Note 39 — K

“The Chōla country, or Tanjore,” Mr. W. Francis writes,39 “seems to have been the original abode of the Kallans before their migration to the Pāndya kingdom after its conquest by the Chōlas about the eleventh century A.D. But in Tanjore they have been greatly influenced by the numerous Brāhmans there, and have taken to shaving their heads and employing Brāhmans as priests. At their weddings also the bridegroom ties the tāli himself, while elsewhere his sister does it. Their brethren across the border in Madura continue to merely tie their hair in a knot, and employ their own folk to officiate as their priests. This advance of one section will doubtless in time enhance the social estimation of the caste as a whole.”