
THE LIBRARY 

OF

THE UNIVERSITY

OF CALIFORNIA

LOS ANGELES
 
-----------------------------------------------------------------------

AGENTS FOR THE SALE OF MADRAS GOVERNMENT PUBLICATIONS

IN THE EAST.

R. CAMBRAY & Co., Calcutta.
COMBRIDGE & Co., Madras.
HIGGINBOTHAM & CO Mount Road, Madras.
V. KALYANARAMA IYER & CO., Esplanade, Madras.
S. MURTHY & CO., Kapalee Press, Madras.
G. A. NATESAN & CO., Madras.
P. R . RAMA IYAR & Co., 192, Esplanade, Madras.
*T. K. SITARAMA AIYAR, Kumbakonam.
D. B. TARAPOREVALA SONS & CO., Bombay.
TEMPLE & CO., Georgetown, Madras.
THACKER & CO. (Limited), Bombay,
THACKER, SPINK & CO., Calcutta.
THOMPSON & CO .Madras.

IN ENGLAND.

E. A. ARNOLD, 41 and 43, Maddox Street, Bond Street, W., London.
B. H. BLACKWELL, 50 and 51, Broad Street, Oxford.
CONSTABLE & CO., 10, Orange Street, Leicester Square, W.C., London.
DEIGHTON, BELL & CO., Cambridge.
GRINDLAY & CO., 54, Parliament Street, S.W., London.
HENRY S. KING & CO., 65, Cornhill, E.C., London.
P. S. KING & SON, 2 and 4, Great Smith Street, Westminster, S.W., London.
KEGAN PAUL, TRENCH, 'COURSER & Co., 43, Gerrard Street, Soho, W., London.
B. QUARITCH, 11, Grafton SIreel, New Bond Street, W., London,
W. TRACKER & CO., 2 Crud Lane. E.C., London.

ON THE CONTINENT.

FRIEDLANDER & SOHN, 11, Carlstrasse, Berlin
OTTO HARRASSOWITZ, Leipzig.
RUDOLF HAUPT, Halle-a-S , Germany
KARL W. HIERSEMANN, Leipzig.
ERNEST LEROUX, 25, Rue Bonaparte, Paris.
MARTINUS NIJHOFF, The Hague, Holland.

(Footnote: *Agent for bale of the Legislative Department publications.
 

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

MADRAS DISTRICT GAZETTEERS.

TRICHINOPOLY.

VOLUME 1

[Price, 2 rupees 6 annas.]	[3 shellings 9 pence.]
 

----------------------------------------------------------------------- 

IMAGE 8 ATTACHED SEPARATELY

----------------------------------------------------------------------- 

IMAGE 9 ATTACHED SEPARATELY

----------------------------------------------------------------------- 

MADRAS DISTRICT GAZETTEERS.

TRICHINOPOLY.

BY

F. R. HEMINGWAY,

INDIAN CIVIL SERVICE.

MADRAS

PRINTED BY THE SUPERINTENDENT, GOVERNMENT PRESS

1907
 

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

PREFACE.

The original District Manual ' of Trichinopoly, written by the late Mr. Lewis Moore, I.C.S., was published in 1878.

The present volume, which owes much to its predecessor, follows the plan for the new 'District- Gazetteers' prescribed by Government and, under instructions, it treats the taluks of Karur and Namakkal, which are to be transferred to the district from Coimbatore and Salem respectively, as though they were already part of it. The separate statistical Appendix, which was compiled in advance, omits these two taluks, but this defect will be remedied when it is re-issued after the census of 1911. The history of Trichinopoly is largely the history of the Cholas and the Nayakkans, and Chapter II has consequently indented freely upon the corresponding portions of the Gazetteers of Tanjore and Madura., in which districts the chief capitals of those powers were respectively situated. The facts and references in the section on the early history of the district have been chiefly supplied by Rai Bahadur V. Venkayya, M.A., the Government Epigraphist, whom I cannot sufficiently thank for his ready- and courteous assistance.

Having little personal knowledge of Trichinopoly, I have been obliged to rely largely upon information supplied to me by others. I have had to apply for help to nearly all the District Officers in Trichinopoly, Coimbatore and Salem, and have received most generous and cordial assistance, for which I tender my best thanks. Mr. E. Thurston has kindly helped me with Chapter III and Mr. A. Chatterton with Chapters IV and VI. Finally I must not omit to record my thanks to my clerk, K. Virasvami Aiyar, for the industry and intelligence with which he has conducted many of the necessary local enquiries.

F. R. H.
1445684
 
PLAN OF CONTENTS.

CHAPTER										PAGES

I.    PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION								1-25
II.   POLITICAL HISTORY								26-72
III.  THE PEOPLE									73-131
IV. AGRICULTURE AND IRRIGATION							132-162
V.  FORESTS									153-156
VI. OCCUPATIONS AND TRADE								157-179
VII. MEANS OF COMMUNICATION							180-186
VIII.RAINFALL AND SEASONS								187-195
IX.  PUBLIC HEALTH									196-202
X.   EDUCATION									203-208
XI.  LAND REVENUE ADMINISTRATION							209-243
XII. SALT, ABKARI AND MISCELLANEOUS REVENUE					244-249
XIII.ADMINISTRATION OF JUSTICE							250-259
XIV.LOCAL SELF-GOVERNMENT							260-267

XV. GAZETTEER

Karur Taluk									268-276
Kulittalai Taluk									277-285
Musiri Taluk									286-295
Namakkal Taluk									296-300
Perambalur Taluk									301-308
Trichinopoly Taluk									309-312
Udaiyarpalaiyam Taluk								343-353

XVI. PUDUKKOTTAI STATE								354-374

INDEX										376-400
 

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

TABLE OF CONTENTS.

CHAPTER I.

PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION.

PAGE

GENERAL DESCRIPTION (page 1)Position and boundariesTaluks and chief townsEtymology of tho name (2)Natural divisions. HILLSThe PachaimalaisThe Kollaimalais (3)The Talaimalais (5). RIVERSThe CauveryThe Amaravati (7)The Aiyar (8)The KaraipottanarThe MamundiyarThe Nandiyar (9)The two Vellars. CLIMATE (10)TemperatureHumidityWinds. SOILS (11). GEOLOGY (12)General distribution of rocks--The gneissesCrystalline limestones (13)Iron ores Quartzites, etc. (14)The eretaceons rocksTheir geological importanceTheir classification (15)Their positionThe Uttatur groupThe Trichinopoly group (16)The Ariyalur groupThe Ninniyur cretaceous rocksFauna of cretaceous rocks (17)The Cuddalore sandstones and alluvinm, MINERALSTheir small importance (18)Minerals actually worked (19). FLORAFruit treesOther trees (20), FAUNACattleCattle fairs (22)BuffaloesSheep and goatsUses of cattle, etc. (23) Superstitions about cattlePony breeding (24)GameFish (25)	1-25.

CHAPTER II.

POLITICAL HISTORY.

EARLY HISTORY (page 26)Connection with the CholasEarly references to them(27)The country at beginning of the Christian eraKarikal Chola and his successors, 1st and 2nd centuries A.D. (28)Pallava supremacy and pressure from Chalukyas, 7th century (31)Brief supremacy of the Ganga-Pallavas and rise of the Cholas, 9th and 10th centuries (32)Predecessors of Rajaraja I., circ. 880-984 (33)Conquests of Rajaraja I, 985-1013 (35)His domestic rule (37)His successorsRajendra Chola I., 1011-44-11,Rajadhiraja, Deva I., 1018-53 (38)Rajendra Deva, 1052-64 (39)Vira, Rajendra Deva, 1062-69Usurpation of the Chola throne by Kulottunga I., circ. 1073 (41)His reignRelations with Pandyas and Ceylon (42)Gradual decline of the Cholas (44)Subjection to Pandyas and Hoysalas (45)Conquest of the south by Malik Kafur, 1310 (46)General character of the Cholas (47). VIJAYANAGAR PERIOD (48)Conquest by Vijayanagar, circ. 1340King Achyutas campaign, 1532 (49). NAYAKKAN DYNASTY, 1559-1736 (50)Its originVisvanatha Nayakkan, 1559-63 (51)His immediate successors (52)Fall of Vijayanagar kingdom, 1565Tirumala Nayakkan, 1623-59-He defies Vijayanagar (53)Calls the Muhammadans to his aidAnd becomes their feudatory (54)His wars with MysoreHis death (55)His capital (56)-Muttu Alakadri, 1659-62Chokkanatha, 1662-82 (57)His troubles with his neighboursHis conquest and loss of TanjoreAttacked by Mysore and the Marathas (58)-The latter seize his country (59)Ranga Krishna Muttu Virappa (1682-89)Matters improveMangamma1,1689-1704 (60)Her warsVijaya 
 

--------------------------------x-----------------------------------

TABLE OF CONTENTS.

PAGE


Ranga Chokkanatha (1704-31)Minakshi (1731-36)Musalman interference (61)  End of Nayakkan dynasty (62)Character of its rule. MUSALMAN DOMINIONChanda Sihib (1736-40)A Marktha interlude, 1740-43Musalman authority re-established, 1743 (63)The rival Musalman parties. THE CARNATIC WAR (64) Trichinopoly besieged, 1751-52Trichinopoly again besieged, 1753-54 (66) Comparative quiet, 1755-56 (69) Events of 1757-61Mysore Wars, 1766-69 and 1780-84 (70)Mysore Wars of 1790-92 and 1799 (71)Treaties between the English and Muhammad Ali in 1731 and 1792Cession of the country, 1801			26-72

CHAPTER III.

THE PEOPLE.

CENSUS STATISTICS (page 73)Density of the populationIts growthLanguageReligions (74). THE CHRISTIANSThe Goanese and Pondicherry missionsThe -Madura Mission (75) The Tranquebar Danish Mission (76)The S.P.C.K.The S.P.G.The Leipzic Evangelical Lutheran Mission (77) The Wesleyan Mission (78)Tun MUHAMMADANSRelations with Hindus (79)General position (80)Holy places. JAIN REMAINS. THE HINDUS (81) VillagesHousesDress (82)Ornaments (83)Tattooing (84)FoodFestive occasions (85) Games (86)SuperstitionsThe lesser deities (88)Caste and family deities (90) Holy places and festivals (91)VowsFactions (92)Caste panchayats (93)Marriage customs (91)Funeral ceremonies (98). PRINCIPAL CASTEN (100)VellalansKonga Vellalans (102)Muttiriyans or Ambalakarans (105)Kallans (106)Udaiyans (108)Pallis or Vanniyans (110)Urailis (112)Valaiyans (114)Uppiliyans (115)Reddis (117)Vallambaus (119)Maravans (120)Tottiyans (121)Malaiyalis (123)Pallans (128)Paraiyans (130)						73-131.

CHAPTER IV.

AGRICULTURE AND IRRIGATION.

WET CULTIVATION (page 132)The crops grownPaddy ; its varietiesUnirrigated paddy (133)Irrigated paddy ; the season for itSowing versus transplanting (134)
Cultivation of sown paddy (135)Seed-bedsCultivation methods (136) Rotation of wet cropsPlantains (137)Betel (138). DRY CULTITATION (139) Crops grownSeasonsRotations and mixed sowing (140)CultivationImplements and manures (141) Superstitions maxims (142). IRRIGATION (143)River channelsThe Cauvery anicuts and channelsOther dams (146) The irrigation cessFloods and embankment (148)TanksWellsProjects for improving irrigation (149)Nandiyar ProjectOther projects (150). ECONOMIC SIDE OF AGRICULTURE.			132-152.

CHAPTER V.

FORESTS.

FORESTS (page 153) Extent and distributionReserves un the hillsCharacter of the forests (154)Their economic value (155)Cultural operations, etc.Forest. administration								153-156
 
-----------------------------------xi------------------------------------

TABLE OF CONTENTS.

CHAPTER VI.

OCCUPATIONS AND TRADE

PAGE

AGRICULTURE (page 157). TEXTILE INDUSTRIES  Silk weaving  Weaving of mixed cotton and silk  All  cotton cloths (159)  Weaving methods (160)  Braid and other ornaments (161)  Tape  Cotton carpets  Woollen carpets (162)  Blankets  Mats. DYEING (163) Silk thread  Processes  Quality of the colours (164)  Cotton thread (165)  Cloth  dyeing  Chints. stamping (166)-METAL-WORK (167)  Household vessels  Ornamental work (168). OTHER FINE ARTS (169)  Jewellery  Painting, - Pith modelling  Musical instruments (170)  Carving and modelling. MISCELLANEOUS  Rope manufacture  Basket  work (171)  Oil  Tanning (172)  Shoes and other leather  work (173)  Scents  Cheroots  Soap (174)  Bangles  Sticklae bangles  Glass bangles  Glass  ware (175)  Pottery (176)  Saltpetre  House building  Printing  Workshops, etc. TRADEMarkets  Exports and imports. WEIGHTS AND, MEASURES (177)  Goldsmiths weights General commercial weightsMeasures for solids (178)  Liquid measures  Measures of distance (179)  Square measures  Measures of time Local  names of coins					157-179

CHAPTER VII.

MEANS OF COMMUNICATION.

ROADS (page 180)  Their extension  Their condition and managementTolls (181)-Ferries  Bridges. RIVER NAVIGATION (182). RAILWAYS (183)  The South Indian Railway  Proposed railway extension (184)  ACCOMODATION FOR TRAVELLERS (185)-Bungalows-Choultries							180-186

CHAPTER VIII.

RAINFALL AND SEASONS.

RAINFALL (page 187). FAMINES (188)  Undernative rule  Famine of 1659-62 Of 1675 (189)-Of 1709-20  Famines in modern times-Early scarcities-Unfavourable seasons in 1855-61 (190)  Famine of 1866-67  Famine of 1876-78 (191)  Liability to famine (192). FLOODS  In 1809, 1817, 1819-20, and l827-In 1853 and 1858 (1941-Recent floods. EARTHQUAKE,: (195)				187-195

CHAPTER IX.

PUBLIC HEALTH.

GENERAL HEALTH (page 196)  Cholera  Other diseases of digestive system (197)-Small-pox-Fever (198)  Skin diseases-Diseases of the eye and ear (199)-Miscellaneous- -Sanitation. MEDICAL INSTITUTIONS (200)  Municipal hospital. Trichinopoly- Municipal hospital, Srirangam (201)					196-202

CHAPTER X.

EDUCATION.

CENSUS STATISTICS (page 202)Education by taluks  And by religions. EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTIONS  Secondary schools (204)  Training schools  Technical and industrial schools  St. Joseph's College  The S.P.G. College (207)				203-208
 
-----------------------------------xii------------------------------------

TABLE OF CONTENTS.

CHAPTER XI.

LAND REVENUE ADMINISTRATION.

PAGE

EARLY REVENUE SYSTEMS (page 209). MUHAMMADAN SYSTEMS (210-Farms Kadarambam and nirarambam tracts  Rates in the nirarambam (211)  And in the kadarabam -  Unauthorized exactions (212)  The grain monopoly (214). FIRST ENGLISH SETTLEMENTS  Mr. Wallaces settlement of 1801  02  Other early settlements (215).- Nirarambam wet lands (216) -Survey, classification and assessment of 1805-06-Leases from 1810 to 1821-Return to annual settlements, 1821-22 (217) -The system altered, 1824-25-The amani system-The kadarambam and the, nirarambam dry land-Surveys (218)-Individual rights-Relinquishments-Retrospect (219)-Settlement of 1864-Wet and dry ;grouping-Classification of soils (220)-Standard crops and grain outturns (221)-Commutation prices and cultivation expenses-Settlement of rates (222)-General result--Financial effects .of the Settlement (223) - Second crop on wet land (224)-Olaperi land-Special rates-Hill villages (225)-Road cess-Ultimate results of this settlement,. NEW SETTLEMENT OF 1894-95 (226)--Reasons for resettlement-Scope of resettlement -Resurvey (227)-Enhancement of rates-Reclassification of certain tracts (228)-Financial effects of resettlement (230)-Miscellaneous points in the resettlement (231). REVENUE HISTORY OF KARUR TALUK (232)-Under native rule-Early British Settlements (233)-Settlement of 1879-NamakkalTaluk (234)-Early British Settlements-Settlements of 1871 and 1903 (231)-ZAMINDARI LAND (236)-INAM LAND (238)- VILLAGE ESTABLISHMENTS (240)--Before the revision of 1870 (241)-Revision of 1870-Revision of 1899 (242). EXISTING DIVISIONAL CHARGES				209-243

CHAPTER XII.

SALT, ABKARI AND MISCELLANEOUS REVENUE

SALT (page 244)-Sources of supply-Former manufacture of earth-salt-Process employed (245)  Suppression of the manufacture in Pudukkottai  Saltpetre (216), ABKARI AND OPIUM (217)  Arraok  Toddy (248)  Foreign liquor, etc.  Opinm and hemp-drugs-Administrative divisions (249). MISCELLANEOUS  Income  tax  Stamps  Customs				244-249.

CHAPTER. XIII.

ADMINISTRATION OF JUSTICE.


CIVIL JUSTICE (page 250)  Courts  Amount of litigation  Registration (251). CRIMINAL JUSTICE.-Courts  Trichinopoly cantonment magistrate. CRIME (252)-Criminal castes  Kallans  Kuravans (253)  The kaval system (254)-Origin of kaval (255)  Local peculiarities (256)-Tuppukkuli-Koval in Trichinopoly towm (257)-Criminal gangs (258)- Criminal methods. POLICE. (259). JAILS.			250-259

CHAPTER XIV.

LOCAL SELF-GOVERNMENT.

THE LOCAL BOARDS (page 260)-The Unions  Finances of the boards (261) THE MUNICIPALITIES  Karur municipality Srirangam municipality  Trichinopoly municipality (263)  The cantonment and the municipality - Water works (264)-Drainage (265)-Other public improvements (266)					260-267.
 
-----------------------------------xiii------------------------------------

TABLE OF CONTENTS.

CHAPTER XV.

GAZETTEER.

PAGE

KARUR TALUK (page 268)Andippatti (269)  Aravakkurichi (270)Chinna DharapuramKarurNerur (273) Pallapatti (274)Panchamadevi PugalurPunnam (275)TandoniUppidamangalam Venjaman Gudalur VennamalaiVettaimangalam (276). KULITTALAI TALUK (277)Andavarkovil (278)AniyappurchintalavadiDevarrnalaiKadavur (279) - Kallai (280)KaruppatturKulittalai Kuppanarpatti (281)Madukkarai MahadanapuramManupparai (282).Marungapuri (283)--Nangavaram Pappkkkalpatti (284) PillurRatnagiri MUSIRI TALUK (286) Kannanur (287)KattuputturKonasegaramMusiri (288)OmandurSettikulamSrinivasanallur (289)TirunarayanapuramTiruppangiliTiruppattur (290)TiruttalayurTiruvengimalaiTottiyamTuraiyur (291). NAMAKKAL TALUK (296)Kapilamalai (297)Mohanur-MorupattiNainamalai (298)NamakkalNanjai Edayar (299)OravandurParamati (300)PottanurSendamangalamTattayyangarpettaiVassalurVolur Vengarai. PERAMBULUR TALUK  (301)--Kurumbalur (302)LadapuramPerambalurRaujangudi (303)Siruvachur (305)UttaturValikandapuram (307)Venganur : (308) Veppur. TRICHINOPOLY TALUK (309)Huppur. (310)Kilambil (311)KuttapparLalgudi (312)Muttarasanallur (313) Perathyur Pettaivattalai -Pichandarkovil (314)Samayapuram (315)Srirangam (319)Tirnchendurai (325)TiruppalatturaiTiruvellaraiTiruverumbur (326)TrichinopolyTuraiyur (341) Uyya-kondan-tirumalaiVelur (342). UDAIYARPALAIYAM TALUK (343)Ariyalur (344)Elakurichi (346)Gangaikandapuram (347)Guruvalapparkovil (348)Jayankonda CholapuramKilappalnvur (349)Saluppai-alagar kovil (350)TirumalavadiUdaiyarpaiyam					268-353

CHAPTER XVI.

PUDUKKOTTAI STATE.

GENERAL DESCRIPTION (page 354)MineralsClimate and rainfall (355)Famines. History Origin of the; present ruling family (356) Development of its independence (358)Its relations with the BritishPolitical position of the Raja (359) The present Raja (360). THE PEOPLE The chief castesChristian missions (362)Vital statisticsAgricultureIrrigationLivestockIndustries (363)CommerceMeans of communication. ADMINISTRATION (364)LegislationFinanceLand Revenue administration (365)Forests (366)Salt Excise Miscellaneous revenue Public Works (367)Civil JusticeRegistrationCriminal JusticePolice and jails (368)--CrimeEducation (369)MedicalVaccination (370Sanitation. PLACES OF INTEREST Ambukkovil  AvurKattubava Pallivasal Kilanilai Kudnmiyamalai (37l)NarttamalaiPerungalurPeraiyurPudukkottaiSittannavasal (373) TirumananjeriTirumayumTiruvarankulam  Viralimalai				354-374.
 
-----------------------------------------------------------------------

GAZETTEER

OF THE

TRICHINOPOLY DISTRICT,

CHAPTER I.

PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION.

GENERAL DESCRIPTIONPosition and boundariesTaluks and chief townsEtymology of the nameNatural divisions. HILLSThe PachaimalaisThe KollaimalaisThe Talaimalais. RIVERSThe CauveryThe AmaravatiThe AiyarThe Karaipottanar The MumundiyarThe Nandiyar The two Vellars. CLIMATETemperatureHumidityWinds. SOILS. GEOLOGYGeneral distribution of rocksThe gneissesCrystalline limestonesIron oresQuartzites, etc.The cretaceous rocks--Their geological importanceTheir classificationTheir positionThe Uttattur groupThe Trichinopoly groupThe Ariyalur groupThe Ninniyur cretaceous rocksFauna of cretaceous rocksThe Cuddalore sandstones and alluvium. MINERALSTheir small importanceMinerals actually worked FLORAFruit treesOther trees. FAUNACattleCattle fairs BuffaloesSheep and goatsUses of cattle, etc. Superstitions about cattlePony breedingGameFish.

CHAP. I.

GENERAL DESCRIPTION 

Position and boundaries.

TRICHINOPOLY is an inland district in the south of the Presidency, lying between 10 16' and 11 32; N. and 77 45' and 79 30' E, It has an area of 4,9,59 square miles. It is bounded on the north by tho Salem and South Arcot districts, on the west by Coimbatore and Madura, and on the south and east by the Native State of Pudukkottai and the district of Tanjore. The Collector of Trichinopoly is Political Agent for Pudukkottai, and some account of that State will be found in Chapter XVI of this volume.

Taluks and chief towns.

The district is made up of the five taluks of Trichinopoly, Udaiyarpalaiyam, Perambalur, Musiri, and Kulittalai ; but to these it is proposed to add the Karur taluk from the Coimbatore district and the Namakkal taluk from Salem, and this volume deals with the district as it will be when this change has been effected. The bead-quarters of these taluks (except of Udaiyarpalaiyam, which is Jayankonda-Cholapuram) are the towns from which they are named. Other important places are Srirangam and Lalgudi in the Trichinopoly taluk; Udaiyarpalaiyam, Ariyalur
 
-----------------------------------2------------------------------------

TRICHINOPOLY

CHAP. I.

GENERAL DESCRIPTION 

and Kilappaluvur in Udaiyarpalaiyam taluk ; Kurumbalur in Perambalur taluk ; Turaiyur in Musiri ; Paramati and Sendamangalam in Namakkal ; Aravakkurichi in Karur and Manapparai in Kulittalai. These and other places of interest are referred to in Chapter XV below.

Etymology of the name

The district is called after its head-quarter town, the name of which is a European corruption of the Tamil Tiruchchinappalli. This word is faneifully derived from Trisira (' the three-headed') and palli (' a town '), the legend being that the place is so-called from Trisira, the three-headed brother of Ravana, who once held sway there. He was a devout worshipper of Siva, goes the story, and one day when that god did not appear to him when invoked, he struck off, in his mortification, first one of his heads and then another. Happily, before he could complete his decapitation, Siva appeared to him; and subsequently granted his prayer that the village and the local deity should bear his name. The place is called Trisirapalli in the local purdnas. Two other derivations for the name have been suggested by Mr. C. P. Brown, the eminent Telugu scholar, who thought it was a corruption of Chiruta-palli or little town,' and by Yule and Burnell in Hobson-Jobson, who consider that it is really Tiru-ssita-paIli 'holy-rock-town.' The great rock which towers above it is by far its most prominent feature, and this form of the name is said to occur in an inscription of the early part of the sixteenth century. Yet another etymology is Tiru-chinna-palli, holy little town.'

Natural divisions.

Trichinopoly contains no well-marked natural divisions. Two small ranges of hills, the Pachaimalais and the Kollaimalais, rise in the centre of its northern side and run through parts of the Perambalur, Musiri and Numakkal taluks, and near Namakkal itself are the small Talaimalai hills. In the south and south-west the country is broken up by scattered rocky heights, covered for the most part with scrub jungle and rising into some prominent peaks on the Madura border. Elsewhere the district consists of an undulating plain bisected north and south by the valley of the Cauvery, and dotted here and there with isolated masses of crystalline rock, of which the great Trichinopoly Rock, the Golden Rock (near the Central Jail in that town) and the Ratnagiri bill (near Kulittalai) are prominent examples.

HILLS

The Pachaimalais.

The Pachaimalais or 'Green hills' are situated partly in the Perambalur and Musiri taluks of this district and partly in the Attur taluk of Salem. Their greatest length from north to south is about 20 miles and their total area 177 square miles, of which 105 square miles are in this district and 72 in Salem. They
 
-----------------------------------3------------------------------------

PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION

CHAP. I.

HILLS

seldom reach a greater height than 2,000 feet, but one or two of their peaks rise to about 3,400 feet above the sea. In shape the range bears a slight resemblance to an hour-glass,' being nearly cut in two in the middle by ravines of great size and depth opening out to the north-east and south-west. Of the two parts into which it is thus divided, the north-western is the larger and reaches a higher average level than the south-eastern. A striking feature of the range is the great steepness of the western slopes compared with those on the east. The latter are rarely precipitous, and are broken by long spurs which project far into the low country. The Pachaimalais are fairly well covered with trees and shrubs and a large portion of them (80 square miles in this district) has been constituted reserved forest.

The part of them which is included in Trichinopoly contains three villages, each possessing a number of scattered hamlets, called Vennadu, Tenparanadu, and Kombai. The united population of these in 1901 amounted to 6,529 souls. They are almost entirely inhabited by the people called Malaiyalis, who are mentioned again in Chapter III below and whose peculiar methods of cultivation are referred to in Chapter IV. The land revenue settlement on the range is alluded to in Chapter XI. The Pachaimalais are very malarious, especially to the dwellers on the plains.

The Kollaimalais

Westward of the Pachaimalais, and divided from them by a broad valley, stand the Kollaimalais, which on their western, southern and eastern sides rise rather abruptly from the plains, but on the north descend to the low country by numerous long and gently-sloping spurs. The total area covered by them is 192 square miles, of which 105 square miles lie in the Namakkal taluk and the rest in the Attur taluk of Salem. From below, their general appearance 2 is that of a flat-topped mass, and the natives sometimes call them Sadura-giris, or ' square mountains.' But in reality their upper surface has been worn into five great depressions or basins, which are divided from one another by numerous tolerably deep ravines and valleys formed by spurs running out from their sides. One of these basins is at the end of the range, another in the narrower central part, and the three others (a large one with two smaller ones lying north-west and south-east of it) are on the southern portion of the range. The highest point in the Kollaimalais is 4,663 feet above the sea, and the south-west peak in the portion of them called the Selur Nadu

(Footnote: 1 Memoirs, Geological Survey of India, IV, pt. 2, 16, which gives a description of the range.
2 Descriptions of them will be found in Memoirs, Geological Survey of India, IV, pt. 2, 17-18 and in Shortt's Hill Ranges of Southern, India, pp. 71 ff.)
 
-----------------------------------4------------------------------------

TRICHINOPOLY

CHAP. I.

HILLS

rises to 4,200 feet, but the general level of the upper surface of the range is not more than about 3,500 feet. Its eastern and north-eastern flanks drain either into the Turaiyur valley or the valley of the Periyar.

Only from the outer eastern edge of these hills or from some of the higher ridges in the interior can any view of the low country be obtained, but, owing to the diversified character of the upper surface of the range, the scenery within it is often beautiful. Numerous little basins of cultivated land communicate with one another by wooded glens, or in a few cases by small rocky passes, and in the east, in the neighbourhood of a gorge which opens into the Turaiyur valley, are some very bold bluffs and precipices overlooking a great ravine through which the Koilur torrent reaches the low country.

At the head of this ravine stands the famous Siva temple called Arappalisvaran-kovil, which is regarded with very great reverence, not only by the hill men of this range, but also by the Malaiyalis of the Pachaimalais and of the Kalrayan hills to the north of them (in Salem district) as well as by the Hindus of the plains. A festival lasting three days, from the fifteenth to the eighteenth day of Adi (July-August), is held there every year, and to this great numbers of pilgrims throng to perform their vows. The priests in the temple are Brahmans, but the water for the god's bath is not fetched by Brahmans, as in other Brahmanieal temples, but by Malaiyalis. The temple car is a fine one, but it stands uncared for outside the temple and has only once, it is said, been used. The natives declare that it ought not to be used without first offering a human sacrifice ; so in the present state of the law, they have to do without it. The stream near the temple contains thousands of fish, which are considered holy and under the protection of the god, and are fed by pilgrims to the shrine. A common vow made by devotees is an undertaking to provide a gold nose-ring for one of them if their prayers are answered. The fish are extremely tame, and will come and take food from one's hand, and Mr. LeFanu says that every noon they are summoned to dinner by the sound of a bell. 1 The natives declare that near this temple lizards do not chirp nor talai plants flower. The hill on which the building stands is called the Kollaimalai proper, and the name is supposed to be derived from the fact that any one who commits a sin there will be killed (kollu). It is also called the madhu canam. (' honey forest') of the monkey king Sugriva.

Two miles below the temple is a fine waterfall, called the Akasa Gangai (the sky Ganges), in which every pilgrim makes

(Footnote: 1 Salem District Manual (Madras, 1881), ii, 112.)

-----------------------------------5------------------------------------

PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION 

CHAP. I.

HILLS

a point of bathing. The Malaiyalis believe that if a sinner bathes there the water turns aside and declines to fall upon him. A similar superstition exists in the ease of other holy cascades.

Like the Pachaimalais, the Kollaimalais are well covered with jungle ; and 51 square miles in the Namakkal taluk have been constituted reserved forest. The reserves, the characteristics of which are referred to in Chapter -V below, are for the most part confined to the outer slopes of the range, as the growth on the top is much broken up by cultivation. The range is mainly peopled by the Malaiyalis already mentioned, who live in small hamlets grouped into seven nadus, each of which now forms a Government revenue village. They have availed themselves of the basin-like character of the valleys by surrounding the flanks of these with innumerable little terraces for the cultivation of paddy. A few small and scattered communities of Konda Vellalans and Paraiyans also exist. The revenue settlement in force on the range is referred to in Chapter XI ; and the recent report on the introduction of this 1 gives an interesting description of the soils, cultivation, and .so on of these hills.

The Talaimalais

The Talaimalais are a small range of hills lying fourteen miles south-east of Namakkal. They possess a peculiar jagged outline and from the south are decidedly picturesque. One of the peaks selected as a survey station rises to 2,785 feet above the sea. They are covered with grass and low brushwood. Trichinopoly officials used at one time to resort in the hot weather to a bungalow on the top of them, but their bad character for fever and the scarcity of water has led to the practice being abandoned. A well-known Vishnu temple stands on one of their peaks, and is much visited by pilgrims from the neighbouring plains, especially on Saturdays in. Purattasi (September-October). It is believed that the cobra's bite is not poisonous on this hill.

Among the scattered hills which face the Madura border in the south-west corner of the district, are some isolated peaks of considerable height. Of these, Topimalai (3,382 feet) and Vellimalai (2,757 feet) in Kulittalai taluk, and Rangamalai (3,101 feet) in the extreme south of Karur are the most remarkable. On Topimalai and Rangamalai, shrines have been built ; and a hill temple also stands on the picturesque and isolated rock at Nainamalai in the Namakkal taluk, which is 2,468 feet above the sea.

RIVERS

The Cauvery 

Of the rivers of Trichinopoly, the Cauvery and its branch the Coleroon aro by far the most important. The former rises in the Western Ghats in Georg, flows eastwards through the Mysore

(Footnote: (CONTENT MISSING ON SCAN) .G . O . No. 605, Revenue, dated 30th June 1905, p. 22.)
 
-----------------------------------6------------------------------------

TRICHINOPOLY

CHAP. I.

RIVERS 

State, forms for many miles the boundary between Salem and Coimbatore, and then enters this district at its north-western corner. After running for a few miles south-eastwards between the Karur and Namakkal taluks, it passes straight through the middle of the district from west to east, dividing it into two nearly equal parts.

Nine miles west of Trichinopoly town it splits into two branches, of which the northern takes the name of the Coleroon, while the southern retains that of the Cauvery. Between these lies the holy island of Srirangam. About seventeen miles below their point of bifureation, at the lower end of this island, they very nearly reunite but are kept apart by the Grand Anicut ' referred to in Chapter IV, an irrigation work which dates from early Hindu times. From this point the Coleroon takes a north-easterly direction, skirting the district along its eastern border for many miles, and finally falls .into the sea between South Arcot and Tanjore with its volume of water but little diminished; while the Cauvery enters the Tanjore district, and, splitting up into numerous branches, covers with a vast net-work of irrigation channels the delta it has formed.

In ordinary parlance the main river is known as the Cauvery from its source to Erode ; as the Aganda (entire or undivided) Cauvery from Erode to the point of bifurcation above referred to; and from that place onwards as the Cauvery once more. The bed of the river is generally sandy throughout its course in this district, but here and there large rocks stand out in it. In places (above Srirangam island, for example) it attains a breadth of over a mile. Its great importance as a source of irrigation is mentioned in Chapter IV ; its sanctity in Chapter III ; its use as a waterway in Chapter VII; and some of the disasters caused by its floods in Chapter VIII.

Preliminary freshes come down the Cauvery in May and June, but the heavy floods due to the south-west monsoon do not usually appear till July. They continue. until September, and the river then falls rapidly until it is filled again by the north-east monsoon. The freshes at this period of the year are seldom as heavy as those due to the south-west rains, nor do they last for more than a few days ; for they are caused by local rainfall and not by the continuous downpour which occurs in the Western Ghats in the middle of the year. After Christmas the river dwindles rapidly again and sometimes (as in 1899) it becomes quite dry before the May freshes once more appear.

The Tamil form of the name of the river is Kaveri, but the meaning of this word is obseure. It is given in Ptolemy's geography as Xanpos. According to the legend preserved in the
 
-----------------------------------7------------------------------------

PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION

CHAP. I.

RIVERS

Agneya and Skanda Puranas, Brahma had a daughter whom he permitted to be regarded as the child of a mortal named Kaveramuni and who, to obtain beatitude for her adoptive father, resolved to become a river whose waters should cleanse from all sin. A local purana makes Kaveri the daughter of a Chola King. Bishop Caldwell 1 derives the word from kaver, turmeric, or kavi, red ochre, from its muddy colour during floods, or, in the alternative, from ka (Kavu), a grove, and eri, a sheet of water.

The Coleroon is called in Tamil Kollidam (the place of slaughter), and this name is popularly derived from the legend that workmen were drowned in that river while building the Srirangam temples 2 Several other etymologies of the word have been suggested. The river's function as a 'safeguard' to carry off the surplus water of the Cauvery has tempted some to derive the name from kol, a hold or safeguard. Kollayi, a breach in a bank, has also been suggested as the origin of the first part of the name, and some consider that Kollidam is used in its sense of receptacle or reservoir. The river is not mentioned in Ptolemys tables, and Dr. Macleane argues from this fact that its origin may be more recent than the times of that author, and indeed describes it as an artificial diversion of the Cauvery. Its bed is sandy, and when in flood it sometimes reaches the respectable breadth of one mile. It naturally fills and empties at the same seasons as its parent the Cauvery, but, as is mentioned in Chapter IV, the supply in it is artificially regulated by an anicut built at the point where it branches off from the latter to prevent it from taking more than its due share of the water flowing down this. Thus except in high floods the Coleroon carries less water than the Cauvery.

The Amaravati

The Amaravati river has its source in the confluence of several jungle streams which run from the north-eastern spurs of the Anaimalai and Travancore hills, both of which are portions of the great range of the Western Glths. After flowing in a north-easterly direction through Coimbatore district, it enters the Karur taluk, passes right across it, and falls into the Cauvery on its border. Its total course is about 140 miles in length. The chief town on its banks in this district is Karur The South Indian Railway crosses it there on a girder bridge of 21 spans. Its only tributary in this district is the Nanganji, which rises in the Palni hills in Madura and joins it near the southern border of Karur. taluk. The river is much used for irrigation (see Chapter IV) and is crossed by one permanent anicut, a few semi-permanent

(Footnote: .1 Grammar of the Dravidian Languages (London, 1875), 456. 
2 Taylor's Oriental MSS., iii, 522.)

-----------------------------------8------------------------------------

TRICHINOPOLY

CHAP. I.

RIVERS

dams, and several korambus, or temporary dams made of earth and brushwood. Its silt is plentiful and very rich, and the fact that it rises in a zone of heavy rainfall gives it a more constant supply than usual. According to observations taken at the Pallapalaiyam anicut during the last three years, it is generally dry in February, March and April ; fills for five or six days in May and June ; is full one day out of every three from July till October, and for more than half of November and December ; and in January dwindles again. It does not as a rule remain continuously in flood for more than a few days at a time except at the height of the two monsoons. Its bed is often rocky, and its width varies between 200 and 300 yards.

The Aiyars 

The Aiyar river rises in the gorge which separates the Kollaimalais from the Pachaimalais and, receiving numerous tributaries from both these ranges of hills, falls into the Cauvery not far from the head of Srirangam island after a short course of about 30 miles through the Musiri taluk. The most important of its tributaries is the Taligai. The Aiyar, unlike most of the smaller rivers in this district, receives (from the slopes of the Pachaimalais) a considerable supply during the south-west monsoon. It is much used for irrigation, being crossed by no less than twelve semipermanent anicuts.

The Karaipottanar

The Karaipottanar (sometimes also called the Karuvattar) is a small stream rising in the Kollaimalais and emptying itself, after a short course through the Namakkal and Musiri taluks, into the Cauvery. The name signifies ' the river which marked the boundary,' and native tradition, which appears to be founded on fact, says that the stream was once the boundary between the Pondya, Chola and Chera kingdoms. Beyond the Cauvery, a embankment runs southwards across the Kulittalai taluk, and this is supposed to be the continuation of the boundary.

Like most of the minor rivers in the district, the Karaipottanar receives nearly all its water during the north-east monsoon. These streams generally come down in a good flood once in October, and bring several smaller freshes during that month. The Karaipottanar is used a good deal for irrigation and eight semi-permanent clams have been constructed across it.

The Mamundiyar

The Mamundiyar rises in the scattered hills in the Kulittalai taluk already referred to, and, after flowing in a north-easterly direction through that taluk, empties itself just above the town of Trichinopoly into the Uyyakondon channel, one of the irrigation channels which take off from tho Cauvery. When in high flood it is apt to do considerable barm to this. It has several names,
 
-----------------------------------9------------------------------------

PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION

CHAP. I.

RIVERS

being known in different parts of its course as the Ariyar, the Koraiyar, and the Ponnaiyar. It is very little used for irrigation.

The Nandiyar.

The Nandiyar is a little stream which rises near Perambalur, where it is known as the Kondakaranpallam, and flows in a south-easterly direction through the Trichinopoly taluk into the Coleroon. Its water is taken off for irrigation by three anieuts, but is impregnated with lime and other matter which renders it somewhat unsuitable for cultivation purposes. The irrigation project, recently abandoned, which was connected with the stream is referred to in Chapter IV below.

The Nandiyar is considered very sacred at Uttatur in the Perambalur taluk ; and people come to throw the bones of their dead into it, just as they do into some parts of the Cauvery. The sanctity of the river is supposed to have been revealed to a pilgrim who was on his way to Benares to put the bones of one of his relations into the Ganges, and who stopped a night at Uttutur on the way. In the morning he found the hones had coalesced into a lingam, but when he continued on his way towards Benares, they became disunited again, and he realized that the Nandiya was bolier than the Ganges. The stream is supposed to have originally flowed from the mouth of the bull-god (Nandi) in the Siva temple in Uttatur. The local story has it that the Ganges, the Jamna and the Sarasvati came to Uttatur to decide which of them was the best, and quarrelled so much about the matter that the Nandi swallowed them all and vomited them forth again. The Nandiyar is supposed to be the remnant of their waters.

The two Vellars.

Two rivers named Vellar (' white river') exist in Trichinopoly. The northern Vellar forms for many miles the boundary between the district and South Arcot. This rises in the Salem district and flows into the sea at Porto Novo after a course of about 135 miles.The northern parts of the Perambalur and Udaiyarpalaiyam taluks drain into it through jungle streams of very fair size.The southern Vellar- rises in the hills in the south of the Kulittalai taluk on the Madura border, and soon turns and enters the Pudukkottai State, which it traverses in a south-westerly direction. It flows thence through the Sivaganga and Ramnad zamindaris into Palk's Strait. Tradition asserts that this was the southern boundary of the Chola kingdom, and separated it from the Pandya realms. An old superstition among the Nattukkottai Chettis prohibited their womenkind from crossing this river, it being considered ill-omened for women to traverse boundaries.1

(Footnote: 1 Macleanes Manual of Administration, iii, 973.)

2
 
-----------------------------------10------------------------------------

TRICHINOPOLY

CHAP. I.

CLIMATE

The rainfall of the district is referred to in some detail in Chapter.Chapter VIII, and in Chapter IX is mentioned the effect of the climate on the general health of the people.

Temperature.

Temperature is regularly recorded only in Trichinopoly town. This has almost the highest mean temperature of any place in the Presidency for which statistics are available, Tinnevelly, Cuddapah and Nellore alone being slightly more unfortunate. It enjoys, to quote Mr. Lewis Moore's District Manual, nine months hot weather and three months hotter.' The annual mean is  84  Fahrenheit. The lowest monthly mean is 77 in December and January and the highest 90 in May. The thermometer rarely-rises above 106' or falls below 80 in the day time at any part of the year, and the night temperatures are usually from 15 to 20 lower. In the hot weather, however, the drop is less and the night gives little respite before the dawn of another day brings its renewed burden of heat. The average maxima and minima are of course less extreme than the figures above, the highest average maximum beirig 101.8, which occurs in May, and the lowest average minimum being 67, the figure for January. April, May and June are the hottest months of the year, their average maximum temperatures running from just below to just above 100. With the setting in of the south-west monsoon in the latter part of .June, the great heat abates and the average maximum temperature sinks to 97 and 96. Little rain falls during this monsoon, but a very strong wind blows from the south-west, tempering the heat but raising clouds of dust. September and October are cooler though still sultry ; but with the setting in of the northeast monsoon the (so-called) cold weather begins. The average maximum temperature sinks to 95 in September and 91 in October, and the figures for November and December are 87 and 85. They rise again to 92 in February and to nearly 98 in March ; and from this point the ' hotter ' weather again begins.

Humidity 

Trichinopoly is an unusually dry district, the only drier ones in the whole Presidency being the arid tracts of Bellary, Kurnool, and Cuddapah, and Madura and Tinnevelly. The mean annual humidity is 71.5, the average maximum for a series of years is 81.1 and the average minimum 61.1. The air is generally dampest in the latter half of October and driest in the latter half of June.

Winds

The south-west monsoon generally 'sets in at the beginning of Juno. It is called by the natives the west wind,' and blows with great force till the end of August. Its connection with the rain on the west coast is noticed in the proverb which says that
 

-----------------------------------11------------------------------------

PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION 

CHAP. I.

CLIMATE.

when the leaves shake in Avani, the Cauvery will overflow its banks. During September the ryots expect a northerly breeze which they call vadandai, and in October the wind shifts round to the east and the north-east monsoon sets in. This is called the sani milai kattu 1 (north-cast wind), and it is supposed to continue till the middle of January. It is accompanied by heavy showers of rain. The ryots believe that a very rainy north-east monsoon is unhealthy, but all are agreed that a dry one is bad for the crops. In January a chilly easterly wind sets in, and this is followed in March by southerly breezes (tennal) till the south-west monsoon bursts again. Thus the wind travels all round the compass in more or less regular stages during the course of the year.

SOILS

The soils of the district have been arranged in three main classes, namely the alluvial, the regar or black, and the reds This classification dates from the settlements of Mr. Puckle in the middle of the last century. In the recent settlements the only tract in which the soils were reclassified was a part of the rich land watered by some of the rivers. Statistics showing the percentage of the assessed area in each taluk covered by each of these soils are given in the margin. It will be seen that the red predominates in the western taluks. It covers the whole of Karur and very large areas of Kulittalai, Namakkal and Musiri. Regar soil is commonest in the north-easterly taluks of Perambalur and Udaiyarpalaiyam (especially in the former) and the rest of them is occupied by red earth. In Trichinopoly talnk there is rather more red than regar soil, and about a quarter of the taluk is made up of alluvial deposits. There is also a little alluvium in those parts of Kulittalai, Musiri and Namakkal taluks which lie along the banks of the Cauvery ; but nowhere else. Taking the district as a whole; the alluvial series only occupies 4 per cent. of the total area ; the red, 64 ; and the regar, 32. Outside the alluvial class, the quality of the soil is generally rather poor. The Namakkal taluk, thanks to the Cauvery silt and the detritus from the Kollaimalais, is in parts rich enough, and the regar of Perambalur is largely of good quality.

TABLE 11 ATTACHED SEPARATELY

(Footnote: 1 Correctly Isanya mulai kattu Maoleane, iii, 286.)
 
-----------------------------------12------------------------------------

TRICHINOPOLY

CHAP. I.

SOILS.

But the black soil of Udaiyarpalaiyam is poor, and the red soil in nearly all parts is often of a sandy variety. South of the Cauvery, the upland is generally covered by inferior soils, chiefly of a gravelly or sandy nature ; and over wide tracts the earth is so impregnated with soda salts as to be almost entirely bare of vegetation.

GEOLOGY. 1

General distrubution of rocks.

From a geological point of view, the valley of the Cauvery splits the district into a northern and southern division which differ considerably. The eastern half of the northern division is occupied by sedimentary deposits, the western by the older archwan gneisses and granites. The southern division, to the south of the Cauvery alluvium, is occupied by arehaean rocks, granites and gneisses, overlaid in the south-east corner of the Trichinopoly taluk by a thin bed of low-revel conglomeratic laterite, which has been carved by local denudation into a number of patches forming miniature plateaus.

The gneisses

The archaean rocks north of the Cauvery alluvium are mostly hornblendie gneiss, and form the southern limit of a vast horseshoe band of crystalline formations. The apex of this band and part of its northern limb lie in Namakkal taluk ; while the rest of the latter stretches across the Kollaimalais into the Salem district and is apparently traceable also in the Pachaimalais. The extensions of the gneissic beds east of the south slopes of the last-named range all begin to trend north-eastward ; and still further north assume a direction parallel with the present coast line. This latter in all probability owes its direction to the run of the old crystalline rocks, and in any case the parallelism is very remarkable.

Along the southern border of this northern section of the gneissic rocks, runs a great granite band (some four to six miles wide at first and then gradually narrowing) from Irungalur (ten miles north-north-east of Trichinopoly) as far as Karur and perhaps beyond it. Its course follows that of the Cauvery. This granite is older than the gneissic rock, and has been driven at some time of upheaval, from beneath, into and through the latter. It is much intermingled with the gneiss, and indeed is nowhere intruded in masses. The whole band may he considered to be a mass of veins running generally in the planes of foliation of a shattered hand of highly foliated hornblendie gneiss.

To the south of the Cauvery a marked degree of parallelism with the southern limb of the great horse-shoe curve is also noticeable in the gneissic series. In the extreme south and south-west

(Footnote: 1 Most of this section has been taken from a note by Mr. R. Bruce Foote.)
 

-----------------------------------13------------------------------------

PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION 

CHAP. I.

GEOLOGY. 

of the district, which is a very hilly tract, the predominant rocks .are granites.

Crystalline Limestones.

Of some interest and economic value aro the crystalline lime stones, a variety of the gneissic rocks. These occur in five localities namely, at Neiveli in the valley of the Aiyar, sixteen miles north-west by west of Trichinopoly ; at Muttam four miles to the north-west of this ; at Kalpatti 16 miles south-west of Manapparai ; two miles to the east of Sattambur (seven miles south-west of Namakkal) ; and (much the largest outcrop of the five) at a point east of Kiranur (some thirteen miles south-west of Kulittalai) extending some ten miles west by south into Karur taluk. The prevailing colours of the limestone are light grey, bluish, white, and pink, this last being of great beauty. There are five principal bands of it, and as these are of considerable thickness the quantity available is very large.

Iron ores.

Another important variety of the gneiss rocksand one of possible value in the future, if the direct line of rail from Trichinopoly to Tirukkoyilur be constructed by the South Indian Railway Company 1is the large and generally rich beds of magnetic iron which occur in and round the Kollaimalais and at the southern end of the Pachaimalais. Of the latter, a northern bed skirts the southern slope of the southern, or Trichinopoly, lobe of the Pachaimalais. A southern bed runs four or five miles furtherto the south among the ridges west of Kilakanavay village, and,at the village itself, suddenly trends sharply southward and ends in the northern spur of the Chattramanai hill.

A number of beds of iron ore occur in what has been called tho Talaimalai-Kollaimalai group of rocks. They figure very conspicuously in the great horse-shoe curve of gneisses in Namakkal in the north-western part of the district. Black cotton-soil separates the latter from the Pachaimalais ; but no doubt a connection exists between the beds of the two areas. Two of the Namakkal beds spread westward from a little north of Tattayyangarpettai up to and along the most northerly outlying, ridge of the Talaimalais. Thence they extend westward, forming two well-marked wall-like ridges, nearly as far as the Karaipottanar river, reappearing from under the alluvium and continuing for many miles in a north-westerly direction. These two beds are represented in the northern arm of the gneissic curve by a great deposit of excellent quality forming a ridge which commences at Vellalapatti (seven miles north-west by west of Namakkal) and runs north-east by east :for several 'miles into the conspicuous

(Footnote: 1 See Chapter VII, p.184.)
 
-----------------------------------14------------------------------------

TRICHINOPOLY

CHAP. I.

GEOLOGY.

Velukurichi ridge, till it is finally cut off by a great trap dyke. A third bed appears in the southern gneissic arm in. the Kumarapatti hill (south-west of Namakkal), and in the northern arm in two rich outcrops forming the backbone of the Ullalapuram range (five miles north-west of Namakkal). A fourth bed is at Mahadur, near the south-east corner of the Kollaimalais and in rather obscure relation to the others. It is noticeable for the distinct and well-defined double curve into which it has been bent.

Quartzites, etc.

Other interesting varieties of the gneisses are the quartzites, which occur near Neiveli ; the chloritic schists, of which those at Tolayanattam and Pudupatti in Musiri taluk contain garnet in abundance ; and a highly qnartzose porphyritie gneiss, which is found in many parts of the district.

The cretaceons rocks 

Of the sedimentary deposits above referred to as resting upon the gneisses in the north-eastern quarter of the district, the oldest are representatives of the Upper Gondwana or Rajmahal system of the cretaceous era. This is a formation remarkable for the great quantities of plant remains of Jurassic age which it contains. The outcrops of these so-called plant-beds' near Uttatur in the Perambalur taluk include soft sandy clays and micaceous shales (both very friable) and at the base sandstones and coarse conglomerates of gneissic boulders and pebbles, which rent directly on the gneiss. The fossil plants are mostly fragmentary and, unless in freshly broken specimens, often not determinable. Ten species have been identified by the late Dr. Feistmantel, of which two are peculiar to the Uttatur beds. The plant-beds are exposed in five or six narrow patches extending along the western boundary of the cretaceous area in a north and south direction for about twelve miles and are overlapped at both ends by beds of the Uttatur cretaceous series. The age of these beds is considered to be intermediate between the Rajmahal beds proper and the Jabbalpur group of the Indian Jurassic rocks.

Their geological importance.

These cretaceous rocks are the-most important and the most interesting series of fossiliferous rocks in South India, because, as pointed out by Professor Neumayr 1 and by Franz Kossmat, the Austrian palaeontologist, 2 from their peculiarly favourable position between the chalk of the Atlantic and that of the Pacific area . . . . they are eminently adapted to serve as a starting point for observations on the zoo-geographical conditions of later cretaceous times. Their fauna combines in itself the elements 

(Footnote: 1 CONTENT MISSING ON SCAN, 11, 390.
2 On the importance of the erbtaceous rocks of Southern India in estimating the geographical conditions during later eretaceous times.' Translated in Records, Geol. Surv. of India, xxviii, pt. 2.).
 
-----------------------------------15------------------------------------

PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION

CHAP. I.

GEOLOGY.

both of the Eastern and Western hemisphores and thus serves as a connecting link between the two.' A detailed and fully illustrated description of the very rich fauna they contain, by the late Dr. F. Stoliezka, will be found in Volumes IIV of the Palceontologica Indica.

Their classification.

The stratigraphy of the cretaceous rocks of south India was worked out principally by the late Mr. Henry F. Blanford, F.R.S.; but attention had been first drawn to them in 1840 by Messrs. Kaye and Brooke Cunliffe of the M.C.S., who made important collections of the fossils. These were examined by Professor Edward Forbes, who referred those of the Trichinopoly and South Arcot rocks to the age of the English Upper Greensand. or Gault (Upper Cretaceous) and those of the Pondicherry rocks to the Neocomian (Lower Cretaceous), a determination with which Mr. Blanford agreed.

Their position 

The cretaceous rocks of the Trichinopoly district occur in a rather irregular tract between the Cauvery and northern Vellar rivers, measuring about twenty-five miles from north to south and about the same distance from east to west, and occupying an area of nearly 400 square miles. To the west they rest upon the gueisses or on the small patches of Upper Gondwana Rajmahals above referred to, and to the east they underlie the Pleistocene or recent Cuddalore sandstones. To the north they are covered up by the alluvium of the Vellar, and to the south they rest upon a belt of gneiss which separates them from the alluvium of the Cauvery river. Two other cretaceous areas occur further north ; but they lie outside this district in South Arcot and in the French territory of Pondicherry. The latter is of great 'interest and importance to the understanding of the relations of the several groups into which the whole series has been divided.

Stratigraphically, the rocks are found to form three distinct groups which are differentiated chiefly by the variations in the fauna the remains of which are found as fossils within them.

The Uttatur group.

The rocks composing the Uttatur group are chiefly argillaceous Fine silts, calcareous shales and sandy clays, often concretionary, largely make it up, especially in its southern part. Northward of the village of Uttatur limestones become intercalated in the western parts of the Uttatur area, while in the upper eastern parts conglomerates, grits and sands appear. The limestones are rich in fossils, but the grits and sands poor. At the extreme base of the group occur in various places large masses of limestones formed in coral reefs. The limestone is generally pure, pale-coloured (creamy) and compact in texture. Irregular white streaks often
 
-----------------------------------16------------------------------------

TRICHINOPOLY

CHAP. I.

GEOLOGY.

band it, and when weathered exhibit the corals composing them and also a few Brachipoda. These old coral reefs rest in patches, sometimes on the plant-beds but more often on the gneisses. The largest patch occurs at Kallakkudi, 22 miles north-east of Trichinapoly. The other beds forming the group were deposited in water of moderate depth ; some accumulated on submarine banks and show much false bedding. The material seems to have been brought there by currents coming from the north.

The Trichinopoly group 

The Trichinopoly group, the second in ascending order, rests On the Uttatur group. In the south of its area the rocks are chiefly sands and clays, very irregularly bedded, with a few strata of limestone and some conglomerates. North of the parallel of Uttatur village regular bands of shell limestone occur intercalated in the lower beds of the group ; and still further northward the whole is composed of regularly stratified alternations of sand, sandy clays and shales, with bands of shell limestone, calcareous grit and conglomerate. The Trichinopoly beds are, even more characteristically than the Uttatur group, the littoral deposits in a shallow sea. Some of the shell limestone, as for instance that of Garudamangalam, is a very fine, hard, bluish-grey rock, in parts translucent and largely made up of beautifully preserved Gasteropoda and Lamellibranchiata, retaining often their original polish and sometimes their old coloration. This is the so-called Trichinopoly marble and was once much valued for decorative purposes.

The Ariyalur group.

The Ariyalur group, the third in ascending order, rests upon group the Trichinopoly group, but the relations between the two are not so deal: as those between the Trichinopoly and Uttatur groups. The Ariyalur beds seem to have been deposited in a tranquil sea of small depth, and they are more sandy than the two lower groups, with thick and homogeneous beds, principally of white sands and grey argillaceous sands, the former unfossiliferous, the latter with casts of small fossils. Beds of calcareous grit and nodular calcareous shales forming a richly fossiliferous zone are found towards the base of the group.

The Ninniyur cretaceous rocks

The groups of fossiliferous beds to the north of Ariyalur town near the villages of Sendurai and Ninniyur were regarded by Mr. Blanford as likely to require to be separated on palaeontological grounds from the lower part of the group, or Ariyalur proper, and they are now regarded by Mr. Kossmat as unmistakeable passage beds between the cretaceous and tertiary systems. These, then, must constitute a fourth group in the south Indian cretaceous series, and they have been called the Ninniyur group
 
-----------------------------------17------------------------------------

PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION

CHAP. I.

GEOLOGY.

from the village near which they are best seen and fossils are most numerous. They are grey and ochreous shales, sometimes calcarcous and of loose texture. A bed of true flints, the only one known in South India, occurs at Kurichikulam to the north of Ninniyur and formerly gave rise to a local industry in the manufacture of strike-a-lights.

Fauna of cretaceous rooks.

A very remarkable feature of the South Indian cretaceous fauna is its total dissimilarity from the fauna of the marine cretaceous beds of Central India, the Bagh beds of the Narbadda valley. The latter shows a striking resemblance to that of the cretaceous beds of Syria, North Africa and Southern France, which together form the Mediterranean province of the cretaceous system, and to which belong also the Hippurite limestones of Persia, Afghanistan and Baluchistan, as also the Omphalia beds of Tibet. It is evident from this that the sea of the South Indian cretaceous area was separated from the sea of the Bagh area and the Mediterranean province by a coutinent, the same doubtless as is thought to have existed in Jurassic and Lower Cretaceous times and to which the name of the Indo-Madagascar peninsula has been given.

The Cuddalore sand-stones and alluvium.

Resting on the uppermost cretaceous rocks on the eastern side of Trichinopoly district are the unfossiliferous gritty Cuddalore sandstones, frequently very ferruginous in character, which cover the greater part of the Udaiyarpalaiyam taluk and are themselves very largely overlaid by red sands. In lateritic sand near Niuniyur two palaeolithic implements were discovered by Mr. R. Bruce Foote, one sharp pointed and the other oval. The material of the latter was a yellowish chert, but the former was coated all over with a thin lateritic crust which hid entirely the real nature of its material.

Overlyiug the Cuddalore sandstones and laterite as they approach the coast are the sands, clays and occasional marine shell beds forming the coast alluvium.

MINERALS.

The district contains only a moderate number of valuable minerals. The magnetic iron beds in the Musiri and Namakkal taluks have already been mentioned. Those are often very rich and were worked when fuel was still cheap. Many of the rocks of the district would make valuable building material. The ordinary varieties of gneiss have been used in many of the temples (the great monolithic bull in the Tanjore temple is carved from this stone) and the jointing and foliation of many rocks of this class appear favourable to the quarrying of large rectangular masses. The granite of several parts of the district also provides
3
 
-----------------------------------18------------------------------------

TRICHINOPOLY

CHAP. I.

MINERALS.

good building material. Some of the gneisses are well adapted to ornamental work. Such are the quartzo-felspathic gneiss. (of which some of the best carvings in the Srirangam temple have been made) and the various crystalline limestones which have been described above. Other handsome kinds of stone are found in the limestones which occur among the Uttatur cretaceous rocks and the shell limestones (such as the Garudamangalam marble already mentioned) which are found in the cretaceous rocks of the Trichinopoly group. Laterite of a quality suitable for building is met with in great quantities in the Trichinopoly and Perambalur taluks, and is largely used for mending roads. Various trap dykes, especially in the Perambalur taluk, provide admirable road metal, and kankor limestone is employed in many parts of the district for making lime.

Corundum occurs in several localities in the Namakkal taluk; mica at Padalur in the Perambalur taluk and in parts of Trichinopoly ; gypsum at Maravattur in Udaiyarpalaiyam and at Uttatur; magnesia at Tiruppangili in Musiri and Valikandapuram in Perambalur taluks ; traces of copper ore at Olappadi and Veppur in Perambalur taluk ; yellow, red and blue ochre at Siruganur in Musiri ; garnet quartz at Kalpatti in Kulittalai and at Kurichikulam and Sendurai in Udaiyarpalaiyam ; and chrome ore at one place on the bank of the Cauvery. Salt and nitre are found in very many places in Trichinopoly taluk. Bangle-earth occurs at Vaittur in Pudukkottai. A large area covered with phosphatic nodules exists in the cretaceous rocks near Uttatur. Flints, as above noted, arc found at Kurichikulam in Udaiyarpalaiyam taluk. Potstone occurs at Erumaipatti, nine miles south-east of Namakkal, and clays of several kinds are found in Perambalur, Udaiyarpalaiyam and Trichinopoly taluks.

Their small importance.

With the exception of the building-stone, none of these are of any particular importance. The pipeclay occurring in the plant-beds between Terani and Karai in the Perambalur taluk makes a bluish kind of pottery. The clay is itself greyish-white with a few stains of iron ; l)ut the stains could easily be separated by hand-picking. Pipeclay of fine quality is found at Ottakovil and Vilangudi in Udaiyarpalaiyam taluk and is largely used for Vaishnavite namams. The gypsum is of poor quality and difficult to obtain clean. The mica is only found in small pieces. The copper ores mentioned above were literally only found in traces. Much was once hoped of the phosphatic nodules near Uttatur. It is estimated that about 4,000 tons of this mineral is available there. A sample was sent to England to be analysed and it was ascertained
 
-----------------------------------19-----------------------------------

PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION 

CHAP. I.

MINERALS

to coutain about 27 per cent, of phosphoric acid. The mineral was presumed to he a phosphate which, though not of the highest class, would yet serve very well for the manufacture of artificial fertilisers. Messrs. Arbuthnot & Co. contemplated leasing the right to mine in the area; but confined Themselves to buying small quantities of the nodules, grinding them into powder at Calicut and sending them to Ceylon as manure. No lease deed was ever actually executed and the matter was dropped. 1

Minerals actually worked.

There is hardly any mining, properly so called, in the district. The only mining lease in existence is that granted to Messrs. Gordon Woodroffe & Co. for corundum in Kumaripalaiyam in Namakkal taluk. Other small corundum mines in several other villages in that taluk are leased out annually by Government for small sums.

A good deal of building-stone is quarried in Karur, Trichinopoly, Kulittalai and Perambalur taluks; laterite is excavated in large quantities, chiefly for road metal ; and kankar limestone is quarried to a small extent in very numerous localities. The marble found at Garudamangalam used to be largely worked by the Trichinopoly lapidaries into ornamental table tops, paper-weights, etc., and the industry still survives on a small scale. The flints of Udaiyarpalaiyam were once used for strike-a-lights, but cheap matches have killed that industry. The bangle-earth of Pudukkottai is largely utilized. Saltpetre is made out of the nitrous soil in many parts of the district. 2

Flora Fruit trees.

The commonest fruit trees in the district are cocoanuts and tamarinds. Both are more plentiful in Trichinopoly than in any other taluk, but they abound also in Kulittalai and Musiri, the other two taluks which lie in the valley of the Cauvery. The mangoes of the district arc not particularly good except in Pudukkottai, where good graft trees, and also tolerable country varieties, are to be found. The tamarind is common in the dry tracts and the jack, guava and orange on the hills. Jack trees also occur in Pudukkottai. Palmyras are scattered through most parts of the district, but in small numbers ; they are not even fairly plentiful in any of the taluks except Trichinopoly. Topes of iluppai (Bassia longifolia) are common in Perambalur and Udaiyarpalaiyam.

(Footnote: 1.See G.Os., Revenue, No8. 802, dated 3rd August 1892, pages 12 and 14 ; 49, dated 19th January 1893 ; 119, dated 6tb February 1893 ; 478, dated 6th June 1893, pages 10 and 28 i 484, dated 7th July 1894, pages 4 and 5 ; 580, dated 16th June 1900 ; and Collectors letter to the Board of Revenue of 11th August 1902.
2. See Chapter XII, p. 246.)
 
----------------------------------20-----------------------------

TRICHINOPOLY

CHAP. I. 

FLORA

Other trees.

The nature of the growth in the forests is referred to in Chapter V. There are 673 miles of fair road avenues in the district. A common avenue tree is the tamarind, but the banyan is also largely employed. Avenues of cocoanut trees occur in the lowlands, and the icchi tree is very largely used in Kulittalai, Karur and Namakkal, as well as in the Pudukkottai State. The vada-narayana tree (Poinciana elata)rather a bad species for the purpose, considering its weak roots and its selfish practice of sheding its leaves when most needed for shadeis common in the avenues in Perambalur and Musiri, where its leaves are much used for manure. Scattered about the fields and villages are numerous acacia and Portia (pivarasu) trees. The last is only found in any quantity in the taluks of Trichinopoly and Udaiyar-palaiyam and in Pudukkottai. The babul is much prized by the ryots, who like to have it growing about their holdings. Its fruit is greedily eaten by sheep and goats, and renders their droppings profuse and rich in fertilizing matter, and its thorny branches are useful for fences and its hard wood is suitable for making agricultural implements.

FAUNA Cattle.

The statistics show that Trichinopoly is less well supplied with cattle than the average Madras district. Relatively to the cultivated area, Trichinopoly taluk is far better off than any other in it, having 76 animals to every hundred acres. Kulittalai and Udaiyarpalaiyam come second and third with 71 and 70, while far the lowest figures are those for Karur (53) and Perambalur (51). Relatively to the occupied area, the figures work out rather differently, Udaiyarpalaiyam and Namakkal coming more to the fore. But Trichinopoly is still the best, and. Karur and Perambalur are still the worst, supplied of all the taluks.

Nine different kinds of cattle are recognized ; namely (1) the ordinary 'country ' (nattu) bullock, (2) the mottai bullocks from Mattur in the Perambalur taluk, (3) the Tiruvannamalai bullocks, (4) the Pulikkulam bullocks from Madura district, (5) the wild cattle of Pudukkottai, (6) the Kangayam (Coimbatore) variety, (7) the Bargur (Coimbatore) cattle, (8) those from Alambadi (in Coimbatore) and Dharmapuri (in Salem), which are not differentiated by the ordinary ryots but are called indifferently by either name, and (9) the Nellore breed. The Nellore animals (which are rare) are the biggest of these ; they need no description. They are favourites with the mittadars of Namakkal taluk, and also in Pudukkottai, where they arc called, as in Tanjore, Guzarati bullocks. The country bullock is easily recognized by its small stature and short horns. It is slightly superior to its follow of Tanjore, but
 
---------------------------------------------------------21---------------------------------------------------------

PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION.

CHAP.1

FAUNA.

is decidedly inferior to the ordinary breeds in the Telugu country. The Mattur animals are similar in appearance, except that their horns are burnt off when they are young, but distinctly superior. They appear to be confined to the taluks of Perambalur and Udaiyarpalaiyam. The Tiruvannamalai bullocks come from the town of that name in the adjoining district, where there is a great cattle fair, and seem to be common everywhere except in Karur and Namakkal. They are of the same size as the 'country' bullocks, but have much larger horns, are always of a dun colour, and have a great character for their intractable ways. The Pulikkulam cattle are generally white and may be recognized by their torn ears, hut in other respects they resemble the Tiruvannamalai animals. They are largely kept by the Kallans in Trichinopoly taluk and Pudukkottai for jallikats (or bull-baitings), but are rarely used for anything else. The wild cattle of Pudukkottai are not really a distinct breed, but are country cattle which have run wild for generations. They occur in considerable numbers in the forests of that State, and are occasionally caught and broken in, as they are remarkable for their strength and endurance. The Kangayam breed from Coimbatore are larger and finer animals. They are described by Sir Frederick Nicholson in the Coimbatore District Manual as being well known for their excellent qualities whether or labour or milk ;. . . appearance elegant ; horns variously sized and set ; colours different, but usually white or grey ; . . . . docile, quick and strong.' They seem to be confined to the two western taluks of Karur and Namakkal. The Bargur cattle are another Coimbatore breed, coming from the Bargur hills near the Mysore border. They are the swiftest and strongest of the (Coimbatore) breeds ; moderate size, head small, eyes prominent, good appearance ; horns tapering and longer than those of the Alambadis ; dewlap not so large ; timid, stubborn and rather intractable. The Alambadi cattle come from Coimbatore and the Dharmapuri bullocks from Salem ; but, as already remarked, the ryots do not distinguish the two and their appearance seems to be very similar. Sir Frederick Nicholson describes the former as elegant in appearance ; horns small, tapering and well set ; eyes prominent, dewlap lengthy ; of moderate size and usually sleek and glossy ; not so swift and strongly made as the B6rgiir cattle ; docile and useful for any work.' They are found in all parts of the district, and are called by different names in different places. Thus they are known as northern (vadakkitti) or mountain (malai) bullocks in Karur ; and in Udaiyarpalaiyam as western ' (merkitti) or narai bullocks. Those two, and also the Nellore and Bargur breeds, are only used for draught work
 

--------------------------------------------------------22--------------------------------------------------------

TRICHINOPOLY

CHAP. I

FAUNA

and never for ploughing. All the others except the Pulikkulam cattle are used indiscriminately for any work. Cows of these foreign breeds are seldom imported and as a rule are only owned by the richer landholders.

Cattle fairs.

The foreign cattle are imported by drovers, who buy them in the countries where they are bred and drive them round to the various cattle fairs in this district for sale. There seem to be two well-marked routes along which these drovers travel. Those from Kangayam come to the cattle fair at Uppidamangalam in Karur taluk on the Sunday, thence to the Manapparai market on Wednesday, and finish up at the Pudukkottai fair on Friday. On the way, they sometimes visit the small Tottiyam fair (north of the river, between Uppidamangalam and Manapparai) on the Tuesday. Other dealers generally proceed along the north bank of the Cauvery, beginning with the fair at Sevvapet in Salem on Tuesday, thence to the big Nainamalai fair on Wednesday, to Turaiyur on Friday, and finally to Ariyalur on Sunday. The Kangayam drovers also sometimes follow this course, coming to the Nainamalai market after visiting the Sunday fair at Perundurai in Erode taluk. These people do not as a rule go further than Pudukkottai and Ariyalur. Besides these weekly markets, a very large annual cattle fair is held at Samayapuram (Samayavaram) at the time of the Srirangam festival. This was stopped at one time lest it should result in the dissemination of plague. The largest weekly fairs are those at Nainamalai and Ariyalur. The former is especially popular between January and May, which is the festival season. In these months the drovers go by way of Nainamalai to the great religious gatherings in the Trichinopoly, Madura and Tinnevelly countries.

Buffaloes.

Only one kind of buffalo is found in the district, namely, the country buffalo. These animals resemble the breeds in other southern districts. They are imported to a small extent by local merchants, who get them from Coimbatore and Salem and sell them in the district but do not take them round to the cattle fairs. The Namakkal buffaloes have rather a good name, and some of them are exported to Tanjore.

Sheep and goats.

In sheep and goats the district is unusually rich, and in some years has been ahead of all others in the number of these animals to the cultivated acre which it possessed. Perambal6r and Kulittalai, with an average of 129 per acre cultivated, are the best supplied and Musiri comes close after them with 122. In Udaiytirpalaiyam the figure is only 83.

Four kinds of sheep occur; namely, the wool-bearing kurumba sheep ; tho ordinary red sembili ; the large white sembili, called the
 

--------------------------------------------------------23--------------------------------------------------------

PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION.

CHAP. I

FAUNA.

patnattu (town), perum (big), or vellai (white) sembili; and a cross between the sembili and the kurumba called the ibbandi, or mongrel. The largest are the white sembilis, and they are also the rarest ; the red sembilis are found everywhere in large quantities; and. the hem/diets, which are the smallest of the four, occur chiefly in the taluks of Perambalur and Musiri, and the portions of Trichinopoly and Namakkal which adjoin them. The manufacture of blankets from the wool of these latter is referred to in Chapter VI.

Two kinds of goats are bred; namely, the long-legged velladu, and the smaller palladu. The former is called kodiyadu in the Udaiyarpalaiyam taluk. It is far the more numerous variety, but it gives less milk, only breeds once in the year, and then only gives birth to one kid ; while the palladu breeds twice in the year, and sometimes has three young ones at a birth.

The district raises more sheep and goats than it requires, and a good many of them are exported to Penang, Colombo and other places. The chief fairs for the sale of them are at Nainamalai, Ariyalur, Karur and Irumbudippatti in the Kulittalai taluk.

Uses of cattle etc.

Bullocks and he-buffaloes are both used for ploughing, but the, latter are only employed as draught animals for slow and heavy work, such as dragging cart-loads of stone. The cows of both species are usually only worked when they are barren ; but milch cows are occasionally put to work in the Namakkal taluk, the Konga Vellalans showing an especial disregard for their sanctity.

The district is not badly provided with grazing grounds, and the ryots are not as a rule obliged to send their cattle away (as in Tanjore) to other localities to graze. The Namakkal ryots however semi theirs to the Attur taluk from September to January, when the crops are on the ground and grazing is scarce. Here and there fields are left uncultivated to provide grass for the cattle.

A considerable tanning industry exists in Trichinopoly and Srirangam, and most of the hides and skins of the district are taken to these towns. But they are also exported from the western taluks to Dindigul, and from Udaiyarpalaiyam to the tanneries of Tanjore and South Arcot.

Superstitions about cattle.

Many superstitious beliefs about cattle are entertained in the district. It is a bad omen for a man's family if his buffalo calves on a Friday or his cow on a Sunday, or if a cow or buffalo has two calves at a birth, or a palladu goat four kids. It were wise to dispose as soon as possible of an animal so offending. In buying a cow, bullock, or buffalo, just as in, purchasing a horse, much
 
----------------------------------------------24--------------------------------------------------

TRICHINOPOLY

CHAP. 1

FAUNA.

importance is attached to lucky and unlucky marks formed by the little curls and spirals in the animal's coat. If there is a curl on the forehead or the back of the animal, it is a good omen ; if, on the other hand, there are two such curls on the back the omen is bad and the animal should not be bought. If the two curls are in a line along the back, they portend that the purchaser will be imprisoned ; if they are in a line across the back, the purchaser will lose his wife. The former are called vilangu, suli ( hand-cuff marks ') and the latter pendilandan suli, or marks of the wife-loser.1 It frequently expedites a bargain if an animal about which two men are higgling either makes water or drops dung, as these are excellent omens if they occur at the moment of purchase. The latter may be connected with the custom by which the seller at a fair gives the purchaser a handful of dung, which the latter puts on the back of the animal in token of the completion of the purchase.

Pony breeding

The ordinary ponies of this district are perhaps less plentiful and of poorer quality than in most districts, but in the Karur taluk, as in parts of the Coimbatore district, attempts have been made to improve the local breed by supplying Government stallions. The zamindars and substantial ryots of certain parts of Coimbatore have long been interested in the breeding of ponies, and as early as 1870 Government sent two sires to the district.' A stallion is now stationed at Karur', and spends four months of every year at Aravakkurichi. The efforts made by Government have not so far been successful, as the foals have often been indifferent and owners can with difficulty be induced to bring their mares to be covered.

Game

The game of the district is of little interest. Wild pig, bears and leopards occur in the Pachaimalais and Kollaimalais, and in the middle of the last century 3 the officers of the Trichinopoly garrison used to make frequent shooting excursions to these hills. They are seldom visited now, owing to their unhealthiness and the growing scarcity of game. The bears come down to the plains round Turaiyur in April and May when the iluppai tree blossoms, and in the same place hyaeuas and wild dogs (red dogs) have been seen. Wolves are sometimes met with round the Ratnagiri hill, Black buck are found in many parts in small herds, and are especially in evidence between September and November when the dry crops are on the ground. Pig and spotted deer are fairly

(Footnote: 1 The matter is treated in further detail by Mr. Holmes, A. V. D., in Bulletin No. 42, Vol. II, of the Madras Department of Land Records and Agriculture.
2 Coimbatore District Manual, ii, 184 A.
3 General Burton's An Indian Olic (London, Spencer Blackett), p. 56.
 
-------------------------------------------------25------------------------------------------

PHYSICAL DESCRIPTIONS.

CHAP. I

FAUNA.

common in the jungles of Pudukkottai. All the usual game birds of the south are found (but not plentifully) in the district, and the snipe shooting along the banks of the Cauvery is fairly good.

Fish

As elsewhere, a considerable annual revenue is obtained from. the sale of the right to fish in tanks and rivers. it is said that the construction of the Upper and Lower Anicuts across the Cauvery and Coleroon in the first half of the last century caused a large decrease in the number of fish in these rivers, since fish from the sea could not get up above these dams as then constructed.' They have lately been reconstructed and fitted with moveable shutters, and this, it is said, has enabled fish to come up the river again from the sea and has resulted in their number increasing.

(Footnote: 1 See Proceedings of the Madras Government, No. 87, dated 4th February 1869, Mr. Day's report, paragraph 9 foll.)

4
 
--------------------------------------------------------26-----------------------------------------------

TRICHINOPOLY

CHAPTER II

POLITICAL HISTORY.

EARLY HISTORY  Connection with the Cholas-Early references to them  The country at beginning of the Christian era  Karikal Chola and his successors, 1st and 2nd centuries A.D.  Pallava supremacy and pressure from Chalukyas, 7th century-Brief supremacy of the Ganga-Pallavas and rise of the Cholas, 9th and 10th centuries-Predecessors of Rajaraja I., circ. 880-984-Conquests of Rajaraja I., 985-1013-His domestic rule  His successors  Rajendra Chola 1011-44-Rajadhiraja Deva I., 1018-53-Rajendra Deva, 1052-64-Vira Rajadra Deva, 1062-69- Usurpation of the Chola throne by Kulottunga I., circ. 1073-His reign  Relations with Pandyas and Ceylon  Gradual decline of the Cholas  Subjection to Pandyas and Hoysalas-Conquest of the south by Malik Kafur, 1310  General character of the Cholas. VIJAYANAGAR PERIOD-Conquest by Vijayanagar, circ. 1340-King Achyutas campaign, 1532. NAYAKKAN DYNASTY, 1559-1736-Its origin-Visvanatha Nayakkan, 1559-63-His immediate successors-Fall of Vijayanagar kingdom, 1565-Tirumala Nayakkan, 1623-59-He defies Vijayanagar  Calls the Muhammadans to his aid  And becomes their feudatory-His wars with Mysore  His death  His capital  Muttu Alakadri, 1659-62  Chokkanatha 
(1662-82)  His troubles with his neighbours  His conquest and loss of Tanjore  Attacked by Mysore and the Marathas  The latter seize his country  Ranga Krishna Muttu Virappa (1682-89)-Matters improve-Mangammal (1689-1704)-Her wars--Vijaya Range Chokkanatha (1704-31)-Minakshi (1731-36)-Musalman interference  End of Nayakkan dynasty-Character of its rule. MUSALMAN DOMINION  Chanda Sahib (1736-40)-A Maratha interlude (1740-43)-Musalman authority re-established, 1743-The rival Musalman parties. THE CARNATIC WAR  Trichinopoly besieged, 1751-52-Trichinopoly again besieged, 1753-54-Comparative quiet, 1755-66-Events of 1757-61-Mysore Wars, 1766-69 and 1780-84Mysore Wars of 1790-92 and 1799  Treaties between the English and Muhammad Ali in 1781 and 1792  Cession of the country, 1801.

CHAP. II

EARLY HISTORY.

Connection with the Cholas.

THE early history of Trichinopoly is largely that of the Chola people. The late Mr. Kanakasabhai Pillai has inferred from a study of some of the early Tamil poets that before the advent of the Cholas the country was occupied by the ferocious Naga race (the ancestors of the present Kallans, Maravans and other virile tribes) ; and that the Cholas, like the Cheras and Pandyas who shared with thorn the dominion of the south, were a body of non-Aryan maritime invaders from Lower Bengal, coming from a stock which crossed the sea to Burma, Cochin-China, Ceylon and Southern India.1 Our first glimpse of the country in other authoritic shows the Cholas in control of the major part of the district; and with

(Footnote: 1 The Tamils Eighteen Hundred Years Ago by Mr. V. Kanakasabhai (Madras, 1904), p.47. The date (1st and 2nd centuries A.D.) assigned by the author to these poets is based upon the mention of the Ceylon king Gajabahu iu tho Tamil Silappadigaram. Dr. Hultzsch (South Ind. Insc., II, iii, 378) is not prepared to accept this, as it is supported by the more identity of names.)
 
------------------------------------------------------------27-----------------------------------------------

POLITICAL HISTORY.

CHAP. II

EARLY HISTORY.

intervals they retained their hold till the fourteenth, if not till the sixteenth, century. Uraiyur (a suburb of Trichinopoly) and Gangaikonda-Cholapuram (now called Gangaikandapuram) were at various times the residences of their kings and the country contains many relies of their sway.

Early references to them.

The existence of the Chola kingdom as early as 260 B.C. is attested by the edicts of Asoka, the Buddhist ruler of the great Mauryan empire, which state that the conquest through the sacred law extended in the south, where the Chodas and the Pandias (Pandyas) dwell, as far as Tambapanini (the Tambrapani); 1 but it seems likely that it was founded long before that date. It was never subdued by Asoka ; nor did the Andhras, who succeeded the Mauryans in their imperial control of central India, ever, as far as we know, come into effective contact with it; though the Andhra dominions stretched as far as Mysore.2 The kingdom was known to the Greek geographers and is noticed in the Periplus Maris Erythraei (about 246 A.D.) and by Ptolemy (130 A.D.), who mentions that the capital was then at the Uraiyur already mentioned above. Some light is also thrown upon its history previous to and at the beginning of the Christian era, by the old annals of Ceylon. These tell us that the Cholas first invaded Ceylon as early as 247 B.C. and again a hundred years later. But these dates are apparently unauthenticated.

The country at beginning of the Christian era.

This early period is dealt with by the older Tamil poets whom Mr. Kanakasabhai Pillai has ascribed to the first and second centuries of the Christian era. They give a remarkably clear picture of the country and people during their time. The capital of the Cholas was Uraiyur ; but a place of still greater importance was the now deserted Kaveripatnam (at the mouth of the Cauvery in Tanjore) which was at that time a great seaport. The Chola country comprised the greater part of the Tanjore and Trichinopoly districts and extended beyond Conjeeveram in the north. To the south and the south-west lay the dominions of the Pandyas and the Cheras. It is not at all clear what were the boundaries of these three kingdoms and it is not unlikely that they varied in the constant wars which raged. A stanza ascribed to the poetess Auvaiyar 3 (whom Mr. Kanakasabhai assigns to the 1st century A.D.) gives the boundaries of the Chola kingdom as

(Footnote: 1 See Ep. Ind., ii, 471. It does not appear that Asoka over actually subjugated these peoples. See Ind. Antiq., xx, 240 ff.
2 Rices Mysore Gazetteer, i, 292-93.
3 Taylors Catalogue Raisonne of Oriental ,MSS,, iii, 42. Also old Tanjore District Manual, p. 736.)
 
--------------------------------------------------------28-------------------------------------------

TRICHINOPOLY

CHAP. II.

EARLY HISTORY.

the sea on the east, on the north the Pennar river (which reaches the sea near Cuddalore), on the south the Ve11ar (near the southern border of the Tanjore district), and on the west Kutagiri, Kottagiri, or Kottaikarai. The last of these names means fort bank and tradition says that it refers to the great embankment of which traces still stand in the Kulittalai taluk. The Karaipottanar river (see page 8) is also supposed to have formed part of the boundary and to have obtained its name from that fact.

Thus at this period the Pandyas, Cheras and Cholas were the three chief powers of southern India. Practically untouched by any pressure from the north, I these kingdoms, with their wars and intermarriages, their expeditions against various uncivilized jungle or shepherd peoples and their occasional amenities with Ceylon, occupy the whole political horizon. They appear to have maintained very chivalrous relations with other ruling houses, and some of the warlike virtues were cultivated up to a Spartan standard. A Chera king once starved himself to death rather than survive the disgrace of having been wounded in the back when fighting the Cholas. Nor were the arts of peace neglected. They built irrigation works, and their palaces excited the extravagant admiration of the rapturous poets. Their trade was extensive. The poets say that horses were brought from distant lands beyond the sea, pepper was brought in ships ; gold and precious stones came from the northern mountains ; sandal and aghil came from the mountains towards the west; pearls from the southern and coral from the eastern seas ; the produce of the regions watered by the Ganges, all that is grown on the banks of the Kaveri (Cauvery), the manufactures of Kalakam (in Burma) and articles of food from Elam and Ceylon all these were to be found in the emporium of Kaveripatnam.2 Luxury and civilization are declared to have been highly developed. The poems rhapsodize freely about both, and paint a more distinct and detailed picture of the society of this time than is to be found for any other period of the ancient history of this part of the country. A brief account of the political events related by thorn will now be given.

Karikal Chola and his successors, 1st and 2nd centuries A.D.

The earliest figure who stands out at all clearly in Chela history is the great Karikal Chola whose reign has been assigned to the period between A.D. 50 and 95. His name black foot was due to an attempt to murder him by fire which, though unsuccessful 

(Footnote: 1 Obscure reference occur to Tamil victories over Aryans which are not easy to explain ; see Mr. Kanakasabhai, pp. 49, 81, 96.
2 Ibid., p. 27.)
 
-------------------------------------------29-------------------------------------------

POLITICAL HISTORY.

CHAP. II

EARLY HISTORY.

scorched and blackened his feet. His father died before his birth and ho had difficulty in securing the throne. From the first ho was a successful warrior. Ho defeated the combined armies of the Pandyas and Cheras on the plain of Vennil 1 in his first battle. It was on this occasion that the Chera, king was wounded in the back and starved himself to death rather than outlive the dishonour. Karikal also subdued some of the Naga tribes and the Kurumbans, another indigenous line of shepherd kings. He is represented (evidently a most extravagant instance of poetical license) as an ally of the king of Avanti, and an overlord of Vajra and Magadha. 2 Less improbable are the accounts of his relations with his immediate neighbours. His daughter married the Chera king and Mr. Kanakasabhai Pillai has inferred that ho and the king of the Pandyas met in a friendly manner. 3 Sluices and canals for irrigation from the Cauvery existed in his time, and probably it was ho who constructed them and raised banks to prevent the river flooding the country, for his embanking of the river is mentioned in the large Leyden grant 4 of Rajaraja I. (985-1013 A.D.) as well as in some of the records of the Telugu Chodas found in the Telugu. country.5 It was perhaps Karikal who established the Chola capital at kaveripatnam.

He was succeeded by his son Nalankilli (the good Killi) who reigned till 105 A.D. Accomplished, good-natured and withal ambitious, this prince was engaged in frequent conflicts with his Chera and Pandya neighbours. He is said to have captured seven fortified towns in the Pandyan kingdom, but does net seem to have permanently enlarged his dominions. That he had a good opinion of his own abilities is shown by his verses declaring that 'If, slighting the strength of the mighty, any one is so

(Footnote: 1 Vennil is mentioned in the Tanjore templo inscriptions under the form Venni as a sub-district belonging to the district of Havi odu-Valanadu, which appears to have denoted a part of the modern Tanjore district.

2. Avanti is the same as Ujjain in Malwa Ep. Ind., iv, 246, and vi, 195) Vajra seems to have been a province or district on the roast, though its exact situation is not given in the poem. Magadha denotes, according to Sanskrit writers, South Behar in Lower Bengal.

3 Rai Buhadur V, Venkayya, M.A., the Government Epigraphist, who has kindly given much assistance in the compilation of the early part of this present chapter, regards the identification of Karikal with the Chola king who met the Pandyan as uncertain.

4 A largo grant now preserved in the University musoun, Leyden. It contains much interesting matter. A tentative transcript and translation is given in Dr. Burgess' Archaeological Survey of Southern India, iv, 204-24.

5 South Ind. Inscr., II, iii, 378; and Government Epigraphists anneal report for 1900, para. 45. The inscriptions show that the tradition of Karikals having embanked the Cauvery was known as early as the eleventh century but they cannot be represented as contemporary history.)
 
------------------------------------------30------------------------------------------------------------------

TRICHINOPOLY

CHAP. II.

EARLY HISTORY.

senseless as to oppose my will, he, like a fool who stumbles on a sleeping tiger, cannot escape. If I do not attack such men and destroy them, as a huge elephant tramples under its feet a tender sprout of the bamboo, may I . . . etc.' His son, Killivallavan, succeeded him in due course, and quelled an insurrection of no less than nine princes of the family 'who wished to divide the kingdom. Ho seems to have met with some success in his inevitable battles with the Cheras and Pandyas, making his way as far as the capitals of both. He also killed the king of Mal6du, the hilly region to the west of the South Arcot district. That tract was subject to the Cholas about this time, but it is not clear whether this result ,was due to the expedition just referred to. Killivallavans first wife was a princess of Ceylon. His brother Perunarkilli succeeded him and reigned till 150 A.D. Nothing seems to be known of his acts except that he performed a splendid sacrifice (the rajasuya yaga) to which he invited the Chera and the Pandya kings.

Two other Chola kings whose names are referred to by the old Tamil poets are mentioned in ancient inscriptions. One Kocchennigannan is stated in the poems to have built a number of Vaishnavite and Saivite temples ; and in inscriptions he is represented both as a Saivite saint and also as a devotee of Vishnu.1 A king called Kokkilli is said to have married a Naga princess and to have had by her a son named Tondaiman Illaindiraiyan to whom the Tondaimandalam country (the districts of South Arcot, Chingleput and North Arcot) was granted by the king. This story is also met with in the records of one of the Ganga-Pallava kings of the ninth century,' but it is almost certainly false, and a clumsy invention designed to give a Chola origin to the Pallavas, who soon afterwards occupied the Tondaimandalam and subjugated the Cholas. The Pallavas seem rather to have been invaders from central or north-eastern India. The name Tondaiman (King of Tondai)3 was a very ancient title of theirs, and the name Tondaimandalam was in consequence applied to Chingleput and the adjoining districts, which formed the nucleus of their southern kingdom.

The names of a number of other Chola kings who ruled at Uraiyur are known from Tamil poems, but those rulers are not mentioned in inscriptions, nor has any regular chronology been as yet made out for them.

(Footnote: 1 South Ind. Inscr., II, iii, 378 foll.
2 Ep. Ind., v, 50.
3 Analogous terms such as Saraman and Malaiyaman suggest that Tondai or Tonda was originally the name of a country or a tribe. It is impossible to say how or when the Pallavas acquired the title.)
 
----------------------------------------------31--------------------------------------------------------------

POLITICAL HISTORY.

CHAP. II

EARLY HISTORY.

Pullava supremacy and pressure from Chalukyas, 7th century.

For several centuries thenceforth the history of the Cholas is wrapped in obscurity. When the darkness lifts, the Ch6Ias are found (apparently for the first time) to be subject to those invaders who passed in slow succession from northern to central India and exerted a prolonged though varying pressure for several centuries upon the kingdoms of the south. The Pallavas seem to have advanced into central India from the north-west in the second century A.D. 1 ; and before the middle of the following century they had subdued the Andhras and had established themselves in scattered kingdoms throughout the dominions of that and other dynasties. They reached Conjeeveram almost at once, for the records of a Pallava king of that place are couched in language and phraseology so similar to those of the Andhra inscriptions of the end of the second century A.D. as to be almost certainly assignable to a date not far removed from that time. A Pallava ruler of Conjeeveram is also mentioned in an Allahabad inscription of the middle of the fourth century. The relations of the dynasty with the older kingdoms of the south are obscure till the beginning of the seventh century, when Mahendravarman I was on the throne, but by that time they had almost certainly subjugated the Cholas, since inscriptions of that king are found in a cave at Trichinopoly.2 Claims to have conquered the Cholas arc also made by that ruler's father Simhavishnu 3 and his son Narasimhavarman I 4.

How far the Cholas were crushed is however not clear. The Trichinopoly inscription mentions ' the great power of the Cholas,' and it was about this time that, according to the Tamil Periya Puranam, a Chola princess married a Pandya king, and with the help of the great devotee, Tirugnana Sambandhar of Shiyali, 5 converted him from Jainism to the Saivite faith. Further, the existence of repeated claims of conquest by three successive Pallava kings would at least imply repeated resistance. Thus it seems likely that both the Cholas and the Pandyas, though nominally the feudatories of the Pallavas, were little interfered with by that dynasty. The latter were harassed at precisely this period by

(Footnote: 1 The name Pallava first occurs in an inscription of 150 A.D. at Gujarat in which a king Rudradaman speaks of a Pallava chief as his minister (Bombay Gazetteer, 1896, p. 317). The Andhra king Gautamiputra, 172-202 A.D., boasts of having defeated the Pallavas (Arch. Sur. West. Ind., iv, 109), but it is clear that the Andhras were subverted by the Pallavas very shortly after his time. Their inscriptions comp to an and in 216 A.D.

(Footnote: 2 South Incl. Inser., i, 30.
3 South Ind. Inscr., ii, 356.
4 lbid.,i, 152.
5 See Tanjore District Gazetteer, Chap. XV, p. 258.)
 
--------------------------------------32----------------------------------------------------

TRICHINOPOLY

CHAP. II.

EARLY HISTORY.

repeated struggles with a new power, destined to be for many years the enemies of the Chola people, the Chalukyas of Badami.

These Chalukyas suddenly appear at the beginning of the seventh century A.I). as the owners of a vast empire in central and western India the capital of which was at 13adatui iu the Bombay Presidency. Under their king Pulikesin II. they soon extended their empire to the eastern sea and into the Godavari district, and drove back the Pallavas to the walls of Conjeeveram. Indeed they boast I that they conquered the Pallavas and the Cholas and that they crossed the Cauvery and invaded the country of the Cheras and the Panclyas. 2 Their conquest of the Cholas, if it really occurred, must have been ephemeral, since there are no traces of permanent Chalukyan dominion in Chola territory at this period. A boast which is of greater interest and is much more likely to have a foundation in fact is the claim that they induced the Pandyas, Cholas and Cheras to combine against the Pallavas.3 The Chalukyas seem to have declined in power soon afterwards. Internal dissensions divided them into the Western kingdom of that name, which retained the capital at Badami, and the Eastern Chalukyas of Vengi (near Ellore) who established a kingdom in the Northern Cirears.

The relations of the Pallavas with the kingdoms of the south about a hundred years later are briefly referred to in an inscription of theirs which records the defeat of the Pandyas at Mannai Kudi 4 by the general of their king Nandivarman Pallavamalla. As however the situation of Mannai Kudi is unknown, it is unsafe to speculate as to the nature of the conflict. The same Nandivarman Pallavamalla was crushingly defeated by the Western Chalukyan king Vikramaditya II. (733-47). 5 What part the Cholas took in the conflict between the Pandyas and Pallavas and what were their relations with the latter are obscure. It is only known that the Pallava empire declined (or collapsed) before the middle of the eighth century, shortly after this struggle. A few years later the Western Chalukyas of Badami also ceased to he a dominant power, and their place was taken by the Rashtrakutas of Malkhed in the Canarese country.

Brief supremacy of the Ganga-Pallavas and rise of the Cholas 9th and 10th centuries.

A later dynasty of Pallavas, styled the Ganga-Pallavas by Dr. Hultzsch, appear to have taken the place of the older Pallavas in the Tamil country. They did not however apparently extend

(Footnote: 1 Sowells Lists, ii, 155.
2 Bombay Gazetteer (Bombay, 1806), i, pt. 2, 183.
3 Ind. Antiq., viii, 245.
4 South Ind. Inscr., ii, 372.
5 Bombay Gazetteer, i, 327 ff.)
 
-------------------------------------33------------------------------------------

POLITICAL HISTORY.

CHAP. II

EARLY HISTORY.

their rule into the country of the Cholas till the reign of the last king of that dynasty, Vijaya Nripatunga Vikramavarman, who ruled in the second half of the ninth century 1 and whose inscriptions are found at Lalgudi in this district and in the Tanjore taluk.2 In the interval the Cholas were apparently free from interference from the north, though it is probable that about this time their country was overrun by the Pandyas. 3 Nor did their dependence on the Ganga-Pallavas last for more than a few years. A revival came at the end of the ninth century under king Vijayalaya, who seems to have founded a dynasty which soon extended the sway of the Cholas both north and west and formed them into a great and powerful people. From this point inscriptions, though almost as liable as the poets to exaggeration, indicate with clearness the general lines of the history of the Trichinopoly country.

Predecessors of Rajaraja circ. 880-984.

About Vijayalaya, the first king of this period, and his successor Aditya 1.4 little is known. A doubtful authority 5 ascribes to the latter the conquest of the Kongu country ' (Salem and Coimbatore districts) in 894 A.D., and it seems certain that by the beginning of the tenth century this was an accomplished fact. The same king seems to have taken possession of Tondaimandalam, the ancient Pallava country ; since an inscription of one Rajakesarivarman 

(Footnote: I The precise date of Nripatunga in unknown. Dr. Hultzsch thinks him the grandson of the Rashtrakuta king Amoghavarsha I. (S14-878). A queen mentioned in one of his inscriptions figures also in one of the records of the Chola king Aditya I., who reigned at the end of the ninth century. See the Government Epigraphist's report for 1900-01, para. 10.
2 Government Epigraphists annual report for 1903-04, para. 13.
3 The Ganga king Prithivipati I. lost his life in a battle with the Pandya king Varagnna at Tiruppirambiyam near Kunbakonam, South Ind. Inscr II. iii, 380; Prithivipati I. was a contemporary of the Rashtrakuta king Amoghavarsha 1. (814-15 to 876-78 A.D.). That the battle should have taken place in that part of the Chola country and the Pandyas be mentioned as the victors would seem to indicate that the Pandyas had subdued the Cholas or were the pie. dominant partners in an alliance with them. Some Pandya inscriptions at Tillaistanam and Sendalai in Tanjore taluk, which are of uncertain date but on palaeographical grounds can be assigned to the ninth century A.D., go to establish the fact of a Pandya conquest at this period, and a grant of Varaguna himself has recently (1905) been found in Trichinopoly. The Pandyas also invaded Ceylon at this time.

4 For these kings and their successors see the Government Epigraphist' annual report for 1892, para. 6, and South Ind. Inscr., III, ii, 196. They seem to have taken alternately the titles Rajakesari-varman and Parakesari-varman. How far this dynasty was descended from the old Chola rulers of Uraiyur mentioned by the Tamil poets it is unsafe to conjecture, Some of the former are claimed as ancestors by some of the latter, and both alike belonged to the Solar race.'
5 Sewells Lists, ii, 155.)

5
 
-------------------------------------------34-----------------------------------

TRICHINOPOLY

CHAP. II.

EARLY HISTORY.

found at Tirukkalikkunram in the Chingleput district should apparently be ascribed to his reign. 1 His successor Parantaka I. (approximately 906-946) is a more distinct figure ; and under his leadership the Cholas acquired a dominion which foreshadowed the greater empires of Rajaraja and Kulottunga. He won victories over the Banas (who with their capital at Tiruvallam in North Arcot ruled in parts of the North Arcot, Salem and perhaps Nellore districts awl of Mysore), over the Gangas of Mysore, over the Pandyas and over the king of Ceylon, from the last of which exploits he took the boastful (and common) title of a veritable lama in battle. In describing the affair he says he slew in an instant, at the head of a battle, an immense army despatched by the Lord of Lanka ; and another inscription expressly states that he entered the island with an invading army. The reality and the extent of his conquests are indicated by the fact that his inscriptions are found from Suchindram near Cape Comorin in the south to Kalahasti (in North Arcot) in. the north, and as far as Somur near Karur in the west. He is said in the large Leyden grant to have covered the temple of Siva at Chidambaram with pure gold brought from all the regions subdued by the power of his own arm,' and the copper grants found at Udayendiram state that he practised many meritorious acts and gifts, such as the hemagarbha gift, the tulabhara gift, 2 gifts of land to Brahmans and the building of temples.  His capitals seem to have been Conjeeveram and Tanjore. His queen was a princess of Kerala. 3

His death was followed by a crushing blow to the Chola power, which confined that dynasty for the next half century to its own ancestral dominions and Tondaimandalam. His eldest son and successor, Rajaditya, came into collision with the Rashtrakuta king Krishna III., then in possession of the Western Chalukyas country, and fell in a battle with that monarch at Takkolam (near Arkonam junction) in 94) A.D. The victor does not appear to have subdued more than Tondaimandalam (though he claims to have captured Tanjore) 4 since none of his inscriptions have been found either in the Tanjore or Trichinopoly districts. The conquest of Tondaimandalam by the Rashtrakutas is

(Footnote: 1 Ep. Ind., iii, 278. See also Government Epigraphist's report for 1901, para. 10.
2 The hemagarbha and tulabhara gifts are still practised by the rulers of Travancore. The former consists in making presents to Brahmans of the parts of a golden receptacle in which the king is made to sit for some time, and the second in similar presents of coins or bullion against which the king is weighed.
3 The country of the Cheras.
4 Ep. Ind., iii, 282 foll.)

----------------------------------------------------------35-----------------------------------------------

POLITICAL HISTORY.

CHAP. II

EARLY HISTORY.

established by their inscriptions, but had no lasting effects. The country was apparently reconquered a few years later by king Aditya II 1 But this reverse to the Chola power caused the revolt of apparently the whole of its recently-acquired empire, and it was only with the reign of Rajaraja I. that the lost ground was altogether recovered. Meanwhile a period of recuperation followed. The names of the next five kings after Rajaditya are known, but little is on record regarding their actions. They were Gandaraditya, Arinjava, Parantaka II., Aditya Karikala or Aditya II., and Madburantaka. Aditya II. was the son of Parantaka II., Arinjava was the brother of Rajaditya, and Madhurantaka the son of Gandaraditya. This irregular succession seems to indicate that they fought among themselves for the throne. The reconquest of Tondaimandalam by Aditya II. has been already mentioned. The same king is said in the large Leyden grant of Rajaraja I. to have conquered Vira Pandya in his youth. From this it may he inferred that the period, even if marked by disorder, was not a time of absolute weakness.

Conquests of Rajaraja I., 985-1013.

Matters became more settled when the great Rajaraja I. (9851013) came to the throne. He was the youngest son of Parantaka II., and his original title was Rajakesarivarman. His title Raja-raja seems to have been given later by the authorities of the Chidambaram temple.2  His reign is the starting point of a period of unexampled prosperity which remained unbroken, with one short interval, for over a century. He claims that his rule extended as far as Quilon and Coorg in the west, and from Ceylon 3 and Cape Comorin to the borders of Orissa. His descendants extended the Chola supremacy to Burma 4 and the Malay Archipelago. 5 The earliest recorded event of his reign is his expedition in or before 994 A.D. against a seaport of the Chera country, which he destroyed. 6. He also claims to have won several victories over the Pandyas and the Chera king in Malabar, and boasts that he subjugated that country.7 It was at the end of the century that most of his triumphs were achieved. In 998-99 A.D.8 he

(Footnote: 1 An inscription of his is found at Ukkal not far from Conjeeveram. S. Ind. Inscr., iii, 21.
2.His other titles were Rajasraya, Nityavinoda, Chola-Arumoli, Mummudi Chola, Jayankonda-Chola, and Sivapadasekhara.
3 See below p. 42.
4 See Madras Review for August 1902, pp. 246 foll.
5 We find Tamil used to record the acts of a public body in Sumatra in A.D. 1088. See the Government Epigraphist's report for 1892, para. 11.
6 See the Government Epigraphist's report for 1892, p. 4.
7 South Ind. Inscr., ii, 236. There are unfortunately few inscriptions on the West Coast ; but Rajarajas conquest was probably more than local.
8 South Ind. Inscr., iii, pt. I, 28.)
 
--------------------------------------------------36-------------------------------------------

TRICHINOPOLY

CHAP. II.

EARLY HISTORY.

conquered the Ganges of Mysore, whose capital was at Talakad ;1 the country of the Nolambas (Bellary) ; Tadigaipadi ' (not satisfactorily identified) ; Vengi (the southern part of the Northern (Circars), Coorg and the Pandyas. The Banes of Tiruvallam had apparently ceased to be a riding power before his reign.

Among the nations conquered by him were the Western and Eastern Chalukyas of the Deccan and the Northern Circars, respectively, who were both destined to be closely connected with the future history of the Cholas. The Eastern Chalukyas, whose country (Vengi) and its capital at the present Rajahmundry lay in and between the Kistna and the Vizagapatam districts, fell before him in 998-99 A.D.2 In that territory he brought to an end an interregnum of 27 years by putting a king of the old line upon the throne, apparently as his feudatory.3 A few years later a prince of this house, Vimaladitya married the daughter of Rajaraja, the Chola king, and became king of Vengi, which was still apparently under the Chola suzerainty. His son and grandson also married daughters of Chola kings, and it was the second of these rulers, the great Kulottunga, I., who in later years claimed the Chola kingdom as his mothers heritage and established a new dynasty in Tanjore. The warlike Western Ch6lukyas of the Western Deccan (who had recently re-established their power at Kalyani) were not subdued by Rajaraja till 1006-07 A.D.4 The conquest is admitted in a Western Chalukyan inscription of the following year at Hottur in the Dharwar district,5 which records how the Chola king, having collected a force numbering nine hundred thousand men, had pillaged the whole country, had slaughtered the women, the children and Brahmanas, and, taking the girls to wife, had destroyed their caste.' The victory was not permanent in its effects, however, and the Western Chalukyans remained for long the most stubborn enemies of the Cholas, the scene of conflict being generally in the Mysore Province or Bellary. Indeed the people of Bellary and Anantapur and the northern parts of Mysore were closely connected, ethnically speaking, with the Western Chalukyas and readily acknowledged their rule, even though occasionally overrun by the Cholas.

Quilon, Kalinga (the country lying south of Orissa) and Ceylon were subdued before 1002-03 A.D. The last conquest appearing

(Footnote: 1 Their capital was not taken till about 1003 A.D. Sec Rices Mysore Gazetteer, i, 333.
2. South Ind. Inscr., iii, 5.
3. Ep. Ind., vi, 349.
4. Government Epigraphists annual report for 1895, para. 11.
5 Bombay Gazetteer, i, 433.)

---------------------------------------------------------37--------------------------------------------------

POLITICAL HISTORY.

CHAP. II

EARLY HISTORY.

in Rajaraja inscriptions is that of the twelve thousand ancient islands of the sea, which was effected apparently in 1013-14 A.D., the last known year of his reign.

His domestic rule

The personality of this doughty conqueror excites the imagination ; but unfortunately few particulars survive. More is no doubt to be learned from the complete study of his many and voluminous inscriptions. Ho built the great and beautiful Siva temple in Tanjore, which was perhaps taken as the model for several others in southern India, among them the fine temple at Gangaikandapuram, a later Chola capital in this district. A devoted Saivite, his toleration of other religions is borne, out by his endowment of a Buddhist temple built by a feudatory 1. He apparently also furthered the development of irrigation and the system of village administration which was so elaborate during this period, 2 for his inscriptions betray a very keen interest in the details of the latter. An innovation of another character introduced by Rajaraja is of the greatest importance to the historical student ; namely the custom of prefixing short accounts of his achievements to his inscriptions. This practice was followed by his successors, and it has provided the chief materials for the reconstruction of this period of Chola history.

His Successors.

The family of Rajaraja remained for some sixty years on the Chola throne ; and his successors upheld the dignity, and to some extent enlarged the boundaries, of the empire created by him. During this period the political configuration of southern India remained almost unchanged. The chief enemies of the Cholas were the Western Chalukyas, but rebellions among the Eastern Chalukyas, Cheras, 3 Pandyas and Singhalese are also recorded.

Rajendra Chola I., 1011-44.

Rajarajas successor was his son Rajendra Chola, who came to the throne in 1011-12, during his fathers life-time, and ruled till about 1044. His conquests are recorded at great length in his inscriptions and are said to have extended as far as the Ganges ; whence he took the surname of Gangai-konda-Chola, or the Chola who conquered the Ganges.' The title is still preserved in the old form of the name of his capital, Gangaikandapuram in the Udaiyarpalaiyam taluk. That his arms really reached as far as Mahendragiri in the Ganjam district is established by an inscription of his which has been found on that hill,4 He also

(1 This is recorded in the Leyden grant; Burgess, Arch. Surv. South Ind., iv, 204-24.
2 See below p. 47.
3 See footnote 7 on p. 36 above.
4 Government Epigraphists report for 1886, para. 22.)
 
----------------------------------------------------------38-----------------------------------------------------

TRICHINOPOLY

CHAP. II.

EARLY HISTORY.

sent a naval expedition against Kadaram in Lower Burma, and seems to have conquered the Nicobar islands in passing.1 He further fought against the Western Chalukyan king Jayasimha II; but both sides claim the victory and it is not possible to say what was the result of the hostilities. For some reason not yet ascertained he moved his capital about 1022 from Tanjore to Gangaikonda-Cholapuram,2 and there he built a large temple similar in design to that at Tanjore.

Rajadhiraja Deva I., 1018-53.

Rajendra Chola shared his throne for many years with his son or nephew, Rajadhiraja Deva I., who succeeded as early as A.D. 1018 3 and continued to rule after Rajendra Cholas death till 1053. Nothing is known of his earlier acts, and his first inscription is dated in his twenty-sixth year, or 1043-44. He was involved in wars against the Pandyas, Cheras and Singhalese, who seem to have united during this reign to throw off the Chola yoke. The revolt was sternly suppressed, the Chera king being trampled to death by an elephant. An inscription describing the victory over the rebels says that of the three allied kings of the south the Chola monarch cut off in battle the beautiful head of Mane-bharanau ; seized in fight Virakeralan of the broad ankle-rings and was pleased to have him trampled by his furious elephant Attivarana ; and drove to the ancient Mullaiyar 4 Sundara-Pandya of great and endless fame, who lost in the fierce struggle his royal white parasol, his whisks of the hail of the white yak and his throne, and took to flight bare-headed, without his crown, with locks dishevelled and with weary feet.5 Rajadhiraja Deva also fought against the Western Chalukya king Ahava-malla, and claims to have burnt the palace of the Chalukyas at Kampli in the Bellary district and carried the war as far as Kolhapur in the Bombay Presidency. 6 His opinion of his own achievements is illustrated by the fact that he performed the asvamedhe or horse-sacrifice, which was generally undertaken only by mighty and victorious monarchs. He lost his life, as the records of both sides testify, in a battle between the Cholas and Chalukyas at Koppam in Mysore in 1053.

(Footnot: 1  Government Epigraphists report for 1899, para. 47.
2 See the account of Gangaikandapuram, Chapter XV, p. 347.
3 Ep. Ind., vii, 7.
4 Not identified.
5 South Ind. Inscr., iii 56.
6 His victories are acknowledged by the Chalukya inscriptions, which admit that ' the wicked Chola penetrated into the Belvola country and burned the Jaina temples.' South Ind. Inscr., iii, 53.
7 South Ind. inscr., iii, 57.)


-----------------------------------39-----------------------------------

CHAP. II.

Early History

Rajendra Deva, 1052-64.

This battle is described in an inscription of his cousin or brother,1 who was also his co-regent and successor, Rajendra Deva (1052-64), in the following vainglorious terms : 2 While the Chola king was resplendent upon earth, the proud and haughty Chalukya king Ahavamalla, heard that the Valavan (i.e., the Chola king), desirous of war, had started from his country and had reached Irattamandalam (apparently the Chalukya country). Exclaiming This is intolerable, and springing up, his eyes burning with rage, ho marched to Koppam and attacked the enemy. Then, while showers of arrows pierced the forehead of the Chola kings elephant, that monarch's royal thigh, and his shoulders which resembled hillocks, and. while the ankle-ringed warriors who were riding with him were falling on all sides, the Chola king deployed on the battle-field many matchless valorous regiments and sent to the other world Jayasimha,, the brother of the strong Chalukya, and the brave Pulikesin and Dasavarman with his garlands of flowers. The Chalukya, defeated, fled trembling with dishevelled locks and. weary feet, and was driven into the western occan.

Vira Rajendra Deva 1062-69.

This Rajendra Deva shared his throne with Rajamahendra, about whom very little is known.3 He was succeeded by the powerful king Vira Rajendra Deva (1062-63 to 1068-69). The field of this monarchs activities was wide and his achievements include victories over the Cheras and Pandyas, the reconquest of the Eastern Chalukya country of Vengi and repeated triumphs over the Western Chalukyas. The wars against the Cheras and Pandyas were again occasioned by a rebellion in the south, and this revolt was as sternly and successfully repressed as the other. He caused to be trampled by a furious mast elephant the king of the south with his ankle-rings of gold, tl e young son of Srivallabha, and Virakesarin whose crown of jewels glittered as the lightning.4 The most important of his wars however were those with the two Clalukya kingdoms. He claims no less than five victories over the Western Chalukyas, and after the last of these battles at Kudal or Kudalasangan (apparently at the junction of the Tunga and Bhadra rivers) he boasts that he conferred the kingdom of the Western Chalukyas on Vikramaditya VI. and gave him his daughter in marriage.  Whether the kingdom was conferred or not, it is certain that a

(Footnote: 1 South Ind. Inscr., iii, 53. A Canarese record says that Rajadhirajas death broke the succession of his family.
2 Government Epigraphists report for 1898, para. 4.
3 South Ind. Inscr., iii, 113.
4 Ibid., iii, 37.)
 
-----------------------------------40-----------------------------------

TRICHINOPOLY.

CHAP. II.

EARLY HISTORY.

truce and a royal intermarriage stilled for a few years the feud between these rival powers, and that at this period the Cholas were allied by marriage with both branches of the Chalukyas.

Vira Rajendra Devas own account of his final victory over the Western Chalukyas says that smarting under his recent defeats, the Chalukya king (Ahavamalla) of the lunar race took anxious counsel with himself and exclaiming Rather death than disgrace declared that the same Kudal, where previously he and his sons had fled in disorder, should be the next battlefield. He then sent a taunting letter to the Chola king, challenging him to come to Kudal. On receiving this, the mind, the face and the royal shoulders of the king became doubly brilliant with surpassing beauty and joy. He started and entered that battle-field. As the king of the Vallabhas (the Chalukyas) did not arrive, he waited one month after the appointed day. Then the liar (Ahavamalla) fled till he was exhausted and hid himself in the western ocean. The Chola king subdued in war the seven and a half lakhs of the famous Irattipadi (Chalukyas) and kindled crackling fires. In order that the four quarters of the earth might praise him, he planted on the bank of the Tungabhadra a pillar bearing a description of his victory, and the tiger floated proudly on the banner of the solar race.1

The details of this king's reconquest of the Vengi country are obscure. It is not at all clear who resisted him. Vimaladitya, as already recorded, had been appointed by his father-in-law, the great Chola emperor, Rajaraja I., as king of Rajahmundry; and had been succeeded in 1023 by his son, the Chalukya Rajaraja, who ruled till 1063 and also espoused a Chola princess, the daughter of Rajendra Chola. The Chalukya Rajaraja was not succeeded by his son Kulottunga, but by his brother Vijayaditya, VII. It is not clear why Kulottunga did not come to the throne. Ile appears to have been adopted as a son by his maternal grandfather, Rajendra Chola, and to have lived for some time in his youth in the Chola country ; and his supersession may be explained by his absence from the scene, or by the jealousy of the Chola monarch, who may well have feared him as a possible rival. Now in the Chola reconquest of Vengi, Viva Rajendra Deva acted as the friend and protector of Vijayaditya VII. whose broad hands held weapons of war, and who had taken refuge at his (Vira Rajendra Devas) lotus feet. But from whom Vijayaditya had taken refuge is in no wise dear.  It has been supposed that his assailant was either the young Kulottunga

(Footnote: 1 Government Epigraphists report for 1898, para. 5.)
 
-----------------------------------41-----------------------------------

CHAP.II.

EARLY HISTORY

POLITICAL HISTORY.

or the Western Ch6lukya Vikramaditya VI., who is known to have invaded Vengi some time before 1064.  Difficulties beset both suppositions, for while one inscription speaks of Kulottunga as lord of Vengi, which raises the inference that he tried to oust Vijayaditya VII., another (Ind. Antiq., xviii, 171) says that the latter asked for the help of the king of Kalinga against the Cholas.

Whatever may have been the cause of the war, Vira Rajendra Deva was successful in it. He reconquered the fine country of Vengai and bestowed it on Vijayaditya. He returned home and all the kings of the earth worshipped his feet and praised him as he sat on a throne bedecked with shining jewels and exhibited one after the other the piles of great treasures which ho had seized in the rich country of Vengai.1

Usurpation of the Chola throne by Kulottunga I., circ. 1073.

The death of Vira Rajendra Deva (1068-69) was followed by grave internal disorder in the Chola kingdom. He had previously shared his throne for a year or two with his son Adhi Rajendra, and the trouble began as soon as the latter succeeded. Vikramaditya VI., the Western Chalukya king and son-in-law of Vira Rajendra Deva, hearing that his father-in-law was dead and the Chola kingdom in a state of anarchy, 2 at once started for the south and replaced Adhi Rajendra on the throne. But he had barely returned from the expedition, when he heard that this prince had been killed in a fresh rebellion and that Kulottunga had succeeded him. This Kulottunga claimed the Chola throne both as grandson and as adopted son of Rajendra Chola.

A furious conflict now ensued between Kulottunga, and Vikramaditya VI., the latter of whom apparently wished either to avenge Adhi Rajendras death or to secure the throne for some Chola relation of his. The war is described in widely different terms in the records of the two conflicting powers, but terminated in the complete victory of Kulottunga. His inscriptions boast that he drove Vikramaditya from Kolar to the Tungabhadra. The final actions took place about 1073, but Kulottunga always dates his accession from 1070, from which date he probably considered himself king de jure.

His reign.

Kulottunga I. is another king whose personality is attractive but is only vaguely outlined in the records of the time. A son of the Eastern Chalukya king Rajaraja (1022-62) and of Ammanga Devi, daughter of the Chola king Rajendra Chola

(Footnote: 1 Government Epigraphists report for 1898.

2 For this and what follows see Government Epigraphists report for 1901, para. 12)

6
 
-----------------------------------42-----------------------------------

TRICHINOPOLY.

CHAP. II. 

EARLY HISTORY

(1011-44), he became in early life the favourite of his mothers father, and was adopted as his son. He spent some time in the Chola country in his youth, and. a record of a gift of his when only a prince ' has been found at Tiruvadi near Tanjore. He also distinguished himself while heir-apparent by capturing elephants at Vayiragaram and defeating the king of Dhara at Sakkarakottam.1  It has already been noted that he was supplanted by his uncle on his fathers death. Apparently he obtained the Vengi throne as well as that of the Cholas, since even after his accession to power in the south he allowed his usurping uncle to continue as his viceroy in the north. He did nothing to extend his dominions, and it was apparently during his reign that Ceylon was lost to the Chola empire ; but in one or two directions he regained ground which had been lost either by his predecessors or in the first few troubled years of his own rule. His actual conquests, apart from his victories over Vikramaditya VI., seem to have been confined to suppressing a rebellion of the Pandyas and Cheras, garrisoning the border of Travancore (he stationed a regiment near Kottar), and reconquering the Kalinga country, which last seems to have revolted at least as early as Vira Rajendra Devas reign. The Ganga country in Mysore was retaken from Vikramaditya in the early part of Kulottungas reign, but it appears to have been lost again before the end of it, and immediately after his death Vengi was for a time (1120-24) occupied by his old enemy Vikramaditya VI.

Among his domestic reforms Kulottunga took great pride in the abolition of the inland transit duties which were such a hindrance to mercantile transactions in ancient times. Ho also had the country resurveyed. His capital was Gangaikonda-Cholapuram, but Conjeeveram was also a city of importance and his occasional residence. In 1118 he summoned his son Vikrama Chola from the viceroyalty of Vengi to share his throne, and he died shortly afterwards.

Relations with Pandyas and Ceylon.

The relations of Rajaraja I. and his successors with the Pandyas and Ceylon are a little obscure. Most of them boast of conquests in both these directions, but it is obvious that repeated conquests imply repeated resistance and it is difficult to gauge precisely the degree of subjection to which these countries were brought. The reality of Rajarajas victories cannot, however, he doubted. Inscriptions of his reign are found in large numbers in the extreme south of the peninsula and in Ceylon, copper coins

(Footnote: 1 These places have not been identified, but are apparently in the north of the Northern Circars.)
 
-----------------------------------43-----------------------------------

POLITICAL HISTORY.

