{"collection":"scripture-revelation","full_text_available":true,"graph_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/api/page/gutenberg_22010/graph","html_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/page/gutenberg_22010","id":"gutenberg_22010","license":"Public Domain (US)","rights_basis":"gutenberg_metadata_copyright_false","source":"gutenberg","source_url":"https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/22010","summary":null,"tags":["Caste -- India -- Madhya Pradesh","Category: Archaeology & Anthropology","Category: History - Other","Ethnology -- India -- Madhya Pradesh","India","Madhya Pradesh (India) -- Religion","Madhya Pradesh (India) -- Scheduled tribes"],"text":"Produced by Jeroen Hellingman and the Online Distributed\nProofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net/\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n        The Tribes and Castes of the Central Provinces of India\n\n                                   By\n\n                              R.V. Russell\n   Of the Indian Civil Service Superintendent of Ethnography, Central\n                               Provinces\n                              Assisted by\n                          Rai Bahadur Hira Lal\n                      Extra Assistant Commissioner\n\n\n   Published Under the Orders of the Central Provinces Administration\n\n                            In Four Volumes\n                               Vol. II.\n\n        Macmillan and Co., Limited St. Martin's Street, London.\n\n                                  1916\n\n\n\n\n\n\nCONTENTS OF VOLUME II\n\nArticles on Castes and Tribes of the Central Provinces in Alphabetical\nOrder\n\n\nThe articles which are considered to be of most general interest\nare shown in capitals\n\n\n\n    Agaria (_Iron-worker_)   3\n    Agharia (_Cultivator_)   8\n    Aghori (_Religious mendicant_)   13\n    AHIR (_Herdsman and milkman_)   18\n    Andh (_Tribe, now cultivators_)   38\n    Arakh (_Hunter_)   40\n    Atari (_Scent-seller_)   42\n    Audhelia (_Labourer_)   45\n    BADHAK (_Robber_)   49\n    BAHNA (_Cotton-cleaner_)   69\n    Baiga (_Forest tribe_)   77\n    Bairagi (_Religious mendicants_)   93\n    Balahi (_Labourer and village watchman_)   105\n    Balija (_Cultivator_)   108\n    BANIA (_Merchant and moneylender_)   111\n    Subcastes of Bania\n\n            Agarwala.\n            Agrahari.\n            Ajudhiabasi.\n            Asathi.\n            Charnagri.\n            Dhusar.\n            Dosar.\n            Gahoi.\n            Golapurab.\n            Kasarwani.\n            Kasaundhan.\n            Khandelwal.\n            Lad.\n            Lingayat.\n            Maheshri.\n            Nema.\n            Oswal.\n            Parwar.\n            Srimali.\n            Umre.\n\n    BANJARA (_Pack-carrier_)   162\n    Barai (_Betel-vine grower and seller_)   192\n    Barhai (_Carpenter_)   199\n    Bari (_Maker of leaf-plates_)   202\n    Basdewa (_Cattle-dealer and religious mendicant_)   204\n    Basor (_Bamboo-worker_)   208\n    Bedar (_Soldier and public service_)   212\n    Beldar (_Digger and navvy_)   215\n    Beria (_Vagabond gipsy_)   220\n    Bhaina (_Forest tribe_)   225\n    Bhamta (_Criminal tribe and labourers_)   234\n    Bharbhunja (_Grain-parcher_)   238\n    Bharia (_Forest tribe_)   242\n    BHAT (_Bard and genealogist_)   251\n    Bhatra (_Forest tribe_)   271\n    BHIL (_Forest tribe_)   278\n    Bhilala (_Landowner and cultivator_)   293\n    Bhishti (_Water-man_)   298\n    Bhoyar (_Cultivator_)   301\n    Bhuiya (_Forest tribe_)   305\n    Bhulia (_Weaver_)   319\n    Bhunjia (_Forest tribe_)   322\n    Binjhwar (_Cultivator_)   329\n    Bishnoi (_Cultivator_)   337\n    Bohra (_Trader_)   345\n    BRAHMAN (_Priest_)   351\n    Subcastes of Brahman\n\n            Ahivasi.\n            Jijhotia.\n            Kanaujia, Kanyakubja.\n            Khedawal.\n            Maharashtra.\n            Maithil.\n            Malwi.\n            Nagar.\n            Naramdeo.\n            Sanadhya.\n            Sarwaria.\n            Utkal.\n\n    Chadar (_Village watchman and labourer_)   400\n    CHAMAR (_Tanner and labourer_)   403\n    Chasa (_Cultivator_)   424\n    Chauhan (_Village watchman and labourer_)   427\n    Chhipa (_Dyer and calico-printer_)   429\n    CHITARI (_Painter_)   432\n    Chitrakathi (_Picture showman_)   438\n    Cutchi (_Trader and shopkeeper_)   440\n    DAHAIT (_Village watchman and labourer_)   444\n    Daharia (_Cultivator_)   453\n    Dangi (_Landowner and cultivator_)   457\n    Dangri (_Vegetable-grower_)   463\n    DARZI (_Tailor_)   466\n    Dewar (_Beggar and musician_)   472\n    Dhakar (_Illegitimate, cultivator_)   477\n    Dhangar (_Shepherd_)   480\n    Dhanuk (_Bowman, labourer_)   484\n    Dhanwar (_Forest tribe_)   488\n    DHIMAR (_Fisherman, water-carrier, and household servant_)   502\n    Dhoba (_Forest tribe, cultivator_)   515\n    DHOBI (_Washerman_)   519\n    Dhuri (_Grain-parcher_)   527\n    Dumal (_Cultivator_)   530\n    Fakir (_Religious mendicant_)   537\n\n\n\n\n\n\nILLUSTRATIONS IN VOLUME II\n\n\n    31. Aghori mendicant   14\n    32. Ahirs decorated with cowries for the Stick Dance at Diwali   18\n    33. Image of Krishna as Murlidhar or the flute-player, with\n        attendant deities   28\n    34. Ahir dancers in Diwali costume   32\n    35. Pinjara cleaning cotton   72\n    36. Baiga village, Balaghat District   88\n    37. Hindu mendicants with sect-marks   94\n    38. Anchorite sitting on iron nails   98\n    39. Pilgrims carrying water of the river Nerbudda   100\n    40. _Coloured Plate_: Examples of Tilaks or sect-marks worn on\n        the forehead   102\n    41. Group of Marwari Bania women   112\n    42. Image of the god Ganpati carried in procession   116\n    43. The elephant-headed god Ganpati. His conveyance is a rat,\n        which can be seen as a little blob between his feet   120\n    44. Mud images made and worshipped at the Holi festival   126\n    45. Bania's shop   128\n    46. Banjara women with the _singh_ or horn   184\n    47. Group of Banjara women   188\n    48. Basors making baskets of bamboo   210\n    49. Bhat with his _putla_ or doll   256\n    50. Group of Bhils   278\n    51. Tantia Bhil, a famous dacoit   282\n    52. Group of Bohras at Burhanpur (Nimar)   346\n    53. Brahman worshipping his household gods   380\n    54. Brahman bathing party   384\n    55. Brahman Pujaris or priests   390\n    56. Group of Maratha Brahman men   392\n    57. Group of Naramdeo Brahman women   396\n    58. Group of Naramdeo Brahman men   398\n    59. Chamars tanning and working in leather   416\n    60. Chamars cutting leather and making shoes   418\n    61. Chhipa or calico-printer at work   430\n    62. Dhimar or fisherman's hut   502\n    63. Fishermen in dug-outs or hollowed tree trunks   506\n    64. Group of Gurujwale Fakirs   538\n\n\n\n\n\n\nPRONUNCIATION\n\n\n    _a_     has the sound of _u_ in _but_ or _murmur_.\n    _a_     has the sound of _a_ in _bath_ or _tar_.\n    _e_     has the sound of _e_ in _ecarte_ or _ai_ in _maid_.\n    _i_     has the sound of _i_ in _bit_, or (as a final letter)\n            of _y_ in _sulky_\n    _i_     has the sound of _ee_ in _beet_.\n    _o_     has the sound of _o_ in _bore_ or _bowl_.\n    _u_     has the sound of _u_ in _put_ or _bull_.\n    _u_     has the sound of _oo_ in _poor_ or _boot_.\n\n\nThe plural of caste names and a few common Hindustani words is formed\nby adding _s_ in the English manner according to ordinary usage,\nthough this is not, of course, the Hindustani plural.\n\nNote.--The rupee contains 16 annas, and an anna is of the same value\nas a penny. A pice is a quarter of an anna, or a farthing. Rs. 1-8\nsignifies one rupee and eight annas. A lakh is a hundred thousand,\nand a krore ten million.\n\n\n\n\n\n\nPART II\n\nARTICLES ON CASTES AND TRIBES\n\nAGARIA--FAKIR\n\n\n\n\n\n\nAgaria\n\n\n\n1. Origin and subdivisions.\n\n\nAgaria. [1]--A small Dravidian caste, who are an offshoot of the Gond\ntribe. The Agarias have adopted the profession of iron-smelting and\nform a separate caste. They numbered 9500 persons in 1911 and live\non the Maikal range in the Mandla, Raipur and Bilaspur Districts.\n\nThe name probably signifies a worker with _ag_ or fire. An Agaria\nsubcaste of Lohars also exists, many of whom are quite probably Gonds,\nbut they are not included in the regular caste. Similar Dravidian\ncastes of Agarias are to be found in Mirzapur and Bengal. The Agarias\nare quite distinct from the Agharia cultivating caste of the Uriya\ncountry. The Raipur Agarias still intermarry with the Rawanbansi\nGonds of the District. The Agarias think that their caste has existed\nfrom the beginning of the world, and that the first Agaria made\nthe ploughshare with which the first bullocks furrowed the primeval\nsoil. The caste has two endogamous divisions, the Patharia and the\nKhuntia Agarias. The Patharias place a stone on the mouth of the\nbellows to fix them in the ground for smelting, while the Khuntias\nuse a peg. The two subcastes do not even take water from one another.\n\nTheir exogamous sections have generally the same names as those of\nthe Gonds, as Sonwani, Dhurua, Tekam, Markam, Uika, Purtai, Marai,\nand others. A few names of Hindi origin are also found, as Ahindwar,\nRanchirai and Rathoria, which show that some Hindus have probably been\namalgamated with the caste. Ahindwar or Aindwar and Ranchirai mean\na fish and a bird respectively in Hindi, while Rathoria is a _gotra_\nboth of Rajputs and Telis. The Gond names are probably also those of\nanimals, plants or other objects, but their meaning has now generally\nbeen forgotten. Tekam or _teka_ is a teak tree. Sonwani is a sept\nfound among several of the Dravidian tribes, and the lower Hindu\ncastes. A person of the Sonwani sept is always chosen to perform\nthe ceremony of purification and readmission into caste of persons\ntemporarily excommunicated. His duty often consists in pouring on such\na person a little water in which gold has been placed to make it holy,\nand hence the name is considered to mean Sonapani or gold-water. The\nAgarias do not know the meanings of their section names and therefore\nhave no totemistic observances. But they consider that all persons\nbelonging to one _gotra_ are descended from a common ancestor, and\nmarriage within the _gotra_ is therefore prohibited. As among the\nGonds, first cousins are allowed to marry.\n\n\n\n2. Marriage.\n\n\nMarriage is usually adult. When the father of a boy wishes to arrange a\nmarriage he sends emissaries to the father of the girl. They open the\nproceedings by saying, 'So-and-so has come to partake of your stale\nfood.' [2] If the father of the girl approves he gives his consent by\nsaying, 'He has come on foot, I receive him on my head.' The boy's\nfather then repairs to the girl's house, where he is respectfully\nreceived and his feet are washed. He is then asked to take a drink of\nplain water, which is a humble method of offering him a meal. After\nthis, presents for the girl are sent by a party accompanied by tomtom\nplayers, and a date is fixed for the marriage, which, contrary to the\nusual Hindu rule, may take place in the rains. The reason is perhaps\nbecause iron-smelting is not carried on during the rains and the\nAgarias therefore have no work to do. A few days before the wedding\nthe bride-price is paid, which consists of 5 seers each of _urad_\nand til and a sum of Rs. 4 to Rs. 12. The marriage is held on any\nMonday, Tuesday or Friday, no further trouble being taken to select\nan auspicious day. In order that they may not forget the date fixed,\nthe fathers of the parties each take a piece of thread in which\nthey tie a knot for every day intervening between the date when the\nmarriage day is settled and the day itself, and they then untie one\nknot for every day. Previous to the marriage all the village gods\nare propitiated by being anointed with oil by the Baiga or village\npriest. The first clod of earth for the ovens is also dug by the\nBaiga, and received in her cloth by the bride's mother as a mark\nof respect. The usual procedure is adopted in the marriage. After\nthe bridegroom's arrival his teeth are cleaned with tooth-sticks,\nand the bride's sister tries to push _saj_ leaves into his mouth,\na proceeding which he prevents by holding his fan in front of his\nface. For doing this the girl is given a small present. A _paili_\n[3] measure of rice is filled alternately by the bride and bridegroom\ntwelve times, the other upsetting it each time after it is filled. At\nthe marriage feast, in addition to rice and pulse, mutton curry and\ncakes of _urad_ pulse fried in oil are provided. _Urad_ is held in\ngreat respect, and is always given as a food at ceremonial feasts\nand to honoured guests. The greater part of the marriage ceremony\nis performed a second time at the bridegroom's house. Finally, the\ndecorations of the marriage-shed and the palm-leaf crowns of the bride\nand bridegroom are thrown into a tank. The bride and bridegroom go\ninto the water, and each in turn hides a jar under water, which the\nother must find. They then bathe, change their clothes, and go back\nto the bridegroom's house, the bride carrying the jar filled with\nwater on her head. The boy is furnished with a bow and arrows and\nhas to shoot at a stuffed deer over the girl's shoulder. After each\nshot she gives him a little sugar, and if he does not hit the deer\nin three shots he must pay 4 annas to the _sawasa_ or page. After\nthe marriage the bridegroom does not visit his wife for a month in\norder to ascertain whether she is already pregnant. They then live\ntogether. The marriage expenses usually amount to Rs. 15 for the\nbridegroom's father and Rs. 40 for the bride's father. Sometimes the\nbridegroom serves his father-in-law for his wife, and he is then not\nrequired to pay anything for the marriage, the period of service being\nthree years. If the couple anticipate the ceremony, however, they\nmust leave the house, and then are recalled by the bride's parents,\nand readmitted into caste on giving a feast, which is in lieu of the\nmarriage ceremony. If they do not comply with the first summons of\nthe parents, the latter finally sever connection with them. Widow\nmarriage is freely permitted, and the widow is expected to marry her\nlate husband's younger brother, especially if he is a bachelor. If\nshe marries another man with his consent, the new husband gives him\na turban and shoulder-cloth. The children by the first husband are\nmade over to his relatives if there are any. Divorce is permitted for\nadultery or extravagance or ill-treatment by either party. A divorced\nwife can marry again, but if she absconds with another man without\nbeing divorced the latter has to pay Rs. 12 to the husband.\n\n\n\n3. Birth and death ceremonies.\n\n\nWhen a woman becomes pregnant for the first time, her mother goes to\nher taking a new cloth and cakes and a preparation of milk, which\nis looked on as a luxurious food, and which, it is supposed, will\nstrengthen the child in the womb. After birth the mother is impure\nfor five days. The dead are usually burnt, but children under six\nwhose ears have not been pierced, and persons dying a violent death\nor from cholera or smallpox are buried. When the principal man of\nthe family dies, the caste-fellows at the mourning feast tie a cloth\nround the head of his successor to show that they acknowledge his\nnew position. They offer water to the dead in the month of Kunwar\n(September-October).\n\n\n\n4. Religion and social customs.\n\n\nThey have a vague belief in a supreme God but do not pay much attention\nto him. Their family god is Dulha Deo, to whom they offer goats,\nfowls, cocoanuts and cakes. In the forest tracts they also worship\nBura Deo, the chief god of the Gonds. The deity who presides over\ntheir profession is Loha-Sur, the Iron demon, who is supposed to live\nin the smelting-kilns, and to whom they offer a black hen. Formerly,\nit is said, they were accustomed to offer a black cow. They worship\ntheir smelting implements on the day of Dasahra and during Phagun,\nand offer fowls to them. They have little faith in medicine, and in\ncases of sickness requisition the aid of the village sorcerer, who\nascertains what deity is displeased with them by moving grain to and\nfro in a winnowing-fan and naming the village gods in turn. He goes\non repeating the names until his hand slackens or stops at some name,\nand the offended god is thus indicated. He is then summoned and enters\ninto the body of one of the persons present, and explains his reason\nfor being offended with the sick person, as that he has passed by\nthe god's shrine without taking off his shoes, or omitted to make the\ntriennial offering of a fowl or the like. Atonement is then promised\nand the offering made, while the sick person on recovery notes the\ndeity in question as one of a vindictive temper, whose worship must\non no account be neglected. The Agarias say that they do not admit\noutsiders into the caste, but Gonds, Kawars and Ahirs are occasionally\nallowed to enter it. They refuse to eat monkeys, jackals, crocodiles,\nlizards, beef and the leavings of others. They eat pork and fowls\nand drink liquor copiously. They take food from the higher castes\nand from Gonds and Baigas. Only Bahelias and other impure castes will\ntake food from them. Temporary excommunication from caste is imposed\nfor conviction of a criminal offence, getting maggots in a wound, and\nkilling a cow, a dog or a cat. Permanent excommunication is imposed\nfor adultery or eating with a very low caste. Readmission to caste\nafter temporary exclusion entails a feast, but if the offender is\nvery poor he simply gives a little liquor or even water. The Agarias\nare usually sunk in poverty, and their personal belongings are of\nthe scantiest description, consisting of a waist-cloth, and perhaps\nanother wisp of cloth for the head, a brass _lota_ or cup and a few\nearthen vessels. Their women dress like Gond women, and have a few\npewter ornaments. They are profusely tattooed with representations of\nflowers, scorpions and other objects. This is done merely for ornament.\n\n\n\n5. Occupation.\n\n\nThe caste still follow their traditional occupation of iron-smelting\nand also make a few agricultural implements. They get their ore from\nthe Maikal range, selecting stones of a dark reddish colour. They\nmix 16 lbs. of ore with 15 lbs. of charcoal in the furnace, the blast\nbeing produced by a pair of bellows worked by the feet and conveyed\nto the furnace through bamboo tubes; it is kept up steadily for four\nhours. The clay coating of the kiln is then broken down and the ball of\nmolten slag and charcoal is taken out and hammered, and about 3 lbs. of\ngood iron are obtained. With this they make ploughshares, mattocks,\naxes and sickles. They also move about from village to village with an\nanvil, a hammer and tongs, and building a small furnace under a tree,\nmake and repair iron implements for the villagers.\n\n\n\n\n\n\nAgharia\n\n\n\n1. Origin.\n\n\n_Agharia_ [4] (a corruption of Agaria, meaning one who came from\nAgra).--A cultivating caste belonging to the Sambalpur District [5]\nand adjoining States. They number 27,000 persons in the Raigarh and\nSarangarh States and Bilaspur District of the Central Provinces,\nand are found also in some of the Chota Nagpur States transferred\nfrom Bengal. According to the traditions of the Agharias their\nforefathers were Rajputs who lived near Agra. They were accustomed\nto salute the king of Delhi with one hand only and without bending\nthe head. The king after suffering this for a long time determined\nto punish them for their contumacy, and summoned all the Agharias to\nappear before him. At the door through which they were to pass to his\npresence he fixed a sword at the height of a man's neck. The haughty\nAgharias came to the door, holding their heads high and not seeing\nthe sword, and as a natural consequence they were all decapitated as\nthey passed through. But there was one Agharia who had heard about the\nfixing of the sword and who thought it better to stay at home, saying\nthat he had some ceremony to perform. When the king heard that there\nwas one Agharia who had not passed through the door, he sent again,\ncommanding him to come. The Agharia did not wish to go but felt it\nimpossible to decline. He therefore sent for a Chamar of his village\nand besought him to go instead, saying that he would become a Rajput\nin his death and that he would ever be held in remembrance by the\nAgharia's descendants. The Chamar consented to sacrifice himself for\nhis master, and going before the king was beheaded at the door. But\nthe Agharia fled south, taking his whole village with him, and came\nto Chhattisgarh, where each of the families in the village founded a\nclan of the Agharia caste. And in memory of this, whenever an Agharia\nmakes a libation to his ancestors, he first pours a little water on\nthe ground in honour of the dead Chamar. According to another version\nof the story three brothers of different families escaped and first\nwent to Orissa, where they asked the Gajpati king to employ them\nas soldiers. The king caused two sheaths of swords to be placed\nbefore them, and telling them that one contained a sword and the\nother a bullock-goad, asked them to select one and by their choice\nto determine whether they would be soldiers or husbandmen. From one\nsheath a haft of gold projected and from the other one of silver. The\nAgharias pulled out the golden haft and found that they had chosen the\ngoad. The point of the golden and silver handles is obvious, and the\nstory is of some interest for the distant resemblance which it bears\nto the choice of the caskets in _The Merchant of Venice_. Condemned,\nas they considered, to drive the plough, the Agharias took off their\nsacred threads, which they could no longer wear, and gave them to\nthe youngest member of the caste, saying that he should keep them\nand be their Bhat, and they would support him with contributions\nof a tenth of the produce of their fields. He assented, and his\ndescendants are the genealogists of the Agharias and are termed\nDashanshi. The Agharias claim to be Somvansi Rajputs, a claim which\nColonel Dalton says their appearance favours. \"Tall, well-made, with\nhigh Aryan features and tawny complexions, they look like Rajputs,\nthough they are more industrious and intelligent than the generality\nof the fighting tribe.\" [6]\n\n\n\n2. Subdivisions.\n\n\nOwing to the fact that with the transfer of the Sambalpur District,\na considerable portion of the Agharias have ceased to be residents\nof the Central Provinces, it is unnecessary to give the details\nof their caste organisation at length. They have two subdivisions,\nthe Bad or superior Agharias and the Chhote, Sarolia or Sarwaria,\nthe inferior or mixed Agharias. The latter are a cross between an\nAgharia and a Gaur (Ahir) woman. The Bad Agharias will not eat with or\neven take water from the others. Further local subdivisions are now\nin course of formation, as the Ratanpuria, Phuljharia and Raigarhia\nor those living round Ratanpur, Phuljhar and Raigarh. The caste is\nsaid to have 84 _gotras_ or exogamous sections, of which 60 bear\nthe title of Patel, 18 that of Naik, and 6 of Chaudhri. The section\nnames are very mixed, some being those of eponymous Brahman _gotras_,\nas Sandilya, Kaushik and Bharadwaj; others those of Rajput septs, as\nKarchhul; while others are the names of animals and plants, as Barah\n(pig), Baram (the pipal tree), Nag (cobra), Kachhapa (tortoise),\nand a number of other local terms the meaning of which has been\nforgotten. Each of these sections, however, uses a different mark\nfor branding cows, which it is the religious duty of an Agharia to\nrear, and though the marks now convey no meaning, they were probably\noriginally the representations of material objects. In the case of\nnames whose meaning is understood, traces of totemism survive in the\nrespect paid to the animal or plant by members of the sept which bears\nits name. This analysis of the structure of the caste shows that it\nwas a very mixed one. Originally consisting perhaps of a nucleus\nof immigrant Rajputs, the offspring of connections with inferior\nclasses have been assimilated; while the story already quoted is\nprobably intended to signify, after the usual Brahmanical fashion,\nthat the pedigree of the Agharias at some period included a Chamar.\n\n\n\n3. Marriage customs.\n\n\nMarriage within the exogamous section and also with first cousins is\nforbidden, though in some places the union of a sister's son with\na brother's daughter is permitted. Child marriage is usual, and\ncensure visits a man who allows an unmarried daughter to arrive at\nadolescence. The bridegroom should always be older than the bride,\nat any rate by a day. When a betrothal is arranged some ornaments\nand a cloth bearing the _swastik_ or lucky mark are sent to the\ngirl. Marriages are always celebrated during the months of Magh\nand Phagun, and they are held only once in five or six years,\nwhen all children whose matches can be arranged for are married\noff. This custom is economical, as it saves expenditure on marriage\nfeasts. Colonel Dalton also states that the Agharias always employ\nHindustani Brahmans for their ceremonies, and as very few of these\nare available, they make circuits over large areas, and conduct all\nthe weddings of a locality at the same period. Before the marriage a\nkid is sacrificed at the bride's house to celebrate the removal of her\nstatus of maidenhood. When the bridegroom arrives at the bride's house\nhe touches with his dagger the string of mango-leaves suspended from\nthe marriage-shed and presents a rupee and a hundred betel-leaves\nto the bride's _sawasin_ or attendant. Next day the bridegroom's\nfather sends a present of a bracelet and seven small earthen cups to\nthe bride. She is seated in the open, and seven women hold the cups\nover her head one above the other. Water is then poured from above\nfrom one cup into the other, each being filled in turn and the whole\nfinally falling on the bride's head. This probably symbolises the\nfertilising action of rain. The bride is then bathed and carried\nin a basket seven times round the marriage-post, after which she\nis seated in a chair and seven women place their heads together\nround her while a male relative winds a thread seven times round\nthe heads of the women. The meaning of this ceremony is obscure. The\nbridegroom makes his appearance alone and is seated with the bride,\nboth being dressed in clothes coloured yellow with turmeric. The\nbridegroom's party follows, and the feet of the couple are washed\nwith milk. The bride's brother embraces the bridegroom and changes\ncloths with him. Water is poured over the hands of the couple,\nthe girl's forehead is daubed with vermilion, and a red silk cloth\nis presented to her and the couple go round the marriage-post. The\nbride is taken for four days to the husband's house and then returns,\nand is again sent with the usual _gauna_ ceremony, when she is fit\nfor conjugal relations. No price is usually paid for the bride, and\neach party spends about Rs. 100 on the marriage ceremony. Polygamy\nand widow marriage are generally allowed, the widow being disposed\nof by her parents. The ceremony at the marriage of a widow consists\nin putting vermilion on the parting of her hair and bangles on her\nwrists. Divorce is allowed on pain of a fine of Rs. 50 if the divorce\nis sought by the husband, and of Rs. 25 if the wife asks for it. In\nsome localities divorce and also polygamy are said to be forbidden,\nand in such cases a woman who commits adultery is finally expelled\nfrom the caste, and a funeral feast is given to symbolise her death.\n\n\n\n4. Religious and social customs.\n\n\nThe family god of the Agharias is Dulha Deo, who exists in every\nhousehold. On the Haraiti day or the commencement of the agricultural\nyear they worship the implements of cultivation, and at Dasahra\nthe sword if they have one. They have a great reverence for cows\nand feed them sumptuously at festivals. Every Agharia has a _guru_\nor spiritual guide who whispers the _mantra_ or sacred verse into\nhis ear and is occasionally consulted. The dead are usually burnt,\nbut children and persons dying of cholera or smallpox are buried,\nmales being placed on the pyre or in the grave on their faces and\nfemales on their backs, with the feet pointing to the south. On\nthe third day the ashes are thrown into a river and the bones of\neach part of the body are collected and placed under the pipal\ntree, while a pot is slung over them, through which water trickles\ncontinually for a week, and a lighted lamp, cooked food, a leaf-cup\nand a tooth-stick are placed beside them daily for the use of the\ndeceased during the same period. Mourning ends on the tenth day,\nand the usual purification ceremonies are then performed. Children\nare mourned for a shorter period. Well-to-do members of the caste\nfeed a Brahman daily for a year after a death, believing that food\nso given passes to the spirit of the deceased. On the anniversary of\nthe death the caste-fellows are feasted, and after that the deceased\nbecomes a _purkha_ or ancestor and participates in devotions paid\nat the _shradhh_ ceremony. When the head of a joint family dies,\nhis successor is given a turban and betel-leaves, and his forehead\nis marked by the priest and other relations with sandalwood. After a\nbirth the mother is impure for twenty-one days. A feast is given on\nthe twelfth day, and sometimes the child is named then, but often\nchildren are not named until they are six years old. The names of\nmen usually end in _Ram_, _Nath_ or _Singh_, and those of women in\n_Kunwar_. Women do not name their husbands, their elderly relations,\nnor the sons of their husband's eldest brother. A man does not name\nhis wife, as he thinks that to do so would tend to shorten his life\nin accordance with the Sanskrit saying, 'He who is desirous of long\nlife should not name himself, his _guru_, a miser, his eldest son,\nor his wife.' The Agharias do not admit outsiders into the caste. They\nwill not take cooked food from any caste, and water only from a Gaur\nor Rawat. They refuse to take water from an Uriya Brahman, probably\nin retaliation for the refusal of Uriya Brahmans to accept water from\nan Agharia, though taking it from a Kolta. Both the Uriya Brahmans\nand Agharias are of somewhat doubtful origin, and both are therefore\nprobably the more concerned to maintain the social position to which\nthey lay claim. But Kewats, Rawats, Telis and other castes eat cooked\nfood from Agharias, and the caste therefore is admitted to a fairly\nhigh rank in the Uriya country. The Agharias do not drink liquor or\neat any food which a Rajput would refuse.\n\n\n\n5. Occupation.\n\n\nAs cultivators they are considered to be proficient. In the census of\n1901 nearly a quarter of the whole caste were shown as malguzars or\nvillage proprietors and lessees. They wear a coarse cloth of homespun\nyarn which they get woven for them by Gandas; probably in consequence\nof this the Agharias do not consider the touch of the Ganda to pollute\nthem, as other castes do. They will not grow turmeric, onions, garlic,\n_san_-hemp or tomatoes, nor will they rear tasar silk-cocoons. Colonel\nDalton says that their women do no outdoor work, and this is true in\nthe Central Provinces as regards the better classes, but poor women\nwork in the fields.\n\n\n\nAghori\n\n\n\n1. General accounts of the caste.\n\n\n_Aghori, Aghorpanthi._ [7]--The most disreputable class of Saiva\nmendicants who feed on human corpses and excrement, and in past\ntimes practised cannibalism. The sect is apparently an ancient one, a\nsupposed reference to it being contained in the Sanskrit drama _Malati\nMadhava_, the hero of which rescues his mistress from being offered\nas a sacrifice by one named Aghori Ghanta. [8] According to Lassen,\nquoted by Sir H. Risley, the Aghoris of the present day are closely\nconnected with the Kapalika sect of the Middle Ages, who wore crowns\nand necklaces of skulls and offered human sacrifices to Chamunda,\na form of Devi. The Aghoris now represent their filthy habits as\nmerely giving practical expression to the abstract doctrine that the\nwhole universe is full of Brahma, and consequently that one thing is\nas pure as another. By eating the most horrible food they utterly\nsubdue their natural appetites, and hence acquire great power over\nthemselves and over the forces of nature. It is believed that an\nAghori can at will assume the shapes of a bird, an animal or a fish,\nand that he can bring back to life a corpse of which he has eaten a\npart. The principal resort of the Aghoris appears to be at Benares and\nat Girnar near Mount Abu, and they wander about the country as solitary\nmendicants. A few reside in Saugor, and they are occasionally met with\nin other places. They are much feared and disliked by the people owing\nto their practice of extorting alms by the threat to carry out their\nhorrible practices before the eyes of their victims, and by throwing\nfilth into their houses. Similarly they gash and cut their limbs so\nthat the crime of blood may rest on those who refuse to give. \"For the\nmost part,\" Mr. Barrow states, [9] \"the Aghorpanthis lead a wandering\nlife, are without homes, and prefer to dwell in holes, clefts of rocks\nand burning-_ghats_. They do not cook, but eat the fragments given\nthem in charity as received, which they put as far as may be into the\ncavity of the skull used as a begging-bowl. The bodies of _chelas_\n(disciples) who die in Benares are thrown into the Ganges, but the\ndead who die well off are placed in coffins. As a rule, Aghoris do not\ncare what becomes of their bodies, but when buried they are placed in\nthe grave sitting cross-legged. The Aghori _gurus_ keep dogs, which\nmay be of any colour, and are said to be maintained for purposes of\nprotection. The dogs are not all pariahs of the streets, although some\n_gurus_ are followed by three or four when on pilgrimage. Occasionally\nthe dogs seem to be regarded with real affection by their strange\nmasters. The Aghori is believed to hold converse with all the evil\nspirits frequenting the burning-_ghats_, and funeral parties must\nbe very badly off who refuse to pay him something. In former days he\nclaimed five pieces of wood at each funeral in Benares; but the Doms\ninterfere with his perquisites, and in some cases only let him carry\noff the remains of the unburned wood from each pyre. When angered\nand excited, Aghoris invoke Kali and threaten to spread devastation\naround them. Even among the educated classes, who should know better,\nthey are dreaded, and as an instance of the terror which they create\namong the ignorant, it may be mentioned that in the Lucknow District\nit is believed that if alms are refused them the Aghoris will cause\nthose who refuse to be attacked with fever.\n\n\"On the other hand, their good offices may secure benefits, as in the\ncase of a zamindar of Muzaffarnagar, who at Allahabad refused to eat a\npiece of human flesh offered to him by an Aghori; the latter thereupon\nthrew the flesh at the zamindar's head, on which it stuck. The zamindar\nafterwards became so exceedingly wealthy that he had difficulty in\nstoring his wealth.\"\n\n\n\n2. Instances of cannibalism.\n\n\nIn former times it is believed that the Aghoris used to kidnap\nstrangers, sacrifice them to the goddess and eat the bodies, and\nMr. Barrow relates the following incident of the murder of a boy: [10]\n\"Another horrible case, unconnected with magic and apparently arising\nfrom mere blood-thirst, occurred at Neirad in June 1878. An Aghori\nmendicant of Dwarka staying at the temple of Sitaram Laldas seized a\nboy of twelve, named Shankar Ramdas, who was playing with two other\nboys, threw him down on the _oatla_ of the temple, ripped open his\nabdomen, tore out part of his entrails, and, according to the poor\nlittle victim's dying declaration, began to eat them. The other boys\nhaving raised an alarm, the monster was seized. When interrogated by\nthe magistrate as to whether he had committed the crime in order to\nperform Aghorbidya, the prisoner said that as the boy was Bhakshan\nhe had eaten his flesh. He added that if he had not been interrupted\nhe would have eaten all the entrails. He was convicted, but only\nsentenced to transportation for life. The High Court, however,\naltered the sentence and ordered the prisoner to be hanged.\"\n\nThe following instance, quoted by Mr. Barrow from Rewah, shows how an\nAghori was hoist with his own petard: \"Some years ago, when Maharaja\nBishnath Singh was Chief of Rewah, a man of the Aghori caste went\nto Rewah and sat _dharna_ on the steps of the palace; having made\nineffectual demands for alms, he requested to be supplied with human\nflesh, and for five days abstained from food. The Maharaja was much\ntroubled, and at last, in order to get rid of his unwelcome visitor,\nsent for Ghansiam Das, another Aghori, a Fakir, who had for some\nyears lived in Rewah. Ghansiam Das went up to the other Aghori and\nasked him if it was true that he had asked to be supplied with human\nflesh. On receiving a reply in the affirmative, Ghansiam Das said:\n'Very well, I too am extremely partial to this form of food; here is\nmy hand, eat it and I will eat you'; and at the same time he seized\nhold of the other's hand and began to gnaw at it. The Aghori on this\nbecame much alarmed and begged to be excused. He shortly afterwards\nleft Rewah and was not heard of again, while Ghansiam Das was rewarded\nfor his services.\"\n\nThe following recent instance of an Aghori devouring human corpses\nis reported from the Punjab: [11] \"The loathsome story of a human\nghoul from Patiala shows that the influence of the Aghorpanthi has\nnot yet completely died out in this country. It is said that for some\ntime past human graves have been found robbed of their contents, and\nthe mystery could not be solved until the other day, when the police\nsucceeded in arresting a man in the act of desecrating a child's grave,\nsome forty miles distant from the capital (Patiala). The ghoul not only\ndid not conceal the undevoured portion of the corpse he had with him,\nbut told his captors the whole story of his gruesome career. He is\na low-caste Hindu named Ram Nath, and is, according to a gentleman\nwho saw him, 'a singularly mild and respectful-looking man, instead\nof a red-eyed and ravenous savage,' as he had expected to find him\nfrom the accounts of his disgusting propensities. He became an orphan\nat five and fell into the hands of two Sadhus of his own caste, who\nwere evidently Aghorpanthis. They taught him to eat human flesh,\nwhich formed the staple of their food. The meat was procured from\nthe graves in the villages they passed through. When Ram Nath was\nthoroughly educated in this rank the Sadhus deserted him. Since then\nhe had been living on human carrion only, roaming about the country\nlike a hungry vulture. He cannot eat cooked food, and therefore gets\ntwo seers of raw meat from the State every day. It is also reported\nthat the Maharaja has now prohibited his being given anything but\ncooked food with a view to reforming him.\"\n\nSir J. B. Fuller relates the following incident of the employment\nof an Aghori as a servant: [12] \"There are actually ten thousand\npersons who at census time classed themselves as Aghoris. All of them\ndo not practise cannibalism and some of them attempt to rise in the\nworld. One of them secured service as a cook with a British officer\nof my acquaintance. My friend was in camp in the jungle with his\nwife and children, when his other servants came to him in a body and\nrefused to remain in service unless the cook was dismissed, since they\nhad discovered, they declared, that during the night-time he visited\ncemeteries and dug up the bodies of freshly buried children. The cook\nwas absent, but they pointed to a box of his that emitted a sickening\nsmell. The man was incontinently expelled, but for long afterwards the\nfamily were haunted by reminiscences of the curries they had eaten.\"\n\n\n\n\n\n\nAhir\n\n\n\nList of Paragraphs\n\n\n    1. _General notice._\n    2. _Former dominance of the Abhiras._\n    3. _Ahir dialects._\n    4. _The Yadavas and Krishna._\n    5. _The modern Ahirs an occupational caste._\n    6. _Subcastes._\n    7. _The Dauwa or wet-nurse Ahirs. Fosterage._\n    8. _Exogamy._\n    9. _Marriage customs._\n    10. _Birth customs._\n    11. _Funeral rites. Bringing back the soul._\n    12. _Religion. Krishna and other deified cowherds._\n    13. _Caste deities._\n    14. _Other deities._\n    15. _The Diwali festival._\n    16. _Omens._\n    17. _Social customs._\n    18. _Ornaments._\n    19. _Occupation._\n    20. _Preparations of milk._\n\n\n\n1. General notice.\n\n\n_Ahir, [13] Gaoli, Guala, Golkar, Gaolan, Rawat, Gahra, Mahakul._--The\ncaste, of cowherds, milkmen and cattle-breeders. In 1911 the Ahirs\nnumbered nearly 750,000 persons in the Central Provinces and Berar,\nbeing the sixth caste in point of numbers. This figure, however,\nexcludes 150,000 Gowaris or graziers of the Maratha Districts,\nand if these were added the Ahirs would outnumber the Telis and\nrank fifth. The name Ahir is derived from Abhira, a tribe mentioned\nseveral times in inscriptions and the Hindu sacred books. Goala,\na cowherd, from Gopala, [14] a protector of cows, is the Bengali\nname for the caste, and Gaoli, with the same signification, is now\nused in the Central Provinces to signify a dairyman as opposed to\na grazier. The Gaolans appear to be an inferior class of Gaolis in\nBerar. The Golkars of Chanda may be derived from the Telugu Golars or\ngraziers, with a probable admixture of Gond blood. They are described\nas wild-looking people scattered about in the most thickly forested\ntracts of the District, where they graze and tend cattle. Rawat, a\ncorruption of Rajputra or a princeling, is the name borne by the Ahir\ncaste in Chhattisgarh; while Gahra is their designation in the Uriya\ncountry. The Mahakul Ahirs are a small group found in the Jashpur\nState, and said to belong to the Nandvansi division. The name means\n'Great family.'\n\n\n\n2. Former dominance of the Abhiras.\n\n\nThe Abhiras appear to have been one of the immigrant tribes from\nCentral Asia who entered India shortly before or about the commencement\nof the Christian era. In the Puranas and Mahabharata they are spoken\nof as Dasyu or robbers, and Mlechchhas or foreigners, in the story\nwhich says that Arjuna, after he had burned the dead bodies of\nKrishna and Balaram at Dwarka, was proceeding with the widows of the\nYadava princes to Mathura through the Punjab when he was waylaid by\nthe Abhiras and deprived of his treasures and beautiful women. [15]\nAn inscription of the Saka era 102, or A.D. 180, speaks of a grant\nmade by the Senapati or commander-in-chief of the state, who is\ncalled an Abhira, the locality being Sunda in Kathiawar. Another\ninscription found in Nasik and assigned by Mr. Enthoven to the fourth\ncentury speaks of an Abhira king, and the Puranas say that after the\nAndhrabhrityas the Deccan was held by the Abhiras, the west coast\ntract from the Tapti to Deogarh being called by their name. [16]\nIn the time of Samudragupta in the middle of the fourth century\nthe Abhiras were settled in Eastern Rajputana and Malwa. [17] When\nthe Kathis arrived in Gujarat in the eighth century, they found the\ngreater part of the country in the possession of the Ahirs. [18] In the\nMirzapur District of the United Provinces a tract known as Ahraura is\nconsidered to be named after the tribe; and near Jhansi another piece\nof country is called Ahirwar. [19] Elliot states that Ahirs were also\nRajas of Nepal about the commencement of our era. [20] In Khandesh,\nMr. Enthoven states, the settlements of the Ahirs were important. In\nmany castes there is a separate division of Ahirs, such as the Ahir\nSunars, Sutars, Lohars, Shimpis, Salis, Guraos and Kolis. The fort\nof Asirgarh in Nimar bordering on Khandesh is supposed to have been\nfounded by one Asa Ahir, who lived in the beginning of the fifteenth\ncentury. It is said that his ancestors had held land here for seven\nhundred years, and he had 10,000 cattle, 20,000 sheep and 1000 mares,\nwith 2000 followers; but was still known to the people, to whom\nhis benevolence had endeared him, by the simple name of Asa. This\nderivation of Asirgarh is clearly erroneous, as it was known as\nAsir or Asirgarh, and held by the Tak and Chauhan Rajputs from the\neleventh century. But the story need not on that account, Mr. Grant\nsays, [21] be set down as wholly a fable. Firishta, who records it,\nhas usually a good credit, and more probably the real existence of\na line of Ahir chieftains in the Tapti valley suggested a convenient\nethnology for the fortress. Other traditions of the past domination\nof the pastoral tribes remain in the Central Provinces. Deogarh on\nthe Chhindwara plateau was, according to the legend, the last seat\nof Gaoli power prior to its subversion by the Gonds in the sixteenth\ncentury. Jatba, the founder of the Deogarh Gond dynasty, is said to\nhave entered the service of the Gaoli rulers, Mansur and Gansur, and\nsubsequently with the aid of the goddess Devi to have slain them and\nusurped their kingdom. But a Gaoli chief still retained possession of\nthe fort of Narnala for a few years longer, when he also was slain by\nthe Muhammadans. Similarly the fort of Gawilgarh on the southern crest\nof the Satpuras is said to be named after a Gaoli chief who founded\nit. The Saugor traditions bring down the Gaoli supremacy to a much\nlater date, as the tracts of Etawa and Khurai are held to have been\ngoverned by their chieftains till the close of the seventeenth century.\n\n\n\n3. Ahir dialects.\n\n\nCertain dialects called after the Abhiras or Ahirs still remain. One,\nknown as Ahirwati, is spoken in the Rohtak and Gurgaon Districts of\nthe Punjab and round Delhi. This is akin to Mewati, one of the forms\nof Rajasthani or the language of Rajputana. The Malwi dialect of\nRajasthani is also known as Ahiri; and that curious form of Gujarati,\nwhich is half a Bhil dialect, and is generally known as Khandeshi,\nalso bears the name of Ahirani. [22] The above linguistic facts seem\nto prove only that the Abhiras, or their occupational successors,\nthe Ahirs, were strongly settled in the Delhi country of the Punjab,\nMalwa and Khandesh. They do not seem to throw much light on the origin\nof the Abhiras or Ahirs, and necessarily refer only to a small section\nof the existing Ahir caste, the great bulk of whom speak the Aryan\nlanguage current where they dwell. Another authority states, however,\nthat the Ahirs of Gujarat still retain a dialect of their own, and\nconcludes that this and the other Ahir dialects are the remains of\nthe distinct Abhira language.\n\n\n\n4. The Yadavas and Krishna.\n\n\nIt cannot necessarily be assumed that all the above traditions relate\nto the Abhira tribe proper, of which the modern Ahir caste are scarcely\nmore than the nominal representatives. Nevertheless, it may fairly be\nconcluded from them that the Abhiras were widely spread over India\nand dominated considerable tracts of country. They are held to have\nentered India about the same time as the Sakas, who settled in Gujarat,\namong other places, and, as seen above, the earliest records of the\nAbhiras show them in Nasik and Kathiawar, and afterwards widely spread\nin Khandesh, that is, in the close neighbourhood of the Sakas. It has\nbeen suggested in the article on Rajput that the Yadava and other lunar\nclans of Rajputs may be the representatives of the Sakas and other\nnomad tribes who invaded India shortly before and after the Christian\nera. The god Krishna is held to have been the leader of the Yadavas,\nand to have founded with them the sacred city of Dwarka in Gujarat. The\nmodern Ahirs have a subdivision called Jaduvansi or Yaduvansi, that is,\nof the race of the Yadavas, and they hold that Krishna was of the Ahir\ntribe. Since the Abhiras were also settled in Gujarat it is possible\nthat they may have been connected with the Yadavas, and that this may\nbe the foundation for their claim that Krishna was of their tribe. The\nDyashraya-Kavya of Hemachandra speaks of a Chordasama prince reigning\nnear Junagarh as an Abhira and a Yadava. But this is no doubt very\nconjectural, and the simple fact that Krishna was a herdsman would be\na sufficient reason for the Ahirs to claim connection with him. It is\npointed out that the names of Abhira chieftains given in the early\ninscriptions are derived from the god Siva, and this would not have\nbeen the case if they had at that epoch derived their origin from\nKrishna, an incarnation of Vishnu. \"If the Abhiras had really been\nthe descendants of the cowherds (Gopas) whose hero was Krishna, the\nname of the rival god Siva would never have formed components of the\nnames of the Abhiras, whom we find mentioned in inscriptions. Hence\nthe conclusion may safely be drawn that the Abhiras were by no means\nconnected with Krishna and his cowherds even as late as about A.D. 300,\nto which date the first of the two inscriptions mentioned above is\nto be assigned. Precisely the same conclusion is pointed to by the\ncontents of the Harivansha and Bhagwat Purana. The upbringing of\nKrishna among the cowherds and his flirtations with the milkmaids are\nagain and again mentioned in these works, but the word Abhira does not\noccur even once in this connection. The only words we find used are\nGopa, Gopi and Vraja. This is indeed remarkable. For the descriptions\nof the removal of Krishna as an infant to Nanda, the cowherd's hut,\nof his childhood passed in playing with the cowherd boys, and of his\nyouth spent in amorous sports with the milkmaids are set forth at\ngreat length, but the word Abhira is not once met with. From this\nonly one conclusion is possible, that is, that the Abhiras did not\noriginally represent the Gopas of Krishna. The word Abhira occurs for\nthe first time in connection with the Krishna legend about A.D. 550,\nfrom which it follows that the Abhiras came to be identified with\nthe Gopas shortly before that date.\" [23]\n\nThis argument is interesting as showing that Abhira was not originally\nan occupational term for a herdsman, nor a caste name, but belonged\nto an immigrant tribe. Owing apparently to the fact that the Abhiras,\nlike the Gujars, devoted themselves to a pastoral mode of life in\nIndia, whereas the previous Aryan immigrants had settled down to\ncultivation, they gave their name to the great occupational caste\nof herdsmen which was subsequently developed, and of which they may\noriginally have constituted the nucleus. The Gujars, who came to India\nat a later period, form a parallel case; although the Gujar caste,\nwhich is derived from them, is far less important than the Ahir,\nthe Gujars have also been the parents of several Rajput clans. The\nreason why the early Mathura legends of Krishna make no mention of\nthe Ahirs may be that the deity Krishna is probably compounded of at\nleast two if not more distinct personalities. One is the hero chief of\nthe Yadavas, who fought in the battle of the Pandavas and Kauravas,\nmigrated to Gujarat and was killed there. As he was chief of the\nYadavas this Krishna must stand for the actual or mythical personality\nof some leader of the immigrant nomad tribes. The other Krishna,\nthe boy cowherd, who grazed cattle and sported with the milkmaids of\nBrindaban, may very probably be some hero of the indigenous non-Aryan\ntribes, who, then as now, lived in the forests and were shepherds\nand herdsmen. His lowly birth from a labouring cowherd, and the\nfact that his name means black and he is represented in sculpture\nas being of a dark colour, lend support to this view. The cult of\nKrishna, Mr. Crooke points out, was comparatively late, and probably\nconnected with the development of the worship of the cow after the\ndecay of Buddhism. This latter Krishna, who is worshipped with his\nmother as a child-god, was especially attractive to women, both actual\nand prospective mothers. It is quite probable therefore that as his\nworship became very popular in Hindustan in connection with that of\nthe cow, he was given a more illustrious origin by identification\nwith the Yadava hero, whose first home was apparently in Gujarat. In\nthis connection it may also be noted that the episodes connected with\nKrishna in the Mahabharata have been considered late interpolations.\n\n\n\n5. The modern Ahirs an occupational caste.\n\n\nBut though the Ahir caste takes its name and is perhaps partly\ndescended from the Abhira tribe, there is no doubt that it is now\nand has been for centuries a purely occupational caste, largely\nrecruited from the indigenous tribes. Thus in Bengal Colonel Dalton\nremarks that the features of the Mathuravasi Goalas are high, sharp\nand delicate, and they are of light-brown complexion. Those of the\nMagadha subcaste, on the other hand, are undefined and coarse. They\nare dark-complexioned, and have large hands and feet. \"Seeing the\nlatter standing in a group with some Singhbhum Kols, there is no\ndistinguishing one from the other. There has doubtless been much\nmixture of blood.\" [24] Similarly in the Central Provinces the Ahirs\nare largely recruited from the Gonds and other tribes. In Chanda the\nGowaris are admittedly descended from the unions of Gonds and Ahirs,\nand one of their subcastes, the Gond-Gowaris, are often classed as\nGonds. Again, the Kaonra Ahirs of Mandla are descended from the unions\nof Ahirs either with the Gonds or Kawars, and many of them are probably\npure Gonds. They have Gond sept-names and eat pork. Members of one\nof their subdivisions, the Gond-Kaonra, will take water from Gonds,\nand rank below the other Kaonras, from whom they will accept food and\nwater. As cattle have to go into the thick jungles to graze in the hot\nweather, the graziers attending them become intimate with the forest\ntribes who live there, and these latter are also often employed to\ngraze the cattle, and are perhaps after a time admitted to the Ahir\ncaste. Many Ahirs in Mandla are scarcely considered to be Hindus,\nliving as they do in Gond villages in sole company with the Gonds.\n\n\n\n6. Subcastes.\n\n\nThe principal subcastes of the Ahirs in northern India are the\nJaduvansi, Nandvansi and Gowalvansi. The Jaduvansi claimed to be\ndescended from the Yadavas, who now form the Yadu and Jadon-Bhatti\nclans of Rajputs. The probability of a historical connection between\nthe Abhiras and Yadavas has already been noticed. The Nandvansi\nconsider their first ancestor to have been Nand, the cowherd, the\nfoster-father of Krishna; while the name of the Gowalvansi is simply\nGoala or Gauli, a milkman, a common synonym for the caste. The Kaonra\nAhirs of Mandla and the Kamarias of Jubbulpore are considered to belong\nto the Nandvansi group. Other subcastes in the northern Districts are\nthe Jijhotia, who, like the Jijhotia Brahmans, take their name from\nJajhoti, the classical term for Bundelkhand; the Bharotia; and the\nNarwaria from Narwar. The Rawats of Chhattisgarh are divided into the\nJhadia, Kosaria and Kanaujia groups. Of these the Jhadia or 'jungly,'\nand Kosaria from Kosala, the ancient name of the Chhattisgarh country,\nare the oldest settlers, while the Kanaujia are largely employed as\npersonal servants in Chhattisgarh, and all castes will take water\nfrom their hands. The superior class of them, however, refuse to\nclean household cooking vessels, and are hence known as Thethwar,\nor exact or pure, as distinguished from the other Rawats, who will\nperform this somewhat derogatory work.\n\n\n\n7. The Dauwa or wet-nurse Ahirs. Fosterage.\n\n\nThe Dauwa or wet-nurse Ahirs are descended from the illegitimate\noffspring of Bundela Rajput fathers by Ahir mothers who were employed\nin this capacity in their families. An Ahir woman kept by a Bundela\nwas known as Pardwarin, or one coming from another house. This is\nnot considered a disgraceful origin; though the Dauwa Ahirs are not\nrecognised by the Ahirs proper, they form a separate section of the\ncaste, and Brahmans will take water from them. The children of such\nmothers stood in the relation of foster-brothers to the Rajputs,\nwhom their mothers had nursed. The giving of milk, in accordance with\nthe common primitive belief in the virtue attaching to an action\nin itself, was held to constitute a relation of quasi-maternity\nbetween the nurse and infant, and hence of fraternity between her own\nchildren and her foster-children. The former were called Dhai-bhais\nor foster-brothers by the Rajputs; they were often given permanent\ngrants of land and employed on confidential missions, as for the\narrangement of marriages. The minister of a Raja of Karauli was\nhis Dauwa or foster-father, the husband of his nurse. Similarly,\nColonel Tod says that the Dhai-bhai or foster-brother of the Raja\nof Boondi, commandant of the fortress of Tanagarh, was, like all\nhis class, devotion personified. [25] A parallel instance of the\ntie of foster-kinship occurs in the case of the foster-brothers of\nConachar or Hector in _The Fair Maid of Perth_. Thus the position\nof foster-brother of a Rajput was an honourable one, even though\nthe child might be illegitimate. Ahir women were often employed as\nwet-nurses, because domestic service was a profession in which they\ncommonly engaged. Owing to the comparatively humble origin of a large\nproportion of them they did not object to menial service, while the\npurity of their caste made it possible to use them for the supply\nof water and food. In Bengal the Uriya Ahirs were a common class of\nservants in European houses.\n\nThe Gaolis or milkmen appear to form a distinct branch of the caste\nwith subcastes of their own. Among them are the Nandvans, common to\nthe Ahirs, the Malwi from Malwa and the Raghuvansi, called after the\nRajput clan of that name. The Ranyas take their designation from _ran_,\nforest, like the Jhadia Rawats.\n\n\n\n8. Exogamy.\n\n\nThe caste have exogamous sections, which are of the usual low-caste\ntype, with titular or totemistic names. Those of the Chhattisgarhi\nRawats are generally named after animals. A curious name among the\nMahakul Ahirs is Mathankata, or one who bit his mother's nipples. The\nmarriage of persons belonging to the same section and of first cousins\nis prohibited. A man may marry his wife's younger sister while his\nwife is living, but not her elder sister. The practice of exchanging\ngirls between families is permissible.\n\n\n\n9. Marriage customs.\n\n\nAs a rule, girls may be married before or after puberty, but the\nGolkars of Chanda insist on infant marriage, and fine the parents if\nan unmarried girl becomes adolescent. On the other hand, the Kaonra\nAhirs of Mandla make a practice of not getting a girl married till\nthe signs of puberty have appeared. It is said that in Mandla if an\nunmarried girl becomes pregnant by a man of the caste the _panchayat_\ngive her to him and fine him Rs. 20 or 30, which they appropriate\nthemselves, giving nothing to the father. If an Ahir girl is seduced\nby an outsider, she is made over to him, and a fine of Rs. 40 or 50\nis exacted from him if possible. This is paid to the girl's father,\nwho has to spend it on a penalty feast to the caste. Generally,\nsexual offences within the community are leniently regarded. The\nwedding ceremony is of the type prevalent in the locality. The\nproposal comes from the boy's family, and a price is usually given\nfor the bride. The Kaonra Ahirs of Mandla and the Jharia and Kosaria\nRawats of Chhattisgarh employ a Brahman only to write the _lagun_ or\npaper fixing the date of the wedding, and the ceremony is conducted\nby the _sawasins_ or relatives of the parties. In Chhattisgarh the\nbridegroom is dressed as a girl to be taken to the wedding. In Betul\nthe weddings of most Gaolis are held in Magh (January), and that of\nthe Ranya subcaste in the bright fortnight of Kartik (October). At\nthe ceremony the bride is made to stand on a small stone roller; the\nbridegroom then takes hold of the roller facing the bride and goes\nround in a circle seven times, turning the roller with him. Widow\nremarriage is permitted, and a widow is often expected to marry\nthe younger brother of her deceased husband. If a bachelor wishes\nto marry a widow he first goes through the ceremony with a dagger\nor an earthen vessel. Divorce is freely permitted. In Hoshangabad a\nstrip is torn off the clothes worn by husband and wife as a sign of\ntheir divorce. This is presumably in contrast to the knotting of the\nclothes of the couple together at a wedding.\n\n\n\n10. Birth customs.\n\n\nAmong the Rawats of Chhattisgarh, when a child is shortly to be born\nthe midwife dips her hand in oil and presses it on the wall, and it\nis supposed that she can tell by the way in which the oil trickles\ndown whether the child will be a boy or a girl. If a woman is weak\nand ill during her pregnancy it is thought that a boy will be born,\nbut if she is strong and healthy, a girl. A woman in advanced pregnancy\nis given whatever she desires to eat, and on one occasion especially\ndelicate kinds of food are served to her, this rite being known as\nSidhori. The explanation of the custom is that if the mother does\nnot get the food she desires during pregnancy the child will long for\nit all through life. If delivery is delayed, a line of men and boys\nis sometimes made from the door of the house to a well, and a vessel\nis then passed from hand to hand from the house, filled with water,\nand back again. Thus the water, having acquired the quality of speed\nduring its rapid transit, will communicate this to the woman and cause\nher quick delivery. Or they take some of the clay left unmoulded on\nthe potter's wheel and give it her to drink in water; the explanation\nof this is exactly similar, the earth having acquired the quality of\nswiftness by the rapid transit on the wheel. If three boys or three\ngirls have been born to a woman, they think that the fourth should\nbe of the same sex, in order to make up two pairs. A boy or girl\nborn after three of the opposite sex is called Titra or Titri, and is\nconsidered very unlucky. To avert this misfortune they cover the child\nwith a basket, kindle a fire of grass all round it, and smash a brass\npot on the floor. Then they say that the baby is the fifth and not\nthe fourth child, and the evil is thus removed. When one woman gives\nbirth to a male and another to a female child in the same quarter of\na village on the same day and they are attended by the same midwife,\nit is thought that the boy child will fall ill from the contagion\nof the girl child communicated through the midwife. To avoid this,\non the following Sunday the child's maternal uncle makes a banghy,\nwhich is carried across the shoulders like a large pair of scales,\nand weighs the child in it against cowdung. He then takes the banghy\nand deposits it at cross-roads outside the village. The father cannot\nsee either the child or its mother till after the Chathi or sixth-day\nceremony of purification, when the mother is bathed and dressed in\nclean clothes, the males of the family are shaved, all their clothes\nare washed, and the house is whitewashed; the child is also named on\nthis day. The mother cannot go out of doors until after the Barhi or\ntwelfth-day ceremony. If a child is born at an unlucky astrological\nperiod its ears are pierced in the fifth month after birth as a means\nof protection.\n\n\n\n11. Funeral rites. Bringing back the soul.\n\n\nThe dead are either buried or burnt. When a man is dying they put\nbasil leaves and boiled rice and milk in his mouth, and a little\npiece of gold, or if they have not got gold they put a rupee in his\nmouth and take it out again. For ten days after a death, food in\na leaf-cup and a lamp are set out in the house-yard every evening,\nand every morning water and a tooth-stick. On the tenth day they are\ntaken away and consigned to a river. In Chhattisgarh on the third\nday after death the soul is brought back. The women put a lamp on a\nred earthen pot and go to a tank or stream at night. The fish are\nattracted towards the light, and one of them is caught and put in\nthe pot, which is then filled with water. It is brought home and set\nbeside a small heap of flour, and the elders sit round it. The son\nof the deceased or other near relative anoints himself with turmeric\nand picks up a stone. This is washed with the water from the pot,\nand placed on the floor, and a sacrifice of a cock or hen is made to\nit according as the deceased was a man or a woman. The stone is then\nenshrined in the house as a family god, and the sacrifice of a fowl\nis repeated annually. It is supposed apparently that the dead man's\nspirit is brought back to the house in the fish, and then transferred\nto the stone by washing this with the water.\n\n\n\n12. Religion. Krishna and other deified cowherds.\n\n\nThe Ahirs have a special relation to the Hindu religion, owing\nto their association with the sacred cow, which is itself revered\nas a goddess. When religion gets to the anthropomorphic stage the\ncowherd, who partakes of the cow's sanctity, may be deified as its\nrepresentative. This was probably the case with Krishna, one of\nthe most popular gods of Hinduism, who was a cowherd, and, as he is\nrepresented as being of a dark colour, may even have been held to\nbe of the indigenous races. Though, according to the legend, he was\nreally of royal birth, Krishna was brought up by Nand, a herdsman of\nGokul, and Jasoda or Dasoda his wife, and in the popular belief these\nare his parents, as they probably were in the original story. The\nsubstitution of Krishna, born as a prince, for Jasoda's daughter,\nin order to protect him from destruction by the evil king Kansa of\nMathura, is perhaps a later gloss, devised when his herdsman parentage\nwas considered too obscure for the divine hero. Krishna's childhood in\nJasoda's house with his miraculous feats of strength and his amorous\nsports with Radha and the other milkmaids of Brindawan, are among\nthe most favourite Hindu legends. Govind and Gopal, the protector\nor guardian of cows, are names of Krishna and the commonest names of\nHindus, as are also his other epithets, Murlidhar and Bansidhar, the\nflute-player; for Krishna and Balaram, like Greek and Roman shepherds,\nwere accustomed to divert themselves with song, to the accompaniment\nof the same instrument. The child Krishna is also very popular, and\nhis birthday, the Janam-Ashtami on the 8th of dark Bhadon (August),\nis a great festival. On this day potsful of curds are sprinkled over\nthe assembled worshippers. Krishna, however, is not the solitary\ninstance of the divine cowherd, but has several companions, humble\nindeed compared to him, but perhaps owing their apotheosis to the\nsame reasons. Bhilat, a popular local godling of the Nerbudda Valley,\nwas the son of an Ahir or Gaoli woman; she was childless and prayed\nto Parvati for a child, and the goddess caused her votary to have\none by her own husband, the god Mahadeo. Bhilat was stolen away from\nhis home by Mahadeo in the disguise of a beggar, and grew up to be\na great hero and made many conquests; but finally he returned and\nlived with his herdsman parents, who were no doubt his real ones. He\nperformed numerous miracles, and his devotees are still possessed by\nhis spirit. Singaji is another godling who was a Gaoli by caste in\nIndore. He became a disciple of a holy Gokulastha Gosain or ascetic,\nand consequently a great observer of the Janam-Ashtami or Krishna's\nbirthday. [26] On one occasion Singaji was late for prayers on this\nday, and the _guru_ was very angry, and said to him, 'Don't show your\nface to me again until you are dead.' Singaji went home and told the\nother children he was going to die. Then he went and buried himself\nalive. The occurrence was noised abroad and came to the ears of the\n_guru_, who was much distressed, and proceeded to offer his condolences\nto Singaji's family. But on the way he saw Singaji, who had been\nmiraculously raised from the dead on account of his virtuous act of\nobedience, grazing his buffaloes as before. After asking for milk,\nwhich Singaji drew from a male buffalo calf, the _guru_ was able\nto inform the bereaved parents of their son's joyful reappearance\nand his miraculous powers; of these Singaji gave further subsequent\ndemonstration, and since his death, said to have occurred 350 years\nago, is widely venerated. The Gaolis pray to him for the protection\nof their cattle from disease, and make thank-offerings of butter if\nthese prayers are fulfilled. Other pilgrims to Singaji's shrine offer\nunripe mangoes and sugar, and an annual fair is held at it, when it is\nsaid that for seven days no cows, flies or ants are to be seen in the\nplace. In the Betul district there is a village godling called Dait,\nrepresented by a stone under a tree. He is the spirit of any Ahir who\nin his lifetime was credited in the locality with having the powers of\nan exorcist. In Mandla and other Districts when any buffalo herdsman\ndies at a very advanced age the people make a platform for him within\nthe village and call it Mahashi Deo or the buffalo god. Similarly,\nwhen an old cattle herdsman dies they do the same, and call it Balki\nDeo or the bullock god. Here we have a clear instance of the process\nof substituting the spirit of the herdsman for the cow or buffalo as\nan object of worship. The occupation of the Ahir also lends itself to\nreligious imaginations. He stays in the forest or waste grass-land,\nfrequently alone from morning till night, watching his herds; and\nthe credulous and uneducated minds of the more emotional may easily\nhear the voices of spirits, or in a half-sleeping condition during\nthe heat and stillness of the long day may think that visions have\nappeared to them. Thus they come to believe themselves selected for\ncommunication with the unseen deities or spirits, and on occasions\nof strong religious excitement work themselves into a frenzy and are\nheld to be possessed by a spirit or god.\n\n\n\n13. Caste deities.\n\n\nAmong the special deities of the Ahirs is Kharak Deo, who is always\nlocated at the _khirkha_, or place of assembly of the cattle, on\ngoing to and returning from pasture. He appears to be the spirit or\ngod of the _khirkha_. He is represented by a platform with an image\nof a horse on it, and when cattle fall ill the owners offer flour\nand butter to him. These are taken by the Ahirs in charge, and it is\nthought that the cattle will get well. Matar Deo is the god of the\npen or enclosure for cattle made in the jungle. Three days after the\nDiwali festival the Rawats sacrifice one or more goats to him, cutting\noff their heads. They throw the heads into the air, and the cattle,\nsmelling the blood, run together and toss them with their horns as\nthey do when they scent a tiger. The men then say that the animals\nare possessed by Matar Deo. Guraya Deo is a deity who lives in the\ncattle-stalls in the village and is worshipped once a year. A man\nholds an egg in his hand, and walks round the stall pouring liquid\nover the egg all the way, so as to make a line round it. The egg is\nthen buried beneath the shrine of the god, the rite being probably\nmeant to ensure his aid for the protection of the cattle from disease\nin their stalls. A favourite saint of the Ahirs is Haridas Baba. He\nwas a Jogi, and could separate his soul from his body at pleasure. On\none occasion he had gone in spirit to Benares, leaving his body\nin the house of one of his disciples, who was an Ahir. When he did\nnot return, and the people heard that a dead body was lying there,\nthey came and insisted that it should be burnt. When he came back\nand found that his body was burnt, he entered into a man and spoke\nthrough him, telling the people what had happened. In atonement for\ntheir unfortunate mistake they promised to worship him.\n\n\n\n14. Other deities.\n\n\nThe Mahakul Ahirs of Jashpur have three deities, whom they call Mahadeo\nor Siva, Sahadeo, one of the five Pandava brothers, and the goddess\nLakshmi. They say that the buffalo is Mahadeo, the cow Sahadeo,\nand the rice Lakshmi. This also appears to be an instance of the\npersonification of animals and the corn into anthropomorphic deities.\n\n\n\n15. The Diwali festival.\n\n\nThe principal festival of the Ahirs is the Diwali, falling about the\nbeginning of November, which is also the time when the autumn crops\nripen. All classes observe this feast by illuminating their houses\nwith many small saucer-lamps and letting off crackers and fireworks,\nand they generally gamble with money to bring them good luck during\nthe coming year. The Ahirs make a mound of earth, which is called\nGovardhan, that is the mountain in Mathura which Krishna held upside\ndown on his finger for seven days and nights, so that all the people\nmight gather under it and be protected from the devastating storms of\nrain sent by Indra. After dancing round the mound they drive their\ncattle over it and make them trample it to pieces. At this time a\nfestival called Marhai is held, at which much liquor is drunk and\nall classes disport themselves. In Damoh on this day the Ahirs go to\nthe standing-place for village cattle, and after worshipping the god,\nfrighten the cattle by waving leaves of the basil-plant at them, and\nthen put on fantastic dresses, decorating themselves with cowries,\nand go round the village, singing and dancing. Elsewhere at the time\nof the Marhai they dance round a pole with peacock feathers tied to the\ntop, and sometimes wear peacock feathers themselves, as well as aprons\nsewn all over with cowries. It is said that Krishna and Balaram used\nto wear peacock feathers when they danced in the jungles of Mathura,\nbut this rite has probably some connection with the worship of the\npeacock. This bird might be venerated by the Ahirs as one of the\nprominent denizens of the jungle. In Raipur they tie a white cock\nto the top of the pole and dance round it. In Mandla, Khila Mutha,\nthe god of the threshing-floor, is worshipped at this time, with\nofferings of a fowl and a goat. They also perform the rite of _jagana_\nor waking him up. They tie branches of a small shrub to a stick and\npour milk over the stone which is his emblem, and sing, 'Wake up,\nKhila Mutha, this is the night of Amawas' (the new moon). Then they\ngo to the cattle-shed and wake up the cattle, crying, 'Poraiya,\ngod of the door, watchman of the window, open the door, Nand Gowal\nis coming.' Then they drive out the cattle and chase them with the\nbranches tied to their sticks as far as their grazing-ground. Nand\nGowal was the foster-father of Krishna, and is now said to signify a\nman who has a lakh (100,000) of cows. This custom of frightening the\ncattle and making them run is called _dhor jagana_ or _bichkana_, that\nis, to wake up or terrify the cattle. Its meaning is obscure, but it is\nsaid to preserve the cattle from disease during the year. In Raipur the\nwomen make an image of a parrot in clay at the Diwali and place it on\na pole and go round to the different houses, singing and dancing round\nthe pole, and receiving presents of rice and money. They praise the\nparrot as the bird who carries messages from a lover to his mistress,\nand as living on the mountains and among the green verdure, and sing:\n\n\"Oh, parrot, where shall we sow _gondla_ grass and where shall we\nsow rice?\n\n\"We will sow _gondla_ in a pond and rice in the field.\n\n\"With what shall we cut _gondla_ grass, and with what shall we\ncut rice?\n\n\"We shall cut _gondla_ with an axe and rice with a sickle.\"\n\nIt is probable that the parrot is revered as a spirit of the forest,\nand also perhaps because it is destructive to the corn. The parrot\nis not, so far as is known, associated with any god, but the Hindus\ndo not kill it. In Bilaspur an ear of rice is put into the parrot's\nmouth, and it is said there that the object of the rite is to prevent\nthe parrots from preying on the corn.\n\n\n\n16. Omens.\n\n\nOn the night of the full moon of Jesth (May) the Ahirs stay awake\nall night, and if the moon is covered with clouds they think that\nthe rains will be good. If a cow's horns are not firmly fixed in\nthe head and seem to shake slightly, it is called Maini, and such an\nanimal is considered to be lucky. If a bullock sits down with three\nlegs under him and the fourth stretched out in front it is a very\ngood omen, and it is thought that his master's cattle will increase\nand multiply. When a buffalo-calf is born they cover it at once with\na black cloth and remove it from the mother's sight, as they think\nthat if she saw the calf and it then died her milk would dry up. The\ncalf is fed by hand. Cow-calves, on the other hand, are usually left\nwith the mother, and many people allow them to take all the milk,\nas they think it a sin to deprive them of it.\n\n\n\n17. Social customs.\n\n\nThe Ahirs will eat the flesh of goats and chickens, and most of them\nconsume liquor freely. The Kaonra Ahirs of Mandla eat pork, and the\nRawats of Chhattisgarh are said not to object to field-mice and rats,\neven when caught in the houses. The Kaonra Ahirs are also said not to\nconsider a woman impure during the period of menstruation. Nevertheless\nthe Ahirs enjoy a good social status, owing to their relations with\nthe sacred cow. As remarked by Eha: \"His family having been connected\nfor many generations with the sacred animal he enjoys a certain\nconsciousness of moral respectability, like a man whose uncles are\ndeans or canons.\" [27] All castes will take water from the hands of\nan Ahir, and in Chhattisgarh and the Uriya country the Rawats and\nGahras, as the Ahir caste is known respectively in these localities,\nare the only caste from whom Brahmans and all other Hindus will take\nwater. On this account, and because of their comparative purity,\nthey are largely employed as personal servants. In Chhattisgarh the\nordinary Rawats will clean the cooking-vessels even of Muhammadans,\nbut the Thethwar or pure Rawats refuse this menial work. In Mandla,\nwhen a man is to be brought back into caste after a serious offence,\nsuch as getting vermin in a wound, he is made to stand in the middle\nof a stream, while some elderly relative pours water over him. He\nthen addresses the members of the caste _panchayat_ or committee,\nwho are standing on the bank, saying to them, 'Will you leave me in\nthe mud or will you take me out?' Then they tell him to come out,\nand he has to give a feast. At this a member of the Meliha sept first\neats food and puts some into the offender's mouth, thus taking the\nlatter's sin upon himself. The offender then addresses the _panchayat_\nsaying, 'Rajas of the Panch, eat.' Then the _panchayat_ and all the\ncaste take food with him and he is readmitted. In Nandgaon State the\nhead of the caste _panchayat_ is known as Thethwar, the title of the\nhighest subcaste, and is appointed by the Raja, to whom he makes a\npresent. In Jashpur, among the Mahakul Ahirs, when an offender is put\nout of caste he has on readmission to make an offering of Rs. 1-4 to\nBalaji, the tutelary deity of the State. These Mahakuls desire to be\nconsidered superior to ordinary Ahirs, and their social rules are hence\nvery strict. A man is put out of caste if a dog, fowl or pig touches\nhis water or cooking-pots, or if he touches a fowl. In the latter\ncase he is obliged to make an offering of a fowl to the local god,\nand eight days are allowed for procuring it. A man is also put out of\ncaste for beating his father. In Mandla, Ahirs commonly have the title\nof Patel or headman of a village, probably because in former times,\nwhen the country consisted almost entirely of forest and grass land,\nthey were accustomed to hold large areas on contract for grazing.\n\n\n\n18. Ornaments.\n\n\nIn Chhattisgarh the Rawat women are especially fond of wearing large\n_churas_ or leg-ornaments of bell-metal. These consist of a long\ncylinder which fits closely to the leg, being made in two halves which\nlock into each other, while at each end and in the centre circular\nplates project outwards horizontally. A pair of these _churas_ may\nweigh 8 or 10 lbs., and cost from Rs. 3 to Rs. 9. It is probable that\nsome important magical advantage was expected to come from the wearing\nof these heavy appendages, which must greatly impede free progression,\nbut its nature is not known.\n\n\n\n19. Occupation.\n\n\nOnly about thirty per cent of the Ahirs are still occupied in breeding\ncattle and dealing in milk and butter. About four per cent are domestic\nservants, and nearly all the remainder cultivators and labourers. In\nformer times the Ahirs had the exclusive right of milking the cow,\nso that on all occasions an Ahir must be hired for this purpose even\nby the lowest castes. Any one could, however, milk the buffalo, and\nalso make curds and other preparations from cow's milk. [28] This\nrule is interesting as showing how the caste system was maintained\nand perpetuated by the custom of preserving to each caste a monopoly\nof its traditional occupation. The rule probably applied also to the\nbulk of the cultivating and the menial and artisan castes, and now\nthat it has been entirely abrogated it would appear that the gradual\ndecay and dissolution of the caste organisation must follow. The\nvillage cattle are usually entrusted jointly to one or more herdsmen\nfor grazing purposes. The grazier is paid separately for each animal\nentrusted to his care, a common rate being one anna for a cow or\nbullock and two annas for a buffalo per month. When a calf is born\nhe gets four annas for a cow-calf and eight annas for a she-buffalo,\nbut except in the rice districts nothing for a male buffalo-calf, as\nthese animals are considered useless outside the rice area. The reason\nis that buffaloes do not work steadily except in swampy or wet ground,\nwhere they can refresh themselves by frequent drinking. In the northern\nDistricts male buffalo-calves are often neglected and allowed to die,\nbut the cow-buffaloes are extremely valuable, because their milk is\nthe principal source of supply of _ghi_ or boiled butter. When a cow\nor buffalo is in milk the grazier often gets the milk one day out\nof four or five. When a calf is born the teats of the cow are first\nmilked about twenty times on to the ground in the name of the local\ngod of the Ahirs. The remainder of the first day's milk is taken by\nthe grazier, and for the next few days it is given to friends. The\nvillage grazier is often also expected to prepare the guest-house for\nGovernment officers and others visiting the village, fetch grass for\ntheir animals, and clean their cooking vessels. For this he sometimes\nreceives a small plot of land and a present of a blanket annually\nfrom the village proprietor. Malguzars and large tenants have their\nprivate herdsmen. The pasturage afforded by the village waste lands\nand forest is, as a rule, only sufficient for the plough-bullocks and\nmore valuable milch-animals. The remainder are taken away sometimes\nfor long distances to the Government forest reserves, and here the\nherdsmen make stockades in the jungle and remain there with their\nanimals for months together. The cattle which remain in the village are\ntaken by the owners in the early morning to the _khirkha_ or central\nstanding-ground. Here the grazier takes them over and drives them out\nto pasture. He brings them back at ten or eleven, and perhaps lets them\nstand in some field which the owner wants manured. Then he separates\nthe cows and milch-buffaloes and takes them to their masters' houses,\nwhere he milks them all. In the afternoon all the cattle are again\ncollected and driven out to pasture. The cultivators are very much in\nthe grazier's hands, as they cannot supervise him, and if dishonest he\nmay sell off a cow or calf to a friend in a distant village and tell\nthe owner that it has been carried off by a tiger or panther. Unless\nthe owner succeeds by a protracted search or by accident in finding\nthe animal he cannot disprove the herdsman's statement, and the only\nremedy is to dispense with the latter's services if such losses become\nunduly frequent. On this account, according to the proverbs, the Ahir\nis held to be treacherous and false to his engagements. They are also\nregarded as stupid because they seldom get any education, retain their\nrustic and half-aboriginal dialect, and on account of their solitary\nlife are dull and slow-witted in company. 'The barber's son learns to\nshave on the Ahir's head.' 'The cow is in league with the milkman and\nlets him milk water into the pail.' The Ahirs are also hot-tempered,\nand their propensity for drinking often results in affrays, when they\nbreak each other's head with their cattle-staffs. 'A Gaoli's quarrel:\ndrunk at night and friends in the morning.'\n\n\n\n20. Preparations of milk.\n\n\nHindus nearly always boil their milk before using it, as the taste\nof milk fresh from the cow is considered unpalatable. After boiling,\nthe milk is put in a pot and a little old curds added, when the whole\nbecomes _dahi_ or sour curds. This is a favourite food, and appears\nto be exactly the same substance as the Bulgarian sour milk which is\nnow considered to have much medicinal value. Butter is also made by\nchurning these curds or _dahi_. Butter is never used without being\nboiled first, when it becomes converted into a sort of oil; this\nhas the advantage of keeping much better than fresh butter, and may\nremain fit for use for as long as a year. This boiled butter is known\nas _ghi_, and is the staple product of the dairy industry, the bulk\nof the surplus supply of milk being devoted to its manufacture. It\nis freely used by all classes who can afford it, and serves very well\nfor cooking purposes. There is a comparatively small market for fresh\nmilk among the Hindus, and as a rule only those drink milk who obtain\nit from their own animals. The acid residue after butter has been\nmade from _dahi_ (curds) or milk is known as _matha_ or butter-milk,\nand is the only kind of milk drunk by the poorer classes. Milk boiled\nso long as to become solidified is known as _khir_, and is used by\nconfectioners for making sweets. When the milk is boiled and some sour\nmilk added to it, so that it coagulates while hot, the preparation is\ncalled _chhana_. The whey is expressed from this by squeezing it in a\ncloth, and a kind of cheese is obtained. [29] The liquid which oozes\nout at the root of a cow's horns after death is known as _gaolochan_\nand sells for a high price, as it is considered a valuable medicine\nfor children's cough and lung diseases.\n\n\n\nAndh\n\n\n_Andh._ [30]--A low cultivating caste of Berar, who numbered 52,000\npersons in 1911, and belong to the Yeotmal, Akola and Buldana\nDistricts. The Andhs appear to be a non-Aryan tribe of the Andhra or\nTamil country, from which they derive their name. The territories\nof the Andhra dynasty extended across southern India from sea to\nsea in the early part of the Christian era. This designation may,\nhowever, have been given to them after migration, emigrants being not\ninfrequently called in their new country by the name of the place from\nwhich they came, as Berari, Purdesi, Audhia (from Oudh), and so on. At\npresent there seems to be no caste called Andh in Madras. Mr. Kitts\n[31] notes that they still come from Hyderabad across the Penganga\nriver.\n\nThe caste are divided into two groups, Vartati or pure and Khaltati or\nillegitimate, which take food together, but do not intermarry. They\nhave a large number of exogamous septs, most of which appear to have\nMarathi names, either taken from villages or of a titular character. A\nfew are called after animals or plants, as Majiria the cat, Ringni\na kind of tree, Dumare from Dumar, an ant-hill, Dukare from Dukar,\na pig, and Titawe from Titawa, a bird. Baghmare means tiger-killer\nor one killed by a tiger; members of this sept revere the tiger. Two\nsepts, Bhoyar and Wanjari, are named after other castes.\n\nMarriage between members of the same sept is prohibited, and also\nbetween first cousins, except that a sister's son may marry a brother's\ndaughter. Until recently marriage has been adult, but girls are now\nwedded as children, and betrothals are sometimes arranged before they\nare born. The ceremony resembles that of the Kunbis. Betrothals are\narranged between October and December, and the weddings take place\nthree or four months later, from January to April. If the bride is\nmature she goes at once to her husband's house. Polygamy is allowed;\nand as only a well-to-do man can afford to obtain more than one wife,\nthose who have several are held to be wealthy, and treated with\nrespect. Divorce and the remarriage of widows are permitted, but\nthe widow may not marry her husband's brother nor any member of his\nclan. If an unmarried girl becomes pregnant by a man of her own or a\nsuperior caste she is fined, and can then be married as a widow. Her\nfeet are not washed nor besmeared with red powder at the wedding\nceremony like those of other girls. In some localities Andh women\ndetected in a criminal intimacy even with men of such impure castes\nas the Mahars and Mangs have been readmitted into the community. A\nsubstantial fine is imposed on a woman detected in adultery according\nto her means and spent on a feast to the caste. All the members thus\nhave a personal interest in the detection and punishment of such\noffences. The dead are usually buried, and water and sugar are placed\nin a dying man's mouth instead of the sacred objects used by Hindus;\nnor are the dying urged to call on Rama. The dead are buried with\nthe head to the south, in opposition to the Hindu custom. The Andhs\nwill eat the flesh of fowls and pigs, and even cats, rats and snakes\nin some localities, though the more civilised have abjured these\nlatter. They are very fond of pork, and drink liquor, and will take\nfood from Kunbis, Malis and Kolis, but not from Gonds. They have\na caste _panchayat_ or committee, with a headman called Mohtaria,\nand two officers known as Phopatia and Dukria. When a caste offence\nis committed the Dukria goes to call the offender, and is given the\nearthen pots used at the penalty-feast, while the Phopatia receives\na new piece of cloth. The Mohtaria or headman goes from village to\nvillage to decide cases, and gets a share of the fine. The caste are\n_shikaris_ or hunters, and cultivators. They catch antelope, hares,\npig and nilgai in their nets, and kill them with sticks and stones,\nand they dam up streams and net fish. Birds are not caught. Generally,\nthe customs of the Andhs clearly point to an aboriginal origin, but\nthey are rapidly being Hinduised, and in some tracts can scarcely be\ndistinguished from Kunbis.\n\nThey have Marathi names; and though only one name is given at birth,\nMr. Slaney notes that this is frequently changed for some pet name,\nand as often as not a man goes regularly by some name other than his\nreal one.\n\n\n\nArakh\n\n\n_Arakh._--A small caste of cultivators and labourers found\nprincipally in the Chanda District and Berar and scattered over other\nlocalities. The Arakhs are considered to be an offshoot of the Pasi or\nBahelia caste of hunters and fowlers. Mr. Crooke [32] writes of them:\n\"All their traditions connect them with the Pasis and Parasurama, the\nsixth Avatara of Vishnu. One story runs that Parasurama was bathing\nin the sea, when a leech bit his foot and caused it to bleed. He\ndivided the blood into two parts; out of one part he made the first\nPasi and out of the second the first Arakh. Another story is that\nthe Pasis were made out of the sweat (_pasina_) of Parasurama. While\nParasurama was away the Pasi shot some animals with his bow, and\nthe deity was so enraged that he cursed the Pasi, and swore that\nhis descendants should keep pigs. This accounts for the degradation\nof the Pasis. Subsequently Parasurama sent for some Pasis to help\nhim in one of his wars; but they ran away and hid in an _arhar_\n[33] field and were hence called Arakhs.\" This connection with the\nPasis is also recognised in the case of the Arakhs of Berar, of whom\nMr. Kitts writes: [34] \"The Arakhs found in Morsi are a race akin to\nthe Bahelias. Their regular occupation is bird-catching and _shikar_\n(hunting). They do not follow Hindu customs in their marriages,\nbut although they keep pigs, eat flesh and drink spirits, they will\nnot touch a Chamar. They appear to be a branch of the Pasi tribe,\nand are described as a semi-Hinduised class of aborigines.\" In the\nChanda District, however, the Arakhs are closely connected with the\nGond tribe, as is evident from their system of exogamy. Thus they\nsay that they are divided into the Matia, Tekam, Tesli, Godam, Madai,\nSayam and Chorliu septs, worshipping respectively three, four, five,\nsix, seven, eight and twelve gods; and persons who worship the same\nnumber of gods cannot marry with one another. This system of divisions\naccording to the different number of gods worshipped is found in the\nCentral Provinces only among the Gonds and one or two other tribes\nlike the Baigas, who have adopted it from them, and as some of the\nnames given above are also Gondi words, no doubt need be entertained\nthat the Arakhs of Chanda are largely of Gond descent. They are\nprobably, in fact, the offspring of irregular connections between\nthe Gonds and Pasis, who, being both frequenters of the forests,\nwould naturally come much into contact with each other. And being\ndisowned by the true Pasis on account of their defective pedigree,\nthey have apparently set up as a separate caste and adopted the name\nof Arakh to hide the deficiencies of their ancestry.\n\nThe social customs of the Arakhs resemble those of other low Hindu\ncastes, and need not be given in detail. Their weddings are held\nnear a temple of Maroti, or if there be none such, then at the place\nwhere the Holi fire was lit in the preceding year. A bride-price\nvarying from Rs. 25 to Rs. 40 is usually paid. In the case of the\nmarriage of a widow, the second husband goes to the house of the\nwoman, where the couple are bathed and seated on two wooden boards,\na branch of a cotton-plant being placed near them. The bridegroom then\nties five strings of black glass beads round the woman's neck. The\ndead are mourned for one day only, and a funeral feast is given to\nthe caste-fellows. The Arakhs are a very low caste, but their touch\ndoes not convey impurity.\n\n\n\nAtari\n\n\n\n1. General notice.\n\n\n_Atari, [35] Gandhi, Bukekari._--A small Muhammadan caste of retailers\nof scent, incense, tooth-powder and _kunku_ or pink powder. Atari\nis derived from _atar_ or _itra_, attar of roses. Gandhi comes from\n_gandh_, a Sanskrit word for scent. Bukekari is a Marathi word meaning\na seller of powder. The Ataris number about two hundred persons\nin Nagpur, Wardha and Berar. Both Hindus and Muhammadans follow\nthe profession, but the Hindu Ataris are not a separate caste, and\nbelong to the Teli, Gurao and Beldar castes. The Muhammadan Ataris,\nto whom this article refers, may marry with other Muhammadans, with\nthe exception of low-class tradesmen like the Pinjaras, Kasais and\nKunjras. One instance of an Atari marrying a Rangrez is known, but\nusually they decline to do so. But since they are not considered to\nbe the equals of ordinary Muhammadans, they constitute more or less\na distinct social group. They are of the same position as Muhammadan\ntin-workers, bangle-makers and pedlars, and sometimes intermarry\nwith them. They admit Hindu converts into the community, but the\nwomen refuse to eat with them, and the better-class families will\nnot intermarry with converts. A new convert must be circumcised,\nbut if he is of advanced age, or if his foreskin is wanting, as\nsometimes happens, they take a rolled-up betel-leaf and cut it in\ntwo in substitution for the rite.\n\n\n\n2. Marriage customs.\n\n\nIt is essential that a girl should be married before adolescence, as it\nis said that when the signs of puberty appear in her before wedlock her\nparents commit a crime equivalent to the shedding of human blood. The\nfather of the boy looks for a bride, and after dropping hints to\nthe girl's family to see if his proposal is acceptable, he sends some\nfemale relatives or friends to discuss the marriage. Before the wedding\nthe boy is presented with a _chhap_ or ring of gold or silver with\na small cup-like attachment. A _mehar_ or dowry must be given to the\nbride, the amount of which is not below Rs. 50 or above Rs. 250. The\nbride's parents give her cooking vessels, bedding and a bedstead. After\nthe wedding, the couple are seated on a cot while the women sing songs,\nand they see each other's face reflected in a mirror. The procession\nreturns after a stay of four days, and is received by the women of\nthe bridegroom's family with some humorous ceremonies bearing on the\nnature of marriage. A feast called Tamm Walima follows, and the couple\nare shut up together in an inner room, even though they may be under\nage. The marriage includes some Hindu customs, such as the erection\nof the _pandal_ or shed, rubbing the couple with turmeric and oil,\nand the tying on of _kankans_ or wrist-bands. A girl going wrong\nbefore marriage may be wedded with full rites so long as she has not\nconceived, but after conception until her child is born she cannot go\nthrough the ceremony at all. After the birth of the child she may be\nmarried simply with the rite for widows. She retains the child, but it\nhas no claim to succeed to her husband's property. A widow may marry\nagain after an interval of forty days from her first husband's death,\nand she may wed her younger brother-in-law. Divorce is permitted at\nthe instance of either party, and for mere disagreement. A man usually\ndivorces his wife by vowing in the presence of two witnesses that he\nwill in future consider intercourse with her as incestuous in the same\ndegree as with his mother. A divorced woman has a claim to her _mehar_\nor dowry if not already paid, but forfeits it if she marries again. A\nman can marry the daughter of his paternal uncle. The services of a\nKazi at weddings are paid for with a fee of Rs. 1-4, and well-to-do\npersons also give him a pair of turbans.\n\n\n\n3. Religion.\n\n\nThe Ataris are Muhammadans of the Sunni sect. They revere the\nMuhammadan saints, and on the night of Shabrat they let off fireworks\nin honour of their ancestors and make offerings of _halwa_ [36] to\nthem and place lamps and scent on their tombs. They swear by the pig\nand abstain from eating its flesh. The dog is considered an unclean\nanimal and its tail, ears and tongue are especially defiling. If the\nhair of a dog falls on the ground they cannot pray in that place\nbecause the souls of the prophets cannot come there. To see a dog\nflapping its ears is a bad omen, and a person starting on a journey\nshould postpone his departure. They esteem the spider, because they\nsay it spread its web over the mouth of the cave where Hasan and\nHusain lay concealed from their enemies and thus prevented it from\nbeing searched. Some of them have Pirs or spiritual preceptors, these\nbeing Muhammadan beggars, not necessarily celibate. The ceremony of\nadhesion is that a man should drink sherbet from the cup from which\nhis preceptor has drunk. They do not observe impurity after a death\nnor bathe on returning from a funeral.\n\n\n\n4. Social customs.\n\n\nLiquor is of course prohibited to the Ataris as to other Muhammadans,\nbut some of them drink it nevertheless. Some of them eat beef and\nothers abstain. The blood of animals killed must flow before death\naccording to the rite of _halal_, but they say that fish are an\nexception, because when Abraham was offering up his son Ishmael and\nGod substituted a goat, the goat bleated before it was killed, and\nthis offended Abraham, who threw his sacrificial knife into the sea:\nthe knife struck and killed a fish, and on this account all fish\nare considered to be _halal_ or lawful food without any further\nrite. The Ataris observe the Hindu law of inheritance, and some of\nthem worship Hindu deities, as Mata the goddess of smallpox. As a rule\ntheir women are not secluded. The Ataris make _missi_ or tooth-powder\nfrom myrobalans, cloves and cardamoms, and other constituents. This\nhas the effect of blackening the teeth. They also sell the _kunku_\nor red powder which women rub on their foreheads, its constituents\nbeing turmeric, borax and the juice of limes. They sell scent and\nsometimes deal in tobacco. The scents most in demand are _gulab-pani_\nor rose-water and _phulel_ or essence of tilli or sesamum. Scents are\nusually sold by the tola of 18 annas silver weight, [37] and a tola\nof attar may vary in price from 8 annas to Rs. 80. Other scents are\nmade from _khas-khas_ grass, the mango, henna and musk, the _bela_\nflower, [38] the champak [39] and cucumber. Scent is manufactured\nby distillation from the flowers boiled in water, and the drops of\ncongealed vapour fall into sandalwood oil, which they say is the basis\nof all scents. Fragrant oils are also sold for rubbing on the hair,\nmade from orange flowers, jasmine, cotton-seed and the flowers of\nthe _aonla_ tree. [40] Scent is sold in tiny circular glass bottles,\nand the oils in little bottles made from thin leather. The Ataris\nalso retail the little black sticks of incense which are set up and\nburnt at the time of taking food and in temples, so that the smell\nand smoke may keep off evil spirits. When professional exorcists are\ncalled upon to clear any building, such as a hospital, supposed to be\nhaunted by spirits or the ghosts of the dead, they commence operations\nby placing these sticks of incense at the entrance and setting them\nalight as in a temple.\n\n\n\nAudhelia\n\n\n\n1. Origin.\n\n\n_Audhelia (Audhalia)._--A small hybrid caste found almost exclusively\nin the Bilaspur District, where they number about 1000 persons. The\nname is derived from the word Udharia, meaning a person with\nclandestine sexual intimacies. The Audhelias are a mixed caste and\ntrace their origin from a Daharia Rajput ancestor, by one Bhuri Bandi,\na female slave of unknown caste. This couple is supposed to have\nresided in Ratanpur, the old capital of Chhattisgarh, and the female\nancestors of the Audhelias are said to have been prostitutes until\nthey developed into a caste and began to marry among themselves. Their\nproper avocation at present is the rearing of pigs, while some of\nthem are also tenants and farm-labourers. Owing to the base descent\nand impure occupation of the caste they are held in very low esteem,\nand their touch is considered to convey pollution.\n\n\n\n2. Marriage.\n\n\nThe caste have at present no endogamous divisions and still admit\nmembers of other castes with the exception of the very lowest. But\nsocial gradations exist to a certain extent among the members\naccording to the position of their male ancestors, a Daharia Audhelia,\nfor instance, being reluctant to eat or intermarry with a Panka\nAudhelia. Under these circumstances it has become a rule among the\nAudhelias not to eat with their caste-fellows excepting their own\nrelations. On the occasion of a caste feast, therefore, each guest\nprepares his own food, taking only uncooked grain from his host. At\npresent seven _gotras_ or exogamous divisions appear to have been\nformed in the caste with the names of Pachbhaiya, Chhahri, Kalkhor,\nBachhawat, Dhanawat, Bhainsa and Limuan. The following story exists as\nto the origin of these _gotras_: There were formerly three brothers,\nSahasman, Budha and Mangal, who were Sansis or robbers. One evening\nthe three brothers halted in a forest and went to look for food. One\nbrought back a buffalo-horn, another a peacock's feather and the\nyoungest, Mangal, brought plums. The other brothers asked Mangal to\nlet them share his plums, to which he agreed on condition that one\nof the brothers should give his daughter to him in marriage. As\nMangal and his brothers were of one _gotra_ or section, and the\nmarriage would thus involve splitting up the _gotra_, the brothers\nwere doubtful whether it could be performed. They sought about for\nsome sign to determine this difficult question, and decided that if\nMangal succeeded in breaking in pieces an iron image of a cat simply\nby blows of his naked fist, it would be a sufficient indication\nthat they might split up their _gotra_. Mangal was therefore put\nto the ordeal and succeeded in breaking the image, so the three\nbrothers split up their _gotra_, the eldest assuming the _gotra_\nname of Bhainsa because he had found a buffalo-horn, the second that\nof Kalkhor, which is stated to mean peacock, and the third that of\nChhahri, which at any rate does not mean a plum. The word Chhahri\nmeans either 'shadow,' or 'one who washes the clothes of a woman in\nconfinement.' If we assume it to have the latter meaning, it may be\ndue to the fact that Mangal had to wash the clothes of his own wife,\nnot being able to induce a professional washerman to do so on account\nof the incestuous nature of the connection. As the eldest brother\ngave his daughter in an incestuous marriage he was also degraded, and\nbecame the ancestor of the Kanjars or prostitutes, who, it is said,\nto the present day do not solicit Audhelias in consideration of the\nconsanguinity existing between them. The story itself sufficiently\nindicates the low and mixed descent of the Audhelias, and its real\nmeaning may possibly be that when they first began to form a separate\ncaste they permitted incestuous marriages on account of the paucity of\ntheir members. A curious point about the story is that the incestuous\nnature of the connection is not taken to be the most pressing objection\nto the marriage of Mangal with his own niece, but the violation of the\ncaste rule prohibiting marriage within the same _gotra_. Bachhawat\nand Dhanawat are the names of sections of the Banjara caste, and\nthe persons of these _gotras_ among the Audhelias are probably\nthe descendants of illicit connections among Banjaras. The word\nPachbhaiya means 'five brothers,' and this name possibly commemorates a\npolyandrous connection of some Audhelia woman. Limuan means a tortoise,\nwhich is a section of many castes. Several of the section-names are\nthus totemistic, and, as in other castes, some reverence is paid to\nthe animal from whom the name is derived. At present the Audhelias\nforbid marriage within the same _gotra_ and also the union of first\ncousins. Girls are married between five and seven years of age as their\nnumbers are scarce, and they are engaged as early as possible. Unless\nweddings are arranged by exchanging girls between two families, a\nhigh bride-price, often amounting to as much as Rs. 60, is paid. No\nstigma is incurred, however, if a girl should remain unmarried till\nshe arrives at adolescence, but, on the contrary, a higher price is\nthen obtained for her. Sexual licence either before or after marriage\nis considered a venial offence, but a woman detected in a _liaison_\nwith a man of one of the lowest castes is turned out of caste. Widow\nmarriage and divorce are freely allowed.\n\n\n\n3. Religion, birth and death.\n\n\nThe Audhelias venerate Dulha Deo and Devi, to whom they usually offer\npigs. Their principal festival is the Holi, at which their women were\nformerly engaged to perform as professional dancers. They usually burn\ntheir dead and remove the ashes on the third day, throwing them into\nthe nearest stream. A few of the bones are picked up and buried under\na pipal tree, and a pitcher with a hole in the bottom is hung on the\ntree so that water may trickle down on to them. On the tenth day the\ncaste-people assemble and are shaved and bathe and rub their bodies\nwith oil under the tree. Unmarried men and persons dying of cholera\nare buried, the head being placed to the north. They consider that if\nthey place the corpse in the reverse position it would be an insult\nto the Ganges equivalent to kicking the holy river, as the feet of\nthe body would then be turned towards it.\n\n\n\n\n\n\nBadhak\n\n\nList of Paragraphs\n\n\n    1.   _Introductory notice._\n    2.   _The Badhak dacoits._\n    3.   _Instances of dacoities._\n    4.   _Further instances of dacoities._\n    5.   _Disguise of religious mendicants._\n    6.   _Countenance and support of landowners._\n    7.   _Pride in their profession._\n    8.   _Caste rules and admission of outsiders._\n    9.   _Religion. Offerings to ancestors._\n    10.   _The wounded haunted by spirits._\n    11.   _Pious funeral observances._\n    12.   _Taking the omens._\n    13.   _Suppression of dacoity._\n    14.   _The Badhaks or Baoris at the present time._\n    15.   _Lizard-hunting._\n    16.   _Social observances._\n    17.   _Criminal practices._\n\n\n\n1. Introductory notice.\n\n\n_Badhak, Bagri, Baoria._--A famous tribe of dacoits who flourished\nup to about 1850, and extended their depredations over the whole\nof Northern and Central India. The Bagris and Baorias or Bawarias\nstill exist and are well known to the police as inveterate criminals;\nbut their operations are now confined to ordinary burglary, theft and\ncheating, and their more interesting profession of armed gang-robbery\non a large scale is a thing of the past. The first part of this article\nis entirely compiled from the Report on their suppression drawn up\nby Colonel Sleeman, [41] who may be regarded as the virtual founder\nof the Thuggee and Dacoity Department. Some mention of the existing\nBagri and Baoria tribes is added at the end.\n\n\n\n2. The Badhak dacoits.\n\n\nThe origin of the Badhaks is obscure, but they seem to have belonged\nto Gujarat, as their peculiar dialect, still in use, is a form of\nGujarati. The most striking feature in it is the regular substitution\nof _kh_ for _s_. They claimed to be Rajputs and were divided into clans\nwith the well-known Rajput names of Solanki, Panwar, Dhundhel, Chauhan,\nRathor, Gahlot, Bhatti and Charan. Their ancestors were supposed to\nhave fled from Chitor on one of the historical occasions on which it\nwas assaulted and sacked. But as they spoke Gujarati it seems more\nprobable that they belonged to Gujarat, a fertile breeding-place of\ncriminals, and they may have been descended from the alliances of\nRajputs with the primitive tribes of this locality, the Bhils and\nKolis. The existing Bagris are of short stature, one writer stating\nthat none of them exceed five feet two inches in height; and this\nseems to indicate that they have little Rajput blood. It may be\nsurmised that the Badhaks rose into importance and found scope for\ntheir predatory instincts during the period of general disorder and\nabsence of governing authority through which northern India passed\nafter the decline of the Mughal Empire. And they lived and robbed with\nthe connivance or open support of the petty chiefs and landholders,\nto whom they gave a liberal share of their booty. The principal bands\nwere located in the Oudh forests, but they belonged to the whole\nof northern India including the Central Provinces; and as Colonel\nSleeman's Report, though of much interest, is now practically unknown,\nI have thought it not out of place to compile an article by means of\nshort extracts from his account of the tribe.\n\nIn 1822 the operations of the Badhaks were being conducted on such a\nscale that an officer wrote: \"No District between the Brahmaputra,\nthe Nerbudda, the Satlej and the Himalayas is free from them; and\nwithin this vast field hardly any wealthy merchant or manufacturer\ncould feel himself secure for a single night from the depredations\nof Badhak dacoits. They had successfully attacked so many of the\ntreasuries of our native Sub-Collectors that it was deemed necessary,\nall over the North-Western Provinces, to surround such buildings with\nextensive fortifications. In many cases they carried off our public\ntreasure from strong parties of our regular troops and mounted police;\nand none seemed to know whence they came or whither they fled with\nthe booty acquired.\" [42]\n\n\n\n3. Instances of dacoities.\n\n\nColonel Sleeman thus described a dacoity in the town of Narsinghpur\nwhen he was in charge of that District: [43] \"In February 1822,\nin the dusk of the evening, a party of about thirty persons, with\nnothing seemingly but walking-sticks in their hands, passed the\npiquet of sepoys on the bank of the rivulet which separates the\ncantonment from the town of Narsinghpur. On being challenged by\nthe sentries they said they were cowherds and that their cattle were\nfollowing close behind. They walked up the street; and coming opposite\nthe houses of the most wealthy merchants, they set their torches\nin a blaze by blowing suddenly on pots filled with combustibles,\nstabbed everybody who ventured to move or make the slightest noise,\nplundered the houses, and in ten minutes were away with their booty,\nleaving about twelve persons dead and wounded on the ground. No trace\nof them was discovered.\" Another well-known exploit of the Badhaks\nwas the attack on the palace of the ex-Peshwa, Baji Rao, at Bithur\nnear Cawnpore. This was accomplished by a gang of about eighty men,\nwho proceeded to the locality in the disguise of carriers of Ganges\nwater. Having purchased a boat and a few muskets to intimidate\nthe guard they crossed the Ganges about six miles below Bithur,\nand reached the place at ten o'clock at night; and after wounding\neighteen persons who attempted resistance they possessed themselves\nof property, chiefly in gold, to the value of more than two and a\nhalf lakhs of rupees; and retiring without loss made their way in\nsafety to their homes in the Oudh forests. The residence of this\ngang was known to a British police officer in the King of Oudh's\nservice, Mr. Orr, and after a long delay on the part of the court\nan expedition was sent which recovered a portion of the treasure\nand captured two or three hundred of the Badhaks. But none of the\nrecovered property reached the hands of Baji Rao and the prisoners\nwere soon afterwards released. [44] Again in 1839, a gang of about\nfifty men under a well-known leader, Gajraj, scaled the walls of\nJhansi and plundered the Surafa or bankers' quarter of the town for\ntwo hours, obtaining booty to the value of Rs. 40,000, which they\ncarried off without the loss of a man. The following account of this\nraid was obtained by Colonel Sleeman from one of the robbers: [45]\n\"The spy (_hirrowa_) having returned and reported that he had found a\nmerchant's house in Jhansi which contained a good deal of property,\nwe proceeded to a grove where we took the auspices by the process\nof _akut_ (counting of grains) and found the omens favourable. We\nthen rested three days and settled the rates according to which the\nbooty should be shared. Four or five men, who were considered too\nfeeble for the enterprise, were sent back, and the rest, well armed,\nstrong and full of courage, went on. In the evening of the fourth day\nwe reached a plain about a mile from the town, where we rested to take\nbreath for an hour; about nine o'clock we got to the wall and remained\nunder it till midnight, preparing the ladders from materials which we\nhad collected on the road. They were placed to the wall and we entered\nand passed through the town without opposition. A marriage procession\nwas going on before us and the people thought we belonged to it. We\nfound the bankers' shops closed. Thana and Saldewa, who carried the\naxes, soon broke them open, while Kulean lighted up his torch. Gajraj\nwith twenty men entered, while the rest stood posted at the different\navenues leading to the place. When all the property they could find\nhad been collected, Gajraj hailed the god Hanuman and gave orders for\nthe retreat. We got back safely to Mondegri in two days and a half,\nand then reposed for two or three days with the Raja of Narwar,\nwith whom we left five or six of our stoutest men as a guard, and\nthen returned home with our booty, consisting chiefly of diamonds,\nemeralds, gold and silver bullion, rupees and about sixty pounds\nof silver wire. None of our people were either killed or wounded,\nbut whether any of the bankers' people were I know not.\"\n\n\n\n4. Further instances of dacoities.\n\n\nColonel Sleeman writes elsewhere [46] of the leader of the above\nexploit: \"This Gajraj had risen from the vocation of a _bandarwala_\n(monkey showman) to be the Robin Hood of Gwalior and the adjacent\nStates; he was the governor-general of banditti in that country of\nbanditti and kept the whole in awe; he had made himself so formidable\nthat the Durbar appointed him to keep the _ghats_ or ferries over\nthe Chambal, which he did in a very profitable manner to them and\nto himself, and none entered or quitted the country without paying\nblackmail.\" A common practice of the Badhaks, when in need of a little\nready money, was to lie in wait for money-changers on their return\nfrom the markets. These men take their bags of money with them to the\nimportant bazars at a distance from their residence and return home\nwith them after dusk. The dacoits were accustomed to watch for them\nin the darkest and most retired places on the roads and fell them\nto the ground with their bludgeons. This device was often practised\nand usually succeeded. [47] Of another Badhak chief, Meherban, it is\nstated [48] that he hired a discharged sepoy to instruct his followers\nin the European system of drill, that they might travel with him in\nthe disguise of regular soldiers, well armed and accoutred. During\nthe rains Meherban's spies (_hirrowa_) were sent to visit the great\ncommercial towns and report any despatches of money or other valuables,\nwhich were to take place during the following open season. His own\nfavourite disguise was that of a Hindu prince, while the remainder\nof the gang constituted his retinue and escort. On one occasion,\nassuming this character, he followed up a boat laden with Spanish\ndollars which was being sent from Calcutta to Benares; and having\nattacked it at its moorings at Makrai, he killed one and wounded ten\nmen of the guard and made off with 25,000 Spanish dollars and Rs. 2600\nof the Company's coinage. A part of the band were sent direct to the\nrendezvous previously arranged, while Meherban returned to the grove\nwhere he had left his women and proceeded with them in a more leisurely\nfashion to the same place. Retaining the character of a native prince\nhe halted here for two days to celebrate the Holi festival. Marching\nthence with his women conveyed in covered litters by hired bearers\nwho were changed at intervals, he proceeded to his bivouac in the\nOudh forests; and at Seosagar, one of his halting-places, he gave\na large sum of money to a gardener to plant a grove of mango trees\nnear a tank for the benefit of travellers, in the name of Raja\nMeherban Singh of Gaur in Oudh; and promised him further alms on\nfuture occasions of pilgrimage if he found the work progressing well,\nsaying that it was a great shame that travellers should be compelled\nas he had been to halt without shade for themselves or their families\nduring the heat of the day. He arrived safely at his quarters in the\nforest and was received in the customary fashion by a procession of\nwomen in their best attire, who conducted him with dancing and music,\nlike a victorious Roman Proconsul, to his fort. [49]\n\n\n\n5. Disguise of religious mendicants.\n\n\nBut naturally not all the Badhaks could do things in the style of\nMeherban Singh. The disguise which they most often assumed in the north\nwas that of carriers of Ganges water, while in Central India they often\npretended to be Banjaras travelling with pack-bullocks, or pilgrims,\nor wedding-parties going to fetch the bride or bridegroom. Sometimes\nalso they took the character of religious mendicants, the leader being\nthe high priest and all the rest his followers and disciples. One\nsuch gang, described by Colonel Sleeman, [50] had four or five\ntents of white and dyed cloth, two or three pairs of _nakkaras_\nor kettle-drums and trumpets, with a great number of buffaloes,\ncows, goats, sheep and ponies. Some were clothed, but the bodies\nof the greater part were covered with nothing but ashes, paint and\na small cloth waistband. But they always provided themselves with\nfive or six real Bairagis, whose services they purchased at a very\nhigh price. These men were put forward to answer questions in case\nof difficulty and to bully the landlords and peasantry; and if the\npeople demurred to the demands of the Badhaks, to intimidate them by\ntricks calculated to play upon the fears of the ignorant. They held\nin their hands a preparation of gunpowder resembling common ashes; and\nwhen they found the people very stubborn they repeated their _mantras_\nover this and threw it upon the thatch of the nearest house, to which\nit set fire. The explosion was caused by a kind of fusee held in the\nhand which the people could not see, and taking it for a miracle\nthey paid all that was demanded. Another method was to pretend to\nbe carrying the bones of dead relatives to the Ganges. The bones or\nashes of the deceased, says [51] Colonel Sleeman, are carried to the\nGanges in bags, coloured red for females and white for males. These\nbags are considered holy, and are not allowed to touch the ground\nupon the way, and during halts in the journey are placed on poles or\ntriangles. The carriers are regarded with respect as persons engaged\nupon a pious duty, and seldom questioned on the road. When a gang\nassumed this disguise they proceeded to their place of rendezvous\nin small parties, some with red and some with white bags, in which\nthey carried the bones of animals most resembling those of the human\nframe. These were supported on triangles formed of the shafts on which\nthe spear-heads would be fitted when they reached their destination\nand had prepared for action.\n\n\n\n6. Countenance and support of landowners.\n\n\nIt would have been impossible for the Badhaks to exist and flourish\nas they did without the protection of the landowners on whose estates\nthey lived; and this they received in full measure in return for a\nliberal share of their booty. When the chief of Karauli was called upon\nto dislodge a gang within his territory, he expressed apprehension\nthat the coercion of the Badhaks might cause a revolution in the\nState. He was not at all singular, says Colonel Sleeman, in his fear\nof exasperating this formidable tribe of robbers. It was common to\nall the smaller chiefs and the provincial governors of the larger\nones. They everywhere protected and fostered the Badhaks, as did the\nlandholders; and the highest of them associated with the leaders of\ngangs on terms of equality and confidence. It was very common for a\nchief or the governor of a district in times of great difficulty and\npersonal danger to require from one of the leaders of such gangs a\nnight-guard or _palang ki chauki_: and no less so to entertain large\nbodies of them in the attack and defence of forts and camps whenever\nunusual courage and skill were required. The son of the Raja of Charda\nexchanged turbans with a Badhak leader, Mangal Singh, as a mark of the\nmost intimate friendship. This episode recalls an alliance of similar\ncharacter in _Lorna Doone_; and indeed it would not be difficult to\nfind several points of resemblance between the careers of the more\nenterprising Badhak leaders and the Doones of Bagworthy; but India\nproduced no character on the model of John Ridd, and it was reserved\nfor an Englishman, Colonel Sleeman, to achieve the suppression of the\nBadhaks as well as that of the Thugs. After the fortress and territory\nof Garhakota in Saugor had been taken by the Maharaja Sindhia, Zalim\nSingh, a cousin of the dispossessed Bundela chief, collected a force\nof Bundelas and Pindaris and ravaged the country round Garhakota\nin 1813. In the course of his raid he sacked and burnt the town\nof Deori, and 15,000 persons perished in the flames. Colonel Jean\nBaptiste, Sindhia's general, obtained a number of picked Badhaks from\nRajputana and offered them a rich reward for the head of Zalim Singh;\nand after watching his camp for three months they managed to come on\nhim asleep in the tent of a dancing-girl, who was following his camp,\nand stabbed him to the heart. For this deed they received Rs. 20,000\nfrom Baptiste with other valuable presents. Their reputation was\nindeed such that they were frequently employed at this period both by\nchiefs who desired to take the lives of others and by those who were\nanxious for the preservation of their own. When it happened that a\ngang was caught after a robbery in a native State, the custom was\nnot infrequently to make them over to the merchant whose property\nthey had taken, with permission to keep them in confinement until\nthey should refund his money; and in this manner by giving up the\nwhole or a part of the proceeds of their robbery they were enabled\nto regain their liberty. Even if they were sent before the courts,\njustice was at that time so corrupt as to permit of easy avenues of\nescape for those who could afford to pay; and Colonel Sleeman records\nthe deposition of a Badhak describing their methods of bribery:\n\"When police officers arrest Badhaks their old women get round them\nand give them large sums of money; and they either release them or\nget their depositions so written that their release shall be ordered\nby the magistrates. If they are brought to court, their old women,\ndressed in rags, follow them at a distance of three or four miles\nwith a thousand or two thousand rupees upon ponies; and these rupees\nthey distribute among the native officers of the court and get the\nBadhaks released. These old women first ascertain from the people of\nthe villages who are the Nazirs and Munshis of influence, and wait\nupon them at their houses and make their bargains. If the officials\ncannot effect their release, they take money from the old women and\nsend them off to the Sadar Court, with letters of introduction to their\nfriends, and advice as to the rate they shall pay to each according\nto his supposed influence. This is the way that all our leaders get\nreleased, and hardly any but useless men are left in confinement.\" [52]\n\n\n\n7. Pride in their profession.\n\n\nIt may be noticed that these robbers took the utmost pleasure in their\ncalling, and were most averse to the idea of giving it up and taking\nto honest pursuits. \"Some of the men with me,\" one magistrate wrote,\n[53] \"have been in jail for twenty, and one man for thirty years,\nand still do not appear to have any idea of abandoning their illegal\nvocation; even now, indeed, they look on what we consider an honest\nmeans of livelihood with the most marked contempt; and in relating\ntheir excursions talk of them with the greatest pleasure, much in\nthe way an eager sportsman describes a boar-chase or fox-hunt. While\ntalking of their excursions, which were to me really very interesting,\ntheir eyes gleamed with pleasure; and beating their hands on their\nforeheads and breasts and muttering some ejaculation they bewailed\nthe hardness of their lot, which now ensured their never again being\nable to participate in such a joyous occupation.\" Another Badhak,\non being examined, said he could not recall a case of one of the\ncommunity having ever given up the trade of dacoity. \"None ever did,\nI am certain of it,\" he continued. [54] \"After having been arrested,\non our release we frequently take lands, to make it appear we have\nleft off dacoity, but we never do so in reality; it is only done as\na feint and to enable our zamindars (landowners) to screen us.\" They\nsometimes paid rent for their land at the rate of thirty rupees\nan acre, in return for the countenance and protection afforded by\nthe zamindars. \"Our profession,\" another Badhak remarked, [55] \"has\nbeen a _Padshahi Kam_ (a king's trade); we have attacked and seized\nboldly the thousands and hundreds of thousands that we have freely\nand nobly spent; we have been all our lives wallowing in wealth and\nbasking in freedom, and find it hard to manage with the few copper\npice a day we get from you.\" At the time when captures were numerous,\nand the idea was entertained of inducing the dacoits to settle in\nvillages and supporting them until they had been trained to labour,\nseveral of them, on being asked how much they would require to support\nthemselves, replied that they could not manage on less than two rupees\na day, having earned quite that sum by dacoity. This amount would be\nmore than twenty times the wages of an ordinary labourer at the same\nperiod. Another witness put the amount at one to two rupees a day,\nremarking, 'We are great persons for eating and drinking, and we keep\nseveral wives according to our means.' Of some of them Colonel Sleeman\nhad a high opinion, and he mentions the case of one man, Ajit Singh,\nwho was drafted into the native army and rose to be commander of a\ncompany. \"I have seldom seen a man,\" he wrote, [56] \"whom I would\nrather have with me in scenes of peril and difficulty.\" An attempt of\nthe King of Oudh's, however, to form a regiment of Badhaks had ended\nin failure, as after a short time they mutinied, beat their commandant\nand other officers and turned them out of the regiment, giving as\ntheir reason that the officers had refused to perform the same duties\nas the men. And they visited with the same treatment all the other\nofficers sent to them, until they were disbanded by the British on\nthe province of Allahabad being made over to the Company. Colonel\nSleeman notes that they were never known to offer any other violence\nor insult to females than to make them give up any gold ornaments that\nthey might have about their persons. \"In all my inquiries into the\ncharacter, habits and conduct of these gangs, I have never found an\ninstance of a female having been otherwise disgraced or insulted by\nthem. They are all Hindus, and this reverence for the sex pervades\nall Hindu society.\" [57] According to their own account also they\nnever committed murder; if people opposed them they struck and killed\nlike soldiers, but this was considered to be in fair fight. It may\nbe noted, nevertheless, that they had little idea of clan loyalty,\nand informed very freely against their fellows when this course was\nto their advantage. They also stated that they could not settle in\ntowns; they had always been accustomed to live in the jungles and\ncommit dacoities upon the people of the towns as a kind of _shikar_\n(sport); they delighted in it, and they felt living in towns or among\nother men as a kind of prison, and got quite confused (_ghabraye_),\nand their women even more than the men.\n\n\n\n8. Caste rules and admission of outsiders.\n\n\nThe Badhaks had a regular caste organisation, and members of the\ndifferent clans married with each other like the Rajputs after\nwhom they were named. They admitted freely into the community\nmembers of any respectable Hindu caste, but not the impure castes\nor Muhammadans. But at least one instance of the admission of\na Muhammadan is given. [58] The Badhaks were often known to the\npeople as Siarkhawa or jackal-eaters, or Sabkhawa, those who eat\neverything. And the Muhammadan in question was given jackal's flesh\nto eat, and having partaken of it was considered to have become a\nmember of the community. This indicates that the Badhaks were probably\naccustomed to eat the flesh of the jackal at a sacrificial meal,\nand hence that they worshipped the jackal, revering it probably\nas the deity of the forests where they lived. Such a veneration\nwould account for the importance attached to the jackal's cry as an\nomen. The fact of their eating jackals also points to the conclusion\nthat the Badhaks were not Rajputs, but a low hunting caste like the\nPardhis and Bahelias. The Pardhis have Rajput sept names as well as the\nBadhaks. No doubt a few outcaste Rajputs may have joined the gangs and\nbecome their leaders. Others, however, said that they abstained from\nthe flesh of jackals, snakes, foxes and cows and buffaloes. Children\nwere frequently adopted, being purchased in large numbers in time\nof famine, and also occasionally kidnapped. They were brought up to\nthe trade of dacoity, and if they showed sufficient aptitude for it\nwere taken out on expeditions, but otherwise left at home to manage\nthe household affairs. They were married to other adopted children\nand were known as Ghulami or Slave Badhaks, like the Jangar Banjaras;\nand like them also, after some generations, when their real origin had\nbeen forgotten, they became full Badhaks. It was very advantageous to\na Badhak to have a number of children, because all plunder obtained was\ndivided in regularly apportioned shares among the whole community. Men\nwho were too old to go on dacoity also received their share, and all\nchildren, even babies born during the absence of the expedition. The\nBadhaks said that this rule was enforced because they thought it an\nadvantage to the community that families should be large and their\nnumbers should increase; from which statement it must be concluded\nthat they seldom suffered any stringency from lack of spoil. They\nalso stated that Badhak widows would go and find a second husband\nfrom among the regular population, and as a rule would sooner or\nlater persuade him to join the Badhaks.\n\n\n\n9. Religion: offerings to ancestors.\n\n\nLike other Indian criminals the Badhaks were of a very religious\nor superstitious disposition. They considered the gods of the Hindu\ncreed as favouring their undertakings so long as they were suitably\npropitiated by offering to their temples and priests, and the spirits\nof the most distinguished of their ancestors as exercising a vicarious\nauthority under these deities in guiding them to their prey and warning\nthem of danger. [59] The following is an account of a Badhak sacrifice\ngiven to Colonel Sleeman by the Ajit Singh already mentioned. It was\nin celebration of a dacoity in which they had obtained Rs. 40,000,\nout of which Rs. 4500 were set aside for sacrifices to the gods and\ncharity to the poor. Ajit Singh said: \"For offerings to the gods we\npurchase goats, sweet cakes and spirits; and having prepared a feast\nwe throw a handful of the savoury food upon the fire in the name of\nthe gods who have most assisted us; but of the feast so consecrated\nno female but a virgin can partake. The offering is made through the\nman who has successfully invoked the god on that particular occasion;\nand, as my god had guided us this time, I was employed to prepare the\nfeast for him and to throw the offering upon the fire. The offering\nmust be taken up before the feast is touched and put upon the fire,\nand a little water must be sprinkled on it. The savoury smell of the\nfood as it burns reaches the nostrils of the god and delights him. On\nthis as on most occasions I invoked the spirit of Ganga Singh, my\ngrandfather, and to him I made the offering. I considered him to be\nthe greatest of all my ancestors as a robber, and him I invoked on this\nsolemn occasion. He never failed me when I invoked him, and I had the\ngreatest confidence in his aid. The spirits of our ancestors can easily\nsee whether we shall succeed in what we are about to undertake; and\nwhen we are to succeed they order us on, and when we are not they make\nsigns to us to desist.\" Their mode [60] of ascertaining which of their\nancestors interested himself most in their affairs was commonly this,\nthat whenever a person talked incoherently in a fever or an epileptic\nfit, the spirit of one or other of his ancestors was supposed to be\nupon him. If they were in doubt as to whose spirit it was, one of them\nthrew down some grains of wheat or coloured glass beads, a pinch at\na time, saying the name of the ancestor he supposed the most likely\nto be at work and calling odd or even as he pleased. If the number\nproved to be as he called it several times running while that name\nwas repeated, they felt secure of their family god, and proceeded at\nonce to sacrifice a goat or something else in his name. When they were\nbeing hunted down and arrested by Colonel Sleeman and his assistants,\nthey ascribed their misfortunes to the anger of the goddess Kali,\nbecause they had infringed her rules and disregarded her signs, and\nsaid that their forefathers had often told them they would one day\nbe punished for their disobedience. [61]\n\n\n\n10. The wounded haunted by spirits.\n\n\nWhenever one of the gang was wounded and was taken with his wounds\nbleeding near a place haunted by a spirit, they believed the spirit\ngot angry and took hold of him, [62] in the manner described by\nAjit Singh as follows: \"The spirit comes upon him in all kinds of\nshapes, sometimes in that of a buffalo, at others in that of a woman,\nsometimes in the air above and sometimes from the ground below; but no\none can see him except the wounded person he is angry with and wants\nto punish. Upon such a wounded person we always place a naked sword\nor some other sharp steel instrument, as spirits are much afraid of\nweapons of this kind. If there be any good conjurer at hand to charm\naway the spirits from the person wounded he recovers, but nothing else\ncan save him.\" In one case a dacoit named Ghisa had been severely\nwounded in an encounter and was seized by the spirit of a banyan\ntree as he was being taken away: \"We made a litter with our ropes\nand cloaks thrown over them and on this he was carried off by four\nof our party; at half a mile distant the road passed under a large\nbanyan tree and as the four men carried him along under the tree,\nthe spirit of the place fell upon him and the four men who carried\nhim fell down with the shock. They could not raise him again, so much\nwere they frightened, and four other men were obliged to lift him and\ncarry him off.\" The man died of his wounds soon after they reached\nthe halting-place, and in commenting on this Ajit Singh continued:\n\"When the spirit seized Ghisa under the tree we had unfortunately no\nconjurer, and he, poor fellow, died in consequence. It was evident that\na spirit had got hold of him, for he could not keep his head upright;\nit always fell down upon his right or left shoulder as often as we\ntried to put it right; and he complained much of a pain in the region\nof the liver. We therefore concluded that the spirit had broken his\nneck and was consuming his liver.\"\n\n\n\n11. Pious funeral observances.\n\n\nLike pious Hindus as they were, the Badhaks were accustomed, whenever\nit was possible, to preserve the bones of their dead after the body\nhad been burnt and carry them to the Ganges. If this was not possible,\nhowever, and the exigencies of their profession obliged them to make\naway with the body without the performance of due funeral rites,\nthey cut off two or three fingers and sent these to the Ganges to\nbe deposited instead of the whole body. [63] In one case a dacoit,\nKundana, was killed in an affray, and the others carried off his body\nand thrust it into a porcupine's hole after cutting off three of the\nfingers. \"We gave Kundana's fingers to his mother,\" Ajit Singh stated,\n\"and she sent them with due offerings and ceremonies to the Ganges\nby the hands of the family priest. She gave this priest money to\npurchase a cow, to be presented to the priests in the name of her\ndeceased son, and to distribute in charity to the poor and to holy\nmen. She got from us for these purposes eighty rupees over and above\nher son's share of the booty, while his widow and children continued\nto receive their usual share of the takings of the gang so long as\nthey remained with us.\"\n\n\n\n12. Taking the omens.\n\n\nBefore setting out on an expedition it was their regular custom\nto take the omens, and the following account may be quoted of the\npreliminaries to an expedition of the great leader, Meherban Singh,\nwho has already been mentioned: \"In the latter end of that year,\nMeherban and his brother set out and assembled their friends on the\nbank of the Bisori river, where the rate at which each member of the\nparty should share in the spoil was determined in order to secure to\nthe dependants of any one who should fall in the enterprise their due\nshare, as well as to prevent inconvenient disputes during and after\nthe expedition. The party assembled on this occasion, including women\nand children, amounted to two hundred, and when the shares had been\ndetermined the goats were sacrificed for the feast. Each leader and\nmember of the gang dipped his finger in the blood and swore fidelity\nto his engagements and his associates under all circumstances. The\nwhole feasted together and drank freely till the next evening, when\nMeherban advanced with about twenty of the principal persons to a spot\nchosen a little way from the camp on the road they proposed to take in\nthe expedition, and lifting up his hands in supplication said aloud,\n'If it be thy will, O God, and thine, Kali, to prosper our undertaking\nfor the sake of the blind and the lame, _the widow and the orphan_,\nwho depend upon our exertions for subsistence, vouchsafe, we pray thee,\nthe call of the female jackal.' All his followers held up their hands\nin the same manner and repeated these words after him. All then sat\ndown and waited in silence for the reply or spoke only in whispers. At\nlast the cry of the female jackal was heard three times on the left,\nand believing her to have been inspired by the deity for their guidance\nthey were all much rejoiced.\" The following was another more elaborate\nmethod of taking omens described by Ajit Singh: \"When we speak of\nseeking omens from our gods or Devi Deota, we mean the spirits of those\nof our ancestors who performed great exploits in dacoity in their day,\ngained a great name and established lasting reputations. For instance,\nMahajit, my grandfather, and Sahiba, his father, are called gods\nand admitted to be so by us all. We have all of us some such gods\nto be proud of among our ancestors; we propitiate them and ask for\nfavourable omens from them before we enter upon any enterprise. We\nsometimes propitiate the Suraj Deota (sun god) and seek good omens\nfrom him. We get two or three goats or rams, and sometimes even ten\nor eleven, at the place where we determine to take the auspices, and\nhaving assembled the principal men of the gang we put water into the\nmouth of one of them and pray to the sun and to our ancestors thus:\n'O thou Sun God! And O all ye other Gods! If we are to succeed in\nthe enterprise we are about to undertake we pray you to cause these\ngoats to shake their bodies.' If they do not shake them after the\ngods have been thus duly invoked, the enterprise must not be entered\nupon and the goats are not sacrificed. We then try the auspices with\nwheat. We burn frankincense and scented wood and blow a shell; and\ntaking out a pinch of wheat grains, put them on the cloth and count\nthem. If they come up odd the omen is favourable, and if even it is\nbad. After this, which we call the auspices of the Akut, we take that\nof the Siarni or female jackal. If it calls on the left it is good,\nbut if on the right bad. If the omens turn out favourable in all three\ntrials then we have no fear whatever, but if they are favourable in\nonly one trial out of the three the enterprise must be given up.\"\n\n\n\n13. Suppression of dacoity.\n\n\nBetween 1837 and 1849 the suppression of the regular practice of\narmed dacoity was practically achieved by Colonel Sleeman. A number\nof officers were placed under his orders, and with small bodies of\nmilitary and police were set to hunt down different bands of dacoits,\nfollowing them all over India when necessary. And special Acts were\npassed to enable the offence of dacoity, wherever committed, to be\ntried by a competent magistrate in any part of India as had been done\nin the case of the Thugs. Many of the Badhaks received conditional\npardons, and were drafted into the police in different stations, and\nan agricultural labour colony was also formed, but does not seem to\nhave been altogether successful. During these twelve years more than\n1200 dacoits in all were brought to trial, while some were killed\nduring the operations, and no doubt many others escaped and took to\nother avocations, or became ordinary criminals when their armed gangs\nwere broken up. In 1825 it had been estimated that the Oudh forests\nalone contained from 4000 to 6000 dacoits, while the property stolen\nin 1811 from known dacoities was valued at ten lakhs of rupees.\n\n\n\n14. The Badhaks or Baoris at the present time.\n\n\nThe Badhaks still exist, and are well known as one of the worst classes\nof criminals, practising ordinary house-breaking and theft. The name\nBadhak is now less commonly used than those of Bagri and Baori or\nBawaria, both of which were borne by the original Badhaks. The word\nBagri is derived from a tract of country in Malwa which is known\nas the Bagar or 'hedge of thorns,' because it is surrounded on all\nsides by wooded hills. [64] There are Bagri Jats and Bagri Rajputs,\nmany of whom are now highly respectable landholders. Bawaria or\nBaori is derived from _banwar_, a creeper, or the tendril of a vine,\nand hence a noose made originally from some fibrous plant and used\nfor trapping animals, this being one of the primary occupations of\nthe tribe. [65] The term Badhak signifies a hunter or fowler, hence\na robber or murderer (Platts). The Bagris and Bawarias are sometimes\nconsidered to be separate communities, but it is doubtful whether there\nis any real distinction between them. In Bombay the Bagris are known\nas Vaghris by the common change of _b_ into _v_. A good description\nof them is contained in Appendix C to Mr. Bhimbhai Kirparam's volume\n_Hindus of Gujarat_ in the _Bombay Gazetteer_. He divides them into the\nChunaria or lime-burners, the Datonia or sellers of twig tooth-brushes,\nand two other groups, and states that, \"They also keep fowls and sell\neggs, catch birds and go as _shikaris_ or hunters. They traffic in\ngreen parrots, which they buy from Bhils and sell for a profit.\"\n\n\n\n15. Lizard-hunting.\n\n\nTheir strength and powers of endurance are great, the same writer\nstates, and they consider that these qualities are obtained by the\neating of the _goh_ and _sandha_ or iguana lizards, which a Vaghri\nprizes very highly. This is also the case with the Bawarias of the\nPunjab, who go out hunting lizards in the rains and may be seen\nreturning with baskets full of live lizards, which exist for days\nwithout food and are killed and eaten fresh by degrees. Their method\nof hunting the lizard is described by Mr. Wilson as follows: [66]\n\"The lizard lives on grass, cannot bite severely, and is sluggish\nin his movements, so that he is easily caught. He digs a hole for\nhimself of no great depth, and the easiest way to take him is to\nlook out for the scarcely perceptible airhole and dig him out; but\nthere are various ways of saving oneself this trouble. One, which I\nhave seen, takes advantage of a habit the lizard has in cold weather\n(when he never comes out of his hole) of coming to the mouth for\nair and warmth. The Chuhra or other sportsman puts off his shoes and\nsteals along the prairie till he sees signs of a lizard's hole. This\nhe approaches on tiptoe, raising over his head with both hands a\nmallet with a round sharp point, and fixing his eyes intently upon\nthe hole. When close enough he brings down his mallet with all his\nmight on the ground just behind the mouth of the hole, and is often\nsuccessful in breaking the lizard's back before he awakes to a sense\nof his danger. Another plan, which I have not seen, is to tie a wisp\nof grass to a long stick and move it over the hole so as to make a\nrustling noise. The lizard within thinks, 'Oh here's a snake! I may\nas well give in,' and comes to the mouth of the hole, putting out\nhis tail first so that he may not see his executioner. The sportsman\nseizes his tail and snatches him out before he has time to learn his\nmistake.\" This common fondness for lizards is a point in favour of\na connection between the Gujarat Vaghris and the Punjab Bawarias.\n\n\n\n16. Social observances.\n\n\nIn Sirsa the great mass of the Bawarias are not given to crime,\nand in Gujarat also they do not appear to have special criminal\ntendencies. It is a curious point, however, that Mr. Bhimbhai Kirparam\nemphasises the chastity of the women of the Gujarat Vaghris. [67]\n\"When a family returns home after a money-making tour to Bombay\nor some other city, the women are taken before Vihat (Devi), and\nwith the women is brought a buffalo or a sheep that is tethered in\nfront of Vihat's shrine. They must confess all, even their slightest\nshortcomings, such as the following: 'Two weeks ago, when begging in\nParsi Bazar-street, a drunken sailor caught me by the hand. Another\nday a Miyan or Musalman ogled me, and forgive me, Devi, my looks\nencouraged him.' If Devi is satisfied the sheep or buffalo shivers,\nand is then sacrificed and provides a feast for the caste.\" [68]\nOn the other hand, Mr. Crooke states [69] that in northern India,\n\"The standard of morality is very low because in Muzaffarnagar it is\nextremely rare for a Bawaria woman to live with her husband. Almost\ninvariably she lives with another man: but the official husband is\nresponsible for the children.\" The great difference in the standard\nof morality is certainly surprising.\n\nIn Gujarat [70] the Vaghris have _gurus_ or religious preceptors of\ntheir own. These men take an eight-anna silver piece and whisper in the\near of their disciples \"Be immortal.\"... \"The Bhuvas or priest-mediums\nplay an important part in many Vaghri ceremonies. A Bhuva is a male\nchild born after the mother has made a vow to the goddess Vihat\nor Devi that if a son be granted to her she will devote him to the\nservice of the goddess. No Bhuva may cut or shave his hair on pain\nof a fine of ten rupees, and no Bhuva may eat carrion or food cooked\nby a Muhammadan.\"\n\n\n\n17. Criminal practices.