# Castes and Tribes of Southern India/Izhava

​Izhava.—The Izhavans or Ilavans, and Tiyans, are the Malayālam toddy-drawing castes of Malabar, Cochin and Travancore. The etymology of the name Izhavan is dealt with in the article on Tiyans.
For the following note on the Izhavas of Travancore, I am, when not otherwise recorded, indebted to Mr. N. Subramani Aiyar. These people are known as Izhavas in South and parts of Central Travancore, and Chovas in parts of Central and North Travancore. They constitute 17 per cent, of the total population of the State. Izhava is said to mean those belonging to Izham, a corruption of Simhalam, one of the old names of Ceylon. Jaffna, in the north of that island, appears to have been specially known by the name of Izham, and from this place the Izhavas are believed to have originally proceeded to Malabar. Chova is supposed to be a corruption of Sevaka, or servant. In some old boat songs current in Malabar, it occurs in the less corrupt form of Chevaka. According to a legend, a Pāndyan princess named Alli married Narasimha, a Rājah of the Carnatic. The royal couple migrated to ​Ceylon, and there settled themselves as rulers. On the line becoming extinct, however, their relatives and adherents returned to the continent, where they were accorded only a very low position in society. It is said that they were the ancestors of the Izhavas. In support of this theory, it is urged that, in South Travancore, the Izhavas are known by the title of Mudaliyar, which is also the surname of a division of the Vellalās at Jaffna; that the Vattis and Mannāns call them Mudaliyars; and that the Pulayas have ever been known to address them only as Muttatampurāns. But it may be well supposed that the title may have been conferred upon some families of the caste in consideration of meritorious services on behalf of the State. One of the chief occupations, in which the Izhavas first engaged themselves,was undoubtedly the cultivation of palm trees. In the famous grant of 824 A.D., it is distinctly mentioned that they had a headman of their guild, and their duty was planting up waste lands. They had two special privileges, known as the foot-rope right and ladder right, which clearly explain the nature of their early occupation. The Syrian Christians appear to have a tradition that the Izhavas were invited to settle on the west coast at their suggestion. The Izhavas are said to have brought to Kērala a variety each of the areca palm, champak, and lime tree, to whose vernacular names the word Izham is even to-day invariably prefixed. In the middle ages, they were largely employed as soldiers by the rulers of Malabar. Titles and privileges were distributed among these soldiers. Canter Visscher, writing about the Rājah of Ambalapuzha in the middle of the eighteenth century, * observes that "the Rajah of ​Porkkad has not many Nāyars, in the place of whom he is served by Chegos," and that "in times of civil war or rebellion, the Chegos are bound to take up arms for their lawful sovereign." The Panikkans of Ambanat house in the Ambalapuzha taluk were the leaders of the Izhava force, and many powers and privileges were conferred upon this family by the Chembakasseri (Ambalapuzha) princes. Even so late as the days of Mahārāja Rāma Verma, who died in 973 M.E., large numbers of Izhavas were employed as soldiers of the State, if we may believe the account of Friar Bartolomeo,* who is generally a very accurate writer. The South Travancore Izhavas used to divide themselves into two parties on the occasion of the Ōnam festival, and fight at Kaithamukku near Trivandrum. Any young man who did not attend this camp of exercise had a piece of wood tied as a wedding ornament round his neck, was led in procession thrice round the village, and transported to the sea-coast.
The Izhavas proper are divided into three sub-sections called Pachchili, Pāndi, and Malayālam. The Pachchilis live in the tract of land called Pachchalūr in the Neyyattinkara tāluk between Tiruvellam and Kovalam. They are only a handful in number. The Pāndis are largely found in Trivandrum and Chirayinkil. Most of them take the title of Panikkan. The Malayāla Izhavas are sub-divided into four exogamous groups or illams, named Muttillam, Madampi or Pallichal, Mayanatti, and Chozhi. Pallichal is a place in the Neyyattinkara taluk, and Mayannat in Ouilon. The members of the Chozhi illam are believed to have been later settlers. There is another division of these Izhavas called ​Patikramams, based on a more or less geographical distinction. These are also four in number, and called Pallikkattara, Palattara, Irunkulamgara, and Tenganād,their social precedence being in this order. Pallikkattara is in Chirayinkil, Palattara in Ouilon, Irunkulamgara in Trivandrum, and Tenganād in Neyyattinkara. The Palattara section is the most orthodox, and rigorously preserves its endogamous character, though some of the titular dignitaries among the Chovas of Central Travancore have found it possible to contract alliances with them. The divisions of the Illam and Patikkramam are absent among the Chovas. Among these, however, there is a division into Sthani or Melkudi, Tanikudi, and Kizhkudi, the first denoting the titular head, the second the ordinary class, and the third those under communal degradation. Among the last are included the toddy-drawing families, Vaduvans, and Nadis. Vaduvans are the slaves of the Izhavas, and, in ancient days, could be regularly bought and sold by them. Nadis live in Kartikapalli and some other parts of Central Travancore. They are people who have been outcasted from the community for various offences by the headmen, and cannot enter the kitchen of the ordinary Izhavas. They are served for ceremonial purposes not by the regular priests of the Izhavas, but by a distinct outcaste sect like themselves, known as Nadikuruppus. The Izhavattis, who are the priests of the caste, form a distinct sect with special manners and customs. Chānnan, a corruption of the Tamil word, Chanror or chiefmen, is the most important of the titles of the Izhavas. This title was conferred upon distinguished members of the caste as a family honour by some of the ancient sovereigns of the country. Panikkan comes next in rank, and is derived from pani, work. Tantan, from ​danda meaning punishment or control, is a popular title in some parts. Asan, from Acharya, a teacher, is extremely common. The recipients of this honour were instructors in gymnastics and military exercises to Nāyar and Izhava soldiers in bygone times, and even now ruins of old kalaris or exercise grounds attached to their houses are discernible in many places. Some Izhavas in South Travancore appear to be honoured with the title of Mudaliyar. Many families were invested with similar honours by the ancient ruling houses of Ambalapuzha, Kayenkulam, and Jayasimhanad (Ouilon). Even now, some titles are conferred by the Rājah of Idappalli. The wives of these dignitaries are respectively known as Chānnatti, Panikkatti, etc.