CHAP.II

EARLY HISTORY

inscribed with his name are met with in considerable quantities in the Madura bazaar, 1 and he presented the revenue of a village in Ceylon to the Tanjore temple. As regards the Pandyas, it is obvious that for some time their country was a mere province of the Chola dominions. It was called Rajaraja-pandi-nadu, the name of Korkai, its ancient capital, was changed into Cholendra-simhachaturvedimangalam, and Rajendra Chola I. (1011-44) established a dynasty of Chola blood in the Pandya country with the title Chola-Pandya. 2 The first rebellion which occurred was in the time of Rajadhiraja (1018-53), and this, as above noted, was absolutely quelled by that monarch. Another broke out during the reign of Vira Rajendra (1062-71), but this also was crushed, and the Pandya king put to death. A third rebellion took place in the troubled time that followed Kulotungas accession to the Chola throne (about 1073), but  the Chola king again subdued the country as far as Kottar in Travancore, where ho stationed a garrison to guard the frontier. These rebellions must have been led by some of the old Pandya stock. Chola-Pandyas' were apparently ruling as feudatories of the Cholas 3 till as late as 1135. By the last quarter of the twelfth century the Chola-Pandya line seems to have died out, for the Cholas are found to be supporting claimants to the Pandya throne whose names seem to indicate no relationship to the Cholas at all. This war of the P6ndya succession (shortly to be described) seems to have lasted for two generations, and, though the Chola protege was ultimately successful, the decline of the Chola power at this period enabled the Pandyas to reassert themselves about the beginning of the thirteenth century and to throw off for ever the Chola yoke.

Perhaps the Singhalese annals' can be relied on for the events that took place in that island. From these it appears that the whole island was subdued by Rajaraja I. and remained under a Chola deputy till the time of Kulottunga (1070-1118), when a rising took place and the Cholas were completely driven out. Probably Kulottunga was too busy securing his position at home to care about such matters ; but it seems that neither he nor his successors over again obtained a substantial footing in the island.

(Footnote: 1. Captain Tufuells Hints to Coin Collectors in Southern India, p. 11,
2 See the Government Epigraphists report for 1904-05.
3 A certain Vikrama Chola-Pandya, apparently a prince of this family, was probably (to judge by his name) a contemporary of the Chola king Vikrarna-Chola (1118-35).
4. See Sewells Lists, ii, 157.)
 
-----------------------------------44-----------------------------------

CHAP. II

TRICHINOPOLY.

CHAP. II.

EARLY HISTORY.

Gradual decline of the Cholas

During the twelfth century the power of the Cholas slowly declined. Their control over the Northern Circars was little) more than nominal during the greater portion of that century,1 a rid the Pandyas seem to have reasserted their independence before it was half over. Moreover we find the various feudatory chiefs of the Tondaimandalam gradually entering into offensive and defensive alliances among themselves, while nominally acknowledging the Chola sovereign. There were however some powerful Chola kings during this period. Vikrama Chola (1118-35) seems indeed to have supported no small degree of the dignity of his father Kulottunga I., and it would seem that the process of dissolution went on most speedily under his successors Kulottunga II. (about 1135-46) and Rajaraja II. (1146 to about 1171). The early years of the reign of Rajadhiraja II. (about 1171-78) were hardly more prosperous, though that king could boast of one considerable success before his death. It was in his time that the Cholas became involved in the war of the Pandya succession which took place in the latter part of the twelfth century 2.  The king of Ceylon took the side opposite to that espoused by the Cholas; and, after a victorious campaign in the Madura district, the Singhalese advanced to the north against the Cholas and burnt some villages in the Pattukkottai taluk, An inscription of one of their feudatories found as far north as Arpakkam near Conjeeveram gives a vivid picture of the dismay of the Cholas and describes the ravages of those very wicked and vicious men, all sinners against Siva,' who had removed the sacred door of the temple at holy Ramesvaram, obstructed the worship and carried away all the temple treasures. An appeal was made to the local priest, who was pleased to worship Siva for 28 days continuously, and by his efforts the invaders were defeated. They seem to have retired from the country immediately after this reverse, but none the less they left their protege upon the Pandya throne. The war was continued a few years later by the next Chola king, the last really powerful sovereign of that dynasty, Kulottunga III. (about 1178-1215), who defeated the Singhalese, cut off

(Footnote: 1.The last of the Chola kings who had any real power in the Vengi country seems to have been Vikrama. Chola (1118 to at least 1135). He appears to have left the control of that province in the hands of a family of chieftains of Velanandu (apparently Chaudavolu in Guntur). None of his successors seem to have visited this country. They are recognized as overlords, however, in the inscriptions of the various chieftains of the Vengi country till as late as the end of the thirteenth century, when they had long lost all pretensions to even a limited empire.

2 This is described in detail in the Government Epigraphists annual report for 1898-99, paras. 23 foll).
 
-----------------------------------45-----------------------------------

POLITICAL HISTORY.

CHAP .II

EARLY HISTORY

their noses, drove them into the sea, captured Madura and made over the Pandya crown to a candidate of his own. From this achievement he took the title conqueror of Madura and Ceylon, but these successes did not arrest the decay of the Chola kingdom for more than a short time.

Subjection to Pandyas and Hoysalas.

It was in the days of Rajaraja III (1216 to at least 1243-44) 1 that the first fatal blows to the Chola power were dealt.  The Pandya king Maravarman Sundara-Pandya I. (1216-35) boasts that he burnt Tanjore and Uraiyur, conquered the Chola country and returned it subsequently to its king as a gift ;2  and inscriptions of his, dated 1223 and 1225, at Tirukkattuppalli (in Tanjore taluk) and Srirangam support his claims. 3 Moreover a prince of Pallava extraction actually captured this Chola king about 1230-31. He was released and reinstated 4 by a new power, that of the Hoysala Ballalas, who had occupied the southern dominions of the Western Chalukyas and now interfered in the affairs of the south. They had protected the Cholas from the Pandyas (cleft open the rock that was the Pandya) and established themselves near Srirangam in a new town which had been built (by Vira Somesvara, the Hoysala king) in order to amuse his mind in the Chola country, which he had conquered by the power of his arm.5

The last of the Chola kings of the Vijayalaya dynasty who possessed any degree of real power was apparently Rajendra Chola III., who came to the throne in 1296, 6 reigned till at least 1267 and appears to have resisted the Hoysalas with some success.  He calls himself the hostile rod of death to his uncle Somesvara,7 and seems to have defeated him in battle. Indeed three claims to victories over the Hoysalas are made about the middle of the thirteenth century, one by the Cholas, one by the Telugu Chodas (who say they thereby established the Chola king on his throne), and one by the Pandyas. The conquest by the Cholas must have taken place in or before 1252, 8 whereas that by the Pandyas in which the Hoysala king Vira Somesvara was slain must have occurred in or after 1254, the latest known date of that rulers reign. It is not unlikely that the alleged victory of

(Footnote: 1. Government Epigraphists annual report for 1900, p. 13 full.
2. Ep. Ind., vii, 161.
3. Ep. Ind., vi, 303-4.
4. See the graphic description iu the Tiruvendipuram inscription of Vira Somesvara. Ep. Ind., vii, 160.
5. See Ep. Ind., iii, 8, 14.
6. Ep. Ind., vii, 146.
7. Ibid., 177.8.
8. Ibid., 176.)
 
-----------------------------------46-----------------------------------

TRICHINOPOLY.

CHAP. II.

EARLY HISTORY.

the Telugu Chodas over the Hoysalas is the same as that claimed by the Cholas. The Hoysalas were not however permanently weakened, since we find them again at Srirangam later on.

At this point a time of great Pandya prosperity followed. Jatavarman Sundara-Pandya I. (1251-61) penetrated as far north as Nellore, where lie had himself anointed as a hero and left an inscription. Records of his appear in the Tanjore district as early as 1253, and he was at Srirangam by 1260. He covered a portion of the Srirangam temple with gold and made numerous gifts to it. A number of grants prove the Pandya occupation of the Chola dominions, but the dates are still obscure. Curiously intermixed with the evidence of Pandya supremacy are traces of continued Hoysala power. Thus while Jatavarman Sundara-Pandya I. left an inscription at Srirangam dated 1260 A.D., the Hoysala, king Vira Ramanatha Deva made a grant there in 1256 ; and Hoysala inscriptions in this district continue till at least 1294 A.D. Three other Pandya kings have left records in Trichinopoly ; namely, Maravarman Kulasekhara I. (apparently the Kales Deva of Muhammadan history), Jatavarman Sundara-Pandya II. (the Sender Bandi of Marco Polo) and Maravarman Kulasekhara II. The inscriptions of these kings continue to 1321 and are found in many parts of the Chola dominions, the Eondaimandalam and the Kongu country. It is impossible to say what were the variations in the boundaries of the Pandya and the Hoysala empires during this period or whether the Chola kings had any power at all. A great change was however at hand.

Conquest of the South by Malik Kafur, 1310

About this time (1310) southern. India was convulsed by the sudden invasion of Malik Kafur, a general of the Delhi emperor and the first Muhammadan invader of the south, which destroyed the Hoysalas and made way for the Vijayanagar empire. He is said by the Muhammadan historian, Ferishta, to have penetrated as far as Ramesvaram, and it is certain that Muhammadan kings ruled in Madura and Trichinopoly for a great part of the half century which succeeded his departure.1 The Pandyas and Cholas seem to have been prostrated at the time, for we hear that the Chera king Ravivarman or Kulasekhara 2 marched across the peninsula to Srirangam and Conjeeveram in 1313, and about this time the power of both may be said to have come to an end. The 

(Footnote: 1. They seem to have ruled from 1327 to 1365 A.D. See below p. 48, and Elphinstones History of India (London, 1857), 341.

2 There is an inscription of his dated 1313 at Tiruvadi in the South Arcot district, Ep. lad., viii, 8.)
 
-----------------------------------47-----------------------------------

POLITICAL HISTORY.

Pandya king Kulasekhara II no doubt left records in Tinnevelly and Gangaikonda-Cholapuram down to at least 1321, and his line did not actually die out for another three centuries. But it was no longer independent. Obscure references to the existence of Chola princes occur near Trichinopoly to a late period, but these rulers similarly possessed no independent power.

General character of the Cholas.

Some account of the Chola people as portrayed by the Tamil poets who wrote about the commencement of the Christian era has already been given. The same impression of chivalry and civilization is conveyed by the inscriptions and the actions of the great dynasty of Vijayalaya which now comes to an end. Their chivalry is apparent even through the turgid boastfulness of the records of their military expeditions. Their civilization is exhibited in a number of ways. Revenue surveys were made both prior to the reign of Rajaraja I. (985-1013) and in that of Kulottunga I. (1070-1118). Land as small as  1/52,428,800,000 of a veli (a veli is about 6 acres) is declared to have been measured and assessed to revenue 1.! Kulottunga, as noted above, abolished the inland transit duties and was rightly proud of such an enlightened measure. Irrigation, which received the attention of the earlier Cholas, was greatly developed by their successors. It was apparently by them that the Grand Anicut, 2 the bulwark of the fertility of the Tanjore country, was built, and the old work remains the base of the modern improvement upon it. The names of most of the irrigation channels which still lead from it are mentioned in the inscriptions of this period. The head sluice of the Uyyakondan channel, which supplies water to the town of Trichinopoly, is referred to in a grant of Kulottunga III. dated 1205-06 and is in existence to the present day. The head sluice of the Periyavaykkal near Musiri was built in 1219.3 Lastly the many fine temples which date from this period bear testimony to the high skill of their builders. The country was administered by village assemblies which, though supervised by higher officials, exercised an almost supreme authority in all details. They were divided into committees of which four are specially mentioned, viz., those of annual supervision, and those for the care of tanks, gardens and justice. Much information on the subject is contained in the Government Epigraphist's report for 1899.4 A certain

(Footnote: 1 Government Epigraphists annual report for 1900, para. 25, and S. Ind. Inscr, ii, 62, para. 11.

2 See Chapter IV, p. 144.

3 G.O., No. 452, Public, dated 10th June 1891, para. 4.

4 Pars. 58 foll.)
 
-----------------------------------48-----------------------------------

TRICHINOPOLY.

CHAP. II.

VIJAYANGAR PERIOD.

number of villages formed a district under a district officer, and these again were grouped into provinces. The names of nine of these last are known and further research may disclose more.1

Conquest by vijayanagar circ. 1340

Meanwhile a former feudatory of the Hoysalas had founded at Vijayanagar, on the banks of the Tungabhadra, a new empire, which embraced the whole of southern India and stemmed the tide of Muhammadan invasion for over two centuries. The story of Vijayanagar supremacy in the south, however, is somewhat obscure.

The Muhammadan kings left at Madura after the invasion of Malik Kafur, or one of the other Mughal incursions into the Carnatic, continued to rule in Madura and Trichinopoly for about half a century, and it is probable that the greater part of Tanjore was also a part of their dominions. A Tamil work 2 assigns the conquest of Tondaimandalam and Trichinopoly by these invaders to 1327 A.D. It was about 1365 3 that they fell before the forces of Vijayanagar. Two princes of the latter house, Kampana Udaiyar and Virupaksha, established their authority in Madura and South Arcot in the middle of the fourteenth century, and it is probable that Trichinopoly also submitted to them. Virupaksha claims to have subdued the Cholas, Bukka I. (1335-43) boasts 4 in general terms that he conquered all the kingdoms of the south, and inscriptions of Kampana Udaiyar dated 1374-75 s occur at Tiruppalatturai in the Trichinopoly taluk and others of Harihara II. (1379-99) in Trichinopoly itself.6 Thus the subjection of the Chola country to the Vijayanagar empire must have taken place in the middle of the fourteenth century. From thenceforward

(Footnote: 1 The nine are (I) Mudi-konda-chola-mandala, south of Gangavadi in Mysore ; (2) Vikrama-chola-mandala, north-west of the Bangalore district ; (3) Nikarili-chola-mandala, Kolur and the northern parts of Salem (Ep. Ind., vi, 331) ; (4) Trattipadi-konda-chola-mandala, north of Mysore and extending beyond it; (5) Vijaya-rajendra-mandala (mentioned in a Kolar inscription, S Ind. Inscr., III, ii, 138); (6) Jayan-konda- chola-mandala, the ancient Tondaimandalam ; (7) Rajaraja-mandalam, the Pandya country ; (8) Adhirajaraja-mandalam, the Kongn country (i.e. portions of Salem and Coimbatore, S. Ind. Inscr., iii, 31) ; and (9) Gangai-konda-chola-valanadu, some portion of the Northern Circars.

2 The ' Koyilolugu ', which records the donations to the Ranganatha temple at Srirangam from the earliest times.

3 Kampana Udaiyars victory over them is referred to in an inscription of that year, Ep. Ind., vi, 324. Moreover one of the images removed from the Sri-rangana temple at the advance of the iconoolastio invaders in 1327 was brought back and reconsecrated by Goppana in 1371-72. This is recorded in an inscription in the temple itself, Ep. Ind., vi, 322.

4. Sewell, A Forgotten Empire, p. 27.

5. Government Epigraphists collection, No. 282 of 1903.

6. Sewell, A Forgotten Empire, p. 49.
 
-----------------------------------49-----------------------------------

POLITICAL HISTORY.

CHAP II.

VIJAYANAGAR PERIOD.

for the next two or three centuries indubitable traces of the overlordship of that empire survive, though further research is needed to work out details. The Saluvas, who usurped the Vijayanagar crown in the last quarter of the fifteenth century, also ruled this country, perhaps as feudatories of the first Vijayanagar dynasty, for inscriptions of Gopa Timma are found at Srirangam 1 and one of a certain Saluva-Samgama Devamaharaja at Anbil in Trichinopoly taluk. 2 The Saluvas were followed at the beginning of the sixteenth century by the Tuluva dynasty to which the great Krishna Raya belonged. An inscription 3 of his at Tiruppalatturai in Trichinopoly taluk dated 1517-18 records remissions of revenue in favour of certain temples. Meanwhile Nayaks subordinate to Vijayanagar were ruling Madura jointly with princes of the old Pandya stock.4 It does not appear that the old Cholas and Pandyas were actually dispossessed. Detailed evidence exists of the continuance of the latter to a much later date, and inscriptions of Chola princes, dated 1481 and 1530, occur in the neighbourhood of Trichinopoly, which refer to them as lords of Uraiyur5 It would thus seem that the ancient dynasties of the south, though disturbed by adventurers or officials from Vijayanagar, continued to preserve a modified, it subordinate, authority in a part at least of their dominions. It is impossible to gauge the power of the Cholas or the Pandyas during this period ; but, from the silence of Achyuta's inscriptions mentioned below regarding both, the Cholas may be supposed to have been, at any rate latterly, of small importance. The later Pandyas were a more formidable power, and evidence exists of a victorious inroad by one of their kings in 1469-70 as far as Conjeeveram. This was probably rendered possible by the weakness of the successors of Deva Raya II., which eventually led to more serious consequences in the Vijayanagar kingdom. It seems however to have been only a momentary break in the story of quiet subjection to the overlordship of Vijayanagar.

King Achyutas compaign 1532.

About 1532, however, stirring events occurred. The king of Travancore became aggressive, overran a large part of the Pandya country, and defied the authority of Vijayanagar. To reduce him to submission, and also to defend the Pandya king from the encroachments of two Telugu chieftains (perhaps local governors sent from Vijayanagar who bad endeavoured to assume independence)

(Footnote: 1 Ep. Ind., vii, 77, footnote 2.
2 Nos. 593 and 594 of the Government Epigraphists collection for 1902.
3 Government Epigraphists report for 1904, para. 23.
4 Sewells Lists, ii, 223.
5.Government Epigraphists annual report for 1892, p. 7.)

7
 
-----------------------------------50-----------------------------------

TRICHINOPOLY

CHAP. II.

VIJAYANAGAR PERIOD.

Achyuta, king of Vijayanagar from 1530 to 1542, organized a great expedition into the extreme south of India.

If we are to trust his own inscriptions,1 he was eminently successful in the campaign. He planted a. pillar of victory in the Tambraparni river, exacted tribute from the king of Travancore, suppressed the two troublesome chieftains and married the daughter of the Pandya king. Thenceforth the Pandya country and Trichinopoly were held more .firmly and directly by the representatives of the Vijayanagar empire. The native chronicles, indeed, continue to confuse the authority of these suzerains, their Telugu governors, and the Pandya rulers, treating each in turn as though they were supreme, but there is evidence 2 to show that between 1547 and 1558 the country was in fact ruled by one Vitthala Raja, who was a prince of the Vijayanagar line and invaded Travancore a second time in 1543.

NAYAKKAN DYNASTY 1559-1736

In 1559 was founded the famous Nayakkan dynasty of Madura, which held the country for nearly two centuries until the Musalmans took it in 1736. The origin and early doings of this line are recounted neither in inscriptions nor in really reliable histories, and for light upon both we are driven to depend mainly upon the vernacular manuscripts in the three volumes of the Rev. W. Taylors Catalogue Raisonne of Oriental MSS. (Madras, 1857), in the same authors Oriental Historical MSS. (Madras, 1835) and in the collections of manuscripts by Colonel Mackenzie which are now in the Connemara Library. These (in the judgment of so eminent an authority as Bishop Caldwell) are of very doubtful veracity, but happily they are frequently illumined by the letters and periodical reports of the priests of the well-known Jesuit Mission at Madura, which (though unfortunately incomplete) have been collected and published in four volumes under the title of La Mission the Madure. Mr. Nelson has collated all these authorities with much care in his book The Madura Country, and the ensuing narrative follows closely (though, owing to the exigencies of space, very briefly) his account of this period.

Its origin.

It seems, then, that at about the close of Vitthala Rajas administration a Chola chieftain who resided near Trichinopoly invaded the Madura country and dispossessed the Pandya king. Whereupon the latter appealed to the court of Vijayanagar and an expedition under a certain Nagama Nayakkan was accordingly sent to his aid. Nagama easily suppressed the Chola king and

(Footnote: 1. See Government Epigraphists annual report for 1899-1900, paras. 70 ff
2. Ibid., para. 78, and Sewells Lists of Antiquities, ii, 224.
 
-----------------------------------51-----------------------------------

POLITICAL HISTORY.

CHAP. II.

NAYAKKAN DYNASTY

possessed himself of Madura, but he then suddenly threw off his allegiance and, declining to help the Pandya, assumed the position of an independent ruler. The Vijayanagar emperor was furious at his defection, summoned a council, laid the matter before his most faithful officers, and cried out to the assemblage Where amongst you all is he who will bring me that rebels head ? To the astonishment of every one present, Nagamas own son, Visvanatha, volunteered to do so, and after some natural hesitation the king despatched him with a largo force against the rebel. Visvanatha defeated his father in a pitched battle, placed him in confinement, and at length procured for him the unconditional pardon which bad doubtless been from the first the object of his action.

He so far obeyed 'the orders of the Vijayanagar king as nominally to place the Pandya on the throne, but sound policy and his own interests alike deterred him from handing over the entire government of the country to the old feeble dynasty, and he set out to rule on his own account. This was in 1559.  Doubtless he held a wide commission as governor from the Vijayanagar court, and perhaps there was little difference between the powers he exercised and those wielded, for example, by Vitthala Raja. But the peculiar characteristic of the new regime was that, whether by accident or design, it developed first into a governorship which became hereditary and then into what was practically an hereditary monarchy. The Nayakkans never, it is true, assumed the insignia or titles of royalty, and were content with the position of lieutenants under Vijayanagar even after they had ceased to pay tribute to that power ; but in essentials their sway was practically absolute and the Pandyas and Cholas disappear in effect henceforth from history.

Visvanatha Nayakkan 1559-63.

Visvanatha, then, became the first of the Nayakkan dynasty.  His dominions apparently soon included the whole of this district, as well as Madura and Tinnevelly and much of Coimbatore. He obtained the fort of Trichinopoly early in his rule. The Vijayanagar vieeroy who governed the Tanjore country had failed to properly police the pilgrim roals which ran through Trichinopoly to the shrines of Srirangam and Ramesvaram, and devotees were afraid to visit those holy places. Visvanatha accordingly arranged to exchange that town for the fort of Vallam (in Tanjore), which was his at that time. He is said to have then vastly improved the fortifications and town of Trichinopoly and the temple of Srirangam, and to have cleared the banks of the Cauvery of robbers.  He also introduced administrative changes throughout his charge and founded the poligar system ' under which the country was
 
-----------------------------------52-----------------------------------

TRICHINOPOLY

CHAP. II.

NAYAKKAN DYNASTY.

apportioned among a number of chieftains who were responsible for the well-being of their estates, paid him tribute and kept up a quota of troops. Most of the existing zamindars in the district claim to be descendants of these men. Visvanatha died full of years and honour in 1563.

His immediate successors

He was succeeded by his son Kumara Krishnappa (1563-73), who is represented as a brave and politic ruler. Ile is declared to have conquered Ceylonan exploit of which heroic details are given in the manuscripts, but of which, in view of the silence of the usually candid annals of that island, the very existence may well be doubted.

He was succeeded in 1573 by his two sons, who ruled jointly and uneventfully till 1595 ; and they by. their two sons, one of whom ruled till 1602.

These were followed by Muttu Krishnappa (1602-09). He is credited with the foundation of the dynasty of the Setupatis of Ramnad, the ancestors of the present Raja of that place, who were given a considerable slice of territory in the Marava country on condition that they suppressed crime and protected pilgrims journeying to Ramesvaram through that wild and inhospitable region.

Muttu Krishnappa was succeeded by Muttu Virappa (1609-23), a hardly more distinct figure.

Fall Of Vijayanagar Kingdom, 1565

Meanwhile, in 1565, the power of the rulers of Vijayanagar, the suzerains of the Nayakkans, had been dealt an irreparable blow by the combined Musalman kings of the Deccan at the memorable battle of Talikota, one of the great landmarks in the history of south India. They were forced to abandon a large part of the districts of Bellary and Anantapnr to the victorious Muhammadans, to flee hastily from Vijayanagar, and to establish their capital successively at Penukonda in Anantapur and at Chandragiri and Vellore in North Arcot. Their governors at Trichinopoly and Tanjore still paid them the usual tribute and marks of respect, but in the years which now follow traces begin to appear of the weakness of the suzerain, and of contempt and finally rebellion on the part of his feudatories.

Tirumala Nayakkan, 16523-59

Muttu Virappa mentioned above was succeeded by the great Tirumala Nayakkan, the most powerful and the best known of his dynasty, who ruled for thirty-six eventful years.1 He was called upon to play his part in much more stirring times than his predecessors. The peace imposed upon the south by the sway of

(Footnote: 1 For an inscription giving his genealogy, see Ep. Ind. iii, 239)
 
-----------------------------------53-----------------------------------

POLITICAL HISTORY.

CHAP. II

NAYAKKAN DYNASTY

Vijayanagar had been dissolved by the downfall of that, power, and the country was torn by the mutual quarrels of the once feudatory governors (` Nayakkans ') of Trichinopoly, Tanjore, Gingee and Mysore ; by the unavailing attempts of the last rulers of the dying empire to reassert their failing authority ; and finally by the incursions of the Muhammadan kings of the Deccan, who now began to press southwards to reap the real fruits of their victory at Talikota.

He defies Vijayanagar

Almost the first act of Tirumalas reign was to withhold the tribute due to the king of Vijayanagar. The letters of the Jesuit priests already mentioned showed that he anticipated trouble in consequence, and accordingly massed large bodies of troops in Trichinopoly and strengthoned its fortifications. He none the less still sent annual complimentary messages and presents to his suzerain, and this suffieed for some time to appease the resentment of the incapable representatives of that ancient line. But about 1638 king Ranga, a more resolute prince, succeeded to the throne of Chandragiri ; and he soon resolved to put an end to the contumacy of Tirumala and prepared to march south with a large and formidable force. Tirumala, had meanwhile persuaded the Vijayanagar governors of Tanjore and Gingee (in South Arcot) to join him in his defiance of their mutual suzerain, and thus Ranga was left with only Mysore, of all his tributaries, to support him. He however continued his preparations, with the result that the governor of Tanjore eventually grew alarmed, sent in his submission, and betrayed the designs of the confederates.

Calls the Muhammadans to his aid

Ranga advanced upon Gingee, but his plans wore frustrated by a desperate move on the part of Tirumala, who, reckless of the claims of a larger patriotism, succeeded in inducing the Muhammadan Sultan of Golconda (one of the confederacy who had been victorious at Talikota in 1565) to invade the Vijayanagar kingdom from the north.

Ranga was obliged to retrace his steps to protect his possessions, was defeated by Golconda, and was forced to march south again to implore the help of his rebellious governors against their common foe, the Musalman. They refused, however, to aid him ; and in the end Ranga fled, powerless and almost without a friend, to the protection of his only faithful vassal, the viceroy of Mysore.

The Sultan of Golconda was satisfied for some time to consolidate his conquests in the north of the Vijayanagar country, but shortly afterwards (perhaps about 1644) he marched south to subdue its
 
-----------------------------------54-----------------------------------

TRICHINOPOLY

CHAP. II.

NATAKKAN DYNASTY

three rebellious governors and advanced upon the great fortress of Gingee. The Nayakkan of Tanjore at once submitted to him, but Tirumala approached a rival Muhammadan, the Sultan of Bijapur, who sent a force to his assistance. These allies marched to the relief of Gingee, but hardly had they arrived there when the Bijapnr troops went over to the enemy, and joined in the siege of the fort they had been sent to deliver. The Golconda king, however, was soon recalled by trouble in other parts of his new conquests, and Tirumala threw himself into the Gingee fortress. Owing to dissensions between his troops and those of the former garrison, however, the gates were opened not long afterwards to the troops of Bijapur and the town fell into the possession of the Musalmans.

And becomes their feudatory

Tirumala retreated in dismay to Madura, and the Muhammadans advanced triumphantly southwards, exacted submission from the governor of Tanjore, and proceeded to lay waste the whole country. Tirumala then submitted, apparently without striking a blow, paid a large sum to the invaders, and agreed to send an annual tribute to the Sultan of Bijapur. Thus, after an interval of nearly 300 years, the Muhammadans were once again recognized as supreme in the district.

His wars with Mysore

Tirumalas next conflict was with Mysore. In the early years of his reign, before his troubles with the king of Vijayanagar and the Muhammadans, he had been involved in a short war with that kingdom. His territories had been invaded by the Mysore troops and Dindigul had been besieged, but the enemy had been eventually driven out and their country successfully invaded in revenge by a general of Tirumalas. Since then, as already noted, the Vijayanagar ruler had taken refuge with the king of Mysore, and now these two monarchs combined to endeavour to recover those portions of the formers territories which had recently been captured by Golconda. They were at first successful ; but, whether actuated by jealousy or fear, Tirumala intervened and invited the Muhammadans to attack Mysore from the south, throwing open the passes in his own country for the purpose.

His proposal was accepted, Mysore was invaded, and a general war ensued which resulted in the final extinction of the power of Vijayanagar and the bumbling of Mysore. But when returning in triumph from that country, the victorious Muhammadans came down to Madura and levied an enormous tribute from their humble friend Tirumala ; and, moving on to Tanjore, treated its Nayakkan in a like manner. So Tirumala profited little from this new treachery to the cause of Hinduism.
 
-----------------------------------55-----------------------------------

POLITICAL HISTORY.

CHAP. II

NAYAKKAN DYNASTY

it is not clear exactly when those events happened, but they appear to constitute the last interference of the Muhammadans in Madura affairs. Tirumalas only other external war occurred towards the close of his reign and was with Mysore. In this he is represented to have been altogether successful.

The campaign began with an invasion of Coimbatore by the Mysore kingapparently in revenge for Tirumalas contribution to his recent humiliation at the hands of the Muhammadans. That district was occupied by the enemy with ease, and then Madura itself was threatened. The Mysore troops were however beaten off from the town (chiefly by the loyal assistance of the Setupati of Ramnad) defeated again in the open, and driven in disorder up the ghats into Mysore. The campaign was known as the hunt for noses owing to the fact that under the orders of the Mysore king the invaders cut off the noses of all their prisoners (men, women and children) and sent them in sacks to Seringapatam as glorious trophies.

A counter-invasion of Mysore was undertaken shortly afterwards under the command of Kumara Muttu, the younger brother of Tirumala, and was crowned with complete success. The king of Mysore was captured and his nose was cut off and sent to Madura.

His death

Tirumala died before his victorious brother's return. He was between sixty-five and seventy years of age at the time and had reigned for thirty-six eventful years.

His territories at his death comprised the present districts of Trichinopolv, Madura (including the zamindaris of Ramnad and Sivaganga), Tinnevelly, Coimbatore and Salem, with Pudukkottai and part of Travancore.

Tirumalas character is summed up, probably with justice, in a letter written by one of the Jesuit priests just after his death and dated Trichinopoly, 1659

It is impossible to refuse him credit for great qualities, but he tarnished his glory at the end of his life by follies and vices which nothing could justify. He was called to render account to God for the evils which his political treachery had brought upon his own people and the neighbouring kingdoms. His reign was rendered illustrious by works of really royal magnificence. Among these are the pagoda of Madura, several public buildings, and above all the royal palace the colossal proportions and astonishing boldness of which recall the ancient monuments of Thebes. He loved and protected the Christian religion, the excellence of which he recognised ; but he never had the courage to accept the consequences of his conviction,
 
-----------------------------------56-----------------------------------

TRICHINOPOLY.

CHAP. II.

NAYAKKAN DYNASTY.

The chief obstacle to his conversion came from his 200 wives, of whom the most distinguished were burnt on his pyre.

His Capital

Tirumalas capital was Madura. The royal residence had been removed thence to Trichinopoly by his predecessor, but Tirumala moved it back again, notwithstanding the fact that Trichinopoly, with its almost impregnable reek, its never-failing Cauvery river and its healthy climate, was by nature far superior to Madura, where the fort was on level ground, the Vaigai was usually dry and fever was almost endemic. The reason given in the old manuscripts for the change is that Tirumala was afflicted with a grievous long-standing catarrh which none of the Vaishuavite gods of Trichinopoly could (or would) cure. One day when he was halting at Dindigul on his way to Madura, Sundaresvara and Minikshi, the Saivite deities of the latter place, appeared to him in a dream and promised him that if he would reside permanently in their town they would cure him. He vowed that he would do so and would spend five lakhs of pons on sacred works. Immediately afterwards, as he was cleaning his teeth in the early morning, the disease left him ; and thenceforth he devoted himself to the cult of Saivism and the improvement of Madura. None the less, he resided a good deal at Trichinopoly, and his successors (though they went to Madura to he crowned) generally dwelt there permanently.

The largest and most magnificent of the many splendid public buildings which he erected in Madura was the great palace which still goes by his name. Much of this was removed to Trichinopoly in later years by his grandson Chokkanatha, but none the less the portions of it which survive were thought by Bishop Caldwell to constitute the grandest building of its kind in southern India.1

Muttu Alakadri, 1659-62

Tirumala was succeeded by his son Muttu Alakadri. Almost the first act of the new king was an attempt to shake off the hated Muhammadan yoke. He tried to induce the Nayakkan of Tanjore to join the enterprise, but only succeeded in involving him in the punishment which the Musalmans meted out when his efforts ended in failure. For though the Tanjore ruler disclaimed all connection with his neighbours aspirations and attempted to conciliate the Musalmans, the latter none the less marched into his country, took Tanjore and Vallam and drove the Ngyakkan to fly into the jungle.  The invaders then moved against Trichinopoly and Madura, spreading havoc far and wide, while Muttu Alakadri remained inactive behind the walls of the former of these forts.

History of Tinnevelly, 61.
 
-----------------------------------57-----------------------------------

POLITICAL HISTORY.

CHAP II

NAYAKKAR DYNASTY

Fortunately for him, the enemy soon had to retire, for their cruel devastations produced a local famine and pestilence from which they themselves suffered terribly. They accordingly made a half-hearted attempt on Trichinopoly and then permitted themselves to be bought off for a very moderate sum.  Muttu Alakadri did not long survive their departure, but gave himself up to debauchery with an abandon which soon brought him to a dishonoured grave.

Chokkanatha (1662-82) His troubles with his neighbours.

He was succeeded by his son Chokkanatha (1662-82), a promising boy of sixteen. This young ruler began his reign with a second ill-considered attempt to drive out the Musalman troops, despatching a large army against the Gingee fortress. His general, however, sold himself to the enemy and wasted time and money in a long and unprofitable campaign which was little but pretence. Chokkanatha was also harassed by a domestic conspiracy (in which the same unfaithful general took a prominent part) and though lie detected and quashed this, the general went over openly to the Muhammadans and induced them to join in an assault upon Trichinopoly in which they had the countenance (if not the practical assistance) of the Nayakkan of Tanjore. The officers whom Chokkauatha entrusted with the duty of repelling the attack were again disloyal, and it was not until he himself at length took command of the army that the invaders were driven back to Tanjore and eventually to Gingee.

So far things had not gone so badly, but in the next or the following year (1663 or 1664) Chokkanatha paid a heavy price for his temporary success. The Muhammadans burst into the Trichinopoly and Madura districts and devastated the country with almost incredible cruelty. They again besieged Trichinopoly, and this time Chokkanatha bad to buy them off with a large sum.

His conquest and loss of Tanjore.

Chokkanathas next war was with Tanjore, and it resulted in the capture of that ancient city and the extinction of its Nayakkan dynasty. Unluckily the Jesuit letters of the years 1666 to 1673 have been lost, and the only authority upon these exciting events is a vernacular manuscript. This has been abstracted at length by Mr. Nelson, but space forbids more than the merest summary of its contents.

The castes ball, says this authority, was the refusal of the Tanjore Nayakkan to give his beautiful and gifted daughter in marriage to Chokkanatha. The latter determined to fetch the maiden by force. His troops invaded the Tanjore country, drove its forces back into their capital, and successfully stormed that place. But they did not get the princess : her father placed her and all the other ladies of the palace in one room, blew this up

8
 
-----------------------------------58-----------------------------------

CHAP. II.

TRICHINOPOLY

CHAP. II

NAYAKKAN DYNASTY

with gunpowder and then, with his son and his body-guard, charged furiously into the thickest of the enemy, was captured after a desperate resistance, and was beheaded.

Chokkanatha placed his foster-brother Alagiri in charge of the government of Tanjore, but within a year the latter threw off his allegiance, and Chokkanatha was now so given up to self-indulgence and so ill served by his disloyal officers that, after an outburst of indignation which ended in nothing, he was forced to acquiesce in the independence of Tanjore.

Alagiri, however, was not long permitted to enjoy his ill-gotten kingdom. A son or grandson of the last Tanjore Nayakkan had escaped to the Musalman court of Bijapur and had induced that power to help to place him on the throne of his fathers. In 1674 the Sultan of Bijapur sent a force commanded by the Maratha general Venkaji (alias Ekoji) to turn out the Madura usurper and reinstate the scion of the old line. Venkaji ventured little until the occurrence of the rupture between Chokkanatha and Alagiri ; but he then defeated the latter with ease, and occupied Tanjore. He did not, however, place his protg on the throne, though he treated him kindly enough, but seized the kingdom for himself. So the outcome of Chokkanathas feebleness was that a Maratha, instead of a Nayakkan, sat upon the throne of Tanjore.

Venkaji shortly afterwards became embroiled with his famous half-brother Sivaji, and Chokkanatha attempted to take advantage of the circumstance to regain his hold on Tanjore. But he was dilatory in the field and in his negotiations, and Venkaji succeeded in buying off the hostility of Santoji (the son of Sivaji, whom the latter had despatched against him) before Chokkanatha could effect anything. This was in 1677-78.

Attached By Mysore and the Marathas

Soon afterwards, Chokkanatha was forced to turn from aggression of the defence of his own kingdom. The famous Chikka Deva Raya, king of Mysore from 1672 to 1704, had for some time been massing troops on his frontier, and now burst upon Coimbatore and spread havoc far and wide. Chokkanatha did little to repel him, the country was moreover visited with famine and pestilence, and in despair the ministers of the state deposed their incompetent ruler in favour of his brother.

Chokkanatha was replaced on his tottering throne about 1678 by a Muhammadan adventurer who during the next two years usurped the whole of his authority (and even the ladies of his and his fallen brother's harems) and at last was slain by Chokkanatha himself and a few of his friends. But the Nayakkans position
 
-----------------------------------59-----------------------------------

POLITICAL HISTORY.

CHAP. II.

NAYAKKAR DYNASTY

was still far from enviable. In 1682 his capital was besieged by Mysore ; was shadowed by forces belonging to the Marathas, who, while pretending to be on his side, were only waiting for a chance to seize his territory for themselves ; and was threatened by a body of Maravans who nominally had hurried to his assistance, but in reality had only come to share in the booty which the sack of Trichinopoly was expected to yield.

The latter seize his country.

While Chokkanatha thus sat helpless behind his defences matters were taken out of his hands by the more virile actors upon this curious seene. The Marathas, who were now established in Gingee as well as in Tanjore, inflicted a crushing defeat on the Mysore troops and drove them out of almost every corner of the Madura and Trichinopoly districts. Madura itself they were unable to capture, for the Maravans, regarding the men of Mysore as on the whole more eligible neighbours than the Marathas, helped the former to hold that fortress. The latter then turned against Chokkanatha, whose friends they had pretended to be, and laid siege to Trichinopoly itself. In despair at their treachery, Chokkanatha died of a broken heart in 1682.

Ranga Krishna Muttu Virappa (1682-89)

His successor was his son Ranga Krishna Muttu Virappa, a boy of fifteen, who ruled for seven years. Little enough of his territories remained to him to rule. The greater part of them was held by Mysore, some by the Maravans, some by the Marathas of Giugee and some by the Marathas of Tanjore.  The country was a prey to complete anarchy and universal pillage, foreign enemies occupying all the forts and robber-chiefs being masters of the rural areas and carrying on their brigandage with impunity.

Matters Improve

Matters, however, slowly improved. Mysore was soon distracted by a war with the Marathas of Gingee, and both the Setupatis of Ramnad and the Marathas of Tanjore were occupied by domestic outbreaks in their own countries. A new disturbing factor in south Indian politics had also appeared on the scene in the person of the Mughal emperor Aurangzeb, who in 1686-87 conquered the kingdoms of the Nayakkans old enemies, Golconda and Bijapur, and was for many years engaged in a war with their foes the Marathas which was most exhausting to both parties. Moreover the young Nayakkan of Madura, though imbued with a boyish love of fun and adventure which endeared him to his courtiers, had also a stock of sound ability and spirit which moved the admiration of his ministers, and he took advantage of his improving prospects. He recovered his capita about 1685, and though he failed in an attempt to reduce the Setupati in
 
-----------------------------------60-----------------------------------

TRICHINOPOLY.

CHAP. II

NAYAKKAN DYNASTY

1686, he gradually reconquered large parts of the ancient kingdom of his forefathers and succeeded in restoring the power of the Nayakkans to a position which, though not to he compared with that held by it at the beginning of his father's reign, was still far above that which it occupied at the end of that period. He unfortunately died of small-pox in 1689 at the early age of 22.

Mangammal (1689-1704).

Mangammal, his mother, acted for the next fifteen years as Queen-Regent on behalf of his posthumous son.

She was a popular administrator and is still widely remembered by Hindus as a maker of roads and avenues, and a builder of temples, tanks and choultries.

She was an able woman as well as a charitable, and under her firm guidance the kingdom of the Nayakkans apparently all but regained the proud position it had held in the days of Tirumala. Unluckily, the Jesuit letters from 1687 to 1699, both inclusive, have again been lost and the events of her regency cannot be given with any fullness.

Her wars.

She was less frequently engaged in war than her predecessors, but she did not escape the usual conflicts with her neighbours. In her reign the Nayakkan kingdom first came into direct touch with the Mughal empire of Delhi, since Zulfikar Khan, the general who was sent by Aurangzeb to attack the Maratha stronghold of Gingee, exacted tribute both from Trichinopoly and Tanjore in 1693, though he did not succeed in taking Gingee till five years later. Trichinopoly was besieged (according to Wilks) by Mysore in 1695, but relieved owing to pressure on the invaders country from the north.

Vijaya Ranga Chokkanatha (1704-31)

Mangammals grandson Vijaya Ranga Chokkanatha (1704-31) enjoyed a long but apparently chill reign of 26 years. It is unfortunate that the Jesuit letters which so greatly illumine previous periods of Madura history now cease altogether, and from this time forth we are driven to rely almost entirely upon native manuscripts and the secondary evidence afforded by English historians. And, curiously enough, the nearer we. approach the period of the beginning of British ascendancy in the south, the more meagre and unsatisfactory does our information become.

Minakshi (1731-36)

Vijaya Ranga Chokkanatha died in 1731, and was succeeded by his widow Minakshi, who acted as Queen-Regent on behalf of a young boy she had adopted as the heir of her dead husband. She had only ruled a year or two when an insurrection was raised against her by Vangaru Tirumala, the father of her adopted son, who pretended to have claims of his own to the throne of the
 
-----------------------------------61-----------------------------------

POLITICAL HISTORY.

CHAP II.

NAYAKKAN DYNASTY

Nayakkans. At this juncture the representatives of the Mughals appeared on the scene and took an important part in the struggle.

Musalman interference.

It must be remembered that ever since 1693 the Nayakkans had been nominally the feudatories of the emperor of Delhi, and that since 1698 the Carnatic north of the Coleroon river had been under direct Muhammadan rule.  The local representative of the Mughal was the Nawab of Arcot, and an intermediate authority was held by the Nixon' of Hyderabad, who was in theory the subordinate of the emperor, and the superior of the Nawab.

How regularly the kings of Tanjore and Madura paid their tribute is not clear, but in 1734about the time, in fact, that Minakshi and Vangaru Tirmnala were fighting for the crown-an expedition was sent by the then Nawab of Arcot to exact tribute and submission from the kingdoms of the south. The leaders of this were the Nawabs son, Safdar Ali Khan, and his nephew and confidential adviser, the well-known Chanda Sahib.

The invaders took Tanjore by storm and, leaving the stronghold of Trichinopoly unattempted, swept across Madura and Tinnevelly and into Travancore, carrying all before them. It was apparently on their return from this expedition that they took part in the quarrel between Minakshi and Vangaru Tirumala. The latter approached Safdar Ali Khan with an offer of three million rupees if he would oust the queen in favour of himself. Unwilling to attack Trichinopoly, the Musalman prince contented himself with solemnly declaring Vangaru Tirumala to be king and taking a bond for the three millions. He then marched away, leaving Chanda Sahib to enforce his award as best as he could. The queen, alarmed at the turn affairs had now taken, approached Chanda Sahib with counter inducements to take her side ; and had little difficulty in persuading that facile politician to .accept her bond for a crore of rupees and. to declare her duly entitled to the throne. Minakshi, says Wilks, required him to swear on the Koran that he would adhere faithfully to his engagement, and he accordingly took an oath on a brick wrapped up in the splendid covering usually reserved for that holy book. He was admitted into the Trichinopoly fort and Vangaru Tirumalaapparently with the good will of the queen, who, strangely enough, does not seem to have wished him any harmwent off to Madura, to rule over that country and Tinnevelly.

Chanda Sahib accepted an earnest of the payment of the crore of rupees and departed to Arcot. Two rears later (1736) he returned, was again admitted into the fort and proceeded to
 
-----------------------------------62-----------------------------------

TRICHINOPOLY.

CHAP. II

NAYAKKAN DYNASTY.

make himself master of the kingdom. Minakshi was soon little but a puppet. Orme, indeed, suggests that she had fallen in love with Chanda Sahib and so let him have his own way unhindered.

End of Nayakkan Dynasty

The latter eventually marched against Vangaru Tirumala, who was still ruling in the south, defeated him, and occupied the southern provinces of the Nayakkans kingdom. He also attacked the Mysoreans on his north-west border ; but Karur resisted a siege of several months and that taluk and Namakkal seem to have continued under the Mysore rulers. Having now made himself master of all of the unfortunate Minakshis realms he threw off the mask, ceased to treat her with the consideration he had hitherto extended to her, locked her up in her palace and proclaimed himself ruler of her kingdom. The hapless lady took poison shortly afterwards.

Character of its rule.

With her reign came to an end the ancient dynasty of the Nayakkans. The unprejudiced evidence of the Jesuit missionaries already several times referred to enables us to form a more accurate estimate of their administration than is usually possible in such eases. Bishop Caldwell, in summing this up, sardonically remarks that it is unfortunate for their reputation that so much more is known about them and their proceedings than about their Chola and Pandya predecessors.  He concludes by saying 1 that 

Judged not merely by modern European standards of right and wrong, but even by the standards furnished by Hindu and Muhammadan books of authority the Nayakkans must be decided to have fallen far short of their duty as rulers. Their reigns record little more than a disgraceful catalogue of debaucheries, treacheries, plunderings, oppressions. murders and civil commotions, relieved only by the factitious splendour of gifts to temples, idols and priests, by means of which they apparently succeeded in getting the Brahmans and poets to speak well of them, and thus in keeping the mass of the people patient under their misrule.

Musalman Dominion.

Chanda Sahib (1736-40)

For a time, Chanda Sahib had everything his own way. His success was indeed regarded with suspicion and even hostility by the Nawab of Arcot ; but family reasons prevented a rupture, and Chanda Sahib was left undisturbed while he strengthened the fortifications of Trichinopoly and appointed his two brothers as governors of the strongholds of Dindigul and Madura.

A Maratha interlude 1740-43

Unable to help themselves, the Raja of Tanjore and Vangaru Tirumala determined to call in the assistance of the Marathas of Satara in Bombay.  These people had their own grievance

(Footnote: History of Tinnevelly, 62.)
 
-----------------------------------63-----------------------------------

POLITICAL. HISTORY.

CHAP. II

MUSALMAN DOMINION

Against the Muhammadans of Arcot (with whom Chanda Sahib was still identified) because the latter had long delayed payment of the chouth, or one-fourth of the revenues, which they had promised in return for the withdrawal of the Marathas from the country, and the discontinuance of their usual predatory incursions.  They were also encouraged to attempt reprisals by the Nizam of Haidarabad, who, jealous of the increasing power of the Nawab and careless of the loyalty duo to co-religionists, would gladly have seen his dangerous subordinate brought to the ground.

Early in 1740, therefore, the Marathas appeared with a vast army in the south and defeated and killed the Nawab of Arcot in the pass of Damalcheruvu in North Arcot. They then came to an understanding with his son, the Safdar Ali mentioned above, recognized him as Nawab, and retired for a time.

Chanda Sahib had made a faint pretence at helping the Nawab to resist the Marathas, and he now came to offer his submission to Safdar Ali. The princes parted with apparent amity, but at the end of the same year the Marathas (at the secret invitation of Safdar Ali) suddenly reappeared and made straight for Trichinopoly. Their temporary withdrawal had been designed to put Chanda Sahib off his guard ; and it so far succeeded that Trichinopoly was very poorly provisioned. They invested the town closely, defeated and killed the two brothers of Chanda Sahib above mentioned as they advanced to his help from their provinces of Madura and Dindigul, and, after a siege of three months, compelled the surrender of Trichinopoly. They took Chanda captive to Satara and, disregarding the claims of Vangaru Tirumala, appointed a Maratha, the well-known Morari Rao of Gooty, as their governor of the conquered kingdom.

Musalman authority re-established, 1743.

Morari Rao remained there for two years (it is not clearly known what he did or how far his authority extended) and he authority re-established, finally retired in 1743 before the invading army of the Nizam, 1743.who marched south in that year, re-established his weakened authority in the Carnatie, and in 1744 appointed Anwar-ud-din asNawab of Arcot.

The whole of the Nayakkanss kingdom now fell under the rule of this latter potentate. There is reason to believe that he governed it through his sons Mahfuz Khan and Muhammad Ali, both soon to play an important part in the history of this district. Karur and Namakkal taluks continued under the kings of Mysore.

The rival Musalman parties

In 1748, however, Chanda Sahib regained his liberty and marched south in company with Muzaffar Jang, a pretender to the position of Nizam of Hyderabad, then held by Nazir Jang.
 
-----------------------------------64-----------------------------------

TRICHINOPOLY.

CHAP. II.

Musalman Dominion.

The allies were successful, Anwar-ud-din was slain at the great battle of Ambur in North Arcot, and Chanda Sahib succeeded him as Nawab of Arcot. One of his sons, Muhammad Ali, fled however to Trichinopoly and proclaimed himself Nawab there, and soon most of the south of India was involved in the struggle between these rivals. The French and the English (who had recently been fighting among themselves, were now nominally at peace, and consequently both had more soldiers than they knew what to do with) took sides in the conflict (the former taking the part of Chanda, Sahib and the latter that of Muhammad Ali) and the campaigns which followed were in reality a disguised struggle for the mastery of south India by these two European nations.

THE CARNATIC WAR.

The Raja of Tanjore and the ruler of Pndukkottai (called the Tondaiman) also sided with Muhammad Ali, the former in a lukewarm manner and the latter with devotion and fidelity. Though Chanda Sahib would have been wise to have at once attacked Trichinopoly and secured the person of his rival, his first act was to attempt to plunder the Tanjore territories ; and he allowed himself to be detained there until Nazir Jang (assisted by the Marathas, a force of Mysore troops and, most important of all, by 600 Englishmen under Major Stringer Lawrence) came into the field. He then fled to Pondicherry, and Muzaffar Jang in despair gave himself up to Nazir Jang and was placed in close confinement. In December 1750, however, Nazir Jang, while advancing to recover the fort of Gingee which had been taken by the French, was assassinated, and the greater part of his army espoused the cause of Muzaffar Jang, who was proclaimed Nizam.

Trichinopoly besieged 1751-52.

The tables were thus suddenly turned, and Muhammad Ali, who was at Trichinopoly, implored the immediate help of the English. A small force under Captain Cope was sent to him in February 1751 from Fort St. David (in South Arcot), but it was almost at once diverted to attempt to recover Madura, which had revolted under an adventurer named Alain Khan. News having arrived that Chanda Sahib was marching south from his capital at Arcot to besiege Trichinopoly, another force of 500 English, 1,000 sepoys and 8 guns was sent to that town in April under Captain Gingen, and near Valikandapuram (the Volcondah of Ormc) in Perambalur taluk these came in sight of Chanda Sahibs army. The actions which followed are described in the accounts of Ranjangudi and Uttatur in Chapter XV. The English obtained no advantage and, fearing that they might be surrounded at Uttatur, marched to safer positions, first to Pichandarkovil (see page 314), then to the Srirangam temple and 
 
-----------------------------------65-----------------------------------

POLITICAL HISTORY

CHAP II.

THE CARNATIC WAR

finally to Trichinopoly itself. Chanda Sahib and the French followed them, posted a garrison in Srirangam, crossed to the south of the Cauvery, and encamped to the east of Trichinopoly. Hearing of this, the English sent another small reinforcement to that town ; but their troops were still greatly outnumbered by the forces of their opponents, and matters looked exceedingly black until Clive (afterwards the famous Lord Clive, the hero of Plassey) created a diversion by a dashing attack against the enemy's capital at Arcot. He captured this and defended it successfully against a fifty dayss siege. During his absence the siege of Trichinopoly went on languidly. Details are given in the account of the town on page 331 below, where also will be found a map illustrating the lie of the country.

From this point, however, the fortunes of Muhammad Ali constantly improved. Help was as sent him by the king of Mysore, by Morari Rao of Gooty, and by the king of Tanjore ; and in April 1752 a force of 400 Englishmen and 1,100 sepoys under Clive and Lawrence arrived from Fort St. David and, after some sharp fighting under the very walls (page 331), made their way into Trichinopoly. Shortly afterwards the French, who were commanded by M. Law, retired from the south of the Cauvery and took up their position on the island of Srirangam.

The English now set themselves to surround the French army and to prevent the approach of reinforcements. Samayapuram or Samayavaram (the Samiavaram of Orme) and Manachanallur 1 were seized by Clive, and Lalgudi (q.v.) by another force ; but on April 14th a reinforcement of 120 Frenchmen and 500 sepoys under M. DAuteuil arrived at Uttatur from Pondicherry. Clive, who was stationed at Samayapuram, realized that it was of vital importance to intercept this body and advanced to Uttatur ; whereon DAuteuil, who had started towards Trichinopoly, returned to that village and Clive fell back again on Samayapuram. The French in Srirangam were not aware of Clives return to his camp, and sent an expedition to cut up any part of his force which might have been left there. They succeeded in surprising Clive and in placing him in extreme personal danger ; but his extraordinary pluck and presence of mind enabled him, after some confused night fighting, to repel the assault ; and he either killed or captured almost the whole of the attacking party. The affair is described in detail in the account of Samayapuram on page 316 below. DAuteuil was next attacked by a party from

(Footnote: 1 Apparently the Munsurpett of Orme. Mr. Lewis Moore points out that there is no other village which answers Orines description.

9
 
-----------------------------------66-----------------------------------

TRICHINOPOLY

CHAP. II

THE CARNATIC WAR.

Trichinopoly under Dalton, and he retired from Uttatur to Ranjangudi ; the French post at Pichandarkovil (Ormes Pitchandah) on the north of Coleroon was stormed by Clive in the manner described on page 314; and the French camp in Srirangam was thus cut off on the north and exposed to the fire of the English guns on all sides. The greater part of Chanda Sahibs army deserted almost at once to the English, the French reinforcements at Ranjangudi were defeated near that place by Clive (page 304) and soon afterwards forced to surrender, and Chanda Sahib in despair gave himself up to the commander of the Tanjore troops which were on the spot assisting the English. The Tanjore general, in spite of the most solemn oaths, had him brutally murdered The state of the French in Srirangam was now hopeless, and they surrendered on the 13th June 1752.

TRICHINOPOLY AGAIN BESIEGED 1758-54

The armies of Mysore, Muhammad Ali, Morari Rao, Lawrence and Tanjore were now left victorious on the scene ; but it was not long before their own disagreements caused a renewal of hostilities around Trichinopoly. It transpired that the help of the king of Mysore had only been obtained on the understanding that Muhammad Ali, if successful, should cede to him the whole of the country from Trichinopoly to Cape Comorin. This promise Muhammad Ali was now very unwilling to fulfil. Lawrence decided that the matter was no affair of his, as long as his ally, Muhammad Ali, was not actually attacked ; and he set off for Madras. But by the time he had reached Uttatur it became evident that the disputants would come to blows if no English troops remained to keep order ; and he accordingly left Captain Dalton with 200 English and 1,100 sepoys at Trichinopoly.

Meanwhile Duplcix had appointed Chanda Sahibs son to follow him as Nawab of Arcot, and had succeeded in detaching the leader of the Mysore troops and Morari Rao from the side of Muhammad Ali. Morari Rao went off to Pondicherry, and the treachery of the Mysore troops on Srirangam island compelled Dalton to attack them there. His operations, which are referred to on page 324, were unsuccessful, and at the beginning of 1753 the tables were turned and he was besieged in Trichinopoly by the Mysore troops, who attempted to starve him into surrender.

His position was very grave. His garrison was not strong enough to hope to drive off the enemy, and he had only fifteen days provisions. He wrote for help to Lawrence, who was fighting the French and Marathas at Tiruvadi near Cuddalore. Lawrence received the message on the 22nd April (1753) and by May 6th had reached Trichinopoly with reinforcements which raised the garrison there to 500 Englishmen, 2,000 sepoys and
 
-----------------------------------67-----------------------------------

POLITICAL HISTORY.

CHAP. II.

THE CARNATIC WAR

3,000 of Muhammad Alis horse. At the same time the Mysore army was reinforced by 200 Frenchmen and 500 sepoys and shortly afterwards by 3,000 Marathas, 300 Frenchmen and 100 sepoys. The second siege of Trichinopoly now began in earnest.

Almost directly after his arrival Lawrence made an attack on the French and Mysoreans in Srirangam from Muttarasanallur (page 313), but was repulsed.  He then camped at the Fakirs tope (which was perhaps where the Collectors bungalow now stands) and round about this occurred some stubborn fighting, the details of which are referred to in the account of Trichinopoly below (page 332). On the 26th June (1753) Lawrence won a brilliant victory near the hill now known as the Fakirs Rock, but called the Golden Rock by Orme and Cambridge. This was not enough, however, to enable him to take the offensive. The number of the enemy was so great, he said, that a victory or two more would have left all my men on the plains of Trichinopoly. He therefore went to Tanjore to hasten the despatch of the troops which the Raja there bad so often promised to send, and left Dalton in command of Trichinopolv. The fort was now regularly blockaded.

Lawrence started back to Trichinopoly at the beginning of August (1753) with 5,000 horse and foot from Tanjore. The French attempted to intercept his advance, but in a brilliantly fought action (see page 332) Lawrence defeated them at the Fakirs Rock and made his way into the beleaguered city. The rest of August witnessed some inconsiderable successes against the French at Uyyakondan-tirumalai (q.v.) and the bringing in of supplies to the town.

Meanwhile the enemy wore largely reinforced by Marathas, Frenchmen and sepoys ; and in September the English received an addition to their troops of 150 Europeans and 300 sepoys, sent from Madras. Lawrence now decided to bring on a general engagement. On the 21st September was fought what is known as the battle of Sugar-loaf Rock, though the rock from which the battle takes its name is now called the Golden Rock. This is referred to on page 332 below. The English victory was complete. They only lost 40 killed and wounded, while no less than 300 of the enemys Europeans, besides many native troops, were slain. The result of the battle was that none of the besieging force ventured to appear in the open plain again, and provisions were brought in without difficulty.

In the following month the approach of the monsoon made it necessary to retreat into cantonments, and Lawrence accordingly
 
-----------------------------------68-----------------------------------

TRICHINOPOLY.

CHAP. II.

THE CARNATIC WAR

moved off into the Tanjore country, leaving a sufficient garrison at Trichinopoly. At the beginning of November the French force was much augmented, and on the 27th of that month they made their last real effort to capture Trichinopoly. This was the very determined night attack upon a part of the fortifications known as Daltons battery which is referred to again in the account of Trichinopoly below.  It failed, and 360 Frenchmen were taken prisoners and 36 more killed. This increase in the number of prisoners in Trichinopoly necessitated the strengthening of the garrison there, thus dangerously weakening the force under Lawrence available for action outside.

Nothing of importance happened for the next month or two but in February 1754 the English met a serious reverse in the destruction of a large convoy and its escort near Kuttappar, about seven miles from Trichinopoly. The affair is referred to in the account of that village on page 311 below.  A great quantity of stores and money was captured, and nearly one-third of Lawrences whole force was taken or killed. It was a terrible blow ; and the timid Raja of Tanjore expected that the English would have to abandon Trichinopoly, and so cut short their supplies from his country. But no immediate result followed, except that greater care was taken in choosing the routes for convoys. A fierce struggle over one of them took place near the Golden Rock on the 12th May 1754 ; but the French, though in greatly superior numbers, were beaten off with considerable loss.

The French next made an incursion into the country of the Tondaiman of Puddukkottai, who had been regularly sending supplies to Trichinopoly, to punish him for his loyalty to the British. The people there retreated into the woods, however, and the expedition ended in nothing but the burning of a few empty villages. The detachment vented its spleen by seizing Kiliyur and Koviladi in Tanjore taluk and cutting the bank which prevents the Cauvery from running to waste down the Coleroon ; . and this exploit was followed by a considerable success against some Tanjore troops who came out to avenge the injury. Fortunately at this juncture the Maratha Morari Rao expressed his willingness to be bought off ; and, on Muhammad Alis acceding to his terms, ho left the Carnatic in July 1754.

In the middle of August Lawrence, who had been detained at Tanjore inducing his lukewarm allies there to move, returned to Trichinopoly. The French tried to intercept him near the Golden Rock but were again defeated in a. sharp encounter. In the same month the French Government, weary of the war, recalled
 
-----------------------------------69-----------------------------------

POLITICAL HISTORY.

CHAP. II

THE CARNATIC WAR.

Dupleix, the Governor of the French possessions in India ; in October a suspension of hostilities was agreed to ; and in December provisional treaty, providing for a truce until orders could be received from Europe, was made.1

Comparative quiet 1755-56.

The general of the Mysore troops in Srirangam hoped that, even though be was no longer assisted by the French, he might succeed in getting possession of Trichinopoly ; but in the following April (1755) he had to return in haste to his own country to repel an attack by the Nizam. The French were left at Srirangam in charge of some land which had been made over to Mysore by Muhammad Ali. During the peace of the next two years the only military operation in this neighbourhood was an expedition of the French against the zamindar (poligar) of Turaiyur to enforce payment of tribute. They had planned a similar descent upon the zamindars of Udaiyarpalaiyam and Ariyalur, but were dissuaded by threats of opposition made by Caillaud, the English commander at Trichinopoly.

Events of 1757-61.

War between England and France was declared in Europe in 1756, but it was not till the hot weather of 1757 that the two nations came to blows again in the Carnatic. The garrison of Trichinopoly had been weakened in March by the departure of an expedition under Caillaud to recover Madura, and the French took the opportunity to send a force from Pondicherry to attack the place. On the way they exacted a promise of tribute from the zamindar (poligar) of Udaiyarpalaiyam. The force which was left in Trichinopoly amounted to only 150 Englishmen and 700 sepoys, not counting some 600 unreliable troops sent from Tanjore and Pudukkottai. The attacking force numbered over 1,000 Europeans and 3,000 sepoys, so it was important that the town should be relieved at once. Caillaud hastened north from Madura; and, cluding the French with great adroitness, gained the town with 120 Englishmen and 1,200 sepoys. The French thereupon returned almost at once to Pondicherry, without effecting anything.  Further attacks were apprehended during the rest of the year, but none were made.  In May 1758 the French garrison was withdrawn from Srirangam to join in the siege of Cuddalore and handed over the island to some Mysore troops who marched up under Haidar Alis brother from Dindigul ; whereupon the English under Captain Joseph Smith drove out the Mysoreans and themselves took possession of the island.

In June 1758 Lally, the new Governor of the French, advanced against Tanjore with the idea of replenishing his coffers.

(Footnote: 1. Aitchisons Tracties, etc. (1892), viii, 7 ff.)
 
-----------------------------------70-----------------------------------

TRICHINOPOLY.

CHAP.II.

THE CARNATIC WAR

The best sepoys in Trichinopoly were sent to help the town, and Lallys attempt against it was a complete failure. The scene of action was then transferred to other districts, and the French captured Fort St. David and besieged Madras (1758).

In July of the following year (1759), after the fall of the important fortress of Tyaga Drug in South Arcot, the French troops marched into this district as far as Uttatur, plundering as they went. The Trichinopoly garrison expected that they would go on and occupy Srirangam, but the English attack on Wandiwash in September resulted in their being recalled to Trichinopoly. A larger force did actually occupy Srirangam later in the same year, and some spirited fighting occurred at Pichandarkovil (q.v.) in an attempt to cut their communications ; but the news of the French reverse at the great battle of Wandiwash led them to retire again.

In 1760, Haidar Ali, who now commanded the Mysore troops, entered into an agreement with the French by which Tyaga Drug was handed over to him. He sent a force to garrison that fort ; so, to create a diversion, Captain Richard Smith attacked Karur, which was a Mysore possession, and forced the garrison to retreat to Namakkal, another Mysore fort. The affair is described in more detail in the account of Karur in Chapter XV.

In January of the following year (1761) Pondicherry surrendered to Eyre Coote and the French ceased at last to be a power of importance in the south of India. By the treaty of Paris two years later, the French recognized Muhammad Ali as Nawab of Arcot. The latter thus became the undisputed ruler of the greater part of the Carnatic Karur was retained by the English, and Namakkal remained under Mysore.

Mysore Wars, 1766-69 and 1780-84

Haidar Ali, who had by now usurped the throne of Mysore, rose so rapidly in power in the next few years that in 1766 the English undertook to assist the Nizam against him. In the first of ' the Mysore Wars ' which followed, the English took Namakkal and a number of forts in the Salem and Coimbatore districts in May 1768, while Haidar was busy in Malabar ; but these, and also Karur, fell before Haidars advance at the end of the same year. The war ended with the peace of 1769, by which Karur and Namakkal were left to Haidar.

During the Second Mysore War (1780-84) the undefended parts of the district suffered, like the rest of the Carnatic, from the cruel ravages of Haidars troops. Trichinopoly was invested in 1781 and seemed ready to surrender, but Haidar drew off his forces to attack Eyre Coote and suffered his momentous defeat at
 
-----------------------------------71-----------------------------------

POLITICAL HISTORY.

CHAP. II

THE CARNATIC WAR

that Generals hands at Porto Novo on the lst July. Haidars death at the end of 1782 and Tipus activity on the west coast induced the English to make a forward movement at the beginning of 1783, and Karur was taken in April of that year. By the peace of 1784 which concluded the war it was however restored to Tipu in the following March.

Mysore Wars of 1790-92 and 1799.

In the Third Mysore War (1790-92) the English began hostilities by occupying Karur and the greater part of the Coimbatore district. Towards the end of 1790 Tipu marched past Karur up to Trichinopoly, made several demonstrations against that town, and laid waste the island of Srirangam ; but he was soon obliged to leave the country owing to the successes of Lord Cornwallis in Mysore. In the treaty of 1792 which concluded this campaign Karur was left to Tipu, but Namakkal taluk was among the areas ceded to the British. Karur was again taken by the English at the outbreak of hostilities in 1799 ; but the fall of Seringapatam and death of Tipu in May put an end to all danger from Mysore ; and in the treaty which followed Karur taluk was included in the tracts ceded to the English.

At the end of 1781 the Nawab Muhammad Ali had assigned the revenues of the Carnatic, excepting one-sixth reserved for his private expenses, to the English for five years to meet the cost of the war against Haidar. Mr. Sullivan, at that time Resident of Tanjore, was appointed Superintendent of the Assigned Revenues of Trichinopoly, and it was chiefly owing to his exertions that some semblance of order was maintained in the district for the next few years. In 1785 this assignment was cancelled in consequence of orders from the Directors, and the civil administration of the Company ceased again. In August 1790, however, the Madras Government, finding it impossible to induce the Nawab either to contribute his share of the expenses of the alliance with the Company or to reintroduce the assignment of the revenues, took possession of the country by proclamation, without treaty.

In 1792 the relations between the Nawab and the English were rearranged by an agreement 1 that the English Government should maintain a force for the payment of which the Nawab should contribute nine lakhs of pagodas a Year ; that the country should be garrisoned by English troops; that the English should collect the tribute from the poligars (zamindars) on behalf of the Nawab ; and that, if the Nawab failed to pay his subsidy, the English should assume the management of certain districts.

Cession of the country 1801.

This subsidy was regularly paid, but to meet his liabilities the Nawab contracted large loans, and to liquidate these assigned the

(Footnote: 1 For the text of this, see Aitchieons Treaties, etc. (1892), viii, 47.)
 
-----------------------------------72-----------------------------------

TRICHINOPOLY

CHAP. II.

THE CARNATIC WAR.

revenues of considerable tracts to his creditors. On the capture of Seringapatam in 1799, moreover, a treasonable correspondence was discovered between Tipu and Muhammad Ali (who had died in 1795) and his son ; and the British Government, deeming itself absolved from the treaty of 1792, resolved to take over the government of the Carnatic. An agreement was made with a nephew of Muhammad Ali, Azim-ul-Daula, on the 31st July 1801 by which he renounced the civil and military government of the Carnatic, and received a pension. Trichinopoly was among the territories thus transferred to the English ; and in August 1801 an English Collector was sent to assume charge of the district.
 
-----------------------------------73-----------------------------------

THE PEOPLE.

CHAPTER III.

THE PEOPLE.

CENSUS STATISTICS Density of the populationIts growthLanguageReligions. THE CHRISTIANSThe Goanese, and Pondicherry missionsThe Madura MissionThe Tranqnobar Danish MissionThe S.P.C.K -- The S.P.G. The Leipzig Evangelical Lutheran MissionThe Wesleyan Mission.  The MUHAMMADANS Relations with HindusGeneral position  Holy places. JAIN REMAINS. THE HINDUS  villages  HousesDressOrnamentsTattooingFoodFestive occasionsGamesSuperstitionsThe lesser deitiesCaste and family deities--holy places and festivalsVowsFactionsCaste panchayatsMarriage customsFuneral ceremonies. PRINCIPAL CASTES  VellalansKonga Vollalans  Mnttiriyans or Ambalakarans  KallansUdaiyans  Pallis or VanniyansUralisValaiyans  Uppiliyans  Reddis VallambansMaravansTottiyansMalaiyahs  Pallans  Parayans.

CHAP. III CENSUS STATISTICS

Density of the population.

ACCORDING to the figures of the 1901 census only six other Madras districts are more densely populated than Trichinopoly,	which contains 400 persons to the square mile against 270 in the Presidency as a whole. Of the various taluks, Trichinopoly is by far the most thickly inhabited, containing as many as 700 persons to the square mile, and ranking eleventh among the Madras taluks. Namakkal conies next and Kulittalai is at the bottom of the list.

Its growth

The total population has increased by 21 per cent. since 1871, against 22 per cent. for the Presidency as a whole. The advance in the decade 1871-81 was less than 1 per cent., owing to the direct and indirect effects of the great famine of 1876-78. This was made up for by a great rise in the next ten years, during which the growth exceeded 14 per cent. During the decade 1891-1901 the increase only amounted to 5 per cent., a fact which has been explained 1 as due to emigration in consequence of the high prices during the latter part of the period. The mean rate of growth of the population in the whole Presidency during that decade was 7.2 per cent.

Of the different taluks, the increase has been very much smaller in Kulittalai and Musiri than in the others. The greatest proportional advance was in Udaiyarpalaiyam (26.4 per cent.) and this was closely followed by Karur and Trichinopoly.

Language.

Tamil is spoken by an overwhelming majority of the. population. About 12 per cent. speak Telugu. Canarese and Hindustani are the vernaculars of 2 and 1 per cent., respectively, of the people.

(Footnote: 1 Census Report for 1901, p. 31.)

10
 
-----------------------------------74-----------------------------------

TRICHINOPOLY.

CHAP. III.

CENSUS STATISTICS.

Religions.

Of the total population, as many as 93 per cent. are Hindus by religion. Three per cent. are Muhammadans and 4 per cent. Christians. More than half the Christians and nearly a third of the Muhammadans live in Trichinopoly taluk. The head-quarters of this contains a large European and Eurasian population and is a centre of missionary enterprise, and Musalmans, being largely traders, are always commoner in large towns than in rural areas. A considerable number of Christians also reside iu Udaivarpalaiyam and Kulittalai taluks, and many Muhammadans in Karur. The Christians increased by 25 per cent. in the years 1881-1901 against an advance of 20 per cent. in the district population as a whole. But in the Presidency as a whole the members of this faith increased by 46 per cent. during the same period.

THE CHRISTIANS.

The very large majority of the Christians are Roman Catholics. The only other denominations possessing any considerable following are the Church of England and the Lutheran and allied bodies.

The Goanese and Pondicherry missions.

The first Roman Catholic mission to South India was that led by St. Francis Xavier, who came from Portugal to Goa in 1542 and preached the Gospel in several of the southern districts. He is said to have visited Negapatam ; but it is not likely that he ever reached Trichinopoly, which was probably not of much importance then. Towards the end of the sixteenth century the Jesuit Fathers took up the work which Xavier had commenced. In 1606 Robert de Nobili established the famous Madura Mission, and in 1623 he founded a settlement at Trichinopoly. The missionaries at the latter were treated with varying favour by the Nayak rulers; but there is no space to follow their fortunes in detail.

In the eighteenth century the progress of Christianity in India was checked by the Papal decrees regarding the rites of the Portuguese missionaries; by the abolition of caste among Christians ; by the expulsion of the Jesuits from France, Portugal and Spain between 1759 and 1767 ; and by the suppression of their Society by the Pope in 1773. The society was however re-established in 1814.

Up to the year 1700 all the Roman Catholic missions in the south of India wore subordinate to the Goanese Provincial of Malabar. In that year the French Mission of the Carnatic was established at Pondicherry on an independent footing. It was agreed that the line separating the fields of the two missions should be the parallel of latitude passing just below Pondicherry, the French working in the country to the north of that line and
 
-----------------------------------75-----------------------------------


THE PEOPLE

CHAP. III

THE CHRISTIANS

the Portuguese being confined to that to the south of it. The French Mission was placed under the jurisdiction of the Bishop of San Thome, and in 1776 was entrusted to the priests of the Paris Society for Foreign Missions. In 1836 it was improved into a vicariate apostolic of the coast of Coromandel, and in 1850 was divided into the vicariates apostolic of Pondicherry, Mysore and Coimbatore. In 1886, the first of these three was constituted an archbishopric, and in 1887 Pondicherry was made the metropolitan see of the ecclesiastical province of that name. In 1899, the diocese of Kumbakenam was created out of the archdiocese of Pondicherry, and the portion of the Trichinopoly district which lies to the north of the Cauvery and Coleroon now belongs to this.  The Karur taluk is under the diocese of Coimbatore. There are a station and three sub-stations in that taluk and eleven stations and thirty-one sub-stations in the rest of the district. In this latter tract the Catholic mission manages lower secondary girls' schools at Puratakudi and Viragalur in the Trichinopoly taluk.

There still remain a few congregations under the jurisdiction of the Portuguese archdiocese of Goa and the diocese of San Thome. Two missionary stations of theirs are in Pudukkottai State and three in the Trichinopoly district. The congregations are scattered in small communities, and are insignificant in number. The mission controls a boys lower secondary school at Trichinopoly.

The Madura Mission

The Madura Mission was under the charge of the Indo-Portuguese elergy until 1836, when it was entrusted to the Society of Jesus, which had formerly worked so zealously in the cause of Christianity and had recently been re-established. In1838 Father Louis Granier de Ealton was put in charge of the congregation of Trichinopoly. He revived the work of the mission, which had sunk to a very low ebb, and erected the cathedral in the cantonment and a building in which he intended to establish a college. It was afterwards considered that Trichinopoly was too unhealthy for a college ; and the institution was removed to Negapatam (whence it has since been re-transferred to Trichinopoly) and the building constructed for it is now used as a residence by the Bishop and his clergy. In 1846, the Right Rev. Alexis Canoz, s.j., was appointed the first vicar apostolic, and in 1886, when the hierarchy of India was constituted, the vicariate was made into a suffragan diocese under the metropolitan see of Bombay and the episcopal residence was located at Trichinopoly. The portion of the Trichinopoly district (except Karur taluk) lying to the south of the Cauvery and Coleroon belongs to this diocese, which is divided into three districts with head-quarters at Trichinopoly, Madura and Palamcottah. It possesses two stations.
 
-----------------------------------76-----------------------------------

TRICHINOPOLY

CHAP. III

THE CHRISTIANS

in this district and three in the Pudukkottai State, and in the town of Trichinopoly controls the large and important St. Josephs College,1 a seminary, a lower secondary school for boys and four for girls, two nunneries, a hospital and a dispensary, and orphanages for boys and girls.

The Tranquebar Danish Mission.

Protestant missionary effort in the district was first begun by the Danish missionaries of Tranquebar. As early as 1756 two or more of them, travelling mostly on foot, went to Seringham [Srirangam] and Trichinopoly, and a school and a small Christian community were established at Trichinopoly. The famous missionary Schwartz, who belonged to this mission, went to Trichinopoly in 1761, where he received a warm welcome from the officers of the English garrison, and where he determined to remain. Aided by the subscriptions of the English, and even by a donation from the Nawab, he founded a school and a church and threw himself eagerly into educational and missionary work. The church was the present Christ Church, and it was founded in 1766.

The S.P.C.K

The Society for the Promotion of Christian Knowledge was apprised of the good work which was being done in Trichinopoly, and in 1767 they established a mission there ; and, with the consent of the Tranquebar brethren and the Mission College at Copenhagen, Schwartz entered the service of the English Society 2 He seems to have worked chiefly at Trichinopoly till 1778, when he founded the Tanjore Mission, and the latter town became his residence till his death in 1798. This is not the place to describe his career or character. It is sufficient to say that he was beloved and respected by all classes of people, and was trusted alike by the native rulers and the British Government.

The S.P.G

He was succeeded at Trichinopoly in 1778 by his assistant the Rev. C. Pohle, who carried on the work for over 40 years. The mission was transferred in 1825 to the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel, which about this time also took charge of nearly all the congregations of the then moribund mission of Tranqnebar. In the following year Trichinopoly became the scene of Bishop Hebers last labours. He arrived on April 1st 1826, and on April 3, after holding a confirmation service, inspecting the schools and addressing the people, he died suddenly in the swimming-bath and was buried in St. Johns Church on the spot where twelve hours before he had blessed the congregation. This bath was attached to the then Mission House, which is now used as the

(Footnote: 1 See Chapter X, p. 204.
2 He always spelt his name Swartz after joining the English Society.
 
-----------------------------------77-----------------------------------

THE PEOPLE.

CHAP. III

THE CHRISTIANS

District Court. It is railed off and a monument commemorates the event.

The work of the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in this district is divided among six pastorates with head-quarters at Puttur, Trichinopoly Fort, Irungalur, Mettuppatti, Pudukkotai and Annamangalam. The last four of these are on the northern side of the Coleroon. The mission manages the important S.P.G. College in Trichinopoly town, 1 a large high school attached to this, two lower secondary schools, three industrial institutions, a training school and 28 primary schools. Some 1,670 pupils were under instruction in these schools in 1905. and the expenditure on them, excluding the college and the high school attached to it, was Rs. 13,700. The mission also maintains a small hospital at Irungalur

The Rev. J. A. Sharrock, the Superintending, Missionary, has also inaugurated a scheme of mission agricultural settlements to help Paraiyan converts and improve their position in life. Some 300 acres of land near Jayankonda-Cholapuram were granted to the mission in 1897, and several hundred persons were employed in clearing the jungle and cultivating, the land. Though Christian instruction was given to these people, no compulsion was employed to induce them to change their religion ; and it was not until 1903 that some seventy of them who had permanently settled on the land were baptized, and a small village called Pugalur was built. There are now about a hundred baptized settlers, and each family cultivates land assigned to them by the missionabout five acres to each--giving one-third of their crops to the manager to meet the cost of manure, bullocks, taxes and the further development of the scheme. Numbers of Hindus are employed on the farms, but only Christians have been given land and permitted to become regular settlers. There is a day school and a night school, and the education of the children is one of the conditions of the settlement. A tank has been constructed with the assistance of the Government, and several wells have been dug. There are also three other settlements in other parts of the district, one of which (at Udambiyam) comprises as much as 400 acres of land. This, however, is very imperfectly developed as vet for want of capital.

The Leipzic Evangelical Lutheran Mission

The Danish Mission at Tranquebar was started as early as 1706, and fifty years later, as has peen stated, began the first Protestant evangelization which occurred in this district. Though the mission lent the services of Schwartz to the English S.P.G. which shortly afterwards began work there, it seems to have done

(Footnote: 1 see chapter X, P. 207.)
 
-----------------------------------78-----------------------------------

TRICHINOPOLY.

CHAP. III.

THE CHRISTIANS

little for the evangelization of Trichinopoly, perhaps confining its efforts to Tanjore. In 1825, owing to want of men and money and disagreements with the Danish authorities in Europe, the work had nearly come to a standstill.

In 1841, however, the Tranquebar Mission came to life again, the Lutheran Mission of Leipzic despatching missionaries to that town to revive the work. The Society did not extend its influence into this district till 1850, but since then it has made substantial progress. It now maintains there two secondary schools for girls and one for boys, six primary schools and an industrial school. Nearly 500 pupils were under instruction in these in 190o, and the net annual cost of them to the mission was over Rs. 2,000. The mission also maintains a high school in Pudukkottai.

The Wesleyan Mission

The Wesleyan Mission started operations in the district in 1847, when it began work among the European troops of the Trichinopoly garrison. The first resident, missionary was appointed in 1852. The work is carried on in and around the two centres of Karur and Trichinopoly, and seventeen stations exist in the former, and ten in the latter, circle. The mission maintains two lower secondary schools, 48 primary schools, and the important industrial institution at Karur. The attendance at all these institutions is 2,100, and the cost of them to the mission in 1904-05 was Rs. 59.000.

The Christians of this district, as a whole, seem to belong to rather higher castes than is the case in many other areas, and are therefore treated with perhaps a greater degree of tolerance and respect by the Hindus. They are said to retain many of their old notions about caste, and for that reason maintain on the whole relations of some friendliness with their Hindu relatives.

The Muhammadans

The Muhammadan population of the district consists largely of two mixed races which are distinct from the descendants of the Musalman immigrants from the north. These are the Ravuttans, who are chiefly traders, and the Panjuvettis, who by tradition are cotton-cleaners. The former are also called Labbais, local people making no distinction between the two names. There are no Jonagans or Marakkayans in the district. The Ravuttans speak Tamil and the Panjuvettis Telugu. Neither of them know Hindustani, the ordinary Musalman vernacular. The Panjuvettis are supposed to be the offspring of a Telugu Kavarai (Balija) woman and a Muhammadan, while the Ravuttans are supposed to be descendants of converts to Islam made by force by Aurangzeb, Haidar and Tipu. Both races differ widely from pure Musalmans. Besides speaking a different language, they do not intermarry
 
-----------------------------------79-----------------------------------

THE PEOPLE.

CHAP. III.

THE MUHAMMADANS.

with them (nor with each other), and their women wear Hindu cloths instead of the Muhammadan petticoats, and are not gosha. But they may all eat with any other Muhammadan.

Relations with Hindus

The relations between Muhammadans and Hindus are generally friendly enough. Occasional petty quarrels arise when the music of Hindu festivals disturbs the worship of the Muhammadans ; but only twice have matters taken a serious turn. In Namakkal, about 20 years ago, on the occasion of the Hindu car festival, a riot occurred owing to the interference with Muhammadan worship which was caused by the music of the Hindus. The Hindus became so exasperated that they pulled down a Muhammadan mosque and scattered the blood of a pig about the site.  A force of punitive police was stationed in the town 1 for a few months in consequence. In 1883 a similar force was posted to Trichinopoly to guard against possible disturbance, relations between the members of the two religions being very strained ; hut no riot seems to have taken place. The Muhammadans care nothing for Hindu festivals or sacred places; but the Hindus, especially the lower classes, join in the Mohurrum and similar Musalman religions celebrations, and visit Muhammadan places of pilgrimage.

It is a curious fact that the Muhammadans are on terms of special friendliness with three Hindu castes, the Kammalans Tottiyans and Pallans.  They give one another mutual assistance in times of trouble and permit unwonted familiarity of intercourse. Thus the Musalmans and Kammalans call each other mani, which they interpret as meaning paternal uncle; the former address the Pallans as grandson or granddaughter and are called grandfather by them ; and they and the Tattiyans mutually address one another as moman or maternal uncle.

Curious stories are told about the origin of this relationship. The connection between Musalmans and Tottiyans is referred to in the account of the latter below. The friendship between them and the Kammalans is said to originate in the fact that a holy man called Ibrahim Nabi was brought up in the house of a Kammalan, because his father was afraid he would be killed by a Hindu king called Namaduta, who had been advised by his soothsayers that he would thus avoid a disaster which was about to befall his kingdom. The Kammalan gave his daughter to the father of Ibrahim in exchange. Another story (only told by Kammalaus) is to the effect that the Kammalaus were once living in a magic castle (Konda kottai) which could only be destroyed by burning it down

(Footnote: 1 see G.O.. No. 233, Judicial, dated 29th January 1883, and connected papers.)
 
-----------------------------------80-----------------------------------

TRICHINOPOLY.

CHAP. III.

THE MUHAMMADANS

with varagu straw ; and that the Musalmans captured it by sending Musalman prostitutes into the town to wheedle the secret out of the Kammalans. The friendship sprang up, the story say because the Kammalans thus consorted with Musalman women.

General position

The Muhammadans, as a class, are poor and live by petty trade and public and private menial service. They only occasionally subsist by agriculture. The betel cultivation which is such a favourite profession with the Ravuttans of Tanjore is here done by the Kodikkal Vellalans. Some of the Ravuttans have taken up petty trade and money-lending, and others of them go about peddling clothes.

Holy places

The Muhammadans have few important places of pilgrimage in the district. The Nathar Shah mosque at Trichinopoly is known almost throughout the Presidency; and the Kat-Bava mosque at Kat-Bava-Pallivosal in Pudukkottai is famous throughout the district as well as in Tanjore. The only other place of pilgrimage is the Kalattur darga in the Musiri taluk, which has only a small local reputation. These three spots are referred to again in Chapters XV and XVI. Pulivalam in the Musiri taluk is also considered holy by Muhammadans, as it is supposed to have been visited by Hazarat Mahabut Subhahami, the great grandson of the Prophet.

JAIN REMAINS.

A number of Jain or Buddhist remains are scattered about the district. Images of the tirthankaras (or of Buddha) occur in Vellanur, Pullambadi, Pettaivattalai and Perugamani in Trichinopoly taluk ; at Paravai and Ohalur in Perambalur taluk ; and at Vikrarnam, Periya Tirukkonain and Jayankonda-Cholapnram in Udaiyarpalaiyan. A fine has-relief of this kind is cut on a rock near Kulittalai ; and the tank at Palayasengadam in that taluk is sometimes ascribed to the Jains. Some rock-cut eaves with carved pillars at Narttamalai in Podukkottai State are said to be of Jain origin.

The natives have seine curious fancies about these images. Those at Vellanur and at Perugamani are supposed to be images of a Chetti who was petrified by a curse at the moment when he was making ready to chew betel. So much for the attitude of contemplation ! The images at Pettaivattalai and Vikramam are said to consist of pairs facing one another, and are thought in both places to represent a debtor and his creditor. The two images at Jayankonda-Cholapuram are fairly well known, and one of them is worshipped with the regular honours of a village god, and is the object of a special form of adoration when rain is wanted. 1

(Footnote: 1 See Chapter XV, p. 349.)
 
-----------------------------------81-----------------------------------

THE PEOPLE

CHAP. III.

THE HINDUS

The Hindus, as has been said, form the great majority of the population of the district, and a somewhat more detailed description of them is needed. The following remarks are based on local observations and enquiries made at a number of representative places from very different classes of people, but they cannot of course claim to be universally true. The statements about Hindu customs do not, unless expressly stated, apply to Brahmans, whose customs have a family resemblance everywhere, but differ from those of the rest of the community.

Villages

The villages are generally open, without defensive walls, and with comparatively broad streets. The houses are generally built in streets and not scattered. The Brahman, Sudra and Panchama quarters are separate, and in the last of these the Pallans, Paraiyans and Chakkiliyans live in separate streets. Many villages with a claim to antiquity have four or more boundary stones, the number varying with the size of the village. Kannanur in. Musiri taluk has as many as 32. These are supposed to demarcate the jurisdiction of the village goddess, and a god called Karuppan is supposed to reside in each. They are held in great veneration and are anointed and worshipped at the time of the village goddess' festival. They can be easily identified by their shortness and the oily incrustation on them. In many villages large upright slabs called nattukkals are found. Some people declare these are merely intended for animals to rub themselves against ; but others say that. a sheep is sacrificed to them in times of drought in order to bring rain. Every village has the usual raised platform round a banyan or icchi tree, where the village gossips and assemblies meet.

Houses

The houses of the poor are thatched. Persons of even moderate wealth build themselves terraced or tiled houses. The former are rare in the Namakkal and Udaiyarpalaiyam taluks, where tiles are generally used. Terraced houses, in many other districts, are usually owned only by the wealthy. Two-storied houses are perhaps more common in this than in most other districts. Thatch is made of plaited cocoanut leaves covered with straw of various kinds. When a house is newly thatched a wisp of straw is stuck in the roof and is worshipped as representing Mottu Nachiyar, 1 who is supposed to protect the roof from the ravages of rats, etc. Occasionally a loft or mud terrace called kurangu macchi is built under the roof. Houses are generally oblong in shape, but the Tottiyaus prefer round ones, which they

(Footnote: 1 Generally worshipped everywhere as the guardian of the roof.)
11
 
-----------------------------------82-----------------------------------

TRICHINOPOLY

CHAP. III.

THE HINDUS

say give more room. In the interior arrangements of thatched houses no definite plan is observed. Generally they consist of a single room with a small walled courtyard behind, with occasionally a small room at one end of the courtyard. They are called ottapatti or irumottu houses.

The interiors of tiled and terraced houses are built on a more or less stereotyped plan. Each is entered through a nadai, or hall, leading into a talvaram, or courtyard, surrounded by a deep verandah. Part of the latter is higher than the rest and is called the Kudam. The centre of the courtyard, called the mutram, is sunk some feet below the level of the talvaram and is open to the sky. Sometimes it is sheltered from the rain by a small detached roof raised on pillars a few feet above the rest of the roof. Out of the talvaram open the rooms and kitchen of the house, and at the back of it is the cattle-shed. The houses in parts of Musiri and in Kulittalai, Karur and Namakkal are often surmounted by a small pot. This is said to be the badge of king Salivahana, who gave his name to the well-known era. He was brought up in the house of a potter, and is supposed to have ordered that this practice should be observed throughout his realms. When it is first put up, the pot is worshipped with offerings of milk, and jaggery is distributed to all present. At festival times the houses are whitewashed and ornamented with red streaks.

Dress

The ordinary dress of the men is the under-cloth necessary for decency (komanam), a waist cloth (veshti) and. an upper cloth (angavastiram). The veshti is some nine or ten feet long and is tied in the kilpacchi fashion 1 by passing it round the waist and between the legs and tucking the ends in. The front is so tucked in that a triangular piece of cloth hangs down in front to the ankles. This is gathered up when the wearer is in a hurry, or at work, or in the presence of a superior. Lower castes use a shorter cloth and do not pass it between the legs. The komanam is not worn by any married Brahmans except the Aiyangars, but is used by all other castes.

The womens dress consists of one long and broad cloth (pudavai or selai) which is wound round the waist (a large ornamental fold (kusavam) being made to hang behind the right hip), brought once more round the waist without covering the kusavam, and finally carried up in front of the breast and over the left shoulder. The cloth is some 22 feet in length and is generally (except among widows, who occasionally wear white) red in colour.

(Footnote: 1 When used by Brahmans this fashion is called mulakacoham.)
-----------------------------------83-----------------------------------

THE PEOPLE.

CHAP III.

THE HINDUS

In certain localities it is somewhat differently tied ; the masses having apparently imitated the fashions of rich or influential castes which wore numerous in these places. Thus in Kulittalai, where the Uralis are numerous, the practice is to wear the kusavam spread out behind ; and the same fashion is found in parts of Karur and Namakkal. In Musiri and Perambalur, after the Reddi custom, the kusavam is worn in front of the right hip, but it is gathered up in a bunch at the waist and not allowed to hang down. Moreover the cloth is allowed to hang much lower than in other parts of the district. Again, in the south of the Pudukkottai State, where the Nattukkottai Chettis are influential, the cloth is white instead of red and is only 15 or 16 feet long, no kusuvam is made at all, but a triangular piece of the innermost fold of the cloth is allowed to hang down behind instead.

The tight-fitting bodice is seldom worn ; and the women of the Maravans, Valaiyans, Nattamans, Vallambans, Nattukkottai, Chettis, Tottiyans, Pallans, Paraiyans and of the Malaiyalis of the Pachaimalais do not mind leaving their breasts bare, except in the presence of strangers.

Boys generally wear only the komanam and a short veshti. Girls put on a small womens cloth (called sittadai) which they tie like their elders. Petticoats and bodices are used by the little girls of rich families.

Ornaments

The usual ornaments worn by women are the koppu, a small ornaments. golden rod with knobs at the ends, which is thrust through the top of the ears ; the pucchi kudu, a small cylinder worn in the lobe of the ear ; the navadam, a pendant plate shaped like a cobras hood and hung from the ear ; and two kinds of tandattis, or pendant ear ornaments, one in the form of a ring and the other a solid ornament with cut faces. Some or all of these are worn by every woman. Widows may only wear a tandatti. The koppu is a favourite with Vallamban, Maravan and Nattukkottai Chetti women and the solid tandatti with Pallis. Nattukkottai Chetti women carry no ornaments in the lobe of the ear. Reddi women use some of the above, but wear an olai of gold, rather like a squat torpedo in shape, which is clipped on to the ear by the middle. This is peculiar to them.

Urali, Maravan, Vallamban and Nattukkottai Chetti women affect a pencil-shaped pendant, called kucchu, which they hang round their necks. The last named allow it to hang behind, the others in front. The two last suspend a small globular pendant, called tumbu, from their talis, or marriage-badges suspended from the neck, and the Maravan women wear two talis, one large and
 
-----------------------------------84-----------------------------------

TRICHINOPOLY.

CHAP. III

THE HINDUS.

the other small. The Nattukkottai Chetti women, even when poor, usually have costly talis; some of them are ornamented with valuable gold Pendants and are said often to be worth thousands of rupees. Their girls wear necklaces of shells, and beads of coral, white clay, and gold, and their widows wear a thick gold cord round the neck.  Married women among the Reddis wear a necklace of black glass beads. Most women wear glass bangles ; but Maravan women wear strings of coral or silver beads instead of these, and Nattukkottai Chettis wear bracelets made of coral and gold beads strung on a cotton thread.

Men do not as a rule wear ornaments ; but the Kallans, Maravans and Vallambans generally have large gold ear-rings, and the Nattukkottai Chettis are fond of hanging round their necks a rudraksham (Elceoganitrus) seed, which is a badge of Saivism.

Tattooing

Tattooing is very common, Among the men it ordinarily takes the form of a perpendicular line on the forehead ; and among the women of a similar mark or an M with a spot and two short horizontal lines over it (called terpacchai) on the forehead, and figures of tanks, trees, flowers, fish, etc. on the fore and upper arms and the inside of the calf of the leg. Besides these marks the women of the Konga Vellalans, Nattamans, Paraiyans, Paliaus and Pachaimalai Malaiyalis tattoo others on one or both of their cheeks and on their chins. The Konga Vellalans and the Pachaimalai Malaiyali women also mark their temples, the former with an arrow mark and the latter with five spots. Tattooing is generally done by the women of the Kuravan jackal-hunters (nari kurattis), who wander through the district.

Tottiyans, Uralis, Valaiyans, Vallambans, Maravans, Nattukkottai Chettis, the Malaiyalis of the Kollaimalais and the men of the Uppiliyans and Konga Vellalans do not tattoo at all, and some of them have a very strong objection to the practice. The Vallambans outcaste any one guilty of tattooing his or her person, and the Kollaimalai Malaiyalis will not allow any one so marked inside their houses.

Food

Except Brahmans and a few Vellalan subdivisions, every one seems to cat meat. Mutton, fowl, fish, bares and the edible birds are the ordinary forms of animal food ; pork, though not very popular, is not usually forbidden and the white field rat is also largely eaten, House-rats, crabs, squirrels, etc. are eaten by Maravans, Vallambans, and others of the lower castes and the Paraiyaus and Chakkiliyans eat beef. The ordinary custom is to take three meals in the day, namely a breakfast (between 7
 
-----------------------------------85-----------------------------------

THE PEOPLE

CHAP. III

THE HINDUS

9 A. M) of cold rice or cold kanji made with ragi, cambu or cholam ; a dinner at 1 or 2 P.M. of a similar description (richer people eat a hot dinner of rice) ; and a hot supper between 8 and 10 P.M., ordinarily of rice and soup.

Drinking, smoking and chewing betel or tobacco are common among all classes except Brahmans, though the Tottiyans eschew alcohol for fear of offending their caste god. Smoking is not nearly so common as in the Northern Cirears. The women are said to indulge in the habit, but they do not do so in public.

Festive occasions.

Apart from the purely religious festivals to particular deities, there are a number of occasions when the whole population gives itself up to enjoyment. Such are the Padinettam perukku day, the eighteenth day of Adi (July-August), when the Cauvery is supposed to come down in its highest flood ; the Dipavali in Arpisi (October-November) ; the Kartigai day in the month of that name (November-December) ; the Kamandi or Cupids festival in Masi or Panguni (from February to April) ; and the Pongal day at the beginning of Tai (January-February). The Padinettam perukku day is a great time for swimming in tanks and rivers ; and pial school boys take round in procession the cadjan leaves they have written during the past year and throw them in the river. The Dipavali is generally celebrated with fire-works, and ram and cock-fighting provide amusements for the lower classes. On the Kartigai day bonfires are lit, and all the houses are well lighted up that night. The half-burnt sticks from the bonfires are planted in vegetable gardens and are believed to keep off worms. It is also considered to be an omen of a good season if the bonfires are put out by rain. Cupids festival commemorates the well-known story of how that god was burnt up by the rays from the third eye of Siva, whom he had disturbed when in religious contemplation, and was resuscitated by the prayers of Cupids wife Rati. The festival lasts for a fortnight and during that time little platforms with the emblems of Siva on them are worshipped. People sing and dance and act the parts of Cupid and Rati ; a dispute always occurs as to whether Cupid was really burnt up or nota moot point in the interpretation of the Skanda puranamwhich always leads to abuse and often to fighting, especially in Trichinopoly itself.1 The Pongal day is generally celebrated with a sort of bull-baiting. Cloths, money, or eatables are tied to the horns of the village bullocks and they are then driven out into the open and people compete in trying to catch them and secure the prizes attached to their horns. This game is known variously as the

(Footnote: 1 The factions are known as the crindu katchi and the eriyada katchi.)
 
-----------------------------------86-----------------------------------

TRICHINOPOLY.

CHAP. III

THE HINDUS

Sallimadu, tolumadu or manji verattus.  The bull-baiting of the Kallans, Malaiyalis and Tottiyans is referred to in the accounts of those castes below.

Another season of enjoyment is the slack time between February and July, when no particular cultivation operations are going on. Hunting (especially of hares) is very common during this period, especially in the Kulittalai taluk and by the Urilis.1

Musical and nauteli entertainments are common at weddings ; puppet-shows and simple dramas (played by Kuttadis) are usual during the village goddesses festivals. The puppet-show company of Nangavaram in the Trichinopoly taluk is fairly well known. The subjects of the shows and dramas are generally the truthful Harischandra, the virtuous Rama, the devout Markandeya, etc. The tragical stories of Madurai Viran, of Kovilan (the hero of the ancient Tamil poem Silappadikaram), and of the helpless Nallatangal, who was ill-treated by her brother and who killed herself after drowning her children, are also represented.

Games.

The women scarcely play any games. They sometimes amuse themselves with dances, such as the achaponga and kummi, or with such games as pallinguli (played with cowries and a board with holes into it into which the cowries have to be put), or tacchipara 2 (played with pieces on a diagram like a chess board). Men and boys play cards, marbles, hopscotch, various games with pieces on a board or diagram, such as tacchipara or Pulikattam,3 fly kites, and go in for one or two more violent games such as kittippaudu (a kind of rounders), pillaiyarpandu (a kind of embryo cricket), bali (a game in which one player has to catch the others while holding his breath), and Uppukodu (a complicated game consisting in hopping over a diagram marked on the ground). The diagrams marked out for the various sedentary games may often be seen in the streets. Men are very fond of two sedate kinds of dance called oyil kummi and valandanai. They walk round and round in a circlein the former dance bowing to the ground with kerchiefs in their hands and in the latter beating sticks together. These are common at the time of the village goddesses festivals. A few people play chess, and trained athletes have bouts of single-stick.

Superstitions.

Omens and superstitious beliefs are deeply regarded. It is a good omen to hear a bell ring, a cannon go off, an ass bray or a Brahmani kite cry, or when starting out from home to see a married woman whose husband is alive, a corpse, flowers, water,

(Footnote: See below, p. 114
2 Called in Tanjore kattam.
3 Called in Tanjore the fifteenth tiger.)
 
-----------------------------------87-----------------------------------

THE PEOPLE.

CHAP. III

THE HINDUS

milk, a toddy pot, night soil, or a washerman with dirty clothing. It is also a good omen to see a jackal or fox passing from right to left ; but it is a very bad sign to see the sembottu bird (the Indian cuckoo) cross ones path from right to left. Indeed the proverb says go not a step further if you meet the sembottu bird going from right to left, but a crown awaits him who sees a fox do this. It is also a bad omen to hear sneezing or, directly after leaving the house, to see a single Brahman, a widow, a shikari, a snake, oil, or a cat. It also bodes ill to the inmates if an owl, a vulture, a Brahmani kite, or a sembottu bird perches on the roof of a house, or if a bees nest, an anthill, a snake or a tortoise is found inside it, or if its walls crack. It is a bad omen if a dog climbs on to the roof of a house but the ill effects may be neutralized by killing the animal.2 In some places a goat on the roof is equally inauspicious ; but in this case the evil may be neutralized by burning a handful of straw taken from the roof. It is a bad omen if a sleeping man rolls over against another, and the only way to prevent the coming evil is to strike the sleeper and tear his cloth. Some omens foretell specific occurrences. Thus if the clay-building fly (kulavi) nests in a house it foretells the birth of a child, and the call of a crow indicates the arrival of a guest. To dream of a temple car in motion is considered to forbode the death of a near relation ; to dream of a cocoanut falling from a tree or of being bitten by a snake foreshadows the birth of a child in the household; and to dream of a house or straw heap on fire foretells that some girl in the household is going to attain maturity.

It is believed that devils, etc. are capable of possessing men and women, and such dangers are warded off by the incantations of professional sorcerers and by the talismans they give. The Vekili Tottiyans, and a few of the Kaniyala subdivision of the Tamil Brahmans (especially the women) from Sirugumani in the Trichinopoly taluk are considered adepts in the black art; and it is supposed that they can control certain evil spirits and cause them to possess a man. It is believed, however, that they are bereft of this power as soon as they lose one of their teeth. The marulalis of the lesser deities, who are supposed to be possessed by those beings, are also credited with certain uncanny powers. They are, for example, consulted in cases of illness, when, after beating a drum, they pretend to become inspired by the god, shout out some meaningless oracle and suggest the advisability of propitiating sonic devil or

(Footnote: 1 The proverb runs destruction awaits the house entered by a tortoise or a Court Amin.
2 The expression as a dog dies for having climbed the roof is proverbial.
 
-----------------------------------88-----------------------------------

TRICHINOPOLY.

CHAP. III.

THE HINDUS.

deity. Another curious way of looking into the future is to stand in front of a temple and wait to hear if a lizard chirps first to the left and then to the right. If this happens, it is a very good omen, but if, on the other hand, either no chirping occurs or the order of it is reversed, the omen is had. The propitious chirpings are called eral and tangal or uttaravn and tatchanam.

Child-birth is surrounded by a great number of superstitions. The pain of a woman in travail can be eased by turning round the belly-god in the temple. A child born with the umbilical cord round his neck is a curse to his maternal uncle, unless a gold or silver string be placed on its body and the uncle sees its image reflected in a vessel of oil. A child born after the loss of two other children is rolled in the dust, called Kuppusami (lord of refuse) or Kuppamma and is given a nose-ring made out of gold obtained by begging. At their weddings, such children are ornamented on one side of the body only, so as to look ugly, and their nose-rings are put on a plantain tree which they then cut down. All these formalities are intended to avert Nemesis. A similar feeling requires a Brahman who marries a third wife after the death of his first two to marry and then cut down a plantain-tree, so that the third wife may become the fourth, a luckier number. The talismans worn by children are often curious. The bark of a tree on which any one has hanged himself, a cord with 21 knots, the earth from a childs graveall these are used as talismans, and are hung round the neck or tied to the waist string. If a firstborn child should die, its finger is always cut off lest a sorcerer should dig up the body and extract an essence (karuvu) from the brain wherewith to harm his enemies.

When rain is wanted, an effigy called koman (the king) is dragged round the streets and his funeral is then performed with great attention to details. In other places the women collect kanji from door to door and drink it or throw it away on a tank bund, waiting the while as they do at funerals. The people of higher castes repeat prayers to Varuna, the rain god, and read portions of the Virata Parvam in the Mahabharata, in the hope that the land will be rendered as fertile as the country of Virata where the Pandavas lived. When tanks and rivers threaten to breach their banks men stand naked on the bunds and beat drums; and if toc much rain falls naked men point firebrands at the sky. Their nudity is supposed to shock the powers that bring the rain and prevent their further progress.

The lesser deities

As elsewhere in this Presidency, the mass of the people pay less reverence to the Brahmanical deities than to the older aboriginal
 
-----------------------------------89-----------------------------------

THE PEOPLE.

CHAP. III

THE HINDUS

gods and goddesses. Of the former, the only ono whose temples are numerous is Ganapati or Pillaiyar, the elephant-headed son of Siva, a kindly god who removes obstacles from the path of those who do him fitting reverence. The lesser deities and devils are legion, and include the more or less benevolent village goddesses ; the cruel goddesses of cholera and small-pox ; the minor devils who are generally subordinate to these latter; and the nameless and numberless devils who live in the jungles, are capable of much evil and little good and, unlike the others, cannot be propitiated because their attributes, appellations and dwelling-places are unknown. In addition certain particular deities are worshipped by certain particular castes and even families.

The village goddesses are often vaguely referred to by the generic name of Pidari ; but each has her own name, and those most ecommonly met with are perhaps Achiyaman, Ponniyayi, Sellayi, Elamadichi and Virasuli. There are, however, very many others. They are generally of a benevolent nature and if properly appealed to will confer health on the sick, grant children to the childless, and give relief from all kinds of human suffering. If neglected, however, they become very terrible in their wrath. The jurisdiction of some of them is very local, not extending beyond the boundary stones of the village, but others wield wider powers. Among the latter are Kolumayamman of Puttur in Trichinopoly taluk, Madurai Kaliamman of Tottiyam in Musiri and Siruvachur in Perambalur, Sellandiyamman of Madukkarai in Kulittalai and Kulanthalamman of Pullambodi in Trichinopoly, the last of whom is famous as a debt-collector. 1 Annual festivals are celebrated at the shrines of all the village goddesses. The ceremonial usually includes sacrifices of animals (sometimes even of buffaloes) but Brahmanieal influence is making itself felt, and in some places these sacrifices are declared to be less for the delectation of the deity than of her attendant devils ; and a curtain is hung before her while they are proceeding, so that she may not see them. These devils (bhutams) are often represented by colossal human figures of brick and chunam erected in front of the temple. Sometimes they are called munnadiyans (servants before her feet), and the commonest of these are Madurai Viran, a deified popular hero, 2 and Karuppan, the favourite object of the worship of the Kallan caste.3 They are represented by small stone slabs, and beside Karuppans slab a spear, his especial weapon, is stuck upright in

(Footnote: 1 See Mr. Thurstons Ethnographic Notes in S. India, 358.
2 His exploits are recounted in The South Arcot Gazetteer, 101.
3 See Madura Gazatteer, 85.)

12
 
-----------------------------------90-----------------------------------

TRICHINOPOLY.

CHAP. Ill.

THE HINDUS

the ground. Karuppan has often other and more independent attributes. Sometimes he guards the boundaries of the village and then he is known as Sandi Karuppan or Ellai Karuppan.

The goddesses of cholera and small-pox are Mariyamman and Bhagavatiamman. Generally speaking, these are purely malevolent deities and are only worshipped in order to appease their love of doing harm. Sometimes, however, Mariyamman is also a village goddess with the usual attributes, and a few of her shrines notably those at Karur, Kilambil and Samayapuram in Trichinopoly taluk--are thronged by pilgrims from distant places who come to make vows regarding the offerings they will bring if their prayers are granted, or to fulfil such vows. Both deities come in for special worship when cholera or small-pox is about. The temples of Mariyamman are said to be recognizable by the altars (balipitam) with figures of men round and on it which stand outside them. Bhagavati is seldom represented by any image. Both goddesses expect animal sacrifices.

The nameless devils of the jungles are supposed to be kept outside the boundaries of the village by the care of the village goddess and her attendants, but beyond these limits they are capable of doing much harm. They are called pegs or pisachus, and are often represented to be the spirits of those who have died violent deaths.

Caste and family deities.

Such spirits are often worshipped, under the name of pattavans, by the family of the deceased, generally with the idea of preventing them from doing harm. If a man has a brother or sister who met a violent end, he often attributes any misfortune which befalls him to the spirit of the deceased. He then goes to the local soothsayer to verify his suspicion, or tests it by omens, such as the chirping of lizards above referred to. If it seems clear that the misfortune is due to the spirit or pattavan, the latter is invoked in the house or in the temple of the family god and entreated to say where he would like to he installed. The pattavan then enters into one of the party and informs the household through his lips of the resting-place he prefers, and a stone or a platform with a figure on it is erected there and is worshipped by the deceaseds household at festivals.

Often the wider circle of the dayadis of the family, or cousins, similarly worship some special deity. Dayadis speak of each other as kovil pangalis, or sharers in worship. Their common god may be one of the ordinary village goddesses (generally one belonging to some other village), or (more rarely) one of the many Karuppans or the other lesser deities such as Adakkayi, Ondayi, the
 
-----------------------------------91-----------------------------------

THE PEOPLE.

CHAP. III

THE HINDUS

Sapta Kaunimar, etc. These are worshipped once in a fixed term of years. The dayadis either go in a body to the deitys ordinary temple, or have a shrine of their own (Kovil vidu) in their own village. These private chapels are very common. The dayadis have their own family priest (maniyadi or pattakkaran) and the deity is worshipped in the form of a new pot. When the worship is concluded, the building is locked up and left till it is wanted again.

The still larger circle of the caste has also now and again a common god. The Uppiliyans, for example, worship a deity known as Karuvandaraya-Bommadeva; the Reddis a goddess called Yellamma ; the Kaikolans a god named Saha-nayanar and the Tottiyans a goddess known as Bommakka. These are worshipped once a year by all the members of the caste resident in the village.

Holy places and festivals.

The Cauvery is sacred throughout its course ; but it is considered especially holy at Tiruppalatturai on the first of Arpisi (October-November). The river is still undivided and is called in consequence the Aganda Cauvery ; and on that day thousands of people throng to the place even from neighbouring districts. The Ammamantapam bathing-ghat on Srirangam island is thought almost equally holy.

Trichinopoly contains a, fair number of famous temples. Besides those of certain of the lesser deities already mentioned, the most important of those belonging to the Brahmanical gods is the great temple to Vishnu at Srirangam. This is visited by persons from all parts of the Presidency at the Vaikunta Ekadasi festival in Margali (December-January). The Jambukesvaram temple at Srirangam and that on the rock at Trichinopoly are other striking and holy shrines ; but in point of beauty all of these must yield the palm to the stately temple of Siva at Gangaikandapuram.

Vows

Throughout the district (as elsewhere) vows are commonly vow made at the shrines of deities of all classes. They consist of promises (prartanai) that the suppliant will do a stated act in honour of the god if his prayers for the grant of a specified boon are answered. Common vows made by those desirous of offspring are that if a child is born to them they will observe the ceremony of the first shaving of his bead at the shrine of the deity invoked, or will hang a cradle in the temple. Those whose child is sick vow that if it recovers they will dedicate its jewels, or a sum of money, to the temple or will carry milk and sugar before the god on a kavadi. If the suppliant is himself ill, he vows that if he regains his health he will make a stated offering to the deity, or
 
-----------------------------------92-----------------------------------

TRICHINOPOLY

CHAP. III.

THE HINDUS.

will perform some act of self-mortification such as piercing his tongue with a needle or some part of his body with a spear. This latter form of vow is very much affected by the Sedans and Kaikolans. The latter thrust a spear through the muscles of the abdomen in honour of their god Saha-nayanar at Ratnagiri in Kulittalai taluk. Other common vows are to roll round and round a temple in the dust, or to give a puppet-show or drama in honour of the god. In the case of the village goddesses, the vow is often an undertaking to put up images of heroes, cattle, men, etc. in front of their temples, or to walk through the fire. This latter is especially frequent when Draupadi is the goddess invoked. In the case of Mariyamman; the vow usually includes a promise to carry an earthen pot (karagam) on the head to her temple.

Factions.

Disputes regarding ritual occur between the Tengalai and Vadagalai factions connected with the Vaishnavite temple at Srirangam. In the past these have occasioned constant quarrels and law suits, which have been carried as far as the High Court and even the Privy Council. It has been finally decided that temple is a Tengalai shrine and that the Tengalai ritual should ordinarily have priority in the worship there ; but the decision has not ended all animosities, which have recently revived.

Bitter disputes occur between the right-hand and left-hand factious. To the latter belong the Choliya Chettis, Nagara Vaniyans, Kaikolans, Kammalans, Pallis, and the men among the Pallans and Chakkiliyans ; while the rest of the non-Brahman castes and the women among the Pallans and Chakkiliyans belong to the former. It is said that when the disputes break out these women insult their husbands by serving them with food with their left hands and 1 deny them their usual marital rights. The left-hand faction is headed by the Kammalans and the right-hand by the Kavarais (Balijas). Nothing certain seems to be known about the origin of this faction. The Kammalans explain it by saying that long ago a Kammalan who had two sons, one by a Balija woman and the other by his Kammalan wife, was unjustly slain by a king of Conjeeveram, and was avenged by his two sons, who killed the king and divided his body. The Kanumalan son took his brain-pan and used it for a weighing pan, while the Balija son made a pedlers carpet out of his skin and threads for stringing bangles out of his sinews. A quarrel arose because each thought the other had got the best of the division ; and all the other castes joined in and took the side of either the Kammalan or the Balija. The Balijas explain the origin of the dispute by

(Footnote: 1 Mr. Nelsons Madura Country, ii, 7.)
 
-----------------------------------93-----------------------------------

THE PEOPLE.

CHAP. III

THE HINDUS

saying that long ago all the castes met near Conjeeveram to decide which was the greatest, when the Vellalans were selected by the majority, headed by the Balijas, who sat on the right-hand side of the assembly, but their supremacy was disputed by the Kammalans and a few others who sat on the left of the meeting.

Whatever the origin of the factions, feeling still runs very high, especially between the Pallans and the Paraiyans. The violent scenes which occurred in days gone by 1 no longer occur, but quarrels occur when questions of precedence arise (as when holy food is distributed at festivals to the village goddesses), or if a man of one faction takes a procession down a street inhabited chiefly by members of the other. In former times members of the opposite factions would not live in the same street, and traces of this feeling are still observable. Formerly, also, the members of one faction would not salute those of the other, however much their superiors in station ; and the menials employed at funerals (Paraiyans, etc.) would not salute the funeral party if it belonged to the rival faction. Nowadays those distinctions are disappearing ; but a great deal of ill-feeling still survives between the Kaikolans and the right-hand faction at Turaiyur and some other places.

The lower castes of the right-hand faction select headmen (Patnattu Chettis) from the Balijas, to whom they refer their caste disputes. Each of these has a badge of office (mani muttirai birudu) in the shape of a spoon with bells attached to it, and the appointment is hereditary.

Caste panchayats.

In almost all the non-Brahman castes, caste questions are decided by panchayats. Ordinarily each endogamous subdivision of the caste in each village has its headman (periyatanakkaran), and peon, and often its vice-headman (kariyastan, kariyakkaran, periyatanakkaran). A number of castes 2 have in addition a panchayat (with a headman) with jurisdiction over each nadu, or group of adjoining villages. A few castes 3 a have further a pattakkaran, whom they recognize as superior to the nadu headman, and who has a certain vague supremacy over a group of nadus. All those appointments are hereditary.

Petty insults, assaults and civil disputes are generally decided by the village headman with the help of his castemen ; matrimonial disputes are sent, after a preliminary enquiry by the village headman, to the head of the nadu, who decides them with

(Footnote: 1. See The Madura Country, ii, 4-7 and the Coimbatore District Manual, 477.
2 E.g., Uralis, Malaiyalis, Tottiyans, Muttiriyans, Pokanati Reddis, Kullans, Konga Vellalans, Arasu Pallis.
3. Malaiyalis, Tottiyans, Muttiriyans and Konga Vellalans.)
 
-----------------------------------94-----------------------------------

Trichinopoly

CHAP. III.

THE HINDUS.

The help of a few village headmen ; the pattakkaran has no definite jurisdiction, but is regarded rather as a chief controlling authority and is sometimes called in to advise when a panchayat cannot come to a decision. No appeal is generally preferred. The punishment generally inflicted is, as elsewhere, a money fine, or in the ease of serious caste offences, excommunication. The fine is appropriated to the purposes of the caste subdivision, often to a feast to its members. Other more odd penalties are sometimes imposed. Among the Valaiyans, the usual punishment for unchastity in a woman is to make her carry a basket of mud round the village.

Marriage customs.

Nearly every caste regarding which enquiries were made 1 is split into endogamous subdivisions outside which marriage is prohibited ; and the majority have also exogamous subdivisions 2 within which marriage is forbidden. A girl who is married owing to her relationship to the bridegroom is called urimai girl ; while one chosen in order to enhance her husbands position or wealth is called a perumai (dignity) girl. It is generally considered that the proper match for a man is the daughter of his maternal uncle, of his paternal aunt, or of his sister. Some castes prohibit marriage with a sisters daughter, and prejudice exists against marriages between an eldest boy and au eldest girl. 3 Nearly all castes except Brahmans and the higher Vellalans allow the marriage of a boy to a girl older than himself. The differences of age are usually small, and some castes have methods of neutralizing the admitted objections to such marriages. Thus the Padaiyachis make the boy swallow a two anna bit, and the Reddis of Uppidamangalam tie to the waist-cloth of the bride at the wedding as many cocoanuts as there are years in the difference between the ages of the couple.

Where the desirability of a match is recognized, betrothal takes place very early, even on the day the girl is born. Sometimes a girl is bespoke even before she is born. Among the Uppiliyans and Konga Vellalans, for example, a sister can bespeak the daughter of her unmarried brother for her own prospective son by giving the brother a cloth at the wedding. If he does not carry out his part of the compact, she can curse him in

(Footnote: 1 The Vallambans, and the Kallans outside Pudukkottai have apparently to be excepted.
2 Thew are variously called pattams, nadus, kulams, kumbalams, kilais, kovils, karur, (CONTENT MISSING ON SCAN), kottus and Kuttams. Details appear in the accounts of the castes below.
3 The proverb says the contact of two heads (of families) is like the clashing together of two hills.)
 
-----------------------------------95-----------------------------------

THE PEOPLE.

CHAP. III

THE HINDUS

the name of the caste god, which will cause the destruction of his family. Some of the Paraiyans perform the betrothal of a new-born baby by applying a cloth dipped in eowdung-water to its navel ; and, though many different ways of doing the same thing are adopted by different castes, the ceremony is always called putting the cowdung cloth. Among several castes 1 a boy is allowed to tie a tali round a girls neck himself, of his own accord and without telling any one, and in such eases the girl becomes his wife ; but this practice is usually recognized only when the girl is one of the suitable matches already mentioned. The Valaiyans and Tatti-yans are even said occasionally to carry off girls by force if they cannot obtain them otherwise. Among the Malaiyalis of the Pachaimalais, a man, who is not allowed to marry a girl whose relationship to him makes her one of the suitable matches, can demand that one-half of the bride-price paid for her shall be given to him.

The great majority of the castes 2 permit the re-marriage of widows. A widow not infrequently marries her husbands brother irrespective of his age.

With few exceptions the brides mother is paid a bride-price (parisappanam or parisam). The amount is expressed in terms of the panams (as. 2) and the pon (Rs. 1), and seems to range ordinarily from Rs. 4 to Rs. 15. The Malaiyalis of the Pachaimalais and the Pokanati Reddis recognize two scales of bride-price, one for urimai, and the other for perumai, girls. When widows are married, the amount is either half the usual sum or is not demanded at all. Among the Malaiyalis of the Kollaimalais a sum is also borrowed from the bridegrooms party and paid back when the bridegroom gives his daughter to his brother-in-laws son. If the latter has no son, he can dispose of the girl to some one else.

A betrothal ceremony, distinct from the actual welding, is nearly always performed and usually consists of the exchange of betel and nut between the parties in the brides house, the maternal uncles of the couple being present and sitting side by side. In most cases a written contract of marriage is in addition given to the brides parents. Various other formalities are observed by different castes. Thus the Pallans of Karur and Kulittalai make the boys sister put a golden wire round the girls neck. Among the Maravans and Nattamans (and, in some places, the

(Footnote: 1 E.g., Udaiyans, Valaiyans, Padaiyachis, Kallans, Vekili Tottiyans, and the Malaiyalis of the Kollaimalais.

2. Vellalans, Udaiyans, Reddis and Nattukkottai Chettis do not permit such re-marriages.
 
-----------------------------------96-----------------------------------

TRICHINOPOLY.

CHAP. III.

THE HINDUS.

