When the first tooth of a child falls out the fallen tooth is carefully placed in a lump of cow -dung, symbol of fertility, and thrown over roof in the belief that such action will hasten the re-growth of the child 's teeth.
On suspicion that a person's jealous eye is the cause of child's illness or some misery in the family, at his next visit some one in the family follows him, collects a handful of earth on which that person had set foot and circles it clockwise around the child's head thrice, to ward off evil and then throws it in to the oven. If a child has breathing difficulty immediately after birth its forehead is scorched with a hot needle.
When the fist two children die, the death of the third child is averted by disfiguring its face, by piercing the left nostril and putting a gold wire ring through it. These mutilations are effected to make the child ugly and thus prevent him/her being the cynosure of this child by giving the child a humble name like Kuppusamy (Lord of refuse), Kuppammal (lady of refuse ), Pakri( Fakir) or Pichai (beggar).
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