The houses of the Izhavas resemble those of the Nāyars in form. Each house is a group of buildings, the most substantial of which, known as the arappura, stands in the centre. On the left side is the vadakkettu or woman's apartment, including the kitchen. There is a court-yard in front of the arappura, and a little building called kizhakkettu enclosing it on the eastern side. Houses invariably face the east. The main entrance stands a little to the south of the kizhakkettu, to the south of which again is the tozhuttu or cow-shed. These buildings, of course, are found only in rich houses, the poor satisfying themselves with an arappura, a vatakketu, and a tozhuttu. A tekketu is to be seen to the south of the arappura in some cases. This is erected mainly to perpetuate the memory of some deceased member of the family known for learning, piety, or bravery. A pitha or seat, a conch, a cane, and a small bag containing ashes, are secured within. It is kept scrupulously free from pollution, and worship is offered on fixed days to the ancestors. The tekketu is enclosed on all the three sides, ​except the east. This description of houses in South Travancore, as far as Trivandrum, applies also to buildings erected to the north as far as Quilon, though tekketus are not so largely found as in the south. In some parts here, the southern room of the main buildings is consecrated to the memory of ancestors. In Central Travancore there are big kalaris to the south of the arappura in most of the ancient houses, and antique weapons and images of tutelary divinities are carefully preserved therein.
In dress and ornament, the Izhavas closely resemble the Nāyars. The tattu form of dress is not prevalent among Izhava women. In the wearing of the cloth, the left side comes inside instead of the right in the case of South Travancore Izhava women, though this rule is not without its exceptions. In South Travancore, the ornaments of women differ considerably from those of the north. Here they wear the pampadam or Tamil Sūdra women's ear ornament, and adorn the wrists with a pair of silver bangles. The nose ornaments mūkkuthi and gnattu have only recently begun to be worn, and are not very popular in Central and North Travancore. This is a point in which Izhavas may be said to differ from the South Travancore Nāyar matrons. The ear ornament of elderly Izhava women in North Travancore is of an antique type called atukkam-samkhu-chakkravum. Women in the rural parts wear a curious neck ornament called anti-minnu. Of late, all ornaments of Nāyar women are being worn by fashionable Izhava females. But Izhava and Nāyar women can be distinguished by the tie of the hair lock, the Izhava women usually bringing it to the centre of the forehead, while the Nāyars place it on one side, generally the left. Tattooing was once prevalent in South Travancore, but is gradually ​losing favour. It was never in vogue in North Travancore.
The Izhavas cat both fish and flesh. Rabbits, deer, pigs, sheep, porcupines, fowls, doves, guinea-fowls, peacocks, and owls are believed to make popular dishes. The sweetmeat called ariyunta, and the curry known as mutirakkary, arc peculiar to the Izhavas, and prepared best by them.
The most important occupation of the Izhavas till recently was the cultivation of palm trees, and the preparation of toddy and arrack. Barbosa, writing in the sixteenth century, states that " their principal employment is to till the palm trees, and gather their fruits; and to carry everything for hire from one point to another,because they are not in the habit of transporting them with beasts of burden, as there are none; and they hew stone, and gain their livelihood by all kinds of labour. Some of them bear the use of arms, and fight in the wars when it is necessary. They carry a staff in their hand of a fathom's length as a sign of their lineage." With the progress of culture and enlightenment, the occupation of extracting liquor from the cocoanut palm has ceased to be looked upon with favour, and such families as are now given to that pursuit have come to be regarded as a low division of the Chovas. In some parts of Travancore, the latter do not even enjoy the privilege of commensality with the other Izhavas. Agriculture is a prominent profession, and there are several wealthy and influential landlords in the community. There is also a fair percentage of agricultural labourers. A preliminary rite, called pozhutana sowing, is performed by farmers, who throw three handfuls of rice seed on a clay image representing Ganēsa, and pray that their fields may yield a good harvest. Before the time of reaping, on an auspicious ​morning, a few sheaves are brought, and hung up in some prominent place in the house. This ceremony is known as nira, and is common to all Hindu castes. At the end of it, the inmates of the house partake of puttari or new rice.