Padaiyachis and Paraiyans) a spot is marked with sandal on the brides forehead by her maternal uncle or the boys father. Among the Valaiyans and Vallambans and some of the Kallans the boys party carry a cock and some rice to the brides house and a general feast takes place. The Tottiyans also have a feast. Among the Valaiyans the betrothal feast concludes the marriage, and no further ceremony is needed.

The marriage ceremony itself is ordinarily performed in the brides house1.  The usual season is the hot weather between March and July, when little agricultural work is going on, and every one is at leisure. The marriage should last for three days, but among the poor one day suffices. On the first day the tali, or marriage-badge, is solemnly tied round the brides neck; on the second the pair are taken in procession and the relations make them small presents (moyi) ; and on the third there are some closing ceremonies. The moyi gifts are not intended to be kept, but are given back on some convenient occasion. The wedding ceremonies among the Konga Vellalans, Reddis, Tottiyans, Nattukkottai Chettis, Vallambans and Malaiyalis are peculiar, and are referred to more particularly in the accounts of those castes below. Among the other castes regarding which enquiries were made they are, within certain broad limits, more or less identical, and will now be summarized.

No marriage is performed unless the omens given by the chirping of lizards are favourable. When the marriage is to be performed in the boys house, his friends and relatives go solemnly the day before and invite the bride and her party to the wedding. The bride's mother used not ordinarily to appear at weddings performed in the boy's house, but this prohibition is now being relaxed.

On the first day of the wedding a branch of some milky tree is planted as a ' favourable pole ' (muhurtakkal). The party then gees to the potters house and gets either three pots (called sal elephant) or an anai arasani consisting of clay images of an elephant, a horse and a yali, and two earthen vessels to represent the gods. These are placed on a low platform in the marriage booth (manurarai), and two pots of rice are offered to them. At the same time what are called paligai pots, nine in number, are filled with earth, grain is sown in them and they are left in the booth until the seed sprouts. The bridegroom is next shaved and is subjected to the soap-nut ceremony (sikkay sadangn) to ward off

(Footnote: 1 Udaiyans, Padaiyachis, Muttiriyans, Malaiyalis and (Tralis perform it in the bridegrooms house. The Punta Reddis celebrate a first marriage in the boys house, and the second in the girls.)
 
-----------------------------------97-----------------------------------

THE PEOPLE.

CHAP. III

THE HINDUS

the evil eye, which consists in holding a measure full of rice, with a piece of soap-nut and a writing style in it, up to his face. A saffron-coloured thread (kankanam) is then tied round his wrist, and he is taken in procession (either on a horse or in a palanquin) to visit the Pillaiyar god of the village to obtain his furtherance of the affair. Meanwhile the soap-nut ceremony is gone through with the bride, and saffron thread is tied round her wrists. On his return the boy is received outside the house and rings are put on his toes either by his sister-in-law or, in her absence, by his brother-in-law or mother-in-law. The pair are then seated in the booth, burnt offerings are made by the officiating priest, and water is solemnly poured out in token that the girls hand is given to the bridegroom. The last ceremony is not usually practised by the castes which allow widow re-marriage, the belief being that it prevents the girl from falling in love with any other man, even after her husbands death. Then the tali or bottu 1 is worshipped and blessed by all present and the bridegroom holds it against the brides neck, while his sister helps him to tie it. Two small silver plates are next tied to the brides forehead by her maternal uncle and her new sister-in-law. The happy couple now change sides and their little fingers are tied together, and they walk thrice round the platform. At this point the brides foot is sometimes put on a mortar and the star Arundhati is pointed out to her as an emblem of chastity. This custom is never observed by those who allow the re-marriage of widows and not always by others. It is much more common in Tanjore. The pair are then blessed by their relatives and coloured rice is poured over their heads, and they are finally taken into a room and are given milk and fruit.

There is nothing peculiar about the second days ceremonies. On the last day the saffron thread is removed from the wrists of the two, and they tease one another, smearing each others faces with rice porridge, or hunting for a style or a doll in a pot of saffron water. Sometimes they play with a doll which they pretend is a baby. The paligai pots are then taken and emptied into the river, and the ceremonies end with a general feast. The girl ordinarily goes to live with her husband forthwith, and no special nuptial ceremony is performed.

The ceremonies at the re-marriage of widows are simple. The bridegrooms sister goes to the womans house and ties a tali round

(Footnote: 1 The bottu is like a small metal cup tied on to a string. It is used instead of a tali by Panta Reddis, Uppiliyans, the Malaiyalis of the Kollaiwalais and the dancing-girls.

13
 
-----------------------------------98-----------------------------------

TRICHINOPOLY

CHAP. III.

THE HINDUS.

her neck and takes her straight to the bridegrooms house ; after which they are treated as husband and wife without further rites.

Funeral ceremonies.

Infants and unmarried persons, and people who die of infectious diseases are almost invariably buried ; Pandarams say that they always bury their dead, and the Vellalans seem generally to burn them ; but otherwise rich people burn the dead and poor people adopt the cheaper course of burying them.

At the funerals of infants and the unmarried no rites are usually observed. Some castes pour milk and ghee on the grave on the third day. The ordinary funeral ceremonies for adults of nearly all castes 1 have a general resemblance and are as follows :

When a person is at the point of death, some milk and a two arena piece are put in the mouth ; and as soon as the breath has left the body a cocoanut is broken, and camphor is lighted either in the room where the corpse lies or at a point where three roads meet. The last two ceremonies are called the farewell (vali vidugiradu). The relatives then come to console the bereaved family, the ordinary method being for them to close with their own hands the hands of the man who is to perform the funeral ceremonies. Betel-leaf and cheroots are then handed round, and the corpse is bathed in oil and adorned for the funeral. Sometimes (especially in the castes which allow widow re-marriage) the widow is also bathed in oil. Near relatives present the corpse with new clothes (kodi) which are spread over it, and then the man who is to perform the funeral rites (the chief mourner) walks round the corpse with his wife, carrying a pot of water which they empty little by little. Sometimes they also place betel and nut in the hand of the corpse for luck. The women now put rice over the mouth of the corpse, and it is borne away, either on a bier or a palanquin, according to the means of the family. If the death took place on a Saturday, a dead fowl is tied to the bier, for a proverb says a corpse on Saturday will not go unaccompanied and the risk of another human death is thus averted. On the way to the place of burial or burning, rice is strewn on the road. The idea is that the spirit of the deceased will try to find its way back to the house that night, but will pause on the way to pick up the rice, so that the morning will appear before it reaches its destination. The corpse is set down when half the distance has been traversed, and the widow at this point walks round it with a pot of water, which she finally breaks, and then returns

(Footnote: 1 The ceremonies of the Pokanati Reddis, Konga Vellalans, Uralis, Uppiliyans, Tottiyans, and Malaiyalis are more or loss peculiar. They are usually referred to in the accounts of those castes below.)
 
-----------------------------------99-----------------------------------

THE PEOPLE.

CHAP. III

THE HINDUS

home. No women accompany the procession beyond this point. At the burial or burning-ground the chief mourner is shaved, and then he and all the male relations of the dead put rice on the mouth of the dead, If the body is to be burned, the chief mourner walks thrice round the pyre with a pot of water and then breaks it, and finally inserts a fire-brand into the pyre with face averted. He is sometimes given margosa leaf to chew, perhaps to prevent contagion from any disease from which the deceased died. The funeral party then accept the salaams of the menials employed at the funeral (the Paraiyan, barber and washerman) and pay them for their work, and then bathe. After this they return home and worship a light.

On the second day the ashes are mixed with water, and the bones are collected and thrown into a tank or river. Cooked rice is offered to the crows on the burning-ground and on the roof of the deceaseds house ; and, if the crows (which are supposed to represent the departed soul) refuse the food, the reason has to be ascertained from the soothsayers and the proper expiation made.

Some castes occasionally observe the ettu ceremony (the worship of the dead mans cloth), which is very common in Tanjore, but there is no definite rule about it. On the fifteenth night the widow's tali is removed and put in milk. A final ceremony (karumantaram) is performed on the sixteenth day which is intended in imitation of the Brahman practice, to cause the soul of the dead to enter into the company of the other ancestors of the family. The mans soul, represented by two bricks, is reverenced ; the corpse is again burned in effigy with mantrams; and the ceremony of collecting the bones is re-enacted. The bricks are then offered 32 balls of rice (two for each clay since the death) and are thrown into a river. After certain other ceremonies, six or seven plantain leaves filled with rice and other offerings are placed on the ground. Six of these are intended for Siva, Vishnu, three forefathers, and the family priest. The last is not strictly intended for any one, but is merely put there as an accompaniment to a bowl of water which is placed on the ground so that the spirit may quench its thirst on the way to heaven. Prayers are said, and then four balls of rice are made for the three forefathers and the deceased. The deceaseds ball is broken up and mixed with the other balls so as to symbolize his amalgamation with them. At the end of the ceremony the chief mourner is presented with a turban by his relations, and the funeral is over.

Au anniversary ceremony (terasham) in imitation of the Brahman sraddha is performed by some of the higher castes.
 
-----------------------------------100-----------------------------------

TRICHINOPOLY

CHAP III.

PRINCIPAL CASTES

This chapter will conclude with accounts of the ways of certain castes which are either found in this district in great strength or are more numerous there than elsewhere.

Vellalans

The Vellalans are very common in Trichinopoly. Their name is said to be derived from velanmai, cultivation, and they are the great land-owning caste of the Tamil country. They are generally admitted to be the highest in the social scale among the non-Brahman castes.

No less than 20 endogamous subdivisions of them occur in the district ; namely (1) Tondaimandalam Mudalis or Kondaikattis, (2) Dakshinanattans, (3) Keraikkattans, Karkattans or Pandyas, (4) Panjukkara Chettis or Adur-Upakyams, (5) Cholapuram Chettis, (6) Choliyas, (7) Uttunattus, (8) Kongas, (9) Aru-nattus or Mottais, (10) Yelurs, (11) Tuluvas, (12) Malai-kandas, (13) Sittakkattu Chettis, (14) Ponneri Mudalis, (15) Pundamalli Mudalis, (16) Kaniyalans, (17) Kodikkals, (18) Arumbu-kattis, (19) Pandarams or Gurukkals, and (20) Nainans.

The first five, the Sittakkattu Chettis, the Pandarams and the Nainans are vegetarians, and these will all cat in each others houses ; the other subdivisions will not eat together, hut will accept food (in a separate room) from the vegetarians. The Tondaimandalam Mudalis, the Ponneri Mudalis and the Pundamalli Mudalis all use the title Mudali ; the Panjukkara Chettis, the Cholapuram Chettis and the Sittitkkattu Chettis the title of Chetti ; the Kongo, Vellalans and the Aru-nattus that of Kavun-dan; the Pandarams the title of Ayya ; the Nainans call themselves Nainer ; and all the other subdivisions use the title Pillai. But Mudali, Kavundan and Pillai are used by several other castes and are not distinctive.

The Konga Vellelans differ so strikingly from the rest in many of their customs that a separate account of them is given below. Of the other subdivisions, the Tondaimandalam Mudalis are obviously local in origin, coming from the Tondaimandalam country. They are also called Kondaikattis from a peculiar way in which they used formerly to tie their hair. They are split into the two minor subdivisions of the Melnadus and Kilnadus, or western and eastern. They are scattered in small numbers about the district, but are fairly numerous in Knlittalai town. The Dakshinanettans (south countrymen) are immigrants from Tinnevelly. They also occur only in small numbers. The Karaikkattans or Pandyas say their name means watchers for rain; and that they once stood surety for Indra (the god of the clouds) before the Pandya king to guarantee his sending rain.
 
-----------------------------------101-----------------------------------

THE PEOPLE.

CHAP. III

PRINCIPAL CASTES.

The members of this subdivision in the Udaiyarpalaiyam taluk are rather looked down upon by other Vellalans as being a mixed (ibbandi) race, and are also somewhat contemptuously called pack-bullock (yeruttu-mattu) Vellalans because they formerly lived by trading with pack-animals. They have a curious custom by which a girl's maternal uncle ties a tali round her neck when she is seven or eight years old. This does not make her his wife and the meaning of the ceremony is not known. They are found in large numbers in the Udaiyarpalaiyam taluk. The Panjukkara Chettis live in the same taluk. Their name is occupational in origin, denoting cotton-men, but they are not connected with cotton nowadays. Their other name (Adur-Upakyans) may indicate that they come from Adur. in the Chidambaram taluk of South Arcot. The Cholapuram Chettis are apparently called after the village of that name in the Kumbakonam taluk of Tanjore. They also occur in Udaiyarpalaiyam. The Choliya (Chola, country) Vellalans are numerous and ubiquitous. They are generally regarded as of doubtful descent, since parvenus who wish to be considered Vellalans usually claim to belong to this subdivision. The Uttumattu subdivision is local in origin. Its head-quarters is supposed to be the country round Uttatur, where it is chiefly found. Its members are the special devotees of the Siva of that place 1. The Aru-nattu (six nadu) Vellalans chiefly reside in the east of Namakkal taluk and in the Turaiyur division of Musiri. They are called Mottai (shaved) Vellalans, apparently because they always shave their moustaches and wear only a very small kudumi. Some of their customs are unlike those of the rest of the caste. They have exogamous subdivisions, their widows always dress in white and wear no ornaments (a rule not universally observed in any other subdivision), they never marry their sister's daughters, and their wives wear the tali on a golden thread like the Panta Reddis. Of their six nadus, which are supposed to have been located three on each side of the Aiyar river, only two are now recognized. These are the Serkudi nadu in Namakkal taluk and the Omandurnadu of Musiri. The Yelur (seven villages) Vellalans are perhaps a local subdivision. They are few and far between. The Tuluva subdivision are probably immigrants from the South Canara country, and are also few and scattered. A small colony of them at Iluppur (Trichinopoly taluk) is engaged in dyeing. The Malai-kanda Vellalans are only found near the Ratnagiri bill in the Kulittalai taluk. They take their name from the fact that they are required to look at the Ratnagiri hill when they get up in the morning. They are devotees of the god

(Footnote: 1 Sec Chapter XV, p. 307.)
 
-----------------------------------102-----------------------------------

TRICHINOPOLY.

CHAP. III.

PRINCIPAL CASTES.

there. The Ponneri and Pundamalli Mudalis presumably come from Ponneri and Poonamallee in Chingleput district. They are again few and scattered. The Kaniyalans (' landholders') are also scarce, but they are widely distributed, since the man who carries the pot of blood when animals are sacrificed at the village goddesses' festivals must belong to their subdivision. The Kodikkal Vellalans are numerous and are so called from their occupation of betel-growing, which they still pursue largely though not exclusively. The Arumbu-katti (garland-making) subdivision is presumably occupational in origin. It is said to be common in the Marungapuri zamindari. The Pandarams are priests to the caste and to Saivites generally. They are often employed to perform the first part of the karumantaram funeral ceremony above referred to. They are fairly numerous and are widely distributed. The Nainans are very few in number. Like the Karaikkattans of the Udaiyarpalaiyam taluk, they are thought to be descended from Jains who were converted to the Hindu faith.

The unquestioned social position of the Vellalans results in the caste being invaded by people of inferior castes wishing to get up in the world, who often pass themselves off as Vellalans. A proverb says that Kallans, Maravans and the proud Agamudaiyans approach slowly and become Vellalans, and another proverb compares the caste to the brinjal, which will mix palatably with anything.

All Vellalans wear a sacred thread during their marriages and funerals. Only the Kongas and Aru-nadus have exogamous septs. Only a few of the subdivisions, namely, the Kodikkals, Kongas and Aru-nadus, have caste panchayats. They all agree in following one peculiar form of worship, namely, the adoration of Pillaiyar by their womenkind on Fridays and Tuesdays in Adi (July-August) and Tai (January-February) respectively. At midnight on a Tuesday and a Friday in these months women of the same subdivision meet together and worship an imago of Pillaiyar made of cowdung or saffron, offering it rice and jaggery. No malesnot even babies at the breastare admitted and the women are completely naked throughout the ceremony. The offerings must he oaten by women ; no male must touch them.

Konga Vellalans

The Konga Vellalans are commonest in the west of the district (Karol. and Namakkal) and in the south-east of Coimbatore. Their name is evidently derived from that of the old Kongu country, which lay in that part of the Presidency. They live in compact communities, generally in hamlets, and seem to have
 
-----------------------------------103-----------------------------------

THE PEOPLE.

CHAP III

PRINCIPAL CASTES.

little in common with the other Vellilans of this district except their name. They do not seem to hold such a high place in society as the latter, for the Reddis (for example) will not eat with them, and they will dine with Tottiyans and others of the lower non-Brahman castes. They are cultivators, but not well off ; and their dwellings are generally thatched huts containing only one room. Their men can generally he recognized by the number of large gold rings they wear in the lobes of their ears, and by the pendant (murugu) which they hang from the upper part of their ears. Their women have a characteristic tali of large size, strung on to a number of cotton threads, which are not, as among other castes, twisted together. They also seem always to wear on their left arms an ornament (called tayittu) rather like the common cylindrical talisman.

They are split into two endogamous divisions ; namely, the Konga Vellalans proper and the Tondan or Ilankamhan Kuttam the servant or inferior subdivision. The latter are admittedly the offspring of illicit intercourse with outsiders by girls and widows of the caste who have been expelled in consequence. They have no caste organization like the others, and differ in other small matters. The Kongas proper have an elaborate caste organization. Their country is divided into 24 nadus, each comprising a certain number of villages and possessing a recognized head-quarters, which are arranged into four groups under the villages of Palayakottai, Kangayampalaivam, Pudur and Kadayur, all in the Coimbatore district. The Konga Vellalans of Karur taluk belong to the Palayakottai group. Each village is under a kottukkaran, each nadu under a nattu-kavundan or periyatanakkaran, and each group under pattakkaram. This last official is treated with considerable respect. He is invested with a gold ring ; is not allowed to see a corpse ; and is always saluted with clasped hands. He is only occasionally called in to settle caste disputes, smaller matters being settled by the kottukkarans, and matrimonial questions by the nattu-kavundan. Both the Kongas proper and the Tondans have a large number of exogamous divisions. These are mostly totemistie in character, their names generally denoting some article the use of which is taboo to their members. Among these are kadai (a quail), pannai (a kind of cabbage), maniyam (cambu), savindi (a flower), etc.

The most desirable match for a boy is his maternal uncles daughter. To such an extent is the preference for such unions carried, that a young boy is often married to a grown woman, and it is admitted that in such eases the boy's father takes upon himself the duties of a husband until his son has grown up, and
 
-----------------------------------104-----------------------------------

TRICHINOPOLY.

CHAP. III.

PRINCIPAL CASTES.

that the wife is allowed to consort with any one belonging to the caste whom she may fancy, provided that she continues to belonging caste husband's house. With widows (who are not allowed to re-marry), the rules are stricter. A man convicted of undue intimacy with such a woman is expelled from the caste unless she consents 1 to his leaving her and going back to the caste, and he provides her with adequate means to live separately. In such cases the man is readmitted by being taken to the village common and beaten with an erukkam stick, and by being required to provide a black sheep for a feast to his relatives. Married women have to perform certain ceremonies before they may wear the kunkumam spot on their foreheads or marry their children. These consist in tying a fillet of pungam and tamarind twigs round the head under a pandal of green leaves erected in the house, putting on a new cloth, preparing food and stopping over a mortar. The ceremonies are not done until the woman has borne at least one child.

At weddings and funerals, the Konga Vellalans employ priests of their own caste called arumaikkarans and arumaikkaris. These must be married people who have had children. They wait until one of their children is married and then undergo the ceremony called arumai manam at the hands of ten other arumaikkarans and some Pulavans (bards among the Kaikolans), who touch the pair with some green grass dipped in sandal and water, oil, etc. The woman thus becomes as arumaikkari and her husband an arumaikkaran. All people of arumai rank are treated with great respect, and when one of them dies a drum is beaten by a man standing on another mans shoulders and the drummer is given seven measures of grain measured, and an equal quantity unmeasured.

Betrothals are made in the brides house in the presence of both the maternal uncles,. and consist in tying up fruit and betel and leaf in the girls cloth. On the day of the wedding the boy is shaved and an arumaikkari pours water over him, and if he has a sister the ceremony of betrothing his prospective daughter to her son is performed. The boy then goes on horseback, carrying some fruit and a pestle, to a stone planted for the occasion and called the nattukkal, which he worships. The stone is supposed to represent the Kongu king, and the pestle the villagers, and the ceremony is said to be a relic of a custom of the ancient Kongu people, to which the caste formerly belonged, which required them

(Footnote: 1 The form of consent is for the woman to say that she is only a mod vessel and has been broken, because polluted ; whereas the man is of bell-metal and cannot be utterly polluted.)
 
-----------------------------------105-----------------------------------

THE PEOPLE.

CHAP. III

PRINCIPAL CASTES

to obtain the permission of their king to every marriage. On his return, balls of white and coloured rice are taken round him to ward off the evil eye. Then his mother gives him three mouthfuls of food and finishes the rest of the plateful herself, to indicate that henceforth she will provide him with no more meals. The barber then blesses him, and he goes off to the bride's house on horseback, and he is received by one of the other party similarly mounted. His ear-rings are now put into the bride's ears, and the pair go off together to the mattukkal, carried on the shoulders of their maternal uncles. On their return they are touched by an arumaikkaran with betel-leaf dipped in oil, milk and water, the toll is worshipped and blessed, and the arumaikkaran ties it on. The barber then pronounces an elaborate blessing : Live as long as the sun and the moon shall endure or Pasupatisvarar (Siva) at Karur May your branches spread like the banyan, and your roots like the grass, and may you flourish like the bamboo. May ye twain be like the flower and the thread, which together form the garland, and cleave together like water and the reed planted in it If a Pulavan is present, he adds another blessing, and the little fingers of the two are then tied together, anointed with milk, and then again parted. This concludes the marriage.

The funeral ceremonies of the caste are not peculiar except that the torch for the pyre is carried by a Paraiyan and not by the chief mourner as in most other castes, and that no ceremonies are performed after the third day. The custom is to collect the bones on that day and throw them into water, and the barber then pours a mixture of milk and ghee over a green tree, crying poli' (flourish, flourish).

The caste has its own beggars. called Mudavandis, or lame beggars, and it is said to be the custom that all children born blind or lame in the caste are handed over by their parents to become Mudavandis. If the parents hesitate to comply with the custom, the Mudavandis tie a red cloth round the head of the child, and the parents eau then no longer withold their consent. They have to give the boy a bullock to ride on if he is lame, or a stick if he is blind. The child is brought up by the nattu-kacundan and given a proportion of the beggars earnings for its maintenance. There is a separate band of beggars for each nadu, and they are under the orders of the nadu headman. They go round their appointed circles once a year and levy contributions from each household.

Muttiriyans or Ambalakarans

The Muttiriyans or Ambalakarans are more numerous in Trichinopoly and Pudukkottai than in any other part of the Presidency. Though they have sometimes been treated as separate

14
 
-----------------------------------106-----------------------------------

TRICHINOPOLY.

CHAP. III.

PRINCIPAL CASTES

castes, they appear to be one and the same in this district ; generally calling themselves Muttiriyans in the Trichinopoly taluk and Ambalakarans elsewhere, and having no objection to either name. In some districts the distinction between them and the Valaiyans is very slight. In Trichinopoly, they admit that they are called Valaiyans ; but they repudiate any connection with the caste of that name, and explain the appellation by a story that when Sivas ring was swallowed by a fish in the Ganges one of their ancestors invented the first net made in the world. As relics of their former greatness they point to the thousand-pillared mantapam at Srirangam, which is called the Multarasan Koradu, and a big malam at Palni, both of which, they say, were built by their kings. To the latter, every household of the caste still subscribes four annas annually. They say they were born of the sweat 1 of Parama-Siva. They are numerous all over the district except in the taluks of Perambalur and Udaiyarpalaiyam.

The caste appears to have no regular endogamous divisions, but it is divided into a number of nadus, the names and number of which are variously given. Some of these are Ettarai Koppu, Adavattur, Tirampalaiyam, Vimanayakkanpalaiyam, Esanakonai and Kamanayakkanpalaiyam (all villages in the Trichinopoly taluk) and Amur, Savindippatti and Karungali in Musiri taluk. Widow re-marriage is allowed in some of these but not in others, and the difference forms a bar to intermarriage. But the members of the different nadus have no objection to eating in each others houses. They all use the titles Muttiriyan, Ambalakaran, Servaikaran and Kavalkaran.

They admit their social inferiority to the Vellalans, Kallans, Nattamans and Reddis, from all of whom they will accept separate meals ; but consider themselves superior to Pallis, Uralis, Uppiliyans and Valaiyans. Their usual occupation is cultivation ; but they have also taken to petty trade and sonic earn a living as masons and kavalgars or watchmen. They wear the sacred thread during their marriages and funerals. They have panchayats for each village and for the nadu, and have also a number of the Patnattu Chetti ' headmen mentioned above, who are recognized as the elders of the caste and sit with the 
head of the nadu to decide matrimonial cases.

Kallans

The Kallans are more numerous in Trichinopoly and Pudukkottai than in any other district except Tanjore and Madura, and are especially common in the cast of Trichinopoly taluk and in Pudukkottai.

(Footnote: 1 Muttu is a pearl or bond of perspiration.)
 
-----------------------------------107-----------------------------------

THE PEOPLE

CHAP. III

PRINCIPAL CASTES

As in Tanjore, the caste claims to be the fruit of the illicit intercourse of Indra and Ahalya, the wife of Gautama.1 With the exception of a section called Nadans (who are found in the Musiri think, say they are quite distinct from the other Kallans and do not intermarry with them), the caste is divided into a large number of nadus. The names of sixteen of these were elicited, but there are ninny more. Tho largest is Visauganadu, which contains 36 villages or paths; another important one is the Ambunadu, to which the Raja of Pudukkottai, the head of the Kallan caste, belongs ; the Terkitti nadu contains 32 villages. With the exception of the Terkittis the members of the different nadus intermarry, but practice in the Pudukkottai State varies. All Kallans without exception will cat in each others houses.

All the Kallans, with the exception of the Terkitti with, and the Nadans, are split into exogamous septs. Typical names of these are Kalattil Vendran (the victorious in the field), Pallava Rayan (the Pallava king), Tondaiman, Malaya Rayan; Solauga Devan, Seduran, Servaikaran, etc.

The Kallans occupy a fairly high social position. They accept the hospitality due to an inferior only from the Vellalans, and they mess on an equality with Nattamans, Maravans, Vallambans and Nattukkottai Chettis. They look down upon Pallis and Uralis, and are looked up to by the Amabalakarans and Valaiyans. Their usual ostensible occupation is cultivation, but as a matter of fact they live largely by crime and blackmail. The word Kallan means thief and most of the cattle-thieves of the Tanjore, Trichinopoly and Madura districts belong to the caste. The point will be alluded to in Chapter XIII.

They wear a sacred thread at weddings and funerals. Their marriage ceremonies follow two distinct lines. The Kallans in the Musiri and Kulittalai taluks generally observe the practices already described as being general among the Sudras of the district. The others (except those of Pudukkottai) follow the customs of the Kallans of Tanjore, which differ in some important respects. Among the former, a marriage booth is put up in both the boys and the girls house, and the first part of the ritualdown to the boys return from the Pillaiyar templeis performed by the parties each in its respective village. The boy then goes to the bride's house for the remainder of the ceremony. lie rides thither on a horse, is met and accompanied back by his new brother-in-law, similarly mounted, the two exchange garlands, and his 

(Footnote: 1. For another version of their origin sec the account of the Maravans, with whom they seem to be connected.)
 
-----------------------------------108-----------------------------------

TRICHINOPOLY.

CHAP. III

PRINCIPAL CASTES.

are then adorned with rings by the bride's mother. Directly after the bib is tied, he takes his brido away to his own house and the ceremonies are finished there. The Terkitti Kallans and the Kallans of Pndukkottai follow a shorter ritual. The bridegrooms sister goes on the day of the marriage with a party of six others and a number of kinds of fruit, seven of each sort, to the brides house, where the sister ties the tali round the girls neck and takes her straight back to her brothers (the bridegroom's) house. This resembles the ritual usually performed at the re-marriage of a widow and is probably a much older form than the usual wedding ceremony. All the Kallans except those of the Ambunadu apparently permit widow re-marriage.

The Terkitti Kallans have some other curious customs : A man can claim the hand of a girl who is his paternal aunts or maternal uncle's daughter and can prevent her from marrying another ; at betrothals, a fowl and some rice are always taken to the brides house and a feast held; the tali is suspended -from a thread, while other Kallans hang it from a silver or golden wire ; and they legitimize bastard children if the parents eventually marry. Very few other castes permit this last.

The Kallans are very fond of bull-baiting. This is of two kinds. The first resembles the game played by other castes on the Pongal day, and described above, except that the Kallans train their animals for the sport and have regular meetings to which all the neighbouring villagers congregate. These begin at Pongal and go on till the end of May. The game is called talumadu or byre-bull.  The best animals for it are the Pulikkulam bulls from the Madura, district. The other game is the pachal nadu or leaping bull. in this the animals are tethered to a long rope and the object of the competitors is to throw the animal and keep it down. A bull which is good at this game and difficult to throw fetches a very high price.

The Kallans caste god is Karuppan. The festival to the Karuppan of Rettaimalai near Perattiyur in the Trichinopoly taluk is attended by almost all the Kallans of the neighbourhood.

Udaiyans

The Udaiyans or Nattamans, the Malaiyamans and the Sudarmans, though shown in the 1901 Census report as separate castes, are in this district endogamous subdivisions of one and the same caste, namely the Udaiyans. They are unusually numerous in this district. The Nattamans are commonest in Perambalur taluk, the east of Namakkal, the west of Udaiyarpapaiyam, the north-cast of Trichinopoly and in Pudukkottai; the Malaiyamans are found chiefly in the villages near the Pachaimalai and Kollaimalai
 
-----------------------------------109-----------------------------------

THE PEOPLE

CHAP. III

PRINCIPAL CASTES

hills, whence no doubt their name ; and the Sudarmans are numerous in the cast of Musiri and the south of Perambalur Nattaman means villager, Malaiyaman means hillman, and Sudarman, man of virtue.

The three subdivisions are unanimous in saying that they are the descendants of the three Paraiyan foster-daughters of the poetess Auvaiyar, all of whom became the wives of the king of Tirukkoyilur in South Arcot, a certain Daivika, who was warned that only by marrying these women could he save his family from disaster. The Chola, Pandya and Chera kings were present at the wedding; and, on their blessing the bridegroom and his brides, they were themselves blessed by the poetess, to whom the Chera kingdom owes its unfailing rain, the Chola country its rice fields, and the Pandya realm its cotton. The poorness of the latter blessing is due to the fart that the Pandya king was slow to offer his good wishes. The three subdivisions eat together and recognize the tie of a common descent, but do not intermarry. The section called the Arisakkara Nattamans are looked down upon by the rest and may not intermarry with any of them. The subdivisions all have well-defined exogamous septs, called kanis, derived from the places where their different ancestors are supposed to have lived. Some of these are Kolattur, Sittalai, Malwa, Kannanur, Valikandapuram (in the Perambalur taluk), .Ariyalur and Venmani in the Udaiyarpalaiyam taluk, and a number or places in the Vriddhachalam taluk of the South Arcot district.

The Udaiyans accept separate meals from the Vellalans, but mess on equal terms with Kallans, Pallis, Reddis, Tottiyans and Nattukkottai Chettis. They look down upon the Ambalakarans, Uppiliyans, Maravans, Vallambans, etc. They put on sacred threads at marriages and funerals, and some of them have recently begun to wear them always. They are generally cultivators, and, with the exception of the Sudarmans, who are supposed to have a turn for crime, are law-abiding citizens. One section of the Sudarmans, the Muppans of Kapistalam in Tanjore, have a bad reputation for criminality.

They have no regular caste panclayts, and do not allow widow re-marriage. Their weddings are performed in the bridegroom's house. A curious practice of theirs is that, before arranging a marriage, it is customary for the bride's party to go to the bridegroom's house to dine with him and to test his health by seeing how much ho can cat. They allow a boy whose snit for the hand of a girl within certain degrees of relationship is
 
-----------------------------------110-----------------------------------

TRICHINOPOLY

CHAP. III.

PRINCIPAL CASTES.

refused by her parents, to marry the girl, notwithstanding, by tying a tali round her neck. They also permit the betrothal of infants, the form observed being to present the child with a. new cloth and a mat, and to apply sacred ash to its forehead. At their funerals the mourning party has to chew some rice and spit it out on the return from the burning-ground, and on the sixteenth day the widow is made to worship a light and to touch a salt pot.

The Nattaman women do not as a rule cover their breasts. Their ear lobes are very distended, and they tattoo their chins and cheeks in the Paraiyan fashion. This is supposed to be in recollection of their origin. The Malaiyaman women wear their tali on a golden wire instead of on a thread.

Pallis or Vanniyans.

Pallis or Vanniyans are numerous in Trichinopoly district and Pudukkottai, especially in Udaiyarpalaiyan and Perambalur. They claim a rather higher place in the social scale than their neighbours are prepared to allow them. They do not like the title Palli, which in this district is often also used to describe a Palla woman, and prefer to call themselves Vanniyans or Kshatriyas of the fire race deriving Vanniyan front the Sanskrit vahni, fire. They tell a long story, which is not supported by any of the orthodox puranas, of how they are the descendants of one Vira Vanniyan who was created at a burnt sacrifice by a sage named Sambaha when he was destroying the two demons named Vatapi and Enatapi. This Vira Vanniyan married a daughter of the god Indra and had five sons named Rudra, Brahma, Krishna, Sambuha and Kai, whose descendants now live respectively in the country north of the Palar, in the Cauvery delta, between the Pair and the Pennar, east of Chidambaram, and west of Chidambaram. They have written a puranam and a drama of their own bearing out this tale. They declare they are superior to the Brahmans, since while the latter must be invested with the sacred thread after birth, they bring their sacred thread with them at birth itself. An influential Vanniyan society at Madras diffuses these views and attempts to induce the people of the caste to give up their Dravidian ways and to imitate the customs of the higher castes in matters of food, occupation, dress and so forth. Many of the Vanniyans have recently taken to wearing a sacred thread on all occasions. Villages where this and other similar innovations have taken a typically firm hold are Ariyalur and Edayatti in the Namakkal taluk.  These pretensions naturally affect the question of mutual hospitality between Vanniyans and other non-Brahman castes. The only people with
 
-----------------------------------111-----------------------------------

THE PEOPLE.

CHAP. III

PRINCIPAL CASTES.

whom the Vanniyans are prepared to eat on equal terms are the three subdivisions of the Udaiyans, and they will accept separate meals only from the upper sections of the Vellalans and from Brahmans.

Three endogamous subdivisions of the caste in this district differ a good deal in some of their practices.  These are the Pandamuttus, the Arasus and the Kattu Pallis. The third (and sometimes the second) of these practise widow re-marriage ; the second always make their marriage pole (muhurtakkal) out of arasu branches ; and the first make their sal karagam of a pyramid of pots reaching to the roof.  The Pallis of Udaiyarpalaiyam are mostly Pandamuttus, those of Namakkal usually Arasus, and those of Perambalur are divided between these two sections. The caste titles are Padaiyachi, Vanniyan, Tevan, Nainan, Vandayan, Kalinga Rayan, Malava Rayan, Pillai, Udaiyan, Servaikaran, Nayakkan, Rajali (a kind of bird), Anjadasingam (fearless lion), etc. The Arasu Pallis in Namakkal call themselves Kavundan, probably in imitation of the Konga Vellalans.

On the whole the Vanniyans have rather a bad name for crime, especially those living in the Udaiyarpilaiyain taluk. They are generally cultivators by profession. They have apparently no exogamous subdivisions. The Pandamottu Pallis near Ariyalur have their own caste gurus who officiate for them at their marriages and funerals. Some of them practise the betrothal of infant girls, the ceremony consisting of pouring eowdung-water into the mouth of the baby. They allow a girl to marry a boy younger than herself and make the latter swallow a two anna bit to neutralize the disadvantages of such a match. Their weddings are generally performed in the boy's house, and the brides mother does not attend. The bride is concealed front view by a screen. A curious ceremony observed by the Arasu Pallis at their funerals is that on the day after the corpse is burnt they place two pots of water near the burning-ground, and if a cow drinks of the water they think it is the soul of the dead conic to quench its thirst.

The Vanniyans have an institution which is very common in the Telugu country, but which seems to be rare among the Tamils, namely, a special begging caste of their own (jail pillais, children of the caste) who beg from them and front no others, and to whom they are bound to give alms. These are the Vondipilikkarans, a caste of jugglers. The Vanniyans explain their connection with them by saying that when they (the Vauniyans) lived in Conjeeveram they were unable one day to move the ear of the goddess Kamaskshi, and ,that the magic of these jugglers got them out of the difficulty.
 
-----------------------------------112-----------------------------------

TRICHINOPOLY.

CHAP. III.

PRINCIPAL CASTES.

The Uralis are practically confined to the Trichinopoly and Madura districts. They are common in the Manapparai division of the Kulittalai taluk, the Karur border, and in Pudukkottai.

They say they were originally Kshatriyas living in Alipuram near Oudh,' and left that place in search of adventure or in consequence of disputes at home, leaving their wives behind them, and finally settled in this country, where they married serving women (pulukkachis). They say they belong to the Muttu-raja Kuttam,, a phrase they cannot explain, and protest that the Ambalakarans, who make a similar claim, have no ground for doing so. Their ordinary title is Kavundan. They seem to eat with no other caste on equal terms, but will of course accept separate meals from the Vellalaus.

They are split into seven nadus, which are in effect endogamous subdivisions. These are called after villages in the country inhabited by the caste; namely, Vadaseri, Pilhuru, Sengudi; Kadavangudi or Virali, Talakka., Paluvinji or Magali, and Marungi. The members of the first three of these are called the Vadaseri Uralis, and of the other four the Nattu-simai Uralis Kunduva-nattu-tokkadns or Nandu-tindis. All of them will mess together. They say that the nadu divisions were originally intended to facilitate the decision of caste disputes, and they are still the unit of self-government. Each of them has a headman who exercises supreme control over the villages included within it. They also have a number of territorial exogamous septs, called by the Vadaseris, who have 24 of them, karais, and by the Nattusimais kanyachis. They are generally cultivators, but are said sometimes to be given to crime. They wear sacred threads at the time of marriages and funerals. Their women can be recognized by their dress, the kusavam being spread out behind, and a characteristic pencil-shaped ornament (kuchu) being suspended from the neck. They allow the re-marriage of widows and divorced women.

Some of their marriage and funeral customs are peculiar. Among the Nattu-simais the betrothal is ratified by the maternal uncle of each of the pair solemnly measuring out three measures of paddy in the presence of the other party in their house. At their funerals the bier is not brought into the village, but is left outside, amid the corpse is carried to it. Among the Vadaseris, while preparations are being made for the removal of the body, Paraiyan women perform a dance in the house. Among the Nattu-simais this is done on the ellu day. On the second day after the funeral the relatives of the dead have to tip their toes in a mortar full of cowdung-water placed in front of the deceaseds
 
-----------------------------------113-----------------------------------

THE PEOPLE

CHAP. III

PRINCIPAL CASTES

house, and have to put sacred ashes on their heads. The karumantaram ceremony is only performed by the rich. It can be done at any time after the third day from death. The ettu ceremony is similarly performed at any time after this third day and is attended with curious ritual. Both sections of the caste erect a booth in which three plantain trees are planted, and the chief mourner and his cousins stand there all day to receive the condolences of their friends. From this point the practice of the two sections differs in small details. That of the Vadaseris is as follows :The friends come one by one and are asked by the chief mourner, Will you embrace, or will you strike your forehead ? in answer to which the friend either closes the open hand of the chief mourner with his own, in the usual way, or flings himself on to the ground in the booth and weeps. Each visitor then goes on to a meeting of the nadu which is being held at the time outside the village, and finally a Paraiyan and three Uralis go to ask the nadu headman if the pandal may be removed, telling him who have visited it and who have not. Permission being given, the plantains are cut down and the womenfolk wail round a chembu placed there.  All now proceed to the nadu meeting, where a turban is put on a Paraiyan, a dancing-girl and a Pandaram, and a Paraivan (called the Nattu Sambau) beats his drum and pronounces a blessing on the nadu. Finally all repair to the house of the deceased, where the wide headman puts three handfuls of cambu into the cloth of his wife or some other member of his family, and throws a mortar to the ground.

Punishments for caste offences take some curious forms. A margosa leaf is put on the house of any one who is excommunicated. If a man seduces a girl of the caste, an enquiry is held and the pair are married. The waist-string of the man is tied round the neck of the woman, and a Tottiyan is called in to take away the pollution which they and their relatives have incurred. The pair and their relatives are taken to a tank where 108 holes have been made by the Tottiyan, and they are made to bathe in every hole, sprinkling the water over their heads. A sheep is then killed by a Tottiyan and a Chakkiliyan, its head is buried and the couple and their relations are made to walk over the spot. The blood of the animal is then smeared on their foreheads, and they all have to bathe again. They are next given cow's urine to drink, and then once more bathe. After that they are given milk, and are made to prostrate themselves before the pauchayat, and finally they have to give the panchayat a feast. At this, a part of the food is offered to the crows, and the purification is not complete till the birds have partaken of the offering.

15
 
-----------------------------------114-----------------------------------

TRICHINOPOLY 

CHAP. III

PRINCIPAL CASTES

The Uralis are fond of shikar. On the Sivaratri night, sacrifices are offered to their family gods and next day all the people of the caste in the village go off after game. They have a head shikari, called the Kavettaikkaram who receives any animal which is killed, cuts off its head and breaks its legs. The head is given to the man who killed the animal, and the rest shared among the castemen.

The Nattu-simais all worship the god in the Purvattu temple, and the Vadaseris the deity of Rachandar.. Both these places are in the Kulittalai taluk.

Valaiyans

The Valaiyans are found chiefly in Pudukkottai and the south of Trichinopoly and Kulittalai taluks. They say that they were once the friends of Siva, but were degraded for the sin of having eaten frogs and rats. They also aver that they are descended from Kannappa Nayanar, one of the 63 Saivite saints, who was a Vedan, or shikari. Their traditional occupation is shikar, their name being derived from valai, a net.

They say they are split into eight endogamous subdivisions; namely, the Sarahu (' withered leaves '), the Ettarai Koppu, the Tanamba-nadu or Valuvadi, the Nadunattu or Asal, the Kurumba, the Vanniya, the Ambrnadu and the Punai. It will be noticed that some of these names are similar to those of the Kallans and Ambalakarans. The Ettarai Koppu and the Nadunattu sections are found in this district, and the members of these say that the Sarahus occur in Madura and the Tanamaba-nadus in Tanjore. The Valaiyans have also a number of exogamous septs, such as Peramakki, Karpuram, Piehakutti, Sulunjan, Tevan, Pettachi, and others. The usual title of the Sarahus is Muppan, of the Tanamba-nadus Servaikaran, and of the Ettarai Koppus Ambalakaran.

No other Sudra caste will mess on equal terms with the Valaiyans, and the latter will accept separate meals from all the Sudra castes except the Malaiyalis, Pallis, Uppiliyans, Tottiyans and Uralis. The Valaiyans are generally cultivators by profession, but have a bad name for crime, and are said to be often employed by the Kallans to commit offences.

They recognize three forms of marriage, the most usual of which consists in the bridegrooms party going to the girl's house with three marakkals of rice and a cock on an auspicious day, and in both parties having a feast there Sometimes the boys sister goes to the girl's house and ties a tali round her neck and takes her away. The ordinary form of marriage, called the big marriage, is sometimes used with variations, but the Valaiyans do not like it, and say that the other two result in more prolific unions. They
 
-----------------------------------115-----------------------------------

THE PEOPLE.

CHAP. III

PRINCIPAL CASTES

tolerate unchastity before marriage, and allow the parties to marry oven after several children have been born, which legitimizes the children. They permit the re-marriage of widows and divorced women. Women convicted of immorality are garlanded with erukku flowers and made to carry a basket of mud round the village, and men who frequently offend in this respect are made to sit with their toes tied to their necks with a creeper. When a woman is divorced, her male children go to the husband and she is allowed to keep the girls. A curious funeral ceremony observed by this caste is that on the return from the burning-ground the mourners have to sprinkle their heads with cowdung-water from a mortar placed outside the house of the dead, and the last of the party has to knock over the mortar.

The caste has a special god of its own, a pattavan named Muttal Ravuttan, the spirit of a dead Musalman about whom nothing seems to be known.

Uppiliyans

The Uppiliyans are more numerous in Trichinopoly and Pudukkottai than in any other district except Coimbatore, but are scattered in small communities. They are a low caste, and no other Sudras will dine on an equality with them. They will take separate meals from all Sudras except Ambalakarans, Uralis, Pallis and Valaiyans. Their name is derived from their traditional occupation, the manufacture of salt and saltpetre.

They say that they are descended from a man who was created to provide salt for the table of their god, but lost the favour of the deity because his wife bartered the salt for some glass bangles. In his wrath, he put his wife into his oven to kill her, but she escaped through a hole in the back. As evidence of the truth of the story, they point to the facts that their women still wear no glass bangles, and that their ovens always have a hole in them. They call themselves the Guana Velviputran (a vague phrase) and also Karpura Chettis because they use to make camphor as well as saltpetre. Their ordinary title is Nayakkan.

They are split into three endogamous subdivisions; namely, (1) the Tamilkalars, Uppu-kacharas or Kongas, (2) the Kavarais, Ulnattus or Manvettis. and (3) the Kannadiyas. These are evidently respectively Tamil, Telugu and Canarese in origin, and the Kannadiyas still speak Canaresc. The first and third of these divisions are said to be immigrants from Coimbatore, and the others to be natives of this district. They also have 30 exogamous septs ; namely, 24 nadus and six pattams. The latter are Sirukkalinji, Ariya, Nilali, Mudikandam, Pudambili and Pundarai,
-----------------------------------116-----------------------------------

TRICHINOPOLY

CHAP.III

PRINCIPAL CASTES.

The Uppiliyans occupation of salt-making was of course ruined by the establishment of the Government monopoly in that article. Some of them still make crude saltpetre, but the Kavarais do miscellaneous labour for hire, their speciality being earth-work.

The Uppiliyans allow the re-marriage of widows and divorced women ; but a man may not shave until he marries a virgin ; and if he never marries a virgin he has to remain unshaved all his life. Some of their marriage ceremonies are peculiar. They allow an unborn boy to be betrothed to his unborn cousin in the manner mentioned earlier in this chapter. The bride has to be asked in marriage a number of times before consent is given, lest it be thought that she is yielding too easily ; and the marriage is performed in her house, lest it be thought that her parents are forcing her on the bridegroom. The caste does not use-the marriage pole, the anai arasani, sal karayam, or the paligai pots. Instead of the usual saffron thread the wrists of the pair are tied together with wool. Sometimes the tali is tied by the maternal uncle of the bride. A curious custom among the Tamil section is that at the beginning of the ceremonies both of the first and second day, three matrons wash their faces in saffron and water, and the pair are bathed in the water used by them.

They also have unusual observances connected with a girl's attainment of maturity. A husband must not look into his bride's eves until, when she has at. length attained maturity, the following formalities have been gone through : The husband comes to his bride's house with a sheep and some vegetables and kills the former. His brother-in-law then marks his forehead with the sheep's blood, and the husband eats seine plantain and milk and spits it out at his bride, who is made to stand behind a screen. If the girl has attained maturity before her marriage, the Tamil section of the caste make her walk over seven wooden hoops on the wedding day. The husband has to give his formal consent to the ceremony, and a washerman has to be present. The Telugus perform this rite on the last day of the girl's first period, and her maternal uncle has to be present.

Some of the funeral observances of the Uppiliyans are also peculiar. The widows of the Tamil section never remove their talis, but leave them until they drop off of themselves. When a man dies, his widow is made to pretend he is still alive and to bathe him with oil and put garlands on him. If the man is to be buried, the chief mourner pretends to dig the grave. The karumantaram ceremony of the Tamil section consists merely in taking some milk to an crukkam tree on the sixteenth evening just
 
-----------------------------------117-----------------------------------

THE PEOPLF.

CHAP. III

PRINCIPAL CASTES.

before the jackals begin to howl and pouring it over the tree with the help of a barber, saying the while Go to Swargam (Indras abode) and make your way to Kailasam (heaven). When an eldest boy or girl dies, the mother has to knock over a ball of rice placed on the threshold with her nose, holding her hands behind her back the while.

The Uppiliyans have a caste god called Karuvandaraya-Bom-madeva. He has no temple, but all the Uppiliyans in a village join in offering him annual sacrifices in Tai (January-February) before the 'earth is scraped for the first time in the season for making saltpetre. They use avaram flowers and river sand in this worship. They have also three special caste goddesses, called Tippanjal, who are supposed to be women who committed sati. These do not seem to be worshipped jointly, however. They have also caste Brahman gurus, who visit them every year and bless their salt pits.

Caste discipline is enforced by members of the pattam families, the Sirukkalinji pattam being considered superior to the rest. When a complaint of a caste offence is made, notice is sent to the pattakkaran and to the whole Uppiliyan community in the neighbourhood, notifying the accusation and the provisional expulsion of the accused. A second notice summons the community to a panchayat which is presided over by at least two or three pattakkarams, the caste god being represented by some avaram flowers, a water-pot and some margosa leaves. If acquitted, the accused is made to touch the water-pot in token of his innocence. The purification is performed by a man of Marudur nadu (called rettaivilakkaran, or man of two lights) who eats a meal in the polluted house with his hands held behind his back.

Uppiliyan women never wear toe-rings or glass bangles. In the Tamil and Canarese sections their talis are engraved with the image of Lakshmi, while the Telugus have the cup-shaped Nil, called bottu, which is also worn by the women of the Panta Reddis, and the Malaiyalis of the Kollaimalais and by dancing-girls.

Reddis.

The Reddis are commonest in the taluks of Musiri, Kulittalai and Perambalur, and in the east of Namakkal and Karur.  They are not nearly so numerous as in the Telugu districts; but their customs are so different from those of their caste-fellows in that country as to deserve a note.

They are divided into the Pongala or Pokanati, and the Panta, Reddis, who both speak Telugu, but differ from each other in their customs, live in separate parts of the country and will neither intermarry nor dine together. Both say that they are immigrants
 
-----------------------------------118-----------------------------------

TRICHINOPOLY

CHAP. III

PRINCIPAL CASTES

from the norththe Pongala Reddis say from Nellore---and that they came without their wives and married women of the country the Pongalas maid servants, and the others dancing-girls. The Pongalas are chiefly found in the Kulittalai and Karur taluks, while the Pantas keep to the north of the Cauvery.

The Reddis will not eat on equal terms with any other Sudra caste, and will accept separate meals only from the vegetarian sections of the Vellalans. They are generally cultivators, but they had formerly rather a bad reputation for crime and it is still said that some of them are receivers of stolen property. Like the Pallis, Konga Vellalans and others, they have beggars, called Bavani Nayakkans, attached to them who beg from no one else and whose presence is necessary when they worship their caste goddess. The Chakkiliyans are also beggars attached to the caste and play a prominent part in the marriages of the Panta sub-division. Formerly a Chakkiliyan was deputed to ascertain the status of the other party before the match was arranged ; and his dreams were considered as omens of its desirability. He was also honoured at the marriage by being given the first betel and leaf. Nowadays he precedes the bridegrooms party with a basket of fruit to announce its coming.  A Chakkiliyan is also often deputed to accompany a woman on a journey. The Reddis caste goddess is Yellamma, and her temple at Esanai in Perambalur is reverenced by both Pautas and Pongalas. The latter observe rather gruesome rites, including the drinking of a kids blood. The Pantas also worship Rengayiamman and Polayamman with rather peculiar ceremonies. The women are the principal worshippers, and on one of the nights after Pongal they unite to do reverence to these goddesses, a part of the ritual consisting in exposing their persons. Both divisions wear a sacred thread at funerals, but at no other time. The title of both is Reddi. Neither of them allow divorced women or widows to marry again.

The Pantas have no exogamous subdivisions, but the Pongalas have a number. The women of the two divisions can be easily distinguished by their appearance. The Panta Reddi women wear a characteristic gold car-ring, called kammal, a flat nose-ring studded with inferior rubies, and a golden wire round their necks on which both the tali and the bottu are tied. They are also of fairer complexion than the Pongala women. The Panta, women are allowed a great deal of freedom, which is usually ascribed to their dancing-girl origin, and are said to rule their husbands in a manlier rare in other castes. They are often called Devadiya (dancing-girl) Reddis, and it is said that though the men of the caste receive hospitality from the Reddis of the north country,
 
-----------------------------------119-----------------------------------

THE PEOPLE.

CHAP. III

PRINCIPAL CASTES.

their women are not invited. Their chastity is said to be frail, and their lapses easily condoned by their husbands. The Pongalas are equally lax about their wives, but are said to rigorously expel girls or widows who misconduct themselves, and their seducers as well. Moreover the Panta men and women treat each other with a courtesy that is probably to be found in no other caste, rising rind saluting each other, whatever their respective ages, whenever they meet.

The Pantas have no caste panchayats, but the Pongalas recognize kambalakkarams and kottukkarans who uphold discipline. There are three of the former for the whole division (namely at Sengal and Koraikutti in Kulittalai taluk and at Karuppur in Karur), and one of the latter in each village. The purification ceremony for a house defiled by the unchastity of a maid or widow is rather an elaborate affair. Formerly a Kolak-karan (huntsman), a Tottiyan, a priest of the village goddess, a Chakkiliyan and a Bavani Nayakkan had to be present. The Tottiyan is now sometimes dispensed with. The Kolakkaran and the Bavani burn some kamachi grass and put the ashes in three pots of water. The Tottiyan then worships Pillaiyar in the form of some saffron and pours the saffron into the water. The polluted households then sit round in a circle while the Chakkiliyan carries a black kid past them. He is pursued by the Bavani, and both together cut off the animals head and bury it. The guilty parties have then to tread on the place where the head is buried, and the saffron water is poured over them.1

Vallambans.

The Vallambans are chiefly found in Pudukkottai, Madura and Tanjore. In the first of these they call themselves Vallamtotta Vellalans, or the Vellalans that lost Vallam, and they say that they were originally Vellalaus of Vallam in Tanjore and left their native place in a time of famine. They are generally cultivators. They speak of five subdivisions; namely, the Chengi-nadu, Amaravati-nadu, Palaya-nadu, Mel-nadu and Kil-nadu. Only the last two are found in this district. The Palaya-nadu people are said to occur in the Siyaganga estate. The Mel  and Kil-nadu people intermarry, but are distinguishable by the fact that the former wear moustaches and the latter do not.

They have no bride-price at weddings ; they do not object to a girl marrying a boy younger than herself ; when a couple are divorced, the boys remain with the father and the girls with the mother. Weddings are celebrated in the bride's house, the bridegrooms sister tying a tali round the brides neck. Widows and

(Footnote: 1 This ceremony rather resembles that of the Ualis described above.)
-----------------------------------120-----------------------------------

TRICHINOPOI.Y.

CHAP. III.

PRINCIPAL CASTES.

divorced women may re-many. The karumantaram funeral ceremonies are sometimes postponed for two or even more years. Tattooing is not allowed, and those who practise it are expelled from the caste. They all unite to worship Mariyamman in Panguni (March-April).

Maravans

There are more Maravans in Trichinopoly and Pudukkottai than in any district except Madura and Tinnevelly. They are especially common in the south-west of Pudukkottai. They still recount the story about the origin of their name which is given by Mr. Nelson in his Madura Country, namely, that they are descended from one of three brothers who met Rama when he was crossing to Ceylon, one of whom concealed himself, another behaved arrogantly and the third, the ancestor of the Maravans, assisted the god. The first, says the story, was called Kallan (concealer), the second Agamudaiyan (arrogant), and the third Maravan, since Rama promised not to forget (mara) his help. This name Maravan has been thought to be more probably derived from maram, killing, and to be connected with the blood-thirsty character the caste earned in days gone by. But the story is interesting as illustrating the undoubted fact that these three castes are ethnically connected. They are perhaps all descended from the fierce Nagas who held much of south India before the invasion of the Pandyas and Cholas. One of the old Tamil poets gives a grim picture of the Maravans some eighteen hundred years ago : Of strong limbs and hardy frames, and fierce-looking as tigers, wearing long and curled locks of hair, the blood-thirsty Maravans, armed with the bow bound with leather, ever ready to injure others, shoot their arrows at poor and defenceless travellers from whom they can steal nothing, only to feast their eyes on the quivering limbs of their victims. Their valour was so renowned that they were largely enlisted in the Tamil armies.1

The Maravans of Tinnevelly awl Madura still bear a character for lawlessness, but in Pudukkottai the caste is law-abiding enough. They are as fond of bull-baiting as the Kallans. They are mostly cultivators by profession. Their ordinary title is Tevan They wear a sacred thread at marriages and funerals.

The caste is split into two endogamous subdivisions; namely, Setupatis or Valkottais and Kondayan-kottais. All the Pudukkottai Maravaus are Setupatis; the Kondayan-kottas, they say, are found in the Madura district. The two divisions neither intermarry nor eat together. The Maravans of Pudukkottai also

(Footnote: 1 see Mr. Kanakasabhai Pillais Tamils eightee hundred years ago (Madras, 1904), pages 42, 43.)
 
-----------------------------------121-----------------------------------

THE PEOPLE.

CHAP. III

PRINCIPAL CASTES

speak of seven kilais, which are obviously exogamous in origin ; hut they only know the names of two, the Pichai and the Marakkal.

They recognize two distinct types of marriage ; namely, the kattu-tali (which consists simply in the bridegrooms sister coming and tying a tali round the girls neck arid taking her away) and the ordinary form common to other castes. When the kattu-tali has been performed, however, they think it necessary to go through the regular form sometime before a child is born. They call in a carpenter to bless the pair at weddings ; no bride-price is paid ; and the betrothal consists in an exchange of pan supari and the boys father smearing the girls face with saffron powder They do not mind a boy marrying a girl older than himself, and they allow the re-marriage of divorced women and widows. Some of their funeral ceremonies are peculiar. Before removing the corpse, the chief mourner and his wife take two balls of cowdung in which the barber has mixed various kinds of grain and stick them onto the wall of the house, and these are thrown into water on the eighth day. When the corpse is taken out of the house a rocket is fired. On the sixth day a pandal of naval leaves is prepared, and offerings are made in it to the names of the ancestors of the family. It is removed on the eighth day, and the chief mourner puts a turban on and merry-making and dances are indulged in. The karumantaram ceremonies are performed on the sixteenth day, a Brahman priest being called in. On the return home from these ceremonies, each member of the party has to dip his toe into a mortar full of cowdung-water, and the last man has to knock it down.

Tottiyans.

The Tottiyans are chiefly found in the four western taluks of the district. They speak Telugu much mixed with Canarese. They say that they are immigrants from north of the Tungabhadra (which would account for the mixture of Canarese in their talk) and that they left the country in order to avoid the vengeance of the Musalmans, who were angry because they had promised one of their girls in marriage to a Musalman and then broken their promise. To this day the Muhammadans of this district and the Tottiyans address each other as if they were relations, and (see p. 79) are on terms of unusual intimacy, and both of them explain this as being due to this promised marriage. The Tottiyans have similar relations with the Malaiyalis (see p. 124), supported by a similar story. The Tottiyans are mostly cultivators and are known for their uncanny devotion to sorcery and witchcraft. All of them are supposed to have unholy powers,

16
 
-----------------------------------122-----------------------------------

TRICHINOPOLY

CHAP. III

PRINCIPAL CASTES.

especially the Black Golla subdivision referred to below, and they are much dreaded by their neighbours.

They do not allow any stranger to enter their villages with shoes on, or on horseback, or holding up an umbrella, lest their god should be offended, and it is generally believed that if any one breaks this rule he will be visited with illness or some other punishment. The general title of the caste is Nayakkan.

The Tottiyans do not recognize the superiority of Brahmans, nor employ them as priests for marriages or funerals, nor worship either the Brahmanical gods or the lesser deities with any fervour. They are however deeply devoted to their own caste deities. Some of these are Bommakka and Mallamma (the spirits of women who committed sati long ago), Pattalamma (who helped them in their flight from the north), Virakaran or Virarmati (a bridegroom who was killed in a fight with a tiger), and Malai Tambiran, the god of ancestors. Malai Tambiran is worshipped in the meats, thatched roofs without walls in which stand pillars carved with the figures of deceased ancestors and stones representing them. 1 Whenever any one of the caste dies, male or female, young or old, some of the bones are buried in this shed along with a coin, and a stone is planted on the top. The ancestors are worshipped at a great festival every year at Pongal and at a greater festival every ten years. The event is accompanied by bullock races, at which sometimes as many as a thousand animals compete. They are called saligai bullocks.

Three endogamous subdivisions exist in the caste; namely, the Erra Gollas (Red Gollas) or Pedda Inti ( big family '), the Nallal Gollas (Black Gollas) or Chinna Inti (small family), and the Valus, who are also called Kudukuduppai Tottiyans. The majority of the caste in this district are said to belong to the first two divisions. The Valus are said to be a restless class of beggars and sorcerers. The Red Gollas appear to be found chiefly in Karur and Namakkal, and the Black Gollas in Musiri and Kulittalai. The men of the two main subdivisions eat together, but not the women. The Red Gollas are as a rule fairer than the Blacks (whence perhaps the names) ; the women of the former wear white cloths, while the latter do not ; the Red women carry no emblem of marriage at all, while the Black women wear the bottu.  Both sections have exogamous subdivisions, called kambalams, the Reds fourteen and the Blacks nine. The names of the Red divisions are generally given as Errachevi, Pali, Busadu,

(Footnote: 1 Photographs of one of these will he found in Mr. E. Thurstons Ethnographic Notes in Southern India (Madras, 1906).)

-----------------------------------123-----------------------------------

THE PEOPLE.

CHAP. III

PRINCIPAL CASTES

Malladu or Manni, Gavudu or Kondi, Reva, Udumu, Karidi, Gundeka, Silava, Kali, Suraka, Soli and Sugga ; but local variations occur. Four of the Black kambalams are Palalasiddhu, Guji-bomma, Kodagani-bomma, and Virrigarlu. For purposes of caste discipline, the Reds are divided into nine nadus, and the Blacks into fourteen mandais. Each village is under a headman called the ar-nayakkan, and each nadu or mandai under a pattak-karan. The former decide potty disputes and the latter the more serious cases. The pattakkaran is treated with great deference. He is always saluted with clasped hands, ought never to look on a corpse, and is said to be allowed to consort with any married woman of the caste.

The Tottiyans very commonly marry a young boy to a grown woman, and, as among the Konga Vellalans, the boys father takes the duties of a husband upon himself until the boy is grown up. Married women are allowed to bestow their favours upon their husbands' near relations, and it is said to be an understood thing that a man should not enter his dwelling if he sees another's slippers placed outside as a sign that the owner of them is with the mistress of the house. Intercourse with a man of another caste is however punished by expulsion, and widows and unmarried girls who go astray are severely dealt with. Formerly, it is said, they were killed. The Reds allow their widows to re-marry, but not the Blacks.

The Tottiyans have their own special beggar caste, who are known as Urimbaikkarans because they play on a wind instrument called urimbai at the caste festivals. A. class of Mudavandis (lame beggars) also beg from them and say they are composed (ef. the account of the Konga Vellalans above) of the blind and lamp children of the caste.

Malaiyalis.

The Malaiyalis (hill men) are inhabitants of the Pachaimalais and the Kollaimalais. The two communities have a common legend about their origin, and claim a common ancestry. Their traditions are embodied in a collection of songs (nattu-kattu) which are well known to all of them. The story goes that they are descended from a priest of Conjeeveram, who was the brother of the king there, quarrelled with the latter, left the place and entered this country with his throe sons and daughters. The country was then ruled by Vedans and Vellalans, who resisted the new-comers, but the conch-shell blew and the quoit cut, and the invaders won the day. They then spread themselves about

(Footnote: 1 An interesting description of the ways of this caste on the Shevaroys is given by Mr. Edgar Thurston in Madras Museum Bulletin II, 3.).
-----------------------------------124-----------------------------------

CHAP. III.

PRINCIPAL CASTES.

TRICHINOPOLY.

CHAP. III.

PRINCIPAL CASTES.

the hills, the eldest son (Periyannan), whose name was Sadaya Kavundan, selecting the Shevaroys in Salem, the second son (Naduvannan, the middle brother) the Pachaimalais, and the youngest (Chinnannan) the Kollaimalais. They married women of the country, Periyannan a Kaikolan, Naduvannan a Vedan, and Chinnannan a Deva Indra Pallan. Their sister they gave in marriage to a Tottiyan stranger, in exchange for some food supplied by him after their battle With the men of the country. Some curious customs survive which are pointed to in support of this story. Thus the women of the Pachaimalai Malaiyalis put aside a portion of each meal in honour of their Vedan ancestors before serving their husbands, and at their marriages they wear a comb, which is said to have been a characteristic ornament of the Vedans. Bridegrooms place a sword and an arrow in the marriage booth, to typify the hunting habits of the Vedans and their own conquest of the country. The Malaiyalis of the Kollaimalais are addressed by Pallan women as brother-in-law (macchan), though the Malaiyalis do not relish this. It is also said that Tottiyan men regard Malaiyalis as their brothers-in-law and always treat them kindly, and that the Tottiyan women regard the Malaiyalis as their brothers but treat them very coldly, in remembrance of their having sold their sister for a mess of pottage. Though there are difficulties about accepting even the broad lines of their story, there seems to be no doubt that they are a Tamil-speaking people who migrated from the plains to the hills (perhaps driven out by seine oppression) at a comparatively recent date.

The Malaiyalis of the two ranges will not intermarry, but have no objection to eating together. Each recognizes exogamous subdivisions or kulams ; those of the Pachaimalais are the Tanadi, Vandayan, Semburan, Navidaya, Kalla, Kikkidaya, Nevidaya, and Kurichidava and others; and those of the Kollaimalais the Sembolan, Selumbi, Kolappandi, Ambalam, Valangai, Soludaiyan, Kumai-pittan, Sakkiratti, etc Some of the latter divisions (e.g., the Kalavis and the Soludaiyans) regard each other as cousins and do not intermarry.

For purposes of caste discipline, the villages of both subdivisions are grouped into madus. Thus the Malaiyalis of the Pachaimalais are divided into the Vennadu, Tenbaranadu and Attinadu (the last of which is in Salem district), and those on the Kollaimalais in the Namakkal taluk into the nadus of Gundur, Ariyur, Valavandi, Valappur, Selur, Tinnanur and Devanur. There are also eight nadus in the Attur Kollaimalais, with which we are not concerned. Each nadu contains some 20 or 30 villages. Each village has a headman called on the Pachaimalais muppan
 
-----------------------------------125-----------------------------------

THE PEOPLE.

CHAP. III

PRINCIPAL CASTES

and on the Kollaimalais ur-kavandan or kutti-maniyam. Again in the Pachaimalais every five or ten villages make up a sittambalam over which is a kavundan, and each nadu is ruled by a periya kavandan or dorai. In the Kollaimalais there are no sittambalams, but the nadu there is also presided over by a periya kavundan sometimes called a sadi kavundan. Again on the Kollaimalais the first four nadus are grouped into one pattam under the pattakkaran of Valappur, and the other three into another under the pattakkaran of Sakkiratti in the Selur nadu. The nadu headmen on the Pachaimalais also do duty as pattakkarans. All these appointments are hereditary, but the incumbents can be dismissed by the pattakkarans for cause shown. Petty disputes are decided by the village headmen, and matrimonial disputes are sent up to his superior. The pattakkaran is only occasionally called in. The pattakkarans permission has to be obtained before a marriage can take place, but on the Kollaimalais he deputes this power to the sadi kavandan. The pattakkarans on both ranges have recognized privileges, such as the right to ride on horseback and use umbrellas, which are denied to the commonfolk. Any one who meets them prostrates, and is answered by the blessing may you flourish like a great king. In the Pachaimalais every member of the family of the pattakkaran enjoys these privileges, while on the Kollaimalais it is only the pattakkaran himself who does so. The Malaiyalis do not eat with any other caste, but will take separate meals from all Sudra castes with whom they come in contact, such as the Udaiyans, Reddis, Tottiyans, Pallis, and Vellalans. Paraiyans and Pallans accept the same hospitality from the Malaiyalis, only outside the house. They generally live by cultivation, and are quiet and rather timid folk who are often victimized, owing to their simplicity, by traders. They eat flesh, including squirrels and black monkeys ; profess to abstain from alcohol ; but are great smokers. They respect Brahmans, but do not employ them as priests.

They profess either the Saivite or Vaishnavite faith in much the same vague way as other castes of similar social standing. They recognize the sanctity of the large Vishnu temple at Srirangam and of the Siva temple at Arappalisvaran-kovil on the Kollaimalais, to the festival at which latter in Adi (July-August) the Malaiyalis of all three divisions flock, and in every village is a temple or image of Perumal (Vishnu). Kali is also commonly worshipped, but the Malaiyalis do not connect her with Siva. Almost every village further contains temples to Mariyayi, the goddess of cholera, and to the village goddess Pidari. In the Kollaimalais Kali is also looked upon as a village goddess, but she
 
-----------------------------------126-----------------------------------

TRICHINOPOLY.

CHAP. III.

PRINCIPAL CASTES.

has no attendant Karuppans, nor is she worshipped by shedding blood. Pidari is often called Mannu-Pidari on the Pachaimalais, and is represented by a heap of mud. At midnight a sheep and some cooked rice are taken to this, a man cleaning the pathway to the temple by dragging a bunch of leaves. The sheep is killed, and its lungs are placed on the heap. On the Kollaimalais two other goddesses, Nachi and Kongalayi, are commonly worshipped. At the worship of the former perfect silence must be observed, and women are not allowed to be in the village at the time. It is supposed that if any one speaks during the ceremony, he will be stung by bees or insects. The goddess has no image, but she is supposed to appear from the surface of the ground and to glitter like the comb of a cock. Kongalayi has an image, and her worship is accompanied by music. All these goddesses are worshipped every year before the ground is cultivated. All the Malaiyalis worship pattavans like the people of the plains, but on the Kollaimalais, instead of thinking that these are people who have died a violent death, they say they are virtuous men and good sportsmen who have lived to a good old age. The test of the apotheosis of such a one is that his castemen should have a successful day's sport on some day that they have set aside in his honour. They sometimes offer regular sacrifices to the pattavans, but more usually offer them the head of any game they shoot.

On the Kollaimalais holy (tamatam) bulls dedicated to the Srirangam temple are taken round with drums on their backs by men with feathers stuck in their hair and alms are collected. When these animals die, they are buried and an alari tree is planted over the grave. This practice is however confined to Vaishnavites, and to a few families. Saivites set free bulls in honour of the Arappalisvaran god. These bulls are of a good class, and the practice improves the local breed of cattle.

The Malaiyali houses are built of tattis of split bamboo, and roofed with jungle grass. The use of tiles or bricks is believed to excite the anger of the gods. The Kollaimalai houses seem always to have a loft inside, approached by a ladder. The eaves project greatly, so as almost to touch the ground. In the pials a hole is made to pen fowls in. On the tops of the houses tufts of jungle grass and rags are placed to keep off owls and the ill-omened kottan bird. The villages are surrounded with a fence to keep the village pigs from destroying the crops outside. At home, the men only wear a piece-cloth, but when they visit the plains they wear an upper cloth and a blanket. The Pachaimalai women wear the Kusavam in their cloths on the right side, but do not cover the breast. The Kollaimalai women do not wear any
 
-----------------------------------127-----------------------------------

THE PEOPLE.

CHAP. III

PRINCIPAL CASTES.

kusavam, but carefully cover their breasts, especially when at work outside the village site, for fear of displeasing the gods. Both wear either the tali or the bottu as emblematic of marriage, but on the Pachaimalais the women are not particular about always putting these on. A woman who has been married more than once wears a tali for each husband. The Pachaimalai people tattoo, but the custom is anathema on the Kollaimalais, where the Malaiyalis will not allow a tattooed person into their houses for fear of offending their gods.

All Malaiyalis are keen sportsmen, and they complain that their fun is spoilt by the forest rules. The Kollaimalai people have a great beat on the first of Ani (June-July), and another on the day of the first sowing of the year. The date of the latter is settled by the headman of each village, and ho alone is allowed to sow seeds on that day, every one else being debarred on pain of punishment from doing any manner of work, and going out to hunt instead. On the Kollaimalais bull-baiting is practised at the time of the Mariyayi festival in Masi (February-March). A number of bulls are taken in front of the goddess one after the other, and while some of the crowd hold the animal with ropes a man in front of it and another behind urge it on to unavailing efforts to get free. When one bull is tired out, another is brought up to take its place.

The Malaiyalis have a good many superstitions of their own, which are apparently different from those of the plains. If they want rain they pelt each other with balls of cowdung, an image of Pillaiyar is buried in a manure pit, and a pig is killed with a kind of spear (marvasi). When the rain comes, the Pillaiyar is dug up again. It is a bad omen if a sembottu bird or a cobra crosses ones path, or to hear the cry of a deer or a lizard on the left. On the other hand it is a good omen to hear a lizard chirp overhead, or to see a quail crossing ones path from left to right, or to come across the remnants of a meal or a used platter or some milk. If a man suffers from headache he sets free a red cock in honour of the sun on a Tuesday. A man who grinds his teeth in his sleep may be broken of the habit by being made to eat some of the, food offered to the village goddess, brought by stealth from her altar. People suffering from small-pox are taken down to the plains and left in some village. Cholera patients are simply abandoned and left to die. Lepers are driven out, without the slightest mercy, to shift for themselves.

The best match for a boy is held to be his maternal uncles daughter. This sometimes results in a young boy marrying a
 
-----------------------------------128-----------------------------------

TRICHINOPOLY

CHAP. III.

PRINCIPAL CASTES.

grown woman, but the Malaiyalis in this district declare that the boys father does not then take over the duties of a husband as Mr. LeFanu, in the Salem Manual, says occurs in the Kalrayans. Unchastity, except with a man outside the caste, is not considered a serious matter. On the Kollaimalais a wife may leave her husband for a paramour, but her husband has a right to the children of such intercourse, and they generally go to him in the end.

A betrothal on the Pachaimalais is effected by the boy's taking an oil bath followed by a bath in hot water in the bride's house ; and watching whether there is any ill omen during the process. On the Kollaimalais the matter is settled by a simple interview. On both ranges the wedding ceremonies last only one day and on the Pachaimalais a Thursday is generally selected. The marriage on the latter range consists in all the relatives present dropping castor oil on to the heads of the pair with a wisp of grass, and then pronouncing a blessing on them. The terms of the blessing are the same as those used by the Konga Vellalans. The boy tics the tali. On the Kollaimalais the girl is formally invited to come and be married by the other partys taking her a sheep and some rice. On the appointed day offerings of a cock and a hen are made to the gods in the houses of both, the girl then comes to the other house, and both of them are garlanded by the leading ryots present. The boy ties the tali, and the couple are then made to walk seven steps and are blessed. The garlands are then thrown into a well, and if they float together it is an omen that the two will love each other.

Both sections bury their dead. Their funerals end with the third or the fifth day, on which cooked rice and meat are offered to the deceased spirit. No anniversary is performed. On the Kollaimalais a gun is fired when the corpse is taken out for burial, and tobacco, cigars, betel and nut, etc. are buried with the body.

Pallans.

The Pallans are one of the great agricultural labourer castes of the Tamil country, and in this district generally till the lauds of others as pannaiyals, or permanent farm servants. They are supposed to be particularly good at paddy cultivation. Their touch, and their entry into the house, conveys pollution to a Sudra. The ordinary barbers and washermen will not work for them, and they are not admitted into the temples. They will accept separate meals from any Sudras except the Komatis and Uppiliyans, but they decline to oat with, and pretend to be polluted by, time Parai-ans and the Chakkiliyans. They pride themselves on their abstinence from beef, which both Paraiyans and Chakkiliyans eat. Some of them, notably those of the Kaladi division who are
 
-----------------------------------129-----------------------------------

THE PEOPLE.

CHAP. III

PRINCIPAL CASTES

numerous in the Trichinopoly taluk, are notorious for their addiction to crime.

Like others of the lowest castes, the Pallans pretend to he of the highest descent. As in Tanjore, they say that they are of the lineage of Indra. They derive their name from pallam, a pit, saying that they were standing on low ground when the castes were originally formed. The word is perhaps connected with the wet cultivation at which they are such experts, which is always carried on in low ground. They have a caste of beggars specially dependent upon them called the Palla-kuttadis (dancers). They say they are split into a very large number of endogamous subdivisions, but are very vague about them. A proverb says it is difficult enough to learn all the different kinds of paddy, but that to master the subdivisions of the Pallans is impossible. Some of these subdivisions are the Devendras, Kadayas or Kottukkaras, Pallan gurus (priests), Pallau barbers and Pallan washermen. These will neither eat nor marry with each other.

The first of them, which is the largest of all, is divided into the Devendras proper and the Kaladis, who do not intermarry but will eat together. All the subdivisions will accept separate meals from the Pallan gurus, and the barbers and washermen will take food from the Devendras and Kadayas.

The Pallans generally have three or more headmen for each village, over whom is the nattu muppan. Each village has also a peon called (as in Tanjore) the odum pillai (the runner) and the main body of the caste, when attending panchayats, is called the ilam katchi, the inexperienced. There is one panchayat for each village, at which all the mappan and the ordinary muppans attend. Between the nattu muppan and the ordinary muppans there is, in the Karur taluk, a pulli muppan. All these offices are hereditary. In Karur taluk a rather different organization, used to regulate the supply of labour to the landholders, is in force. Each of the village, muppans has a number of karais, or sections of the wet land of the village, under him, and he is bound to supply labourers for all the land in his karai, and is remunerated by the landowner with 1 marakkals of grain for every 20 kalams harvested. The nuppans do not work themselves, but they maintain discipline among their men by caste floggings and even expulsion. The landowners deal with their labourers only through them.

Betrothals are ratified by the boys tying a necklace (karai or parisamani) round the neck of the girl. Marriage ceremonies resemble generally those of the Kallans of Trichinopoly taluk and Tanjore. In some places the boy is required to steal something from the brides house when they return home after the marriage,
17.



-----------------------------------130----------------------------------- 

TRICHINOPOLY.

CHAP. III.

PRINCIPAL CASTES

and the other party has to repay the compliment on some future oocasion. The re-marriage of widows and divorced women is permitted.

After a funeral, each member of the party has to dip his toes in a pot of eowdung-water before re-entering the house. On the third day the mourners chew fish and betel, and spit them into a pot of water. This is supposed to show that their mourning is cast away from tliem and at an end. They perform no kanimdntaram as a rule, nor any anniversary ceremonies in memory of the dead.

Paraiyans.

The Paraiyans are the other great agricultural labourer caste of the Tamil country, and are also generally pannaiyals. The Cholaya subdivision weaves coarse cloths, and any of the caste will beat drums at the marriages and funerals of other communities. Their name has in consequence been supposed to be derived from the word parai, a drum. They are a beef-eating and a polluting caste, standing a fraction below the Pallans in the social scale. Like the Pallans, they look down upon the Chakkiliyans, but the compliment is returned with interest, and the Paraiyans and Pallans each treat the other with much scorn. The former will not however accept separate meals from a Kammdlan, which the Pallans, being also of the left-hand faction,1 will do. They have no caste barbers, as the Pallans have, but shave each other. They have two special beggar castes, namely the Para-tombans, and the Para-kuttadis.

They have a very exalted account of their lineage, saying that they are descended from the Brdhman priest Sala Sdmbavan, who was employed in a Siva temple to worship the god with offerings of beef, but who incurred the anger of the god by one day concealing a portion of the meat to give it to his pregnant wife, and was therefore turned into a Paraiyan. The god appointed his brother to do duty instead of him, and the Paraiyans say that Brahman priests are their cousins. For this reason they wear a sacred
thread at their marriages and fuuorals. At the festival of the village goddesses they repeat a verse of extravagant praise of their caate, which says ' The Paraiyans were the first creation, the first who wore the sacred thread, tho uppermost in the social scale, the differentiators of castes, the winners of laurels. They have been seated on the white elephant, the Vira Sdmbavans, who beat the victorious drum.' It is a curious fact that at the feast of the village goddesses a Paraiyan is honoured by being invested with a Baered thread for the occasion by the pujdri of the temple, and by having a saffron thread tied to his wrists and being allowed to

(Footnote : 1 See above, p. 92.)

-----------------------------------131-----------------------------------

THE PEOPLE.

CHAP. III.

PRINCIPAL CASTES

head tho procession. The Paraiyans say this is owing to their exalted origin,1 and tho other castes liavo no explanation to offer.

Like tho Pallans, the Paraiyans recite a long list of endogamoas divisions. Among these are the Choliyas ('of tho Chola country ') or Koliyas, the Sangudus or Kongas (' men of the Kongii country '), the Kattus, the Tangalans or Aiyas, the Valluvans and the washermen. The Valluvans arc the priests of the caste, and they and the washermen are naturally found in small communities wherever there are Paraiyans. At Musiri the Paraiyans are nearly all Choliyas, in Karur and Namakkal mainly Kongas. There are some minor differences in the customs of the various divisions. Thus the Choliyas and the Valluvaus are the only ones who do not allow tho re-marriage of widows ; the Konga
women can be recognized by their wearing a number of glass bangles and a bangle of shells on the left wrist, but nothing on the right wrist at all ; the Valluvans, being the caste priests, always wear the sacred thread ; being astrologers, they are often consulted by members of the higher castes ; and they are the only section of the caste which abstains from eating beef. No intermarriage and no mutual hospitality is practised between these divisions, except that all of them will accept separate meals from the Valluvaus, and that tho washermen will take food from any of the other subdivisions.

Paraiyan caste organization is confined to the village, and consists generally of a headman and a peon. The headman is variously called the nakka Paraiyan, the  periyan the periyatanakkaran or the muppan ; and tho peon is called the tangalan or the salavadi.

The betrothal of a girl is generally effected by the bridegroom's party putting sandal on her forehead. In places the method of betrothing a new-born girl by sprinkling water over her and applying a cloth dipped in cowdung-watcr to her navel is recognized. Marriages generally take place in the boy's house, and the ceremonies are usually the same as those of the Stidra castes. When a wife is divorced she has to give her idli back to her husband, or to give him a thread of her cloth, which he cuts off with his own hand in token of the dissolution of their marriage.

On the first day of their funerals the chief mourner is not allowed any salt in his food. On the third day the mourners, as among the Pallans, have to chew fish and betel-leaf and to spit into a pot of rice-water. The funeral is not concluded till the sixteenth day, when a feast occurs at which the chief mourner is solemnly fed first.

(Footnote : 1 Of Caldwell's Comparative grammar of the Dravidian langauges (London, 1876), pp. 540 ff.)

-----------------------------------132-----------------------------------

TRICHINOPOLY

CHAPTER IV.

AGRICULTURE AND IRRIGATION.

WET CULTIVATIONThe crops grownPaddy ; its varietiesUnirrigated paddy Irrigated paddy ; the season for itSowing versus transplantingCultivation of sown paddyPeed-bedsCultivation methodsRotation of wet crops ^PlantainsBetel. Dut CultivationCrops grownSeasons Rotations and mixed sowingCultivationImplements and manuresSuperstitious maximn. IkrigatioxRiver channelsThe Cauvery aniouts and channels Other damsThe irrigation oessFloods and embankmentsTanksWells Projects for improving irrigationNandiydr ProjectOther projects. ECONOMIC SIDE OF AGRICULTURE

CHAP. IV.

WET CULTIVATION

The crops grown.

As in most other districts, the chief irrigated crop in Trichinopoly is paddy. By far the largest extent of this is grown in the Trichinopoly taluk, and next come Musiri, Udaiyarpdlaiyam and Kulittalai. Hardly any others of the irrigated crops are worth detailed mention. Plantains are grown chiefly in Trichinopoly, hut to some extent in all the other taluks except Peramhalur and Udaiydrpdlaiyani ; sugar-cane on a small area ; and a little turmeric and betel.

Paddy ; its Varieties.

The different species of paddy are proverbially numerous, and the list of the kinds grown in this district is a long one. The ryots class them all under the two main genera of samba and kar, the former of which generally take some five or six months to mature, and the latter some three or four ; but there are minor kinds in each genus which almost belong to the other. The kar genus is subdivided into the major species of kdr and kuruvai, and the samba genus into the samba, rdlan, pisdnam and vangi species.
Each of these species is further divided into a number of subspecies. The most popular varieties are the vellat and mattai kars and the sadai and 'pun sambds ; the best at resisting floods is the t'iUai-kottai or aembdlai ; the most prolific is perhaps the sadai samba ', while the Ncllore and the milahu sambds fetch the highest price. The kar varieties arc generally considered unwholesome, and arc therefore generally less valuable than the samhd, the difference in price varying from four to eight annas per kalam. The kar gorts are generally sown broadcast instead of being transplanted.

In the Udaiydrpalaiyam taluk paddy is very commonly grown as a dry crop, without the aid of any water wahatever. This is also done in the southern firkae of Kulittalai, on the tank-beds in

-----------------------------------133-----------------------------------

AGRICULTURE AND IRRIGATION.

CHAP. IV.

WET CULTIVATION

Unirrigated Paddy

tho east of Porambalur and bj the sides of jungle streams in Namakkal, It is not possible to genoralizc about the kinds of paddy cultivated in thin manner, except tliat a slowly-maturing variety seems usually to be chosen. In Udaiyarpalaiyam the ryots seem to cultivate all the slowly-maturing local varieties in this way. The land is ploughed deeply  some time in Chittrai (April-May) after the early showers, and this is repeated from two to six times, the process ordinarily taking about two months. Intervals are observed between the ploughings, so as to kill the weeds, ' cool the subsoil,' and allow tho clods to weather. Sheep and cattle are penned on the land meanwhile, and cattle-dung, ashes and tank silt are spread on it. Tho seed is sown broadcast without preliminary soaking when the first rains fall in Adi (July- August). In Perambalur the seed is mixed with cambu in the proportion of two to one. In Udaiyarpdlaiyara the field is twice ploughed lightly just after sowing. Two weedings (and sometimes three) are done with a kalaikotiu, or hand-weeder, a month after sowing and again a month or six w-ceks 'later. In Udaiyarpalaiyara weeding is done with a harrow consisting of a
plank fitted with iron teeth and fixed to a plough. This is called a pallu-kalappai, or ' toothed plough.'

Irrigated paddy : the season for it.

In the case of irrigated paddy, sowing is done at different seasons in different pai-ts of the district. Usually only one crop is cultivated each year. This is of the samba genus and is generally sown in Adi (July- August) and harvested in Tai (January-February). In the neighbourhood of Turaiyur it is put down a month or two later. In parts of Trichinopoly and in the uplands of Musiri and Namakkal, the ryots grow a kdr or kuruvai crop in what they call the Chittrai kdldvadi ^ (April-June) and a crop of the samba varieties in Purattasi (September-October). These are in fact the ordinary early and late seasons which are called in other districts kdr and pkdnmn or kuruvai and samhd. A more usual way of getting two crops is to grow two short varieties of paddy, the first in Ani (June-July) and the second in Kartigai (November-December). These seasons are called respectively the indri (rainy) and the kodai (summer) seasons, from the time at which the crops aro respectively harvested ; and the crops, which are generally of the kar genus, are called after the seasonsthe first mdrikkdr, and the second kodaikkdr. Sometimes a sambd crop is grown instead of the kndatkkdr, and thus the system erges into the ordinary scheme of kdr and pisdnam seasons. Under the 

(Footnote: 1 The local proverb says ' Plough deep, even if it is ouly half a kuli.'
2 Kolavadi means ' limitation,' and hence season. The Chittrai kolavadi begins at the end of Chittrai (April-May).)

-----------------------------------134-----------------------------------

TRICHINOPOLY

CHAPTER IV.

WET CULTIVATION

Cauveiy channels in the Kiilittalai and Musiri taluks the ryots cultivate two slowly-maturing crops of the samba genus, known respectively (from the species generally grown) as the valan and the samba crops respectivey The first is grown in Masi (February-March) and the second in Adi (July- August). In the land watered hy the Cauvery in Trichinopoly, Karur and Namakkal, the rvots have a regular scheme of five paddy crops which last for two years. A kuruvai or kar crop in Vaikasi (May-June) of the first year is followed in Purattasi (September-October) by samba, and in the following Masi (February-March) by a valan crop, by another 'kdr or kuruvai season in June, and by
samba again in Purattasi (September-October). In Namakkal they vary this arrangement by using a shorter manakkattai crop instead of the six months' vdlan. Finally in Perambalur, they grow a long sambd crop in Adi (July-August), and a short crop known as mdnavdri in the following Tai (January-February). They have much the same system in the padugai land along the banks of the Cauvery in Karur.

Wherever the ryots grow only one wet crop, they seem also to follow it by a dry crop, giugelly being the ordinary staple chosen. It is sometimes mixed with indigo. Ragi, cholam and cambu are also used in this way in Trichinopoly, Pcrambalur and Namakkal This system is not so common in Karur and Udaiyarpalaiyam as elsewhere ; and in the neighbourhood of Turaiyur the process is reversed, the dry crop being grown in May or June and the paddy in the following October or November. Sometimes a dry crop is raised both before and after the single paddy crop. This is the case in Perambaltir, for example, where the wells are particularly good. In the Trichinopoly taluk, even where they grow two paddy crops, the ryots follow them up by a crop of vayalpayaru (a kind of green gram) either by itself or (occasionally) mixed with indigo. This is grown some time in March or April.

Sowing versus transplanting.

Imgatcd paddy is cither sown broadcast or transplanted. The quickly-maturiug kdr and kuruvai varieties are generally -sown, while the sambd kinds are sown in high land and transplanted in low land which is liable to submersion or is water logged. At Parambalur the ryots say that they always prefer to sow if there is sufficient water at the proper time ; at Turaiylir they say they sow on good land and transplant on bad, because the latter requires strong seedlings to make up for the inferiority of the soil ; but in Namakkal exactly the opposite theory is held by the ryots, who say that seedlings transplanted into poor land take root with difficulty and rarely tlirivc, while paddy sown on
good land runs too much to leaf to give a good outturn ; and they

-----------------------------------135-----------------------------------

AGRICULTURE AND IRRIGATION.

CHAP. IV.

WET CULTIVATION

Cultivation of sown paddy.

think that seedlings need good land to make up for the cramping they have undergone in the crowded nursery.

When paddy is sown broadcast, the preparation of the field follows the usual system, the land being ploughed and manured, and levelled with the mamutti or hoe and the parambu, or plank drawn by oxen. The seed is then well soaked and sown. Directly after sowing half an inch or an inch of water is let into the field, and is drained off on the following day by little channels {tondikkals) dug all round the field. On the third day after sowing a little water (' as deep as the skin on boiled milk ') is admitted into the field and drained off at once. This is done every day for a week. In Ndmakkal this latter process does not begin till the surface dries and cracks (' largo enough to admit a crow's leg ') form, and it is continued for a fortnight. For the next month half an inch of water is allowed in the field, and after that the water is gradually increased till the depth ultimately reaches one span. Its depth is never allowed to exceed that limit, and just before the ears appear the field is drained and no more water is allowed on it at all. Meanwhile, when the crop is between six and eight weeks old, the inequalities due to sowing are removed by transplanting some of the seedlings from the over-crowded parts of the field into the bare patches.

Seed-beds.

The ordinary method in which seedlings are prepared for transplantation is what is called the setiu ndltu (' mud seedling ') system. In some few parts of the Ldlgudi divi.ion and of the Perambalur taluk, the vara or puludt ndttu (' dust seedling ') system is employed. The main difference between the two is that in the former the nursery is well soaked before ploughing, and the seed is well soaked before sowing, while in the latter the bed is ploughed and the seed is sown without wetting. Moreover much less water is admitted into the nursery in the puludi nattu method than in the other.

Two systems of soaking the seed before sowiug are employed, and are called respectively the ' second kombu ' and the 'third kombu^ methods. Asa rule, the first of these consists in soaking the seed for twelve hours and then leaving it to dry for eighteen ; while tho second provides for soaking it for 24 hours and allowing it to dry for twelve. The latter hurries on the germination, and if a cultivator misses the proper season he often uses it in order to ena'ile him to make up for lost time. It is, however, declared to have a bad effect on the crop, rendering it less capable of standing immersion or excess of water. In Namakal, Karur and Perambalur the methods of soaking differ slightly from both of these.

-----------------------------------136-----------------------------------

TRICHINOPOLY

CHAPTER IV.

WET CULTIVATION

Cultivation methods.

The preparation of the field to receive the seedlings follows much the usual steps. But in fields under the Canvery the manure is not applied after the first levelling, as  elsewhere, for fear it should be washed away hy the first floodings. These are very copious, so that as much as possible of the fertile river-silt may be deposited, and the ridges between the fields are unusually low in this district, so that manure put on too early would be washed away.

The seedlings are planted out farther apart than in some districts^ Several local sayings emphasize the importance of this. One says ' Planting closely beautifies the crop, but planting far apart beautifies the paddy.' Another says ' Seedlings should be planted so as to let a crab pass between them '. No water is allowed into the field for a week or a fortnight after transplanting, until the seedlings show, by turning a dark green, that they have recovered from theLr move. The mauures used when the field is ploughed are of the ordinary kinds. As a rule no manure is applied to the standing crops, but in Trichinopoly, Karur and Perambalur the ryots often throw cow-dang, ashes, indigo-refuse, sweepings or oil -cake over the crop as it stands. Tho ryots say that rain should fall between the time when, as already described, the bare patches are filled up from the over-crowded parts of the field and the time when the ears are formed. The saying is : ' The crop which has not been rained upon is like a child which has not seen its mother's face.' But they strongly object to rain either when the ears are forming or on the day of transplanting. And they think that a light drizzle (i/si tidtal or ' needle drizzle ') on a sunny day is likely to generate a particular kind of worm called the usi pulu or ' needle worm.' The preparation of the field for a second crop is done in a more perfunctory manner. When a dry crop follows paddy, it is usual to let the field dry completely first, and then to Hood it anew to thc^ requisite degree. Vayalpayaru, however, is sown (either by itaelf or mixed with indigo) among the paddy before this is harvested, and is left (without manure, water or ploughing) to mature of itself. The dew of the cold weather is .said to provide all the moisture it requires.

Rotation of wet crops.

The ryots appear to have no objection to giowing paddy year after year on the same pieee of land, but they endeavour to give the land a kind of rest by changing every year the variety of paddy cultivated. New varieties, such as the popular ' Nelloro samba,' have even been imported from distant places for this purpose. The rules for rotations are, however, more precise when crops other than paddy are grown, h'or example, after a crop of plantains

-----------------------------------137-----------------------------------

AGRICTILTURE AND IRRIGATION.

CHAP. IV.

WET CULTIVATION

which remains three years on the ground, a field should bo cultivated with paddy for three years before plantains are grown again. Betel, which also remains on the ground three years, must, not be cultivated again on the same field till paddy has been grown there two years at least. Another plan is to follow betel with one paddy crop, and then give the ground a turn of sugar-cane. Sugar-cane is not ordinarily allowed to remain on the ground for more than one year in this district. It is then followed by paddy
for at least three, and sometimes for four or five, years. Turmeric also necessitates an interval of paddy before it can be grown again. It is itself a one year's crop and has to be followed by paddy for at least two years.

Plantains,

A large number of varieties of plantains are grown in this district. The commonest are rastali, mondan, Iadan or kali, peyam or mada valai, puvan and raja-valai. The rastali is far the most commonly grown, and is largely exported. It is a large, round, plump fruit with a soft skin. The mondan is longer, and has a squarer section ; possesses a thick skin, to which parts of the pulp adhere when the. fruit is peeled ; and is cooked, and not eaten raw. It is subdivided into the minor species of pani, sambrani, nalIa, vibudi, nendira and the Erode or natangi mondan. These do not differ much. The first of them is the smallest and whitest, the third is the largest, and the last has one end bigger than the other. The Iddan or kali kind is smaller and thinner than either the rastali or the mondan^ but in shape is rather like the latter. Its skin is thicker than that of the rastdli but thinner than that of the mondan. Minor species of it, called pachai (green), sevval (red) and koranyu (monkey) are distinguished. The first two take their 
names from a faint tinge of colour which characterizes them. The third is the smallest of the three, but is said to be excellent eating. The peyon plantain has a still smaller fruit, and the plant itself is distinguishable by its stout, tall trunks, and its large, thick leaves. The fruit is squai'e in section and is much used for medicinal purposes. The puvan is a very prolific variety. Its fruit is like that of the peyan., only round ; it is sour in taste and is considered useful as a digestivt? after meals. The rdjd-vdlaiis of the same size as the rastdli, but the fruit- is distinguishable by its pointed ends. It is far the most delicious of all the varieties of plantain grown in the district, and is generally planted in betel gardens.

Plantain cultivation is generally begun in March or April. The young shoots growing up round the roots of old trees are taken and planted in rows at the rate of 800 or 900 to the acre. These are well manured and watered, and soon after planting the field is divided into plots by trenches {yidangus) a foot and a half 

18

-----------------------------------138-----------------------------------

TRICHINOPOLY

CHAPTER IV.

WET CULTIVATION

deep for the irrigation water to stand in, the excavated mud being spread evenly over the plots. In the third month after transplantation the foot of the stem of the plant is that the layers of bark may not split off it, and this process isbound round so that the layers of bark may not split off it, and this process is repeated at least twice before the first harvest. As the bunches of plantains form they are covered with leaves so as to keep the Sim off them. The first harvest takes place fifteen or eighteen months after planting, and two other crops are cut some ten and twenty months, respectively, later.

The profits of the crop are considerable. A garden an acre in extent will yield, it is said, 60,000 plantains in the first year and 40,000 in each of the two succeeding years, or 140,000 altogether. The first year's fruit will sell for Rs, 2-8-0 a thousand, and that of the next two years, being rather inferior, at Rs. 1-14-0 a thousand. This gives a gross profit of Rs. 300 for the three years ; and, taking the expenses of cultivation at Es. 70 for the whole period, a net profit of about Es. 80 a year per acre results.

It is supposed to be a bad sign if the first bunch of fruit appears on the southern side of the plant. It ought to come on the northern side. In the case of cocoanuts the omens are just the reverse, it being a good sign if the fruit] first appears on the south side.

Betel.

The area under betel is not very large, but along the banks of the Cauvery the gardens are conspicuous. Two varieties of the vine are grown ; namely, the white or karpura betel and the black, or good {nalla) betel. The former is rare and is only used medicinally . The season for beginning ciiltivation is January or February. The garden is prepared as soon as tlie first paddy crop has been harvested, being first allowed to dry and then divided into long, narrow plots by ditches a foot wide. In January or February tlie seeds of avitti {Sesbania grandiflora), a very quick-growing tree, are planted all along each aide of the plots to provide something for the vine to climb over, and irrigation begins. About four months later, when the avitti has grown to a fair height, cuttings about two or three feet in length and eighteen months old are taken from some existing betel garden and planted between two lines of the avitti trees. When about three months old, tho young vines are tied to tho avitti sticks, and at the same time their roots are manured. The leaves are first picked vvhen the vines are eighteen months old.

Betel cultivation is generally carried oa by the Kodikkal Vellalans (who take their name from that occupation) and to a smaller extent by Eavuttan Mnhammadaus. In some places, the owner of the land has to give tho lessee a certain amount of

-----------------------------------139-----------------------------------

AGRICTILTURE AND IRRIGATION.

CHAP. IV.

WET CULTIVATION

paddy, and the luttor is required to husk it and officer it to the seven Kannimar or virgin goddesses. Another superstition is that if a Brahman or a Komati enter a betel-garden some harm will befall the garden or its cultivator.

DRY CULTIVATION 

Crops grown.

Of the total area cultivated in the district, about 84 per cent is grown with cereals;6    per cent, with oil-seeds; 6 per cent, with pulses and 2  per cent, with cotton . Cambu, rice and cholam are the favourite cereals, but ragi and varagu also occupy a large area. Cholam is of four kinds and is chiefly grown in Kulittalai, Musiri and Karur, and hardly at all in Udaiyarpdlaiyara ; cambu (five varieties) is popular in Karur, Musiri and Namakkal, but less so in Trichinopoly ; and varagu is most cultivated in Perambalur, Udaiy^rpdlaiyam and Kulittalai. Ragi (two kinds) is fairly evenly distributed among the different taluks. Sdmai, tenai and wheat are also grown to a small extent. Of the oil-seeds, gingelly occupies half the total area grown, while castor and ground-nut cover considerable extents. The latto- profitable crop is rapidly extending in the eastern taluks. Gingelly is most plentiful in Karur and Kulittalai, ground-nut in Udaiyarpalaiyam, and castor in Kulittalai. Of the pulses, the commonest arc horse-gram and
yellow gram, which account for seven-eighths of the area under this head. Green, and black, gram also occur in small quantities. The cotton is nearly all grown in Karur, Namakkal, Perambalur and Musiri. Other crops which cover areas of moderate extent arc chillies, coriander, vegetables, onions, sugar-cane, indigo and tobacco. There is also a considerable acreage under fruit trees.

Seasons

Dry cultivation, as usual, is of two entirely different kinds ; namely, that which depends entirely on rain and is carried out on mdrufvari (rain-fed) land, and that under wells on garden (toitam) land. For the cultivation of indnavdri land two seasons are recognized, of which the first (Adi pattani) lasts from May to September, and the second (Purattasi paitam) from September to November. As a rule, the only crop grown in the second is horse-gram. Even this cannot be raised after the rain of the north-east monsoon is over.

The crops usually cultivated on garden land are ragi, cholam, chillies and cambu, with, very occasionally, varagu. All these (except chillies) are of course largely grown on mdnavdri land also. The seasons for garden cultivation differ considerably in different taluks. Thus ragi is sown in May in Karur and Perambalur ; in September or October in Udaiydrpdlaiyam ; and cither in June- July or January -February in Namakkal. Similarly cholam is sown in February or March in Perambalur ; and at any time

-----------------------------------140-----------------------------------

TRICHINOPOLY

CHAPTER IV.

DRY CULTIVATION

between February and May in Karur. Cambu seems to be grown at any time between April and July.

Most of the dry crops are on the ground for three or four months. Cotton takes over six months to mature, varagu of different kinds from four to eight months and groimd-nut, castor, chillies and yellow gram eight or nine months.

On manavari land only one crop is usually grown in the year. On garden land the ryots generally raise two.

Rotations and mixed sowing.

The ryots recognize the advantages of rotation (' changing the leg,' as they call it), but in practice they do not take any particular trouble to secure them except, perhaps, in Namakkal and Udaiyarpalaiyam. In the former of these they say that a cambu or varagu crop should not be repeated till after an interval of two years, and in Udaiyarpalaiyam they consider that a field cultivated with varagu should be left fallow for a year before either varagu or horse-gram is grown on it ; that ragi and cambu do well in alternate years ; and that when cambu is grown on the same field year after year it should be mixed with other crops, which should be different each year. It is everywhere iisual in manavari cultivation, and is occasionally the practice in garden cultivation to grow mixed crops in the same field, and this no doubt to some extent takes the place of a regular rotation. The reasons given by the ryots for the practice of mixing crops are firstly that, whatever the character of the season may be, it will almost certainly suit one or other of the crops in the mixture, secondly that they need a number of different grains for household consumption, and thirdly that if a quick-growing and a slowly-maturing crop are mixed, space is economized, since the former is off the ground before the latter has began to spread. This last reason is more intelligible than the other two. Common mixtures are ragi with sdmai,tcnai, black gram or green gram ; cambu with ground-nut, indigo or yellow gram ; cholam with gingelly ; and gingelly with yellow gram ; thus exhausting crops are often mixed with those which collect nitrogen.

Cultivation.

The cultivation of both ordinary dry land and land under wells follows the same system as else whore in the southern districts , and need not be described in detail. On the Kollaimalais and Pachaimalais a method called punalkddu is adopted in the case of land covered with jungle. This resembles the kondu pudo cultivation in the agencies of the Northern Circars and the humeri of the west coast, and consists in cutting down (in April) all the trees and bushes on the spot scloctcrl, spreading them evenly over the land, bui-ning them in May, and sowing the seed in the ashes (without ploughing) with the rains of June or July.

-----------------------------------141-----------------------------------

AGRICULTURE AND IRRIGATION. 

CHAP. IV.

DRY CULTIVATION.

The crops ordinarily grown in this manner are tenai, samai, cambu, yellow gram, mochai (a kind of bean) and castor. The last two are dibbled into the ground and not sown. The field is weeded once a month after the sowing. After two or three years' cropping the clearing is abandoned for twelve years until it is again covered with coppice-growth, when the process is repeated.

The extension of forest reservation has much restricted the area in which this primitive system is possible.

Implements and manures.

The agricultural implements used in the district are of the simplest character. Iron ploughs are almost unknown, the ordinary rude, wooden, pattern being universally employed. Seed-drills are also unknown. For covering the seed after it is sown on dry land, planks (parambu or palogai) or a leafy branch (Mai) are used. For carrying soil from one part of a field to another the ryots use a kind of sled called matto-polayai. The hand-weeder (kalaikottu) is a small iron pick with a broad point and a wooden handle. In Udaiyarpalaiyam taluk weeding is often done with a kind of harrow called pallor-kalappai ( toothed plough ') consisting of a plank fitted with iron teeth which is fixed to a plough. Besides the above the only tools employed are the usual big hoe called the mamutti, the pickaxe (kodali), crow-bar (parai), the sickle (katli), and the pruning knife (koduval).

The use of manure seems to have much increased during the last quarter of a century. Writing in 1879, Mr. C. Benson said that the amount of manure then used on irrigated land was very small. Nowadays manuring is the rule in the ease of all wet fields except these which are near enough to the Cauvery to be fertilized by the silt of that river, and is almost invariable in the case of dry land. The manures employed are of the usual kinds : Cattle, goats and sheep are penned on the fields ; the dung of these animals and of pigs is collected and applied ; and green leaves, ashes and refuse are utilized. Green-manuring is especially popular. The favourite leaves are these of the kotinji, or wild indigo, which are carted in great quantities from the Coimbatore and Salem districts, and of the avaram shrub and the vadanarayana and portia, trees. In. Perambalur prickly pear is used on dry land, especially for cholam. The leaves are either buried for some time first, or burnt to ashes. Pig-dung is bought from the Oddes (Woddahs), who breed these animals, for plantain gardens. The droppings of ducks are used when two or three years old, the idea being that they are too pungent when fresh. Ducks may often be seen feeding in wet fields when the crops are off the ground, but this is for their benefit rather than that of the field ; and the ryots

-----------------------------------142-----------------------------------

TRICHINOPOLY

CHAP. IV

DRY CULTIVATION.

say they do more harm than good, as they tread the soil into a hard mass. Silt from tanks and soil from other land is a favourite. manure in the uplands (` Even to river soil, a different soil' says the proverb), and in Udaiyarpalaiyamant-hill earth is used. Night-soil (obtained from the municipalities) is used round Trichinopoly and Karur towns; margosa and ground-nut oil-cake for wet cultivation in Trichinopoly and Perambalur taluks ; and indigo refuse in the former.

Superstitions maxims

As elsewhere, the natives of the district have a number of superstitious maxims connected with agriculture. A curious belief is that the state of the sky on certain days in M argali (December-January) is au index of the amount of rain which will fall in each month in the next year. It is supposed that the ' conception (garbottam) of the rain takes place in the sky at this time. The 13   days from the thirteenth afternoon in Margali up to middy on the 27th of that month are divided up among the months of the year. Ani (June-July) is allotted 1   days, the next five months have 2   days each, and the six months from December to June have only one day between them. Then, if the sky is unclouded in the first 1   days of the 13  days in Margali above mentioned, the month Ani will be rainless, as no conception has taken place,' and so with the following days and the months to which they correspond. If, on the other hand, clouds appear, conception has taken place and good rain is portended. Actual rain, however, is a bad omen. The last day of Margali is called the ubaya garbottam (double conception) day, and if clouds appear without rain then, the corning year as a whole will have most favourable seasons.

Another important time for omens, which is eagerly watched both by traders and agriculturists, is the full-moon day in Masi (February-March). The season is called the makhottam, and the omens are judged from the position of the constellation makham relatively to the moon. If it passes to the north of the moon, then paddy will be plentiful, even on the ridges of the fields ' ; if it passes to the south of the moon, then paddy will be scaree; while if the moon passes through the middle of the constellation, then the fortune of the ensuing year will be partly good and partly bad, and the exact proportion of happiness and the reverse will depend on the proportion of the constellation which is seen north and south of the mewl respectively.

The mango and tamarind crops are also supposed to foretell the seasons, a good mango crop portending scareity and a good tamarind crop, prosperity. A great show of blossom on the babul

-----------------------------------143-----------------------------------

AGRICULTURE AND IRRIGATION.

CHAP. IV 

DRY CULTIVATION

trees also indicates a good season. Again, rainfall on the first of Kartigai (November-December), the second of Arpisi (October-November), the fourth of Purattasi (September-October) or the sixth of Avani (August-September) are signs of a good season. The last is especially favourable, and indicates that paddy will even grow on the walls.' Again if the fifth of Adi (July-August) falls on a Wednesday, the country is assured of a good single crop; if on a Thursday, of two crops ; but if on a Friday, the grain will wither. It is also a good sign if the southern end of the first crescent moon should be higher than the northern end in Panguni and Chittrai (March-May), if the northern end should be higher in Tai and Masi (January-March), and if for the rest of the year they should be level. Rainfall in Panguni, Chittrai and Margali is bad, but on the Kartigai day in the month of Kartigai it is of happy omen. A halo close to the moon shows that rain will be long in coming, while one far from the moon indicates that it will come soon. Lightning in the north-west and south-east simultaneously, means immediate rainfall. So does a red sky in the morning ; but a red sky at night is the ryot's despair and there is a saying on the subject which rereverses the well-known English proverb to the same effect. Immediate rainfall is also indicated by fowls drying. their feathers hi the sun, by leeches crawling up the trees, or by ants carrying their eggs about above ground.

IRRIGATION.

Of the irrigated land in the district, 46 per cent. is fed direct from river channels, 21 per cent. by tanks and 30 per cent. by wells.

River channels.

The most important channels are these under the Cauvery, Coleroon, Nandiy6r and Amaravati rivers ; but the Aiyar and Karaipottanar, and, to a less extent, the northern .Vellar, are also largely used for irrigation. The Cauvery irrigates 103,000 acres, the Coleroon 5,200, the Nandiy6r 3,000, and the Amaravati 2,400 acres.

The Cauvery anicuts and channerls.

The Cauvery divides not far above Trichinopoly into two branches, the Coleroon on the north and the Cauvery on the south. These enclose between them the island of Srirangam, and at the lower end of this a channel, called the Ullar, running from the Canvery to the Coleroon, would re-unite them but for a work, called the Grand Anicut, built across it to keep them apart.

The first engineering problem which arose was so to divide the available water between the Cauvery and the Coleroon as to supply adequately, witheut flooding, the irrigation channels in the Tanjore delta, which entirely depends upon the Cauvery. This is now effected by five engineering works, the Upper Anicnt, the

-----------------------------------144-----------------------------------

TRICHINOPOLY 

CHAP. IV.

IRRIGATION.

Grand Anicut, the ' 150 yards calingula,' the Cauvery-Vennar regulators and the Vadavagudi surplus, some of which are in the Tanjore district.

Historically speaking, the first difficulty which seems to have occurred in the regulation of the flood-water between the two rivers was that much of the Cauvery floods was carried off by the U116r channel into the Coleroon, which runs in a lower bed, and the Tanjore delta was thus starved. This difficulty was surmounted, perhaps by the Chola kings, by the building of the Grand Anient above mentioned, ' the bulwark of the fertility of the Tanjore country,' across the outlet into the Coleroon at this place. It formerly consisted of a solid mass of rough stone in clay 1,080 feet in length, 40 to 60 feet in breadth and 15 to 18 feet in depth stretching across the outlet in a serpentine form. 'old dam effectually withstood the floods of 1,600 years by the mere inertia of its materials.' The date of its construction is not exactly known. It was raised by the British Engineers in 1804, provided with sandscouring sluices in 1830 (in which year the Vadavagudi surplus was built) and made the basis of a road bridge in 1839.

Though it stopped the Cauvery water from running into the Coleroon, it resulted in the silting up of the former river and the scouring of the bed of the latter. It thus became clear in 1804 that an equal, if not a more serious, danger to the Tanjore delta lay in the silting up of the Cauvery bed at the point where the Coleroon, branches off from it and the consequent waste of the water down the latter river. For nearly 25 years an incessant struggle was maintained against the constant tendency of the river bed thus to silt up. The bed was periodically excavated and the head of the Coleroon was blocked up with expensive embankments, but all to no purpose. The water-supply to the delta continued to diminish and the extent of land under irrigation yearly decreased. Finally in 136-34 Sir Arthur Cotton constructed across the head of the Coleroon the great work known as the Upper Allied, which was designed to prevent too much water from flowing down that river and to fill the Cauvery adequately. The cost of the work and its subsequent improvements up to 1844 amounted to Rs. 1,81,000. It was a solid brick and cutstone dam with scouring sluices at intervals. It was soon found that too much water was forced down the Cauvery by this anient and that the bed of that river was being deepened by the unusual floods. A dam was accordingly thrown across the Cauvery in 1845 to prevent the scouring of the bed, and the 150 yards calingula' was constructed on the lower bank of that river to let out a portion of the surplus water into the Coleroon below the Upper Anicut.

-----------------------------------145-----------------------------------

AGRICULTURE AND IRRIGATION.

CHAP. IV

IRRIGATION.

For many years, however, the general difficulty was to prevent the CHAP. I Cauvery receiving more water than it could carry, and the many serious floods that occurred in the delta in the latter half of the last century were chiefly duo to this difficulty. Recently the regulation of the supply between the two rivers has been rearranged by the entire reconstruction (between 1899 and 1904) of the Upper Anieut itself at a cost of some six and a half lakhs of rupees. It now consists of a bridge across the Coleman of 55 bays of 40 feet span, each fitted with Colonel Smart's counterbalanced lift shutters. Each shutter weighs eight tons but is so geared that it can easily be raised by one man. The shutters, when down, hold up water to full-supply level in the Cauvery. All water in excess of this, except in the highest floods, is surplussed ' down the Coleroon, which is now in effect the safety-valve of the Cauvery, by raising the shutters to the required extent. Moreover the Grand Anicut has been remodelled at a cost of Rs. 1,33,800, and fitted with shutters so as to assist when necessary in passing surplus water into the Coleroon. It is also under contemplation to remodel the 150 yards ealingula ' to render it more effective when the Upper Anieut is unable to dispose of all excess. Further to the east, two controllable weirs called respectively the Vadavagudi, and the Perumo Kovil, surplus are designed to aid in the same matter ; and the great Cauvery-Venn6r regulators, theugh primarily constructed for another purpose, are of assistance in holding up the water above the delta and forcing it through the Grand Anicut into the Coleroon.

The danger of inundation has thus been to some extent transferred to the Coleroon, to which the more recent floods in Tanjore have been generally due, and special attention is now being paid to that river. Many lakhs of rupees are being spent on raising and widening its flood embankments, which involves the reconstruction of many of the large drainage inlets; while elaborate and costly training works are being carried out to prevent erosion of the banks. A special charge has just been constituted for the conservalley of this important river.

Outside the Cauvery delta proper, a considerable amount of irrigation is provided both in South Areot and Tanjore by the Lower Anicut across the Coleroon, some (17 miles below the Upper Anieut, but this is outside Trichinopoly district and takes no part iu the irrigation there.

The Upper and Grand Anients are designed chiefly to benefit the Tanjore delta. The only channels from the river which irrigate in this district are the Ayyau, Peruvalai and Panguni korambu

19	

-----------------------------------146-----------------------------------

TRICHINOPOLY 

CHAP. IV.

IRRIGATION.

channels, the first two of which take off just above the Upper Anient while the third is supplied by the drainage from them.

Besides these anients there are no permanent dams whatever across either the Cauvery or the Coleroon in this district.

Other dams

In nearly all the smaller rivers there are a good many permanent or semi-permanent anients, but few of them are of any size or importance. The largest are the Pallapalaiyam aniout across the Amaravati in Karur taluk and the dam on the Nandiyar in Udaiyarpalaiyain. Both of these are in the charge of the Public Works department and they feed respectively 8,854 and -1,950 acres.

On the Cauvery and Coleroon, and also on the Amaravati, the place of permanent anieuts is taken by temporary dams called korambus. They are not used on the. smaller rivers, as there the beds are less shifting and the streams narrower and a cheap permanent anicut will stand ; but in the three larger rivers with their shifting sands and violent floods nothing but a strong dam would survive, and as the cost of these is prohibitive, recourse is had to the korambus. These are temporary clams made of sand, earth, branches, bushes and grass, built from the head of the channels when the supple in a river falls low. Each fresh sweeps them away, and as often as the river falls they have to be renewed. They are not always put up in the same place, since the summer beds of the rivers are constantly shifting and the line of the korambus has to be modified accordingly. Where the rivers are deep, they are often very substantial and strengthened with logs and bamboo wattle. Some of them are more than a mile in length, take a thousand men a week to construct,' and require divers to lay their foundations.

The irrigation cess.

Till 1857 these koramabus were built by the ryots themselves under the supervision of the Revenue authorities, each landholder being bound by custom to contribute a certain amount of labour for the purpose. In that von the customary labour was commuted into a definite money payment and the fund thus constituted was spent by the Pablic Works department in building the dams. Front 1860 it was expended by the Revenue officers. This system was a success and was gradually extended to most of the important channels under the Cauvery and also to a small channel from the Vellar in the Peratuhalifr taluk, where it still prevails.

The payments were designated 'the voluntary irrigation ass' and were in force throughout a large part of the Cauvery valley

(Footnote:1 Irrigation Commission report, Madras evidence, p. 164.)

-----------------------------------147-----------------------------------

AGRICULTURE AND IRRIGATION.

CHAP. IV 

IRRIGATION.

till 1900. In that year the cess was abolished in most places ; and, in consideration of the recent increase in the assessment levied oh the land under the Cauvery, the Government undertook to make an annual grant (now Rs. 25,000) for the upkeep of the korambus and main channels belonging to that river, whether the ryots owning land under them had paid the cess up to then or not. The claim of Government to the ordinary kudimaramal (ryots' labour) for the maintenance of all the Cauvery major channels was foregone, the iyots being left in ordinary years with only the duty of maintaining the minor distributary and held channels. The Government grant is administered by the Revenue authorities, and regular establishments are maintained.2

Meanwhile the voluntary irrigation cess had been levied in the K..tirnr and Namakkal taluks also ; and it is still paid there for the conservancy of the Cauvery channels  and is administered by the Revenue department. Elsewhere the cess is still paid by the owners of roam lands under the Cauvery channels who had paid it prior to 1900, as well as by the owners of lands tinder the northern Vellar channels.

A somewhat similar payment called the naranikkam fee is made by roots holding lands under five Vellar channels in Perambalur taluk. it varies from one to seven minas an acre and brings in about Rs. 600 a year. The origin of this cess and its authority are unknown.4

The work of keeping the sluices and the banks of the principal channels in good repair, and of clearing the silt, in the larger main channels from the head-sluices as far as the distributary sluices is the care of the Public Works department, which in Karin' also regulates the supply at the head-sluices of channels in its charge.

There are certain objections to this system of dual control ; the ryots are under the Revenue department in most other respects ; but that department, owing to the pressure of other work and the want of professional knowledge, cannot easily take charge of the

(Footnote: 1 Though the irrigation cess did away with the ordinary kudmarmat, yet the landholders in the old Trichinopoly district agreed when the cess was introduced to still supply coolies in exceptional seasons or, in default, to pay a tine (tutti)of twice the pay of a cooly for each cooly not sent.. The system does not apply to the .Namakkal and Karur taluks.
2 Each channel has its establishment of shutteimen, divers, coolies, etc., with a monigar at its head. This, besides constructing the korambu, controls the distribution of the water under the tahsildar's orders.
3 The koranzbus in the Amartivati are maintained by the ryots under the old kudimoromut system.
4See Board's Proceedings, No. 280 (Revenue Settlement, eta.), dated lth August 1898, pp. 13, 16 and 17. It seems to have originated in 1866-66 but is perhaps older.)


-----------------------------------148-----------------------------------

TRICHINOPOLY 

CHAP. IV.

IRRIGATION.

whole of the channels and the transfer of the management of some of them to the Public Works department has accordingly been urged. The Ayyan and Peruvalai channels (which take off from the Cauyery near the Upper Anicut and irrigate parts of the Trichinopoly taluk) have recently (1904) been handed over to it as a temporary measure. 1

Floods and embanhments.

Floods in the rivers have been frequent. The more serious are referred to in Chapter YIII. The Coleroon, Cauvery and Amaravati, and some of the smaller rivers also, have therefore been embanked, the first two throughout their course^. A good deal of trouble occurs at times from the jungle streams, kdthwdris as they are called locally. Two of the worst offenders are the Kulittalai kdtturdri, which rises in the Kadavur zamindari and falls into the Cauvery just above the ITyyakondan head-sluice ; and the Nangavaram I'dtiuvdri, which carries the surplus of a line of tanks and the water of several tributary jungle streams into the Uyyakondan channel just above the Pulivan weir and surplus
sluice, through which works it passes into the Kodingal drain. This drain carries the above surplus, as w-ell as local drainage w'ater, into the Kodamurti river, and is also a frequent cause of floods. So is the Chintamani odat which falls into the Coleroon near the Lower Anicut.

Tanks.

