Like other Oriya castes, the Haddis observe pollution for seven days on the occasion of the first menstrual period. On the first day, the girl is seated, and, after she has been smeared with oil and turmeric paste, seven women throw Zizyphus leaves and rice over her. She is kept either in a corner of the house, or in a separate hut, and has by her a piece of iron and a grinding-stone wrapped up in a cloth. If available, twigs of Strychnos Nux-vomica are placed in a corner. Within the room or hut, a small framework, made of broom-sticks and pieces of palmyra palm leaf, or a bow, is placed, and worshipped daily. If the girl is engaged to be married, her future father-in-law is expected to give her a new cloth on the seventh day.
The Haddis are worshippers of various Takuranis (village deities), e.g., Kalumuki, Sathabavuni, and Baidaro. Cremation of the dead is more common than burial. Food is offered to the deceased on the day after death, and also on the tenth and eleventh days. Some Haddis proceed, on the tenth day, to the spot where the corpse was cremated or buried, and, after making an effigy on the ground, offer food. Towards night, they proceed to some distance from the house, and place food and fruits on a cloth spread on the ground. They then call the dead man by his name, and eagerly wait till some insect settles on the cloth. As soon as this happens, the cloth is folded up, carried home, and shaken over the floor close to the spot where the household gods are kept, so that the insect falls on sand spread on the floor. A light is then placed on the sanded floor, and covered with a new pot. After some time, the pot is removed, and the sand examined for any marks which may be left on it. This ceremony seems to correspond to the jola jola handi (pierced pot) ceremony of other castes (see Bhondari).
"The Rellis," Mr. H. A. Stuart writes, [156] "are a caste of gardeners and labourers, found chiefly in the districts of Ganjam and Vizagapatam. In Telugu the word relli or rellis means grass, but whether there is any connection between this and the caste name I cannot say. They generally live at the foot of the hills, and sell vegetables, mostly of hill production."