanikars who live south of the Kodayar river cannot marry those living north of it, the river forming a marital boundary.

Among the names of Kanikars are Parapan (broad-faced), Chanthiran (moon), Marthandan (sun), Muntan (dwarf), Kaliyan (little Kali), Madan (a deity), Nili (blue) and Karumpi (black). The first name is sometimes that of the settlement in which they live. For example, the various Mullans are known as Kuzhumbi Mullan, Anaimalai Mullan, Chembilakayam Mullan, etc.

The Kanikars live together in small communities under a Muttakani or headman, who wields considerable influence over them, and enjoys various perquisites. He presides over tribal council meetings, at which all social questions are discussed and settled, and fixes the time for clearing the jungle, sowing the seed, gathering the harvest, worshipping the gods, etc. Fines which are inflicted are spent in propitiating the gods.

The language of the Kanikars is a dialect of Malayalam, with a large admixture of Tamil, which they call Malampashai or language of the hills.

The system of inheritance among those who live in the hills is makkathayam (from father to son). But a moiety of the personal property goes to the nephews. With those who live in the plains, an equal distribution of their self-acquired property is made between the sons and nephews. If there are no sons, the nephews inherit the property, the widow being entitled to maintenance.

The chief object of worship is said to be Sasthan, a forest god. But the Kanikars also make offerings to a variety of deities, including Amman, Poothathan, Vetikad Pootham, Vadamala Poothathan, and Amcala. They have, it has been said, "certain spots, trees or rocks, where their relations or friends have met with some unusual good luck or calamity, where they generally offer their prayers. Here they periodically assemble, and pray that the catastrophe that had befallen a comrade may not fall on them, or that the blessings which another had received may be showered on them." Generally in February a festival called kodai is held, whereat the Kanikars assemble. Goats and fowls are sacrificed, and the pujari (priest) offers boiled rice and meat to the sylvan deities in a consecrated place. The festival, to which many come from the low country, winds up with drinking and dancing. The Kanikar musical instruments include a reed flute or clarionet, and men dance to the music, while the women clap their hands in time with it. The Kanikars worship their gods twice a year, in the months of Minam and Kanni. On the morning of the celebration, every family takes rice and plantains to the dwelling of the headman. With the exception of a small quantity which is set aside, the rice is husked and ground to flour by boys or men, after bathing and washing their hands and feet. The rice is taken to a clearing in the fields, whither a Kanikar who knows how to invoke the deity comes after bathing. He lays out a row of plantain leaves, and spreads on each leaf a little rice, on which plantains are laid. These are covered over with a plantain leaf, on which rice is sprinkled. The officiating Kanikar then burns incense, carries it round the trophy, and places it in front thereof. All do obeisance by raising their hands to their foreheads, and pray for a fruitful harvest. Sometimes the officiating Kanikar becomes inspired like a Velichapad, and gives expression to oracular utterances. At the close of the ceremony, a distribution of the rice and plantains takes place. When the land is to be cleared for cultivation, the headman is invited to attend, and some rice and cocoanuts are presented to him, which he offers up, and clears a small portion with his own hand. On the first appearance of the ears of grain, the Kanikars spend two nights in drumming, singing, and repeating mantrams at the field, and put up a tattu or platform on four sticks as a shrine for the spirits, to whom they offer raw rice, tender cocoanuts, flowers, etc. At harvest time rice, plantains, sweetmeats, and flowers are offered to the various hill demons, Purcha Mallan Pey, the cat giant, Athirakodi Pey, the boundary flag demon, and others.

