Page:Castes and tribes of southern India, Volume 5.djvu/249

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227
NAMBUTIRI BRAHMAN

not current or unusual now among other Brāhman communities in Southern India may be interesting. These are —

Vishnu. Kadamban.
Gayantan. Chitran.
Dēvadattan. Gadavēdan.
Kiratan. Bhavadāsan.
Prabhākaran. Srikumāran.
Dattareyan.

"The conspicuous absence of the names of the third son of Siva (Sasta), such as Hariharaputra and Budhanatha, may be noted. Nor are the names of Ganapathi much in favour with them. Srīdēvi and Sāvitri are the two most common names, by which Nambūtiri females are known. There are also certain other names of a Prākrita or non-classic character, used to denote males and females, which sometimes border on the humorous. Among these are —

Males. Females.
Nampiyattan. Nangngaya.
Ittiyattan. Nangngeli.
Uzhutran. Pappi.
Tuppan. Ittichchiri.
Nampotta. Unnima.
Chiruta.

"Some names in this list are identifiable with the names of divinities and purānic personages. For example, Uzhutran is a corruption of Rudran. In the same manner, Tuppan is the Prakrit for Subramanya, and Chiruta for Sīta. Unnima is another name for Uma or Parvati. Nambūtiris grudge to grant the title of Nambūtiri to each other. For instance, the Tamarasseri Nambūtiri calls the Mullappalli Nambūtiri merely Mullapalli (house name). But, if the person addressed is an Ādhya of one of the eight houses, or at least a