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•A.

THE GIFT OF

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CORNELL UNIVERSITY LIBRARY

3 1924 070 623 677

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GAZETTEER

OP THB

BOMBAY PRESIDENCY.

VOLUME XVIII. PART I.

POONA.

Under Government Orders.

FEINTED AT TBB

GOVERNMENT CENTRAL PRESS,

1885.

The names of contributors are given in the body of the book.
Special acknowledgments are due to Messrs. J. G. MoorCj C.S.,
A. Keyser, O.S., John McLeod Campbell, C. S., W.M.Fletcher,
Superintendent Revenue Survey, and to Rdv Saheb Narso
Rdrndhandra, Secretary Poona City Municipahty. The papers
written by the late Mr. G. H. Johns, 0. S. on the Places of Interest
were of the greatest value.

Much help was also received from Mr. H. E. Winter, C. S.,
Colonel C. D'U. LaTouche, Cantonment Magistrate, and Messrs.
W. H. A. Wallinger, District Forest Officer, A. H. Plunkett, City
Magistrate, and S. Kyte, Police Inspector.

JAMES M. CAMPBELL.
October 188^.

CONTENTS.

♦

POONA.

Chapter I.— Description. page

Position and Area ; Boundaries ; Sub-Divisions j Aspect . . 1-2

Hills ; Rivers ; Lakes 3-8

Geology 9-12

Climate :

Seasons ; Rainfall ; Temperature ; Barometric Pressure ;

Vapour J Cloudiness ; Fogs ; Winds 13-28

Chapter II.— Production.

Minerals . . 29-30

Forests ; Trees 31-53

Domestic A nimalg :

Oxen ; Caws ; Buffaloes ; Horses ; Asses ; Mules ; Sheep ;

Goats ; Camels ; Dogs and Cats ; Fowls ; Pigeons . . . 54-68

wad Animals ; Game Birds 69-70

Snakes 71-86

Fish 87-93

Chapter III.— Population.

Census Details; Houses ; Villages ; Communities ; Movements . 94-98
Hindus :
Bbahuaks

ChitpAvans 99 - 158

Deshasths ; Devrukhes ; Dravids ; Govardhans ; Gujardtis ;
Javals ; Kanojs ; Elarhdd^ ; Kasths ; Marwdris ; Shenvis ;

Tailangs ; Tirguls ; Vidurs 159 - 184

Weitebs

Dhruv Prabhus ; Kayasth Prabhus 185-192

P^tdne Prabhus 193-255

VeUUs ... 256-260

Tbadegs
Agarvals ; Hangars ; BhdtyAs ; Brahma^Kshatris ; Eirads ;
Komtis ; Lingdyats ; Loh^ds ; TAmbolis ; Gujardt Vanis ;

Marwdr Vims ; Vaishya Vdnis 261 - 279

Hdsbandmen

Bdris ; Kichis 280 - 283

Kunbis 284-308

Milis ; Pahadis 309-313

Craftsmen
Badhais ; Beldars ; Bhadbhunjds ; Bhavsdrsj Buruds ; Chdm-
bhars ; Gaundis ; Ghisidis ; Halvdis ; Jingars ; Kaohdris ;
Kasars; Katdrisj Ehatrisj Koshtis; Eumbhilrs; Lakheris;

ii CONTENTS.

Lohdrsj Londris; NirAlis; Otaris; Pdtharvats; Rduls ; page
Sails ; Sangars ; Shimpis ; Sondrs; SulMnkars ; Tdmbats ;

Telis ; Zdrekaris . 314-377

Musicians

Ghadses ; Guravs 378 - 37 &

Servants

Nhavis ; Parits . . . . ; 380-383

Shepherds

Dhangars ; GavHs 384-386

Fishers

Bhois ; KoKs 387-392

Labourers
Bhanddris ; Chhaparbands ; KAmdthis ; KaMls ; Lodhis ;

Rajputs ; Raddis 393-405

Unsettled Tribes
Berads; Bhils; Kaikddis; Kathkaris; Phasepdrdhis . . .406-408

Rdmoshis 409-424

Thdkurs ; Vadars ; Vanjdris 425 - 430

Depressed Classes

Dhors ; Halalkhors ; Mhars ; Mdngs 431-443

Beooars

Aradhis ; Bhdmtas ; Bharddis; Bhto; Bhutes; Chitrakathis ;

Gondhlis ; Gosavis ; Holars ; Jangams ; Jogtins ; Joharis ;

Kanphates ; KoLhatis ; Manbhdvs ; Panguls ; Sarvade

Joshis ; Sahadev Joshis ; Tirmdlis ; Uchlids ; Vaglies and

Murlisj Vaidus; Vasudevs ; Virs 444-480

MusalmIns 481 - 505

Bene-Israels 506 - 535

Cheistians ; Paesis ; Chinese 536 - 538

Appendix A-

Spirit basis of the rule in favour of child-marriage ..... 539

Appendix B'

Spirit basis of the rule against widow-marriage ..... 540 - 542
Appendix C.

Traces of polyandry 543-546

Appendix D-

Origin of ornaments 547 . 552

Appendix £■

Spirit-possession 553 . 559

Appendix F-

Special Funeral Rites ggO . 555

INDEX 567-576

POONA

POOI^A.

CHAPTER I.

DESCRIPTION.^

- Poona, lying between 17° 64' and 19° 22' north latitude and
73° 24' and 75° 14' east longitude, has an area of about 5350 square
miles, a population adcording to the 1881 census of 900,621 or
about 168"40 to the square mile, and a realizable land revenue of
about £115,350 (Es. 11,53,500).

In the west, along the Sahyidris, Poona has a breadth of seventy
or eighty miles. From this it stretches about 130 miles south-east,
sloping gradually from about 2000 to 1000 feet above the sea, and
narrowing in an irregular T^edge-shape to about twenty miles in the
east. It is bounded on the north by the sub-divisions of Akola,
Sangamner, and P£mer in Ahmadnagar ; on the east by Pdrner,
Shrigonda, and E[ar]at also in Ahmadnagar, and Karmdla in
ShoMpur; on the south by Mdlsiras in Sholdpur, and Phaltan, Wai,
and Bhor in Satdra ;- and on the west by Roha iu Kolaba, Bhor in
Satd,ra, Pen in KoMba, and Karjat and Murbad in Thd,na. Except
two isolated blocks of the Bhor state, a block in the west and a
smaller in the) south, the whole area within these limits belongs to
Poona.

For administrative purposes, exclusive of the city of Poona
which forms a separate sub-division, the district is distributed over
eight sub-divisions. These, beginning from the north-west and
working east, are, Junnar, Khed including Ambegaon, Maval, Haveli
including Mulshi, Sirur, Purandhar, Bhimthadi including Bardmati,
and Inddpur. These eight sub-divisions have on an average an area
of about 670 square miles, 150 villages, and 112,600 people.

Poona AoitimsTRATirE Details, 1881-82.

SnB-DmBioN.

VllLAOES.

Popula-
tion,
1881.

- H

GOVBBNMBNT.

Alienated.

Total.

ViUages.

Ham-
lets.

Yillaged.

Ham-
lets.

1
1

I
1

B11

153

124

166

163

102,273

167

14,714

Khed

888

193

282

244

141,890

160

15.887

Mival

385

137

142

168

62,383

162

7686

Baveli

813

179

156

183

242

287,062

353

20,494

Sirur

578

....

r2,nB

128

13,769

Furandhar

470

«7

76,678

161

9776

Phimthadi ...

1036

114»

1141

151

130

110,428

107

22,935

Indipur

Total ...

S66

48,114

10,200

6347

9831

12,

873

204i

. 1

153

.996}

20Si

1201

900,621

168

116,351

* »' Prom mate

rials B

uppli

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vMr.

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W. F

letcher^

Chapter I.
Description.

Bonndariea.

Sub-DiviBions.

•Superintendent of Survey.
A-' b310— 1

[Bombay Oaaetteer,

Cliapter I.
Description.

Aspect.

Western Belt.

Central Belt.

2 DISTRICTS.

In the gradual change from the roiigi. hilly west to the bare opeosli
east, the 130 miles of the Poona district form in thewest two more
or less hilly belts ten to twenty miles broad and seventy to eighty :
miles long. Beyond the second belt, whose eastern limit is roughly
marked by a line passing through Poona north to Pabal and south
to Purandhar, the plain narrows to fifty and then to about twenty
miles, and stretches east for about ninety miles.

The Western Belt, stretching ten to twenty miles east of the
Sahyidris, is locally known as Maval or the sunset land. It is
extremely, rugged, a series of steppes or tablelands cut on every
side by deep winding valleys and divided and crossed by mountains
and hills.^ From the valleys of the numerous streams whose waters
feed the Ghod the Bhima and the Mula-Mutha, hills of various
heights and forms rise terrace above terrace, with steep sides often
strewn with black basalt boulders. Puring the greater part of the
year most of the deep ravines and rugged mountain sides which
have been stripped bare for wood-ash manure have no vegetation but ,
stunted underwood and dried grass. Where the trees have been
spared they clothe the hill sides with a dense growth seldom more
than twenty feet. high, mixed with almost impassable brushwood,
chiefly composed of the rough russet-leaved hdrvi Strabilanthu| -
grahamianus, the bright green karvand Carissa carandas, and ti;^.
dark-lea-ved aTy'ani or iron-wood Memecylon edule. Here and ther^JI
sometimes as at Londivali in the plain, but of tener on- hill-side ledgf a, *
or in deep dells, are patches of ancient evergreen forest whose holiness
or whose remoteness has saved them from destruction. During the
rainy months from June to October, the extreme west is very chill
and damp. The people in the northern valleys are !Ktilis and in
the southern valleys Marfithds. They have a strong strain of hill
blood, and are dark, wiry, and sallow. They live in slightly built
houses roofed with thatch or tile, grouped .in small hamlets
generally on some terrace or mound, and with the help of wood-ash
manure grow rice in the hollows, and hill grains on terraces, slopes,
and plateaus.

The Central Belt stretches ten to twenty miles east of the
western belt across a tract whose eastern boundary is roughly
marked by a line drawn from Pabal, about twelve miles east o£
Khed, south through Poona to Purandhar. In this central belt,>
as the smaller -chains qf hills sink into the plain, the valleys become -
straighter. and wider and the larger spurs spread into plateaus m
places broader than the valleys. With a moderate, certain, and
seasonable rainfall, a rich soil, and a fair supply of water both from
wells and from river-beds, the valleys yield luxuriant crops. Exceptt

"■ These valleys are locally known as ners, mdvah, and Ickores, and are called eitheri
after the streani or after some leading village. In Junnar all the valleys are neM,
J5ladh,-ner, Kokad-ner, Bhim-uer, andMin-ner, called after the country-tOwB. of Madh
and tlie Kukdi, Bhima, and Mina rivers. In Khed there is BhAmner the valley of the '
BhAma. The MAval aub-diviBion consists of Andhar-mAval, Ntoe-mival, and!
Baun-mdval, called after the riVer Andhra, the country- town of Ndna, and the river
Paiitna. Further jouth there is, Piiui-khore the valley of tjie country-town of Paijd,
»hd MusA-khore the valley of the Musa a tributary of the Mutha,.

DeccaaJ

POONA.

towards the west where uj places is an extensive and valuahle
growth oi small teak, the plateaus and hill slopes are bare and
treeless. Bat the lowlands, studded with mango, banian, and
tamarind groves, enriched with patches of garden tillage, and
relieved by small picturesque hills, make this central belt one of
the most pleasing parts of the Deccan. Near Poena the country
has been enriched by the Mntha canal, along which, the Mutha valley,
from Khadakvasala to about twenty miles east of Poena, is green
with sugarcane and other garden crops.

East of Poena the district gradually narrcfws from about fifty to
twenty miles and stretches nearly ninety miles east, changing
gradually from valleys and broken uplands to a bare open plain.
Baring these ninety miles the land falls steadily about 800 feet.
The hills sink slowly into the plain, the tablelands become lower
and more broken often little more than rolling uplands, and the
broader and more level valleys are stripped of most of their
beauty by the dryness of the air. The bare soilless plateaus,
yellow with stunted spear-grass and black with boulders and
sheets of basalt, except in the rainy months, have an air of utter
' barrenness. The lower lands, though somewhat less bleak, are also
bare. Only in favoured spots are mango, tamarind, banian, and
other shade trees, and exeept on river banks the bdbhul is too
stunted and scattered to relieve the general dreariness. The
garden area is small, and as little of the water lasts throughout
the year, during the hot months most gardens are bare and dry.
Though it is very gradual the change from the west to the east is
most complete. Rugged wooded lulls and deep valleys give place
to a flat bare plain ; months of mist and rain to scanty uncertain
showers ; rice and ndgli to millet and pulse ; and thatched hamlets
to waUed flat-roofed villages.

The hills of the district belong to two distinct systems. One
running, on the whole, north and south, forms the main range of
the Sahyddris, about seventy-three miles in a straight line and
', about ninety following the course of the hills. The other system
of hills includes the narrow broken-crested ridges and the bluff
flat-topped masses that stretch eastwards and gradually sink into ,
the plain. The crest of the Sahyadris falls in places to about 200O
feet, the level of the western limit of the Deccan plateau.' In
other places it rises in roun4ed bluffs and clear-cut ridges 3000 or
4000 feet high. The leading peaks are : In the extreme north,
Harishchandragad whose mighty scarps, nearly. 4000 feet high,,
support a plateau crowned by two low conical peaks. About ten.
miles to the south-west, at the head of the Kukdi valley and
commanding the Nana pass, the massive roCk of Jivdhan, its
fortifications surmounted by a rounded grass-covered top, rises
about 1000 feet above the Deccan plateau. About three miles south
of Jivdhan, the next very prominent hill is Dhd,k. From the east
Dhdk shows only as a square flat tableland, but from the west it is
one of the highest and strongest points among the battlements' of
the Sahyddris. Ten miles south-west of Dhak, where the direction
of the Sahyddris changes from about west to about south, is the

Chapter I.
Description.

Aspect.

Eastern Belt.

HiUs.
SahyddriB.

[Bombay Q&zetteef ,

DISTRICTS.

Chapter I.

Sescription.

Hills.
Sahyddria,

Minor Sangee.

outstanding' bluff of Atupe. This rises from the Decoan plateau
in gentle slopes, but falls west into the Konkan, a sheer cliff
between 3000 and 4000 feet high. Eight miles south of Ahupe,
and, like it, a gentle slope to the east and a precipice to the west,
stands Bhimashankar, the sacred source of the river Bhima. About
fourteen miles south comes a second Dhd,k, high, massive, and with
clear-cut picturesque outline. Though its base is in Thdna it forms
a noticeable feature among the peaks of the Poona Sahyddria,
Five miles further south, at the end of an outlying plateau, almost
cut off from the Deccan, rises the famous double-peaked fort of
R4jmdchi. Ten miles south, a steep slope ends westwards in a sheer
cliff known to the people as the Cobra's Hood or Ndg-phani, and
to Europeans as the Duke's Nose. About six miles south of the
Duke's Nose and a mile inland from the line of the Sahyddris, rises
the lofty picturesque range known as the Jambulni hills. Further
south the isolated rocks of Koiri and Mdjgaon command the
Ambauni and Ainboli passes. Six miles further is the prominent
bluff of Sdltar, and twenty miles beyond is Tdmhini, the south-west
corner of Poona.

, From the main line of the Sahyddris four belts of hills run
eastwards. Of these, beginning from the northj the first and
third consist of parallel ridges that fall eastwards till their line is
marked only by isolated rocky hills. The second and fourth belts
are full of deep narrow ravines and gorges cut through confused
masses of hills with terraced sides and broad flat tops. The north
belt, which is alwjut sixteen miles broad, corresponds closely with the
Junnar sub-division. It has three well-marked narrow ridges, the ,
crests occasionally broken into fantastic p'eaks, and the sides sheer ,
rock or ste^p slopes, bare of trees, partly under tillage and partly
under grass. The northmost ridge stretches from Harishchandragad
along the Ppona boundary and On to Ahmadnagat. South of
this ridge two short ranges of about twenty miles fall into the
plain near Junnar. The chief peaks in the northern spur are:
Hdtkeshvar, about five miles north of Junnar and more than 2000
feet above the Junnar plain, a lofty flat-topped MH which falls
east in a series of jagged pinnacles. It forms the eastern end of the
spur that divides the Madhner and Kokadner valleys. About half
way between Hatkeshvar and the Sahyadris, on a half -detached
ridge at right angles to the main spur, is Hadsar, a great fortified
mass, which with rounded top rises about 1200 feet from the plain,
and ends westwards in a rocky fortified point cut off by a chasm
from the body of the hill. About four njiles to the south-west,
guarding the right bank of the Kukdi, CMvand rises about 700
feet from the plain. It is a steep sldpe crested with a scarp sixty
to a hundred feet high, whose fortifications enclose a rounded grassy
head. Fourteen miles further east, Shivner, part of the broken
ridge which separates the Kukdi and the Mina, rises from a
three-cornered base about 800 feet from the plain and commands
the town of Junnar, Its long waving ridge is marked for miles
round by a flying arch, which stands out against the sky between
the minarets of a mosque. Sixteen miles south-east, isolated, but
Jike Ohavand and Shivner marking the line of water-partiBg between

Deccan.]

POONA. 5

the Kukdi and the Mina, is the ruined hill-forb of Nfolyangad.
It has a clear-cut double-peaked outline, the western and highei?
peak being crowned by a shxiue. South of these, a spur, thirty-five
miles long, forms the south wall of the Mina valley. South of the
crest of this spur, for about fifteen miles, the second belt of eastern
hills stretches a confused mass of uplands separated by abrupt gorges,
their steep slopes covered in the west with evergreen woods,- and
in the east with ■ valuable teak coppice. The slop'es are broken by
terraces with good soil which are cultivated in places, and theif
tops stretch in broad tilled plateaus which often contain the lands
of entire villages. In this belt of hill-land the highest peak rises
into a cone from the centre of a large plateau, in the village of
Ndyphad, about ten miles west of Ghode. At the southern limit of
this hill region, on the north of the Bhdma valley, two conical hills,
Shinga and Khondeshvar, rise about 4000 feet high.

The third belt like the first belt includes several spurs or ridges.
Of these the five chief spurs are : the Tasobdi ridge, between the
Bhama and the Andhra, passing east to within a few miles of
Talegaon-Ddbhade ; Shridepathar, twenty mile|S long, dividing the
valleys of the Andhra and the Kundali'j the Vehergaon spur ; the
Sakhupathar plateau, from which an offshoot with the four peaks
of Lohgad, Visapur, Batrasi, and Kudva, separating the valleys
of the Indrayani and the Pauna, stretches east as far as the
boundary of the Haveli sub-division j and further south, within
Bhor limits in the Pauna valley, the spur from which rise the
two peaks of Tung and Tikona. The fourth belt of east-stretching
hills is further to the south, in the Mulshi petty division, where
the Mula and its seven tributaries cut the country into a mass of
hills and gorges. This is almost as confused as the second belt of
hills, but has fewer trees and more tillage, the hill-sides being less
terraced and the hill tops narrower. South of Mulshi, a belt of
the Bhor state, about twenty miles broad, cuts off Poena from the
main line of the Sahyadris. Though separated from the main line of
the Sahyddris the south-west of the district is not without hills.
Starting 2000 feet from the plain in the scarped flat-topped fort of
Sinhgad, a range of hills stretches east for seven miles, and near
the K^traj pass, divides in two, one branch keeping east the other
turmng south-east. The eastern branch, with well-marked Waving
outline, stretches about fifteen miles to the fortified peak ofi
Malhdrgad. Prom Malhargad it passes nine miles to Dhavleshvar^
and from Dhavleshvar about six miles to the famous temple of
Bholeshvar. Beyond Bholeshvar, for about fifty miles to near
Inddpur, the line is still marked by low hills, rolling downs, and
barren uplands. The second branch, after leaving the main range
close to the Kdtraj pass, turns south-east for twelve miles, and with
several bold spurs, centres in the fortified mass of PurandhaK
Out of the same mountain mass rises, from the level of the lower
Purandhar fort, the fortified peak of Vajragad which commands the
lower and main fort of Purandhar. Beyond Purandhar the range
forms the water-parting between the Karha and the Nira rivers,
and, after stretching ten miles farther east, is prolonged in low bar©
Mils and stoily ri^geS to near B^ramati. About fouisteen miles

Chapter I,
Description,

Hills,
Minor Ranges.

[Bombay Gazetteer,

DISTRICTS.

Chapter I.
Description-
Rivers.

Bhivfid,

eaat of Pufandhar, above the villag© of Jejuri, at the end of' the last
ridge, of any noticeable height, is the small plateau of Kh^repathar
which is occupied by an- ancient much venerated temple of Khan-
doba.

Poena is crossed by many rivers and streams, which take theip
rise in and near the SahyAdris, and, bounded by the east-stretohing
spurs, flow east and south across the district. The chief river is
the Bhima, which crosses part of the district and for more than a
hundred miles forms its eastern boundary. The main tributaries
of the Bhima are the Vel and the Grhod on the left, and the Bhdma,
the Indrayani, the Mula or Mula-Mutha, and the STira on the right.
Besides the Bhima and its feeders there are seven rivers, the Kukdi
and the Mina tributaries of the Ghod, the Andhra a tributary of
the Indrayani, and the Shivganga and Karha tributaries of the
Nira. The Pushpavati with its feeder the Mdndvi is a minor
stream which flows into the Kukdi, and the Pauna is a feeder of
the Mula. During the rainy season all of these rivers flow with a
magnificent volume of water and during the hot season shrink to a
narrow thread in broad stretches of gravel. At intervals barriers
of rock cross the beds damming the stream into long pools.

The famous temple of Bhimdshankar ou the crest of the
Sahyadris twenty-five miles north of Khandala, marks the source
of the Bhima. Prom a height of about 3000 feet above the sea,
the river falls over terraces of rock some 600 feet in the first five
miles. Further east, with a general course to the south-east, it
flows thirty-six miles through the very narrow and rugged valley
of Bhimner, On its way it passes the large villages of Vdda, Ohds,
and Elhed, and near the village of Pimpalgapn from the right
receives the waters of the Bh^ma, and at Tuldpur the waters of the
ladrdyani. Frgm Tulapur it bends to the south, skirting the Haveli
sub^division> and after receiving from the left the waters of the Vel
about five miles belowTalegaon-Dhamdhere,it turns again northreast
to Mahdlungi, a point sixteen miles east of TuMpur. Then running
south for about nine miles, at the vUlage of Ranjangaon it is joined -
from the right by the Mula-Mutha. This point is 1591 feet above
the sea level or 475 feet below the village of V^da. From
Rdnjangaon the Bhima runs south-east with a winding course of
about fourteen miles, till, on the eastern border of the district, it
receives from the left the waters of the Grhod. After meeting the
Ghod, the Bhima's course . is very winding, the stream at Diksdl
flowing north-west for some miles. Finally at the extreme, south-
east corner of the district, after a deep southward bend round the
east of Inddpur, it, is joined from the right by the Nira. The banks
of the Bhima are generally low and after its meeting with the
Indrdyani are entirely alluvial. Here and there, where the winding
stream has cut deep into the soft ^nould, are steep banks of great
height, but in such places the opposite bank is correspondingly low.
In places where- a ridge of basalt throws a barrier across- the stream,
the banks are wild and rocky, and the water, dammed into a long
deep pool, forces its way over the rocks in- sounding^ rapids. Except
in such places the bed of the Bhima is gravelly and in- the fair
eeason has but a slender stream. Here and there muddy deposits

Decean.l

POONA. 7

yield crops of wheat or vegetables and even the Sand is planted
with melons.

The Vel rises at Dhdkle in a spur of the Sahy^dris near the
centre of Khed. It flows south-east nearly parallel with the Bhima,
andj about five miles below Talegaon-Dhamdhere, falls into the
Bhima after a course of nearly forty miles.

The Ghod rises near Ahupe on the crest of the Sahyadris, nine
miles north of the source of the Bhima, at a height of about 2700
feet above the sea. A steep winding course, with a fall of about
800 feet, brings it sixteen miles east to Ambegaon. From Ambegaon
it runs east-south-east, 'and passing the large villages of .Grhoda and
Vadgaon on the north border of Khed, is joined from the left by
the Mina. From here for about twenty»five miles till it receives
the Kukdi, about six miles above the camp of Sirur, and for about
twenty miles further till it falls into the Bhima, the Ghod with a
very winding course keeps, on the whole^ south-east along the
Poqna-Ahmadnagar boundary. Near the Sahy^dris the course of
the. Ghod is varied and picturesque, the stream dashing over rooky
ledges or lying in long still pools between woody banks. At Pargaon
. where it is joined by the Mina about forty-five miles from its source,
the valley changes into the level plaia of Kavtha, about ten miles
wide, through which the Ghod flows over a rooky bed between bare
banks. The water of the Ghod is famed for its wholesomeness^ a
character which analysis bears out.

The BhIma rises in the Sahyddris about six miles south of
Bhimdshankar. It winds between banks 150 feet high down the
valley to which it gives the name of Bhdmner, and after a south-
easterly course of about twenty-four miles, falls from the right
into the Bhima near the village of Pimpalgaon. The Bh£ma valley
.'from its beginniiig about seven miles east of the SahyMris, continues
level, and gradually widens eastward for fourteen miles. The stream
flows 150 feet below the cultivated lands, which are on a higher
terrace.

The IndeItani rises near Kurvande village at the head of the
Kurvande pass on the crest of the Sahyd.dris about three miles south-
west of Lonavli, and flows on the whole east through the Nane-maval
and past the village of Ndna till after sixteen miles it is joined on the
left by the Andhra. It then enters the open country and passes
twelve miles east to Dehu, a place of pilgrimage sacred to the Vani
saint Tukaram. From Dehu it flows twelve miles south-east by the
village of Alandi, a place of pilgrimage sacred to Dnydneshvar, and
after keeping south-east fox about twenty niiles, turns north and
meets the Bhima near Tulapur after a course of about sixty* miles.

The Mtoa or Mtjla-Mtttha is formed of seven streams which rise
at various points along the crest of the Sahyddris between eight
and twenty-two miles south of the Bor pass. The united stream
keeps nearly east to Lavla about five miles east of the village of Paud
which gives the valley the name of Paud-khore.^ From Lavla, with
:iaany windings, it passes east to Poena, receiving on the way the
Fauna on the left, and art Poona the Mntha on ttie right, and then

Chapter I.
Description.

Eivers,
Yd.

Ghoi.

Bhdma.

Mula-Muthn,

[Bombay Gazetteer,

DISTRICTS.

Chapter I.

Description.

Kivers.
Jfira.

Kukdi.

Mma.

AncOira.

MiUha.

Under tlie name of Mula-Mutha winds east till at R^njangaon Sandas
it readies the Bhima after a total course of about seventy uiiles.

The NiEA has its source in the Bhor state in the spur of the
Sahyadris which is crowned by the fort of Torna. It ;flows north-east
till it reaches the southern border of Poena where it is joined from
the north by the Shivganga. From this it turns east and forms the
southern boundary of the district, separating it from Satdra, the
Phaltan state, and ShoMpur. It finally falls into the Bhima at the
south-east corner of the district, near Narsingpur after a course of
ahout a hundred miles.

The Kukdi rises at Pur, two miles west of Chdvand near the Nana
pass in the' north-east comer of the district, and runs south-east by
the town and fort of Junnar twenty-four miles to Pimpalvandi.
From Pimpalvandi it flows south-east for thirty miles, passes into
the Pdrner sub-division of Ahmadnagar, and falls into the Ghod six
miles north-west of the Sirur camp on the eastern border of the Sirur
sub-division. The valley of this river occupies greater part of
Junnar.

The MiNA rises on the eastern slope of Dhak in the west of Junnar
and flows east through the rich vale known as Minner. In the rainy
season, during the first two miles of its course, the river overflows
its banks and causes much damage.. . In the lands of the Kusur
village, about fifteen miles from its source, the river is crossed by
a dam known as the Tambnala dam from which a canal formerly
carried water to Vdglohore where there is at preseiit a grove of
mango trees. From this the Mina. flows to N^rayangaon on the
Poena and Nasik road, where there is another useful dam for irriga-
tion. There is also a dam at Vaduj two miles south-east of Kusur.
Past Ndrdyangaon, where it is crossed by a good modern bridge,
the Mina joins the Ghod at Pargaon,. leaving the fort of Nard,yangad
to its left.

The Andhba rises in the SahyMris near the Sdvle pass, about
2250 feet above the sea. Its source is at the head of a broad valley
which runs west to the crest of a scarp whose base is in the
Konkan. It flows south-east along a bed 100 to 150 feet below the
cultivated land, through one of the openest valleys in the district, for
eighteen miles, and joins the Indrdyani on its north bank near the
village of Bd,jpuri.

The MuTHA,. which gives its name to glen Mutha or Mutha-khore>
rises in a mass of hills on the edge of the Sahyadris nearly 3000
feet above the sea.. From the hill-side it enters a gorge or valley so
narrow that the bases of the hills stretch to within forty ov fifty
yards, of .the river-bank. During the first twenty miles of its course
the Mutha flows through the territory of the Pant Sachiv. Imme-
diately after entering the Poena district the current of the river
is checked by the great Khadakvasla dam about ten miles further
down. This dam has turned the valleys of the Mutha and of its
feeders the two Musas into a lake about flfteen miles long and,
half a mile to a mile and a half broad. Below the dam the Mutha '
^ows north-east past Parvati hill bj the north-west limit of the

DeccanJ

POONA.

city of Poona, till it joins the Mula at a point known as the meeting
or sa/ngam.

' The Kaeha rises a few miles east of Sinhgad and with a south-
easterly course of less than sixty miles through the Purandhar and
Bhimthadi sub-divisions, falls into the Nira near Songaon in the
Boutii-eastem comer of the Bdrdmati petty division of Bhimthadi,

The Shiv^anga rises on the south slopes of Sinhgad and flows
east for about six miles to Shivdpur and then south for about ten
miles to the Pant Saohiv's village of Nasrdpur, where it is joined by
the Khanind. From i^asrfipur, under the name of Gunjavni, it
passes south-east for about six miles and falls into the Nira near
Kenjal in Purandhar.

The PtrsHPAvATi rises near the Malsej pass at the north-west
corner of the Junnar sub-division. It flows down Madhner by the
villages of Pimpalgaon-joga and tJdApur, nearly parallel to the
Mina river, and joins the Kukdi at the village of Yedgaon, about
eight miles east of Junnar. Near Uddpur the river is known by the
name of Ad.

The Patina rises on the crest of the Sahyadris south of the range
of hills which forms the southern border of the Indrayani valley
and includes the fortified summits of Lohogad and VisApur. It flows
at first nearly east along the winding vale of Pauna or Paiind-maval,
till, leaving the rugged westlands, it turns south-east, and, after a
very winding course, joins the Mula from the north near Dapudi.
At the village of Ambegaon, about six miles east of its source, the
bed of the Pauna is about 1820 feet above the sea.

The district has no natural lakes, but six artificial lakes provide
a considerable supply of water. Of the six artificial lakes two are
in Haveli, at Khadakvdsla and Kdtraj ; three are in Bhimthadi, at
Kasurdi, Mdtoba, and Shirsuphal; and one is at BhddalvAdi in
Inddpur. Details of these lakes are given in Chapter IV. under
Irrigation.

Besides these six main lakes there are considerable reservoirs at
Baur, Ki,mbra, Khandala, Karanjgaon, Edrla, Mundharva, Talegaon-
DdbhMe, Uksan, and Valvhan, in the Mdval sub-division; at Jejuri
in Purandhar ; at Pdshdn in Haveli ; at Pdtas in Bhimthadi ; and ait
Ind^pur.

Almost the whole rock of Poona is stratified trap. Beds of basalt
and amygdaloid alternate, whose upper and lower planes are strik-
ingly parallel with each other, and, as far as the eye can judge,,
with the horizon. Barometrical measurements, and the course of the
rivers show a fall in level to the east-south-east and south-east.

Like the rise from the Konkan the fall eastwards from the crest
of the Sahyddris is by strata or terraces. These terraces occur at
much longer intervals towards the east than towards the ^est, and
are so much lower that, particularly in the east, they escape the eye
of the casual observer. In the neighbourhood of Manchar on the

Chapter I.

Description.

Rivers.'
Karha.

Shivganga.

Pudhpdvati.

Pauna.

Lakes.

Geology.'

Terraces,

1 Lieutenant-Colonel Sykes, Geological Papers on Western India, 89-115.
B 310—2

[Bombay Gazetteer,

DISTBICTS.

Chapter I.
Description.

Geology.

Escarpments.

Columnar Basalts,

GhQd river, about fifteen miles north of Khed, five terraces ria^
above eaoli other from east' to west so distinctly marked that the r
parallelisin of their plane&to each other and to the horizon seems
artificial. Many insulated tablelands have also an artificial character,
looking, like truncated cones when seen endways. Other insulated
hills such as Tikona or the three-cornered in the Pauna valley,
Shivner near Junnar, and Lohogad near Londvli are triangular in
their superficial planes.

Mighty scarps occasionally occur in the Sahyddris, the numerous
strata instead of being arranged in steps forming an unbroken
wall. At the Ahupe pass, at the source of the Grhod river, the wall _
or scarp is fully 1500 feet high. On the other hand, the strata or
steps are sonxetimes worn into a sharp slope. This is , due to a
succession of beds of soft amygdaloid without any intervening layers
of basalt whose edges weather away and leave an unbroken slope.
But as a rule three or four beds of the soft amygdaloid occur
between two strata of compact basalt. The soft amygdaloid wears
into a slope well suited for the growth of trees, while the hard black
basalt, though its base may be buried in earth and stones from the
amygdaloid above, rises from the wooded belt with majestic effect,
its black front shining from the fringe of green. It is these girdles
of smooth lofty basalt walls rising one within the other that make
so many of the Deccan hills natural forts of amazing strength.

In the alternation of strata th«re is no uniformity, but as in
sedimentary rocks the general level, thickness, and extent of a
stratum are preserved on both sides of a valley. The basalt and
hardest apiygdaloids are traceable for miles in the parallel spurs or
ranges, but the imbedded minerals and even the texture vary in
very short distances.

A great geological feature of the Deccan is its columnar basalts.
The basalts and hardest amygdaloids run so much into each other
that except the lines of horizontal stratification, the separation is
not always distinct. Prismatic disposition is more marked and per-
fect in the basalts than in the amygdaloids, and the more or less
perfect development of determinate forms depends on the compact-
ness and constituents of the rock. Basalts and amygdaloids, how-
ever compact, rarely form columns if they have much imbedded
matter. Perfect columns are generally small, of four five or six
sides, but prismatic structure sometimes shows itself in basaltic and
amygdaloidal columns many feet in diameter. On the low table-
land of Karde near Sirur, between sixty and seventy miles east of
^e Sahyadris, columnar basalt occupies an area of many square
miles. Small columns occur in most of the slopes of the narrow
winding valleys and on the flanks of the platforms. On many
tablelands^ tops or terminal planes of columns form a pavement.
The perfect columns in the flanks are generally small with four five
or six sides, resting on a layer of basalt or amygdaloid. In some
spots the columns are separate, in others they are joined together.
In a mass of columns in the face of the tableland towards
Sirur the columns are of different lengths, but spring from the same
level, As the wash of monsoon torrents haa sw^pt away more

Deccan,]

POONA.

sections or articnlations di the outer colmnns than of the inner
, columns, their tops form a natural flight of steps. The columns of
this tableland are- for the most part upright, but some of them stand
at various angles, usually at 45°. Near the village of Karde they lean
from the east and west towards a central' upright mass. These are
aboutfourteenfeetinlengthandarenotjointed. Inamassof columns
facing the west, two miles south of the cavalry lines at Sirur, some
are bent and not jointed. At Khadkdla, thirty miles north-west
of Poena, between Talegaon and Lohogad, a cutting for the Bor
pass road shows a pile of numerous small horizontal columns.
Imperfect columns occur in the rocky banks of a stream two or three
hundred yards west of the village of Yevat. On the right bank they
are so marked and so strange that the people worship them and paint
them with red lead. Columns also occur in the watercourses near
Kadus, about ten miles west of Khed. The basalt is bluish grey and
compact, vitrious in hue, and sharp in fracture. The rocky banks
of the Kukdi at Jd,mbut in Sirur about twenty-six miles south-east
of Junnar, show a strong tendency to form large columns. At the
west end of Sinhgad top, aboat 4000 feet above the sea, is a sheet
of rock paved with five-cornered slabs, no doubt the ends of basalt
columns. A pavement of basalt columns occurs also in the hill-fort
of Harishchandragad about seventy miles north of Sinhgad ; in the
bed of the Mula river at Gorgaon; and in a scarp which runs into
'the Konkan about three miles from the Nana pass.

Another characteristic feature of the Poona rocks is the general
diffusion of basalt balls, rounded or oval masses of compact basalt
with concentric layers like the coats of an onion. These concretions
are usually found at the base of hills, buried in the rubbish of
decomposing Strata. But on the hill behind the rifle range at Poona
they are scattered over a considerable area of tableland. They are
abundant along, the edge of the plateau near PAbal in the west of
Sirur, and fine specimens occur near the village of Khadkdla, thirty
miles north-west of Poona, along with the level basaltic columns
which have been already noticed.^

The basaltic dikes of the district are all upright, and do not seem
to have caused any disturbance or dislocation in the strata of basalt
and amygdaloid through, which they have passed. Two dikes run
obliquely across the Indrdyani valley, thirty -five miles north-west of
Poona, and intersect each other. They are about four feet thick and
cut through amygdaloidal strata. A prismatic disposition is generally
observable in the fracture, and from one of them was dbtained a
square prism which lay at right angles to the dike.' The Bor paSs road,
which runs through this valley to Panvel, is frequently crossed hf
ridges which are presumed to be the outcrops of dikes. A dike may be
seen itom the Poona cantonments on the southern slope of an insulated

Chapter I.
Description.

Geology.
Cohinmar Basalta.

Basalt Ballsi

Basalt Dikes,

^ In making the i^utting, the balls were either left projecting or altogether removed.
The vertical sections of the nuclei in which these baJls were embedded show ten to
fifteen concentric layers of friable grey stone which in some instances is found
to affect the needle. Specimens of i£e nuclei, were compared with a mass brought
from the Solfatara at Naples and <juite similar in aspeet, ebldur, hardness aad trbi^t.;.
.Geological Papers on Western India, 98.

[Bombay Gazetteer,

DISTRICTS.

Chapter I.

Description.

Geology.
Basali Dikes.

Iron-Clay.

hill near the villages of Bosri and Dighi, seven and a half miles
north of Poona, It is about four feet thick, has a transverse prismatic
fracture, is compact, and runs from the bottom to the top of the south
face of the hill, but does not show on the north slope. A similar dike
occurs in a hill at Mabre, twenty miles north-west of Poona. The
finest specimen is the dike which runs vertically from east to west
through the hill-fort of Harishehandragad. It is first seen about
4000 feet below the crest ofthe scarp of six or seven feet thick oil
the way up the hill from Kirishvar on the south-east. It crosses
the path and its prismatic fractures at right angles to its planes
-form a few natural steps. It can be traced for about 800 feet of
perpendicular height. On the top of the hill, within the fort^
about a mile to the westward, it appears at intervals cutting through
basaltic and amygdaloidal strata; It passes west, but whether it
appears on the western scarp is not" known.

The next distinctive feature is the occurrence of layers of red
iron-clay which underlie thick strata of basalt or amygdaloid, The
rock makes a red streak on paper, aind does not affect the needle.
It is found crumbled to dust near the basaltic columns at Sirur. ' In
the 'scarps of the hill-fort of Harishehandragad and in Shivner near
Junnar, famous for its rock-cut caves, red clay is found compact and
homogeneous, and is, ' in fact, an earthy jasper. In these localities
it lies under 300 to 600 feet of basalt. , In Harishehandragad it is
about three feet thick j in Shivner one foot.

Singular heaps of rocks and stones, twenty to seventy feet in
diameter and about the same in height, occur at Patas in Bhim-
thadi. These are found only in the open Deccan, never in the western
hilly tracts. Especially in the western hilly tracts large areas of bare
sheet-rock occur. Perhaps the most remarkable examples are at
Ldkangaon about twenty miles from Junnar, in the Ghod valley,
and in Harishehandragad. This sheet-rock abounds with narrow
vertical veins of quartz and chalcedony. When of suflB.cient thick-
ness, the vein splits in the centre, parallel to the surface of its
walls, the interior being drusy with quartz crystals. The walls
consist of layers of chalcedony, cachalong, hornstone, and semi-opal.
These veins supply the majority of the siliceous minerals which are
so abundantly strewed over the Deccan.

The structure and mineral composition of the Poona trap vary
exceedingly within short distances, even in the same stratum. Still
the predominant character does not disappear, although the basalt
in a continuous bed may pass from close-grained compact and almost
black to gray amygdaloidal and externally decomposing. The same
observation applies to the amygdaloids. A i^ariety of compact basalt
of an intense dark colour is susceptible of a brilliailt polish. It is of
great weight and remarkable hardness. The natives use it t6 work
into idols, for pedestals to the wooden columns iii their mansions,
and for inscription slabs. The bulls of the size of life, always
placed before Shiv's temples, are cut out of this variety at the
renowned Bholeshvar. Some of the pedestals in the gateway of the
Md,nkeshvar . palace at Tembhurni in the adjoining Karm^la sub-
division of ShoMpur shine like mirrors.

Deccan.]

POONA.

In Harishcliandragad quartz amygdaloid prevails. A small
cellular and pisiform variety is found in the cave temples of K^la,
Junnar, and the Nanaglid,t, all of which are excavated in basaltic
or gimygdaloidal strata, and some of the sculptured figures appear
as if marked by small-pox. The stilbite or heulandite amygdaloid
is of very common occurrence. The stone usually selected for
building is of various shades of gray or bluish grey, as hornblende
disseminated in very small crystals works much easier than some
of the compactor basalts and takes a good polish. The temple of
Bholeshvar," with its innumerable figures and laboured ornaments
in deep relief, is built .of this variety of trap, which is,- in fact,
a green-stone although less crystalline than the European green-
stone. One variety which is sometimes carelessly used for building
has the structure and much of the external character of the last,'
but in weathering peels off and the buildings fall to ruin. Such is
the case with the great temple in Harishchandragad.

Two other remarkable rocks have not been noticed by authors on
European geology. The first is an amygdaloid in which compact
stilbite is imbedded in a vermicular form. One of its localities is
the insulated hiU. on which stands the temple of Parvati about a mile
to the south of the city of Pooha. The otiier rock occurs as a thick
stratum of amygdaloid at the height of 4000 feet in the hiU-forts of
Harishchandragad and Purandhar, and at the height of 1800 feet
in the bed of the Ghod river near Sirur. The matrix resembles that
of other amygdaloids, but the mineral imbedded is a glassy felspar
in tables resembling cleavelandite crossing each other at various
angles and so abundant as to form one-half of the mass.
; ; In digging wfeUs in the Poona cahtonment, splendid specimens of
; ichthyophthalmite have been found and in and near the Mula-Mutha
fine specimens of heliotrope and coloured quartz occur. Common
salt aiid carbonate of soda are also recorded from several parts of the
district. Some account of the deposits is given under minerals in
the Production Chapter.

Its height above the sea, its freedom from alluvial deposits, and the
prevalence of westerly breezes, make the . climate of Poona dry and
invigorating and better suited to European constitutions than most
Indian climates. The air is lighter, the cold more bracing, and the
heat less oppressive than in most parts of Western or Southern India.

The Poona year may be divided into three seasons : the cold
season from November to February,, the hot season from March to
June, and the wet season from June to October. The cold season
begins in November and ends in February. The coldest month is
January which in 1872 showed a mean temperature of 70°. Cold
land winds prevail with sea breezes mostly after sun-down.

The hot season may be said to begin in the middle of March and
end in June, though the hot winds and the chief characteristics ^ of
the hot weather are over by the middle of May. At the beginning
of the hot weather the wind. blows from the east in the morning
and from the west in the afternoon. In the latter part of the hot
weather, except during thunderstorms, there is no easterly or land
wind. The sea breeze sets in about three in the afternoon and

Chapter I.

Description.

Geology.

Minerals.

Natural Salts.

Climate.

[Bombay Gazetteer,

DISTRICTS.

Chapter I.

Description.

Climate.
Seasons.

MainfaU.

somewhat earlier in the extreme west. At the beginning- of the hot
weather the temperature rises suddenly with scorching variable
winds from the north-west and west in the centre of the district,
and from tbe east in the east of the district. Towards the end of
April the temperatui'e at Poona sometimes rises over 100°, the
sun's rays being then nearly vertical for weeks. Thunderstorms
occasionally break the heat but they are generally accompanied
by cloudy and sultry weather.^ During the hot season the air is
darkened by a dry haze. April and May, though the hottest, are
not the dryest months. The sun beating on the ocean in the
middle of March raises large masses of vapour which continue to
increase as the sun passes north. The westerly winds carry this
vapour across the Konkan and over the west Deccan. In the
western hills, from about the tenth of May, "the vapour begins
to condense in the cool of the evening in heavy dews and
refreshing mists, and over the centre and east it gathers in great
thunderclouds. In the east and centre of the district, sometimes
early in May, but as a rule not till towards the close of the month,
after three or fonr oppressive days^ in the afternoon clouds gather
in the east in great masses, and witii a strong blast from the north-
east drive west with thunder and hea^y rain.

Over the whole district the chief supply of rain iff from the south-
west monsoon which begins about the middle of June and lasts till
the end of September. The returns show such marked variations
from year to year at the different rain stations and such great
differences in the average fall at stations at no great distance apart,
that it is difl5cult to divide' the district according to its rainfall.*

' The iollowing acconfit of a storm which broke over Poona on the 22nd of May
1847 is taken from the Transactions of the Bombay Oeographical Society, IX. 191,
192 : There had been a thunderstorm the evening before, but on the 22nd the sky
was clear though the air was hot and heavy. . At three in the afternoon a dense
mass of clouds rose in the south-east and jiassed to the north-west bearing about
north-east from the cantonment. At half -past four the sky was still clear in the
west, but in the east an arch of cumulus clouds had gathered, and, though the air was
deadly still, the clouds moved Jiapidly west shrouding the. country in gloom with
unceasing lightning and thunder. Suddenly the stillness of the air was broken by a
violent gust from the south-west as if the air was sucked in by the coming tempest
whose front was now high overhead hurrying in a rapid scud to the west. . With the
first movement of the air came a heavy fall of rain and hailstones. This lasted for ten
minutes. Then followed a short cahn during which heavy masses of wild and broken
clouds kept rolling from the north-east and drifting westward overhead. Ten or twelve
minutes after the gust from the south-west had passed, thewind began anew with great
force veering from the north to the north-east, then to the south-east, and flnaUjr in
about twenty minutes turning back to the south-west. During these changes of wind
the rain fell in torrents with very large hailstones so close that six or eight could be
counted on a square foot. By a quarter to six the storm seemed nearly spent, and the
sky to the east was clearing. In one hour an inch and a half of fain had fallen. Many
of the hailstones were of the size of a musket-bSU or a pigeon's egg, the largest falling
about the middle of the storm when the wind was blowing from the north and north-
east. The shape of almost all was oblong and their structure concentric layers of frozen
water. One was found an inch in diameter, and it must have lost some bulk in
passing through the hot air near the surface of the earth. At the beginning of the
itorm the thermometer was at 90° in the house, in half an hour it went down to 78°,
and when the storm was over it stood at 72°. The dew_ point had been 74° in the
- morning, it rose to 78° by four, and again fell to 68°. By six the tempestuous clouds
had passed, but still hung across the western half of the heavens with unceasing
lightning and thunder.

» The rain returns must be received wlfhoautioii. In some stations little more than
a. beginning of accurate registration has been made.

Deccaa.]

POONA.

During the five years ending 1881 tlie average rainfall at Bdrdjnati
and at Inddpur in the extreme east has been as high as the fall in
most parts of the district except close to the Sahy^dris. But the
returns for a long series of years'show that, though in some seasons
it is suflBcient and occasionally abundant, the fall in the east of the
district is uncertain. This supports the usual local division of the
district into three belts, a western belt varying from about twelve
miles in breadth in the north to about twenty -four in the south,
whose eastern limit passes through Junnar, Ghode, Khed, Talegaon-
Dd,bhdde, and Singhad, with a heavy and certain rainfall ; a central
belt, with an avei-age breadth of about twenty miles, the eastern'
limit passing through Ana, Bela, P^bal, Loni, Sdsvad, Jejuri, and
Valhi, with a moderate but regular rainfall ; and the long tongiie of
land that stretches east from this line to Ind4pur with an uncertain
and irregular rainfall.

For the twenty-one years ending 1881 returns are available for
KhadkAla and Paud in the western belt ; for Junnar, Ghoda, Khed,
Poena, and Sdsvad in the central belt ; and for Sirur, Supa,
Bar£mati, and Inddpur in tbe eastern belt. In the western belt, at
'Khadkd.la, which is ajbout eleven miles east of the Sahyddris and
twenty-five miles north-west of Poena, during the ten years ending
1870 the fall varied from 95 inches in 1863 to 12 inches in 1861
and averaged about 60 inches, and during the eleven years ending
1881 it varied from 116 inches in 1875 to 36 inches in 1880 and
averaged 60 inches j and Paud, which is about fifteen miles east
of the Sahyddris and fifteen miles west of Poena, .during the
ten years ending _1870 varied from 77 inches in 1861 to 36
inches in 1867 and averaged 52 inches, and during the eleven
years ending 1881 varied from 88 inches in 1875 to 37 in 1877
and averaged 54 inches. In the central belt, Junnar, which is
about twelve miles east of the Sahyadris and forty-five north of
Poena, during the ten years ending 1870 varied from 10 inches
in 1862 to 35 inches in 1861 and averaged 22 inches, and during
the eleven years ending 1881 varied from 13 inches in 1873 to 39
in 1878 and averaged 22 inches ; Ghoda, which is eighteen miles
; from the Sahyadris and thirty-five north of Poona, during the ten
years ending 1870 varied from 13 inches in 1862 to 39 in 1861 and
averaged 23 inqhes, and during the eleven years ending 1881 varied
from 12 inches in 1872 to 36 in 1878 and averaged 23 inches ; Khed,
. which is about twenty-five miles east of the Sahyadris and twenty-
five north of Poona, during the ten years ending 1870 varied from
13 inches in 1864 to 33 in 1870 and avelfaged 22 inches, and during
the eleyen_years ending 1881 varied from 15 inches in 1872 to 32
in 1878 and averaged 23 inches; Poona, which is about thirty-two
miles east of the Sahyadris, during the ten years ending 1870 .fipild
from 17 inches in 1864 to 47 in 1861 and averaged 29 inches,'and
during the eleven, years ending 1881 varied from 15 inches in 1876
to 38 in ] 875 and averaged 27 inches j and Sasvad, which is about
thirty miles east of the Sahyddris and fifteen south-east of Poona,
during the ten years ending 1870 varied from 2 inches in 1863 to
34 in 1869 and averaged 14 inches, and during the eleven years
ending 1881 varied from 15 inches in 1880 to 38 in 1878 and

Chafer I.

Description.

Climate..
Rainfall.

[Bombay Gazetteer

DISTRICTS.

Chapter I.

Description.

Climate.
■ Rainfall.

Source of Bam
Supply.

averaged 21 inches. In the eastern belt, Sirur, which is aboui
sixty-two miles east of the Sahyddris and thirty-six miles north-
east of Poona, during the ten years ending 18/0 varied from IC
inches in 1862 to 31 in 1861 and averaged 19 inches, and during
the eleven years ending 1881 varied from 11 inches in 1876 to 24
in 1878 and averaged 17 inches; Siipa, which is about fifty-five
miles east of the Sahyadris and about thirty-five miles south-east ol
Poona/ during the ten years ending 1870 varied from 5 inches in
1863 and 1865 to 30 in 1861 and averaged 10 inches/ and^during
the eleven years ending 1881 varied from 6 inches in 1876 to 26 in
1878 and averaged 17 inches; Bdr^mati, which is about sixty
mil^s east of the SahyMris and fifty south-east of Poona^ during
the ten years ending 1870 varied from 2 inches in 1861 to 27 in
1869 and averaged 16 inches, and in the eleven years ending 1881
varied from 8 inches in 1876 to 29 in 1878 and averaged 19 inphes ;
and Indapur, which is about ninety miles east of the Sahyi,dris and
twenty-five south-east of Poona, during the ten years ending 1870
varied from 3 inches in 1863 to 26 inches in 1869 and, averaged 13
inches, and in the eleven years ending 1881 varied from 5 inches in
1876 to 29 inches in 1878 and averaged 21 inches.
The following are the details :

Poona Rain Rbtviins, 1861 -

1881.

From

Station.

THE ,

Sahya

DEIS.

1861.

1S62.

1863.

1864.

1865.

1866.

1867.

1868.

1869.

1870.

TBN

TBABB.

Miles.

In.

Tn.

In.

In,

In. 1

EhadkSJa

' 12

,60

Junnar

26'

22 1

Paud

.S«

Ghoda

Khed

SSsvad :

2B .

Poona

Supa

80-

BSr&mati

Sirar

• 21

Indapur

Statiok.

1871.

1872.

1873.

1874.

1876.

1877.

1878.

1879.

1880.

1881.

Elbvbm

TEARS.

In.

In. '

In.

Khadk&la

116

'51

• 68

Junnar

Paud

46 '

Ghoda

Khed

Sasrad

15.

Poona

Supa

17 '.

BarSmati

Sivur

Indapur

28^

Special returns compiled by Mr. Moore, the Collector of Poona, foi
the five years ending 1882, separate the three sources of rain supply
the easterly thunderstorms in May, the south-west rain betweei
June and the end of September, and rain from the northtcast ii
October at the beginning of the north-east monsoon. The average
supply from the easterly thund§rstoms in May varied' from 2'7t

Seccan.]

POONA.

in Poona to '1"06 at Khadkala and to 0*50 atLon^vla on the crest of
tlie Sahyddris ; the south-west supply varied from 138'80 at Lonavla
and 4991 at Khadkala to 9'83 at Kedgaon about thirty niiles east
6i Poona ; and the October north-east supply varied from 5'96 inches
at BdrAmati about fifty miles south-east of Poona, to 2'82 inches at
Kdsurdi about twenty-four miles east of Poona.'^ These returns,
which are fronl twenty stations/ seem to show that local causes,
probably the neighbourhood of hiUs and rivers, greatly modify the
general influences which would make the supply of south-west rain
decline with, the increasing distance from the western .limit of the
district and would make the east and north-east supplies decline with
increasing distance from the east of the district. As regards the
early or eastern rainfall in May, of the western stations Eonavla is 20
or last in the list, KhadkAla is 19, and Paud 16 ; of the central
stations Junnar is 14, Khadakvasla 12, Khed 10, Jejuri 9, Sisvad 4,
Talegaon-Dabhade 2, and Poona 1 j and of the eastern stations
Kasurdi is 18, Talegaon-Dhamdhere 17, Sirur 15, Indapur 13,
Supa 11, Patas 8, Kedgaon 7, Bdrd,mati 6, Sirsuphal 5, and tJruli 3.
As regards the south-west rainfall, of the western stations, Londvla is
1, Khadkala 2, and Paud 8 ; of th^ central stations, Talegaon-Ddbhdde
is 4, Khadakvasla 5, Junnar 6, Poona 7, Khed 8, Jejuri 10, and
.Sasvad 12 ; and of the eastern stations, Inddpur is 9, Bdramati 11,
P&tas 13, Sirur 14, Sirsuphal 16, Talegaon-Dham^ere 16, Supa 17,
Uruli 18, Kasurdi 19 ; and Kedgaon 20. As regards the north-
east October rain, of the western stations, Londvla is 3, Khadkdla 7,
and Paud 17 j of the central stations, Poona is 5, Khadakvasla 6,
Jejuri 10, Khed 12, Sasvad 13, Talegaon-DabhMe 16, and Junnar 19 ;
and of the eastern stations, Bdrdmati is 1, Indapur 2, Sirur 4,
:iEedgaon 8, Supa 9, Patas 11, Sirsuphal 14, Talegaon-Dhamdhera
M5, UruH 18, and Kasurdi 20. The details are :

Poona Main RETrrRnia^

South-west

Noeth-East

East Bain.

Bain.

Station.

Total. |

Mat.

Jdbeto

October to

September.

November.

In.

Ot.

In. Ct.

In. a.

In.

Ct.

Lonivla

138 80

6 64

144

Khadkala

49 91

4 20

Paud

48 2

3 9

Talegaon-D&bMde

31 2B

3 27

Ebadakv&sla

22 87

4 23

Foona

19 20

4 29

Junnar

21- 60

2 97

'■ 25

BSramati

16 64

B 96

Ind&par

Khed

17 21

B 77

18 81

3 96

Jejuri

17 20

4 1

S&svad

16 Il-

3 87

es.

Pitas

ls 1

3 97

Sirur

14 24

4 47

Sirsuphal

13 70

3 61

Supa

12 49

4 9

UruU

11 68

3 3

Talegaon-Dhamdhere

13 30

3 28

68'

Kedgaon

9 83

4 19

Kasurdi ..'.

11 20

2 82.

Chapter I.

Description.

Climate.
Source of Main

'':'- In the city of Poona during the twenty-six years ending 1881 the
yearly rainfall has varied from 20 to 57 and averaged 29 inches. The
details are :

Poona Sainfall.

[Bombay Gazeti

Chapter I.

Description.

Climate.
Poona Rainfall,

TcTTvperature.

DISTEICTS.

Poona City Yearly RAinrALLt 1856-1831,

Tbab.

Inches.

Yeae.

Inches.

Tbaji.

Inches.

Tbab.

Inches.

1866

1863

1870

1877 . ...
1878

1857

1864

1871

1858

1865

1872

1879

1859

18«6

1878

1880

1860

1867

1874

1881

1861

1868

1876

...

1862

1869

1876

•■■ ,

Information^ compiled by Mr. Chambers sbows tbatln Poona ci
durijtig tie seventeen years ending 1872, the average. montHy fal
rain varied from 0-29 in December to 6"89 in J.uly. The details are

PooifA CiTT MosTBLT Rainfaix, 1856-187Z.

MOSTH.

Inches.

Month.

Inches.

M0H3?H.

Ihohea.

Month.

Inches.

January ...
Februaxy...
March ...

'43
■06
■31

AprU ...

May
June

■66
1^66
6-19

July

August ...
.September.

6-89
5^09
4-66

October . ...
Noyember..
December..

6^S4

' -62 .

■29-

During the same period the average number of rain days var
from 0'2 in February to 20"1 in July. The details are :

PoohtaOity Bain Days, 1856- 187B.

"Month.

Days.

Month.

Days.

MOUTH.

Days.

Month.

Days.

January ...
February...
March ...

0-6
0'2
1-0

April
May
Juna

1^5
3^6
14 ^2

July

August ...
September.

20-1
19^8
lO'l

October ...
November..
December...

7-4
1^7
0-9

The greatest fall recorded in any one day in each month var
from 7"90 inches in October to 0'66 inches in February .^ 1
details are :

Poona City Objbatest Sain Da rs, 1856 ■ 187.S.

Month.

Inches.

Month.

Inches.

Month.

Inches.

Month.

Inches.

January ...
February...
March ...

4^68
■66

■90

April

May

June

2-10
3-16
5-00

July

Augrust ...
September.

8-66
2-80
3 ■82

October ...
November.
December..

7-90
1^60
1^08

The two daily observations taken at the Poona observatory
9-30 A.M. and 3-30 p.m. show for the nineteen years ending 187^
mean temperature of 79 "5°. The greatest excess of temperature i
1-0° in 1869 and the greatest decrease was 1-0° in 1861. The deti
are :

1 These details at rainfall and temperature (18-^28) are taken from Cbaml
Meteorology of the Bombay Presidency, 131-167,

Decciui.]

POONA.

PooNA. City Mean Tsxperatubm, 1856-1874.

Above

Tbar.

Mean.

General
Metm.

YUAB,

Mean.

General
Mean.

Ybak.

Mew.

General
Mean.

1856 ...

80-1

+0-8

1863 ...

78-7

-0-8

1870 ...

. 79-2

-0-s-

1867 ...

791

-0-4

1864 ...

78-7

-0-8

1871 ...

79-9

+0-4

1858 ...

1866 ...

79 8

+n-S

1872 ...

80-2

+0-7

18S9 ...

80-S

+0-8

1866 ...

80-8

+0-5

1873 ...

79-7

+0-2

1860 ...

, 79-6

+0-1

186T ...

79-6

+0-1

1874 ...

78-8

-0-7

1861 ...

78-5

-1-0

1868 ...

80-S

+0-8

1862 ...

79-0

-0-5

1869 ...

80-5

+1-0

At the Poona observatory, which is in the hospital building to the
south of the Vanavdi barracks, besides rainfall, thermometer and
barometer readings have been recorded since 1851. The observa-
tions are under the charge of the senior medical officer. The
record comprises two sets of observations made every day at
9-30 A.M. and at S'-SO p.m.j and a complete set of twenty-four hourly
(observations for one day in every month. The instruments and
phenomena noted at each observation include the barometer, dry and
wet bulb, thermometers, the direction of the wind, the cloudiuess, and
the rainfall. Once a day the maximum and miaimum thermometer
readingsinthe shade, the maximum thermometer readings exposed to
the sun'srays at day time, and the minimum thermometer readings laid
upon grass exposed to the sky at night are recorded. The observa-
tions are registered on printed forms which when filled are forward-
ed by the head of the medical department to the Superintendent of
the Coldba Observatory in Bombay where the calculations are checked
and the results compiled. Once a year the registers and compilation
are sent by the Superintendent to Governmedt to be forwarded to Her
Majesty's Secretary of State for India. The Poona observatory has
latticed doors at the north and south ends to admit the air. The
thermometers are fixed on horizontal blocks of wood projecting
from the wall with their bulbs about 1^ inches off the wall and
about five feet from the ground.

. . The adopted monthly and annual mean temperatures of the three
Stations of Poona, Kirkeey and Purandhar, and the ranges between
the greatest and least monthly means, are shown in the follo-^^ing
table:

Poona. Tsxperatubs.

Station.

.■3

78-9

ID
. DO '

1
1

Range.

Poona

71-i

76-0

80-5

84-6

83-7

75-6

74-4

76-0

76-6

74-6

71-7

76-8

13-2

Eirkee ...

71-0

750

81-0

81 '5

82-5

78-5

77-0

76-0

75-0

80-0

77-0

71-0

77-0

11-5

Pnrandhar..

67-1

71-7

76-1

77-0

72-8

70-3

67 '3

65-9

67-2

69-a

67-7

64-2

69-7

12'6

. An examination of the temperature returns in the city of Poona
for the nineteen years ending 1874 shows that during four months
in the year, March April May and June, the temperature was above,
and that during the eight rainy months the temperature was below
the mean.

Chapter I.
Deseription.

Climate.

DISTRICTS.

[Bombay Gazetteer,

Chapter I.
■Description.

Climate. •

Adopting" the return corrected for the daily inequality, January ;2
was the coldest month with an average of 5'4° below tlie mean, ■,
December came next with 5-0°, A-ugust third with 2-4°, November
fourth with 2-2°, September and February fifth and sixth with
1-8° each, July seventh with 1-3°, and October eighth with 0-2°. Of
the four hot months June is the coolest with 2'1° in excess of the
mean ; March comes next with 3'7°, May next with 6-9°, and April is
the hottest, being 7'8° above the mean. The details are :
PovifA City Montmlt Tmmpebatubb, 1856-1874.

Month.

9-30 A.H.

and 3-30 P.M,

Corrected.

-MONIS.

9-30 A.II.
and 3-30 p.m.

Corrected.

'January
February

March

April

June

-i-a

—1-3

-1-9-1
-h8-l
-H-6

-1-8
-^3•4

+2-1

July

August... , ...
September ...
October
November
December

-2-S
-3-7
-2-6
-0-3
-2-4
-5-1

-1-3

-2-4
-1-8
-0-2
-2-2

-6-1 .

The correctiona are found from the daily inequalities at the several hours in each month. They are
the means of these inequalities lor the hours 9 A.K. and 10 A.M. and 3 p'.u. and i p.u. and are appUed
subtractively.

The following table shows for the! city of Poena, for each month,
for the monsoon quarter June to August, and for the whole year,
the excesses of the mean temperature at the several hours of the
day above the mean temperature of the twenty-four hours ; also the
number of complete days' observations which are generally not more "
than one in each month of the year from which the meaiis are
derived :.

PoowA TxupBRATxms,! IN Local GiyiL Howrs, 18S6-1874.

MONIH.

,10-

14 IB

January

-7-6

-7-1

-6-1

-3^9

-1-0

+2-1

H-4-7

-i-e-9

-fS-1

-1-8-7

-1-8-3

-1-7-0

JFebruary

-8-7

-8-8

-7-3

-4-1

-0-7 ■,

-f2-6

-f4-6

-f«-&

-1-8-2

■1-8-B

-1-8-6

■fS-S

March

-8-2

-7'7

-6-2

-3-5

-0-2

-f2-8

+5-1

-H-3

+»-i

-l-H-8

-1-8-e

-1-7-5

April

-7-7

-fi-5

-4-3

-1-9

H-l-l

-^s■8

-^B•2

-I-7-9

-f8-7

-1-8-9

-1-8-0

-1-6-6

May

-6-6

-5-6

-S-9

-1-6

+V1

+^6■^

-^6■7

-H7-3

-1-7-8

-H7-9

-1-7-8

-1-6-1

June

-2-3

-1-6

-0-8

-t-0-4

-t-l-S

■f2-7

-1-3-5

-I-3-8

-t-4-1

-1-3-6

+i-i

-^2-l

July

-1-6

-1-4

-0-5

+0-2

-H-2

+2-0

-h2-7

-1-2-7

+2-7

■f2-6

-f2-0

-1-1-1

August

-2-1

-1-7

-1-1

-0-3

-I-0-6

+ 1-4

H-2-2

-H2-7

-1-3-1

-fS-U

-1-2-3

-H-7

September

-3-2

-2-6

-1-7

-0-4

H-i-l

-h2-2

+3-2

+4-1

-t-4-0

-1-8-6

-f8-2

-1-2-3

October

-5-7

-6-3

-4-0

-1-6

-^o•^

-)-2-6

-K4-2

+5-B

-1-6-0

H-6-0

-1-5-6

-1-4-4

November

-7-2

-7-1

-6-4

-2-8

0-0

-(-2-8

+5-0

-I-5-9

-1-6-9

-1-6-7

-1-6-3

-1-6-6

December

-7-8

-7-4

-6-2

-3-3

-0-6

-f2-6

4-4-9

+6-i

H-V-l

-1-7-B

H-7-4

+6-7

June to 'August ...

-2-0

-1-6

-0-8

+0-1

+ 1-2

-H2-0

-I-2-8

-^3■l

■fS-S

-1-3-1

-1-2-4

-I-1-6

Tear ..

-6-8

-B-2

-4-0 ' -2-0

-I-0-4

-^2■5

-1-4-3

-t-B-sl -l-e-zl -1-6-3

-1-6-8

-1-4-9

Com-

MaSTEt

-6-7

plete
Days.

January ...

-1-5-6

+3-9

+2-8

+1-6

+0-2

-0-7

-2-0

-3-0

-4-8

-8-0

-8-1

-SO

February.,.

-^6•«

+4-3

+2-6

+1-3

+0-2

-0-8

-2-0

-3-6

-4-9

-6-4

-7-8

March ...

+6-0

+1-1

+2-3

+0-6

-0-6

-1-9

-3'1

-3-9

.-4-7

-5-9

-7-1

-7-7

April

+4-5

+2-1

+0-4

-0-6

-1-3

-2-3

-3-3

-4-4

-5-1

-e-0

-7-2

-7-6

May

+8-6

+1-5

+0-7

-1-0

-1-6

-2-4

-3-8

-4-2

-i-8

-6-7

-6-6

-6-7

2!> if

June

+ 0-8

+0-1

-0-7

-1-2

-1-3

-1-6

-1-9

-2-0

-2-6

-2-8

-Z-9

-3-2

July

,+0-S

0-0

—0-6

-0-8

-0-9

-1-2

-1-3

-1-4

-1-6

-1-7

-1-9

-1-8

-^1

+0-7

+0-3

-0-1

-0-3

-0-8

-0-7

-1-0

-1-3

-1-6

-2-1

-2-2

-2-1

September.

+1-3

+0-1

--0'2

-0-6

—0-9

-1-3

-1-7

-2-2

-2-6

-2-9

-2-8

^"1

October ...

+3-0

+2-0

+1-1

+0-3

-0-5

-1-3

-3-0

-2-8

-3-7

-4-4

^4-7

-4-8

November .

+4-3

+3-3

+2-0

+0-8

+0-1

-0-7

-1-4

-2-6

-3-9

-5-1

-6-1

-6-6

18 %

December .

+6-3

+4-3

+2-9

+1-8

+0-8

-0-2

-1-8

-3-2

-4-9

-6-6

-7-4

-7-9

Jv)ne to Aug.

+,0-7

+0-1

-0-4

-0-8

--0-9

-1-2

-1-4

-1-6

-1-9

-2-2

-2-8

-2-4

Tear ...

+3-4

+ 2-1

+1-0

+ 01

-0-6

-1-3

-2-1

-2-9

-3-8

-4-7

-6-4I-B-6

"^s^^a

Deccan.]

POONA.

The average daily range of temperature for the year is about
double the range for the wet months from June to August. The
range during the cold half-year is generally large compared with the
range of the hot and the wet half. The daily range for Poona is for
the year 12'1° and for the wet months June to August 5 "7°.

A comparison of the range of the mean temperatures of the
different months for the same series of years, shows that the varia-
tion is least 8-5° in July and August, September comes third with a
range of 10-6°, June fourth with 12°, October fifth with 15-1°,
November sixth with 18*4°, May seventh with 18"7°, December eighth
with 19-3°, January ninth with 20-6°, April tenth with 20-7°, and
February and March eleventh and twelfth with 21*2° each. The
details are :

Poona CiTT Daily Ransb, 1856 -187 Jf.

' Month.

Mean
Maxi-
mum.

Mean
Mini-
mum.

Range.

Annual
Variation
of Eange.

Month.

Mean
Maxi-
mum.

Mean
Mini-
mum.

Bange.

Annual
Variation
of liange.

January ...
February...
March ...

^f ■■::.

June ...
July

81-8
85-7
90-9
96-6
94-3
85-7
80-3

61-2
64-5
69-7
74'9
75-6
73-7
71-8

20-6
21-2
21-2
20-7
18-7
120
8-5

H-4-4
-^5•0
+i-Q
-h4-5
+2-6
-4-2
-7-7

August
September ...
October
November ...
December ...

Year...

79-1
80'7
84-6
82-9
81-1

70-6
70 1
69-6
64-5
61-8

8-5
10-6
15-1
18-4
19-S

-7-7
-5-8
—1-1
+2-2
-1-31

85-2

69-0

16-2

During the same period the highest recorded monthly mean
temperature varied from 86*7 in September to 104'6 in May, and
the lowest from 47'3 in December to 66"4 in June. The details are :

Poona Oitt Hisesst and Lowbbt,Montblt Tempbratxtrb, 1856-1874.

Mouth.

Maxi-
mum.

Mini-
mum.

Range.

Month.

Maxi-
mum.

Mini-
mum.

Range.

January ...
February...
March ...
April

May ...
June

88-7
96-3
100-8
103-5
104-6
99-5

49-4
68-0
66-0
60 0
66 0
66-4

89-3
43-3
45-6
43-5
38-6
331

July

September '.'.'.
October ...
November ...
December ...

92-4
87-6
86-7
92-3
920
87-6

66-8
64-2
62-1
67-4
48-2
47-3

26-6
23-4
24-6
S4'9
43-8
40-3

For the five years ending 1881, the mean monthly thermometer
readings at Poona show a mean maximum of 92 in May and June

1880 and a mean minimum of 61 in December -1878, January 1879,
and December 1880 ; at Bdramati a mean maximum of 100 in April

1881 and a mean minimum of 60 in November and December 1879
and in December 1881 ; at Talegaon-Ddbhd.de a mean maximpm of
99 in April 1879 and a mean minimum of 59 in December 11878 ; at
Sasvad a mean maximum of 94 in March 1880 and in April 1879,
1880, and 1881, and a mean minimum of 50 in November 1879;
at Indapur a mean maximum of 110 in May 1877 and a mean mini-
mum of 61 in January 1 880 and in November 1879 ; at Jejuri a mean
maximum of 99 in May 1877 and April 1880 and a mean minimum
of 62 in November and December 1879 and in January 1880; and
at Talegaon-Dhamdhere a mean maximum of 98 in May 1879 and a
mean minimum of 52 in December 1881. The details are i

Chapter X

J)eB(;riptioii>

Climate.
Temperatwre.

[Bomlbay Gazetteer,

Chapter I.
Description.

Climate.
Tempm-aHre,

DISTRICTS.

PoosA DisiRiai Tembuoxetbu RsAmms, W7-1881.

SlATIOir.

January.

Pobniary.

March.

April.

May.

June. 1

Max.

Mn.

Max.

MiTV

Max.

Mm.

Ma,x.

Min.

Max.

Min.

Max.

Min.

Poona.

1877 ... s.. „

■ 76

1878

1879

-77

73.

1880

92.

1881

72-

Bdr&maU.

1S77

92-

1878 ...

...

1879

82,

■ 82

. 78

1880

1881

100

TaUgaon-Ddihdde.

1877

-, 78

1878 ..

:80

94 -

• 79

:78 .■

1879 .„

'66

1880 ..".

.' 96

• 96

1881 ...

.?8

' 98

-96

Sdsvad.

1877

187S

70-

1879

80'

94'

72 •

1880 ... .

. 74

1881 ...

■72

Inddmir.
1877

-98

101-

104

110

104

1878

100

-106

107-

106

108

■ 1879

1880

,1881.

-67

72 _

■76

J'ejvri.

1877

, 67

94 -

1878

1879

1880

S3 .

. 99

91 .

1881

Talegapn-Dham-

dhere.

1877 ... :.. ...

1878

1879

' 66

66 ■

97-

1880

93 .

1881

87-

96 ..

Statioh.

July.

August.

Septembei.

October.

November.

December. 1

Min.

Max,

Miu.

Max.

[Min.

Max.

Min,

Max.

Min.

Poona.

1877 ...

■ 72

1878

: 86

-68

1879 ... ... ...

, 80 -

1880

1881

...

Bdo'dmatt.

1877

1878

...

1879

78 ,

1880

1881

-89.

,78 .

61,

■82

Tidegaon-BdbhMe.

1877

1878

88-

1879

1880

1881

DeccanJ

POONA. 23

PooifA District TasmtousTSR BEADmm, 1877- f5«l— continued.

Station.

July.

August.

September.

October.

November,

December.

Max.

Min.

Max.

Min.

Max.

Min.

Max.

Min.

Max.

Min.

Max.

Min.

Sdsvad.

1877

■86

1878

1879

1880

1881 .«

«8

Tnd<tBur.

1877

1878

73^

1879

1880

1881

J^jmi.

1877 ...

1878

1879

1880

1881

,~!ralega(airD7uimf

'■ dAore.

1877 ... .;. ...

1878

-78

82 ■

1879

- 56

1880

1881

...

TtermoBiete* readings at Taravda jail near Poona show that in
1881 the yearly mean temperature was 72-7. May was the hottest
month with an average temperature of 80*2 ; April was second with
78-5 j June was third with 7 7' 3; March, Pebrnary, and October
came close together with a fraction over 74°-j then came September,
August, and July, all with a fraction over 72° or very near the
~;annual mean. Below the annual mean were November with 68'1,
January with 66'6, and December with 66"2. The highest point
registered was 101"5 in April and the lowest 53'4 in December."
The daily range varied from 34*4 in March to 11 in July, The
details are :

Taravda Thermombtbr Bsadinos, 1881

Bxtreme Maximum ...

Jan.

8S'5

Feb.
90-7

Mar
96-4

Apl.
101-6

May.
101-3

June

90-5

July
80-9

Aug
81-8

Sep.
84-1

Oct.

Not

Deo,

An-
nual

Means

89 -g

84-6

86-7

89-S.

Extreme Minimum ,.

55'1

57 -2

62-1

69-2

.71-3

72-4

69-9

69-8

68-6

65-7

68-1

63-4

64-4

Mean Daily Maxima...

83-9

68-1

93-3

96.-8

96-6

85-5

76-9

78-7

86-6

81-9

84-1

857

Mean Daily Minima ...

49-3

Bl-8

56'8

60'2

63-9

68-2

67-8

68-8

66-6

63-2

54-4

48-3

59-7

Mean Daily Eange ...

30-4

33-4

34-4

32-3

30-0

18-1

10-9

11-6

15-6

28-8

26-6

32-3

?4-9

Average Means

66-6

74-8

74-B

78-6

80-2

77-3

72-3

72-6

74-4

68-1

66-2

72-7

The mean barometric pressure for each year of complete observa-
tions is shown for the city of Poona in the following table, the means
being derived from iwo daily observations made at 9-30 a.m. and
3-30 p.M :

Chaj>ter I.
Description.

Climate.

Taravda.

Barometric

24'

DISTRICTS.

[Bombay Gazetteer*

Chapter I.
Description.

Climate,

Barometric
Pressure.

POOA

'A OlTY

Barometric Pressxtre,

1856 -t87 4.

Teak.

Mean,

Excess.

Ybak.

Mean.

Excess.

Tbab.

Mean.

Excess.

1856 ...

27-892

+ -036

1863 ...

'27-856

■000

1870 ...

27-837

-•019

1867 ...

27-878

+ -017

1864 ...

27-882

+■026

1871 ...

27-866

-■001

1868 ...

...

1865 ...

27'874'

+ •018

1872 ...

27-834

-■023

1869 ...

27-848

—•008

1866 ...

27-867

+ -001

1873 ...

27-844

-■012

1860 ...

27-856

■000

1867 ...

27-846

-■010

1874 ...

27-841

-■016

1861 ...

27-847

-■009

1868 ...

27-852

-•004

* "

1862 ...

27*845

-■Oil

1869 ...

■27-842

--014

The observations during the same series of years (1856-1.874)
show that in the six months between October and April the
barometric pressure is over the mean and in the six months between
April and October the pressure is below the mean. The month of
least pressure is June with 0"145 below the mean, July is next with
0-142, August third with 0-096, May fourth with 0-063, September
fifth with 0-043, and April sixth with 0-013. Of the six months of
excessive pressure October is lowest with 0*029, March next with
0-043, February third with 0-085, November fourth with 0-102,
January fifth with 0-118, and December highest with 0-128. The
details are :

POONA CiTT MOSTBLY BAROXETRIO VARIATIONS, 18S6-1874.

Month.

9-80 A.M.
and 3-30

P.M.

Correct-
ed.

MOSTH.

9-30 A-ja.

and 3-30

P.M.

1
Correct-
ed.

MOHTH.

9-30 A.M^
and 3-30

P.M.

Correct-
ed.

January
February

Marcli

April

+ ■120
+ ■086
+'■039
-■015

+ ■118
+ -0§6
+ -04S,
-•013

May .., ...

Jmie

July

August

-•065
-■146
-•141
-■092

-•068

-■146
-•142
--096

September...
October ...
N.ovember...
December ...

-■044
+■029
+ ■104
+-129

-•04B
+■029
+ -102
+ -128

In the following table is shown for Poena, for each month and for
the whole year, the excesses of the mean barometric pressures at the
several hours of the day above the mean barometric pressure for the
twenty-four hours :

PooNA Barometric Pressure in Local Civil ffovRS, 1858 -1874.

Month.

9 .

10 .

January ... •...

+ -008

+ •027

+•049

+ ■068

+ -068

+ •039

+•007

— -025

Februaly

+ •009

+ •028

+ •048-

+ ■066

+ •067

+ -040

+ -011

— -017

March

+ •011

+ •033

+•060

+ ■064

+ -062

+•034

+ •008

— -024

April

+ '018

+ •037

+•064

+ ■06^

+-060

+ -032

+ ■004

—•024

May

+ •015

+ ■030

+ •046 ■

+ ■065

+ •063

+ ■028

+ •002

—022

June

—•004

+ •012

+•024'

+ '036

+ •035'

+ -016

•000

--014

July

-•006

+•006

+•021

+ ■087

+•036

+ •021

+ •005

—•012

August

— •oos

+ -013,

+•026

+ •043

+ -044

+ '024

+ -008

-■008

September

+■005;

+-020

+ ■035

-h-060

+ -046

+ •029

+ -007

—■016

October ... ...

+ ■008

+ -026

+ ■043

-+-068

+ -068.

+ -031

+ -004

—■022

November

+ •008

+ ■027

+ ■047

+ •065

+ ■068

+•036

+-006

-•021

December

Tear

June to August ...

+ -p04

+ •024

+■046

+ •062

+ -063

+ -036

+-007.

—■020.

+■007

+ •024,

+•041

+ -066

+ -055

+ -031

+ •006

—■018

—■004

+ •019

+ ■023

+ •039

+ -038

+ -020

+-004

-■Oil

Deccan.1

POONA.

■PpoirjL Baboxbtric Pressure jn Local Civil Hovrs, i556-i57.4— continued.

MOHTH.

Januaiy

—■051

—■071

—•070

-■049

-•027

—•006

+J016

+ 036

Febriiaa:y

— -048

—■070

—'072

—•065

—•034

—•on

+ -013

+•086

March

— -053

—■075

—■081

—•069

—■035

-■069

+ -015

+ ■037

April

—^50

-■073

—■076

—■052

—■031

—•007

+ ■015

+ ■034

May

—•048

—■060

—■067

—■046

,—■027

—•007

+ -017

+ ■035

June

— -030

—■043

—■029

-•013

+ ■004

+•020

+■03?

+^(ai

July

—•026

—■040

—■039

-■026

—•009

+ ■006

+ •018

August ,

—■026

—■040

-■041

—■028

—•Oil

+ ■004

+ •019'

+ ■033

September

-•037

—■066

^■066

-■038

— ■020

— -001

.+•016

+ ■036

October

—■046

-•063

—•064

— ^04^

— 024

— 004

+•017

+ ■038-

November

—■044

—•066

—•065

—■047

-.■028

— -006

+ ■016

+ ■088

December

Year

June to August

-■043

—•065

— •06S

—■049

— ;028

— -008

+ ■008

+ 03S

—■041

—•060

-■061

—■043

—■023

— -003

+ ■016

+ ■036

—■027

—•041

-■028

-■■Oil

+ -004

+ ■019

+ ■032

Chapter I.
Description.

£)litnate.

Barometric
Pressure,

Com-

Month.

plete
Days.

January - ...

+ ■042

+ ■026

+ 010

-■006

— ■021

-■OSS

-■037

-Oil

February ...

+ ■042

+ ■028

+ -015

■000

-■019

-033

-■031

-■013

March

+ ■045

+ •033

+ -019

+ ■001

-016

—030

-■029

-■006

April

+ ■042

+ •029

+ ■012

—003

-■019

-■034

-■030

-■Oil

May ...

+ ■040

+ ■026

+ ■013

—■002

-016

-■030

-■026

-■006

June ...

+ ■035

+ ■025

+ ■011

■000

-■013

-■026

-•026

-■008

July

+ ■031

+ ■019

+ ■009

-■003

-■015

^•027

-•026

-■013

August

+ ■034

+ •020

+ ■005

-■008

-■022

-■035

-•035

-■022

September ...

+ ■038

+ ■024

. + ■012

-■002

— ■015

-■029

-•027

-■013

Odtober

+ ■041

+ ■028

+ 012

-■003

-•016

—030

-029

-■Oil

"November ...

+ ■040

+■023

+ ■008

-■008

-•022

-■035

-■030'

-■014

ijeoember ...

Year

June to Aug.

+ ■043.

+ ■028

+ ■013

-■002

--015

-■027-

-■026

-■018

+ ■040

+ ■026

+ ■012

-■002

—017

-■030

-■0;!9

-■Oil
-■014

+ ■033

+ ■021

+ ■008

—004

—■017

—029

-■029

The following table shows for each month of the year the greatest
and least values of barometric pressure observed at 9-30 am. or
3-30 P.M.:

PooNA. GiTT MoNTBLT Range of Baroxetbio Pbessukb, 185S-1874.

MONTH.

Max.

Min.

Eange,

Month.

Max.

,Min.

Eange.

Januai'y
February

March

April

■May

June

28-263
28-229
28 096
38-062
28-005
27-953

27-769
27-766
27-69.5
27-680
27-492
27'352

-494
-473
-401
-432
-613
■601

July

August

September
October
November ...
December

27^915

27 ■967
28^039

28 ■086
28-161
28^180

27^491
27^678
27^617
. 27^614
27-729
37^749

■424

■879

■432 .

■472

■432

■431

The values of the pressure of vapour have been calculated by

Glaisher's Hygrometrical Tables from the observed temperatures, of

the dry and wet bulb thermometers. The annual variations give

high values of the vapour pressure in the hot and wet months; that

js from May to September, and low values in the cold. months. The

month of maximum vapour pressure is June. The mean daUy

variation for the year shows a minimum towards the end of the,

tiiight hours and a' maximum near the beginning of the night hours

i'with a fairly regular progress during the intervals, The variation

during the wet months has high values during the day and low

i'Valnes during the night. The daily range of the wet months is very

small compared with the daily range of the cold months. .,

B .slO-4

Vapour.

[Bombay Qazettei^r,

Chapter I.
Description.

Climatei
■ Vapour.

, Cloiidmesa,

M>g».

DISTRICTS.

The following table shows for the nineteen years ending 1874 the
mean pressure of vapour from ohservations taten at 9-30 a.m, and at
3^30 P.M.:

POONA ClTT PRESStmS OF Vafottr, 1866-1874.

Tbab.

Mean.

ExoeBS.

Tear.

Mean.

Excess.

Tear.

Mean.

Excess.

In.

In. ,

In.

1866 ...

•674

■-■007

1863 ...

•550

— 081

1870 ...

•591

+ ■010-

1857 ...

•652

-•029

1864 ...

•649

—•032

1871 ...

■616

+ •034

1858 ...

1865 ...

■602

+ •021

1872 ...

•692

+ •010

1809 ...

•612

-^■03l

1866 ...

•691

+ •010

1873 ...

■588

+ •007

1860 ...

•570

-■on

1867 ...

•600

+ •019

1874 ...

■591

+0^019

1861 ...

•560

-•031

1868 ...

■684

+-obi

1862 ...

•662

-•019

1869 ...

•617

-036

The cloudiness of the sky is estimated in tenths of the celestial
hemisphere, the unit being one-tenth of the whole, sky. The
following table shows the average cloudiness of the sky in each
month of the year, from observations taken at 9-30 a.m. and 3-30 p.m.
during the nineteen years ending 1 874 :

PooNA City Oloudinsss, 1856-1874.

Month.

Tenths.

Month.

Tenths.

January

February

March

AprU

May

June

July

August'

Septomber ,

2^3
18
2^4
2^9
4^0
7-9
8^8
8^6
7^2

October

NoTembet

December

May to October

November to April ...

Tear

4^6
2-8
2 1

6-8
2^8

4^6

Cloudiness is great during the wet months and small during the
cold months. There is a slight excess in January above the
cloudiness of the preceding and following months.

Dews appear in the latter part of October and last till the end of
February. Fogs are rare in the open east. They have been seen
in the early mornings in October, November, December, January,' *
and February, but disappear by half-past nine. In the western hills *
mists are common from May to^ September. In May the cool night
air condenses the watery vapour. Sometimes mists rise from the
Konkan and fly east with great swiftness. At other times when the
air is still the mist stretches over the Konkan like a sea of milk, the
tops of the hills standing out like islands. After the monsoon sets
in early in June, except during occasional breaks, the western hills
are shrouded in drenching mists and rain clouds.

Colonel Sykes has recorded the folbwing observations on the
vapour in the Deccan air. The yearly mean dew point was higher
at 9-30 A.M. than at sunrise or at 4 p.m. From June to' December
1826, both inclusive, the mean dew point was QQ' 75', and the mean
temperature 77° 23', a cubic foot of air containing 7*455 grains of
water. The lo-vyest dew point was 44° at sunrise on the 4th of
December, a cubic foot of air containing 3 673 grains of water at a
tewperature of 56°. The moistest month was July, when the niean
weight of water in a cubic foot of air was 8-775 grains. This was

Deccau.] -

POONA.

exceeded on the 13tE of June 1827 when at 4 p.m. the highest due
point was 76°, the temperature of the air 72°, and a cubic foot of
air contained 10'049 grains of water; On the 4th of January 1827
the air was remarkably, dry, the dew point at sunrise being obtained
three degrees below the congelation of water that is at 29°, the
temperature of the air was 62°, and a cubic foot of air contained
2" 146 grains of water. It might be supposed that the hottest
months in the year, March April and May, would also be the driest.
This is not the case. Observations taken on consecutive days in
March 1828 establish the following comparisons between Bombay
Khanddla, and Poona. At 4 p.m. in Bombay on the lObh of March
a cubic foot of air held 11 "205 grains of water, while at Poona at the
same hour on the 14th of March a cubic foot of air contained only
2"273 grains of water ; on the 11th at Khandala, 1744 feetabovethe
sea, at 9-30 a.m. the dew point was 40° equivalent to 3"004 grains of
water in a cubic foot of air. The occasional extreme dryness of the
air in December, January, February, and part .of March causes much
inconvenience. Furniture cracks, doors shrink so that locks will not
catch, tables and book-covers warp and curl, the contents of the
inkstand disappear, and quill-pens are useless unless kept constantly
moist.

The chief feature in regard to the direction of the Poona winds is
the commonness of easterly and westerly winds and the rareness of
winds from the north and south. The period of strongest wind is
during April and in May till the easterly thunderstorms begin.
The easterly winds are extremely dry and dangerous to sleep in.
Hot winds are rare as far west as Poona; in the centre of the
district they blow chiefly from the north-west and west in the-
months of March and April, and in the east of the district from the
north-ea^t and east.

The observations of direction of wind taken at Poona.at 9-30 A.m.
smd 3-30 p.]!!. have been grouped together in months. Each group,
includes for each month the observations of the nineteen years*
ending 1874. The following are the results :

Poona Out Monthly Table of Winds, 18S6-1874^

Chapter T.
Description.

Climate.'

DlEBCTIOH.

9-30 A.M. 1

Jan.

Feb.

Mar.

April.

May.

June.

July.

Aug.

Sept,

Oct.,

Hot.

Deo.

loo

N.N.B. ...

...

N.K

1»

4ft

K.N.E. ...

168

136

E.S.E. ...

• 1

S.E.

100

107

B.S.E. ...

• •<

s.s.w. ...

S.W.

116

112

W.S.W. ...

112

185

166

216

238

169

W.NiW. ...

- 4-

N.W.

104

109

138

«0

N.N.W. ...
Btaaa

627

174

627

610

627

480

522

527

610

627

610

496

Windt^

[Bombay Gazetteer-,:

Chapter I.

Description.

Climate,
Wmda.

28 DISTRICTS.

PooNA City Monthly Table of Winds, i85e-;?57^— continued.

DiBSOTION.

3-36 P.M. V

Jan.

Feb.

Mar.

April.

May.

June.

July.

Aug.

Sept.

Oct.

Nov.

Dec.

107

140

116

N.N.E. ...

. 18

N.B. - ...

E.If.E. ...

• 18.

21-

171

■ 141-

B.8.E.

...

S.E.

• 93

■ 10

100

109

S^.E.

■ 14

S,S.W. ...

.<•

8.W.

156

123

100

18-

V-S.W. ...

:44

116

204

193

149

w>N.w: ...

12.

N.W.

130

N.N.W. ...
Soma

-23

527

481

627

510

527

480

622

627

510

627

610

496

The coefficients and angles of formula representing the daily
rariation in the duration of different winda are :

PooNA City Duration OF Winds, 1856-1874.

HOUKS.

November to January.

February to April.

June to September.

Year.'

01.

■ al

o /

O '

0 '

o /

■98

102 20

■7^

184 54

•77

303 17

•47

302 0

1^64

260 32

1-23

160 6

•58

270 69

■63

186 26

■98

90 66

•6V

178 17

■78

310 60

•46

307 7

1^65

259 31

l-2fi

1.57 31

•56

273 4

•6S

180 0

1-03

101 12

•72

188 48

■77

311 20

•40

290 14

1^63

260 28

V25

1S6 65

■65

272 6

•65

1^08

97 69

•V2

184 46

■66

322 26

•47

277 16

1^67

261 23

125

159 49

•50

274 34

•65

188 0

1-0S>

103 16

•84

193 42

•81

342 41

•51

277 49

1^64

264 3

1-28

159 62

•41

287 6

•67

i^ia

106 2

•78

202 37

•85

344 69

•86

274 64

1-59

•263 9

ro2

169 68

■.S9

284 46

•60

196 26

1^15

110 19

■74

214 S3

•SO

357 a

•18

276 20

1^62

267 63

I'M

166 14

■34

292 46

•54

196 5

106 48

•78

213 29

■71

1 37

•25

274 34

1'66

268 32

TflS

160 41

•34

295 &

•52

193 14

1-16

111 43

■75

218 32

•59

4 61

•33

828 44

1^57

269 38

•89

165 a

•32

288 26

•43

1-12

113 8

•66

229 18

•62

357 48

•29

319 11

1-64

265 33

•85

167 4

•,32

278 63

•37

203 48

1-06

108 47

•66

210 4

•68

4 66

•35

348 22

1^61

266 69

•9.i

l.'i7 28

•37

287 27

•37

189 13

■92

114 54

•67

200 61

•56

353 53

•33

313 47

1^68

271 22

VOR

175 41

•44

283. 6

•46

196 16

•94

115 12

■6.T

197 63

•65

347 28

•19

326 29

1^70

271 1

1^02

175 31

■47

283 27

•46

189 a

■91

114 2

•68

209 13

•64

340 43

•25

338 38

1^92

270 0

1-08

176 49

■.50

283 46

•48

195 47

■92

108 26

■64

208 11

•66

328 44

•17

239 2

1^72

267 0

1^13

171 62

■56

279 IS

•60

194 30

21 ..:

■91

107 3

•66

205 23

•62

328 63

•24

209 46

1^72

267 0

171 52

■56

278-17
276 28

•66

193 11
196 26

■87

107 6

•76

203 30

■60

326 36

•28

247 4

1-67

266 34

1-06

173 29

■.-iS

•64

■91

108 1

•73

195 11

■64

327 K

■30

235 47

166

266 54

1^06

171 20

•53

274 19

•64

190 47

■96

105 2

•66

192 20

•49

310 61

■34

233 28

1^«7

264 30

T04

166 38

■M

271 4

•61

188 32

■90

106 13

•63

191 61

•56

211 23

■33

226 13

1^68

266 66

167 69

•56

274 6

•63

186 20

•87

111 33

•66

202 17

•52

309 31

•86

222 43

1^69

264 13

V15

162 21

■.58

268 2

•67

185 58

-■94

HI 66

■m

202 7

'48

318 22

•35

222 43

1^67

264 30

I^IT

164 50

•54

267 53

•68

187 39

•92

109 37

•75

201 48

•4b

326 40

•30

216 52

1^70

264 66

1 17

166 8

■.53

268 56

•69

184 68

Means ..

•91

112 37

•««

208 58

•51

326 23

•25

226 38

1^68

263 61

113

164 7

■64

267 63

•63

•58

184 32

•99107 42l •69l201 20

•59 333 52l -25 '274 34

l^e5 265 5oll-08

165 36

■47

277 17

189 67

Complete
Days.

-y •

238

Deccau.]

CHAPTEE II.

PRODUCTION.^

Except iron,^ which occurs in various places as hseroatite
associated with laterite or iron-clay, the district produces no
metallic ores. Grains of magnetic iron derived from the traps are
frequently found in the beds of streams.

The trap rock almost everywhere yields good building stone and
road-metal. Specially good quarries are worked at Bh^mburda^
about a mile to the north-west of Poona j on the north-side of Yaravda
hill^ about three miles^ north-east of Poona ; at Lonikand on the
Ahmadnagar road, about fifteen miles beyond Yaravda ; at Hadapsar
five miles east of Poona ; at LonikAlbhar, Urulij Tevat, and Patas^
between ten and thirty miles east of Poona on the SholApur
branch of the Peninsula railway ; at Katraj, Kd,mthuri, Kdpurhol,
and Kikvi, within twelve miles south of Poona on the new Sdtdra
Foad I near Purandhar hill; and at SAsvad, nineteen miles south of
Poona. There are also good stone-quarries alpng the Bombay mail
road, near the villages of Pimpri, SheMrvddi, Kdla, Lond,vla, and
Khanddla and in the neighbourhood of Poona. The best quarry in
the district is on the southern outskirts of the city of Poona. The
stone of this quarry has been used in building Government House
, at Ganesh-khind and other large modern buildings in Poona.,
Where there are no good quarries trap boulders are used. The
people of the district prefer trap boulders to any quarried stone
and the wisdom of their choice is admitted by European builders
as is ishown by the boulderless hill-sides near the great dam of
Khadakvasla or Fife Lake.

A variety of compact dark blue basalt, which is common in
many places all through the trap distriqtSj is susceptible of high
polish and is worked into idols, pedestals for wooden pillars, and
•inscription-slabs.* It is obtained from. quarries worked atMuham-
madvadi five miles south-east of Pooua and at TJruli eighteen miles
east of Poona on the ShoUpur branch of the Peninsula railway.
Quartz occurs throughout the trap in various forms either
crystalline or amorphous. The most common form assumed by the
crystalline quartz is the trihedral. Crystalline quartz of various
colonrff is recorded from the hiU-fort of Harishchandragad and

Chapter IL

Production.

Minerals,

Stone.

Basalt.

Qua/rts).

' This chapter owes much to additions and revision by Mr. J. G. Moore, C. S.,
Collector of Poona.

' The mineral, section is contributed by Major A. R. Seton, E.B., Executive
Engineer. ' Dr. T. Cooke, Principal, Science College, Poona.

[Bombay Gazetteer,

DISTRICTS.

Chapter II.
Production.

Stone.

StiWUe.

ApophyUte.

Road Metal.

Natural Salts.

Carbonate of
Soda.

LimeBtone.

amethystine quartz is occasionally found in the interior of nodules.
Amoi^hous quartz occurs in the form of agate, jasper, and heliotrope.
Agates are generally found in large and small nodules and some
finely banded agates are sent to Camlaay to be coloured by firing.
The jasper and heliotrope bloodstone occurs chiefly in flat plates
which appear to have been formed in the cracks of crevices in the
trap. Specimens of heliotrope and coloured quartz are common in
the bed of the Mula-Mutha.* Stilbite, though less common than
qartz, is by no means rare. One magnificent variety consists of large
orange or salmon coloured crystals two or three inches long. Three
miles south-west of Chas at BrahmanvMi great masses of radiating ,
foliate stilbite occur imbedded in hard amygdaloid. The apophylite,
which is commonly associated with stilbite, is the finest of all Deccan
trap minerals. It generally occurs in four-sided prisrhs with terminal
planes. The colour is white and more rarely pink or green. Some
of the crystals are perfectly transparent.

Road-metal is generally prepared from quarried stone. At the
road-side it costs about, 7». (Rs. 3^^ the hundred cubic feet. Partially
decomposed trap is known through the district as mwrjtm.

Common salt is found in the bed of a rivulet at Kund Mdvli
near the falls on the Kukdi river, between Sirur and Kavtha. A
little common salt with a trace o£ carbonate of soda encrusts the
rocky bed for a few feet near the water line. Carbonate of soda
occurs in a few places occasionally forming an efflorescence on the
surface. Washermen use earth impregnated with this salt for
washing clothes. Soda is also found mixed with earth near Sirur
where it is dug out and sold for washing.

Colonel Sykes' attention was directed to the presence of carbonate
of soda at Sirur by' observing washermen digging for earth in the
banks of the rivulet. Finding that they used it to wash their
clothes, he obtained a quantity, lixiviated the earth, boiled down the
lixivium, and when it cooled obtained a large crop of crystals which
the usual tests showed to be carbonate of soda. At Lonikdlbhar
twelve miles east of POona and two miles south of the Mula-Mutha
river, within an area- of 200 yards, a constant moisture and partial
absence of vegetation is observed. An efflorescent matter appears
on the surface every morning which is carefully swept up and sold
to washermen.^

Good sand for mortar is found in the beds of allnost all rivers
and streams.

Limestone yielding useful lime occurs in several plaices. There
are good quarries near the villages of Phursangi and Vadki at thfr
foot of the Diva pass, about ten miles south-east of Poona ; also near
Urnli, Yevat, Kedgaon, and Dhond in the Bhimthadi sub-division^.
The lime produced from the stone of these quarries is of excellent

"- Madras Journal of Science and Literature, VI. 363. The Od/e-Pw oi Quartz-Saint
whose tomb is about 200 yards to the south-east of the Collector's office in Poona,
takes its name from the large crystals which are heaped over the grave.

' Geological Papers on Western India, 107.

Deccan.]'

POONA.

quality. Except at tte above places the lime in general use is m&de
ol the lime-grayel or hanhar which occurs on ahd below the surface
over almost the whole district. The nodules when carefully burnt
make excellent cement.

Near many of the district streams earth is found suitable for
making bricks and tiles. Burnt country bricks cost about 7s,
(Rsj 3J) the thousand, and English pattern bricks of a larger size
12s. (Rs. 6). Tiles cost from 8s. to 10s. (Rs. 4-5) the thousand^ and
the flat tiles in general use 7s. (Rs. 3|) .

The area under forests in Poona is smaller than in most parts of
the Presidency. Arrange'ments are still in progress for adding to the
forest land which at present (October 1883) is estimated at about
660 square miles or I2'14 per cent of the district. Of the area
classed as forest land only a small fraction at present yields timber.

For many years after the beginning of British rule, the
comparatively small population and the limited area under tillage
made any special measures for preserving forests, unnecessary.
In the rainy west, as late as 1836, the two pressing evils were
malarious fevers and the ravages of wild beasts.^ How to clear for
tillage the large area under trees and brushwood was one of the most
pressing administrative questions of the time. It was mainly with
this object that when (1836-37) the revenue survey was introduced
into the west of the district, almost all hiU-sides were divided intp
plots and offered at littje more than nominal rents. About tw;enty
years later, when population had greatly increased and after the
railway was opened through the Bor pass the great demand for
wood and the ease with which it could be sent to market were
rapidly stripping the country of trees. To check this evil certain
lands were set apart by Government as forest reserves. In 1 849
a beginning of demarcation was made by Dr. Gibson, the father of
Bombay forestry. He chose plots of tree-covered land which the
people still call Ddhtari Ban or the Doctor's Forest. In 1854 at the
survey settlement of the western sub-divisions some lands were set
apart for forest conservancy or ran rakshan.

In 1867 further measures were taken to add to the area of Govern-
ment forests. In each sub-division the assistant collector examined
all waste and unarable lands and marked ofE such plots as seemed
likely to prove useful reserves. The work of demarcation was
-'steadily carried on, and by 1876 the whole of the district had been
. examined and tracts set aside as forest reserves.

The failure of rain in 1876. and 1877 drew special; attention to the
want of trees in Poona and other parts of the Deccan. At the same
time the throwing up of arable land in Bhimthadi and Ind^pur, which
accompanied and followed the "famine, gave a special opportunity for
adding to the forest area. To increase the area as much as possible
it was determined to notify waste lands as forest under Chapter X.

Chapter II.
Production.

Bricks and Tiles,

Forests.

Bh(ery.

1 In 1855 General Davison shot bears and panthers within a few miles of Poona,
In 1840 the boldness of the wild beasts made the road from Poona to Junnar dangerous
to travel by night. The Peshwa hunted panthers on the hills thirty miles east of
Poona. Mr. W. H, A. Wallinger, Deputy Conservator of Forests, Poona.

DISTRICTS.

Chapter II.

Production.

Forests.
History,

Demarcation.

of the Forest Act (X. of 1878) . With this object lists of all available
lands were prepared and gazetted as forest land, a measure which
raised the area of forest land.from about 242,000 to about 400,000
acres. ^As these additions of waste lands to forest area were made
without selection, both in the interests of the people and of the
forest department, a thorough redis|;ributioh has since become
necessary. A large area of arable waste scattered over the plains^,
which was abandoned during or since the famine, had been '
needlessly included in the forest reserves. On the other hand the
extent of hill or mountain land, which former demarcations had
included under forest, was insufficient for protective purposes,
especially in the westnear the sources and head-waters of the leading l
rivers. To decide which of the existing forest lands should be kept
and what additionalj#aste and' o'conpied lands should be added .
required a fresh andj^mprehensive demarcation, of the entire tract.
Early in 1881 an oflScer was appointed to carry out this duty.^ He
was entrusted with large discretion in acquiring occupied lands
either by purchase or by exchange. Since 1881 final forest bounda-
ries have been fixed jn Bhimthadi, Indapur, Sirur, and Mdval and
in the portions of Khed and Haveli which fall -within - the charges
of the mdnilatdar of Khed and the mahdlkari'of Mulshi. In the
sub-divisions of Junnar and Purandhar and in the petty divisioni of
Ambegaon in Khed and of Mulshi in Haveli the work is still in
progress.

The net results of the new demarcation are :

PooiTA Forest Duiarvation Dei ails, 1881-8Z.

Sub-Division.

Total

Area
bxclfdino
alibnatbd
villages.

Area or

EXISTING

RESERVES

TO BE

riNALLT

RETAINED.

Additional ahea included ih
THE new Demarcation.

Total

Area of

peopobed

Forest

Eeseeves.

Pbrcbst

OF Forest

TO TOTAL

Area.

Wasbe.

Occupied.

Total.

Mival

Sinir

Ind&pur ... .

Bhimthadi :

(1) Mimlatd&r's Charge.

^)MahSlltar,i'sChavge.

M&mlatd&r's Charge ...
Haveli; '
Kabiilkari'a Charge ...

Acres.

212,188

- 303,210

346,671

351,236
246,660

296,436

118,367

Acres.

61,230

, 11,914

20,456

31,930
10,656

64,804

24,895

Acres.

668

2218

. 25,-576

11,073
1437

1267

214

Acres.
26,172
11,U2
21,801

17,244
9466

19,292

27,505

Acres.
25,840
13,324
47,376

28,317
10,902

20,669

27,719

Acres.
77,070
26,239-
67,132

60,247
21,568

76,363

52,614

17
- 8 ^

25 '

iMr. G.W. Vidal, C.S.

^ In 1867, Mr. 0. W. Bell, First Assistant Collector, began the work in the Mulshi
petty division. His labours extended over the Haveli, Mdval, Junnar, and Sirur sub- '
divisions. The Inddpur and Bhimthadi forest lands were demarcated in 1875 by
Mr. C, G. W. Macpherson, Assistant Collector, and Mr. TV. H. A. Wallinger, Deputy
Conservator. Purandhar was demarcated by_ the same officers in 1877, and the ,
demarcation of the important forest sub-division of Khed occupied Mr. Johns,
Assistant Collector, and Mr. Wallinger during the hot weathers of 1875 and 1876.
Ih 1879, Mr. J, McL. Campbell, Forest Settlement Officer, submitted his report
regarding the settlement of all the district forests. His successorsj Mr. G. W. Vidal
demarcated the forest lands of Bhimthadi, MAval, and part of Ha;veli ; and Mn A. B.
Steward those of IndSpur and Mulshi Petha in Haveli in 1880 and 1881. Mr. Vid"al»
a second time appointed Forest Settlement Officer, has since demarcated the forest
lands of Bfeilmati in Bhimthadi, Siruri part of Khed including some, villages of the
Apibegaon Peta, Junnar, and Purandharl Parts of Haveli, Khed, and Ambegaon have
still to be demarcated.

Deccan.]

POONA.

In the east the greater part of the occupied land marked for forest
has been secured by purchase or by exchange. In the west or
Sahyddri sub-divisionSj where the area of waste land available for
exchange is more limited, progress must necessarily be slower.
Many years must elapse before the whole area of mountain land
included in ttiis demarcation can be brought under forest rules.

In 1863, the forests of Poona, Satdra, and Ahmadnagar were the
joint charge of one European officer whose office and exeCutiye
establishment for Poona consisted of two clerks, six inspectors, thirty-
five foresters, and four messengers, representing a total monthly cost
of £57 (Rs. 570). In 1870 Poona was formed into a separate forest
charge and the establishment considerably increased.

In 1881-82 the district forest establishment included the
settlement officer ; the deputy conservator of forests ; twelve range
executives, five of them rangers on £5 to £10 (Rs. 50-100) a month
and seven foresters on £2 to £4 (Rs. 20-40); thirty-six round-
guards, six on £1 10s. (Rg. 15), fifteen on £1 4s. (Rs. 12), fifteen on
£1 (Rs. 10); and 194 beat-guards, twenty of them on IBs. (Rs. 9),
Tiwenty-eight on 16s. (Rs. 8), and 146 on 14s. (Rs. 7). Besides these
establishment charges, £110 (Rs. 1100) were in 1881-82 paid as
shares to rakhvdlddrs who are bound under written agreements to
protect the forests of certain villages.

^The Poona forest lands may be roughly grouped into three classes,
hill, river bank, and upland reserves. Except in the Sinhgad range
the hill reserves are chiefly found in the west. They are of two kinds,
mixed evergreen woods and teak coppice. The mixed evergreen
woods are found chiefly on the sides and plateaus of the main
SahySdri range, on the minor lines and offshoots which run parallel
to the main range, and on the western ends of the spurs that stretch
east at right angles to the main range. In these woods the chief
trees are, the mango dmba Mangifera indica, the ain Terminalia
tomentosa, the nana and the ionddra Lagerstraemia laneeolata and
parvifolia, which are so closely alike that they are generally grouped
as ndifo-bondara, the hedu Nauclea cordifolia, the kalamb Nauclea
parvifolia, the dsdn Bridelia retusa, the sair Bombax malabaricum,
the dhdvda Conocarpus latifolia^ the teak sag Tectona grandis,
the jdmbhul Eugenia iambolana, the yela -Terminalia bellerica, the
ihdman Grrewia tihsefolia, the myrobalan harda Terminalia
chebula, and the bamboo. These evergreen woods yield little timber.
The second kind of hill forests are the teak coppices. They are
found chiefly on the slopes and terraces of the spurs that run east
from tbe main range of the Sahyadris. The teak does not occur
throughout the whole length of these eastern hills; it is found
>hiefly in a belt which begins about ten and continues to about
iwenty-five miles from the main range of the Sahyddris. In the
mportant Sinhgad and Purandhar ranges in the south of "the district,
;he teak passes further east than in the smaller spurs in the centre
md north, valuable teak rafters being cut on the slopes of Sinhgad

Chapter II.
Production.

Forests.

EstablMment,

B 310^5

1 Contributed by Mr. J. McL. Campbell, C. S.

[Bombay Oazetteer,

DISTRICTS.

Chapter II.
Production.

Forests.

Junnar.

Khed.

and as far east as Purandhar about forty-five miles from the line of
the Sahyddris.

The second class of forest reserves are the river-side gropes.
These are found along the banks of almost all the larger rivers
wherever there is land suited to the growth of trees. In almost all
of these reserves the soil is a deep alluvial deposit, and most of the
plantations are of well grown trees, chiefly bdbhuls Acacia arabica.

• * - . *

The third class of forest reserves, the upland or mdl reserves are
found in every sub- division, but chiefly in the Sirur, Bhimthadi, and
Inddpur sub-divisions. , These uplands at present yield only grass,
but they are being gradually covered with a growth of brushwood
and saplings.

The different reserves may be most conveniently, arranged in the
following order : Junnar, Khed, Mdval, Haveli, Sirur, Purandhar,
Bhimthadi, and Ind^pur. ,

The Junnar forest reserves extend over about 112 square miles.
Beginning from the north, the hill reserves are ChilhevAdi with 491'
acres and Ambegavan with 1442 acres, on the slopes of a range
which runs east from Harishchandragad. - These reserves contain
valuable teak. Khireshvar with 4228 acres is in the north-west on
the southern slope of Harishchandragad. It forms with Khubi the
head of the valley of Madhkhore, and from its laiids the Md,lsej pass
leads into the Konkan. It is a mixed evergreen forest. The trees
are of many varieties, but none are particularly large or of much
market value. To the east of Khireshvar are the reserves of Kolvddi
1593 acres, Sangnore 1964 acres, and Pimpalgaon-Joga 1268 acres,
and to the south are Khubi 355 acres, Karanjdle 182 acres, and
Pdrgaon 273 acres. These lead to the next important group of
Sahyddri reser'^es, Talerdn 1510 acres, and Nimgir 1072 acres,
between the Mdlsej and Ndna passes. Following the line of the
Sahyddris andcrossing the Kukdi valley, at the top of which there
are the evergreen reserves of Gh^tghar 1405 acres and Phangulgavd,n
785 acres, there is an important forest group at the head of the
Mina valley comprising the reserves of Dhak 2103 acres and Amboli
694 acres. Of river-bank habhul groves, which do not include more
than 500 acres, the chief are along the Kukdi and the Mina. At
Hivre-Budrukh, seven or eight miles east of Junnar, is the botanical
garden of eighteen acres which was started by Dr. Gibson, the first
Conservator. It is now treated as an ordinary forest reserve. The
upland or mdl reserves, which include about 3400 acres of inferior
soil, yield nothing but spear-grass. This is now being • covered
with nutritious pasture and saplings. The chief steps taken to grow
nutritious grass on tracts which formerly yielded nothing but spear-
grass are the broadcast sowing of seeds of the hardier trees and
brushwood with the object of giving shade and of increasing
moisture, and the shutting of the land against grazing during the
rainy season and thus allowing new grasses to seed.

Khed, with about 164 square miles of reserves, is the chief forest
tract in Poena. Except the alifenated village of VirhAm the whole
crest of the Sahyd,dris is one stretch of reserved forest comprising the

DeccanJ

POONA.

reserves of Don 512 acres, Pimpargane 1009 acres, Ahupe 4754
acres, Kondhavale 6493 acres, Terungan 641 acres, Nigdale 2578
acres, Bldvegaoii 1392 acres, Bhovargiri 2604. acres, Velhavli 2990
acres, Bhomdle 1188 acres, Kharpud, 2735 acres, Vandre 1799
acres, and Torne-Khurd 859 acres. Except occasionally in sacred
groTes which have been untouched for generations, the trees in
these forests, though green and fresh, are of moderate size.
Earda Terminalia chebula, which produces the valuable myrobalan
of commerce, is abundant throughout the Khed forests, and there
is an extensive and valuable growth of bamboo in the Velhavli and
Bhomdle reserves. Besides the reserves along the edge of the
Sahyddris Khed possesses large and most valuable teak coppice in
a belt which begins ten miles east of the Sahy^dris and stretches
about fifteen miles further inland. The most important teak forests
are in the Ghod valley, Qangapur 1440 acres, Giravli 921 acres,
Amondi 1193 acres, Ghode,2442 acres, and Sil 44 acres. Besides
these, there are Dhdkale 909 acres on a tableland between the
Ghod and Bhima valleys, and Ghas 2100 acres and Kamdn 782
acres adjoining each other in the Bhima valley. The hill reserves
to the east of this belt of teak are Bare or have only a sprinkling
of thorn-bushes. They are being sown broadcast with seeds of the
following trees: bor Zizyphus jujuba, Arngfara Balanites egyptiaca,
'sdrphali Boswellia thurifera, khair Acacia catechu, hiva/r Acacia
leucophloea, hinai Albizia procera, maruk Ailanthus excelsa, sitdphal
Anona squamosa, bel ^gle marmelos, tamarind, dpta Bauhinia
racemosa, shami Prosopis spicegera, and dvla Phylanthus emblica-.
The river-side bdbhul groves, which include about 30O0 acres along
the Bhima and its iributaries, are fairly stocked with trees. The
upland or mdl reserves, which have an area of about 4000 acres, are
bare and dry. They are being sown with the seed of such harcfy
plants as tarvad Cassia anriculata and shami Prosopis spicegera^.

The Maval forest reserves extend over about eighty-one square
miles. Except a few small bdbhul groves along* the Pauna, and
some waste lands near the railway between Londvla and Talegaon,
.the M^val reserves are all hill reserves on the main line of the
'tSjahyadris and on the chain of hills which stretches east from
Siskhupathar near Lonavla. The Maval forests are l^e the Junnar
forests and are less extensive and vigorous than those of- Khed.
The best are Mdlegaon-Khnrd with 569 acres, Malegaon-Budrukh
with 2943 acres, Pinipri with 530 acres, Kune-Khurd with 405
acres, and Kune-Budrukh with 678 acres. These are on the main
range of the Sahy^dris a continuation of the Khed forests. South
• of the alienated.village of S^vle, which breaks the line of the Sahyadii
reserves, come Khand with 551 acres, Kusur with 2328 acres, Jamboli
with 1542 acres, Thoran with 2017 acres, Yalvande with 1788 acres,.
IJndhevadi with 1887 acres, K^re with 1181 acres, and Khandala.with.
1215 acres. South of Khanddla comes Kurvande with 3077 acres,,
which, beginning with the slopes of the well known Duke's Nose
or Cobra's Hood, stretches south along the face of the Sahy^dris,
and with portions of Bhushi 316 acres, Kusgaon-Budrukh 557 acres,
.Gevdhe 1543 acres, and Atvan 774 acres, forms the platean of
Saikhupathdr. The chief trees are the same as those mentioned as

Chapter II.
Production.

Forests.
Khed.

Mdvah

[Bombay Gazetteer

DISTRICTS.

Chapter II.
Production.

Forests.

Haveli,

Sirur.

Purandhar.

forming the mixed evergreen woods of the Sahyddris. A growth of
bamboo is also springing up on the Sakhupathd^ plateau. The forest
lands on the other eastern spurs are exceedingly bare, as the prices
which firewood and charcoal fetch along the railway line have tempted
the holders of hill-land to strip them of timber.

The Haveli forest lands occupy about 100 square miles. The Mujshi
hills have been brought more under tillage than any other part of
the Poena Sahy^dris. The only forest reserves are Tamheni-Budrukh
with 5042 acres, Sdltar with 1 053 acres, Yekole with 9&6 acres,
Pimpri with 2534 acres, Nive with 1789 acres, -and Ambavne with
1057 acres. The hills round Sinhgad yield- teak, the best areas
being Sinhgad with 4519 acres,^ and Donje with 1011 acres. The

' trees are most healthy and the nearness of the Sinhgad reserve to
the Poona, market gi-eatly adds to its value. In theXdtraj reserve
of 1900 acres, fifteen years of careful protection have clothed the
hill-sides with a young growth of many varieties of timber. But
the other hill reserves which are mostly east of Sinhgad towards
Dhavleshvar are either bare or have only a sprinkling of thorn
bushes. The chief river-side reserves are along the Mala-Mutha

' from M^njri six miles, to Koregaon-Mul sixteen miles east of Poona.

Sirur has little forest land.- There are no hill reserves, and the
whole forest area does not cover more than twenty-five square miles.
Before 1879, the Sirur forest area amounted to 3470 acres out of a
total area of 303,210 acres. Additions in 1879 raised the forest area
to 19,234 acres. As in the rest of the district, a thorough redistri-
bution of the waste lands notified in 1879 was necessary both in
the interests of the people and of the forest department. The
settlement and demarcation oflScers for various reasons have found
it necessary to disforest 7320 acres, reducing the forest area to 11,914
acres or eight per cent of. the sub-division. Sirur is mudi more
fertile than the other eastern sub-divisions and has a much, smaller .
area of unproductive land. The chief forest reserves are, Alegaon
1869 acres, P^bal 1288 acres, Kavdhe 629 acres, Kanur 504 acres,
Karandi 712 acres, and Sirur 500 acres.

The Purandhar forest reserves include about thirty-seven square
miles. The chief forest areas, 18,996 acres^ are on the range of hills
which stretches southeast fromSinhgad to Purandharand twentymiles
further east. The largest forest areas are, Jejuri with 692 acres,.
Kdmra with 759acres, Mandhar with 1205 acres, Sakurde with 1223
acres, Parinche with 1292- acres, Bhongavli with 159j3 acres, Kikvi
with 1793 acres, Vdlhe with 2223 acres, and Ghei-a Purandhar with
3697 acres. Except small teak, chiefly in Shivra, K^™!**? Kikvi, and
Bhongavli, these forest lands contain nothing but scrub. The forest
area of 2202 acres on the range separating the Karha valley in
Purandhar. from the Mula-Mutha valley in Haveli, includes 366
acres in Bhivdi, 376 in Bopgaon, 800 in Gurholi, 214 in Tekavdi,
and 446 in P^nde. These lands contain little but poor scrub. There
is a small area of river-side groves at Kenjal and elsewhere on the
Nira. The remaining 4000 acres is poor upland or mdl. The villages .
with the largest areas of uj^and are RdjevAdi with 246 acres, Hivre
with 280, P^rgaon with 286^ and RAjuri with 319.

Deccan.]

poo:na.

Bhimthadi has a forest area of about sixty-nine square miles.
About 4402 acres are commanded by tbe Mutba canal and will
probably be given back for tillage, and 1499 acres have been declared
unfit for forest. On the other hand a considerable area of arable
waste will probably be taken for forest land. Of the demarcated
axea of 18,585 acres, the most valuable parts are the river groves on
the Bhima, Nira, and Karha, the best being near Rahu and Pimpal-
gaon on the Bhima. The details are, Rahu 1610 acres, Pimpalgaon
685 acres, Daiitne 684 acres, Miravde 468 acres, Valki; 467 acres,
and Delavdi 214 acres. The rest of the forest land is poor up-
land, bare or with a sprinkling of stunted scrub. The details are,
Yevat 448 acres, Undavdi-Karepathdr 1043 acres, Varvand 1575
acres, Supa 2838 acres, Vadhane 1084 acres, Pandare 889 acres,
Karange 1281 acres, and PAtas 2143 acres.

The Indapur forests include about seventy-two square miles. Be-
fore the 1st of March 1879, when all the waste assessed or unassessed
lands were declared forest reserves, the entire forest area was 10,804
acres out of 345,571 acres, the total area of Indapur. Subsequent
additions during 1879 raised the' total area to 13,649 acres. Since
1879 a large portion of the arable area which had passed out of
tillage during and after the famine of 1876 and 1877 has been taken
for forest. During the famine and succeeding bad years, except the
rich banks of the Nira in the south, the sub-division lost a large
number of its people. Advantage was taken of this opportunity to
increase the forest area after making provision for such of the
husbandmen as might return and apply for land. The result of the
settlement officer's enquiries has been to raise the Inddpur forest
area to 65,300 acres or about eighteen per cent of the entire
ijnb-division. The villages which have now the largest forest area
are Bhelgaon with 6684 acres, Palasdev with 5513 acres, and Kalas.
with 5574 acres. The IndApur forest lands, though most of them
are at present bare, are well suited for habhul plantations.

In 1881-82 £92 (Rs. 920) were spent in ploughing land and
dibbling in seed in more than 250 reserves. Besides thirty tons (40
hhandis] of mixed seeds collected by forest guards^ ninety-six tons
(129 hhandis) of seeds of many kinds were collected in the western
sub-divisions at a cost of £81 (Rs. 810). The system of sowing seed
broadcast continues to yield good result in certain localities. The
forest reserves are protected by a system of fire lines and by close
supervision.. Still in 1881-82 about ten square miles of forest were
burnt. £1 73 (Rs. 1 730) were spent on planting.

Except Kd.tkaris, who come from the Konkan into the west of
the district when forest work is to be had and when the wild fruits
are ripe, there are no forest tribes. The Kunbis and Marathas
who fprm the bulk of the people near the Sahyadris, in Junnar,
Mdval, and Haveli, and the Kolis who are numerous in Khed and
round Sinhgad and Purandhar, are husbandmen rather than
woodsmen. Nor can the Rdmoshis be called a forest tribe. They are
chiefly found in the open country to the east and south, though a
few are settled as hereditary guards of the hill-forts" of Sinhgad and
Purandhar. The classes most employed in forest-work are the

Chapter II.

Production.

Forests.
Bhimthadi,

Inddpur.

Forest Tribea>

liiomDay uazeueer,

DISTRICTS.

Chapter 11.

Frodnctiou.

Forests,
Forest Tribes,

Offences.

Eeceipti.

Timber Trade.

ordinary field-labourers, Kunbis, Marathas, and Mhars, and to a
less extent,, Kolis, Ka.tkarisj TMkurs, Dhangars, and Ramosliis.
The daily wage of. the unskilled labourers employed in forest-work
is 4Jc?. (3 as.) for a inan, Sd. (2 as.) for a woman, and 2\d. (1^ as.) for
a boy. During the season (September -November) of wood-felling
about 140 men with carts are employed for about three months,
and during the season (December- February) of seed-gathering,
sowing, and planting, about 200 men are employed for three months.
The bidders at the auctions of timber and minor forest produce are
chiefly husbandmen and Maratha timber-dealers. Grass is cut and'
-carried by purchasers who employ hundreds of labourers and carts.

In 1881-82 there were 306 forest prosecutions against 827 in
1880. Of the whole number 199 were cases of theft, thirty-five of
mischief, and seventy-two other cases. Of the prosecution^ 57 or
18'6 per cent failed. About £75 (Rs. 750) were recovered as fines
and £5 (Rs. 50) were realized by the confiscation of property'.

As the chief object of forest conservancy in Poona is to,
increase the forest area, and as a few of the reserves have' any
considerable supply, of timber fit for the market, the forest receipts
are small. In 1870-71 they amounted to £7633 (Rs. 76,330).
During the four years ending 1874-75 they ranged between £5718
(Rs. 57,180) in 1874-75 and £3827 (Rs. 38,270) in 1871-72 and/
averaged £4714 (Rs. 47,140); In 1875-76 they fell fi-om £5718
to £4318 (Rs. 57,180-43,180), and during the five years ending
1879-80 continued to fall to £2290 (Rs. 22,900), and averaged £3381
(Rs. 33,810). In 1880-81 they rose to £3397 (Rs. 33,970), in
1S81-82 to £5912 (Rs. 59,120), and in 1882-83 to £8935 (Rs. 89,350).

In consequence of the additional establishment required to protect ■;
the increased forest area, the charges rose from £3745 (Rs. 37,450)-;i
in 1870-71 to £6446 (Rs. 64,460) in 1881-81 and 1882-83 and'
averaged £4430 (Rs- 44,300). These charges include, besides the
allowances of forest officers on leave in Poena, a sum of from £1000
to £1800 (Rs. 10,000 -'18,000) on account of the pay and allowances
of the Conservator of Forests Northern Division and his establish- ,
ment. The following are the details :

PpoNA Forest Smysnus, 1870-188^.

Year.

> Re-
ceipts.

Charges. |

Year.

Re-
ceipts.

Charges. [

Conser-
vancy and
Worlfs. '

Establish-
ments.

Total.

Conser-
vancy and
Worlcs.

Establish-
ments.

Total.

1870-71 ...
1871-72 ...
1872-73 ...
1873-74 ...
1874-76 ...
187S-76 ...

7633
3827
4815
4498
6718
4318

« .
1261
1813
1394
1841
1350
1256

£
2484
2805
2643
1649
1679
1797

£
3745
4618
4037
3390
3029
3053

1876-77 ...
1877-78 ...
1878-79 ...
1879-80 ...
1880-81 ...
1881-82 ...

£
4084

2290
3397
5912

£
1160
' 1310
1631
2373
SOOl
2871

£
1732
2026
2918
4812
3486
3675

2882
3336
4444
7185
6186
6446

As much timber and firewood as the impoverished reserves can
supply and as will command a sale is brought into the market by
the forest department and is sold to the highest bidder. There is
little if any export of timber ; all of the produce is used in the
district. Throughout the district there is a good demand for bdhhul

Deccan.]

