Kanna Pulayan.--Described by the Rev. W. J. Richards [99] as Pulayans of Travancore, who wear rather better and more artistically made aprons than the Thanda Pulayan women.
Kannaku.--A prefix to the name of Nanchinat Vellalas in Travancore.
Kannan.--A sub-division of Kammalans, the members of which do braziers' work.
Kannadiyan.--The Kannadiyans have been summed up [100] as "immigrants from the province of Mysore. Their traditional occupation is said to have been military service, although they follow, at the present day, different pursuits in different districts. They are usually cattle-breeders and cultivators in North and South Arcot and Chingleput, and traders in the southern districts. Most of them are Lingayats, but a few are Vaishnavites." "They are," it is stated, [101] "in the Mysore State known as Gaulis. At their weddings, five married women are selected, who are required to bathe as each of the most important of the marriage ceremonies is performed, and are alone allowed to cook for, or to touch the happy couple. Weddings last eight days, during which time the bride and bridegroom must not sit on anything but woollen blankets." Some Kannadiyans in the Tanjore district are said to be weavers. For the following account of the Kannadiyans of the Chingleput district I am indebted to Mr. C. Hayavadana Rao.
About twenty miles from the city of Madras is a big tank (lake) named after the village of Chembrambakam, which is close by. The fertile land surrounding this tank is occupied, among others, by a colony of Lingayats, of whom each household, as a rule, owns several acres of land. With the cultivation thereof, they have the further occupation of cattle grazing. They utilize the products of the cow in various ways, and it supplies them with milk, butter and curds, in the last two of which they carry on a lucrative trade in the city of Madras. The curds sold by them are very highly appreciated by Madras Brahmans, as they have a sour taste caused by keeping them till fermentation has set in. So great is the demand for their curds that advances of money are made to them, and regular delivery is thus secured. Their price is higher than that of the local Madras curds, and if a Lingayat buys the latter and sells them at the higher rate, he is decisively stigmatised as being a "local." They will not even touch sheep and goats, and believe that even the smell of these animals will make cows and buffaloes barren.