Chapter VI: Part 6

Nambiyassan.--A division of the Ambalavasis. It is noted, in the Travancore Census Report, 1901, that "the Nampiassans, otherwise called Nampiyars or Nampis, have at present no temple service of any kind. They keep gymnasia or schools of training suited to the Indian system of warfare. They were the gurus (preceptors) of the fighting Nayars. They seem, however, at one time to have followed the profession of garland-making in temples. It is still the occupation of many Nampiassans in Cochin and British Malabar." In the Cochin Census Report, 1901, it is stated that Nambiyar is rather a misleading title, as it is applied to more than one class of people. Some Nayars are known by that title. In some places, Muthads and Elayads are also called Nambiyars. Chakkiyar Nambiyars beat a drum of a peculiar shape at intervals during the discourses or acting of the Chakkiyars, while their females, called Nangiyars, keep time. The Nangiyars also assume the figure of mythical characters, and perform a sort of pantomime on the Chakkiyar's stage. (See Unni.)

Nambiyatiri (a person worthy of worship).--A synonym of Elayad.

Nambutiri Brahman. [87]--The name Nambutiri has been variously derived. The least objectionable origin seems to be nambu (sacred or trustworthy) and tiri (a light). The latter occurs as an honorific suffix among Malabar Brahmans, and other castes above the Nayars. The Nambutiris form the socio-spiritual aristocracy of Malabar, and, as the traditional landlords of Parasu Rama's land, they are everywhere held in great reverence.

A Nambutiri, when questioned about the past, refers to the Keralolpatti. The Nambutiris and their organization according to gramams owe their origin in legend, so far as Malabar is concerned, to Parasu Rama. Parasu Rama (Rama of the axe), an incarnation of Vishnu, had, according to the puranic story, slain his mother in a fit of wrath, and was advised by the sages to expiate his sin by extirpating the Kshatriyas twenty-one times. He did so, and handed over the land to the sages. But this annoyed the Brahmans exceedingly, for they got no share in the arrangement; so they banished Parasu Rama from the land. By the performance of austerities he gained from the gods the boon to reclaim some land from Varuna, the sea god. Malabar was then non-existent. He was allowed to throw his axe from Cape Comorin, and possess all the land within the distance of his throw. So he threw his axe as far as Gokarnam in the South Canara district, and immediately there was land between these two places, within the direct line and the western ghats, now consisting of Travancore and Cochin, Malabar, and part of South Canara. To this land he gave the name Karma Bhumi, or the country in which salvation or the reverse depends altogether on man's individual actions, and blessed it that there be plenty of rain and no famine in it. But he was alone. To relieve his loneliness, he brought some Brahmans from the banks of the Krishna river, but they did not remain long, for they were frightened by the snakes. Then he brought some Brahmans from the north, and, lest they too should flee, gave them peculiar customs, and located them in sixty-four gramams. He told them also to follow the marumakkattayam law of succession (in the female line), but only a few, the Nambutiris of Payyanur, obeyed him. The Brahmans ruled the land with severity, so that the people (who had somehow come into existence) resolved to have a king under whom they could live in peace. And, as it was impossible to choose one among themselves, they chose Keya Perumal, who was the first king of Malabar, and Malabar was called Keralam after him. The truths underlying this legend are that the littoral strip between the western ghats and the sea is certainly of recent formation geologically. It is not very long, geologically, since it was under the sea, and it is certain that the Nambutiris came from the north. The capital of the Chera kingdom was very probably on the west coast not far from Cranganore in the Travancore State, the site of it being now called Tiruvanjikkulam. There is still a Siva temple there, and about a quarter of a mile to the south-west of it are the foundations of the old palace. The rainfall of Malabar is very high, ranging from 300 inches in the hills to about 120 inches on the coast.

"It is said that Parasu Rama ruled that all Nambudri women should carry with them an umbrella whenever they go out, to prevent their being seen by those of the male sex, that a Nayar woman called a Vrishali should invariably precede them, that they should be covered with a cloth from neck to foot, and that they should not wear jewels. These women are therefore always attended by a Nayar woman in their outdoor movements, and they go sheltering their faces from public gaze with a cadjan (palm leaf) umbrella." [88]

The Keralolpatti relates the story of the exclusion of the Panniyur Brahmans from the Vedas. There were in the beginning two religious factions among the Nambutiris, the Vaishnavas or worshippers of Vishnu in his incarnation as a boar, and the Saivas; the former residing in Panniyur (boar village), and the latter in Chovur (Siva's village). The Saivas gained the upper hand, and, completely dominating the others, excluded them altogether from the Vedas. So now the Nambutiris of Panniyur are said to be prohibited from studying the Vedas. It is said, however, that this prohibition is not observed, and that, as a matter of fact, the Panniyur Nambutiris perform all the Vedic ceremonies.