The district contains seven tanks irrigating 500 acres and more, 49 supplying 200 acres and more, and 1,558 with smaller ayakats. The largesl of them is the Kandratirtham tank in the Udaiyarpailyam taluk, which waters 1,315 acres. Tanks filled from the Cauvery channels ordinarily receive a supply three times or more every year, and the others twice or more. Ordinarily tanks with an ayakat of 200 acres or more arc managed by the Public Works department and the rest by the Eevenue authorities. 

Wells.

Of the area protected by wells, half lies in the Mnsiri and Karur taluks. Wells are rare in Trichinopoly and Udaiyarpalaiyam. Those in Turaiyiir and Perambalur have a better supply than others, owing to their proximity to the hills.

The water-lift usually employed is the hapila worked by bullocks walking down an inclined plane. The ettam or picottah is also used. A new departure has recently been made by a wealthy sowcar of Trichinopoly, who is employing centrifugal pumps (worked by a liquid-fuel engine) to lift the water from two wells on the bank of the Cauvery. The experiment is said to be a great success and is now being imitated in Kukur village on the Coleroon bank.

(Footnote : 1 Board's Proceedingd, No. 237 (Revenu.; Settlement), dated 6th July 1904. The papers printed in this go very thoroughly into the question.
2 The hanks of the Coleroon are in charge of the Tanjore Executive Engineer.)

----------------------------------149-----------------------------------

                AGRICULTURE AND IRRIGATION.

                                  CHAP. I V

                                 IRRIGATION 

                     Project for improving irrigation.

No projects of importance for the improvement of the irrigation of the district are likely to be soon executed. The great Cauvery Reservoir will probably affect the district but little, merely slightly improving irrigation in the Namakkal taluk, and the Nandiyar project, which at one time seemed to promise well, has now been abandoned.

                             Nandiyar Project.

This latter consisted in using the Upper Anicut to irrigato parts of the Udaiyarpaliyam taluk. The originator of the idea, was Sir Arthur Cotton, who as early as 1837 proposed to lead off a large channel from the Upper Anicut, carrying it on as high a level as possible through the middle of the Ariyalur and Udaiyarpalaiyam taluks, cultivating much land by the direct filling of almost every tank in these taluks, securing a .great part of the water of the various streams crossing it . . . . The taluks contain a vast area of excellent lands for irrigation, and the people are most anxious for these works." An even earlier proposal had been made to restore the ancient ruined Ponneri tank, a very large work near Jayankonda-Cholapuram. Of recent years the feasibility of both of these projects, and the possibility of combining them, have been elaborately investigated. The precise schemes considered were : (1) to take a channel from the Upper Anicut right down to the Penneri tank to feed that tank as well as reservoirs placed across the Nandiyar and Marudaiyar rivers ; (2) to take a channel for the same purpose from a point on the Coleroon 35 miles below the Upper Anicut after constructing a new regulator ; (3) to take a shorter channel from the Upper Anicut to fill a reservoir across the Nandiyar river. The first two schemes were at once pronounced impracticable, the first owing to the excessive length of the proposed channel and the consequent loss of head, and the second scheme because the only site at which a new regulator could be built (23 miles below the Upper Anicut) exposed the channel to the same disadvantages as attended the first, as well as involving additional difficulties. The third scheme was warmly supported by the investigating officers. The main objections to it were twofold. In tho first place the quality of the water provided was:not expected to be very good, since the channel would have to receive the lime-impregnated water of the Uppar and other jungle streams and the brackish water of the Nandiyar and its tributaries would also be impounded in the reservoir along with the Cauvery water. Secondly (a more important objection), the scheme could not be regarded as protective, since the tract of country to be benefited is not ordinarily liable to famine and ' the

(Footnote 1 See, Mr. H.UE.I Clerk's] report on theaNandiyar Reservoir Project, dated 29th April 1903, p. 1.)

----------------------------------150-----------------------------------

                          TRICHINOPOLY.

                            CHAP. IV. 

                          IRRIGATION.

rainfall had always been sufficient to ensure sonic crops being harvested ' ;1 and yet the small increase of revenue to,be expected, since the poor quality of the water supplied necessitated low water-rates, would not pay a rate of interest sufficiently high to render the work ' productive.' The scheme was accordingly dropped in 1905. The Board remarked that if the quality of the water could be improved at a slightly extra cost so as to warrant the irrigation being placed in a higher class, the project might perhaps be undertaken as a useful if not highly productive work; and the Government remarked that the project would be placed on a different footing if the Cauvery reservoir (from which an unfailing supply could be drawn) was ever made. Meanwhile further investigation was pronounced unnecessary.2


                       Other Projects.

A few other projects have been suggested, but none of them have advanced beyond the initial stages. Thus it has been proposed 3 to form a reservoir about a mile north of Naduppatti in the south-east corner of the Kulittalai taluk, which is an area, rather liable to famine ; but no investigation of the scheme has yet been made. Another reservoir has been suggested near Ladapuram at the foot of the Pachaimalai hills third large, project, for which preliminary levels have been taken and which is now under investigation, is the proposal to make a reservoir at Panjapatti in the Kulittalai taluk across the Kulittalai kaittucari. The catchment area at the proposed site is 90 square miles. The capacity of the tank is proposed to be 275 millions of cubic feet, but as the yield from the catchment area might sometimes amount to over a thousand millions of cubic feet, a larger reservoir might be advisable. it has been also suggested that the Cauvery water might be utilized to feed some tanks from an extension of the Rajavaikkal channel in the Namakkal taluk, or from a new channel leading to the south of the Trichinopoly taluk near Iluppur. These and other schemes have not been investigated in detail.

      ECONOMIC SIDE OF AGRICULTURE.


Of the Government arable land available for occupation, rather more than one-tenth is unoccupied. The largest areas of this are in the Trichinopoly, Musiri and Namakkal taluks, and account for about three-quarters of the whole. Writing in 1902, the Colleotor expressed the opinion that only about one-third of the unoccupied extent would ever be taken up, the balance remaining waste because it was marshy, saline, barren, or overgrown with nuth grass or prickly pear, the cost of clearing which would be

(Footnote 1 G.O.,  No. 838, Re venue, dated 2nd August 1904, p. 2.
2 G.O.,  No. 448, Irrigation, dated 8th May 1906, and connected papers.
3 See Mr. H. E. Clerk'e Preliminary Royer or. the investigation of Protective
irrigations Works (Madras, 190%), p. 107.)

----------------------------------151-----------------------------------

                AGRICULTURE AND IRRIGATION.

                              CHAP. IV. 

            ECONOMIC SIDE OF AGRICULTURE.   

prohibitive. Relief from the, pressure of population must therefore be sought in emigration or more intensive cultivation rather than in mere extension of the area cultivated. Cultivation is chiefly in the hands of small proprietors farming their own land. For the average size of a holding is between five and six acres, and the average assessment. a little above ten rupees, more than half the land revenue is paid on pattas of .;thirty:rupees, and less, and more than two-thirds of the total extent occupied 'consists of holdings of thirty acres and under. Ninety-three per cent. of the total area under occupation belongs to people of the 'agriculturist classes Absentee landlords of any kind are very scarce.

Corporate tenure only survives in one form. In a good many of the river-side villages a curious relie of the corporate unity of the village in former times remains in the common ownership of. the village dry land by those of the ryots who hold any of the village wet land. The dry land is generally entered in a joint patty in the joint names of the several owners and is leased out to others, the product being jointly enjoyed.

Individual holdings (except those very small properties which are cultivated by the owner and his family) are either cultivated by time owner with the help of clay-labourers and farm-servants on long contracts (pannaiyals), or are leased either for a rent in grain or money (kuttayai) or for a share of the harvest (varam) . The varam system is commonest in the river-side wet land, and the kuttayai method in the dry land in the uplands or in properties held by absentee landlords or persons like Brahmans and merchants who do not care to supervise their cultivation personally.

Under the varam system the landowner generally supplies the manure and seed and the lessee gets a share of the harvest which varies from one-half in the uplands to two -thirds in parts of Kulittalai. In the uplands the straw always goes to the landlord. In the lowlands, a landowner often lets his pannaiyals cultivate part of his land. Considerable differences of practice occur, but the most common systems are what are called (1) the al-varam or pannaiyal and (2) the mattu-varam systems. Under the former the pannaiyal gets from one-eighth to one-tenth of the produce, the general proportion. amounting to live-forty-eighths of the whole, or one and a quarter marakkals in every kalam. The mattu-varam cultivator gets a larger proportion of the produce, generally three-sixteenths, and either the whole or a part of the straw ; but, though.the landlord supplies seed and manure, he has to find his own oxen for ploughing.Pannaiyals are as a rule engaged by the year and given a fixed rate of daily wages (usually paid in grain) and certain customary presents, such as a oloth at the 

----------------------------------152-----------------------------------

                          TRICHINOPOLY.

                             CHAP. IV. 

           ECONOMIC SIDE OF AGRICULTURE.   

Dipavali festival, a small sum of money at the birth of a child a tali at marriages, etc. They have to do any work which their masters may require at any time. They are usually,engaged at either the Chittrai kalavadi (April-June) or the Adi kalavadi (June-August). In the uplands of Karur. and Namakkal, money wages for pannaiyals are common. These (and the grain wages when converted into money) range between one anna a day in Perambalur to two and a half annas in parts of Namakkal, and are ordinarily between one and a half and two annas. These rates are said to be much higher than those paid in the past, but they need to be higher yet to cheek the emigration which is now going on to other countries, and the supply of pannaiyals is not at present equal to the demand.

The daily labourer is paid four annals a day in Trichinopoly, Kulittalai and Namakkal, and two annas a day (generally paid in kind) at Perambalur. Everywhere else the rate seems to vary between two and a half and three annas. Daily wages have also risen everywhere, but the supply of day labour is as unequal to the demand as that of pannaiyals. The emigration statistics do not show to what districts emigrants belong, and there is no means of finding out what number of the ryots of Trichinopoly have left for foreign countries, but general report says it is considerable and the complaints of landowners of the scarcity of labour are loud.

----------------------------------153-----------------------------------

                            FORESTS.

                           CHAPTER V.

                           FORESTS. 

                           ---------------
                          
                          CHAPTER V.
 
                           FORESTS. 

                           ---------------

                   Extent and distribution.

 Extent and distributionReserves on the hills--Character of the forestsTheir economic value--Cultural operations, etc.Forest administration.

THE operations of the Forest department were extended to this district in 1871. For many years there were no reserves, and the work of the department was confined to the formation of fuel reserves and plantations. The plantations were mostly made along the padugais of the Cauvery river, that is, the strips of land along its banks which are occasionally flooded. Systematic conservancy of forest growth dates, as in other districts, from the passing of the Madras Forest Act -of 1882. Some small areas were notified for reservation in 1883 and in 1884, and in 1887 the work was begun in earnest. There are now 367 square miles of reserved forest in the district, besides some five square miles of land proposed to be reserved The distribution of this among the various taluks is shown in the margin. It will be seen that most of the forest is in the Musiri Perambalur and Nmakkal taluks, where large areas have been reserved on the Pachaimalai and Kollaimalai hills, and considerable areas exist on the hills near the Madura border, and near the Viramalai hill, in the Kulittalai taluk.

TABLE 153 ATTACHED SEPARATELY

                     Reserves on hills.

Reservation on the Pachaimalais and Kollaimalais was attended with but little of the trouble experienced in some of the hill tracts in other parts of the Presidency. The Malaiyalis who inhabit these ranges are a simple and law-abiding set of people, offered no opposition to reservation, and give little trouble now to those who have to administer the forests. None of their settlements is inside the reserves, as often occurs elsewhere, but isolated occupied fields belonging to them have in some places been allowed to remain within the notified forests. These small enclosures have at times given some little trouble on the Kollaimalais, owing to the difficulty of identifying them and the encroachments which have been perpetrated by their owners. The matter has been complicated by

----------------------------------154-----------------------------------

                          TRICHINOPOLY.

                              CHAP. V. 
 
                            FORESTS. 
                 
                           --------------

                   Character of the forests.

the fact that at the time of the forest settlement there were uo paimash or survey accounts of the villages situated near or within the reserves.

The various forests group themselves into three fairly distinct classes; namely, those on the padugais, those in the plains, and those on the hills. The padugai reserves along the Cauvery and Coleroon in the Trichinopoly, Kulittalai and Udaiyarpalaiyam taluks chiefly contain kodukkapuli (Inga dulcis) konnai (Cassia florida), babul (Acacia arabica), vayai (Albizzia Lebbek) and sissoo (Dalbergia Sissoo). They were formerly managed by the Public Works department,

The various plain reserves in Trichinopoly, Musiri, Karur, Perambalur and Udaiyarpalaiyam taluks exhibit a good deal of variety in their growth. Those in Trichinopoly are either tank beds mostly covered with babul or scrub jungle full of velvelam (Acacia leucophlaea) of stunted growth. The insignificant Tottivadi reserve in Karur' taluk consists mostly of palmyras, but contains also velvelam, vepam (Melia Azadirachla), sithai (Acacia planifrons) and unjil (Albizzia amara). The Udaiyarpalaiyam upland reserves are also scrub jungle, containing chiefly the kasan tree (Memecylon edule), while the scrub reserves of Musiri and Perambalur have a somewhat better growth of usilai, velvelam, babul, sithai, karungali (Acacia Sundra) and vadatarai (Dichrostachys cinerea).

The forests on the hills are more important. Those in the Kulittalai taluk contain sithai, vembu (Melia Indica), usilai (AIbizzia amara), pdlai (Wrightia tinctoria) and satin-wood (Chlo-roxylon Swietenia). The hilly Vandamalai-Rangamalai reserve in the south of Karur is of poorer growth, containing little but velvelam, sithai and karikottan (Zizyphus glabrata). On the Pachaimalais are found sandal-wood, usilai, irumbuli (Maba buxifolia), namai (Anogeissue latifolia) selai (Albizzia odoratissima), nayai (Eugenia jambolana), vengai (Pterocarpus Marsupium), kadukkai (Terminalia Chebula), karumarudai (Terminalia tomentosa), vellamarudu (Terminalia paniculata), and sembulichai (Erythroxylon monogynum). Along the foot of the Kollaimalais the growth is poor, and the only big tree is the tamarind, which has been spared by the cultivators for the sake of its fruit. The lower slopes are covered chiefly with acacias, usilai, stunted satinwood and Prosopis spicigera, with Strychinos Nux-Vimica near the streams. so far the forests are little better than the upland jungles, but higher up grow teak, Plerocarpus Marsupium, Anogeissus latifolia, and Hardwickia binata. These names do not, it need hardly be said, exhaust the growth in these reserves, but

----------------------------------155-----------------------------------

                              FORESTS. 

                              CHAP. V. 
 
                             FORESTS. 

indicate their general character and the most important trees found in them. At the top of the slopes and in the ravines the forest evergreen, while elsewhere it is deciduous. There are a few bamboos on the east and west slopes. The best forest on these hills is to be found in the Karavallikombai reserve. 

                    Their economic value       

Though many of the varieties of timber found in these forests are valuable, so far no exportation has taken place from the district. .In the case of the Kollaimalai forests the difficulty of bringing the better wood down from the higher slopes has prevented any considerable trade, and in the rest of the district the supply is but little in excess of the local demand so that no large surplus remains for export. All the forests had been greatly damaged, before reservation began, by shifting cultivation and unrestrained felling, lopping and grazing. Ordinary agricultural and building needs are met from the local forests, but teak and other valuable timbers for large buildings are imported from Coimbatore, Burma, etc.          

Cultural operations etc.

Besides conserving the existing growth, the Forest department made experiments in artificial reproduction and the introduction of exotics. Sowing and dibbling of the seed of local trees .have been tried in many of the reserves, both in the hills and the plains, in order to thicken the growth and improve the quality of the forests. The kodukkapuli (Inga dulcis), vagai (Albizzia Lebbek), konnai (Cassia floride), rain tree (Pithecolobium saman), margosa, babul and sissoo have all been tried to a greater or less extent. Plantations have also been made by putting in mangoes, cocoanuts, tamarinds, palmyras, bamboos etc., in suitable localities. Nearly all the padugai forests along the river-side have been formed in this manner, and it is proposed to still further extend them. Elsewhere sowing has not been a success.

Exotics have been introduced to only a small extent. An experiment was made with teak seed from Malabar in 1904-05, but it is too soon as yet to say what the results will be. Date trees (Phaenix dactylophera) were tried on the Pachaimalais some thirteen years ago, but only a few plants survived, and these exhibited very poor growth. Mahogany was sown about the same time in the Kulittalai and Udaiyarpalaiyam padugais ; but here again, though the trees have survived, the growth has been very poor. A more successful experiment has been recently' made on the paduyais near Trichinopoly with fodder grass (Paspalum dilatatum), which has grown well and on those in Udaiyarpalaiyam with divi-divi, which yields a paying crop.

                 Forest administration .

Systematic working-plans are in operation in the Trichinopoly and Kulittalai padugais and in most of the hill forests in the latter 

----------------------------------156-----------------------------------

                           TRICHINOPOLY 

                              CHAP. V. 
 
                             FORESTS. 

taluk, and are being rapidly prepared for other areas. The kasan jungle in Udaiyarpalaiyam has been worked as coppice with standards' since 1896, but up to 1905 most of the other forests were managed on the well-known permit system.' This has now (except in parts of Musiri) been replaced by the coupe system,' under which forest produce of all kinds is either sold departmentally at the coupe or taken to central depots, or, sometimes, the coupe is sold to a contractor. Special arrangements are made to meet the large demand for leaves for manure. Fuel is also cut departmentally and supplied to large public institutions and bodies, such as the South Indian Railway," the Trichinopoly municipality and the Jail. There are two departmental fuel depths for retail sale in Trichinopoly, and it is proposed to open another. The Udaiyarpalaiyam forests also supply fuel to Tanjore town. Hitherto, the produce of coupes in the country west of Trichinopoly has been taken to that town by cart or rail ; but during the floods of 1906 experiments in floating it down the Cauvery were successfully made and this system, which saves much of the cost of transport, is to be extended. Grazing in the reserves, except coupes recently felled, is permitted in the case of all animals (except the destructive goat) on payment of a scale of fees prescribed for the district by Government. In the Udaiyarpalaiyam padugais the right to levy grazing-fees is leased out by auction, and the lessees are allowed to admit a limited number of animals to the reserves, and are required to collect the fees from the cattle-owners.

----------------------------------157-----------------------------------

              OCCUPATIONS AND TRADE

                       CHAPTER VI.

           OCCUPATIONS AND TRADE.

                       ----------------

AGRICULTURE TEXTILE INDUSTRIES- Silk-:, cavingWeaving of mixed cotton and silk caving- Weaving of mixed cotton and silk- All-cotton clothsWeaving methodsBraid and other ornaments .TapeCotton carpets--Woollen earpetsBlanketsMats. DYEING- Silk CONTENT MISSING ON SCAN - Proceses Quality of the coloursCotton thread Cloth -dyeingChintz-stamping. METAL WORKHousehold vesselsOrnamental work. OTHER FINE ARTSJewelleryPaintingPith modellingMusical instrumentsCarving and modelling. MISCELLANEOUSRope manufactureBasket workOilTanningShoes and other leather-work Scents CherootsSoap BanglesStick-lac banglesGlass bangles Glass-warePotterySaltpetreHouse buildingPrintingWorkshops, etc. TRADE MARKETS  Exports and imports. WEIGHTS AND MEASURES Goldsmiths' weightsGeneral commercial weightsMeasures for solids Liquid measuresMeasures of distanceSquare measuresMeasures of timeLocal names of coins.

                         CHAP. VI.

                     AGRICULTURE

                      -------------------

As in every other district, the very large majority of the population subsists by agriculture and the allied pastoral callings, which together employ as many as three-fourths of the inhabitants. Agricultural methods have been referred to in Chapter IV and the cattle and other domestic animals of the people in Chapter I, and. it remains to notice here the occupations connected with arts and industries and with trade. Of these the most important are the textile industries.

                            TEXTILE INDUSTRIES.
 
                                   Silk-weaving

The weaving of pure silk fabrics is rare in the district. The large numbers of silk cloths worn by the women of the richer classes (who, especially on festive occasions, are hardly less gorgeously arrayed than their sisters in Tanjore) are generally imported from Tanjore, Madura, Salem and even Benares. Two Patnulkarans in the Trichinopoly fort however make all-silk cloths for Hindus of both sexes, and a number of that caste in the same town make silk cloths, called qulbadams, for Muhammadan men. Musalman tartans (referred to below) are generally made of silk and cotton mixed, but at Iluppnr and Pudukkottai they are sometimes made of silk throughout.

                     Weaving of mixed cotton and silk.

Valuable cloths of various kinds made of mixed silk and cotton are woven on a large scale. Perhaps the most profitable of these are the silk and cotton tartans (kailis) for Musalmans which are made by the Patnulkarans in several places. About 900 of this caste are employed in this industry in the Trichinopoly fort, some 250 or 300 in the suburb of Uraiytr, 100 or so at Pudukkottai,

----------------------------------158-----------------------------------

                       TRICHINOPOLY.

                         CHAP. VI.
    
                TEXTILE INDUSTRIES.

some 30 at Iluppur  (Trichinopoly taluk) and about half a dozen at Ariyalur. The warp of,these tartans is made of silk, and the woof of cotton. At Iluppur  and Pudukkottai  the woof also is made of silk, but the quality of the silk used for it is much coarser than that employed for the warp. The patterns are usually simple tartans, but at Trichinopoly and Ariyalur the work is varied with skilful embroideries of silk and `lace' (gold or silver thread) and the silk is made to show only on one side of the cloth and the cotton on the other, as in the fabrics woven at Ayyampettai in the Tanjore tank, and the glossiness of the work is much heightened by dipping the cloths in rice-water and beating them. The colours generally used are three shades of red, dark blue and violet.

These tartans are very popular among Musalman men, who use them for waist-cloths, and they are also cut up and made into tight-fitting bodices by Hindu women, the Ariyalur work being especially widely used for the latter purpose. They are also exported in considerable quantities. The Pudukkottai  and Iluppur work is sent to Rangoon, and that of Trichinopoly to various large Muhammadan centres, such as Madras, Mysore, North Arcot, Salem and Hyderabad. The Ariyalur stuffs are mostly disposed of locally. The cloths are generally sold in pieces 9 feet long by 3  , feet broad. Those from Pudukkottai  and Iluppur  sell at from Rs. 3 to Rs. 5 a piece, and those from Trichinopoly at from Rs. 3 to Rs. 30. The Ariyalur fabrics are generally sold in smaller pieces measuring 3 feet by 2   feet, the price varying from As. 8 to Rs. 3 or Rs. 4. The industry is in a flourishing condition, though the profits of the weavers are said to be less than they were. The raw silk is imported from Calcutta, Mysore, Madras, Bombay and Kollegal (in Coimbatore), and the Bombay silk, which is of common quality, is generally known as pandu (` ball') silk because it is sold in balls and not unbleached in skeins, like that from Kollegil. The lace conies from France through Madras and the coloured thread from Madura.

Besides these tartans, a large number of weavers of various castes are employed in making cotton cloths for :Hindus which contain more or less silk. Some 250 households live by the manufacture of Men's cloths of this character at Jayankonda-Cholapnram and Manamedu (Musiri taluk), and about 100 in Uraiyur, Namakkal, Tattaiyyangarpettai (in Namakkal taluk) and Pudnkkatai. These last are the same people as make the tartans. Smaller, but still noticeable, centres for this work. are Kulittalai, Turaiyur and Udayanattam (in  Udaiyarpalaiyam). Women's cloths of this kind are not so widely made. The best are woven in a. few villages of the Trichinopoly and Udaiyarpalaiyam taluks,

----------------------------------159-----------------------------------

               OCCUPATIONS AND TRADE

                           CHAP. VI

                   TEXTILE INDUSTRIES.

                    -------------------------------

of which Puvalurand Knlumani in the former -taluk (with some 50 weavers in each), and Tadampettai-Paluvur (60 weavers) and Vanadiralyanpattanam (100 weavers) in the latter, are the best .worth mention. Koyampalli in the Karur. taluk contains some 100 households engaged in this class of work. Tho castes employedare generally Sedans and Seniyans for men's and women's cloths respectively, but the weavers at Nimakkal and Pudukkottai  are.Patnulkarans and at Manamedu they are Seniyans.

The thread used for the men's cloths is generally of counts between 40s and 100s, but at Jayaukonda-Cholapuram- even 200s are said to he used. The borders are generally made of bothsilk and lace, but at Namakkal silk alone is used. They are generally embroidered with simple designs of flowers or fruit, but at Kulittalai more elaborate figures of animals, etc., are worked into the cloth. At this place some Muhammadan weavers from Salem are employed to do the embroidery. The price of the men's cloths varies considerably with the texture and the quality of the border, but it may be said to run from two to twenty rupees: 

The women's cloths are not remarkable. The body of the cloth is made of cotton, generally red or dark blue, and is crossed with lines of red and yellow silk. A peculiar kind of women's cloth is made at Koyampalli in the Karur' taluk with a warp of cotton and a woof of silk, and is said to be much exported to Mysore. The price of the women's cloths woven in this district generally varies from five to twenty rupees.

The weaving of these fabrics and the profits from the industry are said to be on the decrease. The cloths are but little exported.The men's cloths are sent in small quantities to the neighbouring districts of Salem, Madura, Tinnevelly and Tanjore, and the Manamedu work has some sale in the Straits Settlements. None the less, the local manufacture of cloths for women is said to bemuch less than the local demand, and quantities are imported especially from Tanjore and Madura.

                  All- cotton cloths 

Ordinary coarse cotton cloths for men and women, and kerchiefs All-cotton and sheets, are made all over the district. As before, the manufacture of men's cloths and of sheets is kept distinct from that of garments for women, the two being carried on at different places.For the former industry the most considerable centres are Ilppur, Udaiyarpalaiyam and Tattaiyangarpettai, at each of which there are some 200 weavers. The Iluppur cloths have a considerablelocal reputation. Another well-known centre is Karambakudi in the Pudukkottai  State. The largest centre for the manufacture of coarse women's cloths is Udaiyarpalaiyam. Some six or seven hundred weavers are employed in the industry in seven villages 

----------------------------------160-----------------------------------

                       TRICHINOPOLY.

                         CHAP. VI.
    
                TEXTILE INDUSTRIES.

near that town, and their work is very largely bought up by the merchants of Kumbakonam. The Tattaiyangarpettai work is also well known. The women's cloths have generally a plain red or dark blue body with plain borders of some different colour. Besides these Hindu garments a fair quantity of coarse cotton stuff is woven for use by Musalmans. This is done by some 150 households at Andimadana in the  Udaiyarpalaiyam taluk, and the cloth is sold to the Nattukkottai Chettis of Cuddalore, who are said to export it to the Straits Settlements. A certain amount of very coarse cotton cloth is also made at some places for curtains.

The castes generally employed in this coarse weaving are the Paraiyans and Kaikolans, but every here and there Seniyans also do it. The Paraiyans seem generally to confine their efforts to white cloths, and the Kaikolans to coloured fabrics, though the latter sometimes weave white cloths also.

In a factory at Karur- a large variety of all-cotton stuffs is woven, there being fifteen English hand-looms at work. The articles made include bed-sheets, towels, checks, napkins, carpets, men's and women's cloths, long cloth, Turkish towels, etc. In the Industrial School maintained at the same place by the Wesleyan Mission fabrics of the same description are also manufactured. The outturn of pure cotton cloth in this district is apparently in excess of the local demand, and a moderate export trade exists.

                  Weaving methods.

Except in the factory at Karur, there is little that is unusual in the methods of weaving ordinary cloths in this district. The ordinary country loom is used everywhere. The silk and cotton kailis are made in rather a curious way in order, as above noted, to make the silk show on one side and the cotton on the other. This is effected by a number of sets of healds (two sets of which are used in the ordinary country loom to raise and depress alternate threads of the warp) with separate treadles for each. By means of these it is arranged that the greater part of the silk warp shall always be on one side, and only small portions of it on the other. The texture of the cloth is preserved, since the smaller portion of the warp allowed on the one side is changed at each throw of the shuttle, so that the whole of the warp serves in turn as the smaller portion. The method of producing the changes in the warp necessary for the formation of a pattern for the embroidery is the same as that used in the town of Tanjore. A number of sets of strings (kolikkis, as they are called) are attached to the threads of the warp below and to a cord above. When it is raised, each set of strings causes a certain number of the warp threads to rise also, and by bringing a different sot of strings into operation at every throw of the shuttle the necessary alteration of tho warp

----------------------------------161-----------------------------------

               OCCUPATIONS AND TRADE

                           CHAP. VI

                   TEXTILE INDUSTRIES.

                    -------------------------------

is made. Of course a considerable amount of skill and trouble is required to make the sets of strings so as to produce the pattern ; but, when once made and put in place, they work almost automatically, all that is necessary being to have a boy to pass the used set to the back and bring the next one into operation. In Kulittalai the sets of strings. are attached to a hook hung from the roof and not to a cord, and only one pattern is woven on a loom at a time. At the other centres more than one pattern is woven in the same cloth. Each figure is worked with a different shuttle and the whole of the fabric is held together by passing the main woof thread right across alternately with the passing of the separate shuttles forming the figure.

                Braid and other ornaments.

Besides the ordinary embroidery of cloths on the loom, it is customary to ornament garments and curtains in this district by stitching a kind of braid called nakki or tuyya on to the borders, or by stitching little plates of metal (jiginas) into the body of the garment. The braid is woven with a warp of copper thread and a silk woof. It is made by the women of about a hundred Musalman households in Trichinopoly ; but the trade is said to have declined owing to the importation of machine-made braid from Bangalore. The jigina work is done by some twenty-five Musalman families in Trichinopoly. The braid is only used for women's clothinggenerally for that of Musalmansand the jigina work chiefly for actors' dresses and stage curtains.

                              Tape.

Except this ornamental nakki or tuyya, hardly any tape is woven in the district. Indeed the only place at which the industry seems to be in existence is Sendamangalam in Namakkal, where half a dozen people are employed in it. Tape is in little demand, as cots are not strung with it (as in the Northern Circars) but with coir rope.

                     Cotton carpets.

A considerable manufacture of cotton carpets is carried on in the district. Not only are they largely made in the jail at Trichinopoly, but fifteen families of VellaIans and Padaiyachis weave them at Ranjangudi in Perambalur taluk, a few Padaiyachis at  Udaiyarpalaiyam and Marudur in the Udaiyarpalaiyam taluk, and two Patnulkaran families at Uraiyur. They are also sometimes made in the factory at Karur. They are of simple designs, usually straight stripes of different colours, and they are made in the ordinary upright loom. They cost from Rs. 2 to Rs. 8, and are as a rule seven or eight feet long by four or five broad. The Udaiyarpalaiyam carpets, however, are more ornamental and larger. They are called sadir (`dancing') carpets, and are sometimes as much as 20 or 2:5 feet long by 9 or 10 feet broad. They are

                    21          

----------------------------------162-----------------------------------

                       TRICHINOPOLY.

                         CHAP. VI.
    
                TEXTILE INDUSTRIES.

ornamented with simple embroidery, the figures being worked by twisting the threads for the pattern into the fabric by hand, and are in demand beyond the borders of the district in Tanjore, Madura, South Arcot and Coimbatore. On the other hand, cotton carpets are imported from Bhavani and Palameottah. The industry is said to be on the decline, and this is as usual attributed by the weavers (without much foundation in fact) to the competition of jail-made carpets.

                  Woollen carpets.

Woollen carpets are made by the fifteen households at Ranjangudi who make the cotton carpets just referred to, and also by stray Musalman households here and there in the Namakkal taluk. Muruhur in Musiri was once famous for this industry, but it is extinct there now. The carpets are woven just like other fabrics, the warp being of cotton. and the woof of wool. They are either white with a black border or black with a border of white, are generally some eight feet long by four or five feet broad, and sell for Rs. 5 each. The industry is said to have much declined recently.

                     Blankets.

Woollen blankets are made on a very considerable scale, not. only in the Central Jail, but by the Kurumban shepherds, who weave them wherever the wool-bearing kurumba sheep is found, that is, in the Perambalur taluk, the dry parts of Musiri, the east of Namakkal, the north-east of Trichinopoly, and in parts of Pudukkottai . The sheep aro shorn twice a year (in July or August and January or February) and it is said that 40 sheep will give a takku of wool worth from As. 8 to As. 12. The wool is spun by the weavers themselves in the manner common in other districts, and the blankets are woven on an ordinary horizontal loom. They are some 6 feet long by 3 feet or 3  feet broad, and sell at prices ranging from As. 12 to Rs. 2. They are exported in considerable quantities to Ceylon and the Straits Settlements, but the industry is said to have much decreased owing to the difficulty experienced nowadays in getting good grazing for the sheep. Probably, however, the competition of the mills in 'Bangalore has a great deal more to do with the decline, as they buy up the wool and the local supply is in consequence smaller.

                       Mats.

A large number of mats, either of plaited cocoanut leaves or woven out of korai grass, aro made in many villages in the lowlands of the district. The cocoanut mats are made by most of the poorer classes, and are used for screens or for thatching. The korai mats are mostly used for sleeping on. The chief centres of the industry are Uraiyur, Pettaivattalai and Talakkodi in the

----------------------------------163-----------------------------------

               OCCUPATIONS AND TRADE

                           CHAP. VI

                   TEXTILE INDUSTRIES.

                    -------------------------------

Trichinopoly taluk, Katlai in Kulittalai and Karambakudi in Pudukkotttai State. The chief caste employed in it are the Odakkarans (also called Guha Velallans or Rama's boatmen ');.but  the Telugu Pandarams are also largely engaged in it in Uraiyur. The mats are exported to Madura, the Nilgiris and Mysore ; and the local supply is supplemented by imports from Tanjore and Palghat. The korai grass is chiefly grown on the local padugais, but it is also imported from Tanjore. The mats are woven on the usual low loom, the weaver sitting above his work.

                    Dyeing Silk thread.

A good deal of silk-dyeing goes on in the district, the silk-weavers generally colouring their own thread. Stick-lae  (kombarakku) and cochineal (kirimanji, a corruption of the English word crimson') are used for red ; for blue, indigo in Trichinopoly and Ariyalur, and iron ore or iron sand in Namakkal and Pudukkottai ; powdered saffron root for yellow ; kapili or kamela powder (obtained from the red glands on the seed capsules of the Mallotus philippinensis or Rottlera tinetoric tree) for orange ; while green is obtained by dipping the silk first in saffron water and then in indigo ; and violet by dipping it first in stick-lae dye and then in indigo. Aniline dyes are sometimes used for red, yellow, violet and green, and always for rose and a. bright shade of orange. A good many different kinds of mordant are used. The most common are the seeds of the tayara plant (Cassia tore), alum, and fullers' earth ; pista kay, which is obtained from the excrescences on the leaves of the Terminalia Chebula, is only used for the cochineal dye.. Gall-nut is said to be always used for the aniline red dye and for the dark blue dye made from iron at Namakkal. The similar colour at Pudukkottai  is made fast by the use of green vitriol. Green silk is washed in sour rice-water. Tamarind fruit is used in the preparation of stick-lae red, not apparently as a mordant, but in order to clear the dye.

                          Processes 

The processes of applying the various aniline dyes are the same Processes. for all except for the red. For the latter the bleached thread has to be soaked first in a solution of turmeric and then in a solution of gall-nut, and it is finally boiled in a solution of the aniline powder. All the other aniline colours are produced by merely boiling the thread in a solution of the dye. The production of the country dyes involves a greater variety of practice. For the stick-lae red the silk is first soaked in a solution of turmeric and alum; the dye is then prepared by stirring stick-lae in eater till all the colouring matter is extracted from it ; the silk thread, mixed with tamarind fruit in the proportion of four pounds of silk to three pounds of fruit, is next put into the dye ; and finally this mixture is boiled for two hours. For the cochineal dye, the

----------------------------------164-----------------------------------

                       TRICHINOPOLY.

                         CHAP. VI.
                           
                         DYEING.

silk is similarly prepared and is then boiled in a solution of pounded cochineal mixed with pounded pista seeds, and allowed to remain soaking in the mixture for a day after the pot has been removed from the fire. The vegetable yellow is produced by the simple process of soaking the thread for some time in water mixed with powdered saffron root. The various indigenous dark blues are obtained by more elaborate methods. The indigo dye is prepared as follows : The indigo is mixed in water with boiled tagara seeds, and for a week both morning and evening fullers' earth and ehunam are added to the mixture in proportions which vary with the quality of the indigo, and this process is continued for eight days. The silk is then dipped in the dye and allowed to soak for a number of days, which seems to vary with different dyers but sometimes extends to as long as a fortnight. The indigo pots are worshipped with burning of camphor every Friday, lest the dye should curdle. If the blue is to be obtained from iron ore or sand, the thread is first soaked (in Namakkal) in a solution of gall-nut and then boiled in water along with the colouring matter ; while in Pudukkottai  the thread is boiled without preparation in a solution of the colouring matter mixed with green vitriol, catechu, castor oil and green, red and violet aniline powders. The vegetable violet is produced by first dyeing the silk as above described with the stick-lae red, and then with indigo. A vegetable green is obtained_ at Trichinopoly by soaking the thread first in a solution of saffron and then in indigo, and finally washing it in sour rice-water, This last process is supposed to render the colour darker. The charming hapili orange dye is produced by first soaking the thread in a solution of alum and then boiling it in a solution of the kapili powder mixed in definite proportions with chunam and gingelly oil.

             Quality of the colours.

The native dyes give more trouble to apply than the aniline pigments, but they are so much faster' that they easily hold their own in this district. The fastest of all the colours are the stick-lae red and the indigo blue, while the cochineal and kapili have also an excellent reputation in this respect. The vegetable violet and green dyes and the indigenous mineral blues are fairly fast, but the vegetable yellow is as ephemeral as the aniline dyes. The bright colour of the aniline dyes is attractive to the native eye, and this fact and the ease with which they can be worked and, the consequent cheapness of the cloths dyed with them, render them popular, in spite of their fugitive character. Some of the indigenous dyes are very beautiful and delicate. :Perhaps the best of them is the kapili orange, but the stiek-lae red is also a charming colour.
                      
----------------------------------163-----------------------------------

               OCCUPATIONS AND TRADE

                           CHAP. VI

                            DYEING.
 
                         ------------------

                        Cotton thread.

The cotton-dyeing in the district consists in the dyeing of thread before it is woven, and of fabrics already woven. The former is chiefly done by the weavers. themselves, and the latter cotton thread.by the Chintz-stampers referred to below. The only colours used for dyeing cotton thread are red and dark blue. Of these the dark blue is made from indigo, and the dye is applied in the same way as to silk thread. The red is of two kinds ; the ordinary aniline powder, which is applied in the mine way as with silk thread, and a much Letter and more permanent red which is only used for the best cloths and is obtained as follows : The burnt ashes of castor seeds are mixed with water and allowed to settle, the clear water is then poured off and mixed with equal parts of gingelly oil and sheep's dung, and the whole mixture is stirred till it becomes white through the emulsifying of the oil. The thread is soaked in this and wrung out and dried every day for ten days, and is then left in a dry state for a month or six weeks. It is next dipped in some liquid aniline red dye (which is called pippayi or cask ' dyo because it is imported in casks from Bombay) mixed with dried kasan (Memecylon edule) leaves, which are obtained from the Udaiyarpalaiyam taluk. This process is repeated for four successive days. Next, for two, three or four days in succession, the thread is soaked in a solution of nuna or chay-root (Oldenlandia umbellata) and dried again, and finally it is put into a solution of vembadam (Ventilago Madraspatana) bark for one day. This makes a very fast dye. It is the one used by the Udaiyarpalaiyam carpet makers, only they lengthen the preliminary process, which they call karam, to a fortnight. The preliminary process is of course the applying of a mordant ; the dye, the nuna, the kasan- leaves, and the vembadam bark are all used as coloiuing matter.

                       Cloth-dyeing

Several small centres for the dyeing of cloths and the stamping Cloth-dyong. of chintzes exist in the district. Generally speaking the same people do both classes of work. Thus in Uraiyur there are five or six Marathas and two Balijas so employed, one Vellalan in the Trichinopoly fort, ten Tuluva Vellolans at Iluppur, ten Balijas at Karur', four or five Vellalans at Aravakkurichi (Karur), and some 30 Balija families at Karuppur in Udaiyarpolaiyam. All these work with their own hands in their own houses ; but at Pudukkottai there are ten or twelve merchants who employ coolies to do the work. They have perhaps 60 or 70 men under them, and their work is well known in the Tamil country as far north as Madras. The Iluppur cloths are exported to Colombo, and the Karur fabrics to the Straits Settlements and Pondicherry. The colour most commonly used is red. This is employed everywhere, 

-----------------------------------164-----------------------------------

                       TRICHINOPOLY.

                         CHAP. VI.
                           
                         DYEING.

but at Karur a rose colour is used, and at Karur and Pudukkottai a sort of purple called the milk ' (pal) colour. The rose colour is obtained by simply dipping a white cloth in aniline powder and water and boiling it. It is a fugitive tint. The milk ' colour is obtained by first preparing the cloth by dipping it in a solution of gall-nut, and then boiling it in a solution of nuna and mandishti roots mixed with some castor seeds. The borders are made darker by subjecting them to this process by themselves, and treating them with alum, before dyeing the cloth as a whole. The red is usually obtained by preparing the cloth in the same way with alum and gall-nut, and then boiling it with the pippayi dye mixed with kasan leaves. This is sometimes done twice, so as to make the colour faster, and the borders are sometimes made darker by first dyeing them a milk ' colour before applying the red dye. Both the red and the milk ' are fast colours.

                   Chintz-stamping.

These dyed cloths are often ornamented by stamping designs along the borders, or (in Karuppur) by painting them along the borders or on the body of the cloth. The latter is always dyed red, with a circular patch of white in the middle of it, for this class of work, and the designs are stamped in dark blue, white, red and (though rarely) violet. The red is ordinarily made with the pippayi dye, but at Karuppur the nuna root. is also used. The dark blue is sometimes (as :it Karuppur) obtained from indigo, hut ordinarily (as sometimes in the Godavari district) from a mixture of aniline salts (avaluppu), saltpetre and copper sulphate. The violet is made by dipping the red-dyed stuff in indigo, the mordants, as in dyeing, are alum and gall-nut.

When a cloth is to be stamped or painted it is first dipped in a solution of gall-nut. The designs are stamped with wooden blocks. For a blue border the stamp is pressed on a pad soaked in a mixture of the dye and gum, and is thon pressed directly on the cloth. For a red design the pattern is stamped with a mixture of alum and gum and then the whole cloth is dipped in boiling dye, the colour only adhering to the stamped portion. The body of the cloth is afterwards dyed as above described. Where the designs arc painted, two methods are followed. In both they are drawn on the border with a style dipped in wax. After this, in the one ease, additional designs are stamped in dark blue, the rest of the cloth is brushed with alum and water, and the whole is dipped in red dye, so that the body of the cloth comes out red, the stamped designs retain their dark blue colour and the patterns painted in wax, which are protected from the action of the dye, remain white. In the other case, after painting the designs in

----------------------------------167-----------------------------------

               OCCUPATIONS AND TRADE

                           CHAP. VI

                            DYEING.

wax, the whole cloth is washed in alum and then dipped in red dye ; next the wax is scraped off and some more patterns are painted (partly on the portions protected by the wax, which have remained white, and partly on the red body of the cloth) and finally the whole is dipped in indigo. Then the parts twice covered with wax come out white, the parts first covered with wax and then dipped in indigo come out blue, the parts first dipped in red and then covered with wax come out red, and the whole of the rest of the cloth comes out blue rather lighter than the ordinary indigo tint.

The stamped cloths are exported to the same markets as those which are simply dyed without stamping, with the addition that those from Karuppur are sent to the Straits Settlements by the merchants of Kumbakonam and Nagore near Negapatam.

                       METAL-WORK 

                    Household Vessels.

Metal vessels for household use are made in few places and on a small scale. Brass vessels are manufactured by about 50 Kammalan families at Trichinopoly, 30 at Sirukambur (a hamlet of Kariyamanikkam in the Trichinopoly taluk), 50 at Tuvarankurichi in Kulittalai, 10 at Aranarai near Perambalur, two or three at Olappodi in the same taluk, 15 at Kannarapalaiyam near Jayankonda-Cholapuram, two at Karur., six or seven in Namakkal and 10 at Sendamangalam in the same taluk. The brass-workers of Aranarai and Olappodi also manufacture vessels from an alloy of four parts of lead to one of copper, usually called bell-metal, and so do 20 men (different from the brass-workers) at Sirukambur. The same industry is also carried on by a very few men at Validiyur in Trichinopoly taluk, Kirambur in Musiri, Kannarapalaiyam, Kondamanyakkanpatti (hamlet of Muttugapatti in Namakkal), at Melappuliyur and Kurumbalur in Perambalur 'taluk, and at Karambakudi, Kiranur and Alangudi in Pudukkottai  State. Some of the Sirukambur men vary the composition of the alloy and use eight parts of copper to five parts of tin, which they call tura. Copper vessels are made in a few shops owned by Goanese merchants in Trichinopoly and Karur, and lead ones by the blacksmiths of Namakkal taluk. Those made from tura and the other alloys are cast ; the leaden ones are hammered out of one piece, and the copper and brass utensils are generally made of three or more pieces of sheet metal which are hammered into shape and afterwards soldered together. Of these manufactures, the only ones which have any notable reputation are the brass vessels of Sirukambur and the bell-metal vessels of Kurumbalur. Both these are of good quality, but at the latter of these places only three families are engaged in the
 
-----------------------------------168-----------------------------------

                       TRICHINOPOLY.

                           CHAP. VI
 
                       METAL-WORK.
                     
industry. The only vessels which are exported are those made at Sirukambur, which are sent to Ceylon by the Nattukkottai Chettis The rest are sold locally ; but they do not nearly satisfy the local demand, and large imports are made from other districts. Brass vessels come in very large quantities from Kumbakonam, and (to the north of the district) from Rosipuram and Virahanur in Salem. Bell-metal vessels are imported from Palghat and Dindigul.

                   Ornamental work.

A good deal of ornamental metal-work is done. Bell-metal tops for bullocks' horns are made at Vengampatti, hamlet of Karuppattur in Kulittalai ; idols of copper and bronze by a few blacksmiths at Kulittalai, Tirumangalam near Lalgudi, Kanuarapalaiyam in Udaiyarpalaiyam, Chinna Andavankovil and Malappatti near Karur, Melappuliyur, Kurumbalur and Sittalai in Perambalur, and Tirukoranam in Pudukkottai  State; excellent decorated plates and vessels of brass and zinc are made by the blacksmiths at Kurumbalur and Melappuliyur ; and fancy silver articles of many kinds by the silversmiths of Uraiyur in Trichinopoly. The idols are cast in the rough by the cire perdue process and the features and details are worked out with the chisel. The Tirumangalam and Kulittalai work is the best and the former has a wide reputation. The zinc and brass work of Kurumbalur and Melappuliyur is thus described in a report of the Superintendent of -the School of Arts : "The brass portion of the vessel is first modelled in wax and cast in the ordinary way by surrounding the model with a mixture of clay and sand, melting out the wax and pouring in the molten metal. This process forms a brass vessel, apparently roughly pierced in simple designs, which is again surrounded by a mould and the molten zinc is run into the perforations. The vessel is completed by filing, chasing and burnishing. Each vessel requires generally to be cast in three portions which are afterwards welded together.' 1 The industry is very small. Fifteen or twenty men are employed in the Uraiyur silver work. The articles they produce are primarily designed for European use, and comprise caskets, ash-trays, salt-cellars, scent-bottles, penholders, etc. Two methods are employed. In the first the article is hammered out in the rough and the details are then worked out with a chisel ; in the second the parts are worked with a chisel separately and are then soldered together. In the latter the designs are much more deeply cut. The workmen are employed by three capitalists, who sell the finished articles. They are exported to other districts on orders, but the art is said

(Footnote: 1 G.O., No. 463, Revenue, dated 24th April 1885.)

-----------------------------------169-----------------------------------

	OCCUPATIONS AND TRADE

	CHAP. VI.

	ORDER FINE ARTS

to be declining for want of an adequate demand. One of the workmen was awarded a medal at the Delhi Darbar Exhibition.

	Jewellery.

The native jewellery made by the goldsmiths is of the kind usually found in the south and calls for no remark. Some 40 or 50 Marakkayans in Trichinopoly however import rubies from Burma and Madras, polish them locally and sometimes set them in jewellery and re-export them to Singapore, Penang and Colombo, as well as to the neighbouring districts of this Presidency. There is also a Tottiyan at Manakkal in the Trichinopoly taluk who sometimes cuts and polishes the crystals found at Vallam in the Tanjore district.

	Painting

A good deal of painting of various kinds is done in the district. A Balija at Karuppur in Udaiyarpalaiyam and an Ambalakaran at Karur paint figures of Hindu gods on curtains and hangings. They make their own colours ; black from rusty iron, rice-water and iron ore or iron sand ; red from nuna root mixed with alum and chips of vattangi wood ; yellow from the gall-nut flower ; and green from a mixture of gall-nut flower and indigo. A much higher class of painting is done by a few Razus and Kavarais at Trichinopoly, Srirangam and Karur on wooden tablets or on pieces of cloth made extremely smooth with a paste of powder and gum. As in the case of the similar work at Tanjore the drawing is neat and the colours are evenly and delicately applied ; but the subjects are always Hindu gods and heroes depicted in the usual stilted attitudes and the pictures are grotesquely adorned with sparkling stones or pieces of metal. Indeed the price of a picture depends upon its size and the number and value of these adornments which are attached to it. The painters use imported European colours. Some of the Trichinopoly and Srirangam painters execute extremely delicate little pictures on ivory and small sheets of mica. Some of these are so minutely finished that to be properly appreciated they should be seen through a magnifying glass. The ivory pictures are used for buttons, lockets, tic-pins, etc. The ivory is obtained from Palghat, and the mica from Cuddapah and Madras.

	Pith modeling.

Another class of ornamental work for which Trichinopoly town has a reputation beyond the limits of the district is the manufacture of pith models of temples, gods, garlands, palanquins and other articles, which employs a few Razu and Vellalan families. The work is similar to that done in Tanjore, but rather superior. The pith is got from Shiyali in Tanjore and Chidambaram in South Arcot, and is cut with a long sharp knife into wafers, which are twisted and pinned to represent white flowers and figures.

				22
 

-----------------------------------170-----------------------------------

TRICHINOPOLY.

CHAP. VI.

OTHER FINE ARTS.

The finished work has a beautifully soft and snowy appearance, and orders for it come from distant parts of the Presidency, though the demand is said to have decreased of late years. This work also earned a ruin at the Delhi Darbar Exhibition.

Musical instruments.

Tamburas and vinas are made by one Kammalan at Srirangam and another at Pudukkottai. Their work is said to be fairly good, but there is no great demand for it, and they only make instruments to order.

Carvings and modeling.

A fair amount of wood-carving of a good class is done by a few men in about a dozen places in the district. The work generally consists of ornamental carving on door-frames, but temple cars are also sometimes attempted. A Srirangam man carves figures of gods with a good deal of skill on cocoanut shells. The workmen are nearly always Kammalans, but some Oddes are engaged in it at Uppiliyapuram in the Musiri taluk. These are said to be related to the Odde wood-carvers of Tiruvadi in Tanjore.

Dolls of sawdust and tamarind gum are made by the womenfolk of the painters of Trichinopoly and Srirangam, and are sold at the local festivals and in the bazaars. Some of the painters themselves make carved wooden dolls of ilivu (silk-cotton) wood, which are used for ornamenting ears and palauquins.

In fourteen places stone images are carved with a good deal of skill. The stone-cutters are again nearly all Kammalans. The best known are those of Nagalapuram in the Musiri taluk, the stone obtained at which place is said to he especially suited for this kind of work. At Uraiyur there are some 100 Muttiriyans who polish stone for building purposes. These men have a wide reputation, and are said to be the best workmen of the kind in the south of the Presidency. The same work is done by a smith at Karur. There are also some fifteen Kammalans at Malappati near Karur who make stone vessels, mortars, grinding-stones, etc., which are used throughout the district and are said to be exported to Tanjore. The same work is done in a few villages surrounding Siruvachur in Perambalur taluk. Nearly all the really good workmen in stone, wood and metal find employment under the Nattukkottai Chettis in restoring the Hindu temples of the south. Upon this work more than half a crore of rupees, it is said, has been expended.

MISCELLANEOUS.

Rope manufacture.

Ropes are made for sale on only a small scale, for the ryots themselves generally make those they require. The Kuravans however make cocoanut ropes from cocoanut fibre, called kadambai in the lowlands, while in the uplands the material most commonly


-----------------------------------171-----------------------------------

OCCUPATIONS AN D TIRADE.

MISCELLANEOUS.

used is the fibre of the pulichai bush (Eriolaena Hookeriana). These ropes are mainly used for stringing country cots. The stem of the palmyra leaf, paddy straw and aloe fibre are also used for making ropes, and the flower sheath of the cocoanut (palai) is split up into a number of separate fibres which are used (untwisted) for tying down thatch, etc. The district is generally self-supporting in the matter of rope, but a certain amount is imported from Palghat and Colombo.

Basket-work

The winnowing fans and baskets are generally made of bamboo. They are manufactured by some fifty families of Telugu-speaking Medaras in Jambukesvaram, and about thirty of the same caste at. Karur and members of this caste as well as Kuravans are employed in the industry in small and scattered communities throughout the east of Namakkal taluk. The finished articles are hawked about the district by the Kuravans, and are also exported to Madura. Large numbers are also imported from Salem. Rattan boxes are made at the Karur Art School. Some Satanis and Kavarais of Srirangam manufacture pretty little baskets for betel and nut out of painted palmyra, leaves, and these are sold at the local festivals.

Oil

Gingelly and castor oil are made everywhere in the district Oil. and margosa oil largely in the uplands. Ground-nut oil is manufactured to a small extent in a number of places, especially in the Udaiyarpalaiyam taluk. lluppai (Bassia longifolia) oil is only made in small quantities. It is curious that no cocoanut oil should be made in the lowlands though the cocoanut is common there. The people are said to dislike it, and the raw material is consequently exported to be utilized elsewhere. Some well-known centres for the oil industry are Manachanallur in the Trichinopoly taluk, where some 200 persons make castor oil, and Vengampatti and Tehingupatti (hamlet of Porundalur) in Kulittalai, where about half that number are similarly employed. Margosa oil is made by about 100 households in Togamalai in the Kulittalai taluk. The people employed seem everywhere to be Vaniyans by caste.

The ordinary country oil-mill, worked by two bullocks, is generally employed, but 22 factories in Trichinopoly town make castor and ground-nut oil in iron presses. Castor oil is often made by pounding the seeds, boiling them, and then collecting the oil as it floats to the surface, and ryots sometimes make their own margosa oil by crushing the seeds with the ordinary grinding-stone. Except gingelly, all the locally-made oils are used for lighting purposes, though they are everywhere being undersold and ousted by the cheaper imported kerosine. Iluppai oil is used for lighting temples and for making soap ; gingelly and ground-nut

-----------------------------------172-----------------------------------

TRICHINOPOLY.

CHAP. V I.

MISCELLANEOUS.

oil. for cooking, the latter only by the poorer classes ; margosa oil as a medicine, especially for women who have just borne a child ; and castor oil as a purgative. For oil-baths gingelly is ordinarily used, but margosa tikes its place in the uplands of Kulittalai. The oil-cake is put to various uses. Ground-nut and gingelly cake is given to cattle; castor cake is a manure, and mixed with dung serves as fuel ; margosa and ground-nut cake is used as manure; and dapped cake is utilized as soap.

Generally speaking, the oil made is all consumed in the district, but the Trichinopoly factories send a fair amount of ground-nut and castor oil to Tanjore and Madura, and some of the Kulittalai margosa oil is sent to Colombo. Some of the ground-nut and castor cake from Trichinopoly is sent to Colombo and South Arcot as manure, and the latter district also takes some of the margosa cake from the Udaiyarpalaiyam taluk. No oils seem to be imported into the district except the ubiquitous kerosine and some iluppai oil for making soap.

Two tanneries employing some 250 workmen are at work in Trichinopoly town, and a smaller one in Srirangam. These tan the skins of sheep and goats only. Eight small tanneries in Trichinopoly, employing on the whole some 140 men, tan the hides of cattle. The skins are soaked in chunam and water for a week, the hair is then scraped off, and the skins ale returned to the mixture for another five days. They are then soaked in a solution of avaram (Cassin auriculata) bark for a week, cleaned, and returned to the solution for another week. They are finally soaked in a solution of gall-nut for two days, smeared with gingelly oil, and scraped with a metal plate to make them soft. The skins of the sheep and goats are exported to England, and the hides of the cattle to the neighbouring districts to be used for shoe-making, pieottah bags, saddles, etc. The latter are also largely used locally for these purposes. A recent estimate values the annual output of tanned skins at five lakhs of rupees, but the export is declining, as dry and salted, instead of tanned, skins are now largely sent to the foreign markets. Little leather seems to be imported into the district, though small quantities are said to be brought in occasionally from Dindigul and other places.

Besides the regular tanning industry above described, the local Chakkiliyan leather-workers make a coarse loather by an elementary process for their own use. They soak the hides in Inman' and water for a week, serape off the hair, and then keep them in a solution of avaram bark for a week. The hides are then stitched into bags, stuffed with the hark of the white babul tree, and hung

-----------------------------------173-----------------------------------

OCCUPATIONS AND TRADE.

CHAP. VI

MISCELLANEOUS 

up for another week. This industry, which produces a poor article and wastes much valuable material, is fortunately declining the hides being sent to the larger factories instead.

Shoes and other leather work.

At several places in the district good shoes and other leather articles are made, sometimes out of leather dyed locally. The shoes of Trichinopoly, which are often made of leather dyed red or scarlet in the town, are well known throughout a large part of the Presidency, and those of Udaiyarpalaiyam and of Sendamangalam and Nallipalaiyam have also a fair local reputation. At the latter three places only a few Chakkiliyans are engaged in this industry, nut in Trichinopoly some 300 Chakkiliyans and some ten Wields are so employed. They work for hire for local merchants, and their handiwork includes good country shoes (joda), Muhammadan sadavu shoes, slippers, boots, straps and saddles, and these are said to be exportedt) many parts of the Presidency. As elsewhere, the Chakkiliyans make coarse articles for local use, such as shoes and picottah buckets, out of the inferior leather they have tanned themselves.

Scents

Pudukkottai  town has a wide reputation for the scents made Scents. in in it. Some 50 Muhammadans are engaged in the industry, as well as a few people of other castes, including some Brahmans. The scents made are wafers of villai, attar water, and sticks of udravatti. The villai  wafers are sometimes strung into garlands, and are sometimes dissolved and used with sandal powder. Attar is generally mixed with sandal. Uduvatti is burned as incense. These perfumes are in much demand locally for festive occasions, and are also exported to Colombo. The trade has however much declined. The manufacturers are very reticent about their methods ; but they say that numerous elements have to be combined for the production of the scents and that the process is very complicated. The scents are probably extracted by subjecting the raw material to distillation in oil or melted grease as is done in Europe, where very refined pigs' lard is used for the delicate scents.

Cheroots

Cheroots are said to be made by some 5.000 persons in as. many as 200 factories in Trichinopoly town, but only nineteen of these factories are of any size, the rest being quite insignificant. The tobacco leaf is obtained from Dindigul, Karur, Singapore, Penang and Sumatra, and the cheroots are exported in large quantities to various parts of the Presidency as well as to Bombay and England. The industry is said to have greatly declined owing to the competition of the milder and bettor-rolled cheroots which are now made in Dindigul and Madras. A recent estimate

-----------------------------------174-----------------------------------

TRICHINOPOLY

CHAP VI 

MISCELLANEOUS 

puts the output of cheroots at twelve millions annually, valued at Rs. 75,000.

Soap

Common soap is made in nine small factories in Trichinopoly. Fullers' earth is mixed with chunam and water and poured into a cement vat, and half the quantity of iluppai oil is then added. The mixture is stirred daily for a week, and then the oily matter is skimmed off and boiled until it reaches the consistency of wax. It is then poured into cocoanut shells to cool and solidify. The soap is used for washing clothes, and besides being largely consumed in the district, is exported to Madras, Coimbatore and the Nilgiris. Much of the iluppai oil required is imported from the Salem district.

Bangles.

Two kinds of bangles are manufactured in the district ; namely, those made of the refuse of the stick-lae used for dyeing, and the `glass' bangles made from the glass' obtained from alkaline earth. The first kind is made by about 100 Musalmans and Balijas in Trichinopoly, seine 200 Balijas at Kavaraipalaiyam, hamlet of Vilandai in the Udaiyarpalaiyam taluk, and by a few of the same caste at Srirangam, Karur, Sendamangalam and Kosavampatti in Namakkal. The other sort is manufactured by Balijas at Kavaraipalaiyam, Senndamangalam, Valanadu, Edayapatti (hamlet of Puttanattam) in Kulittalai, and Vaittur in Pudnkkottai State.


Stick-lac

The stick-lac refuse is obtained from the dyers after they have tingles extracted the colouring matter from it, is mixed with an equal quantity of earth from an ant-hill and a small quantity of resin, and is then melted and drawn out into small sticks (gaddi) and these are again melted and pulled out into fine pencils, are roughly shaped into bangles by hand, and are then painted yellow, green, red or dark blue. The yellow paint is made from arsenic and stick-lac in the proportion of one to three; the rod out of vermilion and stick-lac in the same proportion ; and the green and dark blue with a mixture of stick-lac and aniline dye-powder. Finally little plates of tinsel (varlireku) are stuck on to the bangles with lac.

Glass bangles.

The manufacture of the glass bangles is a more elaborate matter. The first process is to convert the alkaline earth into ' glass.' All the bangle-makers except those in the Kulittalai taluk and the Pudukkottai State, get their glass ready-made from Kalahasti in North Arcot and other distant places. The rest obtain the alkalino earth from time Kiranur taluk in Pudukkottai  State, and themselves make the glass. The earth is thrown little

-----------------------------------175-----------------------------------

OCCUPATIONS AND TRADE

MISCELLANEOUS 

by little into water, the mixture being stirred the whole time. The mixture is at length allowed to settle and the clear solution is drawn off. Into this more alkaline earth is thrown in the same way until the liquid becomes quite thick. It is then mixed with a fine flinty sand (called negal) and dried in the sun. Everyday for a fortnight or more it is again mixed with more of the thick liquid and dried next clay, and at last it is ready to be smelted. This process is carried out in a special furnace made to hold some 50 pots of the raw material. It goes on for four or five days, great care being taken in graduating the heat, and the furnace being allowed to cool periodically for stated intervals. The result is a vitreous mass of bangle glass. This is again melted and coloured by adding various substances while it is in a liquid state. Blue is obtained by adding six tolas of a substance called range (which they get from Kalahasti) to every ten padis of glass (one padi weighs 116 tolas) and combining the mixture with ten padis of kachumannu, or fine sand obtained by washing alkaline earth. Green is obtained by mixing ten padis of glass with the same quantity of kachumannu and 20 tolas of copper which has been previously heated almost to melting point. Black is got by mixing the same quantities of stone and kachumannu with three handfuls of varagu husk. The process of making the glass into bangles is much the same as in other districts. It is melted, and while it is in a liquid state a man takes a small portion of it on the end of a stick, twirls it into a ring with a rapid circular motion of the stick, and shapes it into a bangle on a mould before it cools. The process is a little different at Valanadn, where bangles are sometimes made out of the uncoloured glass and the colouring matter is applied before the bangle cools on the mould. Grey and yellow are the colours chiefly thus obtained, the grey being made from a mixture of 60 parts of bangle glass to 1   of zinc, 3 of white lead and o of black lead, and the yellow out of the same mixture without the zinc.

The annual output of bangles in the district was recently valued at Es. 12,000. They are largely exported to neighbouring areas, and the stick-lac bangles are said to be sent as far as Tinnevelly, Pondicherry and Colombo. The industry has however suffered greatly both from the increasing dearness of the fuel, of which large quantities are required for the furnaces, and also owing to the importation through Poona and Bombay of cheaper articles mainly made in China.

Glass-ware

A. few of the bangle-makers of Kavaraipalaiyam can make tumblers, bottles and other glass-ware and ornament them with

-----------------------------------176-----------------------------------

TRICHINOPOLY.

CHAP. VI

MISCELLANEOUS

designs of flowers, etc. The work is good, but is only done to order. 

Pottery 

There is nothing remarkable about the ordinary pottery of the district, but until recently a very good class of pots was made at. Karai in the Perambalur taluk out of white clay. These are said to have been very strong and smooth.

Saltpetre.

A very large manufacture of saltpetre, both crude and refined, is carried on in many parts of the district. It is referred to in Chapter XII.

House building

Professional architects are common, except in the Udaiyarpalaiyam taluk. As elsewhere, it is most important that a man who is building a new house should consult some one who knows the manai sastram which prescribes multitudinous arbitrary rules about the dimensions of the different parts of houses, the direction in which they should face, etc. The Kammalans are the ordinary exponents of the science.

Printing.

There are about a dozen printing presses at Trichinopolv, and one each at Srirangam and Karur, besides the State Press at Pudukkottai . The St. Joseph's College press at Trichinopoly and four others in that town are of fair size. The College press issues a monthly religious periodical, the Dodson press an English weekly paper, and the Srirangam press a monthly legal review and a monthly Tamil magazine.

Workshops etc,

The Railway Workshops at Trichinopoly are referred to in Chapter VII The Technical school at Karur is popularly known as the Karur workshop '. It is briefly mentioned in Chapter X. There are two screw cotton presses in the district, one at Trichinopoly, owned by the United Spinning and Weaving Mills Company and the other at Ariyalur belonging to Messrs. Binny & Co. It is estimated that these press about 600 tons of cotton in the year, and they export it to Madras and Virudupati.

TRADE

The local boards control 21 markets and lease out every year the right to collect the usual fees in them. Some of them, notably those at Ariyalur, Turaiyur.and Manapparai, fetch large bids. They are apparently less used than elsewhere for the sale of ordinary agricultural produce, the local merchants generally sending round to the villages themselves to collect the grain they wish to purchase, but many cattle are sold at them. Besides the three already mentioned, those at Pudukkottai, Uppidamangalam (Karur), and Nainamalai and Puliyanjolai in Namakkal are the most important,. Thu last-named is much used by the Malaiyalis.

Exports and imports.

The chief exports from the district are paddy, cotton, ground-nut, plantains, cocoanuts and betel leaf ; silk and cotton tartans

-----------------------------------177-----------------------------------

OCCUPATIONS AND TRADE.

CHAP. VI. 

TRADE.

for Muhammadans, cotton fabrics both fine and coarse (especially from Udaiyarpalaiyam taluk),carpets, blankets and mats ; rubies, silver-work, paintings and pith models ; baskets, bangles, shoes, tanned skins, castor oil, oil-cake, saltpetre, stone, cigars, soap, buffaloes, sheep and goats. The most important of the imports are good cloths of silk and cotton for men and women, carpets, household vessels, raw hides, bangles, glass-ware, raw tobacco and ploughing-cattle.

The usual weights used by goldsmiths are as follows :

TABLE 177 ATTACHED SEPARATELY

Gold is always referred to in terms of pagodas if the amount exceeds a pagoda, and silver in terms of seers or tolas or their sub-multiples. The weights used for gold are also employed for scents and medicines.

General Commercial Weights

The general commercial weights for most other solids (except grain and salt, which are sold by measure) are as follows :- 

TABLE 177 ATTACHED SEPARATELY

The term podi is unknown in Udaiyarpalaiyam and Namakkal ; in the latter the sattai is its equivalent; and in the former there is no corresponding weight of that value at all. A different scale is used for certain solids (called perum sarakku or ' big stuff ') which are sold in very large quantities, such as areca-nut, cotton seeds, jaggery, tamarind and oil-cake. The table is as follows :- 

TABLE 177 ATTACHED SEPARATELY

The weights above the tulam are not ordinarily used, and the scale is not the same everywhere. For instance in Trichinopoly town the tolam is equal to 5   visses or 220 palams. Again a special podi of 24 tulams or 15 maunds is everywhere used for

23
-----------------------------------178-----------------------------------

TR1CHINOPOLY.

CHAP. V I

WEIGHTS AND MEASURES.

arecanut. In  Udaiyarpalaiyam taluk this Beale seems to be only used for arecanut, and the other ' big stuffs' are generally sold by the tukku, which is equivalent to 50 palams, and the seer of 8 palams. Again in Pudukkottai  State the people weigh their big stuffs' by quite a different scale, namely, by the seer of 41 palms, the maund of 40 seers and the tulam of 120 seers.

Root vegetables are everywhere sold by the tukku, which is generally equal to 6   seers, but in Perambalur weighs 10 seers. These vegetables are generally weighed on a curious balance called the kayittu kol (` rope stick ') which is found also in Tanjore arid is an adaptation of the Danish steel yard.

A good deal of variation occurs in the measures used by the ryots for grain and salt. Shopkeepers everywhere use the standard padi containing 132 tolas weight of rice, but the padi used by the ryots in their dealings with each other varies 'immensely. Thus in the Trichinopoly and Kulittalai taluks it contains 116 tolas of rice, in Musiri and Perambalur 58 tolas, in Udaiyarpalaiyam and Pudukkottai  60 tolas, and 70 tolas in Karur. and Namakkal. The padi is everywhere the starting. point of a scale of measures, but the scales differ as much as the capacity of the padis. Thus a marakkal contains 4 padis in 'Trichinopoly, Kulittalai, Udaiyarpalaiyam and Pudukkottai , 8 padis in Musiri and Perambalur, and 6 padis in Karur ; and in all these localities a kalam contains 12 marakkals. In Trichinopoly think a smaller kalam of 10   markkals eo-exists with the larger kalam. There is a vollam of 4 padis in Karur, Nomakkal, Perambalur and parts of Musiri, and a moda of 16 vallams or 64 padis in Karur and Namakkal. Again a muttai (` load') of 14 marakkals or 5C padis is used in Trichinopoly, and one of 24marakkals or 96 padis in Udaiyarpalaiyam ; and a podi (` pack load') of 384 padis in Karur, Namakkal and Musiri, and of 288 padis in Perambalur. Finally a ' cart-load ' of 12 kalams is used in Kulittalai and Musiri. In the former taluk this contains 576 padis, and in the latter twice as many, but the weight of both is the same.

Liquid measures

Ghee, oil, milk, curd and butter-milk are all sold by measure, except that in the shops of Trichinopoly town ghee is sold by weight and curd by the potful, and transactions are generally made in terms of the local grain padi and its sub-multiples. Kerosine oil is sold, as elsewhere, by the bottle and tin. Other oils are sold by a variety of measures. Thus in the Trichinopoly and Udaiyarpalaiyam taluks and in the Pudukkottai  State an adam (of 64 seers or 512 palams weight of oil) and its sub-multiples down to one-sixteenth aro used, and below that seers or fractions of seers. Throughout the rest of the district, except_the Perambalur taluk

-----------------------------------179-----------------------------------


OCCUPATIONS AND TRADE.

CHAP. VI

WEIGHTS AND MEASURES 

a kudam (equal to three-quarters of a Trichinopoly adam) is used.and oil padi,' of which it takes 30 to make one kudam in Kulittalai and Musiri and 15 or 1o in Karur. and Namakkal. This.oil padi is different from the grain padi. In Perambalur oil, like every other liquid, is measured by the ordinary grain padi.

Measures and distance.

In measuring distances the English scale from an inch to a mile measures of is used side by side with the span of 9 inches and the cubit of 1   .feet. Rope is sold by the pavu of about o feet, the distance being measured from finger tip to finger tip when the arms are out- stretched. In the uplands the ryots speak of an anappu of 35 or 50 yards and a kadu of 4 anappus. These are really square measures (though they are hardly ever used as such), the anappu being either a half or three-quarters of an acre. Long distances are often measured in time. Thus a mile is the distance which can be traversed in three-quarters of an Indian hour (mukkal naligai vali duram ), and ten of these make a kadam, or three hours' journey.

Square measures.

Besides the acre and the cent, which are not universally known, Square the kuli of 576 square feet, and the kani of 100 kulis or one and a third acres are commonly used. In the Pudukkottai  State they use the Tanjore scale of one kuli of 144 square feet, one aid of 100 kulis, and one veil ( 6 74/121  acres) of 20 mas. In Karur and Namakkal they use the valiant in measuring dry land ; but its extent varies, being 3.82 acres in the former and 8.60 acres in the latter. In the river-side villages the sei or pangu, and the karai or setti are used ; but these vary in every village according to the size of the share into which the village lands were divided under the old mirasi system.

Measures of time

The English hour and minute are known to, and used by, the Measures of men in the towns and large villages, but the women and the rustics of both sexes use the native measures of time, namely, 60 vinadis or snaps of the finger = 1 naligai or Indian hour of 24 English minutes ; 3   naligais = 1 muhurtam ; 2 mulztirtams1 jamam, or watch of 3 hours ; and 4 jamams = 1 day or night of 12 hours. The usual phrases to designate different times of the day and night, such as ' first cock crow,' cock crow,' etc. are also common.

Local names of coins.

The one-pie coin is called a kasu,1 2 pies are a during' and 4 pies a duddu. Two annas is called a panam ; 2 and the pagoda of 3   rupees and pon of 10 panams or If rupees are also commonly used in popular speech.'

(Footnote:  1.The kosu of Tanjore is two pies.
2.The panam of Tanjore is 2   annas.)


-----------------------------------180-----------------------------------

TRICHINOPOLY.

CHAPTER VII

MEANS OF COMMUNICATION.

ROADSTheir extension- Their condition ' and managementTollsFerriesBridges. RIVER NAVIGATION. RAILWAYS--The South Indian RailwayProposed railway extension. ACCOMMODATION FOR TRAVELLERSBungalowas Choultries.

CHAP. VII 

Roads.

Their extension.

As elsewhere, a great extension of the roads of the district took place during the latter half of the last century. The report on the Settlement of 1804 says ' With the exception of a few miles in Udaiyarpalaiyam, trunk road No. 8 is the only made road in the dry taluks of Trichinopoly. The tracks leading from village to village are hardly passable in dry weather for a wheeled conveyance, and a heavy shower of rain will put a stop to all traffic for days together. Advantage is frequently taken of the beds of nullahs and water-courses as affording a harder surface than the black soil on either side. But the greater part of the grain and the merchandise is transported on pack bullocks.
'
Much has been done since those days, and at present the district is traversed from north to south by a main road, and the other roads in the district are fairly numerous and tolerably good. The most important of the main lines are those running from Trichinopoly to Madras through Perambalur to Salem through Musiri and Namakkal ; to Atttur through Turaiyur ; to Mannargudi through Udaiyarpalaiyam ; to Erode by way of Karur- ; and to Madura and Dindigul. The road from Manappgrai through Musiri and Turaiyur is another important line. These are all in the charge of the District Board.

Their condition and management.

As in other districts, nearly all the roads are in charge of the local boards. The condition of the roads is generally fair but in the north of the district some sections of even the trunk roads are still only gravelled, and not metalled, and (as noted below) the want of adequate bridging is much felt. Moreover the absence of wells or other means of water-supply at the side of the roads renders it impossible to repair them except in the rainy season ; the result being that the work has then to be hurried. The quarries are not very conveniently placed ; and the metal obtained from them is good in only a few cases, more often varying between moderate and indifferent. The annual expenditure on 

-----------------------------------181-----------------------------------

MEANS OF COMMUNIOATION.

CHAP. VII.

ROADS

repairs averages Rs. 128 per mile, the highest rate allowed (out side towns) being Rs. 250 a mile and the lowest Rs. 50.

Tolls are collected at 20 places on the roads. The District Tolls. Board annually leases the right to collect them. The Trichinopoiy and Srirangam municipal councils do not levy tolls on vehicles and animals entering their limits, but the District Board levies them at gates near the municipal boundaries ; and in the ease of Trichinopoly gives the council two-fifths of the net amount collected at them, and in the case of Srirangam pays the municipality 15 per cent. of this net amount. A different system is in force in Karur There the six gates at the municipal boundaries are controlled. by the municipality and one-third of the net receipts is paid to the District Board.

Ferries.

Seventy-three ferries are working under the control of the District Board on the Cauvery, Coleroon and Amaravati rivers. The ferry-boats are coracles of basket-work covered with leather. The right to ply at these ferries was leased out in 1903-04 for as much as Rs. 22,870. The most important of them are those at Mohanur, Lalpettai, Tirumanur, Kottapuli and Kulittalai. Formerly large Mains, resembling the ballacuts ' of the Northern Cirears, strongly built of wood, were used to transport carts, cattle, and even camels and elephants i across the rivers. They had flat decks protected at the sides with hand-rails and provided at each end with a sloping ramp up which carts could be pulled; and would carry some fifty persons at a time. They fell into disuse when the rivers gradually became silted up owing to the construction of anicuts for irrigation.

Bridges.

Of the bridges of the district, the most important are those which cross the Cauvery and Coleroon on each side of Srirangam island. They are known as the Cauvery and Coleroon bridges respectively and carry a great deal of traffic. The Grand Anicut and the Upper Anicut across the Coleroon both carry road bridges, but their position prevents them from being much used for through traffic. The bridge over the Lower Anicut on the Coleroon has been especially useful since the collapse of the Chidambaram bridge. These five are the only road bridges over the Cauvery and Coleroon and few have been built over the other rivers in the district. The Uppar is crossed by the Madras road on a bridge of 11 arches of 21 feet span ; and bridges of from five to eight spans cross the Kavaru on the Tanjore road, the Koraiyar

(Footnote: 1 Until recently rates for the transport of elephants continued to be quoted in the ferry leases ; though it would be a very small elephant which would not swamp the present ferry coracles.)

-----------------------------------182-----------------------------------

TRICHINOPOLY.

CHAP.VII

ROADS.
on the roads to Dindigul and Madura, the Kodamurti on the Karur toad, the Kovalai vaykkal between Tiruverumbur and the old Vennar head, the Aiyar on the Salem road, the Kulaiygr on the way to Udaiyarpalaiyam, the Uppar on the way to Turaiyur, and the Valavandiyar between Turaiyur and Musiri. There were similar bridges across the Chinnar on the Madras road and the Veppentattai river between Perambalur and Salem ; but these have long been washed away. The smaller jungle streams are still very insufficiently bridged. Indeed the chief defect in the road communications in the district is the number of small unbridged streams which cross them. These are torrents in the monsoon and sand heaps in the dry season, and are naturally a great hindrance to traffic.

The Cauvery bridge above mentioned consists of 32 spans of about 48 feet each and is 1,876 feet in length. It was completed in 184o and a tablet on the western parapet states that it was dedicated to the memory of Dalton, Kilpatrick and four other officers of the English army which fought so gallantly to save Trichinopoly from the French in the middle of the eighteenth century. The Coleroon bridge was completed in 1852, is 2,707 feet in length, and is dedicated to Lord Pigot ' Governor and Defender of Fort St. George, A.D. 1759.' It consists of 38 spans of o0 feet each. Neither it nor the Cauvery bridge has ever suffered any considerable damage from floods. Some Rs. 3,500 are annually spent in keeping their flooring and aprons in repair. The old Venneir and Cauvery head consists of 42 spans of 30 feet each and is 2,031 feet in length. It. was built in 1851. The bridge across the Aiyarr river on the Trichinopoly-Salem road is a girder bridge of five spans of 50 feet each.

RIVER, NAVIGATION.

In former days a certain amount of traffic was floated down the Cauvery and Coleroon in native coracles similar to those now used for the ferries. These came down, even from the Coimbatore district, with loads of rice, gingelly seed, saltpetre and other articles for export, and more particularly with charcoal and iron ore for the iron-works at Porto Novo in South Area. They made their way to the latter place by the Vadavar canal from the Coleroon, the Viravam tank surplus canal and the Khan Sahib canal. Blocks of granite and other articles were also commonly carried down the Cauvery to Tanjore and even Kumbakonam, and the stone for most of the temples in that district was probably imported in this manner. After the cargo had been disposed of the boats were broken up, the bamboos sold for what they could fetch, and the leather folded up and carried hack for use in another


-----------------------------------183-----------------------------------

MEANS OF COMMUNICATION.

CHAP VII 

RIVER NAVIGATION.

trip. Since the construction of the railway this navigation has been largely given up. Bamboos are still, however, rafted down from the neighbourhood of Erode in fair quantities, the cost of transport by river being only about two-thirds of what it would be by rail. The rafts are steered by poling, the journey takes from four to ten days, and from four to ten men are required for each raft. Certain kinds of timber for agricultural and other implements are also still carried down the river in coracles. Each coracle can carry from 600 to 800 sticks one yard long and throe to four inches in circumference. At Trichinopoly the boats are broken up and the basket-work sold. The leather is carried back by train.

RAILWAYS

The South Indian Railways 

The district is served by the main line of the South Indian Railway and the branch of this which runs from Trichinopoly to Erode, both of which are built on the metre gauge.The former enters the district from the east, 14 miles from Trichinopoly Junction station, and thence turns to the south-west and runs for 35 miles through this district on its way to Dindigul and Madura. The stations on this line within the district are Tiruverumbur, Trichinopoly Junction, Pungudi, Kolattur, Samudram, Manapparai,Vaiyampatti and Naduppatti. The Erode branch runs northward from the Junction station to Trichinopoly fort, and thence proceeds westward along the southern bank of the Cauvery for 58 miles within the district. The principal stations on this are Elamanur near the Upper Anicut, Kulittalai, Lalpettai (where passengers from Namakkal take the train) and Karur.

The first line projected by the late Great Southern of India Railway Company (as the South Indian Railway Company was formerly called) was that from Negapatam to Erode through Trichinopoly. The section of this which runs from Negapatam to Trichinopoly fort was constructed on the standard gauge and completed for traffic in 1802, and the line was opened as far as Karur in 1800, and as far as Erode two years later. In 1875 the metre-gauge line from Trichinopoly to Madura was opened as part of the new main line from Madras to Tuticorin, and in that year the section of the older line between Negapatam and Trichinopoly was also converted to the metre gauge. The Trichinopoly Erode section of this was converted to the same gauge in 1879. By a contract dated 1oth December 1873 the Great Southern of India Railway Company was amalgamated with the Carnatic Railways Company, which was engaged in making the line from Tanjore to Madras. The whole system was bought by the Secretary of State on 1st January 1891 and the

-----------------------------------184-----------------------------------

TRICHINOPOLY.

CHAP. VII

RAILWAYS.

present South Indian Railway Company was constituted, with a capital of one million sterling, to work it.

The Company's head-quarters are at Trichinopoly and form an important feature of that town. The staff consists of 22 European officers, nearly o00 clerks and some 500 men working in the engineering workshops. The administration of the line is divided into five departments ; namely, Agency, Engineering, Traffic, Audit and Medical. The first and last are the most lightly staffed, while the audit department has by far the heaviest establishment of clerks. The engineering shops are generally speaking employed in the maintenance and manufacture of the plant required for the railway. The work turned out consists of the manufacture and repair of signal posts, interlocking gear, station furniture, signal lamps, small gliders and other plant required for the upkeep of the permanent way, and the maintenance of appliances connected with the electric lighting of trains and of the Trichinopoly Junction station and general offices.

Proposed railway extension.

Several proposals for extending railway communication within the district are under consideration. These, however, are all more or less dependent on the general schemes for the improvement of the railways in the south of India which are still under discussion by the Government of India, and are at present in a more or less nebulous condition. Nothing in fact, can be decided till the route for the proposed broad gauge line which is to connect the north of India with Ceylon is definitely settled. That matter has been under consideration since 1902.

The most important of the local schemes is the proposed chord line to connect Trichinopoly with Tirukkoyilur in South Arcot. This would shorten the distance to Madras by 37 miles, and forms part of one of the routes under consideration for broad-gauge communication between the north and the south of India. It would also traverse a large tract of country measuring 100 miles each way, which it would open up for trade purposes and protect in times of famine. It would cross the Cauvery and pass through the Trichinopoly, Musiri and Perambalur taluks in this district. Its length in this district would be some 45 miles. A survey for this scheme on the metre gauge has recently been sanctioned by the Government of India.

Another important project is that proposed by the Pudukkottai Darbar to connect Trichinopoly with Pudukkottai and Tenth on the east coast. This line is also intimately connected with the general question of rail communication in southern India, and its definite consideration has therefore been hitherto deferred. The

-----------------------------------185-----------------------------------

MEANS OF COMMUNICATION.

CHAP. VII

RAILWAYS.

railway would be some 83 miles in length, of which about six miles would be in this district.

A preliminary investigation of the country between Perambalur and Karur by a traffic officer of the South Indian Railway Company has been sanctioned by the Madras Government, and a report from the Agent of the Company regarding a line to connect these two places has been received. The consideration of the project has however again been deferred pending the orders of the Government of India on the general railway questions already referred to.

Besides these schemes for the extension of railways from Provincial or Imperial funds, the District Board has suggested proposals for the improvement of communications by the construction of steam tramways or railways, and since 1903 has been levying for this purpose a railway cess of three pies in the rupee of the land assessment 1, the proceeds of which now (1905-06) amount to Rs. 1,28,320. Pending the decision of Government on the general problems already referred to, the Board has not yet decided upon what line it will spend this money. It has been suggested that if the Trichinopoly-Tirukkoyilur chord is constructed and the Cauvery bridged, a line running along the north bank of the Cauvery and Coleroon would pay well.

ACCOMMODATION FOR TRAVELLERS

Bungalows

A list of the travellers' bungalows maintained in the district, with the accommodation available and the fees levied for occupation in each will be found in the separate appendix to this volume. There are seven of these in Musiri taluk, .five each in Namakkal and Karur, four each in Udaiyarpalaiyam, Kulittalai and Trichinopoly, but only two in Perambalur. Of these, sixteen are owned by the local boards, four by the Forest, and eleven by the Public Works, department. The accommodation varies greatly in different places, ranging from furnished and spacious buildings
to empty sheds. These bungalows are all intended for the use of Europeans.

Choultries.

Besides them 27 choultries.for the accommodation of native travellers are maintained by the local boards. Many of these have large private endowments which are now administered by the boards. Thus the choultries at Kalpatti and Puduchavadi in the Kulittalai and Udaiyarpalaiyam taluks are endowed respectively with some 800 and 1,000 acres of land. Some are endowed by Government and some were originally endowed by private charity and have boon taken over by the local boards.

(Footnote: 1 G.O., No. 219, Local, dated 21st February 1903. The cose has since been temporarily suspended.)

24

-----------------------------------186-----------------------------------

TRICHINOPOLY.

CHAP. VII

ACCOMMODATION FOR TRAVELLERS.

No fees are charged for accommodation in any of these choultries, except in the portions of a few which are classed as travellers' bungalows. The majority of them only provide accommodation and not food.

There are also nearly 100 private choultries scattered about the district, over a third of which are in the Trichinopoly taluk. The accommodation in these varies greatly. Food is given free at a large number, though generally only to Bramans. From many of them the Panchama ' castes are entirely excluded. Some are very handsomely endowed, while others have only a very meagre income.

-----------------------------------187-----------------------------------


CHAPTER VIII.

RAINFALL

THE table below gives the average rainfall in the various seasons in the different taluks and in the district as a whole. The seasons there shown roughly correspond with what may be called the .dry weather, the hot weather, the south-west monsoon and the northeast monsoon. The figures entered are the averages of the statistics at the various recording stations for the years 1870-1903. Figures for certain additional stations will be found in the separate Appendix.

TABLE 187 ATTACHED SEPARATELY

It will be seen that, the first three months of the year are practically rainless, that good showers arrive in April and May, and that the bulk of the rain of the year comes in the two monsoons. Of the latter the north-east is the heavier, though the rainfall from the south-west monsoon is more plentiful than in any of the adjoining districts except South Arcot. The north-east rain is less than that found in the coast districts of South Arcot, Tanjore, Madura and Tinnevelly ; but more plentiful than in Salem or Coimbatore. The total average for the district is 32.60 inches, or the tenth highest figure among the districts of the Presidency.

-----------------------------------188-----------------------------------

TRICHINOPOLY 

CHAP. VIII

RAINFALL.

The heaviest rainfall, it will be noticed,- occurs in the two north-eastern taluks of Perambalur and Udaiyarpalaiyam, where the total is far above the district average ; the south-eastern and central thinks of Trichinopoly, Musiri and Kulittalai are all a little below the average of the district ; while the two western taluks of Namakkal and Karur receive much less rain than any of the others. These differences occur more or less in all the seasons.

The smallest fall that has ever been recorded in the district (excluding the Namakkal and Karur taluks) is the 23.33 inches of 1870. The highest was the 45.58 inches of 1903. During the last 35 years the district total has been below 30 inches on only eight occasions and above 40 inches on only five. The highest recorded fall was in Kilappaluvur (in Udaiyarpalaiyam) in 1902, when o5.78 inches fell. On that occasion 28 inches fell in August and September and 22 in November and December. Other high figures are 63.09 and 60.92 at Udairarplaiyam in 1872 and 1902, 5o.3o at Marungapuri (Kulittalai taluk) in 1902, and 56.05 at Perambalur in 1871. The smallest annual fall anywhere recorded was at Paramati in Namakkal, where only 10.77 inches were registered in 1881. Other very low figures are 14.83 and 15.96 at Kulittalai in 1899 and 1876 ; 15.72, 16.20, 16.86 and 16.91 at Paramati in 1891, 1879, 1876 and 1888 ; 16.00 at Aravakkuriehi in 1892 and 1900 ; 1o.48 in Namakkal in 1891 ; 16.93 in Karur in 1872 and 16.73 in Musiri in 1899. The lowest fall in the more fortunate north-eastern taluks is 19.70 for Ariyalur in 1892, and the highest for the two eastern taluks is 43.31 at Sendamangalam in 1903.

FAMINES.

Under native rule.

Famines and scarcities did not attract the same attention in the time of the native rulers as they do nowadays ; and practically no record survives of the famines which occurred in the district prior to the cession of the Carnatic to the British, still less of the occasions on which mere scarcity of food prevailed. The letters of the Jesuit priests of the Madura mission afford almost the only information available regarding these disasters in pre-British days. Mr. Nelson's Madura Country contains extracts from some of these.

Famine of 1659-62

They show that the Muhammadan invasion of 1659 caused a famine which lasted till 1662. The cruel devastatious of the enemy round Trichinopoly and in the direction of Tanjore created such misery that in a short space the population emigrated in a bodysome to the Madura, country, some to Satyamangalam. The result was that the Muhammadans were themselves reduced to the direst extremity. Their horses died from want of forage, their camp followers ran away, and thousands of them died of actual starvation.

-----------------------------------189-----------------------------------

RAINFALL AND SHASONS

CHAP. VIII

FAMINES

So numerous were the deaths that it was impossible to bury or burn the corpses ; which were accordingly left in great heaps in the open fields.1

Of 1675

The invasion of Venkaji, king of Tanjore, in 1675 produced similar distress, which prevailed with peculiar severity in the parts bordering on the Marava country. ' Vast numbers died of starvation, and still larger numbers emigrated to foreign countries; and, to use the expression of a Jesuit who saw these things, nothing was to be met with in any direction, but desolation and the silence of the tomb.2

Of 1709-20

A terrible famine, due not to war but to want of rain, lasted for eleven years (1709-20) at the beginning of the next century. And matters were made worse by a cyclone and flood at the end of 1709 which drowned thousands of people and did incalculable damage to property. The famine appears to have been worst in the Ramnad country. In commenting on it, Father Martin states .that when the rains failed prices always rose enormously, and that he had known a rise of 3,200 per cent. above the normal When these terrific rises took place it was customary for the starving ryots to borrow a few pounds of rice from more fortunate neighbours undertaking to repay for each pound lent eight, ten, or fifteen or more pounds out of the earliest crop they might be able to raise.3

Such were three periods of famine of which a chance mention occurs in the Jesuit letters. What the people suffered in other periods of distress can only be vaguely imagined.

Famines in modern times

There seems to have been nothing in modern times to compare with the sufferings of the people during the visitations mentioned above. Indeed since the British occupation of the district there has been remarkably little severe distress in it from bad seasons and lack of food. The only times when scarcity amounted to famine during this period were the years 1866-67 and 1876-78 referred to below. In the early years of the last century, however, droughts often caused a serious loss of crops. Of these events, few details seem to survive.

Early scarcities.

The first scarcity occurred in the years 1802-04, and was especially serious in 1803. In all three years the floods in the river came down punctually and abundantly at the beginning of the cultivation season, and then suddenly subsided before a crop could be raised. Remissions of revenue were given on a lavish


(Footnot: 1 The Madura Country, iii, 181-2.1
2 Ibid. p. 196.
3 Ibid., pp. 242-47.)

-----------------------------------190-----------------------------------

TRICHINOPOLY 

CHAP. VIII.

FAMINES.

scale, the loss of revenue in these years amounting to five lakhs of pagodas, or Rs. 17   lakhs. 1 

The next bad year was 1807, in which over 40,200 pagodas, or some Rs. 1,40,700 were remitted. Little seems to be known of the cause or the course of this scarcity. Belief was given to the poorest classes on public works. The years 1809, 1810, 1817, 1819 and 1827 were rendered disastrous by the floods briefly referred to later on. In 1833 the district again suffered. from drought, and a large expenditure on public works was sanctioned to provide employment for the destitute.

Unfavourable seasons in 1855-61

Between 1855 and 18o1 the district was afflicted with succession of persistently unfavourable seasons. In 1855-56 remissions of Rs. 19,000 were granted for withered crops, in the following year the remissions on this account amounted to nearly Bs. 21,000, and in 1856-57 they rose to Bs. 44,000. For nearly six months, namely from November 1857 to almost the end of April 1858, the district was entirely without rain, and the consequent distress from want of water was excessive. Tanks, wells and streams were alike dry, and men and cattle suffered severely.' In the next year occurred the great Cauvery flood of 1858 mentioned below, but in the succeeding two seasons the rainfall was again very insufficient.

Famine of 1866-67

The next year in which there was severe scarcity was 1866-67, when the distress amounted to famine. The trouble began with a bad season in 18o5-oo. Scanty freshes in the river, and drought from November 1865 to May 1866, gravely impeded cultivation and caused a great rise in prices. Paddy sold for 48 per cent. more than the average figure of the preceding ten years. Only small remissions were given in this year, but in 1866 a continuance of the drought necessitated the opening of relief-works and relief-houses. The latter were first started in August, but the district was not brought on to the list of distressed areas till September. In October the prices of rice and ragi were respectively 92 and 68 per cent. higher than in the corresponding period of the previous year. In five relief-houses opened for the aged and infirm, an average of 2,500 persons were relieved daring the four months August to November. The highest number was 4,166 in September. The total expenditure on these institutions was nearly Rs. 5,000, of which over four-fifths were raised by local subscriptions, and the rest was contributed by the Central Famine Committee. For the able-bodied, relief-works were continued

(Footnote:1 Board of Revenue's General Letters dared 1st August 1805, 31st January 1806 and 1th October 1806.)

-----------------------------------191-----------------------------------

RAINFALL AND SEASONS. 

CHAP. VIII

FAMINES.

from October till June of the following year. The average number of persons on these was, however, only 57 ; and the greatest number for any month was 172 in October 1866. The cost of them to the State was less than a thousand rupees. Want of rain continued to cause anxiety till well into 1868, but no more relief-works were necessary.

Famine of 1876-78

The most severe visitation from which the district has suffered in modern times was the great famine of 187o-78, and even this touched it with a gentle hand in comparison with the misery it inflicted elsewhere. It is true that relief was given for the 20 months from December 1876 to September 1878, but the scarcity was little more than nominal except from July 1877 to April 1878.

As early as July 1875 the Collector reported the unfavourable character of the season. Anxiety was for a time allayed by good rain in August and September 1875, but 

another period of drought followed, and Trichinopoly was one of the districts which, in January 187o, reported great want of water and loss of crops from drought.' The district was still however comparatively little affected, as the south-west monsoon of 187o was copious enough for agricultural operations. But the river floods were poor during the next south-west rains and the next north-east monsoon (1877) failed almost completely. Though showers in December saved some of the standing crops, nearly half a lakh of remissions had to be given for waste and withered crops for the year 1876-77. Belief-works had to be opened in December 1876. The number on these for the next three months was never greater than 829 however, and they were closed at the end of February 1877 for two months. In May they were started again. Heavy rain fell at the end of that month and the ryots were encouraged to cultivate very large extents of land. There was however no further rain to speak of till August in that year, and a large proportion of the standing crops was lost and the numbers on relief rose with a bound to 11,900. The areas irrigated by the river formed the only exception to this state of things. Exportation of grain to more distressed localities male matters much worse, and prices rose very high, the famine became intense, relief-camps and poor-houses were crowded by labourers and the poorer class of ryots.

Even well-to-do ryots ran short of their stores of grain.' Copious rain from September to December (1877) inclusive bettered matters ; but the numbers on relief increased instead of declining ; in the dry tracts the ryots were so disabled that they could not take full advantage of the improvement in the season ; such cultivation as occurred was done hastily and badly ; excessive rain and locusts

-----------------------------------192-----------------------------------

TRICHINOPOLY.

CHAP. VIII.

FAMINES

seriously damaged the crops ; and the yield was far below the expectations of the ryots. Prices continued high (though a slight improvement at the beginning of 1878 reduced the numbers on works) but a fair south-west monsoon enabled the authorities to cease relief in September 1878.

The cost of the famine to the State was five lakhs, of which four were spent on works. The following table gives the number of persons relieved, the price of grain and the rainfall for each month during the famine. In 1874-75, before the scarcity began, the price of rice was 14.4 seers for a rupee.

TABLE 192 ATTACHED SEPARATELY

The loss of human life caused by this famine cannot be ascertained with accuracy ; but the Collector remarked that, while the year 187o-77 was considered to be the worst for the health of both men and cattle within the recollection of the oldest inhabitant, the number of deaths registered in that year was only three-fifths of those in 1877-78. The number registered in the latter was 62,000, of which 7,000 were credited to cholera, 5,000 to small- pox, 16,000 to fever and 34,000 to other causes birth and death rates were 17.9 and 49.4 per mille, respectively, as against 27.2 and 29.3 in the preceding year. The loss of cattle in 1877-78 was calculated to have been nearly 125,000 head. Between five

-----------------------------------193-----------------------------------

RAINFALL AND SEASONS.

CHAP. VIII

FAMINES

and six thousand people emigrated daring that year. T'he census figures show that the population of the district increased by only 14,625 between 1871 and 1881.

There has been no famine in the district since that time, and the only other unfavourable year which calls for remark is 1899-1900, during which the rainfall was very scanty and Rs. 44,600 had to be remitted on account of the season, the greater part of it for withered crops.

Liability to famine

The district, in fact, is on the whole well protected by nature Liability to and art against famine. Not only are communications fairly famine. good, but the propinquity of the rich district of Tanjore affords a ready supply of food in times of scarcity and emigration to Ceylon and elsewhere provides a refuge for the poorest. The rainfall is fairly regular awl irrigation protects a considerable tract. It is estimated that in the whole district 9 per cent. of the occupied area is protected against famine in all seasons, and 15 per cent. in all ordinary seasons. Trichinopoly taluk is better off in this respect than any other, the percentages there rising to 37 and 47 respectively.

FLOODS

In 1809, 1817, 1819-20, and 1827

Destructive floods have often visited the district. The first of these of which any record remains is that of December 1809, when the Cauvery, the Coleroon and the Uyyakondan channel all burst their banks and flooded the whole of the neighbouring tracts. The Collector reported that the country was covered with water as.far as the eye could reach, and that even high land was submerged. In consequence of disputes about the commutation prices, the ryots had left large quantities of grain stored on their fields, and the loss caused by the flood was therefore very great.

Another bad flood occurred at the beginning of the cultivation season in 1817, when the Cauvery and the Coleroon burst their banks in no less than 837 places. The value of the crops lost was estimated at four lakhs of rupees and great damage was caused to many of the fields by the sand which the floods deposited upon them. Two years later (1819-20) a still worse flood occurred ; 55 villages (chiefly in the thenlgudi taluk) being completely swept away and their crops totally lost. In Chintamani, one of the suburbs of Trichinopoly, not only were the crops utterly destroyed, but many people were drowned. Both this and tho preceding flood were followed by disastrous pestilences. There was another flood in May 1827, but this was due to a hurricane, and most of the damage was caused by breached tanks. The Uyyakondan channel also breached, and in sixteen of the villages under it no cultivation was possible.

25

-----------------------------------194-----------------------------------

TRICHINOPOLY 

CHAP. VIII

FLOODS

In 1853 and 1858.

The next flood took place in March 1853, when a violent hurricane swept over the district, causing great damage to the most important irrigation works and sweeping away thousand of fruit trees. Numbers of cattle were destroyed and large areas of crops were injured. Advances amounting to Rs. 40,000 were given to the ryots to enable them to carry on cultivation. Five years later (November 1858) the Cauvery came down in the largest flood on record. Not only was the local rainfall very heavy, but while the river was in flood a cyclone occurred in the neighbourhood of Trichinopoly and a great volume of water entered the Cauvery from the south and the Coleroon from the north. Both rivers breached and their waters spread all over the country, a great quantity passing down into the Tanjore delta. Enormous damage was caused to works of irrigation, tanks, roads and bridges, as well as to standing crops, and many villages were washed away. Fortunately no human life was lost, though sheep and cattle were destroyed in large numbers. Remissions amounting to Rs. 36,000 were granted on account of the destruction of crops. During this flood the water rose to a height of 1o feet at the Cauvery bridge and 13.25 feet at the Cauvery dam.

Recent floods

Floods of a lesser character have occurred in a number of years since then, and it would be tedious to give detailed accounts of them all. In November 1880 heavy rain and a cyclone caused a number of tanks and channels to breach, and burst the bank of the Coleroon, causing great loss of crops and cattle. The damage to irrigation works was estimated at Is. 78,000 and that to roads at Rs. 30,000. This was followed by a high and prolonged flood in July 1882 which breached the banks of both the Cauvery and the Coleroon. Many houses were destroyed, and several persons were Only saved from drowning by the timely arrival of rescuers in boats. The flood lasted from the 6th to the 24th July, and on the 23rd rose to a height of 13.20 feet on the Cauvery dam. In December 1884 a flood was caused by heavy local rain and high winds. Several jungle streams and channels breached; the Cauvery washed away some of the houses near Trichinopoly ; in all, over 1,000 houses were destroyed ; the usual loss of crops occurred ; and the railway to Erode was breached. A high flood in 1887 (13 feet at the Cauvery blidge) did no harm ; but the floods of November 1803 destroyed 1,100 houses near Trichinopoly, the engine-room and store-house of the Trichinopoly works and many acres of crops, and breached the roads and the railway line. The jungle streams and the Uyyakondan channel wore the worst offenders on this occasion. A flood in July 180o was again severe, rising to 13.7 foot at the Upper Anicut. Many breaches occurred

-----------------------------------195-----------------------------------

RAINFALL AND SEASONS.

CHAP. VIII.

FLOODS

both in the Cauvery and the Coleroon; Rs. 40,000 of damage was done to public works, and 25 square miles of country were sub-merged. Three breaches occurred in the Cauvery and one in the Coleroon in August of the following year, but comparatively speaking little harm was caused. In August 1900 the Cauvery was in high flood for some ton days, and several breaches occurred both in its banks and in those of the Coleroon, but again comparatively little harm was done. The last of this catalogue of disasters occurred in 1903. No less than five inundations happened in that year, but they were none of them of any importance except the last, which took place in November. Two or three old breaches opened in the right bank of the Coleroon and one in the left bank of the Cauvery, and several villages in the Srirangam island were partially submerged, many houses were destroyed, and crops were again ruined in considerable quantities.

EARTHQUAKES

Three earthquakes have been felt in the district ;namely, in. 1864, 1891 and on 8th February 1900. None of them, however, seems to have done any damage.

-----------------------------------196-----------------------------------

TRICHINOPOLY

CHAPTER IX.

PUBLIC HEALTH.

GENERAL HEALTHCholera Other diseases of digestive system Small-poxFever Skin diseasesDiseases of the eye and ear. Miscellaneous Sanitation. MEDICAL INSTITUTIONS_Municipal hospital, Trichinopoly Municipal hospital, Srirangam.

CHAP. IX.

GENERAL HEALTH.

THE temperature of Trichinopolv town has, been referred to on page 10. The place, though hot, is dry; and the maximum temperatures are not excessive. Though the nights of the hot weather are but little cooler than the days, the rocks round about radiating out all the heat they have absorbed during the past twelve hours, the climate, if unpleasant, is by no means unhealthy. What is true of the head-quarters is true of most of the rest of the district, except that the Amaravati valley has a bad reputation for airlessness, and that the hills, like other ranges of the same low elevation, are malarious. The district possesses no sanitarium, neither hill-station nor seaside resort; and life for the European is consequently more trying there than elsewhere. May and September are especially enervating, as no evening breeze blows ; but Trichinopoly has the advantage over its neighbours that it has no evil effects upon the liver. Martyrs to functional derangements of that organ in other districts have been known to do very well-there. Life may be hard, but the liver is easy.

Cholera.

Of specific diseases cholera is perhaps the most deadly scourge. According to the statistics, fever is more commonly fatal ; but fever ' is a. head under which the village officers usually classify almost every disease which possesses no marked symptoms other than a rise in the patient's temperature, and the figures for cholera are flinch more likely to be reliable. This latter has carried off several thousands of people in most veers since 1866, the year when statistics of deaths from disease were first systematically recorded, and in only eight years since that date did its victims in the old district (excluding Karur. and Namakkal taluks) number less than one thousand. Even before 18o0, its ravages were often so severe that they find mention in official literature. In 1817-18, for example, it was estimated that. eight thousand persons were carried off by it. By far the worst recorded epidemic occurred in 1877, when the great famine was raging. In that year over fifteen thousand people died of cholera. Other bad years were 1876,1891,

-----------------------------------197-----------------------------------

PUBLIC HEALTH

CHAP. IX

GENERAL HEALTH.

1893 and 1898. In 1893 over 1,200 people died of the disease in the municipality of Trichinopoly alone, though the deaths in the district outside the municipalities were not half so numerous as in 1877. Cholera is not confined to any particular locality but is impartially common. In Trichuiopoly town it has been checked by the improved water-supply.

Though its recurrence is so regular, the disease is declared by the medical authorities not to be endemic, but to be annually imported by infected persons from other districts. It generally arrives, and is nearly always most virulent, in the cold weather. The natives believe that it is usually introduced by pilgrims to the great Ekadasi festival at Srirangam which takes place in the month of Margali (December-January); but, if so, it is a remarkable fact that, though the district annually suffers, the Srirangam festival has been free from it every year since 1899 except 1903. The blame is also sometimes laid upon the religious festivals at other great temples, such as that at Palni ; upon the climatic conditions of the cold weather ; and upon the consumption of the new kar. rice which is harvested at the end of the autumn and is supposed to be indigestible until it has been kept for some time. Another feature of the cold weather which is likely to have a still more serious effect in spreading cholera is the heavy rain of the north-east monsoon, which washes down into the drinking-water supplies all the foul matter which has collected round the stream beds for months past.

Other diseases of the digestive system

The same cause renders particularly common at this time of the year other diseases of the digestive system, such as diarrhoea, dysentery, dyspepsia and functional derangements of the alimentary canal, all of which are very frequent. Irritating diet, bad cooking, and infrequent meals followed by consequent gorging are other contributory causes of this stale of things. The prevalence of intestinal worms has also been remarked.

Small-pox.

Small-pox is also a constant visitor, the district having apparently never been wholly free from it, but its ravages are not to be compared with these of cholera. As in the ease of the latter disease, the worst epidemic of it took place in the famine year 1877, when over 5,o00 people succumbed. In only two other years since 1871, however, have the deaths from small-pox exceeded a thousand. The disease is not ordinarily confined to any particular locality. It shows a tendency to increased prevalence in the hot weather months ; and this has bean thought to be due to the fact that the skin is then functionally more active and in an irritable condition.

-----------------------------------198-----------------------------------

TRICHINOPOLY.

CHAP. IX 

GENERAL HEALTH.

As elsewhere, much is being done to prevent small-pox by vaccination, which is compulsory in the three municipalities of 'Trichinopoly, Srirangam and Karur., and in 18 out of the 23 unions. In 1902-03 (to take the figures for the old district) the number of successful vaccinations outside the municipalities was :30.6 per mile of the population, against the mean for the Presidency of 28.6. In the municipalities, the proportion was 74.6 in Trichinopoly, and 52.6 in Srirangam against an average for all the municipalities in the Presidency of 49.9 per 1,000. The figure in Karur was only 42.5.

Fever.

The statistics, as has been said, make out that more people die of fever than of any other disease. Though, for the reasons already given, this is not likely to he true, the figures have a comparative value ; since the causes which render them inaccurate operate with equal force in all other districts. Now in the old Trichinopoly district the ratio of deaths from fever per thousand of the population was 6.4 in 1903, and the mean ratio for the previous five years was 4.3. The corresponding figures for the whole Presidency were 8.4 and 7.8, from which it is clear that 'Trichinopoly is much freer from fever than most other places. 

As a matter of fact no part of the district except the Pachaimalais is highly malarious, though marked outbreaks have been known ill the Udaivarpalaiyam taluk. Fever no doubt is constantly present in the district, but it is nearly always of a mild type, rarely severe enough to require the admission of the sufferer to hospital as an in-patient. Indeed the Civil Surgeon of Trichinopoly, writing in 1878, went so far as to say that enlarged spleen was almost unknown among natives of this district. Acute rheumatic fever is also practically unknown, though sub-acute rheumatism and the-affection of solitary joints are common enough. Enteric fever is said to be very rare, but this again is a disease, which it is most difficult for the layman to diagnose. 

In treating the ordinary fevers the natives very generally use quinine, which is one of the few European drugs in which they have confidence. Sometimes they employ decoctions of stimulating spices during the cold stage of the disease and bedaub the patient's head with preparations of garlic during the hot stage.

Skin diseases.

Several of the more serious varieties of skill disease are Common in the district. This is no doubt largely duo, as in other hot areas, to the activity demanded of the skin; but dirty habits and the use of impure water for drinking and bathing- are also largely at fault. Ringworm, eczema and itch are all exceedingly common. Guinea-worm occurs in the northern part of the Udaiyarpalaiyam

-----------------------------------199-----------------------------------

PUBLIC HEALTH.

CHAP. IX

GENERAL HEALTH.

taluk and in the south of Kulittalai, but is nowhere common. Leprosy is on the whole rare. Native physicians generally treat it with arsenic.

Diseases of the eye and ear

`Country sore eyes' (conjunctivitis) becomes epidemic almost every year, the swarms of eye flies' helping to carry the infection. With ordinary cure the disease runs a short course; but if neglected or wrongly treated it too often results in permanent loss of sight. The usual native mode of treatment is to drop lime-water into the eye. Other diseases of the eye are common; but the most strikingly frequent of them all is senile cataract, though the average age of the population is far lower than in England. The prevalence of arcus senilis degeneration at a comparatively early age is also remarkable.

With the natives the ear receives unfair play, for they not only amuse themselves by titillating its passage with sticks, but also pour medicines into it to cure diseases wholly unconnected with it, Hence inflammatory conditions of the external auditory passages are frequent, awl injury to internal organs not rare.

Miscellaneous

Throat, chest and lung affections are rare, and so is heart-disease.Cancer occurs in all its forms. Madura foot ' or mycetoma is found among the ryots cultivating black cotton-soil, but is not nearly so frequent as in the district from which it gets its name. It has been shown to be clue to a ray fungus inhabiting black cotton-soil. The foot swells enormously and becomes horribly diseased. Amputation is the only remedy known for advanced cases. if untreated, the disease ends after some years in the death of the patient from the drain on his system caused by the suppurating sores. Elephantia3is was once not uncommon in Trichinopoly and Srirangam. Improved water-supply has driven it out of the former town, and in the latter also for long it was rarely seen. Recently it has shown slight signs of reviving there, the water-supply and drainage of the place being still rather primitive.

Sanitation.

As in most districts, sanitary improvement is hampered by want of funds. In the three municipalities money is more plentiful than in rural areas, and the streets are kept comparatively clean and attentioneven if not always successfulis paid to drainage and water-supply. Trichinopoly, indeed, has been provided with excellent drinking-water by the execution of an elaborate and expensive project. In the 23 unions, also, a large part of the funds collected is spent in keeping the streets clean. But outside the towns, as elsewhere in India, sanitary arrangements are of a primitive character.

-----------------------------------200-----------------------------------

TRICHINOPOLY

CHAP. IX

MEDICAL INSTITUTIONS.

Five hospitals and fourteen dispensaries are maintained by the local boards and municipalities. A small mission hospital is also kept up in Trungalur (Trichinopoly taluk) by the S.P.G. Mission with a grant-in-aid from the Trichinopoly taluk board. These institutions contain in all accommodation for 86 male and 61 female in-patients. Detailed statistics of accommodation and attendance will be found in the separate Appendix. There was a hospital at Trichinopoly prior to 1857, though the present institution was not built till 1874. The municipal hospitals at Karur. and Srirangam were next founded (in 1872 and 1873) and the local fund hospital at Namakkal in 1872.Most of the other institutions were established between 1883 and 1890.

Municipal hospital, Trichinopoly.

No records regarding the Trichinopoly hospital, originally the civil hospital and public dispensary of the district, are traceable previous to 1857. In that year the institution was located at Puttur, in a private dwelling-house which Government rented for Us. 30 per mensem. This building seems to have afforded sufficient accommodation for the sick, of whom a large number were treated, and separate accommodation for females was provided in a small out-building. in 18o3 it was found necessary to remove the institution from Puttur to a rented bungalow close to the Garrison hospital and just outside cantonment limits. It did not, however, remain there tong, but was again removed to a terraced house in Bhimanayakkanpalaiyam close to the railway crossing.

The allotment for dieting patients, etc., was reduced to Rs. 80 a month in 1861, and this, with voluntary subscriptions bringing in some Rs. 400 a year, was the only income of the hospital. In 18o3 the impossibility of keeping up a useful hospital with these inadequate funds was so strongly felt that the then Collector, aided by a committee of native gentlemen, managed to collect a sum of Rs. 20,000 with a view to endowing and building an hospital. On the 15th February 1872 the civil dispensary was transferred to the Trichinopolv municipality, under whose management it has since remained. A new set of buildings was shortly afterwards erected and the present hospital was opened in 1874. Its invested capital in 1877 amounted to Rs. 22,695 and the total cost of the buildings was Rs. 10,700 up to 1878. It was enlarged in 1882-83 to meet the demands of the growing town h the addition of a general male and a general female ward, and other improvements and additions have also since been carried out at considerable cost. At present the total number of beds available for all purposes is 91, of which 57 are used for men and 34 for women. In 1904 the

-----------------------------------201-----------------------------------

PUBLIC HEALTH.

CHAP. IX

MEDICAL INSTITUTIONS

number of in-patients treated was 1,516, and of out-patients 53,953. The cost of maintaining the hospital that year was Rs. 15,520, of which Rs. 5,300 were contributed by local funds and Rs. 8,700 by the municipality.

In December 1875 a hospital for lepers, supported by the municipality with the assistance of the District Board, was opened in a building to the east of the fort, close to the new boulevard. This building was originally the district jail, and up to 1871 a lunatic asylum. In the latter year the asylum was abolished and the patients in it removed to Madras. On the 1st April 1877 21 lepers were under treatment in this hospital, three as outpatients and eighteen as in-patients. It was closed in 1894.

Municipal hospital, Srirangam

The proposal to establish a dispensary in Srirangam originated with Surgeon-General Balfour, who, on his visit to the town in 1871, met the temple trustees, spoke to them of the importance of having a dispensary there and of the benefits which such an institution would confer on the inhabitants and pilgrims, and tried to persuade them to give a portion of the temple funds towards this most useful charity. A few months afterwards the trustees were induced to promise a subscription of Re. 300 per annum, and this sum now forms one of the sources out of which the dispensary is maintained It was shortly afterwards supplemented by a subscription of about Rs. 500 raised at a public meeting convened in Srirangam on the 6th June 1872, but was, of course, quite inadequate to defray the expense of starting and maintaining a dispensary, even on the smallest possible scale. The result was that, when other efforts to raise funds proved unavailing, the project appeared likely to be abandoned. At this crisis the Srirangam municipal council, at a meeting held on the 10th September 1872, resolved to grant annually Rs. 1,200 from their funds towards the support of the institution. The District Board, at a meeting held on the 12th September 1872, also agreed to grant Rs. 1,500 per annum to the hospital, a sum equal to that contributed by the municipality and the temple trustees ; and the municipal council obtained from Government (G.O., No. 1446, Financial, dated 23rd October 1872) a donation of the necessary surgical instruments and a six months supply of medicines.1 The dispensary was opened on the 1st January 1873. At first it was located in a rented house inside the temple walls, where there was no accommodation for in-patients. Proper hospital buildings were, however, shortly

(Footnote:1 Extracted from n report by Surgeon Baulu Mudaliyar, who has been in charge of the hospital since it was opened, and to whom its success has been mainly due.)

26

-----------------------------------202-----------------------------------

TRICHINOPOLY.

CHAP. IX.

MEDICAL  INSTITUTIONS.

afterwards erected outside the walls and close to the southern gate. These were opened for in-patients in March 1874. In the same year the Princess of Tanjore presented the municipal council with a sum of Rs. 2,000 for the erection of an additional ward.

Most unluckily, the buildings erected and endowed with so much pains and difficulty were destroyed by fire in May 1884. The institution was entirely rebuilt by the generosity of Raja Sir S. Ramasvami Mudaliyar, Kt., C.I.E., at a cost of Rs. 13,000. The accommodation now available consists of 24 beds, of which 12 are for males and 12 for females. In 1904 the number of out-patients treated was 15,598 and of in-patients 246. The expenditure was Rs. 3,oo0, of which Rs. 1,500 were provided from local, and Rs. 1,750 from municipal, funds.

-----------------------------------203-----------------------------------

CHAPTER X. 

EDUCATION.

CENSUS  STATISTICSEducation by taluksAnd by religions. EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTIONS Secondary schoolsTraining schoolsTechnical and industrial schoolsSt. Joseph's CollegeThe S.P.G. College.

CHAPTER X. 

CENSUS STATISTICS

THE degree of education reached in Trichinopoly is rather above the average for the whole Presidency, but below that for the southern districts. At the census of 1901, thirteen per cent. of the male population of the old district and eight in every thousand of the women and girls could read and write, while the corresponding figures for the Presidency as a whole were 12 and 9 and for the southern districts 14 and 9.

Education by taluks,

As was to be expected, a good deal of difference occurs in the degree of literacy attained in the different parts of the district. Far ahead of all others comes the head-quarter taluk, in which 23 per cent. of the males and 21 per thousand of the females can read and write ; it is followed after a long interval by Karur in which the corresponding figures are 10 and o; and the most backward of
all the taluks is Perambalur, where they are 8 and 2, respectively. 

And by religions

Of the members of the three leading religions, the Muhammada by madans were far ahead of the others in the matter of male religions. education, while in the education of their women the Christians equally outstrip the others. The Hindus come last in both cases. The percentages of the males who could read and write in 1901 were 11 among Hindus, 27 among Musalmans and 16 among Christians ; while the corresponding figures per thousand of the
other sex were 5, 15 and 48. The Musalmans are a trading community to whom a knowledge of reading and writing is essential, and the-Christians benefit from the efforts of the missionaries, being hest educated where missionary enterprise is keenest. In Karur taluk no less than 37 per cent. of the males among them, and 25 per cent. of the females, can read and write.

EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTIONS 

The higher educational institutions of the district include six upper secondary and 28 lower secondary schools; three training schools and the District Board's sessional school ; six technical and industrial schools ; and two colleges, St. Joseph's and the S.P.G. colleges in Trichinopoly town.

-----------------------------------204-----------------------------------

TRICHINOPOLY.

CHAP. X.

EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTIONS.

Secondary schools.

The six upper secondary schools are situated in Trichinopoly, Srirangam, LaIgudi, Kattuputtur Karur and Namakkal. Of the 28 lower secondary schools, 18 are situated in Trichinopoly taluk and as many as 1o in Trichinopoly town

Training schools.

The three training schools are at work in Trichinopoly town. One of them is a Government institution for masters, and the other two are for schoolmistresses and are managed by missionary bodies. The District Board's sessional school has been established for the training and education of primary schoolmasters in rural tracts. As its name implies, it is an itinerating school and it is held at important centres in the non-municipal areas of the district for sessions of six months each. The teachers receive a small stipend while under instruction.

Technical and industrial schools.

Of the six technical and industrial schools, two are situated in Karur., three in Trichinopoly and the other at Irungalnr in the Trichinopoly taluk. Five of them are devoted mainly or entirely to technical instruction, while at the other (which forms part of St. Joseph's College at Trichinopoly) there are only special classes of this kind. Three of the schools teach boys and three (one of those in Trichinopoly, one at Karur and that at Irungalnr) instruct girls to make lace. The mission industrial school at Karur' is probably the best in the Presidency. Of late years it has however made little progress, and efforts are now being made to bring it more into touch with the agricultural and industrial population. The St. Joseph's College classes teach telegraphy, book-keeping, commercial correspondence and short-hand, and the others carpentry, tailoring, blacksmith's work, weaving, rattan-work, drawing and music. Carpentry is the subject most commonly taught, and free-hand drawing is the next most popular.

St. Joseph's College.