There are a few other customary rites observed by agriculturists, viz.: —
    (1) Metiyittu-varuka, or throwing the grains of the first sheaf upon another, and covering it with its straw, this being afterwards appropriated by the chief agricultural labourer present.
    (2) Koytu-pitichcha-katta-kotukkuka, or handing over the first sheaves of grain fastened together with Strychnos Nux-vomica leaves to the owner of the field, who is obliged to preserve them till the next harvest season.
    (3) Kotuti, or offering of oblations of a few grains dipped in toddy to the spirits of agricultural fields, the Pulaya priest crying aloud ' Poli, vā, poli, vā,' meaning literally May good harvest come.
As manufacturers, the Izhavas occupy a position in Travancore. They produce several kinds of cloth, for local consumption in the main, and make mats, tiles, and ropes, with remarkable skill. They are also the chief lemon-grass oil distillers of Travancore. In the professions of medicine and astrology, the Izhavas have largely engaged themselves. While it must be confessed that many of them are utter strangers to culture, there are several who have received a sound education,especially in Sanskrit. On the whole, the Izhavas may be said to be one of the most industrious and prosperous communities on the west coast.
The Izhavas form a pious and orthodox Hindu caste. Though they cannot enter the inner court-yard of temples, they attend there in considerable numbers, and ​make their pious offerings. Over several temples the Travancore Izhavas have a joint right with the Nāyars. In illustration, the shrines of Saktikulamgara in Karunagappali, and Chettikulangara in Mavelikara, may be mentioned. Over these and other temples, the rights that have been enjoyed from time immemorial by certain Izhava families are respected even at the present day. In most places, the Izhavas have their own temples, with a member of their own or the Izhavatti caste as priest. As no provision had been made in them for daily worship, there was no necessity in early times for the regular employment of priests. The deity usually worshipped was Bhadrakāli, who was believed to help them in their military undertakings. The offerings made to her involved animal sacrifices. The temples are generally low thatched buildings with a front porch, an enclosure wall, and a grove of trees. There are many instances,in which the enclosure wall is absent. The Bhadrakāli cult is gradually losing favour under the teaching of a Vedantic scholar and religious reformer named Nanan Asan. In many Central and South Travancore shrines, images of Subramania have been set up at his instance, and daily worship is offered by bachelor priests appointed by the castemen. An association for the social, material, and religious amelioration of the community, called Narayana Dharma Paripalana Yogam, has been started.Its head-quarters is at Aruvippuram in the Nayyatinkara taluk. Every morning, the sun is specially worshipped by the cultured class. In ancient times, the adoration of Anchu Tampurakkal or the five deities, now identified with the Pāndavas of the Mahābharata, prevailed among these people. This worship is found among the Pulayas also. At Mayyanad in Ouilon, there is still an Izhava temple dedicated to these five lords. Women visit ​shrines on all Mondays and Fridays, with a view to worshipping Gauri, the consort of Siva. Male Izhavas devote the first and last days of a month, as also that on which the star of their nativity falls, to religious worship. The Izhavas of Central Travancore pay homage to a spirit called Kāyalil Daivam, or the deity of backwaters. When a village becomes infected with small-pox or cholera, offerings are made to the Bhadrakāli shrine in that locality. The most important offering goes by the name of Kalam Vaikkuka, or pot placing. A woman of the house of the local Panikkan or chief member fasts, and, bearing a pot containing five nalis (a small measure) of paddy (unhusked rice), proceeds to all the other Izhava houses in the village, accompanied by musical instruments. One woman from every house marches to the shrine with her offering of paddy and a chuckram (nearly half an anna). The priest receives the offerings, converts the paddy into rice, and, depositing a portion of it in each of the pots, hands them back to the votaries on the morning of the next day. Another ceremony performed on such occasions is called Desakuruti, when women fast, and, taking all the food-stuffs necessary, proceed to the temple. After the sacrifice of a goat and fowls by the priest, they make an offering of the food to the deity before dinner. Tukkam, or suspension, is another propitiatory ceremony. A religious observance, known as Mamachchirappu, finds favour with the Izhavas of Central Travancore in the month of Vrischikam (November-December). Every Izhava bathes in the evening, addresses the deities by their names for about an hour, and then makes an offering of tender cocoanuts, fruits, and fried grain. This takes place according to the convenience of each family from twelve to forty-one days. ​In connection with the tūkkam ceremony, Mr. L. K.Anantha Krishna Aiyar writes as follows.