308 
A JOURNEY FROM MADRAS THROUGH 
CHAPTER 
V. 
July 8, &c. 
General cus- 
toms of the 
southern di- 
vision of the 
Brtihmans. 
Subdivision 
into nations. 
Subdivision 
according to 
offices. 
contempt those from Kcisi or Benares, as being men from the north; 
and would not even admit them to* the honour of eating in his 
house. These Brahmans , he says, eat fish, offer bloody sacrifices, 
and commit other similar abominations. The northern Brahmans 
are, however, at least as proud as those from the south, and allege 
several reasons for holding them in contempt; among which the 
most urgent is, that the women of the southern Brahmans are allowed 
to appear in public. 
None of the southern Brahmans can, without losing cast, taste 
animal food, or drink spirituous liquors ; and they look upon the 
smoking of tobacco as disgraceful. All those who have been mar- 
ried are burned after their death, and their wives ought to accom- 
pany them on the pile ; but this custom has fallen very much into 
disuse, and instances of it are extremely rare ; whereas in Bengal it 
still continues to be common. A woman can on no account take a 
second husband ; and, unless she is married before the signs of pu- 
berty appear, she is ever afterwards considered as impure. They 
are not at all confined, and can be divorced for no other cause than 
adultery. When a Brahman divorces his wife, he performs the same 
ceremonies for her, as if she had died. 
Although all the southern Brahmans can eat together, yet they 
are divided into nations, that never intermarry ; and, although 
they have long been living intermixed, they generally retain in 
their families the language of the country from whence they ori- 
ginally came. 
Each nation has its Vaidika, who subsist by charity, and dedicate 
their lives to study and devotion ; its Lokika , who follow worldly 
pursuits ; and its Numbi , or priests who officiate in temples, and 
debase themselves by receiving monthly wages, and by performing 
menial duties to the. idols. The Lokika and Vaidika may intermarry • 
but, in accepting of his daughter for a wife, a poor Vaidika does 
honour to the greatest officer of government ; and still more in 
giving him a daughter in marriage. The Lokika are never admitted 
