Chapter VII: Part 7

There are said to be two Nambutiris of good family, well known in South Malabar, who are expert mantravadis or dealers in magic, and who have complete control over Kuttichchattan, an evil mischievous spirit, whose name is a household word in Malabar. He it is who sets fire to houses, damages cattle, and teases interminably. Concerning Kuttichchattan, Mr. Subramani Aiyar writes as follows. "The most mischievous imp of Malabar demonology is an annoying, quip-loving little spirit, as black as night, and about the size and nature of a well-nourished twelve-year old boy. Some people say that they have seen him, vis-à-vis, having a forelock. The nature and extent of its capacity for evil almost beggar description. There are Nambutiris, to whom these are so many missiles, which they throw at anybody they choose. They are, like Ariel, little active things, and most willing slaves of the master under whom they happen to be placed. Their victim suffers from unbearable agony. His clothes take fire, his food turns into ordure, his beverages become urine, stones fall in showers on all sides of him, but curiously not on him, and his bed becomes a literal bed of thorns. He feels like a lost man. In this way, with grim delight, the spirit continues to torment his victim by day as well as by night. But, with all this annoying mischief, Kuttichchattan, or Boy Satan, does no serious harm. He oppresses and harasses, but never injures. A celebrated Brahman of Changanacheri is said to own more than a hundred of these Chattans. Household articles and jewelry of value can be left on the premises of the homes guarded by Chattan, and no thief dares to lay his hands on them. The invisible sentry keeps diligent watch over his master's property, and has unchecked powers of movement in any medium. As remuneration for all these services, the Chattan demands nothing but food, but that on a large scale. If starved, the Chattans would not hesitate to remind the master of their power; but, if ordinarily cared for, they would be his most willing drudges. By nature Chattan is more than a malevolent spirit. As a safeguard against the infinite power secured for the master by the Kuttichchattan, it is laid down that malign acts committed through his instrumentality recoil on the prompter, who either dies childless, or after frightful physical and mental agony. Another method of oppressing humanity, believed to be in the power of sorcerers, is to make men and women possessed by spirits; women being more subject to their evil influence than men. Delayed puberty, sterility, and still-births are not uncommon ills of a woman possessed by a devil. Sometimes the spirits sought to be exorcised refuse to leave the body of the victim, unless the sorcerer promises them a habitation in the compound of his own house, and arranges for daily offerings being given. This is agreed to as a matter of unavoidable necessity, and money and lands are conferred upon the Nambutiri mantravadi, to enable him to fulfil his promise."

A Nambutiri is not permitted to swear, or take oath in any way. He may, however, declare so and so, holding the while his sacred thread between the thumb and forefinger of the right hand, by way of invoking the Gayatri in token of his sincerity. And he may call on the earth mother to bear witness to his words, for she may, should he speak falsely, relieve herself of him. The name of the Supreme Being is not used in oath. Nambutiris have been known to take oath before a shrine, in order to settle a point in a Civil Court, but it is not orthodox to do so.

Something has been said already concerning vows. Those who desire offspring perform the vow called payasahavanam. Sacrifice is made through fire (homam) to the Supreme Being. Homam is also vowed to be done on a child's birthday, to ensure its longevity. Here we may observe a contrast between the Nambutiri and a man of one of the inferior castes. For, while the vow of the Nambutiri has assumed to some extent the nature of propitiatory prayer, of which those low down really know nothing, the other gives nothing until he has had the full satisfaction of his vow. Mrityunjayam, or that which conquers death, is another kind of homam in performance of a vow. A further one is concerned with cleansing from any specific sin. Liberal presents are made to Brahmans, when the vow is completed. In the vow called rudrabhisheka the god Siva is bathed in consecrated water. It is performed by way of averting misfortune. Monday is the day for it, as it is supposed that on that day Siva amuses himself with Parvati by dancing on Kailasa.

The custom observed by Nambutiris of letting the hair grow on the head, face, and body, untouched by the razor, when a wife is enceinte has been noticed already. A Nambutiri who has no male issue also lets his hair grow in the same way for a year after the death of his wife. Should there, however, be male issue, on the eldest son devolves the duty of performing the ceremonies connected with the funeral of his mother (or father), and it is he who remains unshaven for a year. In such a case, the husband of a woman remains unshaven for twelve days (and this seems to be usual), or until after the ceremony on the forty-first day after death. The period during which the hair is allowed to grow, whether for a death, a pregnant wife, or by reason of a vow, is called diksha. During diksha, as well as during the Brahmachari period, certain articles of food, such as the drumstick vegetable, milk, chillies, gram, dhal, papadams, etc., are prohibited.

"Bathing," Mr.Subramani Aiyar writes, "is one of the most important religious duties of all Hindus, and of Brahmans in particular. A Nambutiri only wants an excuse for bathing. Every Nambutiri bathes twice a day at least, and sometimes oftener. It is prohibited to do so before sunrise, after which a bath ceases to be a religious rite on the other coast. The use of a waist-cloth, the languti excepted, during a bath in private or in public, is also prohibited. This injunction runs counter to that of the Sutrakaras, who say 'Na vivasanah snayat,' i.e., bathe not without clothing. The fastidious sense of bath purity occasionally takes the form of a regular mania, and receives the not inapt description of galappisachu or possession by a water-devil. Never, except under extreme physical incapacity, does a Nambutiri fail to bathe at least once a day." Before concluding the bath, the cloth worn when it was begun, and for which another has been substituted, is wrung out in the water. From this practice, a patch of indurated skin between the thumb and first finger of the right hand, where the cloth is held while wringing it, is commonly to be seen. Almost every Nambutiri examined in North Malabar was marked in this way.