\n\n\nThe criminal Bagris still usually travel about in the disguise of\nGosains and Bairagis, and are very difficult of detection except to\nreal religious mendicants. Their housebreaking implement or jemmy\nis known as _Gyan_, but in speaking of it they always add _Das_,\nso that it sounds like the name of a Bairagi. [71] They are usually\nvery much afraid of the _gyan_ being discovered on their persons,\nand are careful to bury it in the ground at each halting-place,\nwhile on the march it may be concealed in a pack-saddle. The means of\nidentifying them, Mr. Kennedy remarks, [72] is by their family _deo_\nor god, which they carry about when wandering with their families. It\nconsists of a brass or copper box containing grains of wheat and the\nseeds of a creeper, both soaked in _ghi_ (melted butter). The box with\na peacock's feather and a bell is wrapped in two white and then in\ntwo red cloths, one of the white cloths having the print of a man's\nhand dipped in goat's blood upon it. The grains of wheat are used\nfor taking the omens, a few being thrown up at sun-down and counted\nafterwards to see whether they are odd or even. When even, two grains\nare placed on the right hand of the omen-taker, and if this occurs\nthree times running the auspices are considered to be favourable. [73]\nMr. Gayer [74] notes that the Badhaks have usually from one to three\nbrands from a hot iron on the inside of their left wrist. Those of\nthem who are hunters brand the muscles of the left wrist in order to\nsteady the hand when firing their matchlocks. The customs of wearing\na peculiar necklace of small wooden beads and a kind of gold pin\nfixed to the front teeth, which Mr. Crooke [75] records as having\nbeen prevalent some years ago, have apparently been since abandoned,\nas they are not mentioned in more recent accounts. The Dehliwal and\nMalpura Baorias have, Mr. Kennedy states, [76] an interesting system of\nsigns, which they mark on the walls of buildings at important corners,\nbridges and cross-roads and on the ground by the roadside with a stick,\nif no building is handy. The commonest is a loop, the straight line\nindicating the direction a gang or individual has taken:\n\n                       ________________________\n                     /\n                    /  /---\\\n                   (  ( /// )\n                    \\  \\---/\n                     \\________\n\n\nThe addition of a number of vertical strokes inside the loop signifies\nthe number of males in a gang. If these strokes are enclosed by a\ncircle it means that the gang is encamped in the vicinity; while\na square inside a circle and line as below means that property has\nbeen secured by friends who have left in the direction pointed by the\nline. It is said that Baorias will follow one another up for fifty\nor even a hundred miles by means of these hieroglyphics. The signs\nare bold marks, sometimes even a foot or more in length, and are\nmade where they will at once catch the eye. When the Marwari Baorias\ndesire to indicate to others of their caste, who may follow in their\nfootsteps, the route taken, a member of the gang, usually a woman,\ntrails a stick in the dust as she walks along, leaving a spiral track\non the ground. Another method of indicating the route taken is to\nplace leaves under stones at intervals along the road. [77] The form\nof crime most in favour among the ordinary Baoris is housebreaking\nby night. Their common practice is to make a hole in the wall beside\nthe door through which the hand passes to raise the latch; and only\noccasionally they dig a hole in the base of the wall to admit of the\npassage of a man, while another favoured alternative is to break in\nthrough a barred window, the bars being quickly and forcibly bent and\ndrawn out. [78] One class of Marwari Bagris are also expert coiners.\n\n\n                     /-------\\\n                    /  +---+  \\\n                    |  |   |  |---------------------\n                    \\  +---+  /\n                     \\-------/\n\n\n\n\n\n\nBahna\n\n\n\n1. Nomenclature and internal structure.\n\n\n\n_Bahna, Pinjara, Dhunia._ [79]--The occupational caste of\ncotton-cleaners. The Bahnas numbered 48,000 persons in the Central\nProvinces and Berar in 1911. The large increase in the number\nof ginning-factories has ruined the Bahna's trade of cleaning\nhand-ginned cotton, and as no distinction attaches to the name of\nBahna it is possible that members of the caste who have taken to\nother occupations may have abandoned it and returned themselves simply\nas Muhammadans. The three names Bahna, Pinjara, Dhunia appear to be\nused indifferently for the caste in this Province, though in other\nparts of India they are distinguished. Pinjara is derived from the\nword _pinjan_ used for a cotton-bow, and Dhunia is from _dhunna_,\nto card cotton. The caste is also known as Dhunak Pathani. Though\nprofessing the Muhammadan religion, they still have many Hindu\ncustoms and ceremonies, and in the matter of inheritance our courts\nhave held that they are subject to Hindu and not Muhammadan law. [80]\nIn Raipur a girl receives half the share of a boy in the division of\ninherited property. The caste appears to be a mixed occupational group,\nand is split into many territorial subcastes named after the different\nparts of the country from which its members have come, as Badharia from\nBadhas in Mirzapur, Sarsutia from the Saraswati river, Berari of Berar,\nDakhni from the Deccan, Telangi from Madras, Pardeshi from northern\nIndia, and so on. Two groups are occupational, the Newaris of Saugor,\nwho make the thick _newar_ tape used for the webbing of beds, and\nthe Kanderas, who make fireworks and generally constitute a separate\ncaste. There is considerable ground for supposing that the Bahnas\nare mainly derived from the caste of Telis or oil-pressers. In the\nPunjab Sir D. Ibbetson says [81] that the Penja or cotton-scutcher is\nan occupational name applied to Telis who follow this profession; and\nthat the Penja, Kasai and Teli are all of the same caste. Similarly\nin Nasik the Telis and Pinjaras are said to form one community,\nunder the government of a single _panchayat_. In cases of dispute\nor misconduct the usual penalty is temporary excommunication, which\nis known as the stopping of food and water. [82] The Telis are an\nenterprising community of very low status, and would therefore be\nnaturally inclined to take to other occupations; many of them are\nshopkeepers, cultivators and landholders, and it is quite probable\nthat in past times they took up the Bahna's profession and changed\ntheir religion with the hope of improving their social status. The\nTelis are generally considered to be quarrelsome and talkative,\nand the Bahnas or Dhunias have the same characteristics. If one man\nabusing another lapses into Billingsgate, the other will say to him,\n'_Hamko Julaha Dhunia neh jano_,' or 'Don't talk to me as if I was\na Julaha or a Dhunia.'\n\n\n\n2. Marriage.\n\n\nSome Bahnas have exogamous sections with Hindu names, while others\nare without these, and simply regulate their marriages by rules of\nrelationship. They have the primitive Hindu custom of allowing a\nsister's son to marry a brother's daughter, but not _vice versa_. A\nman cannot marry his wife's younger sister during her lifetime, nor\nher elder sister at any time. Children of the same foster-mother are\nalso not allowed to marry. Their marriages are performed by a Kazi\nwith an imitation of the Nikah rite. The bridegroom's party sit under\nthe marriage-shed, and the bride with the women of her party inside\nthe house. The Kazi selects two men, one from the bride's party, who\nis known as the Nikahi Bap or 'Marriage Father,' and the other from\nthe bridegroom's, who is called the Gowah or 'Witness.' These two\nmen go to the bride and ask her whether she accepts the bridegroom,\nwhose name is stated, for her husband. She answers in the affirmative,\nand mentions the amount of the dowry which she is to receive. The\nbridegroom, who has hitherto had a veil (_mukhna_) over his face, now\ntakes it off, and the men go to him and ask him whether he accepts the\nbride. He replies that he does, and agrees to pay the dowry demanded\nby her. The Kazi reads some texts and the guests are given a meal\nof rice and sugar. Many of the preliminaries to a Hindu marriage\nare performed by the more backward members of the caste, and until\nrecently they erected a sacred post in the marriage-shed, but now\nthey merely hang the green branch of a mango tree to the roof. The\nminimum amount of the _mehar_ or dowry is said to be Rs. 125, but it\nis paid to the girl's parents as a bride-price and not to herself,\nas among the Muhammadans. A widow is expected, but not obliged, to\nmarry her deceased husband's younger brother. Divorce is permitted\nby means of a written deed known as 'Farkhati.'\n\n\n\n3. Religious and other customs.\n\n\nThe Bahnas venerate Muhammad, and also worship the tombs of Muhammadan\nsaints or _Pirs_. A green sheet or cloth is spread over the tomb and\na lamp is kept burning by it, while offerings of incense and flowers\nare made. When the new cotton crop has been gathered they lay some\nnew cotton by their bow and mallet and make an offering of _malida_\nor cakes of flour and sugar to it. They believe that two angels, one\ngood and one bad, are perched continually on the shoulders of every\nman to record his good and evil deeds. And when an eclipse occurs they\nsay that the sun and moon have gone behind a pinnacle or tower of the\nheavens. For exorcising evil spirits they write texts of the Koran\non paper and burn them before the sufferer. The caste bury the dead\nwith the feet pointing to the south. On the way to the grave each\none of the mourners places his shoulder under the bier for a time,\npartaking of the impurity communicated by it. Incense is burnt daily\nin the name of a deceased person for forty days after his death, with\nthe object probably of preventing his ghost from returning to haunt\nthe house. Muhammadan beggars are fed on the tenth day. Similarly,\nafter the birth of a child a woman is unclean for forty days, and\ncannot cook for her husband during that period. A child's hair is\ncut for the first time on the tenth or twelfth day after birth, this\nbeing known as Jhalar. Some parents leave a lock of hair to grow on\nthe head in the name of the famous saint Sheikh Farid, thinking that\nthey will thus ensure a long life for the child. It is probably in\nreality a way of preserving the Hindu _choti_ or scalp-lock.\n\n\n\n4. Occupation.\n\n\nThe hereditary calling [83] of the Bahna is the cleaning or scutching\nof cotton, which is done by subjecting it to the vibration of a\nbow-string. The seed has been previously separated by a hand-gin,\nbut the ginned cotton still contains much dirt, leaf-fibre and other\nrubbish, and to remove this is the Bahna's task. The bow is somewhat\nin the shape of a harp, the wide end consisting of a broad piece of\nwood over which the string passes, being secured to a straight wooden\nbar at the back. At the narrow end the bar and string are fixed to an\niron ring. The string is made of the sinew of some animal, and this\nrenders the implement objectionable to Hindus, and may account for\nthe Bahnas being Muhammadans. The club or mallet is a wooden implement\nshaped like a dumb-bell. The bow is suspended from the roof so as to\nhang just over the pile of loose cotton; and the worker twangs the\nstring with the mallet and then draws the mallet across the string,\neach three or four times. The string strikes a small portion of the\ncotton, the fibre of which is scattered by the impact and thrown off\nin a uniform condition of soft fluff, all dirt being at the same time\nremoved. This is the operation technically known as teasing. Buchanan\nremarked that women frequently did the work themselves at home, using\na smaller kind of bow called _dhunkara_. The clean cotton is made up\ninto balls, some of which are passed on to the spinner, while others\nare used for the filling of quilts and the padded coats worn in the\ncold weather. The ingenious though rather clumsy method of the Bahna\nhas been superseded by the ginning-factory, and little or no cotton\ndestined for the spindle is now cleaned by him. The caste have been\nforced to take to cultivation or field labour, while many have become\ncartmen and others are brokers, peons or constables. Nearly every\nhouse still has its _pinjan_ or bow, but only a desultory use is\nmade of this during the winter months. As it is principally used by a\nMuhammadan caste it seems a possible hypothesis that the cotton-bow\nwas introduced into India by invaders of that religion. The name of\nthe bow, _pinjan_, is, however, a Sanskrit derivative, and this is\nagainst the above theory. It has already been seen that the fact of\nanimal sinew being used for the string would make it objectionable to\nHindus. The Bahnas are subjected to considerable ridicule on account\nof their curious mixture of Hindu and Muhammadan ceremonies, amounting\nin some respects practically to a caricature of the rites of Islam;\nand further, they share with the weaver class the contempt shown to\nthose who follow a calling considered more suitable for women than\nmen. It is related that when the Mughal general Asaf Khan first made an\nexpedition into the north of the Central Provinces he found the famous\nGond-Rajput queen Durgavati of the Garha-Mandla dynasty governing with\nsuccess a large and prosperous state in this locality. He thought a\ncountry ruled by a woman should fall an easy prey to the Muhammadan\narms, and to show his contempt for her power he sent her a golden\nspindle. The queen retorted by a present of a gold cotton-cleaner's\nbow, and this so enraged the Mughal that he proceeded to attack the\nGond kingdom. The story indicates that cotton-carding is considered\na Muhammadan profession, and also that it is held in contempt.\n\n\n\n5. Proverbs about Bahnas.\n\n\nVarious sayings show that the Bahna is not considered a proper\nMuhammadan, as\n\n\n                Turuk to Turuk\n                Aur Bahna Turuk,\n\n\nor 'A Muhammadan (Turk) is a Muhammadan and the Bahna is also a\nMuhammadan'; and again--\n\n\n                Achera, [84] Kachera, Pinjara,\n                Muhammad se dur, Din se niyara,\n\n\nor 'The Kachera and Pinjara are lost to Muhammad and far from the\nfaith'; and again--\n\n\n                Adho Hindu adho Musalman\n                Tinkhon kahen Dhunak Pathan,\n\n\nor 'Half a Hindu and half a Muhammadan, that is he who is a Dhunak\nPathan.' They have a grotesque imitation of the Muhammadan rite of\n_halal_, or causing an animal's blood to flow on to the ground with\nthe repetition of the _kalma_ or invocation; thus it is said that when\na Bahna is about to kill a fowl he addresses it somewhat as follows:\n\n\n                Kahe karkarat hai?\n                Kahe barbarat hai?\n                Kahe jai jai logon ka dana khat hai?\n                Tor kiamat mor niamat,\n                Bismillah hai tuch,\n\n\nor \"Why do you cackle? Why do you crow? Why do you eat other people's\ngrain? Your death is my feast; I touch you in the name of God.\" And\nsaying this he puts a knife to the fowl's throat. The vernacular verse\nis a good imitation of the cackling of a fowl. And again, they slice\noff the top of an egg as if they were killing an animal and repeat the\nformula, \"White dome, full of moisture, I know not if there is a male\nor female within; in the name of God I kill you.\" A person whose memory\nis not good enough to retain these texts will take a knife and proceed\nto one who knows them. Such a man will repeat the texts over the knife,\nblowing on it as he does so, and the Bahna considers that the knife\nhas been sanctified and retains its virtue for a week. Others do not\nthink this necessary, but have a special knife, which having once been\nconsecrated is always kept for killing animals, and descends as an\nheirloom in the family, the use of this sacred knife being considered\nto make the repetition of the _kalma_ unnecessary. These customs are,\nhowever, practised only by the ignorant members of the caste in Raipur\nand Bilaspur, and are unknown in the more civilised tracts, where\nthe Bahnas are rapidly conforming to ordinary Muhammadan usage. Such\nprimitive Bahnas perform their marriages by walking round the sacred\npost, keep the Hindu festivals, and feed Brahmans on the tenth day\nafter a death. They have a priest whom they call their Kazi, but elect\nhim themselves. In some places when a Bahna goes to the well to draw\nwater he first washes the parapet of the well to make it ceremonially\nclean, and then draws his water. This custom can only be compared\nwith that of the Raj-Gonds who wash the firewood with which they are\nabout to cook their food, in order to make it more pure. Respectable\nMuhammadans naturally look down on the Bahnas, and they retaliate\nby refusing to take food or water from any Muhammadan who is not\na Bahna. By such strictness the more ignorant think that they will\nenhance their ceremonial purity and hence their social consideration;\nbut the intelligent members of the caste know better and are glad to\nimprove themselves by learning from educated Muhammadans. The other\nmenial artisan castes among the Muhammadans have similar ideas, and\nit is reported that a Rangrez boy who took food in the house of one\nof the highest Muhammadan officers of Government in the Province was\ntemporarily put out of caste. Another saying about the Bahnas is--\n\n\n                Sheikhon ki Sheikhi,\n                    Pathanon ki tarr,\n                Turkon ki Turkshahi,\n                    Bahnon ki bharrr ...\n\n\nor 'Proud as a Sheikh, obstinate as a Pathan, royal as a Turk, buzzing\nlike a Bahna.' This refers to the noise of the cotton-cleaning bow,\nthe twang of which as it is struck by the club is like a quail flying;\nand at the same time to the Bahna's loquacity. Another story is that\na Bahna was once going through the forest with his cotton-cleaning bow\nand club or mallet, when a jackal met him on the path. The jackal was\nafraid that the Bahna would knock him on the head, so he said, \"With\nthy bow on thy shoulder and thine arrow in thy hand, whither goest\nthou, O King of Delhi?\" The Bahna was exceedingly pleased at this and\nreplied, 'King of the forest, eater of wild plums, only the great can\nrecognise the great.' But when the jackal had got to a safe distance\nhe turned round and shouted, \"With your cotton-bow on your shoulder and\nyour club in your hand, there you go, you sorry Bahna.\" It is said also\nthat although the Bahnas as good Muhammadans wear beards, they do not\ncultivate them very successfully, and many of them only have a growth\nof hair below the chin and none on the under-lip, in the fashion known\nas a goat's beard. This kind of beard is thus proverbially described\nas '_Bahna kaisi darhi_' or 'A Bahna's beard.' It may be repeated in\nconclusion that much of the ridicule attaching to the Bahnas arises\nsimply from the fact that they follow what is considered a feminine\noccupation, and the remainder because in their ignorance they parody\nthe rites of Islam. It may seem ill-natured to record the sayings\nin which they are lampooned, but the Bahnas cannot read English,\nand these have an interest as specimens of popular wit.\n\n\n\n\n\n\nBaiga\n\n\n\nList of Paragraphs\n\n\n     1.  _The tribe and its offshoots._\n     2.  _Tribal legends._\n     3.  _Tribal subdivisions._\n     4.  _Marriage._\n     5.  _Birth and funeral rites._\n     6.  _Religion._\n     7.  _Appearance and mode of life._\n     8.  _Dress and food._\n     9.  _Occupation._\n    10.  _Language._\n\n\n\n1. The tribe and its offshoots.\n\n\n_Baiga._ [85]--A primitive Dravidian tribe whose home is on the eastern\nSatpura hills in the Mandla, Balaghat and Bilaspur Districts. The\nnumber of the Baigas proper was only 30,000 in 1911. But the Binjhals\nor Binjhwars, a fairly numerous caste in the Chhattisgarh Division, and\nespecially in the Sambalpur District, appear to have been originally\nBaigas, though they have dropped the original caste name, become\nHinduised, and now disclaim connection with the parent tribe. A\nreason for this may be found in the fact that Sambalpur contains\nseveral Binjhwar zamindars, or large landowners, whose families would\nnaturally desire a more respectable pedigree than one giving them the\nwild Baigas of the Satpuras for their forefathers. And the evolution of\nthe Binjhwar caste is a similar phenomenon to the constitution of the\nRaj-Gonds, the Raj-Korkus, and other aristocratic subdivisions among\nthe forest tribes, who have been admitted to a respectable position\nin the Hindu social community. The Binjhwars, however, have been so\nsuccessful as to cut themselves off almost completely from connection\nwith the original tribe, owing to their adoption of another name. But\nin Balaghat and Mandla the Binjhwar subtribe is still recognised as\nthe most civilised subdivision of the Baigas. The Bhainas, a small\ntribe in Bilaspur, are probably another offshoot, Kath-Bhaina being\nthe name of a subtribe of Baigas in that District, and Rai-Bhaina\nin Balaghat, though the Bhainas too no longer admit identity with\nthe Baigas. A feature common to all three branches is that they have\nforgotten their original tongue, and now speak a more or less corrupt\nform of the Indo-Aryan vernaculars current around them. Finally,\nthe term Bhumia or 'Lord of the soil' is used sometimes as the name\nof a separate tribe and sometimes as a synonym for Baiga. The fact is\nthat in the Central Provinces [86] Bhumia is the name of an office,\nthat of the priest of the village and local deities, which is held\nby one of the forest tribes. In the tract where the Baigas live,\nthey, as the most ancient residents, are usually the priests of the\nindigenous gods; but in Jubbulpore the same office is held by another\ntribe, the Bharias. The name of the office often attaches itself to\nmembers of the tribe, who consider it as somewhat more respectable\nthan their own, and it is therefore generally true to say that the\npeople known as Bhumias in Jubbulpore are really Bharias, but in\nMandla and Bilaspur they are Baigas.\n\nIn Mandla there is also found a group called Bharia-Baigas. These\nare employed as village priests by Hindus, and worship certain Hindu\ndeities and not the Gond gods. They may perhaps be members of the\nBharia tribe of Jubbulpore, originally derived from the Bhars, who\nhave obtained the designation of Baiga, owing to their employment\nas village priests. But they now consider themselves a part of the\nBaiga tribe and say they came to Mandla from Rewah. In Mandla the\ndecision of a Baiga on a boundary dispute is almost always considered\nas final, and this authority is of a kind that commonly emanates from\nrecognised priority of residence. [87] There seems reason to suppose\nthat the Baigas are really a branch of the primitive Bhuiya tribe\nof Chota Nagpur, and that they have taken or been given the name of\nBaiga, the designation of a village priest, on migration into the\nCentral Provinces. There is reason to believe that the Baigas were\nonce dominant in the Chhattisgarh plain and the hills surrounding it\nwhich adjoin Chota Nagpur, the home of the Bhuiyas. The considerations\nin favour of this view are given in the article on Bhuiya, to which\nreference may be made.\n\n\n\n2. Tribal legends.\n\n\nThe Baigas, however, are not without some conceit of themselves,\nas the following legend will show. In the beginning, they say, God\ncreated Nanga Baiga and Nangi Baigin, the first of the human race,\nand asked them by what calling they would choose to live. They at once\nsaid that they would make their living by felling trees in the jungle,\nand permission being accorded, have done so ever since. They had two\nsons, one of whom remained a Baiga, while the other became a Gond\nand a tiller of the soil. The sons married their own two sisters who\nwere afterwards born, and while the elder couple are the ancestors\nof the Baigas, from the younger are descended the Gonds and all the\nremainder of the human race. In another version of the story the\nfirst Baiga cut down two thousand old _sal_ [88] trees in one day,\nand God told him to sprinkle a few grains of kutki on the ashes, and\nthen to retire and sleep for some months, when on his return he would\nbe able to reap a rich harvest for his children. In this manner the\nhabit of shifting cultivation is accorded divine sanction. According\nto Binjhwar tradition Nanga Baiga and Nangi Baigin dwelt on the\n_kajli ban pahar_, which being interpreted is the hill of elephants,\nand may well refer to the ranges of Mandla and Bilaspur. It is\nstated in the _Ain-i-Akbari_ [89] that the country of Garha-Mandla\nabounded in wild elephants, and that the people paid their tribute\nin these and gold mohurs. In Mandla the Baigas sometimes hang out\nfrom their houses a bamboo mat fastened to a long pole to represent\na flag which they say once flew from the palace of a Baiga king. It\nseems likely that the original home of the tribe may have been the\nChhattisgarh plain and the hill-ranges surrounding it. A number of\nestates in these hills are held by landowners of tribes which are\noffshoots of the Baigas, as the Bhainas and Binjhwars. The point is\nfurther discussed in the article on Bhuiya. Most of the Baigas speak\na corrupt form of the Chhattisgarhi dialect. When they first came\nunder the detailed observation of English officers in the middle of\nthe nineteenth century, the tribe were even more solitary and retired\nthan at present. Their villages, it is said, were only to be found\nin places far removed from all cleared and cultivated country. No\nroads or well-defined paths connected them with ordinary lines of\ntraffic and more thickly inhabited tracts, but perched away in snug\ncorners in the hills, and hidden by convenient projecting spurs and\ndense forests from the country round, they could not be seen except\nwhen nearly approached, and were seldom visited unless by occasional\nenterprising Banias and vendors of country liquor. Indeed, without a\nBaiga for a guide many of the villages could hardly be discovered,\nfor nothing but occasional notches on the trees distinguished the\ntracks to them from those of the sambhar and other wild animals.\n\n\n\n3. Tribal subdivisions.\n\n\nThe following seven subdivisions or subtribes are recognised: Binjhwar,\nBharotia, Narotia or Nahar, Raibhaina, Kathbhaina, Kondwan or Kundi,\nand Gondwaina. Of these the Binjhwar, Bharotia and Narotia are the\nbest-known. The name of the Binjhwars is probably derived from the\nVindhyan range, which in turn comes from the Sanskrit _vindhya_,\na hunter. The rule of exogamy is by no means strictly observed,\nand in Kawardha it is said that these three subcastes intermarry\nthough they do not eat together, while in Balaghat the Bharotias\nand Narotias both eat together and intermarry. In both places the\nBinjhwars occupy the highest position, and the other two subtribes\nwill take food from them. The Binjhwars consider themselves as Hindus\nand abjure the consumption of buffalo's and cow's flesh and rats,\nwhile the other Baigas will eat almost anything. The Bharotias\npartially shave their heads, and in Mandla are apparently known as\nMundia or Mudia, or \"shaven.\" The Gondwainas eat both cow's flesh\nand monkeys, and are regarded as the lowest subcaste. As shown by\ntheir name they are probably the offspring of unions between Baigas\nand Gonds. Similarly the Kondwans apparently derive their name from\nthe tract south of the Mahanadi which is named after the Khond tribe,\nand was formerly owned by them.\n\nEach subtribe is divided into a number of exogamous septs, the names of\nwhich are identical in many cases with those of the Gonds, as Markam,\nMaravi, Netam, Tekam and others. Gond names are found most frequently\namong the Gondwainas and Narotias, and these have adopted from the\nGonds the prohibition of marriage between worshippers of the same\nnumber of gods. Thus the four septs above mentioned worship seven gods\nand may not intermarry. But they may marry among other septs such as\nthe Dhurua, Pusam, Bania and Mawar who worship six gods. The Baigas do\nnot appear to have assimilated the further division into worshippers\nof five, four, three and two gods which exist among the Gonds in some\nlocalities, and the system is confined to the lower subtribes. The\nmeanings of the sept names have been forgotten and no instances of\ntotemism are known. And the Binjhwars and Bharotias, who are more or\nless Hinduised, have now adopted territorial names for their septs,\nas Lapheya from Lapha zamindari, Ghugharia from Ghughri village in\nMandla, and so on. The adoption of Gond names and septs appears to\nindicate that Gonds were in former times freely admitted into the Baiga\ntribe; and this continues to be the case at present among the lower\nsubtribes, so far that a Gond girl marrying a Baiga becomes a regular\nmember of the community. But the Binjhwars and Bharotias, who have\na somewhat higher status than the others, refuse to admit Gonds, and\nare gradually adopting the strict rule of endogamy within the subtribe.\n\n\n\n4. Marriage.\n\n\nA Baiga must not take a wife from his own sept or from another one\nworshipping the same number of gods. But he may marry within his\nmother's sept, and in some localities the union of first cousins is\npermitted. Marriage is adult and the proposal comes from the parents of\nthe bride, but in some places the girl is allowed to select a husband\nfor herself. A price varying from five to twenty rupees is usually\npaid to the bride's parents, or in lieu of this the prospective\nhusband serves his father-in-law for a period of about two years,\nthe marriage being celebrated after the first year if his conduct\nis satisfactory. Orphan boys who have no parents to arrange their\nmarriages for them often take service for a wife. Three ceremonies\nshould precede the marriage. The first, which may take place at\nany time after the birth of both children, consists merely in the\narrangement for their betrothal. The second is only a ratification\nof the first, feasts being provided by the boy's parents on both\noccasions. While on the approach of the children to marriageable age\nthe final betrothal or _barokhi_ is held. The boy's father gives a\nlarge feast at the house of the girl and the date of the wedding is\nfixed. To ascertain whether the union will be auspicious, two grains\nof rice are dropped into a pot of water, after various preliminary\nsolemnities to mark the importance of the occasion. If the points\nof the grains meet almost immediately it is considered that the\nmarriage will be highly auspicious. If they do not meet, a second\npair of grains are dropped in, and should these meet it is believed\nthat the couple will quarrel after an interval of married life and\nthat the wife will return to her father's house. While if neither\nof the two first essays are successful and a third pair is required,\nthe regrettable conclusion is arrived at that the wife will run away\nwith another man after a very short stay with her husband. But it\nis not stated that the betrothal is on that account annulled. The\nwedding procession starts from the bridegroom's house [90] and is\nreceived by the bride's father outside the village. It is considered\nessential that he should go out to meet the bride's party riding on an\nelephant. But as a real elephant is not within the means of a Baiga,\ntwo wooden bedsteads are lashed together and covered with blankets with\na black cloth trunk in front, and this arrangement passes muster for\nan elephant. The elephant makes pretence to charge and trample down\nthe marriage procession, until a rupee is paid, when the two parties\nembrace each other and proceed to the marriage-shed. Here the bride\nand bridegroom throw fried rice at each other until they are tired,\nand then walk three or seven times round the marriage-post with their\nclothes tied together. It is stated by Colonel Ward that the couple\nalways retired to the forest to spend the wedding night, but this\ncustom has now been abandoned. The expenditure on a marriage varies\nbetween ten and fifty rupees, of which only about five rupees fall\non the bride's parents. The remarriage of widows is permitted, and\nthe widow is expected, though not obliged, to wed her late husband's\nyounger brother, while if she takes another husband he must pay her\nbrother-in-law the sum of five rupees. The ceremony consists merely of\nthe presentation of bangles and new clothes by the suitor, in token\nof her acceptance of which the widow pours some tepid water stained\nwith turmeric over his head. Divorce may be effected by the husband\nand wife breaking a straw in the presence of the caste _panchayat_\nor committee. If the woman remains in the same village and does\nnot marry again, the husband is responsible for her maintenance and\nthat of her children, while a divorced woman may not remarry without\nthe sanction of the _panchayat_ so long as her husband is alive and\nremains single. Polygamy is permitted.\n\n\n\n5. Birth and funeral rites.\n\n\nA woman is unclean for a month after childbirth, though the Binjhwars\nrestrict the period to eight days. At the ceremony of purification a\nfeast is given and the child is named, often after the month or day\nof its birth, as Chaitu, Phagu, Saoni, and so on, from the months\nof Chait, Phagun and Shrawan. Children who appear to be physically\ndefective are given names accordingly, such as Langra (lame), or Bahira\n(deaf). The dead are usually buried, the bodies of old persons being\nburnt as a special honour and to save them from the risk of being\ndevoured by wild animals. Bodies are laid naked in the grave with the\nhead pointing to the south. In the grave of a man of importance two\nor three rupees and some tobacco are placed. In some places a rupee\nis thrust into the mouth of the dying man, and if his body is burnt,\nthe coin is recovered from the pyre by his daughter or sister, who\nwears it as an amulet. Over the grave a platform is made on which\na stone is erected. This is called the Bhiri of the deceased and is\nworshipped by his relatives in time of trouble. If one of the family\nhas to be buried elsewhere, the relatives go to the Bhiri of the\ngreat dead and consign his spirit to be kept in their company. At a\nfuneral the mourners take one black and one white fowl to a stream\nand kill and eat them there, setting aside a portion for the dead\nman. Mourning is observed for a period of from two to nine days,\nand during this time labour and even household work are stopped, food\nbeing supplied by the friends of the family. When a man is killed by\na tiger the Baiga priest goes to the spot and there makes a small\ncone out of the blood-stained earth. This must represent a man,\neither the dead man or one of his living relatives. His companions\nhaving retired a few paces, the priest goes on his hands and knees\nand performs a series of antics which are supposed to represent the\ntiger in the act of destroying the man, at the same time seizing the\nlump of blood-stained earth in his teeth. One of the party then runs\nup and taps him on the back with a small stick. This perhaps means\nthat the tiger is killed or otherwise rendered harmless; and the\nBaiga immediately lets the mud cone fall into the hands of one of the\nparty. It is then placed in an ant-hill and a pig is sacrificed over\nit. The next day a small chicken is taken to the place, and after\na mark supposed to be the dead man's name is made on its head with\nred ochre, it is thrown back into the forest, the priest exclaiming,\n'Take this and go home.' The ceremony is supposed to lay the dead\nman's spirit and at the same time to prevent the tiger from doing\nany further damage. The Baigas believe that the ghost of the victim,\nif not charmed to rest, resides on the head of the tiger and incites\nhim to further deeds of blood, rendering him also secure from harm\nby his preternatural watchfulness. [91]\n\nThey also think that they can shut up the tiger's _dar_ or jaws,\nso that he cannot bite them, by driving a nail into a tree. The\nforest track from Kanha to Kisli in the Banjar forest reserve of\nMandla was formerly a haunt of man-eating tigers, to whom a number\nof the wood-cutters and Baiga coolies, clearing the jungle paths,\nfell victims every year. In a large tree, at a dangerous point in the\ntrack, there could recently be seen a nail, driven into the trunk by\na Baiga priest, at some height from the ground. It was said that this\nnail shut the mouth of a famous man-eating tiger of the locality and\nprevented him from killing any more victims. As evidence of the truth\nof the story there were shown on the trunk the marks of the tiger's\nclaws, where he had been jumping up the tree in the effort to pull\nthe nail out of the trunk and get his man-eating powers restored.\n\n\n\n6. Religion.\n\n\nAlthough the Binjhwar subcaste now profess Hinduism, the religion of\nthe Baigas is purely animistic. Their principal deity is Bura Deo, [92]\nwho is supposed to reside in a _saj_ tree (_Terminalia tomentosa_); he\nis worshipped in the month of Jeth (May), when goats, fowls, cocoanuts,\nand the liquor of the new mahua crop are offered to him. Thakur Deo\nis the god of the village land and boundaries, and is propitiated\nwith a white goat. The Baigas who plough the fields have a ceremony\ncalled Bidri, which is performed before the breaking of the rains. A\nhandful of each kind of grain sown is given by each cultivator to the\npriest, who mixes the grains together and sows a little beneath the\ntree where Thakur Deo lives. After this he returns a little to each\ncultivator, and he sows it in the centre of the land on which crops\nare to be grown, while the priest keeps the remainder. This ceremony\nis believed to secure the success of the harvest. Dulha Deo is the\ngod who averts disease and accident, and the offering made to him\nshould consist of a fowl or goat of reddish colour. Bhimsen is the\ndeity of rainfall, and Dharti Mata or Mother Earth is considered to be\nthe wife of Thakur Deo, and must also be propitiated for the success\nof the crops. The grain itself is worshipped at the threshing floor\nby sprinkling water and liquor on to it. Certain Hindu deities are\nalso worshipped by the Baigas, but not in orthodox fashion. Thus it\nwould be sacrilege on the part of a Hindu to offer animal sacrifices\nto Narayan Deo, the sun-god, but the Baigas devote to him a special\noblation of the most unclean animal, the pig. The animal to be\nsacrificed is allowed to wander loose for two or three years, and is\nthen killed in a most cruel manner. It is laid across the threshold of\na doorway on its back, and across its stomach is placed a stout plank\nof _saj_-wood. Half a dozen men sit or stand on the ends of this, and\nthe fore and hind feet of the pig are pulled backwards and forwards\nalternately over the plank until it is crushed to death, while all\nthe men sing or shout a sacrificial hymn. The head and feet are cut\noff and offered to the deity, and the body is eaten. The forests are\nbelieved to be haunted by spirits, and in certain localities _pats_\nor shrines are erected in their honour, and occasional offerings are\nmade to them. The spirits of married persons are supposed to live in\nstreams, while trees afford a shelter to the souls of the unmarried,\nwho become _bhuts_ or malignant spirits after death. Nag Deo or the\ncobra is supposed to live in an ant-hill, and offerings are made to\nhim there. Demoniacal possession is an article of faith, and a popular\nremedy is to burn human hair mixed with chillies and pig's dung near\nthe person possessed, as the horrible smell thus produced will drive\naway the spirit. Many and weird, Mr. Low writes, are the simples\nwhich the Baiga's travelling scrip contains. Among these a dried bat\nhas the chief place; this the Baiga says he uses to charm his nets\nwith, that the prey may catch in them as the bat's claws catch in\nwhatever it touches. As an instance of the Baiga's pantheism it may\nbe mentioned that on one occasion when a train of the new Satpura\nrailway [93] had pulled up at a wayside forest station, a Baiga was\nfound offering a sacrifice to the engine. Like other superstitious\npeople they are great believers in omens. A single crow bathing in\na stream is a sign of death. A cock which crows in the night should\nbe instantly killed and thrown into the darkness, a custom which some\nwould be glad to see introduced into much more civilised centres. The\nwoodpecker and owl are birds of bad omen. The Baigas do not appear to\nhave any idea of a fresh birth, and one of their marriage songs says,\n\"O girl, take your pleasure in going round the marriage-post once and\nfor all, for there is no second birth.\" The Baigas are generally the\npriests of the Gonds, probably because being earlier residents of\nthe country they are considered to have a more intimate acquaintance\nwith the local deities. They have a wide knowledge of the medicinal\nproperties of jungle roots and herbs, and are often successful in\neffecting cures when the regular native doctors have failed. Their\nvillage priests have consequently a considerable reputation as skilled\nsorcerers and persons conversant with the unseen world. A case is\nknown of a Brahman transferred to a jungle station, who immediately\nafter his arrival called in a Baiga priest and asked what forest gods\nhe should worship, and what other steps he should take to keep well\nand escape calamity. Colonel Ward states that in his time Baigas were\ncommonly called in to give aid when a town or village was attacked\nby cholera, and further that he had seen the greatest benefit to\nresult from their visit. For the people had so much confidence in\ntheir powers and ceremonies that they lost half their fright at once,\nand were consequently not so much predisposed to an attack of the\ndisease. On such an occasion the Baiga priest goes round the village\nand pulls out a little straw from each house-roof, afterwards burning\nthe whole before the shrine of Khermata, the goddess of the village,\nto whom he also offers a chicken for each homestead. If this remedy\nfails goats are substituted for chickens, and lastly, as a forlorn\nhope, pigs are tried, and, as a rule, do not fail, because by this\ntime the disease may be expected to have worked itself out. It is\nsuggested that the chicken represents a human victim from each house,\nwhile the straw stands for the house itself, and the offering has\nthe common idea of a substituted victim.\n\n\n\n7. Appearance and mode of life.\n\n\nIn stature the Baigas are a little taller than most other tribes,\nand though they have a tendency to the flat nose of the Gonds,\ntheir foreheads and the general shape of their heads are of a better\nmould. Colonel Ward states that the members of the tribe inhabiting\nthe Maikal range in Mandla are a much finer race than those living\nnearer the open country. [94] Their figures are very nearly perfect,\nsays Colonel Bloomfield, [95] and their wiry limbs, unburdened by\nsuperfluous flesh, will carry them over very great distances and\nover places inaccessible to most human beings, while their compact\nbodies need no other nutriment than the scanty fare afforded by their\nnative forests. They are born hunters, hardy and active in the chase,\nand exceedingly bold and courageous. In character they are naturally\nsimple, honest and truthful, and when their fear of a stranger has\nbeen dissipated are most companionable folk. A small hut, 6 or 7 feet\nhigh at the ridge, made of split bamboos and mud, with a neat veranda\nin front thatched with leaves and grass, forms the Baiga's residence,\nand if it is burnt down, or abandoned on a visitation of epidemic\ndisease, he can build another in the space of a day. A rough earthen\nvessel to hold water, leaves for plates, gourds for drinking-vessels,\na piece of matting to sleep on, and a small axe, a sickle and a spear,\nexhaust the inventory of the Baiga's furniture, and the money value\nof the whole would not exceed a rupee. [96] The Baigas never live in\na village with other castes, but have their huts some distance away\nfrom the village in the jungle. Unlike the other tribes also, the\nBaiga prefers his house to stand alone and at some little distance\nfrom those of his fellow-tribesmen. While nominally belonging to\nthe village near which they dwell, so separate and distinct are\nthey from the rest of people that in the famine of 1897 cases were\nfound of starving Baiga hamlets only a few hundred yards away from\nthe village proper in which ample relief was being given. On being\nquestioned as to why they had not caused the Baigas to be helped,\nthe other villagers said, 'We did not remember them'; and when the\nBaigas were asked why they did not apply for relief, they said,\n'We did not think it was meant for Baigas.'\n\n\n\n8. Dress and food.\n\n\nTheir dress is of the most simple description, a small strip of rag\nbetween the legs and another wisp for a head-covering sufficing for\nthe men, though the women are decently covered from their shoulders\nto half-way between the thighs and knees. A Baiga may be known by his\nscanty clothing and tangled hair, and his wife by the way in which\nher single garment is arranged so as to provide a safe sitting-place\nin it for her child. Baiga women have been seen at work in the field\ntransplanting rice with babies comfortably seated in their cloth,\none sometimes supported on either hip with their arms and legs out,\nwhile the mother was stooping low, hour after hour, handling the rice\nplants. A girl is tattooed on the forehead at the age of five, and over\nher whole body before she is married, both for the sake of ornament and\nbecause the practice is considered beneficial to the health. The Baigas\nare usually without blankets or warm clothing, and in the cold season\nthey sleep round a wood fire kept burning or smouldering all night,\nstray sparks from which may alight on their tough skins without being\nfelt. Mr. Lampard relates that on one occasion a number of Baiga men\nwere supplied by the Mission under his charge with large new cloths\nto cover their bodies with and make them presentable on appearance in\nchurch. On the second Sunday, however, they came with their cloths\nburnt full of small holes; and they explained that the damage had\nbeen done at night while they were sleeping round the fire.\n\nA Baiga, Mr. Lampard continues, is speedily discerned in a forest\nvillage bazar, and is the most interesting object in it. His almost\nnude figure, wild, tangled hair innocent of such inventions as brush\nor comb, lithe wiry limbs and jungly and uncivilised appearance,\nmark him out at once. He generally brings a few mats or baskets which\nhe has made, or fruits, roots, honey, horns of animals, or other\njungle products which he has collected, for sale, and with the sum\nobtained (a few pice or annas at the most) he proceeds to make his\nweekly purchases, changing his pice into cowrie shells, of which he\nreceives eighty for each one. He buys tobacco, salt, chillies and\nother sundries, besides as much of kodon, kutki, or perhaps rice, as\nhe can afford, always leaving a trifle to be expended at the liquor\nshop before departing for home. The various purchases are tied up in\nthe corners of the bit of rag twisted round his head. Unlike pieces\nof cloth known to civilisation, which usually have four corners,\nthe Baiga's headgear appears to be nothing but corners, and when the\nshopping is done the strip of rag may have a dozen minute bundles\ntied up in it.\n\nIn Baihar of Balaghat buying and selling are conducted on perhaps\nthe most minute scale known, and if a Baiga has one or two pice [97]\nto lay out he will spend no inconsiderable time over it. Grain is\nsold in small measures holding about four ounces called _baraiyas_,\nbut each of these has a layer of mud at the bottom of varying degrees\nof thickness, so as to reduce its capacity. Before a purchase can be\nmade it must be settled by whose _baraiya_ the grain is to be measured,\nand the seller and purchaser each refuse the other's as being unfair\nto himself, until at length after discussion some neutral person's\n_baraiya_ is selected as a compromise. Their food consists largely\nof forest fruits and roots with a scanty allowance of rice or the\nlight millets, and they can go without nourishment for periods which\nappear extraordinary to civilised man. They eat the flesh of almost\nall animals, though the more civilised abjure beef and monkeys. They\nwill take food from a Gond but not from a Brahman. The Baiga dearly\nloves the common country liquor made from the mahua flower, and this is\nconsumed as largely as funds will permit of at weddings, funerals and\nother social gatherings, and also if obtainable at other times. They\nhave a tribal _panchayat_ or committee which imposes penalties for\nsocial offences, one punishment being the abstention from meat for a\nfixed period. A girl going wrong with a man of the caste is punished\nby a fine, but cases of unchastity among unmarried Baiga girls are\nrare. Among their pastimes dancing is one of the chief, and in their\nfavourite dance, known as _karma_, the men and women form long lines\nopposite to each other with the musicians between them. One of the\ninstruments, a drum called _mandar_, gives out a deep bass note which\ncan be heard for miles. The two lines advance and retire, everybody\nsinging at the same time, and when the dancers get fully into the\ntime and swing, the pace increases, the drums beat furiously, the\nvoices of the singers rise higher and higher, and by the light of the\nbonfires which are kept burning the whole scene is wild in the extreme.\n\n\n\n9. Occupation.\n\n\nThe Baigas formerly practised only shifting cultivation, burning down\npatches of jungle and sowing seed on the ground fertilised by the\nashes after the breaking of the rains. Now that this method has been\nprohibited in Government forest, attempts have been made to train them\nto regular cultivation, but with indifferent success in Balaghat. An\nidea of the difficulties to be encountered may be obtained from the\nfact that in some villages the Baiga cultivators, if left unwatched,\nwould dig up the grain which they had themselves sown as seed in\ntheir fields and eat it; while the plough-cattle which were given to\nthem invariably developed diseases in spite of all precautions, as a\nresult of which they found their way sooner or later to the Baiga's\ncooking-pot. But they are gradually adopting settled habits, and in\nMandla, where a considerable block of forest was allotted to them\nin which they might continue their destructive practice of shifting\nsowings, it is reported that the majority have now become regular\ncultivators. One explanation of their refusal to till the ground is\nthat they consider it a sin to lacerate the breast of their mother\nearth with a ploughshare. They also say that God made the jungle to\nproduce everything necessary for the sustenance of men and made the\nBaigas kings of the forest, giving them wisdom to discover the things\nprovided for them. To Gonds and others who had not this knowledge, the\ninferior occupation of tilling the land was left. The men never become\nfarmservants, but during the cultivating season they work for hire at\nuprooting the rice seedlings for transplantation; they do no other\nagricultural labour for others. Women do the actual transplantation\nof rice and work as harvesters. The men make bamboo mats and baskets,\nwhich they sell in the village weekly markets. They also collect\nand sell honey and other forest products, and are most expert at all\nwork that can be done with an axe, making excellent woodcutters. But\nthey show no aptitude in acquiring the use of any other implement,\nand dislike steady continuous labour, preferring to do a few days'\nwork and then rest in their homes for a like period before beginning\nagain. Their skill and dexterity in the use of the axe in hunting\nis extraordinary. Small deer, hares and peacocks are often knocked\nover by throwing it at them, and panthers and other large animals\nare occasionally killed with a single blow. If one of two Baigas\nis carried off by a tiger, the survivor will almost always make a\ndetermined and often successful attempt to rescue him with nothing\nmore formidable than an axe or a stick. They are expert trackers,\nand are also clever at setting traps and snares, while, like Korkus,\nthey catch fish by damming streams in the hot weather and throwing into\nthe pool thus formed some leaf or root which stupefies them. Even in\na famine year, Mr. Low says, a Baiga can collect a large basketful of\nroots in a single day; and if the bamboo seeds he is amply provided\nfor. Nowadays Baiga cultivators may occasionally be met with who have\ntaken to regular cultivation and become quite prosperous, owning a\nnumber of cattle.\n\n\n\n10. Language.\n\n\nAs already stated, the Baigas have completely forgotten their own\nlanguage, and in the Satpura hills they speak a broken form of Hindi,\nthough they have a certain number of words and expressions peculiar\nto the caste.\n\n\n\n\n\n\nBairagi\n\n\n\nList of Paragraphs\n\n\n 1.  _Definition of name and statistics._\n 2.  _The four Sampradayas or main orders._\n 3.  _The Ramanujis._\n 4.  _The Ramanandis._\n 5.  _The Nimanandis._\n 6.  _The Madhavacharyas._\n 7.  _The Vallabhacharyas._\n 8.  _Minor sects._\n 9.  _The seven Akharas._\n10.  _The Dwaras._\n11.  _Initiation, appearance and customs._\n12.  _Recruitment of the order and its character._\n13.  _Social position and customs._\n14.  _Bairagi monasteries._\n15.  _Married Bairagis._\n\n\n\n1. Definition of name and statistics.\n\n\n\n_Bairagi_, [98] _Sadhu_.--The general term for members of the Vishnuite\nreligious orders, who formerly as a rule lived by mendicancy. The\nBairagis have now, however, become a caste. In 1911 they numbered\n38,000 persons in the Provinces, being distributed over all Districts\nand States. The name Bairagi is supposed to come from the Sanskrit\nVairagya and to signify one who is free from human passions. Bairaga is\nalso the term for the crutched stick which such mendicants frequently\ncarry about with them and lean upon, either sitting or standing, and\nwhich in case of need would serve them as a weapon. Platts considers\n[99] that the name of the order comes from the Sanskrit abstract\nterm, and the crutch therefore apparently obtained its name from\nbeing used by members of the order. Properly, a religious mendicant\nof any Vishnuite sect should be called a Bairagi. But the term is not\ngenerally applied to the more distinctive sects as the Kabirpanthi,\nSwami-Narayan, Satnami and others, some of which are almost separated\nfrom Hinduism, nor to the Sikh religious orders, nor the Chaitanya\nsect of Bengal. A proper Bairagi is one whose principal deity is\neither Vishnu or either of his great incarnations, Rama and Krishna.\n\n\n\n2. The four Sampradayas or main orders.\n\n\nIt is generally held that there are four Sampradayas or main sects\nof Bairagis. These are--\n\n(_a_) The Ramanujis, the followers of the first prominent Vishnuite\nreformer Ramanuj in southern India, with whom are classed the\nRamanandis or adherents of his great disciple Ramanand in northern\nIndia. Both these are also called Sri Vaishnava, that is, the principal\nor original Vaishnava sect.\n\n(_b_) The Nimanandi, Nimat or Nimbaditya sect, followers of a saint\ncalled Nimanand.\n\n(_c_) The Vishnu-Swami or Vallabhacharya sect, worshippers of Krishna\nand Radha.\n\n(_d_) The Madhavacharya sect of southern India.\n\nIt will be desirable to give a few particulars of each of these,\nmainly taken from Wilson's _Hindu Sects_ and Dr. Bhattacharya's _Hindu\nCastes and Sects_.\n\n\n\n3. The Ramanujis.\n\n\nRamanuj was the first great Vishnuite prophet, and lived in southern\nIndia in the eleventh or twelfth century on an island in the Kaveri\nriver near Trichinopoly. He preached the worship of a supreme spirit,\nVishnu and his consort Lakshmi, and taught that men also had souls\nor spirits, and that matter was lifeless. He was a strong opponent\nof the cult of Siva, then predominant in southern India, and of\nphallic worship. He, however, admitted only the higher castes into\nhis order, and cannot therefore be considered as the founder of the\nliberalising principle of Vishnuism. The superiors of the Ramanuja\nsect are called Acharya, and rank highest among the priests of the\nVishnuite orders. The most striking feature in the practice of the\nRamanujis is the separate preparation and scrupulous privacy of their\nmeals. They must not eat in cotton garments, but must bathe, and then\nput on wool or silk. The teachers allow their select pupils to assist\nthem, but in general all the Ramanujis cook for themselves, and should\nthe meal during this process, or while they are eating, attract even\nthe look of a stranger, the operation is instantly stopped and the\nviands buried in the ground. The Ramanujis address each other with the\nsalutation Dasoham, or 'I am your slave,' accompanied with the Pranam\nor slight inclination of the head and the application of joined hands\nto the forehead. To the Acharyas or superiors the other members of the\nsect perform the Ashtanga or prostration of the body with eight parts\ntouching the ground. The _tilak_ or sect-mark of the Ramanujis consists\nof two perpendicular white lines from the roots of the hair to the top\nof the eyebrows, with a connecting white line at the base, and a third\ncentral line either of red or yellow. The Ramanujis do not recognise\nthe worship of Radha, the consort of Krishna. The mendicant orders\nof the Satanis and Dasaris of southern India are branches of this sect.\n\n\n\n4. The Ramanandis\n\n\nRamanand, the great prophet of Vishnuism in northern India, and the\nreal founder of the liberal doctrines of the cult, lived at Benares\nat the end of the fourteenth century, and is supposed to have been a\nfollower of Ramanuj. He introduced, however, a great extension of his\npredecessor's gospel in making his sect, nominally at least, open to\nall castes. He thus initiated the struggle against the social tyranny\nand exclusiveness of the caste system, which was carried to greater\nlengths by his disciples and successors, Kabir, Nanak, Dadu, Rai Das\nand others. These afterwards proclaimed the worship of one unseen god\nwho could not be represented by idols, and the religious equality of\nall men, their tenets no doubt being considerably influenced by their\nobservance of Islam, which had now become a principal religion of\nIndia. Ramanand himself did not go so far, and remained a good Hindu,\ninculcating the special worship of Rama and his consort Sita. The\nRamaaandis consider the Ramayana as their most sacred book, and make\npilgrimages to Ajodhia and Ramnath. [100] Their sect-mark consists of\ntwo white lines down the forehead with a red one between, but they are\ncontinued on to the nose, ending in a loop, instead of terminating at\nthe line of the eyebrows, like that of the Ramanujis. The Ramanandis\nsay that the mark on the nose represents the Singasun or lion's throne,\nwhile the two white lines up the forehead are Rama and Lakhshman, and\nthe centre red one is Sita. Some of their devotees wear ochre-coloured\nclothes like the Sivite mendicants.\n\n\n\n5. The Nimanandis.\n\n\nThe second of the four orders is that of the Nimanandis, called\nafter a saint Nimanand. He lived near Mathura Brindaban, and on one\noccasion was engaged in religious controversy with a Jain ascetic\ntill sunset. He then offered his visitor some refreshment, but the\nJain could not eat anything after sunset, so Nimanand stopped the\nsun from setting, and ordered him to wait above a _nim_ tree till the\nmeal was cooked and eaten under the tree, and this direction the sun\nduly obeyed. Hence Nimanand, whose original name was Bhaskaracharya,\nwas called by his new name after the tree, and was afterwards held\nto have been an incarnation of Vishnu or the Sun.\n\nThe doctrines of the sect, Mr. Growse states, [101] are of a very\nenlightened character. Thus their tenet of salvation by faith is\nthought by many scholars to have been directly derived from the\nGospels; while another article in their creed is the continuance of\nconscious individual existence in a future world, when the highest\nreward of the good will not be extinction, but the enjoyment of\nthe visible presence of the divinity whom they have served while\non earth. The Nimanandis worship Krishna, and were the first sect,\nDr. Bhattacharya states, [102] to associate with him as a divine\nconsort Radha, the chief partner of his illicit loves.\n\nTheir headquarters are at Muttra, and their chief festival is the\nJanam-Ashtami [103] or Krishna's birthday. Their sect-mark consists of\ntwo white lines down the forehead with a black patch in the centre,\nwhich is called Shiambindini. Shiam means black, and is a name of\nKrishna. They also sometimes have a circular line across the nose,\nwhich represents the moon.\n\n\n\n6. The Madhavacharyas.\n\n\nThe third great order is that of the Madhavas, named after a saint\ncalled Madhavacharya in southern India. He attempted to reconcile the\nwarring Sivites and Vishnuites by combining the worship of Krishna with\nthat of Siva and Parvati. The doctrine of the sect is that the human\nsoul is different from the divine soul, and its members are therefore\ncalled dualists. They admit a distinction between the divine soul and\nthe universe, and between the human soul and the material world. They\ndeny also the possibility of Nirvana or the absorption and extinction\nof the human soul in the divine essence. They destroy their thread\nat initiation, and also wear red clothes like the Sivite devotees,\nand like them also they carry a staff and water-pot. The _tilak_\nof the Madhavacharyas is said to consist of two white lines down the\nforehead and continued on to the nose where they meet, with a black\nvertical line between them.\n\n\n\n7. The Vallabhacharyas.\n\n\nThe fourth main order is the Vishnu-Swami, which is much better known\nas the Vallabhacharya sect, called after its founder Vallabha, who\nwas born in A.D. 1479. The god Krishna appeared to him and ordered\nhim to marry and set up a shrine to the god at Gokul near Mathura\n(Muttra). The sect worship Krishna in his character of Bala Gopala\nor the cowherd boy. Their temples are numerous all over India, and\nespecially at Mathura and Brindaban, where Krishna was brought up\nas a cowherd. The temples at Benares, Jagannath and Dwarka are rich\nand important, but the most celebrated shrine is at Sri Nathadwara\nin Mewar. The image is said to have transported itself thither\nfrom Mathura, when Aurangzeb ordered its temple at Mathura to be\ndestroyed. Krishna is here represented as a little boy in the act of\nsupporting the mountain Govardhan on his finger to shelter the people\nfrom the storms of rain sent by Indra. The image is splendidly dressed\nand richly decorated with ornaments to the value of several thousand\npounds. The images of Krishna in the temples are commonly known as\nThakurji, and are either of stone or brass. At all Vallabhacharya\ntemples there are eight daily services: the Mangala or morning _levee_,\na little after sunrise, when the god is taken from his couch and\nbathed; the Sringara, when he is attired in his jewels and seated on\nhis throne; the Gwala, when he is supposed to be starting to graze\nhis cattle in the woods of Braj; the Raj Bhog or midday meal, which,\nafter presentation, is consumed by the priests and votaries who\nhave assisted at the ceremonies; the Uttapan, about three o'clock,\nwhen the god awakes from his siesta; the Bhog or evening collation;\nthe Sandhiya or disrobing at sunset; and the Sayan or retiring to\nrest. The ritual is performed by the priests and the lay worshipper\nis only a spectator, who shows his reverence by the same forms as he\nwould to a human superior. [104]\n\nThe priests of the sect are called Gokalastha Gosain or Maharaja. They\nare considered to be incarnations of the god, and divine honours\nare paid to them. They always marry, and avow that union with the\ngod is best obtained by indulgence in all bodily enjoyments. This\ndoctrine has led to great licentiousness in some groups of the sect,\nespecially on the part of the priests or Maharajas. Women were taught\nto believe that the service of and contact with the priest were the\nmost real form of worshipping the god, and that intercourse with him\nwas equivalent to being united with the god. Dr. Bhattacharya quotes\n[105] the following tariff for the privilege of obtaining different\ndegrees of contact with the body of the Maharaja or priest:\n\n\n    For homage by sight                                   Rs.   5.\n    For homage by touch                                   Rs.  20.\n    For the honour of washing the Maharaja's foot         Rs.  35.\n    For swinging him                                      Rs.  40.\n    For rubbing sweet unguents on his body                Rs.  42.\n    For being allowed to sit with him on the same couch   Rs.  60.\n    For the privilege of dancing with him                 Rs. 100\n    to 200.\n    For drinking the water in which he has bathed         Rs.  17.\n    For being closeted with him in the same room          Rs. 50 to 500.\n\n\nThe public disapprobation caused by these practices and their bad\neffect on the morality of women culminated in the great Maharaj libel\nsuit in the Bombay High Court in 1862. Since then the objectionable\nfeatures of the cult have to a large extent disappeared, while it has\nproduced some priests of exceptional liberality and enlightenment. The\n_tilak_ of the Vallabhacharyas is said to consist of two white lines\ndown the forehead, forming a half-circle at its base and a white dot\nbetween them. They will not admit the lower castes into the order,\nbut only those from whom a Brahman can take water.\n\n\n\n8. Minor sects.\n\n\nBesides the main sects as described above, Vaishnavism has produced\nmany minor sects, consisting of the followers of some saint of special\nfame, and mendicants belonging to these are included in the body of\nBairagis. One or two legends concerning such saints may be given. A\ncommon order is that of the Bendiwale, or those who wear a dot. Their\nfounder began putting a red dot on his forehead between the two white\nlines in place of the long red line of the Ramanandis. His associates\nasked him why he had dared to alter his _tilak_ or sect-mark. He said\nthat the goddess Janki had given him the dot, and as a test he went\nand bathed in the Sarju river, and rubbed his forehead with water,\nand all the sect-mark was rubbed out except the dot. So the others\nrecognised the special intervention of the goddess, and he founded a\nsect. Another sect is called the Chaturbhuji or four-armed, Chaturbhuj\nbeing an epithet of Vishnu. He was taking part in a feast when his\nloin-cloth came undone behind, and the others said to him that as\nthis had happened, he had become impure at the feast. He replied,\n'Let him to whom the _dhoti_ belongs tie it up,' and immediately\nfour arms sprang from his body, and while two continued to take food,\nthe other two tied up his loin-cloth behind. Thus it was recognised\nthat the Chaturbhuji Vishnu had appeared in him, and he was venerated.\n\n\n\n9. The seven Akharas.\n\n\nAmong the Bairagis, besides the four Sampradayas or main orders,\nthere are seven Akharas. These are military divisions or schools for\ntraining, and were instituted when the Bairagis had to fight with the\nGosains. Any member of one of the four Sampradayas can belong to any\none of the seven Akharas, and a man can change his Akhara as often as\nhe likes, but not his Sampradaya. The Akharas, with the exception of\nthe Lasgaris, who change the red centre line of the Ramanandis into\na white line, have no special sect-marks. They are distinguished by\ntheir flags or standards, which are elaborately decorated with gold\nthread embroidered on silk or sometimes with jewels, and cost two\nor three hundred rupees to prepare. These standards were carried\nby the Naga or naked members of the Akhara, who went in front and\nfought. Once in twelve years a great meeting of all the seven Akharas\nis held at Allahabad, Nasik, Ujjain or Hardwar, where they bathe and\nwash the image of the god in the water of the holy rivers. The quarrels\nbetween the Bairagis and Gosains usually occurred at the sacred rivers,\nand the point of contention was which sect should bathe first. The\nfollowing is a list of the seven Akharas: Digambari, Khaki, Munjia,\nKathia, Nirmohi, Nirbani or Niranjani and Lasgari.\n\nThe name of the Digamber or Meghdamber signifies sky-clad or\ncloud-clad, that is naked. They do penance in the rainy season\nby sitting naked in the rain for two or three hours a day with an\nearthen pot on the head and the hands inserted in two others so that\nthey cannot rub the skin. In the dry season they wear only a little\ncloth round the waist and ashes over the rest of the body. The ashes\nare produced from burnt cowdung picked up off the ground, and not\nmixed with straw like that which is prepared for fuel.\n\nThe Khaki Bairagis also rub ashes on the body. During the four hot\nmonths they make five fires in a circle, and kneel between them with\nthe head and legs and arms stretched towards the fires. The fires are\nkindled at noon with little heaps of cowdung cakes, and the penitent\nstays between them till they go out. They also have a block of wood\nwith a hole through it, into which they insert the organ of generation\nand suspend it by chains in front and behind. They rub ashes on the\nbody, from which they probably get their name of Khaki or dust-colour.\n\nThe Munjia Akhara have a belt made of _munj_ grass round the waist,\nand a little apron also of grass, which is hung from it, and passed\nthrough the legs. Formerly they wore no other clothes, but now they\nhave a cloth. They also do penance between the fires.\n\nThe Kathias have a waist-belt of bamboo fibre, to which is suspended\nthe wooden block for the purpose already described. Their name\nsignifies wooden, and is probably given to them on account of this\ncustom.\n\nThe Nirmohi carry a _lota_ or brass vessel and a little cup, in which\nthey receive alms.\n\nThe Nirbani wear only a piece of string or rope round the waist, to\nwhich is attached a small strip of cloth passing through the legs. When\nbegging, they carry a _kawar_ or banghy, holding two baskets covered\nwith cloth, and into this they put all their alms. They never remove\nthe cloth, but plunge their hands into the basket at random when\nthey want something to eat. They call the basket Kamdhenu, the name\nof the cow which gave inexhaustible wealth. These Bairagis commonly\nmarry and accumulate property.\n\nThe Lasgari are soldiers, as the name denotes. [106] They wear three\nstraight lines of sandalwood up the forehead. It is said that on one\noccasion the Bairagis were suddenly attacked by the Gosains when they\nhad only made the white lines of the sect-mark, and they fought as\nthey were. In consequence of this, they have ever since worn three\nwhite lines and no red one.\n\nOthers say that the Lasgari are a branch of the Digambari Akhara,\nand that the Munjia and Kathia are branches of the Khaki Akhara. They\ngive three other Akharas--Niralankhi, Mahanirbani and Santokhi--about\nwhich nothing is known.\n\n\n\n10. The Dwaras.\n\n\nBesides the Akharas, the Bairagis are said to have fifty-two Dwaras\nor doors, and every man must be a member of a Dwara as well as of a\nSampradaya and Akhara. The Dwaras seem to have no special purpose,\nbut in the case of Bairagis who marry, they now serve as exogamous\nsections, so that members of the same Dwara do not intermarry.\n\n\n\n11. Initiation, appearance and customs.\n\n\nA candidate for initiation has his head shaved, is invested with a\nnecklace of beads of the _tulsi_ or basil, and is taught a _mantra_\nor text relating to Vishnu by his preceptor. The initiation\ntext of the Ramanandis is said to be _Om Ramaya Namah_, or _Om_,\nSalutation to Rama. _Om_ is a very sacred syllable, having much magical\npower. Thereafter the novice must journey to Dwarka in Gujarat and have\nhis body branded with hot iron or copper in the shape of Vishnu's four\nimplements: the _chakra_ or discus, the _guda_ or club, the _shank_ or\nconch-shell and the _padma_ or lotus. Sometimes these are not branded\nbut are made daily on the arms with clay. The sect-mark should be made\nwith Gopichandan or the milkmaid's sandalwood. This is supposed to be\nclay taken from a tank at Dwarka, in which the Gopis or milkmaids who\nhad been Krishna's companions drowned themselves when they heard of his\ndeath. But as this can seldom be obtained any suitable whitish clay is\nused instead. The Bairagis commonly let their hair grow long, after\nbeing shaved at initiation, to imitate the old forest ascetics. If\na man makes a pilgrimage on foot to some famous shrine he may have\nhis head shaved there and make an offering of his hair. Others keep\ntheir hair long and shave it only at the death of their _guru_ or\npreceptor. They usually wear white clothes, and if a man has a cloth\non the upper part of the body it should be folded over the shoulders\nand knotted at the neck. He also has a _chimta_ or small pair of tongs,\nand, if he can obtain it, the skin of an Indian antelope, on which he\nwill sit while taking his food. The skin of this animal is held to be\nsacred. Every Bairagi before he takes his food should dip a sprig of\n_tulsi_ or basil into it to sanctify it, and if he cannot get this he\nuses his necklace of _tulsi_-beads for the purpose instead. The caste\nabstain from flesh and liquor, but are addicted to the intoxicating\ndrugs, _ganja_ and _bhang_ or preparations of Indian hemp. A Hindu\non meeting a Bairagi will greet him with the phrase 'Jai Sitaram,'\nand the Bairagi will answer, 'Sitaram.' This word is a conjunction\nof the names of Rama and his consort Sita. When a Bairagi receives\nalms he will present to the giver a flower and a sprig of _tulsi_.\n\n\n\n12. Recruitment of the order and its character.\n\n\nA man belonging to any caste except the impure ones can be initiated\nas a Bairagi, and the order is to a large extent recruited from\nthe lower castes. Theoretically all members of the order should\neat together; but the Brahmans and other high castes belonging\nto it now eat only among themselves, except on the occasion of a\nGhosti or special religious assembly, when all eat in common. As a\nmatter of fact the order is a very mixed assortment of people. Many\npersons who lost their caste in the famine of 1897 from eating in\nGovernment poor-houses, joined the order and obtained a respectable\nposition. Debtors who have become hopelessly involved sometimes find\nin it a means of escape from their creditors. Women of bad character,\nwho have been expelled from their caste, are also frequently enrolled\nas female members, and in monasteries live openly with the men. The\ncaste is also responsible for a good deal of crime. Not only is the\ndisguise a very convenient one for thieves and robbers to assume on\ntheir travels, but many regular members of the order are criminally\ndisposed. Nevertheless large numbers of Bairagis are men who have given\nup their caste and families from a genuine impulse of self-sacrifice,\nand the desire to lead a religious life.\n\n\n\n13. Social position and customs.\n\n\nOn account of their sanctity the Bairagis have a fairly good social\nposition, and respectable Hindu castes will accept cooked food\nfrom them. Brahmans usually, but not always, take water. They act\nas _gurus_ or spiritual guides to the laymen of all castes who can\nbecome Bairagis. They give the Ram and Gopal Mantras, or the texts\nof Rama and Krishna, to their disciples of the three twice-born\ncastes, and the Sheo Mantra or Siva's text to other castes. The last\nis considered to be of smaller religious efficacy than the others,\nand is given to the lower castes and members of the higher ones who\ndo not lead a particularly virtuous life. They invest boys with the\nsacred thread, and make the sect-mark on their foreheads. When they\ngo and visit their disciples they receive presents, but do not ask\nthem to confess their sins nor impose penalties.\n\nIf a mendicant Bairagi keeps a woman it is stated that he is expelled\nfrom the community, but this rule does not seem to be enforced in\npractice. If he is detected in a casual act of sexual intercourse\na fine should be imposed, such as feeding two or three hundred\nBairagis. The property of an unmarried Bairagi descends to a selected\n_chela_ or disciple. The bodies of the dead are usually burnt, but\nthose of saints specially famous for their austerities or piety are\nburied, and salt is put round the body to preserve it. Such men are\nknown as Bhakta.\n\n\n\n14. Bairagi monasteries.\n\n\nThe Bairagis [107] have numerous _maths_ or monasteries, scattered\nover the country and usually attached to temples. The Math comprises a\nset of huts or chambers for the Mahant or superior and his permanent\npupils; a temple and often the Samadhi or tomb of the founder, or\nof some eminent Mahant; and a Dharmsala or charitable hostel for\nthe accommodation of wandering members of the order, and of other\ntravellers who are constantly visiting the temple. Ingress and egress\nare free to all, and, indeed, a restraint on personal liberty seems\nnever to have entered into the conception of any Hindu religious\nlegislator. There are, as a rule, a small number of resident _chelas_\nor disciples who are scholars and attendants on the superiors,\nand also out-members who travel over the country and return to the\nmonastery as a headquarters. The monastery has commonly some small\nendowment in land, and the resident _chelas_ go out and beg for alms\nfor their common support. If the Mahant is married the headship may\ndescend in his family; but when he is unmarried his successor is one\nof his disciples, who is commonly chosen by election at a meeting of\nthe Mahants of neighbouring monasteries. Formerly the Hindu governor\nof the district would preside at such an election, but it is now,\nof course, left entirely to the Bairagis themselves.\n\n\n\n15. Married Bairagis.\n\n\nLarge numbers of Bairagis now marry and have children, and have\nformed an ordinary caste. The married Bairagis are held to be\ninferior to the celibate mendicants, and will take food from them,\nbut the mendicants will not permit the married Bairagis to eat with\nthem in the _chauka_ or place purified for the taking of food. The\ncustoms of the married Bairagis resemble those of ordinary Hindu\ncastes such as the Kurmis. They permit divorce and the remarriage\nof widows, and burn the dead. Those who have taken to cultivation\ndo not, as a rule, plough with their own hands. Many Bairagis have\nacquired property and become landholders, and others have extensive\nmoneylending transactions. Two such men who had acquired possession\nof extensive tracts of zamindari land in Chhattisgarh, in satisfaction\nof loans made to the Gond zamindars, and had been given the zamindari\nstatus by the Marathas, were subsequently made Feudatory Chiefs of\nthe Nandgaon and Chhuikhadan States. These chiefs now marry and the\nStates descend in their families by primogeniture in the ordinary\nmanner. As a rule, the Bairagi landowners and moneylenders are not\nfound to be particularly good specimens of their class.\n\n\n\nBalahi\n\n\n\n1. General notice.\n\n\n_Balahi._ [108]--A low functional caste of weavers and village\nwatchmen found in the Nimar and Hoshangabad Districts and in Central\nIndia. They numbered 52,000 persons in the Central Provinces in\n1911, being practically confined to the two Districts already\nmentioned. The name is a corruption of the Hindi _bulahi_, one who\ncalls, or a messenger. The Balahis seem to be an occupational group,\nprobably an offshoot of the large Kori caste of weavers, one of\nwhose subdivisions is shown as Balahi in the United Provinces. In\nthe Central Provinces they have received accretions from the spinner\ncaste of Katias, themselves probably a branch of the Koris, and\nfrom the Mahars, the great menial caste of Bombay. In Hoshangabad\nthey are known alternatively as Mahar, while in Burhanpur they are\ncalled Bunkar or weaver by outsiders. The following story which they\ntell about themselves also indicates their mixed origin. They say\nthat their ancestors came to Nimar as part of the army of Raja Man\nof Jodhpur, who invaded the country when it was under Muhammadan\nrule. He was defeated, and his soldiers were captured and ordered\nto be killed. [109] One of the Balahis among them won the favour of\nthe Muhammadan general and asked for his own freedom and that of the\nother Balahis from among the prisoners. The Musalman replied that\nhe would be unable to determine which of the prisoners were really\nBalahis. On this the Balahi, whose name was Ganga Kochla, replied\nthat he had an effective test. He therefore killed a cow, cooked its\nflesh and invited the prisoners to partake of it. So many of them\nas consented to eat were considered to be Balahis and liberated; but\nmany members of other castes thus obtained their freedom, and they and\ntheir descendants are now included in the community. The subcastes\nor endogamous groups distinctly indicate the functional character\nof the caste, the names given being Nimari, Gannore, Katia, Kori and\nMahar. Of these Katia, Kori and Mahar are the names of distinct castes,\nNimari is a local subdivision indicating those who speak the peculiar\ndialect of this tract, and the Gannore are no doubt named after the\nRajput clan of that name, of whom their ancestors were not improbably\nthe illegitimate offspring. The Nimari Balahis are said to rank lower\nthan the rest, as they will eat the flesh of dead cattle which the\nothers refuse to do. They may not take water from the village well,\nand unless a separate one can be assigned to them, must pay others\nto draw water for them. Partly no doubt in the hope of escaping from\nthis degraded position, many of the Nimari group became Christians in\nthe famine of 1897. They are considered to be the oldest residents\nof Nimar. At marriages the Balahi receives as his perquisite the\nleaf-plates used for feasts with the leavings of food upon them;\nand at funerals he takes the cloth which covers the corpse on its\nway to the burning-_ghat_. In Nimar the Korkus and Balahis each\nhave a separate burying-ground which is known as Murghata. [110] The\nKatias weave the finer kinds of cloth and rank a little higher than\nthe others. In Burhanpur, as already stated, the caste are known as\nBunkar, and they are probably identical with the Bunkars of Khandesh;\nBunkar is simply an occupational term meaning a weaver.\n\n\n\n2. Marriage.\n\n\nThe caste have the usual system of exogamous groups, some of which\nare named after villages, while the designations of others are\napparently nicknames given to the founder of the clan, as Bagmar, a\ntiger-killer, Bhagoria, a runaway, and so on. They employ a Brahman to\ncalculate the horoscopes of a bridal couple and fix the date of their\nwedding, but if he says the marriage is inauspicious, they merely\nobtain the permission of the caste _panchayat_ and celebrate it on\na Saturday or Sunday. Apparently, however, they do not consult real\nBrahmans, but merely priests of their own caste whom they call Balahi\nBrahmans. These Brahmans are, nevertheless, said to recite the Satya\nNarayan Katha. They also have _gurus_ or spiritual preceptors, being\nmembers of the caste who have joined the mendicant orders; and Bhats\nor genealogists of their own caste who beg at their weddings. They\nhave the practice of serving for a wife, known as Gharjamai or\nLamjhana. When the pauper suitor is finally married at the expense\nof his wife's father, a marriage-shed is erected for him at the house\nof some neighbour, but his own family are not invited to the wedding.\n\nAfter marriage a girl goes to her husband's house for a few days and\nreturns. The first Diwali or Akha-tij festival after the wedding must\nalso be passed at the husband's house, but consummation is not effected\nuntil the _aina_ or _gauna_ ceremony is performed on the attainment\nof puberty. The cost of a wedding is about Rs. 80 to the bridegroom's\nfamily and Rs. 20 to the bride's family. A widow is forbidden to marry\nher late husband's brother or other relatives. At the wedding she is\ndressed in new clothes, and the foreheads of the couple are marked\nwith cowdung as a sign of purification. They then proceed by night to\nthe husband's village, and the woman waits till morning in some empty\nbuilding, when she enters her husband's house carrying two water-pots\non her head in token of the fertility which she is to bring to it.\n\n\n\n3. Other customs.\n\n\nLike the Mahars, the Balahis must not kill a dog or a cat under pain\nof expulsion; but it is peculiar that in their case the bear is held\nequally sacred, this being probably a residue of some totemistic\nobservance. The most binding form of oath which they can use is by\nany one of these animals. The Balahis will admit any Hindu into the\ncommunity except a man of the very lowest castes, and also Gonds\nand Korkus. The head and face of the neophyte are shaved clean, and\nhe is made to lie on the ground under a string-cot; a number of the\nBalahis sit on this and wash themselves, letting the water drip from\ntheir bodies on to the man below until he is well drenched; he then\ngives a feast to the caste-fellows, and is considered to have become\na Balahi. It is reported also that they will receive back into the\ncommunity Balahi women who have lived with men of other castes and\neven with Jains and Muhammadans. They will take food from members of\nthese religions and of any Hindu caste, except the most impure.\n\n\n\n\n\n\nBalija\n\n\n\n1. Origin and traditions.\n\n\n_Balija, Balji, Gurusthulu, Naidu._--A large trading caste of the\nMadras Presidency, where they number a million persons. In the Central\nProvinces 1200 were enumerated in 1911, excluding 1500 Perikis,\nwho though really a subcaste and not a very exalted one of Balijas,\n[111] claim to be a separate caste. They are mainly returned from\nplaces where Madras troops have been stationed, as Nagpur, Jubbulpore\nand Raipur. The caste are frequently known as Naidu, a corruption\nof the Telugu word Nayakdu, a prince or leader. Their ancestors\nare supposed to have been Nayaks or kings of Madura, Tanjore and\nVijayanagar. The traditional occupation of the caste appears to have\nbeen to make bangles and pearl and coral ornaments, and they have\nstill a subcaste called Gazulu, or a bangle-seller. In Madras they\nare said to be an offshoot of the great cultivating castes of Kamma\nand Kapu and to be a mixed community recruited from these and other\nTelugu castes. Another proof of their mixed descent may be inferred\nfrom the fact that they will admit persons of other castes or the\ndescendants of mixed marriages into the community without much scruple\nin Madras. [112] The name of Balija seems also to have been applied\nto a mixed caste started by Basava, the founder of the Lingayat sect\nof Sivites, these persons being known in Madras as Linga Balijas.\n\n\n\n2. Marriage.\n\n\nThe Balijas have two main divisions, Desa or Kota, and Peta, the Desas\nor Kotas being those who claim descent from the old Balija kings,\nwhile the Petas are the trading Balijas, and are further subdivided\ninto groups like the Gazulu or bangle-sellers and the Periki or\nsalt-sellers. The subdivisions are not strictly endogamous. Every\nfamily has a surname, and exogamous groups or _gotras_ also exist,\nbut these have generally been forgotten, and marriages are regulated\nby the surnames, the only prohibition being that persons of the same\nsurname may not intermarry. Instances of such names are: Singiri,\nGudari, Jadal, Sangnad and Dasiri. In fact the rules of exogamy\nare so loose that an instance is known of an uncle having married\nhis niece. Marriage is usually infant, and the ceremony lasts for\nfive days. On the first day the bride and bridegroom are seated on\na yoke in the _pandal_ or marriage pavilion, where the relatives\nand guests assemble. The bridegroom puts a pair of silver rings\non the bride's toes and ties the _mangal-sutram_ or flat circular\npiece of gold round her neck. On the next three days the bridegroom\nand bride are made to sit on a plank or cot face to face with each\nother and to throw flowers and play together for two hours in the\nmornings and evenings. On the fourth day, at dead of night, they are\nseated on a cot and the jewels and gifts for the bride are presented,\nand she is then formally handed over to the bridegroom's family. In\nMadras Mr. Thurston [113] states that on the last day of the marriage\nceremony a mock ploughing and sowing rite is held, and during this,\nthe sister of the bridegroom puts a cloth over the basket containing\nearth, wherein seeds are to be sown by the bridegroom, and will not\nallow him to go on with the ceremony till she has extracted a promise\nthat his first-born daughter shall marry her son. No bride-price is\npaid, and the remarriage of widows is forbidden.\n\n\n\n3. Occupation and social status.\n\n\nThe Balijas bury their dead in a sitting posture. In the Central\nProvinces they are usually Lingayats and especially worship Gauri,\nSiva's wife. Jangams serve them as priests. They usually eat flesh\nand drink liquor, but in Chanda it is stated that both these practices\nare forbidden. In the Central Provinces they are mainly cultivators,\nbut some of them still sell bangles and salt. Several of them are in\nGovernment service and occupy a fairly high social position.\n\nIn Madras a curious connection exists between the Kapus and Balijas\nand the impure Mala caste. It is said that once upon a time the Kapus\nand Balijas were flying from the Muhammadans and came to the northern\nPallar river in high flood. They besought the river to go down and let\nthem across, but it demanded the sacrifice of a first-born child. While\nthe Kapus and Balijas were hesitating, the Malas who had followed them\nboldly sacrificed one of their children. Immediately the river divided\nbefore them and they all crossed in safety. Ever since then the Kapus\nand Balijas have respected the Malas, and the Balijas formerly even\ndeposited the images of the goddess Gauri, of Ganesha, and of Siva's\nbull with the Malas, as the hereditary custodians of their gods. [114]\n\n\n\n\n\n\nBania\n\n\n\nList of Paragraphs\n\n\n    1. _General notice._\n    2. _The Banias a true caste: use of the name._\n    3. _Their distinctive occupation._\n    4. _Their distinctive status._\n    5. _The endogamous divisions of the Banias._\n    6. _The Banias derived from the Rajputs._\n    7. _Banias employed as ministers in Rajput courts._\n    8. _Subcastes._\n    9. _Hindu and Jain subcastes: divisions among subcastes._\n    10. _Exogamy and rules regulating marriage._\n    11. _Marriage customs._\n    12. _Polygamy and widow-marrriage._\n    13. _Disposal of the dead and mourning._\n    14. _Religion: the god Ganpati or Ganesh._\n    15. _Diwali festival._\n    16. _Holi festival._\n    17. _Social customs: rules about food._\n    18. _Character of the Bania._\n    19. _Dislike of the cultivators towards him._\n    20. _His virtues._\n    21. _The moneylender changed for the worse._\n    22. _The enforcement of contracts._\n    23. _Cash coinage and the rate of interest._\n    24. _Proprietary and transferable rights in land._\n    25. _The Bania as a landlord._\n    26. _Commercial honesty._\n\n\n\nList of Subordinate Articles on Subcastes\n\n\n    1. Agarwala, Agarwal.\n    2. Agrahari.\n    3. Ajudhiabasi, Audhia.\n    4. Asathi.\n    5. Charnagri, Channagri, Samaiya.\n    6. Dhusar, Bhargava Dhusar.\n    7. Dosar, Dusra.\n    8. Gahoi.\n    9. Golapurab, Golahre.\n    10. Kasarwani.\n    11. Kasaundhan.\n    12. Khandelwal.\n    13. Lad.\n    14. Lingayat.\n    15. Maheshri.\n    16. Nema.\n    17. Oswal.\n    18. Parwar.\n    19. Srimali.\n    20. Umre.\n\n\n\n1. General notice.\n\n\n_Bania, Bani, Vani, Mahajan, Seth, Sahukar._--The occupational\ncaste of bankers, moneylenders and dealers in grain, _ghi_ (butter),\ngroceries and spices. The name Bania is derived from the Sanskrit\n_vanij_, a merchant. In western India the Banias are always called\nVania or Vani. Mahajan literally means a great man, and being applied\nto successful Banias as an honorific title has now come to signify a\nbanker or moneylender; Seth signifies a great merchant or capitalist,\nand is applied to Banias as an honorific prefix. The words _Sahu_,\n_Sao_ and _Sahukar_ mean upright or honest, and have also, curiously\nenough, come to signify a moneylender. The total number of Banias in\nthe Central Provinces in 1911 was about 200,000, or rather over one\nper cent of the population. Of the above total two-thirds were Hindus\nand one-third Jains. The caste is fairly distributed over the whole\nProvince, being most numerous in Districts with large towns and a\nconsiderable volume of trade.\n\n\n\n2. The Banias a true caste: use of the name.\n\n\nThere has been much difference of opinion as to whether the name\nBania should be taken to signify a caste, or whether it is merely an\noccupational term applied to a number of distinct castes. I venture\nto think it is necessary and scientifically correct to take it as a\ncaste. In Bengal the word Banian, a corruption of Bania, has probably\ncome to be a general term meaning simply a banker, or person dealing\nin money. But this does not seem to be the case elsewhere. As a\nrule the name Bania is used only as a caste name for groups who are\nconsidered both by themselves and outsiders to belong to the Bania\ncaste. It may occasionally be applied to members of other castes,\nas in the case of certain Teli-Banias who have abandoned oil-pressing\nfor shop-keeping, but such instances are very rare; and these Telis\nwould probably now assert that they belonged to the Bania caste. That\nthe Banias are recognised as a distinct caste by the people is shown\nby the number of uncomplimentary proverbs and sayings about them,\nwhich is far larger than in the case of any other caste. [115] In\nall these the name Bania is used and not that of any subdivision,\nand this indicates that none of the subdivisions are looked upon\nas distinctive social groups or castes. Moreover, so far as I am\naware, the name Bania is applied regularly to all the groups usually\nclassified under the caste, and there is no group which objects to the\nname or whose members refuse to describe themselves by it. This is by\nno means always the case with other important castes. The Rathor Telis\nof Mandla entirely decline to answer to the name of Teli, though they\nare classified under that caste. In the case of the important Ahir or\ngrazier caste, those who sell milk instead of grazing cattle are called\nGaoli, but remain members of the Ahir caste. An Ahir in Chhattisgarh\nwould be called Rawat and in the Maratha Districts Gowari, but might\nstill be an Ahir by caste. The Barai caste of betel-vine growers and\nsellers is in some localities called Tamboli and not Barai; elsewhere\nit is known only as Pansari, though the name Pansari is correctly\nan occupational term, and, where it is not applied to the Barais,\nmeans a grocer or druggist by profession and not a caste. Bania,\non the other hand, over the greater part of India is applied only\nto persons who acknowledge themselves and are generally recognised\nby Hindu society to be members of the Bania caste, and there is no\nother name which is generally applied to any considerable section of\nsuch persons. Certain of the more important subcastes of Bania, as\nthe Agarwala, Oswal and Parwar, are, it is true, frequently known by\nthe subcaste name. But the caste name is as often as not, or even more\noften, affixed to it. Agarwala, or Agarwala Bania, are names equally\napplied to designate this subcaste, and similarly with the Oswals and\nParwars; and even so the subcaste name is only applied for greater\naccuracy and for compliment, since these are the best subcastes;\nthe Bania's quarter of a town will be called Bania Mahalla, and its\nresidents spoken of as Banias, even though they may be nearly all\nAgarwals or Oswals. Several Rajput clans are similarly spoken of by\ntheir clan names, as Rathor, Panwar, and so on, without the addition\nof the caste name Rajput. Brahman subcastes are usually mentioned\nby their subcaste name for greater accuracy, though in their case\ntoo it is usual to add the caste name. And there are subdivisions of\nother castes, such as the Jaiswar Chamars and the Somvansi Mehras,\nwho invariably speak of themselves only by their subcaste name,\nand discard the caste name altogether, being ashamed of it, but are\nnevertheless held to belong to their parent castes. Thus in the matter\nof common usage Bania conforms in all respects to the requirements\nof a proper caste name.\n\n\n\n3. Their distinctive occupation.\n\n\nThe Banias have also a distinct and well-defined traditional\noccupation, [116] which is followed by many or most members of\npractically every subcaste so far as has been observed. This occupation\nhas caused the caste as a body to be credited with special mental\nand moral characteristics in popular estimation, to a greater extent\nperhaps than any other caste. None of the subcastes are ashamed of\ntheir traditional occupation or try to abandon it. It is true that a\nfew subcastes such as the Kasaundhans and Kasarwanis, sellers of metal\nvessels, apparently had originally a somewhat different profession,\nthough resembling the traditional one; but they too, if they once\nonly sold vessels, now engage largely in the traditional Bania's\ncalling, and deal generally in grain and money. The Banias, no doubt\nbecause it is both profitable and respectable, adhere more generally\nto their traditional occupation than almost any great caste, except\nthe cultivators. Mr. Marten's analysis [117] of the occupations of\ndifferent castes shows that sixty per cent of the Banias are still\nengaged in trade; while only nineteen per cent of Brahmans follow\na religious calling; twenty-nine per cent of Ahirs are graziers,\ncattle-dealers or milkmen; only nine per cent of Telis are engaged\nin all branches of industry, including their traditional occupation\nof oil-pressing; and similarly only twelve per cent of Chamars work\nat industrial occupations, including that of curing hides. In respect\nof occupation therefore the Banias strictly fulfil the definition of\na caste.\n\n\n\n4. Their distinctive status.\n\n\nThe Banias have also a distinctive social status. They are considered,\nthough perhaps incorrectly, to represent the Vaishyas or third great\ndivision of the Aryan twice-born; they rank just below Rajputs and\nperhaps above all other castes except Brahmans; Brahmans will take\nfood cooked without water from many Banias and drinking-water from\nall. Nearly all Banias wear the sacred thread; and the Banias are\ndistinguished by the fact that they abstain more rigorously and\ngenerally from all kinds of flesh food than any other caste. Their\nrules as to diet are exceptionally strict, and are equally observed\nby the great majority of the subdivisions.\n\n\n\n5. The endogamous divisions of the Banias.\n\n\nThus the Banias apparently fulfil the definition of a caste, as\nconsisting of one or more endogamous groups or subcastes with a\ndistinct name applied to them all and to them only, a distinctive\noccupation and a distinctive social status; and there seems no reason\nfor not considering them a caste. If on the other hand we examine the\nsubcastes of Bania we find that the majority of them have names derived\nfrom places, [118] not indicating any separate origin, occupation or\nstatus, but only residence in separate tracts. Such divisions are\nproperly termed subcastes, being endogamous only, and in no other\nway distinctive. No subcaste can be markedly distinguished from the\nothers in respect of occupation or social status, and none apparently\ncan therefore be classified as a separate caste. There are no doubt\nsubstantial differences in status between the highest subcastes of\nBania, the Agarwals, Oswals and Parwars, and the lower ones, the\nKasaundhan, Kasarwani, Dosar and others. But this difference is not\nso great as that which separates different groups included in such\nimportant castes as Rajput and Bhat. It is true again that subcastes\nlike the Agarwals and Oswals are individually important, but not\nmore so than the Maratha, Khedawal, Kanaujia and Maithil Brahmans, or\nthe Sesodia, Rathor, Panwar and Jadon Rajputs. The higher subcastes\nof Bania themselves recognise a common relationship by taking food\ncooked without water from each other, which is a very rare custom\namong subcastes. Some of them are even said to have intermarried. If\non the other hand it is argued, not that two or three or more of the\nimportant subdivisions should be erected into independent castes,\nbut that Bania is not a caste at all, and that every subcaste should\nbe treated as a separate caste, then such purely local groups as\nKanaujia, Jaiswar, Gujarati, Jaunpuri and others, which are found in\nforty or fifty other castes, would have to become separate castes;\nand if in this one case why not in all the other castes where they\noccur? This would result in the impossible position of having forty\nor fifty castes of the same name, which recognise no connection of\nany kind with each other, and make any arrangement or classification\nof castes altogether impracticable. And in 1911 out of 200,000 Banias\nin the Central Provinces, 43,000 were returned with no subcaste at\nall, and it would therefore be impossible to classify these under\nany other name.\n\n\n\n6. The Banias derived from the Rajputs.\n\n\nThe Banias have been commonly supposed to represent the Vaishyas or\nthird of the four classical castes, both by Hindu society generally\nand by leading authorities on the subject. It is perhaps this view of\ntheir origin which is partly responsible for the tendency to consider\nthem as several castes and not one. But its accuracy is doubtful. The\nimportant Bania groups appear to be of Rajput stock. They nearly all\ncome from Rajputana, Bundelkhand or Gujarat, that is from the homes\nof the principal Rajut clans. Several of them have legends of Rajput\ndescent. The Agarwalas say that their first ancestor was a Kshatriya\nking, who married a Naga or snake princess; the Naga race is supposed\nto have signified the Scythian immigrants, who were snake-worshippers\nand from whom several clans of Rajputs were probably derived. The\nAgarwalas took their name from the ancient city of Agroha or possibly\nfrom Agra. The Oswals say that their ancestor was the Rajput king\nof Osnagar in Marwar, who with his followers was converted by a Jain\nmendicant. The Nemas state that their ancestors were fourteen young\nRajput princes who escaped the vengeance of Parasurama by abandoning\nthe profession of arms and taking to trade. The Khandelwals take\ntheir name from the town of Khandela in Jaipur State of Rajputana. The\nKasarwanis say they immigrated from Kara Manikpur in Bundelkhand. The\norigin of the Umre Banias is not known, but in Gujarat they are also\ncalled Bagaria from the Bagar or wild country of the Dongarpur and\nPertabgarh States of Rajputana, where numbers of them are still\nsettled; the name Bagaria would appear to indicate that they are\nsupposed to have immigrated thence into Gujarat. The Dhusar Banias\nascribe their name to a hill called Dhusi or Dhosi on the border of\nAlwar State. The Asatis say that their original home was Tikamgarh\nState in Bundelkhand. The name of the Maheshris is held to be derived\nfrom Maheshwar, an ancient town on the Nerbudda, near Indore, which\nis traditionally supposed to have been the earliest settlement of the\nYadava Rajputs. The headquarters of the Gahoi Banias is said to have\nbeen at Kharagpur in Bundelkhand, though according to their own legend\nthey are of mixed origin. The home of the Srimalis was the old town\nof Srimal, now Bhinmal in Marwar. The Palliwal Banias were from the\nwell-known trading town of Pali in Marwar. The Jaiswal are said to take\ntheir name from Jaisalmer State, which was their native country. The\nabove are no doubt only a fraction of the Bania subcastes, but they\ninclude nearly all the most important and representative ones, from\nwhom the caste takes its status and character. Of the numerous other\ngroups the bulk have probably been brought into existence through\nthe migration and settlement of sections of the caste in different\nparts of the country, where they have become endogamous and obtained a\nfresh name. Other subcastes may be composed of bodies of persons who,\nhaving taken to trade and prospered, obtained admission to the Bania\ncaste through the efforts of their Brahman priests. But a number of\nmixed groups of the same character are also found among the Brahmans\nand Rajputs, and their existence does not invalidate arguments derived\nfrom a consideration of the representative subcastes. It may be said\nthat not only the Banias, but many of the low castes have legends\nshowing them to be of Rajput descent of the same character as those\nquoted above; and since in their case these stories have been adjudged\nspurious and worthless, no greater importance should be attached to\nthose of the Banias. But it must be remembered that in the case of the\nBanias the stories are reinforced by the fact that the Bania subcastes\ncertainly come from Rajputana; no doubt exists that they are of high\ncaste, and that they must either be derived from Brahmans or Rajputs,\nor themselves represent some separate foreign group; but if they are\nreally the descendants of the Vaishyas, the main body of the Aryan\nimmigrants and the third of the four classical castes, it might be\nexpected that their legends would show some trace of this instead of\nbeing unitedly in favour of their Rajput origin.\n\nColonel Tod gives a catalogue of the eighty-four mercantile tribes,\nwhom he states to be chiefly of Rajput descent. [119] In this list\nthe Agarwal, Oswal, Srimal, Khandelwal, Palliwal and Lad subcastes\noccur; while the Dhakar and Dhusar subcastes may be represented by the\nnames Dhakarwal and Dusora in the lists. The other names given by Tod\nappear to be mainly small territorial groups of Rajputana. Elsewhere,\nafter speaking of the claims of certain towns in Rajputana to be\ncentres of trade, Colonel Tod remarks: \"These pretensions we may\nthe more readily admit, when we recollect that nine-tenths of the\nbankers and commercial men of India are natives of Marudesh, [120]\nand these chiefly of the Jain faith. The Oswals, so termed from the\ntown of Osi, near the Luni, estimate one hundred thousand families\nwhose occupation is commerce. All these claim a Rajput descent, a fact\nentirely unknown to the European inquirer into the peculiarities of\nHindu manners.\" [121]\n\nSimilarly, Sir D. Ibbetson states that the Maheshri Banias claim\nRajput origin and still have subdivisions bearing Rajput names. [122]\nElliot also says that almost all the mercantile tribes of Hindustan\nare of Rajput descent. [123]\n\nIt would appear, then, that the Banias are an offshoot from the\nRajputs, who took to commerce and learnt to read and write for\nthe purpose of keeping accounts. The Charans or bards are another\nliterate caste derived from the Rajputs, and it may be noticed that\nboth the Banias and Charans or Bhats have hitherto been content\nwith the knowledge of their own rude Marwari dialect and evinced no\ndesire for classical learning or higher English education. Matters\nare now changing, but this attitude shows that they have hitherto not\ndesired education for itself but merely as an indispensable adjunct\nto their business.\n\n\n\n7. Banias employed as ministers in Rajput courts.\n\n\nBeing literate, the Banias were not infrequently employed as ministers\nand treasurers in Rajput states. Forbes says, in an account of\nan Indian court: \"Beside the king stand the warriors of Rajput\nrace or, equally gallant in the field and wiser far in council,\nthe Wania (Bania) Muntreshwars, already in profession puritans\nof peace, and not yet drained enough of their fiery Kshatriya\nblood.... It is remarkable that so many of the officers possessing\nhigh rank and holding independent commands are represented to have\nbeen Wanias.\" [124] Colonel Tod writes that Nunkurn, the Kachhwaha\nchief of the Shekhawat federation, had a minister named Devi Das of\nthe Bania or mercantile caste, and, like thousands of that caste,\nenergetic, shrewd and intelligent. [125] Similarly, Muhaj, the Jadon\nBhatti chief of Jaisalmer, by an unhappy choice of a Bania minister,\ncompleted the demoralisation of the Bhatti state. This minister was\nnamed Sarup Singh, a Bania of the Jain faith and Mehta family, whose\ndescendants were destined to be the exterminators of the laws and\nfortunes of the sons of Jaisal. [126] Other instances of the employment\nof Bania ministers are to be found in Rajput history. Finally, it\nmay be noted that the Banias are by no means the only instance of a\nmercantile class formed from the Rajputs. The two important trading\ncastes of Khatri and Bhatia are almost certainly of Rajput origin,\nas is shown in the articles on those castes.\n\n\n\n8. Subcastes.\n\n\nThe Banias are divided into a large number of endogamous groups or\nsubcastes, of which the most important have been treated in the\nannexed subordinate articles. The minor subcastes, mainly formed\nby migration, vary greatly in different provinces. Colonel Tod gave\na list of eighty-four in Rajputana, of which eight or ten only can\nbe identified in the Central Provinces, and of thirty mentioned by\nBhattacharya as the most common groups in northern India, about a third\nare unknown in the Central Provinces. The origin of such subcastes\nhas already been explained. The main subcastes may be classified\nroughly into groups coming from Rajputana, Bundelkhand and the United\nProvinces. The leading Rajputana groups are the Oswal, Maheshri,\nKhandelwal, Saitwal, Srimal and Jaiswaal. These groups are commonly\nknown as Marwari Bania or simply Marwari. The Bundelkhand or Central\nIndia subcastes are the Gahoi, Golapurab, Asati, Umre and Parwar;\n[127] while the Agarwal, Dhusar, Agrahari, Ajudhiabasi and others\ncome from the United Provinces. The Lad subcaste is from Gujarat,\nwhile the Lingayats originally belonged to the Telugu and Canarese\ncountry. Several of the subcastes coming from the same locality will\ntake food cooked without water from each other, and occasionally two\nsubcastes, as the Oswal and Khandelwal, even food cooked with water or\n_katchi_. This practice is seldom found in other good castes. It is\nprobably due to the fact that the rules about food are less strictly\nobserved in Rajputana.\n\n\n\n9. Hindu and Jain subcastes: divisions among subcastes.\n\n\nAnother classification may be made of the subcastes according as\nthey are of the Hindu or Jain religion; the important Jain subcastes\nare the Oswal, Parwar, Golapurab, Saitwal and Charnagar, and one or\ntwo smaller ones, as the Baghelwal and Samaiya. The other subcastes\nare principally Hindu, but many have a Jain minority, and similarly\nthe Jain subcastes return a proportion of Hindus. The difference of\nreligion counts for very little, as practically all the non-Jain Banias\nare strict Vaishnava Hindus, abstain entirely from any kind of flesh\nmeat, and think it a sin to take animal life; while on their side the\nJains employ Brahmans for certain purposes, worship some of the local\nHindu deities, and observe the principal Hindu festivals. The Jain and\nHindu sections of a subcaste have consequently, as a rule, no objection\nto taking food together, and will sometimes intermarry. Several of the\nimportant subcastes are subdivided into Bisa and Dasa, or twenty and\nten groups. The Bisa or twenty group is of pure descent, or twenty\ncarat, as it were, while the Dasas are considered to have a certain\namount of alloy in their family pedigree. They are the offspring of\nremarried widows, and perhaps occasionally of still more irregular\nunions. Intermarriage sometimes takes place between the two groups,\nand families in the Dasa group, by living a respectable life and\nmarrying well, improve their status, and perhaps ultimately get\nback into the Bisa group. As the Dasas become more respectable they\nwill not admit to their communion newly remarried widows or couples\nwho have married within the prohibited degrees, or otherwise made a\n_mesalliance_, and hence a third inferior group, called the Pacha or\nfive, is brought into existence to make room for these.\n\n\n\n10. Exogamy and rules regulating marriage.\n\n\nMost subcastes have an elaborate system of exogamy. They are\neither divided into a large number of sections, or into a few\n_gotras_, usually twelve, each of which is further split up into\nsubsections. Marriage can then be regulated by forbidding a man to\ntake a wife from the whole of his own section or from the subsection\nof his mother, grandmothers and even greatgrandmothers. By this means\nthe union of persons within five or more degrees of relationship\neither through males or females is avoided, and most Banias prohibit\nintermarriage, at any rate nominally, up to five degrees. Such\npractices as exchanging girls between families or marrying two\nsisters are, as a rule, prohibited. The _gotras_ or main sections\nappear to be frequently named after Brahman Rishis or saints, while\nthe subsections have names of a territorial or titular character.\n\n\n\n11. Marriage customs.\n\n\nThere is generally no recognised custom of paying a bride- or\nbridegroom-price, but one or two instances of its being done are given\nin the subordinate articles. On the occasion of betrothal, among some\nsubcastes, the boy's father proceeds to the girl's house and presents\nher with a _mala_ or necklace of gold or silver coins or coral, and a\n_mundri_ or silver ring for the finger. The contract of betrothal is\nmade at the village temple and the caste-fellows sprinkle turmeric and\nwater over the parties. Before the wedding the ceremony of Benaiki is\nperformed; in this the bridegroom, riding on a horse, and the bride on\na decorated chair or litter, go round their villages and say farewell\nto their friends and relations. Sometimes they have a procession in\nthis way round the marriage-shed. Among the Marwari Banias a _toran_\nor string of mango-leaves is stretched above the door of the house on\nthe occasion of a wedding and left there for six months. And a wooden\ntriangle with figures perched on it to represent sparrows is tied\nover the door. The binding portion of the wedding is the procession\nseven times round the marriage altar or post. In some Jain subcastes\nthe bridegroom stands beside the post and the bride walks seven times\nround him, while he throws sugar over her head at each turn. After the\nwedding the couple are made to draw figures out of flour sprinkled\non a brass plate in token of the bridegroom's occupation of keeping\naccounts. It is customary for the bride's family to give _sidha_ or\nuncooked food sufficient for a day's consumption to every outsider\nwho accompanies the marriage party, while to each member of the caste\nprovisions for two to five days are given. This is in addition to the\nevening feasts and involves great expense. Sometimes the wedding lasts\nfor eight days, and feasts are given for four days by the bridegroom's\nparty and four days by the bride's. It is said that in some places\nbefore a Bania has a wedding he goes before the caste _panchayat_\nand they ask him how many people he is going to invite. If he says\nfive hundred, they prescribe the quantity of the different kinds of\nprovisions which he must supply. Thus they may say forty maunds (3200\nlbs.) of sugar and flour, with butter, spices, and other articles in\nproportion. He says, 'Gentlemen, I am a poor man; make it a little\nless'; or he says he will give _gur_ or cakes of raw cane sugar\ninstead of refined sugar. Then they say, 'No, your social position\nis too high for _gur_; you must have sugar for all purposes.' The\nmore guests the host invites the higher is his social consideration;\nand it is said that if he does not maintain this his life is not worth\nliving. Sometimes the exact amount of entertainment to be given at a\nwedding is fixed, and if a man cannot afford it at the time he must\ngive the balance of the feasts at any subsequent period when he has\nmoney; and if he fails to do this he is put out of caste. The bride's\nfather is often called on to furnish a certain sum for the travelling\nexpenses of the bridegroom's party, and if he does not send this money\nthey do not come. The distinctive feature of a Bania wedding in the\nnorthern Districts is that women accompany the marriage procession,\nand the Banias are the only high caste in which they do this. Hence a\nhigh-caste wedding party in which women are present can be recognised\nto be a Bania's. In the Maratha Districts women also go, but here\nthis custom obtains among other high castes. The bridegroom's party\nhire or borrow a house in the bride's village, and here they erect\na marriage-shed and go through the preliminary ceremonies of the\nwedding on the bridegroom's side as if they were at home.\n\n\n\n12. Polygamy and widow-marriage.\n\n\nPolygamy is very rare among the Banias, and it is generally the rule\nthat a man must obtain the consent of his first wife before taking\na second one. In the absence of this precaution for her happiness,\nparents will refuse to give him their daughter. The remarriage of\nwidows is nominally prohibited, but frequently occurs, and remarried\nwidows are relegated to the inferior social groups in each subcaste as\nalready described. Divorce is also said to be prohibited, but it is\nprobable that women put away for adultery are allowed to take refuge\nin such groups instead of being finally expelled.\n\n\n\n13. Disposal of the dead and mourning.\n\n\nThe dead are cremated as a rule, and the ashes are thrown into\na sacred river or any stream. The bodies of young children and of\npersons dying from epidemic disease are buried. The period of mourning\nmust be for an odd number of days. On the third day a leaf plate with\ncooked food is placed on the ground where the body was burnt, and on\nsome subsequent day a feast is given to the caste. Rich Banias will\nhire people to mourn. Widows and young girls are usually employed,\nand these come and sit before the house for an hour in the morning\nand sometimes also in the evening, and covering their heads with\ntheir cloths, beat their breasts and make lamentations. Rich men\nmay hire as many as ten mourners for a period of one, two or three\nmonths. The Marwaris, when a girl is born, break an earthen pot to\nshow that they have had a misfortune; but when a boy is born they\nbeat a brass plate in token of their joy.\n\n\n\n14. Religion: the god Ganpati or Ganesh.\n\n\nNearly all the Banias are Jains or Vaishnava Hindus. An account of the\nJain religion has been given in a separate article, and some notice\nof the retention of Hindu practices by the Jains is contained in the\nsubordinate article on Parwar Bania. The Vaishnava Banias no less\nthan the Jains are strongly averse to the destruction of animal life,\nand will not kill any living thing. Their principal deity is the god\nGanesh or Ganpati, the son of Mahadeo and Parvati, who is the god of\ngood-luck, wealth and prosperity. Ganesh is represented in sculpture\nwith the head of an elephant and riding on a rat, though the rat is now\ncovered by the body of the god and is scarcely visible. He has a small\nbody like a child's with a fat belly and round plump arms. Perhaps\nhis body signifies that he is figured as a boy, the son of Parvati\nor Gauri. In former times grain was the main source of wealth, and\nfrom the appearance of Ganesh it can be understood why he is the god\nof overflowing granaries, and hence of wealth and good fortune. The\nelephant is a sacred animal among Hindus, and that on which the king\nrides. To have an elephant was a mark of wealth and distinction among\nBanias, and the Jains harness the cars of their gods to elephants at\ntheir great _rath_ or chariot festival. Gajpati or 'lord of elephants'\nis a title given to a king; Gajanand or 'elephant-faced' is an epithet\nof the god Ganesh and a favourite Hindu name. Gajvithi or the track\nof the elephant is a name of the Milky Way, and indicates that there\nis believed to be a divine elephant who takes this course through the\nheavens. The elephant eats so much grain that only a comparatively\nrich man can afford to keep one; and hence it is easy to understand\nhow the attribute of plenty or of wealth was associated with the divine\nelephant as his special characteristic. Similarly the rat is connected\nwith overflowing granaries, because when there is much corn in a\nHindu house or store-shed there will be many rats; thus a multitude\nof rats implied a rich household, and so this animal too came to be a\nsymbol of wealth. The Hindus do not now consider the rat sacred, but\nthey have a tenderness for it, especially in the Maratha country. The\nmore bigoted of them objected to rats being poisoned as a means of\nchecking plague, though observation has fully convinced them that rats\nspread the plague; and in the Bania hospitals, formerly maintained for\npreserving the lives of animals, a number of rats were usually to be\nfound. The rat, in fact, may now be said to stand to Ganpati in the\nposition of a disreputable poor relation. No attempt is made to deny\nhis existence, but he is kept in the background as far as possible. The\ngod Ganpati is also associated with wealth of grain through his\nparentage. He is the offspring of Siva or Mahadeo and his wife Devi\nor Gauri. Mahadeo is in this case probably taken in his beneficent\ncharacter of the deified bull; Devi in her most important aspect as\nthe great mother-goddess is the earth, but as mother of Ganesh she\nis probably imagined in her special form of Gauri, the yellow one,\nthat is, the yellow corn. Gauri is closely associated with Ganesh, and\nevery Hindu bridal couple worship Gauri Ganesh together as an important\nrite of the wedding. Their conjunction in this manner lends colour to\nthe idea that they are held to be mother and son. In Rajputana Gauri\nis worshipped as the corn goddess at the Gangore festival about the\ntime of the vernal equinox, especially by women. The meaning of Gauri,\nColonel Tod states, is yellow, emblematic of the ripened harvest,\nwhen the votaries of the goddess adore her effigies, in the shape\nof a matron painted the colour of ripe corn. Here she is seen as\nAna-purna (the corn-goddess), the benefactress of mankind. \"The rites\ncommence when the sun enters Aries (the opening of the Hindu year),\nby a deputation to a spot beyond the city to bring earth for the image\nof Gauri. A small trench is then excavated in which barley is sown;\nthe ground is irrigated and artificial heat supplied till the grain\ngerminates, when the females join hands and dance round it, invoking\nthe blessings of Gauri on their husbands. The young corn is then taken\nup, distributed and presented by the females to the men, who wear it\nin their turbans.\" [128] Thus if Ganesh is the son of Gauri he is the\noffspring of the bull and the growing corn; and his genesis from the\nelephant and the rat show him equally as the god of full granaries, and\nhence of wealth and good fortune. We can understand therefore how he\nis the special god of the Banias, who formerly must have dealt almost\nentirely in grain, as coined money had not come into general use.\n\n\n\n15. Diwali festival.\n\n\nAt the Diwali festival the Banias worship Ganpati or Ganesh, in\nconjunction with Lakshmi, the goddess of wealth. Lakshmi is considered\nto be the deified cow, and, as such, the other main source of wealth,\nboth as mother of the bull, the tiller of the soil, and the giver\nof milk from which _ghi_ (clarified butter) is made; this is another\nstaple of the Bania's trade, as well as a luxurious food, of which he\nis especially fond. At Diwali all Banias make up their accounts for\nthe year, and obtain the signatures of clients to their balances. They\nopen fresh account-books, which they first worship and adorn with an\nimage of Ganesh, and perhaps an invocation to the god on the front\npage. A silver rupee is also worshipped as an emblem of Lakshmi,\nbut in some cases an English sovereign, as a more precious coin,\nhas been substituted, and this is placed on the seat of the goddess\nand reverence paid to it. The Banias and Hindus generally think it\nrequisite to gamble at Diwali in order to bring good luck during\nthe coming year; all classes indulge in a little speculation at\nthis season.\n\n\n\n16. Holi festival.\n\n\nIn the month of Phagun (February), about the time of the Holi, the\nMarwaris make an image of mud naked, calling it Nathu Ram, who was\nsupposed to be a great Marwari. They mock at this and throw mud at\nit, and beat it with shoes, and have various jests and sports. The\nmen and women are divided into two parties, and throw dirty water\nand red powder over each other, and the women make whips of cloth\nand beat the men. After two or three days, they break up the image\nand throw it away. The Banias, both Jain and Hindu, like to begin the\nday by going and looking at the god in his temple. This is considered\nan auspicious omen in the same manner as it is commonly held to be a\ngood omen to see some particular person or class of person the first\nthing in the morning. Others begin the day by worshipping the sacred\n_tulsi_ or basil.\n\n\n\n17. Social customs: rules about food.\n\n\nThe Banias are very strict about food. The majority of them abstain\nfrom all kinds of flesh food and alcoholic liquor. The Kasarwanis are\nreported to eat the flesh of clean animals, and perhaps others of the\nlower subcastes may also do so, but the Banias are probably stricter\nthan any other caste in their adherence to a vegetable diet. Many\nof them eschew also onions and garlic as impure food. Banias take\nthe lead in the objection to foreign sugar on account of the stories\ntold of the impure ingredients which it contains, and many of them,\nuntil recently, at any rate, still adhered to Indian sugar. Drugs are\nnot forbidden, but they are not usually addicted to them. Tobacco\nis forbidden to the Jains, but both they and the Hindus smoke, and\ntheir women sometimes chew tobacco. The Bania while he is poor is\nvery abstemious, and it is said that on a day when he has made no\nmoney he goes supperless to bed. But when he has accumulated wealth,\nhe develops a fondness for _ghi_ or preserved butter, which often\ncauses him to become portly. Otherwise his food remains simple, and\nas a rule he confined himself until recently to two daily meals,\nat midday and in the evening; but Banias, like most other classes\nwho can afford it, have now begun to drink tea in the morning. In\ndress the Bania is also simple, adhering to the orthodox Hindu\ngarb of a long white coat and a loin-cloth. He has not yet adopted\nthe cotton trousers copied from the English fashion. Some Banias in\ntheir shops wear only a cloth over their shoulders and another round\ntheir waist. The _kardora_ or silver waist-belt is a favourite Bania\nornament, and though plainly dressed in ordinary life, rich Marwaaris\nwill on special festival occasions wear costly jewels. On his head the\nMarwari wears a small tightly folded turban, often coloured crimson,\npink or yellow; a green turban is a sign of mourning and also black,\nthough the latter is seldom seen. The Banias object to taking the\nlife of any animal. They will not castrate cattle even through their\nservants, but sell the young bulls and buy oxen. In Saugor, a Bania\nis put out of caste if he keeps buffaloes. It is supposed that good\nHindus should not keep buffaloes nor use them for carting or ploughing,\nbecause the buffalo is impure, and is the animal on which Yama,\nthe god of death, rides. Thus in his social observances generally\nthe Bania is one of the strictest castes, and this is a reason why\nhis social status is high. Sometimes he is even held superior to the\nRajput, as the local Rajputs are often of impure descent and lax in\ntheir observance of religious and social restrictions. Though he soon\nlearns the vernacular language of the country where he settles, the\nMarwari usually retains his own native dialect in his account-books,\nand this makes it more difficult for his customers to understand them.\n\n\n\n18. Character of the Bania.\n\n\nThe Bania has a very distinctive caste character. From early boyhood\nhe is trained to the keeping of accounts and to the view that it\nis his business in life to make money, and that no transaction\nshould be considered successful or creditable which does not show\na profit. As an apprentice, he goes through a severe training in\nmental arithmetic, so as to enable him to make the most intricate\ncalculations in his head. With this object a boy commits to memory a\nnumber of very elaborate tables. For whole numbers he learns by heart\nthe units from one to ten multiplied as high as forty times, and the\nnumbers from eleven to twenty multiplied to twenty times. There are\nalso fractional tables, giving the results of multiplying 1/4, 1/2,\n3/4, 1 1/4, 1 1/2, 2 1/2, 3 1/2 into units from one to one hundred;\ninterest-tables showing the interest due on any sum from one to\none thousand rupees for one month, and for a quarter of a month at\ntwelve per cent; tables of the squares of all numbers from one to\none hundred, and a set of technical rules for finding the price of a\npart from the price of the whole. [129] The self-denial and tenacity\nwhich enable the Bania without capital to lay the foundations of a\nbusiness are also remarkable. On first settling in a new locality, a\nMarwari Bania takes service with some shopkeeper, and by dint of the\nstrictest economy puts together a little money. Then the new trader\nestablishes himself in some village and begins to make grain advances\nto the cultivators on high rates of interest, though occasionally on\nbad security. He opens a shop and retails grain, pulses, condiments,\nspices, sugar and flour. From grain he gradually passes to selling\ncloth and lending money, and being keen and exacting, and having\nto deal with ignorant and illiterate clients, he acquires wealth;\nthis he invests in purchasing villages, and after a time blossoms\nout into a big Seth or banker. The Bania can also start a retail\nbusiness without capital. The way in which he does it is to buy\na rupee's worth of stock in a town, and take it out early in the\nmorning to a village, where he sits on the steps of the temple\nuntil he has sold it. Up till then he neither eats nor washes his\nface. He comes back in the evening after having eaten two or three\npice worth of grain, and buys a fresh stock, which he takes out to\nanother village in the morning. Thus he turns over his capital with\na profit two or three times a week according to the saying, \"If a\nBania gets a rupee he will have an income of eight rupees a month,\"\nor as another proverb pithily sums up the immigrant Marwari's career,\n'He comes with a _lota_ [130] and goes back with a lakh.' The Bania\nnever writes off debts, even though his debtor may be a pauper, but\ngoes on entering them up year by year in his account-books and taking\nthe debtor's acknowledgment. For he says, '_Purus Parus_', or man is\nlike the philosopher's stone, and his fortune may change any day.\n\n\n\n19. Dislike of the cultivators towards him.\n\n\nThe cultivators rarely get fair treatment from the Banias, as the odds\nare too much against them. They must have money to sow their land, and\nlive while the crops are growing, and the majority who have no capital\nare at the moneylender's mercy. He is of a different caste, and often\nof a different country, and has no fellow-feeling towards them, and\ntherefore considers the transaction merely from the business point of\nview of getting as much profit as possible. The debtors are illiterate,\noften not even understanding the meaning of figures, or the result of\npaying compound interest at twenty-five or fifty per cent; they can\nneither keep accounts themselves nor check their creditor's. Hence\nthey are entirely in his hands, and in the end their villages or land,\nif saleable, pass to him, and they decline from landlord to tenant,\nor from tenant to labourer. They have found vent for their feelings\nin some of the bitterest sayings ever current: 'A man who has a\nBania for a friend has no need of an enemy.' 'Borrow from a Bania\nand you are as good as ruined.' 'The rogue cheats strangers and the\nBania cheats his friends.' 'Kick a Bania even if he is dead.' \"His\nheart, we are told, is no bigger than a coriander seed; he goes in\nlike a needle and comes out like a sword; as a neighbour he is as\nbad as a boil in the armpit. If a Bania is on the other side of a\nriver you should leave your bundle on this side for fear he should\nsteal it. If a Bania is drowning you should not give him your hand;\nhe is sure to have some pecuniary motive for drifting down-stream. A\nBania will start an auction in a desert. If a Bania's son tumbles\ndown he is sure to pick up something. He uses light weights and\nswears that the scales tip up of themselves; he keeps his accounts\nin a character that no one but God can read; if you borrow from him\nyour debt mounts up like a refuse-heap or gallops like a horse; if\nhe talks to a customer he debits the conversation in his accounts;\nand when his own credit is shaky he writes up his transactions on\nthe wall so that they can easily be rubbed out.\" [131]\n\n\n\n20. His virtues.\n\n\nNevertheless there is a good deal to be said on the other side,\nand the Bania's faults are probably to a large extent produced by\nhis environment, like other people's. One of the Bania's virtues is\nthat he will lend on security which neither the Government nor the\nbanks would look at, or on none at all. Then he will always wait\na long time for his money, especially if the interest is paid. No\ndoubt this is no loss to him, as he keeps his money out at good\ninterest; but it is a great convenience to a client that his debt\ncan be postponed in a bad year, and that he can pay as much as he\nlikes in a good one. The village moneylender is indispensable to\nits economy when the tenants are like school-boys in that money\nburns a hole in their pocket; and Sir Denzil Ibbetson states that\nit is surprising how much reasonableness and honesty there is in his\ndealings with the people, so long as he can keep his transactions out\nof a court of justice. [132] Similarly, Sir Reginald Craddock writes:\n\"The village Bania is a much-abused individual, but he is as a rule a\nquiet, peaceable man, a necessary factor in the village economy. He\nis generally most forbearing with his clients and customers, and is\nnot the person most responsible for the indebtedness of the ryot. It\nis the casual moneylender with little or no capital who lives by\nhis wits, or the large firms with shops and agents scattered over\nthe face of the country who work the serious mischief. These latter\nencourage the people to take loans and discourage repayment until the\ndebt has increased by accumulation of interest to a sum from which\nthe borrower cannot easily free himself.\" [133]\n\n\n\n21. The moneylender changed for the worse.\n\n\nThe progress of administration, bringing with it easy and safe transit\nall over the country; the institution of a complete system of civil\njustice and the stringent enforcement of contracts through the courts;\nthe introduction of cash coinage as the basis of all transactions;\nand the grant of proprietary and transferable rights in land,\nappear to have at the same time enhanced the Bania's prosperity\nand increased the harshness and rapacity of his dealings. When the\nmoneylender lived in the village he had an interest in the solvency\nof the tenants who constituted his clientele and was also amenable\nto public opinion, even though not of his own caste. For it would\nclearly be an impossibly unpleasant position for him to meet no one\nbut bitter enemies whenever he set foot outside his house, and to go\nto bed in nightly fear of being dacoited and murdered by a combination\nof his next-door neighbours. He therefore probably adopted the motto\nof live and let live, and conducted his transactions on a basis of\ncustom, like the other traders and artisans who lived among the\nvillage community. But with the rise of the large banking-houses\nwhose dealings are conducted through agents over considerable tracts\nof country, public opinion can no longer act. The agent looks mainly\nto his principal, and the latter has no interest in or regard for\nthe cultivators of distant villages. He cares only for his profit,\nand his business is conducted with a single view to that end. He\nhimself has no public opinion to face, as he lives in a town among a\ncommunity of his caste-fellows, and here absolutely no discredit is\nattached to grinding the faces of the poor, but on the contrary the\nhonour and consideration accruing to him are in direct proportion to\nhis wealth. The agent may have some compunction, but his first aim is\nto please his principal, and as he is often a sojourner liable to early\ntransfer he cares little what may be said or thought about him locally.\n\n\n\n22. The enforcement of contracts.\n\n\nAgain the introduction of the English law of contract and transfer\nof property, and the increase in the habit of litigation have greatly\naltered the character of the money-lending business for the worse. The\ndebtor signs a bond sometimes not even knowing the conditions,\nmore often having heard them but without any clear idea of their\neffect or of the consequences to himself, and as readily allows it\nto be registered. When it comes into court the witnesses, who are\nthe moneylender's creatures, easily prove that it was a genuine and\n_bona fide_ transaction, and the debtor is too ignorant and stupid\nto be able to show that he did not understand the bargain or that it\nwas unconscionable. In any case the court has little or no power to\ngo behind a properly executed contract without any actual evidence of\nfraud, and has no option but to decree it in terms of the deed. This\nevil is likely to be remedied very shortly, as the Government of\nIndia have announced a proposal to introduce the recent English Act\nand allow the courts the discretion to go behind contracts, and to\nrefuse to decree exorbitant interest or other hard bargains. This\nurgently needed reform will, it may be hoped, greatly improve the\ncharacter of the civil administration by encouraging the courts to\nrealise that it is their business to do justice between litigants,\nand not merely to administer the letter of the law; and at the same\ntime it should have the result, as in England, of quickening the public\nconscience and that of the moneylenders themselves, which has indeed\nalready been to some extent awakened by other Government measures,\nincluding the example set by the Government itself as a creditor.\n\n\n\n23. Cash coinage and the rate of interest.\n\n\nAgain the free circulation of metal currency and its adoption as a\nmedium for all transactions has hitherto been to the disadvantage\nof the debtors. Interest on money was probably little in vogue among\npastoral peoples, and was looked upon with disfavour, being prohibited\nby both the Mosaic and Muhammadan codes. The reason was perhaps that\nin a pastoral community there existed no means of making a profit\non a loan by which interest could be paid, and hence the result of\nusury was that the debtor ultimately became enslaved to his creditor;\nand the enslavement of freemen on any considerable scale was against\nthe public interest. With the introduction of agriculture a system of\nloans on interest became a necessary and useful part of the public\neconomy, as a cultivator could borrow grain to sow land and support\nhimself and his family until the crop ripened, out of which the\nloan, principal and interest, could be repaid. If, as seems likely,\nthis was the first occasion for the introduction of the system\nof loan-giving on a large scale, it would follow that the rate of\ninterest would be based largely on the return yielded by the earth\nto the seed. Support is afforded to this conjecture by the fact that\nin the case of grain loans in the Central Provinces the interest on\nloans of grain of the crops which yield a comparatively small return,\nsuch as wheat, is twenty-five to fifty per cent, while in the case\nof those which yield a large return, such as juari and kodon, it is\none hundred per cent. These high rates of interest were not of much\nimportance so long as the transaction was in grain. The grain was\nmuch less valuable at harvest than at seed time, and in addition the\nlender had the expense of storing and protecting his stock of grain\nthrough the year. It is probable that a rate of twenty-five per cent\non grain loans does not yield more than a reasonable profit to the\nlender. But when in recent times cash came to be substituted for\ngrain it would appear that there was no proportionate reduction in\nthe interest. The borrower would lose by having to sell his grain for\nthe payment of his debt at the most unfavourable rate after harvest,\nand since the transaction was by a regular deed the lender no longer\ntook any share of the risk of a bad harvest, as it is probable that he\nwas formerly accustomed to do. The rates of interest for cash loans\nafforded a disproportionate profit to the lender, who was put to no\nsubstantial expense in keeping money as he had formerly been in the\ncase of grain. It is thus probable that rates for cash loans were for\na considerable period unduly severe in proportion to the risk, and\ninvolved unmerited loss to the borrower. This is now being remedied\nby competition, by Government loans given on a large scale in time\nof scarcity, and by the introduction of co-operative credit. But it\nhas probably contributed to expedite the transfer of land from the\ncultivating to the moneylending classes.\n\n\n\n24. Proprietary and transferable rights in land.\n\n\nLastly the grant of proprietary and transferable right to\nland has afforded a new incentive and reward to the successful\nmoneylender. Prior to this measure it is probable that no considerable\ntransfers of land occurred for ordinary debt. The village headman might\nbe ousted for non-payment of revenue, or simply through the greed of\nsome Government official under native rule, and of course the villages\nwere continually pillaged and plundered by their own and hostile armies\nsuch as the Pindaris, while the population was periodically decimated\nby famine. But apart from their losses by famine, war and the badness\nof the central government, it is probable that the cultivators were\nheld to have a hereditary right to their land, and were not liable to\nejectment on the suit of any private person. It is doubtful whether\nthey had any conception of ownership of the land, and it seems likely\nthat they may have thought of it as a god or the property of the god;\nbut the cultivating castes perhaps had a hereditary right to cultivate\nit, just as the Chamar had a prescriptive right to the hides of the\nvillage cattle, the Kalar to the mahua-flowers for making his liquor,\nthe Kumhar to clay for his pots, and the Teli to press the oil-seeds\ngrown in his village. The inferior castes were not allowed to hold\nland, and it was probably never imagined that the village moneylender\nshould by means of a piece of stamped paper be able to oust the\ncultivators indebted to him and take their land himself. With the\ngrant of proprietary right to land such as existed in England, and the\napplication of the English law of contract and transfer of property,\na new and easy road to wealth was opened to the moneylender, of which\nhe was not slow to take advantage. The Banias have thus ousted numbers\nof improvident proprietors of the cultivating castes, and many of them\nhave become large landlords. A considerable degree of protection has\nnow been afforded to landowners and cultivators, and the process has\nbeen checked, but that it should have proceeded so far is regrettable;\nand the operation of the law has been responsible for a large amount\nof unintentional injustice to the cultivating castes and especially\nto proprietors of aboriginal descent, who on account of their extreme\nignorance and improvidence most readily fall a prey to the moneylender.\n\n\n\n25. The Bania as a landlord.\n\n\nAs landlords the Banias were not at first a success. They did not\ncare to spend money in improving their property, and ground their\ntenants to the utmost. Sir R. Craddock remarks of them: [134] \"Great\nor small they are absolutely unfitted by their natural instincts to\nbe landlords. Shrewdest of traders, most business-like in the matter\nof bargains, they are unable to take a broad view of the duties of\nlandlord or to see that rack-renting will not pay in the long run.\"\n\nStill, under the influence of education, and the growth of moral\nfeeling, as well as the desire to stand well with Government officers\nand to obtain recognition in the shape of some honour, many of\nthe Marwari proprietors are developing into just and progressive\nlandlords. But from the cultivator's point of view, residence on\ntheir estates, which are managed by agents in charge of a number\nof villages for an absent owner, cannot compare with the system of\nthe small cultivating proprietor resident among tenants of his own\ncaste, and bound to them by ties of sympathy and caste feeling,\nwhich produces, as described by Sir R. Craddock, the ideal village.\n\n\n\n26. Commercial honesty.\n\n\nAs a trader the Bania formerly had a high standard of commercial\nprobity. Even though he might show little kindliness or honesty in\ndealing with the poorer class of borrowers, he was respected and\nabsolutely reliable in regard to money. It was not unusual for people\nto place their money in a rich Bania's hands without interest, even\npaying him a small sum for safe-keeping. Bankruptcy was considered\ndisgraceful, and was visited with social penalties little less severe\nthan those enforced for breaches of caste rules. There was a firm\nbelief that a merchant's condition in the next world depended on the\ndischarge of all claims against him. And the duty of paying ancestral\ndebts was evaded only in the case of helpless or hopeless poverty. Of\nlate, partly owing to the waning power of caste and religious feeling\nin the matter, and partly to the knowledge of the bankruptcy laws,\nthe standard of commercial honour has greatly fallen. Since the\ncase of bankruptcy is governed and arranged for by law, the trader\nthinks that so long as he can keep within the law he has done nothing\nwrong. A banker, when heavily involved, seldom scruples to become a\nbankrupt and to keep back money enough to enable him to start afresh,\neven if he does nothing worse. This, however, is probably a transitory\nphase, and the same thing has happened in England and America at one\nstage of commercial development. In time it may be expected that\nthe loss of the old religious and caste feeling will be made good\nby a new standard of commercial honour enforced by public opinion\namong merchants generally. The Banias are very good to their own\ncaste, and when a man is ruined will have a general subscription and\nprovide funds to enable him to start afresh in a small way. Beggars\nare very rare in the caste. Rich Marwaris are extremely generous in\ntheir subscriptions to objects of public utility, but it is said that\nthe small Bania is not very charitably inclined, though he doles out\nhandfuls of grain to beggars with fair liberality. But he has a system\nby which he exacts from those who deal with him a slight percentage\non the price received by them for religious purposes. This is called\nDeodan or a gift to God, and is supposed to go into some public fund\nfor the construction or maintenance of a temple or similar object. In\nthe absence of proper supervision or audit it is to be feared that the\nBania inclines to make use of it for his private charity, thus saving\nhimself expense on that score. The system has been investigated by\nMr. Napier, Commissioner of Jubbulpore, with a view to the application\nof these funds to public improvements.\n\n\n\nBania, Agarwala\n\n\n_Bania, Agarwala, Agarwal._--This is generally considered to be\nthe highest and most important subdivision of the Banias. They\nnumbered about 25,000 persons in the Central Provinces in 1911,\nbeing principally found in Jubbulpore and Nagpur. The name is probably\nderived from Agroha, a small town in the Hissar District of the Punjab,\nwhich was formerly of some commercial importance. Buchanan records that\nwhen any firm failed in the city each of the others contributed a brick\nand five rupees, which formed a stock sufficient for the merchant to\nrecommence trade with advantage. The Agarwalas trace their descent\nfrom a Raja Agar Sen, whose seventeen sons married the seventeen\ndaughters of Basuki, the king of the Nagas or snakes. Elliot considers\nthat the snakes were really the Scythian or barbarian immigrants,\nthe Yueh-chi or Kushans, from whom several of the Rajpat clans as the\nTak, Haihayas and others, who also have the legend of snake ancestry,\nwere probably derived. Elliot also remarks that Raja Agar Sen, being a\nking, must have been a Kshatriya, and thus according to the legend the\nAgarwalas would have Rajput ancestry on both sides. Their appearance,\nMr. Crooke states, indicates good race and breeding, and would lend\ncolour to the theory of a Rajput origin. Raja Agar Sen is said to have\nruled over both Agra and Agroha, and it seems possible that the name\nof the Agarwalas may also be connected with Agra, which is a much\nmore important place than Agroha. The country round Agra and Delhi\nis their home, and the shrine of the tutelary goddess of some of the\nAgarwalas in the Central Provinces is near Delhi. The memory of the\nNaga princess who was their ancestor is still, Sir H. Risley states,\nheld in honour by the Agarwalas, and they say, 'Our mother's house is\nof the race of the snake.' [135] No Agarwala, whether Hindu or Jain,\nwill kill or molest a snake, and the Vaishnava Agarwalas of Delhi\npaint pictures of snakes on either side of the outside doors of their\nhouses, and make offerings of fruit and flowers before them.\n\nIn the Central Provinces, like other Bania subcastes, they are\ndivided into the Bisa and Dasa or twenty and ten subdivisions,\nwhich marry among themselves. The Bisa rank higher than the Dasa,\nthe latter being considered to have some flaw in their pedigree,\nsuch as descent from a remarried widow. The Dasas are sometimes\nsaid to be the descendants of the maidservants who accompanied the\nseventeen Naga or snake princesses on their marriages to the sons of\nRaja Agar Sen. A third division has now come into existence in the\nCentral Provinces, known as the Pacha or fives; these are apparently\nof still more doubtful origin than the Dasas. The divisions tend to\nbe endogamous, but if a man of the Bisa or Dasa cannot obtain a wife\nfrom his own group he will sometimes marry in a lower group.