The St. Joseph's College at Trichinopoly is a first-grade institution. It is situated in the north-west corner of the fort near the main guard gate and is the largest collegiate institution in the Presidency outside Madras. It was founded by the Jesuit Mission in 1844 at Negapatam. It was originally intended, and naturally so, to establish the college at Trichinopoly, which was the head-quarters of the newly revived Jesuit Society ; and a two-storied building was actually raised in that town for the residence of the Fathers who were to carry on the work. Unfortunately an epidemic broke out (to which the Superior fell a victim) and it was accordingly inferred that Trichinopoly was unhealthy and unsuited for a college. The new building was therefore converted into a mission houseit now forms a part of the residence of the Bishop of Trichinopolyand another site was looked for. It so happened 

-----------------------------------205-----------------------------------

EDUCATION 

CHAP. X.

EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTIONS

that at this :time a number of old employes of the East India Company residing in many of the stations along the east coast made an appeal to the Fathers to provide a place of education for. their sons. This appeal and the known healthiness of the climate of Negapatam were the grounds on which the college was founded at that place.

It is not necessary to touch more than very briefly on the career of the institution at Negapatam. It had to undergo more than one severe trial from storm, fire and disease.1 The college department was not opened till 18oo, and in the same year the institution was affiliated to the Madras University.	It did not receive substantial pecuniary assistance from Government 2 till 1868, when Lord Napier visited Negapatam and accorded it a grant of Rs. 250 a month. This was given, as a special case, in view of the poor and backward condition of the Roman Catholic population of south India, and of the efforts made by the college to increase its strength and to assimilate its system to that of Government. The present grant of some Rs. 10,000 per annum was not given till 1886.

It soon became more and more obvious that Negapatam was not a suitable place for the college. Notwithstanding the great and increasing demand for higher education among the natives in general and Roman Catholic converts in particular, the strength of the institution did not increase. Indeed the numbers for 1882 were almost the same as those for 1866. This was due to the out-of-the-way situation of Negapatam at the extreme end of the Tanjore district, which made it troublesome and expensive for pupils from other districts to attend the college there. As the institution was the only Roman Catholic college in the south of India, and as the Roman Catholic population in other southern districts was large and increasing, the need for a change became more and more evident. Trichinopoly was by now an important railway junction as well as the head-quarters of the mission, it was no longer regarded as unhealthy, and everything pointed to it as the proper site for the college. There were many difficulties in the way. Handsome buildings had been erected at Negapatam with the help of Government,3 and under a pledge that they should be used for educational purposes for twenty years ; and

(Footnote:1 An interesting history of it will be found in the Souvenir of the College' Golden Jubilee printed at its own press in 1895.

2 The college was long debarred from receiving Government aid because the Fathers (being under a vow of poverty) received no salaries, and Government grants were calculated on the salaries of the teachers!
3 These are now used as Government offices.)

-----------------------------------206-----------------------------------

TRICHINOPOLY.

CHAP. X.

EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTIONS.

another college (the S.P.G. College) was already working at Trichinopoly. Hence there was a good deal of opposition to the change, and it did not take place till the beginning of 1883. The expense of the change was very great, but it was fortunately largely met by a gift of two lakhs of rupees from a charitable French gentleman.

The first quarters occupied by the institution at Trichinopoly were those in which its present high-school department is located, which consisted of Clive's house' and the buildings on each side of it. These were all in a more or less ruined condition, and nearly the whole of them were rebuilt by the Society. Increasing numbers soon necessitated au enlargement of the accommodation, and the college department was accordingly built in 1885. The present reading-room and library and the large refectory at the hoarding establishment were built subsequently. The total cost of all the buildings was some four lakhs of rupees. It was met. from private contribution aided by generous help from Government. The college is now a fine and imposing mass of buildings, admirably fitted up. The library, chemical laboratory, science lecture-rooms and museum would all compare well with the similar buildings in many English schools. The college church is a large building, decidedly florid in style. Its tower, surmounted by a spire, rises to a height of 210 feet, the roof is 80 feet above the floor, the whole building is 206 feet long, and the nave is 84 feet wide with a range of chapels on either side. It is dedicated to Our Lady of Lourdes. It was founded in 1889 and opened for service in 1895, though the tower was not completed till 1903.

Elaborate arrangements have been made for the accommodation of boarders, both Christian and Hindu. In the main buildings of the college department is a large boarding -house for Roman Catholics, which will accommodate 400 students, and several of the rooms in the high-school department are given up for the residence of Hindu students. Eating-rooms for Smarta and Vaishnavite Brahmans have been provided in the same buildings. The boarders pay a small fee for their rooms, are subject to a few simple rules, and are under the superintendence of one of the lay teachers and a native Father. There are usually about 150 Hindu students in these hostels.

There are as many as 1,600 boys on the rolls of the college, of whom some 370 are reading in the college classes, 570 in the upper secondary classes, 500 in the lower secondary classes and 160 in the primary classes. The college is generally successful in the Madras University examinations and some 450 of its boys have graduated.

-----------------------------------207-----------------------------------

EDUCATION.

CHAP. X

EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTIONS.

More than half the students come from the Trichinopoly district, and many from the town itself. The rest come principally from Tanjore, Madura, Tinnevelly and Malabar.

The fees paid by the students in the college department are the standard rates less ten per cent. In the school department they vary according to the class from fifteen to five rupees per term. Eight aided' scholarships are competed for each year by college students, four by members of the B.A. classes and four by those of the F.A. classes. The former vary from Rs. 96 to Rs.72 per term, and the latter from Rs. 78 to Rs. 53. Fifteen smaller scholarships of varying value are given to boys in the school department.

The S.P.G. College

The S.P.G. College at Trichinopoly seems to have had its origin in 'an English and a Tamil school ' founded by Schwartz in 1 766 and maintained out of his own salary. These were first hold in his own house, and afterwards in a building close by, which is now used as a Hindu lower secondary school. The English branch was separated between 1820 and 1825 and was transferred to the care of the Government Chaplain, and is the parent of the present St. John's Church Vestry School, now held on the maidan. The early history of the Tamil branch is wrapped in obscurity; but it seems to have survived in three 'elementary vernacular schools held in Tennur. At any rate the latter were the nucleus of the present college. The institution was located at the fort in 18o3-o4, and became a high school in 1864. It rapidly attained such popularity that the publicand particularly the Hindussubscribed largely for the erection of the large hall in which the first and second college classes are at present held. It was raised to the status of a second-grade college in 1873 and was affiliated to the Madras University. It was for a long time the only college in Trichinopoly, ilnd its students rose to the number of a thousand. It became a first-grade institution in 1883. Considerable reforms in the management and economy of the college were made while the principal was the Rev. T. H. Dodson (1888-96), the buildings were improved, the chapel was built and the Christian hostel was erected and dedicated to the memory of the late Bishop Caldwell. A hostel was also provided for the benefit of Hindu students. Quite recently (1905) the Caldwell hostel has been enlarged so as to accommodate about 20 students. Athletics have moreover received special attention in recent years. A new football and cricket ground has been purchased for the college and a piece of ground has been granted by the municipality for the high sohool boys.

-----------------------------------208-----------------------------------

TRICHINOPOLY.

CHAP. X.

EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTIONS.

The main buildings of the college are situated to the south of the teppakulam. They are well-built and substantial ; but are rather crowded together and are perhaps hardly adequate to the needs of the institution. The chapel is a simple building ; but its interior is in excellent taste. The Christian hostel is a fine, airy building ; but the Hindu hostel is rather crowded. Funds are being raised to build a new hostel for Hindus.

The College contains 202 students, who are instructed by eleven professors in upper and lower classes. It also includes five primary schools in various parts of the town containing 787 boys, a lower secondary school in Uraiyfir with 80 boys, and a high school adjoining the college with 474 boys and 20 masters. The fees at the College are Rs. 32 a term for the F.A. classes and Rs. 40 for the B.A. classes, with separate scales for the various branches of the B.A. course, if taken separately. Muhammadans are in every case charged half rates. The charges for boarding are Rs. 7-8-0 a month for Brahmans and Rs 2 for Christians. Hindus are charged Rs. 2 per term for lodging without board.

Scholarships of the value of Rs. 60, Rs. 57, Rs. 54 and Rs. 51 (one or more, and not necessarily awarded) are given to the students of the upper classes, and others of the same kind worth Rs. 42, Rs. 40, Rs. 37 and Rs. 34 to the lower classes. They are only given to boys whose pecuniary circumstances are such as to prevent them from prosecuting their studies without assistance, are awarded on the results of the University and College examinations, and are ordinarily held for two years.


-----------------------------------209-----------------------------------

LAND REVENUE ADMINISTRATION.

CHAPTER XI.

LAND REVENUE ADMINISTRATION.

EARLY REVENUE SYSTEMS. MUHAMMADAN SYSTEMSFarmsKadarambam and nirarambam tractsRates in the nirarambam ---And in the Kadarambam Unauthorized exactionsThe grain monopoly. FIRST ENGLISH SETTLEMENTS .Mr. Wallace's settlement of 1801-02Other early settlements Nirarambam wet landsSurvey, classification and assessment of 1805-06Leases from 1810 to 1821Return to annual settlements, 1821-22The system altered, 1824-25The amani systemThe Kadarambam and the nirarambam dry landSurveysIndividual rightsRelinquishmentsRetrospectSettlement of 1864 Wet and dry groupingClassification of soilsStandard crops and grain outturnsCommutation prices and cultivation expensesSettlement of ratesGeneral resultFinancial effects of the SettlementSecond crop on wet landOlaperi landSpecial ratesHill villagesRoad cess Ultimate results of this settlement. NEW SETTLEMENT OF 1894-95Reasons for resettlementScope of resettlementResurveyEnhancement of ratesReclassification of certain tractsFinancial effects of resettlementMiscellaneous points in the resettlement. REVENUE HISTORY or KARUR TALUKUnder native ruleEarly British SettlementsSettlement of 1879. NAMAKKA TALUKEarly British SettlementsSettlements of 1871 and 1903. ZAMINDARI LAND. 1NAM LAND. VILLAGE ESTABLISHMENTSBefore the revision of 1870Revision of 1870Revision of 1899. EXISTING DIVISIONAL CHARGES.

THE land in the district is held on ryotwari, zamindari and inam tenure, but the extent held on the first of these far exceeds that under the other two put together, and the various ryotwari systems which have obtained will be first considered. Karur and Namakkal thinks formed no part of the old district, and the history of revenue settlements in them is distinct and will be treated separately.

Some light has recently been thrown upon the land revenue administration of the Cholas by the deciphering of their inscriptions, and when more of these grants are transcribed the subject will perhaps become sufficiently clear to enable a connected account of it to be written 1. At present but little is known. The Chola surveys have been referred to in the sketch of their history above. Their assessments were imposed in lump on the whole village, and the various farmers' individual rights and obligations were absolutely at the mercy of the village elders. Weights and measures differed widely in different villages, and the system of

(Footnote:I A brief account is given ill Mr. Sewell's pamphlet India before the English
(Christian Lit. Soc, for India, London and Madras, 1898), pp. 24-25. 

27

-----------------------------------210-----------------------------------

CHAP. XI.

EARLY REVENUE SYSTEMS,

.assessment was most complicated. Very minute areas were measured and separately assessed to revenue.

Under the kings of Vijayanagar, half the gross produce of the laud was supposed to be the share of the government.

Under the Nayakkans the same proportion was apparently held in theory to be the revenue due to the State. It was collected through the agency of the poligars among whom the country was apportioned; and the letters of the Jesuit priests of the Madura Mission show how merciless in their treatment of the ryots these chieftains were. No information survives of the actual details of laud revenue administration in those days


MUHAMMADAN SYSTEMS

A full account of the condition of the country and its management by the Musalmans in the years immediately preceding the British assumption of the administration is given in the jamabandi report for 1801-02 of Mr. Wallace, the first Collector of the district.

The whole district was leased out in three large farms, the greater part of it to the Nawab Muhammad Ali's own brother, Hussain-ul-mulk. In theory the farmers of the revenue were supposed to collect only certain fixed sums or payments in grain, which were calculated on the extent of land cultivated and varied with the kind of crop grown. They paid a fixed sum annually to the NawabHussain-ul-mulk himself paid 164,000 star pagodas (Rs. 5,74,000) every yearand they kept for themselves any surplus remaining out of their collections after this payment had been made.

The rates of assessment at which they were in theory empowered to collect the laud revenue from the ryots were of an exceedingly complicated kind ; and, as they were the general basis of all land revenue settlements for the next sixty years, some description of them is necessary.In the first place a distinction was drawn between what was called the kadarambam, or dry tract, and the nirarambam, or watered tract. The district was sharply divided into these two areas ; and they were treated in an entirely different manner. The kadarambam consisted of the then taluks of Turaiyur,Vulikaudapuram, Ariyalur and Udaiyarpalaiyamor a tract comprising the greater part of the present Udaiyarpalaiyam, Perambalur and Musiri taluks. It. was for the most part made up of an undulating plain of not infertile black cotton-soil, intersected with numberless small streams and water-courses, and broken at intervals by masses of rock and low barren hills. Of a very different character was the nircirambant, or watered tract, which comprised the whole of the

-----------------------------------211-----------------------------------

LAND REVENUE ADMINISTRATION

CHAP. XI.

MUHAMMADAN SYSTEMS.

Rates in the nirarambam

rest of the district as it then existed. This contained a combination of very fertile wet land and of most unfruitful dry land.

In the nirarambam tract a different treatment was accorded to (1) the wet land, (2) the dry land in dry ' villages (i.e., those which contained no wet land) and (3) dry land in ' wet' villages.

In the case of the wet lands the actual crop was harvested under the superintendence of the government officials ; and, after 5 per cent. had been deducted to allow for the cost of reaping, the rest was divided between the renter and the ryot. In theory it was ordinarily divided equally between them ; but in the case of land irrigated from tanks and of fields liable to inundation the ryots were allowed from 55 to 58 per cent. as their share, and ix newly formed wet land and fields irrigated by lift they were allowed as much as 60, and from 65 to 68  , per cent. respectively. From the ryots' share were next deducted the fees payable to village officers and menials and to the praedial serfs. These are said to have amounted to as much as from 23 to 28 per cent. of the gross produce. Thus the ryot was supposed to receive from about 20 to 40 per cent. of the whole gross produce, the higher percentages being allowed in the ease of the less valuable land.

The dry land in dry' villages of the nirarambam tract was classed and assessed according to the kind of crop grown each year, whether pulses, grain or cotton. The cotton class only occurred in the Vettukatti taluk. It would seem that ordinarily land was not assessed if it was left uncultivated during any year. But in parts of some taluks a light grazing tax (pilluvari) was collected even when a field was left fallow. This class of land was surveyed (though very imperfectly) and the areas in it recorded even before the advent of the British.

Finally an entirely different system obtained in the dry land of the wet' villages of the nirarambam tract. There a fixed money assessment, which never varied, was charged. It is not clear whether this was imposed on the field or on the whole village. There does not seem to have been any survey or record of areas. This land was very rich and a source of great profit to the ryots.1 

And in kadarambam 

In the kadarambam tract the greatest differences of tenure obtained, not only in adjoining taluks but even in adjoining villages. It may be generally asserted however that the land was surveyed and classified, and was assessed at money rates. It was first of all classed according to its general character for example,

(Footnote:1 Collectors report, dated 27th August 1827, para. 28.)

-----------------------------------212-----------------------------------

TRICHINOPOLY

CHAP. XI

MUHAMMADAN SYSTEMS.

into dry,' wet,' garden' and special garden.' 1 But these classes varied in different taluks. Next, the landsometimes only the dry, sometimes both wet and drywas classified according to its fertility into soil classes of various kinds. These classes again differed in the various taluks and in various parts of the same taluk. Finally rates were imposed upon the fields with reference to their general character and soil value. But the assessment also varied from year to year according to the crop growndifferent rates being imposed on `pulses' and grains 'and it also varied with the position of the cultivator. Thus in most taluks favourable rates were allowed to Brahmans ; in some a distinction was drawn between native' ryots (ulkudis) and immigrant' ryots (purakudis), a further class being sometimes recognized in cowl purakudis ; ' and. in the Valikandapuram taluk considerablo lenience was shown to the natturans, or leading ryots, who were supposed to encourage cultivation and by their precept and example to smooth the negotiations between the government and the villagers. But even these concessions were not constant, and the system was consequently bewilderingly complex. It was,' said the Settlement Officer in 1860, one of the most complicated systems that it is possible to conceive.' It is described in more detail in the Collector's jamabandi report for 1826-27,2 to which the curious a-re invited to refer.

Finally it may be added that the rates were imposed in lump on the whole village, every individual ryot being held liable for the whole tax and the villagers being left to settle the amounts of their individual payments.

Unauthorized exactions.

However complicated they may have been, these assessments do not appear to have been particularly burdensome in themselves. They were continued by the British when they assumed the administration, and they appear moderate enough when compared with those in force in other parts of the Presidency at that time. Had they been adhered to, indeed, the ryots would perhaps have had little to complain of. But as a matter of fact so great and so constant were the unauthorized exactions of the renters, that the first Collector said in effect that the so-called fixed assessments seemed to have been imposed merely to lure the ryots on to extend their cultivation, and that if in any one year the rents were

(Footnote:1 van-payir was the name given to gardens of plantains, betel or sugar-cane. It formed a class distinct from tottam, or garden pure and simple.

2 Dated 27th August 1827. The jamabandi report of Mr. Wallace, dated 22nd January 1802, and Appendix A to Mr. Puckle's settlement report, dated 23rd October 1860, are also of considerable interest.
11)

-----------------------------------213-----------------------------------

LAND REVENUE ADMINISTRATION.

CHAP. XI

MUHAMMADAN SYSTEMS.

actually collected according to the fixed rates, this was merely designed to give an opportunity of doubling the exactions in the next.

In the tale of oppression revealed by the Collector it is not always easy to see whether the exactions were in form mere enhancements of the supposed land tax, or whether they were imposed without pretence of justice merely at the will of the authorities. Of the former type were the enhancements of the rates for dry grain land, which appear to have been raised in the most arbitrary and variable manner, especially when the crops seemed to be more than commonly promising. Of the latter type wore the nazzars, or presents to managers and renters, or such items as the collections to defray the expenses of the ceremony of the circumcision of Hussain-ul-mulk's grandson. The amount collected from the district on the last-named interesting occasion in the year just preceding the introduction of British rule, added to the sums exacted in lien of the nazzars which were to have been paid if the circuit of the district had been made by Hussain-ul-mulks' in person, amounted to no less than 104,300 star pagodas, or Rs. 3,65,050. Another common way of raising tho revenue was to impose additional payments at varying percentages upon the wet land under pretence in some cases of paying off a perfectly imaginary arrear, and in others under the guise of a loan to the government which there was no intention of repaying. In the last year of the Nawab's management the exactions under this head amounted to nearly 30,000 chucks' (Rs. 63,000), and nearly 9,000 chucks ' (Rs. 18,900) wore extorted beyond the just revenue from the occupiers of the dry land. Indeed, of the total land revenue of that year over 16 per cent. consisted of extra revenue' of this character.

It will naturally be asked,' writes the Collector, how the inhabitants could be induced to submit to such accumulated extortion.' It would seem that the leading ryots were conciliated by rather lighter terms  in order to induce them to second the plans of the managers,' while refusal or inability to pay the impositions were visited with extreme cruelty and even torture.

' To dwell on the effects of the extortions enumerated in this black list of the oppressions of the late management, or to recite the cruelties with which they were enforced, would be useless ; as they cannot now be remedied; and, as a detail of them would only tend to excite sentiments of horror and disgust, such sentiments would be ineffectual. The amount of the extortions will of itself give full idea of their effect on the people as it relates to their property. But when, in addition to this, it is known that barbarity the most refined was let loose on the

-----------------------------------214-----------------------------------

TRICHINOPOLY.

CHAP. X11 

MUHAMMADAN SYSTEMS

country, that torture the most cruel to the body and the most degrading to the mind was inflicted on those who were the victims of the managers' rapacity, it will surely not be regarded as the least of the advantages to he derived from the late transfer of the government of the Carnatic that a whole people hare been rescued from the cruelty, rapine and tyranny of Muhammadan despotism. . . . It would appear that the districts composing this division had been entirely abandoned by the Nabob to the plunder and rapacity of his relations and of renters, and by them to the cruelty and extortions of managers and amils.'

The grain monopoly.

Matters were made much worse by the fact that the sale of grain was a strict State monopoly. The produce was bought from the cultivators at seven or eight fanams a kalam,1 and sold back to them at nine or ten fanams per kalam from the State granaries. All importation of grain was forbidden, and it was an offence punishable with exorbitant fines even to lend a neighbour such small quantities of grain as he might require for his immediate support. Moreover a flagrant injustice was added to the intrinsic cruelty of the system, inasmuch as the grain was retailed to the people in measures of a less capacity than those in which it was estimated when it was bought in the first instance by the Government. It was one of the first acts of the British administration to abolish this monopoly, but its effects in raising prices and disorganizing the ordinary machinery of exchange were not immediately removed.

FIRST ENGLISH SETTYLEMENYS 2

The confusion of the accounts and the difficulty in ascertaining the probable value ' of the villages and in distinguishing the just revenue' of the former years from the improper extortions of the managers, rendered the attempts of the first British administrators to form a fair settlement a far from easy task.

Mr. Wallace's settlement of 1801-02.

The first British settlement of the district was made by Mr. Wallace for the year 1801-02. It was briefly as follows : The amount payable by each village was fixed in money. There was no difficulty in doing this as far as the dry lands in the nirarambam and the whole of the kadarambam were concerned ; since money rates, apparently not immoderate, wore already in vogue. All that was done in these eases was to continue the existing rates in

(Footnote:1 One anna, 101 pies for 39 measures each of 100 cubic inches.
2 For x review of these settlements ape the Collector's jamabandi report for 1826-27, which contains a valuable retrospect; Mr. Puekle's reports in Selections from the Pharos records, Volume L., especially Appendix A ; and the Collector's jamabandi report for 1801-02. The account in the old District Manned is generally more detailed.)

-----------------------------------215-----------------------------------

LAND REVENUE ADMINISTRATION.

CHAP. XI

FIRST ENGLISH SETTLEMENTS.

their theoretical form and without extra exactions.1  It has already been stated that in these rates the wildest variety prevailed ; and neither Mr. Wallace nor his successors attempted to introduce any uniformity. The nirarambam wet land, however, had usually paid the revenue in grain ; and for this a new system had to be devised. First of all a standard of gross produce in terms of grain was settled for each village. Ordinarily this was done by taking the average of the gross produce recorded for each of the last five Years. In some cases, where this seemed too low a standard, the Collector took also the recorded produce of some other particularly favourable season and included this in his calculations of the average. In other eases, where the extent of cultivation had increased during the years under consideration, he took the average of those years for a definite quantity of land in each village, and from this worked out a standard for the whole village. The old theoretical rates of division were retained, but strictly interpreted. Finally the Government share was converted into money at a commutation price deduced from the prices ruling in the neighbouring districts. The local prices were no guide in this last most important operation, since they had been unnaturally raised by the monopoly of grain, which had just been abolished. As a matter of fact, though no difficulty was experienced in the first year or two of British rule, the fixing of the commutation price was for some time a matter of great difficulty to later Collectors and of hardship to the ryot.

The settlement was made with each village as a whole, but the amounts payable by each individual ryot were :apparently considered, and the Collector was alive to the danger of the head inhabitants oppressing inferior landholders by settling more on them than they ought to pay. It is not clear, however, precisely what steps were taken to prevent this injustice.

The financial effect of the settlement was to reduce the revenue demand considerably. Indeed it fell over 15 per cent. below the demand, and nearly 10 per cent. below the actual receipts, of the previous year. It must be remembered however that the demand and the receipts of the previous year included over 16 per cent. of improper exactions.

Other early settlements.

It would be tedious to follow out in detail the various experiments which were subsequently made from time to time by English Collectors in administering the revenue of the district.

(Footnote: 1 The only change apparently made was to abolish the favourable rates extended to the nth t um ns of Valikandapuram taluk and to make them pay the same as every one else. As how-ever these were restored in 1808-09 and were not finally abolished till 1862, the change may be neglected. See below, p. 218.)

-----------------------------------216-----------------------------------

TRICHINOPOLY.

CHAP. XI. 

FIRST ENGLISH SETTLEMENTS.

These systems have long been dead and gone, and only a brief survey of their character will be given. It will be convenient for clearness' sake to retain the distinction between the nirarambam, and the kadarambam  tracts and to describe the treatment of each class of land continuously.

Nirarambam wet lands.

The chief difficulty was experienced in dealing with the wet land in the nirarambam tract. This was indeed the only class of land in which much alteration of system was introduced.

Till the end of 1804-05 Mr. Wallaee's settlement was continued, with the difference that both in 1802-03 and in 1803-04 the commutation price had to be slightly altered. In 1802-03, moreover, the wet land was surveyed, very imperfectly, by the karnams. It was not however classified or reassessed.

Survey, classification and assessment of 1805-06.

The first considerable change of system took place in 1805-06, when this land was again surveyed by the karnams and this time was also classified into black, red, sandy and salty laud. These classes were each divided into two sorts according to their productiveness; grain values were assigned to each ; and the Government share of the grain values was converted into money at the existing commutation price. In working out this system, it should be observe11, the karnams did not attempt to apply the principles pure and simple to the facts. They kept in view the average gross produce of the whole village and so adjusted their classification and their assessment as to reach the same total result, while distributing that total over the various fields in the village. The difference was that the assessment was fixed upon the particular fields and not upon the village as a whole. It varied moreover with the nature of the crop grown from year to year, even the charges for the four chief kinds of paddy being different. It seems also that a charge for second-crop cultivation was now introduced, apparently for the first time.

Leases from 1810 to 1821.

For the next four years this system was continued without any change except modifications in the commutation price and corrections of mistakes discovered from time to 

time in the classification of the fields. But in 1E10 a system of leases was introduced by which all the wet land in each village was let out for a lump sum for a term of years to the leading ryots. There was some difficulty in inducing the ryots to accept these leases, and it was necessary to put pressure on them by threatening to bring outsiders into the village and rent the lands to them. The first lease was from 1810-11 to 1812-13. The next was intended to last for ten years from 1813-14 ; but it pressed so hardly upon the ryots that it had to be given up in 1821. It does not appear that the terms

-----------------------------------217-----------------------------------

LAND REVENUE ADMINISTRATION.

CHAP.XI

FIRST ENGLISH SETTEMNTS 

were in themselves particularly burdensome ; but three years out of the fom' from 181o to 1S20 were rendered disastrous by drought or floods ; and it seems that in such circumstances no hard and fast system could have failed to be oppressive.

Return to annual settlements, 1821-22

A return was now made to a system of annual settlements. The settlement of 1809-10, the last year before the leases, was made the basis of the new arrangements. Several changes were however introduced. Firstly there was a general percentage reduction of the village rates, varying from 12 per cent, to (in a few villages) as much as 40 per cent. ; secondly the commutation price was again altered ; and thirdly the assessment was no longer made to vary with the crop grown (as in the system introduced in 1805-06) but depended entirely upon the nature of the land.

The system altered 1824-25

This system was continued with some deviations ' till 1824-25, in which year the classification was altered and the nature of the crop was again made the basis of the assessment. The latter arrangement went on till the introduction of the new settlement in 1864. Indeed the only alteration in the general system of assessment in the wet land of the nirarambam tract which took place from this point till the introduction of the new settlement, was a general reduction of the rates in 1856-57.

The amani system.

The foregoing were the systems theoretically in force, but if in any village the ryots were not willing to accept a settlement on these terms, they were apparently always permitted to resort to what was called the azdni system. The actual crop was in that ease divided in the recognized proportions between Government and the ryot. This was very harassing to both parties ; but it left a great opening to fraud, and was often adopted by the ryots for that cause alone, as it enabled them to cheat the Government.

Some changes which took place in the recognition of individual rights and in the matter of relinquishments, etc., will be briefly described later on.

The kadarambam  and the nirarambam dry land.

In the ease of the wet land in the kadarambam  tract and the dry land generally, the policy of Government prior to the settlement of 1861 appears to have been comparatively simple. Briefly, it consisted (with a few general changes) in continuing the rates of assessment, in all their complexity, which existed before the British occupation of the district. The rates in the kadarambam land, whether wet or dry, were reduced all round by varying percentages in 1818-20, and similar general reductions were made in 1855,1856 and 1857. The only special alterations of any importance in the details of the kadarambam  rates which appear to have

28

-----------------------------------218-----------------------------------

TRICHINOPOLY.

CHAP. XI

FIRST ENGLISH SETTEMNTS.

taken place were the abolition in 1802 of the differential rates to the nattuvans and their re-establishment in 1808-09. It was found that these people did not really facilitate, as expected, the work of Government, and only used their power to oppress the poorer ryots. An order abolishing exceptional rights of this class throughout the Presidency was issued in 1854; but this was not immediately given effect to in this district, and these rights do not seem to have been abolished till they were extinguished by the Inam Commissioner in 1861-62.2 it does not appear that any alterations whatever were made in the dry rates of the nirarambam tract -till 1856-57, when they shared in the general reduction already mentioned.

Surveys.

The wet laud of the nirarambam, as already noted, was surveyed in 1802-03 and surveyed and classified in 1805-0o. The dry villages of the nirarambam and the whole of the kadarambam  land had been surveyed and classified before the British occupation. They were again surveyed and classified in 1806-07. The dry land in the wet villages of the nirarambam seem never to have been surveyed till the time of the new settlement. All these ancient surveys were made by the karnams. They were apparently not checked at all by regular surveyors.3

Individual rights.

Till 1826-27 the old native system was continued by which the annual settlements of villages were made with the headman of each village or the leading inhabitants, and the subordinate revenue officials and the village officers were left to decide what portion of this amount should be borne by each particular cultivator. Each cultivator, moreover, was held responsible for the arrears of the whole village, the villagers being in theory invested with a kind of corporate unity. In 1826-27 the system of giving the ryots individual pattas was started. Till 1844, these were given only at the end of the full, when they were comparatively useless, but subsequently they wore distributed when the settlement was actually made. The lands of defaulters were not sold for arrears of revenue till 1833-34. The theory of joint responsibility seems to have been abandoned in 1821-22.4 

Relinquishments.

For many years after the British occupation of the country it was impossible in largo parts of the district for a ryot to relinquish his holding. Land once brought under the plough became there- 
by part and parcel of a ryot's pattukkattu, or holding, and he

(Footnote: 1 E.M.C dated 31st August 1851.
2 See below, p. 238. Also Mr. Puckle's letter of 28th November 1862, parse. 55 -6.
3 Collector's jamabandi report for 1826-27, puns. 11,13 and 49.
4 Mr. Puckle's SettIrment Report, Appendix .A, para. 28.)

-----------------------------------219-----------------------------------

LAND REVENUE ADMINISTRATION

CHAP. XI.

FIRST ENGLISH SETTLEMENTS.

had always to pay for it. This was called the pattukkattu system, and prevailed throughout the nirarambam and in the dry land of the kadarambam . It was not relaxed till 1830-31, and does not
appear to have been entirely abolished till the settlement of 1864 At that time it only applied to dry land in wet villages of the nirarambam.1 

Retrospect.

It is not to be denied that the rates in force prior to the settlement of 1864 were generally excessive. The desertions' of the cultivators were continually complained of by Collectors; and in
1831-32 the inhabitants of nearly every village in Ariyalur and Udaiyarpalaiyam requested permission to relinquish their lands entirely ; and they were only prevented from deserting in a body by the vigilance of the kavalgars and peons.' 2 A few years later no less than 2,200 ryots are reported to have left their homes and emigrated to Salem and South Areot.8 

Settlement of 1864 4

All this was changed by the regular survey and assessment which was begun about the middle of the last century. The survey was undertakenin1854-5:5 ; and the, settlement was commenced by Mr. Puckle, then Deputy Director of Revenue Settlement, in 1858-59. It was not finished till 1864.

Trichinopoly was one of the first districts into which the settlement on the new principles, which took place about this time in many parts of the Presidency, was introduced. It was preceded in this respect only by the western delta of the Godavari and some two taluks in South Arcot. Partly for this reason, and partly because the different officers, to whose province it fell to criticize Mr. Puckle's scheme, took widely different views as to the way in which the district should be treated and the rates of assessment which should be introduced, this settlement gave rise to a quite unusual amount of discussion and correspondence. An elaborate analysis of this correspondence will be found in the old District Manual (pp. 195 foll.) 5 as well as a lengthy account of the introduction of the settlement. The limits of this volume necessitate a much shorter treatment of the subject.

Wet and dry grouping.

A most important operation in the settlements of this Presidency is the classification of the sources of irrigation, to

(Footnote: 1 bid., para. 150 ; also Settlement Reports for 1830-31 and 1831-32.
2 Settlement Report for 1831-32, para. 23.
3 Mr. Puekle's Report, Appendix A, pars. 33.
4 The best account of this settlement is in Vol. L. of the Selections from the Madras Records. A useful analysis of it appears in the Settlement Officer's report, para. 7 foll., printed in B.P. (Revenue Settlement, etc.), No. 2, dated 4th January 1895, pp. 2 foll.
5 The correspondence is printed in Vol. L. of the Selections from the Records.)

-----------------------------------220-----------------------------------

TRICHINOPOLY 

CHAP. XI.

FIRST ENGLISH SETTLEMENTS

differentiate the irrigated fields, and of the villages, to differentiate dry cultivation, into several groups.' In the settlement under. consideration, the classification of the wet land into groups was not effected, as in more recent settlements, solely with reference to individual sources of irrigation. The situation of villages with reference to markets and roads was also taken into account and so also was the rather vague factor of the productive power of the land' ; and the grouping was rather by villages and tracts than by irrigation sources. 

Five wet groups were adopted. Roughly speaking, the first two included the Cauvery irrigation, and the other three chiefly the tank irrigation. The third group included some irrigation from the Coleroon and the Vellar, as well as some inferior irrigation from the Cauvery, where the land was on a high level or was supplied with drainage water. Only 27 villages were placed in the first group, and 231 in the second. 

The dry land was grouped by villages on a consideration of proximity to markets, and the productive power of the land.' Three groups were adopted. At that time there was only one made road in the dry taluks ; and, though in the irrigated tract on either side of the Cauvery there were good roads, the state of communications was generally very defective. The only railway in the district was the section of the South Indian Railway connecting Trichinopoly with Tanjore and Negapatam, which was opened in 1862.

All villages conveniently situated with reference to the markets of South Arcot and Tanjore, or to the town of Trichinopoly, were placed in the first group ; the more remote villages lying along the northern border of the district were classed in the second ; and the poor dry villages lying south of the Cauvery, as well as a few distant villages in the north-west corner of the district., were placed in the third group. The rates of assessment. applicable to each class and sort of soil in the highest group were reduced by one or more stops in the lower groups. Thus the same kind of soil in different groups was assessed at different rates. This will be obvious from the scale on p. 223 below.

Classification of soils.

The -next process was to classify the soils of individual fields .Seven classes, numbered from two to eight, were adopted, and for each of these except two (classes Nos. 2 and o, in which there were only two sorts) the lands were ultimately further subdivided into three sorts. These sorts were merged into eight primary tarams ' for wet, and nine primary tarams' for dry land. These primary tarams ' were supposed to represent soils of equal value. In more

-----------------------------------221-----------------------------------

LAND REVENUE ADMINISTRATION 

CHAP. XI.

FIRST ENGLISH SETTLEMENTS.

recent settlements the classification has been rendered more elastic by the use of five sorts for each class of soils. The principle then adopted also differed slightly from that now observed in another respect ; since the primary tararns were not based entirely on the grain-producing value of the land, but included the varying estimates for each sort of soil of the cost of cultivation. Nowadays it is assumed that soils equal in grain value cost the same to cultivate, and only soils of an equal productive value are put in the same primary kraut. in Mr. Puckle's settlement., soils of different productive values were merged together. Their net value to the cultivator was the same or nearly so, since the cultivation expenses varied 1

Standard crops and grain outturns.

The soils of the different fields having been thus classified, the productive power of each was ascertained by numerous experiments. For wet land, the standard crop in terms of which the value of the soils was estimated was paddy. For dry land, cholam, cambu, ragi and varagu were selected, and the value of each soil in each of these grains was estimated. From these grain valuations a deduction of 20 per cent. was made in the case of dry land to allow for vicissitudes of season, and of 10 per cent. in wet land to allow for unprofitable areas included in the registered holdings.

Commutation prices and cultivation expenses.

Each sort of soil was thus provided with a grain standard of its productive value. It was necessary to convert this into money, and to effect this commutation prices were fixed for the various kinds of grain in terms of which the soils were valued. These were deduced from the annual average prices of these grains for a series of years, apparently the prices of Trichinopoly town alone being taken. From these a deduction was made of from 17 to 22 per cent. to allow for the difference Price per between ryots' and town prices. The resulting rates of commutation are given in the margin. It will be noticed that in one important those now generally considered in such matters, namely, that the prices adopted for calculating the commutation rates were annual averages and not the prices of the months in which ryots chiefly sell their grain. The commutation rates were next applied to the grain values of the various tarams of soil, and each was thereby provided with a money valuation of its productive value.
 
TABLE 221 ATTACHED SEPARATELY

(Footnote: 1 See Mr. Puckle'e first report (dated 23rd Ootober 1860), para. 86.)

-----------------------------------222-----------------------------------

TRICHINOPOLY.

CHAP. XI.

FIRST ENGLISH SETTLEMENTS.

From these valuations the estimated expenses of cultivation were then deducted. The estimation of cultivation expenses is aiways difficult, and Mr. Puckle did not pretend to any great degree of accuracy.' He allowed from Rs. 7-8-0 to Rs. 3 per acre for wet land and from Rs. 4-2-8 to Rs. 3 per acre for dry.

Settlement of rates

The Settlement Officer was now in possession of estimates in money of the net productive power of each sort of soil. From these the money rates had to be deduced, and it was the settling of the precise rates of assessment which gave rise to most of the controversy concerning this settlement. The rates originally proposed by Mr. Puckle were framed so as to represent either the half of the net, or one third of the gross, produce, and as a matter of fact these rates were ultimately accepted with very little modification. In the interim however Mr. Puckle had proposed, and the Board had with some modifications accepted, a lower scheme of rates derived from an all-round deduction of 13 per cent. on wet, and 11 per cent. on unirrigated land. It is needless to go into the detailed reasons for this deduction ; but it would seem that there was a general feeling that Trichinopoly had been rather over-assessed in the past, and that it should be treated leniently now. The members of the Government disagreed as to several particulars of Mr. Puckle's calculations, and the whole matter was referred to the Secretary of State. Orders were received from him directing that the assessment should be calculated with reference to the net, and not the gross produce, and that the share of the Government should be taken as roughly one half of the former. Rates were worked out in accordance with these directions ; and, as above remarked, those ultimately adopted differed very little from those originally proposed by Mr. Puckle, They ranged from Rs. 9-4-0 to Re. 1 for wet, and from Rs. 3-8-0 to As. 4 for dry, land.

General result.

The area of wet land included in this settlement was 123,563 acres. The greater part of this was assessed at Rs. 6, Rs. 5, Rs. 4, Rs. 3-8-0 or Rs. 2-8-0 per acre. Of the 641,000 acres of dry land settled, nearly 200,000 acres were assessed at Re. I, and over 100,000 acres at As. 6 ; 66,000 acres were rated at As. 8, and a large area at sums between Rs. 1-12-0 and As. 10 ; and very little was charged more than Rs. 1-12-0. The average assessment on dry land was As. 14, and on wet Rs. 4-4-0 per acre.

The following table will show at a glance how the rates were applied to the various sorts of I soil and the various groups of land :-

-----------------------------------223-----------------------------------

LAND REVENUE ADMINISTRATION 

CHAP. XI.

FIRST ENGLISH SETTLEMENTS.

TABLE 223 ATTACHED SEPARATELY

Financial effects of the Settlement.

The new rates were first applied in the year 1864-65. As compared with the land revenue derived under the old settlement in the previous year (Rs. 15,82,074), the demand under the new settlement (Rs. 11,94,018) showed a decrease (in round figures) of Rs. 3,88,000. The difference was no doubt large ; but, as above noted, there was also a general feeling that the district had been over-assessed in the past, and there was also a general expectation that under the new rates cultivation would quickly spread, and the

-----------------------------------224-----------------------------------

TRICHINOPOLY 

CHAP. XI.

FIRST ENGLISH SETTLEMENTS

deficiency be thus made up. Mr. Puckle ventured to prophecy that this would be effected within the next five years, and both. the Board of Revenue and the Government regarded this forecasts being far from extravagant. How little the result fulfilled these expectations will soon be seen.

Second crop on wet land.

Before however going on to refer to the working of this settlement, it will be convenient to notice one or two miscellaneous features connected with it which are either peculiar or were the subject of controversy. There was a good deal of discussion as to the charge for second crops on wet land. Mr. Puckle at first proposed to levy no charge at all ; and the Board, though disapproving of the proposal as a general rule, were in favour of foregoing the charge on occasional wet second crops, in cases where the possibility of raising one was so uncertain that a composition could not be effected. Government disapproved of any such concession, however, and a temporary fasal-jasti was prescribed for all such eases, as elsewhere. There was also a good deal of discussion as to the rates of composition to be allowed, and it was ultimately decided that they should be one-third, one-fourth and one-fifth of the first crop charge, but never less than 1 rupee. One:-half of the first crop charge was nowhere imposed. As a matter of fact the rates usually adopted seem to have been one-third and one-fourth ; one-fifth was apparently only allowed in the Musiri taluk.

Olaperi land;

 A peculiar feature of the settlement of the dry land was the treatment of the fields which were capable of being irrigated from Government sources but were classified as dry. These, it seems, were differentiated from the wet land by being only inadequately irrigable or unirrigable by direct flow, and from the ordinary dry land by being capable of irrigation at all. They were classed as permanently-improved pnujah ' and were assessed at rather high rates, but were given the right to take Government water for one crop free of charge. Land of this kind occurred both in the nirarambam and kadarambam  tracts. In the former it consisted of fields the supply of water to which was not sufficient to produce a wet crop ; and in the latter it corresponded to the old 'garden ' land.It is often spoken of as 'garden ' or land and it will be referred to again in the account of the next settlement.

Special rates

Special rates were allowed on the wet land under a few tanks, in consideration of the fact that ryots had spent money in improving or constructing these sources of irrigation. In these cases Mr. Puckle made over the dry land at dry rates subject to the payment of similar rates on the waterspread. 

(Footnote: see selections form the Madras records, Vol. L, p. 173, paras. 46-48, )

-----------------------------------225-----------------------------------

LAND REVENUE ADMINISTRATION.

CHAP. XI.

FIRST ENGLISH SETTLEMENTS.

Hill villages

The scientific settlement was not extended to the three hill villages of Kombai, Tembaranadu and Vennadu in the Pachaimalai hills. These were roughly settled on a scale of 12 annas an acre on the slopes and 8 annas an acre on the higher plateaus for ploughed land, and at 4 annas an acre for hoe cultivation.

Road cess.

In one other respect the whole settlement was peculiar. The road cess was calculated at 2 per cont. on the land revenue ; but, unlike the practice nowadays, this was not made a separate charge on the ryots but was held to be included in the land revenue paid by them, and was annually transferred from that head to the credit of roads. This will have to be remembered in comparing this settlement with that by which it was followed.

Ultimate results of this settlement.

It has already been noted that hopos wore generally entertained that under the new and lighter rates of Mr. Puckle's settlement cultivation would very quickly extend and would soon make up for the decrease in the revenue caused by the lightening of the assessment. As a matter of fact the land under occupation and the revenue did increase considerably, and on the whole steadily, during the currency of that settlement, but at no time did the land revenue reach the figure of the year 1863-64. The following table will show at a glance the variations in holdings and revenue during the next 30 years as compared with those of
the year preceding the settlement :

TABLE 225 ATTACHED SEPARATELY

The average assessment on the occupied extent for the years 1864-94 was Hs. 14,88,000, or little more than a lakh of rupees in excess of the average for the previous thirty years. The Board of Revenue, when commenting on these figures in 1895, remarked that, though the assessment had not been the financial success which had been anticipated, it had yet wrought much benefit to the ryots of the district. Not only had holdings increased in area by nearly a half, but the weight of the assessment had been very largely reduced during the period of the settlement by the great rise in the prices of all agricultural produce. The time had now come when `the exigencies of Government and justice to the

 						29

-----------------------------------226-----------------------------------

TRICHINOPOLY.


CHAP. XI.

NEW SETTLEMENT OF 1894-95.1'

Reasons for resettlement.

general taxpayer alike require that the burden of taxation should be readjusted.'

By the time the period of this settlement had run out, the price of paddy had risen to 85 per cent. above Mr. Puckle's commutation rate and to 38 per cent. above the average of the prices of the twenty years immediately preceding the settlement. In the case of dry grains,2 prices had risen by 52 per cent. as compared with the commutation rate and by about 1.2 per cent. as compared with the average of the twenty years preceding the settlement. Nor was this the only circumstance which necessitated a resettlement. It had long been felt (indeed the belief is voiced in the old District Manual) that the rich land under the Cauvery was seriously under-assessed. It was ascertained in 1894 that the average tax paid on that land was then only Rs. 4-15-1 per acre, which was much lower than the assessment on similar land in the adjoining district of Tanjore. In the four taluks of Tanjore, Kumbakonam, Nannilam and Mayavaram similar land in the first group of irrigation paid over Rs. 8 an acre, and in the second group nearly Rs. 7. The rates for dry land were fairly high when the exceptional olaperi lands were included, but these had to be excluded for the purpose of a just comparison 3 j and if that was done the dry rates were also very low. The grouping of the wet land in this tract was also exceedingly lenient, most of the villages being placed (as already remarked) in the second and third. groups.

Scope of resettlement.

In view of these facts it was decided that the whole of the land in the tract commanded by the Cauvery must be classified de novo. The land watered by the Coleroon, Amaravati and Nandiyar rivers was also ordered to be reclassified, but the extent of this did not amount to 8,000 acres, so that this was a comparatively unimportant matter. It was moreover decided to classify all the cultivable land still remaining unsettled in the district which was not required for communal purposes or forest reservation. This, it was ultimately ascertained, amounted to 22,000 acres. With regard to the rest of the district, it was considered sufficient to enhance the assessment already in force. An exception was made in the case of the hill villages only roughly settled in 1864, in which the rates of land-tax were allowed to remain unaltered.4 The assessment

(Footnote:1 The papers connected with this settlement, hound together into a handy volume, are in the library of the Boyd of Ito mine (Revenue Settlement, Land Records and Agriculture).
2 The price returns for cholam were evidently defective, and the remarks in the text do net therefore include that grain.
3 Since they had a right to take Government water for one wet crop.
4 The cadastral survey of these villages was sanctioned in 1902 (G.O., No. 1024, Revenue, dated 18th October 1902) and is still in progress.

-----------------------------------227-----------------------------------

LAND REVENUE ADMINISTRATION.

CHAP. XI.

NEW SETTLEMENTS.OF 1894-95

on the land assessed at special rates was not at once subjected to CHAP. 1.the general enhancement. But these rates were enhanced by the Collector in 1900 in accordance with the orders of Government.1.In the olaperi land in the tract to be resettled (some 5,000 acres), though the rates were to be enhanced, the old right of taking Government. water for a single crop was allowed to continue. Another class of land which required rather special treatment was that in seven villages transferred in 1865-66 from South Arcot to this district. These had been originally settled on a scale of rates different from that adopted in the settlement of Trichinopoly. In order to bring this into harmony with the rates in the villages in this district, the assessment now fixed by enhancement for similar land included in the old Trichinopoly settlement, was applied to the fields of the South Arcot villages. In only one other case was the relative incidence of the old rates altered, or those rates modified in any way but by enhancement. This was in the ease of certain wet land under tanks irrigating 300 acres or more, which in the opinion of Government had been placed in too low a group at the former settlement. This land was now raised into the group just above, besides being liable to the general enhancement of the rates. 2 The general enhancement ordered was per cent. in the ease of wet, and 20 per cent. in that of dry, land.

Resurvey.

Preparatory to the new settlement., the district was resurveyed and a considerable excess above the figures of the old survey, amounting in all to no less than 18 per cent., was discovered in the arable area. This however was more than accounted for by the large areas under poramboke which formerly had been left unsurveyed but were now measured and mapped ; and it was found that the area of actual holdings, so far from increasing, had actually diminished.

Enhancement of rates

Of the settlement operations, the simplest was the general enhancement of the old rates. This was not done with mathematical accuracy, as the new rates bad to be rounded so as to avoid fractions and inconvenient figures. The only difference in the carrying out of the enhancement from the plan originally contemplated was in the application of the double enhancement to the tanks the grouping of which was to be raised. It will be seen from the scale of wet rates in Mr. Puckle's settlement (given above on p. 223) that the scales of rates in the different groups of'

(Footnote:1 G. O., Mis. No. 4101, Revenue, dated 21st October 1899, embodied in Board's Proceedings, No. 402 (Settlement), dated 4th December 1899.
2 As will ho observed immediately, this land was treated with leniency in the actual application of these enhancements.)

-----------------------------------228-----------------------------------

TRICHINOPOLY.

CHAP. XI.

NEW SETTLEMENT OF 1894-95.

land rise at very varying. intervals from one group to another. Thus the same tarams in the third and the fourth groups are assessed at rates of nearly the same value, differing in fact by only one money grade ; while there is a difference (in some cases) of as much as six money grades in the rates of the same tarams in the third and second groups. Thus to both raise the group and also to enhance the rates would have meant a very large increase of assessment, which Government was unwilling to impose. It was ultimately decided that in raising from one group to another the change should be limited to one money grade.

In giving the financial effects of the resettlement in the tract where no reclassification occurred, it will be necessary to add the figures of two out of three inam villages which had been resumed since the previous settlement and which lay in that part of the district ; the third lay in the reclassified tract and was settled on the principles laid down for that tract. These two villages were now classified according to the old scheme of soils and were assessed at the new enhanced rates so as to come into line with the other land in this part of the district. The total financial effect of the resettlement for this tract was an increase of Rs. 1,47,000 in the assessment, and a decrease of 2,300 acres in the extent of holdings, as compared with the figures of the previous year under the old settlement.

Reclassification of certain tracts.

The reclassification and resettlement of the rest of the district needs rather longer notice. In grouping the villages and irrigation sources for the dry and wet land respectively, the following course was adopted. As far as dry land was concerned, all the villages were put in one group, since all alike enjoyed excellent communications and markets ; and, on a comparison with the groups in Tanjore (the recent settlement in which was kept in view as a guide throughout this settlement) they were all placed in the first group. As regards the sources of irrigation, three classes (corresponding to the first throe groups in the Tanjore settlement) were adopted. Of the 345 minor channels now grouped, 21o wore placed in the first, 114 in the second, and only 15 in the third group.

At the same time a revision of the wet ayakat was undertaken. This was especially necessary owing to the fact that most of the olaperi lands in this tract were ordered to be transferred to wet, either as being now irrigable by direct flow, or at the request of the landholders. The latter were given the option, when the land was only irrigable by lift, of having it classified either as baling wet ' or ordinary dry.' There was also a small extent formerly classed as wet which was from its position actually unirrigable, and this was transferred to the head of dry. The transfers from

-----------------------------------229-----------------------------------

LAND REVENUE ADMINISTRATION.

CHAP. XI

NEW SETTLEMENT OF 1894-95

 wet to dry amounted to some 300 acres, and from dry to wet to nearly 4,400.

The same scale of classes and sorts of soil as hsd been used in Tanjore were employed to differentiate tho soils in this district. Actually two classes of alluvial soil, three of regar and two of red. ferruginous were adopted. Each was divided into five sorts ; but only three sorts were actually adopted in the ease of the three lowest classes. A great deal of unnecessary trouble was also saved by the discovery that the money rates sanctioned for Tanjore could be applied with justice to Trichinopoly. The standard grains used for Tanjore were with one exception the same as those selected at the former settlement in this district, and the commutation prices deduced according to rule in both districts were pretty much the same. Thus it was not necessary to make any special crop experiments. The different sorts of soil were arranged in eleven tarams according to their productive capacity and a money rate deduced for each. Similar soils under the three different classes of irrigation were graded by a reduction of one taram for each class. The assessment, in the case of dry and wet land alike was supposed to represent a half of the net produce after deducting the cultivation expenses and a percentage of the gross produce (15 per cent. in wet land and 20 per cent. in dry) to allow for unprofitable areas and vicissitudes of the season. The allowance for cultivation expenses varied from Rs. 5-8-0 to Re. 2-14-0 for dry land, and from Rs. 14 to Rs. 6 for wet, decreasing with the value of the land and consequently with the assessment. The following table shows the scale of rates actually arrived at without the materials on which they were based :-

TABLE 229 ATTACHED SEPARATELY

-----------------------------------230-----------------------------------

TRICHINOPOLY.

CHAP XI.

NEW SETTLEMENT OF 1894-95.

Financial effects of resettlement.

The general financial effect of the new settlement in this reclassified area was as follows : The extent of the holdings decreased by 4,600 acres and the assessment increased by nearly Ps. 2,67,000. The total financial effect for all the resettlement operations for the whole of the old district will be seen from the following table. The figures given for the reclassified area, as well as for the tract not reclassified, only represent the occupied area. Moreover the figures shown as the assessment do not represent the whole of the assessment imposed by the rates of the former settlement, since the 2 per cent. credited to roads has been deducted; but they do show the whole that was credited under that settlement to land revenue: 

TABLE 230 ATTACHED SEPARATELY

The financial result of the introduction of the new rates was thus an increase of nearly Rs. 4,14,000, or 30.1 per cent., for the whole of the old district. Both the Board and the Government remarked, when commenting on these figures, that the high rate of increase was mainly due to the extreme lightness of the rates fixed at the former settlement on the fertile lands of the Cauvery valley. That the assessments were not in themselves particularly heavy has boon shown in a number of ways. From the very beginning very little coercion was needed to collect the greatly increased demand. Moreover a comparison of the Trichinopoly rates with those of the neighbouring tracts of Tanjore and South Arcot shows only a small excess in tho former, and this is explained by the fact that the tracts in Tanjore under the Cauvery

-----------------------------------231-----------------------------------

LAND REVENUE ADMINISTRATION.

CHAP. XI

NEW SETTLEMENT OF 1894-95.

contain a great deal of inferior land, while the reclassified area in Trichinopoly is nearly all of an excellent description. The following figures illustrate this comparison:  

TABLE 231 ATTACHED SEPARATELY

Moreover, writing in 1902, after an experience of the new rates for several years, the Collector records the mature opinion that such adverse criticism as the new settlement had evoked was not really honest.

The cost of the resurvey and resettlement had been about two and a quarter lakhs of rupees, and the result of the settlement was a return on the outlay of as much as 182 per cent.

Miscellaneous points in the resettlement 

A few minor points connected with this settlement may here be noticed. It included the whole of the cultivable land of the old district except what was required for communal purposes Some 22,000 acres of unoccupied land was settled, and was classified on the method followed at the original settlement of the surrounding, lands. There remained 30,000 acres which were either unfit for cultivation or required for communal purposes.

The new rates were introduced in the year 1894-05. The whole of the additional assessment was not imposed at once, But the usual increment remissions ' were allowed. Where the increase of assessment in individual cases exceeded 25 per cent. of the old assessment, -a sum equal to 25 per cent. of the old assessment was levied at once, and the remainder by instalments equal to 12   per cent. of the old assessment.

The burden of the increased assessment was also alleviated by I the abolition of the irrigation cess referred to above in Chapter IV.

-----------------------------------232-----------------------------------

TRICHINOPOLY.

CHAP. XI

NEW SETTLEMENT OF 1894-95.

This was a payment voluntarily made by the ryots for the conservancy of some of the river irrigation channels. It represented the commuted money value of the labour which each landholder was bound by custom to contribute for the conservancy of the channels. Owing to their disagreements the ryots could not be made to work properly together for the preservation of the channels and the supervision was undertaken by Government in consideration of the payment of the cess. At the resettlement the Government consented as an act of grace to continue the super-: vision of the channels while remitting the payments of the irrigation cess for the future.

The rules for second wet crop were rather different in the. reclassified area in this settlement from those followed in the; former one. Fields under irrigation sources of the first group which had an unfailing supply of water for two crops were registered as permanent double-crop land at 1  times the first-crop assessment. In all other fields of this class a ryot was allowed to have his crop registered as double-crop on these terms if he liked; but composition at lower rates was not allowed. Under irrigation sources of the second and third classes, composition for second crop was allowed at one-third and one-fourth of the first crop charge respectively.

REVENUE HISTORY OF KARUR TALUK.

None of the above description applies to the taluks of Karur or Namakkal. For a full description of the revenue administration of those the reader is referred to the Gazetteers of Coimbatore and Salem districts, respectively. There is only room here for a brief review of the settlement history of each.

Under native rule.

Little is known of the revenue history of Karur. taluk prior to the time when the kingdom of Mysore was usurped by Haidar 	Ali. King Chikka Deva Raja of Mysore (1671-1704) made a regular survey of the country, and took two-thirds (in kind) of the gross produce of the wet land, leaving the ryot one-third. When Haidar came into power he apparently took this survey as the basis of his assessments, but he collected all his rents in money and in a single payment. This forced the ryots to sell immediately after harvest at low prices, with the result that a great deal of land in the old Coimbatore district went out of cultivation and could not he farmed remuneratively. Tip Sultan increased all the assessments 25 per cent. and yet more land went out of cultivation ; but he was never able to collect this enormous demand, and on his death the arrears were very largo and it is said that only the garden land and some wet laud had any sale value at all.

-----------------------------------233-----------------------------------

LAND REVENUE ADMINISTRATION 

CHAP. XI. 

REVENUE HISTORY OF KARUR TALUK.

Early British Settlements.

When the district came into British hands on the fall of Seringapatam in 1799, it was placed (with the other parts of the old Coimbatore district which lie south of the Noyil river) under the management of the Collector of Dindigul. That officer made a survey, and conducted a regular classification of the fields Early according to their productive value, based on the statements of British ryots and other persons likely to know. The Government share was estimated in money and fixed at half the net produce, i.e., half the gross produce less 12   per cent. The result was a rather burdensome assessment which had to he reduced in 1807-08. Meanwhile the district had been rearranged, and. in 1805 the Karur taluk became a part of the old Coimbatore district and remained as such for the next hundred years. In 1808-09 the theory of permanent settlements had come into favour, and the district was divided into a number of small revenue farms of some two or three villages apiece, which were leased to village headmen and wealthy ryots. The lease was a complete failure owing to the abuses perpetrated by the renters, the revenue of the district fell from 21 to 17 lakhs, and the ryotwari system was re-introduced in 1815. A new settlement was now made as well as a new survey ; but the assessments were in many respects still excessive, and modifications of them were made at intervals till at least as late as 18o4. The system was also subject to various other objectionable characteristics of the old native regime, which there is no space to relate.

Settlement of 1879

A. new settlement was put in hand in 1872, but was not completed till ten years later. It was introduced in Karur in 1879-80 and will last till 1908-09. In the case of Millar eleven wet rates were adopted, varying from Rs. 10 to Rs. 2, but the large majority of the wet fields were assessed at from Rs 6 to Rs. 3-8-0 per acre. Six rates were fixed for the dry land, varying from Rs. 1-8-0 to six annas ; but two-thirds of it was assessed at either twelve or eight minas, and over one-sixth at one rupee. No land was settled as permanent double-crop land, but the double-crop assessment on over 4,000 acres under the Cauvery channels was compounded at one-third of the first-crop assessment; and that on over 9,000 acres, chiefly under the Amaravati channels, at one-fourth. The wet fields under the Cauvery were placed in the first group, those under the Amaravati in the second, and those under rainfed tanks and jungle streams in the third. The average rates of assessment were, for wet land .Rs. 5-3-5 per acre, and for dry As. 11-7. The total single-crop assessment was Rs. 2,55,722 on 266,007 acres of land, the figures showing an increase in area of 9 per cent. and in assessment of o per cent. above those of the previous settlement.

30

-----------------------------------234-----------------------------------

TRICHINOPOLY.

CHAP. XI.

NAMAKKAL TALUK

It should be noted that the voluntary irrigation cess is still paid in parts of Karur. taluk.

Early British Settlements.

The land revenue history of the Namakkal taluk, like that of Early the whole of the Salem district, is of considerable interest. The. old native system, inherited from the days of Tipu, was to rent out the lands by villages or in small divisions to the village headmen. or other respectable persons. Captain Read, the first Collector of Salem, who took charge in 1792, was instructed by Government to effect a settlement for a term of five years with the inhabitants themselves. To do this, Read, with the co-operation of his Assistants Graham and Munro (afterwards Sir Thomas Munro), surveyed all the land in the district and fixed a money assessment on it. This took five years (1793-97). During the time the survey was in progress, a change had come over Read's opinions ; and on the 10th December 1796 he issued his famous Caulnamah ' which gave ryots the option of keeping the lands either under the old lease system or under annual settlements, the latter mode allowing them to give up early in each year whatever land they might not choose to cultivate for that year and to retain for any number of years what land they liked subject to payment of assessment.

This was the germ of the ryotwari system. But the influence of ideas from Bengal, where Lord Cornwallis had established the zamindari system, was too strong ; and in 1802 Read's ryotwari tenure was nipped in the bud. In that year the Madras Government appointed a Special Commissioner, who by the end of 1805 had parcelled out the district into 205 mittas which were sold in auction to the highest bidders. But the zamindari system contained in itself the seeds of its own decay. Owing to the high assessments and the low margin of profit allowed to the mittadars, their kists fell into arrears, most of the mittas were seized and sold,' and, for want of bidders, Government had to buy thorn in. These bought-in mittas were administered under the ryotwari system. The evil of excessive assessments was reduced by orders fitfully issued in 1816 and 1818; but systematic reduction was effected only in 1859 when the Government sanctioned the proposals of the Collector, Mr. Brett, for a general percentage reduction in the old survey rates. This was the famous taramkammi of Mr. Brett. The reduction gave a wonderful impetus to cultivation, and the land revenue rose with a bound.

In 1860 a scientific survey of the district was begun, and in 1865-66 proposals for its resettlement were made by Mr. Puckle.

(Footnote:I In 1903 there still remained in the Salem district 218 permanently settled estates paying nearly Rs 4   laklis as peshkash and covering 1,737 square miles 48 of these are in the Namakkal taluk.)

-----------------------------------235-----------------------------------

LAND REVENUE ADMINISTRATION 

CHAP. XI

NAMAKKAL TALUK

Settlements of 1871 and 1903.

the same officer who conducted the Trichinopoly settlement. Final orders were passed in 1869 1 and the settlement was introduced in the Namakkal taluk in 1871.It has recently been superseded by a re-survey and a re-settlement which were introduced into this taluk in 1903-04 2 and is to last for thirty years. This consisted generally of an enhancement of the existing rates by twelve and a half per cent. The following table will show the results of the various settlements : 


A few characteristics of the current settlement of the Namakkal taluk deserve notice. Here, as in the old Trichinopoly district, the old settlement was based upon a division of each class of soil into only three sorts, with the result that there was a great difference in the money rates. Here also it was proposed to reclassify only the land irrigated by the Cauvery and to be content with au all-round enhancement of the rates on the rest. The intention of the proposed reclassification of the Cauvery land was to bring it into line with that in the Triehinopolv district. The Government however declined to allow any reclassification, so that the whole of the present settlement of the taluk, including that of the Cauvery land, is based on the old classification into three sorts.

TABLE 235 ATTACHED SEPARATELY

The only other matter of general importance which was raised was the question of the charge for the second crop. Under Mr. Puckle's settlement the second-crop charge was in all eases consolidated with the first-crop charge. The Board was now anxious to grant the Salem ryots the option allowed in other districts of not accepting the consolidated assessment unless they liked. But the Government considered that the old system was popular and worked well and should be continued. Thus in the Namakkal taluk in every wet field the double-crop charge is compounded. The only alteration made in the old rates of composition at this settlement was to insist that on the Cauvery-fed laud the charge

(Footnote: 1 G. O., No. 2681, Revenue, dated 28th September 1869.
2 See G. O No. 244, Revenue, dated 4th March 1904.)

-----------------------------------236-----------------------------------

TRICHINOPOLY.

CHAP. XI.

NAMAKKAL TALUK.

should he compounded at one-half the revised first-crop charge. The only other points that need notice are (1) that in the case of waste land the classification of the fields was lowered by one taram before applying the all-round enhancementthis was necessary in order to encourage their occupation in the futureand (2) that the voluntary irrigation cess was not abolished in this taluk, and, as a matter of fact, continues to be paid there till the present day, just as in Karur.

The hillmen of the Kollaimalais are very much superior to their cousins on the Pachaimalais ; and their land is accordingly settled on the ordinary lines. There are seven Government villages on the hills, divided into a number of hamlets. The dry land was placed in the fifth group with money rates one taram lower than those of the Settlement Officer's fourth group; and the wet land in the sixth group with money rates one taram, lower than those proposed by the Settlement Officer for his fifth group.' Thus the rates for the dry land varied from As. 4 to As. 14, and those for wet from Rs. 1-8-0 to Rs. 4-8-0. The classified area included 11,500 acres of occupied dry and 1,100 acres of occupied wet land, and 22,200 acres of unoccupied dry land and a few acres of unoccupied wet.

ZAMINDARI LAND.

The above account of the revenue history of the district is applicable only to the ryotwari land. The following table gives for each taluk the area of minor inams, and the number of villages included in whole inams and zamindaris :-

TABLE 236 ATTACHED SEPARATELY

(Footnote:1 G. O., No. 605, Revenue, dated 30th June 1905, paragraph 7.)

-----------------------------------237-----------------------------------

LAND REVENUE ADMINISTRATION.

CHAP. XI

ZAMINDARI LAND

The zamindaris of the district consist of the ancient palaiyams of Ariyalur and Udaiyarpalaiyam (in Udaiyarpalaiyam taluk), Marungapuri and Kadavur. in Kulittalai, Turaiyur in Musiri and Andipatti in Karur taluk, the Kattuputtur mitta in Musiri and the numerous mittas of Namakkal. Of these, all the mittas were created by the British at the time of the Permanent Settlement. They were all originally in the Salem district, to which the Permanent Settlement was applied. Thu Kattuputtur mitta was transferred from Salem to this district in 1851. All the ancient palaiyams date from pre-British times and were conferred on the poligars by the native rulersall apparently by the Nayakkans of Maduraon some kind or other of service tenure. The early history of each of them is sketched in the accounts of them in Chapter XV.

The treatment of these ancient palaiyams by the British has varied. Andippatti (which till recently belonged to Coimbatore district) and Marungapuri and Kadavur (both of which belonged to Madura till 1856) were assessed in the early days of British rule at a. peshkash amounting to 70 per cent. of their estimated gross income. Sanads were given to the first and third in 1871 ; but the title to Marungapuri was then in dispute in the civil courts and a sanad for that estate was granted only in 1906. The position of these poligars was for some time in doubt ; and it was not till 1871 that it was decided by the Privy Council that the Marungipuri zamindari (which is typical of others) was an hereditary estate the owner of which possessed a title indefeasible by the will of Government. The Andipatti estate has long been divided ; but the other two have been declared impartible by Act II of 1904.

The Tnraiyur, Udaiyarpalaiyam and Ariyalur estates were not, like the others above mentioned, in the possession of the poligars' families at the time of the cession of the Carnatie. The poligars of all of them had had differences of-one sort or another with the Nawab, and at the beginning of the English rule had all been dispossessed of their estates' and were subsisting on compassionate allowances of various kinds.

When the country came under the Company's rule the first Collector recommended that. all these poligars (then the only ones in the district) should be restored to their estates on the footing of zamindars and should pay a peshkash of two-thirds of the estimated gross income of their properties. The Government however at first 2 declined to recognize the title 'of the poligars and ordered

(Footnote:1 See the letter of the first Collector, Mr. J. 'Wallace, dated 30th May 1802. July 17th, 1802.)

-----------------------------------238-----------------------------------

TRICHINOPOLY

CHAP. XI

ZAMINDAM LAND.

the Collector to continue the management! of the palaiyams. At the same time they ordered an inquiry to be made into the value of the palaiyams, the nature of the service which was due from the poligars to the Government, and the money value for which these services might reasonably be commuted. Meanwhile they authorised the Collector to pay to the poligars allowances equivalent to 10 per cent, of the net revenue of the estates with effect from the date of the cession of the Carnatic to the Company. In 1814 the Board observed that to restore the poligars would be for a variety of reasons impolitic, and they recommended that Government should grant to each poligar such a number of villages as would yield the equivalent of the income which might be expected to accrue from each of the palaiyarns as a whole under zamindari tenure. This was approved by Government in 1816 ; calculations were made of the gross incomes derivable from the estates ; and the poligars were each put in possession of so many villages as would yield an income equal to one-third of the gross incomes so calculated. At the same time it was decided that the police duties which formed a part at least of the service demanded from the poligars should be discontinued and that the kaval fees 2 should no longer be collected. Zamindari sanads were issued to them on December 23rd, 1817. The Turaiyur and Udaiyarpalaiyam estates are impartible, being scheduled as such in Act II of 1904. The Ariyalur estate has long been divided into small portions.

INAM LAND.

The inam land in the district comprises grants on favourable terms for a variety of different purposes. Nearly all of them were made by the native governments. Conditions in the old Trichinopoly district differ from those in the Namakkal and Karur taluks, in which the settlement of the inams was made on slightly different principles and occasions. 

Investigations of inam titles were made in the old Trichinopoly district in 1803 and 1814, and registers of them were prepared in both these years. It was not till 18o1-o2 that the bulk of them were finally settled by the Inam Commission. It was then found that the inams comprised grants to Hindu, Muhammadan and Christian religious institutions, to particular persons for particular services rendered in the past, to persons or families for 'present services rendered to the village community, and lastly grants to certain classes of people (such as Nattans, Mahajans or Brahmans) in reward for no services but simply in recognition of their social

(Footnote: 1 B.P., dated 12th May 1814.
2 See Chapter XIII, p. 254.)

-----------------------------------239-----------------------------------

LAND REVENUE ADMINISTRATION.

CHAP. XI

INAM LAND

Status 1 The inams were held on very different terms ; some times rent free, sometimes on payment of a very small proportion of the assessment properly due on the land under the ordinary ryotwari tenure, and sometimes on a large proportion of this sum.

Personal grants for past services were enfranchised, i.e., made the unconditional private property of the titleholders on a fixed moderate assessment ; the greater number of the personal grants for present services (which chiefly included the insane of the village public and private servants) were left unaltered, though some were enfranchised with the consent of the village communities ; the grants to religious institutions were left unaltered, subject of course to their devotion to the purpose for which they were given ; and the grants to privileged classes were abolished.1

Another considerable change took place in 1870, when the inams of all the public village servants (karnams, village headmen, shroffs, vettis, nirgantis and talaiyaris) were enfranchised and their quit-rent added to the village service fund then created. The private village servants (artisans, etc.) still enjoy their inams on the old service tenure. Finally the whole inam villages in the old Trichinopoly district were recently surveyed and classified for the purpose of enabling cesses on them to be calculated, but the quit-rents remained unehanged.3

It should be noted that the inams in the palaiyams of the old Trichinopoly district and Karur. which were in existence previous to the settlement of their peshkash were assessed directly by Government independently of the poligars on the same principles as in the Government villages. The quit-rent payable by these inamdars, it must be remembered, had not been included in tho assets of the palaiyams on which the peshkash was fixed.

The above account applies in its entirety only to those parts of the country which belonged to the old Trichinopoly district

(Footnote:' Some of these inams, though in practice enjoyed by one or other of the classes mentioned in the text, were in theory given to the villagers as a whole. These were the ' Stala maniyams,' which were lands given rent free every year to the villagers, the extent varying with the amount of the land in the village which was cultivated in each year. At the inam settlement these were given to the actual enjoyers or enfranchised on the principles observed in dealing with other inams.
2 See the following papers : Proceedings of the inam Commissioner, No. 477, dated 14th December 1861 ; No. 25, dated 29th August 18o5 ; G.Os., No. 547 dated 12th March 1862 ; No. 1468, dated 7th August 1863 ; No. 967, dated 7th June 1864 ; and B.Ps., No. 4381, dated 14th July 1864 ; No. 4929, dated 2nd August 1864.

3 G.O., No. 811, Revenue, dated 28th July 1904.)

-----------------------------------240-----------------------------------

TRICHINOPOLY.

CHAP. Xl.

INAM LAND.

from the very first. The settlement of 1861-62 however applied to the whole of the present district except Karur and Namakkal  taluks ; 1 and it is unnecessary to separately consider the treatment of the inams in the few tracts which were added to the district between 1800 and 1861. The taluks of Karur. and Namakkal however need a few words to themselves.

The Karur inams were surveyed in 1801-02 and their titles were elaborately investigated between 1801 and 1805 and a list of them was prepared. A number were resumed and the rest were confirmed on a quit-rent varying from one-sixteenth to three-eighths of the assessment. Thus in 1862 when the Inam Commissioner settled the taluk it was not necessary to disallow the validity of any of the inamdars' titles ; and all that was done was to settle them anew. The classes of inams found were the same as in the old Trichinopoly district, except that there were no grants in favour of privileged classes of people for no service brit in recognition of their social status. rhe others were treated exactly as in the Trichinopoly district, except that the village menial hiatus were all enfranchised. The inams to the village public servants were enfranchised in 1881.2 

The Nomakkal inams were surveyed between 1796 and 1800 ; and lists were prepared between 1800 and 1839. They were not finally settled till 1861. The grants were of the same kinds as those in the Karur taluk ; and their treatment was generally the same as in the old Trichinopoly district. One or two differences need to be noticed. Some of the whole main villages whose tenure had been disturbed by Tipu or which were being enjoyed without any payment whatever were settled anew by the Inam Commissioner on principles of equity. The village public service inams were not enfranchised till 1881 ; and some of the village menial service inams are still unenfranchised.

VILLAGE ESTABLISHMENTS 

The system under which the village servants were paid and the adequacy of the establishments entertained seems to have first engaged serious attention at the time of Mr. Puekle's settlement. It was then found that the village establishments in the old district of Trichinopoly were being remunerated by customary fees, which were either paid direct by the ryots or, in the case of the karnams' fees, had been added (since 1824-25) to the laud revenue. These amounted to nearly Rs. 1,19,000 annually. The karnams received nearly Rs. 64,000 of this, in what was called

(Footnote: 1 For the conditions under which the inams in the Kattuputtur mitta are held,see the account of the inams in the Namakkal mittas below.
2 See G.O , No. 1644, Revenue, dated 2nd August 1862.)

-----------------------------------241-----------------------------------

LAND REVENUE ADMINISTRATION. 

CHAP. XI 

VILLAGE ESTABLISHMENTS.

katlai selavu, an allowance theoretically supposed to recompense them only for their expenses in preparing the annual accounts and in their annual absence from their villages at jamabandi, but actually in most cases their only remuneration. A certain number of village servants were also remunerated by service inams. The katlai selavu was abolished in 1864,1 though the other fees were continued, and a temporary arrangement was made to meet the cost of these establishments until the introduction (in January 1865) of the Village Cess Act IV of 1864, which provided for the commutation of existing fees into a payment of a cess of 6   per cent. on the land revenue. It was ordered in the same year (June 1865) 2 that if the village cess did not amount to the cost of the village establishment, the deficiency should be made up from the ordinary land revenue to an extent not exceeding the amount of the abolished katlai selavu Shortly afterwards (1870) the village service inams were enfranchised 3 and the quit-rents imposed upon them were devoted to the payment of the village establishments.

Revision of 1870

The first general revision of the establishment was ordered in 1868 and came into force in 1870. The village offices then existing, as well as their incumbents, were more numerous than in the scale ultimately adopted. There were 2,662 pattamaniyagars (village munsifs), 19 pannaikarans (assistant headmen now called monigars), 814 karnams, 3,813 rettiyans, 1,794 talaiyaris, 174 shroffs, 18 vattardyasams (revenue inspectors' clerks), 185 tandalkarans (village rent collectors), 6 ur sevagans (village peons), 144 water distributors (59 muppans and 85 niranis), and two kondiottis, or impounders of stray. cattle. There were 1,255 villages. The revised scheme as finally sanctioned reduced the number of villages having separate establishments to 810, and abolished all the above offices except the karnams, village headmen, vettiyans and talaiyaris. The number of all of these was diminished, and, except in the case of the karnams, considerably so. The pay of the karnams was fixed at from Rs. 9 to Rs. 6 according to the assessment of their Tillages, that of the village headmen was put at Rs. 3-8-0 per mensem, and that of the talaiyaris and vettlyans at Rs. 3. The annual cost of the establishment was estimated at some Es. 1,71,000 and it was to be met from the village service oess (estimated at Rs. 9o,000), the contribution from the land revenue of Es. 64,000 instead of the kutlai selavu, the quit-rent on enfranchised inams (Rs. 9,600), and the interest that had accrued up to

(Footnote: 1 G.O., No. 577, Revenue, dated 5th April 1864, paragraphs 20-22.
2 G.O., No. 1490, Revenue, dated 30th June 1865, paragraphs 12 and 13.
3 G.O., No. 964, Revenue, dated 29th June 1870, paragraphs 4 and o. The Namakkal and Karur inams were not enfranchised till 1881.)

31

-----------------------------------242-----------------------------------

TRICHINOPOLY.

CHAP XL

VILLAGE ESTARLISHMENTS.

Revision of 1870.

date on these accumulated funds, which amounted to Rs. 7,500 a year.

Modifications were made from time to time in the scale, and by 1899 the numbers of the munsifs and karnams had slightly decreased, and of the talaiyaris and vettiyans had slightly increased, and a few assistant karnams and. monigars' (i.e., purely revenue officers performing the collection duties of village munsifs) had been introduced.

In 1899 another general revision was effected. The recent survey and settlement bad considerably reduced the number of revenue villages and the revision of establishment roughly followed the new arrangements made. Karnams and munsifs were much reduced in number, assistant karnams and monigars were slightly increased, and talaiyaris and vettiyans were slightly reduced. At the same time the pay of all of these officers, especially of the munsifs and karnams, was considerably raised. Thus, though the number of incumbents just before the revision was greater by more than 500 than after, the annual cost of the establishment was raised by Rs. 15,000.

In 1906 another revision was made, assistant karnams and vettiyans being increased, monigars dispensed with, and one additional talaiyari being appointed. The increase in expenditure resulting was Rs. 13,o00. The above account is strictly true only of the old Trichinopoly district excluding the 11-omakkal and Kathr taluks.

EXISTING DIYISIONAL CHARGES.

The district as constituted a separate Collectorate in 1801 was with a few exceptions much the same as the old Trichinopoly district excluding the IN.o.makkal and Karur. thinks. In 1805 it was made for a few years a subdivision of the Tanjore Collectorate, but was again constituted a separate district in 1808. Meanwhile the Chidambaram taluk, which was originally a part of Trichinopoly, was transferred to South Arcot in 1805-06. In 1851 the Kattuputtur mitta, now in Musiri taluk, was added to the district from Salem ; and in 1856 the Manapparai division of the Kulittalai taluk was transferred from Madura. Several other small alterations of the South Arcot border occurred. In 1865-66, 22 Government villages were banded over to South Arcot and twelve villages received from that district, and in 1880-81 a further transfer of ten villages was made to South Aroot. The only other ohango is the impending addition to the district of the taluks of Karus and Namakkal from the Coimbatore and Salem districts respectively.

The administrative divisions of the district will then be as follows : Deputy Collectors will be stationed at Namakkal,

-----------------------------------243-----------------------------------

LAND REVENUE ADMINISTRATION.

CHAP. XI

EXISTING DIVISIONAL CHARGES 

Ariyalur and Trichinopoly and a Covenanted Civilian at Karur. These divisions will each contain two taluks, except the headquarter charge which will comprise only the Trichinopoly taluk. The Karur division will include the taluks of Karur. and Kulittalai, the Namakkal division those of Namakkal and Musiri, and the Ariyalur division those of Perambalur and Udaiyarpalaiyam. There are deputy tahsildars at Trichinopoly town and Lalgudi in the Trichinopoly taluk, at Aravakkurichi in Karur, at Manapparai in Kulittalai, at Paramati in Namakkal, at Turaiyur in Musiri, and at Kilappaluvur in Udaiyarpalaiyam taluk.

-----------------------------------244-----------------------------------

CHAP. XII

SALT, ABKARI AND MISCELLANEOUS REVENUE.

SALTSources of supplyFormer manufacture of earth-saltProcess employedSuppression of the manufacture in PudukottaiSaltpetre. ABKARI AND OPIUMArraekToddyForeign liquor, etc.Opium and hemp-drugsAdministrative divisions. MISCELLANEOUS Income-tax StampsCustoms.

CHAP XII

SALT.

Sources of supply.



TRICHINOPOLY, being an inland district, possesses no salt pans and consequently no licit manufacture of salt. It is therefore entirely dependent on imports for its supply of this commodity. The statistics available showing the sources from which the local demand is met apply only to the district excluding the Karur and Namakkal taluks. They also include the supplies of salt imported into the Pudukkotai State,for which no separate figures are published. With this proviso it may be stated that in the latest year for which figures are available 432,000 maunds of salt were imported into the district, of which 7,000 were again exported. Of this amount, 247,000 maunds were received from Tinnevelly district and 143,000 maunds from Tanjore. Small quantities were brought in from Madura, South Arcot, Chingleput and Coimbatore.

Former manufacture Of earth-salt,

Though the illicit manufacture of salt has now been suppressed, formerly a great deal was made out, of salt-earth, not only in the district proper, but also till a still later date in the State of Pudukkottai. The state of things in the old district is described in the report of the Salt Commission of 187o. At that time earth-salt was manufactured in considerable quantities in nearly all the taluks of the district in spite of the attention of the authorities having been directed to the matter and the institution in the five preceding years of an increasing number1 of prosecutions for breaches of the law. In some out-of-the-way parts this illicit manufacture was largely due to the real difficulty experienced by the ryots in obtaining the Government salt at all, owing to the insufficiency of vendors. This difficulty afterwards disappeared and by Act II of 1878 the mere possession of earth-salt, or (with the intention of making earth-salt) of salt-earth, was made an offence and the hands of the authorities were strengthened.

(Footnote:The number of prosecutions instituted for illicit manufacture of salt rose from 67 in 1871 to 166 in 1875.)

-----------------------------------245-----------------------------------

SALT, ABKARI AND MISCELLANEOUS REVENUE

CHAP. XII

Process employed 

The process of manufacturing earth-salt was as follows: The salt-earth was collected, put into pots, and lixiviated with water. The resulting brine was then strained off and evaporated, either by boiling or by pouring it into shallow hollows in rocks or hard ground exposed to the sun. This produced crystals of salt of fair quality. An estimate given by one of the Tahsildars and mentioned in the report of the Salt Commission stated that four parts of salt-earth treated with eight parts of water would give one and a half parts of earth-salt. The salt was said to be much whiter than sea salt, but rather unwholesome, at any rate to people unaccustomed to it.

Suppression of the manufacture in Pudukkottai.

The existence of this form of manufacture continued unchecked in the adjoining State of Pudukkottai for some years after it had been suppressed in Trichinopoly itself. The danger that. this salt would be smuggled across the border into British India was of course considerable, and it was considered. necessary that the industry should be stopped. The Raja., however, was averse from the step, which might inflict hardship on the poorest of his subjects ' ; and in deference to his wishes, the Government consented in 1882 to the State's framing a regulation to legalize the industry and put it under proper control. They however insisted upon the prohibition of the manufacture of salt anywhere within five miles of the British frontier. In the event it proved impossible to observe this last condition ; since, owing to the irregular boundary of the State, it would have amounted to a prohibition of manufacture in three-fourths of the whole territory and in those very parts in which the salt-earth chiefly lay. The State accordingly consented to the total suppression of the industry, on condition of receiving compensation from the British Government for the loss of revenue involved, the increase in the price of salt in Pudukkottai which would result, and the cost of the preventive staff which the suppression of the manufacture would render necessary.1 There was some little correspondence as to the precise terms of the convention embodying this agreement, and it was not till 1887 that they were finally decided. They were as follows : The manufacture of earth-salt in the State was to be totally abolished and all existing salt works effectually destroyed ; the British Government was to make an annual payment to the State of Bs. 15,000 as compensation for loss of revenue; of Es. 13,000 to make up for the abolition of the house-tax, which the State proposed to forego in order to alleviate the hardship experienced by the Pudukkottai people by the

(Footnote: 1  See correspondence printed with G.O., No. 663, Revenue, dated 5th August 1886.)

-----------------------------------246-----------------------------------

TRICHINOPOLY

CHAP. XII

SALT.

increase in the price of salt ; of Rs. 10,000 to pay for the preventive establishment ; and of a lump payment not exceeding Rs. 5,000 to cover the cost of destroying the existing salt works and compensating the people hitherto subsisting by the industry ; the preventive force was to be administered like that in British territory and have similar powers and duties ; and the head of it was to co-operate with the British preventive officers on the frontier and to furnish the Political Agent with a monthly report on the strength and working of the force. Finally it was settled that the arrangements might be cancelled at the option of Government, after sufficient notice, should they find it to their interest to discontinue them. Apprehensions that the manufacture of earth-salt was not entirely extinct, based upon the calculations of the Madras Salt department of the amount of Government salt consumed in the State from 1896-97 onwards, gave rise to some correspondence at the beginning of the present century; but the result of special methods of registration inaugurated by the Diwan and of special enquiries made by the Madras Salt department convinced the Government that these apprehensions were groundless. The Pudukkottai  Darbar took advantage of this opportunity to ask for a revision of the salt convention and an increase in the annual compensation ; but the Madras Government declined to reconsider the matter.1

Saltpetre.

Much saltpetre is made in the district, crude saltpetre being extracted from nitrous soil and this product being, to a small extent, refined. Neither of these processes may be carried on without a license. As many as 279 licenses were issued in 1905-06 in the district as it now stands for the manufacture of crude saltpetre, and nine for the manufacture of the refined article. The refined saltpetre is used chiefly for the manufacture of fireworks and gunpowder, and the crude product to a small extent for manure. The industry is almost entirely in the hands of the Uppiliyan caste.

The process of manufacturing crude saltpetre is as follows: A rough filter is constructed by making a mound of earth about four feet high, hollowing out the middle of this and lining it with impervious clay, and cutting a narrow outlet at the bottom which can be stopped up with grass and weeds. The receptacle thus made is then filled with nitrous earth, this is well saturated with water, and the drainings filter through the hole at the bottom into pots -placed underneath. The resultant fluid, which takes

(Footnote: 1 See G.O.No. 717, Revenue, dated 19th July 1900; and No. 474, Revenue, dated 29th May 1902.)

-----------------------------------247-----------------------------------

SALT, ABKARI AND MISCELLANEOUS REVENUE. a out twelve hours to filter through, is boiled 

CHAP. XII

SALT.

about twelve hours to filter through, is boiled down in a shallow iron pan, and a crude saltpetre mixed with edible salt is produced.

The process of refining is primarily designed to expel the salt. The crude saltpetre is mixed with water and boiled in a copper pan till the edible salt is precipitated. The nitrous fluid is then removed and allowed to cool. A pure saltpetre crystallizes out of the cooling liquid; and is collected, dried and stored. The liquid is kept and used instead of water in future refining operations.This process only gives what is called second sort' refined. saltpetre. 'First sort' is obtained by mixing the second sort' with water, or with the fluid extracted in the process already described, and by again boiling it till it reaches a suitable consistency, when the heat is reduced and the liquid is allowed to simmer for a time. It is next taken out and put into reservoirs to crystallize. This takes a week ; and then the crystals are collected and allowed to drain for a whole day.
In the year 1905-06, 9,039 maunds of crude saltpetre were expended in producing 3,514 maunds' of refined saltpetre in this district ; and 3,661 maunds of edible salt were produced in the process. The edible salt was either destroyed in the presence of an Inspector or Assistant Inspect or of the Salt department or kept by the makers for sale on payment of duty.

ABKARI AND OPIUM

The abikari revenue consists in that derived from the sale of arrack, toddy and foreign liquor.

ARRACK

The arrack revenue is managed in this district,1 as generally elsewhere, on the excise system, under which, though the exclusive privilege of manufacturing and supplying arrack for consumption is disposed of triennially by tender, an excise duty is levied on the amount of spirit issued from the manufacturers' warehouses, and the right to sell arrack in licensed premises is separately sold annually by auction. There is now one warehouse in the district in Trichinopoly town belonging to the East India Distilleries and Sugar Factories Company (Limited). The district is also to a small extent supplied with arrack from each of the warehouses belonging to the same company at Tanjore, Nellikuppam (South Arcot), Coimbatore and Suramangalam (Salem). Depots for storing the spirit to facilitate its distribution to the shops have been opened at ten places 2 (the figures are those for 1905-06 and for the district, as at present constituted) and 

(Footnote: 1 Excluding the Pudukkottai  State, which administers its own abkari revenue.
2 Part of Karur taluk is supplied at present (1905) from a depot in the Coimbatore district (at Kodumudi) ; and part of the Perambalur and Udaiyarpalaiyam taluks from dopots in South Arcot and Tanjorenamely Tiruvadi in Tanjore and Tittakudi in South Arcot.)

-----------------------------------248-----------------------------------

TRICHLINOPOLY

CHAP. XII

ABKARI AND OPIUM.

fees are levied for the right to sell at these depots. The rates at Aa3E11a AND which the supply is made to the depot-keepers and to the actual vendors are fixed by Government as one of the terms of the contract with the suppliers. The number of shops opened for retail sale was 275 in 1905-06. The arrack supplied to the district is made from molasses.

The consumption of arrack in the old Trichinopoly district 1 during the year 1905-0o was estimated at -032 proof gallons per head of the population. This was a good deal higher than that in the adjoining districts of Tanjore, Madura, Tinnevelly and Salem, and a little higher than that in Coimbatore ; but it was very nearly the same as the mean consumption throughout the Presidency in that year (.033).

Toddy.

The toddy revenue is managed on the system generally in force elsewhere ; under which the right to open shops for retail sale is sold every year to the highest bidder, and a tax is levied on every tree tapped for toddy. The toddy is drawn chiefly from cocoanut trees. The tappers aro generally, though not exclusively, of the Shanan caste. A little jaggery is made in the district from the juice of palmyras and (to a smaller extent) of cocoanut trees; but no license is necessary for the tapping of sweet juice.

Foreign liquor, etc

The revenue derived from foreign liquor is managed on the usual system ; that is to say, licenses to open retail shops are given, with one exception and generally at the discretion of the Collector, to applicants at rates fixed by the Board of Revenue. Licenses to sell country beer for consumption on the premises are sold by auction to the highest bidder, and the successful bidders for this privilege are allowed to take out a retail license to sell Indian-brewed beer for consumption outside the premises on payment of an additional Rs. 50. There were in the year 1905-06 in the Trichinopoly district one railway refreshment room (in Trichinopoly), two beer shops for consumption on the premises (at Trichinopoly and Karur.), one beer shop (at Trichinopoly) for the consumption of country-brewed beer off the premises, and twelve shops for the consumption of foreign liquor generally off the premisesseven at Trichinopoly, and one each at Srirangam, Karur, Kulittalai, Ariyalur and Turaiyur. It should be added that as elsewhere the canteen of the native troops in Trichinopoly obtains rum at a special rate of excise duty, though no license is required.

Optium and hemp-drugs.

There is nothing peculiar about the way in which the sale of opium, hemp-drugs and poppy heads for medicinal purposes is controlled in this district. All of them aro sold in shops which 

(Footnote: 1 I, excluding Karur and Namakkal taluks.)

-----------------------------------249-----------------------------------

SALT, ABKARI AND MISCELLANEOUS REVENUE

CHAP. XII

ABKARI AND OPIUM

are leased by annual auction ; and the supply of all is obtained from Government storehouses, generally through wholesale depots. The consumption of all these commodities is small and rather below the average.

Administrative divisions.

With the exception of die Nomakkal taluk in the Salem circle, which, like the rest of the Salem district from which it was recently transferred, lies in the Arcot sub-division, the whole district is included, for purposes of Separate Revenue administration, in the Trichinopoly sub-division. The five taluks which constituted the old Trichinopoly district are divided into two circles, each in charge of an Inspector, called North Triebinopoly (Perambalur, Udaiyorpolaiyam and Musiri taluks) and South Trichinopoly (Trichinopoly and Kulittalai taluks). The headquarters of both the Inspectors are at Trichinopoly town, and the latter of them has an Assistant Inspector to help him. Karur is one of the three taluks forming the jurisdiction of the Inspector at Erode.

MISCELLANEOUS 

Statistics of the receipts from income-tax will be found in the Appendix. The incidence per head of the population is not high.

Income-tax.

Of the total collections, by far the largest sum is contributed income-tax. by the Trichinopoly taluk, with its two rich municipalities of Trichinopoly and Srirangam. The second place, after a very long interval, is taken by Namakkal, while the smallest sums are paid by Kulittalai and Udaiyarpalaiyam. Moreover the incidence of the tax both per head of the assessees (Rs. 29-8-5 per head) and per head of the population as a whole (one anna per head) is much heavier in Trichinopoly taluk than in any of the others. Namakkal is second (Es. 26-12-6 and six pies) and Karur. third (Es. 23-0-5 and five pies). The incidence in all the other taluks is very much lower. The lowest figures are those for Perambalur (Es. 11-15-9 and three pies).

Stamp

The stamp revenue is administered in the manner usual else- where. Figures of revenue will he found in the Appendix. As was to be expected, the receipts from this head in the old district, which was a small area, were lower than those in other districts ; but there is nothing peculiar in the figures that calls for further remark,
Customs.

Though Pudukkottai  is an independent State it does not appear Customs. that customs duties have ever been levied on the transit of merchandise from that territory as such to British India. Nor is there any convention between the State and the British Government with reference to the imposition of such duties.

(Footnote: 1 Previous to, and for some time after, the cession of the country to the British inland duties were levied at many places throughout the country.

32

-----------------------------------250-----------------------------------

TRICHINOPOLY.

CHAPTER XIII.

ADMINISTRATION OF JUSTICE.

CIVIL JUSTICECourtsAmount of litigationRegistration. CRIMINAL JUSTICECourtsTrichinopoly cantonment magistrate. CRIMECriminal castesKallansKuravans--The kaval systemOrigin of kaval Local peculiarities  TuppukkuliKaral in Trichinopoly townCriminal gangsCriminal methods. 

CHAPTER XIII.

CIVIL JUSTICE

EXCLUDING the courts of the Revenue Divisional Officers who try rent suits under Act VIII of 1865, there are four grades of Civil Courts in the district. These are the courts of the village munsifs, of the district munsifs, of the Sub-Judge and of the District Judge.There are at present six district munsifs in the district, viz., those at Kulittalai, with jurisdiction over Kulittalai and Musiri taluks ; at Arivalur, for Perarnbalur and Udaiyarpalaiyam taluks ; at Trichinopoly, for Trichinovoly town and the portion of the taluk lying east of the Pudukkottai high road and south of the Cauvery ; at Sriraugam, for the rest of the Trichinopoly taluk including the Rupp& Maganam ; and at Karur and Namakkal, for the revenue taluks of those names and certain other portions of the Coimbatore and Salem districts respectively.

Amount of litigation

Statistics of litigation are only available for the old district excluding Karur and Namakkal. The average statistics for the decade from 1893 to 1902 show that the amount of litigation in each of the various grades of courts, and the total litigation in all of them is about equal to the average in the Presidency as a whole. Thus more suits were filed in the village courts in seven districts, more in the district munsifs' courts in ten districts, and more revenue suits in eleven districts. Only in the District Court is the file noticeably heavy ; but this is due to the fact that Trichinopoly is one of the very few districts in the Presidency in which that Court is vested with small cause jurisdiction. The number of original suits disposed of by it in a year is about 400 on an average but only 27, or less than 7 per cent., of these were other than small cause suits. If the suits of this class disposed of by the District Courts is altogether excluded from calculation, the statistics do not indicate any unusual fondness for litigation. The same impression is also convoyed by the ratio of population to

-----------------------------------251-----------------------------------

ADMINISTRATION OF JUSTICE,

CHAP. XIII

CIVIL JUSTICE

suits. During the decade 1893-1902 only one suit for every 113 people in the district was filed. In the rich delta districts of.Tanjore, Kistna and Godovari, the prosperous districts of Malabar,Tinnevelly and Madura, and in Chingleput (which owes its high position in the list partly to its proximity to Madras), the figures were all in excess of this.

Registration 

Registration is managed on the same lines as elsewhere. There is a District Registrar at Trichinopoly, and sub-registrars at 21places, including one at Trichinopoly fort. There are five in theTrichinopoly taluk, four each in Musiri and Namakkal, three in Karur, two each in Kulittalai and  Udaiyarpalaiyam, and one in Perambalur. One is stationed in every taluk head-quarters.

CRIMINAL JUSICE 

The village magistrates have the magisterial powers usually conferred upon officers of this class. There are special magistrates .for the trial of nuisance cases in Sendamangalam and Tattayyangarpettai in the Namakkal taluk, and bench courts which exercise petty jurisdiction in the Trichinopoly, Srirangam and Karur municipalities and try nuisance cases there. There are seven stationary sub-magistrates and seven deputy tahsildars with magisterial powers. All these have second or third class powers; and it is they who do the bulk of the magisterial work of the district. The former are stationed at the taluk head-quarters, and thus relieve the tahsildars of their magisterial work. All the tahsildars have magisterial powers, but have no power to take cognizance of cases and very rarely try any. The Revenue Divisional Magistrates are invested with first-class powers and do the first-class magisterial work in their divisions, besides hearing appeals from the magistrates subordinate to them. The District Magistrate, as elsewhere, rarely tries any cases. He is however, besides his usual functions, a Justice of the Peace for Pudukkottai  State and tries European British subjects committing offences within that territory. Ho also issues certificates under section 188 of the Criminal Procedure Code as Political Agent for Pudukkottai 

Trichinopoly cantonment magistrate

.There was a separate civil magistrate for the Trichinopoly cantonment from 1865 to 1879, but he was abolished in the latter year on the score of expense. In 1896 it was noticed that Act XIII of 1889, the Cantonment Act, which applied to Trichinopoly, necessitated the appointment of a Cantonment magistrate to try offences under the Cantonment Code ; and a military officer wasappointed as such in 1897. It was however soon after (1898) decided to exempt Trichinopoly from the Cantonment Code ; andthere were therefore no offences for the magistrate to try. Moreover the Government Order of 1899 conferring magisterial powers

-----------------------------------252-----------------------------------

TRICHINOPOLY 

CHAP. XIII

CRIMINAL JUSTICE.

on such magistrates was never extended to Trichinopoly. Thus the magistrate had no power nor jurisdiction, and no one has been appointed to the post since 1897.

CRIME

Statistics of crime are only available for the district excluding Karur and Namakkal taluks. It is unfortunate that most even of these are absolute and not relative to population. The number of persons convicted of the commoner offences in recent years is not remarkable when compared in the gross with those for other districts, but when the small size of Trichinopoly is taken into consideration the district appears to be unusually criminal. Moreover the statistics of convictions and complaints do not exhibit the whole of the crime committed ; for in Trichinopoly, as is mentioned below, it is unusually common for those whose property has been stolen to endeavour to obtain its restitution by paying black-mail to the thieves rather than by reporting the matter to the police.

Criminal castes

The castes which are responsible for the greater part of the crime in the district as it exists at present are the Kuravans and the Kallans. Generally speaking, the latter are confined to the south of the district, being especially numerous in the Trichinopoly taluk itself. The Kuravans are most numerous in Namakkal and Karur (they are said to commit 80 per cent. of the dacoities in the former of these taluks), but their criminal propensities are also prominent in the Trichinopoly and Kulittalai taluks. Another criminal community are the Ambalakarans (called also Kavalkarans) who are most common in Trichinopoly, Kulittalai and Karur. The Pallans of Trichinopoly and Kulittalai have a bad name, and so have the Paraiyans of Perambalur and Udaiyarpalaiyam. The Uralis of Kulittalai and Karur are said to be addicted to crime, and so are tho Vettuvans of the latter taluk. The Padaiyachi section of the Pallis have a bad reputation in  Udaiyarpalaiyam. Raids aro also made into the district by the Kallans and. Kuravans of Pudukkottai  and Tanjore, by the Kuravans of Attur in Salem, by the Veppur Paraiyans of South Arcot and by the Valaiyans and Kallans of Madura.

It is generally admitted that the Kallans are the most expert, as well as the most consistent, cattle thieves, though it is curious that they will not ordinarily steal cows ; and dacoitios are said to be usually committed by Kallans, Kuravans and Padaiyachis.

Kallans 1

Certain special statistics of serious crime wore collected in 1897 to ascertain whether its prevalence in this district, Madura, Tanjore and Tinnevelly was due to the Kallans and the kindred

(Footnote: 1 The Kallans are described from another point of view in Chapter III, p.106.)

-----------------------------------253-----------------------------------

ADMINISTRATION OF JUSTICE.

CHAP. XIII

CRIME

tribes of the Maravans and Agamndaivans who are so common in those areas. All these castes are thieves by hereditary tradition,.and see nothing shameful in theft. Of no other people in Southern India,' to quote the opinion of a Police Officer writing in 1895,1 can it be said, as it can of the Kallans and Maravans, that dacoity and thieving is a habit of the blood. They really love it. Possession of laud, cattle, all the requisites for farming, does not put a man above being a dacoit or a thief. He goes out ' for pure love of it. As the ladies of a north country family used to serve up in a dish at dinner a spur to shame the men for staying so long at home at ease, so the Kallan women express their contempt for the man who, no matter what his circumstances, will not go out for dacoity or the like. To have their admiration he must be a true Kallan, in fact he must be a thief of some kind, and all the better if he thieves by force. They point out a place in the roof of Tirumala Naik's palace at Madura where a Kallan went through the solid roof and stole the king's jewels. The man is a hero. Their hero is a thief.' It is declared that on their New Years' Day every Kallan is under a caste (if not moral) obligation to commit some theft or other, even if it be only a formal one. 

It is almost certainly the Kallans of Trichinopoly who are responsible for the serious criminality of the old Trichinopoly district. The figures published in 1897 gave the number of cattle thefts 

committed in this and some other districts by members of the Kallan, Maravan and Agamudaiyan castes during the years 1892-94, as compared with those committed by other classes ; and they showed that while among these castes one person in every 542 committed cattle theft, the rest of the population were only guilty of one cattle theft to every 10,720 persons. These figures may be taken as fairly typical. Now as the Maravans and Agamudaiyans in this district are few in number and as a class are not criminal in character, it is chiefly on the Kallans that the responsibility for these figures rests.

Kuravans.

The Kuravans are also, as a body, professional thieves. They Kuravans. often possess land and property ; but they rarely cultivate their fields themselves, preferring, if they work for their living at all, to steal. They are divided into a number of endogamous sections, of which the Ina Kuravans and the KAvalkaran Kuravans are the most criminal, especially the latter. The latter are also called the Marasa, Mondu and Kodukutti Kuravans. They are an interesting 

(Footnote: 1 Mr. F. Fawcett. See G.O., No. 473, Judicial, dated 31st March 1897 (p. 30), which contains much interesting information on the Kallan problem.)

-----------------------------------254-----------------------------------

TRICHINOPOLY.

CHAP. XIII

CRIME.

people with a number of curious habits; but there is no space for any account of their peculiarities.1

In dress and appearance the Namakkal Kuravans are said to he superior to those of Karur, and to look like well-dressed Vellalans or Pallis. They are peculiar in wearing long ear-rings. They are also said to be much better thieves than the others, and to dislike having a Karur Kuravan with them when breaking into a house for fear he might wake the household by his clumsiness.

The Kuravans have a thieves' slang and a code of signs, so that they can communicate without the bystanders' understanding. They are said to be in touch with the leading ryots of their villages in the Namakkal taluk and to sell them their loot at low prices ; but in Karur a popular movement against them recently arose.

A curious custom of the Kuravans prohibits them from committing crime on new-moon or full-moon days. Once started on an expedition they are very determined and persistent. There is a ease on record where one of a band of Kuravans out on an expedition was drowned in crossing the Cauvery. Nothing daunted by the loss or the omen, they attempted a burglary and failed. They then tried another house, where they also failed ; and it was not till they had met with these three mishaps that their determination weakened and they went home.

The kaval system.

Police work in the district is very much hampered by the prevalence of the two connected systems of kaval (` watch and ward ') and tuppukkuli (` detection money '). These two together make up an organized system of blackmail. They exist throughout almost all the district. They are generally organized by the Kuravans and the Kallans, the former of whom more or less monopolize Karur. and Namakkal, while the latter take the rest of the district. The Kallans divide the south-west of Karur taluk with the Kuravans. Ambalakarans and Uralis also levy blackmail in Karur to a small extent, and Pallans and Ambalakarans elsewhere.

The kaval system consists in the assignment by the leaders of these castes to each village or group of villages of a kavalgar, or watchman, of their own community. This man acts as au unofficial policeman, being required to prevent theft by his castemen and make good the value of any property which may be stolen. In return for these services he receives fees in money and grain. The defects of the system are that it confers only a moderate

(Footnote:A most interesting note on them roots among the records of the Salem District Superintendent of Police.)

-----------------------------------255-----------------------------------

ADMINISTRATION OF JUSTICE.

CHAP.XIII

CRIME

degree of security, since thefts occur none the less and the kavalgar., does not always reimburse the losses, and that the kavalgar. resists any attempt on the part of the villagers to dispense with his services, and retaliates upon those who refuse to pay his fees by stealing their cattle or burning their straw-stacks. Revolts against the system occur from time to time. In Namakkal the people sometimes murder a kavalgar., or trump up a false ease against him, if ho becomes too troublesome ; and in Karur, not long ago, a campaign was organized against the Kuravans which drove them out of the Aravakurichi division and Karitr town. In the east of the district, the villagers have frequently refused to pay the kaval fees ; but this step has been usually met by a great outburst of crime which went on till the recalcitrant ryots gave in.

This kaval system seems to he a relic of the old native regime, Origin of which, true to the proverbial policy of setting a thief to catch a thief, seems to have handed over police duties to members of the most criminal tribes. The process of its development in the east of Trichinopoly is fairly well known and probably applies elsewhere.

In that tract the organization of the kaval system was controlled by arasu (' king') kavalgar. The arasu of Pudukkottai was the Raja himself ; and those of Turaiyur, Ariyalur and Udaiyarpalaiyam were the poligars of those places. They were apparently responsible to the native government for the maintenance of order, and employed a host of men upper') kavalgar.,kudi kavalgar., visarippukarans and kalapandis.under them. These all received a share of the fees paid by the ryots, and they also possessed inam land.' The men kavalgars had a badge of office in the shape of an inscribed copper or brass plate called a pattyyam. The system probably dates from the early days of the Nayakkans. Indeed most of the poligars scattered about southern India at that time seem to have held their estates partly on kaval tenure and were responsible for law and order within them. The British Government did not alter this system all at once ; but in 1816 they intimated to the arsu kavalgar.that their services were no further required and that their income from kaval fees must cease ; and in 1839-40 they resumed certain inams and fees enjoyed by men kavalgar.. After some correspondence they finally (1850) gave life pensions to the incumbents of these posts.' It seems that twelve of these men

(Footnote: 1  Mr. Clogstoun, Superintendent of Police, states that an main still exists in Pudukkottai which is held for the performance of the kaval duty in certain villages. It was granted in 1827.
2 Proceedings of Madras Government, No. 146, Revenue, dated 6th December 1867.)

-----------------------------------256-----------------------------------

TRICHINOPOLY

CHAP. XIII. 

CRIME

kavalgars were pensioned then, of whom three are still living 1 These measures did much to break up the unity of the kaval system. Though no longer recognized by Government, however, it still went on ; and a large number of petty kavalgars with different-sized holdings,' varying from three to ten villages, still exist. These are said to be on good terms with each other and not to invade each others' preserves. They employ a man in each village, and in a large village two or three.

.Local peculiarities 

A good many local peculiarities in the system exist in the. district. Thus the ordinary kaval extends to all property ; but the kallan kavall in the south-west of Karur is confined to bullocks, while the Kuravans in the same area take no responsibility for bullocks. Again the fees vary a good deal. In Karur' the Kallans demand a money payment from each ryot, which varies with the extent of his holding but does not exceed Rs. 3 per annum; while the Kuravans collect grain payments from landholders (sixteen measures of grain for a large holding and eight measures for a small one), a rupee or a lamb for each pen of sheep or goats, and two measures of grain for each threshing or a basket of ears for each harvesting. The Kallans of the east of the district levy four to six annas for each family and lesser fees in money from single men among the poorer classes ; but they exact large fees in grain and animals from richer ryots, rather on the lines adopted by the Kuravans of Karur'. Again the extent of each kavalgars holding' varies a good deal. In the ,Karur taluk the Kallan kavalgars often hold several villages, while the Kuravans hold only one village each. Indeed in this taluk the Kallan kaval is knownas the dem' or district while the other is known as the pIdi kdval. The Kuravan kavalgars of Namakkal also have only one village each. In the east of the district however, as already noted, holdings ' of various sizes, numbering from three to ten villages, exist.

Tuppakkuli

Wherever kaval exists, tuppakkuli  usually flourishes alongside. This, as already noted, is a system whereby stolen property is given back on payment of blackmail. The agent of the thieves comes to the loser of the property and intimates what he will have to pay to get his property backgenerally half its value. The money is paid and the property reappears. Ordinarily a man who has been robbed by one of the kavalgars tribes will not complain to the police If ho does, his property will disappear for ever, and he will not only gain nothing but will be liable to further depredations. If he submits and pays his blackmail he is at any 

(Footnote:One of these is all old man living in Tuvagudi in the Trichinopoly taluk. The other two are said to be in Tanjore.)

-----------------------------------257-----------------------------------

ADMINISTRATION OF JUSTICE.

CHAP. XIII

CRIME

rate certain of getting his property back. The result is that CHAP. XIU.	a considerable amount of crime is probably never reported to the police at all.

The Kallans have rather elaborate arrangements for dividing the foes paid as tuppukkuli. The men kavalgar gets half the amount paid. This is the tuppukkuli proper. The hired cattle-lifters get from Rs. 2 to Rs. 5 for their trouble. This is called mallu kuli or ' thorn payment ' because it compensates for the thorns which ran into their feet when they took the cattle across country at night. The harbourers of the stolen cattle get arkattu kuli (` tying up payment') of one rupee per head of cattle. If pursuit is anticipated, the cattle are moved several times by stages of 10 or 15 miles, and each harbourer has to be paid. Lastly there is the kulu kuili, which is the share paid to the village kavalgar for his trouble in acting as agent to extort the black-mail. This is ordinarily a quarter of the total amount paid.' The people employed are not always Kallans, though Kallans are generally the harbourers of the stolen cattle. Nor of course is the general habit of stealing and extorting tuppukkuli confined to Kallans, but it is practised by all castes who ply the trade of kdralycir and even by some others.

It is a depressing fact that the authorities are helpless to cheek these extortions without the aid of the people and that the people continue to submit because they dare not excite the animosity of these marauders. There are however signs that the systemis weakening.

Kaval in Trichinopoly town.

It is perhaps more surprising to find the kaval system firmly established in the Trichinepoly town.2 Every considerable house- hold, whether a native or a European, employs one of these parasites. Many attempts have been made by Europeans to fight this pernicious system by dispensing with their karalgar; but these have always failed. The rebellious one has always had his house robbed and has invariably submitted sooner or later to the inevitable. Many authentic instances of such failures exist, and many curious stories are told which are perhaps less than authentic. A District Judge, it is said, declined to employ a kavalgar and lost all his plate in consequence. He at once called in the service of not one but three kavalgars, and his plate was at once returned. The Trichinopoly Club was once less fortunate, since, having dismissed some of its kavalgars, it lost the whole of the furniture out of the ladies' room, and that never appeared again A story is told of a Commanding Officer of the troops in the cantonment who refused

(Footnote: 1 In Karur taluk: a somewhat different scale is in force. 
2 There it is controlled entirely by the Kallans.

33

-----------------------------------258-----------------------------------

TRICHINOPOLY.

CHAP. XIII

CRIME

 to have kavalgars but was convinced of his need of them by finding himself, when he woke up in the morning, sleeping on his bed in the middle of his compound, whither the thieves had moved him without awakening him, with all his bed-room furniture arranged around him. It is sometimes added that he found himself sleeping on the framework of the sot, mattress and sheet having been removed.

In actual practice this state of things is not half so deplorable as it sounds. The kavalgar merely a member of the menial establishment of the household. He does waterman's work and does not receive more than the usual watermans pay, he runs messages and pulls the punkah, his manner is admirably submissive and he is not in the very least suggestive of black-mail or oppression. In fact he is another instance of the sweet reasonableness' of the East. He has a good place with a moderate mamul remuneration ; and he is satisfied to continue in it without giving any trouble.

Criminal gangs.

Three permanent criminal gangs figure at present on the registers of the police. Of these by far the worst is the notorious gang of ha Kuravaus of Togamalai in the Kulittalai taluk. It consists at present of 57 men, 71 women and 85 children. Of this total, never more than 27 men, 33 women and 40 children have been known to be at home. The rest may be anywhere in the Presidency, and, if not in jail, are almost certainly stealing or trying to do so. The huts of the gang are in a remote jungle,and those of them who are anxious to avoid the authorities can visit their wives and relatives by night without danger of being caught. The gang constitutes, in fact, a very difficult problem for the local police.

Wandering gangs pass from time to time through the district. The spice' and salt.' Kuravans pretend to trade, but this is only a cloak for crime. Another tribe of wandering criminals consists of Dasaris from the Nellore district, who are eery expert pickpockets.

There are also in the district many hundred K.Ds.' (known depredators) under police surveillance ; but them is nothing unusual in them numbers or the methods employed to watch them.

Criminal methods.

Dacoities in this district are rarely committed by torch light, nor are the robbers often disguised. Sometimes their faces are smeared with charcoal. They are ordinarily armed only with sticks, slings and stones, and seldom with more dangerous weapons. Their usual ways of effecting a burglarious entrance into a house

-----------------------------------259-----------------------------------

ADMINISTRATION OF JUSTICE.

CHAP. XIII

CRIME

are to make a hole in the mud wall big enough for a man to get through ; cut a small hole in the wall near the door through which the hand may be inserted to open the bolt or chain ; dig a hole under the door frame for a man to pass through ; or to climb in under the eaves. All these are commonly and indifferently employed.

The police of the district are under a Superintendent at Trichinopoly, who has a Deputy Superintendent as his personal assistant. The regular police are aided by talaiyaris, or rural constabulary, who, though actually under the Revenue department and strictly a section of the ordinary revenue village establishment described in Chapter XI, are required. to co-operate with the police and, from their local knowledge, are frequently of great assistance in the prevention and detection of offences.

JAILS

The Central Jail at Trichinopoly is situated outside the town at the foot of the Golden Rock. A small separate District Jail adjoins it ; but this is not used as such, since it is found more convenient to confine all the prisoners in one building. The Central Jail serves the districts of Tanjore, Madura, Trichinopoly and Tinnevelly. It is built upon the radial principle and was constructed in 1868. The central tower is two stories high and eight buildings radiate from it, the inner end of each being about 150 feet from the centre pf the tower. It contains accommodation for 1,225 native and four European male convicts, and for o4 persons in the hospital and 48 in the observation cells. There is no accommodation for women. The convicts are chiefly employed in weaving. They make blankets of several kinds, cotton carpets, khaki tape, dungaree cloth, towels and other articles. Road metal is also broken and supplied to the municipality. Sandals are made for the police, and korai grass mats and coir matting are made.

There are thirteen subsidiary jails in the district, of which seven are situated at the various taluk head-quarters and the rest at the head-quarters of the deputy tahsildars.

-----------------------------------260-----------------------------------

TRICHINOPOLY.

CHAP. XIV

LOCAL SELF-GOVERNMENT.

THE LOCAL BOARD The UnionsFinances of the beards. THE MUNICIPALITIESKanur municipality--Srirangam municipalityTrichinopoly municipality-The cantonment and the municipalityWater-worksDrainageOther public improvements.

CHAP. XIV

THE LOCAL BOARDS.

THERE are three municipalities in the Trichinopoly district, namely, those of Karur., Srirangam and Trichinopoly. Beyond the limits of these towns local affairs are managed by the district board and the four taluk boards of Trichinopoly, Ariyalur,Karur, and Namakkal. Each of these is conterminous with the corresponding revenue division, and thus the Trichinopoly board administers the affairs of that taluk; the Karur board those of Karur' and Kulittalai; the Ariyalur board those of the Udaiyarpalaiyam and Perambalur taluks ; and the Namakkal board those of Namakkal and Musiri.

The Unions.

Subordinate to these taluk boards, and controlled by theminthe usual manner, are 23 unions. Under the Trichinopoly board are those at Lalgudi, Manachanallur and Puvalur, of which the former was founded in 188o, and the latter two in 1889. The Ariyalur board controls the unions of Kurumbalur and Perambalur in Perambalur taluk, and of Ariyalnr, Sayankonda-Cholapuram, Udaiyarpalaiyam and Kilappaluvur in the  Udaiyarpalaiyam taluk. Of these, Perambalur, Ariyalur and  Udaiyarpalaiyam were first constituted in 188o, Jayankonda-Cholapuram in 1889 and the other two in 1892. Under the Karur board the only unions are Pallapatti and Kulittalai (founded in 1885 and 1886 respectively), while the Namakkal board is in charge of as many as twelve ; namely; Kattuputtur, Musiri and Turaiyur in the Musiri taluk, and Mohanur, Morupatti, Namakkal, Nanjai Edaiyar, Pottanur, Sendamangalam, Tattaiyangarpettai, Velur and Vengarai. Of these, Musiri, Turaiyur, Namakkal and Sondamangalam were founded in 1886, Kattuplittur in 1894 and the rest in 1891. Thus all the unions in the district were constituted between the years 1886 and 1894, and most of than before 1891. Their local limits have varied from time to time, and in somo

-----------------------------------261-----------------------------------

LOCAL SELF-GOVERNMENT.

CHAP. XIV

THE LOCAL BOARDS

cases details will be found in the separate accounts of these places in Chapter XV

Finances of the boards

The receipts and expenditure of the hoards follow the usual lines, except that the former include the special railway already mentioned in Chapter VII.

The chief item in the receipts of the unions is the house-tax,which is levied at the maximum rate throughout. the district, except in the nine unions in the Namakkal taluk where onlythree-fourths of the maximum is levied. Its incidence per house varies from lts. 1-7-0 in Lalgudi to As. 8-9 in Morupatti. The average incidence for all the unions is As. 13-7.

THE MUNICIPALITIES

Karur' municipality

Karur' municipality was founded at the close of 1874. total area included in it is 1   square mile. Its limits were increased in 1889, 1897 and 1902.

The number of members on the council at present is twelve, and since 1899 the town has been in the enjoyment of the privilege of electing four of its councilors. The council has not yet been empowered to elect its own. chairman. For elective purposes the town has been divided into two wards.

Nothing has yet been done to improve the water-supply and drainage of the town. A scheme for draining it at a cost of Rs. 95,800 was prepared in 1895, but Government considered' that water-supply was a more pressing need, and should take precedence of the drainage scheme. At present the water-supply of thu town is derived from the Amaravati, in the bed of which fourteen public wells have been sunk by the municipality. Two large drains have been constructed by the council ; but the state of things still leaves much to be desired. One of the drains is led into a sewage farm ; and it is proposed to treat the other in the same way.

The municipal office building was erected in 1880 at a cost of Rs. 2,400 derived from the sale-proceeds of a travellers' bungalow. A building for the high school is now under construction at a. cost of Rs. 4,000. A. dispensary was built in 1878-74. A labour ward at a cost of Rs. 700 was added in 1890, and a separate dispensary for women and children was opened in September 1894. The hospital was built before the constitution of the municipality, though it is now maintained by that body.

Srirangam municipality

The Srirangam municipality was founded at the end of 1871.It was originally proposed to include the town in the Trichinopoly municipality. ; but the proposal was vetoed on account of the

(Footnote:1 G.O., No. 252 M dated 19th February 1897.)

-----------------------------------262-----------------------------------

TRICHINOPOLY.

CHAP.XIV

THE MINICIPALITIES 

distance between the two places, and in the belief that the care of the latter would give its council quite as much to do as it could, manage. The municipality includes Srirangam itself and eleven villages which form its suburbs, its total area being 6   square miles.

At the outset there were eleven members on the council, including a president and a vice-president, all of whom wore appointed by Government. Subsequent to the introduction of the District Municipalities Act, the strength of the council was raised to sixteen (four officials and twelve non-officials) and the council was given the power to elect its own chairman. One-half of the councillors were elected by the ratepayers until the latter half of 1889, when the number of elective seats was raised to three-quarters of the strength of the council. This concession was 
withdrawn in 1894, the number of elective seats being reduced to one-half, but was restored in 19to. The municipality is divided into three wards under the Act.

The attention of Government was drawn to the defective water-supply of the place by the Sanitary Commissioner in 1890, and samples of existing water-supplies were sent 

to the Chemical Examiner for analysis. The latter officer reported them all to be bad, and in 1892 Government ordered the council to make provision for the improvement of the supply and to close those wells in the town which could not be improved. The finances of the council being in a straitened condition, Government in 1893 approved of its proposal to conserve the water of the Coleroon, the Cauvery and the channels close by the town. In 1895-96 a proposal to utilise for Srirangam also the wells from which Trichinopol) draws its water was under consideration, and two schemes were formed ; one to carry pipes across the river from the present Trichinopoly pumping-station at a cost of Rs. 1,70,744 and the other to carry pipes from the Trichinopoly main over the Cauvery bridge and through Tiruvanaikaval at a cost of Rs. 1,75,009. The latter scheme niet with the approval of the council, but unfortunately in 1897 it was found that the wells of the Trichinopolv water-works did not yield tho quantity of water anticipated. The question ivas accordingly dropped. In 1898, the Sanitary Engineer was requested by Government to prepare a scheme for the town with independent head-works either in- the Cauvery or Coleroon, and the suggestion was made that the latter might with advantage he adopted as a seem:: of supply instead of the Cauvery. Pressure of other work has hitherto prevented any attention being given to the preparation of time scheme.' Water is at present

(Footnote: 1 G.O., No. 1878 M., dated 9th September 1905.)

