________________
When a woman is approaching confinement the elderly women of the village gather at the hut and perform the necessary services. The child is bathed every day till about three months. The cord is cut with a pair of bamboo splinters and the placenta is buried close by the house. The woman remains indoors for full three months during which period the husband cooks and does all work. The naming of the child is the occasion for a ceremony which is performed after the expiry of three months period. The god Masta is worshipped and the priest of the hadigets into a trance and is possessed of the god, when he pronounces the name that should be given to the child. 10. Funeral customs - Except in the case of children the dead are cremated. Balls of rice are offered to the soul of the deceased everyday for two weeks during which the pollution lasts. 11. Physical characteristics - In conclusion, a few observations may be made about their physical traits. Physically short of stature and not of muscular build, the Jain Kurumba is capable of great endurance on a minimum of food. They are also characterised by their short platyrhine noses, sparse beard, small narrow eyes, and wild matted hair, the structure of the hair being more straight than curved. Measurements of 60 men and 60 women were secured with great difficulty. The measurements themselves are not yet available for publication, as the material has not yet been worked out. The results when published, which will be as soon as Dr. Eickstedt is in a position in work on the vast material that he has collected, will no doubt yield very interesting conclusions in regard to the racial type to which these hill tribes belong, and the possible divergences existing between the main types."
Reference: 1. Castes and Tribes of Southern India, Vol. IV, p. 155. 2. Malabar Series, Wynad, by Gopalan Nair p. 108. 3. Read at the annual meeting of the Indian Science Congress, 1920.
GERÊT PET M$ - farsak, 2005
-
109
Jain Education International
For Private & Personal Use Only
www.jainelibrary.org