\n\nThe Agarwalas are divided into seventeen and a half _gotras_ or\nexogamous sections, which are supposed to be descended from the\nseventeen sons of Raja Agar Sen. The extra half _gotra_ is accounted\nfor by a legend, but it probably has in reality also something to\ndo with illegitimate descent. Some of the _gotras_, as given by\nMr. Crooke, are as a matter of fact named after Brahmanical saints\nlike those of the Brahmans; instances of these are Garga, Gautama,\nKaushika, Kasyapa and Vasishtha; the others appear to be territorial\nor titular names. The prohibitions on marriage between relations are\nfar-reaching among the Agarwalas. The detailed rules are given in\nthe article on Bania, and the effect is that persons descended from\na common ancestor cannot intermarry for five generations. When the\nwedding procession is about to start the Kumhar brings his donkey\nand the bridegroom has to touch it with his foot, or, according to\none version, ride upon it. The origin of this custom is obscure, but\nthe people now say that it is meant to emphasise the fact that the\nbridegroom is going to do a foolish thing. The remarriage of widows\nis prohibited, and divorce is not recognised. Most of the Agarwalas\nare Vaishnava by religion, but a few are Jains. Intermarriage between\nmembers of the two religions is permitted in some localities, and\nthe wife adopts that of her husband. The Jain Agarwalas observe the\nHindu festivals and employ Brahmans for their ceremonies. In Nimar\nthe caste have some curious taboos. It is said that a married woman\nmay not eat wheat until a child has been born to her, but only juari;\nand if she has no child she may not eat wheat all her life. If a son\nis born to her she must go to Mahaur, a village near Delhi where the\ntutelary goddess of the caste has her shrine. This goddess is called\nMohna Devi, and she is the deified spirit of a woman who burnt herself\nwith her husband. After this the woman may eat wheat; but if a second\nson is born she must stop eating wheat until she has been to the shrine\nagain. But if she has a daughter she may at once and always eat wheat\nwithout visiting the shrine. These rules, as well as the veneration\nof a snake, from which they believe themselves to be descended on the\nmother's side, may perhaps, as suggested by Sir H. Risley, be a relic\nof the system of matriarchal descent. It is said that when Raja Agar\nSen or his sons married the Naga princesses, he obtained permission\nas a special favour from the goddess Lakshmi that the children should\nbear their father's name and not their mother's. [136]\n\nIn Nimar some Agarwalas worship Goba Pir, the god of the sweepers. He\nis represented by a pole some 30 feet long on which are hung a cloth\nand cocoanuts. The sweepers carry this through the city almost daily\nduring the month of Shrawan (July), and people offer cocoanuts, tying\nthem on to the pole. Some Agarwalas offer vermilion to the god in token\nof worship, and a few invite it to the compounds of their houses and\nkeep it there all night for the same purpose. When a feast is given in\nthe caste the Agarwalas do not take their own brass vessels according\nto the usual practice, but the host gives them little earthen pots\nto drink from which are afterwards broken, and leaf-plates for their\nfood. The Agarwalas will take food cooked without water (_pakki_) from\nOswal, Maheshri and Khandelwal Banias. The Agarwalas of the Central\nProvinces hold some substantial estates in Chhattisgarh; these were\nobtained at the first settlements during 1860-70, when considerable\ndepression existed, and many of the village headmen were unwilling to\naccept the revenue assessed on their villages. The more enterprising\nBanias stepped in and took them, and have profited enormously owing to\nthe increase in the value of land. Akbar's great minister, Todar Mal,\nwho first introduced an assessment of the land-revenue based on the\nmeasurement and survey of the land, is said to have been an Agarwala.\n\n\n\nBania, Agrahari\n\n\n_Bania, Agrahari._ [137]--This subcaste numbered nearly 2000 persons\nin 1911, resident principally in Jubbulpore, Raipur and Bilaspur,\nand some of the Feudatory States. Mr. Crooke states that they claim\npartly a Vaishya and partly a Brahmanical descent, and wear the sacred\nthread. Like that of the Agarwala Banias their name has been connected\nwith the cities of Agra and Agroha. There is no doubt that they are\nclosely connected with the Agarwalas, and Mr. Nesfield suggests that\nthe two groups must have been sections of one and the same caste\nwhich quarrelled on some trifling matter connected with cooking or\neating, and have remained separate ever since. The Agrahari Banias\nare Hindus, and some of them belong to the Nanakpanthi sect. They\nare principally dealers in provisions, and they have acquired some\ndiscredit as compared with their kinsfolk the Agarwalas, through\nnot secluding their women and allowing them to attend the shop. They\nalso retail various sweet-smelling woods which are used in religious\nceremonies, such as aloe-wood and sandalwood, besides a number of\nmedicines and simples. The richer members of the caste are bankers,\ndealers in grain and pawnbrokers.\n\n\n\nBania, Ajudhiabasi\n\n\n_Bania, Ajudhiabasi, Audhia_.--A subcaste of Bania, whose name\nsignifies a resident of Ajodhia, the old name of Oudh. Outsiders often\nshorten the name to Audhia, but, as will be seen, the name Audhia\nis regularly applied to a criminal class, who may have been derived\nfrom the Ajudhiabasi Banias, but are now quite distinct from them. The\nAjudhiabasis numbered nearly 2000 persons in 1911, belonging chiefly\nto the Jubbulpore, Narsinghpur and Hoshangabad Districts. This total\nincludes any persons who may have returned themselves as Audhia. The\nAjudhiabasis are nearly all Hindus with a small Jain minority. Though\nOudh was their original home they are now fairly numerous in Cawnpore\nand Bundelkhand as well, and it may have been from this last locality\nthat they entered the Central Provinces. Here they form a separate\nendogamous group and do not marry with their caste-fellows in northern\nIndia. They have exogamous sections, and marriage is prohibited\nwithin the section and also between first cousins. They permit the\nremarriage of widows, but are said not to recognise divorce, and to\nexpel from the caste a woman guilty of adultery. It may be doubted,\nhowever, whether this is correct. Brahmans serve as their priests,\nand they invest boys with the sacred thread either at marriage or at\na special ceremony known as Gurmukh. The dead are either buried or\nburnt; in the case of burial men are laid on the face and women on\nthe back, the body being first rubbed with salt, clarified butter,\nturmeric and milk. A little earth from the grave is carried away and\nthrown into a sacred river, and when the dead are burnt the ashes are\nsimilarly disposed of. Their principal deity is the goddess Devi,\nand at the Dasahra festival they offer a goat to her, the flesh of\nwhich is distributed among members of the caste.\n\nThe Audhias are a well-known criminal tribe, whose headquarters is\nin the Fatehpur District. They say that they are Banias, and use the\nname Ajudhiabasi in speaking of themselves, and from their customs and\ncriminal methods it seems not unlikely that they may originally have\nbeen an offshoot from the Ajudhiabasi Banias. They are now, however,\nperfectly distinct from this group, and any confusion between them\nwould be very unjust to the latter. In northern India it is said that\nthe Audhias deal largely in counterfeit coin and false jewellery, and\nnever commit crimes of violence; [138] but in Bombay they have taken\nto housebreaking, though they usually select an empty house. [139]\nFrom their homes in the United Provinces they wander over Central\nIndia, the Central Provinces, Bengal and Bombay; they are said to\navoid the Punjab and Sind owing to difficulties of working, and they\nhave made it a caste offence to commit any crime in the Ganges-Jumna\nDoab, probably because this is their home. It is said also that if\nany one of them is imprisoned he is put out of caste. They wander\nabout disguised as religious mendicants, Brahmans or Bairagis. They\ncarry their bedding tied on their back with a cloth, and a large bag\nslung over the shoulders which contains food, cooking-vessels and\nother articles. Sometimes they pretend to be Banias and hawk about\nsweets and groceries, or one of the gang opens a shop, which serves\nas a rendezvous and centre for collecting information. [140] In the\nDistricts where they reside they are perfectly well-behaved. They are\nwell-to-do and to all appearance respectable in their habits. Their\nwomen are well-dressed with plenty of ornaments on their persons. They\nhave no apparent means of support; they neither cultivate land\nnor trade; and all that appears on the surface is that most of the\nmen and boys go off after the rains and return at the end of the\ncold weather. If asked how they support themselves they reply by\nbegging. Their marriage rules are those of high-caste Hindus. They\nare divided into two classes, Unch or high and Nich or low, the\nformer being of pure blood, and the latter the descendants of kept\nwomen. These are practically endogamous. A man may not have more than\ntwo wives. If a girl is detected in immorality before marriage, she\nis permanently excommunicated, and a married woman can be turned out\nby her husband on proof of adultery. A bridegroom-price is usually\npaid, the father of the bride visiting the bridegroom and giving\nhim the money in secret. The dead are burnt, and Brahmans are duly\nfed. If a man has died through an accident or from cholera, smallpox,\npoison or leprosy, the corpse, if available, is at once consigned to\nthe Ganges or other river, and during the course of the next twelve\nmonths a Mahabrahman is paid to make an image of the deceased in\ngram-flour, which is cremated with the usual rites. As in the case\nof the Ajudhiabasi Banias, the tribal deity of the Audhias is the\ngoddess Devi. [141]\n\n\n\nBania, Asathi\n\n\n_Bania, Asathi._--This subcaste numbers about 2500 persons in the\nCentral Provinces, belonging principally to the Damoh and Jubbulpore\nDistricts. They say that their original home was the Tikamgarh State\nin Bundelkhand. They do not rank very high, and are sometimes said\nto be the descendants of an Ahir who became a Bania. The great bulk\nare Hindus and a small minority Jains. It is told of the Asathis that\nthey first bury their dead, in accordance presumably with a former\npractice, and then exhume and burn the bodies; and there is a saying--\n\n\n                Ardha jale, ardha gare\n                Jinka nam Asathi pare,\n\n\nor, 'He who is an Asathi is half buried and half burnt.' But this\npractice, if it ever really existed, has now been abandoned.\n\n\n\nBania, Charnagri\n\n\n_Bania, Charnagri, Channagri, Samaiya._--The Charnagris are a small\nJain subcaste which numbered about 2500 persons in 1911, residing\nprincipally in the Damoh and Chhindwara Districts. They are the\nfollowers of one Taran Swami, who is said to have lived about five\ncenturies ago. He preached against the worship of the images of the\nJain Tirthakars, and said that this should be abandoned and only\nthe sacred books be revered. The chief sacred place of the sect\nis Malhargarh in Gwalior State; here the tomb of their prophet is\nsituated and there is also a large temple in which the Jain scriptures\nare enshrined. In the month of Phagun (February) a fair is held here,\nand Charnagris dance in the temples, holding lighted lamps in their\nhands. Nowadays the Charnagris also visit the ordinary Jain temples\nwhen their own are not available. They are practically all derived from\nParwar Banias, and formerly would sometimes give their daughters to\nParwars in marriage, but this practice is said to have stopped. Like\nother Bania subcastes, they are divided into Bisa and Dasa, or twenty\nand ten sections, the Dasa being of irregular descent. Intermarriage\nbetween the two sections occasionally occurs, and the Dasa will take\nfood from the Bisa section, but the latter do not reciprocate except\nat caste feasts.\n\n\n\nBania, Dhusar\n\n\n_Bania, Dhusar, Bhargava Dhusar._--The origin of this group is much\ndisputed. They are usually classed as a subcaste of Bania, but claim\nto be Brahmans. They take their name from a hill called Dhusi or\nDhosi, near Narnaul on the border of Alwar State. The title Bhargava\nsignifies a descendant of Bhrigu, one of the famous eponymous Rishis\nor Brahmanical saints, to whom Manu confided his institutes, calling\nhim his son. If this was their original name, it would show that they\nwere Brahmans, but its adoption appears to be somewhat recent. Their\nclaim to be Brahmans is, however, admitted by many members of that\ncaste, and it is stated that they perform the functions of Brahmans\nin their original home in Rajputana. Mr. Burn wrote of them: [142]\n\"In his book on castes published in 1872 Mr. Sherring does not refer to\nany claim to kinship with Brahmans, though in his description of Dhusar\nBanias he appears to include the people under consideration. Both the\nDhusar Bhargavas and Dhusar Banias assert that Himu, the capable Vazir\nof Muhammad Shah Suri, belonged to their community, and such a claim\nby the former is if anything in favour of the view that they are not\nBrahmans, since Himu is variously described by Muhammadan writers as\na corn-chandler, a weighman and a Bania. Colonel Dow in his history\nof Hindustan calls him a shopkeeper who was raised by Sher Shah to be\nSuperintendent of Markets. It is not improbable that Himu's success\nlaid the foundation for a claim to a higher position, but the matter\ndoes not admit of absolute proof, and I have therefore accepted the\ndecision of the majority of the caste-committees and considered them\nas a caste allied to Brahmans.\" In the Punjab the Dhusars appear to be\nin some places Brahmans and in others Banias. \"They take their food\nbefore morning prayer, contrary to the Hindu rule, but of late years\nthey have begun to conform to the orthodox practice. The Brahman\nDhusar marries with his caste-fellows and the Bania with Banias,\navoiding always the same family (_gotra_) or one having the same\nfamily deity.\" [143] From the above accounts it would appear that\nthe Dhusars may have originally been a class of Brahmans who took\nto trade, like the Palliwal Brahmans of Marwar, and have lost their\nposition as Brahmans and become amalgamated with the Bania caste;\nor they may have been Banias, who acted as priests to others of the\ncommunity, and hence claimed to be Brahmans. The caste is important and\ninfluential, and is now making every effort to recover or substantiate\nits Brahman status. One writer states that they combine the office\naptitude and hard-heartedness to a debtor characteristic of the\nBania. The Dhusars are rigid in the maintenance of the purity of\ntheir order and in the performance of Hindu ceremonies and duties,\nand neither eat meat nor drink any kind of spirit. In Delhi they\nwere distinguished for their talent as singers, and cultivated a\npeculiar strain or measure, in which they were unsurpassed. [144]\nIn the Central Provinces the Dhusars are a flourishing body, their\nleaders being Rai Bahadur Bihari Lal Khizanchi of Jubbulpore and Rai\nSahib Seth Sundar Lal of Betul. They have founded the Bhargava bank\nof Jubbulpore, and shown considerable public spirit; to the latter\ngentleman's generosity a large part of the success of the recent\ndebt-conciliation proceedings in the Betul District must be attributed.\n\n\n\nBania, Dosar\n\n\n_Bania, Dosar, Dusra._ [145]--This subcaste numbers about 600\npersons. The original name is Dusra or second, and the Dosar or Dusra\nare a section of the Ummar Banias, who were so called because they\npermit widows to make a second marriage. Their home is the Ganges-Jumna\nDoab and Oudh, and in the United Provinces they are classed as an\ninferior subcaste of the Ummars. Here they say that the Ummars are\ntheir elder brothers. In the Central Provinces they are said to be\nforming three local endogamous groups according as their homes were in\nthe Doab, Oudh or the Allahabad country; and members of each of these\nmarry among themselves. The Dosars say that they all belong to the\nKashyap [146] _gotra_ or clan, but for the purpose of marriage they\nhave territorial or titular exogamous sections; instances of these are\nGangapari, a native of Oudh; Sagarah, a resident of Saugor; Makraha,\na seller of _makka_ or maize, and Tamakhuha, a tobacco-seller. They\npay a bridegroom-price, the full recognised amount of which is Rs. 211,\neither in cash or brass cooking-vessels. Those who cannot afford this\nsum give half of it or Rs. 105, and the poorest classes pay anything\nthey can afford. The Dosars are Vaishnava Hindus and employ Sanadhya\nBrahmans as their priests. These Brahmans will take food without\nwater from their clients, but they are an inferior class and are\nlooked down upon by other Brahmans. The caste are mainly shopkeepers,\nand they deal in gold and silver ornaments, as well as grain, tobacco\nand all kinds of groceries.\n\n\n\nBania, Gahoi\n\n\n_Bania, Gahoi._ [147]--This Hindu subcaste numbered nearly 7000\npersons in 1911, belonging principally to the Saugor, Jubbulpore and\nNarsinghpur Districts. Their home is the Bundelkhand country, which\nthese Districts adjoin, and they say that their original headquarters\nwas at Kharagpur in Bundelkhand, whence they have spread over the\nsurrounding country. They tell a curious story of their origin to the\neffect that once upon a time there was a certain schoolmaster, one\nBiya Pande Brahman, who could foretell the future. One day he was in\nhis school with his boys when he foresaw that there was about to be an\nearthquake. He immediately warned his boys to get out of the building,\nand himself led the way. Only twelve of the boys had followed, and the\nothers were still hesitating, when the earthquake began, the school\nfell in, and they were all buried in the ruins. The schoolmaster\nformed the boys who had escaped into one caste, calling them Gahoi,\nwhich is supposed to mean that which is left or the residue; and he\ndetermined that he and his descendants would be the priests of the\nnew caste. At the weddings of the Gahois an image of the schoolmaster\nis painted on the house wall, and the bridegroom worships it with\nofferings of butter and flowers. The story indicates clearly that\nthe Gahois are of mixed descent from several castes.\n\nThe subcaste has twelve _gotras_ or sections, and seventy-two _al_\nor _anken_, which are subsections of the _gotras_. Several of the\n_al_ names appear to be of a titular or totemistic character, as Mor\npeacock, Sohania beautiful, Nagaria a drummer, Paharia a hillman,\nMatele the name of a village headman in Bundelkhand, Piparvania from\nthe pipal tree, Dadaria a singer. The rule of exogamy is said to be\nthat a man must not marry in his own _gotra_ nor in the _al_ of his\nmother or either grandmother. [148] Their weddings are held only at\nthe bride's house, no ceremonies being performed at the bridegroom's;\nat the ceremony the bridegroom stands in the centre of the shed by\nthe marriage-post and the bride walks seven times round him. At their\nweddings the Gahois still use the old rupees of the Nagpur kingdom for\npresents and payments to menials, and they hoard them up, when they\ncan get them, for this special purpose. The rupee is sacred with the\nBania, and this is an instance of the preservation of old accessories\nfor religious ceremonies when they have been superseded in ordinary\nuse. Polygamy is permitted, but is rare. The Gahois employ Bhargava\nBrahmans for their priests, and these are presumably the descendants\nof the schoolmaster who founded the caste. At the thirteenth-day feast\nafter a death the Brahmans must be fed first before the members of the\ncaste. On this occasion thirteen brass or earthen vessels are filled\nwith flour, and a piece of money, and presented to thirteen Brahmans,\nwhile the family priest receives a bed and piece of cloth. The priests\nare said to be greedy, and to raise quarrels over the value of the\npresents given to them. At the Diwali festival the Gahois worship the\nimplements of their trade, pen and ink, and their account-books. The\nGahois are Vaishnava Hindus, and abstain from all flesh and alcoholic\nliquor. They trade in grain and groceries, and are bankers and\nmoneylenders. They are considered to be cunning in business, and a\nproverb says that a Gahoi will deceive even his own father.\n\n\n\nBania, Golapurab\n\n\n_Bania, Golapurab, Golahre._--This Jain subcaste numbers about 6000\npersons in the Central Provinces, and belongs mainly to the Saugor,\nDamoh and Narsinghpur Districts. Its distribution is nearly the\nsame as that of the Gahois, and it is probably also a Bundelkhand\ngroup. The Golapurabs are practically all Digambari Jains with a small\nHindu minority. In some localities they intermarry with Parwar Banias\nwho are also Digambari Jains; and they will take food cooked without\nwater from the Nema subcaste who are Hindus. According to one story\nthe Golapurabs were the offspring of a Purabia, that is probably a\nBais Rajput, by a kept woman of the Ahir caste. This fits in very\nwell with the name, as Golak means a bastard, and the termination\n_purab_ would be from Purabia; but it is probably the name which has\ngiven rise to the story, or at any rate to the supposed descent from\na Purabia. In the United Provinces a small subcaste of Bania called\nGolahre exists, belonging to the Jhansi District, that is the country\nof the Golapurabs, and Jain by religion. There is no doubt that this\ngroup is the same as the Golapurabs, and Mr. Crooke derives [149]\nthe name from _gola_, a grain-mart, which seems more probable than\nthe derivation suggested above. But it is an interesting fact that\nthere is also a caste of cultivators called Golapurab in the United\nProvinces, found only in the Agra District. It is suggested that\nthese people are the illegitimate offspring of Sanadhya Brahmans,\nwith whom they appear to be closely connected. From their sept-names,\nhowever, which include those of several Rajput clans and also some\ntitular terms of a low-caste type, Mr. Crooke thinks their Brahmanical\norigin improbable. It is noticeable that these Golapurabs though a\ncultivating caste have, like the Banias, a subcaste called Dasa,\ncomprising persons of irregular descent; they also prohibit the\nremarriage of widows, and abstain from all flesh and from onions and\ngarlic. Such customs are peculiar in a cultivating caste, and resemble\nthose of Banias. It seems possible that a detailed investigation\nmight give ground for supposing that both the Golahre and Golapurab\nsubcastes of Banias in the United and Central Provinces respectively\nare connected with this cultivating caste of Golapurabs. The latter\nmight have abandoned the Jain religion on taking to cultivation,\nas a Jain cannot well drive the plough, which involves destruction\nof animal life; or the Bania section might have adopted Jainism in\norder to obtain a better social position and differentiate themselves\nfrom the cultivators. Unfortunately no detailed information about\nthe Golapurabs of the Central Provinces is available, from which the\nprobability or otherwise of this hypothesis could be tested.\n\n\n\nBania, Kasarwani\n\n\n_Bania, Kasarwani_. [150]--This Hindu subcaste numbers about 6500\npersons in the Central Provinces, who belong mainly to Saugor,\nJubbulpore and the three Chhattisgarh Districts. The name is probably\nderived from _kansa_, bell-metal, as these Banias retail brass and\nbell-metal vessels. The Kasarwanis may therefore not improbably\nbe an occupational group formed from persons who engaged in the\ntrade, and in that case they may be wholly or partly derived from\nthe Kasars and Tameras, the castes which work in brass, copper and\nbell-metal. The Kasarwanis are numerous in Allahabad and Mirzapur,\nand they may have come to Chhattisgarh from Mirzapur, attracted by the\nbell-metal industries in Ratanpur and Drug. In Saugor and also in the\nUnited Provinces they say that they came from Kara Manikpur several\ngenerations ago. If the selling of metal vessels was their original\ncalling, many, or the majority of them, have now abandoned it, and\ndeal in grain and groceries, and lend money like other Banias. The\nKasarwanis do not observe the same standard of strictness as the good\nBania subcastes in their social rules. They eat the flesh of goats,\nsheep, birds and fish, though they abstain from liquor. They permit the\nremarriage of widows and divorce; and women who have been divorced can\nmarry again in the caste by the same rite as widows. They also allow\nthe exchange of girls in marriage between two families. They do not as\na rule wear the sacred thread. Their priests are Sarwaria Brahmans,\nand these Brahmans and a few Bania subcastes, such as the Agarwalas,\nUmres and Gahois, can take food cooked without water from them, but\nother Brahmans and Rajputs will not take any kind of food. Matches\nare arranged in the presence of the head of the caste _panchayat_,\nwho is known as Chaudhri. The parents on each side give their consent,\nand in pledge of it six pice (farthings) are taken from both of them,\nmixed together and given to their family priests and barbers, four\npice to the priests and two to the barbers. The following is a local\nderivation of the name; the word _kasar_ means more or the increase,\nand _bhata_ means less; and _Hamara kya kasar bhata?_ means 'How\ndoes my account stand?' Hence Kasarbani is one who keeps accounts,\nthat is a Bania.\n\n\n\nBania, Kasaundhan\n\n\n_Bania, Kasaundhan._--This subcaste numbers about 5500 persons in the\nCentral Provinces and is returned principally from the Bilaspur, Raipur\nand Jubbulpore Districts. The name is derived [151] by Mr. Crooke from\n_kansa_, bell-metal, and _dhana_, wealth, and it would appear that the\nKasaundhans like the Kasarwanis are an occupational group, made up of\nshopkeepers who dealt in metal vessels. Like them also the Kasaundhans\nmay have originally been constituted from the metal-working castes,\nand indeed they may be only a local branch of the Kasarwanis, though no\ninformation is available which would decide this point. In the United\nProvinces both the Kasarwanis and Kasaundhans are divided into the\nPurbia or eastern and Pachhaiyan or western subcastes. Dharam Das,\nthe great disciple of Kabir, who founded the Kabirpanthi sect in the\nCentral Provinces, was a Kasaundhan Bania, and the Kabirpanthi Mahants\nor high-priests of Kawardha are of this caste. It is probable that a\ngood many of the Kasaundhan Banias in Bilaspur and Raipur belong to\nthe Kabirpanthi sect. The remainder are ordinary Hindus.\n\n\n\nBania, Khandelwal\n\n\n_Bania, Khandelwal._--This subcaste numbers about 1500 persons in\nthe Central Provinces; they are most numerous in the Hoshangabad and\nAmraoti Districts, but are scattered all over the Province. They take\ntheir name from the town of Khandela in the Jaipur State of Rajputana,\nwhich was formerly the capital of the Shekhawati federation. There is\nalso a Khandelwal subcaste of the Brahman caste, found in the United\nProvinces. [152] Mr. Bhattacharya says of them: [153] \"The Khandelwal\nBanias are not inferior to any other division of the caste either in\nwealth or refinement. There are both Vaishnavites and Jains among\nthem, and the Vaishnavite Khandelwals wear the sacred thread. The\nmillionaire Seths of Mathura are Khandelwal Banias.\"\n\n\n\nBania, Lad\n\n\n_Bania, Lad._--This subcaste numbers about 5000 persons in the\nCentral Provinces, being settled in Nimar, Nagpur and all the Berar\nDistricts. The Lad Banias came from Gujarat, and Lad is derived from\nLat-desh, the old name for Gujarat. Like other Banias they are divided\ninto the Bisa and Dasa groups or twenties and tens, the Dasa being\nof irregular descent. Their family priests are Khedawal Brahmans,\nand their caste deity is Ashapuri of Ashnai, near Petlad. Lad women,\nespecially those of Baroda, are noted for their taste in dress. The\nLad Banias are Hindus of the Vallabhacharya sect, who worship Krishna,\nand were formerly addicted to sexual indulgence. [154]\n\n\n\nBania, Lingayat\n\n\n_Bania, Lingayat._--The Lingayat Banias number nearly 8000 persons in\nthe Central Provinces, being numerous in Wardha, Nagpur and all the\nBerar Districts. A brief account of the Lingayat sect has been given\nin a separate article. The Lingayat Banias form a separate endogamous\ngroup, and they do not eat or intermarry either with other Banias or\nwith members of other castes belonging to the Lingayat sect. But they\nretain the name and occupation of Banias. They have five subdivisions,\nPancham, Dikshawant, Chilliwant, Takalkar and Kanade. The Pancham or\nPanchamsalis are the descendants of the original Brahman converts\nto the Lingayat sect. They are the main body of the community\nand are initiated by what is known as the eight-fold sacrament or\n_eshta-varna_. The Dikshawant, from _diksha_ or initiation, are a\nsubdivision of the Panchamsalis, who apparently initiate disciples\nlike the Dikshit Brahmans. The Takalkar are said to take their name\nfrom a forest called Takali, where their first ancestress bore a\nchild to the god Siva. The Kanade are from Canara. The meaning of\nthe term Chilliwant is not known; it is said that a member of this\nsubcaste will throw away his food or water if it is seen by any one\nwho is not a Lingayat, and they shave the whole head. The above form\nendogamous subcastes. The Lingayat Banias also have exogamous groups,\nthe names of which are mainly titular, of a low-caste type. Instances\nof them are Kaode, from _kawa_ a crow, Teli an oil-seller, Thubri a\ndwarf, Ubadkar an incendiary, Gudkari a sugar-seller and Dhamankar\nfrom Dhamangaon. They say that the _maths_ or exogamous groups are no\nlonger regarded, and that marriage is now prohibited between persons\nhaving the same surname. It is stated that if a girl is not married\nbefore adolescence she is finally expelled from the caste, but this\nrule has probably become obsolete. The proposal for marriage comes\nfrom either the boy's or girl's party, and sometimes the bridegroom\nreceives a small sum for his travelling expenses, while at other times\na bride-price is paid. At the wedding, rice coloured red is put in\nthe hands of the bridegroom and juari coloured yellow in those of the\nbride. The bridegroom places the rice on the bride's head and she lays\nthe juari at his feet. A dish full of water with a golden ring in it is\nput between them, and they lay their hands on the ring together under\nthe water and walk five times round a decorative little marriage-shed\nerected inside the real one. A feast is given, and the bridal couple\nsit on a little dais and eat out of the same dish. The remarriage of\nwidows is permitted, but the widow may not marry a man belonging to\nthe section either of her first husband or of her father. Divorce is\nrecognised. The Lingayats bury the dead in a sitting posture with\nthe _lingam_ or emblem of Siva, which has never left the dead man\nduring his lifetime, clasped in his right hand. Sometimes a platform\nis made over the grave with an image of Siva. They do not shave the\nhead in token of mourning. Their principal festival is Shivratri or\nSiva's night, when they offer the leaves of the bel tree and ashes\nto the god. A Lingayat must never be without the _lingam_ or phallic\nsign of Siva, which is carried slung round the neck in a little\ncase of silver, copper or brass. If he loses it, he must not eat,\ndrink nor smoke until he finds it or obtains another. The Lingayats\ndo not employ Brahmans for any purpose, but are served by their own\npriests, the Jangams, [155] who are recruited both by descent and by\ninitiation from members of the Pancham group. The Lingayat Banias are\npractically all immigrants from the Telugu country; they have Telugu\nnames and speak this language in their homes. They deal in grain,\ncloth, groceries and spices.\n\n\n\nBania, Maheshri\n\n\n_Bania, Maheshri._--This important subcaste of Banias numbered\nabout 14,000 persons in the Central Provinces in 1911, of whom 8000\nbelonged to the Berar Districts, and the remainder principally to\nHoshangabad, Nimar, Wardha and Nagpur. The name is said to be derived\nfrom Maheshwar, an ancient town on the Nerbudda, near Indore, and one\nof the earliest Rajput settlements. But some of them say that their\noriginal home is in Bikanir, and tell a story to the effect that their\nancestor was a Raja who was turned into stone with his seventy-two\nfollowers by some ascetics whose devotions they had interrupted in\nthe forest. But when their wives came to commit _sati_ by the stone\nfigures the god Siva intervened and brought them to life again. He\ntold them to give up the profession of arms and take to trade. So the\nseventy-two followers were the ancestors of the seventy-two _gotras_\nor sections of the Maheshris, and the Raja became their tribal\n_Bhat_ or genealogist, and they were called Maheshri or Maheswari,\nfrom Mahesh, a name of Siva. In Gujarat the term Maheshri or Meshri\nappears to be used for all Banias who are not Jains, including the\nother important Hindu subcastes. [156] This is somewhat peculiar,\nand perhaps tends to show that several of the local subcastes are\nof recent formation. But though they profess to be named after Siva,\nthe Maheshris, like practically all other Hindu Banias, are Vaishnava\nby sect, and wear the _kunti_ or necklace of beads of basil. A small\nminority are Jains. It is to be noticed that both the place of their\norigin, an early Rajput settlement of the Yadava clan, and their own\nlegend tend to show that they were derived from the Rajput caste;\nfor as their ancestors were attendants on a Raja and followed the\nprofession of arms, which they were told to abandon, they could be\nnone other than Rajputs. The Maheshris also have the Rajput custom of\nsending a cocoanut as a symbol of a proposal of marriage. In Nimar the\nMaheshri Banias say they belong to the Dhakar subcaste, a name which\nusually means illegitimate, though they themselves explain that it is\nderived from a place called Dhakargarh, from which they migrated. As\nalready stated they are divided into seventy-two exogamous clans,\nthe names of which appear to be titular or territorial. It is said\nthat at their weddings when the bridegroom gets to the door of the\nmarriage-shed, the bride's mother ties a scarf round his neck and\ntakes hold of his nose and drags him into the shed. Sometimes they make\nthe bridegroom kneel down and pay reverence to a shoe as a joke. They\ndo not observe the custom of the _pangat_ or formal festal assembly,\nwhich is usual among Hindu castes; according to this, none can begin\nto eat until all the guests have assembled, when they all sit down at\nonce. Among the Maheshris the guests sit down as they come in, and are\nserved and take their food and go. They only have the _pangat_ feast\non very rare occasions. The Maheshris are one of the richest, most\nenterprising and influential classes of Banias. They are intelligent,\nof high-bred appearance, cleanly habits and courteous manners. The\ngreat bankers, Sir Kasturchand Daga of Kamptee, of the firm of Bansi\nLal Abirchand, and Rai Bahadur Seth Jiwan Das and Diwan Bahadur Seth\nBallabh Das, of Jubbulpore, belong to this subcaste.\n\n\n\nBania, Nema\n\n\n_Bania, Nema._--This subcaste numbers nearly 4000 persons, the bulk of\nwhom reside in the Saugor, Damoh, Narsinghpur and Seoni Districts. The\nNemas are most largely returned from Central India, and are probably\na Bundelkhand group; they will eat food cooked without water with\nGolapurab Banias, who are also found in Bundelkhand. They are\nmainly Hindus, with a small minority of Jains. The origin of the\nname is obscure; the suggestion that it comes from Nimar appears\nto be untenable, as there are very few Nemas in that District. They\nsay that when Parasurama was slaying the Kshatriyas fourteen young\nRajput princes, who at the time were studying religion with their\nfamily priests, were saved by the latter on renouncing their Kshatriya\nstatus and declaring themselves to be Vaishyas. These fourteen princes\nwere the ancestors of the fourteen _gotras_ of the Nema subcaste,\nbut the _gotras_ actually bear the names of the fourteen Rishis or\nsaints who saved their lives. These sections appear to be of the\nusual Brahmanical type, but marriage is regulated by another set of\nfifty-two subsections, with names which are apparently titular or\nterritorial. Like other Bania groups the Nemas are divided into Bisa\nand Dasa subdivisions or twenties and tens, the Bisa being of pure\nand the Dasa of irregular descent. There is also a third group of\nPacha or fives, who appear to be the offspring of kept women. After\nsome generations, when the details of their ancestry are forgotten,\nthe Pachas probably obtain promotion into the Dasa group. The Bisa\nand Dasa groups take food together, but do not intermarry. The\nNemas wear the sacred thread and apparently prohibit the remarriage\nof widows. The Nemas are considered to be very keen business men,\nand a saying about them is, \"Where a sheep grazes or a Nema trades,\nwhat is there left for anybody else?\"\n\n\n\nBania, Oswal\n\n\n_Bania, Oswal._--This is perhaps the most important subdivision of the\nBanias after the Agarwala. The Oswals numbered nearly 10,000 persons\nin the Central Provinces in 1911, being found in considerable numbers\nin all the Berar Districts, and also in Nimar, Wardha and Raipur. The\nname is derived from the town of Osia or Osnagar in Marwar. According\nto one legend of their origin the Raja of Osnagar had no son, and\nobtained one through the promise of a Jain ascetic. The people then\ndrove the ascetic from the town, fearing that the Raja would become a\nJain; but Osadev, the guardian goddess of the place, told the ascetic,\nSri Ratan Suri, to convert the Raja by a miracle. So she took a small\nhank (_puni_) of cotton and passed it along the back of the saint,\nwhen it immediately became a snake and bit Jaichand, the son of the\nRaja, in the toe, while he was asleep beside his wife. Every means\nwas tried to save his life, but he died. As his corpse was about\nto be burnt, the ascetic sent one of his disciples and stopped the\ncremation. Then the Raja came with the body of his son and stood\nwith hands clasped before the saint. He ordered that it was to be\ntaken back to the place where the prince had been bitten, and that\nthe princess was to lie down beside it as before. At midnight the\nsnake returned and licked the bite, when the prince was restored to\nlife. Then the Raja, with all his Court and people, became a Jain. He\nand his family founded the _gotra_ or section now known as Sri Srimal\nor most noble; his servants formed that known as Srimal or excellent,\nwhile the other Rajputs of the town became ordinary Oswals. When the\nBrahmans of the place heard of these conversions they asked the saint\nhow they were to live, as all their clients had become Jains. The\nsaint directed that they should continue to be the family priests\nof the Oswals and be known as Bhojak or 'eaters.' Thus the Oswals,\nthough Jains, continue to employ Marwari Brahmans as their family\npriests. Another version of the story is that the king of Srimali\n[157] allowed no one who was not a millionaire to live within his city\nwalls. In consequence of this a large number of persons left Srimal,\nand, settling in Mandovad, called it Osa or the frontier. Among them\nwere Srimali Banias and also Bhatti, Chauhan, Gahlot, Gaur, Yadava,\nand several other clans of Rajputs, and these were the people who\nwere subsequently converted by the Jain ascetic, Sri Ratan Suri,\nand formed into the single caste of Oswal. [158] Finally, Colonel\nTod states that the Oswals are all of pure Rajput descent, of no\nsingle tribe, but chiefly Panwars, Solankis and Bhattis. [159] From\nthese legends and the fact that their headquarters are in Rajputana,\nit may safely be concluded that the Oswal Banias are of Rajput origin.\n\nThe large majority of the Oswals are Jain by religion, but a few are\nVaishnava Hindus. Intermarriage between the Hindu and Jain sections is\npermitted. Like the Agarwalas, the Oswals are divided into Bisa, Dasa\nand Pacha sections or twenties, tens and fives, according to the purity\nof their lineage. The Pacha subcaste still permit the remarriage of\nwidows. The three groups take food together but do not intermarry. In\nBombay, Dasa Oswals intermarry with the Dasa groups of Srimali and\nParwar Banias, [160] and Oswals generally can marry with other good\nBania subcastes so long as both parties are Jains. The Oswals are\ndivided into eighty-four _gotras_ or exogamous sections for purposes\nof marriage, a list of which is given by Mr. Crooke. [161] Most of\nthese cannot be recognised, but a few of them seem to be titular, as\nLorha a caste which grows hemp, Nunia a salt-refiner, Seth a banker,\nDaftari an office-boy, Vaid a physician, Bhandari a cook, and Kukara\na dog. These may indicate a certain amount of admixture of foreign\nelements in the caste. As stated from Benares, the exogamous rule\nis that a man cannot marry in his own section, and he cannot marry a\ngirl whose father's or mother's section is the same as that of either\nhis father or mother. This would bar the marriage of first cousins.\n\nThough Jains the Oswals perform their weddings by walking round the\nsacred fire and observe certain Hindu rites, including the worship\nof the god Ganpati. [162] They also revere other Hindu deities and\nthe sun and moon. The dead are burnt, but they do not observe any\nimpurity after a death nor clean the house. On the day after the\ndeath the mourning family, both men and women, visit Parasnath's\ntemple, and lay one seer (2 lbs.) of Indian millet before the god,\nbow to him and go home. They do not gather the ashes of the dead nor\nkeep the yearly death-day. Their only observance is that on some\nday between the twelfth day after a death and the end of a year,\nthe caste-people are treated to a dinner of sweetmeats and the dead\n'are then forgotten.' [163] The Oswals will take food cooked with\nwater (_katchi_) only from Brahmans, and that cooked without water\n(_pakki_) from Agarwala and Maheshri Banias. In the Central Provinces\nthe principal deity of the Oswals is the Jain Tirthakar Parasnath,\nand they spend large sums in the erection of splendid temples. The\nOswals are the most prominent trading caste in Rajputana; and they\nhave also frequently held high offices, such as Diwan or minister,\nand paymaster in Rajput States. [164]\n\n\n\nBania, Parwar\n\n\n\n1. Origin.\n\n\n_Bania, Parwar._ [165]--This Jain subcaste numbered nearly 29,000\npersons in 1911. They belong almost entirely to the Jubbulpore\nand Nerbudda Divisions, and the great bulk are found in the Saugor,\nDamoh and Jubbulpore Districts. The origin of the Parwars and of their\nname is not known, but there is some reason to suppose that they are\nfrom Rajputana. Their women wear on the head the _bij_, a Rajputana\nornament, and use the _charu_, a deep brass plate for drinking, which\nalso belongs there. Their songs are said to be in the Rajasthani\ndialect. It seems likely that the Parwars may be identical with the\nPorawal subcaste found in other Provinces, which, judging from the\nname, may belong to Rajputana. In the northern Districts the Parwars\nspeak Bundeli, but in the south their language is said to be Marwari.\n\n\n\n2. Subdivisions.\n\n\nAmong the Parwars the Samaiya or Channagri form a separate sectarian\nJain group. They do not worship the images of the Jain Tirthakars,\nbut enshrine the sacred books of the Jains in their temples, and\nworship these. The Parwars will take daughters in marriage from the\nChannagris, and sometimes give their daughters in consideration of\na substantial bride-price. Among the Parwars themselves there is a\nsocial division between the Ath Sake and the Chao Sake; the former\nwill not permit the marriage of persons related more nearly than\neight degrees, while the latter permit it after four degrees. The\nAth Sake have the higher position, and if one of them marries a Chao\nSake he is degraded to that group. Besides this the Parwars have an\ninferior division called Benaikia, which consists of the offspring of\nirregular unions and of widows who have remarried. Persons who have\ncommitted a caste offence and cannot pay the fine imposed on them for\nit also go into this subcaste. The Benaikias [166] themselves are\ndistributed into four groups of varying degrees of respectability,\nand families who live correctly and marry as well as they can tend\nto rise from one to the other until after several generations they\nmay again be recognised as Parwars proper.\n\n\n\n3. Exogamy.\n\n\nThe Parwars have twelve _gotras_ or main sections, and each _gotra_\nhas, or is supposed to have, twelve _muls_ or subsections. A Parwar\nmust not marry in his own _gotra_ nor in the _mul_ of his mother, or\nany of his grandmothers or greatgrandmothers. This practically bars\nmarriage within seven degrees of relationship. But a man's sister and\ndaughter may be married in the same family, and even to two brothers,\nand a man can marry two sisters.\n\n\n\n4. Marriage customs.\n\n\nAs a rule no bride-price is paid, but occasionally an old man\ndesiring a wife will give something substantial to her father in\nsecret. There are two forms of marriage, called Thinga and Dajanha;\nin the former, women do not accompany the wedding procession, and they\nhave a separate marriage-shed at the bridegroom's house for their own\ncelebrations; while in the latter, they accompany it and erect such\na shed at the house in the bridegroom's village or town where they\nhave their lodging. Before the wedding, the bridegroom, mounted on\na horse, and the bride, carried in a litter, proceed together round\nthe marriage-shed. The bridegroom then stands by the sacred post in\nthe centre and the bride walks seven times round him. In the evening\nthere was a custom of dressing the principal male relatives of the\nbridegroom in women's clothes and making them dance, but this is now\nbeing discarded. On the fifth day is held a rite called Palkachar. A\nnew cot is provided by the bride's father, and on it is spread a red\ncloth. The couple are seated on this with their hands entwined, and\ntheir relations come and make them presents. If the bridegroom catches\nhold of the dress of his mother- or father-in-law, they are expected\nto make him a handsome present. In other respects the wedding follows\nthe ordinary Hindu ritual. Widow-marriage and divorce are forbidden\namong the Parwars proper, and those who practise them go into the\nlower Benaikia group.\n\n\n\n5. Religion: Hindu observances.\n\n\nThe Parwars are practically all Jains of the Digambari sect. They\nbuild costly and beautiful temples for their Tirthakars, especially for\ntheir favourite Parasnath. They have also many Hindu practices. They\nobserve the Diwali, Rakshabandhan and Holi festivals; they say that\nat the Diwali the last Tirthakar Mahavira attained beatitude and the\ngods rained down jewels; the little lamps now lighted at Diwali are\nheld to be symbolic of these jewels. They tie the threads round the\nwrist on Rakshabandhan to keep off evil spirits. They worship Sitala\nDevi, the Hindu goddess of smallpox, and employ Brahmans to choose\nnames for their children and fix the dates of their wedding and other\nceremonies, though not at the ceremonies themselves.\n\n\n\n6. Disposal of the dead.\n\n\nThe caste burn the dead, with the exception of the bodies of young\nchildren, which are buried. The corpse is sometimes placed sitting in\na car to be taken to the cremation ground, but often laid on a bier\nin the ordinary manner. The sitting posture is that in which all the\nTirthakars attained paradise, and their images always represent them\nin this posture. The corpse is naked save for a new piece of cloth\nround the waist, but it is covered with a sheet. The Jains do not\nshave their hair in token of mourning, nor do they offer sacrificial\ncakes to the dead. When the body is burnt they bathe in the nearest\nwater and go home. Neither the bearers nor the mourners are held to\nbe impure. Next day the mourning family, both men and women, visit\nParasnath's temple, lay two pounds of Indian millet before the god\nand go home. [167] But in the Central Provinces they whitewash their\nhouses, get their clothes washed, throw away their earthen pots and\ngive a feast to the caste.\n\n\n\n7. Social rules and customs.\n\n\nThe Parwars abstain from eating any kind of flesh and from drinking\nliquor. They have a _panchayat_ and impose penalties for offences\nagainst caste rules like the Hindus. Among the offences are the\nkilling of any living thing, unchastity or adultery, theft or other\nbad conduct, taking cooked food or water from a caste from which\nthe Parwars do not take them, and violation of any rule of their\nreligion. To get vermin in a wound, or to be beaten by a low-caste\nman or with a shoe, incidents which entail serious penalties among\nthe Hindus, are not offences with the Parwars. When an offender is\nput out of caste the ordinary deprivation is that he is not allowed\nto enter a Jain temple, and in serious cases he may also not eat nor\ndrink with the caste. The Parwars are generally engaged in the trade\nin grain, _ghi_, and other staples. Several of them are well-to-do\nand own villages.\n\n\n\nBania, Srimali\n\n\n_Bania, Srimali._--This subcaste takes its name from the town of\nSrimal, which is now Bhinmal in Marwar. They numbered 600 persons in\nthe Central Provinces in 1911, most of whom belonged to the Hoshangabad\nDistrict. More than two-thirds were Hindus and the remainder\nJains. Colonel Tod writes of Bhinmal and an adjoining town, Sanchor:\n\"These towns are on the high road to Cutch and Gujarat, which has given\nthem from the most remote times a commercial celebrity. Bhinmal is said\nto contain about 1500 houses and Sanchor half that number. Very wealthy\n_mahajans_ or merchants used to reside here, but insecurity both within\nand without has much injured these cities.\" From Bhinmal the Srimalis\nappear to have gone to Gujarat, where they are found in considerable\nnumbers. Their legend of origin is that the goddess Lakshmi created\nfrom a flower-garland 90,000 families to act as servants to the\n90,000 Srimali Brahmans, and these were the ancestors of the Srimali\nBanias. [168] Both the Jain and Hindu sections of the Srimali Banias\nemploy Srimali Brahmans as priests. Like other classes of Banias, the\nSrimali are divided into two sections, the Bisa and Dasa, or twenty\nand ten, of which the Bisa are considered to be of pure and the Dasa of\nsomewhat mixed descent. In Gujarat they also have a third territorial\ngroup, known as Ladva, from Lad, the old name of Gujarat. All three\nsubdivisions take food together but do not intermarry. [169] The two\nhighest sections of the Oswal Banias are called Sri Srimal and Srimal,\nand it is possible that further investigation might show the Srimals\nand Oswals to have been originally of one stock.\n\n\n\nBania, Umre\n\n\n_Bania, Umre._--This Hindu subcaste belongs to Damoh and\nJubbulpore. They are perhaps the same as the Ummar Banias of the United\nProvinces, who reside in the Meerut, Agra and Kumaon Divisions. The\nname Umre is found as a subdivision of several castes in the Central\nProvinces, as the Telis and others, and is probably derived from\nsome town or tract of country in northern or central India, but no\nidentification has been made. Mr. Bhimbhai Kirparam states that in\nGujarat the Ummar Banias are also known as Bagaria from the Bagar\nor wild country, comprised in the Dongarpur and Pertabgarh States of\nRajputana, where considerable numbers of them are still settled. Their\nheadquarters is at Sagwara, near Dongarpur. [170] In Damoh the Umre\nBanias formerly cultivated the _al_ plant, [171] which yielded a\nwell-known dye, and hence they lost caste, as in soaking the roots\nof the plant to extract the dye the numerous insects in them are\nnecessarily destroyed. The Dosar subcaste [172] are a branch of the\nUmre, who allow widow-remarriage.\n\n\n\n\n\n\nBanjara\n\n\n\nList of Paragraphs\n\n\n    1. _Historical notice of the caste._\n    2. _Banjaras derived from the Charans or Bhats._\n    3. _Charan Banjaras employed with the Mughal armies._\n    4. _Internal structure._\n    5. _Minor subcastes._\n    6. _Marriage: betrothal._\n    7. _Marriage._\n    8. _Widow-remarriage._\n    9. _Birth and death._\n    10. _Religion: Banjari Devi._\n    11. _Mithu Bhukia._\n    12. _Siva Bhaia._\n    13. _Worship of cattle._\n    14. _Connection with the Sikhs._\n    15. _Witchcraft._\n    16. _Human sacrifice._\n    17. _Admission of outsiders: kidnapped children and slaves._\n    18. _Dress._\n    19. _Social customs._\n    20. _The Naik or headman. Banjara dogs._\n    21. _Criminal tendencies of the caste._\n    22. _Their virtues._\n\n\n\n1. Historical notice of the caste.\n\n\n_Banjara, Wanjari, Lahana, Mukeri_. [173]--The caste of carriers and\ndrivers of pack-bullocks. In 1911 the Banjaras numbered about 56,000\npersons in the Central Provinces and 80,000 in Berar, the caste being\nin greater strength here than in any part of India except Hyderabad,\nwhere their total is 174,000. Bombay comes next with a figure\napproaching that of the Central Provinces and Berar, and the caste\nbelongs therefore rather to the Deccan than to northern India. The\nname has been variously explained, but the most probable derivation\nis from the Sanskrit _banijya kara_, a merchant. Sir H. M. Elliot\nheld that the name Banjara was of great antiquity, quoting a passage\nfrom the Dasa Kumara Charita of the eleventh or twelfth century. But\nit was subsequently shown by Professor Cowell that the name Banjara\ndid not occur in the original text of this work. [174] Banjaras are\nsupposed to be the people mentioned by Arrian in the fourth century\nB.C., as leading a wandering life, dwelling in tents and letting out\nfor hire their beasts of burden. [175] But this passage merely proves\nthe existence of carriers and not of the Banjara caste. Mr. Crooke\nstates [176] that the first mention of Banjaras in Muhammadan history\nis in Sikandar's attack on Dholpur in A.D. 1504. [177] It seems\nimprobable, therefore, that the Banjaras accompanied the different\nMuhammadan invaders of India, as might have been inferred from the\nfact that they came into the Deccan in the train of the forces of\nAurangzeb. The caste has indeed two Muhammadan sections, the Turkia\nand Mukeri. [178] But both of these have the same Rajput clan names\nas the Hindu branch of the caste, and it seems possible that they may\nhave embraced Islam under the proselytising influence of Aurangzeb,\nor simply owing to their having been employed with the Muhammadan\ntroops. The great bulk of the caste in southern India are Hindus,\nand there seems no reason for assuming that its origin was Muhammadan.\n\n\n\n2. Banjaras derived from the Charans or Bhats.\n\n\nIt may be suggested that the Banjaras are derived from the Charan\nor Bhat caste of Rajputana. Mr. Cumberlege, whose _Monograph_ on the\ncaste in Berar is one of the best authorities, states that of the four\ndivisions existing there the Charans are the most numerous and by\nfar the most interesting class. [179] In the article on Bhat it has\nbeen explained how the Charans or bards, owing to their readiness\nto kill themselves rather than give up the property entrusted to\ntheir care, became the best safe-conduct for the passage of goods\nin Rajputana. The name Charan is generally held to mean 'Wanderer,'\nand in their capacity of bards the Charans were accustomed to travel\nfrom court to court of the different chiefs in quest of patronage. They\nwere first protected by their sacred character and afterwards by their\ncustom of _traga_ or _chandi_, that is, of killing themselves when\nattacked and threatening their assailants with the dreaded fate of\nbeing haunted by their ghosts. Mr. Bhimbhai Kirparam [180] remarks:\n\"After Parasurama's dispersion of the Kshatris the Charans accompanied\nthem in their southward flight. In those troubled times the Charans\ntook charge of the supplies of the Kshatri forces and so fell to their\npresent position of cattle-breeders and grain-carriers....\" Most of\nthe Charans are graziers, cattle-sellers and pack-carriers. Colonel\nTod says: [181] \"The Charans and Bhats or bards and genealogists are\nthe chief carriers of these regions (Marwar); their sacred character\noverawes the lawless Rajput chief, and even the savage Koli and Bhil\nand the plundering Sahrai of the desert dread the anathema of these\nsingular races, who conduct the caravans through the wildest and\nmost desolate regions.\" In another passage Colonel Tod identifies\nthe Charans and Banjaras [182] as follows: \"Murlah is an excellent\ntownship inhabited by a community of Charans of the tribe Cucholia\n(Kacheli), who are Bunjarris (carriers) by profession, though poets by\nbirth. The alliance is a curious one, and would appear incongruous were\nnot gain the object generally in both cases. It was the sanctity of\ntheir office which converted our _bardais_ (bards) into _bunjarris_,\nfor their persons being sacred, the immunity extended likewise to\ntheir goods and saved them from all imposts; so that in process of\ntime they became the free-traders of Rajputana. I was highly gratified\nwith the reception I received from the community, which collectively\nadvanced to meet me at some distance from the town. The procession was\nheaded by the village elders and all the fair Charanis, who, as they\napproached, gracefully waved their scarfs over me until I was fairly\nmade captive by the muses of Murlah! It was a novel and interesting\nscene. The manly persons of the Charans, clad in the flowing white robe\nwith the high loose-folded turban inclined on one side, from which\nthe _mala_ or chaplet was gracefully suspended; and the _naiques_\nor leaders, with their massive necklaces of gold, with the image\nof the _pitriswar_ (_manes_) depending therefrom, gave the whole an\nair of opulence and dignity. The females were uniformly attired in a\nskirt of dark-brown camlet, having a bodice of light-coloured stuff,\nwith gold ornaments worked into their fine black hair; and all had the\nfavourite _churis_ or rings of _hathidant_ (elephant's tooth) covering\nthe arm from the wrist to the elbow, and even above it.\" A little\nlater, referring to the same Charan community, Colonel Tod writes:\n\"The _tanda_ or caravan, consisting of four thousand bullocks, has\nbeen kept up amidst all the evils which have beset this land through\nMughal and Maratha tyranny. The utility of these caravans as general\ncarriers to conflicting armies and as regular tax-paying subjects has\nproved their safeguard, and they were too strong to be pillaged by any\npetty marauder, as any one who has seen a Banjari encampment will be\nconvinced. They encamp in a square, and their grain-bags piled over\neach other breast-high, with interstices left for their matchlocks,\nmake no contemptible fortification. Even the ruthless Turk, Jamshid\nKhan, set up a protecting tablet in favour of the Charans of Murlah,\nrecording their exemption from _dind_ contributions, and that there\nshould be no increase in duties, with threats to all who should injure\nthe community. As usual, the sun and moon are appealed to as witnesses\nof good faith, and sculptured on the stone. Even the forest Bhil and\nmountain Mair have set up their signs of immunity and protection to\nthe chosen of Hinglaz (tutelary deity); and the figures of a cow and\nits _kairi_ (calf) carved in rude relief speak the agreement that\nthey should not be slain or stolen within the limits of Murlah.\"\n\nIn the above passage the community described by Colonel Tod were\nCharans, but he identified them with Banjaras, using the name\nalternatively. He mentions their large herds of pack-bullocks, for the\nmanagement of which the Charans, who were graziers as well as bards,\nwould naturally be adapted; the name given to the camp, _tanda_, is\nthat generally used by the Banjaras; the women wore ivory bangles,\nwhich the Banjara women wear. [183] In commenting on the way in which\nthe women threw their scarves over him, making him a prisoner, Colonel\nTod remarks: \"This community had enjoyed for five hundred years the\nprivilege of making prisoner any Rana of Mewar who may pass through\nMurlah, and keeping him in bondage until he gives them a _got_ or\nentertainment. The patriarch (of the village) told me that I was in\njeopardy as the Rana's representative, but not knowing how I might\nhave relished the joke had it been carried to its conclusion, they\nlet me escape.\" Mr. Ball notes a similar custom of the Banjara women\nfar away in the Bastar State of the Central Provinces: [184] \"Today\nI passed through another Banjara hamlet, from whence the women and\ngirls all hurried out in pursuit, and a brazen-faced powerful-looking\nlass seized the bridle of my horse as he was being led by the _sais_\nin the rear. The _sais_ and _chaprasi_ were both Muhammadans, and\nthe forward conduct of these females perplexed them not a little,\nand the former was fast losing his temper at being thus assaulted by a\nwoman.\" Colonel Mackenzie in his account of the Banjara caste remarks:\n[185] \"It is certain that the Charans, whoever they were, first rose\nto the demand which the great armies of northern India, contending\nin exhausted countries far from their basis of supply, created,\nviz. the want of a fearless and reliable transport service.... The\nstart which the Charans then acquired they retain among Banjaras to\nthis day, though in very much diminished splendour and position. As\nthey themselves relate, they were originally five brethren, Rathor,\nTuri, Panwar, Chauhan and Jadon. But fortune particularly smiled on\nBhika Rathor, as his four sons, Mersi, Multasi, Dheda and Khamdar,\ngreat names among the Charans, rose immediately to eminence as\ncommissariat transporters in the north. And not only under the\nDelhi Emperors, but under the Satara, subsequently the Poona Raj,\nand the Subahship of the Nizam, did several of their descendants rise\nto consideration and power.\" It thus seems a reasonable hypothesis\nthat the nucleus of the Banjara caste was constituted by the Charans\nor bards of Rajputana. Mr. Bhimbhai Kirparam [186] also identifies\nthe Charans and Banjaras, but I have not been able to find the exact\npassage. The following notice [187] by Colonel Tone is of interest\nin this connection:\n\n\"The vast consumption that attends a Maratha army necessarily\nsuperinduces the idea of great supplies; yet, notwithstanding this,\nthe native powers never concern themselves about providing for their\nforces, and have no idea of a grain and victualling department,\nwhich forms so great an object in a European campaign. The Banias\nor grain-sellers in an Indian army have always their servants ahead\nof the troops on the line of march, to purchase in the circumjacent\ncountry whatever necessaries are to be disposed of. Articles of\nconsumption are never wanting in a native camp, though they are\ngenerally twenty-five per cent dearer than in the town bazars;\nbut independent of this mode of supply the Vanjaris or itinerant\ngrain-merchants furnish large quantities, which they bring on\nbullocks from an immense distance. These are a very peculiar race,\nand appear a marked and discriminated people from any other I have\nseen in this country. Formerly they were considered so sacred that\nthey passed in safety in the midst of contending armies; of late,\nhowever, this reverence for their character is much abated and they\nhave been frequently plundered, particularly by Tipu.\"\n\nThe reference to the sacred character attaching to the Banjaras a\ncentury ago appears to be strong evidence in favour of their derivation\nfrom the Charans. For it could scarcely have been obtained by any body\nof commissariat agents coming into India with the Muhammadans. The\nfact that the example of disregarding it was first set by a Muhammadan\nprince points to the same conclusion.\n\nMr. Irvine notices the Banjaras with the Mughal armies in similar\nterms: [188] \"It is by these people that the Indian armies in the\nfield are fed, and they are never injured by either army. The grain\nis taken from them, but invariably paid for. They encamp for safety\nevery evening in a regular square formed of the bags of grain of\nwhich they construct a breastwork. They and their families are in the\ncentre, and the oxen are made fast outside. Guards with matchlocks and\nspears are placed at the corners, and their dogs do duty as advanced\nposts. I have seen them with droves of 5000 bullocks. They do not\nmove above two miles an hour, as their cattle are allowed to graze\nas they proceed on the march.\"\n\nOne may suppose that the Charans having acted as carriers for the\nRajput chiefs and courts, both in time of peace and in their continuous\nintestinal feuds, were pressed into service when the Mughal armies\nentered Rajputana and passed through it to Gujarat and the Deccan. In\nadopting the profession of transport agents for the imperial troops\nthey may have been amalgamated into a fresh caste with other Hindus and\nMuhammadans doing the same work, just as the camp language formed by\nthe superposition of a Persian vocabulary on to a grammatical basis\nof Hindi became Urdu or Hindustani. The readiness of the Charans\nto commit suicide rather than give up property committed to their\ncharge was not, however, copied by the Banjaras, and so far as I am\naware there is no record of men of this caste taking their own lives,\nthough they had little scruple with those of others.\n\n\n\n3. Charan Ranjarans employed with the Mughal armies.\n\n\nThe Charan Banjaras, Mr. Cumberlege states, [189] first came to the\nDeccan with Asaf Khan in the campaign which closed with the annexation\nby the Emperor Shah Jahan of Ahmadnagar and Berar about 1630. Their\nleaders or Naiks were Bhangi and Jhangi of the Rathor [190] and Bhagwan\nDas of the Jadon clan. Bhangi and Jhangi had 180,000 pack-bullocks,\nand Bhagwan Das 52,000. It was naturally an object with Asaf Khan to\nkeep his commissariat well up with his force, and as Bhangi and Jhangi\nmade difficulties about the supply of grass and water to their cattle,\nhe gave them an order engraved on copper in letters of gold to the\nfollowing effect:\n\n\n                Ranjan ka pani\n                Chhappar ka ghas\n                Din ke tin khun muaf;\n                Aur jahan Asaf Jah ke ghore\n                Wahan Bhangi Jhangi ke bail,\n\n\nwhich may be rendered as follows: \"If you can find no water elsewhere\nyou may even take it from the pots of my followers; grass you may\ntake from the roofs of their huts; and I will pardon you up to three\nmurders a day, provided that wherever I find my cavalry, Bhangi\nand Jhangi's bullocks shall be with them.\" This grant is still in\nthe possession of Bhangi Naik's descendant who lives at Musi, near\nHingoli. He is recognised by the Hyderabad Court as the head Naik of\nthe Banjara caste, and on his death his successor receives a _khillat_\nor dress-of-honour from His Highness the Nizam. After Asaf Khan's\ncampaign and settlement in the Deccan, a quarrel broke out between\nthe Rathor clan, headed by Bhangi and Jhangi, and the Jadons under\nBhagwan Das, owing to the fact that Asaf Khan had refused to give\nBhagwan Das a grant like that quoted above. Both Bhangi and Bhagwan\nDas were slain in the feud and the Jadons captured the standard,\nconsisting of eight _thans_ (lengths) of cloth, which was annually\npresented by the Nizam to Bhangi's descendants. When Mr. Cumberlege\nwrote (1869), this standard was in the possession of Hatti Naik,\na descendant of Bhagwan Das, who had an estate near Muchli Bunder,\nin the Madras Presidency. Colonel Mackenzie states [191] that the\nleaders of the Rathor clan became so distinguished not only in their\nparticular line but as men of war that the Emperors recognised\ntheir carrying distinctive standards, which were known as _dhal_\nby the Rathors themselves. Jhangi's family was also represented\nin the person of Ramu Naik, the _patel_ or headman of the village\nof Yaoli in the Yeotmal District. In 1791-92 the Banjaras were\nemployed to supply grain to the British army under the Marquis of\nCornwallis during the siege of Seringapatam, [192] and the Duke of\nWellington in his Indian campaigns regularly engaged them as part of\nthe commissariat staff of his army. On one occasion he said of them:\n\"The Banjaras I look upon in the light of servants of the public,\nof whose grain I have a right to regulate the sale, always taking\ncare that they have a proportionate advantage.\" [193]\n\n\n\n4. Internal structure.\n\n\nMr. Cumberlege gives four main divisions of the caste in Berar, the\nCharans, Mathurias, Labhanas and Dharis. Of these the Charans are\nby far the most numerous and important, and included all the famous\nleaders of the caste mentioned above. The Charans are divided into\nthe five clans, Rathor, Panwar, Chauhan, Puri and Jadon or Burthia,\nall of these being the names of leading Rajput clans; and as the\nCharan bards themselves were probably Rajputs, the Banjaras, who\nare descended from them, may claim the same lineage. Each clan or\nsept is divided into a number of subsepts; thus among the Rathors\nthe principal subsept is the Bhurkia, called after the Bhika Rathor\nalready mentioned; and this is again split into four groups, Mersi,\nMultasi, Dheda and Khamdar, named after his four sons. As a rule,\nmembers of the same clan, Panwar, Rathor and so on, may not intermarry,\nbut Mr. Cumberlege states that a man belonging to the Banod or Bhurkia\nsubsepts of the Rathors must not take a wife from his own subsept,\nbut may marry any other Rathor girl. It seems probable that the same\nrule may hold with the other subsepts, as it is most unlikely that\nintermarriage should still be prohibited among so large a body as the\nRathor Charans have now become. It may be supposed therefore that the\ndivision into subsepts took place when it became too inconvenient\nto prohibit marriage throughout the whole body of the sept, as\nhas happened in other cases. The Mathuria Banjaras take their name\nfrom Mathura or Muttra and appear to be Brahmans. \"They wear the\nsacred thread, [194] know the _Gayatri Mantra_, and to the present\nday abstain from meat and liquor, subsisting entirely on grain and\nvegetables. They always had a sufficiency of Charans and servants\n(_Jangar_) in their villages to perform all necessary manual labour,\nand would not themselves work for a remuneration otherwise than by\ncarrying grain, which was and still is their legitimate occupation;\nbut it was not considered undignified to cut wood and grass for the\nhousehold. Both Mathuria and Labhana men are fairer than the Charans;\nthey wear better jewellery and their loin-cloths have a silk border,\nwhile those of the Charans are of rough, common cloth.\" The Mathurias\nare sometimes known as Ahiwasi, and may be connected with the Ahiwasis\nof the Hindustani Districts, who also drive pack-bullocks and call\nthemselves Brahmans. But it is naturally a sin for a Brahman to load\nthe sacred ox, and any one who does so is held to have derogated\nfrom the priestly order. The Mathurias are divided according to\nMr. Cumberlege into four groups called Pande, Dube, Tiwari and Chaube,\nall of which are common titles of Hindustani Brahmans and signify\na man learned in one, two, three and four Vedas respectively. It is\nprobable that these groups are exogamous, marrying with each other,\nbut this is not stated. The third division, the Labhanas, may derive\ntheir name from _lavana_, salt, and probably devoted themselves more\nespecially to the carriage of this staple. They are said to be Rajputs,\nand to be descended from Mota and Mola, the cowherds of Krishna. The\nfourth subdivision are the Dharis or bards of the caste, who rank\nbelow the others. According to their own story [195] their ancestor\nwas a member of the Bhat caste, who became a disciple of Nanak,\nthe Sikh apostle, and with him attended a feast given by the Mughal\nEmperor Humayun. Here he ate the flesh of a cow or buffalo, and in\nconsequence became a Muhammadan and was circumcised. He was employed\nas a musician at the Mughal court, and his sons joined the Charans and\nbecame the bards of the Banjara caste. \"The Dharis,\" Mr. Cumberlege\ncontinues, \"are both musicians and mendicants; they sing in praise\nof their own and the Charan ancestors and of the old kings of Delhi;\nwhile at certain seasons of the year they visit Charan hamlets, when\neach family gives them a young bullock or a few rupees. They are\nMuhammadans, but worship Sarasvati and at their marriages offer up\na he-goat to Gaji and Gandha, the two sons of the original Bhat, who\nbecame a Muhammadan. At burials a Fakir is called to read the prayers.\"\n\n\n\n5. Minor subcastes.\n\n\nBesides the above four main divisions, there are a number of others,\nthe caste being now of a very mixed character. Two principal Muhammadan\ngroups are given by Sir H. Elliot, the Turkia and Mukeri. The Turkia\nhave thirty-six septs, some with Rajput names and others territorial or\ntitular. They seem to be a mixed group of Hindus who may have embraced\nIslam as the religion of their employers. The Mukeri Banjaras assert\nthat they derive their name from Mecca (Makka), which one of their\nNaiks, who had his camp in the vicinity, assisted Father Abraham in\nbuilding. [196] Mr. Crooke thinks that the name may be a corruption\nof Makkeri and mean a seller of maize. Mr. Cumberlege says of them:\n\"Multanis and Mukeris have been called Banjaras also, but have nothing\nin common with the caste; the Multanis are carriers of grain and the\nMukeris of wood and timber, and hence the confusion may have arisen\nbetween them.\" But they are now held to be Banjaras by common usage;\nin Saugor the Mukeris also deal in cattle. From Chanda a different set\nof subcastes is reported called Bhusarjin, Ladjin, Saojin and Kanhejin;\nthe first may take their name from _bhusa_, the chaff of wheat, while\nLad is the term used for people coming from Gujarat, and Sao means\na banker. In Sambalpur again a class of Thuria Banjaras is found,\ndivided into the Bandesia, Atharadesia, Navadesia and Chhadesia, or\nthe men of the 52 districts, the 18 districts, the 9 districts and\nthe 6 districts respectively. The first and last two of these take\nfood and marry with each other. Other groups are the Guar Banjaras,\napparently from Guara or Gwala, a milkman, the Guguria Banjaras, who\nmay, Mr. Hira Lal suggests, take their name from trading in _gugar_,\na kind of gum, and the Bahrup Banjaras, who are Nats or acrobats. In\nBerar also a number of the caste have become respectable cultivators\nand now call themselves Wanjari, disclaiming any connection with\nthe Banjaras, probably on account of the bad reputation for crime\nattached to these latter. Many of the Wanjaris have been allowed\nto rank with the Kunbi caste, and call themselves Wanjari Kunbis in\norder the better to dissociate themselves from their parent caste. The\nexisting caste is therefore of a very mixed nature, and the original\nBrahman and Charan strains, though still perfectly recognisable,\ncannot have maintained their purity.\n\n\n\n6. Marriage: betrothal.\n\n\nAt a betrothal in Nimar the bridegroom and his friends come and stay\nin the next village to that of the bride. The two parties meet on the\nboundary of the village, and here the bride-price is fixed, which\nis often a very large sum, ranging from Rs. 200 to Rs. 1000. Until\nthe price is paid the father will not let the bridegroom into his\nhouse. In Yeotmal, when a betrothal is to be made, the parties go\nto a liquor-shop and there a betel-leaf and a large handful of sugar\nare distributed to everybody. Here the price to be paid for the bride\namounts to Rs. 40 and four young bullocks. Prior to the wedding the\nbridegroom goes and stays for a month or so in the house of the bride's\nfather, and during this time he must provide a supply of liquor daily\nfor the bride's male relatives. The period was formerly longer, but now\nextends to a month at the most. While he resides at the bride's house\nthe bridegroom wears a cloth over his head so that his face cannot be\nseen. Probably the prohibition against seeing him applies to the bride\nonly, as the rule in Berar is that between the betrothal and marriage\nof a Charan girl she may not eat or drink in the bridegroom's house,\nor show her face to him or any of his relatives. Mathuria girls must\nbe wedded before they are seven years old, but the Charans permit\nthem to remain single until after adolescence.\n\n\n\n7. Marriage.\n\n\nBanjara marriages are frequently held in the rains, a season forbidden\nto other Hindus, but naturally the most convenient to them, because\nin the dry weather they are usually travelling. For the marriage\nceremony they pitch a tent in lieu of the marriage-shed, and on the\nground they place two rice-pounding pestles, round which the bride and\nbridegroom make the seven turns. Others substitute for the pestles\na pack-saddle with two bags of grain in order to symbolise their\ncamp life. During the turns the girl's hand is held by the Joshi\nor village priest, or some other Brahman, in case she should fall;\nsuch an occurrence being probably a very unlucky omen. Afterwards,\nthe girl runs away and the Brahman has to pursue and catch her. In\nBhandara the girl is clad only in a light skirt and breast-cloth,\nand her body is rubbed all over with oil in order to make his\ntask more difficult. During this time the bride's party pelt the\nBrahman with rice, turmeric and areca-nuts, and sometimes even with\nstones; and if he is forced to cry with the pain, it is considered\nlucky. But if he finally catches the girl, he is conducted to a dais\nand sits there holding a brass plate in front of him, into which the\nbridegroom's party drop presents. A case is mentioned of a Brahman\nhaving obtained Rs. 70 in this manner. Among the Mathuria Banjaras\nof Berar the ceremony resembles the usual Hindu type. [197] Before\nthe wedding the families bring the branches of eight or ten different\nkinds of trees, and perform the _hom_ or fire sacrifice with them. A\nBrahman knots the clothes of the couple together, and they walk round\nthe fire. When the bride arrives at the bridegroom's hamlet after the\nwedding, two small brass vessels are given to her; she fetches water\nin these and returns them to the women of the boy's family, who mix\nthis with other water previously drawn, and the girl, who up to this\nperiod was considered of no caste at all, becomes a Mathuria. [198]\nFood is cooked with this water, and the bride and bridegroom are\nformally received into the husband's _kuri_ or hamlet. It is possible\nthat the mixing of the water may be a survival of the blood covenant,\nwhereby a girl was received into her husband's clan on her marriage\nby her blood being mixed with that of her husband. [199] Or it may be\nsimply symbolical of the union of the families. In some localities\nafter the wedding the bride and bridegroom are made to stand on two\nbullocks, which are driven forward, and it is believed that whichever\nof them falls off first will be the first to die.\n\n\n\n8. Widow remarriage.\n\n\nOwing to the scarcity of women in the caste a widow is seldom allowed\nto go out of the family, and when her husband dies she is taken either\nby his elder or younger brother; this is in opposition to the usual\nHindu practice, which forbids the marriage of a woman to her deceased\nhusband's elder brother, on the ground that as successor to the\nheadship of the joint family he stands to her, at least potentially,\nin the light of a father. If the widow prefers another man and runs\naway to him, the first husband's relatives claim compensation, and\nthreaten, in the event of its being refused, to abduct a girl from\nthis man's family in exchange for the widow. But no case of abduction\nhas occurred in recent years. In Berar the compensation claimed in\nthe case of a woman marrying out of the family amounts to Rs. 75,\nwith Rs. 5 for the Naik or headman of the family. Should the widow\nelope without her brother-in-law's consent, he chooses ten or twelve\nof his friends to go and sit _dharna_ (starving themselves) before\nthe hut of the man who has taken her. He is then bound to supply\nthese men with food and liquor until he has paid the customary sum,\nwhen he may marry the widow. [200] In the event of the second husband\nbeing too poor to pay monetary compensation, he gives a goat, which\nis cut into eighteen pieces and distributed to the community. [201]\n\n\n\n9. Birth and death.\n\n\nAfter the birth of a child the mother is unclean for five days, and\nlives apart in a separate hut, which is run up for her use in the\n_kuri_ or hamlet. On the sixth day she washes the feet of all the\nchildren in the _kuri_, feeds them and then returns to her husband's\nhut. When a child is born in a moving _tanda_ or camp, the same\nrule is observed, and for five days the mother walks alone after the\ncamp during the daily march. The caste bury the bodies of unmarried\npersons and those dying of smallpox and burn the others. Their rites\nof mourning are not strict, and are observed only for three days. The\nBanjaras have a saying: \"Death in a foreign land is to be preferred,\nwhere there are no kinsfolk to mourn, and the corpse is a feast\nfor birds and animals\"; but this may perhaps be taken rather as an\nexpression of philosophic resignation to the fate which must be in\nstore for many of them, than a real preference, as with most people\nthe desire to die at home almost amounts to an instinct.\n\n\n\n10. Religion: Banjari Devi.\n\n\nOne of the tutelary deities of the Banjaras is Banjari Devi, whose\nshrine is usually located in the forest. It is often represented by a\nheap of stones, a large stone smeared with vermilion being placed on\nthe top of the heap to represent the goddess. When a Banjara passes\nthe place he casts a stone upon the heap as a prayer to the goddess\nto protect him from the dangers of the forest. A similar practice of\noffering bells from the necks of cattle is recorded by Mr. Thurston:\n[202] \"It is related by Moor that he passed a tree on which were\nhanging several hundred bells. This was a superstitious sacrifice of\nthe Banjaras (Lambaris), who, passing this tree, are in the habit\nof hanging a bell or bells upon it, which they take from the necks\nof their sick cattle, expecting to leave behind them the complaint\nalso. Our servants particularly cautioned us against touching these\ndiabolical bells, but as a few of them were taken for our own cattle,\nseveral accidents which happened were imputed to the anger of the\ndeity to whom these offerings were made; who, they say, inflicts the\nsame disorder on the unhappy bullock who carries a bell from the tree,\nas that from which he relieved the donor.\" In their houses the Banjari\nDevi is represented by a pack-saddle set on high in the room, and\nthis is worshipped before the caravans set out on their annual tours.\n\n\n\n11. Mithu Bhukia.\n\n\nAnother deity is Mithu Bhukia, an old freebooter, who lived in the\nCentral Provinces; he is venerated by the dacoits as the most clever\ndacoit known in the annals of the caste, and a hut was usually\nset apart for him in each hamlet, a staff carrying a white flag\nbeing planted before it. Before setting out for a dacoity, the men\nengaged would assemble at the hut of Mithu Bhukia, and, burning a\nlamp before him, ask for an omen; if the wick of the lamp drooped\nthe omen was propitious, and the men present then set out at once on\nthe raid without returning home. They might not speak to each other\nnor answer if challenged; for if any one spoke the charm would be\nbroken and the protection of Mithu Bhukia removed; and they should\neither return to take the omens again or give up that particular\ndacoity altogether. [203] It has been recorded as a characteristic\ntrait of Banjaras that they will, as a rule, not answer if spoken\nto when engaged on a robbery, and the custom probably arises from\nthis observance; but the worship of Mithu Bhukia is now frequently\nneglected. After a successful dacoity a portion of the spoil would be\nset apart for Mithu Bhukia, and of the balance the Naik or headman of\nthe village received two shares if he participated in the crime; the\nman who struck the first blow or did most towards the common object\nalso received two shares, and all the rest one share. With Mithu\nBhukia's share a feast was given at which thanks were returned to\nhim for the success of the enterprise, a burnt offering of incense\nbeing made in his tent and a libation of liquor poured over the\nflagstaff. A portion of the food was sent to the women and children,\nand the men sat down to the feast. Women were not allowed to share\nin the worship of Mithu Bhukia nor to enter his hut.\n\n\n\n12. Siva Bhaia.\n\n\nAnother favourite deity is Siva Bhaia, whose story is given by Colonel\nMackenzie [204] as follows: \"The love borne by Mari Mata, the goddess\nof cholera, for the handsome Siva Rathor, is an event of our own\ntimes (1874); she proposed to him, but his heart being pre-engaged he\nrejected her; and in consequence his earthly bride was smitten sick\nand died, and the hand of the goddess fell heavily on Siva himself,\nthwarting all his schemes and blighting his fortunes and possessions,\nuntil at last he gave himself up to her. She then possessed him and\ncaused him to prosper exceedingly, gifting him with supernatural power\nuntil his fame was noised abroad, and he was venerated as the saintly\nSiva Bhaia or great brother to all women, being himself unable to\nmarry. But in his old age the goddess capriciously wished him to marry\nand have issue, but he refused and was slain and buried at Pohur in\nBerar. A temple was erected over him and his kinsmen became priests of\nit, and hither large numbers are attracted by the supposed efficacy\nof vows made to Siva, the most sacred of all oaths being that taken\nin his name.\" If a Banjara swears by Siva Bhaia, placing his right\nhand on the bare head of his son and heir, and grasping a cow's tail\nin his left, he will fear to perjure himself, lest by doing so he\nshould bring injury on his son and a murrain on his cattle. [205]\n\n\n\n13. Worship of cattle.\n\n\nNaturally also the Banjaras worshipped their pack-cattle. [206] \"When\nsickness occurs they lead the sick man to the feet of the bullock\ncalled Hatadiya. [207] On this animal no burden is ever laid, but\nhe is decorated with streamers of red-dyed silk, and tinkling bells\nwith many brass chains and rings on neck and feet, and silken tassels\nhanging in all directions; he moves steadily at the head of the convoy,\nand at the place where he lies down when he is tired they pitch their\ncamp for the day; at his feet they make their vows when difficulties\novertake them, and in illness, whether of themselves or their cattle,\nthey trust to his worship for a cure.\"\n\n\n\n14. Connection with the Sikhs.\n\n\nMr. Balfour also mentions in his paper that the Banjaras call\nthemselves Sikhs, and it is noticeable that the Charan subcaste say\nthat their ancestors were three Rajput boys who followed Guru Nanak,\nthe prophet of the Sikhs. The influence of Nanak appears to have been\nwidely extended over northern India, and to have been felt by large\nbodies of the people other than those who actually embraced the Sikh\nreligion. Cumberlege states [208] that before starting to his marriage\nthe bridegroom ties a rupee in his turban in honour of Guru Nanak,\nwhich is afterwards expended in sweetmeats. But otherwise the modern\nBanjaras do not appear to retain any Sikh observances.\n\n\n\n15. Witchcraft.\n\n\n\"The Banjaras,\" Sir A. Lyall writes, [209] \"are terribly vexed\nby witchcraft, to which their wandering and precarious existence\nespecially exposes them in the shape of fever, rheumatism and\ndysentery. Solemn inquiries are still held in the wild jungles where\nthese people camp out like gipsies, and many an unlucky hag has been\nstrangled by sentence of their secret tribunals.\" The business of\nmagic and witchcraft was in the hands of two classes of Bhagats or\nmagicians, one good and the other bad, [210] who may correspond to\nthe European practitioners of black and white magic. The good Bhagat\nis called Nimbu-katna or lemon-cutter, a lemon speared on a knife\nbeing a powerful averter of evil spirits. He is a total abstainer\nfrom meat and liquor, and fasts once a week on the day sacred to the\ndeity whom he venerates, usually Mahadeo; he is highly respected and\nnever panders to vice. But the Janta, the 'Wise or Cunning Man,' is\nof a different type, and the following is an account of the devilry\noften enacted when a deputation visited him to inquire into the cause\nof a prolonged illness, a cattle murrain, a sudden death or other\nmisfortune. A woman might often be called a Dakun or witch in spite,\nand when once this word had been used, the husband or nearest male\nrelative would be regularly bullied into consulting the Janta. Or\nif some woman had been ill for a week, an avaricious [211] husband\nor brother would begin to whisper foul play. Witchcraft would be\nmentioned, and the wise man called in. He would give the sufferer a\nquid of betel, muttering an incantation, but this rarely effected a\ncure, as it was against the interest of all parties that it should\ndo so. The sufferer's relatives would then go to their Naik, tell him\nthat the sick person was bewitched, and ask him to send a deputation\nto the Janta or witch-doctor. This would be at once despatched,\nconsisting of one male adult from each house in the hamlet, with\none of the sufferer's relatives. On the road the party would bury\na bone or other article to test the wisdom of the witch-doctor. But\nhe was not to be caught out, and on their arrival he would bid the\ndeputation rest, and come to him for consultation on the following\nday. Meanwhile during the night the Janta would be thoroughly coached\nby some accomplice in the party. Next morning, meeting the deputation,\nhe would tell every man all particulars of his name and family; name\nthe invalid, and tell the party to bring materials for consulting the\nspirits, such as oil, vermilion, sugar, dates, cocoanut, _chironji_,\n[212] and sesamum. In the evening, holding a lamp, the Janta would\nbe possessed by Mariai, the goddess of cholera; he would mention\nall particulars of the sick man's illness, and indignantly inquire\nwhy they had buried the bone on the road, naming it and describing\nthe place. If this did not satisfy the deputation, a goat would be\nbrought, and he would name its sex with any distinguishing marks on the\nbody. The sick person's representative would then produce his _nazar_\nor fee, formerly Rs. 25, but lately the double of this or more. The\nJanta would now begin a sort of chant, introducing the names of the\nfamilies of the _kuri_ other than that containing her who was to be\nproclaimed a witch, and heap on them all kinds of abuse. Finally, he\nwould assume an ironic tone, extol the virtues of a certain family,\nbecome facetious, and praise its representative then present. This\nman would then question the Janta on all points regarding his own\nfamily, his connections, worldly goods, and what gods he worshipped,\nask who was the witch, who taught her sorcery, and how and why she\npractised it in this particular instance. But the witch-doctor, having\ntaken care to be well coached, would answer everything correctly and\nfix the guilt on to the witch. A goat would be sacrificed and eaten\nwith liquor, and the deputation would return. The punishment for\nbeing proclaimed a Dakun or witch was formerly death to the woman\nand a fine to be paid by her relatives to the bewitched person's\nfamily. The woman's husband or her sons would be directed to kill\nher, and if they refused, other men were deputed to murder her, and\nbury the body at once with all the clothing and ornaments then on\nher person, while a further fine would be exacted from the family\nfor not doing away with her themselves. But murder for witchcraft\nhas been almost entirely stopped, and nowadays the husband, after\nbeing fined a few head of cattle, which are given to the sick man,\nis turned out of the village with his wife. It is quite possible,\nhowever, that an obnoxious old hag would even now not escape death,\nespecially if the money fine were not forthcoming, and an instance\nis known in recent times of a mother being murdered by her three\nsons. The whole village combined to screen these amiable young men,\nand eventually they made the Janta the scapegoat, and he got seven\nyears, while the murderers could not be touched. Colonel Mackenzie\nwrites that, \"Curious to relate, the Jantas, known locally as Bhagats,\nin order to become possessed of their alleged powers of divination and\nprophecy, require to travel to Kazhe, beyond Surat, there to learn and\nbe instructed by low-caste Koli impostors.\" This is interesting as an\ninstance of the powers of witchcraft being attributed by the Hindus or\nhigher race to the indigenous primitive tribes, a rule which Dr. Tylor\nand Dr. Jevons consider to hold good generally in the history of magic.\n\n\n\n16. Human sacrifice.\n\n\nSeveral instances are known also of the Banjaras having practised\nhuman sacrifice. Mr. Thurston states: [213] \"In former times the\nLambadis, before setting out on a journey, used to procure a little\nchild and bury it in the ground up to the shoulders, and then drive\ntheir loaded bullocks over the unfortunate victim. In proportion to\nthe bullocks thoroughly trampling the child to death, so their belief\nin a successful journey increased.\" The Abbe Dubois describes another\nform of sacrifice: [214]\n\n\"The Lambadis are accused of the still more atrocious crime of offering\nup human sacrifices. When they wish to perform this horrible act, it\nis said, they secretly carry off the first person they meet. Having\nconducted the victim to some lonely spot, they dig a hole in which they\nbury him up to the neck. While he is still alive they make a sort of\nlamp of dough made of flour, which they place on his head; this they\nfill with oil, and light four wicks in it. Having done this, the men\nand women join hands and, forming a circle, dance round their victim,\nsinging and making a great noise until he expires.\" Mr. Cumberlege\nrecords [215] the following statement of a child kidnapped by a Banjara\ncaravan in 1871. After explaining how he was kidnapped and the tip\nof his tongue cut off to give him a defect in speech, the Kunbi lad,\ntaken from Sahungarhi, in the Bhandara District, went on to say that,\n\"The _tanda_ (caravan) encamped for the night in the jungle. In the\nmorning a woman named Gangi said that the devil was in her and that\na sacrifice must be made. On this four men and three women took a boy\nto a place they had made for _puja_ (worship). They fed him with milk,\nrice and sugar, and then made him stand up, when Gangi drew a sword and\napproached the child, who tried to run away; caught and brought back\nto this place, Gangi, holding the sword with both hands and standing\non the child's right side, cut off his head with one blow. Gangi\ncollected the blood and sprinkled it on the idol; this idol is made\nof stone, is about 9 inches high, and has something sparkling in\nits forehead. The camp marched that day, and for four or five days\nconsecutively, without another sacrifice; but on the fifth day a young\nwoman came to the camp to sell curds, and having bought some, the\nBanjaras asked her to come in in the evening and eat with them. She\ndid come, and after eating with the women slept in the camp. Early\nnext morning she was sacrificed in the same way as the boy had been,\nbut it took three blows to cut off her head; it was done by Gangi, and\nthe blood was sprinkled on the stone idol. About a month ago Sitaram,\na Gond lad, who had also been kidnapped and was in the camp, told me\nto run away as it had been decided to offer me up in sacrifice at the\nnext Jiuti festival, so I ran away.\" The child having been brought\nto the police, a searching and protracted inquiry was held, which,\nhowever, determined nothing, though it did not disprove his story.\n\n\n\n17. Admission of outsiders: kidnapped children and slaves.\n\n\nThe Banjara caste is not closed to outsiders, but the general rule\nis to admit only women who have been married to Banjara men. Women\nof the lowest and impure castes are excluded, and for some unknown\nreason the Patwas [216] and Nunias are bracketed with these. In\nNimar it is stated that formerly Gonds, Korkus and even Balahis [217]\nmight become Banjaras, but this does not happen now, because the caste\nhas lost its occupation of carrying goods, and there is therefore no\ninducement to enter it. In former times they were much addicted to\nkidnapping children--these were whipped up or enticed away whenever an\nopportunity presented itself during their expeditions. The children\nwere first put into the _gonis_ or grain bags of the bullocks and so\ncarried for a few days, being made over at each halt to the care of\na woman, who would pop the child back into its bag if any stranger\npassed by the encampment. The tongues of boys were sometimes slit or\nbranded with hot gold, this last being the ceremony of initiation into\nthe caste still used in Nimar. Girls, if they were as old as seven,\nwere sometimes disfigured for fear of recognition, and for this\npurpose the juice of the marking-nut [218] tree would be smeared\non one side of the face, which burned into the skin and entirely\naltered the appearance. Such children were known as Jangar. Girls\nwould be used as concubines and servants of the married wife, and\nboys would also be employed as servants. Jangar boys would be married\nto Jangar girls, both remaining in their condition of servitude. But\nsometimes the more enterprising of them would abscond and settle down\nin a village. The rule was that for seven generations the children\nof Jangars or slaves continued in that condition, after which they\nwere recognised as proper Banjaras. The Jangar could not draw in\nsmoke through the stem of the huqqa when it was passed round in the\nassembly, but must take off the stem and inhale from the bowl. The\nJangar also could not eat off the bell-metal plates of his master,\nbecause these were liable to pollution, but must use brass plates. At\none time the Banjaras conducted a regular traffic in female slaves\nbetween Gujarat and Central India, selling in each country the girls\nwhom they had kidnapped in the other. [219]\n\n\n\n18. Dress.\n\n\nUp to twelve years of age a Charan girl only wears a skirt with a\nshoulder-cloth tucked into the waist and carried over the left arm\nand the head. After this she may have anklets and bangles on the\nforearm and a breast-cloth. But until she is married she may not\nhave the _wankri_ or curved anklet, which marks that estate, nor wear\nbone or ivory bangles on the upper arm. [220] When she is ten years\nold a Labhana girl is given two small bundles containing a nut, some\ncowries and rice, which are knotted to two corners of the _dupatta_\nor shoulder-cloth and hung over the shoulder, one in front and one\nbehind. This denotes maidenhood. The bundles are considered sacred,\nare always knotted to the shoulder-cloth in wear, and are only removed\nto be tucked into the waist at the girl's marriage, where they are\nworn till death. These bundles alone distinguish the Labhana from\nthe Mathuria woman. Women often have their hair hanging down beside\nthe face in front and woven behind with silver thread into a plait\ndown the back. This is known as Anthi, and has a number of cowries at\nthe end. They have large bell-shaped ornaments of silver tied over\nthe head and hanging down behind the ears, the hollow part of the\nornament being stuffed with sheep's wool dyed red; and to these are\nattached little bells, while the anklets on the feet are also hollow\nand contain little stones or balls, which tinkle as they move. They\nhave skirts, and separate short cloths drawn across the shoulders\naccording to the northern fashion, usually red or green in colour,\nand along the skirt-borders double lines of cowries are sewn. Their\nbreast-cloths are profusely ornamented with needle-work embroidery and\nsmall pieces of glass sewn into them, and are tied behind with cords of\nmany colours whose ends are decorated with cowries and beads. Strings\nof beads, ten to twenty thick, threaded on horse-hair, are worn round\nthe neck. Their favourite ornaments are cowries, [221] and they have\nthese on their dress, in their houses and on the trappings of their\nbullocks. On the arms they have ten or twelve bangles of ivory,\nor in default of this lac, horn or cocoanut-shell. Mr. Ball states\nthat he was \"at once struck by the peculiar costumes and brilliant\nclothing of these Indian gipsies. They recalled to my mind the\nappearance of the gipsies of the Lower Danube and Wallachia.\" [222]\nThe most distinctive ornament of a Banjara married woman is, however,\na small stick about 6 inches long made of the wood of the _khair_ or\ncatechu. In Nimar this is given to a woman by her husband at marriage,\nand she wears it afterwards placed upright on the top of the head,\nthe hair being wound round it and the head-cloth draped over it in\na graceful fashion. Widows leave it off, but on remarriage adopt it\nagain. The stick is known as _chunda_ by the Banjaras, but outsiders\ncall it _singh_ or horn. In Yeotmal, instead of one, the women have\ntwo little sticks fixed upright in the hair. The rank of the woman is\nsaid to be shown by the angle at which she wears this horn. [223] The\ndress of the men presents no features of special interest. In Nimar\nthey usually have a necklace of coral beads, and some of them carry,\nslung on a thread round the neck, a tin tooth-pick and ear-scraper,\nwhile a small mirror and comb are kept in the head-cloth so that\ntheir toilet can be performed anywhere.\n\nMr. Cumberlege [224] notes that in former times all Charan Banjaras\nwhen carrying grain for an army placed a twig of some tree, the sacred\n_nim_ [225] when available, in their turban to show that they were\non the war-path; and that they would do the same now if they had\noccasion to fight to the death on any social matter or under any\nsupposed grievance.\n\n\n\n19. Social customs.\n\n\nThe Banjaras eat all kinds of meat, including fowls and pork, and drink\nliquor. But the Mathurias abstain from both flesh and liquor. Major\nGunthorpe states that the Banjaras are accustomed to drink before\nsetting out for a dacoity or robbery and, as they smoke after drinking,\nthe remains of leaf-pipes lying about the scene of action may indicate\ntheir handiwork. They rank below the cultivating castes, and Brahmans\nwill not take water to drink from them. When engaged in the carrying\ntrade, they usually lived in _kuris_ or hamlets attached to such\nregular villages as had considerable tracts of waste land belonging\nto them. When the _tanda_ or caravan started on its long carrying\ntrips, the young men and some of the women went with it with the\nworking bullocks, while the old men and the remainder of the women\nand children remained to tend the breeding cattle in the hamlet. In\nNimar they generally rented a little land in the village to give\nthem a footing, and paid also a carrying fee on the number of cattle\npresent. Their spare time was constantly occupied in the manufacture\nof hempen twine and sacking, which was much superior to that obtainable\nin towns. Even in Captain Forsyth's [226] time (1866) the construction\nof railways and roads had seriously interfered with the Banjaras'\ncalling, and they had perforce taken to agriculture. Many of them\nhave settled in the new ryotwari villages in Nimar as Government\ntenants. They still grow _tilli_ [227] in preference to other crops,\nbecause this oilseed can be raised without much labour or skill,\nand during their former nomadic life they were accustomed to sow it\non any poor strip of land which they might rent for a season. Some\nof them also are accustomed to leave a part of their holding untilled\nin memory of their former and more prosperous life. In many villages\nthey have not yet built proper houses, but continue to live in mud\nhuts thatched with grass. They consider it unlucky to inhabit a house\nwith a cement or tiled roof; this being no doubt a superstition arising\nfrom their camp life. Their houses must also be built so that the main\nbeams do not cross, that is, the main beam of a house must never be\nin such a position that if projected it would cut another main beam;\nbut the beams may be parallel. The same rule probably governed the\narrangement of tents in their camps. In Nimar they prefer to live at\nsome distance from water, probably that is of a tank or river; and this\nseems to be a survival of a usage mentioned by the Abbe Dubois: [228]\n\"Among other curious customs of this odious caste is one that obliges\nthem to drink no water which is not drawn from springs or wells. The\nwater from rivers and tanks being thus forbidden, they are obliged\nin case of necessity to dig a little hole by the side of a tank or\nriver and take the water filtering through, which, by this means, is\nsupposed to become spring water.\" It is possible that this rule may\nhave had its origin in a sanitary precaution. Colonel Sleeman notes\n[229] that the Banjaras on their carrying trips preferred by-paths\nthrough jungles to the high roads along cultivated plains, as grass,\nwood and water were more abundant along such paths; and when they could\nnot avoid the high roads, they commonly encamped as far as they could\nfrom villages and towns, and upon the banks of rivers and streams,\nwith the same object of obtaining a sufficient supply of grass,\nwood and water. Now it is well known that the decaying vegetation in\nthese hill streams renders the water noxious and highly productive of\nmalaria. And it seems possible that the perception of this fact led\nthe Banjaras to dig shallow wells by the sides of the streams for\ntheir drinking-water, so that the supply thus obtained might be in\nsome degree filtered by percolation through the intervening soil and\nfreed from its vegetable germs. And the custom may have grown into\na taboo, its underlying reason being unknown to the bulk of them,\nand be still practised, though no longer necessary when they do not\ntravel. If this explanation be correct it would be an interesting\nconclusion that the Banjaras anticipated so far as they were able the\nsanitary precaution by which our soldiers are supplied with portable\nfilters when on the march.\n\n\n\n20. The Naik or headman. Banjara dogs.\n\n\nEach _kuri_ (hamlet) or _tanda_ (caravan) had a chief or leader with\nthe designation of Naik, a Telugu word meaning 'lord' or 'master.' The\noffice of Naik [230] was only partly hereditary, and the choice also\ndepended on ability. The Naik had authority to decide all disputes in\nthe community, and the only appeal from him lay to the representatives\nof Bhangi and Jhangi Naik's families at Narsi and Poona, and to Burthia\nNaik's successors in the Telugu country. As already seen, the Naik\nreceived two shares if he participated in a robbery or other crime,\nand a fee on the remarriage of a widow outside her family and on\nthe discovery of a witch. Another matter in which he was specially\ninterested was pig-sticking. The Banjaras have a particular breed\nof dogs, and with these they were accustomed to hunt wild pig on\nfoot, carrying spears. When a pig was killed, the head was cut off\nand presented to the Naik or headman, and if any man was injured\nor gored by the pig in the hunt, the Naik kept and fed him without\ncharge until he recovered.\n\nThe following notice of the Banjaras and their dogs may be reproduced:\n[231] \"They are brave and have the reputation of great independence,\nwhich I am not disposed to allow to them. The Wanjari indeed is\ninsolent on the road, and will drive his bullocks up against a Sahib\nor any one else; but at any disadvantage he is abject enough. I\nremember one who rather enjoyed seeing his dogs attack me, whom he\nsupposed alone and unarmed, but the sight of a cocked pistol made\nhim very quick in calling them off, and very humble in praying for\ntheir lives, which I spared less for his entreaties than because they\nwere really noble animals. The Wanjaris are famous for their dogs,\nof which there are three breeds. The first is a large, smooth dog,\ngenerally black, sometimes fawn-coloured, with a square heavy head,\nmost resembling the Danish boarhound. This is the true Wanjari\ndog. The second is also a large, square-headed dog, but shaggy,\nmore like a great underbred spaniel than anything else. The third\nis an almost tailless greyhound, of the type known all over India by\nthe various names of Lat, Polygar, Rampuri, etc. They all run both by\nsight and scent, and with their help the Wanjaris kill a good deal of\ngame, chiefly pigs; but I think they usually keep clear of the old\nfighting boars. Besides sport and their legitimate occupations the\nWanjaris seldom stickle at supplementing their resources by theft,\nespecially of cattle; and they are more than suspected of infanticide.\"\n\nThe Banjaras are credited with great affection for their dogs, and\nthe following legend is told about one of them: Once upon a time a\nBanjara, who had a faithful dog, took a loan from a Bania (moneylender)\nand pledged his dog with him as security for payment. And some time\nafterwards, while the dog was with the moneylender, a theft was\ncommitted in his house, and the dog followed the thieves and saw them\nthrow the property into a tank. When they went away the dog brought\nthe Bania to the tank and he found his property. He was therefore very\npleased with the dog and wrote a letter to his master, saying that the\nloan was repaid, and tied it round his neck and said to him, 'Now,\ngo back to your master.' So the dog started back, but on his way he\nmet his master, the Banjara, coming to the Bania with the money for\nthe repayment of the loan. And when the Banjara saw the dog he was\nangry with him, not seeing the letter, and thinking he had run away,\nand said to him, 'Why did you come, betraying your trust?' and he\nkilled the dog in a rage. And after killing him he found the letter\nand was very grieved, so he built a temple to the dog's memory, which\nis called the Kukurra Mandhi. And in the temple is the image of a\ndog. This temple is in the Drug District, five miles from Balod. A\nsimilar story is told of the temple of Kukurra Math in Mandla.\n\n\n\n21. Criminal tendencies of the caste.\n\n\nThe following notice of Banjara criminals is abstracted from Major\nGunthorpe's interesting account: [232] \"In the palmy days of the tribe\ndacoities were undertaken on the most extensive scale. Gangs of fifty\nto a hundred and fifty well-armed men would go long distances from\ntheir _tandas_ or encampments for the purpose of attacking houses\nin villages, or treasure-parties or wealthy travellers on the high\nroads. The more intimate knowledge which the police have obtained\nconcerning the habits of this race, and the detection and punishment\nof many criminals through approvers, have aided in stopping the heavy\nclass of dacoities formerly prevalent, and their operations are now on\na much smaller scale. In British territory arms are scarcely carried,\nbut each man has a good stout stick (_gedi_), the bark of which is\npeeled off so as to make it look whitish and fresh. The attack is\ngenerally commenced by stone-throwing and then a rush is made, the\nsticks being freely used and the victims almost invariably struck\nabout the head or face. While plundering, Hindustani is sometimes\nspoken, but as a rule they never utter a word, but grunt signals to\none another. Their loin-cloths are braced up, nothing is worn on the\nupper part of the body, and their faces are generally muffled. In house\ndacoities men are posted at different corners of streets, each with\na supply of well-chosen round stones to keep off any people coming\nto the rescue. Banjaras are very expert cattle-lifters, sometimes\ntaking as many as a hundred head or even more at a time. This kind\nof robbery is usually practised in hilly or forest country where the\ncattle are sent to graze. Secreting themselves they watch for the\nherdsman to have his usual midday doze and for the cattle to stray\nto a little distance. As many as possible are then driven off to a\ngreat distance and secreted in ravines and woods. If questioned they\nanswer that the animals belong to landowners and have been given into\ntheir charge to graze, and as this is done every day the questioner\nthinks nothing more of it. After a time the cattle are quietly sold\nto individual purchasers or taken to markets at a distance.\"\n\n\n\n22. Their virtues.\n\n\nThe Banjaras, however, are far from being wholly criminal, and the\nnumber who have adopted an honest mode of livelihood is continually\non the increase. Some allowance must be made for their having been\ndeprived of their former calling by the cessation of the continual\nwars which distracted India under native rule, and the extension\nof roads and railways which has rendered their mode of transport\nby pack-bullocks almost entirely obsolete. At one time practically\nall the grain exported from Chhattisgarh was carried by them. In\n1881 Mr. Kitts noted that the number of Banjaras convicted in the\nBerar criminal courts was lower in proportion to the strength of\nthe caste than that of Muhammadans, Brahmans, Koshtis or Sunars,\n[233] though the offences committed by them were usually more\nheinous. Colonel Mackenzie had quite a favourable opinion of them:\n\"A Banjara who can read and write is unknown. But their memories,\nfrom cultivation, are marvellous and very retentive. They carry in\ntheir heads, without slip or mistake, the most varied and complicated\ntransactions and the share of each in such, striking a debtor and\ncreditor account as accurately as the best-kept ledger, while their\nhistory and songs are all learnt by heart and transmitted orally from\ngeneration to generation. On the whole, and taken rightly in their\nclannish nature, their virtues preponderate over their vices. In the\nmain they are truthful and very brave, be it in war or the chase, and\nonce gained over are faithful and devoted adherents. With the pride\nof high descent and with the right that might gives in unsettled and\ntroublous times, these Banjaras habitually lord it over and contemn the\nsettled inhabitants of the plains. And now not having foreseen their\nown fate, or at least not timely having read the warnings given by a\nyearly diminishing occupation, which slowly has taken their bread away,\nit is a bitter pill for them to sink into the ryot class or, oftener\nstill, under stern necessity to become the ryot's servant. But they\nare settling to their fate, and the time must come when all their\npeculiar distinctive marks and traditions will be forgotten.\"\n\n\n\nBarai\n\n\n\n1. Origin and traditions.\n\n\n_Barai, [234] Tamboli, Pansari._--The caste of growers and sellers of\nthe betel-vine leaf. The three terms are used indifferently for the\ncaste in the Central Provinces, although some shades of variation in\nthe meaning can be detected even here--Barai signifying especially one\nwho grows the betel-vine, and Tamboli the seller of the prepared leaf;\nwhile Pansari, though its etymological meaning is also a dealer in\n_pan_ or betel-vine leaves, is used rather in the general sense of\na druggist or grocer, and is apparently applied to the Barai caste\nbecause its members commonly follow this occupation. In Bengal,\nhowever, Barai and Tamboli are distinct castes, the occupations\nof growing and selling the betel-leaf being there separately\npractised. And they have been shown as different castes in the\nIndia Census Tables of 1901, though it is perhaps doubtful whether\nthe distinction holds good in northern India. [235] In the Central\nProvinces and Berar the Barais numbered nearly 60,000 persons in\n1911. They reside principally in the Amraoti, Buldana, Nagpur, Wardha,\nSaugor and Jubbulpore Districts. The betel-vine is grown principally\nin the northern Districts of Saugor, Damoh and Jubbulpore and in\nthose of Berar and the Nagpur plain. It is noticeable also that the\ngrowers and sellers of the betel-vine numbered only 14,000 in 1911\nout of 33,000 actual workers of the Barai caste; so that the majority\nof them are now employed in ordinary agriculture, field-labour and\nother avocations. No very probable derivation has been obtained for\nthe word Barai, unless it comes from _bari_, a hedge or enclosure,\nand simply means 'gardener.' Another derivation is from _barana,_\nto avert hailstorms, a calling which they still practise in northern\nIndia. _Pan_, from the Sanskrit _parna_ (leaf), is _the_ leaf _par\nexcellence_. Owing to the fact that they produce what is perhaps the\nmost esteemed luxury in the diet of the higher classes of native\nsociety, the Barais occupy a fairly good social position, and one\nlegend gives them a Brahman ancestry. This is to the effect that the\nfirst Barai was a Brahman whom God detected in a flagrant case of\nlying to his brother. His sacred thread was confiscated and being\nplanted in the ground grew up into the first betel-vine, which he\nwas set to tend. Another story of the origin of the vine is given\nlater in this article. In the Central Provinces its cultivation has\nprobably only flourished to any appreciable extent for a period of\nabout three centuries, and the Barai caste would appear to be mainly\na functional one, made up of a number of immigrants from northern\nIndia and of recruits from different classes of the population,\nincluding a large proportion of the non-Aryan element.\n\n\n\n2. Caste subdivisions.\n\n\nThe following endogamous divisions of the caste have been reported:\nChaurasia, so called from the Chaurasi pargana of the Mirzapur\nDistrict; Panagaria from Panagar in Jubbulpore; Mahobia from Mahoba\nin Hamirpur; Jaiswar from the town of Jais in the Rai Bareli District\nof the United Provinces; Gangapari, coming from the further side of\nthe Ganges; and Pardeshi or Deshwari, foreigners. The above divisions\nall have territorial names, and these show that a large proportion\nof the caste have come from northern India, the different batches\nof immigrants forming separate endogamous groups on their arrival\nhere. Other subcastes are the Dudh Barais, from _dudh_, milk;\nthe Kuman, said to be Kunbis who have adopted this occupation and\nbecome Barais; the Jharia and Kosaria, the oldest or jungly Barais,\nand those who live in Chhattisgarh; the Purania or old Barais; the\nKumhardhang, who are said to be the descendants of a potter on whose\nwheel a betel-vine grew; and the Lahuri Sen, who are a subcaste formed\nof the descendants of irregular unions. None of the other subcastes\nwill take food from these last, and the name is locally derived from\n_lahuri_, lower, and _sen_ or _shreni_, class. The caste is also\ndivided into a large number of exogamous groups or septs which may\nbe classified according to their names as territorial, titular and\ntotemistic. Examples of territorial names are: Kanaujia of Kanauj,\nBurhanpuria of Burhanpur, Chitoria of Chitor in Rajputana, Deobijha\nthe name of a village in Chhattisgarh, and Kharondiha from Kharond\nor Kalahandi State. These names must apparently have been adopted at\nrandom when a family either settled in one of these places or removed\nfrom it to another part of the country. Examples of titular names\nof groups are: Pandit (priest), Bhandari (store-keeper), Patharha\n(hail-averter), Batkaphor (pot-breaker), Bhulya (the forgetful one),\nGujar (a caste), Gahoi (a caste), and so on. While the following are\ntotemistic groups: Katara (dagger), Kulha (jackal), Bandrele (monkey),\nChikhalkar (from _chikhal_, mud), Richharia (bear), and others. Where\nthe group is named after another caste it probably indicates that a\nman of that caste became a Barai and founded a family; while the fact\nthat some groups are totemistic shows that a section of the caste\nis recruited from the indigenous tribes. The large variety of names\ndiscloses the diverse elements of which the caste is made up.\n\n\n\n3. Marriage\n\n\nMarriage within the _gotra_ or exogamous group and within three\ndegrees of relationship between persons connected through females\nis prohibited. Girls are usually wedded before adolescence, but\nno stigma attaches to the family if they remain single beyond this\nperiod. If a girl is seduced by a man of the caste she is married to\nhim by the _pat_, a simple ceremony used for widows. In the southern\nDistricts a barber cuts off a lock of her hair on the banks of a\ntank or river by way of penalty, and a fast is also imposed on her,\nwhile the caste-fellows exact a meal from her family. If she has an\nillegitimate child, it is given away to somebody else, if possible. A\ngirl going wrong with an outsider is expelled from the caste.\n\nPolygamy is permitted and no stigma attaches to the taking of a second\nwife, though it is rarely done except for special family reasons. Among\nthe Maratha Barais the bride and bridegroom must walk five times\nround the marriage altar and then worship the stone slab and roller\nused for pounding spices. This seems to show that the trade of the\nPansari or druggist is recognised as being a proper avocation of the\nBarai. They subsequently have to worship the potter's wheel. After the\nwedding the bride, if she is a child, goes as usual to her husband's\nhouse for a few days. In Chhattisgarh she is accompanied by a few\nrelations, the party being known as Chauthia, and during her stay in\nher husband's house the bride is made to sleep on the ground. Widow\nmarriage is permitted, and the ceremony is conducted according to the\nusage of the locality. In Betul the relatives of the widow take the\nsecond husband before Maroti's shrine, where he offers a nut and some\nbetel-leaf. He is then taken to the malguzar's house and presents\nto him Rs. 1-4-0, a cocoanut and some betel-vine leaf as the price\nof his assent to the marriage. If there is a Deshmukh [236] of the\nvillage, a cocoanut and betel-leaf are also given to him. The nut\noffered to Maroti represents the deceased husband's spirit, and is\nsubsequently placed on a plank and kicked off by the new bridegroom\nin token of his usurping the other's place, and finally buried to\nlay the spirit. The property of the first husband descends to his\nchildren, and failing them his brother's children or collateral heirs\ntake it before the widow. A bachelor espousing a widow must first go\nthrough the ceremony of marriage with a swallow-wort plant. When a\nwidower marries a girl a silver impression representing the deceased\nfirst wife is made and worshipped daily with the family gods. Divorce\nis permitted on sufficient grounds at the instance of either party,\nbeing effected before the caste committee or _panchayat_. If a husband\ndivorces his wife merely on account of bad temper, he must maintain her\nso long as she remains unmarried and continues to lead a moral life.\n\n\n\n4. Religion and social status.\n\n\nThe Barais especially venerate the Nag or cobra and observe the\nfestival of Nag-Panchmi (Cobra's fifth), in connection with which\nthe following story is related. Formerly there was no betel-vine on\nthe earth. But when the five Pandava brothers celebrated the great\nhorse sacrifice after their victory at Hastinapur, they wanted some,\nand so messengers were sent down below the earth to the residence of\nthe queen of the serpents, in order to try and obtain it. Basuki,\nthe queen of the serpents, obligingly cut off the top joint of her\nlittle finger and gave it to the messengers. This was brought up\nand sown on the earth, and _pan_ creepers grew out of the joint. For\nthis reason the betel-vine has no blossoms or seeds, but the joints\nof the creepers are cut off and sown, when they sprout afresh; and\nthe betel-vine is called Nagbel or the serpent-creeper. On the day\nof Nag-Panchmi the Barais go to the _bareja_ with flowers, cocoanuts\nand other offerings, and worship a stone which is placed in it and\nwhich represents the Nag or cobra. A goat or sheep is sacrificed and\nthey return home, no leaf of the _pan_ garden being touched on that\nday. A cup of milk is also left, in the belief that a cobra will come\nout of the _pan_ garden and drink it. The Barais say that members of\ntheir caste are never bitten by cobras, though many of these snakes\nfrequent the gardens on account of the moist coolness and shade\nwhich they afford. The Agarwala Banias, from whom the Barais will\ntake food cooked without water, have also a legend of descent from\na Naga or snake princess. 'Our mother's house is of the race of the\nsnake,' say the Agarwals of Bihar. [237] The caste usually burn the\ndead, with the exception of children and persons dying of leprosy\nor snake-bite, whose bodies are buried. Mourning is observed for\nten days in the case of adults and for three days for children. In\nChhattisgarh if any portion of the corpse remains unburnt on the\nday following the cremation, the relatives are penalised to the\nextent of an extra feast to the caste-fellows. Children are named\non the sixth or twelfth day after birth either by a Brahman or by\nthe women of the household. Two names are given, one for ceremonial\nand the other for ordinary use. When a Brahman is engaged he gives\nseven names for a boy and five for a girl, and the parents select\none out of these. The Barais do not admit outsiders into the caste,\nand employ Brahmans for religious and ceremonial purposes. They are\nallowed to eat the flesh of clean animals, but very rarely do so,\nand they abstain from liquor. Brahmans will take sweets and water\nfrom them, and they occupy a fairly good social position on account\nof the important nature of their occupation.\n\n\n\n5. Occupation.\n\n\n\"It has been mentioned,\" says Sir H. Risley, [238] \"that the garden\nis regarded as almost sacred, and the superstitious practices in\nvogue resemble those of the silk-worm breeder. The Barui will not\nenter it until he has bathed and washed his clothes. Animals found\ninside are driven out, while women ceremonially unclean dare not enter\nwithin the gate. A Brahman never sets foot inside, and old men have a\nprejudice against entering it. It has, however, been known to be used\nfor assignations.\" The betel-vine is the leaf of _Piper betel_ L.,\nthe word being derived from the Malayalam _vettila_, 'a plain leaf,'\nand coming to us through the Portuguese _betre_ and _betle_. The\nleaf is called _pan_, and is eaten with the nut of _Areca catechu_,\ncalled in Hindi _supari_. The vine needs careful cultivation, the\ngardens having to be covered to keep off the heat of the sun, while\nliberal treatment with manure and irrigation is needed. The joints of\nthe creepers are planted in February, and begin to supply leaves in\nabout five months' time. When the first creepers are stripped after\na period of nearly a year, they are cut off and fresh ones appear,\nthe plants being exhausted within a period of about two years after\nthe first sowing. A garden may cover from half an acre to an acre\nof land, and belongs to a number of growers, who act in partnership,\neach owning so many lines of vines. The plain leaves are sold at from\n2 annas to 4 annas a hundred, or a higher rate when they are out of\nseason. Damoh, Ramtek and Bilahri are three of the best-known centres\nof cultivation in the Central Provinces. The Bilahri leaf is described\nin the _Ain-i-Akbari_ as follows: \"The leaf called Bilahri is white and\nshining, and does not make the tongue harsh and hard. It tastes best\nof all kinds. After it has been taken away from the creeper, it turns\nwhite with some care after a month, or even after twenty days, when\ngreater efforts are made.\" [239] For retail sale _bidas_ are prepared,\nconsisting of a rolled betel-leaf containing areca-nut, catechu and\nlime, and fastened with a clove. Musk and cardamoms are sometimes\nadded. Tobacco should be smoked after eating a _bida_ according to\nthe saying, 'Service without a patron, a young man without a shield,\nand betel without tobacco are alike savourless.' _Bidas_ are sold\nat from two to four for a pice (farthing). Women of the caste often\nretail them, and as many are good-looking they secure more custom;\nthey are also said to have an indifferent reputation. Early in the\nmorning, when they open their shops, they burn some incense before\nthe bamboo basket in which the leaves are kept, to propitiate Lakshmi,\nthe goddess of wealth.\n\n\n\n\n\n\nBarhai\n\n\n\nList of Paragraphs\n\n\n    1.   _Strength and local distribution._\n    2.   _Internal structure._\n    3.   _Marriage customs._\n    4.   _Religion._\n    5.   _Social position._\n    6.   _Occupation._\n\n\n\n1. Strength and local distribution.\n\n\n_Barhai, Sutar, Kharadi, Mistri._--The occupational caste of\ncarpenters. The Barhais numbered nearly 110,000 persons in the Central\nProvinces and Berar in 1911, or about 1 in 150 persons. The caste\nis most numerous in Districts with large towns, and few carpenters\nare to be found in villages except in the richer and more advanced\nDistricts. Hitherto such woodwork as the villagers wanted for\nagriculture has been made by the Lohar or blacksmith, while the\ncountry cots, the only wooden article of furniture in their houses,\ncould be fashioned by their own hands or by the Gond woodcutter. In the\nMandla District the Barhai caste counts only 300 persons, and about\nthe same in Balaghat, in Drug only 47 persons, and in the fourteen\nChhattisgarh Feudatory States, with a population of more than two\nmillions, only some 800 persons. The name Barhai is said to be from\nthe Sanskrit Vardhika and the root _vardh_, to cut. Sutar is a common\nname of the caste in the Maratha Districts, and is from Sutra-kara,\none who works by string, or a maker of string. The allusion may be to\nthe Barhai's use of string in planing or measuring timber, or it may\npossibly indicate a transfer of occupation, the Sutars having first\nbeen mainly string-makers and afterwards abandoned this calling for\nthat of the carpenter. The first wooden implements and articles of\nfurniture may have been held together by string before nails came into\nuse. Kharadi is literally a turner, one who turns woodwork on a lathe,\nfrom _kharat_, a lathe. Mistri, a corruption of the English Mister,\nis an honorific title for master carpenters.\n\n\n\n2. Internal structure.\n\n\nThe comparatively recent growth of the caste in these Provinces is\nshown by its subdivisions. The principal subcastes of the Hindustani\nDistricts are the Pardeshi or foreigners, immigrants from northern\nIndia, and the Purbia or eastern, coming from Oudh; other subcastes are\nthe Sri Gaur Malas or immigrants from Malwa, the Beradi from Berar,\nand the Mahure from Hyderabad. We find also subcastes of Jat and\nTeli Barhais, consisting of Jats and Telis (oil-pressers) who have\ntaken to carpentering. Two other caste-groups, the Chamar Barhais and\nGondi Barhais, are returned, but these are not at present included in\nthe Barhai caste, and consist merely of Chamars and Gonds who work\nas carpenters but remain in their own castes. In the course of some\ngenerations, however, if the cohesive social force of the caste system\ncontinues unabated, these groups may probably find admission into\nthe Barhai caste. Colonel Tod notes that the progeny of one Makur,\na prince of the Jadon Rajput house of Jaisalmer, became carpenters,\nand were known centuries after as Makur Sutars. They were apparently\nconsidered illegitimate, as he states: \"Illegitimate children can\nnever overcome this natural defect among the Rajputs. Thus we find\namong all classes of artisans in India some of royal but spurious\ndescent.\" [240] The internal structure of the caste seems therefore\nto indicate that it is largely of foreign origin and to a certain\ndegree of recent formation in these Provinces.\n\n\n\n3. Marriage customs.\n\n\nThe caste are also divided into exogamous septs named after\nvillages. In some localities it is said that they have no septs,\nbut only surnames, and that people of the same surname cannot\nintermarry. Well-to-do persons marry their daughters before puberty\nand others when they can afford the expense of the ceremony. Brahman\npriests are employed at weddings, though on other occasions their\nservices are occasionally dispensed with. The wedding ceremony is\nof the type prevalent in the locality. When the wedding procession\nreaches the bride's village it halts near the temple of Maroti or\nHanuman. Among the Panchal Barhais the bridegroom does not wear\na marriage crown but ties a bunch of flowers to his turban. The\nbridegroom's party is entertained for five days. Divorce and the\nremarriage of widows are permitted. In most localities it is said that\na widow is forbidden to marry her first husband's younger as well as\nhis elder brother. Among the Pardeshi Barhais of Betul if a bachelor\ndesires to marry a widow he must first go through the ceremony with\na branch or twig of the _gular_ tree. [241]\n\n\n\n4. Religion.\n\n\nThe caste worship Viswakarma, the celestial architect, and venerate\ntheir trade implements on the Dasahra festival. They consider the\nsight of a mongoose and of a light-grey pigeon or dove as lucky\nomens. They burn the dead and throw the ashes into a river or tank,\nemploying a Maha-Brahman to receive the gifts for the dead.\n\n\n\n5. Social position.\n\n\nIn social status the Barhais rank with the higher artisan\ncastes. Brahmans take water from them in some localities, perhaps\nmore especially in towns. In Betul for instance Hindustani Brahmans\ndo not accept water from the rural Barhais. In Damoh where both the\nBarhai and Lohar are village menials, their status is said to be the\nsame, and Brahmans do not take water from Lohars. Mr. Nesfield says\nthat the Barhai is a village servant and ranks with the Kurmi, with\nwhom his interests are so closely allied. But there seems no special\nreason why the interests of the carpenter should be more closely\nallied with the cultivator than those of any other village menial,\nand it may be offered as a surmise that carpentering as a distinct\ntrade is of comparatively late origin, and was adopted by Kurmis, to\nwhich fact the connection noticed by Mr. Nesfield might be attributed;\nhence the position of the Barhai among the castes from whom a Brahman\nwill take water. In some localities well-to-do members of the caste\nhave begun to wear the sacred thread.\n\n\n\n6. Occupation.\n\n\nIn the northern Districts and the cotton tract the Barhai works as a\nvillage menial. He makes and mends the plough and harrow (_bakhar_)\nand other wooden implements of agriculture, and makes new ones when\nsupplied with the wood. In Wardha he receives an annual contribution\nof 100 lbs. of grain from each cultivator. In Betul he gets 67 lbs. of\ngrain and other perquisites for each plough of four bullocks. For\nmaking carts and building or repairing houses he must be separately\npaid. At weddings the Barhai often supplies the sacred marriage-post\nand is given from four annas to a rupee. At the Diwali festival he\nprepares a wooden peg about six inches long, and drives it into the\ncultivator's house inside the threshold, and receives half a pound\nto a pound of grain.\n\nIn cities the carpenters are rapidly acquiring an increased degree\nof skill as the demand for a better class of houses and furniture\nbecomes continually greater and more extensive. The carpenters\nhave been taught to make English furniture by such institutions as\nthe Friends' Mission of Hoshangabad and other missionaries; and a\nGovernment technical school has now been opened at Nagpur, in which\nboys from all over the Province are trained in the profession. Very\nlittle wood-carving with any pretensions to excellence has hitherto\nbeen done in the Central Provinces, but the Jain temples at Saugor and\nKhurai contain some fair woodwork. A good carpenter in towns can earn\nfrom 12 annas to Rs. 1-8 a day, and both his earnings and prospects\nhave greatly improved within recent years. Sherring remarks of the\nBarhais: \"As artisans they exhibit little or no inventive powers: but\nin imitating the workmanship of others they are perhaps unsurpassed\nin the whole world. They are equally clever in working from designs\nand models.\" [242]\n\n\n\nBari\n\n_Bari._--A caste of household servants and makers of leaf-plates,\nbelonging to northern India. The Baris numbered 1200 persons in\nthe Central Provinces in 1911, residing mainly in Jubbulpore and\nMandla. Sir H. Risley remarks of the caste: [243] \"Mr. Nesfield\nregards the Bari as merely an offshoot from a semi-savage tribe\nknown as Banmanush and Musahar. He is said still to associate with\nthem at times, and if the demand for leaf-plates and cups, owing to\nsome temporary cause, such as a local fair or an unusual multitude\nof marriages, happens to become larger than he can at once supply,\nhe gets them secretly made by his ruder kinsfolk and retails them at\na higher rate, passing them off as his own production. The strictest\nBrahmans, those at least who aspire to imitate the self-denying life\nof the ancient Indian hermit, never eat off any other plates than those\nmade of leaves.\" \"If the above view is correct,\" Sir H. Risley remarks,\n\"the Baris are a branch of a non-Aryan tribe who have been given a\nfairly respectable position in the social system in consequence of the\ndemand for leaf-plates, which are largely used by the highest as well\nas the lowest castes. Instances of this sort, in which a non-Aryan\nor mixed group is promoted on grounds of necessity or convenience to\na higher status than their antecedents would entitle them to claim,\nare not unknown in other castes, and must have occurred frequently\nin outlying parts of the country, where the Aryan settlements were\nscanty and imperfectly supplied with the social apparatus demanded by\nthe theory of ceremonial purity.\" There is no reason why the origin\nof the Bari from the Banmanush (wild man of the woods) or Musahar\n(mouse-eater), a forest tribe, as suggested by Mr. Nesfield from\nhis observation of their mutual connection, should be questioned. The\nmaking of leaf-plates is an avocation which may be considered naturally\nto pertain to the tribes frequenting jungles from which the leaves are\ngathered; and in the Central Provinces, though in the north the Nai\nor barber ostensibly supplies the leaf-plates, probably buying the\nleaves and getting them made up by Gonds and others, in the Maratha\nDistricts the Gond himself does so, and many Gonds make their living\nby this trade. The people of the Maratha country are apparently less\nstrict than those of northern India, and do not object to eat off\nplates avowedly the handiwork of Gonds. The fact that the Bari has\nbeen raised to the position of a pure caste, so that Brahmans will take\nwater from his hands, is one among several instances of this elevation\nof the rank of the serving castes for purposes of convenience. The\ncaste themselves have the following legend of their origin: Once upon\na time Parmeshwar [244] was offering rice milk to the spirits of his\nancestors. In the course of this ceremony the performer has to present\na gift known as Vikraya Dan, which cannot be accepted by others without\nloss of position. Parmeshwar offered the gift to various Brahmans,\nbut they all refused it. So he made a man of clay, and blew upon the\nimage and gave it life, and the god then asked the man whom he had\ncreated to accept the gift which the Brahmans had refused. This man,\nwho was the first Bari, agreed on condition that all men should drink\nwith him and recognise his purity of caste. Parmeshwar then told him\nto bring water in a cup, and drank of it in the presence of all the\ncastes. And in consequence of this all the Hindus will take water\nfrom the hands of a Bari. They also say that their first ancestor was\nnamed Sundar on account of his personal beauty; but if so, he failed\nto bequeath this quality to his descendants. The proper avocation\nof the Baris is, as already stated, the manufacture of the leaf-cups\nand plates used by all Hindus at festivals. In the Central Provinces\nthese are made from the large leaves of the _mahul_ creeper (_Bauhinia\nVahlii_), or from the _palas_ (_Butea frondosa_). The caste also act as\npersonal servants, handing round water, lighting and carrying torches\nat marriages and other entertainments and on journeys, and performing\nother functions. Some of them have taken to agriculture. Their women\nact as maids to high-caste Hindu ladies, and as they are always about\nthe zenana, are liable to lose their virtue. A curious custom prevails\nin Marwar on the birth of an heir to the throne. An impression of the\nchild's foot is taken by a Bari on cloth covered with saffron, and\nis exhibited to the native chiefs, who make him rich presents. [245]\nThe Baris have the reputation of great fidelity to their employers, and\na saying about them is, 'The Bari will die fighting for his master.'\n\n\n\nBasdewa\n\n\n_Basdewa, [246] Wasudeo, Harbola, Kaparia, Jaga, Kapdi._--A wandering\nbeggar caste of mixed origin, who also call themselves Sanadhya or\nSanaurhia Brahmans. The Basdewas trace their origin to Wasudeo,\nthe father of Krishna, and the term Basdewa is a corruption of\nWasudeo or Wasudeva. Kaparia is the name they bear in the Anterved\nor country between the Ganges and Jumna, whence they claim to have\ncome. Kaparia has been derived from _kapra_, cloth, owing to the custom\nof the Basdewas of having several dresses, which they change rapidly\nlike the Bahrupia, making themselves up in different characters as a\nshow. Harbola is an occupational term, applied to a class of Basdewas\nwho climb trees in the early morning and thence vociferate praises\nof the deity in a loud voice. The name is derived from _Har_, God,\nand _bolna_, to speak. As the Harbolas wake people up in the morning\nthey are also called Jaga or Awakener. The number of Basdewas in\nthe Central Provinces and Berar in 1911 was 2500, and they are found\nprincipally in the northern Districts and in Chhattisgarh. They have\nseveral territorial subcastes, as Gangaputri or those who dwell on\nthe banks of the Ganges; Khaltia or Deswari, those who belong to\nthe Central Provinces; Parauha, from _para_, a male buffalo calf,\nbeing the dealers in buffaloes; Harbola or those who climb trees and\nsing the praises of God; and Wasudeo, the dwellers in the Maratha\nDistricts who marry only among themselves. The names of the exogamous\ndivisions are very varied, some being taken from Brahman _gotras_ and\nRajput septs, while others are the names of villages, or nicknames,\nor derived from animals and plants. It may be concluded from these\nnames that the Basdewas are a mixed occupational group recruited\nfrom high and low castes, though they themselves say that they do\nnot admit any outsiders except Brahmans into the community. In Bombay\n[247] the Wasudevas have a special connection with Kumhars or potters,\nwhom they address by the term of _kaka_ or paternal uncle, and at whose\nhouses they lodge on their travels, presenting their host with the two\nhalves of a cocoanut. The caste do not observe celibacy. A price of\nRs. 25 has usually to be given for a bride, and a Brahman is employed\nto perform the ceremony. At the conclusion of this the Brahman invests\nthe bridegroom with a sacred thread, which he thereafter continues to\nwear. Widow marriage is permitted, and widows are commonly married to\nwidowers. Divorce is also permitted. When a man's wife dies he shaves\nhis moustache and beard, if any, in mourning and a father likewise\nfor a daughter-in-law; this is somewhat peculiar, as other Hindus do\nnot shave the moustache for a wife or daughter-in-law. The Basdewas\nare wandering mendicants. In the Maratha Districts they wear a plume\nof peacock's feathers, which they say was given to them as a badge\nby Krishna. In Saugor and Damoh instead of this they carry during the\nperiod from Dasahra to the end of Magh or from September to January a\nbrass vessel called _matuk_ bound on their heads. It is surmounted by\na brass cone and adorned with mango-leaves, cowries and a piece of red\ncloth, and with figures of Rama and Lakshman. Their stock-in-trade for\nbegging consists of two _kartals_ or wooden clappers which are struck\nagainst each other; _ghungrus_ or jingling ornaments for the feet,\nworn when dancing; and a _paijna_ or kind of rattle, consisting of\ntwo semicircular iron wires bound at each end to a piece of wood with\nrings slung on to them; this is simply shaken in the hand and gives\nout a sound from the movement of the rings against the wires. They\nworship all these implements as well as their beggar's wallet on\nthe Janam-Ashtami or Krishna's birthday, the Dasahra, and the full\nmoon of Magh (January). They rise early and beg only in the morning\nfrom about four till eight, and sing songs in praise of Sarwan and\nKaran. Sarwan was a son renowned for his filial piety; he maintained\nand did service to his old blind parents to the end of their lives,\nmuch against the will of his wife, and was proof against all her\nmachinations to induce him to abandon them. Karan was a proverbially\ncharitable king, and all his family had the same virtue. His wife gave\naway daily rice and pulse to those who required it, his daughter gave\nthem clothes, his son distributed cows as alms and his daughter-in-law\ncocoanuts. The king himself gave only gold, and it is related of him\nthat he was accustomed to expend a maund and a quarter [248] weight\nof gold in alms-giving before he washed himself and paid his morning\ndevotions. Therefore the Basdewas sing that he who gives early in the\nmorning acquires the merit of Karan; and their presence at this time\naffords the requisite opportunity to anybody who may be desirous of\nemulating the king. At the end of every couplet they cry 'Jai Ganga'\nor 'Har Ganga,' invoking the Ganges.\n\nThe Harbolas have each a beat of a certain number of villages which\nmust not be infringed by the others. Their method is to ascertain the\nname of some well-to-do person in the village. This done, they climb\na tree in the early morning before sunrise, and continue chanting\nhis praises in a loud voice until he is sufficiently flattered\nby their eulogies or wearied by their importunity to throw down a\npresent of a few pice under the tree, which the Harbola, descending,\nappropriates. The Basdewas of the northern Districts are now commonly\nengaged in the trade of buying and selling buffaloes. They take the\nyoung male calves from Saugor and Damoh to Chhattisgarh, and there\nretail them at a profit for rice cultivation, driving them in large\nherds along the road. For the capital which they have to borrow to\nmake their purchases, they are charged very high rates of interest. The\nBasdewas have here a special veneration for the buffalo as the animal\nfrom which they make their livelihood, and they object strongly to\nthe calves being taken to be tied out as baits for tiger, refusing,\nit is said, to accept payment if the calf should be killed. Their\nsocial status is not high, and none but the lowest castes will take\nfood from their hands. They eat flesh and drink liquor, but abstain\nfrom pork, fowls and beef. Some of the caste have given up animal food.\n\n\n\n\n\n\nBasor\n\n\nList of Paragraphs\n\n\n    1.  _Numbers and distribution._\n    2.  _Caste traditions._\n    3.  _Subdivisions._\n    4.  _Marriage._\n    5.  _Religion and social status._\n    6.  _Occupation._\n\n\n\n1. Numbers and distribution.\n\n\n_Basor, [249] Bansphor, Dhulia, Burud._--The occupational caste of\nbamboo-workers, the two first names being Hindi and the last the\nterm used in the Maratha Districts. The cognate Uriya caste is called\nKandra and the Telugu one Medara. The Basors numbered 53,000 persons\nin the Central Provinces and Berar in 1911. About half the total\nnumber reside in the Saugor, Damoh and Jubbulpore Districts. The word\nBasor is a corruption of Bansphor, 'a breaker of bamboos.' Dhulia,\nfrom _dholi_, a drum, means a musician.\n\n\n\n2. Caste traditions.\n\n\nThe caste trace their origin from Raja Benu or Venu who ruled at\nSingorgarh in Damoh. It is related of him that he was so pious that\nhe raised no taxes from his subjects, but earned his livelihood by\nmaking and selling bamboo fans. He could of course keep no army,\nbut he knew magic, and when he broke his fan the army of the enemy\nbroke up in unison. Venu is a Sanskrit word meaning bamboo. But a\nmythological Sanskrit king called Vena is mentioned in the Puranas,\nfrom whom for his sins was born the first Nishada, the lowest of human\nbeings, and Manu [250] states that the bamboo-worker is the issue of\na Nishada or Chandal father and a Vaideha [251] mother. So that the\nlocal story may be a corruption of the Brahmanical tradition. Another\nlegend relates that in the beginning there were no bamboos, and\nthe first Basor took the serpent which Siva wore round his neck and\ngoing to a hill planted it with its head in the ground. A bamboo at\nonce sprang up on the spot, and from this the Basor made the first\nwinnowing fan. And the snake-like root of the bamboo, which no doubt\nsuggested the story to its composer, is now adduced in proof of it.\n\n\n\n3. Subdivisions.