* "There are two kinds of hook-swinging, namely Garuda (Brahmini kite) and thoni (boat) tūkkam. The ceremony is performed in fulfilment of a vow, to obtain some favour of the deity Kāli, before whose presence it is carried out. The performer of the ceremony should bathe early in the morning, and be in a state of preparation either for a year or for forty-one days by worshipping the deity Bhagavati. He must strictly abstain from meat, all kinds of intoxicating liquors, and association with women. During the morning hours, the performer dresses himself in a garment tucked into the waist-band, rubs his body with oil, and is shampooed particularly on the back, a portion of the flesh in the middle of which is stretched for the insertion of a hook. He is also taught by his instructor to perform various feats called payitta. This he continues till the festival, when he has to swing in fulfilment of the vow. In kite swinging, a kind of car, resting on two axles provided with four wheels, is employed. On it, there is a horizontal beam resting on two vertical supports, A strong rope tied to a ring attached to the beam is connected with the hook which passes through the flesh of the back. Over the beam there is a kutaram (tent), which is tastefully decorated. Inside it, two or three persons can swing at a time. There is a different arrangement in some places. Instead of the beam and the supports, there is a small pole, on which rests a horizontal beam provided with a metallic ring at one end. The beam acts as a lever, so that one end of it can be either raised or lowered, so as to give some rest to the swinger. The rope tied to the ring is ​connected with the hook and the waist-band. For boat swinging, the same kind of vehicle, without wheels, is in use. For kite swinging, the performer has his face painted green. He has to put on artificial lips and wings in imitation of those of the kite, and wears long locks of hair like those of an actor in a Kathakali. As he swings, the car is taken three, five, seven, nine, or eleven times round the temple. In boat swinging, the car is likewise carried round the temple, with the swinger performing his feats, as in the case of kite swinging, to the accompaniment of music. He has to put on the same kind of dress, except the lips and wings. In pillayeduthu-tūkkam, or swinging with a child in fulfilment of a vow, the child is taken to the temple by his parents, who pay to the temple authorities thirty-four chuckrams in Travancore, and sixty-four puthans* in Cochin. The child is then handed over to the swinger, who carries the child as he swings. These performances are sometimes made at the expense of the temple, but more generally of persons who make the outlay in fulfilment of a vow. In the latter case, it costs as much as Rs. 150 for the kite swinger, but only Rs. 30 for the boat swinger. During the festival, they are fed in the temple, owing to their being in a state of vow. It is the Nāyars, Kammālars, Kuruppans, and Izhavas, who perform the swinging in fulfilment of a vow. In the fight between the goddess Kāli and the demon Darika, the latter was completely defeated, and the former, biting him on the back, drank his blood to gratify her feelings of animosity. Hook-swinging symbolises this incident, and the bloodshed by the insertion of the hook through the flesh is intended as an offering to the goddess." ​Of the hook-swinging ceremony as performed a few years ago at the Kollangadu temple in Travancore, an excellent account is given by the Rev. T. Knowles,* from which the following precis has been compiled. In front of the temple was a booth containing the image of the goddess Bhadrakāli, a cruel deity, who is supposed to delight in blood. At a little distance was the car. The bottom part of this was very much like a lorry used when transporting large logs of timber by means of elephants. There were four solid wheels of thick timber, with a frame work, like a railway waggon on a small scale. To this were attached two thick cable ropes. Joined to the sides of the car were two upright posts, about 15 feet high, strengthened with stays and cross-pieces. On the top was a piece of thick timber with a hole in it, and the bottom rounded, which fitted into a cross-piece, and allowed the long beam on which the men were swung to move up or down. This beam was 35 or 40 feet long, and about 9 inches in diameter. It was placed through the hole in the piece of timber on the top of the upright frame, and balanced in the middle like a huge see-saw. At one end of the hole was a covered canopy, and at the other long ropes were fastened, which trailed on the ground. The whole arrangement of the car was such that, by lowering one end of the long beam to the ground, and fastening a man to it, and then pulling down the other end by the ropes, the man could be raised into the air to a height of some 40 feet or more. The whole car could then be dragged by the thick cable ropes round the temple. While the subject was being prepared for swinging, a mat was stretched above his head, partly to do him honour, partly to protect him from the sun. His ​head and neck were richly ornamented, and below he was bedecked with peacock's feathers, and clad in a loin-cloth, which would bear some, if not all the weight of his body. Amid the firing of mortars, beating of tom-toms, the screeching of flutes, and the shouts of the crowd, the canopied end of the long beam was lowered, and the devotee, lying prone on the ground, was fastened to the beam by means of ropes passing under his arms and around his chest. To some of the ropes, hooks were fastened. The priests took hold of the fleshy part of the man's back, squeezed up the flesh, and put some four hooks at least through it. A rudely fashioned sword and shield were then given to the man, and he was swung up into the air, waving the sword and shield, and making convulsive movements. Slowly the people dragged the car round the temple, a distance not quite as far as round St. Paul's cathedral. Some of the men were suspended while the car was dragged round three or four times. The next devotee was fastened in the same way to the beam, but, instead of a sword and shield, the priests gave him an infant in his arms, and devotee and infant were swung up in the air, and the car dragged round the temple as before. Some children were brought forward, whose parents had made vows about them. The little ones were made to prostrate themselves before the image of Kāli. Then the fleshy parts of their sides were pinched up, and some wires put through. This done, the wires were placed in the hands of the relatives, and the children were led round and round the temple, as though in leading strings. It is on record that, when the devotee has been specially zealous, the whole machine has been moved to a considerable distance while he was suspended from it, to the admiration of the gaping multitudes." ​In connection with the religion of the Ilavars, the Rev. S. Mateer writes as follows.