Book excerpt: The Nellore Yanadis are dark-skinned aboriginal people, short in stature, of unknown origin. They are renowned for their mysterious knowledge of the occult properties of nature. They plant round their huts certain herbs believed to ward off venomous reptiles. A decoction from more than a hundred different roots is said to possess incalculable virtues for curing any malady. The Yanadi seer grows his hair and lets no razor pass his head. Yanadis can smell out their game, and trace out trespassers by merely looking at their footmarks.