What are the functions of chandalas according to the Manusmriti? What did Chinese travellers mentioned about them?
Manusmriti is an ancient Hindu law book, that prescribes function of each varnas. The Manusmriti laid down what it described as the duties of the chandalas. They were expected to live outside the village; use discarded bowls, with dogs and donkeys as their wealth. They were to wear the clothes of the dead, and eat out of broken dishes; wear ornaments of black iron, and wander constantly. They were not to walk about in villages and cities at night. They had to handle the bodies of those who had no relatives and act as executioners.
Much later, in the account of his travels, the Chinese Buddhist monk Fa Xian (5th century CE) wrote that the ‘untouchables’ had to sound a clapper in the streets of the town to warn the people of their presence. Another Chinese pilgrim Xuan Zang, (7th century CE) observed that executioners and scavengers were forced to live outside the city and their houses were marked.