The Nambutiris observe sixty-four anacharams, or irregular customs, which are said to have been promulgated by the great reformer Sankaracharya. These are as follows:--

(1) You must not clean your teeth with sticks.
(2) You must not bathe with cloths worn on your person.
(3) You must not rub your body with the cloths worn on your
person.
(4) You must not bathe before sunrise.
(5) You must not cook your food before you bathe.
(6) Avoid the water kept aside during the night.
(7) You must not have one particular object in view while you
bathe.
(8) The remainder of the water taken for one purpose must not be
used for another ceremony.
(9) You must bathe if you touch another, i.e., a Sudra.
(10) You must bathe if you happen to be near another, i.e.,
a Chandala.
(11) You must bathe if you touch polluted wells or tanks.
(12) You must not tread over a place that has been cleaned with
a broom, unless it is sprinkled with water.
(13) A particular mode of marking the forehead with ashes
(otherwise described as putting three horizontal lines on the
forehead with pure burnt cow-dung).
(14) You must repeat charms yourself. (You must not allow someone
else to do it.)
(15) You must avoid cold rice, etc. (food cooked on the previous
day).
(16) You must avoid leavings of meals by children.
(17) You must not eat anything that has been offered to Siva.
(18) You must not serve out food with your hands.
(19) You must not use the ghi of buffalo cows for burnt offerings.
(20) You must not use buffalo milk or ghi for funeral offerings.
(21) A particular mode of taking food (not to put too much in
the mouth, because none must be taken back).
(22) You must not chew betel while you are polluted.
(23) You must observe the conclusion of the Brahmachari period
(the samavarttanam ceremony). This should be done before
consorting with Nayar women.
(24) You must give presents to your guru or preceptor. (The
Brahmachari must do so.)
(25) You must not read the Vedas on the road.
(26) You must not sell women (receive money for girls given
in marriage).
(27) You must not fast in order to obtain fulfilment of your
desires.
(28) Bathing is all that a woman should observe if she touches
another in her menses. (A woman touching another who is in
this state should, it is said, purify herself by bathing.
A man should change his thread, and undergo sacred ablution.
Women, during their periods, are not required to keep aloof,
as is the custom among non-Malabar Brahmans.)
(29) Brahmans should not spin cotton.
(30) Brahmans should not wash cloths for themselves.
(31) Kshatriyas should avoid worshipping the lingam.
(32) Brahmans should not accept funeral gifts from Sudras.
(33) Perform the anniversary ceremony of your father (father's
father, mother's father and both grandmothers).
(34) Anniversary ceremonies should be performed on the day of the
new moon (for the gratification of the spirits of the
deceased).
(35) The death ceremony should be performed at the end of the year,
counting from the day of death.
(36) The ceremony to be performed till the end of the year after
death (Diksha is apparently referred to).
(37) Sraddhas should be performed with regard to the stars
(according to the astronomical, not the lunar year).
(38) The death ceremony should not be performed until after the
pollution caused by childbirth has been removed.
(39) A particular mode of performing sraddha by an adopted son
(who should do the ceremony for his adopted parents as well
as for his natural parents. Among non-Malabar Brahmans, an
adopted son has nothing to do with the ceremonies for his
natural father, from whose family he has become entirely
disconnected).
(40) The corpse of a man should be burnt in his own compound.
(41) Sanyasis should not look at (see) women.
(42) Sanyasis should renounce all worldly pleasures.
(43) Sraddha should not be performed for deceased Sanyasis.
(44) Brahman women must not look at any other persons besides
their own husbands.
(45) Brahman women must not go out, unless accompanied by women
servants.
(46) They should wear only white clothing.
(47) Noses should not be pierced.
(48) Brahmans should be put out of their caste if they drink
any liquor.
(49) Brahmans should forfeit their caste, if they have intercourse
with other Brahman women besides their wives.
(50) The consecration of evil spirits should be avoided. (Otherwise
said to be that worship of ancestors should not be done in
temples.)
(51) Sudras and others are not to touch an idol.
(52) Anything offered to one god should not be offered to another.
(53) Marriage etc., should not be done without a burnt offering
(homam).
(54) Brahmans should not give blessings to each other.
(55) They should not bow down to one another. (Among non-Malabar
Brahmans, juniors receive benediction from seniors. The
Nambutiris do not allow this.)
(56) Cows should not be killed in sacrifice.
(57) Do not cause distraction, some by observing the religious
rites of Siva, and others those of Vishnu.
(58) Brahmans should wear only one sacred thread.
(59) The eldest son only is entitled to marriage.
(60) The ceremony in honour of a deceased ancestor should be
performed with boiled rice.
(61) Kshatriyas, and those of other castes, should perform funeral
ceremonies to their uncles.
(62) The right of inheritance among Kshatriyas, etc., goes
towards nephews.
(63) Sati should be avoided. (This also includes directions to
widows not to shave the head, as is the custom among
non-Malabar Brahmans.)

