136 swords; shouting; pulling faces; running around the courtyard; jumping one after the other. They do this for a time; cutting themselves, jumping naked and barefoot into thefire, until they tire and then two or three others come out, both men and boys, singing and doing the same things; the women sing and yell, making a great din. They carry on like this for two or three days and nights, working together and making circles in the courtyard, with ruddle and white clay. They throw rice and redflowers into the circle; they place oil-lamps around the edge of the circle and carry on with this, until the devil, who they serve, possesses one of them and makes him say what is making the king ill and what will cure him. He tells the king this, who is very happy. He sends food; money; cloths and does as he says. These people also live apart from respected people, nor do they touch anyone from other castes. They arefine archers; hunters, mounted huntsmen; they kill many boars; deer and other animals and birds, to feed themselves; they get married and their children inherit their property. There is another low caste base people called Eravallen. They are very poor; they live by transporting firewood and grass to the cities. They do not touch anyone, nor does anyone touch them on pain of death. They go naked, except for very small, dirty loin cloths to cover their pudenda, most of them use leaves for this; they have a marriage law and their children inherit their possessions. There is another low caste people in this country called Pulayan; they are considered to be cursed and excommunicate. They live in very open fields and plains, where respectable people go only by great accident. They live in small, revolting hovels. They sow rice using buffaloes and oxen, they do not talk to nairs unless they are a long way away and can make themselves heard by shouting. When they walk along the path, they shout loudly for others to let them pass, and whoever is there throws himself off the path and into the scrub, so that they can pass. Any man or woman who touches one of them is immediately killed by their relatives,
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