"Tradition," Mr. N. Subramani Aiyar writes, "as recorded in the Keralamahatmiya, traces the Nambutiris to Ahikshetra, whence Parasu Rama invited Brahmans to settle in his newly reclaimed territory. In view to preventing the invited settlers from relinquishing it, he is said to have introduced, on the advice of the sage Narada, certain deep and distinctive changes in their personal, domestic, and communal institutions. The banks of the Nerbudda, the Krishna, and the Kaveri are believed to have given Brahmans to Malabar. I have come across Nambutiris who have referred to traditions in their families regarding villages on the east coast whence their ancestors originally came, and the sub-divisions of the Smarta caste, Vadama, Brihatcharanam, Ashtasahasram, Sanketi, etc., to which they belonged. Even to this day, an east coast Brahman of the Vadadesattu Vadama caste has to pour water into the hands of a Nambutiri Sanyasi as part of the latter's breakfast ritual. Broach in Kathiwar, one of the greatest emporiums of trade in the middle ages, is also mentioned as one of the ancient recruiting districts of the Nambutiri Brahmans. Broach was the ancient Bhrigucachchha, where Parasu Rama made his avabhritasnana (final bathing) after his great triumph over the Kshatriyas, and where to this day a set of people called Bhargava Brahmans live. Their comparatively low social status is ascribed to the original sin of their Brahman progenitor or founder having taken to the profession of arms. The date of the first settlement of the Nambutiris is not known. Orthodox tradition would place it in the Tretayuga, or the second great Hindu cycle. The reference to the gramams of Chovvur and Panniyur contained in the Manigramam Syrian Christian grant of the eighth century, and its absence in the Jewish, have suggested to antiquarians some time between the seventh and eighth centuries as the probable period. The writings of Ptolemy and the Periplus furnish evidence of Brahman settlements on the Malabar coast as early as the first century, and it is probable that immigrant Brahman families began to pour in with the ascendancy of the Western Chalukya kings in the fourth and fifth centuries, and became gradually welded with the pre-existing Nambutiris. All these Nambutiris were grouped under two great sections:--(a) the Vaishnavites or Panniyur Gramakkar, who came with the patronage of the Vaishnavites of the Chalukya dynasty with the boar as their royal emblem; (b) the Saivites or Chovvur Gramakkar, who readily accepted the Saivite teachings from the Chera, Chola, and Pandya kings who followed the Chalukyans. They included in all sixty-four gramams, which, in many cases, were only families. Of these, not more than ten belong to modern Travancore. These gramams constituted a regular autocracy, with four talis or administrative bodies having their head-quarters at Cranganore. It appears that a Raja or Perumal, as he was called, from the adjoining Chera kingdom, including the present districts of Salem and Coimbatore, was, as an improved arrangement, invited to rule for a duodecennial period, and was afterwards confirmed, whether by the lapse of time or by a formal act of the Brahman owners it is not known. The Chera Viceroys, by virtue of their isolation from their own fatherland, had then to arrange for marital alliances being made, as best they could, with the highest indigenous caste, the Nambutiris, the males consorting with Sudra women. The matriarchal form of inheritance was thus a necessary consequence. Certain tracts of Kerala, however, continued under direct Brahman sovereignty, of which the Ettappalli chief is almost the only surviving representative."

Writing in the eighteenth century, Hamilton observes [89] that "the Nambouries are the first in both capacities of Church and State, and some of them are Popes, being Sovereign Princes in both." Unlike the Brahmans of the remainder of the Madras Presidency, who so largely absorb all appointments worth having under Government, who engage in trade, in, one may say, every profitable profession and business, the Nambutiris hold almost entirely aloof from what the poet Gray calls "the busy world's ignoble strife," and, more than any class of Brahmans, retain their sacerdotal position, which is of course the highest. They are for the most part landholders. A very large portion of Malabar is owned by Nambutiris, especially in Walluvanad, most of which taluk is the property of Nambutiris. They are the aristocracy of the land, marked most impressively by two characteristics, exclusiveness and simplicity. Now and then a Nambutiri journeys to Benares, but, as a rule, he stays at home. Their simplicity is really proverbial, [90] and they have not been influenced by contact with the English. This contact, which has influenced every other caste or race, has left the Nambutiri just where he was before the English knew India. He is perhaps, as his measurements seem to prove, the truest Aryan in Southern India, and not only physically, but in his customs, habits, and ceremonies, which are so welded into him that forsake them he cannot if he would. It is noted, in the Gazetteer of Malabar, that "as a class, the Nambudiris may be described as less affected than any other caste, except the very lowest, by western influences of whatever nature. One Nambudiri is known to have accepted a clerical post in Government service; a good many are Adhigaris (village headmen), and one member of the caste possesses a Tile-works and is partner in a Cotton-mill. The bicycle now claims several votaries among the caste, and photography at least one other. But these are exceptions, and exceptions which, unimportant as they may seem to any one unacquainted with the remarkable conservatism of the caste, would certainly have caused considerable surprise to the author of the first Malabar Manual."

