of the diffusion of the Krishna cult, while the toddydrawers and the five artizan castes were still regarded as polluting castes and assigned separate sites by the side of the Paraiyas. And these may be illustrated by a few extracts from the Tanjore inscriptions of the great Rajaraja Chola (1004 A.D.):—
'The village site, the pond, the sacred temples, the burning ground, the Vannaracheri, the pool of the Paraiyas (S.I.I., II. 4). The village site, the ponds, the sacred temples, the burning ground, the Kammalacheri, the Izhacheri, Paraicheri (Ib. 50). The temple of Pidari and its Court, the village pond and its banks, the temple of Aiyanar and its court, the village granary, the burning ground of the Vellalas, the burning ground of the Paraiyas, the Paraicheri, the Izhacheri ......' (Ib. 55). What relative social rank each of these castes held we cannot now definitely say. But it is tolerably certain that the Paraiyas, Kammalas, Izhavas and Vannans were all considered polluting castes as these are at present in Malabar and Travancore. Thus, the above arrangement in the constitution of a Dravidian village is specially noteworthy, as it combined with the circumstances described below to degrade the social position of the Paraiya descendants of the Evina tribe.
Of the six servile tribes—Paraiya, Pulaiya or Cheruma, Mala, Holaya, Palla and Madiga—which constitute nearly one-sixth of the population of the Madras Presidency, the Paraiya is by far the most important and interesting. They are found chiefly
