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ileges of the connubial state." The same writer states that the right-hand castes claimed the prerogative of riding on horseback in processions, of appearing with standards bearing certain devices, and of erecting twelve pillars to sustain their marriage booths; while the left-hand castes might not have more than eleven pillars, nor use the same standards as the right. The quarrels arising out of these small differences of opinion were so frequent and serious in the seventeenth century that in the town of Madras it was found necessary to mark the respective boundaries of the right- and left-hand castes, and to forbid the right-hand castes in their processions from occupying the streets of the left hand and vice versa. These disturbances have gradually tended to disappear under the influence of education and good government, and no instance of them is known to have occurred in the Central Provinces. The division appears to have originated among the members of the Sakta sect or the worshippers of Sakti as the female principle of life in nature. Dr. L. D. Barnett writes: [154]--"The followers of the sect are of two schools. The 'Walkers in the Right Way' (_Dakshinachari_) pay a service of devotion to the deity in both male and female aspects, and except in their more pronounced tendency to dwell upon the horrific aspects of the deity (as Kali, Durga, etc.), they differ little from ordinary Saivas and Vaishnavas. The 'Walkers in the Left Way' (_Vamachari_), on the other hand, concentrate their thought upon the godhead in its sexually maternal aspect, and follow rites of senseless magic and--theoretically at least--promiscuous debauchery." As has been seen, the religious differences subsequently gave rise to political factions. Mali List of Paragraphs 1. _General notice of the caste, and its social position_. 2. _Caste legend_. 3. _Flowers offered to the gods_. 4. _Custom of wearing garlands_. 5. _Subcastes_. 6. _Marriage_. 7. _Widow-marriage, divorce and polygamy_. 8. _Disposal of the dead_. 9. _Religion_. 10. _Occupation_. 11. _Traits and characters_. 12. _Other functions of the Mali_. 13. _Physical appearance_. 1. General notice of the caste, and its social position _Mali, Marar, Maral_. [155]--The functional caste of vegetable and flower-gardeners. The terms Mali and Marar appear to be used indifferently for the same caste, the former
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