For the following note on a Kanikar harvest festival I am indebted to an article by Mr. A. P. Smith. [90] It was performed in propitiation of the Baradevata, or household gods of a house in the neighbourhood, the presiding deity being Madan. The ceremony is commonly called the feeding ceremony, and should be carried out just before the harvesting of the grain commences. "The officiating Kani is generally an elderly and influential man, who professes inspiration and knowledge obtained when asleep. The articles necessary to perform the ceremony are called Paduka or sacrifice, and Ashtamangalyam. Paduka is for the adult gods or manes, male or female, called Chava, and Ashtamangalyam is for the virgins who have died, called Kanyakas. A temporary pavilion or pandal had been erected in front of the house, and from the canopy long streamers of tender cocoanut leaves, bunches of plantains, and tender cocoanuts, with their husk on, were hung. Branches of areca nuts and flowers adorned the posts and pillars. Small heaps, consisting of boiled rice, paddy, a tender cocoanut, a sprig of areca flowers, and betel were placed on plantain leaves in seven definite spots. The officiating Kanikar, after formally getting the permission of the assembled spectators, and especially of one who subsequently appeared on the scene as the chief dancer, began a monotonous chant in what appeared to be a mixed language. It was understood to be a history of the beginning of earthly kings, a record of the life and doings of departed souls, whose protection was prayed for, and a prayer for the souls of those persons for whose benefit the ceremony of propitiation was in progress. Now and again the feelings of the narrator or singer would overcome him, and he would indulge in a shout or in emphatic gesticulations. This went on for about three or four hours, punctuated at intervals by the firing of petards or old smooth-bore guns, and the shrill cries of the women. Before the chanting terminated, a large heap of the red flowers of Ixora coccinea (thetti pu), about a yard square at the base, had been raised in the centre of the pandal, and it was prettily picked out with areca flowers in artistic designs. The horrible sound of a human voice roaring like a wild beast aroused every one to a sense of activity. From behind the hut came the man already mentioned, very primitively clothed, his hair hanging loose, his eyes staring, and what appeared like foam at his mouth. He would stand, run short distances, leap, sit, agitate his body, and dance, keeping step to the rhythmic and muffled beating of the drum. This he did for ten minutes or so. Suddenly, with a shout, he dived into the hut specially set apart as the feeding place of the god Madan, and presently appeared with two long sticks adorned at their ends with bells, which emitted a jingling sound. The frenzy of motion, ecstatic, unregulated and ungovernable, was apparently infectious, for a young man, hitherto a silent spectator of the scene, gave a shout, and began to dance wildly, throwing up his arms, and stepping out quite actively. This encouragement stimulated the original performer, and he caught a man standing near by the neck, thrust the stick with the bells into his hand, and he thereupon started dancing as well. In about ten minutes there were some half a dozen wild dancing dervishes, shouting, gesticulating, revolving, and most certainly in an abnormal state of excitement. A dying but still glowing heap of fire and ashes became the centre of attraction, for the chief dancer danced over the fire, and sent the sparks flying, and scattered the wood, and evoked the admiration and eulogies of the crowd. Streaming with perspiration, spotted with ashes, wild, dishevelled and exhausted, the chief dancing demoniac stepped under the pandal, and finally sat himself before the heap of red flowers, and tossed the blossoms over his head in a kind of shower bath. He was assisted in this by the old Kanikar and other bystanders. A little boy was brought before him, and he called the lad by a name. This was his christening ceremony, for the lad assumed the name from that time. The chief dancer then stood up, and appeared to be still in a possessed state. A fine old rooster was brought, and its throat cut. It was then handed to the dancer, who applied his lips to the gaping wound, and drained the blood, swallowing the fluid audibly. Before relinquishing his hold of the bird, he swayed and fell on the ground in what seemed to be a swoon. This indicated that the sacrifice had been acceptable, that the propitiation was perfected, and that all the wishes of the persons interested in them would be granted. The crowd then set to eating and drinking the sacrificial elements, and dispersed."

