Page:Castes and Tribes of Southern India, Volume 7.djvu/66

be performed"? The Tandāns again exchange betel leaves as before, and distribute them to all the castemen present, beginning with the uncles of the boy and girl. The proceedings in the verandah are now over. The next part of the ceremony takes place in the middle room of the house, where the mats, lamp, and other articles are arranged as before. The two Tandāns sit on the mat with the boy on the right and the girl on the left, facing east. The boy's uncle stands in front of the Tandāns, facing west, and the girl's uncle behind them, facing east. The boy's father gives to the boy's uncle two new plain white cloths, with twenty-one fanams (Rs. 5-4) placed on them. When presenting them, he says "Let the Adayalam be performed " three times, and the girl's uncle says thrice "Let me receive the Adayalam." The Tandāns again exchange betel leaves, and distribute them among the castemen. Then follows a feast, and more betel. The date of the wedding has now to be fixed. They congregate in the middle room once more, and the Tandāns sit on the mat. The girl's Tandān shares a bundle of betel leaves with the boy's Tandān, who, taking therefrom four leaves, places two rupees on them, and gives them to the girl's Tandān. The boy's party supplies this money, which is a perquisite of the Tandān. When handing over the leaves and the coins, the boy's Tandān says "On ... . (naming a date) ....and .... (the bride and bridegroom), and friends, and four women will come. Then you must give us the girl, and you must prepare the food for that day." The other Tandān replies "If you bring six cloths and forty-two fanams (Rs.10-8) as kanam, and two fanams for the muchenan (the girl's father's sister's son), the girl will be sent to you." The cloths should be of a kind called enna kacha, each four cubits in length, but they are not now