POONA.

timber, teakwood rafters, and firewood. The best markets are,
Poona, Khed, Sdavad, and Junnar. Teak, timber is brought up the
Bor pass in carts from Th^na and by rail from Bombay. Hithertp
the Pant Sachiv's state in North Satd>ra has met most of the Poona
demand for tipaber. But its stores of firewood and timber have
been lavishly spent, and the supply is so much reduced that to a
considerable extent the Bhor people now depend on the Poona
forests. In 1881-82 departmental cuttings were confined to 62,817
teak trees from th« forests chiefly of Khed, Haveli, Junnar, and
Purandhar, producing about 664 tons (897 khandis) or equal to about
12^ cubic feet each and yielding a revenue of £1852 (Rs. 18,520) at
a cost of £142 (Rs. 1420)j about 1217 tons (1643 khandis) from
Junnar, Ind^pur, Sirur, Bhimthadi, Haveli, and Mdval, yielding a
revenue of £472 (Rs. 4720) at a cost of £31 (Rs. 310) ; and 59,500
bamboos from Khed and Haveli, yielding a revenue of £54 (Rs. 540)
at a cost of £13 (Rs.130).

Myrobalana or hardas, of which about thirty-nine tons (53 khandis)
worth about £157 (Rs. 1570) were collected in 1881 at a cost of
about £46 (Rs. 460) are the fruit of the Terminalia chebula. They
are Collected departmentally and sold at temporary stores outside
the forests by auction or by tender. Central stores for groups of
villages are established at Bhushi, Uksdn, Kusur, and Kurvandi in
Mdival; at Ambegaon,Rdjpur,Kushere, Vdndre, Tokavde, Amboli,and
Bhavargiri in Khed ; and at Pimpalgaon, Rajur, and Inglun in Junnar.
The people are invited to gather the fruit and bring it to the stores.
The price varies from £6 to £8 (Rs. 60-80) a ton. It increases as
the season advances because as less fruit is left on the trees the
work of collection gross heavier. The longer the fruit is allowed to
remain on the tree the heavier and the more valuable it becomes.
Shikekdi are the pods of the Acacia concinna. The tree flowers in
October and November, the pods appear in December, and are ready
for picking in February and March. They are much used by the
people as a hair-wash and have also healing properties. Other
minor produce are, the bark of the chilldri Csesalpinia sepiaria and
shemb Csesalpinia diggna ; the pods of the hdhva Cassia fistula, the
leaves of the dpta and ti/mru used for making cigarettes ; palm-leaves
and teak-leaves used in thatching; moha flowers used in distilling;
, gum ; and honey, all of which are brought into the Poona, Khed,
Junnar, and Talegaon markets and produce a yearly revenue of
about £50 (Rs. 500). There has been a great increase in the
quantity of grass in the forest reserves. Fifteen years ago nearly
the whole of the important river-side grazing reserves were choked
with prickly pear, the whole of which has been removed. Grass and
grazing are becoming a considerable source of revenue. Exclusive
of the grass supplied to the Commissariat at Poona of the valiie of
£1100 (Rs. 11,000), and the grazing free of charge from the re-
served .forests of the value of £927 (Rs. 9270) to the Government
cattle farm at Aligaon, the grass and grazing revenue was £141
(Rs. 14,170) in 1877-78, £525 (Rs. 5250) in 1878-79, £727 (Rs.'7270)
in 1879-80, £1570 (Rs. 15,700) in 1880-81, £3198 (Rs.31,980) in
1881-82, and £3941 (Rs. 39,410) in 1882-83.

Chapter II.
Production.

Forests.
Timber Trade,

Minor Produce.

[Bombay Gazetteer,

DISTRICTS.

Chapter II.
Production.

Forests.
Roadside Trees.

^ The commonest roadside trees are, the bdbhul, pimpal, vad,
ndndruk, pimpri, karanj, tsLmarind, limb, mango, jdmbhul, and umbar.
The vad,^ ncmdrujc, pimpcbl, pimpri, and umbar, all belong to the fig
tribe, and as with the exception of the pmpal they can be propagated
by cuttings they are the 'commonest of Poona roadside trees.

In growing roadside trees the planting of cuttings is the system
which has been most generally adopted. ' Young branches full of sap
and with air-roots are chosen. They have generally been about five
feet in length, but during the last three years very much longer
cuttings varying from twelve to sixteen feet long have been planted.
The interval between each cutting is about twenty feet. The cuttings
do not require hedges as a protection and so far they are more
economical than seedlings. A bundle of thorns is tied round the
pole about four feet from the ground to prevent horned cattle '
rubbing against them. The cuttings are planted with about three
feet in the ground. In the western and central belts they are watered
once a weiek from January till the monsoon breaks early in June,
and in the east for about nine months. After easterly storms, and so
long as their moisture lasts, watering is discontinued. Cuttings can be
planted at any time of the year. If they are planted in the interval-
between two south-west monsoons (October- June) they must be
regularly watered, while if they are planted at the' beginning of the
Bouth-west monsoon (June l8t-25th) they can do without water for six
months. Latterly the seedling system has been tried but with very -
doubtful success, except where recourse has been had to artificial
watering. The plan is to procure a large number of pots, to fill them
with earth, and as soon as the first rain falls to plant them with seeds
of -nxsmgo, jdmbhul, limb, ha/ranj, pimpal, and tamarind. The pots are
placed in nurseries at carefully chosen sites where there is a fair shade
with water close at hand. The seedlings remain in the nursery for
twelve months, care being taken to shift the pots from time to time
so that the roots may not strike into the ground. Meanwhile pits
are dug at intervals of twenty feet on either side of the roads, and-
living hedges of milk-bush or of the handa nivdung Condelchra
cactus are planted round the pits. After exposure for ten or eleven
months the pits are filled with good earth and are ready to receive
the seedlings. At the beginning of the south-west 'monsoon the
seedlings are planted pot and all, the pot being first broken. They
thus get four or five months' rain and they are then supposed to
thrive without any artificial moisture. In the western and central
belts about forty per cent thrive, but in the eastern belt the plan is ;
an utter failure, owing to the uncertain and scanty rainfall, and resort |
must be had to artificial watering. The watering of young trees
srequires constant care. It is essential that the soil round the roots :
should be constantly loosened so as to allow the water to pass to the
root ; otherwise after one or two waterings the soil becomes as baked ,:
as a sun-dried brick. No moisture can pass, and the cutting or i
sapling either withers or.its roots instead of going into the soil come

' Contributed by Mr. J. G. Moore, C.S.

DeccanJ'

POONA.

to tlie surface and having no hold the plants are blown over. To bury
a porous earthen vessel close to the tree so that its throat is on a level
with the surface is an economical way of watering. If filled weekly
the water gradually soaks into the soil and keeps it moist. The top
of the vessel m.ust be covered to prevent evaporation and the vessel
must be btfried deep or the roots will come too near the surface.

The following is a list pf the chief Poena trees.^ Ain or sddada,

Terminaha ibomentosa, is a straight and high growing forest tree.

It yields good timber and fuel. The bark is astringent, yields a

black dye, and is used in tannings The bark ashes produce a kind

of cement which is eaten with betel-leaf in the Madras Presidency.

It is one of the commonest trees on the Sahyadris, and on the

wooded hills and uplands in the west of th6 district. Boma, also

called ain, Terminalia glabra, is equally plentiful with the ain, and

differs from it only in having a smoother bark. T. bellerica is one

of the largest and finest looking trees in the Poena forests. All%,

Vanqueria spinosa, a wild fruit tree, is found on the western

hills. Its fruit is often brought to the Poona market. The stem is

covered with large thorns and the wood has no special value.

Amha, Mangifera indica, the Mango, is found in gardens and fields

both in the hilly west and in the level east. The mango grows

sixty or seventy feet high, has a straight trunk and a dark rough

bark, and gives excellent shade.^ It flowers at the end of January

or the beginning of February and fruits in May and June. The

wood, which is coarse-grained and suffers from the attacks of

white-ants and other insects, is much used for planks and building

and as firewood. The flowers are held sacred and are offered to Shiv.

Especially in years of scarcity the mango is a valuable addition

to the food supply of the district. Besides when it is ripe, the fruit

is used unripe in pickles and relishes and the kernel is boiled

and eaten. Poona mangoes go in large quantities to Bombay and

other places from the gardens at Shivdpur near Poona where the

shekda or handred contains three hundred and twelve mangoes. The

fruit can be greatly improved by grafting. Awhguli, Elaeagnus,

a wild tree, which grows largely on the western hills, yields

A palatable fruit, in taste like a gooseberry. The fruit is cooked

and used in curries and relishes and also as a vegetable. Amhada,

Spondias mangifera, is a cultivated fruit tree found chiefly in the

west of the district and on the SahyAdri slopes. The wood which

is soft is burnt as fuel. The fruit is eaten wheir ripe and is used

in curries and pickles. It also yields a saleable gum. Anjir, Picus

carica, the Fig, is largely grown, especia,lly in the Haveli, Purandhar,

Junnar, and £hed sub-divisions. It is raised almost always from

duttings which when four or five feet high are planted in garden

land. It requires a richly manured and freely watered soil. The

crop is apt to suffer from blight and other diseases. There are no

Chapter IL
Froductioii.'

Treetf.
Ain or Sddada.

AUu.

Arriba.

Ambdda.

' Contributed by Mr. W. H. A. Wallinger, District Forest Officer;

2 In 1837 Colonel Sykes noticed a mango tree at Bbim&shanker called the Bdja,.
which was fully eighty feet high and from which boards could be cut thirty feet lona
and three or four feet wide. Keport of the British Association for 1837, 255.

b310— 6

[Bombay Gazetteer,

DISTRICTS.

Chapter II.
Production.

Trees.

VUdyati A via.

Asi

Apta.

Bdhhul,

grafted figs in the district, and an attempt to introduce graft figs
failed. November and December and April and May are tbe bearing
seasons and it is only during these months that the fig requires
frequent watering. It begins to bear in its fourth year, is in its
prime from its sixth to its tenth year, and continues bearing until it
is fifteen years old. The ripe fruit is used locally and is sent to
Bombay. Poena figs are never dried. Anlo,, Phyllanthus emblica, is
a wild tree which is found throughout the' district, growing thirty or
forty feet high. It is useful in planting bare hill-sides. It is also
raised in the east of the district in gardens and round temples.
Its healing qualities have made it sacred- ' Krishna wears a necklace
of dvla berries and with tamarind and sugarcane dvla is offered to
Krishna in October- November when he marries the tulsi plant. The
sacredness of the fruit is probably the reason why stones deep
grooved like a dry dvla berry are so favourite an ornament in Hindu
temples. As the wood is hard and somewhat brittle it is little used.
The fruit which ripens in the cold weather is in size and appearance
much like a gooseberry. It is ribbed like a melon and is of a
semi-transparent yellow. It is very spur and astringent.^ It is
cooked or preserved and used in pickles. In a dried state it is called
dvalkdthi and is considered an excellent cure in bilious complaints.
It is also used in making ink. The bark which is used in tanning
is very astringent. The vildyati or foreign dvla, Caretonia siliqua,
is a low spreading tree, bearing large fruit which contains much
sugar and is valued as cattle fodder. The tree thrives in irrigated .
land. It begins to fruit when five years old. Asan, Briedeliat
retusa, ig a forest tree common in the hilly west. B. spinosa,,
which is" also plentiful, differs from B. retusa in being more
thorny. The leaves aroused as a cure for worms. Apta, Bauhinia
racemosa, is found both on the western hills and in the eastern
plains. B. alba or the white Mnchan and the B. acuminata or the red
kdnchan, which differ little from B. racemosa, are also plentiful.
Ropes _ are made of the bark of B. racemosa and the leaves are
much used for native cherqots. The dpta is worshipped by Hindus
on Dasara Day in October. The bark \a applied to swellings of the
limbs and its juice is given internally as a remedy for jaundice,
Bauhinia tomentosa is also fairly plentiful. The roots are prescribed
in certain cases of fiux and for inflammation of the liver. Bdhhvl,
Acacia arabica, is the commonest and most generally useful tree
in the district. It is found in all the sub-divisions, but sparsely
towards the west. It is very hardy and grows rapidly in black soil
and on the banks of rivers. It grows to a considerable size and
has excellent, hard, close-grained, and lasting wood; but the
tiniber is generally crooked, and straight pieces of any length
are seldom found. The wood is used as cart-axles, ploughs, and
sugarcane-rollers, as well as for fael. It also makes excellent
charcoal. The bark is valuable in tanning and yields a good yellow
dye, and its sap is a useful gum worth about M. a pound (6 pounds
the rupee) in the local markets. The long seed pods are eagerly,
eaten by sheep, goats, and cattle. At Manchar, about fourteen miles
north of Khed, in 1837, Colonel Sykes noticed a bdbhul whose trunk
eighteen inches from the ground measured nine feet round. Its

Oeccan.]

POONA.

head was branchiag, and, with a vertical 9un, shaded nearly six
thousand square foet. A variety known as vedi or wild hdbhul.
Acacia farnesiana, is found chiefly in the eastern and central plains.
It yields sweet flowers from which a perfume is distilled. The wood
is used for fuel but not for building, as it is soon attacked by insects.
The bark contains tannin and is made into the tassels which adorn
bullocks' heads on Pola or the Bull-day. The gum is also useful.^

Baddm, the Almond, Prunus amygdalus, is grown in gardens but
is not common. It gives good shade and the fruit when ripe is
eaten by children and the lower classes, bat it is never dried and
has no trade value. The kernel of the fruit is wholesome and
pleasant to eat. Ba/iua, Cassia fistula, is largely found on the central
and western hills and uplands j in the east it is scarce. It is one of
the most ornamental of forest trees, throwing out in the hot weather
long tassels of beautiful pimrose-yellow flowers much like the
laburnum. Its long hanging pods are also easily recognized. The
wood though <jlose-grained and hard is not much used. The bark
serves in taiming, the roots yield a purge, and the seeds are
embodied in a pulp which is used as an aperient both in India and
in Europe. Bel, ^gle marmelos, a highly ornamental tree, twenty
to forty feet high, is common all over the district both, wild and in
gardens. It has an excellent hard wood which is used for making
native drums, but the tree is seldom cut as it is sacred to Shiv, it is
said, on account of its fragrant flowers and aromatic leaves. Its
fruit, which is about the size of an orange, has a woody shell and a
sticky pulp. It is seldom eaten raw but it makes a delicious syrup
and a pleasant preserve and pickle, and has valuable healing
properties. Prepared in certain ways it acts as an aperient, in others-
as an astringent, and is useful in cases of dysentery or diarrioea. The
root, bark, and leaves, are also used in making cooling applications.
The aromatic leaves are offered to Shiv, especially in the month of
Shrdvan that is August, and on the Makdshivardtra in February.
The wood is sometimes burnt with the dead and the fruit made into
snuff-boxes. The seeds yield a varnish.

BhoJcar, Gordia latifolia, is grown as a frnit tree in the west of the
district. It is usually small seldom more than thirty feet high. It
has valuable white wood which is used in boat-building and makes
excellent fuel. The bark is made into ropes and fuses and the
leaves are used as plates. The young leaves and unripe fruit are
eaten as a vegetable. The fruit is pickled and is eaten when ripe ; it
is greedily devoured by birds. Its sticky pulp is used as birdlime
and is considered a valuable remedy in lung-diseases. Bibba, the
Marking-Nut, Semecarpus anaoardiu-m, is a wud tree common on the
central and western hills. The calyx or covering and the kernel of
the nut are eaten. The green fruit when pounded makes good bird-
lime. The oil of thfe nut is used for marking linen, the colour being
made fast by mixing it with a little quicklime water. It acts as a
bhster and some drops given in milk or butter are useful in diarrhoea.

' In 1839-40, Govenunent ofiEered land free of rent for planting bdbhul trees in
Ind^por. By 1842-43 the plantations extended over 2200 acres and contained 19,0031'
frees. Bev. Bee. 1241 of 1841, 83 and 1568 of 1844, 90,

Chapter II.
Froductiou.

Trees.

Baddm.

Bahva.

Bel.

Bfioiar,

Bibha..

[Bombay Gazetteer,

DISTRICTS.

Chapter II.
Froductioiti

Trees.
Bonddra.

Bor.

Bakul.

Bartondi.

Chakotar.

Ohandan.

It is applied as oil to the axles of country caribs. The juice is so
harsh and bitter that woodcutters bum the bark before they cut the
tree,

Bonddra, Lagerstrsemia lahceolata, is abundant in the western
hills. It differs from ndria in having smaller leaves. The wood is
light brown close-grained and elastic ; in the west it is much used
for house-building. Bor, Zizyphus jujuba, is common in cultivated
lands and over nearly all the centre and east of the district. The
tree is of spreading habitj coppices readily, and sometimes grows
thirty feet high. It is very thorny, The fruit which ripens in the ^
cold weather resembles the crab-apple in flavour and appearance. It
is never larger than a gooseberry and is much eaten. The bark is
used in tanning and is a great favourite with the lac insect!
Grafting greatly improves the taste and size of the fruit. It is
dried and pounded by the natives and eaten with vegetables, the
dried powder being called horlcut. The wood, which is used for
cabinet work, for saddle-trees, for field-tools, and for wooden shoes
is tough and lasting, and as it is not affected by insects, might prove
useful for railway sleepers. Bdnbor, Zizyphus vulgaris-, is a variety
with a smaller fruit found on the eastern hills and tablelands.
Ghotbor, another variety, is common in the west and is occasionally
found in the east. It seldom grows to be more than a shrub. The .
wood is used for torches, and the burnt fruit by shoemakers to
blacken leather.

Bakul, Mimusops elengi, is found throughout the district and is
specially common in gardens and near temples. Its sweet-smelliug
cream-coloured flowers yield an oil which is used in perfumery ; the
fruit is eaten by the poor, and the bark is an astringent and tonic^,:
The wood is very hard and lasting, and is used for house-building
and for furniture. Probably from the sweetness of its flowers and
its healing properties, the bakul is sacred. It was under a bakul tree
that Krishna played tp the milkmaids, and its sweet flowers, which
are called the flowers of paradise, are offered both to Vishnu and to
Shiv. Bartondi, Morinda citHf olia, is common in the east and centre
of the district, but is rare in the west. It is a small tree seldom
more than twenty to twenty-five feet high. Manjishta, M. tinctoria,
which differs little from the bartondi, also occurs in the- district.
The root of both varieties yields a valuable dye which is much used
in colouring turbans and carpets. Its close-grained, light, and tough
wood makes good wooden shoes or khaddvds. Ghahotar, the Citron,
Citrus deoumana, is largely cultivated throughout the district. It.
grows thirty or forty feet high. The fruit is large pale-yellow
and pear-shaped, with a thick rind and a pink or crimson and swee^t ,
or acrid pulp. The leaves are used for flavouring dishes and the
rind of the fruit yields an oil which is used in perfumery. The
rind is also an aromatic stimulant and tonic. The juice of the fruit
forms a refreshing drink. Chandan, the Sandal tree, Santalum album,
is occasionally found throughout the district, both cultivated in
gardens and near temples, and wild. It grows readily from seed but.
suffers much by transplanting. The heartwood is famous for its
scent. When rubbed t& powder, with or without other ingredients,

Deccau.1

POONA.

it is used as a cooling unguent and in preparing Hindu sect-marks.
Trees grown on rocky and poor soils yield muoli more heartwood
than those on rich alluvial land. The oil distilled from the wood is
a medicine and perfume. The wood is used by the rich to burn the
dead, the poor and middle classes contenting themselves by throwing
a log or two on the funeral pyre. The wood and the saw-dast are
burnt as incense in Hindu and PArsi places of worship. The wood
is also made into beautiful fancy articles. The ripe fruit, chandan
eharoli, is eaten by the poor. GkcM; Buchanania latifolia, is a wild
fruit tree found on highlands both in the east and in the west of
the district. The wood is tough and the bark is used for making
ropes and gondds or ornaments tied to the necks and horns of
bullocks. The bark is used by tanners. The stones of its cherry-like
fruit or chdroli, which abound in oil, are eaten roasted or pounded and
are used in confectionery and other cooking. Ohinch, the Tamarind
tree, Tamarindus indicus, both in the hilly tracts and in the plains, is
commoner than any other large cultivated tree except the mango.
It grows sixty or seventy feet high and. gives abundant shade. Its
tough and lasting wood is used for cart-wheels and oil-mills and is
valued for burning bricks and tiles. It makes excellent charcoal for
gunpowder. The fruit, which ripens in February, is salted and
stored in almost every house. The pulp of the frhit when preserved
in sugar makes a cooling drink. The seed is fried and eaten by
the lower classes ; in seasons of famine it is ground to flour and
made into bread. Prom the seed is also prepared a size which
is used by wool- weavers, saddlers, and book-binders. Chdpha,
Michelia champaca, is common throughout the district- on wooded
hills and tablelands and is also grown in gardens and near temples.
The leaves are used as dining plates or patrdvalis and the wood is
used as fuel. The milky juice is valuable in certain skin-diseases.
Ddlimb, the Pomegranate, Punica granatum, of two kinds, is grown
in gardens throughout the district and is valued for its fruit, and
for the healing properties of its root, leaves, bark, flowers, and fruit
rind. The bark of the root is used as a cure for worms and the juice of
the fruit forms a pleasing and cooliag drink. It bears in November-
December and again in April -May, and only when bearing does it
require much watering. During the rest of the year an occasional
watering is enough. The tree begins to bear in its fourth year ; it
is in its prime from its sixth to its tenth year ; and under favourable
circumstances continues to fruit till it is fifteen years old.

Bhdman, Grewia tiliaefolia^ which flourishes near the sea, is also
found in Poena. It is common in the forest lands in the centre
and west, and is occasionally found on the eastern uplands. Its
tough and elastic wood is_ used in house-building and is good for
bows and for ciarriage-shafts. The berries have an agreeable bitter
taste, the bark makes cordage, and the leaves are good fodder.
Dhdvda, Conocarpus latifolia, one of the commonest and most useful
timber trees, is plentiful in the west and centre and is occasionally
found in the east. Its tough wood is much used in house-building
and for field-tools and cart-axles. If not properly seasoned it is apt
to be attacked by white-ants. Gehela, Randia dumetorum, a shrub
rather than a tree, is plentiful in the western hills .and valleys, but

Chapter it.

production.

Trees.

CMr.

Ohinch.

Chdpha.

DdMmbf

Dhdman.

Dhdvda.

Gehela,

[Bombay Gazetteer,

DISTRICTS.

Chapter II.

Productioii.

Trees.
Gorakh-chmch.

Harda.

Hallian,

Hedu.

Hivar.

Hura.

Jdypkal^
Jdntb,

is not found in the east. The wood is used as fuel and the fruit as
an emetic and a fish poison. Oondhan, Oordia rothii, is plentiful in
gardens and forests. It differs from the bhohar in having narrower
leaves rand red fruit. Goralch-chinoh, the Baobab, Adansonia digitata,
occurs in a few gardens. The seeds are surrounded by a starchy pulp
with an acid flavour which forms a wholesome and agreeable article of
food, and is regarded as a specific in putrid and pestilential fevers and
a valuable medicine in dysentery. The powdered leaves applied to
the skia are used to check excessive perspiration. The bark is also
an antidote to fever, and its fibres are used in making cordage.
The tree is remarkable for the enormous size of its trunk.

Sarda or Mr da, Terminatia ohebula, is plentiful on the western hills;
From its value in tanning and dyeing the nut is in great demand in
Europe. Of late years, since the demand has become constant, the
people in the west preserve their harda trees and refrain from lopping
them for ash-manure. A rise in the price of harda nuts would do more
than almost any measure to clothe the sides of the western hills. A
decoction of bruised myrobalans is a safe and effective aperient. It is
also useful in skin-diseases. Hallian, Eriodendrum aiifractuosum,
though not plentiful, is found in the thicker forests on the western hills.
The light and soft wood is used in tanning leather and for making
toys. The fine soft silky wool which surrounds the seeds is used for
inaking cushions.. It yields a gum called hallianhe gond which is
valued in bowel-complaints. Hedu, Nauclea cordifolia, is found
only in the west and even there is seldom of any size. Its soft,
yellow, close-grained wood is used in house-building and for other
domestic purposes. The leaves are a valued remedy for children's
stomach complaints. The yellow flowers of the Nauelea kadamba
are sacred to Krishna who is said to have played with the milkmaids
under a hadalmh tree. The flowers are imitated in native jewelry. •
Hinganbet, Balanites egyptiaoa, is a thorny wild tree often growing
thirty feet high. It is common in the east, in wooded hills, plains,,
and tablelands. Its bitter leaves are used in medicine, and its
wood as fuel and for making shoe-moulds. The unripe fruit is
bitter and purgative. The ripe fruit is eaten by the poor. The
seeds yield an oil and the bark a juice with which fish are
poisoned. Hivar, Acacia leuoophlcea, is found in the centre and still
more commonly in the east of the district. Its hard but somewhat
brittle wood makes good posts and excellent fuel. The bark
supplies a tough and vailuable fibre for fishing-nets and ropes.
Brdhmans do not touch this tree as they believe it is haunted by an
evil spirit who. occasioned the quarrel between Dasharath, king of
Ayodhya, and his wife, which led to the banishment of Dasharath's
sons Edm and Lakishman.

Hura, Symplocos racemosa, is a small wild tree seldom more than
twelve or fifteen feet high. It is found in the deeper forests of the
western hills. Its yellowish strong and compact wood is much
used in cabinet work. The bark is used in dyeing and as a
mordant, and yields the well known scented abir powder-. Jdyphal,
the wild-nutmeg, Myristica dactyloides, is sometimes grown in
gardens. It has much less stimulant and narcotic power than the Java
nutmeg, Jdmb, the Eose-apple, Eugenia jambos, is a garden tree.

Decean.]-

POONA.

It is of two kinds red and white, of which, the white is the commoner
and at the same time the more highly esteemed. The bark
yields a gum. Jdmhhul or Jdmbhal, Syzigium jambolanum, is a very
common tree both cultivated and wild. It is found throughout
the district but chiefly in and on the borders of the hilly west. It
bears a small purple plum-like fruit which ripens in May and June
and is much eaten. The tree grows twenty to fifty feet high with
straight clean stem and glossy deep-green leaves. Its hard and
reddish wood is valued for its power of resisting the action of
water. It is much used in native house-buildings and for cart-frames
and field-tools. The ba^k yields an excellent brown dye and is used
as an astringent in chronic diarrhoea and dysentery. Khandul,
Sterculia urens, is rare in the east and is not common in the wesfc.
It yields a. gum like the tragacanth. and the leaves and twigs are used
in cattle-disease. Its soft spongy wood is of no special value* The
bark supplies excellent fibre for ropes.

Karanj, Pongamia glabra, is a forest as well as a road and river-
side tree. It is fairly plentiful throughout the district, thriving
best on river-banks and near water. The tree sheds its leaves at
the end of the cold season. It is almost at once reclothed in a
beautiful covering of fresh pale green, and when the fresh leaves are
mature it comes into flower, and fruits at the end of the year. The
wood is light tough and fibrous of a yellowish brown, and if not
properly Sfeasoned is soon attacked by insectsr Its fruit yields an oil
which is used for lamps and valued as a cure for rheumatism and for
itch and other skin-diseases. The rind or pend ot the bark is
pressed and rolled by Pinjaris or cotton-teazers into a felt.
Grass grows well under the shade of the haranj. Kalamb or hadamba,
Nauclea parvifolia, is common in wooded lands both in the east
and west. Its strong dark and close-grained wood is used in
house-beams. Edmrak, better known as country gooseberry,
Averrhoa karambola, is of two sorts sweet and bitter. The bitter
variety is chiefly used in pickles and preserves. The ripe fruit ia
yellow about two inches by one inch broad, and is so deeply indented
that its cross section has the shape of a four-rayed star. Two crops
may be produced by watering during the year. Kdju, Anacardium
oceidentale, is found in the western hills. The wood makes excellent
charcoal. The walls or pericarp of the seed contain a bitter oil which
has powerful blistering properties. The enlarged crimson or yellow
fruit-stem is also eaten and has a pleasant sour flavour. The raw
kernel is unpleasantly bitter, but "when fried it is much prized in
confectionery. In the Konkan a medicinal drink is made from the
enlarged peduncle of the fruit. The trunk yields a transparent gum
which is used as a varnish and is said to keep off insects.

Karvand, Carissa earandas, is a large evergreen shrub found in
the 'wooded parts of the central and western hills. The half ripe fruit
is made into tarts, jellies, and pickles, and the ripe berry is largely
eaten. Ectvath or Eut, the Wood-apple, Feronia elephantum, is
found throughout the district both in forests and in gardens. It
grows forty or fifty feet high and has beautiful dark-green leaves.
It yields a large quantity of sweet gum which is used as a tonic.
The fruit is round, three to four inches* ia diameter,- with, a hard

Chapter II.
Frodnction.

Trees.
JdmbhuL

Khandul.

Kalanib^

Kdmrah.

Kdju,

Karvand.

Kavath.

[Bombay Gazetteer,

DISTRICTS.

Chapter II.
Production,

Trees.

KhajuH or
Shindi,

Kel.

woody stell, and yellow palp containing the seeds. When ripe it is
eaten with sugar, and when green it is made into relishes and
pickles. The pulp also makes excellent jelly. The wood is lasting'
and useful and the leaves are used in children's bowel-complaints.
Ehajuri or Shindi, the Wild Date, Phoenix montana and sylvestris, is
plentiful in the western hills and is also found in gardens. It grows: f
thirty to forty feet high. The fruit when ripe is of a reddish yellow :
and has a sweetish and astringent pulp. Mats, baskets, and brooms
are made of the leaves which are also used in thatching, and the
juice drawn from the young shoots is either fermented or boiled
into sugar and molasses. The wood is used for building, for water--
pipes, and for other purposes. Kel, the Plantain, Musa paradisiacay
is perhaps commoner than any fruit except the mango. They are
planted in gardens at any time of the year and require a rich soil
and water once in ten or twelve days. They fruit only once and after
twelve months are cut down, Fresh shoots spring from the root and,
again fruit. The trees are generally removed when they have once
sent up shoots and borne fruit. • The flower, the unripe fruit, and,
the young shoots are all eaten as vegetables. Hindus use the leaves
as dining plates and for making native cheroots or hidis. Thay
are also valued for dressing blisters. The fruit, of which there are
three varieties, a small yellow, a large yellow, and a large red, is
an important article of food and the juice is sometimes inade into a
fermented liquor. The stem fibres are use>ful to gardeners in
budding and grafting and are also used in making paper. The wild
plantain, chavad, grows freely iu the Sahyd,dris.

Eenjal, Terminalia alata, is a common tree. The bark contains
tannin and the wood which ig^ very good is supposed to be improved
Kadu Khdrih. by keeping it under water. Kadu Kha/rih, Solamen jacquini, is found
only in the western hills and uplands. Its heartwood yields a
jpedicinal oil and its fruit is used as a cure for children's bowel-
complaints. Khair, AcaCia catechu, is fairly plentiful on wooded,
uplands and hills. It has a dark red wood, somewhat brittle but of
great strength which is not attacked by insects and takes a good
polish.. It is useful for all house and field purposes, especially in
making ploughs, pestles, and cart-frames. From its heartwood
is «xtracted the powerful astringent called hat which is so much ^
eaten with betel-leaf and used in medicine, dyeing, and painting. It
is made by the Kdtkaris and Thdkurs of the petty division of
Ambegaon. In making catechu, chips of the heartwood are boiled
in earthen pots, the clear liquor is strained off,- and when of sufficient
consistence is poured into clay moulds. Kdt is made to a very
small extent in the Poona district Limbu, the Lemon, Bitens
limmoun, is common in gardens.. It is grown in much the same
Way as the guava and the fig. It is seldom, more than fifteen feet
high. The fruit is to be had all the year round and is in great
demand for its juice which is used in making drinks and in all kinds
of cookery. The unripe fruit is often pickled and the rind and juice
are used medicinally. The Sweet Lime, sdkhar-limhu, Citrus lamiata,
is much larger than the common lime and though insipid is a great
favourite with the people. It sometimes grows twenty or twenty-
five feet high. The rind, yields an oil which is used in perfumery..

Khair,

Linibu,

Deccan.]

POONA.

Laldi, Albizzia amara, is largely found througliout the district on
wooded hills and in plantations. The wood is dark -brown, strong,
and fibrous, and is commonly used as fuel and in making plftnghs
and- carts. The leaves are ttsed as a hair- wash. Makar Nimhon,
the Wild Citron, Attantia monophylla, is found near the SahySdris.
It is a handsome tree, but the cultivated fruit is so abundant that
the wild variety is not used. The wood is white, very "Sue, and
close-graiped; it is useful for. cabinet purposes. Maruh, Ailanthus
excelsa, not unlike th.e English ash, is found both in the west and
east of the district but is not plentiful. The wood is soft but
close-grained, and is used for water-pipes, drums, sheaths, spears,
and swofds. Mdhlung, Citrus medica, is much grown in gardens
throughout the district. Its fruit which is as large as a cocoanut
is used in medicine. The kernel is eaten and preserved, The
leaves are used in flavouring and the rind is an aromatic stimulant
and tonic, and yields an oil which is used in perfumery. The juice
of the fruit is a refreshing and agreeable beverage. Mqha, Bassia
latifolia, is found in the west and central hills and uplands. Though
a forest tree, it is sometimes grown in gardens, especially near
the Sahyddris. Its .young ruddy rbronze leaves are one of the
greatest ornaments of the western forests at the beginning of the
hot season. Its chief value lies in the thick fleshy bell-shaped
flower which when dried is eaten and distilled into spirit. Almost
every animal, wild or domestioj eats the fresh flowers ; the fruit is
chiefly used as a vegetable. The wood, though easily attacked by
white-ants is hard and lasting, but the tree is too valuable to be
cut for timber. It is used for naves of wheels, frames of doors and
windows, and other purposes. The seed when allowed to form is
enclosed in a tbick walnut-like pod. It yields an excellent oil,
good for food and burning and also for skin-diseases, and is used in
making candles and sofkp. It is also used in adulterating clarified
butter. The leaves and bark are useful in fomenting a wound. The
bark yields a brown dye, and the leaves are made into plates, or
patrdvalis which are used chiefly at religious feasts.

Ndgch&fha, the Cobra Champa, Mesna ferea, is found in some of the
western hills and uplands. The reddish wood which is known as
iron-wood is said to b^ the heaviest and hardest timber in India. .
>The dried anthers or fertilizers are fragrant; the flowers are used
to deck women's hair, and the flowers and leaves as antidotes to
poison. Nana, Lagerstrsemia parviflora, is abundant in the western
hills. It is a straight-growing tree which yields a much used
timber. Ndral, the Cocoa-Palm, Cocos nuoifera, is sometimes grown
in gardens as an ornamental tree. Though in the Deccan it is
seldom vigorous, in 1837, Colonel Sykes found a flourishing palm
garden at Mdhd,lunge near Chdkan, and clumps of cocoa-palms at
P£bal eighteen miles west of Sirur, and in other places. The
cocoanuts, kernel, and oil Used in the district all come from the coast.
Ndrmg, the Orange," Citrus aurantium, is grown in garden lands in
considerable quantities and in much the same way as the pomegranate
and the fig. The chief varieties are the mosamb or Mozambique and
the santra from Cintra in Portugal. The orange tree is remarkable for
the enormous number of fruit it yields, one tree sometimes bearing as

(jhapter 11.
Production.

Trees.

Makar
Nimbori.

Maruk.

Moha.

NdgcM^ha.

Ndna.
Ndrai.

Ndriag.

IA/U*UMMI^

DISTRICTS.

Chapter II.

Frodnctioii.

.Itees.
■Iiimb.

Pdngdra,

Palo*.

Papai,

Paptuu.

Ptscu.

many as 1000 oranges a year. The leaves are used for flavouring and
tlie rind of the fruit yields an essential oil valued in perfumery and as
an aromatic stimulant and tonic. The juice of the fruit is a refi'esh-
ing and agreeable beverage. Limb, Azadifachta indica, known as
the. Indian Lilac, is found throughout the district. It is one of the
commonest of garden and road-side trees, being grown chiefly for
shade and ornaments- The wood is hard, lasting, and useful for
furniture. The heartwood of bid trees has a fragrance, like sandal-
wood and is used "for building. Its boiled leaves and fruit yield a
bitter and cooling drink useful in fevers and, small- pox. The
leaves are also used as a poultice and are eaten by Hindus with
gram and molasses/ on the Shalivahan New- Year's D8.y, the 1st of..^
Chaiira-m April. . The bark is used as a medicine and oil pressed -
from the seed in rheumatism. Pdngdra, Brythrina indica^ is plentiful' ■
in the western and central woods and is grown in gardens as a prop
;for the betel-vine-. . Its soft spongy wood is used for making toys
and moulds of shoes. The flower is_ supposed to have been stolen
Jby Krishna out of Indra's heaven and is now under a curse and is
never used for worship.

Polos, Butea frondosa, is common in the west and centre and is
'Ddcasionally found in the east. At the beginning of the ,hot^ season '
it is a mass of bright scarlet blossoms. ~ The leaves are much used
as plates and the young shoots' are «aten by camels and other ■
animals. The wood is strong and tough and makes excellent char-
coal. The stem yields kino gum which is valued in diarrhoea and
"dysentery and for tanning, the flowers yield a valuable dye, and the
root and bark excellent tough fibre.- The juice is also used in
medicine. The paZas is a favourite, with the lac insect and the
•best lac is found oil it. The seed-nut is given, to horses as a purge
and to free them from worms. Papai, Carica papaya, is fairly
common in gardens both in the plains and in the north-west of the
district. The tree has much of the general appearance of. a palm,,
'the fruit. and leaves clustering at the top of a straight bare stem.
With water and manure it bears three times in the year.. The fruit
is eaten both raw and cooked. The juice of the unripe fruit and the
powdered seed are valued as a cure for worms. The. tree has the-
. power of quickening the decay of flesh and newly killed meat is hung
on. it to make it tendei*. ■ Papnas, the .Pomelo or Shaddock, Citrus
'deoumana,'is not common except near large markets. Ifc is grown j
only in gardens and requires a rich soil and constant watering. It
grows fifteen feet high and if constantly watered bears twice a year.
'Per"M, -the Guava, Psidium guava, is growii throughout the district
in garden lands and thrives best in light soil. It is of two kinds
red and white, the white, being the mors esteemed. It is common
throughout the plain' country and on the boirders of the hilly west, ■
Noveniber and December, and April and May are its bearing
seasons, and it is only in these months that it requires frequent
watering. During the rest gf the year 'an occasional watering is :
enough. The tree begins to bear in its fourth year ; it is in its prime
from its sixth to its tenth year ; and under favourable circumstances '^
goes on bearing till it is fifteen years old. It is seldom over fifteen -

Deccan.]

POONA.

51'.

leet high and is of a.spreading bushy habit. The frpitis much
eaten both raw and in seyeral kinds of preserves and jellies. The
bark is astringent, and the wood, hard strong and, lasting.. It is
asefal for cabinet purposes.

Phanas, the Jack, Artocarpus integrifolia, is not a common tree.-
It is grown in gardens- and is. found wild near the hilly .west. It
grows forty or fifty feet high, has dark glossy - foliage, and yields
valuable timber. It is of two kinds, ftap a a superior variety, and
harlca, which yields a kind of cake called phanaspoli. Stripped of
its thorny cover the unripe fruit is eaten as a vegetable, and when
ripe, as a fruit. It is also valued as a poultice, for guinea-worm.
The leaves are used as plates. The seeds are eaten parched or
mixed with vegetables, and the juice makes good birdlime. The
heartwood yields a yellOw dye. Pila DhotrUj the Mexican Poppy,
Argemone mexicana, is found throughout the district in .fields
and near villages. The seeds are narcotic, and their oil which is an
aperientis used as a cholera remedy and to cure skin-diseases. Pimpai^
Ficas religiosa, - is sacred, perhaps from its smooth ghost-wiite
stem and branches and the windless rustling of its leaves. Among
Buddhists it is the symbol of Gautama the last Buddha. . It is-
commonly believed to be the abode of a mvnja or Brdhman youth
who has been girt with the sacred-thread but has not been married
and so is uneasy and feared. It is also apparently worshipped as a
Img. It is girt with the sacredrthread and is surrounded by a, stone
plinth, and Hindu women often walk many times round it to get rid
of the evil spirit of barrenness. Its leaves are a favourite food for
camels and elephants . and . are much liked by the lac insect. Its
rapid growth and thick shade make it a useful roadside tree.
■Except as fuel the wood is of no value.

Pimpri, Ficus comosa, is found throughout the district. It is much
like the pimpal and as it grows easily from cuttings is a useful
ro&dlBiie tree.. Mdmphal, the Bullock's-Heart frnit, Anona reticulata,
a; larger variety of the ous,tard-apple, is common in the western and
central sab-divisions^ chiefly in gardens, and is niuoh value.d for its
fruit. In good soil it sometimes' grows, forty feet high. The full
grown fruit is as big as a cocoanut and has a sweet smell. The
leaves have a fetid odour and when beaten, to pulp are used to kill
lice on cattle. Its aromatic flowers are offered to the gods.
Bdmhinta, the BrOom Babhul, Acacia, ramkanta, is a tall tree in shape
like a huge broom. Though less abundant than other varieties of
hdbhul it is common all over the district except in the far west.
The wood ia much used, for cart-yokes and as fuel,, and the bark iij
tanning. Rdtamhi, Garcinia purpurea, is a large- tree which is found
occasionally near the Sahy^dris. The fruit which is offered for sale
in most markets is used as an acid. Edy-dvla, Cicea disticha, is a
cultiva-ted tree. The fruit is eaten as a pickle. Bui^ Galotropis
gigantea, is found throughout the district on wooded hills and in
•"plantationB. It ia valued foi^ the medicinal properties of its root
'bark and leaves. The bush ia sacred, its flowers and leaves being
offered to the gods and used in certain rejigioua ceremonies. The
.^ .Wood makes excellent gunpowder charcoal. 0. procera, a similai;
species, is also plentiful.

Chapter II;.
P^:odllctio4^

Treea*
Phanas.

JBila Dkofra.,

Pimpal.

Pimpri.
Udmphal.,.

RdmJidnta.

.I{<iiambi._

Rdy-dvla^
Rui,

[Bombay Gagietteer,

DISfBIOTS.

Chapter II.
Production.

Trees.

Sdgargota.

Salai.

Sarphali.

Sdvri.

Shevga.

Shivan.

Sawndad or
Shami. '

8mu.

8a,g, the Teak^ Tectona grandis, is found only in the Konkan near
the Sahyadria and in the belt of country between about ten and
twenty-five miles east of the Sahyddris in Junnar, Khed, Mavalj Haveli
and Purandhar. It is easily raised from seed and in a moist climate
is of rapid growth. As a timber tree it is unrivalled and is much
valued- The wood is very Hard but easily worked, and though
porous is very strong and lasting. In colour it varies fj-otn yellowish
to white-brown. It is very oily -when fresh, yielding a good oil
somewhat like linseed-oil which is ased as a va,rnish. The large
leaves are used for lining roofs under thatch; Sdgargota, Oaesalpinia
bonduoella, is a wild tree Which is specially pientiful in the west.
Its bitter seed and the bark are used in intermitent - fevers as a
tonic and its wobd as fuel. Salai, Boswellia tburifera, one of the
frankincense trees, is common on all trap hills, and is easily knowi
by its white scaly bark. The wood, which- is- full of resin, burns
readily and is used for torches. The flowers and seed-nutS are eaten
by the people, and the tree yields the gum olibanlim. Sarphali,
is common throughout the district on wooded hills and mountains.
It seldom grows to be more than a bush. A gum called kavcK
ud, obtained from the b'ark, is used as incense, and is said to
possess stimulant and diaphoretic properties. It also forms a part
of some ointments, and its wood is used as fuel. This tree is well
suited for covering bare hills as small cuttings thrown • on the
dry soil strike root. Sdvri, the Silk-Cotton, Bombax malabarioum,
is found chiefly in the west and central hills and uplands and on
river banks. It is a large tree with a beautifully straight trunk,
bright red flowers, and a soft down which malies excellent pillow
stuflBng. Its whitish wood though soft is close'-grained and is said
to make good packing cases. , It is also much used for water-
channels and sword-scabbards. It yields a useful resin, the root
when boiled gives a gummy substance which is valued as a
tonic, and the bark is used as an emetic ' Shevga, Moringa ptery-
•gosperma, is found throughout the district in gardens and near
villages. It bears pods which' together with the leaves and flowers
are eaten as vegetables. The seeds give a pure sweet oil Which is
valued by watch-makers as it does not freeze except at a very low
temperature» The wood is soft and the bark is useful in medioine.
A gum from cuts made in the trunk, is used in rheumatism,

Shivan, Gmelina arborea, is a beautiful flowering tree. It is abun-
dant in the western woods and is occasionally found in the east where
vegetation is fairly plentiful. The wood, which is like teak, takes
a good polish, and is used in house-btiilding and for making wooden
images and furniture. The fruit is a medicine. Saundad or Shatni,
Prosopis spicegera, is largely found throughftut ' the district on
Vfoody hills, plains, plantations, and tablelands j the tended fruit is
used as a vegetable.. The wood, which yields a gum, is. hard, strong,
and lasting, and is much used in making chuifning-staves or ravis.
According' to the MahabhS,rat it was on the sJiami tree that the
Pdndavs stored their arms during their thirteen years' exile. Sisu,
Blackwood, Dalbergia latifolia, is scarce and of small size. It is
occasionally found in the western and central hills. The timber,
which is heavy, strong, and fibrous, takes a fine polish and is one of

Deccau.]

POONA.

the best of furniture woods. It springs readily from seed, but ia
of very slow growth. The tree flowers in March and April. Siras,
Albizzia lebbek, is a good roadside tree and is found throughout
the district. It is oi rapid growth and takes well from cuttings. It
yields a "gum. The wood is a light reddish brown, with dark veins;
it is not liable to crack. It is well fitted for wheel naves, and
for pestles and mortars ; the heartwood makes excellent charcoal.
Sitdphal, the Custard- Apple, Anona squamosa,, grows readily on bare
hill-sides, and in the cold weather yields a sweet and much valued
fruit. It is common in gardens in the west and centre of the district
and is grown in the same way as the guava. The tree is seldom
more than fifteen feet high. The leaves have a fetid odour and
when reduced to powder are used to kill lice on cattle.

8upom, the B^l-Palm, Areca catechu, is found in some gardens,
- but the nuts sold in the Poona markets are imported. The nut is
eaten with betel-leaf and holds an important place in Hindu
religious ceremonies. An extract made from the nut is used as
catechu and the charcoal as tooth-powder. The wood, which is
strong and lasting, is used as water-pipes, ■ Tdd^ the palmyra-palm,
Borassus flabelliformis, which thrives best near the coast, is
scarce in Poona. The fibre of its leaves is strong and useful, for
house purposes. Toran, Syziphus rugosa, is a wild shrub which
groiws freely in the western hills. The fruit when ripe is eaten.
The wood is hard, strong, and close-grained, Tirli, Capparis
rythocarpus, is a small tree which is common in the east. Its strong
and porous. wood is not used for any special purpose. Tut, the
Mulberry, Morus indica, is found in some gardens and near temples.
There are many trees on the fort of Purandhar. Its fruit is Used
as a refrigerant and laxative and the roots to cure worms. The
leaves are the favourite food of the silkworm. Three species are
mentioned, the white and the red which grow to a considerable
size, and a smaller variety called chnnchu iy,t. Temhhurrli,
Diospyros mdanoxylon, is found throughout the district on wooded
hills and in plain plantations. The wood is jet black, hard,
and heavy and is well suited for ornamental work. The
heartwpod rubbed with water is used by Brdhmans to mark their
foreheads. Tivas, Dalbergia oogeinensis, is fairly plentiful in the
western and central hills. The wood is much valned being well
suited for building and for making ploughs, wheels, and carriage
poles. Umbar, Ficus glomerata, is a large spreading tree common
in the SahysLdri forests, and though, often found in gardens and
fields and near temples, is not a cultivated fruit tree. The leaves
are usually covered with galls. The spittle produced by chewing
umbar leaves mixed with cumin-seed or jira is considered excellent
for inflamed eyes. The fruit, which is almost always full of flies, is
eaten by the poor. When unripe it is taken as a vegetable, and io
seasons of scarcity, is mixed ^|^th flour and made into cakes. The
wood not beingr liable to split, is well suited for panels and drum^,
and as it lasts under water it makes valuable well-frames. • The tree
yields much milky joice, which, together with the leaves bark and
fruit, is used medicinally and made into birdlime. The leaves are a
good cattle and elephant fodder, , The tree is considered sacred to

Chapter II,
Production.

Trees..
Sitas.

Sitdphal.

Supdii.

Tdd.

Torcm.

Tira.

Tut.

Tembhumi.

Tivcu.

Umhwr. •

[Boml9ay Gazetteer,

DISTRICTS.

Chapter II.

Productioii.

Trees.
Vad.

Varas.

Domestic Animals,

the three-lieaded god Datt^traya who is supposed aLways to be present
near its roots.

Vad, the Banian tree, Ficus indioa, is common' both in the hilly
west and in the eastern plains. As large cuttings when set in the
ground grow readily/ it is a favourite roadside tree. "Its sap is
sometimes used to reduce inflammation.' The timber is of little value,
and as the tree is held sacred by the Hindus it is seldom felled or
turned to any- use save for shelter and shade. The friiit is much
eaten by birds but- is said to be poisonous for horses. Its leaves
are used as plates or patrdvalis. In 1837, at the' village of Mhow
in the Andhra valley,- Colonel Sykes noticed a banian tree with
sixty-eight stems,- most of them thicker than a man's body; all
except the parent stem were formed from air-roots'. With a vertical
sun, it could. shade 20,000 men.^ Faras, Bignonia. quadrilocularis,.,
gives excellent wood for furniture and for planks and beams. It is
fairly abundant in the central and western hills.

^The Domestic Animals of Popna are the same as those found in
other parts of the Deccan. The pasturage is uncertain. In a few
seasons it is abundant, in many it is scanty or precarious, and in
times of drought it fails. When the grass fails the cattle have to
be sent to distant pastures in the higher hills and' large numbers
perish. The 1876-77 famine reduced the number of all domestic
animals, but the ' returns seem to show that the stock bf ■ horned
cattle has nearly regained its former strength.^ The district has no
class of professional cattle-breedeirs. But Kunbis who form the bulk
of the husbandmen own large numbers of cattle, rear them with
care, and sometimes deal in cattle. The 1881-82 returns show a
total of about 200,000 oxen and 140,000 cows. Deccan cattle are
hardy little animals, inferior in size and appearance to those ' of

1 Report of the British Associatipn for 1837, 25S. ~ '

'From materials supplied by K£lo S^heb Nilkanth Bhagvant Mule, Mdmlatd&r,

and Major G. Coussmaker. ■

^ The following statement sho-w:s the returns of cattle and horses during the seven

years ending 1881-82. These and other returns of animals cannot claim any great>.

accuracy :

PoOTMCattle and Horses, ISfS-lSSB.

Ybar.

Bullocks.

Cows.

She-
buffaloes.

He-
buSaloes.

Horses.

Mares.

1876-76 ...

205,123

158,988

. 50,148

12,436

5389

6070

1876-77 ...

189,741 .

117,684

. 39,338

9817

4706

3417

1877-78 ...

202,403

112,444

39,509

9716

4620

3452

1878-79 ...

202,323

116,024

37,586

10,184

4650 •

3633

1879-80 ...

210,027

l-il,9r8

36,634

10,796

4228

3803

1880-81 ...

218,795

130,371

40,242

11,714

4166

3876

1881-82 ...

206,632

139,793

41,055

12,068

5022

4106

Year.

Colts.

Asses.

Sheep and
.Goats.

Total.

, Decrease
compared

with 1876-76.

1875-76

2466

7137

273,584

720,640 •

1876-77

1429

5584

233,266

. 604,982

116,S68

1877-78

1236

6021

236,370

, 615i771

104,769

1878-79

- 1638

6106

245,4i'l

. 626,685

93,905 '

1879-^0

1987

5230

261,847

. 866,470

64,070 .

1880-81

2177

677fl

242,646

. 6i)5,757

64,788 ,

1881-82 :..

1774

6936

285,200

702.676 '

17,863 •

Oeccan.l

POONA.

Gujarat. -Of their breeds it is diflBcult to say anything definite.
Few natives take intelligent notice of varieties of breed. They only
recognize certain distinguishing marks or characteristics, the pos-
session of which may be said to constitute a certain- breed. They
seldom take the trouble to keep the breeds pure or to improve
them. They pay little attention to the animaVs cleanness or
comfort.: Every village has its public grazing grounds, inferior waste
lands free- oE Government assessment, the resort of almost all the
village cattle. The mixing of the cattle in the grazing grounds does
much toinjure the breed and to spread disease.

Bullocks, returned at 206,632, and cows at 139,793, are, as far as
has, been ascertained, of ten kinds, Khilari, Malvi, Ghir, Dangiy Deshi,
Arabi, Naghoris, Varhddi; Akulkhdshi, and Hanams. Khilari cattle,
balled after the cattle-breeders of th&,t name who are found in West
Khdndesh, • are the most valuable draught animals in the Deccan.
They are of good size, active, strong, and fairly teachable.
They are & little, slighter, but much resemble the famous Amrit
Mahdl breed of Hanshr in Maisur. They have clean limbs, fine
bones, sloping shoulders, round barrel, high hind quarters, and
smallshard and tough hoofs. One of the favourite breeding grounds
of the Khilari cattle is the hilly country between Sd.tdra and
Pandharpur whence they are generally brought. A pair of these
bullocks will travel in a riding cart day after day at a steady pace
of six miles ■ an hour. The colour of the cows is almost always
creamy white;. of the bulls the same with reddish grey fore-
quarters. The horns are long and upright, thin and irregularly
curved in the case of the cows, and in the case of the bulls handsome
aaid aiassiye, close together at the base, sloping back with a slight
outward curve opening. to,a span- of a foot, and ending in sharp and
strong points. The ears are of medium size pointing backwards
with the opening expose/i;- they rarely droop or turn upwards. Oxen
of this breed cost £3 to £20 (Es. 30> 200) and cows£2 10«. to £9
(Rs. 25-90) each.' Gowsare seldom sold as the owners are unwil-
ling to , part with them, and when a promising calf _ is bom allow it
to drink the whole of its. mother's milk. Mdlvi cattle come from
the extensive grazing grounds of Malva, being brought by Vanjdris
and Lamdnis with. whom they are gr&at favourites.^ The bullocks
are good-tempered steady workers and teachable. - The Mdlva breed
includes two varieties, a short-horned' and a long-horned.- The
short-homed Md,lva bullock differs greatly from the Khildri,' being
formed for steady plodding rather than for speed: • "They^have a long,'
square, level frame, with short.curvedhorns'pointing forwards j"th&'
face is rather short and straight ; the ears slightlyjbenfaiid not'
very large ; the colour white with a bluish grey above the fore-quarters ■
of young animals and bulls. The cows are fine milkers. - The long--
homed variety is larger and" more loosely made; its horns are turned
upwards at tbe base, and then upwards and backwards, giving the

Chapter II.

Production.

Boinestic Animals.

Oxen and, Cowi,

■ 'The Lam^nis come from Khdndeah and'MAlva and sell cattle on credit, returning
after harvest to receive payment. . They go from village to village. The Lamdnia are
locally known as Hedes from hed a bulloofe. This word is applied. to all Mnhammadans
a)id Hindus who deal in bullocks. Mr. J. G. Moore, C.S.

[Bombay Gazetteer,

DISTRICTS.

Chapter IL
Production.

Domestic AnimEds.
Oxen and Cowsi

animal a more stately appearance. The colour, as a rule, is darker,
the grey being often spread. oTer the whole body. As they are taller
than the others, husbandmen generally put the long-horned Mdlras
next the plough, for the higher the plough yoke is lifted the deeper
the share enters the earth.. The cows are good milkers ; even when
more than eighteen years old, within a fortnight after calving, they
give about twenty-two pints (11 Poona sAer^s) of milk. Malva oxen
cost £2 10s. to £10 (Rs. 25-100), and M41va cows £2 to £7 ]0«.
(Rs. 20-75).

The Ghir or Sorthi, that is the South Kdthi^wfir breed, is noble
and stately, but the specimens met in the Deocan are seldom the
best of their kind and are probably of mixed blood, some from
K^thidwdr and others from Surat and Baroda. They are heavy and
loosely made. They have a long stride and can draw very heayy and
bulky loads, but their feet and -hoofs are not suited to the stony
Deccan and they soon become lame. They are also headstrong and
difficult to turn. They are mostly used as pack animals and are
much prized for the heavy work of. garden cultivation. This
breed varies much in colour, but its other characteristics are very
marked: great height, a large massive head, short blunt curled
horns, a round jutting forehead, large limpid eyes, and very
long pendulous ears with a half twist so as to bring, the opening
in front. The cows are long of yielding profit, but after calving
they give about twenty-five pints (12-13 shera) of good milk a day.
The breed is imported by Xamdnis. Sorthi oxen cost £5 to £30
(Rs. 50-300) and Sorthi cows £3 to £12 (Rs. 30-120). The Dd,ngi,
thatis the Kolvan or North Thana breed, is common in the Akola
sub-division of Ahmadnagar and presumably in similar localities
along the Sahyadris. As they roam freely in large herds over the
forest-clad hills, these cattle become hardy, and indifferent to the
weather. They feed on all sorts of fodder and thrive as well on rice
straw as on millet stalks. They are neither large nor well-made, are
very ordinary workers, but useful and hardy. Their colour is marked^ '
a dirty white with spots and blotches, of black or dark-brown.
They have small black horns, for the most part curly, but the
curliness is not sufficiently marked to be taken as a characteristic
of the breed. The cows, which are good milkers. and well tempered,
sell at £2 to £5 (Rs; 20 - 50). The bullocks generally fetch much the
same price as the cows except in the more distant markets where
their, price varies from £4 to £15 (Rs. 40- 150). The Deshi or
local breed to which the largest number of cattle belong, is too
mixed to be definitely described. They vary in every particular. The
oxen, some of whom will work in the same team with well-bred
oxen, 'cost £1 10s. to £9 (Rs. 15-90), and the cows, which when
well fed clean and kindly treated yield ton to eighteen pints (5-9
shers) oi milk a day, cost £1 to £5 (Rs. 10-50). The Arabi or Aden
cattie are the best cattle in the district. They are small, between
3 J and four feet at the hip, gentle, and docile, moderate feeders, and
good milkers. The colour is either white or grey gradually changing
to blue grey or black on the fore and hind quarters with blacker
points, and a white ring^ above the coronet of the hoof, or fawn-

Oxen and Oows.

DeccanJ

POONA. 57

coloured deepening into a reddish brown more or less dappled. Chapter II.

The horns are small and w&ak, often deficient ; the hump is well Production.

developed ,■ the eyes are large and full ; the face short and straight ■ a ■ 1

with a small square muzzle ; the ears small erect or pricked forward, """^^ '" °'°**

never hanging ; the body square with a full dewlap ; the skin fine

and thin ; "tlie hair very short and smooth ; and the tail thin and

whip-like ending in a moderate tuft. The breed is attractive and

the cows command £5 to £12. (Rs. 50 - 120). The bulls are strong,

docile, and active, and can be used for draught and stud purposes.

The cows come early into profit, and are most valualjle for dairy

purposes.^ There are four other varieties, Naghoris of which an ox

costs £5 to £12 10s. (Rs. 50-125) and a cow £2 to £6 <Rs. 20-60) ;

Varhddisor Berar cattle of which an ox costs £5 to £10 (Rs. 50-100)

and a cow £2 to £6 (Rs. 20-60); and Akulkhdshis costing £5 to £12

lOs. (Rs. 50-125). Finally there is the breed called Hanams which

are brought from Nemd,d and the Mahddev hills south of Phaltan.

They are generally used as cart-bullocks for which they are better

suited than for the plough. They are rarely employed in carrying

packs. -As they sometimes fetch as much as £20 (Rs. 200) a pair few

Kunbis can afford them.

Oxen are generally used in field-work,- for drawing water from
wells and carrying it in skin-bags or pakhdls, for drawing carts, for
pressing oilseed, and sometimes for riding. Except that barren
cows are used hj Vanjdris as pack-animals no cows are made to
work. Working bullocks are fed with grass chaff, cotton-seed, oil-
cake, and sometimes millet ears, also with whatever green produce
the husbandmen do not take to market, as the haulm of sweet
potatoes and groundnut. When out of work the bullocks are sent
with the cows to the village grazing lands under the charge of a
cowherd or gurakhi? At night they get nothing to eat but grass.
During the rains when there is no field-work some of the oxen are
taken to the hills and lefb at large to graze. As regards the
feeding of cows there is diversity both of opinion and of practice ;
but millet stalks, both Indian millet or jvdri and spiked millet or
hdjri, are considered 'the best food.^ Kulthi, Doliehos biflorus,
cotton-seed or sarki, and wheat bran, mixed with a little salt,
increase the supply of milk ; kulthi is sparingly given as it is apt to
bring on abortion. Of the different kinds of oil-cake that produced
from the earthnut is considered the best ; linseed til Besamum
indicum is also valued, and khurdsni Verbesina sativa and

' ' Lady', belonging to Major G. Coussmaker, had her second calf when 4^ years old
and before the calf was four months old gave eleven Poona ehers (22 pints) of. milk
daily. When the calf was a year old the mother was still giving about nine pints a
day and did not dry for three months more. The heifer calf came into season when
scarcely a year old.

* The cowherds are generally small boys and girls. They take the cattle to the
pasture-ground between six and seven in the morning. They water them at some stream
or pond thrice a day, in the morning, at midday, and in the evening. At midday
they gather the cattle round them and sit under some tree playing the flute. In the
afternoon the cowherds again take the cattle to the pasture-ground and bring them
home in the evening. Though often very young, the cowherds, by the use of stones,
Hticks, and abuse, have their cattle completely under control and sometimes amuse
themselves by riding oh the backs of buUookS and she-buffaloes.

B 310-8

[Bombay Gazetteer,

DISTRICTS.

Chapter II.

Production.

Domestic Animals.
Oxen and Cows.

Cattle Diitaae.

safflower are used, but their bitterness is apt to taste the milk.'
According to some authorities oil-cake of all kinds lessena the
quantity of milk but increases the amount of butter and cream.
Ofeww*, that is the husk and broken grain oitur pulse stewed in
water, is &, favourite food which keeps, the cow quiet at milking
time. Three pounds of chuni, thtee . pounds of cotton-seed, two
pounds of oil-cake, twelve pounds of millet stalks, ten pounds of
lucern or other green fodder, and two handfuls of wheat bran, and
one handful of salt given in each of the three pails of drinking water,
are a liberal allowance for a cow. Generally eight pounds of grain
and twelve pounds of dry fodder are considered ample rations.
When cows are kept only for m&k, it is usual to milk three of the
four teats, leaving the fourth for the calf. When it is meant to be
reared for field-work or for other purposes the calf is allowed to
drink the whole of the milk. The following items represent the
cost to Europeans in .Poona of keeping a cow in full milk.
The daily allowance of food is about two pounds (one Poona sher) of
millet, tur bran or chum, and cotton-seed ; fifteen pounds of millet
stalks ; and five pounds of green grass or lucern. A little salt is
mixed with the gram and some handfuls of bran with the water.
At the following average rupee prices, cotton-seed sixty pounds, tur
bran thirty-two, millet thirty-eight, millet stalks twenty-eight
bundles or about 160 pounds, and lucern about 170 pounds, the
quantities mentioned above give for grain a monthly cost of .abottfc
9s. 44d (Rs. 4^), for millet stalks 6s. (Rs. 3), for lucern 2s. (Re.l),'
and about 7|d. (5 annas) for salt and bran, that is a total monthly
cost of sibout 18s. (Us.. 9). In addition to the grains given to cows,
a buffalo gets two pounds (1 sJier) a day of oil- cake, twenty instead
of fifteen pounds of millet stalks, and ten instead of five pounds of
green grass. • The monthly cost of a buffalo's keep maybe estimated
at about £1 4s. (Rs. 12). Of this about 12s. (Rs. 6) are on grain
and oilcake, 8s. (Rs. 4) on millet stalks, 3s. 6d. (Rs.lf) on lucern^
and 7^d. (5 annas) on salt and bran. If fed in thjs way a cOuntry
cow will give eight to twelve pints (4-6 Poona slier s) a day, and a
Kdthidwdr or Aden cow sixteen to twenty- two pints (8-11 sAers),
A buffalo gives fourteen to twenty -four pints (7-12 Poona s/iers).
Oien which are being prepa,red for sale or are extra fed to make
them stronger and more useful in the field, are kept at home day and
night and fed largely on ground or bruised pulse, groundnut,
cottonseed, seaamum, ieeah. jvdri stalks, 6a/n' flour, and sometimes a.
small quantity of oil. Bullocks are guided by a string called vesan
which is passed throflgh the nose.

The chief forms of cattle disease are tiva a disease of the stomach,
Idl a disease of the mouth, susM a disease of the bowels, Tthurkut a
disease of the hoofs, dhenddl a fatal diarrhoea, and phdshi a disease
of the tongue.' Buve, caused by gas in the stomach after imprudent
feeding, is easily cured by an aperient of hot linseed-oil, peppermint,
and ginger or epsom salts. The Indian form of the foot and mouth,
disease is easily cured with cleanliness, carbolic acid, and careful
feeding.

Except Ghirs or Sorthis, which live for more than thirty years, the age

Deccan,]

POONA.

of a ballock or cow varies from twenty to twenty-five years. The bull
has a sacred character as the carrier or vdhan of Shi v. The cow also
is sacred, but the bullock, except that his flesh is never eaten but by
the lowest classes, is not treated with any special respect. Butchers
who are all Musalm^ns kill cows and bullocks for the use of the non-
Hindu population. Cattle which die from disease or accident become
the property of the village servants, the Mhdrs and Mangs. They
eat the flesh and dispose of the hides to the tanners or Ohambhdrs
and of the bones to Musalmdn dealers who send them to Bombay for
export to England or to the coffee plantations in Ceylon, where they
are used in making manure. A bullock or cow with one horn turned
up and the other turned down or akshapdtdl, a snorer or ghorndra,
a reeler or dulndra, and one with small white spots phulalela, are
considered likely to cause loss or damage to the owner. Mangs
castrate bullocks by applying butter to the testicles and rubbing
ajud squeezing them for about half an hour between two smooth
cylindrical rods called musals. After the operation the bullock is
allowed to rest for about a fortnight during which he is well fed
and cared for. In very many cases the bulls are not castrated
before they are five or six years old, as by that time they are full
grown and their humps and horns are well developed. In front of
many temples of Shiv is a sitting stone image oi nandi or the bull,
the carrier of the god. In entering one of these temples a Hindu
worshipper places his hand on the testicles of the ball and bows to
the ling taking care to see the ling between the bull's horns. The
cow is the most sacred of animals. Its five products or panch-gavya,
urine, dung, milk, curds, and butter, are taken on the Shrdvahi
Day to purify the soul from sin.i They are also drunk on the
eleventh day after a death or, birth by all the members of the
family. . A cow, or more correctly her nominal value which ranges
from 6d. (4 annas) upwards, is given in charity to Brahmans.''
Every year on the last oi Ashddh, Shrdvan, or Bhddrapad (Jnly-
September) Kunbis or Marathd,s keep a holiday called yoZa or the bull-
feast, from pol a bull, in honour of their cattle. On the pola or bull
day the bullocks are washed and painted with red earth. Their
horns are covered with tin-foil or begad, hemp tassels are tied to
the horn tips, a necklace of bells is fastened round their necks,
coloured clothes are thrown over their backs, and they are fed with

Chapter II.
Production.

Domestic Animals
Oncen and Cows.

1 The mantra or sacred verse repeated on the occasion is
pdpam ddie tiahthati mdmahe, prdsfmuU panchagavyocsya daJudyagnirivendhanam,
that is, By the drinking of the fire products oi the cow the sin which has penetrated

" into my skin and bones is burnt, like fuel by fire.

2 Cow-gifts or gopraddns are made to Brdhmans . on the occasion of an eclipse or
of a death. The dying man or some near relation generally makes a cow-gift to

' Brihmans. Of the four cows which are given to Br^hmans after a death, one forms
part of the ten prescribed charities or dosha ddnas; the second is called the vaitami
as she draws the dead man across the Vaitama river in the lower world ; the third is
called pdpakshaya-dhenu or the sin-deetroying cow ; and the fourth is called mohsha-
dhenu or the salvation-givipg cow. . When a man cannot give four cows he gives only
one, the vaitarnii Besides these a male and a female calf called vafsa and tari, with a
bell tied round the neck of each, are set loose at one of the funeral rites. The male
calf is branded on the blade of the thigh bone with a red-hot three-pointed iron pike
01 trishul. Since the Cattle Trespass Act has come into force these calves are given to
K'unbis wlio take them to their fields.

[Bombay Gazetteer,

DISTRICTS.

Chapter II.

Production.

Domestic Animals. -
Oxen and Cows.

malida, tliat is wheat or millet flour and molasses. In the evening
all gather near the village office or chdvdi and form a procession with
music. The pdtil or some other rich villager tak-es the lead and the
procession passes outside of the village gates. The day ends with
a rich supper. People generally of the- Trimdli caste from the
Karndtak teach bulls, to dance and balance themselves on their
masters' thigh and belly, and answer a few set questions by shaking
their heads, recognizing and approaching a particularly dressed
individual, and grunting in. a peculiar manner. The owners get corn,
money, and old clothes. The custom of ke&ping a sacred bull or pol
free from work and fed by all is still kept in many villages. But as
young bulls are seldom castrated till they are four or five years old
and as till then they graze with the other cattle, the advantage of
the village' bull is to- a great extent lost.

Buffaloes, returned at 53,123 in 1881-82, are common over the
whole of the district. The cow-buffaloes (41,055) provide most of the
milk. They are considered hardier and thrive on coarser food than
other cattle. Many male calves are allowed to perish, but especially
in the western rice-fields some are used in the plough. They are of
special value in the rainy season when the sun. is not oppressive.
A cow-buffalo is not made to work except when she gets fat and
unmanageable. Eleven kinds of buffaloes are found in the district':
Shindan or Sindh buffaloes, costing £2 to £20 (Rs. 20 - 200) ; Kachhan
or from Dutch, worth £3 to £20 (Rs. 30-200.); Jafari of from
Jafarabad in KAthidwd,r, worth £5 to £20 (Rs. 50-200); Bhesri, worth
£2 to £12 10s. (Rs. 20-125); Surti or from Surat, worth £5 to £20
(Rs.50-200); Varhddi or from Berdr, worth £2 to £12 lOs.
<Rs. 20-125); Nemddi or from Nem^d, worth £1 10s. to £10 (Rs. 15-
100); Gdvthi or local, worth£l 10s. to £8 (Rs.15-80); Gavldn or Gavli,
worth £2 to £10 (Rs. 20-100) ; Mdhu%i or from Mahur, worth £1 10s.
' to £7 1 Os. (Rs. 15-75); and Bhang ari or JDhangar, worth £2 10s. to £10
(Rs. 25-100). The Gtavlis or Dhangars are jprofessional buffalo-
breeders and earn their living by selling milk, curds, and fresh and
clarified butter. In order to get a larger quantity of milk they often
destroy the young calf as soon as it is born, taking care to prevent the
mother seeing it by folding a piece of cloth round her eyes as other-
wise she would not give her milk unless the calf was by her side.
Most rich and middle-class people keep she-buffaloes for their milk.
The male buffaloes (12,068) are in such little esteem in the Decoan
that few people keep them. When a male calf is born, it is either
thrown away or taken to some distance and deserted, when it is
killed by wild animals, dogs; or low-caste natives. Buffaloes are fed
with grass, millet stalks or saram, and chaff. In the rainy season they
are sent to graze in fields or on hill-sides. Cow-buffaloes, when in
milk, before or at the time of milking, receive a mash of crushed
pulse and oil-cake, cotton-seed, and rice bran. She buffaloes are almost
always stall-fed and well cared for. A cow-buffaloe calves once
every two years, and usually gives milk for a year after calving.
Buffaloes cannot bear the heat of the sun and are very fond of
water and shade. When not at work they are taken to a river
stream or pond^ where thej' lie for hours all under water except their

Dcccan.]

POONA.

heads or even their noses. She-buffaloes are washed daily and are
shaved once or twice a year. Buffaloes live from twenty to twenty-
five years. He-buffaloes used in field-work are castrated either by
stone-breakers or by husbandmen. As a rule it is only in working
rice-fields that the buffalo is preferred to the bullock. That a he-
buffalo may not get mischievous, or when his neck wants strengthen-
ing, a string or vesan is passed through his nose. To strengthen his
neck he is tied by the head for a few hours every day. This is to
prepare him for the yearly buffalo-fight on Dasara Day ( September -
October) in which the winner is the buffalo who forces the other
back. A bull-buffalo . is offered as a sacrifice to -Devi or Durga in
every Poona village on Dasara Day (September-October) . The village
headman cuts off the head if possible with a single stroke of his
sword. The flesh of the sacrificed buffalo, as well as of buffaloes who
die from sickness or a.coident, is eaten by Mhdrs and Mangs. The
hides are used for making water-bags and buckets, and the horns
which are useful for making glue are exported in large quantities.
That fat and beautiful cattle may not suffer from the evil eye, a black
thread with a cowry shell or a marking-nut, or sometimes an old
shoe, is tied round its neck or leg.

^Of Horses, mares, and foals, the 1881-82 returns showed a total of
10,992. The horse requires more care than any other domestic animal.
The district has long been famous for its ^horses, and there are few
villages in East Poona without one or two brood mares. Horses are
used for riding, driving, and carrying loads. Eight breeds of horses
are found in the district: Deshis, including Bhimthadis or Bhivarthadis
that is of the valley of the Bhima, and Nirthadis that is of the valley
of the Nira, cost £6 to £60 (Rs. 60-600) each; Kdthi^wadis cost £10
to £100 (Rs. 100-1000) ; Iranis or Persians, £1.5 to £100 (Rs. 150-
1000) > RangddiS of North India with prominent noses, £10 to £50
(Rs. 100-500) ; Australians, wrongly calledTOape horses, £30 to £300
(Rs. 300 - 3000) ; Pahadis or Yabus, £10 to £100 (Rs. 100 - 1 000) ;
- Pegus £20 to £100 (Rs. 200 - 1000) ; Arabs, including those imported
from Arabia and the Deccan produce of Government stallions, £10
to£200 (Rs. 100-2000) j and Chd,rghoshas, literally four that is slit-
eared, of which there are very few, about £50 (Rs. 500).^ Of these
the local or Deshi horses, which are bred on the banks of the Bhima
and Nira, were most esteemed by the Marathas. They were of a
middle size, strong, and rather handsome, generally dark bay with
black legs.^ The Dhangar or Khilari pony deserves notice. He is

Chapter II.
Production.
Domestic Anima

Hortes.

' The details regarding horses owe much to additions by Mr. W. Lamb, Supeiin-
teudent Horse Breeding Operations. '

' The Persian chdr four and ghosha ear.

" As it does now to the Government Arab and English stallions the Bhimthadi or
Decoan horse formerly owed much to foreign sires, to Arab and Persian horses
brought by sea to the Konkan ports and to Turki horses brought by laud from Upper
India and Afghanistan. The import of horses probably dates from very early times.
But there is no evidence that it was an important trade until the Muhammadan
conquest of Upper India between the eleventh and thirteenth centuries. At thp
close of the thirteenth century Marco Polo notices that large numbers of horses were
brought from Arabia and Persia into South India. The climate did not suit horses
arid the people did not know how to treat them ; they lived only a few years
(Yule's Marco Polo, II. 277-278). Shortly after Marco Polo's time (1297 -1327) repeated

LiJomDay uazetteer,

DISTRICTS.

Chapter II.

Production.

Domeatic Animals.

Horses.

thick-set, sliort-Ieggedj and strong, very unlike the ordinary village
pony though really of the same breeds The difference is chiefly due
to early castration and the perfect liberty which in consequence it is
possible to give thetn. Each family or tribe of wandering Dhangars
keeps five to twenty or thirty poniesj most of them geldings and the
rest mares. Most are bought from villagers but some are bred by
the Dhangars. As they have no stallions their mares are. generally
covered by chance village ponies. The Dhangar ponies were the
best of the thousands that in 1879-80 were sent from the Deccan
as baggage carriers in the Afghan campaign. It is the fashion to
say that the breed of valuable Deshi ponies is either extinct or
degraded. Still many first-class ponies can be seen on the mail cart
line between Poona and Belgaum, and excellent pony hacks can
often be bougkt in Poona. Although there are no professional
breeders in the district, the headmen and other well-to-do villagers,
especially in the eastern sub-divisions, keep mares both with the-

inroads of Musalmdns from the noTth showed the Hindu chiefs of the south that their
only hope of success la/ in improving their cavalry. From the middle of the fourteenth
century, when the great MusaJm^ dynasty of the Bahmanis (1347-1526) was estab-
lished at Kulburga in the Deccan and the great Hindu dynasty of the Yijayanagar
kings was established (1330-1565) in the Earn^tak, to secure a large supply of
horses became one of the chief cares of the state. As during that time the Deccan
was ciit off from North India the bulk of the horses were brought by sea through the
Konkan ports. In the sixteenth century the Portuguese found that their chief
influence with Indian powers lay in their control over the import of horses. Scarcely
a treaty with GujarAt, Ahmadnagar, or Vijayanagar is without a horse clause, the
promise on< the part of the Portuguese that horses shall be brought to their allies
and shall,be prevented from reachingthe ports of their allies' rivals, Under the
Marithd,s in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries the import of horses through
the Konkan continued. It was less important than formerly, apparently because
communications with North India were open and easy and large numbers of horses
came to the Deccan' from the north. The Mar4th4s also had learned how to breed •
and rear horses in the Deccan. Moor (Little's Detachment, 95), writing about 1790,
says : ' The Mardth^s certainly breed many horses and procure others from Arabia and
Persia and from Kandahdr and the noiithern parts of Hindustan.' The two chief
breeds were the Arab and the Turki. The Turki was a heavy horse which would
have crossed well with the Arab. But the Mar^thda objected to crossing breeds.
They /put Arab to Arab and Turki to Turki and thought that if the blood was kept
pure the foal would have all the virtues- of its parents. The Deccani ponies
which Otme (Fragments, Note IV.) calls ' so diminutive and naughty that no one
owns them,' Moor thought a most contemptible breed though' not so despicable as
Orme made them. They were serviceable and hardy and were often used instead of
bullocks for carrying loads. They were worth 10«. to 30s. (Bs. 5-15). Horses of
ordinary size bred in the country sold for £20 to £60 (Es. 200 -600) and northern
horses up to £100 (Rs. 1000) which was reckoned a hi^h price. Horses were fed on
gram and hvUhi, favourites sometimes being indulged with sheep's head broth, rice and
milk, and other dainties. Their medicine for all forms of sickness was masdkaj spices
mixed with flour and clarified butter. Except when they were vicious horses were
seldom gelt. Their trappings were a bridle with one bit like a snafle, a horse-hair
cloth with.a leather girth and stirrups or a peaked saddle, and ornamented martin-
gals and cruppers. At the sides of the horse tails of the white wild-cow were hung
sometimes six a side ; the mane was plaited in small braids with poloured silks and
hanging silver knobs, and there was a necklace over the horse's chest of plates of
silver or of silver coins. They carried with them the head and heel ropes and the
leather feeding bag. The MardthSs deserved to have the best horses, such care did
they bestow on them. When dismounted a MarAtha was always shampooing his
horse, rubbing him violently with his elbows and wrists, and bending the animal's
joints backwards and forwards. With .this careful grooming a MarAtha's horse on a
pound and a half (1^ aher) of grain looked as well as a European's horse on four oiv :
five pounds. Little's Detachment, 89-9iS. Some details of the horse trade betweenfi
A.D. 635 and 1567 are given in the KAnara Statistical Account, pp. 49-51,

Deccan.]

POONA.

object of ridiagf and breeding. The number of horaes has doubtless
diminished. This is generally attributed to the great drain on
the stock of horses for service in the Persian campaign of 1856-57,
the Abyssinian campaign of 1867-68, and the Afghan campaign of
1879-80. As only males were taken on those occasions the mares
would soon have replenished the numbers if the regular demand
was as great as formerly. ■ The true explanation seems to be that
the extension of made roads and railways and the gi-eat reduction
in the mail cart service have combined to lower the demand and
therefore to reduce the supply.- Though the Mardthds cling to
the name Bhimthadi and will often maintain that a mare is of pur&
Bhimthadi breed, it is impossible to prove and difficult to believe
in pure local descent.' The fa,ct that the best Bhimthadi mares are
in many cases fifteen hands high raises a strong presumption of
English or Arab blood. Government for many years maintained a
large horse-breeding establishment al} Aligaon on the Bhima. . This
was abolished about forty years ago ; and in its stead at various
central stations imported English and Arab stallions were posted for
the fi-ee use of horse-breeders.

• In recent years increased attention has been paid to the improve-
ment of the Deccan breed of horses. About 1864 a yearly horse
show was established at Sirur, and in 1872 a second show on a much
larger scale was started at Poona. The number of Government
stallions has been gradually increased as more and more work was
found for them. In 1881 a separate department for horse breeding
was organized. The prizes at Poona and Sirur shows vary from
10s. to £20 (Rs. 5-200), the aggregate amount spent being £60
(Rs. 600) at Sirur, and £600 (Rs. 6000) at Poona. These shows and
the use -of the Government stallions have greatly improved the
breed of Poona horses. The present establishment of Government
stallions in the Poona district is nine horses and six ponies. They
are^-posted, six at Sirar, four at Supa, three at Baramati, and two at
Ind^pur. Three of the horses are English; the rest are Arabs.
Most of the colts are sold as yearlings, the majority finding their
way to the yearly fair at Malegaon in the Nizam's territory. Some
fillies are also sold at the Malegaon fair ; but most are kept by the
breeders to be used as brood mares. At Malegaon the yearlings
fetch £5 to £20 (Rs. 50-200). Th^ are bought chiefly by a tribe
called Hatkars who live in the neighbouring villages. They feed
these young animals well for a year or two and bring them again to
the fair, where they are sold, as two three and four year olds at
£15 to £70 (Rs. 150-700). The chief purchasers are dealers from
Haidarabad and officers from native cavalry regiments. Yearlings
are sold because the breeders are generally too poor to meet the
cost of bringing them to maturity, and colts are sold in preference to
fillies because, not being castrated, they become very troublesome.
One of the chief objects of the new horse-breeding department is
to introduce the practice of castrating colts, for which purpose
skilled operators are provided by Government who perform without
fee or charge. When the practice becomes general it is hoped that
breeders w5l keep their colts and that many remounts may pass into
the army direct from the breeders.

Chapter II.

Frodactton.

Domestic AnimalE

fforse*.

[Bombay Gazetteer,

DISTRICTS.

Chapter II.

Production.

Domestic Animals.
Horiea,

After they are a year old colts are fed with haridli Cynoden
dactyloh, lucern, and pond grass, millet straw or Jcadbi, wheat husk,
gram, maize, math Phaseolus aconitifolius, and millet flour. Weak
and thin animals are given fresh and clarified butter, sugar, the
flesh of a goat or sheep, eggs, and gram and young millet plants.
Phadi, a preparation of wheat flour and molasses boiled in water
and made into balls, is also sometimes given. Small ponies, ■
which are generally used for carrying loads, are hobbled and allowed
to graze after the crops are removed. In Bhimthadi,^ horses are
sometimes let loose in fields with standing jvdri, a treatment
which soon strengthens and fattens them. Oilcake is sometimes
given as a tonic, but the people dislike it as they believe it affects
a horse's speed and makes it more difficult for him to recover
from a broken joint or bone. Horses are not generally
broken to the saddle before they are two years old though
they sometimes begin work a^ eighteen months. They are shod
once every one or two months. The people are very fond of having
gaily dressed horses led in their marriage and other processions.
The chief forms of horse disease are: pdlkida, believed to be
strangles ; shemba or sina, glanders in its worst stage, a disease
of the head produced from cold j chdndani or tetanus, producing
shivering of the body ; gljidtsa/rp or throat-snake, laryngitis, which
afEects the inside of the throat so that the animal cannot eat or drink
and generally dies. The cure for this disease is to make the horse
inhale the smoke of .the middle part of the kevda Pandanus
odoratissimus flower for three days or swallow pills of the ashes of
snake's slough mixed with honey. Thdsi, probably glossitis, is a disease
of the mouth, which swells and blackens the lower part of the tongue.
Munga or lampass is a disease of the upper lip. Pdshdn canker in the
feet and bhenda which is a grease in the heels, or in its worst form
grapes, are diseases of the leg. Kurkuri or colic, including enteritis
or inflammation of the intestines, produces pain in the stomach and
generally proves fatal. Fever and a disease called chdkrdval or
ring-bone, though not fatal, makes the animal incurably lame.
Barsdti, haddibddi, and berhadi are also diseases to which horses
are subject. Zhairbadi and Indiana or anthrax fever though not
commoii is known in Poena, and is very fatal. Horses' feet if
allowed to remain damp or badly cleaned are 'apt to breed worms.
The Poena district is very healthy for horses who live twenty to
thirty years. On Dasara Day in September -October horses are
washed and decked with flowers and ornaments, and a beautiful cloth
or silk cover is thrown across their backs. They are worshipped,
have a new saddle set on their backs, and are ridden in procession to
the sound of drums.

Seventy-two peculiarities in a horse are considered unlucky for
his owner. The chief of these are : utarand or three rings of hair on
the forehead one above the other ; basing or three rings of hair
forming three angles, on the forehead ; chimata or two ring^ of hair
in a line on the forehead j asudhdl {ashrudhdiy or watering of the
eyes ; bhoda rings of hair near the corners of the eye ; kriddval
or a ring of hair on the breast ; and gom which is of different kinds

Deccan.]

POONA.

is a line of hair on the neck or chest. A horse which remains quiet
in the stable is called khimte-gdd or fastened to the peg and is
considered lacky, while a restive horse called hhwnte-upat or peg-
lifting is considered unlucky. Each of these unlucky marks has a
jabdh or counterbalancing good mark. The knowledge of and the
belief in these bad and good signs is said of late years to have greatly
declined.

Of Asses the 1881-82 returns showed a total of 6936. The
asses are used by BeldArs and Vadars both of whom are stone-
cutters, and by Lonaxis or Hme-burners, Kumbh^rs or potters,
and Parits or washermen, for carrying loads and sometimes for
riding.^ They are also used to carry bricks and sand, grain and
road sweepings. Asses are of two kinds, country or Deshdlu, costing
£1 to £6 (Rs. 10-60), and Arab, Persian, and Italian asses, costing
£30 to £60 (Rs. 300-600) which have been imported by Govern-
ment for use as stallions for mule-breeding. The country ass is
small and generally frightf ally cowhocked^ but they are as hardy,
enduidng, and easily fed as any of their race. They Are generally
bred by the wandering tribe of Kolhd,tis. In the country they are
seldom groomed and are let loose to graze and pick up their food
near village dunghills. In towns they are fed with grass, millet
stalks or saram, and rice-husk, and sometimes with grain and
gram. The ends of the nostrils, generally the false nostrils, are
sometimes slit half-way across to enable the animal to breathe freely
when heavily leaden. The ass is careful to drink only pure water.
If it cannot get clean water it will remain without drinking for two
or three days at a time. Asses suffer from htirhuri a disease of the
abdomen, and rasTca a cough. They live twenty to twenty-five
years. Ass's milk is used as a medicine for children and as a
tonic. The urine is drunk by persons suffering from venereal
diseases and the dung is used as a poultice and in cases of dysentery
and fever. On the first of KdrUk (October -November) asses are
washed, decorated, and feasted.

Mules are proverbially strong and are used by Londris,
charcoal-burners, in carrying loads and in drawing carts. None of
these mules are bred in the district. They are either cast from
the Commissariat Department or they were sold at the end of, the
Abyssinian campaign.- With the object of introducing the practice
of mule-breeding Government have posted two donkey stallions at
Sirur for the free use of those who will bring pony mares to them.
Prizes are given for the mares so covered and for young mules at
the Poena and Sirur horse shows. The people are averse from the
practice and take to it very slowly.

Of Sheep and Goats, the 1881-82 returns showed 285,200. Large
flocks of sheep are found in all good-sized villages and goats are
common everywhere. The city of Poena offers a ready market for as

Chapter II.
Production.

Bomestic Animali

Atsea.

Muks.

1 Riding an ass is considered a disgrace by the higher classes, and was formerly a
punishment. Belinquents were paraded through the town seated on an ass's back.
People may still he seen riding on asses with their face tail-wards in some parts of
the district as part of the meriy -making in the Shimga holidays in March -April,
b310— 9

[Bombay Gazetteer,
66 DISTRICTS.

Cliapt3r IL many sheep as tTie district can produce. Slieep brokers and mutton
Production butchers come regularly from Bombay and buy goats, kids, sheepj
and lambs, paying 2s. to 8s. (Rs.1-4) a head. There are two kinds
Domestic Animals, ^f sheep, country or desdlu costing 2s. to £1 (Rs.1-10) and dumba
Sheep, (from dum a tail) long broad-tailed sheep, costing %s. to £2 IDs.

(Rs.4-26). The long-tailed sheep include three varieties: Yaipuri,
long- tailed and white with a black patch or two ; Kdbtdi, broad-tailed,
short -legged, and white or white and black ; and Yelga from the
Bombay Karpdtak, tall, broad-tailed, and of many colours. In
many Poena and Ahmadnagar villages it is the exception to find
sheep the property of a Dhangar or an individjjal of the shepherd ,
caste, and the keeping of a flock of breeding ewes is not usual
except among well-to-do Kunbis. Every Kunbi who tills garden
land tries to have his own flock of sheep, and most villages have
three or four husbandmen with flocks of their own. Sheep for
«tock are bought by the score, the price varying from £1 16s. to £6
,(Rs. 18-60). The price is sometimes as high as £8 (Rs.80) when ,
.the buyer chooses each sheep picking one ram and nineteen ewes
all between three and four years old and of good colour. A
Ifavourite custom among Kunbis is to buy an old ewe with her
■sixth lamb, kill the mother as soon as the lamb can shift for itself^
and bring up the young one as a pet ior the children. The pet
is kept till it begins to be troublesome when it either follows its
mother or is sold to a broker. Ewes go with lamb five months, and
though known to yean in every season of the year, November and
June are the favourite times. It is not known how long a ewe will
go on bearing. The Dhangars think it advisable to sell them after
they have had five lambs. The age of the mother when the first
lamb is born varies from 400 to 600 days, and the intervals at which.,
the lambs are dropped vary from six to 14^ months. As a rule
only one lamb is yeaned at a birth, a couple being a very rare
occurrence. Male lambs are castrated and sold when a year and a
half old to butchers or other dealers. A ewe or ram till it is shorn
is called saoli, and after it is shorn a ram is called halinga and a
<ewe is called sakore. A castrated sheep or wether is called varip.
Forty .per cent are castrated between the age of six and twelve
jtBonths, never before six and never after twelve. The object of
castration is to make them fat. A two or three year old wether
fetches 13s. (Rs. 6J), an ordinary sheep 6s. to 7e. (Rs. 3-3^), and a
lamb 3s. (Rs. 1^) . Unless well fattened the ordinary Deccan sheep
does not. become very heavy; After they are six months old they
may be killed weighing when clean twenty pounds, and rarely more
than thirty pounds. As the feeding of sheep is neglected, and as
they are not sheltered against rain or sun, the Deccan sheep seldom
lives more than seven years. If looked after and cared for they
might live three years longer. If the flock is large, Kunbis generally
engage a Dhangar or a man of any other labouring caste to tend
them, paying him £2 10s. (Rs. 25) a year, besides food and clothing.
The surplus milk of the ewes is also his. In the early rnorning
sheep are driven in flocks of 100 or 120 to the grazing land where :
they nibble grass and eat fresh &d.&AMMeaves and pods. If sheltered
from the midday sun and from rain they thrive hettet, have more

Beccaa.]

POONA.

wool and milk, and are more useful. At the end of the hot season,
when food is scarce and water is bad, the sheep fall into very poor
condition and the Jane lambs are very weakly. The rank vegetation
which in their half-starved state they greedily devour brinira on
scouring and many die from that disease, or from the, fly which is
ver^ virulent during the rainy season. In the evening the sheep are
brought back and shut in their folds, which are generally surrounded
by a hedge thick enough to keep outwolVes but giving no protection
against wind and rain. Great numbers of lambs and half-grown,
sheep are carried ofE by wolves, who, where the grass and the crops
are long, are very boldcatching stragglers both by day and night.
One or two wolves haunt most villages. The shepherd has a large
dog and while out keeps his sheep constantly moving for, fear of the
wolf who is generally hid behind a big stone or bush or in the long
grass watching for the chance of picking off a lamb. The rams
generally remain in the flocks and miscarriages are not uncommon.
Old rams get very ill-tempered and without any provocation attack
and knock down the other sheep.

The dung and urine of sheep are so valued as manure that owners
of flocks are engaged to graze their sheep in fields for twaor three
nights. The Dhangars usually wander from village to village in a
regular yearly circuit in the plains during the rains and cold weather
and in the west during the hot months. They are paid by the
husbandmen to fold their sheep in their fields. In some places they
only get their food. In others where gardens abound as much as Is.
or 2«. (8 annas or Re. 1) is paid for one night for a hundred sheep.
Sheep's blood is given to horses to drink and is rubbed on their
chests when they are exhausted.

Sheep are sheared twice a, j ear in Ashddh or June -July and in
Kartik or October -November. Bach sheep on an average gives one
pound of wool at each shearing worth 4^(1. to 6d. (3^4 as.). The loss
in carding, spinning, and weaving amounts to twenty-five per cent.
Sometimes Dhangars are called to shear the sheep and are paid at
the rate of 4s. (Rs. 2) the hundred. The wool is bought by the
_ Dhangars whose women card it by means of a bamboo bowstring
with gut twist, and spin it either fine with the help of the ordinary
spinning wheel or coarse using the spindle. The threads ar©
stifEened with a paste of tamarind stones pounded in the rough stone,
mortars which are generally to be seen outside of Dhangars* houses;.
The paste is applied with a large stiif brush. After the warp-,
threads have been placed and stretched the Dhangar takes two days>
to weave a blanket about eight feet long and 2^. feet wide, the price,
of which varies from 2s. to 10s. (Rs. 1-5) according to the colour,
and fineness of the texture. White blankets and seats or a&aws.used
while performing religious ceremonies, have a special value, being
considered more sacred.

Croats costing 8s. to £1 4». (Rs. 4-12), belong-to fourclasses : khuri,
ghodsTieli, hoi or surti, and savH. The khuri are Kamatak goats ;
they are small and have short ears. The ghodsheli, said to come
from ghoda. horse and sheli a she-goat, is a large goat. The Icbi op
surti. go&iM give the largest supply of milk and are kept and, fed at
home J their flesh is said to be aard and coarse. The sdvti goftts ar^

Chapter II:

Production.
■JDomesiic Animals
Sheep.

Oo(U».,

[Bombay Gazetteer,

DISTRICTS.

Chapter II.

Production.

Domestic Animals.

Ooati.

EhphmttB and
Camels,

Dogs and Oats.

Fowls.

taller and larger bat give less milk. They are sent into the forests
to graze. Their flesh is said to be tender and they are generally kept
for food. There are no special goat-breeders. Dhangars, Kunbis, and
Musalmans are the classes who own the largest number, andBrahmans
and other high-caste Hindus have sometimes a she-goat or two in
their houses. Goats are tended in the same way as sheep. They eat
the fresh leaves of trees and shrubs but are fed at night with jvdri
stalksj tur and gram, sJievri Umh and harvand leaves, and hdbhui
leaves and pods. Dhangars keep their goats with -their sheep in the
field at night. A she-goat bears every ten months and each time
gives birth to two or more kids.. Her daily yield of milk varies
from half a pint to eight pints (J- 4 shers). Goat's milk is used as a
tonic for children and is sometimes made into butter. The flesh
both of sheep and goats is eaten by all classes except Brahmans and
Gujarat Vanis. Goats suffer from the same diseases as sheep and live
five to ten years. . The sheep and the goat are offered as sacrifices
to village gods and demons. The blood of the offered animal is spilt
over the idol and the flesh is cooked and shared among the
worshippers and the members of the village community.

Elephants and Camels were common in Poena when it was the
capital of the Peshwas. Camels used to be bred in the Mdn and
MAlsiras sub-divisions of Sdtdra and Sholdpur. At present the
number of both is small. ~ Those that remain belong either to the
Commissariat Department or to petty chiefs.

Except in cantonments the Dog and Cat are often without owners
and neglected. The only sporting dogs are greyhounds of two breeds
lut and paligar. The lut is most esteemed, but both are rare and
still more rarely pure bred.

Cocks and hens are the only poultry reared in the country parts
pf the district, though turkeys, geese, and ducks are found in large
towns. Domestic fowls are more often kept by Musalmans and
Mhdrs, Mdngs, and Dhangars than by Kunbis. They are of three
kinds : the common fowl like to but much smaller than the English
bam door fowl, known as savU, gujdi, or teni ; the Pegu, asil or surati ;
and the Malay of English poultry books, called by Europeans kalam}
very much larger than the ordinary fowl and laying larger better
and more costly eggs. Among fowls is occasionally found- an
uphrdtya pardchi or fowl with ruffled feathers, the Frizzled Fowl
of English poultry books.^ A cock costs 2s. to 10s. {Es.1-5); a
hen Is. to £1 4s. (8 as.- Es. 12) j a half fowl 6df. to Is. (4- 8 as.)}
and a chicken 2^d. to 4^d. (1 J-3 as.). They are left to pick what
they can find near their owner's house, chiefly worms and insects.
They are also sometimes fed with corn and bread. The flesh and eggs
are eaten by almost all classes except Brdhmans and Gujardt Vilnis.
Hens lay for about six weeks ten or twenty eggs and then stop.

' The word halam seems as in the case of the kahm crane, Anthropoides virgo, to be
a corruption of the Persian kulang that is big fowl. Mr. Fazl Lutfullah.

' Though this frizzle is a spoi:t or freak of nature rather than a distinct breed,
judicious mating would perpetuate the characteristic. It is an ordinary-sized fowl
of all colours, with" many feathers .curled awa^ from, instead of towards, the body,
somfi feathers haying no web, only the' naked shaft. Major Couesmaker,

DeccanJ

POONA.

Hens are very capricloiis in their laying; those thathave no inclination
to sit, unless they get fat, stop every few days and begin to lay again,
whereas those that are determined ^o sit or are very fat only lay a few
eggs and then stop for a month or more. Eggs are usef ulin preparing
fireworks. The chief diseases to which domestic fowls are subject
are mdnmodi or the neck-breaker, hopa a fatal kind of piles, and
roup which first shows itself by running from the nostrils and
eyes, an accumulation of saliva in the mouth, eruptions on the
head, and diphtheric ulcerations in the mouth and throat like a
yellowish white fungus. Fowls also suffer from disease of the Uver
and inflammation of the bowels. It is difficult to define the symptoms
of the two last diseases ; sluggishness, indigested food in the crop,
great thirst, want of appetite, leg weakness, and a yellow tint in the
ba,re skin of the head and face, are all more or less apparent. Fowls
live three or four years. Hens and chickens are offered as sacrifices
to village gods and spirits and are waved round the head to remove
sickness and the influence of the evil eye, either when a man. is
overtaken by calamity, or in consequence of vows made, when
enterprizes are undertaken, or male children are born. As a rule the
birds which are sacrificed are eaten by the persons who offer them.

Many Musalmdns and a few Hindus breed Pigeons for amusement.
They are of four kinds : lakhia, lotan, and girrebdj, all costing Is, to 2s.
(as.8-Re. 1) a head, and sddhe or common, costing 6d. to Is. (4-8 as.).
Pigeons take so little room, breed so persistently, and are so easily
kept that every town has its three or four families of pigeon-fanciers
who constantly play with their birds, and teach them tricks which
after a few years become characteristics of certain breeds. They
are generally fed with bdjri, hardi, wheat, peas, and other grain, and,
when in want of fattening, with bread, sugar, butter, and flesh.
These are spread in the quadrangle of a house where the pigeons
are let loose. Pigeons are kept in small cots either in walls or on
wooden stands. They are made to fly between ten and eleven in
the morning and between five and six in the evening. They rise
from two hundred to five hundred feet in the air and return to their
cots at the sound of a whistle. Pigeons sometimes leave their homes
and do not return for six months at a time. Small silver or brass
ornaments, called painjans, are sometimes tied round their feet.
They live for twenty years and are subject to two chief diseases :
8uka m which a sticky matter passes from the mouth, and tuJehdma
an outbreak of small tumours. Pigeons are eaten by some classes
of Hindus and by Musalmans and Europeans.

Wild Animals.^ The spread of tillage and the increase in
population eonstantlyreduce the number of Wild Animals. The Tiger,
:vdgh, Felis tigris ; the Panther, bibla, Felis pardus; the Leopard,
ckitta, Felis jubata ; and the Bear, dsval, Ursus labiatus, are found
only in the Sahyddri8,-and even there in very small numbeirs.^ During

Chapter II.

Production.

Domestic Animals.

Fowls,

Pigeons.

Wild Animals,

' Contributed by Mr. A. Keyser, C,S.

^ The bear is sometimes tamed and taught to dance by men of the wandering tribe
of Mnsalmto Darveshia, who lead their bear from door to door and ask for alms. A
few hairs from a bear's back are kept in lockets and hung from the necks of children
to guard them against the evil eye^ Children are also for the same reason made tcr
ride on bears' backs.

[Bombay Gaietteer,

DISTRICTS.

Chapter II.
Production.

Wild Animals.

Game Birds.

the eight years ending 1882 four human beings and 175 cattle;
were killed by tigers, and fifteen tigers and sixty-eight panthers
were slain, for which rewards were given by Government.^, 0£ the
Deer tribe, the Stag, samfear, Rusa aristptelis ; and the Spotted Deer,
chital, Axis maculatus, are rare, but are still found in the Sahyddris.
The Bison, gava, G-avsBus gaurus, is found in the Sahyadris but is
also very rare. The Wolf, Idndga, Canis pallipes, although not
common, occurs over the whole district and causes much loss of
sheep and, goats. In 1877, 110, in 1879, 584, in 1880, 370, and in
1882, 265 sheep and goats were registered as killed by wolves, and
twenty-four wdlves were slain between 1877 and 1882. The
Hyaena, taras, Hysena striata, is also found in the hills and
occasionally in the interior of the district.

Other game animals, which though not namerous are found in
various parts of the district, are, the Boar, rdndukkar,. Sua indicua,,
whose favourite haunts are the bdbhul groves that abound close to the-
Bhitna and Ghod rivers and also in the hill forests in the west. In,
the neighbourhood,of Poena, since the opening of the Mutha canals,.
(1873), there has been a very large increase of wild pig. The.
people complain loudly of their ravages. They come dowu in the
evening from the Sinhgad range, and, after eating sugarcane and
earthnuts, either return to the hills early in the morning or remain-
in the cane. The cultivation of earthnuts has been discontinued in
the neighbourhood of Poona owing to the ravages of these animals, ;
The Antelope, kdlvit, Antelope bezoartica, and the Indian Gazelle,
chinkdra, Gazella benettii, are chiefly found in the hills, and a third
variety of small deer, the Hog-deer, Axis porcenus, occasionally
falls to the shot of an unusually fortunate sportsman in theSahyddris,
The animals which abound all over the Presidency and which ~
require no special mention are the Jungle Cat, rdnmdnjar, Felis;
chauS ; the Jackal, kolha, Canis aureus ; the Pox, khokad, Vulpes
bengalensis, which has its home chiefly in the rocky hills and ravines
abounding all over the district; the Ichneumon, mungus, Herpestea,
grisseus ; the Bandicoot rat, ghus, Moesa bandicota ; and the Grey
and Red Squirrels, khdr, ScixxrvLS palmaruul. The S. elphinstonei ia,,
occasionally seen.

.Game Bieds.^ The district is poorly supplied with Game Birds.
Of Quail, the Grey Quail, Coturnix communis, is found over most of
the district between November and March, and the Bustard Quail,
Tumix taigoor, also an immigrant. The Rain or Black-breasted
Quail, Coturnix coromandelica, and the smaller variety which can
hardly be considered a game bird, the Rock Bush Quail, Perdiculst
argoondah, aie natives of the district and are found all the year round^.
The Bustard, Bupodotis edwardsi, jsyeryrareandso is the Plorican,
Sypheotides aurita, but both are occasionally shot./ Duck and
Snipe are found in the various rivers and artificial lakes and ponds

' The details. are: 1875, two tigers and nine panthers ; 1876, one tiger and six,
panthers ; 1877, one tiger and seven panthers ; 1878, eight tigers and five panthers ;•
1879, two tigers a,nd six panthers ; 1880, six panthers,; 1881, sixteen panthers ; and-
1882,' one tiger and thirteen panthers, ^ Contributed by Mr. A. Keyser, C.S'<

Deccan.l

POONA.

during the cold months. The common Grey . Paxtridge, Ortygornis
p'onticeriana, aboundsj and both the Black, Francolinus vulgarisj
and the Painted, Francolinus pictus, are to be found. The Rock
Grouse, 29aA;(trdi, abounds on the low stony hill ridges with which the
district is full . Pea Fowl, Pavo oristatus. Grey Jungle Fowl, Gallua
sonneratij and Spur Fowl, Galloperdix spadiceus, inhabit the forests
in the west. Half-tame pea-fowl are found near many villages, as
the people look on them as sacred. The Green Pigeon, Grocopus
chlorigaster, is rare, but the Blue Pigeon, Oolumba intermedia, ia
found in flocks in nearly every well. Except of quail, and on rare
occasions of duck and snipe, no large bags are made in the district,
and even good quail shooting is not to be had every year.

^ Snakes are numerous throughout the district, particularly in and
about the cantonment of Poena. All except three kinds, of which
one ia rare and another is doubtful, are harmless. The Cobra in
fact is the only venomous species which need be taken into account.
The small Viper or phursa, Echis carinata, which is so plentiful and
so destructive in the narrow strip of littoral between the Sahyadris
and the sea, creeps up to the summit of the Sahyadri range, but
is not common in any other locality in the Poona district. A few
stragglers may be found in the plains to the east of the range,
but they are rare. The Large Chain Viper, ghonas, Daboia russellii,
which occurs very sparingly in the Konkan, may also be expected
in the Sahyadri range ; but there appears to be no authentic record
of its occurrence. The Hamadryad, the Banded Bungarus, the
Krait, and the Green Tree Vipers are equally unknown.

As might be expected the mortality from snake bite in the Poona
district is insignificant, and for the past; five yea,rs has shown a
satisfactory decrease. In 1876, twenty-four deaths were attributed to
this cause ; in ! 877, twelve ; in 1878, nine ; in 1879, five ; and in 1880
only four. This comparatively low rate is, no doubt, due to a great
extent to the scarcity of the Echis, which is the chief agent of
destruction in Western India generally. The bite of the Cobra,
although far more dangerous, is more easily avoided. On the other
hand the Echis, though it "may only cause death once in five times,
finds many more opportunities of biting, from its small size, ita
fierceness, and its perverse reluctance to move out of the way to avoid
being trodden on. This conclusion is amply borne out by the
annual returns of mortality from snake bite for the Bombay Presi-
dency; for in the tracts where the Echis,is especially abundant, in
Sifldj Batnigiri, and Thdna, the mortality is greatly in excess of
that of all the other districts put together.

The harmless snakes are numerous, though the number of species
represented is not large. Besides the- Chequered Water Snake,
pdnadivadf Tropidonotus quincunciatus, which is abundant throughout
the well-watered tracts, the species most commonly seen in and
about Poona are the Thickbodied jjarac?, Gongylophis conicus, and
the Grass^green Ground Snake, Tropidonotus plumbicolor, the
young broods of which make their appearance in the rainy season.

Chapter II.
Production.
Game Birds.

Snakes.

1 Contributed by Mr. G. W. Vidal, C.S.

[Bombay Gazetteer

DISTRICTS.

Chapter II.
Production.

Snakes,

Typhhphidce.

Uropeltidce,

Both these species are commonly supposed by Europeans and natives
alike to be venomous. In the more rural parts the commonesi
species is perhaps the Indian Rat Snake, dhdman, Ptyas mucosus.

The following is a Ust of the various species which are known tc
occur. The list, except in thei case of one species^ which is entered
on the authority of Mr. W. Theobald as. occurring in Poena, has beer
compiled exclusively from specimens obtained and procured by the
writer. For the descriptions, which have been given in as populai
a form as possible, the writer is greatly indebted to the works ol
Dr. Gunther and Mr. Theobald. The following books are referred
to in the list: Russell's Indian Serpents; Grunther's Reptiles ol
British India ; Theobald's Descriptive Catalogue of the Reptiles of
British India; Pairbank's Bombay Reptiles published for the Bombay
Gazetteer ; and Destr action of Life by Snakes and Hydrophobia, in
Western India, bj*^ Ex-Commissioner. The classification follows
that adopted by Dr. Gunther and Mr. Theobald. The writer is also
much indebted to Dr. Nicholson for much information contained in
his work on Indian Snakes.

The family of Typhlophidae, the so-called Blind Snakes with
rudimentary eyes, is represented by the Typhlops braminus (Daud).
This little burrowing ' reptile, whose head without a magnifying
glass is with difficulty distinguished from its tail, bears a strong
superficial resemblance to a common earth worm, and is probably
frequently passed by as an earth worm. It is not often seen above
ground, except after a shower of rain. It belongs to the lowest type
of snake, and is also perhaps the smallest of the Ophidia, its maxi-
mum length being only eight inches. It is held in needless dread
by natives. According to Dr. Russell, the father of Indian herpeto-
logy, the Blind Snake progresses either end foremost, but this
peculiarity has not been noticed by later writers.

A very closely allied species of slenderer form, the Typhlops
pammeces or tenuis of Gunther, is included in Dr. Fairbank's list of
Bombay Reptiles, as also is another species of the same gi'oup, the
sharp-nosed Onyoephalus acutus (Dumdril et Bibron), whose
occurrence in the Deccan has been noted by Dr. Gunther. The
latter will probably be found in this district, but the occurrence of
the former which is a Ceylonese species seems doubtful.

The Short Tails, Tortricidse, with rudimentary hind limbs, and
the Xenopeltids without limbs, are not represented in this district.
Of Rough Tails, Uropeltidse, at least two species have been found,
Silybura macrolepis (Peters), which is distinguished from its many
congeners by having fifteen instead of seventeen scales in a row, has
been obtained on one occasion, but is very rare. This Rough Tail
is black with very bright steel-blue reflections when fresh. Each
hexagonal scale is margined with waxy white, giving the skin a
honeycombed appearance, while a broad bright yellow zigzag
band runs along each side from mouth to neck, succeeded by a few
broken spots of the same colour. A similar yellow band adorns

' See note 1 at foot of page 76.

Deccan.}

POONA.

each side of the tail below. The latter appendage, as in all the
snakes of this group, is abnormally short. It looks as if it had been
severed obliquely like the joint of a fishing-rod and then scraped
with a rasp. The caudal disk acquires this rough appearance from
a double row of keels thrown out from each scale. At the extremity
of the tail, as if the cut had left a jagged edge, are a pair of minute
horny spines. The scales of the body are smooth. The Rough Tail
Snakes are seldom seen above ground, but are occasionally exposed
in making deep cuttings for roads. That they labour hard in making
their burrows is shown by the fact that specimens of this family are
sometimes found with the head displaced from its direct axis, 'as
though' writes Theobald ' it had been dislocated during some effort
of the snake to penetrate the soil.' The head in all these Rough
Tails is smaller than, and not distinct from, the neck. S. macrolepis
grows to about ten inches in length, the tail being less than half an
inch. Like all other snakes with thick tails, this species is called
dutondi by the natives.

An allied species, Silybura bicatenata (Gnnther), has been
obtained in excavations made at the Amba Pass between Ratndgiri
and Kolhd,pur, and occurs also within the limits of the Poena district.
S. macrolepis is not included in Dr. Fairbank's List of Bombay
Reptiles, but a third species of Rough Tail, S. elliotti (Gray), which
is said by Theobald to inhabit Madras and the Deccan, is entered.
S. elliotti, which may be distinguished by the yellow band which
completely encircles the_ tail, has not yet been recorded from the
Poena district, and does not probably extend so far north.

The Dwarf Snakes, Oalamaridse, of diminutive size and found
chiefly in the "East Indian Archipelago and the Malayan peninsula,
do not occur in the Deccan districts, though one species of the
genus Geophis is found near Madras.

The prettily marked Short Tooths or Filleted Ground Snakes,
comprising the genera Oligodon and Simotes, are represented by
Gunther's Oligodon fasciatus. This species is distinguished by having
an irregular series of brown dots on the ventral shields, seven upper
labial shields, and scales in rows of fifteen. The markings on the
head are symmetrical, but less distinct than in other species of the
same genus. The back is adorned by a series of brown black-edged
cross bands. It grows to fourteen infches in length. Other represen-
tatives of this family, both of the genus Simotes as well as Oligodon,
probably occur, but have not as yet been satisfactorily discriminated.
Dr. Fairbank includes in his List of Bombay Reptiles the Pretty Short
■Tooth, Simotes venusta (JerdiDn). Another species, Simotes russellii
(Daud), has also been found in Ratndgiri, though omitted frotti
Dr. Fairbank's list. The Short Tooths are active little reptiles, and
the conspicuous V-markings on their heads often cause them to be
mistaken for Vipers by the casual observer. They are, as might be
expected, thought highly venomous by the natives, and a specimen
of Oligodon fasciatus was once gravely presented to the writer by a
conjuror and snake-charmer as the young of the Chain Viper, Daboia
elegans. In the Konkan, the Short Tooths are generally known as
haeJicha nags or young cobras. It i$ probable also that the tradition

Chapter II.

Production.

Snakes.

UropeUidce.

CaUmaricUe.

■a 51 n in

[Bombay Oazetteei

DISTRICTS.

Chapter II,
Production,

Snakes.

Colvhridm.

handed down by the Portuguese of a diminutive snake to whid
they gave the name of Cobra de Morte, from the supposed deadlj
nature of its poison, had its origin in the dread in which these
innocent Short Tooths were once popularly held. Possibly- the beliei
in such a small but poisonous species was strengthened by Cuvier's
description in his Eigne Animal of a ' petite vip6re.' Dr. Russell also
may have furthered this belief by recording several cases where
natives had died from the bites of diminutive but unrecognized
snakes. Two sepoys in Captain Gowdie's battalion at Ei,]amahendri
were bitten in the night by the same snake, which was described as
being ' scarcely six inches long, about the size of a large goose-
quill, of a dark straw colour, a flat head with two very small eyes
which shone like diamonds, and behind each eye was a black streak
about three-fourths of an inch long.' The first man bitten died
after six hours, and the second, who was bitten within a minute
after the first, died within eleven hours. Neither man suffered
visible pain or convulsions, but passed away in a kind of stupor.
Similarly, according to Dr. Russell, ' the porter of Mr. Bourcluer,
Governor of Bombay, a very' stout Arab, was bitten - by ^a^ small
serpent, and expired almost instantaneously, after exclaiming. that
a snake had bit him.' Dr. Russell's information was got from the
Governor's son, Mr. James Bourchier, who spoke from memory, and
added, ' that the snake, to which the man's death was imputed, was,
by, the Portuguese, called Cobra de Morte ; that in the course of
twenty years in India he had only seen two of them, one in the island
of Bombay, the other in his own house at St. Thomas' Mount near
Madras ; that the length of the snake was from six to nine inches,
its thickness' that of a common tobacco pipe ; the head black with
white marks, bearing some resemblance to a skull and two cross
bones ; the body alternately black and white, in joints the whole
length ; that its venom is of all others the most pernicious.'

There can be little doubt from the descriptions given, and from
the fact that no diminutive poisonous snake has yet been discovered
, by naturalists in India, that both the snakes above described were
referable to some species of Oligodon. If so, death in each case must
be attributed to excessive fright, asit is beyond doubt that none of
the snakes of this family are provided with poison fangs and glands.
The Cobra de Morte, like the mythical Bis Cobra or poisonous lizard,
has no real existence; but, whereas the latter name is still applied to
various species of lizards known to be harmless, the Cobra de Morte
is now, whatever it once was, a name and nothing more.

Of the Ground Colubrides belonging to the Coronellina group,
three species, of whose occuiTence within the limits of this district
there seems to be no authentic record, are included in. Dr. Fairbank's
list. These are (1) Humbert's snake, Ablabes Humberti (Jan)
which is known to occur in Ceylon, Madras and Peninsular India ;
(2) the Large-nosed Cycloph, Cyclophis nasalis (Gunther), and (3)
the Eastern Coronella, Coronella orientalis (Gunther). Humbert's
snake is entered as doubtful by Dr. Fairbank, and may have been
wrongly discriminated. The distribution of the Cycloph is also not
known with certainty. A single specimen of the Eastern Coronela, the

Deccan.].

POONA.

75^

sole species of this genus ever found in India^ is said to have been
obtained by Colonel Sykes in the Deccan. There is no other record
of its occurrence, and the species was founded on this single
specimen, which was transferred from the collection of the East
India Company to that of the British Museum,

Of the snakes of the group Colubrina, three genera, Cynophis,
Ptyas, and Zamenis are represented. The following species occur :

Cynophis helena (Daud) is a rather formidable looking snake,
which grows to about forty inches, the tapering tail being about a
fifth of , the total length. It is distinguished from its congener
C. malaljaricus, which is said to be common on the AnamaUi hills, by
having twenty -seven instead of twenty-five scales in each row. The
markings of C. helena are somewhat peculiar. A narrow black line
marks the occipital suture. A broadish black band runs on each side
of the neck, bfelow which is a similar oblique band. The anterior
part of the back is covered with numerous black cross bands, each
enclosing two white ocelli on either side, the white spots being more
distinct in the forepart of the trunk than behind. The cross bands
disappear about half way down the trunk and are replaced by a broad
dark band running laterally on each side to the tip of the tail. As in
some of the Tropidonoti, there is a conspicuous black streak running
obliquely from the back of the orbit to the gape. The scales are very
slightly keeled. This species appears to be rare in the Poena dis-
trict,-and is not included in Dr. Fairbank's List of Bombay Reptiles.
Ptyas mucosus (Lin.), the dhdman or Indian Rat Snake, is very
common throughout the tract and is too well known to need descrip-
tion. It is an active powerful snake, growing to seven feet in length.
It strikes fiercely if pursued or brought to bay, and with its powerful
jaws .and sharp teeth can inflict a painful bite. From its size and
comparative fearlessness, and its diurnal habits, it is perhaps more
often seen than any other species, and its size and colour not
nnfrequently causes it to be mistaken for a cobra. It feeds on rats,
mice, frogs, and young birds, and often comes into houses and huts
in search of its prey. It is very commonly exhibited by snake-
charmers, who show their skill in recapturing it after letting it loose
a feat which requires both nerve and practice, as the dhdman is
never tamed by captivity.

The bite of this species is not generally considered venomous by
natives; but many superstitions are current respecting it. Pop
instance, in the Konkan the bite is said to be poisonous on a Sunday,
but harmless on other days. Both in the Konkan and Deccan it ia
believed that if a buffalo is in the same field with a dhdman
whichever sees the other first will survive, while the one who is first
seen will die. In the Deccan also the dhdman is suspected of
milking the she-buffaloes under water, when the latter take their
daily bath in the rivers or pouds. The similar superstition which in.
England gave the name of Goatsucker to the common nightjar, from
its supposed nocturnal raids on the milch goats, will occur to all.^

,.':_ 1 In parts of the Madras Presidency the dhdman {Siwdi Pdmhu, Tamil) is. popularly
■ believed to be the male of the cobra (Ndga Pdmbu, Tamil), All cobras are consequent-

Chapter II.
Froduction.

Colubridee.

[Bombay Gazetteer

DISTRICTS.

Chapter II.

Production.

Snakes.
ColubridoB.

Natrkina.

Zamenis fasciolatus (Shaw) is common in the Poona districtj a!
also in the Konkan, where it is called ndgin by the nativeSj and is
popularly believed to be the female of the cobra. It is- frequently
seen in the baskets of snake-charmers, aind is an active reptile oJ
somewhat slender form. The colour of the body is usually ai
olive-brown. Young specimens are mai'ked with numerous whit«
cross bars, from the neck to the tail. With age the white bars
disappear gradually, the posterior ones being the first to become
obsolete. In old specimens no trace of the cross bars remain. Tht
species grows to about forty inches in length, of which the tail covers
nine inches. It is one of the numerous harmless species which arc
locally thought venomous.

Zamenis brachyums (Gunther), the Short-tailed Cowry Snake
is found (teste Theobald) in the Poona district and South-Easi
Berar, and Dr. Pairbank, presumably on this authority, has enterec
the species in his List of Bombay Reptiles. The writer has not,
however. Succeeded in obtaining a specimen.^ It is described as
growing to 21*5 inches of which the tail measures only three inches
The colour is olivaceous above and whitish beneath, while in some
specimens, probably immature, irregular yellow-edged brown spots
are found on the head and forepapt of the trunk.

In addition to the above, Dr. Pairbank includes in his list as
inhabiting the Deccan Zamenis gracilis (Grunther), or the slendei
Cowry Snake, so called from the similarity of the large black-edgec
brown spots on the anterior part of the trunk to the cowry shells usee
as money by the natives. This species probably occurs in Poona
but if so, it must be far from common.

The group of Natricina, or fresh-water Colubrines, is representee
by three species of the genus Tropidonotus, whjch are unaccountably
omitted from Dr. Pairbank's hst. Tropidonotus quincunciatui
(Schl.) the Chequered Water Snake, the pdnadiv ad oi the Mardthda
is too well known to need description. It is abundant every wher
in or near rivers, pools, marshes, and canals, wherever frogs and fisl
are procurable. It differs, however, from the true fresh wate
snakes (Homalopsidse), which live more exclusively in the watei
in having the nostrils situated on the side instead of on the uppe
surface of the head. This species swallows its prey directly it i
seized, and never overpowers it by constriction. The pdnadiva
is perhaps the commonest and most widely spread snake in Indie
and although fierce and active, is one of the very few harmles

ly believed to be females ! It is interesting to compare with this the converse 'id(
maintained in the Konkan, that all cobras are males, their female partners being tl
harmless colubrine snakes of the species Zamenis fasciolatus. The dlidman is all
in many parts of Indi* credited by local tradition with having a sting attached to i
tail, a blow from which is said to cause the part struck to mortify.

' Since the above was in type, a specimen obtained by the writer in Poona, ai
sent for identification to the Calcutta Museum, has been found to agree wii
Dr. Gunther's original description of the species as published in the Annals ai
Magazine of Natural History, 1866, vol. XVIII. p. 27. pi. VI. fig. A A', The sing
type specimen on which the species was founded also came from Poona, and the snail
now deposited in the Calcutta Museum appears to be the only other specimen of tl
species yet known.

Deccau.]

POONA.

snakes which local tradition rightly acknowledges to be. The
colouration of the Chequered Water Snake is very variable, ranging
from blackish grey to greenish olive, with from three to seven rows
of black spots down the body in quincuncial order. In some
specimens the sides are ornamented with orange red spots with
dark bars between, which, as nsual, are more conspicuous in young
than in old specimens. Adults of this species measure up to
fifty-one inches in length. .

Tropidonotus stolatus (L.), the common little halhallia of Bengal,
the ndneti of the Mardthd,s, the rath of snake-charmers, is also
comparatively common. It is of a brownish olive colour with irre-
gular pale-edged dark-brown cross bars, and is easily distinguished
by a pale bufi streak running longitudinally on each side of the
back from neck to tail. At some seasons the head, neck, and sides
acquire a bright red tinge. Its maximum length is two feet. It
is more terrestrial in" its habits than the Chequered Snake and is
of a milder disposition j nevertheless it is wrongly believed to be
venomous by the natives.

Tropidonotus plumbicolor (Cantor), the common Green firass
Snake, is also abundant in the Poena district, especially in the rains
when the young broods make their appearance. Young specimens
have a broad bright yellow collar, pointed in front and forked pos-
teriorly, behind a black collar of corresponding shape. The body is
also marked with about a dozen narrow black cross bars. The bright
collar and cross bars disappear with age^ and adults are a uniform
dull green above and white below. The under-parts in the young
snakes are steel blue. The species grows to about twenty-five inches
and is of thick make, with a broad head and a short tail. Its food
consists of frogs, which it catches in the wet grass during the rainy
season, often pursuing them into houses. It is of course harmless.

HoMALOPSiDffi. The true Fresh-water or Bstuarine Snakes Homa-
lopsidse, have no representatives in this district.

PsAMMOPHiDJ). Nor have any species of the family of Desert
Snakes (Psammophidae) been found. The best known example of
this family, Eussell's Condanarouse (Psammophis condanarns, Merr)
occurs in parts of the Madras Presidency.

Dendeophidj!. Of the Tree Snakes of this family no species have

. been recorded from this district.

Detiophid^. Of the family of Whip Snakes consisting of the

-genera Tragops and Passerita, the only species hitherto found in the
Poena district is the well-known green whip snake (Passerita myc-
terizans, L.), which is found on trees in and near the Sahyadri range.
This is evidently the species to which Dr. Pairbank alludes in his
list as a Dendrophis; but the long flexible snout and excessively

-slender form of this species at once distinguish it from any species
of the Dendrophidse. In colour this snake is bright grass-green
lighter beneath, with a yellow lateral line along each side of the
abdomen. Large specimens grow to six feet in length, of which the

' tail occupies rather more than one-third. The natives name this
Whip Snake sarptoli and it is popularly believed to hang on the

-boughs of trees with its tail, and dart at the eyes of passers-by. In

Chapter II.
Production.

Snakes.
. Natiicina.

Dendrophidee,

DryiophidcE.

[Bombay Gazetteer,

78"

DISTRICTS.

Chapter 11.
Production.

Snakes.

Zycodontidce.

rfeality it is a very inoffensive reptile, which, bites only under severe
provocation. Its chief food consists of small birds and lizards.

DiPSADiDj;. This family of Tree Snakes, characterised by a
strongly compressed body and a short triangular head, is represented
by at least one species, Dipsas trigonata (Boie), which is found in ,
well-wooded tracts near the Sahyddri range. . The short viper-like
head of this snake often causes it to be mistaken for a venomous
species, but like all tJie snakes of this family it is harmless, although
fierce and remarkably active. The ground colour is olive brown.
The crown of the head is marked with two dark black-edged bands
convergent behind, while a yellowish zigzag and irregular band,
edged broadly with black, runs down the median line of the back.
Underneath it is white or sometimes salmon-coloured mottled with
brown specks. It grows to at least forty inches, the tail being
about one-fourth of the total length, A closely allied species, Dipsas
gokool (Gray) is comparatively common in the Ratnagiri district,
where, like numerous other harmless species, it bears the name of
manydr and is believed to be very deadly. D. gokool probably
occurs also above the Sayhadris. Another tree snake of the same
genus, but of considerably larger dimensions, Dipsas forsteni (D.
and B.), is entered in Dr. Fairbank's list as being found in the
Sahyadri range ; but as both Dipsas trigonata and gokool are
omitted from this list, it is possible that one of these latter- species
has been taken for Dipsas forsteni.