Both adult and infant marriage are practiced. Those who had married 'infants,' on being questioned, stated that this is the safest course, as grown-up brides sometimes run away to their parents' house, whereas younger girls get accustomed to their husbands' home. On a fixed day, within a month of the marriage ceremony, four Kanikars, accompanied by a boy carrying betel leaves and areca nuts, go to the home of the future bride, and present them to the families of the settlement. On the wedding morning, all assemble at a pandal (booth), and the bridegroom distributes pan-supari (betel leaf and areca nuts). His sister then brings forward the bride, and the bridegroom presents her with a cloth, which she puts on. Bride, bridegroom, and a young boy, then stand on a mat beneath the pandal, and the bridegroom ties the minnu (marriage badge) round the neck of the bride if she is an infant. If she is an adult, he places the minnu in front of her neck, on which it is tied by his sister. A plantain leaf is then placed in front of the bridal couple, and curry and rice served thereon by their mothers. The two women then take hold of the bride's head, and press it seven times towards her husband's shoulders. This ceremony concluded, the young boy takes a small quantity of the curry and rice, and puts it in the mouth of the bridegroom seven times. The bridegroom's younger brother then gives a morsel to the bride. The ceremonial terminates with a feast. The dowry includes billhooks, brass vessels, choppers, grain, and pulses. The headman, according to Mateer, offers some advice to the husband concerning the management of his wife. The heads of his discourse are arranged under the following heads:--teaching by words, pinching, and blows, and casting the woman away at last, if she is not obedient. In the remarriage of widows, the bridegroom simply gives the woman a pair of cloths, and, with the consent of the male members of her family, takes her to his home.

During the seventh month of pregnancy, a woman has to perform a ceremony called vaguthu pongal. Seven pots are placed on seven hearths, and, when the rice placed therein has boiled, the woman salutes it, and all present partake thereof. According to Mateer "the ceremony practised on the occasion of pregnancy is called vayaru pongal, when boiled rice is offered to the sun. First they mould an image of Ganesha, and, setting it in a suitable place, boil the rice. To this they add for an offering aval or flattened rice, parched rice, cakes, plantain fruits, young cocoanuts, and tender leaves of the same palm, with the flowers of the areca palm. The headman then commences dancing, and repeating mantrams. He waves the offerings to the sun. On first giving rice to a child, a feast is held, and an offering presented to the jungle demons."

Concerning the death ceremonies, Mateer writes that "when any one is taken ill, the headman is at once consulted. He visits the sick person, and orders two drumming and singing ceremonies to be performed. A whole night is spent in dancing, singing, drumming, and prayers for the recovery of the patient. The offerings consist of tapioca, flour and cocoanuts, and other articles. After some time the headman, with manifestations of demoniac possession, reveals whether the sufferer will die or not. If the former, he repeats a mantram (kudumi vettu mantram, or formula on cutting off the top-knot), and cuts off the sick man's kudumi. This being a sign of approaching death, the relatives and others pay their last visits to the sick. After death, a mixture of ganja (Indian hemp), raw rice, and cocoanut, is put into the mouth of the corpse by the son and nephews, and it is buried at some distance from their abode, mantrams being repeated over it. Occasionally the corpse is cremated. The relatives bathe before returning home, and cannot take any of the produce of their lands till the death pollution is removed, fearing that wild beasts will attack them or destroy their crops. To this end a small shed is built outside their clearing on the third day. Three measures of rice are boiled, and placed in a cup or on a plantain leaf inside the shed. Then all bathe, and return home. On the seventh day all this is repeated, the old shed being pulled down, and a new one put up. On returning to their dwelling, they sprinkle cow-dung on their houses and in the yard, which finally removes the defilement. People in better circumstances make a feast of curry and rice for all present." The cow-dung is sprinkled with leafy twigs of the mango or jak tree, or flower stalks of the areca palm. The ashes, after cremation, are said to be collected in a pot or leaf, and thrown into the nearest stream or river. An annual ceremony, in commemoration of ancestors, is held, at which rice is boiled and offered up.

The Kanikars, like the Irulas and Yanadis of the Tamil and Telugu countries, do not belong to the polluting classes. Pulayans, Kuruvans, and Vedans are not allowed to approach them.

