# Castes and Tribes of Southern India/Wynad

​Wynad.— Returned, at times of census, as a territorial division of Chetti. There are at Gudalūr near the boundary between the Nīlgiri district and Malabar, and in the Wynād, two classes called, respectively, Mandādan Chettis (q.v.) and Wynādan Chettis.
The following account of the Wynādan or Wynaadan Chettis is given in the Gazetteer of the Nīlgiris. "They speak Malayālam, and follow marumakkatāyam (inheritance in the female line). They say they were originally Vellālas from Coimbatore, followed makkatāyam (inheri- tance from father to son), spoke Tamil, and wore the ​Tamil top-knot. In proof of this, they point out that at their weddings they still follow certain Tamil customs, the bridegroom wearing a turban and a red cloth with a silver girdle over it and being shaved, and the woman putting on petticoats and nose-rings. They have headmen called Kolapallis, subordinate to whom are Mantiris, but these are liable to be overruled by a nad council. No wedding may take place without the head-man's leave. Two forms of marriage are recognised. In one, the couple exchange garlands after the Tamil fashion, and the father (a relic of the makkatāyam system) conducts the ceremony. Preliminaries are arranged by go-betweens, and the chief of the numerous rites is the placing of a bracelet on the girl's upper arm under a pandal (booth) before the priest and the assembled relatives. The other form is simpler. The bridegroom goes to the girl's house with some men friends, and, after a dinner there, a go-between puts on the bangle. Before marriage, a tāli-kettu ceremony resembling that of the Nāyars is often gone through, all the girls of a family who are of marriageable age having tālis tied round their necks on the same day by a maternal uncle. Married women are allowed intimacy with their husbands' brothers. Widows are permitted to marry again. The dead are usually burnt, but those who have met their deaths by accidents and epidemics are buried. Water from a vessel containing rice and a gold coin is poured into a dying person's mouth. Should the spirit of the dead disturb the dreams of the relatives, a hut for it is built under an astrologer's directions close to the house, and in this lights are lit morning and evening, and periodical offerings of food are made. The Wynaadan Chettis reverence the deities in the Ganapati, Mahāmāri and Kalimalai Tambirān temples near Sultan's Battery, Airu Billi of the Kurumbas, and one or two ​others. The women wear in their distended ear-lobes gold discs which are so characteristic of the Nāyars, and many necklaces. They wear two white cloths, tying one round the waist and another across their breasts."
It is recorded, in the Gazetteer of Malabar, that the Wynād or Wynaadan Chettis "claim to be Sūdras, and are in appearance and customs very similar to the Nāyars. They are polluted by all castes below Nāyars. Their marriage customs seem to be a mixture of east and west coast practices. They follow the marumakkattāyam system, and perform the tāli-kettu kaliānam; but this is done on the tenth day after puberty, and two tālis have to be tied on the girl, one by her maternal uncle, and one by the senior female of her house. They also celebrate a regular marriage ceremony, at which a bracelet is put on the bride's right arm, and bride and bridegroom garland each other; while next morning a kānam or bride-price has to be paid to the bride's karnavan (senior male in a family). They are bold shikāris (sportsmen), and tiger spearing is a favourite pastime, closely connected with their religion.
"The tiger is encircled by a wall of netting six feet high, which is gradually closed up, and then speared. The carcass is not skinned, but is stretched on a pole, and hung up as a sacrifice to their deity."