In connection with the foregoing, Mr. Subramani Aiyar writes that the manners and customs of the Nambutiris differ from those of the other communities in several marked particulars. They go by the specific name of Keralacharas, which, to the casual observer, are so many anacharas or mal-observances, but to the sympathetic student are not more perhaps than unique acharas. A verse runs to the effect that they are anacharas, because they are not acharas (observances) elsewhere. (Anyatracharanabhavat anacharaitismritah.) Of these sixty-four acharas, about sixty will be found to be peculiar to Malabar. These may be grouped into the following six main classes:--

(1) Personal hygiene.--Bathing.
(2) Eating.--The rules about food, either regarding the cooking
or eating of it are very religiously observed. Absolute fasting
is unknown in Malabar.
(3) Worship of the Gods and manes.--The anniversary of a person's
death is regulated not by the age of the moon at the time, but
by the star, unlike on the other coast. Again, a birth pollution
has priority over other observances, even death ceremonies. A
son who has to perform the funeral ceremonies of his father
is rendered unfit for that solemn function by an intervening
birth pollution. An adopted son is not, as in other parts
of India, relieved of the sraddha obligations to his natural
parents. Sectarian controversies in regard to Siva and Vishnu are
strictly tabooed. The establishment of Hinduism on a non-sectarian
basis was the sacred mission of Sankaracharya's life. A single
triple string (sacred thread) is worn irrespective of civil
condition. This is contrary to the usage of the other coast, where
married Brahmans wear two or three triplets. Sprinkling water is an
essential purificatory act after the use of the broom. An isolated
rule requires dead bodies to be burnt in private compounds, and
not in consecrated communal sites, as among the east coast people.
(4) Conduct in society.--Chastity is jealously guarded by the
imposition of severe ostracism on adulterers. Formal salutation,
and even namaskaras and anugrahas, or prostration before and
blessing by seniors, are prescribed. This is a striking point of
difference between Malabar and the rest of India, and is probably
based on the esoteric teaching of universal oneness.
(5) Asramas or stages of life.--It is distinctly prescribed that
a Brahman should formally conclude the Brahmachari asrama, and
that presents or dakshina to the gurus should be the crowning
act. The asura or bride-sale form of marriage is prohibited--a
prohibition which, in the case of the Nambutiris, is absolutely
unnecessary as matters now stand. An injunction in the reverse
direction against the ruinous tyranny of a bride-penalty would
be an anxiously sought relief to the strugglings of many an
indigent bride's father. The special law of Malabar, under which
the eldest son is alone entitled to be married, has already been
referred to. The anchorite stage comes in for regulation by the
Manu of Kerala. The eyes of a Sanyasin should never rest on a
woman even for a second. This rule, which, if it errs at all,
only does so on the side of safety, is not observed elsewhere,
as the stage of a Sanyasin is expected to be entered only after
the complete subjugation of the passions. No aradhana (worship)
sraddhas are performed for them, as is done in other parts. The
soul of the Sanyasin is freed from the bondage of Karma and the
chance of recurring birth, and has only to be remembered and
worshipped, unlike the ordinary Jivan or still enslaved soul,
whose salvation interests have to be furthered by propitiatory
Karmas on the part of its earthly beneficiaries.
(6) Regulation of women's conduct.--Women are not to gaze
on any face but that of their wedded lord, and never go out
unattended. They are to wear only white clothes, and are never
to pierce their noses for the wearing of jewelry. Death on
the husband's funeral pyre is not to be the sacred duty of
the Nambutiri widow, who is advised to seek in the life of a
self-sacrificing Sanyasi a sure means of salvation.

In affairs of the world, time is reckoned by the ordinary Malabar kollam or solar year, the era beginning from the date of the departure of the last Perumal, a sovereign of the western coast, to Arabia in 825. The months of the kollam year are Mesha (Metam), Vrishabha (Itavam), Mithuna, Karkkataka, Sihma (Chingga), Kanya (Kanni), Tula, Vrischika, Dhanu, Makara, Kumbha, Mina. In affairs of religion, time is reckoned by the salivahana saka, or lunar year, the months of which are Chaitra, Vaisakha, Jeshta, Ashadha, Sravana, Bhadrapata, Asvavuja, Margasirsha, Paushya, Magha, Phalguna. Every three years or thereabouts, there is added another month, called Adhika.

Some of the festivals kept by the Nambutiris are as follows: --

(1) Sivaratri.--Worship of Siva on the last day of Magha. Fast
and vigil at night, and puja.
(2) Upakarma.--The regular day for putting on a new sacred
thread, after having cleansed away the sins of the year through
the prayaschittam, in which ceremony the five sacred products of
the cow (milk, curds, ghi, urine, and dung) are partaken of. It
is done on the 15th of Sravana.
(3) Nagara panchimi.--The serpent god is worshipped, and bathed
in milk. On the 5th of Sravana. This festival is common in
Southern India.
(4) Gokulashtami.--Fast and vigil at night, to celebrate the birth
of Krishna. Puja at night, on the eighth day of the latter half
of Sravana.
(5) Navaratri.--The first nine days of Asvayuja are devoted to
this festival in honour of Durga.
(6) Dipavali.--Observed more particularly in North Malabar on
the anniversary of the day on which Krishna slew the rakshasa
Naraka. Everyone takes an oil bath. On the last day of Asvayuja.
(7) Ashtkalam.--The pitris (ancestors) of the family are
propitiated by offerings of pinda (balls of rice) and tarpana
(libations of water). On the new moon day of Dhanu.
(8) Vinayaka Chaturthi.--The elephant-headed god of learning is
worshipped. At the end of the ceremony, the idol is dropped into
a well. On the 4th of Bhadrapada.
(9) Puram.--The god of love, represented by a clay image, is
propitiated by unmarried girls with offerings of flowers seven
days successively. The image is finally given, together with some
money, to a Brahman, who drops it into a well. The flowers which
have been used to decorate the image are placed by the girls at
the foot of a jak tree. Contrary to the custom of other Brahmans,
Nambutiri girls are under no disgrace, should they attain puberty
while unmarried. In the month of Mina.
(10) Onam.--The great festival of Malabar, kept by everyone, high
and low, with rejoicing. It is the time of general good-will, of
games peculiar to the festival, and of distribution of new yellow
cloths to relations and dependants. It is supposed to commemorate
the descent of Maha Bali, or Mabali, to see his people happy.
(11) Tiruvadira.--Fast and vigil in honour of Siva, observed by
women only. In the month of Dhanu.
(12) Vishu.--The solar new year's day. A very important festival in
Malabar. It is the occasion for gifts, chiefly to superiors. The
first thing seen by a Nambutiri on this day should be something
auspicious. His fate during the year depends on whether the first
object seen is auspicious, or the reverse.

