Page:Castes and tribes of southern India, Volume 5.djvu/193

house stands within a compound (grounds) of its own. Each house has its own name, by which the members are known, and is called by the generic title of illam, the term used by Brāhmans, or mana, which is the reverential expression of Sudras and others. Sometimes the two words are found combined, e.g., Itamana illam. In the compound surrounding the house, trees such as the tamarind, mango, and jāk, grow in shady luxuriance. The area of the compound is very extensive; in fact, no house in Malabar is surrounded by a more picturesque or more spacious garden than that of the Nambūtiri. Plantains of all varieties are cultivated, and yams of various kinds and peas in their respective seasons. A tank (pond)is an inseparable accompaniment, and, in most Nambūtiri houses, there are three or four of them, the largest being used for bathing, and the others for general and kitchen purposes. Whenever there is a temple of any importance near at hand, the Nambūtiri may prefer to bathe in the tank attached to it, but his favourite ghāt is always the tank near his home, and owned by him. Wells are never used for bathing, and a hot-water bath is avoided as far as possible, as plunging in a natural reservoir would alone confer the requisite ablutional purity. Towards the north-west corner of the house is located the sarpakkavu or snake abode, one of the indispensables of a Malabar house. The kavu is either an artificial jungle grown on purpose in the compound, or a relic of the unreclaimed primeval jungle, which every part of Malabar once was. Right in the centre of the kavu is the carved granite image of the cobra, and several flesh-and-blood representatives of the figure haunt the house, as if in recognition of the memorial raised. In the centre of the compound is situated the illam or mana, which is in most cases a costly habitat. All the houses used until recently