* "Demon worship, especially that of Bhadrakāli, a female demon described as a mixture of mischief and cruelty, is the customary cultus of the caste, with sacrifices and offerings and devil-dancing like the Shānārs. Shāstāvu and Vīrabhadran are also venerated, and the ghosts of ancestors. Groves of trees stand near the temples, and serpent images are common, these creatures being accounted favourites of Kāli. They carry their superstitions and fear of the demons into every department and incident of life. In some temples and ceremonies, as at Paroor, Sarkarei, etc., they closely associate with the Sūdras. The Ilavar temples are generally low, thatched buildings ,with front porch, a good deal of wooden railing and carving about them, an enclosure wall, and a grove or a few trees, such as Ficus religiosa, Plumeria, and Bassia. At the Ilavar temple near Chākki in the outskirts of Trevandrum, the goddess Bhadrakāli is represented as a female seated on an image, having two wings, gilt and covered with serpents. Twice a year, fowls and sheep are sacrificed by an Ilavan priest, and offerings of grain, fruit, and flowers are presented. The side-piercing ceremony is also performed here. A temple at Mangalattukōnam, about ten miles south of Trevandrum, at which I witnessed the celebration of the annual festival on the day following Meena Bharani, in March or April, may be taken as a fair example of the whole. In connection with this temple may be seen a peculiar wooden pillar and small shrine at the top, somewhat like a pigeon-house. This is called a tani maram, and is a kind of altar, or residence, for the demon Mādan, resembling ​the temporary shrines on sticks or platforms erected by the Pulayars. On it are carvings of many-headed serpents, etc., and a projecting lamp for oil. For the festival, the ground around the temple was cleared of weeds, the outhouses and sheds decorated with flowers, and on the tani maram were placed two bunches of plantains, at its foot a number of devil-dancing sticks. Close by were five or six framework shrines, constructed of soft palm leaves and pith of plantain tree, and ornamented with flowers. These were supposed to be the residence of some minor powers, and in them were placed, towards night, offerings of flowers, rice, plantains, cocoanuts, and blood. The Ilavars who assemble for the festival wear the marks of Siva, a dot and horizontal lines on the forehead, and three horizontal lines of yellow turmeric on the chest. They begin to gather at the temple from noon, and return home at night. The festival lasts for five days. Some of the neighbouring Sūdras and Shānārs also attend, and some Pulayars, who pay one chuckram for two shots of firework guns in fulfilment of their vows. Offerings here are generally made in return for relief from sickness or trouble of some kind. The pūjāri, or priest, is an Ilavan, who receives donations of money, rice, etc. A kind of mild hook-swinging ceremony is practised. On the occasion referred to, four boys, about fifteen or sixteen years of age, were brought. They must partly fast for five days previously on plain rice and vegetable curry, and are induced to consent to the operation, partly by superstitious fear, and partly by bribes. On the one hand they are threatened with worse danger if they do not fulfil the vows made by their parents to the dēvi (deity); on the other hand, if obedient, they receive presents of fine clothes and money. Dressed in handsome cloths and turbans, and adorned with gold bracelets ​and armlets, and garlands of flowers, the poor boys are brought to present a little of their blood to the sanguinary goddess. Three times they march round the temple; then an iron is run through the muscles of each side, and small rattans inserted through the wounds. Four men seize the ends of the canes, and all go round in procession, with music and singing and clapping of hands, five or seven times, according to their endurance, till quite exhausted. The pūjāri now dresses in a red cloth, with tinsel border, like a Brāhman, takes the dancing-club in hand, and dances before the demon. Cocks are sacrificed, water being first poured upon the head; when the bird shakes itself, the head is cut off, and the blood poured round the temple. Rice is boiled in one of the sheds in a new pot, and taken home with the fowls by the people for a feast in the house. At Mayanādu, the Bhagavathi of the small temple belonging to the Ilavars is regarded as the sister of the one worshipped in the larger temple used by the Sūdras, and served by a Brāhman priest; and the cars of the latter are brought annually to the Ilavar's temple, and around it three times before returning to their own temple. At the Ilavar's temple, the same night, the women boil rice in new earthen pots, and the men offer sheep and fowls in sacrifice. In further illustration of the strange superstitious practices of this tribe, two more incidents may be mentioned. An Ilavatti, whose child was unwell, went to consult an astrologer, who informed her that the disease was caused by the spirit of the child's deceased grandmother. For its removal he would perform various incantations, for which he required the following, viz.: — water from seven wells, dung from five cowsheds, a larva of the myrmeleon, a crab, a frog, a green snake, a virāl fish, parched rice, ada cake, ​cocoanut, chilly, and green palm leaves. An Ilavan, who had for some time been under Christian instruction, was led away by a brother, who informed him that, if he built a small temple for the worship of Nina Mādan, and offered sacrifices, he should find a large copper vessel full of gold coins hid underground, and under the charge of this demon. The foolish man did so, but did not find a single cash. Now the lying brother avers that the demon will not be satisfied unless a human sacrifice is offered, which, of course, is impossible."