The following festivals are referred to by Mr. Subramani Aiyar:--

(1) Trikkatta or Jyeshta star.--In the month of Chingam. Food is
cooked, and eaten before sunrise by all the married male members,
as well as by every female member of a family. Though not of the
previous day, the food goes by the name of Trikkatta pazhayatu,
or the old food of the Trikkatta day. The import of this festival,
when the specific ordinance of Sankara against food cooked before
sunrise is contravened, is not known.
(2) Makam or Magha star.--In the month of Kanni. On this day, the
cows of the house are decorated with sandal paste and flowers,
and given various kinds of sweetmeats. The ladies of the house
take ten or twelve grains of paddy (rice), anoint them with oil,
and, after bathing in turmeric-water, consecrate the grains by the
recitation of certain hymns, and deposit them in the ara or safe
room of the house. If there are in the house any female members
born under the Makam star, the duty of performing the ceremony
devolves on them in particular. This is really a harvest festival,
and has the securing of food-grains in abundance (dhanyasamriddhi)
for its temporal object.
(3) All the days in the month of Thulam.--In this month, young
unmarried girls bathe every day before 4 A.M., and worship
Ganapathi (Vignesvara), the elephant god.
(4) Gauri puja.--In the month of Vrischigam. This is done on
any selected Monday in the month. The ceremony is known as
ammiyum vilakkaum toduka, or touching the grinding-stone and
lamp. The married women of the house clean the grinder and the
grinding-stone, and place a bronze mirror by its side. They then
proceed to worship Gauri, whose relation to Siva represents to
the Hindu the ideal sweetness of wedded life.
(5) Tiruvatira or Ardra star.--In the month of Dhanu. This is a
day of universal festivity and rejoicing. For seven days previous
to it, all the members of the house bathe in the early morning,
and worship Siva. This bathing is generally called tutichchukuli
or shivering bath, as the mornings are usually cold and intensely
dewy. On the day previous to Tiruvatira, ettangnati, or eight
articles of food purchased in the bazar, are partaken of. Such a
repast is never indulged in on any other day. The Tiruvatira day is
spent in the adoration of Siva, and the votaries take only a single
meal (orikkal). Night vigils are kept both by the wife and husband
seated before a lighted fire, which represents the sakshi (witness)
of Karmas and contracts. (Hence the common term agnisakshi.) They
then chew a bundle of betel leaves, not less than a hundred in
number. This is called kettuvettila tinnuka. As the chewing of
betel is taboo except in the married state, this function is
believed to attest and seal their irrefragable mutual fidelity.
(6) The new moon day in the month of Karkatakam.--On the evening
of this day, various kinds of sweetmeats are cooked, and, before
the family partakes of them, a portion of each is placed in the
upper storey as an offering to rats, by which their divine master,
Ganapathi, is believed to be propitiated.

The Nambutiri's business, which he has in hand, will be concluded to his satisfaction, should he on starting hear or see vocal or instrumental music, a harlot, a dancing-girl, a virgin, a litter, an elephant, a horse, a bull or cow tethered, curds, raw rice of a reddish colour, sugar-cane, a water-pot, flowers, fruits, honey, or two Brahmans. Bad omens, which, if seen by a householder the first thing in the morning, mean trouble of some kind for the rest of the day, are a crow seen on the left hand, a kite on the right, a snake, a cat, a jackal, a hare, an empty vessel, a smoky fire, a bundle of sticks, a widow, a man with one eye, or a man with a big nose. A Nambutiri, seeing any of these things, when setting out on a journey, will turn back. Should he, however, at once see a lizard on the eastern wall of a house, he may proceed. To sneeze once is a good omen for the day; to sneeze twice is a bad one. An evil spirit may enter the mouth while one is yawning, so, to avert such a catastrophe, the fingers are snapped, and kept snapping until the yawn is over, or the hand is held in front of the mouth. But this idea, and the custom of snapping the fingers, are by no means peculiar to the Nambutiris.

The Nambutiris look on a voyage across the sea with horror, and no Nambutiri has ever yet visited England.

A Nayar should not come nearer than six paces to a Nambutiri, a man of the barber caste nearer than twelve paces, a Tiyan than thirty-six, a Malayan than sixty-four, and a Pulaiyan than ninety-six. Malabar is, indeed, the most conservative part of Southern India. The man of high caste shouts occasionally as he goes along, so that the low caste man may go off the road, and allow him to pass unpolluted. And those of the lowest castes shout as they go, to give notice of their pollution-bearing presence, and, learning the command of the man of high caste, move away from the road. It is common to see people of the inferior castes travelling parallel to the road, but not daring to go along it. They do not want to. It is not because they are forced off the road. Custom clings to them as to the Nayar or to the Nambutiri. But even this is undergoing modification.