Concerning the occupations of the Nambutiris, Mr. Subramani Aiyar writes that "service in temples, unless very remunerative, does not attract them. Teaching as a means of living is rank heterodoxy. And, if anywhere Manu's dictum to the Brahman 'Never serve' is strictly observed, it is in Malabar. Judging from the records left by travellers, the Nambutiris used to be selected by kings as messengers during times of war. Writing concerning them, Barbosa states that "these are the messengers who go on the road from one kingdom to another with letters and money and merchandise, because they pass in safety without any one molesting them, even though the king may be at war. These Brahmans are well read ... and possess many books, and are learned and masters of many arts; and so the kings honour them as such." As the pre-historic heirs to the entire land of Kerala, the Nambutiris live on agriculture. But inefficiency in adaptation to changing environments operates as a severe handicap in the race for progressive affluence, for which the initial equipment was exceptionally favourable. The difficulties incidental to an effete landlordism have contributed to making the Nambutiris a litigious population, and the ruinous scale of expenditure necessary for the disposal of a girl, be it of the most plebeian kind, has brought their general prosperity to a very low level. The feeling of responsible co-operation on the part of the unmarried males of a Nambutiri household in the interests of the family is fast decreasing; old maids are increasing; and the lot of the average Nambutiri man, and more especially woman, is very hard indeed. As matters now stand, the traditional hospitality of the Hindu kings of Malabar, which, fortunately for them, has not yet relaxed, is the only sustenance and support of the ordinary Nambutiri. The characteristic features of the Nambutiri are his faith in God and resignation to his will, hospitality to strangers, scrupulous veracity, punctiliousness as regards the ordinances prescribed, and extreme gentility in manners. The sustaining power of his belief in divine providence is so great, that calamities of whatsoever kind do not exasperate him unduly. The story is told with great admiration of a Nambutiri who, with his large ancestral house on fire, his only son just tumbled into a deep disused well, while his wife was expiring undelivered, quietly called out to his servant for his betel-box. Evening baths, and daily prayers at sunrise, noon and sunset, are strictly observed. A tradition, illustrative of the miracles which spiritual power can work, is often told of the islet in the Vempanat lake known as Patiramanal (midnight sand) having been conjured into existence by the Tarananallur Nambutiripad, when, during a journey to Trivandrum, it was past evening, and the prayers to Sandhya had to be made after the usual ablutions. To the lower animals, the attitude of the Nambutiri is one of child-like innocence. In his relation to man, his guilelessness is a remarkable feature. Harshness of language is unknown to the Nambutiris, and it is commonly said that the severest expression of his resentment at an insult offered is generally that he (the Nambutiri) expects the adversary to take back the insult a hundred times over. Of course, the modern Nambutiri is not the unadulterated specimen of goodness, purity, and piety that he once was. But, on the whole, the Nambutiris form an interesting community, whose existence is indeed a treasure untold to all lovers of antiquity. Their present economic condition is, however, far from re-assuring. They are no doubt the traditional owners of Kerala, and hold in their hands the janmom or proprietary interest in a large portion of Malabar. But their woeful want of accommodativeness to the altered conditions of present day life threatens to be their ruin. Their simplicity and absence of business-like habits have made them a prey to intrigue, fraudulence, and grievous neglect, and an unencumbered and well ordered estate is a rarity among Malabar Brahmans, at least in Travancore."

The orthodox view of the Nambutiri is thus stated in an official document of Travancore. "His person is holy; his directions are commands; his movements are a procession; his meal is nectar; he is the holiest of human beings; he is the representative of god on earth." It may be noted that the priest at the temple of Badrinath in Gurhwal, which is said to have been established by Sankaracharya, and at the temple at Tiruvettiyur, eight miles north of Madras, must be a Nambutiri. The birth-place of Sankara has been located in a small village named Kaladi in Travancore. It is stated by Mr. Subramani Aiyar that "at some part of his eventful life, Sankara is believed to have returned to his native village, to do the last offices to his mother. Every assistance was withdrawn, and he became so helpless that he had to throw aside the orthodox ceremonials of cremation, which he could not get his relations to help him in, made a sacrificial pit in his garden, and there consigned his mother's mortal remains. The compound (garden) can still be seen on the banks of the Periyar river on the Travancore side, with a masonry wall enclosing the crematorium, and embowered by a thick grove of trees."

Every Nambutiri is, theoretically, a life-long student of the Vedas. Some admit that religious study or exercise occupies a bare half hour in the day; others devote to these a couple of hours or more. It is certain that every Nambutiri is under close study between the ages of seven and fifteen, or for about eight years of his life, and nothing whatsoever is allowed to interfere with this. Should circumstances compel interruption of Vedic study, the whole course is, I believe, re-commenced and gone through da capo. A few years ago, a Nambutiri boy was wanted, to be informally examined in the matter of a dacoity in his father's illam; but he had to be left alone, as, among other unpleasant consequences of being treated as a witness, he would have had to begin again his whole course of Vedic study. The Nambutiris are probably more familiar with Sanskrit than any other Brahmans, even though their scholarship may not be of a high order, and certainly none other is to the same extent governed by the letter of the law handed down in Sanskrit.

As already said, the Nambutiris are for the most part landholders, or of that class. They are also temple priests. The rich have their own temples, on which they spend much money. All over Malabar there are to be seen Pattar Brahmans, wandering here and there, fed free at the illams of rich Nambutiris, or at the various kovilakams and temples. And they are always to be found at important ceremonial functions, marriage or the like, which they attend uninvited, and receive a small money present (dakshina). But the Nambutiri never goes anywhere, unless invited. From what I have seen, the presents to Brahmans on these occasions are usually given on the following scale:--eight annas to each Nambutiri, six annas to each Embrantiri, four annas to each Pattar Brahman. The Nambutiri is sometimes a money-lender.

