OF BHARATAVAR8A OR INDIA. 
61 
para, preserved in the Malayalam jiara, in the Tamil par and 
pdmi, and the Telugu pdru. The formation of the word 
Paharia corresponds probably with that of Mahdra, and as 
Mahara or Mahar is derived from Mhar and Mar, as Bahar 
is from Bhar and Bar, so may also Pahdr be regarded as a 
derivative from Phar and Par. 
2' Bishop Caldwell remarks on p. 549 on this subject : " It has lieen said 
" that the name Pareiya, or Pariah, is synonymous with that of the Paharias 
" (from pg,hdr, a hill), a race of mountaineers, properly called Malers, 
" inhabiting the Rajmahal Hills, in Bengal ; and hence it is argued that the 
" Pareiyas may be considered, like the Paharias, as a race of non -Aryan, non- 
" Dravidian aborigines. It is an error, however, to suppose that there is 
"any connection between those two names. The word Pariah, properly 
" Pareiya, denotes not a mountaineer, but a drummer, a word regularly 
" derived from parei, a drum, especially the great drum used at funerals. 
" The name Pareiya is, in fact, the name of a hereditary occupation, the 
" Pareiyas being the class of people who are generally employed at festivals, 
" and especially at funerals, as drummers." 
The improbability of this derivation, though advocated by such a great 
authority as the highly esteemed and learned Bishop, has been pointed out by 
me. Moreover, it may be remarked that Pariah drummers aj e not employed 
at the festivals of Brahmans. 
As the name of the Pariah is thus by high authorities derived ivom. parai, 
drum, it is here perhaps not out of place to mention some of the various kinds 
of drums used by the natives of Southern India. The drums vary as to 
their size, construction, the material they are made of, and the manner in 
which they are carried. A 'Dainara (Sanskiit Jiamaru) is carried by a bull, a 
Blianka (Sanskrit Dhakkd) on a horse, a Nagard (of Semitic origin, in Arabic, 
e.g. , 6jU> ; Tamil Naka7-d) by an elephant or camel, and a Bheri (Sanskrit Bhtri 
(»)) on a cart. Other kinds of drums are carried by men, as the Tappattai, a 
small drum, which hangs from the left shoulder and is beaten under the 
left arm from below with a stick in the right hand, and from above with a 
small stick in the left hand. The Tdsd, a small semi-globular shaped drum, 
is worn in front round the neck below the chest and beaten with two small 
sticks. The Ddl (Sanskrit Bhfila) is a big drum which is also carried over 
the neck, but is beaten onlj"^ with one stick in the right hand and with the 
other hand. The Parai, which has the euphemistic name cf Alankdram, is. 
not carried, when beaten, but lies on the ground between the feet of the 
drummer and is used at festivals, weddings, and funerals. It is beaten only 
by a particular class of Pariah the Vettiijdn, who burns corpses and digs 
graves. It is therefore neither beaten by all Pariahs nor used in common 
life. The Tappattai SLui Tdsd \, • e in fashion among the Pariahs and other 
low classes, though Muhammedans and Sudras practise on them occasionally. 
The beaters of the other drums are mostly Sudras. The Kotas and the Todas 
on the Nilagiri also have the Tappattai and Tasa. The term parai is in 
Tamil now used as the general term for drum. I believe that most of the 
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