Brāhmans; but they sometimes stand at a distance, and send their offerings by more pure hands."
It is recorded by Captain Hamilton*[1] that he saw "at many Muchwa Houses, a square Stake of Wood, with a few Notches cut about it, and that Stake drove into the Ground, about two Foot of it being left above, and that is covered with Cadjans or Cocoanut Tree Leaves, and is a Temple and a God to that Family."
In the Gazetteer of Malabar (1908), the following account of the Mukkuvans is given. " A caste, which according to a probably erroneous tradition came originally from Ceylon, is that of the Mukkuvans, a caste of fishermen following marumakkatāyam (inheritance through the female line) in the north, and makkattāyam (inheritance from father to son) in the south. Their traditional occupations also include chunam (lime) making, and manchal-bearing (a manchal is a kind of hammock slung on a pole, and carried by four men, two at each end). In the extreme south of the district they are called Arayans, †[2] a term elsewhere used as a title of their headmen. North of Cannanore there are some fishermen, known as Mugavars or Mugayans, who are presumably the same as the Mugayars of South Canara. Another account is that the Mugayans are properly river-fishers, and the Mukkuvans sea-fishers; but the distinction does not seem to hold good in fact. The Mukkuvans rank below the Tiyans and the artisan classes; and it is creditable to the community that some of its members have recently risen to occupy such offices as that of Sub-magistrate and Sub-registrar. The caste has supplied many