Of the two divisions, Nambutiri and Nambutiripad, the latter are supposed to be stricter, and to rank higher than the former. Pad, meaning power or authority, is often used to all Nambutiris when addressing them. Thus, some who are called Nambutiripads may really be Nambutiris. It may not be strictly correct to divide the Nambutiris thus, for neither so-called division is separated from the other by interdiction of marriage. The class distinctions are more properly denoted the Adhyan and Asyan, of which the former is the higher. An Adhyan is never a priest; he is a being above even such functions as are sacerdotal in the temple. But there are also divisions according to the number of yagams or sacrifices performed by individuals, thus:--Somatiri or Somayaji, Akkitiri or Agnihotri, and Adittiri. A man may reach the first stage of these three, and become an Addittiripad by going through a certain ceremony. At this, three Nambutiri Vaidikars, or men well versed in the Vedas, must officiate. A square pit is made. Fire raised by friction between two pieces of pipal (Ficus religiosa) wood with a little cotton is placed in it. This fire is called aupasana. The ceremony cannot be performed until after marriage. It is only those belonging to certain gotras who may perform yagams, and, by so doing, acquire the three personal distinctions already named. Again, there are other divisions according to professions. Thus it is noted, in the Cochin Census Report, 1901, that "the Adhyans are to study the Vedas and Sastras; they are prohibited from taking parannam (literally meals belonging to another), from taking part in the funeral ceremonies of others, and from receiving presents. Those who perform the sacrifice of adhana are known as Aditiris, those who perform some yaga are called Somayagis or Chomatiris, while those who perform agni are called Agnihotris or Akkitiris. Only married men are qualified to perform the sacrifices. The Nayar is an indispensable factor in the performance of these sacrifices. The Bhattatiris are to study and teach the Sastras; the Orthikans are to teach the Vedas, and to officiate as family priests. The Vadhyans are to teach the Vedas, and to supervise the moral conduct of their pupils. The Vydikans are the highest authority to decide what does or does not constitute violation of caste rules, and to prescribe expiatory ceremonies. The Smarthas are to study the Smritis and other Sastras relating to customs, with the special object of qualifying themselves to preside over caste panchayats, or courts, and to investigate, under the orders of the sovereign, cases of conjugal infidelity arising among the Nambutiris. The rulers of Cochin and Travancore issue the writs convening the committee in the case of offences committed within their territory. The Zamorin of Calicut, and other Chiefs or Rajas, also continue to exercise the privilege of issuing such orders in regard to cases occurring in Malabar. The Tantris officiate as high priests in temples. They also practice exorcism. There are Adhyans among this class also. Having received weapons from Parasu Rama and practiced the art of war, the Sastrangakars are treated as somewhat degraded Brahmans. They are prohibited from studying the Vedas, but are entitled to muthalmura, that is, reading the Vedas, or hearing them recited once. Having had to devote their time and energy to the practice of the art of war, they could not possibly spend their time in the study of the Vedas. The Vaidyans or physicians, known as Mussads, are to study the medical science, and to practice the same. As the profession of a doctor necessitates the performance of surgical operations entailing the shedding of blood, the Mussads are also considered as slightly degraded. They too are entitled only to muthalmura. Of these, there are eight families, known as Ashta Vaidyans. The Gramanis are alleged to have suffered degradation by reason of their having, at the command of Parasu Rama, undertaken the onerous duties of protecting the Brahman villages, and having had, as Rakshapurushas or protectors, to discharge the functions assigned to Kshatriyas. Ooril Parisha Mussads are supposed to have undergone degradation on account of their having accepted from Parasu Rama the accumulated sin of having killed the warrior Kshatriyas thrice seven times, along with immense gifts in the shape of landed estates. They are not allowed to read the Vedas even once."

"There are," Mr. Subramani Aiyar writes, "five sub-divisions among the Nambutiris, which may be referred to:--

(1) Tampurakkal.--This is a corruption of the Sanskrit name Samrat, and has probable reference to temporal as much as to secular sovereignty. Of the two Tampurakkal families in South Malabar, Kalpancheri and Azhvancheri, the latter alone now remains. As spiritual Samrats (sovereigns) they are entitled to (1) bhadrasanam, or the highest position in an assembly, (2) brahmavarchasa, or authority in Vedic lore, and consequent sanctity, (3) brahmasamragyam, or lordship over Brahmans, (4) sarvamanyam, or universal acknowledgment of reverence. Once in six years, the Azhvancheri Tampurakkal is invited by the Maharaja of Travancore, who accords him the highest honours, and pays him the homage of a sashtanganamaskaram, or prostration obeisance. Even now, the Samrats form a saintly class in all Malabar. Though considered higher than all other sub-divisions of Nambutiris, they form, with the Adhyas, an endogamous community.

(2) Adhyas.--They form eight families, called Ashtadhyas, and are said by tradition to be descended from the eight sons of a great Brahman sage, who lived on the banks of the river Krishna. The fund of accumulated spirituality inherited from remote ancestors is considered to be so large that sacrifices (yagas), as well as vanaprastha and sanyasa (the two last stages of the Brahman's life), are reckoned as being supererogatory for even the last in descent. They are, however, very strict in the observance of religious ordinances, and constantly engage themselves in the reverent study of Hindu scriptures. The Tantris are Adhyas with temple administration as their specialised function. They are the constituted gurus of the temple priests, and are the final authorities in all matters of temple ritual.

(3) Visishta.--These are of two classes, Agnihotris and Bhattatiris. The former are the ritualists, and are of three kinds:--(1) Akkittiris, who have performed the agnichayanayaga, (2) Adittiris, who have done the ceremony of agniadhana, (3) Chomatiris, who have performed the soma sacrifice. The Bhattatiris are the philosophers, and are, in a spirit of judicious economy, which is the characteristic feature of all early caste proscriptions, actually prohibited from trenching on the province of the Agnihotris. They study tarkka (logic), vedanta (religious philosophy or theology), vyakarana (grammar), mimamsa (ritualism), bhatta, from which they receive their name, and prabhakara, which are the six sciences of the early Nambutiris. They were the great religious teachers of Malabar, and always had a large number of disciples about them. Under this head come the Vadyars or heads of Vedic schools, of which there are two, one at Trichur in Cochin, and the other at Tirunavai in British Malabar; the six Vaidikas or expounders of the caste canons, and the Smartas, who preside at the smartavicharams or socio-moral tribunals of Brahmanical Malabar.

(4) Samanyas.--They form the Nambutiri proletariat, from whom the study of the Vedas is all that is expected. They take up the study of mantravada (mystic enchantment), puja (temple ritual), and reciting the sacred accounts of the Avatara and astrology.

