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