The headmen of the Izhava caste are the Chānnans and Panikkans, invested with these titles by the Sovereigns of this State who have been already referred to. The limits of their jurisdiction were generally fixed in the charters received from them by their rulers, and even to-day their authority remains supreme in all social matters. The priests, it may be noted, are only a minor class, having no judicial functions. Chief among the offences against the caste rules may be mentioned non-observance of pollution, illicit connection, non-performance of the tāli-kettu before the age of puberty, non-employment of the village barber and washerman, non-celebration of ceremonies in one's own village, and so on. The headman comes to know of these through the agency of the village barber or washerman, and also a class of secondary dignitaries known as Kottilpattukar or Nāluvitanmar. In every village, there are four families, invested with this authority in olden times by the rulers of the State on payment of fifty-nine fanams to the royal treasury. They are believed to hold a fourth of the authority that pertains to the chieftain of the village. If, on enquiry, an offence is proved, a fine is imposed on the offender, which he is obliged to pay to the local shrine. If the offence is grave, a feast has to ​be given by him to the villagers. In cases of failure, the services of the village priest and washerman, and also the barber, are refused, and the culprit becomes ostracised from society. The headman has to be paid a sum of ten chuckrams on all occasions of ceremonies, and the Nāluvitanmar four chuckrams each. There is a movement in favour of educating the priests, and delegating some of the above powers to them.
Three forms of inheritance may be said to prevail among the Izhavas of Travancore, viz.: (1) makkathāyam (inheritance from father to son) in the extreme south; (2) marumakkatāyam (through the female line) in all tāluks to the north of Quilon; (3) a mixture of the two between Neyyatinkara and that tāluk. According to the mixed mode, one's own children are not left absolutely destitute, but some portion of the property is given them for maintenance, in no case, however, exceeding a half. In families observing the marumakkatāyam law, male and female heirs own equal rights. Partition, though possible when all consent, rarely takes place in practice, the eldest male member holding in his hands the management of the whole property. In Quilon and other places, the widow and her children are privileged to remain in her husband's house for full one year after his death, and enjoy all the property belonging to him.
On the subject of inheritance, the Rev. S. Mateer writes as follows, "The nepotistic law of inheritance is, to a considerable extent, followed by this caste. Those in the far south being more closely connected with the Tamil people, their children inherit. Amongst the Ilavars in Trevandrum district, a curious attempt is made to unite both systems of inheritance, half the property acquired by a man after his marriage, and during the lifetime of his wife, going to the issue of such marriage, ​and half to the man's nepotistic heirs. In a case decided by the Sadr Court, in 1872, the daughter of an Ilavan claimed her share in the movable and immovable property of her deceased father, and to have a sale made by him while alive declared null and void to the extent of her share. As there was another similar heir, the Court awarded the claimant a half share, and to this extent the claim was invalidated. Their rules are thus stated by G. Kerala Varman Tirumulpād: — ' If one marries and gives cloth to an Ilavatti (female), and has issue, of the property acquired by him and her from the time of the union, one-tenth is deducted for the husband's labour or individual profit; of the remainder, half goes to the woman and her children, and half to the husband and his heirs (anandaravans). The property which an Ilavan has inherited or earned before his marriage devolves solely to his anandaravans, not to his children. If an Ilavatti has continued to live with her husband, and she has no issue, or her children die before obtaining any share of the property, when the husband dies possessing property earned by both, his heirs and she must mutually agree, or the castemen decide what is fair for her support; and the husband's heir takes the remainder.' "
The marriage of Izhava girls consists of two distinct rites, one before they attain puberty called tāli-kettu, and the other generally after that period, but in some cases before, called sambandham. It is, however, necessary that the girl must have her tāli tied before some one contracts sambandham with her. The tāli-tier may be, but often is not, as among the Nāyars, the future husband of the girl. But, even for him, the relation will not be complete without a formal cloth presentation. The legitimate union for a person is with his maternal uncle's ​or paternal aunt's daughter. Generally there is a separate ceremony called Grihapravesam, or entrance into the house of the bridegroom after sambandham. Widows may contract alliances with other persons after the death of the first husband. In all cases, the Izhava husband takes his wife home, and considers it infra dig. to stay in the house of his father-in-law.
