Note 27 — Glossary

Chenchuwār, Chenchuwād or Chenchu—A forest tribe of the Telugu country of whom a few persons were returned from the Chānda District in 1911. In Madras the tribe is known as Chenchu, and the affix wād or wādu merely signifies person or man.27 The marriage ceremony of the Chenchus may be mentioned on account of its simplicity. The couple sometimes simply run away together at night and return next day as husband and wife, or, if they perform a rite, walk round and round a bow and arrow stuck into the ground, while their relations bless them and throw rice on their heads. Each party to a marriage can terminate it at will without assigning any reason or observing any formality. The bodies of the dead are washed and then buried with their weapons.