Note 15 — Chapter XXX · THE ORIGIN AND HISTORY OF THE TODAS

The ceremony just described is not the only point in which the funeral rites of the Todas resemble those of Malabar. The earthen pot which I have already mentioned plays a part in the rites of both Nairs and Nambutiris. By the Nairs15 the pot is carried three times round the pyre while the water leaks out through the holes, and on completing the third round the pot is dashed on the ground close by the spot where the head of the corpse had lain. The Nambutiris burn their dead and bury the ashes three days later, and when the body is being burnt an earthen pot containing water is carried round the fire, and is then punctured and the water received into another vessel, from which it is thrown on the fire, and then the pot is smashed and thrown away.16