The method of celebrating the tāli-kettu differs in different parts of Travancore. The following is the form popular in Central Travancore. All the elderly members of the village assemble at the house of the girl, and fix a pillar of jack (Artocarpus integrifolia) wood at the south-east corner. On the Kaniyan (astrologer) being three times loudly consulted as to the auspiciousness of the house he gives an affirmative reply, and the guardian of the girl, receiving a silver ring from the goldsmith, hands it over to the Vatti (priest), who ties it on the wooden post. The carpenter, Kaniyan, and goldsmith receive some little presents. The next item in the programme is the preparation of the rice necessary for the marriage, and a quantity of paddy (unhusked rice) is brought by the girl to the pandal ground, and formally boiled in a pot. The pandal (booth) is generally erected on the south side of the house. The chartu, or a chit from the Kaniyan, certifying the auspiciousness of the match and the suitable date for its formal adoption, is taken by the guardian and four Machchampis or Inangans to the headman of the latter. These Machchampis are Izhavas of the village, equal in status to the guardian of the girl. All the preliminary arrangements are now over, and, on the day previous to the marriage, the girl bathes, and, wearing the bleached cloths supplied by the Mannān (washerman), worships the local deity, and awaits the arrival of the bridegroom. In the ​evening, the wife of the Vatti applies oil to her hair, and after a bath the rite known as Kalati begins, as a preliminary to which a thread passing through a silver ring is tied round her riorht wrist. Kalati is recitation of various songs by the women of the village before the girl. This is followed by Kānjiramala, or placing the girl before a line of carved wooden images, and songs by the Vatti women. On the following day, the girl is introduced, at the auspicious hour, within the katirmandapa or raised platform decorated with sheaves of corn within the pandal. The minnu or marriage ornament, prepared by the goldsmith, is handed over to the priest, along with two cloths to be worn by the bride and bridegroom. A string is made of thread taken from these cloths, and the minnu attached to it. The mother-in-law of the bridegroom now stands ready at the gate, and, on his arrival, places a garland of flowers round his neck. The new cloths are then presented by the Vatti and his wife to the bridegroom and bride respectively, after some tender cocoanut leaves, emblematic of the established occupation of the caste, are thrust into the bridegroom's waist by the headman of the village. In former days, a sword took the place of these leaves. The minnu is then tied round the neck of the bride, and all parties, including the parent or guardian, give presents to the bridegroom. The day's ceremony is then over, and the bridegroom remains at the house of the bride. The string is removed from the bride's wrist by the Vatti on the fourth day, and the couple bathe. More than one girl may have the tāli tied at the same time, provided that there are separate bridegrooms for them. Only boys from the families of Machchampis can become tāli-tiers.
The sambandham of North and Central Travancore differs from that of South Travancore in some material ​respects. In the former, on the appointed day, the bridegroom, who is a different person from the tāli-tier, accompanied by his relations and friends, arrives at the bride's house, and the guardian of the former offers a sum of money to the guardian of the latter. A suit of clothes, with ten chuckrams or ten rāsis (coins), is presented by the bridegroom to the bride, who stands in a room within and receives it, being afterwards dressed by his sister. The money goes by right to her mother, and is known as Ammāyippanam. Now comes the time for the departure of the bride to her husband's house, when she receives from her guardian a nut-cracker, lime-can, a dish filled with rice, and a mat. A red cloth is thrown over her head, and a few members accompany the party for some distance. In South Travancore, the bridegroom is accompanied, besides others, by a companion, who asks in the midst of the assembly whether they assent to the proposed alliance, and, on their favourable reply, hands over a sum of money as an offering to the local shrine. Another sum is given for the maintenance of the bride, and, in the presence of the guardian, a suit of clothes is given to her by the bridegroom. The wife is, as elsewhere, immediately taken to the husband's house. This is called Kudivaippu, and corresponds to the Grahapravesam celebrated by Brāhmans.
The following account of marriage among the Izhavas of Malabar is given in the Gazetteer of that district. "A girl may be married before puberty, but the consummation is not supposed to be effected till after puberty, though the girl may live with her husband at once. If the marriage is performed before puberty, the ceremony is apparently combined with the tāli-kettu kalyānam. The bride is fetched from the dēvapura or ​family chapel with a silk veil over her head, and holding a betel leaf in her right hand in front of her face. She stands in the pandal on a plank, on which there is some rice. On her right stand four enangans of the bridegroom, and on her left four of her own. The elder of the bridegroom's enangans hands one of the bride's enangans a bundle containing the tāli, a mundu and pāvā (cloths), some rice, betel leaves, and a coin called mēymēlkanam, which should be of gold and worth at least one rupee. All these are provided by the bridegroom. He next hands the tāli to the bridegroom's sister, who ties it. After this, all the enangans scatter rice and flowers over the bride. In this caste, the claim of a man to the hand of his paternal aunt's daughter is recognised in the ceremony called padikkal tada (obstruction at the gate), which consists of a formal obstruction offered by eleven neighbours to the bride's removal, when she is not so related to her husband. They are bought off by a fee of two fanams, and a packet of betel leaf. The girl is then taken to the bridegroom's house. If very young, she is chaperoned by a female relative. On the fourth day there is a feast at the bridegroom's house called nālām kalyānam, and this concludes the ceremonies. Marriage after puberty is called Pudamari. The ceremonial is the same, but there is no padikkal tada."