-----------------------------------263-----------------------------------

LOCAL SELF-GOVERNMENT.

CHAP. XIV 

THE MUNICIPALITIES

obtained from the two rivers, the Nattuvaikkal channel and private wells.

The question of a scheme for draining the place was raised by the Sanitary Commissioner in 1890, and pipe drainage was recommended, the streets having no natural fall. In 1893, the council pleaded that its crippled finances rendered it unable to undertake the work and the Government suspended action for the time. In 1903 a superficial survey was made and a drainage system of a kind, in accordance with that survey, was proposed by the municipality. But the Government decided that it would be better to have a complete survey of the town before taking up any drainage scheme.' At present the sewage flows into cess-pools or dessicates in the backyards of the houses.

Certain permanent erections have been constructed in whole or part by the municipality. These are the Coronation Ball ' (to which the municipality contributed Rs. 1,000 in 1903), a hospital and certain bathing-ghats in the river Cauvery. In all these undertakings, the municipality was helped by contributions from the Tanjore family. The hospital is referred to in Chapter IX. The municipality has also erected and maintains four vegetable markets and a slaughterhouse, besides three straw markets.

Trichinopoly municipality

The Trichinopoly municipality was founded on 1st November Trichinopoly1806, the council originally consisting of two ex-officio and nine nominated members.' The present number of councillors is 24, of whom eight are elected. The privilege of election was first conferred in 1877; but was first exercised in 1808  3 The chairman was first elected in 1889. The right to choose him was withdrawn from the council between September 1895 and July 1897.4 The appointment of a municipal secretary was sanctioned by Government in 1898. The area of the municipality is eight square miles, divided into eight wards.

The cantonment municipality 

The cantonment and is included in the municipality ; but there has been a good deal of correspondence from time to time on the subject of excluding it, and this has only recently ended. The exclusion was proposed as early as ;869, so that a uniform code of rules for all cantonments might be adopted, and was in fact approved.' Nothing, however, was actually done; and the question slept till 1891, when it was again raised and elaborately discussed. Meanwhile the municipality had managed the affairs

(Footnote:1 G.O., No. 1878 ill., dated 9th September 1905. 
2 G.O., No. 1118, Public, dated 30th October 1866.
3 Report of Committee on local self-government, 1882, p. 20.
4 See G.Os., No. 1490 M., dated 14th September 1895, and No. 122o IV., dated 11th July 1898. 5 G.O., No. 997 (Military department), dated 16th March 1869.)

-----------------------------------264-----------------------------------

TRICHINOPOLY.

CHAP. XIV. 

THE MUNICIPALITIES

of the cantonment satisfactorily for 25 years, and it was deeded 1 that no change was necessary. 

The question was again raised in 1899 and referred to the Government of India ; but it was finally decided by that Government in 1901 that uo change need he made. But it was pointed out that it would be desirable to appoint some military officers members of the council ; and the Commanding Officer and the chief medical officer are being appointed accordingly.

Three minor points were raised in 1900. It is customary in cantonments for the Military authorities to let out unoccupied land within cantonments for grazing, cultivation, etc.; to exercise a veto on the erection of new houses or the fresh occupation of waste lands ; and to make some, if not all, of the roads. The Military department in Trichinopoly was maintaining one and a half mile of road, and had for a long time exercised its rights to lease out land for grazing. The municipal council consented in 1901 to give it also the right of veto over all orders passed regarding grazing leases or the erection of new houses or occupation of fresh land ; and in 1903 the repair of the military road was transferred to the municipality. In the same year it was decided to extend the Cantonment Rouse Accommodation Act to a part of the cantonment ;2 but as yet no roles have been issued under section 41 of the Act.

Water-works. 

The chief problems to be faced by a large municipality are those of water -supply and drainage ; and to both of these considerable attention has been devoted in Trichinopoly.

The initiative with regard to the improvement of the town water-supply was taken by the South Indian Railway authorities in 1884. The Board of Directors of that Company, in approving a proposal of their Agent to obtain water from the Cauvery for locomotive and other requirements, suggested to the municipality that, by an extension or enlargement of their proposed scheme, the same sources might also be made to supply the town. The municipal council agreed to the joint arrangement. The main features of the scheme were a pumping-station and wells in the bed of the river, a reservoir in a suitable position on the Trichinopolv rock and a system of distributing pipes therefrom. The scheme was approved by Government in 1888, and an extension, to benefit also the troops quartered in the eantotiaiont, was suggested by them and accepted by the municipality. A scheme was aceordingly

(Footnote:1 G.O., No. 7139 (Military department), dated 14th December 1891.
2 See Notification in G.O  No. 174, Public (Military), dated 20th November 1903.)

-----------------------------------265-----------------------------------

LOCAL SELF-GOVERNMENT.

CHAP. XIV.

THE MUNICIPALITIES

drawn up by Mr. Oldham of Calcutta ; and this was revised by the Sanitary Engineer so as to assure a supply of 1 5 gallons per head. The revised estimate was for Rs. 1,56,000 and was sanctioned in 1891 by Government, who promised a contribution of one-half of the total cost. 

Meanwhile a proposal to supply the jail with water from the same sources was matured, and the estimate also underwent slight changes which reduced its total to Rs. 4,41,245. The proportions of this borne by the municipality, railway, sepoy lines and jail were respectively Rs. 3,06,535, Rs. 51,023, Rs. 20,061 and Rs. 6,126. The annual pumping charges were likewise distributed in shares of Rs. 23,49l, Rs. 3,893, Rs. 1,327 and Rs. 584, respectively. The revised proposals were sanctioned in 1892. After the receipt of tenders the statement of probable expenditure showed a saving of Rs. 17,645 and the shares of the several departments were reduced in proportion.

His Excellency the Governor laid a corner-stone of the engine and boiler house on 12th October 1892 and the works were begun. The floods of November 1893 however washed away all that had been done in the previous year and caused a loss of sixteen or twenty thousand rupees.

Revised plans and estimates, amounting to Rs. 5,02,050 and providing for the location of the head-works half a mile higher up the river and out of the probable line of floods, were sanctioned early in 1894 and the new works were begun in October following. The retaining wall, screening chamber, and collecting and pump wells were completed before the succeeding season of freshes. The foundation of the engine and boiler house was started in July 1895 and completed before the end of the year, as were also the other important items of pipe-laying, fountains, etc. Water was urgently needed in the town and was pumped into the main on the 27th April 189o. Shortly after the opening of the works the necessity of slight repairs raised the estimate to Rs. 5,31,642.

In 1899, an estimate for Rs. 2,08,200 for extending the water-supply to the hamlets of Uraiyur and Puttur and a part of the cantonment was sanctioned by Government. Before this work was executed, improvements costing Es. 23,250 were made in 1900 to the existing works. In 1901-02 the extensions, as well as an examination of the steel pipes in the Cauvery, were completed at a total cost of Rs. 2,34,060. Puttur. and Uraiyfir were first supplied in June 1902.

Drainage.

As early as 1882 a scheme was drawn up for the complete drainage of Trichinopoly : but as the estimated outlay amounted

34

-----------------------------------266-----------------------------------

TRICHINOPOLY.

CHAP. XIV

THE MUNICIPALITIES.

to Rs. 2,85,000, which was more than the municipality could afford, the subject was dropped. In 1904 the council applied to Government for an allotment of Rs. 5,000 for the improvement of the drainage in certain localities where reform was most needed ; but the Sanitary Board considered that it would be better to draw up a comprehensive scheme for the drainage of at least one section of the town. The council accordingly (June 1903) resolved to raise the water and drainage tax (which then stood at 4 per cent. on the annual value of houses and land) to 5 per cent., and to devote the extra 1 per cent. to the initial cost of preparing a drainage scheme. Government has recently decided I that the scheme should include the whole of the town ; and it is to occupy the attention of the Sanitary Engineer. The municipal council has accordingly been requested to raise the water and drainage tax to 7 per cent.

At present no system of drains exists. Conditions in many of the wards are bad, but some have masonry drains which discharge into the irrigation channels.

Other public improvements.

Of other permanent public improvements effected by the municipality the chief is perhaps the erection of the hospital between 1873 and 1876 at an initial cost of Rs. 17,500. The building and the various improvements made to it are referred to in Chapter IX. The Uraiyur Jubilee dispensary was built in 1887-89 at a cost of Rs. 2,700. A leper hospital was opened in 1875, but it was closed in 1894, the lepers being sent to the Lazaretto at Pallapert near Cochin. In 1902 a veterinary dispensary was opened.

The clock tower was built in 1873 at a cost of Rs. 2,000 and :one little Diamond Jubilee Park near it was opened by the municipality in 1897. There is also a people's park and bandstand in the cantonment, which is in part supported by municipal funds. The principal market in the town is that known as the Fort market or mailan sandal.. It was originally constructed in 1869 at a cost of Re 18,500, but it has been subsequently repaired and extended at considerable cost from time to time. There are seven other markets in the town, the more important of which are the 1Jraiynr market constructed in 1872 at a cost of Rs. 3,355, the Chinnakadai market built in 1883 at a cost of Rs. 3,500, and a grain market which was located in the old jail in 1891. These markets and the five municipal slaughter-houses (none of which are considerable structures) brought in the council a revenue of Rs. 23,372 in 1903-04.

(Footnote: 1 G.O.., No. 2096 M., dated 7th October 1905.)

-----------------------------------267-----------------------------------

LOCAL SELF-GOVERNMENT.

CHAP. XIV

THE MUNICIPALITIES

The filling in of the moat round the old fort and the demolition of the walls behind it were two of the earliest undertakings of the council. The former used to contain a mass of filth and the latter prevented the breezes from entering this part of the town. The ramparts, also, were overgrown with prickly-pear and were in consequence used by the inhabitants as latrines. As early as 18o0, therefore, the Government recognized the necessity of demolishing the defences. The work was not systematically taken in hand till the municipality was constituted. The ramparts were demolished and the moat filled in and laid out as boulevards. The work was not completed till about 1880, and cost in all nearly Rs. 45,000.

-----------------------------------268-----------------------------------

TRICHINOPOLY.

CHAP. XV.


GAZETTEER.

KARUR TALUK-Andippatti-Aravakkurichi-Chinna Dharapuram-Karur-Nerur -Pallapatti -Panchamadevi-Pugalur-Punnam--Tandoni-Uppidamangalam -Venjaman Gudalur -Vennamalai -Vettaimangalam. KULITTALAI TALUK -Andavar-kovil-Aniyappur -Chintalavadi-Devarmalai - Kadavur- Kallai-Karuppattur - Kulittalai- Kuppanarpatti-Madukkarai - Mahadanapuram- Manapparai-Marungapuri- Nangavaram- Pappakalpatti-Pillur- Ratna- giri. MUSIRI TALUK- Kannanur Kattuputtur - Konasegaram -Musiri - Omandur - Settikulam-Srinivasanallur -Tirunarayanapuram- Tiruppangili -Tiruppattur- Tiruttalayur - Tiruvengimalai -Tottiyam- Turaiyur. NAMAKKAL TALUKKapilamalaiMohanur -Morupatti- Nainamalai - Namakkal - Nanjai Edayar - Oravandur Paramati - Pottamur - Sendamangalam - Tattayyangarpettai Vassalur - Velur- Vengarai. PERAMBALUR TALUK- KurumbalurLadapuram - Perambalur Ranjangudi - Siruvachur  Uttatur-Vaikandapuram - Venganur - Veppur. TRICHINOPOLY TALUK-Huppur-Kilambil-Kuttappar-Lalgudi - Muttarasanallur-Perattiyur - Pettaivattalai -Piebandarkovill-Samayapuram - Srirangam  Tiruchendurai  Tiruppalitturai -Tiruvellarai-Tiruverubur- Trichinopoly- Turaivur - Uyyakondantirumalai-Velur. UDAIYARPALAIYAM TALUK -Ariyalur-Elakurichi-Gangaikandapuram	Guruvalapparkovil- Jayankonda-Cholapuram Kilappaluvur -Saluppai-alagar-kovil-Tirumalavadi -Udaiyarpalaiyam.

KARUR TALUK.

CHAP. XV.

THE Karur taluk lies on the extreme west of the district. It is traversed by the Amaravati river and bounded on the north and north-east by the Cauvery, the valleys of both -which rivers are hot and close. The density of its population is considerably less than that of the other taluks in the; district. Nearly 5 per cent. of the people, an unusually large proportion for this district, are Muhammadans, and the standard of education is rather above the average. The taluk is an undulating plain, of Which only three square miles are forest and only four square miles culturable waste.

Ninety-five per cent. of the assessed land is dry, and only five per cent. irrigated. Of the latter, 24 square miles are irrigated from Government channels. The average rainfall is only 25.04 inches, the lowest figure in the district, and over 99 per cent. of the soil is rod. The land is generally of rather poor quality, 94 per cent. of the dry land being assessed at one rupee or loss per, acre

-----------------------------------269-----------------------------------

GAZETTEER. 

CHAP. XV

KARUR.

and 84 per cont. of the wet land at rates between Rs. 2 and Rs. 6. Cambu is by far the most popular crop, and then comes cholam. Gingelly, cotton and tobacco are commoner than elsewhere.

The taluk appears to be fairly well-to-do One-third of the pattas, a higher proportion than in any other taluk in the district, are for sums between Rs. 10 and Rs. 50. The incidence of the income-tax per head of the assessees and of the population is also rather above the average.

The most important of the few industries is weaving. Karur and Koyampalli are the chief centres for silk and cotton weaving. Coarse curtains are made by the Kaikolans of Elavanur ; a little dyeing awl stamping of chintzes is done at Karur and Aravakkurichi ; and some mat-weaving. at Karur and Nerur. Metal-work is done in Karur., metal idols are made at Chinna Andavankoivil and Malappatti (the work of the former of these being well known) and at both of these places images are carved from stone. A little wood-carving goes on at Karur, Vishvanathapuram and Chinna Dharapuram ; some fifteen men at Malappatti make stone mortars; in Karur basket-making employs some 30 J11odaras ; bangle-making about five Balijas and painting on wood, similar to that done in Trichinopolv, one Balija.

Kaur and Aravakkurichi possess some little historical, and Nerur some religious, importance. These and other places are referred to below : 

Andippatti

Andippatti The zamindari of this name formerly comprised an extent of 14,965 acres or over 23 square miles, included in eight villages, and paid to Government a peshkash of Rupees 5,1oo-5-3 annually. it was one of the old pre-British pilaiyams, and in 1808 the peshkash was settled on the basis of that paid in 1800-01 and so fixed as to give 70 per cent. of the gross receipts to Government and leave the rest to the poligar.' A sanad was issued in 1871.2 The estate was much involved in 1880, and was in consequence advertised fur sale ; but it was eventually taken under management by.Government and was restored in 1893 in a solvent condition. By 1897 it was again in difficulties, and one of its villages, Erumarappatti, was sold to one Chidambaram Chetti. In 1900 the remainder of the pilaiyam, was brought to Court sale and purchased by Arunachalam Chetti, who transferred his rights to Chidambaram Chetti, in whose name the estate is now registered.

(Footnote:1 See G.Os., Nos. 408, Revenue, dated 25th February 1862, and No. 730, dated 10th November 1865.
2 See G.O., No. 1998, Revenue, dated 25th July 1871.)

-----------------------------------270-----------------------------------

TRICHINOPOLY.

CHAP. XV. 

KARUR

Aravakkurichi

Aravakkurichi, eighteen miles south-west of Karur, is station containing 4,421 inhabitants, a police -station, post office, sub-registrar's office, weekly market, travellers' bungalow, local fund dispensary (founded in 1883) and a chattram. Within it are also an old temple, highly sculptured, and the ruins of a fort. The latter was built by a Mysore Raja, and was on three occasionsin 1768, 1783 and 1790forcibly occupied by British troops. On the last of these the fortifications were destroyed, and the site made over to the poligar of Andippatti. A small branch of the Goa (Roman Catholic) Mission is stationed in the village.

Chinna Dharapuram

Chinna Dharapuram, eighteen miles south-west of Karur contains 1,998 inhabitants, a police-station, a travellers' bungalow,a weekly market, a chattram, a very old Siva temple, and the ruined bastions of an old mud fort. Two wood-carvers there do fair work.

Karur.
Karur.: Head-quarters of the taluk and an important municipality of 12,769 inhabitants. The doings of the municipal council are referred to in Chapter XIV. The town stands on the South Indian Railway, 48 miles from Trichinopoly, and on the bank of the Amaravati river not far from its junction with the Cauvery. The name Kardr is supposed to mean embryo village ' and to be due to the fact that Brahma began his work of creation at this place. For the same reason the town is often called Brahmapuri in legendary native records. It was apparently a place of some importance as far back as the early centuries of the Christian era, for silver denaru of the emperors Augustus, Tiberius and Claudius were found near it in 180o. Situated as it was near the point where the territories of the rival Chera, Chola, and Pandya dynasties met, it must have played a part in their ancient struggles. It has been generally supposed' that it was the capital of the Cheras and is identical with (CONTENT MISSING ON SCAN) .(`Karur, the palace of the Chera king') 2 mentioned by Ptolemy. 3 The identification has however been doubted ; 4 and no China records have been found there. In any case the place seems to have fallen under the Cholas by the beginning of the 10th century 5 and for

(Footnote: 1 See, for example, the Government Epigraphist's report printed in G.O.,No. 452, Public, dated 10th June 1891.
2 (CONTENT MISSING ON SCAN) has been variously explained as Chiraipati, the ruler of Chera or chiraputtiram the prince of chera
3 Geog. VII, I , 86 
4.By the late dr. Kanakaeabahi Pillai in hie Tamile Eighteen Hundred years age(Madras)
5 For the inscriptions at Karur and Somur see the Government Epigraphist's report just quoted.)

-----------------------------------271-----------------------------------

GAZETTEER.

CHAP. XV

KARUR

the next 600 years shared the fortunes of the rest of the district On the dissolution of the Vijayanngar empire in the lest half of the 16th century, Karur- fell under the Nayakkans of Madura, but it was frequently attacked and occupied by the Mysore armies, and towards the end of the next century it was finally annexed to the latter kingdom and became its most important frontier post as well as a thriving place of business. Its ' conterminal situation, ' writes Orme of the town in 1760,1 " under the security of a strong fort, and its rule over a rich and extensive district, had formerly rendered it a place of great mercantile resort and opulence, and it still continued populous with some wealthy inhabitants.' The same writer estimates its revenues in 1760 at Rs. 44,000 a year.2  In 1639 the Jesuits established a mission there.

Thereafter the place constantly changed hands. In 1736 Chanda Sobib, when in possession of Trichinopoly, a besieged it unsuccessfully for several months. In 1760 it was captured by the English in revenge for the assistance which Haidar had given to their enemies the French. Orme 4 describes the siege in detail. The expedition was commanded by Captain Richard Smith and consisted of 50 Europeans, 700 sepoys, 600 horse, 1,000 armed peons and :3,000 Kallans. The town was garrisoned by 800 horse, 1,000 sepoys, 1,000 matchlock men and a great multitude of Kallans. It consisted of a `pettah' surrounded by a weak mud wall, and a strong stone fort, o00 yards square, protected by bastions, towers and a dry ditch. The English crossed the river in the face of a sharp fire  from the pettah walls on the 19th August, and occupied the pettah the same day. Siege guns arrived from Tri-ehinopoly on the 23rd, and two batteries were completed and opened fire on the morning of the 24th. 'The approaches were carried nearer and nearer the walls by sapping, till the commandant, apprehensive of this (to him) novel mode of attack, and distressed by the ruin which the British irregulars were spreading in the neighbouring country, came to terms. He disavowed any connection with Haidar's movements, styling him a rebel against the king of Mysore ; and he was permitted to evacuate the fort and proceed to Namakkal.

The place was held by the English till 17o8, when it was retaken by Haidar, without much resistance, during his forward movement at the end of that year. His possession was confirmed

(Footnote: 1 Orme (Madras, 1861), ii, 674.
2 Ibid., 678.
3 Ibid , i, 20.
4 Ibid  , ii, 678)

-----------------------------------272-----------------------------------

TRICHINOPOLY.

CHAP. XV.

KARUR

by the treaty of 1769. Colonel Lang attacked Karur again in 1783 in order to distract the attention of Tipu, who was engaged on the west coast ; and he got possession of the place with the loss of 130 killed and wounded. There is a monument on the south bank of the river to the British who fell in this siege. The town was restored to Mysore by the treaty of March 1784. It was captured a third time in 1790 by General Medows, and restored at the peace of 1792. It was taken by Colonel Brown on April 5th 1799, just before the general advance of the British on Seringapatam, and since that time has been in the undisputed possession, first of the Nawab and then of the British. It was garrisoned by the Company as a military station until 1801, and portions of the old fort still remain.

Karur was formerly the head-quarters of the Sub-Collector of Coimbatore district. It was then for some years an ordinary taluk head-quarters, and it is now to be the station of a Civilian Divisional Officer. It also contains the offices of a district munsif, a tahsildar, a sub-magistrate and a sub-registrar, as well as a police-station, a bench court, and a municipal hospital and dispensary. The Wesleyan Mission have a station there and manage two industrial schools, one for boys and the other for girls. Being on the railway and at the junction of a number of roads, Karur is a centre of a considerable trade. Its chief drawback is its crowded site, which is entirely surrounded by paddy-fields and the river, and so cannot easily be extended. The place contains a few industries. About a dozen S(Iniyans make good women's cloths ; the private weaving-factory, fitted with modern appliances, is mentioned in Chapter VI ; a few Balijas stamp and dye chintzes; and a very little copper and brass work, painting, wood-carving, stone-polishing and bangle-making, as well as a good deal of mat-weaving and basket-making are done.

Karur is a place of some sanctity, being one of the seven sacred sthalms or sivalayams of the Kongu country. The principal temple is that to Siva in the form Pasupatisvarasvami, a considerable edifice of some antiquity containing numerous stone inscriptions among which an, nine ancient Chola. grants. It has very recently been almost reconstructed by the Nattukkottai Chettis. The lingam in it is about five feet high and bears a mark accounted for as follows : A cow discovered the buried lingam and bathed it with milk in the fashion customary in these stories; the owner, discovering (but not recognizing) the piety of the cow, gave it a heavy blow, and the hoof of the startled animal striking against the lingam caused the injury. The buried lingam was of course disinterred and provided with a shrine, which is said 

-----------------------------------273-----------------------------------

GAZETTEER.

CHAP. XV

KARUR

to have been built by a Chola king. This story has given, or has been invented to explain, the names Tiruvanilai and Pasupati ( the stall of the sacred cow ') by which the town is known in ancient vernacular writings. The temple contains the tomb of a local saint named Karurar about whom nothing is known except that his tomb was miraculously discovered some 40 years ago. It is visited by pilgrims who desire children or relief from disease. Another saint connected with Kariu is Mukta Sahib, a very aged Muhammadan who died two years ago. During his life-time, it is declared, he was a great performer of miracles, curing diseases by laying on of hands, driving out devils, devouring poisonous reptiles and severing his limbs from his body and thou joining thorn on again. All castes and classes adored him ; and now his tomb is often visited by devotees.	CHAP. XV.KA1115 R.

Nerur, population 5,499, stands 5   miles cast-north-east of Nerur..Karur and contains two old temples dedicated to Siva and Vishnu.The betel-vine is largely cultivated round about it.

According to the sthala purana, Nerur was originally a forest inhabited by certain rishis who were being constantly worried by a rakshasa. The rishis complained to Isvara, who sent his son Ganesa to slay the rakshasa ; Ganesa was discomfited in the struggle that ensued, so Isvara sent his other son Subrahmanya, who slew the tyrant and, liking the place, adopted it as his abode. Siva waited for a long time for the return of his two sons, but in vain ; he then invoked Vishnu, who sent Bharata and Lakshmana with instructions to kill the rakshasa and bring back Ganesa and Subrahmanya. They found that the rakshasa had already been slain by Subrahmanya, but were unable to clear the forest. Lakshmana reported the matter to Vishnu, whereupon Siva and Vishnu started for the place with their attendant minor gods. Siva opened his fire-eye and the flame (Agni) that proceeded from it soon cleared the forest ; Agni found a svayambhu (self-created) lingam in the forest, and worshipped it with great veneration. Siva was delighted at this, converted the spot into a village and ordered his sons to live in it. It was called Agnipuri (Tamil, Nerur) as Siva (in the form of a svayambhu lingam) was worshipped by Agni.

The Siva temple contains the samadi or tomb of the great sage Sadasiva Brahmam. This sage is supposed to have lived 200 years ago and to have travelled as far as Turkey in Europe, and a number of curious stories are told about him. He never spoke throughout his whole life, and could see things which were

35

-----------------------------------274-----------------------------------

TRICHINOPOLY.

CHAP. XV.

KARUR

happening in distant places. He is also said (like Simon Stylites and the latter-day saint of Kottacheruvu in Anantapur 1 to have replaced the maggots that fell from a festering wound in his body, bidding them to eat what God had given them. When on the point of death he wrote some words on the tongue of a disciple; and it is averred that the latter and his descendants for the next three generations became, without any study, perfect scholars in Sanskrit.

This holy man's tomb is considered the tutelary shrine of the Pudukkottai Raja. He is supposed to have assured the then Raja that his line would endure as long as his descendants remained virtuous and truthful, and to have recorded his assurance by writing it on sand ; it is said that the identical sand is kept and worshipped in Pudukkottai  to this day. The Raja visits Nerur every year during the Navaratri in September or October to worship at the tomb of the saint. It is locally believed that this is done to expiate the sin of one of his ancestors in betraying Umaiyan, the famous Tinnevelly poligar who was imprisoned in the old fort still standing in Tirumayam and hanged by the British in 1801.2 The occasion is celebrated in grand style, and large numbers of Brahmans are fed and other kinds of largesse distributed.

Pallapatti

Pallapatti : A union with a population of 8,452, of whom as many as 0,375 are Musalmans. The place 'is a large Labbai village which was formerly included in Aravakkurichi, but has recently been detached from it and made a separate village. It was formerly the head-quarters of a considerable trade in hides, leather, cloth etc. carried on by well-to-do Labbai traders, but this has now greatly declined. A weekly market is held in the town on Mondays.

Panchamadevi

Panchamadevi : Population 1,442. There are two temples in the village, one dedicated to Siva and the other to Vishnu. Brahma is alleged to have prayed to Isvara here, uttering the holy Panchakshara, and it is related that the deity was pleased with his devout prayers and appeared before him in person both as Siva (Panchanada) and Vishnu (Madhava). Hence the name Panchamadevi.

Pugalur

Pugalur : Lies ten miles north-north-west of Karur. and is a railway-station ; population 4,031. An ancient- and well-sculptured temple dedicated to Subrahmanya stands on a small hill

(Footnote: 1 See the Anantapur Gazetteer, 187.
2 Caldwell's History of Tinnevelly (Madras, 1881), 206 and 222.)

-----------------------------------275-----------------------------------

GAZETTEER.

CHAP. XV

KARUR

close to the Cauvery. The name of the village is said to he derived from the Tamil word pugal meaning praise. The gods found it difficult to worship Isvara daily, as the rains had continually failed for some time ; so they implored the deity's aid, and Siva appeared in person, summoned the sea and ordered it to pour down a good shower. The gods were highly delighted at this and gave praise to isvara. The village is celebrated for its plantains, which are largely sent to Madras and other places by rail, The Pugalur channel is named after this village. A weekly market is held here on Thursdays.

Punnam

Punnam : Population 3,445 ; contains a chattram. According to local legends, the name is derived from the piunai tree (Colophyllum, inophyllum) in a tope of which, situated in the neighbourhood of the village, Varnua the rain-god offered prayers to Siva. A. weekly market used to be held in the village on Fridays.

Tandoni

Tandoni : Lies 1 miles south of Karur' ; population 2,002. Tandoni. It contains several chattrams and, on a small hill, an old and well-sculptured Vishnu temple which is supposed to have been founded by Sadasiva, the famous saint of Nerur above referred to. The image of the deity is cut out of a portion of the solid rock. The shrine is considered very holy and vows are often made there. As at Tirupati in North Arcot, upanayanams (thread investiture ceremonies) and marriages are celebrated here by pilgrims from different parts of the district. In the hamlet of Malappatti is an isolated tomb raised to the memory of Lieutenant Stanley and other officers and sepoys who were killed and wounded in the siege of Karur in 1783. A little stone-carving and the manufacture of household utensils of stone are carried on in this hamlet.

Uppidamangalam

Uppidamangalam : Population 5,385. A weekly market is held here on Sundays ; it is the largest in the whole taluk, and over 500 head of cattle are sometimes brought to it for sale.

Venjamin Gudalur.

Venjamin Gudalur : Population 4,793 ; distance from Karur., 12 miles south-west. The old Siva temple here is one of the seven Kongu Sivalayams, which are held in great veneration by Hindus, The Kudaganar runs close to the village. Eight ancient inscriptions have been recently copied in the Vikritisvara temple (Nos 143-50 of 1905 on the Government Epigraphist's lists) one of which belongs to the time of the early Pandyas of Madura.

Vennamalai

Vennamalai : Two miles north of Karur. The Subrahmanya Vennamalai. temple on the hill here is visited by local pilgrims on the day of

-----------------------------------276-----------------------------------

TRICHINOPOLY.

CHAP. XV.

KARUR

the star Pusam in Tai (January-February). They bring kavadis containing milk, sugar and so on.

Vettaimangalam 

Vettaimangalam : Stands 12 miles north-west of Karur- ; population 3,517. The place is said to owe its origin to a Chera Raja, who, when out hunting one day, saw the spot and, struck by the beauty of the scenery, founded the village. It was named Vettaimangalam from this incident. There is an old Siva temple there.

-----------------------------------277-----------------------------------

GAZETTEER.

KULITTALAI TALUK.

CHAP. XV.

KULITTALAI.

THE Kulittalai taluk lies to the south of the Cauvery in the south-west of the district. For the most part, it is a fairly level plain broken here and there by isolated hills, but in the south rise some clusters and fairly continuous ranges of larger heights. The branch of the South Indian Railway from Trichinopoly to Erode runs along its northern border parallel with the Cauvery.

The taluk is the largest but most sparsely populated in the district. It contains 40 square miles of forest, and 21 square miles of cultivable waste belonging to Government. Of the assessed area, 50 square miles are irrigated, 23 from wells, 20 from Government channels and 7 from tanks. The dry land is poor, as much as 83 per cent. of it being assessed at a rupee or less per acre, and only one per cent. at over two rupees. The wet land is of better quality. The soil is nearly all reel, and there is very little black or alluvial land. The land revenue is the smallest in the district, and the taluk is poor, the incidence of the income-tax being very light. Cholam is the most important crop, but rice, varagu, cambu, and ragi all cover large areas, and horse-gram, yellow gram, gingelly and castor are far more widely grown than in most other taluks. Other statistics will be found in the separate Appendix.

A well-known cattle-fair is-held at Irumbudippatti, hamlet of Siviyam, from which sheep and goats are exported to Colombo. Weaving of a good class is carried on to a fair extent at Kulittalai, Lolpettai and Nangapuram, and a few Odakkarans make good mats at Mayanur and Katlai, the work at the latter of these being held in some repute. Brass vessels are largely manufactured at Tuvarankurichi, and bells and ornaments of bell-metal are made by a few smiths at Vengampatti, hamlet of Karuppattur. There are two wood-carvers and one stone-cutter at Kulittalai. Togamalai is well known for its manufacture of margosa oil, and glass bangles are made in considerable quantities at Valanadu and at Edayapatti, hamlet of Puttanattam. The Marungapuri and Kadavur zamindaris are ancient palaiyams with histories of some interest. These and other places are referred to in the following pages.

-----------------------------------278-----------------------------------

TRICHINOPOLY 

CHAP. XV.

KULITTALAI.

Andavar-kovil

Andavar-kovil : Twenty miles south of Kulittalai and one and a half north-east of Manapparai. Is known almost through- out the district for its temple to Mamundi or Nallandavar, that is,kovil. Rama in the act of aiming at the deer Marieha which was sent by Ravana to deceive him. The village is supposed to be the scene of that story and is named from the temple.

The god is worshipped by all castes and classes ; and hardly a day passes without pilgrims coming to pay their vows. These are of the ordinary type and include animal sacrifices. Subordinate to the god but located in the same temple are a number of minor deities with sp-ecifie functions of their own. One is Lada Sanyasi, a deification of a sorcerer, who is supposed to give medicine to sick people in their dreams. Another is the she-devil Pechi, who is potent to cure the diseases of infants or to remove the devil Katteri when the latter has possessed a woman. She is very fond of offerings of eggs, fish, drumstick and gingelly oil-cake. For the expulsion of ordinary devils from men or women there is the shrine of Madurai Viran ; and seven Karuppus, who came from Malabar ' and who receive the animal sacrifices intended for the presiding god, are also located in the temple. Lastly there are shrines to Pondupuli Karuppu (who sprang from the root of a tamarind tree) and to the seven Kannimar of the Tamil country.

Once in three years the temple is the scene of a concerted act of worship by several villages in the neighbourhood, each of which sends a pregnant sheep or goat to be sacrificed to the god.

Aniyappur.

Aniyappur: Twenty-two miles south of Kulittalai. Population 2,739. Well known in the neighbourhood for its shrine to the seven Kannimar, or maidens, in honour of whom a ten days' festival is celebrated in Masi (February-March).

Chintalavadi.

Chintalavadi: Seven miles west of Kulittalai. Population 2,376. Contains a temple to Narasimhasvami which is regarded with great veneration by all the Madhvas in the district. It has a private ehoultry where Brahmans are fed.

Devarmalai

Devarmalai: Twenty-two miles south-west of Kulittalai. Population 2,103. The presiding deity of the Ugranarasimham temple there is widely believed to resent the visits of officials (especially magistrates) to the village, and to cause those who do so to lie shortly transferred or dismissed. A small tank in the village is fed by a perennial spring flowing through a hole in an upright slab. The spring is regarded with superstition ; and it is declared that a man who once ventured to dig to find out its source was met by a gush of blood,

-----------------------------------279-----------------------------------

GAZETTEER.

KULITTALAI TALUK.

CHAP. XV.

Kadavur

Kadavur : Lies twenty-eight miles south-south-west of Kulittalai on a picturesque horse-shoe-shaped valley possessing only one entrance. Is the chief village of the zamindari estate of the same name, which is 154 square miles in extent, contains 1o villages (including hamlets) and pays a peshkash of Rs. 13,411. The zamindar is of the Tottiyan caste, and tradition says that his ancestors came from Gooty. lie has kindly lent a manuscript which gives an account of the ancient history of his estate. The chronology in this seems beyond hope, but it probably contains a sub-stratum of truth.

it says that the founder of the family was Muttayya Nayakkan of Gooty, who was a servant of Tirumala of Vijayanagar (1567-75 A.D.'). He was very brave and distinguished himself by killing a tiger in a wrestling match and also by his prowess in the wars against the Muhammadans. For the latter services he was given a large palaiyam in this neighbourhood, which stretched from Madura to the Ratnagiri hills and from Tiruvengimalai to the Vini rock in the south. His capital was Devarmalai (nine miles north of Kadavur) where Vishnu appeared to him in a dream and where he founded a Vishnu temple. It is said that there is a stone image of the poligar on the eastern wall of the tank at that place and an inscription in the temple describing its origin. His son moved the capital of the estate to Palaiyam in the Dindigul taluk ; and the third poligar was one of the 72 officers appointed by Visvanatha Nyakkan (1559-63) to guard the 72 bastions of the Madura fort .2 His special charge was the Tirumanjana gate, for his defence of which against the Paneha Pandyas ' he was highly rewarded. The fourth poligar is represented as contemporary with the great Tirumala Nayakkan of Madura (1623-59) and is said to have distinguished himself in the wars with Ramnad. Ho was constantly fighting with the poligar of Kambayanayakkanur, who finally killed him. His wife however escaped and his posthumous son (Karunadu Muttayya Nayakkan) in after years killed his father's murderer and re-established the family power with his capital at Kadavur. Songs in praise of this poligar are still sung at the local Dasara festivities.

His son ' assisted Nadir Sing at Manachanallia and Samayanallur' and was rewarded accordingly ; and the next event mentioned is the Company's acquisition of the country. In all

(Footnote:1 The manuscript gives the date as 1284, which is anterior to the foundation of the Vijayanagar kingdom. But even the right date does not fit in with what follows.
2 Mr.. Nelson's Madura Country, pt. in, 198.)

-----------------------------------280-----------------------------------

TRICHINOVOLY

CHAP. XV. 

KULITTALAI.

. there are said to have been 37 generations of poligars, and the  palaiyam is said to have lasted 483 years. The present zamindar is the 38th and assumed charge in 1877-78.

The estate belonged to the Madura district till 185o, and-was an ' unsettled palaiyam ' till 1871, when the zamindar was offered and accepted a zamindari sanad. The peshkash was settled at some date prior to 1849 on the basis of the survey assessment of 1802-03 and at a rate which left 30 per cent. of the gross income of the estate to the poligar and took the rest as the Government share. The estate is scheduled as inalienable and impartible in the Impartible Estates Act of 1904.

Kallai 

Kallai: Fifteen miles south-east of Kulittalai. Population 1,149. The village goddess of this place (Kali) has of recent years obtained considerable celebrity. She has a festival lasting three days in Panguni (March-April), at which buffaloes aro sacrificed in large numbers and (as at Puttur in Trichinopoly) the blood of kids is drunk by the priest.

Karuppattur.

Karuppattur : Four miles west of Kulittalai. Population 2,363. The Siva goddess of this place is peculiar for her partiality to offerings of turmeric. A large heap of this plant is said to be always kept in front of her, and some curious stories are told about her liking for it. In the hamlet of Vengampatti are five or six Kammalans who make ornamental horns and bells of bell-metal for bullocks. Their work is sold in this and Musiri taluks.

Kulittalai

Kulittalai:, the head-quarters of the taluk, is itself a small village but gives its name to a union (constituted in 1886) which comprises the villages of Devadanam, Kadambarkovil, Manattattai, Muttubhulpalasamudram and Vaiganallur and contains a population of 8,197. In it are the offices of the tahsildar, a district munsif, a sub-magistrate, a sub-registrar and also a police-station, a local fund dispensary (established 1888) and a lower secondary school. The place is a railway-station, in which is waiting accommodation for first and second class passengers, and there is a forest rest-house at Pudupalaiyam, about two miles south of this, and a native chattram close to it. Some 40 Devangas in the town weave superior cotton cloths with silk and lace borders, sometimes well embroidered, and two wood-carvers, a stone-cutter and a man who makes metal idols reside there.

The suburb of Kadambarkovil (one mile west of Kulittalai) is celebrated for its Siva temple. The holiness of this deity is such that a well-known local saying declares that ho who worships him in the morning, Sokkar on the Ratnagiri hill at noon and the god

-----------------------------------281-----------------------------------

GAZETTEER.

CHAP. XV

KULLITTALAI 

of Tiruvengimalai (Musiri taluk) in the evening, is sure of salvation. The temple is said to be mentioned by the old Tamil poets and.one of the Mackenzie manuscripts states that it gets its name from a Kadamba tree (the remains of which still exist) under which Brahma did a penance imposed by Siva. It is also supposed to be the place in which Subrahmanya was cured of the dumbness which was inflicted on him lay his father Siva because ho learnt the pranava mantram by stealth when his mother was being taught it. It is a peculiarity of the temple that at the usual services Subrahmanya is bathed before Siva. The shrine is connected with that at Tiruvengimalai (q.v.), and the two gods meet once a year in the Cauvery. The sage Agastya is supposed to have visited both temples.

Some two miles south of the railway-station is a remarkable ridge of rocks containing two curious tors. On the face of one of these is cut a square entablature representing Buddha seated in the western attitude with two attendants. The image is ignored by the inhabitants, who have not oven a legend 2 about it.

Kuppanarpatti 

Kuppanarpatti : Seven miles north-east of Manapparai. Contains the ruins of a small military station, comprising the remains of two European barrack-rooms, officers' quarters, stables, magazine and guard room. It does not seem to be known when these were built or used.

Madukkarai

Madukkarai: Hamlet of Tirukkambiliyur (population 1,879) 12 miles west of Kulittalai. The temple of the village goddess Sellandiyamman is supposed to mark the spot where the Chera, Chola and Pandya kingdoms met. The goddess is also supposed to be the special guardian of the Cauvery embankment here. The river takes an awkward turn just here, and the villagers say that there is a considerable danger of inundation. The goddess is the recipient of numerous vows from the inhabitants of this and the neighbouring taluks, especially on the 18th of Adi (July-August), the Padinettam perukku day.3 

A bank runs south from the river at this point and is said to have been erected to mark the boundary of the Chola and Caere kingdoms.

Mahadanapuram : Eight miles west of Kulittalai. Population 0,545. Contains a railway-station, a private choultry (where all castes are given accommodation, but Brahmaus alone are fed) and a saltpetre refinery. The village is said to have been given by Krishna .Udaiyar of Mysore to some Brahmans. Hence

(Footnote:1 Local Records, viii, 302-04.				2 Ind. Antiq., iv, 279. 
3 See Chapter III, p. 85.

36

-----------------------------------282-----------------------------------

TRICHINOPOLY.

CHAP, XV. 

KULITTALAI

its name, which means village of the great gift.' It possesses. a hamlet called Palayasengadam. This name is supposed to be a contraction of Palaya-Jayankonda-Cholapuram, as opposed to the other town of that name, the suffix Palaya (' old ') being added to differentiate it from the Jayankonda-Cholapurain. in the Udaiyarpalaiyam taluk. The latter name means I the town of the victorious Chola,' and Palayasengadam is locally believed to have been once a Chola capital. It contains some Jain remains, the ruins of an extensive camp and a beautifully-constructed stone tank, which lend some support to this theory of departed greatness.


n this hamlet is a well-known and blood-thirsty village goddess called Alahanachi Amman, in whose honour a festival is celebrated every two years in Panguni (March-April). The goddess conveys her assent to the performance of the festival by the chirping of the lizards round her shrine.

Palayasengadam is the head-quarters of a section of the Chettis called the Pannirendam (twelfth) Chettis. These are supposed to he descended from eleven youths who escaped long ago from 

Koveripatnam, a ruined city in Tanjore. A Chola king, says the legend, wanted to marry a Chetti girl ; whereupon the caste set fire to the town and only these eleven boys escaped. They rested on the Ratnagiri hill to divide their property ; hut however they arranged it, it always divided itself into twelve shares instead of eleven. The god of Ratnagiri then appeared and asked them to give him one share in exchange for a part of his ear. They did so ; and they now call themselves the twelfth' Chettis from the number of the shares, and at their marriages they carry the bride-groom round in a car. They are said to he common in Coimbatore district.

Manapparai

Manapparai : Twenty-two miles south of Kulittalai. Is a hamlet of Sivalur (population 4,932), the head-quarters of a deputy tahsildar and sub-registrar, and contains a railway-station, police-station, sub-jail, local fund dispensary (founded 1889), travellers' bungalow and a local fund choultry with an endowment. It was formerly the head-quarters of the taluk of the same name which was abolished in 1861. The largest weekly market in the district takes place here every Wednesday. The travellers' bungalow is a rather curious construction and is attributed to Queen Mangammal (1689-1704). Manapplirai was the scene of an exciting little affair on June 7th 1795, when Lieut. Oliphant with some twenty men surprised and captured an insurgent poligar there. The poligar's retainers assembled in large numbers to effect a rescue, and attacked Lieut. Oliphant in

-----------------------------------283-----------------------------------

GAZETTEER

CHAP, XV. 

KULITTALAI

the choultry, which ho defended for nine hours against several assaults until ho was relieved by a detachment of dragoons.' 

Marungapuri 

Marungapuri : Thirty-four miles south of Kulittalai. Population 1,239. Head-quarters of a zamindari estate 177 square miles in area, containing 79 villages and paying a peshkash of Rs. 20,590.

The early history of this property is not known. The zamindars are Tottiyans by caste and their ancestors are supposed to have come from Gooty. Five old copper plate grants are in the possession of the present zamindar, but the first three of these are obviously valueless, as two of them are dated in 912 and the third in 1195 A.D., while it is obvious that the estate cannot possibly be as ancient as this. They mix up Cholas, Pandyas, Nayakkans and poligars in inextricable confusion. The other two grants are dated in 1747 and 1783 and apparently record gifts of lands by the poligars to certain temples. The latter contains a long list of the poligars, but gives no dates for them.

The palaiyarn was surveyed in 1803 by the Collector of Madura (to which district it belonged up to 1856) and the peshkash was fixed, as usual, at 70 per cent. of the gross income. No sanad was granted for it then, and for many years it remained an unsettled palaiyam."The question of its legal position was raised in 1864, when the estate was put under the Court of Wards and a claimant to the property sued the Court for possession of it. The snit was fought as far as the Privy Council, which decided that the zamindari was an ancestral hereditary estate. The question of granting a sanad for the property was first raised in 1871 ; but nothing was done and it was not until 1906 that one was given. The estate has now been scheduled as inalienable and impartible in the Impartible Estates Act of 1904.

The town is a small place picturesquely situated among low hills.

Nangavaram 

Nangavaram : Twelve miles south-east of Kulittalai. Population 4,600. The presiding deity of its Siva temple is supposed to have cured the daughter of a Chola king who was born with a jackal's face. Its village goddess is called Sattandi Amman and her idol represents her in the act of weaving a garland of scorpions. It is generally supposed that no scorpion can live in this village, and that the sacred ash from Sattandi Amman's shrine is a specific for scorpion stings. People sometimes carry some of it about with them in case they should be stung.

(Footnote:1 Wilson's History of the Madras Army, ii 248.)

-----------------------------------284-----------------------------------

TRICHINOPOLY.

CHAP, XV. 

KULITTALAI


Pappakkalpatti

Pappakkalpatti : Eight miles south of Kulittalai. Population 2,760. The village is supposed to have been built by a Tottiyan woman named Pappakkal. The Mariyamman there has some local reputation and a fairly large three days' festival is held in her honour in Panguni (March-April). A common form of vow made to her is a promise to stick little iron skewers into the body (alagu kuttugiradu),

Pillar.

Pillar.:

Twenty-one miles south-east of Kulittalai. Population 645. Well known throughout these uplands for its temple to Panibalamman, which.is situated near an ant-hill and a drink of water in front of which is supposed to cure cobra bites. A cobra is supposed to be seen lying at the gate should the pujari be ceremonially unclean when he enters the temple.

Ratnagiri.

Ratnagiri : Five miles south-south-west of Kulittalai. Is a hamlet of Sivayam (population 3,338) and takes its name from the curious bare conical rock (` the ruby hill ') which there rises suddenly from the surrounding plain. This is 1,178 feet high and is ascended by a flight of 952 steps which are said (in an inscription in the temple on the top) to have been built in 1783 A.D.

The temple on the top is a handsome, though small, building, and an admirable view is obtained from it. On the walls are numerous inscriptions, two of which copied by the Government Epigraphist (Nos. 102-03 of 1892) belong to the Hoysala king Vira Somesvara who occupied much of the district in the 13th century.

The god is known as Ratnagirisvarar (' the lord of the ruby hill ') or, more popularly, Sokkar. Like the deity of Kadambarkovil near Kulittalai (q.v.) the god is said to have been worshipped by Agastya, and his sacred days are Mondays in Kartigai and the Tai-pusam day. Thunder is said to come and worship the god once every twelve years, and a crevice in the roof is pointed out as the place through which the thunder once made its entry in. order to do so.

The water for the god's bath is brought by a caste of non-Brahmans known as Tirumanjana Pandarams, who fetch it every day from the Cauvery. They say they are descended from an Aryan king who came to the god with the hope of getting rubies from him. The god, in the guise of a Brahman, tested his devotion by making him fill a magic vessel with Cauvery water. The vessel would not fill, and the Aryan stranger in a fit of anger out off the Brahman's head. The dead body at once turned into a

-----------------------------------285-----------------------------------

GAZETTEER

CHAP, XV. 

KULITTALAI

lingam and the Aryan was ordered to carry water for the temple till eternity. A. figure of him is carved in the prakaram (arcade) of the temple.

There are two shrines subordinate to the Ratnagiri god, namely that to Vaira Perumal at tho foot of the hill and the small belly-god temple half way up the hill. Vaira Perurnal is said to have been a man of the weaving caste from Conjeeveram who cut off his own head here in fulfilment of a vow and was deified accordingly. His image has no head. He is worshipped with animal sacrifices and oaths sworn before him are held to be particularly binding. The belly-god is called the watcher of the crows.' It is said that he cursed the crows for upsetting a devotee's milk-pot, and that they dare not now come near the temple. The bites of snakes and venomous reptiles aro said to be innocuous on this hill.

The Ratnagiri temple is held specially sacred by two small communities ; namely, the Malai-kanda Vellolans (' the Vellalans who watch the hill '), who never leave the neighbourhood and must gaze at the hill every morning when they get up, and the twelfth ' Chettis referred to in the account of Mahadanapuram above. It was the god of Ratnagiri who took the twelfth share of their property.

-----------------------------------286-----------------------------------

TRICHINOPOLY.

MUSIRI TALUK.

CHAP, XV.

MUSIRI

MUSIRI taluk lies in the centre of the north side of the district. The Pachaimalais cover much of the north of it, but the rest is a gently undulating, rather bare, upland tract. The centre of it is drained by the Aiyor river, and the western corner by the Karaipottanar. Musiri is the second largest taluk in the district, but its population has grown less rapidly than that of any other in the district.

It contains 1M square miles of forest (a much larger area than in any other taluk) and 71 square miles of cultivable waste, also an unusually high figure. Of the assessed area, 9 per cent. is irrigated, of which 29 square miles are watered from wells, 24 from Government river channels, and 14 from tanks. The soils are good, as 65 per cent. of the dry land is assessed at more than one rupee an acre, and 43 per cent. of the wet land at between six and ten rupees. Nearly 70 per cent. of the soil is red, and almost all the rest is black. The taluk pays nearly five lakhs of rupees of land revenue, the second highest figure in the district. Other statistics will be found in the separate Appendix. Cholam, cambu, rice, ragi and varagu are the chief crops, and the area under yellow gram and cotton is above the average.

The taluk contains few rich people, and pays only a small amount of income-tax. Only 16 per cent. of the pattas aro for sums exceeding ten rupees, and there are few industries. Men's cloths of good quality aro made by a large number of Saliyans and Devangas at Manamedu and Turaiyur; coarse cotton cloth in fair quantities at Turaiyur and Musiri ; blankets by the Kurumbans all over the taluk ; mats of korai grass in fair quantities at Musiri and Unniyur and to a small extent at Adanur, Tottiyam and Keduvetti ; and bell-metal vessels by a few smiths at Turaiyur and Kirambur Some ten stone-cutters live at both Nagalapuram and Velur, and five or six wood-carvers of fair skill at Uppiliyapuram.

Of the zamin estates, Turaiyur is an ancient palaiyam and Kattuputtur a mitta created by the British. The following are the more interesting places in the taluk :-

-----------------------------------287-----------------------------------

GAZETTEER.

CHAP, XV.

MUSIRI.

Kannanur

Kannanur : Six miles south of Turaiyur. Population 3,007. Contains a travellers' bungalow belonging to the Public Works department. Head-quarters of the old Turaiyiur taluk. Its village goddess, Pidari is considered very sacred by the Tottiyans of the Karur, Namakkal, Kulittalai and Musiri taluks. The festival celebrated in May once in ten years in her honour is attended by large numbers of this caste. The consent of the goddess to the celebration of the festival is sought as follows : Her worshippers stand in front of the shrine and ask her permission, and if lizards are heard to chirp both to the right and left they take it as a good omen and assume that the goddess consents. If not, they consider their request refused. The importance of the village goddess is emphasized by the fact that there are as many as 32 boundary stones in the village to mark her authority,' a much larger number than is usual elsewhere.

The Angalamman of this village is much revered by the Chettis throughout the district as their family goddess, and many pilgrims come from every taluk to visit it.

Kattuputtur

Kattuputtur : Sixteen miles west-north-west of Musiri. Population 10,946. Is the chief village of a union (established in 1894) which also comprises Kaduvetti, Silaipillaiyarputtur and Sriramasamudram. Contains a local fund dispensary (opened in 1900) and a high sohool maintained and managed by the principal mittadar. It is the head village of what was till recently the only mitta in the district. This was created by Government in 1802 and given to Sarvottama Rao, head sheristadar of Salem. It was sold in 1810 to a Reddi, who sold it again to two persons named Aunayar and Sabhgpati Reddi in 1813. These are the ancestors of the present proprietors, who are ten in number. The mitts, contains five villages and pays a peshkash of lis. 15,901.

Konasegaram.

Konasegaram: also called Konasilam, lies ten miles east of Musiri and contains 1,748 inhabitants. The name is supposed to be derived from that of the sage Konasilam, who is supposed to have resided there. The village is also known throughout the district (and oven beyond it) for its temple to Venkatramanasvami, which is considered a miniature of the famous temple to that god in North Areot. Indeed vows made to the god of the latter place may be, and frequently are, paid here. Omens are obtained by wrapping up a flower and a tulasi leaf in separate packets, placing them before the god, and getting some one to choose one of the two. If the flower is picked out, the omen is good ; if the

(Footnote:1 See Chapter, III. p. 89,)

-----------------------------------288-----------------------------------

TRICHINOPOLY.

CHAP. XV 

tulasi leaf, bad. The festival of the god at Navaratri is attended by all castes and classes. The temple is said to have been built by king Dharma Varma, of Uraiyur.'

Musiri.

Musiri: Population 7,345. The head-quarters of the tahsildar (and formerly of a Deputy Collector), and contains also the offices of a sub-magistrate and a sub-registrar, a dispensary (founded 1875), a travellers' bungalow belonging to the Public Works department, a choultry maintained by the Peramur estate, and a lower secondary school called the Victoria Diamond Jubilee school. Is the chief village of a union (constituted in 1886) which also comprises Umayapuram, Sundakkay and Vellur. The registration of vital statistics and vaccination are compulsory in this union. A weekly market is held here on Wednesdays. The Periyavaykkal (' big channel,' also called the Natt Vaykkal) takes off from the Cauvery near the town, and on one of the side-walls of the head-sluice is an inscription of Rojaraja III, dated 1219 A.D. It refers to the town by the name of Mummudi-Chola-pettai.' Some 40 Saliyans weave coarse cloths in Musiri itself and a few mats are made in the hamlet of Varadargjapuram.

Omandur

Omandur: Eighteen miles north-east of Musiri. Population 1,407. Known for its temple to Kamakshi Amman. This has some claims to architectural beauty and is peculiar in having no image, the goddess (like the deity in the great temple at Chidambaram) being represented by emptiness ' (akasam). The building is visited by numerous pilgrims (even from other districts) on the eighteenth day of Adi (July-August) and the Pongal and Sivaratri days. The white earth found in a pit in the temple is used instead of sacred ash for making sect-marks.

At the Mariyamman temple here an annual festival is sometimes held between February and May. The permission of the goddess has to be obtained, and the feast is not celebrated unless in the stone tub in front of the temple saffron, margosa leaves and certain other things are found on the morning of the day proposed for the festival. These articles are supposed to be placed in the tub by the goddess herself to indicate her approval.

Settikulam.

Settikulam : Fourteen miles east of Turaiyur. Population 2,636. Contains the office of a sub-registrar. Its temple to Siva has some architectural pretensions. The shrine of Dandayudhapani or Subrahmanya on the neighbouring hill is considered by the people of this district to be second only to the temple of that

(Footnote:. 1 G.O. , No. 452, Public, dated 10th June 1891, p. 3, para. 4,)

-----------------------------------289-----------------------------------

GAZETTEER.

CHAP. XV

MUSIRI

 god at Palni in Madura. Indeed the place is often called Little Palni.' Pilgrims visit the temple in large numbers, especially on the days of the star Pusam in Tai (January-February) and Panguni (March-April). The usual vow performed is to carry milk, sugar, flour etc. on a kavadi and offer it to the god. The local village goddess has a certain reputation. A common and rather curious vow performed in her honour is for the votaries, male and female, to fling themselves on heaps of thorns before her. This vow is generally fulfilled by invalids cured of disease. It is called mullu padugalam or bed of thorns.'

Srinivasanallur

Srinivasanallur : Six miles west of Musiri. Population 1,645. The deserted Siva temple at this place is a remarkable building, containing some good sculptures (among them one excellent panel) and many old Tamil inscriptions. It is archaic in style and bears some resemblance to the Kailasanatha temple at Conjeeveram. A photograph and description of it will be found in the report of the Archaeological Survey for 1903-04, p. 5o and plate X. Twenty-five inscriptions copied here by the Government Epigraphist (Nos. 586-610 of 1904) belong to Chola times, and one of them (No. o08) is historically important as referring to the great Kulottunga's conquest of Kalinga. The temple has been included in the list of ancient monuments to be conserved by Government. It is called the Korangunathankovil.Two stories are told to explain its present deserted condition.The first is that the sauyasi who built the temple found a monkey (korangu) on top of ituniversally recognised as a bad omenbefore the shrine was established and so deserted it forthwith. The second is that the temple was first a Hanuman temple worshipped by the Madhvas, that the Hamuman was turned out and the belly-god put in his place by their religious opponents and that finally the ill Madhvas turned out the belly-god.

Tirunarayanapuram 

Tirunarayanapuram : Nine miles west of Musiri. Population 305. The place is known as Adi Rangam, the first Rangam ' or Vishnu. The figure of the god in the Vishnu temple is in a recumbent position, as in the Srirangam temple, and the place is thus held to be a miniature Srirangam. On the big dvaja stambha in front of the temple is a sculptured figure of Hanuman which is worshipped with the somewhat unusual offerings of sheep and goats.

Tiruppangili 

Tiruppangili :Fifteen miles east of Musiri. Population Tiruppangili, 3,450. The Siva temple is mentioned in the old Tamil poems and is still held in considerable reverence. Plantains grow in the precincts, and these are offered to the god and have to be thrown

37

-----------------------------------290-----------------------------------

TRICHINOPOLY.

CHAP. XV

MUSIRI

away afterwards. If any one eats the forbidden fruit he is visited with colio.1 The temple is supposed to have been honoured by a visit from the saint Appar to whom the god gave food.

The temple of Yaman (death) at this place is also well known, and is considered specially holy on Sundays in Kartigai (November-December).

Tiruppattur.

Tiruppattur : Twelve miles east of Turaiyur. Population 1,288. Is well known in the neighbourhood as the place where the young Subrahmanya obtained the spear with which he killed the demon Sirra. A tank in the Siva temple called Pulippachi tirtham is considered holy. The sun's rays fall on the god and goddess in that temple on the mornings of the 18th to 21st days of Panguni(March-April), and this is interpreted as an act of worship by the sun. The temple is said to contain a remarkable stone car. In the village is a noteworthy bull-god carved out of solid rock.

Tiruttalayur

Tiruttalayur : Ten miles north-north-east of Musiri. Population 1,751. The Saivite temple of Virabhadra is well known as an excellent place for driving devils out of possessed' women. The two tamarind trees in front of the building are called respectively the sleeping tree ' and the sleepless tree' (urangum puli and uranga puli) and are supposed to be two sages who were turned into trees long ago by a curse.

Tiruvengimala

Tiruvengimalai: Three miles west of Musiri. The name is said to be a corruption of Tiru-i-ongi-malai (` the'holy high bees' mountain') and to have been so called because the sage Agastya, finding the gates of the Siva temple closed one evening, turned himself into a bee and, so obtained entrance to perform his worship. The lingam of the temple is said to be transparent and also to throw a green shadow when camphor is burned. It is therefore called the emerald ' (marakata) lingam. The god is connected with the deities of Kadambarkovil and Ratnagiri. At all three temples Mondays in Kartigai and the Tai pusam day are specially holy.

Tottiyam

Tottiyam : Eight miles west of Musiri. Population 2,699. The name is said to be due to the fact that Tottiyans lived in great numbers in the place in former times. The village is one of the most important religious centres in the district owing to the fame of its village goddess, Madurai Kaliamman. She is supposed to have come originally from Madura, attracted by the music of the drums which the Paraiyans heat in Tottiyam. Once arrived, she imprisoned the former village goddess one Tangachi Ammanand established herself in her temple.

(Footnote: 1 Of. the Tiruchendurai temple in the Trichinopoly taluk.)

-----------------------------------291-----------------------------------

GAZETTEER.

CHAP. XV

MUSIRI

A rather curious annual festival is held in Panguni (March- CHAP. xv,April). On the first day of this a large heap of cooked rice is placed in front of the temple, the door of the shrine is locked and every crack and aperture is closed with dung or mud. It is left locked till the night of the seventh day, when a sheep is placed in front of the shrine and persons standing well at the side of the door, so as to be out of the line of the goddess' vision, push it open with sticks. Thereupon the sheep, it is solemnly asserted, falls dead beneath the goddess' baleful gaze. People say that on that night no sheep are left penned in the fields, and no man dare walk anywhere in the line of the goddess' vision between the temple and the Talaimalai and Kollaimalai hills. Any one who does so will die. Moreover throughout the festival no rice-pounder is used in the village, no chilli-powder is prepared, no music is played, no act of sexual intercourse is permitted, and no woman who is pregnant or who is in her monthly period is allowed to stay in the village for fear of kindling the goddess' wrath. On the last day of the festival a largo number of buffaloes (100 or 150, it is said) are slaughtered in front of the goddess. No curtain is drawn, as usual, before her shrine to hide the sight of the sacrifice from her. It is confidently asserted in the village that if, in accordance with a vow, a man sets a buffalo free with a purse of money for the goddess and a chit' saying that the animal and the coin are destined for the temple at Tottiyam, they will both arrive safely, without guidance, at the goddess' doors. The temple is supposed to have been built by a poligar called Ejanga Rayan about 400 years ago.' A street is known by his name, and is said to have been built where his palace and fort formerly stood. Traces of a fort may still be made out and an idol near by is called the fort Karuppan.'

Turaiyur

Turaiyur :  Eighteen miles north of Musiri. It is the largest.town in the taluk, the population being 12,870 in 1901 against 7,467 in 1891. It is picturesquely situated between the Kollai- malai and Pachairualai hills, and is a union, the head-quarters of a deputy tahsildar, a sub-registrar and the zamindari of the same name, and contains a police-station, a local fund dispensary (established 1887), a rest-house and a choultry and lower secondary school maintained by the zamindar. Vaccination and the registration of vital statistics are compulsory within its limits.

The Turaiyur zamindari contains seventeen villages and pays a nominal peshkash of Rs. 700. Though nothing certain is known about the estate before the middle of the 18th century, several manuscripts ill the Mackenzie collection 1 profess to give an 

(Footnote: 1 Wilson, p. 417 ; Local Records, viii, 320-333 ; li, 198 foil. ; and lxvii, 120.)

-----------------------------------292-----------------------------------

TRICHINOPOLY

CHAP. XV.

MUSIRI

account of its origin and early history. In these it is stated that, the zamindar's family is descended from one Vema Reddi who lived in Anegundi near Vijayanagar. A descendant of his, one Yorrama Reddi, being ill-treated by the then Vijayanagar king, emigrated to Trichinopoly and established himself in Settikulam (14 miles east of Turaiyur) with some 200 followers. They cultivated in the day time and plundered at night till they roused the anger of the local chieftain, a certain Vira Tottiyan, who suppressed the intruders and took away all their property. Reinforced by more followers from Anegundi, Yerrama, Reddi gained the favour of the Nayakkans of Madura and secured from them a grant of some of the forest near Settikulam. Encouraged by this success, he vowed to the gods Ekambara and Venkata of Settikulam that if they helped him to become a poligar his family would ever afterwards call their eldest sons Venkata And their eldest daughter Kamakshi. He then attacked the local poligar by night and. murdered him in his house ; and he afterwards obtained the office of poligar by sending suitable presents to the Nayakkan king.

These events are said to have occurred between 1450 and 145o, but if the connection of the family with the Madura Nayakkans is historical, the dates must be over a century too early. `The MSS. go on to give a list of eleven poligars from Yerrama Reddi to Vijava Venkatochala Reddi, who was poligar at the beginning of the last century. The greatest of them seems to have been one Nallappa Reddi, the second from Yerrama Reddi, who is said to have cleared the forest, founded villages and made Turaiyur his capital. He is stated to have taken 5,000 men into the field against the Raja of 'Tanjore,' who was invading Trichinopoly ; to have defeated him with great loss in a night attack ; and to have received great gifts and honour from Vangaru Tirumalal for this achievement. Another poligar named Linga Reddi (seventh from Yerrama Reddi) is credited in another MS. with having defeated a hand of free-hooters from Gingee in the time of Minakshi and Vangarn Tirumala,'

With the Anglo-French war in the Carnatic, more reliable chronicles begin. In 1752 Turaiyur was overrun by the Mysore and French troops, who deposed the then poligar and. appointed. his cousin in his placo. The new chief failed to pay his peshkash, and was himself deposed in favour of his predecessor in 1755. The English at this time were satisfied that Turaiyur belonged to Mysore, and refused to interfere with the action of the French,

(Footnote: 1 The rival of Minakshi, see p. 60.)

-----------------------------------293-----------------------------------

GAZETTEER.

CHAP. XV

MUSIRI

to whom the Mysore general had surrendered all his rights in the district.' The poligar again fell into arrears in the following year, was again deposed, and his predecessor was again instated.2 The deposed chief took refuge with the yamindars of Udaiyarpalaiyam and Ariyalur ; and in 1758, war having again broken out between the French and English, Captain Cailland, who commanded the English troops in Trichinopoly, determined to reinstate him in Turaiyur in order to oblige those two chieftains, who had always been opponents of the French. He accordingly sent a detachment under Captain Joseph Smith in August of that year to attack Turaiyur. Some spirited skirmishing took place in the woods which surrounded the village,3 the town was captured and the French protege expelled. Three companies of sepoys with three sergeants were left to protect the reinstated poligar. The expelled chieftain escaped to Mysore, where he collected a force of malcontents and plundered the country between Turaivilr and Uttatur. In November of the same year the garrison of Trichinopoly had to be reduced for the relief of Madras, which was being besieged by the French, and the greater part of the small force at Turaiyir was recalled. The exiled poligar took advantage of the opportunity and captured Turaiyur ; and he then offered to pay a large sum to the Nawab, who accepted his terms and confirmed him in the possession of his estate.

In 1773 the poligar quarrelled with his son, who, fearing for his life, laid his cause before the Naw0 at Madras. The peshkash had hitherto been Rs. 1,50,000 ; and on the 

young suppliant agreeing to raise it to Rs. 1,75,000, he was himself made poligar and his father removed to Madras. The old man however used the same means to get the estate that had been employed by his son, and offered to increase the peshkash to Es. 2,00,000 if the property were placed under his authority.

His offer was accepted, and he was restored to the palaiyam in 1787. In 1789 however the son, by the offer of 1.00,000 rupees as a present to the Nawab, and on engaging to pay the same peshkash as his father had agreed to, was again reinstated. The country had suffered by these repeated changes of authority, and the disturbances, which naturally attended them, and the young chief was unable to fulfil his engagements. He was accordingly removed in 1793, and his father, for the third time, placed in the management of the palaiyam, having previously engaged to pay a peshkash of 2,75,000 Rupees. The palaiyam in its impoverished state was of course unable to pay this increased tribute, and in 1795 the old chief and his son became reconciled, and, seeing that they had no chance of being able to meet

(Footnote: 1 Orme, i, 396. 			2 Orme, ii, 118. 
3 Described in detail by Orme, ii, 337-40.)

-----------------------------------294-----------------------------------

TRICHINOPOLY.

CHAP. XV

MUSIRI

the Nawab's demands, left tho country and took refuge in Tanjore, where the old man soon afterwards died. His son, taking advantage of the disturbances which broke out in 179o in Udaiyarpalaiyam, and profiting by the distracted state of the country under the Nawab's authority, determined to make an attempt to regain Turaiyur. He accordingly collected a considerable number of men, and, being aided by the adherents of the family, laid waste all parts of the palaiyam. The Nawab, seeing how fruitless and expensive it was to contend with the expelled chief, who, although not absolute master of the country, had yet sufficient power to prevent its being cultivated, resolved to come to terms. As the poligar's resources had by this time been nearly exhausted by the length of the contest, he listened to the overtures made him and agreed to retire to Tanjore, having first obtained the Nawab's promise to allow him 1,000 Rupees monthly for his subsistence, and to permit him to levy annually an assessment on the inhabitants of Toraiytir, which was to bear a proportion of 25 per cent. to the amount of the revenue collected by the State. This arrangement continued in force till the assignment of the Carnatic to the Company.'

There was considerable delay in settling the limits and position of the Trichinopoly zamindaris, and the matter was not finally decided till 1816. In that year, in accordance with the general orders of Government then issued on the subject,1 the Turaiyur, poligar was restored to that portion of his palaiyam which he now holds.

The Siva and Vishnu temples at Turaiyur both possess some little architectural merit. Many of the figures in both are mutilated, a desecration attributed to Tipu, who is said to have used both of them as barracks. The town contains a find symmetrical revetted tank, in which the local floating festival ' is held. There is also a large irrigation tank, in the centre of which is a curious and picturesque building, three stories high, in which the zamindar used formerly to spend short periods when the tank was full of water. It is now in rather a dilapidated condition.

The temple of Draupadi here has a certain local reputation. The ordinary vow to it is to walk through fire in front of the goddess. The consent of the goddess for the performance has to be obtained by sticking a sword point downwards in the ground and seeing if it remains upright or falls. If the former, the goddess is supposed to give permission. Throughout the performance the devotees strike the hacks of their necks with swords, and it is said that they feel no pains from the wounds inflicted. In the neighbouring hill called Perurnalmalai is the temple of Prasannn, Venkatachalapati, who is considered to be the household god of the zamindar. A flight of over 1,500 steps leads to the top of the hill.

(Footnote: 1  Chapter XI., p. 288,)

-----------------------------------295-----------------------------------

GAZETTEER.

CHAP. XV

MUSIRI

Turaiyur is well known for its weekly cattle-market. Devengas and Sedans weave cotton cloths of good quality and Kailuilans make coarse fabrics. A few blacksmiths make household vessels from bell-metal. - A small math (monastery) in the village controls 64 smaller maths in this and the South Arcot districts. It has small endowments, but no control over any temples. There am only two resident monks. Turaiyur is also known as the centre of a still considerable enmity between the ' right hand ' and ' left hand' factious referred to on page 92.

-----------------------------------296-----------------------------------

TRICHINOPOLY.

NAMAKKAL TALUK

CHAP. XV

NAMAKKAL

NAMAKKAL lies in the north-west corner of the district, and is bounded on the west and south by the Cauvery, and traversed by the Karaipottanar and Tirumanimuttar rivers. The north-east of the taluk is covered by the Kollaimalais, and the Talaimalai hills lie on its south-eastern border, while at Namakkal and Nainamalai high and isolated rocks stand out of the plain. The density of its population is comparatively high, being 439 persons to the square mile. It contains more zamindari and inam villages than any other taluk in the district, because the permanent settlement was introduced in the Salem district, to which it formerly belonged.

Fifty square miles in the taluk are reserved forest and 69 cultivable waste belonging to Government. There are no statistics for the large zamindari area ; but of 212 square miles of Government land only 38 are irrigated-14 from Government channels, 19 from wells, and 5 from tanks. The soil (84 per cent. of which is red and the rest black) is fertile, 73 per cent, of the dry land being assessed at over a rupee an acre, and of the wet land 5o per cent. at over eight rupees and 76 per cent. at over six rupees. The rainfall (26.31 inches) is rather small. Rice, cholam and varagu cover fairly large areas, but cambu is by far the most widely grown crop.

The great Nainamalai cattle fair is one of the largest in the district, and is a centre for the distribution of cattle to other parts. The local buffaloes have some reputation and are apparently the only locally bred cattle which are exported. A good deal of weaving is done in the taluk. Good cloths are made in large quantities at Namakkal, Paramati, Tattayyangarpettai and Morupatti, and coarser fabrics at the last two of these villages, Anangur and Sendamangalam. Tape is woven by a few Muhammadans at Sendamangalam, and woollen carpets at Aniyapuram, Laddivadi, and Puduppatti. Blankets are made by the Kurumbans in the east of the taluk, and mats of korai grass at Oravandur and Valavandi, and of date leaves at Sendamangalam and Audippatti. Household vessels are manufactured in small quantities at Namakkal and Sendamangalam, and by one smith at Kondamanayakkanpatti. Two or throe stone-cutters live at Razipalaiyam and Mohanur,

-----------------------------------297-----------------------------------

GAZETTEER.

CHAP. XV

NAMAKKAL.

And bangles are made in fair quantities at Sendamangalam and Kosavampatti. Good country shoes are made by the Chakkiliyans of Sendamangalam and Nallipalaiyam, and baskets by the Medarans all over tho east of the taluk. The Arappalisvaran temple on the Kollaimalais has been mentioned in Chapter I, p. 4. The following are other places of historical and religious interest in the taluk.

Kapilamalai

Kapilamalai. : Fifteen miles south-west of Namakkal. Is said to have been so named because it was the abode of the sage Kapila. The Siva temple is frequently visited by pilgrims, the usual vow being to burn ghee within it. The architecture of the building is well spoken of in Maeleane's Manual of Me Administration, and the erection of ' several fine mantapams ' round it is there ascribed to the Nayakkans of Madura. Mr. Sewell mentions that two copper plate grants dated 1574 and 1637 A.D. were found in it. The latter was a grant by Tirumala Nayakkan of Madura.

Mohanur

Mohanur : Twelve miles south of Namakkal on the Cauvery. Mohan fir. Population 3,o21. Is the chief village of a union (established in 1891) which also comprises Nanjai Mohanur and Erappu Mohanur. The name is supposed to be a corruption of Mahanur (' the son's village ') ; and is explained by a story that Siva, when searching for his son Subrahmanya, found him here and settled here beside him. The god in the Siva temple is placed facing the west instead of (as elsewhere) the east. No story has been invented to explain this. Two other peculiarities of the temple are that a stream of water is supposed to flow underground from a spring inside it, and that the light placed in front of the god is supposed never to flicker. With reference to the latter belief the god is called ' the god of the unmoving light, ' or Achaladipesvarar. The Cauvery near this village is supposed to be more than usually holy.

The Karuppan of this place is well known. Ho is called Navaladiyan (' he that sits at the foot of the wival tree ') and is frequently worshipped by creditors who cannot get their debts paid. The bonds are hung up in front of him, and lie is then supposed to plague the debtors with bad dreams until they pav up..

The village contains three saltpetre refineries, and there are two stone-cutters in the place who carve images of the Hindu gods with some skill. Plantains are largely exported from here.

Morupatti

Morupatti : Fifteen miles east-south-east of Namakkal Population 6,815. The chief village of a union (established in 1891) which also contains the village of Urudaiyampatti. Some 

88

-----------------------------------298-----------------------------------

TRICHINOPOLY.

CHAP. XV.

NAMAKKAL

150 KaikOlans weave cotton fabrics of various kinds and some 50 Seniyans weave women's cloths of good quality.

Nainamalai.

Nainamalai. : Ten miles north-east of Namakkal. A Vishnu temple stands on the top of a very striking rocky hill which rises here abruptly from the plains. It is regarded with great veneration by the people of the Salem district, who visit it in large numbers, especially on Saturdays in Purattasi (September-October). It is known as the abode of the sage Kanvar, the foster-father of Sakuntala, the heroine of the well-known drama written by Kalidasa.

Namakkal.

Namakkal : Head-quarters of the Divisional Officer (a Deputy Collector) and of the taluk. Population 6,843. Contains also the offices of a sub-magistrate, district munsif and sub-registrar, as well as a police-station, a board high school, a Government girls' school, a local fund dispensary (founded 1872) and a travellers' bungalow. It is the chief village of a union (established in 188o) which also comprises Kosavampatti, Chinna Muthalapatti, Periyapatti, Bodupatti, Kuppampalaiyam, Kondichettipatti, Ayyampalaiyam and Lakyampalaiyam.

The town lies at the foot of a great rounded mass of white gneiss on the summit of which is a hill-fort. It is divided into the fort' (kottai) and the suburb ' (pettai.), the former lying to the west and the latter to the east of the rock. It is a well-built town with broad streets.

The fort is most easily accessible on the south-west, on which side narrow steps have been hewn in the rock. It can also be scaled on the north by a tiruttu vasal or secret gate,' designed no doubt for flight or as a sally-port. On the lower slope of the hill to the south and south-west are the remains of a first line of fortifications. The outer walls of the true fort above are in almost perfect preservation. They are made of well-cut blocks of the same stone as the rock itself and are secured to the rock with mortar. No mortar has been used for the higher courses, which hold together simply by their own weight and accurate fitting. The whole is surmounted by a parapet of strong brick-work, some three feet thick, serrated by machicolations and pierced in every direction for musketry. Hound the interior of the ramparts runs a masonry platform to enable marksmen to reach the loopholes. These are so skilfully made that there is not an inch of ground all round the fort which is not commanded by them. The area enclosed by the ramparts is about an acre and a half. It contains a small temple and a ruined brick building, said to have been once a treasury.

-----------------------------------299-----------------------------------

GAZETTEER.

CHAP. XV

NAMAKKAL 

The erection of the fort is attributed by native tradition either Ramachandra Nayak, poligar of Sendamangalam and Namakkal or to Lakshmi Narasimhayya, a harkar (attendant) of the Mysore king. Mr. H. LeFanu, L.C.S., in the Salem District Manual 1 (from which the above account is taken), doubts if it could be of an earlier date than about 1730. 1t never seems to have done itself justice as a place of defence. It was taken by Col. Wood in his forward movement in 1768 and lost again the same year to Haidar. In the time of Haidar and Tipu a killadar held the fort for Mysore ; and it was subsequently held for the Company by a guard of sepoys, the European Commanding Officer residing in a bungalow in the koltai near the temple.

Namakkal possesses a certain religious interest. The Vishnu temple is often visited by local supplicants, especially when a devil has to be driven out. There are also a number of sacred bathing-places (tirthams) in hollows in the side of the rock. The largest of these, the Kamalalayam, is sacred to Lakshmi, under the title of Namagiriammal. It is supposed that Hanuman visited the tank to quench his thirst, on the way to cull sanjivi to heal Lakshmana, and found Lakshmi doing penance here. While he was speaking to her the stone he was carrying turned into the present Namakkal rock. The natives still show the footsteps of Hanuman near the tank  towitness if they lie.'

Some 120 Patnulkarans here weave men's cloths with silk borders, and two or three smiths make brass vessels. There is not much trade in the place.

Nanjai Edayar.

Nanjai Edayar : Ten miles south-west of Namakkal. Population 3,350. The chief village of a union (constituted in 1891) which also comprises Anichampalaiyam alias Tirumalainamasamudram.

Oravandur 

Oravandur : Thirteen miles south of Namakkal on the Cauvery. Population 2,338. The name is said to be a corruption of Orupandur, the place of the ball '; and it is explained by a story that the village goddess of Madukkarai on the other side of the Cauvery, Sellandiyamman, lost a ball in the Cauvery and found it in this place. The inhabitants say that the goddess has transferred her abode to this place (a statement denied by the Madukkarai people) and worship her here accordingly. She is offered buffalo sacrifices (which she does not get at Madukkarai)during her fortnight's festival in Alfisi (February-March). A little mat-weaving is done in the village.

(Footnote: 1 Volume ii, 115.)

-----------------------------------300-----------------------------------

TRICRINOPOLY.

CHAP. XV.

Paramati 

Paramati: Eleven miles west-south-west of Namakkal. Population 2,906. Head-quarters of a deputy tahsildar and a sub-registrar. The Siva temple here and in the hamlet of Mavureddi are said to contain numerous inscriptions. Thirty Patnulkaran families weave superior men's cloths with silk borders.

Pottaur. 

Pottaur: Fifteen miles south-south-west of Namakkal. Population 3,065. The chief village of a union which also includes Pudupalaiyam.

Sendamangalam.

Sendamangalam: Seven miles north-east of Namakkal. Population 13,584. The union of this name (founded in 1886) used formerly to include also Pachudaiyampatti, Mudukapatti and Tottiyappatti, but these were removed from its limits in 1895. It contains a local fund dispensary (founded 1889) and a police-station, and the offices of a sub-registrar and a special magistrate. Coarse cloth and tape, brass vessels, glass and stick-lac bangles, mats, baskets, shoes, etc., are all made here on a small scale. The Vishnu temple is of a fair size.

Tittayyangarpettai : Twenty miles east of Namakkal. Population 7,167. Head-quarters of a sub-registrar anal a special magistrate. Gives its name to a union which contains also the villages of Devanur, Pillatturai and Vadamalaipatti. A good deal of weaving is carried on here. Some 100 Sedans make good men's cloths with silk and lace borders and about 150 Kaikolans weave coarse cloth and curtains.

Vassalur.

Vassalur : Twelve and a half miles west by north of Namakkal. A number of elaborately formed dolmens and sepulchral circles stand near this place.

Velur

Velur: Thirteen miles south-west of Namakkal. Population 5,824. The chief village of a union (constituted 1891) which also includes Punjai Edayar, Melmugam and Sultanpet. There is a travellers' bungalow here belonging to the Public Works department.

Vengarai.

Vengarai : Sixteen miles south-west of Namakkal. Population o,852. Gives its name to a union (constituted 1891) in which are also contained the villages of Sarkar 
Pandamangalam and Zapti Pandamangalam.

-----------------------------------301-----------------------------------

GAZETTERR.

PERAMBALUR TALUK

CHAP. XV.

PERAMBALUR.

PERAMBALUR think lies near the middle of the north side of the district. It is partly bounded on the north by the Vellar, and drains into this river and its tributaries and southwards into the Nandiyar. The Pachaimalais abut upon its western border. It is an undulating country containing a smaller population than any other taluk in the district, and being less thickly peopled than any other except Kulittalai. Its people are the most illiterate in the district, and it contains only one school above the primary grade.

Perambalur contains 83 square miles of forest, and more culturable waste than any other taluk. Of the assessed land, 34 square miles are irrigated ; namely, 16 square miles from tanks, 14 from wells, and 4 from Government channels and other sources. The dry land is of rather poor quality, 50 per cent. of it being assessed at less than a rupee an acre ; but the wet land is generally of fair fertility. Eighty-one per cent, of the soil is black and the rest red. The rainfall averages nearly 40 inches, and comes second only to that in Udaiyarpalaiyam. Varagu, cambu and ragi are the most widely-grown crops, hut rice and Cholam also cover large areas, and coriander, cotton and indigo are grown here to a larger extent than in most other talnks. Other statistics will bo found in the separate Appendix.

The taluk is a poor one. The incidence of the income-tax, both per assessee and per head of the population is lower than anywhere else in the district and few industries exist. Blankets are woven all over the taluk by the Kurumbans, but the only other weaving appears to be the carpet industry of Ranjangudi, and that is not of any considerable size. Metal vessels for household use are made by a few smiths in Aramirai, Olappodi, Kurumbalur and Melappuliyur. The work at the last two places is ornamental and of good class. A few smiths at Sittulai make metal images of the gods. There are a few good wood-carvers at Anukkur, Mattur, Kurumbalur and Taludur, and a few stonecutters at Eraiyur, Karai and Okkarai.

Prehistoric kistvaens of the usual kind occur in the taluk. Ranjangudi and Uttatur were the scenes of some exciting passages of arms between the French and English in the Carnatic

-----------------------------------302-----------------------------------

TRICHINOPOLY

CHAP. .XV. 

wars. These and other places of interest are described in the  following pages.

Kurumbalur. 

Kurumbalur: Four miles west of Perambalur. Population 9,029. It was once the head-quarters of a taluk which was abolished in 1817-18, and is now the chief village of a union (established in 1892) which also comprises Palaiyam, Tiruppayar, Melappuliyur and Navalur, the two last of which were added to it in 1897. The place is chiefly known for its manufacture (by three or four smiths) of metal vessels and plates, which is described in Chapter VI. There are also five or six wood-carvers in the town. The Siva temple is of fair size, but of no particular reputation. At a private choultry here Brahmans are fed

.Ladapuram.

Ladapuram; Nine miles west of Perambalur. Population 3,934. The name is said (not very convincingly) to be a corruption of Viratapuram ; and it is explained that the town belonged to king Virata in whose country (according to the Mahabharata) the Pandavas hid themselves for one year before the battle of Kurukshetra. A ruined camp, the shape of which can only be indistinctly traced, is pointed out in confirmation of the story. It is generally believed that Kurumban shepherds wandering on the neighbouring Esamalai hill have every now and then seen the how of Arjuna rise from the ground and return into the earth with a clash of metal. It is however supposed that it is no good looking for the how, as it only appears to those who have no thought of seeing it.

The village goddess, Dinavasi Amman, is very much dreaded by the people. her purity, not to say fastidiousness, is so intense that she will not tolerate the perpetration of any sexual intercourse or any rice-cleaning or chilly-pounding or the presence of a woman who is pregnant or is in her monthly courses as long as she (the goddess) is in the village. This inconveniently high moral standard results in her being ordinarily handed over to an Irulan, who keeps her in the neighbouring jungle of Kalarampatti, and. she is only brought to the village for her annual festival. On sueh occasions all persons or practices that would shock her sensibilities are rigorously excluded from the village.

Perambalur.

Perambalur : Population 8,594. Gives its name to a union (constituted in 1886) which also includes Toramangalam, Aranarai and Vilamattur. The last three villages were added to it in 1893. It is the head-quarters of the taluk and also contains a sub-magistrate, a sub-registrar, a police-station, a local fund dispensary (founded 1877), a vernacular lower secondary school, a travellers' bungalow and a large local fund choultry.

-----------------------------------303-----------------------------------

GAZETTEER.

CHAP. XV

PERAMBALUR

The Vishnu temple has some local repute and is a good deal, resorted to for the cure of diseases of the eye. Patients stop in the building for some days and apply to their eyes the nandiyavattai flowers which grow there.

The village goddess, Vellantangi Amman, is much dreaded. She is supposed to have been first found in the large tank here. She is believed ordinarily to reside in the neighbouring jungle and only to visit the village for her festival. On those occasions her favour is invoked by a man with a pot of water on his head, and she is believed to communicate her presence to the water. The pot is then taken to the village, and she is worshipped in that form. She has no imago properly so called.

Ranjangudi.

Ranjangudi : Eleven miles north-north-cast of Perambalur. It contains an old fort which formerly belonged to jaghirdars holding under the Nawabs of the Carnatie.1 A number of curious stories are still current about their doings. The jaghir is said by the local Musalmans to have been given by the Psdsha of Delhi' 402 years ago to his son-in-law Muhammad Hussain Khan, and to have been resumed (and the family pensioned) 89 years ago. A pit is shown as the prison in which the jaghirdars threw those who offended them. The prisoners' ration is said to have consisted of equal parts of rice and salt. The jaghirdars are also declared to have built up female offenders alive in the walls, leaving only their heads uncovered, so that they died by inches of hunger.

The fort of Ranjangudi was the scene of a well-known battle between the English and Muhammad Ali on the one side and Chanda Sahib and his French allies on the other in 1751, in which the former met with a serious reverse. The affair is generally spoken of as the battle of Volcondah (' the disgraceful affair of Volcondah,' as both Wilks and Malcolm describe it) after the larger village of Valikandapuram in the neighbourhood ; but the action was actually fought beneath the walls of Ranjangudi. An English detachment under Captain Gingen was marching (see p. 64) to the relief of Trichinopoly, which was being threatened for the first time by Chanda Sahib, and it was necessary for them to obtain possession of this fort. They were camped in a large tope about a mile and a half to the south-west of Ranjangudi and Chanda Sahib's forces were posted some four miles beyond the Chinar river north of the fort. The jaghirdar of the fort, though a relative of Muhammad Ali's, was afraid to assist either party for fear of incurring the displeasure of the victor, whoever

(Footnote: 1 Maeleanes Manual of the Administration, iii, 680.)

-----------------------------------304-----------------------------------

TRICHINOPOLY.

CHAP. XV. 

PERAMBALUR.

it might be, and refused to open his gates. Exasperated by his prevarications, Captain Gingen determined to treat him as an enemy. The fort consisted of two parts ; namely, the citadel on the rock and a pettai at its foot surrounded by a mud wall. Gingen first moved his army to new ground a mile to the northwest of the fort, and then began, late one evening, by burning the pettai. But he could not get into the upper fort without breaching-cannon, and withdrew to his camp. The jaghirdar then sent word to Chanda Sahib that he was prepared to admit him ; and next morning the French were seen marching over the low hills from the north, and entered the dry bed of the small watercourse which runs north and south beside the fort before the English attempted to intercept them. When the latter at length attacked, the French took up a defensive position in the bottom of the watercourse, but posted two field-pieces on its Lank and opened fire. Captain Dalton's  Memoir, which gives a very detailed account of the action,' says that ten or a dozen English soldiers fell, and then, for no apparent. reason, the whole of their companions turned and ran. The officers (among whom was Clive, then a lieutenant) did all they could to stop them, but without avail. Fortunately the French attempted no pursuit. The English retreated to Uttatur (q.v.) and eventually to Trichinopoly.

In May of the following year, Ranjangudi was the scene of the surrender of the French reinforcement under D'Auteuil which had been sent (see p. 66) to relieve the beleaguered garrison of Srirangam. D'Auteuil had taken post at Uttatur, was driven out of that by Dalton (May 9th) and retired on Ranjangudi. The jaghirdar would not allow him into the upper fort, and, changing sides with fortune, told the English that he would act against D'Auteuil if only they would attack the latter. D'Auteuil marched again towards Uttutur, but was driven back by Clive into Ranjangudi ; the pettai there was stormed by the English the same day ; the French were refused admittance to the upper fort ; and D'Auteuil surrendered.2 

During the later struggles round Trichinopoly the jaghirdar seems to have maintained an attitude of benevolent neutrality. Volcondah ' is frequently mentioned by Urine as occupied by one or other of the parties engaged ; but it was not the scene of any more active hostilities.

The fort is still in good preservation, and is a handsome construction. It is said to have been built on the sites of a Siva

(Footnote: 1 See page 96. Orme (i, 172-74) differs considerably. 
2 Orme, i, 288-284.)

-----------------------------------305-----------------------------------

GAZETTEER.

CHAP. XV

PERAMBALUR

a Hanuman temple; and a lingam and a figure of Hanuman are pointed out in confirmation of the tale. The story goes that. the jaghirdar once intended to remove these, but was deterred from doing so by a dream. 

Ranjangudi is well known (see Chapter VI) for its weaving of cotton and woollen carpets and its embroidery. The village also contains a small local fund rest-house.

Siruvachur.

Siruvachur : Four and a half miles south of Perambalur. Population 1,987. The village goddess, Madurai Kaliamman, has a great reputation in this and some of the neighbouring districts. Like her namesake in Tottiyam (Musiri taluk) she is supposed to be au intruder from Madura who first rescued the real local goddess, Selliyamman, from a sorcerer and then ousted her and took her place. She is honoured by a celebrated festival of ten days duration in Chittrai (April-May). She is especially potent in driving out devils, bestowing children and curing illnessincluding lunacy. She is also repeatedly asked to witness the oaths of litigants. It is noticeable that, while the Tottiyam goddess does not object to see animal sacrifices performed before her eyes and is honoured with the sacrifice of buffaloes as well as sheep, the goddess of Siruvachur only accepts sacrifices of sheep and even these are screened from her eyes, as often with village goddesses, by a curtain. In the neighbouring hill is a torrent, said rarely to run dry, a bath in which is thought to possess great efficacy in curing disease.

Uttatur.

Uttatur : Fifteen miles south of Perambalur. Population 1,558. Occurs fairly ofteninthe pages of Orme as a fort of importance on the road from Trichinopoly to Cuddalore and Pondicherry. Two miles north of the town, the road passes between a hill and a ridge of rock and though these could apparently easily have been avoided Orme speaks of this pass as the streights of Uttatur,' and Captain Dalton describes it as the barrier to the Trichinopoly country.1 The defensible part of Uttatur itself was its pagoda with a stone wall and some round towers ' ; but the absence of a rampart rendered it difficult to hold, and it often changed hands for that reason. After his defeat in 1751 at Ranjangudi (see p. 304), Captain Gingen retreated to Uttatur and was followed by Chanda Sohib and the French. The English were encamped in the streights.' Dalton was posted as an advance guard in a pagoda about two miles in front of the army overlooked by a great rocky mountain,' and a few Europeans were placed in Uttatur to protect the rear of the camp. The enemy 

(Footnote: 1Memoir,of cop. Duit04, 104.)

-----------------------------------306-----------------------------------

TRICHINOPOLY.

CHAP. XV

PERAMBALUR

were about eight miles away (apparently on the Valikandapuram road) and the two forces watched each other for several days. Then a petty disaster overtook the British. A small party of the enemy's horse came up near the camp on the 9th July and so irritated the English by waving their swords and otherwise expressing their defiance that a small force of horse and sepoys was sent to attack them. The enemy gradually retreated and ultimately led the English (some 12 dragoons, 150 of the Nawab's horse and a company of sepoys) into an ambuscade of some 3,000 horse and foot. Most of the cavalry retreated in safety, but the sepoys were nearly all either cut to pieces or taken. This reverse, following so closely on the defeat at Ranjangudi. had a most disheartening effect on the English troops 1 

The enemy now advanced their camp three miles and on the 13th July advanced towards the English lines in battle-array with 20,000 horse, 4,000 sepoys, 100 Portuguese and seven guns. They first attacked Dalton's outpost, and that officer was ordered by Gingen to retire to the main body. This difficult movement was executed with skill and success, the enemy's cavalry suffering in the pursuit, and the British grenadiers behaving with conspicuous gallantry. The enemy followed, and found themselves face to face with the whole British force. They at first seemed determined to bring on a general action, but a heavy fire from the British artillery made them waver, and a timely advance drove them to flight. They lost 300 men in the affair.

In spite of this success, Gingen continued his retreat. The pass was indeed defensible, but he was afraid that the enemy, with their great superiority in cavalry, would cut off his supplies from Trichinopoly.

Uttatur was next occupied in April of the following year by the French reinforcement (120 Europeans and 500 sepoys) under M. D'Auteuil which (see p. 65) was marching to relieve the French at Srirangam. The movements and ultimate surrender of this body have already been referred to in the account of Ranjangudi above.

Uttatur was occupied by the forces of both sides on several occasions during the later struggles of the French and English round about Trichinopoly ; but it was not the scene of any exciting struggles.

The Siva temple at this place is fairly well known. It is supposed to have been honoured by the saint Appar, who sang its

(Footnote: 1 Orme, i, 175 ; Daltons Memoir, 104 foll.)

-----------------------------------307-----------------------------------

GAZETTEER.

CHAP. XV

PERAMBALUR

praises in the neighbouring village of Padalur, the village of the song.' The sun (as at Tiruppattur') is supposed to worship the god on three days in Masi (February-March). The connection of its bull-god with the legend of the Nandiyar river is mentioned in Chapter I, p. 9. The temple is also much resorted to for the cure of disease or to get devils driven out. It contains numerous inscriptions in Tamil and Grantha characters. The village goddess, Selliyamman, has also a wide reputation. The ordinary vow performed by her votaries is to fling themselves on heaps of thorns when she comes in procession.

Uttatur is supposed to be the metropolis of the Uttunadu ' section of the Vellans. The nadu is said to have consisted of eighteen villages in this neighbourhood. None of the caste lives in Uttatur now, though they are said to be found in many of the surrounding villages and to be specially devoted to the Siva temple there.

Uttatur is referred to in one of the Mackenzie MSS., which mentions the grant of it to the Siva temple by Krislinappa Nayakkan (1573-97: A.D.) and the peculiar form of vow performed to Selliyamman.

The place is noteworthy for the collection of phosphatic nodules 2 in its neighbourhood

Valikandapuram 

Valikandapuram :Eight miles north-north-east of Perambalur  Population 1,481. Its name is said to mean the village where Vali was seen, ' and it is popularly supposed to have been the place where Rama met Vali, the monkey king, on the way to Ceylon. It was till 18o1 the head-quarters of a taluk. The place is called Voleondah ' by Orme, and has given its name to a battle in which the English suffered a serious reverse at the hands of the French and Chanda Sahib in 1751. The scene of this action was really at Ranjangudi, and the fighting is described in the article on that place. Orme's frequent references to Voleoudah ' all. indeed, apply to Ranjangudi and not to Valikandapuram.

The Siva temple is partly demolished. Some say this was done by Haidar and Tipu, and others that the jaghirdars of Ranjangudi used the materials to build the fort at their village. The building contains some handsome work, a mantapam near the gate being beautifully carved. Inside it is a square tank surrounded by a curious, low, sunken cloister, which has been described as having a rather Buddhistic appearance. In the village is also a handsome darga, containing a black marble tomb, which seems once to have been a Hindu temple.

(Footnote:1 see p. 290. 				2 See Chapter I, p. 18.)

-----------------------------------308-----------------------------------

TRICHINOPOLY.

CHAP. XV

PERAMBALUR

The place is described by Mr. Walhouse in the Indian Antiquary (iv, 272).

Venganur.

Venganur : Thirteen miles north-north-west of Perambalur. Population 1,765. Contains a Siva temple of considerable beauty. The shrines of the god and goddess are both richly sculptured with bold figures of men, elephants, horses, monkeys, etc. The building is in the form of the base of a lingam (avidai) but is not remarkable in any other way. It is supposed to have been erected by a wealthy nattan of the Reddi caste some 300 years ago.

Veppur.

Veppur.: Fifteen miles north-east of Perambalur. In the Kamakshiammal temple here the curious custom exists that the cocoanuts offered to the goddess should be broken by the pujari on the head of the man who offers them ; and it is popularly supposed that this operation causes no pain whatever.

-----------------------------------309-----------------------------------

GAZETTEER.

TRICITINOPOLY TALTUK.

CHAP. XV

TRICHINOPOLY.

THE Trichinopoly taluk lies at the south-east corner of the district and north of Pudukkottai State. It is divided into two nearly equal parts by the Cauvery and is traversed by the main line of the South Indian Railway and the branch which runs from Trichinopoly to Erode. Along the river stretch rich tracts of irrigated land and topes ; but away from its hanks the country rises into uplands of red and black soil, broken here and there by small but sometimes striking rocky hills. Trichinopoly is the smallest and the most densely-populated think in the district. Muhammadans and Christians are much more common in it than in the other taluks and its people are better educated.

Only eleven square miles are forest, and only 31 square miles Government cultivable waste. As much as 39 per cent. of the assessed area is irrigated, most of it from the Cauvery channels, it contains more alluvial land than any other taluk in the district, one quarter of its whole area being covered by this soil, and more than half the extent cropped in it is grown with rice. Consequently it is a prosperous tract and pays more land revenue than any other taluk in Trichinopoly. Statistics of this and other matters will be found in the separate Appendix.

Its head-quarters is also by far the most important industrial centre in the district, and the incidence of the income-tax, both per assessee and per head of the population, is much higher than in other taluks. A very large a-mount of good weaving is done in Trichinopoly town, and some more in Iluppur ,Puvalur, Kulumani, Samayapuram and Sirugamani ; while coarse cloths are largely made at Manachauallur, Kovandakkurichi and Iluppnr. Some dyeing is done at Iluppur and Trichinopoly and a little carpet-weaving in the latter of these. Mats are made in quantities at the same town and at Pettaivattalai and Voyttalai and blankets are woven by the Kurumbans all over the northeast of the taluk. The jewellery, pith-work, ornamental silver-work and painting of Trichinopoly ; the musical instruments of Srirangam ; the household vessels of Trichinopoly, Sirukambur and Validiyur ; the metal idols of Tirumangalam near Lalgudi ; the stone-cutting of Trichinopoly, Manakkal and Tirumangalam ; the stone-polishing of Trichinopoly ; and the wood-carving of

-----------------------------------310-----------------------------------

TRICHINOPOLY.

CHAP. XV.

TRICHINOPOLY.

Puvalur and Peruvalanallur are all well known. Trichinopoly cheroots are famous all over the world. Oil is made in large quantities at Manachanallur and Trichinopoly ; ten tanneries are at work at the latter place and one at Srirangam ; and soap and bangles are made at Trichinopoly in fair quantities.

The taluk contains many interesting spots, chief among which are holy Srirangam and the historical rock fort at the headquarters. These and others are referred to below :-

Iluppur.

Iluppur : Twenty-six miles south of Trichinopoly. Population 3,590. A rising village containing a number of Labbai traders. Local tradition declares that some centuries ago it was the seat of an important zamindar. The story goes that Iluppitr, Marungapuri and Kadavur zamindaris were formerly one estate under a chieftain of the Tottiyan caste, and that the Iluppur estate descended to one Vallayati Kamashi Nayakkan about 240 years ago. A grant to an inamd.ar by this chieftain in 1oo9-70 is inscribed on a stone in Vavvaneri-agraharam, hamlet of Virapati. During the troubles of that period be set fire to his palace, slew his family and disappeared miraculously in a flame of fire. Ruins of his palace and fort still remain, and the former is said to contain treasure guarded by demons. Several persons are declared to have eluded the demons at different times and found pots of money there.

This chief is supposed to have rebuilt the Siva temple in the village. It contains a finely-carved mantapam, numerous inscriptions and a subterranean room. The chief is said to have built up the eastern gate of the Vishnu temple and opened the present western gate, so that he might see the god as he rose from bed in the morning; and this act of disrespect is supposed to have caused his downfall. The monolithic pillar in from of this building hears an inscription stating that it was erected by one Saiyad Ali of the Carnatie family in gratitude for relief from disease. The last zamindar of Iluppur above mentioned, like many Tottiyans,1 bore the reputation of being a great. sorcerer. He is said to have planted two stones which would cure headache and colic respectively if the affected part was rubbed against them. They are still standing in the village by the side of the Pudukkottai road. One of them bears inscriptions but has been mutilated.

The village boasts a small textile industry. About 30 Patnulkarans weave silk tartans, some 150 or 200 Paraiyan households make coarse white fabrics and ten Tuluva Vellalans are engaged

(Footnote: 1 See Chapter 111, p. 121.)

-----------------------------------311-----------------------------------

GAZETTER.

CHAP. XV

TRICHINOPOLY

in dyeing and stamping chintzes. The place also contains a local fund dispensary founded in 1890 and two private chattrams.

Kilambil

Kilambil : Seventeen miles north-east of Trichinopoly. Population 1,044. The Mariyamman temple there is, except that. at Samayapuram referred to below, the most noted shrine to that goddess in all the district. The festival in Panguni (March-April) is said to be attended by 10,000 persons. It resembles in character that at Samayapuram ; and here also no animals are sacrificed to the goddess.

A curious class of Brahmans called the ' Jaimini Samagas 'Talavakkara Choliyas,' have their head-quarters in this village. Only a few households now remain. They call themselves Srnartas, but they use the Tengalai sect mark and do not wear the forelocks peculiar to the Smftta. Choliyas. Some of their marriage and funeral ceremonies are peculiar. They say Rama settled them in the village on his return from Ceylon and that they are descended from the priest who performed the curious sacrifice at Koiltirumalam referred to in the account of that place in the Tanjore Gazetteer. At their marriages they set aside a sum of money in the name of this ancestor and spend it at the Koiltirumalam festival.

Kuttappar

Kuttappar : Some o', miles east-south-east of Trichinopoly Population 2,024. The neighbourhood of this village was the scene of a serious disaster to the British in February 1754, a convoy bringing in supplies to Trichinopoly from the Tanjore country being cut up. The convoy consisted of a large quantity of military stores and provisions conveyed by 3,000 oxen, which was escorted by 100 grenadiers, 80 other Europeans and four guns. It was unfortunately under the command of an officer of little experience and less ability.' i It was attacked some three miles to the east of Kuttappar by 12,000 Maratha and Mysore horse, 6,000 sepoys and 400 Frenchmen with seven guns. Its disposition at the moment was the very worst that could have been imagined,' the troops being distributed in small bodies along the sides of the convoy with only a single platoon in front and rear. The enemy's cavalry charged these scattered units, and there was only time for a single volley before all was confusion,every man trusting only to himself and resolving to sell his life as dear as possible.' No quarter was given till the French came up. About 130 of the English force were taken prisoners, of whom 100 were wounded ; and 50 were killed on the spot. All the officers 
(Footnote: ' Lawrence says he ' certainly from his misconduct lost his party.' See also Cambridge, 62.)

-----------------------------------312-----------------------------------

TRICHINOPOLY.

CHAP. XV.

TRICHINOPOLY.

were killed or wounded. The garrison of Tiruverumbur had hurried to secure Kuttappar as a refuge for the remains of the convoy, and if it had been in a body and pushed for it ' all would have been well.

This blow was a very serious loss to the English. It destroyed one-third of their European battalion ; and, worst of all, it involved the loss of that gallant company of grenadiers whose courage on every occasion we have seen deciding the victory, and who may be said without exaggeration to have rendered more service than the same number of troops belonging to any nation in any part of the world.1 

Lalgudi

Lalgudi : Thirteen miles north-east of Trichinopoly. Population 9,845. Contains a deputy tahsildar's office, a local fund dispensary (opened in 1884), a sub-registrar's office, a local fund upper secondary school and two private chattrams.

The names said to mean red place ' and to have been given to the town by the Muhammadans owing to the red colour of the gopuram of its Siva temple. The town is also called Tiruttavatturai or the place of holy contemplation ' ; but this name is not often used. Lalgudi and its neighbourhood are called Malavanadu (' the Malaya country ') and are said to be the head-quarters of the Malavanadu Brahateharanam section of the Tamil Smarta Brahmans, who are very plentiful in this district. The name Malavanadu is popularly derived from a king named Malaya who was a leper and who was cured of his disease by bathing in a pool here when on a hunting expedition. It is still believed that lepers who bathe in this pool for 45 days consecutively will be cured.

The Siva temple already mentioned is a sculptured building' with three courts. The outermost of these is elaborately carved in the Dravidian fashion, while the other two belong to Chola times, are decorated in a style similar to that adopted in the great temple at Tanjore, and contain many ancient inscriptions. A large festival is held in the temple in Margali (December-January) on the same day (the star Arudra's day) as the great feast at Chidambaram. During this festival a dramatic representation is given of the story of the quarrel between Siva and Parvati over a liaison of the former with a woman named Arudra and their eventual reconciliation. People say that a death and a shower of rain always occur in the village while this feast is proceeding. Another festival, lasting for ten days, occurs in Panguni (March-April). An unusual circumstance connected with

(Footnote :1 ' Orme, i, 343-45. ` Our brave Company of grenadiers,' wrote Lawrence,' who had over behaved well and successfully.' See also Cambridge, 62.)

-----------------------------------313-----------------------------------

GAZETTEER.

CHAP. XV.

TRICHINOPOLY.

both is that the permission of the village god Aiyanar (conveyed through a man inspired) has to be obtained before either can take place.

Lalgudi can boast no industries whatever, but it is the centre of some local trade and is known for its betel gardens and. plantains. A very large number of the Kodikkal (` betel garden ') Vellalans live in the village.

Lalgudi is mentioned once in the pages of Orme as a mud fort.' It was garrisoned in 1752 by the French, who intended to turn it into a provision-store, but was captured (p, 65) by escalade by a small body of sepoys and English in April 1 

Muttarasanallur

Muttarasanallur : Four miles north-west of Trichinopoly. Population, 2,0o2. The Mootachellinoor ' of Orme. A vigorous action, lasting twenty hours, was fought near here on the Srirangam island in May 1753 between the French and English. The result was indecisive, but the fighting served to show Lawrence that the French were ably commanded and that it was hopeless to attempt to clear them out of Sriraugam.2 

Perattiyur

Perattiyur ; Six miles south of Trichinopoly. Population Perattiyur. 1,955. The village is well known for its temple to Ondi Karuppu on the Rettaimalai hill, to which the Kallans of this district go once a year and offer common worship.' Liket he Puttur goddess Kolumayi Amman 4, the god is said to have been found in a box in the Cauvery, having been thrown into that river in the Malayamlam country. The box is supposed to have been rescued, and the god first worshipped, by a resident of Muttarasanallur (four miles north of Rettaimalai), and he was blessed with wealth in consequence. The Kallans broke into his house and stole the box and brought it to Rettaimalai. There they were all struck blind ; but they were informed by an oracle that the god wished to stay here permanently, and that no further harm would happen to the Kallans provided they worshipped him there once a year.

Pettaivattalai

Pettaivattalai : Fifteen miles west of Trichinopoly ; railway- station ; population 2,024. The head-sluice of the Uyyakondan channel is situated in the village, and the name is doubtfully ex- plained to mean  the place where the channel takes its head.5' It is also called Vettuvattalai, because, goes the story, a thief who stole some of the Srirangam temple jewels was killed (vettu) here. The head of the channel is a rather striking erection, the carved

(Footnote: 1 Orme, i, 222.	2 Orme, i, 283-85.
3 See Chapter 111, p. 108.	4 See below, p. 341.
' Report of the Arehaeological Survey for 1903-04, p. 81. The component parts of the word are pittai =village, vay = mouth or channel, talai = head.)

40

-----------------------------------314-----------------------------------

TRICHINOPOLY.

CHAP. XV.

TRICHINOPOLY.

pillars of which seem to have come out of a temple. It is locally believed to have been made by Mangammal the Nayakkan Queen-Regent (1689-1704) and an inscription dated 1686 is cut on one of the pillars. But it is referred to in a much earlier inscription of the Chola king Kulottunga III, dated 1205-06 A.D.,1 ) which appears on the bridge above the head-sluice. On the side of the path leading into the village from the Karur road are two Jain statues, one of which is partly covered with prickly-pear. It is said that formerly a third statue stood beside these, and the popular idea was that they represented a creditor, a debtor and a witness. The place is still known as kadankarapallam or the debtor's pit.'

The old temple in the village contains a number of inscriptions in Grantha and Tamil characters. A good deal of mat-weaving is carried on here.

Pichandarkovil

Pichandarkovil Four miles north of Trichinopoly on the north bank of the Coleroon and one mile east of Srirangam. Population 2,143. Its fortified pagoda  2  took a prominent part in the fighting between the English and French round Trichinopoly. In 1751, when Captain .Gingen was retreating (see p. 64) on Trichinopoly, he occupied it temporarily and it was subsequently garrisoned by the enemy.

In May 1752 Clive set himself to reduce the fort at a time when floods in the Coleroon prevented the French, who were encamped on Srirangam island, from sending it any help. While completing his preparations, he occupied himself in bombarding Chanda Sahib's camp on the island from across the river with guns sheltered under the river embankment. The guns at Pichandarkovil could not reach his battery, and he easily repulsed a sally made by the garrison there. The battery intended to attack Pichandarkovil was erected in a ruined village about 200 yards north of that place, and opened on the morning of the 16th May. A practicable breach was made by 4 P.M. and preparations for an assault were made. The French, discouraged at this success, beat the chamade ' in token of surrender, but the English sepoys mistook this for a signal to attack, rushed forward without their officers, and clambering up the undefended breach began to slaughter the unresisting garrison. Some fifteen Frenchmen plunged into the Coleroon and were drowned, but a body of Englishmen soon hurried to the spot and stopped the sepoys ; 3 

(Footnote: 1 Government Epigraphists report in G. O., No. 452, Public, dated 10th Juno 1891, plungrapli 4.
2 Orma, i, 178.
3 Ibid., i, 278 foll.)

-----------------------------------315-----------------------------------

GAZETTEER.

CHAP. XV.

TRICHINOPOLY.

and the garrison surrendered. This success finally cut the communications of the French with the north and exposed their camp at Srirangam to easy bombardment from that side.

Pichandarkovil was again garrisoned by the French during their occupation of Srirangam in 1759-60 (see p. 70) ; and an attempt was made by the Trichinopoly garrison to take the place in order again to cut the communications with the north. The expedition was led by Captain -Richard Smith, but lately recovered from a wound. A cannonade was opened on Srirangam to divert the attention of the main body of the enemy, and meanwhile Captain Smith, after effecting a junction with some British troops from Samayapuram, attacked the temple. Field-pieces were dragged by hand to a chonitry within six yards of the temple gate and set to batter this down. Captain Smith and another English officer themselves helped drag up the guns, but the fire from the temple was so hot that their men could not be induced to attack and Smith was disabled by a bullet in the shoulder. It was all that his companion could do to induce the men to bring off the guns and wounded.'1 

The temple is of religious interest as in it the worship of Brahma, Vishnu and Siva is united.

Samayapuram

Samayapuram (Samayavararn) : On the high road to Madras about eight miles to the north of Trichinopoly. Population in 1901,1,213. Adjoining it on the south is the village of Kannanur, which contains a population of 2,026. The former of these two villages was the scene of some spirited episodes in the struggle between the French and English round Trichinopoly and the latter appears frequently in ancient inscriptions.

It appears from an inscription in the Jambukesvaram temple at Srirangam that the Bhojesvarasvami temple in Kannanur was founded by a Hoysala BaIlala king, and Kannanur is itself identified with the site of Vikramapura, the Hoysala, capital in the Chola kingdom in the 13th century. The namo Bhojesvara is considered to be a corruption of the original Poysalesvara (a variant of Hoysalesvara), and owes its origin to a confusion between the long forgotten Hoysala king and the better-known king Bhoja. The latter however ruled in Central India and never had anything to do with this district. In the Jambukesvaram inscription king Vira Somesvara mentions (the image of) the Lord Poyselesvara which we have set up in Kannanur Vikramapura ; ' and the south wall of the Kannanur temple bears an inscription of the Hoysala king Vira Remanatha Deva

(Footnote : 1Orme, ii, 597-98.)

-----------------------------------316-----------------------------------

TRICHINOPOLY.

CHAP. XV.

TRICHINOPOLY.

(son of Somesvara) in which the temple is called Poysalesvara the Isvara [temple] of the Poysala, [king]; There is also 'a copper-plate edict of Vira Somesvara in the Bangalore Museum which was issued on 1st March 1253 A.D., the day of an eclipse of the sun, while the king was residing in the great capital named Vikramapura which had been built in order to amuse his mind in the Chola country, which be had conquered by the power of his arm.1

The place was of importance during the fighting round Trichinopoly because it guarded the route to the north and Pondicherry.

In 1752 when the French army under Law had retreated from the south of the Cauvery to the island of Srirangam (p. 65), Clive was sent to Samayapuram to intercept any reinforcements which might be sent from Pondicherry. There are two temples in the place, which are about a quarter of a mile apart and stand one on each side of the old high road leading to Madras, which runs a few hundred yards to the east of the present road. These are the Bhojesvara and Mariyamman temples. They are respectively west. and east of the old road. Clive's Europeans and sepoys were quartered in these buildings, while his Marathas and Tanjore troops were encamped outside them. Reinforcements sent by Dupleix from Pondicherry under M.D Auteuil reached Uttatur on the 14th April 1752. Clive (see p. 65) set out to intercept them and the French General, Law, then despatched a force of 80 Europeans (40 of whom wore deserters) and 200 sepoys to Samayapuram to cut np any of Clive's troops which had been left there. Meanwhile, however, Clive had returned there and was sleeping in a choultry. The tragi-comedy which ensued is most graphically described by Orme.2

The French party arrived at Samayapuram about midnight and made their way unmolested into the middle of the English camp, one of the 40 deserters declaring that they had been sent by Lawrence to reinforce Clive. They reached the Mariyamman temple unchallenged, and when challenged there, answered by a volley and dashed into the building, putting to the sword every one they met. Clive was awakened by the firing and brought up 200 of the European troops from the Bhojesvara temple. He found a large body of sepoys firing at random and supposed they were his own troops who had taken some false alarm. Accordingly, drawing up his Europeans within 20 yards of their rear,

(Footnote: 1 G.O., No, 544, Public, dated 6th ,August 1892, p. 7. 
2 Orme, i, 223-5)

-----------------------------------317-----------------------------------
GAZETTEER.

CHAP. XV.

TRICHINOPOLY.

he went alone among them, ordering the firing to cease, upbraiding with their supposed panic and even striking others. One of them attacked and wounded him in two places with his sword ; but, finding himself on the point of being overpowered, ran away the Mariyamman temple. Clive, exasperated at this insolence from a man whom he supposed to be one of his own sepoys, followed him to the gate and there, to his great surprise, was accosted by six Frenchmen. He at once realized what must have happened, and with characteristic composure told the Frenchmen :that he had come to offer them terms and that the temple was surrounded by his men, who would give no quarter if any resistance was offered. Three of the Frenchmen ran back into the :temple to carry the intelligence to their comrades, whilst the other ;three surrendered and followed Clive towards the choultry. whither he hastened, intending to attack the sepoys, whom he Knew now for the first time to be enemies. But they had already discovered the danger of their situation and marched out of the reach of the Europeans behind them. Clive then stormed the Mariyamman temple, but the deserters fought desperately and Killed an officer and 15 men, on which the attack was ordered to cease till daybreak. The Commanding Officer of the French, teeing the danger of his situation, then made a sally at the head A his men, but was received with a heavy fire which killed him and the twelve others who first came out of the gateway. The rest ran back into the temple. Clive then advanced into the porch A the building to parley with the enemy and, weak with loss A blood and fatigue, stood with his back to the wall of the porch ind leaned, stooping forward, on the shoulders of two sergeants. the officer of the deserters conducted himself with great insolence, :old Clive in abusive language that he would shoot him, raised his musket, and fired. The ball missed Clive, but the two  sergeants fell mortally wounded. The Frenchmen who had hitherto defended the temple at the bidding of the English deserters, thought it necessary to disavow an outrage which would probably exclude them from any pretensions to quarter, and immediately surrendered.

The place was not apparently reoccupied, though it was frequently passed through by troops, till the end of 1759, when, the French garrison at Srirangam having been reduced, Samayapuram was again made an English post so as to envelope the French in Srirangam. A party of French soldiers attempted to drive back the outpost next day, but the arrival of reinforcements forced them to surrender.' The possession of Samayapuram was

(Footnote:1 Orme, ii, 551-52.)

-----------------------------------318-----------------------------------

TRICHINOPOLY.

CHAP. XV.

TRICHINOPOLY.

important, as the harvest was then in progress and the renters, as usual, yielded the Government share to the party in possession. The troops in Samayapuram joined soon after in the unsuccessful attempt on Pichandarkovil referred to above ; and were withdrawn finally at the beginning of the next year on the appearance of a large French force at Uttatur. 1

The Mariyamman temple at Samayapuram is the most famous shrine to that goddess in all the district. Moriyamman has a gruesome history. She was the wife of the sage Janaka but fell in love with au angel ; whereupon the sage pronounced a curse on her that she should be burnt. Her head had actually been consumed by flames when her son induced the sage to withdraw the curse. He thereupon clapped the head of a monster upon the headless trunk, and, noticing the sears on her body caused by the flames, ordered her henceforth to become the goddess of small-pox. Another tradition says that the image of the goddess at Samayapuram was brought from Vijayanagar, after the fall of that town, by some fishermen in the ivory palanquin which .is now to be seen in the temple. It is supposed that the interior of the temple was built by Vijaya Ranga Chokkanatha Nayakkan (1704-31).

The goddess has a well-known ten days' festival in Panguni (March-April). She fasts for four weeks prior to this festival, only receiving uncooked offerings.' It is said that on the eighth day of the festival every non-Brahman in this and the surrounding taluks makes a point of worshipping the goddess in his own house in the form of unripe cocoanuts. On the tenth day the goddess is taken round the village, and one of the temple musicians is made to undergo the ordeal of having a hot wire passed through his cheek. The pilgrims (who number, it is said, thirty or forty thousand) then throng round to make offerings in fulfillment of their vows. Salt, jaggery, cotton seeds, grain, fowls, sheep and goats are offered ; but the animals are not killed, and no blood is shed within the temple precincts. Many vows of self-torture or degradation are also performed. In one instance a girl was devoted to the service of the goddess while still in her mother's womb, to scenic the recovery of her brother from a deadly disease.

The Bhojosvara temple is a picturesque building containing many Tamil inscriptions. Near it are the remains of ancient fortifications and palaces. These are called the treasure mound ' (kajana modu) and it is believed that treasure is hidden underground there. Coins are said to be found there after rain, and

(Footnote: 1 Orme, ii, 597-98.)
2 The fast is called pachaipattini ' the uncooked fast.')

-----------------------------------319-----------------------------------
GAZETTEER.

CHAP. XV.

TRICHINOPOLY.

tradition declares that formerly an inscription existed in the village which said between the tank and the village are seventy crores of yellow gold. Take it ! A colossal figure with arm upraised stands near the Mariyamman temple, and another at some distance away in the fields, opposite the first, is pointing to the ground. People suppose that the latter is pointing to the treasure underground and that the former is warning him off with a threatening gesture. The Superintendent of the Archeological Survey considers this spot worthy of further examination and excavation. ' In the village is a mosque of rather striking appearance which, according to a copper plate grant in the possession of the in amdar, was built and endowed by the bounty of Queen Minakshi in 1733. Tradition says the queen was cured of a disease by a fakir and endowed the mosque to show her gratitude.

Samayapuram contains a travellers' bungalow and a local fundand six private chattrams. Some 25 Seniyan families weave women's cloths of good quality of cotton and silk, and also do a little dyeing. The place is a fairly large commercial centre with a weekly market maintained by the taluk board. An annual cattle fair is held there at which the District Board gives prizes for the best animals.