LTOODONTiDiB. Of this family the common Lycodon, L. aulicus
(L.), is the sole representative. It is frequently found in houses,
which it enters in pursuit of the skinks or snake-lizards (Mahr...
sdpsarali) which form its chief food. It also preys on the little house
geckos so common on the walls of bungalows. As a rule any
species of snake which is discovered in a dwelling house, other than
a cobra or a dhdman, is vaguely termed a Carpet Snake by Euro-
peans in India whose knowledge of snakes is usually very limited.
But the name of Carpet Snake is probably more often applied to
this sppcies than to any other. The Lycodon, thoiigh fierce and
active, is perfectly harmless and is usually nocturnal in its habits.
Its colouration however, in some specimens, rather closely resembles
that of the venomous Krait, Bungarus coeruleus (Schn.), which is
common in Bengal, Assam, and the peninsula of Southern India,
but is not found, fortunately, iii the Bombay Presidency, except in
the province of Sind, where it is called the pioni according to
Dr. Fairbank,, from its supposed habit of sucking the breath of
sleepers; The bad reputation borne by the Lycodon is doubtless
due to its resemblance to the really dangerous Krait. The Lycodon
is rather variable in colour. The commonest type is a reddish brown
ground, barred with numerous dark-edged white or faintly yellow
cross bands, the first of which forms a broadish dull white collar.- But
the ground colour and' pattern of the bars vary much in different
specimens. The darkest coloured individuals are those which most .
resemble the Kraits. In old specimens the white cross bars
disappear, and the yellow tinge sometimes seen in the cross bars
quickly fades in spirits. It grows to about two feet of which the tail.

J}eccan.]

POONA.

measures one-sixth. The eye of the Lycodon is small and very
black, with a vertical pupil, whereas the Krait has a round pupil.
The latter may also be readily distinguished from the harmless
Lycodon by a glance at the vertebral scales, which in the Krait are
much broader than the other scales of the body and hexagonal in
shape, forming a conspicuous ridgfr on the median line of the back ;
whereas in the Lycodon the vertebral series of scales is no larger
than the other rows. The dentition of the Lycodon is peculiar, as,
unlike most other harmless species, each maxillary is furnished with
two enlarged fangs in front, placed in a transverse line, the outer
being much larger than the iuner. But no snakes of this family
have posterior grooved teeth, and, as Gunther has pointed out, the
use of the fangs in front of the jaws is to pierce and hold iasi th&
hard smooth scales of the lizards on which it preys. In the Konkan
the Lycodon is one of the many harmless species to which the name
of manydr is applied, and which are popularly believed to cause
death by a touch of ^e tongue or by castiug their shadows over
their victims.

Ambltcephalidj!. The Bluntheads (Amblycephalidse) have no
representatives in this district.

Pythonid^. Of this family, numbering two species, the well
kaown Indian Rock Snake, Python molurns (L.), is found
occasionally throughout the district, and called by the natives in
different localities ajgar, a/r, and chitai. It inhabits thick forests
and groves, usually in the neighbourhood of water or swampy
ground, where it finds a regular supply of food in the animals which
come to drink. Birds of all kinds, squirrels, rats and mice, and even
young deer and sheep contribute to its support. It is one of the
largest of living reptiles, but its size and power have no doubt been
:occasionally much exaggerated. Specimens of twenty feet long have
been frequently obtained^ and as specimens of its congener of the
Malayan Peninsula, Python reticulatus (Schn.), have been recorded
as measuring about thirty feet, it is "probable that P. molurus may
occasionally attain the same length. The majority of specimen^
however exhibited by snake-charmers seldom exceed twelve feet.
' Rock Snakes from fifteen to twenty feet long' writes Gunther*
' have the thickness of a man's thigh, and wiU easily overpower &
small deer, a sheep, or a good-sized dog. But although able to kill
these animals, the width of their mouth is not so large that theif
can swallow one larger than a half -grown sheep. The way in whica
they seize and kill their prey is the same as that observed id
numerous smaller snakes : after having seized the victim, thei)'
smother it by throwing several coils of the body over and round it.
In swallowing they always begiil with the head ; and, as they
live entirely on mammals and birds, the hairs and feathers offer A
considerable impediment to the passage down the throat. The
process of deglutition is therefore slow, but it would be much
slower except for the great quantity of saliva discharged over the
body of the victim. During the time of digestion, especially when

Chapter Il^i
Froductioii.

Snakes.
Lycodontiioli

Ambtj/cephoMte,
Pythonidce,

•■ The Reptiles of British India, p. 329.

[Bombay Gazetteei

DISTRICTS.

Chapt«r II.

Production.

Snakes.
Pyfhomdm.

the prey has been a somewhat large animal, the snake become
very lazy : it moves but slowly when disturbed, or defends itsel
with little vigour when attacked. At any other time the Rock Snake
will fiercely defend themselves when they perceive that no retrea
is left to them. Although individuals kept in captivity becom
tamer, the apparent tameness of specimens brought to EJurope if
much more a state of torpidity caused by the climate than an actua:
alteration of their naturally fierce temper.' Notwithstanding tht
above, however, the tame Pythons exhibited in this country bj
snakemen, whether, from overfeeding or other causes, are usually
very gentle creatures, and, unlike the restless dhdmans, can b(
easily and safely handled. One peculiarity of the Pythons is thai
they incubate their eggs,, and the temperature of the body at this
seSison has been observed to be higher than at other times.

The ground colour of the Indian Rock Snake is usually a greyisl
brown. The crown and nape of the head are marked with a browi
spot Hke the head of a lance. The back and tail are adorned with e
vertical series of large brown quadrangular spots, with an oblong
spot on each side of the central line. The sides of the body havf
another series of irregular pale centred brown spots. The snout if
long and depressed, and in adult individuals a rudimentary hind
limb, hidden between the muscles, may easily be discovered on eacl
side of the root of the tail.

Betcid^. The family of Sand Snakes or Brycidse has two repre-
sentatives in this district, both of which are comparatively common.

The parad, Gongylophis conicus (Schn.), is frequently seen
within cantonment limits at Poena, and is common elsewhere in the
district. Ifc is a very thick clumsily made brown snake marked on
its back with large brown blotches, which frequently unite and forn
a broad zigzag band, and on each side is a row' of smaller irregulai
brown spots. The tail is very short and tapering, and the head
which is scaled not shielded, except at the lips and forepart of the
snout, is flat, oblong, and scarcely distinct from the neck. The
general character of the markings resembles that of the Python,
and the pa/rad like the latter has i^udimentary hind limbs. Paradt
are indeed often exhibited by snake-charmers as young Pythons
The maximum length of the parad is about twenty-five inches. In
young specimens the markings are very distinct, ancl the underparts
which are white in the adult, are suffused with a pale salmon tinge.

The Two-headed Snake, the dutonde of the Mardthas, Erys
johnii (Russ.), is also common in the Poena district in dry stonj
fields where it preys on mice. Its colour is Usually reddish browr
irregularly dotted with black, while young specimens have a series oJ
brown rings distinct on the hind part of the body and getting f aintei
towards the neck. The lower parts are pale, marbled with dark in
the adults, and in young specimens steel-blue spotted with salmoE
colour. Like the parad it is thick and heavy and very slow- in itf
movements. Its chief characteristic is its short thick rounded tail
which the snake-charmers frequently mutilate in order to give ii
the appearance of a second head. The real head resembles thai
of the parad in being covered with scales instead of shields, anc

Seccan.]

POONA.

in not being distinct from the neck. It grows to about four feet,
of whicb tbe tail only occupies four inches. This species, like the
other members of the family, has the conical prominences in the
place where the hind limbs ought to be. The dutonde is perfectly
inofEensive, and cannot be made to bite under any provocation. It
avoids wet ground and prefers sandy plains, where it can burrow
with ease. In the Deccan this snake is generally called the mdndul.

AcEOCHOEDiDis. The Wart Snakes or Acrochordidae with small
tubercular or spi^iy scales are not found in this district.

Of the Elapidae embracing the genera Naja, Ophiophagus,
Bungarus, Xenurelaps, and Callophis, the only representative in
this district is the well known Cobra, nag, Naja tripudians (Merrem.).
Cobras are no doubt abundant in the Poena district ; but as they
are chiefly nocturnal in their habits, by no means aggressive, and
from their large size easily seen and avoided, the mortality attri-
butable to their deadly bite is fortunately very low. At least eight
varieties of this species have been enumerated by Gunther, all
referable to the same species, but the type usually seen in the Deccan
is of a uniform brownish olive colour above, with a pair of conspi-
cuous white black-edged spectacles on the dilatable neck or hood.
The length of Cobras is a subject of almost as much dispute amongst
Europeans in India as the length of tigers, and the natural tendency
in such cases is to exaggerate the size. Specimens of over five feet
in length are decidedly rare, and the limit of seventy inches given
by Theobald is probably correct. The fables relating to the Cobra
handed down by local tradition would fill a volume. Although,
however, it is popularly credited with a sagacity and cunning of
which it_ is entirely innocent, it is unfortunately impossible to
exaggerate the deadly effect of its bite, for which no reliable
antidote has as yet been discovered. The Cobra impartially feeds
on birds, rats, squirrels, lizards, frogs, and sometimes fish. It
climbs trees and roofs of houses in search of prey, and although
generally terrestrial, swims well, and readily takes to the water. It
has occasionally been caught at sea at a considerable distance from
land. The Hamadryad, Ophiophagus ela,^s(Schl,), the gnahn of the
Burmese, which from its greater power and fierceness is even more
dangerous than the Cobra, is luckily not found in Western India.
The Krait, Bungarus coeruleus (Schn.), occurs in Sind, but probably
nowhere else in the Bombay Presidency. The long slender venomous
snakes of the genus Callophis, which feed on the Dwarf. Snakes
(Oalamaria), and have the same geographical distribution, have not
yet been observed in the Deccan, though one species, Callophis
nigregcens (Gunther), inhabits the Nilgiris and the Wainad.

The Sea Snakes or Hydrophidae, which are found in salt water
exclusively, and which are without exception venomous, are not
found in any of the inland tracts.

The true vipers which have no pit in the loreal region are repre-
sented in India by the genera Daboia and Bchis, having each one
species. Of these one only, the phursa, Bchis oarinata (Merrem.), is
known with certainty to occur in the Poena district. It is extremely
abundant in the coast districts of Ratndgiri, Thana, and Koldba, and

Chapter II.

Production.

Snakes,

AcrochordidoB.

ffydrophidce.

[Bombay Gazetteer,

DISTRICTS.

Chapter II.

Frodntition.

Snakes.
Viperidce.

is found more sparingly in the barer portions of the summit of the
Sahyddri range or Konkan Ghdt MAtha. East of the Sahyadrig
it is seldom seen. The comparative immunity of the Poona
district from deaths by snake-bite is no doubt due to the scarcity
of the Bchis, which is the chief .agent of destruction in other
districts where it is plentiful. Gunther was strangely in error when
he wrote that no case was known of its bite haying proved fatal. The
Echis has a wide distribution. It is found in Sind and the Panjdb,
North- Western, Central, and Southern India, and is exceptionally
common on the Western coast ; but it is absent or very scarce in
Lower Bengal,- and it is rare in the Deccan. In Sind it is-known as
the hapar ; and at Delhi as the aphai. , The Echis is a little brown
snake seldom exceeding twenty inches in length, with a series of
dark-edged pale ovate spots on the body, with a very conspicuous
undulating pale line down each side. The head is. covered with
keeled scales and the pupil is vertical. -The phursa is most often
iound in rocky hill-sides and plains, living under the shelter of large
boulders, and feeding on centipedes j but it occasionally enters
houses, and has an awkward habit of taking its siestas oh roads and
footpaths, whence it will not stir on the approach of man, but" will
suffer itself to be trodden on rather than move. This peculiarity
makes it especially dangerous to bootless travellers, should they *
tread on it unawares in the dark. Once roused it is fierce and '
active, and will, defend itself with great vigour and courage. Of all
the venomous snakes in Western India this httle viper is undoubted- '•
ly by far the most destructive. Its bite is not probably attended by '
fatal results more than once in five times ; but its diminutive size
and obstinate immobility give it far more frequent opportunities of =
biting than has any other species of venomous snake. The symptoms ;a
of phursa bite are also peculiar and may be readily distinguished.
The venom, unlike that of the Cobra, liquifies the blood, and induces
excessive hemorrhage^ at the bitten part, and in severe cases bleeding "i
at the gums and from" the pores of the skin, followed by lockjaw.
The action of the virus is, however, very slow, and in fatal cases
the average interval between the bite and death is about 4J days, i
The application of ammonia has been found after trial to aggravate
rather than reduce the hemorrhage which is the chief source of 3
danger. For some yeafs past a native remedy, the root of the
pdngla shrub, Pogostemon purpuricaulis, has been used at the |
Eatridgiri Civil Hospital, with some apparent success in stopping *
the troublesome bleeding. The root is given -both internally and as :
a paste for outward application ; but its property as a styptic does
not yet appear to be known to Indian dealers in drugs. The results j
obtained with its use for this purpose are however sufficiently I

^ The peculiar hemcgrrhage induced by the bite of this viper seems to have been
noted by old writers. In his work on Destruction of Life by Snakes in Western
India, Ex-Commissioner quotes a passage from the Physician Johnstonus, which
evidently refers to the Echis,: 'Is enim in eo tractu quo Alexander Porum per-;
.sequebatur iuventos fuisse serpentes parvos quidem, ad eorumque morsum toto corpore
sanguineum sudorem dimanaase' , That is, For he (says) that in the country in which
Alexander followed after Poms certain small snakes were found at whose bite a
bloody sweat oozed from the whole bodvi

Deccan.]

POONA.

encouraging to justify a careful and exhaustive analysis of the plant
by competent authority. The Pogostemon purpuricaulis is a plant
of the labiate order, nearly allied to the Patchouli shrub, aaid is
found abundantly in the Konkan and in the western sub-divisions
of the Poena district.^

The Chain Viper or Daboia, the Cobra Manilla (Coluber monileger)
of the Portuguese, the Uc polonga of Ceylon, the ghonas and Jcdndor
of Konkan Mar^thds, Daboia russellii. (Shaw), has a wide distribu-
tion in India, ranging from Ceylon to the Himalayas; but if it
occurs at all within the limits of the Poona district, it must be very
rare. It is known, however, to occur in the Southern Konkan, as
well as in Cutch and Gujardt in the Bombay Presidency, and it is
probable that it will be found in or near the Sahyddri range. It
grows to about sixty inches and is handsomely marked by three
chains or necklaces of large black white-edged rings, the middle
series being oval in shape, and the outer circular. The head is
marked with two yellow lines converging on the snout, and is pecu-
liarly repulsive. The Daboia is thickly built and sluggish, and like
the phursa shows great reluctance to move on the approach of man.
It is nocturnal in its habits, and feeds on rats and mice and sometimes
attacks sitting hens. It is fierce and fearless, and on this account,
as well as from its long powerful fangs and its deadly venom, is
perhaps more to be dreaded even than the Cobra or the Hamadryad.

The Pit Yipers, Crotalidae.'so called from the deep pit in the loreal
region, of which the American Rattle Snakes are the best known
examples, are represented in India by the genera Trimeresnrus,
Peltopelor, HaJys, and Hypnale. One species of the Trimeresnrus
or Tree Vipers with prehensile tails, Trimeresurns strigatua (Grey),
is said by Gunther and Theobald to inhabit the Deccan" or the
Nilgiris. Another, T. anamallensis, occurs in the Anamalli Hills, as
does Peltopelor macrolepis (Beddome). One species of Halys,
H. himalayanus, is restricted to the Himalayan region, while
another, H. elliotti, has been found on the Nilgiris. Hypnale nepa,.
the ' Carawala,' also occurs in the mountains of Southern India. As
far, however, as can be ascertained, there is no authentic record of
the occurrence of any species of Pit Vipers within the limits of the
Bombay Presidency. The Indian Pit Vipers are usually of small
size, and though venomous are much less dangerous than their
cousins of the new world.

The small gangs of professional jugglers who frequently visit
Poona and other large towns in their wanderings, exhibiting snakes,
and performing conjuring, tricks, belong to the tribe of MadAri
G^radis. They are Muhammadans, said to be of Arabian descent.
Like other Musalm^ns the Gdrudis are distinguished among them-
selves as belonging' to one or- other of the four main tribei^ and are
known accordingly as Madari Syeds, Madd.ri Shaikhs, Maddri
Moghals, a,nd Madari Pathana. They speak a corrupt Hindustani,

Chapter II

Production.

Snakes.
Viperida.

Orotalidce.

Snake
CharmerB.

' Farther information as to the Echis, with a more detailed account of the symptoms
induced by ita bite, will be found at pages 51 -52 of Vol, X;. of the Gazetteer of the.

[Bombay Gazettee

DISTRICTS.

Chapter II.

Frodaction.

Snake
Charmers.

and are worsbippers of Samna Mi/ra} They circumcise their boys
obey the K&rA, and marry only among the four tribes of Madai
Garudis. 'The Garudis have no fixed homes, but wander from tore
to town wherever their performances are likely to attract spectator
and bring money. No one party appears to have any exclusive beai
though the same gang frequently revisits the same towns. Th
males only, of all ages, take part in the performances. Whil
trevalling from place to place they occupy their time in hunting fo
snakes, ichneumon, and scorpions, practising their tricks, and trainin
the boys. The snake-charmers are quiet and inoffensive, and are no
reckoned among the criminal tribes like the more turbulent Hind
Mang Gdrudis, with whom they have nothing in common except th
name of Garudi.

The stock in trade of a family of Garudis includes, firstly, a fust
but capacious bag, well worn and patched all over, containing i
very heterogeneous collection of odds and ends, and rude apparatu
used in their various juggling tricks ; secondly, two or more fla
circular bamboo baskets for holding the snakes and slung on a pol
for greater convenience in transport ; thirdly, the pungi or double
pip& made of a gourd with two hollow bamboo . tubes, inserted a
mouth-pieces ; and lastly, a diminutive drum or tom-tom, shaped lik
an hour-glass, with a button loosely attached by a string tied roun(
the middle, which is made to strike the drum on each face in sue
cession, by a smart turn of the wrist. Add to these an ichneumon,
hubble-bubble or cocoanut pipb, which serves at once for tobaoc
smoking and holding fireballs, and a few black scorpions with th
stings extracted, and one or two small harmless snakes carried i]
pieces of hollow bamboo, anci the Garudi's outfit is complete.

The snakes usually kept for exhibition are Cobras, Pythons, an
Eat Snakes, with occasionally a Sand Snake, or so-called two-header
snake with the tail mutilated so as to resemble the head. A ie^
specimens of common harmless snakes, such as the chequered ^Wate
Snake and the fasciolated Cowiy Snake, are also kept to be sacrifice
to show the skill of the ichneumon, when the occasion does nc
demand the more exciting fight between the ichneumon and the cobr
Vipers are seldom found in the snake-charmer's collections, being to
sluggish and ill-tempered for exhibition. The poison fangs of th
Cobras are invariably extracted as soon as they are caught, and th
fang matrix is sometimes cauterised as an additional precaution t
prevent possible danger by the development of new fangs to replac
the old.

Mosb of the snakes exhibited can be fed in captivity withou
difficulty ; a hungry Python is always a good excuse for demandin
a chicken to appease his appetite after being exhibited, while frog
are always easily obtained and gratefully accepted hj the greedi*
dhdmana. Cobras are said to persistently refuse food in confini
ment, and have either to be crammed or let loose at intervals of

■There is a tomb of Samna Mira at Tdsgaon in the Sitira District, in who
honour a fair is held annually in Mdgh (February-March),

Deccan.]

POONA.

month or so to find their own food, and be recaptured, if possible,
after repletion.

The capture of wild Cobras is a comparatively easy task to those
who know their habits, and have nerve to handle them. When a
Cobra frequents a rat-hole, as it generally does, it betrays its occu-
pancy by wearing the mouth of the hole smooth and leaving
thereon a httle slimy deposit. The Garudis, on finding such evi-
dences of the snake's haunts, dig quietly into the hole, until the tail
of the Cobra is exposed to view. Seizing the tail with one hand,
the snake-catcher rapidly draws the- Cobra through the other hand,
up to the neck, where it is firmly grasped on each side by the finger
and thumb in such a way as to render the snake powerless to bend
its neck in either direction. The fangs are then as soon as possible
extracted with a pair of pincers, and the Cobra is carefully secured
in an empty basket. Dhdmans are sometimes caught in holes in a
similar manner, but more often are pursued and captured in open
ground.- To catch a large dMma?i in this way is a feat requiring
great dexterity and some courage ; for, this snake, although not
venomous, is very fierce and active, bites sa-v'agely, and often wounds
with a smart stroke of fts powerful tail. The length oi si dhdrruan
moreover frequently makes it impossible to draw it with one hand
through the other lat one stroke, from tail to neck. In such cases,
the man, seizing the snake by the tail, eventually gets a grip of its
neck by a quick hand-over-hand movement, while at the same time
the snake is prevented from turning on its captor by being violently
swung from side to side with each movement of the hand. But in
so doing the snake- catcher, if not very dexterous, is very liable
to be bitten, especially in the face. As the Eat Snakes never lose
all their fierceness in captivity the same process has to be repeated
on each occasion that they are let loose, and the recapture of a
savage dhdman is one of the most skilful feats performed by the
exhibitor. Chequered Water Snakes are also fierce, active, and
untameable, but are easily caught in a gorged state, in the shallow
streams and canals, which they frequent. The smaller snakes are
generally caught by the aid of a bamboo stick split into two pieces
at one end, and thus forming a rude forceps. Of the snakes usually
exhibited the Cobra is perhaps the only species which can be really
tamed. Pythons, fierce by nature, are probably kept in a state of
, lethargy by frequent feeding. Cobras on the other hand are naturally
gentle in disposition, and, after a few lessons, are easily made to
stand with hood erected, by rivetting their attention on some object
kept constantly moving before them, from side to side.

The pungi or gourd-pipe is invariably played as an accompaniment
to the Cobra's dance, as it is called^ as well as to every juggling
trick performed by the GArudis. But the dismal monotone of this
weird instrument is an accessory and nothing more. Snakes hear
imperfectly, and according to Dr. Nicholson, the Burmese snakomen
put their Cobras through exactly the same performances without
any musical accompaniment. The pungi has probably no more
i effect on the movements of the Cobra than it has in causing the
magic growth of the mango tree, through all its stages, from seed
to fruit, or the marvellous disappearance of the little boy in the

Chapter II.

Production.

Snake
Charmers.

[Bombay Gazetteei

86^

DISTRICTS.

Chapter II.

Production.

Snake
CharmerB.

well-known basket trick. The GAriidis profess indeed to charm
Cobras from their holes by the sound of the pungi, a,nd. it is possible
that a tame Cobra, which has been placed by its keeper in a hole
to simulate a wild one, may be sufficiently aroused by the familiar
droniag of the pipe to show itself at the mouth of the hole. It is
extremely doubtful, however, whether a wild snake would be
similarly attracted by the noise. It is.a very common trick amongst
the Gdrudis, on visiting a compound where they are likely to obtain
an audience, to secretly place a tame Cobra in any hole that may
suit the purpose, and then, pretending to have discovered a wild one,
show their skill in catching it. This very simple ruse answers
admirably if the snake-charmer is allowed to conduct his pretended-
search where he pleases. In this case he has only to lead the
spectators gradually to the spot selected, examining a few holes by
the way, which he confidently pronounces to be empty, and finally
stopping at the right hole, with an air of triumphant mystery ,-
produce his tame snake after much ceremony and gesticulation to
the usual accompaniment of slow music. Sometimes, it happens
that one of the audience knows or ■ pretends to know of- some parti-;
cular hole frequented by a Cobra, and desires the snakemen to
charm and catch it. In this case the snake-charmer has no opportu-
nity of placing a tame Cobra beforehand in the hole, with intent to
deceive. But he is generally equal to the occasion ; for one of the
party, with an eye to this contingency, nearly always carries a tame
Cobra cunningly concealed in the folds of his waistcloth, which
by very ordinary sleight of hand he can, unseen by the spectators,
gradually insinuate into the hole, while pretending to examine
the entrance. Stories are indeed told of these men being carefully
stripped and searched beforehand, to satisfy the spectators that
they have no snake concealed about them, and then taken to some
holes, of which they could have had no previous knowledge, whence
they have notwithstanding produced Cobras. But in all such cases
it will generally be found on inquiry that although the spectators
may have satisfied themselves by previous search that no snak&
was concealed about the performer, no subsequent examination
has been made of the snake itself to ascertain, by the presence
or absence of fangs, whether it was a wild or a tame one. If the
siiakeman shows a decided reluctance, as he usually does, to the
captured snake being" killed or examined, it may be safely inferred
that, whether subjected to previous search or not, he has somehow
contrived to produce in the exact nick of time one of the fangless
specimens in his collection.

The Gdrudis know well the difference between venomous and
harmless species of snakes, and will handle the latter fearlessly. But
if they have credulous listeners, they delight in telling exaggerated
and fanciful tales as to the dire consequences of the bite of an earth
worm, or an innocent" Rough Tail. It is not known whether these
snakemen, if accidentally bitten by a Cobra, and they seldom meddle
with other venomous snakes, have recourse to anything as a supposed
a;ntidote. Johnson, the author of Indian Field Sports, who em-
ployed a party of Kanjurs in Calcutta to catch snakes for him fOr
a-year, writes of these people, that ' whenever they attempt to catch

Deccan.]

POONA.

snakea there are always more than one present, and a second person
carries mth him a gudgudi which is a smoking machine, made
generally of a cocoanat below, with an earthen funnel above^
containing fireballs ; in the fire they have always secreted a small
iron instrument about the size of a prong of a table-fork, curved
into the shape of a snake's tooth, tapering from above, and when-
ever they are bitten they first put on a light ligature above the bite,
then suck the part, and as soon as blood appears they introduce this
instrument red-hot into the two orifices made by the teeth, and take
some bazar spirits, if they can procure any, in. which they ihfuse a
small quantity of bhdn^.' As far as this author could learn, these
were the only remedies ever adopted. The Gdrudis frequently carry
with them the so-called snake stones, but probably profit more by
their sale than by their use. These stones, found on analysis to be
made of calcined bone, are black, highly polished, and shaped like
almonds. Similar stones appear to be manufactured in other parts
of the world, as in Mexico, where the material used is charred stag's
horn. These snake-stones have the property of absorbing liquid
up to a certain point, and if applied to a wound will adhere and
draw out the blood, until saturation prevents further absorption.^
Besides the ordinary black snake stones the Gdrudis occasionally
offer for sale as charms small transparent beads of the size and shape
of acidulated lemon drops, which they audaciously profess to have
extracted from the palates of very old male Cobras. It is not known
how or where these beads are obtained, or of what substance they
are composed. In their general consistence they appear to be like
pieces of pale amber. In some parts of India the snake-charmers
use the root of a plant to stupefy snakes and scorpions. A few
pieces of root are placed in a bag in which the snakes or scorpions,
as the case may be, are kept, and in a few minutes the patients are
said to become comatose. Possibly the root used may be that of
the Aristolochia indica, or Indian birthwort {isharmal. Hind.), well
known as a supposed antidote in cases of snake-bite. The roots of
allied species of birthworts are used in other countries, both as
antidotes to the poison and for stupefying snakes. In North America
the well known Virginian snake-root, Aristolochia serpentaria, is
used as an antidote, while in South America the * Guaco,' a similar
root, is employed for the same purpose and also for stupefying
snakes, the juice extracted from the root being dropped into the
snake's mouth. Similarly, the Egyptian snake-charmers are said to
use an African species of birthwort to make their snakes docile
during exhibition. In Western India the GArudis appear to have
recourse to no such expedients, and, as far as can be judged, the
snakes exhibited by them never show any symptoms of having been
drugged.

^The Poena rivers and streams are fairly stocked with fish. From
the middle of June, when the south-west monsoon sets in, until

Chapter II.

Production.

Snake .
Charmers.

Fish,

' An interesting account of the manufacture and properties of snake-stones will be
found in Wood's Natural History, III. 144.

^, Contributed by Mr. Henry Wenden, District Engineer, Qreat Indian Peninsula
Railway.

[Bombay Gazetteei
88 DISTRICTS.

Chapter II. the end of October, the rivers and streams are in full volume. Wit]
Frodoction. *^® close of the rains their waters gradually subside, and, by March
they form a series of pools connBotedby long reaches of feebly running
^^^" stream. Some of the .pools are long, deep, and rocky, saf"

sanctuaries for fish j others are shallovi', easily netted or emptied ii
sections with the help of temporary dams. By the^end of April th(
shallow pools have been plundered of all their fish-life.

During the rains, every hig'hland stream is beset with basket'trap
or mintite bag-nets which efEectually present the return to the mail
waters of fish that have run up the small streams to breed. Verj
few of the fry escape. In the lower reaches are numerous natura
or artificial dams or narrowings of the water-way, in which, during
breaks in the rainfall and in the final shrinking of the rainy-seasoi
floods, are set immense bag-nets with meshes varying from twc
inches at the mouth to a quarter of an inch at the tail- or ba^. Thes(
nets are usually set for ten to twelve hours, and taken up morning aiii
evening. As much as 300 pounds weight offish are frequently takei
from one such net, composed of specimens varying from an inch t(
eevferal feet in length. Fry predominate to a painful extent ; manj
of the mature fish are heavy with spawn and milt j and all are erushec
into one mass by the force of the stream.

No private rights to fisheries exist, but each village cMims thi
river within the limits of its own land. In some sacred dohs or pool
the priests prevent the people from fishing. In the absence of anj
legislation ior the protection of fish, t^pse sacred breeding place
are the only safeguard for the preservation of the supply j it woulc
be an incalculable gain to the mass of the people if they were mori
numerous.^

The chief fishing classes are Mardthi Bhois and Koli Bhois, bu
few of either class live solely by fishing. Where not forbidden the;
catch fish at all seasons and by every means in their power. Thi
following account from ♦Dr. Day's Fishes of India describes thi
devices for catching fish which are in use throughout the Pooni
district : As soon as the young fish are moving, that is shortly afte
the rains set in, men women and children catch myriads of fry ii
rice-fields and in every sheltered spot to which the fish have retire(
for shelter. Nets are employed which will not allow a mosquito t
pass, and, so, fares human ingenuity can contrive it, the sides of thi
rivers are stripped of fish. Husbandmen make wicker-work traps
baskets, and nets, and first set them so as to trap the breeding fishe

' The chief sacred pools or dohs where fish are never killed are : In the Haveli sul
division, Tuk4r4mb4v4's pool in the IndrAyani at Dehu, and Moraya GosAvi's po<
in the Fauna at Chinchvad ; in Bbimthadi, Bhivai's pool in the Nira at Kdmbleshvar
in Purandhar Holkar's pond at Jejuri J in Sirur, SantbivA's pool in the Bhima a
iUnjangaon ; in Indipur, Ojhrdidevi's pool jn the Nira"at Ojhre and SonhobA's pool i
the Bhima at Narainhpur ; in,Khed, a pool near the ferry-at Kashekhed, MahSdev
pools at ChAndoli Vet4le and Pingri, the Vriuddvan pool atDonde, MAcUiaveshvar
pools at Sdygaon and Mohokol, the Umbar pool at Kadhe, MhasobA's pool at Bib:
Gadad Niriyan's pool at Kahu, the Pimpal pool in Koyali in Vide, Avli in KdshevAd
Dham in Sarkun(£, Bhand in Tiphanv&di and Goregaon, Mand in Valadh, Kand i
Shiroli, Gajrdi at Nimbgaon, all in the Bhima ; and TukdrdmbivA's pool at Yelvdd
and Chakra-tirth at Alandi .

Deccan.^

POONA.

on their way up stream to their spawning grounds, and afterwards
turn the traps so as to catuh the fish in their down-stream jonmey.
Streams are strained to capture the fry, and no irrigation channel is
without its wioker-work irap.

The minimum size of the mesh of the fresh-water nets is shown in
the following return which is compiled from ninety-one reports :
Frbsh-watsr Fishinb Nets,

She op Mbbh in Inchbs.

Below
1

In fifty-three of seventy more returns the size of the mesh is com-
pared to a grain of wheat, pearl, Indian maize, gram, split pulse, oil
seed, barley, tamarind seed, a small pea, a pepper-corn, to a hole large
enough for a big needle a bodkin or a qiiill or to the openings in coarse
muslin.^

The mesh of the nets varies with the season of the year and the
size of the fisli. Rivers are dammed and diverted for fishing, and
the still more wasteful system of poisoning water is sometimes
practised. Fish are poisoned by" the leaves, bark, or juice of various
^ants, chiefly the k-mbla or TiaQra Strychnos nux-vomica, the rdmet
Lftsiosiphon speciosus, the supti Tephrosea suberosa, and the hingan
Balanitis roxburghii. Mr. Thomas in The Rod in India also mentions
among fish poisons, Croton tiglium, Anamirta cocculus. Capsicum
frutescens, and kd/re kdi (Tulu) Posoqueria nutans or longispina.^

Occasionally dead or night lines are systematically set. What
is known as the Indian Trimmer is a favourite device. A stout
pliant bamboo rod eight to twelve feet long is stuck in the bank in
a sloping position, or sometimes in shallows several bamboos are
set stretching in a line across the river at intervals of a few yards.
From the point of the rod is hung a line with the hook passed
through a cord tied round the waist of a frog so that it may paddle on
the surface of the water. At times the line is dropped from the bough
of an overhanging tree. This device is very effective, especially in
turbid water, and large fish and water-snakes are often taken.

True angling with a hand-rod is practised in an unscientific, almost
childish, manner by idlers or pot-hunters.

A few meii labour day after day with the pdgir or hhorjdle that is
the light casting net with poor results. But as a rule the methods
whick involve the minimum of labour are most in favour. The
malai or basket-trap, the khabri or bag-net, the hhuse or tivri which
may be described as floating entanglements, and the trimmer, take
btit a short time to set and gather in, and may be left to themselves
for twelve hours or more. These may therefore be looked on as the
commonest means of catching fish. The nets chiefly used are :

Chapter II.
Production.

Fish.

' Day's Fishes of India, XI.

Fish.

[Bombay Gazettee
90 DISTEICTS.

Chapter II. 1. A liglit casting net called' pagiiV or WtorjdZe.

Production. 2. A heavy casting net called sark, of strong cord and large met

used in catching large fish in fast water. A cord is pass(
through the meshes at the outer diameter of the net, which, on beii
drawn tight, closes the mouth and the fish are, as it were, caught
a closed bag. After being thrown and closed this net is drawn :
mouth foremost.

3. Bag-nets called khabris are fixed in strong currents general
produced by building rough stone dams with openings.

4. A net called bhuse varying in length, but often 500 feet lor
and two feet broad, of fine cord and large mesh, are so floated alon
the upper and lightly weighted along the lower edges that it remaii
at or near the surface. It is left stretched across a pool forhonr
usually for a whole night, and fish attempting to pass are entangle

5. Another net called, tivri differs from the feAwse. in having largi
meshes and in being so weighted as to lie near the bottom of ,tl
pool. It takes large fish.

6. Drag-nets called pandis, six feet to eight feet deep and i
varying length, are floated at the top and weighted at the botto:
where there is a bag or pocket. ,

7. A net called jhile or pelui is fastened to a triangular frame (
bamboo, and is used in much the same way as the Europe*
shrimping net.

8. A plunge net, called ahoba, is a bag-net fixed to an -iron (
bamboo I'ing, from which rise three bamboo rods which are fastene
togfether'at or near the tail of the bag. The fisherman wades in tl
shallows, and plunges the net to the bottom ; and passing his ham
through the hole .at the tail of the net, catches any fish that ai
imprisoned by it.

9. The lavTcari' can only be described as a bag-drag net. It
often seventy to eighty feet long with a diameter of thirty feet i
the mouth. As it requires as many as fifty men to work and costs i
much as £20 (Rs. 200) it is not commonly used.

Many simple modifications of these nets are called by differei
names.

The nets are mostly designed for the capture of very small fr
Except the bhuse and tivri which may be termed entanglementi
though they are exceedingly fine and light, a fish is rarely able t
burst through these nets. A fin is sure to catch and the fish in i1
efforts to get free wraps itself in the net.

Most of the people of the district eat fish. About thirty kinds (
fish are offered for sale in the Poena market at prices varying froi
l^d. to Igd a pound (2-2^ annas a sher^. Fiv^ kinds are commonl
eaten by Europeans, vdmbat Mastacembalus armatus, ahir AnguiD
bengalensis, three marals Ophiooephalus marulius, 0. leucopunctatus
and 0. striatus, shivada or pari Wallago attu, and shengal or shingdl
Macrones seenghala. These fetch-4fl!. to 4|c?. a pound (5% -6 annas
sher).

Fish.

Iteccan.!

POONA. 91

basket-traps and bag-nets of minute mesli and cease poisonmg pools. Chapter It

Were netting stopped between the 1st of Septembei" and the 30th Production.

of November, mature breeding fish would not be destroyed, and the

fry would increase. And if, frpm the 1 st of December to the end of

March, no nets with a smaller mesh than one inch were used, the

supply of food would be largely increased. The fry would grow

until March between which afld June, as in early life fish increase

in weight with astonishing rapidity, they would yield an infinitely

greater supply of food than if, as at present, they were destroyed in

infancy. It is believed that though the supply of fish were increased

twentyfold it would not exceed the demand.

Many pools, ponds, and lakes in the district are well suited for
the systematic rearing of fish. It is possible to cultivate water
as profitably as land. Indeed, in China, where fish-rearing has been
a science for thousands of years, an acre of water is considered
more valuable than an acre of land. In the Poona district, an acre
of water, if not used for irrigation, is worth nothing. Any pond
within fifteen mUes by road or thirty miles by rail of a European
settlement might be made a source of considerable revenue. In
Poona coarse tasteless fish cost 4|d. to i^d. a pound (5^-6 annas a
sher), a price, double the price of good beef and a quarter to a half
more than the price of good mutton j and even at this price the
supply of fish is uncertain and scanty. If the gaurami orOsphromenus
olfax and some other non-predatory fish were introduced, the outlay
would be trivial and the produce would find a ready market. But the
outturn of water is limited in the same degree as the yield of land,
and, to make it pay, fish-rearing would have to be conducted in a
carefiil and systematic manner.

According to Dr. Day, between eighty and ninety species of fish
are known to be more or less common throughout the fresh waters
of India. These may occur, though it does not follow that all do
occur, in the rivers and ponds of the Deccan. Of the eighty or
ninety species only between thirty and forty are more than twelve
inches long. The rest are chiefly species of small size, though almost
all are valued by the people as food.

. A collection recently made for the International Fisheries
Exhibition in London included forty-four species. These were,
Ambassis nama gdnde-cMri, Gobius giuris hharpa, Mastacembelus
armatus vdmbat or bam, Ophiocephalus striatus dakhu, O. leuco-
punctatus or O. marulius maral, Channa orientalis (?), Macrones
seenglaalai'eMnfghdla or shengal, Macrones corsula ? hala skehgut,-
Macrones cavasius shingata, Rita pavimentata ghogra, Rita hastata
kurdu, Pseudeutropius taakree vaidi or vdyadi, Callichrous
bimaculatns gugli, Callichrous malabaricus kala gugli, Wallago attu
shieada or pari, Bagarius' varrelli^ muldnda or tharota; Belone .
caJicila kutra, Discognathus lamta malavya, Lepidocephalicthys
thermalis chikani or mura, Nemacheilus sinuatus, N. aureus or
N. botia teli mura, N. savona mura, Nemaeheilus ? mura or sondd,

' Grows to an enormous size. The writer has lately stuffed two of 93J and 66

Fish.

[Bombay Gazetteer:,
92 DISTRICTS.

Chapter II. Labeo fimbriatus tdmhda, L, calbasu MnOshi, L. potail royddi or
Production. tambtij L. boggHt sdnde, L. nakta nakta or nakta shendoa, L. ariza
or kawrus kavdasha, Labeo ?Xunidentified), Cirrhina fulungee loli,
Kasbora daniconms ddndvan, ^ajchua sarana kudali or pUule, Barbus

dabsoni pdngat, Barbus jerdoni ? khadchi or masla, B. ?

khudra, B. parrab kudali, B. kolus koolis or kolashi, B. ambassis
hhondgi, B. ticto bhondgi,, ^ohtee cotio or alfrediana gud-ddrdj
E. vigorsii pheh, Chela cliipeodies alkut, Notopterus kapirat chdlat
or chambari, and Anguilla bengalensis ahir.^

Tbe European fisberman'may get fair sport if he uses light bnt
strong tackle. Maral, shengdl, gugli, pari, and khadchi all freely
take the spoon or natural fish-bait.

Maral and shengal have been killed up tt» 14 pounds weight ; par,i
up to 21pounds> khadehi to 34 pounds; and the g^ugr/i, though seldom
over 15 inches in length, ^'e exceedingly voracious and relieve the
tedium of waiting for bigger fish. These fi^ve kinds of fish abound
in almost all large river pools, whose rocky sanctuaries or retreats
cannot be thoroughly netted audit is neartheSe rocky parts that the
best sport is usually found. They can be caught by spinning fi-om
the bank, but it is far better sport to troll for them from a boat.
In Lake Fife at Khadakvdsla khadchi and pari have been killed
by trolling with the spoon and natural bait. With khadchi the best
sport is gained by spinning with natural bait in the rapids when
the water is clear during long breaks in the rainy months and
during the cold weather. The khadchi is commonly called mahasir
by Europeans. This is not the celebrated maAasiV Barbus tor. Still
it has very much the habits of the true .mahasir and gives splendid
sport being very powerful, and very game. According to The Rod
in India, wTiose thoroughly sound hints no fisher can do better than
study and follow, the Labeo affords capital bottom fishing, and, as
Labeos abound in the Pdona rivers, good sport should be obtainable
by those who are adepts in this style of anghng.

At Dev, on the Indrdyani, some fifteen miles north-east of Pooha,
there is a celebrated sacred doh or pool containing a vast number
of exceedingly large khadchi.^ The priest prevents natives from
netting the pool, but does not, forbid Europeans to fish for sport.
Specimens of 38 pounds weight have been caught by Europeans, and
there is no doubt that some fish in the pool are double this size.
If, as seems probable, these Dev khadchis are the same species as
those caught at other places with spoon and natural bait, they must
be a degenerate or educated race, for they no longer delight in the
rapid waters in which our wrongly called mahasir is generally found,
nor will they take live or imitation baits. For ages they have been
fed by the priests of the shrine on the river-bank on groundnuts"
Hypogcea arachis, until, unlike other members of the Barbus tribe,
they have become strict vegetarians. Of numbers which have

' The writer is not absolutely certain of the accuracy of his identification in all
cases.

^ The writer has been unable to detect any difference between these fish and those,
also called by the natives khadchi, which he has killed in other paters, excepting as
regards their habits and food. _ l

Deccao.]

POONA, 93

been captured and dissected, not one has been found with a trace of Chapter II.
any food but groundnuts, white grain, berries, grass, and water- Frodaction.
weeds ; while specimens, it is believed of the same species in other ^0^

pools on the same and other rivers in the district, have been found
to have fed chiefly on animal life, fish, insects, grub's, worms, and
snails. During the heat of the day it is a wonderful sight to see the
khadchis sailing about the Dev pool in large shoals, with their fins
above the surface, like so many sharks. The bait for them is the
groundnut, and they want fine but very strong hooks and tackle.
A handful of groundnuts will soon collect a shoal, and, when the
water boils with their rises, the baited hook should be thrown into
the midst of the shoal. In the early part of the season, in October 1

soon after the rains are over, when there may be some wild or imper-
fectly educated fish in the pool, and if the pool has not been
over-fished, sevei-al runs may be obtained in the course of a day.
But, as a rule, the fish are so shy and cunning that after the first
run the fisherman may put up his tackle and leave the pool, for he
will get no more. sport, if this style of fishing may be dignified with
the name of sport.

Good sport may be had with small fish in the rapids which usually
join the river pools, especially if the rapids have been baited.
A rapid is baited by sending a man to speind a couple of days in
casting into the heads of several runs or rapids parched gram,
groundnuts, and balls of a paste made of clay, bran, rice, and
. gram. This brings the fish to feed and the sportsman may liegin
fishing with gram thrown as a fly, spinning with a small bright
spoon, or ordinary fly-fishing using small salmon flies. When the
fish of one run have become shy the fisher should move to another.

Of the medicinal qualities of the ahir, Anguilla bengalensis, the
local Bhois have the following belief : ' On a Saturday the impotent
man should strip himself naked and grind black gram. With the
flour of the black gram he should bait a hook, and when he catches
an ahir, he should put it into a broad basin of water in which it can
swim. He should then rub red-lead or shendur on the ahir's head j
and, .ta.king it in his hand, say to it : ' Oh fish ! I am changing my
state for yours in taking this slimy balas from your skin. Please
accept my offering.' He should then remove the balas, and, when
it is dry roll it into pills, which when eaten will restore his manly
power.'

Another of the Poona Bhois' fish-tales is that a fish called vd/vas
lives at Bdhn Pimpalgaon. In shape the vdvas is said to be
circular Kke a wheel. It is beKeved that while Sita, the wife of
/; E4m, was bathing in the river the vdvas bit a piece out of the calf
= of her leg. This, say the Bhois, is proved because if you
examine the palate of the fish you will always find a ball of butter.
To the question why flesh should turn to butter there is the ready
reply, * It is a miracle and must be accepted'!

[Bombay Gazetted

Chapter III.

Population.

Census Details.
1S7S-1881.

Birth-place,

Language.

CHAPTER III.

POPULATION.

According to the 1881 census the population of the district wai
900,621 or 168'43 td the square mile. Of these, Hindus numbere(
846,781 or 94-02 per cent j Musalmdns 42,036 or 4-66 per cent
Christians 9500 or 1'05 per cent j Parsis 1574 or 0"1 7 per cent
Jews 619 or 0*06 percent; Chinese 78; Sikhs 30; and Unitarians 3
The percentage of males on the total population was 50*53 and o
females 49'46. The corresponding returns for 1872 were a total o
921,353 or 180"69 to the square mile, of whom Hindus numberec
870,273 or 94*45 per cent; Musalmans 41,764 or 4^53 per cent
Christians 741 5 ; Parsis 1286 ; Jews 504 ; and Others 111. Compare(
with the 1872 returns the 1881 returns show a decrease of 20,73S
or 2"25 per cent. This decrease is partly due to the famine o:
1876-77 and partly to the readiness with which the people of Poom
leave their hemes in search of employment.

Of 900,621 (males 455,101, females 445,520), the total population
799,38L (males 402,414, females 396,967) or 88-75 percent weri
born in the district. Of the 101,240, who were not bom in th(
district, 22,232 were bom inSdtdra; 15,184 in Ahmadnagar-, 10,551
in ShoMpur; 10,317 in the Kanarese districts; 748S in the Konkai
districts; 4967 in GrujarAt; 3744 in Bombay; 3359 in Ni,9ik; 1690 ii
khandesh ; 1585 in Goa, Daman, and Diu ; 595 in Sind ; 15,968 ii
other.parts of India; and 3562 outside of India.

Of 900,621, the total^opulation,, 812,124 (406'908 males, 405,21(
females) or 90*17 per cent spoke Mardthi. Of the remaining 88,49'
persons, 48,254 or 5-35 per cent spoke Hindustani; 12,384 or 1-3!
per cent spoke Gujardti ; 10,776 or 1*19 per cent spoke Telugu ; 699(
or 0-77 per cent spoke Mdi-wdri; 5239 or 0-58 per cent spoki
English; 2539 or 0"28 per cent spoke Portuguese-Konkani o
Goanese; 1013 or O'll per cent spoke Tamil; 882 or -0-09 per pen
spoke Kdnarese; 98 spoke Panjd.bi; 75 spoke Hindi; 56 spoki
Arabic ; 55 spoke Burmese ; 34 spoke Sindhi ; 30 spoke Pashtu
28 spoke Persian ; 23 spoke Chinese ; 10 spoke French ; 6 spoki
German ; 2 spoke Baluchi ; 2 spoke Greek ; and 1 spoke Italian.

The following table gives the number of each religious clas
according to sex at different ages, with, at each age, the percentag
on the total population of the same sex and religion. The column
referring to the total population omit religious distinctions but sho>
the difference of sex ;

Deccan.]

POONA.

PooNA Population BY Acis, 1881.

ASE IH

Years.

HlNBHS.

Musalma'ns.

OmiSTiANS. 1

2-49

^"3

,11

Uptol ...

11,204

2-62

11,388

2-70

530

536

2-57

132

2-15

109

3-22

1 to 4 ...

44,521

10-43

48,013

11-43

2106

9-91

2176

10-45

879

e-is

394

11-66

5 to 9 ...

62,438

14-64

68,741

K-97

^966

13-97

2871

13-79

4(«

7-84

608

U-03

10 to 14 ...

53,417

12-52

43,136

10-26

2689

12-66

2261

1081

378

6-17

371

10-97

15 to 19 ..

30,873

7-23

29,483

7-01

1452

6-83

1439

6-9L

357

6-83

307

9-08

20 to 24 ...

31,127

7-29

a6,l«5

.8-60

1605

7-55

1749

8-40

1244

20-32

318

9-41

26 to 29 ...

39,233

9-19

39,350

9-36

1797

8-46

1945

9-34

1182

19-31

362

10-71

30 to 34 ...

M,886

8-64

37,640

8-95

1757

8-27

1837

8-82

684

«-54

288

8-52

35 to 39 ...

28.274

e-62

26,525

6-31

1413

6-65

1238

5-95

405

6-61

188

5-66

40 to 49 ...

40,96J

9-60

38,605

9-18

2116

9-96

2059

9-89

491

8-02

270

7-99

50 to 54 ..

18,899

4-43

19,791

4-70

1023 ■

4-81

1046

6-02

203

3-30

2-81

55 to 59 ..

8787 2-06

8916

2-12

439

2-06

376

I'gO

117

1-91

1-50

Above 60..

19,869 4-65

22,535

6-36

1333

6 30

1283

6-16

182

2-97

118

3-49

1 ,

Total ...
Up to 4 ...

426,494

420,287

21,231

20,805 .

6121

3379

Jews.

Others iNciAtDisa
PA'Bsra.

TOTAIi.

3-10

, 12

3-64

2-69

3-05

11,900

2-61

12,067

2-70

1 to 4 ...

13 10

13 67

8-18

10-00

47,123

10-36

60,700

11-37

5 to 9 ...

l2-lS

68 /

20-66

109

11-29

107

14-86

66,039

14-51

62,296

13-98

10 to 14 ...

13-07

119

12-33

12-22

58,644

12-44

45,889

10-30

IS to 19 ...

12-06

8-51

10-26

11-11

32,816

7-21

31,337

7-03

20 to 24 ...

3-79

6-07

9'22

7-B3

34,076

7-48

38,307

8-69

2S to 29 ...

6-55

5-47

601

-7-OS

42,291

9-29

41,726

9-36

30 to 34 ...

4^82

6-77

704

7-60

39,309

8-63

39,838

8-94

35 to 39 ...

4-48

6-47

7-01

6-62

30,173

6-83

28,016

6-28

40 to 49 ...

6-20

6-07

118.

12-22

8-47

43,707

9-60

41,015

9-20

60 to 54 ..•

3-4*

3-03

6-ia

3-61

20,184

4-43

'i0,968

4-70

55 to 59 ...

1-72

3-03

2-69

1-80

9373

3-05

9364

2-10

Above 60...

6-56

18
V ^

5-47

6-01

6-11

21,466

4-71

23,998

5-38

Total ...

290 -

329

720

466,101

446,620

Chapter III.
Fopulatioii.

Census Details.
Aqe.

The following table shows- tiie proportion of the people of the
district who are unmarried,, married/ and widowed :

POOSA MaRBXAQS DSTAIIS, 1881.

Marriage.

HINDUS.

Under Ten.

Tento
. Fourteen.

Fifteen to
Nineteen.

Twenty to
Twenty-nine.

Thirty and
Over.

Total.

Males.

Fe-
males.

Males.

Fe-
males

Males.

Fe-
males.

Males

Fe-
males

Males.

Fe-
males

M^e^.

Fe--
males.

Unmarried.
Married ...
Widowed ...

U6.319

1746

109,199
8736
207

i6,685

7475
267

16,883

26,383

770

16,952

13,518

403

1011

27,235

1237

12,380

66,846

2136

828

68,383

6304

4764

131,806

17,109

852
88,296
64,964

196,10«
210,391
20,003

127,773

219,032

73,482

MUSALMA'NS.

Unmarritd.
Married ...
Widowed ...

6653
46
4

6409

170

2424
161

1351

872
28

1061

-377

112

1288
39

1146

2134

122

88
3330
276

615
6557
1014

123
4339
3376

10,799
9264
1168

7083
9999
8723

CHRISTIANS.

ITmnarried.
Married ...
Widowed...

975
4

1009
2

375
3

360
10

341
16

164

139

2099
320

93
667
30

471
1376
.135

47
636
307

4261

1718

142

1673

1364

342

[Bombay Gazette<

DISTRICTS.

Chapter III.
Population.

Census Details.
Marriage.

Occupation.

Houses.

Villages.

Commwiities.

PooNA Marriage Details,

1S81-

—continued.

Unmarried.
Married ...
Widowed ...

PA'ESIS.

Under Ten,

Ten to
Fourteen.

Fifteen to
Nineteen.

Twenty to
Twenty-nine.

Thirty and
Over.

Total.

Males.

Fe-
males.

Males.

Fe-
males.

Males.

Fe-
males.

Males.

Fe-
males.

Males.

Fe-
males.

Males.

Fe-
male

208
2

198

lOB
7

77
11

77
21

3.5

57
79
1

7
92

13
251

. J17

169

463

360

318
316
79

Unmarried.
Married ...
Widowed ...

JEWS.

105

121
1

37
6

29
6

9
19

4
86
9

60
35

186
93
11

172
119
38

Unmarried.
Married ...
Widowed ...

OTHERS.

...

10
66

29
71
4

2
6

According to Occupation the 1881 census returns divide tl
population into six classes :

I. In Government service, learned professions, literature, and arts, 28,02

or 3'11 per cent.

II.— In Domestic service, 14,261 or 1-58 per cent.
III.— In Trade, 9141 or 1-01 per cent.

IV.— In Agriculture, 293,364 or 32-67 per cent.

v.— In Crafts, 67,271 or 7-46 per cent.

YI. In Indefinite and Unproductive occupations, including children, 488,5£

or 54'24 per cent. ""

According to the 1881 census, of 205,355 houses, 153,401 wei
occupied and 51,954 unocciipied. The total gave an average c
88"39 houses to the square mile, and the 153,401 occupied houses a
average of 5"87 inmates to each house.

There is one village or town to about every 4'51 square miles of Ian
and each village contains an average of 760 people, and about 1 7
houses. Except eleven towns, including 184,700 people or 20-5
per cent of the entire inhabitants, the population of the Poon
district, according to the 1881 census report, lived in 1177 village
with an average of 610 souls in each village. Of the whole numbe
of towns and villages 85 had less than 100 inhabitants ; 1 70 ha
from 100 to 200; 438 from 200 to 500; 300 from 500 to 1000; 13
from 1000 to 2000 ; 24 from 2000 to 3000 ; 22 from 3000 to 500C
8 from 5000 to 10,000 ; and three more than 10,000 inhabitants.

^The bulk of the people of the village communities of Poena ai
of the Maratha Kunbi caste. At the head of the community is th
pdtil or hereditary headman. In many villages two or more familie
either each provide an officiator or serve in rotation, but in moi
villages the headman is always taken from the same family. Whe

> Contributed by Mr. A. Keyset, C.8.

DeccanJ

POONA.

there are more families than one the division may generally be
traced to the sale of part of the headman^s property and right tof*
hold office. In the smaller villages there is seldom more than
one Brdhman family in which is vested the hereditary office of
Jculkarni or village accountant. The headman and the account-
ant jointly exercise all authority in the village. Authority is
nominally vested in the headman alone, but the superior edu-
cation and intelligence of tl^e accountant, who has to write all
reports and jury findings, give him almost the whole power.
Next to the headman and accountant comes the village moneylender
who is usually a Marw^r or a Gujarat Vdnia, but is often also
a Brahman and is sometimes a Mardtha. He advances , money
to the husbandmen to pay their assessment and to provide funds
for such emergencies as marriage and funeral expenses, and also
for improving their fields and adding to their farm stock. His
position as a monopolist enables the moneylender to make terms
which to European ideas, accustomed to countries where money is
cheap, are very harsh. At the same time the moneylender is by no
means always an evil character. In many villages he is the people's
best friend, without whom they adniit they would neither be able to
find seed to sow nor money to meet their necessary expenditure.
That his terms are not so excessively harsh as they are sometimes
represented, is shown by the fact, that, as a rule, his customers prefer
to apply to him for advances to improve their estates rather than
avail themselves of the more liberal terms on which money is offered
by Government. As a middleman between the cultivators and the
Government, who ensures the punctual payment of the land-rent,
the moneylender is a valuable public servant. The other Govern-
ment servants are the Mhd,rs, who are messengers, scavengers, and
general assistants to the headman and accountant, and the Eamoshis
or village watch. In a few cases Mhars and Bdmoshis receive
cash payment, but in most cases they are paid partly by grants of
rent-free Government land and partly by a fixed proportion from
each landholder's crop. Besides these two sources of income in the
larger towns the Eamoshis often get fees from travellers whose carts
they watch, and these payments in villages on the main lines of
traffic sometimes amount to considerable sums. The headman and
the accountant are paid by rent-free land and cash. And if the
assessment which they escape paying does not amount to a certain
fixed percentage on the revenue collected the sum is made up by
Government, so that they are really paid in cash. Several other
vallage servants are paid by the community. The chaugula or
assistant headman whose functions are now almost obsolete, but who
still takes a share in all village festivities and ceremonies ; the sonar
the gold and silver sniith; the sutdr or carpenter; the lohdr or
blacksmith; the .pa/rit or washerman; the hu7nhhdr or -potter; the
nhdvi or barber; the ehdmbhdr or currier and shoemaker ; the dhor
or Mang who makes ropes ; the koli or waterman ; and, in the larger
viljages, the gurav or priest who looks after the temple, and the grdm-
joshi, or Brdhman astrologer who performs most ceremonies. All
of these are usually paid in grain, but money payments, especially
to clients from dependent or incomplete villages, are not uncommon.

Chapter III.
Fopulatiou.

Communities.

DISTRICTS.

[Bomliay Gazetteer,

Chapter III.
Population.

Communities.

Movements.

BbIhmans.

In tHe larger villages in the plains the fall stafE of oiEce-bearera
and servants is generally found ; in the smaller villages, especially
in the hilly west, the staff is by no means complete. Many of the
smaller western villages are composed of a few Koli families with
one or even without any family of Mhars and with one accountant
for a group who usually lives in the largest village of his circle,

Except in one or two large towfis such as Junnar and Manchar, the
Musalman population is small. With rare exceptions, they live on
terms of perfect friendship with the Hindus, and in a few villages
the head family or one of the head families is Musalman. The
principal occupations of the Musalmdn portion" of the community are
those of butchers, weavers, vegetable-sellers, and labourers. P^rsis,
except as liquor- sellers' and Government servants, are almost
unknown. Though the various Hindu castes do not intermarry or
eat together^ with the exception of the Mhars, Mdngs, Ramoshis, and
Chdmbars, they mix freely, and use the same wells. Disputes
between the different castes are rare. The chief exception
to this is that Kunbis and Mhars have often serious quarrels
regarding the death of cattle, the Kunbis charging the Mhars .
with poisoning their cattle in order to^et the carcases. Besides the
regular body of villagers, groups of reed-huts on the outskirts of a
village often mark the camp or settlement of a gang of wanderers.
Of these wanderers the chief are the Yanjaris or pack-bullock owners,
the Kolhdtis or rope-dancers, the Kaikddis or basket-makers, the
Vaidus or herb-sellers, and the Vadars or earth- workers.

In 1875 the Deccan Riots Commissioners came to the conclusion'
that the district exported little except its superfluous labour. During!
the eight months from October to June, especially during the latter
portion of this period, a considerable proportion of the Kunbi or
cultivating classes go to Bombay, where they earn a living as palan-
quin-bearers, carriers, grass-cutters, and labourers. It is impossible
to make an accurate estimate of the proportion of the populatioh
who yearly move to Bombay in search of work. It -is probably not
less than five per cent. And, if the numbers are added who go to
the local labour markets and ply their carts along the principal
thoroughfares, the estimate may safely be doubled.^ This practice
of a yearly migration in search of labour tends to preserve among
the people a spirit of independence and self-reliance. In years of
local scarcity the people scatter in search of subsistence to all parts
of the Bombay Presidency, to the Berars, and to the Nizam's Domi-
nions. The practice though attended with some inconveniences, was
of considerable assistance to Government in fighting the 1876
famine.

Bra'hinans,^ according to the 1881 census, included fifteen

^The 1881 census shows that 111,650 people bom in Poona were in that year
found in different parts of the Bombay Presidency. -The details are : Bombay 69,000
against 54,600 in 1872, Ahmadnagar 14,800, Sholdpur 9550, SAtdra 4690, NAsik 4340,
Khindesh 3630, KoUba 3280, Belgaum 840, Ratndgiri 660, KalAdgi 400, DhArwAr
310, and Kdnara 150.

" Hindu caste details are from materials collected by Mr. K. Eaghuadthji by personal
local inquiry and from information supplied by Mr, M, M, Kunte,

fieccau.!

POONA.

classes with a strength of 49,039 or 5'80 per cent of the Hindu
population. The following statement shows the divisions and the
strength of Poena Brdhmans :

PooNA BrAhmans, 1881.

DinsioH.

Malea.

Females

Total.

Division.

*
^ales.

Females

Total.

Chitp&van

6010

5574

11,684

Klat

178

Deshasth

16,768

16,991

32,749

Mirvadi ...

140

199

Devrukhe

175

Shenvi

266

179

446

Dravid

Tailang

100

Goyardhao ...

816

289

604

Tii^iil

169

131

300

Gujar&ti

218

282

Vidur

100

Javal
Kanoj

9
463

2
236

699

Karh&dB

811

735

1676

Total ...

26,611

23,628

49,039

Chltpa'vans^ from the fact that the Peshwa -belonged to their
tribe are historically the most important of Poena Brahmans. They
are returned as numbering about 11,600 and as found over the whole
district. Besides Chitpdrans they are called Ohitpols and Chiplnnas.
Of these names Chitpdvan is said to mean either pure from the pyre
dhita or pure of heart cMi^, and Ohitpol is said to mean heart-burners.
It seems probable that these names, like the third name Chiplunas,
come from the town of Chiplun in Ratndgiri, their chief and original
settlement whose old name is said to have been Chitpolan.^ Since
1715, when Peshwa Balaji Vishvanath rose to be the chief man
in the Mardtha state, the Chitpavans have also been known as
Konkanasths, that is the chief Konkan Brahmans. Their worship
of Parashnrdm, the slayer of the Kshatriyas and the coloniser of the
Konkan, on Parashurdm hill close to Chiplun, the fact that they
are called Parashurdm srishti or Parashurdm's creation, and the
meaning pure from the pyre which the sound of their name suggests,
to some extent explain thepurious legends of which they are the
subjects. According to Ihe Sahyddri Khand, Parashurdm was so
defiled by the slaughter of the Kshatriyas- that Brdhmans refused
to perform any ceremonies for him. At that time the bodies of
fourteen shipwrecked foreigners happened to be cast ashore by
the sea which then washed the foot of the- Sahyddri hills. These
corpses Parashurd,m purified by burning them on a funeral pyre or
.chita, restored them to life, taught them Brahman rites, and made
them perform ceremonies to free him from blood-giiiltiness.
^Jparashuram wished to reward his new priests, and as the Deccan
had already been given to Brahmans he prayed the sea to spare
him some of his domain. The sea agreed to retire as far west as
TParashuram could shoot an arrow from the crest of the Sahyadris. The
arrow was shot and reclaimed a belt of land about thirty miles broad.
The banks of the Vashishthi, about forty miles north of Ratnagiri,
were set apart for the new Brdihmans, and in memoiy of the process by
which they had been purified they were called Ohitpdvans and their
settlement Chitpolan. After establishing this colony Parashurdm
retired to Gokarn in North Kdnara. Before leaving he told the

Chapter III.
Population.

BbAemaks.

ChitpAyans.

' This aceonnt of the Chitpavans has the approval of Edo Bahddur Grop^lr^o Hari
Deshmukh. » SabyAdri Khand, I. 2.

[Bomliay Gazetteer,

100

DISTRICTS.

Chapter III.

Fopnlation.

BrAhmans.
ChitpJ.vans.

Bralimans, if they were ever in trouble, to call on him, and lie,wonld
come to their aid. After a time, fearing that they might be forgotten,
one of the Brahnians feigned death and the rest called on their
patron to come to theiir help. Parashuram appeared, and, disgusted
with their deceit and their want of faith, told them that they would
lose the power of meeting in council and would become servile.
Accordingly they are said to have married Shudra women and become
degraded.! The historic value of this legend is hard to estimate.
The writer of the Sahyddri Khand was hostile to other local Brdhmans
as well as to the Chitpdvans. He dishonours the Karhade Brahmans
by a story that they are descended from the bones of a camel which
was raised to life by Parashttrdm. This story, probably, arose from
a playion the words TtJiar an ass and had a bone. The explanation has
nothing to do with the Karhades who are almost certainly a Deccan
tribe who take their name from- the town of Karhad in Satdra
at the sacred meeting of the Koina and Krishna rivers. As the two
stories are so similar it seems probable that the Chitpayans were "
called after the old settlement of Chitpolan, and that the resemblance
of that word to chita a pyre suggested some parts of the legend'.
At the same time it seems probable that the Chitpdvans did not, '
like the bulk of Koukan Brdhinans, enter the Konkan by land.
Their fair complexion, the extent to which they use -the Konkan
dialect in their homes, and the legend of their arrival as shipwrecked
sailors seem to show that they came into the South Konkan from
beyond the sea. Whether they were foreigners is doubtful.^ The -■
legend of the shipwrecked sailors being foreigners or TO/eMcAA.as is
to some extent supported by the low position which the Chitpavana
formerly held among Brahmans, and , by the commonness among
them of light or gray eyes. The OhitpAvans have a tradition that
they came from Amba Jogdi in the Nizam's country about 100 miles
north of ShoMpur. They say that they were originally Deshasths
and that fourteen, BrAhmans of different family-stocks accompanied
Parashurdm to the Konkan and settled at Chiplun. These fourteen
family-stocks belonged to two branches or shdhhds, Shdikala and
Titiriya. The sutra or ritual of the Sh^kala branch is that composed
by the seer Ashvalayan and of the Titiriya branch is &at of the seer
Hiranyakeshi. They pay homage to the goddess Jogai or Yogeshvari ;
of Araba, and, wherever they are settled, build a temple in her honour.
At Poena there are two temples to Togeshvari, one red and the other
black. Among ChitpAvans Togeshvari takes the next place to Granpati.
Before marriage and other ceremonies they go^ to her temple with
music and ask her to come and be with them during the ceremony.*

Until the rise of Bdlaji Vishvanath Peshwa, who belonged to

' Another account states that OhitpAvans were not foreigners but Bhois or local
fishermen. Taylor's Oriental Manuscripts, III. 705. This legend, with slight varja- j
tions, has been often quoted. The chief references are, Moore's Hindu Pantheon, 351 ;
Wilks' History of the South of India, I. 157-158; Grant Duff's MarithAs, I. 8.;
Ancient Remains of Western Jndia, 12 ; Burton's Goa and the Blue Mountains, 14- 15 ;
Asiatic Researches, IX. 239 ; and Journal Royal Asiatic Society Bombay, XVII. 374
(185a) and V. 1865.

? Wilford (Asiatic Researches, IX. 239) thought that the ChitpAvans were Persians
descended from the sons of Khosru Parviz,

' Rio Bahddur Gop^rAo Hari Deshmukh.

DecciEUi.]

POONA.

101

their class, the Chitpavans held a low position and were known
chiefly as spies or harkdrds. Even after several generations of
power and wealth, with strict attention to Brdhman rules, the purer
classes of Brahmans refused to eat with them, and it is said that
when Bdjirdv, the last Peshwa (1796-1818), was at Nasik he was
not allowed to go down to the water by the same flight of steps aa
the priests.^ Whatever disqualifications may in theory attach to
the Chitpdvans, their present social and religious position is as high
as that of the Karhade or any other branch' of Deccan Brahmans.

Chitpd.vans have no subdivisions. All eat together and intermarry
except families who have the same or an akin family-stock.^
Among the common surnames or ddndvs are Abhyankar, Agdshe,
Athavle, Bd.1, Bapat, Bhagvat, Bhat, Bhave, Bhide, Chitale, Datnle,
Dugle, Gradgilj Gadre, Jog, Joshi, Karve, Kunthe, Lele, Limaye,
Londhe, Mehendale, Modak, Nene, Ok, Patvardhan, Phadke, Ranade,
Sathe, Vyas'. The names of some of their family-stocks or gotras are
Atri, Babhravya, Bhd,radvd], Gd,rgya, Jamadagnya, Kapi, Sashyap,
Kaundinya, Kaushik, Nityunjan, Shandilya, Vd,shistha, Yatsa, and
Vishnuvriddha. Many families, though settled for generations in
the Deccan still call themselves Eonkanasths and differ considerably
from Deshasths. Many of them can be recognized by their gray
or cat eyes, their fair skin, and their fine features. The Poona
Chitpd, van speaks pure Mardthi. As many of the owners are rich
and most are well-to-do, Ohitpavan houses are generally comfortable
and well kept. The house is generally built round a central plot or
yard and is entered through a gateway or passage in one of the
outer faces of the building. Prom the inner court a few steps le9.d
to the veranda or oti, for the house is always raised on a plinth or
jote three or four feet high., In the veranda strangers are received,
boys and girls play, a clerk or agent spreads his account-books, or
the women of the house swing and talk. The ground floor has four
to seven rooms, a centre hall, a back veranda, and the second
storey has four rooms and two great halls ; the walls are of brick and
mortar and the roof is tiled. The woodwork is either of teak or of
common timber. A rich house costs £500 to £1000 (E,s. 5000-10,000)
to build, a middle-class house £200 to £300 (Rs. 2000-3000), and a
poor house £30 to £50 (Rs. 300-500).

The furniture in a rich man's house is worth about £400 (Rs. 4000),

Chapter III.
Fopnlatioo.

BeIhuans.

1 Hamilton's Description of Hindustan, II 197 ; Grant Duffs Mardthds, I. 8 ;Wilks
(History of the South of India, I. 157-158) ?ays that when he wrote (about 1880) the
Brahmans of other parts of India denied that the Konkanasths were Brihmans. la
their predatory incursions the Konkanasths are said to have greedily sought for copies
of the Sahyidri Khand and destroyed tbem. Grant Dufif (MarAthAs,,I. 8) mentions
that a few years before the Peshwa's overthrow a respectable BrAhman of Vii in Sdtdra
was degraded because he had a copy of the Sahyddri Khand. "

2 The akin gotras or family ^stocks are BhdradvAj, Gdrgya, and Kapi ; Jdmadagnya and
Vatsa ; K4shyap and ShAndilya ; Kaundinya and VAsbishtha ; Kaushik and Babhravya;
Nityunjan and Vishnuvriddha^ Atri alone has no kin : hence the saying Atri dni

' sarvdnshi maitri, a person of the Atri family -stock can be j oined to a person of any other
'family-stock.' Besides surnames and family- stocks, there are pravars or founders'

■ names which are subdivisions of family-stocks. Thus the Shandilya stock has three
pravam, Shtodilya, Asit, and Deval, and other family-stocks include three or five
founders' names. In marriage the boy and girl should, on the father's side, be of
different founders' names and of different fainily-atockg.

[Bombay Gazetteeif,

102

DISTRICTS.

Chapter III.
Popalation,

BbAhmans.

Food.

in a middle-class house about £90 (Rs. 900), and in a poor house
about £16 (Rs. 160).^ Few families have a large enough, store of
cooking and eating yessels to entertain the whole company of guests
called to a caste-dinner or Brdhman-bhojan,

In rich and well-to-do Ohitp^van families soon after harvest
either in November- December or in April -May a year's supply",
of the different kinds of grain is bought and kept in a store-room
or kothi. Stores of oil and of fuel are also laid in. Prom day
to day little is bought in the^ market except vegetables and fruit.
The daily purchases in rich families are made by a Brahman
man-servant, and in middle and poor families by the head of the
house or by grown sons. The women of the family never go to the
market to buy vegetables or fruit. The daily supply of" milk comes
in most cases frorn the family cows and buffaloes ; in som.e cases
it is bought from a milkman. The dairy is entrusted to the
women of the family, and in rich houses^ to BrShman servants.
Most of the grain, chiefly rice, wheat, millet, and^^piike, is ground
daily by Kunbi servants. Except at certain religious ceremonies,
which very rarely take place, a Konkanasth should eat no flesh
and driuk no liquor. Their every-day food is rice, millet or wheat
breald, pulse, vegetables, oil, whey, milk, and curds. Their drink is
water, milk, and sometimes tea and coffee.- Spirituous liquor is
forbidden by caste rules, but its use,; especially the use of European
spirits, has of late years become commoneramong the more educated.
They take- two meals a day, one "between nine and eleven in
the morning', the other between seven and nine in ihe evening. Men ;
and women eat separately, the women after the men have done ;

^ The details are :

Ckitpdvan Pwniture.

Article.

B,IOH.

Middle.

Poor.

No,

Cost.

TSo.

Cost.

No.

Cost.

B4.

Rs.

lis. a.

Glass Hanging Lamps...

- 200

Chairs ...'

■

Benctiea

Cots

100

5" 0

Boxes

200

15 0

Swinging Cota

Cradles ...

100

10 0

6 0

High Wooden Stdpls ...

Low Wooden, Stools . . .

s" 0

Bering :::' ::: - :::

200

s" 0

Blankets... -

6 0

Coverlets...

20 1

3 0

Metal Pots

160

900

.50

26t)

40 0 "

Brass Lamps

25-

r 0

Wooden Lamps.„

26"

S 8

Silver Vessels

600

100

Worship Vessels

■ 20

■ 300

160

40 0

Handmills

Grindstones and Pins ..

s" 0

Mortars and Pestles ...

4 0

Earthen Pots '

3 0

Carriages

Total ...

1000

4165

892

...

162 8

Besides tiie articles mentioned in the above list, a well-to^do man has a pair of
tnirrors, one or two tahlee. Jour or five sofas, and a few cups and dishes for tea service.
Of late young educated men have begun to furnish their houses in European style.

Deccan.]

POONA.

103

children take a meal early in the morning and again in separate
dishes with the father or mother ; after he has been girt with the
sacred thread a boy follows the same rules as a man. The head of
the houSBj his sons, and guests of superior rank sit "on low wooden
stools in a row, and in a second row facing them are guests or
male relations of inferior rank. Metal or leaf plates are laid in
front of each stool and to the right-hand side is a water-pot or
tdmbya and to the left a cup with a ladle in it. On the top to
the right are cups for curries and relishes. The pulse and grain
are served by a Br^man cook, and the vegetables and butter by
, one of the women of the family, generally the -host's wife or hia
^anghter-iu-law. The dinner is served in three courses, the first of
. boiled rice and pulse and a spoonful or two of butter, the second of
wheat bread and sugar and butter with salads and curries, and the
third of boiled rice with curds and salads. With each course two
or three vegetables are served. The plate is not changed during
dinner. In each course the chief dish is heaped in the centre of
the plate j on the right the vegetables are; arranged, and on the left
the salads with a piece of lemon and. some salt. In rich families the
chief dishes are served by. aBrdhman servant, and the salads by one
of the women of the family, : generally by the host's wife or hia
daughter-in-law. Except on a few holidays and by a few strict
- elders the rule _of silence at meals is not kept. The dinner lasts
" about half an hour. After dinner a few chew a basil leaf and sip a
little water, others chew betelnut or a packet of betelnut and
leaves. The ordinary monthly food charges of a household of six
persons, a man and wife two children and two relations or dependants,
vary for a rich family, from £6 to £9 (Rs. 60-90); for a middle
class family from -£4 to £6 (Rs. 40-60) ; and for a poor family
from £1 10s. to £2 (Rs. 15 - 20) }

^- Indoors a rich Chitpavan wears a waistcoat, a silk-bordered
;;^iwaistcloth, and either leaves his feet bare or walks on wooden

Chapter HI.
Fopnlation,

CbitpAtans.
Food.

Dress.

I The details are :

Chitpivan Food Charges.

Article.

Rich.

Middle.

POOK. 1

From

Ea. a.

Rs. a.

Ea. a.

Es. a.

Rs. a.

Eioe

10 0

12 0

10 0

12 0

7 0

8 0

SpUt Pulsa

2 0

3 0

1 0

1 8

0 2

0 8

Wheat

4 0

S 0

2 0

3 0

Millet Bread

2 0

3 0

1 ,8

2 0

Pulse

3 0

5 0

2 0

2 8

0 12

1 0

Butter

10 0

12 0

3 0

4 0

0 8

1 0

Oil, Sweet

6 0

7 0

2 8

i 0

0 8

0 12

Oil, Bitter .-

1 2

% 0

3 0

4 0

0 12

1 0

Vegetables

4 a

.6 0

2 0

2 8

0 4

0 8.

Sugar

Molasses

5 0

7 0

2 0

2 8

0 2

0 4

3 0

5 0

2 0

3 0

0 4

0 8

Milt

8 0

10 0

5 0

7 0

1 0

2 0

Coffee

1 0

2 0

0 8

0 12

Tea

0 8

0 12

Firewood

7 '0

9 0

5 0

6 0

3 0

4 0

Tobacco and Betel - ...

2 0

4 0

1 0

1 2

0 4

0 6

Buttermilk and Curds...
Total, ...

...

0 8

0 12

.65 8

88 12

4& 0

S6 14

16 8

22ao

The money outlay of a begging or bhikshuh BrAhman who receives constant
presents of grain and clothes is much less than the sum named in the text.

[Bom'bay Oazettee

104

DISTRICTS.

Chapter III.

Fopnlation.

'BrAsmajhs.

CeitpJ-VAns.

Dress.

clogs or pattens. At dinner and when worshipping his house goc
he wears a silk waistcloth and puts on a fresh waistclotli at be
time. In cpld weather he rolls a shawl round his head and puts o
a. flannel waistcoat. Out of doors he wears a big round flat-rimme
turban generally with a belt of gold on the front of the. outmost fol
and a low central peak covere~d with gold. The usual . colours ai
white, redj crimsola, and purple. He wears a short cotton or broao
cloth coat, a double-breasted twelve-knotted or hdrcibandi waisi
coat, a shouldercloth, and on his feet square-toed red shoes. Hi
waistcloth and shouldercloth are daily washed at home. His fu
or ceremonial dress is the same as his every -day dress. The Bnglis
speakers, or B.A's as they are called, wear small neatly folde
turbans, English-cut shirts and broadcloth coats, coloured stocking!
and English boots and shoes, and in a few cases loose trouseri
Of ornaments, a rich man wears a pearl or gold necklace,
diamond or gold ;finger ring, sometimes a pair of bracelets roun
the right or left wrist, and a pearl earring. Old men wear
necklace of gold with pearls, coral, and -rMt^m^-sTi or rosary beadi
Except that it, is cheaper, a middle-class man's dress does not diffe
from a rich man's dress. On ceremonial and other fuU-dres
occasions a poor Brahman generally wears a turban, a shouldei
cloth, and a coat. A rich man's wardrobe and ornaments- ar
worth about £320 to £580 (Rs. 3200 - 5800), a middle clas
Brdhman's£50 to £85 (Rs. 500-850), and a poor Brahman's £1 t
£3 (Rs. 10-30).!

The indoor and outdoor dress of a rich Brdhman woman is

1 The details are :

Brdlvman Man^s Dress arid Otna/ments.

Article. ^

KlOH. 1

Middle. |

POOK.

No.

From

To .

No.

From

To j

No.

From

Dress,

Es a.

Es. a.

Kb. a.

Es. a.

Es. a

Turfcans

75 0

100 0

SO 0

50 0

2 0

10 (

Waistcoats, Broadclotli

3 0

7 0

3 0

4 0

„ Twelve-knotted ...

2 0

3 0

1 0

1 8

o"'4

6"l(

Coats, Broadcloth

10 0

20 0

6 0

10 0

„ Cotton .'.

B 0

7 0

4 0

5 0

o"8

i" (

2 0

2 8

2 0

2 IB

1 0

1 t

Jacket, sadasre'

2 0

4 0

2 0

2 8

Waistoloths, Silk

15 0

, 25 0

10 0

15 0

l"'8

2" i

'„ Cotton

5 0

7 0

4 0

5 0

1 8

2 (

Sash, dupeta '.

25 0

100 0

15 0

50 0

...

Shouldercloth, -upama, Gold-

edged.

15 0

20 0,

„ Silk-edged Cotton.

6, 0

10 0

5" 0

7" 0

„ Plain „ ...

2 8

4 0

015

2 '.

Shoes

"i 0

"3 0

0 12

1 0

0 10

0 1!

Handkerchiefs

2 0

2 8

1 0

1 8

Walking Stick ... ;

1 0

2 0

0 8

1 0

Umbrella

3 0

i 0

2 0

3 0

o"'8

01!

Ornaments,

Necklace, Diamond

1000 0

1600 0

...

,, Pearls

1000 0

1600 0

...

„ Gold ' ...

400 0

600 0

106" 0

200 0

...

200 0

400 0

100 0

160 0

" " sikcdi '.'.'. !!!

■ 200 0

4CiO 0

100 0

200 0

Armlet „ pochi ... '.-

SO 0

40 0

15 0,

25 0

Diamond Eing, dngatM...

100 0

1000 0

20 0

50 0

Gold King

, 2

50 0

.100 0

30 0

40 ^

„ „ pavitrcik

20 0

30 0

20 0

30 0

'••

Total ...

::■

3173 0

5787 0

472 12

858 0

8 13

2111

Deccau.]

PODNA.

105

robe and bodice of cotton and silk. The robe is twenty-four to
thirty- two feet long and three to four feet broad. It is passed round
the waist so as to divide it into two parts of unequal length, the
longer part being left to fall as a skirt and the shorter part being
drawn over the shoulders and bosom. In arranging the lower half
of the robe the corner of the skirt is passed back between the feet
and tucked into the waist behind lea.ving in front two gracefully
drooping folds of cloth which hide the limbs to below the knee nearly,
to the ankle. The upper part is drawn backwards over the right

~ shoulder and the end is passed across the bosom and fastened into the
left side of the waist. When going out the skirt of the robe is drawn
tightly over the head, and the end is held in the right hand about the
level of the waist. The bodice is carefully made so as to fit the chest
tightly and support the breast, the ends being tied in a knot in front
under the bosom. It covers the back to below the shoulder-blade, and
the sleeves, which are tight, come within about an inch of the elbow.
The right sleeve which is covered by the robe is plain, but, except
among the poorest, the fringe of the left sleeve is highly ornamented
with gold and embroidery. On marriage and other great occasions
a rich woman draws a shawl over the back part of her head and
holds the ends in front one in each hand at about the level of the
lower part of the bodice. Her indoor jewelry includes head, ear,
nose, neck, arm, and toe rings. Though she may not have a
specimen of every form of oi'nanient, a rich woman has a large
stock of jewelry worth £170 to £750 (Rs. 1700 - 7500). Except that
her ornaments are, fewer and that her outdoor dress is less costly, a

"middle-class woman's dress is nearly the same as a rich woman's.
A poor woman has few and light jewels and a small store of clothes.

, The value of a rich woman's wardrobe varies from £50 to £120
(Es. 500-1200); of a middle class woman's from £15 to £30
(Rs. 150 - 300), and of a poor woman's from £2 to £4 (Rs. 20 - 40).^

Chapter III.
Population.

Bbahmans.

CHITPJrANS.

Drens,

1 The details are :

JBrdhmmi Woman^s Clothes,

Article.

Rich.

- MlDDLB.

POOE.

No.

From

No.

From

No.

From

Bodice, eholi

)» »»

Kobe, ahAii "...
„ paitlami ... ...

„ „ pttdmiar...

„ Dhanvadi rdsta ...

„ Barhdnpmi

„ Ahmadabadi

„■ BrahApari

„ Ahmadabadi

„ mugta

Cheap Robes

Shawls, a Pair of

Scarf sMa

10
2

1
1
2
2
2

-2

"i
1

Rs. ».

10 0-
10 0

200 ' 0
100 0
60 0
20 0
20 0
IS 0

8 0
5 0

50 0
25 0

Rs. a.

IB 0
20 0

300" 0
600 0
100 0
40 0
40 0
25 0

lb" 0
10 0

loo" .0

40 0

1
i
1

"i
1

"2
1

Rs. ».

3 0
5 0
2-0
2 0

75" 0
16" 0
10" 0

10 0

5" 0
lb" 0

25 0

Bs. a.

4 0

10 0

2 8

. 3 0

isb'-c

15" 0

" 20" 0.

20 0

7" 0
is" 0

60 0

3
1
3

"i
1

Bs. a.

0 12

1 8
0 '9

...

.!!
lb" 0

6 0

2 8-

e" 0

Rs. a.

1 0
4 0
1 0

is" 0
s" 0

4 0

5 0

513 0

1200 0

157 0

296 8

...

27 6

41 0

n ain_i4.

[Bombay Gazetteer,

106

DISTRICTS.

Chapter III.

Population,

BbIhmans.

CbitpJ.vans.

Dress.

The value of a woman's ornaments varies from about £150 to aboiit
f.750 (Rs. 1500 -7500).!

Till they are four years old the children of the rich, middle,
and poor run naked about the house ; out of doors they are
covered with a cloak which is drawn over the head and ends in a
peaked hood. After he is four years old a boy generally wears a
waistband in the house and a girl a petticoat. Out of doors a boy is
dressed in a cap and waistcoat and a girl in a petticoat and bodice.
After it is seven or eight years old, a child's dresS comes to cost
as much as a grown person's. The value of a rich boy's
wardrobe varies from £50 to £100 (Rs. 500-1000), of a middle-class
boy's from £20 to £40 (Rs. 220-400), and of a poor boy's from
£4 to £7 (Rs. 40 - 70). . The value of a rich girl's wardrobe varies
from £25 to £50 (Rs. 250-500), of a middle class girl's from £17 to

^ The details are : Of Head Obnambnts, chandrdkor, the quarter or crescent
moon, 10s. to £2 (Rs. 5-20) ; phul or flower, 6s. to £1 10s. (Rs. 3-15) ; hetak, the
flower of the Pandanus odoratissimus, lOs. to £1 10«, (Rs. 5-15) ; rdkhdi, a flower-
shaped ornament, £1 to £2 10s. (Hs. 10-25); mud, shaped like a cone, 16s, to
£4(Rs. 8-40); phirhiche phul, or the screw- ornament shaped like a flower, 10s. to
£1 (Rs. 5-10) ; and apraphtil, the last flower, 6e. to 16s. (Rs. 3-8), total £3 18s. to
£13 6s. (Rs. 39 - 133). Of Ear. Oekaments, bugdis £1 12s. to £20 (Rs. 16 - 200) ;
Idlis, £lto£5 (Rs. 10-50) ; kxidi, £1 10s. to £7 10s. (Rs. 15-75) ; kurdu, a, sacred
grass, of gold and pearls, lOs. to £2 (Rs. 5 - 20) ; k(ip, literally a slice, £10 to £50
(Rs. 100-500), total £14 12s. to £84 10s. (Ks. 146- 845). Of Nosh Oenaments, a
nath, a gold nosering set with pearls, £1 4s. to £50 (Rs. 12 - 500). Of Neck Obsa-
MENTS, mangal sutra the lucky, thread of black beads, 10s. to £2 (Rs. 5-20)';
chandrahdr a string of crescents, £30 to £80 (Rs. 300 - 800) ; vajratik, literally thunder^
bolt-spangle, perhaps a lightning-guard, £1 4s. to £7 10s. (Via.\2-T5) ; putlydche
ffdthle a nfecklaqe of gold coins £2 to £30 (Rs. 20 - 300) ; kantha, literally necklace, of
gold and pearls, £5 to £40 (Rs. 50-400) fekddnipot, the one-grain necklace, of glass
beads with a large central gold stud, 10s. to £1 10s. (Rs. 5-15); sari, £8 to £50
(Rs. 80 - 500) ; ihusi, supposed to represent a thrashed wheat ear, but more like a leaf
of the sacred basil or tulsi, £5 to £20 (Rs. 50-200) ; vindivijnra, literally alightning-
soarer, £10 to £50 (Rs. 100-500) ; and jondhdli pot, literally millet-grain string, in
shape like a row of milleli grains, £2 to £4 (Rs. 20-40), total £64 4s. to £285
(Rs. 642 - 2850). Of Wristlets, »•«« phul kdhne, literally a thread of rui or Ca!oj;ropis
gigantea flowers in form like the rui flower one of the holiest and most spirit-soaring
of plants, £5to£15(Rs. 50-150) ; gold bangles or idng'rfis £20 to £35 (Rs. 200-350);
chhand, £10 to £200 (Rs. 100-2000) ; pdtlis, £1 to £35 (Rs. 10-350) ; todds or cords,
a rope-shaped ornament, £15 to £50 (Rs. 150-500) ; got, literally a circle, £20 to
£60 (Rs. 200-600) ; and vdki, literally a crook or curved ornament with or without
diamonds, £15 to £100 (Rs. 150 - 1000), total' £81 to £315 (Rs. 810 - 3150). Of
Feet Ornaments, for the ankles todds or ropes of silver, £2 to £20 (Rs. 20-200), and
for the toes jodvds or double rings, 16s. to £2 (Rs. 8 - 20) ; phul or flower rings with a
knob or boss, 2s. to 14s. (Rs. 1 - 7) ; gend, a flower in shape like a gonda flower, 28. to
8s. (Rs. 1-4); and rocfsoK in shape like fish, 8s. to £1 (Rs. 4-10), total £1 8s. to
£4 2s. (Rs. 14-41).

,The names of the ornaments are interesting. Several of the names show, and
several of the forms bear out the evidence of the names, that before they were made of
metal many of the ornaments were made of flowers or of grass. The kind of flower, grass,
or plant chosen, and the character of the originals of the ornaments which have not their
source in plants or trees, suggest that at first all were worn, not as they are now worn
for look's sake, but because the objects from which they were made or of which they
were copies were holy or spirit-scaring objects. At least in the case of plants the root
of the belief in their spirit-scaring power seems to have been the experience of their
healing power, the belief that spirits fear and flee from healing plants being part of the
early theory that sickness is spirit-caused. Most of the ornaments which are not
metal copies of holy plants are copies of other holy or spirit-scaring objects, the
moon, the sun, the cobra, and the sacred bull. In illustration of this suggestion
a detailed account of the head ornaments worn by Brahman women is given in the
Appendix.

Deccan.]

POONA.

107

£28 (Es. 170 - 280), and of a poor girl's from £3 to £5 (Ra. 30 - 50).^ Chapter III.
The value of a boy's ornaments varies in a rich family from £50 Population,
to £90 (Rs. 500 - 900), in a middle-class family from £19 to £35 BrAhmms
(Rs. 190 - 350), and in a poor family from £3 to £6 (Ra. 30-60). CBiTpUvA^k.
The value of a girl's ornaments varies in a rich family from £19
to £40 (Rs. 190-400), in a middle-class family from £1$ to £25
(Rs. 150-250), and in a poor family from £2 to £5 (Rs. 20-50).2

' The details are :

BrdJiman Bay's Clothes.

ASTIOLB.

Rich.

MiSSLB.

Poor. 1

From

Cap 0* Gold aod Silver Lace ...

,, of Wool

Hood, Icunchi of MnkMh . ....
„ „ of Cotton-silt ...

„ „ of Chintz

Waistcoat, ianydn

Coat dngarkha of Silk

„ „ of Cotton
Coat, dagla. Broadcloth
Shouldercloth, upama, Silk-
edged...
>, . , „ ^ Plain-
Trousers, twmdn. Cotton-silk...
„' , „ Cotton. ...
Shoes, jode...

Es. a.
6 0

0 8

5 0
3 0

1 0

0 12

6 0

2 0

3 0

6 0

s'"o

1 0

0 8

Bs.a.

10 0
1 0

10 0
6 0
1 8

1 0
12 0

2 8
6 0

6 0

b"o

2 0
1 0

Es.a.

4 0

0 8
i 0

3 0

1 0

0 12

5 0

1 0

2 0

4 0

1 0

2 0
1 0
0 8

R8.a.

6 0
1 0
8 0
S 0
1 8
1 0

7 0

1 8

4 0

5 0

2 0

3 8
1 8
1 0

Kb. a.

o""8

i""d
0 8

0 8

o"i2

1 0

i"'o

0 12
0 4

Es. a.

012

2"o
0 12

0 12

i'"o

1 8
l"'8

i'"o

0 8

36 12

62 0

29 12

48 0

6 4

9 U

Brdhman GirVs Clothes.

Rich.

Middle.

POOK. 1

AaTioiB.

From

Es. a.

R8.a.

Rs. a.

Bs. a.

Rs. a.

Rs. B.

Hood, kmiehi of kankkfi^

6 0

10 0

4 0

8 0

„ of striped Silk-cotton ...

S 0

5 0

3 0

6 0

1 0

2 0

„ of Chintz

1 0

1 8

1 0

1 8

0 8

0 12

Bodice of Gold Cloth

4 0

6 0

,, ,, „

3 0

5 0

2 0

3 ()

...

Petticoat of Unihib

15 0

2S 0

„ called Barh&npuri ...

7 0

8 0

4 0

S 0

....

7 0

10 0

5 0

7 0

Robe and Bodice, 8i£(2j-cAo2i ...
Total ...

8 e

10 0

5 0

6 0

1 0

1 8

63 0

80 8

24 0

35 8

2 8

4 4

* The details are :

Brdhnian Boy's Ornaments.

Rich.

MmDLE.

Poor. . 1

Article.

From

Bs.

Es.

Rs.

Barrings, Gold and Pearl ihiUdli ...

100

„ „ „ chavkade...

• ..

,, „ „ kuduk ...

Necklaces, Gold Arf8i»

160

Silver „ ....

...

„ Goldfciie

„.' Silver

Bracelets, Gold tode

150

200

„ Silver ,

Gold&adi

150

200

„ Silver „

Girdles, Silver or Gold sfflWi

j, „ „ kargota
Anklets, SUver^oiJe ...

„ Silver «tfje

. 6

8 ■

. „ Wvettordya

.lO

.SO
912

616

189

336

[Bombay Gazettee

108

DISTEICTS.

Chapter III.
Population.

BsijaMANS.
CsiTPjVAlfS.

Character.

Daily Life.

As a class CMtpavans are notable for their cleanness and fc
their neatness and taste in dress ; their stinginess, hardness, an
craftiness are also proverbial. Chitpavans are beyond doubt one c
the ablest classes in Western India. They were the mainstay of th
Maratha power when the Maratha power was at its highest. In 172
the Nizdm found everyplace filled with Konkan Brahmansj^ i.
1817 Mr. Elphinstone found all the leading Br^hmans in the Poon
Government connected with .the Konkan.^ Under the Bnglis'
they have lost much of the power which for a century (1717-1817
they enjoyed. Still their superior intellect, their eagerness fo
education, and the high positions they hold in Government servic
enable them to maintain their supremacy in all Mardthi-speakinj
districts.* Beyond the limits of Western India their talents ar.
admired and respected. In Sir George Campbell's opinion n
Hindus have, shown greater administrative talent or acutenesSj
and Mr. Sherring held that for quickness of intellect, for energj
practical power, and learning they are unsurpassed.''' They ar
Government servants, lawyers, engineers, doctors, traders, money
lenders, moneychangers, writers, landowners, husbandinen, an(
religious beggars.

A rich Ohitpdvan rises at seven, bows to the picture of his favourit
god, washes his face, bows to the sun, and drinks a cup of mill
coffee or tea. He sits talking till eight, and, attended by a Brdhmai
servant or two, bathes, and tying a silk or newly- washed cottoi
waistcloth round his middle and setting his feet on wooden pattens
goes to the house-shrine or god-room. In the house shrine he sit
on a low wooden stool before the gods for about half an hour
repeating prayers, worshipping, and chanting verses. When hi
worship is over, he marks his brow with the tilah or sect-mark

Brdhman Girl's Ornaments.

Aeiicle.

Rich.

Middle.

Poor. 1

From

To_

From

To.

Hair Ornament, Gold phule

Earrings, Gold bugdya

Necitlace, Sold tdit

Gold taiti

„ Goldhdeli

Silver „

Bracelets, Gold bindli -

„ Qold mcmgatya

Girdle, Silver, edkhli

Anklets, Silver, tode

„ Sliver, vitte

„ Silver, tordya

Total ...

Bs.

10
10
25

"60

"20

i§

Bs.

15'

IBO

"40
30
15
60
10
20

Bs.

■ 4
15,

"50

, "ie

12
"6
20
5
10

Es.

10
6
80

"75'

"is

• 20

- 40
.8
20

Ea.
3
1

_"2

ib .

bb:

.6
3

"5*

■ 16

188

■ 410

144

244

1 Grant Dufif's Marithis, 221. 2 Pendhdri and MarAtha Wars, 112.

* Naime's Konkan, 133.

* Ethnological Number of the Bengal Asiatic Society, XXXV. 70.

"» Hindu Tribes and Castes, 77. Sir George Campbell's and Mr. Sherring's remark
apparently include Deooan as well as Konkan MarAthi Brdhmans. In all walks 0
life Deccan Brdhmans press Chitpd,vans close. Still as a class Chitp^vaaa an
generally considered keener, more pushing, and quickerminded than Deccan Brdhman
and have a larger pro{>ortioa of men of marked talent.

Ddccan.]

POONA.

109

changes his silk waiatclotb, if he has worn it, for a cotton waistcloth,

and sfts in his office doing business till eleven. He dines with some

male friends or near relations, chews betelnut and leaves, and

sleeps for an hour or two, awakes about two, washes his hands and

face, dresses and sits in his office, and, towards evening, goes to look

. after his estate or to walk. He comes back about six, washes,

puts on a silk waistcloth, prays, chants, sups, and goes to bed about

ten. Middle-class Brahmans may be divided into grahasths or

laymen and hhikskuks or clerics. Lay Brahmans belong to two

classes, those who are employed as clerks in Government or

iiraders' offices and those who lend money or manage land on their

own account. A Brdhman clerk in the service of Grovemment or

of a trader rises at six, washes, and goes to market to buy whatever

is wanted in the house. He returns, bathes between eight and nine,

and, after, repeating prayers, worshipping, and chanting Verses for

about ten minutes, dines. After dinner he chews betelnut and

leaves, dresses, and goes to office. He comes back at six, generally

reads a newspaper, or sits talking, washes, repeats Sanskrit prayers

for ten minutes, and sups at or after seven. After supper he chews

betelnut and leaves, smokes tobacco, and sometimes plays chess or

cards. He goes to bed about ten. Middle-class lay Brahmans,

who are not in service, are generally landowners and moneylenders.

A man of this class rises about six,, washes, and sits on his veranda

chewing betelnut betel leaves and tobacco, and doing business.

He bathes at nine, worships, and again sits on the veranda doing

business. Abont noon he goes into the house, dines, sleeps for an

hour or for two hours at the most, and again sits in the veranda

till four. He then goes to look after his property, and, after

visiting a temple, returns at dark ; about an hour later he sups and

goes to bed about ten. A priestly or bhikshuk Brahman rises earlier

than a lay. Brahman, washes, and finishes his prayers and worship

by seven. If he has anything to buy, any food to beg, any enquiry

to make about a dinner, or if he has friends or relations to see, he

goes outj if not he sits repeating the Yeds or reading Purans till

nine. About ten he washes, and putting on a silk waistcloth

makes offerings of water, cooked rice, and flowers to fire and to

gods, and dines. He dries his hands and mouth with a towel

which he always carries in his hand or across his shoulder, and

chews betelnut and betel leaves. About noon he goes to sleep, and

wakening abont two washes and sits reading his sacred books. At

five he goes out, visits a temple, and returns at sunset. After his

return he repeats prayers and other verses, tiU about seven j he

then sups and either sits talking or reading some sa;cred book and

rietires at ten. Poor iBrahmans may be divided into priests and

beggars. These rise at fife, bathe, and put on a fresh or woollen

waistcloth and repeat Sanskrit prayers till about seven. When

his prayers are over he marks his brow with the tilalc or sect-mark

and goes out, the beggar to beg, the family priest to his patrons'

houses, where he worships the house gods, and helps the family if any

marriage, thread ceremony, or other important family business is on

handr Their dinner hour is not fixed ; it is genera,lly about twelve.

A begging Brahman does not always dine at homej but whether he

Chapter III.

Fopnlation,

Brahmans,

OmTpJrAirSi

Daily Life.

[Bombay Gazetteer,

110

DISTRICTS.

Chapter III.

Population.

Bkahmans.

OhitpAyans.

Daily Life.

dines late or early at home or abroad lie never misses his midday
sleep. Generally after toeals priests gather at a fixed place, and
repeat Vedic texts or talk on various subjects, and receive invitations
to dinner for the next day. They return home after sunset, repeat '
prayers, dine, and go to bed about nine.

A rich woman rises before her husband, and after nursing her
child if she has a young child, hands it to her servant, who is
generally of the Mardtha caste. She bows before the basil plant
and to the sun, washes, and repeats verses. She next gives orders to
the cook who is generally a man, and to other household servants who
are generally women, has her hair combed, and bathes.'' After her
bath she puts on a fresh robe and bodice, worships the basil plant
and other house gods, and reads a chapter of some sacred Mardthi '
book. She superintends the cooking of the midday meal, and when
the men have begun to eat dines in a separate . room. When
her meal is over she slee'ps for about two hours, and after wakening
sits talking with neighbours or relations. About five, she visits
a temple for a few minutes and on her return looks to the cooking
of the evening meal, ^nd, when supper is over, goes to bed a^t ten.
A middle-class woman, like a rich woman, rises before her husband,,
bows to the sweet basil plant, and washes. She sweeps the
cooking room, puts the vessels in order, kindles a fire, and sets a
pot of cold water over it. She sweeps the god-room, prepares j
lights, arranges vessels and fiowers, and, taking the pot from thei^j
fire, bathes. After bathing and combing her hair she begins to
cook. When dinner is ready she serves it to her husband and other
male members of the family in the women's hall, and to the women
of the family in or near the cook-room. After they have finished. '
she takes her own dinner. She cowdungs the cook-room, sleeps
half an hour to an hour, and sets to cleaning rice, cutting vegetablea,jj
sweeping, and cooking.' About seven or eight she serves supper, '
and, after the men of the house have' finished', she' herself sups,
cowdungs the cook-room, and goes to bed after ten. The life of
a poor woman is the same as the life of a middle-class woman,
except that as she has all the housework to do she has little leisure '
from dawn till ten at night. Occasionally she is able to rest
between two and four in the afternoon when she chats with her
neighbours or goes to hear a preacher. With her neighbours her
talk is of her troubles and worries and about her children, how she
is to clothe them and how her husband can ever get money enough.

1 The strictness of the rule that certain articles in a house may he touched and
certain articles may not be touched by a middle-class or Shudra servant oomplieatei
the arrangements in a Brdhman household. A Kunbi servant cannot go to the godv
room, kitchen, and dining room of the house. He may touch bedding and woollen,
clothes ; he may not touch fresh homewashed cotton clothes. He may touch dry
grain ; he can touch no grain that is vet. These rules -are puzzling and much care is
required in teaching and Ifeaming them. Even BrAhman servants are hampered by
rules. When they have bathed aad put on woollen, flaxf or silk elothes-they are
pure and can touch anything. They become impure if they touch anything impure
such as bedding or such wearing apparel as a coat or a turban. If they touch a
shoe or a piece of leather they have to bathe. A schoolboy after his bath ,hal3 to get
a servant or a younger brother or sister to turn the pages of his leather-covered soho<4
book. Mr. M, M, Kunte.

Deccan.]

POONA.

Ill

to marry them. Either at a pond or a river bank she has to wash
all the cotton clothes and occasionally the woollen and silk clothes
which her husband and children used the" day before, and carries
back to the house a pitcher full of water which she rests on her
right hip. So important a part is this of their daily life that, when
tthey meet, the poorer Brahman women ask each other if their day's
washing and wai;er-drawing is over. The husband milks the cow
if there is a cow, and the wife warms the milk, puts a little whey
into it, and turns it into curds. The curds are churned into whey or
buttermilk, the buttermilk is kept, and the butter is clarified into
ghi. As all these operations are pure the churning pole and strings
cannot be touched freely by any person except the mother and the
wife to whom the management of the dairy always belongs. The
washings of the cooking vessels, broken pieces of food, the cleanings
of grain, and the remains of uncooked vegetables are gathered in
a vessel and kept in a corner, and form part of the cow's food.
When a boy becomes five years old his life begins to be ordered
by regular hours. He rises about six, his face is washed and he is
taught to repeat verses in praise of the sun and other gods, and to
bow to them. About seven he has a dish of rice-porridge and
milk, or bread and milk. About eight or nine he is bathed in
warm water and dines with his father about noon. After dinner
he sleeps for about two hours when he gets some sweetmeats or
milk and bread. About four he is taken out and brought home
between five and six, and, after eating some milk and bread, is sent
to bed. When about six years old a boy is generally sent to school.
He now rises at five, his face is washed, and he gets some bread-
and milk and is taken to school. He returns at ten and is
bathed and sandal is rubbed on his brow. He dines about
eleven with his father and after dinner takes a . nap. He rises
about twelve or one, eats sweetmeats, ■ and is taken to school,
and brought back at six. He sups before seven and goes to bed
soon after. Except that he has less milk and few or no sweetmeats
the daily life of a middle-class and. of a poor boy is much the
same as that of a rich man's son. The daily life of a rich man's
. daughter is much the same as that of his son. A few middle-class
families, like the rich, send their girls to school, while the poor and
a few of the middle-class girls help their mothers in housework and
pass the rest of their time in play.

Chitpdvans are either Apastambas or Rigvedis, that is their
rites are regulated either by texts written by the sage Apastamba
of the Krishna or Black Yajurved or they are regulated by the text
of the Rigved. Apastamba and Rigvedi GhitpSvaus intermarry.
They are Smarts that is followers of Shankardcharya who hold the
doctrine that the soul and the world are one.^ They worship Shiv,
Vishnu, and other gods, and observe the regular Brdihmanic fasts and
feasts. Their priests, who. belong to their own caste^ spend most of

Chapter III.
Population.

BbAhmaus.

CBITPJ.7ASa.

Daily Life,

, 'The original ShankaidcMiya, who was aNdmburiBrdhman of the Malabar Coast,
is- believed to have lived about a. d. 700. He has been succeeded by thirty -thre^
pontiffs whose head-quarters are at Shriugeri in West Maisur, His followers are
found chiefly in Western and Southern India. •

[Bombay Gazetteer

112

DISTEICTS.

Chapter III.
Population.

BRiHMANS.

CmTPAVANS.

Ointoms.

their time at their patrons or yajmdns. The family priest is most
useful to his patron.- Besides his religious duties he buys articles
wanted by the ladies of his patron's family and helps his patron in
prbcuring good matches for his children^ or in arranging the terms
of a loan. The patron, if he. has a mind for it, also finds his priest a
ready listener or talker on abstruse sabjects, the origin of life,
the force that made and moulds the world, and together they sigh
over the thought that life is a vain show and that their share of the
glitter of life is so small. Though the social power of the orthodox
is less than it was, and though among the younger men some are
careless of the rjiles of caste, the hereditary connection between
priest and patron and the self-containedness of. a Brd,hman
family are powers strongly opposed to change. Families who
incline to leave the old ways are often forced to conform by the
knowledge that innovators find great diflBculty in marrying their
daughters and getting wives for their son?. As a class, Chitpd.vans
have zealously taken to the study of English. In the whole of the
Poena district few Chitpavan families are without one or two young
men who know some English. The bulk of the men in some streets
in Poena city understand English, and even those who are settled in
villages as husbandmen take care to secure an English education for
their sons.^

For her first confinement a young wife generally goes to her
parents' house. When labour begins the girl is taken to a warm room
whose windows have been closed with paper. Great anxiety is felt that 1
the birth should happen at a lucky moment. Should the child be born
in an unlucky hour, as when the mul nakshatra or the twenty-fourth
constellation is in the ascendant, it is believed, that either its father
or its mother will not live long. When the woman has been taken to
the lying-in room a midwife is sent for, and if the woman suffers -
severely the family priest is called to read the verses from the Veds
and Purd,ns which drive away evil spirits. Sesamum oil and bent
grass or durva are brought and handed to the family priest or any
elder of the family, who holds the grass in the oil and repeats verses
either one hundred or one thousand times over the oil. Some of the
oil is then given to the woman to drink, a cow's skull is hung over
her head in the room or laid on the housetop, and the rest of the
oil is rubbed on her body. As soon as it is born the child is laid
in a winnowing fan, the mother and child are bathed in hot water,
fire is kept burning in the room, myrrh-incense is burnt, an iron bar '^
is laid on the threshold of the lying-in room, and an earthen jar
filled with cow's urine with a branch of nim leaves floating in it is " :
set at the entrance of the lying-in room. To prevent evil spirits
coming in along with them any person entering the Toom must take
the nim twig and with it sprinkle his or her feet with the urine.
When the father of the child hears of the birth, he goes to the house
to perform the jdikwrm or birth-ceremony. When he reaches the
house he bathes either in hot or cold water from a pot in which
a gold ring has been dropped, and washes the clothes he was

1 ]|&, M. M. Ejinte.

Deccan.]

POONA.

113

wearing when the news of the child's birth came to him. The person
who performs a birth ceremony is considered as impure as the person
who performs a death ceremony. In case the father suffers from
some grievous malady such as leprosy, some one of his family
performs the rite. Whether the father performs the rite or not
he must bathe and wash and must avoid touching any one until
he has washed. In the women's hall a square is traced with
quartz powder and two low wooden stools are set in the square. The
father, wearing a rich silk waistcloth^ bows before the house gods
and the elders, and sits on the stool to perform the birth ceremony.
Before he begins he pours a ladleful of water on the palm of his
right hand and throws it on the ground, saying, * I throw this water
to cleanse the child from the impurity of its mother's body.' The
mother then comes from the lying-in room with the child in her arms
and sits on the- stool close to her husband. The punyahavdchan or
holy blessings, mdtrika-pujan or mothers' worship, and ndndishradh
or joyful-event spirit-worship, ate performed.^ Then the father,
taking a gold ring, passes it through some honey and clarified butter
which are laid on a sandal-powdering stone and lets a drop fall
into the child's mouth. He touches the child's shoulders with his
right hand, and presses the ring in his left hand against both its ears.
He repeats verses, smells the child's head three times, and withdraws.
The midwife cuts the child's navel cord with a penknife and buries
the cord outside of the house. The father takes in his right hand
the ring and some cold water, and sprinkles the water on the wife's
right breast who after this may begin to suckle the child. A present
of money to Brd.hmans ends the birth-ceremony. A Brdhman is
engaged from the first to the tenth day to read goothing passages
of scripture or shdntipdths. Aiter the reading is over he daily gives
a pinch of cowdung. ashes which are rubbed on the brow both of the
child and of the mother.

Either on the fifth or on the sixth evening after a birth a
ceremony is performed called the shasMhi-pvjan or the worship of
the goddess Shashthi that is Mother Sixth. An elderly woman
draws six red lines on the wall in the mother's room, and, on the
ground near the lines traces a square with lines of quartz, and in
the square sets a low wooden stool. Six small heaps of rice are
laid on the stool and a betelnut is set on each heap in honour
.of Jivanti, Kuhu, R^ka, Shashthi, Sinivali, and Skanda, and
worshipped by the women of the house. An iron weapon is kept
near the god-betelnuts, and both the deities and the weapon are
■entreated to take care of the child. Under the mother's pillow are
laid a penknife, a cane, and some leaves of waTOeZNarveliazeylonica.
At ,each side of the door of the mother's room are set two pieces
of prickly-pear or nivdung and some live coal resting on rice. husks.
Cooked rice is served on a plantain leaf, sprinkled with redpowder
mustard seed and udid pulse, a dough lamp is placed over it, and the
whole is carried to the comer of the street for the evil spirits to eat

Chapter III.
Population.

BHi-HMAXSi

CbitpJ-yans.-
Customs.

' Details of these services are given under Marriage,

B 310—15

[Bombay Gazetteer,

114

DISTRICTS.

Chater III.
Population.

BbAhmAks.

CbitfA'tajts.

Customs,

and be pleased. Although the family is held impure for ten days,
the first, fifth, sixth, and tenth days after, a birth are considered
lucky for alms-giving or for feeding Brahmans on dishes prepared
without water or fruit. . For this reason on the evening of the fifth
a feast is given to relations, friends, and bhikshuk or begging
Brdhmans. The sixth night is considered dangerous to the child.
The women of the house keep awake all night in the mother's
room) talking and singing or playing, and sometimes a. Brahman is
engaged to repeat verses or read soothing lessons or shdntipdths with
the object of driving away evil spirits. On the tenth the mother is
bathed, the walls of the lying-in room are cowdunged, the bathing-
place is washed, and turmeric, redpowder, flowers, and a lighted
lamp are laid near or over it. The lap of the midwife, who is generally
of the washerman caste, is filled with rice, betelnut, leaves, and fruit,
and she is presented with a robe and a bodice and money. On the
twelfth day the ear-boring or karna-vedh ceremony is performed.
The mother, with the child in her arms, sits on a low wooden stool
in a square traced with lines of quartz powder. The goldsmith
comes with two gold wires, sits in front of the mother^ and pierces
with the wires first the lobe of the right ear and then the lobe of
the left ear, and withdraws after receiving a present varying from a
turbanto|d.(i anna) and the price of the wires. A girl's ear is bored
in five places, in the lobe, twice in the upper cartilage, on the tragus,
and the concha of the ear. A girl's nose is bored when she is ayearor
two old. The hole is generally made in the left nostril ; but, if the
child is the subject of a vow, the right not the left nostril is bored.
If a boy is the subject of a vow his right nostril is bored and a
gold ring is put into it. The father, mother, and child then bafhe, and
the father and mother with the child in her arms sit on two low wooden
stools set in a square of lines. After the punyahavdchan or holy-
day blessing, and the ndndishrdddha or joyful-event spirit-worshij^
rice grains are spread in a silver plate and the name of the family god
or goddess is traced with the gold ring. The family astrologer comes
with the child's horoscope, which he draws out at his, house, and lays
it in front of the silver 'plate. The horoscope contains four names
for the child ; three of these he fixes and leaves the fourth for the
parents to choose. These three names are traced on the grain, with
the ring, and, at the same time, are traced the name of the family
deity, the month, and the ruling planet. Then the family astrologer
lays the ring on the rice and the whole is worshipped with sandal
paste and flowers. The father worships the astrologer and setting the
plate on his right knee reads out the names loudly so that the persons
near may hear them. The astrologer reads out the horoscope and
calls a blessing on the child's head, saying, ' May the child live to a
good old age.' A feast and a money present to Brdhmans endsthc
naming.

A cradle is hung in the women's hall and kinswomen and friends
bring a plate with a bodice, a cocoanut,, a turmeric root, and
a betel packet. Two low wooden stools are set near the cradle and
the mother sits with the child in her arms on one of the stoola
An elderly married woman marks the child's and its mother's browi

DeccauJ

POONA.

115

with redpowder, and another woman sitting near the mother takes
the child in her arms. A woman of the house and another woman
from among the guests lay in the mother's lap a coooanut, turmeric,
and redpowder, and five married women lay the child in the cradle
and sing songs. A lighted lamp is waved round the mother and
■child, and the women guests retire each with the present of a bodice
and a coooanut. When the child is a month old the mother goes to
the house well, worships it, and returns.

During the fourth month if the child is a boy the Sun-showing
or 'surydvalohm is peyformed; in the fifth the earth-setting or
hhumyu paveshan ; and in the sixth, eighth, tenth, or twelfth
month the food-tasting or annaprdshan. In the case of a girl
the sqn-showing, the earth-sett;ing, and the food-tasting are all
performed at the same time. On some lucky day in a boy's
fourth month a quartz square is traced in the house and two low
wooden stools are placed in a -line. On the right stool the father
sits and on the left stool the mother sits with the child in her arms.
After the punydhavdchan or holy-day blessing, the mother goes
out of the house followed by her husband, and holding her child
up shows it to the Sun praying him to guard it. They walk to
the village temple and presenting the god with a packet of betel
and a cocoanat beg him to be kind to the child. On their
return if it is on the way they call at the maternal nucleus house, where
fruits are laid in the mother's lap and the child and its parents are
presented with clothes and oi-naments. On returning home the
husband and wife wash their hands and feet, and water is waved
over the head of the child and thrown away. They take their seats
as before. The father fills a silver or . gold cup with sugared milk
mixed with curds honey and butter, and sets it on a high wooden
stool, and in front of the cup lays fifteen pinches of rice and sets a
betelnut on each pinch in honour of Bhumi, Chandra, Shiv, Surya,
Vishnu, and the ten Dishds or Directions, and they are worshipped.
Then taking the child on his knee, with its head to the south, a
gold ring is passed through the contents of the cup and held up, and
what falls from the ring is allowed tp drop into the child's mouth.
The Brahmans and the priest are given money and retire. A carpet
Is spread, and some carpenter's tools, pieces of cloth, a pen ink-pot
sand paper, and jewelry are laid on the carpet and, to find out what,
the child is to become, he is laid on his face near them and the
first thing he clutches shows to what galling he will take in after-
life.

A child's birthday is marked by several observances. In the
morning the father bathes in warm water and the mother and child
are rubbed with sweet-smelling oils and powders and bathed in hot
'^ater. A square is traced in the women's hall, and three low
wooden stools are set in the square, two in a line and the third in
.front of them. Eighteen little rice heaps are piled on the front
.stool and a hetelnut is laid on each heap. One of the betelnuts
represents the family-deity or Jcul-devta ; another the birth-star deity
or janma-nakshatra d&oata ; others Ashvatthama, Bali> Bibhishan,
,Bhd,nn, Hanum^n, Jamadagni, Kripd,charya, Mdrkandeya, PrajApati,

Chapter III.
Popnlation.

BRijHMANfl.

ObitpJvans.

Birthday.

[Bombay Oazettoei

116

DISTRICTS.

Chapter III.
Population.

BBijHMAKS,

CbitpJ-Vans.
Birthday.

Shaving.

Thread-girding.

PralMd, Rd,m, Shasthi,, Vighneslx, and Yyd.s ; two represent th
father's deceased parents. The father and mother with the child. ii
her arms take their seats on the two stools and a married womai
marks the child's brow with redpowder. The house gods and th
elders are bowed tOj and, with their leave, the holy 'day blessinj
and the joyful-event spirit-worship are performed, and the eightee:
deities are asked to give the child a long life. A little milk mixei
with a little molasses and sesamnm seed is put in a silver cup, am
given to the child to drink. The Brahmans get some money and tak
their leave, and the day ends with a fesat. On this day the father i
forbidden to pare his nails, to pluck out any hair, or to quarrel wit
or sleep with his wife.

The shaving or cTiawZ of the boy's head takes place in the firsi
second, third, or fifth year, or at the same time as the thread-girding
In the morning of the shaving day, after anointing themselves wit
oil, the father, mother, and child bathe, and, dressing in rich clothe
and covering themselves with shawls, sit in a line in a quari
tracing. The usual holy-day blessing and joyful-event spirii
worship are performed, the sacrificial fire is lit, the boy is seated o
the knee of his maternal uncle or on a wooden stool set in a squai
traced with lines of quartz, and the barber shaves his head excej
the top-knot. The barber retires after receiving a present varyin
from a turban to a few copper -coins. The boy is anointed wif
sweet-smelling , oil and bathed along mth his parents. After he
dried, ashes from the sacrificial fire- are rubbed on his brow, and tl
■ceremony ends with a feast to Brd,hmans.

Chitpd,vatis gird their boys with the sacred thread when they ai
seven to ten years old. The boy's father goes to the house of tl
family astrologer and asks him to fix a lucky day for girding tl
boy. The astrologer refers to his almanac and names a day in oi
of the five sun-northening or waxing months, Mdgh or Januar;
February, Fdlgim or February - March, Ghaitra or March -Apr
Vaishdkh or Aptil-May, and Jyeshth or May- June. If the boy wi
born on one of the five northening montks the astrologer must ayo
his birth-month, and if the boy is the jyeshth or eldest of bis fami
the astrologer must avoid the month of Jyeshth or May- June. Tl
"thread-girding always takes place between six in the mornii
and noon ; never after midday. A week or two before the d;
fixed for the girding the near relations and friends are tol
and during the' interval they by turns feast the boy and his pareni
Drummers and pipers are sent for and the terms on which th
will play at the thread-girding are fixed, a booth or porch is built, ai
invitation cards or lagnachitia are sent to distant relations. To invi
the caste neighbours the boy's parents- and their male and ferns
relations and friends -start accompanied with music. Before th
start they ask the house gods to attend the ceremony, then th
ask the village god, >nd then their relations and friends. In t
booth or porch an earthen altar is made facing the west, three of t
boy's cubits long, three broad, and one high. In front is a step abc
a span square, and behind, the back rises about eighteen incl
above the altar in three six-inch tiers, each narrower than the t

Deccan.1

POONA.

117

, below it. The whole is wHtewashed. A day before the thread-girding
the punydhavdchan or holy-day calling, the ghdna or rice-pounding,
and the devpratishtha or god-installing are performed with the same
detail as before a marriage. On the morning of the thread-girding
day the boy and his parents bathe and the ghatikdsthdpan or
lucky-hour installing, and patrikdpujari, or birth-paper worship are
performed with the same detail as before a marriage.. The
mother's feast or rndtribhojan follows. Twelve low wooden stools
are set in a row and twelve unmarried thread-wearing Brahman
lads take their seats on the stools. At one end of the row are
set a silver dining plate and a lighted lamp, and behind them
two low wooden stools on which the boy and his mother sit.
Dinner is served and all dine, the boy eating from the same
plate with his mother. When the meal is over the boy goes to his
father, fetches silver or copper coins, and presents them to the
twelve Brahman lads. Then a quartz square is traced and a low
wooden stool is set in the square. The boy is seated on the stool, and
the family barber shaves his head and retires, with a present varying
from 2s. (Ee. 1) to a turban. The boy, is rubbed with sweet scents
and oUs, he is bathed, his brow is marked with redpowder, and-he
is brought into the house. He is decked with ornaments from
head to foot, a rich shawl is wrapped round his body, long wreaths of
flowers are hung from his head over his chest and back down to
his knees ; a cocoanut and a betel packet are placed in his hands,
and the priest, taking him .by the arm, leads him to the house gods
before whom he lays the betel packet and makes a bow.. He is led
before his parents and other elders in the house and bows to them,
and is then taken outside and bows to Brdhmans. Two low wooden
stools are set on the altar facing each other, over the eastern stool
ahout a pound of rice is poured and the boy is made to sit upon the
rice ; over the western stool no rice is poured and on it the boy's
father sits. Round the altar are spread carpets on which learned
pandits and shdstris - sit and on the other side of the altar the rest
of the guests sit leaning on pillows and cushions. Behind the boy
stands his sister with an earthen jugholding water covered with mango
leaves and a cocoanut, and his mother with a lighted hanging lamp.
Some male relations hold between the boy and his father a sheet of
■unbleached cotton cloth marked with red lines, and the family priest
fills with red rice the hands of all the guests both men and women.
The astrologer repeats mangaldshtaJcs or lucky verses. When the
lucky moment' comes the cloth is pulled on one side, the boy hands
the cocoanut to his father, and lays his head on his father's feet.
The father blesses him, and the guests shower rice on him, and.
the musicians raise a blast of music. The father takes the boy and
seats him on his right knee, and the guests withdraw with betel
packets and a cocoanut. The Brdhman priest and other laymen
throw rice.over the boy's head and seat the boy on. a low stool to the
father's right. An earthen square is traced in front of the father
and blades of sacred grass - are spread over it. A married
woman brings a live coal from the house on a tile and lays it near
the altar. The priest blesses the coal and spreads it over the altar
and on it are laid pieces of cowdung cakes and firewood. Water is

Chapter III.
Fopalation.
Brahmans.

GmTpJ.vANa.
Thread-girding.

[Bombay Oazetteei

lis

DISTRICTS.

Chapter III.

Popolatiou.

BrAhmans.
ChitPjIyans.
Thread-girding.

sprinkled six times round the altar and rice is thrown over it. Thi
father lays a few blades of sacred grass between himself and th(
fire. A cup full of butter is placed over the blades of grass am
other blades are thrown over the fire. The priest keeps near him i
staff or dandkdsht of palas, Butea f rondosa,, as tall as the upraisec
end of the boy's top-knot, a 'piece of deer skin, blades of sacred oi
dar-Ma grass, a rope of mwry grass long enough to go round the
boy's waist, two cbtton threads one for the boy's waist the other foi
his neck, a sacred thread or jdnve, a bamboo basket or rovali, foui
short waistcloths or pdnchds two of which are dyed red, and fouj
loincloths or langotis of which two are of silk and two are oJ
cotton. Of the two cotton threads, the priest daubs one in oil anc
turmeric and ties it round the boy's waist and gives him a loinclotl
or langoti to wear. . He then rolls a red cloth round his' waial
and a white cloth round his shoulders. The other cotton thread is
also rubbed with oil and turmeric and the bit of deer skin is
passed into it and hung on the left shoulder of the boy in the
same way as the sacred thread. A sacred thread is also hung ovei
his left shoulder and the boy is made to pass between the sacrificial
fire and his father. A. wooden stool is placed, near his father
and the boy" is seated on it facing east. A metal water-potj
a plate, and a ladle are set in front of the. boy. and he sips
water thrice from the pot repeating verses. He is then brought
back between the fire and his father and takes his former seat.
The fire is rekindled, and the father taking the boy by the
hand, goes out of the booth, and they both bow to the sun.
Then, to the left of the fire or Kom, two low wooden stools
are set, and the father and son stand facing one another. The
father, in his hollowed hands, takes water, a betelnut, and copper
or silver, and pours them into his son's hollowed hands and the
son lets them fall on the ground. After this has been repeated
three times they again take their seats on the stools placed for
them. The boy tells his father that -he wishes to become a
Brdhman and to be initiated into the mysteries of the sacred verse.
The boy holds out his left hand and covers it with his right, and
the father ties his two hands' together with the short waistcloth
that was wound round the boy's shoulders. He then puts his left
hand under and his right hand over the boy's bound hands, and
lays them all on the boy's right knee. Then the boy and his father
are covered with a shawl, and the father thrice whispers the
sacred verse into his son's right ear, and he repeats it after his
father. That no one else, whether Brahman or Shudra, man or
woman, may hear the verse, all present go to some distance. Then
the father takes ofE the shawl and frees the boy's hands and the
father and son take their seats in front of the fire., Blessings are
asked on the boy's head and the grass string or ffmrtj is tied with
three knots round the boy above the navel. Thepalas stafif or
dand is given in the boy's hands, and he is, told always to keep it
by him and not to stir without taking it in his hand, and that if he
meets any dangerous animal or anythiag that causes him fear he
should show the stafE and the cause of fear wiU vanish. Then the
father says to his son ' Up to this you have been like a Shudra, now

Deccaii.l

POONA.

