This is the first volume of an early twentieth-century ethnographic survey of castes and tribes in southern India, arranged from A to B. It describes customs, occupations, and social organization of many communities, drawing on colonial-era research and museum records. It is worth listening to as a historical source on colonial ethnography and the diversity of southern India.
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Cover of the original edition (Project Gutenberg, public domain).
Text source: gutenberg.org · The work is in the public domain.
Opening of the book
Original Title Page. Castes and Tribes of Southern India Castes and Tribes of Southern India
By Edgar Thurston, C.I.E., Superintendent, Madras Government Museum; Correspondant Étranger, Société d’Anthropologie de Paris; Socio Corrispondante, Societa, Romana di Anthropologia. Assisted by K. Rangachari, M.A., of the Madras Government Museum. Volume I—A and B Government Press, Madras 1909.
List of Illustrations. I. a. Skull of Tamil man. b. Skull from Aditanallur. II. South Indian boomerangs. III. a. European skull. b. Hindu skull. IV. Linga Banajiga. V. Diagram of noses. VI. Agamudaiyans, Madura district. VII. Āradhya Brāhman. VIII. Dolmens near Kotagiri. IX. Badagas. X. Badaga girls. XI. Badaga temple. XII. Badagas making fire. XIII. Badaga funeral car with the corpse. XIV. Badaga funeral car. XV. Bairāgis. XVI. Gazula Balija with bangles. XVII. Balija bride and bridegroom. XVIII. Kambla buffalo race. XIX. Kambla racing buffaloes. XX. Pūkāre post at Kambla buffalo races. XXI. Bedar. XXII. Billava toddy-tapper. XXIII. Brāhman house with marks of hand to ward off the evil eye. XXIV. Telugu Brāhman with rudraksha coat. XXV. Smartha Brāhman (Brahacharnam) doing Siva worship. XXVI. Padmanābha Swāmi. XXVII. Dikshitar Brāhman. XXVIII. Mādhva Brāhman. XXIX. Fuel stack at Udipi Matt. XXX. Oriya Brāhman. XXXI. Konkani Brāhman.
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