\n\n\nThe Basors of the northern Districts are divided into a number of\nsubcastes, the principal of which are: the Purania or Juthia, who\nperhaps represent the oldest section, Purania being from _purana_ old;\nthey are called Juthia because they eat the leavings of others; the\nBarmaiya or Malaiya, apparently a territorial group; the Deshwari or\nBundelkhandi who reside in the _desh_ or native place of Bundelkhand;\nthe Gudha or Gurha, the name being derived by some from _guda_\na pigsty; the Dumar or Dom Basors; the Dhubela, perhaps from the\nDhobi caste; and the Dharkar. Two or three of the above names appear\nto be those of other low castes from which the Basor caste may have\nbeen recruited, perhaps at times when a strong demand existed for\nbamboo-workers. The Buruds do not appear to be sufficiently numerous\nto have subcastes. But they include a few Telenga Buruds who are\nreally Medaras, and the caste proper are therefore sometimes known as\nMaratha Buruds to distinguish them from these. The caste has numerous\n_bainks_ or exogamous groups or septs, the names of which may chiefly\nbe classified as territorial and totemistic. Among the former are\nMahobia, from the town of Mahoba; Sirmaiya, from Sirmau; Orahia,\nfrom Orai, the battlefield of the Banaphar generals, Alha and Udal;\nTikarahia from Tikari, and so on. The totemistic septs include the\nSanpero from _sanp_ a snake, the Mangrelo from _mangra_ a crocodile,\nthe Morya from _mor_ a peacock, the Titya from the _titehri_ bird\nand the Sarkia from _sarki_ or red ochre, all of which worship their\nrespective totems. The Katarya or 'dagger' sept worship a real or\npainted dagger at their marriage, and the Kemia, a branch of the _kem_\ntree (_Stephegyne parvifolia_). The Bandrelo, from _bandar_, worship a\npainted monkey. One or two groups are named after castes, as Bamhnelo\nfrom Brahman and Bargujaria from Bargujar Rajput, thus indicating that\nmembers of these castes became Basors and founded families. One sept\nis called Marha from Marhai, the goddess of cholera, and the members\nworship a picture of the goddess drawn in black. The name of the\nKulhantia sept means somersault, and these turn a somersault before\nworshipping their gods. So strong is the totemistic idea that some\nof the territorial groups worship objects with similar names. Thus\nthe Mahobia group, whose name is undoubtedly derived from the town\nof Mahoba, have adopted the mahua tree as their totem, and digging\na small hole in the ground place in it a little water and the liquor\nmade from mahua flowers, and worship it. This represents the process\nof distillation of country liquor. Similarly, the Orahia group,\nwho derive their name from the town of Orai, now worship the _urai_\nor _khaskhas_ grass, and the Tikarahia from Tikari worship a _tikli_\nor glass spangle.\n\n\n\n4. Marriage.\n\n\nThe marriage of persons belonging to the same _baink_ or sept and also\nthat of first cousins is forbidden. The age of marriage is settled\nby convenience, and no stigma attaches to its postponement beyond\nadolescence. Intrigues of unmarried girls with men of their own or\nany higher caste are usually overlooked. The ceremony follows the\nstandard Hindi and Marathi forms, and presents no special features. A\nbride-price called _chari_, amounting to seven or eight rupees,\nis usually paid. In Betul the practice of _lamjhana_ or serving the\nfather-in-law for a term of years before marrying his daughter, is\nsometimes followed. Widow-marriage is permitted, and the widow is\nexpected to wed her late husband's younger brother. The Basors are\nmusicians by profession, but in Betul the _narsingha_, a peculiar\nkind of crooked trumpet, is the only implement which may be played\nat the marriage of a widow. A woman marrying a second time forfeits\nall interest in the property of her late husband, unless she is\nwithout issue and there are no near relatives of her husband to take\nit. Divorce is effected by the breaking of the woman's bangles in\npublic. If obtained by the wife, she must repay to her first husband\nthe expenditure incurred by him for her marriage when she takes a\nsecond. But the acceptance of this payment is considered derogatory\nand the husband refuses it unless he is poor.\n\n\n\n5. Religion and social status.\n\n\nThe Basors worship the ordinary Hindu deities and also ghosts and\nspirits. Like the other low castes they entertain a special veneration\nfor Devi. They profess to exorcise evil spirits and the evil eye,\nand to cure other disorders and diseases through the agency of their\nincantations and the goblins who do their bidding. They burn their\ndead when they can afford it and otherwise bury them, placing the\ncorpse in the grave with its head to the north. The body of a woman\nis wrapped in a red shroud and that of a man in a white one. They\nobserve mourning for a period of three to ten days, but in Jubbulpore\nit always ends with the fortnight in which the death takes place;\nso that a person dying on the 15th or 30th of the month is mourned\nonly for one day. They eat almost every kind of food, including\nbeef, pork, fowls, liquor and the leavings of others, but abjure\ncrocodiles, monkeys, snakes and rats. Many of them have now given\nup eating cow's flesh in deference to Hindu feeling. They will take\nfood from almost any caste except sweepers, and one or two others,\nas Joshi and Jasondhi, towards whom for some unexplained reason they\nentertain a special aversion. They will admit outsiders belonging\nto any caste from whom they can take food into the community. They\nare generally considered as impure, and live outside the village,\nand their touch conveys pollution, more especially in the Maratha\nDistricts. The ordinary village menials, as the barber and washerman,\nwill not work for them, and services of this nature are performed by\nmen of their own community. As, however, their occupation is not in\nitself unclean, they rank above sweepers, Chamars and Dhobis. Temporary\nexclusion from caste is imposed for the usual offences, and the almost\ninvariable penalty for readmission is a feast to the caste-fellows. A\nperson, male or female, who has been convicted of adultery must have\nthe head shaved, and is then seated in the centre of the caste-fellows\nand pelted by them with the leavings of their food. Basor women are\nnot permitted to wear nose-rings on pain of exclusion from caste.\n\n\n\n6. Occupation.\n\n\nThe trade of the Basors is a very essential one to the agricultural\ncommunity. They make numerous kinds of baskets, among which may be\nmentioned the _chunka_, a very small one, the _tokni_, a basket\nof middle size, and the _tokna_, a very large one. The _dauri_\nis a special basket with a lining of matting for washing rice in\na stream. The _jhanpi_ is a round basket with a cover for holding\nclothes; the _tipanna_ a small one in which girls keep dolls; and the\n_bilahra_ a still smaller one for holding betel-leaf. Other articles\nmade from bamboo-bark are the _chalni_ or sieve, the _khunkhuna_ or\nrattle, the _bansuri_ or wooden flute, the _bijna_ or fan, and the\n_supa_ or winnowing-fan. All grain is cleaned with the help of the\n_supa_ both on the threshing-floor and in the house before consumption,\nand a child is always laid in one as soon as it is born. In towns\nthe Basors make the bamboo matting which is so much used. The only\nimplement they employ is the _banka_, a heavy curved knife, with which\nall the above articles are made. The _banka_ is duly worshipped at\nthe Diwali festival. The Basors are also the village musicians, and a\nband of three or four of them play at weddings and on other festive\noccasions. Some of them work as pig-breeders and others are village\nwatchmen. The women often act as midwives. One subcaste, the Dumar,\nwill do scavenger's work, but they never take employment as _saises_,\nbecause the touch of horse-dung is considered as a pollution, entailing\ntemporary excommunication from caste.\n\n\n\nBedar\n\n\n\n1. General notice.\n\n\n_Bedar. [252]_--A small caste of about 1500 persons, belonging\nto Akola, Khandesh and Hyderabad. Their ancestors were Pindaris,\napparently recruited from the different Maratha castes, and when the\nPindaris were suppressed they obtained or were awarded land in the\nlocalities where they now reside, and took to cultivation. The more\nrespectable Bedars say that their ancestors were Tirole Kunbis, but\nwhen Tipu Sultan invaded the Carnatic he took many of them prisoners\nand ordered them to become Muhammadans. In order to please him they\ntook food with Muhammadans, and on this account the Kunbis put them out\nof caste until they should purify themselves. But as there were a large\nnumber of them, they did not do this, and have remained a separate\ncaste. The real derivation of the name is unknown, but the caste say\nthat it is _be-dar_ or 'without fear,' and was given to them on account\nof their bravery. They have now obtained a warrant from the descendant\nof Shankar Acharya, or the high priest of Sivite Hindus, permitting\nthem to describe themselves as Put Kunbi or purified Kunbi. [253]\nThe community is clearly of a most mixed nature, as there are also\nDher or Mahar Bedars. They refuse to take food from other Mahars and\nconsider themselves defiled by their touch. The social position of\nthe caste also presents some peculiar features. Several of them have\ntaken service in the army and police, and have risen to the rank of\nnative officer; and Rao Sahib Dhonduji, a retired Inspector of Police,\nis a prominent member of the caste. The Raja of Surpur, near Raichur,\nis also said to be a Bedar, while others are ministerial officials\noccupying a respectable position. Yet of the Bedars generally it is\nsaid that they cannot draw water freely from the public wells, and in\nNasik Bedar constables are not considered suitable for ordinary duty,\nas people object to their entering houses. The caste must therefore\napparently have higher and lower groups, differing considerably\nin position.\n\n\n\n2. Subdivisions and marriage customs.\n\n\nThey have three subdivisions, the Maratha, Telugu and Kande Bedars. The\nnames of their exogamous sections are also Marathi. Nevertheless\nthey retain one or two northern customs, presumably acquired from\nassociation with the Pindaris. Their women do not tuck the body-cloth\nin behind the waist, but draw it over the right shoulder. They wear\nthe _choli_ or Hindustani breast-cloth tied in front, and have a hooped\nsilver ornament on the top of the head, which is known as _dhora_. They\neat goats, fowls and the flesh of the wild pig, and drink liquor, and\nwill take food from a Kunbi or a Phulmali, and pay little heed to the\nrules of social impurity. But Hindustani Brahmans act as their priests.\n\nBefore a wedding they call a Brahman and worship him as a god, the\nceremony being known as Deo Brahman. The Brahman then cooks food in the\nhouse of his host. On the same occasion a person specially nominated\nby the Brahman, and known as Deokia, fetches an earthen vessel from\nthe potter, and this is worshipped with offerings of turmeric and\nrice, and a cotton thread is tied round it. Formerly it is said they\nworshipped the spent bullets picked up after a battle, and especially\nany which had been extracted from the body of a wounded person.\n\n\n\n3. Funeral rites.\n\n\nWhen a man is about to die they take him down from his cot and lay\nhim on the ground with his head in the lap of a relative. The dead\nare buried, a person of importance being carried to the grave in a\nsitting posture, while others are laid out in the ordinary manner. A\nwoman is buried in a green cloth and a breast-cloth. When the corpse\nhas been prepared for the funeral they take some liquor, and after a\nfew drops have been poured into the mouth of the corpse the assembled\npersons drink the rest. While following to the grave they beat drums\nand play on musical instruments and sing religious songs; and if a\nman dies during the night, since he is not buried till the morning,\nthey sit in the house playing and singing for the remaining hours of\ndarkness. The object of this custom must presumably be to keep away\nevil spirits. After the funeral each man places a leafy branch of\nsome tree or shrub on the grave, and on the thirteenth day they put\nfood before a cow and also throw some on to the roof of the house as\na portion for the crows.\n\n\n\n\n\n\nBeldar\n\n\nList of Paragraphs\n\n\n    1.  _General notice._\n    2.  _Beldars of the northern Districts._\n    3.  _Odias of Chhattisgarh._\n    4.  _Other Chhattisgarhi Beldars._\n    5.  _Munurwar and Telenga._\n    6.  _Vaddar._\n    7.  _Pathrot._\n    8.  _Takari._\n\n\n\n1. General notice.\n\n\n_Beldar, [254] Od, Sonkar, Raj, Larhia, Karigar, Matkuda, Chunkar,\nMunurwar, Thapatkari, Vaddar, Pathrot, Takari._--The term Beldar\nis generically applied to a number of occupational groups of more\nor less diverse origin, who work as masons or navvies, build the\nearthen embankments of tanks or fields, carry lime and bricks and\nin former times refined salt. Beldar means one who carries a _bel_,\na hoe or mattock. In 1911 a total of 25,000 Beldars were returned\nfrom the Central Provinces, being most numerous in the Nimar, Wardha,\nNagpur, Chanda and Raipur districts. The Nunia, Murha and Sansia\n(Uriya) castes, which have been treated in separate articles, are\nalso frequently known as Beldar, and cannot be clearly distinguished\nfrom the main caste. If they are all classed together the total of\nthe earth- and stone-working castes comes to 35,000 persons.\n\nIt is probable that the bulk of the Beldars and allied castes are\nderived from the non-Aryan tribes. The Murhas or navvies of the\nnorthern Districts appear to be an offshoot of the Bind tribe; the\npeople known as Matkuda (earth-digger) are usually Gonds or Pardhans;\nthe Sansias and Larhias or Uriyas of Chhattisgarh and the Uriya country\nseem to have originated from the Kol, Bhuiya and Oraon tribes, the Kols\nespecially making excellent diggers and masons; the Oddes or Vaddars\nof Madras are a very low caste, and some of their customs point to a\nsimilar origin, though the Munurwar masons of Chanda appear to have\nbelonged originally to the Kapu caste of cultivators.\n\nThe term Raj, which is also used for the Beldars in the northern\nDistricts, has the distinctive meaning of a mason, while Chunkar\nsignifies a lime-burner. The Sonkars were formerly occupied in Saugor\nin carrying lime, bricks and earth on donkeys, but they have now\nabandoned this calling in Chhattisgarh and taken to growing vegetables,\nand have been given a short separate notice. In Hoshangabad some\nMuhammadan Beldars are now also found.\n\n\n\n2. Beldars of the northern Districts.\n\n\nThe Beldars of Saugor say that their ancestors were engaged in\nrefining salt from earth. A divine saint named Nona Rishi (_non_,\nsalt) came down on earth, and while cooking his food mixed some\nsaline soil with it. The bread tasted much better in consequence, and\nhe made the earth into a ball or _goli_ and taught his followers to\nextract the salt from it, whence their descendants are known as Goli\nBeldars. The customs of these Beldars are of the ordinary low-caste\ntype. The wedding procession is accompanied by drums, fireworks and,\nif means permit, a nautch-girl. If a man puts away his wife without\nadequate cause the caste _panchayat_ may compel him to support her\nso long as she remains of good conduct. The party seeking a divorce,\nwhether husband or wife, has to pay Rs. 7 to the caste committee\nand the other partner Rs. 3, irrespective of where the blame rests,\nand each remains out of caste until he or she pays.\n\nThese Beldars will not take food from any caste but their own, and will\nnot take water from a Brahman, though they will accept it from Kurmis,\nGujars and similar castes. Sir H. Risley notes that their women always\nremove earth in baskets on the head. \"The Beldars regard this mode of\ncarrying earth as distinctive of themselves, and will on no account\ntransport it in baskets slung from the shoulders. They work very\nhard when paid by the piece, and are notorious for their skill in\nmanipulating the pillars (_sakhi_, witness) left to mark work done,\nso as to exaggerate the measurement. On one occasion while working\nfor me on a large lake at Govindpur, in the north of the Manbhum\nDistrict, a number of Beldars transplanted an entire pillar during\nthe night and claimed payment for several thousand feet of imaginary\nearthwork. The fraud was most skilfully carried out, and was only\ndetected by accident.\" [255] The Beldars are often dishonest in their\ndealings, and will take large advances for a tank or embankment, and\nthen abscond with the money without doing the work. During the open\nseason parties of the caste travel about in camp looking for work,\ntheir furniture being loaded on donkeys. They carry grain in earthen\npots encased in bags of netting, neatly and closely woven, and grind\ntheir wheat daily in a small mill set on a goat-skin. Butter is made\nin one of their pots with a churning-stick, consisting of a cogged\nwheel fixed on to the end of a wooden rod.\n\n\n\n3. Odias of Chhattisgarh.\n\n\nThe Beldars of Chhattisgarh are divided into the Odia or Uriya, Larhia,\nKuchbandhia, Matkuda and Karigar groups. Uriya and Larhia are local\nnames, applied to residents of the Uriya country and Chhattisgarh\nrespectively. Odia is the name of a low Madras caste of masons,\nbut whether it is a corruption of Uriya is not clear. Karigar means\na workman, and Kuchbandhia is the name of a separate caste, who make\nloom-combs for weavers. The Odias pretend to be fallen Rajputs. They\nsay that when Indra stole the sacrificial horse of Raja Sagar and\nkept it in the underworld, the Raja's thousand sons dug great holes\nthrough the earth to get it. Finally they arrived at the underworld\nand were all reduced to ashes by the Rishi Kapil Muni, who dwelt\nthere. Their ghosts besought him for life, and he said that their\ndescendants should always continue to dig holes in the earth, which\nwould be used as tanks; and that whenever a tank was dug by them, and\nits marriage celebrated with a sacrifice, the savour of the sacrifice\nwould descend to the ghosts and would afford them sustenance. The Odias\nsay that they are the descendants of the Raja's sons, and unless a tank\nis dug and its marriage celebrated by them it remains impure. These\nOdias have their tutelary deity in Rewah State, and at his shrine is a\nflag which none but an Odia of genuine descent from Raja Sagar's sons\ncan touch without some injury befalling him. If any Beldaar therefore\nclaims to belong to their caste they call on him to touch the flag,\nand if he does so with impunity they acknowledge him as a brother.\n\n\n\n4. Other Chhattisgarhi Beldars.\n\n\nThe other group of Chattisgarhi Beldars are of lower status, and\nclearly derived from the non-Aryan tribes. They eat pigs, and at\nintervals of two or three years they celebrate the worship of Gosain\nDeo with a sacrifice of pigs, the deity being apparently a deified\nascetic or mendicant. On this occasion the Dhimars, Gonds, and all\nother castes which eat pig's flesh join in the sacrifice, and consume\nthe meat together after the fashion of the rice at Jagannath's temple,\nwhich all castes may eat together without becoming impure. These\nBeldars use asses for the transport of their bricks and stones, and\non the Diwali day they place a lamp before the ass and pay reverence\nto it. They say that at their marriages a bride-price of Rs. 100\nor Rs. 200 must always be paid, but they are allowed to give one or\ntwo donkeys and value them at Rs. 50 apiece. They make grindstones\n(_chakki_), combs for straightening the threads on the loom, and\nframes for stretching the threads. These frames are called _dongi_,\nand are made either wholly or partly from the horns of animals,\na fact which no doubt renders them impure.\n\n\n\n5. Munurwar and Telenga.\n\n\nIn Chanda the principal castes of stone-workers are the Telengas\n(Telugus), who are also known as Thapatkari (tapper or chiseller),\nTelenga Kunbi and Munurwar. They occupy a higher position than the\nordinary Beldar, and Kunbis will take water from them and sometimes\nfood. They say that they came into Chanda from the Telugu country along\nthe Godavari and Pranhita rivers to build the great wall of Chanda\nand the palaces and tombs of the Gond kings. There is no reason to\ndoubt that the Munurwars are a branch of the Kapu cultivating caste\nof the Telugu country. Mr. A. K. Smith states that they refuse to eat\nthe flesh of an animal which has been skinned by a Mahar, a Chamar,\nor a Gond; the Kunbis and Marathas also consider flesh touched by a\nMahar or Chamar to be impure, but do not object to a Gond. Like the\nBerar Kunbis, the Telengas prefer that an animal should be killed by\nthe rite of _halal_ as practised by Muhammadan butchers. The reason\nno doubt is that the _halal_ is a method of sacrificial slaughter,\nand the killing of the animal is legitimised even though by the ritual\nof a foreign religion. The Thapatkaris appear to be a separate group,\nand their original profession was to collect and retail jungle fruits\nand roots having medicinal properties. Though the majority have become\nstone- and earth-workers some of them still do this.\n\n\n\n6. Vaddar.\n\n\nThe Vaddars or Wadewars are a branch of the Odde caste of Madras. They\nare almost an impure caste, and a section of them are professional\ncriminals. Their women wear glass bangles only on the left arm, those\non the right arm being made of brass or other metal. This rule has no\ndoubt been introduced because glass bangles would get broken when they\nwere supporting loads on the head. The men often wear an iron bangle\non the left wrist, which they say keeps off the lightning. Mr. Thurston\nstates that \"Women who have had seven husbands are much respected among\nthe Oddes, and their blessing on a bridal pair is greatly prized. They\nwork in gangs on contract, and every one, except very old and very\nyoung, shares in the labour. The women carry the earth in baskets,\nwhile the men use the pick and spade. The babies are usually tied up\nin cloths, which are suspended, hammock-fashion, from the boughs of\ntrees. A woman found guilty of immorality is said to have to carry\na basketful of earth from house to house before she is readmitted to\nthe caste. The stone-cutting Vaddars are the principal criminals, and\nby going about under the pretence of mending grindstones they obtain\nmuch useful information as to the houses to be looted or parties of\ntravellers to be attacked. In committing a highway robbery or dacoity\nthey are always armed with stout sticks.\" [256]\n\n\n\n7. Pathrot.\n\n\nIn Berar besides the regular Beldars two castes of stone-workers are\nfound, the Pathrawats or Pathrots (stone-breakers) and the Takaris,\nwho should perhaps be classed as separate castes. Both make and\nsharpen millstones and grindstones, and they are probably only\noccupational groups of recent formation. The Takaris are connected\nwith the Pardhi caste of professional hunters and fowlers and may\nbe a branch of them. The social customs of the Pathrots resemble\nthose of the Kunbis. \"They will take cooked food from a Sutar or a\nKumbhar. Imprisonment, the killing of a cow or criminal intimacy of a\nman with a woman of another caste is punished by temporary outcasting,\nreadmission involving a fine of Rs. 4 or Rs. 5. Their chief deity\nis the Devi of Tuljapur and their chief festival Dasahra; the\nimplements of the caste are worshipped twice a year, on Gudhi Padwa\nand Diwali. Women are tattooed with a crescent between the eyebrows\nand dots on the right side of the nose, the right cheek, and the chin,\nand a basil plant or peacock is drawn on their wrists.\" [257]\n\n\n\n8. Takari.\n\n\n\"The Takaris take their name from the verb _takne_, to reset or\nrechisel. They mend the handmills (_chakkis_) used for grinding corn,\nan occupation which is sometimes shared with them by the Langoti\nPardhis. The Takari's avocation of chiselling grindstones gives him\nexcellent opportunities for examining the interior economy of houses,\nand the position of boxes and cupboards, and for gauging the wealth of\nthe inmates. They are the most inveterate house-breakers and dangerous\ncriminals. A form of crime favoured by the Takari, in common with\nmany other criminal classes, is that of decoying into a secluded\nspot outside the village the would-be receiver of stolen property and\nrobbing him of his cash--a trick which carries a wholesome lesson with\nit.\" [258] The chisel with which they chip the grindstones furnishes,\nas stated by Mr. D. A. Smyth, D.S.P., an excellent implement for\nbreaking a hole through the mud wall of a house.\n\n\n\nBeria, Bedia.\n\n\n[_Bibliography_: Sir H. Risley's _Tribes and Castes of Bengal_;\nRajendra Lal Mitra in _Memoirs, Anthropological Society of London_,\niii. p. 122; Mr. Crooke's _Tribes and Castes of the North-Western\nProvinces and Oudh_; Mr. Kennedy's _Criminal Classes of the Bombay\nPresidency_; Major Gunthorpe's _Criminal Tribes_; Mr. Gayer's _Lectures\non some Criminal Tribes of the Central Provinces_; Colonel Sleeman's\n_Report on the Badhak or Bagri Dacoits_.]\n\n\n\n1. Historical notice.\n\n\nA caste of gipsies and thieves who are closely connected with the\nSansias. In 1891 they numbered 906 persons in the Central Provinces,\ndistributed over the northern Districts; in 1901 they were not\nseparately classified but were identified with the Nats. \"They say that\nsome generations ago two brothers resided in the Bhartpur territory, of\nwhom one was named Sains Mul and the other Mullanur. The descendants\nof Sains Mul are the Sansias and those of Mullanur the Berias or\nKolhatis, who are vagrants and robbers by hereditary profession,\nliving in tents or huts of matting, like Nats or other vagrant tribes,\nand having their women in common without any marriage ceremonies\nor ties whatsoever. Among themselves or their relatives the Sansias\nor descendants of Sains Mul, they are called Dholi or Kolhati. The\ndescendants of the brothers eat, drink and smoke together, and join in\nrobberies, but never intermarry.\" So Colonel Sleeman wrote in 1849,\nand other authorities agree on the close connection or identity of\nthe Berias and Sansias of Central India. The Kolhatis belong mainly\nto the Deccan and are apparently a branch of the Berias, named\nafter the _Kolhan_ or long pole with which they perform acrobatic\nfeats. The Berias of Central India differ in many respects from those\nof Bengal. Here Sir H. Risley considers Beria to be 'the generic name\nof a number of vagrant, gipsy-like groups'; and a full description of\nthem has been given by Babu Rajendra Lal Mitra, who considers them to\nresemble the gipsies of Europe. \"They are noted for a light, elastic,\nwiry make, very uncommon in the people of this country. In agility\nand hardness they stand unrivalled. The men are of a brownish colour,\nlike the bulk of Bengalis, but never black. The women are of lighter\ncomplexion and generally well-formed; some of them have considerable\nclaims to beauty, and for a race so rude and primitive in their habits\nas the Berias, there is a sharpness in the features of their women\nwhich we see in no other aboriginal race in India. Like the gipsies\nof Europe they are noted for the symmetry of their limbs; but their\noffensive habits, dirty clothing and filthy professions give them a\nrepulsive appearance, which is heightened by the reputation they have\nof kidnapping children and frequenting burial-grounds and places of\ncremation.... Familiar with the use of bows and arrows and great adepts\nin laying snares and traps, they are seldom without large supplies of\ngame and flesh of wild animals of all kinds. They keep the dried bodies\nof a variety of birds for medical purposes; mongoose, squirrels and\nflying-foxes they eat with avidity as articles of luxury. Spirituous\nliquors and intoxicating drugs are indulged in to a large extent,\nand chiefs of clans assume the title of Bhangi or drinkers of hemp\n(_bhang_) as a mark of honour.... In lying, thieving and knavery\nthe Beria is not a whit inferior to his brother gipsy of Europe. The\nBeria woman deals in charms for exorcising the devil and palmistry\nis her special vocation. She also carries with her a bundle of herbs\nand other real or pretended charms against sickness of body or mind;\nand she is much sought after by village maidens for the sake of\nthe philtre with which she restores to them their estranged lovers;\nwhile she foretells the date when absent friends will return and the\nsex of unborn children. They practise cupping with buffalo horns,\npretend to extract worms from decayed teeth and are commonly employed\nas tattooers. At home the Beria woman makes mats of palm-leaves,\nwhile her lord alone cooks.... Beria women are even more circumspect\nthan European gipsies. If a wife does not return before the jackal's\ncry is heard in the evening, she is subject to severe punishment. It\nis said that a _faux pas_ among her own kindred is not considered\nreprehensible; but it is certain that no Berini has ever been known to\nbe at fault with any one not of her own caste.\" This last statement\nis not a little astonishing, inasmuch as in Central India and in\nBundelkhand Berni is an equivalent term for a prostitute. A similar\ndiversity of conjugal morality has been noticed between the Bagris\nof northern India and the Vaghris of Gujarat. [259]\n\n\n\n2. Criminal tendencies in the Central Provinces.\n\n\nIn other respects also the Berias of Bengal appear to be more\nrespectable than the remainder of the caste, obtaining their livelihood\nby means which, if disreputable, are not actually dishonest; while\nin Central India the women Berias are prostitutes and the men\nhouse-breakers and thieves. These latter are so closely connected\nwith the Sansias that the account of that caste is also applicable\nto the Berias. In Jubbulpore, Mr. Gayer states, the caste are expert\nhouse-breakers, bold and daring, and sometimes armed with swords and\nmatchlocks. They sew up stolen property in their bed-quilts and secrete\nit in the hollow legs of their sleeping-cots, and the women habitually\nconceal jewels and even coins in the natural passages of the body, in\nwhich they make special _saos_ or receptacles by practice. The Beria\nwomen go about begging, and often break open the doors of unoccupied\nhouses in the daytime and steal anything they can find. [260] Both\nSansia and Beria women wear a _laong_ or clove in the left nostril.\n\n\n\n3. Social customs.\n\n\nAs already stated, the women are professional prostitutes, but these\ndo not marry, and on arrival at maturity they choose the life which\nthey prefer. Mr. Crooke states, [261] however, that regular marriages\nseldom occur among them, because nearly all the girls are reserved\nfor prostitution, and the men keep concubines drawn from any fairly\nrespectable caste. So far is this the rule that in some localities if\na man marries a girl of the tribe he is put out of caste or obliged\nto pay a fine to the tribal council. This last rule does not seem\nto obtain in the Central Provinces, but marriages are uncommon. In\na colony of Berias in Jubbulpore [262] numbering sixty families it\nwas stated that only eight weddings could be remembered as having\noccurred in the last fifty years. The boys therefore have to obtain\nwives as best they can; sometimes orphan girls from other castes are\ntaken into the community, or any outsider is picked up. For a bride\nfrom the caste itself a sum of Rs. 100 is usually demanded, and the\nsame has to be paid by a Beria man who takes a wife from the Nat or\nKanjar castes, as is sometimes done. When a match is proposed they\nask the expectant bridegroom how many thefts he has committed without\ndetection; and if his performances have been inadequate they refuse\nto give him the girl on the ground that he will be unable to support\na wife. At the betrothal the boy's parents go to the girl's house,\ntaking with them a potful of liquor round which a silver ring is\nplaced and a pig. The ring is given to the girl and the head of\nthe pig to her father, while the liquor and the body of the pig\nprovide a feast for the caste. They consult Brahmans at their birth\nand marriage ceremonies. Their principal deities appear to be their\nancestors, whom they worship on the same day of the month and year\nas that on which their death took place. They make an offering of a\npig to the goddess Dadaju or Devi before starting on their annual\npredatory excursions. Some rice is thrown into the animal's ear\nbefore it is killed, and the direction in which it turns its head is\nselected as the one divinely indicated for their route. Prostitution\nis naturally not regarded as any disgrace, and the women who have\nselected this profession mix on perfectly equal terms with those\nwho are married. They occupy, in fact, a more independent position,\nas they dispose absolutely of their own earnings and property, and on\ntheir death it devolves on their daughters or other female relatives,\nmales having no claim to it, in some localities at least. Among the\nchildren of married couples daughters inherit equally with sons. A\nprostitute is regarded as the head of the family so far as her children\nare concerned. Outsiders are freely admitted into the caste on giving\na feast to the community. In Saugor the women of the caste, known\nas Berni, are the village dancing-girls, and are employed to give\nperformances in the cold weather, especially at the Holi festival,\nwhere they dance the whole night through, fortified by continuous\npotations of liquor. This dance is called _rai_, and is accompanied\nby most obscene songs and gestures.\n\n\n\n\n\n\nBhaina\n\n\nList of Paragraphs\n\n\n    1. _The tribe derived from the Baigas._\n    2. _Closely connected with the Kawars._\n    3. _Internal structure. Totemism._\n    4. _Marriage._\n    5. _Religious superstitions._\n    6. _Admission of outsiders and caste offences._\n    7. _Social customs._\n\n\n\n1. The tribe derived from the Baigas.\n\n\n_Bhaina._ [263]--A primitive tribe peculiar to the Central Provinces\nand found principally in the Bilaspur District and the adjoining area,\nthat is, in the wild tract of forest country between the Satpura\nrange and the south of the Chota Nagpur plateau. In 1911 about 17,000\nmembers of the tribe were returned. The tribe is of mixed descent and\nappears to have been derived principally from the Baigas and Kawars,\nhaving probably served as a city of refuge to persons expelled from\nthese and other tribes and the lower castes for irregular sexual\nrelations. Their connection with the Baigas is shown by the fact that\nin Mandla the Baigas have two subdivisions, which are known as Rai\nor Raj-Bhaina, and Kath, or catechu-making Bhaina. The name therefore\nwould appear to have originated with the Baiga tribe. A Bhaina is also\nnot infrequently found to be employed in the office of village priest\nand magician, which goes by the name of Baiga in Bilaspur. And a Bhaina\nhas the same reputation as a Baiga for sorcery, it being said of him--\n\n\n                    Mainhar ki manjh\n                    Bhaina ki pang\n\n\nor 'The magic of a Bhaina is as deadly as the powdered _mainhar_\nfruit,' this fruit having the property of stupefying fish when thrown\ninto the water, so that they can easily be caught. This reputation\nsimply arises from the fact that in his capacity of village priest the\nBhaina performs the various magical devices which lay the ghosts of\nthe dead, protect the village against tigers, ensure the prosperity\nof the crops and so on. But it is always the older residents of any\nlocality who are employed by later comers in this office, because they\nare considered to have a more intimate acquaintance with the local\ndeities. And consequently we are entitled to assume that the Bhainas\nare older residents of the country where they are found than their\nneighbours, the Gonds and Kawars. There is other evidence to the same\neffect; for instance, the oldest forts in Bilaspur are attributed to\nthe Bhainas, and a chief of this tribe is remembered as having ruled\nin Bilaigarh; they are also said to have been dominant in Pendra,\nwhere they are still most numerous, though the estate is now held\nby a Kawar; and it is related that the Bhainas were expelled from\nPhuljhar in Raipur by the Gonds. Phuljhar is believed to be a Gond\nState of long standing, and the Raja of Raigarh and others claim to be\ndescended from its ruling family. A manuscript history of the Phuljhar\nchiefs records that that country was held by a Bhaina king when the\nGonds invaded it, coming from Chanda. The Bhaina with his soldiers\ntook refuge in a hollow underground chamber with two exits. But the\nsecret of this was betrayed to the Gonds by an old Gond woman, and\nthey filled up the openings of the chamber with grass and burnt the\nBhainas to death. On this account the tribe will not enter Phuljhar\nterritory to this day, and say that it is death to a Bhaina to do\nso. The Binjhwars are also said to have been dominant in the hills\nto the east of Raipur District, and they too are a civilised branch\nof the Baigas. And in all this area the village priest is commonly\nknown as Baiga, the deduction from which is, as already stated, that\nthe Baigas were the oldest residents. [264] It seems a legitimate\nconclusion, therefore, that prior to the immigration of the Gonds\nand Kawars, the ancient Baiga tribe was spread over the whole hill\ncountry east and north of the Mahanadi basin.\n\n\n\n2. Closely connected with the Kawars.\n\n\nThe Bhainas are also closely connected with the Kawars, who still own\nmany large estates in the hills north of Bilaspur. It is said that\nformerly the Bhainas and Kawars both ate in common and intermarried,\nbut at present, though the Bhainas still eat rice boiled in water from\nthe Kawars, the latter do not reciprocate. But still, when a Kawar\nis celebrating a birth, marriage or death in his family, or when he\ntakes in hand to make a tank, he will first give food to a Bhaina\nbefore his own caste-men eat. And it may safely be assumed that this\nis a recognition of the Bhaina's position as having once been lord of\nthe land. A Kawar may still be admitted into the Bhaina community,\nand it is said that the reason of the rupture of the former equal\nrelations between the two tribes was the disgust felt by the Kawars\nfor the rude and uncouth behaviour of the Bhainas. For on one occasion\na Kawar went to ask for a Bhaina girl in marriage, and, as the men of\nthe family were away, the women undertook to entertain him. And as\nthe Bhainas had no axes, the daughter proceeded to crack the sticks\non her head for kindling a fire, and for grass she pulled out a wisp\nof thatch from the roof and broke it over her thigh, being unable to\nchop it. This so offended the delicate susceptibilities of the Kawar\nthat he went away without waiting for his meal, and from that time the\nKawars ceased to marry with the Bhainas. It seems possible that the\nstory points to the period when the primitive Bhainas and Baigas did\nnot know the use of iron and to the introduction of this metal by the\nlater-coming Kawars and Gonds. It is further related that when a Kawar\nis going to make a ceremonial visit he likes always to take with him\ntwo or three Bhainas, who are considered as his retainers, though not\nbeing so in fact. This enhances his importance, and it is also said\nthat the stupidity of the Bhainas acts as a foil, through which the\nsuperior intelligence of the Kawar is made more apparent. All these\ndetails point to the same conclusion that the primitive Bhainas first\nheld the country and were supplanted by the more civilised Kawars,\nand bears out the theory that the settlement of the Munda tribes was\nprior to those of the Dravidian family.\n\n\n\n3. Internal structure: Totemism.\n\n\nThe tribe has two subdivisions of a territorial nature, Laria or\nChhattisgarhi, and Uriya. The Uriya Bhainas will accept food cooked\nwithout water from the Sawaras or Saonrs, and these also from them;\nso that they have probably intermarried. Two other subdivisions\nrecorded are the Jhalyara and Ghantyara or Ghatyara; the former\nbeing so called because they live in _jhalas_ or leaf huts in the\nforest, and the latter, it is said, because they tie a _ghanta_ or\nbell to their doors. This, however, seems very improbable. Another\ntheory is that the word is derived from _ghat_, a slope or descent,\nand refers to a method which the tribe have of tattooing themselves\nwith a pattern of lines known as _ghat_. Or it is said to mean a low\nor despised section. The Jhalyara and Ghatyara divisions comprise the\nless civilised portion of the tribe, who still live in the forests;\nand they are looked down on by the Uriya and Laria sections, who belong\nto the open country. The exogamous divisions of the tribe show clearly\nenough that the Bhainas, like other subject races, have quite failed\nto preserve any purity of blood. Among the names of their _gots_\nor septs are Dhobia (a washerman), Ahera (cowherd), Gond, Mallin\n(gardener), Panika (from a Panka or Ganda) and others. The members of\nsuch septs pay respect to any man belonging to the caste after which\nthey are named and avoid picking a quarrel with him. They also worship\nthe family gods of this caste. The tribe have also a number of totem\nsepts, named after animals or plants. Such are Nag the cobra, Bagh\nthe tiger, Chitwa the leopard, Gidha the vulture, Besra the hawk,\nBendra the monkey, Kok or Lodha the wild dog, Bataria the quail,\nDurgachhia the black ant, and so on. Members of a sept will not injure\nthe animal after which it is named, and if they see the corpse of the\nanimal or hear of its death, they throw away an earthen cooking-pot\nand bathe and shave themselves as for one of the family. Members of\nthe Baghchhal or tiger sept will, however, join in a beat for tiger\nthough they are reluctant to do so. At weddings the Bhainas have a\nceremony known as the _gotra_ worship. The bride's father makes an\nimage in clay of the bird or animal of the groom's sept and places\nit beside the marriage-post. The bridegroom worships the image,\nlighting a sacrificial fire before it, and offers to it the vermilion\nwhich he afterwards smears upon the forehead of the bride. At the\nbridegroom's house a similar image is made of the bride's totem,\nand on returning there after the wedding she worships this. Women\nare often tattooed with representations of their totem animal, and\nmen swear by it as their most sacred oath. A similar respect is paid\nto the inanimate objects after which certain septs are named. Thus\nmembers of the Gawad or cowdung sept will not burn cowdung cakes for\nfuel; and those of the Mircha sept do not use chillies. One sept is\nnamed after the sun, and when an eclipse occurs these perform the\nsame formal rites of mourning as the others do on the death of their\ntotem animal. Some of the groups have two divisions, male and female,\nwhich practically rank as separate septs. Instances of these are the\nNagbans Andura and the Nagbans Mai or male and female cobra septs;\nthe Karsayal Singhara and Karsayal Mundi or stag and doe deer septs;\nand the Baghchhal Andura and Baghchhal Mai or tiger and tigress\nsepts. These may simply be instances of subdivisions arising owing\nto the boundaries of the sept having become too large for convenience.\n\n\n\n4. Marriage.\n\n\nThe tribe consider that a boy should be married when he has learnt to\ndrive the plough, and a girl when she is able to manage her household\naffairs. When a father can afford a bride for his son, he and his\nrelatives go to the girl's village, taking with them ten or fifteen\ncakes of bread and a bottle of liquor. He stays with some relative and\nsends to ask the girl's father if he will give his daughter to the\ninquirer's son. If the former agrees, the bread and liquor are sent\nover to him, and he drinks three cups of the spirit as a pledge of\nthe betrothal, the remainder being distributed to the company. This is\nknown as _Tatia kholna_ or 'the opening of the door,' and is followed\nsome days afterwards by a similar ceremonial which constitutes the\nregular betrothal. On this occasion the father agrees to marry his\ndaughter within a year and demands the bride-price, which consists\nof rice, cloth, a goat and other articles, the total value being\nabout five rupees. A date is next fixed for the wedding, the day\nselected being usually a Monday or Friday, but no date or month is\nforbidden. The number of days to the wedding are then counted, and\ntwo knotted strings are given to each party, with a knot for each\nday up to that on which the anointings with oil and turmeric will\ncommence at the bridegroom's and bride's houses. Every day one knot\nis untied at each house up to that on which the ceremonies begin,\nand thus the correct date for them is known. The invitations to the\nwedding are given by distributing rice coloured yellow with turmeric\nto all members of the caste in the locality, with the intimation\nthat the wedding procession will start on a certain day and that they\nwill be pleased to attend. During the four days that they are being\nanointed the bride and bridegroom dance at their respective houses\nto the accompaniment of drums and other instruments. For the wedding\nceremony a number of Hindu rites have been adopted. The eldest sister\nof the bridegroom or bride is known as the _sawasin_ and her husband as\nthe _sawasa_, and these persons seem to act as the representatives of\nthe bridal couple throughout the marriage and to receive all presents\non their behalf. The custom is almost universal among the Hindus,\nand it is possible that they are intended to act as substitutes and\nto receive any strokes of evil fortune which may befall the bridal\npair at a season at which they are peculiarly liable to it. The\ncouple go round the sacred post, and afterwards the bridegroom daubs\nthe bride's forehead with red lead seven times and covers her head\nwith her cloth to show that she has become a married woman. After\nthe wedding the bridegroom's parents say to him, \"Now your parents\nhave done everything they could for you, and you must manage your\nown house.\" The expenditure on an average wedding is about fifteen\nor twenty rupees. A widow is usually taken in marriage by her late\nhusband's younger brother or Dewar, or by one of his relatives. If\nshe marries an outsider, the Dewar realises twelve rupees from him\nin compensation for her loss. But if there is no Dewar this sum is\nnot payable to her first husband's elder brother or her own father,\nbecause they could not have married her and hence are not held to be\ninjured by a stranger doing so. If a woman is divorced and another\nman wishes to marry her, he must make a similar payment of twelve\nrupees to the first husband, together with a goat and liquor for the\npenal feast. The Bhainas bury or burn the dead according as their\nmeans permit.\n\n\n\n5. Religious superstitions.\n\n\nTheir principal deity in Bilaspur is Nakti Devi [265] or the 'Noseless\nGoddess.' For her ritual rice is placed on a square of the floor\nwashed with cowdung, and _ghi_ or preserved butter is poured on it and\nburnt. A hen is made to eat the rice, and then its head is cut off and\nlaid on the square. The liver is burnt on the fire as an offering to\nthe deity and the head and body of the animal are then eaten. After\nthe death of a man a cock is offered to Nakti Devi and a hen after\nthat of a woman. The fowl is made to pick rice first in the yard of\nthe house, then on the threshold, and lastly inside the house. Thakur\nDeo is the deity of cultivation and is worshipped on the day before\nthe autumn crops are sown. On this day all the men in the village\ngo to his shrine taking a measure of rice and a ploughshare. At the\nsame time the Baiga or village priest goes and bathes in the tank and\nis afterwards carried to the assembly on a man's shoulders. Here he\nmakes an offering and repeats a charm, and then kneeling down strikes\nthe earth seven times with the ploughshare, and sows five handfuls of\nrice, sprinkling water over the seed. After him the villagers walk\nseven times round the altar of the god in pairs, one man turning up\nthe earth with the ploughshare and the other sowing and watering the\nseed. While this is going on the Baiga sits with his face covered\nwith a piece of cloth, and at the end the villagers salute the Baiga\nand go home. When a man wishes to do an injury to another he makes\nan image of him with clay and daubs it with vermilion and worships\nit with an offering of a goat or a fowl and liquor. Then he prays\nthe image that his enemy may die. Another way of injuring an enemy\nis to take rice coloured with turmeric, and after muttering charms\nthrow it in the direction in which the enemy lives.\n\n\n\n6. Admission of outsiders and caste offences.\n\n\nOutsiders are not usually admitted, but if a Bhaina forms a connection\nwith a woman of another tribe, they will admit the children of such\na union, though not the woman herself. For they say: 'The seed is\nours and what matters the field on which it was sown.' But a man\nof the Kawar tribe having intimacy with a Bhaina woman may be taken\ninto the community. He must wait for three or four months after the\nmatter becomes known and will beg for admission and offer to give\nthe penalty feast. A day is fixed for this and invitations are sent\nto members of the caste. On the appointed day the women of the tribe\ncook rice, pulse, goat's flesh and urad cakes fried in oil, and in\nthe evening the people assemble and drink liquor and then go to take\ntheir food. The candidate for admission serves water to the men and\nhis prospective wife to the women, both being then permitted to take\nfood with the tribe. Next morning the people come again and the woman\nis dressed in a white cloth with bangles. The couple stand together\nsupported by their brother-in-law and sister-in-law respectively,\nand turmeric dissolved in water is poured over their heads. They\nare now considered to be married and go round together and give the\nsalutation or Johar to the people, touching the feet of those who\nare entitled to this mark of respect, and kissing the others. Among\nthe offences for which a man is temporarily put out of caste is\ngetting the ear torn either accidentally or otherwise, being beaten\nby a man of very low caste, growing san-hemp (_Crotalaria juncea_),\nrearing tasar silk-worms or getting maggots in a wound. This last is\nalmost as serious an offence as killing a cow, and, in both cases,\nbefore an offender can be reinstated he must kill a fowl and swallow\na drop or two of its blood with turmeric. Women commonly get the lobe\nof the ear torn through the heavy ear-rings which they wear; and in\na squabble another woman will often seize the ear-ring maliciously\nin order to tear the ear. A woman injured in this way is put out of\ncaste for a year in Janjgir. To grow turmeric or garlic is also an\noffence against caste, but a man is permitted to do this for his own\nuse and not for sale. A man who gets leprosy is said to be permanently\nexpelled from caste. The purification of delinquents is conducted\nby members of the Sonwani (gold-water) and Patel (headman) septs,\nwhose business it is to give the offender water to drink in which\ngold has been dipped and to take over the burden of his sins by first\neating food with him. But others say that the Hathi or elephant sept\nis the highest, and to its members are delegated these duties. And\nin Janjgir again the president of the committee gives the gold-water,\nand is hence known as Sonwan; and this office must always be held by\na man of the Bandar or monkey sept.\n\n\n\n7. Social customs.\n\n\nThe Bhainas are a comparatively civilised tribe and have largely\nadopted Hindu usages. They employ Brahmans to fix auspicious days\nfor their ceremonies, though not to officiate at them. They live\nprincipally in the open country and are engaged in agriculture, though\nvery few of them hold land and the bulk are farm-labourers. They now\ndisclaim any connection with the primitive Baigas, who still prefer\nthe forests. But their caste mark, a symbol which may be affixed to\ndocuments in place of a signature or used for a brand on cattle, is\na bow, and this shows that they retain the recollection of hunting as\ntheir traditional occupation. Like the Baigas, the tribe have forgotten\ntheir native dialect and now speak bad Hindi. They will eat pork and\nrats, and almost anything else they can get, eschewing only beef. But\nin their intercourse with other castes they are absurdly strict, and\nwill take boiled rice only from a Kawar, or from a Brahman if it is\ncooked in a brass and not in an earthen vessel, and this only from\na male and not from a female Brahman; while they will accept baked\n_chapatis_ and other food from a Gond and a Rawat. But in Sambalpur\nthey will take this from a Savar and not from a Gond. They rank below\nthe Gonds, Kawars and Savars or Saonrs. Women are tattooed with a\nrepresentation of their sept totem; and on the knees and ankles they\nhave some figures of lines which are known as _ghats_. These they\nsay will enable them to climb the mountains leading to heaven in the\nother world, while those who have not such marks will be pierced with\nspears on their way up the ascent. It has already been suggested that\nthese marks may have given rise to the name of the Ghatyara division\nof the tribe.\n\n\n\n\n\n\nBhamta or Bhamtya\n\n\n\n1. Occupation.\n\n\n_Bhamta or Bhamtya._ [266]--A caste numbering 4000 persons in the\nCentral Provinces, nearly all of whom reside in the Wardha, Nagpur\nand Chanda Districts of the Nagpur Division. The Bhamtas are also\nfound in Bombay, Berar and Hyderabad. In Bombay they are known by the\nnames of Uchla or 'Lifter' and Ganthachor or 'Bundle-thief.' [267]\nThe Bhamtas were and still are notorious thieves, but many of the\ncaste are now engaged in the cultivation of hemp, from which they\nmake ropes, mats and gunny-bags. Formerly it was said in Wardha that\na Bhamta girl would not marry unless her suitor had been arrested not\nless than fourteen times by the police, when she considered that he\nhad qualified as a man. The following description of their methods\ndoes not necessarily apply to the whole caste, though the bulk of\nthem are believed to have criminal tendencies. But some colonies of\nBhamtas who have taken to the manufacture of sacking and gunny-bags\nfrom hemp-fibre may perhaps be excepted. They steal only during the\ndaytime, and divide that part of the Province which they frequent into\nregular beats or ranges. They adopt many disguises. Even in their own\ncottages one dresses as a Marwari Bania, another as a Gujarat Jain,\na third as a Brahman and a fourth as a Rajput. They keep to some\nparticular disguise for years and often travel hundreds of miles,\nentering and stealing from the houses of the classes of persons whose\ndress they adopt, or taking service with a merchant or trader, and\nhaving gained their employer's confidence, seizing an opportunity to\nabscond with some valuable property. Sometimes two or three Bhamtas\nvisit a large fair, and one of them dressed as a Brahman mingles with\nthe crowd of bathers and worshippers. The false Brahman notices some\nornament deposited by a bather, and while himself entering the water\nand repeating sacred verses, watches his opportunity and spreads out\nhis cloth near the ornament, which he then catches with his toes,\nand dragging it with him to a distance as he walks away buries it in\nthe sand. The accomplices meanwhile loiter near, and when the owner\ndiscovers his loss the Brahman sympathises with him and points out\nthe accomplices as likely thieves, thus diverting suspicion from\nhimself. The victim follows the accomplices, who make off, and the\nreal thief meanwhile digs the ornament out of the sand and escapes\nat his leisure. Women often tie their ornaments in bundles at such\nbathing-fairs, and in that case two Bhamtas will go up to her, one\non each side, and while one distracts her attention the other makes\noff with the bundle and buries it in the sand. A Bhamta rarely retains\nthe stolen property on his person while there is a chance of his being\nsearched, and is therefore not detected. They show considerable loyalty\nto one another, and never steal from or give information against a\nmember of the caste. If stolen property is found in a Bhamta's house,\nand it has merely been deposited there for security, the real thief\ncomes forward. An escaped prisoner does not come back to his friends\nlest he should get them into trouble. A Bhamta is never guilty of\nhouse-breaking or gang-robbery, and if he takes part in this offence\nhe is put out of caste. He does not steal from the body of a person\nasleep. He is, however, expert at the theft of ornaments from the\nperson. He never steals from a house in his own village, and the\nvillagers frequently share directly or indirectly in his gains. The\nBhamtas are now expert railway thieves. [268] Two of them will get\ninto a carriage, and, engaging the other passengers in conversation,\nfind out where they are going, so as to know the time available for\naction. When it gets dark and the travellers go to sleep, one of\nthe Bhamtas lies down on the floor and covers himself with a large\ncloth. He begins feeling some bag under the seat, and if he cannot\nopen it with his hands, takes from his mouth the small curved knife\nwhich all Bhamtas carry concealed between their gum and upper lip,\nand with this he rips up the seams of the bag and takes out what\nhe finds; or they exchange bags, according to a favourite device of\nEnglish railway thieves, and then quickly either leave the train or\nget into another carriage. If attention is aroused they throw the\nstolen property out of the window, marking the place and afterwards\ngoing back to recover it. Another device is to split open and pick\nthe pockets of people in a crowd. Besides the knife they often have\na needle and thread and an iron nut-cutter.\n\n\n\n2. Subdivisions and marriage customs.\n\n\nMembers of other castes, as Chhatri, Kanjar, Rawat and others, who\nhave taken to stealing, are frequently known as Bhamtas, but unless\nthey have been specially initiated do not belong to the caste. The\nBhamtas proper have two main divisions, the Chhatri Bhamtas, who are\nusually immigrants from Gujarat, and those of the Maratha country,\nwho are often known as Bhamtis. The former have a dialect which is\na mixture of Hindi, Marathi and Gujarati, while the latter speak\nthe local form of Marathi. The sections of the Chhatri Bhamtas are\nnamed after Rajput septs, as Badgujar, Chauhan, Gahlot, Bhatti,\nKachhwaha and others. They may be partly of Rajput descent, as they\nhave regular and pleasing features and a fair complexion, and are well\nbuilt and sturdy. The sections of the Bhamtis are called by Maratha\nsurnames, as Gudekar, Kaothi, Bailkhade, Satbhaia and others. The\nChhatri Bhamtas have northern customs, and the Bhamtis those of the\nMaratha country. Marriage between persons of the same _gotra_ or\nsurname is prohibited. The Chhatris avoid marriage between relations\nhaving a common greatgrandparent, but among the Bhamtis the custom of\nMehunchar is prevalent, by which the brother's daughter is married to\nthe sister's son. Girls are usually married at ten and eleven years of\nage or later. The betrothal and marriage customs of the two subcastes\ndiffer, the Chhatris following the ceremonial of the northern Districts\nand the Bhamtis that of the Maratha country. The Chhatris do not pay\na bride-price, but the Bhamtis usually do. Widow-marriage is allowed,\nand while the Chhatris expect the widow to marry her deceased husband's\nbrother, the Bhamtis do not permit this. Among both subdivisions a\nprice is paid for the widow to her parents. Divorce is only permitted\nfor immoral conduct on the part of the wife. A divorced woman may\nremarry after giving a feast to the caste _panchayat_ or committee,\nand obtaining their consent.\n\n\n\n3. Religion and social customs.\n\n\nThe goddess Devi is the tutelary deity of the caste, as of all those\nwho ply a disreputable profession. Animals are sacrificed to her\nor let loose to wander in her name. The offerings are appropriated\nby the village washerman. In Bombay the rendezvous of the Bhamtis\nis the temple of Devi at Konali, in Akalkot State, near Sholapur,\nand here the gangs frequently assemble before and after their raids\nto ask the goddess that luck may attend them and to thank her for\nsuccess obtained. [269] They worship their rope-making implements on\nthe Dasahra day. They both bury and burn the dead. Ghosts and spirits\nare worshipped. If a man takes a second wife after the death of his\nfirst, the new wife wears a _putli_ or image of the first wife on\na piece of silver on her neck, and offers it the _hom_ sacrifice\nby placing some _ghi_ on the fire before taking a meal. In cases of\ndoubt and difficulty she often consults the _putli_ by speaking to it,\nwhile any chance stir of the image due to the movement of her body\nis interpreted as approval or disapproval. In the Central Provinces\nthe Bhamtis say that they do not admit outsiders into the caste, but\nthis is almost certainly untrue. In Bombay they are said to admit all\nHindus [270] except the very lowest castes, and also Muhammadans. The\ncandidate must pass through the two ceremonies of admission into the\ncaste and adoption into a particular family. For the first he pays an\nadmission fee, is bathed and dressed in new clothes, and one of the\nelders drops turmeric and sugar into his mouth. A feast follows, during\nwhich some elders of the caste eat out of the same plate with him. This\ncompletes the admission ceremony, but in order to marry in the caste\na candidate must also be adopted into a particular family. The Bhamta\nwho has agreed to adopt him invites the caste people to his house,\nand there takes the candidate on his knee while the guests drop\nturmeric and sugar into his mouth. The Bhamtas eat fish and fowl but\nnot pork or beef, and drink liquor. This last practice is, however,\nfrequently made a caste offence by the Bhamtis. They take cooked\nfood from Brahmans and Kunbis and water from Gonds. The keeping of\nconcubines is also an offence entailing temporary excommunication. The\nmorality of the caste is somewhat low and their women are addicted\nto prostitution. The occupation of the Bhamta is also looked down on,\nand it is said, _Bhamta ka kam sub se nikam_, or 'The Bhamta's work is\nthe worst of all.' This may apply either to his habits of stealing or\nto the fact that he supplies a bier made of twine and bamboo sticks at\na death. In Bombay the showy dress of the Bhamta is proverbial. Women\nare tattooed before marriage on the forehead and lower lip, and on\nother parts of the body for purposes of adornment. The men have the\nhead shaved for three inches above the top of the forehead in front\nand an inch higher behind, and they wear the scalp-lock much thicker\nthan Brahmans do. They usually have red head-cloths.\n\n\n\nBharbhunja\n\n\n\n1. General notice\n\n\n_Bharbhunja._ [271]--The occupational caste of grain-parchers. The\nname is derived from the Sanskrit _bhrastra_, a frying-pan, and\n_bharjaka_, one who fries. The Bharbhunjas numbered 3000 persons in\n1911, and belong mainly to the northern Districts, their headquarters\nbeing in Upper India. In Chhattisgarh the place of the Bharbhunjas is\ntaken by the Dhuris. Sir H. Elliot [272] remarks that the caste are\ntraditionally supposed to be descended from a Kahar father and a Sudra\nmother, and they are probably connected with the Kahars. In Saugor\nthey say that their ancestors were Kankubja Brahmans who were ordered\nto parch rice at the wedding of the great Rama, and in consequence\nof this one of their subcastes is known as Kanbajia. But Kankubja is\none of the commonest names of subcastes among the people of northern\nIndia, and merely indicates that the bearers belong to the tract\nround the old city of Kanauj; and there is no reason to suppose that\nit means anything more in the case of the Bharbhunjas. Another group\nare called Kaitha, and they say that their ancestors were Kayasths,\nwho adopted the profession of grain-parching. It is said that in Bhopal\nproper Kayasths will take food from Kaitha Bharbhunjas and smoke from\ntheir huqqa; and it is noticeable that in northern India Mr. Crooke\ngives [273] not only the Kaitha subcaste, but other groups called\nSaksena and Srivastab, which are the names of well-known Kayasth\nsubdivisions. It is possible, therefore, that the Kaitha group may\nreally be connected with the Kayasths. Other subcastes are the Benglah,\nwho are probably immigrants from Bengal; and the Kandu, who may also\ncome from that direction, Kandu being the name of the corresponding\ncaste of grain-parchers in Bengal.\n\n\n\n2. Social customs.\n\n\nThe social customs of the Bharbhunjas resemble those of Hindustani\ncastes of fairly good position. [274] They employ Brahmans for their\nceremonies, and the family priest receives five rupees for officiating\nat a wedding, three rupees for a funeral, one rupee for a birth,\nand four annas on ordinary occasions. No price is paid for a bride,\nand at their marriages the greater part of the expense falls on the\ngirl's father, who has to give three feasts as against two provided by\nthe bridegroom's father. After the wedding the bridegroom's father puts\non women's clothes given by the bride's father and dances before the\nfamily. Rose-coloured water and powder are sprinkled over the guests\nand the proceeding is known as _Phag_, because it is considered to have\nthe same significance as the Holi festival observed in Phagun. This\nis usually done on the bank of a river or in some garden outside\nthe village. At the _gauna_ or going-away ceremony the bride and\nbridegroom take their seats on two wooden boards and then change\nplaces. Divorce and the remarriage of widows are permitted. The union\nof a widow with her deceased husband's younger brother is considered\na suitable match, but is not compulsory. When a bachelor marries a\nwidow, he first goes through the proper ceremony either with a stick\nor an ear-ring, and is then united to the widow by the simple ritual\nemployed for widow remarriage. A girl who is seduced by a member of\nthe caste may be married to him as if she were a widow, but if her\nlover is an outsider she is permanently expelled from the caste.\n\n\n\n3. Occupation.\n\n\nThe Bharbhunjas occupy a fairly high social position, analogous to\nthat of the Barais, Kahars and other serving castes, the explanation\nbeing that all Hindus require the grain parched by them; this, as it\nis not cooked with water, may be eaten abroad, on a journey or in the\nmarket-place. This is known as _pakki_ food, and even Brahmans will\ntake it from their hands. But Mr. Crooke notes [275] that the work\nthey do, and particularly the sweeping up of dry leaves for fuel,\ntends to lower them in the popular estimation, and it is a favourite\ncurse to wish of an enemy that he may some day come to stoke the kiln\nof a grain-parcher. Of their occupation Sir H. Risley states that\n\"Throughout the caste the actual work of parching grain is usually\nleft to the women. The process is a simple one. A clay oven is built,\nsomewhat in the shape of a bee-hive, with ten or twelve round holes at\nthe top. A fire is lighted under it and broken earthen pots containing\nsand are put on the holes. The grain to be parched is thrown in with\nthe sand and stirred with a flat piece of wood or a broom until it is\nready. The sand and parched grain are then placed in a sieve, through\nwhich the former escapes. The wages of the parcher are a proportion\nof the grain, varying from one-eighth to one-fourth. In Bengal the\ncaste was spoken of by early English travellers under the quaint name\nof the frymen.\" [276] In the Central Provinces also grain-parching\nis distinctly a woman's industry, only twenty-two per cent of those\nshown as working at it being men. There are two classes of tradesmen,\nthose who simply keep ovens and parch grain which is brought to them,\nand those who keep the grain and sell it ready parched. The rates for\nparching are a pice a seer or an eighth part of the grain. Gram and\nrice, husked or unhusked, are the grains usually parched. When parched,\ngram is called _phutana_ (broken) and rice _lahi_. The Bharbhunjas also\nprepare _sathu_, a flour made by grinding parched gram or wheat, which\nis a favourite food for a light morning meal, or for travellers. It\ncan be taken without preparation, being simply mixed with water and\na little salt or sugar. The following story is told about _sathu_\nto emphasise its convenience in this respect. Once two travellers\nwere about to take some food before starting in the morning, of\nwhom one had _sathu_ and the other _dhan_ (unhusked rice). The one\nwith the _dhan_ knew that it would take him a long time to pound,\nand then cook and eat it, so he said to the other, \"My poor friend,\nI perceive that you only have _sathu_, which will delay you because\nyou must find water, and then mix it, and find salt, and put it in,\nbefore your _sathu_ can be ready, while rice--pound, eat and go. But\nif you like, as you are in a greater hurry than I am, I will change my\nrice for your _sathu_.\" The other traveller unsuspectingly consented,\nthinking he was getting the best of the bargain, and while he was still\nlooking for a mortar in which to pound his rice, the first traveller\nhad mixed and eaten the _sathu_ and proceeded on his journey. In the\nvernacular the point is brought out by the onomatopoeic character\nof the lines, which cannot be rendered in English. The caste are now\nalso engaged in selling tobacco and sweetmeats and the manufacture of\nfireworks. They stoke their ovens with any refuse they can collect\nfrom the roads, and hence comes the saying, '_Bhar men dalna_',\n'To throw into the oven,' meaning to throw away something or to make\nducks and drakes with it; while _Bhar-jhokna_ signifies to light\nor heat the oven, and, figuratively, to take up a mean occupation\n(Platts). Another proverb quoted by Mr. Crooke is, '_Bharbhunja ka\nlarki kesar ka tika_,' or 'The Bharbhunja's slut with saffron on her\nforehead,' meaning one dressed in borrowed plumes. Another saying is,\n'_To tum kya abhi tak bhar bhunjte rahe_,' or 'Have you been stoking\nthe oven all this time?'--meaning to imply that the person addressed\nhas been wasting his time, because the profits from grain-parching\nare so small. The oven of the Psalmist into which the grass was cast\nno doubt closely resembled that of the Bharbhunjas.\n\n\n\n\n\n\nBharia\n\n\nList of Paragraphs\n\n\n    1. _Origin and tribal legend._\n    2. _Tribal subdivisions._\n    3. _Marriage._\n    4. _Childbirth._\n    5. _Funeral ceremonies._\n    6. _Religion and magic._\n    7. _Social life and customs._\n    8. _Occupation._\n\n\n\n1. Origin and tribal legend.\n\n\n_Bharia, Bharia-Bhumia._ [277]--A Dravidian tribe numbering about\n50,000 persons and residing principally in the Jubbulpore District,\nwhich contains a half of the total number. The others are found in\nChhindwara and Bilaspur. The proper name of the tribe is Bharia,\nbut they are often called Bharia-Bhumia, because many of them hold\nthe office of Bhumia or priest of the village gods and of the lower\ncastes in Jubbulpore, and the Bharias prefer the designation of Bhumia\nas being the more respectable. The term Bhumia or 'Lord of the soil'\nis an alternative for Bhuiya, the name of another Dravidian tribe,\nand no doubt came to be applied to the office of village priest\nbecause it was held by members of this tribe; the term Baiga has a\nsimilar signification in Mandla and Balaghat, and is applied to the\nvillage priest though he may not belong to the Baiga tribe at all. The\nBharias have forgotten their original affinities, and several stories\nof the origin of the tribe are based on far-fetched derivations of\nthe name. One of these is to the effect that Arjun, when matters were\ngoing badly with the Pandavas in their battle against the Kauravas,\ntook up a handful of _bharru_ grass and, pressing it, produced a\nhost of men who fought in the battle and became the ancestors of the\nBharias. And there are others of the same historical value. But there\nis no reason to doubt that Bharia is the contemptuous form of Bhar, as\nTelia for Teli, Jugia for Jogi, Kuria for Kori, and that the Bharias\nbelong to the great Bhar tribe who were once dominant in the eastern\npart of the United Provinces, but are now at the bottom of the social\nscale, and relegated by their conquerors to the degrading office\nof swineherds. The Rajjhars, who appear to have formed a separate\ncaste as the landowning subdivision of the Bhars, like the Raj-Gonds\namong Gonds, are said to be the descendants of a Raja and a Bharia\nwoman. The Rajjhars form a separate caste in the Central Provinces,\nand the Bharias acknowledge some connection with them, but refuse to\ntake water from their hands, as they consider them to be of impure\nblood. The Bharias also give Mahoba or Bandhogarh as their former\nhome, and these places are in the country of the Bhars. According\nto tradition Raja Karna Deva, a former king of Dahal, the classical\nname of the Jubbulpore country, was a Bhar, and it may be that the\nimmigration of the Bharias into Jubbulpore dates from his period, which\nis taken as 1040 to 1080 A.D. While then it may be considered as fairly\ncertain that the Bharias are merely the Bhar tribe with a variant\nof the name, it is clear from the titles of their family groups,\nwhich will shortly be given, that they are an extremely mixed class\nand consist largely of the descendants of members of other castes,\nwho, having lost their own social position, have taken refuge among\nthe Bharias at the bottom of the social scale. Mr. Crooke says of the\nBhars: [278] \"The most probable supposition is that the Bhars were\na Dravidian race closely allied to the Kols, Cheros and Seoris, who\nat an early date succumbed to the invading Aryans. This is borne out\nby their appearance and physique, which closely resemble that of the\nundoubted non-Aryan aborigines of the Vindhyan-Kaimur plateau.\" In\nthe Central Provinces the Bharias have been so closely associated\nwith the Gonds that they have been commonly considered to belong\nto that tribe. Thus Mr. Drysdale says of them: [279] 'The Bharias\nwere the wildest of the wild Gonds and were inveterate _dhaya_ [280]\ncutters.' Although, however, they have to some extent intermarried\nwith the Gonds, the Bharias were originally quite a distinct tribe,\nand would belong to the Kolarian or Munda group but that they have\nentirely forgotten their own language and speak only Hindi, though with\na peculiar intonation especially noticeable in the case of their women.\n\n\n\n2. Tribal subdivisions.\n\n\nThe structure of the tribe is a very loose one, and though the\nBharias say that they are divided into subcastes, there are none\nin reality. Members of all castes except the very lowest may become\nBharias, and one Bharia will recognise another as a fellow-tribesman\nif he can show relationship to any person admitted to occupy that\nposition. But a division is in process of formation in Bilaspur\nbased on the practice of eating beef, from which some abstain,\nand in consequence look down on the others who are addicted to it,\nand call them Dhur Bharias, the term _dhur_ meaning cattle. The\nabstainers from beef now refuse to marry with the others. The tribe\nis divided into a number of exogamous groups, and the names of these\nindicate the very heterogeneous elements of which it consists. Out of\nfifty-one groups reported not less than fifteen or sixteen have names\nderived from other castes or clans, showing almost certainly that such\ngroups were formed by a mixed marriage or the admission of a family of\noutsiders. Such names are: Agaria, from the Agarias or iron-workers:\nthis clan worships Loha-Sur, the god of the Agarias; Ahirwar, or the\ndescendants of an Ahir: this clan worships the Ahir gods; Bamhania,\nborn of a Brahman ancestor; Binjhwar or Binjha, perhaps from the\ntribe of that name; Chandel, from a Rajput clan; Dagdoha, a synonym\nof Basor: persons of this sept hang a piece of bamboo and a curved\nknife to the waist of the bride at their marriages; Dhurua, born of\na Dhurua Gond; Kuanpa, born of an Ahir subcaste of that name; Kurka,\nof Korku parentage; Maravi, the name of a Gond clan; Rathor from a\nRajput clan; Samarba from a Chamar; and Yarkara, the name of a Gond\nclan. These names sufficiently indicate the diverse elements of which\nthe tribe is made up. Other group names with meanings are: Gambhele,\nor those who seclude their women in a separate house during the\nmenstrual period; Kaitha, from the _kaith_ tree (_Feronia elephantum_);\nKarondiha, from the _karonda_ plant (_Carissa Carandas_); Magarha,\nfrom _magar_ a crocodile: members of this group worship an image of\na crocodile made with flour and fried in oil; Sonwani, from _sona_\ngold: members of this group perform the ceremony of readmission of\npersons temporarily put out of caste by sprinkling on them a little\nwater in which gold has been dipped. Any person who does not know his\nclan name calls himself a Chandel, and this group, though bearing the\nname of a distinguished Rajput clan, is looked upon as the lowest. But\nalthough the rule of exogamy in marriage is recognised, it is by no\nmeans strictly adhered to, and many cases are known in which unions\nhave taken place between members of the same clan. So long as people\ncan recollect a relationship between themselves, they do not permit\ntheir families to intermarry. But the memory of the Bharia does not\nextend beyond the third generation.\n\n\n\n3. Marriage.\n\n\nMarriages are adult, and the proposal comes from the boy's father,\nwho has it conveyed to the girl's father through some friend in his\nvillage. If a betrothal is arranged the bride's father invites the\nfather and friends of the bridegroom to dinner; on this occasion\nthe boy's father brings some necklaces of lac beads and spangles and\npresents them to the bride's female relatives, who then come out and\ntie the necklaces round his neck and those of his friends, place\nthe spangles on their foreheads, and then, catching hold of their\ncheeks, press and twist them violently. Some turmeric powder is also\nthrown on their faces. This is the binding portion of the betrothal\nceremony. The date of marriage is fixed by a Brahman, this being\nthe only purpose for which he is employed, and a bride-price varying\nfrom six to twelve rupees is paid. On this occasion the women draw\ncaricatures with turmeric or charcoal on the loin-cloth of the boy's\nfather, which they manage to purloin. The marriage ceremony follows\ngenerally the Hindu form. The bridegroom puts on women's ornaments\nand carries with him an iron nut-cracker or dagger to keep off evil\nspirits. After the wedding, the _midua_, a sort of burlesque dance,\nis held. The girl's mother gets the dress of the boy's father and puts\nit on, together with a false beard and moustaches, and dances, holding\na wooden ladle in one hand and a packet of ashes in the other. Every\ntime she approaches the bridegroom's father on her rounds she spills\nsome of the ashes over him, and occasionally gives him a crack on\nthe head with her ladle, these actions being accompanied by bursts of\nlaughter from the party and frenzied playing by the musicians. When\nthe party reach the bridegroom's house on their return, his mother and\nthe other women come out and burn a little mustard and human hair in a\nlamp, the unpleasant smell emitted by these articles being considered\npotent to drive away evil spirits. Every time the bride leaves her\nfather's house she must weep, and must cry separately with each one of\nher caste-sisters when taking leave of them. When she returns home she\nmust begin weeping loudly on the boundary of the village, and continue\ndoing so until she has embraced each of her relatives and friends,\na performance which in a village containing a large number of Bharias\nmay take from three to six hours. These tears are, however, considered\nto be a manifestation of joy, and the girl who cannot produce enough of\nthem is often ridiculed. A prospective son-in-law who serves for his\nwife is known as Gharjian. The work given him is always very heavy,\nand the Bharias have a saying which compares his treatment with that\nawarded to an ox obtained on hire. If a girl is seduced by a man of\nthe tribe, she may be married to him by the ceremony prescribed for\nthe remarriage of a widow, which consists merely in the placing of\nbangles on the wrists and a present of a new cloth, together with\na feast to the caste-fellows. Similarly if she is seduced by a man\nof another caste who would be allowed to become a Bharia, she can\nbe married as a widow to any man of the tribe. A widow is expected\nto marry her late husband's younger brother, but no compulsion is\nexercised. If a bachelor espouses a widow, he first goes through the\nceremony of marriage with a ring to which a twig of the date-palm is\ntied, by carrying the ring seven times round the marriage post. This\nis necessary to save him from the sin of dying unmarried, as the\nunion with a widow is not reckoned as a true marriage. In Jubbulpore\ndivorce is said to be allowed only for conjugal misbehaviour, and a\nBharia will pass over three transgressions on his wife's part before\nfinally turning her out of his house. A woman who wishes to leave her\nhusband simply runs away from him and lives with somebody else. In\nthis case the third party must pay a goat to the husband by way of\ncompensation and give a feast to the caste-fellows.\n\n\n\n4. Childbirth.\n\n\nThe carelessness of the Bharias in the matter of childbirth is\nnotorious, and it is said that mothers commonly went on working up\nto the moment of childbirth and were delivered of children in the\nfields. Now, however, the woman lies up for three days, and some\nceremonies of purification are performed. In Chhattisgarh infants\nare branded on the day of their birth, under the impression that this\nwill cause them to digest the food they have taken in the womb. The\nchild is named six months after birth by the father's sister, and\nits lips are then touched with cooked food for the first time.\n\n\n\n5. Funeral ceremonies.\n\n\nThe tribe both burn and bury the dead, and observe mourning for an\nadult for ten days, during which time they daily put out a leaf-cup\ncontaining food for the use of the deceased. In the third year after\nthe death, the _mangan_ or caste beggar visits the relatives of the\ndeceased, and receives what they call one limb (_ang_), or half his\nbelongings; the _ang_ consists of a loin-cloth, a brass vessel and\ndish, an axe, a scythe and a wrist-ring.\n\n\n\n6. Religion and magic.\n\n\nThe Bharias call themselves Hindus and worship the village deities\nof the locality, and on the day of Diwali offer a black chicken\nto their family god, who may be Bura Deo, Dulha Deo or Karua, the\ncobra. For this snake they profess great reverence, and say that he was\nactually born in a Bharia family. As he could not work in the fields\nhe was usually employed on errands. One day he was sent to the house,\nand surprised one of his younger brother's wives, who had not heard\nhim coming, without her veil. She reproached him, and he retired in\ndudgeon to the oven, where he was presently burnt to death by another\nwoman, who kindled a fire under it not knowing that he was there. So\nhe has been deified and is worshipped by the tribe. The Bharias also\nvenerate Bagheshwar, the tiger god, and believe that no tiger will eat\na Bharia. On the Diwali day they invite the tiger to drink some gruel\nwhich they place ready for him behind their houses, at the same time\nwarning the other villagers not to stir out of doors. In the morning\nthey display the empty vessels as a proof that the tiger has visited\nthem. They practise various magical devices, believing that they can\nkill a man by discharging at him a _muth_ or handful of charmed objects\nsuch as lemons, vermilion and seeds of urad. This ball will travel\nthrough the air and, descending on the house of the person at whom\nit is aimed, will kill him outright unless he can avert its power by\nstronger magic, and perhaps even cause it to recoil in the same manner\non the head of the sender. They exorcise the Sudhiniyas or the drinkers\nof human blood. A person troubled by one of these is seated near the\nBharia, who places two pots with their mouths joined over a fire. He\nrecites incantations and the pots begin to boil, emitting blood. This\nresult is obtained by placing a herb in the pot whose juice stains the\nwater red. The blood-sucker is thus successfully exorcised. To drive\naway the evil eye they burn a mixture of chillies, salt, human hair\nand the husks of kodon, which emits a very evil smell. Such devices\nare practised by members of the tribe who hold the office of Bhumia\nor village priest. The Bharias are well-known thieves, and they say\nthat the dark spots on the moon are caused by a banyan tree, which God\nplanted with the object of diminishing her light and giving thieves\na chance to ply their trade. If a Bhumia wishes to detect a thief,\nhe sits clasping hands with a friend, while a pitcher is supported on\ntheir hands. An oblation is offered to the deity to guide the ordeal\ncorrectly, and the names of suspected persons are recited one by one,\nthe name at which the pitcher topples over being that of the thief. But\nbefore employing this method of detection the Bhumia proclaims his\nintention of doing so on a certain date, and in the meantime places a\nheap of ashes in some lonely place and invites the thief to deposit\nthe stolen article in the ashes to save himself from exposure. By\ncommon custom each person in the village is required to visit the\nheap and mingle a handful of ashes with it, and not infrequently\nthe thief, frightened at the Bhumia's powers of detection, takes the\nstolen article and buries it in the ash-heap where it is duly found,\nthe necessity for resorting to the further method of divination being\nthus obviated. Occasionally the Bharia in his character of a Hindu\nwill make a vow to pay for a recitation of the Satya Narayan Katha\nor some other holy work. But he understands nothing of it, and if\nthe Brahman employed takes a longer time than he had bargained for\nover the recitation he becomes extremely bored and irritated.\n\n\n\n7. Social life and customs.\n\n\nThe scantiness of the Bharia's dress is proverbial, and the saying is\n'_Bharia bhwaka, pwanda langwata_', or 'The Bharia is verily a devil,\nwho only covers his loins with a strip of cloth.' But lately he has\nassumed more clothing. Formerly an iron ring carried on the wrist to\nexorcise the evil spirits was his only ornament. Women wear usually\nonly one coarse cloth dyed red, spangles on the forehead and ears, bead\nnecklaces, and cheap metal bracelets and anklets. Some now have Hindu\nornaments, but in common with other low castes they do not usually\nwear a nose-ring, out of respect to the higher castes. Women, though\nthey work in the fields, do not commonly wear shoes; and if these\nare necessary to protect the feet from thorns, they take them off and\ncarry them in the presence of an elder or a man of higher caste. They\nare tattooed with various devices, as a cock, a crown, a native chair,\na pitcher stand, a sieve and a figure called _dhandha_, which consists\nof six dots joined by lines, and appears to be a representation of\na man, one dot standing for the head, one for the body, two for\nthe arms and two for the legs. This device is also used by other\ncastes, and they evince reluctance if asked to explain its meaning,\nso that it may be intended as a representation of the girl's future\nhusband. The Bharia is considered very ugly, and a saying about him\nis: 'The Bharia came down from the hills and got burnt by a cinder,\nso that his face is black.' He does not bathe for months together,\nand lives in a dirty hovel, infested by the fowls which he loves to\nrear. His food consists of coarse grain, often with boiled leaves as a\nvegetable, and he consumes much whey, mixing it with his scanty portion\nof grain. Members of all except the lowest castes are admitted to the\nBharia community on presentation of a _pagri_ and some money to the\nheadman, together with a feast to the caste-fellows. The Bharias do not\neat monkeys, beef or the leavings of others, but they freely consume\nfowls and pork. They are not considered as impure, but rank above\nthose castes only whose touch conveys pollution. For the slaughter\nof a cow the Bilaspur Bharias inflict the severe punishment of nine\ndaily feasts to the caste, or one for each limb of the cow, the limbs\nbeing held to consist of the legs, ears, horns and tail. They have\nan aversion for the horse and will not remove its dung. To account\nfor this they tell a story to the effect that in the beginning God\ngave them a horse to ride and fight upon. But they did not know how\nto mount the horse because it was so high. The wisest man among them\nthen proposed to cut notches in the side of the animal by which they\ncould climb up, and they did this. But God, when he saw it, was very\nangry with them, and ordered that they should never be soldiers, but\nshould be given a winnowing-fan and broom to sweep the grain out of\nthe grass and make their livelihood in that way.\n\n\n\n8. Occupation.\n\n\nThe Bharias are usually farmservants and field-labourers, and their\nservices in these capacities are in much request. They are hardy and\nindustrious, and so simple that it is an easy matter for their masters\nto involve them in perpetual debt, and thus to keep them bound to\nservice from generation to generation. They have no understanding\nof accounts, and the saying, 'Pay for the marriage of a Bharia and\nhe is your bond-slave for ever,' sufficiently explains the methods\nadopted by their employers and creditors.\n\n\n\n\n\n\nBhat\n\n\nList of Paragraphs\n\n\n     1.  _Origin of the Bhats._\n     2.  _Bhats and Charans._\n     3.  _Lower-class Bhats._\n     4.  _Social status of the caste._\n     5.  _Social customs._\n     6.  _The Bhat's business._\n     7.  _Their extortionate practices._\n     8.  _The Jasondhis._\n     9.  _The Charans as carriers._\n    10. _Suicide and the fear of ghosts._\n    11. _Instances of haunting and laying ghosts._\n    12. _The Charans as sureties._\n    13. _Suicide as a means of revenge._\n    14. _Dharna._\n    15. _Casting out spirits._\n    16. _Sulking. Going bankrupt._\n    17.  _Bhat songs._\n\n\n\n1. Origin of the Bhats.\n\n\n_Bhat, Rao, Jasondhi._--The caste of bards and genealogists. In\n1911 the Bhats numbered 29,000 persons in the Central Provinces\nand Berar, being distributed over all Districts and States, with\na slight preponderance in large towns such as Nagpur, Jubbulpore\nand Amraoti. The name Bhat is derived from the Sanskrit Bhatta,\na lord. The origin of the Bhats has been discussed in detail by Sir\nH. Risley. Some, no doubt, are derived from the Brahman caste as stated\nby Mr. Nesfield: \"They are an offshoot from those secularised Brahmans\nwho frequented the courts of princes and the camps of warriors, recited\ntheir praises in public, and kept records of their genealogies. Such,\nwithout much variation, is the function of the Bhat at the present\nday. The Mahabharata speaks of a band of bards and eulogists marching\nin front of Yudishthira as he made his progress from the field of\nKurukshetra towards Hastinapur. But these very men are spoken of in the\nsame poem as Brahmans. Naturally as time went on these courtier priests\nbecame hereditary bards, receded from the parent stem and founded a new\ncaste.\" \"The best modern opinion,\" Sir H. Risley states, [281] \"seems\ndisposed to find the germ of the Brahman caste in the bards, ministers\nand family priests, who were attached to the king's household in Vedic\ntimes. The characteristic profession of the Bhats has an ancient and\ndistinguished history. The literature of both Greece and India owes\nthe preservation of its oldest treasures to the singers who recited\npoems in the households of the chiefs, and doubtless helped in some\nmeasure to shape the masterpieces which they handed down. Their place\nwas one of marked distinction. In the days when writing was unknown,\nthe man who could remember many verses was held in high honour by\nthe tribal chief, who depended upon the memory of the bard for his\npersonal amusement, for the record of his own and his ancestors'\nprowess, and for the maintenance of the genealogy which established\nthe purity of his descent. The bard, like the herald, was not lightly\nto be slain, and even Odysseus in the heat of his vengeance spares\nthe aoidos Phemius, 'who sang among the wooers of necessity.'\" [282]\n\n\n\n2. Bhats and Charans.\n\n\nThere is no reason to doubt that the Birm or Baram Bhats are an\noffshoot of Brahmans, their name being merely a corruption of the term\nBrahman. But the caste is a very mixed one, and another large section,\nthe Charans, are almost certainly derived from Rajputs. Malcolm states\nthat according to the fable of their origin, Mahadeo first created\nBhats to attend his lion and bull; but these could not prevent the\nformer from killing the latter, which was a source of infinite vexation\nand trouble, as it compelled Mahadeo to create new ones. He therefore\nformed the Charan, equally devout with the Bhat, but of bolder spirit,\nand gave him in charge these favourite animals. From that time no bull\nwas ever destroyed by the lion. [283] This fable perhaps indicates\nthat while the peaceful Bhats were Brahmans, the more warlike\nCharans were Rajputs. It is also said that some Rajputs disguised\nthemselves as bards to escape the vengeance of Parasurama. [284] The\nMaru Charans intermarry with Rajputs, and their name appears to be\nderived from Maru, the term for the Rajputana desert, which is also\nfound in Marwar. Malcolm states [285] that when the Rajputs migrated\nfrom the banks of the Ganges to Rajputana, their Brahman priests did\nnot accompany them in any numbers, and hence the Charans arose and\nsupplied their place. They had to understand the rites of worship,\nparticularly of Siva and Parvati, the favourite deities of the Rajputs,\nand were taught to read and write. One class became merchants and\ntravelled with large convoys of goods, and the others were the bards\nand genealogists of the Rajputs. Their songs were in the rudest metre,\nand their language was the local dialect, understood by all. All this\nevidence shows that the Charans were a class of Rajput bards.\n\n\n\n3. Lower-class Bhats.\n\n\nBut besides the Birm or Brahman Bhats and the Rajput Charans there is\nanother large body of the caste of mixed origin, who serve as bards\nof the lower castes and are probably composed to a great extent of\nmembers of these castes. These are known as the Brid-dhari or begging\nBhats. They beg from such castes as Lodhis, Telis, Kurmis, Ahirs and\nso on, each caste having a separate section of Bhats to serve it;\nthe Bhats of each caste take food from the members of the caste,\nbut they also eat and intermarry with each other. Again, there are\nBairagi Bhats who beg from Bairagis, and keep the genealogies of\nthe temple-priests and their successors. Yet another class are the\nDasaundhis or Jasondhis, who sing songs in honour of Devi, play on\nmusical instruments and practise astrology. These rank below the\ncultivating castes and sometimes admit members of such castes who\nhave taken religious vows.\n\n\n\n4. Social status of the caste.\n\n\nThe Brahman or Birm-Bhats form a separate subcaste, and the Rajputs\nare sometimes called Rajbhat. These wear the sacred thread, which the\nBrid-Bhats and Jasondhis do not. The social status of the Bhats appears\nto vary greatly. Sir H. Risley states that they rank immediately below\nKayasths, and Brahmans will take water from their hands. The Charans\nare treated by the Rajputs with the greatest respect; [286] the highest\nruler rises when one of this class enters or leaves an assembly,\nand the Charan is invited to eat first at a Rajput feast. He smokes\nfrom the same huqqa as Rajputs, and only caste-fellows can do this, as\nthe smoke passes through water on its way to the mouth. In past times\nthe Charan acted as a herald, and his person was inviolable. He was\naddressed as Maharaj, [287] and could sit on the Singhasan or Lion's\nHide, the ancient term for a Rajput throne, as well as on the hides\nof the tiger, panther and black antelope. The Rajputs held him in\nequal estimation with the Brahman or perhaps even greater. [288] This\nwas because they looked to him to enshrine their heroic deeds in his\nsongs and hand them down to posterity. His sarcastic references to a\ndefeat in battle or any act displaying a want of courage inflamed their\npassions as nothing else could do. On the other hand, the Brid-Bhats,\nwho serve the lower castes, occupy an inferior position. This is\nbecause they beg at weddings and other feasts, and accept cooked\nfood from members of the caste who are their clients. Such an act\nconstitutes an admission of inferior status, and as the Bhats eat\ntogether their position becomes equivalent to that of the lowest\ngroup among them. Thus if other Bhats eat with the Bhats of Telis or\nKalars, who have taken cooked food from their clients, they are all\nin the position of having taken food from Telis and Kalars, a thing\nwhich only the lowest castes will do. If the Bhat of any caste, such\nas the Kurmis, keeps a girl of that caste, she can be admitted into\nthe community, which is therefore of a very mixed character. Such a\ncaste as the Kurmis will not even take water from the hands of the\nBhats who serve them. This rule applies also where a special section\nof the caste itself act as bards and minstrels. Thus the Pardhans\nare the bards of the Gonds, but rank below ordinary Gonds, who give\nthem food and will not take it from them. And the Sansias, the bards\nof the Jats, and the Mirasis, who are employed in this capacity by\nthe lower castes generally, occupy a very inferior position, and are\nsometimes considered as impure.\n\n\n\n5. Social customs.\n\n\nThe customs of the Bhats resemble those of other castes of\ncorresponding status. The higher Bhats forbid the remarriage of\nwidows, and expel a girl who becomes pregnant before marriage. They\ncarry a dagger, the special emblem of the Charans, in order to be\ndistinguished from low-class Bhats. The Bhats generally display the\n_chaur_ or yak-tail whisk and the _chhadi_ or silver-plated rod on\nceremonial occasions, and they worship these emblems of their calling\non the principal festivals. The former is waved over the bridegroom\nat a wedding, and the latter is borne before him. The Brahman Bhats\nabstain from flesh of any kind and liquor, and other Bhats usually have\nthe same rules about food as the caste whom they serve. Brahman Bhats\nand Charans alone wear the sacred thread. The high status sometimes\nassigned to this division of the caste is shown in the saying:\n\n\n                Age Brahman pichhe Bhat\n                take pichhe aur jat,\n\n\nor, 'First comes the Brahman, then the Bhat, and after them the\nother castes.'\n\n\n\n6. The Bhat's business.\n\n\nThe business of a Bhat in former times is thus described by Forbes:\n[289] \"When the rainy season closes and travelling becomes practicable,\nthe bard sets off on his yearly tour from his residence in the\nBhatwara or bard's quarter of some city or town. One by one he\nvisits each of the Rajput chiefs who are his patrons, and from whom\nhe has received portions of land or annual grants of money, timing\nhis arrival, if possible, to suit occasions of marriage or other\ndomestic festivals. After he has received the usual courtesies he\nproduces the Wai, a book written in his own crabbed hieroglyphics\nor in those of his father, which contains the descent of the house\nfrom its founder, interspersed with many a verse or ballad, the dark\nsayings contained in which are chanted forth in musical cadence to\na delighted audience, and are then orally interpreted by the bard\nwith many an illustrative anecdote or tale. The Wai, however, is not\nmerely a source for the gratification of family pride or even of love\nof song; it is also a record by which questions of relationship are\ndetermined when a marriage is in prospect, and disputes relating to the\ndivision of ancestral property are decided, intricate as these last\nnecessarily are from the practice of polygamy and the rule that all\nthe sons of a family are entitled to a share. It is the duty of the\nbard at each periodical visit to register the births, marriages and\ndeaths which have taken place in the family since his last circuit,\nas well as to chronicle all the other events worthy of remark which\nhave occurred to affect the fortunes of his patron; nor have we ever\nheard even a doubt suggested regarding the accurate, much less the\nhonest fulfilment of this duty by the bard. The manners of the bardic\ntribe are very similar to those of their Rajput clients; their dress\nis nearly the same, but the bard seldom appears without the _katar_\nor dagger, a representation of which is scrawled beside his signature,\nand often rudely engraved upon his monumental stone, in evidence of\nhis death in the sacred duty of _traga_ (suicide).\" [290]\n\n\n\n7. Their extortionate practices.\n\n\nThe Bhat thus fulfilled a most useful function as registrar of births\nand marriages. But his merits were soon eclipsed by the evils produced\nby his custom of extolling liberal patrons and satirising those who\ngave inadequately. The desire of the Rajputs to be handed down to fame\nin the Bhat's songs was such that no extravagance was spared to satisfy\nhim. Chand, the great Rajput bard, sang of the marriage of Prithwi Raj,\nking of Delhi, that the bride's father emptied his coffers in gifts,\nbut he filled them with the praises of mankind. A lakh of rupees\n[291] was given to the chief bard, and this became a precedent for\nsimilar occasions. \"Until vanity suffers itself to be controlled,\"\nColonel Tod wrote, [292] \"and the aristocratic Rajputs submit to\nrepublican simplicity, the evils arising from nuptial profusion\nwill not cease. Unfortunately those who should check it find their\ninterest in stimulating it, namely, the whole crowd of _mangtas_\nor beggars, bards, minstrels, jugglers, Brahmans, who assemble\non these occasions, and pour forth their epithalamiums in praise\nof the virtue of liberality. The bards are the grand recorders of\nfame, and the volume of precedent is always resorted to by citing\nthe liberality of former chiefs; while the dread of their satire\n[293] shuts the eyes of the chief to consequences, and they are only\nanxious to maintain the reputation of their ancestors, though fraught\nwith future ruin.\" Owing to this insensate liberality in the desire\nto satisfy the bards and win their praises, a Rajput chief who had\nto marry a daughter was often practically ruined; and the desire\nto avoid such obligations led to the general practice of female\ninfanticide, formerly so prevalent in Rajputana. The importance of\nthe bards increased their voracity; Mr. Nesfield describes them as\n\"Rapacious and conceited mendicants, too proud to work but not too\nproud to beg.\" The Dholis [294] or minstrels were one of the seven\ngreat evils which the famous king Sidhraj expelled from Anhilwada\nPatan in Gujarat; the Dakans or witches were another. [295] Malcolm\nstates that \"They give praise and fame in their songs to those who\nare liberal to them, while they visit those who neglect or injure\nthem with satires in which the victims are usually reproached with\nillegitimate birth and meanness of character. Sometimes the Bhat,\nif very seriously offended, fixes an effigy of the person he desires\nto degrade on a long pole and appends to it a slipper as a mark of\ndisgrace. In such cases the song of the Bhat records the infamy of the\nobject of his revenge. This image usually travels the country till\nthe party or his friends purchase the cessation of the curses and\nridicule thus entailed. It is not deemed in these countries within\nthe power of the prince, much less any other person, to stop a Bhat\nor even punish him for such a proceeding. In 1812 Sevak Ram Seth,\na banker of Holkar's court, offended one of these Bhats, pushing\nhim rudely out of the shop where the man had come to ask alms. The\nman made a figure [296] of him to which he attached a slipper and\ncarried it to court, and everywhere sang the infamy of the Seth. The\nlatter, though a man of wealth and influence, could not prevent him,\nbut obstinately refused to purchase his forbearance. His friends\nafter some months subscribed Rs. 80 and the Bhat discontinued his\nexecrations, but said it was too late, as his curses had taken effect;\nand the superstitious Hindus ascribe the ruin of the banker, which\ntook place some years afterwards, to this unfortunate event.\" The\nloquacity and importunity of the Bhats are shown in the saying,\n'Four Bhats make a crowd'; and their insincerity in the proverb\nquoted by Mr. Crooke, \"The bard, the innkeeper and the harlot have\nno heart; they are polite when customers arrive, but neglect those\nleaving (after they have paid)\" [297] The Bhat women are as bold,\nvoluble and ready in retort as the men. When a Bhat woman passes a\nmale caste-fellow on the road, it is the latter who raises a piece\nof cloth to his face till the woman is out of sight. [298]\n\n\n\n8. The Jasondhis.\n\n\nSome of the lower classes of Bhats have become religious mendicants\nand musicians, and perform ceremonial functions. Thus the Jasondhis,\nwho are considered a class of Bhats, take their name from the _jas_\nor hymns sung in praise of Devi. They are divided into various\nsections, as the Nakib or flag-bearers in a procession, the Nazir or\nushers who introduced visitors to the Raja, the Nagaria or players on\nkettle-drums, the Karaola who pour sesamum oil on their clothes and\nbeg, and the Panda, who serve as priests of Devi, and beg carrying\nan image of the goddess in their hands. There is also a section of\nMuhammadan Bhats who serve as bards and genealogists for Muhammadan\ncastes. Some Bhats, having the rare and needful qualification of\nliteracy so that they can read the old Sanskrit medical works, have,\nlike a number of Brahmans, taken to the practice of medicine and are\nknown as Kaviraj.\n\n\n\n9. The Charans as carriers.\n\n\nAs already stated, the persons of the Charans in the capacity of bard\nand herald were sacred, and they travelled from court to court without\nfear of molestation from robbers or enemies. It seems likely that the\nCharans may have united the breeding of cattle to their calling of\nbard; but in any case the advantage derived from their sanctity was so\nimportant that they gradually became the chief carriers and traders of\nRajputana and the adjoining tracts. They further, in virtue of their\nholy character, enjoyed a partial exemption from the perpetual and\nharassing imposts levied by every petty State on produce entering its\nterritory; and the combination of advantages thus obtained was such\nas to give them almost a monopoly in trade. They carried merchandise\non large droves of bullocks all over Rajputana and the adjoining\ncountries; and in course of time the carriers restricted themselves\nto their new profession, splitting off from the Charans and forming\nthe caste of Banjaras.\n\n\n\n10. Suicide and the fear of ghosts.\n\n\nBut the mere reverence for their calling would not have sufficed for\na permanent safeguard to the Charans from destitute and unscrupulous\nrobbers. They preserved it by the customs of _Chandi_ or _Traga_ and\n_Dharna_. These consisted in their readiness to mutilate, starve or\nkill themselves rather than give up property entrusted to their care;\nand it was a general belief that their ghosts would then haunt the\npersons whose ill deeds had forced them to take their own lives. It\nseems likely that this belief in the power of a suicide or murdered\nman to avenge himself by haunting any persons who had injured him or\nbeen responsible for his death may have had a somewhat wide prevalence\nand been partly accountable for the reprobation attaching in early\ntimes to the murderer and the act of self-slaughter. The haunted\nmurderer would be impure and would bring ill-fortune on all who had\nto do with him, while the injury which a suicide would inflict on his\nrelatives in haunting them would cause this act to be regarded as a sin\nagainst one's family and tribe. Even the ordinary fear of the ghosts\nof people who die in the natural course, and especially of those who\nare killed by accident, is so strong that a large part of the funeral\nrites is devoted to placating and laying the ghost of the dead man;\nand in India the period of observance of mourning for the dead is\nperhaps in reality that time during which the spirit of the dead man\nis supposed to haunt his old abode and render the survivors of his\nfamily impure. It was this fear of ghosts on which the Charans relied,\nnor did they hesitate a moment to sacrifice their lives in defence of\nany obligation they had undertaken or of property committed to their\ncare. When plunderers carried off any cattle belonging to the Charans,\nthe whole community would proceed to the spot where the robbers\nresided; and in failure of having their property restored would cut off\nthe heads of several of their old men and women. Frequent instances\noccurred of a man dressing himself in cotton-quilted cloths steeped\nin oil which he set on fire at the bottom, and thus danced against\nthe person against whom _traga_ was performed until the miserable\ncreature dropped down and was burnt to ashes. On one occasion a Cutch\nchieftain, attempting to escape with his wife and child from a village,\nwas overtaken by his enemy when about to leap a precipice; immediately\nturning he cut off his wife's head with his scimitar and, flourishing\nhis reeking blade in the face of his pursuer, denounced against him\nthe curse of the _traga_ which he had so fearfully performed. [299]\nIn this case it was supposed that the wife's ghost would haunt the\nenemy who had driven the husband to kill her.\n\n\n\n11. Instances of haunting and laying ghosts.\n\n\nThe following account in the _Rasmala_ [300] is an instance of suicide\nand of the actual haunting by the ghost: A Charan asserted a claim\nagainst the chief of Siela in Kathiawar, which the latter refused to\nliquidate. The bard thereupon, taking forty of his caste with him,\nwent to Siela with the intention of sitting _Dharna_ at the chief's\ndoor and preventing any one from coming out or going in until the\nclaim should be discharged. However, as they approached the town,\nthe chief, becoming aware of their intention, caused the gates to\nbe closed. The bards remained outside and for three days abstained\nfrom food; on the fourth day they proceeded to perform _traga_ as\nfollows: some hacked their own arms; others decapitated three old\nwomen of the party and hung their heads up at the gate as a garland;\ncertain of the women cut off their own breasts. The bards also pierced\nthe throats of four of their old men with spikes, and they took two\nyoung girls by the heels, and dashed out their brains against the\ntown gate. The Charan to whom the money was due dressed himself in\nclothes wadded with cotton which he steeped in oil and then set on\nfire. He thus burned himself to death. But as he died he cried out,\n\"I am now dying; but I will become a headless ghost (_Kuvis_) in the\npalace, and will take the chiefs life and cut off his posterity.\" After\nthis sacrifice the rest of the bards returned home.\n\nOn the third day after the Charan's death his Bhut (ghost) threw the\nRani downstairs so that she was very much injured. Many other persons\nalso beheld the headless phantom in the palace. At last he entered\nthe chief's head and set him trembling. At night he would throw stones\nat the palace, and he killed a female servant outright. At length, in\nconsequence of the various acts of oppression which he committed, none\ndared to approach the chief's mansion even in broad daylight. In order\nto exorcise the Bhut, Jogis, Fakirs and Brahmans were sent for from\nmany different places; but whoever attempted the cure was immediately\nassailed by the Bhut in the chief's body, and that so furiously\nthat the exorcist's courage failed him. The Bhut would also cause\nthe chief to tear the flesh off his own arms with his teeth. Besides\nthis, four or five persons died of injuries received from the Bhut;\nbut nobody had the power to expel him. At length a foreign Jyotishi\n(astrologer) came who had a great reputation for charms and magic,\nand the chief sent for him and paid him honour. First he tied all\nround the house threads which he had charged with a charm; then he\nsprinkled charmed milk and water all round; then he drove a charmed\niron nail into the ground at each corner of the mansion, and two at the\ndoor. He purified the house and continued his charms and incantations\nfor forty-one days, every day making sacrifices at the cemetery to the\nBhut's spirit. The Joshi lived in a room securely fastened up; but\npeople say that while he was muttering his charms stones would fall\nand strike the windows. Finally the Joshi brought the chief, who had\nbeen living in a separate room, and tried to exorcise the spirit. The\npatient began to be very violent, but the Joshi and his people spared\nno pains in thrashing him until they had rendered him quite docile. A\nsacrificial fire-pit was made and a lemon placed between it and the\nchief. The Joshi commanded the Bhut to enter the lime. The possessed,\nhowever, said, 'Who are you; if one of your Deos (gods) were to come,\nI would not quit this person.' Thus they went on from morning till\nnoon. At last they came outside, and, burning various kinds of incense\nand sprinkling many charms, the Bhut was got out into the lemon. When\nthe lemon began to jump about, the whole of the spectators praised\nthe Joshi, crying out: 'The Bhut has gone into the lemon! The Bhut\nhas gone into the lemon!' The possessed person himself, when he saw\nthe lemon hopping about, was perfectly satisfied that the Bhut had\nleft his body and gone out into the lemon. The Joshi then drove the\nlemon outside the city, followed by drummers and trumpeters; if the\nlemon left the road, he would touch it with his stick and put it into\nthe right way again. On the track they sprinkled mustard and salt and\nfinally buried the lemon in a pit seven cubits deep, throwing into\nthe hole above it mustard and salt, and over these dust and stones,\nand filling in the space between the stones with lead. At each corner,\ntoo, the Joshi drove in an iron nail, two feet long, which he had\npreviously charmed. The lemon buried, the people returned home, and not\none of them ever saw the Bhut thereafter. According to the recorder\nof the tale, the cure was effected by putting quicksilver into the\nlemon. When a man is attacked with fever or becomes speechless or\nappears to have lockjaw, his friends conclude from these indications\nthat he is possessed by a Bhut.\n\nIn another case some Bhats had been put in charge, by the chief of a\nsmall State, of a village which was coveted by a neighbouring prince,\nthe Rana of Danta. The latter sent for the Bhats and asked them to\nguard one or two of his villages, and having obtained their absence\nby this pretext he raided their village, carrying off hostages and\ncattle. When the Bhats got back they collected to the number of a\nhundred and began to perform _Dharna_ against the Rana. They set\nout from their village, and at every two miles as they advanced they\nburned a man, so that by the time they got to the Rana's territory\nseven or eight men had been burnt. They were then pacified by his\npeople and induced to go back. The Rana offered them presents, but\nthey refused to accept them, as they said the guilt of the death of\ntheir fellows who had been burned would thereby be removed from the\nRana. The Rana lost all the seven sons born to him and died childless,\nand it was generally held to be on account of this sin. [301]\n\n\n\n12. The Charans as sureties.\n\n\nSuch was the certainty attaching to the Charan's readiness to forfeit\nhis life rather than prove false to a trust, and the fear entertained\nof the offence of causing him to do so and being haunted by his ghost,\nthat his security was eagerly coveted in every kind of transaction. \"No\ntraveller could journey unattended by these guards, who for a small\nsum were satisfied to conduct him in safety. [302] The guards, called\nValavas, were never backward in inflicting the most grievous wounds\nand even causing the death of their old men and women if the robbers\npersisted in plundering those under their protection; but this seldom\nhappened, as the wildest Koli, Kathi or Rajput held the person of a\nCharan sacred. Besides becoming safeguards to travellers and goods,\nthey used to stand security to the amount of many lakhs of rupees. When\nrents and property were concerned, the Rajputs preferred a Charan's\nbond to that of the wealthiest banker. They also gave security for good\nbehaviour, called _chalu zamin_, and for personal attendance in court\ncalled _hazar zamin_. The ordinary _traga_ went no farther than a cut\non the arm with the _katar_ or crease; the forearms of those who were\nin the habit of becoming security had generally several cuts from the\nelbow downwards. The Charans, both men and women, wounded themselves,\ncommitted suicide and murdered their relations with the most complete\nself-devotion. In 1812 the Marathas brought a body of troops to impose\na payment on the village of Panchpipla. [303] The Charans resisted the\ndemand, but finding the Marathas determined to carry their point, after\na remonstrance against paying any kind of revenue as being contrary to\ntheir occupation and principles, they at last cut the throats of ten\nyoung children and threw them at the feet of the Marathas, exclaiming,\n'These are our riches and the only payment we can make.' The Charans\nwere immediately seized and confined in irons at Jambusar.\"\n\nAs was the case with the Bhat and the Brahman, the source of the\nCharan's power lay in the widespread fear that a Charan's blood\nbrought ruin on him who caused the blood to be spilt. It was also\nsometimes considered that the Charan was possessed by his deity,\nand the caste were known as Deoputra or sons of God, the favourite\ndwelling of the guardian spirit.\n\n\n\n13. Suicide as a means of revenge.\n\n\nSuch a belief enhanced the guilt attaching to the act of causing\nor being responsible for a Charan's death. Suicide from motives of\nrevenge has been practised in other countries. \"Another common form\nof suicide which is admired as heroic in China is that committed for\nthe purpose of taking revenge upon an enemy who is otherwise out of\nreach--according to Chinese ideas a most effective mode of revenge,\nnot only because the law throws the responsibility of the deed on him\nwho occasioned it, but also because the disembodied soul is supposed\nto be better able than the living man to persecute the enemy.\" [304]\nSimilarly, among the Hos or Mundas the suicide of young married women\nis or was extremely common, and the usual motive was that the girl,\nbeing unhappy in her husband's house, jumped down a well or otherwise\nmade away with herself in the belief that she would take revenge on\nhis family by haunting them after her death. The treatment of the\nsuicide's body was sometimes directed to prevent his spirit from\ncausing trouble. \"According to Jewish custom persons who had killed\nthemselves were left unburied till sunset, perhaps for fear lest the\nspirit of the deceased otherwise might find its way back to the old\nhome.\" [305] At Athens the right hand of a person who had taken his\nown life was struck off and buried apart from the rest of the body,\nevidently in order to make him harmless after death. [306] Similarly,\nin England suicides were buried with a spike through the chest to\nprevent their spirits from rising, and at cross-roads, so that the\nghost might not be able to find its way home. This fear appears to\nhave partly underlain the idea that suicide was a crime or an offence\nagainst society and the state, though, as shown by Dr. Westermarck,\nthe reprobation attaching to it was far from universal; while in\nthe cultured communities of ancient Greece and Rome, and among such\nmilitary peoples as the Japanese suicide was considered at all times a\nlegitimate and, on occasion, a highly meritorious and praiseworthy act.\n\nThat condition of mind which leads to the taking of one's own\nlife from motives of revenge is perhaps a fruit of ignorance and\nsolitude. The mind becomes distorted, and the sufferer attributes the\nunhappiness really caused by accident or his own faults or defects to\nthe persecution of a malignant fate or the ill-will of his neighbours\nand associates. And long brooding over his wrongs eventuates in his\ntaking the extreme step. The crime known as running amok appears to be\nthe outcome of a similar state of mind. Here too the criminal considers\nhis wrongs or misery as the result of injury or unjust treatment\nfrom his fellow-men, and, careless of his own life, determines to be\nrevenged on them. Such hatred of one's kind is cured by education,\nleading to a truer appreciation of the circumstances and environment\nwhich determine the course of life, and by the more cheerful temper\nengendered by social intercourse. And these crimes of vengeance tend\nto die out with the advance of civilisation.\n\n\n\n14. _Dharna._\n\n\nAnalogous to the custom of _traga_ was that of _Dharna_, which was\nfrequently and generally resorted to for the redress of wrongs and\noffences at a time when the law made little provision for either. The\nordinary method of _Dharna_ was to sit starving oneself in front of\nthe door of the person from whom redress was sought until he gave it\nfrom fear of causing the death of the suppliant and being haunted\nby his ghost. It was, naturally, useless unless the person seeking\nredress was prepared to go to extremes, and has some analogy to the\nmodern hunger-strike with the object of getting out of jail. Another\ncommon device was to thrust a spear-blade through both cheeks,\nand in this state to dance before the person against whom _Dharna_\nwas practised. The pain had to be borne without a sign of suffering,\nwhich, if displayed, would destroy its efficacy. Or a creditor would\nproceed to the door of his debtor and demand payment, and if not\nappeased would stand up in his presence with an enormous weight upon\nhis head, which he had brought with him for the purpose, swearing never\nto alter his position until satisfaction was given, and denouncing at\nthe same time the most horrible execrations on his debtor, should he\nsuffer him to expire in that situation. This seldom failed to produce\nthe desired effect, but should he actually die while in _Dharna_, the\ndebtor's house was razed to the earth and he and his family sold for\nthe satisfaction of the creditor's heirs. Another and more desperate\nform of _Dharna_, only occasionally resorted to, was to erect a large\npile of wood before the house of the debtor, and after the customary\napplication for payment had been refused the creditor tied on the\ntop of the pile a cow or a calf, or very frequently an old woman,\ngenerally his mother or other relation, swearing at the same time\nto set fire to it if satisfaction was not instantly given. All the\ntime the old woman denounced the bitterest curses, threatening to\npersecute the wretched debtor both here and hereafter. [307]\n\nThe word _dharna_ means 'to place or lay on,' and hence 'a\npledge.' Mr. Hira Lal suggests that the standing with a weight on the\nhead may have been the original form of the penance, from which the\nother and severer methods were subsequently derived. Another custom\nknown as _dharna_ is that of a suppliant placing a stone on the\nshrine of a god or tomb of a saint. He makes his request and, laying\nthe stone on the shrine, says, \"Here I place this stone until you\nfulfil my prayer; if I do not remove it, the shame is on you.\" If the\nprayer is afterwards fulfilled, he takes away the stone and offers a\ncocoanut. It seems clear that the underlying idea of this custom is the\nsame as that of standing with a stone on the head as described above,\nbut it is difficult to say which was the earlier or original form.\n\n\n\n15. Casting out spirits.\n\n\nAs a general rule, if the guilt of having caused a suicide was at a\nman's door, he should expiate it by going to the Ganges to bathe. When\na man was haunted by the ghost of any one whom he had wronged, whether\nsuch a person had committed suicide or simply died of grief at being\nunable to obtain redress, it was said of him _Brahm laga_, or that\nBrahma had possessed him. The spirit of a Brahman boy, who has died\nunmarried, is also accustomed to haunt any person who walks over his\ngrave in an impure condition or otherwise defiles it, and when a man is\nhaunted in such a manner it is called _Brahm laga_. Then an exorcist\nis called, who sprinkles water over the possessed man, and this burns\nthe Brahm Deo or spirit inside him as if it were burning oil. The\nspirit cries out, and the exorcist orders him to leave the man. Then\nthe spirit states how he has been injured by the man, and refuses to\nleave him. The exorcist asks him what he requires on condition of\nleaving the man, and he asks for some good food or something else,\nand is given it. The exorcist takes a nail and goes to a _pipal_\ntree and orders the Brahm Deo to go into the tree. Brahm Deo obeys,\nand the exorcist drives the nail into the tree and the spirit remains\nimprisoned there until somebody takes the nail out, when he will come\nout again and haunt him. The Hindus think that the god Brahma lives\nin the roots of the _pipal_ tree, Siva in its branches, and Vishnu\nin the _choti_ or scalp-knot, that is the topmost foliage.\n\n\n\n16. Sulking. Going bankrupt.\n\n\nAnother and mild form of _Dharna_ is that known as _Khatpati_. When a\nwoman is angry with her husband on account of his having refused her\nsome request, she will put her bed in a corner of the room and go and\nlie on it, turning her face to the wall, and remain so, not answering\nwhen spoken to nor taking food. The term Khatpati signifies keeping\nto one side of the bed, and there she will remain until her husband\naccedes to her request, unless indeed he should decide to beat her\ninstead. This is merely an exaggerated form of the familiar display\nof temper known as sulking. It is interesting to note the use of the\nphrase turning one's face to the wall, with something of the meaning\nattached to it in the Bible.\n\nA custom similar to that of _Dharna_ was called _Diwala nikalna_ or\ngoing bankrupt. When a merchant had had heavy losses and could not\nmeet his liabilities, he would place the lock of his door outside,\nreversing it, and sit in the veranda with a piece of sackcloth over\nhim. Or he wrapped round him the floor-carpet of his room. When he\nhad displayed these signs of ruin and self-abasement his creditors\nwould not sue him, but he would never be able to borrow money again.\n\n\n\n17. Bhat songs.\n\n\nIn conclusion a few specimens of Bhat songs may be given. The\nfollowing is an account of the last king of Nagpur, Raghuji III.,\ncommonly known as Baji Rao:\n\n\n        They made a picture of Baji Rao;\n        Baji Rao was the finest king to see;\n        The Brahmans told lies about him,\n        They sent a letter from Nagpur to Calcutta,\n        They made Baji Rao go on a pilgrimage.\n        Brothers! the great Sirdars who were with him,\n        They brought a troop of five hundred horse!\n        The Tuesday fair in Benares was held with fireworks,\n        They made the Ganges pink with rose-petals.\n        Baji Rao's gifts were splendid,\n        His turban and coat were of brocaded silk,\n        A pair of diamonds and emeralds\n        He gave to the Brahmans of Benares.\n        Oh brothers! the Raja sat in a covered howdah bound on an\n                                                            elephant!\n        Many fans waved over his head;\n        How charitable a king he was!\n\n\nIn the above song a note of regret is manifest for the parade\nand display of the old court of Nagpur, English rule being less\npicturesque. The next is a song about the English:\n\n\n        The English have taken the throne of Nagpur,\n        The fear of the English is great.\n        In a moment's time they conquer countries.\n        The guns boomed, the English came strong and warlike,\n        They give wealth to all.\n        They ram the ramrods in the guns.\n        They conquered also Tippoo's dominions,\n        The English are ruling in the fort of Gawilgarh.\n\n\nThe following is another song about the English, not quite so\ncomplimentary:\n\n\n    The English became our kings and have made current the _kaldar_\n    (milled) rupee.\n    The menials are favoured and the Bhats have lost their profession,\n    The mango has lost its taste, the milk has lost its sweetness,\n    The rose has lost its scent.\n    Baji Rao of Nagpur he also is gone,\n    No longer are the drums beaten at the palace gate.\n    Poona customs have come in.\n    Brahmans knowing the eighteen Purans have become Christians;\n    The son thinks himself better than his father,\n    The daughter-in-law no longer respects her mother-in-law.\n    The wife fights with her husband.\n    The English have made the railways and telegraphs;\n    The people wondered at the silver rupees and all the country\n    prospered.\n\n\nThe following is a song about the Nerbudda at Mandla, Rewa being\nanother name for the river:\n\n\n    The stream of the world springs out breaking apart the hills;\n    The Rewa cuts her path through the soil, the air is darkened with\n    her spray.\n    All the length of her banks are the seats of saints; hermits and\n    pilgrims worship her.\n    On seeing the holy river a man's sins fall away as wood is cut\n    by a saw;\n    By bathing in her he plucks the fruit of holiness.\n    When boats are caught in her flood, the people pray: 'We are\n    sinners, O Rewa, bring us safely to the bank!'\n    When the Nerbudda is in flood, Mandla is an island and the people\n    think their end has come:\n    The rain pours down on all sides, earth and sky become dark as\n    smoke, and men call on Rama.\n    The bard says: 'Let it rain as it may, some one will save us as\n    Krishna saved the people of Brindawan!'\n\n\nThis is a description of a beautiful woman:\n\n\n    A beautiful woman is loved by her neighbours,\n    But she will let none come to her and answers them not.\n    They say: 'Since God has made you so beautiful, open your litter\n    and let yourself be seen!'\n    He who sees her is struck as by lightning, she shoots her lover\n    with the darts of her eyes, invisible herself.\n    She will not go to her husband's house till he has her brought\n    by the Government.\n    When she goes her father's village is left empty.\n    She is so delicate she faints at the sight of a flower,\n    Her body cannot bear the weight of her cloth,\n    The garland of jasmine-flowers is a burden on her neck,\n    The red powder on her feet is too heavy for them.\n\n\nIt is interesting to note that weakness and delicacy in a woman\nare emphasised as an attraction, as in English literature of the\neighteenth century.\n\nThe last is a gentle intimation that poets, like other people, have\nto live:\n\n\n    It is useless to adorn oneself with sandalwood on an empty belly,\n    Nobody's body gets fat from the scent of flowers;\n    The singing of songs excites the mind,\n    But if the body is not fed all these are vain and hollow.\n\n\nAll Bhats recite their verses in a high-pitched sing-song tone,\nwhich renders it very difficult for their hearers to grasp the\nsense unless they know it already. The Vedas and all other sacred\nverses are spoken in this manner, perhaps as a mark of respect and to\ndistinguish them from ordinary speech. The method has some resemblance\nto intoning. Women use the same tone when mourning for the dead.\n\n\n\n\n\n\nBhatra\n\n\n\nList of Paragraphs\n\n\n 1. _General notice and structure of the caste._\n 2. _Admission of outsiders._\n 3. _Arrangement of marriages._\n 4. _The Counter of Posts._\n 5. _Marriage customs._\n 6. _Propitiation of ghosts._\n 7. _Religion. Ceremonies at hunting._\n 8. _Superstitious remedies._\n 9. _Occupation._\n10. _Names._\n\n\n\n1. General notice and structure of the caste.\n\n\n_Bhatra._ [308]--A primitive tribe of the Bastar State and the south\nof Raipur District, akin to the Gonds. They numbered 33,000 persons\nin 1891, and in subsequent enumerations have been amalgamated with\nthe Gonds. Nothing is known of their origin except a legend that they\ncame with the Rajas of Bastar from Warangal twenty-three generations\nago. The word Bhatra is said to mean a servant, and the tribe are\nemployed as village watchmen and household and domestic servants. They\nhave three divisions, the Pit, Amnait and San Bhatras, who rank one\nbelow the other, the Pit being the highest and the San the lowest. The\nPit Bhatras base their superiority on the fact that they decline to\nmake grass mats, which the Amnait Bhatras will do, while the San\nBhatras are considered to be practically identical with the Muria\nGonds. Members of the three groups will eat with each other before\nmarriage, but afterwards they will take only food cooked without water\nfrom a person belonging to another group. They have the usual set of\nexogamous septs named after plants and animals. Formerly, it is said,\nthey were tattooed with representations of the totem plant and animal,\nand the septs named after the tiger and snake ate the flesh of these\nanimals at a sacrificial meal. These customs have fallen into abeyance,\nbut still if they kill their totem animal they will make apologies to\nit, and break their cooking-pots, and bury or burn the body. A man of\nsubstance will distribute alms in the name of the deceased animal. In\nsome localities members of the Kachhun or tortoise sept will not eat a\npumpkin which drops from a tree because it is considered to resemble a\ntortoise. But if they can break it immediately on touching the ground\nthey may partake of the fruit, the assumption being apparently that\nit has not had time to become like a tortoise.\n\n\n\n2. Admission of outsiders.\n\n\nOutsiders are not as a rule admitted. But a woman of equal or higher\ncaste who enters the house of a Bhatra will be recognised as his wife,\nand a man of the Panara, or gardener caste, can also become a member of\nthe community if he lives with a Bhatra woman and eats from her hand.\n\n\n\n3. Arrangement of marriages.\n\n\nIn Raipur a girl should be married before puberty, and if no husband\nis immediately available, they tie a few flowers into her cloth and\nconsider this as a marriage. If an unmarried girl becomes pregnant she\nis debarred from going through the wedding ceremony, and will simply\ngo and live with her lover or any other man. Matches are usually\narranged by the parents, but if a daughter is not pleased with the\nprospective bridegroom, who may sometimes be a well-to-do man much\nolder than herself, she occasionally runs away and goes through the\nceremony on her own account with the man of her choice.\n\nIf no one has asked her parents for her hand she may similarly select\na husband for herself and make her wishes known, but in that case she\nis temporarily put out of caste until the chosen bridegroom signifies\nhis acquiescence by giving the marriage feast. What happens if he\ndefinitely fails to respond is not stated, but presumably the young\nwoman tries elsewhere until she finds herself accepted.\n\n\n\n4. The Counter of Posts.\n\n\nThe date and hour of the wedding are fixed by an official known as\nthe Meda Gantia, or Counter of Posts. He is a sort of illiterate\nvillage astrologer, who can foretell the character of the rainfall,\nand gives auspicious dates for sowing and harvest. He goes through\nsome training, and as a test of his capacity is required by his\nteacher to tell at a glance the number of posts in an enclosure which\nhe has not seen before. Having done this correctly he qualifies as\na Meda Gantia. Apparently the Bhatras, being unable at one time to\ncount themselves, acquired an exaggerated reverence for the faculty\nof counting, and thought that if a man could only count far enough\nhe could reckon into the future; or it might be thought that as he\ncould count and name future days, he thus obtained power over them,\nand could tell what would happen on them just as one can obtain power\nover a man and work him injury by knowing his real name.\n\n\n\n5. Marriage customs.\n\n\nAt a wedding the couple walk seven times round the sacred post, which\nmust be of wood of the mahua [309] tree, and on its conclusion the post\nis taken to a river or stream and consigned to the water. The Bhatras,\nlike the Gonds, no doubt revere this tree because their intoxicating\nliquor is made from its flowers. The couple wear marriage crowns\nmade from the leaves of the date palm and exchange these. A little\nturmeric and flour are mixed with water in a plate, and the bride,\ntaking the bridegroom's right hand, dips it into the coloured paste\nand strikes it against the wall. The action is repeated five times,\nand then the bridegroom does the same with the bride's hand. By this\nrite the couple pledge each other for their mutual behaviour during\nmarried life. From the custom of making an impression of the hand\non a wall in token of a vow may have arisen that of clasping hands\nas a symbol of a bargain assented to, and hence of shaking hands,\nby persons who meet, as a pledge of amity and the absence of hostile\nintentions. Usually the hand is covered with red ochre, which is\nprobably a substitute for blood; and the impression of the hand is made\non the wall of a temple in token of a vow. This may be a survival of\nthe covenant made by the parties dipping their hands in the blood of\nthe sacrifice and laying them on the god. A pit about a foot deep is\ndug close to the marriage-shed, and filled with mud or wet earth. The\nbride conceals a nut in the mud and the bridegroom has to find it,\nand the hiding and finding are repeated by both parties. This rite may\nhave the signification of looking for children. The remainder of the\nday is spent in eating, drinking and dancing. On the way home after\nthe wedding the bridegroom has to shoot a deer, the animal being\nrepresented by a branch of a tree thrown across the path by one of\nthe party. But if a real deer happens by any chance to come by he has\nto shoot this. The bride goes up to the real or sham deer and pulls\nout the arrow, and presents her husband with water and a tooth-stick,\nafter which he takes her in his arms and they dance home together. On\narrival at the house the bridegroom's maternal uncle or his son lies\ndown before the door covering himself with a blanket. He is asked\nwhat he wants, and says he will have the daughter of the bridegroom\nto wife. The bridegroom promises to give a daughter if he has one,\nand if he has a son to give him for a friend. The tribe consider that\na man has a right to marry the daughter of his maternal uncle, and\nformerly if the girl was refused by her parents he abducted her and\nmarried her forcibly. The bride remains at her husband's house for a\nfew days and then goes home, and before she finally takes up her abode\nwith him the _gauna_ or going-away ceremony must be performed. The\nhands of the bride and bridegroom are tied together, and an arrow is\nheld upright on them and some oil poured over it. The foreheads of\nthe couple are marked with turmeric and rice, this rite being known\nas _tika_ or anointing, and presents are given to the bride's family.\n\n\n\n6. Propitiation of ghosts.\n\n\nThe dead are buried, the corpse being laid on its back with the head\nto the north. Some rice, cowrie-shells, a winnowing-fan and other\narticles are placed on the grave. The tribe probably consider the\nwinnowing-fan to have some magical property, as it also forms one of\nthe presents given to the bride at the betrothal. If a man is killed\nby a tiger his spirit must be propitiated. The priest ties strips of\ntiger-skin to his arms, and the feathers of the peacock and blue jay\nto his waist, and jumps about pretending to be a tiger. A package of\na hundred seers (200 lbs.) of rice is made up, and he sits on this\nand finally takes it away with him. If the dead man had any ornaments\nthey must all be given, however valuable, lest his spirit should hanker\nafter them and return to look for them in the shape of the tiger. The\nlarge quantity of rice given to the priest is also probably intended\nas a provision of the best food for the dead man's spirit, lest it\nbe hungry and come in the shape of the tiger to satisfy its appetite\nupon the surviving relatives. The laying of the ghosts of persons\nkilled by tigers is thus a very profitable business for the priests.\n\n\n\n7. Religion. Ceremonies at hunting.\n\n\nThe tribe worship the god of hunting, who is known as Mati Deo\nand resides in a separate tree in each village. At the Bijphutni\n(threshing) or harvest festival in the month of Chait (March) they have\na ceremonial hunting party. All the people of the village collect,\neach man having a bow and arrow slung to his back and a hatchet\non his shoulder. They spread out a long net in the forest and beat\nthe animals into this, usually catching a deer, wild pig or hare,\nand quails and other birds. They return and cook the game before the\nshrine of the god and offer to him a fowl and a pig. A pit is dug\nand water poured into it, and a person from each house must stand\nin the mud. A little seed taken from each house is also soaked in\nthe mud, and after the feast is over this is taken and returned to\nthe householder with words of abuse, a small present of two or three\npice being received from him. The seed is no doubt thus consecrated\nfor the next sowing. The tribe also have joint ceremonial fishing\nexcursions. Their ideas of a future life are very vague, and they\nhave no belief in a place of reward or punishment after death. They\npropitiate the spirits of their ancestors on the 15th of Asarh (June)\nwith offerings of a little rice and incense.\n\n\n\n8. Superstitious remedies.\n\n\nTo cure the evil eye they place a little gunpowder in water and\napply it to the sufferer's eyes, the idea perhaps being that the\nfiery glance from the evil eye which struck him is quenched like the\ngunpowder. To bring on rain they perform a frog marriage, tying two\nfrogs to a pestle and pouring oil and turmeric over them as in a real\nmarriage. The children carry them round begging from door to door and\nfinally deposit them in water. They say that when rain falls and the\nsun shines together the jackals are being married. Formerly a woman\nsuspected of being a witch was tied up in a bag and thrown into a\nriver or tank at various places set apart for the purpose. If she\nsank she was held to be innocent, and if she floated, guilty. In the\nlatter case she had to defile herself by taking the bone of a cow\nand the tail of a pig in her mouth, and it was supposed that this\ndrove out the magic-working spirit. In the case of illness of their\nchildren or cattle, or the failure of crops, they consult the Pujari\nor priest and make an offering. He applies some flowers or grains of\nrice to the forehead of the deity, and when one of these falls down\nhe diagnoses from it the nature of the illness, and gives it to the\nsufferer to wear as a charm.\n\n\n\n9. Occupation.\n\n\nThe tribe are cultivators and farmservants, and practise shifting\ncultivation. They work as village watchmen and also as the Majhi or\nvillage headman and the Pujari or village priest. These officials\nare paid by contributions of grain from the cultivators. And as\nalready seen, the Bhatras are employed as household servants and\nwill clean cooking-vessels. Since they act as village priests, it\nmay perhaps be concluded that the Bhatras like the Parjas are older\nresidents of Bastar than the bulk of the Gonds, and they have become\nthe household servants of the Hindu immigrants, which the Gonds would\nprobably disdain to do. Some of them wear the sacred thread, but in\nformer times the Bastar Raja would invest any man with this for a\nfee of four or five rupees, and the Bhatras therefore purchased the\nsocial distinction. They find it inconvenient, however, and lay it\naside when proceeding to their work or going out to hunt. If a man\nbreaks his thread he must wait till a Brahman comes round, when he\ncan purchase another.\n\n\n\n10. Names.\n\n\nAmong a list of personal names given by Mr. Baijnath the following\nare of some interest: Pillu, one of short stature; Matola, one\nwho learnt to walk late; Phagu, born in Phagun (February); Ghinu,\ndirty-looking; Dasru, born on the Dasahra festival; Ludki, one with\na fleshy ear; Dalu, big-bellied; Mudi, a ring, this name having been\ngiven to a child which cried much after birth, but when its nose was\npierced and a ring put in it stopped crying; Chhi, given to a child\nwhich sneezed immediately after birth; Nunha, a posthumous child;\nand Bhuklu, a child which began to play almost as soon as born. The\nabove instances indicate that it is a favourite plan to select the\nname from any characteristic displayed by the child soon after birth,\nor from any circumstance or incident connected with its birth. Among\nnames of women are: Cherangi, thin; Fundi, one with swollen cheeks;\nKandri, one given to crying; Mahina (month), a child born a month late;\nBatai, one with large eyes; Gaida, fat; Pakli, of fair colour; Boda,\none with crooked legs; Jhunki, one with small eyes; Rupi, a girl who\nwas given a nose-ring of silver as her brothers had died; Paro, born\non a field-embankment; Dango, tall. A woman must not call by their\nnames her father-in-law, mother-in-law, her husband's brothers and\nelder sisters and the sons and daughters of her husband's brothers\nand sisters.\n\n\n\n\n\n\nBhil\n\n\n\nList of Paragraphs\n\n\n\n1. _General notice. The Bhils a Kolarian tribe._\n2. _Rajputs deriving their title to the land from the Bhils._\n3. _Historical notice._\n4. _General Outram and the Khandesh Bhil Corps._\n5. _Subdivisions._\n6. _Exogamy and marriage customs._\n7. _Widow-marriage, divorce and polygamy._\n8. _Religion._\n9. _Witchcraft and amulets._\n10. _Funeral rites._\n11. _Social customs._\n12. _Appearance and characteristics._\n13. _Occupation._\n14. _Language._\n\n\n\n1. General notice. The Bhils a Kolarian tribe.\n\n\n_Bhil._ [310]--An indigenous or non-Aryan tribe which has been much\nin contact with the Hindus and is consequently well known. The home\nof the Bhils is the country comprised in the hill ranges of Khandesh,\nCentral India and Rajputana, west from the Satpuras to the sea in\nGujarat. The total number of Bhils in India exceeds a million and a\nhalf, of which the great bulk belong to Bombay, Rajputana and Central\nIndia. The Central Provinces have only about 28,000, practically all of\nwhom reside in the Nimar district, on the hills forming the western end\nof the Satpura range and adjoining the Rajpipla hills of Khandesh. As\nthe southern slopes of these hills lie in Berar, a few Bhils are also\nfound there. The name Bhil seems to occur for the first time about\nA.D. 600. It is supposed to be derived from the Dravidian word for\na bow, which is the characteristic weapon of the tribe. It has been\nsuggested that the Bhils are the Pygmies referred to by Ktesias (400\nB.C.) and the Phyllitae of Ptolemy (A.D. 150). The Bhils are recognised\nas the oldest inhabitants of southern Rajputana and parts of Gujarat,\nand are usually spoken of in conjunction with the Kolis, who inhabit\nthe adjoining tracts of Gujarat. The most probable hypothesis of the\norigin of the Kolis is that they are a western branch of the Kol or\nMunda tribe who have spread from Chota Nagpur, through Mandla and\nJubbulpore, Central India and Rajputana to Gujarat and the sea. If\nthis is correct the Kolis would be a Kolarian tribe. The Bhils have\nlost their own language, so that it cannot be ascertained whether\nit was Kolarian or Dravidian. But there is nothing against its being\nKolarian in Sir G. Grierson's opinion; and in view of the length of\nresidence of the tribe, the fact that they have abandoned their own\nlanguage and their association with the Kolis, this view may be taken\nas generally probable. The Dravidian tribes have not penetrated so\nfar west as Central India and Gujarat in appreciable numbers.\n\n\n\n2. Rajputs deriving their title to the land from the Bhils.\n\n\nThe Rajputs still recognise the Bhils as the former residents and\noccupiers of the land by the fact that some Rajput chiefs must be\nmarked on the brow with a Bhil's blood on accession to the _Gaddi_ or\nregal cushion. Tod relates how Goha, [311] the eponymous ancestor of\nthe Sesodia Rajputs, took the state of Idar in Gujarat from a Bhil:\n\"At this period Idar was governed by a chief of the savage race of\nBhils. The young Goha frequented the forests in company with the Bhils,\nwhose habits better assimilated with his daring nature than those of\nthe Brahmans. He became a favourite with these _vena-putras_ or sons of\nthe forest, who resigned to him Idar with its woods and mountains. The\nBhils having determined in sport to elect a king, their choice fell\non Goha; and one of the young savages, cutting his finger, applied\nthe blood as the badge (_tika_) of sovereignty to his forehead. What\nwas done in sport was confirmed by the old forest chief. The sequel\nfixes on Goha the stain of ingratitude, for he slew his benefactor,\nand no motive is assigned in the legend for the deed.\" [312]\n\nThe legend is of course a euphemism for the fact that the Rajputs\nconquered and dispossessed the Bhils of Idar. But it is interesting\nas an indication that they did not consider themselves to derive a\nproper title to the land merely from the conquest, but wished also to\nshow that it passed to them by the designation and free consent of\nthe Bhils. The explanation is perhaps that they considered the gods\nof the Bhils to be the tutelary guardians and owners of the land,\nwhom they must conciliate before they could hope to enjoy it in\nquiet and prosperity. This token of the devolution of the land from\nits previous holders, the Bhils, was till recently repeated on the\noccasion of each succession of a Sesodia chief. \"The Bhil landholders\nof Oguna and Undri still claim the privilege of performing the _tika_\nfor the Sesodias. The Oguna Bhil makes the mark of sovereignty on the\nchief's forehead with blood drawn from his own thumb, and then takes\nthe chief by the arm and seats him on the throne, while the Undri Bhil\nholds the salver of spices and sacred grains of rice used in making\nthe badge.