(5) Jatimatras.--The eight leading physician families of Malabar, or Ashta Vaidyas, are, by an inexcusable misuse of language, called Gatimatras or nominal Nambutiris. The class of Nambutiris called Yatrakalikkar (a corruption of Sastrakalikkar) also comes under this head. They are believed to be the Brahmans, who accepted the profession of arms from their great founder. Those that actually received the territory from the hands of Parasu Rama, called Gramani Nambutiris or Gramani Adhyas, are also Gatimatras. They were the virtual sovereigns of their respective lands. The physicians, the soldiers, and the landed kings, having other duties to perform, were not able to devote all their time to Vedic recitations. The mutalmura or first study was, of course, gone through. In course of time, this fact was unfortunately taken by the religious conscience of the people to lower the Brahmans who were deputed under the scheme of Parasu Rama for special functions in the service of the nation in the scale of Nambutiri society, and to mean a formal prohibition as of men unworthy to be engaged in Vedic study.

Papagrastas are Nambutiris, who are supposed to have questioned the divine nature of Parasu Rama, The Urilparisha Mussus, who too are Brahmans who received gifts of land from Parasu Rama, the Nambitis, the Panniyur Gramakkar, and the Payyanur Gramakkar or the Ammuvans (uncles), so called from their matriarchal system of inheritance, form other sections of Nambutiris."

It is recorded, in the Cochin Census Report, 1901, that "certain special privileges in regard to the performance of religious rites and other matters of a purely social nature serve as the best basis for a sub-division of the Nambutiris in the order of social precedence as recognised amongst themselves. For this purpose, the privileges may be grouped under two main classes, as given in the following mnemonic formula:--

A

1. Edu (the leaf of a cadjan grandha or book): the right of studying
and teaching the Vedas and Sastras.
2. Piccha (mendicancy symbolic of family priests): the right of
officiating as family priests.
3. Othu (Vedas): the right of studying the Vedas.
4. Adukala (kitchen): the right of cooking for all classes of
Brahmans.
5. Katavu (bathing place or ghat): the right of bathing in the
same bathing place with other Brahmans, or the right of
touching after bathing, without thereby disqualifying the
person touched for performing religious services.

B

1. Adu (sheep): the right of performing holy sacrifices. 2. Bhiksha (receiving alms): the right of becoming a Sanyasi. 3. Santhi (officiating as temple priests): the right of performing priestly functions in temples. 4. Arangu (stage): the right of taking part in the performance of Sastrangam Nambudris. 5. Panthi (row of eaters): the right of messing in the same row with other Brahmans.

Those who enjoy the privilege of No. 1 in A are entitled to all the privileges in A and B; those enjoying No. 2 in A have all the privileges from No. 2 downwards in A and B; those having No. 3 in A have similarly all the privileges from No. 3 downwards in A and B, and so on. Those entitled to No.1 in B have all the privileges except No. 1 in A; similarly those entitled to No. 2 in B have all the privileges from No. 2 downwards in B, but only from No. 3 downwards in A, and so on."

Among the people of good caste in Malabar, to speak of one as a hairy man is to speak of him reproachfully. Yet, putting aside Muhammadans, the highest of all, the Nambutiris are certainly the most hairy. In the young Nambutiri, the hair on the head is plentiful, glossy, and wavy. The hair is allowed to grow over an oval patch from the vertex or a little behind it to a little back from the forehead. This is the regular Malabar fashion. The hair thus grown is done into a knot hanging over the forehead or at one side according to fancy, never hanging behind. The rest of the head, and also the face is shaved. The whole body, excepting this knot and the back, is shaved periodically. Karkkadakam, Kanni, Kumbham and Dhanu are months in which shaving should be avoided as far as possible. An auspicious day is always selected by the Nambutiri for being shaved. Gingelly oil (enna) is commonly used for the hair. When a Nambutiri's wife is pregnant, he refrains from the barber, letting his hair grow as it will. And, as he may have as many as four wives, and he does not shave when any of them is in an interesting condition, he sometimes has a long beard. A marked difference observed between the Nambutiri and those allied to him, and the lower races, is this. The former have whiskers in the shape of a full growth of hair on the cheeks, while in the latter this is scanty or entirely absent. Also, while the Nambutiris have very commonly a hairy chest, the others have little or no hair on the chest. So, too, in the case of hair on the arms and legs. One Nambutiri examined had hair all over the body, except over the ribs.

In connection with a hypothesis that the Todas of the Nilgiris are an offshoot of one of the races now existing in Malabar, Dr. W. H. R. Rivers writes as follows. [91] "Of all the castes or tribes of Malabar, the Nambutiris perhaps show the greatest number of resemblances to the customs of the Todas, and it is therefore interesting to note that Mr. Fawcett describes these people as the hairiest of all the races of Malabar, and especially notes that one individual he examined was like a Toda."