In connection with marriage, three chief rules are observed. The contracting parties must not be of the same gotra; they must not be related to each other through father or mother; and the bridegroom must be the eldest son of the family. It is said that there are seven original gotras, called after the sages Kamsha, Kasyapa, Bharadvaja, Vatsya, Kaundinya, Atri, and Tatri; and that other gotras have grown out of these. Relationship is said by some to cease after the fourth generation, but this is disputed. The bride's dowry is always heavy. The wife joins her husband's gotra, forsaking her own altogether. Women may remain unmarried without prejudice. Needless to say, this has the reverse of favour with Brahmans outside Malabar. But the Nambutiri girl or woman, who has not been married, is not allowed to disappear altogether from the world without at least the semblance of marriage, for, at her death, some part of the marriage ceremony is performed on her person. The tali is tied. In like manner, a dead Toda girl is not allowed to go to her last rest unmarried. Infant marriage, which is the rule with other Brahmans, is said to be unknown among the Nambutiris. Mr. Justice K. Narayana Marar, however, writes [95] that he is "not prepared to assert that infant marriage is unknown among Nambudris, and that marriages are always celebrated before puberty. There are instances, though rare, of infant marriages among them." When a girl is ten years old, or a little more, her father thinks of finding a husband for her. Property alone is the real thing to be considered. Every detail bearing on advantage to the family through the alliance is carefully thought out. Among the Malayalis generally, the young man with University degrees has command of the marriage market, but to the Nambutiri these are of no account. When the girl's father has fixed on a likely young man, he gets his horoscope, and confers with a Vadhyar concerning the suitability or agreement of the young man's horoscope with that of his daughter. Should the decision of the Vadhyar be favourable, the young man's father is invited to the house on an auspicious day, and the two fathers, together with some friends, talk the matter over. In the presence of all, the Vadhyar announces the agreement of the horoscopes of the pair whose marriage is in prospect. The dowry of the bride is then fixed. Probably many days have been occupied already, before the fathers can agree as to the settlement of the dowry. When this has been done, the Vadhyar consults the heavenly bodies, and appoints the day on which the marriage ceremonies should be begun. There is then a feast for all present. A Nambutiri would be in very bad circumstances if he did not give at least a thousand rupees with his daughter. He should give much more, and does, if he possibly can. The ceremonies connected with marriage are supposed to occupy a year, but they are practically completed within ten days. They open with a party leaving the bride's illam, to invite the bridegroom and his party to the wedding. At the house of the bridegroom, the Vadhyar is given about eight fanams [96] (money) by both parties. The return to the bride's illam is a sort of noisy procession composed of the bridegroom with his friends, Nayar women under big cadjan (palm leaf) umbrellas, a number of Nayars, some of whom indulge in sword play with swords and shields, and Nambutiris versed in the Sastras. The bridegroom, who is the chief figure in the crowd, has a string (the usual kankanam) tied round his right wrist to protect him from evil spirits, and carries a bamboo with sixteen joints symbolic of the married state, a mirror for good luck, an arrow to guard the bride against evil spirits, four cloths, and a tali. At the gate of the bride's illam, the procession is met by some Nayar women dressed as Nambutiri women, who, being unable to come out and welcome the bridegroom, do so by proxy. These women wave a light in front of his face, and offer ashtamangalyam--a plate on which are plantain, betel leaves, a cocoanut, and other articles. On this day, the aupasana agni, or sacred fire, is prepared in the courtyard of the bride's illam. A square pit is made, and fire is made with a piece of wood of the jak tree and of the pipal. This fire is rendered sacred by some mystic rites. It is kept burning throughout the marriage, and is preserved until the death of the future husband and wife in one of two ways:--

(1) keeping a lamp lighted at the fire burning perpetually;
(2) heating in the fire a piece of wood (plasa or palasa) or dharba
grass. The wood or grass is put away, and, when the aupasana agni
is to be revived, is lighted in a fire of jak and pipal wood,
while certain mantrams (consecrated formulæ) are repeated.

