159 
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 inspection, 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 pl. XVIII, fig. 1, the chank ring necklaces 
(chanku modira mala) are made up of a very large number 
of rings not strung but tied by the upper 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 
by the succeeding ring, much as the rings in chain 
armour are arranged. [rom 50 to rco rings 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 Ke. 1-8-o 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 was 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 | have been able to ascertain, these chank 
necklaces are assuined soon after a girl attains pubcrty 
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 