119

you are a Br^liman and a BrahmacMri. When you go out you must
behave with religious exactness or dchdr ; you must rub dust on your
hands and feet before washing them ; you must take a mouthful of
water and rinse your mouth with it ; yon must bathe twice a day,
pray^ keep alight the sacred ^ve, beg, keep awake during the day,
and study the Veds.' Then a money present is made to begging
Brdhmans and the rest of the guests are feasted. The mother's
connection with her son is now at an end, so she too dines ; the
father, the boy, and, three Brahmans fast till evening. In the
evening the hhikshdval or begging comes. The boy is dressed
in a waistcloth, a coat, and a cap, and, with his palas staff in his
hand, goes to the village temple accompanied by kinswomen and
with baskets of sweetmeats and music. At the temple the boy
places a cocoanut before the god and bows, and all return with
the baskets and their contents. In the booth a low wooden stool
is placed for the boy to stand on. His feet are washed and his
brow is marked with redpowder and sandal paste. The bamboo
basket or rovali is placed in his right hand and his palas staff in his
left. His mother takes a ladle, puts a gold wristlet round its
handle, fills it with ricoj drops a rupee or two in the rice, and telling
the women who- surround her that she is giving alms to her son,
pours the contents of the ladle into the bamboo basket. The other
women follow and present the boy with ■ sugar balls. When the
almsgiving is over, the boy hands the basket to the priest who
takes it home after giving some of the sweetmeats to the children
who are present. The boy bathes and the family priest, sitting in
front of him with a cup dish and ladle, teaches him the twilight
literally the joining prayers or sandhya. The fire is kindled and
a handful of rice is cooked over it in a metal vessel. The boy
throws three pinches of cooked rice over the fire and the rest
is kept on one side. Then five leaf-plates are served for the
father, the son, and the three Brdhmans who have fasted since
morning. The rice cooked by the boy is served to the three
Brahmans by a married woman. On the second and third days
the horn fire is kindled and the boy is taught the twilight prayers
or sandhya. On the morning of the fourth day the boy is bathed
and seated on a stool in the booth. In front of him is raised an
earthen altar or vrinddvan like a tulsi pot, and a branch, of the
•palas tree or a blade of darhha grass is planted in the altar. The
boy worships the plant, and taking a spouted metal water-pot
or abhishehpdtra with water in it walks thrice round the altar
spouting the water in an unbroken line. Then a bodicecloth, a
looking glass, a comb, and glass bangles are laid in a bamboo basket
near the earthen pot, and the boy retires with a low bow. The boy
then makes over to the priest the loincloths, the staff, the deer skin,
the sacred thread, and the grass ropes, and the priest presents him
with new ones in their stead. The Brahmans are presented with
money and repeat blessings over the boy's head.
Twelve days to a month after covaesthe samdvartan or pupil's return.
On a llicjiy day the boy is bathed and an earthen altar or sthan'dil is
raised in the booth. In front of the altar are set two low wooden
stools. Near the stools are laid sTiami or Mimosa suma leaves, a

Chapter III.
Population.

BbAhmaks.

Thread-gwdin^,

Pupil's Setimt.

[Bombay Gazetteei

120

DISTRICTS.

Chapter III.

Fopnlatiou.

BbAhmans.

ChitpAvans.

Pupil's Return,

razor^rice, wheat, sesamumj and pulse, curds, and bullock's dung. Th
priest kindles a sacred fire and feeds it. witli butter. The boy sit
on one of the stools and his parents stand behind him with two cup
in their hands, one with cold water the other with hot water. Thi
priest holds a metal plate at a little distance from the boy's head
and the boy's father, with a cup in each hand, presses, the boy'i
head with the middle part of both his hands and pours the wate
from the two cups in, one spout into the plate held by the pries
without letting a, drop, of water fall on the boy's head. The pries
pours curds into the plate, and the father, taking some curds in tht
four fingers of his right hand, rubs them in a line on the boy's head
He begins from the boy's left ear, then goes to his left cheek dowi
to the chin, then across the right cheek and ear, and then passei
behind the head to the left ear where he began. This he repeati
three times. Then the ]^ri6st holds in both hands blades of sacrec
grass with some hairs of the boy's topknot and the father sheers then
in two with a razor and gives them into the boy's hands. The pries
drops a pinch of sesamum, wheat, rice, udid, and shami leavei
oyer the cut hair in the boy's hands, and the boy gives the whoh
into his mother's hands who throws it in the bullock's dung. This if
repeated seven times, four times beginning with the, right ear anc
three times beginning with the left ear. Then,' as if to shai-pen the
ra^or, its edge is touched with a blade of sacred grass and the razoi
is made over to the barber with the water from the plate. Thf
barber shaves the boy's head, and passes the razor over his cheeks
and chin, and is presented with a new handkerchief; Th«
sesamum seed, wheat, and rice, and about Is. (8 as.) in cash are
given to the Brdhman priest, Karanj Pongamia glabra seedj
are ground and rubbed on the boy's body, and he is bathed and
seated on a low stool near the sacred fire. Sandal paste anc
redpowder are rubbed on his brow, redpowder on his righi
cheek, and lampblack on his left cheek and on both his eyes
He is dressed in a waistcloth and two sacred threads' are throwr
round his shoulders in addition to the thread he already has oh
The deer skin loincloth, the palas staff, the mmij-grass rope and the
old sacred thread are taken off, and he is dressed in a coat, shoes
and turban; flower garlands are hung from his head and round hii
neck, an umbrella is placed in his left hand, and a bamboo stick ir
his right. A waistcloth is thrown over his shoulders and the priesi
advises him never to bathe in the evening, never to look at nakei
women, to commit no adultery, never to run, never to climb a tree
never to go into a well, never to swim in a river. He ends, ' Up tc
this time you have been a Brahmach^ri, now you are a sndtak oi
householder.' The boy bows before the priest and the priest blesses
him. A cocoanut is placed in the boy's hand and he bows before the
house gods and before his parents and elders. The boy then tiee
wheat flour and sweetmeats in a waistcloth or pancha, and starts
for Benares accompanied by relations, friends, and music. He goes
to a temple and lays the cocoanut before the god. The priest or the
boy's maternal uncle or some other relation asks him where he h
going; he says. To Benares. They advise him not to go to Benaree
and promise that if he will go home they will find him a wife. Hi;

Seccan.]

POONA.

121

takes their advice, goes home, and the thread-girding ends with a
feast.

Chitpavans generally marry their girls between six and ten and
their boys between ten and twenty. In choosing a husband for the
girl the boy should as far as possible belong to a respectable and
well-to-do, family, be intelligent, goodlooking, and a little older
than the girl. Among rich and middle-class families there are other
points which generally influence a girl's parents in the choice' of a
husband. Among poor families, though this- is not always the case,
money is wanted and wealth in a son-in-law outweighs suitableness
of age, good looks, or intelligence. The fathers of dull or ill-behaved
sons, unless they are very rich, have to spend £30 to £40 (Es. 300-
400) before they can get them married. The form of marriage in
use among the Chitpavans is the Brahma vivdha or Brahma wedding.
According to this form of wedding besides a dower the bridegroom
receives presents with his wife.

'In rich families who have a daughter to marry the women of the
house, after consulting the men, send for the priest,^ and one of the
elders of the house hands him the girl's horoscope, and naming the
boy's father or an elder of the family, asks the priest to go to his
house and offer tha girl in marriage. " When he reaches the boy'a
house, the priest is seated on a low wooden stool mat or carpet
in the women's hall or in the veranda, and the boy's father, after
hearing from the priest why he came, goes into the house and tells
the women that a priest has come with the horoscope of such and
such a person's daughter. The boy's father takes the horoscope
and asks- the priest to call for an answer in three or four days.
Aiter a day or two the boy's father, if he is a rich man, sends his
priest or some male relation to see the girl at her father's. He
tells the envoy if the girl is handsome to ask £20 to £30
(Rs. 200 - 300) ; if she is ordinary looking to ask £30 to £50
(Rs. 300-500) J and if she is ugly not to refuse her but to ask more than
the parents can give. The priest goes to the girl's house, tells her
father why he has come, and asks if he may see the girL The father
goes inside, tells his wife that so and so's priest has come to see the
girl, and goes out and sits by the priest. The girl comes and the
priest asks how many brothers she has, what are their names, what
is her father's name, whether she has dined, and what she has had
for dinners If the girl answers clearly, the priest remarks under
his breath, but so that the father may hear, ' Yes, she will reach the
boy's shoulder; that is well.' Then the girl goes into the house and
the priest tells her father that he approves of the girl and that if he
will get so much money his master will take her in marriage for his
son. After some talk the sum of money is settled and the priest
goes back and tells his master. In middle-class families, after
consulting his house people, the father, taking his daughter's
horoscope, goes to the boy's father and offers his daughter in marriage.
The boy's father says. Times are hard j I must have money, not less
than £50 (Rs. 500), as my son is clever and holds a good position.

Chapter III.
Population.

BKiHMANS.

CmitpJvans.

' A rich man does not generally employ his priest. He _ sends his clerk or some

LI 11 !._—..'._ J-A Ui!.M • rmnmrk-t-itrma a-n olAarATT fol O-iA fWl

[Bombay Gaeetteer

122

DISTEICTS.

Chapter III.
Population.

BKi.nMAK3.
GeiTPdVAlfS.

Or be says he will send some one to see the girl, and will let the
father Jsnow how much money he wants. A poor Chitpdvan whc
is willing to take money for 'his daughter has not to look out foi
a husband. Men in want of wives go about with money in theii
hands searching for girls. There is no want of suitors and the
girl's father makes the best bargain he can looking to the age ol
the suitor and to the amount of money be promises. In procEl
that he has accepted an offer the girFs father hands the boy's
father a cocoanut. A day or two after the offer has been accepted
the father's relations and family priests, go to an astrologer. Thej
hand him the boy's and the girl's horoscopes and aak the astrologei
to see whether there . is anything in tie horoscopes to preveni
marriage. When the boy's father is anxious to get the girl as s
wife for his son he tells the astrologer to do his best to see that the
stars agree, and the astrologer decides for the wedding. Othei
fathers again are anxious about the stars or are.not anxious for th(
match and they ask the astrologer to examine the horoscopes closelj
and are not satisfied until the horoscopes are found to agree in al
points. After the astrologer has given his decision each of the
fathers pays him l^d. to2s, (1 awna-Re.l) and a cocoanut, bowfs tc
him and withdraws.

If the astrologer finds in favour of the wedding pseparations are ai
once begun, , The first thing the father does after the horoscope!
have been compared is to prepare two lists, one of sundry articles 'th«
other of clothes. He heads the list of sundries with 8hri that is
praise of Ganesh, and starts the list with turmeric and redpowdei
or haladkunku, for these are lucky articles.^ The list of clothei
includes silk and cotton waistcloths, tohea, bodices, shouldercloths
and turbans. They hire ' men and women servants to clean th(
house, to grind grain, and to do other house work. With the hel]
of neighbours and kinswomen, the women make sweetmeats wafe;
biscuits and other dishes, always taking care to begin the baking
on a lucky day which the family priest tells them. The grain an*:
pulse grinding must also be begun on a lucky day. A couple o
handmills are cleaned, and five married women, whose father;
and mothers-in-law are alive, touch the mill with lime in fiv(
places, and laying before each handmill a betelnut and five bete
leaves tie taango leaves to them. The five married women grinc
about five handfuls of rice and sing songs in praise of the boy anc
girl. The rest of the rice is ground by the 'Servants. The fivi
married women also grind a little wheat and udid pulse singing

Musicians, who are generally Hindus of the Nhavi and Ghadsh
castes, playing on the drum and pipe, are next sent for. I
bargain is made with them to play music for. five days at th(
house for a certain sum, and a betelnut is given to each of them t(

1 the other articles are : Butter, sugar, oil, molasses, rice, wheat, peas, split gram
iur, betelnut, thread, cloves, nutmeg, cardamoms, redpowder or guldl, cocoanuts
dry cocoakemel, spices, scented oil, rosewater, coir twine, pain) leaves, raftere
turmeric, and bamboo baskets.

DaecanJ

POONA.

123

seal the bargain. The usual rates are 2s. to 6*. (Rs. 1 - 3) a clay to the
drum beaters or tdsekaris, and Is. to 4s. (8as.-Rs. 2) a day to tbe
pipers or sandis.

The building of the marriage porch or booth is begun two to twenty
days before the wedding. It costs 2s. to £20 (Rs.1-200). On the day
before he begins to build the host sends his priest to an astrologer
to find what is the best time to begin. An hour or so before
the appointed time the priest goes to his master's and begins to get
things ready. He takes a metal plate, lays in it rice grains, sandal
powder, frankincense, eamphor, a lighted, lamp, sugar, flowers, and
redpowder. Outside of the house he orders a hole to be dug, and
near the hole he sets two low wooden stools faciflg each other, one
for himself the other for his master. Some metal water-pots of
the kinds called tdmbya and panchpdtri are filled with water. The
master dressed in a silk waistcloth takes his seat on one stool, and
the priest, sitting in front of him on the other, repeats texts and
' the host worships. He traces a quartz "Square in front of the
bamboo or wood post which is to form the chief post of the
booth, offers a pinch of sugar, and asks the g6d of the booth to
be kindly. The boy's father with his priest and a couple of relations
goes to the girl's with a flower garland, sugar, and if well-to-do
gold or silver ornaments. At the girl's,' with his companions he
sits on a carpet or mat, and the astrologer, consulting both the boy's
and the girl's horoscopes, finds a lucky moment for holding the
wedding. The girl is made to stand in front of her father's
house gods, her brow is marked with redpowder, a flower garland is
put on her head, and an ornament is put on her person. Sugar is
handed round and the company retires.

The head of the house writes a letter asking the house and the
family gods to be present during the marriage festivities. He
marks it with redpowder and places it in the god-house or devhdra.
To ask guests to the wedding, near of kin both men and
women, come the day before the wedding and stay five days.
Sometimes the girl's people ask the guests by themselves and the
boy's people by themselves in a diflferent party. But generally
one party goes to the house of the other and the two parties
join and make the invitations together. The formal invitation is '
known as akahat. At both houses, before either party starts, the
priest takes two silver cups and fills them with grains of rice mixed
with redpowder; he also takes a bag of cocoanuts and betelnuts. Of
the two silver cups he gives one to one of the women who is to go with
the party and holds the other in his hands ; the bag he gives
to one of the servants who hangs it from his shoulder falling on
his back or side. At the girl's house, if it has been arranged -that
the girl's party are to call at the boy's, both men and women
dress in their best, and to hurry them the priest orders the musicians
to play. Then the party starts, but not before they lay a few grains
of coloured rice and a cocoanut in front of the- house gods, bow
low to them, and ask them to be present at the wedding. - At the
same time the priest is asked to attend the boundary-worship and
the troth-plighting. Then the party start, accompanied by the

Chapter IIL
Population.

BbIhmans.
CbitpAvans^

Marriagix

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DISTRICTS.

Chapter III.

Population.

BkAhmans.

OmTpJ.rANS.

Marriage.

harnessed horse. First go the men with guns, then the musicians
followed by a boy on horsebaokj then the priest with the silvei
cup in his hands containing grains of red-coloured rioOj then the
men, behind them the women, and last a couple of servants,
one of them with the cocoanut and betelnut bag under his
arm ; if it_ is evening there are a couple of torch-bearers. In
this way they go to the boy's house where the men, womeuj
children, and priest of the boy's house are ready to start. The two
parties go together to the temple of Ganpati. Here the men and the
priests enter the temple, leave a pinch of coloured rice near the godj
and pray him to be present at the marriage booth for five days tc
ward off danger and trouble. They go to the houses of kinspeople,
friends, and acquaintances. At each-house one of the priests lays
a few grains of coloured rice in the host's hands and naming the
house and the day asks him to the marriage. The women go into the
house, lay a few -grains in an elderly woman's hands> and invite the
family to the wedding, asking some to the dinners, some to stay for
five days, and some to be present at the wedding ceremony. If thej
are near relations the inviters are given two cocoanuts, which are
handed to the servants ; if they are not near relations they leave the
house after having giveu the invitation. When all the other guests
have been invited their masters ask the priests to attend.

Either on the marriage day or on the day before, a stone handmillj
a wooden mortar, and a couple of pestles are washed, and the pe'stleis
are tied together with a cotton thread and hung with mango leaves
and a gold neck ornament and kept in some secure part of the
house. In the mortar are laid four pieces of turmeric roots, a
bamboo basket with rice, a new date mat, and a winnOwing fan witb
udid pulse. A little before five in the morning or at eleven, which-
Bver is the lucky hour, a girl or tWo is sent with music to call the
women guests. In the women's/ hall a square is traced with red-
powder and three low wooden stools for the father mother and soe
are set in a line, covered with sacking, and a fourth is set for the priesi
at some distance in front. The priest gives into the father's hands
a cocoanut, a betelnut, and two leaves, and leads the way followeo
by the father mother and boy to the family gods before whom the
, father lays the cocoanut and betelnut and leaves and asks if he maj
go on with the ceremony. They next go to the elder guests anc
ask their leave, and when the elders have given them leave take theii
seats on the three stools. The priest worships Ganpati, lays on th(
mat in front of the father a handmill to whose neck the father ties
a couple of mango leaves and marks it in five places with limj
and turmeric powder. Meanwhile five married women whose
fathers and mothers-in-law are alive rub the boy and his father anc
mother with sesamum oil and sing songs while the father fastens th«
mango leaves to the grindstone. When the -grindstohe'is ready
the father grasps the bottoni of the handle, the mother grasps ii
holding her hand further up the handle than the father, "and th(
boy grasps it holding his hand further up than the mother. Ther
the women drop in the udid pulse and the three give the stone i
few turns. After they have ground a little of the pulse, the fathe)
mother and boy leave their seats, and the five married women grinc

Deccan.] -

POONA.

12&

the pulse into fine powder singing songs in praise of the boy and
girl. Next the bamboo basket, to which a silk bodice has been tied,
is brought filled with rice. Mango leaves are tied to the pestles,
and the father mother and son and the five married women help in
pounding the rice. After a little pounding the married women are
offered a little sugar or molasses and the pestles are put back in
their places, care being taken that they do not strike against each
other, as it is believed that the knocking of pestles causes confusion
and quarrels in a house. The hands of five married, women are
rubbed with turmeric^^ their brows are touched with redpowder,
flowers are stuck in their hair, and the parents bow before them;

At the boy's house a quartz square is traced in the women's hall and
a stool is set inside of the square, and the boy is seated on the stool
with his legs resting on the ground. A cup containing turmeric
powder is given to the boy's mother who pours scented oil into it and
either herself or the boy's sister takes a mango leaf, places a betelnut
over it, and holding the leaf with both her hands, dips the end of
the leaf into the cup and with it five times touches the boy's
feet, knees, shoulders, and head. This is repeated five times by
each of the four other married women. After they have done, the
sister or any one of the five women rubs the boy's body with
turmeric, and taking him near the door of the booth, seats him on a
stool, and bathes him. When his bath is over the boy goes into the
house and puts on a fresh waistcloth. They now make ready to
carry to the girl what remains of the turmeric. In a winnowing
fan a married woman lays a pound or two of rice, two cccoanuts,
some betelnut and leaves, cups containing turmeric redpowder and
oil, and a robe and a bodice. The winnowing fan is given to a
servant to carry on his head, and the five married women with music
accompany her to the girl's. On reaching the girl's the women are
received and seated in the women's hall. The girl is brought out and
seated on a stool which is placed in a square tracing, she is touched as
the boy was touched five times over with a mango leaf dipped in
:tunnexic, and bathed by her sister. She is then seated on another
stool, and the boy's sister presents her with a robe and bodice, rubs
her hands with turmeric and her brow with redpowder and fills her
lap with the cocoanut and betelnut and grains of rice. The laps of
both the girl's mother and sister are also filled and the guests are "
presented with turmeric and redpowder and withdraw.

The nextceremonjisthe puny dhavdchan or holy-day blessing which
isalso called the devaksthdpan or guardian-enshrining. It is performed
either on the marriage day or on the day before the marriage. About
seven in the morning, both at the girl's and at the boy's, in the centre
of the marriage booth, a married woman traces a square, and, in the
square, places three low wooden stools in a line covered with a piece
of woollen cloth, a blanket, or a woollen waistcloth. A fourth stool
is set in front of the three and a fifth to the left for the priest. When
these preparations have been made the boy and his parents sit
themselves on the three stools _and the priest on the fifth stool to the
father's left. A little in front of them are spread carpets and mats
on which begging priesta or bhiksJmks sit. Then the family priest

loQTToa Ilia ef.nnl nnn Virmo-fl frnm f.hfl linnSA a nla+.A nnn'I'.a.iTiiTifT a.

Chapter III.

Population.

BkAhmahs.

OeitpAvans.

Marriage.

[Bombay Gazetteer

126

DISTRICTS.

Chapter III.
Fopulation.

BbIhmans.

M'amage,

number of articles of worsliip.i Qh the stool in front of him tlit
father places ^ basket with tWenty-seven small heaps of rice and a
betelnut on each heap, an earthen water-pot or avignakalash filled
with rice, a piece of a turmeric root, a cbpper coin, some betelnuts, s
sweetmeat ball, and an earthen jar with a betelnut and a coppei
coin inside- and its mouth closed by mango leaves and a oocoanut,
Before the -stool on which these articles are laid is set a dish, a water-
pot, and a cup and ladle. When everything is ready the priesi
goes into the house and says, 'We are too late; the worship cannot
be finished till after dark.' This is to hurry the boy's parents who
are dressing with care m their best clothes. The father comes out
in a silk waistcloth, a shawl, and a second waistcloth folded round
his head ; the mother in a silk robe and bodice, and a shawl ovei
her shoulders ; and the boy in a silk waistcloth and a shouldercloth,
If the mother owing to the recent death of a child or of some othei
near relation or in case she has them not, wears no ornaments, a neai
kinswoman among the guests takes off some of her own ornaments
and in spite of objections makes the mother wear them. Wher
they are ready the priest puts in the father's hand a cocoanut anc
a packet of betel leaves, and, followed by the father the mother auc
the son, goes to the household gods. The father lays the cocoanut
and betel leaves before the gods, and he and mother and the the boj
bow low to the gods and ask their leave to go on with the ceremony.
Then, going to each of the elders of the family, including the widows
the priest says. They are come to ask your leave to perform the
ceremony ; and the father and mother bow before them. Then thej
follow the priest into the marriage hall. Before taking their seats thej
bow to thebegging priests whomuster in strength 'andhave taken theii
seats on the carpets 'and mats, and lastly they bow to the family priest
They take their '•seats amid the blessings of the company. Th(
father sits on the first stool, the mother on the one next to his right
and the boy on the third. The priest repeats verses and calls the nam(
of the boy's sister. She comes with a plate containing a chaplet o:
flowers, a leaf-cup with milk, and another with wet redpowder oi
pinjar, a box with redpowder mixed with cocoanut oil or kunlcu, i
few grains of rice, and a lighted brass hanging lamp. She takes i
pinch of redpowder and with it touches the priest's brow, sticks a fev
grains of lice on the redpowder, presents him with a cocoanut, anc
waves a lighted lamp before his face. Then she waves the lamj
round the faces' of a few of the leading Brdhmans, then round th(
father and mother, and lastly round the face of tlie boy, and ties :
chaplet of flowers round his head Then the priest blesses the boy':
sister, the mother waves the lighted lamp before her face, the fathe:
presents her with a cocoanut, and she retires. The family priest place;
a betelnut in a leaf-cup to represent Ganpati and asks the fathe:
to worship it, while he and the begging priests repeat verses

1 The articles are : Bunches of mango leaves, one round bamhoo basket, tw
bodicecloths, two or three pounds of rice, thirty to thirty-five betelnuts, thre
metal water-cups, one water-pot, two earthen jars, six uubar sticks each stick rolle
round with a mango leaf and tied with thread, flowers, sandal, bent grass, curdi
sacred grass, camphor, frankincense, and some coppers, together worth 2s. to 6j
(BB.1.S).

SeccanJ

POONA.

127

and with hia hand motiona the father how to worship. The
father takes a few blades of bent grass, and sprinkles water and
sandal powder on the betelnut Ganpati, throws redpowder grains of
rice and flowers over it, waves burning camphor frankiticense and
a. lighted lamp round it, and lays sugar before it. He takes one
of the two pots with the cocoanut stoppers, touches with the stopper
his own, his wife's, and the boy's head, and sets the pot on the
ground aa before ) he takes the same pot a second time and a
third time, touches with it his own head and the heads of his wife
and son, and lays it on the ground. He goes through the
same performance with the second pot which he went through with
the first. All the while the family priest repeats verses and the
musicians play their sambal or nagdra drums and their sv/r and
sanai pipes. Three farthings to 3(?. (4-2 as.) is given to each of
the begging priests.' The family priest calls the boy's sister and
she comes carrying a lighted lamp. Then they go into the house,
the girl with the lamp lighting the way followed by the father with
a flat bamboo basket, his wife holding the earthen jars, and the
priest with a water cup and ladle. When they reach the door of
the god-room the girl with the lamp retires, and the father and
mother lay the basket and the earthen jars before the house
gods on a raised stool, and mark the gods with sandal paste,
and bestrew them with grains of rice and with flowers. The boy
goes into the house and hangs his chaplet and marriage coronet on a
peg. The same ceremony with the same details is performed at the
girl's house. Planet-worship or grihamak is performed with the
help of three six or twelve Brahmans. When everything is ready
for the- worship they think on the god Ganpati and the worship is
begun. A leaf -plate is spread on a low wooden stool and on the leaf
grains of rice and forty-one betelnuts are laid and worshipped.
The father purifies himself by sprinkling his body with water
dropped from a blade of darbha grass. A mound or altar is made
of sand and sprinkled with cowdnng and water. Fire, which
some married woman brings from the house, is set on the mound,
and the priest fans the fire, feeding it with cowdung cakes and
pieces of firewood and repeating verses. Next comes the troth-
plighting or vdg-nischaya. The boy's father goes to the girl's
house with musicians, kinspeople, the family priest, and servants
carrying plates filled with ornaments and other articles.^ At the
girl's they are seated in the marriage hall on carpets, the begging
and lay Brahmans always sitting apart. After the guests are
seated the priests from both houses exchange cocoanuts and
embrace. After the priests have embraced, the fathers embrace,
and then the elder malea of both houses exchange cocoanuts and
embrace. A quartz square is traced in the marriage hall and low

Chapter III.

Population.

BeAhmans.

CsJTpJrdifs,

Marriage,

'The plates contain a necklace 'called sari, a pair of wristlets called vdki, and
armlets called fade, a leaf-oup containing curds, milk, sugar, molasses, and betelnut
and leaves, cocoanuts, copper and silver coins, rice, split pulse, two robes and bodices,
a headcloth, turmeric powder and turmeric roots, two small metal cups with red
and black powder, a leaf -cup with aandal powder, mango leaves, flowers, a cup ladle
and plate, sweetmeat balls, a comb, a brass pot filled with oil, a brasg ladle, seaamum
seed or til, cumin seed ovjire, and coriaadei' seed or dhmn.

[Bombay Gazetteer,

128

DISTRICTS.

Chapter III.
Fopulatieii.

BniHMANS.

CbjtpJ^yans.
■Marriage.

wooden stools are set in the square. The girl's father sits on one
stool. Meanwhile the girl, on whose brow a flower garland has been
fastened, with her head covered with a piece of broadcloth called
aginpdsoda, is led by her sister and seated on the stool close to her
father. The boy's father sits in front of them with priests to his left
repeating verses. The girl's father worships Varun the god of water.
He takes a leaf -plate and spreads about a pound of rice over it. He
takes a copper water-pot, marks it in five places with- sandal powder,
fills it with cold water, drops a betelnut, a blade of bent grass, and a
silver coin into it, and over its mouth lays a bunch of mango leaves.
Over the bunch of leaves he lays a leaf-cup filled with rice and on the
rice a betelnut. To the betelnut, as representing the god Varun, he
presents sandal paste, flowers, sugar, a packet of betelnut and leaves,
cocoanuts, ,and cash, burns frankincense, and waves a lighted lamp.
The fathers mark the brows of their -priests with sandal and present
them with turbans. They then mark one another's brows with sandal
and exchange turbans. Then each of the fathers takes five betelnuts
and five turmeric roots, and the girl's father ties them to the hem of
the boy's father's waistcloth, and the boy's father to the hem of
the girl's father's waistcloth. 1'he.fathers then hold the two bundles '
in which the turmeric roots and betelnuts are tied near each other,
the priest rubs them with sand, and sprinkles water from the Varun
pot over them.. The contents of both bundles are mized and made
into one heap and distributed among good and respectable begging ;
guests. Next Shachi or ludra's wife is worshipped. On a leaf--.^
plate a pound or two of rice is spread'and on the rice a betelnut is
set and worshipped. At this Ganpati and Varun worship the
money placed before the god by the girl's father is doubled by the
father of the boy. The priest repeats verses, lays on the girl's right
palm a drop of curds milk honey and sugar, and she sips it. The
girl's sister ties a marriage ornament on the girl's brow and her
priest tells the girl's mother and her other relations that the boy's
people have come to ask for the girl. They agree to let her go.
The girl now leaves her place and sits on another stool in front of a
picture of the house gods and throws grains of rice over it. The boy's {
father presents her with ornaments and clothes, apd she walks into the '
house followed by the priest. She is dressed in the new clothes, .|
the ornaments are put on her, and she is seated on a low wooden
stool. The boy's mother lays before her a plate with rice, a betelnafc '-i
and leaves, a cocoanut, redpowder, and a water-pot. In the house
the boy's mother, or some one on her behalf, washes the girl's feet
and wipes them dry with a towel, rtibs turmeric on her hands and
face, applies redpowder to her brow, and sticks rice grains over the
redpowder. Then, telling the house people that she is filling the '
girl's lap,- she drops into it a handful of wheat, a cocoanut, a packet
of betel leaves, and some sweetmeat balls. The girl makes over the
contents of her lap to some one close by, and walks away. The brows
of the male guests are marked with sandal, the lay guests or grahasth»
are presented with packets of betel leaves and cocoanuts, and the
begging priests or bhihshuhs are paid 3d. toGd. (2-4 as.) and all retire.
After the guests have left the priest takes a thread of the same
length as the girl is tall, and adding to it a thread for every year

DeccanJ

POONA.

129

the girl is old makes it into a wick, pats tlie wick into a lamp,
lights the lamp before the god Gaurihar, and feeds it with oil brought
by the boy's, relations in the brass pot. What remains of the wick
after the four wedding days are over, is carefully kept and burnt in
the lamp at the worship of Mangaldgauri which the girl performs
in the month of Shrdvan or July- August. After the lamp is lighted
the girl's mother is seated near it and the boy's mother begins
to wash her and her relations' feet, but as the boy's side is con-
sidered higher than the girl's the girl's mother objects and the
boy's mo'ther desists. .The girl's mother's lap is filled with a robe,
a bodice, some rice, and a cocoanut, and the laps of her relations with
rice only.i

The simantpunjan or boundary -worship is generally performed
when the boy crosses the border of the girl's village. When the
boy and the girl live in the same village the boundary-worship is
performed either in a temple or at the boy's house, either on the
marriage day or on the day before the. marriage. When the
ceremony is to be performed at the boy's house, with the help of
the priest, an elderly married woman of the girl's family takes
bamboo baskets and trays and lays in them cocoanuts, rice, butter,
curds, milk, honey, molasses, sugar, turmeric, redpowder, sandal,
flowers, two pieces of bodicecloth' which she makes into a bag and
fills with betelnuts and leaves, and two turbans, a sash, a chaplet of
flowers, a ladle, a dish, a water-pot filled with warm water, a high
wooden stool, a piece of broadcloth to spread over the stool, and some
coppers. Meanwhile one of the girl's relations goes to call neigh-
bours and kinspeople and another starts to tell the boy's parents
that the girl's relations are coming. At the boy's in the middle of
the hall a square is traced with redpowder and two low wooden
stools are set in the square and covered with broadcloth. The girl's
relations, with music and the articles mentioned above, go in
procession to the boy's. First walk the musicians, behind them the
women followed by the servants, and a few paces behind the male
guests. At the boy's the' men are seated on carpets and have
pillows to lean against, and the women sit in the women's hall oq
carpets. The girl^s priest sets the high stool near the two low
wooden stools and covers it with a piece of broadcloth. The boy
who is ready dressed, sits, on the high stool, and the girl's parents
sit on the two low wooden stools in front of him. The girl's father,
taking a silver or Jeaf cup, fills it with rice grains, and setting a
betelnut over itjr worships it in honour of Ganpati ; he then worships
his family priest and presents him with a new turban. He now
begins to worship the boy. The girl's mother takes the water-pot
■containing warm water, pours it first on the boy's right foot and-
then on his left, and the girl's father wipes his feet dry, marks his
brow with sandal, and sticks grains of rice over it. He hands the
boy a new turban, and the boy gives the turban on his head to some
relation and puts on the new one. He is then handed a sash which
he lays on his shoulders. The boy's sister is given a flower

Chapter III.

Fopnlation.

BeAhmans.

CeuTB^vA-ya.

Marriage,

._ ^Dnring the four marriage days iihe girl's lap is filled with wheat and not with rice
B .110—17

[Bombay Gazetteer,

130

DISTEICTS.

Chapter III.

Fopnlation.

iBbIhmans.

CbitpJvjjta.

Marriage.

cHaplet and ste ties it from behind round tlie boy's turban. The
girl's father lays on the boy's right palm a mixture of curds
butter honey milk and sugar^ which he sips, flowers and grains
of rice are thrown over him, and a nosegay is placed in his hand.
All the while the family priest repeats verses. The girl's mother
washes the boy's sister's feet and presents her with a bodice. The
girl's parents now leave their seats. The mother going into the
women's hall, washes the feet of the boy's mother and his other
kinspeople, fills their laps with rice and cocoanu.ts, and presents
them with sugar. While this is going on in the women's 'hall, the
girl's kinsmen mark the brows of the male guests with sandal,
and present them with packets of betelnat and leaves and cocoannts
and the begging priests with coppers. Then the girl's kinspeople
go home.

The same evening the girl's 'kinspeople, except her father who
has to stay at home, start for the boy's with a richly-tl-apped horse,
a couple of men with guns, and, on the heads of Kunbi servants
and kinswomen, three to six bamboo baskets, plates, and pots
covered with leaves.^ Of the vessels holding these articles, one is
a tapela or metal pot, one is a top or metal bowl containing split
piilse, one is a vegetable pot, one is a plate or pardt, and one is full
of hotvydchi khir th^t is dough-grains boiled in milk and sugar.
Besides these there is a plate in which are a new turban and
shouldercloth and a rupee in cash. The uncooked food and other
articles are given to Kunbi servants to carry; the rest are taken
by kinswomen or if the family is well-to-do by Brdhman clerks
, and cooks or dependant's. Before the procession starts a Brdhman
is sent to the boy's. In the house he traces a square with redpowder
and draws figures of men, animals, and trees. After the procession
has left the girl's house, the girl is dressed in a yellow cloth called the
bride's cloth or vadhuvastra and is seated near the marriage god or
Gaurihar on a low wooden stool. A small bamboo basket with rice
and sesamum is placed in her hand and she is told to sit in front
of the god, throw a few grains over him, and repeat ' Gauri, Gauri,
grant me a happy wifehood and long life to him who is coming
to my door.' ^ When they reach the boy's marriage hall, the men
of the bride's party sit either on the veraada or in the marriagS
hall, and the women go into the house and sit in the women's
hall on carpets or mats which have been spread for them. They
lay out the dishes and baskets, and one of them goes to the boy's
kinswomen and asks them to come and see the food. A lighted
lamp is placed near the dishes. The boy's kinswomen cluster
round, and after they have looked at what has been brought, they
withdraw. When the women have gone one or two of the girl's kins-

' The baskets contain four or five kinds of cooked vegetables, split pulse, wafer .
biscuits, flattened rice or poke both sweet and sour, one or two kinds of preserves or
iosJiimUrs in small cups, and a number of sweetmeats, salt pickles, butter, plantains, .
dates, sugar, and in a cup of spiced milk ten to twenty packets of betelnut and
leaves, thirty to fifty plantaiii-leaf plates, . rice, coQoanuts, turmeric and redpowder,
betelnut and leaves, two bodices, and one robe.

^ The Mardthi runs, Qauri Oauri saubhdgya de, ddri yetil tydla dyuslia de.

Deccan.]

POONA.

131

men dressed in silk waistcloths go into the house, set about half a
dozen stools in the place where the Brahman had drawn the tracings,
lay out plantain-lpaf plates, serve the dishes, and ask the boy to dine.
The boy's sister places a rupe& under the , leaf -plate from which
the boy is to dine. The boy comes with a few unmarried boy
friends of his, with a turban on his head and a chaplet of flowers tied
to it, and takes his seat on the stool along with his companions. The
man who serves puts a drop of butter on the palm of the boy's right
hand, and he sips it ; he is then given a plantain and spiced milk,
and when he has eaten half of the plantain and drunk half of the milk
the rest is taken home and offered to the girl. When dinner is over
the boy rubs his hands on the leaf-plate and chews a packet of
betel leaves and nuts. The rupee which the boy's sister laid under
the leaf-plate is taken by the girl's mother nominally for clearing
away what the boy has left, though his leavings are generally taken
by his own people.

Next comes the varaprasthdn or marriage-bidding. The girl's
father accompanied by his priest goes to the boy's house, and laying
a cocoanut in the boy's and his priest's hands gives them the formal
invitation to his hoase to hold the marriage. The girl's father and
his priest are each given a cocoanut and withdraw.

. In the evening before the marriage the boy is dressed in the new
turban and shouldercloth which were presented to him by the girl's
relations, and his sister ties a flower chaplet to his turban. His
family priest, who all the time goes on repeating verses, places a
cocoanut in the boy's hand and leads him before his house gods,
and the boy lays the cocoanut before. the gods and bows low before
them. He is next taken before the elders of the house and bows
before each. Then he is led to the house door, and curds are thrice
laid on the palm of his right hand, and he thrice sips the curds, and
wipes his hand on his shouldercloth. Then his cheeks are touched
with lampblack and redpowder, and he is taken outside by some
near relation and seated on a horse, and his relations and friends
form a procession to escort him to the girl's. In front of the
procession are link-boys and Kunbis carrying torches ; then come
musicians of the Mar^tha, barber, or Ghadsi caste playing
drums and pipes ; the boy's sister carrying in her hands an
earthen jar filled with cold water; in the middle the boy's
mother carrying a brass plate with two lighted dough lamps ; and
on the left a near relation carrying a bamboo basket with a lighted
brass hanging lamp resting on rice grains and folded round with
a bodice. Then follows the boy on horseback with friends and
torch-boys on either side followed by the women of his family, after
whom the men bring up the rear. On the way, to quiet evil
spirits, cocoanuts are broken and cast away, and, as the boy passes,
people come out of their houses, wave brass lamps before him,
and receive a cocoanut. When he reaches the girl's house, cooked
rice, spread all over with redpowder, is thrice waved over the
boy's head and thrown to some distance in the street. A maa-ried
woman of the girl's house, bringing an earthen jar filled with cold
water and with its mouth covered with a bunchof mango leaves and

Chapter III.
Population.

BrAhmans.

OsiTPJ-VAlfS.

Marriage.

[Bombay Gazetteer

132

DISTRICTS.

Chapter III.
JPopulation.

Bbahmans.

CbitfAvans.

Marriage.

a coooanutj marks it in five places with lime and spills the watei
over the horse's feet, and is given a bodice by the boy's relations
The boy is next taken off the horse and a married woman ponrs or
his feet milk and then water, and waves a lighted lamp before him,
The girl's brother catches the boy by the right ear an'd he is pre-
sented with a turban. Then the girl's father ca,rries the boy into tht
marriage hall and seats him on a high wooden stool. After the boj
is seated in the girl's marriage porch an astrologer, with a mixture
of lime and redpowder, writes the name of the god Ganesh, the
day, date, month, and year, and asks some married woman to smeai
with cowdung a spot underneath a redpowder drawing on the wall
and on the spot to trace a square with lines of quartz powder. The
astrologer sprinkles grains of rice on the square and over the square
hangs a pot full of cold water. A second pot is- set near the firsi
pot and both are marked with sandal paste in five places. He ties
the pots together with a piece of thread and worships them. He
then lets a cup whose bottom is pierced with a fine hole float on
one of them, and seating both the fathers before the pots makes
them worship them while he repeats verses. He then draws up two
marriage papers, gives them to the fathers to worship, reads the
-papers, and makes them over to the fathers. .

If possible before the boy and girl are married, if not soon after
the marriage, the madhuparlc or honey-mixture ceremony takes
place. The boy is seated on a high wooden stool and the girl's
parents sit before him ; the mother pours water over his feet and the
father wipes them dry with a towel. The girl's father takes a ladle
full of curds, milk, honey, and butter, and pours the contents on
the boy's right palm who sips it. He is presented with clothes,
ornaments, and cash, and is led into the house. He is made to
stand on a low wooden stool and the girl is set in front of him
on a sdhdnpdt or sandal-grindstone. A silk waistcloth is held
between the boy and the girl by the priest on one side and his
assistant on the other. The girl is given a garland of flowers to
hold in her hands, and the boy a necklace of black glass beads.
The priests begin to chant marriage verses, and when the lucky
time is come the priests stop chanting and the cloth is withdrawn
to the north. A bugle sounds, and, at the signal, the musicians
raise a blast of music, the priests and guests clap their hands, the
girl's father lifts the girl, and she drops the flower garland round
the boy's neck, while he fastens the necklace of black glass beads
round her neck. The priest gives the boy and the girl some hand-
f uls of rice and they sprinkle the rice over each other's heads. The
priests tell the boy and the girl to think on their family goddesses,
and then the boy and girl sit. When they are seated, a number of
Brahman s, who are called from the marriage hall, repeat verses.
The priest winds a ttread round the couple, and breaking it in two
equal parts, twists them into cords and tying each round a piece oi
turmeric root fastens one to the wrist of the boy's righb hand and the
other to the wrist of the girl's left hand. The begging Brahmans
who take part are each given ffiJ. to l\d. (i-1 anna). After the
madhnparh is over a qnarta square is traced in the women's hall
and the girl's parents going into the god-room lay a betel packet

Deccan.]

POONA.

133

befoi'e the gods, and bow to them. They then bow before the
elders and the priest bowing to the guests, in a loud voice, asks
leave to perform the ceremony. The father and mother sit
on the stools, bowing to the Brahmans who sit along with the
family priest. Except the jewels which are to be- presented to the
girl, the rest of the ornaments are taken off her body.^ A
married woman rubs with sandal paste, the brows of the priest,
of the girl's father and mother, and of the boy and girl. Then
all stand the priest holding a plate in his hand, and the girl,
the boy, and the girl's parents standing round the plate. The
boy holds out his open' hands, the girl lays her half open hands
in the boy's, who holds her thumbs with his. Over their hands
the girl's lather holds his open palm slanting and the mother pours
cold water from a jug on her husband's hand which falls on
the hands of the boy and_ the girl, and from them drops into
the plate. When this is done all sit and the girl's parents join their
"hands, repeating the names of the boy and girl, their fathers,
grandfathers, great-grandfathers, and families. Then the two
family priests, taking a plate with water and a silver coin in it and
dipping mango leaves into the water, sprinkle it over the heads
of the boy and girl repeating verses. The priest takes two threads
and winds orie thrice .round the necks and the other thrice
round the waists of the girl and boy. Then he makes them sit a
little closer to each other so as to loosen the thread. Then the
thread which was wound round their necks is pulled down over
the feet and the thread which was wound round the waist is drawn
up over the head. The threads are next wetted with cocoa-milk
and rubbed with turmeric and the girl's priest winds one round
the boy's right wrist and the boy's priest winds the other round
the girl's right wrist. These are called marriage-wristlets or
lagna-lianhans.

As soon as the astrologer has been presented with the hour-
cups and the cocoaniit the^ sahha pujan or guest-worship is
performed for which invitations were issued the day before. The
male guests are seated either in the hall of the house or in the
marriage porch. Those who are hhikshuks or begging priests sit on
one side of the room and the laymen sit on the other side ; a few of
the highest of each class are provided with pillows. In front of the
guests sit dancing-girls, and before the dancing-girls are laid silver
plates with betel packets, flower garlands, nosegays, and sweet-
smelling davna or Artemisia abrotanum and marva or sweet marjoram
shrubs. There are also salver jars of rosewater and boxes of
perfumery. A few of the host's friends rise from among the guests
and hand the articles. Packets of betelnuts and leaves are given first
to rich or learned laymen and priests and then to the rest; next each
is given a flower garland, their clothes are sprinkled with rosewater.

Chapter III.
Population.

BbAhmans.

<JbITPJ.¥A.N3,

Marnag,e.

' The articles presented to the boy are : A plate of queen's metal, a water-pot and
a cup either 6f silver or brass, a brass lamp, finger rings, and if well-to-do a necklace,
a cow, a female servant, and land. A few middle class families and some of the
poor, who cannot afford to give so much, content themselves with a brass water-pot,
and a cup, a lamp, and perhaps a gold finger ring.

[Bombay Gazettec

134

DISTRICTS.

Chapter III.

Population.

bsahmaks.

Cbitpavans.

Marriage.

and their wrists are rubbed with scented oil. Besides these eac
wealthy layman is given a cocoanut and each learned cleric l|c?. 1
4s. (1 anna - Es. 2). Except the poor clerics all withdraw thankiu
the host for his hospitality and receiving the host's thanks for the
friendly attendance. The poor priests go into the yard, and as the
leave the host gives each |d to 6d. (4-4 as.). This is. calle
ramnydchi daJcshana or the toy -present. Each of the women guesi
is given a cocoanut aud all retire.

Outside the house in a square tracing is placed a grindston
and in front of the stone a bathing tub filled with warm watei
Around the stone are set five water-pots or tdmbe filled with col
water. The boy and the girl are seated on the stone and bathec
Married women sprinkle water from the five pots on the head of th
boy and girl, and the boy, taking a mouthful of water, blows it ove
the body of the girl's sister and the girl on the body of the boy's sistei
Wiping dry their bddies with a towel, the boy and girl dress i:
fresh clothes and are led into the house and seated on two loi
wooden stools, the girl to the' right of the boy. Then, taking
necklace of black glass beads with a gold button in it, the' bo;
worships it and fastens it round the girl's neck. Then, on a lo'^
' wooden stool in front of him, the boy lays two pinches of rice ^m
two betelnuts and turmeric roots, and worships. The rice is tied t
the hems of the boy's and girl's clothed and after the marriag
ceremony is over is cast away.

For the vivdha or marriage which is also called grahdpraves\
or house-entering the boy and girl are seated on low wooden stool
near each other dressed in silk waistcloths and robes. In fron
of them an earthen altar is raised and on its four sides blades o
darbha grass are spread. To its left are set four leaf-cups mangi
leaves and sacred grass, and, either in a new winnowing fan or on i
leaf- plate, are placed parched rice grains, and behind them a sanda
grindstone. In front of the boy are set a water-pot and cup an(
on each of his third fingers is put a ring of darbha grass. Fire i;
lit on the altar and fed with butter, with sacred sticks or samidha
and with bent grass or durva,.and a little butter is sprinkled over thi
grain. The girl's brother comes and seats himself in front of thi
girl facing her. He puts two handfuls of parched grain into th(
girl's hands and the boy holding the girl's hands in his left ham
and covering them with his right, both the boy and the girl stanc
with their, hands covered,' and throw the parched grain over th(
fire. Then the boy, taking the girl's right hand in his own righ
hand, walks round the fire for the first- timei, and makes the gir
stand on the sandal grindstone. After this the boy and girl tak(
their seats on the wooden stools as before. He takes the girl'i
hand a second time and walks round the fire. At the. time of takinj
the third turn the boy lifts the girl in his arms or sets her on hii
right hip and completes the third turn. The remaining . parchet
grain the boy throws in the fire, pours more butter on it, and th(
ceremony is over.

After the marriage-fire- or viudha-hom comes the sapta-padi'' o.
seven steps. While the boy and girl are sitting on the stools th(

Seccan.]

POONA.

135

priest calls to the women and cliildren in tt^ house to come and see
the husband lift up his wife, and as this is a funny sight all cluster
round the couple. The sacrificial fire is rekindled. To the left of
the fire seven small heaps of rice are made in. a straight line and
close by is set the sandal grindstone. The boy and girl leave their
seats, and the boy thrice takes a handful of rice and throws it
into the fire. He then lifts the girl, carries her on his left arm,
and walks thrice round the fire. Before , taking the third turn
he sets the girl down, and standing behind her the girl's brother
sets the boy's foot so that he pushes the girl's foot right over
the heaps of rice, the priest repeating a verse when each step is
taken. In return for the help he has _ given the girl's brother is
presented with a turban. As soon as the seventh heap of rice is
broken, the priest asks the boy's sister to press down the girl's
big toe and for this service she is presented with a cocoanut. The
bride now stands on the sandal-stone and the boy, lifting her as
before, once more walks round the fire. When this turn is finished
the boy and girl again take their seats on the low wooden stools
and feed the fire with butter and parched grain. After the seven
steps are taken the boy and the girl are taken outside of the house
and the priest points to them the pole or dhruva star. They look
at it, bow to it with joined hands, and coming back into the house
feed one another. When the feeding is over small round betel-leaf
parcels are given to the boy and girl. By turns they hold one end
of the rolled leaf in their teeth and the other bites off the end.
After this they play games of odds and evens, the boy is pressed to
take the girl on his knee, and they are told to kiss each other.

Meanwhile the boy's female relations take offence and go
back to the boy's house. After they have gone the girl's relations
fill bamboo baskets with split pulse, wheat flour, a cup full of
butter, molasses, a little bran and oilcakes, rice, scented oil,
redpowd,er, and cocoanuts, and placing them on the heads of
servants, go to the boy's house, and fill the offended women's
laps with grain pulse and cocoanuts, rub scented oil on their
hands and redpowder on their brows, and ask them to come
to their house to a feast. To please the boy, who like his female
relations is supposed to be annoyed, the girl's brother and father bring
a richly trapped horse to the boy's house. They beseech him to come
back and dine, but he refuses and asks for ornaments or rich
clothes. The girl's father agrees to give him what he wishes, and
with the boy's kinspeople and friends returns in triumph to the girl's.
Here the guests are all seated, and when dinner is announced all
wash their hands and feet, put on silk waistcloths, and take their
seats. The boy, wearing a new silk waistcloth, sits with the girl
at the head of the male guests and they feed one another from the
same plate. The women guests dine at the same time in a separate
room. In front of the boy's mother a lighted lamp is set and she
is asked to take her seat and break' the wafer biscuit which is
served on her leaf-plate. Then follows what is known as ukhama or
metrical bantering. Most of the cleverness is in the rhymes which
are lost in a translation. The girl's mother begins : In front was
a niche in which was a frying pan, do not sulk, do not be proud.

Chapter III.

Population.

BrAhmasts.

CbitpAvass.

Marriage,

[Bombay Gazett(

DISTEICTS.

Chapter III.

Fopiilatiou.

BbAhmans.

GbitpIvans.

Marriage,

but eat at leisured The boy's mother answers, I step on a 1
sandalwood stool, what have you prepared that I may dine at leisun
The girPs sister say^, In front was a niche in which was
drinking cup, to dine at leisure we have prepared sweet-gram bali
The boy's sister answers, In front was a niche in which was
grain of parched rice, the balls ,you have prepared we- do not lik
Some one from the girl's side says. In front was a niche
which was a grain of parched rice, to prepare more dishes
sweetmeats we have no means.^ One from the boy's side then g(
angry and says. In front was a niche in which were avle fruits,
your banter how much folly there is.® From the girl's side. In fro
was a niche in which were pulse cakes, if you do not like pulse cat
eat pebbles.'^ From the boy's side, Near the gate of the marria
hall was tied a fowl, the girl's sister is a tattler.^ From the gir
side. In the front niche was a necklace, and from the boy's mothei
hair-knot passed a Bhangi's household.* From the boy's side, '.
front was a niche in which was a plate, if households pass throa<
the hair of our head why should yoa be ashamed ?^'' From the gir
side. At the door of the marriage hall was a cham/pnha tree, t'
girl's sisters are a band of dancing-girls.^^ . From the boy's side, !
front was a niche in which was a knife, from her way of tuckii
in the back part of her robe she truly is a courtezan.^^ In this wi
they go' on dining for hours and end in abuse. At last to close t]
contest one of them says, In front was a liiche in which was a gra
of parched rice, we do not wish to banter in the presence of men,
Among the men like scenes take place. They answer each other :
verses or shlohs.

Sunmukh or looking in the daughter-in-laiw's face comes aft(
the offence-taking. The women oi the boy's house take i
the girl's a silver plate with ornaments and other plates ar
baskets containing a new robe, a bodice, cocoanuts, sugar, date
almonds, turmeric^ and redpow;der. When they reach the girl
house the boy and girl are seated in the marriage hall on la
wooden stools. The contents of the baskets and plates are show
to the women of the house, the boy's feet are washed by son
elderly woman, and the girl is presented with turmeric and rec
powder. The silver plate is set before the boy who takes from it

' Samor hota Tconddatydni hota tava, nisu nahd, pJmgu naha, sdvaJeash jeva.

'' Ohdndamdche pdtdvar t!ievla pdya, sdvakdsh jevdydla kelet kdya? . ,

' Samor hota hondda tyd/nt hota gahu, sdvakdsh jevdydla Tcele bv/ndiche Iddu,

* Samor hota hondda tydnt hoti MM, amhdla bundiche Iddu dvadat ndhi. .

^ Samor hota kondda tydnl hoti Idhi, ydj pehsha'pakv'dmmivar chadh hardmayds dmMi
milat ndhi.

^ Samor hota hondda tydnt hote dvle, uhhdne ghdlatdna hiti chevale ?

' Samor hota hondda tydnt hote vade, tumlidla Iddu ndhi dvadat tar hhd hhade.

^ Mdndavdche ddri bdndhak hombade, navaremuli hadali karavali donhi kadacl
chombade:

^ Samor hota hondda tydnt hote gdthle, Inhiniche hhopydtun gele bhangydche hhatale.

1° Samor hota hondda tydnt hoti tdtaU, dmche khopydAun geli hhataU, tenvha tumhdl
idn Idj vdtali ?

1' Mdndavdche ddri hota chdpha^ navaremuli hadalya karavalya kaldvaniinich
tdpha.

^ Samor hota hondda tydnt hoti suri, kdaafydchi niri tar hasbin hhari.

'' Samor hota kondda tydnt hoti kthi, dmhi puruahA-dekhat uhhdne gh4Ht ndhi,,

Deccan.]

POONA.

137

nosering and a necklace and pats them on the girl. Women rela-
tions deck the girl with other ornaments, dresa her in a new robe
and bodice, and fill her lap with wheat,, cocoanuts, almonds,
apricots, and dates, and the rest of the women are given turmerio
and' redpowder, pieces of cocoa-kerael mixed with sugar, and
betel packets. The boy's mother and grandmother are presented
with robes and bodices and his sisters either with bodices or with
bodices and robes. After dinner the boy's relations return. Then
comes the sddi or robe-giving when ' women relations and friends
start from the boy's h6ufle with two plates, one with jewelry and
the other with sixty -three betelnuts, turmeric roots, about a pound
of rice, a cocoanut, a rupee in cash, a bodicecloth and a robe, and
go to the girl's house accompanied by music. After a short time
they are followed by the boy's father, brothers, and other relations
and friends. When they are seated the priest sets two low
wooden stools opposite each other. The boy and girl sit on the
stools in a- square marked by lines of quartz powder. One of the
women relations places the plates which they brought near the boy,
and he takes a nosering and puts it in the girFs nose and a necklace
and fastens it round the girl's neck. The boy's sister decks the
girl with other ornaments, and dresses her in the new bodice
and robe, and fills her lap with a cocoanut, sixty-three betelnuts,
turmeric, and rice grains. A mamed girl should not remain at her
parent's more than three hours after the robe-giving.

Next comes the rdsnhdne or festive bathing when the girl's mother

bathes the boy's mother and other kinswomen at the girl's house,

A swinging cot is hung in the back part of the house adorned with

jingling bells and a plantain tree is set at each comer of the cot.^

Taking a present or dmboan, the girl's mother and her kinswomen

and friends go to the" boy's house and seat themselves in the

women's hall, and either the ^I's mother or some other elderly

married woman goes to the boy's mother and other elderly women

and asks them to come to her house and have a bath. A low stool is

set in the middle of the marriage hall, the boy's mother is seated on

the stool, her feet are washed by the girl's mother with milk and water,

and she is presented with a yellow robe and a white silk-bordered

bodice. Turmeric and redpowder are handed to the boy's mother

and other women and their laps are filled with rice and cocoanuts.

All start in procession with music. Before they start the washerman

spreads cloths. for the women to walk on and continues lifting the

cloths over which they have passed and laying them in front till

the party have reached the girl's house. The washerman prevents

the boy's mother putting her foot on the cloth until she gives him

a present for removing the evils that overhang her head. This is

called ovdlni or keeping off. For this he is paid 2s. (Re.l). As she

moves, wreathed poles called nakshatramdlds or star-garlands and

abddffvr pdhhhatra's or guardian umbrellas are held over her

head, and every now and again she is seated on a high wooden

stool in the street, and with other relations her lap is filled and she

is presented with turmeric and redpowder. Fireworks are let off,

sometimes guns are fired and torches are lighted, and musicians

sound drums and fifes. • With this pomp the procession passes to the

B 310— 18

Chapter III.
Population.
'BB.iBUAsa.

CBITPj.yA.SB.

Marriage.

[Bombay Gazetteer,

•138

DISTRICTS.

Chaptelr III.
Population.

Bkahmans,

CbitpAvans.

Marriage.

girl's House, Near the door of tlie marriage hall the musiciang
stop the way a,nd refuse to let the boy's mother enter until she pays
them an ovdlni or guarding fee, and she pays' them about 2s. (Re. 1).
Then the boy's mother refuses to enter the marriage hall unless
the girl's mother pays her 2s. to 10s. (Rs. 1 -5), When this is
paid she goes into the hall. The girl's mother pours milk and
water over the boy's mother's feet, presents her with turmeric powder
and redpowder, and seats all the guests in the marriage hall. The
boy's mother is seated on a low wooden stool, and the girl's mother^
bringing a basket of rice, pours it over her head, and while she
bends in getting up throws a robe over her shoulders. Then a
square is traced in the marriage hall and a low wooden stool is set
in the square and a bangle-seller is asked to come with glass bangles
of different colours and kinds. When the boy's mother has taken her
seat the bangle-seller is asked to sit and the boy's mother throws a
sash over him. Then he asks her what bangles she likes and takes
her hand to try the size. But she refuses to let him put any glass
bangles on her wrist unless she first gets gold bracelets. If the girl's
family is rich they yield to her wish. ; if they are poor she has to be
content with glass bangles. Then all the other women are presented
with glass bangles. ■ The cost to a rich family varies from £5 to £10
(Rs.50-100), to a middle-class family from £2, to £2 10s. (Rs.20-25)
and to a poor family from 10s. to £1 (Us. 5 -10). Then the guests,
beginning with the boy's mother, are rubbed with spices and oils
and bathed by the girl's mother and by female servants. After the
guests have been bathed the girl's mother is rubbed with sweet
scented powders and oils and her head with, scented powders and
cocoa-milk. She is seated on the swinging cot and a woman
standing near swings the cot, and hence the name the swinging
bath pr jhokenhdne. Sweetmeats are served, betel is handed, and
the guests withdraw.

At the girFs house in the women's hall a quartz square is
traced and three low wooden stools are set, two in a line and
the third in front. The girl's maternal uncle brings the girl in his
arms and seats her on a stool and the boy walks in and sits to
the right of the girl. On the front stool a new waistcloth is
laid, and, with the priest's help, the boy and girl worship the
waistcloth by throwing turmeric and redpowder over it. When
the worship is over her maternal uncle carries the girl in his arms_
to a mango tree. The priest follows and they sit on low woodenl
stools in front of the tree, worship it, and go back to the"
house. Then comes the airini or bamboo basket worship, when,
in a square tracing, the boy and girl are seated on two low wooden
stools and the girl's mother places a ring of twisted cloth on the
boy's head and on the ring of cloth the father sets the basket with
dough lamps in it. The girl is seated on the boy's lap and he
drops a pinch of sugar into her mouth. She is then seated on the lap,;
of the boy's priest, then on the boy's father's lap, then on the brother's
lap, and they too drop a little sugar into her mouth. The boy and
girl are then both seated on the girl's mother's lap and she puts
sugar in the girl's mouth, and the ceremony ends. The robe and
bodice the girl wore at the time of marriage are placed over the-

Beccan.]

POONA.

139

priest's hands and the boy worships them and along with a money
present asks him to take them. The girl's father taking the girl in his
arms goes into the marriage hall, and seating the girl by turns on
the lap of the boy's relations says to each, * This my daughter whom
up to this moment I have nourished as a son, do you now likewise
nourish as your son/

Within five days after the marriage day, generally in the
6v€fning, comes tne vardt or marriage procession. In the girl's
house the boy and girl are dressed in rich clothes and seated on
low wooden stools before the house gods. The girl's sister puts a
little curds pn the boy's right palm and he sips it. He takes from
the god-room an image of the goddess Annapnrna and hides it
in his hand or in his pocket. The boy's sister ties together the
hems of the boy's^ and girl's garments and they are seated on a
horse> the girl in front of the boy. They start for the boy's
house accompanied by men and women relations and friends-
with music and fireworks. On the way, if they pass a spot
supposed to be haunted by evil spirits, a coeoanut is waved over
the boy's and the girl's heads, dashed on the ground, and cast
away. At the boy's house, when the boy and girl alight, the horse's
feet are washed and cooked rice sprinkled with redpowder is
waved round the horse's body and thrown to some distance. On
the threshold the boy's sister sets a pot filled with rice, and when
the boy and the girl come near the pot, the girl knocks it over with
her foot. The boy's sister refills it and the girl knocks it over again.
This is repeated a third time. Then the boy tells the girl that his
aister wants their daughter. The girl promises that if she has
seven boys and the eighth is a girl she will give her in marriage to her
sister-in-law's son. Then the sister fills the bride's hands with rice,
and, with the boy walking close behind her and bending over and
holding both her hands from behind and with his thumbs from time
to time forcing out grains of rice, she walks till they reach the
room where the ma.rriage gods are enshrined. Here the boy and
girl sit on low wooden stools before the gods, and after performing
some rites the boy's relations tell him the bride's new name and this
he whispers into her right ear.

In the same evening at the girl's house is the mdndavapartani
OP marriage booth-returning. A feast is given to the boy's relations
when a variefy of dishes are prepared, and the feast lasts all
night to near daybreak. After the feast the boy and his father
are presented with a turban and the boy's mother with a robe
and bodice. The guests receive a betel packet and a coeoanut and
withdraw. Next comes the samdrddhana or festive entertainment
a return feast given at the boy's house to the girl's relations when a
dish or two more of sweetmeats are prepared than at the girl's
bouse.

The closing rite is the guardian-nnshrining or devdevakotthdpan.
When the feast is over, at the boy's house his parents along with
the boy and girl, and at the girl's house her parents alone, unshrine
and bow out th& marriage gods. The marriage gods are unshrined
with the same details with which they were' enshrined. The

Chapter III.

Population.

BbXhmans.
CniTPAvASSt

[Bombay Gazetteei

140

DISTRICTS.

Chapter III.
Population.

CbiipJ.vans.

Coming of Age.

gods are brougM out of the house in the same order in which the]
were taken into the house. All are put in a plate and the watel
from the Varun-pot is sprinkled over the gods and on the girl anc
boy and on th& boy's parents. The mango leaves are plucked of
the twigs and thrown on the top of the marriage hall and some o:
the ropes_ that bind the roof of the marriage hall are loosened,
Among rich ChitpAvans the cost of a marriage varies from £150 tc
£250 (Es. 1500 - 2500) ; among the well-to-do from £50 to £10C
(Es. 500-1000) j and among the poor from £10 to £25 (Es. 100-250)
Garbhddhdn literally conception is the ceremony at a girl's coming
of age. A girl generally comes of age between twelve and fourteen,
News is sent to the family astrologer and he is asked to say whether
the time at which her sickness began was lucky or unlucky.^ If the
moment was unlucky all sorts of calamities and troubles arise, and
to remove or prevent thein,shdnti or quietings have to be performed.
The chief of these is the Bhuvaneshvari shdnti or the quieting 6l
Bhuvaneshvari. When a quieting is wanted word is sent to married
female neighbours, who come, and, without touching the girl,
lay in her lap a turmeric root, a betelnut, and a handful of rice.
Then a woman of the Maratha caste is sent to the houses oi
kinswomen friends and neighbours, and they are asked to come to
the turmeric and redpowder or halad-Jcunku ceremony. A bamboo
frame is set in the women's hall six feet long and two broad arid a
bangle-seller is called to adorn it with bangles. A high wooden stool
is set in, the frame, and the girl, dressed in new clothes and wearing
ornaments is seated on the stool. Musicians play for four days
for a couple of hours morning and evening, and a woman of
the Maratha caste attends the girl day and night, washing her
clothes, combing her. hair, and sleeping with her. For three
days the girl is given presents of cooked food, and the food is eaten
by the girl, her maid, and the house-people. On the morning of
the fourth day the girl is Ijathed and neighbours kinswomen
and friends come with presents of a cocoanut, a betelnut, a piece
of bodicecloth, and a ha,ndful of- rice, and lay them in her lap.
The girl's mother goes to the boy's house with uncooked food

I Almost always some ill luck attaches to the moment at which a girl's sickness
begins. Of five hundred cases perhaps only one falls at an entirely lucky moment.
lU-luck may creep in from many sources, days, dates, months, planets, junction of
planets, and colour of clothes. Under any of the following circumstances quieting or
shdnti rites should be performed. If the sickness began on a Saturday, Sunday, or
Tuesday ; if it began on the first, fourth, sixth, eighth, ninth,, twelfth, or fourteenth
of the lunar fortnight or on the day of full-moon ; if it happened in the month of Chaitra
or March-April, Jyesth or May- June, A'shddh or June-July, Bhddrapad or August-
September, Kdrtik or October-November, and Paush or December - January ; if aay
of the following stars was in the ascendant, the second the third, sixth, ninth, tenth,
eleventh, sixteenth, eighteenth, twentieth, and the twenty-fifth of the twenty-eight
daily nahshatras or host-stars in the moon's monthly course round the heavens ; il it
happened during the first, sixth, ninth, tenth, thirteenth, fifteenth, seventeenth,
nineteenth, twenty-sixth or twenty rseventh of the fortnightly ndkahotras or host-stars
in the sun's yearly course in the ecliptic ; if it happened during an eclipse ; if it
happened in the evening or at night ; if her sickness began when Uie girl was asleep,
was wearing old clothes, was wearing red green or any fantastic coloured clothes, or
if she was wearing no clothes at all ; u it happened at a strange house or village, and
if at the time the girl was holding a broom, sticks, grass; fire, or a winnowing^au.
All these occaBio&s rec[uire a (AaTiti or g^uietiiig ceremony.

DeccanJ

POONA.

141

enough ior the whole family, and cooking it with the help of the
women of the house serves it to the boy's household. Before the
dinner is begun her mother gives the girl 2s. to £1 10s. (Rs.1-15) in
cash. On the fifth morning, or on any day within sixteen days from the
beginning of the girl's sickness, learned Bjahmans, the girl's parents,
and near relations are called, and the boy and the girl are bathed.
In the women's hall a square is traced with lines of quartz powder,
aaid two low wooden stools are set in a line, one for the girl the
other on the girl's right for the boy. A square altar of earth
is raised in front of the boy and near it is laid a leaf -cup filled with
grains of rice. On the rice is set a betelnut and the boy worships
the nut as the god' Ganpati. A sacrificial fire or horn is lit on the
earthen altar and tixe same rites are performed as at a marriage,
except the seven-steps or saptwpadihra/man and the polestar-seeing
dhruvadarshan. When this is over the boy and girl leave their
seats and go and sit in a square tracing on two low wooden stools,
on the veranda or near the house steps. Another earthen altar
is raised in front of them and the middle of each of its sides is
adorned with a plantain stem. The boy then begins to kindle a
sacrificial fire in honour of the goddess Bhuvaneshvari. He first
takes some grains of rice in a leaf-cup, sets a betelnut on the rice,
and worships the nut as the god Ganesh. Then the priest is given
a betelnut and the boy makes a low bow before him and other
Brdhmans. The boy and girl leave their seats, the boy sitting on
a low stool close by, apd the girl going into the house and sjjbting
among the women. The priest, sitting on the stool on which the
boy sat, mixes in a metal plate cowdung and cow's urine, cards,
butter, water, and the sacred grass or durbha, and repeats verses
-i^nd sprinkles the mixture over the earthen mound and round
himself. When he has finished sprinkling the mixture he sprinkles
mustard seed round him, and last of all water. To the east of the
altar a square ig traced and in the square are laid a couple of leaf-
plates. Three heaps of mixed rice and wheat are laid in a line,
and on each heap a water-pot is set, the pot on the middle heap
being larger than the side j)ots. The priest fills the pots with
water, and drops into each a little sesamum seed, some durva grass,
the five jewels or pancharatna gold diamond amethyst emerald
and pearl, the five leaves or panchapallav of the pipal (Ficus
Teligiosa) umhar (F. glomerata) vad (F, indica) pimpri (F. infectoria)
and mango, the five cow-gifts ot panchagavya iiaik. curds clarified
butter cow-urine and cowdung, the seven seeds hhat rice, jav barley,
hang Italian millet, mug Phaseolus radiatns, sava, Panicum miliare,
til sesamum, and udid Phaseolus mungo, apta leaves, coriander
seed or dhanya, the seven earths,^ and thirty-two healing roots and
herbs. The pots are covered with metal lids and on each lid rice
aad a betelnut are laid. On the pot, close to each betelnut, is
set an image, Bhuvaneshvari on the central pot, Adhidevata Indra
on the right pot, and Pratyadhidevata Indr^ni on the left pot.

Chapter III.
Fopolation.
BbIhua^ts.
CbitpAyans.
Coming of Age,

I The seven earths or laptamritikm are : From the king's palace gate, from an an
hill, from under an elephant's foot, from under a horse's foot, from where four road
meet, from a cowshed, and from under the vdla or Andropogon muricatum tree.

[Bombay Gazetteer,

143

DISTRICTS.

Chapter III,
Popxilatioii.

BeAhmams.

QBITFAVANSi

Coming of Age.

The three goddesses are worshipped and each is presented with
a robe and a bodice. The^ priest sits on the stool on which the
girl sat, and a married woman brings fire from the house and the
priest scatters it on the altar along with firewood and cqwdung
cakes. Two pounds of cooked rice are brought from the house and
kept close by, as are also four leaf -plates on which fortj-two pinches
of' rice are laid with a betelnut on each pinch. Then to the north-east
of the leaf -plates, which are called the navagvahas or nine planets,^.
is set a water-pot or Jcalash covered with mango leaves and a
cocoanut. The navagrahas and the water-pot are worshipped.
Then low wooden stools are set round the fire or horn and learned
Br^hmans sitting on the stools repeat verses and feed the fire with
cooked rice, butter, sesamum, and samidhds or sacred sticks of the
palas (Butea frondosa), Jched (Mimosa catechu), and other trees.
Then the Brdhmans take durva grass, wheat, and sesamum seed,
and mixing cooked rice in milk and batter,, feed the fire in honour
of Bhuvaneshvari. Next a married woman takes a bamboo basket,
andj laying a leaf -plate in it, brings about 'a pound of cooked
rice and poUrs it into the basket j and the boy, taking a little out '
of the basket, makes ten balls, and places one at each of the eight
points of heaven, the east and south-east, the south and south-west,,
the west and north-west, and the north and north-east. He adds
two more,, one to the east the other to the north of the altar. He
makes twelve more balls and sets nine near the nmagraha and
one each near the three goddesses. Over all the balls he throws a
little udid pulse and redpow.der or guldl. He makes twenty-
three torches, twenty-two- of them small and one of them large, he
soaks the torches in oil,, and placing one on each of the twenty-two
rice balls or TrmtMs lights them, _ Then the boy and the girl take
their seats on two low wooden stools, and place the basket with the
cooked rice before them and stick the big torch into the rice. The-
torch is lighted, redpowder is sprinkled over it, and a cocoanut
and a betel packet are pliaced in the basket. The boy takes a
pinch of rice in his hands> and says, 'To you Yaksha
Brahmaehiri,, Bhut, Pret, Pish^chya, Shankini, Dankini, and Vetal
and other evil spirits do I offer this. May you, eat it and depart in
peace.' He then throws the rice over the basket. Then a Knnbi
servant coming from the house with a blanket on his head lifts the
basket in both hands, and after waving it thrice round the boy and
girl sets it on his head, and, without looking back, lays it by the
roadside at some distance from the house. The boy and girl wash
their hands and feet outside of the house enclosure, return, and go
into the house,. The boy dresses in a short waistcloth or panchay
and the girl in a bodice and robe, and they are seated on stools, the'
girl to the left of the boy. Then the priest and other Brahmans
take water and a few mango leaves from Bhuvaneshvari's' pot and
from the mangoe leaves sprinkle the water ovBr the heads of tho'boy
and girl. The restof. the water is put in a bamboo or metal rovali or

> The nine planets axe tiie Sun, Mboo, Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn,,
BSlra, and Eetn.

Deccan.]

POONA.

143

sieve and isjield over the head of the couple. The boy's mother seats
the hoy and girl on stools, and either his mother or his sister rubs
sweet powder on the boy's body and the girl's mother or sister rubs
sweet powder on the girl's body. Both of them are then taken
to the house well and bathed separately. After rubbing themselves
dry the "boy dresses in a rich silk waistcloth and the girl in a
bodice and robe, and the clothes in which they bathed become the
priest's property. Then the boy's and the girl's brows are marked
with sandal and redpowder and they take their seats before the
sacrificial fire and worship it; The boy then takes a pinch of ashes
from the sacrificial fire and touches with it his own and the girl's
brows. This part of the ceremony ends with a blessing from the
priest and other Brdhmans present.

Next to perform the conception or garhhddhdn ceremony a square
is traced with lines of quartz and two low wooden stools are set in
the , square. The boy and girl, after bowing before the house gods
and the elders, take their seats on the stools, and a married woman
comes and touches the boy's, the girl's, and the priest's brows with red
powder. The punydhavdchan or holy-day blessing is performed with
the same details as before a marriage, and the boy and girl leave
their seats and go and sit near the sacrificial fire in the house. The
fire is then rekindled and rice is cooked over it, and the boy places the
rice along with a few mango leaves on his right. The boy takes
a mango leaf in each hand, his wife lays butter on the two leaves,
and the boy drops butter on the rice. She then washes her hands
and more butter is thrown over the fire. They are now done with
the sacrificial fire, which is put out either at once, or in the evening,
or next morning. The boy and girl now rise, and taking flowers
in their hands go out of the house and looking at the sun throw the
flowers towards it. They then come in, take their seats near the
fire, and the boy, laying his right hand on the girl's head, pronounces
a blessing. The boy's sister hands th« boy a small quantity of
bent grass or durva, pounded wetted and tied in a piece of white
cotton, and he, standing behind the girl and laying her head l?etween
his kneesj with his left hand lifts her chin and with his right
, squeezes into her right nostril enough bent grass juice to pass into:
her throat. The girl leaves her seat, washes her hands and feet,,
and sits as before beside her husband. She once more leaves her
seat and sits to the left of the boy when he either touches her breast
or one of her shoulders and lays in her lap a cocoanut which rests
on a turmeric root, betelnut, and wheat. The girl's mother and her
relations, as well as the boy's mother and her relations, one after
another, lay articles in the girl's lap and present both the boy and
girl with clothes and ornaments. When the lap-filling is over the
boy whispers his name into the girl's right ear. Then money is
presented to Brdhmans who ask a blessing on the heads of the
couple, and they go and make a-bow before the house gods and the
elders. A feast is held, and as the girl is considered to have
become pure, she is given a cup of butter and serves it to the diners.
In the evening, if the 'fire is allowed to remain, it is rekindled and
fed with grains of rice and the boy rubs ashes on his own and on
the girl'a brows. A carpet is spread in the women's hall and tie

Chapter III.
Population,

BbAhmans.

CBITfJVAlia,

Coming of Age.

[Bombay Gazetteer,

144

DISTEICTS.

Chapter III.
Population.

BEiHMANS.

Oommg ofAge^

men and women relations take their seats. Tlie girl is dressed in
ricli clothes and her head is decked with flowers. The boy is
dressed in rich clothes, a coat waistcoat and turban, and they are
seated face to face on the carpet. Male guests sit round the boy
and female guests sit round the girl. Small round parcels of betel
leaf are given to the boy and girl. The boy holds one end of the
rolled leaf in his teeth and the girl bites off the other end. The
boy is made to take the girl on his knee and bite a roll of betel leaf
which the girl holds in her teeth. Jokes are made and th«y banter
each other. The girl then washes the boy's feet and marks his brow
with redpowder and sandal. She puts a nosegay in his hands and
spreads leaf'-plates for the guests to eat sweetmeats and fruit. All
begin eating and the boy and girl who sit at the head of the table
feed one another and eat from the same plate. When all are done
the gn-l hands the guests packets of betel and the boy either leads
her by the hand or lifts her in his arms and takes her into the
nuptial room. Next morning, if the sacrificial fire is still alight,>
the boy and girl bathe and rekindle it and then allow it to die.

A pregnant woman is treated with the greatest care and
tenderness and both her parents and her husband's family .try to
give her whatever she longs for. She is considered particularly
open, to the attacks of evil spirits and is therefore as far as possible
kept within doors, is forbidden "from going into an empty house,
from sitting under a tree, or from riding an elephant or a horse.
She ought not to go into a house with an upper' story, or sit on a
mortar or pestle, or let her hair hang lose on her back, or quarrel,
or eat hot and pungent things, or weep, or sleep during the day, or
lie awake at night. She ought not to draw lines with coal or with'
her finger nails on the ground. She ought not to sit with her feet
turned back, and she ought not to cut. anything during an eclipse.
She should eat packets of betelnut and leaves, mark her brow
with redpowder, rub her arms with turmeric, put lampblack into
her eyes, bathe, and comb her hair. If the mother attends to these
rules the child becomes healthy and intelligent. If she suffers from
loss of blood she should give a Brdhman a sacred thread of gold,,
and the issue of blood will cease. As what the husband does during
his wife's pregnancy is believed to affect his wife and the unborn
child, he avoids certain acts. He builds no house, does not bathe
in the sea, attends no funerals, does not travel, and does not get
his head shaved.^ - •

' These acta are forbidden to the husband of a pregnant woman because during
her pregnancy a woman is specially apt to suffer from the attacks of spirits. The
forbidden acts must therefore be believed to be specially likely either to enrage
spirits or to bring them to the house. The reason for the different prohibitions
seems to be that in building a house the anger of the place-spirit is aroused against
the trespasser ; the husband must not bathe in the sea because the seashore is
thick with ghosts ; he must not go to a, funeral because the burning ground is
the great haunt of spirits; he must not travel because he crosses boundaries,
another favourite spirit haunt ; he must not have his head shaved because,
perhaps, an exorcist might get hold of the shaved stumps and through the stumps
work mischief in the house; These rules and examples are interesting ' as they'
throw light on the widespread practise 6f the lying-in father. This practise, which-
is commonly known by its French name couvad, may be described as various forms.

Deccan.]

POONA.

145

The chief ceremonies, which are performed daring a woman's
pregnancy are the man-bearing or punsavan in the second month,
the quench-longing or anavalobhan in the fourth month, and the
hair-parting or simantonayana in the sixth or eighth months.
These ceremonies should be performed at each pregnancy ; if they
are not. performed at a woman's first pregnancy they cannot be
performed on any subsequent occasion. On the day of the
ceremony the wife and husband are anointed with sweet smelling
spices and oils and they bathe. A quartz square is traced in the
women's hall and two wooden stools are set in the square, and at
some distance in front of the stools carpets are laid for Brdhmans
to sit upon. The husband aud wife bow before the house gods
and the male and female elders,, and take their seats on the
stools. A married woman marks the brows of the husband the
wife and the family priest and retires, and the husband, taking in
his hollowed right hand a ladlef ul of cold water, pours the water
on the ground before him saying, ' I" pour this water that the child
in my wife's body may be a male and be intelligent, that he may
live long, and that he may not suffer in the hour of birth, and not be
possessed with bhuts, gans, and rdkshasas, and may be happy and
Ijong-lired.' He next performs the quench-longing or anavalobhan
ceremony that his wife may not wish for anything which is likely to
cause a miscarriage. He then worships Ganesh and performs the
holy-day blessing with the same details as during a marriage. Then
an altar of earth is raised in front of the boy and the girl and the
sacrificial fire is kindled with the same details as at the marriage
or vivdha horn. After this the wife leaves her seat and stands
behind the stool on which she sat, and into her hollowed hands her

Chapter III.
Population-

BeIhmans.
OhitpJvass.

Pregnancy.

of inTaliding the father instead of or as well as the mother. The practice occurs in
Western India among the Fomaliyas or gold-washers of South Gujar&t, who, after
a birth, take great care of the husband, give him special food, and do not allow him
to go out ; among the Dombars and Lambdnis of the Bombay Karndtak the husband
is oiled and fed and keeps at home the wife doing all the work ; among the Korvi
basket-makers of Madras both men and women eat asafcetida after a bath (Tylor'a
Primitive Culture,. I. 84) ; and in Seringapatam and on the Malabar Coast on the
birth of the first daughter or of any son the father goes to bed for a month, lives on
rice, takes no exciting food, and is not allowed to smoke. In Borneo the husband
;nust eat nothing but rice and salt ; he must do no hard work, fire no gun, strike
no animals. In West Yunnan in China the husband takes to bed for forty days.
In Europe traces of the practice of the lying-in husband remain in Corsica, North
Spain, Beam, Navarre, and Biscay, The practice is very noticeable and elaborate in
Ajaanca. In Greenland both father and mother keep quiet ; in North America the
father gives up all active pursuits, fells no tree, fires no gun, and hunts no large game,
but loafs at home in a hammock ; in Guiana and other pairts of South America the
husband does no work, fasts, and may not use his nails in scratching ; in California he is
given noarishing food. In the West Indies the father takes to his hammock, eats and
(Irinks nothing for five days, and for five more takes nothing but light beer. On the
fortieth day he is cut with sharp teeth, his wounds are peppered and he is put to bed
and kept in bed for several days. For six months he does not eat birds or fish
(Tylor's Early History of Mankind, 291-305). Mr. Tyler (Ditto, 298) suggests as an
explanation of these customs sympathetic magic that is the feeling that closely
connected beings act on each other. The character of the acts forbidden to the
Chitpdvan hnsband, and the fact that diseases connec^d with pregnancy and child-
birth are still in 'India almost universally believed to be the work of spirits, suggest
that the explanation of all varieties of couvad is to be found in the early spirit theory
of disease. The object of all the spedal treatment seems to be to prevent the father
doing anything likely to displease spirits or give them the opportunity of fastening
on him and coming home with him.

B 310—19

KDiii- <'\i:.i .^

[Bom'bay Gazetteer,

146

DISTRICTS.

Chapter III.

Fopnlation.

Bkahuans.

CbitpAvans.
Pregnancy.

Atonement.

husband drops a grain of wheat with on each side of the wheat two
grains of udid pulse. Over these three he pours a little curds.
He then asks her thrice what she is sipping, and she answers that
by which women conceive. The husband and wife go outside the
housBj wash their hands and feet, and sit as before on the low
wooden stools. He places his right hand on his wife's head,
and prays that the child may be born in the tenth month and
may be a male. Next comes the hair-parting or simantonayana.
The husband holds back the wife's head as he did when she came
of age, and squeezes the juice of bent gra^s into her right nostril.
He next takes a water-pot, fills it with water, and putting on
a lid lays grains of rice on the lid, and over the whole sets a
golden image of "Vishnu. After the sacrificial fire is kindled he
takes a porcupine quill and a blade of sacred grass, and passing
them along the parting of his wife's hair fastens them into the
knot behind. He takes a garland of wild umbar figs and hangs
it round her neck, and decks her with ornaments and her hair with
flowers. She is then seated on her husband's left and her lap is
filled with fruit and wheat. Presents of clothes and ornaments are
made to the husband and wife and they leave their places afterthe
Brahmans have called blessings upon them. Money is distributed
among the Brahmans and those who have not been asked to dine
retire. From this time until after the child is born the wife is held
impure, and water .and food are not taken from her hands. As at
the coming of age the sacrificial fire is allowed to go out.

All-atonement or sarva-prdyaschitta vidhi is generally performed
by the mortally sick or the aged whose failing powers ■warn them
that their end draws near. It is a sad rite. Hiaf riends, f rom day to
day, try to persuade the sick or the aged to put off the atonement
ceremony as there is no cause to fear the immediate approach of
death. No one can make atonement without asking leave of his
heir. If the sick is too ill to perform the rite, his heir can take
his place. If a man dies without performing the ceremony,
atonement can be made on the eleventh day after his death. On
the morning of the day of atonement, the penitent bathes and
dresses in a newly washed waistcloth and shouldercloth. He sits
on a low wooden stool in the women's hall and in front of him sit
on mats and carpets Brdhmans among whom are a few learned
divines or shdstris and scriptare-readers or purdniks. When the
Brdihmans are seated the penitent take's in his hands some copper
coins and a water cup and ladle, and after walking round the seated
Brd,hmans throws himself on his face before them, and with joined
hands begs forgiveness. He rises and stands before -them
with joined hands. The Brahmans say : ' Tell us truly why you
have called us and why you have bowed so low before us ? ' The
penitent, keeping his hands joined, answers : ' From my birth until
now, either knowingly or unknowingly, with wish or without wish,
once or often, with 'body speech or mind, alone or in company,
with touch or oth&rwisfe, by eating or refusing to eat, by drinking
^r refusing to drink, by eating or drinking with those of other
castes, by tempting or by causing another to sin, by eating or
drinking from unclean vessels, by defiling a person from his caste,

Decc&n.l

POONA.

147

in these and in otlier ways I have not ceased from sin. Do ye
receive me, and by giving me atonement free me from the burden
of my sins.' He lies flat or bows before the Brdhmans. He
goes on : 'Do ye, who are able, free me, penitent, from the burden
of my sins.' And a third time he bows or falls before them. He
again rises and gives them the coppers he holds in his hands. He
next goes into the house and brings out the money, he intends
to give the Brahmans, and putting it in a plate lays the plate
before them. He worships the money and lays a sacred book
before the plate, and throws grains of rice over _ the heads of the
Brahmans. Then the Brahmans choose one of their number, who
is either ignorant of the ceremony or whose love of money over-
comes his scruples, and set him in front and call him the
representative or anuvddah. The representative repeats the name
of the host and Ms family stock and says : ' Except such grievous
sins as murder and adultery, I take on myself the sins of my patron
and free him from them.' The penitent then gives the sinbearer
a double share of the money in the plate besides uncooked food and
other presents, and the sinbearer is told to leave the house bearing
with Mm- the load of the penitent's sins. After the sinbearer
has gone, the host washes his hands and feet, sips a little water,
and with joined hands returns thanks to the other. Brahmans for
freeing him from the burden of his sins. He. asks them to allow
him to be shaved and a barber shaves his bead except the top-knot
and his face except tbe eyebrows and pares his nails. The penitent
goes to the house well, bathes, rubs his teeth with a branch of the
aghdda Achyranthes aspera, and again bathes. He rubs cowdung
ashes on the palms of his hands and then with his right hand rubs
ashes on his head, face, chest, private parts, and feet. He puts on
more water and covers with ashes his whole body from head to foot
and bathes. In this way he thrice rubs ashes and thrice bathes. He
next takes cowdung and rubs it on his body from head to foot and
again bathes. He takes earth and laying bent grass upon it, throws
a little to the east, south, west, and north, towards heaven, and on the
earth, and pouring a little water on the earth rubs the wet earth on
his head, face, throat, chest, navel, shoulders, sides, armpits, back,,
thighs, legs, feet, and hands> and finally over his whole body. He
takes niore dust and bent grass, drops sesamum over them, and-
throwing them into the well prays to the well and bathes. He rubs
cow's urine on his body, then cowdung, then milk, then curds, and
last of all butter, bathing after each. He dresses in fresh-washed
clothes, and going into the house, makes a clay altar, kindles a
sacrificial fire, worships Vishnu, and feeds the fire with cow's urine,
dung, curds, milk, and butter, and drinks what of the mixture
remains. He makes money presents to Brdhmans and they retire^
This ends the atonement except that unless he is ill the penitent eats:
nothing during the whole day. If he is ill, he can eat any food
which is not mixed with salt, for on this day salt is strictly for-
bidden. Women perform the all-atonement as well as men. The.
Only difference is that no verses are. repeated.

When a Ghitpavan is on the point of death, a spot in the women's
hall is cowdunged, holy basil or tulsi leaves are sprinkled over

Chapter III.

Population.

BeIbmans.

ChitpJvans.

Atonement.

Vea&i

[Bombay Gazetteer,

148

DISTRICTS.

Chapter III.

Population.

Brahmans,

CbitpAvans.

Death,

the spot, and a blanket is spread over the leaves. On the blanket
the dying person is laid with his feet to the south. A few drops of
the sacred Ganges or Bhdgirathi are poured into his mouth,
a learned Brdhman repeats verses from the Veds, another reads the
Bhagvat Gita, and near relations or the family priest ask him to
repeat, Ndrayan Ndrdyan. His son rests the dying head on his
lap and comforts him until he has drawn his last breath. When all
is over the women of the family sit round the body weeping and
wailing ; the men and the boys go out and sit on the veranda bare-
headed ; servants or neighbours start to tell relations and friends, .
and the priest turns up his almanac to see whether the moment of
death Was lucky or was unlucky., To die under the constellations
called tripdd a,nS.panchak or under the last five of the seasonal stars or
nakshatras, between the second half of Dhanishtha and the first half
of Ashvini, is unfortunate. When the time of death is unlucky, to
prevent calamity and trouble, quietings or shdntis have to be performed
on the eleventh day after death. Soon neighbours dressed in a
waist and shouldercloth begin to drop in. One goes to the market and-
brings what is wanted for the funeral. When he comes back others
busy themselves laying out the body. If the deceased was a
Agnihotri or fire-sacrificing Brahman, some live coal is taken from the
sacred fire, or a fire is kindled, and the live coal is put in an earthen
pot. The chief mourner and his brothers, if he has brothers, are
bathed one after the other outside of the house. The chief mourner
takes a blade of the darbha grass, touches his brow with it, and
passing it over his head throws it behind him. He dresses in a wet
waistcloth and shouldercloth and sits in front of the barber and
shifts his sacred thread, to the right shoulder.^ The barber shaves
his head except the top-knot and his face except the eyebrows,
and pares his nails. The chief mourner is dressed in a new waist-
cloth, a shouldercloth or uttari is tied along with his sacred
thread, ' a blade of dcurhha grass is tied round the sacred thread
and the shouldercloth, another round the top-knot, and of a third
he makes a ring and puts it on the third right finger. The
body is brought out of the front door by the nearest male relations,
followed by the women, and is laid on the outer steps of the house
on a small wooden plank, the head resting on the steps. The
•women gather weeping round the head and the men stand at some
distance. Three or four pots of cold water are brought from the
well and poured over the body which is hidden from sight while it
is being dressed. Elderly men bathe the body and leave . it bare
except a loincloth.^ A piece of gold and an emerald are put in the
inonth. A few drops of the sacred Bhdgirathi river are poured into
the mouth and sprinkled over the body, the two thumbs and the
two great toes are tied together with cloth, and the body is laid on
the bier and covered from head to foot with a cloth. If the dead
^ ' — ■

' In performing ceremonies for the dead the thread ia always shifted from its
usual position on the left shoulder to the right shoulder ; it is allowed to remain on
the left shoulder in performing ceremonies to the gods.

^ Elderly women dress a woman's body in a full suit of clothes. If the dead woman
is married and is not a widow her hair is braided, redpowder is rubbed on her -;
brow, and turmeric on her face and arms ; nose, ear, head and feet ornaments are put
on ; butter is rubbed on her head ; and her lap is filled with fruit and flowers.

DeccanJ

POONA.

149

leaves ctildren a hole is made ip the face-cloth over the mouth.
K the dead leaves a wife she is bathed in cold water, and says :
'Because of the great evil that has fallen on me, I shave my head.'
She takes off such of hei* ornaments as are not to be given to the
barber, or she puts on ornaments of little .value, a small nosering,
earrings, and silver toerings which are given to the barber, or
instead of ornaments she gives him about 4s. (Es. 2) in cash, The
barber shaves her head and pares her nails. She breaks her
bangles and her lucky marriage necklace, rubs off her red brow-
mark, takes off her bodice, and puts on a white ^obe. The robe and
the ornaments she wore at the time of shaving become the property
of the barber. Her hair is wrapped in her bodice and laid on the
bier. The chief mourner starts walking with the firepot hanging
from a string in his hand. The bier is raised by four of the nearest
kinsmen, set on their shoulders, and carried feet first close after the
chief mourner. With the chief mourner walk two men, one holding
a metal pot with the rice which was cooked near the feet of the
corpse ; the other carryiiig a bamboo winnowing fan with parched
pulse and small bits of cocoa-kernel, which, as he walks, he throws
before him to please the evil spirits. Of the men who have come to
the house some follow the body bareheaded and barefooted, repeating
with a low voice Ram Rdm, Govind Govind. The rest go to their
homes. The bearers walk slowly and the chief mourner keeps close in
front that no one may pass between the fire and the body. No woman
goes to thebuming ground. Female friends take the women and the
children of the house and bathe them, get the ground floor where
the corpse was laid, the veranda, and the house steps washed
with water and cowdung, and go home. Half-way to the burning
ground the bier is lowered, and, without looking back, the bearers
change places. When they reach the burning ground an earthen
altar is made and the fire from the pot is poured over it.
Instead of himself accompanying the funeral, the family priest
sends another Brahman, generally one who oflBciates at the burning
ground and who is known by the name of kdrta} A few chips of
firewood are thrown over the fire and it is fed with butter. Close
to the platform, a spot of ground is sprinkled with water and
sesamum seed is thrown over it. On this spot the funeral pile is
built by the mourners and round the pile blades of darbha grass are
strewn. The pile and the bier are sprinkled with sesamum and
water, the sheet is pulled off the body and thrown aside, the hand
and feet cloths are cut and the body is laid on the pile with the
head to the south. Pieces of sandalwood and basil leaves are
thrown over the body, and, if the deceased died at an unlucky time,
seven dough balls are made and laid on the head, the eyes, the
mouth, the breast, and the shoulders. Then from a mango leaf
butter is dropped on the several balls, and the loincloth is cut that

Chapter III.
Population.

Blli.HMAN8,
CsiTPjrANS, .

Deaih,

^ Kartds take their name from the Sanskrit harat a funeral rite. They are found
among all Brihmans. They generally perform death ceremonies. The rest of the
caste look down on the Kirta, and they are seldom asked to conduct marriage and
thread-girding or other lucky ceremonies. They eat, drink, and marry with the
people of their caste, but are considered unclean in the same way that a mourning
family is considered unclean.

[Bombay Gazetteer,

150'

DISTRICTS.

Chapter III.

Population.

Bkahivians.

CmirJ.vANS,

Death.

the body may leave the world in Jhe same state in which it came
into the world. The chief mourner lights the pile, if the dead is a
man at the head and if a woman at the feet, and the other mourners
throw the rest of the fire under the pile.- The chief mourner fans the
fire'with the end of his shouldercloth and throws a few sesamum seeds
over the pyre. The hdrta or funeral priest all the while repeats verses.
When the skull bursts the chief mourner, carrying on his left shoulder
an earthen jar filled with cold water, takes his stand near where the
head of the corpse lay, and another of the mourners picking a
pebble makes with it a small hole in the earthen pot, and, from the
hole as the chief mourner walks round the pyre water keeps
trickling.' At the end of the first round, when the chief mourner
comes back to the south, a second hole is made with the stone, and a
second stream trickles out. After the second round a third hole is
made, and when three jets stream out, the chief mourner throws the
pot backward over his shoulder and the water spills over the ashes.
The chief mourner calls aloud striking his hand on his mouth,.
All the mourners come together and one of them ties round the
pebble,- with which the pot was broken, a blade of darbha grass
and calls it ashrda that is the life. The chief mourner, to cool
the spirit of the dead which has been heated by the fire, pours water/
mixed with sesamum on the ashes, and, to quench the spirit's thirst,'
pours water over the asJima or stone of life. The rest of the.
mourners follow the chief mourner and throw Water over the stone.
They start for home. Before starting, to allay the fear caused by
burning the body, each picks a pebble and throws it towards the
nearest mountain or hill. At the house of mourning the spot on
which the dead breathed his last is smeared with cowdung and a
lighted lamp is set on it. As the mourners come, to cool their eyes
which have been heated, by the fire, they look at the lamp and go
to their houses. The chief mourner bathes, puts on a fresh waist -
cloth, and lays in some safe place the waistcloth and shouldercloth he
wore at the barning ground, the water-pot and cup, and the asthmd
or lifestone. As no fire is kindled in the house relations and caste-
fellows send cooked food. If the chief mourner has brothers, before
dining they rub butter on their right hands, make a ball of rice,,
set it in front of their leaf-plates, and pour water over it. The
family of the deceased keeps in mourning for ten days, during
which they eat no betel or sugar and drink no milk. They
are also not allowed to rub their brows with sandal or red-
powder, to anoint their bodies, to shave their heads, or to wear
shoes or turbans. Every day for ten days a sacred book, the
Garud Purdn or Vulture Soripturej is read to the family
and the bearers are not allowed to dine until they have seen a
star in the heavens. Generally on the third day comes the bone-
gaiihering or asthi-sanchay'aii, when the chief mourner, accompanied;
by the Kdfta, goes to the burning ground with, the waistcloth and
shouldercloth he wore at the burning, the lifestone, and the water- '
pot and cup, and after washing the two cloths spreads them to dry.
He bathes, puts on the fresh-washed waistcloth, and ties the shoulder-
cloth along with his sacred thread. He takes a little cow's urine,
spriokles it on the ashes of the dead, picks out the pieces of unbumt.

DeccanJ

POONA.

151

bone, and heaps them on one side. When he has -picked all the
bones he ppts them in a -basket and throws them and the ashes
into some neighbouring pond or stream.^ When he has thrown the
ashes into the water, he sits on the spot where the deceased's
feet lay and raises a three-cornered altar or vedi. He sets an
earthen jar in each corner of the altar and one in the middle,
fills them with water, and throws a few grains of sesamum into each.
Close to the jars he lays the stone of life. Near the four earthen
Jars he places four small yellow flags and in the mouth of each jar
sets a rice balL He makes eight dough balls shaping them like
umbrellas and footprints' and four cakes which he lays near the jars.
The cake near the middle jar and the water in the middle jar are
meant to appease the hunger and thirst of the dead, the dough
umbrella is to shade him from the stin, and the shoes are to guard
his feet from the thorns on the way to heaven. The cakes laid close
to the corner jars are offered to Rudra, Yama, and the ancestdrs of
the dead. He sprinkles sesamum and pours water over each of the
balls and touches them with lampblack and' butter. He dips the
end of the shouldercloth into water, and lets a little water drop over
each ball. He smells them, aad, except the stone of life, throws the
whole into water. Thus for ten days he perforins like ceremonies
that the deceased may gain a new body. On the first day the dead
gets his head, on the second his ears eyes and nose, on the third
his hands breast and neck, on the fourth his middle parts, on the
fifth his legs and feet, on the sixth his vitals, on the seventh his bones
marrow veins and arteries, on the eighth his nails hair and teeth,
on the ninth all remaining limbs organs and strength, and on the
tenth hunger and thirst for the renewed body. On this tenth day
a three-cornered earthen altar is made as usual, and the chief
mourner sprinkles cowdung and water over it. Then, strewing
turmeric powder, he places five earthen pots on five blades of sacred
grass, three in one line and two at right angles. He fills the pots with
water and a few grains of sesamum seed and over the seed sets a
wheaten cake and a rice ball. -He plants small yellow flags in the
ground, and setting up the lifestone lays flowers before it, and
waving burning frankincense and lighted lamps, prays the dead to
accept the offering. If a crow comes and takes the right-side ball
the deceased died happy. If no crow comes the deceased had
some trouble on his mind. The chief mourner bows low to the
^:^riifestone, and tells the dead not to fret, his family and goods will
be taken care of, or if the funeral ceremony has not been
rightly done, the fault will be mended. In spite of these assurances,
if for a couple of hours no crow takes the rice, the chief mourner
himself touches the ball with a blade of sacred grass. Then, taking
the stone, and rubbing it with sesamum oil, to satisfy the hunger
and thirst of the dead, he offers it a rice ball and water, and
standing with it near water, facing the east, throws it over his back
into the water. This ends the tenth-day ceremony. On the

Chapter III.
Population.

BkAhmaks.

OhitpJ-YANS.

Death.

•1 If he has to take the bones to NAsik, Bentos, or some other sacred spot, the chief
mourner puts them in an earthen jar and buries the jar near his house in some lonely
place where they are not likely to be touched. After a year he goes on pilgrimage
and at the place of pilgrimage throws the bones into water,

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DISTRICTS.

Chapter III.
Population.
BaiHUAHa.

CbitpJ.van8.
Death.

moming of the eleventh day the whole house is cowdunged and
the chief mourner and all other members of the family bathe.
The priest kindles the sacred fire on an earthen altar and heaps
firewood over it, feeds the fire with a mixture of cow's urine, dung,
milk, curds, and butter, and that all the uncleanness caused by the
death may vanish and the house become pure; the chief mourner
and . his brothers drink what is left of the five cow-gifts or
panchagavya. The chief mourner rubs a little ashes on his brow
and throwing a few rice grains over the fire lets it die. <

On this eleventh day a quieting or shdnti is performed to turn
aside any evil that may befall the family_if a member of it dies
under the constellation called trvpdd or under the five planets or
panchaks. In the women's hall an altar of earth is made and the
mourner sits in front of the altar. Close by he lays a leaf-cup with ■
rice grains in it, and over the rice a betelnut, and worships the
betelnut.as the god Ganesh. He empties a ladleful of water on
the palm of his right hand, and pours the water on the ground
saying ' I pour this Water that the dead may go to heaven and no
evil fall on his family.' He leaves his seat and asks the priest to
begin the ceremony. The chief mourner sits somewhere close by
and the priest sitting on the spot on which the chief mourner sat
performs the worship. He takes mustard seed and sprinkles it all
over the house, then cow's urine, and last of all cold water in which
a blade of sacred grass has been steeped. Next he lays a couple of ;^
leaf-plates in front of the mound, spreads grains of rice over the ,
leaves, and over the rice sets five water-pots or kalashes, one at each t
corner and one in the middle. He covers the pots with lids, and on
each lid sets grains of rice, a betelnut, and a golden image. The ,
image on the middle pot is Tam, on the east pot is Kudra, on
the south Varun, on the west Vishnu, and on the north Indra. •
Each of the images and water-pots is worshipped. A second
betelnut is laid on the lid of the middle water-pot in honour of
Ashtdvasu, on the east water-pot in honour of Varun, on the
south water-pot in honour of Ajaikpdd, on the west water-pot
in honour of Ahvibradhna, and on the north water-pot in honour
of Usha. Round the middle pot fourteen betelnuts are arranged ,
in a ring in honour of Tam, Dharmardj, Nirrut, Antak, Vaivasvat,
Kal, Sarvabhutakshaya, Audumbar, Dadhna, Nil, Paramesh,
Vrikodar, Chitra, and Chitragupta; and all are worshipped. • The ^^
priest kindles a sacred fire in honour of the nine planets or
navagraha. Over the fire ho cooks rice, and sprinkling sesamum
over it feeds the sacred fire with butter. ■ The priest takes a
mango Jeaf, dips it into the water of the different pots, and from ^
the point of the leaf sprinkles water on the head of the mourner
and his family. ' A metal cup is filled with boiled butter, the
mourner and the rest, of.the family look at the reflection of their
faces in the butter, and the cup is presented to a Brahman who walks
away with it. This ends the quieting or shdnti ceremony. Except
that three water-pots are set instead of five, the ceremony to quiet a
tripdd constellation is the same as the ceremony to quiet^the planets.^ ;,

^ A tripdd oonstellatian is one of which three-fourths are iucluded under one sign of
the zodiac, Williams' Sanskrit Dictionary..

DeccanJ

POONA.

153

On the same day, tliat is the eleyentli day after a death, ia
the deceased's house, an earthen altar is made and a sacred fire
kindled upon it. On the fire three metal pots are put, two of
brass arid the third of copper. The copper pot has rice and water,
and one of the brass pots rice and milk and the other water and
wheat flour. When the dishes are cooked, a water-pot is set in the
middle of the platform, and on the pot a lid some grains of rice
and three betelnuts and they are worshipped. The contents of the
three pots are poured on three leaf-plates and with them the chief
. mourner feeds the fire. A male calf of a fiVe-year old cow and a female
calf of a three-year old cow are brought, new waistcloths are put on
their backs. Sandal and redpowder are rubbed on their brows,
garlands of sweet basil and flowers are thrown round their necks,
and their tails are, dipped in a ladle of water and shaken over
the head of the chief mourner. Next two irons, one three-pointed
called a trishul the other ending like a key handle in a ring and called
ckupti, are laid in burning cowdung cakes. The male calf is thrown
down with its legs tied near the sacred fire and when the irons are
red-hot ashes are rubbed above the joint of the calf's right forefoot
and on the ashes the red-hot trident is pressed. Then the ringed
iron is pressed on his hind quarters, and the calf is allowed to rise.
The chief mourner walks round the calf, and looking to the
four quarters of heaven tells the animal that henceforth the four
corners of the world are free to him and that he is at liberty to
go wherever he pleases. He leads both the calves to the road-
side at some distance from the house and sets them free. The
lowing of the bullock when it is being branded is believed to carry
thedeceasedtoheaven, and his first cry opens the doors of heaven for
the dead to enter. Poor people instead of a live ox make an ox of
dough. After the bullock has been set free presents are made to
Br^hmans. One of the presents is a cow which is called the Vaitarni
cow because the dead is believed to cross that river of blood and
filth by holding the cow's tail. Presents of other articles, food,
water-pots, shoes, an umbrella, a lamp, cloth, sesamum seed,
betelnut, flowers, butter, a sacred thread, and bedding, are also
made to Brdhmans. At the time of presenting the bedding
a cot is placed in front of the house steps, and fitted with
,*ipattresses, pillows, sheets, and curtains. On one side of the
bed is laid a plate filled with metal boxes for keeping betel,
lime, catechu, cloves, cardamums, almonds, nutmeg, nutmace,
musk, and saffron. The Brahman who is to receive this
present is dressed in the deceased's waistcloth, waistcoat, coat,
shouldercloth, turban^ handkerchief, and shoes, and, if the
deceased was an old man, a walking stick is placed in his hands.
He is seated on a low wooden stool with his back to the cot, an
umbrella is held over his head, and a fan is placed, in his hands.
The mourner sits in front of him, marks his brow with sandal, and
asks a Maratha woman or other middle class woman to wait
on the Brd.hman. The chief mourner then rubs scented oils and
powders on the Brahman's body and lays before him flowers and
grains of rice, burns frankincense, and waves a lighted lamp and
camphor before him, and says to him : ' I make you these gifts that the
B 310— 20

Chapter III.
Population.

BBi.HMANS.

ChitpJ.vans.
J>eat^.

[Bombay Oazetteer,

154

DISTRICTS.

Chapter III.
Population.
BrAsmass.

CsiTPArANS.

Death,

dead may be freed fronif his sins and reach heaven in safety,
and that there all his lifelong he may hare a cot to lie on, a
packet of betel to eat, a maid to wait on him, an umbrella to
shade him from the sun, and a stick to help him in walking.' The
Brdhnian is seated on the cot with his feet resting on the ground, and
the chief mourner washes his feet with water, rubs sandal on his
brow, and presents him with 2». to £10 (Rs. 1 - 100). The Brdhman
lies on his back in the bed, the maid who becomes his property
shampoos his feet,, and the chief mourner, helped by other male
members of the family, lift the cot on their shoulders with the Brah-
man on it, and, followed by the maid, carry it some distance
from the house, and set it on the roadside, and, throwing a little
earth and cowdung at the Brdhman, return home, wash their hands
and feet, and sending some money as the price of the maid or ddsi
bring her back. The receiver of this present is considered the
ghost OTpretoi the deceased. As it is most unlucky to meet a man
who has taken such a present, the present is generally given to an
outside Brahman who is not likely to come to the house or to be
met in the streets. In some places the mourner and his friends some-
times carry the pelting of the present-taker with stones, earth, and
dung so far that the police have to interfere. Like the Earta the
cot-taking Brdhman is not allowed to take part in lucky ceremonies j
or to join dinner parties. Besides the cot, several other articles^^j
grain, pulse, and other necessaries of life enough to feed a family for
a whole year, clothes, houses, lands, fields, and sacred books including
the Bhagvatgit^, Bharat, Ramayah, Pdndavapratdp, Bhaktivijayai. <
and Shivlilararit are given to Brdhmans. The sacrificial fire is
kindled, and a number of shrdddhs or funeral ceremonies are
performed. This ends the eleventh-day observances.

Though, if necessary,, it may be delayed for a year, the sapindi-
shrdddh or memorial service in honour of seven generations of ances-
tors, generally takes place on the morning of the twelfth day after
the death. As a rule, the ceremony is held in the cattle-shed where
the dishes are cooked by some elderly woman. In the morning the
chief mourner bathes and takes his seat in the stable, and the family
priest, sitting near him on a low wooden stool, begins to repeat verses.
The mourner takes three bits of plantiain leaf or chats and lays them
inaline facing north as the seat for his grandfather, great-grandfather,
and grandfather's grandfather, two leaf -seats facing east for the
gods Kuldev and Kamdey,^^ and a leaf-seat facing north-east for the
deceased. Before the priest are a cup, a saucer, and a ladle
full of water. He dips blades of the sacred darbha grass into the
water and from the point of the blade sprinkles water over each of
the leaf-seats. He takes two more blades of grass, twists them in
rings, and draws them over his third right and left fingers. He ties
a blade of the grass to his top-knot and another round his sacred
thread. He takes a blade of the grass and a little barley and
tucks them ibto the right side of his waistband, and a blade of
the grass and a little sesamiim seed into the left side of his
waistband. Under his seat he lays four blades of grass, and joining
his hands repeats the names of Kuldev and Kamdev. He
changes his sacred thread from the left to the right shouldei-,'

DeccanJ

POONA.

155

repeats his father's name and family, and the names and family of
his grandfe,ther, great-grandfather, and grandfather's grandfather,
and moves his sacred thread back to its usual place on his left and
shoulder. He takes a bundle of darhha grass, six copper coins
and some sesamum seed and barley, and leaving his seat goes
round the six leaf-seats or sacred grass images representing^
Br^hmans to pay the homage due to them.' Then, standing
and looking towards the grass images, he asks them if he is fit to
perform the ceremony. JHe takes his seat and holding seven
blades of darhha grass lays two on the leaf -seat of Kuldev, two
on the leaf-seat of Kamdev, and three on the leaf -seat of the
deceased. He sets before him two plates, half tills them with water,
and throws in the one a little sesamum and in the other a little
barley. In each plate he lays a blade of darhha grass, a betelnut,
and a copper coin, and sprinkles water from the plates over his head.
He leaves his seat, sprinkles water over the cooking dishes, and asks
the cook whether the food is ready. When the food is ready the
mourner again sits and throws grains of rice and sesamum on all
four sides of him to guard himself and the ceremony from evil
spirits. The chief mourner faces the grass images of Kuldev and
Kdmdev, throws sesamum and barley over them, and sprinkles
the spot in front of the two images with water from the three plates,
throws two blades of darbha grass over the two spots which he had
sprinkled with water, and taking two plantain-leaf cups, sets them
on the blades of gi'ass. He sprinkles water over the cups and
lets them run over. He lays two blades of darhha grass across
the cups, pours a ladleful of water into each, throws sandal paste,
barley, and basil- leaves into them, and asks the two gods to accept
them. He takes four grains of barley, touches the grass images
with his left hand, and drops some grains over them from his right
hand. He covers them with his left hand, and, taking the two
blades from over the cups, lays them on the leaf-seat. He takes
each cup and touching the leaf-seat with his right hand pours the
contents over his right hand, and sprinkles more water from the
three: plates over the leaves. He shifts his thread to his left
shouldfer, repeats the name of his father and the family name, and
throws a blade of darhha grass and a few sesamum seeds over the
leaf seat of the deceased, and over the seats of the grandfather,
great-grandfather, and grandfather's grandfather. He sits in front,
of the deceased's leaf, sprinkles water before it, turns the cup rim up,
lays four blades of darhha grass across the rim, and pours into the
cup a ladleful of water from the plate mixed with basil leaves,
sandal powder, and sesamum seeds. He treats the leaf -seats
of the grandfather the great-grandfather and the grandfather's
grandfather in the same manner, lays three blades of darhha grass
across the rim of each of the three cups, pours a ladle of water into
each, and taking in his hands some grains of sesamum and repeat-
ing his father's name and his family name throws some sesamum

Chapter III.

Population.

Bbahmaits.

0BITPJ.VAN8,

Death.

.' If the mourner is well>to-do he haa Br^hmans to sit instead of the pieces of
plantain leaf. . •

[Bombay Oazetteer,

156

DISTRICTS.

Chapter III.
Population.

BitiHMAITS.

CbitpJ.vans,
Death.

into each of the four cups. He says, ' I unite my dead father
with my grandfather, my gi-eat-grandfather, and my grandfather's
grandfather.' He takes a ladle of water from his father's cup
and a blade of darbha grass from each of the fouV cnps and
pours the water in front of one of the three cups and lays the blade
near the cup. He treats the other two cups in the same way. Then,
taking a ladle of water from each of the three cups, he sprinkles a
little over the blades, and empties the other two cups over the
leaf-seats. He gathers all the blades from the two cups and lays
them on the first of the three cups and throws the cups in a corner
along with his father's cup. He shifts his thread frOm the right
to" the left shoulder, drops sandal and flowers oyer the leaf-seats of
Knldev and Kdmdev, and burns frankincense and camphor before
them. He worships the father's, and the ancestor's leaf -plates,
makes a square of water in front of Kamdev's and of Kuldev's
cups, shifts his thread to his right shoulder, and drops water in a ring
in front of each of the three forefathers' plates, and in the form of a
triangle in front of the father's plate. He spreads leaf-plates over
all the water lines and draws lines of ashes round the four ancestral
plates, and lines of flour or qnartz powder round the two gods'
plates. He rubs butter on the six leaf-plates beginning with
Kuldev's and Kdmdev's plates. Fire is brought and a, little cooked
rice is thrice thrown over the fire. If Brahmans are seated on the-
four leaf-seats of the deceased, and of his father, grandfather, and
great-grandfather, the cooked rice is given tothem and they swallow
it> but, as rich presents are required before Brahmans will agree to
eat the cooked rice, a blade of dafbha gvaas is generally set torepresenf
them and to receive the homage-due to them. A leaf-plate filled with
heaps of rice, vegetables, sugared milk, and cakes is laid before
the leaf-seat of Kuldev and a second plate before the leaf-seat-of
Kdmdev, and water from the. three metal plates is sprinkled over
them. A. ring of water is poured round each of the plates, and the
mourner, resting his right knee on the ground and pointing to the
food with his right thumb, says, Idam anam, that is ' This is food.'
He shifts his thread to his left shoulder, rests his left thigh on
the ground, and points with his left thumb to the four leaf -plates,
which are laid in front of the four ancestral leaf -seats. He drops
a little honey on each of the four leaf -plates, and says to the ancestral
spirits or pitris, 'Are you satisfied with the food.' He throws a
little water in front of the six plates, and sprinkles some grains of
rice over them. He lays down a blade of darbha grass and ofiers
sugared milk as food to those of his family who may have died in the
womb, been buried, or been burnt without due ceremony. The
images are asked if they have had enough, and if they have had-
enough, what is to be done with the remaining cooked rice. The,
mourner is told to roll the rice into balls or pinds.. He takes the
cooked rice and makes some of it into a rolling. pin and of the rest
he makes three rice balls. He sits facing the south-east, sprinkles
a little water to the right in front of him, lays blades of darbha
grass on the water,. and lifting the pin from before him sets it on
the grass. To hialeft he sprinkles a spot with water and on the spot
lays three balls on blades of grass. These three balls represent

Deccanj

TOONA.

157

the mourner's grandfather, his great-grandfather, and his grand-
father's gandfather. He sprinkles water on the leaf-plate which
represents his father's spirit and worships it with sandal paste,
basil leaves, and sesamum, and prays it to be freed from its
present state and to be gone for ever. He then takes a little
water on the palm of his right hand and says, 'I now mix or
join my dead father with his dead forefathers.' He takes nine
blades of darbha grass, twists them into a cord, and ties the two
ends by a knot. Catching the knotted string between the four
fingers of both his hands, he sets it on the rice rolling pin, and
closing his eyes, and repeating Vishnu's name, presses the string
on the pin, and divides it into three equal parts. He takes the
nearest part of the pin and makes a cup of it, and laying some
honey and curds in the cup, drops one of the three balls into it and
closes it repeating, ' I unite this first part of the dead or pret with
my grandfather,' and lays the piece of the rice rolling pin on the
spot from which he picked it. He takes the mi ddle part of the rolling
pin, forms it into a cup, and putting in the cup the ball which
represents the greah-grandfather, , closes the mouth of the cup
saying, ' I unite the dead with my great-grandfather.' He treats the
third part of the pin in the same way as the first two parts saying
' I unite the dead with my grandfather's grandfather.' He pours a
ladle of water over the first ball and says *I offer water in the name
of my, father.' He pours water over the second and third balls
saying, ' I offer water in the name of my grandfather and of my
great-grandfather.' Up to this time the deceased has been a
ghost or pret. The ghost now changes into a guardian spirit or
pitra that is father, and unites with the mourner's pitdmaha or grand-
father, and his prapitdmaha or great-grandfather. The grand-
father's grandfather ceases as the relationship stops with every
fourth person. The mourner rubs a little butter on the three balls,
marks them with lampblack, puts a ,thread from hia waistcloth
over them, and lays round them the utri or cloth which was tied
with his sacred thread on the day of his father's death. If the
mourner is over eighty -five he plucks- a few hairs from his
breast and lays them on the balls. The cooking pots used
during the ten days of mourning are presented to the priest,
and in front of the three balls are laid flowers, holy basil, sandal
paste, and' grains of rice j frankincense and camphor are waved
before the balls and they are offered cooked food. All members
and near relations of the family, men women and children, draw
near the three balls, bow before them, and ask their blessing. The
grass figures or chats and the balls are asked to take their leave, the
water from the plates is thrown over the balls, and the Brdhmans
are presented with uncooked food and money. The mourner is now
pure and free from taint. He gathers the balls and leaf -plates,
puts them in a pot, cleans the place, and sprinkles barley and'
sesamum water on the spot where the balls were. He throws
the whole into water. The priest touches the brow of the mourner
with sandal paste and blesses him, saying : ' May you live^lohg and
gain as much merit from the ceremony as if it had been performed
in Gaya itself.' Either on the same or on the following day another

Chapter III.
Population.

BbAhmans.

CHITPAVAm,

Death,

[Boml>ay (Gazetteer,

158

DISTEICTS.

Chapter III.
Population.

BlliSMAKS.

ChitpJ-VAns.
Deaih,

offering or pdthaya shrdddh is performecl. The mourner sets two
leaf-plates facing east and north and lays a blade of darbha grass on
each. He sets before him a few blades of the sacred grass and over
the grass three dough or rice balls in the name of his father, his
grandfather, and his great-grandfather, and worships them, present-
ing them with shoes, clothes, an umbrella, food, and ajar with cold
water in it, to protect them in their journey to heaven from thorns
and from cold, heat, hunger, and thirst. The presents are handed
to begging Brdhmans and the ceremony is over.

On the morning of the thirteenth day after a death, the mourner
anoints his hair with oil and bathes. He rubs sandal paste on his
brow, sits on a low wooden stool with the priest close to him, and, ex-
cept that a lamp is kept burning near him, has all the fire and hghts
in the house put out. He sets a betelnut on a pinch of rice in a
late and worships the nut as the god Ganesh. He sets close to him
.1 water jar called the Soothing Pot or shdnti halash, and puts into
the pot water, mango leaves, bent grass, a betelnut, and four copper
coins, and, taking a ladle of water in his right hand, says, 'I perform
the ceremony for myself and my family to be made happy hereafter
and not be troubled with like troubles.' Four Brahmans sit round the
water-pot each with a blade of the sacred grass in his right hand
and touch the water-pot repeating verses. The water is poured into
a plate and the four Brdhmans, dipping in mango leaves, sprinkle
the water from the leaf -tips on the heads of the chief mourner,
all members of the family and the entire household, and in every
corner of the house and over the furniture. With the help of
the lamp fire is kindled in the ovens. A money present is made
to the four Brd,hmans varying according to the mourner's means,
from a couple of shillings to five or ten pounds. The priest rubs
redpowder on the mourner's brow, sticks rice grains on the powder,
presents him with a new turban, and the'relations and friends fol-
low offering turbans. The mourner takes a whole betelnut, and
with a stone breaks it on the threshold of the front door, a practice
not allowed on any other occasion, and chews a little of it. The
priest, laying a little sugar on a leaf, hands a morsel to the mourner
and to each member of his family. A feast is held to which the
four corpse-bearers are specially asked, but people whose parents
are living do not attend the feast. The mourner, dressed in a now
turban, is taken to a temple, and after making a bow is brought
back to his house and the guests take their leave. On the six-
teenth day the mourner performs a ceremony that the dead may
not suffer from hunger and thirst. After this the ceremony is re-
peated every month for a year and at least one Brahman is feasted. ':
On the death-day and on All Souls'' Night or Mahdpctlish in
Bhadrapad or August -September, when the dead are supposed to
hover about their relation's houses looking for food, the service is
repeated and Brahmans are fed.

The special rites practised at the marriage of a man who has lost
two wives, and the special funeral services "performed for an
unmarried lad, for a woman who dies during her monthly sickness,
for a pregnant woman, for a lying-in woman, for an heirless man,
and for a child under two are given in the Appendix.

Deccan.]

POONA.

159

Deshasth Brdhmans are returned as numbering 32^749 and as
found over the whole district. They take their name from desh or
the country and are called Deshasths apparently iu the - sense of
local Bxihmans. They are generally dark, less fine-featured
than Chitpavans, and vigorous. They speak pure and correct
Mard,thi. The men dress in a waistcloth, coat, waistcoat, turban,
shouldercloth, and shoes or sandals, and rub their brows with red or
white sandal. They wear the top-knot and mustache, but not the
whiskers or beard. The women wear the fullbacked bodice and
the full Mardtha robe with the skirt drawn back between the feet
and the end tucked in at the waist behind. They generally mark
their brow with a large red circle and braid the hair tying it so as
to form a knot at the back of the head, and over the knot an open
semicircular braid of hair. They are clean, neat, generous, hospitable,
hardworking, and orderly. They are husbandmen, landholders,
traders, shopkeepers, moneylenders and changers. Government
servants, and beggars. They are either Smarts that is followers of
Shankardcharya the apostle of the doctrine that the soul and the
universe are one, or BhUgvats that is followers of the Bhagvat Purdn
who hold the doctrine that the soul and the, universe are distinct.
They worship all Brahmanic gods and goddesses and keep the
ordinary fasts and festivals. Their priests belong to their own
caste. They make pilgrimages to Alandi, Benares, Jejuri, Ndsik,
Pandharpur, and Tuljapurj and believe in sorcery, witchcraft,
soothsaying, omens, and lucky and unlucky days, and consult
oracles. A family of five spends £1 4s. to £2 (Rs. 12-20) a month
on food, and £2 to £10 (Rs. 20-100) a year on clothes. A house
costs £50 to £300 (Rs. 500-3000) to build, and 2s. to £1 (Rs.1-10) a
month to hire. The furniture and household goods are worth £10
to £200 (Rs. 100 -2000). A birth costs 10a. to £3 (Rs.5-30); a hair-
clipping 10s. to £1 10s. (Rs.5- 16) ; a thread-ceremony £2 1 Os- to £20
(Rs. 25-200) ; a boy's or a girl's marriage £10 to £200 (Rs. 100-
2000) J a girl's coming of age £2 to £5 (Rs.20-50) ; and a pregnancy
£1 10s. to £10 (Rs.15-100). Their customs are generally the same
as those of Kdnkanasth Brahmans.^ When a girl comes of age she
is dressed in rich clothes and taken to her husband's accompa-
nied by music and female relations. At his house she is seated for
three days in a wooden frame and presented with cooked dishes by
her near relations and friends. On the fourth day she is bathed and
presented with new clothes, and joins her husband. On the birth of
a child the father puts a couple of drops of honey and butter into its
mouth in presence of his and his wife's relations. The mother's
term of impurity lasts twelve days at the end of which she is bathed
and becomes pure. On this day the child is laid in a cradle and is
named. When four months old the child is taken out of the house
to see the sun, and after it is five or six months old it is fed with
cooked rice. When between one and three years of age, if the child
is a boy, his head is shaved, and between his fifth and his eighth
year he is girt with the sacred thread. They marry their girls

Chapter III.

Population,

BeahmakS;
Deshasths.

1 Fuller details of Deshasth Brahman customs are given in the Sholipur Statistical
Account,

[Bombay Gazetteer,

160

DISTRICTS.

Chapter III.
Population.
BbAhmans.

DSVBXJKBES,

Dbatids.

OOVARDBANS.

before they are ten and their boys before they are twenty. The
girl's father has to look out for a husband for his daughter. They
burn their dead, do not allow widow marriage, and practise polygamy.
They have caste councils, and along with Chitpdvans, Devrukhes, and
Karhddas, form the local community of Brdhmans. They send their
boys to school and are a well-to-rlo and rising class.

Devrukhes, or inhabitants of Devrukh in Ratndgiri, are
returned as numbering 175 and as found all over the district. They
say they are Deshasths and are called Devrukhes because they went
to the Konkan and settled at Devrukh in Ratndgiri. They have no
divisions, and tkeir surnames are Bhole, Ddnge, Ghondse, Joshi,
Junekar, Mule, Padvale, Shitup, and Sobalkar. Families bearing the
same surname can intermarry. They look like Deshasths, and both
tbe men and women are strong, stout, and healthy. In speech, house,
food, and dress they do not difEer from Deshasth Brdhmans. They
are neat and clean, hospitable, thrifty, and hardworking. They, are
writers, lawyers, moneylenders, and religious beggars. They hold
a low position amoifg Maratha Brdhmans as neither Deshasths nor
Karh^ddiS dine with them. Some are Rigvedis and others Yajurvedis,
and they have fifteen stocks or gotras of which the chief are
Atri, Bhiradvdj, G^rgya, Kd,shyap, Kaundinya, Kaushik, Jamadagni,
Shdndilya, Shavnak, and Vdshishta. Their religious and social
customs do not differ from those of Deshasth Brdhmans. They
marry only in their own class. They have a caste council and settle
social disputes at meetings of the castemen. They send their boys
to school and as a class are well-to-do.

Dravid or South. India Brdhmans are returned as numbering
thirty-seven and as found in Haveli, Khed, and Poona. They
cannot tell when and from what part of the country they came to
Poona. They look like Deshasth Brd,hmans and speak Mardthi. In
house, dress, and food, they resemble Deshasths. They are writers,
moneychangers, and religious beggars. They are Smarts in religion
and have house images of Bhavlni, Ganpati, Krishna, Mahddev,
Mdruti, and Vishnu. Their high priest is Shankardchdrya Svami
of Shringeri iu Maisur, the head of the sect of Smdrts. They have
no special ceremony on the fifth or the sixth day after the birth of a
child, and do not make the boy eat from the same plate as his mother
before he is girt with the sacred thread. With these two exceptions
their religious and social customs do not differ from those of Mardtha
Brahmans. They have a caste council, send their boys to -school,
and are a steady class.'

Govardlians, or people of Govardhan in Mathura, also called
Golak or illegitimate and Gomukh or Cow-mouth Brdhmans, are
returned as numbering 600 and as found over the whole district
except in Purandhar.^ They cannot tell when and whence they

1 In the NAsik Statistical Account (Bombay Gazetteer, XVI. 41) reasons are given
for suggesting that the Govardhan Brihmans of Ndsik, Nagar, Poona, and the North
Konkan are not illegitimate Brahmans, but are an old settlement of Brahmans at
Govardhan near NAsik, who were ousted by Yajurvedis from Gujardt and Deshasths
from the Beccan, and who perhaps continued to practise widow marriage after the
later Brdhmans had ceased to allow it.

Deccan.]

POONA.

