The Ashary, in Malabar, the carpenter caste, the brassfounder, gold and iron smiths, continue the practice of polyandry, but in civil inheritance follow from father to son. The elder brother marries, and the wife is common to all the brothers. If a junior wish to marry, he must live apart and set up business apart ; but if any of his younger brothers reside with him, his wife is common to them. Anandraver is the term applied to the junior members of a Tarwada community living under the law of inheritance called Marumaka tayam. (See Karnaven ; Tarwada.) In the Madras Journal of Literature and Science for July 1864, a native of the country furnishes a translation of a work entitled the Bhutala Pandyana, Aliya Santanada Kattukattale, in which is given the following mythical explanation of the causes which led Bhutala Pandya to frame the Aliya Santana rules. It relates that Deva Pandya, a wealthy merchant of the Pandya country, was sending new ships, richly laden, to a dark island covered with snow, but before launching them, Kundo dara, a Manta raja, or king of the demons, an attendant on Siva, observing that the ships were new, demanded a human sacrifice. Deva con sulted with his wife as to sacrificing one of his own seven sons, but the wife fled with them to her native town. On which Deva lay in deep distress, until his sister Satya-vati, hearing of the case, came and offered her own boy, saying to Deva, ' You should not care for this trifling matter. Do you give the boy Jaya Pandya, a son of mine, as a human sacrifice.' But Kundo-dara refused the boy, being aware that Jaya was the son of Vira Pandya, king of that dominion, who had been defeated by Chand Rangada raja, and that Jaya was a Mahapurusha, destined to be a great man ; he desired Jaya to assume his, the demon king's name, as Bhutala Pandya, and promised to restore him to the dominions of which Chand Rangada had deprived him. On this, the demon king entered Ujjain, subdued the eight demi-gods, Bhai rava, etc., gave Bhutala a throne that Davendra had given to Vikramarka, and entered the town of Jayantika, accompanied by Bhutala. On the demise of the king Siddha Vira Prassiddha Raya, Jaya was elected king. Jaya ruled for six years, during which the Makkala Santana, i.e. the law of inheritance by direct descent of sons, was, for the following reasons, set aside, and that of Aliya Santana, i.e. inheritance on the line of nephews, substituted. The ships of Deva had during a mercantile voyage grounded on the miry bank of an island covered with snow and darkness, and the crew were in great distress, when the demon king appeared and bid them load the ships with the Siddha Bile stone (a green stone, husuru site galu) and Siddha-rasam, and pray to him. This being done, a fair wind brought the ships to the river mouth of Hangara katte at Kalianpur harbour. King Jaya, on ascertaining that the ships belonged to his uncle Deva, sent for him to receive them, but the demon king again de nuinded one of Deva's sons as a sacrifice. Deva consulted as to this with his wife, who refused the goods on that condition, and the cargo of stone and liquid was then delivered to king Jaya, who placed both the stone and the liquid in front of the Idol Soneswara, changing its name to Sidheswnrn, and erected a temple and image to Kundo-dara, the demon king, to which ho gave the name of 3faheswara. On the demon king's recommenda tion, he framed a code of laws, containing 30 rules, introducing the Aliya Santana rule (the descensus a matre). At this time king Jaya is styled master of the throne of king of kings, master of the masters of the four countries called Tulu, Malayala, Ilaiga, and Karnatica, the first person in the era of Sativahana.' In the sixth year of his reign, the demon king ordered him to bury the green stone (emerald), and shut up the Sid dha-rasa well, and the image of Naga set thereon. The castes enumerated in these rules are the Tutu yarn. Kambararu (pot- Agasa (washer Mala varu. tors). men).
.lainaru. Devadiga. Halepaika.
Nayam Mil Saliya (weavers). Mundala.
varu. Mulekudeya. Karinnara.
Masadika, Panehala. Holeya.
faricetti.' Kshauraka (bar. Andekoraga.
Pari-yaru, bera).
King Jaya prohibited the Brahmans officiating in death and birth ceremonials; prohibited the Maha-layam or inauspicious ceremony for the de ceased ; prohibited the giving of the Panda gavyam ; prohibited the Punya-Iforna sacrifice with debit grass on births and' deaths, and permitted only the Nirmalya or. remains of idol offerings for the dead, and authorized the con tinuance of the Puja. and Abhi-shekam to the deity for those who brought forth children or died. In the twelfth year of his reign, he invited Jains from the Balaghat, and they builtlManga lore and other towns. King Jaya made the Aliya Santana rules applicable to the Kshatriya, the Vaisya, and the Sudras, but Permitted Brah mans to continue the rule of direct descent.
The explanation of the abovelable seems to be that in the time of king Jaya, all great works, such as shipbuilding, as is still the case in Poly nesia, were inaugurated by human sacrifices in propitiation of demons ; that a woman of rank twice refused to part with any of her sons for such a purpose, and her husband's sister offered her son Jaya in their stead, but was refused ; from which king Jaya declared that descent of property should follow from the sister's side.
Strange mentions (in literis) that poly andryism in Malabar has prevailed only among those classes whose rule of inheritance is by Nepotism, termed Marumakatayam. It has pre vailed in like manner in Travancore, where the same rule of descent is followed. There is, how ever, a strong tendency in Malabar to throw up the said rule of descent, and to convey property from father to son, and this feeling is owing to the gradual abandonment of polyandryism. The connubial connection which is in question Is termed ordinarily, in Malabar, Gana dosham Guna, good, Dosham, evil ; for better for worse). In Travancore it is styled Mundu-vanga (Mundt], cloth, Vauga. receiving). The girl taken is of ripe age, and her consent must be obtained. Pt:multi acquaintance thus precedes the formation of the union. The ceremonial consists the man pre senting her with a Mundu, or white tunalin In North Malabar, a small aum of money is tied up in a corner of the cloth. Small present); of money are given to Brahmans. There Is an assemblage of friends at the girl's hou•, and a supper is given either before or after the cere monial. The hour is about 8 P.m. The girl sometimes is taken to the man's house, but aome th»ea remains in her own, and is vi tub by King there. Each party is unrestricted as; to the number of such connections that may be formed, but these ordinarily do not exceed two or three. The descent being in the female line, the parent age as to the father arts immaterial. Jealousies and quarrels, terminating sometimes in murder, are, however, rife, as might be expected. The connection depends simply upon the will of the parties, and may be broken off by either at pleasure. But the unions in Malabar are now commonly of single couples, the woman living in the man's house strictly as his wife. The classes among whom polyandryism has prevailed in Malabar are the Nair, the Teeyer of North Malabar (those of South Malabar adhering to the descent. to sons), and a branch of the slave tribes called Kalkuly. The term • Nair' is derived from Naiker, the honorary plural of Naik, which comes from the Sanskrit term Nayakah,' meaning a chief Mall. The four classes of workmen in Malabar, namely, the Ashary (carpenter), Mushaly (brassfoundcr), Tattan (goldsmith), and I'erun-kollan (ironsmith), still follow a peculiar form of polyandryism. This is kept up only in the family. The elder brother marries, and his wife is common to all the other brothers. If a junior wish to marry, he must live apart and set up business apart ; but if any of those junior to him should reside with him, his wife is common to them. These classes have descent from father to son.