\" [313] The story that Goha killed the old Bhil chief,\nhis benefactor, who had adopted him as heir and successor, which\nfits in very badly with the rest of the legend, is probably based\non another superstition. Sir J. G. Frazer has shown in _The Golden\nBough_ that in ancient times it was a common superstition that any\none who killed the king had a right to succeed him. The belief was\nthat the king was the god of the country, on whose health, strength\nand efficiency its prosperity depended. When the king grew old and\nweak it was time for a successor, and he who could kill the king\nproved in this manner that the divine power and strength inherent\nin the late king had descended to him, and he was therefore the fit\nperson to be king. [314] An almost similar story is told of the way\nin which the Kachhwaha Rajputs took the territory of Amber State from\nthe Mina tribe. The infant Rajput prince had been deprived of Narwar\nby his uncle, and his mother wandered forth carrying him in a basket,\ntill she came to the capital of the Minas, where she first obtained\nemployment in the chiefs kitchen. But owing to her good cooking she\nattracted his wife's notice and ultimately disclosed her identity and\ntold her story. The Mina chief then adopted her as his sister and the\nboy as his nephew. This boy, Dhola Rai, on growing up obtained a few\nRajput adherents and slaughtered all the Minas while they were bathing\nat the feast of Diwali, after which he usurped their country. [315]\nThe repetition both of the adoption and the ungrateful murder shows\nthe importance attached by the Rajputs to both beliefs as necessary\nto the validity of their succession and occupation of the land.\n\nThe position of the Bhils as the earliest residents of the country\nwas also recognised by their employment in the capacity of village\nwatchmen. One of the duties of this official is to know the village\nboundaries and keep watch and ward over them, and it was supposed\nthat the oldest class of residents would know them best. The Bhils\nworked in the office of Mankar, the superior village watchman, in\nNimar and also in Berar. Grant Duff states [316] that the Ramosi or\nBhil was employed as village guard by the Marathas, and the Ramosis\nwere a professional caste of village policemen, probably derived from\nthe Bhils or from the Bhils and Kolis.\n\n\n\n3. Historical notice.\n\n\nThe Rajputs seem at first to have treated the Bhils\nleniently. Intermarriage was frequent, especially in the families of\nBhil chieftains, and a new caste called Bhilala [317] has arisen,\nwhich is composed of the descendants of mixed Rajput and Bhil\nmarriages. Chiefs and landholders in the Bhil country now belong to\nthis caste, and it is possible that some pure Bhil families may have\nbeen admitted to it. The Bhilalas rank above the Bhils, on a level\nwith the cultivating castes. Instances occasionally occurred in which\nthe children of Rajput by a Bhil wife became Rajputs. When Colonel Tod\nwrote, Rajputs would still take food with Ujla Bhils or those of pure\naboriginal descent, and all castes would take water from them. [318]\nBut as Hinduism came to be more orthodox in Rajputana, the Bhils\nsank to the position of outcastes. Their custom of eating beef had\nalways caused them to be much despised. A tradition is related that\none day the god Mahadeo or Siva, sick and unhappy, was reclining in a\nshady forest when a beautiful woman appeared, the first sight of whom\neffected a cure of all his complaints. An intercourse between the\ngod and the strange female was established, the result of which was\nmany children; one of whom, from infancy distinguished alike by his\nugliness and vice, slew the favourite bull of Mahadeo, for which crime\nhe was expelled to the woods and mountains, and his descendants have\never since been stigmatised by the names of Bhil and Nishada. [319]\nNishada is a term of contempt applied to the lowest outcastes. Major\nHendley, writing in 1875, states: \"Some time since a Thakur (chief)\ncut off the legs of two Bhils, eaters of the sacred cow, and plunged\nthe stumps into boiling oil.\" [320] When the Marathas began to occupy\nCentral India they treated the Bhils with great cruelty. A Bhil caught\nin a disturbed part of the country was without inquiry flogged and\nhanged. Hundreds were thrown over high cliffs, and large bodies of\nthem, assembled under promise of pardon, were beheaded or blown from\nguns. Their women were mutilated or smothered by smoke, and their\nchildren smashed to death against the stones. [321] This treatment may\nto some extent have been deserved owing to the predatory habits and\ncruelty of the Bhils, but its result was to make them utter savages\nwith their hand against every man, as they believed that every one's\nwas against them. From their strongholds in the hills they laid waste\nthe plain country, holding villages and towns to ransom and driving off\ncattle; nor did any travellers pass with impunity through the hills\nexcept in convoys too large to be attacked. In Khandesh, during the\ndisturbed period of the wars of Sindhia and Holkar, about A.D. 1800,\nthe Bhils betook themselves to highway robbery and lived in bands\neither in mountains or in villages immediately beneath them. The\nrevenue contractors were unable or unwilling to spend money in the\nmaintenance of soldiers to protect the country, and the Bhils in a very\nshort time became so bold as to appear in bands of hundreds and attack\ntowns, carrying off either cattle or hostages, for whom they demanded\nhandsome ransoms. [322] In Gujarat another writer described the Bhils\nand Kolis as hereditary and professional plunderers--'Soldiers of\nthe night,' as they themselves said they were. [323] Malcolm said\nof them, after peace had been restored to Central India: [324]\n\"Measures are in progress that will, it is expected, soon complete\nthe reformation of a class of men who, believing themselves doomed\nto be thieves and plunderers, have been confirmed in their destiny\nby the oppression and cruelty of neighbouring governments, increased\nby an avowed contempt for them as outcasts. The feeling this system\nof degradation has produced must be changed; and no effort has been\nleft untried to restore this race of men to a better sense of their\ncondition than that which they at present entertain. The common answer\nof a Bhil when charged with theft or robbery is, 'I am not to blame;\nI am the thief of Mahadeo'; in other words, 'My destiny as a thief\nhas been fixed by God.'\" The Bhil chiefs, who were known as Bhumia,\nexercised the most absolute power, and their orders to commit the\nmost atrocious crimes were obeyed by their ignorant but attached\nsubjects without a conception on the part of the latter that they\nhad an option when he whom they termed their Dhunni (Lord) issued the\nmandates. [325] Firearms and swords were only used by the chiefs and\nheadmen of the tribe, and their national weapon was the bamboo bow\nhaving the bowstring made from a thin strip of its elastic bark. The\nquiver was a piece of strong bamboo matting, and would contain sixty\nbarbed arrows a yard long, and tipped with an iron spike either\nflattened and sharpened like a knife or rounded like a nail; other\narrows, used for knocking over birds, had knob-like heads. Thus armed,\nthe Bhils would lie in wait in some deep ravine by the roadside, and\nan infernal yell announced their attack to the unwary traveller. [326]\nMajor Hendley states that according to tradition in the Mahabharata\nthe god Krishna was killed by a Bhil's arrow, when he was fighting\nagainst them in Gujarat with the Yadavas; and on this account it was\nordained that the Bhil should never again be able to draw the bow with\nthe forefinger of the right hand. \"Times have changed since then, but\nI noticed in examining their hands that few could move the forefinger\nwithout the second finger; indeed the fingers appeared useless as\nindependent members of the hands. In connection with this may be\nmentioned their apparent inability to distinguish colours or count\nnumbers, due alone to their want of words to express themselves.\" [327]\n\n\n\n4. General Outram and the Khandesh Bhil Corps.\n\n\nThe reclamation and pacification of the Bhils is inseparably associated\nwith the name of Lieutenant, afterwards Sir James, Outram. The Khandesh\nBhil Corps was first raised by him in 1825, when Bhil robber bands\nwere being hunted down by small parties of troops, and those who were\nwilling to surrender were granted a free pardon for past offences,\nand given grants of land for cultivation and advances for the purchase\nof seed and bullocks. When the first attempts to raise the corps were\nmade, the Bhils believed that the object was to link them in line\nlike galley-slaves with a view to extirpate the race, that blood was\nin high demand as a medicine in the country of their foreign masters,\nand so on. Indulging the wild men with feasts and entertainments, and\ndelighting them with his matchless urbanity, Captain Outram at length\ncontrived to draw over to the cause nine recruits, one of whom was a\nnotorious plunderer who had a short time before successfully robbed\nthe officer commanding a detachment sent against him. This infant\ncorps soon became strongly attached to the person of their new chief\nand entirely devoted to his wishes; their goodwill had been won by his\nkind and conciliatory manners, while their admiration and respect had\nbeen thoroughly roused and excited by his prowess and valour in the\nchase. On one occasion, it is recorded, word was brought to Outram\nof the presence of a panther in some prickly-pear shrubs on the\nside of a hill near his station. He went to shoot it with a friend,\nOutram being on foot and his friend on horseback searching through the\nbushes. When close on the animal, Outram's friend fired and missed, on\nwhich the panther sprang forward roaring and seized Outram, and they\nrolled down the hill together. Being released from the claws of the\nfurious beast for a moment, Outram with great presence of mind drew a\npistol which he had with him, and shot the panther dead. The Bhils,\non seeing that he had been injured, were one and all loud in their\ngrief and expressions of regret, when Outram quieted them with the\nremark, 'What do I care for the clawing of a cat?' and this saying\nlong remained a proverb among the Bhils. [328] By his kindness and\nsympathy, listening freely to all that each single man in the corps\nhad to say to him, Outram at length won their confidence, convinced\nthem of his good faith and dissipated their fears of treachery. Soon\nthe ranks of the corps became full, and for every vacant place there\nwere numbers of applicants. The Bhils freely hunted down and captured\ntheir friends and relations who continued to create disturbances,\nand brought them in for punishment. Outram managed to check their\npropensity for liquor by paying them every day just sufficient for\ntheir food, and giving them the balance of their pay at the end of\nthe month, when some might have a drinking bout, but many preferred\nto spend the money on ornaments and articles of finery. With the\nassistance of the corps the marauding tendencies of the hill Bhils\nwere suppressed and tranquillity restored to Khandesh, which rapidly\nbecame one of the most fertile parts of India. During the Mutiny the\nBhil corps remained loyal, and did good service in checking the local\noutbursts which occurred in Khandesh. A second battalion was raised\nat this time, but was disbanded three years afterwards. After this the\ncorps had little or nothing to do, and as the absence of fighting and\nthe higher wages which could be obtained by ordinary labour ceased\nto render it attractive to the Bhils, it was finally converted into\npolice in 1891. [329]\n\n\n\n5. Subdivisions.\n\n\nThe Bhils of the Central Provinces have now only two subdivisions, the\nMuhammadan Bhils, who were forcibly converted to Islam during the time\nof Aurangzeb, and the remainder, who though retaining many animistic\nbeliefs and superstitions, have practically become Hindus. The\nMuhammadan Bhils only number about 3000 out of 28,000. They are\nknown as Tadvi, a name which was formerly applied to a Bhil headman,\nand is said to be derived from _tad_, meaning a separate branch or\nsection. These Bhils marry among themselves and not with any other\nMuhammadans. They retain many Hindu and animistic usages, and are\nscarcely Muhammadan in more than name. Both classes are divided into\ngroups or septs, generally named after plants or animals to which\nthey still show reverence. Thus the Jamania sept, named after the\n_jaman_ tree, [330] will not cut or burn any part of this tree, and\nat their weddings the dresses of the bride and bridegroom are taken\nand rubbed against the tree before being worn. Similarly the Rohini\nsept worship the _rohan_ [331] tree, the Avalia sept the _aonla_\n[332] tree, the Meheda sept the _bahera_ [333] tree, and so on. The\nMori sept worship the peacock. They go into the jungle and look for\nthe tracks of a peacock, and spreading a piece of red cloth before the\nfootprint, lay their offerings of grain upon it. Members of this sept\nmay not be tattooed, because they think the splashes of colour on the\npeacock's feathers are tattoo-marks. Their women must veil themselves\nif they see a peacock, and they think that if any member of the sept\nirreverently treads on a peacock's footprints he will fall ill. The\nGhodmarya (Horse-killer) sept may not tame a horse nor ride one. The\nMasrya sept will not kill or eat fish. The Sanyan or cat sept have a\ntradition that one of their ancestors was once chasing a cat, which\nran for protection under a cover which had been put over the stone\nfigure of their goddess. The goddess turned the cat into stone and\nsat on it, and since then members of the sept will not touch a cat\nexcept to save it from harm, and they will not eat anything which has\nbeen touched by a cat. The Ghattaya sept worship the grinding mill at\ntheir weddings and also on festival days. The Solia sept, whose name\nis apparently derived from the sun, are split up into four subsepts:\nthe Ada Solia, who hold their weddings at sunrise; the Japa Solia,\nwho hold them at sunset; the Taria Solia, who hold them when stars have\nbecome visible after sunset; and the Tar Solia, who believe their name\nis connected with cotton thread and wrap several skeins of raw thread\nround the bride and bridegroom at the wedding ceremony. The Moharia\nsept worship the local goddess at the village of Moharia in Indore\nState, who is known as the Moharia Mata; at their weddings they apply\nturmeric and oil to the fingers of the goddess before rubbing them on\nthe bride and bridegroom. The Maoli sept worship a goddess of that\nname in Barwani town. Her shrine is considered to be in the shape\nof a kind of grain-basket known as _kilia_, and members of the sept\nmay never make or use baskets of this shape, nor may they be tattooed\nwith representations of it. Women of the sept are not allowed to visit\nthe shrine of the goddess, but may worship her at home. Several septs\nhave the names of Rajput clans, as Sesodia, Panwar, Mori, and appear\nto have originated in mixed unions between Rajputs and Bhils.\n\n\n\n6. Exogamy and marriage customs.\n\n\nA man must not marry in his own sept nor in the families of his\nmothers and grandmothers. The union of first cousins is thus\nprohibited, nor can girls be exchanged in marriage between two\nfamilies. A wife's sister may also not be married during the wife's\nlifetime. The Muhammadan Bhils permit a man to marry his maternal\nuncle's daughter, and though he cannot marry his wife's sister\nhe may keep her as a concubine. Marriages may be infant or adult,\nbut the former practice is becoming prevalent and girls are often\nwedded before they are eleven. Matches are arranged by the parents\nof the parties in consultation with the caste _panchayat_; but in\nBombay girls may select their own husbands, and they have also a\nrecognised custom of elopement at the Tosina fair in the month of the\nMahi Kantha. If a Bhil can persuade a girl to cross the river there\nwith him he may claim her as his wife; but if they are caught before\ngetting across he is liable to be punished by the bride's father. [334]\nThe betrothal and wedding ceremonies now follow the ordinary ritual of\nthe middle and lower castes in the Maratha country. [335] The bride\nmust be younger than the bridegroom except in the case of a widow. A\nbride-price is paid which may vary from Rs. 9 to 20; in the case of\nMuhammadan Bhils the bridegroom is said to give a dowry of Rs. 20 to\n25. When the ovens are made with the sacred earth they roast some of\nthe large millet juari [336] for the family feast, calling this Juari\nMata or the grain goddess. Offerings of this are made to the family\ngods, and it is partaken of only by the members of the bride's and\nbridegroom's septs respectively at their houses. No outsider may even\nsee this food being eaten. The leavings of food, with the leaf-plates\non which it was eaten, are buried inside the house, as it is believed\nthat if they should fall into the hands of any outsider the death or\nblindness of one of the family will ensue. When the bridegroom reaches\nthe bride's house he strikes the marriage-shed with a dagger or other\nsharp instrument. A goat is killed and he steps in its blood as he\nenters the shed. A day for the wedding is selected by the priest,\nbut it may also take place on any Sunday in the eight fine months. If\nthe wedding takes place on the eleventh day of Kartik, that is on\nthe expiration of the four rainy months when marriages are forbidden,\nthey make a little hut of eleven stalks of juari with their cobs in\nthe shape of a cone, and the bride and bridegroom walk round this. The\nservices of a Brahman are not required for such a wedding. Sometimes\nthe bridegroom is simply seated in a grain basket and the bride in\na winnowing-fan; then their hands are joined as the sun is half set,\nand the marriage is completed. The bridegroom takes the basket and fan\nhome with him. On the return of the wedding couple, their _kankans_\nor wristbands are taken off at Hanuman's temple. The Muhammadan Bhils\nperform the same ceremonies as the Hindus, but at the end they call in\nthe Kazi or registrar, who repeats the Muhammadan prayers and records\nthe dowry agreed upon. The practice of the bridegroom serving for\nhis wife is in force among both classes of Bhils.\n\n\n\n7. Widow--marriage, divorce and polygamy.\n\n\nThe remarriage of widows is permitted, but the widow may not marry\nany relative of her first husband. She returns to her father's house,\nand on her remarriage they obtain a bride-price of Rs. 40 or 50, a\nquarter of which goes in a feast to the tribesmen. The wedding of a\nwidow is held on the Amawas or last day of the dark fortnight of the\nmonth, or on a Sunday. A wife may be divorced for adultery without\nconsulting the _panchayat_. It is said that a wife cannot otherwise\nbe divorced on any account, nor can a woman divorce her husband, but\nshe may desert him and go and live with a man. In this case all that\nis necessary is that the second husband should repay to the first\nas compensation the amount expended by the latter on his marriage\nwith the woman. Polygamy is permitted, and a second wife is sometimes\ntaken in order to obtain children, but this number is seldom if ever\nexceeded. It is stated that the Bhil married women are generally chaste\nand faithful to their husbands, and any attempt to tamper with their\nvirtue on the part of an outsider is strongly resented by the man.\n\n\n\n8. Religion.\n\n\nThe Bhils worship the ordinary Hindu deities and the village godlings\nof the locality. The favourite both with Hindu and Muhammadan Bhils\nis Khande Rao or Khandoba, the war-god of the Marathas, who is often\nrepresented by a sword. The Muhammadans and the Hindu Bhils also\nto a less extent worship the Pirs or spirits of Muhammadan saints\nat their tombs, of which there are a number in Nimar. Major Hendley\nstates that in Mewar the seats or _sthans_ of the Bhil gods are on the\nsummits of high hills, and are represented by heaps of stones, solid\nor hollowed out in the centre, or mere platforms, in or near which are\nfound numbers of clay or mud images of horses. [337] In some places\nclay lamps are burnt in front of the images of horses, from which\nit may be concluded that the horse itself is or was worshipped as a\ngod. Colonel Tod states that the Bhils will eat of nothing white in\ncolour, as a white sheep or goat; and their grand adjuration is 'By\nthe white ram.' [338] Sir A. Lyall [339] says that their principal\noath is by the dog. The Bhil sepoys told Major Hendley that they\nconsidered it of little use to go on worshipping their own gods, as\nthe power of these had declined since the English became supreme. They\nthought the strong English gods were too much for the weak deities\nof their country, hence they were desirous of embracing Brahmanism,\nwhich would also raise them in the social scale and give them a better\nchance of promotion in regiments where there were Brahman officers.\n\n\n\n9. Witchcraft and amulets.\n\n\nThey wear charms and amulets to keep off evil spirits; the charms\nare generally pieces of blue string with seven knots in them, which\ntheir witch-finder or Badwa ties, reciting an incantation on each; the\nknots were sometimes covered with metal to keep them undefiled and the\ncharms were tied on at the Holi, Dasahra or some other festival. [340]\nIn Bombay the Bhils still believe in witches as the agents of any\nmisfortunes that may befall them. If a man was sick and thought some\nwoman had bewitched him, the suspected woman was thrown into a stream\nor swung from a tree. If the branch broke and the woman fell and\nsuffered serious injury, or if she could not swim across the stream\nand sank, she was considered to be innocent and efforts were made\nto save her. But if she escaped without injury she was held to be a\nwitch, and it frequently happened that the woman would admit herself\nto be one either from fear of the infliction of a harder ordeal, or\nto keep up the belief in her powers as a witch, which often secured\nher a free supper of milk and chickens. She would then admit that\nshe had really bewitched the sick man and undertake to cure him on\nsome sacrifice being made. If he recovered, the animal named by the\nwitch was sacrificed and its blood given her to drink while still\nwarm; either from fear or in order to keep up the character she would\ndrink it, and would be permitted to stay on in the village. If, on the\nother hand, the sick person died, the witch would often be driven into\nthe forest to die of hunger or to be devoured by wild animals. [341]\nThese practices have now disappeared in the Central Provinces, though\noccasionally murders of suspected witches may still occur. The Bhils\nare firm believers in omens, the nature of which is much the same as\namong the Hindus. When a Bhil is persistently unlucky in hunting,\nhe sometimes says '_Nat laga_,' meaning that some bad spirit is\ncausing his ill-success. Then he will make an image of a man in\nthe sand or dust of the road, or sometimes two images of a man and\nwoman, and throwing straw or grass over the images set it alight, and\npound it down on them with a stick with abusive yells. This he calls\nkilling his bad luck. [342] Major Hendley notes that the men danced\nbefore the different festivals and before battles. The men danced\nin a ring holding sticks and striking them against each other, much\nlike the Baiga dance. Before battle they had a war-dance in which\nthe performers were armed and imitated a combat. To be carried on\nthe shoulders of one of the combatants was a great honour, perhaps\nbecause it symbolised being on horseback. The dance was probably in\nthe nature of a magical rite, designed to obtain success in battle\nby going through an imitation of it beforehand. The priests are the\nchief physicians among the Bhils, though most old men were supposed\nto know something about medicine. [343]\n\n\n\n10. Funeral rites.\n\n\nThe dead are usually buried lying on the back, with the head pointing\nto the south. Cooked food is placed on the bier and deposited on\nthe ground half-way to the cemetery. On return each family of the\nsept brings a wheaten cake to the mourners and these are eaten. On\nthe third day they place on the grave a thick cake of wheaten flour,\nwater in an earthen pot and tobacco or any other stimulant which the\ndeceased was in the habit of using in his life.\n\n\n\n11. Social customs.\n\n\nThe Hindu Bhils say that they do not admit outsiders into the caste,\nbut the Muhammadans will admit a man of any but the impure castes. The\nneophyte must be shaved and circumcised, and the Kazi gives him\nsome holy water to drink and teaches him the profession of belief\nin Islam. If a man is not circumcised, the Tadvi or Muhammadan Bhils\nwill not bury his body. Both classes of Bhils employ Brahmans at their\nceremonies. The tribe eat almost all kinds of flesh and drink liquor,\nbut the Hindus now abjure beef and the Muhammadans pork. Some Bhils\nnow refuse to take the skins off dead cattle, but others will do\nso. The Bhils will take food from any caste except the impure ones,\nand none except these castes will now take food from them. Temporary\nor permanent exclusion from caste is imposed for the same offences\nas among the Hindus.\n\n\n\n12. Appearance and characteristics.\n\n\nThe typical Bhil is small, dark, broad-nosed and ugly, but well built\nand active. The average height of 128 men measured by Major Hendley\nwas 5 feet 6.4 inches. The hands are somewhat small and the legs\nfairly developed, those of the women being the best. \"The Bhil is an\nexcellent woodsman, knows the shortest cuts over the hills, can walk\nthe roughest paths and climb the steepest crags without slipping or\nfeeling distressed. He is often called in old Sanskrit works Venaputra,\n'child of the forest,' or Pal Indra, 'lord of the pass.' These\nnames well describe his character. His country is approached through\nnarrow defiles (_pal_), and through these none could pass without his\npermission. In former days he always levied _rakhwali_ or blackmail,\nand even now native travellers find him quite ready to assert what he\ndeems his just rights. The Bhil is a capital huntsman, tracking and\nmarking down tigers, panthers and bears, knowing all their haunts, the\nbest places to shoot them, the paths they take and all those points so\nessential to success in big-game shooting; they will remember for years\nthe spots where tigers have been disposed of, and all the circumstances\nconnected with their deaths. The Bhil will himself attack a leopard,\nand with his sword, aided by his friends, cut him to pieces.\" [344]\nTheir agility impressed the Hindus, and an old writer says: \"Some\nBhil chieftains who attended the camp of Sidhraj, king of Gujarat,\nastonished him with their feats of activity; in his army they seemed\nas the followers of Hanuman in attendance upon Ram.\" [345]\n\n\n\n13. Occupation.\n\n\nThe Bhils have now had to abandon their free use of the forests,\nwhich was highly destructive in its effects, and their indiscriminate\nslaughter of game. Many of them live in the open country and have\nbecome farmservants and field-labourers. A certain proportion are\ntenants, but very few own villages. Some of the Tadvi Bhils, however,\nstill retain villages which were originally granted free of revenue\non condition of their keeping the hill-passes of the Satpuras open\nand safe for travellers. These are known as Hattiwala. Bhils also\nserve as village watchmen in Nimar and the adjoining tracts of the\nBerar Districts. Captain Forsyth, writing in 1868, described the\nBhils as follows: \"The Muhammadan Bhils are with few exceptions a\nmiserable lot, idle and thriftless, and steeped in the deadly vice\nof opium-eating. The unconverted Bhils are held to be tolerably\nreliable. When they borrow money or stock for cultivation they seldom\nabscond fraudulently from their creditors, and this simple honesty\nof theirs tends, I fear, to keep numbers of them still in a state\nlittle above serfdom.\" [346]\n\n\n\n14. Language.\n\n\nThe Bhils have now entirely abandoned their own language and speak a\ncorrupt dialect based on the Aryan vernaculars current around them. The\nBhil dialect is mainly derived from Gujarati, but it is influenced\nby Marwari and Marathi; in Nimar especially it becomes a corrupt\nform of Marathi. Bhili, as this dialect is called, contains a number\nof non-Aryan words, some of which appear to come from the Mundari,\nand others from the Dravidian languages; but these are insufficient\nto form any basis for a deduction as to whether the Bhils belonged\nto the Kolarian or Dravidian race. [347]\n\n\n\nBhilala\n\n\n\n1. General notice.\n\n\n_Bhilala_, [348]--A small caste found in the Nimar and Hoshangabad\nDistricts of the Central Provinces and in Central India. The total\nstrength of the Bhilalas is about 150,000 persons, most of whom reside\nin the Bhopawar Agency, adjoining Nimar. Only 15,000 were returned from\nthe Central Provinces in 1911. The Bhilalas are commonly considered,\nand the general belief may in their case be accepted as correct, to be\na mixed caste sprung from the alliances of immigrant Rajputs with the\nBhils of the Central India hills. The original term was not improbably\nBhilwala, and may have been applied to those Rajput chiefs, a numerous\nbody, who acquired small estates in the Bhil country, or to those who\ntook the daughters of Bhil chieftains to wife, the second course being\noften no doubt a necessary preliminary to the first. Several Bhilala\nfamilies hold estates in Nimar and Indore, and their chiefs now claim\nto be pure Rajputs. The principal Bhilala houses, as those of Bhamgarh,\nSelani and Mandhata, do not intermarry with the rest of the caste, but\nonly among themselves and with other families of the same standing in\nMalwa and Holkar's Nimar. On succession to the _Gaddi_ or headship of\nthe house, representatives of these families are marked with a _tika_\nor badge on the forehead and sometimes presented with a sword, and\nthe investiture may be carried out by custom by the head of another\nhouse. Bhilala landholders usually have the title of Rao or Rawat. They\ndo not admit that a Bhilala can now spring from intermarriage between\na Rajput and a Bhil. The local Brahmans will take water from them and\nthey are occasionally invested with the sacred thread at the time\nof marriage. The Bhilala Rao of Mandhata is hereditary custodian\nof the great shrine of Siva at Onkar Mandhata on an island in the\nNerbudda. According to the traditions of the family, their ancestor,\nBharat Singh, was a Chauhan Rajput, who took Mandhata from Nathu\nBhil in A.D. 1165, and restored the worship of Siva to the island,\nwhich had been made inaccessible to pilgrims by the terrible deities,\nKali and Bhairava, devourers of human flesh. In such legends may be\nrecognised the propagation of Hinduism by the Rajput adventurers and\nthe reconsecration of the aboriginal shrines to its deities. Bharat\nSingh is said to have killed Nathu Bhil, but it is more probable that\nhe only married his daughter and founded a Bhilala family. Similar\nalliances have taken place among other tribes, as the Korku chiefs\nof the Gawilgarh and Mahadeo hills, and the Gond princes of Garha\nMandla. The Bhilalas generally resemble other Hindus in appearance,\nshowing no marked signs of aboriginal descent. Very probably they have\nall an infusion of Rajput blood, as the Rajputs settled in the Bhil\ncountry in some strength at an early period of history. The caste have,\nhowever, totemistic group names; they will eat fowls and drink liquor;\nand they bury their dead with the feet to the north, all these customs\nindicating a Dravidian origin. Their subordinate position in past times\nis shown by the fact that they will accept cooked food from a Kunbi\nor a Gujar; and indeed the status of all except the chief's families\nwould naturally have been a low one, as they were practically the\noffspring of kept women. As already stated, the landowning families\nusually arrange alliances among themselves. Below these comes the\nbody of the caste and below them is a group known as the Chhoti Tad\nor bastard Bhilalas, to which are relegated the progeny of irregular\nunions and persons expelled from the caste for social offences.\n\n\n\n2. Marriage.\n\n\nThe caste, for the purpose of avoiding marriages between relations,\nare also divided into exogamous groups called _kul_ or _kuri_,\nseveral of the names of which are of totemistic origin or derived\nfrom those of animals and plants. Members of the Jamra _kuri_ will\nnot cut or burn the _jamun_ [349] tree; those of the Saniyar _kuri_\nwill not grow _san_-hemp, while the Astaryas revere the _sona_ [350]\ntree and the Pipaladya, the _pipal_ tree. Some of the _kuris_ have\nRajput sept names, as Mori, Baghel and Solanki. A man is forbidden to\ntake a wife from within his own sept or that of his mother, and the\nunion of first cousins is also prohibited. The customs of the Bhilalas\nresemble those of the Kunbis and other cultivating castes. At their\nweddings four cart-yokes are arranged in a square, and inside this\nare placed two copper vessels filled with water and considered to\nrepresent the Ganges and Jumna. When the sun is half set, the bride\nand the bridegroom clasp hands and then walk seven times round the\nsquare of cart-yokes. The water of the pots is mixed and this is\nconsidered to represent the mingling of the bride's and bridegroom's\npersonalities as the Ganges and Jumna meet at Allahabad. A sum of about\nRs. 60 is usually paid by the parents of the bridegroom to those of\nthe bride and is expended on the ceremony. The ordinary Bhilalas have,\nMr. Korke states, a simple form of wedding which may be gone through\nwithout consulting a Brahman on the Ekadashi or eleventh of Kartik\n(October); this is the day on which the gods awake from sleep and\nmarks the commencement of the marriage season. A cone is erected of\neleven plants of juari, roots and all, and the couple simply walk\nround this seven times at night, when the marriage is complete. The\nremarriage of widows is permitted. The woman's forehead is marked\nwith cowdung by another widow, probably as a rite of purification,\nand the cloths of the couple are tied together.\n\n\n\n3. Social customs.\n\n\nThe caste commonly bury the dead and erect memorial stones at the\nheads of graves which they worship in the month of Chait (April),\nsmearing them with vermilion and making an offering of flowers. This\nmay either be a Dravidian usage or have been adopted by imitation\nfrom the Muhammadans. The caste worship the ordinary Hindu deities,\nbut each family has a _Kul-devi_ or household god, Mr. Korke remarks,\nto which they pay special reverence. The offerings made to the Kul-devi\nmust be consumed by the family alone, but married daughters are allowed\nto participate. They employ Nimari Brahmans as their priests, and also\nhave _gurus_ or spiritual preceptors, who are Gosains or Bairagis. They\nwill take food cooked with water from Brahmans, Rajputs, Munda Gujars\nand Tirole Kunbis. The last two groups are principal agricultural\ncastes of the locality and the Bhilalas are probably employed by them\nas farmservants, and hence accept cooked food from their masters in\naccordance with a common custom. The local Brahmans of the Nagar,\nNaramdeo, Baisa and other subcastes will take water from the hand of\na Bhilala. Temporary excommunication from caste is imposed for the\nusual offences, such as going to jail, getting maggots in a wound,\nkilling a cow, a dog or a squirrel, committing homicide, being beaten\nby a man of low caste, selling shoes at a profit, committing adultery,\nand allowing a cow to die with a rope round its neck; and further, for\ntouching the corpses of a cow, cat or horse, or a Barhai (carpenter) or\nChamar (tanner). They will not swear by a dog, a cat or a squirrel, and\nif either of the first two animals dies in a house, it is considered to\nbe impure for a month and a quarter. The head of the caste committee\nhas the designation of Mandloi, which is a territorial title borne\nby several families in Nimar. He receives a share of the fine levied\nfor the _Sarni_ or purification ceremony, when a person temporarily\nexpelled is readmitted into caste. Under the Mandloi is the Kotwal\nwhose business is to summon the members to the caste assemblies;\nhe also is paid out of the fines and his office is hereditary.\n\n\n\n4. Occupation and character.\n\n\nThe caste are cultivators, farmservants and field-labourers, and a\nBhilala also usually held the office of Mankar, a superior kind of\nKotwar or village watchman. The Mankar did no dirty work and would not\ntouch hides, but attended on any officer who came to the village and\nacted as a guide. Where there was a village _sarai_ or rest-house,\nit was in charge of the Mankar, who was frequently also known as\nzamindar. This may have been a recognition of the ancient rights of\nthe Bhilalas and Bhils to the country.\n\n\n\n5. Character.\n\n\nCaptain Forsyth, Settlement Officer of Nimar, had a very unfavourable\nopinion of the Bhilalas, whom he described as proverbial for\ndishonesty in agricultural engagements and worse drunkards than any\nof the indigenous tribes. [351] This judgment was probably somewhat\ntoo severe, but they are poor cultivators, and a Bhilala's field may\noften be recognised by its slovenly appearance. [352]\n\nA century ago Sir J. Malcolm also wrote very severely of the Bhilalas:\n\"The Bhilala and Lundi chiefs were the only robbers in Malwa whom under\nno circumstances travellers could trust. There are oaths of a sacred\nbut obscure kind among those that are Rajputs or who boast their blood,\nwhich are almost a disgrace to take, but which, they assert, the basest\nwas never known to break before Mandrup Singh, a Bhilala, and some of\nhis associates, plunderers on the Nerbudda, showed the example. The\nvanity of this race has lately been flattered by their having risen\ninto such power and consideration that neighbouring Rajput chiefs found\nit their interest to forget their prejudices and to condescend so far\nas to eat and drink with them. Hatti Singh, Grassia chief of Nowlana,\na Khichi Rajput, and several others in the vicinity cultivated the\nfriendship of Nadir, the late formidable Bhilala robber-chief of\nthe Vindhya range; and among other sacrifices made by the Rajputs,\nwas eating and drinking with him. On seeing this take place in my\ncamp, I asked Hatti Singh whether he was not degraded by doing so;\nhe said no, but that Nadir was elevated.\" [353]\n\n\n\n\n\n\nBhishti\n\n\n_Bhishti._--A small Muhammadan caste of water-bearers. Only 26\nBhishtis were shown in the Central Provinces in 1901 and 278 in\n1891. The tendency of the lower Muhammadan castes, as they obtain\nsome education, is to return themselves simply as Muhammadans, the\ncaste name being considered derogatory. The Bhishtis are, however,\na regular caste numbering over a lakh of persons in India, the bulk\nof whom belong to the United Provinces. Many of them are converts\nfrom Hinduism, and they combine Hindu and Muhammadan practices. They\nhave _gotras_ or exogamous sections, the names of which indicate\nthe Hindu origin of their members, as Huseni Brahman, Samri Chauhan,\nBahmangour and others. They prohibit marriage within the section and\nwithin two degrees of relationship on the mother's side. Marriages are\nperformed by the Muhammadan ritual or Nikah, but a Brahman is sometimes\nasked to fix the auspicious day, and they erect a marriage-shed. The\nbridegroom goes to the bride's house riding on a horse, and when he\narrives drops Rs. 1-4 into a pot of water held by a woman. The bride\nwhips the bridegroom's horse with a switch made of flowers. During\nthe marriage the bride sits inside the house and the bridegroom in\nthe shed outside. An agent or Vakil with two witnesses goes to the\nbride and asks her whether she consents to marry the bridegroom,\nand when she gives her consent, as she always does, they go out and\nformally communicate it to the Kazi. The dowry is then settled, and\nthe bond of marriage is sealed. But when the parents of the bride are\npoor they receive a bride-price of Rs. 30, from which they pay the\ndowry. The Bhishtis worship their leather bag (_mashk_) as a sort of\nfetish, and burn incense before it on Fridays. [354] The traditional\noccupation of the Bhishti is to supply water, and he is still engaged\nin this and other kinds of domestic service. The name is said to be\nderived from the Persian _bihisht_, 'paradise,' and to have been given\nto them on account of the relief which their ministrations afforded\nto the thirsty soldiery. [355] Perhaps, too, the grandiloquent name\nwas applied partly in derision, like similar titles given to other\nmenial servants. They are also known as Mashki or Pakhali, after\ntheir leathern water-bag. The leather bag is a distinctive sign of\nthe Bhishti, but when he puts it away he may be recognised from the\npiece of red cloth which he usually wears round his waist. There is\nan interesting legend to the effect that the Bhishti who saved the\nEmperor Humayun's life at Chausa, and was rewarded by the tenure\nof the Imperial throne for half a day, employed his short lease of\npower by providing for his family and friends, and caused his leather\nbag to be cut up into rupees, which were gilded and stamped with the\nrecord of his date and reign in order to perpetuate its memory. [356]\nThe story of the Bhishti obtaining his name on account of the solace\nwhich he afforded to the Muhammadan soldiery finds a parallel in the\ncase of the English army:\n\n\n            The uniform 'e wore\n            Was nothin' much before,\n            An' rather less than 'arf o' that be'ind,\n            For a piece o' twisty rag\n            An' a goatskin water-bag\n            Was all the field-equipment 'e could find.\n\n            With 'is mussick on 'is back,\n            'E would skip with our attack,\n            An' watch us till the bugles made 'Retire,'\n            An' for all 'is dirty 'ide\n            'E was white, clear white, inside\n            When 'e went to tend the wounded under fire. [357]\n\n\nAn excellent description of the Bhishti as a household servant is\ncontained in Eha's _Behind the Bungalow_, [358] from which the\nfollowing extract is taken: \"If you ask: Who is the Bhishti? I\nwill tell you. Bihisht in the Persian tongue means Paradise, and a\nBihishtee is therefore an inhabitant of Paradise, a cherub, a seraph,\nan angel of mercy. He has no wings; the painters have misconceived\nhim; but his back is bowed down with the burden of a great goat-skin\nswollen to bursting with the elixir of life. He walks the land when\nthe heaven above him is brass and the earth iron, when the trees and\nshrubs are languishing and the last blade of grass has given up the\nstruggle for life, when the very roses smell only of dust, and all\nday long the roaming dust-devils waltz about the fields, whirling\nleaf and grass and cornstalk round and round and up and away into\nthe regions of the sky; and he unties a leather thong which chokes\nthe throat of his goat-skin just where the head of the poor old goat\nwas cut off, and straightway, with a life-reviving gurgle, the stream\ncalled _thandha pani_ gushes forth, and plant and shrub lift up their\nheads and the garden smiles again. The dust also on the roads is laid,\nand a grateful incense rises from the ground, the sides of the water\n_chatti_ grow dark and moist and cool themselves in the hot air,\nand through the dripping interstices of the _khaskhas_ tattie a\nchilly fragrance creeps into the room, causing the mercury in the\nthermometer to retreat from its proud place. I like the Bhishti and\nrespect him. As a man he is temperate and contented, eating _bajri_\nbread and slaking his thirst with his own element. And as a servant\nhe is laborious and faithful, rarely shirking his work, seeking it out\nrather. For example, we had a bottle-shaped filter of porous stoneware,\nstanding in a bucket of water which it was his duty to fill daily;\nbut the good man, not content with doing his bare duty, took the\nplug out of the filter and filled it too. And all the station knows\nhow assiduously he fills the rain-gauge.\" With the construction of\nwater-works in large stations the Bhishti is losing his occupation,\nand he is a far less familiar figure to the present generation of\nAnglo-Indians than to their predecessors.\n\n\n\nBhoyar\n\n\n\n1. Origin and traditions.\n\n\n_Bhoyar, [359] Bhoir_ (Honorific titles, Mahajan and Patel).--A\ncultivating caste numbering nearly 60,000 persons in 1911, and residing\nprincipally in the Betul and Chhindwara Districts. The Bhoyars are not\nfound outside the Central Provinces. They claim to be the descendants\nof a band of Panwar Rajputs, who were defending the town of Dharanagri\nor Dhar in Central India when it was besieged by Aurangzeb. Their post\nwas on the western part of the wall, but they gave way and fled into\nthe town as the sun was rising, and it shone on their faces. Hence\nthey were called Bhoyar from a word _bhor_ meaning morning, because\nthey were seen running away in the morning. They were put out of\ncaste by the other Rajputs, and fled to the Central Provinces. The\nname may also be a variant of that of the Bhagore Rajputs. And another\nderivation is from _bhora_, a simpleton or timid person. Their claim\nto be immigrants from Central India is borne out by the fact that they\nstill speak a corrupt form of the Malwi dialect of Rajputana, which\nis called after them Bhoyari, and their Bhats or genealogists come\nfrom Malwa. But they have now entirely lost their position as Rajputs.\n\n\n\n2. Subcastes and sections.\n\n\nThe Bhoyars are divided into the Panwari, Dholewar, Chaurasia and\nDaharia subcastes. The Panwars are the most numerous and the highest,\nas claiming to be directly descended from Panwar Rajputs. They\nsometimes called themselves Jagdeo Panwars, Jagdeo being the name\nof the king under whom they served in Dharanagri. The Dholewars\ntake their name from Dhola, a place in Malwa, or from _dhol_, a\ndrum. They are the lowest subcaste, and some of them keep pigs. It\nis probable that these subcastes immigrated with the Malwa Rajas in\nthe fifteenth century, the Dholewars being the earlier arrivals,\nand having from the first intermarried with the local Dravidian\ntribes. The Daharias take their name from Dahar, the old name of\nthe Jubbulpore country, and may be a relic of the domination of\nthe Chedi kings of Tewar. The name of the Chaurasias is probably\nderived from the Chaurasi or tract of eighty-four villages formerly\nheld by the Betul Korku family of Chandu. The last two subdivisions\nare numerically unimportant. The Bhoyars have over a hundred _kuls_\nor exogamous sections. The names of most of these are titular, but\nsome are territorial and a few totemistic. Instances of such names\nare Onkar (the god Siva), Deshmukh and Chaudhari, headman, Hazari (a\nleader of 1000 horse), Gore (fair-coloured), Dongardiya (a lamp on a\nhill), Pinjara (a cotton-cleaner), Gadria (a shepherd), Khaparia (a\ntyler), Khawasi (a barber), Chiknya (a sycophant), Kinkar (a slave),\nDukhi (penurious), Suplya toplya (a basket and fan maker), Kasai (a\nbutcher), Gohattya (a cow-killer), and Kalebhut (black devil). Among\nthe territorial sections may be mentioned Sonpuria, from Sonpur,\nand Patharia, from the hill country. The name Badnagrya is also\nreally territorial, being derived from the town of Badnagar, but\nthe members of the section connect it with the _bad_ or banyan tree,\nthe leaves of which they refrain from eating. Two other totemistic\ngotras are the Baranga and Baignya, derived from the _barang_ plant\n(_Kydia calycina_) and from the brinjal respectively. Some sections\nhave the names of Rajput septs, as Chauhan, Parihar and Panwar. This\ncuriously mixed list of family names appears to indicate that the\nBhoyars originate from a small band of Rajputs who must have settled\nin the District about the fifteenth century as military colonists,\nand taken their wives from the people of the country. They may have\nsubsequently been recruited by fresh bands of immigrants who have\npreserved a slightly higher status. They have abandoned their old high\nposition, and now rank below the ordinary cultivating castes like\nKunbis and Kurmis who arrived later; while the caste has probably\nin times past also been recruited to a considerable extent by the\nadmission of families of outsiders.\n\n\n\n3. Marriage.\n\n\nMarriage within the _kul_ or family group is forbidden, as also the\nunion of first cousins. Girls are usually married young, and sometimes\ninfants of one or two months are given in wedlock, while contracts\nof betrothal are made for unborn children if they should be of the\nproper sex, the mother's womb being touched with _kunku_ or red powder\nto seal the agreement. A small _dej_ or price is usually paid for the\nbride, amounting to Rs. 5 with 240 lbs. of grain, and 8 seers of _ghi_\nand oil. At the betrothal the Joshi or astrologer is consulted to see\nwhether the names of the couple make an auspicious conjunction. He asks\nfor the names of the bride and bridegroom, and if these are found to be\ninimical another set of names is given, and the experiment is continued\nuntil a union is obtained which is astrologically auspicious. In order\nto provide for this contingency some Bhoyars give their children ten\nor twelve names at birth. If all the names fail, the Joshi invents new\nones of his own, and in some way brings about the auspicious union\nto the satisfaction of both parties, who consider it no business\nof theirs to pry into the Joshi's calculations or to question his\nmethods. After the marriage-shed is erected the family god must be\ninvoked to be present at the ceremony. He is asked to come and take\nhis seat in an earthen pot containing a lighted wick, the pot being\nsupported on a toy chariot made of sticks. A thread is coiled round\nthe neck of the jar, and the Bhoyars then place it in the middle of\nthe house, confident that the god has entered it, and will ward off\nall calamities during the marriage. This is performed by the _bhanwar_\nceremony, seven earthen pots being placed in a row, while the bride and\nbridegroom walk round in a circle holding a basket with a lighted lamp\nin it. As each circle is completed, one pot is removed. This always\ntakes place at night. The Dholewars do not perform the _bhanwar_\nceremony, and simply throw sacred rice on the couple, and this is\nalso done in Wardha. Sometimes the Bhoyars dispense with the presence\nof the Brahman and merely get some rice and juari consecrated by\nhim beforehand, which they throw on the heads of the couple, and\nthereupon consider the marriage complete. Weddings are generally\nheld in the bright fortnight of Baisakh (April-May), and sometimes\ncan be completed in a single day. Widow-marriage is allowed, but it\nis considered that the widow should marry a widower and not a bachelor.\n\n\n\n4. Occupation.\n\n\nThe regular occupation of the Bhoyars is agriculture, and they are\ngood cultivators, growing much sugar-cane with well-irrigation. They\nare industrious, and their holdings on the rocky soils of the plateau\nDistricts are often cleared of stones at the cost of much labour. Their\nwomen work in the fields. In Betul they have the reputation of being\nmuch addicted to drink.\n\n\n\n5. Social status.\n\n\nThey do not now admit outsiders, but their family names show that at\none time they probably did so, and this laxity of feeling survives in\nthe toleration with which they readmit into caste a woman who has gone\nwrong with an outsider. They eat flesh and fowls, and the Dholewars eat\npork, while as already stated they are fond of liquor. To have a shoe\nthrown on his house by a caste-fellow is a serious degradation for a\nBhoyar, and he must break his earthen pots, clean his house and give\na feast. To be beaten with a shoe by a low caste like Mahar entails\nshaving the moustaches and paying a heavy fine, which is spent on a\nfeast. The Bhoyars do not take food from any caste but Brahmans, but\nno caste higher than Kunbis and Malis will take water from them. In\nsocial status they rank somewhat below Kunbis. In appearance they are\nwell built, and often of a fair complexion. Unmarried girls generally\nwear skirts instead of _saris_ or cloths folding between the legs;\nthey also must not wear toe-rings. Women of the Panwar subcaste wear\nglass bangles on the left hand, and brass ones on the right. All\nwomen are tattooed. They both burn and bury the dead, placing the\ncorpse on the pyre with its head to the south or west, and in Wardha\nto the north. Here they have a peculiar custom as regards mourning,\nwhich is observed only till the next Monday or Thursday whichever\nfalls first. Thus the period of mourning may extend from one to four\ndays. The Bhoyars are considered in Wardha to be more than ordinarily\ntimid, and also to be considerable simpletons, while they stand in much\nawe of Government officials, and consider it a great misfortune to be\nbrought into a court of justice. Very few of them can read and write.\n\n\n\n\n\n\nBhuiya\n\n\n\nList of Paragraphs\n\n\n 1. _The tribe and its name._\n 2. _Distribution of the tribe._\n 3. _Example of the position of the aborigines in Hindu society._\n 4. _The Bhuiyas a Kolarian tribe._\n 5. _The Baigas and the Bhuiyas. Chhattisgarh the home of the Baigas._\n 6. _The Baigas a branch of the Bhuiyas._\n 7. _Tribal subdivisions._\n 8. _Exogamous septs._\n 9. _Marriage customs._\n10. _Widow-marriage and divorce._\n11. _Religion._\n12. _Religious dancing._\n13. _Funeral rites and inheritance._\n14. _Physical appearance and occupation._\n15. _Social customs._\n\n\n\n1. The tribe and its name.\n\n\n_Bhuiya, Bhuinhar, Bhumia._ [360]--The name of a very important tribe\nof Chota Nagpur, Bengal and Orissa. The Bhuiyas numbered more than\n22,000 persons in the Central Provinces in 1911, being mainly found\nin the Sarguja and Jashpur States. In Bengal and Bihar the Bhuiyas\nproper count about half a million persons, while the Musahar and\nKhandait castes, both of whom are mainly derived from the Bhuiyas,\ntotal together well over a million.\n\nThe name Bhuiya means 'Lord of the soil,' or 'Belonging to the soil,'\nand is a Sanskrit derivative. The tribe have completely forgotten\ntheir original name, and adopted this designation conferred on them\nby the immigrant Aryans. The term Bhuiya, however, is also employed\nby other tribes and by some Hindus as a title for landholders, being\npractically equivalent to zamindar. And hence a certain confusion\narises, and classes or individuals may have the name of Bhuiya without\nbelonging to the tribe at all. \"In most parts of Chota Nagpur,\"\nSir H. Risley says, \"there is a well-known distinction between a\nBhuiya by tribe and a Bhuiya by title. The Bhuiyas of Bonai and\nKeonjhar described by Colonel Dalton belong to the former category;\nthe Bhuiya Mundas and Oraons to the latter. The distinction will be\nmade somewhat clearer if it is explained that every 'tribal Bhuiya'\nwill as a matter of course describe himself as Bhuiya, while a member\nof another tribe will only do so if he is speaking with reference to\na question of land, or desires for some special reason to lay stress\non his status as a landholder or agriculturist.\"\n\nWe further find in Bengal and Benares a caste of landholders known as\nBhuinhar or Babhan, who are generally considered as a somewhat mixed\nand inferior group of Brahman and Rajput origin. Both Sir H. Risley\nand Mr. Crooke adopt this view and deny any connection between the\nBhuinhars and the Bhuiya tribes. Babhan appears to be a corrupt form\nof Brahman. Mr. Mazumdar, however, states that Bhuiya is never used in\nBengali as an equivalent for zamindar or landholder, and he considers\nthat the Bhuinhars and also the Barah Bhuiyas, a well-known group of\ntwelve landholders of Eastern Bengal and Assam, belonged to the Bhuiya\ntribe. He adduces from Sir E. Gait's _History of Assam_ the fact that\nthe Chutias and Bhuiyas were dominant in that country prior to its\nconquest by the Ahoms in the thirteenth century, and considers that\nthese Chutias gave their name to Chutia or Chota Nagpur. I am unable\nto express any opinion on Mr. Mazumdar's argument, and it is also\nunnecessary as the question does not concern the Central Provinces.\n\n\n\n2. Distribution of the tribe.\n\n\nThe principal home of the Bhuiya tribe proper is the south of the\nChota Nagpur plateau, comprised in the Gangpur, Bonai, Keonjhar and\nBamra States. \"The chiefs of these States,\" Colonel Dalton says,\n\"now call themselves Rajputs; if they be so, they are strangely\nisolated families of Rajputs. The country for the most part belongs\nto the Bhuiya sub-proprietors. They are a privileged class, holding as\nhereditaments the principal offices of the State, and are organised as\na body of militia. The chiefs have no right to exercise any authority\ntill they have received the _tilak_ or token of investiture from their\npowerful Bhuiya vassals. Their position altogether renders their claim\nto be considered Rajputs extremely doubtful, and the stories told to\naccount for their acquisition of the dignity are palpable fables. They\nwere no doubt all Bhuiyas originally; they certainly do not look like\nRajputs.\" Members of the tribe are the household servants of the Bamra\nRaja's family, and it is said that the first Raja of Bamra was a child\nof the Patna house, who was stolen from his home and anointed king of\nBamra by the Bhuiyas and Khonds. Similarly Colonel Dalton records the\nlegend that the Bhuiyas twenty-seven generations ago stole a child\nof the Moharbhanj Raja's family, brought it up amongst them and made\nit their Raja. He was freely admitted to intercourse with Bhuiya\ngirls, and the children of this intimacy are the progenitors of the\nRajkuli branch of the tribe. But they are not considered first among\nBhuiyas because they are not of pure Bhuiya descent. Again the Raja of\nKeonjhar is always installed by the Bhuiyas. These facts indicate that\nthe Bhuiyas were once the rulers of Chota Nagpur and are recognised\nas the oldest inhabitants of the country. From this centre they have\nspread north through Lohardaga and Hazaribagh and into southern Bihar,\nwhere large numbers of Bhuiyas are encountered on whom the opprobrious\ndesignation of Musahar or 'rat-eater' has been conferred by their\nHindu neighbours. Others of the tribe who travelled south from Chota\nNagpur experienced more favourable conditions, and here the tendency\nhas been for the Bhuiyas to rise rather than to decline in social\nstatus. \"Some of their leading families,\" Sir H. Risley states,\n\"have come to be chiefs of the petty States of Orissa, and have now\nsunk the Bhuiya in the Khandait or swordsman, a caste of admitted\nrespectability in Orissa and likely in course of time to transform\nitself into some variety of Rajput.\"\n\n\n\n3. Example of the position of the aborigines in Hindu society.\n\n\nThe varying status of the Bhuiyas in Bihar, Chota Nagpur and Orissa\nis a good instance of the different ways in which the primitive\ntribes have fared in contact with the immigrant Aryans. Where the\ncountry has been completely colonised and populated by Hindus, as\nin Bihar, the aboriginal residents have commonly become transformed\ninto village drudges, relegated to the meanest occupations, and\ndespised as impure by the Hindu cultivators, like the Chamars of\nnorthern India and the Mahars of the Maratha Districts. Where the\nHindu immigration has only been partial and the forests have not\nbeen cleared, as in Chota Nagpur and the Central Provinces, they may\nkeep their old villages and tribal organisation and be admitted as\na body into the hierarchy of caste, ranking above the impure castes\nbut below the Hindu cultivators. This is the position of the Gonds,\nBaigas and other tribes in these tracts. While, if the Hindus come\nonly as colonists and not as rulers, the indigenous residents may\nretain the overlordship of the soil and the landed proprietors among\nthem may be formed into a caste ranking with the good cultivating\ncastes of the Aryans. Instances of such are the Khandaits of Orissa,\nthe Binjhwars of Chhattisgarh and the Bhilalas of Nimar and Indore.\n\n\n\n4. The Bhuiyas a Kolarian tribe.\n\n\nThe Bhuiyas have now entirely forgotten their own language and speak\nHindi, Uriya and Bengali, according as each is the dominant vernacular\nof their Hindu neighbours. They cannot therefore on the evidence\nof language be classified as a Munda or Kolarian or as a Dravidian\ntribe. Colonel Dalton was inclined to consider them as Dravidian: [361]\n\"Mr. Stirling in his account of Orissa classes them among the Kols;\nbut there are no grounds that I know of for so connecting them. As I\nhave said above, they appear to me to be linked with the Dravidian\nrather than with the Kolarian tribes.\" His account, however, does\nnot appear to contain any further evidence in support of this view;\nand, on the other hand, he identifies the Bhuiyas with the Savars\nor Saonrs. Speaking of the Bendkars or Savars of Keonjhar, he says:\n\"It is difficult to regard them otherwise than as members of the great\nBhuiya family, and thus connecting them we link the Bhuiyas and Savaras\nand give support to the conjecture that the former are Dravidian.\" But\nit is now shown in the _Linguistic Survey_ that the Savars have a Munda\ndialect. In Chota Nagpur this has been forgotten, and the tribe speak\nHindi or Uriya like the Bhuiyas, but it remains in the hilly tracts of\nGanjam and Vizagapatam. [362] Savara is closely related to Kharia and\nJuang, the dialects of two of the most primitive Munda tribes. The\nSavars must therefore be classed as a Munda or Kolarian tribe, and\nsince Colonel Dalton identified the Bhuiyas with the Savars of Chota\nNagpur, his evidence appears really to be in favour of the Kolarian\norigin of the Bhuiyas. He notes further that the ceremony of naming\nchildren among the Bhuiyas is identical with that of the Mundas and\nHos. [363] Mr. Mazumdar writes: \"Judging from the external appearance\nand general physical type one would be sure to mistake a Bhuiya for a\nMunda. Their habits and customs are essentially Mundari. The Bhuiyas\nwho live in and around the District of Manbhum are not much ashamed\nto admit that they are Kol people; and Bhumia Kol is the name that\nhas been given them there by the Hindus. The Mundas and Larka-Kols of\nChota Nagpur tell us that they first established themselves there by\ndriving out the Bhuiyas; and it seems likely that the Bhuiyas formed\nthe first batch of the Munda immigrants in Chota Nagpur and became\ngreatly Hinduised there, and on that account were not recognised by\nthe Mundas as people of their kin.\" If the tradition of the Mundas and\nKols that they came to Chota Nagpur after the Bhuiyas be accepted, and\ntradition on the point of priority of immigration is often trustworthy,\nthen it follows that the Bhuiyas must be a Munda tribe. For the main\ndistinction other than that of language between the Munda and Dravidian\ntribes is that the former were the earlier and the latter subsequent\nimmigrants. The claim of the Bhuiyas to be the earliest residents of\nChota Nagpur is supported by the fact that they officiate as priests\nin certain temples. Because in primitive religion the jurisdiction of\nthe gods is entirely local, and foreigners bringing their own gods\nwith them are ignorant of the character and qualities of the local\ndeities, with which the indigenous residents are, on the other hand,\nwell acquainted. Hence the tendency of later comers to employ these\nlatter in the capacity of priests of the godlings of the earth, corn,\nforests and hills. Colonel Dalton writes: [364] \"It is strange that\nthese Hinduised Bhuiyas retain in their own hands the priestly duties\nof certain old shrines to the exclusion of Brahmans. This custom has\nno doubt descended in Bhuiya families from the time when Brahmans were\nnot, or had obtained no footing amongst them, and when the religion of\nthe land and the temples were not Hindu; they are now indeed dedicated\nto Hindu deities, but there are evidences of the temples having been\noriginally occupied by other images. At some of these shrines human\nsacrifices were offered every third year and this continued till the\ncountry came under British rule.\" And again of the Pauri Bhuiyas of\nKeonjhar: \"The Pauris dispute with the Juangs the claim to be the\nfirst settlers in Keonjhar, and boldly aver that the country belongs\nto them. They assert that the Raja is of their creation and that the\nprerogative of installing every new Raja on his accession is theirs,\nand theirs alone. The Hindu population of Keonjhar is in excess of the\nBhuiya and it comprises Gonds and Kols, but the claim of the Pauris\nto the dominion they arrogate is admitted by all; even Brahmans and\nRajputs respectfully acknowledge it, and the former by the addition\nof Brahmanical rites to the wild ceremonies of the Bhuiyas affirm\nand sanctify their installation.\" In view of this evidence it seems\na probable hypothesis that the Bhuiyas are the earliest residents of\nthese parts of Chota Nagpur and that they are a Kolarian tribe.\n\n\n\n5. The Baigas and the Bhuiyas. Chhattisgarh the home of the Baigas.\n\n\nThere appears to be considerable reason for supposing that the\nBaiga tribe of the Central Provinces are really a branch of the\nBhuiyas. Though the Baigas are now mainly returned from Mandla and\nBalaghat, it seems likely that these Districts were not their original\nhome, and that they emigrated from Chhattisgarh into the Satpura hills\non the western borders of the plain. The hill country of Mandla and the\nMaikal range of Balaghat form one of the wildest and most inhospitable\ntracts in the Province, and it is unlikely that the Baigas would have\nmade their first settlements here and spread thence into the fertile\nplain of Chhattisgarh. Migration in the opposite direction would be\nmore natural and probable. But it is fairly certain that the Baiga\ntribe were among the earliest if not the earliest residents of the\nChhattisgarh plain and the hills north and east of it. The Bhaina,\nBhunjia and Binjhwar tribes who still reside in this country can\nall be recognised as offshoots of the Baigas. In the article on\nBhaina it is shown that some of the oldest forts in Bilaspur are\nattributed to the Bhainas and a chief of this tribe is remembered\nas having ruled in Bilaigarh south of the Mahanadi. They are said\nto have been dominant in Pendra where they are still most numerous,\nand to have been expelled from Phuljhar in Raipur by the Gonds. The\nBinjhwars or Binjhals again are an aristocratic subdivision of the\nBaigas, belonging to the hills east of Chhattisgarh and the Uriya plain\ncountry of Sambalpur beyond them. The zamindars of Bodasamar, Rampur,\nBhatgaon and other estates to the south and east of the Chhattisgarh\nplain are members of this tribe. Both the Bhainas and Binjhwars are\nfrequently employed as priests of the village deities all over this\narea, and may therefore be considered as older residents than the\nGond and Kawar tribes and the Hindus. Sir G. Grierson also states\nthat the language of the Baigas of Mandla and Balaghat is a form of\nChhattisgarhi, and this is fairly conclusive evidence of their first\nhaving belonged to Chhattisgarh. [365] It seems not unlikely that the\nBaigas retreated into the hills round Chhattisgarh after the Hindu\ninvasion and establishment of the Haihaya Rajput dynasty of Ratanpur,\nwhich is now assigned to the ninth century of the Christian era; just\nas the Gonds retired from the Nerbudda valley and the Nagpur plain\nbefore the Hindus several centuries later. Sir H. Risley states that\nthe Binjhias or Binjhwars of Chota Nagpur say that their ancestors\ncame from Ratanpur twenty generations ago. [366]\n\n\n\n6. The Baigas a branch of the Bhuiyas.\n\n\nBut the Chhattisgarh plain and the hills north and east of it are\nadjacent to and belong to the same tract of country as the Chota\nNagpur States, which are the home of the Bhuiyas. Sir H. Risley\ngives Baiga as a name for a sorcerer, and as a synonym or title of\nthe Khairwar tribe in Chota Nagpur, possibly having reference to the\nidea that they, being among the original inhabitants of the country,\nare best qualified to play the part of sorcerer and propitiate the\nlocal gods. It has been suggested in the article on Khairwar that that\ntribe are a mongrel offshoot of the Santals and Cheros, but the point\nto be noticed here is the use of the term Baiga in Chota Nagpur for a\nsorcerer; and a sorcerer may be taken as practically equivalent for a\npriest of the indigenous deities, all tribes who act in this capacity\nbeing considered as sorcerers by the Hindus. If the Bhuiyas of Chota\nNagpur had the title of Baiga, it is possible that it may have been\nsubstituted for the proper tribal name on their migration to the\nCentral Provinces. Mr. Crooke distinguishes two tribes in Mirzapur\nwhom he calls the Bhuiyas and Bhuiyars. The Bhuiyas of Mirzapur seem\nto be clearly a branch of the Bhuiya tribe of Chota Nagpur, with whom\ntheir section-names establish their identity. [367] Mr. Crooke states\nthat the Bhuiyas are distinguished with very great difficulty from the\nBhuiyars with whom they are doubtless very closely connected. [368]\nOf the Bhuiyars [369] he writes that the tribe is also known as Baiga,\nbecause large numbers of the aboriginal local priests are derived\nfrom this caste. He also states that \"Most Bhuiyars are Baigas and\nofficiate in their own as well as allied tribes; in fact, as already\nstated, one general name for the tribe is Baiga.\" [370] It seems not\nunlikely that these Bhuiyars are the Baigas of the Central Provinces\nand that they went to Mirzapur from here with the Gonds. Their original\nname may have been preserved or revived there, while it has dropped\nout of use in this Province. The name Baiga in the Central Provinces\nis sometimes applied to members of other tribes who serve as village\npriests, and, as has already been seen, it is used in the same sense in\nChota Nagpur. The Baigas of Mandla are also known as Bhumia, which is\nonly a variant of Bhuiya, having the same meaning of lord of the soil\nor belonging to the soil. Both Bhuiya and Bhumia are in fact nearly\nequivalent to our word 'aboriginal,' and both are names given to the\ntribe by the Hindus and not originally that by which its members called\nthemselves. It would be quite natural that a branch of the Bhuiyas,\nwho settled in the Central Provinces and were commonly employed as\nvillage priests by the Hindus and Gonds should have adopted the name\nof the office, Baiga, as their tribal designation; just as the title\nof Munda or village headman has become the name of one branch of the\nKol tribe, and Bhumij, another term equivalent to Bhuiya, of a second\nbranch. Mr. A. F. Hewitt, Settlement Officer of Raipur, considered\nthat the Buniyas of that District were the same tribe as the Bhuiyas\nof the Garhjat States. [371] By Buniya he must apparently have meant\nthe Bhunjia tribe of Raipur, who as already stated are an offshoot\nof the Baigas. Colonel Dalton describes the dances of the Bhuiyas\nof Chota Nagpur as follows: [372] \"The men have each a wide kind of\ntambourine. They march round in a circle, beating these and singing\na very simple melody in a minor key on four notes. The women dance\nopposite to them with their heads covered and bodies much inclined,\ntouching each other like soldiers in line, but not holding hands or\nwreathing arms like the Kols.\" This account applies very closely to\nthe Sela and Rina dances of the Baigas. The Sela dance is danced\nby men only who similarly march round in a circle, though they\ndo not carry tambourines in the Central Provinces. Here, however,\nthey sometimes carry sticks and march round in opposite directions,\npassing in and out and hitting their sticks against each other as\nthey meet, the movement being exactly like the grand chain in the\nLancers. Similarly the Baiga women dance the Rina dance by themselves,\nstanding close to each other and bending forward, but not holding each\nother by the hands and arms, just as described by Colonel Dalton. The\nGonds now also have the Sela and Rina dances, but admit that they are\nderived from the Baigas. Another point of some importance is that the\nBhuiyas of Chota Nagpur and the Baigas and the tribes derived from\nthem in the Central Provinces have all completely abandoned their own\nlanguage and speak a broken form of that of their Hindu neighbours. As\nhas been seen, too, the Bhuiyas are commonly employed as priests in\nChota Nagpur, and there seems therefore to be a strong case for the\noriginal identity of the two tribes. [373] Both the Baigas and Bhuiyas,\nhowever, have now become greatly mixed with the surrounding tribes,\nthe Baigas of Mandla and Balaghat having a strong Gond element.\n\n\n\n7. Tribal sub-divisions.\n\n\nIn Singhbhum the Bhuiyas call themselves _Pawan-bans_ or 'The Children\nof the Wind,' and in connection with Hanuman's title of _Pawan-ka-put_\nor 'The Son of the Wind,' are held to be the veritable apes of\nthe Ramayana who, under the leadership of Hanuman, the monkey-god,\nassisted the Aryan hero Rama on his expedition to Ceylon. This may be\ncompared with the name given to the Gonds of the Central Provinces\nof Rawanbansi, or descendants of Rawan, the idea being that their\nancestors were the subjects of Rawan, the demon king of Ceylon, who was\nconquered by Rama. \"All Bhuiyas,\" Sir H. Risley states, \"affect great\nreverence for the memory of Rikhmun or Rikhiasan, whom they regard,\nsome as a patron deity, others as a mythical ancestor, whose name\ndistinguishes one of the divisions of the tribe. It seems probable that\nin the earliest stage of belief Rikhmun was the bear-totem of a sept of\nthe tribe, that later on he was transformed into an ancestral hero, and\nfinally promoted to the rank of a tribal god.\" The Rikhiasan Mahatwar\nsubtribe of the Bhuiyas in the Central Provinces are named after this\nhero Rikhmun; the designation of Mahatwar signifies that they are the\nMahtos or leaders of the Bhuiyas. The Khandaits or Paiks are another\nsubcaste formed from those who became soldiers; in Orissa they are now,\nas already stated, a separate caste of fairly high rank. The Parja\nor 'subject people' are the ordinary Bhuiyas, probably those living\nin Hindu tracts. The Dhur or 'dust' Gonds, and the Parja Gonds of\nBastar may be noted as a parallel in nomenclature. The Rautadi are a\nterritorial group, taking their name from a place called Raotal. The\nKhandaits practise hypergamy with the Rautadi, taking daughters from\nthem, but not giving their daughters to them. The Pabudia or Madhai\nare the hill Bhuiyas, and are the most wild and backward portion of\nthe tribe. Dalton writes of them in Keonjhar: \"They are not bound\nto fight for the Raja, though they occasionally take up arms against\nhim. Their duty is to attend on him and carry his loads when he travels\nabout, and so long as they are satisfied with his person and his rule,\nno more willing or devoted subjects could be found. They are then in\nKeonjhar, as in Bonai, a race whom you cannot help liking and taking\nan interest in from the primitive simplicity of their customs, their\namenability and their anxiety to oblige; but unsophisticated as they\nare they wield an extraordinary power in Keonjhar, and when they take\nit into their heads to use that power, the country may be said to be\ngoverned by an oligarchy composed of the sixty chiefs of the Pawri\nDesh, the Bhuiya Highlands. A knotted string passed from village to\nvillage in the name of the sixty chiefs throws the entire country into\ncommotion, and the order verbally communicated in connection with\nit is as implicitly obeyed as if it emanated from the most potent\ndespot.\" This knotted string is known as _Ganthi_. The Pabudias say\nthat their ancestors were twelve brothers belonging to Keonjhar,\nof whom eight went to an unknown country, while the remaining four\ndivided among themselves all the territory of which they had knowledge,\nthis being comprised in the four existing states of Keonjhar, Bamra,\nPalahara and Bonai. Any Pabudia who takes up his residence permanently\nbeyond the boundaries of these four states is considered to lose his\ncaste, like Hindus in former times who went to dwell in the foreign\ncountry beyond the Indus. [374] But if the wandering Pabudia returns\nin two years, and proves that he has not drunk water from any other\ncaste, he is taken back into the fold. Other subdivisions are the Kati\nor Khatti and the Bathudia, these last being an inferior group who\nare said to be looked down on because they have taken food from other\nlow castes. No doubt they are really the offspring of irregular unions.\n\n\n\n8. Exogamus septs.\n\n\nIn Raigarh the Bhuiyas appear to have no exogamous divisions. When\nthey wish to arrange a marriage they compare the family gods of the\nparties, and if these are not identical and there is no recollection of\na common ancestor for three generations, the union is permitted. In\nSambalpur, however, Mr. Mazumdar states, all Bhuiyas are divided\ninto the following twelve septs: Thakur, or the clan of royal blood;\nSaont, from _samanta_, a viceroy; Padhan, a village headman; Naik,\na military leader; Kalo, a wizard or priest; Dehri, also a priest;\nChatria, one who carried the royal umbrella; Sahu, a moneylender;\nMajhi, a headman; Behra, manager of the household; Amata, counsellor;\nand Dandsena, a police official. The Dehrin sept still worship the\nvillage gods on behalf of the tribe.\n\n\n\n9. Marriage customs.\n\n\nMarriage is adult, but the more civilised Bhuiyas are gradually\nadopting Hindu usages, and parents arrange matches for their children\nwhile they are still young. Among the Pabudias some primitive customs\nsurvive. They have the same system as the Oraons, by which all\nthe bachelors of the village sleep in one large dormitory; this is\nknown as Dhangarbasa, _dhangar_ meaning a farmservant or young man,\nor Mandarghar, the house of the drums, because these instruments are\nkept in it. \"Some villages,\" Colonel Dalton states, \"have a Dhangaria\nbasa, or house for maidens, which, strange to say, they are allowed to\noccupy without any one to look after them. They appear to have very\ngreat liberty, and slips of morality, so long as they are confined\nto the tribe, are not much heeded.\" This intimacy between boys and\ngirls of the same village does not, however, commonly end in marriage,\nfor which a partner should be sought from another village. For this\npurpose the girls go in a body, taking with them some ground rice\ndecorated with flowers. They lay this before the elders of the village\nthey have entered, saying, 'Keep this or throw it into the water,\nas you prefer.' The old men pick up the flowers, placing them behind\ntheir ears. In the evening all the boys of the village come and dance\nwith the girls, with intervals for courtship, half the total number of\ncouples dancing and sitting out alternately. This goes on all night,\nand in the morning any couples who have come to an understanding\nrun away together for a day or two. The boy's father must present a\nrupee and a piece of cloth to the girl's mother, and the marriage is\nconsidered to be completed.\n\nAmong the Pabudia or Madhai Bhuiyas the bride-price consists of two\nbullocks or cows, one of which is given to the girl's father and\nthe other to her brother. The boy's father makes the proposal for\nmarriage, and the consent of the girl is necessary. At the wedding\nturmeric and rice are offered to the sun; some rice is then placed\non the girl's head and turmeric rubbed on her body, and a brass ring\nis placed on her finger. The bridegroom's father says to him, \"This\ngirl is ours now: if in future she becomes one-eyed, lame or deaf,\nshe will still be ours.\" The ceremony concludes with the usual feast\nand drinking bout. If the boy's father cannot afford the bride-price\nthe couple sometimes run away from home for two or three days, when\ntheir parents go in search of them and they are brought back and\nmarried in the boy's house.\n\n\n\n10. Widow-marriage and divorce.\n\n\nA widow is often taken by the younger brother of the deceased husband,\nthough no compulsion is exerted over her. But the match is common\nbecause the Bhuiyas have the survival of fraternal polyandry, which\nconsists in allowing unmarried younger brothers to have access to an\nelder brother's wife during his lifetime. [375] Divorce is allowed\nfor misconduct on the part of the wife or mutual disagreement.\n\n\n\n11. Religion.\n\n\nThe Bhuiyas commonly take as their principal deity the spirit of the\nnearest mountain overlooking their village, and make offerings to it\nof butter, rice and fowls. In April they present the first-fruits\nof the mango harvest. They venerate the sun as Dharam Deota, but\nno offerings are made to him. Nearly all Bhuiyas worship the cobra,\nand some of them call it their mother and think they are descended\nfrom it. They will not touch or kill a cobra, and do not swear by\nit. In Rairakhol they venerate a goddess, Rambha Devi, who may be a\ncorn-goddess, as the practice of burning down successive patches of\njungle and sowing seed on each for two or three years is here known\nas _rambha_. They think that the sun and moon are sentient beings,\nand that fire and lightning are the children of the sun, and the stars\nthe children of the moon. One day the moon invited the sun to dinner\nand gave him very nice food, so that the sun asked what it was. The\nmoon said she had cooked her own children, and on this the sun went\nhome and cooked all his children and ate them, and this is the reason\nwhy there are no stars during the day. But his eldest son, fire,\nwent and hid in a _rengal_ tree, and his daughter, the lightning,\ndarted hither and thither so that the sun could not catch her. And\nwhen night came again, and the stars came out, the sun saw how the\nmoon had deceived him and cursed her, saying that she should die for\nfifteen days in every month. And this is the reason for the waxing\nand waning of the moon. Ever since this event fire has remained hidden\nin a _rengal_ tree, and when the Bhuiyas want him they rub two pieces\nof its wood together and he comes out. This is the Bhuiya explanation\nof the production of fire from the friction of wood.\n\n\n\n12. Religious dancing.\n\n\nIn the month of Kartik (October), or the next month, they bring from\nthe forest a branch of the _karm_ tree and venerate it and perform\nthe _karma_ dance in front of it. They think that this worship and\ndance will cause the _karma_ tree, the mango, the jack-fruit and the\nmahua to bear a full crop of fruit. Monday, Wednesday and Friday are\nconsidered the proper days for worshipping the deities, and children\nare often named on a Friday.\n\n\n\n13. Funeral rites and inheritance.\n\n\nThe dead are either buried or burnt, the corpse being placed always\nwith the feet pointing to its native village. On the tenth day the\nsoul of the dead person is called back to the house. But if a man is\nkilled by a tiger or by falling from a tree no mourning is observed\nfor him, and his soul is not brought back. To perish from snake-bite\nis considered a natural death, and in such cases the usual obsequies\nare awarded. This is probably because they revere the cobra as their\nfirst mother. The Pabudia Bhuiyas throw four to eight annas' worth\nof copper on to the pyre or into the grave, and if the deceased had\na cow some _ghi_ or melted butter. No division of property can take\nplace during the lifetime of either parent, but when both have died\nthe children divide the inheritance, the eldest son taking two shares\nand the others one equal share each.\n\n\n\n14. Physical appearance and occupation.\n\n\nColonel Dalton describes the Bhuiyas as, \"A dark-brown,\nwell-proportioned race, with black, straight hair, plentiful on\nthe head, but scant on the face, of middle height, figures well\nknit and capable of enduring great fatigue, but light-framed like\nthe Hindu rather than presenting the usual muscular development of\nthe hillman.\" Their dress is scanty, and in the Tributary States\nDalton says that the men and women all wear dresses of brown cotton\ncloth. This may be because white is a very conspicuous colour in the\nforests. They wear ornaments and beads, and are distinctive in that\nneither men nor women practise tattooing, though in some localities\nthis rule is not observed by the women. To keep themselves warm at\nnight they kindle two fires and sleep between them, and this custom\nhas given rise to the saying, 'Wherever you see a Bhuiya he always has\na fire.' In Bamra the Bhuiyas still practise shifting cultivation,\nfor which they burn the forest growth from the hillsides and sow\noilseeds in the fresh soil. This method of agriculture is called\nlocally Khasrathumi. They obtain their lands free from the Raja in\nreturn for acting as luggage porters and coolies. In Bamra they will\nnot serve as farm-servants or labourers for hire, but elsewhere they\nare more docile.\n\n\n\n15. Social customs.\n\n\nA woman divorced for adultery is not again admitted to caste\nintercourse. Her parents take her to their village, where she has\nto live in a separate hut and earn her own livelihood. If any Bhuiya\nsteals from a Kol, Ganda or Ghasia he is permanently put out of caste,\nwhile for killing a cow the period of expulsion is twelve years. The\nemblem of the Bhuiyas is a sword, in reference to their employment as\nsoldiers, and this they affix to documents in place of their signature.\n\n\n\n\n\n\nBhulia\n\n\n_Bhulia, [376] Bholia, Bhoriya, Bholwa, Mihir, Mehar._--A caste of\nweavers in the Uriya country. In 1901 the Bhulias numbered 26,000\npersons, but with the transfer of Sambalpur and the Uriya States to\nBengal this figure has been reduced to 5000. A curious fact about the\ncaste is that though solely domiciled in the Uriya territories, many\nfamilies belonging to it talk Hindi in their own houses. According to\none of their traditions they immigrated to this part of the country\nwith the first Chauhan Raja of Patna, and it may be that they are\nmembers of some northern caste who have forgotten their origin and\ntaken to a fresh calling in the land of their adoption. The Koshtas of\nChhattisgarh have a subcaste called Bhoriya, and possibly the Bhulias\nhave some connection with these. The caste sometimes call themselves\nDevang, and Devang or Devangan is the name of another subcaste of\nKoshtis. Various local derivations of the name are current, generally\nconnecting it with _bhulna_, to forget. The Bhulias occupy a higher\nrank than the ordinary weavers, corresponding with that of the Koshtis\nelsewhere, and this is to some extent considered to be an unwarranted\npretension. Thus one saying has it: \"Formerly a son was born from a\nChandal woman; at that time none were aware of his descent or rank,\nand so he was called Bhulia (one who is forgotten). He took the loom\nin his hands and became the brother-in-law of the Ganda.\" The object\nhere is obviously to relegate the Bhulia to the same impure status\nas the Ganda. Again the Bhulias affect the honorific title of Meher,\nand another saying addresses them thus: \"Why do you call yourself\nMeher? You make a hole in the ground and put your legs into it and\nare like a cow with foot-and-mouth disease struggling in the mud.\" The\nallusion here is to the habit of the weaver of hollowing out a hole for\nhis feet as he sits before the loom, while cattle with foot-and-mouth\ndisease are made to stand in mud to cool and cleanse the feet.\n\nThe caste have no subcastes, except that in Kalahandi a degraded\nsection is recognised who are called Sanpara Bhulias, and with whom\nthe others refuse to intermarry. These are, there is little reason\nto doubt, the progeny of illicit unions. They say that they have two\n_gotras_, Nagas from the cobra and Kachhap from the tortoise. But these\nhave only been adopted for the sake of respectability, and exercise\nno influence on marriage, which is regulated by a number of exogamous\ngroups called _vansa_. The names of the _vansas_ are usually either\nderived from villages or are titles or nicknames. Two of them, Bagh\n(tiger) and Kimir (crocodile), are totemistic, while two more, Kumhar\n(potter) and Dhuba (washerman), are the names of other castes. Examples\nof titular names are Bankra (crooked), Ranjujha (warrior), Kodjit\n(one who has conquered a score of people) and others. The territorial\nnames are derived from those of villages where the caste reside at\npresent. Marriage within the _vansa_ is forbidden, but some of the\n_vansas_ have been divided into _bad_ and _san_, or great and small,\nand members of these may marry with each other, the subdivision having\nbeen adopted when the original group became so large as to include\npersons who were practically not relations. The binding portion of\nthe wedding ceremony is that the bridegroom should carry the bride\nin a basket seven times round the _hom_ or sacrificial fire. If he\ncannot do this, the girl's grandfather carries them both. After the\nceremony the pair return to the bridegroom's village, and are made to\nsleep on the same bed, some elder woman of the family lying between\nthem. After a few days the girl goes back to her parents and does\nnot rejoin her husband until she attains maturity. The remarriage\nof widows is permitted, and in Native States is not less costly to\nthe bridegroom than the regular ceremony. In Sonpur the suitor must\nproceed to the Raja and pay him twenty rupees for his permission,\nwhich is given in the shape of a present of rice and nuts. Similar\nsums are paid to the caste-fellows and the parents of the girl, and\nthe Raja's rice and nuts are then placed on the heads of the couple,\nwho become man and wife. Divorce may be effected at the instance of the\nhusband or the wife's parents on the mere ground of incompatibility of\ntemper. The position of the caste corresponds to that of the Koshtas;\nthat is, they rank below the good cultivating castes, but above the\nmenial and servile classes. They eat fowls and the flesh of wild pig,\nand drink liquor. A _liaison_ with one of the impure castes is the\nonly offence entailing permanent expulsion from social intercourse. A\ncurious rule is that in the case of a woman going wrong with a man of\nthe caste, the man only is temporarily outcasted and forced to pay a\nfine on readmission, while the woman escapes without penalty. They\nemploy Brahmans for ceremonial purposes. They are considered\nproverbially stupid, like the Koris in the northern Districts, but\nvery laborious. One saying about them is: \"The Kewat catches fish\nbut himself eats crabs, and the Bhulia weaves loin-cloths but himself\nwears only a rag\"; and another: \"A Bhulia who is idle is as useless\nas a confectioner's son who eats sweetmeats, or a moneylender's son\nwith a generous disposition, or a cultivator's son who is extravagant.\"\n\n\n\nBhunjia\n\n\n\n1. Origin and traditions.\n\n\n\n_Bhunjia. [377]_--A small Dravidian tribe residing in the\nBindranawagarh and Khariar zamindaris of the Raipur District, and\nnumbering about 7000 persons. The tribe was not returned outside this\narea in 1911, but Sherring mentions them in a list of the hill tribes\nof the Jaipur zamindari of Vizagapatam, which touches the extreme\nsouth of Bindranawagarh. The Bhunjias are divided into two branches,\nChaukhutia and Chinda, and the former have the following legend of\ntheir origin. On one occasion a Bhatra Gond named Bachar cast a net\ninto the Pairi river and brought out a stone. He threw the stone back\ninto the river and cast his net again, but a second and yet a third\ntime the stone came out. So he laid the stone on the bank of the\nriver and went back to his house, and that night he dreamt that the\nstone was Bura Deo, the great God of the Gonds. So he said: 'If this\ndream be true let me draw in a deer in my net to-morrow for a sign';\nand the next day the body of a deer appeared in his net. The stone\nthen called upon the Gond to worship him as Bura Deo, but the Gond\ndemurred to doing so himself, and said he would provide a substitute\nas a devotee. To this Bura Deo agreed, but said that Bachar, the Gond,\nmust marry his daughter to the substituted worshipper. The Gond then\nset out to search for somebody, and in the village of Lafandi he\nfound a Halba of the name of Konda, who was a cripple, deaf and dumb,\nblind, and a leper. He brought Konda to the stone, and on reaching\nit he was miraculously cured of all his ailments and gladly began\nto worship Bura Deo. He afterwards married the Gond's daughter and\nthey had a son called Chaukhutia Bhunjia, who was the ancestor of\nthe Chaukhutia division of the tribe. Now the term Chaukhutia in\nChhattisgarhi signifies a bastard, and the story related above is\nobviously intended to signify that the Chaukhutia Bhunjias are of\nmixed descent from the Gonds and Halbas. It is clearly with this\nend in view that the Gond is made to decline to worship the stone\nhimself and promise to find a substitute, an incident which is wholly\nunnatural and is simply dragged in to meet the case. The Chaukhutia\nsubtribe especially worship Bura Deo, and sing a song relating to\nthe finding of the stone in their marriage ceremony as follows:\n\n\n        Johar, johar Thakur Deota, Tumko lagon,\n        Do matia ghar men dine tumhare nam.\n        Johar, johar Konda, Tumko lagon,\n        Do matia ghar men, etc.\n        Johar, johar Bachar Jhakar Tumko lagon, etc.\n        Johar, johar Budha Raja Tumko lagon, etc.\n        Johar, johar Lafandi Mati Tumko lagon, etc.\n        Johar, johar Anand Mati Tumko lagon, etc.\n\n\nwhich may be rendered:\n\n\n    I make obeisance to thee, O Thakur Deo, I bow down to thee!\n    In thy name have I placed two pots in my house (as a mark of\n    respect).\n    I make obeisance to thee, O Konda Pujari, I bow down to thee!\n    In thy name have I placed two pots in my house.\n    I make obeisance to thee, O Bachar Jhakar!\n    In thy name have I placed two pots in my house.\n    I make obeisance to thee, O Budha Raja!\n    In thy name have I placed two pots in my house.\n    I make obeisance to thee, O Soil of Lafandi!\n    In thy name have I placed two pots in my house.\n    I make obeisance to thee, O Happy Spot!\n    In thy name have I placed two pots in my house.\n\n\nThe song refers to the incidents in the story. Thakur Deo is the\ntitle given to the divine stone, Konda is the Halba priest, and\nBachar the Gond who cast the net. Budha Raja, otherwise Singh Sei,\nis the Chief who was ruling in Bindranawagarh at the time, Lafandi the\nvillage where Konda Halba was found, and the Anand Mati or Happy Spot\nis that where the stone was taken out of the river. The majority of\nthe sept-names returned are of Gond origin, and there seems no doubt\nthat the Chaukhutias are, as the story says, of mixed descent from\nthe Halbas and Gonds. It is noticeable, however, that the Bhunjias,\nthough surrounded by Gonds on all sides, do not speak Gondi but a\ndialect of Hindi, which Sir G. Grierson considers to resemble that of\nthe Halbas, and also describes as \"A form of Chhattisgarhi which is\npractically the same as Baigani. It is a jargon spoken by Binjhwars,\nBhumias and Bhunjias of Raipur, Raigarh, Sarangarh and Patna in the\nCentral Provinces.\" [378] The Binjhwars also belong to the country\nof the Bhunjias, and one or two estates close to Bindranawagarh are\nheld by members of this tribe. The Chinda division of the Bhunjias\nhave a saying about themselves: '_Chinda Raja, Bhunjia Paik'_; and\nthey say that there was originally a Kamar ruler of Bindranawagarh who\nwas dispossessed by Chinda. The Kamars are a small and very primitive\ntribe of the same locality. _Paik_ means a foot-soldier, and it seems\ntherefore that the Bhunjias formed the levies of this Chinda, who may\nvery probably have been one of themselves. The term Bhunjia may perhaps\nsignify one who lives on the soil, from _bhum_, the earth, and _jia_,\ndependent on. The word _Birjia_, a synonym for Binjhwar, is similarly\na corruption of _bewar jia_, and means one who is dependent on _dahia_\nor patch cultivation. Sir H. Risley gives Birjia, Binjhia and Binjhwar\n[379] as synonymous terms, and Bhunjia may be another corruption of\nthe same sort. The Binjhwars are a Hinduised offshoot of the ancient\nBaiga tribe, who may probably have been in possession of the hills\nbordering the Chhattisgarh plain as well as of the Satpura range before\nthe advent of the Gonds, as the term Baiga is employed for a village\npriest over a large part of this area. It thus seems not improbable\nthat the Chinda Bhunjias may have been derived from the Binjhwars,\nand this would account for the fact that the tribe speaks a dialect\nof Hindi and not Gondi. As already seen, the Chaukhutia subcaste\nappear to be of mixed origin from the Gonds and Halbas, and as the\nChindas are probably descended from the Baigas, the Bhunjias may be\nconsidered to be an offshoot from these three important tribes.\n\n\n\n2. Subdivisions.\n\n\nOf the two subtribes already mentioned the Chaukhutia are recognised\nto be of illegitimate descent. As a consequence of this they strive to\nobtain increased social estimation by a ridiculously strict observance\nof the rules of ceremonial purity. If any man not of his own caste\ntouches the hut where a Chaukhutia cooks his food, it is entirely\nabandoned and a fresh one built. At the time of the census they\nthreatened to kill the enumerator if he touched their huts to affix the\ncensus number. Pegs had therefore to be planted in the ground a little\nin front of the huts and marked with their numbers. The Chaukhutia\nwill not eat food cooked by other members of his own community, and\nthis is a restriction found only among those of bastard descent, where\nevery man is suspicious of his neighbour's parentage. He will not take\nfood from the hands of his own daughter after she is married; as soon\nas the ceremony is over her belongings are at once removed from the\nhut, and even the floor beneath the seat of the bride and bridegroom\nduring the marriage ceremony is dug up and the surface earth thrown\naway to avoid any risk of defilement. Only when it is remembered that\nthese rules are observed by people who do not wash themselves from one\nweek's end to the other, and wear the same wisp of cloth about their\nloins until it comes to pieces, can the full absurdity of such customs\nas the above be appreciated. But the tendency appears to be of the\nsame kind as the intense desire for respectability so often noticed\namong the lower classes in England. The Chindas, whose pedigree is\nmore reliable, are far less particular about their social purity.\n\n\n\n3. Marriage.\n\n\nAs already stated, the exogamous divisions of the Bhunjias are derived\nfrom those of the Gonds. Among the Chaukhutias it is considered a\ngreat sin if the signs of puberty appear in a girl before she is\nmarried, and to avoid this, if no husband has been found for her,\nthey perform a 'Kand Byah' or 'Arrow Marriage': the girl walks seven\ntimes round an arrow fixed in the ground, and is given away without\nceremony to the man who by previous arrangement has brought the\narrow. If a girl of the Chinda group goes wrong with an outsider\nbefore marriage and becomes pregnant, the matter is hushed up, but\nif she is a Chaukhutia it is said that she is finally expelled from\nthe community, the same severe course being adopted even when she is\nnot pregnant if there is reason to suppose that the offence has been\ncommitted. A proposal for marriage among the Chaukhutias is made on\nthe boy's behalf by two men who are known as Mahalia and Jangalia, and\nare supposed to represent a Nai (barber) and Dhimar (water-carrier),\nthough they do not actually belong to these castes. As among the\nGonds, the marriage takes place at the bridegroom's village, and\nthe Mahalia and Jangalia act as stewards of the ceremony, and are\nentrusted with the rice, pulse, salt, oil and other provisions, the\nbridegroom's family having no function in the matter except to pay\nfor them. The provisions are all stored in a separate hut, and when\nthe time for the feast has come they are distributed raw to all the\nguests, each family of whom cook for themselves. The reason for this\nis, as already explained, that each one is afraid of losing status\nby eating with other members of the tribe. The marriage is solemnised\nby walking round the sacred post, and the ceremony is conducted by a\nhereditary priest known as Dinwari, a member of the tribe, whose line\nit is believed will never become extinct. Among the Chinda Bhunjias\nthe bride goes away with her husband, and in a short time returns with\nhim to her parents' house for a few days, to make an offering to the\ndeities. But the Chaukhutias will not allow her, after she has lived\nin her father-in-law's house, to return to her home. In future if she\ngoes to visit her parents she must stay outside the house and cook\nher food separately. Widow-marriage and divorce are permitted, but\na husband will often overlook transgressions on the part of his wife\nand only put her away when her conduct has become an open scandal. In\nsuch a case he will either quietly leave house and wife and settle\nalone in another village, or have his wife informed by means of a\nneighbour that if she does not leave the village he will do so. It\nis not the custom to bring cases before the tribal committee or to\nclaim damages. A special tie exists between a man and his sister's\nchildren. The marriage of a brother's son or daughter to a sister's\ndaughter or son is considered the most suitable. A man will not allow\nhis sister's children to eat the leavings of food on his plate, though\nhis own children may do so. This is a special token of respect to his\nsister's children. He will not chastise his sister's children, even\nthough they deserve it. And it is considered especially meritorious for\na man to pay for the wedding ceremony of his sister's son or daughter.\n\n\n\n4. Religion.\n\n\nEvery third year in the month of Chait (March) the tribe offer a\ngoat and a cocoanut to Mata, the deity of cholera and smallpox. They\nbow daily to the sun with folded hands, and believe that he is of\nspecial assistance to them in the liquidation of debt, which the\nBhunjias consider a primary obligation. When a debt has been paid\noff they offer a cocoanut to the sun as a mark of gratitude for\nhis assistance. They also pay great reverence to the tortoise. They\ncall the tortoise the footstool (_pidha_) of God, and have adopted\nthe Hindu theory that the earth is supported by a tortoise swimming\nin the midst of the ocean. Professor Tylor explains as follows how\nthis belief arose: [380] \"To man in the lower levels of science the\nearth is a flat plain over which the sky is placed like a dome as the\narched upper shell of the tortoise stands upon the flat plate below,\nand this is why the tortoise is the symbol or representative of the\nworld.\" It is said that Bhunjia women are never allowed to sit either\non a footstool or a bed-cot, because these are considered to be the\nseats of the deities. They consider it disrespectful to walk across\nthe shadow of any elderly person, or to step over the body of any human\nbeing or revered object on the ground. If they do this inadvertently,\nthey apologise to the person or thing. If a man falls from a tree he\nwill offer a chicken to the tree-spirit.\n\n\n\n5. Social rules.\n\n\nThe tribe will eat pork, but abstain from beef and the flesh of\nmonkeys. Notwithstanding their strictness of social observance, they\nrank lower than the Gonds, and only the Kamars will accept food from\ntheir hands. A man who has got maggots in a wound is purified by\nbeing given to drink water, mixed with powdered turmeric, in which\nsilver and copper rings have been dipped. Women are secluded during\nthe menstrual period for as long as eight days, and during this time\nthey may not enter the dwelling-hut nor touch any article belonging to\nit. The Bhunjias take their food on plates of leaves, and often a whole\nfamily will have only one brass vessel, which will be reserved for\nproduction on the visit of a guest. But no strangers can be admitted\nto the house, and a separate hut is kept in the village for their\nuse. Here they are given uncooked grain and pulse, which they prepare\nfor themselves. When the women go out to work they do not leave their\nbabies in the house, but carry them tied up in a small rag under the\narm. They have no knowledge of medicine and are too timid to enter a\nGovernment dispensary. Their panacea for most diseases is branding the\nskin with a hot iron, which is employed indifferently for headache,\npains in the stomach and rheumatism. Mr. Pyare Lal notes that one\nof his informants had recently been branded for rheumatism on both\nknees and said that he felt much relief.\n\n\n\n\n\n\nBinjhwar\n\n\n\nList of Paragraphs\n\n\n    1. _Origin and tradition._\n    2. _Tribal subdivisions._\n    3. _Marriage._\n    4. _The marriage ceremony._\n    5. _Sexual morality._\n    6. _Disposal of the dead._\n    7. _Religion._\n    8. _Festivals._\n    9. _Social customs._\n\n\n\n1. Origin and tradition.\n\n\n_Binjhwar, Binjhal._ [381]--A comparatively civilised Dravidian\ntribe, or caste formed from a tribe, found in the Raipur and Bilaspur\nDistricts and the adjoining Uriya country. In 1911 the Binjhwars\nnumbered 60,000 persons in the Central Provinces. There is little\nor no doubt that the Binjhwars are an offshoot of the primitive\nBaiga tribe of Mandla and Balaghat, who occupy the Satpura or Maikal\nhills to the north of the Chhattisgarh plain. In these Districts a\nBinjhwar subdivision of the Baigas exists; it is the most civilised\nand occupies the highest rank in the tribe. In Bhandara is found the\nInjhwar caste who are boatmen and cultivators. This caste is derived\nfrom the Binjhwar subdivision of the Baigas, and the name Injhwar\nis simply a corruption of Binjhwar. Neither the Binjhwars nor the\nBaigas are found except in the territories above mentioned, and it\nseems clear that the Binjhwars are a comparatively civilised section\nof the Baigas, who have become a distinct caste. They are in fact the\nlandholding section of the Baigas, like the Raj-Gonds among the Gonds\nand the Bhilalas among Bhils. The zamindars of Bodasamar, Rampur,\nBhatgaon and other estates to the south and east of the Chhattlsgarh\nplain belong to this tribe. But owing to the change of name their\nconnection with the parent Baigas has now been forgotten. The name\nBinjhwar is derived from the Vindhya hills, and the tribe still worship\nthe goddess Vindhyabasini of these hills as their tutelary deity. They\nsay that their ancestors migrated from Binjhakop to Lampa, which may be\neither Lamta in Balaghat or Laphagarh in Bilaspur. The hills of Mandla,\nthe home of perhaps the most primitive Baigas, are quite close to the\nVindhya range. The tribe say that their original ancestors were _Barah\nbhai betkar_, or the twelve Brother Archers. They were the sons of\nthe goddess Vindhyabasini. One day they were out shooting and let off\ntheir arrows, which flew to the door of the great temple at Puri and\nstuck in it. Nobody in the place was able to pull them out, not even\nwhen the king's elephants were brought and harnessed to them; till\nat length the brothers arrived and drew them forth quite easily with\ntheir hands, and the king was so pleased with their feat that he gave\nthem the several estates which their descendants now hold. The story\nrecalls that of Arthur and the magic sword. According to another legend\nthe mother of the first Raja of Patna, a Chauhan Rajput, had fled from\nnorthern India to Sambalpur after her husband and relations had been\nkilled in battle. She took refuge in a Binjhwar's hut and bore a son\nwho became Raja of Patna; and in reward for the protection afforded to\nhis mother he gave the Binjhwar the Bodasamar estate, requiring only\nof him and his descendants the tribute of a silk cloth on accession to\nthe zamindari; and this has been rendered ever since by the zamindars\nof Bodasamar to the Rajas of Patna as a mark of fealty. It is further\nstated that the twelve archers when they fired the memorable arrows in\nthe forest were in pursuit of a wild boar; and the landholding class of\nBinjhwars are called Bariha from _barah_, a boar. As is only fitting,\nthe Binjhwars have taken the arrow as their tribal symbol or mark;\ntheir cattle are branded with it, and illiterate Binjhwars sign it\nin place of their name. If a husband cannot be found for a girl she\nis sometimes married to an arrow. At a Binjhwar wedding an arrow\nis laid on the trunk of mahua [382] which forms the marriage-post,\nand honours are paid to it as representing the bridegroom.\n\n\n\n2. Tribal subdivisions.\n\n\nThe tribe have four subdivisions, the Binjhwars proper, the Sonjharas,\nthe Birjhias and the Binjhias. The Sonjharas consist of those who\ntook to washing for gold in the sands of the Mahanadi, and it may\nbe noted that a separate caste of Sonjharas is also in existence in\nthis locality besides the Binjhwar group. The Birjhias are those who\npractised _bewar_ or shifting cultivation in the forests, the name\nbeing derived from _bewarjia_, one living by _bewar_-sowing. Binjhia is\nsimply a diminutive form of Binjhwar, but in Bilaspur it is sometimes\nregarded as a separate caste. The zamindar of Bhatgaon belongs to\nthis group. The tribe have also exogamous divisions, the names of\nwhich are of a diverse character, and on being scrutinised show a\nmixture of foreign blood. Among totemistic names are Bagh, a tiger;\nPod, a buffalo; Kamalia, the lotus flower; Panknali, the water-crow;\nTar, the date-palm; Jal, a net, and others. Some of the sections\nare nicknames, as Udhar, a debtor; Marai Meli Bagh, one who carried\na dead tiger; Ultum, a talker; Jalia, a liar; Kessal, one who has\nshaved a man, and so on. Several are the names of other castes, as\nLohar, Dudh Kawaria, Bhil, Banka and Majhi, indicating that members\nof these castes have become Binjhwars and have founded families. The\nsept names also differ in different localities; the Birjhia subtribe\nwho live in the same country as the Mundas have several Munda names\namong their septs, as Munna, Son, Solai; while the Binjhwars who are\nneighbours of the Gonds have Gond sept names, as Tekam, Sonwani, and\nothers. This indicates that there has been a considerable amount of\nintermarriage with the surrounding tribes, as is the case generally\namong the lower classes of the population in Chhattisgarh. Even now if\na woman of any caste from whom the Binjhwars will take water to drink\nforms a connection with a man of the tribe, though she herself must\nremain in an irregular position, her children will be considered as\nfull members of it. The Barhias or landowning group have now adopted\nnames of Sanskrit formation, as Gajendra, an elephant, Rameswar, the\ngod Rama, and Nageshwar, the cobra deity. Two of their septs are named\nLohar (blacksmith) and Kumhar (potter), and may be derived from members\nof these castes who became Binjhwars or from Binjhwars who took up the\noccupations. At a Binjhwar wedding the presence of a person belonging\nto each of the Lohar and Kumhar septs is essential, the reason being\nprobably the estimation in which the two handicrafts were held when\nthe Binjhwars first learnt them from their Hindu neighbours.\n\n\n\n3. Marriage.\n\n\nIn Sambalpur there appears to be no system of exogamous groups, and\nmarriage is determined simply by relationship. The union of agnates\nis avoided as long as the connection can be traced between them, but\non the mother's side all except first cousins may marry. Marriage\nis usually adult, and girls are sometimes allowed to choose their\nown husbands. A bride-price of about eight _khandis_ (1400 lbs.) of\nunhusked rice is paid. The ceremony is performed at the bridegroom's\nhouse, to which the bride proceeds after bidding farewell to her\nfamily and friends in a fit of weeping. Weddings are avoided during\nthe four months of the rainy season, and in Chait (March) because it\nis inauspicious, Jeth (May) because it is too hot, and Pus (December)\nbecause it is the last month of the year among the Binjhwars. The\nmarriage ceremony should begin on a Sunday, when the guests are\nwelcomed and their feet washed. On Monday the formal reception of the\nbride takes place, the Gandsan or scenting ceremony follows on Tuesday,\nand on Wednesday is the actual wedding. At the scenting ceremony seven\nmarried girls dressed in new clothes dyed yellow with turmeric conduct\nthe bridegroom round the central post; one holds a dish containing\nrice, mango leaves, myrobalans and betel-nuts, and a second sprinkles\nwater from a small pot. At each round the bridegroom is made to throw\nsome of the condiments from the dish on to the wedding-post, and after\nthe seven rounds he is seated and is rubbed with oil and turmeric.\n\n\n\n4. The marriage ceremony.\n\n\nAmong the Birjhias a trunk of mahua with two branches is erected in\nthe marriage-shed, and on this a dagger is placed in a winnowing-fan\nfilled with rice, the former representing the bridegroom and the\nlatter the bride. The bride first goes round the post seven times\nalone, and then the bridegroom, and after this they go round it\ntogether. A plough is brought and they stand upon the yoke, and seven\ncups of water having been collected from seven different houses,\nfour are poured over the bridegroom and three over the bride. Some\nmen climb on to the top of the shed and pour pots of water down on to\nthe couple. This is now said to be done only as a joke. Next morning\ntwo strong men take the bridegroom and bride, who are usually grown\nup, on their backs, and the parties pelt each other with unhusked\nrice. Then the bridegroom holds the bride in his arms from behind and\nthey stand facing the sun, while some old man ties round their feet\na thread specially spun by a virgin. The couple stand for some time\nand then fall to the ground as if dazzled by his rays, when water is\nagain poured over their bodies to revive them. Lastly, an old man\ntakes the arrow from the top of the marriage-post and draws three\nlines with it on the ground to represent the Hindu trinity, Brahma,\nVishnu and Siva, and the bridegroom jumps over these holding the bride\nin his arms. The couple go to bathe in a river or tank, and on the\nway home the bridegroom shoots seven arrows at an image of a sambhar\ndeer made with straw. At the seventh shot the bride's brother takes\nthe arrow, and running away and hiding it in his cloth lies down at\nthe entrance of the bridegroom's house. The couple go up to him, and\nthe bridegroom examines his body with suspicion, pretending to think\nthat he is dead. He draws the arrow out of his cloth and points to\nsome blood which has been previously sprinkled on the ground. After\na time the boy gets up and receives some liquor as a reward. This\nprocedure may perhaps be a symbolic survival of marriage by capture,\nthe bridegroom killing the bride's brother before carrying her off,\nor more probably, perhaps, the boy may represent a dead deer. In\nsome of the wilder tracts the man actually waylays and seizes the\ngirl before the wedding, the occasion being previously determined,\nand the women of her family trying to prevent him. If he succeeds in\ncarrying her off they stay for three or four days in the forest and\nthen return and are married.\n\n\n\n5. Sexual morality.\n\n\nIf a Binjhwar girl is seduced and rendered pregnant by a man of the\ntribe, the people exact a feast and compel them to join their hands\nin an informal manner before the caste committee, the tie thus formed\nbeing considered as indissoluble as a formal marriage. Polygamy is\npermitted; a Binjhwar zamindar marries a new wife, who is known as\nPat Rani, to celebrate his accession to his estates, even though he\nmay have five or six already.\n\nDivorce is recognised but is not very common, and a married woman\nhaving an intrigue with another Binjhwar is often simply made over\nto him and they live as husband and wife. If this man does not wish\nto take her she can live with any other, conjugal morality being very\nloose in Sambalpur. In Bodasamar a fine of from one to ten rupees is\npayable to the zamindar in the case of each divorce, and a feast must\nalso be given to the caste-fellows.\n\n\n\n6. Disposal of the dead.\n\n\nThe tribe usually bury the dead, and on the third day they place on\nthe grave some uncooked rice and a lighted lamp. As soon as an insect\nflies to the lamp they catch it, and placing it in a cake of flour\ncarry this to a stream, where it is worshipped with an offering of\ncoloured rice. It is then thrust into the sand or mud in the bed of\nthe stream with a grass broom. This ceremony is called Kharpani or\n'Grass and Water,' and appears to be a method of disposing of the\ndead man's spirit. It is not performed at all for young children,\nwhile, on the other hand, in the case of respected elders a second\nceremony is carried out of the same nature, being known as Badapani or\n'Great Water.' On this occasion the _jiva_ or soul is worshipped with\ngreater pomp. Except in the case of wicked souls, who are supposed\nto become malignant ghosts, the Binjhwars do not seem to have any\ndefinite belief in a future life. They say, '_Je maris te saris_,'\nor 'That which is dead is rotten and gone.'\n\n\n\n7. Religion.\n\n\nThe tribe worship the common village deities of Chhattisgarh,\nand extend their veneration to Bura Deo, the principal god of the\nGonds. They venerate their daggers, spears and arrows on the day of\nDasahra, and every third year their tutelary goddess Vindhyabasini is\ncarried in procession from village to village. Mr. Mian Bhai gives the\nfollowing list of precepts as forming the Binjhwar's moral code:--Not\nto commit adultery outside the caste; not to eat beef; not to murder;\nnot to steal; not to swear falsely before the caste committee. The\ntribe have _gurus_ or spiritual preceptors, whom he describes as\nthe most ignorant Bairagis, very little better than impostors. When\na boy or girl grows up the Bairagi comes and whispers the _Karn\nmantra_ or spell in his ear, also hanging a necklace of _tulsi_\n(basil) beads round his neck; for this the _guru_ receives a cloth,\na cocoanut and a cash payment of four annas to a rupee. Thereafter he\nvisits his disciples annually at harvest time and receives a present\nof grain from them.\n\n\n\n8. Festivals.\n\n\nOn the 11th of Bhadon (August) the tribe celebrate the _karma_\nfestival, which is something like May-Day or a harvest feast. The\nyouths and maidens go to the forest and bring home a young _karma_\ntree, singing, dancing and beating drums. Offerings are made to the\ntree, and then the whole village, young and old, drink and dance\nround it all through the night. Next morning the tree is taken to\nthe nearest stream or tank and consigned to it. After this the young\ngirls of five or six villages make up a party and go about to the\ndifferent villages accompanied by drummers and Ganda musicians. They\nare entertained for the night, and next morning dance for five or\nsix hours in the village and then go on to another.\n\n\n\n9. Social customs.\n\n\nThe tribe are indiscriminate in their diet, which includes pork,\nsnakes, rats, and even carnivorous animals, as panthers. They refuse\nonly beef, monkeys and the leavings of others. The wilder Binjhwars of\nthe forests will not accept cooked food from any other caste, but those\nwho live in association with Hindus will take it when cooked without\nwater from a few of the higher ones. The tribe are not considered as\nimpure. Their dress is very simple, consisting as a rule only of one\ndirty white piece of cloth in the case of both men and women. Their\nhair is unkempt, and they neither oil nor comb it. A genuine Binjhwar\nof the hills wears long frizzled hair with long beard and moustaches,\nbut in the open country they cut their hair and shave the chin. Every\nBinjhwar woman is tattooed either before or just after her marriage,\nwhen she has attained to the age of adolescence. A man will not touch\nor accept food from a woman who is not tattooed on the feet. The\nexpenses must be paid either by the woman's parents or her brothers\nand not by her husband. The practice is carried to an extreme, and\nmany women have the upper part of the chest, the arms from shoulder to\nwrist, and the feet and legs up to the knee covered with devices. On\nthe chest and arms the patterns are in the shape of flowers and leaves,\nwhile along the leg a succession of zigzag lines are pricked. The\nBinjhwars are usually cultivators and labourers, while, as already\nstated, several zamindari and other estates are owned by members of the\ntribe. Binjhwars also commonly hold the office of Jhankar or priest\nof the village gods in the Sambalpur District, as the Baigas do in\nMandla and Balaghat. In Sambalpur the Jhankar or village priest is a\nuniversal and recognised village servant of fairly high status. His\nbusiness is to conduct the worship of the local deities of the soil,\ncrops, forests and hills, and he generally has a substantial holding,\nrent free, containing some of the best land in the village. It is\nsaid locally that the Jhankar is looked on as the founder of the\nvillage, and the representative of the old owners who were ousted\nby the Hindus. He worships on their behalf the indigenous deities,\nwith whom he naturally possesses a more intimate acquaintance than\nthe later immigrants; while the gods of these latter cannot be relied\non to exercise a sufficient control over the works of nature in the\nforeign land to which they have been imported, or to ensure that the\nearth and the seasons will regularly perform their necessary functions\nin producing sustenance for mankind.\n\n\n\n\n\n\nBishnoi\n\n\n\nList of Paragraphs\n\n\n    1. _Origin of the sect._\n    2. _Precepts of Jhambaji._\n    3. _Customs of the Bishnois in the Punjab._\n    4. _Initiation and baptism._\n    5. _Nature of the sect._\n    6. _Bishnois in the Central Provinces._\n    7. _Marriage._\n    8. _Disposal of the dead._\n    9. _Development into a caste._\n\n\n\n1. Origin of the sect.\n\n\n_Bishnoi._ [383]--A Hindu sect which has now developed into a\ncaste. The sect was founded in the Punjab, and the Bishnois are\nimmigrants from northern India. In the Central Provinces they\nnumbered about 1100 persons in 1911, nearly all of whom belonged\nto the Hoshangabad District. The best description of the sect is\ncontained in Mr. Wilson's _Sirsa Settlement Report_ (quoted in Sir\nE. Maclagan's _Census Report of the Punjab_ for 1891), from which the\nfollowing details are taken: \"The name Bishnoi means a worshipper of\nVishnu. The founder of the sect was a Panwar Rajput named Jhambaji,\nwho was born in a village of Bikaner State in A.D. 1451. His father\nhad hitherto remained childless, and being greatly oppressed by this\nmisfortune had been promised a son by a Muhammadan Fakir. After nine\nmonths Jhambaji was born and showed his miraculous origin in various\nways, such as producing sweets from nothing for the delectation\nof his companions. Until he was thirty-four years old he spoke no\nword and was employed in tending his father's cattle. At this time\na Brahman was sent for to get him to speak, and on confessing his\nfailure, Jhambaji showed his power by lighting a lamp with a snap\nof his fingers and spoke his first word. He adopted the life of a\nteacher and went to reside on a sandhill some thirty miles south of\nBikaner. In 1485 a fearful famine desolated the country, and Jhambaji\ngained an enormous number of disciples by providing food for all\nwho would declare their belief in him. He is said to have died on\nhis sandhill at the good old age of eighty-four, and to have been\nburied at a spot about a mile distant from it. A further account\nsays that his body remained suspended for six months in the bier\nwithout decomposing. His name Jhambaji was a contraction of Achambha\n(The Wonder), with the honorific suffix _ji_.\n\n\n\n2. Precepts of Jhambaji.\n\n\n\"The sayings (_shabd_) of Jhambaji, to the number of one hundred and\ntwenty, were recorded by his disciples, and have been handed down in\na book (_pothi_) which is written in the Nagari character, and in a\nHindu dialect similar to Bagri and therefore probably a dialect of\nRajasthani. The following is a translation of the twenty-nine precepts\ngiven by him for the guidance of his followers: 'For thirty days\nafter childbirth and five days after a menstrual discharge a woman\nmust not cook food. Bathe in the morning. Commit no adultery. Be\ncontent. Be abstemious and pure. Strain your drinking-water. Be\ncareful of your speech. Examine your fuel in case any living creature\nbe burnt with it. Show pity to living creatures. Keep duty present\nto your mind as the teacher bade. Do not steal. Do not speak evil\nof others. Do not tell lies. Never quarrel. Avoid opium, tobacco,\n_bhang_ and blue clothing. Flee from spirits and flesh. See that your\ngoats are kept alive (not sold to Musalmans, who will kill them for\nfood). Do not plough with bullocks. Keep a fast on the day before the\nnew moon. Do not cut green trees. Sacrifice with fire. Say prayers;\nmeditate. Perform worship and attain heaven.' And the last of the\ntwenty-nine duties prescribed by the teacher: 'Baptise your children\nif you would be called a true Bishnoi.' [384]\n\n\n\n3. Customs of the Bishnois in the Punjab.\n\n\n\"Some of these precepts are not strictly obeyed. For instance, though\nordinarily they allow no blue in their clothing, yet a Bishnoi,\nif he is a police constable, is allowed to wear a blue uniform;\nand Bishnois do use bullocks, though most of their farming is done\nwith camels. They also seem to be generally quarrelsome (in words)\nand given to use bad language. But they abstain from tobacco, drugs\nand spirits, and are noted for their regard for animal life, which is\nsuch that not only will they not themselves kill any living creature,\nbut they do their utmost to prevent others from doing so. Consequently\ntheir villages are generally swarming with antelope and other animals,\nand they forbid their Musalman neighbours to kill them, and try to\ndissuade European sportsmen from interfering with them. They wanted to\nmake it a condition of their settlement that no one should be allowed\nto shoot on their land, but at the same time they asked that they\nmight be assessed at lower rates than their neighbours, on the ground\nthat the antelope, being thus left undisturbed, did more damage to\ntheir crops; but I told them that this would lessen the merit (_pun_)\nof their actions in protecting the animals, and they must be treated\njust as the surrounding villages were. They consider it a good deed to\nscatter grain to pigeons and other birds, and often have a large number\nof half-tame birds about their villages. The day before the new moon\n(Amawas) they observe as a Sabbath and fast-day, doing no work in the\nfields or in the house. They bathe and pray three times a day, in the\nmorning, afternoon and evening, saying 'Bishnu! Bishnu!' instead of\nthe ordinary Hindu 'Ram! Ram.' Their clothing is the same as that of\nother Bagris, except that their women do not allow the waist to be\nseen, and are fond of wearing black woollen clothing. They are more\nparticular about ceremonial purity than ordinary Hindus are, and it is\na common saying that if a Bishnoi's food is on the first of a string of\ntwenty camels and a man of another caste touches the last camel of the\nstring, the Bishnoi would consider his food defiled and throw it away.\"\n\n\n\n4. Initiation and baptism.\n\n\nThe ceremony of initiation is as follows: \"A number of representative\nBishnois assemble, and before them a Sadh or Bishnoi priest, after\nlighting a sacrificial fire (_hom_), instructs the novice in the duties\nof the faith. He then takes some water in a new earthen vessel, over\nwhich he prays in a set form (_Bishno gayatri_), stirring it the while\nwith his string of beads (_mala_), and after asking the consent of\nthe assembled Bishnois he pours the water three times into the hands\nof the novice, who drinks it off. The novice's scalp-lock (_choti_)\nis then cut off and his head shaved, for the Bishnois shave the whole\nhead and do not leave a scalp-lock like the Hindus, but they allow the\nbeard to grow, only shaving the chin on the father's death. Infant\nbaptism is also practised, and thirty days after birth the child,\nwhether boy or girl, is baptised by the priest (Sadh) in much the\nsame way as an adult; only the set form of prayer is different, and\nthe priest pours a few drops of water into the child's mouth, and\ngives the child's relatives each three handfuls of the consecrated\nwater to drink; at the same time the barber clips off the child's\nhair. The baptismal ceremony has the effect of purifying the house,\nwhich has been made impure by the birth (_sutak_).\n\n\"The Bishnois do not revere Brahmans, but have priests of their own\nknown as Sadh, who are chosen from among the laity. The priests are\na hereditary class, and do not intermarry with other Bishnois, from\nwhom, like Brahmans, they receive food and offerings. The Bishnois do\nnot burn their dead, but bury them below the cattle-shed or in some\nplace like a pen frequented by cattle. They make pilgrimages to the\nplace where Jhambaji is buried to the south of Bikaner; here a tomb\nand temple have been erected to his memory, and gatherings are held\ntwice a year. The sect observe the Holi in a different way from other\nHindus. After sunset on that day they fast till the next forenoon\nwhen, after hearing read the account of how Prahlad was tortured by\nhis infidel father, Hrianya Kasipu, for believing in the god Vishnu,\nuntil he was delivered by the god himself in his incarnation of\nNarsingh, the Man-lion, and mourning over Prahlad's sufferings, they\nlight a sacrificial fire and partake of consecrated water, and after\ndistributing sugar (_gur_) in commemoration of Prahlad's delivery\nfrom the fire into which he was thrown, they break their fast.\"\n\n\n\n5. Nature of the sect.\n\n\nThe above interesting account of the Bishnois by Mr. Wilson shows that\nJhambaji was a religious reformer, who attempted to break loose from\nthe debased Hindu polytheism and arrogant supremacy of the Brahmans\nby choosing one god, Vishnu, out of the Hindu pantheon and exalting\nhim into the sole and supreme deity. In his method he thus differed\nfrom Kabir and other reformers, who went outside Hinduism altogether,\npreaching a monotheistic faith with one unseen and nameless deity. The\ncase of the Manbhaos, whose unknown founder made Krishna the one\ngod, discarding the Vedas and the rest of Hinduism, is analogous\nto Jhambaji's movement. His creed much resembles that of the other\nHindu reformers and founders of the Vaishnavite sects. The extreme\ntenderness for animal life is a characteristic of most of them,\nand would be fostered by the Hindu belief in the transmigration of\nsouls. The prohibition of liquor is another common feature, to which\nJhambaji added that of all kinds of drugs. His mind, like those of\nKabir and Nanak, was probably influenced by the spectacle of the\ncomparatively liberal creed of Islam, which had now taken root in\nnorthern India. Mr. Crooke remarks that the Bishnois of Bijnor appear\nto differ from those of the Punjab in using the Muhammadan form of\nsalutation, _Salam alaikum_, and the title of Shaikhji. They account\nfor this by saying they murdered a Muhammadan Kazi, who prevented\nthem from burning a widow, and were glad to compound the offence\nby pretending to adopt Islam. But it seems possible that on their\nfirst rupture with Hinduism they were to some extent drawn towards\nthe Muhammadans, and adopted practices of which, on tending again to\nconform to their old religion, they have subsequently become ashamed.\n\n\n\n6. Bishnois in the Central Provinces.\n\n\nIn northern India the members of different castes who have become\nBishnois have formed separate endogamous groups, of which Mr. Crooke\ngives nine; among these are the Brahman, Bania, Jat, Sunar, Ahir and\nNai Bishnois. Only members of comparatively good castes appear to have\nbeen admitted into the community, and in the Punjab they are nearly\nall Jats and Banias. In the Central Provinces the caste forms only\none endogamous group. They have _gotras_ or exogamous sections, the\nnames of which appear to be of the titular or territorial type. Some\nof the _gotras_, Jhuria, Ajna, Sain and Ahir, [385] are considered\nto be lower than the others, and though they are not debarred from\nintermarriage, a connection with them is looked upon as something of\na _mesalliance_. They are not consulted in the settlement of tribal\ndisputes. No explanation of the comparatively degraded position of\nthese septs is forthcoming, but it may probably be attributed to\nsome blot in their ancestral escutcheon. The Bishnois celebrate\ntheir marriages at any period of the year, and place no reliance\non astrology. According to their saying, \"Every day is as good as\nSankrant, [386] every day is as good as Amawas. [387] The Ganges flows\nevery day, and he whose preceptor has taught him the most truth will\nget the most good from bathing in it.\"\n\n\n\n7. Marriage.\n\n\nBefore a wedding the bride's father sends, by the barber, a cocoanut\nand a silver ring tied round it with a yellow thread. On the thread\nare seven, nine, eleven or thirteen knots, signifying the number of\ndays to elapse before the ceremony. The barber on his arrival stands\noutside the door of the house, and the bridegroom's father sends\nround to all the families of his caste. The men go to the house and\nthe women come singing to the barber, and rub turmeric on the boy. A\nmarried woman touches the cocoanut and waves a lighted lamp seven\ntimes round the bridegroom's head. This is meant to scare off evil\nspirits. On arrival at the bride's village the bridegroom touches\nthe marriage-shed with the branch of a _ber_ or wild plum tree. The\nmother of the bride gives him some sugar, rubs lamp-black on his\neyes and twists his nose. The bride and bridegroom are seated side by\nside on wooden boards, and after the caste priest (Sadh) has chanted\nsome sacred verses, water is poured nine times on to the palms of\nthe bridegroom, and he drinks it. They do not perform the ceremony\nof walking round the sacred pole. Girls are usually married at a very\nearly age, sometimes when they are only a few months old. Subsequently,\nwhen the bridegroom comes to take his bride, her family present her\nwith clothing and a spinning-wheel, this implement being still in\nfavour among the Bishnois. When a widow is to be married again she\nis taken to her new husband's house at night, and there grinds a\nflour-mill five times, being afterwards presented with lac bangles.\n\n\n\n8. Disposal of the dead.\n\n\nThe dead are never burnt, but their bodies are weighted with sand-bags\nand thrown into a stream. The practice which formerly prevailed among\nthe Bishnois of burying their dead in the courtyard of the house by\nthe cattle-stalls has now fallen into desuetude as being insanitary. A\nred cloth is spread over the body of a woman, and if her maternal\nrelatives are present each of them places a piece of cloth on the\nbier. After the funeral the mourning party proceed to a river to\nbathe, and then cook and eat their food on the bank. This custom is\nalso followed by the Panwar Rajputs of the Wainganga Valley, but is\nforbidden by most of the good Hindu castes. No period of impurity is\nobserved after a death, but on some day between the fourth and tenth\ndays afterwards a feast is given to the caste-fellows.\n\n\n\n9. Development into a caste.\n\n\nThe Bishnois of the Central Provinces are gradually becoming an\nordinary Hindu caste, a fate which has several times befallen the\nadherents of Hindu reformers. Many of the precepts of Jhambaji are\nneglected. They still usually strain their water and examine their fuel\nbefore burning it to remove insects, and they scatter flour to feed the\nants and grain for peacocks and pigeons. The wearing of blue cloth is\navoided by most, blue being for an obscure reason a somewhat unlucky\ncolour among the Hindus. But they now use bullocks for ploughing, and\ncut green trees except on the Amawas day. Many of them, especially\nthe younger generation, have begun to grow the Hindu _choti_ or\nscalp-lock. They go on pilgrimage to all the Hindu sacred places, and\nno doubt make presents there to Brahman priests. They offer _pindas_\nor sacrificial cakes to the spirits of their deceased ancestors. They\nobserve some of the ordinary Hindu festivals, as the Anant Chaturthi,\nand some of them employ Brahmans to read the Satya Narayan Katha,\nthe favourite Hindu sacred book. They still retain their special\nobservance of the Holi. The admission of proselytes has practically\nceased, and they marry among themselves like an ordinary Hindu caste,\nin which light they are gradually coming to be regarded. The Bishnois\nare usually cultivators or moneylenders by calling.\n\n\n\n\n\n\nBohra\n\n\n\nList of Paragraphs\n\n\n    1. _Origin of the sect._\n    2. _Their religious tenets._\n    3. _The Mullahs._\n    4. _Bohra graveyards._\n    5. _Religious customs._\n    6. _Occupation._\n    7. _Houses and dress._\n\n\n\n1. Origin of the sect.\n\n\n_Bohra, Bohora._ [388]--A Muhammadan caste of traders who come\nfrom Gujarat and speak Gujarati. At the last census they numbered\nnearly 5000 persons, residing principally in the Nimar, Nagpur and\nAmraoti Districts, Burhanpur being the headquarters of the sect in\nthe Central Provinces. The name is probably derived from the Hindi\n_byohara_, a trader. Members of the caste are honorifically addressed\nas Mullaji. According to the received account of the rise of the\nBohras in Gujarat a missionary, Abdulla, came from Yemen to Cambay\nin A.D. 1067. By his miracles he converted the great king Sidhraj\nof Anhilvada Patan in Gujarat, and he with numbers of his subjects\nembraced the new faith. For two centuries and a half the Bohras\nflourished, but with the establishment of Muzaffar Shah's power\n(A.D. 1390-1413) in that country the spread of Sunni doctrines was\nencouraged and the Bohra and other Shia sects suppressed. Since then,\nwith gradually lessening numbers, they have passed through several\nbitter persecutions, meeting with little favour or protection, till at\nthe close of the eighteenth century they found shelter under British\nrule. In 1539 the members of the sect living in Arabia were expelled\nfrom there and came to Gujarat, where they were hospitably received by\ntheir brethren, the headquarters of the sect being thenceforward fixed\nat Surat. The Bohras are Shias of the great Ismailia sect of Egypt. The\nIsmailia sect split off from the orthodox Shias on the question of the\nsuccession to the sixth Imam, Jafar Sadik, in A.D. 765. The dispute\nwas between his eldest son's son Ismail and his second son Musi,\nthe Ismailias being those who supported the former and the orthodox\nShias the latter. The orthodox Shias are distinguished as believers\nin twelve Imams, the last of whom is still to come. The Ismailias\nagain divided on a similar dispute as to the succession to the\nKhalifa Almustansir Billah by his eldest son Nazar or his younger son\nAlmustaali. The Bohras are descended from the Mustaalians or supporters\nof the younger son and the Khojas from the Nazarians who supported\nthe elder son. [389] All these distinctions appear somewhat trivial.\n\n\n\n2. Their religious tenets.\n\n\nGujarat contains two classes of Bohras: the traders who are all\nShias and are the only immigrants into the Central Provinces, and a\nlarge class of cultivating Bohras who are Sunnis. The latter may be\nthe descendants of the earliest converts and may have been forced to\nbecome Sunnis when this sect was dominant in Gujarat as noticed above,\nwhile the Shias are perhaps descended from the later immigrants from\nArabia. The Shia Bohras themselves are further divided into several\nsects of which the Daudi are the principal.\n\nMr. Faridi writes of them: [390] \"They are attentive to their religious\nduties, both men and women knowing the Koran. They are careful to\nsay their prayers, to observe Muharram as a season of mourning and\nto go on pilgrimage to Mecca and Kerbala. They strictly abstain\nfrom music and dancing and from using or dealing in intoxicating\ndrinks or drugs. Though fierce sectarians, keenly hating and hated\nby the regular Sunnis and other Muhammadans than those of their\nown sect, their reverence for Ali and for their high priest seems\nto be further removed from adoration than among the Khojahs. They\nwould appear to accept the ordinary distinctions of right and wrong,\npunishing drunkenness, adultery and other acts generally considered\ndisgraceful. Of the state beyond death they hold that, after passing\na time of freedom as evil spirits, unbelievers go to a place of\ntorment. Believers, but apparently only believers of the Ismaili\nfaith, after a term of training enter a state of perfection. Among\nthe faithful each disembodied spirit passes the term of training in\ncommunion with the soul of some good man. The spirit can suggest\ngood or evil to the man and may learn from his good deeds to love\nthe right; when the good man dies the spirits in communion with his\nsoul are, if they have gained by their training, attached to some\nmore perfect man, or if they have lost by their opportunities are\nsent back to learn; spirits raised to a higher degree of knowledge\nare placed in communion with the High Priest on earth; and on his\ndeath are with him united to the Imams, and when through the Imams\nthey have learnt what they still require to know they are absorbed\nin perfection. Except for some peculiarities in their names; that\nthey attach special importance to circumcision; that the sacrifice\nor _alsikah_ ceremony is held in the Mullah's house; that at marriage\nthe bride and bridegroom when not of age are represented by sponsors\nor _walis_; that at death a prayer for pity on his soul and body is\nlaid in the dead man's hands; and that on certain occasions the High\nPriest feeds the whole community--Bohra customs do not so far as has\nbeen ascertained differ from those of ordinary Muhammadans.\n\n\n\n3. The Mullahs.\n\n\n\"Their leader, both in things religious and social, is the head Mullah\nof Surat. The ruling Mullah names his successor, generally, but it\nis said not always, from among the members of his own family. Short\nof worship the head Mullah is treated with the greatest respect. He\nlives in much state and entertains with the most profuse liberality. On\nboth religious and civil questions his authority is final. Discipline\nis enforced in religious matters by fine, and in case of adultery,\ndrunkenness and other offences, by fine, excommunication and rarely by\nflogging. On ceremonial occasions the head Mullah sits on his throne,\nand in token of his power has the flyflapper, _chauri_, held before\nhim. As the Bohras enter they make three prostrations, _salaams_,\nclose their hands and stand before him. To such as are worthy he says\n'Be seated,' to others 'Stand.' Once a year, on the 18th Rajjab,\nevery Daudi lays his palm within the head Mullah's hand and takes\nan oath to be faithful. On this day when he goes to the mosque the\nBohras are said to kiss the Mullah's footsteps and to apply the dust\nhe treads to their heads and eyes.\" Each considerable settlement of\nthe sect has a deputy Mullah of its own.\n\n\n\n4. Bohra graveyards.\n\n\nThe Sahadra or burial-place of the Bohras at Burhanpur contains\nthe tombs of three of the Surat Mullahs who happened to die when\nthey were at Burhanpur. The tombs are in shell-lime and are fairly\nhandsome erections. The Bohras support here by voluntary subscription\na rest-house, where members of the sect coming to the city can obtain\nfree board and lodging for as long as they like to stay. Mr. Conolly\nsays of their graveyards: [391]\n\n\"Their burial-grounds have a pleasing appearance, the tombs being\nregularly arranged in streets, east and west. The tombs themselves,\nwhich are, of course, north and south, the corpse resting on its right\nside, differ in no respect from those of Sunnis, with the exception\nof a small _chiragh takia_ or lamp-socket, cut out of the north face,\njust like the cavity for the inscription of our own tombs.\"\n\n\n\n5. Religious customs.\n\n\nOf their religion Mr. Kitts writes: [392] \"In prayers they differ\nboth from Shias and Sunnis in that they follow their Mullah, praying\naloud after him, but without much regularity of posture. The times for\ncommencing their devotions are about five minutes later than those\nobserved by Sunnis. After the midday and sunset supplications they\nallow a short interval to elapse, remaining themselves in the mosque\nmeanwhile. They then commence the afternoon and evening prayers and\nthus run five services into three.\"\n\nMr. Thurston notes that the Bohras consider themselves so superior\nto other sects that if another Muhammadan enters their mosque\nthey afterwards clean the spot which he has occupied during his\nprayers. [393] They show strictness in other ways, making their\nown sweetmeats at home and declining to eat those of the Halwai\n(confectioner). It is said also that they will not have their clothes\nwashed by a Dhobi, nor wear shoes made by a Chamar, nor take food\ntouched by any Hindu. They are said to bathe only on Fridays, and some\nof them not on every Friday. If a dog touches them they are unclean\nand must change their clothes. They celebrate the Id and Ramazan a\nday before other Muhammadans. At the Muharram their women break all\ntheir bangles and wear new bangles next day to show that they have\nbeen widowed, and during this period they observe mourning by going\nwithout shoes and not using umbrellas. Mr. Conolly says of them:\n\"I must not omit to notice that a fine of 20 cowries (equally for\nrich and poor) punishes the non-attendance of a Bohra at the daily\nprayers. A large sum is exacted for remissness during the Ramazan,\nand it is said that the dread of loss operates powerfully upon a\nclass of men who are particularly penny-wise. The money collected\nthus is transmitted by the Ujjain Mullah to his chief at Surat,\nwho devotes it to religious purposes such as repairing or building\nmosques, assisting the needy of his subjects and the like. Several\nother offences have the same characteristic punishment, such as\nfornication, drunkenness, etc. But the cunning Bohras elude many of the\nfines and daily indulge in practices not sanctioned by their creed;\nthus in their shops pictures and figures may be purchased though it\nis against the commandments to sell the likeness of any living thing.\"\n\nIt has been seen that when a Bohra is buried a prayer for pity on his\nsoul and body is laid in the dead man's hands, of which Mr. Faridi\ngives the text. But other Muhammadans tell a story to the effect that\nthe head Mullah writes a letter to the archangel Gabriel in which he\nis instructed to supply a stream of honey, a stream of milk, water\nand some fruit trees, a golden building and a number of houris, the\nextent of the order depending on the amount of money which has been\npaid to the Mullah by the departed in his lifetime; and this letter\nis placed beneath the dead man's head in the grave, the Bohras having\nno coffins. The Bohras indignantly repudiate any such version of the\nletter, and no doubt if the custom ever existed it has died out.\n\n\n\n6. Occupation.\n\n\nThe Bohras, Captain Forsyth remarks, though bigoted religionists,\nare certainly the most civilised and enterprising and perhaps also\nthe most industrious class in the Nimar District. They deal generally\nin hardware, piece-goods and drugs, and are very keen traders. There\nis a proverb, \"He who is sharper than a Bohra must be mad, and he\nwho is fairer than a Khatri must be a leper.\" Some of them are only\npedlars and hawkers, and in past times their position seems to have\nbeen lower than at present. An old account says: [394] \"The Bohras are\nan inferior set of travelling merchants. The inside of a Bohra's box\nis like that of an English country shop; spelling-books, prayer-books,\nlavender-water, soap, tapes, scissors, knives, needles and thread make\nbut a small part of the variety.\" And again: \"In Bombay the Bohras go\nabout the town as the dirty Jews do in London early and late, carrying\na bag and inviting by the same nasal tone servants and others to fill\nit with old clothes, empty bottles, scraps of iron, etc.\" [395]\n\n\n\n7. Houses and dress.\n\n\nOf their method of living Malcolm wrote: [396] \"I visited several\nof the houses of this tribe at Shahjahanpur, where a colony of them\nare settled, and was gratified to find not only in their apartments,\nbut in the spaciousness and cleanliness of their kitchens, in the\nwell-constructed chimney, the neatly arranged pantries, and the\npolished dishes and plates as much of real comfort in domestic\narrangements as could be found anywhere. We took the parties we\nvisited by surprise and there could have been no preparation.\" The\nBohras do not charge interest on loans, and they combine to support\nindigent members of the community, never allowing one of their caste\nto beg. The caste may easily be known from other Muhammadans by their\nsmall, tightly wound turbans and little skull-caps, and their long\nflowing robes, and loose trousers widening from the ankle upwards and\ngathered in at the waist with a string. The women dress in a coloured\ncotton or silk petticoat, a short-sleeved bodice and a coloured cotton\nhead-scarf. When they go out of doors they throw a dark cloak over\nthe head which covers the body to the ankles, with gauze openings\nfor the eyes.\n\n\n\n\n\n\nBrahman [397]\n\n\n\nList of Paragraphs\n\n\n     1. _Origin and development of the caste._\n     2. _Their monopoly of literature._\n     3. _Absence of central authority._\n     4. _Mixed elements in the caste._\n     5. _Caste subdivisions._\n     6. _Miscellaneous groups._\n     7. _Sectarian divisions._\n     8. _Exogamy._\n     9. _Restrictions on marriage._\n    10. _Hypergamy._\n    11. _Marriage customs._\n    12. _Polygamy, divorce and treatment of widows._\n    13. _Sati or burning of widows._\n    14. _Funeral rites and mourning._\n    15. _Religion._\n    16. _Daily ritual._\n    17. _The sacred thread._\n    18. _Social position._\n    19. _Titles._\n    20. _Caste panchayat and offences._\n    21. _Rules about food._\n    22. _Dress._\n    23. _Tattooing._\n    24. _Occupation._\n    25. _Character of Brahmans._\n\n\n\nList of Subordinate Articles on Subcastes\n\n\n     1. Ahivasi.