145 
is usually recited during the marriage (Risley, I], p. 116) 
with reference to the blasts on the conch which accom- 
pany the ceremonies—the equivalent of the marriage 
bells in Christian ritual. 
In Telugu districts the chank is not used by any caste, 
non-Brahman as well as Brahman, during weddings, as 
this is considered inauspicious because chank-blowing is 
specially associated with funeral ceremonies. 
Usually a man of a special caste is engaged to blow 
the chank at the customary times ; in the Tamil country 
the caste barbers (ambattans) perform this duty ; among 
the Telugus the chank blower is usually a Dasari, among 
the Uriyas, a Ravulo. 
Sometimes, however, women of the family or of the 
caste perform the chank-blowing duty. Among Bengal 
Brahmans, for instance, one section of the elaborate and 
lengthy marriage ceremonies consists of a procession of 
seven married ladies headed by the bride’s mother going 
round the bridegroom seven times, some sprinkling 
libations of water and vociferating the hymeneal cry of 
nlu-ulu. One of the seven carries a conch and blows 
it as she goes (Risley, I, 150’. A custom somewhat 
akin to the above prevails among the Kallan caste of 
Tanjore, Madura, Trichinopoly and Tinnevelly. On the 
wedding day the sister of the bridegroom goes to the 
house of the bride, accompanied by women, some of 
whom carry flowers, coconuts, paddy, turmeric, milk, 
ghee, etc. On the way two of these women blow chank 
shells. (Thurston, III, 80.) 
In passing it is interesting to note that a section of 
this caste, the Puramalai nadu Kallans practise the 
rite of circumcision probably as a survival of a for- 
gotten forcible conversion to Muhammadanism. The 
rite is carried out in a grove or plain outside the village 
and ex route to the place, and throughout the ceremony a 
chank is blown at frequent intervals. (Thurston, III, 74.) 
It is noteworthy that Brahmans in the Tamil and 
Telugu districts do not employ the chank during 
marriage ceremonies though their brethren in Bengal do. 
Among Telugu Brahmans living in Uriya districts the 
custom of Bengal used to be followed at marriages, but 
this is gradually dying out ; as one Brahman in Berham- 
pur (Ganjam) remarked ‘“ The present day Brahmans 
To 
