OF BHAKATAVARSA OR INDIA. 
215 
should begin to bleed again, he is finally rejected as impure. 
Whoever passes the test, becomes the Pujdri for the time 
being. After this ceremony the Kurumbas dance together, 
beat drums and blow trumpets. 
At the great festivals in Pudukota the Kurumbas per- 
form a similar ceremony in the presence of the Maharaja, 
when the image of V'lralaksmi is carried in procession and 
■worshipped. 
Some Kurumbas believe in a life after death, while others 
deny a future existence. They differ also in their way of 
disposing of their dead ; some burn, others bury the corpses. 
The good, according to some, become after their death, 
benevolent spirits, while the bad assume the shape of evil 
spirits ; and those who die unmarried become Virikas. But 
it seems that even the spirits of the good require some 
stimulant to keep them quiet, and unless they are appeased 
by liquor, in their anger they inflict various diseases. Some 
bum the good but bury the bad, as the spirits of the latter 
thus confined in the ground cannot escape and make mis- 
ohief.i2* 
The Kurumbas have the peculiar habit, already noticed 
when speaking of the Kaurs,^^-^ of shaving their heads entirely 
when they have to attend a funeral of any of their community. 
This custom of the Kurumbas was once the cause of a great ' 
calamity. The Kurumbas had made themselves extremely 
unpopular by their intolerance. During the reign of the 
Rajas of Vijayanagara the Kui'umba Idaiyas were powerful 
in several other places, especially in Nerumptir, Salapakkam 
and other similar strongholds. The Kurumbas, either actuated 
by religious zeal or wishing to annoy their dependents, tried 
'2* See pp. 198 n. 105, 199 n. 105, 201 n. 105, 202 n. 105, and Dr. 
Budianan's Travels, vol. I, pp. 275, 380, 381 ; vol. II, pp. 155. 
"5 Seep. 186. 
See Mackenzie Collection, No. II ; CM. 765, VII ; compare Bev. W. 
Taylor's Catalogue, vol. Ill, pp. 399-400. 