\n     2. Jijhotia.\n     3. Kanaujia, Kanyakubja.\n     4. Khedawal.\n     5. Maharashtra, Maratha.\n     6. Maithil.\n     7. Malwi.\n     8. Nagar.\n     9. Naramdeo.\n    10. Sanadhya, Sanaurhia.\n    11. Sarwaria.\n    12. Utkal.\n\n\n\n1. Origin and development of the caste.\n\n\n_Brahman, Baman._--The well-known priestly caste of India and the\nfirst of the four traditional castes of the Hindu scriptures. In 1911\nthe Brahmans numbered about 450,000 persons in the Central Provinces\nand Berar, or nearly 3 per cent of the population. This is less than\nthe average strength for India as a whole, which is about 4 1/2 per\ncent. The caste is spread over the whole Province, but is in greatest\nnumbers in proportion to the population in Saugor and Jubbulpore,\nand weakest in the Feudatory States.\n\nThe name Brahman or Brahma is said to be from the root _brih_ or\n_vrih_, to increase. The god Brahma is considered as the spirit\nand soul of the universe, the divine essence and source of all\nbeing. Brahmana, the masculine numerative singular, originally denoted\none who prays, a worshipper or the composer or reciter of a hymn. [398]\nIt is the common term used in the Vedas for the officiating priest. Sir\nH. Risley remarks on the origin of the caste: [399] \"The best modern\nopinion seems disposed to find the germ of the Brahman caste in the\nbards, ministers and family priests who were attached to the king's\nhousehold in Vedic times. Different stages of this institution may be\nobserved. In the earliest ages the head of every Aryan household was\nhis own priest, and even a king would himself perform the sacrifices\nwhich were appropriate to his rank. By degrees families or guilds\nof priestly singers arose, who sought service under the kings, and\nwere rewarded by rich presents for the hymns or praise and prayer\nrecited and sacrifices offered by them on behalf of their masters. As\ntime went on the sacrifices became more numerous and more elaborate,\nand the mass of ritual grew to such an extent that the king could no\nlonger cope with it unaided. The employment of _purohits_ or family\npriests, formerly optional, now became a sacred duty if the sacrifices\nwere not to fall into disuse. The Brahman obtained a monopoly of\npriestly functions, and a race of sacerdotal specialists arose\nwhich tended continually to close its ranks against the intrusion\nof outsiders.\" Gradually then from the household priests and those\nwho made it their business to commit to memory and recite the sacred\nhymns and verses handed down orally from generation to generation\nthrough this agency, an occupational caste emerged, which arrogated\nto itself the monopoly of these functions, and the doctrine developed\nthat nobody could perform them who was not qualified by birth, that\nis, nobody could be a Brahman who was not the son of a Brahman. When\nreligious ritual became more important, as apparently it did, a desire\nwould naturally arise among the priests to make their revered and\nlucrative profession a hereditary monopoly; and this they were easily\nand naturally able to do by only teaching the sacred songs and the\nsacrificial rules and procedure to their own descendants. The process\nindeed would be to a considerable extent automatic, because the priests\nwould always take their own sons for their pupils in the first place,\nand in the circumstances of early Indian society a married priesthood\nwould thus naturally evolve into a hereditary caste. The Levites\namong the Jews and the priests of the Parsis formed similar hereditary\norders, and the reason why they did not arise in other great religions\nwould appear to have been the prescription or encouragement of the\nrule of celibacy for the clergy and the foundation of monasteries,\nto which admission was free. But the military landed aristocracies\nof Europe practically formed hereditary castes which were analogous\nto the Brahman and Rajput castes, though of a less stereotyped and\nprimitive character. The rise of the Brahman caste was thus perhaps\na comparatively simple and natural product of religious and social\nevolution, and might have occurred independently of the development\nof the caste system as a whole. The former might be accounted for by\nreasons which would be inadequate to explain the latter, even though\nas a matter of fact the same factors were at work in both cases.\n\n\n\n2. Their monopoly of literature.\n\n\nThe hereditary monopoly of the sacred scriptures would be strengthened\nand made absolute when the Sanskrit language, in which they had been\ncomposed and handed down, ceased to be the ordinary spoken language\nof the people. Nobody then could learn them unless he was taught by\na Brahman priest. And by keeping the sacred literature in an unknown\nlanguage the priesthood made their own position absolutely secure and\ngot into their own hands the allocation of the penalties and rewards\npromised by religion, for which these books were the authority, that\nis to say, the disposal of the souls of Hindus in the afterlife. They,\nin fact, held the keys of heaven and hell. The jealousy with which they\nguarded them is well shown by the Abbe Dubois: [400] \"To the Brahmans\nalone belongs the right of reading the Vedas, and they are so jealous\nof this, or rather it is so much to their interest to prevent other\ncastes obtaining any insight into their contents, that the Brahmans\nhave inculcated the absurd theory, which is implicitly believed, that\nshould anybody of any other caste be so highly imprudent as even to\nread the title-page his head would immediately split in two. The very\nfew Brahmans who are able to read those sacred books in the original,\nonly do so in secret and in a whisper. Expulsion from caste, without\nthe smallest hope of re-entering it, would be the lightest punishment\nof a Brahman who exposed those books to the eyes of the profane.\" It\nwould probably be unfair, however, to suppose that the Vedas were\nkept in the original Sanskrit simply from motives of policy. It\nwas probably thought that the actual words of the sacred text had\nthemselves a concrete force and potency which would be lost in a\ntranslation. This is the idea underlying the whole class of beliefs\nin the virtue of charms and spells.\n\nBut the Brahmans had the monopoly not only of the sacred Sanskrit\nliterature, but practically of any kind of literacy or education. They\nwere for long the only literate section of the people. Subsequently\ntwo other castes learnt to read and write in response to an economic\ndemand, the Kayasths and the Banias. The Kayasths, it has been\nsuggested in the article on that caste, were to a large extent the\noffspring and inmates of the households of Brahmans, and were no doubt\ntaught by them, but only to read and write the vernacular for the\npurpose of keeping the village records and accounts of rent. They were\nexcluded from any knowledge of Sanskrit, and the Kayasths subsequently\nbecame an educated caste in spite of their Brahman preceptors, by\nlearning Persian under their Muhammadan, and English under their\nEuropean employers. The Banias never desired nor were encouraged\nto attain to any higher degree of literacy than that necessary\nfor keeping accounts of sale and loan transactions. The Brahmans\nthus remained the only class with any real education, and acquired\na monopoly not only of intellectual and religious leadership, but\nlargely of public administration under the Hindu kings. No literature\nexisted outside their own, which was mainly of a sacerdotal character;\nand India had no heritage such as that bequeathed by Greece and Rome\nto mediaeval Europe which could produce a Renaissance or revival of\nliteracy, leading to the Reformation of religion and the breaking\nof the fetters in which the Roman priesthood had bound the human\nmind. The Brahmans thus established, not only a complete religious,\nbut also a social ascendancy which is only now beginning to break\ndown since the British Government has made education available to all.\n\n\n\n3. Absence of central authority.\n\n\nThe Brahman body, however, lacked one very important element of\nstrength. They were apparently never organised nor controlled by\nany central authority such as that which made the Roman church so\npowerful and cohesive. Colleges and seats of learning existed at\nBenares and other places, at which their youth were trained in the\nknowledge of religion and of the measure of their own pretensions,\nand the means by which these were to be sustained. But probably\nonly a small minority can have attended them, and even these when\nthey returned home must have been left practically to themselves,\nspread as the Brahmans were over the whole of India with no means of\npostal communication or rapid transit. And by this fact the chaotic\ncharacter of the Hindu religion, its freedom of belief and worship,\nits innumerable deities, and the almost complete absence of dogmas\nmay probably be to a great extent explained. And further the Brahman\ncaste itself cannot have been so strictly organised that outsiders and\nthe priests of the lower alien religions never obtained entrance to\nit. As shown by Mr. Crooke, many foreign elements, both individuals\nand groups, have at various times been admitted into the caste.\n\n\n\n4. Mixed elements in the caste.\n\n\nThe early texts indicate that Brahmans were in the habit of forming\nconnections with the widows of Rajanyas and Vaishyas, even if they\ndid not take possession of the wives of such men while they were\nstill alive. [401] The sons of Angiras, one of the great ancestral\nsages, were Brahmans as well as Kshatriyas. The descendants of Garga,\nanother well-known eponymous ancestor, were Kshatriyas by birth but\nbecame Brahmans. Visvamitra was a Kshatriya, who, by the force of\nhis austerities, compelled Brahma to admit him into the Brahmanical\norder, so that he might be on a level with Vasishtha with whom he\nhad quarrelled. According to a passage in the Mahabharata all castes\nbecome Brahmans when once they have crossed the Gomti on a pilgrimage\nto the hermitage of Vasishtha. [402] In more recent times there are\nlegends of persons created Brahmans by Hindu Rajas. Sir J. Malcolm in\nCentral India found many low-caste female slaves in Brahman houses, the\nowners of which had treated them as belonging to their own caste. [403]\n\nIt would appear also that in some cases the caste priests of different\ncastes have become Brahmans. Thus the Saraswat Brahmans of the Punjab\nare the priests of the Khatri caste. They have the same complicated\narrangement of exogamy and hypergamy as the Khatris, and will take\nfood from that caste. It seems not improbable that they are really\ndescendants of Khatri priests who have become Brahmans. [404]\n\nSimilarly such groups as the Oswal, Srimal and Palliwal Brahmans of\nRajputana, who are priests of the subcastes of Banias of the same\nname, may originally have been caste priests and become Brahmans. The\nNaramdeo Brahmans, or those living on the Nerbudda River, are said to\nbe descendants of a Brahman father by a woman of the Naoda or Dhimar\ncaste; and the Golapurab Brahmans similarly of a Brahman father and\nAhir mother. In many cases, such as the island of Onkar Mandhata in\nthe Nerbudda in Nimar, and the Mahadeo caves at Pachmarhi, the places\nof worship of the non-Aryan tribes have been adopted by Hinduism and\nthe old mountain or river gods transformed into Hindu deities. At\nthe same time it is not improbable that the tribal priests of the\nold shrines have been admitted into the Brahman caste.\n\n\n\n5. Caste subdivisions.\n\n\nThe Brahman caste has ten main territorial divisions, forming two\ngroups, the Panch-Gaur or five northern, and the Panch-Dravida or five\nsouthern. The boundary line between the two groups is supposed to\nbe the Nerbudda River, which is also the boundary between Hindustan\nand the Deccan. But the Gujarati Brahmans belong to the southern\ngroup, though Gujarat is north of the Nerbudda. The five northern\ndivisions are:\n\n(_a_) _Saraswat._--These belong to the Punjab and are named after\nthe Saraswati river of the classical period, on whose banks they are\nsupposed to have lived.\n\n(_b_) _Gaur._--The home of these is the country round Delhi, but\nthey say that the name is from the old Gaur or Lakhnauti kingdom\nof Bengal. If this is correct, it is difficult to understand how\nthey came from Bengal to Delhi contrary to the usual tendency of\nmigration. General Cunningham has suggested that Gaura was also the\nname of the modern Gonda District, and it is possible that the term was\nonce used for a considerable tract in northern India as well as Bengal,\nsince it has come to be applied to all the northern Brahmans. [405]\n\n(_c_) _Kankubja or Kanaujia._--These are named after the old town of\nKanauj on the Ganges near Cawnpore, once the capital of India. The\nKanaujia are the most important of the northern groups and extend from\nthe west of Oudh to beyond Benares and into the northern Districts of\nthe Central Provinces. Here they are subdivided into four principal\ngroups--the Kanaujia, Jijhotia, Sarwaria and Sanadhya, which are\ntreated in annexed subordinate articles.\n\n(_d_) _Maithil._--They take their name from Mithila, the old term\nfor Bihar or Tirhut, and belong to this tract.\n\n(_e_) _Utkal._--These are the Brahmans of Orissa.\n\nThe five groups of the Panch-Dravida are as follows:\n\n(_a_) _Maharashtra._--These belong to the Maratha country or\nBombay. They are subdivided into three main territorial groups--the\nDeshasth, or those of the home country, that is the Poona tract above\nthe Western Ghats; the Konkonasth, who belong to the Bombay Konkan\nor littoral; and the Karhara, named after a place in the Satara\nDistrict. [406]\n\n(_b_) _Tailanga or Andhra._--The Brahmans of the Telugu country,\nHyderabad and the northern part of Madras. This territory was known\nas Andhra and governed by an important dynasty of the same name in\nearly times.\n\n(_c_) _Dravida._--The Brahmans of the Tamil country or the south\nof Madras.\n\n(_d_) _Karnata._--The Brahmans of the Carnatic, or the Canarese\ncountry. The Canarese area comprises the Mysore State, and the British\nDistricts of Canara, Dharwar and Belgaum.\n\n(_e_) _Gurjara._--The Brahmans of Gujarat, of whom two subcastes are\nfound in the Central Provinces. The first consists of the Khedawals,\nnamed after Kheda, a village in Gujarat, who are a strictly orthodox\nclass holding a good position in the caste. And the second are the\nNagar Brahmans, who have been long settled in Nimar and the adjacent\ntracts, and act as village priests and astrologers. Their social\nstatus is somewhat lower.\n\nThere are, however, a large number of other subcastes, and the\ntendency to fissure in a large caste, and to the formation of small\nlocal groups which marry among themselves, is nowhere more strikingly\napparent than among the Brahmans. This is only natural, as they,\nmore than any other caste, attach importance to strict ceremonial\nobservance in matters of food and the daily ritual of prayer, and\nany group which was suspected of backsliding in respect of these on\nemigration to a new locality would be debarred from intermarriage\nwith the parent caste at home. An instance of this is found among the\nChhattisgarhi Brahmans, who have been long settled in this backward\ntract and cut off from communication with northern India. They\nare mainly of the Kanaujia division, but the Kanaujias of Oudh will\nneither take food nor intermarry with them, and they now constitute a\nseparate subcaste of Kanaujias. Similarly the Malwi Brahmans, whose\nhome is in Malwa, whence they have spread to Hoshangabad and Betul,\nare believed to have been originally a branch of the Gaur or Kanaujia,\nbut have now become a distinct subcaste, and have adopted many of the\ncustoms of Maratha Brahmans. Mandla contains a colony of Sarwaria [407]\nBrahmans who received grants of villages from the Gond kings and have\nsettled down there. They are now cultivators, and some have taken to\nthe plough, while they also permit widow-remarriage in all but the\nname. They are naturally cut off from intercourse with the orthodox\nSarwarias and marry among themselves. The Harenia Brahmans of Saugor\nare believed to have immigrated from Hariana some generations ago and\nform a separate local group; and also the Laheria Brahmans of the same\nDistrict, who, like the Mandla Sarwarias, permit widows to marry. In\nHoshangabad there is a small subcaste of Bawisa or 'Twenty-two'\nBrahmans, descended from twenty-two families from northern India,\nwho settled here and have since married among themselves. A similar\ndiversity of subcastes is found in other Provinces. The Brahmans of\nBengal are also mainly of the Kanaujia division, but they are divided\ninto several local subcastes, of which the principal are Rarhi and\nBarendra, named after tracts in Bengal, and quite distinct from the\nsubdivisions of the Kanaujia group in the Central Provinces.\n\n\n\n6. Miscellaneous groups.\n\n\nAnother class of local subdivisions consists of those Brahmans who\nlive on the banks of the various sacred rivers or at famous shrines,\nand earn their livelihood by conducting pilgrims through the series\nof ceremonies and acts of worship which are performed on a visit to\nsuch places; they receive presents from the pilgrims and the offerings\nmade at the shrines. The most prominent among these are the Gayawals of\nGaya, the Prayagwals of Allahabad (Prayag), the Chaubes of Mathura, the\nGangaputras (Sons of the Ganges) of Benares, the Pandarams of southern\nIndia and the Naramdeo Brahmans who hold charge of the many temples on\nthe Nerbudda. As such men accept gifts from pilgrims they are generally\nlooked down on by good Brahmans and marry among themselves. Many of\nthem have a character for extortion and for fleecing their clients,\na propensity commonly developed in a profession of this kind. Such\na reputation particularly attaches to the Chaubes of Mathura and\nBrindaban, the holy places of the god Krishna. They are strong and\nfinely built men, but gluttonous, idle and dissolute. Some of the\nBenares Brahmans are known as Sawalakhi, or having one and a quarter\nlakhs, apparently on account of the wealth they amass from pilgrims. A\nmuch lower group are the Maha-Brahmans (great Brahmans), who are also\nknown as Patit (degraded) or Katia. These accept the gifts offered by\nthe relatives after a death for the use of the dead man in the next\nworld during the period of mourning; they also eat food which it is\nsupposed will benefit the dead man, and are considered to represent\nhim. Probably on this account they share in the impurity attaching to\nthe dead, and are despised by all castes and sometimes not permitted to\nlive in the village. Other Brahmans are degraded on account of their\nhaving partly adopted Muhammadan practices. The Husaini Brahmans of\nwestern India are so called as they combine Muhammadan with Hindu\nrites. They are principally beggars. And the Kalanki Brahmans of\nWardha and other Districts are looked down upon because, it is said,\nthat at the bidding of a Muhammadan governor they make a figure of\na cow from sugar and eat it up. Probably they may have really acted\nas priests to Muhammadans who were inclined to adopt certain Hindu\nrites on the principle of imitation, and with a view to please their\ndisciples conformed to some extent to Islam.\n\n\n\n7. Sectarian divisions.\n\n\nBrahmans have also sectarian divisions according to the different\nVedas, which they especially study. It is held that the ancient Rishis\nor saints, like the Jewish patriarchs, lived far beyond the ordinary\nspan of existence, and hence had time to learn all the Vedas and\ntheir commentaries. But this was impossible for their shorter-lived\ndescendants, and hence each Veda has been divided into a number of\nShakhas or branches, and the ordinary Brahman only learns one Shakha of\none Veda. Most Brahmans of the Central Provinces are either Rigvedis\nor Yajurvedis, and these commonly marry only followers of their own\nVeda, thus forming a sort of cross set of endogamous divisions. The\nrestriction on marriage may also extend to the Shakha, so that a\nman can only marry in a family of the same Shakha as himself. This\napplies in the Central Provinces mainly to the Yajurvedis, who have\nthree well-known Shakhas or branches called Kannava, Apastambha and\nMadhyandina. These are derived from the Shukla or White Yajurveda,\nwhich can be understood, while the Black Yajurveda is obscure and\nunintelligible. The Rigvedis and Yajurvedis have some differences in\ntheir methods of recitation. The Rigvedis are said to move the head\nup and down when they recite and not to use the hands; while the\nYajurvedis swing the hands and body from side to side. It is said\nthat a Madhyandina cannot say his prayers nor take his food before\nmidday, and hence the name, which means half the day. These points\nof distinction are given as stated by the local Brahmans, and it is\nnot known whether they would be endorsed by the Pandits. The Maratha\nBrahmans of the Central Provinces are usually Rigvedis and the Kanaujia\nBrahmans Yajurvedis. Followers of the other two Vedas are practically\nnot found. Among Kanaujia Brahmans it is also customary to ask the\nhead of a family with which a marriage is proposed whether he ties\na knot in the right or left half of his Shikha or scalp-lock during\nhis prayers and whether he washes his right or left foot first in\nthe performance of a religious ceremony.\n\n\n\n8. Exogamy.\n\n\nThe exogamous arrangements of the Brahmans are also very complex. It\nis said that the Brahmans are descended from the seven sons of\nthe god Brahma, who were Bhrigu, Angirasa, Marichi, Atri, Pulaha,\nPulastya and Vasishtha. But Pulaha only begot demons and Pulastya\ngiants, while Vasishtha died and was born again as a descendant\nof Marichi. Consequently the four ancestors of the Brahmans were\nBhrigu, Angirasa, Marichi and Atri. But according to another account\nthe ancestors of the Brahmans were the seven Rishis or saints who\nform the constellation of the Great Bear. These were Jamadagni,\nBharadwaj, Gautam, Kashyap, Vasishtha, Agastya, Atri and Visvamitra,\nwho makes the eighth and is held to be descended from Atri. These\nlatter saints are also said to be the descendants of the four original\nones, Atri appearing in both lists. But the two lists taken together\nmake up eleven great saints, who were the eponymous ancestors of\nthe Brahmans. All the different subcastes have as a rule exogamous\nclasses tracing their descent from these saints. But each group,\nsuch as that of Bhrigu or Angirasa, contains a large number of\nexogamous sections usually named after other more recent saints, and\nintermarriage is sometimes prohibited among the different sections,\nwhich are descended from the same son of Brahma or star of the\nGreat Bear. The arrangement thus bears a certain resemblance to the\nclassification system of exogamy found among primitive races, only\nthat the number of groups is now fairly large; but it is said that\noriginally there were only four, from the four sons of Brahma who\ngave birth to Brahmans. The names of other important saints, after\nwhom exogamous sections are most commonly called, are Garg, Sandilya,\nKaushik, Vatsya and Bhargava. These five appear sometimes to be held\nas original ancestors in addition to the eleven already mentioned. It\nmay be noted that some of the above names of saints have a totemistic\ncharacter; for instance, Bharadwaj means a lark; Kashyap resembles\nKachhap, the name for a tortoise; Kaushik may come from the _kusha_\ngrass; Agastya from the _agasti_ flower, and so on. Within the main\ngroup exogamy sometimes also goes by titles or family names. Thus\nthe principal titles of the Kanaujias are: Pande, a wise man; Dube,\nlearned in two Vedas; Tiwari, learned in three Vedas; Chaube, learned\nin four Vedas; Sukul, white or pure; Upadhya, a teacher; Agnihotri,\nthe priest who performs the fire-sacrifice; Dikshit, the initiator,\nand so on. Marriage between persons bearing the same family name\ntends to be prohibited, as they are considered to be relations.\n\n\n\n9. Restrictions on marriage.\n\n\nThe prohibition of marriage within the _gotra_ or exogamous section\nbars the union of persons related solely through males. In addition\nto this, according to Hindu law a Brahman must not marry a girl of his\nmother's or maternal grandfather's _gotra_, or one who is a _sapinda_\nof his father or maternal grandfather. Mr. Joshi states that _sapindas_\nare persons related through being particles of the same body. It is\nalso understood that two persons are said to be _sapindas_ when they\ncan offer _pindas_ or funeral cakes to the same ancestor. The rule\nbarring the marriage of _sapindas_ is that two persons cannot marry\nif they are both as near as fourth in descent from a common ancestor,\nand the relationship is derived through the father of either party. If\neither is more remote than fourth in descent they apparently could\nmarry. If the relationship of the couple is through their mothers\nin each case, then they cannot marry if they are third in descent\nfrom the same ancestor, but may do so in the fourth or subsequent\ngenerations. It is of no importance whether the intervening links\nbetween the common ancestor and the proposed couple are male or female;\ndescent is considered to be male if through the father, and female\nif through the mother. In practice, marriages are held to be valid\nbetween persons fourth in descent from a common ancestor in the case\nof male relationship, and third in the case of female relationship,\nthat is, persons having a common greatgrandparent in the male line\nor a common grandparent in the female line can marry.\n\nOther rules are that girls must not be exchanged in marriage between\ntwo families, and a man may not marry two sisters, though he can\nmarry his deceased wife's sister. The bride should be both younger\nin age and shorter in stature than the bridegroom. A younger sister\nshould not be married while her elder sister is single.\n\n\n\n10. Hypergamy.\n\n\nThe practice of hypergamy is, or was until recently, common among\nBrahmans. This is the rule by which the social estimation of a\nfamily is raised if its girls are married into a class of higher\nsocial status than its own. Members of the superior classes will take\ndaughters from the lower classes on payment usually of a substantial\nbride-price, but will not give their daughters to them. According\nto Manu, men of the higher castes were allowed to take wives from\nthe lower ones but not to give daughters to them. The origin of the\ncustom is obscure. If caste was based on distinctions of race, then\napparently the practice of hypergamy would be objectionable, because\nit would destroy the different racial classes. If, on the other\nhand, the castes consisted of groups of varying social status, the\ndistinction being that those of the lower ones could not participate\nin the sacramental or communal meals of the higher ones, then the\nmarriage of a daughter into a higher group, which would carry with\nit participation at the sacramental marriage feast of this group,\nmight well be a coveted distinction. The custom of hypergamy prevails\nsomewhat largely in northern India between different subcastes, groups\nof different social status in the same subcaste, and occasionally\neven between different castes. The social results of hypergamy, when\ncommonly practised, are highly injurious. Men of the higher subcastes\nget paid for marrying several wives, and indulge in polygamy, while\nthe girls of the higher subcastes and the boys of the lower ones\nfind it difficult and sometimes even impossible to obtain husbands\nand wives. The custom attained its most absurd development among the\nKulin Brahmans of eastern Bengal, as described by Sir H. Risley. [408]\nHere the Brahmans were divided by a Hindu king, Ballal Sen, into\ntwo classes, the Kulin (of good family), who had observed the entire\nnine counsels of perfection; and the Srotriya, who, though regular\nstudents of the Vedas, had lost sanctity by intermarrying with families\nof inferior birth. The latter were further subdivided into three\nclasses according to their degree of social purity, and each higher\nclass could take daughters from the next one or two lower ones. The\ndoctrine known as Kula-gotra was developed, whereby the reputation of\na family depended on the character of the marriages made by its female\nmembers. In describing the results of the system Sir H. Risley states:\n\"The rush of competition for Kulin husbands on the part of the inferior\nclasses became acute. In order to dispose of the surplus of women in\nthe higher groups polygamy was resorted to on a very large scale:\nit was popular with the Kulins because it enabled them to make a\nhandsome income by the accident of their birth; and it was accepted\nby the parents of the girls concerned as offering the only means of\ncomplying with the requirements of the Hindu religion. Tempted by a\n_pan_ or premium, which often reached the sum of two thousand rupees,\nSwabhava Kulins made light of their _kul_ and its obligations, and\nmarried girls, whom they left after the ceremony to be taken care of by\ntheir parents. Matrimony became a sort of profession, and the honour\nof marrying a girl to a Kulin is said to have been so highly valued\nin eastern Bengal that as soon as a boy was ten years old his friends\nbegan to discuss his matrimonial prospects, and before he was twenty\nhe had become the husband of many wives of ages varying from five to\nfifty.\" The wives were commonly left at home to be supported by their\nparents, and it is said that when a Kulin Brahman had a journey to\nmake he usually tried to put up for the night at the house of one of\nhis fathers-in-law. All the marriages were recorded in the registers\nof the professional Ghataks or marriage-brokers, and each party was\nsupplied with an extract. On arrival at his father-in-law's house the\nKulin would produce his extract showing the date on which his marriage\ntook place; and the owner of the house, who was often unfamiliar with\nthe bridegroom's identity, would compare it with his own extract. When\nthey agreed he was taken in and put up for the night, and enjoyed the\nsociety of his wife. The system thus entailed the greatest misery to\nlarge numbers of women, both those who were married to husbands whom\nthey scarcely ever saw, and those of the higher classes who got no\nhusbands at all. It is now rapidly falling into abeyance. Hypergamy\nis found in the Central Provinces among the subcastes of Kanaujia\nBrahmans. The Sarwaria subcaste, which is the highest, takes daughters\nfrom Kanaujias and Jijhotias, and the Kanaujias take them from the\nJijhotias. These and other subcastes such as the Khedawals are also\noften divided into two groups of different status, the higher of\nwhich takes daughters from the lower. Usually the parents of the\ngirl pay a liberal bridegroom-price in money or ornaments. It has\nnever, however, been carried to the same length here as in Bengal,\nand two, or in some cases three, wives are the limit for a man of\nthe higher classes. One division of Kanaujias is called the Satkul or\nseven families, and is the highest. Other Kanaujias, who are known as\nPachhadar, pay substantial sums for husbands for this group, and it is\nreported that if such a marriage takes place and the bridegroom-price\nis not paid up, the husband will turn his wife out and send her home\nto her father. Certain subcastes of Sunars also have hypergamy and,\nas between different castes, it exists between the Dangis and Rajputs,\npure Rajputs being held willing to take daughters in marriage from\nthe highest clans of Dangis.\n\n\n\n11. Marriage customs.\n\n\nA text of Manu prescribes: [409] \"If a young woman marry while she is\npregnant, whether her pregnancy be known or unknown, the male child in\nher womb belongs to the bridegroom and is called a son received with\nhis bride.\" But at present a Brahman girl who is known to be pregnant\nwill be wholly debarred from the sacrament of marriage. An invitation\nto a wedding is sent by means of grains of rice coloured yellow with\nturmeric and placed in a brass bowl with areca-nuts over them. All\nthe members of the caste or subcaste who eat food with the host and\nare resident in the same town or close at hand are as a rule invited,\nand all relatives of the family who reside at a distance. The head of\nthe family goes himself to the residence of the guests and invites\nthem with expressions of humility to honour his home. Before the\nwedding the ancestors of the family and also the divine mothers are\nworshipped, these latter consisting of the consorts of the principal\ngods. In front of the wedding procession are carried _kalashas_ or\nearthen jars filled to the brim with water, and with green shoots\nand branches floating on the top. The _kalasha_ is said to represent\nthe universe and to contain the principal gods and divine mothers,\nwhile the waters in it are the seven seas. All these are witnesses\nto the wedding. Among other ceremonies, presents of fruit, food,\nornaments and jewellery are exchanged between the parties, and these\nare called _choli-ka-bharana_ or filling the bride's breast-cloth. The\noriginal object of giving these presents was thus, it would appear\nfrom the name, to render the bride fertile. The father then gives\nhis daughter away in a set form of speech. After reciting the exact\nmoment of time, the hour, the day, the minute according to solar\nand lunar reckoning, the year and the epoch, he proceeds: \"In the\nname of Vishnu (repeating the name three times), the supreme spirit,\nfather and creator of the universe, and in furtherance of his wish for\nthe propagation of the human species, I (specifying his full name and\nsection, etc.), in the company of my married wife, do hereby offer the\nhand of my daughter--may she live long--full of all virtuous qualities,\nimage of Lakshmi, wife of Vishnu, anxious of union in lawful wedlock,\nornamented and dressed, brought up and instructed according to the best\nof my means, by name (naming her and repeating the full description\nof ancestors, class, etc.) in the solemn presence of the Brahmans,\nGurus, fire and deities, to you--may you live long--(repeating the\nbridegroom's name and full description), anxious to obtain a wife\nwith a view to secure the abode of bliss and eternal happiness in\nthe heaven of Brahma. Accept her with _kusha_ grass, grains of rice,\nwater and presents of money.\" Afterwards the father asks the bridegroom\nnever to disregard the feelings and sentiments of his wife in matters\nof religion, social pleasures and the acquisition of money, and the\nbridegroom agrees. The binding portion of the ceremony consists in\nwalking seven times round the sacred post, and when the seventh round\nis completed the marriage is irrevocable. Among the Maratha Brahmans\nthe bridegroom is called Nawar Deo or the new god. During the five\ndays of the wedding he is considered to be a sort of king, and is\nput in the highest place, and everybody defers to him. They make the\nbridegroom and bride name each other for a joke, as they are ashamed\nto do this, and will not untie their clothes to let them bathe until\nthey have done it. At all the feasts the bride and bridegroom are\nmade to eat out of the same plate, and they put pieces of food in\neach other's mouth, which is supposed to produce affection between\nthem. The wedding expenses in an ordinary Kanaujia Brahman's family,\nwhose income is perhaps Rs. 20 to 40 a month, are estimated at Rs. 200\nfor the bridegroom's party and Rs. 175 for the bride's, exclusive\nof any bride- or bridegroom-price. The bulk of the expenditure is on\nfeasts to the caste. The bride does not live with her husband until\nafter she arrives at puberty, but it is thought desirable that she\nshould spend long visits with his family before this, in order that\nshe may assimilate their customs and be trained by her mother-in-law,\naccording to the saying, 'Tender branches are easily bent.' Among\nsome Maratha Brahmans, when the bride arrives at puberty a ceremony\ncalled Garhbhadan is performed, and the husband confesses whether he\nhas cohabited with his wife before her puberty, and if so, he is fined\na small sum. Such instances usually occur when the signs of puberty\nare delayed. If the planet Mangal or Mars is adverse to a girl in her\nhoroscope, it is thought that her husband will die. The women of her\nfamily will, therefore, first marry her secretly to a pipal-tree,\nso that the tree may die instead. But they do not tell this to the\nbridegroom. In Saugor, girls whose horoscope is unfavourable to the\nhusband are first married to the _arka_ or swallow-wort plant. If\na Brahman has not sufficient funds to arrange for the marriage of\nhis daughter he will go about and beg, and it is considered that\nalms given for this purpose acquire special merit for the donor,\nnor will any good Brahman refuse a contribution according to his means.\n\n\n\n12. Polygamy, divorce and treatment of widows.\n\n\nPolygamy conveys no stigma among Brahmans, but is uncommon. Divorce\nis not recognised, a woman who is put away by her husband being turned\nout of the caste. The remarriage of widows is strictly prohibited. It\nis said that marriage is the only sacrament (Sanskar) for a woman,\nand she can only go through it once. The holy nuptial texts may not\nbe repeated except for a virgin. The prohibition of the remarriage\nof widows has become a most firmly rooted prejudice among the higher\nclasses of Hindus, and is the last to give way before the inroads of\nliberal reform. Only a small minority of the most advanced Brahmans\nhave recognised widow-remarriage, and these are generally held to\nbe excluded from the caste, though breaches of the rules against the\nconsumption of prohibited kinds of meat, and the drinking of aerated\nwaters and even alcoholic liquor, are now winked at and not visited\nwith the proper penalty. Nevertheless, many classes of Brahmans,\nwho live in the country and have taken to cultivation, allow widows\nto live with men without putting the family out of caste. Where\nthis is not permitted, surreptitious intercourse may occasionally\ntake place with members of the family. The treatment of widows is\nalso becoming more humane. Only Maratha and Khedawal Brahmans in\nthe Central Provinces still force them to shave their heads, and\nthese will permit a child-widow to retain her hair until she grows\nup, though they regard her as impure while she has it. A widow is\nusually forbidden to have a cot or bed, and must sleep on the ground\nor on a plank. She may not chew betel-leaves, should eat only once\na day, and must rigorously observe all the prescribed fasts. She\nwears white clothes only, no glass bangles, and no ornaments on her\nfeet. She is subject to other restrictions and is a general drudge\nin the family. It is probable that the original reason for such\ntreatment of a widow was that she was considered impure through being\nperpetually haunted by her husband's ghost. Hindus say that a widow\nis half-dead. She should not be allowed to cook the household food,\nbecause while cooking it she will remember her husband and the food\nwill become like a corpse. The smell of such food will offend the gods,\nand it cannot be offered to them. A widow is not permitted to worship\nthe household god or the ancestors of the family. It was no doubt an\nadvantage under the joint family system that a widow should not claim\nany life-interest in her husband's property. The modern tendency of\nwidows, who are left in possession, to try and alienate the property\nfrom the husband's relatives has been a fruitful cause of litigation\nand the ruin of many old landed families. The severe treatment of\nwidows was further calculated to suppress any tendency on the part\nof wives to poison their husbands. These secondary grounds may have\ncontributed something to the preservation and enforcement of an idea\nbased originally on superstitious motives.\n\n\n\n13. _Sati_ or burning of widows.\n\n\nFor a widow to remain single and lead an austere and joyless life was\nheld to confer great honour on her family; and this was enormously\nenhanced when she decided to become _sati_ and die with her husband\non the funeral pyre. Though it is doubtful whether this practice is\nadvocated by the Vedas, subsequent Hindu scriptures insist strongly\non it. It was said that a widow who was burnt with her husband would\nenjoy as many years in paradise as there are hairs on the human head,\nthat is to say, thirty-five million. Conversely, one who insisted\non surviving him would in her next birth go into the body of some\nanimal. By the act of _sati_ she purified all her husband's ancestors,\neven from the guilt of killing a Brahman, and also those of her own\nfamily. If a man died during an absence from home in another country\nhis wife was recommended to take his slippers or any other article\nof dress and burn herself with them tied to her breast. [410]\n\nGreat honour was paid to a Sati, and a temple or memorial stone was\nalways erected to her at which her spirit was venerated, and this\nencouraged many pious women not only to resign themselves to this\nterrible death but ardently to desire it. The following account given\nby Mr. Ward of the method of a _sati_ immolation in Bengal may be\nreproduced: [411]\n\n\"When the husband's life is despaired of and he is carried to the\nbank of the Ganges, the wife declares her resolution to be burnt\nwith him. In this case she is treated with great respect by her\nneighbours, who bring her delicate food, and when her husband is dead\nshe again declares her resolve to be burnt with his body. Having\nbroken a small branch from a mango tree she takes it with her and\nproceeds to the body, where she sits down. The barber then paints\nthe sides of her feet red, after which she bathes and puts on new\nclothes. During these preparations the drum beats a certain sound by\nwhich it is known that a widow is about to be burnt with the corpse\nof her husband. A hole is dug in the ground round which posts are\ndriven into the earth, and thick green stakes laid across to form a\nkind of bed; and upon these are laid in abundance dry faggots, hemp,\nclarified butter and pitch. The officiating Brahman now causes the\nwidow to repeat the prayer that as long as fourteen Indras reign,\nor as many years as there are hairs on her head, she may abide in\nheaven with her husband; that during this time the heavenly dancers\nmay wait on her and her husband; and that by this act of merit all\nthe ancestors of her mother and husband may ascend to heaven. She\nnow presents her ornaments to her friends, ties some red cotton on\nboth wrists, puts two new combs in her hair, paints her forehead,\nand takes into the end of the cloth that she wears some parched\nrice and cowries. The dead body is bathed, anointed with butter,\nand dressed in new clothes. The son takes a handful of boiled rice\nand offers it in the name of his deceased father. Ropes and another\npiece of cloth are spread on the wood, and the dead body is laid\nupon the pile. The widow next walks round the pyre seven times,\nas she did round the marriage-post at her wedding, strewing parched\nrice and cowries as she goes, which the spectators catch and keep\nunder the belief that they will cure diseases. The widow then lies\ndown on the fatal pile by the side of the dead body. The bodies are\nbound together with ropes and the faggots placed over them. The son,\naverting his head, puts fire to the face of his father, and at the\nsame moment several persons light the pile at different sides, when\nthe women and mourners set up cries. More faggots are hastily brought\nand thrown over the pile, and two bamboo levers are pressed over them\nto hold down the bodies and the pile. Several persons are employed in\nholding down these levers. More clarified butter, pitch and faggots\nare thrown on to the pile till the bodies are consumed. This may\ntake about two hours, but I conceive the woman must be dead in a few\nminutes after the fire has been kindled.\"\n\nAs showing the tenacity with which women sometimes adhered to their\nresolve to be burned with their husbands, and thus, as they believed,\nresume their conjugal life in heaven, the following account by Sir\nWilliam Sleeman, in his _Rambles and Recollections_, of a _sati_\nat Jubbulpore may be given:\n\n\"At Gopalpur on the Nerbudda are some very pretty temples built\nfor the most part to the memory of women who have burned themselves\nwith the remains of their husbands, and on the very spot where the\ncremation occurred. Among them was one recently raised over the ashes\nof one of the most extraordinary old bodies I had ever seen, who\nburned herself in my presence in 1829. In March 1828 I had issued a\nproclamation prohibiting any one from aiding or assisting in _sati_,\nand distinctly stating that to bring one ounce of wood for the\npurpose would be considered as so doing. Subsequently, on Tuesday,\n24th November, I had an application from the heads of the most\nrespectable and most extensive family of Brahmans in the District,\nto suffer this old woman to burn herself with the remains of her\nhusband, Umeid Singh Upadhya, who had that morning died upon the\nbanks of the Nerbudda. I threatened to enforce my order and punish\nseverely any man who assisted; and placed a police guard for the\npurpose of seeing that no one did so. The old woman remained by the\nedge of the water without eating or drinking. Next day the body of her\nhusband was burned in the presence of several thousand spectators,\nwho had assembled to see the _sati_. The sons and grandsons of the\nold woman remained with her, urging her to desist from her resolve,\nwhile her other relatives surrounded my house urging me to allow her\nto burn. All the day she remained sitting upon a bare rock in the bed\nof the Nerbudda, refusing every kind of sustenance, and exposed to\nthe intense heat of the sun by day and the severe cold of the night,\nwith only a thin sheet thrown over her shoulders. On the next day,\nThursday, to cut off all hope of her being moved from her purpose,\nshe put on the _dhujja_ or coarse red turban and broke her bracelets\nin pieces, by which she became dead in law and for ever excluded from\ncaste. Should she choose to live after this she could never return\nto her family. On the morning of Saturday, the fourth day after the\ndeath, I rode out ten miles to the spot, and found the poor old widow\nsitting with the _dhujja_ round her head, a brass plate before her\nwith undressed rice and flowers, and a cocoanut in each hand. She\ntalked very collectedly, telling me that she had determined to mix her\nashes with those of her departed husband, and should patiently await\nmy permission to do so, assured that God would enable her to sustain\nlife till that was given, though she dared not eat or drink. Looking\nat the sun, then rising before her over a long and beautiful reach of\nthe Nerbudda, she said calmly: 'My soul has been for five days with\nmy husband's near that sun; nothing but my earthly frame is left,\nand this I know you will in time suffer to be mixed with the ashes\nof his in yonder pit, because it is not in your nature wantonly\nto prolong the miseries of a poor old woman.' I told her that my\nobject and duty was to save and preserve her; I was come to urge her\nto live and keep her family from the disgrace of being thought her\nmurderers. I tried to work upon her pride and fears. I told her that\nthe rent-free lands on which her family had long subsisted might be\nresumed by Government if her children permitted her to do this act;\nand that no brick or stone should ever mark the place of her death;\nbut if she would live, a splendid habitation should be made for her\namong the temples, and an allowance given her from the rent-free\nlands. She smiled, but held out her arm and said, 'My pulse has long\nceased to beat, for my spirit has departed, and I have nothing left\nbut a little earth that I wish to mix with the ashes of my husband. I\nshall suffer nothing in burning, and if you wish proof order some fire,\nand you shall see this arm consumed without giving me any pain.' I\ndid not attempt to feel her pulse, but some of my people did, and\ndeclared that it had ceased to be perceptible. At this time every\nnative present believed that she was incapable of suffering pain,\nand her end confirmed them in their opinion. Satisfied myself that\nit would be unavailing to attempt to save her life, I sent for all\nthe principal members of the family, and consented that she should be\nsuffered to burn herself if they would enter into engagements that no\nother member of their family should ever do the same. This they all\nagreed to, and the papers having been drawn out in due form about\nmidday, I sent down notice to the old lady, who seemed extremely\npleased and thankful. The ceremonies of bathing were gone through\nbefore three, while the wood and other combustible materials for a\nstrong fire were collected and put into the pit. After bathing she\ncalled for a _pan_ (betel-leaf) and ate it, then rose up, and with one\narm on the shoulder of her eldest son, and the other on that of her\nnephew, approached the fire. As she rose up fire was set to the pile,\nand it was instantly in a blaze. The distance was about one hundred\nand fifty yards; she came on with a calm and cheerful countenance,\nstopped once, and casting her eyes upwards said, 'Why have they kept\nme five days from thee, my husband?' On coming to the sentries her\nsupports stopped, she walked round the pit, paused a moment; and while\nmuttering a prayer threw some flowers into the fire. She then walked\ndeliberately and steadily to the brink, stepped into the centre of\nthe flame, sat down, and leaning back in the midst as if reposing\nupon a couch, was consumed without uttering a shriek or betraying\none sign of agony.\"\n\nIn cases, however, where women shrank from the flames they were\nfrequently forced into them, as it was a terrible disgrace to their\nfamilies that they should recoil on the scene of the sacrifice. Opium\nand other drugs were also administered to stupefy the woman and prevent\nher from feeling pain. Widows were sometimes buried alive with their\ndead husbands. The practice of _sati_ was finally prohibited in 1829,\nwithout exciting the least discontent.\n\n\n\n14. Funeral rites and mourning.\n\n\nThe bodies of children dying before they are named, or before the\ntonsure ceremony is performed on them, are buried, and those of other\npersons are burnt. In the grave of a small child some of its mother's\nmilk, or, if this is not available, cow's milk in a leaf-cup or earthen\nvessel, is placed. Before a body is burnt cakes of wheat-flour are put\non the face, breast and both shoulders, and a coin is always deposited\nfor the purchase of the site. Mourning or impurity is observed for\nvarying periods, according to the nearness of relationship. For a\nchild, relatives other than the parents have only to take a bath to\nremove the impurity caused by the death. In a small town or village all\nBrahmans of the same subcaste living in the place are impure from the\ntime of the death until cremation has taken place. After the funeral\nthe chief mourner performs the _shraddh_ ceremony, offering _pindas_\nor cakes of rice, with libations of water, to the dead. Presents are\nmade to Brahmans for the use of the dead man in the other world, and\nthese are sometimes very valuable, as it is thought that the spirit\nwill thereby be profited. Such presents are taken by the Maha-Brahman,\nwho is much despised. When a late zamindar of Khariar died, Rs. 2000\nwere given to the Maha-Brahman for the use of his soul in the next\nworld. The funeral rites are performed by an ordinary Brahman, known\nas Malai, who may receive presents after the period of impurity has\nexpired. Formerly a calf was let loose in the name of the deceased\nafter being branded with the mark of a trident to dedicate it to Siva,\nand allowed to wander free thenceforth. Sometimes it was formally\nmarried to three or four female calves, and these latter were presented\nto Brahmans. Sometimes the calf was brought to stand over the dying\nman and water poured down its tail into his mouth. The practice of\nletting loose a male calf is now declining, as these animals are a\ngreat nuisance to the crops, and cultivators put them in the pound. The\ncalf is therefore also presented to a Brahman. It is believed that the\n_shraddh_ ceremony is necessary to unite the dead man's spirit with\nthe Pitris or ancestors, and without this it wanders homeless. Some\nthink that the ancestors dwell on the under or dark side of the\nmoon. Those descendants who can offer the _pindas_ or funeral cakes\nto the same ancestor are called Sapindas or relatives, and the man\nwho fills the office of chief mourner thereby becomes the dead man's\nheir. Persons who have died a violent death or have been executed are\nnot entitled to the ordinary funeral oblations, and cannot at once be\nunited with the ancestors. But one year after the death an effigy of\nthe deceased person is made in _kusha_ grass and burnt, with all the\nordinary funeral rites, and offerings are made to his spirit as if\nhe had died on this occasion. If the death was caused by snake-bite\na gold snake is made and presented to a Brahman before this ceremony\nis begun. This is held to be the proper funeral ceremony which unites\nhis spirit with the ancestors. Formerly in Madras if a man died during\nthe last five days of the waning of the moon it was considered very\nunlucky. In order to escape evil effects to the relatives a special\nopening was made in the wall of the house, through which the body\nwas carried, and the house itself was afterwards abandoned for three\nto six months. [412] A similar superstition prevails in the Central\nProvinces about a man dying in the Mul Nakshatra or lunar asterism,\nwhich is perhaps the same or some similar period. In this case it is\nthought that the deaths of four other members of the household are\nportended, and to avert this four human figures are made of flour or\ngrass and burnt with the corpse. According to the Abbe Dubois if a\nman died on a Saturday it was thought that another death would occur\nin the family, and to avert this a living animal, such as a ram,\ngoat or fowl, was offered with the corpse. [413]\n\n\n\n15. Religion.\n\n\nThe religion of the Brahmans is Hinduism, of which they are the\npriests and exponents. Formerly the Brahman considered himself as\na part of Brahma, and hence a god. This belief has decayed, but the\ngods are still held to reside in the body; Siva in the crown of the\nhead, Vishnu in the chest, Brahma in the navel, Indra in the genitals\nand Ganesh in the rectum. Most Brahmans belong to a sect worshipping\nespecially Siva or Vishnu, or Rama and Krishna, the incarnations of\nthe latter god, or Sakti, the female principle of energy of Siva. But\nas a rule Brahmans, whether of the Sivite or Vishnuite sects, abstain\nfrom flesh meat and are averse to the killing of any living thing. The\nfollowing account of the daily ritual prayers of a Benares Brahman\nmay be reproduced from M. Andre Chevrillon's _Romantic India_, [414]\nas, though possibly not altogether accurate in points of detail,\nit gives an excellent idea of their infinitely complicated nature:\n\n\n\n16. Daily ritual.\n\n\n\"Here is the daily life of one of the twenty-five thousand Brahmans\nof Benares. He rises before the dawn, and his first care is to look\nat an object of good omen. If he sees a crow at his left, a kite,\na snake, a cat, a hare, a jackal, an empty jar, a smoking fire,\na wood-pile, a widow, a man blind of one eye, he is threatened with\ngreat dangers during the day. If he intended to make a journey, he\nputs it off. But if he sees a cow, a horse, an elephant, a parrot, a\nlizard, a clear-burning fire, a virgin, all will go well. If he should\nsneeze once, he may count upon some special good fortune; but if twice\nsome disaster will happen to him. If he yawns some demon may enter his\nbody. Having avoided all objects of evil omen, the Brahman drops into\nthe endless routine of his religious rites. Under penalty of rendering\nall the day's acts worthless, he must wash his teeth at the bank of\na sacred stream or lake, reciting a special _mantra_, which ends in\nthis ascription: 'O Ganges, daughter of Vishnu, thou springest from\nVishnu's foot, thou art beloved by him! Remove from us the stains of\nsin and birth, and until death protect us thy servants!' He then rubs\nhis body with ashes, saying: 'Homage to Siva, homage to the source of\nall birth! May he protect me during all births!' He traces the sacred\nsigns upon his forehead--the three vertical lines representing the\nfoot of Vishnu, or the three horizontal lines which symbolise the\ntrident of Siva--and twists into a knot the hair left by the razor\non the top of his head, that no impurity may fall from it to pollute\nthe sacred river.\n\n\"He is now ready to begin the ceremonies of the morning (_sandhya_),\nthose which I have just observed on the banks of the river. Minutely\nand mechanically each Brahman performs by himself these rites of\nprescribed acts and gestures. First the internal ablution: the\nworshipper takes water in the hollow of his hand, and, letting it\nfall from above into his mouth, cleanses his body and soul. Meanwhile\nhe mentally invokes the names of Vishnu, saying, 'Glory to Keshava,\nto Narayana, to Madhava, to Govinda,' and so on.\n\n\"The second rite is the exercise or 'discipline' of the respiration\n(_prajayama_). Here there are three acts: first, the worshipper\ncompresses the right nostril with the thumb, and drives the breath\nthrough the left; second, he inhales through the left nostril,\nthen compresses it, and inhales through the other; third, he stops\nthe nose completely with thumb and forefinger, and holds his breath\nas long as possible. All these acts must be done before sunrise, and\nprepare for what is to follow. Standing on the water's edge, he utters\nsolemnly the famous syllable OM, pronouncing it _aum_, with a length\nequalling that of three letters. It recalls to him the three persons\nof the Hindu trinity: Brahma, who creates; Vishnu, who preserves;\nSiva, who destroys. More noble than any other word, imperishable,\nsays Manu, it is eternal as Brahma himself. It is not a sign, but a\nbeing, a force; a force which constrains the gods, superior to them,\nthe very essence of all things. Mysterious operations of the mind,\nstrange associations of ideas, from which spring conceptions like\nthese! Having uttered this ancient and formidable syllable, the man\ncalls by their names the three worlds: earth, air, sky; and the four\nsuperior heavens. He then turns towards the east, and repeats the verse\n[415] from the Rig-Veda: 'Let us meditate upon the resplendent glory of\nthe divine vivifier, that it may enlighten our minds.' As he says the\nlast words he takes water in the palm of his hand and pours it upon the\ntop of his head. 'Waters,' he says, 'give me strength and vigour that\nI may rejoice. Like loving mothers, bless us, penetrate us with your\nsacred essence. We come to wash ourselves from the pollution of sins:\nmake us fruitful and prosperous.' Then follow other ablutions, other\n_mantras_, verses from the Rig-Veda, and this hymn, which relates the\norigin of all things: 'From the burning heat came out all things. Yes,\nthe complete order of the world; Night, the throbbing Ocean, and after\nthe throbbing Ocean, Time, which separates Light from Darkness. All\nmortals are its subjects. It is this which disposes of all things,\nand has made, one after another, the sun, the sky, the earth, the\nintermediate air.' This hymn, says Manu, thrice repeated, effaces\nthe gravest sins.\n\n\"About this time, beyond the sands of the opposite shore of the Ganges,\nthe sun appears. As soon as its brilliant disc becomes visible the\nmultitude welcome it, and salute it with 'the offering of water.' This\nis thrown into the air, either from a vase or from the hand. Thrice\nthe worshipper, standing in the river up to his waist, flings the\nwater towards the sun. The farther and wider he flings it, the greater\nthe virtue attributed to this act. Then the Brahman, seated upon his\nheels, fulfils the most sacred of his religious duties: he meditates\nupon his fingers. For the fingers are sacred, inhabited by different\nmanifestations of Vishnu; the thumb by Govinda, the index-finger by\nMadhava, the middle finger by Hrikesa, the third by Trivikama and the\nlittle finger by Vishnu himself. 'Homage to the two thumbs,' says\nthe Brahman, 'to the two index-fingers, to the two middle fingers,\nto the two \"unnamed fingers,\" to the two little fingers, to the two\npalms, to the two backs of the hands.' Then he touches the various\nparts of the body, and lastly, the right ear, the most sacred of all,\nwhere reside fire, water, the sun and the moon. He then takes a red\nbag (_gomukhi_), into which he plunges his hand, and by contortions\nof the fingers rapidly represents the chief incarnations of Vishnu:\na fish, a tortoise, a wild boar, a lion, a slip-knot, a garland. [416]\n\n\"The second part of the service is no less rich than the first\nin ablutions and _mantras_. The Brahman invokes the sun, 'Mitra,\nwho regards all creatures with unchanging gaze,' and the Dawns,\n'brilliant children of the sky,' the earliest divinities of our Aryan\nrace. He extols the world of Brahma, that of Siva, that of Vishnu;\nrecites passages from the Mahabharata, the Puranas, all the first\nhymn of the Rig-Veda, the first lines of the second, the first words\nof the principal Vedas, of the Yajur, the Sama, and the Atharva, then\nfragments of grammar, inspired prosodies, and, in conclusion, the first\nwords of the book of the Laws of Yajnavalkya, the philosophic Sutras:\nand finally ends the ceremony with three kinds of ablutions, which are\ncalled the refreshing of the gods, of the sages and of the ancestors.\n\n\"First, placing his sacred cord upon the left shoulder, the Brahman\ntakes up water in the right hand, and lets it run off his extended\nfingers. To refresh the sages, the cord must hang about the neck,\nand the water run over the side of the hand between the thumb and the\nforefinger, which is bent back. For the ancestors, the cord passes\nover the right shoulder, and the water falls from the hand in the\nsame way as for the sages. 'Let the fathers be refreshed,' says the\nprayer, 'may this water serve all those who inhabit the seven worlds,\nas far as to Brahma's dwelling, even though their number be greater\nthan thousands of millions of families. May this water, consecrated\nby my cord, be accepted by the men of my race who have left no sons.'\n\n\"With this prayer the morning service ends. Now, remember that\nthis worship is daily, that these formulas must be pronounced,\nthese movements of the hands made with mechanical precision; that\nif the worshipper forgets one of the incarnations of Vishnu which\nhe is to figure with his fingers, if he stop his left nostril when\nit should be the right, the entire ceremony loses its efficacy;\nthat, not to go astray amid this multitude of words and gestures\nrequired for each rite, he is obliged to use mnemotechnic methods;\nthat there are five of these for each series of formulas; that his\nattention always strained and always directed toward the externals\nof the cult, does not leave his mind a moment in which to reflect\nupon the profound meaning of some of these prayers, and you will\ncomprehend the extraordinary scene that the banks of the Ganges at\nBenares present every morning; this anxious and demented multitude,\nthese gestures, eager and yet methodical, this rapid movement of the\nlips, the fixed gaze of these men and women who, standing in the water,\nseem not even to see their neighbours, and count mentally like men in\nthe delirium of a fever. Remember that there are ceremonies like these\nin the afternoon and also in the evening, and that in the intervals,\nin the street, in the house at meals, when going to bed, similar rites\nno less minute pursue the Brahman, all preceded by the exercises of\nrespiration, the enunciation of the syllable OM, and the invocation of\nthe principal gods. It is estimated that between daybreak and noon he\nhas scarcely an hour of rest from the performance of these rites. After\nthe great powers of nature, the Ganges, the Dawn, and the Sun, he\ngoes to worship in their temples the representations of divinity,\nthe sacred trees, finally the cows, to whom he offers flowers. In\nhis own dwelling other divinities await him, five black stones,\n[417] representing Siva, Ganesa, Surya, Devi and Vishnu, arranged\naccording to the cardinal points: one towards the north, a second to\nthe south-east, a third to the south-west, a fourth to the north-west,\nand one in the centre, this order changing according as the worshipper\nregards one god or another as most important; then there is a shell,\na bell--to which, kneeling, he offers flowers--and, lastly, a vase,\nwhose mouth contains Vishnu, the neck Rudra, the paunch Brahma, while\nat the bottom repose the three divine mothers, the Ganges, the Indus,\nand the Jumna.\n\n\"This is the daily cult of the Brahman of Benares, and on holidays\nit is still further complicated. Since the great epoch of Brahmanism\nit has remained the same. Some details may alter, but as a whole it\nhas always been thus tyrannical and thus extravagant. As far back\nas the Upanishads appears the same faith in the power of articulate\nspeech, the same imperative and innumerable prescriptions, the same\nsingular formulas, the same enumeration of grotesque gestures. Every\nday, for more than twenty-five hundred years, since Buddhism was a\nprotest against the tyranny and absurdity of rites, has this race\nmechanically passed through this machinery, resulting in what mental\nmalformations, what habitual attitudes of mind and will, the race is\nnow too different from ourselves for us to be able to conceive.\"\n\nSecular Brahmans now, however, greatly abridge the length of their\nprayers, and an hour or an hour and a half in the morning suffices\nfor the daily bath and purification, the worship of the household\ndeities and the morning meal.\n\n\n\n17. The sacred thread.\n\n\nBrahman boys are invested with the sacred thread between the ages of\nfive and nine. The ceremony is called Upanayana or the introduction to\nknowledge, since by it the boy acquires the right to read the sacred\nbooks. Until this ceremony he is not really a Brahman, and is not bound\nto observe the caste rules and restrictions. By its performance he\nbecomes Dvija or twice-born, and the highest importance is attached\nto the change or initiation. He may then begin to acquire divine\nknowledge, and perhaps in past times it was thought that he obtained\nthe divine character belonging to a Brahman. The sacred thread is\nmade of three strands of cotton, which should be obtained from the\ncotton tree growing wild. Sometimes a tree is grown in the yard of\nthe house for the provision of the threads. It has several knots\nin it, to which great importance is attached, the number of knots\nbeing different for a Brahman, a Kshatriya and a Vaishya, the three\ntwice-born castes. The thread hangs from the left shoulder, falling\non to the right hip. Sometimes, when a man is married, he wears a\ndouble thread of six strands, the second being for his wife; and after\nhis father dies a treble one of nine strands. At the investiture the\nboy's nails are cut and his hair is shaved, and he performs the _hom_\nor fire sacrifice for the first time. He then acquires the status of\na Brahmachari or disciple, and in former times he would proceed to\nsome religious centre and begin to study the sacred books. The idea\nof this is preserved by a symbolic ritual. Some Brahmans shave the\nboy's head completely, make a girdle of _kusha_ or _munj_ grass round\nhis waist, provide him with a begging-bowl and tongs and the skin of\nan antelope to sit on and make him go and beg from four houses. Among\nothers the boy gets on to a wooden horse and announces his intention\nof going off to Benares to study. His mother then sits on the edge of\na well and threatens to throw herself in if he will not change his\nmind, or the maternal uncle promises to give the boy his daughter\nin marriage. Then the boy relinquishes his intention and agrees to\nstay at home. The sacred thread must always be passed through the\nhand before saying the Gayatri text in praise of the sun, the most\nsacred Brahmanical text. The sacred thread is changed once a year on\nthe day of Rakshabandhan; the Brahman and all his family change it\ntogether. The word Rakshabandhan means binding or tying up the devils,\nand it would thus appear that the sacred thread and the knots in it\nmay have been originally intended to some extent to be a protection\nagainst evil spirits. It is also changed on the occasion of a birth\nor death in the family, or of an eclipse, or if it breaks. The old\nthreads are torn up or sewn into clothes by the very poor in the\nMaratha districts. It is said that the Brahmans are afraid that the\nKunbis will get hold of their old threads, and if they do get one\nthey will fold it into four strings, holding a lamp in the middle,\nand wave it over any one who is sick. The Brahmans think that if this\nis done all the accumulated virtue which they have obtained by many\nrepetitions of the Gayatri or sacred prayer will be transferred to\nthe sick Kunbi. Many castes now wear the sacred thread who have no\nproper claim to do so, especially those who have become landholders\nand aspire to the status of Rajputs.\n\n\n\n18. Social position.\n\n\nThe Brahman is of course supreme in Hindu society. He never bows his\nhead in salutation to any one who is not a Brahman, and acknowledges\nwith a benediction the greetings of all other classes. No member\nof another caste, Dr. Bhattacharya states, can, consistently with\nHindu etiquette and religious beliefs, refuse altogether to bow to\na Brahman. \"The more orthodox Sudras carry their veneration for the\npriestly caste to such an extent that they will not cross the shadow\nof a Brahman, and it is not unusual for them to be under a vow not\nto eat any food in the morning before drinking Brahman nectar, [418]\nor water in which the toe of a Brahman has been dipped. On the other\nhand, the pride of the Brahman is such that he does not bow even to\nthe images of the gods in a Sudra's house. When a Brahman invites a\nSudra the latter is usually asked to partake of the host's _prasada_\nor favour in the shape of the leavings of his plate. Orthodox Sudras\nactually take offence if invited by the use of any other formula. No\nSudra is allowed to eat in the same room or at the same time with\nBrahmans.\" [419]\n\nA man of low caste meeting a Brahman says 'Pailagi' or 'I fall at\nyour feet,' and touches the Brahman's foot with his hand, which he\nthen carries to his own forehead to signify this. A man wishing to\nask a favour in a humble manner stands on one leg and folds his cloth\nround his neck to show that his head is at his benefactor's disposal;\nand he takes a piece of grass in his mouth by which he means to say,\n'I am your cow.' Brahmans greeting each other clasp the hands and say\n'Salaam,' this method of greeting being known as Namaskar. Since\nmost Brahmans have abandoned the priestly calling and are engaged\nin Government service and the professions, this exaggerated display\nof reverence is tending to disappear, nor do the educated members of\nthe caste set any great store by it, preferring the social estimation\nattaching to such a prominent secular position as they often attain\nfor themselves.\n\n\n\n19. Titles.\n\n\nAny Brahman is, however, commonly addressed by other castes as\nMaharaj, great king, or else as Pandit, a learned man. I had a Brahman\nchuprassie, or orderly, who was regularly addressed by the rest of the\nhousehold as Pandit, and on inquiring as to the literary attainments\nof this learned man, I found he had read the first two class-books in\na primary school. Other titles of Brahmans are Dvija, or twice-born,\nthat is, one who has had the thread ceremony performed; Bipra, applied\nto a Brahman learned in the Shastras or scriptures; and Srotriya,\na learned Brahman who is engaged in the performance of Vedic rites.\n\n\n\n20. Caste _panchayat_ and offences.\n\n\nThe Brahmans have a caste _panchayat_, but among the educated classes\nthe tendency is to drop the _panchayat_ procedure and to refer\nmatters of caste rules and etiquette to the informal decision of a\nfew of the most respected local members. In northern India there is\nno supreme authority for the caste, but the five southern divisions\nacknowledge the successor of the great reformer Shankar Acharya as\ntheir spiritual head, and important caste questions are referred to\nhim. His headquarters are at the monastery of Sringeri on the Cauvery\nriver in Mysore. Mr. Joshi gives four offences as punishable with\npermanent exclusion from caste: killing a Brahman, drinking prohibited\nwine or spirits, committing incest with a mother or step-mother or\nwith the wife of one's spiritual preceptor, and stealing gold from a\npriest. Some very important offences, therefore, such as murder of any\nperson other than a Brahman, adultery with a woman of impure caste and\ntaking food from her, and all offences against property, except those\nmentioned, do not involve permanent expulsion. Temporary exclusion is\ninflicted for a variety of offences, among which are teaching the Vedas\nfor hire, receiving gifts from a Sudra for performing fire-worship,\nfalsely accusing a spiritual preceptor, subsisting by the harlotry of a\nwife, and defiling a damsel. It is possible that some of the offences\nagainst morality are comparatively recent additions. Brahmans who\ncross the sea to be educated in England are readmitted into caste\non going through various rites of purification; the principal of\nthese is to swallow the five products of the sacred cow, milk, _ghi_\nor preserved butter, curds, dung and urine. But the small minority\nwho have introduced widow-marriage are still banned by the orthodox.\n\n\n\n21. Rules about food.\n\n\nBrahmans as a rule should not eat meat nor drink intoxicating\nliquor. But it is said that the following indulgences have been\nrecognised: for residents in eastern India the eating of flesh and\ndrinking liquor; for those of northern India the eating of flesh; for\nthose in the west the use of water out of leather buckets; and in the\nsouth marriage with a first cousin on the mother's side. Hindustani\nBrahmans eat meat, according to Mr. Joshi, and others are now also\nadopting this custom. The kinds of meat permitted are mutton and\nvenison, scaly, but not scaleless, fish, hares, and even the tortoise,\nwild boar, wild buffalo and rhinoceros. Brahmans are said even to\neat domestic fowls, though not openly, and wild jungle fowls are\npreferred, but are seldom obtainable. Maratha Brahmans will not eat\nmeat openly. Formerly only the flesh of animals offered in sacrifice\ncould be eaten, but this rule is being disregarded and some Brahmans\nbuy mutton from the butchers. A Brahman should not eat even _pakki\nrasoi_ or food cooked without water, such as sweetmeats and cakes fried\nin butter or oil, except when cooked by his own family and in his own\nhome. But these are now partaken of abroad, and also purchased from\nthe Halwai or confectioner on the assumption that he is a Brahman. A\nBrahman should take food cooked with water only from his own relations\nand in his own home after the place has been purified and spread\nwith cowdung. He bathes before eating, and wears only a yellow silk\nor woollen cloth round his waist, which is kept specially for this\npurpose, cotton being regarded as impure. But these rules are tending\nto become obsolete, as educated Brahmans recognise more and more what\na hindrance they cause to any social enjoyment. Boys especially who\nreceive an English education in high schools and universities are\nrapidly becoming more liberal. They will drink soda-water or lemonade\nof which they are very fond, and eat European sweets and sometimes\nbiscuits. The social intercourse of boys of all castes and religions\nin school and games, and in the latter the frequent association with\nEuropeans, are having a remarkable effect in breaking down caste\nprejudice, the results of which should become very apparent in a few\nyears. A Brahman also should not smoke, but many now do so, and when\nthey go to see a friend will take their own huqqa with them as they\ncannot smoke out of his. Maratha and Khedawal Brahmans, however,\nas a rule do not smoke, but only chew tobacco.\n\n\n\n22. Dress.\n\n\nA Brahman's dress should be white, and he can have a coloured turban,\npreferably red. Maratha Brahmans were very particular about the\nsecuring of their _dhoti_ or loin-cloth, which always had to have\nfive tucks, three into the waistband at the two sides and in front,\nwhile the loose ends were tucked in in front and behind. Buttons had\nto be avoided as they were made of bone, and shoes were considered\nto be impure as being of leather. Formerly a Brahman never entered\na house with his shoes on, as he would consider the house to be\ndefiled. According to the old rule, if a Brahman touches a man of\nan impure caste, as a Chamar (tanner) or Basor (basket-maker), he\nshould bathe and change his loin-cloth, and if he touches a sweeper\nhe should change his sacred thread. Now, however, educated Brahmans\nusually wear white cotton trousers and black or brown coats of cloth,\nalpaca or silk with the normal allowance of buttons, and European\nshoes and boots which they keep on indoors. Boys are even discarding\nthe _choti_ or scalp-lock and simply cut their hair short in imitation\nof the English. For the head small felt caps have become fashionable\nin lieu of turbans.\n\n\n\n23. Tattooing.\n\n\nMen are never tattooed, but women are freely tattooed on the face\nand body. One dot is made in the centre of the forehead and three\non the left nostril in the form of a triangle. All the limbs and the\nfingers and toes may also be tattooed, the most common patterns being\na peacock with spread wings, a fish, cuckoo, scorpion, a child's\ndoll, a sieve, a pattern of Sita's cookroom and representations of\nall female ornaments. Some women think that they will be able to sell\nthe ornaments tattooed on their bodies in the next world and subsist\non the proceeds.\n\n\n\n24. Occupation.\n\n\nIn former times the Brahman was supposed to confine himself to priestly\nduties, learning the Vedas and giving instruction to the laity. His\nsubsistence was to be obtained from gleaning the fields after the\ncrop had been cut and from unsolicited alms, as it was disgraceful\nfor him to beg. But if he could not make a living in this manner\nhe was at liberty to adopt a trade or profession. The majority of\nBrahmans have followed the latter course with much success. They were\nthe ministers of Hindu kings, and as these were usually illiterate,\nmost of the power fell into the Brahmans' hands. In Poona the Maratha\nBrahmans became the actual rulers of the State. They have profited\nmuch from gifts and bequests of land for charitable purposes and are\none of the largest landholding castes. In Mewar it was recorded that a\nfifth of the State revenue from land was assigned in religious grants,\n[420] and in the deeds of gift, drawn up no doubt by the Brahmans\nthemselves, the most terrible penalties were invoked on any one who\nshould interfere with the grant. One of these was that such an impious\nperson would be a caterpillar in hell for sixty thousand years. [421]\nPlots of land and mango groves are also frequently given to Brahmans\nby village proprietors. A Brahman is forbidden to touch the plough\nwith his own hands, but this rule is falling into abeyance and many\nBrahman cultivators plough themselves. Brahmans are also prohibited\nfrom selling a large number of articles, as milk, butter, cows, salt\nand so on. Formerly a Brahman village proprietor refused payment\nfor the supplies of milk and butter given to travellers, and some\nwould expend the whole produce of their cattle in feeding religious\nmendicants and poor Brahmans. But these scruples, which tended to\nmultiply the number of beggars indefinitely, have happily vanished,\nand Brahmans will even sell cows to a butcher. Mr. Joshi relates\nthat a suit was brought by a Brahman in his court for the hide of a\ncow sold by him for slaughter. A number of Brahmans are employed as\npersonal servants, and these are usually cooks, a Brahman cook being\nvery useful, since all Hindus can eat the food which he prepares. Nor\nhas this calling hitherto been considered derogatory, as food is\nheld to be sacred, and he who prepares it is respected. Many live on\ncharitable contributions, and it is a rule among Hindus that a Brahman\ncoming into the house and asking for a present must be given something\nor his curse will ruin the family. Liberality is encouraged by the\nrecitation of legends, such as that of the good king Harischandra who\ngave away his whole kingdom to the great Brahman saint Visvamitra,\nand retired to Benares with a loin-cloth which the recipient allowed\nhim to retain from his possessions. But Brahmans who take gifts at the\ntime of a death, and those who take them from pilgrims at the sacred\nshrines, are despised and considered as out of caste, though not the\npriests in charge of temples. The rapacity of all these classes is\nproverbial, and an instance may be given of the conduct of the Pandas\nor temple-priests of Benares. These men were so haughty that they\nnever appeared in the temple unless some very important visitor was\nexpected, who would be able to pay largely. It is related that when\nthe ex-Peshwa of Poona came to Benares after the death of his father\nhe solicited the Panda of the great temple of Viseshwar to assist him\nin the performance of the ceremonies necessary for the repose of his\nfather's soul. But the priest refused to do so until the Maharaja had\nfilled with coined silver the _hauz_ or font of the temple. The demand\nwas acceded to and Rs. 125,000 were required to fill the font. [422]\nThose who are very poor adopt the profession of a Maha-Brahman or\nMahapatra, who takes gifts for the dead. Respectable Brahmans will\nnot accept gifts at all, but when asked to a feast the host usually\ngives them one to four annas or pence with betel-leaf at the time of\ntheir departure, and there is no shame in accepting this. A very rich\nman may give a gold mohar (guinea) to each Brahman. Other Brahmans\nact as astrologers and foretell events. They pretend to be able\nto produce rain in a drought or stop excessive rainfall when it is\ninjuring the crops. They interpret dreams and omens. In the case of\na theft the loser will go to a Brahman astrologer, and after learning\nthe circumstances the latter will tell him what sort of person stole\nthe property and in what direction the property is concealed. But\nthe large majority of Brahmans have abandoned all priestly functions,\nand are employed in all grades of Government service, the professions\nand agriculture. In 1911 about fifty-three per cent of Brahmans in\nthe Central Provinces were supported by agriculture as landowners,\ncultivators and labourers. About twenty-two per cent were engaged\nin the arts and professions, seven per cent in Government service,\nincluding the police which contains many Brahman constables, and\nonly nineteen per cent were returned under all occupations connected\nwith religion.\n\n\n\n25. Character of Brahmans.\n\n\nMany hard things have been said about the Brahman caste and have\nnot been undeserved. The Brahman priesthood displayed in a marked\ndegree the vices of arrogance, greed, hypocrisy and dissimulation,\nwhich would naturally be engendered by their sacerdotal pretensions\nand the position they claimed at the head of Hindu society. But\nthe priests and mendicants now, as has been seen, contribute only a\ncomparatively small minority of the whole caste. The majority of the\nBrahmans are lawyers, doctors, executive officers of Government and\nclerks in all kinds of Government, railway and private offices. The\ndefects ascribed to the priesthood apply to these, if at all, only in\na very minor degree. The Brahman official has many virtues. He is, as\na rule, honest, industrious and anxious to do his work creditably. He\nspends very little on his own pleasures, and his chief aim in life is\nto give his children as good an education as he can afford. A half or\nmore of his income may be devoted to this object. If he is well-to-do\nhe helps his poor relations liberally, having the strong fellow-feeling\nfor them which is a relic of the joint family system. He is a faithful\nhusband and an affectionate father. If his outlook on life is narrow\nand much of his leisure often devoted to petty quarrels and intrigues,\nthis is largely the result of his imperfect, parrot-like education\nand lack of opportunity for anything better. In this respect it may\nbe anticipated that the excellent education and training now afforded\nby Government in secondary schools for very small fees will produce a\ngreat improvement; and that the next generation of educated Hindus will\nbe considerably more manly and intelligent, and it may be hoped at the\nsame time not less honest, industrious and loyal than their fathers.\n\n\n\nBrahman, Ahivasi\n\n\n_Brahman, Ahivasi._--A class of persons who claim to be Brahmans, but\nare generally engaged in cultivation and pack-carriage. They are looked\ndown upon by other Brahmans, and permit the remarriage of widows. The\nname means the abode of the snake or dragon, and the caste are said to\nbe derived from a village Sunrakh in Muttra District, where a dragon\nonce lived. For further information Mr. Crooke's article on the caste,\n[423] from which the above details are taken, may be consulted.\n\n\n\nBrahman, Jijhotia\n\n\n_Brahman, Jijhotia._--This is a local subdivision of the Kanaujia\nsubcaste, belonging to Bundelkhand. They take their name from Jajhoti,\nthe classical term for Bundelkhand, and reside in Saugor and the\nadjoining Districts, where they usually act as priests to the higher\ncastes. The Jijhotia Brahmans rank a little below the Kanaujias proper\nand the Sarwarias, who are also a branch of the Kanaujia division. The\ntwo latter classes take daughters in marriage from Jijhotias, but do\nnot give their daughters to them. But these hypergamous marriages are\nnow rare. Jijhotia Brahmans will plough with their own hands in Saugor.\n\n\n\nBrahman, Kanaujia, Kanyakubja\n\n\n_Brahman, Kanaujia, Kanyakubja._--This, the most important division\nof the northern Brahmans, takes its name from the ancient city of\nKanauj in the Farukhabad District on the Ganges, which was on two\noccasions the capital of India. The great king Harsha Vardhana, who\nruled the whole of northern India in the seventh century, had his\nheadquarters here, and when the Chinese pilgrim Hiuen Tsang stayed at\nKanauj in A.D. 638 and 643 he found upwards of a hundred monasteries\ncrowded by more than 10,000 Buddhist monks. \"Hinduism flourished as\nwell as Buddhism, and could show more than two hundred temples with\nthousands of worshippers. The city, which was strongly fortified,\nextended along the east bank of the Ganges for about four miles, and\nwas adorned with lovely gardens and clear tanks. The inhabitants were\nwell-to-do, including some families of great wealth; they dressed in\nsilk, and were skilled in learning and the arts.\" [424] When Mahmud\nof Ghazni appeared before Kanauj in A.D. 1018 the number of temples\nis said to have risen to 10,000. The Sultan destroyed the temples,\nbut seems to have spared the city. Thereafter Kanauj declined in\nimportance, though still the capital of a Rajput dynasty, and the\nfinal sack by Shihab-ud-Din in A.D. 1194 reduced it to desolation\nand insignificance for ever. [425]\n\nThe Kanaujia Brahmans include the principal body of the caste in\nBengal and in the Hindi Districts of the Central Provinces. They are\nhere divided into four sub-groups, the Kanaujia proper, Sarwaria,\nJijhotia and Sanadhya, which are separately noticed. The Sarwarias\nare sometimes considered to rank a little higher than the proper\nKanaujias. It is said that the two classes are the descendants of two\nbrothers, Kanya and Kubja, of whom the former accepted a present from\nthe divine king Rama of Ayodhya when he celebrated a sacrifice on his\nreturn from Ceylon, while the latter refused it. The Sarwarias are\ndescended from Kubja who refused the present and therefore are purer\nthan the Kanaujias, whose ancestor, Kanya, accepted it. Kanya and Kubja\nare simply the two parts of Kanyakubja, the old name for Kanauj. It may\nbe noted that Kanya means a maiden and also the constellation Virgo,\nwhile Kubja is a name of the planet Mars; but it is not known whether\nthe words in this sense are connected with the name of the city. The\nKanaujia Brahmans of the Central Provinces practise hypergamy,\nas described in the general article on Brahman. Mr. Crooke states\nthat in the United Provinces the children of a man's second wife can\nintermarry with those of his first wife, provided that they are not\notherwise related or of the same section. The practice of exchanging\ngirls between families is also permitted there. [426] In the Central\nProvinces the Kanaujias eat meat and sometimes plough with their own\nhands. The Chhattisgarhi Kanaujias form a separate group, who have\nbeen long separated from their brethren elsewhere. As a consequence\nother Kanaujias will neither eat nor intermarry with them. Similarly\nin Saugor those who have come recently from the United Provinces will\nnot marry with the older settlers. A Kanaujia Brahman is very strict\nin the matter of taking food, and will scarcely eat it unless cooked\nby his own relations, according to the saying, '_Ath Kanaujia, nau\nchulha_' or 'Eight Kanaujias will want nine places to cook their food.'\n\n\n\nBrahman, Khedawal\n\n\n_Brahman, Khedawal._--The Khedawals are a class of Gujarati Brahmans,\nwho take their name from Kheda or Kaira, the headquarters of the Kaira\nDistrict, where they principally reside. They have two divisions,\nknown as Inside and Outside. It is said that once the Kaira chief was\nanxious to have a son and offered them gifts. The majority refused the\ngifts, and leaving Kaira settled in villages outside the town; while\na small number accepted the gifts and remained inside, and hence two\nseparate divisions arose, the outside group being the higher. [427]\nIt is said that the first Khedawal who came to the Central Provinces\nwas on a journey from Gujarat to Benares when, on passing through\nPanna State, he saw some diamonds lying in a field. He stopped and\npicked up as many as he could and presented them to the Raja of Panna,\nwho made him a grant of an estate, and from this time other Khedawals\ncame and settled. A considerable colony of them now exists in Saugor\nand Damoh. The Khedawals are clever and astute, and many of them are\nthe agents of landowners and moneylenders, while a large proportion\nare in the service of the Government. They do not as a rule perform\npriestly functions in the Central Provinces. Their caste observances\nare strict. Formerly it is said that a Khedawal who was sent to jail\nwas permanently expelled from caste, and though the rule has been\nrelaxed the penalties for readmission are still very heavy. They\ndo not smoke, but only chew tobacco. Widows must dress in white,\nand their heads are sometimes shaved. They are said to consider a\ncamel as impure as a donkey, and will not touch either animal. One\nof their common titles is Mehta, meaning great. The Khedawals of the\nCentral Provinces formerly married only among themselves, but since\nthe railway has been opened intermarriage with their caste-fellows\nin Gujarat has been resumed.\n\n\n\nBrahman, Maharashtra\n\n\n_Brahman, Maharashtra, Maratha._--The Maratha Brahmans, or those\nof the Bombay country, are numerous and important in the Central\nProvinces. The northern Districts were for a period governed by\nMaratha Brahmans on behalf of the Peshwa of Poona, and under the\nBhonsla dynasty of Nagpur in the south they took a large part in the\nadministration. The Maratha Brahmans have three main subcastes, the\nDeshasth, Konkonasth and Karhada. The Deshasth Brahmans belong to the\ncountry of Poona above the Western Ghats, which is known as the _desh_\nor home country. They are numerous in Berar and Nagpur. The Konkonasth\nare so called because they reside in the Konkan country along the\nBombay coast. They have noticeably fair complexions, good features\nand often grey eyes. According to a legend they were sprung from the\ncorpses of a party of shipwrecked foreigners, who were raised to life\nby Parasurama. [428] This story and their fine appearance have given\nrise to the hypothesis that their ancestors were shipwrecked sailors\nfrom some European country, or from Arabia or Persia. They are also\nknown as Chitpavan, which is said to mean the pure in heart, but a\nderivation suggested in the _Bombay Gazetteer_ is from Chiplun or\nChitapolan, a place in the Konkan which was their headquarters. The\nPeshwa of Poona was a Konkonasth Brahman, and there are a number of\nthem in Saugor. The Karhada Brahmans take their name from the town\nof Karhad in the Satara District. They show little difference from\nthe Deshasths in customs and appearance.\n\nFormerly the above three subcastes were endogamous and married only\namong themselves. But since the railway has been opened they have\nbegun to intermarry with each other to a limited extent, having\nobtained sanction to this from the successor of Shankar Acharya,\nwhom they acknowledge as their spiritual head.\n\nThe Maratha Brahmans are also divided into sects, according to the\nVeda which they follow. Most of them are either Rigvedis or Yajurvedis,\nand these two sects marry among themselves. These Brahmans are strict\nin the observance of caste rules. They do not take water from any\nbut other Brahmans, and abstain from flesh and liquor. They will,\nhowever, eat with any of the Panch-Dravid or southern divisions of\nBrahmans except those of Gujarat. They usually abstain from smoking,\nand until recently have made widows shave their heads; but this rule is\nperhaps now relaxed. As a rule they are well educated, and the majority\nof them look to Government service for a career, either as clerks\nin the public offices or as officers of the executive and judicial\nservices. They are intelligent and generally reliable workers. The\nfull name of a Maratha or Gujarati Brahman consists of his own name,\nhis father's name and a surname. But he is commonly addressed by his\nown name, followed by the honorific termination Rao for Raja, a king,\nor Pant for Pandit, a wise man.\n\n\n\nBrahman, Maithil\n\n\n_Brahman, Maithil._--One of the five Panch-Gaur or northern divisions,\ncomprising the Brahmans of Bihar or Tirhut. There are some Maithil\nBrahman families settled in Mandla, who were formerly in the service\nof the Gond kings. They have the surname of Ojha, which is one of those\nborne by the caste and signifies a soothsayer. The Maithil Brahmans are\nsaid to have at one time practised magic. Mithila or Bihar has also,\nfrom the earliest times, been famous for the cultivation of Sanskrit,\nand the great lawgiver Yajnavalkya is described as a native of this\ncountry. [429] The head of the subcaste is the Maharaja of Darbhanga,\nto whom family disputes are sometimes referred for decision. The\nMaithil Brahmans are said to be mainly Sakti worshippers. They eat\nflesh and fish, but do not drink liquor or smoke tobacco. [430]\n\n\n\nBrahman, Malwi\n\n\n_Brahman, Malwi._--This is a local class of Brahmans from Malwa\nin Central India, who are found in the Hoshangabad and Betul\nDistricts. They are said to have been invited here by the Gond kings of\nKherla in Betul six or more centuries ago, and are probably of impure\ndescent. Malwa is north of the Nerbudda, and they should therefore\nproperly belong to the Panch-Gaur division, but they speak Marathi and\ntheir customs resemble those of Maratha Brahmans, who will take food\ncooked without water from them. The Malwi Brahmans usually belong to\nthe Madhyandina branch of the Yajurvedi sect. They work as village\naccountants (_patwaris_) and village priests, and also cultivate land.\n\n\n\nBrahman, Nagar\n\n\n_Brahman, Nagar._--A class of Gujarati Brahmans found in the Nimar\nDistrict. The name is said to be derived from the town of Vadnagar of\nGujarat, now in Baroda State. According to one account they accepted\ngrants of land from a Rajput king, and hence were put out of caste\nby their fellows. Another story is that the Nagar Brahman women\nwere renowned for their personal beauty and also for their skill in\nmusic. The emperor Jahangir, hearing of their fame, wished to see\nthem and sent for them, but they refused to go. The emperor then\nordered that all the men should be killed and the women be taken to\nhis Court. A terrible struggle ensued, and many women threw themselves\ninto tanks and rivers and were drowned, rather than lose their modesty\nby appearing before the emperor. A body of Brahmans numbering 7450\n(or 74 1/2 hundred) threw away their sacred threads and became Sudras\nin order to save their lives. Since this occurrence the figure 74\n1/2 is considered very unlucky. Banias write 74 1/2 in the beginning\nof their account-books, by which they are held to take a vow that if\nthey make a false entry in the book they will be guilty of the sin\nof having killed this number of Brahmans. The same figure is also\nwritten on letters, so that none but the person to whom they are\naddressed may dare to open them. [431]\n\nThe above stories seem to show that the Nagar Brahmans are partly of\nimpure descent. In Gujarat it is said that one section of them called\nBarud are the descendants of Nagar Brahman fathers who were unable\nto get wives in their own caste and took them from others. The Barud\nsection also formerly permitted the remarriage of widows. [432] This\nseems a further indication of mixed descent. The Nagars settled in\nthe Central Provinces have for a long time ceased to marry with those\nof Gujarat owing to difficulties in communication. But now that the\nrailway has been opened they have petitioned the Rao of Bhaunagar,\nwho is the head of the caste, and a Nagar Brahman, to introduce\nintermarriage again between the two sections of the caste. Many Nagar\nBrahmans have taken to secular occupations and are land-agents and\ncultivators.\n\nFormerly the Nagar Brahmans observed very strict rules about defilement\nwhen in the state called _Nuven_, that is, having bathed and purified\nthemselves prior to taking food. A Brahman in this condition was\ndefiled if he touched an earthen vessel unless it was quite new and\nhad never held water. If he sat down on a piece of cotton cloth or a\nscrap of leather or paper he became impure unless Hindu letters had\nbeen written on the paper; these, as being the goddess Saraswati, would\npreserve it from defilement. But cloth or leather could not be purified\nthrough being written on. Thus if the Brahman wished to read any book\nbefore or at his meal it had to be bound with silk and not with cotton;\nleather could not be used, and instead of paste of flour and water the\nbinder had to employ paste of pounded tamarind seed. A printed book\ncould not be read, because printing-ink contained impure matter. Raw\ncotton did not render the Brahman impure, but if it had been twisted\ninto the wick of a lamp by any one not in a state of purity he became\nimpure. Bones defiled, but women's ivory armlets did not, except in\nthose parts of the country where they were not usually worn, and then\nthey did. The touch of a child of the same caste who had not learned\nto eat grain did not defile, but if the child ate grain it did. The\ntouch of a donkey, a dog or a pig defiled; some said that the touch\nof a cat also defiled, but others were inclined to think it did not,\nbecause in truth it was not easy to keep the cat out. [433]\n\nIf a Brahman was defiled and rendered impure by any of the above\nmeans he could not proceed with his meal.\n\n\n\nBrahman, Naramdeo\n\n\n_Brahman, Naramdeo._--A class of Brahmans who live in the Hoshangabad\nand Nimar Districts near the banks of the Nerbudda, from which river\ntheir name is derived. According to their own account they belong to\nthe Gurjara or Gujarati division, and were expelled from Gujarat by a\nRaja who had cut up a golden cow and wished them to accept pieces of it\nas presents. This they refused to do on account of the sin involved,\nand hence were exiled and came to the Central Provinces. A local\nlegend about them is to the effect that they are the descendants\nof a famous Rishi or saint, who dwelt beside the Nerbudda, and of\na Naoda or Dhimar woman who was one of his disciples. The Naramdeo\nBrahmans have for the most part adopted secular occupations, though\nthey act as village priests or astrologers. They are largely employed\nas village accountants (_patwaris_), clerks in Government offices, and\nagents to landowners, that is, in very much the same capacity as the\nKayasths. As land-agents they show much astuteness, and are reputed\nto have enriched themselves in many cases at the expense of their\nmasters. Hence they are unpopular with the cultivators just as the\nKayasths are, and very uncomplimentary proverbs are current about them.\n\n\n\nBrahman, Sanadhya\n\n\n_Brahman, Sanadhya, Sanaurhia._--The Sanadhyas are considered in the\nCentral Provinces to be a branch of the Kanaujia division. Their\nhome is in the Ganges-Jumna Doab and Rohilkhand, between the Gaur\nBrahmans to the north-west and the Kanaujias to the east. Mr. Crooke\nstates that in some localities the Sanadhyas intermarry with both\nthe Kanaujia and Gaur divisions. But formerly both Kanaujias and\nGaurs practised hypergamy with the Sanadhyas, taking daughters from\nthem in marriage but not giving their daughters to them. [434] This\nfact indicates the inferiority of the Sanadhya group, but marriage\nis now becoming reciprocal. In Bengal the Sanadhyas account for their\ninferiority to the other Kanaujias by saying that their ancestors on\none occasion at the bidding of a Raja partook of a sacrificial feast\nwith all their clothes on, instead of only their loin-cloths according\nto the rule among Brahmans, and were hence degraded. The Sanadhyas\nthemselves have two divisions, the _Sarhe-tin ghar_ and _Dasghar_,\nor Three-and-a-half houses and Ten houses, of whom the former are\nsuperior, and practise hypergamy with the latter. Further, it is said\nthat the Three-and-a-half group were once made to intermarry with the\ndegraded Kataha or Maha-Brahmans, who are funeral priests. [435] This\nfurther indicates the inferior status of the Sanadhyas. The Sanaurhia\ncriminal caste of pickpockets are supposed to be made up of a nucleus\nof Sanadhya Brahmans with recruits from all other castes, but this is\nnot certain. In the Central Provinces a number of Sanadhyas took to\ncarrying grain and merchandise on pack-bullocks, and are hence known\nas Belwar. They form a separate subcaste, ranking below the other\nSanadhyas and marrying among themselves. Mr. Crooke notes that at\ntheir weddings the Sanadhyas worship a potter's wheel. Some make an\nimage of it on the wall of the house, while others go to the potter's\nhouse and worship his wheel there. In the Central Provinces after\nthe wedding they get a bed newly made with _newar_ tape and seat the\nbride and bridegroom on it, and put a large plate at their feet, in\nwhich presents are placed. The Sanadhyas differ from the Kanaujias in\nthat they smoke tobacco but do not eat meat, while the Kanaujias eat\nmeat but do not smoke. They greet each other with the word Dandawat,\nadding Maharaj to an equal or superior.\n\n\n\nBrahman, Sarwaria\n\n\n_Brahman, Sarwaria._--This is the highest class of the Kanaujia\nBramans, who take their name from the river Sarju or Gogra in Oudh,\nwhere they have their home. They observe strict rules of ceremonial\npurity, and do not smoke tobacco nor plough with their own hands. An\northodox Sarwaria Braman will not give his daughter in marriage in a\nvillage from which his family has received a girl, and sometimes will\nnot even drink the water of that village. The Sarwarias make widows\ndress in white and sometimes shave their heads. In some tracts they\nintermarry with the Kanaujia Brahmans, and in others take daughters in\nmarriage but do not give their own daughters to them. In Dr. Buchanan's\ntime, a century ago, the Sarwaria Brahmans would not eat rice sold in\nthe bazar which had been cleaned in boiling water, as they considered\nthat it had thereby become food cooked with water; and they carried\ntheir own grain to the grain-parcher to be prepared for them. When\nthey ate either parched grain or sweetmeats from a confectioner in\npublic they must purify the place on which they sat down with cowdung\nand water. [436] This may be compared with a practice observed by very\nstrict Brahmans even now, of adding water to the medicine which they\nobtain from a Government dispensary, to purify it before drinking it.\n\n\n\nBrahman, Utkal\n\n\n_Brahman, Utkal._--These are the Brahmans of Orissa and one of\nthe Panch-Gaur divisions. They are divided into two groups, the\nDakshinatya or southern and the Jajpuria or northern clan. The Utkal\nBrahmans, who first settled in Sambalpur, are known as Jharia or\njungly, and form a separate subcaste, marrying among themselves,\nas the later immigrants refuse to intermarry with them. Another\ngroup of Orissa Brahmans have taken to cultivation, and are known as\nHalia, from _hal_, a plough. They grow the betel-vine, and in Orissa\nthe areca and cocoanuts, besides doing ordinary cultivation. They\nhave entirely lost their sacerdotal character, but glory in their\noccupation, and affect to despise the Bed or Veda Brahmans, who live\nupon alms. [437] A third class of Orissa Brahmans are the Pandas,\nwho serve as priests and cooks in the public temples and also in\nprivate houses, and travel about India touting for pilgrims to visit\nthe temple at Jagannath. Dr. Bhattacharya describes the procedure of\nthe temple-touts as follows: [438]\n\n\"Their tours are so organised that during their campaigning season,\nwhich commences in November and is finished by the car-festival at the\nbeginning of the rains, very few villages of the adjoining Provinces\nescape their visits and taxation. Their appearance causes a disturbance\nin every household. Those who have already visited 'The Lord of the\nWorld' at Puri are called upon to pay an instalment towards the debt\ncontracted by them while at the sacred shrine, which, though paid\nmany times over, is never completely satisfied. That, however, is a\nsmall matter compared with the misery and distraction caused by the\n'Jagannath mania,' which is excited by the preachings and pictures of\nthe Panda. A fresh batch of old ladies become determined to visit the\nshrine, and neither the waitings and protestations of the children nor\nthe prospect of a long and toilsome journey can dissuade them. The\narrangements of the family are for the time being altogether upset,\nand the grief of those left behind is heightened by the fact that\nthey look upon the pilgrims as going to meet almost certain death....\"\n\nThis vivid statement of the objections to the habit of pilgrimage from\na Brahman writer is very interesting. Since the opening of the railway\nto Puri the danger and expense as well as the period of absence have\nbeen greatly reduced; but the pilgrimages are still responsible for\na large mortality, as cholera frequently breaks out among the vast\nassembly at the temple, and the pilgrims, hastily returning to all\nparts of India, carry the disease with them, and cause epidemics in\nmany localities. All castes now eat the rice cooked at the temple of\nJagannath together without defilement, and friendships are cemented\nby eating a little of this rice together as a sacred bond.\n\n\n\nChadar\n\n\n_Chadar, [439] Kotwar._--A small caste of weavers and village\nwatchmen resident in the Districts of Saugor, Damoh, Jubbulpore and\nNarsinghpur. They numbered 28,000 persons in 1911. The caste is not\nfound outside the northern Districts of the Central Provinces. The\nname is derived from the Sanskrit _chirkar_, a weaver, and belongs\nto Bundelkhand, but beyond this the Chadars have no knowledge or\ntraditions of their origin. They are probably an occupational group\nformed from members of the Dravidian tribes and others who took to the\nprofession of village watchmen. A number of other occupational castes\nof low status are found in the northern Districts, and their existence\nis probably to be accounted for by the fact that the forest tribes\nwere subjected and their tribal organisation destroyed by the invading\nBundelas and other Hindus some centuries ago. They were deprived\nof the land and relegated to the performance of menial and servile\nduties in the village, and they have formed a new set of divisions\ninto castes arising from the occupations they adopted. The Chadars\nhave two subcastes based on differences of religious practice, the\nParmesuria or worshippers of Vishnu, and Athia or devotees of Devi. It\nis doubtful, however, whether these are strictly endogamous. They\nhave a large number of exogamous septs or _bainks_, which are named\nafter all sorts of animals, plants and natural objects. Instances of\nthese names are Dhana (a leaf of the rice plant), Kasia (bell-metal),\nGohia (a kind of lizard), Bachhulia (a calf), Gujaria (a milkmaid),\nMoria (a peacock), Laraiya (a jackal), Khatkira (a bug), Sugaria\n(a pig), Barraiya (a wasp), Neora (a mongoose), Bhartu Chiraiya (a\nsparrow), and so on. Thirty-nine names in all are reported. Members\nof each sept draw the figure of the animal or plant after which it\nis named on the wall at marriages and worship it. They usually refuse\nto kill the totem animal, and the members of the Sugaria or pig sept\nthrow away their earthen vessels if a pig should be killed in their\nsight, and clean their houses as if on the death of a member of the\nfamily. Marriage between members of the same sept is forbidden and\nalso between first cousins and other near relations. The Chadars say\nthat the marriages of persons nearly related by blood are unhappy, and\noccasion serious consequences to the parties and their families. Girls\nare usually wedded in the fifth, seventh, ninth, or eleventh year\nof their age and boys between the ages of eight and sixteen. If an\nunmarried girl is seduced by a member of the caste she is married\nto him by the simple form adopted for the wedding of a widow. But\nif she goes wrong with an outsider of low caste she is permanently\nexpelled. The remarriage of widows is permitted and divorce is also\nallowed, a deed being executed on stamped paper before the _panchayat_\nor caste committee. If a woman runs away from her husband to another\nman he must repay to the husband the amount expended on her wedding\nand give a feast to the caste. A Brahman is employed to fix the date\nof a wedding and sometimes for the naming of children, but he is only\nconsulted and is never present at the ceremony. The caste venerate the\ngoddess Devi, offering her a virgin she-goat in the month of Asarh\n(June-July). They worship their weaving implements at the Diwali\nand Holi festivals, and feed the crows in Kunwar (September-October)\nas representing the spirits of their ancestors. This custom is based\non the superstition that a crow does not die of old age or disease,\nbut only when it is killed. To cure a patient of fever they tie a\nblue thread, irregularly knotted, round his wrist. They believe that\nthunder-bolts are the arrows shot by Indra to kill his enemies in the\nlower world, and that the rainbow is Indra's bow; any one pointing at\nit will feel pain in his finger. The dead are mourned for ten days,\nand during that time a burning lamp is placed on the ground at some\ndistance from the house, while on the tenth day a tooth-stick and water\nand food are set out for the soul of the dead. They will not throw the\nfirst teeth of a child on to a tiled roof, because they believe that if\nthis is done his next teeth will be wide and ugly like the tiles. But\nit is a common practice to throw the first teeth on to the thatched\nroof of the house. The Chadars will admit members of most castes of\ngood standing into the community, and they eat flesh, including pork\nand fowls, and drink liquor, and will take cooked food from most of the\ngood castes and from Kalars, Khangars and Kumhars. The social status\nof the caste is very low, but they rank above the impure castes and\nare of cleanly habits, bathing daily and cleaning their kitchens\nbefore taking food. They are employed as village watchmen and as\nfarmservants and field-labourers, and also weave coarse country cloth.\n\n\n\n\n\n\nChamar\n\n\n\nList of Paragraphs\n\n\n    1. _General notice of the caste._\n    2. _Endogamous divisions._\n    3. _Subcastes continued._\n    4. _Exogamous divisions._\n    5. _Marriage._\n    6. _Widow-marriage and divorce._\n    7. _Funeral customs._\n    8. _Childbirth._\n    9. _Religion._\n    10. _Occupation._\n    11. _The tanning process._\n    12. _Shoes._\n    13. _Other articles made of leather._\n    14. _Customs connected with shoes._\n    15. _The Chamar as general village drudge._\n    16. _Social status._\n    17. _Character._\n\n\n\n1. General notice of the caste.\n\n\n_Chamar, Chambhar._ [440]--The caste of tanners and menial labourers\nof northern India. In the Central Provinces the Chamars numbered about\n900,000 persons in 1911. They are the third caste in the Province in\nnumerical strength, being exceeded by the Gonds and Kunbis. About\n600,000 persons, or two-thirds of the total strength of the caste\nin the Province, belong to the Chhattisgarh Division and adjacent\nFeudatory States. Here the Chamars have to some extent emancipated\nthemselves from their servile status and have become cultivators, and\noccasionally even malguzars or landed proprietors; and between them\nand the Hindus a bitter and long-standing feud is in progress. Outside\nChhattisgarh the Chamars are found in most of the Hindi-speaking\nDistricts whose population has been recruited from northern and\ncentral India, and here they are perhaps the most debased class of\nthe community, consigned to the lowest of menial tasks, and their\nspirit broken by generations of servitude. In the Maratha country the\nplace of the Chamars is taken by the Mehras or Mahars. In the whole\nof India the Chamars are about eleven millions strong, and are the\nlargest caste with the exception of the Brahmans. The name is derived\nfrom the Sanskrit Charmakara, a worker in leather; and, according\nto classical tradition, the Chamar is the offspring of a Chandal or\nsweeper woman by a man of the fisher caste. [441] The superior physical\ntype of the Chamar has been noticed in several localities. Thus in\nthe Kanara District of Bombay [442] the Chamar women are said to be\nfamed for their beauty of face and figure, and there it is stated\nthat the Padminis or perfect type of women, middle-sized with fine\nfeatures, black lustrous hair and eyes, full breasts and slim waists,\n[443] are all Chamarins. Sir D. Ibbetson writes [444] that their women\nare celebrated for beauty, and loss of caste is often attributed to\ntoo great a partiality for a Chamarin. In Chhattisgarh the Chamars\nare generally of fine stature and fair complexion; some of them are\nlighter in colour than the Chhattisgarhi Brahmans, and it is on record\nthat a European officer mistook a Chamar for a Eurasian and addressed\nhim in English. This, however, is by no means universally the case,\nand Sir H. Risley considers [445] that \"The average Chamar is hardly\ndistinguishable in point of features, stature or complexion from the\nmembers of those non-Aryan races from whose ranks we should primarily\nexpect the profession of leather-dressers to be recruited.\" Again, Sir\nHenry Elliot, writing of the Chamars of the North-Western Provinces,\nsays: \"Chamars are reputed to be a dark race, and a fair Chamar is\nsaid to be as rare an object as a black Brahman:\n\n\n                Karia Brahman, gor Chamar,\n                Inke sath na utariye par,\n\n\nthat is, 'Do not cross a river in the same boat with a black Brahman\nor a fair Chamar,' both being of evil omen.\" The latter description\nwould certainly apply to the Chamars of the Central Provinces outside\nthe Chhattisgarh Districts, but hardly to the caste as a whole within\nthat area. No satisfactory explanation has been offered of this\ndistinction of appearance of some groups of Chamars. It is possible\nthat the Chamars of certain localities may be the descendants of a\nrace from the north-west, conquered and enslaved by a later wave of\nimmigrants; or that their physical development may owe something to\nadult marriage and a flesh diet, even though consisting largely of\ncarrion. It may be noticed that the sweepers, who eat the broken food\nfrom the tables of the Europeans and wealthy natives, are sometimes\nstronger and better built than the average Hindu. Similarly, the\nKasais or Muhammadan butchers are proverbially strong and lusty. But\nno evidence is forthcoming in support of such conjectures, and the\nproblem is likely to remain insoluble.\n\n\"The Chamars,\" Sir H. Risley states, [446] \"trace their own pedigree\nto Ravi or Rai Das, the famous disciple of Ramanand at the end\nof the fourteenth century, and whenever a Chamar is asked what\nhe is, he replies a Ravi Das. Another tradition current among them\nalleges that their original ancestor was the youngest of four Brahman\nbrethren who went to bathe in a river and found a cow struggling in a\nquicksand. They sent the youngest brother in to rescue the animal, but\nbefore he could get to the spot it had been drowned. He was compelled,\ntherefore, by his brothers to remove the carcase, and after he had\ndone this they turned him out of their caste and gave him the name\nof Chamar.\" Other legends are related by Mr. Crooke in his article\non the caste.\n\n\n\n2. Endogamous divisions.\n\n\nThe Chamars are broken up into a number of endogamous subcastes. Of\nthese the largest now consists of the members of the Satnami sect\nin Chhattisgarh, who do not intermarry with other Chamars. They\nare described in the article on that sect. The other Chamars call\nthe Satnamis Jharia or 'jungly', which implies that they are the\noldest residents in Chhattisgarh. The Satnamis are all cultivators,\nand have given up working in leather. The Chungias (from _chungi_,\na leaf-pipe) are a branch of the Satnamis who have taken to smoking,\na practice which is forbidden by the rules of the sect. In Chhattisgarh\nthose Chamars who still cure hides and work in leather belong either\nto the Kanaujia or Ahirwar subcastes, the former of whom take their\nname from the well-known classical town of Kanauj in northern India,\nwhile the latter are said to be the descendants of unions between\nChamar fathers and Ahir mothers. The Kanaujias are much addicted to\ndrink, and though they eat pork they do not rear pigs. The Ahirwars,\nor Erwars as they are called outside Chhattisgarh, occupy a somewhat\nhigher position than the Kanaujias. They consider themselves to be the\ndirect descendants of the prophet Raidas or Rohidas, who, they say,\nhad seven wives of different castes; one of them was an Ahir woman,\nand her offspring were the ancestors of the Ahirwar subcaste. Both\nthe Kanaujias and Ahirwars of Chhattisgarh are generally known to\noutsiders as Paikaha, a term which indicates that they still follow\ntheir ancestral calling of curing hides, as opposed to the Satnamis,\nwho have generally eschewed it. Those Chamars who are curriers have,\nas a rule, the right to receive the hides of the village cattle in\nreturn for removing the carcases, each family of Chamars having\nallotted to them a certain number of tenants whose dead cattle\nthey take, while their women are the hereditary midwives of the\nvillage. Such Chamars have the designation of Meher. The Kanaujias\nmake shoes out of a single piece of leather, while the Ahirwars cut\nthe front separately. The latter also ornament their shoes with fancy\nwork consisting of patterns of silver thread on red cloth. No Ahirwar\ngirl is married until she has shown herself proficient in this kind of\nneedlework. [447] Another well-known group, found both in Chhattisgarh\nand elsewhere, are the Jaiswaras, who take their name from the old\ntown of Jais in the United Provinces. Many of them serve as grooms,\nand are accustomed to state their caste as Jaiswara, considering\nit a more respectable designation than Chamar. The Jaiswaras must\ncarry burdens on their heads only and not on their shoulders, and\nthey must not tie up a dog with a halter or neck-rope, this article\nbeing venerated by them as an implement of their calling. A breach\nof either of these rules entails temporary excommunication from caste\nand a fine for readmission. Among a number of territorial groups may\nbe mentioned the Bundelkhandi or immigrants from Bundelkhand; the\nBhadoria from the Bhadawar State; the Antarvedi from Antarved or the\nDoab, the country lying between the Ganges and Jumna; the Gangapari\nor those from the north of the Ganges; and the Pardeshi (foreigners)\nand Desha or Deswar (belonging to the country), both of which groups\ncome from Hindustan. The Deswar Chamars of Narsinghpur [448] are now\nall agriculturists and have totally abjured the business of working in\nleather. The Mahobia and Khaijraha take their names from the towns of\nMahoba and Khaijra in Central India. The Ladse or Ladvi come from south\nGujarat, which in classical times was known as Lat; while the Maratha,\nBeraria and Dakhini subdivisions belong to southern India. There are\na number of other territorial groups of less importance.\n\n\n\n3. Subcastes continued.\n\n\nCertain subcastes are of an occupational nature, and among these may be\nmentioned the Budalgirs of Chhindwara, who derive their name from the\n_budla_, or leather bag made for the transport and storage of oil and\n_ghi_. The _budla_, Mr. Trench remarks, [449] has been ousted by the\nkerosene oil tin, and the industry of the Budalgirs has consequently\nalmost disappeared; but the _budlas_ are still used by barbers to\nhold oil for the torches which they carry in wedding processions. The\nDaijanya subcaste are so named because their women act as midwives\n(_dai_), but this business is by no means confined to one particular\ngroup, being undertaken generally by Chamar women. The Kataua or\nKatwa are leather-cutters, the name being derived from _katna_, to\ncut. And the Gobardhua (from _gobar_, cowdung) collect the droppings\nof cattle on the threshing-floors and wash out and eat the undigested\ngrain. The Mochis or shoemakers and Jingars [450] or saddlemakers and\nbookbinders have obtained a better position than the ordinary Chamars,\nand have now practically become separate castes; while, on the other\nhand, the Dohar subcaste of Narsinghpur have sunk to the very lowest\nstage of casual labour, grass-cutting and the like, and are looked\ndown on by the rest of the caste. [451] The Korchamars are said to be\nthe descendants of alliances between Chamars and Koris or weavers, and\nthe Turkanyas probably have Turk or Musalman blood in their veins. In\nBerar the Romya or Haralya subcaste claim the highest rank and say\nthat their ancestor Harlya was the primeval Chamar who stripped off\na piece of his own skin to make a pair of shoes for Mahadeo. [452]\nThe Mangya [453] Chamars of Chanda and the Nona Chamars of Damoh are\ngroups of beggars, who are the lowest of the caste and will take food\nfrom the hands of any other Chamar. The Nona group take their name\nfrom Nona or Lona Chamarin, a well-known witch about whom Mr. Crooke\nrelates the following story: [454] \"Her legend tells how Dhanwantari,\nthe physician of the gods, was bitten by Takshaka, the king of the\nsnakes, and knowing that death approached he ordered his sons to cook\nand eat his body after his death, so that they might thereby inherit\nhis skill in medicine. They accordingly cooked his body in a cauldron,\nand were about to eat it when Takshaka appeared to them in the form\nof a Brahman and warned them against this act of cannibalism. So\nthey let the cauldron float down the Ganges, and as it floated down,\nLona the Chamarin, who was washing on the bank of the river, took the\nvessel out in ignorance of its contents, and partook of the ghastly\nfood. She at once obtained power to cure diseases, and especially\nsnake-bite. One day all the women were transplanting rice, and it\nwas found that Lona could do as much work as all her companions put\ntogether. So they watched her, and when she thought she was alone she\nstripped off her clothes (nudity being an essential element in magic),\nmuttered some spells, and threw the plants into the air, when they\nall settled down in their proper places. Finding she was observed, she\ntried to escape, and as she ran the earth opened, and all the water of\nthe rice-fields followed her and thus was formed the channel of the\nLoni River in the Unao District.\" This Lona or Nona has obtained the\nposition of a nursery bogey, and throughout Hindustan, Sir H. Risley\nstates, parents frighten naughty children by telling them that Nona\nChamarin will carry them off. The Chamars say that she was the mother\nor grandmother of the prophet Ravi Das, or Rai Das already referred to.\n\n\n\n4. Exogamous divisions.\n\n\nThe caste is also divided into a large number of exogamous groups\nor sections, whose names, as might be expected, present a great\ndiversity of character. Some are borrowed from Rajput clans, as\nSurajvansi, Gaharwar and Rathor; while others, as Marai, are taken\nfrom the Gonds. Instances of sections named after other castes are\nBanjar (Banjara), Jogi, Chhipia (Chhipi, a tailor) and Khairwar\n(a forest tribe). The Chhipia section preserve the memory of their\ncomparatively illustrious descent by refusing to eat pork. Instances\nof sections called after a title or nickname of the reputed founder\nare Maladhari, one who wears a garland; Machhi-Mundia or fly-headed,\nperhaps the equivalent of feather-brained; Hathila, obstinate; Baghmar,\na tiger-killer; Mangaya, a beggar; Dhuliya, a drummer; Jadkodiha, one\nwho digs for roots, and so on. There are numerous territorial groups\nnamed after the town or village where the ancestor of the clan may\nbe supposed to have lived; and many names also are of a totemistic\nnature, being taken from plants, animals or natural objects. Among\nthese are Khunti, a peg; Chandaniha, sandalwood; Tarwaria, a sword;\nBorbans, plums; Miri, chillies; Chauria, a whisk; Baraiya, a wasp;\nKhalaria, a hide or skin; Kosni, _kosa_ or tasar silk; and Purain,\nthe lotus plant. Totemistic observances survive only in one or two\nisolated instances.\n\n\n\n5. Marriage.\n\n\nA man must not take a wife from his own section, nor in some localities\nfrom that of his mother or either of his grandmothers. Generally the\nunion of first cousins is prohibited. Adult marriage is the rule, but\nthose who wish to improve their social position have taken to disposing\nof their daughters at an early age. Matches are always arranged by the\nparents, and it is the business of the boy's father to find a bride for\nhis son. A bride-price is paid which may vary from two pice (farthings)\nto a hundred rupees, but usually averages about twenty rupees. In\nChanda the amount is fixed at Rs. 13 and it is known as _hunda_,\nbut if the bride's grandmother is alive it is increased to Rs. 15-8,\nand the extra money is given to her. The marriage ceremony follows the\nstandard type prevalent in the locality. On his journey to the girl's\nhouse the boy rides on a bullock and is wrapped up in a blanket. In\nBilaspur a kind of sham fight takes place between the parties, which\nis a reminiscence of the former practice of marriage by capture and is\nthus described as an eye-witness by the Rev. E. M. Gordon of Mungeli:\n[455]\n\n\"As the bridegroom's party approached the home of the bride the boy's\nfriends lifted him up on their shoulders, and, surrounding him on\nevery side, they made their way to the bride's house, swinging round\ntheir sticks in a threatening manner. On coming near the house they\ncrossed sticks with the bride's friends, who gradually fell back and\nallowed the bridegroom's friends to advance in their direction. The\nwomen of the house gathered with baskets and fans and some threw about\nrice in pretence of self-defence. When the sticks of the bridegroom's\nparty struck the roof of the bride's house or of the marriage-shed her\nfriends considered themselves defeated and the sham fight was at an\nend.\" Among the Maratha Chamars of Betul two earthen pots full of water\nare half buried in the ground and worship is paid to them. The bride\nand bridegroom then stand together and their relatives take out water\nfrom the pots and pour it on to their heads from above. The idea is\nthat the pouring of the sacred water on to them will make them grow,\nand if the bride is much smaller than the bridegroom more water is\npoured on to her in order that she may grow faster. The practice may\nsymbolise the fertilising influence of rain. Among the Dohar Chamars\nof Narsinghpur the bride and bridegroom are seated on a plough-yoke\nwhile the marriage ceremony is performed. Before the wedding the\nbride's party take a goat's leg in a basket with other articles to the\n_janwasa_ or bridegroom's lodging and present it to his father. The\nbride and bridegroom take the goat's leg and beat each other with it\nalternately. Another ceremony, known as Pendpuja, consists in placing\npieces of stick with cotton stuck to the ends in an oven and burning\nthem in the name of the deceased ancestors; but the significance, if\nthere be any, of this rite is obscure. Some time after the wedding\nthe bride is taken to her husband's house to live with him, and on\nthis occasion a simple ceremony known as Chauk or Pathoni is performed.\n\n\n\n6. Widow-marriage and divorce.\n\n\nWidows commonly remarry, and may take for their second husband anybody\nthey please, except their own relatives and their late husband's\nelder brother and ascendant relations. In Chhattisgarh widows are\nknown either as _barandi_ or _randi_, the _randi_ being a widow\nin the ordinary sense of the term and the _barandi_ a girl who has\nbeen married but has not lived with her husband. Such a girl is not\nrequired to break her bangles on her husband's death, and, being more\nin demand as a second wife, her father naturally obtains a good price\nfor her. To marry a woman whose husband is alive is known as _chhandwe\nbanana_, the term _chhandwe_ implying that the woman has discarded,\nor has been discarded by, her husband. The second husband must in\nthis case repay to the first husband the expenses incurred by him\non his wedding. The marriage ceremony for a widow is of the simplest\ncharacter, and consists generally of the presentation to her by her\nnew husband of those articles which a married woman may use, but which\nshould be forsworn by a widow, as representing the useless vanities\nof the world. Thus in Saugor the bridegroom presents his bride with\nnew clothes, vermilion for the parting of her hair, a spangle for her\nforehead, lac dye for her feet, antimony for the eyes, a comb, glass\nbangles and betel-leaves. In Mandla and Seoni the bridegroom gives\na ring, according to the English custom, instead of bangles. When\na widow marries a second time her first husband's property remains\nwith his family and also the children, unless they are very young,\nwhen the mother may keep them for a few years and subsequently send\nthem back to their father's relatives. Divorce is permitted for a\nvariety of causes, and is usually effected in the presence of the\ncaste _panchayat_ or committee by the husband and wife breaking a\nstraw as a symbol of the rupture of the union. In Chanda an image\nof the divorced wife is made of grass and burnt to indicate that to\nher husband she is as good as dead; if she has children their heads\nand faces are shaved in token of mourning, and in the absence of\nchildren the husband's younger brother has this rite performed; while\nthe husband gives a funeral feast known as _Marti Jiti ka Bhat_, or\n'The feast of the living dead woman.' In Chhattisgarh marriage ties\nare of the loosest description, and adultery is scarcely recognised\nas an offence. A woman may go and live openly with other men and\nher husband will take her back afterwards. Sometimes, when two men\nare in the relation of Mahaprasad or nearest friend to each other,\nthat is, when they have vowed friendship on rice from the temple of\nJagannath, they will each place his wife at the other's disposal. The\nChamars justify this carelessness of the fidelity of their wives by\nthe saying, 'If my cow wanders and comes home again, shall I not let\nher into her stall?' In Seoni, if a Chamar woman is detected in a\nmisdemeanour with a man of the caste, both parties are taken to the\nbank of a tank or river, where their heads are shaved in the presence\nof the caste _panchayat_ or committee. They are then made to bathe,\nand the shoes of all the assembled Chamars made up into two bundles\nand placed on their heads, while they are required to promise that\nthey will not repeat the offence.\n\n\n\n7. Funeral customs.\n\n\nThe caste usually bury the dead with the feet to the north, like the\nGonds and other aboriginal tribes. They say that heaven is situated\ntowards the north, and the dead man should be placed in a position to\nstart for that direction. Another explanation is that the head of the\nearth lies towards the north, and yet another that in the Satyug or\nbeginning of time the sun rose in the north; and in each succeeding\nYug or era it has veered round the compass until now in the Kali Yug\nor Iron Age it rises in the east. In Chhattisgarh, before burying a\ncorpse, they often make a mark on the body with butter, oil or soot;\nand when a child is subsequently born into the same family they\nlook for any kind of mark on the corresponding place on its body. If\nany such be found they consider the child as a reincarnation of the\ndeceased person. Still-born children, and those who die before the\nChathi or sixth-day ceremony of purification, are not taken to the\nburial-ground, but their bodies are placed in an earthen pot and\ninterred below the doorway or in the courtyard of the house. In\nsuch cases no funeral feast is demanded from the family, and some\npeople believe that the custom tends in favour of the mother bearing\nanother child; others say, however, that its object is to prevent\nthe _tonhi_ or witch from getting hold of the body of the child and\nrousing its spirit to life to do her bidding as Matia Deo. [456] In\nSeoni a curious rule obtains to the effect that the bodies of those\nwho eat carrion or the flesh of animals dying a natural death should\nbe cremated. In the northern Districts a bier painted white is used\nfor a man and a red one for a woman.\n\n\n\n8. Childbirth.\n\n\nAmong the better-class Chamars it is customary to place a newborn child\nin a winnowing-fan on a bed of rice. The nurse receives the rice and\nshe also goes round to the houses of the headman of the village and\nthe relatives of the family and makes a mark with cowdung on their\ndoors as an announcement of the birth, for which she receives a small\npresent. In Chhattisgarh a woman is given nothing to eat or drink\non the day that a child is born and for two days afterwards. On the\nfourth day she receives a liquid decoction of ginger, the roots of\nthe _orai_ or _khaskhas_ grass, areca-nut, coriander and turmeric\nand other hot substances, and in some places a cake of linseed or\nsesamum. She sometimes goes on drinking this mixture for as long\nas a month, and usually receives solid food for the first time on\nthe sixth day after the birth, when she bathes and her impurity\nis removed. The child is not permitted to suckle its mother until\nthe third day after it is born, but before this it receives a small\nquantity of a mixture made by boiling the urine of a calf with some\nmedicinal root. In Chhattisgarh it is a common practice to brand a\nchild on the stomach on the name-day or sixth day after its birth;\ntwenty or more small burns may be made with the point of a _hansia_\nor sickle on the stomach, and it is supposed that this operation will\nprevent it from catching cold. Another preventive for convulsions\nand diseases of the lungs is the rubbing of the limbs and body with\ncastor-oil; the nurse wets her hands with the oil and then warms them\nbefore a fire and rubs the child. It is also held in the smoke of\nburning _ajwain_ plants (_Carum copticum_). Infants are named on the\nChathi or sixth day, or sometimes on the twelfth day after birth. The\nchild's head is shaved, and the hair, known as Jhalar, thrown away, the\nmother and child are washed and the males of the family are shaved. The\nmother is given her first regular meal of grain and pulse cooked with\npumpkins. A pregnant woman who is afraid that her child will die will\nsometimes sell it to a neighbour before its birth for five or six\ncowries. [457] The baby will then be named Pachkouri or Chhekouri, and\nit is thought that the gods, who are jealous of the lives of children,\nwill overlook one whose name shows it to be valueless. Children are\noften nicknamed after some peculiarity as Kanwa (one-eyed), Behra\n(deaf), Konda (dumb), Khurwa (lame), Kari (black), Bhuri (fair). It\ndoes not follow that a child called Konda is actually dumb, but it\nmay simply have been late in learning to speak. Parents are jealous\nof exposing their children to the gaze of strangers and especially\nof a crowd, in which there will almost certainly be some malignant\nperson to cast the evil eye upon them. Young children are therefore\nnot infrequently secluded in the house and deprived of light and air\nto an extent which is highly injurious to them.\n\n\n\n9. Religion.\n\n\nThe caste worship the ordinary Hindu and village deities of\nthe localities in which they reside, and observe the principal\nfestivals. In Saugor the Chamars have a family god, known as Marri,\nwho is represented by a lump of clay kept in the cooking-room of the\nhouse. He is supposed to represent the ancestors of the family. The\nSeoni Chamars especially worship the castor-oil plant. Generally\nthe caste revere the _rampi_ or skinning-knife with offerings of\nflour-cakes and cocoanuts on festival days. In Chhattisgarh more than\nhalf the Chamars belong to the reformed Satnami sect, by which the\nworship of images is at least nominally abolished. This is separately\ntreated. Mr. Gordon states [458] that it is impossible to form a clear\nconception of the beliefs of the village Chamars as to the hereafter:\n\"That they have the idea of hell as a place of punishment may be\ngathered from the belief that if salt is spilt the one who does this\nwill in Patal--or the infernal region--have to gather up each grain of\nsalt with his eyelids. Salt is for this reason handed round with great\ncare, and it is considered unlucky to receive it in the palm of the\nhand; it is therefore invariably taken in a cloth or in a vessel. There\nis a belief that the spirit of the deceased hovers round familiar\nscenes and places, and on this account, whenever it is possible,\nit is customary to destroy or desert the house in which any one has\ndied. If a house is deserted the custom is to sweep and plaster the\nplace, and then, after lighting a lamp, to leave it in the house and\nwithdraw altogether. After the spirit of the dead has wandered around\nrestlessly for a certain time it is said that it will again become\nincarnate and take the form of man or of one of the lower animals.\"\n\n\n\n10. Occupation.\n\n\nThe curing and tanning of hides is the primary occupation of the\nChamar, but in 1911 only 80,000 persons, or about a seventh of the\nactual workers of the caste, were engaged in it, and by Satnamis the\ntrade has been entirely eschewed. The majority of the Chhattisgarhi\nChamars are cultivators with tenant right, and a number of them have\nobtained villages. In the northern Districts, however, the caste\nare as a rule miserably poor, and none of them own villages. A\nvery few are tenants, and the vast majority despised and bullied\nhelots. The condition of the leather-working Chamars is described\nby Mr. Trench as lamentable. [459] Chief among the causes of their\nruin has been the recently established trade in raw hides. Formerly\nthe bodies of all cattle dying within the precincts of the village\nnecessarily became the property of the Chamars, as the Hindu owners\ncould not touch them without loss of caste. But since the rise of\nthe cattle-slaughtering industry the cultivator has put his religious\nscruples in his pocket, and sells his old and worn-out animals to the\nbutchers for a respectable sum. \"For a mere walking skeleton of a cow\nor bullock from two to four rupees may be had for the asking, and so\nlong as he does not actually see or stipulate for the slaughter of the\nsacred animal, the cultivator's scruples remain dormant. No one laments\nthis lapse from orthodoxy more sincerely than the outcaste Chamar. His\nsituation may be compared with that of the Cornish pilchard-fishers,\nfor whom the growing laxity on the part of continental Roman Catholic\ncountries in the observance of Lent is already more than an omen of\ncoming disaster.\" [460]\n\n\n\n11. The tanning process.\n\n\nWhen a hide is to be cured the inside is first cleaned with the\n_rampi_, a chisel-like implement with a short blade four inches broad\nand a thick short handle. It is then soaked in a mixture of water\nand lime for ten or twelve days, and at intervals scraped clean of\nflesh and hair with the _rampi_. \"The skill of a good tanner appears\nin the absence of superfluous inner skin, fat or flesh, remaining to\nbe removed after the hide is finally taken out of the lime-pit. Next\nthe hard berries of the _ghont_ [461] tree are poured into a large\nearthen vessel sunk in the ground, and water added till the mixture\nis so thick as to become barely liquid. In this the folded hide is\ndipped three or four times a day, undergoing meanwhile a vigorous\nrubbing and kneading. The average duration of this process is eight\ndays, and it is followed by what is according to European ideas the\nreal tanning. Using as thread the roots of the ubiquitous _palas_\n[462] tree, the Chamar sews the hide up into a mussack-shaped bag\nopen at the neck. The sewing is admirably executed, and when drawn\ntight the seams are nearly, but purposely not quite, water-tight. The\nhide is then hung on low stout scaffolding over a pit and filled with\na decoction of the dried and semi-powdered leaves of the _dhaura_\n[463] tree mixed with water. As the decoction trickles slowly through\nthe seams below, more is poured on from above, and from time to time\nthe position of the hide is reversed in such a way that the tanning\npermeates each part in turn. Sometimes only one reversal of the hide\ntakes place half-way through the process, which occupies as a rule\nsome eight days. But energetic Chamars continually turn and refill\nthe skin until satisfied that it is thoroughly saturated with the\ntanning. After a washing in clean water the hide is now considered\nto be tanned.\" [464]\n\n\n\n12. Shoes.\n\n\nIn return for receiving the hides of the village cattle the Chamar\nhad to supply the village proprietor and his family with a pair\nof shoes each free of payment once a year, and sometimes also the\nvillage accountant and watchman; but the cultivators had usually\nto pay for them, though nowadays they also often insist on shoes\nin exchange for their hides. Shoes are usually worn in the wheat\nand cotton growing areas, but are less common in the rice country,\nwhere they would continually stick in the mud of the fields. The\nSaugor or Bundelkhandi shoe is a striking specimen of footgear. The\nsole is formed of as many as three layers of stout hide, and may be\nnearly an inch thick. The uppers in a typical shoe are of black soft\nleather, inlaid with a simple pattern in silver thread. These are\ncovered by flaps of stamped yellow goat-skin cut in triangular and\nhalf-moon patterns, the interstices between the flaps being filled\nwith red cloth. The heel-piece is continued more than half-way up the\ncalf behind. The toe is pointed, curled tightly over backwards and\nsurmounted by a brass knob. The high frontal shield protects the instep\nfrom mud and spear-grass, and the heel-piece ensures the retention of\nthe shoe in the deepest quagmire. Such shoes cost one or two rupees\na pair. [465] In the rice Districts sandals are often worn on the\nroad, and laid aside when the cultivator enters his fields. Women go\nbare-footed as a rule, but sometimes have sandals. Up till recently\nonly prostitutes wore shoes in public, and no respectable woman would\ndare to do so. In towns boots and shoes made in the English fashion at\nCawnpore and other centres have now been generally adopted, and with\nthese socks are worn. The Mochis and Jingars, who are offshoots from\nthe Chamar caste, have adopted the distinctive occupations of making\nshoes and horse furniture with prepared leather, and no longer cure\nhides. They have thus developed into a separate caste, and consider\nthemselves greatly superior to the Chamars.\n\n\n\n13. Other articles made of leather.\n\n\nOther articles made of leather are the thongs and nose-strings for\nbullocks, the buckets for irrigation wells, rude country saddlery,\nand _mussacks_ and _pakhals_ for carrying water. These last are\nsimply hides sewn into a bag and provided with an orifice. To make\na pair of bellows a goat-skin is taken with all four legs attached,\nand wetted and filled with sand. It is then dried in the sun, the\nsand shaken out, the sticks fitted at the hind-quarters for blowing,\nand the pair of bellows is complete.\n\n\n\n14. Customs connected with shoes.\n\n\nThe shoe, as everybody in India knows, is a symbol of the greatest\ndegradation and impurity. This is partly on account of its manufacture\nfrom the impure leather or hide, and also perhaps because it is worn\nand trodden under foot. All the hides of tame animals are polluted and\nimpure, but those of certain wild animals, such as the deer and tiger,\nare not so, being on the contrary to some extent sacred. This last\nfeeling may be due to the fact that the old anchorites of the forests\nwere accustomed to cover themselves with the skins of wild animals, and\nto use them for sitting and kneeling to pray. A Bairagi or Vaishnava\nreligious mendicant much likes to carry a tiger-skin on his body if\nhe can afford one; and a Brahman will have the skin of a black-buck\nspread in the room where he performs his devotions. Possibly the sin\ninvolved in killing tame animals has been partly responsible for the\nimpurity attaching to their hides, to the obtaining of which the death\nof the animal must be a preliminary. Every Hindu removes his shoes\nbefore entering a house, though with the adoption of English boots a\nbreach is being made in this custom. So far as the houses of Europeans\nare concerned, the retention of shoes is not, as might be imagined,\nof recent origin, but was noticed by Buchanan a hundred years ago:\n\"Men of rank and their attendants continue to wear their shoes loose\nfor the purpose of throwing them off whenever they enter a room,\nwhich they still continue to do everywhere except in the houses of\nEuropeans, in which all natives of rank now imitate our example.\" In\nthis connection it must be remembered that a Hindu house is always\nsacred as the shrine of the household god, and shoes are removed\nbefore stepping across the threshold on to the hallowed ground. This\nconsideration does not apply to European houses, and affords ground\nfor dispensing with the removal of laced shoes and boots.\n\nTo be beaten or sometimes even touched with a shoe by a man of\nlow caste entails temporary social excommunication to most Hindus,\nand must be expiated by a formal purification and caste feast. The\noutcaste Mahars punish a member of their community in the same manner\neven if somebody should throw a shoe on to the roof of his house,\nand the Pharasaical absurdities of the caste system surely find their\nculminating point in this rule. Similarly if a man touches his shoe\nwith his hand and says 'I have beaten you,' to a member of any of\nthe lower castes in Seoni, the person so addressed is considered as\ntemporarily out of caste. If he then immediately goes and informs his\ncaste-fellows he is reinstated with a nominal fine of grain worth\none or two pice. But if he goes back to his house and takes food,\nand the incident is subsequently discovered, a penalty of a goat is\nlevied. A curious exception recognised is that of the _Sirkari juta_,\nor shoe belonging to a Government servant, and to be beaten with this\nshoe does not entail social punishment.\n\n\n\n15. The Chamar as general village drudge.