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NAMBUTIRI BRAHMAN
- (55) They should not bow down to one another. (Among non-Malabar Brāhmans, juniors receive benediction from seniors. The Nambūtiris do not allow this.)
- (56) Cows should not be killed in sacrifice.
- (57) Do not cause distraction, some by observing the religious rites of Siva, and others those of Vishnu.
- (58) Brāhmans should wear only one sacred thread.
- (59) The eldest son only is entitled to marriage.
- (60) The ceremony in honour of a deceased ancestor should be performed with boiled rice.
- (61) Kshatriyas, and those of other castes, should perform funeral ceremonies to their uncles.
- (62) The right of inheritance among Kshatriyas, etc., goes towards nephews.
- (63) Sati should be avoided. (This also includes directions to widows not to shave the head, as is the custom among non- Malabar Brāhmans.)
In connection with the foregoing, Mr. Subramani Aiyar writes that the manners and customs of the Nambūtiris differ from those of the other communities in several marked particulars. They go by the specific name of Kēralāchāras, which, to the casual observer, are so many anāchāras or mal -observances, but to the sympathetic student are not more perhaps than unique āchāras. A verse runs to the effect that they are anāchāras, because they are not āchāras (observances) elsewhere. (Anyatracharanabhavat anacharaitismritah.) Of these sixty-four āchāras, about sixty will "be found to be peculiar to Malabar. These may be grouped into the following six main classes: —
- (1) Personal hygiene. — Bathing.
- (2) Eating. — The rules about food, either regarding the cooking or eating of it, are very religiously observed. Absolute fasting is unknown in Malabar.
