a parivattam (cloth worn as a mark of respect in the presence of the god) on his head, and a garland round his neck, should stand on the eighteenth step of the eighteen steps of Karuppanaswāmi, and say: "I swear before Kallar Alagar and Karuppannaswāmi that I have acted rightly, and so on. If the person swears falsely, he dies on the third day; if truly the other person meets with the same fate."
It was noted by Mr. M. J. Walhouse,*[1] that "at the bull games (jellikattu) at Dindigul, the Kallans can alone officiate as priests, and consult the presiding deity. On this occasion they hold quite a Saturnalia of lordship and arrogance over the Brāhmans." It is recorded, in the Gazetteer of the Madura district, that "the keenness of the more virile sections of the community (especially the Kallans), in this game, is extraordinary, and, in many villages, cattle are bred and reared specially for it. The best jallikats are to be seen in the Kallan country in Tirumangalam, and next come those in Mēlūr and Madura tāluks." (See also Maravan.)
It is recorded, in the Gazetteer of the Madura district, that Karuppan is "essentially the god of the Kallans, especially of the Kallans of the Mēlūr side. In those parts, his shrine is usually the Kallans' chāvadi (assembly place). His priests are usually Kallans or Kusavans. Alagarswāmi (the beautiful god) is held in special veneration by the Kallans, and is often popularly called the Kallar Alagar. The men of this caste have the right to drag his car at the car festival, and, when he goes (from Alagar Kōvil) on his visit to Madura, he is dressed as a Kallan, exhibits the long ears characteristic of that caste, and carries the boomerang and club, which
- ↑ * Ind. Ant., III., 1874.
