Note 27 — P (Continued)

In an account of the funeral ceremonies of the Tīyans, Mr. Logan writes27 that “early on the morning of the third day after death, the Kurup or caste barber adopts measures to entice the spirit of the deceased out of the room in which he breathed his last. This is done by the nearest relative bringing into the room a steaming pot of savoury funeral rice. It is immediately removed, and the spirit, after three days’ fasting, is understood greedily to follow the odour of the tempting food. The Kurup at once closes the door, and shuts out the spirit. The Kurup belongs to the Pānān caste. He is the barber of the polluting classes above Cherumans, and by profession he is also an umbrella maker. But, curiously enough, though an umbrella maker, he cannot make the whole of an umbrella. He may only make the framework; the covering of it is the portion of the females of his caste. If he has no female relative of his own capable of finishing off his umbrellas, he must seek the services of the females of other families in the neighbourhood to finish his for him. The basket-makers are called Kavaras. Nothing will induce them to take hold of an umbrella, as they have a motto, Do not take hold of Pānān’s leg.”