MYSORE , CANARA, AND MALABAR. 683

they aft as Candachara, or native militia, and fometimes trade in grain. They haveno hereditary chiefs; but their difputes are fettled by a council of four SadruGaudas, or chief farmers, who alfo punilh all tranfgreffions againft the rules ofcaft, excommunicating licentious women, and other heinous offenders, and reprimand-ing t'nofe who have been guilty of lefs enormous faults. By religion they are dividedinto three claffes, thofe who worlhip Jaina ; thofe who worlhip Siva; and thofe whoworlhip Vifimu under the form of Vencaty Ramana; but this does not preventintermarriages, and the woman always adopts the religion of her hufband They arealfo divided into a number of families analagous to the Gotrams of the Brahmans; anda man never intermarries with a woman of the fame family. They have among thema baftard race, defcended from widows, who have become the kind of concubinescalled Cutigas; but they are not numerous, and are held in great contempt by theothers. The Gauda whom I have fo often mentioned is the perfon that gives me theinformation concerning the caft. He is a worlhipper of Vencaty Ramana, and deniesany belief in a future ftate; his worlhip of the gods being performed w r ith a view ofobtaining temporal bleffings. This fed takes the vow of Daferi, and bury the dead.They can write accompts, but have no books nor fcience. They eat no animal food,and ought not to drink fpirituous liquors. They are allowed as many wives as they canobtain ; but do not divorce them for any caufe except adultery. Girls continue to bemarriageable even after the age of puberty; and widows are not expedted to burythemfelves with their hulbands’ bodies; but their becoming concubines of the kindcalled Cutigas is confidered as very difgraceful to ali their connections. Their Guru isTata Acharya, an hereditary chief of the Sri Vaifhnavatn Brahmans. He bellows onhis followers holy-water, and confecrated victuals, and accepts their charity. Thepanchanga, or village aftrologer, is their purohita, and attends at marriages, births,the building of a new houfe, and at Mala-paklha, the ceremony which the Sudrasannually perform in commemoration of their cieceafed parents. The Sadru who worlhipSiva are but few in number, and wear the linga. The third fe£t of Sadru worfhiponly the God Jaina , but do not intermarry with the true Jainaru. Thefe burn the dead.The Gauda fays, that formerly all the Sadru were Jainu ; but that his anceftors, dif-liking that religion, betook themfelves to worlhip Vilhnu. They have not adopted theworlhip of the Saktis, of Dharma Raja , nor of the Virika.

The Ladas, or Ladaru, have a language quite different from all the others that arefpoken fouth of the Krifhna river. This language they call Chaurafi; and lay, that itis fpoken at a city called Caranza, which is near the river Godavari . In fact, it is a dialeftof that fpoken near Benares, to which the others have much lefs refemblance. TheLadaru fay, that, in confequence of a famine in their own country, about five hundredyears ago, they came to this neighbourhood. They ferve as cavalry ; trade, efpecially,in horfes, and farm lands, but never cultivate them with their own hands. Theyaffume the title of Klhatryas of the family of the fun, and wear a firing like the Brah-mans. They will not intermarry with the Rajputs , or other pretenders to a royaldefcent; but they are treated by "the Brahmans merely as Sudras, and in fadt feem tobe the higheft rank of Sudras in their native country, like the Kayalhthas of Bengal,or the Kerit Nairs of Malyala. They are of 14 different families, like the Gotrams ofthe Brahmans ; and fome are followers of the Siva Brahmans, and fome of the SriVailhnavam ; but this does not produce a feparation of caft ; for the woman alwaysadopts the religion of her hufband. They have no hereditary chiefs 5 but the affairs ofthe tribe are managed by an affembly of the heads of families. For fmall faults thefeaffemblies reprimand j for adultery, or for eating forbidden food, or with forbidden

4 s 2 perfon,?,