Srirangam 

Srirangam  : The municipality of Srirangam includes the town of that name and several other adjoining villages, of which Jambukesvaram or Tiruvanaikkaval is the most important. The doings of its municipal council are mentioned in Chapter XIV. It is situated 3 miles north of Trichinopolv on the Srirangam island referred to on page o. Its population, which has doubled in the last 30 years, numbers 23,039. All but 200 of these are Hindus, and a large proportion of them are Brahmans, mostly Vaishnavites. It is known throughout southern India for its great Vishnu temple to Rang,amitha which gives it its name. It also contains a district munsif, a sub-registrar, a hospital (referred to in Chapter IX), four secondary schools, four Vedic schools, six private ehoultries and a police-station.

The town and the Vishnu temple are almost conterminous; the greater portion of the houses of the former standing within the latter's walls. The temple covers a larger area than any other in southern India and consists of seven square enclosures, one within the other, the wall of the outermost of which measures 3,072 by 2,521 feet. As most critics of the temple have noted, its general effect is fatally marred by the facts that the seven enclosures decrease in size and beauty the nearer one gets to the centre and 

-----------------------------------320-----------------------------------

TRICHINOPOLY.

CHAP. XV.

TRICHINOPOLY.

that the central shrine in the innermost enclosure is the most insignificant; part of the whole, being scarcely distinguishable (except by its gilded dome) from an ordinary village temple. Entering the magnificent southern gateway in the outermost enclosure, the visitor is increasingly disappointed, instead of increasingly impressed, the nearer he draws to the holy of holies. Few of the temple buildings are remarkable for anything but their size. The thousand-pillared mantapam 1  the fourth enclosure, which is the darbar hall of the god on festival days, is usually one of the first things shown to the visitor ; but it is not particularly largo and the work in it is not elaborate. Indeed the only bit of carving in all the temple which is less than common place is in the small Seshagiri Rao's mantapam,' opposite the hall of the thousand pillars, which is supported on pillars of the usual Dravidian type formed of groups of rearing horses, yalis, elephants and the like.' Even the great size of the temple is with difficulty realized, as even from the top of the towers it is impossible to get an adequate view of the institution as a whole. It thus loses even the dignity which Aristotle allows to mere size.

Each of the four outer enclosures was intended to have a gateway surmounted by a tower (gopuram) on each of its four sides ; but they were not all finished. Those which were completed are of the ordinary type. That on the eastern side of the fourth enclosure near the thousand-pillared in antapam can be ascended by a flight of steps inside it, and from the top of it is obtained the best view of the temple. The unfinished gopuram (tower) and gateway on the south, leading to the river and Trichinopoly, is by far the finest piece of work in the building, though marred by whitewash. It is 130 feet long by 100 feet broad, and the gateway is 21  - feet broad and 43 feet high. The tower, if completed in the ordinary form, would have risen to a height of 300 feet. Its massive but graceful proportions combine the repose and dignity appropriate to religious architecture and compensate the departing visitor for much of the disappointment he has experienced in the interior of the building.3 

The temple jewels are more valuable than almost any others in the south of India.' A short notice to the managers is required

(Footnote: 1' A ground plan of this, given in Vol. VIII, No. 68 (October 1899) of the Journal of Indian Art and Indusrty shows the actual number of pillars as about 940.
2 Drawings of it appear in the journal just quoted.
3 For descriptions of the temple see Ferguson's History of Indian and Eastern Architecture, 347-349 ; the third report of the Curator of Ancient Monuments in India, elviii-elxii Monion-Williams' Brahmanism and Hinduism, 71, 448-450. 
4 For a detailed and appreciative description of them, see Ind. Ant., i, 131.)

-----------------------------------321-----------------------------------
GAZETTEER.

CHAP. XV.

TRICHINOPOLY.

for their production before visitors. The quantity of precious metal and jewels they contain is large, but, as usual, they are barbaric in style and the stones are not cut in a manner to display their beauties to advantage. The wily gifts of historical interest are some from Vijaya Ranga Chokkanatha Nayakkan (1704-31) and a gold plate presented by the present King-Emperor on the occasion of his visit (as Prince of Wales) to southern India in 1875. The collection includes some very ornate garments said to ho of great antiquity.

There is a tradition that the celebrated Orloff diamond, which figures as the chief ornament in the Imperial sceptre of the Czar, was once one of the eyes of the idol at Srirangam and was stolen by a French deserter in the eighteenth century.1

Very little is known for certain about the history of the temple. An elaborate local sthala purana gives a legendary account of its origin ; and another vernacular document, the Koyilolugu,2 contains a good deal of information, some of which is probably historical, about the fortunes of the place. One of the Mackenzie MSS. also gives an account of the genealogy of the high priests and the fortunes of the temple.3 The inscriptions in the building a go back to the reign of the Chola king Parantaka I (906-46): Several of them are of historical interest, among these being some of the Pandva, Hoysala and Vijayanagar dynasties.

A local legend 5 states that the image of the god was placed in the temple by Vibhishana, brother of Havana, who was of great assistance to lama in his conquest of Ceylon. In his gratitude, Rama gave him the image to take to Ceylon; but on the way thither he halted in Srirangam and the idol became fixed to the ground there. Rama had told Vibhishana never to let it touch the ground for fear it should become fixed there, and the latter had given it accordingly to the Pillaiyar of the Trichinopoly rock, to hold for a moment. That god betrayed the trust and placed the image on the ground, and it became immoveable. A counterpart of it is carried in the processions.

Another legend says that the god was enamoured of the daughter of a Musalman king of Delhi, appeared to her in her dreams and eventually brought her to his temple. A room in the fifth enclosure, ornamented in the Muhammadan style, is said to

(Footnote : 1 Mr. J. D. Rees' Tours in India, p. 71.
2 This describes the benefactions of various people to the building at various times. Some of it appears to be derived from inscriptions and it has undoubtedly some historical, value.
3 Genealogical account of the Uttama Nambis ; Wilson's Catalogue, p. 428.
4 Government Epigraphist's collections, Nos. 45-46 of 1891 and 51-74 of 1892.
5 See Asiatic Journal (1839), xxviii, 294-297 and the report of the Archeological Survey for 1903-04, 60 foll.)

41

-----------------------------------322-----------------------------------

TRICHINOPOLY.

CHAP. XV.

TRICHINOPOLY.

contain her image, which is called the Tulukka Nachiyar,or Musalman Princess ; ' and every morning the idol is offered bread, green gram, butter, sugar and milk, which are considered to be typical of a Muhammadan meal.

The sanctity of the temple is unquestioned throughout south India. The sthala purana roundly asserts that those who visit Srirangam, those who remain there even for a few seconds, . .. . and those who only sec the place will not only be free from hell, the abode of Yama (the god of death), but will be free from disease and agony at the time of death and from a death untimely.' The great festival takes place in Margali (December-January) and lasts 20 days. The first ten are called Pagalpattu, and the processions then take place in the day time ; the last ten, when they occur at night, are called Rapattu. The last day of the Pagalpattu is the Ekadasi day. People believe that those who see the god then, passing through the northern entrance of the second innermost enclosure called the Parama-pada-nasal, which is only opened on this occasion, are sure of salvation. A vivid picture of the scene which takes place is painted by Monier, Williams in his Brahmanism and Hinduism, 448-450. Another ten days' festival in Chittrai (April-May) is attended by people in the neighbourhood.

Srirangam contains a second great temple in the Siva shrine in Tiruvanaikkaval or Jambukesvaram. This building surpasses the larger Vishnu temple in architectural beauty. It comprises five enclosures. The outermost of these contains streets and houses. The next (or fourth) is surrounded by a wall 35 feet high and 6 feet thick and measures 2,430 feet by 1,993. In this stands a mantapam supported on nearly 800 pillars, and a tank fed by a perpetual spring which is surrounded by over a hundred pillars. In the next enclosure is a beautiful portico of cruciform shape leading up to the door of the sanctuary. In the sine enclosure grows a tope of cocoanuts to which the image from the great Vishnu pagoda was formerly brought for one day in the year. This practice has been given up owing to quarrels between the Saivites and the Vaishnavites.

The name Jambukesvaram is derived from jambu, the Sanskrit name for the naval tree (Eugenia jambolana) and Isvara, and is applied to the god of this temple because the image is placed under a jambu tree which is much venerated and is said to le many hundred years old. The name Tiruvanaikkaval is said locally to mean the tope of the holy elephant.' it is said to ho derived from the story that a spider and an elephant both worshipped the

-----------------------------------323-----------------------------------

GAZETTEER.

CHAP. XV.

TRICHINOPOLY.

lingam under the jambu tree, the former by spinning its web over the stone and the latter by pouring water over it. The elephant's operations naturally ruined the spider's work, and the insect became so annoyed that it crawled up the elephant's trunk, caused the animal much pain, and declined to come down until the saint Sarama Muni of the Trichinopoly rock came and reconciled the antagonists.

The temple is of great sanctity since it contains the ap ( water ') lingam, which is one of the five 1 elemental lingams held sacred throughout southern India. Ai a matter of fact when the Cauvery or Coleroon is in flood water percolates through and surrounds the lingam with a little pool, and many suppose that this is the origin of the name for the lingam. In the building are several inscriptions of the Hoysalas.

The town of Srirangam is also accounted holy because the Vaishnavite saint and preacher Ramanujacharya made it his last resting place. Born about A.D. 1017, he travelled twice through India and finally settled in Srirangam.2 

During the ten years' struggle for the possession of Trichinopoly between the English and the French in the eighteenth century, both these great temples were turned into fortresses. The Vishnu temple was occupied by Captain Gingen for two days in July 1751 during his retreat (see p. 64) to Trichinopoly ;3 but was abandoned as being too large to defend. The French and Chanda. Sahib 4 followed him thither and then crossed the river to attack Trichinopoly. In April 1752 when they retreated (p. 65) from the south of the river, the building became the head-quarters of Chanda Sahib, while the French established themselves in the Jambukesvaram temple.5 Chanda Sahib's camp near the Vishnu temple was bombarded by Clive shortly afterwards and driven to the east of Jambukesvaram 6  and his men finally took refuge in the shrine to Vishnu and the French in that to Siva.

After the surrender of the French before Trichinopoly in 1752 (p. 66), the island was made over to the Mysore troops, who made the Siva temple their head-quarters. At the end of that year their treacheries (p. (3o) compelled Dalton to attack them

(Footnote : 1 The others are the earth lingam at Conjeeveram (Chingleput), the light lingam at Tiruvaunnamalai (South Arcot), the air lingam at. Kalahasti (North Arcot) and the ether lingam at Chidambaram (South Arcot).
2 Monier Williams Brahmanism and Hinduism, 119.
3 Orme, i, 179.
4 Ibid., i, 180.
5 .Ibid, i, 218.
6 Ibid., i, 228.
7 Ibid., i, 240, 247.)

-----------------------------------324-----------------------------------

TRICHINOPOLY.

CHAP. XV.

TRICHINOPOLY.

there. He attempted a night surprise on December 23rd A number of the Mysoreans were killed, and the rest fled into the Vishnu temple, where the English could not follow them for want of a petard 1 Next day Dalton determined to bombard the building and established a post in a large chonltry opposite its southern gate ; but owing to an unreasoning panic his men were driven out of this next day with considerable and from that time the Mysoreans took the offensive.

During the second . siege of Trichinopoly in 1753-54 (p. 66) Srirangam was the head-quarters of the French forces, who continued to hold it after the truce of 1754 and until the middle of 1758, when they were withdrawn to join in Lally's attack on Cuddalore. The island was handed over by them to the troops of their ally Haidar Ali on May 17th.2 The English drove out the latter on the following day and themselves occupied the great temple.' Their garrison was withdrawn a few months later, when Lally attacked Tanjore and threatened Trichinopoly.4 The building was again occupied by the English during the French advance under Crillon in November 1759, and was stormed by the officer. The garrison consisted of 300 sepoys and 500 Lallans and some English gunners. The gateway had been blocked up by a wall 20 feet high, but this was speedily demolished by the enemy's heavy guns ; and the French forced their way in, showing very little mercy to the defenders even after all resistance had ceased.5 The French troops were recalled to the north in December of that year, and left a garrison of only 300 men in Srirangam. In February of the following year (1760) this remnant was recalled to Pondicherry.6

A curious section of Brahmans, who are properly neither Vaishnavites nor Smartas, live in Srirangam. They are said to have been converted to the Vaishnavites faith in the time of Ramanujacharya when they were servants in the Siva temple, and to have boen consequently threatened with the loss of their employment. Except the archakas (the actual worshippers) all the servants in the temple still belong to this section. Thev are nominally Tengalais ; but they are further sub-divided into some of the smaller sections found among the Smartassuch as the Brahatcharanams, the Choliyans and the Vadamas. They intermarry with the 

(Footnote: 1 Or me, i, 269 foll.
2 Ibid., ii, 314. 
3 Ibid., ii, 317. 
4 I bid. , ii, 336.
5 Ibid., u, 541.
6 Ibid., u, 599, 600.)

-----------------------------------325-----------------------------------

GAZETTEER.

CHAP. XV.

TRICHINOPOLY.

corresponding subdivisions of pure Smartas, but not with pure Vaishnavites ; and in several of their customs they resemble the Smartas rather than the Tengalais. Members of this section occasionally desert the Vaishnava faith and adopt their ancestral Saivite creed. Unlike ordinary Smartas, they are not distinguishable from Vaishnavities by their speech or appearance.

Few industries worth mention exist in Srirangam. Musical instruments are made by a carpenter, and a few painters do work resembling that of Trichinopoly. The palmyra leaf baskets made by some Satanis are largely bought by pilgrims, and some 50 households make bamboo baskets at Jambukesvaram. There is a tannery of some size in Srirangam.

Tiruchendurai 

Tiruchendurai :Three miles cast-south-.east of Elamanur railway-station. Population 659. The Siva temple contains some jack trees the fruit of which is offered to the god and then thrown into the river. Any one who ventures to eat any of this is supposed to be promptly visited with colic. A large number of the inscriptions in the building have been transcribed by the Government Epigraphist.

Tiruppalatturai

Tiruppalatturai : Eleven miles west of Trichinopoly. Population, 1618. The place is well known for its sacred bathing ghat on the Cauvery, which stands just above the bifurcation of the river. People throng to bathe from this on the first day of Arpisi (October-November). The Siva temple appears in a number of local legends. Its lingam is said to have been dug out of an anthill on which a golden bird was seen by a Chola king frequently to perch, and to have been damaged by a spade during the operation. Milk flowed from the wound and the name of the place (sometimes spelt Tirupalatturai) is supposed to have been derived from the occurrence. The sage Markandeya and the well-known Shiyali saint Tirugnana Sambandhar are said to have worshipped at the shrine. On the eighteenth day of Purattasi (September-October) the sun-beams fall upon the lingam ; and this is interpreted as an act of devotion by the sun. The temple is being repaired by the Nattukkottai Chettis. The numerous inscriptions on its walls are being conserved.

Tiruvellarai

Tiruvellarai: Ten miles north-west of Trichinopoly. Population 1,897. In it is a fine Vishnu temple with an imposing, though unfinished, gopuram and magnificent walls. Within the enclosure is a rock-hewn cave and near. but outside the walls, a curious well bearing Pallava inscriptions. Near the rest-house is another cave containing a shrine ; and on a rock near this is a long and ancient inscription.

-----------------------------------326-----------------------------------

TRICHINOPOLY.

CHAP. XV.

TRICHINOPOLY.

Tiruverurnbur : Five miles north-north-east of Trichinopoly ; population 1,279 ; railway-station. Is also called Erumbes-varam. The name is derived from erumbu, an ant, and is supposed to be due to Karan, the brother of Trisira (the hero of Trichinopoly) having worshipped the lingam here in the form of that insect. The temple to Siva on the top of a rocky hill is well carved and its appearance suggests a Jain origin. It was of importance during the sieges of Trichinopoly as a military post'. A recently-deceased saint named Kattaikalaisvami, about whom many curious stories are told, lies buried in the village. He wore no clothes and never spoke, drank refuse and performed many miracles. His laughter and sorrow were considered omens of good or evil. He was a friend of the similar personage of Tirtivudi in Tanjore district. It is even asserted that he was seen and recognized walking in other places after his death. He is now supposed to be reincarnated in a boy of Uraiyur. His tomb has been handsomely decorated and the anniversary of his death is celebrated with pomp in Masi (February-March).

Trichinopoly.

Trichinopoly is the head-quarters of the district. The derivation of its name is discussed on page 2. It is 195 miles from Madras by road and 250 miles by the main line of the South Indian Railway. A branch of this railway runs from it to Erode. It is the third most populous town in the Presidency and the twenty-eighth in India. Until the census of 1901 it was the second largest in the Presidency, but Madura then out-stripped it, although in the decade 1891-1901 its inhabitants increased by as much as 16 per cent. The marginal figures show the growth in its population since 1871.Of the total 1901, 76,927 were Hindus 14,512 Christians and 13,259 Musalmans.

The town lies about half a mile south :of the Cauvery in a flat plain. To the east and west stretch paddy-fields, and to the south open red land broken here and there by a few rocky hills. In the north-eastern part of the town (see the plan attached) stand the famous rock, which rises sheer 273 feet above the streets below it, and the remains. now with few exceptions obliterated, of the old fortifications which surrounded it. This quarter is still called the fort ', and the lines of the old outer defences are marked by occasional remains of the works and ditch and by four boulevards,' as they are called, which wore formed by filling in the ditch when the fortifications were demolished. The outer defences formed an

(Footnote: 1 See below, page 331.)

----------------------------------------------------------------------
IMAGE 350 ATTACHED SEPARATELY.

----------------------------------------------------------------------
IMAGE 351 ATTACHED SEPARATELY.

-----------------------------------327-----------------------------------

GAZETTEER.

CHAP. XV.

TRICHINOPOLY.

oblong, the longer side of which ran from north to south. Within these, near their northern extremity, was an inner citadel built round the great rock. Much of this is still standing. To the west of the rock lies a fine teppakulam (sacred tank) the construction of which is ascribed to Visvanatha Nayakkan (1559-03). To the south of the town lies the cantonment, where the Europeans live and the important Trichinopolv Junction railway-station is located, and to the west stretch the suburbs of Puttur and Uraiyur. The fort is a crowded place, and not over clean ; but the cantonment is an ample quarter, containing several maidans or open spaces. An admirable view of the town is to be had from the top of the rock, and during the sieges of the town by the French in 1751-54 referred to below the English always stationed a man there with a telescope to observe the enemy's movements.1 

The town contains the usual staff of district officials. It is also the head-quarters of the South Indian Railwav Company, whose numerous officers swell the European colony of the town, of a Deputy Commissioner of Salt and Abkari, and of the Superintending, Engineer of the Southern Circle. It is still garrisoned by a native regiment.	Besides the District, Divisional, taluk and stationary subordinate magistrates. a Bench of magistrates sits to try petty cases arising within the town.

A Bishop of the Jesuit Mission resides at Trichinopolv, and also missionaries belonging to the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel and the Wesleyan and the Leipzie Evangelical Lutheran Missions.

The town was constituted a municipality in 1866. Municipal administration has been referred to in Chapter XIV. The council's principal achievement has been the fine water -works. The place contains a very large number of educational institutions. The St. Joseph's and the S.P.O. colleges are mentioned in Chapter X, and there are no less than sixteen secondary schools in the town and a. large number of primary schools. Its hospital is referred to in Chapter IX and the Central Jail in Chapter XIII.

Being the largest town in the district., a junction on the South Indian Railway, and situated opposite the only important bridge across the Cauvery and Coleroon for many miles,2 Trichinopoly is naturally a very important centre of trade. It also possesses a number of local manufactures. A great deal of weaving is done in it. Silk-weaving employs sonic 900 households of PatnnIkorans in the fort and some 250 or 300 more in Uraiyur. White cotton

(Footnote : 1 Cambridge, The War in India (London, 1761), 16,
2  See Chapter VII, p. 181.)

-----------------------------------328-----------------------------------

TRICHINOPOLY.

CHAP. XV.

TRICHINOPOLY.

fabrics are woven by about 100 Devangas or Sedans at Uraiyur, and a few households in the municipality are engaged in dyeing and chintz-stamping. Some 200 Ravutan and about 40 Telugu Pandaram households weave mats ; 40 or 50 families make metal vessels of various kinds ; about 20 persons at Uraiyur turn out the ornamental silver-ware for which the place is known ; ten or twelve Razu families paint pictures of fair quality ; a few households are engaged in the well-known Trichinopoly pith-work ; and a large number of factories make the cheroots which have made the name of the town so widely known. Two Patnulkarans weave cotton carpets, tuyya braid is made by sonic 100 Musalmaus, and about 25 men of that nationality ore engaged in ornamenting cloths and curtains with jiyipas. A few stone-cutters and a great many stone-polishers reside in Uraiyu8r ; and the town contains 22 oil-factories scattered through it, ten tanneries, some 200 shoemakers (Trichinopoly boots are considered excellent), nine soap factories, 100 makers of stick-lao bangles, and some 40 or 50 Marakkayan lapidaries. All these industries are referred to in Chapter VI.

Trichinopoly is a place of very great antiquity. Though the fort does not seem to have been built until the time of the Nayakkans (1559-1736), the town or its suburbs were of importance in the earliest historical times. Uraiyur was the capital of the early Cholas, and it is mentioned as such (under the form (CONTENT MISSING ON SCAN) by Ptolemy t (13o A.D.), and in the temple on the Trichinopoly rock are inscriptions of the Pallavas dated early in the seventh century.2 The later Chola dynasty of Vijayalava (cire. 870 1300 A.D.) do not seem to have made Trichinopoly or Uraiyur their residence till towards the end of the 10th century, when they removed to Tanjore; 3 but inscriptions dated after the collapse of their kingdom refer to Chola princes who still called themselves the lords .of Uraiyur.

The connection of Trichinopoly with the Hoysalas and_Pondyas and with the Muhammadans and Vijayanagar conquerors who followed them, is not clear. No inscriptions of any of those powers have been found in the place.

The circumstances in which the town passed (about 1560) from the Tanjore to the Madura Nayakkans are mentioned in Chapter II.

(Footnote:1 (CONTENT MISSING ON SCAN) .Mr, Kanakasabhai sees in the word (CONTENT MISSING ON SCAN) . an indication of a union of Chola and Naga families to supplant the Cholas proper. see The Tamils eighteen hundred .years ago, 44.
2 Nos. 63-64 of the Government Epigraphist's collection for 1888. For a translation of these see South Ind. lnscr., i, 26-30.
3 Ind. Ant xxv, , 63.)

-----------------------------------329-----------------------------------

GAZETTEER.

CHAP. XV.

TRICHINOPOLY.

It seems to have already possessed some defences ; but it was apparently Visvanatha, Nayakkan (1559-63) who first raised it to ;he rank of a great fortress.' Since his time it has been besieged ay many enemies but the place has only once (in 1741) been taken, and on that occasion it was perhaps hunger rather than force which effected its reduction.

Visvanatha carried a double wall all round the town, which he flanked with a deep ditch capable of being filled from the Cauvery. He also built towers and gateways at suitable spots. The fortifications were subsequently improved by many of his successors. The town was apparently made the capital of the Nayakkans about 1611 by Muttu Virappa (1609-23). It was abandoned in favour of Madura by the great Tirumala Nayakkan (1623-59) it the beginning of his reign for superstitious reasons ; hot the latter's successors, though crowned at Madura, generally resided It Trichinopoly.

It was in the time of Tirumala's successor Muttu Alaktidri (1659-62) that the strength of the town's fortifications were first tested. Tirumala had himself yielded to the Muhammadan invader without a blow ; but his son defied the forces of Bijapur Ind at the end of his reign sueeessfully withstood a siege of Trichinopoly. The Muhammadans, after suffering considerable loss, were forced to content themselves with a very moderate sum A money offered them by the king, and retired unsuccessful. The ;own was again unsuccessfully besieged by the Muhammadans at .the beginning of Chokkanatha's reign (1662-82) and again a year or two later. On the second occasion they were bought off. In 1675-76, when Ekoji overran the Madura kingdom, he did not hate to attempt Trichinopoly. The town was again attacked, this time by a large combination, at the very end of Chokkanatha's reign. The nature of the operations is obscure, but the place was not taken. Trichinopoly was lost to the Nayakkans by treachery, for Chanda Sahib gained entrance to the fortress as a friend, and only showed his true colours when already established there.' He lost it to the Marathas in 1741. The place was badly provisioned, the Marathas appeared with great suddenness and the garrison was almost starving. It is generally supposed a that the fort wad voluntarily surrendered owing to famine. A somewhat different 

(Footnote: 1 See Nelson's ,Madura Country, iii, 94. The Nayakkans were of Vijayanagar origin, and as such thoroughly understood the value of strongholds. The rock at Trichinopoly must have at once struck them as admirably defensible from its resemblance to the drugs ' of their own country.
2 Nelson's Madura Country, iii, 257 foll; Orme (Madras, 1861), i, 38.
3 Orme, i, 44.

42

-----------------------------------330-----------------------------------

TRICHINOPOLY.

CHAP. XV.

TRICHINOPOLY.

impression is given by a letter written from the Maratha camp at the time, which describes the affair as follows :1 ' On Saturday the 16th instant (i.e., 25th March 1741) Raghoji Bhonsla directed the poligars, the Kallar of the Maravan Tondiman and the Pindaris to scale the walls of the fort of Trichinopoly; and they did so simultaneously from all quarters. Chanda Sohib, . . . seeing that his life would be in danger if be remained any longer, treated for terms. . . . At midnight he repaired to the Maratha camp. . . . The fort at Trichinopoly was occupied by the Marathas.' Trichinopoly was quietly evacuated by the Marathas on the arrival of the Nizam in August 1743, and remained in the uninterrupted possession of the Muhammadans till its cession to the English. During the wars of the Carnatie between the English and French it was several times besieged. It was first attacked by the French, the Mysoreans and Chanda. Sahib in 1751-52 (see p. 64) and again, after a brief interval, by the Mysore and French troops in 1753-54 (p. tio). It was once more assaulted by the French and Mysoreans in 1757, and was threatened, but not actually attacked, by the French in 1759 The general course of these events has been described in Chapter U. A more particular account of some of the more striking incidents in them will now be given.

The fort as it existed in 1751 is described in the following words by Stringer Lawrence :2 

It is at present near four miles in circumference, with a double enceinte of walls with round towers at equal distances . . . . The ditch is near 30 feet wide but not hall so deep; and at different seasons it is more or less supplied with water, but never quite dry. The outward wall . . . . is about eighteen feet high and four or five thick, without parapet or rampe, nothing but a single structure of stone, and is very properly called a wall : the other is more properly a rampart. The distance between them is about 25 feet, the height of the rampart thirty.'

Beyond the town, to the south and west, rise several rocks which took a prominent part in the great struggle for the possession of the place between the English and the French. Orme's map showing these and the town and its environs is reproduced here to render more clear the narrative which follows below. A little more than a mile to the south-east of the Trichinopoly rock stands the French Rock.' Some 21 miles due south of the latter is the Golden Hock ' overhanging the Central Jail. From its shape, this is called the Sugar-loaf Rock both by Orme and by Stringer Lawrence. Its colour is golden, but its name Golden Rock' is 

(Footnote : 1 Sir Frederick Price's if Ananda Range Pillar's Diary (Madras, 1904), i, 161. 
2 Lawrence's narrative in Cambridge's War in India, 16.)

IMAGE 359 ATTACHED SEPARATELY.

IMAGE 359 ATTACHED SEPARATELY.

-----------------------------------331-----------------------------------

GAZETTEER.

CHAP. XV.

TRICHINOPOLY.

said to be due to the fact that gold coins used to be found there. Perhaps these were left by the French, who were driven out of their camp there rather suddenly by the English. About a mile and a half to the west of the Golden Rock is a small rock with a little mosque on the top. This is now known as the Fakir's Rock ' ; but it is always called the ' Golden Hock' by Orme and Lawrence. To the south-west of this again are some low rocky hills, which are called the Five Rocks ' in the histories and Rettaimalai in Tamil. About 41 miles to the cast-south-east of the town, near the Tiruverumbur railway-station, stands yet another small hill, which is called by Lawrence ' the Elumiscram Rock' after the Erumbosvaram temple on the top of it.

In the first siege (1751) the French first established themselves at Sarkarpalaiyam,' about 1   miles north-east of Trichinopoly on the south bank of the Cauvery. Their principal battery was raised a little to the south of the north-east angle of the fort at a distance of 1,200 yards from the walls. They also mounted two guns on the French Rock,' a small rock about a mile south-east of the town to the north of the Tanjore road, and two guns on the island of Srirangam. Both of the latter two batteries were too distant to do much harm. The temple on the rock of Erumbesvaram (near Tiruverumbur railway-station, sonic 4  miles east-south-east of the town) was also fortified. 

The first considerable fight between the English and the French took place between this post and the Golden Rock (the large conical rock near the Jail called the Sugar-loaf Rock by Orme and Lawrence) on the 28th March 1752, when Lawrence and Clive were advancing (p. 65) with reinforcements from Fort St. David. The French line extended from Sarkarpalaiyam to the French Rock and on to Erumbesvaram. Lawrence accordingly came round to the south of the latter post so as to get into Trichinopoly by way of the Golden Rock. He was joined by Dalton and some Mysoreans and troops of the Nawab, while the Marathas skirmished with the French. A halt was made at this juncture, but soon the French were found to have dispersed the Marathas and to be attacking. An artillery duel took place,' in which the French had much the worst of it. They ultimately retreated, but Lawrence, having gained his object of breaking through the opposition to his advance, stopped the pursuit in order to save his 

(Footnote: 1 Called Chuckley-pollam by Orme, sco the map referred to above.
2 The precise site of this engagement is not clear. Oime says the English were posted in a large choultry with some stone buildings not far from the front of the French battalion,' while Lawrence himself says that the English formed behind ' a large bank,' placing their artillery on top of it. See Orme, i, 215 and Cambridge, 23.)

-----------------------------------332-----------------------------------

TRICHINOPOLY.

CHAP. XV.

TRICHINOPOLY.

troops, who had been fighting and marching all through the raging heat of an April day. The result of this fight was that in a few days the French abandoned all their posts south of the Cauvery, and did not reoccupy them for the remainder of that siege.

In the second siege of Trichinopoly in 1753-54 (p. 66) the first step taken by the Mysore troops, at the beginning of 1753, was to establish themselves in the Fakir's tope ' 

(which is said to have occupied the site of the present Collector's bungalo a' and compound) in order to cut off Dalton's supplies. But they retired to the north of the river when Lawrence arrived with reinforcements in May ; and Lawrence himself camped in the Fakir's tope after his repulse at Muttarasanallur referred to on page 313. Shortly afterwards, while Lawrence was ill in the fort, the French established a post south of the Fakir's tope to interrupt our communications with Pudukkottai  and Tanjore. Lawrence thereupon occupied the Fakir's Rock (the Golden Rock ' of Orme). His small garrison of sepoys there was driven out by the French early on June 2oth, but the rock was gallantly stormed by the British grenadiers hardly an hour later, and the French battalion was put to flight. Orme calls this the battle of the Golden Rock.1

The next considerable engagement took place on August 7th, when Lawrence was returning from Tanjore (see p. 67) with reinforcements. The French were extended in a long line from the French Rock to the Fakir's Rock with their European battalion and artillery posted to advantage near the Golden Rock. Lawrence first tried to get round by the Fakir's Rock, where the enemy bad a strong post ; whereupon the French sent a party from their European battalion to support the post, the rest of this battalion moving very slowly after them, Lawrence quickly drove the post from the Fakir's Rook ; turned suddenly on the French party which was marching up to support it; put this to flight by a vigorous charge ; and then attacked the rest of the European battalion. This was seized with a panic and the whole French force broke and ran in great confusion and made off round the Fakir's Rock and away to the smaller hillocks on the south-west. Had only the Tanjore horse done their duty in pursuing them, few of the enemy would have escaped.2

The French however still remained south of the river and hampered the bringing in of supplies to Trichinopoly. Lawrence accordingly brought on a general action and on September 21st was fought the tattle of the Sugar-loaf Rock.' The English

(Footnote: 1  Cambridge, 46-7 ; Onne, i, 289-94.
2 Cambridge, 49-50 ; Orme, i, 299 foll.)

-----------------------------------333-----------------------------------

GAZETTEER.

CHAP. XV.

TRICHINOPOLY.

were camped by the French Rock,1 and the French lay facing them by the Golden Rockthe Sugar-loaf Lock' as Orme calls it.They were entrenched on the north and south, but not on the west. They had a, post on the .Fakir's Rock and their Mysore and Maratha allies were camped in the plain to the south of them. The English moved out at 4 A.M. and commenced the attack by a sudden and brilliant assault on the Fakir's Rock, which they captured at once. The garrison of this fled to the main body near the Golden Rock, and their panic spread to the Mysore and Maratha troops, who joined them in their retreat. The French camp was thrown into great confusion by this retreat, and meanwhile the English marched straight upon the unprotected west flank of the enemy, where there were no entrenchments, and attacked them as the day began to dawn. The battle was soon decided ; and the French were drive across the river. They had still a small force in Uyyakondan, but this place (see p. 34z) was stormed almost immediately afterwards.2

In the Central Jail are two antique cannon of which one was used as a gate post for many years and the other lay amid a heap of rubbish. These must almost certainly be relics of the battle of the Sugar-loaf Rock. One of them is spiked.

On the night of November 27th, 1753 the French made their last real effort to capture Trichinopoly by a determined night attack on Dalton's battery. ' A few remains of this work may still be traced to the north of the St. Joseph's College main buildings and within the college compound. It was situated at the north-west corner of the fort and was surrounded (see the plan above) by a ditch which ran diagonally across this compound. But just where this now passes under the northern block of the college buildings, it, was nearly filled up by a huge rock which now forms part of the foundation of the block. This rock rendered the crossing of the ditch an easy matter, and the point was accordingly selected by the French for their attack. The battery stood on the outside wall of the fort and extended in a rather complicated mass of defences in front of the inner line of wall and of a gate which was about opposite the north-western corner of the Teppakulam. The only approach to the gate itself was through a narrow, winding passage between enveloping walls

The escalade was entrusted to 600 Frenchmen, who crossed the ditch by the rock about 3 A.m. and succeeded in scaling the battery with ladders without raising any alarm. The guard of the

(Footnote : 1 The remains of an advanced redoubt which protected the left of their camp are still to be seen about 300 yards north of the railway and one and a half miles east of the Golden Rock.
2 Cambridge, 52 foll.; Orme, i, 309 foll.)

-----------------------------------334-----------------------------------

TRICHINOPOLY.

CHAP. XV.

TRICHINOPOLY.

battery consisted of 50 sepoys and their officers and some European gunners; but these were all absent or asleep, and the latter were at once bayonetted, still without raising any alarm. Between the battery and the gate, however, was a pit about 30 feet deep, the existence of which was unknown to the French, and into this some of the attacking party fell as they moved towards the gate in the darkness. They screamed out and several muskets were fired ; and the French, considering further concealment -useless, turned the battery guns upon the fort and fired a volley of musketry to intimidate the garrison.

The English under Lieutenant Harrison now rushed to the wall above the gate. Meanwhile the French clambered down from the battery into the space between the outer and inner walls and a party carrying two petards and guided by a deserter hastened into the narrow passage leading into the gate, intending to blow it up, while another party placed their ladders against the wall beside the gate and attempted to scale it. It was quite dark and the fort was in the greatest danger. Lieutenant Harrison, however, had directed his men on the wall above the gate to keep on firing into the open space below them, whether they saw anything. there or not ; and the first discharge killed both the deserter who was leading the assault and the man who was carrying the first petard, the latter within ten yards of the gate. The man with the second petard was shot in a similar manner almost immediately after. Meanwhile the garrison had also succeeded in throwing down the ladders of the sealing party, breaking them in the fall, and the fire of the garrison from two cannon shattered all the other ladders. The enemy could not now hope to succeed, and turned to escape. But they had no ladders to descend the outer wall, and of about a hundred. who jumped down on to the rock or into the ditch nearly all were injured and seine few were killed. The rest stood on the battery for some time firing at the better protected English troops on the inner wall ; hot their position was untenable and they were all driven at last to take cover as best they could. The garrison continued to fire at random till day long wished for by both sides appeared, when the French threw down their arms and surrendered. It had been a gallant attempt ; and but for the accident of the existence of the pit, and the chance killing of the deserter and the two men carrying the petards, would very probably have succeeded. The French lost 360 prisoners, of whom 67 ere wounded, and 3o more of them were found dead in the battery or between the walls 1 

(Footnote:1 Orme (i, 321 foll.) gives a long description of this affair and a detailed plan of the Beene. See also Cambridge, 55-57 and Dalton's Memoir, 224 foil.)

-----------------------------------335-----------------------------------

GAZETTEER.

CHAP. XV.

TRICHINOPOLY.

During tho Second Mysore War (p. 70), Trichinopoly was invested by Haidar Ali in 1781, and seemed likely to surrender; but fortunately Haidar drew off his troops to fight Eyre Cooto and was defeated at Porto Novo.

After the English obtained possession of the country, Trichinopoly was long one of the most important military posts in the south of India. Several regiments were stationed there and it was commanded by a General. Bit by bit the garrison has been reduced ; and now (190o) only one native regiment is left in the place.

A good deal of correspondence has occurred from time to time regarding the cantonment of Trichinopoly, which was first constituted in 1865. The present state of things is that the only sections of the Cantonments Code (under Act XIII of 1889) which apply to Trichinopoly are sections 174, 196 and 204-.209. There is no cantonment magistrate, because there are no cantonment offences to try. The cantonment is under ordinary municipal government ; but two military officers have seats on the council, and the military authorities have been conceded by the municipality a power of veto on certain matters within cantonment limits.1 Proposals are at present before the military authorities with regard to the modification of the boundaries of the cantonment. The present limits were laid clown in 1884. In one other respect local administration has been modified by the existence of troops ; namely, that the Cantonment House Accommodation Act (II of 1902) was applied in 1903 to a part, but only a part, of the cantonment area.

Only a few scattered remains of the old defences of the big fort survive, for between 18oo and 1878 its walls were deliberately pulled down and its moat filled in by the municipality in the interests of fresh air and sanitation. What is now called the main guard gate ' was not in existence in Orme's time, the wall being unbroken on the west by any gate except that opposite Dalton's battery, which was nearly opposite the north end of the Teppakulam. The present main guard gate was however in existence in 1857,2 and there was then no tradition of its being an innovation. Of Dalton's battery a small portion remains, as has been said, in the compound of St. Joseph's College, which building stands partly within and partly outside the north-west corner of the fort as it formerly existed. Another fortification which lies on the north of the rock near the trunk road is sometimes erroneously

(Footnote : 1 See Chapter XIV.
2 Father Sewell, s.j., who came to Trichinopoly in that year, has kindly supplied this information.)

-----------------------------------336-----------------------------------

TRICHINOPOLY.

CHAP. XV.

TRICHINOPOLY.

pointed out as Dalton's battery. The proper and usual name of this is Preston's battery.' Other relies of the big fort are to be found in Whiteside's and Banbury's tanks, which are really portions of the old moat cut off and converted into pools by those gentlemen2 when Collectors. The fortifications of the rook citadel are in a much less imperfect condition, and many parts of them still remain.

The English were quartered round the Teppakulam during the siege. A part of the present St. Joseph's high school is pointed out as Clive's house ; but it has been doubted if he ever lived there, and it is certain that he could not have resided there for long.3 

For some time after the siege the garrison remained stationed in the fort itself, even occupying the reek, where they were stationed in the large mantapams on the way up. The upper rock cave was the powder magazine. The arsenal ran by the southern foot of the rock along what is now the Little Bazaar Street. It was apparently some time before the end of the century that the majority of the troops were moved to the suburb of Uraiyur, where there are still some houses and a cemetery left. They went to their present cantonment about 1820.

The present club was the cavalry mess. The Fusiliers' mess was in a house (now pulled down) near St. John's Church. There was another mess at Pattur and a fourth on the road to the jail. The General in command of the station used ordinarily to live in the house now owned by the Raja of Pudukkottai near the MacDonell memorial. This latter is erected to the memory of a popular Judge and Collector who died in the General's house. The Collector's house was put into its present shape by General Cleveland, who commanded the station from about 1852 to 1857. Several of his successors occupied the house, and after them it was tenanted .by a series of District Judges. It was here that King Edward VII was entertained by the then Judge (Mr. E. Foster Webster) when visiting the town as Prince of Wales in 1875.

(Footnote: 1 As to the site of Dalton's battery there cannot be the least doubt, as both Orme's text and plan and Lawrence himself (in Cambridge's work) are perfectly clear about it.
2 Mr. W. S. Whiteside, Collector of Trichinonoly in 1871-72, and Mr. G. Banbury, Collector (with an interval) from 186o to 1870.
3 Government have recently decided that the doubt about the matter is sufficient to render it undesirable to sanction the proposed to place a memorial tablet on this house, G.O., No. 506, Public, dated 9th June 1904. There is no evidence of Clive's occupation except tradition, hut the tradition is an old one. Father Sewell hoard it in 1863 from an old man whose memory lima have gone back to 1800. The part of the school which formed the house is that running southwards from the stair in the upper verandah as far as the break in the wall.)

-----------------------------------337-----------------------------------

GAZETTEER.

CHAP. XV.

TRICHINOPOLY.

About 20 years ago the Collector and the Judge changed residences, and the house has remained in the occupation of the Collectors ever since. The present Czar of Russia was entertained there on his visit as Czarewitch to Trichinopoly in 1891.

The fort still contains the first English church built in Trichinopoly, namely Christ Church, north of the Teppakulam. It was built by Schwartz in 1765-66 with funds subscribed by officers of the British garrison. The site was given by the Nawab.1 It is a plain building not in any way architecturally remarkable. A tablet commemorating its origin has been fixed over the door by Government. Schwartz lived in Trichinopoly for many years.' His house is nearly opposite the S.P.G. College hostel. It still belongs to the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel. Christ Church is now used by the native congregation of the fort.

The church used by the English residents is St. John's, near the railway-station. This is a large building. It was consecrated in 181o. The Roman Catholic cathedral was founded in 1840 and consecrated in the following year. The buildings of the two great mission colleges in the north-west corner of the fort are referred to in Chapter X.

The cemeteries containing European tombs are those in the churchyards of St. John's and Christ Church ; those attached to the St. Mary's (Roman Catholic) church and the Wesleyan Mission church ; the small Devadanam. cemetery near the Paracheri ; the Chintamani cemetery ; and the Leipzie Mission cemetery. Some of the graves in them are of historical interest and are mentioned in Mr. J. J. Cotton's inscriptions on Madras Tombs. The oldest are in the Christ Church cemetery, and the earliest of these bears the date 1765.

The swimming-bath in which the famous Bishop Heber died on 1st April 182o is in the compound of the District Court, which was at that time the S. P. G. mission house. It was railed off by Government in 1882 and a monument erected.

South of the rock stands the palace of the Nayakkans, a large and interesting, but not impressive, collection of buildings. It is usually called the Nawab's Palace ' after its later occupant. Its erection is ascribed to Chokkanatha Nayakkan (1662-82), who is said to have got much of the material for it from his grandfather Tirumala's far finer palace at Madura. The audience hall of

(Footnote : ' A full account of this building and a photograph of it will be] found in the Rev. F. Penny's The Church in Masras (London, 1904, 584 foll.)

-----------------------------------338-----------------------------------

TRICHINOPOLY.

CHAP. XV.

TRICHINOPOLY.

Queen Mangammal (1689-1704), the courtyard now occupied by the Stationary Sub-Magistrate and the two-storeyed building used for the training-school are the most noticeable parts of the palace. The first is surmounted by an octagonal dome with a colonnade all round it. The architecture is plain and massive ; but the colonnades are too squat to make an effective base for the dome.

In the Nathar Shah mosque west of the town lie buried the Nawab Muhammad Ali and the headless corpse of his rival Chanda Sahib. This mosque is au important Musalman place of pilgrimage, for it contains the tomb of the famous saint Sultan Saiyad Babayya. Nathar Shah. Tradition says that he wandered hither as a fakir, and that in deference to his holiness this building, then a Hindu temple, was surrendered to hint by its priest. The popular story says that when he was discussing the site for his future abode with the priest, the latter suggested that he (the saint) should throw a great ring (valayam) into the air and settle where it dropped. It fell on the litigant of the priest's own temple, and the latter at once gave up that building for the saint's accommodation. There is no doubt that the mosque was once a temple. A lingam still stands in it, being now used as a lamp post, and the entrance porch is an undoubted Hindu mantapam. The saint lived a life of great holiness in this place and ultimately died and was buried there. His tomb is surrounded by railings of pierced metal-work of curious design. The other tomb in the shrine is that of his disciple, who is said to have "been the daughter of a Chola king to whom the saint promised offspring on condition that the first-born should be given him as his disciple. Her name was Mama Jugine. The saint is generally supposed by the Musalmaus of this place and of Penukonda to have been the instructor of the great saint Babayya of the latter town. The fakirs of the several orders periodically appointed by the manager of the Penukonda mosque to supervise the mosques of southern India always meet their successors and hand over charge at the Nathar Shah mosque inTrichinopoly.1 The building is said to have been endowed by Queen Minakshi (1731-36) and by Muhammad Ali. A great festival takes place there in the month of Ramzan, the ceremonies at which are very similar to those at the big Muhammadan festival at Nagore.2 It lasts for sixteen days and is very largely attended by the Musalmans, and even the Hindus of neighbouring districts. A fakir is required to sit

(Footnote : see Anantapur District Gazetteer, p. 193.
2 See Tanjore District Gazetteer, Chapter XV, p. 213.)

-----------------------------------339-----------------------------------

GAZETTEER.

CHAP. XV.

TRICHINOPOLY.

fasting and motionless from the ninth to the sixteenth clay. On the fourteenth night sandal is placed on the saint's tomb. The building itself is not impressive.' The dome over it is attributed to Chanda Sahib.

The Siva temple on the rock is of importance. It is approached from the south of the rook by a fine covered stone staircase which is flanked on both sides by handsome mantapams. This emerges into the open air about half way up, and thence winds to the top of the rock, where there is a small temple to Pillaiyar (called the Uchipillaiyarkovil or the Pillaiyar temple on the top') on which three lights are burned every night. Close by it is a flagstaff, where the British flag used to fly during the military occupation of the rock. The most important buildings in the Siva temple are on the south and west flanks of the rock. There are two rock-cut eaves in the rock, one of which contains inscriptions of the Pallavas dated in the seventh century, and of the Pandyas dated in the ninth century. It was used in later times as the powder-magazine of the English. Both eaves were probably excavated by the Pallava king Mahendravarman I at the beginning of the seventh eentury.2 A serious accident happened on the rock during the festival of 1849), when a large number of people were collected on the top of it. For some unknown reason a panic started ; the groat crowd rushed down the rock ; and in a few minutes the winding covered stair was piled up with the bodies of those who had been knocked down in the crush and trampled to death. Order was restored with difficulty by the District Magistrate and the troops, but the rock was not cleared till 3 A.M. It was found that 250 persons had been killed.

The Trichinopoly rock is supposed to have been a splinter of Mount Meru blown hither by the breath of the supreme god. According to an ancient legends it was afterwards the residence of Ravana,'s brother Trisira, who set up the lingam there. Rama worshipped this emblem on his way to Ceylon. It next became the residence of a sage called Sorama Muni who grew sivandhi plants in his garden to offer to the god. Some of these flowers were stolen by a gardener, but he was pardoned by Parantaka, the Chola king of Uraiyur, and the god in his anger accordingly destroyed the city of Uraiyur with showers of dust. The queen alone escaped, and during her flight she was delivered of a male child, named

(Footnote: 1 There are some photographs of it in Tripe's Photographic views of Trichinopoly.
2 For further particulars, see report of the Archaeological Survey for 1904-05, ages 34-6, and the Government Epigraphist's report for the same year, p. 47.
3 Wilson's Catalogue of the Mackenzie Manuscripts, p. 192.)

-----------------------------------340-----------------------------------

TRICHINOPOLY.

CHAP. XV.

TRICHINOPOLY.

Karikal who was in later years appointed king owing to the kindness of Siva.1.

The deity of the rock temple is called in Sanskrit Matrubhuta, or he that became a mother,' in commemoration of a story that the god assumed. the form of the mother of a young Chetti girl and acted as midwife to the girl because the real mother was prevented by floods in the Cauvery from coming to the help of her daughter. The Tamil form of the name, which is well known, is Tdyunidnavar.2 

On the west side of the rock are two foot marks and the figure of a fish. The Muhammadans say they were made by their saint Nathar Shah, while the Hindus ascribe them to the Vibhishana referred to on page 321 above. The figure of the fish may be of Pandya origin, for a fish was the emblem of that dynasty.

Scarcely any inscriptions have been found in Trichinopoly. Those in the rock temple have already been noticed. A grant on the rock near Puttur known as the Cholamparai (' the Chola rock') is popularly though erroneously supposed to record the fact that golden treasure lies buried in two eaves under the rock. The inscription has never been properly deciphered, and is mach damaged. Attempts have been and are now being made to find the treasure (Government spent over Its. 700 on a search for it in 1880-81) but without suceess.4 The inscription is dated in the thirty-first year of Kulottunga III, corresponding to 1209 A.D. Several inscriptions of the Nayakkans of the latter half of the seventeenth century in the Siva temple on the rock are transcribed in one of the Mackenzie Manuscripts.5 It is curious that these profess to recognize the authority of the then powerless Vijayanagar kings.

(Footnote : 1 This curious story has some vague connection with real history. It is said to have occurred shortly after Sarvaditya Chola ' founded Uraiyur. Now Aditya was one of the first kings of the great Chola dynasty of Vijayalaya ; and his son, the great Parantaka (906-46), had a son surnamed Karikfil. It has been supposed that the story may have some reference to a destruction of Uraiyur by the Pandyas, who boasted in the latter quarter of the tenth century that they had ' taken the head of the Chola.' See inscriptions Nos. 65 and 83 of the Government Epigraphist's collection for 1896.
2. This story is told in the Sivandhi Puranam The name Tayumanavar is explained in one of the Mackenzie Manuscripts (Wilson, i, 162-7) to be derived from a Cholu king called Tayuman, who first consecrated the lingam on the top of the rock.
3 No. 51 of the Government Epigraphist's collection for 1890.
4 See Revenue G.Os., No. 954, dated 11th August 1880, and No. 1503, dated 10th October 1881. The ground near the rook has been protected from quarrying under Act VII of 1904. See Public G.Os., Nos. 811, dated 29 th September 1904, and 22, dated 18th January 1905
5.No. 17-6-8 of the Tamil catalogue in the Government Oriental Manuscripts Library.)

-----------------------------------341-----------------------------------

GAZETTEER.

CHAP. XV.

TRICHINOPOLY.

The suburb of Puttur has obtained a certain celebrity for the curious and unpleasant rites which attend the festival of the village goddess Palla Kolumayi.1 The goddess does not reside in Puttur but in the village of Uvyakondan. She is supposed to have come from the west coast, where she committed such atrocities in her thirst for human blood that the people shut her up in a. box and dropped her into the Cauvery. She was carried down the river and rescued by a Brahman of this district whom she served some time as a. Palla slave. At last however she rewarded him by cutting off his head. Her image at Uyyakondan has its foot on a, human head, a fact pointed to by the natives as testifying to the truth of the story. At the festival in Masi (February-March) an image of the goddess is made from palmyra, leaves and is brought from Uyyakondan to Puttur. It is set np near the village chrivadi and innumerable pilgrims come to offer kids, which must be black and without spot or blemish. The priest (called maruldli, the inspired,' from his supposed possession by the divino spirit) cuts the throats of the kids and drinks some of their blood to satisfy the cravings of his patroness. It is said that he will dispose of some 2,000 kids in this way in two or three hours. He is appointed to his office for life. It is said that when the post falls vacant the right successor feels himself inspired to come forward and offer himself.

Turaiyur : Five miles north of Trichinopoly. Population 719. Is known in surrounding taluks for its festival to Kali held every five years. It is one of the few places in which buffalo sacrifices are made to a village goddess.

Uyyakondan-tirumalai: A small village three miles to the west of Trichinopoly. Population 1,550. It contains a temple on a small rock which was once well fortified. The rock, which is about 30 feet high, is surmounted by a circular bastion and on the raised terrace thus formed is built the temple. The rock and temple are enclosed. by a square stone wall, carried up as high as the top of the former and about o feet thick. This is faced with a slender parapet, fitted with loopholes, behind which runs a platform some 5 feet wide. Outside this is a court enclosed by walls nearly as high as the others, and the entire enclosure measures o00 feet by 300. The bastion is still in good condition, but the wall is becoming dilapidated in parts. Marks of cannonballs are visible on the eastern side of the latter.

This fortified temple was occupied in turn by the French and English during the second siege of Trichinopoly in 1753-54.

(Footnote : A description of the festival appeared in the Madras Mail recently (1905).)

-----------------------------------342-----------------------------------

TRICHINOPOLY.

CHAP. XV.

TRICHINOPOLY.

When Dalton saw that he would be regularly blockaded in Trichinopoly he undermined the temple and its defences one dark night and tried to blow them up to prevent the enemy from using them. The explosion was unsuccessful, the fortifications being but little injured, and the Mysorcans took possession of them.
On 23rd August 1753, after his success at the Fakir's Rock (p. 332). Lawrence went on to attack the enemy at Uyyakondan-tirumalai, where they had entrenched themselves in a strong position. They retreated in disorder to Muttarasanallur, and the English took possession of their position. They had to abandon it again almost immediately, however, and it was then reoccupied by the French.

Immediately after the battle of the Sugar-loaf Rock (see p. 333) -Major Lawrence marched against this fortified temple and carried it by assault. In the course of this action a sergeant of a company of sepoys distinguished himself by clambering over the gate on the shoulders of one of his men.1 

Many ancient Tamil inscriptions are cut on various parts of the temple. 

Velur : Sixteen miles south of Trichinopoly. Population 1,322. The temple here was garrisoned by the Mysore troops at the end of 1752. The wall was strong and the gateway was filled up with earth so as to leave only a narrow wicket gate. A small party of Englishmen blew up the gate one night and cut the garrison to pieces. No quarter was given owing to the cruelty sh3wn by the Mysore cavalry to the fugitives from the choultry near the Srirangam temple a few days before 2 

(Footnote : 1. Orme, i, 315.
2. Ibid, I, 272.)

-----------------------------------343-----------------------------------

GAZETTEER.

UDAIYARPALAIYAM TALUK

CHAP. XV 

UDAIYARPALAIYAM.

THE Udaiyarpalaiyam taluk lies in the north-cast corner of the district. It is bounded on the south by the Coleroon and on the north partly by the northern Vellar, and it is traversed by the brackish Marudaiyar. The country is generally rather flat and barren, but parts of it are well wooded. Its population has increased more rapidly in the last thirty years than that of any other taluk.

The taluk contains 27 square miles of forest and 44 square miles of Government cultivable waste. Only 32 square miles of the assessed land are irrigated ; namely, 20 square miles from tanks, 10 from river channels and two from wells. The soil (which is about equally divided between Mack and red) is of fair quality, nearly all the dry land being assessed at between one and two rupees an acre, but the indifferent nature of the irrigation results in nearly all the wet land being charged only from two to six rupees. The average rainfall (40.88 inches) is the highest in the district. The chief crops are rice, cambu and varagu, but Cholam and ragi cover considerable areas, and the extent under ground-nut is far greater than that found in any other taluk. Other statistics will be found in the separate Appendix.

The taluk pays a smaller income-tax per head of the assessees and per unit of the population than any others except Kulittalai and Perambalur. The Ariyalur cattle-fair is one of the largest in the south of India. A good deal of weaving is done. The satins of Ariyalur, though now made only in small quantities, are very well known, and cotton, and silk and cotton mixed, are woven on a fairly large scale at Jayankonda-Cholapuram (the taluk head-quarters),Udayanattam, Tadampettai-Paluvilr, Sendtuai and Vanadirayanpattanam. Large quantities of coarse cotton fabrics are made at ten other villages in the taluk and a few cotton carpets at Udaiyarpalaiyam and Marudur. The dyeing and stamping of chintzes is done at Karuppur, and one household at the same place paints figures on curtains. Brass vessels and idols are made at Kannarapalaiyam and great quantities of bangles at Kavarai-pailaiyam, a hamlet of Vilandai. Some of.the bangle-makers turn out glass-ware of fair quality. Good country shoes are made by a number of Chakkiliyans at Udaiyarpalaiyam.

-----------------------------------344-----------------------------------

TRICHINOPOLY.

CHAP. XV.

UDAIYARPALAIYAM.

Ariyalur.and -Udaiyarpalaiyam are of interest as being the headquarters of ancient palaiyams. Gangaikandapuram, or, as it should be called, Gangaikonda-Cholapuram, is famed for its magnificent temple, and was once a capital of the Cholas. These and other places of interest are described in the following pages : 

Ariyalur.
Ariyalur. ; Twenty-two miles cast of Jayankonda-Cholapuram. Population 7,370. It was made a union in 1886 and contains the offices of a Deputy Collector, a district munsif and a sub-registrar, a police-station, a small local fund hospital (opened in 187o), a lower secondary school for boys, a local fund market and chonltry and a private choultry.

The town derives its historical interest from the fact that it was the head-quarters of an important palaiyam. The ancient history of this is given in one of the Mackenzie MSS. ; and an account of it (apparently based on the same sources) was sent to the Collector in 118. A copy of the latter has been kindly furnished by the present zamindar. This states that the zamindars, who belong to the Padaiyachi sub-division of the Palli or Vanniyan caste, trace their descent from one Udaiyar Nayinar, a poligar under the Anegundi (i.e., Vijayanagar) kings, whose sons, Rami Nayinar and Bhumi Nayinar, were induced by one Timma Raya of the Gajapati line to settle on the banks of the Cauvery. Their exodus is dated 1405 A.D. The brothers were employed to clear the country of wicked people and wild animals,' and while so employed founded Ariyalur. Many happy omens attended this undertaking, the goddess Oppiladamman appearing to one of them in a dream and promising to ho their tutelary deity; and Narasimha laya of Vijayanagar approved their action and appointed Rami Nayinar as lord of all the country between Uttatur and Chidambaram, subordinate to Visvanatha Niyakkan of Madura.' The MSS. then give a list of eighteen poligars down to the beginning of the nineteenth century.

Several exploits of the various poligars are described in these papers. The first of them is credited with defeating the Gajapati king Pratapa Rudra when at war with Narasimha.' The eighth or the tenth poligar (his number is variously given) is said to have given an elephant to the Emperor of Delhi in the middle of the seventeenth century under rather bizarre circumstances. The emperor's brother lost an elephant to the emperor in wager, and, not having the wherewithal to procure such an animal, pawned his whiskers ' and set out to beg for one. He eventually got it from

(Footnote:1 The chronology is of course hopeless, as it attempts to synchronise Narasimha (giro. 1500) with Visvanatha Nayak (1559) and gives the dates of both as about 1405.
2 Those kings did, in fact, tight against one another.)

-----------------------------------345-----------------------------------

GAZETTEER.

CHAP. XV.

UDAIYARPALAIYAM.

this poligar. The eighth chief (Rangappa) is also credited with having in 1651 ' assisted Virappa Nyakkan (? Muttu Virappa Nayakkan, 1609-23) of Madura to repel a Muhammadan invasion. The sixteenth poligar (Mina Vijaya) is said to have fought with and defeated the poligar of Udaiyarpalaiyam and to have reinstated the poligar of Turaiyur, who had been deposed by his own diwon. From these exploits he took the name of Rama Vijaya (' the victorious Mina '). He ultimately made his submission to Anwar-ud-din (whose date is correctly given) and was confirmed by him in his palaiyam.

The Ariyalur poligar took no important part in the war between the French and English round Trichinopoly, but is occasionally mentioned by Orme. Encouraged by the forbearance of the English in the case of Turaiyur in 1755 (see p. 292), the French marched against Ariyalur and Udaiyarpalaiyam in July of the same year to demand tribute from the zamindars. As, however, neither of these chiefs had ever made any submission to -Mysore or to the French (to whom indeed they were inveterately hostile 1) the British intervened and threatened to send a force from Madras to stop the French if they persisted. The latter accordingly withdrew. The French encamped at Ariyalur during the hostilities of 1757 2 ; but it was the loyalty of the Ariyalur and Udaiyarpalaiyam poligars which induced Caillaud to intervene in the matter of their friend, the Turaiyur poligar, in the following year.' The Nawob does not seem however to have been satisfied with the conduct of these chiefs, whom he suspected of concealing treasure, and he apparently wished the British to proceed against them after the capture of Pondicherry.' This was not done ; but in 1765 the Nawab obtained a pretext for destroying them both in their refusal to scud help for the siege of Madura in that year. Both places were attacked by the Nawab's son Amdut-ul-Omra, with the assistance, of a few British troops, and were easily taken. The poligars fled first to Tanjore and afterwards to Mysore. They were restored in 1780 by Haidar when he invaded the Carnatic ; but in 1783 they were persuaded to sever their connection with Mysore and to become the renters of their districts during the first assignment. of the revenues of the south to the Company. In the next ten years they experienced many vieissitudes of

(Footnote: 1 Orme, ii, 337. 
2 Ibid., ii, 212.
3 See p. 293.
4 Orme, ii, 725.
5 Collector's letter, dated 30th May 1802, part, 5, The MSS. support this version.)

-----------------------------------346-----------------------------------

TRICHINOPOLY.

CHAP. XV.

UDAIYARPALAIYAM.

fortune.1 Sometimes they were renters, sometimes they had no authority whatever, sometimes they were in prison for disloyalty, and finally, when the Nawab regained the country in 1792, they fled the country, but made a number of fruitless attempts to regain their palaiyams. They were at length given compassionate allowances of Rs. 1,000 and Rs. 750 a month, respectively, in 1798. The question of their treatment was again raised in 1802, and in 1816 they were restored to a portion of their ancient estates on a nominal peshkash. The duty of policing the country had been till then one incident of their tenure, bnt they were now compelled to forego their fees as chief kavakgars. Both poligars received sanads in 1817.

The Ariyalur zamindari then consisted of 57 villages paying a peshkash of Rs. 1,091. Court sales have since played havoc with the estate and it has been dismembered into seventeen portions.
Only eight villages remain to the present zamindar, and even those only became his in rather a roundabout way. They were purchased by the zamindar of Udaiyarpalaiyam and he gave them to his daughter, who had married the then zamindar of Ariyalur. She bequeathed them to her daughter-in-law, the sister of the present zamindar of Udaiyorpolaiyam, and since her death they have been registered in the name of her son Kumara Oppilada Malavaraya Nayinar, who is now heir to the zamindar and is under the guardianship of his father.

Ariyalur is a great trading centre. Indeed its market is supposed to be one of the largest in southern India. The cattle fair held there is also famous, and sheep and goats are exported thence in large numbers to Colombo. A little weaving of silk bodices for Hindu ladies is done by some five or six Patnulkarans. Formerly, says tradition, a large colony of these skilful workmen resided in the town, but they left the place and emigrated to the Tanjore district because of the oppression . of the poligars.2 ' There are two cotton presses in the place. It contains a handsome Vishnu temple, in which the ten avatars of Vishnu are sculptured with moderate skill, and a large private choultry.

Elakurichi.

Elakurichi.: Twenty-five miles south-west of Jayankonda-Cholapuram. Population 2,294. Known for its Roman Catholic church, which is said to be of great age and attracts numerous pilgrims. It is said that as many as 10,000 Christians annually congregate there during the festival held in April.

(Footnote:1 For details see the Collect or's report.
2 Tradition tells many stories of the cruel conduct of the older poligars.)

-----------------------------------347-----------------------------------

GAZETTEER.

CHAP. XV.

UDAIYARPALAIYAM.

Gangaikandapuram

Gangaikandapuram : Six miles east of Jayankonda-Cholapurani. Hamlet of Garuvulapparkovil, the population of which is 2,702. This place was for over a hundred years the capital of the Chola kingdom, having been preferred to Tanjore by Rajdedra Chola (1011-44). Its proper name is Gangai-konda-Cholapuram, puram.or ' the city of the Chola who conquered the Ganges.' The title Gangai-konda-Chola was assumed by king Rajondra Chola to commemorate his northern conquests. It is to be inferred therefore that the town was founded by him and the date has been supposed to be between 1025 and 1032.' The place is frequently referred to in inscriptions, being called sometimes ' Gangapuri ' and ' Gangakunda.'

Though now an insignificant village, it contains several traces of its departed greatness. Its great Saivito temple is deservedly famous, and has called forth enthusiastic encomiums from various writers.' It has been doubted whether the temple was built by Rajendra Chola or by his father, the great Bajaraja (985-1013). Its plan and design are similar to those of the magnificent temple at Tanjore, though it is not as large. It possesses the same unusual feature of a lofty stone pyramidal tower over the shrine ; and it gives the same impression of having been created in accordance with a single stately plan instead of having, like so many Dravidian temples, grown up haphazard and piece-meal without regard to the due proportion of its component parts. As in Tanjore, the tower is topped by a vast block of stone, which is said to have been placed in position by means of an inclined plane laid from the village of Paranam, situated some miles to the westward. The tower is covered with numerous sculptures of considerable merit. Like that at Tanjore, its base is so broad that it is popularly supposed that its shadow never touches the ground. As in Tanjore, too, a huge monolithic bull-god is watching the shrine. The temple is surrounded by only one enclosure, which measures 584 feet by 372. It was evidently at one time fortified by an outer wall and by bastions at the four corners of the courtyard, but the wall has been demolished and much of the stone from it was used for building the Lower Anicut in 183o. The temple is now badly oared for. It is not considered particularly holy, and is chiefly visited by worshippers of Saturn (Sani), whose image, along with those of the other planets, is sculptured within it.

(Footnote : 1 Madras Review, vii, 248.
2 For descriptions of it, sec the Madras Review quoted above; Journal of ths Asiatic Society of Bengal, lxix, 1-4 ; Ind. Ant., iv, 274 and ix, 117-20 ; and G.O., No. 556, Public, dated 8th July 1891, p. 2.)

-----------------------------------348-----------------------------------

TRICHINOPOLY.

CHAP. XV.

UDAIYARPALAIYAM.

About a mile to the south-west of the building are a number of mounds which are said to mark the site of the palace of the Chola king. Traces of a surrounding moat are visible in places. The mounds are spread over several acres, and are too extensive for the ruins of a palace only. They must also have included a town. The largest of them probably hides the ruins of the palace. This covers au acre of ground, but traces of the building buried under it extend beyond this area. The walls are about four feet thick and ten feet high and their foundations are at a depth of six feet below the level of the surrounding ground. They are built of large bricks similar to those found in Buddhist topes. Many of these were removed some time ago for the construction of the Jubilee tank at Jayankonda-Cholapuram. Broken pottery and iron bolts have been found in great quantities among the ruins.

Another relie of bygone greatness is the big ruined Ponneri tank nearly a mile to the west. Its embankment is said to have been sixteen miles in length and it is said to have been supplied by channels from the Yeller and the Coleroon.' A proposal to repair it and fill it from the Upper Anicut has been recently abandoned.2

Nothing is known of the destruction of this once great city. Inscriptions 8 of the Cholas and Pandyas have been copied in the temple, and there is one of king Virupeksha of Vijayanagar dated as late as 1484 A.D. Perhaps we may infer that its destruction was subsequent to these.

The town now goes by the name Gangaikandapuram, which is popularly explained by a story that the Ganges once flowed into the temple well in order to oblige the giant Benasura, who ruled this place and had not leisure to go to the Ganges for his bath. The foundation of the temple is also popularly ascribed to this same Banasura.

Guruvalapparkovil 

Guruvalapparkovil :Five and a half miles east of Jayankonda-Cholapuram. Population 2,702. Tho Vishnu temple here is supposed to have been built by a saint named Alavandar, who when only eight years of age, preached the Vaishnavite faith before tho Chola kings. He surrendered the temple to one Kuru-kavalappar, after whom it is supposed to be named.

Jayankonda-Cholapuram 

Jayankonda-Cholapuram: Head-quarters of the taluk. Population 7,920. Contains also the offices of a sub-magistrate and a sub-registrar, a police-station, a sub-jail, a local fund market, choultry and dispensary (the last opened in 1886) and a

(Footnote : 3 Mr. M. J. Walhouse, M.C.S., in Ind. Ant., iv, p. 274.
2 See Chapter IV, p. 149.
3 Nos. 75-83 of the Government Epigraphist's collection for 1892, )

-----------------------------------349-----------------------------------

GAZETTEER.

CHAP. XV.

UDAIYARPALAIYAM.

travellers' bungalow. It; is a union (established in 1889) and contains also the villages of Chinnavalaiyam, Karadikulam, and Melakudiyiruppu. The two latter were added in 1899. The name means the city of the victorious Chula ' ; butt it is not known who built it, or when.

Two Jain or Buddhist images 1 stand in the village, one in a street and the other on a tank bun d. The people call them respectively Paluppar and Samanar (' Jains '). The former is the larger and the better sculptured, and it is treated as a village god. People on their way to the festival at Saluppai pay their vows to it. When rain is scarce, too, the girls of the village come and weep before it, and this is supposed to bring rain. Some wells of very small diameter in the village are also attributed to the Jains. They are built of burnt clay and not of brick. Some of them are closed in, and it is supposed that the Jaius did this to prevent the sun striking their drinking-water.

Some 200 Sedans and a few Kaikolans weave white cotton cloth of very good quality. In the village of Kannarapalaiyam, which is included in the Jayankonda-Cholapuram union, some fifteen blacksmiths make brass household vessels ; and one of them casts metal idols.

Kilappaluvur : Twenty-four miles west of Jayankonda-Chelapuram. Population 8,397. Is the head-quarters of a deputy-tahsildar (whom it is proposed to transfer to Ariyalur) and contains a rest-house.. It gives its name to a union which was founded in 1892 and then comprised the villages of Karuppur, Karuvidacher, Kilayur.and Mallattangulam. Melappaluvur was added to it in 1894 and Kila Veppankuli in 1897.

The Saivite temple hero is popularly supposed to have been built by Parasurama, one of the ton incarnations of Vishnu. The name of the god is Vatamulesvarar, the Siva of the banyan tree,' and is explained by the story that the idol was found here beneath a banyan tree in a large banyan forest which was cut down by Parasurama in order to expiate the sin of having killed a Brahman. Tho temple is endowed with the whole of the village of Kilappaluvur, from which it derives about Rs. 4,000 a year. About five thousand people attend the car festival at it. The Government Epigraphist found 23 ancient Claila inscriptions on its walls.2

At Melappaluvur is a beautifully carved temple of archaic design containing a large amount of finely sculptured black stone,

(Footnote : 1 See G.O., No. 556, Public, dated 8th July1891, p. 1.
2 Nos. 100-22 of his collection for 1895.)

-----------------------------------350-----------------------------------
TRICHINOPOLY.

CHAP. XV.

UDAIYARPALAIYAM.

including some richly ornamented piers resting on couchant lions, similar in design to those in the more ornate caves at the Seven Pagodas. A number of ancient inscriptions have been cut on the walls. Some 50 Kaikolaus weave coarse cotton cloths in this village.

Saluppai-alagan-kovil

Saluppai-alagan-kovil: Four miles north-east of Jayankonda-Cholapuram. Hamlet of Vettiyarvettu, population 1,664. The Aiyanar temple here is of some local importance. The god is called the Alagar on the ghat on the tank bond.' Many pilgrims visit his shrine especially on the 30th of Tai (JanuaryFebruary). He is particularly powerful in relieving the diseases of men and cattle, and is also addressed by people who cannot collect their debts. He is supposed to frighten the debtors into paying up. For the cure of cattle disease the ordinary thank-offering is to burn a lamp of ghee in the temple. It is supposed that any one who tried to steal any of the temple property would be struck blind ; and no particular care is taken to guard it.

Tirumalavadi 

Tirumalavadi : Thirty-four miles south-west of Jayankonda-Cholapuram. Population 1,752. The Saivite temple here is a largo building, the architecture of which somewhat resembles that of the temple at Tanjore. Long lines of Chola, Pandya and Hoysala inscriptions, which are in danger of becoming defaced,I cover parts of its walls. It is supposed to have been founded by Bhima, one of the Pandava brothers. The temple has an annual income of lie. 3,000 and is visited by many pilgrims, one estimate putting the number as high as 10,000. It is connected with the great Siva temple of Tiruvudi, near Tanjore, the god of which is brought once a year in Chittrai (AprilMay) across the Coleroon ; and it is on this occasion that the greatest number of pilgrims come. As in some other temples, the sun shines on the god on a few days in the year, and this is interpreted as an act of adoration by the sun.

Udaiyarpalaiyam

 Udaiyarpalaiyam : Five and a half miles west of Jayankonda-Cholapuram. A union with a population of 7,553. It gives its name to an important zamindari.  The zamindar of this has kindly lent a very interesting and detailed account, based apparently on tradition, of the history and origin of his estate.

According to this, the founder of the family was a petty poligar of Conjeevoram named Rangappa Udaiyar of Pallikonda, who,

(Footnote:1 Thirty of those have been copied by the Government Epigraphist, Nos. 70-99 of 1895.)

-----------------------------------351-----------------------------------
GAZETTEER.

CHAP. XV.

UDAIYARPALAIYAM.

under the orders of the Vijayanagar king, was given a. smallljaghir near Kimattur in South Arcot and was subject to the Nayakkan of Gingee, then newly appointed. This is said to have been in the reign of  Vira Narasimha Raya ' of Vijayanagar who is probably The king of that name who died in 1509. The poligar obtained favour in the eves of the Nayakkan and was honoured by him with many presents and titles. As commander of the Nayak's contingent to the Vijayanagar army in a war with Ahmadnagar, ho was so successful that he was presented to the Vijayanagar kin g and was given more honours and rewards, among them the title of Barid Saptanga Harana, ' ( he who severed the seven limbs of Barid') which is still borne by his descendants. Barid Shah was the first king of Ahmaduagar, and this title is mentioned in a list sent in by the Collector in 1823. The Vijayanagar king also gave him a large tract of country between the Venal- and the Coleroon, which apparently included the whole of his present estate. This consisted of thick jungle, infested with wild beasts, petty poligars and robbers, which he cleared and reduced to order, and over which he was made arasu Auvalyur, or head of the police. He lived (and eventually- died) in Arasa.gudi in the Chidambaram taluk of South Arcot. His eldest son was killed by a turbulent poligar, and was succeeded by a brother named Kachi Chinna Nallappa Kalakka Tola Udaiyar. This man founded Udaiyarpalaiyam on the advice, given in a dream, of the god Siva of Chidambaram. This is said to have been in 1495, which date is however too early to fit in with the rest of the story. The next eight poligars lived undisturbed in their possessions and increased their power. They even started a mint and coined their own money. The zamindar's manuscript quotes a number of inscriptions recording the gifts of some of them. The downfall of the Vijayanagar kingdom and the disturbances caused by Sivaji did not affect the poligars, who dwelt secureintheir impregnable stronghold of Udaiyarpalaiyam. Kachi Nallappa Kalakka Tdla lidaiyar, the twelfth in descent, offered an asylum to the persecuted brother of Chokkanatha Nayakkan of Trichinopoly and Madura (1662-82). He is also said to have won the favour of Mr. William Hatsell and Mr. John Barley, who were employed by the East India Company at Devanampatam (Fort St. David in South Arcot) about 1o90, and who presented him with gifts and Made him their chief kdval Or. his succesor submitted to the Mughals when they took Gingee and his peslikash was fixed at Rs. 40,000. He was attacked by Mangammal, Queen-llegent of Trichinopoly (1689-1704), and after fighting gallantly for six days was defeated and driven out of Cdaiyarpalaiyam. Next day he attacked the victors by night and drove them out of the country ;

-----------------------------------352-----------------------------------
TRICHINOPOLY.

CHAP. XV.

UDAIYARPALAIYAM.

and he and his successors seem to have lived in peace for the next half century. The record quotes numerous inscriptions mentioning grants by various poligars ; and an exhaustive study of these might elicit further matters of interest concerning the pflaiyam.

The then zamindar does not appear to have taken any decided part in the war between the French and English round Trichi-nopoly. The French marched against him in 1753 in hopes of levying contributions; but they were called off by more urgent affairs to Srirangam.' In 1755 they moved against him again; but 2 he was protected by British intervention. Indeed throughout the war both he and the Ariyalur chief manifested the greatest antipathy to the French. Like the Ariyalur poligar, however, the then zamindar excited the jealousy and resentment of the Nawob in 1765 and was driven out of his estate. From that time up to 1817 the history of the property is, mutat vomine, almost the same as that of Ariyalur already described above. In 1780, during Haidar's invasion, Udaiyorpalaiyaro was occupied by an English detachment under the command of a young ensign, only seventeen years of age, named Allan. He maintained himself in the place for six months with the greatest courage and address, in spite of all the efforts of the poligar to re-establish himself, and ultimately made good his retreat to Tanjore in February 1781. His conduct is spoken of with admiration by Wilks.5 

At the settlement of 1817 the zamindar was granted o5 villages on the nominal peshkash of Its. o42-15-4. His estate has recently been declared impartible by Madras Act II of 1904. In the meantime the question of the partibility of the estate had been the subject of litigation and had gone np on appeal to the Privy Council. It was decided on July 31st 1905 that the polaiyarn was in its essence impartible. An interesting review of the history of the estate and its legal position is given in the judgement of the Privy Council.

The palace of the  Udaiyarpalaiyam zamindars is an interesting example of South Indian secular architecture of perhaps the eighteenth century. The carving in one of the halls is rich and effective though perhaps somewhat too profuse.

The god in the Siva temple at 1Jdaiyarpolaivam is called Payarani Maholingain and is supposed to have turned some pepper into green-gram in order to oblige a merchant devotee of his, who wished to evade paying toll on the more expensive produce. A large tank near it is called the Gandiva tirtham and is supposed to 

(Footnote: 1 Orme, i, 305-	2 Orme, i, 396-7.	3 History of :Vim's, i, 449.)

-----------------------------------353-----------------------------------
GAZETTEER.

CHAP. XV.

UDAIYARPALAIYAM.

have been dug by Arjuna, one of the Padavas, to induce Siva to give him a special arrow he coveted. It is said to contain no frogs.

Udaiyarpalaiyam is well known in the district for its carpet-weaving and its shoes. About 2C0 Kaikolans in it also weave coarse cotton cloth.

-----------------------------------354-----------------------------------

TRICHINOPOLY 

CHAPTER XVI.

PUDUKKOTTAI  STATE.

GENERAL DESCRIPTION MineralsClimate and rainfall Famines. HISTORY -Origin of the present ruling familyDevelopment of its independencelts relations with the BritishPolitical position of the RajaThe present Raja. THE PEOPLEThe chief castesChristian missionsVital statisticsAgriculture Irrigation LivestockIndustriesCommerce Means of communication. ADMINISTRATION LegislationFinanceLand Revenue administration. ForestsSaltExciseMiscellaneous revenuePublic WorksCivil Justice RegistrationCriminal JusticePolice and jailsCrimeEducationMedicalVaccinationSanitation. PLACES OF INTERESTAmbukkovilAvur Kattubava PallivasalKilanilaiKudumiyumalaiNarttamalaiPerungalurPeraiyurPudukkotaiSittannavasal--Tirumananjeri--TirurnayarnTiruvarankolamViralimalai.

CHAP. XVI. 

GENERAL DESCRIPTION

PUDUKKOTTAI is the third in importance of the five Native States which have direct political relations with the Government of Madras. It is bounded on the north and west by the Trichinopoly district, the Collector of which is ex-officio Political Agent for it, on the south by Madura and on the east by Tanjore. It comprises an area of 1,178 square miles and measures 52 miles from east to west and 41 miles from north to south.

It is called after its chief town, and the name means the new fort,' but it has long been known as Tondaimon's country ' from the family name of its ruling chiefs.

In its general physical aspects, it resembles the inland parts of the east coast of the Presidency and consists for the most part of an undulating plain of barren and sparsely cultivated land interspersed with small but picturesque rocky hills, some of which are crowned by ancient forts and temples. These hills are most numerous in the south-west portion, where the country is wild and rugged and where lie also the thickest of the jungles. In these last are found black buck, spotted deer, wild pig and some wild cattle which originally were village cattle of the ordinary type but are now larger and stronger than the usual plough-bullocks. Four small rivers drain the country from west to east.

Minerals.

The State is not rich in minerals. Iron ore occurs in parts and was once extensively worked at Tiruvarankulam and near Perungalur ; but the industry has died out. Mica is found, and

-----------------------------------355-----------------------------------

PUDUKKOTTAI  STATE.

CHAP. XVI

GENERAL DESCRIPTION 

specimens were sent to the Madras Exhibition in 1903 ; but it has not yet been mined. Yellow ochre is extracted to a considerable extent in the Sengarai forests ; and bangle-earth is largely. exported from the Alangudi taluk. Pipe-clay and clay suitable for making crayon pencils are found ; as also are large quantities of building-stone and laterite.

Climate and rainfall

The climate resembles that of the surrounding districts and is Climate and fairly healthy. Temperatures have not been systematically rainfall. recorded, but Pudukkottai is cooler than Trichinopoly in the hot weather as it is nearer the sea. Malaria is rare, as the climate is so dry. Guinea-worm used once to be endemic in the chief town, but it was almost stamped out in 1885, when the dirty tanks of the town were cleared of their silt, and is not now prevalent. The average annual rainfall in the State is 35 inches, or nearly the same as that recorded in the Trichinopoly district.

During the last quarter of a century three cyclones have visited Pudukkottai  ; namely, in 1884, 1890 and 1893. All of them occurred during the north-east monsoon. During the first two the rainfall amounted to about 7+ inches, and in the last it was from 12 to 27 inches in different parts of the State, but no serious damage occurred.

Famines.

The State suffered somewhat in the famine of 1876-78 ; relief-works were opened and gratuitous relief distributed. The country is entirely dependent upon timely local rainfall, but actual famines arc of rare occurrence. In 1899-95, owing to the failure of rain in both monsoons, distress was felt in the northern part of it. The suspension of the land revenue collections and the opening of
relief-works were ordered in the affected parts.

History

Nothing is known for certain about the local history of the Pudukkottai  country prior to the seventeenth century. Ancient remains abound in it, but they throw no light upon its fortunes: A number of pre-historic cists and kistvaens, for example, have been discovered, and many relics of the Jains (not only numerous rock-cut caves but also idols) survive. Near Sittannavasal (ten miles north-west of Pudukkottai) is a rock-cut cave which is still visited by bins from Kumbakonam. Kodumbalur near Viralimalai is mentioned in the old Tamil poem the Silappadikaram, which is supposed by some to have been written in the first century A.D., as a village on the desert track from Uraivur to Madura. Viralimalai and Tirumayam also are referred to in old Tamil poems. A fair number of ancient inscriptions in the State were transcribed by the Government Epigraphist in 1904 and figure in his lists. They are situated in Tirugokarnam,

-----------------------------------356-----------------------------------

TRICHINOPOLY 

CHAP.XVI

HISTORY.

Kudumiyamalai, Narttamalai, Amma Chatham and Sittannavasal. These belong to the times of the Cholas, Pandyas, Pallavas and Ganga Pallavas. Many more inscriptions in the temples still remain undeciphered. Some 200 grants on copper plates or palm leaves also exist. Some of these purport to go back to ancient times (A.D. 1108, 1190, 1288, 1378, etc.), and (if not forgeries) are apparently deserving of careful critical examination. Of the rest, the majority relate to grants of land made in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries by the Tondaimans. Numismatists will be interested to hear that about nine years ago some 400 Roman gold coins (aurei), mostly of the first and second century, were discovered at Karukkakkurichi, 20 miles north-east of Pudukkottai . The Vellar river which bisects the State is also of historical interest, being often referred to in old Tamil poems as the boundary between the Chola and Pandya kingdoms.

Like the surrounding tracts (see Chapter II), the territory which now makes up the State would seem to have passed at various times from the control of the Cholas to that of the Pandyas and vice versa. In the account given in the Singhalese annals of the war of the Pandya succession in the twelfth century, it is said that the Pandya king Kulasekhara fled into the hills of Tondamana,' 1 and this is the earliest occasion on which this part of the country can be said to be referred to as a separate entity.

At the end of the sixteenth century the direct control of the present Pudukkottai  country seems to have been divided between the Nayakkan kings of Madura and Tanjore, the Setupatis of Ramnad, the zamindars of Marungapuri and Manapparai, and a line of chieftains called the Pallava Ryas of Pudukkottai . It was the territory of the last-named which formed the real nucleus of the present Pudukkottai  State. They were subordinate to the Setupati of Ramnad. They and their subjugation by the Tondaimans are mentioned in a memorandum of 1819 preserved in the Pudukkottai  palace records. They are also referred to as the predecessors of the Tondaimans in a well-known story of the old poet Nagu Bharati and in several local inscriptions ; and they have left traces of their rule in many names containing the word Pallava' in the Pudukkottai country. A Pallava Rayan is also mentioned by Mr. Nelson, in his Madura Country, as ruling Pudukkottai  before the Tondaimans.

Origin of the present ruling family.

The present rifling family of Pudukkottai  does not come into prominence till the middle of the seventeenth century. There is some doubt about the origin of its power. The traditional

(Footnote: 1 See the Government Epigraphist's Report for 1899, paragraph 27.)

-----------------------------------357-----------------------------------

PUDUKKOTTAI  STATE.

CHAP. XVI

HISTORY.

account says that the founder of the family, Tirumalai Tondaiman, emigrated from Tirupati or Tirumalai (in North Arcot) in the Tondaimandalam, and settled in Ambukkovil 1 (22 miles east-northeast of Pndukkottai) seventeen generations 'before the middle of the seventeenth century. A Telugu poem,2 apparently composed about 1760, refers to one Avadai Raghunatha, Tondaiman as eighteenth in descent from Tirumalai, as having distinguished himself by capturing an elephant in one of the hunting expeditions of Sri Rauga Raya of Vijayanagar (about 1638-78) and as having been rewarded with the title of .Rama and several other distinctions. The fact that he obtained this title from the Vijayanagar king is also mentioned in a Pudukkottai grant as early as 1709.3 The same chief is stated, in the memorandum of 1819 already mentioned, to have conquered the Pallava Thivas in 1639 with the permission of the Vijayanagar king, and to have thus laid the foundations of the present Pudukkottai  State. His son served the N	ayak king of Tanjore for a time ; but in the end left his patron and annexed to his dominions several of the Tanjore villages. The same Tondaimon is said to have given his sister to the Kilavan, the notorious Setupati of Ramnad. (1673-1708), and to have received (about 1675), as a gift from the Setupati, the country of Pudukkottai which his father is represented in the palace memorandum to have conquered in 1640.

Such is the traditional account of the matter. It is however inadequately supported by contemporary evidence and is in many ways improbable.

The story of the origin of Puddukkottai contained in Mr. Nelson's Madura Country is perhaps intrinsically more likely. This says that Pallava Ruyan ' (evidently the last of that stock) attempted to throw off his allegiance to Ranmad and to place himself under the protection of Tanjore ; and that he was in consequence removed by the Setupati. The latter then placed on the throne Raghunatha Tondaiman, whose sister he had married. The use of the name Tondaiman by the Pudukkottai rulers does not seem to have originated with this family, however, but seems to have been begun by the Pallava Royas, for Mr. Nelson mentions a ' Pallava Rava Tondaimon.' But it is said that Tondaiman ' is never used as a title of the Pallava Rayas in the local inscriptions.

(Footnote:1 The chief village of the Ambunadu section of the Kallane, to which the Pudukkottai ruling family belongs.
2 The Tondaiman Vamsavali abstraoted in Mr. Taylor's Catalogue Raisonne of Oriented MSS., Volume III. An old Tamil poem called the Raya Tondaiman Anuragamalai gives in some respects a similar account of the family.
3 The Ucchani grant ; Of. also the Kadayakudi grant of 1718.)

-----------------------------------358-----------------------------------

TRICHINOPOLY 

CHAP.XVI

HISTORY.

The steps by which the Tondaimans acquired their independence are hot very clear. It would seem, however, from Mr. Nelson's account, that about 1686 the king of Madura attacked Ramnad and the latter obtained the assistance of the Tanjore king on condition (among other things) that Pudukkottai and some other country on the north of the Setupati's kingdom should be surrendered to Tanjore for twelve years. The allies were successful in repelling the invasion of the Madura troops ; but in 1698 the king of Tanjore broke his promise to return the ceded country and. war accordingly broke out between the former allies: Much of the ceded country was recovered by Ramnad, but Pudukkottai remained untaken, and from this time forth seems no longer to have formed a part of the Setupati's dominions. Indeed, about 1730 the Tondaiman inflicted a crushing defeat upon his former overlord at Kavinodu.2 Nor did Pudukkottai  remain subject to Tanjore, since in 1725 the Tondaiman was allied with Madura against Tanjore in'the war of the Ramnad succession, and again in 1750 with Tanjore against Ramnad.3 Thus the Tondaiman appears to have become an independent chieftain about the beginning of the eighteenth century.

The Tondaiman got the worst of it in the war of 1725, but his grandson was successful in that of 1750. The latter had been promised by the king of Tanjore, in return for his assistance, the fort and district of Kilanilai ; but the promise was not kept and Kilanilai was not added to the Pudukkottai  country till 1803, when it was granted to the Tondaiman by the British Government out of regard for this agreement as well as in reward for his loyalty.4

The palace records give some other particulars about the gradual extension of the limits of the Pudukkottai  state : some villages were obtained by a brother of Raghnnatha Tondaiman for his services to the Madura Nayakkan, Ranga Krishna Muttu Virappa (1682-89) ; Ponnamaravati and some other villages in the west of the State were taken from the Marungapuri poligar, probably towards the end of Raghunatha's reign (1661-1730) ; and his grandson (1730-69) obtained additions to his territory from the Nawab of Arcot.

Its relations with the British.

The relations of the Madras Government with the State commenced during the Carnatic wars of the eighteenth century.

(Footnote : 1 The :Madura Country, iii, 225.
2 This battle is mentioned in the Telugu poem already referred to and also in Dr. Macleane's Manual of the Madras Administration in the article on Pudukottai.
3 Tanjore  District Manual (Madras, 1883), pp. 772-5.
4 Aitohison's Treaties, etc. (Calcutta, 1892), viii, 331-3.

-----------------------------------359-----------------------------------

PUDUKKOTTAI  STATE.

CHAP. XVI

HISTORY.

As early as 1752 the Tondaiman had declared for the Nawab and continued to assist him and the English not only in their wars with Chanda Sahib and the French, hut also in their later struggles against Mysore, Tanjore, the Maravans and the poligars of Madura and Tinnevelly. There are now in the palace at Pudukkottai  over fifty letters from the Government of Madras and the Sirdars of the Company' (including Stringer Lawrence, Clive and Eyre Coote) in which repeated testimony is borne to the unshaken and unselfish zeal, promptitude and fidelity with which the Tondaiman, in prosperity and adversity, served the British Government. His loyalty was perhaps of the greatest service during the various sieges of Trichinopoly. The supplies he sent to the beleaguered garrison were of the greatest value ; but he paid for his devotion by having his country ravaged (May 1754) by the French.

It would be tedious to give a list of the occasions when the Tondaiman gave active assistance to the British. They extended over some 50 years ; and on no occasion was Pudukkottai  backward in rendering help, not even when (in 1759-60) Madras itself was in danger. On that occasion 500 Pudukkottai  horse and 1,500 foot, assisted the besieged. It is therefore hardly surprising that the Madras Government, when it finally obtained the complete control of the Carnatic, should have respected the independent sovereignty of the Raja and should, as on the occasion of the cession of Kihinilai in 1803, have expressed its obligations to Pudukkottai  in very complimentary terms.

Polotical position of the Raja.

There exists, curiously enough, no formal agreement between the Government and the State. When the grant of Kihinilai was confirmed by the Court of Directors in 1806, a yearly tribute of one elephant was stipulated for; but this was never insisted upon and was formally remitted in 183o, on the Tondaiman's representing that his family had long been exempt from the payment of tribute to any one, that Kilanilai had been given to him in reward for his fidelity and important services,' and that he would rather forego Kilgnilai than pay the tribute. The State was declared foreign territory' under Act VI of 1844. A sanad was granted to the Roaa. in 1862 permitting him and his successors to adopt heirs in accordance with Hindu law and the customs of his race. From about 1800 a Political Agent for Pudukkottai  was appointed. He was at first the Resident of Tanjore ; then, from 1841 to 1865, the Collector of Madura ; from 18o5 to 1874 he was the Collector of Tanjore ; and from 1874 onwards the Collector of Trichinopoly. At the present time the Baja is guided in all important administrative acts by the advice of the Government of Madras tendered through the Political Agent,

-----------------------------------360-----------------------------------

TRICHINOPOLY.

CHAP. XVI.

HISTORY.

The chief castes.
The military force entertained by the Tondaimans in the eighteenth century must have numbered over 1,000 horse and 3,000 foot. The existing troops number 22 officers and 90 privates (of whom five are gunners), the Raja's bodyguard of sixteen troopers, and a band of 30 performers.

The State has its own currency. Though the ordinary coinage used is that of British India, a local coin called the ammankasu is also current. This is a copper coin worth one-sixteenth of an anna. It bears on its obverse the figure of Brihadamba, the tutelary goddess of the Tondaimans, without any legend, and on its reverse in Telugu characters the word Vijaya, which probably stands for Vijaya Raghunatha. Tondaiman (1730-o9) by whom it is believed to have been first coined. till 1888 these were coined locally in a rough form ; but since that year the coin has been minted for the State in England.

Land transit (sayar) duties were levied by the State till 1844, just as in the Madras Presidency, and when they were abolished in British territory by Act VI of 1844, they were done away with in the State also ; and, though the State was expressly termed ' foreign territory' in that Act, no customs stations have since then been established on the border by either Government.

Postal arrangements were in the hands of the State itself till 1894, when they were handed over to the Indian Postal department.

The present Raja

The present Raja is the eighth in descent from Raghunatha Tondaiman. He was born in November 1875 and succeeded his grandfather in 1886 as a minor ; is the grandson of Ramachandra Tondaiman (the seventh Raja) by his eldest daughter and was adopted by him in 1877 ; was installed on the 27th November 1894 by Lord Wenlock, then Governor of Madras, and is allowed a salute of eleven guns. The salute was withdrawn from his predecessor, owing to the maladministration of the State, for some years, but was restored in 1884. The accompanying table shows the succession of the family.

The State contains one town (Padukkottai) and 377 villages of which three have over 5,000 inhabitants. Its population in 1901 was 380,440, or 323 persons to the square mile. The marginal figures show the variations since 1871. The decrease between 1871 and 1881 was due to the great famine of 1876-78. Musalmans number 3-2 per cent. of the population and Christians 3-8 per cent. The Valaiyans and the Kallans are the most numerous of the Hindu castes, while the labouring 'Pallans and .Paraiyaus and the shepherd

-----------------------------------361-----------------------------------

PLEASE REFER TO TABLE AS AT PAGE NUMBER 391 OF THE BOOK

-----------------------------------362-----------------------------------

TRICHINOPOLY 

CHAP. XVI

THE PEOPLE

Idaiyans are also largely represented. The Nattukkottai Chettis, Vallambans, Valaiyans, Ilamagans and Karumpurattons are also found in exceptional numbers. Some of these have been referred to in Chapter III.

Christian missions

The Christian missions working in the State are the Jesuits of Trichinopoly, the Goanese Catholics of Mylapore and the Swedish branch of the Leipzic Lutheran Protestant Mission. Avur (21 miles north-west of Pudukkottai ) was for many years the residence of the famous Italian Jesuit Father Beschi. By far the most numerous Christian body are the Roman Catholics. The few Anglicans and Methodists are visited by their clergy and ministers from British territory.

Vital statistics 

Vital statistics are registered by the revenue valiant officers. That their work is indifferent may be inferred from the fact that the birth and death rates in 1902-03 were 9.2 and 8.7 per milk, respectively, as against 29.9 and 21.2 in Trichinopoly. Steps are being taken to improve matters ; Regulation I of 1903 has made registration compulsory in Pudukkottai town, and Regulation II of the same year gives the Barbar power to make it compulsory in rural tracts also. 

Agriculture.

The general agricultural conditions of the State, its soils and seasons and its methods of cultivation, resemble those of the adjoining areas in Trichinopoly and need not be described.

The principal food-grains are paddy, cambu, ragi, Cholam and varagu. Other important crops are horse-gram, ground-nut, eajan-pea and black-gram. The proportion of the cultivated area to the land available for cultivation has gradually increased during the past eight years from 0o to 84 per cent.

Irrigation.

There are 131,000 acres of land under wet cultivation and 208,000 acres of cultivated dry land. Irrigation is derived from o2 anients placed across the four rivers of the State (none of which, except the Vellar, are of any size) which feed 190 channels. The channels are not used for direct irrigation, but merely conduct the river floods into the tanks. There are 729 large tanks, 3,489 small ones (yendals) and 18,452 wells. The, largest of the tanks is that of Kavinad, which is about five miles round and irrigates 1,900 acres.

Livestock.

The cattle, as in the Trichinopoly district, are undersized and of no well-defined breed ; and , to improve them, it has been recently arranged that cattle shows shall be held year after year at the three taluk head quarters and in Pudukkottai , and prizes

-----------------------------------363-----------------------------------

PUDUKKOTTAI  STATE.

CHAP. XVI

THE PEOPLE

Industries

awarded to the best locally-bred cattle exhibited. The first of these shows was held in 1903-04. Some of the wild cattle already referred to are occasionally caught and broken in.

The industries in the State are inconsiderable. The silk and cotton cloths of Tiruvappur, a suburb of Pudukkotai,1 have a considerable reputation and gained a prize at the Madras Exhibition of 1903. The scarlet vegetable dye used there is especially well known. A hundred Patulkarans are employed in this industry, but their numbers have much decreased in late years. Coarse cotton cloths are woven at Karambakudi, and blankets at Sellukudi. Rush mats and bell-metal vessels are made in and about Karambakudi ; mats of palmyra leaf in and round Ponnamarovati ; bell-metal vessels at Kiranur and Alangudi ; and baskets near Kilanilai. All these articles are in demand both within and without the State. Bangles are made at Vaittur. The Padukkottai scents 9 are well known. Tiles for houses are largely made at Tiruvengavasal and have a considerable local reputation.

Commerce

Most of the internal trade of the State is carried on at weekly .fairs. The chief articles of export are ground-nut, nux vomica seeds, avararn bark for tanning and acacia bark employed in distilleries. The chief imports are salt, paddy, European piece-goods and tobacco. The Chettis conduct the greater part of the trade and there is also in the State a considerable number of Labbais, an enterprising body of mixed Musalman descent, who are keen traders.
Means of communication.

Pudukkottai  is well provided with roads, and these are kept in means of good condition. Pudukkottai  town is connected with Trichinopoly by two routes, one running direct through Kiranur and the other passing through Iluppur  and Viralimalai on the Madura trunk road. It is also connected by road with Tanjore, Budalur., Gandharvakottai,Pattukkottai and Arantangi in the Tanjore district and with Melur in Madura. The total length of all the roads is 300 miles, and that of the avenues about 150 miles. Light spring carts drawn by ponies and known as jatkas ply from Tanjore and Trichinopoly to Pudukkottai , the distances being 3o and 33 miles respectively. There is no railway in the State, lint the construction of a line from Trichinopoly to Pudukkottai  has been suggested and will probably soon be carried out. Pudukkottai  and ten other places are connected with Trichinopoly by telegraph. There are twenty-eight post offices. Posts and telegraphs are both under the management of the Government of India Postal and Telegraph departments.

(Footnote: 1 ' See Chapter VI, p. 158. 
2 I bid., p. 173.)

-----------------------------------364-----------------------------------

TRICHINOPOLY.

CHAP. XVI.

ADMINISTRATION.

The immediate administration of the State is in the hands of a Diwan assisted by a colleague designated the Councillor,' the two when acting together being called the Diwan in Council.' In any matter in which these two officers may differ, in all financial questions, and in all subjects of general importance, the Diwan in Council obtains .the commands of His Highness the Raja. All ordinary official correspondence with the Political Agent is carried on in the name of the Diwan in Council. The best known of all the Diwans of Pudukkottai  was the late Sir A. Seshayya Sastri, K.C.S.I., who filled that post from 1878 to 1894. The present Diwan is M.R.Ry. Diwan Banddur S. Venkataramad as Nayudu Garu, and the Councillor is M.R.Ry. Vijaya Raghunatha Pallavarayar Dorai Raja. Avargal, a uterine brother of the present Raja.

Since 1902, an assembly of representatives has been constituted on the lines of the Mysore Assembly. It is composed of 30 persons chosen by the State as representatives of the various classes of the community, and nominations to it are made by the heads of departments and by public institutions. The assembly has no legislative or administrative power. The immediate control of the revenue and magisterial departments is in the hands of the Diwan Peshkar, who is also the chief magistrate and is invested with the powers of a District Magistrate. The country is divided for administrative purposes into three taluks, namely, Kolattur, the head-quarters of which is at Kiranur, Alangudi and Tirumayam. In each of these is stationed a tahsildar who is responsible for land revenue matters, an inspector of salt, abkari and separate revenue, a sub-magistrate and an inspector of police.

Legislation.

Regulations are issued by the Raja and, as in the case of the other Native States subject to the Madras Government, are forwarded to that Government for approval before being passed into law. As instances of enactments thus passed may be mentioned the Regulation for the Recovery of Arrears of Land Revenue, the Land Acquisition Regulation, the Compulsory Vaccination Regulation and the Kudimaramat Regulation. Among the regulations governing the relations of the State with British territory are the Extradition Regulation, the Suppression of Earth-salt Regulation and a Regulation for making penal all acts committed within the State in contravention of the British Post Office Act. A Law Committee has recently been formed to advise the Diwan in Council in drafting Regulations and to report on the legislative needs of the State. It is merely a consultative body.

Finance 

The total revenue in 1904-05 amounted to Rs. 12,84,000 and the total expenditure to R8. 12,50,000.

-----------------------------------365-----------------------------------

PUDUKKOTTAI  STATE.

CHAP. XVI

ADMINISTRATION

The chief items were as under :

TABLE 365 ATTACHED SEPARATELY

The systems of accounts, budgeting and audit are modelled on those in force in British India.

Land Revenue administration.

Out of the total area of 1,178 square miles or 754,000 acres, nearly 400,000 acres are held on ryotwari or inam tenures ; 14,080 acres form the Manoverthi Jaghir ; 56,676 acres represent unoccupied land fit for cultivation ; and the rest is land (such as hills, forests, village-sites, etc.) which is not fit for cultivation. The ryotwari area is either varapattu (` share ' land, also called amani) or tirvaipattu, assessed land. In 1878, 16,000 acres were held under the former system ; but the extent has now been reduced to 134 acres, the rest having been assessed at fixed rates and included in the tirvaipattu area. The rates in this latter are of various kinds and origins. First, there are the rates fixed in 1878 for the old amani land ; secondly, certain lump assessments for blocks of wet and dry ; thirdly the tarant faisal ' rates of the Kolattur taluk. which were tentatively settled long ago on a ryotwari system ; and lastly the mamul kadamai rates fixed on no principle but sanctioned by longstanding custom. The rates of assessment for wet land vary from Rs.. 10 to Rs. 4 an acre and for dry land. from As. oti to Rs.. 1-8-0. There are also special rates for dry land on which paddy is grown. A cadastral survey of the State has recently been completed and is to be followed by regular settlement operations. All but the amani ryots are considered to have an occupancy right in their land and are given pattas every five years. Annual leases are given to the others. The pattukkattu system mentioned on p. 218 is still in vogue, no relinquishments of land being allowed and no remissions of assessment granted.

The inam land may be classified roughly as grants to Brahmans, to private temples or choultries, to various public servants and to other deserving people. Except those to a few classes of public servants, all these have been enfranchised on lines similar to those followed by the Madras Inain Commission. Inams to State temples were resumed in 1897 and an annual money payment was substituted.

The Manoverthi Jaghir was 'originally assigned to a Rami of the ruling family for her private expenses. It was afterwards

-----------------------------------366-----------------------------------

TRICHINOPOLY

CHAP. XVI

ADMINISTRATION 

applied to various palace purposes, and is now enjoyed by the Raja himself. Two other jaghirs were assigned to his brothers by a former Tondaiman about 1730. These were resumed in 1881 and 1904, and the members of the families pensioned.

Forests.

The forests contain only small timber. They cover about one-seventh of the total area. No measure regarding their conservancy has been enacted, but some o0 blocks of jungle have been marked out and reserved. Some of them are game preserves for the Raja's use. Several plantations have been made near the streams and rivers, and these contain some 245,000 casuarina trees, the wood of which makes excellent fuel. The principal sources of forest revenue are the sale of fuel and minor produce ' such as gums, etc. ; the' ease of the right to collect leaves for manure, tanning-bark, nux vomiea and red ochre ; seigniorage fees on granite and laterite removed license fees for stone-quarrying ; and a tax on brick-moulds.

The forests are under the management of the Superintendent of salt and abko.ri revenue, who has a special forest inspector under him.

Salt.

Revenue used to be derived from the earth-salt manufactured from saline soils as a State monopoly ; but in 1887 the Madras Government arranged with the Darbar for the suppression of this manufacture and entered into a convention (still in force) by which the Government agreed to pay Rs. 38,000 annually as compensation, imposing on the Darbar at the same time the obligation of maintaining a preventive staff costing about Rs. 10,000. The circumstances which led up to this agreement have- already been described in Chapter XII, p. 245.

Excise

The excise system is almost the same as that in the Madras Presidency. There is a Government distillery for the manufacture of country liquor and fees are charged for licenses for retail shops and for palm trees tapped for toddy. Still-head duty is collected on the liquor issued from the distillery at rates nearly equal to those obtaining in the Madras Presidency. The abkari department was amalgamated in 1890 with the salt department.

Miscellaneous revenue.

Miscellaneous sources of revenue include the mohtarfa,' a tax on houses and trades. Terraced houses are assessed at Re. 1 per annum and tiled ones at As. 8. Shops are charged at the rate of Rs. 3, 2, 1 and As. 8 according to their importance. Silk looms pay Re. 1 each, other looms As. 12 and oil-mills Its. 2 per annum.

Tolls are levied at gates in Pndukkottai town and at ten other places. Revenue is also derived from market fees, cart-stand fees, and rent of Government buildings. A Stamp Regulation has recently been passed. Court fees have been hitherto levied in cash.

-----------------------------------367-----------------------------------

PUDUKKOTTAI  STATE.

CHAP. XVI

ADMINISTRATION

A sort of profession-tax of Rs. 12 on each stonemason was instituted in 1890, the masons having been freed from certain services which they had been performing till then. Seigniorage on minerals, such as granite and laterite, has been levied since 1899.

Public Works

The Public Works department is under the control of an Engineer aided by two Assistant Engineers and a subordinate staff. The care of the State buildings and the maintenance and construction of roads and irrigation works form the principal part of its business.

Civil justice

Civil justice is administered by the Chief Court at Pudukkottai, which consists of three Judges and a Registrar who has small cause jurisdiction. There are also small cause courts for rural areas, anb-registrars of assurances being invested with the powers of small cause judges to about the same extent as village munsifs in British territory. All appeals are disposed of by the Chief Court.

Registration.

The Regulation dealing with the registration of assurances in Registration. the State differs but little from the Indian Registration Act, the chief point of divergence being 

that, under the former, registration is compulsory in the case of several kinds of documents regarding which it is optional under the latter. There are thirteen registry offices, including that of the head of the department, who is called the Registrar of Assurances. The department was organized in 1875.

Criminal Justice 

The criminal courts are the Sessions Court, presided over by the Judges of the Chief Court sitting singly by turns, and the Courts of the Chief Magistrate, of the special magistrate, Pudukkottai, with first or second class powers, of the town second-class magistrate, of three taluk magistrates, of three stationary magistrates with second-class powers, and of six sub-registrars invested with third-class powers. Appeals are regulated by the provisions of the Criminal Procedure Code. Cases are tried and disposed of according to the provisions of the British Indian criminal law, but the courts are entirely independent of the British Courts. Sentences of rigorous imprisonment for life and forfeiture of property (the former of which, under the law of the State, is equivalent to capital punishment) are subject to the confirmation of the Raja. The criminal courts have no jurisdiction over European British subjects, and any offenders of this class are handed over for trial to the Political Agent, who is Justice of the Peace for the State.

-----------------------------------368-----------------------------------

TRICHINOPOLY

CHAP. XVI

ADMINISTRATION 

Police and jails

A Police Regulation was passed in 1875, and the police force of the State was modelled on that in British districts. It was arranged that, till the force was brought into thorough working order, the District Superintendent of Trichinopoly should be ex-officio Police Superintendent of Pudukkottai , receiving a remuneration of Rs. 100 per mensem for his work. This arrangement has continued ever since.

There are eight prisons, namely the Central Jail at Pudukkottai  and seven subsidiary jails. The convicts in the former are employed in making wicker baskets, ropes, cloths, bell-metal vessels and net-bags, in gardening and in pressing gingelly oil. The cellular system is not in force in the jails, but arrangements are being made to introduce it.

Crime.

The amount of crime committed is in no !way remarkable. The principal criminal class are the Visanganattu Kallans, who live in the north-eastern portion of Kolattur taluk and the northwestern corner of Alangudi. These people have been for generations professional robbers, cattle lifters and dacoits ; they are hound by the rules of their clanship to screen one another. At the time that the police was organized on British lines, they were declared to be a perfect pest ' to the three British districts adjoining the State. Within the latter, crime was seldom reported, as the criminals had organized an effective system of black-mail which shut the mouths of their victims. The systematic registration of known depredators' which was introduced in 1880, the arrangement made for obtaining information regarding Pudukkottai robbers convicted in the neighbouring districts, the rewards offered for the arrest of persons wanted ' for dacoities committed here and elsewhere, and the conviction of the most notorious of the dacoits and their accomplices produced such good results that dacoities have now become rare. The technical dacoities which still occur are usually only common thefts accompanied by a little unpremeditated assault or hurt. In September 1891, however, a train was actually wrecked and plundered near the borders of the State.

Most of the Visanganattu Kallans have now settled down as peaceable farmers. The only other prominent criminal class are the cautious and elusive Kura vans, who thrive on burglaries. There is reason to suspect that the Kallons, who once despised burglaries as an unmanly form of amusement, now associate with the Kuravans in committing this less dangerous and perhaps more paying kind of crime.

-----------------------------------369-----------------------------------

PUDUKKOTTAI  STATE.

CHAP. XVI

ADMINISTRATION 

The Valaiyans and the class of Pallans known as Kaladis who live in the south-western portion of the State are professional cattle-lifters. They occasionally take to burglary for a change.

Education.

In April 1885 capitation grant-in-aid rules were passed for the encouragement of education. A girls' school started in 1883, a second-grade college and a Muhammadan school were then thee only State or State-aided institutions. The working of the rules was entrusted to officers of the 'doyenne and Registration departments. This extraneous agency having been found inadequate, a special Inspector of Schools was appointed in 1887 to move about the State and open and inspect schools. The results grant system was introduced in 1902.

According to the census of 1901, Pudukkottai , if it had been a British district, would have taken the sixth place among the 23 districts of the Madras Presidency as regards the education of its male population, but would have ranked as one of the last seven in the matter of the education of its girls. Tho actual percentages of the literate of each sex to the total population of that sex were 15.6 and .04 respectively. In Pudukkottai  town is a second-grade college teaching up to the F.A. standard. It was founded as a free school in 1857, with a portion of the Devastinam funds released by the stoppage of a charitable endowment at Benares which had been grossly mismanaged. Provision has been made in it for the religious instruction of Hindu boys. Physical development also receives special attention. A school called the Vani Vilsa Veda Sastra Pathasala teaches Sanskrit on oriental lines. The staff consists of seven pandits, three for the Vedas, one for '.Tarka (logic) and Vedanta (metaphysics), one for Vyakarana (grammar) and two for Kavya (poetry). The library contains over a thousand volumes on paper and eadjan (palm-leaves), none of them, however, being rare. About half the students get daily allowances in kind from the assignments made to religious and charitable institutions. The town State girls' school teaches up to the lower secondary standard. There is an industrial school at Pudukkottai  under the control of the Engineer.

The control of the Education department is vested in the Principal of the College.

Pudukkottai town possesses a well-equipped hospital Maharaja's hospital,' founded in 1851) with 24 beds for males and Pudukkottai town possesses a well-equipped hospital (' the Medical.8 for females and also a dispensary for women and children founded in 1900. There are seven other dispensaries in rural parts. The dispensary for women and children is in the charge of a lady apothecary, and the other institutions are under the control of the Chief Medical and Sanitary Officer.

47

-----------------------------------370-----------------------------------

TRICHINOPOLY

CHAP. XVI

ADMINISTRATION 

The vaccine staff, consisting of one inspector and ten vaccinators works under the supervision of the same officer. Vaccination is compulsory only in Pudukkottai town.

Vaccination Sanitation.

The conservancy of this town is controlled by a sanitary board Sanitation in other parts is attended to by the revenue staff acting upon the advice and suggestions of the rural hospital assistants, the vaccination inspector and the Chief Medical and Sanitary Officer. It is in contemplation to appoint local committees in the more important villages with powers to introduce sanitary improvements therein. A Regulation on the subject is shortly to be passed.

PLACE OF INTEREST.

Ambukkovil

Ambukkovil: Twenty-two miles east-north-east of Pudukkottai. Population 992. The ancestral home of the Tondaimans, to which (according to tradition) an ancestor of the family emigrated from North Arcot about the twelfth or thirteenth century. It gives its name to the Ambtulaciu section of- the Kallans to which the Raja belongs.

Avur.

Avur : Twenty-one miles north-west of Pudukkottai . Population 906. Was for a long time the residence of the famous Italian Jesuit Missionary Besehi, who was for a time Diwan to Chanda Sahib. It was one of the foremost Roman Catholic Mission centres in south India in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries and is now a Roman Catholic Mission station. Two large Christian festivals are held here every September and Easter.

Kittubava Pallivasal

Kittubava Pallivasal : Eighteen miles south of Pudukkottai. Contains the darga of a Muhammadan saint named Kattubeva, who is supposed to have lived about 250 years ago and to have received his name (which means the forest father') from his kindness to the travellers who passed through the forest where he lived. The annual festival in the month of Rabisani is largely attended by the Muhammadaus from the neighbouring districts. It is conducted very much on the lines of that at Nagore near Negapatam.1 

Kilanilai

Kilanilai : Eighteen miles south-cast of Pudukkottai . Is part of Pudunilai, the population of which numbers 1,360. It has a history of its own separate from that of the State as a whole. It belonged to the dominions of Tanjore about the middle of the seventeenth century, for its fort was built by the last of the Nayakkan kings of that country, Vijaya Raghava Nayakkan, who died about 1o74.E It was captured shortly afterwards by the Setupati of Ramnad, and was one of the forts given by that chief in return for the alliance of the king of Tanjore in 1o8o and forcibly

(Footnote:1 See Tanjore District Gazetteer (1906), Chapter XV, p. 243. 
2 Tanjore District Manual (Madras, 1883), p. 753,)

-----------------------------------371-----------------------------------

PUDUKKOTTAI  STATE.

CHAP. XVI

PLACES OF INTEREST 

retaken by the former in 1698. Henceforth it seems to have become part of the debatable land which passed from the hands of Ramnad to Tanjore in 1750, was retaken by Ramnad in 1703, and by Tanjore in 1771.' It was promised by Tanjore in 1750, as a reward for his alliance, to the Tondaiman of Pudukkottai  ; but this promise was not kept and the town did not become part of the Pudukkottai  State till 1803.2 Meanwhile it had been occupied for a short time by Haidar Ali in 1781 and was taken from him by the forces of tho Tondaiman on behalf of the English and their allies. It was not however retained by the Tondaiman on this occasion, except for a short time until his war expenses were recouped. The name means the eastern gate' and there is another village in the vicinity called Melonilai or ' the western gate.'

KuduMiyamalai

KuduMiyamalai :Eleven miles west of Pudukkttai Population 921. Contains a large temple to Siva in his form Sikhanatha or the lord of the kudunti,' which is said to have been built by a Chola king, and a small rock-cut temple probably of Jain origin. A. large number of ancient inscriptions have been transcribed here.3 The village is also of interest as the place where the earlier Tondaimains went for their coronation.

Narttamalai

Narttamalai : Nine miles north-west of Pudukkottai . Population 582. Contains rock-cut temples with a Buddhist or Jain image sculptured on the rock. The Mariyamman temple is largely visited on the occasion of its annual festival in April.

Perungalr : Eleven miles north-east of Pudukkottai . Population 2,242. The temple of Malayamarungar has a considerable local reputation. The god is supposed to have come from Malabar.The priest is a Paraiyan.

Peraiyur

Peraiyur : Five miles west of Pudukkottai . Population 408. Poraiyetr.Indra is believed to visit the old Siva temple once a year to worship its deity ; and it is declared that on those occasions the sound of musical instruments can be heard coming from a neighbouring spring. The town was the scene of a battle between Tanjore and Pudukkottai  early in the eighteenth century.

Pudukkotta

Pudukkottai  : The capital of the State. Lies 33 miles by road from Trichinopoly. Population, 20,347 in 1901 against 16,885 in 1891 and 15,384 in 1881. An unusually clean, airy and well-built town, possessing some fine public buildings. It is situated in the valley of the Vellar and in by-gone days a thick belt of almost impenetrable jungle formed a natural defence round it.

(Footnote:1 Tanjore District lrfivitsal, p. 774.
2 See above p. 359.
3 Seep. 356.)

-----------------------------------372-----------------------------------

TRICHINOPOLY

CHAP. XVI

PLACES OF INTEREST 

Raja Vijaya Raghunatha Raya Tondaiman, who died in 1825, at the suggestion of Sir William Blackburne, the then Political. Agent, pulled down the whole of the old town, which consisted chiefly of narrow and tortuous lanes, and rebuilt it with regular streets. Eight of these, each about a mile long, run north and south and cut at right angles eight others running east and west. The western half of the innermost of the square blocks thus formed is the Pudukkottai , or New Fort, which, though surrounded by high ramparts, is of no military value, but contains the palace and its adjuncts. The Raja does not live there, preferring to reside in a bungalow equipped in the modern style outside the town ; but the State functions and palace ceremonies are conducted in it, including those of the Dasara festival, during which about 50,000 persons receive money and rice doles, a large number of Brahmans are fed free, and about Rs. 4,000 is distributed among Sanskrit Cholars of tested merit. In front of the palace is a big reservoir called the Pallavan tank, which probably dates from the days of the Pallava Rayas. The town was very much improved in the time of the late Sir A. Sashay ya Sastri,To him, among other improvements, is due the erection of the public offices, a handsome two-storied building to the south of the town. Eight staircases lead from the groundfloor to the first floor of this building, of which the two' more prominent are 102 feet high. Among the other handsome and effective buildings which adorn the town may be mentioned the college, with its fine gothic arches, windows of stained glass, spacious library, and laboratory ; the Raja's bungalow already referred to; the Residency- ; the Hospital and the Central Jail. Among recent structure's may be noticed the Town Hall, and the Victoria Jubilee Arch, which is just outside the town on the road to the public offices and the college. Near this arch is a fine garden, called the Ananda Bagh, covering an area of o0 acres of land. There is a rest-house in the town for European and Eurasian travellers aid a chattram in which Brahman wayfarers are fed free and other Hindu travellers receive . doles of rice. The British post and telegraph office has a number of sub-offices and branch offices attached to it. The Sarkar Press prints and publishes the State Gazette twice a month ; and the Sarkar workshop, to which an industrial school is attached, executes both public and private orders. A second-class meteorological observatory has just been opened. A sanitary board attends to the drainage, lighting and water-supply of the town, the maintenance of its roads and streets and its general sanitary improvement.

Particulars of the medical and educational institutions and the industries of the town havo already been given.

-----------------------------------373-----------------------------------

PUDUKKOTTAI  STATE.

CHAP. XVI

PLACES OF INTEREST 

The suburb of Tirnvappur was the scene of a battle between Pudukkottai and Ramnad, about 1726. The suburb of Tirugokarnam contains an ancient Siva temple of Gokarnesvara and his consort Brihadamba. The latter is the tutelary deity of the Tondaimans, who take their title Brihadambadas, or the servants of Brihadamba,' from her name. The local coin of the State, the ainrnankdsn or coin of the goddess,' is called after her and bears her image.

Sittannavasal

Sittannavasal : Ten miles north-west of Pudukkottai . Population 777. Contains a rock-cut Jain temple which is visited annually by Jains from the Tanjore district.

Tirumananjeri

Tirumananjeri Twenty-four miles north-cast of Pudukkottai. Population 444. Snake-bites are considered innocuous here Or`' within hearing of the conch blown in the Siva temple.

Tirumayam

Tirumayam : Twelve miles south of Pudukkottai  ; part of Marungur vattam ; population 3,750. An ancient town mentioned in the hymns of Tirumangai Alvar, a Vaishnavite saint who is supposed to have lived before the tenth century. Its Vishnu shrine is considered by local Vaishnavites to be second in sanctity only to the temple at Srirangam, and is indeed called Adi Rangam or the original Rangam,' to indicate that it was built before the temple at the latter place. There is a picturesque ruined fort here where tradition says the dumb poligar of Panjalankturiehi in Tinnevelly, the famous lJmaiyan, was imprisoned before being.surrendered by the Tondaiman to the British.' Some curious old chain armour found at this place is sometimes said to have belonged to this man. The fort was taken by Ramnad about 1730, but was almost directly recovered by the Tondaiman. The remains of an embankment about four miles in circumference stand in the Sengarai forest near this place and are popularly believed to have been the abode of the giantess Tataka who was killed by Rama.

