Castes and Tribes of Southern India. Vol. 5 of 7

by Edgar Thurston

"Castes and Tribes of Southern India, Vol. 5 of 7" by Edgar Thurston is a seven-volume encyclopedia published in 1909. This monumental work documents over 300 castes and tribes across southern India, covering 40 million people. Part of the British Ethnographic Survey of India, Thurston conducted anthropometric measurements and recorded customs, traditions, and social structures of diverse communities in Madras Presidency and neighboring princely states, creating a comprehensive catalog of social groups during colonial rule.