When an Izhava girl reaches puberty, the occasion is one for a four days' religious ceremonial. On the first day, the Vatti priestess anoints the girl with oil, and, after a bath, dresses her in the cloth supplied by the Mannātti (washerwoman). She is then laid on a broad wooden plank, and is supposed not to go out until she bathes on the fourth day. All the female relations of the family present her with sweetmeats. On the seventh ​day, she is again taken to and from the village tank (pond) with much éclat, and, on her return, she either treads on cloths spread on the floor, or is carried by an elderly woman. After this, she husks a quantity of paddy, and cooks the rice obtained thence. If this ceremony takes place at the house of a headman, the villagers present him with a vessel full of sugared rice.
A two days' ceremonial, called Pulikudi in north Travancore, and Vayattu Pongala in the south, which corresponds to the Pumsavana of Brāhmans, is observed at the seventh month of pregnancy. On the first day, at twilight in the evening, the pregnant woman, preceded by the priestess, proceeds to the foot of a tamarind tree on the southern side of the compound. Arriving there, she receives a thread seven yards in length, to which a silver ring is attached at one end, and, by means of circumambulation, entwines the tree with the thread. If the thread is by chance or inadvertence broken during this process, the popular belief is that either the mother or the child will die soon. Next day, the thread is unwound from the tree, and a handful of tamarind leaves is given to the woman by her husband. On re-entering the house, tamarind juice is poured through the hands of the husband into those of the wife, who drinks it. The priestess then pours a quantity of oil on the navel of the woman from a betel leaf, and, from the manner in which it flows down, it is believed that she is able to determine the sex of the unborn child. The woman has to lean against a cutting of an ambazham (Spondias mangifera) tree while she is drinking the juice, and this cutting has to be planted in some part of the compound. If it does not grow properly, the adversity of the progeny is considered to be sealed. The husband is given a ring and other presents on this occasion. ​Women bathe on the third, fifth, and nineteenth day after delivery, and wear the māttu or changed cloth of the Mannātti, in order to be freed from pollution. The name-giving ceremony of the child takes place on the twenty-eighth day. It is decorated with a pair of iron anklets, and a ribbon passed through a few pieces of iron is tied round its waist. It is then held standing on a vessel filled with rice, and, its left ear being closed, a name is muttered by its guardian into the right ear. The first feeding ceremony is observed in the sixth month, when the Iron ornaments are removed, and replaced by silver and gold ones. The ear-boring ceremony takes place at an auspicious hour on some day before the child attains its seventh year. In former times, only the eldest male member of a family was cremated, but no such restriction obtains at the present day. When a member of the community dies, three handfuls of rice are placed in the mouth of the corpse by the eldest heir after a bath, followed by the sons, nephews, and grandsons of the deceased. Every relative throws an unbleached cloth over the corpse, after which it is taken to the burning-ground, where the pyre is lighted by the heir with a consecrated torch handed to him by the priest. A wooden plank is furnished by the carpenter, and an impression of the foot of the deceased smeared with sandal paste is made on it. The name, and date of the death of the deceased, are inscribed thereon, and it has to be carefully preserved in the house of the heir. The record refreshes his memory on occasions of srādh (memorial service), etc. When the cremation is half completed, the contents of a tender cocoanut are placed beside the head of the corpse as an offering, and prayers are muttered. A pot full of water is then borne by the chief mourner on his shoulder ​thrice round the corpse. As he does so, the priest pricks the pot thrice with an iron instrument. Finally, the pot is broken on the pyre, and the chief mourner returns home without turning back and looking at the corpse. On the second day, an oblation of food (pinda) is offered to the departed. The inmates of the house are fed with conji (rice gruel) on this day by the relatives. The Sanchayana, or collection of bones, takes place on the fifth day. Pollution lasts for fifteen days in Central and North Travancore, but only for ten days in the south. There are some rites, not observed necessarily by all members of the caste, on the forty-first day, and at the end of the first year. Persons who have died of contagious diseases, women who die after conception or on delivery, and children under five years of age, are buried. Pollution is observed only for nine days when children die; and, in the case of men who die of contagious disease, a special group of ceremonies is performed by the sorcerer. Those who are under pollution, besides being forbidden to enter shrines and other sanctuaries, may not read or write, or partake of liquor, butter, milk, ghī, dhal, or jaggery.
* ↑ * Letters from Malabar.
* ↑ * Voyage to the East Indies. Translation, 1800.
* ↑ • Monograph Ethnograph: Survey of Cochin, No. 10, Izhavas, 1905.
* ↑ * Chuckrams and puthans are coins.
* ↑ * Wide_World Magazine, September 1899.
* ↑ * Native Life in Travancore, 1883