Tiruvarankulam 

Tiruvarankulam  : Five miles south-east of Pudukkottai . Population 768. At the annual Siva festival here the Paraiyans have the right to break the first cocoanut on the wheel of the temple car. There is a ruined fort in the neighbourhood called Porpanai-kottai (` the gold-palm fort ') which is built of very large and well-burnt bricks. The name is popularly derived from a palmyra tree near the fort which is supposed to have once yielded golden fruit.

Viralimalai

Viralimalai : Twenty-five miles north-west of Pudukkottai .Population 1,238. Is known throughout a large part of the

(Footnote :1 See the account of Nerur, p. 274.)

-----------------------------------374-----------------------------------

TRICHINOPOLY

CHAP. XVI

PLACES OF INTEREST 

Trichinopoly district for its Subrahmanya temple on a hill. The place is mentioned in the Tiruppukal, a Tamil book of hymns supposed to be some six or seven centuries old.

The neighbouring village of Kodumbalur is mentioned in the Silappadikaram, a well-known Tamil classic which is generally ascribed to the first century A.D. Tradition says that the place was once a flourishing and well-built town, and that the Trichinopoly fort and temple were built with the materials of its dismantled buildings. Its former importance may be inferred from the style of its ruined gopurams and the well-carved blocks of granite and lingams which are often found buried in its fields. One of the nandis (Siva's bulls) in it is three-fourths of the size of the famous stone bull in the Tanjore temple.

-----------------------------------375-----------------------------------

INDEX,

               A

Abkari, 247.
Abrus precatorius, 177.
Acacia trees, 154, 363.
Achaladipesvarar, 297.
Achiyamman, 89.
Achyuta Raya of Vijayanagar, 49.
Adakkayi, 90.
Adanur, 286.
Adavattur, 106.
Adhi Rajendra Chola, 41.
Adi pattam, 139.
Adi Rangam, 289, 373.
Aditya Chola I, 33, 340 note.
Aditya Chola II, 35.
Administration, of land revenue, 209-243;of justice, 250-259; of Pudukkottai State, 364.
Adur-upakyams, 100, 101.
Agamudaiyans, 102, 120, 252, 253.
Aganda Cauvery, 6, 91.
Agastya, 281, 284, 290.
Agnipurl, 273.
Agriculture, 132-143, 362.
Agriculturists, economic condition of, 150.
Ahavamalla, 38, 39, 40.
Ahmadnagar, 351.
Aiyanar, 313, 350.
Aiyar river, described, 8 ; limestones in the valley of, 13 ; nadus of the Arunattn Vellalans on the banks of, 101 ; channels from, 143 ; bridge over, 182.
Akasa Gangai, 4.
Alagar, 350.
Alagiri Nayakkan, 58.
Alahanachi Amman, 282.
Alam Khan. 64.
Alambadi cattle, 20, 21.
Alangudi taluk, 355, 364, 368.
Alangudi village, 167, 363.
Alari tree, 126.
Alavandar, 348.
Alkaline earth, 174, 175.
Allahabad, 31.
Allan, Ensign, 352.
Aloe fibre, 171.
Amani system, 217, 365.
Amaravati river, described, 7 ; channels from, 143 ; anients across, 146 ; ferries across, 181 ; valley of, 196 ; irrigation under, 226 ; water supplied to Karur from, 261.
Amaravati-nadu Vallambans, 119.
Ambalakarans, described, 105 ; social position of, 107, 109, 115 ; traditional origin of, 112 ; painting by one of, 169 ; crime of, 252; tuppukkuli levied by, 254.
Ambukkovil, 357, 370.
Ambunadn Kallans, 107, 357 note, 370.
Ambunadu Valaiyans, 114.
Ambur, 64.
Amdut-ul-Omra, 345.
Amma Chattram, 356.
Ammamantapam bathing-ghat, 91.
Ammanga Devi, 41.
Ammankasu, 360.
Amoghavarsha I, 33 note.
Amur, 106.
Anaimalai hills, 7.
Ananda Bagh, 372.
Anangur, 296.
Andavar-kovil, 278.
Andhras, 27, 31.
Andimadam, 160.
Audippatti estate, 237, 269, 270, 296.
Anegundi, 292, 344.
Angalamman, 287.
Anglicans, 362.
Anicharnpalaiyarn, 299.
Anicuts, 6-9, 143.
Aniline dyes, 163-166, 174.
Animal sacrifices, 90, 102.
Aniyappur, 278.
Aniyapuram, 296.
Annamangalam, 77.
Annayar, 287.
Anogeissus latifolia, 154.
Anukkar, 301.
Anwar-nd-din, 63, 04, 345.
Appar, 290, 300.
Aranarai, 107, 301, 302.
Arantangi, 303.
Arappalisvaran-kovil, 4, 125, 120.
Arastt kavalgars, 255, 351.
Arasu pallis, 93 note, 111.
Aravakkurichi, Government stallion at, 24; cloth-dyeing and chintz-stamping at, 105, 209; rainfall at, 188 ; deputy tahsildar at, 243 ; described, 270 ; formerly included Pallapatti village 274.
Arbuthnot & Co., Messrs., 19.
Arcaean rocks, 12.
Archakas, 324.
Arcot, 249. See also Nawab of Arcot.
Areca-nut, 177, 178.

-----------------------------------376-----------------------------------

INDEX,

Arinjava Chola, 35.
Arisakkara Nattamans, 109.
Ariyalur estate, 237-8, 255, 293, 344-6.
Ariyalur rocks, 16.
Ariyalur taluk (former), 210.
Ariyalur town, fossiliferous beds north of, 10 ; cattle fair at, 22 ; fair for sheep and goats at, 23 ; threatened by the French, 09 ; Ddaiyan sept called after, 109 ; Pallis of, 110, 111 ; weaving at,158 ; dyeing in, 103 ; cotton press in, 170 ; market at, 170 ; rainfall in, 188 ;divisional officer at, 243 ; liquor shop in, 248; district munsif in, 250 ; union, 200 ; described, 3-14 ; proposed transfer
of deputy tahsildar to, 349.
Ariyar river, 9.
Arjuna, 302, 353.
Arkoram, 34.
Arpakkam, 44.
Arrack, 247.
Arts and industries; 157-176.
Arudra, 312.
Arumai rank, 104.
Arumbu-katti Vellalans, 100, 102.
Arunachalam Chetti, 209.
Aru-nattu Vellalans, 100, 101, 102.
Aryans, 28 note.
Asal Valaiyans, 114.
Asaragudi, 351.
Asoka, 27.
Assembly of representatives, 304.
Attar water 173.
Attur, 180.
Augustus Cresar, 270.
Aurangzeb, 59, 78.
Amei, 350.
Auvaiyar, 27, 109.
Avaclai Raghunatha Tondaiman, 357.
Avaluppu, 166.
Avanti, 29.
Arvaram, flowers, 117 ; shrub, 141 ; bark, 172, 303.
Avenues, 20, 00.
Avitti, 133.
Avtir, 302, 370.
Ayyampalaiyam, 298.
Ayyampettai, 158.
Ayyan channel, 145, 148.
Azim-ul-Danla, 72.

              B

Babayya of Penukonda, 338.
Babul tree, 20, 151, 155, 172.
Badami, 32.
Balfour, Surgeon General, 201.
Balijas, supposed origin of Panjuvettis from, 78; head the right hand faction, 92,:93 ; cloth dyeing by, 105 ; painting by, 109, 209; bungles made by, 174, 209.
Bamboos. 155, 171, 183, 325.
Banas of Tiruvallam, 34, 30.
Banasura, 348.
Banbury, Mr. G., 330.
Bandstand at Trichinopoly, 200.
Bangalore, 101, 102, 310.
Bangles, earth form aking, is, 19, 355 ; making of 174 ; trade in, 177.
Banyan tree, 20, 81.
Bargur cattle, 20, 21.
Barid Saptanga Harana, 351.
Barid Shah of Ahmadnagar, 351.
Barks, 363.
Barley, Mr. John, 351.
Baskets, 171, 177, 363.
Bassia latifolia, 19, 171.
Bathing ghats, 203, 325.
Baulu Mudaliyar, 201 note.
Bavani Nayakkans, 118, 119.
Bears, 24.
Bedford, Mr. J.P., 352.
Beer, 248.
Bell-metal, 167, 108, 303.
Bellary, 36.
Belvola country, 38 note.
Benares, 157.
Bench courts, 251.
Benson, Mr. C., 141.
Beschi, Father, 302, 370.
Betel, vine, cultivated by Kodikkal Vellalans, 80, 102 ; extent and mode of cultivation, 132, 137, 138 ; trade in, 176 ; cultivated near Nerdr, 273; and at Lalgudi, 313.
Bhagavatiamman, 90.
Bhavani, 102.
Bialma, 350.
Bhimanayakkanpalaiyam, 200.
Bboja, 315.
Bhojkvarasvumi, 315, 310, 318.
Bhami Nayinar, 314.
Bijapur, 51, 58, 59, 329.
Binny & Co., Messrs., 170.
Black buck. 354.
Blackburne, Sir W., 372.
Blanford, Mr. H F., 15, 16.
Blankets, 162, 177, 303.
Bodupatti, 298.
Bombay, 75, 158, 1(15, 173.
Bommakka, 91, 122.
Bottu, 117, 118, 122, 120.
Boundaries, of the district, 1 ; of Podukkottai State, 354.
Boundary stones, 81.
Brachipoda, 16.
Brahatcharanams, 324.
Brahmanism and Hinduism, 320 note, 322.Brahmans, priests in Arappalisvaran-ktivil,; separate quarters for, 81 ; their customs, 81; Komanam not worn by,82 ; food of, 84; age of marriage -among, 94 ; Pallis claim to be superior to, 110 ; but will accept meals from,111 ; Uppiliyan gurus among, 117 ;priests to Maravans, 121 ; Tottiyans do

-----------------------------------377-----------------------------------

INDEX,

not recognize the superiority of, 122 ;not employed by Malaiyalis as priests,125; Paraiyans claim relationship to, 130 ; prohibited from entering betel gardens, 139 ; scents made by, 173 ; food given in choultries to, 180 ; favourable land assessment for, 212; grants to, 238, 305 ; at Kilambil, 311 ; round Lalgudi, 312 ; at Srirangam, 324 ; Palla Kolumayi rescued by one of, 341.
Brahmaputi, 270.
Brass work, 167, 168.
Brett, Mr., 234.
Bride-price, 95, 119, 121.
Bridges, 7, 181, 191, 827.
Brihadambk 360, 373.
Brihadarnbadas, 373.
Brown, Col., 272.
Brown, Mr. C. P., 2.
Buck, black, 24.
Badalur, 363.
Buddhist remains, 80, 281, 349, 371.
Buffaloes, 22, 23, 89, 177.
Building stone, 17, 19, 355.
Bukka I, 48.
Bull-baiting, 85, 107, 120, 127.
Bullocks, 20-23, 122, 168.
Bulls, 126.
Burglary, 258.
Burma, 28, 35, 155, 169.

 	C

Caillaud, Captain, 69, 293, 345.
Calcutta, 158.
Caldwell,Bishop, his derivation of the name ' Cauvery,' 7 ; on the Nayakkan dynasty,50, 56, 62; hostel dedicated to the memory of, 207.
Calient, 19.
Cambu, 133, 131, 139-141, 221.
Canarese, 73, 115, 121.
Cancer, 190.
Canoe, Right Rev. Alexis, 75.
Cantonment, 2C3, 327, 335.
Cantonment Magistrate, 251, 335.
Cape Comorin, 31, 35.
Carnatic Railways Co , 183.
Caruatic War, G4-72.
Carpets, 161, 162, 165. 177.
Cassia, auriculata, 162 ; floriaa, 154, 155 ;
tors, 163.
Castes, 100-131, 252.
Castor, cultivation of, 139-141 ; oil, 164,172, 177;172; seeds, 105, 160. Catechu, 164.
Cattle, described, 20; fairs, 22, 176, 119, 346 ; penned in the fields, 133; food of, 172; tanning of hides of, 172 ; lost during famine, 192; and floods, 194; theft of, 252, 253 ; wild variety of, 354; in Pudukkottai, 362.
Caulnamah ' of Mr. Read, 234.
Cauvery reservoir, 149.
Cauvery river, valley of, 2, 12; described,5 ;tributaries of, 8 ; embankment beyond, 8; alluvium of, 11 ; granite along, 12 ; cretaceous rocks near, 15 ; trade in the produce near, 28; Chola irrigation works in, 20 ; crossed by the Chalu yas, 32 ; its banks cleared of robbers, 51 ; sanctity of, 91 ; paddy cultivation under, 134; irrigation from, 143-150, 220, 226, 235-36 ; padugais of, 153 ; timber floated down, 156 ; bridge over, 181, 182, 202 ; ferries across, 181 ; navigation in, 182 , railway line along, 183; suggested Railway bridge over, 185 ; floods in, 103, 191, 195; delta of, 194; Kuravan robber drowned in, 254 ; water conserved, '202 ; water-supply to Trichinopoly from, 264 ; shrine near Kadambarkovil, 28] ; guardian goddess of the embankment on, 281 ; village deities who floated down, 313, 341.
Can very-Venutir regulators, 144, 145.
Cemeteries, 336, 337.
Central Jail at Trichinopoly, the Golden Bock near, 2, 330; fuel supply to, 156 ; carpets made in, 161, 162; described, 259 ; water-supply to, 265 ; antique cannon in, 333 ; at Pudukk6ttai, 308.
Ceylon, phosphatic nodules sent to, 19; emigration of Nfigas to, 20; old annals of, 27; Chdla invasions of, 27: early connection of Soath India with, 28 ; imports in early days from, 28 ; Ch6la king marries a princess of, 30; Pandya invasion of, 33 note; conquered by Parantaka I, 34 ; and by laijaraja I, 35, 36, 42, 43 ; lost by KulOttunga I, 42, 43 ; present to Tanjore temple of the revenue of a village in, 43; its part in the war of the Pandyan succession, 44 ; conquered by the Nfiyakkans, 52; blankets exported to, 102; brass vessels sent to, 168 ; proposed railway to, 184 ; emigration to, 193.
Chakkiliyans, separate quarters for, 81 ; food of, 84; men belong to left hand faction, 92 ; their share in the Urali purificatory rites, 113 ; their connection with Reddis, 118, 119; Pallai.s and Paraiyans claim superiority over, 128; leather.work of, 172, 173, 34.3.
Chalukyas of fltidami, 32, 36-40 passim.
Chanda Sahib, career of, 61-66 ; Karfir besieged by, 271 ; his attack on Ranjan-gudi, 303; follows Captain Gingen to tittattir, 305 ; attacked by Clive at Pichimdarkovil, 314.; occupies Sri-rangam temple, 323; takes Trichiaopoly town and loses it, 329, 330; tomb of, 338; built the dome over Nathar Shah mosqne, 339.
Cliandavolu, 44 note.
Chandra-giri, 52.

-----------------------------------378-----------------------------------

INDEX.

Channels, river, 143.
Chapel at Trichinopoly, 207, 208.
Charcoal, 182.
Chattramanai hill, 13.
Chattrams, 185.
Chengi-nildn Vallambans, 119.
Chera kingdom, boundary cf, 8, 281;origin of the people of, 26 ; position of,27 ; one of the powers of Southern India,28 ; valour of the rulers of, 28, 29 ;conquered by Karikal Chola, 29 ; Cholaconflicts with, 29, 30, ruler invited to the Ch6la sacrifice, 30 ; invaded by the Chalukyas, 32 ; joins the confederacy against the Pallavas, 32 ; Chdla kingmarries a princess of, 34, 42; Ritjaraja's victories over, 35; rebellions in, 37 ; Ch6la wars with, 38, 39; rebellion in, 42 ; blessed by Auvaiyar, 109; Karur supposed to be the capital of, 270; Vettaimangalam founded by the ruler
of, 276.
Cheroots, 173.
Chettis, 232, 285, 287, 363.
Chidambaram, temple covered with gold by Parantaka Chola, 34 ; title of Rijaraja ' given him by tho temple authorities at, 35 ; pith obtained from, 169 ; bridge over the coleroon near, 181 ; nature of the deity in, 288, 323 note ; festival at, 312. 
Chidambaram Chetti, 269. 
Chief Court at PudukkOttai, 367. 
Chikka Diva Raya, 58, 232.
China bangles, 175.
Chinna Andavankdvil, 168, 269.
Chinna Dhardpuram, 270.
Chinna Inti Ttittiyans, 122.
Chinna Muthalapatti, 298.
Chinnar river, 182, 303.
ChinnavalaiyaM, 349.
Chintalavadi, 278.
Chintamani, 193.
Chintamani cemetery, 337.
Chintamani Mai, 148.
Chintz-stamping, 165, 166, 269.
Chiruta-palli, 2.
Chloritie schists, 14.
Chloroxylon Su'ietenia, 154.
Chodas, 27, 29, 45.
Chokkanatha Nayakkan, 56, 57, 329, 337.
Chola-Ariimoli, 35 note.
Chola-Panclyas,
Chola rock, 340.
Cholam, 134, 139, 141, 221.
Cholamparai, 340.
Cholapuram Chettis, 100, 101.Chol is, boundary of their kingdom, 8, 9,
281 ; history of, 26-48 ; recent inscriptions of, 49 ; disappear from history,51; Auvaiyar's blessing on, 109 ; anicutsbuilt by, 141 ; revenue system of, 209 ;their connection with Karur, 270, 272,278 ; Payasongadam believed to have been their capital, 282 ; their capital at Uraiyur destroyed, 339, 340 ; their  oapital at Gangaikandapuram, 347 ; inscriptions of, 348, 349, 350, 356; their connection with Pudukkottai State, 356,
Cholendra simhaohaturvedimangalam, 43. Cholera, goddess of, 89, 90, 125 patients abandoned by the Malaiyas, 127 ;deaths during the 1877 famine from,192 ; statistics of deaths from, 196. Choliya Chettis, 92.
Choliya Paraiyans, 131.
Choliya Velldlans, 100, 101.
Choliyans, 324.
Choultries, 185.
Christ Church at Trichinopoly, 76, 337. 
Christians, 74, 203, 238, 302.
Chrome ore, 18.
Chnekley-pollam, 331 note.
Church of England, 74.
Cigars, 177.
Civil Justice, 250, 367.
Claudine Caesar, 270.
Clays, 355.
Cleveland, General, 336.
Climate, 10, 355.
Clive, Lord, hie part in the Carnatic War, 65, 66 ; his supposed residence at Trichinopoly, 206, 336 ; drives D'Auteuil into Ranjangudi, 304 ; reduces Piehandarkovil, 314 ; his fighting at Samayapuram, 316 ; bombards Srirangam temple, 323 ; his letters to the Pudukkottai Raja, 359.
Clock-tower at Trichinopoly, 266.
Clogetoun, Mr., 255 note.
Club (European), at Trichinopoly, 257, 330.
Cobra, 15.
Cochin-China, 26.
Cochineal, 163, 164.
Cocoanut tree, common in the district, 19 ; avenues of, 20 ; thatch made of the leaves of, 81 ; omens observed in the cultivation of, 138 ; planted in the reserved forests, 155 ; mats made of the leaves of, 162 ; ropes made from the fibre of, 170 ; carving on the shells of, 170; ropes made from the flower sheath of, 171; oil from, 171 ; shells used in soap manufacture, 174 ; export of nuts, 170.
Coimbatore district, western boundary of the district, 1 ; bounded by the cauvery, 6 ; Amarfivati river flows through, 7 ; cattle from, 20, 2L, 22; pony-breeding in, 24 ; conquered by Aditya Chola I, 33 ; Uppiliyans in, 115 ; timber imported from, 155 ; carpets sent to, 162 ; soap exported to, 174 ; river navigation in, 182.
Coimbatore town, 247.
Coins, of Rajardja I, 42 ; local names of, 179 ; Roman, 270, 358 ; found at Somayapuram, 319 ; and the Golden Ruck, 331 ; of Udaiyarpalaiyam, 351 ; of Pudukkottai State, 360, 373.

-----------------------------------379-----------------------------------

INDEX 

Coleroon river, doscribed,; Nandiyar falls into, 9 ; S.P G. mission stations on the north of, 77 ; irrigation from, 143 to 150, 220, 226 ; padugais of, 151; ferries across, 181 ; bridge over, 181, 182 ; navigation in, 182 ; railway lino from, 183 ; floods in, 193, 194, 195, 314 ; water conserved, 262 ; French soldiers drowned in, 314 ; channels from, 348.
Colleges, 203, 204;208, 369.
Colombo, export to it of cattle, sheep and goats, 23, 277, 340 ; cloths, 165 ; jewellery, 169 ; oil and cake, 172 ; scents, 173 ; and bangles, 175 ; rope imported from, 171.
Conjeeveram, Chola country extended beyond, 27 ; Pallava occupation of, 31 ; Pallavas driven back to, 32 ; Chola capital, 34 ; important city, 42 ; Chera king marches to, 46 ; taken by the Pandyas, 49 ; its conneotion with the right and left hand factions, 92, 93 ; Vanniyans lived in, 111 ; Malaiyalis came from, 130 ; Vaira Perumal of Ratnagiri came from, 2S5 ; earth lingam at, 323 note ; founder of Udaiyar-palaiyam estate came from, 350.
Coorg, 35, 36.
Cope, Captain, 64.
Copper, 18, 107, 175.
Copper sulphate, 166.
Coral reefs, 15, 16.
Cornwallis, Lord, 71, 234.
Corundum, 18, 19.
Cotton, cultivation of, 139, 140 ; weaving
of, 157, 159 ; pressing of, 170, 346 ;
trade in, 176 ; weights for seeds of, 177, Cotton, Sir Arthur, 144, 149.
Cotton, Mr. J. J., Inscriptions on Madras Tombs by, 337.
Cowl pirakudis, 212.
Cows, 22, 23.
Cretaceous rocks, 14.
Crillon, 111., 324.
Crime, 252-254, 308 ; of Kallans, 107 ;Suditrmans, 109 ; Pall* 111 ; Uralis, 112 ; Valaiyans, 114 ; Reddis, 118 ;
Callans, 129. .
Criminal castes, 252.
Criminal gargs, 258.
Criminal Justice, 251, 367.
Crops, rotation of, 136, 140.
Crystals, 109.
Cuddaloro, 15, 17, 69, 324.
Cuddapah, 109.
Cultivation methods, 136, 139, 140.
Cunliffe, Mr. Brooke, 15.
Curtains, 269,
Cyclones, 189,194, 355.
Czax of Russia, 321, 337.

D

Dacoity, 252, 258. 
Dakshinanattans, 100.
Dalberyia 818800,154.
Dalton, Captain ; his attack on D'Auteuil 66, 301 ; left by Lawrence at Trichinopoly, 66, 67 ; Cauvery bridge dedicated to, 182; his description of Uttatur, 305;his action near Uttatur, 305, 300; his attach en Srirangam, 323 ; helps Lawrence in the first siege of Trichinopoly,331 ; his attack on Uyyakondan-tiru- malai, 342.
Dalton's battery, CS, 333, 335, 336.
Dalton's Memoir, 304.
Deimalchernvii pass, 03.
Dancing-girls,97, 113, 117
Danclayudtiaptini, 288.
Danish mission, 76.
Darga. See Mosque.
Dasara, 372.
Dalsaris, 258.
Dasavarman, 39.
Date trees 155.
D'Anteuil, 65, 301, 306, 310.
Deer, spotted, 2l, 354.
Deities, 88-91.
Delhi, emperor of, 341 ; exhibition at,169, 170.
De'Nobili, Robert, 74.
Density of population, 73.
Desai /caeca, 256.
Deva Itaya II, 49.
Devadanam, 280, 337.
Devanampataam, 351.
Devandr, 300.
Devarrnalai, 278,279.
Devastanam, 369.
Dhara, 42.
Dharma Varma, 288.
Dharmapuri cattle, 20, 21.
D ianir nd Jubileo Park, 266.
Dichrostachys cinerea, 151.
Digestive system, diseases of, 197.
Dinavasi Amman, 302.
Dindigul town, hiths and skins exported to, 23; besieged by Mysore troops, 54;Tirumala Nayakkan's dream at, 56 ;Chanda Sahib's brother appointed governor of, 62 ; Srirangam Occupied by Mysore troops from, 69; bell-metal vessels of, 168; leather imported from, 172 ; tobacco and cheroots of,173 ; road to, 180, 182 ; railway to, 183.
Dipavali, 85, 152.
Dispensaries, 76, 200, 261.
Distance, measures of, 179.
District Board, roads managed by, 150; tolls and ferries leased by, 181; leper hospital formerly assisted by, 201 ; sessional school established by, 204; local affairs managed by, 260.
District Court, 77, 250.
Dist riot Jail, 201, 259.
Distriot Judge, 250, 257.
Distriot kavai, 256.
District Magistrate, 251.
District Munsifs, 250,

-----------------------------------380-----------------------------------

INDEX

Divi-divi trees, 155.
Divisional charges, 242.
Diwan in Council, Pudukkdttai, 364.
Diwan Peshkar, 364.
Dodson, Rev. T. H., 207.
Dodson printing press, 176.
Dogs, wild, 24.
Dolls, 170.
Double crop, 232.
Drainage. 261, 263, 265.
Draupadi, 92, 294.
Dress, 82.
Ducks, 141.
Dupleix, 66.
Dyeing, 163, 167.

	E

Ear, diseases of, 199.
Earthquakes, 195.
Earth-salt, 244.
East India Distilleries and Sugar Factories Co., Ld., 247.
Edayapeti, 174, 277.
Edayatti, 110.
Education, 203-203, 369.
Edward II, 336.
Ejanga. Rayan, 291.
Ekadasi festival at Srirangam, 322.
Ekoji, 58, 329.
Elaeoganitrus, 84.
Elakstriohi, 346.
Elam, 28.
Elamadichi, 89.
Elamanur, 183, 325.
Elava fir, 269.
Elephantiasis, 199.
Ellore, 32.
Elumiseram rock, 331.
Embroidery, 161.
Emigration, 73, 151, 193.
Enteric fever, 198.
Eraiydr, 301.
Erappu Mdhanur, 297.
Erilaena Efookeriana, 171.
Erode town, 180, 183.
Erra Golla Tottiyans, 122.
Erumnipst.i, 18.
Eromarappatti, 269.
ErnmV!sva,an2, 326, 331.
Eryth,oxylon monogynum, 154.
Esamalai hill, 302.
Esanai, 118.
Esanak6nai, 106
Ettam, 148.
Ettarai K6ppn, 106.
Ettarai Koppii Valaiyans, 114.
Ettu ceremony, 09.
Eugenia :iamboiana, 154, 322.
Excise, 366.
Exports, Chapter VI passim.
Eyo, diseases of, 199.
Eyre Coote, Sir, 70, 7], 335, 359.

F

Factions, 92.
Fakirs, 33S.
Fakir's rock, 67, 331, 332, 333.
Fakir's tope, 67, 332.
Famines, 57, 58, 188-193, 355.
Farm labourers, 151.
Farms, 210.
Fauna, of the cretaceous age, 14, 15, 16,
17; existing, 20-25.
Fawcett, tel F., 253 note.
Feistmantel, Dr., 14.
Ferishta, 46.
Ferries, 181.
Festivals, domestic, 85 ; public, 91 ; at Samayapuram, 318; Srirangam, 322; at Puttur, 341 ; and at Nathar Shah mosque, 338.
Fever, 5, 192, 196, 198.
Finance, in Pudukkottai State, 364.
Fire-walking, 92.
Fish, 4, 25, 340.
Five Rocks,' the, 331.
Flagstaff at Trichinopoly, 339.
Flints, 17, 18, 19.
Floods, 189, 193-195, 265.
Flora, 19.
Fodder grass, 155.
Food, 84.
Foote, Mr. II. Bruce, 17.
Forbes, Professor Edward, 15.
Forests, 3, 5, 153-156, 366.
Forts, 291, 330, 335.
French, the, their part in the Carnatic wars, 64-70 ; their connection with Turaiyur estate, 293 ; their attack on Ranjangudi, 303, and 113ttatfir, 306 ;deserters from, 316, 317, 321 ; their fights at Srirangam, 323; and Trichinopoly, 331-335 ; their dealings with Ariyalur, 345 ; and Udaiyarpalaiyam,
352.
French Ruck, 330-333 passim.
Fruit trees, 19, 194.
Fullers' earth, 163, 164, 174.
Funeral ceremonies, 98 ; among Uppiliyans, 116 ; Maravans, 121 ; Ma'aiyalis,128 ; Pallans, 130 ; and Padaiyachis 131.
Fusiliers' Mess, 336.

G

Gajabahu, 26 note.
Gall-nut, used in dyeing, 163, 164, 1 painting, 169 ; and tanning, 172. 
Game, 24, 25.
Games, 86.
Ganapati, 89.
Gandaraditya Chola, 35. 
Gandharvakattai, 363.

-----------------------------------381-----------------------------------

INDEX

Gandivatirtham, 352.
Ganga-Pallava,s, 30, 32, 33, 356.
Gangaikandapuram, 27, 37, 91, 347.
Gangai-konda-Chola, 37, 347.
Ganglikonda-Cholapuram, 38, 42, 47, 347.
Gaugakunda, 347.
Gangapurl, 347.
Ganges of Mysore, 31, 36, 42.
Ganges, 9, 10t3, 347, 348.
Garnet, 14, 18.
Garudamangalam, 16, 18, 19.
Gasteropoda, 16.
Gautamiputra, 31 note.
Geology, 12-17.
(lingeo, Nayakkan rulers of, 53 ; attacked by Goleonda and taken by Bijapur, 54;Chokkanatha's expedition against, 57 ;Maratha power in, 59, 60; advance of Nazir Jang to, 64; Linga Reddi defeats the freebooters from, 292 ; taken by
the Mughals, 351.
Gingelly, cultivation of, 134, 139 ; oil from, 164, 165, 172, 177 ; oil-cake of, 172; trade in, 182.
Gingen, Captain, 61, 303-3013, 314, 323.
Glass-ware, 174, 175, 177.
Gnana, Velvipntran, 115.
Gneisses, 12, 13.
Goa Mission, 74, 270, 362.
Goaneso merchants, 167.
Goats, numerous in the district, 22 ;described, 23; excluded from forest reserves, 156 ; tanning of skins of, 172 ;export of, 177.
Gokarnesvara, 373.
Golconda, 53, 54, 59.
Golden Rock, fighting near, 67, 68, 330- 332 passim ; jail at the foot of, 259 ;name given by Orme and Cambridge to the Fakir's Rock, 67, 331, 332.
Goldsmiths' weights, 177.
Gooty, 279.
Gopa Timma, 49.
Gordon, Woodroffe & Co., Messrs., 19.
Gosha, 79.
Graham, Mr., 234.
Grants, 139, 140.
Grand Anicut, 6, 47, 143-145, 181.
Granier do Falton, Father Louis, 75.
Granite, 12, 13, 182, 367.
Grazing grounds, 23, 156.
Grazing-tax, 211.
Great Sonthern of India Railway Co., 183.
Green vitriol, 163, 164.
Gronnd-nut, 139, 140, 176, 363 ; oil from,177 ; oil cake of, 172.
Growth of population, 73.
Guava tree, 19.
Guha Vellalans, 163.
Guineaworm, 198, 355.
Gulbadams, 157.
Gurukkals, 100.
Guruvalapparkovil, 347, 348.
Guzarati bullocks, 20.
Gypsum, 18.

H

Haidar Ali, war with, 70, 71; converts to Islam made by, 78 ; revenue system of, 232 ; takes Karur, 271 ; and Namakkal,299; temples demolished by, 307; Srirangam handed over to, 32-4; his attack on Trichinopoly, 335 ; restores Ariyalur and Udaiyarpalaiyam, 345; Kilanilai occupied by, 371.
Hanuman, 289, 299. 305.
Hardwickia binata, 154.
Hares, 86.
Harihara II, 48.
Harrison, Lieut., 334.
Hatsell, Mr. William, 351.
Llavinodu-Valanadu, 29 note.
llebet, Bishop, 76, 337,
Hemp-drugs, 248.
Hides, 177.
Hill villagns, 225, 2213.
Hills 2, 154.
Hindus, 74, 79, 81-131, 203.
Hindustani, 73,78.
History, of the district, 26-72; of Pudukkottai State, 355-360.
Holy places, 80, 91.
Horse-gram, 139.
Hospitals and dispensaries, maintained by missionary bodies, 76, :7 ; account of,200-202; at Karfm, 261; at Trichinopoly, 266 ; in Pudukkottai State, 369.
Hottur, 36.
House building, 176.
House-tax, 245, 261.
Household vesaels, 167, 177.
Houses, 81, 1213.
Hoysala Ballalas, established themselves near Srirangam, 45 ; inscriptions of, 46,284, 350 ; Vijayanagar founded by a former feudatory of, 48 ; Kannanur founded by, 315 ; their connection with Trichinopoly town not clear, 328.
Hoysalesvara, 315.
Hultzsch, Dr., 26 note, 32, 33 note.
Human sacrifice, 4.
Humidity, 10.
Hunting, 86.
Hurricanes, 193, 194.
Hussain-ul-mulk, 210, 213.
Hymnas, 24.
Hyderabad, 158.

I

Ibbandi sheep, 23.
Ibrahim Nabi, 79
Ichi tree, 20, 81.
Idaiyans, 362.
Idols, 168.
Ilamagans, 362.
Ilava wood, 170.
Iluppai tree, 19, 24; oil, 171, 172, 174, oil-cake, 172.

-----------------------------------382-----------------------------------

INDEX.

Iluppur maganam. 250.
Iluppur village, Tulaya Vellalans in, 101 ; projected channel near, 150; wearing at, 157, 158, 159 ; dyeing and stamping at, 165 ; described, 310 ; road through, 363.
Impartible Estates Act, 237, 280, 283. Implements, agricultural, 141.
Imports, Chapter vI passim.
Ina Kuravans, 253, 258.
Inam Commission, 238.
Inam land, 147, 236, 238.
Inam villages, 228, 365.
Income-tax, 249.
Indian antiquary, 308.
Indigo, cultivated on wet land, 134 ; refuse used as manure, 136; wild variety used as manure, 141 ; used in dyeing,163-167 ; and in painting, 169.
Indra, 371.
Industrial schools, 160, 171, 203, 204. Industries, 157-176, 259, 327, 363.
Inga. dulcis, 154, 155.
Inscriptions at Allahabad, 31 ; Anbil, 49 ; Arpakkam, 44; Gangaikonda-Cholapuram, 47, 348; Hottur, 36; Jambnkesvaram temple, 315 ; Kalahasti, 34 ; Karur-, 272 ; Kilappaluvdr, 349 ; Kudimiyimalai, 371 ; Lalgadi, 33, 312 ; Mahendragiri, 37 ; Melappaluvur, 359 ; Nellore, 40 ; Periyavitikkal head, 288 ; Pktaivattalai, 314 ; Ratnagiri, 284 ; Samayapuram, 31S, 319; Sendalai, 33 note ; Somur, 34 ; Srinivasanall6r, 289 ; Srirangatn, 45, 49, 321,323; Suchindram 34 ; Tillatstinam, 33 note ; Tinnevelly, 47 ; Tiruchendurai, 325 ; Tirnkkalikkun-ram, 31: Tirukkattnpvilli, 45 ; Tiramalavadi, 350; Tirappalatturai, 48, 49; Tiruvadi, 46 note ; Tiruvellarai, 325; Tirichinopoly, 31, 48, 328, 339, 310 ; Ukkal,35 note; Uttatur, 307; Uyyakondan head-sluice, 314 ; Uyyakondan-tirumalai, 347; and at Venjanam Gliclahlr, 275.
Inscriptions in Ceylon, 42; and Pudunkottai State, 355, 356, 357.
Inscriptions of ,Achynta, 40; Aditya Chola I, 33 ; Aditya Chola II, 35 note ; the Chod ,s, 29 ; the Cholas, 209, 272, 289, 314, 321, 343, 949, 350, 356; Gang,a-Pallavas, 30, 356; Gautami-putra, 31 note ; G0pa 'Timmy, 49 ; Hariliara II, 48 ; the Iloysalas, 321, 323, 350; Kampana TJ daiy itr, 48; Krishna Rtiya, 49 ; Kulasokhartt Chera, 46 note ; Kulasokhara Pandya, 47 ; Kulottnnga Chola III, 47, 289, 311., 340 ; Nahondravarman I, 31 ; Altiravarman Sundara-Ptindya I, 45 ; Narasimhavar man I, 31 ; the Nityakkans, 340; Xripatunga, 33; the Pallavas, 32, 339, 350; the Pandyas, 275, 321, 323, 339, 348, 350, 366 ; Parantaka Chola, 321 ; Ilitjarija I, 42 ; Ritjaraja III, 288 ; Rajondra Chola, 38; ltajoudra Dova, 39;  the Roshtrakfitas, 35; Rudradaman, 31 note; Saluva Samgama Devatnaharaja, 49 ; Simbarishnu, 31 ; the Ifdaiyar-pilaiyarn zarniudars, 352 ; the Vi3aya-nagar kings, 321; Vira Somesvara, 284 ; Viropaksba, 348.
Irattamandalam, 39.
Irattipadi, 40.
Iron ore, rocks containing, 13 ; need in dyeing, 163, 164 ; and painting, 169 ; export of, 182 ; in 'Pudnkkottai State, 354.
Iron sand, 163, 164, 169.
Irrigation, in Chola times, 20, 37, 47 ; for plantains, 133; present arrangements, 143-150; in Paduklaittai State, 362. Irrigation cess, 146, 231, 233, 236.
Irnlans, 302.
Irumbudippatti, 23, 277.
Irumbuli tree, 154.
Irungalur, granite near, 12; mission work in, 77; mission hospital in, 77, 200, industrial school in, 204.
Ivory, pictures on, 169.

J

Jabbalpur rocks, 14.
Jack tree, 19, 325.
Jaggery, weights for, 177.
Jails, 259, 368.
Jaitmini Samagas, 311.
Jainism, 31, 80 ; relics of, at Mahadinapuram, 282; Pottaivattalai, 314; Tiruverumbur, 326 ; and Jayankonda Cholapuram, 349; in Pudukkottai State, 355,371.
Jallikats, 21.
Jambukosvaram, temple at, 91, 315, 322, 323; basket work of, 171,
Janaka, 318.
Jatavarman Sundara-Pandya I, 46.
Jativarman Sundara-Pandya II, 46.
Jatkas, 363.
Jayankoncla-Chola, 35 note.
Jayankonda-Cholapuram, Paraiyan settlement near, 77 ; Jain remains in, 80 ;weaving at, 158, 159; brass vessels made near, 167; union, 260; described,348.
Jayasimha II, 38.
Jayasimha (Chalukyan prince), 39.
Jesuits, their work in the distriot, 74, 76; college maintained by, 204; letters of, 210 ; at Karur, 271 ; at Trichinopoly, 327, 362.
Jewellery, 83, 169.
Jewels, 253, 320.
Jiginas, 328.
Jonagans, 78.
Justice, administration of, 250-259.
Justice of the Peace, 251.

-----------------------------------383-----------------------------------

INDEX.
 
K

Kachi Chinna Nallappa Kalakka Tola Udaiyar, 351.
Kachi Nallappa Kalakka Tola Udaiyar, 351.
Kachamannu, 175.
Kadatabai, 170.
Kadambarkovil, 280, 284.
Kadankarapal lam, 314.
Kadaram, 38.
Kadarambam tract, 210, 211, 211, 217.
Kadavangudi Uralis, 112.
Kadavur estate, 148, 237, 279, 310.
Kadayakudi grant, 357 note.
Kadayur 103.
Kadukkai tree, 154.
Kaduvetti, 286, 287.
Kaikolans, caste god of, 91 ; vows of, 92; belong to loft. hand faction, 92, 93; bards among, 104; Malaiyalis trace their origin to, 124 ; weaving of, 160.
Kailis, 157, 160.
Kajana modu, 318.
Kaladis, 369.
Kalahasti, 34, 171, 175. 323 note.
Kalakam, 28.
Kalaranipattn, 302.
Kulattur darga, 80.
Kales Deva, 46.
Kaliamman, 89, 125, 341.
Kalinga, 36, 41, 42, 289.
Ka llai, 280.
Kallakkudi, 16.
Kallans, Pulikkulam bullocks kept by, 21 ;descendants of the Nagas, 26; ornaments of, 84; bull-baiting by, 86;favourite deity of, 89 ; caste panchayats among, 93 note ; marriage customs of,95 note, 96 ; call themselves Vellalans, 102 ; described, 106 ; social position of,106, 109; traditional origin of, 120;crime of, 252 ; kaval system of, 254-258;Kraalr garrisoned by, 271 ; worship the Ondi Karuppu god on the Rettaimalai hill, 313; numerous in Pndukkottai State, 360.
Kalpatti village, 13, 18, 185.
Kalrayan hills. 4,
Kalyani, 36.
Kamakshi, 292.
Kamakshi Ammal, 308.
Kamakshi Amman, 288.
Kamalalayam, 299.
Kamanayakkanpalaiyam, 106.
Kamandi, 85.
Kambayanayakkanur, 279.
Kamela powder, 163.
Kammalans, their relation to Musalmans, 79; belong to left hand faction, 92;Paraiyans will not accept meals from,130; metal-work of, 167; musical instruments made by one of the, 170 ; wood and stone carving of, 170 ; science of house building cultivated by, 176.
Kampana Udaiyar, 48.
Kampli, 38.
Kanakasabhai Pillai, Mr,, 26, 27, 29, 328 note.
Kandratirtham tank, 148.
Kingayam cattle, 20, 21.
Kangayampalaiyam, 103.
Kanivala Brahmans, 87.
Kanivala Vellalans, 100, 102.
Kankar limestone, 18, 19,
Kannadiya Uppiliyans, 115.
Kannanur, 81, 109, 287, 315.
Kannappa Nayartar, 114.
Kannarapilaiyam, 167, 108, 3.43, 3 to.
Kannimar, 139, 278.
Kanvar, 298.
Kapila water-lift, 148.
Kapila (sage), 297.
Kapilamalai, 297.
Kapili powder, 163, 164.
Karatlikulam, 349.
Kitrai, 18, 176, 301.
Karaikkattan Vellalans, 100, 102.
Karaipiittanar river, 8, 13. 28, 143.
Karambakudi, 159, 163, 167, 3133.
Karan, 326.
Karavillikombai forest reserve, 155.
Karikftl Chola, 28.
Karikal (of Chola dynasty), 340.
Karikottan tree, 154.
Kariyamtinikkain, 167.
Karnams Vellalans, 100.
Karnams, 241, 242.
Karpura Chettis, 115.
Kurtikai, 85.
Karukkakkarichi, 356.
Karumarudai tree, 154.
Karumpurattans, 362.
Karunnada Muttayya Nayakkan, 279.
Karungdli, village, 106; tree, 154.
Karuppan, resides in village boundary stones, 81 ; favourite god of the Kallans, 89, 108, 313 ; at Mohanur, 297.
Karuppattur, 168, 280.
Karuppur (Karur taluk), 119.
Karuppur (Udaiyarpalaiyam taluk), 165, 166, 167, 169, 343.
Karuppus, 278, 313.
Karur taluk, 232, 240, 268-276.
Karur town, on the Arnaravati river, 7 ;granite near, 12 ; fair for sheep and goats at, 23 ; Government stallion stationed at, 24; besieged by Chanda Sahib, 02 ; its vicissitudes during the Mysore wars, 70, 71 ; mission work in, 78 ; Mariyamman shrine in, 90 ; manure used near, 142 ; weaving factory at, 160, 162 ; carpet manufacture at, 161 ; cloth-dyeing and chintz-stamping at, 165 ; brass vessels made in, 167 ; painting in, 160; stone-polishing at, 170; idols made hear, 170; basket-work of, 171 ; tobacco leaf obtained from, 173 ; bangles made in, 174 ; printing press in,
176 ; technical school at, 170 ; road 

-----------------------------------384-----------------------------------

INDEX.

through, 180, 182; municipality, 181, 261 ; railway station, 183 ; proposed railway to Perambalur from, 185 ; rainfall in, ISS ; compulsory vaccination in, 198; hospital at, 200 ; schools in, 204 ; divisional officer at, 243; liquor shops at, 218; district munsif at, 250; bench cour  at, 251 ; water-supply and drainage of, 261 ; described, 270-273.
Karurar, 273.
Karuvandaraya.Bommadeva, 91, 117.
Karuvittar river, 8.
Karuvidacher, 349.
Kasen tree, 154, 156, 165, 166.
Kat-Bava-Pallivasal, 80.
Katlai, 163, 277.
Katlai Selavu, 211.
Kattaikalaisvami, 326.
Kattapuli, 181.
Katthi, 278.
Kattu. kfai, 257.
KatIm Pallis, 111.
Kaltubava, 370.
Kattubava Pallivasal, 370.
Kattuputtur, school at, 204; mitta, 237, 242; union, 260 ; described, 237.
Kattovaris, 148.
Kaval system, 238. 251, 255.
Kavalgar, 254, 255, 346.
Kavalkaran, 252.
Kavalkaran Kuravaus, 253.
Kavarai Uppiliyaus, 115, 116.
Kavaraipalaiyam, 174, 175, 343.
Kavarais, 78, 92, 169, 171.
Kavari river, 181.
Kavera muni, 7.
Kaveri river. See Cauvery river.
Kaveripatnam, 27, 28, 29, 282.
Kavinad tank, 362.
Kavinad n, 358.
Kaye, Mr., 15.
Koyitta keg, 178.
Kerala, 34.
Kerosine oil, 171, 172.
Khan Sahib canal, 182.
Kilnadu Vallambans, 119.
Kila Veppankuli, 349.
Kilakanavay village, 13.
Kilambil, 90. 311.358, 359, 363, 370.
Kilappaluyur, 188, 243, 260, 349.
Kilavan of Ramnad, 857.
Kilayur, 319.
Kiliyur, 68.
Killivallavan, 30.
Kilpatrick, Captain, 182.
King-Emperor, 321, 336.
Kirambur, 167, 286.
Kiranur (Kulittalai taluk), 13.
Kirandr (Pudokkottai State), 167, 363,364.
Kirimanji, 163.
Kistvaens, 801, 355.
Kocchenuigannan, 30.
Kodamurti river, 148 182.
Kodikkal Vellalans, 100, 102, 138, 313.
Kodmgal drain, 148.
Kodiyda., 23.
Kodukkapuli tree, 154, 155.
Kodumbaltir, 355, 374.
Kodumudi, 247 note.
Koiltirumalam, 311.
Kojitorent, 4.
Kokkilli, 30.
Kolar, 41.
Kolattur taluk, 364, 365, 368.
Kolattur (Perambaldr taluk), 109.
Kulattur (Trichinopuly taluk). 183.
Kolhapur, 38.
Kolinji, 141.
Kollaialai hill, 4.
Kollaimalai hills, described, 2, 3; Karaipottanar rises in, 8 ; gorge between the Pachaimalais and, 8 ; detritus from, 11 ;gneissic rocks in, 12 ; iron ores in, 13 ;game in, 24; Malaivamans near, 108;Malaiyalis of, 123-128 ; cultivation on,140 ; forest on, 153, 154, 155 ; settlement of the villages on, 236.
Kollegal silk, 158.
Kollidam. See Coleroon.
Kolumayamman, 89.
Komntis, 123, 139.
Kombai village, 3, 225.
Kombaralan, 163.
Konasegaram; 287.
Knnasilam, 287.
Konda padu, 140.
Kondaikatti Vellfilans, 100.
Kondakaranpallam, 9.
Kondamanayakkaupatti, 167, 296.
Kondayan kottai Maravans, 120.
Kondi hettipatti, 298.
Kondiottis, 211.
Konga Paraiyans, 131.
Konga Uppiliyans, 115.
Kongo, Vellalans, on the Kollaimalais, 5 ; disregard the sanctity of the cow, 23 ; tattooing among, 81; caste panchayats of, 93 notes ; marriage customs of, 94, 96 ; funeral ceremonies of, 98 note ;described, 102-105.
Kongalayi, 126.
Kongu country, 33, 46, 272..
Kongu sivalayarns, 272, 275.
Konnai tree, 154, 155.
Kopparn, 38, 39.
Korai mats, 162.
Koraikutti, 119.
Koraiyar river, 9, 181.
Korambus, 146.
Korangunnathankovil, 289.
Korkai, 43.
Kosavampatti, 174, 297.
Kossrnat, Franz, 14, 16.
Kottacheruvu, 274.
Kottagiri, 28.
Kottaikarai. 28.
Kottar, 42, 43.

-----------------------------------385-----------------------------------

INDEX.

Kovalai Vaykkal, 182
Kovainlakurichi, 309.
Koviladi, 68.
Koyarupalli, 159, 269.
Koyilolugu, 321.
Krishna III, 34.
Krishna Raya, 49.
Krishna Udaiyar, 281.
Krishnappa Nayakkan, 307.
Kridal, 39, 40.
Kddali, 39.
Kudalsangam, 39.
Kudi kcivalgdrs, 255.
Kudimuramat system, 147.
Kuduknduppai Tottiyans, 122.
Kudumiyatnalai, 336, 371.
Kuktir, 148.
Kulaiyar river, 182.
Kulauthalaruman, 89.
Kulapandis, 265.
Kulasekhara Chera, 46.
Kulasokhara (three Pandya Kings), 46, 356.
Kulittalai kiattuvari, 150.
Kulittalai taluk, 277.
Kulittalai town, hill near, 2 ; Jain remains near, 80 ; Kondaikatti Vellalans in, 100 ; weaving at, 158, 159, 161 ; idols made in, 168; ferry in,  181 ; railway-station, 1S3 ; rainfall in, 188; liquor shop in, 243; distriot munsif in, 250 ; onion. 260 ;described, 280.
Kulottunga I, 36, 40, 4.1, 43, 47.
Kulottunga II, 44.
Kulottunga III, 44, 47, 314, 340.
Kulu kuli, 257.
Kulumani, 159, 309.
Kumara Krishnappa, Nayakkan, 52.
Kumara Muttu Nayakkan, 55.
Kumara Oppilida Malararaya Nayinar, 346.
Kurnarapatti hill, 14.
Knmaripalaiyarn, 19.
Kumbakonam, catholie diocese of, 75;cloth imported to, 160; and exported from, 107 ; brass vessels of, 168 ; granite sent to, 182 ; Jains from, 355.
Kumeri cultivation, 140.
Kunattur, 351.
Kundu seed, 177.
Kuncluva-nattu-tokkadn Uralis, 112.
Kuppamma, 88.
Kuppanapalaiyam, 298
Knppanarpatti, 281.
Kuppusami, 88.
Kuravans, tattooing among, 81 ; make rope from cocoanut fibre, 170; basket-work of, 171 ; crime of, 252, 253, 253, 368 ;kaval system of, 251-, 255, 256.
Kurichikularn, 17, 18.
Kuru-kavalappar, 348.
Kurumba sheep, 22, 23, 162.
Kuramba Valaiyans, 114.
Kurumbalur, 167, 168, 260, 302.
Kurumbans, 29, 162, 302. 309. 
Kutagiri, 28. 
Kutadis, 86.
Kutappar, 68, 311.

L

La Mission du Madure, 50.
Labbais, 78, 274.
Labourers, farm, 151.
Lace, 158, 159, 204,
Lada Sanyasi, 278.
Ladapnrana, 160, 302.
Laddivadi, 296.
Lakshmi Narasimbayya, 299.
Lakyarupalaiyam, 298.
Lalgudi taluk, 193.
Lalgudi town, insoriptious at, 33; taken by the English, 65; idols made near, 168;school in, 204; deputy tahsildar at, 243; union, 260, 261 ; described, 312.
Lally, Count, 69, 324.
Lalpettai, 181, 183, 277.
Lamellibranebiata, 16.
Land customs, 219, 360.
Land Revenue administration, 209-243, 365.
Lang, Col., 272.
Languages, 73.
Laterite, rocks, 12, 17 ; localities in which found, 18, 19 ; in Pudukkottai State,355, 367.
Law, General, 65, 316.
Lawrence, Major Stringer, his part in the Carnatic wars, 64-68; on the reverse at Kuttappar, 311 note, 312 note ; on the action near Muttarasauallur, 313 ; his description of Trichinopoly fort, 330; on the battle of Sugar-loaf Rock, 331 note ; his action at Trichinopoly, 331, 332 ; his attack on Uyyakondan-tirumalai, 342 ; hie letters to the Raja of Pudakkottai, 359.
Lazaretto near Cochin, 266.
Le Fanu, Mr. H., 4, 128, 299.
Lead, 167, 175.
Lease system, 216.
Leather work, 173.
Left and right hand factions, 92.
Legislation in Pudukkottai State, 361.
Leipzic Evangelical Lutheran Mission, 77,
327, 337, 362.
Leopards, 24,
Leper hospital, 201, 266.
Lepers, 127.
Leprosy, 199.
Leyden grant, 29, 34, 35, 37 note.
Library at Pudukkottai, 369.
Limestones, 13, 15, 16, 18.
Linga Reddi, 292.
Lingainsi, 323.
Liquid measures, 178.
Liquors, 248.
Litigation, 250.
Lizards, 4.
Local Boards, 260,

-----------------------------------386-----------------------------------

INDEX.

Local self.government, 260-257. 
Looms, taxes on, 366.
Lower Aniont, 25, 145, 181, 347. 
Lower secondary schools, 203, 201. 
Lunatic Asylum, 201.
Lutheran Mission. See tinder Leipzie.

M

Maba buxifolia, 154.
MacDonell, Mr., 336.
Mackenzie MSS., authority for Nayakkan history, 50; on the Kadambarkovil temple, 281 ; on the Turaiyur estate, 241 ; on 'cittat ir, 307 ; on the Srirang,am temple, 321 ; transcript of Nayakkan inscriptions in, 340; on the Ariyalur est tie, 344.
Meoleane, Dr., 7, 9, 297.
Madhu vanam. 4.
Madhurantaka Chola t, 35.
Madras, siege of, 70; cloth exported to. 155; silk' imported from, 155; rubies imported from, 169 ; mica obtained from, 169 ; soap exported to, 174 ; cotton sent to, 176 ; cheroots made at, 173 ; road to, 180, 1.81, 182 ; railway to, 183 ; exhibition at, 355, 363.
Mudukkarai, 89, 281, 299.
Madura district, western boundary of the district, 1; Ualisins in, . 12; Valaiyans in, 114 ; Vallatmans in, 110 ; Maravans in, 120; silk clo hs imported from, 157; trade in cloths with, 159; carpets and mats sent to, 162 ; ba4keta sent to, 171; oil exported to, 172; emigration to, 188; Collector of, 359 .
Madura foot, 199.
Madura Mission, 74, 75,188.Madura town, Rijarija,'s coins found in, 43; taken by Kulcittanga 111, 45; 'Muhammadan ride at, 16, 48, 51; Nayakkan ruin at. 49, 50; taken by Nagama Nayakkan, 51 ; p ,goda and public b .ildings in, 55, 337 ; threatened by 31y3ore, 55; cacital of the Nayakkans, 56, :329; improved by Tirumala, 56 ; Musalmans moved aztilist, 56; held out against the 31,1rAt ha4, 59 ; Chauda Sahib's brother appointed governor of, 6 ' ; revolt in, 61; Cai;laud sent to I PCOVer, 69 ; Roman Carbolic head-qua, tors at, 75 ; coloured thread imported from, 158; road to, 180, 182; railway ,o, 183; village go 1.1ess from, 290, 305; growth of nopu'ation in, 326 ; ancient desert track to, 355.
Madarai Kaliyamman, 89, 2..0, 305.
Madarai Viran, 89, 278.
Magah, 29.
Magah f_Tralis, 112.
Madras rattes, 251, :167.
Mazn,Aia, 18.
Manabut Subhahani Hazarat, 80,
Mahadanapuram, 251.
Mahadur, 14. 
Mahajans, 238. 
Mahanur, 297. 
Mahendragiri, 37.
Mahendravarman 1, 31, 339.
Mahfuz Khan, 63.
Mihogany, 155.
Maladu, 30,
Malai.kanda Vellalaus, 100, 101, 285.
Malai Tambiran, 122.
Meilais, 122.
Malaiyalis, on the Pachaimalais. 3, 4 ; on the Kollaimalais, 5 ; superstitions of, 5 ; dress of; 83 ; tattooing among, 84 ; bull. baiting by, 86; caste nanchayats among, 93 notes : marriage customs of, 95, 96 ; bottu used instead of tali by, 97 note, 117 ; funeral ceremonies of, 98 note ; inferior to Valaiyans, 114, ; described, 123-128 ; did not oppose forest reservation, 153 ; Puliyanjolai market used b 176.
Malaiyamans. 108.
Malappatti, 168, 170, 269, 275.
Malaria, 3, 196,198, 355.
Malava, 312.
Malavanadu, 312,
Malay Archipelago, 35.
Malayalam country, 313.
Malayamarungar, 371.
Malcolm, Mr., 303,
Malik Karur, 46.
Mallamma, 122.
Mallattanmlam, 349.
Mallotus philipkinensis. 163.
Malwa village. 109.
Mama Jugme, 338.
Mamul kadamai, 365.
Mamundi, 278.
Mamundiyar river, 8.
Manabharanan, 38.
Manachanallur, taken by Clive, 65 ; of manufacture at, 71, 310; anion, 260 Kadavur poligar helps Nadir Sing ' a. 279 ; weaving at, 309.
Manai seistram, 176.
Manakktil, 169, 309.
Manamedu, 153, 159, 2S6.
Mannapparai estate, 356.
Manapparai talnk, 282.
Manapparui town, limestones near, 13 ;cattle fair at, 22 ; market at, 176 ; road from, 180; railway-station, 183 ; deputy talsildar at, 243 ; described, 282.
Manattattai, 280.
Manaveri land, 139, 140.
Maniisliti root, 166.
Maugaininai, regency of, 60; built the Manappitrai travellers' bungalow, 282 ; mad the LTyyakoudan head sluice, 314; audien e hall of, 335 ; her attack. on Udaiyarpalaiyam, 351,
Mangoes, 19, 155. 
Mannai Kudi, 32. 
Mannargudi, 180.

-----------------------------------387-----------------------------------

INDEX

Manoverthi Jaghir, 365.
Manure, vadanarayana leaves need as, 20 ;for wet lands, 136, 141 ; for dry lands,141 ; supplied by the Forest department,166 ; oil cake used as, 172.
Manvetti Uppiliyane, 115.
Marakkayans, 78, 169.
Marathas, 58, 59, 165, 329-333 passim.
Maravan Tondiman, 330.
Maravans, descendants of the Nagas, 26 ;helped Mysore against the Marathas,59 ; dress of, 83 ; ornaments of, 83, 84 ;tattooing among, 84; food of, 84; marriage customs of, 95; call themselves VollMans, 102 ; socis 1 position of, 107, 109 ; described, 120 ; crime of, 253.
Maravarman Kulasekhara I, 46.
Maravarman Kulasekhara, II 46.
Maravarman Sundara-Pandya 1, 45.
Maravattur, 18.
Marco Polo, 46.
Margosa, tree, ; 55 ; oil, 172, 177 ; oil-cake, 172.
Mitricha, 278.
Mariyamman, temples of, 90 ; vows to, 92 ;worshipped by Vallambans, 120 ; at Pappakkalpatti, 284, Omandur, 288 ; Kilambil, 311 ; Sarnayapnram, 316, 317,318, 319.
Mariyayi, 125, 127.
Markandeya, 325.
Markets, 176, 263, 266, 319,
Marriage customs, 94, 100-131 passim.
Martanda Bhairava Tondaiman, 361..
Martin, Father, 189.
Marudaiyar river, 149, 343.
Marudur, 161, 343.
Marulalis, 87, 341.
Marungapuri estate, Arumbn-katti tans common in, 102 rainfall in the head-quarters of, 188 ; eanad granted to, 237 ; described, 283; formed part of Iluppur estate, 310 ; its connection with Pudnkkottai State, 356, 358.
Marungitrfilis, 112.
Mats, 162, 177, 363.
Mattur bullocks, 20, 21.
Mattdr, 301.
Mavureddi. 300.
Mayantir, 277.
Means of communication, 180-186, 363.
Measures, 178.
Meclaras, 171.
Medical institutions. See Hospitals.
Medicines, weights for, 177.
Medows, General, 272.
Melakudiyiruppu, 340.
Metimilai, 371.
Melappaluvur, 349.
Melappuluyur, 167, 168, 301, 302.
Melia Azadirachta, 154.
Melia Indica, 154.
Melmugam, 300.
Melnadu Vallambans, 119.
Melur, 363.
Memecylon edule, 154, 166.
Memorial tablets, 336, 337.
Mencivalidrs, 255, 257.
Mern Mount, 339.
Metal work, 167, 269.
Methodists, 362.
Mettunopatti, 77.
Mica, 14, 18, 169, 354.
Mi italy force in Prdukkottai, State, 360. 
Minakshi, 60, 292, 319, 338.
Minerals, 17-19, 354, 3-7.
Miscellaeons revenue in Pudukkottai,368 
Missionaries, educational work of, 203,201.
Mittadars, 20, 234.
Mittas, inams in, 240.
Mochai crop, 141.
Mohtanur, 181, 260, 297.
Molitsrfa,
Molturrom, 79.
Moore, Mr. Lewis, 10.
Moorachellinoor, 313.
Morari Rao of Gooty, 63, 65, 66, 68.
Morupatti, 260, 261, 297.
Mosques, 319, 338, 370.
Mottai Vellalans, 109, 101.
Mottu Nachiyar, 81.
Muchis, 173.
Mudavandis, 105, 123.
Mudukapatti, 300.
Mughals, 351.
Muhammad Ali, 63-71, 210, 303, 338.
Muhammad Hussain Khan, 303.
Muhammadans. See Musalmans.
Mukta Sahib, 273.
Mullaitdr, 38.
Mullu Kuli, 257.
Mutrtiondi-C1141a, 35.
Mummumudi-Cholapettai, 288.
Municipalities, 199, 200, 261-267.
Munro, Sir Thomas, 234.
Muneurpett, 65 note.
Muppuns, 109, 241.
Martinet'', 162.
Musalmans, their first invasion of Southern India, 46 ; their incursions checked by the rise of Vijayanngar, 48 ; Madura tai- en by, 50 ; proportion to the district population of, 74 ; described, 78 ; their relations with Tottiyans, 121 ; cloths msde for,157, 160 ; scents made by. 173; bangles made by. 174 ; fabino caused by the invasion of, 188 ; education of, 203 ; revenue administration under, 210- 214 ; grants to religions institutions by, 238 ; their connection with Trichinopoly, 328-330; mosque at, 338. 
Museum at Bangalore, 316.
Musical instruct. eats, 170.
Musiri taluk. 210, 286.
Musiri town, Periyavaykkai near, 47 ; road through, 180, 182 ; rainfall in, 188; union, 260 ; described, 288.
Muttaal Ravuttan, 115.

-----------------------------------388-----------------------------------

INDEX

Muttam village, 13.
Muttarasanallur, 67, 313, 342.
Muttayya Nayakkan, 279.
Muttiriyana, 93 notes, 96, 105, 170.
Muttu Alakadri Nayakvan, 56, 329.
Mattu Krishnappa Nayakkan, 52.
Muttu Virappa Nayakkan, 52, 329, 345. 
Muttubhupalasamudram, 280.
Muttugipatti, 167.
Muzaffar Jung, 63, 64.
Mycetoma, 199.
Mysore, Niyakkan ruler of, 63; Tirumala's wars with, 54, 55 ; Nayakkans attacked by, 58, 59; defeated by the Marathas, 59 ; Trichinopoly invaded by, 60; attacked by Chanda Sahib, 62 ; Muhammad Ali helped by, 65; disputes with Muhammad Ali of, 67 ; treachery of the troops of, 66 ; wars with the rulers of, 70-71 ; trade with, 158, 159, 163 ; Aravakkurichi fort built by the Raja of, 270 ; Karur attacked and occupied by, 271 ; its connection with Turaiyur estate, 292; Srirangam made over to the troops of, 323.
Mysore Wars , 70, 71, 335.

N

Nachi, village goddess, 126. 
Nadams, 107.
Nadir Sing, 279.
Nadunattu Valaiyans, 114. 
Naduppatti, 150, 183. 
Naas, 5.
Nagai tree, 154.
Nigalipuram, 170, 286. 
Nagama Nayakkan, 50. 
Nagara Viniyans, 92.
Nags, 26, 29, 30, 120.
Nagore, 167, 33g.
Naga Bharati, 356.
Nainamalai, height of, 5 ; cattle fair at, 22 ; fair for sheep and goats at 23 ; market at, 176 ; described, 298.
Nainans, 100, 102.
Nalankilli, 29.
Nalla Golla Tottiyans, 122,
Nallandavar, 278.
Nallappa Rcddi, 292.
Nallipalaiyam, 173, 297.
Namaddta, 79.
Namagiriammal, 299.
Namai tree, 154.
Namakkal taluk, 234, 237, 240, 296.
Namakkal town, hills near, 2 ; gneissic rocks in, 13 ; limestones near, 13 ; buffaloes of, 22 ; fate during the Mysore wars of, 70 ; quarrels between Hindus and Musalmans in, 79 ; weaving at, 158, 159 ; dyeing in, 163, 104 ; brass vessels n,ado in, 167 ; road through, 180 ; railway-station for, 183 ; rainfall at, 188 ; hospital at, 200 ; sohool in, 204 ; divisional officer at. 242 district munsif  at, 250; union, 260 ; commandant of Karat' permitted to proceed, to, 271 described, 298.
Nandi, at Kodumbohir, 374.
Nandicarman Pallavamalla, 32.
Nandiyar Project, 149,
Nandiyar river, 9, 143, 146, 226. Nandn-tinditralis, 112.
Nanganji ricer, 7.
Nangavaram, 86, 283.
Nangavaram Kattuvari, 148.
Nanjai Edaiyar, 260, 299.
Nanjai Mahantir, 297.
Napier, Lord, 205.
Narasituha Ilaya, 344.
Narasimhascami temple, 278. Narasimbavarman 1, 31.
Narbadda valley, Bagh beds of, 17. Narttamalai, SO, 356, 371.
Nathar Shah, 338, 340.
Nathar Shah mosque, 80, 338.
Natt Vaykkal, 288.
Nattamans, dress of, 83; tattooing among,84; marriage customs of, 95; social position of, 106, 107 ; described, 108. Mains, 238.,
Nattu-simai Uralis, 112.
Nattukkata, 81.
Nattukk6ttai Chettis, their women prohibited from crossing Southern Venal-river, 9; dress of, 83; ornaments of, 83, 84 ; tattooing among, 84 ; prohibit widow re-marriage, 95 note; wedding ceremonies of, 96 ; social position of, 107, 109; trade of, 160, 168; Hindu temples restored by, 170, 325 ; their strength in Puduk &Lai State, 362.
Nattuvaikkal channel, 263.
Nattuvans, 212, 215 note, 218.
Natural divisions, 2.
Nciva/ tree, 322.
Navaladiyan, 297.
Navalur., 302.
Navigation in rivers, 182,
Nawab of Arcot, account of, 61-65 ; aids Christian missions, 76, 337; zamindars' relations with, 237; liartir in the possession of, 272; his connection with Turaiyar, 293; llanjaugudi, 303; Ariya-16r, 345, 346 ; Udaiyirpidaiyam, 345, 346. 352 ; and Pudukkottai State, 35S, 359.`
Nawab's Palace' at Trichinopoly, 337.
Nayakkan of Gingee, 351.
Natyakkans of Madura, history of, 50-62; revenue system of, 210; poligar system of, 237 ; kical system dates from the tinie of, 255; kartir fell under, 271; Turaiyur poligar rewarded by, 292; mantapams at Kapilatualai ascribed to, 297; Trichinopoly lost to, 329; change of rapital of, 329 ; attached importance to forts, 329 note; their palace at Trichinopoly, 337; inscriptions of, 340; their connection with Pudukkottai State, 356, 358.

-----------------------------------389-----------------------------------

INDEX

Ntiyakkans of Tanjore, 356, 357, 358, 370. Nayuks, 49.
Nazir Jang, 63, 64.
Nazzars, 213.
Negapatam, visited by St. Francis Xavier, 74; Roman Catholic College at, 75, 204,. 205; Railway from, 183.
Neiveli, 13, 14.
Nellikuppam, 247.
Nellore, 20, 21, 46, 136.
Nelson's Madura Country, 50, ;20, 188, 356, 357.
Nerur, 273.
Nemnayr, Professor, 14.
Nicholson, Sir Frederick, 21.
Nicobar Islands, 38.
Nilgiris, The, 163, 171.
Ninniyur rocks, 16, 17.
Nirainikkam fee. 147.
Niranis, 241.
Nirarambam. tracts, 210-217 passem.
Nitre, 18.
Nityavinoda, 35 note.
Nizam of Hyderabad, political position of, 61 ; rival claims to the position of, 63 ; attacks Mysore, 69 ; aided by the English against Haidar, 70 ; obtains Trichinopoly, 330. 
Nolambas, 36.
Nuna root, 165, 166, 169.
Nunneries, 76.
Nux-vomica, 154, 363.

O

Observatory at Padukkottai. 372.
Occupations, 157-176.
Ochre, 18, 355.
Odakkarans, 183.
Odams, 181.
Oddes, 141, 170.
Ohalur, 80.
Oil-cake, 136, 142, 172, 177.
Oil-manufacture, 177.
Oil-seeds, 139.
Okkarai, 301.
Oaperi land, 224.
Olappadi, 18, 167, 301.
Oldenlandia umbellata, 165.
Oldham, Mr., 265.
Oliphant, Lieut., 283.
Otnand6r. 28S.
Owens, 80, 13S.
Oncliiyi, 90.
Ondi Karnppu, 313.
Opium, 248.
Oppiladam man, 344.
Oranges, 19.
Oravanddr, 299.
Orissa, 35.
Orloff diamond, 321.
Orme, on Chanda Sahib's relations with Queen Minakshi, 62; his spelling of Valikandapuram. 64, 307 ; Samayapnratn,  65 ; and Piehandark6vil, 66 ; Golden Rock' of, 67, 331 ; Kardr described by, 271 ; on Turaiyur estate, 293 ; on Uttatur, 305 ; his description of Lalgudi, 313 ; his name for the Golden Rock, 330; A riyaltir poligar occasionally mentioned by, 345.
Ornamental work, 168.
Ornaments, 83.
Orphanages, 76.
Ornpandur, 299.
Ottakovil, 18.

P

Paohaimalais, described, 2; gorge between the Kollaimalais and, 8; gneissic rocks in, 12 ; iron ores in, 13 ; game in, 24; Malaiyalis of, 83, 84, 123-128; .Malaiyamins near, 108; cultivation on, 14C; reservoir at the foot of, 150; forest on, 153, 154, 155 ; malaria in, 198 ; settlement of the villages on, 225.
Pachudaiyampatti, 300.
Pack-bullocks, 101, 180.
Padaiyachis, marriage customs of, 94, 95 note, 96 ;, carpet manufacture of, 161 ; crime of, 252 ; Ariyalur poligar one of, 344.
Padalur, 18, 307.
Paddy, cultivated on the Kollaimalaia, .5; methods of cultivation of, 132-137; rope from the straw of, 171 ; chief export, 176; price during famines of, 189, 190 ; rise in the price of, 226.
Padi kaval, 256.
Padinettam perukku, 85, 281.
Padugais, 153-156 passim, 163.
Painting, 169, 177.
Paleolithic implements, 17.
Palceantologica Indica, 15.
Palai tree, 154.
Palaiyam (Dindigul taluk), 279.
Palaiyam (Perambaldr taluk), 302. 
Palarueottah, 75, 162. 
Palaya-Jayankonda-Ch6lapuram, 282 
Palayakdttai, 103.
Palaya-nadu Vallambaus, 119. 
Palayasengadam, 80, 282.
Palghat, 163, 168, 169, 171,
Palk's strait, 9.
Palla Kolnmiyi, 341.
Palla-ktittadis, 129.
Palladu, 23.
Pallans, their relation to Musalmans, 79; separate quarters for, 81 ; dress of, 83 ; tattooing among, 84; men belong to loft hand faction, 92, 93 ; marriage customs of, 95 ; Malaiyalis trace their origin to, 124 ; described, 128 ; crime of, 252, 254 ; their strength in Pudnkkottai State, 360.
Pallapalaiyam anicut, 8. 146.
Pallapatti, 260, 274.

-----------------------------------390-----------------------------------

INDEX.

Pallapert, 266.
Pallava Raya Tondiman, 357.
Pallava Rayas of PucinkkCttai, 356, 357,372.
Pallavan tank, 372.
Pallavas, their origin, 30 ; supremacy, 31 ; and decline, 32; Chola king captured by, 45 ; inscriptions of, 328 ; their connection with Puclukkottai, 356.
Pails, ornaments of, 83; belong to left hand faction, 92 ; social position of, 106, 107, 109, 114, 115; described, 11.0; Kuravaus resemble, 251.
Palmyras, small numbers of, 19 ; in forest reserves, 154, 155 ; baskets made of leaves of, 171, 325 ; ropes made ftom, 1.71 ; at Tiruvarankulam. 373.
Palni hills, 7.
Palni town, 100. 197, 289.
Paluppar, 349.
Paluvinji tralis, 112.
Pituabilarntnan, 284.
Pancha Piindyas, 279.
Panchakshara, 271.
Pachamadavi, 271.
Panchamas, 81, 180.
Panchayats, 93, 100-131 passim..
Pandamuttu Pallis, 111.
Pandarams, bury their dead, 98 ; section of Vellalans, 100, 102 ; their part in Orfili funerals, 113 ; mats made by, 103.
Pandava s, 302.
Pandya succession, war of, 43, 11.
Pandya Vellfilans, 100.
Pandyas, boundary of the kingdom of, 8, 9; Non-Aryan descent of, 26; in As6ka's Limo, 27; position of the kingdom of, 27 ; political condition of, 28; defeated by Karikal Chdla, 29; friendly to Cholas, 29 ; conflicts with Cholas, 29, 30 ; their king invited to a Chdla sacrifice, 30 ; nominal feudatories of the Pallavas, 31 ; their king marries a Ch6la princess, 31 ; their coantry invaded by the Chalnkyas, 32 ; combine against the Pallavas, 32; defeated at Mannai Kudi, 32 ; Ch6la country and Ceylon overrun by, 33 ; political condition in the ninth century of, 33 note ; Ch6la conquest of, 34; Rajaritja's victories over, 35, 36; rebellions among, 37 ; Ch61a war with, 33 ; 01161a conquests over, 39 ; rebellions of, 42, 43 ; their relations with Rfijartlja's successors, 43 ; political condition in the 12th century of, 44 ; their victory over the lloyeala Ballitlas, 45 ; conquer the Ch6las, 45 ; after Malik Karur's invasion, 46; rule Madura jointly with the Nayakkans, 49 ; their country overrun by the Travancore king, 49 ; Achyuta marries the daughter of the king of, 50 ; their king dispossessed by a Ch6la, 50; and later by Nitgams. Nfiyakkan 51 ; disappear from history, 51; Auvaiyar's  blessing on, 109; inscriptions of, 275, 348, 350 ; their connection with Trichinopoly town, 328; fish figure on the rock due to, 340; Ilraiydr supposed to have been destroyed by, 340 note ; their connection with Pudukkottai State, 356.
Panguni channel, 145.
Panidas, 27.
Panjalankurichi, 373.
Panjapatti, 150.
Panjukkara Chettis, 100, 101.
Panjuvettis, 78.
Pannaikarans, 241.
Paunaiyals, 128, 130, 151.
Pannirendam Cliettis, 282, 285.
Panta Reddis, 90, 97 note, 117.
Pappakkal, 284.
Pappakkalpatti, 281.
Para-kfittadis, 130.
Para-tombans, 130.
Para', 141.
Paraiyans, on the Kollaimalais, 5; agricultural settlements for Christians among, 77 ; dress of, 83 ; tattooing among, 84 ; food of, 84 ; caste disputes of, 93 ; marriage customs of, 95, 96 ; their part in Konga Vellidan funeral ceremonies, 105; caste of Anvaiyar's foster-daughters,,	109 ; their part in Urali funerals, 112, 113 ; Pallans claim superiority to, 128 ; described, 130 ; weaving of, 100 ; crime of, 252; at T6ttiyam, 290; in Pudukkottai state, 360 ; priest at Pertingalur belongs to 371.
Parakesari-varman, 33 note.
Paramati, 188, 243, 300.
Paranarn, 347.
Pararitalra I, 34, 321, 339, 340 note.
Parintaka. II, 35.
Parasurima, 349.
Paravai, 80.
Parent-tongue, 73.
Paris, 70, 75.
Paspalsu; dikttatum, 155.
Pasupatisvarasvitml, 272.
Patnattu Chettis, 93, 106.
Patnalkarans, 157, 159, 101, 346, 363.
Pattalamma, 122.
Pattamaniyagdro, 2-11.
Pattavans, 90, 115, 126.
Pattayam, 255.
Pattukkattu system, 219, 365.
Pattukk6ttai, 363.
Payarani Malialingam, 362.
Pebbles, 14.
Pachi, 278.
Pcdda Inti T6ttiyans, 122.
Penang, 23, 169, 173.
Pennur river, 28.
Penukonda, 52, 338.
People, 73 to 131, 360.
People's park at Trichinopoly, 206.
Paraiydr, 371.
Perambahlr taluk, 210, 301.

-----------------------------------391-----------------------------------

INDEX.

Perambalur town, Nandiyar river rises near, 9 ; brass vessels made near, 167 ;road through, 180; railway to Karur from, 185 ; rainfall in, 188 ; union, 260 ; described, 302.
Peramur ostate, 288.
Perattiyur, 108, 313.
Periplus Marts Erythroei, 27.
Periya Parcinam, 31.
Periya Tirukk6uam,
Periyapatti, 208.
Periyar valley, 4.
Poriyavaykkal, 47, 288.
Permanent Settlement, 237.
Perugamani, 80.	
Peruu a] K6vil surplus, 145.
Perumalmalai, 291.
Pernnarkilli, 30.
Perundurai, 22.
Perungal6r, 371.
Peruvalai channel, 145, 1 Is.
Peruvalanafitir, 310.
Pettaivattalai, 80, L62, 313.
Phoenix dacty/ophera, 155.
Phosphatic nodules, IS.
Physical des-ription, 1-25.
Pichandark6vil, 64, 66, 70, 311.
Picottah buckets, 172, 173.
Pidari, 89, 125, 126, 287.
Pig, 24, 354.
Pigot, Lard, 182.
Pielaiyar, temples to, 89 ; worshipped before marriages, 97 ; by women, 102 ; during Reddi purificatory ceremonies, 119; image bailed by Malaiyalis to bring rain, 127 ; on the Trichinopoly rock, 321, 339.
Pillatturai, 300.
Pillur, 284.
Pilluru Urilis, 112.
Pilluvari, 211.
Pindiiris, 330,
Pipeclay, 18.
Pista kay, 163, 164.
Pitchandah, 66.
Pith modelling, 169, 177.
Pithecolobium. saman, 155.
Plague, 122.
Plantains, taluks in which grown, 132; grown on paddy land, 136 ; varieties and methods of cultivation, 137 ; manure for, 141 ; export. of, 136: grown at Tiruppangili, 289.
Ploughing-cattle, 177.
Pohle, Rev. C., 76.
Poinciana. elata, 20.
Pokariti Reddis, 93 note, 95, 98 note, 117.
Polayamman, 118.
Police, 254, 259, 368.
Poligars, 51. 210, 237.
Political Agent for Pudukkottai. 1. 251,359.
Pondicherry, Chanda Sahib lied to, 64 ;D'Anteuil arrived at Uttatur from, 65; surrendered to Eyre Coote, 70; cloth  exported to, 105; bangles exported to 175.
Pondicherry Mission, 74.
Pondicherry rocks, 15.
Pondupuli Karuppu, 278.
Pongal, 85.
Pongala Reddis, 117.
Ponnaiyur river, 9.
Ponnamaravati, 358, 363.
Ponn6ri Mu& lis, 100, 102.
Ponn6ri tank, 149, 348.
Ponniyayi, 89.
Pony-breeding, 24.
Population, 73-131, 31a r.
Porpanai-k6ttai, 873.
Porphyritic gneiss, 14.
Portia tree, 20, 141.
Porto Novo, 9, 71, 335.
Porundalur, 171.
Postal arrangements hi Pudukkotai State, 360, 363.
Potstone, 18.
Pottanur, 260, 300.
Pottery, 176.
Poysalesvara, 315.
Prasanna Venkanichalapati, 294.
Pratapa Rudra, 314.
Preston's battery, 33i;.
Prickly pear, 141.
Printing, 176.
Prithivipati I, 3:3 note.
Prosopis Spicigera, 154.
Pterocarpas Marsupium, 15 I.
Ptolemy, 27, 270, 328.
Public health, 196.
Public) Works in I'udukkottai, 367.
Puckle, Mr., 11, 219, 231.
Pncluchavadi, 185.
Pudukkottai Raja., aids Muhammad Ali in the Carnatie War, 64 ; head of the 'Callan caste, 107; was arasu karalgar, 255 ; tutelary shrine of, 274; house at Trichinopoly owned by, 336 ; genealogy of, 361.
Plidukkottai State, boundary of the district, 1 ;Southern Vellar flows through, 9 ; bangle-earth in, 18, 19 ; fruit trees in, 19; other trees in, 20; cattle of, 20, 21; game animals in, 25 ; French incursion into, 6S; Roman Catholic mission in, 75 ; aladura mission stations in, 78; weights and measures in, 178, 179; arrangements regarding salt fog-, 245 ; Justice of the Peace for, 251 ; described, 354-374.
Pudukkottai town, cattle-fair at, 22 ; S.P.G. mission in, 77 ; Lutheran high school at, 78; weaving in, 157, 158, 159 ; dyeing in, 163, 164 ; cloth-dyeing and chintz-stamping at, 165, 166; musical instruments made in, 170; scents mado in, 173 ; printing press is, 176 ; market at, 176 ; proposed railway to, 184; medical institutions in, 369; described, 371,

-----------------------------------392-----------------------------------

INDEX.

Pudunilai, 370.
Pudupalaiyam, 280, 300,
Pudupatti (Mnsiri taluk), 14.
Puduppatti (Namakkal taluk), 296.
Pudur, 103.
Pugalur (Karur taluk), 274.
Pugalur (Udaiyarpalaiyam taluk), 774.
Pulavan, 104, 105.
Pulichi bush, 171.
Pulik4sin If, 32.
Pulikasin, 39.
Pulikkulam bullooks, 2U, 21, 22, 107.
Putippeiehi tirtham. 290.
Pulivalam, SO.
Puliran weir, 148.
Puliyanjolai market, 176.
Pullambadi, 80, 89.
Punalkodn, 140.
Puna' Valaiyans, 41.
Pundamalli Mndalis, 100, 102.
Pungudi, 183.
Punjai Eilayar, 300
Punnam, 275.
Puraktdis, 212.
Puratakadi, 75.
Purattasi pattam, 139.
Purvattu temple, 114.
Puttanattam, 174,
Puttar, S.P.G. Mission in, 77 ; village goddess of, 89; civil hospital removed from, 200; water supply to, 265;suburb of Trichinopoly, 327 ; Mess at,336; description of the festival of the village goddess at, 341.
Puvalur, 159, 260, 309, 310.
Pavarasu tree, 20.

Q

Quartzites, 14. 
Qullon, 35, 36. 
Quinine, 198.

R

Rachandar deity, 114.
Raghoji Bhonsla, 330.
Raglinnatha Tondaimin, 357. 358, 300.
Ragi, 134, 139, 190, 221.
Railway cess, 185.
Railways, 183-185, 191, 303. 
Rain tree, 155.
Rainfall, 88, 187, 355.
Raja' hiraja Dave, I, 38, 43.
Rajadhiraja II, 41.
Rajaditya Chola, 34, 35.
Rajahratmdry, 36, 40.
Rajakesari varman, 33 note, 35.
Rajamahandra, 39.
Rajaraja I, 29, 35-38. 1.3..17, 347.
Rajaraja II, 41.
Rajaraja III, 45, 285.
Rajaraja (Chalnkya), 30, 11.
Rhjaraja-ptindi-nadn, 43.
Rajetsraya, 35 note.
Ritjavaikkil channel, 150.
Ritjandra ChoIa I, 37, 41, 43, 347.
Rajandra Chola II, 39.
Rajandra Chola HI, 45.
Rajmahal rocks, 14.
Rama, 120, 307, 311, 373.
Rama Vijaya, 345.
Ramachandra .Ntiyak, 299.
Ramachandra Tondaiman, 380.
Ramannjacharya, 323, 324.
Ramasvami Mudaliyar, Raid, Sir S., 202.
Ramasvaram, 44 40, 51, 52,
Rami Nayinar, 344.
Ramnad zamindari, southern Velar flow throagh, 9 ; Setupatis of, 52, 55, 59 ;famine in, 189; its connection with Pudukkottai State, 356, 357, 358.
Ranga of Chandragiri, 53, 357.
Ranga Krishna Muttu Virappa Nayakkan, 59, 358.
Rangamalai, 5.
Ranganatha, 319-323.
Rangappa, 345.
Rangappa Udaiyar of Pallikonda, 350.
Rangoon, 158.
Rangu, 175.
Ranjangncli, 86, 161, 162, 303, 307.
Rastitrakfitas of Malkhed, 32, 34.
Rasipurant, 168,
Ratnagiri hill, wolves in, 24 ; temple for Kaikalan.s on, 92; Malni-kanda Vellalans near, 101 ; sanctity of, 280; Chettis' tradition in connection with. 282; described, 284.
Rattan boxes, 171.
Ravivarman, 46.
Ravuttans. 78, 80, 138
Razipalaiyam, 296.
Razus, 169.
Read, Captain, 231.
Reddis, dress of, 83 ; ornaments of, 83, 84 ;caste goddess of, 91; marriage customs of, 91., 95 note, 96 ; social position of, 103, 106.109; described, 117. 
Registration, 251, 367.
Regulations of Pudukkottai State, 362, 364.
Religions, 74.
Relinquishinents, 218.
Remissions. 231.
Rengiiyi ainmsn, 118.
Reserved forest, 153.
Residency at Pudnkaatai, 372.
Resident of Tanjore, 369.
Rettaimalai, 108, 313, 331.
Revenue settlements, 211-236.
Revenue systems, 2u9.
Rice, 130, 182.
Right and left hand factions, 02,
Rivers, 5-9, 182, 351.
Road cess, 225.
Roads, made by Queen Mangammil, 60 ;in the district, 180 ; in 1864, 220; in Trichinopoly cantonment, 264 ; in Pudukkottai State, 363.

-----------------------------------393-----------------------------------

INDEX.

Rock-cut eaves, 325, 339, 355, 371.
Roman Catholics, 74, 337, 346, 362, 370.
Ropes, 170, 179.
Rottiera tinctoria tree, 163.
Rubies, 160, 177.
Rndratlaman, 31 note.
Rudniksham seed, 84.
Ryotwari system, 234.

S

S.P.C.K., 76.
S.P.G., 76, 327 ; college maintained by,77, 207; hospital maintained by, 200; Schwartz belongs to the, 337.
Sabhapati Reddi, 287.
Sacrificos of animals, 89.
Sadasiva Brahmam, 273, 275.
Sadaya Kavundan, 124.
Sadara-giris, 3.
Safdar Ali Khan, 61, 63.
Saffron root, 103, 164,
Saha-nayanar, 91, 92.
St. John's Church at Trichinopoly, 76, 207, 333, 337.
St. Joseph's College, 76, 170, 204, 333.
St. Joseph's high school, 336.
Saiyad Ali, 310.
Sakkarakottam, 42.
Sakkiratti, 125.
Sala Sambavan, 130.
Salem district., northern boundary of Trichinopoly district, 1 ; Pachaimalais in, 2 ; Kollaimalais in, 3 ; bounded by the Cauvery, 6; Northern Vellar rises in, 9 ; main from, 20, 21, 22 ; conquered by Aditya Chola, 33; silk cloths imported from, 157 ; cloth exported to, 158, 159 ; Musalman weavers from, 159; baskets imported from, 171 ; iluppai oil imported from, 174 ; road to, 180, 182.
Salivahans, 82.
Saliyans, 159.
Salt, 18, 244, 306,
Salt. Commission of.,1876, 244, 245. 
Saltpetre, made in the district, 19, 176, 246; made by Uppiliyans, 116, 117 ; used in chintz-stamping, 166 ; export of, 177, 182.
Saluppai-alagar.kovil, 349, 350.
Saluva-Samgama-Devamaharaja, 49.
Saluvas, 49.
Samai, 139, 141.
Samanar, 349.
Samayanallur, 279.
Samalyapuram, 22, 63, 90, 313.
Samalyapuram, 22, 65, 90, 315.
Samiavaram, 65.
Samudram, 183.
San Thou* 75.
Senads to zamindars, 237, 238, 339.
Sandal-wood, 154.
Sandstones, 14, 15,17.
Saul, 347.
Sanitation, 199, 370.
Sanskrit, 369.
Santoji 58.
Septa Kannimar, 91.
Sandia Valaiyans, 114.
Simms, Muni, 323, 339.
Sarkk Pandamsugalam, 300.
Sarkar Press at Puclukktatai, 372.
Sarkar workshop at Pudukkottai, 372.
Sarkarpalaiyam. 331.
Sarviditya Cluila, 340 note.
Sarvdttama Rao, 287.
Satan's, 171.
Skint, 62, 03.
Sati, 117, 122.
Satin-wood, 151.
Sattambhr, 13.
Sattindi Amman, 283.
Saturn, 347.
Satyamangalam, 188.
Savindippatti, 106.
Sayar, 360.	
Scents, 173, 177, 363. Schools, maintained by missionary bodies, 76, 77, 78 ; in the district, 203.208 ; in Pudukkottai state, 369.
Schwartz, 76, 207, 337.
Second crop, 224, 232.
Sedans, 92, 159.'
Seed-beds, 135.
Selai tree, 154.
Sellandiyainman, 89, 281, 299.
Sellayi, 89.
Selliyamman, 305, 307.
Sellnkudi, 363.
SMdr Nadu, 3.
Sembili sheep, 22, 23.
Sembulichai tree, 154.
Secndalai, 33 note.
Sendarnangalam, tape manufacture at, 161; brass vessels made in, 167 ; shoe.making in, 173 ; bangles made in, 174 ; rainfall in, 188 ; special magistrate at, 251; union, 260 ; described, 300.
Sender Bandi, 46.
Sendnrai, 16, IS, 343.
Sengal, 119.
Sengarai forest, 355, 373.
Sengndi Uralis, 112.
Seniyans, 159, 160.
Seringham, 76.
Sesbania grandiflora, 138.
Sashagiri Rao's Mantapam, 320.
Seshayya Sastri, Sir A., 364, 372.
Sessional School, 203, 204.
Sessions Court at Podukkottai, 387.
Settikulam, 288,292.
Setupati Maravans, 120.
Setupatis of Ramnad, their dynasty fonnded by Muttu Krishnappa Nayakkan, 32;assist Tirumala Nayakkan against Mysore, 55; domestic outbreaks in their country, 59 ; their connection with Pudukottai State, 356, 357 ; and with Kilanilai, 370; Tirumayam taken by, 373.

-----------------------------------394-----------------------------------

INDEX.

Seven Pagodas, 350.
Sevvitpet, 22.
Sewell, Sir. lt., 209 note, 297.
Sewell, Rev. Father, 335 note, 336 note.
Shanans, 248.
Sharrock, Rev. J. A., 77.
Sheep, described, 22; penned in the fields, 123 ; dung used in dyeing, :65 ; tanning of skins of, 172; export of, 177; destroyed by floods, 194.
Shikar, 114.
Shiyali, 169.
Shoes, 173, 177.
Sikhanatha temple, 371.
Silappadikaram, 355, 374.
Silappillaiyarputtur, 287.
Silk, 157, 163, 176, 177.
Silver work, 168,177.
Simha vishnu, 31.
Simon Stylites, 274,
Singapore, 169, 173.
Singhalese, 37, 38, 44; their annals, 43, 356.
Sirugarnani, 87, 309.
Sirugandr, 18.
Sirukombiir, 167, 168, 309.
Siravichtir, 89, 170, 3.,5.
Sissoo tree, 154, 155.
Sithai tree, 154.
Sittiikkattn Chettis, 100.
Sittalai, 109, 168, 301.
Sittannavtisal, 355, 350, 373.
Sivaganga estate, 9, 119.
Sivaji, 58, 351.
Sivalur, 282.
Sivancli:i plants, 339.
Sivancihi Purtinain, 340 note.
Sivapfidasekhara, 35 note.
Sivaritri, 114.
Skin diseases, 198.
Small cause jurisdiction, 250, 367.
Smallpox, Range Krishna Muttn Virappa Nayakkan died of, 00; goddess of, 89, 90 ; Malaiyalis' treatment of persons suffering from, 127; deaths during the great frunine from, 192; statistics of, 197.
Smarta Choliyas, 311.
Smartas, 311.
Smith, Captain Joseph, 69, 293.
Smith, Captain Richard, 70, 271, 315.
Snipe shooting, 25.
Snap, 171, 172, 174, 177.
Soils, 11, 220.
Sokkar, 280, 284.
Solid measures, 178.
Somur, 34, 270 note.
South Arcot district, northern bout; lary of Trichinopoly district, 1; month of the Coleroon near, 6 ; bounded by the Northern Vellur river, 9 ; cretaceous rocks of, 15 ; exports to, 23, 162, 172. 
South Indian Railway, 156, 183, 261, 327.
Square measures, 179.
Srinivitsanallur, 289.
Sriramasamudram, 287,
Srfrangam island, position of, 6; Aiyar mouth near the head of, 8 ; military operations in, 64 to 71 passim ; mode of formation of, 143 ; bridges in, 181 ;flood damages in, 195.
Srfrangam temple, workmen drowned while building, 7; cattle fair during festival in, 22 ; inscriptions in, 45, 49 ; covered by Pandyas with gold, 46; improved by Visvanatha Nayakkan 51 ; pilgrim roads to, 51 ; sanctity of, 91 ; Tengalai-Vadagalai disputes in,92 ; thousaud-pillared mantapam in, 106 ; its sanctity recognized by the Malaiyalis, 125, 126 ; cholera during festival in, 197; theft of jewels from, 313 ; described, 319.
Srirangam town, tanning in, 23, 172 ; lloysala Rallfilas established themselves near, 45, 46 ; Ch6ra king marches to, 46 ; early Danish missionaries in, 76 ; painting in, 169 ; carving in, 170; dolls made in, 170 ; musical instruments made in, 170; basketwork in, 171 ; bangles made in, 171; printing in, 176; municipality, 181, 261 ; compulsory vaccination in, 198 ; elephantiasis in, 199 ; hospital in, 200, 201 ; school in,204; liquor shop in, 248; district munsif in, 250; bench court in, 251 ;described, 319.
Srivallabha, 39.
Stamps, 249, 366.
Stanley, Lieutenant, 275.
Sthale purana of Srirangam, 321, 322.
Stick-lac, 163, 164, 174.
Stoliezka, Dr. F., 15.
Stone, 170, 177.
Stones, magical, 310.
Straits Settlements, 159, 160,1,2, 165, 167.
Strychnos, 154.
Snb-jails, 259.
Sub-judge, 250.
Sub-Registrars, 367.
Subrahmanya temple, 374.
Suchindram, 34.
Sudarmfins, 108.
Shires, 81.
Sugar-cane, 132, 137.
Sugar-loaf Rook, 67, 330-333.
Sugriva, 4.
Sullivan, Mr., 71.
Snitan Saiyad Bilasyya Nether Shith, 338:
Sultanpet, 300.
Sumatra, 173.
Sundakkety, 288.
Sundara-Pandya, 38.
Superstitions, 23, 86, 127, 14.2.
Sura, 290.
Suramangalam, 247.
Survey and settlement, in ChoIa times,42, 47 ; in early British period, 216, 218,219 ; existing, 226 ; of Karur taluk, 232 ; in Namakkal taluk, 234; of inam villages 239, 240; of Pudukkotai State, 365. 

-----------------------------------395-----------------------------------

T

Tadampettai-Pa:uvir, 159, 343.
Tad igttipacl i, 36.
Tayara seeds, 163, 164.
Takkolam, 34.
Tdlai plants, 4.
Talaimalai hills, 2, 5, 13, 291.
Taiaijiris, 241, 259.
Talakad,
Talakka Uralie, 112.
Talakkodi, 162.
Talavakkara Choliyas, 311.
Titligai river, 8.
Talikota, battle of, 52.
Taluchir, 301.
Taluk boards, 260.
Taluks, 1.
Tamarind, trees, 19, 20, 154, 155 ; fruits, 163, 177.
Tambapanini. 27.
Tambrapani, 27.
Tambraparni river, 50.
Tamburas, 170.
Tamil, 73, 78.
Tamilkalar Uppiliyans, 115. 
Tananiba-nadu Valaiyans, 114. 
Tandalkarans, 241.
TandOni, 275.
Tangachi Amman, 290.
Tanjore district, boundary of Trichinopoly district, 1 ; buffaloes exported to, 22 ; hides and skins sent to, 23 ; Valaiyans in, 114 ; Vallambans in, 119 ; silk cloths imported from, 157 ; trade in cloths with, 159 ; carpets sent to, 162 ; mats and kdrai grass imported from, 163 ; stone articles exported to, 170 ; oil sent to, 172 ; kayittu kdl used in, 178; protection from famine due to, 193.
Tanjore State, Nayakkan rulers of, 51, 53 ; Musalmans levy tribute from, 51 ; conquered by Musalmans, 56; extinction of the Nayakkan dynasty of, 57 ; independent of Trichinopoly, 58 ; Maratha power in, 39 ; Zulfikar Khan exacts tribute from, GO ; Muhammad Ali gets aid from, 64, 65 ; plundered by Chanda Sahib, 64 ; success of the armies of, 66 ; Lawrence aided by the Raja of, 67 ; Raja cuts short the supplies to the English, 63 ; present to Srirangam hospital by the Princess of, 202.
Tanjore temple, bull in, 17 ; built by Rajaraja 1, 37 ; temple at Gangaikonda Chdlapuram similar in design to, Lalgudi temple similar to, 312 ; and Tirurnulavadi temple, 350.
Tanjore town, Chola capital, 34, 38, 328,347; captured by Rashtruk&us, 34;burnt by the Pandyas, 45 ; taken by the Musalmans, 56, G1 ; Lally's advance against, 69 ; Schwartz removes himself to, 76; supply of fuel to, 156; weaving methods in, 1130; painting in, 169; pith models made in, 1139; granite sent to,182 ; railway from, 183 ; arrack ware-house at, 247 ; pensioned kavalgars in,256 note; Turaiyur poligar retired to,294; poligars of Ariyal6r and Udaiyarpalaiyam fled to, 315; Ensign Allan retreated to, 352 ; Collector of, 359 ;road from Pudukkottai to, 363.
Tanks, 148, 193, 194.
Tanning, 23, 172, 177, 325.
Tape, 161.
Taram faisal, 365.
Tararn kammi, 234.
Ttitaka, 373.
Tattayyangarpettai, iron ores near, 13 ;weaving at, 158, 159, 160; special magistrate at, 251 ; union, 260 ; described,300.
Tattooing, 81, 120, 127.
Taylor's Catalogues of Oriental Mss., 50.
Tayurnzin (Chola king), 340 note.umanavar, 340.
Teak, 154, 155.
Technical schools, 203, 204.
Telugu, 73, 78, 121.
Telungupatti, 171.
Tembarantidu, 225.
Temperature, 10, 196, 355.
Tenai, 139, 141.
Tengalai Vaisbnavas, Smartas reseuibling,311, 324.
Tenndr, 207.
Tenparanadu village, 3.
Tenures in Pudukkottai State, 365.
Teppakulam at Trichinopoly, 208, 827,333, 335, 336.
Terani, 18.
Terkittinu da Kallans, 107.
Terminalia Chebula, 154, 163.
Terminalia paniculata, 154,
Terminalia tomeatosa, 151.
Textile industries, 157, 163.
Tiberius Czesar, 270.
Tiles, 363.
Tillaistanana, 33 note.
Time, measures of, 179.
Timma Raya (Gajapati), 344.
Tiunevelly district, 100, 120, 359, 175.
Tippanjol, 117.
Tipn Sultan, wars with, 71; treasonable correspondence with Muhammad Ali, 72 ; converts to Islam made by, 78 ;assessments in Karur increased by, 232;renting system of, 234; inam tenure disturbed by, 240; temples destroyed by, 294, 307.
Tirampalaiyam, 106.
Tiruchchinappuli, 2.

-----------------------------------396-----------------------------------

INDEX

Tiruchendurai, 325.
Tirugmana Sambandhar, 31, 325.
Tirugokarnam, 355, 373.
Tiru-i-ogimalai, 290.
Tirukkalikkunram, 34.
Tirukkembiliyur, 281.
Tirukkattuppalli, 45.
Tirukkoyilur, 109.
Tirukoranam, 168.
Tirumala of Vijayanagar, 279.
Tirumala Nayakkan, rule of, 52; palace of, 253, 337 ; sided by the Kadavur poligar, 279 ; his grant to Kapilamalai temple, 297 ; changed his capital to Madura, 329.
Tirumalai, 357.
Tirumalai Tondaimin, 357.
Tirumalainarnasarnirdra to, 299.
Tirumalavadi, 350.
Tirumananjeri, 373.
Tirumangai Alvar, 373.
Tirumangalam, 168, 309.
Tirumanjana Pandarams, 284.
Tirumantir, 181.
Tirumayam taluk, 364.
Tirumayam town, 274, 373.
Tirunarayanamaram, 259.
Tirupalattorai, 325.
Tirupati, 275, 357.
Tiruppalatt.rai, 48, 49, 91, 325.
Tiruppangili, 18, 289.
Tiruppattur,295
Tiruppayar, 302.
Tiruppirauabiyarn, 33 note.
Tiruppukal, 374.
Tiru-ssila-palli, 2.
Tiruttalaytir, 290.
Tiruttavatturai, 312.
Tiruvadi, 46 note, 66.
Tiruvadi, grant of Kulottunga I at, 42 ;wood-carving at, 170 ; arrack depot at,247 note ; saint of, 326 ; god brought from, 350.
Tiruval]am, 34.
Tiruvinaikkaval, 262, 319, 322,
Tiruvanilai, 273.
Tiruvannamalai, 20, 21, 323 note.
Tiruvappar, 363, 373.
Tiruvarankulam, 354, 373.
Tiravellarai, 325.
Tiruvengavasal, 363.
Tiruvengimalai, 279, 281, 290.
Tiruverumlir, 183, 312, 326, 331.
Tirraipattu land, 365.
Tittakndi, 247 note.
Tobacco, 177, 363.
Toddy, 218.
Togamalai, 171, 258, 277.
Tolayanattam, 14.
Tolls, 181, 366.
Tondaiman I Ilaindiraiyan, 30.
Tondaimandalam, dia. riots included in, 30; taken by Aditya I, 33 ; conquered by the Rashtrakaas, 34; and reconquered by Aditya I,; independence of the  feudatory chiefs of, 44 ; Pandya inscriptions in, 46 ; conquered by the Musalmans, 48.
Tondaimandalam Mudalis, 100.
Tondaimans, side with Muhammad Ali in the Carnatic War, 64; the French make an incursion into the country of, 68; account of, 356 to 361 passim.; ancestral home of, 370 ; their former place of coronation, 371.
Tondamana, 356.
Tondi, 184.
Topimalai, 5.
Torainangalam, 302.
Totemism, 103.
Tottonx lard, 139, 140, 212 note.
Tottivadi reserve, 154.
Tdttiyam, 22. 89, 286, 290.
Tatiyaus, their relations with Musalroans, 79 ; prefer round houses, 81 ; dress of, 83 ; tattooing among, 81; eschew alcohol, 85 ; bull-baiting of, 86 ; black arts practised by, 87 ; their caste goddess, 91; caste panchayats, 93 notes ; marriage customs, 95, 96 ; funeral ceremonies, 98 note; and social position, 103, 109, 114 ; their part in purificatory ceremonies, 113, 119; described, 121; connection of Malaiyalis with, 1.24; crystals cut and polished by one of, 169 ; their goddess at Kiranur, 287; caste of Ilupprir zamindar, 310.
Tottiyappatti, 300.
Towns, 1.
Trade, 28, 157 to 177 passim, 363. 
Training schools, 203, 204. 
Tramways, 185.
Trariquebar, Mission, 76, 77. 
Transit duties, 42, 47.
Trap dykes, 14, 18.
Travancore hills, 7.
Travancore State, Kulottunga I garrisoned the border of, 42, 43; aggressive attitude of the king of, 40; humbled by Achyuta of Vijayanagar, 50; invaded by Vitthala, Raja, 50; attacked by Musalmans, 61.
Travellers' bungalows, 185.
Trichinopoly marble, 16, 19.
Trichinopoly Rock, 204, 326, 327, 339. Trichinopoly rocks, 16.
Trichinopoly taluk, 309.
Trichinopoly town, origin of name, 2 ; Cauvery river bifurcates near, 6; Mainundiyar river falls near, 8 ; t,,mper-ature recorded in, 10; tanning in, 23; inscriptions in, 31, 33 note, 48, 4i); Mnsalinan kings in, 46, 48; Chola princes near, 47; fort obtained and improved by Visvanatha ha Nayakkan, 51 ; Tirumala strengthens the fortifications of, 53 ; capital of the Nayakkans removed to, 56 ; attacked by Musalmans, 56, 57 ; besieged by the Maria-has, 59; Zulfikar Khan exacts tribute 

-----------------------------------397-----------------------------------

INDEX.

from, 60; Chanda Sahib strengthens the fortifications of, 62 ; attacked by the Marathas, 63; first siege of, 61; English advance to, 65 ; second siege of, 66; third siege of, 70; attacked by Tipu, 71; settlement of rho Madura Mission at, 74 ; not visited by fit. Francis Xavier, 74; episcopal residence at, 75 ; cathedral in the cantonment at, 75 ; schools in, 75, 203, 204 ; work of Schwartz in, 76; Danish Missionaries in, 76 ; Roman Catholic Mission in, 75, 76; S.P.G. Mission in, 77; Wesleyan Miq;ion in, 7S; punitive police posted in, 79; mosque in, SO; disputes during Kamandi festival in, 85; rock temple in, 91 ; manure used near, 142 ; Municipality, 156, 181, 261, 262, 263 to 267; fuel d6pots, 156 ; weaving in, 157, 158 ; embroidery in, 161 ; dyeing in, 163, 164 ; cloth-dye jug and chintz-stamping in, 165 ; Mass vessels made in, 167 ; rubies sent to, 160; painting iu, 160; pith models made in, 169; dolls made in, 170 ; iron oil-presses in, 171 ; tanneries in, 172 ; cheroots made in, 173 ; shoe-making in, 173; bangles made in, 174; soap made in, 171 ; cotton pressing in, 176; printing presses in, 176; liquid measures in, 178 ; roads from, 180 ; boats plying in rivers broken up at, 183; railway-stations in, 183, 184; South Indian -Railway head-quarters at, 181; proposed railway to Pnduk-k6ttai from, 184; devastations near, 188 ; floods in, 193, 194 ; temperature of, 196 ; cholera in, 197 ; compulsory vaccination in, 198 ; elephantiasis in, 199 ; hospital at, 200; prices at, 221; deputy tahsildar at, 213; divisional officer at, 243; arrack ware-house at, 247 ; liquor shops at, 248 ; salt inspectors in, 249; courts in, 250; cantonment magistrate in, 251 ; bench court in, 251 ; sub-registrar in, 251 ; kaval system in, 257; theft in the club in, 257 ; proprietors of Kattupputtur mitta live in, 287 ; described, 326-341 ; Podukkottai cooler than, 355 ; fort and temple built with the ruins of Kodumbalur, 374.
Trichinopoly-Tirukkoyilur railway, 13, 184, 185.
Trisira, 2, 326, 339.
Trisirapalli, 2.
Tulukka Nachiyar, 322.
Tuluva dynasty, 49.
Tuluva Vellalans, 100. 101.
Tungabhadra river, 39, 40, 41, 48. 
Tuppikkuli, 254, 256.
Turd, 167.
Turaiyur estate, 237, 291-295.
Turaiyur poligar, 255, 345.
Turaiyur taluk, 210.
Turaiyur town, cattle fair at, 22 ; wild animals near, 21; caste disputes in, 93; paddy cultivation near, 133, 134; dry crops grown on wet land near, 134; weaving at, 153; market at, 176 ; road through, 180, 182; deputy talisildar at, 243 ; liquor shop at, 218; union, 260; described, 291.
Turaiyur valley, 4.
Turaiyur village (Trichinopoly taluk), 341. Turmeric, 132, 137.
Tuvagudi, 256 note.
Tuvarankurichi, 167, 277.
Tuyya, 328.
Tyaga Drug, 70.

U

Ucchani grant, 357 note. 
Uchipillaiyarkovil, 339.
Udaiyans, 95 note, 96 note, 108, 110. 
Udaiyur Nayinar, 344.
Udaiyarpalaiyam estate, 69, 237, 294, 350. 
Udaiyarpalaiyam poligar, 255, 293, 345, 346.
Udaiyarpillaiyam taluk, 210, 343.
Udaiyarpalaiyam town, cotton-weaving in, 159; carpet manufacture in, 161 ; shoemaking in, 173; road through, 180, 182; rainfall in, 18S; union, 260; described, 350.
Udambiyam, 77
Udayanattam, 1	343.
Udayendiram grants, 34.
Uduvatti sticks, 173.
Ugranarasini ham, 278.
Ujjain, 29 note.
Ukkal, 35 note.
Ulkudis, 212.
Ullaltipuram range, 14.
Ullar, 143, 144.
Uluattu Uppiliyans, 115.
Umaiyan, 274, 373.
Umayitpuram, 288.
Unions, 199, 260.
Unjil tree, 154.
Unniyur, 286.
Uppar stream, 149, 181, 182.
Upper anicut, fish affected by, 25; irrigation from, 143, 144; bridge carried by,181 ; railway-station near, 183 ; proposal to supply Ponneri tank from,348.
Upper Gondwana rocks, 14.
Upper secondary schools, 203, 204.
Uppidamangalam, 22, 94, 176, 275.
Uppiliyans, tattooing among, 81 ; caste god of, 91 ; marriage customs of, 94; bottu used by, 97 note; funeral ceremonies of, OS note; social position of,106, 109, 114, 128: described, 115;sal,petre industry in the hands of, 246.
Uppiliyapnram, 170, 286.
Uppu-kachara Uppiliyans, 115.
Ur sevagans, 241.

-----------------------------------398-----------------------------------

INDEX

Uraiyur, Chola capital, 27, 30, 49, 328; burnt by the Pandyas, 45, 340 note; weaving at. 157, 158 ; carpet manufacture at, 161 ; mats made at, 162, 163 ; cloth-dyeing and chintz-stamping at, 165 ; silver-work in, 108 ; stone-polishing at, 170; school in, 208; water supply to, 265 ; dispensary at, 266 ; market at, 260 ; incarnation of a saint at, 326 ; industries of, 327, 328 ; suburb of Trichinopoly, 3'47 ; troops moved to, 336; destroyed, 339; desert track to Madura from, 355.
Uralis, dress of, 83 ; ornaments of, 83 ; tattooing among, 84 ; hunting of, 86 ; caste panchayats among, 93 note ; marriage customs of, 96 ; funeral ceremonies of, 98 note ; social position of, 106, 107, 114, 115 ; described, 112 ; crime of, 252 ; black-mail levied by, 254.
Urimbaikkarans, 123.
Urudaiyampatti, 297.
Usi pulu, 136.
Usi tuttal, 136.
Usilai tree, 154.
Uttatur village, sanctity of the Nandiyar in, 9 ; cretaceous rocks near, 14, 15, 17 ; gypsum found at, 18 ; phosphatic nodules near, 18; operations during the Carnatic war in, 64, G5, 66, 70, 304; Uttunattu Vellalans found near, 101; plunder of the country round, 193 ; described, 305 ; French attack on, 318; Ariyaur poligar appointed chief of the country round, 344.
Uttunattu Vellalans, 100, 101, 307.
Uyyakondan channel, Mamundiyar river falls into, 8 ; its head-sluice referred to in a grant of Kulottunga III, 47, 314 ; floods in, 148, 193, 191.; situation of the head sluice of, 313.Uy Uyyakondan-tirurnalai, G7, 333, 341.

V

Vaccination, 198, 370.
Vadamalaipatti, 300.
Vadamus, 324.
Vadanarayana tree, 20, 141.
Vadaseri Urails, 112. 
Vadatarari tree, 154.
Vadavagudi surplus, 141, 145.
Vadavar channel, 182. 
Veigai tree, 154, 155. 
Vaiganallur, 280. 
Vaira Perumal, 285. 
Vaittur, 18, 174, 363. 
Vaiyampatti, 183. 
Vajra, 29.
Valaiyans, dress of, 83 ; tattooing among, 84; punishment for unchastity among, 94; marriage customs of, 95, 96 ; allied to Muttiriyans, 106 ; social position of,106,107, 115 ; described, 114 ; crime of,252, 369 ; their strength in Padukkottai State, 360, 362.
Valanadu, 174, 175, 277.
Valappur, 125.
Valavandi, 296.
Valavandiyar river, 182.
Vali, 307.
Validiyur, 167, 309.
Valikandapuram taluk, 210, 212.
Valikandapuram village, magnesia found at, 18 ; fighting near, 64, 303 ; Udaiyan sub division from, 109 ; described, 307.
Valkottai Maravans, 120.
Vallabhas, 40.
Vallam, 51, 56, 169.
Vallambans, dress of, 83 ; ornaments of, 83, 84 ; tattooing among, 84 ; food of, 84; marriage customs of, 96 ; social position of, 107, 109 ; described, 119 ; in Pudukkottai State, 362.
Vallamtotta Vellalans, 119.
Vallavati Kamakshi Nayakkan, 310.
Valluva Paraiyans, 131.
Valu Tottiyans, 122.
Valuvadi Valaiyans, 114.
Vanadirayanpattanam, 159, 343.
VandamalaiRangamalai forest reserve,154.
Vangaru Tirumala, 60, 61, 62, 63, 292.
Vaniyans, 171.
Vanniya Valaiyans, 114.
Vanniyans, 110.
Van.payir, 212 note.
Varadarajapurarn, 288.
Varagu, straw of, 80 ; cultivation of, 139, 140 ; husk of, 175 ; price of, 221.
Varaguna Pandya, 33 note.
Varappattu, 365.
Vassalitr, 300.
Vatamdleavarar, 349.
Vattangi wood, 169.
Vattaroyasams, 241.
Vavvanhi-agraharam, 310.
Vayaipayaru, 131, 136.
Vayiragaram, 42.
Vayttalai Gficlalur, 309.
Vedans, 123, 124.
Vekili TOttiyans, 95 note.
Velanandu chieftains, 44 note.
Vellddu, 23.
Vellalans, food of, 84 ; age of the bride- groom among, 94; prohibit widow remarriage, 95 note ; burn their dead, 98 ; described, 1(.0; social Tosition of, 100, 107, 109, 111, 112, 118; carpet manufacture of, 161 ; cloth-dyeing and chintz-stamping of, 165; pith models made by, 169 ; Kuravans resemble, 254 ; Ratnagiri temple held sacred by the Malai-kanda section of, 285.

-----------------------------------399-----------------------------------

INDEX.

Vellalapatti, 13.
Vellamaruclu tree, 154.
Vellantingi Amman, 303.
Vellanar, 80.
Vellar river, northern, described, 9;cretaceous rocks near, 15; irrigation from, 143, 146, 147, 220.
Vellar river, southern, described, 9 ;boundary of the Chola kingdom, 28;irrigation from, 348, 362; referred to in old Tamil poems, 356 ; Pudukkottai town in the valley of, 371.
Vellimalai, 5.
Vellore, 52.
Vellur., 288.
Velukurichi, 14.
Velur (Musiri taluk), 286.
Velur (Namakkal taluk), 200, 300.
Velur (Trichinopoly taluk), 342.
Velvelam tree, 154.
Vema Reddi, 292.
Vemaddam bark, 105.
Vembu tree, 154.
Vengai, 41,
Vengai tree, 154.
Vengampatti, 168, 171, 280.
Venganur, 308.
Vengarai, 260, 300.
Vengi, 36, 39 to 42 passim, 44 note.
Venjaman Gudalur, 275.
Venkaji, 58, 189.
Venkata, Turaiyur family god and name,292.
Venkataramadas Nayndu, Diwan Bahadur,364.
Venkatramanasvami, 287.
Venkayya, Rai Bahadur, V., 29 note.
Venmani, 109.
Vennadu village, 3, 225.
Vennamalai, 275.
Vernnar, 182.
Vennil, 29.
Ventilago Madraspatana, 165.
Vepant tree, 154.
Veppentattai river, 182.
Vappur (Perambalur taluk), 18, 308.
Veppar (South Arcot district), 252.
Veterinary dispensary, 260.
Vettaimangalam, 270,
Vettiyins, 241.
Vettiyarvetta, 350.
Vettnicatti talalc, 211.
V6ttuvans, 252.
Vettuvattalai, 313.
Vibhishana, 321, 310.
Vijaya, 360.
Vijaya .Nripatunga Vikramivarman, 33.
Vijaya Rfighava Nayakkan, 370.
Vijaya Raghunatha Pallavarayar Dorai Raja, M.R.Ry., 364.
Vijaya Raghunatha Raja, 372.
Vijaya Raghnnitha Tondaiman, 360.
Vijaya Range, Chokkanatha Nayakkan,60, 318, 321.
Vijaya Venkatichala Reddi, 292.
Vijayaditya VII, 40,
Vijayalaya, 33, 328, 340 note.
Vijayanagar kingdom, rule in the district of, 48-50 ; downfall of, 52 ; revenue system of, 210 ; image brought from,318; ita connection with Trichinopoly town, 328; Ariyalur poligar subordinateto, 344.
Vikraiva Chola, 42, 44.
Vikramaditya II, 32.
Vikramiditya VI, 39, 41, 42.
Vikraniam, 80.
Vikramapura, 315, 316.
VikritIsvara, 275.
Vilamattur, 302.
Vilantlai, 174.
Vilangudi, 18.
Village administratioh, 37, 47.
Village cess, 241.
Village establishments, 210.
Village munsifs, 250.
Villages, 81.wafers, 173.
Vitnaladitya, 36, 40.
Vimanayakkanpalaiyam, 106.
Vinas, 170.
Vini rock, 279.
Vira Narasimha Raya, 351.
Vira Pandya, 35.
Vira Rajendra Deva, 39, 42, 43.
Vira Ramanatha Deva, 46, 315.
Vira Somesvara, 45, 284, 315, 316.
Viva Tottiyan, 292.
Vire, Vanniyan, 110.
Virabhadra, 290,
Viragalur, 75.
Viralhanur., 168.
Virakaran, 122.
Virakaralan, 38.
Virakesarin, 39.
Virali Uralis, 112.
Viralimalai, 363, 373.
VIramalai hill, 153.
Viramitti, 122.
Viranam tank, 182.
Virappa Nicyakkan, 345.
Virasnli, 89.
Virilta, 302.
Viratapuram, 302.
Virudnpatti, 176.
Viriplikaha, 48, 348.
Visanganattu Kallans, 107, 363.
Visdrippulcrirans, 255.
Visvanittha Nayakkan, role of, Si; Kadavar palaiyam created by, 279; teppakulam constructed by, 327 ; fortifications of Trichinopoly improved by,329; Ariya16r poligar subordinate to, 344.
Visvanathapuram, 269.
Vital statistics, 106-199, 362.
Vitthala Raja, 50.
Volcondah, 64, 303, 307.
Voluntary irrigation aces, 146.
Vondipilikkarans, 111.Vows, 4, 90, 91, 318.

-----------------------------------400-----------------------------------

INDEX.

W

Walhouse, Mr. M. J., 308, 348 note.
Wallace, Mr., 210, 212 note, 214, 216.
Wandiwash, 70.
Waterfall, 4.
Water-lifts, 148.
Water-supply, 197, 261, 262, 264.
Wax, 166, 167, 168.
Weaving, 157-163, 204.
Webster, Mr. E. F., 336.
Weights and measures, 177, 209.
Wells, 148, 180, 262, 349.
Wenlook, Lord, 360.
Wesleyan Mission, 78, 272, 327, 337.
Wet cultivation, 132-139.
Wheat, 139.
Whiteside, Mr. W. S., 336.
Widows, dress of, 82 ; ornaments of, 83,84; re-marriage of, among Konga Vellanas, 104; Muttiriyans 106; Kallans 107 ; Udaiyans, 109 ; Pallis, 111 ; Uralis, 112 ; Valaiyans, 115 ; Uppiliyans, 116; Reddis, 118; Vallambans, 119 ; Maravans, 121; Toittiyans, 123; Pallans, 130; Paraiyans, 131.
Wilks, Col., 60, 61, 303, 352
Winds, 10.
Witchcraft, 121.
Woddahs, 141. 
Wolves, 24.
Wood, Col., 299. 
Wood-carving, 170. 
Working plans (for forests), 155. 
Workshops, 176. 
Wrightia tinstoria,151.

X

Xavier, St. Francis, 74,

Y

Yaman, temple to, 290. 
Yellamma, 91, 118.
Yellow gram, 139, 141.
Yelur Vellalans, 100, 101. 
Yendals, 362.
Yerrama Reddi, 292.

Z

Zamindaris, 234, 237.
Zapti Pandamangalam, 300. 
Zinc, 168, 175.
Zizyphus glabrata, 154. 
Zultikar Khan, 60.

-----------------------------------401-----------------------------------