The body of the bridegroom (and, I think, of the bride should she die first) should be burnt in the aupasana agni prepared on the first day of the wedding. The aupasana agni is, as it were, a witness to the marriage. In the courtyard, the nandimukham ceremony is performed for propitiation of the minor deities and the pitris (spirits of deceased ancestors). A pot containing sacred or consecrated water, a piece of sandalwood, a piece of gold, flowers, raw rice, and some fruits are the apparent object of adoration. It is called kalas--the kalasam of the Tamil and Telugu countries--and is a common symbol of the deity. According to Monier Williams, [97] it should be worshipped thus. "In the mouth of the water-vessel abideth Vishnu, in its neck is Rudra, in its lower part is Brahma, while the whole company of the mothers are congregated in its middle part. O! Ganges, Yamuna, Godavari, Saraswati, Narmada, Sindhu and Kaveri, be present in this water." A part of the aforesaid ceremony (nandimukham) is called the punyahavachana, for which the bridegroom repeats certain hymns after the Vadhyar, and is sprinkled with water from the kalas. While all this is being done in the courtyard, the very same ceremony is performed within the house in the presence of the bride, whose father does inside the house what the bridegroom is doing outside. At the conclusion of the ceremony, the tali is tied on the bride's neck. Then two of the cloths brought by the bridegroom are sent inside, and are touched by the bride. After she has touched them, they are again brought out, and the bridegroom puts them on. He touches the other two cloths, which are taken inside, and worn by the bride. A feast (ayanium) is the next item. The bride and bridegroom eat their share of it in separate rooms. Then comes the marriage proper. The bride's father washes the bridegroom's feet, while a Nayar woman waves a light (ayiram tiri or thousand lights) before his face, and conducts him to the hall prepared for the wedding. In this is a mantapam, or sort of raised seat, having four pillars and a covering roof. The pillars of the mantapam, and the ceiling of the hall, are covered with red cloth (red being an auspicious colour), and there are festoons of mango leaves. To one side of the mantapam is a screen, behind which stand the Nambutiri women of the household, looking at the scene in the hall through holes. The bride and bridegroom are led to the mantapam, the former following the latter screened from the general gaze by a big cadjan umbrella. She hands him a garland, and, in doing so, she should not touch his hand. He puts on the garland. Vedic hymns are chanted, and the pair are brought face to face for the first time. This is called mukhadarsanam, or seeing the face. The bridegroom leads the bride three times round the fire and water jar, moving round to the right, repeating a mantram, which is rendered as follows by Monier Williams. [98] "I am male, thou art female. Come, let us marry, let us possess offspring. United in affection, illustrious, well disposed towards each other, let us live for a hundred years." Each time the bridegroom leads the bride round, he causes her to mount a mill-stone, saying "Ascend thou this stone, and be thou firm as this rock. [99]" Then, at a moment supposed to be auspicious, water is poured on the hands of the bridegroom, signifying that the girl and her dowry have been handed over to him. The Nambutiri women behind the screen, and the Nayar women in the hall, utter a shrill cry "like that of the Vaikura." The fire here mentioned is probably taken from the original aupasana agni. Holding the bride by the hand, the bridegroom leads her seven steps--one for force, two for strength, three for wealth, four for well-being, five for offspring, six for the seasons, and seven as a friend. He tells her to be devoted to him, and to bear him many sons, who may live to a good old age. This ceremony is called the saptapadi (seven steps). A homam is then performed. It is said that the fire used on this occasion must be preserved until the death of the bridegroom, and used at the cremation of his body. A feast is the next thing. When it is over, the bride's father takes her on his lap, asks his son-in-law to treat her well, and formally hands her over to him. The bridegroom promises to do so, and takes his wife by the hand. Then there is a procession to the bridegroom's illam, the bride being carried in a litter, and the bridegroom walking and carrying the sacrificial fire. So ends the first day. It seems that the newly-married couple live apart for the next three days, during which the bride is initiated into household duties. The only daily ceremony is the homam, which is done by the pair after bathing, and before taking food. On the fourth day there is a ceremony, in which the bride plants a jasmine cutting, by way of symbolising help to her husband in the performance of his religious duties. At night the couple are conducted to the bridal chamber by the Vadhyar. The bed is merely a grass mat, or a common country blanket, covered with a white sheet, and having a little ridge of rice and paddy, signifying plenty, round the edge. The Vadhyar withdraws, and the bridegroom shuts the door. [100] The Vadhyar outside cites appropriate passages from the sacred writings, which are repeated by the bridegroom. On the fifth day, the bride and bridegroom anoint each other with oil, and the latter combs the hair of the former. Then, before bathing, they catch some little fish called manatt kani (eyes looking up) which are found in pools, with a cloth used as a net. While this is being done, a Brahmachari asks the bridegroom "Did you see a cow and a son?" Pointing to the fishes caught in the cloth, the bridegroom replies "Yes, they are here." This is said to be suggestive of progeny, fishes being emblematic of fertility. Homam is then done. At night, the bridegroom adorns the bride with flowers, and makes her look into a mirror, while he recites mantrams suitable to the occasion. From the sixth to the ninth day there is practically nothing in the way of ceremonial. And, as that proper to the tenth day is invariably done on the sixth day, the ceremony may be said to conclude on the night of the sixth day. A few Brahmans are fed to please the pitris, and the couple go to a jak tree, under which some rice, curds, and ghi are placed on kusa grass, and an offering is made of flowers and sandalwood or powder. The kankanam, bamboo staff, arrow, and mirror are given to the Vadhyar, and the wedding is over.

Sir W. W. Hunter [101] speaks of the Nambutiris as "a despised class," they having had fishermen ancestors. The little ceremony of catching fish, which is a very important item in the marriage rites, may look like preservation in meaningless ceremonial of something real in the past, but it only shows that, in an endeavour to interpret ceremonial, we must be far from hasty. Among the Shivalli Brahmans of South Canara, the marriage mat is taken to a tank in procession. The bride and bridegroom make a pretence of catching fish, and, with linked fingers, touch their foreheads. It is recorded, in the Manual of South Canara, that "all Tulu chronicles agree in ascribing the creation of Malabar and Canara, or Kerala, Tuluva, and Haiga, to Parasu Rama, who reclaimed from the sea as much land as he could cover by hurling his battle-axe from the top of the western ghauts. According to Tulu traditions, after a quarrel with Brahmans who used to come to him periodically from Ahi-Kshetra, Parasu Rama procured new Brahmans for the reclaimed tract by taking the nets of some fishermen, and making a number of Brahmanical threads with which he invested the fishermen, and thus turned them into Brahmans, and retired to the mountains to meditate, after informing them that, if they were in distress, and called on him, he would come to their aid. After the lapse of some time, during which they suffered no distress, they were curious to know if Parasu Rama would remember them, and called upon him in order to find out. He promptly appeared, but punished their thus mocking him by cursing them, and causing them to revert to their old status of Sudras."

