MYSOR.fi, CANARA, AND MALABAR. 6$$
they any objection to eat an animal that has died a natural death. Their marriageceremony confifts in a feaft, at which the bridegroom ties the bridal ornaments roundthe neck of his miftrefs. Except for adultery, a man cannot divorce his wife; and iffhe has children, he cannot during her life take another; but if a man, in a reafonabletime after marriage, have no children by his firft wife, he may take a fecond. Widow'sare not permitted to marry again ; but it is not expected that they fhould burn them-felves, nor preferve celibacy with great exactitude. Many of this call take the vow ofDaferi.
The Togotas, or Togotaru, are a clafs of weavers of Telinga origin, and in theirfamilies retain that language, They follow no other trade than weaving, and havehereditary chiefs called Jjyamana, who poflefs the ufual authority. Many of themcan read and write accompts ; but none attempt any higher kind of learning. Idle,ftupid fellows, that cannot get a living by their induftry, take the vow of Daferi,and go about praying with a bell and conch. They have no tradition concerning thetime when they came into this country. They all eat together, but intermarry onlywith fuch families, as by long acquaintance know the purity of each other’s defcent.They cannot lawfully drink fpirituous liquors, but can eat filh, fowls, and mutton.It mull be obferved, that, throughout the fouthern parts of India , fowls are acommon article of diet with the lower calls; whereas in Bengal, their ufe is confinedentirely to Muffufmans. In Bengal again ducks and geefe are commonly ufed bythe Hindus ; but in the fouthern parts of India thefe birds are not at all domellicated,except by Europeans. It is not ufual for the -weavers of this call to take more thanone wife, unlefs the firfl prove barren ; but there is no law to prevent them fromtaking as many as they pleafe. Parents that are poor take money for their daughters,when they give them in marriage; thofe that are in eafy circumflances do not.Widows cannot marry again, but are not expected to kill themfelves. A womancan only be divorced for adultery. The Gurus of thefe weavers are hereditary chiefsof the Aayngar; who, in return for the contributions of their followers, beflowupadefa and chakrantikam; of courfe they are worfhippers of Vifhnu. Thepanchanga, or village aftrologer, whether he be a follower of that God , or of Siva,attends at births, marriages, funerals, at the ceremonies performed in honour of theirdeceafed parents, and at the building of a new houfe; and on each occafion gets afee of one fanam, or eight-pence. On other occafions, when a weaver wants to pray,like other Sudra, he calls in a Satanana, who reads fomething in an unknownlanguage, and gives the votary fome holy water, which he confecrates by pouringit on the head of a fmall image that he carries about for that purpofe. A fimilarceremony when performed by a Brahman, from the charity that accompanies it,is called dhana, and is fuppofed to be much more efficacious in procuring the favourof the gods.
13th July.—In the morning I went three coffes from Calura to Silagutta. Therains having become heavy, the people are now bufy lowing their ragy. Thefhowers are frequent, and the winds from the weft ward are ftrong. A great partof the country is overgrown with Hunted bullies, even where the foil appears to betolerably good, and has never been in a Hate of cultivation. Perhaps one half israted in Krifhna Rayaiu’s accompts, and of that two thirds may be in aftualcultivation ; for the country is in a better Hate than that through which ! paffedyefterday. It does not contain fo many fmall rocky hills; but I have in front,Nandi-durga ; on my right, Rymabad, or Rymangur ; on my left Chintamony; and
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