\n\n\nIn return for his perquisite of the hides of cattle the Chamar has\nto act as the general village drudge in the northern Districts and is\nalways selected for the performance of _bigar_ or forced labour. When\na Government officer visits the village the Chamar must look after\nhim, fetch what grass or fuel he requires, and accompany him as far\nas the next village to point out the road. He is also the bearer\nof official letters and messages sent to the village. The special\nChamar on whom these duties are imposed usually receives a plot of\nland rent-free from the village proprietor. Another of the functions\nof the Chamar is the castration of the young bullocks, which task the\ncultivators will not do for themselves. His method is most primitive,\nthe scrotum being held in a cleft bamboo or a pair of iron pincers,\nwhile the testicles are bruised and rubbed to pulp with a stone. The\nanimal remains ill for a week or a fortnight and is not worked for two\nmonths, but the operation is rarely or never fatal. In the northern\nDistricts the Chamars are said to be very strong and to make the\nbest farmservants and coolies for earthwork. It is a proverb that\n'The Chamar has half a rib more than other men.' Notwithstanding his\nstrength, however, he is a great coward, this characteristic having\nprobably been acquired through centuries of oppression. Many Chamar\nwomen act as midwives. In Raipur the cultivators give her five annas\nat the birth of a boy and four annas for a girl, while well-to-do\npeople pay a rupee. When the first child of a rich man is born,\nthe midwife, barber and washerman go round to all his friends and\nrelations to announce the event and obtain presents. It is a regular\nfunction of the Chamars to remove the carcases of dead cattle, which\nthey eat without regard to the disease from which the animal may have\ndied. But a Chamar will not touch the corpse of a pony, camel, cat,\ndog, squirrel or monkey, and to remove the bodies of such animals\na Mehtar (sweeper) or a Gond must be requisitioned. In Raipur it is\nsaid that the Chamars will eat only the flesh of four-legged animals,\navoiding presumably birds and fish. When acting as a porter the Chamar\nusually carries a load on his head, whereas the Kahar bears it on his\nshoulders, and this distinction is proverbial. In Raipur the Chamars\nhave become retail cattle-dealers and are known as Kochias. They\npurchase cattle at the large central markets of Baloda and Bamnidih\nand retail them at the small village bazars. It is said that this\ntrade could only flourish in Chhattisgarh, where the cultivators\nare too lazy to go and buy their cattle for themselves. Many Chamars\nhave emigrated from Chhattisgarh to the Assam tea-gardens, and others\nhave gone to Calcutta and to the railway workshops at Kharagpur and\nChakardharpur. Many of them work as porters on the railway. It is\nprobable that their taste for emigration is due to the resentment\nfelt at their despised position in Chhattisgarh.\n\n\n\n16. Social status.\n\n\nThe Chamar ranks at the very bottom of the social scale, and contact\nwith his person is considered to be a defilement to high-caste\nHindus. He cannot draw water from the common well and usually\nlives in a hamlet somewhat removed from the main village. But in\nseveral localities the rule is not so strict, and in Saugor a Chamar\nmay go into all parts of the house except the cooking and eating\nrooms. This is almost necessary when he is so commonly employed\nas a farmservant. Here the village barber will shave Chamars and\nthe washerman will wash their clothes. And the Chamar himself will\nnot touch the corpse of a horse, a dog or any animal whose feet are\nuncloven; and he will not kill a cow though he eats its flesh. It is\nstated indeed that a Chamar who once killed a calf accidentally had\nto go to the Ganges to purify himself. The crime of cattle-poisoning\nis thus rare in Saugor and the other northern Districts, but in the\neast of the Provinces it is a common practice of the Chamars. As is\nusual with the low castes, many Chamars are in some repute as Gunias or\nsorcerers, and in this capacity they are frequently invited to enter\nthe houses of Hindus to heal persons possessed of evil spirits. When\nchildren fall ill one of them is called in and he waves a branch of\nthe _nim_ [466] tree over the child and taking ashes in his hand\nblows them at it; he is also consulted for hysterical women. When\na Chamar has had something stolen and wishes to detect the thief,\nhe takes the wooden-handled needle used for stitching leather and\nsticks the spike into the sole of a shoe. Then two persons standing\nin the relation of maternal uncle and nephew hold the needle and shoe\nup by placing their forefingers under the wooden handle. The names\nof all suspected persons are pronounced, and he at whose name the\nshoe turns on the needle is taken to be the thief.\n\nThe caste do not employ Brahmans for their ceremonies, but consult\nthem for the selection of auspicious days, as this business can be\nperformed by the Brahman at home and he need not enter the Chamar's\nhouse. But poor and despised as the Chamars are they have a pride of\ntheir own. When the Dohar and Maratha Chamars sell shoes to a Mahar\nthey will only allow him to try on one of them and not both, and this,\ntoo, he must do in a sitting posture, as an indication of humility. The\nHarale or Maratha Chamars of Berar [467] do not eat beef nor work with\nuntanned leather, and they will not work for the lowest castes, as\nMahars, Mangs, Basors and Kolis. If one of these buys a pair of shoes\nfrom the Chamar the seller asks no indiscreet questions; but he will\nnot mend the pair as he would for a man of higher caste. The Satnamis\nof Chhattisgarh have openly revolted against the degraded position to\nwhich they are relegated by Hinduism and are at permanent feud with\nthe Hindus; some of them have even adopted the sacred thread. But this\ninteresting movement is separately discussed in the article on Satnami.\n\n\n\n17. Character.\n\n\nIn Chhattisgarh the Chamars are the most criminal class of the\npopulation, and have made a regular practice of poisoning cattle with\narsenic in order to obtain the hides and flesh. They either mix the\npoison with mahua flowers strewn on the grazing-ground, or make it\ninto a ball with butter and insert it into the anus of the animal when\nthe herdsman is absent. They also commit cattle-theft and frequently\nappear at the whipping-post before the court-house. The estimation in\nwhich they are held by their neighbours is reflected in the proverb,\n'Hemp, rice and a Chamar; the more they are pounded the better they\nare.' \"The caste,\" Mr. Trench writes, \"are illiterate to a man,\nand their intellectual development is reflected in their style of\nliving. A visit to a hamlet of tanning Chamars induces doubt as to\nwhence the appalling smells of the place proceed--from the hides or\nfrom the tanners. Were this squalor invariably, as it is occasionally,\naccompanied by a sufficiency of the necessaries of life, victuals and\nclothing, the Chamar would not be badly off, but the truth is that in\nthe northern Districts at all events the Chamar, except in years of\ngood harvest, does not get enough to eat. This fact is sufficiently\nindicated by a glance at the perquisites of the village Chamar, who\nis almost invariably the shoemaker and leather-worker for his little\ncommunity. In one District the undigested grain left by the gorged\nbullocks on the threshing-floor is his portion, and a portion for\nwhich he will sometimes fight. Everywhere he is a carrion-eater,\npaying little or no regard to the disease from which the animal\nmay have died.\" The custom above mentioned of washing grain from\nthe dung of cattle is not so repugnant to the Hindus, owing to the\nsacred character of the cow, as it is to us. It is even sometimes\nconsidered holy food:--\"The zamindar of Idar, who is named Naron Das,\nlives with such austerity that his only food is grain which has passed\nthrough oxen and has been separated from their dung; and this kind\nof aliment the Brahmans consider pure in the highest degree.\" [468]\nOld-fashioned cultivators do not muzzle the bullocks treading out\nthe corn, and the animals eat it the whole time, so that much passes\nthrough their bodies undigested. The Chamar will make several maunds\n(80 lbs.) of grain in this way, and to a cultivator who does not\nmuzzle his bullocks he will give a pair of shoes and a plough-rein and\nyoke-string. Another duty of the Chamar is to look after the _banda_\nor large underground masonry chamber in which grain is kept. After\nthe grain has been stored, a conical roof is built and plastered over\nwith mud to keep out water. The Chamar looks after the repairs of the\nmud plaster and in return receives a small quantity of grain, which\nusually goes bad on the floor of the store-chamber. They prepare the\nthreshing-floors for the cultivators, making the surface of the soil\nlevel and beating it down to a smooth and hard surface. In return\nfor this they receive the grain mixed with earth which remains on\nthe threshing-floor after the crop is removed.\n\nLike all other village artisans the Chamar is considered by the\ncultivators to be faithless and dilatory in his dealings with them;\nand they vent their spleen in sayings such as the following:--\"The\nKori, the Chamar and the Ahir, these are the three biggest liars that\never were known. For if you ask the Chamar whether he has mended your\nshoes he says, 'I am at the last stitch,' when he has not begun them;\nif you ask the Ahir whether he has brought back your cow from the\njungle he says, 'It has come, it has come,' without knowing or caring\nwhether it has come or not; and if you ask the Kori whether he has\nmade your cloth he says, 'It is on the loom,' when he has not so much\nas bought the thread.\" Another proverb conveying the same sense is,\n'The Mochi's to-morrow never comes.' But no doubt the uncertainty\nand delay in payment account for much of this conduct.\n\n\n\n\n\n\nChasa\n\n\n\n1. Origin and traditions.\n\n\n_Chasa_, [469] _Tasa_ (also called Alia in the Sonpur and Patna\nStates).--The chief cultivating caste of Orissa. In 1901 more\nthan 21,000 Chasas were enumerated in Sambalpur and the adjoining\nFeudatory States, but nearly all these passed in 1905 to Bengal. The\nChasas are said [470] by Sir H. Risley to be for the most part of\nnon-Aryan descent, the loose organisation of the caste system among\nthe Uriyas making it possible on the one hand for outsiders to be\nadmitted into the caste, and on the other for wealthy Chasas who\ngave up ploughing with their own hands and assumed the respectable\ntitle of Mahanti to raise themselves to membership among the lower\nclasses of Kayasths. This passage indicates that the term Mahanti is\nor was a broader one than Karan or Uriya Kayasth, and was applied to\neducated persons of other castes who apparently aspired to admission\namong the Karans, in the same manner as leading members of the\nwarlike and landholding castes lay claim to rank as Rajputs. For\nthis reason probably the Uriya Kayasths prefer the name of Karan\nto that of Mahanti, and the Uriya saying, 'He who has no caste is\ncalled a Mahanti,' supports this view. The word Chasa has the generic\nmeaning of 'a cultivator,' and the Chasas may in Sambalpur be merely\nan occupational group recruited from other castes. This theory is\nsupported by the names of their subdivisions, three of which, Kolta,\nKhandait and Ud or Orh are the names of distinct castes, while the\nfourth, Benatia, is found as a subdivision of several other castes.\n\n\n\n2. Exogamous divisions.\n\n\nEach family has a _got_ or sept and a _varga_ or family name. The\n_vargas_ are much more numerous than the _gots_, and marriages are\narranged according to them, unions of members of the same _varga_ only\nbeing forbidden. The sept names are totemistic and the family names\nterritorial or titular. Among the former are _bachhas_ (calf), _nagas_\n(cobra), _hasti_ or _gaj_ (elephant), _harin_ (deer), _mahumachhi_\n(bee), _dipas_ (lamp), and others; while instances of the _varga_\nnames are Pitmundia, Hulbulsingia, Giringia and Dumania, all names of\nvillages in Angul State; and Nayak (headman), Mahanti (writer), Dehri\n(worshipper), Behera (cook), Kandra (bamboo-worker), and others. The\ndifferent _gots_ or septs revere their totems by drawing figures\nof them on their houses, and abstaining from injuring them in any\nway. If they find the footprints of the animal which they worship,\nthey bow to the marks and obliterate them with the hand, perhaps with\nthe view of affording protection to the totem animal from hunters\nor of preventing the marks from being trampled on by others. They\nbelieve that if they injured the totem animal they would be attacked\nby leprosy and their line would die out. Members of the _dipas_ sept\nwill not eat if a lamp is put out at night, and will not touch a\nlamp with unclean hands. Those of the _mahumachhi_ or bee sept will\nnot take honey from a comb or eat it. Those of the _gaj_ sept will\nnot join an elephant kheddah. Some of the septs have an Ishta Devata\nor tutelary Hindu deity to whom worship is paid. Thus the elephant\nsept worship Ganesh, the elephant-headed god, and also do not kill\nrats because Ganesh rides on this animal. Similarly the _harin_ or\ndeer sept have Pawan, the god of the wind, as their Ishta Devata,\nbecause a deer is considered to be as swift as the wind. It would\nappear then that the septs, each having its totem, were the original\ndivisions for the restriction of marriage, but as these increased in\nsize they were felt to debar the union of persons who had no real\nrelationship and hence the smaller family groups were substituted\nfor them; while in the case of the old septs, the substitution of the\nHindu god representing the animal worshipped by the sept for the animal\nitself as the object of veneration is an instance of the process of\nabandoning totem or animal worship and conforming to Hinduism. In one\nor two cases the _vargas_ themselves have been further subdivided for\nthe purpose of marriage. Thus certain families of the Padhan (leader,\nchief) _varga_ were entrusted with the duty of readmitting persons\ntemporarily put out of caste to social intercourse, for which they\nreceived the remuneration of a rupee and a piece of cloth in each\ncase. These families were called the Parichha or 'Scrutinisers' and\nhave now become a separate _varga_, so that a Parichha Padhan may\nmarry another Padhan. This is a further instance of the process of\nsubdivision of exogamous groups which must take place as the groups\nincrease in size and numbers, and the original idea of the common\nancestry of the group vanishes. Until finally the primitive system of\nexogamy disappears and is replaced by the modern and convenient method\nof prohibition of marriage within certain degrees of relationship.\n\n\n\n3. Status and customs of the caste.\n\n\nThe Chasas do not marry within the same _varga,_ but a man may usually\ntake a wife from his mother's _varga_. A girl must always be wedded\nbefore arriving at adolescence, the penalty for breach of this rule\nbeing the driving out of the girl to seclusion in the forest for a\nday and a half, and a feast to the caste-fellows. If no husband is\navailable she may be married to an arrow or a flower, or she goes\nthrough the form of marriage with any man in the caste, and when a\nsuitable partner is subsequently found, is united with him by the\nform of widow-marriage. Widows may marry again and divorce is also\nallowed. The dead are usually buried if unmarried, and burnt when\nmarried. The Chasas worship the Hindu deities and also the village\ngod Gramsiri, who is represented by a stone outside the village. At\nfestivals they offer animal sacrifices to their agricultural\nimplements, as hoes and hatchets. They employ Brahmans for religious\nceremonies. They have an aversion to objects of a black colour, and\nwill not use black umbrellas or clothes woven with black thread. They\ndo not usually wear shoes or ride horses, even when they can afford\nthese latter. Cultivation is the traditional occupation of the caste,\nand they are tenants, farmservants and field-labourers. They take food\nfrom Rajputs and Brahmans, and sometimes from Koltas and Sudhs. They\neat flesh and fish, but abjure liquor, beef, pork and fowls. Their\nsocial position is a little below that of the good agricultural castes,\nand they are considered somewhat stupid, as shown by the proverb:\n\n\n                Chasa, ki jane pasar katha,\n                Padili bolai dons;\n\n\nor 'What does the Chasa know of the dice? At every throw he calls out\n\"twenty.\"'\n\n\n\n\n\n\nChauhan\n\n\n_Chauhan._ [471]--A small caste of village watchmen and labourers\nin the Chhattisgarh Division. They are also known as Chandel by\noutsiders. In 1911 the Chauhans numbered 7000 persons in the Raipur\nand Bilaspur Districts, and the adjoining Feudatory States. The\ncaste claim themselves to be of Rajput origin, and say that their\nancestors came from Mainpuri, which is the home of the Chauhan clan of\nRajputs. A few of their section names are taken from those of Rajput\nclans, but the majority are of a totemistic nature, being called\nafter animals and plants, as Nag the cobra, Neora the mongoose,\nKolhia the jackal, Kamal the lotus, Pat silk, Chanwar rice, Khanda\na sword, and so on. Members of each sept worship the object after\nwhich it is named at the time of marriage, and if the tree or animal\nitself is not readily available, they make a representation of it\nin flour and pay their respects to that. Thus members of the Bedna\nor sugarcane sept make a stick of flour and worship it. They will\nnot kill or eat their sept totem, but in some cases, as in that of\nthe Chanwar or rice sept, this rule is impossible of observance, so\nthe members of this sept content themselves with abstaining from a\nsingle variety of rice, the kind called Nagkesar. Families who belong\nto septs named after heroic ancestors make an image in flour of the\nancestral saint or hero and worship it. The caste employ Brahmans\nfor their marriage and other ceremonies, and will not take food from\nany caste except Brahmans and their Bairagi _gurus_ or spiritual\npreceptors. But their social position is very low, as none except\nthe most debased castes will take food or water from their hands, and\ntheir hereditary calling of village watchman would not be practised\nby any respectable caste. By outsiders they are considered little,\nif at all, superior to the Pankas and Gandas, and the most probable\ntheory of their origin is that they are the descendants of irregular\nalliances between immigrant Rajput adventurers and the women of the\ncountry. Their social customs resemble those of other low castes in\nChhattisgarh. Before the bridegroom starts for a wedding, they have\na peculiar ceremony known as Naodori. Seven small earthen cups full\nof water are placed on the boy's head, and then poured over him in\nsuccession. A piece of new cloth is laid on his head, and afterwards\nplaced seven times in contact with the earth. During this ritual the\nboy keeps his eyes shut, and it is believed that if he should open\nthem before its completion, his children would be born blind. When\nthe bride leaves her father's house she and all her relatives mourn\nand weep noisily, and the bride continues doing so until she is well\nover a mile from her own village. Similarly on the first three or\nfour visits which she pays to her parents after her wedding, she\nbegins crying loudly a mile away from their house, and continues\nuntil she reaches it. It is the etiquette also that women should\ncry whenever they meet relatives from a distance. In such cases\nwhen two women see each other they cry together, each placing her\nhead on the other's shoulder and her hands at her sides. While they\ncry they change the position of their heads two or three times, and\neach addresses the other according to their relationship, as mother,\nsister, and so on. Or if any member of the family has recently died,\nthey call upon him or her, exclaiming 'O my mother! O my sister! O\nmy father! Why did not I, unfortunate one, die instead of thee?' A\nwoman when weeping with a man holds to his sides and rests her head\nagainst his breast. The man exclaims at intervals, 'Stop crying,\ndo not cry.' When two women are weeping together it is a point of\netiquette that the elder should stop first and then beg her companion\nto do so, but if it is doubtful which is the elder, they sometimes\ngo on crying for an hour at a time, exciting the younger spectators\nto mirth, until at length some elder steps forward and tells one of\nthem to stop. The Chauhans permit the remarriage of widows, and a\nwoman is bound by no restrictions as to her choice of a second husband.\n\nThe goddess Durga or Devi is chiefly revered by the caste, who observe\nfasts in her honour in the months of Kunwar (September) and Chait\n(March). When they make a _badna_ or vow, they usually offer goats\nto the goddess, and sow the _Jawaras_ or Gardens of Adonis in her\nname, but except on such occasions they present less costly articles,\nas cocoanuts, betel-leaves, areca-nuts and flowers. On the Dasahra\nfestival they worship the _lathi_ or stick which is the badge of\noffice of the village watchman. They were formerly addicted to petty\ntheft, and it is said that they worshipped the _khunta_ or pointed\nrod for digging through the wall of a house. The caste usually burn\nthe dead, but children whose ears or noses have not been pierced are\nburied. Children who die before they have begun to eat grain are not\nmourned at all, while for older children the period of mourning is\nthree to seven days, and for adults ten days. On the tenth day they\nclean their houses, shave themselves and offer balls of rice to the\ndead under the direction of a Brahman, to whom they present eating\nand drinking vessels, clothes, shoes and cattle with the belief that\nthe articles will thus become available for the use of the dead man\nin the other world. The Chauhans will not eat fowls, pork or beef,\nand in some places they abstain from drinking liquor.\n\n\n\n\n\n\nChhipa\n\n\n\n1. Constitution of the caste.\n\n\n_Chhipa, Rangari, Bhaosar, Nirali, Nilgar._--The Hindu caste of cotton\nprinters and dyers. They are commonly known as Chhipa in the northern\nDistricts and Rangari or Bhaosar in the Maratha country. The Chhipas\nand Rangaris together number about 23,000 persons. In the south of\nthe Central Provinces and Berar cotton is a staple crop, and the\ncotton-weaving industry is much stronger than in the north, and as a\nnecessary consequence the dyers also would be more numerous. Though the\nChhipas and Rangaris do not intermarry or dine together, no essential\ndistinction exists between them. They are both of functional origin,\npursue exactly the same occupation, and relate the same story about\nthemselves, and no good reason therefore exists for considering them\nas separate castes. Nilgar or Nirali is a purely occupational term\napplied to Chhipas or Rangaris who work in indigo (_nil_); while\nBhaosar is another name for the Rangaris in the northern Districts.\n\n\n\n2. Its origin and position.\n\n\nThe Rangaris say that when Parasurama, the Brahman, was slaying the\nKshatriyas, two brothers of the warrior caste took refuge in a temple\nof Devi. One of them, called Bhaosar, threw himself upon the image,\nwhile the other hid behind it. The goddess saved them both and told\nthem to adopt the vocation of dyers. The Rangaris are descended from\nthe brother who was called Bhaosar and the Chhipas from the other\nbrother, because he hid behind the image (_chhipna_, to hide). The word\nis really derived from _chhapna_, to print, because the Chhipas print\ncoloured patterns on cotton cloths with wooden stamps. Rangari comes\nfrom the common word _rang_ or colour. The Chhipas have a slightly\ndifferent version of the same story, according to which the goddess\ngave one brother a needle and a piece of thread, and the other some\nred betel-leaf which she spat at him out of her mouth; and told one to\nfollow the vocation of a tailor, and the other that of a dyer. Hence\nthe first was called Chhipi or Shimpi and the second Chhipa. This\nstory indicates a connection between the dyeing and tailoring castes\nin the Maratha Districts, which no doubt exists, as one subcaste of\nthe Rangaris is named after Namdeo, the patron saint of the Shimpis\nor tailors. Both the dyeing and tailoring industries are probably of\nconsiderably later origin than that of cotton-weaving, and both are\nurban rather than village industries. And this consideration perhaps\naccounts for the fact that the Chhipas and Rangaris rank higher than\nmost of the weaving castes, and no stigma or impurity attaches to them.\n\n\n\n3. Caste subdivisions.\n\n\nThe caste have a number of subdivisions, such as the Malaiyas or\nimmigrants from Malwa, the Gujrati who come from Gujarat, the Golias\nor those who dye cloth with _goli ka rang_, the fugitive aniline dyes,\nthe Namdeos who belong to the sect founded by the Darzi or tailor of\nthat name, and the Khatris, these last being members of the Khatri\ncaste who have adopted the profession.\n\n\n\n4. Marriage and other customs.\n\n\nMarriage is forbidden between persons so closely connected as to have a\ncommon ancestor in the third generation. In Bhandara it is obligatory\non all members of the caste, who know the bride or bridegroom, to\nask him or her to dine. The marriage rite is that prevalent among\nthe Hindustani castes, of walking round the sacred post. Divorce\nand the marriage of widows are permitted. In Narsinghpur, when a\nbachelor marries a widow, he first goes through a mock ceremony by\nwalking seven times round an earthen vessel filled with cakes; this\nrite being known as Langra Biyah or the lame marriage. The caste burn\ntheir dead, placing the head to the north. On the day of Dasahra the\nChhipas worship their wooden stamps, first washing them and then making\nan offering to them of a cocoanut, flowers and an image consisting\nof a bottle-gourd standing on four sticks, which is considered to\nrepresent a goat. The Chhipas rank with the lower artisan castes,\nfrom whose hands Brahmans will not take water. Nevertheless some of\nthem wear the sacred thread and place sect-marks on their foreheads.\n\n\n\n5. Occupation.\n\n\nThe bulk of the Chhipas dye cloths in red, blue or black, with\nornamental patterns picked out on them in black and white. Formerly\ntheir principal agent was the _al_ or Indian mulberry (_Morinda\ncitrifolia_), from which a rich red dye is obtained. But this\nindigenous product has been ousted by alizarin, a colouring agent\nmade from coal-tar, which is imported from Germany, and is about\nthirty per cent cheaper than the native dye. Chhipas prepare _saris_\nor women's wearing-cloths, and floor and bed cloths. The dye stamps\nare made of teakwood by an ordinary carpenter, the flat surface of\nthe wood being hollowed out so as to leave ridges which form either\na design in curved lines or the outlines of the figures of men,\nelephants and tigers. There is a great variety of patterns, as many\nas three hundred stamps having been found in one Chhipa's shop. The\nstamps are usually covered with a black ink made of sulphate of iron,\nand this is fixed by myrobalans; the Nilgars usually dye a plain blue\nwith indigotin. No great variety or brilliancy of colours is obtained\nby the Hindu dyers, who are much excelled in this branch of the art\nby the Muhammadan Rangrez. In Gujarat dyeing is strictly forbidden\nby the caste rules of the Chhipas or Bhaosars during the four rainy\nmonths, because the slaughter of insects in the dyeing vat adds to\nthe evil and ill-luck of that sunless time. [472]\n\n\n\n\n\n\nChitari\n\n\n\nList of Paragraphs\n\n\n    1.  _Origin and traditions._\n    2.  _Social customs._\n    3.  _Birth and childhood._\n    4.  _The evil eye._\n    5.  _Cradle-songs._\n    6.  _Occupation._\n\n\n\n1. Origin and traditions.\n\n\n_Chitari, Chiter, Chitrakar, Maharana._--A caste of painters on\nwood and plaster. Chiter is the Hindustani, and Chitari the Marathi\nname, both being corruptions of the Sanskrit Chitrakar. Maharana\nis the term used in the Uriya country, where the caste are also\nknown as Phal-Barhai, or a carpenter who only works on one side of\nthe wood. Chitari is further an occupational term applied to Mochis\nand Jingars, or leather-workers, who have adopted the occupation of\nwall-painting, and there is no reason to doubt that the Chitaris were\noriginally derived from the Mochis, though they have now a somewhat\nhigher position. In Mandla the Chitrakars and Jingars are separate\ncastes, and do not eat or intermarry with one another. Neither branch\nwill take water from the Mochis, who make shoes, and some Chitrakars\neven refuse to touch them. They say that the founder of their caste\nwas Biskarma, [473] the first painter, and that their ancestors\nwere Rajputs, whose country was taken by Akbar. As they were without\noccupation Akbar then assigned to them the business of making saddles\nand bridles for his cavalry and scabbards for their swords. It is not\nunlikely that the Jingar caste did really originate or first become\ndifferentiated from the Mochis and Chamars in Rajputana owing to the\ndemand for such articles, and this would account for the Mochis and\nJingars having adopted Rajput names for their sections, and making\na claim to Rajput descent. The Chitrakars of Mandla say that their\nancestors belonged to Garha, near Jubbulpore, where the tomb of a\nwoman of their family who became _sati_ is still to be seen. Garha,\nwhich was once the seat of an important Gond dynasty with a garrison,\nwould also naturally have been a centre for their craft.\n\nAnother legend traces their origin from Chitrarekha, a nymph who\nwas skilled in painting and magic. She was the friend of a princess\nUsha, whose father was king of Sohagpur in Hoshangabad. Usha fell\nin love with a beautiful young prince whom she saw in a dream,\nand Chitrarekha drew the portraits of many gods and men for her,\nuntil finally Usha recognised the youth of her dream in the portrait\nof Aniruddha, the grandson of Krishna. Chitrarekha then by her magic\npower brought Aniruddha to Usha, but when her father found him in the\npalace he bound him and kept him in prison. On this Krishna appeared\nand rescued his grandson, and taking Usha from her father married\nthem to each other. The Chitaris say that as a reward to Chitrarekha,\nKrishna promised her that her descendants should never be in want,\nand hence members of their caste do not lack for food even in famine\ntime. [474] The Chitaris are declining in numbers, as their paintings\nare no longer in demand, the people preferring the cheap coloured\nprints imported from Germany and England.\n\n\n\n2. Social customs.\n\n\nThe caste is a mixed occupational group, and those of Maratha,\nTelugu and Hindustani extraction marry among themselves. A few wear\nthe sacred thread, and abstain from eating flesh or drinking liquor,\nwhile the bulk of them do not observe these restrictions.\n\nAmong the Jingars women accompany the marriage procession, but not\nwith the Chitaris.\n\nWidow-marriage is allowed, but among the Maharanas a wife who has lived\nwith her husband may not marry any one except his younger brother,\nand if there are none she must remain a widow. In Mandla, if a widow\nmarries her younger brother-in-law, half her first husband's property\ngoes to him finally, and half to the first husband's children. If she\nmarries an outsider she takes her first husband's property and children\nwith her. Formerly if a wife misbehaved the Chitari sometimes sold\nher to the highest bidder, but this custom has fallen into abeyance,\nand now if a man divorces his wife her father usually repays to him\nthe expenses of his marriage. These he realises in turn from any\nman who takes his daughter. A second wife worships the spirit of\nthe dead first wife on the day of Akhatij, offering some food and a\nbreast-cloth, so that the spirit may not trouble her.\n\n\n\n3. Birth and childhood.\n\n\nA pregnant woman must stay indoors during an eclipse; if she goes out\nand sees it they believe that her child will be born deformed. They\nthink that a woman in this condition must be given any food which\nshe takes a fancy for, so far as may be practicable, as to thwart her\ndesires would affect the health of the child. Women in this condition\nsometimes have a craving for eating earth; then they will eat either\nthe scrapings or whitewash from the walls, or black clay soil, or\nthe ashes of cowdung cakes to the extent of a small handful a day. A\nwoman's first child should be born in her father-in-law's or husband's\nhouse if possible, but at any rate not in her father's house. And if\nshe should be taken with the pangs of travail while on a visit to her\nown family, they will send her to some other house for her child to be\nborn. The ears of boys and the ears and nostrils of girls are pierced,\nand until this is done they are not considered to be proper members\nof the caste and can take food from any one's hand. The Chitaris of\nMandla permit a boy to do this until he is married. A child's hair is\nnot shaved when it is born, but this should be done once before it is\nthree years old, whether it be a boy or girl. After this the hair may\nbe allowed to grow, and shaved off or simply cut as they prefer. Except\nin the case of illness a girl's hair is only shaved once, and that\nof an adult woman is never cut, unless she becomes a widow and makes\na pilgrimage to a sacred place, when it is shaved off as an offering.\n\n\n\n4. The evil eye.\n\n\nIn order to avert the evil eye they hang round a child's neck a nut\ncalled _bajar-battu_, the shell of which they say will crack and\nopen if any one casts the evil eye on the child. If it is placed in\nmilk the two parts will come together again. They also think that\nthe nut attracts the evil eye and absorbs its effect, and the child\nis therefore not injured. If they think that some one has cast the\nevil eye on a child, they say a charm, '_Ishwar, Gauri, Parvati ke an\nnazar dur ho jao_,' or 'Depart, Evil Eye, in the name of Mahadeo and\nParvati,' and as they say this they blow on the child three times;\nor they take some salt, chillies and mustard in their hand and wave\nit round the child's head and say, '_Telin ki lagi ho, Tamolin ki\nlagi ho, Mararin ki ho, Gorania (Gondin) ki ho, oke, oke, parparake\nphut jawe_,' 'If it be a Telin, Tambolin, Mararin or Gondin who has\ncast the evil eye, may her eyes crack and fall out.' And at the same\ntime they throw the mustard, chillies and salt on the fire so that\nthe eyes of her who cast the evil eye may crack and fall out as these\nthings crackle in the fire.\n\nIf tiger's claws are used for an amulet, the points must be turned\noutwards. If any one intends to wish luck to a child, he says, '_Tori\nbalayan leun_,' and waves his hands round the child's head several\ntimes to signify that he takes upon himself all the misfortunes which\nare to happen to the child. Then he presses the knuckles of his hands\nagainst the sides of his own head till they crack, which is a lucky\nomen, averting calamity. If the knuckles do not crack at the first\nattempt, it is repeated two or three times. When a man sneezes he will\nsay 'Chatrapati,' which is considered to be a name of Devi, but is\nonly used on this occasion. But some say nothing. After yawning they\nsnap their fingers, the object of which, they say, is to drive away\nsleep, as otherwise the desire will become infectious and attack others\npresent. But if a child yawns they sometimes hold one of their hands\nin front of his mouth, and it is probable that the original meaning\nof the custom was to prevent evil spirits from entering through the\nwidely opened mouth, or the yawner's own soul or spirit from escaping;\nand the habit of holding the hand before the mouth from politeness\nwhen yawning inadvertently may be a reminiscence of this.\n\n\n\n5. Cradle-songs.\n\n\nThe following are some cradle-songs taken down from a Chitrakar,\nbut probably used by most of the lower Hindu castes:\n\n\n    1. Mother, rock the cradle of your pretty child. What is the\n    cradle made of, and what are its tassels made of?\n    The cradle is made of sandalwood, its tassels are of silk.\n    Some Gaolin (milkwoman) has overlooked the child, he vomits up\n    his milk.\n    Dasoda [475] shall wave salt and mustard round his head, and he\n    shall play in my lap.\n    My baby is making little steps. O Sunar, bring him tinkling\n    anklets!\n    The Sunar shall bring anklets for him, and my child will go to\n    the garden and there we will eat oranges and lemons.\n\n    2. My Krishna's tassel is lost, Tell me, some one, where it is. My\n    child is angry and will not come into my arms.\n    The tears are falling from his eyes like blossoms from the _bela_\n    [476] flower.\n    He has bangles on his wrists and anklets on his feet, on his head\n    a golden crown and round his waist a silver chain.\n\n\nThe _jhumri_ or tassel referred to above is a tassel adorned with\ncowries and hung from the top of the cradle so that the child may\nkeep his eyes on it while the cradle is being rocked.\n\n\n    3. Sleep, sleep, my little baby; I will wave my hands round your\n    head [477] on the banks of the Jumna. I have cooked hot cakes\n    for you and put butter in them; all the night you lay awake,\n    now take your fill of sleep.\n    The little mangoes are hanging on the tree; the rope is in the\n    well; sleep thou till I go and come back with water.\n    I will hang your cradle on the banyan tree, and its rope to the\n    pipal tree; I will rock my darling gently so that the rope shall\n    never break.\n\n\nThe last song may be given in the vernacular as a specimen:\n\n\n            4. Ram ki Chireya, Ram ko khet.\n            Khaori Chireya, bhar, bhar pet.\n            Tan munaiyan kha lao khet,\n            Agao, labra, gali det;\n            Kahe ko, labra, gali de;\n            Apni bhuntia gin, gin le.\n\n\nor--\n\n\n    The field is Rama's, the little birds are Rama's; O birds, eat\n    your fill; the little birds have eaten up the corn.\n    The surly farmer has come to the field and scolds them; the little\n    birds say, 'O farmer, why do you scold us? count your ears of\n    maize, they are all there.'\n\n\nThis song commemorates a favourite incident in the life of Tulsi Das,\nthe author of the Ramayana, who when he was a little boy was once\nsent by his _guru_ to watch the crop. But after some time the _guru_\ncame and found the field full of birds eating the corn and Tulsi Das\nwatching them. When asked why he did not scare them away, he said,\n'Are they not as much the creatures of Rama as I am? how should I\ndeprive them of food?'\n\n\n\n6. Occupation.\n\n\nThe Chitaris pursue their old trade, principally in Nagpur city,\nwhere the taste for wall-paintings still survives; and they decorate\nthe walls of houses with their crude red and blue colours. But\nthey have now a number of other avocations. They paint pictures\non paper, making their colours from the tins of imported aniline\ndyeing-powders which are sold in the bazar; but there is little\ndemand for these. They make small pictures of the deities which\nthe people hang on their walls for a day and then throw away. They\nalso paint the bodies of the men who pretend to be tigers at the\nMuharram festival, for which they charge a rupee. They make the clay\npaper-covered masks of monkeys and demons worn by actors who play the\nRamlila or story of Rama on the Ramnaomi festival in Chait (March);\nthey also make the _tazias_ or representations of the tomb of Hussain\nand paper figures of human beings with small clay heads, which are\ncarried in the Muharram procession. They make marriage crowns; the\nframes of these are of conical shape with a half-moon at the top,\nmade from strips of bamboo; they are covered with red paper picked\nout with yellow and green and with tinfoil, and are ornamented with\nborders of date-palm leaves. The crowns cost from four annas to a\nrupee each. They make the artificial flowers used at weddings; these\nare stuck on a bamboo stick and at the arrival and departure of the\nbridegroom are scrambled for by the guests, who take them home as\nkeepsakes or give them to their children for playthings. The flowers\ncopied are the lotus, rose and chrysanthemum, and the imitations are\nquite good. Sometimes the bridegroom is surrounded by trays or boxes\nof flowers, carried in procession and arranged so as to look as if\nthey were planted in beds. Other articles made by the Chitrakar are\npaper fans, paper globes for hanging to the roofs of houses, Chinese\nlanterns made either of paper or of mica covered with paper, and\nsmall caps of velvet embroidered with gold lace. At the Akti festival\n[478] they make pairs of little clay dolls, dressing them as male and\nfemale, and sell them in red lacquered bamboo baskets, and the girls\ntake them to the jungle and pretend that they are married. Formerly\nthe Chitrakars made clay idols for temples, but these have been\nsupplanted by marble images imported from Jaipur. The Jingars make\nthe cloth saddles on which natives ride, and some of them bind books,\nthe leather for which is made from goat-skin, and is not considered so\nimpure as that made from the hides of cattle. But one class of them,\nwho are considered inferior, make leather harness from cow-hide and\nbuffalo-hide.\n\n\n\n\n\n\nChitrakathi\n\n\n_Chitrakathi, Hardas._ [479]--A small caste of religious mendicants\nand picture showmen in the Maratha Districts. In 1901 they numbered 200\npersons in the Central Provinces and 1500 in Berar, being principally\nfound in the Amraoti District. The name, Mr. Enthoven writes, [480]\nis derived from _chitra,_ a picture, and _katha_, a story, and the\nprofessional occupation of the caste is to travel about exhibiting\npictures of heroes and gods, and telling stories about them. The\ncommunity is probably of mixed functional origin, for in Bombay\nthey have exogamous section-names taken from those of the Marathas,\nas Jadhow, More, Powar and so on, while in the Central Provinces\nand Berar an entirely different set is found. Here several sections\nappear to be named after certain offices held or functions performed\nby their members at the caste feasts. Thus the Atak section are the\ncaste headmen; the Mankari appear to be a sort of substitute for the\nAtak or their grand viziers, the word Mankar being primarily a title\napplied to Maratha noblemen, who held an official position at court;\nthe Bhojni section serve the food at marriage and other ceremonies;\nthe Kakra arrange for the lighting; the Kotharya are store-keepers; and\nthe Ghoderao (from _ghoda_, a horse) have the duty of looking after the\nhorses and bullock-carts of the castemen who assemble. The Chitrakathis\nare really no doubt the same caste as the Chitaris or Chitrakars\n(painters) of the Central Provinces, and, like them, a branch of the\nMochis (tanners), and originally derived from the Chamars. But as the\nBerar Chitrakathis are migratory instead of settled, and in other\nrespects differ from the Chitaris, they are treated in a separate\narticle. Marriage within the section is forbidden, and, besides this,\nmembers of the Atak and Mankari sections cannot intermarry as they are\nconsidered to be related, being divisions of one original section. The\nsocial customs of the caste resemble those of the Kunbis, but they\nbury their dead in a sitting posture, with the face to the east, and\non the eighth day erect a platform over the grave. At the festival\nof Akhatij (3rd of light Baisakh) [481] they worship a vessel of\nwater in honour of their dead ancestors, and in Kunwar (September)\nthey offer oblations to them. Though not impure, the caste occupy a\nlow social position, and are said to prostitute their married women\nand tolerate sexual licence on the part of unmarried girls. Mr. Kitts\n[482] describes them as \"Wandering mendicants, sometimes suspected\nof associating with Kaikaris for purposes of crime; but they seem\nnevertheless to be a comparatively harmless people. They travel about\nin little huts like those used by the Waddars; the men occasionally\nsell buffaloes and milk; the women beg, singing and accompanying\nthemselves on the _thali_. The old men also beg, carrying a flag in\ntheir hand, and shouting the name of their god, Hari Vithal (from\nwhich they derive their name of Hardas). They are fond of spirits,\nand, when drunk, become pot-valiant and troublesome.\" The _thali_\nor plate on which their women play is also known as _sarthada_, and\nconsists of a small brass dish coated with wax in the centre; this is\nheld on the thigh and a pointed stick is moved in a circle so as to\nproduce a droning sound. The men sometimes paint their own pictures,\nand in Bombay they have a caste rule that every Chitrakathi must have\nin his house a complete set of sacred pictures; this usually includes\nforty representations of Rama's life, thirty-five of that of the sons\nof Arjun, forty of the Pandavas, forty of Sita and Rawan, and forty\nof Harishchandra. The men also have sets of puppets representing the\nabove and other deities, and enact scenes with them like a Punch and\nJudy show, sometimes aided by ventriloquism.\n\n\n\n\n\n\nCutchi\n\n\n\n1. General notice.\n\n\n_Cutchi_ or _Meman, Kachhi, Muamin._--A class of Muhammadan merchants\nwho come every year from Gujarat and Cutch to trade in the towns of\nthe Central Provinces, where they reside for eight months, returning to\ntheir houses during the four months of the rainy season. In 1911 they\nnumbered about 2000 persons, of whom five-sixths were men, this fact\nindicating the temporary nature of their settlements. Nevertheless a\nlarge proportion of the trade of the Province is in their hands. The\ncaste is fully and excellently described by Khan Bahadur Fazalullah\nLutfullah Faridi, Assistant Collector of Customs, Bombay, in the\n_Bombay Gazetteer_. [483] He remarks of them: \"As shopkeepers and\nmiscellaneous dealers Cutchis are considered to be the most successful\nof Muhammadans. They owe their success in commerce to their freedom\nfrom display and their close and personal attention to and keen\ninterest in business. The richest Meman merchant does not disdain to\ndo what a Parsi in his position would leave to his clerks. Their hope\nand courage are also excellent endowments. They engage without fear in\nany promising new branch of trade and are daring in their ventures,\na trait partly inherited from their Lohana ancestors, and partly due\nto their faith in the luck which the favour of their saints secures\nthem.\" Another great advantage arises from their method of trading\nin small corporations or companies of a number of persons either\nrelations or friends. Some of these will have shops in the great\ncentres of trade, Bombay and Calcutta, and others in different places\nin the interior. Each member then acts as correspondent and agent for\nall the others, and puts what business he can in their way. Many are\nalso employed as assistants and servants in the shops; but at the end\nof the season, when all return to their native Gujarat, the profits\nfrom the different shops are pooled and divided among the members\nin varying proportion. By this method they obtain all the advantages\nwhich are recognised as attaching to co-operative trading.\n\n\n\n2. Origin of the caste.\n\n\nAccording to Mr. Faridi, from whose description the remainder of\nthis article is mainly taken, the Memans or more correctly Muamins or\n'Believers' are converts from the Hindu caste of Lohanas of Sind. They\nvenerate especially Maulana Abdul Kadir Gilani who died at Baghdad in\nA.D. 1165. His sixth descendant, Syed Yusufuddin Kordiri, was in 1421\ninstructed in a dream to proceed to Sind and guide its people into\nthe way of Islam. On his arrival he was received with honour by the\nlocal king, who was converted, and the ruler's example was followed\nby one Manikji, the head of one of the _nukhs_ or clans of the Lohana\ncommunity. He with his three sons and seven hundred families of the\ncaste embraced Islam, and on their conversion the title of Muamin or\n'Believer' was conferred on them by the saint. It may be noted that\nColonel Tod derives the Lohanas from the Rajputs, remarking of them:\n[484] \"This tribe is numerous both in Dhat and Talpura; formerly\nthey were Rajputs, but betaking themselves to commerce have fallen\ninto the third class. They are scribes and shopkeepers, and object\nto no occupation that will bring a subsistence; and as to food, to\nuse the expressive idiom of this region where hunger spurns at law,\n'Excepting their cats and their cows they will eat anything.'\" In his\naccount of Sind, Postans says of the Lohanas: \"The Hindu merchants and\nbankers have agents in the most remote parts of Central Asia and could\nnegotiate bills upon Candahar, Khelat, Cabul, Khiva, Herat, Bokhara or\nany other marts of that country. These agents, in the pursuit of their\ncalling, leave Sind for many years, quitting their families to locate\nthemselves among the most savage and intolerant tribes.\" This account\ncould equally apply to the Khatris, who also travel over Central Asia,\nas shown in the article on that caste; and if, as seems not improbable,\nthe Lohanas and Khatris are connected, the hypothesis that the former,\nlike the latter, are derived from Rajputs would receive some support.\n\nThe present Pir or head of the community is Sayyid Jafir Shah, who is\nnineteenth in descent from Yusufuddin and lives partly in Bombay and\npartly in Mundra of South Cutch. \"At an uncertain date,\" Mr. Faridi\ncontinues, \"the Lohana or Cutchi Memans passed from Cutch south through\nKathiawar to Gujarat. They are said to have been strong and wealthy\nin Surat during the period of its prosperity (1580-1680). As Surat\nsank the Cutchi Memans moved to Bombay. Outside Cutch and Kathiawar,\nwhich may be considered their homes, the Memans are scattered over the\ncities of north and south Gujarat and other Districts of Bombay. Beyond\nthat Presidency they have spread as traders and merchants and formed\nsettlements in Calcutta, Madras, the Malabar Coast, South Burma,\nSiam, Singapore and Java; in the ports of the Arabian Peninsula,\nexcept Muscat, where they have been ousted by the Khojas; and in\nMozambique, Zanzibar and the East African Coast.\" [485] They have\ntwo divisions in Bombay, known as Cutchi or Kachhi and Halai.\n\n\n\n3. Social customs.\n\n\nCutchis and Memans retain some non-Muhammadan usages. The principal\nof these is that they do not allow their daughters and widows to\ninherit according to the rule of Muhammadan law. [486] They conduct\ntheir weddings by the Nikah form and the _mehar_ or dowry is always\nthe same sum of a hundred and twenty-five rupees, whatever may be the\nposition of the parties and in the case of widows also. They say that\neither party may be divorced by the other for conjugal infidelity, but\nthe _mehar_ or dowry must always be paid to the wife in the case of a\ndivorce. The caste eat flesh and fowls and abstain from liquor. Most\nof them also decline to eat beef as a consequence of their Hindu\nancestry and they will not take food from Hindus of low caste.\n\n\n\n\n\n\nDahait [487]\n\n\n\nList of Paragraphs\n\n\n    1. _Origin of the caste._\n    2. _Internal structure: totemism._\n    3. _Marriage and other customs._\n    4. _Social position._\n    5. _Former occupations, door-keeper and mace-bearer._\n    6. _The umbrella._\n    7. _Significance of the umbrella._\n\n\n\n1. Origin of the caste.\n\n\n_Dahait, Dahayat._--A mixed caste of village watchmen of the Jubbulpore\nand Mandla Districts, who are derived from the cognate caste of\nKhangars and from several of the forest tribes. In 1911 the Dahaits\nnumbered about 15,000 persons in the Central Provinces, of whom the\nlarge majority were found in the Jubbulpore District and the remainder\nin Bilaspur, Damoh and Seoni. Outside the Province they reside only\nin Bundelkhand. According to one story the Dahaits and Khangars had a\ncommon ancestor, and in Mandla again they say that their ancestors were\nthe door-keepers of the Rajas of Mahoba, and were known as Chhadidar or\nDarwan; and they came to Mandla about 200 years ago, during the time\nof Raja Nizam Shah of the Raj-Gond dynasty of that place. In Mandla\nthe names of their subdivisions are given as Rawatia or Rautia, Kol,\nMawasi, Sonwani and Rajwaria. Of these Kol and Rajwar are the names\nof separate tribes; Mawasi is commonly used as a synonym for Korku,\nanother tribe; Sonwani is the name of a sept found among several of\nthe primitive tribes; while Rawat is a title borne by the Saonrs and\nGonds. The names Rautia and Rajwaria are found as subdivisions of the\nKol tribe in Mirzapur, [488] and it is not improbable that the Dahaits\nare principally derived from this tribe. The actual name Dahait is also\ngiven by Mr. Crooke as a subdivision of the Kols, and he states it to\nhave the meaning of 'villager,' from _dehat_, a village. The Dahaits\nwere a class of personal attendants on the chief or Raja, as will be\nseen subsequently. They stood behind the royal cushion and fanned him,\nran in front of his chariot or litter to clear the way, and acted as\ndoor-keepers and ushers. Service of this kind is of a menial nature\nand, further, demands a considerable degree of physical robustness;\nand hence members of the non-Aryan forest tribes would naturally\nbe selected for it. And it would appear that these menial servants\ngradually formed themselves into a caste in Bundelkhand and became the\nDahaits. They obtained a certain rise in status, and now rank in the\nposition of village menials above their parent tribes. In the Central\nProvinces the Dahaits have commonly been employed as village watchmen,\na post analogous to that of door-keeper or porter. The caste are also\nknown as Bhaldar or spearmen, and Kotwar or village watchmen.\n\n\n\n2. Internal structure: totemism.\n\n\nThe subcastes returned from the Mandla District have already been\nmentioned. In Bilaspur they have quite different ones, of which two,\nJoharia and Pailagia, are derived from methods of greeting. Johar\nis the salutation which a Rajput prince sends to a vassal or chief\nof inferior rank, and Pailagi or 'I fall at your feet' is that with\nwhich a member of a lower caste accosts a Brahman. How such names\ncame to be adopted as subcastes cannot be explained. The caste have\na number of exogamous groups named after plants and animals. Members\nof the Bel, [489] Rusallo and Chheola [490] septs revere the trees\nafter which these septs are named. They will not cut or injure\nthe tree, and at the time of marriage they go and invite it to be\npresent at the ceremony. They offer to the tree the _maihar_ cake,\nwhich is given only to the members of the family and the husbands\nand children of daughters. Those belonging to the Nagotia sept [491]\nwill not kill a snake, and at the time of marriage they deposit the\n_maihar_ cake at a snake-hole. Members of the Singh (lion) and Bagh\n(tiger) septs will not kill a tiger, and at their weddings they draw\nhis image on a wall and offer the cake to it, being well aware that\nif they approached the animal himself, he would probably repudiate\nthe relationship and might not be satisfied with the cake for his meal.\n\n\n\n3. Marriage and other customs.\n\n\nPrior to a marriage a bride-price, known as _sukh_ or _chari_,\nand consisting of six rupees with some sugar, turmeric and sesamum\noil, must be paid by the parents of the bridegroom to those of the\nbride; and in the absence of this they will decline to perform the\nceremony. At the wedding the couple go round the sacred post, and then\nthe bridegroom mingles the flames of two burning lamps and pierces the\nnose of the image of a bullock made in flour. This rite is performed\nby several castes, and is said to be in commemoration of Krishna's\nhaving done so on different occasions. It is probably meant to excuse\nor legitimise the real operation, which should properly be considered\nas sinful in view of the sacred character of the animal. And it may\nbe mentioned here that the people of the Vindhyan or Bundelkhand\nDistricts where the Dahaits live do not perforate the nostrils of\nbullocks, and drive them simply by a rope tied round the mouth. In\nconsequence they have little control over them and are quite unable\nto stop a cart going downhill, which simply proceeds at the will\nof the animals until it reaches the level or bangs up against some\nobstacle. In Bilaspur a widow is expected to remain single for five\nyears after her husband's death, and if she marries within that time\nshe is put out of caste. Divorce is permitted, but is not of frequent\noccurrence. The caste will excuse a married woman caught in adultery\nonce, but on a second offence she must be expelled. If a woman leaves\nher husband and goes to live with another man, the latter must repay to\nher husband the amount expended on his marriage. But in such a case,\nif the woman was already a widow or _kari aurat_, [492] no penalty\nis incurred by a man who takes her from her second husband. A man of\nany good cultivating caste who has a _liaison_ with a Dahait woman\nwill be admitted into the community. An outsider who desires to\nbecome a member of the caste must clean his house, break his earthen\ncooking-pots and buy new ones, and give a meal to the caste-fellows\nat his house. He sits and takes food with them, and when the meal\nis over he takes a grain of rice from the leaf-plate of each guest\nand eats it, and drinks a drop of water from his leaf-cup. This act\nis equivalent to eating the leavings of food, and after it he cannot\nre-enter his own caste. On such occasions a rupee and a piece of cloth\nmust be given to the headman of the caste, and a piece of cloth to\neach member of the _panchayat_ or committee. The headman is known\nas Mirdhan, and a member of the committee as Diwan, the offices of\nboth being hereditary. The caste worship the Hindu and village gods\nof the locality. They have a curious belief that the skull of a man\nof the Kayasth (writer) caste cannot be burnt in fire, and that if\nit is placed in a dwelling-house the inmates will quarrel. A child's\nfirst teeth, if found, are thrown into a sacred river or on to the\nroof of a house with a few grains of rice, in order that the second\nteeth may grow white and pointed like the rice. The Jhalar or first\nhair of a boy or girl is cut between two and ten years of age and is\nwrapped in a piece of dough and thrown into a sacred river. Women are\ntattooed on the back of the hands, and also sometimes on the shoulder\nand the arms above the elbow, but not on the feet or face.\n\n\n\n4. Social position.\n\n\nThe Dahaits are now commonly employed as village watchmen and as guards\nor porters (_chaukidar_) of houses. In Bilaspur they also carry litters\nand work as navvies and stonebreakers like the Kols. Here they will\neat pork, but in Jubbulpore greater regard is paid to Hindu prejudice,\nand they have given up pork and fowls and begun to employ Brahmans\nfor their ceremonies. The men of the caste will accept cooked food\nfrom any man of the higher castes or those cultivators from whom a\nBrahman will take water, but the women are more strict and will only\naccept it from a Brahman, Bania, Lodhi or Kurmi.\n\n\n\n5. Former occupations: door-keeper and mace-bearer.\n\n\nIn past times the Dahaits were the personal attendants on the\nking. They fanned him with the _chaur_ or yak-tail whisk when he sat in\nstate on the royal cushion. This implement is held sacred and is also\nused by Brahmans to fan the deities. On ordinary occasions the Raja\nwas fanned by a pankha made of _khaskhas_ grass and wetted, but not\nso that the water fell on his head. They also acted as gate-keepers\nof the palace, and had the title of Darwan. The gate-keeper's post\nwas a responsible one, as it lay on him to see that no one with evil\nintentions or carrying secret arms was admitted to the palace. Whenever\na chief or noble came to visit the king he deposited his arms with\nthe porter or door-keeper. The necessity of a faithful door-keeper is\nshown in the proverb: \"With these five you must never quarrel: your\nGuru, your wife, your gate-keeper, your doctor and your cook.\" The\nreasons for the inclusion of the others are fairly clear. On the\nother hand the gate-porter had usually to be propitiated before\naccess was obtained to his master, like the modern chuprassie; and the\nresentment felt at his rapacity is shown in the proverb: \"The broker,\nthe octroi moharrir, the door-keeper and the bard: these four will\nsurely go to hell.\" The Darwan or door-keeper would be given the\nright to collect dues, equivalent to those of a village watchman,\nfrom forty or fifty villages. The Dahaits also carried the _chob_\nor silver mace before the king. This was about five feet long with\na knob at the upper end as thick as a man's wrist. The mace-bearer\nwas known as Chobdar, and it was his duty to carry messages and\nannounce visitors; this latter function he performed with a degree of\npomposity truly Asiatic, dwelling with open mouth very audibly on some\nof the most sounding and emphatic syllables in a way that appeared to\nstrangers almost ludicrous, [493] as shown in the following instance:\n\"On advancing, the Chobdars or heralds proclaimed the titles of this\nprincely cow-keeper in the usual hyperbolical style. One of the most\ninsignificant-looking men I ever saw then became the destroyer of\nnations, the leveller of mountains, the exhauster of the ocean. After\ncommanding every inferior mortal to make way for this exalted prince,\nthe heralds called aloud to the animal creation, 'Retire, ye serpents;\nfly, ye locusts; approach not, iguanas, lizards and reptiles, while\nyour lord and master condescends to set his foot on the earth.'\" [494]\nThe Dahaits ran before the Raja's chariot or litter to clear the way\nfor him and announce his coming; and it was also a principal business\nof the caste to carry the royal umbrella above the head of the king.\n\n\n\n6. The umbrella.\n\n\nThe umbrella was the essential symbol of sovereignty in Asia like the\ncrown in Europe. \"Among the ancient Egyptians the umbrella carried\nwith it a mark of distinction, and persons of quality alone could use\nit. The Assyrians reserved it for royal personages only. The umbrella\nor parasol, says Layard, that emblem of royalty so universally\nadopted by Eastern nations, was generally carried over the king in\ntime of peace and sometimes even in war. In shape it resembled very\nclosely those now in common use; but it is always seen open in the\nsculptures. It was edged with tassels and usually decorated at the top\nby a flower or some other ornament. The Greeks used it as a mystic\nsymbol in some of their sacred festivals, and the Romans introduced\nthe custom of hanging an umbrella in the basilican churches as a part\nof the insignia of office of the judge sitting in the basilica. It is\nsaid that on the judgment hall being turned into a church the umbrella\nremained, and in fact occupied the place of the canopy over thrones\nand the like; and Beatian, an Italian herald, says that a vermilion\numbrella in a field argent symbolises dominion. It is also believed\nthat the cardinal's hat is a modification of the umbrella in the\nbasilican churches. The king of Burma is proud to call himself The Lord\nof Twenty-four Umbrellas, and the Emperor of China carries that number\neven to the hunting-field.\" [495] In Buddhist architecture the 'Wheel\nof Light' symbolising Buddha is overshadowed by an umbrella, itself\nadorned with garlands. At Sanchi we find sculptured representations\nof two and even three umbrellas placed one above the other over the\ntemples, the double and triple canopies of which appear to be fixed\nto the same handle or staff as in the modern state umbrellas of China\nand Burma. Thus we have the primary idea of the accumulated honour of\nstone or metal discs which subsequently became such a prominent feature\nof Buddhist architecture, culminating in the many-storied pagodas of\nChina and Japan. [496] Similarly in Hindu temples the pinnacle often\nstands on a circular stone base, probably representing an umbrella.\n\nThe umbrella of state was apparently not black like its successor of\ncommerce, but of white or another colour, though the colour is seldom\nrecorded. Sometimes it was of peacock's feathers, the symbol of the\nIndian war-god, and as seen above, in Italy it was of red, the royal\ncolour. It has been suggested that the halo originally represented\nan umbrella, and there is no reason to doubt that the umbrella was\nthe parent of the state canopy.\n\n\n\n7. Significance of the umbrella.\n\n\nIt has been supposed that the reason for carrying the umbrella above\nthe king's head was to veil his eyes from his subjects, and prevent\nthem from being injured by the magical power of his glance. [497]\nBut its appearance on temples perhaps rather militates against this\nview. Possibly it may have merely served as a protection or covering\nto the king's head, the head being considered especially sacred\nas the seat of life. The same idea is perhaps at the root of the\nobjection felt by Hindus to being seen abroad without a covering on\nthe head. It seems likely that the umbrella may have been held to be\na representation of the sky or firmament. The Muhammadans conjoined\nwith it an _aftada_ or sun-symbol; this was an imitation of the sun,\nembroidered in gold upon crimson velvet and fixed on a circular\nframework which was borne aloft upon a gold or silver staff. [498]\nBoth were carried over the head of any royal personage, and the\nassociation favours the idea that the umbrella represents the sky,\nwhile the king's head might be considered analogous to the sun. When\none of the early Indian monarchs made extensive conquests, the annexed\nterritories were described as being brought under his umbrella;\nof the king Harsha-Vardhana (606-648 A.D.) it is recorded that he\nprosecuted a methodical scheme of conquest with the deliberate object\nof bringing all India under one umbrella, that is, of constituting\nit into one state. This phrase seems to support the idea that the\numbrella symbolised the firmament. Similarly, when Visvamitra sent\nbeautiful maidens to tempt the good king Harischandra he instructed\nthem to try and induce the king to marry them, and if he would not do\nthis, to ask him for the Puchukra Undi or State Umbrella, which was\nthe emblem of the king's protecting power over his kingdom, with the\nidea that that power would be destroyed by its loss. Chhatrapati or\nLord of the Umbrella was the proudest title of an Indian king. When\nSivaji was enthroned in 1674 he proclaimed himself as Pinnacle\nof the Kshatriya race and Lord of the Royal Umbrella. All these\ninstances seem to indicate that some powerful significance, such as\nthat already suggested, attached to the umbrella. Several tribes,\nas the Gonds and Mundas, have a legend that their earliest king was\nborn of poor parents, and that one day his mother, having left the\nchild under some tree while she went to her work, returned to find a\ncobra spreading its hood over him. The future royal destiny of the\nboy was thus predicted. It is commonly said that the cobra spread\nits hood over the child to guard it from the heat of the sun, but\nsuch protection would perhaps scarcely seem very important to such\na people as the Gonds, and the mother would naturally also leave the\nchild in the shade. It seems a possible hypothesis that the cobra's\nhood really symbolised the umbrella, the principal emblem of royal\nrank, and it was in this way that the child's great destiny was\npredicted. In this connection it may be noticed that one of the Jain\nTirthakars, Parasnath, is represented in sculpture with an umbrella\nover his head; but some Jains say that the carving above the saint's\nhead is not an umbrella but a cobra's hood. Even after it had ceased\nto be the exclusive appanage of the king, the umbrella was a sign of\nnoble rank, and not permitted to the commonalty.\n\nThe old Anglo-Indian term for an umbrella was 'roundel,' an early\nEnglish word, applied to a variety of circular objects, as a mat\nunder a dish, or a target, and in its form of 'arundel' to the conical\nhandguard on a lance. [499] An old Indian writer says: \"Roundels are\nin these warm climates very necessary to keep the sun from scorching\na man, they may also be serviceable to keep the rain off; most men\nof account maintain one, two or three roundeliers, whose office\nis only to attend their master's motion; they are very light but\nof exceeding stiffness, being for the most part made of rhinoceros\nhide, very decently painted and guilded with what flowers they best\nadmire. Exactly in the midst thereof is fixed a smooth handle made\nof wood, by which the Roundelier doth carry it, holding it a foot or\nmore above his master's head, directing the centre thereof as opposite\nto the sun as possibly he may. Any man whatever that will go to the\ncharge of it, which is no great matter, may have one or more Katysols\nto attend him but not a Roundel; unless he be a Governor or one of\nthe Council. The same custom the English hold good amongst their own\npeople, whereby they may be distinguished by the natives.\" [500] The\nKatysol was a Chinese paper and bamboo sunshade, and the use of them\nwas not prohibited. It was derived from the Portuguese _quito-sol_,\nor that which keeps off the sun. [501] An extract from the _Madras\nStanding Orders_, 1677-78, prescribed: \"That except by the members\nof this Council, those that have formerly been in that quality,\nChiefs of Factories, Commanders of Ships out of England, and the\nChaplains, Rundells shall not be worn by any men in this town, and\nby no woman below the degree of Factors' Wives and Ensigns' Wives,\nexcept by such as the Governor shall permit.\" [502] Another writer\nin 1754 states: \"Some years before our arrival in the country, they\n(the E. I. Co.) found such sumptuary laws so absolutely necessary,\nthat they gave the strictest orders that none of these young gentlemen\nshould be allowed even to hire a Roundel boy, whose business it is\nto walk by his master and defend him with his Roundel or umbrella\nfrom the heat of the sun. A young fellow of humour, upon this last\norder coming over, altered the form of his Umbrella from a round to\na square, called it a Squaredel instead of a Roundel, and insisted\nthat no order yet in force forbade him the use of it.\" [503] The fact\nthat the Anglo-Indians called the umbrella a roundel and regarded it\nas a symbol of sovereignty or nobility indicates that it was not yet\nused in England; and this Mr. Skeat shows to be correct. \"The first\numbrella used in England by a man in the open street for protection\nagainst rain is usually said to have been that carried by Jonas Hanway,\na great traveller, who introduced it on his return from Paris about\n1750, some thirty years before it was generally adopted.\n\n\"Some kind of umbrella was, however, occasionally used by ladies at\nleast so far back as 1709; and a fact not generally known is that\nfrom about the year 1717 onwards, a 'parish' umbrella, resembling the\nmore recent 'family' umbrella of the nineteenth century, was employed\nby the priest at open-air funerals, as the church accounts of many\nplaces testify.\" [504] This ecclesiastical use of the umbrella may\nhave been derived from its employment as a symbol in Italian churches,\nas seen above. The word umbrella is derived through the Italian from\nthe Latin _umbra_, shade, and in mediaeval times a state umbrella\nwas carried over the Doge or Duke at Venice on the occasion of any\ngreat ceremony. [505]\n\nEven recently it is said that in Saugor no Bania dare go past a Bundela\nRajput's house without getting down from his pony and folding up his\numbrella. In Hindu slang a 'Chhatawali' or carrier of an umbrella was a\nterm for a smart young man; as in the line, 'An umbrella has two kinds\nof ribs; two women are quarrelling for the love of him who carries\nit.' Now that the umbrella is free to all, and may be bought for a\nrupee or less in the bazar, the prestige which once attached to it\nhas practically disappeared. But some flavour of its old associations\nmay still cling to it in the minds of the sais and ayah who proudly\nparade to a festival carrying umbrellas spread over them to shade\ntheir dusky features from the sun; though the Raja, in obedience to\nthe dictates of fashion, has discarded the umbrella for a _sola-topi_.\n\n\n\n\n\n\nDaharia\n\n\n\n1. Origin and traditions.\n\n\n_Daharia._ [506]--A caste of degraded Rajputs found in Bilaspur and\nRaipur, and numbering about 2000 persons. The Daharias were originally\na clan of Rajputs but, like several others in the Central Provinces,\nthey have now developed into a caste and marry among themselves, thus\ntransgressing the first rule of Rajput exogamy. Colonel Tod included\nthe Daharias among the thirty-six royal races of Rajasthan. [507]\nTheir name is derived from Dahar or Dahal, the classical term for\nthe Jubbulpore country at the period when it formed the dominion\nof the Haihaya or Kalachuri Rajput kings of Tripura or Tewar near\nJubbulpore. This dynasty had an era of their own, commencing in\nA.D. 248, and their line continued until the tenth or eleventh\ncentury. The Arabian geographer Alberuni (born a.d. 973) mentions the\ncountry of Dahal and its king Gangeya Deva. His son Karna Daharia is\nstill remembered as the builder of temples in Karanbel and Bilahri\nin Jubbulpore, and it is from him that the Daharia Rajputs take\ntheir name. The Haihaya dynasty of Ratanpur were related to the\nKalachuri kings of Tewar, and under them the ancestors of the Daharia\nRajputs probably migrated from Jubbulpore into Chhattisgarh. But\nthey themselves have forgotten their illustrious origin, and tell a\ndifferent story to account for their name. They say that they came from\nBaghelkhand or Rewah, which may well be correct, as Rewah lies between\nChhattisgarh and Jubbulpore, and a large colony of Kalachuri Rajputs\nmay still be found about ten miles north-east of Rewah town. The\nDaharias relate that when Parasurama, the great Brahman warrior, was\nslaying the Kshatriyas, a few of them escaped towards Ratanpur and were\ncamping in the forest by the wayside. Parasurama came up and asked\nthem who they were, and they said they were _Daharias_ or wayfarers,\nfrom _dahar_ the Chhattisgarhi term for a road or path; and thus they\nsuccessfully escaped the vengeance of Parasurama. This futile fiction\nonly demonstrates the real ignorance of their Brahman priests, who, if\nthey had known a little history, need not have had recourse to their\ninvention to furnish the Daharias with a distinguished pedigree. A\nthird derivation is from a word _dahri_ or gate, and they say that the\nname of Dahria or Daharia was conferred on them by Bimbaji Bhonsla,\nbecause of the bravery with which they held the gates of Ratanpur\nagainst his attack. But history is against them here, as it records\nthat Ratanpur capitulated to the Marathas without striking a blow.\n\n\n\n2. Sept and subsept.\n\n\nAs already stated, the Daharias were originally a clan of Rajputs,\nwhose members must take wives or husbands from other clans. They\nhave now become a caste and marry among themselves, but within the\ncaste they still have exogamous groups or septs, several of which are\nnamed after Rajput clans as Bais, Chandel, Baghel, Bundela, Mainpuri\nChauhan, Parihar, Rathor and several others. Certain names are not of\nRajput origin, and probably record the admission of outsiders into the\ncaste. Like the Rajputs, within the sept they have also subsepts, some\nof which are taken from the Brahmans, as Parasar, Bharadwaj, Sandilya,\nwhile others are nicknames, as Kachariha (one who does not care about\na beating), Atariha, Hiyas and others. The divisions of the septs and\nsubsepts are very confused, and seem to indicate that at different\ntimes various foreign elements have been received into the community,\nincluding Rajputs of many different clans. According to rule, a man\nshould not take a wife whose sept or subsept are the same as his own,\nbut this is not adhered to; and in some cases the Daharias, on account\nof the paucity of their numbers and the difficulty of arranging\nmatches, have been driven to permit the marriage of first cousins,\nwhich among proper Rajputs is forbidden. They also practise hypergamy,\nas members of the Mainpuri Chauhan, Hiyas, Bisen, Surkhi and Bais septs\nor subsepts will take girls in marriage from families of other septs,\nbut will not give their daughters to them. This practice leads to\npolygamy among the five higher septs, whose daughters are all married\nin their own circle, while in addition they receive girls from the\nother groups. Members of these latter also consider it an honour to\nmarry a daughter into one of the higher septs, and are willing to pay\na considerable price for such a distinction. It seems probable that the\nsmall Daraiha caste of Bilaspur are an inferior branch of the Daharias.\n\n\n\n3. Social customs.\n\n\nThe Daharias, in theory at any rate, observe the same rules in\nregard to their women as Brahmans and Rajputs. Neither divorce nor\nthe marriage of widows is permitted, and a woman who goes wrong is\nfinally expelled from the caste. Their social customs resemble those\nof the higher Hindustani castes. When the bridegroom starts for the\nwedding he is dressed in a long white gown reaching to the ankles,\nwith new shoes, and he takes with him a dagger; this serves the\ndouble purpose of warding off evil spirits, always prone to attack\nthe bridal party, and also of being a substitute for the bridegroom\nhimself, as in case he should for some unforeseen reason be rendered\nunable to appear at the ceremony, the bride could be married to the\ndagger as his representative. It may also be mentioned that, before\nthe bridegroom starts for the wedding, after he has been rubbed with\noil and turmeric for five days he is seated on a wooden plank over\na hole dug in the courtyard and bathed. He then changes his clothes,\nand the women bring twenty-one small _chukias_ or cups full of water\nand empty them over him. His head is then covered with a piece of\nnew cloth, and a thread wound round it seven times by a Brahman. The\nthread is afterwards removed, and tied round an iron ring with some\nmango leaves, and this ring forms the _kankan_ which is tied to the\nbridegroom's wrist, a similar one being worn by the bride. Before the\nwedding the bride goes round to the houses of her friends, accompanied\nby the women of her party singing songs, and by musicians. At each\nhouse the mistress appears with her forehead and the parting of\nher hair profusely smeared with vermilion. She rubs her forehead\nagainst the bride's so as to colour it also with vermilion, which\nis now considered the symbol of a long and happy married life. The\nbarber's wife applies red paint to the bride's feet, the gardener's\nwife presents her with a garland of flowers, and the carpenter's\nwife gives her a new wooden doll. She must also visit the potter's\nand washerman's wives, whose benisons are essential; they give her a\nnew pot and a little rice respectively. When the bridegroom comes to\ntouch the marriage-shed with his dagger he is resisted by the bride's\nsister, to whom he must give a rupee as a present. The binding portion\nof the marriage consists in the couple walking seven times round the\nmarriage-post. At each turn the bridegroom seizes the bride's right\ntoe and with it upsets one of seven little cups of rice placed near\nthe marriage-post. This is probably a symbol of fertility. After\nit they worship seven pairs of little wooden boxes smeared with\nvermilion and called _singhora_ and _singhori_ as if they were male\nand female. The bridegroom's father brings two little dough images\nof Mahadeo and Parvati as the ideal married pair, and gives them to\nthe couple. The new husband applies vermilion to his wife's forehead,\nand covers and uncovers her head seven times, to signify to her that,\nhaving become a wife, she should henceforth be veiled when she goes\nabroad. The bride's maid now washes her face, which probably requires\nit, and the wedding is complete. The Daharias usually have a _guru_ or\nspiritual preceptor, but husband and wife must not have the same one,\nas in that case they would be in the anomalous position of brother and\nsister, a _guru's_ disciples being looked upon as his children. The\nDaharias were formerly warriors in the service of the Ratanpur kings,\nand many families still possess an old sword which they worship on\nthe day of Dasahra. Their names usually end in Singh or Lal. They\nare now engaged in cultivation, and many of them are proprietors of\nvillages, and tenants. Some of them are employed as constables and\nchuprassies, but few are labourers, as they may not touch the plough\nwith their own hands. They eat the flesh of clean animals, but do not\ndrink liquor, and avoid onions and tomatoes. They have good features\nand fair complexions, the traces of their Rajput blood being quite\nevident. Brahmans will take water from them, but they now rank below\nRajputs, on a level with the good cultivating castes.\n\n\n\n\n\n\nDangi\n\n\n\n1. Origin and traditions.\n\n\n_Dangi._--A cultivating caste found almost exclusively in the\nSaugor District, which contained 23,000 persons out of a total of\n24,000 of the caste in the Central Provinces in 1911. There are also\nconsiderable numbers of them in Rajputana and Central India, from\nwhich localities they probably immigrated into the Saugor District\nduring the eleventh century. The Dangis were formerly dominant in\nSaugor, a part of which was called Dangiwara after them. The kings of\nGarhpahra or old Saugor were Dangis, and their family still remains at\nthe village of Bilehra, which with a few other villages they hold as\na revenue-free grant. The name of the caste is variously derived. The\ntraditional story is that the Rajput king of Garhpahra detained the\npalanquins of twenty-two married women of different castes and kept\nthem as his wives. The issue of the illicit intercourse were named\nDangis, and there are thus twenty-two subdivisions of the caste,\nbesides three other subdivisions who are held to be descended from\npure Rajputs. The name is said to be derived from _dang_, fraud,\non account of the above deception. A more plausible derivation is\nfrom the Persian _dang_, a hill, the Dangis being thus hillmen; and\nthey may not improbably have been a set of robbers and freebooters in\nthe Vindhyan Hills, like the Gujars and Mewatis in northern India,\nnaturally recruiting their band from all classes of the population,\nas is shown by ingenious implication in this story itself. '_Khet men\nbami, gaon men Dangi_,' or 'A Dangi in the village is like the hole\nof a snake in one's field' is a proverb which shows the estimation\nin which they were formerly held. The three higher septs may have\nbeen their leaders and may well have been Rajputs. Since they have\nsettled down as respectable cultivators and enjoy a good repute among\ntheir neighbours, the Dangis have disowned the above story, and now\nsay that they are descended from Raja Dang, a Kachhwaha Rajput king\nof Narwar in Central India. Nothing is known of Raja Dang except a\nrude couplet which records how he was cheated by a horse-dealer:\n\n\n                    Jitki ghori tit gayi\n                    Dang hath karyari rahi,\n\n\n'The mare bolted to the seller again, leaving in Dang's hand nothing\nexcept the reins.'\n\nThe Dangis have a more heroic version of this story to the effect\nthat the mare was a fairy of Indra's court, who for some reason had\nbeen transformed into this shape and was captured by Raja Dang. He\nrefused to give her up to Indra and a battle was about to ensue,\nwhen the mare besought them to place her on a pyre and sacrifice her\ninstead of fighting. They agreed to do this, and out of the flames\nof the pyre the fairy emerged and floated up to heaven, leaving only\nthe reins and bridle of the mare in Raja Dang's hand. Yet a third\nstory is that their original ancestor was Raja Nipal Singh of Narwar,\nand when he was fighting with Indra over the fairy, Krishna came to\nIndra's assistance. But Nipal Singh refused to bow down to Krishna,\nand being annoyed at this and wishing to teach him a lesson the god\nsummoned him to his court. At the gate through which Nipal Singh\nhad to pass, Krishna fixed a sword at the height of a man's neck,\nso that he must bend or have his head cut off. But Nipal Singh saw\nthe trick, and, sitting down, propelled himself through the doorway\nwith his head erect. The outwitted god remarked, '_Tum bare dandi\nho_,' or 'You are very cunning,' and the name Dandi stuck to Nipal\nSingh and was afterwards corrupted to Dangi. There can be little\ndoubt that the caste are an offshoot of Rajputs of impure blood,\nand with a large admixture of other classes of the population. Some\nof their sept names indicate their mixed descent, as Rakhya, born\nof a potter woman, Dhoniya, born of a washerwoman, and Pavniya, born\nof a weaver woman. In past times the Dangis served in the Rajput and\nMaratha armies, and a small isolated colony of them is found in one\nvillage of Indora in the Nagpur District, the descendants of Dangis\nwho engaged in military service under the Bhonsla kings.\n\n\n\n2. Caste subdivisions.\n\n\nThe Dangis have no subcastes distinguished by separate names, but they\nare divided into three classes, among whom the principle of hypergamy\nprevails. As already seen, there were formerly twenty-five clans, of\nwhom the three highest, the Nahonias, Bhadonias and Nadias, claimed\nto be pure Rajputs. The other twenty-two clans are known as Baisa (22)\nor Prithwipat Dangis, after the king who is supposed to have been the\nancestor of all the clans. Each of his twenty-two wives is said to have\nbeen given a village for her maintenance, and the clans are named after\nthese villages. But there are now only thirteen of these local clans\nleft, and below them is a miscellaneous group of clans, representing\napparently later accretions to the caste. Some of them are named from\nthe places from which they came, as Mahobia, from Mahoba, Narwaria,\nfrom Narwar, and so on. The Solakhia sept is named after the Solanki\nRajputs, of whom they may be the partly illegitimate descendants. The\nParnami sept are apparently those who have the creed of the Dhamis,\nthe followers of Prannath of Panna. And as already seen, some are named\nfrom women of low caste, from whom by Dangi fathers they are supposed\nto be descended. The whole number of septs is thus divided into three\ngroups, the highest containing the three quasi-Rajput septs already\nmentioned, the next highest the thirteen septs of Prithwipat Dangis,\nand the lowest all the other septs. Pure Rajputs will take daughters\nin marriage from the highest group, and this in turn takes girls of\nthe Prithwipat Dangis of the thirteen clans, though neither will give\ndaughters in return; and the Prithwipat Dangis will similarly accept\nthe daughters of the miscellaneous septs below them in marriage with\ntheir sons. Matches are, however, not generally arranged according to\nthe above system of hypergamy, but each group marries among its own\nmembers. Girls who are married into a higher group have to be given\na larger dowry, the fathers often being willing to pay Rs. 500 or\nRs. 1000 for the social distinction which such an alliance confers\non the family. Among the highest septs there is a further difference\nbetween those whose ancestors accepted food from Raja Jai Singh,\nthe founder of Jaisinghnagar, and those who refused it. The former\nare called Sakrodia or those who ate the leavings of others, and\nthe latter _Deotaon ki sansar_, or the divine Dangis. Pure Rajputs\nwill take daughters only from the members of the latter group in each\nsept. Marriage within the sept or _baink_ is prohibited, and as a rule\na man does not marry a wife belonging to the same sept as his mother\nor grandmother. Marriage by exchange also is not allowed, that is,\na girl cannot be married into the same family as that in which her\nbrother has married.\n\n\n\n3. Marriage.\n\n\nGirls are generally married between seven and twelve and boys\nbetween ten and twenty, but no stigma attaches to a family allowing\nan unmarried girl to exceed the age of puberty. The bridegroom should\nalways be older than the bride. Matches are arranged by the parents,\nthe horoscopes of the children being compared among the well-to-do. The\nzodiacal sign of the boy's horoscope should be stronger than that of\nthe girl's, so that she may be submissive to him in after-life. Thus\na girl whose zodiac sign is the lion should not be married to a boy\nwhose sign is the ram, because in that case the wife would dominate\nthe husband. There is no special rule as to the time of the betrothal,\nand the ceremony is very simple, consisting in the presentation of a\ncocoanut by the bride's father to the bridegroom's father, and the\ndistribution of sweets to the caste-fellows. The betrothal is not\nconsidered to have any particularly binding force and either party may\nbreak through it. Among the Dangis a bridegroom-price is usually paid,\nwhich varies according to the social respectability of the boy's sept,\nas much as Rs. 2000 having been given for a bridegroom of higher\nclass according to the rule of hypergamy already described. But no\nvalue is placed on educational qualifications, as is the case among\nBrahmans and Kayasths. The marriage ceremony is conducted according\nto the ritual prevalent in the northern Districts, and presents no\nspecial features. Two feasts are given by the bride's father to the\ncaste-fellows, one consisting of _katchi_ food or that which is cooked\nwith water, and another of _pakki_ food cooked with _ghi_ (butter). If\nthe bride is of marriageable age the _gauna_ or sending away ceremony\nis performed at once, otherwise it takes place in the third or fifth\nyear after marriage. At the _gauna_ ceremony the bride's cloth is tied\nto that of the bridegroom, and they change seats. Widow-marriage is not\nfashionable, and the caste say that it is not permitted, but several\ninstances are known of its having occurred. Divorce is not allowed,\nand a woman who goes wrong is finally expelled from the caste. Polygamy\nis allowed, and many well-to-do persons have more than one wife.\n\n\n\n4. Religious and social customs.\n\n\nThe Dangis pay special reverence to the goddess Durga or Devi as the\npresiding deity of war. They worship her during the months of Kunwar\n(September) and Chait (March), and at the same time pay reverence to\ntheir weapons of war, their swords and guns, or if they have not got\nthese, to knives and spears. They burn their dead, but children are\nusually buried. They observe mourning for three days for a child and\nfor ten days for an adult, and on the 13th day the caste-fellows are\nfeasted. Their family priests, who are Jijhotia Brahmans, used formerly\nto shave the head and beard when a death occurred among their clients\nas if they belonged to the family, but this practice was considered\nderogatory by other Brahmans, and they have now stopped it. The Dangis\nperform the _shradhh_ ceremony in the month of Kunwar. The caste wear\nthe sacred thread, but it is said that they were formerly not allowed\nto do so in Bundelkhand. They eat fish and flesh, including that of\nwild boars, but not fowls or beef, and they do not drink liquor. They\ntake _pakki_ food or that cooked without water from Kayasths and\nGahoi Banias, and _katchi_ food, cooked with water, from Jijhotia\nand Sanadhya Brahmans. Jijhotia Brahmans formerly took _pakki_ food\nfrom Dangis, but have now ceased to do so. The Dangis require the\nservices of Brahmans at all ceremonies. They have a caste _panchayat_\nor committee. A person who changes his religion or eats with a low\ncaste is permanently expelled, while temporary exclusion is awarded\nfor the usual delinquencies. In the case of the more serious offences,\nas murder or killing of a cow, the culprit must purify himself by a\npilgrimage to a sacred river.\n\n\n\n5. Occupation and character.\n\n\nThe Dangis were formerly, as already stated, of a quarrelsome\ntemperament, but they have now settled down and, though spirited,\nare of a good disposition, and hard-working cultivators. They rank\nslightly above the representative cultivating castes owing to their\nformer dominant position, and are still considered to have a good\nconceit of themselves, according to the saying:\n\n\n                Tin men neh terah men,\n                Mirdang bajawe dere men,\n\n\nor 'Though he belong neither to the three septs nor the thirteen septs,\nyet the Dangi blows his own trumpet in his own house.' They are still,\ntoo, of a fiery disposition, and it is said that the favourite dish\nof gram-flour cooked with curds, which is known as _karhi_, is never\nserved at their weddings. Because the word _karhi_ also signifies\nthe coming out of a sword from its sheath, and when addressed to\nanother man has the equivalent of the English word 'Draw' in the\nduelling days. So if one Dangi said it to another, meaning to ask\nhim for the dish, it might result in a fight. They are very backward\nin respect of education and set no store by it. They consider their\ntraditional occupation to be military service, but nearly all of them\nare now engaged in agriculture. At the census of 1901 over 2000 were\nreturned as supported by the ownership of land and 3000 as labourers\nand farmservants. Practically all the remainder are tenants. They\nare industrious, and their women work in the fields. The only crops\nwhich they object to grow are _kusum_ or safflower and san-hemp. The\nNahonia Dangis, being the highest subcaste, refuse to sell milk or\n_ghi_. The men usually have Singh as a termination to their names,\nlike Rajputs. Their dress and ornaments are of the type common in\nthe northern Districts. The women tattoo their bodies.\n\n\n\n\n\n\nDangri\n\n\n_Dangri._ [508]--A small caste of melon and vegetable growers, whose\nname is derived from _dangar_ or _dangra_, a water-melon. They reside\nin the Wardha and Bhandara Districts, and numbered about 1800 persons\nin 1911. The caste is a mixed one of functional origin, and appears to\nbe an offshoot from the Kunbis with additions from other sources. In\nWardha they say that their ancestor was one of two brothers to whom\nMahadeo gave the seeds of a juari plant and a water-melon respectively\nfor sowing. The former became the ancestor of the Kunbis and the latter\nof the Dangris. On one occasion when Mahadeo, assuming the guise of a\nbeggar, asked the Dangri brother for a water-melon, he refused to give\nit, and on this account his descendants were condemned to perpetual\npoverty. In fact, the Dangris, like the other market-gardening castes,\nare badly off, possibly on account of their common habit of marrying\na number of wives, whom they utilise as labourers in their vegetable\ngardens; for though a wife is better than a hired labourer for their\nparticular method of cultivation, where supervision is difficult\nand the master may be put to serious loss from bad work and petty\npilfering, while there is also much scope for women workers; yet on\nthe other hand polygamy tends to the breeding of family quarrels and\nto excessive subdivision of property. The close personal supervision\nwhich is requisite perhaps also renders it especially difficult to\ncarry on the business of market-gardening on a large scale. In any\ncase the agricultural holdings of the Malis and Dangris are as a\nrule very small. The conclusion indicated by the above story that the\nDangris are an offshoot from the Kunbi caste of cultivators appears\nto be correct; and it is supported by the fact that they will accept\nfood cooked with water from the Baone Kunbis. But their subcastes\nshow that even this small body is of very heterogeneous composition;\nfor they are divided into the Teli, the Kalar, the Kunbi and the\nGadiwan Dangris, thus showing that the caste has received recruits\nfrom the Telis or oilmen and the Kalars or liquor-sellers. The\nGadiwan, as their name denotes, are a separate section who have\nadopted the comparatively novel occupation of cart-driving for a\nlivelihood. In Wardha there is also a small class of Panibhar or\nwaterman Dangris who are employed as water-bearers, this occupation\narising not unnaturally from that of growing melons and other crops\nin river-beds. And a few members of the caste have taken to working\nin iron. The bulk of the Dangris, however, grow melons, chillies and\nbrinjals on the banks or in the beds of rivers; but as the melon crop\nis raised in a period of six weeks during the hot season, they can\nalso undertake some ordinary cultivation. When the melons ripen the\nfirst fruits are offered to Mahadeo and given to a Brahman to ensure\nthe success of the crop. When the melon plants are in flower, a woman\nmust not enter the field during the period of her monthly impurity,\nas it is believed that she would cause the crop to wither. While it\nmay safely be assumed that the Dangris originated from the great Kunbi\ncaste, it may be noted that some of them tell a story to the effect\nthat their original home was Benares, and that they came from there\ninto the Central Provinces; hence they call themselves Kashi Dangri,\nKashi being the classical name for Benares. This legend appears to\nbe entirely without foundation, as their family names, speech and\ncustoms are alike of purely Marathi origin. But it is found among\nother castes also that they like to pretend that they came from\nBenares, the most sacred centre of Hinduism. The social customs of\nthe Dangris resemble those of the Kunbis, and it is unnecessary to\ndescribe them in detail. Before their weddings they have a curious\nceremony known as Dewat Puja. The father of the bridegroom, with an\naxe over his shoulder and accompanied by his wife, goes to a well\nor a stream. Here they clean a small space with cow-dung and make\nan offering of rice, flowers, turmeric and incense, after which\nthe man, breaking his bangle from off his wrist, throws it into the\nwater, apparently as a propitiatory offering for the success of the\nmarriage. It is not stated what the bangle is made of, but it may be\nassumed that a valuable one would not thus be thrown away. As among\nsome of the other Maratha castes, the bridegroom must be wrapped in a\nblanket on his journey to the bride's village. If a bachelor desires\nto espouse a widow he must first go through the ceremony of marriage\nwith a swallow-wort plant. Polygamy is freely permitted, and some\nDangris are known to have as many as five wives. As already stated,\nwives are of great assistance in gardening work, which demands much\nhand-labour. Divorce and the remarriage of widows are allowed. The\nDangris commonly bury the dead, and they place cotton leaves over the\neyes and ears of the corpse. In Bhandara they say that this is done\nwhen it is believed the dead person was possessed by an evil spirit,\nand there is possibly some idea of preventing the escape of the spirit\nfrom the body. In Wardha the Dangris have rather a bad reputation,\nand a saying current about them is '_Dangri beta puha chor_,' or\n'A Dangri will steal even a shred of cotton'; but this may be a libel.\n\n\n\n\n\n\nDarzi\n\n\n\nList of Paragraphs\n\n\n    1. _General notice._\n    2. _Subdivisions._\n    3. _Sewn clothes not formerly worn._\n    4. _Occupation._\n    5. _Religion._\n\n\n\n1. General notice.\n\n\n_Darzi, Shimpi, Chhipi, Suji._--The occupational caste of tailors. In\n1911 a total of 51,000 persons were returned as belonging to the caste\nin the Central Provinces and Berar. The Darzis are an urban caste and\nare most numerous in Districts with large towns. Mr. Crooke derives\nthe word Darzi from the Persian _darz_, meaning a seam. The name Suji\nfrom _sui_, a needle, was formerly more common. Shimpi is the Maratha\nname, and Chhipi, from Chhipa a calico-printer or dyer, is another\nname used for the caste, probably because it is largely recruited from\nthe Chhipas. In Bombay they say that when Parasurama was destroying\nthe Kshatriyas, two Rajput brothers hid themselves in a temple and\nwere protected by the priest, who set one of them to sew dresses for\nthe idol and the other to dye and stamp them. The first brother was\ncalled Chhipi and from him the Darzis are descended, the name being\ncorrupted to Shimpi, and the second was called Chhipa and was the\nancestor of the dyers. The common title of the Darzis is Khalifa, an\nArabic word meaning 'The Successor of the Prophet.' Colonel Temple\nsays that it is not confined to them but is also used by barbers,\ncooks and monitors in schools. [509] The caste is of comparatively\nrecent formation. In fact Sir D. Ibbetson wrote [510] that \"Darzi,\nor its Hindi equivalent Suji, is purely an occupational term, and\nthough there is a Darzi guild in every town, there is no Darzi caste\nin the proper acceptation of the word. The greater number of Darzis\nbelong perhaps to the Dhobi and Chhimba castes, more especially to\nthe latter.\"\n\n\n\n2. Subdivisions.\n\n\nThe Darzis, however, are now recognised as a distinct caste, but\ntheir mixed origin is shown by the names of their subcastes and\nexogamous sections. Thus they have a Baman subdivision named after the\nBrahman caste. These will not take food from any other caste except\nBrahmans and are probably an offshoot from them. They are considered\nto be the highest subdivision, and next to them come the Rai or\nRaj Darzis. Another subcaste is named Kaithia, after the Kayasths,\nand a third Srivastab, which is the name of a well-known subcaste\nof Kayasths derived from the town of Sravasti, now Sahet Mahet in\nthe Gonda District. [511] In Betul the Srivastab Darzis are reported\nto forbid the remarriage of widows, thus showing that they desire to\nlive up to their distinguished ancestry. A third subcaste is known as\nChamarua and appears to be derived from the Chamars. Other subcastes\nare of the territorial type as Malwi, Khandeshi, Chhattisgarhi,\nMathuria and so on, and the section or family names are usually\ntaken from villages. Among them, however, we find Jugia from Jogi,\nThakur or Rajput, Gujar, Khawas or barber, and Baroni, the title of\na female Dhimar. Mr. Crooke gives several other names.\n\n\n\n3. Sewn clothes not formerly worn.\n\n\nIt may thus reasonably be concluded that the Darzis are a caste\nof comparatively recent origin, and the explanation is probably\nthat the use of the needle and thread in making clothes is a new\nfashion. Buchanan remarks: \"The needle indeed seems to have been\ntotally unknown to the Hindus, and I have not been able to learn\nany Hindi word for sewing except that used to express passing the\nshuttle in the act of weaving....\" \"Cloth composed of several pieces\nsewn together is an abomination to the Hindus, so that every woman of\nrank when she eats, cooks or prays, must lay aside her petticoat and\nretain only the wrapper made without the use of scissors or needle\";\nand again, \"The dress of the Hindu men of rank has become nearly the\nsame with that of the Muhammadans [512] who did not allow any officer\nemployed by them to appear at their _levees_ (Durbars) except in proper\ndress. At home, however, the Hindu men, and on all occasions their\nwomen, retain almost entirely their native dress, which consists of\nvarious pieces of cloth wrapped round them without having been sewn\ntogether in any form, and only kept in their place by having their\nends thrust under the folds.\" And elsewhere he states: \"The flowering\nof cotton cloth with the needle has given a good deal of employment\nto the Muhammadan women of Maldeh as the needle has never been used by\nthe Hindus.\" [513] Darzi, as has been seen, is a Persian word, and in\nnorthern India many tailors are Muhammadans. And it seems, therefore,\na possible hypothesis that the needle and the art of sewing were\nbrought into general use by the Moslem invaders. It is true that in\nhis _Indo-Aryans_ [514] Mr. Rajendra Lal Mitra combats this hypothesis\nand demonstrates that made-up clothes were known to the Aryans of\nthe Rig-Veda and are found in early statuary. But he admits that the\ninstances are not numerous, and it seems likely that the use of such\nclothes may have been confined to royal and aristocratic families. It\nis possible also that the Scythian invasions of the fifth century\nbrought about a partial relapse from civilisation, during which certain\narts and industries, and among them that of cutting and sewing cloth,\nwere partially or completely lost. The tailor is not the familiar\nfigure in Hindu social life that he is, for example, in England. Here\nhe is traditionally an object or butt for ridicule as in the saying,\n'Nine tailors make a man,' and so on; and his weakness is no doubt\nsupposed to be due to the fact that he pursues a sedentary indoor\noccupation and one more adapted to women than men, the needle being\nessentially a feminine implement. A similar ridicule, based no doubt\non exactly the same grounds, attaches in India to the village weaver,\nas is evidenced by the proverbs given in the articles on Bhulia, Kori,\nand Jolaha. No reason exists probably for the contempt in which the\nweaver class is held other than that their work is considered to be\nmore fitting for women than men. Thus in India the weaver appears to\ntake the place of the tailor, and this leads to the conclusion that\nwoven and not sewn clothes have always been commonly worn.\n\nIn the Central Provinces, at least, the Darzi caste is practically\nconfined to the towns, and though cotton jackets are worn even by\nlabourers and shirts by the better-to-do, these are usually bought\nready-made at the more important markets. Women, more conservative in\ntheir dress than men, have only one garment prepared with the needle,\nthe small bodice known as _choli_ or _angia_. And in Chhattisgarh,\na landlocked tract very backward in civilisation, the _choli_ has\nhitherto not been worn and is only now being introduced. Though he\nfirst copied the Muhammadan and now shows a partiality for the English\nstyle of dress for outdoor use, the Hindu when indoors still reverts to\nthe one cloth round the waist and a second over the shoulders, which\nwas probably once the regular garb of his countrymen. For meals the\nlatter is discarded, and this costume, so strange to English ideas,\nwhile partly based on considerations of ceremonial purity, may also\nbe due to a conservative adherence to the ancient fashion, when sewn\nclothes were not worn. It is noticeable also that high-caste Hindus,\nthough they may wear a coat of cloth or tasar silk and cotton trousers,\ncopying the English, still often carry the _dupatta_ or shoulder-cloth\nhanging round the neck. This now appears a useless encumbrance, but\nmay be the relic of the old body-cloth and therefore interesting as a\nsurvival in dress, like the buttons on the back of our tail-coats to\nwhich the flaps were once hooked up for riding, or the seams on the\nbacks of gloves, a relic of the time when the glove consisted simply\nof finger-lengths sewn together. [515] More recently the _dupatta_ has\nbeen made to fulfil the function of a pocket-handkerchief, while the\neducated are now discarding the _dupatta_ and carry their handkerchiefs\nin their pockets. The old dress of ceremony for landowners is the\n_angarkha_, a long coat reaching to the knees and with flaps folding\nover the breast and tied with strings. This is worn with pyjamas and is\nprobably the Muhammadan ceremonial costume as remarked by Buchanan. In\nits correct form, at, least it has no buttons, and recalls the time\nwhen a similar state of things prevailed in English dress and the\n'trussing of his points' was a laborious daily task for every English\ngentleman. The _ghundis_ or small pieces of cloth made up into a ball,\nwhich were the precursors of the button, may still be seen on the\ncotton coats of rustics in the rural area.\n\nThe substitution of clothes cut and sewn to fit the body for draped\nclothes is a matter of regret from an artistic or picturesque point\nof view, as the latter have usually a more graceful appearance. This\nis shown by the difficulty of reproducing modern clothes in statuary,\ntrousers being usually the despair of the sculptor. But sewn clothes,\nwhen once introduced, must always prevail from considerations of\ncomfort. When a Hindu pulls his _dhoti_ or loin-cloth up his legs and\ntucks it in round his hips in order to run or play a game he presumably\nperforms the act described in the Bible as 'girding up his loins.'\n\n\n\n4. Occupation.\n\n\nThe social customs of the Darzis present no features of special\ninterest and resemble those of the lower castes in their locality. They\nrank below the cultivating castes, and Brahmans will not take water\nfrom their hands. Though not often employed by the Hindu villager\nthe Darzi is to Europeans one of the best known of all castes. He is\non the whole a capable workman and especially good at copying from a\npattern. His proficiency in this respect attracted notice so long ago\nas 1689, as shown in an interesting quotation in the _Bombay Gazetteer_\nreferring to the tailors of Surat: [516] \"The tailors here fashion\nclothes for the Europeans, either men or women, according to every mode\nthat prevails, and fit up the commodes and towering head-dresses for\nthe women with as much skill as if they had been an Indian fashion,\nor themselves had been apprenticed at the Royal Exchange. (The commode\nwas a wire structure to raise the cap and hair.)\" Since then the Darzi\nhas no doubt copied in turn all the changes of English fashions. He\nis a familiar figure in the veranda of the houses of Europeans,\nand his idiosyncrasies have been delightfully described by Eha in\n_Behind the Bungalow_. His needles and pins are stuck into the folds\nof his turban, and Eha says that he is bandy-legged because of the\nposition in which he squats on his feet while sewing. In Gujarat\nthe tailor is often employed in native households. \"Though even in\nwell-to-do families,\" Mr. Bhimbhai Kirparam writes, [517] \"women sew\ntheir bodices and young children's clothes for everyday wear, every\nfamily has its own tailor. As a rule tailors sew in their own houses,\nand in the tailor's shop may be seen workmen squatting in rows on a\npalm-leaf mat or on cotton-stuffed quilts. The wives and sons' wives\nof the head of the establishment sit and work in the shop along with\nthe men. Their busy time is during the marriage season from November\nto June. A village tailor is paid either in cash or grain and is not\ninfrequently a member of the village establishment. During the rains,\nthe tailor's slack season, he supplements his earnings by tillage,\nholding land which Government has continued to him on payment of\none-half the ordinary rental. In south Gujarat, in the absence of\nBrahmans, a Darzi officiates at Bhawad marriages, and in some Brahman\nmarriages a Darzi is called with some ceremony to sew a bodice for the\nbride. On the other hand, in the Panch Mahals and Rewa Kantha, besides\ntailoring Darzis blow trumpets at marriage and other processions and\nhold so low a position that even Dhedas object to eat their food.\" It\nseems clear that in Gujarat the Darzi caste is of older standing\nthan in northern India, and it is possible that the art of sewing\nmay have been acquired through the sea trade which was carried on\nbetween the western coast and Arabia and the Persian Gulf. Here the\nDarzi has become a village menial, which he is not recorded as being\nin any other part of India.\n\n\n\n5. Religion.\n\n\nLike the weaver, the Darzi is of a somewhat religious turn of mind,\nprobably on account of his sedentary calling which gives him plenty\nof time for reflection. Many of them belong to the Namdeo sect,\noriginated by a Chhipa or dyer, Namdeo Sadhu. Namdeo is said to have\nbeen a contemporary of Kabir and to have flourished in the twelfth\nor thirteenth century. He was a great worshipper of the god Vithoba\nof Pandharpur and is considered by the Marathas to be their oldest\nwriter, being the author of many Abhangs, or sacred hymns. [518] He\npreached the unity of God, recognising apparently Vithoba or Vishnu\nas the one deity, and the uselessness of ceremonial. His followers\nare mainly Dhobis and Chhipas, the two principal castes from whom\nthe Darzis have originated. [519] Namdeo's sect was thus apparently a\nprotest on the part of the Chhipas and Dhobis against their inferior\nposition in the caste system and the tyranny of the Brahmans, and\nresembled the spiritual revolt of the weavers under Kabir and of the\nChamars under Ghasi Das and Jagjiwan Das.\n\nIn Berar it is stated [520] that \"the Simpi caste has twelve and a\nhalf divisions; of these the chief are known as the Jain, Marathi\nand Telugu Simpis. The Jain Simpis claim the hero Riminath as a\ncaste-fellow, while the Marathas are often Lingayats and the Telugu\ndivision generally Vaishnavas.\" Before beginning work in the morning\nthe Darzi bows to his scissors or needle and prays to them for his\nlivelihood for that day.\n\nThe Darzi's occupation, Mr. Crooke remarks, is a poor one and held\nrather in contempt. The village proverb runs, '_Darzi ka put jab tak\njita tab tak sita_,' 'The tailor's boy will do nothing but sew all his\nlife long.' Another somewhat more complimentary saying is, '_Tanak si\nsuiya tak tak kare aur lakh taka ko banj kare_,' or 'The tiny needle\ngoes _tuk tuk_, and makes merchandise worth a lakh of rupees.' The\nHindustani version of both proverbs is obviously intended to give the\nsound of a needle passing through cloth, and it is possible that our\nword 'tuck' has the same origin.\n\n\n\n\n\n\nDewar\n\n\n\n1. General notice.\n\n\n\n_Dewar._ [521]--(Derived from Devi, whom they worship, or from Diabar,\n'One who lights a lamp,' because they always practise magic with\na lighted lamp.) A Dravidian caste of beggars and musicians. They\nnumbered about 2500 persons in 1911 and are residents of the\nChhattisgarh plain. The Dewars themselves trace their origin from a\nBinjhia named Gopal Rai, who accompanied Raja Kalyan Sai of Ratanpur\non a visit to the Court of Delhi in Akbar's time. Gopal Rai was\na great wrestler, and while at Delhi he seized and held a _mast_\nelephant belonging to the Emperor. When the latter heard of it he\nordered a wrestling match to be arranged between Gopal Rai and his\nown champion wrestler. Gopal Rai defeated and killed his opponent,\nand Kalyan Sai ordered him to compose a triumphal song and sing it in\nhonour of the occasion. He composed his song in favour of Devi Maha\nMai, or Devi the Great Mother, and the composition and recitation of\nsimilar songs has ever since been the profession of his descendants\nthe Dewars. The caste is, as is shown by the names of its sections,\nof mixed origin, and its members are the descendants of Gonds and\nKawars reinforced probably by persons who have been expelled from\ntheir own caste and have become Dewars. They will still admit persons\nof any caste except the very lowest.\n\n\n\n2. Subdivisions.\n\n\nThe caste has two principal divisions according to locality, named\nRaipuria and Ratanpuria, Raipur and Ratanpur having been formerly\nthe two principal towns of Chhattisgarh. Within these are several\nother local subdivisions, _e.g._ Navagarhia or those belonging to\nNawagarh in Bilaspur, Sonakhania from Sonakhan south of the Mahanadi,\nChatarrajiha from Chater Raj, in Raipur, and Sarangarhia from Sarangarh\nState. Some other divisions are either occupational or social; thus\nthe Baghurra Dewars are those who tame tigers and usually live in\nthe direction of Bastar, the Baipari Dewars are petty traders in\nbrass or pewter ornaments which they sell to Banjara women, and the\nLohar and Jogi Dewars may be so called either because their ancestors\nbelonged to these castes, or because they have adopted the profession\nof blacksmiths and beggars respectively. Probably both reasons are\npartly applicable. These subdivisions are not strictly endogamous,\nbut show a tendency to become so. The two main subcastes, Raipuria\nand Ratanpuria, are distinguished by the musical instruments which\nthey play on while begging. That of the Raipurias is a sort of rude\nfiddle called _sarangi_, which has a cocoanut shell as a resonator\nwith horsehair strings, and is played with a bow. The Ratanpurias\nhave an instrument called _dhungru_, which consists of a piece of\nbamboo about three feet long with a hollow gourd as a resonator and\ncatgut strings. In the latter the resonator is held uppermost and\nrests against the shoulder of the player, while in the former it is\nat the lower end and is placed against his waist. The section names\nof the Dewars are almost all of Dravidian origin. Sonwania, Markam,\nMarai, Dhurwa, Ojha, Netam, Salam, Katlam and Jagat are the names of\nwell-known Gond septs which are also possessed by the Dewars, and\nTelasi, Karsayal, Son-Mungir and others are Kawar septs which they\nhave adopted. They admit that their ancestors were members of these\nsepts among the Gonds and Kawars. Where the name of the ancestor\nhas a meaning which they understand, some totemistic observances\nsurvive. Thus the members of the Karsayal sept will not kill or eat\na deer. The septs are exogamous, but there is no other restriction\non marriage and the union of first cousins is permissible.\n\n\n\n3. Marriage customs.\n\n\nAdult marriage is usual, and if a husband cannot be found for a\ngirl who has reached maturity she is given to her sister's husband\nas a second wife, or to any other married person who will take her\nand give a feast to the caste. In some localities the boy who is\nto be married is sent with a few relatives to the girl's house. On\narrival he places a pot of wine and a nut before the girl's father,\nwho, if he is willing to carry out the marriage, orders the nut to\nbe pounded up. This is always done by a member of the Sonwani sept,\na similar respect being paid to this sept among some of the Dravidian\ntribes. The foreheads of the betrothed couple are smeared with the nut\nand with some yellow-coloured rice and they bow low to the elders of\nthe caste. Usually a bride-price of Rs. 5 or 10 is then paid to the\nparents of the girl together with two pieces of cloth intended for\ntheir use. A feast follows, which consists merely of the distribution\nof uncooked food, as the Dewars, like some other low castes, will\nnot take cooked food from each other. Pork and wine are essential\ningredients in the feast or the ceremony cannot be completed. If\nliquor is not available, water from the house of a Kalar (distiller)\nwill do instead, but there is no substitute for pork. This, however,\nis as a rule easily supplied as nearly all the Dewars keep pigs,\nwhich are retailed to the Gonds for their sacrifices. The marriage\nceremony is performed within three or four months at most after\nthe betrothal. Before entering the Mandwa or marriage-shed the\nbridegroom must place a jar of liquor in front of his prospective\nfather-in-law. The bridegroom must also place a ring on the little\nfinger of the bride's right hand, while she resists him as much as\nshe can, her hand having previously been smeared with castor oil in\norder to make the task more difficult. Before taking the bride away\nthe new husband must pay her father Rs. 20, and if he cannot do this,\nand in default of arrangements for remission which are sometimes made,\nmust remain domiciled in his house for a certain period. As the bride\nis usually adult there is no necessity for a _gauna_ ceremony, and\nshe leaves for her husband's house once for all. Thereafter when she\nvisits the house of her parents she does so as a stranger, and they\nwill not accept cooked food at her hands nor she at theirs. Neither\nwill her husband's parents accept food from her, and each couple with\ntheir unmarried children form an exclusive group in this respect. Such\na practice is found only among the low castes of mixed origin where\nnobody is certain of his neighbour's standing. If a woman has gone\nwrong before marriage, most of the ceremonies are omitted. In such a\ncase the bridegroom catches hold of the bride by the hair and gives\nher a blow by way of punishment for her sin, and they then walk\nseven times round the sacred pole, the whole ceremony taking less\nthan an hour. The bride-price is under these circumstances reduced to\nRs. 15. Widow-marriage is permitted, and while in some localities the\nnew husband need give nothing, in others he must pay as much as Rs. 50\nto the relatives of the deceased husband. If a woman runs away from\nher husband to another man, the latter must pay to the husband double\nthe ordinary amount payable for a widow. If he cannot afford this, he\nmust return the woman with Rs. 10 as compensation for the wrong he has\ndone. The Dewars are also reported to have the practice of mortgaging\ntheir wives or making them over temporarily to a creditor in return\nfor a loan. Divorce is allowed for the usual causes and by mutual\nconsent. The husband must give a feast to the caste, which is looked\non as the funeral ceremony of the woman so far as he is concerned;\nthereafter she is dead to him and he cannot marry her again on pain\nof the permanent exclusion of both from the caste. But a divorced\nwoman can marry any other Dewar. Polygamy is freely allowed.\n\n\n\n4. Religion and social practices.\n\n\nThe Dewars especially worship Devi Maha Mai and Dulha Deo. To the\nformer they offer a she-goat and to the latter a he-goat which must be\nof a dark colour. They worship their _dhungru_ or musical instrument\non the day of Dasahra. They consider the sun and the moon to be brother\nand sister, and both to be manifestations of the deity. They bury their\ndead, but those who are in good circumstances dig up the bones after a\nyear or two and burn them, taking the ashes to a sacred river. Mourning\nlasts for seven or ten days according as the deceased is unmarried or\nmarried, and during this time they abjure flesh and oil. Their social\nrules are peculiar. Though considered impure by the higher castes,\nthey will not take cooked food from a Brahman, whom they call a\nKumhati Kida, or an insect which effects the metamorphosis of others\ninto his own form, and who will therefore change them into his own\ncaste. Nor will they take cooked food from members of their own caste,\nbut they accept it from several of the lower castes including Gonds,\nwhose leavings they will eat. This is probably because they beg from\nGonds and attend their weddings. They keep pigs and pork is their\nfavourite food, but they do not eat beef. They have a tribal council\nwith a headman called Gaontia or Jemadar, who always belongs either\nto the Sonwani or Telasi section. Among offences for which a man is\ntemporarily put out of caste is that of naming his younger brother's\nwife. He must also abstain from going into her room or touching her\nclothes. This rule does not apply to an elder brother's wife.\n\n\n\n5. Occupation.\n\n\nThe Dewars are professional beggars, and play on the musical\ninstruments called _dhungru_ and _sarangi_ which have already been\ndescribed. The Ratanpurias usually celebrate in an exaggerated style\nthe praises of Gopal Rai, their mythical ancestor. One of his exploits\nwas to sever with a single sword-stroke the stalk of a plantain\ninside which the Emperor of Delhi had caused a solid bar of iron to be\nplaced. The Raipurias prefer a song, called Gujrigit, about curds and\nmilk. They also sing various songs relating how a woman is beloved by\na Raja who tries to seduce her, but her chastity is miraculously saved\nby some curious combination of circumstances. They exorcise ghosts,\ntrain monkeys, bears and tigers for exhibition, and sell ornaments\nof base metal. In Raipur the men take about performing monkeys and\nthe women do tattooing, for which they usually receive payment in the\nshape of an old or new cloth. A few have settled down to cultivation,\nbut as a rule they are wanderers, carrying from place to place their\nscanty outfit of a small tent and mattress, both made of old rags,\nand a few vessels. They meet at central villages during the Holi\nfestival. The family is restricted to the parents and unmarried\nchildren, separation usually taking place on marriage.\n\n\n\n\n\n\nDhakar\n\n\n\n1. Origin and subdivisions.\n\n\n_Dhakar._ [522]--A small caste belonging solely to the Bastar State. In\n1911 they numbered 5500 persons in Bastar, and it is noticeable\nthat there were nearly twice as many women as men. The term Dhakar\nconnotes a man of illegitimate descent and is applied to the Kirars\nof the Central Provinces and perhaps to other castes of mixed Rajput\norigin. But in Bastar it is the special designation of a considerable\nclass of persons who are the descendants of alliances between Brahman\nand Rajput immigrants and women of the indigenous tribes. They are\ndivided, like the Halbas, into two groups--Purait or pure, and Surait\nor mixed. The son of a Brahman or Rajput father by a Rawat (herdsman)\nor Halba mother is a Purait, but one born from a woman of the Muria,\nMarar, Nai or Kalar castes is a Surait. But these latter can become\nPuraits after two or three generations, and the same rule applies to\nthe son of a Dhakar father by a Halba or Rawat woman, who also ranks in\nthe first place as a Surait. Descendants of a Dhakar father by a Muria\nor other low-caste woman, however, always remain Suraits. The Puraits\nand Suraits form endogamous groups, and the latter will accept cooked\nfood from the former. The more respectable Dhakars round Jagdalpur\nare now tending, however, to call themselves Rajputs and refuse to\nadmit any one of mixed birth into their community.\n\nOne legend of their origin is that the first Dhakar was the offspring\nof a Brahman cook of the Raja of Bastar with a Kosaria Rawat woman;\nand though this is discredited by the Dhakars it is probably a fairly\ncorrect version of the facts. An inferior branch of the caste exists\nwhich is known as Chikrasar; it is related of them that their ancestors\nonce went out hunting and set the forest on fire as a method of driving\nthe game, as they occasionally do still. They came across the roasted\nbody of a dog in the forest and ate it without knowing what animal it\nwas. In the stomach, however, some cooked rice was found, and hence it\nwas known as a dog and they were branded as dog-eaters. As a penalty\nthe Raja imposed on them the duty of thatching a hut for him at the\nDasahra festival, which their descendants still perform. The other\nDhakars refuse to marry or eat with them, and it is clear from the\ncustom of thatching the Raja's hut that they are a primitive and\njungly branch of the caste.\n\n\n\n2. Marriage.\n\n\nIf a girl becomes with child by a member of the caste she is made over\nto him without a marriage, or to the man to whom she was previously\nbetrothed if he is still willing to take her. Neither is she expelled\nif the same event occurs with a man of any higher caste, but if he\nbe of lower caste she is thrown out. Marriages are usually arranged\nby the parents but an adult girl may choose her own husband, and she\nis then wedded to him with abbreviated rites so that her family may\navoid the disgrace of her entering his house like a widow or kept\nwoman. Formerly a Dhakar might marry his granddaughter, but this is\nno longer done. When the signs of puberty first appear in a girl she\nis secluded and must not see or be seen by any man. They think that\nthe souls of dead ancestors are reborn in children, and if a child\nrefuses to suck they ask which of their ancestors he is and what\nhe wants, or they offer it some present such as a silver bangle,\nand if the child then takes to the breast they give away the bangle\nto a Brahman. The sixth day after a child is born the paternal aunt\nprepares lamp-black from a lamp fed with melted butter and rubs it\non the child's eyes and receives a small present.\n\n\n\n3. Funeral rites.\n\n\nThe period of mourning or impurity after a death must terminate\nwith a feast to the caste-men, and it continues until this is\ngiven. Consequently the other caste-men subscribe for a poor member,\nso that he may give the feast and resume his ordinary avocations. On\nthis occasion one of the guests puts a small fish in a leaf-cup full\nof water, which no doubt represents the spirit of the deceased, and\nall the mourners touch this cup and are freed from their impurity. A\nBrahman is also invited, who lights a lamp fed with melted butter and\nthen asks for a cow or some other valuable present as a recompense for\nhis service of blowing out the lamp. Until this is done the Dhakars\nthink that the soul of the departed is tortured by the flame of the\nlamp. If the Brahman is pleased, he pours some curds over the lamp\nand this acts as a cooling balm to the soul. When a member of the\nfamily dies the mourners shave the whole head with beard and moustache.\n\n\n\n4. Occupation and social status.\n\n\nThe Dhakars are mainly engaged in cultivation as farmservants and\nlabourers. Like the Halbas, they consider it a sin to heat or forge\niron, looking upon the metal as sacred. They eat the flesh of clean\nanimals, but abstain from both pigs and chickens, and some also do not\neat the peacock. A man as well as a woman is permanently expelled for\nadultery with a person of lower caste, the idea of this rule being\nno doubt to prevent degradation in the status of the caste from the\nadmission of the offspring of such unions. If one Dhakar beats another\nwith a shoe, both are temporarily put out of caste. But if a man\nseduces a caste-man's wife and is beaten with a shoe by the husband,\nhe is permanently expelled, while the husband is readmitted after\na feast. On being received back into caste intercourse an offender\nis purified by drinking water in which the image of a local god has\nbeen dipped or the Raja of Bastar has placed his toe. Like other low\ncastes of mixed origin, they are very particular about each other's\nstatus and will only accept cooked food from families who are well\nknown to them. At caste feasts each family or group of families cooks\nfor itself, and in some cases parents refuse to eat with the family\ninto which their daughter has married and hence cannot do so with\nthe girl herself.\n\n\n\n\n\n\nDhangar\n\n\n\n1. Traditions and structure of the caste.\n\n\n_Dhangar._ [523]--The Maratha caste of shepherds and blanket-weavers,\nnumbering 96,000 persons in the Central Provinces and Berar. They\nreside principally in the Nagpur, Wardha, Chanda and Nimar Districts\nof the Central Provinces and in all Districts of Berar. The Dhangars\nare a very numerous caste in Bombay and Hyderabad. The name is derived\neither from the Sanskrit _dhenu_, a cow, or more probably from _dhan_,\n[524] wealth, a term which is commonly applied to flocks of sheep\nand goats. It is said that the first sheep and goats came out of an\nant-hill and scattering over the fields began to damage the crops of\nthe cultivators. They, being helpless, prayed to Mahadeo to rescue\nthem from this pest and he thereupon created the first Dhangar to tend\nthe flocks. The Dhangars consequently revere an ant-hill, and never\nremove one from their fields, while they worship it on the Diwali day\nwith offerings of rice, flowers and part of the ear of a goat. When\ntending and driving sheep and goats they ejaculate 'Har, Har,' which\nis a name of Mahadeo used by devotees in worshipping him. The Dhangars\nfurnished a valuable contingent to Sivaji's guerilla soldiery, and\nthe ruling family of Indore State belong to this caste. It is divided\ninto the following subcastes: Varadi or Barade, belonging to Berar;\nKanore or Kanade, of Kanara; Jhade, or those belonging to the Bhandara,\nBalaghat and Chhindwara Districts, called the Jhadi or hill country;\nLadse, found in Hyderabad; Gadri, from _gadar_, a sheep, a division\nprobably consisting of northerners, as the name for the cognate\ncaste of shepherds in Hindustan is Gadaria; Telange, belonging to\nthe Telugu country; Marathe, of the Maratha country; Mahurai from\nMahur in Hyderabad, and one or two others. Eleven subcastes in all\nare reported. For the purposes of marriage a number of exogamous\ngroups or septs exist which may be classified according to their\nnomenclature as titular and totemistic, many having also the names\nof other castes. Examples of sept names are: Powar, a Rajput sept;\nDokra, an old man; Marte, a murderer or slayer; Sarodi, the name of\na caste of mendicants; Mhali, a barber; Kaode, a crow; Chambhade, a\nChamar; Gujde, a Gujar; Juade, a gambler; Lamchote, long-haired; Bodke,\nbald-headed; Khatik, a butcher; Chandekar, from Chanda; Dambhade, one\nhaving pimples on the body; Halle, a he-buffalo; Moya, a grass, and\nothers. The sept names show that the caste is a functional one of very\nmixed composition, partly recruited from members of other castes who\nhave taken to sheep-tending and generally from the non-Aryan tribes.\n\n\n\n2. Marriage.\n\n\nA man must not marry within his own sept or that of his mother,\nnor may he marry a first cousin. He may wed a younger sister\nof his wife during her lifetime, and the practice of marrying a\ngirl and boy into the same family, called Anta Santa or exchange,\nis permitted. Occasionally the husband does service for his wife\nin his father-in-law's house. In Wardha the Dhangars measure the\nheights of a prospective bride and bridegroom with a piece of string\nand consider it a suitable match if the husband is taller than the\nwife, whether he be older or not. Marriages may be infant or adult,\nand polygamy is permitted, no stigma attaching to the taking of a\nsecond wife. Weddings may be celebrated in the rains up to the month\nof Kunwar (September), this provision probably arising from the fact\nthat many Dhangars wander about the country during the open season,\nand are only at home during the rainy months. Perhaps for the same\nreason the wedding may, if the officiating priest so directs, be held\nat the house of a Brahman. This happens only when the Brahman has sown\nan offering of rice, called Gag, in the name of the goddess Rana Devi,\nthe favourite deity of the Dhangars. On his way to the bride's house\nthe bridegroom must be covered with a black blanket. Nowadays the\nwedding is sometimes held at the bridegroom's house and the bride\ncomes for it. The caste say that this is done because there are not\ninfrequently among the members of the bridegroom's family widows who\nhave remarried or women who have been kept by men of higher castes or\nbeen guilty of adultery. The bride's female relatives refuse to wash\nthe feet of these women and this provokes quarrels. To meet such cases\nthe new rule has been introduced. At the wedding the priest sits on the\nroof of the house facing the west, and the bride and bridegroom stand\nbelow with a curtain between them. As the sun is half set he claps his\nhands and the bridegroom takes the clasped hands of the bride within\nhis own, the curtain being withdrawn. The bridegroom ties round the\nbride's neck a yellow thread of seven strands, and when this is done\nshe is married. Next morning a black bead necklace is substituted for\nthe thread. The expenses of the bridegroom's party are about Rs. 50,\nand of the bride's about Rs. 30. The remaining procedure follows the\ncustomary usage of the Maratha Districts. Widows are permitted to\nmarry again, but must not take a second husband from the sept to which\nthe first belonged. A considerable price is paid for a widow, and it\nis often more expensive to marry one than a girl. A Brahman and the\nmalguzar (village proprietor) should be present at the ceremony. If a\nbachelor marries a widow he must first go through the ceremony with\na silver ring, and if the ring is subsequently lost or broken, its\nfuneral rites must be performed. Divorce is allowed in the presence of\nthe caste _panchayat_ at the instance of either party for sufficient\nreason, as the misconduct or bad temper of the wife or the impotency\nof the husband.\n\n\n\n3. Religion.\n\n\nMahadeo is the special deity of the Dhangars, and they also observe\nthe ordinary Hindu festivals. At Diwali they worship their goats by\ndyeing their horns and touching their feet. One Bahram of Nachangaon\nnear Pulgaon is the tutelary deity of the Wardha Dhangars and the\nprotector of their flocks. On the last day of the month of Magh\nthey perform a special ceremony called the Deo Puja. A Dhimar acts\nas priest to the caste on this occasion and fashions some figures\nof idols out of rice to which vermilion and flowers are offered. He\nthen distributes the grains of rice to the Dhangars who are present,\npronouncing a benediction. The Dhimar receives his food and a present,\nand it is essential that the act of worship should be performed by\none of this caste. In their houses they have Kul-Devi and Khandoba\nthe Maratha hero, who are the family deities. But in large families\nthey are kept only in the house of the eldest brother. Kul-Devi or the\ngoddess of the family is worshipped at weddings, and a goat is offered\nto her in the month of Chait (March). The head is buried beneath her\nshrine inside the house and the body is consumed by members of the\nfamily only. Khandoba is worshipped on Sundays and they identify him\nwith the sun. Vithoba, a form of Vishnu, is revered on Wednesdays,\nand Balaji, the younger brother of Rama, on Fridays. Many families\nalso make a representation of some deceased bachelor relative, which\nthey call Munjia, and of some married woman who is known as Mairni\nor Sasin, and worship them daily.\n\n\n\n4. Birth, death and social status.\n\n\nThe Dhangars burn their dead unless they are too poor to purchase wood\nfor fuel, in which case burial is resorted to. Unmarried children and\npersons dying from smallpox, leprosy, cholera and snake-bite are also\nburied. At the pyre the widow breaks her bangles and throws her glass\nbeads on to her husband's body. On returning from the burning _ghat_\nthe funeral party drink liquor. Some ganja, tobacco and anything else\nwhich the deceased may have been fond of during his life are left\nnear the grave on the first day. Mourning is observed during ten days\non the death of an adult and for three days for a child. Children are\nusually named on the twelfth day after birth, the well-to-do employing\na Brahman for the purpose. On this day the child must not see a lamp,\nas it is feared that if he should do so he will afterwards have a\nsquint. Only one name is given as a rule, but subsequently when the\nchild comes to be married, if the Brahman finds that its name does not\nmake the marriage auspicious, he substitutes another and the child\nis afterwards known by this new name. The caste employ Brahmans for\nceremonies at birth and marriage. They eat flesh including fowls and\nwild pig, and drink liquor, but abstain from other unclean food. They\nwill take food from a Kunbi, Phulmali or a Sunar, and water from any\nof the good cultivating castes. A Kunbi will take water from them. The\nwomen of the caste wear bracelets of lead or brass on the right wrist\nand glass bangles on the left. Permanent or temporary excommunication\nfrom caste is imposed for the usual offences, and among those visited\nwith the minor penalty are selling shoes, touching the carcase of\na dog or cat, and killing a cow or buffalo, or allowing one to die\nwith a rope round its neck. No food is cooked for five weeks in a\nhouse in which a cat has died. The social standing of the caste is low.\n\n\n\n5. Occupation.\n\n\nThe traditional occupation of the Dhangars is to tend sheep and goats,\nand they also sell goats' milk, make blankets from the wool of sheep,\nand sometimes breed and sell stock for slaughter. They generally\nlive near tracts of waste land where grazing is available. Sheep are\nkept in open and goats in roofed folds. Like English shepherds they\ncarry sticks or staffs and have dogs to assist in driving the flocks,\nand they sometimes hunt hares with their dogs. Their dress consists\nfrequently only of a loin-cloth and a blanket, and having to bear\nexposure to all weathers, they are naturally strong and hardy. In\nappearance they are dark and of medium size. They eat three times\na day and bathe in the evening on returning from work, though their\nablutions are sometimes omitted in the cold weather.\n\n\n\nDhanuk\n\n\n\n1. Original and classical records.\n\n\n_Dhanuk._--A low caste of agriculturists found principally in the\nNarsinghpur District, which contained three-fourths of the total\nof nearly 7000 persons returned in 1911. The headquarters of the\ncaste are in the United Provinces, which contains more than a lakh\nof Dhanuks. The name is derived from the Sanskrit _dhanuska_, an\narcher, and the caste is an ancient one, its origin as given in\nthe Padma Purana, quoted by Sir Henry Elliot, being from a Chamar\nfather and a Chandal or sweeper mother. Another pedigree makes the\nmother a Chamar and the father an outcaste Ahir. Such statements,\nSir H. Risley remarks in commenting on this genealogy, [525] serve\nto indicate in a general way the social rank held by the Dhanuks at\nthe time when it was first thought necessary to enrol them among the\nmixed castes. Dr. Buchanan [526] says that the Dhanuks were in former\ntimes the militia of the country. He states that all the Dhanuks were\nat one time probably slaves and many were recruited to fill up the\nmilitary ranks--a method of security which had long been prevalent\nin Asia, the armies of the Parthians having been composed entirely\nof slaves. A great many Dhanuks, at the time when Buchanan wrote,\nwere still slaves, but some annually procured their liberty by the\ninability of their masters to maintain them and their unwillingness to\nsell their fellow-creatures. It may be concluded, therefore, that the\nDhanuks were a body of servile soldiery, recruited as was often the\ncase from the subject Dravidian tribes; following the all-powerful\ntendency of Hindu society they became a caste, and owing to the\ncomparatively respectable nature of their occupation obtained a rise\nin social position from the outcaste status of the subject Dravidians\nto the somewhat higher group of castes who were not unclean but from\nwhom a Brahman would not accept water. They did not advance so far\nas the Khandaits, another caste formed from military service, who\nwere also, Sir H. Risley shows, originally recruited from a subject\ntribe, probably because the position of the Dhanuks was always more\nsubordinate and no appreciable number of them came to be officers\nor leaders. The very debased origin of the caste already mentioned\nas given in the Padma Purana may be supposed as in other cases to be\nan attempt on the part of the priestly chronicler to repress what he\nconsidered to be unfounded claims to a rise in rank. But the Dhanuks,\nnot less than the other soldier castes, have advanced a pretension\nto be Kshatriyas, those of Narsinghpur sometimes calling themselves\nDhankarai Rajputs, though this claim is of course in their case\na pure absurdity. It is not necessary to suppose that the Dhanuks\nof the Central Provinces are the lineal descendants of the caste\nwhose genealogy is given in the Puranas; they may be a much more\nrecent offshoot from a main caste, formed in a precisely similar\nmanner from military service. [527] Mr. Crooke [528] surmises that\nthey belonged to the large impure caste of Basors or basket-makers,\nwho took to bow-making and thence to archery; and some connection\nis traceable between the Dhanuks and Basors in Narsinghpur. Such a\nseparation must probably have occurred in comparatively recent times,\ninasmuch as some recollection of it still remains. The fact that\nLodhis are the only caste besides Brahmans from whom the Dhanuks of\nNarsinghpur will take food cooked without water may indicate that\nthey formed the militia of Lodhi chieftains in the Nerbudda valley,\na hypothesis which is highly probable on general grounds.\n\n\n\n2. Marriage.\n\n\nIn the Central Provinces the Dhanuks have no subcastes. [529] The\nnames of their _gotras_ or family groups, though they themselves\ncannot explain them, are apparently territorial: as Maragaiyan from\nMaragaon, Benaikawar from Benaika village, Pangarya from Panagar,\nBinjharia from Bindhya or Vindhya, Barodhaya from Barodha village, and\nso on. Marriages within the same _gotra_ and between first cousins are\nprohibited, and child-marriage is usual. The father of the boy always\ntakes the initiative in arranging a match, and if a man wants to find\na husband for his daughter he must ask the assistance of his relatives\nto obtain a proposal, as it would be derogatory to move in the matter\nhimself. The contract for marriages is made at the boy's house and is\nnot inviolable. Before the departure of the bridegroom for the bride's\nvillage, he stands at the entrance of the marriage-shed, and his mother\ncomes up and places her breast to his mouth and throws rice balls and\nashes over him. The former action signifies the termination of his\nboyhood, while the latter is meant to protect him on his important\njourney. The bridegroom in walking away treads on a saucer in which\na little rice is placed. Widow-marriage and divorce are permitted.\n\n\n\n3. Social rank and customs.\n\n\nA few members of the caste are tenants and the bulk of them\nfarmservants and field-labourers. They also act as village\nwatchmen. The Dhanuks eat flesh and fish, but not fowls, beef or pork,\nand they abstain from liquor. They will take food cooked without water\nfrom a Brahman and a Lodhi, but not from a Rajput; but in Nimar the\nstatus of the caste is distinctly lower, and they eat pig's flesh\nand the leavings of Brahmans and Rajputs. The mixed nature of the\ncaste is shown by the fact that they will receive into the community\nillegitimate children born of a Dhanuk father and a woman of a higher\ncaste such as Lodhi or Kurmi. They rank as already indicated just\nabove the impure castes.\n\n\n\n\n\n\nDhanwar\n\n\n\nList of Paragraphs\n\n\n    1. _Origin and traditions._\n    2. _Exogamous septs._\n    3. _Marriage._\n    4. _Festivities of the women of the bridegroom's party._\n    5. _Conclusion of the marriage._\n    6. _Widow-marriage and divorce._\n    7. _Childbirth._\n    8. _Disposal of the dead._\n    9. _Religion._\n    10. _Magic and witchcraft._\n    11. _Social rules._\n    12. _Dress and tattooing._\n    13. _Names of children._\n    14. _Occupation._\n\n\n\n1. Origin and traditions.\n\n\n_Dhanwar, Dhanuhar._ [530]--A primitive tribe living in the wild hilly\ncountry of the Bilaspur zamindari estates, adjoining Chota Nagpur. They\nnumbered only 19,000 persons in 1911. The name Dhanuhar means a bowman,\nand the bulk of the tribe have until recently been accustomed to\nobtain their livelihood by hunting with bow and arrows. The name is\nthus merely a functional term and is analogous to those of Dhangar,\nor labourer, and Kisan, or cultivator, which are applied to the\nOraons, and perhaps Halba or farmservant, by which another tribe\nis known. The Dhanwars are almost certainly not connected with the\nDhanuks of northern India, though the names have the same meaning. They\nare probably an offshoot of either the Gond or the Kawar tribe or a\nmixture of both. Their own legend of their origin is nearly the same\nas that of the Gonds, while the bulk of their sept or family names are\nidentical with those of the Kawars. Like the Kawars, the Dhanwars have\nno language of their own and speak a corrupt form of Chhattisgarhi\nHindi. Mr. Jeorakhan Lal writes of them:--\"The word Dhanuhar is a\ncorrupt form of Dhanusdhar or a holder of a bow. The bow consists of\na cleft piece of bamboo and the arrow is made of wood of the _dhaman_\ntree. [531] The pointed end is furnished with a piece or a nail of\niron called _phani_, while to the other end are attached feathers\nof the vulture or peacock with a string of tasar silk. Dhanuhar boys\nlearn the use of the bow at five years of age, and kill birds with it\nwhen they are seven or eight years old. At their marriage ceremony\nthe bridegroom carries an arrow with him in place of a dagger as\namong the Hindus, and each household has a bow which is worshipped at\nevery festival.\" According to their own legend the ancestors of the\nDhanuhars were two babies whom a tigress unearthed from the ground when\nscratching a hole in her den, and brought up with her own young. They\nwere named Naga Lodha and Nagi Lodhi, _Naga_ meaning naked and _Lodha_\nbeing the Chhattisgarhi word for a wild dog. Growing up they lived\nfor some time as brother and sister, until the deity enjoined them\nto marry. But they had no children until Naga Lodha, in obedience to\nthe god's instructions, gave his wife the fruit of eleven trees to\neat. From these she had eleven sons at a birth, and as she observed\na fortnight's impurity for each of them the total period was five and\na half months. In memory of this, Dhanuhar women still remain impure\nfor five months after delivery, and do not worship the gods for that\nperiod. Afterwards the couple had a twelfth son, who was born with\na bow and arrows in his hand, and is now the ancestral hero of the\ntribe, being named Karankot. One day in the forest when Karankot was\nnot with them, the eleven brothers came upon a wooden palisade, inside\nwhich were many deer and antelope tended by twelve Gaoli (herdsmen)\nbrothers with their twelve sisters. The Lodha brothers attacked the\nplace, but were taken prisoners by the Gaolis and forced to remove\ndung and other refuse from the enclosure. After a time Karankot\nwent in search of his brothers and, coming to the place, defeated\nthe Gaolis and rescued them and carried off the twelve sisters. The\ntwelve brothers subsequently married the twelve Gaoli girls, Karankot\nhimself being wedded to the youngest and most beautiful, whose name\nwas Maswasi. From each couple is supposed to be descended one of the\ntribes who live in this country, as the Binjhwar, Bhumia, Korwa,\nMajhi, Kol, Kawar and others, the Dhanuhars themselves being the\nprogeny of Karankot and Maswasi. The bones of the animals killed by\nKarankot were thrown into ditches dug round the village and form the\npits of _chhui mithi_ or white clay now existing in this tract.\n\n\n\n2. Exogamous septs.\n\n\nThe Dhanuhars, being a small tribe, have no endogamous divisions,\nbut are divided into a number of totemistic exogamous septs. Many of\nthe septs are called after plants or animals, and members of the sept\nrefrain from killing or destroying the animal or plant after which it\nis named. The names of the septs are generally Chhattisgarhi words,\nthough a few are Gondi. Out of fifty names returned twenty are also\nfound in the Kawar tribe and four among the Gonds. This makes it\nprobable that the Dhanuhars are mainly an offshoot from the Kawars\nwith an admixture of Gonds and other tribes. A peculiarity worth\nnoticing is that one or two of the septs have been split up into a\nnumber of others. The best instance of this is the Sonwani sept,\nwhich is found among several castes and tribes in Chhattisgarh;\nits name is perhaps derived from _Sona pani_ (Gold water), and its\nmembers have the function of readmitting those temporarily expelled\nfrom social intercourse by pouring on them a little water into which\na piece of gold has been dipped. Among the Dhanuhars the Sonwani\nsept has become divided into the Son-Sonwani, who pour the gold\nwater over the penitent; the Rakat Sonwani, who give him to drink\na little of the blood of the sacrificial fowl; the Hardi Sonwani,\nwho give turmeric water to the mourners when they come back from\na funeral; the Kari Sonwani, who assist at this ceremony; and one\nor two others. The totem of the Kari Sonwani sept is a black cow,\nand when such an animal dies in the village members of the sept\nthrow away their earthen pots. All these are now separate exogamous\nsepts. The Deswars are another sept which has been divided in the\nsame manner. They are, perhaps, a more recent accession to the tribe,\nand are looked down on by the others because they will eat the flesh\nof bison. The other Dhanwars refuse to do this because they say that\nwhen Sita, Rama's wife, was exiled in the jungles, she could not find\na cow to worship and so revered a bison in its stead. And they say\nthat the animal's feet are grey because of the turmeric water which\nSita poured on them, and that the depression on its forehead is the\nmark of her hand when she placed a _tika_ or sign there with coloured\nrice. The Deswars are also called Dui Duaria or 'Those having two\ndoors,' because they have a back door to their huts which is used\nonly by women during their monthly period of impurity and kept shut\nat all other times. One of the septs is named Manakhia, which means\n'man-eater,' and it is possible that its members formerly offered human\nsacrifices. Similarly, the Rakat-bund or 'Drop of blood Deswars' may\nbe so called because they shed human blood. A member of the Telasi or\n'Oil' sept, when he has killed a deer, will cut off the head and bring\nit home; placing it in his courtyard, he suspends a burning lamp over\nthe head and places grains of rice on the forehead of the deer; and\nhe then considers that he is revering the oil in the lamp. Members of\nthe Surajgoti or sun sept are said to have stood as representatives\nof the sun in the rite of the purification of an offender.