161

came, but believe they have been in the district upwards of two
hundred years. They belong to. three family stocks, Bhdradvaj,
Jdmadagni, and SAnkhdyan.. Eamilies belonging to the same stock
do not intermarry. Their commonest surnames are, Agydn, Bhope,
Ghavi, Jvdri, Lakd6, Makhi, Murle, Range, Shet,andTapare j families
bearing the same surname intermarry. The names in common use
among men are, Balvant, Ganpatrao, Narahari, Rdmbhd,u, Vdman,
Vinoba, and Vithoba ; and among women, Bhd.girthi, Gangu, Eusha,
Manubdii, and Saibdi. Theylook and speak like Deshasth Brdhmans.
They live in houses of the better sort, one or two storeys high with
walls of brick and tiled roofs. Their goods include boxes, swings, cots,
cradles, chairs, benches, carpets, pillows, bedding, blankets, glass
globes and wallshades and metal lamps, and cooking and drinliing
vessels. They keep servants,, cattle, and parrots. Apparently with
' truth they claim to be strict vegetarians. Other Brdhmans do not drink
water which a Golak has touched Or eat food which he has cooked.
A famiily of five spends 14s. to 18s. (Rs. 7-9) a month on food.
They give gram ball or sweet cake feasts in honour of thread-girdings,
marriages, and deaths which cost i^d. to 7|d. (3-5 as.) a guest. They
dress like Deshasth Brdhinans, and the Govardhan women like
Deshasth women do not deck their hair with flowers. Both men
and women are untidy, but they are frugal and hardworking. They
say they were formerly priests to Brahmans and other Hindus and had
the right of marking the time at marriages and that their ancestors
mortgaged the right to Deshasth BrAhmans. They are husbandmen,
moneylenders, moneychangers, and astrologers, and some act as
priests to Kunbis and other poor people. They earn 128. to £2 10s.
(Rs. 6-25) a month. They consider themselves equal to other Mardtha
Brd,hmans, but other Brahmans treat them as Shudras and do not
eat or drink with them. Among them a house costs £20 to £40
(Rs. 200 -400) to build and about 4s. (Rs.2) a month to rent. The
value of their goo^s varies from £10 to £80 (Rs. 100-800), their
servants' wages with food amount to Is. to 4s. (8 as. -Rs.2) a month.
Clothing costs £2 to £3 10s. (Rs.20-35) a year; a birth 16s. to £1
(Rs.8-10); a hair-clipping 2s. to 4s. (Rs. 1 - 2) ; a thread-girding £2
10s.to£7 10s. (Rs.25-75)iaboy'smarriage£10to£20(Rs.l00-200);
a girl's marriage £2 10s. to £5 (Rs.25-50); a girl's coming of age
costs her husband's father £1 to £2 10s. (Rs.10-25), and her own
father £1 -to £5 (Rs. 10-50) ; the pregnancy feast costs the boy's father
KTs. to £1 (Rs. 5 - 10) ; and the death of a man £l to £1 4s. (Rs. 10 - 12),
of a married woman £1 to £1 10s. (Rs.10-15), and of a widow
12s. to £1 (Rs.6-10). They worship the ordinary Brahmanic gods
and goddesses, especially BhavAni, Bhairoba, and Khandoba. They
keep all Hindu fasts and feasts and call Deshasth Brahmans to
officiate at their houses, but do not perform Vedic rites. They go
on pilgrimage to Alandi, Benares, Jejuri, and Pandharpur. When a
child is bom nimb Azadirachta indica leaves are hung at the front
and back door/^ of the house, and on the fifth day in the lying-in room
four Indian millet or jvdri stalks, tied together at the top and with
the lower ends stretched apart, are set above the grindstone on which
a stone lanip is kept, burning all night. A metal image of SatvAi
or Mother Sixth is set ia a piece of dry cocoa-kernel and laid on the

Chapter III.

Population.

Bbahmans,
GovARDMAya.

R .<!in_9i

[Bombay Gazetteer,

162

DISTRICTS.

tlhapter III.

Fopnlation.

BbahmakS.
6o7A:itDSAirs.

grindstone witli a small dougli lamp before it. The husband worships
the goddess and offers her cooked food. Some elderly woman draws
an image of Satvdi near each of the four feet of the mother's cot
and sets a dough lamp in front of each figure. Near where the bath-
water goes she draws on the ground a coal figure of Satvai, and set^
the fifth dough lamp in front of the figure and four more charcoal
figures, each with its dough lamp, on either side of the front and
back doors. Married women are asked to dine and the laps of the
midwife and of other married women who keep awake the whole
night are filled with grain. On the next day the stone lamp is cleared
and fresh oil and wicks are put in it and lighted. Curds and cooked
rice are offered to the lamp, and on the morning of the seventh day
the whole is removed. On the eighth day the cot is washed and
worshipped and inolasses are laid before it. Then bed clothes are
■spread on the cot and the mother and chUd^ are laid on it.
Govardhans gird their boys with the sacred thread before they are
twelve years of age. They- set eight instead of six earthen jars at
each of the four corners of the altar, and when the thread-girding
verse is over throw over the boy's head grains of Indian millet or
j'yari instead of rice. They raise a second altar about a span wide
over the main altar and feast a Brahman with the rice cooked on •
the sacrificial fire. They marry their girls before they are twelve
and their boys before they are thirty. Unlike Deshasths the first
ceremony in their marriages is the swpa/ri JcardyacM or betelnut-
giving. The boy's father goes to the girl's house with relations
friends and music, bearing a tray with a bodice, some wheat, a
cocoanut, and beteinut and leaves^ At the girFs the boy's father
is met by a party of her relations and friends. The boy's priest
asks the girl's priest to bring the girl and she comes and sits
near the boy's priest. The boy's father marks her brow with
redppwder, and a woman of her family hands her the , bodice
and -fills her lap with the wheat and cocoanut and beteinut
which the boy's father has brought. The girl and her female'
relations go inside of the house and the dates for the marriage
are settled. The boy's father hands the priest packets of betel,
gives money to beggars, and retires. Then along with the dishes
of cooked food or rukhvat the girl's father goes and washes the boy's ;
feet, marks his brow with redpowder, and presents him with a
turban. They hold their marriages in the mdjghar or women's hall,
and when the marriage verses are ended they throw grains of
reddened millet over the boy and girl. After the ceremony is over a
lighted lamp is set in a plate, and each guest waves a copper pice
(I anna) over the boy's and girl's heads and throws it into the plate.
At the inaiden-giving or kanydddn, instead of pouring water over the
girl's hands, the girl's father pours water over the boy's mother's
hands repeating the words: 'I7p to this time she was mine, now
she is yours.' At the clothes-giving or sddi a bodice cloth is spread
in a bamboo basket and over the cloth eleven lamps are set instead
of either sixteen or eleven. The boy and girl are Seated on the
shoulders either of their maternal uncles or of house-servants, and
their bearers dance vigorously to the sound of music. When a ,
Govardhan girl comes of age her mother goes to the boy's house

Deccan.]

POONA.

163

with a plate of sugar and betel and tells them that her daughter is
blessed with a son, and hands round the sugq,r and the betel to the
boy's family. When a Govardhan is on the point of death five
Brahmans are each given a pound of .rice and a hali-anna {id.). The
warm water that is poured over the body is heated in a brass instead
of in an earthen pot, and the body is laid on the bier wrapped in
the wet waistcloth instead of in a new dry cloth. They shave the
chief mourner's head and mustache at the burning ground near
the corpse's feet, and pay the barber 3d, (2 as.). The body and
the bier are dipped- in water before they are laid on the pile, and
when the body is nearly consumed they retire. The other details
are the same as iJiose observed by Deshasths. They have a caste
coancil and settle their social disputes at meetings of the castemeiu
.They send their boys to school and are a steady class.

Gujara't Brdhmans, numbering 282, are found in the city of
Poena and in small numbers over the whole district. They seem
to have come to the district within the last hundred years. The
names in common use among men are, Baldbhdi, Bdlkrishna,
ChimanMl, Chhaganlal, and Nandbhdi ; and among women, Amba,
Bhagirathi, Lakshmi, and Sarasvati. Their chief divisions are
Audich, Disdval, Kheddval, Modh, N^gar, Shrigod, and Shrimdli.
They speak Grujard.ti at home and Mar^thi abroad. Many of them
live in houses of "the better class, one or two storeys high, with brick
walls and tiled roofs. They own cattle and employ house servants.
Their staple food is rice, pulse, vegetables, wheat cakes, and
clarified butter. They are strict vegetarians, and some of them
take opium, drink hemp-flower or bhdng, and smoke tobacco. Though
the practice is usual in Gujarat, they do not eat food cooked by a
Deccan Brahman. The men wear a waistcloth, shirt, coat, turban,
shouldercloth or v/parna, and shoes. The women plait their hair
into braids and wear false hair but not flowers. They wear a petti-
coat, the short-sleeved open-backed bodice or kdnchoU, and the robe
or sari falling from the hips without passing the skirt back between
the feet. As a class they are clean, honest, hardworking, and
- thrifty, though hospitable and fond of show. They are bankers,
moneylenders, cloth merchants, pearl merchants, clerks, and priests
and cooks of Gujarat Vdnis. Some are landowners who do not till
the land themselves but let it to tenants who pay them half the
produce. On the whole they are a well-to-do class and free from
debt,

Gujarat Br^hmans are Smarts. They worship BdMji, Ganpati,
Mahd,dev, Maruti, and Tulja Bhav4ui, and show special reverence to
Bdlaji and Shankar. They make pilgrimages to Benares, Pandharpur,
Rameshvar, and Tulj^pur. They observe all Deccan Brdhman
holidays. They have a strong belief in witchcraft, soothsaying, and
the power of evil spirits. Their women and children suffer from
.spirit-seizures. If one of them is attacked charmed ashes or
angdra is brought from an exorcist's or devarishi's and rubbed on
the brow of the sick, or vows are made to the family gods and
fulfilled after the patient recovers. Early marriages and -polygamy
are allowed and widow marriage is forbidden. A short time before

Chapter III.

Population.

'BrA.bmxss.
govabdhans..

GujAR^Tia..

[Boml)ay Gazetteer,

164

DISTEICTS.

Chapter III.

Population.

BbAhmaks.
ovj abatis.

a Gujarat Brahmaii woman's delivery a Mar^tha midwife or a
woman of lier own caste is called in. She cuts the child's navel
cord and putting it in a pitcher baries it near the mori or bath-watef
pit in the lying-in room. The infant is bathed and the mother
rubbed with cloths. For three days the babe is fed on water
mixed with molasses, and on the fourth its mother begins to suckle
it. The mother is generally fed on harira, that is wheat flour boiled
in clarified batter mixed with molasses or sugar. On the fifth, the
' mother worships in the name of Satti or the spirit of the sixth, a
sword, an arrow, a blank paper, and a reed pen placed on a low
stool in her own room, and offers them sira jiuris, that is wheat cakes
stuffed with wheat flour boiled in clarified butter and mixed with
sugar. A light is left burning during the whole night before them
and the women of the house sing songs and watch till morning.
Next day the saif^ worship is again performed and at the end the
articles on the stool are thrown into a river. Ceremonial impurity
continues for ten days. On the eleventh the mother is bathed, the
house is cbwdunged, and her clothes are washed. At noon on the
twelfth, friends and relations are feasted and at night female
relations name and cradle the child. Young children are asked to
attend the naming, and each is given a piece of cocoanut. The
mother does not leave her house for about forty days after her
delivery. At the end of the forty days, she is dressed in a new robe
and bodibe, puts on new glass bangles, and is presented to a small
company of female friends and relations who have been asked for
the purpose. The child's hair is first cut at any time between the
fifth month and the end of the fifth year. A lock -of hair is
sometimes dedicated to the gods and kept till the marriage day,
when the vow is fulfilled and the lock cut off. The child is seated
on the lap of its maternal uncle or its father, and the hair is cut by
the barber who is paid 6d. to 10s. (4 as.-Rs.5). The child is
bathed, dressed in new clothes, and carried to the temple of Baldji,
where it is made to bow to the image.

Before a thread-girding the father of the boy asks an astrologer
who fixes a lucky day. "When everything is ready, the wall in front
of the house is marked with seven lines of clarified butter and
worshipped in the name of the gotras or family stocks. A leaf of
the paldsh Butea frondosa tree, covered with betelnuts and wheat,
is set before the seven family stocks and worshipped. The head of
the boy is shaved and he is seated on a low stool. The Brahman
priest kindles the sacred fire and the boy throws on the fire clarified
butter, sacred fuel sticks or samidha, and boiled rice, and is given a
cloth to wear. Members of both sexes come, give the boy alms which
are a perquisite of the priest, and the friends and relations of the
houseowner are feasted.

Boys are married between twelve and twenty-five, . and girls
between eight and fifteen. The offer comes from the father of the
girl. If the boy's father approves, betelnuts and leaves are handed
among friends and relations and the news of the betrothal is spread.
This is called the asking or mdgani. The turmeric-rubbing
lasts one to eleven days. The girl is bathed and seated on a low

DeccanJ

POONA.

165

stool ; five married women rub her body with turmeric paste and
her feet with rice paste. One of the women carries her to the
threshold, where they form a circle round her and sing songs.
They do this every morning and evening, and retire after the usual
betel-handing. The priest and some married women of the
bride's family take the remains of the turmeric and rub it on
the bridegroom singing songs. On the marriage day, in the
centre of the booth, a square or chdvdi is made by fixing
four bamboos in the ground and drawing over the tops of the
bamboos a white cloth and placing earthen pots round the square.
Shortly -before the marriage, the women of the bride's family go
to the bridegroom's with a red pot full of water, and seating him
on a low stool bathe him. The bride's father presents him with a
shawl and a silk waistcloth and an upright line of sandal paste is
drawn on his brow. Garlands are hung round his neck, nosegays
are put in his hands, and a coronet of flowers is set on his
head. He is made to take a rupee and a cocoanut, and is led in
■procession with country music to the bride's. On reaching the
bride's her mother comes with a dish in which are a lamp and two
balls of rice flour mixed with turmeric powder, and waves the dish
round the bridegroom, who throws the rupee into it and retires.
He is led into the booth and seated. The bride is dressed in a white
robe and a backless bodice with short sleeves, her hands are
adorned with new ivory bangles, and she is seated close to the boy's
right. The priest repeats texts, the bridegroom holds the bride
by her right hand and they are man and wife. Threads known as
marriage bracelets or hankans are passed through holes made in
ghela fruits and fastened round the right wrists of the boy and girl.
Then the daughter-giving or kanydddn is performed by the bride's
parents giving a money-present to the bridegroom, and the bride-
groom fastens a lucky necklace or mangalsutra round the bride's
neck, and her toes are adorned with silver jodvis or toe-rings. Then
the boy and girl sit in the square or chdvdi, and throw clarified
butter into the sacred fire. They next walk round the sacred fire,
the bride sometimes leading and at other times the bridegroom.
Eice is boiled on the sacred fire and mixed with sugar and clarified
butter. The bridegroom takes five handfuls of rice from the bride
and she takes five handfuls from him, and the mothers of both take
five handfuls from both. Then the bride's mother serves the couple
with sugar and clarified butter and both eat freely. After the meal
is over, before washing his hands, the bridegroom catches his mother-
in-law's skirt and she makes him a presei),t. Friends of the bride and
bridegroom give presents to both. The brows of the bride and of the
bridegroom are marked with an upright line of sandal paste. They
bow to the images of their gods in the house and play at odds and
evens before the shrine. On the second or third day each unties
the other's wedding bracelet or Tcdnkan, and the priest takes the
bracelets away. The earthen pots that were arranged round the
square or chavdi are distributed among the women of both families
and their friends, and suits of clothes are presented to the bride-
groom's party by the father of the bride. This is known as the
robe-giving or sdda. The couple are then taken to the bridegroom's

Chapter IIT.

Fopnlation.

Bbahmans.
QuJAtUliS,

[Bombay Gazetteer)

166

DISTEICTS.

Qhapter III.

Population.

BbAhmans.
GujarAtis.

Jayazs.

on horseback or in a carriage. On reaching the house they both bow
before the house gods and friends and relations are feasted.

No special ceremony is performed when a girl comes of age.
When a girl is pregnant for the first time a sacred fire is kindled,
and she is dressed in a new green robe, decked with ornaments, and
taken in a palanquin to a temple, and her father feasts friends and
relations on fried gram or tundi balls.

On signs of death, gifts are made to Brahman priests according
to the man's means. When he has breathed his last the body is bathed,
dressed in an old waistcloth, and laid on a place washed with
cowdung and covered with (Z^ar6/ia or bent grass. All the caste- ,
men are asked to attend the funeral. The chief mourner prepares
three balls of wheat flour. The dead is laid on the bier and one of
the three balls is laid beside him. The chief mourner, holding a
firepotin his right hand, starts folio wed by the bearers. On the way
the bearers stop and lay down the bier, leave a rice ball and one or two
copper coins, and change places. When they reach the burning
ground a pile is made ready,and the body is laid on the pile with a rice
ball at its side; the chief mourner's head and face are shaved except
the top-knot and eyebrows and the pile is set on fire. When it is nearly
consumed the chief mourner sets an earthen jar filled with water on
his shoulder and walks round the pile. Another man foUows and
with a small stone makes a hole in the jar at each round, so that the
water trickles out. At the end of the third round the chief mourner
throws the jar over his shoulder and calls aloud beating his mouth ^
with his hand. The rest of the party bathe and return to the house %
of mourning, where they sit for a moment, and then go to their homes.
On the third day, the five cow-gifts, milk curds clarified butter dung
and urine, are poured over the' ashes of the dead, and they are
gathered and thrown into water. The mourning family reinains
impure for ten days on each of which ceremonies are performed. On
the eleventh day gifts are made to Br^hmans, and on the twelfth or
on any day up to the fifteenth, a caste feast of fried gram balls is made.
Gujardt Brahmans form a distinct and united community. Social
disputes are settled at meetings of castemen, minor ofEences being
punished by fines of 2s. to £10 (Rs. 1-100), the sum collected being
spent in caste-feasts. They send their boys and girls to school and
take to new pursuits. On the whole they are a rising class.

Javals, who take their name from the village of Javalkhor in
Eatndigiri and who are also known as Tthots or village revenue
farmers, are returned as numbering eleven and as found only in
Poena city. They are said to be the descendants of a shipwrecked
crew who landed at Javalkhor half-waly between Harnai and Ddbhol
in Ratn^giri. Their name is said to come from the yroTijaul a stopm.
According to the common story the people of Burondi gave
them leave to settle in Devakea, a hamlet near their village, and
told them to supply flowers to Taleshvar, the village god; They
afterwards became the medical attendants of the Phadke family, ,
who, under the Peshwa, held that part of the Konkan and who
succeeded in having the Javals' claim to be Brdhmans acknowledged.
All are laymen or grahasths and they have no subdivisions. Th>ey

Deccan.]

POONA.

167..

look like Kunbis, are dark, less caref ally clean than otker Brdhmans,
and ab home speak a rough Kunbi-Mard,thi. They use double n
and I instead of single n arid I, and have a curious way of pronouncing
certain words. They eat fish but no other animal food and refrain
from liquor. They dress like Deccan Brdhmans and in family
matters copy the Chitpdvans. Other Brdhmans neither eat nor
marry with them. They are frugal, orderly, and hardworking,
earning their living as husbandmen and writers. None of them are
hhikshuk or begging Brahmans. They worship the usual Brdhmanio
gods and their family goddess is Kdlkadevi. They keep the usual
fasts and feasts, and as none of them belong to the priestly class their
household priests are Chitpdvans. They say that their customs are
the same as those of Chifcpdvans. Social disputes are settled at
meetings of castemen. They do not send their boys to school, are
poor, and show no signs of rising.

Kanoj Brahmans, who take their name from Kanoj in the North.
West Provinces, number 700 and are found in the city of Poena and
all over the district. They are said to have come into the ^ district
within the last 150 years. They claim to belong to the Angiras,
B^haspaty, Bbdiradv^.], Kdshyap, Kdttydyan, and Vd,shisth gotras or
families. Persons of the same family stock and with the same pravar
or founder cannot intermarry. The names in common use among
men are Bdlprasdd, Bhavadiga, Devidin, Devrprasdd, Gopinath,
Jaganndth, Ramnath, Shankardin, Shankarprasad and Shivaprasad;
and among women, Jamuna, Janki, Lachhimi, and Sundar. Their
common surnames are Agnihotri, Bachape, Bdl, Chanbe, Ohhaga,
Dikshit, Hari, Kibe, Mishra, Pathak, Shakta, Tivari, Tribedi,
and Vaikar. Persons having the same surnames cannot intermarry.
. They speak the Brij language at home and Hindustani out of doors.
They have two main divisions, Kans that is Kanoja Brdhmans, and
Kubjas that is Sarvariya Brdhmans. The two divisions practically
form one class as theyformerlyintermarrriedfreelyandstUlintermarry
to some extent. They profess to look with suspicion on such of
their castemen as come from Upper India, as they say many of them
were forced to adopt Islam and are" reverts to Hinduism. They
are stronger, stouter, and fairer than Deccan Brahmans. Their face-
hair is long, thick, and black. Soldiers, besides the top-knot, wear
a tuft of hair over each ear, and grow full beards. Others shave
the head except the top-knot and shave the chin. They live in
houses of the better class, one or two storeys high, with walls of brick
or stone and tiled roofs. They are moderate eaters with a fondness
for both sweet and sour dishes. They never boil their vegetables
with salt, but leave the eater to add salt and chopped chillies when
the dish is served. Their staple food includes rice, wheat cakes,
vegetables, clarified butter, and sugar or molasses. A family of five
spends £1 4s. to £1 16s. (Rs. 12 - 18) a month on food, and in feeding a
hundred guests spend £2 10s. to £3 (Rs. 25 - 30). They-usually bathe
and worship their family gods before they eat. The use of flesh
and liquor is forbidden. The men usually wear a waistcloth in
Deccan Brahman fashion, a coat, shouldercloth, turban, and shoes ; and
the women wear a petticoat and robe and a backless bodice. They
plait their hair in braids which they di'aw back and tie together at the

Chapter III.

Fopulation.

BkAhmans.
Javalb^

Kanojs,

[Bombay Gazetteer,

168

DISTRICTS.

Chapter III.
Population.

BeIhmans.

top of the heck. , They are fond of wearing flowers in their hair
especially on holidays. Both men and women keep rich clothes in
store for holiday use. Their ornaments are the same as those worn
by Maratha Brahmans. Kanojs as a rule are clean, hardworking,
and sober, easily provoked, hospitable, and frugal though vain and
fond of show. At present their chief calling is sipdhigiri or
service as soldiers and messengers. ' Some have taken ■ to hus-
bandry, to moneychanging, and to the priesthood, acting as
house-priests chiefly among the Pardeshi or Upper Indian section of
the people. The priest trains his son from his boyhood, and the son
begins to practise his calling after he is fifteen. As priests they are
well employed and well- paid earning about £2 (Es, 20) a month.
Their women do nothing but house work. Kanoj Brahmans rank,
with Deccan Brahmans ; each professes to look down on the other.
They are a religious people and their family gods are Bitar^jdevi
of Upper India, Ganpati, MAta of Calcatta, and Shankar. Their
priests belong to their own caste. They make pilgrimages to
Allahabad, Benares, and Jaganndth. Their chief holidays are
Basant Panchami or Simaga in March ; Dasara in September, and
Divdli in October; they fast on EMdashis or lunar elevenths,
Shivrdtra in January, Edma-navami in April, and Ookul-ashtami in
August. They believe that the spirit of a man who dies with some
unfulfilled wish wanders after death as a ghost and troubles the'-
living. They belive in witchcraft and soothsaying, and their women ,
and children suffer from the attacks of spirits. Spirit-attacks are
cured either by making vows to the family god for the recovery
of the possessed, or by the help of an exoi'cist or dev.rishi. When a
woman is in labour "a midwife is called in. She cuts the navel-
cord and lays the mother and child on a cot. The child is. made to
suck honey for the first three days, and its mother for twelve
days is fed on boiled wheat flour mixed with butter and molasses. '
From the fourth day she begins to suckle the child. On the
sixth day. the women of the house wash their- hands in a' mixture
of water, turmeric, and redpowder, and press the palms five times
against the walls of the lying-in room. In front of the palm
marks a golden image of Satvai is set on a stone slab, with a.
pomegranate, a sheet of blank paper, a reed pen, a piece of three-^^,
edged prickly-pear or nivadung, and some grains of river sand, and is
worshipped by the women of the house who lay before them cakes,
curds, and flowers. They wave lamps round the image and remain,;
awake during the whole night singing songs. The nncleanness caused '
by birth lasts ten days. On the eleventh the house is cov^dunged and
the inother's clothes are washed. " On the twelfth the mother worships ,
the sun and shows it to the child. Some men of the caste are asked
to dine and the female relations and friends of the house are called
at night to name 'and cradle the child. Packets of sugar betel'
leaves and nuts, are handed round and the naming is over. They
spend on a birth 16s. to £1 (Rs.8-10). Between the beginning of a
child's sixth month and the end of its second year its hair is cut.
The child is seated on its mother's lap and its hair is cut by the.
barber who is paid 3d! (2 as.). The child is bathed and each
of its mother's female relations and friends waves a copper coin

Deocan.]

POONA.

169

roand its head and drops the coin into a dish and the sum so collected
goes to the barber. A hair-cutting costs 8s. to 1 Os . (Rs. 4 - 5) . When
a Kanoj Brahman boy is to be girt with the sacred thread, the father
of the boy asks an astrologer to choose a lucky day and pays him
Sd. (2 as.). A porch is built in front of the house and friends and
relations are asked to come. Five married women are called, and,
at a lucky hour, are made to grind wheat. The houseowner gives
them turmeric and redpowder and fills their laps with rice. When
these preparations have been made they bring from the potter's an
earthen hearth or ckula and place a jar or dera on the health, plaster
the jar with cowdung^ and stick wheat grains round it. The priest
repeats verses and drops rice grains over the jar ; the women sing
songs and cover the jar with an earthen lid; A second jar is
brought, filled with water and plastered with cowdung, wheat grains
are stuck round it, and it is set near the lucky pole or muhurta
medh in the porch on a small heap of earth strewed with wheat. In
a day or two the wheat sprouts and these sprouts are said to be
the guardian or devak. The boy is seated on a low stool near the
lucky pole set on an altar or lahule which is surrounded by lines of
quartz powder or rdngoli. The women of the house sing songs and
rub the boy with turmeric paste ; each waves a copper coin round him
and drops it into a dish where it is kept for the barber. The
turmeric-rubbing lasts two or three days, the boy being rubbed each
day morning and evening. On the thread-girding day the boy's
head is shaved. He is bathed and for the last time eats from his
mother's plate sitting on her lap. His head is shaved after the dinner
is over and he is again bathed. The boy is stripped naked, and he
and his father are made to stand face to face on low stools placed
in a quartz square with a piece of cloth drawn between them. The
priest repeats texts, the guests throw, red-tinted rice on the boy,
the curtain is drawn aside, and the priest hands the boy a sacred
thread or jdnava and a loincloth. The father sets the boy on
his lap and whispers in his right ear the sacred Gd.yatri verse.
The priest kindles a sacred fire and pours clarified butter over it.
The boy is now a Brahmachdri or begging-Brdhman and the guests
make him presents, a coat, a cap, a waistcloth, or a pair of wooden
sandals. The Br^hmans are feasted and the women sing songs.
Next day the priest throws rice on the guardian earthen pot. Friends
and relations are fed on wheat-cakes or pv/risy and boiled rice milk
and sugar called khir, and to each a money present is made.

Boys are married between fifteen and thirty, and girls between five
and fifteen. The men of the caste meet and propose an alliance
between two families, who, in order not to displease their caste-
fellows, agree. Though they agree they are not bound to go on
with the wedding at once. During the year before the wedding, the
girl's father visits the boy with music and kinspeople, worships
him with sandal and flowers, and presents him with a turban whose
end is marked with circles of turmeric and redpowder. Betelnut
and leaves are handed, and the girl's father places a cocoanut
in the boy's hands and withdraws. On a lucky day the boy's
father presents the girl with silver anklets, and instals a guardian
or devak as at a thread-girding. Two or three days after the

Chapter III.

Population.

BkIbmans.
Kanojs.

[Bombay Gazetteer,

170

DISTRICTS.

Chapter III.

Population.

'BuisciiAsa,
Kajtojs,

guardians have been set in her house, the women of her family rub
the girl ■with turmeric powder, and some married women with music
take what is left to the boy's and are given a right-hand gold bracelet
called pdtali and a bodice. The bride is dressed in the clothes and
her lap is filled with rice and a cocoanut. Next day the boy is
dressed in a fine suit of clothes and with a peacock-feather coronet
on his brow is seated on horseback and is led with music in
procession to the girl's house. On reaching the marriage porch
betel is handed among the guests, and the bridegroom steps into
the booth, and is carried to a seat round which lines of quartz have
been traced. The girl is led out of the house and is made to
stand in front of the bridegroom on a low stopl, behind a curtain
or antarpat. The priest repeats marriage texts and throws rice
grains over the couple. The curtain is drawn on one side and
the couple are man and wife. The priest kindles the sacred fire^ and
the girl and boy throw into the fixe clarified butter and parched
rice. They walk six times round the fire, the bride taking the lead
and the bridegroom following. At the end" of the si^^th turn
the bride goes into the house and with much weeping and lamenting
takes leave of her home. When she again comes out her father
mentions his own and the bridegroom's family stock or gotra and
birth-place, and, after asking leave of the guests, the bridegroom takes
the seventh turn round the fire, followed by the bride, and the
marriage is complete. A silken thread is passed through an iron
ring and fastened to the boy's right hand, and another to the bride's
left hand, and the skirts of their garments are knotted together.
They go and bow before the girl's family gods and ,the ceremonies
end with a feast in which the bride and bridegroom join. The
bridegroom spends a day or two at the bride's. When these -days
are over the bride and bridegroom throw yellow and red rice over
the marriage guardian or devak and are sent on horseback to the
bridegroom's. On reaching the house a wood or iron sJier measure
filled with rice is set on the threshold and the bride overturns it
with her foot as she enters the house. They enter the house and
bow before the boy's family gods. The guests are feasted and the
wedding festivities are over.

When a girl comes of age she is unclean for four days. On the
sisth day she and her husband are bathed together and the priest
kindles a sacred fire and pours clarified butter over it. The girl's
lap is filled with a cocoanut, dates, almonds, and sweetmeats;
bent grass is pounded and her, husband pours some drops of the
juice down her right nostril. Friends and relations are feasted on
wheat cakes and curds, and, at any time after this, the girl may go
and live with her husband as his wife. On some lucky day during
the seventh month of her first pregnancy the woman is dressed in a
new robe and bodice and her female relations meet at her house and
sing songs.

When the sick is beyond hope of recovery, he is made to give
grain and \\d. to 3d, (1-2 as.) in cash to the Brd.hman family
priest and is laid on a white blanket. When he has breathed
his last the body is bathed in cold water and laid on a bier.
When the body is fastened on the bier the chief mourner starts

Seccan.]

POONA.

171

carrying a firepot by a string, and the bearers follow. On their
way they set down the bier, change places, and pick np a stone which
is called asJi/ma or spirit. On reaching the burning ground the
chief mourner has his head and face shaved except the top-knot
and eyebrows, and the dead is laid on a pile and biorned. When the
body is nearly consumed the chief mourner lifts on his shoulders
an earthen pot full of water. When he stands a man beside him
makes a hole in the pot with the life-stone which was picked up at the
place where the body was rested. The chief mourner makes three
rounds and at each round a fresh hole is made. At the end of the
third round he throws the jar over his head, beats his mouth with
his hand, and calls aloud. The funeral party bathe^ go to the house
of the deceased where cow's urine is poured over their hands,
and return to their homes. On the third day they bathe, gather the
ashes of the dead, and throw them into water. Three dough balls
or fmds are made, worshipped, and wheat cakes and curds are laid
before them. On the tenth, ten dough balls are made at the burning
ground, nine are thrown into the river and the tenth is offered to,
cows. The chief mourner bathes and returns home. The ceremonial
nncleanness caused by a death lasts^ ten days. On the eleventh
the mourners put on new sacred threads and a memorial or shrddha
is performed in the name of the dead. On the twelfth sapindis
or balls of rice are offered to the dead, and, on the thirteenth,
friends and relations are asked to dine at the house of mourning,
when they present the chief mourner with a turban. Every year
in the month of 8h/rdvan or August a memorial or shrdddha is per-
formed on the day of the month corresponding to the deceased's
death-day, and, on AH Soul's Day or MaJidlaya Paksha in the dark
half of Bhddrapad or September, an offering is made in his name.
The Kanoj Brdhmans have a council and settle social disputes at
caste-meetings. They send their boys to school, readily take to
new pursuits, and are Hkely to prosper.

Karha'da's, or people of Karhdd in Satara, are returned as
numbering 1576 and as found all over the district. They probably
represent one of the early Brdhman settlers who made his abode at
the sacred meeting of the Krishna and Koyna rivers, about fifteen
miles south of Sdtdra. According to the Sahyd,dri Kiand the
Karhad^s are descended from asses' or camels' bones which a
magician formed into a man and endowed with life. This story is
apparently a play on the words kar an ass and hdd a bone. They
say that their ancestors lived in the Konkan and came to Poena to
earn a living about a hundred and fifty years ago. They have no
subdivisions and marry among themselves, and occasionally with
Deshasths and Konkanasths. Their family stocks are the same as
those of the Ohitpdvans ; the chief of them are Atri, Jamadagni,
Kashyapa, Kutsa, and Naidhava. Families belonging to the same
stock do not intermarry. Their surnames are Dhavle, Gune, Gurjar,
Kdkirde, Karmarkar, Kibe, Shdhane, and Shevle; sameness of
surname is no bar to marriage. The names in common use among
men are, Bdba, Dajiba, Hari, Nilkanth, and T^tya ; and among
women, Anandi, Gopika, JAnki, and Saguna. They look like

Chapter III.
Fopnlatiou,

Kanojs.

KakbAbAs.

[Bombay Gaietteer>

172

DISTRICTS.

Chapter III.

Population.

BbAhmaks.
KabsUdAs.

KJ-sras.

CMtpd,vans but are somewliat darker, and none of them have blue
or gray eyes. They speak like Chitpavans. Their houses are of
the better sort one or two storeys high mth brick walls and tiled
roofsl- The furniture includes cots, bedding, chairs, tables^
benches; boxes, carpets, picture-frames, glass hanging lamps, and
metal drinking and cooking vessels. They keep servants, cattle,
and parrots. They are vegetarians, their staple food being rice, split
pulse, and vegetables. A family of five spends on food £1 10s. to
£1 18s. (Ks.15-19) a month; and their feasts of sweet cakes' and
gram balls cost ^\d. to 7|c?. (3-5 as.) a head. They dress like
Chitpdvans, and their women wear false hair and deck their heads
with flowers. They are clean, neat, hospitable, and orderly. They
are writers in Government offices, husbandmen, moneychangers,
astrologers, and beggars, earning £1 to £5 (Es. 10-50) a month.
Their houses cost £50 to £200 (Rs. 500-2000) to build, and 2s. to 10s.
(Rs. 1 - 5) a month to rent, A servant's wages are 4s. to 6s.
(Rs. 2-3) a month with food; and the feed of a cow or a she-
buffaloe costs 16s. to 18s. (Rs. 8-9) a month. Their clothes cost
£2 10s. to £8 (Rs, 25-30) a year, and their furniture is worth
£10 to £1000 (Rs. 100-10,000). A birth costs 16s. to £1 (Rs. 8-10);
a hair-clipping 14s. to 18s. (Rs. 7-9) j a thread ceremony £5 to
£10 (Rs. 50-100) J a boy's marriage £10 to .£50 (Rs. 100-500) ; a
girl's marriage £10 to £30 (Rs. 100-300) j a girl's coming of age'
£5 (Rs. 50) j a pregnancy feSst £2 10s. (Rs. 25) ; and death £7
10s. (Rs. 75). They are Rigvedis and their family goddesses are
Vijayadurga and Aryadurga in Ratnagiri and Mahdlakshmi in
Kolh^pur. Their family priests belong to their own 6aste. They
keep the regular Brahmanic fasts and feasts and their chief
Teacher or guru is the Shankardchdrya of Shringeri in Maisur.
They hold the nine nights or navardtra in September- October very
sacred. Their customs are the same as those of Chitpavans. Under
the early^Peshwds Karhd,da Br^hmans are said to have offered
human sacrifices to their house goddess Mahd,lakshmi. The victim
was generally a stranger, but the most pleasing victim was said to
be a son-in-law. The death was caused by cutting the victim's throat
or by poisoning him.^ The practice was severely punished by the
third Peshwa Bdldji Bajirao (1740-1761). No cases are known to
have occurred for many years. Karhd,dds with Deshasths,
Konkanasths, and Devrukhes, form the local Brdhman community
and settle social disputes at meetings of the men of all four classes.
They send their boys to school and are well-to-do.

Ea'sth Brdhmans, numbering 178, are found in Bhimthadi,
Junnar, Mdval; and Poena. ' They claim descent from Kdttyayani,
the eldest among the fifteen sons of the sage Tddnavalkya by his
wife Kdttya, and call themselves Kattydyani Sakhi Brahmans, that is
Brahmans of the Kattyd.yan branch: They saythatthey formerly dwelt
in N5sik and Khdndesh and came to Poena within the last hundred
and fifty years. They have no subdivisions. The commonest names

^ Sir John Malcolm, 1799. Transactions Literary Society Bombay (New Edition),'
m. 93- 95 : compare, under tlie name Carwarrees, the account by Sir James
Mackintosh (1811) Life, U. 83. -

Deocan.]

POONA.

173

among men are, Appa, Bapu, GramMji, Govind, and Yadneshvar ;
and among women, Cliandrabliaga, Ganga, Jdnki, and Yamuna.
Their surnames are N^gndth, Pandit, Pathak, and Vaidya; per-
sons having the same surnames capnot intermarry. Their family
stocks are Bhdradvaj with three divisions, Angiras, Bdrhaspatya,
and Bhdradvaj ; Kaushik with three divisions, Aghamarshan,
Kanshik, and Vishvdmitra ; Kashyapa with three divisions, Avatsar,
KAshyapa, and Naidhrivi; K^ttyayan with three divisions,
Kattydyan, Kilak, and Vishvamitra ; Vdshishth with three divisions,
Parashar, Shakti, and Vashishth ; and Vatsa with five divisions,
Apnavan, Bhd,rgava, Chavana, Jdmadagni, and Vatsa, Persona
having the same family stock and the same founder or pravar
cannot intermarry. Their home tongue is Mardthi Kasths are like
Deshasth Brdhmans in appearance. As rule they are dark, strong,
and well-made. Except the top-knot, the men shave the head-hair
which is long and black and the face-hair except the mustache
and eyebrows. Their home tongue is a corrupt Marathi and they live
in clean and neat middle-class houses, costing to build £50 to £150
(Rs. 500-1500), two storeys high, with walls of stone or brick and
tiledroof. The furniture, which is worth £15 to £100 (Us. 150-1000),
includes cots, boxes, tables, chairs, glass lamps, mirrors, mixed wool
and cotton ruga, carpets, blankets, beds, and shawls. They employ
house servants and own cattle. They are moderate eaters and
good cooks, and are fond of sweet dishes. Their staple food ia
rice, pulse, millet bread, and whey-curry or dmti. A family of
five spends £1 4s. to £1 10s, (Es. 12-15) a month on food. . They
bathe regularly, say twilight prayers or scmdya, and lay before
their family gods ofEerings of flowers, sandal paste, frankincense, and
food. They are in theory strict vegetarians and the use of animal
food and liquor ia forbidden on pain of loss of caste. They
amoke hemp and tobacco. They dress like Deshasth Brdhmans and
have a store of clothes for holiday wear. They are clean, neat,
hardworking, and mild, often showy and hospitable. Their
hereditary calling is moneychanging and priestship, by which they
earn £2 to £5 (Es. 20 - 50) a month. Some are shopkeepers and
some are in Government service. "Women mind the house and never
help the men in their work. As a class they are well-to-do. They
rank themselves with Mardtha Brdhmans, but Deshasths look down
on Kasths and never eat with them. Their women mind the house
and their children go to school. The men are always busy and do
not close their shops on any day of the year.

Kdsths are a reHgipus people. Their family gods are Bhavdni
of Tulajpur, Dattdtraya, Khandoba of Ambadgdm near Paithan,
Lakshmi, Magdpur, Saptashriagi, and Vyankatesh, Their family
priest belongs to their own caste and officiates at the sixteen
sacraments or swnskdrs. They claim to belong to the Shdkt sect, and
treat their family gods with special reverence. Some worship Mahddev
and make pilgrimages to Alandi, Benares, Ndsik, Pandharpur, and
Eameshvar. They keep the same holidays as Deshasth Brdhmaas,
and' fast on EkddasMs or lunar elevenths, Shivardtra in February -
March, Bdm-na/vami in April, and Jcmmdshtami in August. They
believe in witchcraft, soothsaying, and in the power of spirits. They

Chapter III.
Population.

BBAHkANS,
KjiSTBS,

[Bombay Gazetteer,

174

DISTRICTS.

Chapter III.

Fopnlation.

BbAemaks.
KlaiBS.

MARwJiRia.

perform the sixteen sacraments and their customs do not differ
from those of Deshasths. . They form a separate community but
have little social organization- and seldom meet to settle disputes.
In theory a man who eats flesh should humble himself before their
high priest Shankardcharya and take the five cow-gifts ; in
practise breaches of caste rules are common and penance is rare.
They send their boys to school and college till they are twenty-five,
and their girls to school till they are twelve. They are a pushing
class well-to-do and ready to take to new pursuits.

Ma'rwa'r Brdhmans are returned as numbering 200 and as found
over the whole district except in Junnar. They say they are called
ChhanyatiBr^hmans, because they are sprung from sixRishis or seers,
Dadhichya, Gautam, Khande, Pardshar, and Shringij the name
of the sixth they do not know. Those of them who are sprung
from Dadhichya Rishi are called Dadhyavas ; those from Gautam
Gujar-Gauds ; those from Khande* Khandelvals j those from Pdrasar
Pdriksj those from Shringi Shikhvals; and those from the nameless
sixth Sdrasvats. All eat together, and, though they do not intermarry,
in appearance, speech, religion, and customs they form one class.
The different divisions seem to have come into, the district^
if, not at the same time, at least from the same parts of India
and under similar circumstances, and they do not differ in
calling, or in condition. They say that they came into the district
from Jodhpur in M.&xw^v during the Peshwas' supremacy. Their
Ved is the Yajurved, their shdhha or branch the Madhydnjan, their
family stocks ShyAndil and V^chhas, and their surnames Joshi, Soti,
Twadi, and Upadhe. Families of the same surname and stock
cannot intermarry. The men wear the mustache, whiskers, and beard,
and besides the ordinary top-knot a tuft of hair over each ear. Their
home tongue is Mdrwari and they live in hired houses paying Is.
to 4s. (8 as, - Rs. 2) rent a month. They generally own vessels,
bedding, carpets, and boxes. They are vegetarians and of vegetables
eschew, onions and garlic. Their staple food is wheat, split pulse,
butter, and sometimes vegetables. Their feasts cost 6d. to Is.
(4-8 as.) a head. They smoke tobacco, hemp, and opium, and drink a
preparation of hemp or sahji, but neither country nor foreign liquor.
The men wear the small tightly rolled two-colonred Marwariiurban, .
a long coat, a waistcloth and shoes, and the women a petticoat or
ghdga/ra, and an open-backed bodice or MchoU. They are thrifty and
orderly, but dirty and grasping. They deal in cloth and grain, act
as cooks and priests, and live on the alms of Marwar Vdnis. They
worship the usual Brahmanic.gods and goddesses, but their favourite
god is Bdlaji. They say that their fasts and feasts are the same as
those of Maratha Brahmans. Their priests are men of their own
class. They make pilgrimages to Benares, Dwd,rka, and Jagannath,
and beKeve in sorcery, witchcraft, soothsaying, omens, lucky and
unlucky days, and oracles. They keep the fifth day after the birth
of a child and generally go ta their native country for thread-
girdings and marriages. They have no headman and settle social
disputes at meetings of the castemen. They send their boys to
school and are a steady class.

Deecan.]

POONA.

175

Shenvis, a name of doubtful meaning, who also call themselves
Sarasvata and Gaud Brahmans, are returned as numbering 445
and as found aU over the district, except in Ind^pur.^ Except a few
who are Shenvis proper they belong to the subdivision which takes
its name from the village of Bh^ldval in the Rdj^pur sub-division of
Eatnagiri. Of the other subdivisions of the caste the Pednekars are
called after the Goa village of Pedne ; the Bdrdeskars after the Goa
district of Bardesh ; the Sd,shtikars after the Goa district of Sdshti j
and the Kuddldeshkars from Knddl in Savantvadi These sub-
divisions sometimes eat together but do not intermarry.^ They claim
to be a branch of the Sarasvat Panch Gaud Brdhmans and are suppos-
ed to have come from Hindustan or Bengal. Their original Konkan
settlement was Gomanchal the modern Goa. They have fourteen
gotras or stocks, the names of some of which are Dhananjaya Vd,sishth,
Kaundinya, Bharadvdj, Kdshyap, and Vatsa* Families bearing the
same stock-name cannot intermarry. Their commonest surnames
are, Aras, Bdndvalikar, Gharmode, Haldavnekar, K^mat, Eidnvinde,
Kdvalkar, Kinre, Edpkar, S^kulkar, Shevade, Tendolkar,and Vdghle.
Unless, which is seldom the case, they are of the same stock-name
families bearing the same surname may intermarry. The names
in common use among men are, Bhavdni, Ndrdyan, Pdndurang,
Rambhau, Shantdram, and Vishvanath ; and among womqn, Kama,
Sarasvati, and VarAnasi. The men are generally well made,
middle-sized, and dark; and the women rather taller and fairer with
regular features. They speak Mardthi like other high caste Hindusi
but at home. with many South Konkan peculiarities. They live in
houses of the better sort, one or two storeys high with walls of brick
and tiled roofs. Their house goods include boxes, cots, tables,
chairs, benches, carpets, bedding, picture frames, glass lamps, metal
pots and pans, and earthen jars for storing grain. They keep
servants and have cattle and are fond of pungent dishes. They feat
fish and mutton, but their staple food is rxce, pulse, and vegetables.
A family of five spends on food £1 to £5 (Bs. 10 - 50) a month.
Caste-dinners are given at thread-girdings, marriages, and deaths,
and the guests are asked the day before the dinner by one or more
members of the host's household. Invitations are confined to the
host's caste. Guesta belonging to other castes either dine after the
host's castemen have dined or take the food home. These dinners
are generally attended either by one member of each family asked
or by aU the members, the number depending on the form of invitation.
The host engages Brahman cooks who with the help of the host's
family and relations both cook and serve the food. As a rule these
caste-dinners are held during the day between ten and two. The

1 The origin of the name Shenvi is disputed. According to one account it ia
ghdhdnav or ninety-six from the number of the families of the original settlers.
According to a second account it is send an army, because many Shenvis were
warriors. A third derives it from sMhdnbhog the Kandrese term for village
accountant. Of the three derivations the last seems to find most favour with the
well-informed.

2 This is due to social exclusiveness rather than to any difference of origin or
custom. The late Dr. BhAu D&fi, who was himself a Shenvi, gave a dinner in
Bombay to which men of all the subdivisions came. Since his death the old distinc-
tion has revived.

Chapter III.
Population,

BsiHMAIia.

Sbexyis.

[Boml>ay Gaietteer,

176

DISTRICTS.

Chapter III.

Fopiilation.

BrIhmaks.
Sbjswvib.

men and women dine in separate rooms^ the children and the grown

up daughters with their mothers. Pood is served either on metal

or on leaf plates, and the guests wear silk waistcloths and robes.

When dinner is over they wash their hands and mouths, and,

putting on their upper garments, are served with betel and return

to their homes. A caste-dinner costs 3d. to Is. ,(3-8 as.) a guest.

A Shenvi man^s ordinary indoor dress is a waistcloth ; out of doors

it is a waistcloth, a coat, a waistcoat, a loosely rolled headscarf or a

Mard,tha Brahman turban, and shoes. The women wear the full

Mar^tha robe and a short-sleeved bodice and on festive occasions

throw a scarf over the head. The ceremonial dress of both men and

women is the same as their ordinary dress only it is more costly.

The Shenvis are hospitable and intelligent, but untidy and fond of

show. They are husbandmen, religious beggars, moneychangers/^

and Government servants. To build a' house costs £50 to £150

(Rs. 500-1500) and to hire a house 4s. to £1 (Rs. 2-10) a month,

and their household goods are worth £10 to £200 (Rs, 100-2000).

Servants' monthly wages cost 4s. to 8s. (Rs. 2-4) with food; the

keep of a cow or she-buffaloe 4s. to 10s. (Rs. 2-5), and of a horse

£1 to £1 10s. (Rs. 10-15). The yearly cost of clothes is £3 to £6

(Rs. 30-60); a birth costs 4s. to 10s. (Rs. 2-5) ; a hair-clipping 6s. to

10s. (Rs. 3-5); a thread-girding £2 10s, to £10 (Rs.25-100); a boy's

marriage £10 to £100 (Rs. 100-1000), and a girl's marriage £20 to

£30 (Rs. 200-300) ; a girl's coming of age £2 to £5 (Rs. 20-50) ;

a pregnancy feast about £2 10s. (Rs. 25) ; and a death £1 to

£4 (Rs. 10-40). In religion Shenvis proper, Ehdlavalkars,

Kuddldeshkars, and Pednekars are Smarts that is their creed is

that Grod and the soul are one and that the worship of all the gods .

is equally effective. They generally wear the Smdrt brow-mark, a

crescent of white sandal duSt. Among the other subdivisions the

Sashtikars and Bdrdeshkars are Bhagvats whose creed is that the

Boul and the universe are distinct and that the proper object of

worship is Vishnu. They wear one black line between two upright

white-clay brow lines; The family gods of the Shenvis proper are

Mangesh, Shdntddurga, and Mahdlakshmi, whose shrines are within

Goa limits ; the shrine of Mangesh, who is a local Mahddev, is in a

village of the same name, and the shrine of Shantadurga his spouse

is in the village of Kavle. Bdrdeshkars, Kuddldeshkars, and

Pednekars worship the gods of the village in which they happen to

live. The family gods of the Sashtikars are K^makshi, MAlnd,th,

Ramndth, Ravalnath, and Navadurga. Their priests are the Karhada,

Deshasth, and Konkanasth Brahmans who officiate at their houses,

and in some cases men of their own class. On the birth of the

first. male child sugar is handed among friends and relations.

Either on the fifth or the sixth day after a birth the goddess Satvdi

is worshipped and a dinner is given to near relations. Among the

neighbours young mothers and pregnant women leave their houses

and for eight days live elsewhere. On the twelfth day the child is

named, the name being chosen by an elderly woman of the lather's

house, and on the same day a cocoanut and grains of rice are laid in

the mother's lap. On the thirteenth day the young mother touches

a well, friends and relations present the child with Clothes, and the

Deccan.]

POONA.

177

mother becomes pure. Boys are girt with the sacred thread at the
age of eight or at ten if the father is poor. An earthen altar is
built in a booth or porch in front of the house. On the day before
the ceremony a party of the host's kinsmen with the family priest
and musicians starts to call fi'iends, relations, and castefellows.
On reaching a house the family priest asks for the head of
the house and lays in his hand a few red-coloured rice grains
and asks him to come the next day to a thread-girding at the
host's house. Relations and friends who live at a distance are
invited by cards which are sprinkled with wet saffron. Next
morning the boy and his mother bathe and for the last time dine
from the same plate. Then the priests and guests arrive and the
reli^ous ceremony is performed, the father teaching the boy the
sacred Gd,yatri verse. When this is over, if the host is well-to-do,
dancing-girls dance and the guests are dismissed with rosewater
and betel. An evening or two after comes the begging or
hhikshdval when the mother of the boy with a few other women of
the family goes to some temple close by. She is met by women
relations and friends and is escorted with music back to her house.
On arriving each of the women guests is offered a cocoanut with
betelnut and leaves. On, the evening of the eighth day the boy is
dressed in a turban^ coat, and silk waistcloth, and accompanied by
kinspeople, friends, and musicians is taken on horseback to a temple
close by his house. The guests sit with the boy in their midst, and
his maternal uncle comes to him and advises him to give up the idea
of leading the life of a recluse and offers to give him his daughter
in marriage. After some feigned hesitation the boy agrees, and he
and his friends return to his house. When his daughter is about
eight years old a Shenvi makes inquiries among his castefellows to
find her a husband. When a suitable match is found the boy's
family priest generally compares his horoscope with the girl's, and,
if the horoscopes agree, the girl's- father, except when the boy is a
widower, pays the boy's father a sum of money. Both families lay
in stores of grain and pulse and buy ornaments. A marriage porch
is built at both houses, and dinners are given to kinspeople and
castepeople, invitations being issued with the same formalities as for
a thread-girding. On the marriage morning the girl's father goes
to the boy's house, or to his lodgings if he has come from a distance,
worships him, and presents him with a turban and waistcloth, and
his sister with a robe and bodice. This ceremony is known as the
boundary-worship or simant-pujan, a name which shows that the
ceremony used to be performed when the boy crossed the border of
the girl's village. Immediately after the girl's father leaves, the
boy's father, with relations friends and musicians, goes to the girl's
house and formally asks her father to give his daughter in marriage
to his son. This ceremony is called vdgnischaya or .the troth-
phghting. The fathers, according to their means, exchange turbans
or cocoanuts. The boy's father presents the girl with ornaments,
a -robe, and a bodice, and her sister with a robe and bodice or a
bodice only according to his means. The boy's mother lays rice
and cocoanuts in the girl's lap, betel is handed, and the boy's
friends return home. In the afternoon of the marriage day a party
B 310—23

Chapter III.

Population.

BkAhmans.
Sbsnvis.

[Bombay Gazetteer,

178

DISTRICTS.

Chapter III.

Population.

BbAhhans.
Sbenvis.

of women starts for the girl's house taking a robe, turmeric mixed
with cocoanut oil, ornaments^ and sweetmeats. This is called the
robe and oil or telsada procession. When they reach the girl's
house the women of her family ar6 called, and in their presence the
girl is dressed in the robe,' decked with the ornaments, and rice and
a cocoanut are laid in her lap as many times over as there are
women present, and sweetmeats are handed. After reaching horn?'
they start a second time with a present of flowers and a robe. This,
which is known as the flower and robe or phuhdda ceremony, is the
same as the last except that flowers take the place of the turmeric
and oil. After this a procession of men and women accompanied
by musicians starts for the girl's house to- present refreshments or
'rukhvat. On reaching the house sweetmeats are given to the boy
and his companions and the party withdraws. When the rukhvat
or boy's feast is over, he is dressed in rich clothes, a marriage
ornament is bound round his turban, and, after bowing before
his house gods and his elders, he is taken to the bride's either in
a palanquin or on horseback. In front of him march musicians
and on either side of him walks a woman, one holding a lighted
lamp and the other a copper pot filled with water on the top of
which float mango leaves and a cocoanut. Every now and then
the procession stops and fireworks are let ofi". When the procession
reaches the girl's house, her father and mother come out dressed
in silk, receive the boy, and lead him into the hoiise. His feet
are washed by his father-in-law and a married woman waves a
lighted lamp before him. Then the girl's father gives hini a
cocoanut, and leads him to a seat in the marriage hall where the
men guests are met. The girl who has been ofEering prayers to
the goddess Gauri, is dressed in a robe and bodice of coarse yellow
cloth called ashtaputri. After certain religious ceremonies are
performed by the girl's father and the boy, the girl is brought by
her maternal uncle and placed by the side of her parents, a sheet
or antarpdt is held between the boy and the girl, the priest repeats
verses, and the guests drop red rice over the heads of the boy and
girl. At the lucky moment the cloth is snatched to one side, the
boy and girl throw garlands round each other's necks, and the
musicians beat their drums. Nosegays and betel are handed and
the guests go home with betel packets. Shortly after the boy's
mother, who returns to her house as soon as the marriage hour is
over, and her relations, with cloths spread for them to walk on, are
brought to the girl's house to present her with ornaments- and
clothes. Then follow the sacred fire or Idjdho-m and the seven steps
or saptapadi which are the same as among Mardthi Brdhmans. On
the same or on the next day, a ceremony called sddeoT chauthddn
or the last marriage robe-giving is performed when cocoanuts are
taken from the boy's father. and distributed among the guests.
Several games are played by the boy and the girl, the women and
grown girls siding with the girl and the youths with the boy. A
plate filled with coloured water is set between the boy and girl and;
they splash the water over each other. One of them hides a betelnut
or other small article and the other tries to find it, or one of them
holds in his teeth a roll of betel-leaf or a bit of cocoa-kernel and

DeccanJ

POONA.

179

the other tries to bite it o£E, or they play at odds and evens. In the
evening the girl's parents give a grand dinner to the boy's friends.
The guests us§d not to come to this dinner at the proper time and
used to ask for dishes that were not ready or which were difficult to
get ; this practice is falling into disuse. At the close of the dinner
the members of the boy's household are served with sweetmeats and
the girl sits in turn on the lap of each of the elderly members of
her family each of whom puts a little sugar into her mouth. The
house people sit to dine and the girl taking a cup of boiling butter
pours it in a Hue over the dinner plates and waves a lighted lamp
before the faces of the diners, each of whom lays a silver coin in the
cup. After dinner the boy and girl leave for the boy's house when
the .boy carries off an imgige from the girl's god-room. There
is great grief over the girl's leave-taking, the mother especially
lamenting that her daughter is gone to a strange house. When
they reach the boy's house his parents receive the couple at the
entrance of the marriage hall. A wooden measure of nnhusked rice
is set that the girl may overturn it with her foot, a heavy lighted
lamp is placed in her hands, and she and the boy are led into the
house. A new name is given to the girl, and, in the presence of her
father's relations, she is made to sit on the lap of each of the elder
members of the boy's household who in turn drop a little sugar into
her mouth. This ceremony is called hdtildvne or committing the
giri to the care of her new relations. The male guests who come
with the return procession are seated in the marriage hall where a
dancing-girl performs. The guests are told the girl's new name,
and with a parting present of sugar and betel packets they return
to their homes. Next day the boy's father treats castefellows and
others to a dinner. At the end of the dinner the deities who have
been asked to be present at the marriage are prayed to withdraw.
After a few months the boy and girl go to her father's house,
stay there for a couple of days, and return home. This closes
the marriage ceremonies. Shenvis allow and practise polygamy,
polyandry is unknown, and widow marriage is forbidden. On the
first signs of pregnancy a jiarty of women are called, the young
wife is richly dressed, crowned with flower garlands, and fed on
sweet food. A few relations and friends present her with clothes.
When a Sheuvi is on the point of death part of the ground-floor of
the sitting room near the entrance door is washed with cowdung and
covered with sacred grass and the body is laid on the grass with
the feet to the south. When Hfe is gone the body is taken outside,
washed, rubbed, bound on a bamboo bier, and covered with a cloth.
Four near relations carry the body on their shoulders to the burning
ground, the son or other chief mourner walking in front holding by
a string an earthen pot with a burning cake of cowdung. As they
go the bearers in a low voice repeat the words. Ram Edm, or Shri
Rdm Jay Ram, or they mutter N^rayan Narayan till they reach
the burning ground when they make a pyre of wood and lay the
body on it. The chief mourner goes thrice round the pyre horn.
right to left, and lights it. Then all retire to some distance
and sit till the body is consumed, when they go to their homes.
Meanwhile, at the deceased's house a lighted lamp is placed on the

Chapter III.

Population.

BbIhmans.
Sbenvis,

[Bombay Gazetteer,

180

DISTRICTS.

Chapter III.

Population.

BbXtuvtans.
Sasifvis.

Tailanqs.

spot where he died, and, as his soul is supposed to hover about the
house for ten days, a cotton thread is hung from a peg into a cup
of milk which is placed near the lamp to enable the soul to, pass
down the string and drink. In the house of mourning, during the
next ten days, a Brdhman reads sacred books every afternoon, and
baUs of rice are offered to help the soul to regain the different
parts of its body. Friends and relations visit the mourners and
send them presents of butter and pounded rice as nothing is cooked
in the house. On the tenth day the chief mourner offers rice balls.
If a crow touches one of the balls the soul of the dead is believed
to have gone to heaven in peace; if the crow refuses the deceased is
thought to have had some trouble on his mind. On the eleventh,
under the belief that the deceased will have the use of them in
heaven, the mourners present Br^hmans with coWs, money, earthen
pots filled with water, rice, umbrellas, shoes, fans, and beds. On the
twelfth and thirteenth water is offered and on the fourteenth the
mourning family visit a temple near their house. They are then
free to follow their every-day business. On the death day every
month for a year rice balls are offered to the soul of the deceased.
Shenvis are bound together as a body and settle social disputes at
meetings of castemen. Most Shenvis are well off. A few of them
draw salaries of as much as £50 (Es. 500) a month. On the whole
they are a pushing aiid rising class who send their boys to school
and readily take to anypromising calling.

Tailang or TelugU BrAhmans are returned as numbering 100,
and as found; in Bhimthadi, Haveh, Khed, and Poena. They are
said to have come into the district about a hundred years ago ;
' whence and why they cannot tell. Their head- quarters are' in
Kasba Peth in Poena city. They are divided into Kasalnddu, Muri-
kinadu, TeMganya, VegnMu, and Velnddu, who eat together but do
not intermarry. Their family stocks are Atri, Bhdradvd,], Gautam,
Jamadagni, Kaundinya, Kd,shyap, Pustsasa, Shrivatchhya, and
Vaghulas. Marriages cannot take place between persons of the same
stock. Their surnames are Bhamidivaru, Ghanti, Gunipudivaru,
Innuvaru, Kampuvd,ru, Kandalvarn, and Kotdvdru; sameness
of surname is no bar to marriage. They are tall, strong, and
dark. All men wear the mustache, some wear the beard, but none
whiskers. Their home tongue is Telugu ; with others they speak
an ungrammatical and ill-pronounced Marathi. ' They do not own
houses. Their household goods are a white blanket- and a sheet, a
wooden box, earthen water jars, and metal vessels. They keep
neither cattle nor servants. They are great eaters and have a
special fondness for sour or dmbat dishes. They are vegetarians,
their staple food including rice, whey, and a vegetable or two.
They get the grain they eat by begging, and spend ^d. to l^d.
(J-1 anna) a day. Before dicing, . besides sprinkling water and
thi'owing pinches of rice to the right side of the plate, they repeat
the name, of the god Govind. They givo dinners of sweet cakes
in honour of thread-girdings and ' marriages, a dinner to a
hundred guests costing £3 to £5 (Rs.30-50). Except in the use
of opium and snuff they indulge in no luxury. The men wear
a short waistolott, roH a scarf round thie head or wear a Deccan

Deccan.]

POONA.

181

Brahman turban, a coat or a waistcloth, a shonldercloth, and
sometimes Brdhman stoes. The women wear the full Maratha
robe and bodice and draw the skirt of the robe back between' the
feet and tuck it into the waist behind. They mark their brows with
redpowder, and tie their hair in a knot at the back of the head.
They are clean, idle, hot-tempered, thrifty, and hospitable. They are
beggars and make and sell sacred threads. Their begging months
are February to July [Magh to Jyeshta) and their sacred threads
are sold in August or Shrdvan when they make considerable sums.
Their houses are generally hired at 6d. to Is. 6d. (4-12 as.) a month,
and the furniture varies in value from £1 to £2 (E,s.lO-20). Their
monthly food charges vary from 2s. to 4s. (Es. 1-2). A birth costs
IQs. to £1 (Rs.S-lO) ; ahair-elipning 4s. to 10s. (Rs. 2-5) ; a thread-
girding £1 to £3 (Rs. 10-30)j a boy's marriage £10 to £30
(Rs. 100-300), and a girl's £2 10s. to £20 (Rs. 25-200); a girl's
coming of age 14s. to £1 10s. (Rs. 7-15); and a death £1 10s.
to £4 (Rs. 15-40). They are religious. Their chief objects of
worship are Kanakdurga of Bejvad in Telangan, the goddess of
Pith^pur and Vithoba of Jagannath. They also worship Ganpati,
Mahadev, and the lisual Br^hmanic gods and goddesses. They
are Smd,rts and their family priests are Brahmana of their own
country. They keep the usual EEindu fasts and feastS, but on feast
days both men and women go begging for a meal. If they fail
they come home, cook some rice, and eat it with whey and salt.
They show their Teacher Shankardcharya Svami great respect, and
when he visits them after every second or third year each house
pays him 2s. (Re. 1). "Women do not generally go to their mothers'
to be confined, they stay with their husbands. When a child is
bom the navel cord is cut by the midwife who is generally a
Mardtha woman ; she is paid 2s. (Re. 1) if the child is a boy and
Is. (8 as.) if the child is a girl. If the midwife is asked to remain
with the mother tiU the twelfth day she is paid 2s. to 4s. (Rs. 1-2)
more. The navel cord is not buried but is kept to dry in the
lying-in room. The child is bathed and laid beside its mother. If
a woman is confined at her mother's, word is sent to her husband
and to other near relations, and if the child is a boy sugar is
handed among relations friends and acquaintances and money
is presented to Brahmansjif the child is a girl nothing is done.
For the first two days the child is fed by sucking a piece of cloth
soaked in coriander juice or honey ; on the third day it is bathed
and the mother suckles it for the first time. They keep the fifth-
day ceremony. In the afternoon in the mother's room a grindstone
or pdta is hiid on the floor, on the stone is set an image of
Satvai and the child's navel cord, and these are worshipped by
the midwife or by some elderly married woman of the family. In
the evening they lay a blank sheet of paper, a pen, an inkpot,
and a knife that the god Brahma may write the child's destiny. For
the first twelve days the mother is fed on rice and butter. The
members of the family are impure for ten days. On the eleventh
they wash, change their Bacred threads, and purify themselves
by drinking and sprinkling the house with cow's urine. On
the morning of the twelfth day the husband and the wife with the

Chapter III.

Population..

BbIhmans,
Tailancis,

[Bombay Qazetteer,

182

DISTRICTS.

Chapter III.
Population.
BkjChmaits.

TAILAlfSS.

cHild in her arms worsliip the god Ganpati and Varun with the help
of the family priest, and the priest gives the child a name he has
found in his almanac. A sweet cake feast is held in the afternoon,
and in the evening the child is laid in ' the cradle and given a
second pet name, and wet gram and packets of betel are handed
among the women and children. The boys' names in common
use are, Bhimaya, Ndgaya, Narsaya, Peharaya, Ramaya, Somaya,
Suraya, and the girls', Gangama, Nagama, Narsama, Perama,
Ramama, Singama, and Somama. When a child is six months
old it is given solid food for the first time and Brahmans are
feasted. If the child is a boy his head is shaved when he is
three years old, leaving a tuft of hair over each ear and a forelock.
Girls' heads are not shaved unless they are the subject of a vow.
A boy is girt with the sacred thread between eight and eleven.
The day before the gixdiug an invitation is sent to the village god
accompanied by music. On the thread-girding day a sacrificial
fire is kindled on the altar and the sacred thread is fastened round
the boy's neck and his right arm. A dinner is given to relations,
friends, and other BrAhmans, and money is distributed among
Brdhman and other beggars. The Tailangs marry their girls
between six and eight and their boys between twelve and twenty-
five. The asking generally comes from the girl's side. When the
parents agree Brahmans and other relations and friends are palled to
witness the settlement. Sweetmeats are given to the girl, packets of
betel are handed to kinspeople and friends, and money is paid tobegging
Brdhmans. On the marriage day the devapratishtha or enshrining of
the marriage-guardians takes place, and a dinner is given to relations
and friends. The girl's father presents the boy with a new turban, sash,
andwaistcloth, andhis motherwitha robe. The boy andgirl arerubbed
with turmeric at their homes, and the boy is carried on horseback, to
the girl's in procession and he and the girl are made to stand facing,
each other on two low wooden stools. A piece of yellow cloth is
held between them, marriage verses are repeated by the priest
and other Brahmans, and the sacrificial fire is kindled on the
altar, on the four corners of which, unlike other Hindus, they do
not place earthen pots. A turban is presented to the girl's brother,
b'etelnuts and leaves are handed to the relations and friends, and
money is paid to religious beggars, and all retire. When the marriage
ceremony is over the hems of the boy's and girl's robes are ti«d
together and they are taken into the house to bow to the house
gods. On the second and third day the boy's relations are taken to
dine at the girl's house, and, on the fourth day the last marriage
robe-giving or sdde is performed, when the boy's relations go to the
girl's house, and present the girl with ornaments and clothes and five
married women with turmeric and redpowder, and fill their laps with
pieces of cocoanut. The parents of the boy and girl exchange
presents of clothes, and the boy, accompanied by relations and
music, takes his bride to her new home. Here the goddess Lakshmi
is worshipped, money is given to religious and other beggars, and
betel packets are handed to the guests. When the procession returns
to the boy's house the boy and girl are seated each on the shoulder
of a man who dances to music.

Oeccan.]

POONA.

183

Wlien a Tailang Br^lmian is on the point of death part of the
ground-floor of the house is cowdunged, tulsi leaves and sacred darbha
grass are sprinkled over it, a white blanket is spread, and the dying
man is laid on the blanket. The family priest dips his right toe
i&to a spoon full of cold water and a near relation pours the water
into the dying person's mouth, and money and grain are presented
to the poor. When life is gone the body is brought out, washed, and
wrapped in a white sheet. Sacred basil leaves are stufEed in the
ears, and the body is laid on a bier which is carried by four men
to the burning ground, the bearers repeating Rdm Ram. The
chief mourner walks in ' front of the bier holding, by a string an
earthen pot with burning cowdung cakes. When they reach the
burning ground the bier is lowered near running water. Water
and sacred grass are sprinkled on a piece of ground and a pile is
built. The corpse is washed and laid on the pyre. If the deceased
died at an unlucky moment wheateh figures of men are made and
laid on the corpse. While the fire is being kindled verses are
repeated and the chief mourner lays some burning cowdung cakes
under the pile. When the corpse is burnt the chief mourner thrice
goes round the pyre holding in his hand an earthen pot full of
water. At each turn a hole is bored in the pot with a pebble
picked somewhere on the road and at the third round the pot is
dashed on the ground. The pebble is kept as the stone of life
or ashma and over it sesamum and water are daily poured. The
ashes are thrown into water and they return home. On the second
day a three-cornered earthen mound is raised on the spot where
the body was burnt, and on it five earthen pots are placed, and
cooked rice, rice balls, and wheat cakes are ofEered to the
dead. The stone is taken to the river, washed, and carried to the
house of mourning. Prom the third day to the ninth a rice ball
is ofEered and the stone o£ life or ashma is taken to the burning
ground and again brought back to the house of mourning. On
the tenth day all the adult male members of the house go to the
river, offer cakes and rice balls, and after setting up red flags six
inches high, ask the crows to touch the chief ball of the five. As
soon as the ball has been touched by a crow the mourners pour
water and sesamum over the stone and throw it into the river.
They then bathe and return home. On the eleventh day the
mourning is over. A sacrificial fire is lit in the burning ground
and money is distributed among beggars. On the twelfth day
the offering of rice balls or sapindis is performed and Br^hmans are
feasted. On the thirteenth day the shrdddh is performed and this
is repeated at the end of each month for twelve months. At the
end of the twelve months the first anniversary is held and is
repeated every year so long as one of the deceased's sons remains
alive. They hold meetings to decide their social disputes composed
of learned Tailang, Deshasth, and other Maratha Brdhmans^ A
man proved to have drunk liquor is fined 2s. to£l (Rs. 1-10), and
any one who forms a connection with a woman of the Mhar, Mang,
or other low class is turned out of- caste without hope, of forgiveness.
If the woman is a Musalmdn the Brahman's mustache is shaved
and he is allowed back to caste after drinking cow's urine. They

Chapter IIL
Population.

BBi.HMAIi'S.

[Bombay Gazetteer,

184

DISTRICTS.

Chapter III.

Population.

BbAhmans.
Tntaxn.s,

VtDUBS.

Tirgtlls are returned as numbering 300 and as found over the
whole district except Maval and Shirur. Their origin is not known ;
they are believed to have come into the district from Telangan
about two hundred years ago. They have no subdivisions, and the
commonest names among men are Atmaram, M^rtand, Ramchandra,
and Vishnu ; and • among women Krishna, Lakshini, R^dha, and
Sdvitri. Their surnames are Arankelle, Arole, Bhinge, Javalkar,
Kodgule, Mahajane, Mahdshabde, Maindarge, and Supekar,
They have five family stocks or gotras, Bhdradva], Kaushik,
X^shyap, Lohit, and Napa, and persons having the same family
stock cannot intermarry. They speak corrupt Marathi, live in houses
of the better sort, and are vegetarians. Both men and women
dress like Maratha Brdhmans, and are clean, thrifty, hospitable, and
hardworking. They are traders,, bankers, landowners, writers, and
betel-vine growers. As they kill insects they are considered impure.
A family of five spends £1 4s. to £2 (Rs. 12 - 20) on food a month,
and £2 10s. to £5 (Rs. 25-50) on clothes. A house costs £50 to £200
(Rs. 500- 2000) and 4s. to £1 (Rs. 2 - 1 0) to rent. The value of their
house goods is about £10 to £100 (Rs. 100-1000). A birth -<!osts
10s. to £1 (Rs. 5-10) j a hair-clipping 10s. to 16s. (Rs. 5-8); a
thread ceremony £2 10s. to £20 (Rs. 25-200) ; a marriage £20 to
£50 (Rs. 200-500); a puberty £3 10s. to £20 (Rs.35-200); and a
death £2 to £5 (Rs.20-50). They are Smarts and worship all the
Brahmanio gods and goddesses and keep the ordinary Hindu
fasts and feasts. They go on pilgrimage to, Allahabad, Benares,
N^sik, Pandharpur, and Tuljdpur. Their customs are the same as
those of Deccan Brdhmans. They have a caste council and settle
social disputes at meetings of castemen. They send their boys to
school and are well off.

Vidurs,^ that is the lUegitunate call themselves Brdhmanjdis.
They are returuBd as numbering 100 and as found over the whole
district excepting Khed, Mdval, and Purandhar. Tiey have no
subdivisions and their surnames are Bdraskar, D^vare, Kalangade>
and Vaikar, ; families bearing the Same surname do not iptermarry.
Their staple food is millet, rice, and pulse, and a family of five

1 The Vidura tell the following story to explain the origin of their name. A king
named ShAntanu walking by a nver saw and loved a beautiful maiden. He asked
the girl to marry him and aiter some hesitation she agreed. She told him that she
was the river Ganga and warned him that if he ever questioned her conduct she
would at once disappear. The king promised to ask no questions and they lived
together as husband and wife. Ganga bore him several children. No sooner was
a child born than the queen threw it into the river. The king endured the' loss
of his children in silencfe. At last when a child named Bhishma was bom he com-
plained to his wife of the loss of his children and begged her to spare Bhishma's life.
No sooner had he spoken than Ganga turned to water and flowed off into the nearest
river. Aiter some time king Shtotanu again walked by the river, saw a beautiful
girl in a'boat, and she agreed to marry him on condition that her son should succeed.
This the king promised as Bhishma, Ganga's son, said he had no wish to rule. A
son named Ohitringad was bom and succeeded his father. He married two wives
but died childless. On his death his mother sent one of the wives to the sage VyAs
to raise an heir to the throne. A blind child was born and could not succeed. The
second wife was sent and a leprous child was bom who too could not rule. The
queen-dowager then sent one of her son's slave-girls and a boy was bom and called
Vidur because he was the son of a slave, He succeeded to the throne and from him
all Vidur Br^hmans are sprung.

Deccan.]

POONA.

185

spends £1 10s. to £2 (Rs. 15-20) a monfcli. They do not eat fisK
or flesh and drink no liquor. They dress either like Mardthds or
Brdhmans, and are writers, printers, and messengers. They think
themselves higher than Mardthas, and a little lower than the ordinary
Mardtha Brahmans. Their family^goddess is Bhavani of Tuljapur,
and they also worship Khandbba and Bahiroba of Jejuri. They
have house images of Ganpati, Maha.dev, and Vishnu, and their
priests are the ordinary Deshasth Brahmans. Their fasts and f easts
do not differ from those of ordinary Brdhmanic Hindus. Their
boys are girt with the thread before they are ten. The priest pours
a few drops of the panchgavya or five cow-gifts on the boy's right
palm, and, after he has taken a sip, the priest repeats a sacred
verse over the thread and puts it round the boy's neck. He ia
paid 6d. to 2s. (4 as.-Ee. 1). They marry their girls before they
come of age and their boys between sixteen and twenty. The
texts repeated at their marriages are from the PurAns, not from
the Veds.- In other respects their ceremonies are like those of
Deshasths. They burn their dead, and practise polygamy but not
polyandry. They send their boys to school and are a poor people.

Writers included four classes with a strength of 1500 or 0'17
per cent of the Hindu population. Of these about thirty perspns
Vho are returned as Pdtane Prabhus in the census were Dhruv
Prabhus, 832 were Kayasth Prabhus, 206 were Pdtdne Prabhus,
and 423 were Velhdlis.

Dhruv PrabllUS, literally Lords descended from Dhruv, are
found only in the city of Poona. According to tradition, Dhruv, from
whom they claim descent, was the son of Uttdnpdt, a Kshatriya king
of Oudh, whose name Uttanpat according to their story was the
origin of the name Patane by which one of the two classes of
Western India Prabhus is known.^ Dhruv Prabhus claim to be
the same as Pdtane Prabhus. Two or three years ago they
applied to be readmitted into caste, but the Patanes refused on the
'ground that the two classes had been so long separate. The Dhruvs
have many written statements from Poona Patane Prabhus stating
that their ancestors had said the two classes were the same. The
Dhruvs say they came as writers from Bombay and Thana to Poona
during the time of the Peshwas and have since settled in the district.
They have no subdivisions. Among their surnames are Kotker
and Mdnkar. They are like Bombay P£td,ne Prabhus in appearance.
They speak an incorrect Marathi, using n for p and I for /. Their
houses are of the better sort, one or two storeys high with walls of
brick and tiled roofs. They are neat and clean, and are well supplied
with metal vessels, cups, saucers, Tjedding, carpets, cots, boxes,
chairs, tables, glass and brass hanging lamps, and large earthen jars
for storing grain. They have servants generally of the Kunbi caste,
and keep cattloj ponies, and parrots. They are neither great eaters

' P4td,ue, according to BrAhman accounts, is properly PitSre or Fallen, because the
Prabhus have fallen from being warriors to be writers. The Konkan traditions and
to some extent the evidence of their home speech suggest that the Pdtdne Prabhus of
the ThAna coast are descendedirom Kajputs of AnhUvdda Pattan in North Gujarit,
and may take their name from that town, Th&ua Statistical Account in Bombay
Gazetteer, XIV. 90.

Chapter III.

Population.

BkXhmans.
ViDUsa.

Weitbrs,

DSRUY PSABBUS.

[Bombay Gazetteer,

186

DISTRICTS.

Chapter III.

Population.

Wbitebs>
Dbrut Pbabhus,

nor good cooks. There is nothing special or proverbial about their;
style of cooking or their favourite dishes. They eat fish and the
flesh of goats, sheep, hare, and deer, but they eat neither domestic
fowls nor eggs. Those who are caref lil to keep caste rules do not
drink liquor. Their staple food is rice, split pulse, wheat bread,
vegetables, spices, pickles, and salt ; and they drink tea, coffee, milk,
and water. At their marriage and other feasts the chief dishes are,
sugared rice, sweet cakes, and pulse and wheat balls. They eat
animal food on holidays and once or twice a week. It is the cost and
not any religious scruple that prevents them regularly using animal
food. They sacrifice a goat on Dasara Day in front of the goddess
Darga and afterwards feast on the flesh. Both men and women
dress like Deccan Brdhmans, the women tie the hair in a knot behind
the head and deck the hair with flowers. They keep rich clothes in
store, shawls, gold-bordered silk robes and bodices, and sill^ waist-
cloths shouldercloths and handkerchiefs, valued at £20 to £60
(Rs. 200-600). They have ornaments of gold, silver, pearls, and
diamonds for the head, ears, nose, neck, arms, and feet, valued at
£50 to £100 (Rs. 500 - 1000). Th^y are neat, clean, hardworking,
sober, honest, even-tempered, hospitable, loyal, and orderly.
They are English writers, moneylenders, and inQneychangers.
They claim to be Kshatriyas, eat from no one but BrAhmans, and
consider themselves higher than any caste except Brahmans. A
house costs £100 to £200 (Rs.lOOO - 2000) to build, and 10s. to £1
(Rs. 5-10) a month to hire. House goods vary in value from, £20 to
£40 (Rs."200-400). They pay their servants 4s. to 8s. (Rs. 2-4) a
month with food. The feed of a cow or buffaloe varies from 8s. to £1
(Rs.4-10) a month. A family of five spend £3 to £4 (Rs. 30 - 40) '
a month on food, and £4 to £6 (Rs. 40-60) a year on clothes. The
birth of a child costs £3 to £4 (Rs. 30-40) ; a hair-clipping 4s. to,
6s. (Rs.2-3) ; a thread-girding £10 to £20 (Rs. 100-200) a boy's
marriage £50 (Rs.500) andagirFs marriage £20 to£30 (Rs. 200-300)3
a girl's coming of age £8 to £10 (Rs. 80-100) to both the boy's and
the girl's father; a first pregnancy £5 to £10 (Rs. 50-100); the
death of a man £7 to £10 (Rs. 70-100), of a married woman £5 to
£10 (Rs. 50-100), and of a widow £5 to £7 (Rs.50-70). They are
either Smarts or Bhagvats, and have house images of Ganpati,
'M.^hMev, Vishnu, Ram, Krishna, and Annapurna. Their family,
deities are Indrfiyani at Alandi, Bkvira at Karli in Poona,;
Khandoba of Jejuri, and Bhavani of Tuljdpur. Their priests are
Deshasth Brahmans whom they greatly respect^ They keep the
usual Br^hmanic fasts and feasts, and make pilgrimages to Benares, ,
Pandharpur, Jejuri, and Vajreshvari in Thdna. A woman always
stays for her confinement at her husband's. After the child is born
the mother is washed in brandy and hot water. On the evening of
the third day they set a high wooden stool in the lying-in room
near the mother's cot, and laying a handful of rice grains on the
stool place a betelnut on the rice, and present the betelnut with i,
balls of rice or modaks. This is called the third-day worship or
tinvichi puja. Wet split gram and cocoanut scrapings are mixed
and a handful is sent to the house of all the people of the caste.
A feast of rice balls is held in the evening when near relations are

Dec can.]

POONA.

187

called. On the evening of the fifth day a high wooden stool or a
winnowing fan is set in the mother's room, and on it is laid a tdh
that is ■ a small square metal plate with an image of the goddess
Sa,tvai impressed upon it, and the Brahman family priest worships it.
Sixteen dough lamps are set round the image and rice balls are
offered to it. Relations and friends come to dine and the women-
keep awake till midnight talking. Next day, the sixth, rice balls
are made ready and offered to the goddess, and, on the day after,
the image is put in a box and kept there till the next child is
born. The mother and her family are considered unclean for ten
days. On the eleventh day the room is cowdun'ged, the cot
washed, and the mother and child are dressed in fresh clothes.
On the eleventh day the men change their sacred threads and name
the child if it is a boy on the thirteenth and if it is a girl on the
twelfth day. A feast is held when gram balls are prepared and
relations and castepeople are ask to dine. In the evening female
guests bring Some grains of rice, a cocoanut, and a coat and cap
or kunchi for the child. The child is laid in thd cradle, songs are
Bung, and the child is given a name by some elderly woman in the
house. The presents brought by the women are taken from them,
and in return a cocoanut, some sugar, and a betel packet are given
them, and they go home.

A boy's hair is first cut between his third and his fifth year, when
the barber is presented with a new handkerchief, some grains of rice,
a cocoanut, and Is. to 2s. (8 as. Re. 1) in money. On any day after
this, without performing any ceremony, they shave the child's head
except the top-knot. , Their boys are girt with the sacred thread
between eight and ten. Two days before the ceremony an altar
is raised and on the same day the boy is seated on a high wooden
stool with a penknife and a cocoanut in his hands and is rubbed
with wet turmeric powder. He is then bathed along with his
father and mother. A day before the thread ceremony the father
takes a pole called the lucky pole or muhurt-medh, and, tying to
its top an umbrella, a handful of dry grass, a couple of cocoanuts,
and a piece of yellow cloth with grains of Indian millet in it, fixes
it on one side of the house when it is worshipped by the boy and his
parents. Then the god Ganpati is worshipped in the first room or
osri on entering ~ the house. In the women's hall a red or
yellow piece of cloth is spread in a bamboo basket or padali, and
the image of the household family goddess or kul-svdmini is ladd
in the basket and worshipped. An earthen pot is whitewashed
and marked with yellow green and red, and in it are laid grains
of wheat or rice, a betelnut, a piece of turmeric root, and a |c7.
(I anna) piece. The lid is closed and thread is wound round the jar
and it is set near the basket. This pot is called the guardian or
devak. A lighted stone lamp is set before it and fed with oil till the
thread ceremony is over. They then come on the veranda or oti, lay
a leaf -plate on the ground, and on the leaf lay some grains of rice and
a gourd or kohola. The gourd is worshipped by the father, the mother,
and the son. Then the father takes 'a sword, and while his wife
stands with her fingers touching his arm, he cuts the gourd into four
pieces two of which are set aside and the remaining two are Sliceii

Chapter III.

Fopolation..

Weiters,
Dhbuv Prabmvs'.

Chapter III.

Population.

Wbitees.
QSRUV Pbabbus,

[Bombay Gazetteer,
188 DISTRICTS.

into small -pieces, cooked, and eaten. Then the women take, a
frying pan or kadhai, pour oil into it, and put a ladle in each of its
handles. From the ladle a gold neck ornament called vajratik is hung
and worshipped by the women with sugar and a copper piee [i anna).
When this is oyer they begin to make sweetmeats in the pan. Several
other ceremonies are performed as preliminaries to the thread-girding.
One of these rites is- called varun-puja or water- worship, when they
worship a pot or kalash full of -water; a second rite is called
i^hwa-dpah-santu, literally may the waters be fortunate, when the
Brdhman drops cold water from a mango leaf on the heads of
the boy and his parents ; a third is ndndishrdddh or joyful-event
ancestor-worship when ancestors are asked to the ceremony; a
fourth is bhumi-pvja or earth-worship ; a fifth is navagraha-puja
or nine^planet worship; a sixth is rudrakalash-pnja or Rudra's
pot-worship when the Rndras are worshipped by taking a water-cup.
or panchapdtri, filling it with water, setting it over a cocoannt,
and lighting the sacrificial fire ; a seventh is balipraddn or
offering-giving, when cooked rice is laid in a bamboo basket and
over it is set a dough lamp with a wick of black cloth, and in it a
piece of the gourd which was cut in four parts, the whole is
sprinkled with udid pulse and redpowder, and laid on the-roadside
by one of the house servants. The day ends with a feast. On the
morning of the thread ceremony day the boy is seated in front of
the Brdhman priest who pours butter or loni and water in a cup
and hands it to the family barber. Then a razor is taken from the
barber, sprinkled with water, and with it a blade of the sacred
grass is cut over the boy's right ear, then behind his head, and then
on his left ear, and the razor is handed to the barber who rubs the
butter and water on the boy's head and shaves it. The boy is
bathed, his head is shaved a second time, and he is again bafhed.
He dines from the same plate with his mother ; gold, silver, and
pearl ornaments and flower garlands are fastened round his neck ;
lines of redpowder are drawn over his head ; and he is made
to stand near the altar on a low wooden stool covered with sack-
cloth. His father sits before him facing him, and a cloth is held
between them. The Brahmans chant verses and at the end throw
grains of rice over the boy's head, the clotk is pulled on one side,
and he bows before his father and sits in his lap. The boy is
dressed in a loincloth, and the priest takes a sacred thread and
fastens it from his left shoulder so that it hangs to his right hips.
He also gives him a stick and a bag. The boy is told to look
towards the sun, and the father taking him by his right hand asks
him whose brahmachdri or religious student he is. He answers, ,
Indra's Brahmachari. Then the sacrificial fire is lit on .the altar and
the boy bows before it. The father takes a «up of queen's metal, , '
fills it with grains of rice, and traces the letters of the sacred Gayatri
verse on the rice, and the father tells the boy to repeat the verse.
Then into the sacrificial ladle or pali a iew grains of rice and
a piece of sugarcandy are laid, and it is put in the boy's begging
bag while he repeats the words Bhikshdm dehi bhavati that is
Give me alnis. The father warns the boy to keep the sacred fire
lighted, agni-rakshane ; to guard the cow, gau-poitane ; and not to

Deccan.]

POONA.

189

use the stick or dand. The guests present the, boy with Is. to 2s,
(8 as. -Ee.l) in cash, and cocoanuts and betel packets are handed
and the guests retire except a few near relations and friends
who stay to dine. In the evening the boy is taken, to his maternal
uncle's house, a procession is formed^ and he is brought home on
horseback , accompanied by relations^ friends, and music. Before
the boy enters the house rice and curds are waved round his head,
and the guests retire with a betel packet and a cocoanut. Next day
the thread-ceremony ends with a feast.

They marry their girls between nine and fourteen and their
boys between twelve and twenty. The offer of ^marriage comes
from the girl's house. The girl's father with some friends or
relations goes to. the boy's and in the presence of friends asks
his father whether he will give his son in marriage to his daughter.
If the father agrees the lucky days are chosen with the help of
the family priest . and the settlement or tithi-nischaya is performed.
Then the marriage god or guardian is installed, and other
preliminary customs are performed in the same detail as at the
thread-girding. They rub the girl with turmeric, tie a piece of
turmeric root and betelnut to her right wrist, and send the rest of
the turmeric or ushtihalad to the boy's house accompanied by music,
married women, and a mango twig. At the girl's the women fix
the twig in the ground and a pair of cocoanuts are tied to it. The
boy is rubbed with turmeric and bathed, and a piece of turmeric and
betelnut are tied with cotton thread to his right wrist. On the
morning of the second or marriage day a party of men and women
go from the girl's tothe boy's with music and carrying a plate
containing a turban, a sash, a pair of shoes, a cocoanut, and
sweetmeats. The boy is seated on a high wooden stool, worshipped
by the girl's father, and presented with the clothes ; hanging
garlands of flowers are hungTound his head, and the party retire.
Then the boy's relations go to the girl's with music and a plate
containing a robe and bodice, sugarcandy, cocoanuts, flower
garlands, the marriage coronet or bashing, grains of wheat, and
five betelnuts dates almonds and pieces of turmeric and some
ornaments. The girl is seated on a stool "and presented with the
robe, bodice, and ornaments, and her lap is filled with dates, wheat,
betelnuts, almonds, and turmeric. The boy's father presents the girl's
father with a turban and the boy's party retire. The girl's mother,
with herfemalerelations,music, and sweetmeats, goes to the boy's house
and gives the sweetmeats in charge to his people. The boy's head is
shaved and he is bathed and dressed in a waistcloth, coat, turban, and
shoes ; flower garlands are wound round his head, and the girl's
mother ties round his turban the marriage coronet or bashing, and
gives him sweetmeats and a betel packet. The boy's father places a
penknife and a cocoanut in the boy's hand and he is taken to bow
before the household gods. He is then seated on a horse and led
in procession to the girl's with a party of kinspeople and friends.
When he reaches the girl's, cooked rice and curds are waved roij.nd
his head and thrown on one side. Then the girl's father and mother
come to the boy, the father walks once round the horse, and the
mother waves a lighted lamp round his face, and they retire. The

Chapter III.
Fopnlation.

JiBRVT PlUBBUi

[Bombay Gazetteer,

190

DISTRICTS.

Chapter III.

Population.

Wkiteks.
Dhrvv Pbabbus.

girl's brother comes forward and squeezes the boy's right ear, and he
is presented with a turban. The boy is taken off the^horse by some
one near and is led into the niarriage hall. His coat, shoes, and
turban are taken off, and he is seated on the altar on a wooden
stool covered with a blanket. Thegirl is by thfs time dressed in a
white cloth with yellow borders, and seated near the marriage gods^
The ceremony of honey-sipping or madhuparjtia performed, and
the girl's niother washes the boy's sisters' feet and presents them
with bodices. Then, after the boy's feet have been washed, the
boy and girl are taken into the house and made to stand facing
each other on two heaps of rice with a cloth held between them,
BrAhmans repeat the marriage verses, and at the end they are
husband and wife. They are then seated face to face on two chairs
and a married woman fastens the marriage string round the girl's
neck. A cotton thread is passed round the pair five and seven
times by the priest. Then the girl's father, holding the boy's
hands below , the girl's, pours water over the girl's hands, and if
falls over the boy's and from that into a plate on the ground.
The boy's and girl's fathers put 2s._ to 10s. (Rs. 1-5) into their
hands and it becomes the property of the boy. Besides this the
boy is presented with metal vessels and lamps, and the threads
passed five and seven times are tied round the right and left wrists
of the boy and girl. The boy's father presents^ the girl with a robe
and bodice and the silver anklets called jodvis and viravlyds. The
girl's father takes the boy and girl by the hand and seats them
on the altar, and the sacrificial -fire is lighted and fed with butter ,
and parched grain. The girl rises from the stool and the Brdhman-
lays on it seven pinches of rice and the girl worships them. The
boy takes^the girl's right hand in his right hand and the pdnigrahan ■
or hand-clasping is over. Except near relations who -stay for dinner
the guests take betel packets and retire. When dinner is over the
boy and girl are seated in a carriage or on horseback, and, accom-
panied by kinspeople friends and music, go to the boy's. In the
room where the marriage god has been set the boy and the girl sit
before the god and worship, throw grains of rice over it, and retire.
The guests withdraw with cocoanuts and a cup of sweet milk. On
the morning of the second day the girl's kinswomen go to the boy's
and bring the boy and girl and their parents and relations to their
house to bathe. In the marriage porCh the boy and girl mark one
another with wet turmeric and they are bathed. , The boy's relations
now retire. In the evening the boy's parents and near relations
come again. Then sixteen small dough lamps are arranged with a
large lamp in the middle. A betelnut is worshipped by the girl's
parents and the dough lamps are lighted. The boy and girl are
now worshipped by the girl's parents and then by the boy's parents,
and the bamboo basket is put over the heads of the boy and the
girl, and the boy's parents and their near relations. The girl's
father seats the girl on the lap of the boy's father and of his re-
lations, and they return to the boy's house with . the girl and the
bamboo basket. The boy and girl are then seated near the marriage'
gods and the girl is called by a new name which is given her by her
husband. Rice is thrown: over the marriage gods with the object of,

Decean.}

POONA.

191

inducing them to withdraw, and the wristlets or hanJcdns and the
marriage ornaments are tied in a piece x)f cloth and kept somewhere
in the house. A feast at both houses is the last of the marriage
ceremonies. When a Dhruv Prabhu dies, he is laid on a white
woollen waistcloth or dhdbli, and the toes of his feet are tied together
with a string. The chief mourner's head and mustache are shat'ed,
and he cooks rice and makes -it into three balls or, pinds, one he
lays in the house at the corpse's head/ a second is afterwards laid
at the place where the body rested on the way to the burning
ground, and the third is laid 6u the mouth of the corpse when
it is placed on the pile. When the skull bursts with the heat each
mourner throws a piece of sandalwood on the pyre and the chief
mourner in addition throws a cocoanut. When all is burnt the chief
mourner, carrying an earthen jar of water on his right shoulder
walks round the pyre with his left hand towards it. When at the
end of the first round he is near where the corpse's head lay one of
the mourners makes a hole in the pot with a pebble called the
ashma or spirit picked up near the place where the bier was .rested,
and the mourner lets the water stream from the hole as he walks
round the pyre. At the end of the second round a second hole is
made and a second stream runs out of the pot, and at the end of
the third round a third hole is made and the pot is dashed on the
ground. _ The chief mourner cries aloud striking his hand on his
mouth. Either on the same or on the next day, a three-cornered
mound is made on the spot where the deceased was burnt. Sacred
grass is spread on the mound and on the grass four small
earthen jars' are set filled with water, and over the jars four
dough cakes and rice balls are laid. Flowers are strewn over the
cakes and four small yellow flags are set in the ground and wor-
shipped. The funeral party withdraw to some distance till a
crow has touched one of the balls. After that they bathe and accom-
pany the chief mourner to his house. When they reach the house
of death they go inside, peep at the lamp which is burning on the
spot where the dead breathed his last, say some words of comfort
to the mourners, and go to their homes. The family mourn ten days,
and, on the tenth, ofEer ten rice and ten dough balls on the burning
i ground. They anoint the ashma or stone of life with cocoanut oil,
' worship it, and after a crow has touched it, throw it into a river.
The priest returns home, and is presented with a blanket, an
umbrella, a brass lamp, and a pair of shoes. On the eleventh day
the chief monrner and a few near relations go to the burning
ground and cook rice, spilt pulse, vegetables, pulse cakes or vades,
and wheat cakes or puran-poUs, and make three rice balls to which
the several' dishes are offered. The whole is mixed together into
three balls, two of which are burnt and one is thrown into the water.
After a bath they return home. On the twelfth day alms are given
in the. name of the deceased ; on the thirteenth a memorial ceremony
or sJirdddh is performed and the caste is feasted; and on the fourteenth
fourteen earthen pots are filled with water and presented to fourteen
Brahmans along with f d. (^ anna), and near relations are feasted
chiefly on wheat cakes or pitran-polis. Dhruv Prabhus are bound
together as a body' and settle social disputes at meetings of the

Chapter III.
Population.

Wkitebs.
Dhruv Prabbus

[Bombay Gazetteer,

192

DISTRICTS.

Chapter III.
Population.

Writers.

KIyasth
Pbabhus.

castemen. English education of late has weakened the authority
of easte. They send their boys to school and are a steady class.

Ka'yasth Prablms are returned as numbering 830 and as found
over the whole district except Junnar. They claim to be Kshatriyas.
According to their story, aifter Parashurdm had killed Sahasrd.rjan
and king Chandrasen, he discovered that Chandrasen's wife had
taken refuge with the seer Ddlabhya and that she was with child.
To complete his vow to kill the whole of the Kshatriyas Parashurdm
went to the sage, who received him kindly, asked him why he had
come, and promised to grant his wishes. Parashuram replied that
he wished to kill Chandrasen's wife. The sage produced the lady,
and Parashurdm, pleased with the success of his scheme, promised
to grant the sage whatever he asked for. Dalabhya asked for the
unborn child, and Parashuram, bound by his promise, agreed to
spare the mother's life on condition that the child should be bred a
writer, not a soldier, and that instead of Kshatriyas hiB descendants
should be called Kdyasths because the child was saved in his
mother's body or kdya. The boy was married to Chitragupta's
daughter, and was given the title of Prabhu or lord. Kdyasths are
divided into Chitragupb KAyasths, Ohandraseni Kdyasths, and
Sankar Kayasths. The Ghandrasenis have no subdivision except
Damani Prabhus who in no way differ from the rest and have a
Special name only because they lived for a time at Daman in the North
Konkan. Kd,yasths have gotras or family stocks and prauars or-
founders, and forty-tWo surnames. People bearing the same surname
and belonging to the same family stock do not intermarry. In
appearance Kayasths closely resemble Konknasth Br^hmans. They
are fair and middle-sized, with regular features and thick black
hair. The men wear the top-knot and mustache, but neither
beard nor whiskers. The women are fairer than the men and
handsome. They wear the hair tied in a knot at the back of the
head, use false hair, and deck their hair with flowers. Their
home speech is Mardthi, which both- men and women speak
correctly. Their houses are well stocked with furniture, copper
brass iron and tin vessels, boxes, cots, bedding, glass hanging
and brass lamps. Each family has a servant, and most have
cattle, horses, dogs, parrots, and bullock carts. Their houses vary
in value from £50 to £2000 (Rs. 500-20,000) ; their furniture from
£10 to £200 (Rs. 100-2000); a man's' stock of clothes from
£7 to £50 (Rs. 70 - 500) ; a woman's and a child's from £10 to
£200 (Rs. 100-2000); their ornaments are worth £30 to £600
(Rs. 300-5000). They eat 'fish and the flesh of goats and sheep,
but secretly as they prefer to be considered vegetarians, and
drink both countiy and foreign liquor. Their daily food is rice,
pulse, vegetable fish or pulse curry, milk, curds^ and whey. They
drink tea or coffee, are fond of good living, and their pet dishes -are
gram oil-cakes and wheat and sugar semicircular cakes or haranjas.
A family of five spend every month ' on their food, if rich
£5 to £7 10s. (Rs. 50-76) if fairly, off £3 to £4 (Rs. 30-40),
and if poor £2 10s. to £3 (Rs. 25-30). Their feasts cost 6d.
to Is. (4-8 as.) a guest. Both men and women dress like Mardths'

Deccan.]

POONA>

193

BrdhmanSj and it is often hard to tell a Kdyasth Prabliu from Chapter III.
a Brahman. They are generally richly and most carefully and Population.,
neatly dressed. Of ornaments well-to-do men wear gold necklaces ^^

and. finger rings^ and the women the same ornaments as Brdhman emees.

women. They are hardworking, hospitable, orderly, and loyal ; but Pjubhus.

. extravagant and fond of show. They are writers, husbandmen,
moneylenders, and- moneychangers. They are generally Bhagvats
or followers of Vishnu, and are termed Deviputras or Goddess'
Children because they worship the early local mothers more than the
regular Brahman gods. They have house images of Annapurna,
Vishnu, Balkrishna, Bhay^ni, Ganpati, Khandoba, and Mahddev.
Their priests are Deshasth Brahmans whom they treat with great
respect. They keep the regular Hindu fasts and feasts, and settle
social disputes at meetings of the castemen. On the sixth day
after a child is born they worship the goddess Sathi and name the
child on the twelfth. They gird their boys with the sacred thread
before they are ten. They marry their girls before they are
twelve, and their boys before they are twenty. The details of th^r
birth, thread-girding, and marriage ceremonies differ little from
those of Pdtane Prabhus. A thread ceremony costs them £10 to
£50 (Rs. 100-500) and a marriage £50 to £500 (Rs. 500-5000)..
They burn their dead and do not allow widow marriage. They send
their children to school and hold their own as writers in spite of
the competition of Brdhmans and other non-writer classes.

Pa'ta'ne Prabhus are returned as numbering 200 and as found P^tA^js Psabbus,
only in the city of Poena. Only a few have been long settled in
Poona. These, they say, came from Bombay about sixty years ago
as clerks in Government offices, and after retiring from service
settled in Poona with their families. The rest appear to have come
also from Bombay as clerks within the last eighteen years and are
not .pernian.ently settled in Poona. Poona Pd,tdne Prabhus have no
subdivisions and deny that the Dhruv Prabhus belong to their
caste. They say that they formerly had no surnames and that
the fashion of using_ surnames has been introduced with the last
twenty-five years. Their chief gotras or family-stocks are Bharadvd],
Brahma-Janardan,Gd,rgya,Gautam,Jamadagni,Mudgal,and Vashishth.
The names in cojnmonuse among men are Dhvd.i'kd,nd,th, Moreshvar,
Moroba, Saddnand, and Vishvanath ; and among women, Hirdbai,
Ndnibai, Sokal-ab^i, and SundarabAi. The men are generally stoutly
made and in height above the middle size with regular features ; and
the women are about the same size as the men, fair, and goodlooking.
They speak purer Mar^thi than the Bombay Prabhus owing to their
intercourse with Deccan Brdhmans. The. older residents own houses
two storeys high with brick walls and tiled roofs, clean and well kept.
They have servants^ carriages, and horses as well as cows, parrots^ or
pigeons. Besides the ordinary Hindu cushions, carpets, and pillows,
they keep in European style tables, benches, couches, chairs, chests of
drawers, brass or wooden bedsteads,, wardrobes, cabinets with orna-
mental knick-knacks, wall pictures, lamps, and chandeliers. Their,
cooking pots and eating and drinking vessels are generally metal.
Their usual food is rice, wheat cakes, pulse, vegetables, fish, and
mutton. Besides mutton the only animals they have no scruple

[Bombay Gazetteer,

194

DISTRICTS.

Chapter III.

Popalation.

Writers.
PAtJkb Prabevss

Marriage?

in eating are tlie wild tog, deer, and hare, and of birds the wood-
pigeon, partridge, quail, and water-fowl. Their caste rules are
against the use of any other animals. Their drink is milk, coffee,
and tea, liquor being forbidden them. They have two principal daily
meals, one between nine and twelve in the morning, the other
between seven and ten in the evening. A family of five living in
comfort spend £5 to £10 (Rs. 50 - 100) a month ; the poorer families
live on £2 to £3 (Rs. 20 - 30). The men dress in a waistcloth,
waistcoat or coat, and the Maratha Brahman turban, and English or
Mard,thi shoes. The women dress in a fall MarAtha robe with the
skirt drawn back between the feet and a tight-fitting bodice with a
back and short sleeves. Out of doors and on ceremonial occasions
they draw a shawl over the shoulders or head.

Most Poena Patdne Prabhus are clerks' in Government .offices.
One is a teacher of drawing and plan-making in the Poena College
of Science, and another is a High Court pleader qualified to practise
as a solicitor in Bombay ; a third is a retired broker; Their boys
attend the Government schools and colleges; some of them are
matriculated and one has taken the degree of Bachelor of Arts and
Bachelor of Laws, Some of them own houses and land, but most live
in hired houses paying mon,thly rents varying from 10s. to £2 10s.
(Rs. 5-25). Their house furniture is worth £50 to £100 (Rs.500-
1000). Besides their every-day clothes they keep a store of rich
garments and of jewels worth £100 to £500 (Rs. 1000- 5000). A
birth costs £10 to £40 (Rs, 100-400) ; a ihread-girding £20 to £50
(Rs. 200-500) ; the marriage of a son £150 to £400 (Rs. 1500-4000),
the marriage of a daughter £100 to £500 (Rs. 1000-5000) ; a girl's
coming of age £10 to £20 (Rs. 100-200); a pregnancy £10 to £15
(Rs. 100-150) ; the death of an adult £10 to £30 (Rs. 100-300), and
the death of a child 10s. to f 1 (Rs. 5-10).

Prabha customs come under the six heads of marriage, pregnancy,
birth, infancy, thread-girding, and death. ;

A child's marriage occupies its parents' thoughts from its earliest
days. The choice is limited to families of the same caste and among
castefellows to families of a different stock or gotra. Boys generally
marry between ten and sixteen j girls between four and eight. The
only form of marriage now in use is Brahma-vivdha or the Brahma
wedding according to which, besides giving a dower, the bridegroom
receives presents with his wife. The ceremonies connected with •
marriage last over many months, and involve the spending of the
savings of years. They may be brought under three groups, those
before, those on, and those after the wedding day. The first group
includes eleven heads, offer of marriage, comparison- of horoscopes,;

1 Marriage, in Sanskrit, is technically called pdnigrahan or hand-holding, the
popular Sanskrit word for marriage is vivdha or mutual taking, and the common
Mardthi word is login that is union. Among Prabhus the wedding months are
Maghov January - February, ^rfZg-MJi or February -March, Vaishdkh or April-May,
Jeshtha or May -June, and MdrgasUreha or November -December. If either the boy s
or the girl's birthday falls in Jeshtha or May- June marriage in that month is nsky,
and if it is the birth-month of both the marriage cannot take place. Marriage cannot
be held when the planets Jupiter and Venus are hid, on any amdvdsya or no-moon,
at the sankrdnts when the sun passes from one zodiacal sign to another, or dnmg
*>,<, sUnhnM rnifie in twelve vears. when the planet Jupiter is in the constellation Leo.

DeccanJ

POONA.

193

goat-offering, day-naming, guest-asking, gift-making, booth and
altar -building, pot-buying, god-pleasing, and gift-making.

In families, wbo have a young daughter, the women of the house
fix on somd boy as a good match. The family priest is sent for and
the girl's father, handing him her horoscope and naming the boy's
father, asks the priest to go to his house and offer the girl in
marriage. If he- approves of the offer the boy's father gives the
priest one to two shillings, a cocoanut, and sugar, telling him to say
that he has kept the horoscope without waiting to see if it agrees
with his boy's. If not .rich enough to meet the cost of his son's
marriage, the father says the times are unsuitable. The priest asks
if he would wish the girl's family to help. The father says help
would be welcome, and between them they agree on the sum the
father wishes to have. These are unusual cases. The common
practice is for the boy's father, without opening it, to place the
horoscope either before the family gods, or in some other safe place.

After a day or two the father hands his boy's and the girl's horo-
scopes to his family priest to take to an astrologer. The astrologer
compares their details and tells the priest whether or not they agree.
The priest returns and tells the boy's father. A few days more and
the girl's family priest comes to learn the boy's father's answer. If
the horoscopes do not agree the girl's is sent back, and the priest
is told to say that the horoscopes do not agree. If the horoscopes
agree, the priest leaves with a cocoanut and a handful of sugar.

There is no betrothal. In most cases, after the boy's father has
accepted the proposal and the horoscopes are found to agree, the
first ceremony is the goat-offering.

A day or so before the astrologer has fixed the wedding day a
child, escorted by a servant, is sent to ask a few married women
relations to a feast in honour of the family goddess, and on the
evening of the same day a young he-goat is bought. Early in the
morning of the feast day a room on the ground-floor is smeared with
cowdung, and on a high wooden stool, in a square marked off by
lines of white quartz powder, the image of the family goddess is set
and worshipped by the oldest man in the family. The goat is brought
into the room and made to stand in front of the goddess. One of
the married women of the family comes forward, washes the goat's
feet, and sprinkles redpowder on his head, and, after waving a lighted
lamp round his face, retires. The eldest man in the family lays a
bamboo winnowing fan with a handful or two of rice in it before
the goat, and taking a sword stands on one side, and, while the goat
is eating the rice, with one stroke cuts off its head, and holding it up
lets a few drops of blood trickle over the goddess, and then places the
head in a metal plate under the goddess's stool. Except the head,
which is left till the next day, theflesh of the goat is cooked and eaten.^

1 In some families the goat-oflfering ceremony takes place at midnight on the day
before the marriage an(} the, goat's head is laid on the top of the marriage hall. In
other families it is oflfered at the time of the planet-propitiation, when the blood is
allowed to trickle on the cooked rice before it is left in the comer of the street. In
some families the flesh is eaten on the first, and the head and feet on the second day.
■ Again in some families, instead of a goat, a cock is offered, its neck cut, and tjie blood
dropped on the goddess. As Prabhus do not eat domestic fowls the cock is given to
a married woman of the Mard,tha Kunbi caste, who dresses it at her house, and eats
some of it at the host's house with liquor. In other families no animal is sacrificed.
The guests being feasted on sweet dishes either at the host's house or at a temple.

Chapter III.
Fopnlation.

Wkitbks.

PJtJNE PRABEm

Marriage.
Offer.

Soroscopea,

Betrothal.

Goat-offeriiig.

[Bombay Gazetteer,

1»6

DISTRICTS.

Chapter III.

Population.

Writees.

PJ-tAne Prabbjts.

Marriage.

J)ay-nammg.

Gvest-aakmg.

Some -day, about the same time as the goat-offering, the girl's
parents send to the boy's house a present of fruit, sugar cakes, and
other eatables. Like gifts are in return sent to the girl.^

The day-naming ceremony has two parts, a general fixing of the
day and a special religious rite. Two or three days after the
exchange of presents the boy's parents send for. their family priest
and ask himto find out lucky days and months. This he learns
from ' astrologers or other Brahmans, and partly on the priest's
advice partly on family grounds, the boy's father and mother, after
consulting the girl's family, fix one of two' days.

One of these days, if the father of the girl approves„is chosen By

the boy's father for the day-fixing or tithi-nishchchaya. The day

before, the boy's family priest calls on the astrologer, and, on the

morning of the day, boys from both families are sent to ask near

relations. At the boy's home, about eight or nine in the evening

when the guests have come, the boy's father takes a basket or two

full of cocoanuts and sugar-cakes, and, with his guests the astrologer

the family priest and other Brkhmans, goes to the gill's house.

Here they are met by the girl's father or some other elder and led

into the hall. The astrologer is seated in the midst of the company

with a lighted brass lamp, a slate and- pencil, two blank sheets of

paper, pens, an inkstand, a ruler, a few grains of rice, and some

redpowder. He reads over both the horoscopes, sees under what

constellations the boy and girl were born, and by calculations on the

slate finds out the lucky days and hours. He then tells the elders

of both families the result, and with their consent fixes the marriage

day or tithi. When the day is fixed the astrologer draws up a

marriage paper, writing, after an invocation to Ganesh, the names of

the boy's grandfather father and' mother, then in like order the

names of the girl and her relations, their family, the date of the boy's

and girl's birth, and the day fixed for the marriage, finishing the

paper with tables taken from their horoscopes. The whole is read

aloud, spotted with redpowder, and a copy is given to the elders

of each house with a blessing and marking of redpowder. Each

family gives the astrologer Is. to 2s. (8 as.- Re. 1), cocoanuts and

sugar-cakes are handed, and, according to their rank, silver or copper

coins are given to the other Brd,hmans. This ceremony costs each of

the families £1 to £3 (Rs. 10-30).!^

Three classes of guests are asked each in a different way. Friends
and castefellows are asked by children, women relations by the
women of the house, and men relations Iby letter. A fortnight or so
before the wedding day, about noon, both families send four or five
boys and girls, with one or two servants and drummers, to bid friends
and castepeople to the wedding. When they reach a house the
girls hurry in ^nd give their invitation to the women of the family

' The details are : Twenty-five to fifty cocoanuts, twenty -five to fifty sugar-cakes
eight or nine inches across, two or more legs of mutton, and ten or fifteen fiuh
sprinkled with redpowder and turmeric.

2 The details are : Cocoanuts Rs. 5 to Es. 15, sugar-cakes Ra, IJ to Rs. 5, gifts tc
.BrAhmans Es. 5 to Es. 10. total £1 3s. to £3.

Deccan.]

POONA.

197

in four words, Somvdri navagraha Mangalvdri lagna, tliat is, Monday
tlie nine planets' worsliip Tuesday the wedding.^ Then, without
an answer, they leave, delighting in hurrying from house to house
and if asked for particulars shouting back answers from the street.
When the girls go inside, the boys stand in the doorway and call
out, ' Is any man at home/ If no one comes they either shont that
so and so has asked them to a marriage or chalk a message on the
front door. If one of the men of the house comes out, the boys
stand before him with folded hands and repeat a very courteous and
elaborate invitation, including the whole family and any guests that
maybe with them. Of late the practice has been introduced of
•asking male friends and castefellows one or two days before the
wedding by cards distributed by a Brdhman or a house servant in
the name of an elder of each family.

A few days later, about a week before the marriage, thegirFs
mother, with two or three other women and one or two children and
servants, goes in the afternoon to the house of the boy's parents.
From the boy's house she takes his mother and two or three other
women, one or two children, and servants with empty bags to hold
cocoanuts, and they start in horse carriages to ask their kinswomen.
When they come to a house they alight, go in, and give the invitation.
Low wooden stools are set and they are asked to sit down, and, if
they are near relations, they are offered sweetmeats on English
plates. After eating a little and washing their hands, betel is
handed, and at parting the boy's and the girl's mothers are each
given a cocoanut. If the people called on are not near relations,
.they offer the mothers nothing bnt'a cocoanut each. The women of
some famflies are asked only for the marriage day. Others are
asked to stay for five days while the ceremonies are going on, and
the mother of one of the sons-in-law is asked to send her boy to
take part in the gourd-cutting ceremony. The work of asking the
female relations of both families takes four or five hours a day for
three or four days.

Four days before the marriage the boy's mother sends a servant
to the girl's house to ask her to come the next'day for the flower-
giving. Next day, in the afternoon, a child dressed and seated in a

t palanquin or carriage is sent with music to fetch the girl to the
boy's house. The girl, who is dressed in velvet and decked with

- ornaments, goes with the child. When she reaches the boy's house
she is met by the women of the family and seated on a wooden stool.
After dining, she is dressed in a rich petticoat or parh'ar, or in a
gold-embroidered robe and bodice, and decked with jewels and
flowers. She is shown to the older men of the family and given
five to ten dishes of fruit and sweetmeats.^ Then she is sent to the
nearest relations of both families, the women asking her what her
mother-in-law has given her. This round of visits generally lasts
till about nine in the evening when the girl goes home.

Chapter Hi.
Population.

WbItbbs.

PAtANB PRABHUi

Marrmge.
Quest-asbing.

difit.

1 Monday and Tuesday are used vaguely ; the actual days are generally found out
from the family priest.

" This practice is becoming uncommon ; instead of sweetmeats and fruit the girl
gets a money present of £1 to £2,

[Bombay Gazetteer,

198

DISTEICTS.

Chapter III.

Population.

Wkitbbs.

PJ.TA1SE Prabbus.

Ma/rriage.

Booth-'buUdmg.

. Altar-raising.

PotAmying.

Xnrmeric-mTMng.

Next day, like the gid, the boy goes to the house of the girl's
parents in a carriage, where, if of age, he is met by the men, and if
under twelve by the women, and seated on a chair in the hall. After
an hour or so he dines, and is given a new suit of clothes, a turban,
a waistcoat and coat, a handkerchief, and a waistcloth, and in some
families a pair of patent leather English shoes and silk stockings
and garters. Long flower garlands are hung round his neck, a gar-
land is tied to each wrist, and a nosegay is placed in his hand, and
like the girl he gets a money present of £1 10s. to £3 (Rs. 15-30).

During this interchange of gifts, at both houses stores of ornaments
and dress, supplies of rice, pulse, oil, butter, sugar, fruit, spices,
betel, bamboo winnowing fans, and earthen pots are laid in, and a
wedding booth or hall is built.

In the bride's house, after the booth has been some days ready,
a bricklayer is called, giten earth and bricks, and told to makie an
altar or hahule near the house-steps. Measured by the bride's arm
this altar is three cubits long, three broad, and one high. In front
is a ' step about a span square, and behind the back rises about
eighteen inches above the albar in three six-inch tiers each narrower
than the tier below it. When finished the whole is whitewashed.
For this, besides a rupee, the bricklayer is given a handkerchief,
some rice and betel, and a cocoanut.

The day before the wedding a set of forty-six earthen pots white-
washed and marked with red, green, and yellow lines, are piled four
or five high at each side of the marriage god, of the house, and of
the altar.

The next ceremony is the turmeric-rubbing. One or two days
before the wedding day, at the houses of both families, a large
wooden mortar and five long wooden pestles are washed and placed
in the women's hall. Early next morning a girl is sent to ask the
nearest kinswomen and a second message is sent them about nine.
About ten or eleven the guests meet in the women's hall and sit
chatting on the ground-floor till noon or later. Then in the women's
hall the women of the house or the guests trace two squares opposite
each other with white powdered quartz or rdngoU. In one square
is set a low wooden stool and in the other square a two-feet high
wooden mortar or ukhli, hung with garlands of bachelor's-
button flowers or roje. The boy is called in dressed in his waist-
cloth, and set on the low wooden stool in front of the mortar. A
few pieces of turmeric are put in the mortar, and five married girls,
each with a pestle, pound the turmeric and sing. After a few
strokes four of the girls leave, and one, a sister or other near relation
of the boy, goes on pounding till the turmeric is powdered. She
takes out the powder, puts it in a metal cup or vdti, and mixing it
with water rubs it over the boy's body. Then the four other girls
come back, and each of the five rubs some turmeric powder on her
own hands and eats some grains of coriander or dJtane and molasses.
Next, at one end of the marriage hall, one of the girls traces a fresh
white powder square, setting in it a low wooden stool. The others,
bring four mjetal water-pots or tambes filled with cold water and set
them one at each corner of the sauare with a mansro leaf floatiner in

Deccan.]

POONA.

199

each and a cotton thread passed once round them, and a servant
brings a bathing pot filled with warm water and sets it near the low
wooden stool. When this is ready the girls go into the house, bring
the boy, and seat him on the stool. Then each girl lifts a watei'-pot,
and, while the drummers beat their drums, the girls sing and let
water trickle from the point of the mango leaf on the boy's head.
When the singing, is over four of the girls leave, and the girl who
rubbed the boy with the turmeric powder bathes him in warm water.
When he is bathed the boy is dressed in a fresh waistcloth and
decked with a chaplet oi bachelor's-button flowers. Eed lines or
naiid are drawn on the upper part of his feet, a lighted lamp is
"waved round his face, and he is led into the house. At the girl's
house, with the same ceremonies, the girl is rubbed with turmeric
powder and bathed. The boy and girl are now sacred. They are
called bridal gods or navardevS) and may not leave the house till the
four wedding days are over.

A number of rites, calling Ganesh, the marriage-booth spirit, the
water goddess, ancestors, and the planets, and the sacrifice of a
gourd, and a fig branch, are performed with the same detail at both
the bride's and the bridegroom's. In the afternoon, when the
turmeric rubbing is over, to call the god Ganesh, the women guests,
with lines of white powdered quartz, trace a square in the inner part
of the marriage hall in front of the house steps. In the square four
stools are set, three in a line and the fourth close by at right angles
to the three, and in front of the three stools matting is spread. The
family priest and other Brahmans seat themselves, the family priest
on the fourth stool, and the other Brdhmans on the mats. The
family priest's assistant goes into the house and brings a silver plate,
a cup, a ladle, a pot, a bamboo basket, a gourd, and a tray filled
with flowers, fruit, and scented powders.^ When all is ready the
family priest goes into the house and calls the parents, They come,
the father wearing a silk turban and a waistcloth and a shawl thrown
either round his shoulders or tucked under his arm j the mother in
a silk bodice robe and shawl ; and the child in a cotton waistcloth
and a handkerchief tied to the neck and hanging down the back.
Laying a cocoanut before the house gods and bowing to the older
men and women, they seat themselves on the three stools, the father
next "the priest, the mother on his right, and the boy or girl beyond
her. The priest touches with redpowder the child's and the parents'
brows, and repeats texts, and the father thrice sips water and
sits bowing till the priest has repeated the names of the twenty-four
gods. The father takes a round bamboo basket, and, spreading a
yellow cloth over it, sets on the clo^h a handful of wheat, and on the
wheat sixteen betelnuts and six mango leaves rolled into cigar form,
with a knife stuck into one of them, and tied with thread. Next,
on a metal plate, the father lays half a pound of rice, and on the
rice sets four betelnuts, three in a line and the fourth in front.

Chapter III.
Population.

Wbiteks.

PATJiNS PBABEUS,

Marriage.

GocC^allvnff,

1 The details are : Cocoamuts, betel, flowers, basil or tulsi leaves, plantains, rice,
cotton wicks, camphor, frankincense, sandal-powder, clarified butter, milk, curds,
honey, sugar, turmeric powder, redlead, yellow, red, and scented powders,

[Boin1)ay Gaietteery.

200^

DISTRICTS.

Chapter III.

Fopalation.

■Writers.

pj-tase prabsxjs,

Marriage.

God-calling.

Booth Spirit.

Water Ooda.

representing the god Ganesh, his two wives Siddhi and Buddhi,
and the family goddess.- Then^ raising his joined hands, he calls
on the god and the goddesses to come and stay in the nuts till the
marriage is over. He then sets the nuts in another metal plate,
pours on the top of each a drop or two of milk, some curdSj clarified
butter, honey, sugar, and water, mixed with sandal powder, and
holding over them a metal water-pot with a hole in it lets water
drop on them. He wipes them dry, sets them on the rice as
before, marks them with sandal powder, and throws over them
a few grains of rice, some dark red and yellow powder and flowers,,
waves burning frankincense and lighted butter lamps round thenii
and lays before them a little sugar, a cocoanut, a plantain, two
betel leaves and one nut, and a smalloopper and silver coin. . Again, r
he waves lighted camphor, and, taking a flower in both his hands
after the priest has recited texts over it throws it on the god's head.
The whole ends with a prayer that the gods may continue kind till
the marriage rites are over. All this .time the mother sits still now
and then touching her husband's right elbow with the tip of the
first finger of her right hand. The child has nothing to do.

After the worship of Ganesh comes the calling of thebooth^spirit.
While the child and its parents' are seated on their stools,' a
married woman draws red lines and lays a wreath of flowers on a
gourd, and close by the priest places a forked mango post and a pair
of cocoanuts tied together by their fibre. A servant brings a long
pole, and laying it down ties to its top an open umbrella, a pair of
cocoanuts fastened by the fibre, and a bunch of mango leaves. Four'
married girls, singing songs, wave rice over the gourd, the forked'
mango post, and the pole. As they sing they hold a mango leaf ■>,
cup filled with oil over the gourd, the mango post, the pole,,
and lastly over the head of the boy. Then leaving their seats the
father, mother, boy, and priest go to a corner ia the marriage hall -
where a hole has been dug, and standing .in the order in which '
they sat, worship the hole, dropping into it a few grains of wheat,;,
a copper coin, and a little water. A servant now sets the pole in
the hole, fixing it in its place by filling, in earth and stones, and-
plasters the ground round it with cowdang. A married woman
draws lines with quartz powder, and the father, passing a cotton ■
thread three or four times round the pole, worships it. When this
is done all go back and sit on their stool? as before.

Then Ganesh is called and two brass water-pots filled with cold water
are placed on a few grains of rice in front of the father. In the water
is put a little turmeric and sandal powder, a few grains of rice, small
silver and copper coins, bunches of mango leaves, a few- blades of
bent grass or durva, and cocoanuts on the top. A cotton thread is
thrice passed round the whole, and with the middle finger of the right
hand the father draws four lines of sandal powder on the outside of the
pots, and with open hands prays Varun the water-god to be kindly.
As the father sits with his legs donbled under him resting on
his toes, he takes one of the two pots in his open hands and with
the potihric'e touches his brow and right shoulder and the brows of
bis wife and child. He next poura water from the ladle on the

DeccanJ

POONA.

201

powder, a few grains of rice and some flowers and betel, and finishes
with a copper pice (^ anna), which he dips in water before laying it on
the Brd,hman's hand.^ Lifting the water-pots one in each hand and
crossing hands he pours water from both together in one unbroken
stream into the m.etal plate. The parents change places, the father
taking the mother's seat and the mother the father's, and the
priest standing up with three other Brahmans and dipping a blade
of bent grass into the metal plate sprinkles water over the parents'
heads. Then the parents sit as at first on their low stools and the
Brahmans also take their seats. The priest next lays the metal
plate before the parents, who dip in their forefingers and touch their
eyelids with the water, A. married woman coming from the house
waves a lighted lamp first before the god Qanesh, then before the
family goddess, then before the two water-pots, the priest, the father,
the mother, and tlie child. The priest lays in the mother's lap a
■cocoanut, two leaves and a betelnut, and with a prayer that she may
have eight sons this part of the ceremony closes.^

Next to keep the house free from uncleanness and to call the
spirits of forefathers, the father, taking four blades of bent grass
between the fingers of his right hand, with the left hand pours water
on his right palm, and prays the gods goddesses and ancestors to be
present during the marriage and the next four days. Then striking
a copper coin against the metal plate he opens the fingers of his
right hand and lets the blades of grass fall.

The father then takes an earthen jar called the avighna-kalash or
hinderance-removing-jar and fills it' with rice. On the rice he sets a
betelnut, a piece of turmeric, and a silver coin. He spreads mango
leaves over the top, and on the leaves lays a cocoanut and winds
cotton thread round the whole. On the outside of the jar he draws
five lines of sandal powder, worships the jar, bows to it with joined
hands, and pulls the round bamboo basket before him. The boy's
mother puts the six rolled mango leaves into a metal plate, waves
a few grains of rice thrice round the leaves, and taking in her hand
the sixth leaf in which is the penknife, crushes a few grains of rice
on the flbor, and replaces the leaves in the basket. The father
places a cotton bodice, a cocoanut, betelnut and leaves, a plantain,
and a silver coin in the basket, and prays the water-goddesses or
jalamdtrikas to stay in his house till the ceremony is over;

A gourd is brought in and laid on a wooden stool close to the altar.
A son-in-law of the family, holding a shawl under his arm, and
behind him his wife also covered with a shawl and with a metal pot
of turmeric powder in her hands, come into the marriage hall. One
of the married women of the family ties together the skirts of the
two shawls, and with a sword given him by the priest the son-in-law

Chapter III.
Foptlation.

