Very often the thief and the watchman are one and the same individual. The Maravans of the present time, of course, retain only a shadow of the power which their ancestors wielded under the poligars, who commenced the kavil system. Still the Marava of to-day, as a member of a caste which is numerous and influential, as a man of superior physique and bold independent spirit, thief and robber, village policeman and detective combined — is an immense power in the land."
It is noted, in the Madras Police Report, 1903, that "a large section of the population in Tinnevelly — the Maravans — are criminal by predilection and training. Mr. Longden's efforts have been directed to the suppression of a bad old custom, by which the police were in the habit of engaging the help of the Maravans themselves in the detection of crime. The natural result was a mass of false evidence and false charges, and, worst of all, a police indebted to the Maravan, who was certain to have his quid pro quo. This method being discoun- tenanced, and the station-house officer being deprived of the aid of his tuppans (men who provide a clue), the former has found himself very much at sea, and, until sounder methods can be inculcated, will fail to show successful results. Still, even a failure to detect is better than a police in the hands of the Maravans."Further information concerning tuppukuli, or clue hire, will be found in the note on Kallans.
From a very interesting note on the Maravans of the Tinnevelly district, the following extract is taken.*[1] " On the principle of setting a thief to catch a thief, Maravars are paid blackmail to keep their hands from picking and stealing, and to make restitution for any thefts that may
- ↑ * Tinnevelly, being an account of the district, the people, and the missions. Mission Field, 1897.
