the four Sundays succeeding the New Year's day is considered to have a sanctifying effect.
Numbers of large and ancient revetted wells exist in the village, and are known as the Reddis' wells. The story goes that a Bráhman who had the philosopher's stone was murdered by a Reddi, and that his ghost haunted the murderer and gave him no peace until he built a number of large wells at which it might quench its thirst.
The village is a centre of the export of cocoanuts and cocoaunt oil. One family of Múchis does some good wood-carving.
Ráli: Twenty miles north-west of Amalápuram, population 4,045. Contains a travellers' bungalow. A section of the Dowlaishweram anicut was originally called the Ráli anicut, and the name occurs frequently in the early accounts of the work. The village was once the head-quarters of a taluk. It is also said to have been one of the first halting-places of the Kóna Síma Drávida Bráhmans just referred to. There is a 'Tamil street' (Arava vidi) in it even now. The image of Vishnu in the local temple is represented as half male and half female, and the legend connects this fact with the wellknown story of how the asuras and dévatas churned the sea to obtain the nectar of immortality. When the nectar rose to the top, Vishnu appeared in the form of a beautiful woman, so as to divert the attention of the asuras, was seen by Siva and was pursued by him as far as Ráli.
Vádapalli: Three miles north by east of Ráli. Population 915. It is well known for its temple to Venkata or Venkanna, which is considered by the people of this neighbourhood to be almost as sacred as the famous shrine of the same god at Tirupati in North Arcot. The festival to commemorate the marriage of the deity lasts for five days in Chaitra (April- May), is very largely attended, and is a great occasion for the performance of vows.
Vánapalli: Eight miles north-north-west of Amalápuram. Population 4,686. A large festival in honour, of the village goddess Pallálamma takes place there every year. Marvellous stories are told about this deity : the size and age of her image alter according to the size and age of the worshipper; it sweats profusely and its clothes have to be wrung out every morning; 'an engineer officer' (name unknown) was turned blind some 40 years ago for entertaining the idea of demolishing the temple to make room for a canal; and the stone jackal in the shrine is one which used to defile the holy precincts every night, and was petrified in consequence.
