MYSORE, CANARA, AND MALABAR. 
by their more virtuous sisters ; but still are admitted into company, 
and are not out-casts. Anions the Curubaru, the children of concu- 
K 1 ■ 
bines do not form a separate cast, but are allowed to marry with those ^ 
of a pure breed. By a connection with any man, except a Curubct , 
a woman becomes an entire out-cast. The men take several wives; 
and, if they be good workers, do not always divorce them for adul- 
tery; but, as they thus incur some disgrace, they must appease the 
anger of their kindred by giving them an entertainment, and the 
Guru generally interposes his authority to prevent a separation. 
The Curubas believe, that those men who die without having been 
married become Virikas, to whose images, at a great annual feast, 
which is celebrated on purpose, offerings of red cloth, Jagory , rice, 
&c. are made. If this feast be omitted, the Virikas become enraged, 
occasion sickness, kill the sheep, alarm the people by horrid dreams, 
and, when they walk out at night, strike them on the back. They 
are only to be appeased by the celebration of the proper feast. The 
peculiar god of the cast is Bir’-uppa, or father Biray , one of the 
names of Sim ; and the image is in shape of the Linga ; but no 
other person prays to Siva under this name, nor offers sacrifices to 
that god, which is the mode by which the Curubas worship BiC- 
uppa. The priests who officiate in the temples of this deity are 
Curubas. Their office is hereditary, and they do not intermarry 
with the daughters of laymen. In some districts, the Curubas wor- 
ship another god, peculiar, I believe, to themselves. He is called 
Battay Devaru, and is a destructive spirit. They offer sacrifices to 
him in woods, by the sides of rivulets, or ponds. The carcases of 
the animals killed before the image are given to the barber and 
washerman, who eat them. Beside these, the Curubaru offer sacri- 
fices to the Saktis , and pray to every object of superstition (except 
Dharma Raja) that comes in their way. They are considered as too 
impure to be allowed to wear the Linga , as their Guru does. This 
person is called a JVodear , or Jangama ; but he is married, and his 
office is hereditary. His title is Havana Siddhawara, and he originally 