A more detailed account of the marriage ceremonial is given in the Gazetteer of Malabar, which may well be quoted. "The first preliminaries in arranging a Nambudiri marriage are the inevitable comparison of horoscopes, and the settlement of the dowry. When these have been satisfactorily concluded, an auspicious day for the wedding is selected in consultation with the astrologer. On that day, the bridegroom, before he starts from his illam, partakes with his relatives and friends of a sumptuous repast called the ayani un. A similar feast is held simultaneously at the bride's house. On leaving the illam, as he crosses the threshold, and indeed on all occasions of importance, the bridegroom must be careful to put his right foot first. He also mutters mantrams of an auspicious nature, called mangala sutrangal. As he passes out of the gate, he is met by a bevy of Nayar ladies, carrying the eight lucky articles (ashtamangalyam). These are a grandha, a washed cloth, a cheppu or rouge-box, some rice, a val kannadi or metal hand-mirror, some kunkumam (crimson powder), chanthu (ointment of sandal, camphor, musk and saffron), and mashi (bdellium or any eye salve). On his journey to the bride's illam, he is preceded by a noisy procession of Nayars, armed with swords and lacquered shields, who constitute his agambadi or body-guard, and by Nambudri friends and relatives, one of whom carries a lighted lamp. At the gate of the bride's illam he is met by a band of Nayar women, dressed like antarjanams, and carrying the ashtamangalyam and lighted lamps. The bridegroom enters the inner court-yard (nadumittam), and takes his seat in the usual eastward position. The bride's father comes and sits opposite him, and, clasping his right hand, formally invites him to bathe and wed his daughter, an invitation which he formally accepts. After his bath, he returns clad in fresh clothes, and wearing a ring of dharba or kusa grass (Cynodon Dactylon), and takes his seat in the room adjoining the porch (pumukham), called purattalam. He then makes an offering of a few fanams (money) to his family deities, performs Ganapathi puja (worship of the elephant god), and presents four or five Nambudris with a few fanams each, and with betel leaf and areca nut. This is called asramapischetha prayaschittam, and is in expiation of any sins into which he may have been betrayed during his bachelor days. Similar gifts are also made first to two Nambudris of any gotra considered as representing the deities called Visvadvas, and then to two others of different gotras representing the deceased ancestors or Pitris. The last gift is called Nandimukham. Meanwhile, within the house the bride is conducted to the vadakkini room, veiled in an old cloth, and carrying a piece of bell-metal shaped like a hand-mirror (val kannadi). Her father, after washing his feet and putting on a darbha ring, comes and performs Ganapathi puja, and repeats more or less the same ritual that has been performed without. The bride is then sprinkled with holy water by her father and four other Nambudiris. The tali or marriage symbol is brought in a brass vessel containing holy water, and laid near the idol to which the daily domestic worship is paid; and, after further offerings to Ganapathi, the bridegroom is summoned to enter the illam. Before doing so he purifies himself, taking off the darbha ring, making the 'caste marks' with holy ashes (bhasmam), washing his feet, replacing the ring, and being sprinkled with holy water by four Nambudiris--a form of ritual which recurs constantly in all ceremonies. He enters the nadumittam, preceded by a Nambudiri carrying a lighted lamp, and takes his seat on a wooden stool (pidam) in the middle of the court where the bride's father makes obeisance to him, and is given four double lengths of cloth (kaccha), which the bridegroom has brought with him. They are taken to the bride, who puts on two of them, and returns two for the bridegroom to wear. The bridegroom then goes to the kizhakkini, where he prepares what may be called the "altar." He smears part of the floor in front of him with cow-dung and then, with a piece of jack-wood (Artocarpus integrifolia), called sakalam, draws a line at the western side of the place so prepared, and at right angles to this line five more, one at each end, but not actually touching it, and three between these. He then places the pieces of jack-wood on the altar, and ignites it with fire brought from the hearth of the bride's illam. He feeds the flame with chips of plasu or chamatha (Butea frondosa). This fire is the aupasana agni, regarded as the witness to the marriage rite. It must be kept alight--not actually, but by a pious fiction [102]--till the parties to the marriage die, and their funeral pyre must be kindled from it. Three pieces of plasu called paridhi, and eighteen pieces called udhmam, tied together by a string of darbha, are placed on the northern side of the altar on two pieces of jack-wood; and there are also brought and placed round the altar four blades of darbha grass, a small bell-metal vessel, an earthenware pot full of water, a pair of grind-stones (ammi and ammikuzha), a small winnowing fan containing parched paddy (malar), and a copper vessel of ghee (clarified butter) with a sacrificial ladle made of plasu. Meanwhile, the bride's father ties the tali round her neck in the vadakkini, and her mother gives her a garland of tulasi (Ocimum sanctum). She is conducted to the kizhakkini, preceded by a Nambutiri carrying a lamp called ayyira tiri (thousand wicks), and is made to stand facing the bridegroom on the north or north-east of the altar. This is called mukha-dharsanam (face-beholding). She gives the garland to the bridegroom. Now comes the central rite of this elaborate ceremonial, the udaga-purva-kannyaka-dhanam, or gift of a maiden with water. The bride and her father stand facing west, and the bridegroom facing them. All three stretch out their right hands, so that the bride's hand is between those of her father and the bridegroom, which are above and below hers respectively. A Nambutiri Othikan or ritual expert pours water thrice into the father's hand. The latter each time pours it into his daughter's hand, and then, grasping