It is noted by Mr. Subramani Aiyar that "the Nambutiris are passionate growers of finger-nails, which are sometimes more than a foot long, and serve several useful purposes. As in everything else, the Nambutiri is orthodox even in the matter of dress. Locally-manufactured cloths are alone purchased, and Indian publicists who deplore the crushing of indigenous industries by the importation of foreign goods may congratulate the Kerala Brahmans on their protectionist habits. Silk and coloured cloths are not worn by either sex. The style of dress is peculiar. That of the males is known as tattutukkuka. Unlike the Nayar dress, which the Nambutiris wear during other than religious hours, the cloth worn has a portion passing between the thighs and tucked in at the front and behind, with the front portion arranged in a number of characteristic reduplications. The Nambutiri wears wooden shoes, but never shoes made of leather. Nambutiri women have two styles of dress, viz., okkum koluttum vachchutukkuka for the Adhyans, and ngoringutukkuka for ordinary Nambutiris. Undyed cloths constitute the daily wearing apparel of Nambutiri women. It is interesting to notice that all Brahman women, during a yagnam (sacrifice), when, as at other ceremonials, all recent introductions are given up in favour of the old, wear undyed cloths. Beyond plain finger-rings and a golden amulet (elassu) attached to the waist-string, the Nambutiri wears no ornaments. His ears are bored, but no ear-rings are worn unless he is an Agnihotri, when ear-pendants of an elongated pattern (kundalam) are used. The ornaments of the Nambutiri women have several peculiarities. Gold bracelets are, as it were, proscribed even for the most wealthy. Hollow bangles of brass or bell-metal for ordinary Nambutiris, and of solid silver for the Adhyas, are the ones in use. The chuttu is their ear ornament. A peculiar necklace called cheru-tali is also worn, and beneath this Adhya women wear three garlands of manis or gold pieces, along with other jewels called kasumala, puttali, and kazhuttila. The Nambutiris do not bore their noses or wear nose-rings, and, in this respect, present a striking contrast to the Nayar women. No restriction, except the removal of the tali, is placed on the use of ornaments by Nambutiri women. Tattooing is taboo to Nambutiri women. They put on three horizontal lines of sandal paste after bathing. These marks have, in the case of Adhya women, a crescentic shape (ampilikkuri). Kunkuma, or red powder, is never applied by Nambutiri women to the forehead. Turmeric powder as a cosmetic wash for the face is also not in vogue. Mr. Fawcett states that, on festive occasions, turmeric is used by the Brahmans of Malabar. But this is not borne out by the usage in Travancore. Eye-salves are applied, and may be seen extending as dark lines up to the ears on either side."

The ornaments and marks worn by individual Nambutiri males are thus recorded by Mr. Fawcett:--

(1) Left hand: gold ring with large green stone on first finger; four plain gold rings on third finger; a ring, in which an anavarahan coin is set, on little finger. This is a very lucky ring. Spurious imitations are often set in rings, but it is the genuine coin which brings good luck. Right hand: two plain gold rings, and a pavitram on the third finger. The pavitram is of about the thickness of an ordinary English wedding ring, shaped like a figure of eight, with a dotted pattern at each side, and the rest plain. It is made of gold, but, as every Nambutiri must wear a pavitram while performing or undergoing certain ceremonies, those who do not possess one of gold wear one made of darbha grass. They do not say so, but I think the ring of darbha grass is orthodox.

(2) Golden amulet-case fastened to a string round the waist, and containing a figure (yantram) written or marked on a silver plate. He had worn it three years, having put it on because he used to feel hot during the cool season, and attributed the circumstance to the influence of an evil spirit.

(3) Youth, aged 12. Wears a yak skin sash, an inch wide, over the left shoulder, fastened at the ends by a thong of the same skin. He put it on when he was seven, and will wear it till he is fifteen, when he will have completed his course of Vedic study. A ring, hanging to a string in front of his throat, called modiram, was put on in the sixth month when he was named, and will be worn until he is fifteen. The ears are pierced. He wears two amulets at the back, one of gold, the other of silver. In each are some chakrams (Travancore silver coins), and a gold leaf, on which a charm is inscribed. One of the charms was prepared by a Mappilla, the other by a Nambutiri.

(4) Black spot edged with yellow in the centre of the forehead. Three horizontal white stripes on the forehead. A dab on each arm, and a stripe across the chest.

(5) Black spot near glabella, and two yellow horizontal stripes near it. The same on the chest, with the spot between the lines.

(6) Red spot and white stripe on the forehead. A red dab over the sternum, and on each arm in front of the deltoid.

(7) An oval, cream-coloured spot with red centre, an inch in greatest length, over the glabella.

The stripes on the forehead and chest are generally made with sandal paste. Rudraksha (nuts of Eloeocarpus Ganitrus) necklaces, mounted in gold, are sometimes worn.

The thread worn by men over the left shoulder is made of a triple string of country-grown cotton, and, unlike other Brahmans of Southern India, no change is made after marriage. It may be changed on any auspicious day. Brahmans of Southern India outside Malabar change their thread once a year.

