T59 



part of the breast ; it looks much like a chain of office 

 and is indeed the badge of the tribal sept. At Tanur 

 (Malabar) where after much trouble three Cheruman 

 women were got together for my insj^ection, one of the ' 

 husbands had to be paid a day's wages to keep guard 

 over them to prevent their flight. They were all exceed- 

 ingly shy, and it was with much reluctance that they 

 stood up in front of my camera. As will be seen by 

 reference to pi. XVIII, fig. i, the chank ring necklaces 

 {chanku rnodira mala) are made up of a very large number 

 of rings not strung but tied by the u[)per edge to a strong- 

 cord in such a way that each ring overlaps its neighbour 

 on one side and is similarly overlapped on the other side 

 bv the succeeding rins^, much as the rinos in chain 

 armour are arranged. From 50 to ico rmgs are required 

 to form a full necklace of this pattern ; as each ring costs 

 from 3 to 6 pies in the local bazaar, the total cost may 

 amount to Re. 1-8-0 or Rs. 2, a large sum to these 

 exceedingly poor people. The Cherumans who wear 

 these chank chains in the Tanur neighbourhood say they 

 belong to a sept named Kalladi Cherumans and that they 

 wear them to distinguish themselves from the Paliya and 

 other septs with which they may not intermarry In 

 Tanur bazaar I saw a single example of another pattern 

 of this strange necklace worn by a woman also said to be 

 a Kalladi Cheruman. In this case the number of rings 

 used were comparatively few, 20 in all, and between 

 each pair were strung a couple of glass beads of different 

 colours. Each ring was separated by an interval of 

 about an inch from its neighbour on either side, and 

 instead of being fastened to the common cord by a single 

 loop, it was fastened by two separate loops which 

 enabled it to lie flat upon the skin. The woman shrank 

 against the wall, averting her face and trying to sidle 

 away, and it v/as with great difficulty she could be 

 persuaded to answer a few particulars. Among other 

 information she gave, was the statement that this 

 necklet is believed to protect from evil spirits. 



So far as I have been able to ascertain, these chank 

 necklaces are assumed soon after a girl attains puberty 

 if her parents can afford it. If they be very poor and 

 cannot afford it, then, when her marriage is arranged, 

 it is generally settled that the bridegroom shall provide 