her hand, pours it into the bridegroom's hand. The dowry is then given to the bride, who hands it over to the bridegroom. She then passes between him and the fire, and sits on an amana palaga [103] on the east of the altar, while the bridegroom sits on another palaga on her left, and burns the udhmams (except one piece of plasu and the darbha string used to tie the bundle), and makes an oblation of ghee called agharam. The next rite is called Panigrahanam. The bridegroom rises from his seat, turns to the right, and stands facing the bride, who remains seated, holding the mirror in her left hand. She stretches out her right hand palm upwards, with the fingers closed and bent upwards. He grasps it, and sits down again. A brother of the bride now comes and takes the mirror from the bride, puts it on a palaga, and professes to show her her own reflection in its surface. Then the bridegroom pours a little ghee into her joined hands, to which the bride's brother adds two handfuls of paddy from the winnowing basket, and the bridegroom then brushes the paddy from her hands into the fire. This is called the Lajahomam. At its conclusion, bride and bridegroom perform a pradakshinam round the fire, passing outside the water-pot but not the grindstone and fan. Next comes the important piece of ceremonial called Asmarohanam, symbolising immutability. The bride and bridegroom stand west of the grindstones, and the bridegroom, taking her feet one by one, places them on the stones, and then grasps feet and stones with both hands. Lajahomam, pradakshinam, and asmarohanam are each repeated thrice. Then comes the rite called Saptapadi or seven paces. The bridegroom leads his bride seven steps towards the north-east, touching her right foot with his right hand as he does so. They then pass between the grindstones and the fire, and seat themselves on the west of the earthen pot facing east, the bride behind the bridegroom; and the latter performs a somewhat acrobatic feat which it must be difficult to invest with any dignity. He bends backwards, supporting himself by placing the palms of his hands on the ground behind him, until he can touch with the top of his head that of the bride, who bends forward to facilitate the process. After this, the bridegroom sprinkles himself and the bride with water from the earthen pot. They then return to their seats west of the altar, and face north, ostensibly looking at the pole star (Druvan), the star Arundati, and the Seven Rishis (Ursa Major), which the bridegroom is supposed to point out to the bride, while he teaches her a short mantram invoking the blessing of long life on her husband. The bridegroom then makes two oblations, pouring ghee on the sacred fire, the first called Sishtakralhomam and the second Darmmihomam. He then places on the fire the paridhis, the remaining udhmams and dharba grass, and the rest of the ghee. A start is then made for the bridegroom's illam, the bridegroom carrying the chamatha branch used in making the aupasana agni in the bride's house. On arrival, an altar is prepared in much the same manner as before, the chamatha branch is ignited, and darbha and ghee are offered. The bride and bridegroom next spend a few moments closeted in the same room, she lying on a skin spread over a new cloth on the floor, and he sitting on an amana palaga. In the evening, aupasana homam, or offerings of chamatha in the sacred fire, and Vaisyadeva homam, or offerings of boiled rice, are made. These, which are known as a second homam, may be postponed till next afternoon, if there is no time for them on the actual wedding day. They have to be performed daily for ten months. The first three days on which these homams are performed (viz., the wedding day and the two following it, or the three days after the wedding as the case may be) are regarded as days of mourning (diksha), and clothes are not changed. On the fourth day, the newly married couple have an oil-bath, and the diksha is considered to be at an end. After the usual homams and worship of Ganapathi, the bride is led to the bridal chamber at an auspicious moment. Her husband joins her, carrying two garlands of jasmine, one of which he puts on the lamp placed in the south-east corner of the room, and one round his wife's neck. He then smears the upper part of her body with the ointment known as chanthu, and she herself smears the lower part. Tum vir penem suum fæminæ ad partes pudendas admovit, vestibus scilicet haud remotis. They then bathe and change their clothes, and sit near each other, the wife screened behind an umbrella. Her husband gives her water, and after some further rites they eat from the same plantain leaf. Actual cohabitation commences from that night. The pair are conducted to the bridal chamber by the Vadhiyar. The nuptial couch is but a grass mat or a common country blanket covered with a white sheet, with a little ridge of rice and paddy signifying plenty around the edges. The final ceremony is the homam called stalipagam. It is performed on the day after the first full moon day after the second homam. If the moon is at the full 3/4 nazhiga before sunset or earlier, the ceremony may be performed on the full moon day itself."

It will have been seen already that the Nambutiris are not strict monogamists. Some stated that a man may have four wives, and that the same ceremony as that described must be performed for wedding all four wives. Moreover, there is no restriction to the number of Nayar women, with whom a man may be associated.

Hamilton, writing concerning Malabar at the end of the seventeenth and beginning of the eighteenth century, says that "when the Zamorin marries, he must not cohabit with his bride till the Nambutiri or chief priest has enjoyed her, and, if he pleases, may have three nights of her company, because the first fruit of her nuptials must be an holy oblation to the god he worships: and some of the nobles are so complaisant as to allow the clergy the same tribute; but the common people cannot have that compliment paid to them, but are forced to supply the priest's place themselves."

Of ceremonies after marriage, and those performed during pregnancy and subsequent to the birth of a child, the following may be noted:--