Concerning the habitations of the Nambutiris, Mr. Subramani Aiyar writes as follows. "A Nambutiri's house stands within a compound (grounds) of its own. Each house has its own name, by which the members are known, and is called by the generic title of illam, the term used by Brahmans, or mana, which is the reverential expression of Sudras and others. Sometimes the two words are found combined, e.g., Itamana illam. In the compound surrounding the house, trees such as the tamarind, mango, and jak, grow in shady luxuriance. The area of the compound is very extensive; in fact, no house in Malabar is surrounded by a more picturesque or more spacious garden than that of the Nambutiri. Plantains of all varieties are cultivated, and yams of various kinds and peas in their respective seasons. A tank (pond) is an inseparable accompaniment, and, in most Nambutiri houses, there are three or four of them, the largest being used for bathing, and the others for general and kitchen purposes. Whenever there is a temple of any importance near at hand, the Nambutiri may prefer to bathe in the tank attached to it, but his favourite ghat is always the tank near his home, and owned by him. Wells are never used for bathing, and a hot-water bath is avoided as far as possible, as plunging in a natural reservoir would alone confer the requisite ablutional purity. Towards the north-west corner of the house is located the sarpakkavu or snake abode, one of the indispensables of a Malabar house. The kavu is either an artificial jungle grown on purpose in the compound, or a relic of the unreclaimed primeval jungle, which every part of Malabar once was. Right in the centre of the kavu is the carved granite image of the cobra, and several flesh-and-blood representatives of the figure haunt the house, as if in recognition of the memorial raised. In the centre of the compound is situated the illam or mana, which is in most cases a costly habitat. All the houses used until recently to be thatched as a protection against the scorching heat of the tropical sun, which a tiled house would only aggravate. In form the house is essentially a square building, consisting of several courtyards in the centre, with rooms on all sides. On the east or west of the courtyard, a room having the space of two ordinary rooms serves as a drawing room and the dormitory of the unmarried members of the house. The rest of the house is zenana to the stranger. Right on the opposite side of the visitor's room, beyond the central courtyard, is the arappura, of massive wood-work, where the valuables are preserved. On either side of this are two rooms, one of which serves as a storehouse, and the other as a bed-room. The kitchen adjoins the visitor's room, and is tolerably spacious. In the front, which is generally the east of the house, is a spacious yard, square and flat, and leading to it is a flight of steps, generally made of granite. These steps lead to a gate-house, where the servants of the house keep watch at night. The whole house is built of wood, and substantially constructed. Though the houses look antiquated, they have a classical appearance all their own. To the north-east is the gosala, where large numbers of oxen and cows are housed. The furniture of a Nambutiri is extremely scanty. There are several cots, some made of coir (cocoanut fibre), and others of wooden planks. The kurmasana is the Nambutiri's devotional seat, and consists of a jak (Artocarpus integrifolia) plank carved in the form of a tortoise. Other seats, of a round or oblong shape, are also used, and no Brahman addresses himself to his meal without being seated on one of them. Every Brahman visitor is offered one, and is even pressed to sit on it. When the writer went to a Brahman house at Kalati, the native village of Sankaracharya, and wished the hosts not to trouble themselves about a seat for him, he was told that the contact of a Brahman's nates with the floor was harmful to the house. Hanging cots, attached to the ceiling by chains of iron, are common things in a Nambutiri's house, especially in the bed-rooms. Skins of spotted deer, used to sit on during prayers, also form part of the Nambutiri's furniture."

The Nambutiris follow the makkatayam law of inheritance from father to son; not, however, precisely as do the other people who do so. Nor is their system of inheritance the same as that of Brahmans to the eastward (i.e., of Southern India generally), with whom the family property may be divided up amongst the male members at the instance of any one of them. The Nambutiri household is described by Mr. Subramani Aiyar as representing a condition intermediate between the impartible matriarchal form of the Nayars and the divided patriarchal form of the other coast. Among the Nambutiris, the eldest male member of the family is the Karanavan or manager of it, and has complete control over all the property. The younger members of the family are entitled to nothing but maintenance. The head of the family may be a female, provided there is none of the other sex. The eldest son alone marries. The accepted practice, as well as the recognised principle among the Nambutiris, seems to be in consonance with the directions expounded by Manu, viz.--

Immediately on the birth of his first-born, a man is the father of a son, and is free from the debt to the manes. That son is, therefore, worthy to receive the whole estate.

That son alone, on whom he throws his debt, is begotten for (the fulfilment of) the law. All the rest they consider the offspring of desire.

As a father supports his sons, so let the eldest support his younger brothers, and so let them, in accordance with the law, behave towards their eldest brother as sons behave towards their father.

Should a Nambutiri eldest son die, the next marries, and so on. Women join the family of their husband, and to this too her children belong. Self-acquired property, that is property acquired by any junior member of the family through his own efforts outside the taravad, [92] lapses to the taravad at his death, unless he has disposed of it in his lifetime. This is the custom, which our law has not yet infringed. The taravad is the unit, and, as the senior male succeeds to the management, it may happen that a man's sons do not succeed directly as his heirs. The arrangement is an excellent one for the material prosperity of the family, for there is no dispersion. Every circumstance tends towards aggrandizement, and the family is restricted to no more than a requisite number by one member only marrying, and producing children. Impartibility is the fundamental principle. It is seldom that a Nambutiri family comes to an end; and such a thing as a Nambutiri's estate escheating to Government has been said on eminent authority never to have been known. It happens sometimes that there is no male member to produce progeny, and in such a case the sarvasvadanam marriage is performed, by which a man of another family is brought into the family and married to a daughter of it, who, after the manner of the "appointed daughter" of old Hindu law, hands on the property through her children. The man so brought in is henceforth a member of the family which he has joined, and as such he performs the sraddha or ceremonies to the dead. An exception to the general rule of inheritance is that seventeen families of Payannur in North Malabar follow the marumakkattayam system of inheritance, through the female line. The other Nambutiris look askance at these, and neither marry nor dine with them. It is supposed that they are not pure bred, having Kshatriya blood in their veins.

Adoption among the Nambutiris is stated by Mr. Subramani Aiyar to be of three kinds, called Pattu kaiyyal dattu, Chanchamata dattu, and Kutivazhichcha dattu. "The first is the orthodox form. Pattukai means ten hands, and indicates that five persons take part in the ceremony, the two natural parents, the two adopted parents, and the son to be adopted. The gotra and sutra of the natural family have to be the same as those of the adoptive family. The son adopted may have had his upanayanam already performed by his natural parents. An adoption of this kind cannot be made without the permission of all the male members of the family, of the Sapindas or Samanodakas who are distinct blood relations, though some degrees removed. In the second form, the adoption relieves the adopted son of all ceremonial duties towards the natural parents. Involving, as it does, a position contrary to the established ordinances of Sankaracharya, this kind of adoption is not in favour. The third form is still less orthodox. The adoption is made by a surviving widow, and mainly serves to keep up the lineage."

