1. Pani, or drum, beaten with the hand. 2. Koni, or bier, i.e., the making of the bier. 3. Natumittam, or shaving. 4. Tirumittam, or sweeping the temple courts.

"In North Malabar a Marayan performs all the above duties even now. In the south there appears to have been a division of labour, and there a Marayan is in these days only a drummer and temple servant. Funeral rites are conducted by an Attikurissi Marayan, otherwise known as simply Attikurissi, and shaving is the duty of the Velakattalavan. This appears to have been the case for many generations, but I have not attempted to distinguish between the two sections, and have classed all as barbers. Moreover, it is only in parts of South Malabar that the caste has entirely given up the profession of barber; and, curiously enough, these are the localities where Nambudiri influence is supreme. The Marayans there appear to have confined themselves to officiating as drummers in temples, and to have obtained the title of Ambalavasi; and, in course of time, they were even honoured with sambandham of Nambudiris. In some places an attempt is made to draw a distinction between Marayan and Marayar, the former denoting the barber, and the latter, which is merely the honorific plural, the temple servant. There can, however, be little doubt that this is merely an ex post facto argument in support of the alleged superiority of those Marayans who have abandoned the barber's brush. It may be here noted that it is common to find barbers acting as musicians throughout the Madras Presidency, and that there are several other castes in Malabar, such as the Tiyyans, Mukkuvans, etc., who employ barbers as purohits at their funeral ceremonies."

In the Cochin Census Report, 1901, Mr. M. Sankara Menon writes that the Marars are "Sudras, and, properly speaking, they ought to be classed along with Nayars. Owing, however, to their close connection with services in temples, and the absence of free interdining or intermarriage with Nayars, they are classed along with Ambalavasis. They are drummers, musicians, and storekeepers in temples. Like Tiyattu Nambiyars, some sections among them also draw figures of the goddess in Bhagavati temples, and chant songs. In some places they are also known as Kuruppus. Some sub-castes among them do not dine, or intermarry. As they have generally to serve in temples, they bathe if they touch Nayars. In the matter of marriage (tali-kettu and sambandham), inheritance, period of pollution, etc., they follow customs exactly like those of Nayars. In the southern taluks Elayads officiate as purohits, but, in the northern taluks, their own castemen take the part of the Elayads in their sradha ceremonies. The tali-kettu is likewise performed by Tirumalpads in the southern taluks, but by their own castemen, called Enangan, in the northern taluks. Their castemen or Brahmans unite themselves with their women in sambandham. As among Nayars, purificatory ceremonies after funerals, etc., are performed by Cheethiyans or Nayar priests."

For the following detailed note on the Marans of Travancore I am indebted to Mr. N. Subramani Iyer, The name Maran has nothing to do with maranam or death, as has been supposed, but is derived from the Tamil root mar, to beat. In the Tanjore inscriptions of the eleventh century, the caste on the Coromandel coast appears to have been known by this name. The Marans correspond to the Occhans of the Tamil country, and a class of Marans in North Malabar are sometimes called by this designation. In the old revenue records of the Travancore State, Mangalyam appears to be the term made use of. The two well-known titles of the caste are Kuruppu and Panikkar, both conveying the idea of a person who has some allotted work to perform. In modern days, English-educated men appear to have given these up for Pillai, the titular affix added to the name of the Sudra population generally.

Marans may be divided into two main divisions, viz., Marans who called themselves Marars in North Travancore, and who now hesitate to assist other castes in the performance of their funeral rites; and Marans who do not convert their caste designation into an honorific plural, and act as priests for other castes. This distinction is most clearly marked in North Travancore, while to the south of Alleppey the boundary line may be said to remain only dim. In this part of the country, therefore, a fourfold division of the caste is the one best known to the people, namely Orunul, Irunul, Cheppat, and Kulanji. The Orunuls look upon themselves as higher than the Irunuls, basing their superiority on the custom obtaining among them of marrying only once in their lifetime, and contracting no second alliance after the first husband's death. Living, however, with a Brahman, or one of a distinctly higher caste, is tolerated among them in the event of that calamity. The word Orunul means one string, and signifies the absence of widow marriage, Among the Irunuls (two strings) the tali-tier is not necessarily the husband, nor is a second husband forbidden after the death of the first. Cheppat and Kulanji were once mere local varieties, but have now become separate sub-divisions. The males of the four sections, but not the females, interdine. With what rapidity castes sub-divide and ramify in Travancore may be seen from the fact of the existence of a local variety of Marans called Muttal, meaning substitute or emergency employée, in the Kalkulam taluk, who are believed to represent an elevation from a lower to a higher class of Marans, rendered necessary by a temple exigency. The Marans are also known as Asupanis, as they alone are entitled to sound the two characteristic musical instruments, of Malabar temples, called asu and pani. In the south they are called Chitikans, a corruption of the Sanskrit chaitika, meaning one whose occupation relates to the funeral pile, and in the north Asthikkurichis (asthi, a bone), as they help the relations of the dead in the collection of the bones after cremation. The Marans are, further, in some places known as Potuvans, as their services are engaged at the funerals of many castes.

Before the days of Sankaracharya, the sole occupation of the Marans is said to have been beating the drum in Brahmanical temples. When Sankaracharya was refused assistance in the cremation of his dead mother by the Nambutiri Brahmans, he is believed to have sought in despair the help of one of these temple servants, with whose aid the corpse was divided into eight parts, and deposited in the pit. For undertaking this duty, which the Nambutiris repudiated from a sense of offended religious feeling, the particular Maran was thrown out of his caste by the general community, and a compromise had to be effected by the sage with the rest of the caste, who returned in a body on the day of purification along with the excommunicated man, and helped Sankaracharya to bring to a close his mother's death ceremonies. In recognition of this timely help, Sankara is believed to have declared the Maran to be an indispensable functionary at the death ceremonies of Nambutiris and Ambalavasis. It has even been suggested that the original form of Maran was Muran, derived from mur (to chop off), in reference to the manner in which the remains of Sankara's mother were disposed of.

The traditional occupation of the Marans is sounding or playing on the panchavadya or five musical instruments used in temples. These are the sankh or conch-shell, timila, chendu, kaimani, and maddalam. The conch, which is necessary in every Hindu temple, is loudly sounded in the early morning, primarily to wake the deity, and secondarily to rouse the villagers. Again, when the temple service commences, and when the nivedya or offering is carried, the music of the conch is heard from the northern side of the temple. On this account, many Marans call themselves Vadakkupurattu, or belonging to the northern side. The asu and pani are sounded by the highest dignitaries among them. The beating of the pani is the accompaniment of expiatory offerings to the Saptamata, or seven mothers of Hindu religious writings, viz., Brahmi, Mahesvari, Kaumari, Vaishnavi, Varahi, Indrani, and Chamunda. Offerings are made to these divine mothers during the daily sribali procession, and in important temples also during the sribhutabali hours, and on the occasion of the utsavabali at the annual utsava of the temple. There are certain well-established rules prescribing the hymns to be recited, and the music to be played. So religiously have these rules to be observed during the utsavabali, that the priest who makes the offering, the Variyar who carries the light before him and the Marans who perform the music all have to fast, and to dress themselves in orthodox Brahmanical fashion, with the uttariya or upper garment worn in the manner of the sacred thread. It is sincerely believed that the smallest violation of the rules would be visited with dire consequences to the delinquents before the next utsava ceremony.