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THE INDIAN ANTIQUARY.
[JULY, 1874.
charity, the use of a new cloth being, however, prohibited them. The Koragars of the last class are such as we generally see, wearing leaves for clothes; they are called Sappu Koragars.
That great code of Manu, held by the Hindus as a sacred book, prohibits them from coming down to towns or villages except in the daytime, and then, too, having obtained a license from the state; it enjoins them to wear only iron jewels as ornaments, and use but broken earthen vessels; they cannot live in a house of mud, but in a hut of leaves, which is in their language called koppu.
They were divided, it is said, into five tribes; of these, two do not now exist even in name. The highest of the tribe is Bangaranna, a Koragar of which tribe is looked upon as superior in the social scale, and is consulted by the other classes on every occasion, either of marriage or other rites. Kumaranna and Mungaranna are the two other tribes. The Koragar of the higher class is, however, in no wise prevented from marrying a girl of the lower tribe.
A Koragar generally selects a woman younger than himself as his wife. Sunday is held an auspicious day for marriages. The ceremony is performed at the bridegroom's house, and he bears the expenses. An elderly man usually presides on this oconsion. The bridegroom and the bride are to take a cold-water bath; and on a mat spread by the president, both are seated with a handful of rice placed before them. The blessings of the sun are invoked, and the president of the ceremony takes in his hand a few grains and sprinkles them over the head of the bridal couple. This is followed by the others present, first by the men and then by the women. When it is gone through, the bridgroom is required to make wedding presents to the bride, which consist of two silver pieces. Six dinners are to be given by the bride. groom, when every Koragar rivals his neighbour in eating and drinking.
It is an undecided question as to the law that governs them, i.e., either the Aliya Santanam law or Makkala Santanam law, simply because the deceased leaves behind him no goods or chattels so as to agitate this important question, and his heir, either the nephew or the son, has to succeed to a bare koppu. But it may be rightly surmised that the majority of them are governed by the Aliya Santanam law, whereby the higher grades of sadras are ruled.
The following are the ceremonies observed at funerals. When a Koragar dies, as a matter of simple duty, reference is made to his landlord, and with his permission the deceased is buried in a place consecrated for the purpose, and in his honour four balls of rice are made and placed on the grave,
which must be done within twelve months from the date of his death.
Koragars were, it is said, originally worshippers of the sun, and they are still called after the names of the days of the week-as Aita, Toma, An. gara, Gurva, Tanya, and Tukra. .
They have no separate temple for thrir god; but a place beneath a kásarkana tree is consecrated for the worship of their deity, which is exclusively their own, and is called kata. Worship in honour of this deity is usually performed in the months of May, July, or October. Two plantain leaves are placed on the spot with a heap of boiled rice mixed with turmeric. As is usual in every ceremony observed by a Koragar, the senior in age takes the lead and prays to the deity to accept the of. fering and be satisfied. But now they have, by following the example of Bants and $ adras, since changed their original object of worship for Bhuts.
Though now despised by the higher classes and excluded from every society, the Koragars had their own day. The following tradition gives us a very faint idea of their rule :
About 900 years or more B.C. (but we must not be too particular about dates) the Habashi brought an army from Anantapur, consisting of the Birar, Mundal, Karmara, Maila, Holeya, Ande Koraga; with these troops, whom the learned Dr. Buchanan calls savages, the Habashi marched against Angara Varma, the son of Vira Varma. They first came to Bar kur, and from thence proceeded to Man. galur, where they were attacked by small-pox and greatly troubled by ants. They went to the southward of Manjeśvar. There the Haba. shi established his capital, and put his nephew Sidda Bair u on the throne in lieu of Vira Varma. He reigned only twelve years, and then both he and the Habashi died, owing to the enchantments used by Vira Varma, who went to Banawa si in Sonda for that very purpose. After their death Vira Varma returned, and drove the aforesaid army into the jungles, where they were pursued to such extremities that they consented to become slaves and serve under the former landlords. The Karmara was sect to watch the crops and cattle belonging to the village. The headmen who had been appointed by the Habashi to the most responsible posts under his nephew's government were taken naked to the seashore in order to be hanged, but, being ashamed of their naked state, they gathered the leaves of the Nekki gida and made a small covering for themselves. Thereupon their conductors took pity on them, and let them go, since which they have, it is said, continued to wear no