Liquor and flesh are strictly forbidden to the Nambutiris. Their staple food is rice and curry. Upperi is a curry of chopped vegetables fried in ghi (clarified butter), cocoanut or gingelly oil, seasoned with gingelly (Sesamum indicum), salt, and jaggery (crude sugar). Aviyal is another, composed of jak fruit mixed with some vegetables. Sweets are sometimes eaten. Candied cakes of wheat or rice, and rice boiled in milk with sugar and spices, are delicacies. Papadams (wafer-like cakes) are eaten at almost every meal. The Nambutiri must bathe, and pray to the deity before partaking of any meal. An offering of rice is then made to the household fire, some rice is thrown to the crows, and he sits down to eat. The food is served on a plantain leaf or a bell-metal plate. It should be served by the wife; but, if a man has other Nambutiris dining with him, it is served by men or children. The sexes feed separately. Before a man rises from his meal, his wife must touch the leaf or plate on which the food has been served. The reason may lie in this. The remains of the food are called echchil, and cannot be eaten by any one. Just before finishing his meal and rising, the Nambutiri touches the plate or leaf with his left hand, and at the same time his wife touches it with her right hand. The food is then no longer echchil, and she may eat it. The Nambutiri householder is said to be allowed by the Sastras, which rule his life in every detail, to eat but one meal of rice a day--at midday. He should not, strictly speaking, eat rice in the evening, but he may do so without sinning heinously, and usually does. Fruit only should be eaten in the evening. Women and children eat two or three times in a day. A widow, however, is supposed to lead the life of a Sanyasi, and eats only once a day. A Nambutiri may eat food prepared by an east country Brahman (Pattar), or by an Embrantiri. In fact, in the large illams, where many people are fed every day, the cooks are generally Pattars in South Malabar. The Nambutiri woman is more scrupulous, and will not touch food prepared by any one of a caste inferior to her own, as the Pattar is considered to be. Tea and coffee are objected to. The Sastras do not permit their use. At the same time, they do not prohibit them, and some Nambutiris drink both, but not openly. Persons observing vows are not allowed an oil bath, to eat off bell-metal plates, or to eat certain articles of food. The gourd called churakhai, palmyra fruit, and palmyra jaggery are taboo to the Nambutiri at all times. Water-melons are eaten regularly during the month Karkkataka, to promote health and prolong life.

In connection with the Nambutiri's dietary, Mr. Subramani Aiyar states that "their food is extremely simple. As Camöens writes: [93]

To crown their meal no meanest life expires.
Pulse, fruit, and herb alone their food requires.

"Ghi is not in a great requisition. Gingelly oil never enters the kitchen. Milk is not taken except as porridge, which goes by the name of prathaman (first). A bolus-like preparation of boiled rice-flour with cocoanut scrapings, called kozhakkatta, is in great favour, and is known as Parasu Rama's palaharam, or the light refreshment originally prescribed by Parasu Rama. Conji, or rice gruel, served up with the usual accessories, is the Nambutiri's favourite luncheon. Cold drinks are rarely taken. The drinking water is boiled, and flavoured with coriander, cummin seeds, etc., to form a pleasant beverage."

The horse is a sacred animal, and cannot be kept. The cow, buffalo, dog, and cat are the animals ordinarily kept in domestication; and it is said that a parrot is sometimes taught to repeat Sanskrit slokas.

There are families, in which the business of the magician and sorcerer is hereditary, chiefly in South Malabar and among the Chela [94] Nambutiris, as those are termed who, in the turbulent period of Tippu's invasion, were made Muhammadans by force. True, these returned almost at once to their own religion, but a stigma attaches to them, and they are not looked on as true Nambutiris.

It is extremely difficult to obtain reliable information regarding magic or anything allied to it among any people, and most difficult of all among the Nambutiris. They possess magic books, but they will neither produce nor expound them. Hara Mekhala is the name of one of these, which is most used. It is said that the sorcerer aims at the following:--

(1) Destruction (marana).
(2) Subjection of the will of another (vasikarana).
(3) Exorcism (uchchatana).
(4) Stupefaction (stambhana).
(5) Separation of friends (vidveshana).
(6) Enticement as for love (mohana).

Of these, the first may be carried out in the following manner. A figure representing the enemy to be destroyed is drawn on a small sheet of metal (gold by preference), and to it some mystic diagrams are added. It is then addressed with a statement that bodily injury or the death of the person shall take place at a certain time. This little sheet is wrapped up in another metal sheet or leaf (of gold if possible), and buried in some place which the person to be injured or destroyed is in the habit of passing. Should he pass over the place, it is supposed that the charm will take effect at the time named. Instead of the sheet of metal, a live frog or lizard is sometimes buried within a cocoanut shell, after nails have been stuck into its eyes and stomach. The deaths of the animal and the person are supposed to take place simultaneously. For carrying out vasikarana, vidveshana, and mohana, betel leaves, such as are ordinarily used for chewing, or vegetables are somehow or other given to the victim, who unknowingly takes them into his mouth. Exorcism may be treated as follows. If a young woman is suffering from hysteria, and is supposed to be possessed by an evil spirit, or by the discontented spirit of some deceased ancestor, nervousness is excited by beating drums, blowing conch-shells, and otherwise making a horrible noise close to her. When the supreme moment is believed to have arrived, water is sprinkled over the wretched woman, who is required to throw rice repeatedly on certain diagrams on the ground, woven into which is a representation of the goddess Durga, the ruler of evil spirits. An effigy of the evil spirit is then buried in a copper vessel. By means of certain mantrams, Hanuman or Kali is propitiated, and, with their aid, in some occult manner, the position of buried treasure may be found. It is said that the bones of a woman who has died immediately after childbirth, and the fur of a black cat, are useful to the magician.