Wkiteks.

PjLtXSX PRABBlfS.

Marriage.

Anctitori,

Oaneth Worihip.

Qouri-ofering.

1 Money or dahshana given to a Brdhman is dipped in water that it may not be
consumed by the fire that burns in a Brdhman's hand.

^ Either in the case of the bri,de or of the bridegroom, if the father and mother are
dead their place is taken by some near relations, a brother and his wife or an uncle and
aunt. Where there are no near relation any member of the same stock or gotra may
iiit. The only exception to this rule ia that when the father is, a widower he sita
^lone with a Ijetelnnt tucked to his waist in place of his wife.

[Bombay Gitzetteer,

202

Chapter III.

Population.

Writees.

PATJ.irE Pbabhus.

Marriage.

Ood-imtaUing.

Plantt Worihip,

DISTRICTS.

cuts tlie gourd in two. Th& wife rubs the two pieces with
turmeric and steps back. Then with two more strokes the son-in-
law quarters the gourd. The wife as before rubs turmeric powder,
and waves a lighted lamp in front of her husband, who receives ffom
his father-in-law either a shawl, a .tarban, or a waistcloth, and
withdraws.

When the presence and the goodwill of the gods are secured, the
next step is to set them in some part of the house where they will
be comfortable and safe. While the parents, the child, aud" the
priest are seated as before, a married woman comes holding an
earthen water jar, and after standing before the worshippers moves
towards the house scattering drops of water as she goes. After
her the mother walks with the earthen water-pot in her hands ; the
father with the roufid. bamboo basket, and the six rolled mango
leaf goddesses or matrikds ; the son-in-law with the drawn sword,
the forked mango post, and the pair of cocoanuts; the priest with
a pot containing a few grains of rice and sandal powder ; and last
of all the child and a few under-priests. They enter the house and
in this order go to one of the ground-floor rooms, where, some
days before, a high wooden stool has been placed with two heaps of
rice piled on it and the walls adorned with pictures of gods and in
the centre with the picture of a fruit- laden mango tree. On the stool,
on one of the heaps of rice, thomother sets the earthen pot, and on
the other the father sets the bamboo basket* In a hole dug on one
side of the stool, after throwingin a few grains of wheat, a nut, a copper
and a little water, the mango post is planted, the cocoanuts are
hung over the post, and the ground is smoothed. Then the father
mother and child sit on stools, and the father worships the pot and
the basket. Next, out of respect to the ancestors and as there
are no images of them to instal, the father repeats the names of his
own and of the priest's forefathers. When this is finished, the
father gives the priest and eight other Brdhmans a copper coin
and a beteinut each.

After the marriage-gods, are installed the goodwill of the planets .
has to be secured. The priest goes into the marriage booth, takes
a copper plate, puts nine pounds of rice in it, and on the rice sets
about seventy betelnuts. A servant brings a basket full of earth,
and the priest makes a flat raised square altar. The mother fetches
fire from the house in a tile, and the priest, rubbiug a few grains
of rice, on her forehead and throwing some rice on the fire, spreads
the hot cinders over the altar, purifies the firewood by sprinkling
water over it, and then arranges it upon the fire. The priest
worships the planets sitting on the low stool on which the
mother sat. He goes into the -house and bringing a pound of
cooked rice, a leaf-cup with half a pound of butter, and l08
nine-inch sticks, twelve of each of the nine pure plants and
trees, sits with eight other Brdhmans round -lie altar .^ One of

1 The nine pure trees and plants of which the sticks or samidlids are made, are :
Vmbar Ficus glomerata, aghdda Achjrranthea aspera, rui swallow- wort, dwrva bent
grass, darbha sacred grass, hhair Mimosa catechu,- paZo* Butea frondosa, pimpal
Vit^na rplioinsfl.. !i.Tid sha/mi Mimosa Buma.

DeooanJ

POONA.

203

the Brdhmans holds in Lis hands the leaf-cup with butter in it,
another the grains of rice, the priest the sticks, aild two more
repeat passages from the Veds. After the priest has kindled
the , fire more texts are repeated, and butter, grains of rice, and
sticks are thrown on the fire. While the eight Brdhmans are busy
repeating texts and feeding the flame, the priest goes into the
house, and, bringing seventeen rice-fiour lamps, places them in pairs
round the sacred fire and lights them. A married woman comes
from the house, draws with white powder two squares in the
marriage hall, and placets in one square four low stools, three in a
line and the fourth close -by at right angles, and goes back into the
house. The priest fetches from the house a. round bamboo basket
filled with cooked rice, and placing it in the other square^
sprinkles it with curds and redpowder or goat's blood, and sets a
lighted flour lamp and a lighted torch in the basket.

. The father mother and child again take their seats on the three
stools and the priest on the fourth. While the priest repeats texts
the father lays in the basket two leaves and a nut and four copper
coins. Then a servant, lifting the basket in both hands, waves it
three times round the child's face, and taking it away without look-
ing behind, is followed as far as the marriage hall door by the child
and the parents; the father, as they walk, sprinkling water on
the ground. On reaching the door the parents and the child wash
their feet and again take their seats in front of the sacred fire.
The servant, without looking behind, leaves the basket in a corner
of the strept, and taking the four copper coins returns and bathes.
The child and the parents now stand, the father taking in his hand a
leaf-cup with butter in it, a cbpper coin, two betel leaves and a nut,
and walking once round the fire pours on it the contents on the sacred
fire. Then the father holding out his open hands, the mother holding
hers below his, and the child holding its under the mother*s, the priest
pours three spoonfuls of water into each of their hands, and putting
four nuts and ali<tle more water into each, they all sip a little from
their hands.^ The father takes his seat, touches the brows of the
eight Brahmans with sandal powder, and presents each with a
silver coin. The priest touches the brows of the child and of the
parents with redpowder and a few grains of rice, and taking a
cocoanut a plantain and two betel leaves and one betelnut presents
them with a blessing to the father, who receives them in his shawl
and passes them to his wife. A married woman- waves a lighted
lamp round the face of the child and the parents, and the father
throws a few grains of rice over the sacred fires and with the mother
and child goes into the house. Lastly the priest follows with the
articles of worship and the day's religious rites are over. In the
evening a dinner is given to the men friends of the house.

About eight in the evening of the same day the kinswomen of
the boy's family start for the girl's house^ with music and about

Chapter III.
Population.

Writers.

PXtANE PBABSUg,

Marriage,
Planet Wonhipi

Evil Spirili,

Oiftt.

' Of the four nuts, three are eaten by the parents of the boy and th6^ fourth by
the boy when he starts for the brid&'s house on the wedding day. - ,

* The details are : Sugar figures of men, animals, houses, temples, ships, fruit,
flowers, and trees ; twentyrone balls of pulse flour mixed with butter and sugar ;
about fifty eocoanuts ; a miniature silver dinner and cooking set and another sot

[Bombay Qazetteer,

204

DISTRICTS.

Chapter III.

Toptilation.

Writers.

PJ.TAirB Prabbxjs.

Marriage.

Giftt.

Wedding Day.

(H/t-makinjf.

twenty metal trays filled witH sweetmeats, toys, aick-nacks, clothes, ~
house furniture, and cooking pots carried on the heads of servants.
iWhen they reach the girl's they stand on the threshold, and the
girl's sister comes forward, and pouring water from an earthen
jar or kara, and waving a lighted lamp before the face of the boy's
sister, leads the way, and- seats them on carpets in the women's hall,
where the girl and the women of her family are assembled. The
trays are laid down, and, after' sprinkling a little water on the
ground, a square is traced with white powdered quartz, and a chair
Bet in the square facing the east. A few of the toys are spread
'before the chair, the candles and oillamps are lighted, and the clothe*
are unfolded and laid ready for wearing. The boy's sister, followed
by the girl and sprinkling water as she walks seats the girl on
the chair. One of the women of the boy's family combs and braids
the girl's hair and puts garlands of flowers on her head. She is
dressed in a robe and bodice and a lighted lamp is waved round
her face. After eating a little sugar she goes with a toy in her
hand to show herself to her mother and other women. This is .twice
repeated and the third time she stays with her mother. Then
eocoanuts are handed round, and the boy's si.ster is given about a
pound of sugar on a leaf -plate. The party make over the gifts to
the girl's mother or some other elderly woman, and return to the
boy's. The same evening or the evening after the girl's family sends
a return present' to the boy. Except that a book, a desk, a chair,
glass candle-shades, chess, marbles, slippers, an umbrella, a silver
tea sot, and writing things are sent instead of cooking pots, andthat
the boy does not go to show himself to the people of the honse, the
practice is the same as in making presents to the girl.

The wedding day ceremonies come under eleven heads ; gift-
making, oil-pouring, shaving, bathing, feet-washing, fig-worship,'
boy's procession, marriage, guest-worship, leave-taking, and return
to the bridegroom's house.

Early on the morning of the marriage day one of the women of'
the boy's family. is sent to call near kinswomen. The women
guests begin to arrive about ten, and sit chatting on a carpet spread
in the women's hall. The women of the house fill three silver
salvers with silver and b;-ass cups^ clothes, ornaments, and fruit.^

of brass; English China and Indian glass ivory and wood toys; a set of miniature
■wooden articles of furniture ; a chair and a pair of glass candle-shades ; a looking glass ;
tumblers with oU and ■wicks ready to light ; three robes and bodices ; and wreaths of
flowers ; silver trajs with a rosewater stand ; a lighted lamp ; a few grains of rice ;
eugar ; and redpowder.

^ The details are : In the first salver a silver rosewater holder, silver cups ■with
wet turmeric powder, wet sandal powder, redpowder, and powdered quartz ; a
silver lamp with five partitions ; a lamp with five partitions containing redlead and
red dark and yellow powder ; twenty -five to thirty betelnuts . and leaves and about
a hundred eocoanuts. In tbe second salver, a high metal or wooden stool, a looking
glass in a sOver frame, an ivory comb, a silver cup for holding red and one for holding
turmeric powder, a silver five-inch stick, a bag worked in gold or silver holding five
silver shells, a rupee, a gold necklace, a gold ring, a necklace of black beads, six
glass bangles, a sUk robe, a green cotton robe, a gold-bordered silk waistcloth, and
a irne cotton robe. In the third salver, a bunch of five plantains, a. cocoanut, two
betelnuts and leaves, £ve almonds, five apricots, five dried dates, and a handfU bl

Deccan.]

POONA.

205

About one o'clock musicians, the women guests, the family priest,
and the boy's married brother, with servants carrying the metal
plates on their heads or shoulders start in procession for the girl's
house. At the girl's house, except the boy's sister, all the women
go in. The boy's sister stands in the doorway, and one of the
women of the girl's family comes out with a lighted lamp, and
wkving it round her face, leads her into the house. Except the
family priest and the boy's married brother who wait on the verSiuda,
the guests are all seated on carpets spread in the women's hall.
Then in the marriage hall in front of the house steps, one of the
women of the bride's family draws a square with white quartz
powder, and sets four stools, two facing the east in one line, a third
in front of the two, and a fourth beside the third for the priest.
Between the stools are set a water-pot, a lighted lamp, and a metal
plate with rice, and- on the rice a betelnut. The boy's sister takes an
earthen jar full of water, and, followed by the bride, walks from the
house to the Stools, sprinkling water as she walks. On the two stools,
facing the east, sit the girl and her father, on the stool in front sits
the boy's brother, and on the stool on the other sits side the boy's
family priest. Helped by the priest the boy's brother worships
Ganpati in the betelnut placed on the rice, and the water god Varun
in the water-pot. He ofEers the second tray filled with clothes
and ornaments to the bride. She touches the tray and the priest
makes it oyer to some elderly woman, who, taking the bride into
the inner part of the house, dresses her in the new clothes and
bringing her back seats her, as before, next her father. Then the
girl's father and the boy's brother tie five pieces of tamarind and
betelnuts in the corner of their handkerchiefs and leave their seats.
Another square is traced with lines of white powder and a low
stool is set in it. The girl is, seated on the stool ; her hair is fdr the
first time divided with a silver stick or hhcmgsdl, combed, braided
and decked with flowers ; a green robe is folded round her waist ;
a gold chain is hung round her neck ; a gold ring is put on one of
her right fingers ; silver rings are put on her toes j and she is led
into the marriage hall, and her lap,, filled with fruit and spices
taken from the third salver. A married woman of the family
brings a lighted lamp, waves it round the faces of all present,
gives the girl's brother a silk waistcloth, and withdraws. While this
is going on in the marriage hall, two or three women of the boy's
family go through the house with the first salver, and, wherever
they find a married woman belonging tp the girl's family, they
sprinkle rosewater over her, rub wet turmeric powder on her
hands, mark her brow with redpowder, and her throat with wet
sandal powder, and giving her two betel leaves, a betelnut, and a
cocoanut, again sprinkle water over her. After they have done this to
almost all the women of the girl's family, cocoanuts are handed to
all the women present, and the party form in procession and go
home. About two or three in the afternoon, when the boy's people
have left, the musicians meet at the girl's house, and her mother,
dressed in a gold-embroidered robe and bodice and mufiEing herself
in a long shawl, with a crowd of female relations friends and
servants carrying five large copper and brass pots full of pulse

Chapter in.
Population.

Wbitbrs.

PJiTjNE PRABHUS.

Marriage.
Gift-making.

[Bombay Gazetteer,

206

DISTRICTS.

Chapter III.
Population.

Weitees.

TAtjLsx Prasbus.

Marriage.

OS-offeHng.

and flour, goes to the boy's house.^ At the Tiouse, a lighted lamp
is waved- round the daughtef'a face, and they all go in and seat
themselves on carpets in the women's hall. At one end of the hall,
one of the women of the bridegroom's family traces a square with
lines of white quartz powder and within the square sets two low
wooden stools. In front of the wooden stools is set a high silver
stool, and, on the stool five silver cups with-five kinds of sweetmeats.
Next to tTie silver stool two silver plantain leaf-plates are laid and
sweetmeats served on them. When this is done the girl's ■ sister,
taking an earthen jar in her hand, seeks the boy, and, when she
finds him, leads him to the women's hall^ dropping water from the jar
as she walks. He takes his seat on one of the two low stools, and
soon after his mother, accompanied by some elderly married women,
takes her seat on the second low stool, next her son, the elderly
married women standing behind her. The girl's sister then comes
to the boy and rubs turmeric powder on both his hands, and four
married girls, two from each family, wave rice over him, and the
girl's sister presents him with a silk gold-bordered waistcloth. The
girl's mother comes forward, washes the feet of both the boy and
his mother and dries them. She then presents the boy and his
mother with costly clothes. They take the clothes into the house
and put them on, and coming back seat themselves as before. The
elderly women are then given robes and bodices, and a lighted lamp
is waved. round their faces. While this is going on the boy's sister
or some other woman of his family, as she moves about, slips into
the boy's hand a ball of wet turmeric powder. The boy and his .
mother are then asked to eat some of the sweets. As they are
eating the girl's mother offers the boy a cup of milk, and he, on
pretence of reaching his hand to the cup, thrusts the turmeric ball
into her mouth, or rubs it over her face. She tries to avoid the
rubbing, and the trick causes much amusement. When this ia over
the women are presented with cocoanuts, one from each house, and
the procession returns.

At about three in the afternoon eight married girls, four ^from
each house, taking a metal plate with two betel le&,ves, one betelnut,
a sweetmeat ball, redpowder, a little rice, a copper coin, a lighted
lamp, and about a quarter of pound of cocoanut oil, go to Kdlikdi's
temple. Each waves rice and redpowder three times over the
goddess, and the last girl lays the betel leaves and nut and the
sweetmeat ball before her, waves the lighted lamp, pours oil into the
lamp which is kept burning before the goddess, and withdraws.

When the women of the boy's family come back from making;
presents at the girl's house, a barber is called, a square is traced

' The details are : Five large pots ■with rice, split peas, split gram, wheat, and
wheat and udid flonr ; their tumed-up lids are fall of balls of sesamum seed, grain,
mug, and wheat flour. Besides these five pots are' a cask of oil, a box of sugar,
bamboo baskets full of fruit and vegetables, and a salver with the following
silver articles, a raised stool, two dining leaves, five silver cups, five baskets, a plate
with two small boxes, a "betelnut-cutter, a lime-holder, a tree with packets of .betel
leaves hanging from its branches, a looking glass with richly carved frame, a comb,
two cups one for turmeric the other for redpowder, a robe and a bodice. Another
salver contains two silk waistcloths, a rich gold-worked robe and bodice, eight or
ten other robes and bodices, and sweetmeats.

Deccan.l

POONA.

207

with lioes of white powder, and a low stool is set in the square.
On this stool the boy seats him self ^ and the barber shaves his head
except the top -knot, and is paid eight pounds of rice, a rupee, a
cocoanut, and betel. Then the boy is taken to a square traced in
the marriage hall, where he is bathed and dried, and is led into the
house with a lighted lamp wared in front of him.

Shortly after returning from Kd,likAdevi's temple four married
girls, each with an earthen pot, a metal plate with a lighted lamp in
it, a box of redpowder, and a sugar ball carried before them, start
for the hoiise well. They worship the well, offer it sweetmeats,
and draw water only partly filling their pots. On coming back to
the marriage hall they again trace a square, set the four water-
pots one at each corner, pass a thread round them, and placing two
low stools together go into the house. In the women's hall another
square is traced, two stools are set, and the boy and his mother
are seated on the stool. Turmeric powder is rubbed over them,
and they are brought into the marriage hall and seated on the stools
in the square. A rupee is tied in the skirt of the boy's waistcloth,
and while the m.usician3 play the four girls sing and let water drop
from mango leaves on the boy and his mother. When the bathing
is over, the mother stands in her wet clothes and pours a little
water on the feet of her nearest kinswomen, each of them in
return dropping a silver coin into the water-pot. Then the girl's
mother, waving a lighted lamp round her face, gives her a
gold-embroidered robe, which she takes and walking" into the
house puts on. When the boy is done bathing he is given a fresh
waistcloth, a lighted lamp is waved round his face, and red lines are
drawn on his feet. As he is putting on bis new waistcloth his
' brother runs away with the old one, and puts it on keeping the
rupee that was tied in its skirt. Next his maternal uncle throws a
cotton sheet over the boy and lifting him sits with him on the
threshold. Pour elderly married women come with a shawl in
their hands and a little rice, cumin seed, a rupee, a betelnut, and
a winnowing fan, and stand holding the -shawl over the boy and his
uncle. They lay the rice and nuts on the fan, drop them into the
shawl and then again taking them up put them back on the fan.
This is done thrice by each of the women, and the rice, cumin seed,
rupee, and betelnut are tied to the hems of the boy's and girl's
clbthes. After this is over his uncle takes the boy into the room
where the marriage gods are worshipped, and dresses and adorns him.

Except the shaving the ceremonies at the gii-l's house, after her
mother has returned from taking gifts to the boy's house, are the
same as at the boy's. Then the bride is taken to the room where
the marriage gods are worshipped to be dressed and decked for
the wedding.

About half-past four in the afternoon the girl's kinsmen, with
music and flowers milk and jewels, go to the boy's house to wash
his feet before he starts for the girl's. On reaching the boy's house
they are received by the boy's father and his relations, and
seated some in the marriage) hall and others in the house. The
father of the girl goes into the house, and, seating the boy on a high

Chapter III.
Population.

WKITBH3.
PJ.TANE PbABSVS.

Marriage.
Stconi Bath.

Feet-^mhing.

[Bombay Oazetteer,

208

DISTRICTS.

Chapter III.

FopTilatiou.

Writers.

PJ.tJ.nb Prabhus.

Marriage.

Feet'Washing.

Fig Worthip.

Proeeision.

carpet-covered stool set in a white powder square worships him with
the help of his family priest. He washes his feet, with milk
and wipes them with his handkerchief; he marks his brow with
sandal powder, puts a gold ring on one of the fingers of his right
hand, oilers him sugar-cake to eat, sprinkles rosewater over him,
and placing a nosegay in his hands, withdraws bowing. When
this is over, the girl's father and the other guests are each given a
cocoanut and a nosegay, sandal powder is rubbed on their brows,
and rosewater is sprinkled over them. They are asked to stay
and join the procession to the girl's house. Some of them stay, but
the girl's father and others have to go back at once to their own
house. Meanwhile at their home the girl and her mother are
bathed and rubbed with perfumes, and the girl is decked in her
yellow silk wedding dress and jewelry.

When the feet -washing is over, at both houses the family priest
brings a branch of umbar Ficus glomerata, and places it on one side
of the marriage h,all. A boy who has married into the family is
asked to cut the branch. The boy walks into the marriage hall with
a shawl under his left arm and a sword in his right hand followed
by his wife with a lighted lamp and by another woman. The
woman ties together the skirts of the boy's and his wife's shawls.
When this is done three more married women come into the marriage
hall, and the one who tied the knot joining the other women three' ■
of them wave rice, and the fourth waves a lighted lamp over the
branch.' Then the four married wgmen withdraw, and the son-in-
law, with one stroke of his sword, cuts the branch in two. After .'
his wife has waved a lighted lamp round his face he takes one of
the two pieces of the branchy and walking into the house, followed '
by his wife, lays the branch and the sw ord near the marriage gods. {

After the girl's father has gone, the boy is rubbed with sandal
and other fragrant spices and decked with jewels. His waistcloth
is of silk, talc is sprinkled on his I'ed turban, and three ornaments ''•
are tied to his brow, the wedding coronet or hashing, a plume or crest
on the right side, aiid an aigrette of jewels in front. Next, he is
clad in a long white robe hanging to his feet; his loins are girt
with a sash, and another richly wrought sash is thrown across his
shoulders ; long wreaths of pearls or flowers fall over his chest and
back dowti to his knees; on his' feet are a pair of red gold-embroidered .
sho^s vf ith silk tassels, and a packet of betel leaves is given him to
chew. His eyelids are b'acked with antimony and a tinned cocoanut
is put in his hand, and he thrice swallows a little curds placed on
the palm of his right hand. With the family priest he goes to the
household and marriage gods, and, bowing before them, oifers them
a cocoanut, and asks their blessing. Then, after bowing to the
elders of the house, he is mounted on a richly dressed horse, and,
besides the tinned cocoanut, holds a penknife^ in his right hand.
The order o£ the procession is : A bullock cart with a band of pipers
and drummers ; a row of carriages full of richly dressed children ;
buglers walking ; a band of Muhammadan drummers ; behind the

' Among Prabhus the penknife has taken the place of the sword.

DeccanJ

POONA.

209

■drummers boys and men on foot ; then dancing-girls walking irr a
line, and immediately behind them the boy-bridegroom on a horse
■with gold and silver trappings. On either side of the boy a couple
of men wave fly-whisks or chavris, another couple fan hipi with
gilver fans, and a barber holds over him a long-handled big red silk
umbrella. After the boy walks his mother and all the other women
guests except widows. On either side of and behind the boy and
the women are carried wooden frames called vddis or gardens with
pots of artificial trees fruits and flowers.^ Then comes a bullock
cart with about a thousand cocoanuts, four bundles each of fifty
sugarcanes, and one hundred round bamboo baskets strung on a
rope.^ This closes the procession. Any women of the family who
are too weak to walk follow the bullock cart in horse carriages.
On the way, should two prooessioils meet, the barbers lower the
umbrellas and that they may not see each other's marriage coronet
or bashing literally brow-horn, hold them in front of the bridegrooms'
faces. At each turn in the street, to please evil spirits, cocoanuts
are dashed on the ground and thrown away.

At the girl's house the party stops at the door of the marriage
hall, where two female servants stand with an earthen water jug
in their hands. The bridegroom stays on his horse and some of
the men of the party enter the marriage hall and take the seats
prepared for them, and the rest stand outside with the bridegroom.
On the veranda the, astrologer sets close together two silver water-
pots filled with cold water, and in each floats a copper cup with a
small hole in its bottom. In front of the water-pots surrounded by
lighted brass lamps he places the marriage papers. The bride's
maternal aunt, with a rice-flour lamp in her hand and a shawl held
over her head at the four corners, going to the43oy, who is still on
horseback, waves the lamp round his face and gives hitn a little sugar
to eat, and receiving a present of clothes from the boy's parents is
led into the house under the shawl ; then a young brother of the
bride's or the son of some near relation is Carried in like manner
under a shawl to the bridegroom, and squeezing his right ear,
receives a present of clothes, and is led back into the house;
Next, the girl's father, dressed in a silk waistcloth, a shawl on his
body, and a silk turban on his head, with a shawl held by the four
iCorners over his head, lays a cocoanut near the forefeet of the
bridegroom's horse, and walking round it offers the boy sugar, and
lifting him from the saddle carries him to the. altar in the centre of
the hall. By this time the astrologer's copper cup fills with water
and sinks and the astrojoger and the bride and bridegrooin's family
priests begin to chant hymns. The bride's mother, with a few
of her nearest relations, bringing some presents, comes to receive
the women of the bridegroom's family. When she comes to the

Chapter III.
Population.

Wkiters;

P^TjiNB PSABBUS.

Marriage.
Proeestion.

''Each frame- work which ia about six feet long and one broad is borne on the
heads of two carriers. Two of them are carried on each side of the boy and one
behind, the space in front being left open.

' Besides the Gocoanuts sugarcane and baskets^ the cart contains four bunches of
plantains, 100 copper or brass round baskets, forty pounds of almonds, dry dates,
{uxmeric, betelnut, sugar, twenty pounds of cumin and coiiander seed, forty pounds
of flue rice, and about eighty {lounds of dry cocoa-kernel.

[Bombay Oazetteer,

210

DISTRICTS.

Chapter III.

Population.

Wbitees.

PJ.TJ.irs Prabbxjs.

Marriage.

Honey -nipping.

Feei-waahivig.

Jtice-thramTtg.

bridegroom's motlier she touclieslier feet, bows to her, and, holding
her by the right hand, respectfully leads her into the house ; the
others follow, and are seated on carpets in the women's hall. The
remaining male guests either take a sfeat in the marriage hall or in
the house, or stand till the bridegroom and the bride are married.
The barber also remains standing in the marriage hall with the
urubrella open. The girl's father and mothertake their seats on
low stools in front of the altar. The bridegroom standing on the
altar takes off his long robe and turban and sits down with nothing
on except his silk waistcloth.

Then the marriage service begins with its ten rites of honey-sipping,
feet- washing, rice-throwing,^ moment-naming, present-making,
clothes-worship, bride-giving, oath-taking, seven-steps, and feeding.

When all are in their places, some honey and curds are laid in
the bridegroom's right paltn, and the priest repeats in Sanskrit, the
bridegroom saying the wOrds after him : ' I see and take thee my
bride with the eyes and strength of the sun ; I mix thee with honey
and take away all that is hurtful in feeding on thee; I eat that
sweet nourishing form of honey, and may I thus be of choice sweet'
well-nourished temper.' Touching the several parts of his body he
says : ' May there be speech in my mouth, breath in my nostrils,
sight in -my eyeballs, hearing in my ears, strength in my thighs, and
may my whole body and soul keep sound.'

Then the bride's father washes the feet of his sons-in-law and their .
'wives, and of the. boy's married sigters, and a lighted lamp is waved
round their faces. A little sugar is given them to eat and with the
present of a silk waistcloth and robe they go back into the house.
After this the bridegroom's feet are washed with milk and water.,
and dried, and he is presented with a rick silk waistcloth with broad
gold borders and jewelry,

Then the bridegroom, ptitting on the new silk waistcloth and a
silk turban, is led by the bride's father into the house at one side
of the women's hall. Here, with his face to the west, he is made to
stand on a large heap of rice. The bride, clad in her richest robes
and covered with jewels, is carried in by her maternal uncle, and,
with her face to the east, is made to stand on a second rice heap ,
facing the bridegroom. Between the bride and bridegroom, so
that they cannot see one another, four men, if possible sons-in-law.
of the famHies, one -of them with a drawn sword, hold a sheet of.
unbleached cloth with red lines drawn on it. Standing by the
bride and bridegroom the family priests and the astrologer chant
verses, at the end of each verse calling on* the boy and girl to
think how great a step they are taking. The girl'» sister stands by
with a lighted rice-flour lamp in a metal plate, and relations and
others, clustering round the bride and bridegroom, at the end of each
verse keep silently throwing a few grains of rice over them. Now
and then the father of the biidegroom, standing behind him with a
long string of black glass beads with a gold button,^ asks him to

' The gold button should be one tola in weight, but at the time of taking it from
*he goldsmith it is not weighed ; he is paid at the bazar rate at so much per tola of
pure gold.

Deocanl

POONA.

211-

look at the mystic figures on tlie sheet held between him and the
bride and say over the names of the family gods; All this time
the guests keep quiet and with the musicians wait for the lucky
moment.

When the lucky time is come the priesta cease chanting and the
cloth is drawn to the north. A bugle sounds, and at the signal the >
musicians raise a blast of music, the guests clap their hands, the
bridegroom's father puts the black bead necklace round the bride's
neck, and the bride thrown a garland of flowers round the bride-
groom's neck. The astrologer touches the bride and bridegroom's
eyelids with water, women wave lighted lamps round their faces,
and they are seated on chairs face to face. The old women start:
their marriage songs, the dancing-girls dance, the- barber shuts the
umbrella, -the parents and guests embrace or exchange greetings,-
and cocoanuts are handed to all present.

Then the bride and bridegroom receive money and jewelry from
their friends and relations. Each present, as it is given, is noted
down by the boy's and girl's brothers, who stand by with paper and
pencil.

Immediately after, near to where the astrologer set the water-pots,
are placed the jewelry box and other articles intended as presents
for the bride.^ As soon as all friends and relations have given their
presents the astrologer leads the bride from the house and seats her
on a low wooden stool between her own and the bridegroom's
brother. After a littie worship the bridegroom's brother gives her
two robes, two bodices, a sash, and a jewelry box. After touching
these and handing them to her mother, the bride takes her seat on
the chair opposite her husband, and the ceremony doses by the two
brothera embracing.

An hour or so after the lucky moment, close to the bride an<J
bridegroom's chairs, two low stools are set for the bride's father
and mother, and in front a third for the priest. Between the stools
are laid a cup, a ladle, and a plate, and close by another plate with
fifty-one rupees. After the girl's parents and the priest have taken
their seats, the girl's father sips water thrice and repeats the names
of his twenty-four gods. Then he, his wife, and the priest leave
their seats and go towards the bride and bridegroom''s chairs. At
the priest's request the bride and bridegroom stand facing each
other. The boy holds out his open hands, the girl lays her's half
open in his, he clasping her thumbs with his. Oyer their hands
the girl's father holds hig, open and slanting, and the mother pours
cold water from a silver jug which running off her husband's hands
passes through the hands of the bride and bridegroom, and, as it
falls, is caught by the priest in a silver plate* While the mother
pours, the priest says in Sanskrit : ' This is my daughter whom to
this time I have nourished as a son,, I now give her to your most
sacred keeping, and solemnly pray you to centre in her your love

Chapter III.

Population.

Wkiteks.,

PAhAne Prabhvs.-

Marriage,

Moment-naming.

Clothee-uxKsMp.

\ Bunches, of plantains, metal baskets, almonds, dried -dates, turmeric, betelnut^
sugar, cumin, coriand:er seed,, and xice,.

[Bombay Gazetteer,

212

DISTRICTS.

Chapter III.

Population.

Writers.

PatJ-nm Prasbusi

Marriage.

Oath-taking.

Seven Steps.

Quest-worship.

Le^ve-taking.

as a hpsband and to treat her with kindness.' The priest then
repeats the names of the bride and bridegroom, their fathers,
grandfathers, "■ great-grandfathers, and- ■ families. The girl's
father dips fifty-one rupees in cold water and lays them in the
bridegroom's open hands, and the ceremony closes by the priest
giving to each old woman of the family three ladlef uls of the water
that was poured over the bride and bridegroom's hands.

Next at one end of the marriage hall the family priest kindles a
sacrificial fire and sets the cocoa-kernel grindstone or pdta before
the fire with seven betelnuts on it,, each betelnut lying on a little
rice heap. Calling Indra, Varun, and Umdmahesh to be present,
the bride, the bridegroom, and the bride's father sit down, the bride's
father saying : ' You should treat her as duty bids you and not
cheat her in religion, wealth, or pleasure.' The bridegroom thrice
repeats : ' I will not deceive.'

Then the bride and bridegroom leaving their seats walk thrice
round the fire, and, on coming towards the grindstone, the bride-
groom sitting down and repeating a Sanskrit text,-*^ lifts the great
toe of his wife's left foot and draws it over the seven rice heaps.
This, which is called the seven steps or saptapadd or the crossing
of seven hills, is the chief of all marriage Writes. No marriage is
complete until the bride has taken the seventh step. Till the .
seventh step is taken the father of the girl may break off the match
and marry his daughter to some one else. The rite ends by a ^
married woman striking the bride's and bridegroom's brows 'j
together. ^

After the marriage oath the bride and bridegroom feed one another,'
eating sweetmeats, vegetables, and rice from the same plate.

They are then dressed and seated near each other in thehall,and
again rise and go round among the guests marking their brows with
redpowder.

At the same time the guests' brows are marked with sandal
powder and each is given two cocoanuts. From the hall the bride
and bridegroom are taken to the women's room and other placeB
where the elder women are. Here each one, lifting the bride in her
arms, kisses her, and with tears in her eyes , speaks kindly to her,
and last of all the girl bids farewell to her parents. Meanwhile
the pao-ty are getting ready to start for the bridegroom's house.
The bride and bridegroom are seated either on the same horse on which
the bridegroom rode in the evening, or in an open carriage ; they are
followed by a company of friends and kinspeople in the same order
as they went to the briide's house.^ As they go fireworks are let off.

The girl's father and some of his nearest relations follow for a
few steps and then return home.

1 The substance of the te3Ct is : May Vishnu make thee take one step for food,
one step for strength, one step for cattle, one step for happiness, one step for pnests
to perform sacrifices, one step for wealth, and one step for religion.

2 Theorder is the same as in the evening, except that a servant walks in front ot
the bride and bridegroom's horse, sprinkling cooked rice to satisfy .evil spirits, and
that -link- boys surround the party, each carrying at the end of. a stiek a grated open
iron bowl with lighted pieces of dried eOcoa-kernel.

Deccan.]

POONA.

213

In some families when the procession reaches the door of the bride-
groom's house two servants, the one taking the bride and the other
the bridegroom on his shoulderSj dance to the sound of music for
about a quarter of an hour. Lines of white stone powder are drawn
on the ground leading to the room where the marriage gods are
worshipped and on both sides of the lines rows of lighted rice flour
lamps are set. Between these the bride walks, her hands full of rice ;
the bridegroom follows bending' over her, holding both her hands
from behind, and with his thumbs from time to time forcing
grains of rice out of them. As soon as the bridegroom comes near
the house door his sister stops the way and does not let him pass till
he promises her to give his daughter in marriage to her son. He
then goes to the room where the marriage gods are worshipped,
throwing the rice as before, and he and his wife are seated on low
stools before the marriage gods. After performing some short rites
the bridegroom's sister and parents tell him the bride's new name
and this he whispers in her right ear. Meanwhile in the reception
hall guests are seated and served with sugared milk and a handful of
sugar folded in paper. This closes the wedding day ceremonies.
The bride retires and sleeps with the other girls in the women's
hall, and the bridegroom with the m.en.

Each of the four days after the wedding is marked by some
special rites.

About nine or ten on the morning of the first day the bride is
asked to serve food to the men of her husband's house. The five
pots sent by the girl's parents are piled in the dining hall. In the
highest is a gold necklace and in the four others are sweatmeats.
Low stools and- leaf-plates are laid out, and when the men are seated,
the bride without letting the pots strike together uncovers them one
after the other. She opens the first, and seeing a gold necklace, puts
it round her neck ; she opens the second and finding sweetmeats
serves them to the guests uncovering each pot with great care and
handibg round its contents. She then takes a metal .plate with a
lighted lamp in it, and going to each guest waves the lamp round his
face, each according to his means putting some silver in the plate.
She then leaves the room and after the guests have eaten the sweet-
meats they also leave. In the afternoon the bride and bridegroom
eat from the same leaf -plate, feeding one another in the presence of
the women and children of the house. When the meal is over
small round betel-leaf parcels are given to the boy and girl. The
bride holds one end of the rolled leaf in her teeth and the bride*
groom bites off the other end. After this about fifty betelnuts are
equally divided between the bride and bridegroom. A few girls
side with the bride and some boys with the bridegroom, aad for an
hour or two play games of odds and evens called ehi-behi. About
four in the afternoon the bride and bridegroom are asked to spend
the night at the bride's house. Before the bride _ leaves the women
of the bridegroom's family make her presents of jewelry. Then the
bride and bridegroom go to the nearest relations of both houses, the
women asking the bride what presents have been given her, and
elderly widows who have not been at the wedding give , Iter

Chapter III.

Fopiilation.

Wkitkrs.

PatIme Prabeus.

Marriage.

Bome-aomiaff,

Warning.

4/ter the Wedding.

Visiting.

[Bombay Gazetteer,

214

DISTRICTS.

Chapter III.

Fopiilation.

Writers.

PJ.TJ.ifE Pbabhus,

Marriage.

Second Day..

After.

Third Day.
After.

2s. to £5 (Rs. 1-50) in cash, or they give a cocoahut both to her and
her husband. This round of visits generally lasts till about seven in
the evening when the bride and bridegroom go to the bride's house.
Here they play a game of odds and evens, and about nine they feed,
one another sitting down to dine with the men.

During the night' the bridegroom steals his mother-in-law's
bracelet, and early in the morning ma;kes off to his father's house.
When the bracelet is missed, the bride, her parents and friends, -
and the family priest go in procession to search the bridegroom's
house. On hearing they are come the bridegroom hides, and the
bride and one of her party start over the house searching for him,
shouting that he has stolen a water-jug and an old pair of shoes.
At last his hiding place is found and he is led by his wife into the
hall and seated on a raised carpeted stool in the midst of the guests.
Before him on the carpet sits the bride and her father. The father,
placing before him a silver water-pot, a silver plate, and a silver cup
and ladle worships the bridegroom, and with joined hands asks him
to give his feet to be washed. He refuses unless they promise to
give him whatever he asks. They agree, and he asks something
whimsical, a cart with a pair of goats, his father-in-law's garden, or
his house, or asks his father-in-law to give up smoking or snuffing.
When all he asks is promised he lets his feet be washed with milk
and water. He is then given a suit of clothes and taken to the
bride's house.

On the third day, about ten at night, the bridegroom, the bride,.
and her parents and relations go with music to bring the bridegroom's ,
parents and nearest relations to their house. On the way back they
walk on cloths which are takeiTup as they pass and again laid in
front. On entering the bride's house the guests are seated either
in the receiving room or in the marriage hall. Before the altar
lines are drawn and three low stools are set. The bride and bride-
groom are seated on the altar, and- the bride's pai-ents and the
priest on the low stools. The priest repeats texts and the bride's-
parents touch their eyelids with water. The bridegroom's married
relations and their wives come in pairs. The husbands sit beside*; ;
the bridegroom and the wives stand close by their husbands. Then
the bride's mother pours water over the men's feet and the bride's
father wipes them dry ; and again the bride's father pours water
over the women's feet and the mother wipes them dry. A married
woman waves a lighted lamp round the faces of each pair, and they
go back to their seats with a present of a silk waistcloth' for the
man and a robe and bodice for the woman. The feet of all the
sons-in-law and their wives, and, last of all, the bride and bride-
groom's feet are washed with the same ceremony.

When the feet-washing is over, in the marriage hall in front of
the house steps a white powder square is traced, and, on one side,
facing the east, three low stools are set in a line and a fourth at
right angles for the priest. In front of the three stools is placed a
bamboo basket with five lighted rice-flour lamps, a sweetmeat ball,
cooked rice, split peas, butter, vegetables, and cakes, a leaf-plate- -
served with cooked rice, vegetables, split peas, and butter, and a few

Seccan.]

POONA.

215

Bweet cakes. On the otlier side the bridegroom and his relations
sit on carpets. The bride and her parents dressed in silk seat
themselves on the three stools and the priest on the fourth. The
bride's father gives eight Brdhmans round bamboo baskets, with,
in each basket, a silver two-anna piece, a cocoanut, a betelnut,
and two almonds. Then the bride's father, taking the girl in his
arms, seats her on the lap of each of the bridegroom's kinsmen,
who in return put a little sugar into her mouth. The mother takes
the bride in her arms, and' seats her on the lap of each of the bride-
groom's kinswomen who, like the men, put a little sugar into
her mouth, and lastof all she is seated by her father beside her
husband, . Then the girl's mother making a twisted cloth ring puts it
on the head of each of the bridegroom's kinsmen, and the father
taking the square bamboo basket in both his hands touches with its
bottom the twisted cloth ring. The bride's father then taking the
ring in his hands places it on the head of all the women guests and the
mother touches it with the bamboo basket. The fathers embrace,
and the bride's father addressing the father of the bridegroom asks
him to take care of their daughter whom they have nourished as their
only fond child, whom they have always petted, and never allowed to
leave her mother's side. Then the bridegroom's party taking the
bride with them go back to his house.

About eleven on the morning of the fourth day, at the boy's house
three squares are drawn, one in the women's room and two in the
marriage hall one in the middle near the house steps and the other
on one side. In the square drawn in the women's hall two low
wooden stools are set in a line, and on them the bride and bridegroom
are seated. The sister, or some other of the boy's kinswomen
tightly ties his hair in a knot, and asks the bride to untie it with
her left hand. The bride unties the knot, puts cocoanut milk on
the bridegroom's hair, and rubs a mixture of turmeric and rice on
his body. Then the bridegroom has to untie his wife's hair, to put
on cocoanut milk, and rub her with a mixture of turmeric powder
and rice flour. A married woman now goes to the marriage hall,
sets a low stool in the corner square, and opposite to it the grinding
stone. • Between these ~she sets a metal plate with a mixture of lime
and turmeric hiding in the mixture a gold finger ring, for which
the boy and girl search and whoever finds keeps it ; she also, at eack
corner of the square, sets a jar of cold water with a mango leaf
floating in it and winds a thread round the jar. The bride and
bridegroom are then led to the corner square in the marriage hall
and seated face to face, the bridegroom on the low stool and the
bride on the grindstone. Bach is given' a packet of betel leaves
to chew j and while they chew f 6ur married women sprinkle water
on their heads and sing songs. The drums beat and the bride and .
bridegroom squirt betelnut and leaf juice on each other and from
the metal plate throw red paint over each other. After this they
are bathed, dried, an^ dressed, the bridegroom, in his turban, long
robe, silk waistcloth, and shoes, and the bride in a silk robe and
bodice. The marriage ornaments are exchanged, the bridegroom's
being tied on the head of the bride, and the bride's on the head of
the bridegroom. A lighted lamp is waved round them, red lines

Chapter III.

Population.

Wkiters.

PAtAne PRABBlfS,

Third Lay..
'After-.

FouHh Day.
Jfter.

[Bombay Gazetteer,

216

DISTEICTS.

Chapter III.

Population.

Wkiters,

PAtJlNE Prabhvs.

Marriage.

Fourth Day.

ASter.

are drawn on their feetj tHe silvered cocoanuts are exchangedj and
the bridegroom raising his bride by the left hand follows his
sister who walks before him sprinkling water from an earthen jar to
where the third square is drawn in the middle of the marriage hall,
Herej while the bridegroom and the bride are bathing, a bedstead
with a large sugar-cake at each corner is-brought in and the whole is
covered with a sheet. In the middle of the bedstead is a grindstone
muffled in cloth spotted with wet turmeric powder and at each
corner an earthen jar. The bridegroom and bride are seated
on the bed near the grindstone and each of four married women
waves rice three times round, their heads and touches their brows
with the hems of the bride and bridegroom's clothes. -Again, taking
both the girl's hands in their own, each of the married women thrice
waves a rupee, a piece of turmeric, and a few grains of cumin seed
before the boy's face. , Then taking the cumin seed, the turmeric,
and the riipeefrom the hem of the bridegroom's robe they are waved
before the bride. The bridegroom sits down and the bride rising
takes the grindstone in her hands, and passes it to him saying : ' Take
the baby, I am going to cook,' and again sits down. Then the bride«
groom rising hands back the grindstone, saying : ' Take the baby I*
am going to office.' After this she leaves the child on the bedstead,
and the bridegroom lifting his wife by the left hand leads her into
the room where the marriage gods have been worshipped. Here he
sits on a low stool before the gods, takes his wife on his lap, and,
with a mango leaf, sprinkles the molasses and lime- water on the figure
of the mango tree on the wd,ll. Then, going into the women's hall
where some married women are met, the bride and bridegroom feed
one another. In the afternoon they are asked to go to the girl's house
and start accompanied by the bridegroom's sister and music. Here
in welcoming them a lighted lamp is waved round the faces of the
three, and, except that the bedstead hangs from the roof and that
before it is let down the "bridegroom has to give the children of the
bride's family 10.s. to £1 10s, (Rs. 5-15) the details' are the same as
at the bridegroom's house. When the baby-ceremony and the mangor
tree worship are over, the boy is made to stand behind the girl, and
each married woMan, dipping the girl's hands in a mixture of
molasses and lime, rubs them on the boy's long robe. The mother
of the girl draWs red lines on a wall close by the marriage gods,
and places a grindstone below the lines. In the middle of this
she sets a brass hanging lighted lamp surrounded by sweetmeats
and sweet cakes, and beyond them a row of lighted rice-flour lamps.
The boy places five to fifteen rupees on the stone, and in presence of
the women the bride and bridegroom feed one another.

In the evening the father and inother, and the bride and bride-
groom, first at the bridegroom's and then at the bride's, sit in a line
before the marriage gods, and worshipping them, throw a few grains
of rice over them and over the floor of the marriage hall, and say :
' Depart ye gods and- goddesses until such time as I may ask you to
come again.-" Last of all the priest, untying- the sir cigar-rolkd.
mango leaves, sprinkles water over the heads of the four worshippersi

In the afternoon of the fourth day, comes the last of the marriage .
ceremonies, the rubbing of the bride and Ibridegroom with rice-flourill

Deccan.]

POONA.

217

at their own houses. The bridegroom is seated on a stool in the
women's hall in a square of white powder, and some woman of the
family rubs him with rice flour and takes him into the marriage hall,
where he is seated on a low stool in a square of white powder, bathed
with warm water, and has a lighted lamp waved round his face. He
then goes into the house and is now free to go about as usual. After
a few days the girl is presented with copper, or brass miniature
cooking and other house vessels filled with rice, pulse, flour, butter,
and oil.

Next day, or a day or two after when the host wishes the guests to
go, a sweet dish of pulse is cooked and served at dinner time. After
eating the pulse the marriage guests leave.

After the marriage ceremonies are over the boy and girl, on feast
and high days, are asked to one another's houses, and at least during
the first year at each visit receive clothes and other gifts. Before
one of these visits the sight of a servant from the father-in-law's
house often sets the bride crying.^ Coaxing threatening and
whipping are all sometimes in vain, and the little wife from the
time she leaves her father's house till she comes back keeps on
sobbing. She is now apart of her husband's family. Her duty is
entirely to her husband and his parents, who must support her
through the wedded and if need be through the widowed state. To
her husband's relations the young wife shows much respect. She
stands up when they pass near her, and in talking to them uses not
their names but some term of respect. She does not call her
husband by any name, and whether in public or private should never
be seen talking to him. The husband is generally kind to his wife,
he thinks her his friend and his equal, and leaves her the full use of
his goods.
: In the case of the girl, between marriage and pregnancy, come
three minor rites, lucky-dress wearing, skirt-wearing, and puberty.

Muhurt sdda or lucky-dress wearing may take place at any time
after a girl's marriage and before she is twelve years old. The boy's
father consults an astrologer, who examines the boy's and girl's
horoscopes, and names a lucky day and hour. A day or two before
a servant is sent to tell the girl's mother when the robe is to be
given. On the day fixed, two boys and the family priest,' with
fifty to a hundred cqcoanuts, sugar cakes, and fruit, a robe, a
bodice, and music are sent to the girl's house. On the floor of the
^J;Wpmen's hall a square is drawn with white powder, and two low
"stools are placed opposite each other, one. for the elder of the boys
and the other for the girl. The family priest sits beside them on a
third stool. Then the elder boy worships Ganpati and performs
the holy-day bussing, and touching the hem of the robe with red-
powder, presents it along with the bodice to the girl. The girl rises,
and going into an inner room winds the robe round her waist, and
coming back seats herself as before facing the boy, who lays in her
lap five plantains, an orange, a lemon, a guava, betelnut and leaves,
a few grains of wheat, and a silver coin. A married woman waves
a lighted lamp round the faces of the priest, thegirl, and the elder
boy, and the priest blesses the girl, drops a few grains of rice over
the Ganpati, and taking a rupee from the boy retires. The elder boy
B 310—28

Chapter III.

FopulatioiL

Writers.

PAtAnb Prabeus,

Marriago,

Parting BiimRr.

iMcky Dress.

[Bombay Gazetteer,

218

DISTKICTS.

Chapter III.

PopulatioB.

Wbitees.
PJ.tJ.ne Pbashus.

Breast-robe.

Coming of Age.

goes home, and the younger, taking the girl with him in a carriage
starts, -with music, for the iusband's house. At her mother-in-law'a
the girl stays for two days and then goes home.

A few weeks after the lucky-dress wearing comes ^Ihq 'padar-sdda
or breast-robe. The girl is taken to her father-in-laVa house
and. for the first time wears her robe, like a woman, drawing one end
over her shoulders and letting it hang on the right side. In the
afternoon of the second day, before leaving for her parents' home, the
girl, seated on a low stool, has little children set opposite her, and her
lap is filled with fruit as on the first day. She throws the fruit to
the children, and after a scramble, some elderly woman of the house
divides them between the children and the girl. The customs are the
same as at the lucky-robe wearing except that the girl sits by the side
of her husband instead of by the side of a toy of his family.

When a girl comes of age an elderly married woman fills her lap
with rice, betelnut and leaves, and a cocoanut, and waving
a lighted lamp round her face gives her sugar to eat. She is
sent to her husband's house in a carriage, and her mother-in-law
takes her and leaves her in a room by herself. Little girls are' sent
to ask kinswomen and friends. An elderly woman goes to invite
the girl's mother, and when she comes, about three in the afternoon,
she- changes her dress, and going to her daughter, combs and braids
her hair, dresses her in a rich robe and bodice, and decking her with
ornaments, seats her in a wooden frame leaning forward, her hands
resting on her knees. On each side of the frame two- large brass
lamps and a pair of glass candle-shades are placed, and on the floor
in front, a silver plate with boxes for betelnut and leaves, and
spices, and close by a silver tree, its branches hung -with packets of
betel leaves. The music plays^ and the guests, all of whom are women
keep dropping in from five to .eight, each as she comes having sweet
cakes given her. When the guests are gone her mother leads the
girl to the inner room", and taking off her ornaments makes them
over to the mother-in-law, and after bathing and taking sugar cakes
goes home. This is done every day for four days. About four on
the morning of the fifth day, the mother of the girl, going to her
daughter's house, bathes her, and then herself bathing, both the
daughter and the mother are presented with robes a,nd bodices. The
mother then goes home. In the afternoon, on one side of the dining
hall, a square of white quartz powder is drawn and in the square
two low stools are set. On these stools the girl and her husband are
seated and their bodies are rubbed with rice-flour. Then in a square
tracing, in the back part of the house, they are seated close -to each
other on low stools, and the boy loosens the knot of the girl's hair
and the girl loosens his top-knot and they are bathed. Then, on
a square traced on one side ' of the women's hall, three low
stools are placed, two in a line, and the third at right angles.
The boy and the girl seated on the two stools and the pnest on
the third, worship Ganpati, perform the holy-day blessing, wrship
the Mdtriks that is the seven goddesses Gauri, Padma, Shachi,
Medha, S^vitri, Yijaya, and Jaya., and perform the pyfal-event
spirit- worship. The boy and girl leave their seats, and the priest,

Deccan.]

POONA.

219

helped by ten other Br^hmans, kindles the sacred fire in honour of
the nine planets and of Bh*uvaneshvar, the god of the universe.
When this is oyer the boy and girl sit as before, cooked rice is waved
round them, and is laid by the roadside to please evil spirits. After
washing their feet, they are given new clothes and have their bodies
rubbed with sweet-scented powder, and seating them close to each
other in a square tracing in the back part of the house, the priest
pours over their heads water from a rice-washing metal-pot or viroli,
and after bathing and dressing in new clothes they take their seats
as before in the women's hall. An earthen altar is made, Granpati is
worshipped, and the sacred fire is lit. The ,boy touches the hem o;f
a new robe which he gives to the girl and fills her lap with presents.
A married woman hands the boy a small quantity of bent or durva
grass, poonded wetted and tied in a piece of white cotton, and
standing behind the girl and laying her head between his knees, he
lifts her chin with his left hand and with his right squeezes into her
right nostril a few drops of the juice of the bent grass. A lighted
lamp is waved round their faces and the cereniony is at an end. In
the evening the girl is seated in the frame richly dressed and decked
with jewels. The mother and other kinswomen, and friends with
music and trays of clothes and jewelry, go to the boy's house and
take their seats on carpets spread in the women's hall. A square
is traced near the frame, and on one of two low stools placed near
each other, the boy sits, and the girl coming out of the frame sits on
his right. The girl's mother goes to them, and waving a lighted
lamp round their faces puts a shawl over the boy's shoulders and
a rich suit of clothes and jewelry in the girl's hands. The other
women follow giving presents according to their husband's means ;
sugar cakes and cocoanuts^ are handed, and, except the mother
and her sister, the guests leave.^ About nine at night the boy is
seated in the frame and the girl rubs him with sweet-seented
powder, and gives him a cup of milk to drink. He drops a silver
coin into the cup and drinks the milk, and kissing his wife lifts her
in his arms, and carries her in to the nuptial room which is adorned
with garlands of .sweet-scented flowers. All this time the mothers
;and other relations, both male and female, surround the pair. The
boy's mother sobs, ' We have brought you so far and now make you
over to the toils of married life.'

In the fifth month of a woman's pregnancy a few families perform
a ceremony called the pcmchdngne ov fifth month. ^ G-anpati is
worshipped, sugar cakes distributed, and in the evening both the
boy and the girl are presented with clothes. In the seventh or

Chapter III.

Population.

Wbitees.

PJTJ.irE Pbabbus.

Coming of Age.

Pregnancp.

1 In handing sugar cakes, and oocoanuts a married woman with a tray full of
sugar cakes goes to each woman guest and, sitting in front of her, asks from whose
house she has come. The guest says from her parents or mother-in-law's as the case
may be. The hostess takes in her hand two sugar cakes and goes on giving them two
at a time till the guest stops her and will have no more. Some women take ten or
twenty or even as many as fifty or 100 pairs of sugar cakes and afterwards sell them
and buy ornaments with the money. In some houses women who are known to.do
this are watched and given just as many cakes as there are people in their houses.
Xately, except among the rich, cakes are less freely given, each guest getting only two.
2 Very few families perform this ceremony,

[Bombay Gazetteer,

220

DISTRICTS.

Chapter III.

Foptilatioii.

Writers.

PatAnb Prabbvs.

Pregnancy.

Birth.

eightli month of a woman's pregnancy the priest is called to fix a day
for the pregnancy ceremony. On the morning of the day little
girls go to ask kinswomen and friends, and an elderly woman goes
to invite the girl's mother. In the afternoon the husband and wife
are seated on two low stools; and the priest, on a third. After a
sacred fire is kindled, Ganpati is worshipped, holyday-blessings
performed and the planets worshipped, the boy squeezes a few drops
of bent grass juice into the girl's right nostril, throws a garland xjf
fig-tree leaves round her neck, and sticks a porcupine quill into her .
hair. He next gives her a ladleful of curds mixed with two grains of
pulse and one of barley, and asks her thrice what she is sipping.
She each time says in reply, ' That by which women are blessed
with children.' When this is over some elderly married woman
waves a lighted lamp round their faces. In the evening the girl's
mother and other women go to the girl's house, and, seating the boy
and the girl in a square traced on the floor, give them shawls, clothes,
and jewelry, and taking some sugar cak.es, go home. A dinner is
given by the boy's household to both men and women relations.
Other dinners at relations and friends' houses follow, the young wife
receives presents, and in every way meets with the greatest care
and kindness. In the eighth or ninth month of her first pregnancy
the young wife, who is often not more than fourteen, is seated in a
palanquin and sent with music to her father's house. As she goes,
at every corner of the street, to please evil spirits, cocoanuts are
dashed on the ground and thrown away.

From the time the girl goes to her father's house she is fed
daintily and decked with flowers. A midwife, generally one known
to the mother's family, attends the girl, and when the girl's time
comes is called in. The young wife is taken to a warm room and
one or two of the older women of ~ the family gather round her.
Outside of the room the girl's father or some other of the older men
of the house stands with &, watch in one hand and with the other
tells his beads, promising much to the gods and goddesses if they
will grant the girl a safe delivery. Care is taken that the birth may
happen at a lucky moment, and should the mother suffer severely,
Br^hmans are hired to read sacred books or to tell beads both in their
houses and temples. As soon as the child is born the girl's father or
some one of the older men of the house notes the time, and a metal
dinner plate is beaten as a sign of joy, the women rejoicing over the
mother as one brought back from death. Till the mother is washed and
laid on a cot, the babe is put in a bamboo winnowing fan. It is then ,
washed in warm water, its navel-cord cut, its head squeezed to give it
a proper shape, its nose pulled to make it straight, and the cartilagft
of its ears bent. It is bound in swaddling clothes and laid beside its
mother on the bed, and a bit of karvi Strobilanthus grahamianus, and
a penknife are laid under the pillow to ward off evil spirits. Word
is sent to the husband's family, sugar is handed, and the midwife is
given four to ten shillings, rice, betel, a cocoanut, and a robe. The
room-door is covered with a blanket, and an iron bar is thrust
across it. A dim-shining brass lamp burns near the child's face. The ,
Brother is given a packet of betel leaves, myrrh or iol, a mixture of i
hohev and butter, sdaaraota that is the fruit of the Guilandina '

Deccan.]

POONA.

221

bonducella and butter, myrrli mixed with molasses, and myrobalan
powder mixed with molasses. For forty days she drinks nothing
but water in which a red-hot iron has been cooled, boiled with cloves.
For three days she eats a coarse wheat-floiir paste mixed with
molasses and butter. On the eleventh day she has wheat cakes
boiled in hatter, and, from the twelfth to the fortieth, rice mixed
with black pepper and butter. After the fortieth day she takes her
usual food, rice, vegetables, or fish, as suits her best. For forty
days she does not leave her bedroom without a hood, a thick blanket
thrown over her body, and slippers. Every evening the babe is
rubbed with parched gram powder and the white of 'an egg, and
bathed in hot water. Before drying the child, the midwife takes
water in a metal pot, and waving it thrice round, that the child's
misfortunes may be on her and no evil eye may look at it, stands up,
pours water over her feet, and touches the child's brow with dust.
Then she marks the child's brow and cheeks with soot, and taking a
few grains of mustard seed waves them round the child and throws
them into the fire. For the first three days, the child is fed by
sucking a cloth soaked in coriander juice. For ten days after the
birth both the wife's and husband's houses are unclean, and there is no
worship and no prayers. That evil spirits may not choose this time ,
to enter the house, a Brahman, every evening, holding in his hand
a pinch of ashes, repeats charms and spells, and gives the ashes to
some one in the house to rub, on the child's brow and lay under its
pillow. With the same object the midwife draws ash -lines at the
house-door and at the door of the mother's room. Any one coming
into the house must, as he enters, look round and drive off any spirit
that may be following him, and wash his feet and hands. If he is
not a member of the family he must bring some sugar cakes or
clothes. It is unmannerly to go to a new-born babe empty-handed.
On the evening of the day of birth, or on the next day, the
father of the child, the astrologer, the family priest, and kinspeople
and friends go with music to the mother's house. They are met by
the mother's parents and seated, the men guests in the hall and the
women guests in the women's room. The astrologer is handed a slate
and pencil and paper pen and ink. He takes from the wife's father
a note of the time of birth and sits in the midst of the company
calculating. When the horoscope is ready he reads it aloud, almost
always foretelling for the child talent, comfort, success, and long life.
Then touching the brow of the oldest man in the father's family, he
makes over the horoscope to him with a blessing. While this is
going on, in the inner part of the house, the father of the child,
sitting on a low stool in a square traced on the ground, worships
Ganpati and performs the holy-day blessing. He rubs a little gold
and honey on a atone, takes it in a silver cup, and going into the
lying-in room, dips a gold finger ring into the cup, and in presence
of some kinspeople lets a drop fall into the child's mouth. If the
birth hour be unlueky the father has to undergo penances • and he
does not see the child's face for fear he should loose his own or the
child's life. When the lucky hour comes, he worships Ganpati and
performs the holy-day blessing, kindles a sacred fire, and placing
the child on a piece of red cloth in a winnowing fan, lays him before

Chapter III.

Population.

Writers.

PAtJ-NE Pbabhus.

Birth.

Pint Day.

[Bombay Gazetteer;'

222

DISTRICTS.

Chapter III.
FopiQatiou.

WniTEKa.

PJ.TJ.nrB Pbabsus.
Birth.

lyth Sight.

Tenth Day.

the face of a cow^ and lets honey drop into his mouth. In honour of
the birth a feast is given by the molsbor's father. Dancing-girls
amuse the guests, milk, cocoanuts, and sweet cakes are handed round,
the astrologer the priest and other Br^hmans are paid, and the
guests leave.

The third day after the birth the child and the mother are bathed^'
and the mother first suckles the child.^ In the mother's, room two
long lines of white powder are drawa and divided, if the child is a boy
into eleven and if a girl into ten spaces. In each space is placed a
betel leaf touched on the top with soot redpowder and turmericj
boilied gram, cooked horse-radish leaves, aad cocoanut scrapings
mixed with molasses. Close by a square is traced on the ground
and a low stool is set in this square. In front of the stool are laid
a metal plate with a lighted lamp, redpowder, a few grains of rice,
a sugar cake, a cocoanut, and close by a full water-pot and. ladle.
The mother is seated on the low stool, her hair is combed, and the
child is laid in her arms.' Then the. brows of both the child and
the mother are touched with redpowder and a few grains of rice.
Bits of sugar cake are put into their mouths, a cocoanut is laid in
the mother's hand, and a lighted lamp is waved round their faces.
Then placing the cocoanut on the ground, the mother sitently raises .
the ladle from the water-pot, and taking a little water sprinkles
it on the child's body, and throws a few grains of rice on the leaves;
The guests, who are little boys- and girls, are sent home after eating
boiled gram and cocoanut scrapings.

The fifth night is a time of much danger to the child. Sathi, the
goddess of that night, is worshipped by some elderly married
woman of the family with presents of fruit and is besought to take
care of the babe.^ A blank sheet t)f paper with pen and ink is laid
near the goddess that she may write the child's fate, and a drawn
sword is left leaning against the wall. The father of the child,
with some relations and friends, goes to his wife's house with
presents. He worships Granpati, gives the midwife two to ten
shillings in cash, and receiving sugar cakes- returns home.^ That no
evil spirit may steal in watchmen are set to guard the house, and
outside, till daybreak, servants sing by turns, and, according to the
father's means, are paid two to ten shillings.- The midwife is seated
near the child, and that she may not sleep is closely watched by the
elder women of the house.

On the tenth day the mother and child are bathed, and their clothes
washed, the -whole house is cleaned, the floors are smeared with a
mixture-of cowdung and water, and cow's urine is sprmked all over
the house. After bathing and dressing in fresh clothes, to free them
from impurity, each member of -the household thrice dnuks about

1 The practice of not suckling a cHld tiU the third day is dying out. . ^^sr

2 In some families, along with the fruit, fried pulse, grain, a cock, aad a tumwer
of liquor are offered. AU these are given to the midwife.

3 The present consists of butter, sugar, betelnut and l?a^«/' ™f.' ^o^^^'Xl.
suits of embroidered and plain clothes, an-urabrella, a pair of English shoes, bMok
ings, gold silver and pearl ornaments, wood and metal, boxes for holdmg cioveB,
..innaTYiriTi viiif.mflcr tnn.nA. fi.'nd other articles..

Deccan,]

POONA.

223

a teaspoonfnl of the five cow-gifts.'- Tlien the men of the father's
family change their sacred threads and drink the five cow-gifts.

Under the head Infancy come eight rites, naming, thirtieth day,
fortieth day, ear-boring, vaccination, teething, hair-cutting, and
birth-day.

On the tenth, eleventh, or twelfth day, but sometimes not till the
hundred and first day after birth, the child is named. About four
in the evening the women of the father's house go to the child with
presents of clothes, and putting a large sugar-cake on each of the
four corners of the cradle, lay the child in the cradle, and swing
it, calling the child by a name chosen in its father's house. The
mother's relations give the child another name ; but a child is
generally known by the name chosen for it by the father's family.

On any day between the twelfth and the thirtieth a servant brings
into the house a copper pot full of cold water, and placing it in a
square traced on the floor of the women's hall, the mother, who is
seated on a low stool in another square, worships the water-pot.
When the worship is over, she takes- in her hand a piece of white
cloth, and putting a little turmeric powder in it, is asked by an
elderly married woman, who, at the same time waves a lighted lamp
before her face, where she is going with the cloth. The mother
answers : ' To the well to wash' my child's clothes.'

_ On the fortieth day the mother is bathed, a necklace of new beads
is tied round her neck; and new glass bracelets are put on her wrists.
The bracelet-seller is given two shillings, eight pounds of rice, a
cocoanut, and betelnut and leaves, and .bowing low retires, praying
that the woman may never be a widow and may be blessed with
eight sons. The young mother is again pure, and her relations and
friends come bringing presents of clothes and sugar cakes. With
this ceremony the days of confinement end.

Two to five months after, on a lucky day, a boy, seated in a palan-
quin, is sent with music, from the husband to the mother with clothes,
small silver pots, and gold and silver ornaments, toys, and about a
hundred cocoanuts and sugar cakes. At the house the boy is seated
on a stool, and the mother and babe are dressed in new clothes and
go to the father's house. On the way, to please evil spirits, at each
turn of the street a cocoanut is broken, and on reaching the father's
house the child's aunt or other kinswoman, lifting the child in
her arms, stands with it on the veranda, and another woman waves
a pot full of cold water round the child's head, throws the water
away, and takes the child into the house, followed by the mother.

When the child is between six and twelve months old comes the
ear-boring or Mnm'ndaMe. A girl's ear is bored in three places,
in one part of the lobe and in two places- in the upper cartilage.
About a year after the ears are healed her nose is bored. _ The hole
is generally made in the right nostril. But if the child is the
sabject of a vow, the left instead of the right nostril is bored, the

Chapter III.

Population.

Writers.

PJ-tJjifs Pbabbus.

Infanoy,

Nammg,

Thirtieth Day.

Fortieth Day.

Ear-ioring.

1 The five cow-gifts are clarified butter, curda, inilk, oowdung and cow'b urine.

[Bombay Gazetteer.

224

DISTRICT'S.

Chapter Illr

PoptQation.

Writers.

PJ.TJ.ifE Pbabbvs.

Infancy,

Ear-boring.

TaceinaUon.

nose-ring is worn in tie left nostril, and the child is called by such
names as, stone or Dhondibdi, beggar or Bhikubdi, sweepings
or Qovarahdi. In such cases after marriage the mother-in-law
bores the left nostril, and at. the husband's expense puts in a rich
new nose-ring. In a boy the lobe of both ears and sometimes the
upper cartilage of the right ear are bored. If a woman, who has
lost one or more sons, has another, that he may be thought to be
a girl, she bores his right nostril, and puts a nOse-ring into it,
sometimes giving him a silver anklet to wear, and calls him stone
or Bhondu, or beggar* Bhikii or FaJcir.^ In boring the ears and
nose the hole is made with a needle and black cotton thread tied
like a little ring. The wound is fomented with boiled cocoanut oil
and the child is dieted to guard against inflammation. When the
wound is healed a gold ring is passed through each 'of the holes,'
and afterwards a heavier ring is worn circled with pearls and'
precious stones. As a rule two holes are first made, and when the
place is healed a third hole is bored. The borer, who is generally
a goldsmith, is paid Sd. to 6d. (2-4 as.) a hole. For the first
boring he is given a rupee, about eight pounds of rice, a cocoanut,
and betelnut and leaves.

When the child is five or six months old, some vaccinator who
is known to the family is sent for, and operates in three places on
the right arm and in two on the left.^ On .the third day he again
calls and examines the wounds. If the lymph has taken, the god-
dess Shitalddevi is supposed to have entered the child, who is sacred,
treated with respect and spoken to as devi, that is the goddess. A
silver pot filled with- cold water is set in some clean spot, English
Chinese and Indian toys are laid round it,> and at liight the place is
lighted. The mother dresses in white and does not wear the usual
mark on her brow. Morning and eveniug she waves burning
frankincense and a lighted lamp round the child's face, the swinging
cot, and the water-pot, and bows before them. She touches nothing
impure. Neither the men nor the women of the family eat fish or
flesh, and go to no marriages, funerals, dinner parties, or processions.
The husband sleeps apart from his wife, and none of the women of
the family, who may be ceremonially impure, walk about the house,
or talk loud. Morning, noon, and dusk, the women seated on
swinging cots, sing songs in praise of the small-pox goddess, and
the whole care of the household is centered in the child. If a
stranger comes into the house, he has to sprinkle cow's uriue on
his feet with a lime-tree twig, and speak to the child kindly and
reverently as though addressing the goddess. On the morning of
the seventh day after the lymph took, a girl is sent round to ask
female relations and friends, and a written invitation is sent to men

1 These nose-rings and anklets are worn till the thread-girding time. They are
then taken off and given in charity.

2 Br^man vaccinators are most popular. They are paid 2«. to is. In some
families children are not vaccinated, the parents waiting tiU they are attacked by the
small-pox. Then ceremonies like the above are performed, and iu addition, Hmdu
male or female devil-daucera are called in.

DeccauJ

POONA.

225

to be present- at the ast-rubbing or vibhut. About ten in the
morning, in front of the water-pot, a square is traced with powdered
quartz, and in it figures of men, animals, houses," and fruit- laden trees
are drawn. In the square a low stool is placed and in front of the
stool two silver plates are laid, one with scented powder or abir,
the other with cowdung-ashes or vibhut. Lighted metal and glass
lamps and burning frankincense-sticks are mounted on brass and
silver stands. From four in the afternoon women bpgin to come,
bringing trays of sweetmeats, flowers, and fruit. The mother,
dressed in a rich suit of white, comes with her child in her arms,
and seating it on the low stoolj humbly, as if addressing the goddess,
asks it to accept the offerings. Then rubbing the ashes and the
scenT;ed powder *on the sores, she again begs the child to accept
the sweetmeat's, fruit, and other offerings. Then the salvers are
emptied, a little of each article being left in each salver, sugar-cakes
are handed, and the women go home. About eight in the evening
men begin to drop in, and after fruit and a cup or two of spiced ■
milk served in English dishes and oh tables, sugar-cakes are handed
and they leave. A fortnight after the vaccination day, the
nearest relations are called, and at noon, with music playing, the
child and its parents relations and friends go to the temple of the
goddess Shitalddevi. Here the mother pouring pot after pot of cold
water upon the image's head, sits with her husband and child before
the image, the priest murmurs verses, and the mother throws rice,
flowers, and redpbwder on the goddess and bows low. They then fill
the laps of married women and giving them pieces of watermelons
go back to the child's house. Here they are served with a rich
^'dinner, with a dish of spiced mjlk, and leave after throwing water
from'the water-pot into a well. In the evening a rich dinner is
given to the men. After this, lest other children should be
attacked with small-pox, no songs are sung in praise of the goddess.

When a child begins to cut its first tooth,it is dressed in trousers
cap and shoes^ and loaded with ornatnents, and, accompanied by
servants, is sent to the houses of relations, with either silver or brass
cups and sweetmeats. At each house the servant puts a little
sugared gram into a cup, goes in, and lays it before a mai-ried woman.
Then the women gather round the child, smiling, and touching its
cheeks. In this way the child goes from house to house till about
seven or eight at night it is taken home. Only the well-to-do keep
this custom.

For the hair-cutting the boy is made to sit either on his father's
lap or on a low wooden stool, a new handkerchief is spread
over his knees, and sometimes a silver water-cup is set beside
him. The barber shaves the boy's head, leaving two tufts of hair,
a top -knot and a forelock. When the shaving is over, the women
of the family, as the barber's perquisite, let sugar-balls roll down
the boy's head into the handkerchief, and the barber is given
one rupee, eight pounds of rice, a cocoanut, betelnut and leaves,
the handkerchief, and the silver cup. The forelock is from time to
time cut and kept short and the top-knot is allowed to grow into a
long lock or shendL
B 310—29

Chapter III.
Population.

Weitees.
PJtJne Pbabbus.

Vaeeination,

Havr-cuttimg.

226

[Bombay Gazetteer,

DISTEICTS.

.Chapter III.

Population.

.Wkitebs.
PJ.tJ.nb Pbabbvs,

Thread-girding,

In well-to-do families on their birthdays, boys are generally
given a new suit of clothes and ornaments j relations and friends
are treated to a cup of spiced milk, and singing and dancing go on
the whole night. The birthday is kept sometimes till the child is
girt with the sacred thread, sometimes till he is married, and
sometimes till he is a father.

A boy's munj or thread-girding may take place at any time between
four and ten. The parents ask the astrologer who sees the boy's
horoscope, calculates, and fixes the day. On some lucky day about
a week before the ceremony, a quarter of a pound of turmeric, of
redpowder, of coriander seed, of molasses, and of thread are brought .
^from the market and laid before the family go<^, Two or three
days after, from the house of the boy's father,- a party of boys and
girls with music go to ask the people of their caste to the ceremony.
A booth, or porch is built in front of the house, and the chief women of
the family go to ask their kinswomen both for the thread-girding
and for the dinner, begging the mother of one of the sons-in-law to
send her son for the gourd-cutting. . On the same day the head of
the family asks men relations and friends by letter. Next day the
boy is rubbed with turmeric and the same rites are gone through
as before a marriage. About three in the afternoon, such of the
guests as are married women are served with a rich dinner. At
the head of the row of guests sit the boy and his mother in a square
space traced with white powder on the threshold of the room.
Before they begin to eat, a morsel from the plate of each guest is
set before the boy and his mother and tasted. The mother is then
, served on a separate plate close by the boy. In the back yard of
the house an altar is built, tho same as the marriage altar except
that it is measured by the boy's and not by the girl's arm. The
same night male guests are entertained at dinner, musicians come,
'and a store of earthen pots is laid in. Early in the morning of the
thread-girding day lines are drawn in the booth and two low stools. ..
are set within the lines. The boy and his mother sit on the stools and
with songs and music are bathed by a band of young married girls.
After they are bathed lighted lamps are waved round them and.they go
-into the house. On one side of the entrance hall lines are drawn and
the boy is seated on a low stool. The boy's mother's brother and
his father's sister come to him. The mother's brother puts a gold
ring on the boy's right little finger and with a pair of silver scissors
cuts some hair off his forelock, and the aunt catches the hair in a silver
cup filled with milk. The barber sits in front of the boy and shaves
his head except his top-knot. When the shaving is over, the
women of the family roll sugar-balls and silver coins down the boy*s
head into a handkerchief spread over his knees; . These are given to
the barber, and also a new tiirban or a handkerchief, rice, betel, and
a cocoanut. The boy is a second time bathed in the booth, rubbed
dry, and a lighted lamp is waved round his face.. Then his maternal
uncle, covering him with a white sheet, carries him in his arms to
the veranda. Here again a lighted lamp is waved round his face
, and he is carried into "the room where the goddesses have been
worshipped. After a short time the boy eats from the same plate, ,

Deceaa.1

POGNA.

227

as his mother along with eight boys who wear the sacred thread but
are not married. When the meal is over, presents are made to
the eight companions, and the boy is washed and taken to the
room where the goddesses have been worshipped, decked with
ornaments, and led to the altar on one side of which his father sits
with his face to the east. The guests begin to come and either sit
in the hall or stand near the altar. The boy stands opposite his
father on a heap of about eight pounds of rice facing him. An
unbleached cloth marked with red lines is held between them, and,
till the lucky moment comes, the astrologer,-the family priest, and
other BrAhmans repeat texts. The boy's sister stands by with a
lighted rice-flour lamp in a metal plate, and relations and others
gather round the boy, and at the end of each verse keep silently
throwing a few grains of rice over him. At the lucky moment the
priest stops chanting and the cloth is pulled to the north, a bugle
sounds, and at the signal musicians raise a blast of music and the
guests clap their hands. A piece of silk cloth fastened to his waist-
band is passed between the boy's thighs and tucked into the waist-
band behind, the sacred thread is put over his left shoulder so as to
fall on the right side, and a string of munj grass Saccharum munja,
together with a piece of deer hide is bound round his middle. The
boy is now ready to hear the Gayatri mantra or holy text. He
bows to his father, is seated on his father's right knee, and, in
an undertone, the words of the hymn are whispered in his right ear.
Lest the words should be overheard by a woman or by a man of low
caste, a shawl is thrown over the father's head and the guests talk
together loudly or repeat a hymn in praise of the gods. After
this kinspeople and friends present the boy with gold, pearl, or
diamojid rings, or money. The family priest takes away the riee
heap and kindles the sacred fire in the middle of the altar. The
observance ought to last five days, the sacred fire being kept alight
and the boy touching no one. But as few families can afford to spend
five idle days, the fire is usually put out on the evening of the first
day. In the afternoon the mother of the boy, with a number of
kinswomen and friends, goes with music to her parents' house.
She receives clothes and other presents, and leaves after sugar-cakes
■and cocoanuts have been handed round.'' On the mother's return
comes the begging ceremony. The boy stands near the altar with
a beggar's wallet round his shoulder and a stafE in his hand, and
begs, and each man and woman gives him a sugar-ball and a silver
or copper coin. After this the kinsmen and kinswomen are
served- separately with a rich dinner. About eight or nine at night
the boy starts on a pilgrimage nominally to Benares, but in practice
to his mother's father's house. When he is gone the guests sit in
the receiving hall, and about ten form a procession and with music
follow the boy to his grandfather's.

On their arrival the boy is seated on a high carpeted stool, and
his maternal uncle dresses him in a rich suit of clothes. Sugar-cakes

Chapter IIL
Population.

Writers.

PJtJNS PBABBUa.

Thread-girding. :

^ The presents are : Silver or brass plates, ladles, cups, looking glasses, silver brow-
marks, cups for sandal powder, a gold or cotton sacred tbread, a low wooden stool,
a silk waistcloth, and a rupee in cash, the whole worth 8». to £5.

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DISTRICTS.

Chapter III.

Foptilatioii.

Writers.

PItAnb Pbabhus,

Thread-girding.

Deaths

and cocoanuts are served and the party returns with the boy to his
father's. Then the guests take their leave after a parting cup or two
of spiced milk and some betelnut and sugar. At night the guardian
deities of the thread-girding are bowed out, and the next day the
boy is rubbed with rice flour and goes back to his every-day duties.
A day or two after the guests have gone special sweet dishes are
cooked and five to a hundred Brdhmans are fed. While taking
their dinner the Brahmans by turn repeat hymns, joining in a
chorus at the end of each hymn. When dinner is over, betelnut
and leaves are served, and, except the family priest and one or two
learned Brdhmans who are paid one to two shillings, each is given
l^d. to Zd. (1-2 as.) After distributing these gifts the host stands
with his turban on his head and his shawl in his open hands before
the seated Brdhmans, who repeat the usual blessing for the gain of
money, corn, cattle, children, and long life, and at the end throw
grains of rice over the host's head and into the shawl' held in his
hands.

A few hours before death the family priest brings in a cow with her
calf, marks the cow's • forehead with red and salutes it by bowing
and raising his joined hands. The eldest son or other near kinsman
of the dying man pours into the dying mouth a ladleful of water
in which the end of the cow's tail is dipped. The priest is given 10s.
to £1 10s. (Rs. 5-15) as the price of the cow, and a learned Brdhman
is called to read the sacred books or Gita.^ In the name of the
dying man rice pulse and money are given to Brd,hmans and other
beggars, and a spot in the women's hall is strewn with sacred grass
and sweet basil leaves. On the grass and leaves the dying is laid the
feet towards the outer door, and a few drops of Ganges water, a leaf
of sweet basil, and a particle of gold are put in the mouth. The nanie
of the god Rdm is called aloud in the dying man's right ear and he is
asked to repeat it. The eldest son sits on the ground and taking
the dying man's 'head on his knee, comforts him till he draws his last-
breath, promising to care for the widow and children. The body is
covered with a sheet, and the women sit round weeping and wailing.
The men go out and sit bareheaded on the veranda, and servants
start to tell relations of the death. About £2 is handed to friends,
who go to the market and bring what is wanted for the funeral.^
When they come back, they busy themselves in making the body

' No cow is given in the case of children.

a Things wanted for a funeral are always brought from the market ; they are never
taken from the house. The details are : For a woman's funeral, two bamboo poles,
two split bamboos, 20 yards of fine cotton cloth, coir rope, date mattmg, basil leaves,
a flower wreath, 1 large and 5 small earthen pots, sandalwond, 1200 cowdung
cakes, clarified butter, six large wooden posts, 1 to li khandis of wood, dry palm
leaves, tobacco and country cigars, parched grain, a cocoanut, matches, two copper
coins, one winnowing fan, a dish and a copper pot, wheat flour, pounded turmeric,
red and scented powder, camphor, plantain leaf, white clay, dried clay, myrabolans,
sesamum, rice, betelnut and tobacco, lime, five plantains, one cocoanut, a smaU
looking glass, a comb, a small wooden box, bangles, wheat, and betel.

Tort man the detaUs are the same as for a woman, except that plantains and otner
fruits are not wanted, and that about ten yards less of cloth is used in the shrouo.
If a child's body is burned, its funeral costs about Es. 3-5-0. Of this 4 mnm go lii
cloth, 4 anna in cowdung cakes, 1 anna for a clay pot, and about Ks. 3 in hrewooa.
~ - * ■ •■ • ■ _u°..4.ij-ii c„ li *.,.. .i;r.m..<» the crrave and 4 an«(M tor sail.

_i-;lj

DeccanJ

POONA.

229

ready. Outside of the house the chief mourner and his brother,
if he has brothers, are bathed one after the other, and their
mustaches and except the top-knots their heads are shaved and their
nails pared. The chief mourner is dressed in a new waistcloth, and
a shouldercloth is twined -with his sacred thread. Near the feet
of the body rice is cooked, made into balls, and laid at its feet,
and then taien and placed on the bier near the head.^ The nearest
male relations followed by the women carry the body through the
main door and lay it on the house steps on a small plank, the head
resting on the steps. Round the head the women sit weeping, the
men standing at some distance. A second rice ball is laid near
the feet and the third is placed on the bier. A pot of cold water is
brought from the well and poured over the body, which is hidden
while it is being dressed. Elderly women dress a woman's body
in a full suit of new every-day clothes.^ If the dead woman
leaves a husband, her lap is filled with fruit and flowers, and a
lighted hanging brass lamp is waved round her face, and without
putting it out is thrown on one side upside down. Each married
woman present takes a little redpowder from the dead brow and
rubs it on her own brow, praying that like her she may die before
her husband dies. A man's body, except the waistband, is left bare,
yellow powder is rubbed on the brow, garlands of sweet basil leaves
are thrown round the neck, and he is laid on the bier and covered
with a sheet. If he leaves a widow of more than fifteen, old widows
lead her into a room, her bodice is stripped, her glass bangles are
broken on her wrists, her lucky necklace of black beads is torn from
her neck, and her head is shaved. The. hair, the broken bangles,
and the lucky string of black beads are rolled in her bodice and
laid near the head of the dead.

The bier is raised on the shoulders of four of the nearest male
relations, and is carried out feet first close after the chief mourner
who' walks with an earthen pot of burning cowdung cakes
hanging from his hand in a three-cornered bamboo sling. With the
chief mourner walk two other men, one holding a metal pot with
the rice which was cooked near the feet of the body, and the other
a bamboo winnowing fan with parched pulse and small bits of
cocoa-kernel, which, as he walks, he throws before him to please the
evil spirits. Of the men who have come to the house some follow
bareheaded, saying Rdm Rdm in a low tone ; the rest go to their
homes. The body is carried at a slow pace, the chief mourner
keeping close in front that no one may pass between the fire and
the body. No woman goes to the burning ground. The friends
take the women and the children and bathe them, get the floor
where the body was laid, the veranda, and, which is never done
at any other time, the house steps washed with water and

Chapter III.
Population.

Wbitbks.

PJ.TJNS PrABHUS,

Death.

^ The tier is made of two solid bamboos in the shape of a ladder, strongly bound
with a coir string. On the ladder is laid a piece of date matting covered with a white
sheet.

2 A widow's body is dressed in a white robe, her brow is rubbed with white
powder, and the body is laid on the bier covered with the winding sheet. A married
woman's body is not covered with a winding sheet, A man's \>oSg is covered, except
the face.

[Bombay Gazetteer,

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DISTRICTS.

Chapter III.
Population.

^ Wkitbes.

cowdung, arrange for the mourner's dinner, and go lionie. On nearing
the burning ground a small stone called ashma or the soul is picked
up. To this stone as a type of the dead funeral cakes and offerings
are made. Further on, the. litter is loweredj, a ball of rice and a
copper coin are laid on the ground, and, without looking back, the
bearers change places, and for the rest of the way carry the bier in
their hands.

At the burning ground, where the pile is to be raised, a small
hole is made, and filled with water and in the hole blades of sacred
grass and sesamum seed are laid. Prom the earthen pot fire is
dropped on the ground, and, while the priest says texts, the chief
mourner kindles the holy fire. When the pile is ready, the chief
mourner draws three lines on the ground with a piece of firewood,
and from the hole sprinkles water on the pile. The bearers pour
water on the body, lift the litter three times, touch the pile, and lay
the body on it with the head to the south. Prom a small-stick
butter is dropped into the mouth," nostrils, eyes, and ears. Five
small unbaked wheaten balls are laid, on the mouth, on each
shoulder, on the brow, on the navel, and on the breast, and, if a
person has died on an unlucky day, rice-flour figures of men are
laid beside it. When this is done, each man lays on the breast a
small piece of sandalwood. The chief mourner, taking a little
water and few blades of sacred grass, walks round the pile.
Layers of cakes are heaped over the body, and it is mad©
ready for burning. The bier is turned upside down, thrown on one
side, and taken to pieces. The winding sheet is carried off by some
Mhdr, the date mat is destroyed, and the bamboo poles are kept
for stirring the fire. The chief mourner is called, a brand is put
in his hand, and, going thrice round the pile with his right hand
towards it, shifts his sacred thread to his right shoulder, and,
looking towards the north, applies the brand near the feet. He
fans the fire with the hem of the shouldercloth which is twined
with his sacred thread. Except a few who know how to burn the
pile, the rest with the chief mourner sit some way ofE. When the
fire bursts into flames, and the body begins to burn, the party
withdraw still further, and, till the burning is Over, talk, laugh, joke,
smoke, a few even chewing betel.^ When the skull bursts, which,
is known as hapdl moTcsk or the skull-freeing the chief mourner goes
near the pyre, and throws cocoa-milk over it to cool the body. When
all is burnt and it is time to put out the fire, the chief mourner,
carrying on his right shoulder an earthen pot filled with water, and
starting from the west side with his left shoulder towards the pyre,
begins to walk round it. When he comes to the south near where
the head lay, one of the relations makes a small hole in the earthen
pot with the life-stone or ashma, and as the chief mourner goes round
the water trickles through the hole. At the end of the first rounds
on coming back to the' south, a second hole is made with the stone

^During the last two or three years the chewing of hetelnut and leaves at the
burning ground has come into fashion. A few joung Prabhus even go 60 far as to
drink sodawater and lemonade.

PJ.tJ.nb Prabbw,
Death,

Deccan.1

POONA. 231

and a second stream runs out. At the end of the second round a Chapter III.
third hole is made, and after making a third turn, at the south end Fopulation.
he turns his back to the pyre and drops the jar from his shoulder so wbitbes

that the jar dashes on the ground and the water spills over the ashes.
,The chief mourner strikes his mouth with the back of his right hand
and cries abud. After this, the rest of the party pour on the fire
pot upon pot of water, and the ashes are carried away and thrown
into a river.^

A three-cornered earthen mound is raised in the centre of the
spot where the body was burnt. On the mound eowdung and water
are sprinkled, sacred grass is strewn, and on the grass are set five
earthen pots full of water, a few bits of sacred grass, ~ sesamum
seed, rice rolled into balls and mixed with sesamum seed and
barley, wheat cakes and butter, a thread from the chief mourner's
waistcloth, a few flowers, sprigs of sweet basU, and small yellow
flags. The chief mourner lights camphor and burns frankincense
before the balls, and asks the dead to accept the offering. Then, one
after the other, the mourners shift the sacred thread to the right
shoulder, and thrice offer water to the soul-stone saying : ' Since
"by burning you are heated and that the heat may cool we offer thee,
naming the deceased and his fe^mily, water. May this offering
reach you.'

Then the party start for the house of mourning, the chief
mourner going first, carry!ng in his hand the soul-stone in a metal
vessel wrapped in fragments of the shroud. When the mourners
return the women in the house again burst into weeping. The chief
mourner is bathed on the front steps of the house, and the others
wash their hands feet and mouths and go inside. Then the
relations quiet and comfort the women, and make the mourners take
food. After the mourners have begun to eat, the friends bow to the
lamp which is kept burning on the spot where life left the dead, and
return to their homes.

For ten days the spirit remains seated on the eaves of the house
where it left the body. At sunset, that the spirit may bathe and
drink, two plantain-leaf cups are placed on the eaves, one full of
mUk the other full of water. During the ten days when the spirit
of the dead stUl rests on the house-top the mourners are bound by
strict rules. Except to worship at the burning ground the chief
mourner does not leave, the house for thirteen days after the funeral.
The members of the family eat no animal food, nor any food or
drink in which sugar is mixed. Leaves are used instead of metal
plates. They neither buy nor cook, eating only fish, herbs, and
things sent them by their relations and friends, and cooked by some
one who stays with them to comfort them. They neither worship
their family gods, nor say their prayers ; and husbands sleep away
from their wives, on blankets or mats, or on the bare ground. On
the second day after the death, at the burning ground the chief

1 At some rich funerals the body is covered with a Kiahmir shawl, sandalwood
is mixed with other firewood, and the fire ia quenched with milk instead of with
water. , .

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DISTRICTS.

Chapter III,

Population.

Writers.

PAtane Pbasbjts,

Death,

After Death.

mourner cooks or hires a Brdhman to cook rice-balls and wheat
cakes, offering them as he offered them on the first day that the
dead may gain a new Ijody. On the first day the dead gains his
head, on the second day his ears eyes and nose, on the third his
hands breast and neck, on the fourth his middle parts, on the fifth
his legs and feet, on the sixth his vitals, on the seventh his bones
marrow veins and arteries, on the eighth his nails hair and teeth,
on the ninth all remaining limbs and organs and his manly
strength, and on the tenth he begins to hanger .and thirst for the
renewed body. On this day the lamp, which has been kept
lighted in the house since the mourners came back from the
burning ground, is upset, the lighted wick is pulled in from below,
and the wick is taken to the burning ground for the tenth
day's ceremony. As the light goes out the soul of the dead leaves
the house and the women raise a cry of sorrow. On reaching tha
burning ground, the chief mourner makes a three-cornered mound
of earth, and sprinkles cowdung and water on it He strews
turmeric powder, sets five earthen pots on five blades of sacred
grass, three in one line and two at right angles. He fills these five
pots with water, throws in a few grains of sesamum, and over their
mouths lays a wheaten cake and a rice-ball. He plants small,
yellow flags in the ground, and, setting up the soul-stone, strews
flowers before it, and waving burning frankincense and lighted
lamps prays the dead to accept the offering. If a crow comes and
takes the fight-side ball the dead died happy. If no crow comes
the dead had some trouble on his mind. With much bowing he is
told not to fret, his family and goods will be cared for, or if the
ceremony was not rightly done the fault wUl be mended. In spite
of these ' appeals, if for a couple of hours the crow will not take
the rice, the chief mourner touches the ball with a blade of sacred
grass. He then takes the soul-stone and rubbing it with sesamum
oil to quench the hunger and thirst of the dead, he offers it a rice
ball and water, and standing with it near water, facing the east,
throws it over his shoulder into the water. This ends the tenth
day ceremony. During the^e ten days friends and relations grieve
with the mourners staying with them daily till dusk. On the
eleventh day the chief mourner goes to some charity-house or
dharmshdla to perform the shrdddh or memorial service. In
perforining the shrdddh the chief mourner^ smears a plot of ground
with cowdung and water, and placing a fe^w blades of the sacred
darbha grass on one side, sits on them, and draWs rings of sacred
grass on the ring-fingers of both his hands. He sets before him a
lighted metal lamp, a water-pot, a cup, a ladle, and a platter filled
with flowers, grain, spices, and other articles.^ He dips a sweet
basil leaf in the water-cup, and sprinkles water from it over himself
and the articles of worship. For the gods he sets two blades of

1 The chief mourner is the eldest or the only son. If there is no son there is no
yearly shrdddh.

^ The details are : Flowers, sweet basil leaves, sacred grass, barley, sesamum, rice,
butter, curds, milk, sugar, scented powder, frankincense, cotton wicka dipped in
butter, betel, plantains, and copper and silver coins.

■mik

Deccan]

POONA.

233

sacred grass on two spots in front of him and a little to the right ;
he then shifts^ his sacred thread to his right shoulde^ and lay^ on
his left six blades, three for paternal and three for maternal ancestors,
praying both the gods and the ancestors to come and sit on the
grass. He spreads sacred grass in front of the spots where the gods
and the forefathers are seated, and sets leaf-cups on them. From
another le9,f-oup he sprinkles water on the cups from the point of
a sacred grass leaf. He lays sacred" grass on the rims of the cups,
partly fills them with water, putting barley in the gods' cups and
sesamum in the forefather's cups, and lays betel, plantains, and copper
coins before them. One after another the cups are taken up, smelt,
and laid down^ The sacred grass that lay on the rim of the cups is
laid on the priest's right palm, and the sacred grass that was under
the cups is held by the mourner in his own hand, and from it he
pours water from the cups on the priest's hand. He piles the cups
in three sets. Then his cook or some other elderly woman hands
him a pound of freshly cooked rice. In the rice he mixes a little
butter and barley and a few sweet basil leaves, rolls them into balls,
and lays them on a bed of sacred grass. Over the balls he sprinkles
water, flowers, sweet basil leaves, and scented powder, and lays on
the top a thread from his waistcloth, and offers the balls cooked
rice, vegetables, cakes, sweet milk, betel, a cocoanut, and copper and
silver coins, waves lighted cotton wicks and camphor, and makes a
low bow. He takes the middle ball and smells it' in the hope that it
may lead to the blessing of a son. He pays the priest Is. to 4s. (8 as.-
Es.2) and the priest retires. The chief mourner gathers the offerings,
gives them to a cow, and closes the ceremony setting on the house-
top a leaf-plate filled with several dishes. On the evening of the
twelfth day the chief mourner is brought home by relations
and friends. When he reaches home he washes his hands and feet,
and, standing on the edge of the veranda, with joined hands,
dismisses the company with low repeated bows. On the morning
of the thirteenth day, to purify the spot on. which the deceased died,
it is made clean, a mound is raised over it, and a sacred fire is
kindled. To raise the spirit of the dead from this world where it
would roam with demons and evil spirits to a place among the
shades of the guardian dead, the shrdddh ceremony is again
performed. When the secondi shrdddh is over part of the deceased's
property is given to Brdhmans.^ If the dead was a man, his clothes,
bedding and cot, snuff-box, walking stick, and sacred books are
given J if the dead was a married woman her wearing apparel,
ornaments, combs, lucky necklaces, and redpowder boxes are given
to married Brahman women whose feet are washed with cocoanut
water. A certain uncleanness or dishonour attaches to the Br^hmans
who take these pi'esents. In return the priest gives the mourner a
little sugar to eat. Then, laying a little of each dish on the eaves

Chapter IIL
Population.

Wbiters.

PJ.T2NE PbABEUS,,

Death.
After Deadly

' During the thrdddh the mourner has to shift his sacred thread to his right
shoulder when offering to the spirit of the dead, and to his left when offering to the
gods. When offering to the spirit of an ascetic or eddhu the thread is hung round
the neck like a chain.

B 310-30

[Bombay Gazetteer,

234

DISTRICTS.

Chapter III.

Population.

Weitebs,

PAtass Prabbus,

Death.

Corpse-lees Fmieral.

to feed the crows, the guests and the chief mourner dine together,
the guests now and then asking the chief mourner to taste the
dishes prepared with sugar. The chief dish is milk boiled with
sugar and spices. In the evening relations and . friends come and
present the mourner with snufE-coloured turbans, one of them being
folded and placed on his head. Then the mourner, dressed in hia
usual clothes, leads the company to the nearest temple. At the
temple he offers oil cocoanuts and money, and the others stand
outside or come in and bow to the gods. When his offerings are
over, the chief mourner leads the company back to his house, and
dismisses them, and is free to follow his daily duties. This evening
all the married women go to the houses of their parents, and the
little married girls to the houses of their husbands, and not a
particle of cooked food is left in the house. On the sixteenth day
the mourner performs a ceremony for the dead that he may not
Buffer from hunger or thirst. Every month for a year this ceremony
is repeated, and after that on the death day and also on the corre-
sponding day of the month in Bhddrapad or August -September,
when the dead hover round their kinsmen's houses looking for food.

Besides the regular funeral ceremonies when death takes place- at
home, special rites are sometimes performed when there is no body
to burn. There may be no body to burn either because the deceased
died in a distant land or was drowned at sea, . or the burning may
be symbolic, done while the person is alive, to show that he is dead
to his family and caste. Sometimes when a wife has forsaken her
husband and will not return, he performs her funeral and from that
day will never see her face again. Or if a Prabhu gives up his
father's faith and turns Christian or Musalmdn, either at or after his
change his parents perform his funeral rites. In these cases, the chief
mourner with the family priest and one or two near relations go to
the burning ground and spread the skin of a black antelope in a
corner. On the antelope skin. the chief mourner lays three hundred
and Bixij palas leaves, forty leave? for the head, ten for the neck, one
hundred for both arms, ten for the ten fingers, twenty for the chest,
forty for the belly, one hundred and thirty for the legs, and ten for the
ten toes. Tying them by their stems with sacred grass in separate
bunches and laying them on their former places, he spreads more
grass on the leaves, and rolls the whole into a bundle a foot or
eighteen inches long. He liolds the bundle in front of him, mixes
a,bout a pound of wheat-flour honey and butter, and rubbing the mix-
ture on the bundle draws a white cloth over it. At its top^ for the
head he places a cocoanut, for the brow a plantain leaf, for the
teeth thirty-two pomegranate seeds, for the ears two pieces of shell,
for the eyes two kavdi shells their comers marked with redlead, for
the nose sesamum flower or seeds, for the navel a lotus flower, for
the arm bones two carrots, for the thigh bones two brinjals, lemoAS
and Abrus or gurya berries for the breasts, and sea shells or a carrot,
for the other parts. For the breath he puts arsenic, for the bile
yellow pigment, for the phlegm sea foam, for the blood honey,' for
the urine and excrement cow's urine and dung, for the seminal
floids quicksilver, for the hair of the head the hair of a wild hog, for.

DeccanJ

POONA.

33&

the hair of the body wool, and for the flesh he sprinkles on the
figure wet barley-flour honey and butter. He sprinkes milk, curds,
honey, butter, sugar, and water on the figure, and covers the lower
part of it with a woollen cloth. He puts on ibs chest a sacred thread,
round its neck a flower necklace, touches the forehead with sandal,
and places on its stomach a lighted flour-lamp. The body is laid
with its head to the south and is sprinkled with rice and the life of
the dead is brought into it. When the lamp flickers and dies the
mourner offers the gifts and performs the ceremonies which are.
usually performed to a "dying man. When the lamp is out he raises
a pile of wood, and burns the flgure with full rites, mourning ten days .
and going through all the after-death or shrdddh ceremonies.^

A few Prabhus are of the Shaiv sect of Brahmanic Hindus, but
most are followers of Shankardchdrya (700 - 800) whose representa-
tive, the head of the Shringeri monastery in West Maiaur, is the
pontifE of all members of the Smart sect. The Smarts hold the
ehdvait or single behef that the soul and the universe are one. Few
Prabhus become ascetics or religious beggars. In childhood all
are taught Sanskrit prayers and know the details of the ordinary
worship. Butj except the women and some of the older men,
beyond marking feast days by specially good living, few attend to
the worship of the gods or to- the rules of their faith. Bach day on
waking the first thing a Prabhu looks at is a gold or diamond ring,
a piece of sandalwood, a looking glass, or a drum. He rubs the
palms of his hands together and looks at them for in them dwell
the god Govind and the goddesses Lakshmi and Sarasvati. Then
he looks at the floor to which, as the house of the god Nd.r4yan and
of his wife Lakshmi, he bows, setting on it first his right foot and
then his left. Next with closed eyes, opening them only when
before the object of his worship, he visits and bows to his house
gods, his parents, his religions teacher, the sun, the basil plant,
and the cow. About nine, after his bath, he goes to the god-room
to worshipk the house gods. On entering the room he walks with

Chapter III.

Population.

Writers.

PJ.TANE Prabsus.

Death,

Seligion,

^ The special expenses of such a funeral are :

Corpse-less Fwnerdl.

Abticlb.

Cost.

AjBTIOIiE.

Cost.

Rs. a. p.

Deer Skin

1 0 0

Cowdnng

0 0 1

360 Batea, Leaves

Limes,-two

0 0 2

Two Cucoanuts

0 1 6

Brinjals, two

0 0 6

Plantains

0 2 0

Carrot, one

0 0 1

Plantain Leaf

0 0 3

Hog-hair

0 2 0

Pomegranate ,

0 I 0

Woollen Waistoloth ... ' ...

2 0 0

Bangles, two

0 0 2

Wheat Flour

0 10

Cowri Shells

0 0 1

Five Cow-Gifts

0 0 3

Sesamum Flower

0 0 3

Rice

0 0 2

Talc

0 0 2

Lotus Flower

0 0 1

Yellow Orpiment

0 0 3

Abrus Berries

0 0 2

Cuttle Fish Scale

0 0 3

Wool

0 0 3

Gorochan

0 0 3

Barley Flour

0 10

Quiok8l>Ter

0 10

Sacred Thread

0 0 6

Ked Sulphuret of Arsenic
Honey ...

0 0 3
0 0 3

Giirland

.0 10

Cow's Urine

0 0 1

Total ...

3 IS 0

236

[Bombay Gazetteer,

DISTEICTS.

COiaptet III.
Population.

Weitebs.

measured steps so ttat his rigM foot may be the first to be set on
the low stool m front of the gods. His house gods are small images
ot gold, silver, brass, and stone, generally a Ganpati, a Mahddev in
the torm of the Ian or arrow-head stone Ving}- a Yishnu in the form of
the pierced shdUgrdm,^ the conch or shanhh, and the chahrankit or
discus marked stone, a sun orsurya,a,uA othpr family gods and goddesses,
ihese images are kept either in a dome-shaped wooden shrine called
■ devghara or the gods' house or on a high wooden stool covered with
a glass globe to save the gods and their offerings from rats.? In
worshipping his house gods, the Prabhu seats himself before them
on a low wooden stool, and, saying verses, lays ashes on the palm
of his left hand, and, covering the ashes with his right hand, pours
one or two ladlefuls of water on the ashes, i-ubs them between the*
palms of both hands, and, with the right thumb, draws a line from
the tip of the nose to the middle of th& brow, thence to the corner
of the right_ temple, and then back to the corner of the left brow.
He closes his hands so that the three middle fingers rub on each
palm, opens them again, and draws lines on his brow, those from
left to right with the right hand, fingers, and those from right to
left with the left hand fingers. He rubs ashes on his throat, navel,
left arm, breast, right arm, shoulders, elbows, back, ears, eyes, and
head, and washes his hands. He ties his top-knot, -pours a ladleful
of water on the pal m_ of his right hand, and turns his hand round
his head. He says his prayers or sandJiyas* sips water, repeats the
names of twenty-four gods, and, holding his left nostril with the
first two fingers of -his j-ight hand, draws breath through his right-
nostril and closing that nostril with his thumb, holds his breath
while he thinks the Gayatri verse.^ He raises his fingers, breathes
through his left nostril, and, with his sacred thread between his
right thumb and first finger, holding his hand in a bag called
gomuJci th&t is cow's-mouth or in the folds of his waistcloth, he
ten times says the sacred verse under his breath. He then sips
water and filling a ladle mixes the water with sandal powder and a
few grains of rice, and bowing to it spills it on the ground. He
takes a water jar, sets it on his left side, pours a ladleful of water
into it, covers its mouth with his right palm, rubs sandal powder
and rice grains on the outside, and drops ffowers on it. He worships
a little brass bell, ringing it and putting sandal powder, rice, and

1 The bdn or arrow-headed brown stone is found in the Narbada.

^ The fidligrdm is a round black stone found in the Gandaki river in Nepftl. It
sometimes has holes in the shape of a cow's foot or of a flower garland, and is
believed to be bored by Vishnu in the form of a worm, and is specially sacred as the
abode of Vishnu under the name of Lakshmi-NAriyao.

' Eats are troublesome in Hindu houses and are either poisoned or caught in
traps, except on Ganesh's Birthday in August when balls of rice flour, oocoanut
scrapings, and sugar are thrown to them.

* Sand?iya, literally joining that is twilight, includes .religious meditation and
repeating of verses. It should be repeated thrice a day, at sunrise, noon, and sunset.
Most Prabhus say prayers in the morning, none at noon, and a few at night.

° This very holy and secret verse should every day be thought on. It runs ; Om I
Earth 1 Sky ! Heaven ! let us -think the adorable light, the sun ; may it lighten our
minds. Compare Descartes (1641) (Meditation III. The Existence of God); 'I will
now close my eyes, stop my ears, call away my senses .....' and linger over the
thought of God, ponder his attributes, and gaze on the beauty of this marvellous
light.' . Rene Descartes by Bichard Lowndes, 151 and 168.

Deeoan.]

POONA. 237

flowers on it. He worsliips the conch shell and a small metal Chapter III.

water-pot which he fills with water for the gods to drink. He Population.

takes the last day's flowers, smells them, and puts them in a basket ^

so that they may be laid in a corner of his garden and not trampled Weiters.

under foot. He sets the gods in a copper plate, and bathes them P^'^^^' P^^^^^^-

with milk, curds, butter, honey, and sugar, and, touching them with Religion.

sandal powder and rice, washes them in cold water,^ and dries them

with a towel, and putting them back in their places, with the tip

of the right ring-finger marks the ling with white sandal

powder and Granpati and Surya with red. He sprinkles the gods

with turmeric, red and scented powder, and grains of rice. He

sprinkles the ling with white flowers and Ganpati with red, the U-ng

and shdligraM with bel and sweet basil leaves, and Ganpati with

bent grass or durva. He lays sugar or cooked food before them and

rings a bell which he keeps on ringing at intervals during the whole

service. He offers them sugar, cotering it with a basil leaf and

sprinkling water over the leaf, and drawing a towel over his face,

waves his fingers before the gods, and prays them to accept the

offering. Waving burning frankincense a lighted butter lamp and

camphor, and taking a few flowers in his open hands, he stands

behind the low stool on which he had been sitting and repeating

verses lays the flowers on the gods' heads, passes his open palms

above the flames, rubs them over his face, and going round the dome

where the gads' images are kept, or if there is no room turning

himself round, bows to the ground and withdraws.

He goes to the stable, sits on a low wooden, stool before the cow,
throws a few grains of rice at her, pours water over her feet, touches
her head with sandal and other powders, rice, and flowers, offers her
sugar, waves a lighted lamp, and ' goes round her once, thrice,
five, eleven, or one hundred and eight times, and, filling a ladle
with water, dips the end of her tail in it and drinks. With the same
details he worships the basil plant,^ and last of all the sun, before
whom he stands on one foot resting the other foot against his heel,
and looking toward the sun and holding out his hollowed hands
begs the god to be kindly. Then taking an offering or arghya, of
sesamum barley red sandal and water in a copper boat-shaped
vessel, he holds it on his head and presents it to the deity. These
rites are generally performed in the morning, either by the master
of the house if he has the mind and the time, or by a Brdhman, who
is a different man from the famil^^riest and is paid one or two
shillings a month.^ Before taking their morning meal the elder

* During the DivdlV. holidays the gods are rubbed with scented powder and
lathed in warm water.

^ To Prabhus, Tuhi, Krishna's wife, is the holiest of plants. No Prabhu backyard is
without its tulsi pot in an eight-cornered altar. Of its stalks and roots rosaries and
necklaces are made. Mothers worship it praying for a blessing on their husbands and
children.

8 A hired Brdhman in worshipping the family gods uses water not milk, and in
some cases the master of the house bathes the gods in water. On great worships or
mdhapujag, the gods are bathed first in milk and thea in water. In the evenings a
Hindu does not bathe his gods but puts fresh flowers on them, offers them sugar to
eat, and waves a lighted lamp before them.

[Bombay Gazetteer,

238

DISTEIOTS.

Chapter III.

Population,

Writers.
Vr^jiw Prabhus.
Fasts and Feasts.

Month Days,

women of the house, especially widows, tell their beads^ sitting on the'
low stools in the god-room with rosaries in thnir hands. The other
women worsMp the gods and the basil plant when- their husbands
have gone to office. At any time in the morning or evening, before
taking their -meals, the boys come into the god-room and say
Sanskrit prayers.

The Hindu month lias two parts, the bright fortnight called the
shuddh or shuhla pakslia that is the clean half, and the dark fortnight
called the vadya or Terishna paltsha that is the dark half. Bach
fortnight' has fifteen lunar days called tithis; the first pratipada,
the second dviUya, the third tritiya, the fourth chaturthi, the fifth
panchami, tbe sixth shashthi, the seventh saptami, the eighth ashtarrd,
the ninth navami, the tenth daslmmi, the eleventh ekddashi, the
twelfth dvddashi, the thirteenth trayodashi, the fourteenth chatur-
dashi, the fifteenth in the bright "half is punvma or full-moon, and
in the dark balf amdvdsya, literally with-living, that "is when there
is no moon because the sun and moon live together. Of these the
first lunar day whicli is called pddva both in the bright and dark
fortnights is thought lucky for any small ceremony. There are
three leading first days Gudi-pddva the banner-first in bright Ohaitra
or March -April, Bali-pratipada Bali's first in bright Kdrtik or
October -November, SindAje-pddvathe grandfather's first in Sshvin
or September- October.^ Two second days are specially sacred, -
YamdvUiyob Yam's second in bright Kdrtik or October r November
also called Bhdubij or the brother's second and Mahdbij or the
second. Two third days are important Akshayatritiya or the undying
third in bright Vaishdkh or April-May, and Earitdlika or the
bent-grass third in bright Bhddrapad October -November. Fourth
day are of two kinds, Vindyaki or Ganpati's in the light half, and
Sankashti or troublesome fourths in the dark halfs. The sahkashtis,
are by some kept as evil-averting fasts. On all bright fourths
and specially on the fourth of Bhddrapad or August -September,
Ganpati is worshipped, and at nine at night, after bowing to the
moon, rice balls are eaten. Of fifth days, Ndgpanchami • or the
cobra's fifth in bright Shrdvan or July- August, Bishipanchami or
the seers' fifth in Bhddrapad or August- September, Lalitdpaneha/mi
or Lahta's fifth iu bright Ashvin or October -November, Vasant-
panchami th.e spring, and Rangpanchami' the colour fifth in bright
jPhdlgun or March - April. Two-sixths are important Varnashasthi
or the Pulse sixth in bright Shrdvan or July-August, and the
Ohampdshashthi or the Champa sixth in bright Mdrgashirh or
December - January.^ Of the sevenths two are important Shilal

^ These rosaries or Tnalas have one hundred and eight beads made either of rough
brown berries called rudrdhsha or of light brown tuUi wood. While saying hia
prayers the devotee at each prayer drops a bead, and those whose devotions are silent _
hide their hand with the rosary in a bag of peculiar shape called the cow's mouth or
gomukhi.

■ ^ A.jepddva is celebrated for the performance of shrdddhs in the name of the grand-
father by the daughter's son while his parents are alive.

' On the Ghampdshasthi day the worshippers of Khandoba hold a feast. Brinjals
after a break of nearly five mouths, since AsMdh or June 'July, again begin to be
eaten.

DeccanJ

POONA;

239

or the cold seventli in briglit 8hrdva7i or July -August, and Rath
or the car seventli in bright Mdgh or January- February. Of the
eighths one is important Janma or the birth eighth, that is Krishna's
birthday also called Gokul from Krishna's birthplace. Of the
ninths one is important Earn or Edm's birthday in bright Chaitra
or April- May. Of the tenths, all of which are holy and kept as fasts
by the strict, the ^chief is Vijaya or Victory tenth the same as
Dasara in bright Ashvin or September -October. Of the elevenths,
all of which are holy and kept as fasts by the strict, two are
important the Ashddh eleventh in bright Ashddh or June- July, and
the Kdrtik eleventh in bright Kdrtik or October - November. Of
the twelfths, all of which are holy and kept as fasts by the strict,
two are important Vdirnan or the Dwarf Vishnu's Twelfth in bright
Bhddrapad or August - September, and Vdgh or the Tiger's
Twelfth in dark Ashvin or October -November. Of the thirteenths
called Pradosh or evening, because on that day food cannot be
eaten before looking at the stars, all are sacred to Shiva, and one ia
specially sacred if the day falls on a Saturday. ^Of these the chief
is Dhan or the Wealth Thirteenth in dark Ashvin or October-
November. Of the light fourteenths two are held in honour
Anant' or Vishnu's Fourteenth in Bhddrapad or September- October,
and Vaikunt or Vishnu's Heaven's Fourteenth in Kdrtik or
November - December. All the dark fourteenths are called Shivrdtris
or Shiv's nights. The chief are Nark or the demon Nark's
Fourteenth in Ashvin or October -November and Mahdshivardtri
or the Great Shiv's night in Mdgh or February -March. Of -the
fifteenths the bright fifteenth as Furnimas or Full Moons are sacred.
There are five chief full moons Vata or the Banyan Full Moon in
Jeshth or May- June, Nd/rali or the Coooanut Full Moon in Shrdvan'
or July -August, Kqjdgari or the Waking Full Moon in Ashvin or
October - November, the Vyds or Puran expounder also called the
Tripuri or Three Demons' Full Moon in Kdrtik or November -
December, and Eutdshani or the Fire Full Moon also called Holi
or Shimga in Phdlgun or March -April. On the dark fifteenths
called Amdvdshyas or together-dwellings cakes are offered to the
spirits of the dead. Three together-dweUings or no-moon nights are
specially holy, Divdli or Lamp No-Moon, also called Pithori or
Spirits No-Moon in Slvrdvan or August -September, Sarvapitri or
All Spirits' No- Moon in Bhddrapad or September -October, and a
second or greater DivdU or Lamp No- Moon in Ashvin or October -
November. If ^ no-moon day falls on a Monday it is called' Somvati-
or the Monday No-Moon. This is a specially holy day on which
Prabhu men and women bathe early and give Brdhmans money.

Of the days of the week Sunday or Aditvdris sacred to the sun. The
sun is a red man seated in a car, with a quoit, and sometimes a lotus
in his hand, driving a team of seven horses. The sun is the father
of some of the heavenly beings, and among men of the Kshatriya
or warrior race. He is the eye of Grod, or God himself ; Brahma ii
the morning, Vishnu at noon, and Mahddev at night. Sunday is a
good day for sowing seed, for beginning to build, for holding a fire
. sacrifice, for planting a garden, for beginning to reign, for singing
and playing, for starting on a journeyj for serving a king, for

Chapter III.
Fopnlation.

Wbiteks.

PJTUm Pbabbvs.

Month Days.

[Bombay Gazetteer,

240

DISTRICTS.

Chapter III.
Fopulatiou.

Wbitkeis.

PlTJjfB PbABSUS^

Monday,

Thursday.

buying or giving away a cow or an ox, for learning and teacWng
hymns, for taking and giving medicine, for buying weapons gold
and copper articles and dress. It is unlucky for a girl to come of
age on Sunday ; slie will die a widow. It is, unlucky to travel west,
and a lizard falling on one's body means loss of wealth. On Sunday
nights a green robe should be worn.

Monday or Somvdr is sacred to the moon. . The moon is a male
deity, large gentle and,kindly, young and sweet-faced, a warrior with
four arms, a mace in one and a lotu? in another, seated on a white
antelope. Mondayis good for begiiming a war, mounting a new horse
elephant or chariot ; for buying flowers, clothes, hay, plants, trees,
water, ornaments, conch-shells, pearls, silver, sugarcane, cows, and
she-buffaloes. It is unlucky for a girl to come of age on a Monday ;
her children will die. A blow from a falling lizard brings wealth.'
At night a parti-coloured robe should be worn.

Tuesday called • Mcmgalvdr or the day of the planet Mars. The
planet Mars, who is sprung from the sweat of Mah^dev's brow and
the earth, is four-armed, short, and fire-coloured. He is a warrior,
.quick-tempered, overbearing, and fond of excitement. Tuesday is
good to fight and to forge or work with fire, to steal, poison, burn,
kill, tell lies, hire soldiers, dig a mine, and buy coral. If a girl
comes of age on Tuesday she commits suicide. A blow from a
falling lizard takes away wealth. " On Tuesday nights a red robe
should be worn.

Wednesday is, called Budhvdr the planet Mercury's day. The
planet Mercury is the son of the moon and a star. He is middle-
sized, young, clever, -pliable, and eloquent, in a warrior's dress, and
seated in a lion-drawn car. Wednesday is good for becoming a
craftsman, for study, for service, for writing, for painting, for selling
metals, for making friends, and for arguing. It is unlucky for
going north. If a girl comes of age on a Wednesday she bears
.daughters. A blow from a falling lizard brings wealth. On
Wednesday night yellow should be worn.

Thursday, Brihaspatvdr, the planet Jupiter's day, is sacred to
Brihaspati the teacher of the gods. He is a wise old Brdhman,
large, yellow-skinned and four-armed, seated on a horse. Thursday
is a good day to open a shop, to wear ornaments, to give charity, to
worship the planets," to learn reading and writing. For a married
woman it is good for such pious acts as will prolong her married
life, for buying clothes, for house work, for going on pilgrimage,
for sitting in a chariot or on a horse, for making new ornaments, -
and for taking medicine. It is a bad day for going south.
Thursday is a good day for a girl- to come of age she will bear sons.
A blow from a falling lizard brings wealth. On Thursday nights
white should be worn.

Friday o;r Shiihrania/r, the planet Venus' day, is sacred to
Shukra the Brahman teacher of the giants, gentle, ease-loving,
middle-aged, with four arms. He is seated on a horse. Friday is
the proper day for worshipping B^laji. It is a great day for eating
parched gram. Clerks club together to lay in a store at their oflBces,
and women, to free their husbands from debt, send presents of

Deccan.]

POONA.

241

parched gram to Maratha schools. Friday is a good day for baying
precious stones, sandalwood, clothes^ a cow, treasure, for sowing
seed, for making ornaments, and for a woman to sing or hear singing.
It is a bad day to go west. A girl who comes of age on a Friday
bears daughters. A blow from a falling lizard brings wealth. On
Friday nights a white robe should be worn,

Saturday, called 8hanvdr or tbs slow mover, is the planet Saturn's
day. Shanvar, a Shudra some say a Chdndal by caste, is four-armed,
tall, thin, old, ugly, and lame, with long hair nails and teeth,
riding on a black vulture. He is sour-tempered and bad, the patron
of evil-doers, who on Saturdays make offerings at his shrine.
Saturday is good to buy metal, swords, and slaves, to sin, tb steal,
to make poison, to enter a new house, to tie an elephant at one's
door, and to preach. It is a bad day to travel east and to start
on a journey. Children who eat gram on Saturdays bring poverty
and become horses. A girl who comes of age on Saturday becomes
a bad character. A blow from a falling lizard takes away wealth.
Gn Saturday nights a black robe is worn.

The twelve Hindu months are, Ohaitra or March- April, VaiskdJch
or April -May, Jeshta or May- June, A shddh or June- July, Shrdvan
or July -August, Bhddrapad or August - September, Ashvin or
September -October, Kdrtik or October -November, Mdrgashirsh or
November-December, Paush or December- January, Mdgh or January-
February, and Fdlguh or February -March. Of these months Shrd-
van or July -August is the holiest. Almost every day in Shrdvan
is -either a fast or a feast. Its Mondays are holy to Shiv, its
Tuesdays to Shiv's spouse Mangalagauri, its Fridays to Vishnu,
and its Saturdays to Hanumant. Besides the regular months, extra
or adhik months are occasionally added, and, sometimes, though
more rarely, a month is dropped and called the kshay mds or
dropped month.^

Of special fast and feast days there are altogether twenty- six.
Of these three come in Ghaitra or March- April, Oudipddva or the
Banner-first the Shalivahdn new year on the bright first, Eam's
Birthday on the bright ninth, and Hanum^n's Birthday on the
bright fifteenth or full-moon ; one in Vaishdkh or April - May,
Akshay or the Immortal Third of the bright half ; one in Jeshta or
May -June, the Banyan Full-Moon j one in Ashddh or June -July,
the bright eleventh ; four in iS/i-rayaw, or July -August, Cobra Day
on the bright fifth, Oocoanut Day on the full-moon, Krishna's
Birthday on the dark eighth, and Durga's Attendants Day on the

Chapter IIL

Fopulatioiiu

Writeks,
PatAne Prabevb,

Saturday.

Months.

Holidays.

^ Professor Kem Lakshman Chhatr6 has kindly given the following explanation of
extra and suppressed months.. As the Hindu year is a lunar year fitted to solar
periods it falls short of the solar year by eleven days, or in three years by a mouth
and three days. To each of the twelve lunar months one of the twelve Zodiacal
divisions or sanhrdnts is allotted, and as the sanhrdnts vary in length from twenty-nip e
to thirty-two and a half days, while the lunar months are all about twenty-nine and
a half days, it sometimes happens that a lunar month passes without any gankrdnt
and sometimes that two Sfmkrd/nts fall in the same lunar month. If no sankrdnt
falls a month is put in and if two sanhrdnts fall a month is suppressed. Extra
months do not come at regular intervals, but in nineteen years seven of them occur.
Suppressed months are rarer ; the last was in 1823 (ShaJc 1744), the B.ext will fall in
1964 {Shak i«85).

B 310— 31

[Boml)ay Gazetteer,

242

DISTRICTS.

Chapter III.

Population.

Writers.
PItAne Prabbxis,

OudiptSdva-

BAm'i Ninth.

no-moon ; seven in Bhddrapad or August- September, Haritalika's
Day on tlie bright third, Ganpati's Birthday on the bright fourth",
the Seers' Day on the bright fifth, Gauri's Day on the bright eighth
or ninth, V^man's Day on the bright twelfth, Anant's Day on the
bright fourteenth, and All Souls Day'-on the dark fourteenth ; three
in Ashvin or September- October, Dasara the bright tenth, Kojdgar'i
the full-moon, and the first two DivdK days the dark fourteenth
and fifteenth; three in Kdrtik or October -November, the last two
Divdli days the first and second of the bright half, the last of which
is also known as Yam's Second, the Basil Wedding-day on the
bright, eleventh, and the Lamp FuUrMoon; one in Paush or
December -January, a variable lunar day Makar Sanltrdti or the
Sun's entry into Capricorn; one in Mdgh or January- February
Shiv's Night on the dark fourteenth ; and one in Fdl'gun or .
February- March the Holi Full- Moon.

' Qudipddva, the Banner First, is the first day of Ohaitra or March-
April and the first day of the Shalivahd,n year. The day is sacred
to the Deccan king Shalivahan whose nominal date is a.d. 78. The
story is that in Pratishthd,n or Paithan on the God^vari, about forty ,
miles north-east of Ahmadnagar, the daughter of a Brdhman became
with child by Shesh the serpent kiag, and was turned out of the city.
She went to live among the potters and bore a son named ShAli-
vah£n. As a child Shalivahan martialled armies of clay, figures,
drilled his playfellowsi and settled their quarrels showing surprising
talent and wisdom. News of his talent came to Somkrdnt the king.
He sent for the boy, but the boy would not come. The king brought
troops to take him by force, and Shdlivahan breathed life into his
clay figures, defeated the king, and took his throne. On this day
Prabhus bathe early in the morning, rub themselves with scented
oil, and to secure sweets for the rest of the year eat a leaf of the
bitter nim, Azadirachta indica. From one of the front windows
of every Prabhu's house a bamboo pole is stretched, capped with
a silver or brass water-cup, a silk waistcloth hanging to it as a flag,,
with a long garland of bachelor's button-flowers and mango leaves.
Below the flag, in a square drawn by lines of quartz powder, is a
high .metal or wooden stool, and on the stool, in honour -of the
water-god, is a silver or brass pot full of fresh water on whose
mouth are set some mango leaves and a cocoanut. After an hour
or two the water-pot and stool are taken into the house, but the
flag is left flyiSg till evening. During the day a Brdhman reads
out Maratha almanacs, telling whether the season will be hot or
wet, healthy or sickly, and for each person whether the year will
go well or ill with him. In the evening every family has a specially
rich dinner. - New year's day is good for beginning a house, putting
a boy to school, or starting a business.

Eight days later on the ninth oiChaitra, or about the beginning
of April, comes Bdmnavami or Eam's Ninth, the birthday of
the seventh incarnation of VishnUj Edm, the hero of the R^miyan
who became man to fight R^van the giant-ruler of Ceylon. For
eight days preparations have been made, R^m's temples are white-
washed, adorned with paintings and, brightly lighted at night. Men

Deocan.]

POONA.

243

and women throng them to hear Brahmans read the Ed,m4yan^
and Hariddses or Edm's slaves preach his praises.^ On the ninth
or birthday before noon, Erabhus, especially men and children^
flock in holiday dress to Edm's temple, and listen to a preacher
telling how Ed,m was born, and to dancing-girls singing and
dancing. At noon, the hour of birth, the preacher retires, and comes
again bringing a cocoanut rolled in a shawl like a newborn babe,
and showing it to the people lays it in a cradle. He tells the
people that this is the god who became man to kill the wicked
Eavan. The people rise, bow to the god, and full of joy toss red-
powder, fire guns, and pass to each other sunthvada or presents of
powdered dry ginger and sugar. Then all but the devout go home,
and dine freely on wheat cakes, butter, sugar, milk, and fruit, rice
fish and flesh being forbidden. In the evening they flock to the
temples once more to hear Eam'a praises.

Six days after Eam's birthday, on the bright fifteenth or full-
moon of Ohaiira, generally early in April, comes the birthday of
Eam's general Hanumdn the monkey-god. In Hanumdn's temples
Brdhman preachers tell Hanuman's exploits. Some old Prabhu
women keep the day as a fast eating nothing but fruits and roots.

About eighteen days later on the third of Vaishakh, generally
about the beginning of May, comes the Undying Third or
Akshayatritiya. It gets its name because being the first day of the
Satya Yug or the first cycle it is believed to secure the merit of
permanency to any act performed on the day. For this reason gifts
of earthen jars, fans, umbrellas, shoes, and money made to Brdhmans
have a lasting value both to the giver and to his dead friends. The
day is not specially kept either as a feast or as a fast.