The dietary of the jungle Kanikars includes wild pigs, deer, porcupines, hares, monkeys, fowls, sheep and goats, parakeets, doves, tortoises, fish, crabs, peacocks, tigers (said to taste like black monkey), owls, squirrels and field rats, in addition to many vegetable products of the forest. They will not eat beef or the flesh of 'bison.'

Some Kanikars are tattooed on the forehead with a crescent and dot, or a vertical stripe. The Kanikars say that their ancestors wore a garment made of jungle fibre, which has been replaced by a cotton loin-cloth. "Both men and women," Mr. M. Ratnaswami Aiyar writes, "wear on the neck numerous strings of red beads and rings made of shells, which hang down to the abdomen in the case of the women. The men wear ear-rings of brass or silver. The women wear bangles of brass and iron, and a number of brass rings on the fingers. The men bear suspended from one of their shoulders a cloth bag containing two or more partitions, in which they keep their vilangupetti or box containing betel, tobacco, and chunam. They carry, too, suspended from the shoulder, a cane basket wherein they place their day's crop of grain or roots, or any other food obtained by them. They attach to their waist-string or cloth a billhook and knife, and carry their bows and arrows slung on their shoulders. Whenever the Kanikars from the different kanis or settlements have to be gathered together for a common meeting, or for going together elsewhere on a common purpose, a messenger amongst them carries from one kani to another the message with a knot of fibres of creepers, which serves as a symbol of call. The knotted fibre is passed on from one kani to another till the required assembly is secured. It is thus that I secured my Kanikars to present them to their Excellencies Lord and Lady Curzon."

For most of the information contained in this article I am indebted to Mateer's 'Native Life in Travancore,' an article by Mr. Ratnaswami Aiyar, [91] and notes by Mr. N. Subrahmani Aiyar.

Kani Kuruppu.--Barbers of the Kaniyans.

Kani Razu.--A name, denoting fortune-telling Razus, sometimes used as a synonym by Bhatrazus, in whose songs it occurs. The name Kani-vandlu, or fortune-tellers, occurs as a synonym of Yerukala.

Kaniyan.--Kaniyan, spelt and pronounced Kanisan in Malabar, is a Malayalam corruption of the Sanskrit Ganika, meaning an astrologer. The word was originally Kani, in which form it invariably appears in Malayalam works and Tamil documents. The honorific suffix 'an' has been added subsequently.

The two titles, generally applied to Kaniyans, are Panikkar and Asan. The former is said to be a common title in Malabar, but in Travancore it seems to be restricted to the north. The word Panikkar comes from pani, or work, viz., that of military training. The fact that most of the families, who own this title at present, were once teachers of bodily exercises, is evident not only from the name kalari, literally a military school, by which their houses are usually known, but also from the Keralolpatti, which assigns military training as a duty of the caste. Asan, a corruption of the Sanskrit Acharya, is a common title among Kaniyans in South Travancore. Special titles, such as Anantapadmanabham, Sivasankaran, and Sankili, are said to be possessed by certain families in the south, having been conferred on them by kings in olden times. Some Kaniyans in the north enjoy the surname of Nampikuruppu.

Kaniyans are divided into two endogamous sections, viz., Kaniyar and Tinta (or polluting). The occupations of the latter are umbrella-making and spirit-exorcising, while the others remain astrologers, pure and simple. A few families, living at Alengad, are called Vattakan Kaniyans, and are believed to have come there on the eve of Tipu Sultan's invasion. The women of the Kaniyans proper do not eat with them. According to tradition, eight sub-septs are said to have existed among the Kaniyans, four of which were known as kiriyams, and four as illams. The names of the former are Annavikkannam, Karivattam, Kutappilla, and Nanna; of the latter Pampara, Tachchazham, Netumkanam, and Ayyarkala. These divisions were once endogamous, but this distinction has now disappeared.