Kudrettaya, from kudre, a horse, taya, belonging to. Talitaya, palmyra palm. Manolitaya, name of a vegetable. Shunnataya, chunam, lime. Kalambitaya, a kind of box. Nellitaya, the Indian gooseberry. Goli, banyan tree. Ane, elephant.
"These names were obtained from one of the eight swamis or gurus of the Udipi math, and according to him they have no totemistic force at the present day. Girls must be married before maturity, and the ordinary age now-a-days is between five and eleven. The age of the bridegroom is usually between fifteen and five and twenty. A maternal uncle's daughter can be married without consulting any horoscope, and during the marriage ceremonies it is customary for a bridegroom's sister to obtain from him a formal promise that, if he has a daughter, he will give her in marriage to her son. Widows take off all their ornaments, and wear a red or white cloth. They ought not to attend any auspicious ceremonies or festivals, but of late years there has been a tendency to relax the severity of the restrictions on a widow's freedom, and a young widow is allowed to keep her head unshaven, and to wear a few ornaments. A few Shivallis in the Malayalam-speaking portion of the Kasaragod taluk follow the customs and manners of the Malayalam Brahmins, and amongst these a girl does not lose caste by remaining unmarried until she comes of age.
"Koteshwar Brahmins are a small body, who take their name from Koteshwar in the Coondapoor taluk. They are practically the same as the Shivalli Brahmins, except that, like all classes in that taluk, they talk Canarese.
"Havika, Haviga, or Haiga Brahmins are the descendants of the section of the Brahmins brought in by Mayur Varma, who settled within the tract known as Haiga, which comprised the southern part of North Canara and the extreme northern part of South Canara. They did not, like the Shivallis, adopt the teaching of Madhavacharya, but remained followers of Sankaracharya, and they now speak Canarese, though their religious and family records are written in old Tulu-Malayalam character. Though originally of the same stock, a distinction has arisen between them and the Shivalli Brahmins, and they do not intermarry, though they may eat together. A number of Havika Brahmins are to be found scattered throughout South Canara, engaged for the most part in the cultivation of areca palm gardens, in which they are very expert. A very well-to-do colony of them is to be found in the neighbourhood of Vittal in the Kasaragod taluk, where they grow areca nuts which are valued only second to those grown in the magane of the Coondapoor taluk above the ghauts. The Havika Brahmins, perhaps owing to their residing for many generations in the comparatively cool shade of the areca nut gardens, are specially fair even for west coast Brahmins. This fairness of complexion is particularly noticeable in the women, who do not differ much in their manners and customs from the Shivalli Brahmin women, except that they take a prominent part in the work of the gardens, and never on any occasion wear the end of their cloth passed through the legs and tucked up behind. The Havik widows are allowed more freedom than in most other classes. Some Havik Brahmins in the Malayalam portion of the Kasaragod taluk have, like the Shivallis in the same locality, adopted the language and customs of the Malayali Brahmins.