In connection with the musical instrument called the timila, the following legend is current. There was a timila in the Sri Padmanabha temple made of kuruntotti, and there was a Maran attached to the temple, who was such an expert musician that the priest was unable to adjust his hymn recitation to the music of the Maran's drum, and was in consequence the recipient of the divine wrath. It was contrived to get a Brahman youth to officiate as priest, and, as he could not recite the hymns in consonance with the sounds produced by the drum, a hungry spirit lifted him up from the ground to a height of ten feet. The father of the youth, hearing what had occurred, hastened to the temple, and cut one of his fingers, the blood of which he offered to the spirit. The boy was then set free, and the old man, who was more than a match for the Maran, began to recite the hymns. The spirits, raising the Maran on high, sucked away his blood, and vanished. The particular timila has since this event never been used by any Maran.

The higher classes of Marans claim six privileges, called pano, koni, tirumuttam, natumuttam, velichchor, and puchchor. Koni means literally a ladder, and refers to the stretcher, made of bamboo and kusa grass or straw, on which the corpses of high caste Hindus are laid. Tirumuttam is sweeping the temple courtyard, and natumuttam the erection of a small pandal (booth) in the courtyard of a Nambutiri's house, where oblations are offered to the departed spirit on the tenth day after death. Velichchor, or sacrificial rice, is the right to retain the remains of the food offered to the manes, and puchchor the offering made to the deity, on whom the priest throws a few flowers as part of the consecration ceremony.

A large portion of the time of a Maran is spent within the temple, and all through the night some watch over it. Many functions are attended to by them in the houses of Nambutiris. Not only at the tonsure ceremony, and samavartana or closing of the Brahmacharya stage, but also on the occasion of sacrificial rites, the Maran acts as the barber. At the funeral ceremony, the preparation of the last bed, and handing the til (Sesamum) seeds, have to be done by him. The Chitikkans perform only the functions of shaving and attendance at funerals, and, though they may beat drums in temples, they are not privileged to touch the asu and pani. At Vechur there is a class of potters called Kusa Maran, who should be distinguished from the Marans proper, with whom they have absolutely nothing in common.

Many families of the higher division of the Marans regard themselves as Ambalavasis, though of the lowest type, and abstain from flesh and liquor. Some Marans are engaged in the practice of sorcery, while others are agriculturists. Drinking is a common vice, sanctioned by popular opinion owing to the notion that it is good for persons with overworked lungs.

In their ceremonies the Marans resemble the Nayars, as they do also in their caste government and religious worship. The annaprasana, or first food-giving ceremony, is the only important one before marriage, and the child is taken to the temple, where it partakes of the consecrated food. The Nayars, on the contrary, generally perform the ceremony at home. Purification by a Brahman is necessary to release the Maran from death pollution, which is not the case with the Nayars. In Travancore, at any rate, the Nayars are considered to be higher in the social scale than the Marans.

In connection with asu and pani, which have been referred to in this note, I gather that, in Malabar, the instruments called maram (wood), timila, shanku, chengulam, and chenda, if played together, constitute pani kottugu, or playing pani. Asu and maram are the names of an instrument, which is included in pani kottugu. Among the occasions when this is indispensable, are the dedication of the idol at a newly built temple, the udsavam puram and Sriveli festivals, and the carrying of the tadambu, or shield-like structure, on which a miniature idol (vigraham) is borne outside the temple,

Marasari.--Marasari or Marapanikkan, meaning carpenter or worker in wood, is an occupational sub-division of Malayalam Kammalas.

