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the plantations and with the additional avenue of employment in the Government in the Government Forests both as labourers and as elephant mahouts, they are fairly contented. Their partiality to tobacco may incidentally be mentioned. The expedition to measure and record their physical characteristics was viewed by them with great distrust and disfavour and their employers naturally feared that any pressure might be prejudicial to good work and might result in their deserting them altogether. Presence of tobacco and betel nut, which were freely distributed after the recording of each group, however gladdened their hearts and finally reconciled them to the measurements. 7. Social organization - The social organization of the whole hadi centres round the headman who is ordinarily the oldest man of the village. Comparatively little affected by outside influences. Their mode of lif today in the main cannot be far different from that of their forbears. The headman is very much respected by all the residents of the village. Social offences are tried and disposed of by the headman who imposes penalty for all misdemeanours. He is the priest of the whole hadi, officiates at the ceremonies, and is believed to hold communion with their god - Masti, who has no shrine but is represented by a wooden or stone figure carefully kept in a small basket in a corner of the inner room of the headman's hut. The god communicates through him to the worshippers, his oracles, and his likes and dislikes. On ceremonial occasions the deity is taken out by the headman and is duly worshipped with ceremonies in the presence of all the men and women of the hadi, and the headman becomes in time possessed of the deity. We came across what looked like a babyâs rattle, a dried gourd with gravel inside, which in reality transpired to be the instrument which the priest flourishes when he is in a trance - probably to create a calm atmosphere to usher in the deity. It is noteworthy that spirituous liquors do no ordinarily form a feature of these ceremonials, probably due to the fact that alcohol is not available in the forests or in the neighbourhood. 8. Puberty ceremonies - As soon as a girl attains her puberty, she is kept indoor, away from the gaze of others, until the ceremonies are over. On the 7th day the girls is taken out for a bath after which she is conducted to a pandal specially erected for the purpose, which should have twelve pillars (neither more nor less). On the floor is made a design of flower work with rice flour and the girl is seated cross-legged on it. The women singing songs sprinkle rice on her legs, hands, shoulders and head. She is
geret
16118 - feysore, 2005
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