In Hyderabad, castration used to be performed at about the age of sixteen. A pit, 3 1/2 feet deep, was dug in the ground, and filled with ashes. After the operation, the patient had to sit on the ashes, with crossed legs, for three days. The operation was performed, under the influence of narcotics, by a Pir--the head of the Khoja community.
I am informed by Mr. G. T. Paddison that, at the annual festival of the Gadabas of Vizagapatam, thorns are set on a swing outside the shrine of the goddess. On these the priest or priestess sits without harm. If the priest is masculine, he has been made neuter. But, if the village is not fortunate enough to possess a eunuch, a woman performs the ceremony.
The following notes were recorded by me on the occasion of an interview with some eunuchs living in the city of Madras:--
Hindu, aged about 30. Generative organs feebly developed. Is a natural eunuch. Speaks and behaves like a female. Keeps a stall, at which he sells cakes. Goes out singing and dancing with four other eunuchs, and earns from ten annas to a rupee in a night. There are, in Madras, about thirty eunuchs, who go about dancing. Others keep shops, or are employed as domestic servants.
One well acquainted with the Hindu eunuchs of Madras stated that, when a boy is born with ill-developed genitalia, his unnatural condition is a source of anxiety to his parents. As he grows up he feels shy, and is made fun of by his companions. Such boys run away from home, and join the eunuchs. They are taught to sing and dance, and carry on abominable practices. They are employed by dancing-girls, to decoy paramours to them. For this purpose, they dress up as dancing-girls, and go about the streets. At times of census, they return themselves as males engaged in singing and dancing.
Kichagara.--A small class of Canarese basket-makers and beggars. The name is said to be derived from kichaku, meaning an imitative sound, in reference to the incessant noise which the Kichagaras make when begging.
Kidaran (copper boiler).--A synonym for Malayalam artisans.
Kilakku Teru (east street).--A section of Kallan.
Killekyata.--The Killekyatas are a Marathi-speaking people, who amuse villagers with their marionette shows in the Telugu and Canarese countries. "They travel round the villages, and give a performance wherever they can secure sufficient patronage. Contributions take the form of money, or oil for the foot-lights." [135] "Their profession," Mr. S. M. Natesa Sastri writes, [136] "is enacting religious dramas before the village public (whence their name, meaning buffoon). The black kambli (blanket) is their screen, and any mandapa or village chavadi, or open house is their stage. Night is the time for giving the performance. They carry with them pictures painted in colours on deer skins, which are well tanned, and made fine like parchment. The several parts of the picture representing the human or animal body are attached to each other by thin iron wires, and the parts are made to move by the assistance of thin bamboo splits, and thus the several actions and emotions are represented to the public, to the accompaniment of songs. Their pictures are in most cases very fairly painted, with variety and choice of colours. The stories chosen for representation are generally from the Ramayana and the Mahabharata, which they however call Ravanyakatha and Pandavakatha--the stories of Ravana and the Pandavas." The dead are buried in a seated posture.