When a boy has become old enough to go to school, or lias so far advanced io study as to begin to write on the cadjan or palm leaf, a feast is made by the parents, and in one corner of the house, previously daubed with cow-dung, a small image of Pillayar is made, before which is placed an offering of plain fruit and cocoanuts. The schoolmaster writes in a cadjan or palm-leaf book, , respectfully places it before the image, and wor ships it. The boy is then called before the image, and while he is standing there with great venera tion and awe, the schoolmaster touches him by his kudumi, divides it into three parts, and, after having plaited them together, puts over the ktidumi at the crown of the head some raw rice and some sacred amp' grass, and worships it. Some add t,o these things, a little raw paddy, sacred ashes, and flowers, and tie them in the plaited kudumi. The schoolmaster then respect fully takes the cadjan book, and delivers it into the lianas of the scholar, while the scholar respect fully puts the cocoanut and the other offerings into the hands of the schoolmaster, and while doing so the scholar is taught to repeat soine congratulatory words, thus : Book and learning to me. Cocoa nut and money to the teacher.' It was formerly the custom with several Iads to wear their hair long, tied up in a knot at the back of the head, nearly after the manner in which women usually wear their hair. This, however, was not usual before they came of age, unless under peculiar vows. The devotees of Parvati believe that their goddess is extremely pleased with this fashion, and in honour of her still wear their hair iu this manner. The Maravar caste in South Travancore wear the kildtuni until they are about 12 years of age, and then allow their hair to grow long, and tie it up in a knot at the back of the head. Until very recently, each caste differed from another in the way of wearing the kudiuni. A Shanar never dared to imitate a Brahman, nor a Pariah a Sudra.
Although the sacred spot of the heafl which ought to be adorned with the kuduini does not differ, yet the manner, quantity, and position of the kudui»i differ in each caste. The chief use of the kudtuni, however, is in the performance of a funeral c,eremony urgently necewary for the salva tion of a married man. A Tamil poet, in describ ing the lamentations of a king who performed penance for obtaining the gift of a son, says that a father can enter Siva's paradise in no other way than by his son performing the funeral ceremony. The Hindus believe that a man, so soon as he is married, commits a serious sin that renders him liable to hell. When he dies he htui no alternative but to suffer its torinents, unless prevented by the ceretnony which his son performs. In order to quench the fire of hell, the son must uncover the sacred portion of his head by shaving off the kuclumi, must put upon it a new pot full of water, that it may therefrom absorb the virtue of quench ing the hell fire, must walk with it three times around the deceased parent, each time cutting a new hole in the pot that the water may spout out as he walks along, and on the third time must break the pot at the head of the bed of the deceased parent, and pour a few drops of this sacred water into the mouth of the corpse in the same manner as the parent poured a drop of water into the mouth of the son while an infant. Ile
also puts a small coin into the mouth, that the deceased may reward with it the potter of the next world. The Romans also did so, that the deceased might pay Charon, the ferryman, for a passage across the Styx. The cutting off of the kudunii on this funeral occasion is not regarded as a token of sorrow, but is considered as an essential requisite for performing the funeral cere mony which is absolutely necessary for the eternal welfare of the deceased parent. No one but the heir of tho deceased cuts off the ktiduini, and that at no other time but on the occasion of the parent's death. A father may lose a dozen children, but he never thinks of shaving off his kudumi RS a sign of sorrow. On the 16th day it is generally the custom to perform another ceremony in order to send up the spirit of the deceased to heaven, for, until the ceremony is performed, the spirit of the deceased is supposed to hover about the grave. After this the son allows his hair to grow for one year as a token of sorrow ; at the expiration of which he makes a feast to Brahmans and others, shaves his hair, and wears the kudumi. No one of the Hindu races styled the twice-born cut off the kuduini on the occasion of performing the ceremony for the deceased parent, because being regenerated by the sacred thread imparts full power to his prayers and other ceremonial that are absolutely necessary for the salvation of the deceased parent. The Chinese, who wear their hair very much like the kudiuni, believe. that unless certain ceremonies aro performed with a knot in the kudumi, tho deceased cannot go to heaven. From what certain Tamil poets have sung, it is evident that they have regarded the kudumi in the saine light as the sacred thread of the Brahmans. One says, What is caste but the sacred thread and the kudumi ?' Another says, The sacced thread, kuclurni, and other ceremonies of the brilliant sacred writings, were they born with you ? ' In a letter sent by a learned caste Hindu, lie says, Wearing the kudumi is as import ant to us as the sacred thread is to a Brahman.' Not to wear the kudiuni renders a man guilty, and liable to hell, Naraga-prerbathee. The gold smiths say that their god, Visvakarma, sprang from the third eye of Siva with sacred thread and kudumi, and that his devotees wear kudumi in order to resemble him, just as the Saiva devotees wear the Chadei in order to resemble Siva.