DOI Seite / Zitierlink:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.2374#0136
128 A JOURNEY FROM MADRAS THROUGH
CHAPTER "but would not touch any of my provisions. They do not drink spi-
v^Jj^L, rituous liquors. None of them take the vow ofDdsSri, nor attempt to
Sept.16'-—18. read. Some of them burn, and others bury the dead. They believe
that good men, after death, will become benevolent Devas, and bad men
destructive Devas. A good man, according to them, is he who labours
properly at his business, and who is kind to his family. The whole are
of such known honesty, that on all occasions they are entrusted with
provisions by the farmers; who are persuaded, that the Curubaru would
rather starve, than take one grain of what was given to them in charge.
They have no Guru, nor does the Panchanga, or any other kind of
priest, attend any of their ceremonies. The spirits of the dead are
believed to appear in dreams to their old people, and to direct them
to make offerings of fruits to a female deity named Bettada Chi-
cama; that is, the little mother of the hill. Unless these offerings
are made, this goddess occasions sickness; but she is never sup-
posed to do her votaries any good. She is not, however, appeased
by bloody sacrifices. There is a temple dedicated to her near
Nunjinagodu ; but there is no Occasion for the offering being made
at that place.
Betta, or There is also in this neighbourhood another rude tribe of Cziru-
'rubaru baru, called Betta, or Malaya, both words signifying mountain ; the
one in the Karnata, and the other in the Tamul language. Their
dialect is a mixture of these two languages, with a few words that
are considered as peculiar, probably from their having become
obsolete among their more refined neighbours. They are not so
wretched nor ill looking as the CW Curubaru, but are of diminutive
stature. They live in poor huts near the villages, and the chief em-
ployment of the men is the cutting of timber, and making of baskets.
With a sharp stick they also dig up spots of ground in the skirts of
"the forest, and sow them with Ragy. A family in this' manner will
sow nine Seers of that grain. The men watch at night the fields of
the farmers; but are not so dexterous at this as the Cdd' Curubaru,
are. They neither take game, nor collect wild Yams. The women
CHAPTER "but would not touch any of my provisions. They do not drink spi-
v^Jj^L, rituous liquors. None of them take the vow ofDdsSri, nor attempt to
Sept.16'-—18. read. Some of them burn, and others bury the dead. They believe
that good men, after death, will become benevolent Devas, and bad men
destructive Devas. A good man, according to them, is he who labours
properly at his business, and who is kind to his family. The whole are
of such known honesty, that on all occasions they are entrusted with
provisions by the farmers; who are persuaded, that the Curubaru would
rather starve, than take one grain of what was given to them in charge.
They have no Guru, nor does the Panchanga, or any other kind of
priest, attend any of their ceremonies. The spirits of the dead are
believed to appear in dreams to their old people, and to direct them
to make offerings of fruits to a female deity named Bettada Chi-
cama; that is, the little mother of the hill. Unless these offerings
are made, this goddess occasions sickness; but she is never sup-
posed to do her votaries any good. She is not, however, appeased
by bloody sacrifices. There is a temple dedicated to her near
Nunjinagodu ; but there is no Occasion for the offering being made
at that place.
Betta, or There is also in this neighbourhood another rude tribe of Cziru-
'rubaru baru, called Betta, or Malaya, both words signifying mountain ; the
one in the Karnata, and the other in the Tamul language. Their
dialect is a mixture of these two languages, with a few words that
are considered as peculiar, probably from their having become
obsolete among their more refined neighbours. They are not so
wretched nor ill looking as the CW Curubaru, but are of diminutive
stature. They live in poor huts near the villages, and the chief em-
ployment of the men is the cutting of timber, and making of baskets.
With a sharp stick they also dig up spots of ground in the skirts of
"the forest, and sow them with Ragy. A family in this' manner will
sow nine Seers of that grain. The men watch at night the fields of
the farmers; but are not so dexterous at this as the Cdd' Curubaru,
are. They neither take game, nor collect wild Yams. The women