The Vad Pornima or Banyan Full-Moon falls about five weeks
later on the Jeshta full-moon, generally early in June. On this day,
io prolong their husbands' lives, Prabhu women hold a festival in
honour of Sdvitri from which the day is also called VadsAvitri or
Sdvitri's Banyan. This lady, who was the daughter of king Ashva-
pati, chose as her husband Satyavan the son of king Dumatsen. Soon
after Sdvitri made her choice the seer N^rad came to Ashvapati
and told him that Dumatsen had become blind and lost his kingdom,
and was wandering in the forests with his wife and son. Ashvapati
wished his daughter to change her choice, but she would not, and,
though the seer told her that within a year of their marriage her
husband would die, she refused to give him up. Seeing that she
was not to be shaken, Ashvapati marched into the forest, and, giving

. his daughter a large dowry, married her to Satyavan. For a year
she served her husband and his father and mother. Two days
before the close of the year, when according to the seer's prophecy
her husband must die, S^vitri began to fast. On the second day,
though she asked him to stay at home, Satyavdn took his axe and
went into the forest. Savitri followed and in spite of her prayers
Satyavan went on and fell dead as he was hacking a fig tree. As

• Siivitri sat by him weeping, Yama, the god of death, came and took
Satyav^n's soul. Savitri followed him and prayed him to give her
back her husbaad's soul. Tam refused, but Savitri persisted, until

Chapter III.
Fopalation.

PJ.rJ,NS Pbabbus.
Holidays,

Eamim&n't Births

ATcishayatritiya.

Banyan FtUUMoaa.

[Bombay Gazetteer,

244

DISTRICTS.

Chapter III.
Fopnlatioo.

Weiters.

PAtajhe Pbabbus-

Holidays.

Bam/an Full-Moon.

Ashudhi Ek&dashi.

Cobra Day.

he promised to give her anything short iti her husband's Hfe. She
asked that her father-in-law might regain his sight and Tarn
granted this boon ; Sdvitri still followed Yam and, refusing to let
him go, gained from him her father-in-law's kingdom, a hundred
sons for her father, and sons for herself. Then she once more,
pleaded, ' How can I have children if you take my husband,' and
the god, pleased with her faith, granted her prayer. She went back
to the tree and touched her dead husband, and he rose, and they
returned together to their home. She touched her father-in-law's
eyes and brought back their sight, and with his sight he received
his kingdom. On the morning of this day, after bathing and
dressing in rich silk clothes, married Prabhu woraen worship the
Indian fig tree or vad. In front of a wall where pictures of a vad
and a,pipal tree have been painted, the woman sets a high wooden
stool with a vad twig on it, and sits on a low wooden stool and
worships the twig. When the worship is over she gives the priest'
a present called vdhcm and touching it with the end of her robe
repeats verses.^ She gives the priest one to two shillings, and the
priest touching her brow with redpowder and throwing a few
grains of rice over her, blesses her saying, ' May you remain mar-
ried till your life's end and may god bless, you with eight sons.'
The chief dish on this occasion is mango-juice and fi.ne soft rice-
flour cakes called pithpolis. Some women in performing this cere-
mony live for three days on fruit, roots, and milk.

About, twenty-six days after the Banyan Full-Moon, generally
about the beginning of July, the eleventh of Ashad or June -July
is kept in honour of the Summer Solstice, that is the twenty-first of
June. This is the beginning of the gods' night, when, leaning on
Shesh the serpent king, the gods sleep for four months.

About three weeks later on the bright fifth of Shrdvan, generally
about the end of July, Prabhu women worship the nag or cobra.
On a wooden stool nine snakes are drawn with sandalwood powder
or redlead. Of the nine two are full grown and seven are young ;
one of the young snakes is crop-tailed. At the foot is drawn a
tenth snake with seven small ones, a woman holding a lighted lamp,
a stone slab, and a well with a snake's hole close to it. All married
women sit in front of the drawing and each throws . over it parched
grain, pulse, round pieces of plantains,, cucumber, and cocoa
kernel. Leaf-cups filled with milk and j)ulse are placed close by,
redlead is sprinkled, and flowers are laid on the redlead. They
pray the snakes to guard them and their families and withdraw.
The eldest among them gathers the children of the house and tells
them this story of the Nine Snakes and the Woman with the Lamp.
A village headman had seven daughters-in-law. Six of them he
liked and the seventh he hated, and, because she was an orphan, he
made her do all the housework and live on scraps left in the cooking

1 The present includes a round bamboo basket with a bodioecloth, a looking
glass, five glass bangles, a necklace of black glass beads with a gold button, a comb,
small round redpowder boxes, lamp-black and turmeric, five mangoes, a oocoanut, "
betel, sprouting pulse, a glass spangle, and a copper coin . The whole is covered with
another bamboo basket rolled round with thread.

Deccan.]

POONA.

2d5

pots. One day, while the seven girls were at the house well, the six
were boasting that their relations had come to take them home for
a feast ; the seventh was silent, she had no home to go to. Prom
their hole close by a male and female snake overheard the talk, and
the male snake told his wife, who was then with young, that he
would ask the seventh daughter-in-law to their feast and keep her
till, his wife's confinement was over. In the afternoon, when the
orphan went to graze the cattle, the male snake, in the form of a
handsome youth, came to her and said ; ' Sister, I am one day coming
to take you home, so when I come be ready.' One day when the
house people had dined, the orphan took the cooking pots to clean
by the well side. She gathered the scraps in one pot and went to
bathe on the other side of the well. While she was bathing the
female snake came out of her hole and ate the scraps. The orphan
came back to eat her dinner, and finding it gone, instead of cursing
the thief, she blessed him, saying, ' May the stomach of the eater
be cooled/ Hearing these words the female snake was overjoyed,
and told her husband to lose no time in bringing the orphan home.
Tlje male snake, taking human form, went to the headman's house
and told the orphan he was come to take her home. She asked no
qaestions and went. As they w'ent the snake told her who he was,
and that on entering his hole he would turn into a snake. She was
to hold him fast by the tail and follow. Trusting and obedient the
girl followed the snake, atid, at the bottom of the hole, found a
beautiful gold house inlaid with gems, and in the middle, on a
hanging swing of precious stones, a female snake big with young.
While the orphan held a lighted lamp the snake gave birth to seven
young ones. One of them climbed on to the girl and she in her
fright let fall the lamp and it cut o.fB part of the snake's tail. When
the brood of snakes grew up they laughed at the crop-tailed snake,
and he in anger, finding how he had been maimed, vowed to kill
the headman's daughter. He made his way into the house on a day
which chanced to be Ndgpanchami Day. He found the girl worship-
ping snakes and laying out food for them. Pleased with her
kindness the crop-tailed snake kept qi^iet till the girl left the room,
ate the offering, and went back and told his parents of the girl's
devotion. The old snakes rewarded her freely, making her rich and
the mother of many children. When the story is over the children
and the rest of the family have a good meal, chiefly of rice-flour
balls. Bands of snake-charmers go about calling on people to
worship their snakes, and the people worship them, offering parched
pulse, grain, milk, and a copper coin. On the same day a fair is
held in honour of snakes., Prabhu women fill leaf-cups with milk
and pulse and place them in corners of the garden for snakes to feed
on. As they are hurtful to snakes, no grinding baking or boiling
are allowed in Prabhu houses on the Cobra's F2th.

About ten days later, generally early in August, on the full-moon
of Shrdvan, comes Ooeoanut Day or Ndrli-pomima. In the even-
ixig, after a hearty afternoon meal, Prabhu men and children go
to the river- side, and to win the favour of the water throw in
cocoanuts. On going home the men and children are seated on low
wooden stools, emd tfe women of the house wave a lighted lamp

Chapter in.

Fopulatiou.

Wkiteks.

PJ.T4irB Pbassus,

Holidays.

. Cobra Dav-

[Bombay Gazetteer,

246

DISTRICTS.

Chapter III.

Population. \

Wkitees.

'PJ.tJ.ne Pbabbus.

Holidays.

Janma and GokuC
Ashtami.

PWutry&g So-Moon.

Alika's Day.

Garts^aWt Birtliday.

round their faces, tlie men according to tteir means presenting'
them "with Is. to 12s. (8 as. - Es. 6).

Eight days after, about the middle of August, comes a festival in
honour of Krishna, either his birthday or the day after when he was
taken to Gokul. The story is that Kansa, Krishna's uncle, hearing'
that Krishna would cause his death, tried to destroy him as a child
but failed. This is the cowherds' great day. Covering themselves
with dust and holding hands they dance in a circle, calling out
Govinda, Gopdla, Narayana, Hari. Curds, milk, and cold water are
thrown over them, and they get presents of cocoanuts, plantains, and
money. Those who keep the birthday observe it as a fast ; those
who keep the second or Gokul day observe it as~a feast.

About a week after, at the Shrdvan neW-moon, generally towards
the end of August^ comes the worship of the Pithoryds or attendants
of the goddess Durga. Married women with children alive bathe
in the early morning and fast. On a high stool or wall, redlead
pictures of Durga's sixty-four attendants are drawn and wor-
shipped. Then the oldest woman of the family ofEers the goddesses
the leaves of sixteen kinds of trees and flowers and a bunch of five
to twenty-one cocoanuts, and prays her to bless the children of the
house. Then, arranging dishes of prepared food round her, the
worshipper calls the children one by one, asking them in turn who
is worthy to eat the ofEerings. The child answers, I am worthy.
This is thrice repeated and the worshipper touches the ■ child's
brow with redlead, and, throwing grains of rice over it, blesses it
and gives it the plate. The children and grown people sit down
together and eat the food.

Three weeks later in Bhddrapad or August- September comes a
fast in honour of the maid Alika. A king's daughter had vowed to
wed none but Shiv. Her father, not knowing of her vow, offered
her in marriage to Vishnu. Hearing this the king's daughter, with the
help of her maid retired to a deep forest, refusing to move unless she
was allowed to marry Shiv. In her honour, getting up early in the ■
morning Prabhu women bathe, wash their hair and putting on a silk
robe and bodice draw a quarts square and in it set a high wooden
stool. Sitting before it on a low stool they lay a handful of sand in the
middle of the high stool and with the sand make figures of Pdrvati
and Sakhi, Shiv's wife and maid, and in front of them a ling. These
three they worship with flowers and the leaves of sixteen kinds of
trees, and as in the, Vadtdvatri fast present the Brd,hman priest with
two round bamboo baskets and Is. to 2s. (8-as. - Re. 1) in money.
On this day women drink no water and eat nothing but plantains
and melon or chihud. Next morning they again worship the sand
images, ofEering them cooked rice and curds and cast them into the
river, or into some out-of-the-way placer

Next, on the fourth of Bhddrapad, generally late in August, comes
the birthday, of Ganesh or Ganpati, the god of wisdom and of
beginnings, in figure a fat man, seated, with four hands, and an
elephant's head- Of the stories of Ganpati's birth the commonest
is that Parvati, Shiv's Wife, from oil and turmeric rubbed off her own
body, made a man and set him to guard her door. Shiv coming

DeccanJ

POONA.

247

in, annoyed at being stopped by the watcbman, cut off bis head.
Hearing this P^rvati demanded that her son's life should be restored,
and Shiv going into the forest cut off a one-tusked she-elephant's
head and setting it on Ganpati's shoulders brought back his life,
making him for his trustiness god of wisdom.

Some time before Ganpati's birthday the reception hall is
whitewashed and painted, a wooden framework or other seat is
made ready, and the room is filled with rich furniture and at
night is brightly lit. On the morning of the feast day the head
of the house and some children and servants, with music and a
palanquin, go to the market and buying an image of the god,^
seat it in the palanquin, and bring it home. At the house the
mother of the family waves a lighted lamp before the god and
it is laid down till the head of the house is ready to worship it.
It is then set in the shrine and with the help of the family priest
verses are recited that fill the image with the presence of the god.
The image of a mouse, Ganpati's pet charger, is placed close to it.
After the worship, the head of the house, with a lighted lamp in his
hand and with his sons and relations round him, standing in front of
the image, plays and sings hymns in praise of the god. This is done
shortly in the morning and in the evening at greater length. At the
end of the service sweetmeats are handed round among the guests
and family. In the morning of the first day, at the end of the
worship, the family feast on sweet-spiced rice-flour balls, and in the
evening the mice are allowed to share in the feast. Ganpati, they
say, one evening fell off his mouse. The moon laughed at the god's
mishap, and to punish him Ganpati vowed that no one should ever
look at the moon again. The moon prayed to be forgiven and the
god agreed that themoon should be disgraced only one night in the
year, Ganpati's birth-night. For this reason no one on that night
will look at the moon.

According to the will and means of the family the image is kept
in the house from one and a half to twenty-one days, in most cases
about a week. So long as it is in the house the god is worshipped
night and morning. When the time comes fOr the god to go, in. the
evening players and a palanquin are hired, and a priest is called in.
After praying Ganpati to bless the family, to keep sorrow from its
doors, and to give wisdom to its^ children, verses like those that
brought the presence of the god into the image are said and its
divinity is withdrawn. Then waving a lamp round its face, laying
a little curds in one of its hands, and seating it in a flower-decked
palanquin, calling out the god's name as they go, they carry him to
the side of a lake or river. At the water's edge they take the image
out of the palanquin' and seat it on the ground, and waving a lighted
lamp round its face carry it into the water sorrowing that for
another year they will not see the god again.

Chapter III.

Fopulation.

Wkitbks.

PXtIne Prabhus.

Holiday!.

Ganpati's Birthdai;.

1 Ganpati's image ig of gilt or painted clay, with four hands, a big belly,' and an
elephant's head. It is either made in the house or bought from men, chiefly of the
Deccan Brahman caste, whose sole calling is the making of Ganpatis. The cost
varies from a few pence to £15 or £20. Some do not buy clay Ganpatis but with
rice grains on a plate trace an image of the god known as the pearl Ganpati,

[Bombay Gazetteer,

248

DISTRICTS.

Chapter III.
Population.

Writers.

■PJ-tAnb Pbabbus.

JSolidaya.

Girnri-

Vdman DvddasU.

BMdrapad brigM-fifth, the day after GanesFs birtliday, is kept
in honour of the Bishis or Seers who sit in, heaven as the seven stars
in the Great Bear. The day is kept only by women. Their chief
rule is to eat nothing that is not- hand-grown. Anything in which
the labour of cattle or other animals has been used in rearing or
bringing to market is forbidden. So hand-grown fruit and
vegetables are on that day sold at four times their usual price.

On Bhddrapad bright-eighth or ninths the third or fourth day after
Ganesh's bii-thday, women hold a feast in honour of. his mother -
Pd,rvati or Gauri. In the morning ten or twelve balsam or terda
plants are bought for an ann^ or so and hung on the eaves. About
two in the afternoon, over the whole of the house, women draw
quartz powder lines six inches apart and between them trace with
sandal powder footsteps two in a line and four or five inches apart..
An elderly married woman, taking one or two of the balsam plants,
washes their roots and folds them in a silk waistcloth.^

This representing the goddess Gauri is laid in a girl's arms, who
carrying a metal plate with a lighted lamp, a few rice grains, a red-
powder box, and some round pieces of plantains, and taking with her
a boy with a bell,, starts through the house, the boy ringing the bell
as they go. In each room the woman seats the girl who carries the
goddess on a raised stool, waves a lighted lamp round the faces
of the girl and of the goddess, and, giving the girl and the boy a bit
of plantain, calls ' Lakshmi, Lakshmi, haye- yOu come ? ' The girl
says, ' I have come.' The woman asks, 'What have you brought ;'•
ihe girl says, '' Horses, elephants, armies, and heaps of treasure
enough to fill your house and the city.' Thus they go from one room to
another, filling the house with treasure and bringing good luck. "When
they have been through the whole house, the goddess is seated on a
high stool in the women's hall leaning against a wall, on which have
been painted a Prabhu's house and all it holds. At lamplight the
goddess is offered plantains, cakes, and milk, and at night she is richly
dressed, decked with jewels, and with lamps lighted before her is
offered milk and sugar. The next day is a time of great rejoicing,
when many dishes of sweetmeats, fish, and mutton are cooked,
offered to the goddess and eaten.^ During the day Kunbi and Koli
women and the house servants dance -before the goddess and are
well paid. On the third day the goddess is offered cooked food, and
about three o'clock she is laid in a winnowing ian, stripped of
her ornaments, except her nosering glass bangles and necklace of
black glass beads, and with some cooked food tied to her apron and
four copper coins is placed in a servant's arms. Without looking
behind him, while an elderly woman sprinkles water on his footsteps,
the servant walks straight out of the house to the river or lake
side, and, leaving the goddess in the water, brings back the silk
waistoloth, the winnowing fan, a little water, and five pebbles.

Vdman Dvddashi or Vantan's Twelfth falling on the twelfth of
Bhddrapad generally in September, is sacred to Vdman, the black

^ Prabhu women call tlie balsam roots Gauri's feet,

''The dish ofifered to the goddess varies in different families. Some offer
vp^etablna. some ninklAfl. anrnp. fiflh. anmfi coat's flfinb. n.nrl anmo a nnn.lr n.nrl liniinr.

Deooan.]

POONA.

249

Brahman dwarf, the fifth incarnation of Vishnu. Vdman's story
is that to keep the religious merit of the great king Bali from
winiiiiig him the rule over the three worlds, Vishnu appeared at
his court as a Brahman dwarf. He beat all other Brd,hman8 in
explaining the holy books and the king asked him what gift he would
wish. Vdman said, 'As much space as lean cover in three strides.'
The king agreed, and the god, filling the earth with his first step
and the air with his second, took his third step on the king's head
and drove him into the bottomless pit. On Vdman's Day old
Prabhu women fast and give BrAhmans money presents.

Some Prabhus keep the day before All Hallows Day, that is the
bright-fourteenth of Bhddrapad or August- September in honour of
Anant or Vishnu. If a Prabhu by. chance finds a silk string with
fourteen knots he takes it home and lays it by.^ On the fourteenth of
Bhddradpad with his whole family he fasts, and in the evening places
on a raised stool two metal pots filled with cold water, representing
the "holy rivers Ganga and Jamna, and covering the water-pots
with a metal plate, he lays in the plate a snake made of the
sacred darba grass, and close by a string called anant-dora with
fourteen bead-like round moveable knots, the whole generally
worked with gold and silver lace. Then with the help of the priest
he worships the gods Anant and Shesh, and the goddesses Ganga
and Jamna, offering them fourteen kinds of flowers, leaves, fruits,
and sweetmeats, and ending with a feast in honour of Vishnu. The
thread is either worn or laid by for a year. At the end of the year
a new thread is bought and worshipped and the old one is made
over to the priest. The worship of this thread should be kept up for
over fourteen years and should then cease. The practice is observed
both by men and women, and begins only when a chance thread is
found.

A day after Anant's Day, the second of the dark half of the month
of Bhddrapad or August-September called Pitripaksha or the Spirits'
Fortnight is'sacred to the spirits of ancestors. In the name of each
ancestor, both men and women, funeral rites or shrdddh are perform-
ed on the day corresponding to the day of death. The ninth day
known as avidhvd-navmi, is kept for rites in honour of unwidowed
mothers. And on the fourteenth day there is an All Hallows
No-moon or sarvapitriamavdsya, for any ancestors whose worship may
have been left out.. The shrdddh is generally performed by the
head of each family at midday on the ground-floor of the house. The
object of the rite is to improve the ancestors' state in the spirit
world. "When the rite is over dishes of rice, milk, and sweetmeats
are left on the tiles for the crows to feed on, and a rich dinner with
spiced milk is given to relations and friends.

A day or two after All Hallows are sacred to Durga the wife
of Shiv. The first nine are known as the Navrdtra or nine nights,
and the last as the Dasara or tenth. Some Prabhus fast during

Chapter III.
Fopulation..

Writees.

PJ.tJ.NB PBABHVa.

EoUdaya,

Pitripaksha.

ifawdtra.

1 The string worshipped by Prabhu women has one line with fourteen knots ;
those worshipped by men have two or three lines with the same number of knots as
the women's.

B 310—32

[Bombay Gazetteer,

250

DISTRICTS.

Chapter III.
Population.

Writers.

PJ.TASE Prabhus.

Soliddya.

Nawiitra.

Jhirga's Tenth
Jlasara.

Daiara.

the nine days, living on fruits and roots. • On the ninth the goddesS
Durga is worshipped, a sacred fire is lit, and fed with firewood and
butter. Daring these days married women of the Konkan Vadval or
Oartkeeper caste with a hollow dried gourd wrapped in cloth hanging
from their right arm, -beg in Bhavdni's name from house to house.
Bach day they are given a handful of rice and on one of the nine days
an elderly married woman of each household worships the hollow
gourd. _ A Vadval woman and her husband are called j a quartz
square is drawn, and the hollow gourd placed in it on a low stool.
The worshipper rubs the outside of the gourd with turmeric and
redpowder and a few grains of rice, fastens a spangle on it, and
filling it with rice waves a lighted lamp before it. The Vadval's
wife rubs her own -hands mth turmeric powder and fastens on
her brow redpowder and a spangle, and before her and her gourd
the worshipper waves a lighted lamp. The Vddval man is given
some rice and oil, and blessing the worshipper, he blows the conch
shell.-^ Married and unmarried girls and women go to one another's
houses during these nine days. Seated on mats spread in the
women's hall, their arms are rubbed with turmeric powder ; their
brows adorned with redpowder and glass spangles; their heads
crowned with flowers, and their laps filled with parched rice,
betelnut and leaves, and a few copper coins.^

Early in the morning of the tenth or Dasara, the day on which
Durga slew the monster Mahish^sur, Prabhus bathe and worship their
house gods. In front of the house the women trace a quartz square*
and in honour of the five Pd,ndavs set five cowdung balls on a leaf
in the middle of the square and sprinkle flowers and redpowder
or guldl over the balls. , Those who own a horse have him brought
in front of the house. Grarlands of bachelor's button-flowers are
thrown round his neck and tied round his feet, a shawl is laid on
his back, and a mlarried woman, coming out of the house holding a
plate with a lighted lamp, a cocoanut, sugar-cake, redpowder, a
few grains of rice, betelnut and leaves, and a silver coin, rubs his
forehead with redpowder and rice, gives ^him sugar to eat, and
laying the betelnut, leaves, cocoanut and silver coin at his forefeet,
waves a lighted lamp before his face.*

Besides the coin offered to his horse, the groom gets a few shil-
lings and a tarban or a suit of clothes. In the evening, after a
hearty meal of mutton and sweetmeats, Prabhus take their children
and carrying branches of the dpta tree Bauhinia racemosa, go to
Devi's temple and offer her dpta or shami Mimosa suma leaves and

^ Only on this day does a Prabhu allow a conch-shell t? be blown in his house.
At any other time the sound of the conch is supposed to blow everything, out of a
Prabhu's house.

" Some of these girls collect during these nine days one to two rupees at the
rate of two or three pies (Jrf. -§d.) from each house. The Poena Prabhus have given
up this ceremony. It is still observed in Bombay.

^ From this day, in different coloured powders, Prabhu women begin to trace
pictures of trees and houses on the ground in front of their doors. They go oil
making these drawings for about six weeks. ' ,

* It is said that the horse-loving Arjun washed his horses' feet, threw garlands ol. •!
flowers round their necks, and patted them. ' '-

Deooan.]

POONA.

251

B. copper coin.^ They then go visiting their friends and relations,
greet each other, and offer an dpta leaf and embrace >^ On his
return home, his wife, standing in the doorway or seating her
husband in the house on' a low stool, touches his brow with red-
powder, and rice, and giving him sugar to eat and laying a cocoanut
in his hands waves a lighted lamp before his face. The husband
drops 4s. to £1 (Rs. 2-10) in the plate, and washing his hands and
feet sets a stool close to the house gods, and on the stool lays a
Bword, a gun,^ a sheet of paper with carefully written sentences in
English Mardthi and as many other languages as he knows, a pen,
a ruler, a penknife, and inkpot and sacred books. He touches these
with' sandal and redpowder, lays on each an dpta and a shami leaf,
and asks them to keep his house safe during the year.

Abut five days after Dasara generally in Aslivin or. September -
October comes the Kqjdgari Pornimcu feast. About eight in the
evening Parvati Shiv's wife is worshipped. A supper is eaten of rice
cooked in milk and sugar, and gram-flour cakes mixed with
plantains, onions, brinjals, and potatoes and boiled either in butter
or oil, and after supper men and women play chess till midnight.*
A week later comes the Athvinda or eighth day feast, when a
servant draws a line of ashes, and lays castor-oil leaves on the
veranda and other parts of the house.

This and the Khojdgari festival in the week before lead to the
great feast of Divdli. This, the lamp or diva feast, in honour of the
goddess Lakshmi and of Vishnu's victory over the demon Sdriki,
lasts four days, the two last days of Ashvin or September-October and
the two first days of Kartik or October -November. The day before
the feast large metal water-pots are filled and placed in the house.
An elderly woman, taking an dghdda Achyranthes aspera plant, cuts
from it six one-iach pieces, and as many more as there are persons in
thehouse including servants. These pieces she lays in a round bamboo
basket, and near them the cut fruit of the chirhati creeper. She takes
a, castor-oil leaf, lays in it the bark of a plant called tdkia, used both
^or food and as a drug, and a few blades of fine grass, and folding the
leaf lays it in the bamboo basket. In this way she prepares a packet
for each- of the household. Then taking a metal plate she makes
as many rice-flour lamps as she has made packets, and putting two
wicks and oil in each, dusts its rim in three places with redpowder
and places the plate close to the bamboo basket. She then makes
an extra rice-flour lamp and placing it by the house wall lights it in
honour of the god Yam. She washes her hands and in another dish
makes ready another five-wick lamp, and, with a cocoanut, a few rice
grains, and a box of redpowder, lays it in the plate. Lastly she
fills cups with sweet smelling spices, oil, and cocoa-milk. Then, as

Chapter III.

Foptdation.

Writbrs.

PXtAnb Pravhvs,

Holidays.

Daxara.

K<sdgari Pomima.

Divdli.

^ Oa this day dpta leaves are called gold apparently because on this day their
power to scare spirits is as great as the spirit-scaring power of gold.

= On this day if a BrAhman and a Prabhu meet they exchange leaves and the Prabhu
bows to the Brihman and gives him ^d. to Is. (J - 8 as. )

•iPrabhus worship the sword and gun as they claim Khsatriya descent.

* People play chess on this night in the hope that Pirvati will bring them cari-
' 1 of treasure.

[Bombay Oazetteer,

252

DISTRICTS.

Chapter III.

Population.

Wbitbes.
PJ.tJ.ne Prabbus.

DwAli.

Vishnu promised him, in Narkdsur's honour every nook and corner
of the house is lighted. Till eight or nine at night children let off
fireworks and then all feast on sweetmeats and other dainties. Next
morning a married woman rises about three and drawing a square
in the entrance room, places a low stool in the square and close to
the stool sets the cups of spices and scented oil, and, on each side of
the stool, sets a lighted brass lamp. The head of the house sits on
the stool and the barber or some house serrant rubs him with rice-
flour, spices, and oil, and his top-knot with cocoanut milk. He next
sits facing the east on a high wooden stool in a square traced in the
-yard in front of the house-door and bathes, and putting on a waist"
cloth and turban stands in front of the house door. As he stands
his wife or some other married woman of the family takes the
five-wick lamp and a flour-lamp, places the flour-lamp at one side
of the doorway, and marking his brow with redpowder and a feW
grains of rice, hands him a cocoanut, and waves the lighted lamp
before ,his face. He gives back the cocoanut, touches the flour-
lamp with the toe of his left foot, and enters the house.^ After
the head of the house, the other men of the family bathe in turn, and
when all are bathed feast on sweetmeats. Then they worship the
house gods, dress in rich clothes, and either go visiting or sit on
the veranda talking. The married women dine at noon, and sit
tracing drawings before the house door, while an old woman makes
ready sixteen lights and sets them on a high stool. At dusk an
elderly married woman sets the stool with its sixteen lights in the
middle of the square drawn in front of the house.^ Then placing
near the stool a cocoanut, betelnut and leaves, a plantain, a sugar
ballj and a copper coin, she bows to the lights and walks into the
house. As the people of the house gather round the lamps, letting
off fireworks and making merry, one of the servants takes a light
from the stool and carrying it hid in his hands, goes to a neigh-
bour's house and tries without being seen to place his master's
light among their lights, saying, as he lays it down, * Take this son-
in-law, jdvai ghya.' Other servants are on the look-out for him and,
as he steals in, try without putting out his light to duck him with
water. In this merrymaking and in letting off fireworks two hours
are spent. Then the high stool is taken into the house with as many
of the lights as are left on it. On the second day nothing special is
done except, bathing in the morning in front of the house. In the
evening the head of the family worships Lakshmi the- goddess oi
wealth. On the third day, a servant rises at one in the morning,
sweeps the house, and, ga.thering the sweepings into a bamboo
basket, lays on the basket an old broom, a light, some betel, and
four copper coins, and waving the basket in front of each room, says.:
Iddpidajdvo Baliche raj yevo, ' May evils go and Bali's kingdoni.
come.' While the servant says this, a woman walks -behind him as far

1 This is done in memory of Vishnu's fight with the giant Narkd,SHr. After kill-
ing the giant, Vishnu entered the city early in the morning. The people lighting up
'the city, received him with great joy, the women going, out to meet him and waving
lighted lamps before his face. _

' To make these sixteen, lights, two one-inch pieces of «i^«< are taken and about
half an inch on the top is hollowed and filled with oil and wicks.

Deccan.]

POONA.

259«.

as the house door, beating a winnowing fan with a stick and urging
the servant to keep saying the verse without stopping. She
drives him to the house door telling him not to look back, and he
goes out, lays the sweepings by the roadside, and brings back the
coin. He then rubs himself with oil, and without touching any one
bathes in warm water. When the servant's bath is over the house
people bathe one after another. Then, as Vishnu promised, the head
of the house takes a metal image of king Bali on horseback, dresses
it and sets it on a high stool with twenty-one brass lamps round it.^
At dawn he sets the god in front of the house, and the household
let ofE fireworks, play games of chance, and give money to Brdhmana
and other beggars who swarm in front of their houses. The last of
the Divdli days is Yamadvitiya or Yam's Second or Bhdubij also
called the Brother's Second. On this day Yam, the lord of death,
came to see his sister the river Jamna, and she won from him the
promise that no man who on this day goes to his sister's house and
gives and gets presents will be cast into hell. So on this day
Prabhus go to their sisters' houses. The sister draws a square of
quartz-powder lines, seats her brother in the square on a low stool,
and waves a lighted lamp before his face. He gives her 2s. to £ I
(Es.1-10) and she gives him a waistcloth and a rich dinner of
milk and sweetmeats.

Nine days after Yam's Second, on the bright eleventh of Kdrtik
generally in October, a day is kept in honour of the marriage of the
holy basil or tulsi with the god Vishnu. The h-ead of the house fasts
in the early part of the day. At noon the basil-pot is coloured red
and yellow and a square of quartz powder is drawn round it. After
breaking his fast the head of the house, with the help of the family
priest, worships the basil and an image of Vishnu. Then, with
Vishnu's image in his hands, he stands in front of the plant, a shawl
is drawn between the image and the plant and held by two married
men, the priest repeating verses, and the house people, both men
and women, at the end of each v*rse throwing grains of rice over
the plant and the image. When the verses are done, the curtain is
dropped, the guests clap their hands, the image is set in the flower-
pot in front of the plant, fireworks are let off, sugarcane is handed
round, and Is. to 2s. (8 as.-Re.l) are presented to the priest.

Four days after the Basil- wedding on the bright Mteenthoi Kdrtik
or October -November comes Bip-'purnima or the Lamp Full-Moon^
On this day, in honour of Shiv's victory over the giant Tripurdsur,
Prabhu women present Brahmans with fruit,-money, and lighted
lamps, either silver lamps- with gold wicks, brass lamps with
silvep wicks, or clay lamps with cotton wicks.^ In the evening they

Chapter III.

Populatiou.

Weitbbs.
PJ.tJ.ss PbabbVS,
Holidays. ,
Divili,

Basil Wedding.

Lamp Full-Moon.

1 When Vishnu in the form of the dwarf Viman stamped king Bali into hell, he
promised that once a year his followers would worship the king. The story of
Viman and Bali is given at p. 249.

2 This demon, the lord of a golden a silver and an iron city, is said to have grown so
mighty that beating almost all the. gods he drove them out of their palaces. The
gods crowded round Shiv and he, pitying their case, made the earth his car, the sun
and moon its wheels, the HilnAlaya mountains his bow, V^isuki the serpent king
his bowstring, and Vishnu his quiver. Thus armed, after a furious struggle, Shiv
destroyed the mighty giant.

[Bombay Gazetteer,

254

DISTRICTS.

Chapter III.
Population.

Wkiteks.

PJ.TJXB PbABBUS,

Holidays.

Makarsankrant.

Shiv'i Night.

Soli.

fill the holes in the lamp-pillars or dipmdls with lights, and soakmg
wicks in butter lay them in earthen pots, pierced with holes, light
them and send them floating over the temple pond.

On the twelfth of January, a solar festival and therefore on an
uncertain day in Paush comes the Makarsankrant that is the
passage of the San into the sign of the Crocodile or Capricorn, the
djay when the sun's course turns northward. In honour of the sun'a
return devout Hindus make great rejoicings. From this day begin
the six lucky northing or uttaraydmi months when light is large
and heaven's gates are open, and when marriages should be held,
and youths girt with the sacred thread. These are followed by the
six spirit-haunted southing or dakshanayani mouths, when the days
creep in and heaven's gates are shut; and the spirits of the dead
have to wait without till Makarsankrant comes again. The Prabhus
both men and women rise early, rub themselves with sesamum oil,
bathe in warm water, worship the family gods, and present
Brahmans with sesamum seed, money, clothes, pots, umbrellas, and,
even lands and houses. In the afternoon they feast on sweetmeats
and in the evening dress in new clothes and taking packets of
sesamum seed mixed with different coloured sugar, give them to
their friends and relations, saying : ' Take the sesamum seed and
speak sweetly '.^ Next day is an unlucky or kar day. On it married
women bathe, and, dressing in rich clothes, deck their heads with
flowers, and make merry going to their parents' houses and
speaking no unkind word. As they do this day, so will they do all
the year. She who beats her children will go on ill-using them, she
who weeps is entering on a year of sorrow.

About two weeks after the Makrasankrdnt on the bright four-
teenth of Mdgh or January -February comes Shiv's great fourteenth
or the Mahdshivardtri. A wicked archer hunting in the forest followed
a deer till night fell. To save himself from wild beasts he climbed a
bel tree .^gle marmeloS, and to keep himself awake kept plucking
its leaves. By cjiance at the tree-fo6t was a shrine of Mahd,dev and
the leaves falling on his shrine so pleased the god that he carried
the hunter to heaven. Prabhus keep this day as a fast. In the
evening they worship Shiv and in the hope of gaining! the hunter's
reward lay a thousand bel leaves on the ling. After worship they
eat fruit and roots and drink milk, and, that they may not sleep,
either read sacred books or play chess, a favourite game with both"
Shiv and his wife. Shiv's temples are lighted and alms are given
to begging Brd,hmans and others.

About three days after the MahdsMvardtra and fifteen before
the full-moon of Fdlgun or February-March begins Hold or Shimga,
apparently the opening feast of the husbandman's new year of work."
On the first day little boys' dig a pit in the middle of the street or
yard and, beating drums and shouting the names of the organs
of generation, go from house to house begging firewood. At night
they burn the wood in the pit crying out and beating, their mouths.

1 The Mardthi runs ; Tilfa ghya, godaa bola..

Deccan.]

POONA.

253

This goes on for fifteen nights, and each night for three or four
hours. On the eleventh night, dressed in white clothes, they go to
the house of their high priest or to one of Vishnu's temples where
red-coloured water is thrown over them. From this time till the
full-moon the festival is at its height. Young and old men
shouting the names of the organs of generation, rub redpowder on
each other's clothes and faces. On the last or full-moon day, in
the afternoon, after feasting on mutton and sweetmeats, a plantain
tree is set in the pit and heavy logs of wood are piled round it.
About eight at night each householder who lives in the street with
his family priest worships the pit, and gives sweetmeats. When
this is over one of them takes a brand and, lighting the pile, which
is called hoU, shouts the names of the male and female organs
of generation and beats his mouth. Next day is the dust or dhul
day, when people go about in bands throwing dust and filth. At
night men go to each other's houses and the head of the house
marks the guests' brows with sweet-scented powder or abir, and
gives them milk, coffee, fruit, and sweatmeats. Women have
parties of their own, where dressed in white robes and green bodices,
their heads decked with flowers and their brows marked with
sweet-scented powder, they treat one another to fruit, coffee, and
milk.

Eclipses or grahans caused by the giant Edihu swallowing the sun,
or the giant Ketu swallowing the moon, are thought to foretell evil.
Of the beginning of eclipses the story is that when Dhanvantra
brought nectar from the churned ocean, the giants hoped to keep it
to themselves. Seeing this, Vishnu, taking the form of Mohani, a
handsome woman, ranged the gods on one side and the giants on
the other. Struck with the woman's beauty, the giants sat at a
distance from the gods waiting for the drink. When the woman
began to give the nectar to the gods, Rahu slipt between the sun
and the moon, and gaining a share drank it off. Mohani with her
discus cut Rahu in two, the body being called Rahu and the
head Ketu. The rest of the giants attacked the gods, but after a
hard fight were beaten. In a solar eclipse twelve hours and in a lunar
eclipse nine hours before any change is visible the influence or vedh of
the eclipse begins. From this time Prabhus may neither eat nor
drink ; the water-pots have to be emptied and cooked food thrown
away. The place swarms with evil spirits. An eclipse is the best
time for using a charm or a spell, and mediums, sorcerers, and
jugglers are busy repeating spells on river-banks and in waste places.
To keep the giants fromentering the house, blades of holy or darbha
grass are laid on pickle-jars and wafer-biscuits and tied in the
skirts of clothes. When the eclipse begins, Prabhus give rice,
' parched grain, old clothes, and money to Mhars and Mangs who
go about carrying large bamboq baskets and shout. Be dan sute
girdn, that is 'Give gifts and free the planet'. When the eclipse is
over every Prabhu bathes, the cook-room is fresh cowdungei,
cooking pots and pans are washed, jars are filled with fresh water,
and fresh food is cooked and eaten.
Pdtdne Prabhus have no headmen and no caste council. They are

Chapter III.

Population.

Weitees.

PJ-llltS PsABBzrs.

Molidays.

Molt.

EcKpus.

[Bombay Gazetteer,

256

DISTRICTS.

Oiapter III.
Population.

Wrixees.

a prosperous and well-to-do class. Their monopoly of English
clerkship has broken down^^ but they are pushing and successful as
doctors, lawyers, engineers, and in the higher branches of Government
service.

Velalis are returned as numbering 423 and as found in Khed
and Mdivalj and in Poona city and cantonment. They say they are
Vaishyas, and that they came to the district fro.m Trichinopoly and
Td.n]or about seventy years ago to earn a living. They are divided
into Pilles and Mudliars who eat together but do not intermarry.^
The following particulars belong to the Pilles! They are divided
into SoliyaveMli, Khudkyavelaji, Mothevelalan, and Kdrikd,tvelAlan,
of whom the first three eat together and the first two intermarry.
The KarikatveMlans do not eat or marry with the other three clans
as they consider themselves of higher rank, and unlike the rest do
not eat fish or flesh or drink liquor. The names in com m on use among
men are, Ohimnaya, Devrdj, Mutkarji, Peridaa, and RAmasvami, the
title j>iUe being added to each name as Devrajpllle and Chinayapille.
The names in common use among women are, Kamakshi, Minakshi,
Maridi, Murkdi, Pund,ma, and Viri^i. They are dusky coloured of
various hues of brown. They are stoutly and gracefully made with
jet black hair. Their home tongue is Tamil, but out of doors they
speak Mardthi. They live in houses of the'better sort, one or two
storeys high, with walls of brick and tiled roofs. They keep cows,
buffaloes, and she-g6ats, and have copper and brass vessels, cots,
bedding, carpets, pillows, boxes, stools, and tables and chairs. They
are not great eaters, and are fond of sour dishes and of tamarind.
Their staple food is rice, millet, wheat, pulse, vegetables, butter,
spices, fish, and mutton. They eat hare, deer, ducks, and domestic
fowls, but.not beef or pork. They drink both country and English
liquors, and smoke tobacco. They give dinners at marriages and on
death anniversaries, when wheat cakes and sweet milk are prepared
costing £2 10s. (Rs. 25) for- a hundred guests. The men wear a
waistcloth, coat, waistcoat, and ^houldercloth, and fold a kerchief or
rumdl round the head. The women wear a bodice with a back, and
the skirt of the robe hanging like a petticoat without being drawn
back between the feet. The men wear the top-knot, mustache,
and whiskers, but not the beard ; and the women tie the hair in a
knot behind the head. They have rich clothes in store for special
occasions worth £5 to £50 (Rs. 50-500). The ornaments worn by
women are gold earrings called hamalos worth £2 10s. to £10
(Rs. 25-100), the gold and pearl nose-ring called nath worth £2 10s.
to £'20 (Rs. 25-200), the gold necklace called adigi worth £5 to £l0
(Rs.50-10G), and the gold or gilt bracelets caileA ^dtlis, worth £2
to £5 (Rs. 20-50). The men wear the gold earrings called Icadhans
worth £1 10s. to £10 (Rs. 15-100), and ihose called murugus worth
10s. to £10 (Rs. 5-100). They are a hardworking, vigorous, and
talkative people, clean, neat, sober, even-tempered, orderly, and
hospitable almost to extravagance. They are husbandmen, traders; ?; -,

^ Mudliar seeina to be the KAnarese name for the Tamil people, the word meaning
south-east' men. Similarly they call the Telugu people Baaages or northmen.

Deocau.]

POONA.

257

shopkeepers^ and brokers ; the commissariat department is full of
them. They say they are Vaishyas and higher than Mudliars with
whom in their native country they do not eati In Poona the two
classes eat together but do not intermarry. A family of five living
in fair comfort spend- about £2 (Rs. 20) a month on food and £2 10s.
to £10 (Rs. 25-100) a year on clothes. A house costs £30 to £100
(Rs. 300-1000) to build and 3s. to 8s. (Rs.l|-4)a month to rent;
their house goods vary in value from £2 10s. to £20 (Rs. 25-200),
• and they have servants on monthly wages of 4s. to 8s. (Rs. 2-4). A
birth coats £2 10s. to £5 (Rs. 25-50), a hair-clipping or jdval £2 10s.
to £10 (Rs.25 -100), a, tesLching or palikudamivdky a £2 10s. to. £5
(Rs.25-50), a thread-girding or iaZiipaAiaZi/dnam £5 to £15(Rs.50-150),
a boy's marriage £20 to £50 (Rs. 200-500), a girl's marriage £10
to £20 (Rs.100-200), and a death £5 to £10 (Rs. 50-100). They
are Smarts and their chief object of worship is Mahddev. Their
family god is Kd,md.thshdma of Madras and Maridma of Trichinopoly.
Their family priests are Shaiv Tailang Brahman s. They have
house images of Mahadev, Vishnu, Ganpati, Krishna, and Surya
Ndrayan, and go on pilgrimage to Benares, Madhura near Trd.Tankor,
Rdmeshvar, and 'the Trivanna mountains near Madras. They fast
on the Shivardtrns or dark fourteenths, on Pradoshs or dark
thirteenths, on Ehadashis or elevenths, and on all Mondays;
Their holidays are Sankrdnt in January, Holi in March, Varshabhya
or New Year's Day in April, Ndgaiyanchmi in August, Ganesh^
ch-aturthi in September, Dasarain October, and DimZi in November;
Their women are impure- for ten days after child-birth. On the fifth
day they worship the knife with which the child's navel cord was
cut, setting before it flowers, eggs,' mutton, and plantains. On the
tenth day the child is laid in a cradle and named by an elderly
woman of the house. The mudi or hair-clipping takes place at any
suitable time before the child is three years old. In the morning
they go to a garden some distance from the house, cowdung a spot
of ground, and raise a canopy of sugarcanes, and' set a plantain tree
at each corner of the sugarcane canopy. They take two pebbles in
honour of the goddess Kdm^kshi^ma, daub them with redlead, and
place them inside the canopy. They break twenty-five to fifty cocoa-
nuts, and place them in front of the goddess together with fifty
sugarcanes and fifty plantains. A goat is killed, and the child lying
on its maternal uncle's knee has its hair clipped by a barber who
retires with a present of uncooked food and 6d. (4 as.) in cash.
The hair is gathered, shown to the goddess, and thrown into a
river or pond. A feast is held, and, after presenting the child with
clothes and money, the articles offered to the goddess are handed to
the guests who retire to their homes. If the child is a boy, when
it is five years old, the ceremony of teaching- or palikudamvdlcya,
is performed. A Brdhman teacher is called, and friends and
relations are invited. The boy is seated in the middle of the
guests, a turmeric image of Ganpati is made and placed in
front of the boy on a low wooden stool, and he worships it, the
priest repeating verses. . A pair of waistcloths and some money are,
given to the Brdhman teacher. The boy makes a low bow before
him and he teaches the boy to repeat a few letters. Sweetmeats
B 310-33

Chapter III.
FopulatioQ.

Wkiteks.

[Bombay Qacetteer,

258

DISTRICTS.

apter III.

>pulatio&.

Writers.
VelIlis.

are served and tlie guests withdraw, unless the boy's parents are
well off when they feast the guests- before they leave. When a boy
is ten to fourteen years old the thread-girding or talapakalydnam
takes place. A sacrificial fire or horn is kindled and the boy is
dressed in new clothes and seated on a wooden stool in front
of the fire. A sacred thread of cotton .silver or gold is put round
his neckj money is handed to BrahmanSj and they withdraw.
The other guests are treated to a feast. They marry their girls
before they come of age and their boys before they are twenty. A
betrothal ceremony precedes marriage. In the morning the boy's
father lays flowers close to a new robe and bodice, sprinkles red-
powder over them, burns frankincense, and with a party of relations
and friends and music gpes ' to the girl's house. He cai-ries with
him plates filled with twenty -five to fifty cocoanuts, a bundle of
sugarcaries, one hundred to two hundred plantains, the robe and
bodice worth about £2 10s. (Rs. 25), and jewelry worth £10 to
£50 (Rs. 100 - 500). When the party reach thfe girl's house she is
dressed in the bodice and robe, her brow is marked with red and
turmeric powder, ornaments are put on her body, flower garlands
are hung round her neck, and the sugarcanes and cocoanuts. are
presented to her. The girl's mother approaches the boy's mother,
and throwing a flower garland round her neck, says, ' I have given
my daughter in marriage to your son.' The boy's mother says to
the girl's mother, ' I have given my son in marriage to your daughter
and your son is to me as a son-in-law.' The betrothal ends with a
dinner. Twice during each of the next, three days parties of the
boy's people go to the girl's house and of the girl's people to the
boy's house, and at their homes rub the boy and the girl with a
mixture of turmeric, gram flour, and oil. The day before the wedding
at the boy's house a marriage hall is built and a lucky post is planted,
under which are laid a pearl, a piece of coral, and a bit of precious
stone, together worth about Is. 6d. (12 as.) ; to the top of the lucky
post a handful of darbha grass is tied. In the marriage hall clay
figures of a hosse, a lion, and an elephant are piled one above the
other, and over them three empty earthen jars one above another.
This is their marriage god or devak. Close to the marriage god is
set a wooden mortar and over the mortar an earthen lamp with
water and oil covered with another broken jar. An eai'then altar is
raised close by and four plantain posts are fixed one at each comer.
On the marriage day, generally in the morning, the girl's, parents,
taking the girl in a palanquin with music and accompanied by male
and female relations and friends, go to the boy's house. Before they
enter the marriage hall/ one of the boy's female relations comes
with a plate of water and. a mixture of turmeric powder and lime,
waves it round the girl's head, and throws it away.. Another
woman comes with a hghted dough lamp and waves it round the
girl's head, and the girl walks in, and is given sugared milk to drink
and a plantain to eat. The boy sits on the altar on a wooden stool
and the girl is seated on a second stool to the boy's left. In front
of them, in honour of Ganpati, a water-pot is set and a cocoanut is
placed on its mouth and worshipped. The c6coanut is broken in
two. In one of the pieces the lucky gold button necklace or

Deoc&u.]

POONA.

259

mangalsutra is laid and sprinkled witli floTfers. It is laid in a
plate and taken before eacL. guest who bows to it, and when all
have saluted it the boy fastens it round the girl's neck. A sacrificial
fire is lit in front of the boy and girl, and about twenty pounds
of rice and cocoanuts are placed near them. Elderly meii
approach, fill their hands with rice, and throw the rice on the
heads of the boy and girl. They wave cocoanuts round the heads
of the boy and girl, break them, and throw them on one side as a
present to the washerman. The couple change places, the hems of
their garments are tied, and elderly women sing marriage songs,
and at the end of each verse throw rice over the couple's heads»
The boy catches the girl by her right little' finger, and together they
thrice go round the altar. An opening is made in the marriage
hall towards the north, and the boy pointing to a star asks the girl
if she sees the star. She says, I see it. She is then seated on a
plantain leaf over which about a pound of salt is spread and in
front of her is laid a grindstone or pdta. The boy catches the girl
by both her feet and thrice sets them on the stone. The couple are
then taken inside the house and are offered sugared milk and
plantaias. Lueky songs are sung by elderly women and when the
songs are over, the boy retires and sits outside in the marriage
hall with the men. Betel is served, and, except those who'
have been asked to diue, the guests withdra;w. The priest also
retires with a present of a pair of waistcloths and 2s. 6d. (Rs. H)
in cash. Next day the girl cooks a plate of rice and split pulse
or khichadi in the marriage hall and serves it in five plates and
offers it to the marriage gods, burning frankincense and breaking
a cocoanut. A dinner is given, and, in the evening, the boy is
seated on horseback and the girl in a palanquin or carriage and they
are taken in procession to Maruti's temple and then home. When
they reach the house a mixture of turmeric and water is waved
round their heads and thrown on one side and the guests present
the girl with 6d. to 2s. (Re. J-1) in cash. The booth is pulled
down, and a mixture of water and parched grain is boiled and
thrown on the boy and girl. They are then seated in a carriage
and taken to' the river to bathe. After their return a feast is given
of a variety of dishes and the marriage ceremony is at an end.
They allow child marriage and polygamy, but neither widow marriage
nor polyandry. When a VelAli is on the point of death a booth is
raised outside near the front door of the house, and the floor of the
booth is strewn with darhha grass and the dying person is bathed
' and laid on the grass. Ashes are rubbed on his brow and alms
are given in his name. A couple of women break two. cocoanuts in
four pieces and placing them in a brass plate along with flowers and
a dough lamp, go a little distance from the house, and setting the
plate on the ground, look towards heaven and ask God to give the
dying person a seat near him. The plate is then brought home and
kept near the dying person's head. When life is gone the chief-
mourner, with four others, go with water-pots to a well and fetch,
water, a Jangam or Lirigd,yat priest walking in front of them blo'wing
a conch phell. One of the house doors is taken ofE its hinges and
laid on the ground outside the house, and the body is laid on th.&

Chapter IIL
Population.

■Writers.

[Bombay aa2etteer,

260

DISTRICTS.

Chapter III.

Population.

Writers.
VelJlis.

door and bathed with water from the well. It is dressed in new
clotheSj a turban, waistclothj and coat, if it is a man ; a robe and
bodice if it is a married woman j and a robe alone if it is a widow.
It is laid on a bamboo bier and covered with a shawl or silk
waistcloth. Flowers, red and scented powder, and rosewater are
sprinkled over the body. If the dead is married and leaves a
husband or a wife betel ~is placed in the hands and again taken
back by the husband or wife and thrown away. After this the
survivor may marry again without angering the dead. The body is
then raised on the shoulders of four men. In front walks the chief
mourner with an earthen jar containing either burning cowdung cakes
or live coal and beside him a Jangam or Lingayat priest blowing a
conch shell. Parched grain is carried in a new winnowing fan and
strewn as they walk till they reach the burning ground. Wh^n
they have gone half-way the bier is laid On the ground, with the
feet pointing south. A pound of rice and 2c?. (If anna) are given
to a Mhdr or HaMlkhor, and the body is carried on to the burning
ground. A pile of cowdung cakes is raised, the body is laid on the
pile, and the bier is thrown on one side. The chief mourner's face
is shaved including the mustache. He bathes, and with an earthen
water vessel on his shoulder and a burning sandal log in his right
hand thrice walks round the pile, and, standing with his face to the
south and his back to the pile, dashes the jar on the ground and
touches the pile with the burning sandalwood. Burning pieces of
cowdung cakes are thrown round the pyre by the other mourners.
The chief mourner is then taken to some distance from the pyre
by two men who walk and seat themselves on either side of
him. The rest of the mourners busy themselves with, setting fire
to the pyre. When it is half burnt, they give it in charge to the
Mhar and go to where, the chief mourner is sitting, and pay 6d,
(4 as.) to the Jangam, 2s. 6d. (Rs. 1^) to the Mh^r, 2s. 6d.
{Rs. 1 J) to the musicians if there are any, 6d. (4 as.) to the
barber, and 6d. (4 as.) to the washerman. They then bathe in
some stream or pool near the burning ground, each wearing a silk
waistcloth or pitdmbar, and return to the mourner's house. Near
the house door water is kept ready for the mourners to wash their
hands and f eeb. When they have washed they enter the booth, where
a la^ip is kept burning on the spot where the dead breathed his last.
They look at the lamp and return to their homes. Such as are near
relations stay with the- mourners and diae with them, the food
being brought by the mourner's maternal uncle. On the second
day -the chief mourner, accompanied by a few relations, go'es to the
burni-ng ground with a cocoanut, a piece of sugarcane, plantains,
red and sweet scented powder, frankincense, camphor, flowers, oil,
milk, and sMkakdi pods, and throwing water over the ashes picks
up the bones and makes them into a small heap. He sprinkles
water over the bones, pours oil on them, drbps shikalcdi and the red
and sweet scented powders on them, lays plantains beside them,
breaks a cocoanut oyer them, and twisting a piece of sugar-
cane lets a few drops of juice fall on them, and waves bulming
frankincense and camphor before them. He lays the bones in an
earthen jar, and taking the jar on his shoulder goes to the river

Deooan.]

POONA.

261

and throws it into tlie water. He bathes, and returns home. On
the third day the chief mourner goes to the burning ground with
a few near relations. They rub powdered dvalkati or pepper and
milk on their bodiesj bathe, and return to the house of mourning,
where they dine on rice, vegetables, pulse, and butter. They then
present the chief mourner with a turban, a coat, and a waistcloth,
and in the evening take him to the temple of Ganpati or Mahddev,
where he worships the god, breaks a cocoanut, and lighting camphor
waves it before the god, bows, and returns home. On the night of
the fifteenth they bring two new bricks and shape them like human
beings, dress them, and lay them on a low wooden stool. A few
of the deceased's clothes are washed and heaped in front of the
images, and they are offered plantains, cocoanuts, parched rice
or fohe, and frankincense is burnt before them. Female relations
Bit by weeping till next morning. On the morning of the
sixteenth day the images and the offerings are tied in a bundle
and placed in the hands of the chief mourner. He takes sixteen
small and four large earthen jars, a handful of powdered coal,
rice-flour, turmeric powder, brick powder, and gfreen powder made
of pounded leaves, oil, rice, salt, pulse, plantains, cocoanuts, and
vegetables,, and with a party of friends and Brahmans, goes to the river
side or to the burning ground. Here the chief mourner is shaved
and bathed,, a new sacred thread is fastened round his neck, and he is
dressed in fresh clothes. A platform of earth is made about eight feet
square and at each corner one of the four earthen jars is set filled
with water, and the sixteen small jars are also filled with water
and arranged round the square. Mango leaves are laid in the mouth
of each jar and a thread is passed round the necks of them all.
The coloured powders are thrown over the platform. A miniature
bamboo bier is prepared and two cloth dolls are made and laid on
the bier, covered with dry leaves, and burnt. When the bier is
consumed the chief mourner gathers the ashes and throws them
into the river. He then bathes, sits near the square, and lights the ■
sacrificial fire. The Tailang and other Maratha Brahmans are given
uncooked iood and money and retire, and the jars and other articles
are thrown into the water. Presents of clothes are made to the
chief mourner, and when the party returns to the house of mourning
the friends dine and retire. They have no caste council. They do
not remember having ,ever met to settle a social dispute. They
send their children to school and are a rising class.

Traders include twelve classes with a strength of 20,736 or
2'44 per cent of the Hindu population. The details are :

POONA Tbadbbs.

Class.

Males.

Females

Total.

Cuss.

Males.

Females

Total.

AgarvUs

Bangara

BhAtiyds

Branma-Kshatris.

Kirids

Romtia

Lingiyats...

229

2709

122

200

2652

121

.68

236

429

, 6361

Loh4n&8

Timbolis

Vinia Oujariit ...

„ Mdrwir ...

„ Vaiahya ...

Total ...

2283

' 6889

468

20
1511
3748
425

3844

9637

• 893

11,877

,8859

20,736

Chapter III.

Population.

Writers.
VejAlis.

Traders.

[Bombay Gasetteer,

262

DISTRICTS.

Chapter III.
fopulation.

Traders.

Agarvals are returned as numbering 121 and as found in
Haveli, Maval, Sirur, Parandharj and the city and cantonment of
Poona. They claim descent from the sage Agarsen , whose seventeen
sons married the seventeen daughters or ndgkanyds of the serpent
Shesh. They have seventeen gotras or family stocks, of which the chief
are Bdsal, Bran, Kdsal, Gdrg, Goel, Mangal, and Mital. People of the
same family stock or gotra cannot intermarry. They say that they
originally came from Agra, and after living in MarwAr for a time
came to Poona about a hundred years ago. They are divided into
Sache or pure Agarvdls, Dasa and Visa Agarvdls, and Mard,tha
Agarvdls who represent the illegitimate children of Sd,che Agarvals.
The following details apply to the Sache, Dasa, and Visa Agarvdla,
who, though they neither eat together nor intermarry, differ little
in religion or customs. The names in common use among men are,
Ganpatldl, Girdh^rildl, - Kanhdilal, Ndrdyandas, and Vithaldds ;
and among women, Bhdgirthi, Ganga, Jd,mna, Lachhmi, and Rhdi.
They look like MArwar Vanis, are middle-sized stout and fair, and
their women are goodlooking. Their home tongue isMd,rwd,ri, but
most speak mixed Hindustani and Gujardti. They live ih houses
of the better sort, one or two storeys high, with walls of brick and
tiled roofs. Their house goods include metal vessels, bedding,
carpets,. pillows, and boxes, and they have servants whom they pay
6s. to 8s. (Rs. 3-4) a month. They are strict vegetarians, and of
vegetables do not eat onions, garlic, carrots, or masur pulse. The
men dress like Deccan Bfdhmans in a coat, waistcoat, waistcloth,
shouldercloth, and Brahman turban or -headscarf, and wear either a
sacred thread or a necklace of tulsi beads. They wear a top-knot
and hair curling over each cheek, whiskers, and sometimes a beard.
The women wear a bodice a petticoat and shoes, and muffle
themselves from head to foot in a white sheet or chddar. They. do
not wear false hair or deck their heads with flowers. They keep
clothes in store. The women's ornaments are the gold hair
ornament called bor worth 10s. (Rs. 5), the gold earrings called
jhule worth £2 (Rs. 20), the gold and pearl nosering called nath
worth £.5 (Rs. 50), the glass and gold bead necklace called
mangalsutra worth £2 (Rs. 20), the bracelets called bdjubands worth
£2 (Rs., 20), and glass and lac bangles, and the silver anklets called
bichves worth £1 (Rs. 10) ani hadis worth £3 to £4 (Rs.30-40).
Except the gold and silver finger rings called angthia the men wear
no ornaments. They are vegetarians, and their staple food is rice,
pulse, vegetables, wheat, butter, and spices. Their marriage and
dea,th feasts cost them about 9d. (6 as.) a head. They are hard-
working, even-tempered, orderly, and miserly. They are merchants,
traders, grocers, moneychangers, moneylenders, dealers in cloth
and grain, makers and sellers of sweetmeats, cultivators, and
landholders. They say they do not earn more than £3 to £5
(Rs. 30 - 50) a month. A family of five spend £2 (Rs. 20) a month
on food. A house costs £50 to £150 (Rs. 500-1500) to buy and
10s. (Rs. 5) a month to rent. The house goods, including clothes,
furniture, and jewelry, are almost never worth more than £100
(Rs. 1000). They spend £2 10s. to £5 (Rs. 25 - 50) a year on clothes.
A birth costs £1 to £4 (Rs. 10 - 40) ; the first hair-cutting £5

Deccan.]

POONA.

263

(Rs. 50), a sacred thread or tulsi necklace-girding 10s. to £1 (Rs. 5-
10), a boy's or girl's marriage £50 to £100 (Rs.5O0-i0O0), and a
death £50 (Rs.oOO). They are a religious people and their chief
object of worship is Bdldji. Their priests are Marwdri Brdhmans
or in their absence Deshasth Brdhmans. They make pilgrimages to
Pandharpur, Mathura, Ndsik, Benares, Vrindavan, and Rdmeshvar.
They fast on the two elevenths of every Hindu month, on Shivardtra
in February, on Bdm-navami in April, and on Gokulashtami in
August ; and feast on Holi in March, on Basara in October, and on
Divdli in November. Their spiritual Teachers or gurus are either
Rdmdnandis or Vallabhach^ryaMahardjas,*to whom they show great
respect. On the fifth day after a child is born they worship a mask
or tdk of the goddess Satvai which they place on a high wooden
stool on wheat and arrange lemons round it. Children are named
when they are a month old. ' At the naming ceremony four boys stand
with a piece of cloth held on all four sides of the child and the
child's paternal aunt names it. The aunt is presented with a bodice
if the child is a girl and from 2s. to 10«. (Rs.1-5) if the child is a
boy, and the four boys are given pieces of dry cocoa-kernel and sixteen
gram or bundi balls each. Eunuchs or hijdes dance and sing in the
evening and are paid 2s. 6d. (Rs. ]|^). They shave the child's
head between its fourth and fifth year. Whisu a boy is eight or nine
years old his parents take him to the spiritual Teacher or guru
with music, relations, -and friends, and a. plate of betelnut and leaves,
a cocoanut, flower garlands, nosegays, and lOs. (Rs. 5) in cash. The
boy worships the Teacher or guru, offers him 10*. (Rs. 5), and
falls before him. The Teacher or guru fastens a tulsi bead
necklace round the boy's neck, whispers into his ears a sacred verse,
and drops sugar into his mouth. They marry their girls between
ten and twelve and their boys between fifteen and twenty. They
do not allow widow marriage, and they burn their dead. They
have no headman and settle social disputes at meetings of the
castemen. They send their boys to school and are well-to-do.

Bangars are returned as numbering thirty-three and as found
in Poena city only. They say their origin is given in the Basvapurdn,
and that they came into , the district about two hundred years ago.
Whence and why they came they cannot tell, but some of their
religious and social customs suggest that their former home was in the
Bombay Karnd,tak. They have no subdivisions. Their surnames are
Bhinkar, Buras, Jiresale, Khatdvkar, Mhasurkar, Phutane, Tambe,
and Vaikar, and families bearing the same surname eat together
but do not intermarry. The names in common use among men are
Ganapa, Ird,pa, Khanddpa, Morapa, Rakhmdii,R^mapajand Rudrapa j
and among women, Ganga, Lakshmi, Sita, and Yamuna. They look
and speak like Mardthas, and own stone and mud built houses with
tiled roofs. Their household goods are metal and earthen vessels,
"bedding, carpets, and blankets; they keep no servants and oyra. no
cattle. They are vegetarians and their staple food is millet, split
pulse, and vegetables. They eat rice twice a week on Saturdays
and Mondays. The men dress like Brdhmans in a coat, waistcoa,t,
waistcloth, shouldercloth, and Brdhman turban and shoes. They
wear the ling and mark their brows with, sandal and ashes. Their

Chapter III.
Population.

Traders.

JBANaABS.

[Bombay Gazetteer,

264

DISTRICTS.

Chapter III.
Population.

Traders.

women dress in the full Marafcha robe and bodice. jThey rub their
brows -with redpowder and do not use false hair, deck their heads
with flowers, or care for gay colours. They are neat and clean,
hardworking, frugal, hospitable, and orderly. They are shop-
keepers and sellers of spices, turmeric, asafoetida, and dry cocoanut
kernel, and hawk groundnuts, molasses, pulse, sweetmeats or
ehiki, and , parched grain. Others serve as sbopboys earning
10s. to 12s. (Rs. 5-6) a month without food. Their boys earn 4s.
to 6s.(Rs. 2-3) a month as shopboys. A family of five spends
1.4s. to £1 (Rs, 7- 10) a month on food, and about £1 10s. (Rs, 15) a
year on clothes. A house costs about £10 (Rs. lOO) to build and
6d.to Is. (4-8 as.) a month to rent. Their house goods are not
■worth more than £5 (Rs. 50). A birth costs about 10s, (Rs. 5),a
boy's marriage £2 10s. to £7 10s. (Rs. 25-75), a girl's marriage £2
10s. to £5 (Rs.25 -50), and a death £1 (Rs.lO). Their chief god is
Mahddev and their priests are Jangams or Lingdyat priests, who
officiate at their births, marriages, and deaths. They make
pilgrimages to Shrishailya Malikdrjun in Signapur near Phaltan.
Bangars .worship the goddess Satvd,i on the fifth day after a
child is born. In the middle of a bamboo winnowing fan they
place a handful of wheat, and on the wheat set a dough lamp which
they feed with butter. They ofEer the lamp molasses wheat
broadband methi or fenugreek, and ask it to be kindly. A feast to
near relations and friends ends the day. On the seventh a Jangam
is called, his feet are washed, and the water is drunk by the
people of the house, and he presents the new-born child with a
lingam laying it on the bed near the child's head. A present of Bd.
(2 as.) satisfies the priest and he retires.. On the twelfth evening
the child is laid-in the cradle, four dough lamps are lit under it, and-
five dough cakes are laid one on each corner of the cradle and the
fifth under the child's pillow, and the child is named in the presence
of female guests. Wet gram is presented to _ the guests and they
retire except a few near relations who remain for dinner. They-do-
not think their women unclean after child-birth, but they do not
touch them during their monthly sickness. They do not mourn the.
dead and. do not think that a death makes near relations impure.
They marry their girls before they come of age and their boys before
they are twenty-five. The boy's father has to look out for a wife
for his son. When he has found a suitable match she is presented
with the silver feet ornaments called sdkhalyds and vdles, worth about
£4 (Rs. 40). A marriage paper or lagnaehiti is prepared and made
over to the boy's father. The boy and girl are rubbed with turmeric
at their homes, the girl first and then the boy, and presented with
clothes, the girl with a green robe and bodice and the boy with a
shouldercloth and a turban. In the evening two earthen pitchers
are brought and broken into two equal parts. They are marked
with fantastic colours and decked with gold and silver tinsel. The
upper part of the jar is turned upside down and on it the lower part
is set and filled with ashes. In the ashes, three torches four or five
inches -high, soakJed in oil, are stuck and lighted with camphor.
Round the torches are set fifteen flags about a foot and a half high, .
a,nd the whole is lifted and waved round the house gods. This is .

Deccan.]

POONA.

265

called the huldharmdchddip that is the faWily god's lamp. The boy
and his mother dress in yellow silk, and' taking the two broken jars
on their heads go to the temple of the village Mahddev accompanied
by kinsmen and kinswomen and with a conch shell and other
music. At the temple the lamp of the family god is waved round
Mahddev's face, a betel packet is laid in front of the god, and the
torches are put out by breaking two cocoanuts and pouring their water
over the torches. The conch shell is brought back by a married
couple the hems of whose robes are knotted together, and it is placed
among the household'* gods as the marriage guardian or devak. This
ceremony is repeated at the girl's house with the same details,
except that instead of the boy's mother the girl's father takes the
other jar upon his head. The day ends with a dinner. On the
marriage evening the boy is seated on horseback and taken to the
girl's house. On reaching the house, before he enters presents are
exchanged, and rice, curds, and a cocoanut are waved round the
boy's head. In the marriage porch he is made to stand face to face
with the girl on a carpet and a 'cloth is held between them. Both
a Jangam and a Brahman are present, and, after the marriage verse
is repeated by the Brahman, the cloth is pulled on one side, grains
of rice are thrown over their heads, and they are husband and wife.
They are next seated facing each other on wheat with their maternal
uncles standing behind them. In front of the boy five brass
water-pots filled with cold water are placed, one at each corner of a
square and the fifth in the middle, and with the help of the Jangam
are "worshipped by both the boy and the girl. A cotton thread is
wound five times round the couple, cut in two, and one-half with a
turmeric root is tied to the right wrist of the, boy and- the other half
to the right wrist of the girl. The boy pours water from th« middle
water-pot over the girl's hands, and the hems of their garments
are tied by the Jangam, who leads them before the conch shell
or marriage guardian. They make a low bow and return, and the
knot is untied by the Jangam. The Jangam and Brdhman priests
are then given betel packets and about 3s. (Rs. 1^) in cash and retire.
Next day a married woman fills the girl's lap with five betel
nuts and leaves, five dry dates, five turmeric roots, pieces of
cocoa-kernel, and grains of rice, and she goes to her husband's
house with him and his relations and friends and music. A feast
at both houses ends the marriage. They allow ^idow marriage and
polygamy, but not polyandry. They bury the dead. They carry
the body sitting in a blanket bag or zoli with a Lingayat priest
walking in front blowing a conch shell. They bury the body
sitting with its face to the east and the ling which he wore round
his neck in his left hand covered with his right. The chief mourner
brings water in a conch shell, drops some into the dead mouth, lays
a few bel leaves on the hand and in the mouth, and the mourners fill
the grave with earth repeating Har, Har, Mahadev. After the grave
is filled the Jangam stands over it, repeats texts, and sprinkles a few
hel leaves'; and the mourners retire. The caste is feasted on the third
or the fifth day after the death, and every year a mind-feast or
ahrdddh is performed. The Bangars have a headman whom they
style shetya, who settles social disputes in consultation with tlie men
B 310—34

Chapter III.
Population,

Tradbrs.

[Bombay Gazetteer,

266

DISTRICTS.

Chapter III.

Population.

Tradbes.
BhAttAs.

Brsbxa-Ksba tbis.

of tlie caste. .They send their boys to school for a short time.
They are a steady class.

. Bha'tya's, or Bhati traders, are returned as numbering sixty-seren
and as found in Haveli, Bhimthadi, and Poena city. They have no
subdivisions. They are short and sturdy with regular features. Their
home speech is G-ujar^ti, but with others they speak Marathi. Their
usual food is rice, pulse, and butter in the morning, and rice bread in
the evening. They are vegetarians and are careful to abstain from fish,
flesh, or liquor. Except their special double-horned turban, the
men's dress does not differ from that of high class Mardthds ; their
women dresS like Gujarati V^ni women in,a full petticoat, a short-
sleeved and openvbacked bodice, and a robe or scarf which is drawn
up from the back part of the waist of the petticoat across the face so
as almost to form a veilj and is fastened in front in the left waistband
of the petticoat. Their petticoats and robes are generally of hand-
printed cloth darker and less gay than the Mardtha women's robes.
As a class they are hardworking, sober, thrifty, and hospitable.-
They trade in molasses and hirde. or myrobalanSj which they buy
and send to Bombay, They worship the usual Brdhmanic and local
gods, but their chief objects of worship are Gopal, Krishna/ and
Mahadev. They are well-to-do.

Brahma-Kshatris are returned as numbering sixty-three
and as found only in Poena city. They are said to have come into
the district from Aurangabad about .sixty years ago in search of
work. They are also called Thakura, or lords, a name which in the
Deccan is applied to several classes who have or who claim a strain
of Kshatriya blood. Among their surnames are Bighe, Nagarkar,
and SAkre, and among their family stocks or gotras are Bhdradvdj
and Kaushik. Sameness of stock but not sameness of surname
is a bar to marriage. The names in common use among men are
Apd,rao, Anandrdo, and Lakshman ; and among women Ambab^i,; !
Jdnkibdi, and Sondbai. They are a fair people and look like
Gujarat Brdhmans. Their home speech is Mardthi. They live
in houses of the better class two or more storeys high with walls
of brick and tiled roofs. Their houses are neat and cl^an, and
they keep horses, cattle, and parrots. Their staple food is millet
bread, vegetables, and spices. Their holiday dishes are pulse
balls and sugared milk; a feast of these dishes costs about £4.
(Rs. 40) for every hundred guests. They say they do not eat fish
or flesh or drink liquor, and smoke nothing but tobacco. Both
men and women dress like Mardtha Brdhmang, and the women
wear false hair and deck their heads with flowers. They are neat
and clean, hospitable, and orderly. They are bankers, money-
changers, moneylenders, railway contractors, writers, cloth-dealers,
and husbandmen. The average monthly food charge for a family
of five is about £2 (Rs.2,0). Their houses cost £60 to £500
(Rs. 500-5000) to build and 4s. to £1 (Rs. 2-10) a month to hire.
Their furniture is worth £70 to £200 (Rs. 700- 2000). Besides
their food servants are paid 4s. to 8s. (Rs.2-4) a month. Their
animals are worth £2 to £20 (Rs. 20 -200). They spend on clothes
£3 to £20 (Rs, "30 - 200) a year. Their store of clothes is worth £5 to

Deccan.]

POONA.

267

£50 (Rs.50-500), and their ornaments £250 to £500 (Rs. 2500-5000).
A birth costs £1 10s. to £2 10s. (Rs.l5-25)j a hair-clipping £1 to
£2 (Rs.10-20), a thread-girding £7 to £12 10s. (Rs. 70 -125), the
marriage of a son £50 to £100 (Rs. 500- 1000), the marriage of a
daughter £20 to £80 (Rs. 200-800), a girl's coming of age £5
1}0 £7 10s. (Rs.50-75), a pregnancy £2 to £3 (Rs.20-30), and a
death £6 to £7 (Rs. 60 - 70). They are religious, worshipping chiefly
Mahadev and the Devi of Saptashringi hill about thirty miles
north of N^sik. They employ Deshasth Brdhmans as their priests
and show them great respect. They worship the usual Brdhmanic
gods and goddesses, keep the regular fasts and feasts, and make
pilgrimages to Alandi, Saptashring, and Benares. They believe in
sorcery, witchcraft, soothsaying, and omens. When a child is born
its navel cord is cut by a midwife and buried inside the house. On the
fifth day they place a grindstone in the mother's room. A handful
of wheat and abetelnut are laid on the stone and worshipped by one
of the married women of the family. A^dough lamp is set close by
and the whole is left for twelve days in' the mother's room. To each
leg of the cot on which the mother and child are laid is tied a rod
of iron as thick as a man's finger and they are left there ten days.
The mother is held impure for ten days, when she is bathed and
the cot is taken away. The house and part of the room is
cowdunged and a fresh cot is laid for the mother and child. In
the evening each of five BrAhmans is presented with sweetmeats
and a copper coin. On the twelfth day the grindstone is taken from
the lying-in room and the cl^ild is named. Brdhmans and married
women are feasted, the chief dish being oil-cakes. The hair-
clipping takes place when the child is three months to two years
old, when the barber buries the hair in some lonely spot and is
given a meal of uncooked food and 6d. (4 as.) . They gird their boys
with the sacred thread when they are between six and ten, the
details of the ceremony being the same as among Mardtha Brdhmans.
They marry their girls before they are twelve and their boys before
they are twenty-five. Except that the bridegroom wears a silk or a
cotton waistcloth, a coat, and a turban, the ceremony is the same as
among Deccan Brdhmans. They burn their dead, mourn ten days,
and end the mourning with a caste feast. Polygamy is practised
and widow marriage foi-bidden. They have a caste council and
settle social disputes at meetings of the castemen. They send
their boys to school and are well-to-do.

Eira'ds are returned as numbering 236, and as found in
Poena city only. They are. said to have come from Gwalior since
the beginning of British rule. They have no subdivisions.
Their surnames are Jaradya, Khojarvdjar, Menduri, Parsaya,
and Sujemiya; people bearing the same surname intermarry. The
names in common use among men are Baliram, Banduram,
Chanduldl, Kisandas, and Kiiehaji ; and among women Hir^bdi,
Jesibdi, Lalubai, Munydbdi, and Subhadrd.bai. They look like
Pardeshi Brahmans. The men wear the top-knot and whiskers but
not the beard, and the women wear the hair in a roll at the back of
the head. The men mark their brows with sandal paste- and the
women draw a cross line of redpowder. Their, home tongue is

Chapter III.
Population.

TRjiDBES.
BrAHMA-KsBA TBI

KiBADS.

[Bombay Gazetteer,

268

DISTEICTS.

Chapter III.

Popalatiou.

Traders.
KijUls.

Hindustani, but out of doors they speak Mardthi. They live i^
houses of the better sort, one or two storeys high, and have metal
and , earthen vessels and bullocks and carts. Their staple food is
millet bread, split pulse, and vegetables, and they are fond of
pungent dishes. They eat fish, eggs, and the flesh of goats sheep and
fowls, and drink liqu or. They give feasts of curds and rice sweet cakes
and wheat bread. The men dress like Mardthds, and the , women
wear either a petticoat or a Maratha robe, drawing the skirt back
between the feet, and a bodice. The women wear ornaments in
their hair and on their ears, nose, neck, arms, and feet. They
are hardworking, sober, thrifty, clean, and neat, but hot-tempered
and fond of show. They are contractors, supplying hay, thatch,
bullocks, and carts. Their women help by making thatch, gi'inding
grain, and selling firewood and cowdung cakes. A house costs
£20 to £50 (Bs. 200 -500) to build and contains furniture and
goods worth £5 to £50 (Rs.. 50 - 500). They pay their servants 10s,
to 18s. (Rs. 5 - 9) a month without food. A family of five spend
£1 to £1 10s. (Rs. 10 - 16), a month on food, and £1 16s. to £2
10s. (Rs. 18-25) a year on clothes. A birth costs 2s. to 10s.
(Rs. 4-5), a hair-clipping 2s. to 4s. (Rs. 1-2), a boy's marriage
£5 to £15 (Rs. 50 - 150), a girl's marriage £5 to £6 (Rs. 50 - 60),
and a death, £2 to £3 (Rs. 20-30). They are Brahmanic Hindus
and worship goddesses or mothers more than gods and are termed
devi-updsaks or goddess-worshippers. Their family deities are
Bhavani of Tuljdpur and Lakshmi-Nardyan. Their priests are
Kanoj Brdhmans who officiate at their houses during marriages
and deaths. They go on pilgrimage to Tuljdpur, Pandharpur, and
Alandi. They believe in sorcery, witchcraft, soothsaying, and lucky,
and unlucky days. On the fifth day after the birth of a child they
worship the goddess Satvdi, and offer her brinjals or 'ga^re, dry
ginger, black pepper, split pulse or revdi, sweetmeats, dry bomalp
fish, and dress the child' in a coat and cap. On the twelfth
the mother's impurity ends and her cot and clothes are washed.
On the thirteenth they lay the child in a cradle and name it.
They clip a child's hair when it is one to five years old outside of
the house or in a garden. They marry their girls before they are
fifteen and their boys before they are twenty-five. The boy's father
looks for a girl for his son, and when one is found he sends some of
his kinsmen to settle the match. After a couple ' of days the
kinsmen bring back all that the girl's father will let them know of his
wishes regarding the match. On the third day the boy's father goes
to the girl's. If the girl's father seats him on a cot it is understood,
thatheiswilling to give his daughter; if the girl's father seats him
on a mat the boy's father goes home. Next day if the match is
settled the boy's and girl's fathers go to the priest's and are told
lucky days for the marriage and turmeric rubbing. The days are
noted on two pieces of paper, which are handed to the two fathers,
who lay them before their house gods. A post is set up near the
house and a bundle of hay is tied to its top. On the following day
wheat cakes and balls called gulgule, are prepared and ten to fifty
are sent to the houses of all caste people. On the third day. the
boy is rubbed with turmeric, and what remains is sent to the girl

Deccan.]

POONA.

269

■with a petticoat, bodice, and robe. On the fourth day, a four feet
long mango staff is planted in the marriage hall and an earthen jar
coloured red and white and filled with cold water is set near the staff.
Two copper coins are laid in the jar, it is covered with an earthen
lid, and a dough lamp is kept burning close by. Four holes are
made in the staff and four lighted lamps or- kodyds are kept burning
in ladles and the whole is worshipped by the boy's maternal uncle.
This is called the marriage god or devah. The boy is seated
on a low wooden stool, is anointed with oil from head to foot, is
rubbed with turmerio", and a marriage ornament of wild date or
sindi palm is tied to his brow. He is seated on a horse and taken
in company with children to the marriage porch which has been
built at the girl's house. When he draws near the hall he waits
without dismounting till the girl's father comes and presents him
with a turban and sash, and he goes back to his house. On the
fifth day the boy is made to stand at his house on a low wooden
stool, and a thread is passed seven times round his body.- A couple
of leaf-plates are filled with rice and an iron ring is tied with the
thread that was passed seven times round his body. This ceremony
takes place with the same details at the girl's house. The boy is
seated on a horse, and, accompanied by relations friends and music,
is taken in procession to the girl's. He is led to a neighbour's
house where a feast is held, and after the dinner is over the guests
withdraw leaving the boy and one or two of his relations. Early
next day the guests return. Two low wooden stools are set in front
of the marriage god or devah, and the boy is taken to the girl's
house, and he and the girl are seated the girl on his right. The
priest kindles a sacrificial fire in front of them and the boy feeds it
with clarified butter and grain. The priest holds a cloth between
the marriage guardian or devak and the boy and girl and repeats
marriage verses. When the verses are ended, the girl followed by
- the boy takes six turns round the devah. Before beginning to take
the seventh turn, the boy asks his parents and the other guests
whether they should take the seventh turn. They say, 'Take
the seventh turn'j and he walks in front of the girl, and when
the turn is completed they are husband and wife. A feast is held.
In the evening the boy and girl are seated in a palanquin
or carriage and are taken to the boy's house. Before he enters
the house the boy's sister stands in the doorway and asks him to
give her two silver wristlets or hakne. The boy hands her 4s.
(Rs. 2) and she allows him to pass. On the following or seventh
day the boy unlooses the girl's wristlet and the girl unlooses the
boy's wristlet, and the marriage festivities end with a feast. When
a gid comes of age, she is seated by herself for four days and on
a.lacky day her lap is filled with wheat and fruit. When a person
dies the family barber goes to tell the caste people. When they
come a bier is made, and, after water has been poured over the body
where it lies in the house, it is brought out, laid on the bier, and
carried to the burning ground on the shoulders of four men. When
.the body is half burnt the mourners bathe and go to the deceased's
house, and the chief mourner standing before them asks their
forgiveness for the trouble to which they have been put. The

Chapter lit.

Population.

Traders.
EirIvb.

[Bombay Gazetteer,

270

DISTEICTS.

Chapter III.
Fopulatioa.

Tbasebs.
KieUds.

KOMTIS.

LinbItats-

mourners reply, ' It is no trouble ; we have helped y.ou and you will
help us/ and they retire. On the third day the chief mourner throws
the ashes into water, and on the place where the body was burnt sets
two earthen jars, one filled with water the other with milk, and
after a bath returns home. The deceased's family mourns ten dajrs.
On the eleventh the men of the caste have their heads shaved at the
chief mourner's house and at -his expense, and after a feast they
retire. On the thirteenth his near relations present the chief
mourner with a turban and the mourner is free to attend to his
business. They have a caste council who settle social disputes at
meetings of the castemen. Offences against caste are punished by
fines varying from Qd. to £1 (Rs. :|-10), which are spent either on
liquor or on a caste feast. The Kird,ds send their boys to school
until they are able to read and write a,nd cast accounts. They are a
steady well-to-do class.

Eomtis are returned as numbering 429 and as found over the
whole district except in M^val. They are said to have come into
the district fifty to seventy-five' years ago from Telangan. or the
Nizdm's country. They are of three divisions, Jains, Rydpols, and
Vaishya,s, who though they neither eat together nor intermarry
differ little in appearance, speech^ calling, or customs. They are-
dark, tall, and thin. Their home tongue is TelugU} but with others
they speak Marathi. Many of them live in houses of the better
sort two' storeys high with walls of brick and tiled roofs. They
are vegetarians and their staple ^ood is millet, rice, pulse, and
vegetables. : Both men and women dress like Deccan Brahmans.
As a class Komtis are hardworking, orderly,' thrifty, and hospitable.
Most of them are grocers, dealing in spices, grain, butter, oil,
molasses, and sugar. A few are moneylenders, writers, husbandmen,
and in G-overnment service as messengers. They send their boys
to school.^ ,

■• Linga'yats, or Ling Worshippers, are returned as numbering
5S61 and as found over the whole district. They originally belonged
to the KamAtak and are said to have come to the district about al
hundred years ago. They have no subdivisions. Their surnames
are Gradkar, Hingmire, Jire, Jiresal, KAle, Mitkar, Parmale, Phutdne,
Vdikar, and Virkar. Families bearing the same surname do not
intermarry. The names in comrnon use among men are Mahddev
Malikdrjun, Shankar, and Virbhadra ;,and amjong women Bhdgirthi,
Bhimd, Ganga, Girja, Pdrvati, and Uma. They are generally
tall, thin, and dark. Their home tongue is Kanarese, but out
of doors they speak Mardthi as fluently as Marathds. They, live
in, houses of the better class and have servants and cattle. Their
staple food is millet, rice, pulse, and vegetable, and they neither
eat flesh nor drink liquor. They do not allow strangers to see their
food or the sun to shine on their drinking water, and they , are
very careful that no scraps of a meal shall be left uneaten. The
men wear a waistcloth, coat, waistcoat, shoulderoloth, headscarf^
or Brd/hman turban, and Brdhman shoes. The women dress in the

Fuller details of Komtis are given in the Sholipnr Statistical Account.

Deecan.]

POONA.

271

full Mardtha robe and bodice, and both men and women mark their
brows with ashes and carry the ling in a small box either tied to
the upper left arm or hanging from the neck. They are thrifty, sober,
hospitable, hardworking, and orderly. They are grain and cloth
retail dealers, and peddlers, grocers, and spice sellers. They are
ShaiTs and have no images in their houses. If they pass any Hindu
temple they bow to the image thinking it to be Mahadev, and in the
same way they bow before a mosque or a church thinking every
object of worship is Shiv. Their priests are Jangams, to whom
they show great respeet and before whom they bow low. They
profess not to believe in sorcery, witchcraft, or soothsaying, or to.
consult oracles. When a young wife's first confinement draws near
she is generally taken to her mother's. When a child is born the
midwife outs the navel cord and lays the child beside its mother iu
the cot. Word is sent to the child's father, and he distributes sugar.
and betel-packets among relations, friends, -and neighbours. Either .
on the first, third, or fifth d&j a, ling is tied round the mother's
neck or laid under the child's bed or pillow. Qn the evening of the
fifth day, in the lying-in room, near the cot a square is traced on
the ground with rice flour or quartz powder, and in the square is
laid the knife with whichthe child's navel string was cut, together
with a blank sheet of paper and a pen, and these are bowed to as
Satvai. On the evening of the sixth day a silver image of the
goddess Pd.rvati worth '^d. to \^d. (J-1 anna), is set on a low
wooden stool, the midwife lays flowers, camphor, and frank-

' incense before it, and the mother and child bow down to it. The
eTangam comes and is seated on a low wooden stool. JEis feet are .
washed in a plate, and the water is sprinkled over the house, and
given to the house people both men and women to drink. The ,
priest retires with a dinner and a few coppers. They name their

I. children, if a girl on the twelfth day and if a boy on the thirteenth.
On the naming day five married women are asked to dine along
with near kinsfolk and the child is laid in a cradle and named.
Before beginning her house work the mother takes her child to a
temple of Mahadev,^ bows to the god, and comes home. They feed a

, child on solid food for the first time after it is six months old.
When it is a year old, if it is a girl, part of its forelock is clipped by
its maternal uncle, and if it is a boy. the head excepting the top-
knot is sha,ved by a barber. At five years old a boy is sent
to school, and at twelve he is taught a sacred verse in honour of
Shiv. Girls are also taught this verse, but not till they are sixteen.
They marry their girls between eight and twelve and their boys
■ between twefve and twenty-five. Th& offer of marriage comes from
the boy's house, and when the match is settled the boy's father,
accompanied by a Jangam and a few near . relations, goes to the.
girl's, presents her with a new robe and bodice, and, puts a little,
sugar into her mouth, The girl's father hands betel-paokets and
the guests withdraw. Afterwards, the marriage.^ day is settled in

ij,,cbnsultation with a Jangam or a Brahman astrologer. Marriage
pidrches are raised both at the,boy's,and at the girl's and an earthen
altar is made at the girl's. Round the altar twenty whitewashed
earthen pota marked with red lines are- piled in five pillars each

Chapter III:

Population.

Tbadebs.
LinqAtai3.

[Bombay Gazetteer,

272

DISTRICTS.

Chapter III.
Population.

Traders.
LinsAyats.

of four pots. The boy is seated on tofseback, and with^a band
of kinsmen and kinswomen and music goes to the girl's bouse. The
boy and girl are rubbed with turmeric and 'the hems of their
garments are knotted together and untied after the boy and girl
bave bowed before the god MahddoY. A quartz square is tracedj
and round it are arranged five metal water-pots filled with water. In
the middle of the square two low wooden stools are set and the boy
and girl take their seats on the" stools. In front of them is set an
image of Mahddev and of his carrier the bull Nandi, and these are
worshipped with the help of the Jangam. The Jangam repeats the
marriage verses and tbe guests keep throwing grains of rice over
the beads of the boy and girl. When the verses are finished the
boy and girl bow. before Mahadev and Nandi and are man and wife.
The boy and girl are seated on the altar and the girl's father presents
the boy with a water-pot or tdmhya and a plate or pitali. A dinner
follows and after dinner betel-packets are handed and the guests
withdraw. Next day presents of clothes are exchanged, the boy
goes in procession .with his wife to his house, and the gaests are
• given betel-packets and withdraw. When a Lingayat is on the
point of death alms are given in his name. When he dies he is
seated on a low wooden stool leaning against the wall and supported
on each side by near kinspeople. ,A bamboo frame is built round a
high wooden stool, a young plantain tree is>tied to each corner of the
stool, and a red cloth is folded on the three sides of the bamboo frame.
The body is carried outside of the house, cold water is poured
over it, and ashes are rubbed on the brow arms and chest. It is
dressed in tbe usual clothes, and flower garlands are bung round
the neck. A lighted lamp is wayed round the face and tbe body
is seated in tbe frame and carried on the shoulders of four men.-
In front walks a Jangam with a conch shell and a bell, constantly
ringing tbe bell and every now and then blowing the shell. Both
men and women follow repeating Har, Har, Mahddev. When they
reacb the burial ground the frame is lowered, water is sprinkled
on the ground which is to be the grave, a hole six feet- deep is
dug, and tbe body is lowere^d into the hole, and seated with the
clothes on. The ling is untied from the neck, laid on the open hand,
and covered with bel leaves. As mucb salt as the mourners can
afford is spread round the body and the grave is filled. A stone
is laid over thegrave, and on the stone the Jangam stands repeating
verses. When the verses are ended bel leaves are thrown over the
stone and the funeral party retire to the bouse of mourning and
look at the burning lamp whicb was placed on the spotwhere the dead
breathed his last. After they leave the lamp is allowed to go out.
Tbey sbow no signs of mourning, but, if able to meet tbe expense
raise a tomb witb a ling and a bull carved on it. On tbe' third day
a feast is held. Nothing more is done till the yearly death-day^
when another feast is given. The Lingayats are bound together
as a body, and settle social disputes at meetings of tbe castemen in
consultation with the headmen or shettids. They send their boya
to school for a short time, and are in easy circumstances.

Deccan.]

POONA.

273

. Loha'na's are returned as numbering six and as found only in
Poona. They have come to Poona from Bombay, where they muster
strong. Their home tongue is Gl-ujard,ti, but they speak Mardthi like
Braiimans. They are thrifty, hospitable, and hardworking. They
are traders, moneylenders, and dealers in gunny-bags or bdrddns.

Ta'mbolis, or Betel-leafsellers, are returned as numbering
■ forty-six and as found only in the city and cantonment of Poona.
They say they came from Sitara and Ahmadnagar during the time of
the Peshwds and took to selling betel leaves from which they get their
name. They eat and marry with Mardtha Kunbis. Their surnames
and the names of men and women are the same as those of cultivating
Mardthds, and, as among Marathas, persons bearing the same surname
do not intermarry. They look speak di'ess and eat like Marathds.
They resemble Mardthd,s in religion and customs, and settle social
disputes at meetings of the castemen. They are retail sellers of
betel. leaveSj of dpta Bauhina racemosa and temburni Diospyros
melanoxylon cigarettes, of betelnut, of catechu, and of tobacco. They
buy the betel leaves from Tirgul Brahmans who grow them in
gardens. Between Mdgh or February and Jesht or June they buy a
Jmdtan of thirty-seven JcavUs, each kavK containing four hundred
and fifty leaves, plucked from the tops of plants and worth 16s. to
£1 6s. (Rs. 8-13) the kudtan. They sell -twelve, fifteen, or twenty
leaves for f <?. (j anna). From June to October they buy a kudtan of
na/oatichis or tender leaves an&talpdnes or short-bottom leaves at
4s. to 12s. (Rs. 2-6) the kudtan. Between October and February
they buy a kudtan oi gacMs or middle leaves costing 14s. to 18s.
(Rs.7-9) and sell them at twenty to twenty-five for ^d. The ripe
or pakka leaves are sold at eight to twelve for fcZ. The leaves have
to be turned and aired every day and the ripe ones picked out.
If not carefully picked and sifted the leaves rot. , Tambolis make
£1 to £1 10s. (Rs. 10-15) a month. Their women do not help.
Lads begin to serve as shopboys on 10s. to I4s. (Rs. 5-7) a month.
They do not send their boys to, school, and are a steady class.

Va'nis or Traders, with a strength of 14,374, belong to three main
divisions, G-ujardt Vanis, Mar war Vanis, and Vaishya Vanis, who
jieither dine together nor intermarry.

GujaeIt YAsis or traders, numbering 3844, are found over the
whole district. They are said to have come from Gujardt in search
of work at different times during the last two hundred years. They
are divided into Meshris or Brd,hmanic , Vanis, followers of the
Vaishnav pontiff Vallabhacharya, and Shrdvaks or followers of the
Jain religion, Meshris are divided into Kapbls, Khaddyats, Ldds,
Modhs, N%ars, Pd,nchds, and Porvdls. They rank next to BrAhmans
and eat only from the Gajardt Brd,hmans who officiate as their
priests. The Jains are divided into Humbads, PorvJlls, ahd Shrimalis.
The following details apply both to Meshri and to Jain Vd,nis.^ The
names in common use among men are Ganpatdds, Lakhnlidds,

Chapter III.
Population.

Tradkks.

TAmbous,

VInib.

Gujarat,

1 Besides the Gujarit and Mirwir ShrAvaks or Jains, there are a few KAnarese
Jains who do not dififer from the Jains described in the ShoMpur Statistical Account.

B 310—35

[Bombay Gazetteer,

274

DISTRICTS.

.Chapter III.
Population.

Tbaders.

Chijardt,

Manekchand, Ndrdyandds, Ragliuiiilfchdds, Rdmdas, Shivchand,
Shivdas.and Vithaldas^; and among women, Guldb,Goddvari,JadAv,
Jamna, Jasoda, K^veri, Lakhmi, Manik, Rddba, Rukhmini, and Reva.
They have neither surnames nor family stocks. The men add the
word shet the Gujarati for merchant, to their names. They speak
Gujarati at home and like the Vanis of Gujarat, from whom they
do not differ in appearance, they are fair and inclined to stoutness.
Most of them live in houses two or three storeys high, with stone
and brick walls and tiled roofs. Their houses cost ,£100 to £1000,
(Rs. 1000 - 10,000) to build and 16s. to £2 (Rs.8-20) a month
to hire. The value of their furniture and house goods varies
from £100 to £1000 (Rs. 1000-10,000). The furniture of. the richer
families of Poona Vanis includes couches, sofas, boxes, chairs,
tables, globes, looking glasses, Indian cai-pets, Persian carpets',
beds, pillows, cushions, large and small cooking and storing vessels
. and utensils, and useful and ornamental silver plates. Most of them
employ servants to do the house work and pay them 8s. to 12s.
(Rs. 4-6) a month. They keep cows, she- buffaloes, horses, and
parrots'. They are strict vegetarians and are famous for their
fondness for sweet dishes. The daily meal includes four or five
dishes, rice boiled and strained, split pulse turmeric powder and
salt called varan, unleavened wheat cakes called polis, and vegetables.
A family of five spends £1 10s. to £2 10s. (Rs. 15 - 25) a, month
on food. They give caste feasts on marriage and other occasions,
the chief dishes being a preparation of wheat floui-, milk, sugar,
and clarified butter called IdpsM; grains of gram flour passed
through a sieve fried in clarified butter and seasoned with
sugar called hundis ; tubes containing boiled sugar, fried in
clarified butter called jiZfois; and raised wheaten cakes fried in
clarified butter and rice seasoned with sugar clarified butter and
condiments called puris. They use no intoxicants except bhang,
a liquid preparation of Indian hemp flowers, and smoke tobacco.
Though most families have a store of rich clothes they are neither .
careful nor neat in their dress, many of the men being slovenly
and dirty. A family of five spends £4 to £7 (Rs. 40 - 70) a year on
dress. The men wear the mustache and whiskers, but shave the
chin. They dress like Mardtha Brdhmans, except that in passing
the end of the waistcloth between the legs they draw it tight over
the right shin. The men's ornaments are the earrings called
bhikbdliwovth £5 to £15 (Rs. 50 - 150), the necklace of twisted chain
called gop worth £10 to £80 (Rs. 100 - 800), the necklace called
kanthi worth £10 to £100 (Rs. 100 - 1000), the bracelets called
todds worth £5 to £15 (Rs. 50-150), and the bracelets called hadis worth
£5 to £15 (Rs. 50 - 150), The women arrange the hair in a braid.
Some have lately taken to decking their hair with flowers and mixing
it with false hair. They dress like Gujardt Vani women. Some wear
bodices with backs, and some bodices without backs. Almost all wear
the lunga or petticoat, over which they draw a rich robe, the lower
end of which is faatened into the waistband of the petticoat and the

: ^ Meshri men's names end with dSa and Shrdvak men's names end -with' chand.

Deccan.]

POONA.

275

upper end drawn over tte head and held in the hand near the waist
in front, so as, when the wearer wishes, to form a veil. The
petticoats and robes of the Gujdrat Vani women are noticeable in
the Deccan, because they are oftener of dark-tinted hand-printed
calico than the light single colours worn by most Deccan Hindu
women. Besides the luck-giving necklace worth 4s. to £1
(Rs. 2-10), they have different neck ornaments, hirdkadichi sdJchaU
worth £10 to £15 (Rs. 100 - 150), kantha worth £20 to £50
(Rs. 200-500,) putalydcM mdl worth £12 10s. to £50 (Rs. 125-500),
thusi worth £10 to £12 10s. (Rs. 100 - 125), and vajraiika worth
£2 to £4 (Rs. 20 - 40). Their bracelets include hdngdis' worth
£10 to £12 10s. (Rs. 100-125), gots worth £10 to £15 (Rs. 100.150),
•pdtlis worth £15 to £50 (Rs. 150 - 500), and todds worth £20 to £25
(Rs. 200 - 250). The only feet ornaments are sdhhlis and todds,
each worth' £10 to £15 (Rs. 100 - 150) ; and toe ornaments, jodvis
and TndsoUsf each worth £1 to £1 12s. (Rs. 10-16). They are
patient, hardworking, respectful, and thrifty. Most of. them are
grocers, cloth and silk sellers, bankers, and moneylenders, and a
few are Government servants. When he reaches his sixteenth year
a boy is placed as a clerk under some trader or shopkeeper for six
months or a year, during which he manages to pick up the business.
At the end of the time he begins to -trade on his own account and
makes £2 to £5 (Rs. 20 - 50) a month. Most of their large purchases
are made in Bombay. They work from early morning to noon,
rest till two, and again work till eight in the evening. The opening
of railways has increased competition and lowered profits. Many are
rich and almost all are well-to-do and free from debt. The women
do not- help the men in their work, but mind the house and spend
the rest of their time in embroidery.

A Grujar^t Vani woman generally remains for her confinement at
her husband's bouse. When a woman is in labour a midwife is sent
'. for, who is generally a Kunbi. She delivers the woman, cuts the
child's navel cord, and buries it either in the lying-in room or outside
of the house. The woman and child are bathed in Warm water and
the woman is given molasses and clarified butter to eat and
anise-seed water to drink. During the first three days the. child
is fed on honey and castor oil, and from the fourth day is given
the breast. The mother from the fourth to the twelfth day is fed
on sdnja, that is the grit of wheat flour boiled with sugar and
clarified butter. On the sixth evening a blank sheet of paper, a
pen, and an inkstand are laid near the mother's cot for the
goddess Sati to . write the child's fortune, and grains of parched
grain coated with molasses are given to little children to eat. The
mother is unclean for eleven days. 'The child is named when it
is a month or five weeks old. On the- naming day five or six
married women are asked to dine, and the father gives the child
feet and waist ornaments and the mother a robe and bodice. In
the evening the child is laid in a robe folded in hammock fashion,
and is named by an unmarried girl, who is given sugar, a piece of
cocoa-kernel, and betel leaves. A birth costs £2 to £3 (Rs. 20-30).
Ihejaval or hair-cntting ceremony costs £2 10s. to £1 0 (Rs. 25-100) .
If a vow is made on the child's behalf, its hair is not cut until

Chapter III.

Population.

Tkadeks.

VInis,

OvjarcU.

[Bombay Gazetteer,

276

DISTRICTS.

Chapter III.

Population.

Traders.
VAms.
Qvjardt.

the vow is paid. Sometimes the hair- cutting comes off during the
marriage of one of the child's kinspeople, and sometimes on any good
day between the sixth month and the fifth year of the child's age.
The barber who is to cut the hair clips a small lock with a silver pair of
scissors worth 2s. to 10s. (Rs. 1 - 5). The ceremony ends with a feast
to friends kinspeople and Brahmans. They generally marry their
daughters between eleven and fifteen spending £50 to £200 (Es.500-
2000} on the marriage,and their boys betweeh thirteen and twenty rfive
at a cost of £200 to £500 (Rs. 1000-5000). When the girl's fatW
thinks of marrying his daughter, he takes some near kinsman and
goes to a family who have a boy likely to make a suitable match.
The kinsman sees the head of the boy's family and tells him why
they have come. If the kinsman finds that the boy's father favours
the match, he returns with the girl's father. Then the boy's
father in presence of witnesses agrees to the offer and names the
sum which he can aSbrd to spend on ornaments for the girl. If the
girl's father has no hope of securing a better or a richer husband for
his daughter, he marks the boy's brow with vermilion and gives
cocoanilts,- betel leaves, and dry dates to those who are present.
The fathers go to an astrologer to fix the marriage day, and the
boy's father gives the astrologer a cocoanut and ^d. (2, as.)
Marriage cards are sent to friends and relations, and • in front of the
girl's and the boy's houses a marriage porch is built. A Ganpati
of brass or silver is set in a large earthen jar marked with lines
of white and red, and the jar is placed in the house on a heap
of wheat. The mouth of the jar is covered with a small earthen
vessel and a lamp is kept burning before it. A month before the
day fixed for the marriage the ceremony of rubbing the boy's face
and feet with 'pithi or gram-paste begins. The boy is seated on a
four-legged or chaurang stool and his faCe and feet .are rubbed by
women, who afterwards -sit round him and sing songs. Bach of the
women on leaving is every day given a handful of betelnut. This
ceremony is called Lahdn Ganesh or the Little Ganpati. Pour days
before the marriage day caste feasts begin. On the marriage day
the bridegroom is decked with ornaments and garlands of flowers,
dressed in rich clothes his turban being stuffed with pieces of green
kinkhdb or brocade, and carrying a cocoamit in his hand he is
taken to the bride's on horseback with music and a company
of friends. When the procession reaches the bride's, her mother
comes out of the marriage booth, waves a drinking pot full of water
round the face of the bridegroom, and pours the water over the
horse's feet. The bridegroom is taken from the horse and seated on
a four-legged stool. The bride is led into the booth and seated on
a low stool facing the bridegroom. They hold each other's right
hands and a piece of coloured cloth is drawn between them. The
priest recites eight luck-giving verses. At th« end of the verses
the priest binds round the right wrists of the bride and the
bridegroom a fcamfcari or bracelet of cotton thread passed through
a gelphal or Vangueria spinosa fruit, and the married couple pass
fourteen times round a sacred fire or horn the bridegroom walking
in front of the bridCi ~ Qn the fourth day after the mairriage the
bride's father presents the bridegroom with clothes and vessels :^

Deccan.]

POONA.

277

the bride's portion and the married pair go on horseback in
procession to the bridegroom's. At the bridegroom's the priest
worships and bows out the divinity who under the name of
Ganpati was summoned at the beginning of the ceremonies. When
the marriage guardian has been bowed out the bride and bridegroom
fall at the feet of the priest, who blesses them. At the bridegroom's
house, the castepeople are for several days feasted often at great
expense.

When^ a girl comes of age she is held to be unclean and is made
to sit by herself for four days. The event is not marked by any
other ceremony. In the seventh month of a woman's first pregnancy
a caste feast is given, and her parents present her and her husband
with new clothes. She is seated on a four- legged siool and her lap
is filled with grain and fruit by women, who sing as they fill her lap.
She is taken to the houses of friends and kinspeople to pay her
respects in a palanquin or a carriage. This costs £2 10s. to £10
(Rs.25-100).

A dying man is laid on a spot of ground which has been washed
with cowdung, and wheat grains and copper or silver coins 'are
distributed to begging Brdhmans. When they hear of the death, the
friends and kinspeople come to the house, and the women standing
in a circle beat their breasts and wail and the men make a bier. A
cocoanut is tied to the bier and a piece of sandalwood is fastened
at its head. The body is bathed, robed in a waistcloth, laid on the
bier, and covered with a shroud, sometimes a richly embroidered
shawl. Unlike the Mardthas they cover the face of the dead. When
all is ready the chief mourner starts carrying the fire-pot in a sling.
On the way to the burning ground the bearers set down the bier and
change places and the son drops a copper coin on the spot. At
the burning ground they lay the body on the pyre and kindle it.
While the body is being consumed they thrice stir the pile with
poles whose ends are smeared with clarified l^utter. The funei-al
party bathe and return to the house of the deceased, staying for a
time, and trying to comfort the women who are weeping and wailing.
Next day the mourners go to the burning ground, remove the ashes,
and place on the spot a little rice and split tur pulse, a copper coin,
and an earthen pot filled with water. The impurity caused by a
death lasts ten days. Meshri or Br^hmanic V^nis perform shrddh
ceremonies on the tenth, eleventh, and twelfth day after a death,
and feed castepeople on the twelfth or thirteenth. Shrdvak or
Jain Vdnis do not perform shvadhs, but go to their temples or
apdsrds on the twelfth day and offer scents and flowers to the
Tirthankars.^

Grujardt V^nis are scattered in small numbers over the district.
They settle social disputes at meetings of the castemen. Offences
against caste are punished by fines ranging from 2s, to £2 10?.
(Rs. 1 - 25), and the amount is spent either in charity, or on caste
feasts. They send their boys and girls to school, keeping the hoys
at school till sixteen and the girls till nine. They teach the boys

Chapter III.
Fopnlatiott.

Tbadeks,

VJms.

1 ShrAvaks py little attention to the Brahman rule that a 4eath causes a ten day's
impurity.

[Bombay Gazetteer,

278

DISTRICTS.

Chapter III.
Population.

Traders.

VMris.
Mdrwdr.

to read, write, and cast accounts. They do not confine ttemselyes
to^ny one branch of trade and are quick in taking advantage of
new openings. As a class they are well-to-do.

MIewIe VlSis are returned as numbering 9637 and as found
over the whole district. Most, if not all, have come into the
district since the beginning of British rule. They are divided
into Osvals and Porvals, who eat together but do not intermarry.
The two divisions do not differ from each other in appearance,
speech, religion; or customs. Their surnames are Ohavan,'.Parmd,r,
Pohan^chavdn, and Sakruju ; families bearing the same surname
do not intermarry. The, names in common use among men are
Gavra, Hattaj, KhumAji, Khushal, Kusna, Rd,m, and Sada; and
among women Bani, Devi, 'Dhan^de, Naju, Nopi, Padma, and
Rakhma. They are rather tall dark and stout, as a rule with big
faces and sharp eyes. The men generally shave the head except
the top-knot and the face except the mustache and eyebrows.
Some wear a lock of hair curling over each ear, and the back
hair is mostly worn long with an upward curl at the tips. Their
home tongue is Marwari, but with others they speak an incorrecb
Marathi. Most of them live in houses of the better class, two
or more storeys high, with walls of brick and tiled roofs,, their
furniture including metal vessels, boxes, carpets, beds, and pillows.
Their staple food is wheat cakes, rice, pulse, vegetables, and butter.
They are vegetarians, neither eating fish nor flesh, and drinking
no liquor. They dress either like Mard,thi-Brd.hmans or in small
tightly wound particoloured turbans, generally yellow and red or
pink and -red. Their women wear the petticoat or ghagra, a short-
sleeved open-backed bodice, and a cloth rolled round the waist of
the petticoat, passed over the head and face, and the end held in the
hand in front. Their arms are covered with ivory bracelets and
they do not -deck their hair with flowers. They are hardworking,
sober, and timid, but dirty, miserly, greedy, and unprincipled in their
dealings. Besides in grain, cloth, and metal, they deal in condi-
ments, spices, sugar, butter, flour, and oil. They are money-
changers and moneylenders. They make advances to . almost any
one and recover them by all sorts of devices. A family of five
spends £1 to £1 10s. (Rs. 10-15) a month on food and £1 to £3
(Rs. 10 - 30) a year on clothes. They generally do not own houses,
but rent them at 10s. to £1 (Rs. 5 - 10) a month. They sometimes
have clerks, whom they pay 10s. io £2 (Rs. 5-20). a month. Their
furniture and household goods vary in value from £20 to £50
(Rs. 200-500). A birth costs £1 to £3 (Rs. 10-30), a boy's
marriage £30 to £50 (Rs. 300-500), a girl's £20 to £30(Rs, 200-300),
and a death £5 to £10 (Rs. 50 - 100)., They are Shravaks or Jains
by religion and their chief god is Kshatrapal whose chief shrine is
near Mount Abu. They also worship the usual BrAhmanic or local
gods and goddesses. Their priests are Shrimali Brahmans, who
conduct their marriage and death ceremonies. They marry their
girls before they are thirteen and their boys before they are twenty.
They mb turmeric on the boy's and girl's bodies from three days
to a month before the marriage and spend the time in feasts and
make presents of clothes. On the marriage day the boy is seated on

Seccan,]

POONA.

279

a horse, the marriage ornament is tied to his brow, and he is taken
to the girl's with a dagger in his hand. Before he dismounts^ a
stick is handed to him and with it he touches the marriage porch.
The girl's jnother comes out carrying on her head two or three brass
water-pots or Tzalases piled one on the other. The boy bows and
drops 4s. to £1 (Rs. 2-10) in the. pots. She then goes back and
comes with a plate in which are two cups, one filled with curds and
the other with redpowder or kunku. She marks the boy's brow
first with redpowder and then with curds and squeezes the boy's
nose four times. The boy dismounts and takes his seat "in a cot in
the marriage hall, at each corner of which is piled a pillar of seven
earthen jars. The girl is brought out and seated in front of the
boy with grains of rice in^herhand. A cloth is held between the
boy and the girl. The girl throws the grains of rice over the boy's
head and the cloth is withdrawn. She then takes her seat on the
boy's right. The hems of their garments are tied together by a
married woman, a thread necklace is fastened round their necks,
and the sacrificial fire is lit, and barley sesamum and butter are
thrown into it. The boy and girl walk thrice round the fire and
before taking the fourth turn the girl walks in front of the boy and
does not make the fourth" turn until the elders have given her
leave. All this while the priests keep reading lucky verses or
mangalashtaks, and no sooner is the fourth turn finished than grains
of rice are thrown over the heads of the boy and the girl and they
are married. They burn their dead„ have no headman, and settle
social disputes at meetings of the castemen of each division. They
send their boys to school and are well-to-do.

Vaxshta VInis are returned as numbering 893 and as found
all over the district except in Junnar. They have no tradition of
their origin and no remembrance of any former settlement or of
their arrival in the district. . They have no subdivisions. They are
iniddle-sized and stout, and their women are fair. They speak
Marathi and live in houses with mud and brick walls and tiled roofs.
They eat fish and flesh and drink liquor. They dress like Deccan
Brdhmans. They are thrifty, hardworking, sober, and orderly, and
earn their living as traders, shopkeepers, and husbandmen. They
worship the usual Brahmanic and local gods and goddesses, keep
the regular fasts and feasts, and go on pilgrimage to the chief
Brahmanic places of resort. They pay great respect to their priests
who are Deshasth Brahmans. They have a caste council and send
their boys to school. They are a steady people.

Husbandmen include five classes with a strength of 449,930
or 53'13 per cent of the Hindu population. The details are :
PooNA HmsANDMSur, 1881.

Class.

Males.

Females.

Total.

B&ris

KAcMa

Kunbis

MMis

PiMdis

Total ...

350

199,403

26,306

368

198,184

26,261

68'^

708

896,687

82,BS7

226,101

324,829

449,930 '

Chapter III.

Fopnlatioii.

Tbaders.

VJ.ms.

MArwdr,

Vaiehya,

HUSBANDMEH.

[Bombay Gazettder,

280

DISTEICTS.

Chapter HI.
Population.

Husbandmen.

BlRIS.

Baris, or Ban Tdmbolis, that is Bari betel-leafsellets, are
returned as numbering sixty-eiglit. All are found in the city of
Poena. They believe that they came to Poena about a hundred years
ago from Barhdnpur in West Berdr. They are called BAri-Tdmbolis
to distinguish them from Teli or Oilmen Tdmbolis, from Mardtha
Tdmbolis, and from MusalmAn T£mbolis. The Bdris' surnames are
BerAd, Hage, Ikare^ M^koda, Musdle, Povdrj Panchod, and Tade,
and persons bearing the same surname cannot intermarry. The names
in common use among men are Ganpati, Mitfcraji, and Shivrdraj
and among women Ambu, Lahani^ Shitaj and Sundar. They
look like Marathd,s, being middle-sized and dark. The men wear the
top-knot, mustache and whiskers, but not the beard. They speak
Mardthi without any peculiarities. Most of them live in houses
of the better class, two or more storeys high, with, walls of brick
and tiled roofs. They keep their hortses clean and have copper
brass and earthen vessels, blankets, and carpets. They own cows
and buffaloes, but almost none have servants. They are neither
great eaters nor good cooks. There is nothing special or proverbial
about their style of cooking or their pet dishes. Their staple food
is millet, pulse, vegetables, and spices, 'and they eat rice, fish, and the
flesh of goats, sheep, poultry, and occasionally eggs. They say they
do not eat from the hands of any one but a Brdhman. They drink
both country and foreign liquor, smoke tobacco, and hemp flowers
or gdnja, and take opium. Their holiday dishes are oil-cakes
and sugared milk. The men wear a waistcloth, shouldercloth,
coat, waistcoat, Mardtha turban, and shoes. The women wear
a Mardtha robe and bodice and glass bangles. They tie their hair
in a knot behind the head, but do not deck it with flowers or use
false hair. They have no special liking for gay colours. Their
holiday dress does not differ from their every-day dress except that
it is freshly washed. Except a brass, gilt, or gold ring for the
ear called bhikbdli worth Is. Bd. to 2s. (Re. |- - 1), the men seldom
wear any ornaments. The women's ornaments are a gilt or gold-
buttoned lucky necklace or mangalsutra with glass beads worth 2s.
to 2s. 6(2. (Es. I-I5), queensmetal bracelets called yella sknd- got
worth 2s. to 4s. (Rs. 1 - 2), and queensmetal anklets called jodvi
and viravlya worth Bd. to 6d. (2-4 as.)

They are hardworking, frugal, and orderly. They deal in betel
leaves, buying them from Tirgul Brdhmans, M^lis, and Mardthas at
2s. to £1 16s. (Rs. 1-18) for a kudti of about 16,500 leaves. Betel
leaves are of four kinds : navdtis worth 2s. to 10s. (Rs.il-5) the kudti
of 16,,500 leaves; ^ taldchis worth 2s. to 4s. (Rs. 1-2) the kudti ; gachis
worth 6s. to £1 4s. (Rs. 3-12) the kudti; and sMdis worth 6s. to £1 16s.
(Rs. 3-18) the kudti. They keep no holidays and work steadily
without busy or slack seasons. They generally work from six in
the morning to twelve, and from two to, nine. The women help the
men by turning the leaves. A family of five spends 16s. to £1
(Rs.B - 10) a month on food and £1 to £1 10s. (Rs^ 10 -15).a year on

' The details are : In each kudti 37 kavlis and in each kavU 450 leaves, that ia a
total of 16,650.

BeccanJ

POONA.

281

clothes. They live in hired houses paying 9c?. to Is. 3cZ. (6 -10 as.)
a month. A birth, whether of a boy or of a girl, costs 10s. (Es. 5) ;
a marriage of a boy £5 to £7 10s. (Rs. 50 - 75), and of a girl £4 to
£6 (Rs.40-60) ; and a death £1 to £1 4s. (Rs.10-12). They have
house images of Ganpati, Mahddev, and Mdrilti, and their family
goddess is the Bhavdhi of TuljApur. Their priests are generally
Deshasths. Their fast days are Mdhdshivardtra in February, nine
days of Navrdtra and Bdm-navmi in April, Ashddhi Ekddashi in July,
Gohul-ashtami in August, and Kdrtiki Ekddashi in November, and
their feasts are Shimga in March, Pddva in April, Ndgar-panchami
in August, Ganesh-chaturthi in September, Basara in Ootoberj and
Divdli in November.

They have no guru or teacher and profess to disbelieve in witchcraft,
soothsaying, omens, and- evil spirits. For cutting, the child's navel
cord they pay the midwife l\d. to Is. 3c?. (5 - 10 as.), and feed the
child for three days on honey and castor oil. On the evening of
the third day the child takes the breast and the mother is fed pn
butter, wh.eat, and molasses. On the night of the fifth they draw
redlead figures on the wall in the mother's room and in front of the
figures place rnethi, that is fenugreek or Greek hay, and rice or millet
bread, and the mother with the babe in her arm bows to the figures
and retires. The same ceremony is repeated the next night in
honour of the goddess Satvai On the evening of the twelfth day
the child is named and wet gram and packets of betelnut and
leaves are presented to married women. The jdval or hair-cutting
takes place on any day after a child is four months old and before
it is a year and a quarter old.

They marry their girls between five and nine and their boys
between twelve .and twenty-five. Their asking and betrothal
ceremonies are the same as those of Mardtha cultivators and their
guardian or devak is their house goddess. On the day before
a marriage they give their house gods to a goldsmith to clean
at his housp. , When they are clean they bring the gods home
with music and instal them with much ceremony, worshipping
them with great pompj playing music, and offering them abund-
ance of sweet-smelling flowers. Oil-cakes are prepared and
a feast is held. The boy and girl are rubbed with turmeric at
their houses. Either on the same day or on the day after rela-
tions and friends are feasted. On the marriage day th,e boy goes
on horseback to the girl's house with kinsmen and kinswomen,
friends, and music. At the girl's water and rice are waved round
' his head, he is taken into the house and made to stand either on a
low wooden stool or in a new bamboo basket facing the bride,, and
a cloth is held between them. Br^hmans repeat marriage verses
and at the end throw grains of red rice over the heads of the boy
and girl, and they are husband and wife. The skirts of the boy's
and girl's robes are tied together, and they are seated in the
marriage booth and the sacrificial fire is lighted. They are taken
before the marriage gods and bow low before them. Their garments
are untied, and the boy and the girl repeat one another's names in
couplets. On the following day presents of clothes are exchanged
between the two houses, and, in addition, the boy is given a plate
B 310—36

Chapter III.
Population.

Husbandmen.

[Bombay Gazetteer,

282

DISTEIOTS.

Chapter III.

Population.

Husbandmen.
BAbis. ■

or ihala of queeiism«tal, a brass or copper water-pot called tdrnhydj j
and a brass lamp. The relations on both sides throw finger rings
and copper and silver coins into the plate for the girl. The girl's
parents take the girl in their arms, and saying to the boy's parents,
' All this while she was ours, now slie is yours,' place her in the
boy's arms. The boy's mother puts a little sugar in the girl's
mouth, sticks a rupee on her brow, and looks in her face. The skirts
of the boy's and girl's robes are tied and they are seated either
on a horse or in a carriage, and, accompanied by kinspeople and
friends, go in procession to the boy's house. Before entering ,the
house the boy's -mother' waves cooked irice and- bread oyer their
heads and throws the rice and bread away. The boy and girl go
into the house, throw grains of rice over the heads of the house and
marriage god^, bow- before them, and retire. On the following
day, if well-to-do they give a feast of sweet cakes or puran-polis, or
if poor distribute betelnut and leaves. This ends the marriage
ceremony. When a girl comes of age she is seated by herself for
three days, bathed on the fourth, presented with a new bodice and
robe, and her lap is filled with plantains, guavas, dates, pomegranates,
oranges, and wheat or rice. In the evening the girland afterwards
the boy are taken to a room set apart for their use. This is done
either at the boy's or the girl's. If at the girl's the boy stays for
a couple of days and then goes home either with or without his
wife.

When a BAri is on the point of death rice , or wheat grains are
distributed in his name to beggars and a tulsi leaf is laid in his
mouth. When lie dies, bamboos worth 6d. to 7^d. (4>-5 as.), two
earthen pots worth about l^d (1 anna), a white cloth worth 2s. * to
5s. (Rs. 1-2|), and cowdung cakes worth 7s. to 14s. (Rs. 3^ - 7)
are bought. The body is brought out of the house, hot water is
poured over it, and it is -wrapped in the new cloth, and laid on the
bier.^ If the deceased is a widow her brow is marked with abi'r or
sweet-scented powder. If her husband is alive she is dressed in a
new green robe and bodice, her brow is marked with redpowder
and turmeric, glass bangles are put on her wrists, and her lap is
filled with grain dry cocoa-kernel and dates, and she is laid on the
bier. The bier is carried on the shoulders of four near relations and
the chief mourner walks in front with an earthen pot containing
burning co.wdung cakes. Half-way to the burning ground the bier is
lowered, a few grains of rice and a copper are laid by the side of the
road near the corpse's head, and each, mourner drops two or three
pebbles over the copper. The bearers change places and carry the
corpse to the burning ground, dip it in a streanwiver or pond, and the
chief mourner dashes on the ground the pot containing the, burning
cowdung cakes. A few cowdung cakes are placed over the burning
cakes, a pile is raised, and the dead body is laid on it. The chief
mourner first sets fire to the pile and then the other mourners.
When the skull splits the chief mourner takes another earthen
jar full of water on his; shoulder and walks thrice round th^
pyre beating bis mouth \?ith the back of his right hand. When the
body is burnt to ashes they bathe and return to the chief mourner's,
kouse caiTying- nim leaves. At the mourner's house, a lamp is kep't

Deccan.]

POONA.

283

burning on the spot where the deceased breathed his last. The
mourners take a look at the lamp, sprinkle nim leaves round it, and
return to their homes. On the third day, accompanied by a couple
of near relations, the chief mourner goes to the burning ground,
gathers the ashes, and throws tkem into the river or stream, sprinkles
cow's urine, turmeric, redpowder, and flowers on the spot where the
body was burnt, burns frankincense, and offers parched rice grain
and sweetmeats to the spirit of the dead. He gathers the unburnt
bones in an earthen, jar, puts them somewhere in hiding, and
returns home. The chief mourner is considered unclean for teij
days. At the end of the ten days he either buries the bones in
the jar or throws them into water. On the tenth day he feasts the
four corpse-bearers with a dish of wheat and molasses called thuli
and curry. A flower dipped in butter is drawn from the shoulders
to the elbow of each of the corpse-bearers, and they retire.^ On the
eleventh day the chief mourner goes to the burning ground, sets
twelve or thirteen wheat balls- in a row, drops redpowder and flowers
over them, and throws them into water. On the twelfth day, the chief
mourner and his family priest go to the burning ground and make
a three-cornered mound and set three earthen jars on it. Over each
jar is placed a small wheat cake and a rice ball and at each corner
of the mound is^planted a flag six or eight inches long. The mourner
retires to some distance and waits for the crows to come, and when
a crow has come and touched one of the balls he bathes and
goes home. The Brdhman who accompanies him is presented
with a pair of shoes, an umbrella, a dining plate or tdt, and a
water-pot or tdmbya, and 6d. to Is. (4-8 as.) in cash. On the
thirteenth day the chief mourner fills a plate with food and
throws it in a stream or river. The caste is feasted and treated to
a dish of sweet cakes or furan-folw. A near relation presents the
chief mourner with a turban and the mourning or dukhavta is over.
The Bdris allow child-marriage, widow-uiarriage, and polygamy, but
not polyandry. They have a caste council and settle social disputes
at meetings of the castemen. They send their boys to school for a
short time. They are a steady class.

Ea'chis are returned as numbering 708 and as found in Khed,
SirQr, Haveli, Bhimthadi, and Poena. They say their forefathers
came from Gwdlior and. Aurangabad ; when and why they do not
know. They are divided into Mdrwari and Pardeshi Kdchis. The
following details apply to Marwari Kachis who are divided into
Kaldo-kSchis, Dhimar-kachis, Karbhoi-kachis, and Bundele-kachis,
who do not eat together or intermarry. Their surnames are
Bun dele, Elchya, Gwaliari, and Katkariya, and" persons bearing the
same surname do not intermarry. The names in common use
among men are Dhanu, Jairam, Tuk^ram, and Tuljaram ; and
among women, Ganga, Jamna, and Kundi. The Kdchis are strong
and well made. The men wear the top-knot but neither whiskers
nor beards, and their home tongue is Hindustani. Most of them

Chapter III.
Population.

Husbandmen.

BJ.BIS.

KJ.OHIS.

' This rite is called hJidnde uiarne, literally the shoulder taking-away, meaning
apparently the taking away of the unoleanness, that is of the unclean spirit, which,
settled on their shoalders in consequence of their having borne the body. '

[Bombay Gazetteer,

284

DISTEIOTS.

Chapter III.

Population.

Husbandmen.
KJ.oms.

KVSBIS.

live in houses of tlie better sort, one or two storeys higli, with walls

of brick and- tiled roofs. They eat fish and the flesh of goats,

sheep, and domestic fowls, and drink liquor. Their staple food is

millet, wheat, split pulse, and rice. They generally eat in the

evening. A family of five spends £1 to £1 lOs. (Rs. 10 - 15) a

month on food. The men wear a waistcoat, a coat, a waistcloth, a

shouldercloth, a Mar&tha turban, and Brahman shoes ; the women

wear a bodice with a bank and either the full Maratha robe

passing the skirt back between the feet and tucking it into

the waist behind, or a petticoat and short upper robe the end

of which they draw over the head. They are hardworking,

thrifty, sober, and orderly. They are fruit-sellers, taking fruit

gardens on hire from their owners at £7 10s. to £20 (Rs. 75-200).

