acquaintances they content themselves by saying a friendly word or two
in passing, and then pursue their way. They have borrowed the word
_salam_ from the Mohammedans. They salute both Mohammedans and Europeans
with this word, at the same time raising their hand to the forehead.
When they address persons of high rank, they give them their _salam_
thrice, touching the ground as often with both hands, and then lifting
them up to their foreheads.

The other castes salute the Brahmins by joining the hands and elevating
them to the forehead, or sometimes over the head. It is accompanied with
_andamayya_, which means, Hail, respected lord. The Brahmins stretch out
their hands and say, _aaseervaathum_--benediction.

Another very respectful kind of salutation consists in lowering both
hands to the feet of the person to be honored, or even in falling-down
and embracing them.

Of all the forms of salutation, the most respectful is the
_shaashtaangkum_, or prostration, in which the feet, the knees, the
stomach, the head, and the arms, all touch the ground. In doing this,
they throw themselves at their whole length on the ground, and stretch
out both arms above their heads. This is practised before priests, and
in the presence of an assembly, when they appear before it to beg pardon
for a crime.

Relations, who have long been separated, testify their joy when they
meet by chucking each other under the chin, and shedding tears of joy.
I am not aware that grown persons ever kiss each other. Sometimes
mothers, or other individuals, will put their noses to the cheeks of
little children, and draw the air through them, just as we do when we