CHERUMAN
58
headman faces east, and applies his sickle to the stalks, reserving the first stalk for the deities above mentioned. The corn is thrashed and measured by one of them, and, as he does so, he says 'Labham' (profit) for one, 'Chetham' (loss) for two, and counts up to ten. The eleventh goes to the share of the reapers. Thus they get one para for every ten paras of corn. The poor people that attend are also given a handful of the grain. After reaping, the members of the castes named in the table below receive a small portion of the corn for their services rendered to the farmers in the course of the months during which cultivation has been carried on: —
| Caste. | Purpose for white paddy is given. | Remuneration. |
|---|---|---|
| Carpenters | For making and repairing ploughs, etc. | A big bundle of corn. |
| Blacksmiths | For making sickles,knives, and other tools | Do. |
| Parayan | For lifting and placing the loads of stalks on the heads of the Cherumans, who carry them to the farmyard | Do. |
| Washerman or Mannān | For keeping off birds, insects, etc., from the fields by magic. | Do. |
| Vilkurup | For treating Cherumas during their illness, and for shampooing them | Do. |
| Kaniyan or astrologet | For giving information of the auspicious times for ploughing, sowing, transplanting and reaping, and also of the time for giving rice, vegetables oil etc., to the Cherumas during the Onam festival | Do. |