\n\n\n\n3. Marriage.\n\n\nMarriage within the sept is prohibited, and usually also between\nfirst cousins. Girls are commonly married a year or two after they\narrive at maturity. The father of the boy looks out for a suitable\ngirl for his son and sends a friend to make the proposal. If this\nis accepted a feast is given, and is known as Phul Phulwari or 'The\nbursting of the flower.' The betrothal itself is called Phaldan or\n'The gift of the fruit'; on this occasion the contract is ratified\nand the usual presents are exchanged. Yet a third ceremony, prior to\nthe marriage, is that of the Barokhi or inspection, when the bride\nand bridegroom are taken to see each other. On this occasion they\nexchange copper rings, placing them on each other's finger, and the\nboy offers vermilion to the earth, and then rubs it on the bride's\nforehead. When the girl is mature the date of the wedding is fixed,\na small bride-price of six rupees and a piece of cloth being usually\npaid. If the first signs of puberty appear in the girl during the\nbright fortnight of the month, the marriage is held during the dark\nfortnight and vice versa. The marriage-shed is built in the form of\na rectangle and must consist of either seven or nine posts in three\nlines. The bridegroom's party comprises from twenty to forty persons of\nboth sexes. When they arrive at the bride's village her father comes\nout to meet them and gives them leaf-pipes to smoke. He escorts them\ninside the village where a lodging has been prepared for them. The\nceremony is based on that of the local Hindus with numerous petty\nvariations in points of detail. In the actual ceremony the bride and\nbridegroom are first supported on the knees of two relatives. A sheet\nis held between them and each throws seven handfuls of parched rice\nover the other. They are then made to stand side by side; a knot\nis made of their cloths containing a piece of turmeric, and the\nbride's left hand is laid over the bridegroom's right one, and on\nit a _sendhaura_ or wooden box for vermilion is placed. The bride's\nmother moves seven times round the pair holding a lighted lamp, at\nwhich she warms her hand and then touches the marriage-crowns of the\nbride and bridegroom seven times in succession. And finally the couple\nwalk seven times round the marriage-post, the bridegroom following\nthe bride. The marriage is held during the day, and not, as is usual,\nat night or in the early morning. Afterwards, the pair are seated in\nthe marriage-shed, the bridegroom's leg being placed over that of the\nbride, with their feet in a brass dish. The bride's mother then washes\ntheir great toes with milk and the rest of their feet with water. The\nbridegroom applies vermilion seven times to the marriage-post and to\nhis wife's forehead at the parting of her hair. The couple are fed\nwith rice and pulses one after the other out of the same leaf-plates,\nand the parties have a feast. Next morning, before their departure,\nthe father of the bride asks the bridegroom to do his best to put up\nwith his daughter, who is thievish, gluttonous and so slovenly that\nshe lets her food drop on to the floor; but if he finds he cannot\nendure her, to send her home. In the same manner the father of the\nboy apologises for his son, saying that he cares only for mischief\nand pleasure. The party then returns to the bridegroom's house.\n\n\n\n4. Festivities of the women of the bridegroom's party.\n\n\nDuring the absence of the wedding party the women of the bridegroom's\nhouse with others in the village sing songs at night in the\nmarriage-shed constructed at his house. These are known as Dindwa, a\nterm applied to a man who has no wife, whether widower or bachelor. As\nthey sing, the women dance in two lines with their arms interlaced,\nclapping their hands as they move backwards and forwards. The songs are\nof a lewd character, treating of intrigues in love mingled with abuse\nof their relatives and of other men who may be watching the proceedings\nby stealth. No offence is taken on such occasions, whatever may be\nsaid. In Upper India, Mr. Jeorakhan Lal states such songs are sung\nat the time of the marriage and are called _Naktoureki louk_ or the\nceremony of the useless or shameless ones, because women, however shy\nand modest, become at this time as bold and shameless as men are at the\nHoli festival. The following are a few lines from one of these songs:\n\n\n    The wheat-cake is below and the urad-cake is above. Do you see\n    my brother's brother-in-law watching the dance in the narrow\n    lane. [532]\n\n    A sweetmeat is placed on the wheat-cake; a handsome young\n    black-guard has climbed on to the top of the wall to see the dance.\n\n    When a woman sees a man from afar he looks beautiful and\n    attractive: but when he comes near she sees that he is not worth\n    the trouble.\n\n    I went to the market and came back with my salt. Oh, I looked\n    more at you than at my husband who is wedded to me.\n\n\n\n5. Conclusion of the marriage.\n\n\nSeveral of the ceremonies are repeated at the bridegroom's house\nafter the return of the wedding party. On the day following them the\ncouple are taken to a tank walking under a canopy held up by their\nfriends. Here they throw away their marriage-crowns, and play at\nhiding a vessel under the water. When they return to the house a goat\nis sacrificed to Dulha Deo and the bride cooks food in her new house\nfor the first time, her husband helping her, and their relatives and\nfriends in the village are invited to partake of it. After this the\nconjugal chamber is prepared by the women of the household, and the\nbride is taken to it and told to consider her husband's house as her\nown. The couple are then left together and the marriage is consummated.\n\n\n\n6. Widow-marriage and divorce.\n\n\nThe remarriage of widows is permitted but it is not considered as a\nreal marriage, according to the saying: \"A woman cannot be anointed\ntwice with the marriage oil, as a wooden cooking-vessel cannot be put\ntwice on the fire.\" A widow married again is called a _Churiyahi Dauki_\nor 'Wife made by bangles,' as the ceremony may be completed by putting\nbangles on her wrists. When a woman is going to marry again she leaves\nher late husband's house and goes and lives with her own people or\nin a house by herself. The second husband makes his proposal to her\nthrough some other women. If accepted he comes with a party of his\nmale friends, taking with him a new cloth and some bangles. They are\nreceived by the widow's guardian, and they sit in her house smoking and\nchewing tobacco while some woman friend retires with her and invests\nher with the new cloth and bangles. She comes out and the new husband\nand wife bow to all the Dhanwars, who are subsequently regaled with\nliquor and goats' flesh, and the marriage is completed. Polygamy is\npermitted but is not common. A husband may divorce his wife for failing\nto bear him issue, for being ugly, thievish, shrewish or a witch, or\nfor an intrigue with another man. If a married woman commits adultery\nwith another man of the tribe they are pardoned with the exaction\nof one feast. If her paramour is a Gond, Rawat, Binjhwar or Kawar,\nhe is allowed to become a Dhanwar and marry her on giving several\nfeasts, the exact number being fixed by the village Baiga or priest\nin a _panchayat_ or committee. With these exceptions a married woman\nhaving an intrigue with a man of another caste is finally expelled. A\nwife who desires to divorce her husband without his agreement is also\nturned out of the caste like a common woman.\n\n\n\n7. Childbirth.\n\n\nAfter the birth of a child the mother receives no food for the first\nand second, and fourth and fifth days, while on the third she is given\nonly a warm decoction to drink. On the sixth day the men of the house\nare shaved and their impurity ceases. But the mother cooks no food\nfor two months after bearing a female child and for three months\nif it is a male. The period has thus been somewhat reduced from the\ntraditional one of five and a half months, [533] but it must still\nbe highly inconvenient. At the expiration of the time of impurity\nthe earthen pots are changed and the mother prepares a meal for the\nwhole household. During her monthly period of impurity a woman cooks\nno food for six days. On the seventh day she bathes and cleans her\nhair with clay, and is then again permitted to touch the drinking\nwater and cook food.\n\n\n\n8. Disposal of the dead.\n\n\nThe tribe bury the dead. The corpse is wrapped in an old cloth and\ncarried to the grave on a cot turned upside down. On arrival there\nit is washed with turmeric and water and wrapped in a new cloth. The\nbearers carry the corpse seven times round the open grave, saying,\n'This is your last marriage,' that is, with the earth. The male\nrelatives and friends fill in the grave with earth, working with\ntheir hands only and keep their backs turned to the grave so as to\navoid seeing the corpse. It is said that each person should throw\nonly five handfuls. Other people then come up and fill in the grave,\ntrampling down the surface as much as possible. For three days after a\ndeath the bereaved family do not cook for themselves but are supplied\nwith food by their friends. These, however, do not give them any salt\nas it is thought that the craving for salt will divert their minds\nfrom dwelling on their loss. The tribe do not perform the _shraddh_\nceremony, but in the month of Kunwar, on the day corresponding to that\non which his father died, a man feeds the caste-fellows in memory of\nhim. And at this period he offers libations to his ancestors, pouring\na double handful of water on the ground for each one that he can\nremember and then one for all the others. While doing this he stands\nfacing the east and does not turn to three different directions as the\nHindu custom is. The spirit of a man who has been killed by a tiger\nbecomes Baghia Masan or the tiger imp, and that of a woman who dies in\nchildbirth becomes a Churel. Both are very troublesome to the living.\n\n\n\n9. Religion.\n\n\nThe principal deities of the Dhanwars are Thakur Deo, the god of\nagriculture, and Dulha Deo, the deity of the family and hearth. Twice\na year the village Baiga or medicine-man, who is usually a Gond,\noffers a cocoanut to Thakur Deo. He first consecrates it to the\ngod by placing it in contact with water and the small heap of rice\nwhich lies in front of his shrine, and then splits it asunder on a\nstone, saying, '_Jai Thakur Deo_,' or 'Victory to Thakur Deo.' When\nany serious calamity befalls the tribe a goat is offered to the\ndeity. It must also be first consecrated to him by eating his rice;\nits body is then washed in water and some of the sacred _dub_ [534]\ngrass is placed on it, and the Baiga severs the head from the body\nwith an axe. Dulha Deo is the god of the family and the marriage-bed,\nand when a Dhanwar is married or his first son is born, a goat is\noffered to the deity. Another interesting deity is Maiya Andhiyari,\nor the goddess of the dark fortnight of the month. She is worshipped\nin the house conjointly by husband and wife on any Tuesday in the\ndark fortnight of Magh (January-February), all the relatives of the\nfamily being invited. On the day of worship the husband and wife\nobserve a fast, and all the water which is required for use in the\nhouse during the day and night must be brought into it in the early\nmorning. A circular pit is dug inside the house, about three feet deep\nand as many wide. A she-goat which has borne no young is sacrificed\nto the goddess in the house in the same manner as in the sacrifice to\nThakur Deo. The goat is skinned and cut up, the skin, bones and other\nrefuse being thrown into the hole. The flesh is cooked and eaten\nwith rice and pulse in the evening, all the family and relatives,\nmen and women, eating together at the same time. After the meal,\nall the remaining food and the water including that used for cooking,\nand the new earthen pots used to carry water on that day are thrown\ninto the pit. The mouth of the pit is then covered with wooden boards\nand plastered over with mud with great care to prevent a child falling\ninto it; as it is held that nothing which has once gone into the pit\nmay be taken out, even if it were a human being. It is said that\nonce in the old days a man who happened to fall into the pit was\nburied alive, its mouth being covered over with planks of wood; and\nhe was found alive when the pit was reopened next year. This is an\ninstance of the sacrificial meal, common to many primitive peoples,\nat which the sacred animal was consumed by the worshippers, skin,\nbones and all. But now that such a course has become repugnant to\ntheir more civilised digestions, the refuse is considered sacred\nand disposed of in some such manner as that described. The goddess\nis also known as Rat Devi or the goddess of the night; or Rat Mai,\nthe night mother. The goddess Maswasi was the mythical ancestress of\nthe Dhanwars, the wife of Karankot, and also the daughter of Maiya\nAndhiyari or Rat Mai. She too is worshipped every third year in the\ndark fortnight of the month of Magh on any Tuesday. Her sacrifice is\noffered in the morning hours in the forest by men only, and consists\nalso of a black she-goat. A site is chosen under a tree and cleaned\nwith cowdung, the bones of animals being placed upon it in a heap\nto represent the goddess. The village Baiga kills the goat with an\naxe and the body is eaten by the worshippers. Maswasi is invoked by\nthe Dhanwars before they go hunting, and whenever they kill a wild\nboar or a deer they offer it to her. She is thus clearly the goddess\nof hunting. The tribe also worship the spirits of hills and woods\nand the ghosts of the illustrious dead. The ghosts of dead Baigas\nor medicine-men are believed to become spirits attending on Thakur\nDeo, and when he is displeased with the Dhanwars they intervene\nto allay his anger. The brothers of Maswasi, the twelve Gaolis,\nare believed to be divine hunters and to haunt the forests, where\nthey kill beasts and occasionally men. Six of them take post and the\nother six drive the beasts or men towards these through the forest,\nwhen they are pierced as with an arrow. The victim dies after a few\ndays, but if human he may go to a sorcerer, who can extract the arrow,\nsmaller than a grain of rice, from his body. In the month of Aghan\n(November), when the grass of the forests is to be cut, the members\nof the village collectively offer a goat to the grass deity, in order\nthat none of the grass-cutters may be killed by a tiger or bitten by\na snake or other wild animal.\n\n\n\n10. Magic and witchcraft.\n\n\nThe Dhanwars are fervent believers in all kinds of magic and\nwitchcraft. Magic is practised both by the Baiga, the village priest\nor medicine-man, who is always a man and who conducts the worship of\nthe deities mentioned above, and by the _tonhi_, the regular witch,\nwho may be a man or woman. Little difference appears to exist in the\nmethods of the two classes of magicians, but the Baiga's magic is\nusually exercised for the good of his fellow-creatures, which indeed\nmight be expected as he gets his livelihood from them, and he is also\nless powerful than the _tonhi_. The Baiga cures ordinary maladies and\nthe bites of snakes and scorpions by mesmeric passes fortified by the\nutterance of charms. He raises the dead in much the same manner as a\nwitch does, but employs the spirit of the dead person in casting out\nother evil spirits by which his clients may be possessed. One of the\nmiracles performed by the Baiga is to make his wet cloth stand in the\nair stiff and straight, holding only the two lower ends. He can cross\na river walking on leaves, and change men into beasts. Witches are\nnot very common among the Dhanwars. A witch, male or female, maybe\ndetected by a sunken and gloomy appearance of the eyes, a passionate\ntemperament, or by being found naked in a graveyard at night, as\nonly a witch would go there to raise a corpse from the dead. The\nDhanwars eat nearly all kinds of food except beef and the leavings\nof others. They will take cooked food from the hands of Kawars, and\nthe men also from Gonds, but not the women. In some places they will\naccept food from Brahmans, but not everywhere. They are not an impure\ncaste, but usually live in a separate hamlet of their own, and are\nlower than the Gonds and Kawars, who will take water from them but\nnot food. They are a very primitive people, and it is stated that at\nthe census several of them left their huts and fled into the jungle,\nand were with difficulty induced to return. When an elder man dies\nhis family usually abandon their hut, as it is believed that his\nspirit haunts it and causes death to any one who lives there.\n\n\n\n11. Social rules.\n\n\nA Kawar is always permitted to become a Dhanwar, and a woman of\nthe Gond, Binjhwar and Rawat tribes, if such a one is living with a\nDhanwar, may be married to him with the approval of the tribe. She does\nnot enjoy the full status of membership herself, but it is accorded\nto her children. When an outsider is to be admitted a _panchayat_\nof five Dhanwars is assembled, one of whom must be of the Majhi\nsept. The members of the _panchayat_ hold out their right hands, palm\nupwards, one below the other, and beneath them the candidate and his\nwife place their hands. The Majhi pours water from a brass vessel on\nto the topmost hand, and it trickles down from one to the other on to\nthose of the candidate and his wife. The blood of a slaughtered goat is\nmixed with the water in their palms and they sip it, and after giving\na feast to the caste are considered as Dhanwars. Permanent exclusion\nfrom caste is imposed only for living with a man or woman of another\ncaste other than those who may become Dhanwars, or for taking food\nfrom a member of an impure caste, the only ones which are lower than\nthe Dhanwars. Temporary exclusion for an indefinite period is awarded\nfor an irregular connection between a Dhanwar man and woman, or of\na Dhanwar with a Kawar, Binjhwar, Rawat or Gond; on a family which\nharbours any one of its members who has been permanently expelled;\nand on a woman who cuts the navel-cord of a newly-born child, whether\nof her own caste or not. Irregular sexual intimacies are usually\nkept secret and condoned by marriage whenever possible. A person\nexpelled for any of the above offences cannot claim readmission as a\nright. He must first please the members of the caste, and to do this\nhe attends every caste feast without being invited, removes their\nleaf-plates with the leavings of food, and waits on them generally,\nand continually proffers his prayer for readmission. When the other\nDhanwars are satisfied with his long and faithful service they take\nhim back into the community. Temporary exclusion from caste, with the\npenalty of one or more feasts for readmission, is imposed for killing\na cow or a cat accidentally, or in the course of giving it a beating;\nfor having a cow or bullock in one's possession whose nostrils or ears\nget split; for getting maggots in a wound; for being beaten except by\na Government official; for taking food from any higher caste other\nthan those from whom food is accepted; and in the case of a woman\nfor saying her husband's name aloud. This list of offences shows that\nthe Dhanwars have almost completely adopted the Hindu code in social\nmatters, while retaining their tribal religion. A person guilty of one\nof the above offences must have his or her head shaved by a barber,\nand make a pilgrimage to the shrine of Narsingh Nath in Bodasamar\nzamindari; after having accomplished this he is purified by one of\nthe Sonwani sept, being given water in which gold has been dipped\nto drink through a bamboo tube, and he provides usually three feasts\nfor the caste-fellows.\n\n\n\n12. Dress and tattooing.\n\n\nThe tribe dress in the somewhat primitive fashion prevalent\nin Chhattisgarh, and there is nothing distinctive about their\nclothing. Women are tattooed at their parents' house before or just\nafter marriage. It is said that the tattoo marks remain on the soul\nafter death, and that she shows them to God, probably for purposes of\nidentification. There is a saying, 'All other pleasures are transient,\nbut the tattoo marks are my companions through life.' A Dhanwar will\nnot take water from a woman who is not tattooed.\n\n\n\n13. Names of children.\n\n\nChildren are named on the _chathi_ or sixth day after birth, and\nthe parents always ascertain from a wise man whether the soul of\nany dead relative has been born again in the child so that they may\nname it after him. It is also thought that the sex may change in\ntransmigration, for male children are sometimes named after women\nrelatives and female after men. Mr. Hira Lal notes the following\ninstance of the names of four children in a family. The eldest was\nnamed after his grandfather; the second was called Bhalu or bear,\nas his maternal uncle who had been eaten by a bear was reborn in him;\nthe third was called Ghasi, the name of a low caste of grass-cutters,\nbecause the two children born before him had died; and the fourth\nwas called Kausi, because the sorcerer could not identify the spirit\nof any relative as having been born again in him. The name Kausi\nis given to any one who cannot remember his sept, as in the saying,\n'_Bhule bisare kausi got_,' or 'A man who has got no _got_ belongs\nto the Kausi _got_.' Kausi is said to mean a stranger. Bad names\nare commonly given to avert ill-luck or premature death, as Boya, a\nliar; Labdu, one smeared with ashes; Marha, a corpse; or after some\nphysical defect as Lati, one with clotted hair; Petwa, a stammerer;\nLendra, shy; Ghundu, one who cannot walk; Ghunari, stunted; or from\nthe place of birth, as Dongariha or Paharu, born on a hill; Banjariha,\nborn in brushwood, and so on. A man will not mention the names of his\nwife, his son's wife or his sister's son's wife, and a woman will not\nname her husband or his elder brother or parents. As already stated,\na woman saying her husband's name aloud is temporarily put out of\ncaste, the Hindu custom being thus carried to extremes, as is often\nthe case among the lower castes.\n\n\n\n14. Occupation.\n\n\nThe tribe consider hunting to have been their proper calling, but\nmany of them are now cultivators and labourers. They also make bamboo\nmatting and large baskets for storing grain, but they will not make\nsmall bamboo baskets or fans, because this is the calling of the Turis,\non whom the Dhanwar looks down. The women collect the leaves of _sal_\n[535] trees and sell them at the rate of about ten bundles for a pice\n(farthing) for use as _chongis_ or leaf-pipes. As already stated,\nthe tribe have no language of their own, but speak a corrupt form\nof Chhattisgarhi.\n\n\n\n\n\n\nDhimar [536]\n\n\n\nList of Paragraphs\n\n\n    1. _General notice._\n    2. _Subcastes._\n    3. _Exogamous groups._\n    4. _Marriage._\n    5. _Childbirth._\n    6. _Disposal of the dead._\n    7. _Religion._\n    8. _Occupation: fisherman._\n    9. _Water-carrier._\n    10. _Palanquin-bearer and personal servant._\n    11. _Other occupations._\n    12. _Social status._\n    13. _Legend of the caste._\n\n\n\n1. General notice.\n\n\n_Dhimar, Kahar, Bhoi, Palewar, Baraua, Machhandar._--The caste of\nfishermen and palanquin-bearers. In 1911 the Dhimars numbered 284,000\npersons in the Central Provinces and Berar, being most numerous in the\nMaratha Districts. In the north of the Province we find in place of\nthe Dhimars the Kahars and Mullahs, and in the east or Chhattisgarh\ncountry the Kewats. But the distinction between these castes is no\nmore than nominal, for in some localities both Kahar and Kewat are\nreturned as subcastes of Dhimar. In some parts of India the Bhois\nand Dhimars are considered as separate castes, but in the Central\nProvinces they are not to be distinguished, both names being applied\nindiscriminately to the same persons. The name of Bhoi perhaps belongs\nmore particularly to those who carry litters or palanquins, and that\nof Dhimar to the fishermen. The word Dhimar is a corruption of the\nSanskrit Dhivara, a fisherman. Bhoi is a South Indian word (Telugu\nand Malayalam _boyi_, Tamil _bovi_), and in the Konkan people of this\nclass are known as Kahar Bhui. Among the Gonds Bhoi is considered as\nan honorific name or title; and this indicates that a large number of\nGonds have become enrolled in the Dhimar or Kahar caste, and consider\nit a rise in status. Palewar is the name of the Telugu fishermen of\nChanda. Machhandar signifies one who catches fish.\n\n\n\n2. Subcastes.\n\n\nThe caste has a large number of subdivisions of a local or occupational\nnature; among occupational names may be mentioned the Singaria or those\nwho cultivate the _singara_ nut, the Nadha or those who live on the\nbanks of streams, the Tankiwalas or sharpeners of grindstones, the\nJhingas or prawn-catchers, the Bansias and Saraias or anglers (from\n_bansi_ or _sarai_, a bamboo fishing-rod), the Bandhaiyas or those\nwho make ropes and sacking of hemp and fibre, and the Dhurias who sell\nparched rice. These last say that their original ancestors were created\nby Mahadeo out of a handful of dust (_dhur_) for carrying the palanquin\nof Parvati when she was tired. They are probably the same people as\nthe Dhuris who also parch grain, and in Chhattisgarh are considered\nas a separate caste. Similarly the Sonjhara Dhimars wash for gold,\nthe calling of the separate Sonjhara caste. The Kasdhonia Dhimars wash\nthe sands of the sacred rivers to find the coins which pious pilgrims\nfrequently drop or throw into the river as an offering when they bathe\nin it. The Gondia subcaste is clearly an offshoot from the Gond tribe,\nbut a large proportion of the whole caste in the Central Provinces\nis probably derived from the Gonds or Kols, members of this latter\ntribe being especially proficient as palanquin-bearers. The Suvarha\nsubcaste is named after the _suar_ or pig, because members of this\nsubcaste breed and eat the unclean animal; they are looked down on\nby the others. Similarly the Gadhewale Dhimars keep donkeys, and are\ndespised by the other subcastes who will not take food from them. They\nuse donkeys for carrying loads of wood, and the bridegroom rides to\nhis wedding on this animal; and among them a donkey is the only animal\nthe corpse of which can be touched without conveying pollution. The\nBhanare Dhimars appear to be named after the town of Bhandara.\n\n\n\n3. Exogamous groups.\n\n\nA large number of exogamous groups are also returned, either of a\ntitular or totemistic nature: such are Baghmar, a tiger-slayer; Ojhwa,\nfrom Ojha, or sorcerer; Guru pahchan, one who knows his teacher;\nMidoia, a guardian of boundaries, from _med_, a boundary or border;\nGidhwe, a vulture; Kolhe, or jackal; Gadhekhaya, a donkey-eater; and\nKasture, musk; a few names are from towns or villages, as Tumsare\nfrom Tumsar, Nagpurkar from Nagpur; and a few from other castes as\nMadgi, Bhoyar, Pindaria from Pindari, a freebooter; Gondia (Gond)\nand Gondhali; and Kachhwaha, a sept of Rajputs.\n\n\n\n4. Marriage.\n\n\nMarriage is prohibited between members of the same sept and also\nbetween first cousins. In many localities families do not intermarry so\nlong as they remember any relationship to have existed between them. In\nMandla, Mr. Govind Moreshwar states, the Nadha and Kehera subcastes\ndo not intermarry; but if a man desires a girl of the other subcaste\nhe can be admitted into it on giving a feast to the caste-fellows\naccording to his means, and thus marry her. Two families may exchange\ndaughters in marriage. A maiden who goes wrong with a man of the\ncaste or of any higher caste may be readmitted to the community under\npenalty of a feast to the caste and of having a lock of her hair cut\noff. In the Hindustani Districts women do not accompany the marriage\nprocession, but in the Maratha Districts they do. Among the Bhanara\nDhimars of Chanda the wedding may be held either at the bride's or the\nbridegroom's house. In the former case a bride-price of Rs. 16 is paid,\nand in the latter one of Rs. 20, because the expenses of the bride's\nfamily are increased if the wedding is held at her house. A custom\nexists among the poorer Dhimars in Chanda of postponing the marriage\nceremony to avoid expense; a man will thus simply take a girl for his\nwife, making a payment of Rs. 1-4 or twenty pence to her father and\ngiving a feast to the community. She will then live in his house as his\nwife, and at some subsequent date, perhaps in old age, the religious\nceremony will be held so that the couple may have been properly married\nbefore they die. In this fashion the weddings of grandparents, parents\nand children have all been celebrated simultaneously. The Singaria\nDhimars of Chhindwara grow _singara_ or water-nut in tanks, and at\ntheir weddings a crocodile must be killed and eaten. The Sonjharas\nor gold-washers must also have a crocodile, but they keep it alive\nand worship it, and when the ceremony is concluded let it go back\nagain to the river. It is natural that castes whose avocations are\nconnected with rivers and tanks should in a manner deify the most\nprominent or most ferocious animal contained in their waters. And\nthe ceremonial eating of a sacred animal has been recorded among\ndivers peoples all over the world. At a Dhimar marriage in Bhandara\na net is given to the bridegroom, and _sidori_ or cooked food, tied\nin a piece of cloth, to the bride, and they walk out together as if\ngoing to a river to fish, but the bride's brother comes up and stops\nthem. After a wedding in Mandla they kill a pig and bury it before the\ndoor of the bridegroom's house, covering it with earth, and the bride\nand bridegroom step over its body into the house. Widow-marriage is\nfreely permitted; in Mandla the marriage of a widow may be held on\nthe night of any day except Sunday, Tuesday and Saturday. Divorce is\nallowed, but is of rare occurrence. Adultery on the part of a wife\nwill be frequently overlooked, and the extreme step of divorcing her\nis only taken if she creates a public scandal. In such a case the\nparties appear before a meeting of the caste, and the headman asks\nthem whether they have determined to separate. He then breaks a straw\nin token of the disruption of the union, and the husband and wife\nmust pronounce each other's names in an audible voice. [537] A fee of\nRs. 1-4 is paid to the headman, and the divorce is completed. [538]\nIn some localities the woman's bangles are also broken. In Jhansi\nthe fine for keeping a widow is ten rupees and for living with the\nwife of another man sixty rupees.\n\n\n\n5. Childbirth\n\n\nChildren are named either on the day of birth or the twelfth day\nafterwards. The women place the child in a cradle, spreading boiled\nwheat and gram over its body, and after swinging it to and fro the\nname is given. Sweets or boiled wheat and gram are distributed to those\npresent. In Berar on the third day after a birth cakes of juari flour\nand buttermilk are distributed to other children; on the fifth day\nthe slab and roller used for grinding the household corn are washed,\nanointed and worshipped; on the twelfth day the child is named and\nshortly after this its head is shaved. [539]\n\n\n\n6. Disposal of the dead.\n\n\nThe bodies of the dead are usually buried, cremation being beyond the\nmeans of Dhimars. Children whose ears have not been pierced are mourned\nonly for one day, and others for ten days. When a body has been burnt\nthe ashes are consigned to a tank or river on the third day, or if\nthe third day be a Sunday or a Wednesday, then on the fifth day. In\nBerar, Mr. Kitts remarks, [540] the funeral ceremony of the Dhimars\nresembles that of the Gonds. After a burial the mourners repair to the\ndeceased's house to drink; and subsequently each fetches his own dinner\nand dines with the chief mourner. At this time he and his family are\nimpure and the others cannot take food prepared by him; but ten days\nafterwards when the mourning is over and the chief mourner has bathed\nand shaved they again dine with him, and on the next day the caste is\nfeasted. During the period of mourning a lighted lamp is daily placed\noutside the house. When the period of mourning expires all the clothes\nof the family are washed and their house is newly whitewashed. There is\nno subsequent annual performance of funeral rites as among the higher\nHindus; but at the Akshayatritiya or commencement of the agricultural\nyear the head of the household throws at each meal a little food into\nthe fire, in honour of his dead ancestors.\n\n\n\n7. Religion.\n\n\nOne of the principal deities of the Dhimars [541] as of other low\ncastes is Dulha Deo, the deified bridegroom. They fashion his image of\n_kadamb_ [542] wood and besmear it with red lead. In Berar they also\npray to Anna Purna, the Corn-giving goddess of Madras corresponding\nto Durga or Devi, whose form with that of her horse is engraved on\na brass plate and anointed with yellow and red turmeric. When about\nto enter a river or tank for fishing or other purposes they pray to\nthe water-god to save them from being drowned or molested by its\ndenizens. They address a river as Ganga Mai or 'Mother Ganges' in\norder to propitiate it by this flattery. Those who are employed on\nferry-boats especially venerate Ghatoia [543] Deo, the god of ferries\nand river-crossings. His shrine is near the place where the boats are\ntied up, and ferry contractors keep a live chicken in their boat to be\noffered to Ghatoia on the first occasion when the river is sufficiently\nin flood to be crossed by ferry after the breaking of the rains. Other\nlocal godlings are the Bare Purakh or Great men, a collective term for\ntheir deceased ancestors, of whom they make silver images; Parihar,\nthe soul of the village priest; Baram Deo, the spirit of the banyan\ntree; and Gosain Deo, a deified ascetic. To the goddess Devi they\noffer a black she-goat which is eaten ceremonially, and when they have\nfinished, the bones, skin and all the other remains of the animal are\nplaced in a pit inside the house. If anything should fall into this\npit it must be buried with the remains of the offering and not taken\nout. And they relate that on one occasion a child fell into the pit,\nand the parents, setting obedience to the law of the goddess above\nthe life of their child, buried it alive. But next year when the\nsacrifice was again made and the pit was opened, the child was found\nin it alive and playing. So they say that the goddess will save the\nlife of any one who is buried in the pit with her offering. When a\nwidower marries a second time his wife sometimes wears a _tawiz_ or\namulet in the shape of a silver box containing charms round her neck\nin order to ward off the evil machinations of her predecessor's spirit.\n\n\n\n8. Occupation: fisherman.\n\n\nThe occupations of the Dhimar are many and various. He is primarily\na fisherman and boatman, and has various kinds of nets for taking\nfish. One of these is of triangular shape about 150 feet wide at\nthe base and 80 feet in height to the apex. The meshes vary from\nan inch wide at the top to three inches at the bottom. The ends of\nthe base are weighted with stones and the net is then sunk into a\nriver so that the base rests on its bed and the top is held by men\nin boats at the surface. Then other Dhimars beat the surface of the\nwater for some distance with long bamboos on both sides of the net,\ndriving the fish towards it. They call this a _kheda_, the term used\nfor a beat of the forest for game.\n\nAnother method is to stretch a long rope or cord across the river,\nsecured on either bank, with baited hooks attached to it at short\nintervals. It is left for some hours and then drawn in. When the river\nis shallow one wide-bottomed boat will be paddled up the stream and a\nline of men will wade on each side beating the water with bamboos so\nas to make the small fish jump into the boat. Or they put a little\ncotton-seed on a stone in shallow water, and when the fish collect\nto eat the seed a long circular net weighted with pieces of iron\nis let down over the stone. Then the upper end is drawn tight and\nthe fishermen put their hands inside and seize the little fish. The\nDhimar is also regularly employed as a worker on ferries. His primitive\nboat made from the hollowed trunk of a tree and sometimes lashed in\ncouples for greater stability may still be seen on all rivers. He makes\nhis own fishing-nets, knitting them on a stick at his leisure while\nhe is walking along or sitting down to smoke and talk. He worships\nhis fishing-nets at the Diwali festival, and his reverence for the\nknitted thread is such that he will not touch or wear a shoe made of\nthread, because he thinks that the sacred article is debased by being\nsewn into leather. When engaged in road-work the Dhimars have unsewn\nsandals secured to the feet with strips of leather. It is a special\ndegradation to a Dhimar to be struck with a shoe. He has a monopoly\nof growing _singara_ [544] or water-nuts in tanks. The fruit of this\nplant has a taste somewhat between a cocoanut and a potato, with a\nflavour of soap. It can be taken raw and is therefore a favourite\ncomestible for fast days when cooked food is forbidden. It is also\nsold at railway stations and the fresh fruit is prescribed by village\ndoctors as easy of digestion. The Dhimar grows melons, cucumbers and\nother vegetables on the sandy stretches along the banks of streams,\nbut at agriculture proper he does not excel.\n\n\n\n9. Water-carrier.\n\n\nThe Dhimar's connection with water has led to his becoming the\nwater-carrier for Hindus, or that section of the community which\ncan afford to employ one. This is more especially the case in the\nHindustani Districts where women are frequently secluded and therefore\ncannot draw water for the household, while in the Maratha Districts\nwhere the women go to the well no water-bearer is required. In this\ncapacity the Dhimar is usually the personal servant of the village\nproprietor, but in large villages every house has a _ghinochi_, either\nan earthen platform or wooden stand just outside the house, on which\nfour or five earthen water-pots are kept. These the Dhimar fills up\nmorning and evening and receives two or three annas or pence a month\nfor doing so. He also brings water for Government servants when they\ncome to the village, and cleans their cooking-vessels and prepares\nthe hearth with fresh cowdung and water in order to cleanse it.\n\nIf he cleans the malguzar's vessels he gets his food for doing so. When\nthe tenants have marriages he performs the same duties for the whole\nwedding party and receives a present of one or two rupees and some\nclothes if the families are well off, and also his food every day\nwhile the marriage is in progress. In his capacity of waterman the\ntitle Baraua is used to him as an honorific method of address; and to\nhis wife Baroni. In a hot country like India water is revered as the\nsource of relief, comfort and life itself, like fire in cold countries,\nand the waterman participates in the regard paid to his element.\n\nAnother business of the Dhimar's is to take sweet potatoes and\nboiled plums to the fields at harvest-time and sell them. He supplies\nwater for drinking to the reapers and receives three sheaves a day\nin payment. On the fifteenth of Jesth (May) the Dhimar goes round\nto the cultivators, throwing his fishing-net over their heads and\nreceives a small present.\n\n\n\n10. Palanquin-bearer and personal servant.\n\n\nAt the period prior to the introduction of wheeled transport when\npalanquins or litters were largely used for travelling, the carriers\nbelonged to the Kahar caste in northern India and to the Dhimars\nor Bhois in the south. Though litters are now practically not used\nfor travelling except occasionally by high-caste women, a survival\nof the old custom is retained in the marriage ceremony, the bride\nand bridegroom being always carried back from the marriage-shed to\nthe temporary lodging of the bridegroom in a _palki_, though for\nthe longer journey to the bridegroom's village some less cumbrous\nconveyance is utilised. Four Dhimars carry the _palki_ and receive\nRs. 1-4. Well-to-do people will be carried in procession round the\ntown. When employed by the village proprietor the Dhimar accompanies\nhim on his journey, carrying his cooking-vessels and other necessaries\nin a _banhgi_ or wooden cross-bar slung across the shoulders, from\nwhich two baskets are suspended by loops of rope. Water he will\nalways carry in a _banhgi_ and never on his head or shoulders. From\nwaterman and litter-carrier the Dhimar has become a personal servant;\nit is he to whom the term 'bearer' as designating a body-servant was\nfirst applied because he bears or carries his master in a _palki_\nand his clothes in a _banhgi_. He is commonly so employed in native\nhouses, but rarely by Europeans, whether because he is too stupid\nor on account of caste objections of his own. When employed as a\ncook the Dhimar or his wife is permitted to knead flour with water\nand make it into a cake which the Brahman will then take and put on\nto the girdle with his own hands. He can also boil water and pour\npulse into the cooking-pot from above so long as he does not touch\nthe vessel after the food has been placed in it. He or she will also\ntake any remains of food which is left in the cooking-pot as this\nis not considered to be polluted, food only becoming polluted when\nthe hand touches it on the dish after having touched the mouth. When\nthis has happened all the food on the dish becomes _jutha_ or leavings\nof food, and as a general rule no caste except the sweepers will eat\nthe leavings of food of another caste or of another person of their\nown. Only the wife, whose meal follows her husband's, will eat his\nleavings. As a servant the Dhimar is very familiar with his master;\nhe may enter any part of the house, including the cooking-place and\nthe women's rooms, and he addresses his mistress as 'Mother.' In\nnorthern India Mr. Crooke states that the Kahars are sometimes known\nas Mahra, from the Sanskrit Mahila, a woman, because they have the\nentry of the female apartments. When he lights his master's pipe he\ntakes the first pull himself to show that it has not been tampered\nwith, and then presents it to him with his left hand placed under\nhis right elbow in token of respect. Maid-servants also frequently\nbelong to the Dhimar caste, and it often happens that the master of\nthe household has illicit intercourse with them. Hence there is a\nproverb, 'The king's son draws water and the water-bearer's son sits\non the throne,' similar intrigues on the part of high-born women with\ntheir servants being not unknown. The Dhimar often acts as a pimp,\nthis being an incident of his profession of indoor servant.\n\n\n\n11. Other occupations.\n\n\nAnother occupation of the Dhimar's is to sell parched grain and rice\nto travellers in markets and railway stations like the Bharbhunja\nand Dhuri. This he can do because of his comparative social\npurity, as all castes will take water and cakes and sweetmeats\nfrom his hands. Some Dhimars and Kewats also weave hemp-matting\nand gunny-bags, but such members of the caste rank lower than the\nothers and Brahmans will not take water from them. Another calling\nby which a few Dhimars find support is that of breeding pigs. One\nwould think it a difficult matter to make a living out of the village\npig, an animal abhorred by both Hindus and Muhammadans as the most\nunclean of the brute creation, and equally abjured by Europeans as\nunfit for food. But the pig is in considerable demand by the forest\ntribes for sacrifice to their deities. The Dhimar participates in the\nsacrifice to Narayan Deo described in the article on Mahar, when a\npig is eaten in concert by several of the lower castes. Lastly, the\nbusiness of rearing the cocoons of the tasar silk-worm is usually in\nthe hands of Dhimars and Kewats. While the caterpillars are feeding\non leaves and spinning their cocoons these men live in the forests\nfor two months together and watch the _kosa-baris_ or silk-gardens,\nthat is the blocks of trees which are set apart for the purpose of\nrearing the caterpillars. During this period they eat only once a day,\nabstain from meat and lentils, do not get shaved and do not visit their\nwives. When the eggs of the caterpillars are to be placed on the trees\nthey tie a silk thread round the first tree to be used and worship it\nas Pat Deo or the god of silk thread. On this subject Mr. Ball writes:\n[545] \"The trees which it is intended to stock are carefully pollarded\nbefore the rains, and in early spring the leaves are stocked with young\ncaterpillars which have been hatched in the houses. The men in charge\nerect wigwams and remain on the spot, isolated from their families,\nwho regard them for the time being as unclean. During the daytime\nthey have full occupation in guarding the large green caterpillars\nfrom the attacks of kites and other birds. The cocoons are collected\nsoon after they are spun and boiled in a lye of wood-ash, and the\nextracted chrysalids must then be eaten by the caretakers, who have\nto undergo certain ceremonial rites before they are readmitted into\nthe society of their fellows. The effect of the boiling in the lye\nis the removal of the glutinous matter, which renders it possible\nto wind off the silk.\" The eating of the caterpillars is no doubt a\nceremonial observance like that of the crocodile at weddings. They\nare killed by the boiling of the cocoons and on this account members\nof good castes will not engage in the business of rearing them. The\nabstention from conjugal intimacy while engaged in some important\nbusiness is a very common phenomenon.\n\n\n\n12. Social status.\n\n\nThe social status of the Dhimar is somewhat peculiar. Owing to his\nemployment as palanquin-bearer, cook and household servant he has\nbeen promoted to the group of castes who are ceremonially clean,\nso that Brahmans in northern India will take water and food cooked\nin butter from his hands. But by origin he no doubt belongs to the\nprimitive or non-Aryan tribes, a fact which he shows by his appearance\nand also by his customs. In diet he is the reverse of fastidious,\neating crocodiles, tortoises and crabs, and also pork in the Maratha\nDistricts, though in the north where he is employed by Brahmans\nas a personal servant he abstains from this food. With all this,\nhowever, the Dhimars practise in some social matters a pharasaical\nstrictness. In Jubbulpore Mr. Pancham Lal records that among the four\nsubcastes of Rekwar, Bant, Barmaian and Pabeha a woman of one subcaste\nwill not partake of any food cooked by one of another division. A man\nwill take any kind of food cooked by a man of another subcaste, but\nfrom a woman only such as is not mixed with water. A woman will drink\nthe water held in the metal vessel of a woman of another division,\nbut not in an earthen vessel; and in a metal vessel only provided\nthat it is brought straight from the well and not taken from the\n_ghinochi_ or water-stand of such woman's house. A man will take water\nto drink from the metal or earthen vessel of any other Dhimar, male or\nfemale. In Berar again Mr. Kitts states [546] that a Bhoi considers\nit pollution to eat or drink at the house of a Lohar (blacksmith),\na Sutar (carpenter), a Bhat (bard), a washerman or a barber; he will\nnot even carry their palanquins at a marriage.\n\nOnce a year at the Muharram festival the Dhimars will eat at the\nhands of Muhammadans. They go round and beg for offerings of food\nand take them to the Fakir, who places a little before the _tazia_ or\ntomb of Husain and distributes the remainder to the Dhimars and other\nHindus and Muhammadans who have been begging. Except on this occasion\nthey will eat nothing touched by a Muhammadan. The Dhimar, the Nai or\nbarber, and the Bari or indoor servant are the three household menials\nof the northern Districts, and are known as Pauni Parja. Sometimes\nthe Ahir or grazier is an indoor servant and takes the place of the\nDhimar or the Bari. These menials are admitted to the wedding and\nother family feasts and allowed to eat at them. They sit in a line\napart from the members of the caste and one member of the family is\ndeputed to wait on them. Their food is brought to them in separate\ndishes and no food from these dishes is served to guests of the caste.\n\nPermanent expulsion [547] from caste is inflicted only for marrying,\nor eating regularly, with a man or woman of some other low caste;\nbut in the case of unmarried persons the latter offence may also be\nexpiated. Temporary exclusion is imposed for killing a cat, dog or\nsquirrel, getting maggots in a wound, being sentenced to imprisonment\n[548] or committing adultery with a person of any low caste. One\nwho has committed any of the above offences must be purified by the\nBatta of the caste, that is a person who takes the sins of others\nupon himself. The Batta conducts the culprit to a river and then\ncauses him to bathe, cuts off a lock of his hair, breaks a cocoanut\nas a sacrifice, and gives him a little cowdung and milk to eat. Then\nthey proceed to eat together; the Batta eats five mouthfuls first\nand declares that he has taken the sin of the offender on himself;\nthe latter gives the Batta Rs. 1-4 as his fee, and is once more a\nproper member of the community. In Berar a Bhoi who has been put\nout of caste is received back by his fellows when he has drunk the\nwater touched by a Brahman's toe, and has feasted them with a bout\nof liquor. In towns the caste are generally addicted to drink, and\nno marriage or other social function is held without a sufficient\nsupply of liquor. They also smoke _ganja_ (Indian hemp).\n\n\n\n13. Legend of the caste.\n\n\nThe Dhimars are proverbially of a cheerful disposition, though simple\nand easily cheated. When carrying _palkis_ or litters at night they\ntalk continually or sing monotonous songs to lighten the tedium of the\nway. In illustration of these qualities the following story is told:\nOne day when Mahadeo and Parvati were travelling the goddess became\nvery tired, so Mahadeo created four men from the dust, who bore her\nin a litter. On the way they talked and laughed, and Parvati was very\npleased with them, so when she got home she told them to wait while she\nsent them out a reward. The Bhois found that they could get plenty of\nliquor, so they went on drinking it and forgot all about going for the\nreward. In the meantime a Marwari Bania who had heard what the goddess\nsaid, waited at the door of the palace, and when the servants brought\nout a bag of money he pretended that he was one of the Bhois and got\nthem to give him the money, with which he made off. After a time the\nBhois remembered about the reward and went to the door of the palace to\nget it, when the goddess came out and found out what had happened. The\nBhois then wept and asked for another reward, but the goddess refused\nand said that as they had been so stupid their caste would always be\npoor, but at the same time they would be cheerful and happy.\n\n\n\n\n\n\nDhoba\n\n\n\nList of Paragraphs\n\n\n    1. _General notice._\n    2. _Exogamous divisions._\n    3. _Marriage customs._\n    4. _Funeral rites._\n    5. _Caste panchayat and social penalties._\n    6. _Occupation and social customs._\n\n\n\n1. General notice.\n\n\n_Dhoba._ [549]--A small caste belonging to the Mandla District and\napparently an offshoot from one of the primitive tribes. They have\nnever been separately classified at the census but always amalgamated\nwith the Dhobi or washerman caste. But the Mandla Dhobas acknowledge\nno connection with Dhobis, nor has any been detected. One Dhoba has\nindeed furnished a story to the Rev. E. Price that the first ancestor\nof the caste was a foundling boy, by appearance of good lineage,\nwho was brought up by some Dhobis, and, marrying a Dhobi girl, made\na new caste. But this is not sufficient to demonstrate the common\norigin of the Dhobas and Dhobis. The Dhobas reside principally in a\nfew villages in the upper valley of the Burhner River, and members\nof the caste own two or three villages. They are dark in complexion\nand have, though in a less degree, the flat features, coarse nose\nand receding forehead of the Gond; but they are taller in stature\nand not so strongly built, and are much less capable of exertion.\n\n\n\n2. Exogamous divisions.\n\n\nThe caste has twelve exogamous septs, though the list is probably\nnot complete. These appear to be derived from the names of\nvillages. Marriage is forbidden between the Baghmar and Baghcharia\nsepts, the Maratha and Khatnagar and Maralwati septs and the Sonwani\nand Sonsonwani septs. These septs are said to have been subdivided and\nto be still related. The names Baghmar and Baghcharia are both derived\nfrom the tiger; Sonnwani is from Sona-pani or gold-water, and the\nSonsonwani sept seems therefore to be the aristocratic branch or _creme\nde la creme_ of the Sonwanis. The children of brothers and sisters\nmay marry but not those of two sisters, because a man's maternal aunt\nor _mausi_ is considered as equivalent to his mother. A man may also\nmarry his step-sister on the mother's side, that is the daughter of\nhis own mother by another husband either prior to or subsequent to\nhis father, the step-sister being of a different sept. This relaxation\nmay have been permitted on account of the small numbers of the caste\nand the consequent difficulty of arranging marriages.\n\n\n\n3. Marriage customs.\n\n\nThe bridegroom goes to the bride's house for the wedding, which\nis conducted according to the Hindu ritual of walking round the\nsacred post. The cost of a marriage in a fairly well-to-do family,\nincluding the betrothal, may be about Rs. 140, of which a quarter\nfalls on the bride's people. Divorce and the remarriage of widows\nare permitted. A pregnant woman stops working after six months and\ngoes into retirement. After a birth the woman is impure for five or\nsix days. She does not appear in public for a month, and takes no\npart in outdoor occupations or field-work until the child is weaned,\nthat is six months after its birth.\n\n\n\n4. Funeral rites.\n\n\nThe dead are usually buried, and all members of the dead man's sept\nare considered to be impure. After the funeral they bathe and come\nhome and have their food cooked for them by other Dhobas, partaking of\nit in the dead man's house. On the ninth, eleventh or thirteenth day,\nwhen the impurity ends, the male members of the sept are shaved on the\nbank of a river and the hair is left lying there. When they start home\nthey spread some thorns and two stones across the path. Then, as the\nfirst man steps over the thorns, he takes up one of the stones in his\nhand and passes it behind him to the second, and each man successively\npasses it back as he steps over the thorns, the last man throwing the\nstone behind the thorns. Thus the dead man's spirit in the shape of\nthe stone is separated from the living and prevented from accompanying\nthem home. Then a feast is held, all the men of the dead man's sept\nsitting opposite to the _panchayat_ at a distance of three feet. Next\nday water in which gold has been dipped is thrown over the dead man's\nhouse and each member of the sept drinks a little and is pure.\n\n\n\n5. Caste _panchayat_ and social penalties.\n\n\nThe head of the caste is always a member of the Sonwani sept and is\nknown as Raja. It is his business to administer water in which gold has\nbeen dipped (_sona-pani_) to offenders as a means of purification, and\nfrom this the name of the sept is derived. The Raja has no deputy, and\nofficiates in all ceremonies of the caste; he receives no contribution\nfrom the caste, but a double share of food and sweetmeats when they\nare distributed. The other members of the Panch he is at liberty\nto choose from any _got_ or sept he likes. When a man has been put\nout of caste for a serious offence he has to give three feasts for\nreadmission. The first meal consists of a goat with rice and pulse,\nand is eaten on the bank of a stream; on this occasion the head of the\noffender is shaved clean and all the hair thrown into the stream. The\nsecond meal is eaten in the yard of his house, and consists of cakes\nfried in butter with rice and pulse. The offender is not allowed\nto partake of either the first or second meal. On the third day the\nRaja gives the offender gold-water, and he is then considered to be\npurified and cooks food himself, which the caste-people eat with him\nin his house. A man is not put out of caste when he is sent to jail,\nas this is considered to be an order of the Government. A man keeping\na woman of another caste is expelled and not reinstated until he has\nput her away, and even then it is said that they will consider his\ncharacter before taking him back. A man who gets maggots in a wound\nmay be readmitted to caste only during the months of Chait and Pus.\n\n\n\n6. Occupation and social customs.\n\n\nThe Dhobas act as priests of the Gonds and are also cultivators. Their\nsocial position is distinctly higher than that of the Gonds and some\nof them have begun to employ Brahmans for their ceremonies. They\nwill eat the flesh of most animals, except those of the cow-tribe,\nand also field-mice, and most of them drink liquor, though the more\nprominent members have begun to abstain. The origin of the caste is\nvery obscure, but it would appear that they must be an offshoot of\none of the Dravidian tribes. In this connection it is interesting\nto note that Chhattisgarh contains a large number of Dhobis, though\nthe people of this tract have until recently worn little in the way\nof clothing, and usually wash it themselves when this operation is\njudged necessary. Many of the Dhobis of Chhattisgarh are cultivators,\nand it seems possible that a proportion of them may also really belong\nto this Dhoba caste.\n\n\n\n\n\n\nDhobi\n\n\n\nList of Paragraphs\n\n\n    1. _Character and structure of the caste._\n    2. _Marriage customs._\n    3. _Other social customs._\n    4. _Religion._\n    5. _Occupation: washing clothes._\n    6. _Social position._\n    7. _Proverbs about the Dhobi._\n    8. _Wearing and lending the clothes of customers._\n\n\n\n1. Character and structure of the caste.\n\n\n_Dhobi, Warthi, Baretha, Chakla, Rajak, Parit._--The professional\ncaste of washermen. The name is derived from the Hindi _dhona_,\nand the Sanskrit _dhav_, to wash. Warthi is the Maratha name for the\ncaste, and Bareth or Baretha is an honorific or complimentary term of\naddress. Rajak and Parit are synonyms, the latter being used in the\nMaratha Districts. The Chakla caste of Madras are leather-workers,\nbut in Chanda a community of persons is found who are known as Chakla\nand are professional washermen. In 1911 the Dhobis numbered 165,000\npersons in the Central Provinces and Berar, or one to every hundred\ninhabitants. They are numerous in the Districts with large towns and\nalso in Chhattisgarh, where, like the Dhobas of Bengal, they have to\na considerable extent abandoned their hereditary profession and taken\nto cultivation and other callings. No account worth reproduction has\nbeen obtained of the origin of the caste. In the Central Provinces\nit is purely functional, as is shown by its subdivisions; these\nare generally of a territorial nature, and indicate that the Dhobis\nlike the other professional castes have come here from all parts of\nthe country. Instances of the subcastes are: Baonia and Beraria from\nBerar; Malwi, Bundelkhandi, Nimaria, Kanaujia, Udaipuria from Udaipur;\nMadrasi, Dharampuria from Dharampur, and so on. A separate subcaste\nis formed of Muhammadan Dhobis. The exogamous groups known as _khero_\nare of the usual low-caste type, taking their names from villages or\ntitular or professional terms.\n\n\n\n2. Marriage customs.\n\n\nMarriage within the _khero_ is prohibited and also the union of first\ncousins. It is considered disgraceful to accept a price for a bride,\nand it is said that this is not done even by the parents of poor girls,\nbut the caste will in such cases raise a subscription to defray the\nexpenses of her marriage. In the northern Districts the marriages of\nDhobis are characterised by continuous singing and dancing at the\nhouses of the bridegroom and bride, these performances being known\nas _sajnai_ and _birha_. Some man also puts on a long coat, tight\ndown to the waist and loose round the hips, to have the appearance\nof a dancing-girl, and dances before the party, while two or three\nother men play. Mr. Crooke considers that this ritual, which is\nfound also among other low castes, resembles the European custom of\nthe False Bride and is intended to divert the evil eye from the real\nbride. He writes: [550] \"Now there are numerous customs which have\nbeen grouped in Europe under the name of the False Bride. Thus among\nthe Esthonians the false bride is enacted by the bride's brother\ndressed in woman's clothes; in Polonia by a bearded man called the\nWilde Braut; in Poland by an old woman veiled in white and lame;\nagain among the Esthonians by an old woman with a brickwork crown;\nin Brittany, where the substitutes are first a little girl, then the\nmistress of the house, and lastly the grandmother.\n\n\"The supposition may then be hazarded in the light of the Indian\nexamples that some one assumes on this occasion the part of the\nbride in order to divert on himself from her the envious glance of\nthe evil eye.\" Any further information on this interesting custom\nwould be welcome.\n\nThe remarriage of widows is allowed, and in Betul the bridegroom goes\nto the widow's house on a dark night wrapped up in a black blanket,\nand presents the widow with new clothes and bangles, and spangles and\nred lead for the forehead. Divorce is permitted with the approval of\nthe caste headman by the execution of a deed on stamped paper.\n\n\n\n3. Other social customs.\n\n\nAfter a birth the mother is allowed no food for some days except\ncountry sugar and dates. The child is given some honey and castor-oil\nfor the first two days and is then allowed to suckle the mother. A\npit is dug inside the lying-in room, and in this are deposited water\nand the first cuttings of the nails and hair of the child. It is\nfilled up and on her recovery the mother bows before it, praying for\nsimilar safe deliveries in future and for the immunity of the child\nfrom physical ailments. After the birth of a male child the mother\nis impure for seven days and for five days after that of a female.\n\n\n\n4. Religion.\n\n\nThe principal deity of the Dhobis is Ghatoia, the god of the\n_ghat_ or landing-place on the river to which they go to wash their\nclothes. Libations of liquor are made to him in the month of Asarh\n(June), when the rains break and the rivers begin to be flooded. Before\nentering the water to wash the clothes they bow to the stone on which\nthese are beaten out, asking that their work may be quickly finished;\nand they also pray to the river deity to protect them from snakes and\ncrocodiles. They worship the stone on the Dasahra festival, making\nan offering to it of flowers, turmeric and cooked food. The Dhobi's\nwashing-stone is believed to be haunted by the ghosts of departed\nDhobis when revisiting the glimpses of the moon, and is held to have\nmagical powers. If a man requires a love-charm he should steal a\n_supari_ or areca-nut from the bazar at night or on the occasion of\nan eclipse. The same night he goes to the Dhobi's stone and sets the\nnut upon it. He breaks an egg and a cocoanut over the stone and burns\nincense before it. Then he takes the nut away and gives it to the woman\nof his fancy, wrapped up in betel-leaf, and she will love him. Their\nchief festivals are the Holi and Diwali, at which they drink a great\ndeal. The dead are buried or burnt as may be convenient, and mourning\nis observed for three days only, the family being purified on the\nSunday or Wednesday following the death. They have a caste committee\nwhose president is known as Mehtar, while other officials are the\nChaudhri or vice-president, and the Badkur, who appoints dates for\nthe penal feasts and issues the summons to the caste-fellows. These\nposts are hereditary and their holders receive presents of a rupee\nand a cloth when members of the caste have to give expiatory feasts.\n\n\n\n5. Occupation: washing clothes.\n\n\nBefore washing his clothes the Dhobi steams them, [551] hanging\nthem in a bundle for a time over a cauldron of boiling water. After\nthis he takes them to a stream or pond and washes them roughly with\nfuller's earth. The washerman steps nearly knee-deep into the water,\nand taking a quantity of clothes by one end in his two hands he raises\nthem aloft in the air and brings them down heavily upon a huge stone\nslab, grooved, at his feet. This threshing operation he repeats until\nhis clothes are perfectly clean. In Saugor the clothes are rubbed\nwith wood-ashes at night and beaten out in water with a stick in the\nmorning. Silk clothes are washed with the nut of the _ritha_ tree\n(_Sapindus emarginatus_) which gives a lather like soap. Sir H. Risley\nwrites of the Dacca washermen: [552] \"For washing muslins and other\ncoloured garments well or spring water is alone used; but if the\narticles are the property of a poor man or are commonplace, the water\nof the nearest tank or river is accounted sufficiently good. Indigo is\nin as general use as in England for removing the yellowish tinge and\nwhitening the material. The water of the wells and springs bordering\non the red laterite formation on the north of the city has been for\ncenturies celebrated, and the old bleaching fields of the European\nfactories were all situated in this neighbourhood. Various plants\nare used by the Dhobis to clarify water such as the _nirmali_\n(_Strychnos potatorum_), the _piu_ (_Basella_), the _nagphani_\n(_Cactus indicus_) and several plants of the mallow family. Alum,\nthough not much valued, is sometimes used.\" In most Districts of\nthe Central Provinces the Dhobi is employed as a village servant and\nis paid by annual contributions of grain from the cultivators. For\nordinary washing he gets half as much as the blacksmith or carpenter,\nor 13 to 20 lbs. of grain annually from each householder, with\nabout another 10 lbs. at seedtime or harvest. When he brings the\nclothes home he also receives a meal or a _chapati_, and well-to-do\npersons give him their old clothes as a present. In return for this\nhe washes all the clothes of the family two or three times a month,\nexcept the loin-cloths and women's bodices which they themselves wash\ndaily. The Dhobi is also employed on the occasion of a birth or a\ndeath. These events cause impurity and hence all the clothes of all\nthe members of the family must be washed when the impurity ceases. In\nSaugor when a man dies the Dhobi receives eight annas and for a woman\nfour annas, and similar rates in the case of the birth of a male or\nfemale child. When the first son is born in a family the Dhobi and\nbarber place a brass vessel on the top of a pole and tie a flag to\nit as a cloth and take it round to all the friends and relations of\nthe family, announcing the event. They receive presents of grain and\nmoney which they expend on a drinking-bout.\n\n\n\n6. Social position.\n\n\nThe Dhobi is considered to be impure, and he is not allowed\nto come into the houses of the better castes nor to touch their\nwater-vessels. In Saugor he may come as far as the veranda but not into\nthe house. His status would in any case be low as a village menial, but\nhe is specially degraded, Mr. Crooke states, by his task of washing the\nclothes of women after child-birth and his consequent association with\npuerperal blood, which is particularly abhorred. Formerly a Brahman\ndid not let the Dhobi wash his clothes, or, if he did, they were\nagain steeped in water in the house as a means of purification. Now\nhe contents himself with sprinkling the clean clothes with water in\nwhich a piece of gold has been dipped. The Dhobi is not so impure as\nthe Chamar and Basor, and if a member of the higher castes touches\nhim inadvertently it is considered sufficient to wash the face and\nhands only and not the clothes.\n\nColonel Tod writes [553] that in Rajputana the washermen's wells dug at\nthe sides of streams are deemed the most impure of all receptacles. And\none of the most binding oaths is that a man as he swears should drop\na pebble into one of these wells, saying, \"If I break this oath may\nall the good deeds of my forefathers fall into the washerman's well\nlike this pebble.\" Nevertheless the Dhobi refuses to wash the clothes\nof some of the lowest castes as the Mang, Mahar and Chamar. Like\nthe Teli the Dhobi is unlucky, and it is a bad omen to see him when\nstarting on a journey or going out in the morning. But among some of\nthe higher castes on the occasion of a marriage the elder members of\nthe bridegroom's family go with the bride to the Dhobi's house. His\nwife presents the bride with betel-leaf and in return is given clothes\nwith a rupee. This ceremony is called _sohag_ or good fortune, and\nthe present from the Dhobin is supposed to be lucky. In Berar the\nDhobi is also a Balutedar or village servant. Mr. Kitts writes of him:\n[554] \"At a wedding he is called upon to spread the clothes on which\nthe bridegroom and his party alight on coming to the bride's house;\nhe also provides the cloth on which the bride and bridegroom are to\nsit and fastens the _kankan_ (bracelet) on the girl's hand. In the\nYeotmal District the barber and the washerman sometimes take the place\nof the maternal uncle in the _jhenda_ dance; and when the bridegroom,\nassisted by five married women, has thrown the necklace of black beads\nround the bride's neck and has tied it with five knots, the barber\nand the washerman advance, and lifting the young couple on their\nthighs dance to the music of the _wajantri_, while the bystanders\nbesprinkle them with red powder.\"\n\nIn Chhattisgarh the Dhobis appear to have partly abandoned\ntheir hereditary profession and taken to agriculture and other\ncallings. Sir Benjamin Robertson writes of them: [555] \"The caste\nlargely preponderates in Chhattisgarh, a part of the country where,\nat least to the superficial observer, it would hardly seem as if its\nservices were much availed of; the number of Dhobis in Raipur and\nBilaspur is nearly 40,000. In both Districts the washerman is one\nof the recognised village servants, but as a rule he gets no fixed\npayment, and the great body of cultivators dispense with his services\naltogether. According to the _Raipur Settlement Report_ (Mr. Hewett),\nhe is employed by the ryots only to wash the clothes of the dead, and\nhe is never found among a population of Satnamis. It may therefore\nbe assumed that in Chhattisgarh the Bareth caste has largely taken\nto cultivation.\" In Bengal Sir H. Risley states [556] that \"the Dhobi\noften gives up his caste trade and follows the profession of a writer,\nmessenger or collector of rent (_tahsildar_), and it is an old native\ntradition that a Bengali Dhobi was the first interpreter the English\nfactory at Calcutta had, while it is further stated that our early\ncommercial transactions were carried on solely through the agency of\nlow-caste natives. The Dhobi, however, will never engage himself as\nan indoor servant in the house of a European.\"\n\n\n\n7. Proverbs about the Dhobi.\n\n\nLike the other castes who supply the primary needs of the people,\nthe Dhobi is not regarded with much favour by his customers, and they\nrevenge themselves in various sarcasms at his expense for the injury\ncaused to their clothes by his drastic measures. The following are\nmentioned by Sir G. Grierson: [557] '_Dhobi par Dhobi base, tab kapre\npar sabun pare_', or 'When many Dhobis compete, then some soap gets\nto the clothes,' and 'It is only the clothes of the Dhobi's father\nthat never get torn.' The Dhobi's donkey is a familiar sight as\none meets him on the road still toiling as in the time of Issachar\nbetween two bundles of clothes each larger than himself, and he has\nalso become proverbial, '_Dhobi ka gadha neh ghar ka neh ghat ka_,'\n'The Dhobi's donkey is always on the move'; and 'The ass has only\none master (a washerman), and the washerman has only one steed (an\nass).' The resentment felt for the Dhobi by his customers is not\nconfined to his Indian clients, as may be seen from Eha's excellent\ndescription of the Dhobi in _Behind the Bungalow_; and it may perhaps\nbe permissible to introduce here the following short excerpt, though\nit necessarily loses in force by being detached from the context:\n\"Day after day he has stood before that great black stone and wreaked\nhis rage upon shirt and trouser and coat, and coat and trouser and\nshirt. Then he has wrung them as if he were wringing the necks of\npoultry, and fixed them on his drying line with thorns and spikes,\nand finally he has taken the battered garments to his torture chamber\nand ploughed them with his iron, longwise and crosswise and slantwise,\nand dropped glowing cinders on their tenderest places. Son has followed\nfather through countless generations in cultivating this passion for\ndestruction, until it has become the monstrous growth which we see\nand shudder at in the Dhobi.\"\n\n\n\n8. Wearing and lending the clothes of customers.\n\n\nIt is also currently believed that the Dhobi wears the clothes of his\ncustomers himself. Thus, 'The Dhobi looks smart in other people's\nclothes'; and '_Rajache shiri, Paritache tiri_,' or 'The king's\nheadscarf is the washerman's loin-cloth.' On this point Mr. Thurston\nwrites of the Madras washerman: \"It is an unpleasant reflection\nthat the Vannans or washermen add to their income by hiring out\nthe clothes of their customers for funeral parties, who lay them\non the path before the pall-bearers, so that they may not step upon\nthe ground. On one occasion a party of Europeans, when out shooting\nnear the village of a hill tribe, met a funeral procession on its\nway to the burial-ground. The bier was draped in many folds of clean\ncloth, which one of the party recognised by the initials as one of\nhis bed-sheets. Another identified as his sheet the cloth on which\nthe corpse was lying. He cut off the corner with the initial, and a\nfew days later the sheet was returned by the Dhobi, who pretended\nignorance of the mutilation, and gave as an explanation that it\nmust have been done in his absence by one of his assistants.\" [558]\nAnd Eha describes the same custom in the following amusing manner:\n\"Did you ever open your handkerchief with the suspicion that you had\ngot a duster into your pocket by mistake, till the name of De Souza\nblazoned on the corner showed you that you were wearing some one\nelse's property? An accident of this kind reveals a beneficent branch\nof the Dhobi's business, one in which he comes to the relief of needy\nrespectability. Suppose yourself (if you can) to be Mr. Lobo, enjoying\nthe position of first violinist in a string band which performs at\nParsi weddings and on other festive occasions. _Noblesse oblige_; you\ncannot evade the necessity for clean shirt-fronts, ill able as your\nprecarious income may be to meet it. In these circumstances a Dhobi\nwith good connections is what you require. He finds you in shirts of\nthe best quality at so much an evening, and you are saved all risk and\noutlay of capital; you need keep no clothes except a greenish-black\nsurtout and pants and an effective necktie. In this way the wealth\nof the rich helps the want of the poor without their feeling it\nor knowing it--an excellent arrangement. Sometimes, unfortunately,\nMr. Lobo has a few clothes of his own, and then, as I have hinted,\nthe Dhobi may exchange them by mistake, for he is uneducated and\nhas much to remember; but if you occasionally suffer in this way you\ngain in another, for Mr. Lobo's family are skilful with the needle,\nand I have sent a torn garment to the wash which returned carefully\nrepaired.\" [559]\n\n\n\nDhuri\n\n\n\n1. Origin and Subdivisions.\n\n\n_Dhuri._ [560]--A caste belonging exclusively to Chhattisgarh, which\nnumbered 3000 persons in 1911. Dhuri is an honorific abbreviation\nfrom Dhuriya as Bani from Bania. The special occupation of the caste\nis rice-parching, and they are an offshoot from Kahars, though in\nChhattisgarh the Dhuris now consider the Kahars as a subcaste of\ntheir own. In Bengal the Dhuriyas are a subcaste of the Kandus or\nBharbhunjas. Sir H. Risley states that \"the Dhurias rank lowest of\nall the subcastes of Kandus, owing either to their having taken up\nthe comparatively menial profession of palanquin-bearing, or to their\nbeing a branch of the Kahar caste who went in for grain-parching and\nthus came to be associated with the Kandus.\" [561] The caste have\nimmigrated to Chhattisgarh from the United Provinces. In Kawardha\nthey believe that the Raja of that State brought them back with him\non his return from a pilgrimage. In Bilaspur and Raipur they say\nthey came from Badhar, a pargana in the Mirzapur District, adjoining\nRewah. Badhar is mentioned in one of the Rajim inscriptions, and is a\nplace remembered by other castes of Chhattisgarh as their ancestral\nhome. The Dhuris of Chhattisgarh relate their origin as follows:\nMahadeo went once to the jungle and the damp earth stuck to his\nfeet. He scraped it off and made it into a man, and asked him what\ncaste he would like to belong to. The man said he would leave it to\nMahadeo, who decided that he should be called Dhuri from _dhur,_\ndust. The man then asked Mahadeo to assign him an occupation, and\nMahadeo said that as he was made from dust, which is pounded earth,\nhis work should be to prepare _cheora_ or pounded rice, and added as a\nspecial distinction that all castes including Brahmans should eat the\npounded rice prepared by him. All castes do eat _cheora_ because it is\nnot boiled with water. The Dhuris have two subcastes, a higher and a\nlower, but they are known by different names in different tracts. In\nKawardha they are called Raj Dhuri and Cheorakuta, the Raj Dhuris\nbeing the descendants of personal servants in the Raja's family and\nranking above the Cheorakutas or rice-pounders. In Bilaspur they are\ncalled Badharia and Khawas, and in Raipur Badharia and Desha. The\nKhawas and Desha subcastes do menial household service and rank\nbelow the Badharias, who are perhaps later immigrants and refuse to\nengage in this occupation. The names of their exogamous sections are\nnearly all territorial, as Naugahia from Naogaon in Bilaspur District,\nAgoria from Agori, a pargana in Mirzapur District, Kashi or Benares,\nand a number of other names derived from villages in Bilaspur. But the\ncaste do not strictly enforce the rule forbidding marriage within the\n_gotra_ or section, and are content with avoiding three generations\nboth on the father's and mother's side. They have probably been driven\nto modify the rule on account of the paucity of their numbers and the\ndifficulty of arranging marriages. For the same reason perhaps they\nlook with indulgence on the practice, as a rule strictly prohibited,\nof marriage with a woman of another caste of lower social rank, and\nwill admit the children of such a marriage into the caste, though\nnot the woman herself.\n\n\n\n2. Marriage.\n\n\nInfant-marriage is in vogue, and polygamy is permitted only if the\nfirst wife be barren. The betrothal is cemented by an exchange of\nbetel-leaves and areca-nuts between the fathers of the engaged\ncouple. A bride-price of from ten to twenty rupees is usually\npaid. Some rice, a pice coin, 21 cowries and 21 pieces of turmeric\nare placed in the hole in which the marriage post is erected. When\nthe wedding procession arrives at the girl's house the bridegroom\ngoes to the marriage-shed and pulls out the festoons of mango\nleaves, the bride's family trying to prevent him by offering him\na winnowing-fan. He then approaches the door of the house, behind\nwhich his future mother-in-law is standing, and slips a piece of\ncloth through the door for her. She takes this and retires without\nbeing seen. The wedding consists of the _bhanwar_ ceremony or walking\nround the sacred pole. During the proceedings the women tie a new\nthread round the bridegroom's neck to avert the evil eye. After\nthe wedding the bride and bridegroom, in opposition to the usual\ncustom, must return to the latter's house on foot. In explanation\nof this they tell a story to the effect that the married couple\nwere formerly carried in a palanquin. But on one occasion when a\nwedding procession came to a river, everybody began to catch fish,\nleaving the bride deserted, and the palanquin-bearers, seeing this,\ncarried her off. To prevent the recurrence of such a mischance the\ncouple now have to walk. Widow-marriage is permitted, and the widow\nusually marries her late husband's younger brother. Divorce is only\npermitted for misconduct on the part of the wife.\n\n\n\n3. Religious beliefs.\n\n\nThe Dhuris principally worship the goddess Devi. Nearly all members\nof the caste belong to the Kabirpanthi sect. They believe that the\nsun on setting goes through the earth, and that the milky way is the\npath by which the elephant of the heavens passes from south to north\nto feed on the young bamboo shoots, of which he is very fond. They\nthink that the constellation of the Great Bear is a cot with three\nthieves tied to it. The thieves came to steal the cot, which belonged\nto an old woman, but God caught them and tied them down there for\never. Orion is the plough left by one of the Pandava brothers after\nhe had finished tilling the heavens. The dead are burnt. They observe\nmourning during nine or ten days for an adult and make libations to the\ndead at the usual period in the month of Kunwar (September-October).\n\n\n\n4. Occupation and social status.\n\n\nThe proper occupation of the caste is to parch rice. The rice is husked\nand then parched in an earthen pan, and subsequently bruised with a\nmallet in a wooden mortar. When prepared in this manner it is called\n_cheora_. The Dhuris also act as _khidmatgars_ or household servants,\nbut the members of the Badharia subcaste refuse to do this work. Some\nmembers of the caste are fishermen, and others grow melons and sweet\npotatoes. Considering that they live in Chhattisgarh, the caste are\nsomewhat scrupulous in the matter of food, neither eating fowls nor\ndrinking liquor. The Kawardha Dhuris, however, who are later immigrants\nthan the others, do not observe these restrictions, the reason for\nwhich may be that the Dhuris think it necessary to be strict in the\nmatter of food, so that no one may object to take parched rice from\nthem. Rawats and Gonds take food from their hands in some places,\nand their social status in Chhattisgarh is about equivalent to that\nof the Rawats or Ahirs. A man of the caste who kills a cow or gets\nvermin in a wound must go to Amarkantak to bathe in the Nerbudda.\n\n\n\nDumal\n\n\n\n1. Origin and traditions.\n\n\n_Dumal._ [562]--An agricultural caste found in the Uriya country\nand principally in the Sonpur State, recently transferred to Bihar\nand Orissa. In 1901, 41,000 Dumals were enumerated in the Central\nProvinces, but only a few persons now remain. The caste originally\ncame from Orissa. They themselves say that they were formerly a branch\nof the Gaurs, with whom they now have no special connection. They\nderive their name from a village called Dumba Hadap in the Athmalik\nState, where they say that they lived. Another story is that Dumal\nis derived from Duma, the name of a gateway in Baud town, near which\nthey dwelt. Sir H. Risley says: \"The Dumals or Jadupuria Gaura seem to\nbe a group of local formation. They cherish the tradition that their\nancestors came to Orissa from Jadupur, but this appears to be nothing\nmore than the name of the Jadavas or Yadavas, the mythical progenitors\nof the Goala caste transformed into the name of an imaginary town.\"\n\n\n\n2. Subdivisions.\n\n\nThe Dumals have no subcastes, but they have a complicated system of\nexogamy. This includes three kinds of divisions or sections, the _got_\nor sept, the _barga_ or family title and the _mitti_ or earth from\nwhich they sprang, that is, the name of the original village of the\nclan. Marriage is prohibited only between persons who have the same\n_got_, _barga_ and _mitti_; if any one of these is different it is\nallowed. Thus a man of the Nag _got_, Padhan _barga_ and Hindolsai\n_mitti_ may marry a girl of the Nag _got_, Padhan _barga_ and Kandhpada\n_mitti_; or one of the Nag _got_, Karmi _barga_ and Hindolsai _mitti_;\nor one of the Bud _got_, Padhan _barga_ and Hindolsai _mitti_. The\n_bargas_ are very numerous, but the _gots_ and _mittis_ are few and\ncommon to many _bargas_; and many people have forgotten the name\nof their _mitti_ altogether. Marriage therefore usually depends on\nthe _bargas_ being different. The following table shows the _got_,\n_barga_ and _mitti_ of a few families:\n\n\nGot.                Barga.                  Mitti.\n\nNag (cobra)         Padhan (chief)          Hindolsai\nNag                 Karmi (manager)         Unda (a village in Athmalik)\nNag                 Behra (Palki-bearer)    Kandhpada (a village in Athmalik)\nNag                 Mahakul (great family)      Do.                   do.\nNag                 Mesua (shepherd)        Dalpur (a village in Baud)\nNag                 Karan (writer)          Kandhpada (a village in Athmalik)\nNag or Nagesh       Mahakul (great family)  Bamanda (a village in Baud)\nBud (a fish)        Kolta (caste)           Kandhpada (a village in Athmalik)\nBud (a fish)        Baghar (buffalo)            Do.                   do.\nBichhu (scorpion)   Mahakul (great family)  Bamada (a village in Baud)\n\n\nThe only other _gots_ besides those given above are Kachhap (tortoise),\nUluk (owl) and Limb (_nim_-tree). The _gots_ are thus totemistic,\nand the animal or plant giving its name to the _got_ is venerated\nand worshipped. The names of _bargas_ are diverse. Some are titles\nindicating the position of the founder of the family in life, as Naik\n(leader), Padhan (chief), Karmi (manager), Mahakul (great family) and\nso on. Others are derived from functions performed in sacrifices,\nas Amayat (one who kills the animal in the sacrifice), Gurandi\n(one who makes a preparation of sugar for it), Dehri (priest), Barik\n(one who carries the god's umbrella), Kamp (one who is in charge of\nthe baskets containing the sacred articles of the temple). Another\nset of _bargas_ are names signifying the performance of menial\nfunctions in household service, as Gejo (kitchen-cleaner), Chaulia\n(rice-cleaner), Gadua (_lota_-bearer), Dang (spoon-bearer), Ghusri\n(cleaner of the dining-place with cowdung). Other names of _bargas_\nare derived from the caste's traditional occupation of grazing cattle,\nas Mesua or Mendli (shepherd), Gaigariya (milkman), Chhand (one who\nties a rope to the legs of a cow when milking her). These names are\ninteresting as showing that the Dumals before taking to their present\noccupation of agriculture were temple servants, household menials\nand cattle-herds, thus fulfilling the functions now performed by the\nRawat or Gaur caste of graziers in Sambalpur. The names of the _mittis_\nor villages show that their original home was in the Orissa Tributary\nMahals, while the totemistic names of _gots_ indicate their Dravidian\norigin. The marriage of first cousins is prohibited.\n\n\n\n3. Marriage.\n\n\nGirls must be married before adolescence, and in the event of the\nparents failing to accomplish this, the following heavy penalty is\nimposed on the girl herself. She is taken to the forest and tied to a\ntree with thread, this proceeding signifying her permanent exclusion\nfrom the caste. Any one belonging to another caste can then take her\naway and marry her if he chooses to do so. In practice, however, this\npenalty is very rarely imposed, as the parents can get out of it by\nmarrying her to an old man, whether he is already married or not, the\nparents bearing all the expenses, while the husband gives two to four\nannas as a nominal contribution. After the marriage the old man can\neither keep the girl as his wife or divorce her for a further nominal\npayment of eight annas to a rupee. She then becomes a widow and can\nmarry again, while her parents will get ten or twenty rupees for her.\n\nThe boy's father makes the proposal for the marriage according to\nthe following curious formula. Taking some fried grain he goes to the\nhouse of the father of the bride and addresses him as follows in the\npresence of the neighbours and the relatives of both parties: \"I hear\nthat the tree has budded and a blossom has come out; I intend to pluck\nit.\" To which the girl's father replies: \"The flower is delicate; it is\nin the midst of an ocean and very difficult to approach: how will you\npluck it?\" To which the reply is: 'I shall bring ships and _dongas_\n(boats) and ply them in the ocean and fetch the flower.' And again:\n\"If you do pluck it, can you support it? Many difficulties may stand in\nthe way, and the flower may wither or get lost; will it be possible for\nyou to steer the flower's boat in the ocean of time, as long as it is\ndestined to be in this world?\" To which the answer is: 'Yes, I shall,\nand it is with that intention that I have come to you.' On which the\ngirl's father finally says: 'Very well then, I have given you the\nflower.' The question of the bride's price is then discussed. There\nare three recognised scales--Rs. 7 and 7 pieces of cloth, Rs. 9 and\n9 pieces of cloth, and Rs. 18 and 18 pieces of cloth. The rupees in\nquestion are those of Orissa, and each of them is worth only two-thirds\nof a Government rupee. In cases of extreme poverty Rs. 2 and 2 pieces\nof cloth are accepted. The price being fixed, the boy's father goes to\npay it after an interval; and on this occasion he holds out his cloth,\nand a cocoanut is placed on it and broken by the girl's father, which\nconfirms the betrothal. Before the marriage seven married girls go out\nand dig earth after worshipping the ground, and on their return let it\nall fall on to the head of the bridegroom's mother, which is protected\nonly by a cloth. On the next day offerings are made to the ancestors,\nwho are invited to attend the ceremony as village gods. The bridegroom\nis shaved clean and bathed, and the Brahman then ties an iron ring\nto his wrist, and the barber puts the turban and marriage-crown on\nhis head. The procession then starts, but any barber who meets it on\nthe way may put a fresh marriage-crown on the bridegroom's head and\nreceive eight annas or a rupee for it, so that he sometimes arrives\nat his destination wearing four or five of them. The usual ceremonies\nattend the arrival. At the marriage the couple are blindfolded and\nseated in the shed, while the Brahman priest repeats _mantras_ or\nverses, and during this time the parents and the parties must continue\nplacing nuts and pice all over the shed. These are the perquisites\nof the Brahman. The hands of the couple are then tied together with\n_kusha_ grass (_Eragrostis cynosuroides_), and water is poured over\nthem. After the ceremony the couple gamble with seven cowries and seven\npieces of turmeric. The boy then presses a cowrie on the ground with\nhis little finger, and the girl has to take it away, which she easily\ndoes. The girl in her turn holds a cowrie inside her clenched hand,\nand the boy has to remove it with his little finger, which he finds\nit impossible to do. Thus the boy always loses and has to promise the\ngirl something, either to give her an ornament or to take her on a\npilgrimage, or to make her the mistress of his house. On the fifth\nor last day of the ceremony some curds are placed in a small pot,\nand the couple are made to churn them; this is probably symbolical of\nthe caste's original occupation of tending cattle. The bride goes to\nher husband's house for three days, and then returns home. When she\nis to be finally brought to her husband's house, his father with some\nrelatives goes to the parents of the girl and asks for her. It is now\nstrict etiquette for her father to refuse to send her on the first\noccasion, and they usually have to call on him three or four times at\nintervals of some days, and selecting the days given by the astrologer\nas auspicious. Occasionally they have to go as many as ten times;\nbut finally, if the girl's father proves very troublesome, they send\nan old woman who drags away the girl by force. If the father sends her\naway willingly he gives her presents of several basket-loads of grain,\noil, turmeric, cooking-pots, cloth, and if he is well off a cow and\nbullocks, the value of the presents amounting to about Rs. 50. The\ngirl's brother takes her to her husband's house, where a repetition of\nthe marriage ceremony on a small scale is performed. Twice again after\nthe consummation of the marriage she visits her parents for periods\nof one and six months, but after this she never again goes to their\nhouse unaccompanied by her husband. Widow-marriage is allowed, and the\nwidow may marry the younger brother of her late husband or not as she\npleases. But if she marries another man he must pay a sum of Rs. 10\nto Rs. 20 for her, of which Rs. 5 go to the Panua or headman of the\ncaste, and Rs. 2 to their tutelary goddess Parmeshwari. The children\nby the first husband are kept either by his relatives or the widow's\nparents, and do not go to the new husband. When a bachelor marries a\nwidow, he is first married to a flower or _sahara _tree. A widow who\nhas remarried cannot take part in any worship or marriage ceremony\nin her house, not even in the marriage of her own sons. Divorce is\nallowed, and is effected in the presence of the caste _panchayat_\nor committee. A divorced woman may marry again.\n\n\n\n4. Religious and social customs.\n\n\nThe caste worship the goddess Parmeshwari, the wife of Vishnu, and\nJagannath, the Uriya incarnation of Vishnu. Parmeshwari is worshipped\nby Brahmans, who offer bread and _khir_ or rice and milk to her;\ngoats are also offered by the Dehri or Mahakul, the caste priest,\nwho receives the heads of the goats as his remuneration. They believe\nin witches, who they think drink the blood of children, and employ\nsorcerers to exorcise them. They worship a stick on Dasahra day in\nremembrance of their old profession of herding cattle, and they worship\ncows and buffaloes at the full moon of Shrawan (July-August). During\nKunwar, on the eighth day of each fortnight, two festivals are\nheld. At the first each girl in the family wears a thread containing\neighteen knots twisted three times round her neck. All the girls fast\nand receive presents of cloths and grain from their brothers. This is\ncalled Bhaijiuntia, or the ceremony for the welfare of the brothers. On\nthe second day the mother of the family does the same, and receives\npresents from her sons, this being Puajiuntia, or the ceremony for the\nwelfare of sons. The Dumals believe that in the beginning water covered\nthe earth. They think that the sun and moon are the eyes of God, and\nthat the stars are the souls of virtuous men, who enjoy felicity in\nheaven for the period measured by the sum of their virtuous actions,\nand when this has expired have to descend again to earth to suffer the\nagonies of human life. When a shooting star is seen they think it is\nthe soul of one of these descending to be born again on earth. They\nboth burn and bury their dead according to their means. After a body\nis buried they make a fire over the grave and place an empty pot on\nit. Mourning is observed for twelve days in the case of a married\nand for seven in the case of an unmarried person. Children dying\nwhen less than six days old are not mourned at all. During mourning\nthe persons of the household do not cook for themselves. On the third\nday after the death three leaf-plates, each containing a little rice,\nsugar and butter, are offered to the spirit of the deceased. On the\nfourth day four such plates are offered, and on the fifth day five,\nand so on up to the ninth day when the Pindas or sacrificial cakes\nare offered, and nine persons belonging to the caste are invited, food\nand a new piece of cloth being given to each. Should only one attend,\nnine plates of food would be served to him, and he would be given\nnine pieces of cloth. If two or more persons in a family are killed\nby a tiger, a Sulia or magician is called in, and he pretends to be\nthe tiger and to bite some one in the family, who is then carried as\na corpse to the burial-place, buried for a short time and taken out\nagain. All the ceremonies of mourning are observed for him for one\nday. This proceeding is believed to secure immunity for the family from\nfurther attacks. In return for his services the Sulia gets a share\nof everything in the house corresponding to what he would receive,\nsupposing he were a member of the family, on a partition. Thus if\nthe family consisted of only two persons he would get a third part\nof the whole property.\n\nThe Dumals eat meat, including wild boar's flesh, but not beef,\nfowls or tame pigs. They do not drink liquor. They will take food\ncooked with water from Brahmans and Sudhs, and even the leavings of\nfood from Brahmans. This is probably because they were formerly the\nhousehold servants of Brahmans, though they have now risen somewhat\nin position and rank, together with the Koltas and Sudhs, as a good\ncultivating caste. Their women and girls can easily be distinguished,\nthe girls because the hair is shaved until they are married, and the\nwomen because they wear bangles of glass on one arm and of lac on the\nother. They never wear nose-rings or the ornament called _pairi_ on\nthe feet, and no ornaments are worn on the arm above the elbow. They\ndo not wear black clothing. The women are tattooed on the hands, feet\nand breast. Morality within the caste is lax. A woman going wrong\nwith a man of her own caste is not punished, because the Dumals live\ngenerally in Native States, where it is the business of the Raja to\nfind the seducer. But she is permanently excommunicated for a _liaison_\nwith a man of another caste. Eating with a very low caste is almost\nthe only offence which entails permanent exclusion for both sexes. The\nDumals have a bad reputation for fidelity, according to a saying:\n'You cannot call the jungle a plain, and you should not call the\nDumal a brother,' that is, do not trust a Dumal. Like the Ahirs they\nare somewhat stupid, and when enquiry was being made from them as to\nwhat crops they did not grow, one of them replied that they did not\nsow salt. They are good cultivators, and will grow anything except\nhemp and turmeric. In some places they still follow their traditional\noccupation of grazing cattle.\n\n\n\nFakir\n\n\n\n1. General notice.\n\n\n_Fakir._ [563]--The class of Muhammadan beggars. In the Central\nProvinces the name is practically confined to Muhammadans, but in\nUpper India Hindus also use it. Nearly 9000 Fakirs were returned\nin 1911, being residents mainly of Districts with large towns, as\nJubbulpore, Nagpur and Amraoti. Nearly two-fifths of the Muhammadans\nof the Central Provinces live in towns, and Muhammadan beggars\nwould naturally congregate there also. The name is derived from the\nArabic _fakr_, poverty. The Fakirs are often known as Shah, Lord,\nor Sain, a corruption of the Sanskrit Swami, master. Muhammad did\nnot recognise religious ascetism, and expressly discouraged it. But\neven during his lifetime his companions Abu Bakr and Ali established\nreligious orders with Zikrs or special exercises, and all Muhammadan\nFakirs trace their origin to Abu Bakr or Ali subsequently the first\nand fourth Caliphs. [564] The Fakirs are divided into two classes,\nthe Ba Shara or those who live according to the rules of Islam and\nmarry; and the Be Shara or those without the law. These latter have\nno wives or homes; they drink intoxicating liquor, and neither fast,\npray nor rule their passions. But several of the orders contain both\nmarried and celibate groups.\n\n\n\n2. Principal orders.\n\n\nThe principal classes of Fakirs in the Central Provinces are\nthe Madari, Gurujwale or Rafai, Jalali, Mewati, Sada Sohagal and\nNakshbandia. All of these except the Nakshbandia are nominally at\nleast Be Shara, or without the law, and celibate.\n\nThe Madari are the followers of one Madar Shah, a converted Jew\nof Aleppo, whose tomb is supposed to be at Makhanpur in the United\nProvinces. Their characteristic badge is a pair of pincers. Some, in\norder to force people to give them alms, go about dragging a chain or\nlashing their legs with a whip. Others are monkey- and bear-trainers\nand rope-dancers. The Madaris are said to be proof against snakes and\nscorpions, and to have power to cure their bites. They will leap into\na fire and trample it down, crying out, '_Aam Madar, Aam Madar_.' [565]\n\nThe Gurujwale or Rafai have as their badge a spiked iron club with\nsmall chains attached to the end. The Fakir rattles the chains of\nhis club to announce his presence, and if the people will not give\nhim alms strikes at his own cheek or eye with the sharp point of his\nclub, making the blood flow. They make prayers to their club once a\nyear, so that it may not cause them serious injury when they strike\nthemselves with it.\n\nThe Jalalias are named after their founder, Jalal-ud-din of Bokhara,\nand have a horse-whip as their badge, with which they sometimes\nstrike themselves on the hands and feet. They are said to consume\nlarge quantities of _bhang_, and to eat snakes and scorpions; they\nshave all the hair on the head and face, including the eyebrows,\nexcept a small scalp-lock on the right side.\n\nThe Mewati appear to be a thieving order. They are also known as\nKulchor or thieves of the family, and appear to have been originally\na branch of the Madari, who were perhaps expelled on account of their\nthieving habits. Their distinguishing mark is a double bag like a\npack-saddle, which they hang over their shoulders. The Sada or Musa\nSohag are an order who dress like women, put on glass bangles, have\ntheir ears and noses pierced for ornaments, and wear long hair, but\nretain their beards and moustaches. They regard themselves as brides\nof God or of Hussan, and beg in this guise.\n\nThe Nakshbandia are the disciples of Khwaja Mir Muhammad, who was\ncalled Nakshband or brocade-maker. They beg at night-time, carrying an\nopen brass lamp with a short wick. Children are fond of the Nakshband,\nand go out in numbers to give him money. In return he marks them on the\nbrow with oil from his lamp. They are quiet and well behaved, belonging\nto the Ba Shara class of Fakirs, and having homes and families.\n\nThe Kalandaria or wandering dervishes, who are occasionally met with,\nwere founded by Kalandar Yusuf-ul-Andalusi, a native of Spain. Having\nbeen dismissed from another order, he founded this as a new one, with\nthe obligation of perpetual travelling. The Kalandar is a well-known\nfigure in Eastern stories. [566]\n\nThe Maulawiyah are the well-known dancing dervishes of Constantinople\nand Cairo, but do not belong to India.\n\nThe different orders of Fakirs are not strictly endogamous, and\nmarriages can take place between their members, though the Madaris\nprefer to confine marriage to their own order. Fakirs as a body\nare believed to marry among themselves, and hence to form something\nin the nature of a caste, but they freely admit outsiders, whether\nMuhammadans or proselytised Hindus.\n\n\n\n3. Rules and customs.\n\n\nEvery Fakir must have a Murshid or preceptor, and be initiated by\nhim. This applies also to boys born in the order, and a father cannot\ninitiate his son. The rite is usually simple, the novice having\nto drink sherbet from the same cup as his preceptor and make him a\npresent of Rs. 1-4; but some orders insist that the whole body of\na novice should be shaved clean of hair before he is initiated. The\nprincipal religious exercise of Fakirs is known as Zikr, and consists\nin the continual repetition of the names of God by various methods, it\nbeing supposed that they can draw the name from different parts of the\nbody. The exercise is so exhausting that they frequently faint under\nit, and is varied by repetition of certain chapters of the Koran. The\nFakir has a _tasbih_ or rosary, often consisting of ninety-nine beads,\non which he repeats the ninety-nine names of God. The Fakirs beg\nboth from Hindus and Muhammadans, and are sometimes troublesome and\nimportunate, inflicting wounds on themselves as a means of extorting\nalms. One beggar in Saugor said that he would give every one who gave\nhim alms five strokes with his whip, and attracted considerable custom\nby this novel expedient. Some of them are in charge of Muhammadan\ncemeteries and receive fees for a burial, while others live at the\ntombs of saints. They keep the tomb in good repair, cover it with\na green cloth and keep a lighted lamp on it, and appropriate the\nofferings made by visitors. Owing to their solitude and continuous\nrepetition of prayers many Fakirs fall into a distraught condition,\nwhen they are known as _mast_, and are believed to be possessed of\na spirit. At such a time the people attach the greatest importance\nto any utterances which fall from the Fakir's lips, believing that\nhe has the gift of prophecy, and follow him about with presents to\ninduce him to make some utterance.\n\n\nEnd of vol. II\n\n\n\n\n\n\nNOTES\n\n\n[1] This article is compiled from papers by Mr. Mir Padshah, Tahsildar\nof Bilaspur, and Kanhya Lal, clerk in the Gazetteer office.\n\n[2] _Basi_ or rice boiled in water the previous day.\n\n[3] A measure containing about 2 1/2 lbs. of grain.\n\n[4] This article is mainly compiled from papers by the late\nMr. Baikunth Nath Pujari, Extra Assistant Commissioner, Sambalpur;\nSitaram, Head Master of the Raigarh English School, and Kanhya Lal,\nclerk in the Gazetteer office.\n\n[5] Now transferred to Bengal.\n\n[6] Dalton's _Ethnology of Bengal_, p. 322.\n\n[7] This article is mainly based on a paper on _Aghoris\nand Aghorpanthis_, by Mr. H. W. Barrow, in the _Journal\nAnthr. Soc. Bombay_, iii. p. 197.\n\n[8] Bhattacharya, _Hindu Castes and Sects_, p. 392.\n\n[9] _Aghoris and Aghorpanthis_, pp. 224, 226.\n\n[10] Page 208.\n\n[11] _The Tribune_ (Lahore), November 29, 1898, quoted in Oman's\n_Mystics, Ascetics and Saints of India_, pp. 164, 165.\n\n[12] _Studies of Indian Life and Sentiment_, p. 44.\n\n[13] The information about birth customs in this article is from a\npaper by Mr. Kalika Prasad, Tahsildar, Raj-Nandgaon State.\n\n[14] _Go_, _gau_ or _gai_, an ox or cow, and _pal_ or _palak_,\nguardian.\n\n[15] _Ind. Ant._ (Jan. 1911), 'Foreign Elements in the Hindu\nPopulation,' by Mr. D. R. Bhandarkar.\n\n[16] Elliot, _Supplemental Glossary_, _s.v._ Ahir.\n\n[17] _Early History of India_, 3rd ed. p. 286.\n\n[18] Elliot, _ibidem._\n\n[19] _Bombay Monograph on Ahir._\n\n[20] Elliot, _ibidem._\n\n[21] _Central Provinces Gazetteer_ (1871), Introduction.\n\n[22] _Linguistic Survey of India_, vol. ix. part ii. p. 50.\n\n[23] _Bombay Ethnographic Survey._\n\n[24] Quoted in _Tribes and Castes of Bengal_, art. Goala.\n\n[25] _Rajasthan_, ii. p. 639.\n\n[26] Gokul was the place where Krishna was brought up, and the\nGokulastha Gosains are his special devotees.\n\n[27] _Behind the Bungalow._\n\n[28] _Eastern India_, ii. p. 467.\n\n[29] Buchanan, _Eastern India_, ii. pp. 924, 943.\n\n[30] This article is mainly based on a paper by Mr. W. S. Slaney,\nE.A.C., Akola.\n\n[31] _Berar Census Report_ (1881).\n\n[32] _Tribes and Castes_, art. Arakh.\n\n[33] _Cajanus indicus._\n\n[34] _Berar Census Report_ (1881), p. 157.\n\n[35] Based on papers by Mr. Bijai Bahadur Royzada, Naib-Tahsildar\nHinganghat, and Munshi Kanhya Lal of the Gazetteer office.\n\n[36] A preparation of raisins and other fruits and rice.\n\n[37] The ordinary tola is a rupee weight or two-fifths of an ounce.\n\n[38] _Jasminum zambac._\n\n[39] _Michelia champaca._\n\n[40] _Phyllanthus emblica._\n\n[41] _Report on the Badhak or Bagri Dacoits and the Measures adopted\nby the Government of India for their Suppression_, printed in 1849.\n\n[42] Sleeman, p. 10.\n\n[43] Sleeman, p. 10.\n\n[44] Sleeman, p. 57.\n\n[45] Sleeman, p. 95.\n\n[46] Sleeman, p. 231.\n\n[47] Sleeman, p. 217.\n\n[48] Sleeman, p. 20.\n\n[49] Sleeman, p. 21.\n\n[50] Sleeman, p. 81.\n\n[51] Sleeman, p. 82.\n\n[52] Sleeman, p. 152.\n\n[53] Sleeman, p. 127. This passage is from a letter written by a\nmagistrate, Mr. Ramsay.\n\n[54] Sleeman, p. 129.\n\n[55] Sleeman, p. 112.\n\n[56] Sleeman, p. 124.\n\n[57] Sleeman, p. 125.\n\n[58] Sleeman, p. 147.\n\n[59] Sleeman, p. 104.\n\n[60] Sleeman, p. 110.\n\n[61] Sleeman, p. 131.\n\n[62] Sleeman, p. 205.\n\n[63] Sleeman, p. 106.\n\n[64] Malcolm's _Memoir of Central India_, ii. p. 479.\n\n[65] Crooke's _Tribes and Castes_, art. Bawaria.\n\n[66] _Sirsa Settlement Report._\n\n[67] It would appear that the Gujarat Vaghris are a distinct class\nfrom the criminal section of the tribe.\n\n[68] _Bombay Gazetteer_, _Gujarat Hindus_, p. 514.\n\n[69] Art. Bawaria, quoting from _North Indian Notes and Queries_,\ni. 51.\n\n[70] _Bombay Gazetteer_, _Hindus of Gujarat_, p. 574.\n\n[71] Gunthorpe's _Criminal Tribes_.\n\n[72] _Criminal Classes in the Bombay Presidency_, p. 151.\n\n[73] Gunthorpe's _Criminal Tribes_, art. Badhak.\n\n[74] _C. P. Police Lectures_, art. Badhak.\n\n[75] Art. Bawaria, para. 12.\n\n[76] _Criminal Classes in the Bombay Presidency_, p. 179.\n\n[77] Kennedy, _loc. cit._ p. 208.\n\n[78] Kennedy, _loc. cit._ p. 185.\n\n[79] This article is partly based on a paper by Munshi Kanhya Lal of\nthe Gazetteer office.\n\n[80] Sir B. Robertson's _C.P. Census Report_ (1891), p. 203.\n\n[81] _Punjab Census Report_ (1881), paras. 646, 647.\n\n[82] _Nasik Gazetteer_, pp. 84, 85.\n\n[83] Crooke's _Tribes and Castes_, art. Bahna.\n\n[84] The word Achera is merely a jingle put in to make the rhyme\ncomplete.\nKachera is a maker of glass bangles.\n\n[85] This article is based largely on a monograph by the\nRev. J. Lampard, missionary, Baihar, and also on papers by Muhammad\nHanif Siddiqi, forest ranger, Bilaspur, and Mr. Muhammad Ali Haqqani,\nB.A., Tahsildar, Dindori. Some extracts have been made from Colonel\nWard's _Mandla Settlement Report_ (1869), and from Colonel Bloomfield's\n_Notes on the Baigas_.\n\n[86] In Bengal the Bhumia or Bhumij are an important tribe.\n\n[87] Colonel Ward's _Mandla Settlement Report_ (1868-69), p. 153.\n\n[88] _Shorea robusta._\n\n[89] Jarrett's _Ain-i-Akbari_, vol. ii. p. 196.\n\n[90] Colonel Ward gives the bride's house as among the Gonds. But\ninquiry in Mandla shows that if this custom formerly existed it has\nbeen abandoned.\n\n[91] Forsyth's _Highlands of Central India_, p. 377.\n\n[92] The Great God. The Gonds also worship Bura Deo, resident in a\n_saj_ tree.\n\n[93] Opened in 1905.\n\n[94] _Mandla Settlement Report_ (1868-69), p. 153.\n\n[95] _Notes on the Baigas_, p. 4.\n\n[96] Mr. Lampard's monograph.\n\n[97] Farthings.\n\n[98] This article contains material from Sir E. Maclagan's _Punjab\nCensus Report_ (1891), and Dr. J. N. Bhattacharya's _Hindu Castes\nand Sects_ (Thacker, Spink & Co., Calcutta).\n\n[99] _Dictionary_, s.v.\n\n[100] Sir E. Maclagan's _Punjab Census Report_ (1891), p. 122.\n\n[101] _Memoir of Mathura._\n\n[102] _Hindu Castes and Sects_, p. 449.\n\n[103] Lit. the birth on the eighth day, as Krishna was born on the\n8th of dark Bhadon.\n\n[104] Mr. Crooke's _Tribes and Castes_, art. Vallabhacharya.\n\n[105] _Hindu Castes and Sects_, p. 457.\n\n[106] From _laskkar_, an army.\n\n[107] This paragraph is taken from Professor Wilson's _Account of\nHindu Sects in the Asiatic Researches_.\n\n[108] This article is based on papers by Mr. Habib Ullah, Pleader,\nBurhanpur, Mr. W. Bagley, Subdivisional Officer, and Munsh Kanhya Lal,\nof the Gazetteer office.\n\n[109] This legend is probably a vague reminiscence of the historical\nfact that a Malwa army was misled by a Gond guide in the Nimar forests\nand cut up by the local Muhammadan ruler. The well-known Raja Man of\nJodhpur was, it is believed, never in Nimar.\n\n[110] The _ghat_ or river-bank for the disposal of corpses.\n\n[111] _Madras Census Report_ (1891), p. 277.\n\n[112] _Ibidem_ (1891), p. 226.\n\n[113] _Ethnographic Notes in Southern India_, p. 16.\n\n[114] _Madras Census Report_ (1891), p. 277.\n\n[115] See para. 19 below.\n\n[116] See commencement of article.\n\n[117] _C.P. Census Report_ (1911), Occupation Chapter, Subsidiary\nTable I. p. 234.\n\n[118] For examples, the subordinate articles on Agarwal, Oswal,\nMaheshri, Khandelwal, Lad, Agrahari, Ajudhiabasi, and Srimali may be\nconsulted. The census lists contain numerous other territorial names.\n\n[119] _Rajasthan_, i. pp. 76, 109.\n\n[120] That is Marwar. But perhaps the term here is used in the wider\nsense of Rajputana.\n\n[121] _Rajasthan_, ii. p. 145.\n\n[122] _Punjab Census Report_ (1881), p. 293.\n\n[123] _Supplemental Glossary_, p. 110.\n\n[124] _Rasmala_, i. pp. 240, 243.\n\n[125] _Rajasthan_, ii. p. 360.\n\n[126] _Ibid._ ii. p. 240.\n\n[127] The Parwars probably belonged originally to Rajputana; see\nsubordinate article.\n\n[128] _Rajasthan_, i. p. 491.\n\n[129] _Bombay Gazetteer, Hindus of Gujarat_, p. 80.\n\n[130] The common brass drinking-vessel.\n\n[131] Sir H. H. Risley's _Peoples of India_, p. 127, and Appendix\nI. p. 8.\n\n[132] _Punjab Census Report_ (1881), p. 291.\n\n[133] _Nagpur Settlement Report_ (1900), para. 54.\n\n[134] _Nagpur Settlement Report_ (1900), para. 54.\n\n[135] _Tribes and Castes of Bengal_, art. Agarwala.\n\n[136] _Tribes and Castes of Bengal_, art. Agarwala.\n\n[137] The information on this subcaste is taken from Mr. Crooke's\narticle on it in his _Tribes and Castes_.\n\n[138] Mr. Crooke's _Tribes and Castes_, art. Audhia.\n\n[139] Kennedy's _Criminal Classes of the Bombay Presidency_,\nart. Audhia.\n\n[140] Kennedy, _ibidem._\n\n[141] Mr. Crooke's _Tribes and Castes_, art. Audhia.\n\n[142] _United Provinces Census Report_ (1901), p. 220.\n\n[143] Atkinson, _Himalayan Gazetteer_, ii. p. 473, quoted in\nMr. Crooke's article Dhusar.\n\n[144] Sherring, _Hindu Castes_, i. p. 293.\n\n[145] This account is based on a paper furnished by Mr. Jeorakhan Lal,\nDeputy Inspector of Schools, Bilaspur.\n\n[146] Kashyap was a Brahman saint, but the name is perhaps derived\nfrom Kachhap, a tortoise.\n\n[147] This article is mainly based on a paper by Mr. Pancham Lal,\nNaib-Tahsildar Sihora.\n\n[148] Mr. Crooke's _Tribes and Castes_, art. Gahoi.\n\n[149] _Tribes and Castes_, art. Golahre.\n\n[150] The above notice is partly based on a paper by Mr. Sant Prasad,\nschoolmaster, Nandgaon.\n\n[151] _Tribes and Castes_, art. Kasaundhan.\n\n[152] Mr. Crooke's _Tribes and Castes_, art. Khandelwal.\n\n[153] _Hindu Castes and Sects_, p. 209.\n\n[154] See article Bairagi for some notice of the sect.\n\n[155] See separate article on Jangam.\n\n[156] _Bombay Gazetteer_, _Hindus of Gujarat_, p. 70.\n\n[157] A town near Jhalor in Marwar, now called Bhinmal.\n\n[158] _Bombay Gazetteer_, _Hindus of Gujarat_, p. 97.\n\n[159] _Rajasthan_, ii. p. 210, footnote.\n\n[160] _Hindus of Gujarat_, _loc. cit._, and _Bombay Gazetteer_,\nxvi. 45.\n\n[161] _Tribes and Castes_, art. Oswal.\n\n[162] _Bombay Gazetteer_, vol. xvii. p. 51.\n\n[163] _Ibidem._\n\n[164] Bhattacharya, _Hindu Castes and Sects_, p. 207.\n\n[165] This article is based on papers by Mr. Pancham Lal,\nNaib-Tahsildar Sihora, and Munshi Kanhya Lal, of the Gazetteer office.\n\n[166] See also notice of Benaikias in article on Vidur.\n\n[167] _Bombay Gazetteer_, vol. xvii. p. 81.\n\n[168] _Bombay Gazetteer_, _Hindus of Gujarat_, p. 99.\n\n[169] _Ibidem._\n\n[170] _Ibidem._ p. 98.\n\n[171] _Merinda citrifolia_, see art. Alia.\n\n[172] See article.\n\n[173] This article is based principally on a _Monograph on the Banjara\nClan_, by Mr. N. F. Cumberlege of the Berar Police, believed to have\nbeen first written in 1869 and reprinted in 1882; notes on the Banjaras\nwritten by Colonel Mackenzie and printed in the _Berar Census Report_\n(1881) and the _Pioneer_ newspaper (communicated by Mrs. Horsburgh);\nMajor Gunthorpe's _Criminal Tribes_; papers by Mr. M. E. Khare,\nExtra-Assistant Commissioner, Chanda; Mr. Narayan Rao, Tahr., Betul;\nMr. Mukund Rao, Manager, Pachmarhi Estate; and information on the\ncaste collected in Yeotmal and Nimar.\n\n[174] Mr. Crooke's _Tribes and Castes_, art. Banjara, para. 1.\n\n[175] _Berar Census Report_ (1881), p. 150.\n\n[176] _Ibidem_, para. 2, quoting Dowson's Elliot, v. 100.\n\n[177] Khan Bahadur Fazalullah Lutfullah Faridi in the _Bombay\nGazetteer_ (_Muhammadans of Gujarat_, p. 86) quoting from General\nBriggs (_Transactions Bombay Literary Society_, vol. i. 183) says\nthat \"as carriers of grain for Muhammadan armies the Banjaras have\nfigured in history from the days of Muhammad Tughlak (A.D. 1340)\nto those of Aurangzeb.\"\n\n[178] Sir H. M. Elliot's _Supplemental Glossary_.\n\n[179] _Monograph on the Banjara Clan_, p. 8.\n\n[180] _Hindus of Gujarat_, p. 214 _et seq._\n\n[181] _Rajasthan_, i. 602.\n\n[182] _Ibidem_, ii. 570, 573.\n\n[183] This custom does not necessarily indicate a special connection\nbetween the Banjaras and Charans, as it is common to several\ncastes in Rajputana; but it indicates that the Banjaras came from\nRajputana. Banjara men also frequently wear the hair long, down to\nthe neck, which is another custom of Rajputana.\n\n[184] _Jungle Life in India_, p. 517.\n\n[185] _Berar Census Report_ (1881), p. 152.\n\n[186] _Bombay Gazetteer, Hindus of Gujarat._\n\n[187] _Letter on the Marathas_ (1798), p. 67, _India Office Tracts._\n\n[188] _Army of the Indian Mughals_, p. 192.\n\n[189] _Monograph_, p. 14, and _Berar Census Report_ (1881) (Kitts),\np. 151.\n\n[190] These are held to have been descendants of the Bhika Rathor\nreferred to by Colonel Mackenzie above.\n\n[191] See note 3, p. 168.\n\n[192] General Briggs quoted by Mr. Faridi in _Bombay Gazetteer,\nMuhammadans of Gujarat_, p. 86.\n\n[193] A. Wellesley (1800), quoted in Mr. Crooke's edition of\n_Hobson-Jobson_, art. Brinjarry.\n\n[194] Cumberlege, _loc. cit._\n\n[195] Cumberlege, pp. 28, 29.\n\n[196] Elliot's _Races_, quoted by Mr. Crooke, _ibidem._\n\n[197] Cumberlege, pp. 4, 5.\n\n[198] Cumberlege, _l.c._\n\n[199] This custom is noticed in the article on Khairwar.\n\n[200] Cumberlege, p. 18.\n\n[201] Mr. Hira Lal suggests that this custom may have something to\ndo with the phrase _Athara jat ke gayi_, or 'She has gone to the\neighteen castes,' used of a woman who has been turned out of the\ncommunity. This phrase seems, however, to be a euphemism, eighteen\ncastes being a term of indefinite multitude for any or no caste. The\nnumber eighteen may be selected from the same unknown association\nwhich causes the goat to be cut into eighteen pieces.\n\n[202] _Ethnographic Notes in Southern India_, p. 344, quoting from\nMoor's _Narrative of Little's Detachment_.\n\n[203] Cumberlege, p. 35.\n\n[204] _Berar Census Report_, 1881.\n\n[205] Cumberlege, p. 21.\n\n[206] The following instance is taken from Mr. Balfour's article,\n'Migratory Tribes of Central India,' in _J. A. S. B._, new series,\nvol. xiii., quoted in Mr. Crooke's _Tribes and Castes_.\n\n[207] From the Sanskrit Hatya-adhya, meaning 'That which it is most\nsinful to slay' (Balfour).\n\n[208] _Monograph_, p. 12.\n\n[209] _Asiatic Studies_, i. p. 118 (ed. 1899).\n\n[210] Cumberlege, p. 23 _et seq._ The description of witchcraft is\nwholly reproduced from his _Monograph_.\n\n[211] His motive being the fine inflicted on the witch's family.\n\n[212] The fruit of _Buchanania latifolia_.\n\n[213] _Ethnographic Notes in Southern India_, p. 507, quoting from\nthe Rev. J. Cain, _Ind. Ant._ viii. (1879).\n\n[214] _Hindu Manners, Customs and Ceremonies_, p. 70.\n\n[215] _Monograph_, p. 19.\n\n[216] The Patwas are weavers of silk thread and the Nunias are masons\nand navvies.\n\n[217] An impure caste of weavers, ranking with the Mahars.\n\n[218] _Semecarpus Anacardium._\n\n[219] Malcolm, _Memoir of Central India_, ii. p. 296.\n\n[220] Cumberlege, p. 16.\n\n[221] Small double shells which are still used to a slight extent as\na currency in backward tracts. This would seem an impossibly cumbrous\nmethod of carrying money about nowadays, but I have been informed by\na comparatively young official that in his father's time, change for\na rupee could not be had in Chhattisgarh outside the two principal\ntowns. As the cowries were a form of currency they were probably\nheld sacred, and hence sewn on to clothes as a charm, just as gold\nand silver are used for ornaments.\n\n[222] _Jungle Life in India_, p. 516.\n\n[223] Brewer's _Dictionary of Phrase and Fable_ contains the following\nnotice of horns as an article of dress: \"Mr. Buckingham says of a\nTyrian lady, 'She wore on her head a hollow silver horn rearing itself\nup obliquely from the forehead. It was some four inches in diameter at\nthe root and pointed at the extremity. This peculiarity reminded me\nforcibly of the expression of the Psalmist: \"Lift not up your horn on\nhigh; speak not with a stiff neck. All the horns of the wicked also\nwill I cut off, but the horns of the righteous shall be exalted\"\n(Ps. lxxv. 5, 10).' Bruce found in Abyssinia the silver horns of\nwarriors and distinguished men. In the reign of Henry V. the horned\nheadgear was introduced into England and from the effigy of Beatrice,\nCountess of Arundel, at Arundel Church, who is represented with the\nhorns outspread to a great extent, we may infer that the length of\nthe head-horn, like the length of the shoe-point in the reign of Henry\nVI., etc., marked the degree of rank. To cut off such horns would be\nto degrade; and to exalt and extend such horns would be to add honour\nand dignity to the wearer.\" Webb (_Heritage of Dress_, p. 117) writes:\n\"Mr. Elworthy in a paper to the British Association at Ipswich in\n1865 considered the crown to be a development from horns of honour. He\nmaintained that the symbols found in the head of the god Serapis were\nthe elements from which were formed the composite head-dress called\nthe crown into which horns entered to a very great extent.\" This\nseems a doubtful speculation, but still it may be quite possible\nthat the idea of distinguishing by a crown the leader of the tribe\nwas originally taken from the antlers of the leader of the herd. The\nhelmets of the Vikings were also, I believe, decorated with horns.\n\n[224] _Monograph_, p. 40.\n\n[225] _Melia indica._\n\n[226] Author of the _Nimar Settlement Report_.\n\n[227] _Sesamum._\n\n[228] _Hindu Manners, Customs and Ceremonies_, p. 21.\n\n[229] _Report on the Badhak or Bagri Dacoits_, p. 310.\n\n[230] Colonel Mackenzie's notes.\n\n[231] Mr. W. F. Sinclair, C.S., in _Ind. Ant._ iii. p. 184 (1874).\n\n[232] _Notes on Criminal Tribes frequenting Bombay, Berar and the\nCentral Provinces_ (Bombay, 1882).\n\n[233] _Berar Census Report_ (1881), p. 151.\n\n[234] This notice is compiled principally from a good paper\nby Mr. M. C. Chatterji, retired Extra Assistant Commissioner,\nJubbulpore, and from papers by Professor Sada Shiva Jai Ram, M.A.,\nGovernment College, Jubbulpore, and Mr. Bhaskar Baji Rao Deshmukh,\nDeputy Inspector of Schools, Nagpur.\n\n[235] Sherring, _Hindu Tribes and Castes_, i. p. 330. Nesfield,\n_Brief View_, p. 15. _N.W.P. Census Report_ (1891), p 317.\n\n[236] The name of a superior revenue office; under the Marathas,\nnow borne as a courtesy title by certain families.\n\n[237] _Tribes and Castes of Bengal_, art. Agarwal.\n\n[238] _Tribes and Castes of Bengal_, art. Barui.\n\n[239] Blochmann, _Ain-i-Akbari_, i. p. 72, quoted in Crooke's _Tribes\nand Castes_, art. Tamboli.\n\n[240] _Rajasthan_, ii. p. 210.\n\n[241] _Ficus glomerata._\n\n[242] _Hindu Castes_, i. p. 316.\n\n[243] _Tribes and Castes of Bengal_, art. Bari.\n\n[244] Vishnu.\n\n[245] Sherring, _Tribes and Castes_, i. pp. 403, 404.\n\n[246] This article is compiled from papers by Mr. W. N. Maw, Deputy\nCommissioner, Damoh, and Murlidhar, Munsiff of Khurai in Saugor.\n\n[247] _Bombay Gazetteer_, xvii. p. 108.\n\n[248] About 100 lbs.\n\n[249] Compiled from papers by Mr. Ram Lal, B. A., Deputy Inspector of\nSchools, Saugor; Mr. Vishnu Gangadhar Gadgil, Tahsildar, Narsinghpur;\nMr. Devi Dayal, Tahsildar, Hatta; Mr. Kanhya Lal, B. A., Deputy\nInspector of Schools, Betul; Mr. Keshava Rao, Headmaster, Middle\nSchool, Seoni; and Bapu Gulab Singh, Superintendent, Land Records,\nBetul.\n\n[250] Chapter x. 37, and Shudra Kamlakar, p. 284.\n\n[251] A Vaideha was the child of a Vaishya father and a Brahman mother.\n\n[252] Based on a paper by Rao Sahib Dhonduji, retired Inspector of\nPolice, Akola, and information collected by Mr. Aduram Chaudhri of\nthe Gazetteer office.\n\n[253] Mr. Marten's _C. P. Census Report_ (1911), p. 212.\n\n[254] This article is based on papers by Mr. A. K. Smith, C.S.,\nMr. Khande Rao, Superintendent of Land Records, Raipur, and Munshi\nKanhiya Lal, of the Gazetteer office.\n\n[255] _Tribes and Castes of Bengal_, art. Beldar.\n\n[256] _The Castes and Tribes of Southern India_, art. Odde.\n\n[257] _Akola District Gazetteer_ (Mr. C. Brown), pp. 132, 133.\n\n[258] _Amraoti District Gazetteer_ (Messrs. Nelson and Fitzgerald),\np. 146.\n\n[259] See article on Badhak.\n\n[260] Kennedy, p. 247.\n\n[261] Crooke, art. Beria.\n\n[262] The following particulars are taken from a note by\nMr. K. N. Date, Deputy Superintendent, Reformatory School, Jubbulpore.\n\n[263] This article is based principally on a paper by Panna Lal,\nRevenue Inspector, Bilaspur, and also on papers by Mr. Syed Sher Ali,\nNaib-Tahsildar, Mr. Hira Lal and Mr. Aduram Chaudhri of the Gazetteer\noffice.\n\n[264] For the meaning of the term Baiga and its application to the\ntribe, see also article on Bhuiya.\n\n[265] It is or was, of course, a common practice for a husband to\ncut off his wife's nose if he suspected her of being unfaithful to\nhim. But whether the application of the epithet to the goddess should\nbe taken to imply anything against her moral character is not known.\n\n[266] This article is mainly compiled from a paper by Pyare Lal Misra,\nEthnographic Clerk.\n\n[267] _Bombay Gazetteer_ (Campbell), xviii. p. 464.\n\n[268] The following particulars are taken from Colonel Portman's\n_Report on the Bhamtas of the Deccan_ (Bombay, 1887).\n\n[269] Portman, _loc. cit._\n\n[270] _Bombay Gazetteer_ (Campbell), xviii. p. 465.\n\n[271] This article contains some information from a paper by Mr. Gopal\nParmanand, Deputy Inspector of Schools, Saugor.\n\n[272] _Memoirs of the Races of the N.W.P._ vol. i. p. 35.\n\n[273] _Tribes and Castes_, art. Bharbhunja.\n\n[274] See article on Kurmi. The remainder of this section is taken\nfrom Mr. Gopal Parmanand's notes.\n\n[275] _Ibidem._\n\n[276] _Tribes and Castes of Bengal_, art. Kandu.\n\n[277] This article is compiled from notes taken by Mr. Hira Lal,\nAssistant Gazetteer Superintendent in Jubbulpore, and from a paper\nby Ram Lal Sharma, schoolmaster, Bilaspur.\n\n[278] _Tribes and Castes of the N.W.P._, art. Bhar.\n\n[279] _C.P. Census Report_, 1881, p. 188.\n\n[280] _Dhaya_ means the system of shifting cultivation, which until\nprohibited was so injurious to the forests.\n\n[281] _Tribes and Castes of Bengal_, art. Brahman.\n\n[282] Art. Bhat.\n\n[283] Malcolm, _Central India_, ii. p. 132.\n\n[284] _Rajasthan_, ii. p. 406.\n\n[285] Malcolm, ii. p. 135.\n\n[286] _Rajasthan_, ii. pp. 133, 134.\n\n[287] Great King, the ordinary method of address to Brahmans.\n\n[288] _Rajasthan_, ii. p. 175.\n\n[289] _Rasmala_, ii. pp. 261, 262.\n\n[290] See later in this article.\n\n[291] This present of a lakh of rupees is known as Lakh Pasaru,\nand it is not usually given in cash but in kind. It is made up of\ngrain, land, carriages, jewellery, horses, camels and elephants,\nand varies in value from Rs. 30,000 to Rs. 70,000. A living bard,\nMahamahopadhyaya Murar Das, has received three Lakh Pasarus from the\nRajas of Jodhpur and has refused one from the Rana of Udaipur in view\nof the fact that he was made _ayachaka_ by the Jodhpur Raja. _Ayachaka_\nmeans literally 'not a beggar,' and when a bard has once been made\n_ayachaka_ he cannot accept gifts from any person other than his own\npatron. An _ayachaka_ was formerly known as _polpat_, as it became\nhis bounden duty to sing the praises of his patron constantly from\nthe gate (_pol_) of the donor's fort or castle. (Mr. Hira Lal.)\n\n[292] _Rajasthan_, ii. p. 548.\n\n[293] _Viserva_, lit. poison.\n\n[294] From _dhol_, a drum.\n\n[295] _Rajasthan_, ii. p. 184.\n\n[296] Lit. _putli_ or doll.\n\n[297] _Tribes and Castes_, art. Bhat.\n\n[298] _Ibidem._ Veiling the face is a sign of modesty.\n\n[299] Postans. _Cutch_, p. 172.\n\n[300] Vol. ii. pp. 392-394.\n\n[301] _Rasmala_, ii. pp. 143, 144.\n\n[302] _Bombay Gazetteer_, _Hindus of Gujarat_, Mr. Bhimbhai Kirparam,\npp. 217, 219.\n\n[303] In Broach.\n\n[304] Westermarck, _Origin and Development of the Moral Ideas_,\nii. p. 242.\n\n[305] Westermarck, _ibidem_, p. 246.\n\n[306] Westermarck, _ibidem_, p. 248.\n\n[307] The above account of _Dharna_ is taken from Colonel Tone's\n_Letter on the Marathas_ (India Office Tracts).\n\n[308] This article is compiled from papers drawn up by Rai Bahadur\nPanda Baijnath, Superintendent, Bastar State; Mr. Ravi Shankar,\nSettlement Officer, Bastar; and Mr. Gopal Krishna, Assistant\nSuperintendent, Bastar.\n\n[309] _Bassia latifolia_.\n\n[310] The principal authorities on the Bhils are: _An Account of the\nMewar Bhils_, by Major P. H. Hendley, _J.A.S.B._ vol. xliv., 1875,\npp. 347-385; the _Bombay Gazetteer_, vol. ix., _Hindus of Gujarat_;\nand notices in Colonel Tod's _Rajasthan_, Mr. A. L. Forbes's _Rasmala_,\nand _The Khandesh Bhil Corps_, by Mr. A. H. A. Simcox, C.S.\n\n[311] The old name of the Sesodia clan, Gahlot, is held to be derived\nfrom this Goha. See the article Rajput Sesodia for a notice of the\nreal origin of the clan.\n\n[312] _Rajasthan_, i. p. 184.\n\n[313] _Ibidem_, p. 186.\n\n[314] Reference may be made to _The Golden Bough_ for the full\nexplanation and illustration of this superstition.\n\n[315] _Rajasthan_, ii. pp. 320, 321.\n\n[316] _History of the Marathas_, i. p. 28.\n\n[317] See article.\n\n[318] _Rajasthan_, ii. p. 466.\n\n[319] Malcolm, _Memoir of Central India_, i. p. 518.\n\n[320] _An Account of the Bhils, J.A.S.B._ (1875), p. 369.\n\n[321] _Hyderabad Census Report_ (1891), p. 218.\n\n[322] _The Khandesh Bhil Corps_, by Mr A. H. A. Simcox.\n\n[323] Forbes, _Rasmala_, i. p. 104.\n\n[324] _Memoir of Central India_, i. pp. 525, 526.\n\n[325] _Ibidem_, i. p. 550.\n\n[326] _Hobson-Jobson_, art. Bhil.\n\n[327] _An Account of the Bhils_, p. 369.\n\n[328] _The Khandesh Bhil Corps_, p. 71.\n\n[329] _Ibidem_, p. 275.\n\n[330] _Eugenia jambolana._\n\n[331] _Soymida febrifuga._\n\n[332] _Phyllanthus emblica._\n\n[333] _Terminalia belerica._\n\n[334] _Bombay Gazetteer, Hindus of Gujarat_, p. 309.\n\n[335] See article Kunbi.\n\n[336] _Sorghum vulgare._\n\n[337] _Loc. cit._ p. 347.\n\n[338] _Western India._\n\n[339] _Asiatic Studies_, 1st series, p. 174.\n\n[340] _Asiatic Studies_, 1st series, p. 352.\n\n[341] _Bombay Gazetteer, Hindus of Gujarat_, p. 302.\n\n[342] _Bombay Gazetteer_, vol. xii. p. 87.\n\n[343] _An Account of the Bhils_, pp. 362, 363.\n\n[344] _Account of the Mewar Bhils_, pp. 357, 358.\n\n[345] Forbes, _Rasmala_, i. p. 113.\n\n[346] _Nimar Settlement Report_, pp. 246, 247.\n\n[347] Sir G. Grierson, _Linguistic Survey of India_, vol. ix. part\niii. pp. 6-9.\n\n[348] This article is based mainly on Captain Forsyth's _Nimar\nSettlement Report_, and a paper by Mr. T. T. Korke, Pleader, Khandwa.\n\n[349] _Eugenia jambolana._\n\n[350] _Bauhinia racemosa._\n\n[351] _Settlement Report_ (1869), para. 411.\n\n[352] Mr. Montgomerie's _Nimar Settlement Report_.\n\n[353] _Memoir of Central India_, ii. p. 156.\n\n[354] Crooke's _Tribes and Castes_, art. Bhishti.\n\n[355] Elliott's _Memoirs of the North-Western Provinces_, i. p. 191.\n\n[356] Crooke's _Tribes and Castes_, ii. p. 100.\n\n[357] Rudyard Kipling, _Barrack-Room Ballads_, 'Gunga Din.'\n\n[358] Thacker and Co., London.\n\n[359] This article is mainly compiled from papers by Mr. Pandurang\nLakshman Bakre, pleader, Betul, and Munshi Pyare Lal, ethnographic\nclerk.\n\n[360] This article is compiled partly from Colonel Dalton's _Ethnology\nof Bengal_ and Sir H. Risley's _Tribes and Castes of Bengal_; a\nmonograph has also been furnished by Mr. B. C. Mazumdar, pleader,\nSambalpur, and papers by Mr. A. B. Napier, Deputy Commissioner,\nRaipur, and Mr. Hira Lal.\n\n[361] _Ethnology of Bengal_, p. 140.\n\n[362] _Linguistic Survey_, vol. xiv. _Munda and Dravidian Languages_,\np. 217.\n\n[363] Page 142.\n\n[364] _Ibidem_, p. 141.\n\n[365] In the article on Binjhwar, it was supposed that the Baigas\nmigrated east from the Satpura hills into Chhattisgarh. But the\nevidence adduced above appears to show that this view is incorrect.\n\n[366] _Tribes and Castes_, art. Binjhia.\n\n[367] Crooke, _Tribes and Castes_, art. Bhuiya, para. 4.\n\n[368] _Ibidem_, para. 3.\n\n[369] _Ibidem_, art. Bhuiyar, para. 1.\n\n[370] _Ibidem_, para. 16.\n\n[371] Dalton, p. 147.\n\n[372] Page 142.\n\n[373] The question of the relation of the Baiga tribe to Mr. Crooke's\nBhuiyars was first raised by Mr. E. A. H. Blunt, Census Superintendent,\nUnited Provinces.\n\n[374] Mr. Mazumdar's monograph.\n\n[375] From Mr. Mazumdar's monograph.\n\n[376] This article is compiled from a paper taken by Mr. Hira Lal\nat Sonpur.\n\n[377] This article is based on papers by Mr. Hira Lal, Mr. Gokul\nPrasad, Tahsildar, Dhamtari, Mr. Pyare Lal Misra of the Gazetteer\noffice, and Munshi Ganpati Giri, Superintendent, Bindranawagarh estate.\n\n[378] From the _Index of Languages and Dialects_, furnished by Sir\nG. Grierson for the census.\n\n[379] _Tribes and Castes of Bengal_, art. Binjhia.\n\n[380] _Early History of Mankind_, p. 341.\n\n[381] This article is based on a paper by Mr. Mian Bhai Abdul Hussain,\nExtra Assistant Commissioner, Sambalpur.\n\n[382] _Bassia latifolia_.\n\n[383] This article is compiled from Mr. Wilson's account of the\nBishnois as reproduced in Mr. Crooke's _Tribes and Castes_, and from\nnotes taken by Mr. Aduram Chaudhri in the Hoshangabad District.\n\n[384] The total number of precepts as given above is only twenty-five,\nbut can be raised to twenty-nine by counting the prohibition of opium,\ntobacco, _bhang_, blue clothing, spirits and flesh separately.\n\n[385] Jhuria may be Jharia, jungly; Sain is a term applied to beggars;\nthe Ahir or herdsman sept may be descended from a man of this caste\nwho became a Bishnoi.\n\n[386] The day when the sun passes from one zodiacal sign into another.\n\n[387] The New Moon day or the day before.\n\n[388] This article is largely based on Mr. F. L. Faridi's full\ndescription of the sect in the _Bombay Gazetteer, Muhammadans of\nGujarat_, and on a paper by Mr. Habib Ullah, pleader, Burhanpur.\n\n[389] _Bombay Gazetteer, Muhammadans of Gujarat_, p. 30. Sir\nH. T. Colebrooke and Mr. Conolly thought that the Bohras were true\nShias and not Ismailias.\n\n[390] _Ibidem_, pp. 30-32.\n\n[391] _J.A.S.B._ vol. vi. (1837), part ii. p. 847.\n\n[392] _Berar Census Report_ (1818), p. 70.\n\n[393] _Castes and Tribes of Southern India_, art. Bohra.\n\n[394] Crooke's edition of _Hobson-Jobson_, art. Bohra.\n\n[395] Moor's _Hindu Infanticide_, p. 168.\n\n[396] _Memoir of Central India_, ii. p. 111.\n\n[397] This article is mainly compiled from a full and excellent account\nof the caste by Mr. Gopal Datta Joshi, Civil Judge, Saugor, C.P., to\nwhom the writer is much indebted. Extracts have also been taken from\nMr. W. Crooke's and Sir H. Risley's articles on the caste in their\nworks on the _Tribes and Castes_ of the United Provinces and Bengal\nrespectively; from Mr. J. N. Bhattacharya's _Hindu Castes and Sects_\n(Thacker, Spink & Co., Calcutta, 1896), and from the Rev. W. Ward's\n_View of the History, Literature and Religion of the Hindus_ (London,\n1817).\n\n[398] Crooke's _Tribes and Castes_, art. Brahman, quoting Professor\nEggeling in _Encyclopaedia Britannica_, s.v. Brahmanism.\n\n[399] _Tribes and Castes of Bengal_, art. Brahman.\n\n[400] _Hindu Manners, Customs, and Ceremonies_, 3rd ed. p. 172.\n\n[401] Muir, _Ancient Sanskrit Texts_, i. 282 _sq._\n\n[402] Quoted in Mr. Crooke's _Tribes and Castes_, art. Brahman.\n\n[403] Quoted by Mr. Crooke.\n\n[404] _Tribes and Castes of the Punjab_, by Mr. H. A. Rose,\nvol. ii. p. 123.\n\n[405] See also article Rajput-Gaur.\n\n[406] See subordinate articles.\n\n[407] A section of the Kanaujia. See above.\n\n[408] _Tribes and Castes_, art. Brahman.\n\n[409] Chap. ix. v. 173.\n\n[410] Ward's _Hindus_, vol. ii. p. 97.\n\n[411] _Ibidem_, pp. 98, 100.\n\n[412] _Hindu Manners, Customs and Ceremonies_, by the Abbe Dubois,\n3rd ed. p. 499.\n\n[413] _Ibidem_, p. 500.\n\n[414] London, Heinemann (1897), pp. 84-91.\n\n[415] This is the famous Gayatri.\n\n[416] It is not known how a slip-knot and a garland are connected\nwith any incarnation of Vishnu. For the incarnations see articles\nVaishnava sect.\n\n[417] In the Central Provinces Ganpati is represented by a round\nred stone, Surya by a rock crystal or the Swastik sign, Devi by an\nimage in brass or by a stone brought from her famous temple at Mahur,\nand Vishnu by the round black stone or Saligram. Besides these every\nBrahman will have a special family god, who may be one of the above\nor another deity, as Rama or Krishna.\n\n[418] _Bipracharanamrita._\n\n[419] _Hindu Castes and Sects_, pp. 19-21.\n\n[420] _Rajasthan_, i. p. 487.\n\n[421] _Rajasthan_, i. p. 698.\n\n[422] At that time L12,500 or more, now about L8000.\n\n[423] _Tribes and Castes of the North-West Provinces and Oudh_, s.v.\n\n[424] _Early History of India_, 3rd ed. p. 376.\n\n[425] _Ibidem_, p. 385.\n\n[426] _Tribes and Castes_, art. Kanaujia.\n\n[427] _Bombay Gazetteer, Hindus of Gujarat_, p. 11.\n\n[428] _Bombay Gazetteer, Satara_, p. 54.\n\n[429] Bhattacharya, _Hindu Castes and Sects_, p. 47.\n\n[430] _Ibidem_, p. 48.\n\n[431] From Mr. Gopal Datta Joshi's paper.\n\n[432] _Rasmala_, ii. p. 233.\n\n[433] _Rasmala_, ii. p. 259.\n\n[434] _Tribes and Castes_, art. Sanadhya.\n\n[435] Crooke, _ibidem_, paras. 3 and 6.\n\n[436] _Eastern India_, ii. 472, quoted in Mr. Crooke's art. Sarwaria.\n\n[437] Stirling's description of Orissa in _As. Res_. vol. xv. p. 199,\nquoted in _Hindu Castes and Sects_.\n\n[438] _Hindu Castes and Sects_, p. 63.\n\n[439] This article is compiled from papers by Mr. Wali Muhammad,\nTahsildar of Khurai, and Kanhya Lal, clerk in the Gazetteer office.\n\n[440] This article is based on the Rev. E. M. Gordon's _Indian\nFolk-Tales_ (London, Elliott & Stock, 1908), and the Central\nProvinces _Monograph on the Leather Industry_, by Mr. C. G. Chenevix\nTrench, C.S.; with extracts from Sir H. H. Risley's and Mr. Crooke's\ndescriptions of the caste, and from the _Berar Census Report_ (1881);\non information collected for the District Gazetteers; and papers\nby Messrs. Durga Prasad Pande, Tahsildar, Raipur; Ram Lal, Deputy\nInspector of Schools, Saugor; Govind Vithal Kane, Naib-Tahsildar,\nWardha; Balkrishna Ramchandra Bakhle, Tahsildar, Mandla; Sitaram,\nschoolmaster, Balaghat; and Kanhya Lal of the Gazetteer office. Some\nof the material found in Mr. Gordon's book was obtained independently\nby the writer in Bilaspur before its publication and is therefore\nnot specially acknowledged.\n\n[441] There are other genealogies showing the Chamar as the offspring\nof various mixed unions.\n\n[442] _Bombay Gazetteer_, vol. xv. Kanara, p. 355.\n\n[443] The Hindus say that there are five classes of women, Padmini,\nHastini, Chitrani and Shunkhini being the first four, and of these\nPadmini is the most perfect. No details of the other classes are\ngiven. _Rasmala_, i. p. 160.\n\n[444] _Punjab Census Report_ (1881), p. 320.\n\n[445] _Tribes and Castes of Bengal_, art. Chamar.\n\n[446] _Loc. cit._\n\n[447] From Mr. Gordon's paper.\n\n[448] _Monograph on Leather Industries_, p. 9.\n\n[449] _Ibidem._\n\n[450] See articles on these castes.\n\n[451] _Monograph on Leather Industries_, p. 3.\n\n[452] _Berar Census Report_ (1881), p. 149.\n\n[453] From _mangna_, to beg.\n\n[454] _Tribes and Castes_, art. Chamar.\n\n[455] _Indian Folk-Tales._\n\n[456] _Indian Folk-Tales_, pp. 49, 50.\n\n[457] Shells which were formerly used as money.\n\n[458] _Indian Folk-Tales_, pp. 49, 50.\n\n[459] _Monograph_, p. 3.\n\n[460] _Monograph on Leather Industries_, p. 5.\n\n[461] _Zizyphus xylopera._\n\n[462] _Butea frondosa._\n\n[463] _Anogeissus latifolia._\n\n[464] The above is an abridgment of the description in Mr. Trench's\n_Monograph_, to which reference may be made for further details.\n\n[465] _Monograph on the Leather Industries_, pp. 10, 11.\n\n[466] _Melia indica._\n\n[467] _Berar Census Report_ (1881), p. 149.\n\n[468] _Rasmala_, i. 395, quoting from the _Ain-i-Akbari_.\n\n[469] From papers by Mr. Parmeshwar Misra, Settlement Superintendent,\nRairakhol, and Mr. Rasanand, Sireshtedar, Bamra.\n\n[470] _Tribes and Castes of Bengal_, art. Chasa.\n\n[471] This article is based principally on notes taken by Mr. Hira\nLal at Bhatgaon.\n\n[472] _Bombay Gazetteer_, _Hindus of Gujarat_, p. 178.\n\n[473] A corruption for Viswakarma, the divine artificer and architect.\n\n[474] The story, however, really belongs to northern India. Usha is\nthe goddess of dawn.\n\n[475] Krishna's mother.\n\n[476] Little white flowers like jasmine. This simile would be unlikely\nto occur to the ordinary observer who sees a Hindu child crying.\n\n[477] _Tori balayan leun._ For explanation see above.\n\n[478] Commencement of the agricultural year.\n\n[479] This article is partly based on a paper by Mr. Bijai Bahadur,\nNaib-Tahsildar, Balaghat.\n\n[480] _Bombay Ethnographic Survey_, draft article on Chitrakathi.\n\n[481] May-June. The Akhatij is the beginning of the agricultural year.\n\n[482] _Berar Census Report_ (1881), paragraph 206. The passage is\nslightly altered and abridged in reproduction.\n\n[483] Vol. ix. part. ii. _Muhammadans of Gujarat_, p. 57.\n\n[484] _Rajasthan_, ii. p. 292.\n\n[485] _Bombay Gazetteer, l.c._\n\n[486] In recording this point Mr. Faridi gives the following note:\n\"In 1847 a case occurred which shows how firmly the Memans cling\nto their original tribal customs. The widow of Haji Nur Muhammad\nof the Lakariya family demanded a share of her deceased husband's\nproperty according to Muhammadan law. The _jama-at_ or community\ndecided that a widow had no claim to share her husband's estates\nunder the Hindu law. Before the High Court, in spite of the ridicule\nof other Sunnis, the elders of the Cutchi Memans declared that their\ncaste rules denied the widow's claim. The matter caused and is still\n(1896) causing agitation, as the doctors of the Sunni law at Mecca\nhave decided that as the law of inheritance is laid down by the holy\nKoran, a wilful departure from it is little short of apostasy. The\nMemans are contemplating a change, but so far they have not found\nthemselves able to depart from their tribal practices.\"\n\n[487] This article is based on papers by Mr. Vithal Rao,\nNaib-Tahsildar, Bilaspur, and Messrs. Kanhya Lal and Pyare Lal Misra\nof the Gazetteer office.\n\n[488] Crooke, _Tribes and Castes_, art. Kol.\n\n[489] _Aegle Marmelos._\n\n[490] _Butea frondosa._\n\n[491] _Nag_, a cobra.\n\n[492] Kept woman, a term applied to a widow.\n\n[493] Moor's _Hindu Infanticide_, p. 133.\n\n[494] James Forbes, _Oriental Memoirs_, i. p. 313.\n\n[495] Rajendra Lal Mitra, _Indo-Aryans_, i. p. 263.\n\n[496] _Journal of Indian Art and Industry_, xvi., April 1912, p. 3.\n\n[497] Dr. Jevons, _Introduction to the History of Religion_, p. 60.\n\n[498] _Private Life of an Eastern King_, p. 294.\n\n[499] _Hobson-Jobson, s.v._ 'Roundel.'\n\n[500] Old English manuscript quoted by Sir R. Temple in _Ind. Ant._\n(December 1904), p. 316.\n\n[501] _Hobson-Jobson, s.v._ 'Kittysol.'\n\n[502] _Hobson-Jobson, s.v._ 'Roundel.'\n\n[503] _Hobson-Jobson, ibidem._\n\n[504] W. W. Skeat, _The Past at our Doors_.\n\n[505] Skeat, _ibidem_, p. 95.\n\n[506] This article is compiled from papers by Mr. Bahmanji Muncherji,\nExtra Assistant Commissioner; Mr. Jeorakhan Lal, Deputy Inspector of\nSchools, and Pandit Pyare Lal Misra, ethnographic clerk. The historical\nnotice is mainly supplied by Mr. Hira Lal.\n\n[507] Tod's _Rajasthan_, i. p. 128.\n\n[508] This article is based on notes taken by Pandit Pyare Lal Misra\nin Wardha, and Mr. Hira Lal in Bhandara.\n\n[509] _Proper Names of the Punjabis_, p. 74.\n\n[510] _Punjab Census Report_ (1881), para. 645.\n\n[511] Crooke's _Tribes and Castes_, art. Darzi.\n\n[512] Buchanan's _Eastern India_, Martin's edition, ii. pp. 417, 699.\n\n[513] _Ibidem_, p. 977.\n\n[514] Vol. i. pp. 178-184.\n\n[515] Webb's _Heritage of Dress_, p. 33.\n\n[516] _Bombay Gazetteer, Hindus of Gujarat_, p. 180, quoting from\nOvington, _Voyage to Surat_, p. 280.\n\n[517] _Bombay Gazetteer, Hindus of Gujarat_, p. 180.\n\n[518] _Bombay Gazetteer, Nasik_, p. 50.\n\n[519] According to another account Namdeo belonged to\nMarwar. Mr. Maclagan's _Punjab Census Report_ (1891), p. 144.\n\n[520] _Berar Census Report_ (1881), para. 231.\n\n[521] This article is partly based on a note by Mr. Gokul Prasad,\nTahsildar, Dhamtari.\n\n[522] This article is based entirely on a paper by Rai Bahadur Panda\nBaijnath, Superintendent, Bastar State.\n\n[523] Compiled mainly from a paper by Kanhya Lal, clerk in the\nGazetteer office.\n\n[524] Cf. the two meanings of the word 'stock' in English.\n\n[525] _Tribes and Castes of Bengal_, art. Dhanuk.\n\n[526] _Eastern India_, i. 166, as quoted in Crooke's _Tribes and\nCastes_.\n\n[527] Cf. the two perfectly distinct groups of Paiks or foot-soldiers\nfound in Jubbulpore and the Uriya country.\n\n[528] _Tribes and Castes of the N. W. P. and Oudh_, art. Basor.\n\n[529] The following particulars are from a paper by Kanhya Lal, a\nclerk in the Gazetteer office belonging to the Educational Department.\n\n[530] This article is based almost entirely on a monograph by\nMr. Jeorakhan Lal, Deputy Inspector of Schools, Bilaspur.\n\n[531] _Grewia vestita._\n\n[532] The term brother's brother-in-law is abusive in the same sense\nas brother-in-law (_sala_) said by a man.\n\n[533] See commencement of this article.\n\n[534] _Cynodon dactylon._\n\n[535] _Shorea robusta._\n\n[536] This article is based partly on papers by Mr. Govind Moreshwar,\nHead Clerk, Mandla, and Mr. Pancham Lal, Naib-Tahsildar, Sihora. Much\nof the interesting information about the occupations of the caste\nwas given to the writer by Babu Kali Prasanna Mukerji, Pleader, Saugor.\n\n[537] As a rule a husband and wife never address each other by name.\n\n[538] Among Hindus it is customary to give a little more than the\nproper sum on ceremonial occasions in order to show that there is no\nstint. Thus Rs. 1-4 is paid instead of a rupee.\n\n[539] _Berar Census Report_ (1881), p. 133.\n\n[540] _Ibidem_, _l.c._\n\n[541] _Ibidem_, _l.c._\n\n[542] _Anthocephalus kadamba._\n\n[543] From _ghat_, a steep hillside or slope; hence a river-crossing\nbecause of the banks sloping down to it.\n\n[544] _Trapa bispinosa._\n\n[545] _Jungle Life in India_, p. 137.\n\n[546] _Berar Census Report_ (1881), p. 132.\n\n[547] The following notice of caste offences is from Mr. Govind\nMoreshwar's paper.\n\n[548] Not probably on account of the commission of a crime, but because\nbeing sentenced to imprisonment involves the eating of ceremonially\nimpure food. These rules are common to most Hindu castes, and the\nDhimars are taken only as a typical example. They seem to have little\nor no connection with ordinary morality. But in Jhansi Mr. Crooke\nremarks that a Kahar is put out of caste for theft in his master's\nhouse. This again, however, might be considered as an offence against\nthe community, tending to lower their corporate character in their\nbusiness, and as such deserving of social punishment.\n\n[549] This article is partly based on an account of the caste\nfurnished by Mr. H. F. E. Bell and drawn up by Mr. F. R. R. Rudman\nin the _Mandla District Gazetteer_.\n\n[550] _Folklore of Northern India_, vol. ii. p. 8.\n\n[551] Sherring's _Hindu Castes_, i. 342-3.\n\n[552] _Tribes and Castes_, art. Dhobi.\n\n[553] _Annals and Antiquities of Rajasthan._\n\n[554] _Berar Census Report_ (1881), p. 155.\n\n[555] _Central Provinces Census Report_ (1891), p. 202.\n\n[556] _Loc. cit._\n\n[557] _Bihar Peasant Life, s.v._ Dhobi.\n\n[558] _Ethnographic Notes in Southern India_, p. 226.\n\n[559] _Behind the Bungalow._\n\n[560] This article is mainly compiled from papers by Mr. Gokul\nPrasad, Naib-Tahsildar, Dhamtari, and Pyare Lal Misra, a clerk in\nthe Gazetteer office.\n\n[561] _Tribes and Castes of Bengal_, art. Kandu.\n\n[562] This article is taken almost entirely from a paper drawn up by\nMr. Hira Lal, Extra Assistant Commissioner.\n\n[563] This article is mainly compiled from Sir E. D. Maclagan's\n_Punjab Census Report_ (1891), pp. 192-196, the article on Fakir\nin the Rev. T. P. Hughes' _Dictionary of Islam_, and the volume on\n_Muhammadans of Gujarat_ in the _Bombay Gazetteer_, pp. 20-24.\n\n[564] Hughes, p. 116.\n\n[565] _Punjab Census Report_ (1891), p. 196.\n\n[566] Hughes' _Dictionary of Islam_, art. Fakir.","title":"The Tribes and Castes of the Central Provinces of India, Volume 2","tradition":"scripture-revelation","translated_text":null,"word_count":207994}