Maratha.--Marathas are found in every district of the Madras Presidency, but are, according to the latest census returns, most numerous in the following districts:--

South Canara 31,351 Salem 7,314 Tanjore 7,156 Bellary 6,311

It is recorded, in the Madras Census Report, 1891, that "the term Marathi denotes the various Marathi non-Brahman castes, who came to the south either as soldiers or camp followers in the armies of the Marathi invaders; but in South Canara, in which district the caste is most numerous, it appears to be the same as Are, a class of Marathi cultivators. Of the total number of 65,961, as many as 40,871 have returned Marathi as both caste and sub-division. The number of sub-divisions returned by the rest is no less than 305, of which the majority are the names of other castes. Some of these castes are purely Dravidian, and the names have evidently been used in their occupational sense. For example, we have Bogam, Gandla, Mangala, etc." Mr. H. A, Stuart writes further, in the South Canara Manual, that "Marathi, as a caste name, is somewhat open to confusion, and it is probable that many people of various castes, who speak Marathi, are shown as being of that caste. The true Marathi caste is said to have come from Goa, and that place is the head-quarters. The caste is divided into twelve wargs or balis, which are exogamous sub-divisions. Caste disputes are settled by headmen called Hontagaru, and allegiance is paid to the head of the Sringeri math. The favourite deity is the goddess Mahadevi. Brahmans, usually Karadis, officiate at their ceremonies. Marriage is both infant and adult. The dhare form of marriage is used (see Bant). Widows may remarry, but they cannot marry again into the family of the deceased husband--a rule which is just the reverse of the Levirate. In some parts, however, the remarriage of widows is prohibited. A husband or a wife can divorce each other at will, and both parties may marry again. Marathis are either farmers, labourers, or hunters. They eat fish and flesh (except that of cattle and animals generally regarded as unclean) and they use alcoholic liquors. They speak either the ordinary Marathi or the Konkami dialect of it." The Marathis of South Canara call themselves Are and Are Kshatri.

In the North Arcot Manual, Mr, Stuart records that the term Marathi is "usually applied to the various Maratha Sudra castes, which have come south. Their caste affix is always Rao. It is impossible to discover to what particular Sudra division each belongs, for they do not seem to know, and take advantage of being away from their own country to assert that they are Kshatriyas--a claim which is ridiculed by other castes. In marriage they are particular to take a bride only from within the circle of their own family, so that an admixture of the original castes is thus avoided. Their language is Marathi, but they speak Telugu or Tamil as well, and engage in many professions. Many are tailors. [4] Others enlist in the army, in the police, or as peons (orderlies or messengers), and some take to agriculture or trading."

Of the history of Marathas in those districts in which they are most prevalent, an account will be found in the Manuals and Gazetteers.

The last Maratha King of Tanjore, Maharaja Sivaji, died in 1855. It is noted by Mr. M. J. Walhouse [5] that "an eye-witness has recorded the stately and solemn spectacle of his funeral, when, magnificently arranged, and loaded with the costliest jewels, his body, placed in an ivory palanquin, was borne by night through the torchlit streets of his royal city amid the wail of vast multitudes lamenting the last of their ruling race. The nearest descendant, a boy of twelve, was carried thrice round the pile, and at the last circuit a pot of water was dashed to pieces on the ground. The boy then lit the pile, and loud long-sustained lament of a nation filled the air as the flames rose." Upon the death of Sivaji, the Raj became, under the decision of the Court of Directors, extinct. His private estate was placed under the charge of the Collector of the district. In addition to three wives whom he had already married, Sivaji, three years before his death, married in a body seventeen girls. In 1907, three of the Ranis were still living in the palace at Tanjore. It is recorded [6] by the Marchioness of Dufferin that, when the Viceroy visited the Tanjore palace in 1886 to speak with the Ranis, he was admitted behind the purdah, "The ladies had not expected him, and were not dressed out in their best, and no one could speak any intelligible language, However, a sort of chattering went on, and they made signs towards a chair, which, being covered with crimson cloth, Dufferin thought he was to sit down on. He turned and was just about to do so, when he thought he saw a slight movement, and he fancied there might be a little dog there, when two women pulled the cloth open, and there was the principal Rani--a little old woman who reached half way up the back of the chair, and whom the Viceroy had been within an act of squashing. He said it gave him such a turn!"