Note 6 — U

It is recorded by Mr. Logan6 that the Tīyattunnis or Tīyādis (ti, fire; āttam, play) are “a class of pseudo-Brāhmans in Malabar, who derive their name from the ceremony of jumping through fire before temples.” Mr. Subramani Aiyar writes, in this connection, that “I do not think Mr. Logan is quite right when he describes the service of the Tīyattunnis as jumping through fire. It is dancing with lighted wicks in the hands, to exorcise the genius representing the evil eye, or as a propitiatory service in temples. It answers to the pallippanna and kolantullal of the Kaniyans. A figure of Bhadrakāli is drawn on the ground with powders of different colours, and the chief incidents in the incarnate life of the deity are recited by the Tīyattunnis. After this, some cocoanuts are broken in two, and lighted wicks are then placed before the presiding deity if done in a temple as a propitiatory service, or before any particular individual or individuals, if the object is to free him or them from the effect of the evil eye.”