Note 11 — V

The Madura Valaiyans are said11 to be “less brāhmanised than those in Tanjore, the latter employing Brāhmans as priests, forbidding the marriage of widows, occasionally burning their dead, and being particular what they eat. But they still cling to the worship of all the usual village gods and goddesses.” In some places, it is said,12 the Valaiyans will eat almost anything, including rats, cats, frogs and squirrels.