They worship the usual Brahmanic gods and goddesses and keep the

regular fasts and feasts. Of these the chief are Holi in March,

Akshadtritiya in May, and Edkhipornima in August. • Their priests

are Pardeshi Brahmana whom they treat with great respect. Their

customs are like those of Mard.thas. A_ birth costs £1 to £2

(Rs. 10-20), and naming 4s. to £1 (Rs. 2 - 10). Their guardian or

devah is an axe or hurhad and the yanchpallavs or five leaves of

the Ficus religiosa pipal, F. glomerata umbar, P. indica vad, F.

inf eptoria ndndruk, and the mango, which they tie to a post of

the marriage hall at both the boy's and the girl's houses. They

marry their children seated on qarpets near each other, the girl

to the left of the boy. When the marriage texts are finished the

hems of their garments are tied together, and they make a bow

before the hoiise gods. The boy and girl are offered sugared milk

and taken in procession on horseback to the boy's parents' house."

Feasts are exchanged and the marriage is over. The ceremony

costs the boy's father £1 to £15 (Rs.10-150), and the girl's father

£1 to £2 (Rs. 10-20).' 'They either bui-y or burn their dead and a

death costs them £1 t6 £2 (E,s.lO--20). They have no headman and

settle social disputes at meetings of castemen. The ojBfending

person is fined 2s. to 4s. (Rs. 1-2), and when the amount is recovered

it is generally spent on drink. They send their boys to school and

as a rule are in easy circumstances.

Kunbis are returned as numbering nearly 400,000 and as
found over the whole district. They seem to have a strong early or
pre- Aryan element. The term Kunbi includes two main classes,
Kunbis and Mardthas, between whom it is difficult to draw a
line. Marathas and Kunbis eat together and intermarry and do not
differ in appearance, religion, or customs. Still these two names
seem tcj^represent, though in .both cases with much intermixture,
the two main sources from which the bulk of the present peasantry
are sprung. The Kunbis represent those in whom the - local
or early, and the Mardth^s those in whom the northern or
later element is strongest. The( Poena Kunbis, not conteiit with
calling themselves Mardthd,s, go so far as to call themselves
Kshatriyas and wear the sacred thread.^ They include a

^The Marithi accounts seem to show that the great Shivdji (1627-1680) never wore
the sacred thread or i/a/BoptMJJi till he was enthroned and raised to the rank of a
Kshatriya. See RAygad in Bombay Gazetteer, XI. 369, 370 and note 1. •

Deccan.]

POONA.

285

traditional total of ninety-six clans wHcli are said to be sprung
from the rulers of fifty-six countries who are the descendants of
Vrkram of Ujain whose traditional date is B.C. 56, Shdlivahan of
Paithan whose traditional date is a.d. 78, and Bhojrdja of Md,lva
whose traditional date is about the end of the tenth century.
According to the "traditional accounts, the Bhosles to whom ShivAji
belonged are the descendants of Bhojraja; the descendants of Vikram
are called Sukarrdjas; and those^of ShiilivahanRdjakumars. All claim
to belong to one of the four branches or vanshas of the Kshatriyas,
Som-vansha or the Moon branch, Snrya-vansha or the Sun bra,nch,
Sesh-vansha or the Snake branch, and Tadu-vansha or the Shepherd
branch. The names of some of the families of these four branches
are : Of the Sun branch, Aparddhe, Bichare, Bhosle, Bhovar, Dalvi,
Dhdrrao, Hendhe, Gavse, GhAd, Ghadke, Gh^g,- Ghorpade, Joshi,
Kadam, Malap, Mulik, Nakdse, NAlavde, Nayak, Palve, Pardhe,
Patak, PAtd.de, Povar, RAne, Rao, RAul, SagvAn, SAlve, SankpAl,
Shinde, Shisode, Shitole, Surne, and Vdghmare ; of the Moon
branch, Bhate, Ohavhdn, Dabhade, Dalpate, Darbare, Gdikavdd,
Ghddam, Ghddke, Insulkar, Jagtd,p, Kalpdte, Kamble, Kdmbre,
Kapvate, Kathe, Kesarkar, Mdn, Mhdtre, Mohite, More, Nikam,
Nimbalkar, PAtankar, Randive, Sd,Tant, Shelar, and Varangej of
the Snake branch, Bd.gve, Bhoir, Bogle, Chirphule, Dhulap, Dhumdil,
Dhure, Divte, Gavli, JAmble, Kdsle, LendpovAl, Mhadik, Mokari,
NAmjdde, Parabh, Sangal, Tdvde, and Thdkur; and of the Shepherd
branch, Bagvan, Bulke, Dhumak, Gavand, Gharat, Ghavad, Ghogale,
Jadhav, Jdgle, Jagpal, Jalindhare, Jd,re, Jasvant, Mokal, Mdlpovar,
Patel, Phakade, Shelke, Shirgone, Shirke, Tambte, Tovar, and
TMav.

Each Knnbi has three personal names, a priestly name a house
name and a pet name. The priestly name, which is known as the
rds ndv or star name, depends on the position of the stars at the
time of the child's birth. The priestly names generally chosen for
boys are Amritya, Ankorsa, Babaji, Dnngarji, and RAvji, and for
girls Saku, Bhd^gu, and Chimi. The house name is chosen by the
elders of the house ; the commonest are for men Khandu, Pdndu,
Rdghu, and Vithu; and for women Kashi, Parvati, Rama, and Savitri.
The pet or dvadate name is generally given by the child^s parents
or the mother's relations. The commonest pet names for boys are
Appa, Babu, Bala, and Nana ; and for girls Abbi, Bai, Kaki, and Tai.
His pet name sometimes clings to the bearer through life. When a
boy grows up ji or rdo is added to the name, and to girls' names di
or hdi. In addition to his personal name a man bears his father's
name and surname, and a woman her husband's name and surname,
thus Lakshman son of Khandu Povar, and Bhagirthi wife of Shiva
Bhosla.

As a class Kunbis are dark, of middle stature, with round faces,
straight nose, thicfeish lips, and. high bare and protruding cheek-
bones. They are strong, hardy, enduring, and muscular. The Kunbi
women, like their husbands, are strong and hardy, but the veiled or
gosha Mardtha women are generally weak. Great numbers die in.
infancy. Those who survive are generally long-lived, few dying
before the age of sixty or seventy. In the hilly west the Kunbis are

Chapter III.

Population.

Husbandmen.
Kunbis.

[Bombay Gazetteer,

286

DISTEICTS.

Chapter III.
Population.

Husbandmen.

MUNBIS.

generally weaker, thinner, and fairer than- the Kunbis of eastern
Poona. A, Kunbi or Mard,tha girl is slender, dark-skinned, and
generally graceful. She becomes a mother at fifteen or seventeen,
and is past her prime at twenty. Boys are . generally active and
clever, but at an early age the men grow dull and dreamy.^ The men
shave the head except the mustache and in a few cases the whiskers.
They speak Marathi both at home and abroad. Though it is
surrounded by heaps of refuse, the inside of a Kunbi's house is
always clean and tidy. The floors and walls are fresh-cowdunged
every fortnight and the front veranda is always swept clean. They
often keep their cattle under the same roof, as themselves either
with or without any partition, or under a shed attached to the
house. Besides their field tools, their household goods include earth
and metal water-pots and plates, an iron or brass hanging lamp,
-a frying pan, cooking pots, a grindstone and pin, a handmillj a
mortar and pestles, baskets, network utensils, and a bedstead, the
whole not varying in value more thanfrom£110.9. to£3(Rs.l5-30).^
An ordinary house with room for a family of five does not cost more
than £16 (Rs. 150) to build or 8s. to 12s. (Rs.4-6) a year to rent.
The monthly keep of a milch cow comes to about 6s. (Rs. 3) and the
keep of a she-buffalo .varies from 8s. to 10s. (Rs.4-6).

Kunbis are moderate eaters and are proverbially fond of pepper
and other hot spices. Besides grain pulse fruits spices oils curds
and butter, they eat fish -fowls eggs sheep goats hare deer and wild
hog, and besides water and milk they drink liquor. They do. not
eat flesh except on marriage and other family festivals and on a
few leading holidays such as Dasara in October and IHvali in
November. They sometimes vow to offer an animal to a god, and,
after offering its life to the god, eat its flesh. They generally drink

1 In 1819 Dr. Coates (Trans. Bombay Lit. Soc. III. 203) described the Poona Kunbis
as ratber low in stature and lean, the hands feet and bones small, the muscles
prominent though not bulky, the Umbs often well-shaped. Twenty men in a hundred
averaged five feet four inches in height and 7 stone lOj in weight. Fiv6 feet six inches
was tall and eight and a half stone was heavy. The black straight hair was shorn
except the mustache and the top-knot. The skin was of varying shades of bronze
' sometimes nearly black. The face was more round than oval, the brow short and
retiring, the cheek-bones high, the eyes full and black, the nose straight and prominent,
the teeth not remarkably good and stained black or red. The expression was sedate
and good with little quickness and no ferocity. Children were often quick and
and men of forty dulL With few exceptions the women had no pretensions to
beauty. StiU wben young the round plump face, smooth clean skin, fine long black
hair, large sparkling eyes, and sprightly gait made them interesting. Their bloom
They were old at eighteen and wrinkled and ugly at twenty-five (Ditto,

232). About half died as children (Ditto, 244). The survivors were long-lived, though,
as no registers were kept, the ages were doubtful. Out of 164 the twenty-five oldest
men in the village of Loni were said to average about 76J years and of 198 the
twenty-five oldest women were said to average 72J years. ,

," Of the Poona Kunbi's house-geai; in 1819, Dr. Coates (Trans. Bom. Lit. Soc. III.
209-210) gives the following details : A stone handmill worth Re. 1, two iron-tipped
wooden pestles worth Ke. J, a large copper water-vessel worth Bs. 10, two or three
small drinking copper vessels worth Ks. 2 each, two or three round shallow eating
dishes of copper or bell-metal each worth Ks. IJ to Re. 1, an iron griddle worth Re. },
a frying pan worth Re. 1, four or five glazed and twenty to thirty unglazed earthen pots
together worth Rs. 24 "to Rs.S, a large wooden kneading dish, several baskets, two
iron cup-lamps, two rude couches each worth Ke. 1, or a whole average value of
about Rs. 40. A rich Kunbi has more copper vessels, a copper Jamp instead of an
iron lamp, and his couches are laced with tape instead of with rope.

Deccan]

POONA.

287

liquor about sunset, an hour or so before the evening meal. Th«
ase of liquor is not forbidden, but drinking is considered disreputable
and is rare among men and almost unknown among women. Kunbis
who indulge in liquor drink as much as possible in private and by
stealth. Besides liquor their only stimulant or narcotic is tobacco.
It is chiefly smoked, but is also chewed by men and sometimes by
women.. - Most grown men and women and many youths of ten and
over when hardworked depend much on their tobacco pipe. Their
usual holiday fare is vermicelU or shevayfl eaten with milk and
molasses. Their every-day fare consists of millet, rice, vegetables
and fruit cut in pieces, split pulse, and alan Xh.&t is gram flour boiled
with cumin coriander pepper salt turmeric and onions. They take
three iieals a day. They generally breakfast on bx'ead with some
vegetable relish or a raw onion. About noon their wives bring their
dinner of bread and vegetables and either fish, flesh, or split pulse.
Their supper, of bread vegetables milk or some liquid preparation
of pulse, is eaten about eight. The ordinary daily food of a husband-
man, his wife, two children, and a dependant costs about 3d. (2 as.),.
but landholders are not actually put to this expense as all these
articles, except tobacco, are the produce of their own fields.

Kunbis as a class are neat and clean in their dress. They are
seldom rich enough to indulge their taste,'bat the well-to-do are
fond of gay clothes, the men wearing generally red or white turbans
and the women red robes. Indoors the Kunbi wears a handkerchief
passed between his legs, the ends fastened behind to a waistcord.
Out of doors he rolls a "loincloth round his waist, covers his body
with a waistcloth or armless jacket, and wears a turban on his head
and sandals on his feet. In cold and wet weather he throws
a coarse blanket over his shoulders or ties it in a hood and draws
it over his head. Besides as articles of dress, the blanket and
waistcloth are used as sleeping mats and as bags for carrying
clothes and garden-stuff. The woman's dress is the full Mardtha
robe or sddi and the short-sleeved bodice reaching to the waist and
covering both the back and chest, the ends being tied in front.^
The ' man's ornaments for the ear are a pair of gold rdjkadya
valued at 4«. to 8s. (Es. 2 - 4), a gold bhikbdli valued at 10s. to 16s.
(Rs. 5-8), or a pair of gold chaukadds valued at £1 12s. to £4
(Rs. 16-40) ; for the wrist a Jcade valued at 12s. to £1 (Rs. 6-10),

Chapter III.
Population.

Husbandmen,
Kunbis.

1 The Kunbi'fl dress seems to have improved since 1819. Dr. Coates wrote (Trans.
Bom, Lit. Soc. III. 208) : A Kunbi in his every-day attire is a moat wretched-looking
being, and when first seen by a European can excite only feelings of pity and disgust.
In the warm weather at home or afield he is naked except a dirty rag round the loins.
He sometimes has a pair of short coarse cotton drawers and a dirty bandage round his
head. In cold and rainy weather he wears a coarse black blanket round his shoulders
or over his head. His holiday dress is a turban white red or green sometimes with a
flower and a smelling sprig. On the body a coarse white frock falls to the knee, a
fine white cotton waistcloth of shouldercloth, coarse drawers, and shoes or sandals.
The yearly cost was about Rs. ISJ then equal to about £18. Oi the Kunbi women's dress
Dr. Coates (Ditto, 2.32-233) says ; The dress is a robe or sddi twenty-four feet long
by three wide. Three or four feet of one end are thrown over the head and shoulder,
a turn or two is passed round the loins, and the rest is puckered up and tucked in a
bundle in front and the ends passed between the legs and fixed behind. The other
article of dress is the bodice or choli, a short jacket with sleeves to the elbow covering
about half the body a^d tied by the comers in front over the bosom.

[Bombay Gazetteer,

288

DISTRICTS.

Chapter III,
ropulation.

HirSBANDMEN.
KUNBIS,

a peti valued at 2s. to 4s. (Rs. 1-2), or a pair of kadis valued at
£1 to £4 (Rs.'r0-40) J for the fingers rings or dngthya of silver
valued at 2s. to 6s. (Rs. 1-3) ; and for the waist a silver girdle or
Tcargota valued at £2 to £6. (Rs. 20-60). The woman's ornaments
for the ear are hugdya worth 6s. to 10s. (Rs. 3-5), hdlya of brass
worth l^d. to 3cJ!. (1-2 as.) and rdj'kadya worth 4s. to 10s. (Rs.'2-5),-
for the nose a gold moti worth 10s. to 16s. (Rs. 5-8) ; for the
neck a silver sari worth 6s. to 12s. (Rs. 3^6), a gold gdthle worth
£2 to £4 (Rs. 20-40), one to ten gold putlyds worth 8s. to £4
(Rs. 4-40), the mangalsutra or lucky necklace of glass beads worth
4s, to 6s. (Rs. 2-3), and a garsoli of glass beads worth IJd to ^d.-
(1-2 as.) ; for the wrists glass bangles worth l^d. to 3d. (1-2 as.),
glass chudds worth fd (^ anna), a got worth Gd. (4 as.), a vdle ii of
silver worth 4s. to 12s. (Rs. 2-6) and if of lead worth 4^d. to H^d.
(3-5 as.), kdhan if of lead worth 4|d. -to 7^d (3-5 as.), a silver vela
worth £1 to £4 (Rs. 10-40), and w%a.worth 10s. to 12s. (Rs. 5-6).

Kunbisrare hardworking, temperate, hospitable, fond of their
children, and kind to strangers. At the same time they are cruel
in revenge and seldom scruple to cheat either Government or their '
creditors. Among themselves disputes about land often split a
village into factions and give rise to quarrels and fights. Otherwise
in dealing with each other they are honest, just, and straightfor-
ward. They are frugal in. every-day life, but spend large, sums on
marriage and other feasts. The women are generally chaste and
fond mothers, and, except when they fall out with each other, they
are modest in look and in words. They help theii" husbands in the
field, and generally have the upper hand in the house. They have a
private purse whiph they fill from the wages they earn and empty on
ornaments and Sometimes on dinners to neighbour women.^

Most Kun bis earn their living by tilling the ground and are helped
in their work by their women. They have not recovered what they,
lost in the 1876 and 1877 famine. Their credit is small; many have

1 Of the character of the Deccan Kunbi Dr. Coates (Trans. Bom. Lit. Soc. Ill, 204-
206) wrote : They are temperate and hardworking, hardy and enduring. Scarcely
any can read or -write. Though not particularly sharp they are minutely inforjmed
of everything relating to their calling ; they are fond of talk and many have a fair
knowledge of the history of their country. , They are tetter informed and more orderly
than the lower classes of Englishmen. They are wild-mannered, forgiving, seldom
violent or cruel. They are indulgent to their women and most attached to their
children. Except at marriages when they arc lavish and profuse, they are frugal
inclining to parsimony. As far as poverty allows they are hospitable. Among
them no mannerly stranger will want a meal. They are just in dealing with each
other, but unscrupulous in overreaching outsiders and Government. Theft iS scarcely
known and the voice of the community attaches weight to a virtuous life. They owe
their vices to their Government, cunning, cheating, and lying. Their timidity makes
them prefer stratagem to force. Still when roused they are not without courage and are
by no means contemptible enemies. Love intrigues sometimes take place among the
young, but as a rule the women are remarkably chaste. A first offence is punished by
a beating ; a second offence, especially if the man is a Musalmto or a Mhdr, may lead to
the woman being put out of caste (Ditto, 231 - 232) . Women are well treated, have much
freedom, and often rule the house. Each has a private purse' supplied by the wages of
extra labour and by presents from kinspeople and sometimes from the husband. She
spends her money on ornaments either for herself or her child, in feasts to her neigh-
bours, or on sweetmeats. Some of the less scrupulous recruit an empty purse by pil-
ferring grain (Ditto, 230-231).

SeccanJ

POOHA.

289

given up husbandry and taken to be messengers, constables, grooms,
and day-labourers.^

Kunbis cannot tell wbetber they are Smarts or BMgvats. They
worship all Br^hmanic gods and goddesses, but their chief objects
of worship are Bhairav, Bhavdni, Birpba, Jdkhai, Janai, Jofchai,
K^lkai, Khandoba, Mdruti, Metisai, 'Mhasoba, Mukai, Navlai,
Phriugai, Satvai, Tukai, VAghoba, and Vet£l, whom theygreatly fear
and whose images or idks they keep in their houses. Bhaibav is
the usual villsCge guardian. He has two forms, Kal Bhairav and B^l
Bhairav, KAl Bhairav is shown as a standing man with two hands,
an hourglass-shaped drum or' damaru in his right hand, and a trident
in his left. He is encircled by a serpent. B^l Bhairav lives in an
anhewn stone covered with redlead or shendur mixed, with oil. If
kept pleased by a coating of oil and redlead and if he is given offerings
of clarified butter Bhairav is kindly. He cures snake-bites and tells
whether an undertaking will do well or will fail. In the chest of
the rough figure of Bhairav are two small holes. The person who
wishes to consult the oracle places a betelnut in each of the holes
and expliains to Bhairav that if the right betelnut falls first it will
mean that the undertaking will prosper, and that if the left betel-
nut falls first it will mean that the undertaking will fail. He asks
the god, according as the event is to be, to let the lucky or. the
unlucky nut fall first. He tells the god that if he will drop the
lucky nut. and if his undertaking prospers he will give the god a
cock or a goat. Twice a year before they begin to, sow and before
they begin to reap the villagers come in procession and worship
Bhairav. BhavIni, that is Pfirvati the wife of Shiv, has two local

Chapter III,
Population..

HtrSBAKDMElf»

Kunbis..

* The daily round of the Poona Kunbi'a life has changed little since 1819 when Dr.
Gpates (Trans. Bom. Lit Soc . III. 228 - 232) wrote : The Kunbi rises at cockcrow, washes
his hands feet and face, repeats the names of some of his gods, and perhaps takes a
whiff of his pipe or a quid of tobacco. He is ready to begin his labour. He loosens his
oxen and drives them slowly afield letting them graze as they go. His breakfast is
with him in a dirty cloth or it is sent after him by one of his children ; it is a cake and
some of the cookery of the day before, or an onion or two and some relish. He gets to
his field between seven and eight. Works for an hour or two, and squats to his breakfast
without loosing his cattle. He is at work again in a quarter of an hour and works on
till twelve when his wife brings his dinner. He unyokes his oxen, drives them to drink,
and lets them graze or gives them straw. He dines under some tree near a well or
stream, his wife waiting on him. If others are near they come and talk and sleep for
half an hour each on his blanket or cloth. The wife eats what the husband has left.
He is at work again by two or half -past' two, and woi:ks on till sunset when he moves
slowly home, ties up and feeds his oxenj and either washes in a stream or gets his wife
to douse him with hot water. After washing, or on holidays oiling with sandal oil, he
prays before the house gods or. visits the village temple. He then sups with the rest of
tbe men of the family. Between supper and bed at nine or ten is his play-time. He
fondles and plays with his children, visits his neighbours, talks about the crops and the
village, asks after strangers, or seeks news from any one wjio has been in Poona. '■ In
the two or three months between January and April, vrhen field work is light, he takes
his meals at home and joins with other villagers in loafing in the shade and chatting, or
he visits friends in neighbouring villages, or he goe? on pilgrimage. During the busy
season the Kiinbi's wife rises between four and five, grinds the da;^'s grain, sweeps the
h.Quse, and clears out ashes and dung from the. cow-house, burying part in th.e
manure-pit and making fire-cakes of the rest. She fills the water jars with fresh ^ater,
cooks till about ten, and then with a child or perhaps two children starts for the field
with her husband's dinner on her head in a basket. She weeds or reaps till noon,
waits on her husband, «i)d dines. After a short rest she is again at work and works
till evening carrying, home a bundle of grass. She makes, ready and eats supper and
goes to rest between nine Sjid ten. - ^ • . .*

E 310-37

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290.

DISTRICTS.

Chapter III.
Fopolation.

HUSBANBMEN..
KUNBIS,

nameSj Phringi.and Tuk^i. She shares with Bhairav the, honour of
being village guardian; she is generally shown as a rude image,
either with two hands; a sword being in the right hand, or with
eight hands holding a conch, a wheel, and other articles the same as
Vishnu holds. Like Bhairav she is asked the cause of sickness or
ill-luck and to advise regarding the future, and like him if she
removes trouble. or advises well she is given a goat or a cock.
BiKOBA is worshipped by Dhangars or Shepherds. He lives in an
unhewn stone outside of the village. Like Mhasoba he is an un-
kindly spirit to whom people pray when they are anxious to plague
or ruin their enemies. JakhIi, JanIi, JokhIi, Kalkai, Metisat,
Mtjkai and NavlIi are all local mothers. According to the people's
account they are unkindly forms of Bhavdni. With the help of
two attendants, Naikji and Birji, they do much mischief. They blast
crops of grain, plague men with sickness, and carry off travellers.
People who owe their neighbours a grudge pray to Janai, Mukdi, or
one of the other mothers to send them sickness, to kill their cattle,
or to ruin their fields. Khandoba, literally sword-father, guards the
country as Bhairav guards the village. Khandoba is the Tshvar
Dev or guardian deity of the Deccsm. As a guardian he is shown
sometimes, as at his chief shrine at Jejuri, as a Zi«g', the great
protector, and more often as a horseman with a sword in his right
hand, and his wife MhAlsabd,i sitting beside him. As a horseman
he is Malhari, the form he took when he came to. destroy the demons
Mani and Malla. As an animal he is the dog who runs beside his
horse and in the Deccan is generally called Khandi. As a plant he
is turmeric-powder under the name Bhandar. He is the chief house
god of all Poena Hindus fromBrAhmans to Mhars. His house image is
always of metal, never of wood or of stone. He drives away the evil
which causes sickness. No class honour Khandoba so highly as the
Eamoshis. If a Ramoshi iiiakes a promise while laying his hand on
turmeric-powder or bhandar, that is on Khandoba, nothing will bring,
him to break his promise. MIeuti also called Hanuman is the mon-
key god. No Poena village is without its M^ruti, a rudely embossed
monkey figure, sometimes within the village and sometimes without,
but generSly near the gate. He is a kindly god, the great saver of
those into whom evil spirits have entered. He is fond of cocoanuts
but does not care for blood-offerings. Mhasoba or Maskoba is
perhaps the commonest and most widely feared of the local evil
spirits. He lives in an unhewn stone coated with redlead. These
stones are all old dwellings of Mhasoba. Some get forgotten.,
Then sickness falls on the village and the people go to the village
guardian and ask him a series of questions which he answers by
dropping a betelnut or by some other sign. In the end they find
out from the guardian that there is an old neglected dwelling of
Mhasoba, The villagers find the stone, cover it with oil and red-
lead, and kin a goat or a fowl in front of it. Besides to prevent
his working mischief Mhasoba is worshipped "by men who have a
grudge to clear offer a wrong to avenge. They go to^ Mhasoba, .
name their enemy, and promise, if he ruins their enemy with sickness,
that they will give him a goat or a fowl. So much is he feared that
when a man knows that some one Whom he has ill-used has arranged

Deccau.]

POONA.

291

to set Mhasoba on hinij he makes such amends that the god is not
forced to exert his powers. Satvai, or Mother Sixth, is the goddess of
pregnant and lying-in women. She is worshipped by barren women,
and by lying-in women on the fifth or sixth day after the child is born.
Her image is an armless bust. Vi.GHOBA, or Father Tiger, lives in an
unhewn stone. If he is cared for he guards the village herds from
the attacks of tigers. VetIl is the leader of demons and evil spirits.
He seems to be the earliest form of Shiv, the leader of spirits, and
Ganesh, the lord of spirit troops. Vetd,l lives in an unhewn stone,
three or four feet high, surrounded at a distance of a few yards by a
circle of smaller stones in which his leading attendants live. Unlike
most slirines the stones in which Vetal and his attendants live
are covered botb with white and red wash. Vetal and his guard
are generally at some distance outside of the village. Vetdl's great
day is 1;he Mahashwrdtri or great night of. Shiv on the fuU-mopn
of Mdgh in February. On that night the villagers, each with a
bundle of lighted straw in his hand, walk round the circle of stones
howling and bawling. When a Kunbi or one of his family is
possessed by an evil spirit he goes to Vetdl and promises, if he orders
his spirit to give over troubling him, that he will give him a
goat or a fowl. Vetal is the patron of wrestlers and athletes.
On one of the holidays the villagers go and wrestle at Vetal's
circle. Vet^Ps sign is a cane called bet or vet, from which he seems
to get his name. From his apparent sameness with the early forms
of Shiv, and from the resemblance of his circle of guards to a rude
Buddhist rail, and to the circles of unhewn stones fo'und in western
Europe and in other parts of the world, the worship of Vetal is
specially interesting.

Kunbis believe in incantations, witchcraft, ghosts and evil spirits,
oracles, and the evil eye. Partly perhaps because they are much more
■ sober, partly perhaps because fever is much less common the Popna
Kunbis are much less afraid of spirits than the KonkanKunbis,^ Still
the belief in spirits, witchcraft, and the evil eye has a great effect
on the lives of Poona Kunbis. If a Kunbi is seized with uncommon
sickness, or suffers from any calamity, he first finds out whether his
misfortunes are due to natural "causes, to the displeasure of the gods,
to witchcraft, to the evil eye, or to an evil spirit. To find out the
cause the sufferer and his friends make several experiments. A
flower is stuck on the breast of an idol and its fall on one side or
the other determines the cause of the misfortune, or a sacrificial
vessel is hung by a string, and, as is agreed beforehand, the di:^ec-
tion to which it points when it comes to rest settles the cause. of thp
evil. If these trials are" not satisfactory ajdnta or knowing man
is asked. If the evil has come from the gods the knowing man
says how the gods are to be pleased ; if the cause is witchcraft,
either the knowing man breaks the spell by countercharms, or th.e

Chapter III.
Population.

HnSBANDMESr.

KusBiS,

' In 1819 Dr, Coates (Trans. Bom. Lit. Soo. HI. 245) noticed that temperance and
freedom from the uae-of narcotics saved! the Poona Kunbi from the long and horrid
train of nervous derangeAeats from low spirits to mania. It is these nervous
derangements which in all countries have been specially believed to be spirit-oansed.
diseases.

[Bombay Grazetteer,

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DISTRICTS.

Chapter III.
Population.

Husbandmen.

KUNBIS,

■witch is caught and either forced to remove the spell- or made to
drink water from the hands of a cobbler which destroys her power;
if the cause is the evil eye, either the knowing man breaks the spell,
or the mother of the sick child throws salt and red pepper into the
fire saying, Brisht-misht dli geliehi, Bhut-khet .papi chdnddldohi
that is. The evil eye of passers-bye; Of evil sprites and filthy wights/
The evil eye is much feared. The owner of the eye is not thought
to blame, but he is shunned and cattle are not driven past his door.
To draw the evil eye from the crops a whitewashed pot is stuck on
a pole ; the walls of houses are decked with figures and gaudy
stripes ; beautiful women and children wear necklaces, and cattle
V7ear necklaces and anklets. A Kunbi never congratulates a friend
on his prosperity, his fine oxen, or his handsome wife. If he
does. Ill-luck will hear and carry away the excess of good fortune.
Every place teems with ghosts and evil spirits, who are included
under the general term bhut, literally a being. The male ghosts
are called Keins or Jhotings, and the female ghosts Hadals. Among
the worst female ghosts are the seven water-nymphs called Aija or
Jaldevtas, who carry off handsome youths. There are distinct names
for the ghosts, of Brahmans, Musalmfins, and outcastes. A ghost
wanders and ill-uses the living either because he was murdered or
ill-treated, or because he hankers after a house, a wife, or a
treasure. Ghosts live in large trees, lonely places, empty houses, and
old wells. They are generally seen or heard at noon and at mid-
night. They take many shapes, a deer, a tall figure, or a strange
ox or goat. If a person sleeps under a haunted tree, or cuts a branch
of a haunted tree, or defiles the ghost's ruin or old wall, or jostles
a ghost on a road, the person sickens or is unlucky. The ghosts
of the murdered or the ill-used are chiefly dangerous ■ to those who
ill-treated them. The ghost enters into the culprit, maddens him,
destroys his sleep, kills his family, and turns his joy to sorrow.
Many people make a living by appeasing or casting out angry spirits.
One plan is for the exerciser to take the possessed person in front of
an idol, to seize him by the top-knot, scourge him, and abussj him
till the spirit says what offering or penance will satisfy Hm.^

The Kunbis' chief holidays are Holi in March, Ndg-panchmiin
July, Oauri and Pola in August, Ddsara in October, and Divdli in
November. Holi, also called Shimga, lasts five days. Both old and
young look forward to it with delight. It is ushered in by boys
and men making a loud bawling, broken at intervals by stopping
.the moath with the back of the hand, and calling the names of the
male and female organs. Cowdung cakes for -the bonfire are stolen
wherever they can be found. On the evening of the full-moon the
men of the village form two gatherings, the Kunbis and the bulk of
the people at the village office, and the Mhdrs and other men of low
caste by themselves in their own quarter. In front of the village office
a spot is swept clean and sprinkled with water. In the centre tte
stem of a sugarcane and of a castor plant are stuck in the ground and

1 Ttese details are from Dr. Ooates' Paper on the Village of Loni in 1819 (Trans.
Bom. Lit. Sec. III. 210-220). The, account stiU truly represents the beliefs and
practices of the Poona Kunbi.

Deccan.]

■POONA.

293

.round them dried cowdung cakes are piled six to seven feet higH.
The heap is called Sutdshani or the offering-eater that is fire.
The people sit round the heap in a ring and the headman with the
help of the priest worships the heap and . offers grain and flowers.
The chief offering is a oake, the preseriting of which is one of the
chief headman's most prized rights. The pile is kindled from the
Mh^rs' bonfire. Stealing the Mhdrs' fire is a work of some risk as the
Mhdrs are on the look-out and throw burning brands at the thief.
The fire is put into the headman's hands, who lights the pile and
walks thrice round it calling out, Phoda, phoda, jhaivla, that is the
female organ is united. Then till morning follow songs and dances,
in which bpys dressed like dancing girls take the place of women.
The favourite dance known as the tipria or baton-dance is

: performed by twenty to thirty young men moving in a circle to the
sound of a drum and pipe, each armed with a piece of seasoned
wood about a foot long which they clash against the sticks
alternately of the dancers before and behind them. Besides dancing
they play games, the Tiger and Sheep, the Pox and Dog, and
Prisoner's Base. The next day is known as the Bhulvadicha Divas
or the Dust Day, because the people throw dust on each other. This
is the Kunbi's field, new year's day. Bach family of Kunbis goes
to the village god with a metal plate on which rice is strewn. Gn
the rice is a water-pot and at the mouth of the water-pot a cocoanut
and betel leaves. The plate is held before the village god and the
cocoanut is broken and the shell given to the god. During the three
remaining days of the Soli, men and boys meet in groups, some
in fantastic dresses throwing dust and mud. Women, who seldom'
appear, are saluted with obscene speeches and men of rank with
coarse jests. Some go outside of the village to Vetd,l's stone, the

I patron of wrestlers, and there wrestle and perform feats of strength.

|. About noon they bathe, feast, and sleep, and in the evening dance and
play games. The Soli ends on the fifth, which is known as Rang-
panchmi ov Oolour-&ith.. The colour is pink. It is made by adding
an alkaline salt to a decoction of palas Butea frondosa flowers,
mixing them in water, and throwing the water over each other from
pots and syringes. They also dust each other with a red flour.
On this day women share in the fun. They carry branches of the
castor plant and lay hold of the headman or other rich villagers and
plague them till they give a post or present.^ Ndg-panchmi or the
Cobra's Fifth in July is the Kunbi woman's festival. , In the after-
noon all the women, dressed in their best, go with music to a white ant-
hill in which a cobra is believed to live, and lay milk and sugar near
the ant-hill while the priest says prayers. The women take hands,
jdance round the ant-hill in a ring alternately rising and kneeling and
keeping time to a song which they sing in chorus. At intervals
they take parched rice in a clenched hand, and putting it on each
other's heads ask their husband's name. As they may not answer
directly they bring in his name in a rhyme.^ At the Oauri festival
in August the women paint on paper a figure of the goddess, who

Chapter III.
Population.

HUSBANIIMEK,
.KVNBIS.

1 Trans, Bom. Lit, Soe, III, 221.-223.

2 Tran». Bom..Lit. Soc.IlI. 231.

[Bombay Gazetteer,

294

DISTRICTS.

Chapter III.
Fopulation.

;HtrsBAiiDMBir.

KUNBIS.

is the same as Lakslmii, worship the figure, and feast.^ At the
August PoZa the oxen have a rest. Their horns are covered with
tinsel or red, and palas fibre tassels are tied to their tips. Garlands
of flowers are pat round their necks, they are fed with sugar, and
their owners fall at their feet and worship them. In the evening,
after the headman's cattle, all the oxen are driven round Hanuman's
temple. The day ends with a feast.^ Dasa/ra falls on the bright
tenth of Ashvin, generally in October. It is believed to mark
Bhavani's defeat of the buffalo-demon Mahishdsur. The first to
ihe ninth are a time of mourning, during which the goddess is not
disturbed by prayers or vows. On the first day with music the.
people go to, Bhavdni's temple and make offerings and the priest
sows eighteen grains in front of the goddess. From the first to
the tenth, both near the temple image and the house image of
BhavAni, a garland is hung by some one who abstains from grain,
butter, and animal food.- The tenth is a day of rejoicing; all wear
new clothes, dress in their gayest, and feast on mutton. In the
forenoon all iron Weapons and tools are brought out and worshipped.
Horses are bathed and dressed with flowers, and a sheep is Sacrificed
to them and its blood sprinkled over them. In the evening all put
in their turban some plants of the grain which was sown before the
village Bhavdni, and with music they go to the village boundary and
worship theopte tree Bauhinia tomentosa. They cross the boundary
and pluck some stalks of grain, and on their return ofi'er dpta leaves,
which" are called gold, and eai-s of corn to the village gods and
then exchange them, among their friends. A male bufifalo is sometimes ,
sacrificed.^ Divali comes twenty days after Dasara. It lasts three .
days with feasting, lighting, and fireworks. Oil is burnt in earthen"
cups which are placed in front of village temples, public buildings,

1 Trans. Bom. Lit. Soc. III. 231. ^ Trans. Bom. Lit. Soc, IIL 225.

' Trans. Bom, Lit. Soc. III. 224. Sir John Malcolm, in a letter from Poona 24th
NoTember 1799 (Trans. Bom. Lit, Soc. III. 79-96), gives some further details of the
Dasara rites observed by the Poona MarAth^a and BrAhmans. On the first Bight a
halash or jar, either of brass or earth, is.set up'as the symbol (or dwelling) of the goddess -
Bhavdni. Offerings are made to girls between two and nine years of age. On the
first night combs are given ; on the second sweet oil, mirrors, and glass ; on the third
turmeric, safflower, and henna ; on thefourth day antimony, sweet cakes, and fruit ;'
on the fifth sandal and other sweet oils and an image, of Chandikji, an early form of
BhavAni, is put under a tulsi bush ; on the seventh Sarasvati is worshipped ; on the last
day prayers are addressed to all things wanted for war, among others to the unjbrella,
the horse, the flagstaff, the elephant, the sword, the bow and arrow the mother of
arms, and guns and cannon. At the end of the ninth day BhavAni's jar is thrown into
water. On the tenth .day all go north-east to a sikami tree. Soldiers shoot arrows at
the tree, and they put some leaves in their turban and come back. Kings and chiefs
should lead their troops to the verge of the city and worship the shami tree. By this
act small-pox, famine, and other evils are driven beyond the borders. The Peshwa
moved out to a camp near Poona with all his chiefs, each under his banner, on his best
horse and in his richest clothes. All the people of Poona joined and marched to the
sacred tree. The Peshwa, after prayers and offerings, plucked some leaves, cannon
and musketry fired a salute, the state accounts were produced and sealed, the
Peshwa plucked a stalk of millet from afield, and the whole crowd pring guns or shoot-
ingarrows rushed into the field each striving to get a stalk of millet. All shout with joy
and spend the rest of the day in feasting and mirth. A buffalo decked with flowers
and daubed with paint is brought before the chief's horse or elephant, and his head
is struck off with one blow and his blood in sprinkled with great ceremony over the
horses. In smaller tovms the buffalo is led round the town, grain and liquor ate
sprinkled as the procession goes, and when the round is ended the buffalo's head is cut
ofF, sheep are sacrificed, and the flesh is eaten hy all but Brdhmans.

Decctu.]

POONA.

295,

and houses.. Boys let" off crackers and the rich burn all kinds of

fireworks. According to the story when Mdhadev killed the demon

Narkasur, he agreed that in his honour there should be a yearly light ,

feast. It is the native bankers' and merchants' new year.^ Besides,

these main festivals many field rites are practised by Poena Kunbis.

' About the end of April on the Akshatritia, literally the undying

thirdj offerings are made to three generations of dead warriors and

a fresh year of field work begins.^ In the east of the district, before

^_j beginning to plough waste land, cooked rice or fine millet or Indian

* millet cakes, curds, a cocoanut, and a- he-goat or fowl are offered to

the field spirit, Mhasoba, Navlai, or Satvai. This is not done in the

west of the district. In the east, before beginning to sow, each of

the village gods, Mdruti, Bahiroba, and Ganpati, is given a handful

- of grain. This is not done in the west. In the west, when the rice
seedlings are ready to plant, the villagers meet on a Sunday, anoint
their village god, who is generally Bahiroba or Hanumdn, with oil
and redlead, sacrifice a he-goat and ten fowls, and offer five
cocoanuts, frankincense, fifteen lemons, and camphor. They ask the
god to give them good crops, and walk round the village calling the
name of their god, A feast is prepared and the sacrifices are eaten
near the temple. Each landholder on the Tuesday before he begins
to plant his rice kills a fowl and sprinkles its blood over the field
and offers the field spirit a cocoanut, some sweetmeats, and five

g lemons, and bums frankincense and camphor. Before beginning to

■ make ready the threshing-floor some husbandmen offer Mhasoba,

.^ Mavlai, or Satvai millet-cakes, curds, a cocoanut, and a he-goat or fowl.

' Before setting up the tivda or central pole of the threshing-floor all

[ask an astrologer what wood they should use. Under the pole they

bury vaajngOyjOimbhul, shami Mimosa shamu, arati and rui Calotropis

gigantea twigs and an egg. They set up as a shrine or devsthdn an

earthen pot and seven pebbles, five for the Pandavs and one each

for Vandev or the forest god and Vanspatra or the forest lord.

- The pot and the pebbles are smeared with redlead and frankincense
is burnt ,before them. Kunbis sacrifice a sheep or a he-goat ; a
Brdhman or Gujarat Vdni would offer five grains of wheat or five
mUlet cakes and five each of betel, cloves, cardamums, turmeric
roots, and pieces of cocoa-kernel. When the grain is thrashed
some husbandmen offer a sheep, a goat, a fowl, or cakes. Befoi'e
winnowing an animal or cakes and fruit are offered at the Pdndav
shrine. Eice is also offered and scattered over the threshingfloor, a '
rite known as rdspuja, that is the heap-worship. When an animal
is offered. the rice is steeped with blood before it is thrown. Before
measuring the grain the astrologer is asked which of the husband-
man's family should measure it. With a broom of early jvdari stalks
the grain is heaped round the central pole and incense is burned
before it, a two-sher or adkoU measure is held in the incense smoke
and handed to the measurer, who offers the first measureful to the
village god. If a crop is attacked by, rust, in some parts of the
•district a fowl is sacrificed or a cocoanut is offered to the village

Chapter III.
Population.

Husbandmen.

KuNBISi

' Trans. Bom. Lit. Soc. III. 225. , , i, „ „

= Dr. Coates in Trans. Bom. Lifr. Soc. III. 256 ; Mr. J, G. Moore, C. S.

LBombay Gazetteer,

296

DISTRIOl'S.

Chapter IIL

Population.

Husbandmen.
Kvirsis.

deity. At all these rites the village priest is present, recites texts,
and is given a cocoanut or a few coppers.^ - Their priests are the
ordinary Mardtha Brahmans,to whom they pay great respect. They
make pilgrimages to Alandi, Benares, Ndsik and Pandharpur.^.

' The first five months of a woman's -pregnancy are known as the
months of longing or dohole. She longs to eat tamarinds, cakes,
bread, ambdda or Spondias mangif era^ pot-herbs, fish, and flesh. If
she is refused the child is born with unhealthy ears. After delivery
the position of the woman is not changed for some time.^ If the
child is a boy the midwife beats a metal-pot and is paid Zd. to 6d.
(2-4 as.) ; if the child is a girl the father is told without any signs of
rejoicing and the midwife is paid about 1 J <£. (1 a.).' The father notes
the time of birth Uhat the Brahman astrologer may be able to choose
a lucky name. The midwife cuts the child's navel cord with a knife,
and holding the cord in her left hand passes it through the child's
mouth. She touches the spot where the navel cord was out with ashes
and rubs the mother and the child with turmeric and oil, bathes them
in hot water, and swathes the child in cloth bandages. " The mother
is given butter and myrrh pills and the child is dosed with three or
four drops of castor oil. The mother is fumigated by burning
vdvading Embelia ribes, ova Ligusticum ajwaen, and balantshep
Anethum graveolus in the room, and then, with, her child besidfe
her, is laid on a cot under which a small fire of live coal is set. The
mother is fed on fine rice, butter, pepper, and warm water. Near
the door of the room an earthen pot of cow's urine is set with a nim
branch floating on it. That no evil spirit m.ay come in with them,,
all visitors sprinkle a few drops of cow's urine on their feet before
entering the room. At noon the mother is bathed in hot water,
and elderly women begin to drop in and' ask how she is. If the
child is a boy they congratulate her warmly ; if it is ^ girl, they say
The first daughter is bread and butter, Pahili beti tup-roti. If the
child's aunt is present at the time of delivery she cowdungs the
threshold of the room, places a packet of betelnut and leaves near it,
and says looking towards the child, ' This child is to be my son's

» Mr. J. G. Moore, C. S.

^ In 1819 Dr. Coates trtote : The Kunbis are sincere and devout. Their
rules enjoin charity, benevolence, and reverence to parents, and have a wholesome
influence on their conduct. They are nominally followers of MahAdev, but join in the
worship of any sect that comes in their way. They constantly make vows at Mu'salmin
and occasionally at Christian tombs. Their chief objects of worship are Khandu and
Bairu local MahAdevs , and Jamni, Yamni, and Tukia local PArvatis. Everjr family has
two or more gold or silver relief plates of these gods, about four inches high by two
broad. They are the house gods and are k.ept in a stand in some safe part of the
dwelling. Every morning one of the family, generally the grandmother, bathes and
anoints the images, lays grain before them', and burns frankincense. _ Before, starting
on his day's work each . member of the family comes and with a low bow prays for
strength for the day's labour, safety for the family and cattle,~ and the day's bread.
People who are too poor to marry, who are out of work, sick, or unlucky ask their
friends and goto some temple and vow if the evil is removed to swmg before the gpd
■ with hooks in their black, to roU on the ground in, front of the god, to come before
him in chains, to offer him a sheep goat or fowl or sweetmeats or a cocoanut,

' In 1819 Dr, Coates (Trans. Bom. Lit. Soo. Ill, 245) described the Kunbi women at-
child-birth as shut in a close hole without air or light, and a lamp, generally a char-
coal lamp, burning,. rShe was fed with spices and other stimulating iood agd often
suffered from fever and rheiimatism, ' *

Deccan.]

POONA.

297

wife.' The motlier smiles, and if she has a son says, ' When jou get
a daughter she will become my daughter-in-law.' In the evening
the mother is again bathed, nim juice is given her to di'ink, and she
is fed as in the morning on rice, butter, and pepper, and is given
some hot water to drink. The child as before is dosed with three
or four drops of castor oil, and laid by the mother's side on the cot.
A lamp is kept burning during the night, and next morning, after
rubbing them with turmeric and oil, both mother and child are
bathed, the mother ia fumigated with msAesA or frankincense, and the
child is given a dose of castor oil. The mother takes some mm juice,
has a meal of rice, .butter, ajnd pepper, and is given some hot water to
drink. At noon women neighbours and kinswomen begin to drop in.
As each comes she touches the soles of her feet as if taking a, pinch
of dust ofE them, waves it round the child, and blows the dust partly
into the air and partly into the ground. Then cracking the finger
joints of both her hands, she takes her seat, and is given turmeric
and redpowder. Should she be unlucky enough not to crack all her
finger joints, she is thought to have no friendly feelings to the
mother and child, and is not given the powder. In the evening if
the child takes to crying, frankincense is burnt in the names of
Bahiroba and the goddess Satvd.i, and they are prayed to save -the
child and prolong its life. On the third and fourth days, except
bathing the mother in hot water, nothing particular is done. On
the morning of the fifth day the following articles are brought : A
cocoanut, five pieces of cocoa-kernel, five dry dates, five grains of
pepper, dry ginger, poppy, cardamums, cloves, nutmeg, betelnut and'
leaves, catechu, scented and redpowders, tooth-powder, a coloured
cord with a small parcel of red and scented powder or ndda-pudi,
frankincense, turmeric, and a small copper or brass image of Satv^i.
Dishes of mutton and rice flour balls are cooked and kinspeople and
friends are asked to a feast. The women guests bring with them on
a brass plate a few grains of rice, a cocoanut, and betel leaves, and
set them before the goddess Satvdi. Then the child's grandmother
or some other elderly woman of the house sets a low wooden stool
in the lying-in room and places the image of Satvdi on the stool.
She sprinkles redpowder on the image, burns frankincense, offers
fruit and cooked food, and, wrapping the child in a cloth, lays it

'before the goddess and prays her to accept the offerings, to be kind
to the child, and to overlook any shortcomings in the worship.
The mother comes forward, bows before the image, and eats of all
the dishes. The other women bow before the goddess,-, and after

IjBating return to their homes. When the women have gone the 'men

Jjaegin to. drop in. As they borne they are seated on blankets and
dinner is served. After dinner a pipe of tobacco is handed round,
first to the pdtil, then to the senior guest, and then to the rest,
except to youths who must go out if they want to smoke.

' Singing, smoking, and drinking go on ' till morning, when all go
home. Next morning the mother and child are rubbed with cocoanut
oil and bathed in warm water, and she goes back to her special diet
of rice,, butter, pepper, and hot water. On the morning of the
seventh day the cot and the earthen water-pot' are smeared with red-
powder and turmeric, five lighted rioe^our lamps are placed in the

Chapter III.
Population.

HUSBAKDMEN.
KUNBIS.

[Bombay Gazetteer,

298

DISTRICTS.

Chapter III.
Population.

HtrSBANDMEN.

Kuifsis.

water-pot, and cooked food is offered. Five unmarried girls are
rubbed witb redpowder and turmeric and their laps are filled with
wet gram, a piece of cocoa-kernel, betel leaves and nuts, and small
balls of powdered ginger mixed with inolasses. After the mother
has prostrated herself five times and bowed thrice before the girls a
dinner is served to one or two women neighbours. On the morning
of the eighth day the mother and child are bathed, and after eating
her usual special food she is given betel leaves and nut to chew and
a dish of live coals is placed under her cot. Cocoa-kerilel and dry
date hhdnk are pounded together and mixed with molasses, and a
little is given to the mother and the rest is distributed among the
neighbours. On the ninth day, except that the mother is bathed
with hot water,"n,othing particular is doiie. On the tenth day two or
three women come and wash all the clothes and bedding and in
return are given breakfast All the house walls and floors get a
fresh plaster of cowdung, and, when the songsters come, cow's urine
is sprinkled on their bodies and clothes. Then they, together with
thie house-people, feast on bread, relishes, white shepu or Anethum
fcenicatum, and green chillies. On the eleventh day preparations
are made for the twelfth-day ceremony. Articles are laid in and the
Brahman priest and guests are invited. '

On the morning of the twelfth day the women of the house bathe
the mother, and again purify the walls and floor of the house with a
plaster of cowdung. They bake some cakes and begin to cook dishes
of rice, vegetables, and pulse. A goat is killed, and its blood is gather-
ed in a metal plate and mixed with spices Etnd boiling water. This
dish is called rakti. The bones and flesh are cooked in two separE^te
pots and the liver or kaling in the third. A girl goes to tell the
neighbours that the feast is ready, and when a few women have come
the mother goes along with them to a spot outside the village and makes
offerings to SatvAi. On their return a bangle-seller puts green bangles
round the mother's and black bangles round the midwife's wrists.
Men guests have by this time begun to drop in, and, as they come, are
seated on blankets spread in the Veranda. . The Brd,hman priest next
arrives with his almanac, and he too takes his seat in the veranda.
The women of the house tell the Brdhman tbe day and time at which
the child was born, and he, spreading his almanac before him and
■counting his fingers, gives the" child a name, and tells his fortune.
The child is dressed in a new frock and cap. Soot is rubbed on_ hi^
cheeks and eyelids, and he is set facing the east.- The priest is given
about two pounds {1 s^) of rice, and split pulse, a little molasses,
and betelnut and leaves. A cradle is hung from the ceiling, and
worshipped, turmeric and redpowder are thrown over it, cooked
food is offered, and a blanket is spread in it with some wet gram and
betelnut and leaves in the corners and a string tied in the middle.
The mother sits near the cradle, and each of the neighbour women gives
her redpowder and turmeric and presents the child with a frock, a cap,
and a cocoanut. They dress the child and lay it in the cradle, and as
they rock the cradle they sing songs. The mother lifts the child,
and turning it thrice round the cradle they say, ' Take Harpdl and give
Gopd,l, take Govind an,d give Krishna, take Mahadev and give R^m,
taie Bharat and give Shatrqghna.' The child is then laid in the

Deccau.]

POONA.

cradle, and one of the womenj the rest all the time slapping her on
the back, pats her mouth close to the child's ear, and says, ' Quietly
quietly receive pulse and take Somji, the name given to the child,
Patel to play'.^ Then the mother's lap is filled with a cocoanut, rice,
glass beads, turmeric, pieces of cocoa-kernel, and betelnut, and she
is taken to bow to the family gods. A piece of thread is tied round
the child's loins and the guests are feasted, the men and the women in
separate rooms. After they have done they are given betelnut and
leaves, wet pulse, and rice cakes. When the guests begin to leave an
old man and woman seat themselves in the doorway and refuse to
let the women pass till each mentions her husband's name. After
^me coquetting the boldest of the women ■ repeats some verses in
which her husband's name occurs. The couplets are,

I was walking tinkling tinkling, I was looking through the
window, Whose stately form is this, The son of Abajimy sister-in-law's
younger brother.^

Or, Balu Patel of tbe big round turban he is my husband.'

Or, A golden winnowing fan broidered with pearls, the queen of
Krishndji Ohavgula is at play.*

Or, A jar of molasses with a lid of clarified butter, Santu barber's
wife is the fairest of gems.^

Or, A red checkered robe with nine Ukhs of strings, however many
mistresses you may have there is none like the queen of Vithu carpenter,^

Or, To a basil plant before the door handfuls of water, At first I was
my parents' pet and then the queen of BMva Kumbhd,r,'

If among the matrons an unmarried girl is stopped by mistake
she says,

' Behind the door was a niche and in the niche there was wheat ;'my
parents have not married me, whose name can I take.'

On the thirteenth day the mother begins' to go about the house,
washing, cooking, and cleaning as usual. Except on the full and
new moon the child is bathed "every day. When two months old,
as a safeguard against liver disease, the mother gives the child
tooth-powder mixed with cow's milk and liquor, and. rubs its
stomach with black nut and ashes, while a sorcerer says a charm or
a mystic verse. To increase her supply of milk the mother is given
rice, butter, and split peas. When the child is three months old, to
help it to hold up its head, the mother is given a cooked goat's head
and round the child's neck is hung a black thread with two black
nuts or hajarbatus and an image of the goddess Satvdi. In this
month a black thread is tied round the child's waist and copper
rings are put on its feet, and to ward off the evil, eye the eyelids

1 The Marithi runs : Chup chup ghugaryd ghyd dni dmche Somji Pdtlds hheUyds

2 The Mardthi runs : Jhunuk jhunuk jdt Jiote, khidki vdtepaMt hote, ha daul hcmicha,
Abdjiehya potcha, vhanjichyu pdthcTia.

' Okakri munddsdche Bdhi PdUl bhratdr mhanje dmwhe.

'* SonyndcM mipU, motydne gumpMi, Krishmiji GhaugulydcM rdm/eheldyda gunili.
' Cfuldchya ghdgmila tupdche Upon, Santu NhdvydcM hdyako laA ndmi ratmi.
' Tddpadaripdsodiiilamvuldlch dashiyMtiWiogilya bataU ddai tan VUhuSutd-

rdcMrdniihtighi, ^ !■ .^ t- . ? m-

'' Ddri hoti tulas tUa vanjal varyalpdni, adhi hote dibdpdcht tdnh%, mag jale JShtva

Kwmbhdrdchi rdm. ' ,,., ,, .i....«ii».

« Ddfdmdge hota kondda tydni hota gahu, dibdpani lagan km naht mv Kondche gheu ?

Chapter III.
Population.

Husbandmen.

KVNBIS.

[Bombay Gazetteer,

300

DISTRICTS.

Chapter III.
Population.

Husbandmen.

KUNBIS.

of both the child and the mother are touched with soot. In the
same month the mother and the child with other relations go
to visit the shrine of the goddess Satvai, when a goat, tooth-
powder, turmeric, redpowder, betelnut and leaves, soot, two
cocoanuts, a robe and bodice, some grains of .rice, dry Cocoa-kernel,
and frankincense are offered to the goddess and the goat is killed
before her. The head is placed behind the goddess and the body is
taken away, preseated to the goddess, cooked, and eaten. The
temple priest or ministrant tells the goddess the reason of the
offering, and, taking a pinchof ashes, rubs them on the brow of the
child and of its mother. After feasting on the flesh of the gOat
and on other dishes, the party buy back the goat's head paying l^d
to 6d. {1-4! as.), and go home. All the religious parts of this
ceremony are performed by the temple servant who is generally a
Gurav by caste. On reaching the house the mother and child stand
at the door, and a woman comes from the house and waves a piece of
bread round them and pours water over the mother^s feet.

When the child is four or five months old it is bathed outside of
the house, and when it is about a year old and begins to walk, its
head is shaved except a tuft on the crown, and the hair is offered to the
goddess Satvai. The barber gets a preS'ent of a pair of scissors ; and
the mother gives a feast to a party of married women. Six months^
later, when the child begins to eat, any fiow of saliva is stopped by
the mother passing an aged live fish three or four times round its
face. When four years old the child begins to run about the streets
and lanes . and plays at marbles, bat and. ball, tops, and hide and
seek. After about seven the child begins to be of use to his parents,
taking the cattle to graze and bringing them home in the evening;. :
When ten or twelve years old"he is branded as a cowherd either'on the
right or left hand or on both hands. A few pellets of hare's dung are
brought from a hill, pounded, and set in four or five places about the
boy's wrist and burnt. The other boys hold the child so as to keep
him quiet, and when he can no longer bear the pain the burning
pellets are knocked off and the ^kin rubbed.

At sixteen, the parents of the boy, if well-to-do, think of marrying
him, or, as they say, tying a clog round his neck. The girl ehoseii
for a wife is usually three to twelve years old- Among Kunbis it is
not necessary that a girl should be married before she reaches
womanhood, and among men, though if well-to-do they; may be married
at sixteen, it often happens that in large or poor families the younger
sons remain uninarried till well on in hfe. Before a marriage can be
fixed it -must be ascertained that the boy and the girl are not of the
same clan or hul ; they may both bear the same surname but the crest
or devah must be different. Sameness of stock in the f6male line is
no ground for objection. After talking the matter over and fixing
on the moat suitable girl, the boy's father goes to a Brahman, tells him
of the object of his visit,, and asks him to say when he ought to start
to make his offer to the girl's parents. The Brahman gets his
almanac from the house and sets it before himy and the^boy's father,
laying a betelnut and a copper coin on the book and bowing to it, sits
in front of the Brahman. The Brahman takes the betelnut' and the

DeccauJ

POONA.

SOI

coin, opens the almanac, counts his fingers, and tells the boy's father
that the whole of that and the next day are lucky and that his errand
will be successful. The father bows and withdraws. Next morning,
he dresses in his best waistcloth, shonldercloth, turban, and sandals,
ties together a few cakes and some vegetables, and with one or two
kinspeople starts for the girl's house. Before leaving he looks
about him. If he sees a married woman or a cow he thinks it
lucky and starts, if a Brdhman or a widow happens to pass he
goes back and stops for some time on his veranda before he makes a
fresh start. When the father and his companions reach the girl's, he
makes over the bundle of refreshments to the women of the house.
A blanket is spread and the guests are asked to sit. They are given
a pipe of tobacco and water to wash their -feet and are asked to dine.
While dining the women from behind the door ask them why they
have come. They say, ' We have come to sweeten your child's mouth ;
it rests with you to carry out our wishes.' They then take a nap.
In the evening when the men come home they talk the matter over,
the women joining in the talk from behind -the door. The girl's
father says, ' It is of no use marrying the girl, she is too young, she
is still a child, and has never had small-pox. The women of your
house may not like her, you better look out for a wife elsewhere •'
and names other houses. The boy's father presses him and after a

- time he agrees, and as a sign of agreement the two fathers dine
from the same plate. Next morning the boy's father goes to the
village astrologer, lays a betelnut and a copper coin on his almanac,
and tells him- the boy's and girl's names. The Brahman as before
consults his almanac, counts his fingers, says that the stars favour the
marriage, and fixes the next day for the sugar and rice ov gulbhdt
feast. The boy's father sends word to the girl's house and goes

f;. home. Soon after the girl's father goes to the boy's father and asks
him and his relations to come next day to a sugar and. rice feast at

:. his house. At the same time they - settle what presents each is to
make to the other's child ; that the boy's father should not ta,ke
more than five or six men to dine with him during marriage dinners ;
that SOs. (Rs. 15) should be paid as dowry or dej to the girl's father
a month before the marriage day ; and lastly that some of the girl's
relations should be present when her wedding clothes are bought.
When these points are settled the girl's father goes home. Next
day the boy's ' father and some of his relations, taking earrings a
robe and bodice a cocoanut and betel go to the girl's,- and, before
dining, make over the presents to the women of the house, asking

?: them to put the ornaments in the girl's eats, to dress her in the
robe and bodice, and to lay the cocoanut and betel before the
house gods. Then the sugar and rice dinner begins. When the
guests are seated one of them asks the girl's father why the dinner
is given. To this one of the leading guests, perhaps the pdtil,
answers that the dinner is giyen because the host, naming him, has
-given his daughter to so-and-so's son. Then, after the girl's father
has been asked and has answered that what the pdtil saja is true,
the boy's father is asked what ornaments he has given. He names
them, adding that it has been settled that the robe should be worth
30s. (Rs. 15) and should be bought in presence of. the girl's relg<tions ;

Chapter III.
Population.

HuSBANDMEir.
... MlfNMIS.

[Bombay Gazetteer,

302

DISTRICTS.

Chapter III.
Population.

HuSBAKDMElf.-
KUNBIS,

that not more than five or six men should be ta,ken to dinner ; that
at least one month before the marriage 30s. (Es. 15) on account of
dowry or dej should be sent to the girl's parents ; and that the girls'
■parents are to give the boy a sash and a turban together worth 10s.
(Es.5), and 7s. (Rs.3J) on account of a metal bathing tub and pot.
When all these points have been publicly settled they begin to eat,
and at the end of the feast, after a pipe and betelnut, they go home.
The boy's father before leaving asks the girl's father to dine next
day at his house. When the girl's father and his friends arrive, the
boy is brought forward and shown to the guests, one of the old
women of the house remarking how fine-looking and healthy he is,
and adding, ' We have shown our boy to you, but we have not yet
seen your girl. We hope your girl is as handsome as our boy.'
Then the boy is bathed and dressed, and his brow is marked with
sandal, and the girl's father, who has brought a bodice, a cocoannt,
and betelnut and leaves, gives them to the women of the house
telling them to lay them before the house gods and to give the bodice
to the boy's grandmother. Dinner is served^ and just as at the
girl's house, the form of naming the marriage presents is gone
through. When dinner is over the guests leave, the boy's father
being warned that little time is left, and tha;t he should be ready,
referring to the £1 10s. (Es. 15) he has to pay as purchase-money or
dowry.

From this time the marriage preparations are pressed on. . The
boy's father pays the girl's father the £1 10s. (Es. 1 5) in presence of a
couple of witnesses and next morning both men and women go to
the market and buy clothes. When they return the Brdhman priest
is sent for. When he comes he is seated on a blanket with his
almanax; spread before him and asked to fix a lucky day for the
wedding. Aiter consulting his almanac and counting his fingers,^
the Brdhman says, ' Wednesday morning is the best time for the
turmeric-rubbing ; an hour before sunset is the luckiest time for the
wedding ; and Thursday night for the marriage procession.' The boy's
father sends a message to that effect to the girl's parents and sends
to ask kinspeople, friends, and castemen. The shoemaker is told
to make a new pair of shoes for the boy, and the potter to bring
earthen pots on the morning of the marriage day. The boy's father
goes to his neighbours arid asks them to help him to build a marriage
booth in front of his house. He brings bunches of mango leaves,
and hangs them about the booth, keeping a bough for the lucky
pillar or muhurt-medh which is planted on the marriage day. Except
that an altar is built at the girl's house, the preparations at both
houses are the same. In the evening, both at the boy's and at the
girl's, wet pulse, turmeric, redpowder, betelnut and leaves,
cocoanuts, and dry cocoa-kernel, ■ dry dates, and two bundles of
thread, worth altogether 2s. 6d. (Es. li) are laid in.^ Musicians are
called and for two days' playing are paid about Is. 6d. (12 as.).
Early on the wedding morning at the girl's house the millstones

I The details are : Pulse, turmeiic, and l>etelnnt about 9d, {6 as.) ; cocoanuts and
kerndi, Is, Qd. (14 as.) ; thread, lid. {I amm).

Deccan.]

POONA.

303

are washed and turmeric is ground into fine powder. A piece of
clotli is dipped in turmeric, and a few grains of rice, a betelnut, and
a tamarind root are laid in the cloth and tied to the neck of the
miUstone which is not used till the marriage ceremony is over.
A low wooden stool is set in the doorway and round the stool five
metal water-pots are arranged and a thread is passed five times
round them. Some hetelnuts and a few grains of rice are laid in the
girl's hands, and a metal pot filled with cold water in the hands of
the bridesmaid or haravli, and the two go round the pots five times.
Then the bridesmaid, walking behind the girl, pours a little water on
the low wooden stool, and the girl five times drops a few grains
of rice on the water, and setting first her right foot and then her left
foot on the stool sits on it. Her head is rubbed with oil and she
is bathed. While this goes on the girl bathes a number of little
children who stand in front of her and the musicians from time to
time play their pipes. When all the children have been bathed the
girl's mother comes forward, and, sitting close to her daughter on
the low wooden stool, is bathed. When the bath is over the mother
is presented with a robe and bodice, and, if she is not a widow, her
arms are rubbed with turmeric andredpowder is rubbed on her brow
and a cocoanut and rice are laid in her lap. The girl is dressed in
a robe and green bodice and her clothes are stained with wet tur-
meric, her forehead is daubed with redpowder and rice, her cheeks
and the space between the eyebrows are marked with soot, and in her

, lap are laid a cocoanut, five dry cocoa-kernels, five betelnuts, five
turmeric roots, and some grains of wheat. After this a chaplet,
either of fiowers or of tinsel, is tied round her brow, and her head
is covered with a blanket. Without letting the cotton thread that
encircles them touch the girl, four women stand with water-pots in
their hands, and a fifth looses one end of the thread and ties it to
the lucky pillar or muhurt-medh, and plants the post on one side of
the doorway. By this time, at the boy's house, the Brdhman priest
has come, and is given a cocoanut, pieces of cocoa-kernel, thread,
turmeric, a piece of yellow cloth, a winnowing fan, and ricov The
priest sets two lighted lamps on a low wooden stool, and between
the. two lamps a bathing tub or ghangdl. He picks up a winnowing
fan, lays grains of rice in it, and filling a metal water-pot with cold ,

'; water sets it on the rice. He spreads a few mango leaves on
the water-pot or sets a cocoanut on it. ' He ties in a yellow cloth
a few grains of rice, and some betelnut and turmeric. He daubs
the bundle with redpowder and lays it in the winnowing fan

Ksbeside the water-pot. The priest opens his almanac at a picture of
Ganpati, tells the host to worship the picture, repeats verses, and
the host sprinkles over the picture sandaL rice and red and scented
powder, lays betelnut and leaves and a copper coin before it,

«. offers it sugar, and bows to it. When the worship of Ganpati is
over the priest rolls up his almanac and lays it beside him. Then,
after worshipping the winnowing fan and its contents and seeing
that it is kept in a safe place, the priest goes home. A near

|: relation of the girl, taking turmeric powder and accompanied by
inusic, goes to the boy's house, makes over the turmeric to the
people of the house and returns. The boy is seated on a low

Chapter III.
Population.

Hdsbandmbn.

■ KUNBIS.

[Bombay Gazetteer,

304

DISTEIOTS.

Chapter III.

Population.

Husbandmen.
Kxrirsis, -.

wooden stool in the midst of tlie five earthen pots, bathed, and
dressed in a new waistclothj a turban, and a shouldercloth. His
forehead, like the girFs forehead, is marked with redpowder, and
over the powder a- few grains of rice are stuck. A tinsel chaplet is
tied to his brow, and, as at the girl's house, the thread that was
wound round the earthen pots is tied to the lucky pillar or
muhurt-medh. The village barbers lay a cloth on the- grinding
stone or pdta, and worship it by laying, grains of rice before iti
To the wooden pestle or mwsaZ are then tied a betel leaf, a millet
stalk, and a needle, and it is. set in the mortar. The women of the
house seat the boy in front of the mortar ou a low wooden stool, ,
take cocoanut oil in a metal cup, and dipping mango leaves in the
oil let it drop on his head. The washerwoman, holding the pestle
in her left hand, stands in front of the boy singing songs; A
chaplet of flowers, a cocoanut, and a few grains of wet pulse are
sent to, the village god with the prayer that he may be kind, that
the marriage ceremony may pass without mishap, and that he may
give the marriage guests a safe return to their homes. When this
is over the guests axe treated to a dinner. After dinner the boy
is seated either on a horse or a bullock,, and, with about twice as
many male and female relations and friends as he promised to.,
bring, goes with music to the girl's village temple, where he, lays_
a cocoanut before the village god and asks his blessing. After
leaving the temple, the boy goes to the boundary of the girl's .
■railage.

On reaching the boundary a lemon is cut, waved round the boy's
head, and thrown away, and his eyes are touched with cold
water. One of the company going to the girl's house tells her
father that the boy and his party are come. Then the girl's near
relations and' the chief men of the village go to meet the boy.
At first the girl's brothers and uncles refuse to let him pass the
village boundary. After a while they are given cocoanuts, betel
nuts and leaves 'are handed round, they embrace, and while the
musicians of both parties play their pipes, the boy and his friends
are hurried to the village temple where he lays betelnut and leaves
before the god and worships.. He is then seated on a blanket
spread outside of the temple. The village Mhar brings a horse
and on it the boy is seated, a^d with music is led' to the door of the:
girl's marriage hall. A ball of rice is waved over the boy's head
and thrown on one side, and' his' eyelids are touched with water.
Next the village barber comes, unrobes the boy, and bathes'him in
warm water. Th& girl's father dresses him in a new waistclpth^
turban, and shouldercloth or shela, and the clothes the boy was
wearing are given to the barber. Meanwhile three or four
Brahmans draw red lines on the outer wall of the house near which
the boy is seated, and the girl, dressed in a fine robe and her lap
filled with a cocoanut a handful of wheat and a piece of cocoa-kernel,
is taken outside and seated oh the boy's left. The fiower chapletS'are
taken off the boy and girl and thrown on the house-top or the roof of
the marriage hall and new ones are tied to their brows. Toe-rings are
put on the girl's feet and she is dressed in a bodice turned fore end

DeccauJ

POONA.

305

backwards, ladishep Anetlium fcenicatum is put in their months,
yellow lines are drawn on a waistoloth, the boy and girl are set
facing each other, and the waistoloth with the yellow lines is held
between them. The villagers hold drawn swords over their heads and
the gnests and relations who surround the pair are each given a few
grains of rice and warned not to sneeze, talk, or cough. Behind
the girl stands her sister with a lighted lamp in her hand, and
behind tho boy his brother with a lemon stuck on the point of a
dagger. The Brahman repeats verses and at the end of the verses
asks the girl's father to whose house he has given his daughter and
he names the boy's father. Then both fathers are asked, ' Have you
both with free will given and received the girl;' and they reply, 'We
iave.' The guests throw rice over the couple, the musicians play,
and the Brdhmans are given money. The boy a^d girl are seated
on the altar close to each other, the girl on the boy's left. Next
the Brdhman priest takes a, metal plate and lays on it a lighted lamp
and a handful of rice. A married woman takes some rice in both
ber hands and throws it on the''knees, shoulders, and heads of the
boy and girl, three times over the boy and twice over the girl. A
popper coin is laid_ in the dish and the musicians play and sing
songs. A new bathing tub or ghangdl and water-pot or tdmhya are
brought and filled with water and the girl's father pours water from
the tub over the boy's feet. These pots, together with a turban,
a wa,istcloth, and a bodice or robe are presented to the boy, and this
concludes the ceremony. The Brdhmans from both houses
are presented with 5s. (Es. 2^) and the guests with betelnut.
The hems- of the boy's and girl's clothes are tied together by the
■girl's sister, and they are led into the house. They bow before the
family gods, and the boy takes one of the gods , and hands it to his
brother. On their return to the wedding booth they are seated on
the altar, the girl to the left of the boy. The girl's mother brings a
ibathing tub or ghangdl and cooked food and sets them before the
vboy. She covers the food with a new winnowing fan, and oyer the
fan sets a lighted lamp, a cocoanut, and betelnut and leaves. The
boy's relations come with a bodice and lay it near the betelnut on,
the winnowing fan. The girl's mother removes the winnowing fan
'with its contents and asks the boy and girl to taste the food. If
the boy is the first to taste the food it is well ; if he is not he
is laughed at and asked whether he is going to eat his wife's
leavings. When the meal is over the guests are served with a
dinner, and either stay over night or go to their homes. After the
guests ar6 gone, to the wrists of both the boy and the girl turmeric
roots are tied and they go to bed, the boy sleeping with the men
outside and the girl with the women in the house. On the second
day the boy is seated on the altar, and the girl stands behind him
with turmeric powder in her hand, and tries to force some of it into
his molith. The boy keeps his mouth tight closed and tries to
prevent her, and, if she succeeds in forcing some into his mouth he
is laughed at and asked if he is hungry. Then the boy stands
ibehind the girl, and tries with his left hand to force some turmeric
into her mouth. He seldom succeeds, and is laughed at and called
3 310-39 - , .

Chapter lit.
Population.

Husbandmen.

KUNEJB.

[Bomliay Gazetteer,

306

DISTRICTS.

Chapter III.
Fopulation.

Husbandmen,
KuifBia,

Mjda or impotent. Next the boy holds a betelnut in his hand and
jiaming the girl asks her to take it from him. They struggle and
the girl generally manages to snatch it away. Then the girl holda
a betelnut in her closed fist and naming the boy asks him to take it.
He tries but generally fails. He then begs her to let him have the
nut and she gives it to him. ,

After this five or six betehmts are laid in a hue and a little
molasses is sprinkled over each. The boy and girl -watch the
nuts and each tries to be first in picking the nut on which a fly
first settles. The one who gathers the most nuts wins. When this
trial of luck is over the boy and girl are seated face to face in
the marriage haU on low -wooden stools and a plate full of water
is set between them. Eedpowder is dropped into the water, and
the girl holds her open hands over it at some distance. The boy
spreads his hands and the girl's sister drops from her hands
into the boy's hands a piece of turmeric, a betelnut, and a ring, and
he in turn lets them drop into the girl's hands and she into the
plate. If the ring Ues in the plate more towards the boy's side he
takes it, if it falls towards the girl's side he asks her to make it
over to him. Then the boy puts the remains of the pounded
turmeric and cooked rice into the mouths of his sisters and brothers-
in-law. Next both he and the girl are bathed, served with a light
meal, and given warm water to wash their hands and feet. To
counteract any attack of the evil eye, a Jangam or Lingayat priest
breaks the tops ofE two new earthen jars, whitewashes the outside
of the bottoms, and fills them with ashes. He takes two sticks,
rolls round each a piece of cloth soaked in oil, and lighting the
oiled cloths plants them in the ashes, fle decks the jars with
flower garlands, gives the boy and his mother whose hair hangs
loose down her back a lemon to hold, and sets one of the broken jars
on the head of the boy's mother and the other on the boy's head, and,
with music playing before them, and followed by the Jangam, who
carries a cocoanut and an offering of cooked food, they walk to the
side of some stream or pond. At intervals, as they go, the Jangam
takes one of the broken jars on his head, dances, and again makes it
over to the boy or to his mother. When they reach the water-
side the Jangam offers food to the broken jars, a,nd with the point of
the sword cuts off the burned part of the torches, and brings it
home.

On their return the guests are served with dinner. Before they
begin to eat burning frankincense sticks are set in front of the boy's
mother, scented powder is sprinkled over her hair, and a bathing
tub or ghangdl filled with cooked food is placed before her.. The
tub is covered with a winnowing fan, and a lighted lamp is placed
over the fan. The mother's relations lay a bodice near the lamp, and
the girl's relations take away the winnowing fan which acts as a Hd
to the bathing tub. In the place where the male guests are to dine,
food is brought in a covered water-pot, and on the boy's father
presenting 8d. to Is, (2-8 as.) the cover is removed and the contents
of both pots are distributed to the guests. When dinner is over
betelnut is handed and the guests withdraw. The Jangam is j"'^

Deocaii.r

POONA.

807

Sd. (2 as.) and is presented •v^-ith some nncooked food and a cocoanut.
On the third day at the boy's house a dinner is given to relations,
friends, and villagers. On the fourth the turmeric that was tied to
the hands of the boy and girl and the cocoanuts that were tied to the
marriage hall to the right wrists of the boy and girl are unfastened. At
two at night a procession starts, flower chaplets are tied, and the girl's
lap is filled. The boy and girl are seated on horseback and taken to
the village temple. The people of every house they pass present the
boy with molasses and water, of which he eats and drinks a little and
hands the rest to his wife, who eats and drinks a little and returns what
remains. Wh.en he reaches his house-door a woman comes from the
house, breaks a cocoanut, waves it over the boy and girl, and throws
the pieces away. On entering his house the boy and girl are taken
before the house gods, bow repeatedly before them, and retire. The
girl stays for four days and on the fifth is sent back to her father's, the
woman who came with her receiving a bodice. About four months
after the marriage the boy's father consults a Brahman, and, on a lucky
day, sends to the girl's house a couple of women and a man bearing
a robe and bodice, some wheat, and a cocoanut. The girl's mother
receives the present, dresses the girl in the robe and bodice, fills her
lap with the wheat and cocoanut, and sends her to the boy's house in
charge of an elderly woman with cooked rice, vegetables, and cakes.
When these gifts reach the boy's house his parents distribute the cakes
and food among the villagers, and the girl's companions are kept
four to seven days. This is called the house-filling or gha/rbharnei
' Aiter this the girl is free to be brought at any time from her parents*
to the boy's house. Widows are generally allowed to marry :
but some families think widow-marriage disreputable and do not
practise it. As a rule only widowers marry widows and the children
do not get so large a share of the property as the children of the
first marriage. Under the Peshwa, Kunbis rarely practised sati or
widow-burning.^

When a Kunbi girl comes of age, she is seated in a room by
herself, and for three days neighbours and relations bring her
presents of cooked food. Op. the fourth day she is bathed and word
is sent to her parents and a cocoanut and a fewgrains of wheat are
laid in her lap. Near relations are asked to a dinner, and when
they come they present the girl with a cocoanut. In the evening the
girl is sent to sleep in a separate room and the wife's brother or
other near relation leads the boy to the room and shuts him in.

When a Kunbi is on the point of death his son or his wife lays the
dying man's head on their right knee, and lets a few drops of water
fall into his mouth. Money and grain are given to the poor, and a cow
or from Is. to 10s. (Rs. ^-5) in cash is given .to the family Brdhman,
to help the flight of the soul to heaven.. When the dying man has
. breathed his last the women of the house raise a loud cry and dishevel
their hair. A small piece of gold is put into the dead mouth, and, after
an hour or two, friends and neighbours come and mourn. A near

Chapter III.

Fopnlatioa.

husbandjpn,
Kunbis.

1 Trans, Bom. Lit. Soc. III. 215i

[Bombay Gazetteer,

308

DISTRICTS.

Chapter III.
Fopnlation.

Husbandmen.

KUNBIS.

relation is sent to ttiy three earthen jars, cloth, betel leaves, red'^
powder, and bamboos, and at the burning ground the village Mh^r
gathers 1000 to 1500 cowdung cakes. Thd bather shaves the chief
mourner's moustache and is paid 6c?. (4 as.) A fire is lighted outside
of the house and rice is cooked in one earthen pot and watet heated
in another. The body is carried out of the house and laid on the
house steps with the feet towards the roadside. The head is rubbed
with butter and washed with warm water. The body is covered
with a sheet or a piece of cloth, laid on the bier, and shrouded from
head to foot in another sheet. On the sheet red and scented powder
are sprinkled and the chief mourner is given a piece of cloth or
utri to tie round his chest. He holds the jar of boiled rice in
his left hand and a jar with burning live coal or cowdung cakes
in his, right hand and starts Walking from the house. Four
near relations lift the bier and follow him calling, Shriri^m Jayram
Jayjayrdm. Alongside of the body near the head the wife, mother,
or other near kinswoman walks by the body fanning it. After the
bearers a band of kinsmen and kinswomen, the men generally bare-
headed and barefooted walk joining in the cry.^ On the way near
the burning ground the bearers change places, those in front going
behind and those behind coming in -front. On reaching the river
near the burning ground the bier is lowered, and the chief mourner
dashes the jar with the burning cakes or live coal on the ground, and
beats his mouth with the back of his open hand. The mourners
gather the burning cakes in a heap and cover them with some
cowdung cakes. Then each takes a cowdung cake and lays it on
the corpse's breast. The corpse's waiststring is cut. The chief
mourner sets fire to the pile, and others help him in heaping the
cakes found the body. They go a little -distance and sit chatting
and laughing till the body ^ is half burnt, when they bathe and go
home. While the funeral party are away women smear with
cowdujlg the whole house of mourning, they spread rice flolir over
the spot where the deceased breathed his last, and set alighted lamp
on it and cover the lamp with a bamboo basket. On their return
the funeral party examine the spot where the rice fiour is strewn
to see if there are any marks like the prints of an animal's foot.
if the footprint of any animal, or if any mark which bears any
resemblance to an animal's footprint is seen, it is believed that
the spirit of the dead has passed into the animal to which the
foot belongs. On the third day the chief mourner and other
relations go to the burning ground, and the chief mourner sprinkles
the ashes first with water and then with cow's urine, and gathering
the bones and ashes throws them into the river. He makes an
earthen ling on the spot where the deceased was burnt, sets
round it five hollow castor oil or erand stems, and close by fixes
five yellow-coloured flags and earthen pots; In the pots he puts
milk and water and through hollow pipes lets the water drop on the
ground, saying, ' Let us give the dead water to drink.' When aU
have poured oufwater they burn frankincense and offer cooked

1 Trans. Bom. Lit. So0. III. 216,

Deocon.]

POONA.

309

food and rice flour balls to the dead. They then bow to the

ofEering and ask crows to, come and feed on it. If the crows come

and eat, the soul is believed to be happy and to have entered a new

birth; If the crows refuse, their refusal to eat causes the mourners

the greatest fear. The mourners call on the dead to know why

he is unhappy and assure him that he has nothing to fear, and that

they will take care of his family, his house, and his goods. Every

means is tried to persuade the crows to eat the food. If nothing

succeeds, after waiting for a long time, one of them makes a clay

figure of a crow and with it touches the ofEering, and the party go

home. The crow's refusal to eat is believed to show that the soul

9f the dead remains at large and becomes a ghost or demon. For

thirteen days after death the family is unclean and in , mourning.

The chief mourner lays aside his turban and shoes, sleeps on the

ground, drinks no milk and eats nothing sweet, lets his hair grow,

and stays at home giving up business and never visiting the temple.

On the tenth day the whole house is cowdunged and on the eleventh

and twelfth the friends and, relations meet at the mourner's house

and the nearest relations present the son and his mother with a

turban, waistcloth, and robe, and calling a Erdhman offer rice balls

and ask the four bier bearers to dine. In the month of Bhdd/ra/pad

or September on the day on which the deceased died, a feast is given

to relations, friends, and castefellows.

In each village the Kunbis have a headman to whom they refer
caste disputes which he settles at mass meetings of the castemen.
^ Some send their boys to school. As a class Kunbis are poor.

Malis, or Gardeners, are returned as numbering 52,557 and as
found over the whole district. They are divided into Haldi-mdlis
or turmeric gardeners, Jire-mdlis, Kadu-mdlis, Lingayat-malis,
and Phul-malis or flower-gardeners. Of these the Kadu and
Phul mdilis eat together but none of the divisions intermarry. The
following details apply to the Jire-mdlis. Their surnames are Barke.
Dhevarkar, Dhole, Dhumne, Ghod, Ladkar, Ldnde, and Raikar,
People with the same surname and guardian or devaJc do not inter-^
marry. The names in common use among m.en are Limbaji,
Eakhmaji, Satv^ji, Tukar^m, and Vithu ; and among women, Bhagu,
Ghandrabhaga, Ganga, Rdi, and Rakhma. They look and speak
like Ma/r&thds and do not differ from them in house, food, or dress.
They are hardworking, sober, thrifty,*even-tempered, hospitable, and
orderly. They are husbandmen, gardeners, and day-labourers, and
their women help them both in tilhng and in selling flowers, fruit, ,
and vegetables. A family of five spend 16s. to £1 4s. (Rs. 8-12)
a month on iood, and £2 to £3 (Rs. 20-30) a year on clothes. A
house costs £30 to £80 (Rs. 300-800) to build, and 4s.to£l (Rs. 2-10)
a month to hire. Their household goods and ornaments are worth
£5 to £100 (Rs. 50-1000). The birth of a child costs 6s. to 10s.
(Rs. 3 - 5), a hair-cutting about 8s. (Rs. 4), the marriage of a boy
£10 to £30 (Rs. 100 - 300), a girl's coming of age about £1 (Rs. 10),
and a death £1 to £5 (Rs. 10 -50). Like Marath£s they keep the usual
Brd,hmanic fasts and feasts. Their priests are Deshasth Brdhmans
who officiate at their houses. They make pilgrimages to Alandi^
Jejuri, Pandbarpur, and Tuljapur, and believe in sorcery, ■witphcraffc.

Chaptelr IIL

Fopulation.

Husbandmen.
Kunbis.

MAua.

3ia

[Bombay Oaxetteer,

DISTBIOTS.

Chapter III.
Population.

HuSBAUDKEir.

PJaJoia.

BootHsaymg, omens, lucky and unlucky days, and oracles. Theii^-
customs are the same as those of Mardthds or Kunbis. They have-
a headman or pdtil who settles their social disputes in consultation
with the castemen. They send their boys to school and are a
steady class.

Pa'ha'dis, or Hillmen, numbering ten, are found in the town
Of Poena. They are said to have come to Poena about the middle
of the eighteenth century, but their origin is unknown. The names
m common use among, men are Bdbdji, Dhondi, Ganpati, Gjinn,
KAshirdm, Kondaji, Rdma, Vishnu, and Vithoba ; and among
women Chandrabhagabai, Gangd,b^i, P^rvatib^i, Sdvitribdi, and
Sitabdi. Their surnames are Dhandoshe, GaMyat, Kavd,ne, Made,
Malave, Pdradhi, Ras^l, Ed,sane, Shelavante, and Vdghe. Persons
having the same surnames cannot intermarry. P^hadis look like
Mardthds and as a rule are strong and well-built. Their skin is dark,
and the men shave the head except the top-knot and the face except
the moustache and whiskers." They speak a corrupt Mardthi both
at home and abroad and live in houses ' one or two storeys high
with walls of brick and stone and tiled roofs. Their houses are
generally clean and cost £20 to £80 (Rs. 200-800) to build and 4s.
to 8s. (Rs. 2 - 4) a year to hire. Their belongings include boxes,
chairs, blankets, carpets, bedding, cushions, and earth and metal
vessels, altogether worth £10 to £50 (Rs. lOO-SOO). They
own cattle and pet animals and spend on them 4s. to 10s.
(Rs. 2 - 5) a month. Their staple food is millet, rice, vegetables, and
pulse. They use fish and the flesh of the goat, sheep, deer, hare,
pigeon, and domestic fowl. They drink liquor to excess, especially
on Sundays and Tuesdays. They smoke tobacco and hemp-flower
or ganja. Both men and women dress like Mard,thd8 and have
clothes in Btore for holiday wear. They are hardworking,
hospitable, and fond of show. They have a good name for honesty.
They are husbandmen, labourers, and messengers, and deal in chillies^
onions, assafcetida, cumin-seed, and black pepper. A family of five
spends £1 to £1. 10s. (Rs. 10 - 15) a month, and .their clothing costs
£2 to £2 10s. (Rs. 20-25) a year. The birth of a child costs 4s. to'
10s. (Rs. 2 - 5 ), a bair-cufcting 4s. to 8s. (Rs. 2 - 4), a marriage £2 to £20
(Rs. 20-200), a girl's coming of age 10s. to £1 {Rs. 6-10), and a death
£1 to £1- 10s. (Rs. 10-15). They worship the usual Brahmanic and
local goddesses, and their family deities are BhavAni of Tuljdpur and
Khandoba of Jejuri. Their family priests are Deshasth Brahmans
who officiate at their marriages and deaths. They believe in
sorcery, witchcraft, soothsaying, omens, and in lucky and unlucky
days and numbers. For her first confinement a girl generally goes-
to her parent's house. When her time comes a midwife is called, and
after delivery the child's navel cord is cut, put in an earthen jar,r
and buried in the room. The mother and child are bathed. During ,
the first three 4ays the child is fed on honey and castoi? oil and the
mother for ten days on rice and clarified butter. From the fourth day
the mother suckles the babe. On the fifth th6 women of the house'
place some moss, a piece of three-edged prickly-pear or nivdung, vbrer
sand, and a silver image of Satti on a stone roller or varavantaf,
and lay before them pomegranate flowers, turmeric, powder, and

Oeccan.]

POONA,

311

■vermilion. Wteat flour lamps are lighted and one is placed before
them, one at each of the fonr corners of the woman's cot^ and one
in the place where the mother and babe are bathed. Fish, wheat
cakes, rice,'pulse, saace, and vegetables are offered to Satti and the
members of the house are feasted. The women of the house remain
awake the whole night talking and singing. The ceremonial
impurity lasts ten days. On the eleventh the house is washed
with cowdung, the mother is bathed, and her clothes are washed^
On the twelfth she worships five stones laid in a row outside of the
house-door, and from one to five married women are asked to dine
in the name of Satti, In the evening or at night the neighbour
women meet, and cradle and name the child. The nurse receives
2s. 6d. (Rs. li) if the child is a boy and 2s. (Re. 1 ) if it is a girl. Betel
.and boiled gram are served and the naming is over.

Between the second and tweKth month the child's hair is cut for
the first time. A lucky day is chosen and the child is seated on its
maternal uncle's knee and its head is shaved by the village barber ;
the house-people with alsand of friends go to some garden, slaughter
goats in the name of Satti, and feast caste-people on the flesh of
the victim. The barber is paid IJcZ. (1 aTma) for his trouble and
is asked'to dine. The child is dressed in new clothes and the gaests
take their leave. Girls are marriable between three and fifteen
and boys between four and twenty-five. -The boy's father goes to
the' girl's father with some of his friends and proposes the match. ' If
her parents agree, on a lucky day, a .band of men and women
go with music from the bridegroom's and present the bride with
a robe, a bodice, some wheat rice betelnuts cocoannts and
plantains, and five lemons. Her brow is marked with vermilion
and she is dressed in the new suit, her lap is filled by married women
with wheat rice and fruit brought from the bridegroom*s, and she
bows before all present. Rolls of betel leaves are handed round and
the priest is paid l^d. (1 anna). After some days the priest choses
a lucky day to hold the ceremony and preparations are made by
both parents. The turmeric paste is rubbed on the bridegroom and
what is left is taken to • tlie bride by a band of married women with
music. The bride is rubbed with the, turmeric paste and again
presented with a robe and bodice and the women return home.
Next day two members of the bridegroom's family, a man and a
woman are bathed. The man takes the leaves of five kinds of
trees and an axe in his hand, and the woman carries some food in
hers. With music and a band of male and female friends they
visit Md.ruti's temple, lay flowers and food before the god, and
return home. To the first pole or muhurt-medh of the marriage
booth a bundle of hay, some turmeric, and some jvdri stalks are
tied iu a yellow cloth. To the pole are also fastened a pair of
scales, and the axe tree leaves and food which have been brought
back from Mdruti's temple. All these are together known as the
, marriage devahs or guardians. In their honour goats are kiUed and
five married women are asked to dine. In the same way marriage
gods are set up at the bride's and five married women are
feasted. Next day friends and relations are asked to be present
at the bride's at the time of making the^ altar or hahule. The

Chapter III.
Population,

HcrSBASDMBN*

PJhJdis..

[Bombay Gazetteer;

312

DISTRICTS,

Chapter III.
Population.

Husbandmen.
PJ.EJ.ms,

washerwoman ' sprinkles some drops of oil on the bridegroom
and lie is bathed; this is called the anointing or telvan. He
is then dressed in fine clothes and his brow is decked with the
marriage tinsel coronet or bdshing. He is mounted on a horsQ
and taken in procession with drums and pipes and a company of
friends and relations and seated in the ■ temple of Maruti
His brother goes to the bride's whose father gives him a suit of
clothes to be handed to the bridegroom, who is dressed in the
clothes and brought on horseback to the bride's. At the
entrance to the booth the bride's mother meets him and waves
round him a cake of riceflour and a cocoanut which is cracked on
the spot. He walks into the booth and is made to stand on a
bamboo basket or duradi filled with wheat j and on the other side of
a curtain the bride stands on a second bamboo basket filled with wheat.
The priest repeats texts, the curtain is drawn aside, and the priest
and the guests throw over the bride and bridegroom handfuls of
yellow rice called mangaldJcshatds or lucky rice. Cotton thread is
wound seven times round the bridegroom and five times round the
bride, and they are seated on the altar or bahule. The priest lights a
sacred fire and the bride and bridegroom throw clarified butter and
-fried rice into the fire. The cotton threads that were wound round
the bride and bridegroom are then twisted and each passed round a
piece of turmeric root. The thread that was round the bridegroom
is tied to his left wrist and the thread that was round the bride is
tied to her left wrist. Then the bride's father gives a copper pot
and cup to the bridegro'om and the givl-giying ov'Jcanydddn is over.
Next a ceremony called sesh is performed, the brows of the bride and
bridegroom are marked with circles of vermilion4n which grains of
rice are stuck and copper coins are waved round them both. The
bride's lap is filled with rice, wheat, and fruit, and friends and relations
are feasted at the bride's. Next day her parents dress the bride in a
new robe and bodice and hand her to the bridegroom's parents asking
them, to care for her as if she was their own child. Then the couple
are led in procession to the bridegroom's, where the sister of the
bridegroom waves rice and curds and a light round them, and the
maternal uncle of the bridegroom takes him and the maternal
uncle of the bride takes her, and each setting his charge on his hip
dances in a circle to the sound of music. The couple then bow
before the family gods and each unties the other's marriage wrist-
threads or Jcankans. Next day molasses is laid before the dekajc or
marriage gods, and again taken away. Early_ marriage, widow
marriage, and polygamy are allowed and practised j polyandry is
unknown. When a girl comes of age she sits apart for three days,
On the fourth day she is bathed and her lap is filled with wheat or
rice, plantains, and a cocoanut, and from that night she enjoys thQ
company of her husband. . When a PdhMi breathes his last he is
bathed in water heated in a new earthen -pot. The caste-people are
asked to attend the funeral. The dead is dressed in a new_ loincloth
and a turban and is laid on the bier covered with a white sheet.
The chief mourner, holding in his hand a firepot hanging from a
string, takes the lead followed by the bearers. A little distance from
the burning ground the bearers lay down the bier and change places,

Deccaa.]

POONA.

313

Some^ricej a roll of betel leaves, a betelnut, and a copper coiu are
left on the groundj and redpowder or guldl is thrown about. On
reaching the burning ground the bier is laid down and the pile made
ready. The chief mourner sits at the feet of the dead and has his
headj except the top-knot, and his face shaved, paying the barber
6d. to Is. (4-8 as.). The body is laid on the pile and the pile is
lighted. Meanwhile the chief mourner dips the dead man's turban
in water, and squeezes it till some drops fall into the dead mouth.
When the body is nearly consumed the chief mourner sets an earthen
pot on his shoulder and stands at the feet of the dead, a second
man tells him to move round the pile, and with a stone .pierces
a hole in the bottom of the pot. Three turns are made and three
holes are pierced. The chief mourner then throws the jar over his
shoulder, and, as it dashes to pieces on the ground, he beats his mouth
with the back of his right hand and calls aloud. - All the men bathe
in the river and return to the house of mourning, look at the lamp
which is set on the spot where the dead breathed his last, and
go home. On the third day the ashes of the dead are gathered
and the place is washed with water, millet cakes are laid close by,
and the mourner returns home. The ceremonial impurity lasts for
ten days. On the tenth ten balls of flour are worshipped and one of
tiiem is offered to the crows and the rest are thrown into the river.
As soon as a crow picks the first ball the mourners lea/ve, bathe in
he river, and go home. On the twelfth or thirteenth, at the house
of mourning friends and relations are feasted on wheat cakes or
meat and present the chief mourner with a turban. A memorial or
shrdddh feast is held on the death day at the' end of a year, and
also on the corresponding day during the Mahdluyapahsha or All
Souls' fortnight in the latter half of Bhddrapad that is September -
October. The Pahadis have a caste council and settle social disputes
at meetings of the castemen. They punish breaches of caste rules
by fines varying from 2^d. to 10s. (1^ as.-Es.&); the amount is spent
on drink or on a caste feast. They send their boys to school. Their
fondness for drink keeps them poor.

Craftsmen included thirty-one classes with astrength of 81,474
or 9'62 per cent of the Hindu population. The details are :.

PooirA Graftsuen.

Cuss.

Males.

Females.

Total.

CliABS. ^

Males.

Females

Total.

Badhiis

498»

4673

9696

liOhirt

1833

1264

2687

Beld&rs

36S

333

706

Lons^ria

417

468

885

Bhadbhunjis ...

145

217

Nirais

162

Bh4vsSra

163

144

307

Otiris

109

Eumds *

443

415

858

F&tharvats ...

161

168

309

Oh&mbhSrs ...

8766

8484

17,250

KSula

188

lli9

377

Gaundia

173

174

347

S&lia

1972

1830

3302

Qhisailia

237

-247

444

Sangars

412

397

809

Halv&is

Shimpia

4450

4429

8879

Jingars

361

299

660

Son&rs

4632

4iB09

9241

Eiicbaris 'Z

37-

■65

Sult&nkara ...

KSsirs

1869

1386

2765

TSmbats

682

624

1106

K&t4ris

Telia

4380

4350

8710

Khatris

244

216

460

Z&rekai'is

Koshtis
KumbMrs ...

1404
3836

1309
3904

2713
7739

Lakheris

79.

:Totel ...

41,283

40,191

81,47^

Chapter IIL
Fopulation.

HtrSBANDMBN.
PABJ.DI8.

Ckafismbk.

B 310-40

[Bombay Gazetteer,

314.

DISTRICTS.

eh9.pter III.
Population.

BadbJis.

Badtia'is, or Carpenters, are returned as numbering ^656 and
as found chiefly in Poena. They have' no subdivisions. They say
that they came into the district upwards of a hundred years ago.
from Jalna in the Nizam's country and from Barhanpnr in west
Berdr. They have no surnames, and are of five stocks or gotras,
Jhadubanda, Mirchyavale, Purbhaya, Rajuvale, and SatndvAlOi
Persons of the same stock cannot intermarry. The names in common
use among men are Bachuji, Chayatan, Maniram, Narayan, Nhanu>
Bd.mkisan, Sundar, and Tardchand ; and, among women Bayo/
Jamna., Jasiy^b^i, Maina, and Nandu. They are Pardeshis from
Upper India and look like Pardeshis and speak Hindustani both
at home and abroad. ^ They have a slang language in which five,
rupees is hdtiyenu and a ^ anna, is dhilor. ': They live in middle class
houses. Their staple food is wheat or millet, pulse, and vegetables,
and they eat fish and flesh when they can afEord it. They are
excessively, fond both of country and foreign liquor, and smoke
both hemp and tobacco, but do not take opium. Their holiday
dishes are cakes, sugared milk, and mutton. "The men wear the
three-cornered Mardtha turban, a waistcloth, shouldercloth, and coat,
and grow the top-knot, moustache, and whiskers,, all shaving the chin.
Their women wear a petticoat or, lungha and an open-backed bodice,
and roll a. robe or lugde round the waist and draw the upper end
over the right shoulder and head, tucking the one end in fr6n,t.
Instead of tying the hair in a knot at the back of the head theiy plait
it, and let it hang in a tail down the back. They do not use false hair
or deck their hair with flowers. They keep clothes in store worth
£2 10s. to £3 (Rs.25-30). The men wear tbe gold earrings called,
antias with chains worth 10s. to £2 (Rs.5-20) ; and the women the
earring called utarna of gold or silver worth 8s. to £1 (Rs. 4-10), the^
silver armlet called toda worth £1 to £1 10s. (Rs. 10-15), and the gold
brow-spangle called Hka worth £1 4s. to £2 (Rs. 12-20). They do'
not wear noserings because they say a woman of their caste wore a
nosering when she was burnt with her husbaad. They are hardwork-
ing but given to drink. They are carpenters^ and make boxes, and
repair tables, cupboards, and stools, and also work as Jabourers,
earning Is. to Is. 6d. (8-12 as,) a day. Boys of fifteen and over help
their fathers in their calling and" occasionally earn 3d to 9d. (2-6 as.)
a day. Their tools are, randha a plane worthls. 6d. (12 as.),vakas
an adze worth 2s. to 4s. (Rs. 1 -2), da/rdj a large plane worth 6^. to Is.
(4-8 as.), gunya a square worth 6d. to 2s. 6d. (Rs. i-lj), hhatdvni a,
measurer worth Sd.to 6d. (2-4 as,); pilpil a grooving plane worth Qd.
to Is. 6d. (6-12 as.), ^afast a large chisel worth ls.3d to ls.6d.(10-12
as.), chaurshi a gimlet worth 3d. to Is. (2-8 as.), sdi^ta an auger
worth 4^d. to 7|d. (3-5 as.), sdndas or pincers worth i^d. to 9^d.
(8-6 as.), hdtodi or hammer worth M. to Is. (4- 8 as.), and a pair of
Jcarvats or saws worth Is. to 8s.. (Rs. J-IJ). A house costs £10 tp
£25 (Rs. 100-250) to build and Is. to 4s. (Rs. J-2) a month to rent,
aind their vessels and other furniture are worth £1 to £2 (Rs.ip-20)..
A family of'five spends £1 4s. to £2 (Rs.12-20) a-Tndnth on food,
and £1 lOs. to £2 10s. (Rs.45 -25) a year on clothes. A birth costs
about £2 (Rs. 20), the marriage of a boy £10 to £15 (Rs.lOO - 150),
and of a girl £5 to £6 (Rs. 60-60). A girPs coming of age costs:
about 6s. (Rs. 3) and a death about £6 (Rs. 60). Their chief god is

Deocan.]

POONA.

315

MahddeVj but they worship tlie usual Hindu gods and goddesses,
and keep images in their houses. Their priests are Pardeshi Brdhmans
and they 'make pilgrimages to Tuljapur in the Nizdrn's country and
to Saptashringi in N^sik. Their fast days are the ekddashis cfr
lunar elevenths of every month and the Mondays of Shrdvan or
July- August, Rdm-navami in March-April, and Gohtd-ashtami in
July- August. Their feast days dite Sanhrdnt in December- January,
. jSAimgra in February-March, Dasara in September-October, and Divdli
. in October-November. During the first five days after childbirth,
a castor oil lamp is kept burning in the lying-in room, and the child
is laid in a winnowing fan, and, in presence of a few caste-people, is
named by the priest who is paid 2s. to 2s. 6d. (Rs.l-l|). Near
relations or friends wave a copper coin over the child's head and
give it to the priest, who in this, way sometimes makes 3d. to Is;
(2-8 as.). The guests are treated to balls of wheat flour and sugar,
and large quantities of liquor are drunk. On the sixth day they
worship six small brass plates or tdks with an image of the
■goddess Satvdi. They hang one round the neck of the child,
a second round the mother's neck, and the other four round the
necks of four married women. Women are feasted on the sixth
and again on the seventh. On the tweHth they go some distance
from the house to a garden or grave and worship seven pebbles
oiFering them flowers and feasting on sugared milk or cakes. They
clip a child's hair, whether it is a boy or a girl, when it is three
months old, and offer a goat in the name of Ransatvdi or the Forest-
Sixth, and spend £1 to £2 (Rs. 10-20) on the feast. They marry their
boys between fifteen and twenty and their girls between seven and
boys twelve. A day before the marriage the boy and girl arerubbed
with turmeric at their own houses and marriage, , booths are built.
Their devdk or marriage guardian is the goddess Chatarshingi or
Nagar-koti, whose image they keep in their houses, and whom
they worship, offering goats and feasting near relations. On the
marriage day, pieces of turmeric root are tied with a yellow thread
to the right and left wrists of the boy and girl, and, at the girl's
house, in addition^ a mango-leaf garland is hung on the door of
the marriage hall. The boy is either seated on horseback or
carried on foot to the girl's house accompanied by male and female
relations and friends. Before dismounting the boy touches the
mango wreath either with a sword or a rod- and, is given a
turban and scarf. The boy then dismounts, walks into the, mar-
riage hall, and is seated on a low wooden stool. The girl is brought
and seated on another stool close to the boy and in the same line
with him. The sacrificial fire or horn is lit and fed with parched
-grain and butter. The boy and the girl siand on the stoolg and a
cloth is held between the fire and the couple and yellow rice grains
are thrown over their heads while the priest repeats verses. At
the end of the verses the cloth is pulled on one side and the boy
and girl are husband and wife. Then the boy and girl go round
the fire seven times. When the sixth turn is completed th©'
priest asks the parents and relations of the boy and girl if he
can allow them to take the seventh turn, and the friends say. You
may allo'^ them ; and the couple take the turn and sit on the stoola

Chapter III.

Population.

Cbaftsmen,
BhadAis.

[Bombay Gazetteer.

316

DISTRICTS.

Chapter III.

Fopnlation.

•Cbaftsmen.
Badbais.

BSIJ>A.BS.

5as before. The hems of their clothes are tied together and they
bow before the household gods. The boy begs the girl's mother to
untie the knot and after she has loosened it he presents her with
Is.Zd. {\Q as.). A feast is then given in the house of the bride. Af fcef
the feast is over the boy and girl, with music and followed by
relations^and friends, ride in procession to the boy's house. When
they enter the house a queensmetal plate is set before them
filled with water and in it 10s. (Rs. 5) and a ring are dropped five
times, and the bride and bridegroom try to 'pick them out, and
whoever picks them out owns them. This contest is called juva or
gambling. The day ends with a feast. When a.girf comes of
age she sits by herself for four- days and on the fifth is presented
with a robe and bodice,' and her lap is filled with rice, cocoanut,
plantains, and a bodicecloth. The ceremony ends with a feast
both to the -girl's and the boy's relations. They burn their dead,
and mourn four days, when they shave the chief mourner's head
and moustache. The mourner's father-in-law or other near relation
or his castemen present him with a new turban. A dinner of
mutton and liquor is served and the castemen are presented with
4s. (Rs. 2) to be spent on liquor. On the fifth day they hold a
remembrance or shrdddh ceremony near the burning ground under
the shade of some trees. Twenty-one rice balls are offered, and the
chief mourner taking the balls and the deceased's bones,' jumps
twenty-one times into water and throws them into the river. A
feast is held and the mourners return home. On the sixth day the
four corpse-bearers and if the mourner can afford it relations and
friends are feasted. Badhdis are bound together as a body and
settle social disputes at meetings of the castemen. They send their
boys to Mardthi schools for a short time. Their drunken habits are
bringing them to poverty.

Belda'rs, or Quarrymen, are returned as numbering 706 and as
found all over the district. They say they take their name from the
sacred bel tree, iEgle marmelos, but the probable origin of the name
is the Persian bel a, pickaxe. They are divided into Pardeshi Helddrs
and Marathi Beldars who do not eat together or intermarry. In
appearance, speech, dress, and customs, Marathi Beldars do not differ
from Marathi Kunbis. The names in common use among the Pardeshi
Belddrs are for naen, Bhavansing, Chimansing, Jairdmsing,^ and
Kisansing ; and for women, Ganga, Jasoda, Mohan, Pdru, Munya,
Rama, and Uma. Thfeir surnames are Bolde, Gondhli, Kudali,
Navdle, and Pande ; people bearing the same surname eat together
but cannot intermarry. They are tall, dark, dirty, sturdy, strong,
hot-tempered, and hardworking. The men wear the top-knot and
whiskers, but not the beard. They speak incorrect Hindustani, and
live in dirty untidy thatched huts or poor houses. Th-eir house goods
include earthen vessels, blankets, and quilts or vdkajs together worth
about £2 (Rs. 20). They eat fish and the flesh of the goat and sheep
and drink liquor, and their staple food is millet bread, spilt pulse,
and vegetables. Their feast dishes are puranpolis or sweet cakeB
and shira-jpiiris that is cakes of wheat-flour butter and molasses. The
cost of a feast is about i^d. (3 as.) a guest. A family of five spends
£1 10s. to £2 (Rs. 15-20) a month onfood and about £2 (Rs.20)1i

DeccanJ

POONA.

317

year on clothes. THe men wear a pair of short light drawers or chaddis
reaching to the knee, a jacket, a shouldercloth, and a turban folded in
Mardtha fashion. The women wear a petticoat or lungha, and an open-
backed bodice, and draw a piece of cloth over the head. The men
mark their brows with sandal and the women with redpowder ; the
women do not wear false hair or deck their heads with flowers.
They do not wear hair or nose ornaments but the earrings called
bdlya, the necklaces called hdslis andpofs, the silver wristlets called
dandoUas, and the silver toe-rings called chuthya8,ib.e whole averaging
£3 to £5 (Rs.30-50) in value. They are properly quarrymen but
•some contract to square stones for builders; others are bricklayers and
make clay walls j others labour or let donkies on hire at 2s. (Re. 1) a
day for eight to twelve donkies. To build a house costs about £30
(Rs.300) and to rent a house about 4s. (Rs.2) a month. A birth

■ costs 10s. (Rs. 5), a boy's marriage £5 to £8 (Rs. 50-80), a girl's
marriage £4 to £6 (Rs. 40-60), and a death £2 (Rs. 20), They haTe
house images of Mahadev, Krishna, Ganpati, and Rdm. Their
priests are ordinary Deshasth Br^hmans, and they keep the usual
Brdhmanic fasts and feasts such as Mahdshivrdtra in February,
Soil in March, Oudvpddva in April, Ashddhi Ekddashi in July,
Ndg-panchmij Bdkhdi-paurnima, G-oliul-ashtami, and all the Mondays
of Shrdvan in August, Ganeshh-chaturthi and Anant-cliaturdashi in
September, Dasara in October, and Divdli and Kdrtiki Ekddashi in
November. When a child is born the midwife, who is generally a
Maratha, sprinkles cold water over it, cuts its navel cord, and
buries the cord either in the lying-in room or outside of the house.
The chOd and the mother are washed in hot water and laid on a
blanket on the ground. On the fifth evening the mother worships
the goddess- Satvai and oifers her millet and wheat bread, and an
elder kills a goat in front of the woman. A dinner is given in
the evening to near relations and friends and a little mutton and a
piece of bread are sent to the houses of neighbours, relations, and
friends, who, in return, give %d. {\ anna). This ends the ceremony.

. After childbirth a woman remains unclean for a month and a quarter.
The Beldars name the child if it is a girl on the ninth and if it is
a boy on the twelfth day after birth. The details are the same as
those observed by Mard,thd,s., When a child, whether it is a boy
or a girl, is between three months and three years old they
cut its hair for the first time, and, laying the hair on a
millet cake, offer it to the goddess Satvdi along with cooked
rice, vegetables, and bread. A goat is killed and its head
is placed before the goddess. The barber is given uncooked
food and l^d. (5 as.) in cash and the relations after feasting on
^ cakes and mutton return to their homes. They marry their boys
. between nine and twenty-five and their girls before they come of
age. The offer of marriage comes from the boy's house. When
the marriage is settled, the boy's mother, with male and female
relations and friends, goes to the girl's, marks her brow with red-
powder, and presents her with 10s. (Rs. 5). Another 10s. (Rs. 5)
are given to the caste, who buy sweetmeats, and distribute

■ ithem among the caste-people. They rub the boy and the
girl with turmeric at tteir homes three to five days before

Chapter III.
Popnlation.

CuAFTSMBlf.

BeldabS.

[Bombay Gazetteer,

818

DISTEICTS.

Chapter III.

, Population.
Graptsmbi?.

the marriage. They also tie a fturmeric root and a betelnut
in a piece of cloth and fasten it to the boy's and girl's wrists
a couple of days before the marriage. -A bamboo post is fixed in
the ground in front of the house and covered with mango leaves
and a square mound of earth is raised round it. On the mound is
set an earthen jar whitewashed and marked with red green and
yellow lines. A betelnut and a piece of turmeric root are put in
the jar which is called the devak or guardian, and is worshipped
by the boy and has a goat killed in^ front of it. The flesh of the
goat is eaten by the guests. ^ The same ceremony is performed at the
girl's house. ,0n the marriage day the boy is dressed in new clothes,
a waistcloth, coat, turban, and shouldorcloth, and* with music,
kinspeople, and friends is taken on horseback to the girl's. On the way
the guests every now and then throw grains of red rice over the boy's
head. When they reach the, village temple of Maruti they break a
•'cocoani:|.t, and lay it before the god with a packet of betelnut and
leaves. When the procession reaches the girl's house the girl's sister
approaches the boy with two metal water-pots ; she is given Be?, to
&d. {2-4 as.), and waves the water-pots round -his head and throws
the water away. When the boy walks into the marriage booth his
father hands the Brahman priest the lacky wedding necklace or
mangalsutra and he fastensit round the girl's neck. The boy is seated
on a new sheet and on his right is the girl who is dressed in a white
robe and bodice, the ends of both of which are dyed yellow. The girl is
covered with cloth and her parents who have fasted since the morning
wash the boy's and girl's feet with cold water and drink the water.
The priest kindles the saci'ificial fi.re or horn in front of the guardian jar
or devak and ties together the hems of the boy's and girl's garments.
While -the Brdhman repeats texts the girl followed by the boy, walks
thrice round the guardian jar and the sacrificial fire ; and then the
boy followed by the girl walks four times round them. As soon as
the seventh turn is completed the priest peases to repeat texts and
the boy and girl are husband and wife. They are taken before the
house gods, and, after bowing to them, the girl's mother unties their
robes, a dinner is given, and the guests retire. Next evening the boy's
party is feasted, and the boy and his parents are presented with
turbans and a robe and bodice. Then the boy's parents, presenting
the girl with new clothes and dressing her in them, take her in
procession along with the. boy to their house. Before entering the
house the boy has to j)romise his sister to give his daughterinmarriage
to her son. After bowing before the house gods, the boy unties the
girl's turmeric bracelet and the- girl unties the -boy's, and a feast to
the girl's party ends the marriage. When a Pardeshi Belddr 4ies
the body is bathed in cold water, covered in fi, sheet ,from head to
foot, laid on a bier, an,d carried to the burial ground, the chief
mourner walking in front with a jar containing burning cowdnng
cakes. When they reach the burial ground the fire is thrown on one
side, the body is laid on its back in the grave, and the grave is filled.
The mourners bathe and go to the deceased's house, and after
peeping at the lamp which is kept burning on the spot where the ,
deceased breatied his last and eating a leaf of the nimh tree, they
return to their homes. The family of mourners hold themselves

DeccanO

POONA.

31^

impiwe for ten daysj they ofEer no rice balls to tlie crows, do not shave
their moustaches, and perform no mind-feast at the end of the year.
A mutton feast on the twelfth day and the present of a turban to.
the chief mourner by a near relation ends the death ceremony.
Pardeshi Belddrs are bound together as a body and their social
disputes are settled at meetings of the castemen. They do not-
send their boys to school or take to new callings. They say that:
their calling is not so good as it waSj because limestone and sand
are carried in carts instead of on donkey-back.

Bhadbhunja's, or Grain-parchers, are returned as numbering
217 and as found oyer the whole district, except in Junnar,
Khed, Sirur, and Purandhar. They are divided into Pardeshis
and Mardthds. The Mardtha Bhadbhunjds do not differ from
Mardtha husbandmen in appearance, customs, or way of living.
The Pardeshi Bhadbhunjds are said to have come to the district
about fifty years ago from Cawnpur, Lucknow, Mathura, and Bareily
in Upper India. The surname of all of them is Kanojya and the
family-stock Kashyap. They eat together and intermarry. The
names in common use among men are Binda, Be]'nd.th, Lakshman,
L^la, Motirdm, and Par^g ; aild am'ong women Batdsa, Bhaga, Janki,
Lakshmij Punya, and Rddha. They are tall dark and strong. Th'e men
wear the top-knotj moustache, and whiskers. Their home speech
is Hindustd,ni. They do not own houses but pay monthly rents of
4s. to'Ss. (Rs. 2-4). Ihey use the front part of their houses as shops
and keep cows and sheep and servants whom they pay 4s. to 8s.

. (Rs. 2-4) a month with food. Their staple food is wheat and millet
bread, pulsfe, and vegetables except onions. They also eat fish
and the flesh of sheep, goats, hare, and deer, but not poultry.
They drink country and foreign liquor and offer goats to the small-
pox goddess when they recover from an attack of small-pox. Their

''holiday dishes are sweet milk, pulse cakes or vades, wheat cakes
or puris, and rice. The men wear a short waistcloth or pancha, a
shouldercloth or pichhodi, and a Mardtha turban or headscarf.
The women wear a petticoat over- which they fold a robe or w,aist-
cloth, and pass one end over the head and bodice. The ornaments
worn by men are gold earings or hudkis worth £1 10s. to £3

.'(Rs. 15-30), silver waistbands or kargotas worth £1 10s. to £3
(Rs. 15-30), and a gold coin or mo^arnecklaoe worth £2 to £2- 10s.
(Rs. 20-25). The women wear in the ears gold or silver bdlis worth
2s. to £l,i6s. (Rs.1-18) and Bilvev phuls worth 4s. to 8s. (Rs. 2-4),
a nosering or nath of gold and pearls worth 16s. to £2 (Rs. 8-20), and
gold necklaces called pdnpots and vajratiks, the pdnpot worth £ 1 1 6s. to
£3 10s. (Rs. 18-35) and the vajratik worth £1 to £2 (Rs.10-20), and
a silver necklace or sari worth 8s. to £1 12s. (Rs. 4-16) ; of bracelets
they wear silver tadvyas worth 16s. to £1 10s. (Rs. 8-15), gots worth
12s. to 16s. (Rs. 6-8), pahucMs worth 16s. to £1 4s. (R8.8-12);
chhands worth 10s. to 16s. (Rs, 5-8), and mukare kangans worth
16s. to £1 (Rs. 8-10); on the feet they wear kades and todes
worth £2 to £2 10s, (Rs. 20 - 25) and bichhvas wOrth 16s.' to £1 4s'.
(Rs. 8-12). They are proverbially dirty but hardworking. They
are parchers and sellers of parched grain and pulse. They buy
th# grain and pulse from Mar^tha or Vani grain-dealers and tdbet

Chapter lit.
Population.

Cbavtsmek.

BBADBBXJNJJiS,

[Bom1)a7 Gazetteer^

320

DISTRICTS.

Chapter III.
Fopnlatipn.

Craftsmen;.
BbadbbunjIs.

parchiHg it sell it at a' profit of twelve to twentj per cent. Their
women and their children from the age of fen or twelve help them
. in their calling, sitting in the shops and soaking and drying grain.
In spite of their help a Bhadbhunja family does not earn more
than £1 to £1 IQs. (Rs. 10-15) a month. Their appliances are an
iron T^&noT kadhai for parching the grain worth 4s. to 10s. (Rs. 2-5),
a chdlan or sieve of iron worth Is. to Is. dd. {8-12 as.), a dardn or
spythorlike bar to stir up the grain worth 9d. to Is. (6,-8 as.), a'
kalacKha or iron bar and hook to remove ashes worth about 10\d.
(7 as.), a stone mortar or vJchali worth 6d. to Qd.- (4-6 as.),
a wooden pestle or miifSal worth Is. to Is. 6d\ (8-12 as.), a copper
water-pot or hdndaiot boiling the grain worth 10s. to£l (Rs. 5^10),
a tab orfip worth Is. 9d. to 2s. (Re. |-1), and a bag or pota for
holding grain worth about T^d. {has.). A family of five spend
14s, to£l (Rs. 7-10) a month on food and £3 to £4 (Rs. 30-40)
a year on clothes. Their house goods are not worth more than
£2 10s. (Rs. 25). A birth costs 10s. to £2 (Rs.6-20), a
marriage £10 to £35*(Rs. 100-350), and a death £2 to £2 rOs.(Rs.20-
25). They are Smarts and have house images of Bahiroba, Bhav^ni,
Khandoba,' and Mahadev. Their priests are Pardeshi Brdhmans.
They, make pilgrimages to Alandi, Kondanpur, Pandharpur,
and ' TuljApur, and fast on Shivardtra in February, Ashddhi
Ekddashi in July, Gohul-ashtamiin Angnsb, Anant-ehaturdashi in
September, Kdrtiki Ekddashi in November, on all Pradoshs that is
the dark thirteenths of each month, and all, Mondays. Their ffeasts
are Shimga in March, Ndg-'panchami in August, Dasar a in October,
and Divdli in November. Bhadbhunjds consider their women impure
for twelve days after a birth. The child's navel cord is put in a
small earthen jar, covered with another jar, and turied somewhere
in the house. The child is named on the evening of the twelfth,
the name being given by the priest. The child's hair is clipped on a
lucky day when it is between one and seven years old. They
marry their girls at any age but generally between twelve and
sixteen^ and their boys up to thirty. The girl's father goes to the
boy's house and asks if he will take his daughter as a wife for his
son. If the boy's father agrees a few castemen are called and a
rupee or two are presented to the boy a.long with a packet of sugar.
A day before tke marriage a taarriage hall is built with a post in
the centre and the bride and bridegroom are rubbed with turmeric
and oil at their houses by an unmarried girl. At the girl's house
near the post in the marriage booth a stove is placed and over the
stove an earthen jar, in which the girl's father throws grains of red
rice while the priest repeats verses in the name of Agni, Indra,
Nardyan, Surya, and Vishnu. Another earthen jar is placed near .
with vidi and gulgule, preparations of wheat- flour and molasses,
which, at the end of the marriage, are served to the guests. Oi
the marriage day a marriage ornament or maur of palmyra palm
leaves is tied to the boy's lirow and he is taken to the girl's house
on horseback accompanied by relations, friends, oastefellows, and
music. Some, instead of taking the boy to the girl's house, iring
the girl to the boy"'s house in a palanquin. In either case, before
entering the marriage hall, bread and water are waved round th?

Deccau.]

POONA.

321

boy's or girl's head. In tte hall the boy and girl are bathed sepa-
rately and dressed in new clothes. A blacksmith is called and with
cotton thread ties on the right and- left wrists of the boy and girl
around piece of iron called Tcankan about the size of a shilling
and retires with Is. to 2s. 6d. (Es. |-1^). The boy and girl are
then made to stand on two low wooden stools face to face^ a cloth
is held between them, the Brahman priest repeats verses^ and at
the end throws grains of rice over their heads, and they are
husband and wife. They are next seated on the stools in a line
with joined hands. The girl's father comes and washes the boy's
Eeet, worships him, and pours water oyer the girl's and boy's
hands, and presents the boy with 4s. to 10s. (Rs. 2-5). This ends,
bhe girl-giving or kanydddn. Wheat flour, turmeric, and fedpowder
drawings are traced on the ground, and over the drawings is placed
an earthen pot filled with cold water and mango leaves and covered
with an earthen plate. Over the plate is set a lighted earthen lamp
and near the lamp the sacrificial fire is kindled. The hems of the
boy's and girl's clothes are tied together and they walk seven
times round the fire. A feast is given and after the feast is over
bhe boy rides with his wife on horseback to his house and the
marriage ceremony is ended. The palm marriage coronet or maur
s either thrown into a river or stream or is kept in tbe house
:or luck until some other ceremony takes place when it ig
ihrown into some stream or pool. Bhadbhunjds burn their dead
sxcept victims of small-pox who are buried. When a person dies
ihey pour hot water over the body and cover it if it is. a man in a white
ajata, if a widow in white cotton cloth, and if a married woman in
b green robe and bodice. They strew flowers and betel leaves
)ver the body and bow to it. In each of the corpse's hands they
)lace a wheat ball the ball in the right hand having a copper coin
n it. Half-way to the burning ground thp bier is lowered, the ball
iontaining the coin is laid on the ground, and each mourner sets five
lebbles over it. The corpse-bearers change places, those in front
;oing behind and those behind going in front. When they reach
he burning ground the bier is placed near water In such a way that
ne end of the bier is in the water. The chief, mourner dashes the
xe-pot on the ground and has his head and face shaved by a barber.
$y this time the pile is half raised and the bearers lay the body
n it. The chief mourner dips one end of his shouldercloth in
be river and squeezes it into the dead mouth. After lighting the
ile the chief mourner walks thrice round it with an earthen
'ater-]'ar, and dashing the jar on the ground beats his mouth. When
lie skull has burst the chief mourner throws a little butter and a
Dwdnng cake over the pyre and the rest follow him throwing on
mall pieces of cowdnng cakes. All bathe and go home. On
le third day the ashes are thrown into water and the spot where
le body was burnt is sprinkled with cow's urine and some parched
rain or sweetmeats are left for the deceased to eat and depart in
3ace. -They mourn the dead if a woman for nine days and if.
man for ten days. At the end of .the mourning the heads of the
lief mourner and other near relations are shaved. On the
lirteenth day they give a feast, and near relations or castemeii
B 310—41

Chapter III.
Population.

[Bombay Gazetteer,

322

DISTRICTS.

Chapter III.
Population.

Cbajtsmbn.

subscribe to give the chief mourner a turban. They have a headman
or chaudhari with whose consent the castemen settle disputes.
They send their boys to school. Oompetition among the different
classes of grain-parchers is said to be reducing their earnings.

Bha'vsa'rs, or Dyers, are returned as numbering 307 and as
found over the whole district. They say they came about seventy or
eighty years ago from Mungi-Paithan about fifty miles north-east
of Ahmadnagar. They have no subdivisions. Their surnames are
Banchhod, Ldle, Lokhande, Modgare, and Pdrpate ; people bearing
the same surname do not intermarry. The iiames in common use
among men are, BhAu, Rdma, Sahkhar^m, Thamdji, and Vithoba ;
and among women, Jita, Lh^iii, Rama, Rambdi, and Thaku. They are
short, stoiit, and regular-featured. The men wear the top-knot and
moustache, shaving the cheeks and chin. They speak Mar^tht.
They live in middle-class houses with walls of mud and bricks and
tiled roofs. A Bh^vsar's house can be easily known from the
straining bag or zoU and the turbans hung in the veranda to dry.
Their daily food is Indian millet bread, split pulse, and yegeta,bles.
They eat rice about once a week, and fish and the flesh of goats and
sheep when they can afford it. They do not object to eat hare and
deer, but they do not eat poultry, pigeons, partridges, or geese.
They drink both country and foreign liquor, smoke tobacco and
hemp, -and drink hemp. A family of five spend £1 to £1 10s.
(Rs. 10-15) a month on food and ,6s. to 10s. (Rs. 3-5) on liquor.
Their feasts of cakes cost £2 to £2 10s. (Rs. 20-25) for a hundred
Quests including women and children, £2 14s. to £3 10s. (Rs. 27-35)
tor a feast of gram or bundi balls, and £1 4s, to £1 10s. (Rs.12-15)
for a feast of wheat bread and split pulse. The men dress either
like MardthAs or Deccah Brdhmans in the waistcloth, coat, waist-
coat, shouldercloth, turban, and shoes. The women wear the
backed-bodice and the robe hanging like a petticoat withoiit
drawing the skirt back between the feet. Their ornaments are the
same as those worn by Deccan Brdhman women e3:cept that the
older women wear a pearl or moU in the nose instead of the nath or
noseriiig. A family of five spends £2 10s. to £310s. (Rs.25-3&) a
year 6n clothes. They are hardworking, sober, thrifty, and orderly.
'They prepare colours and print .and dye cloth charging 2s. to 8s.
(Rs. 1-4) for dyeing a turban .red or ahdshdA, orange or nd^angi, and
scarlet or pomegranate gulhmdf, and 6d;. to Is. (4-8 as. ) for dyeing
it motiya or blush. About one-fourth of the charge is profit. They
buy dyes from Gnjarg,t Vanis at £3 to £4 (Rs.30-40) the pala
of 240 pounds (120 shers). PdpadhJidr or impure carbonate of soda
Costs them 'Ss. (Re. 1) for eight, pounds; and lemons 3a!. to 6d.
(2-4 as.) the hundred. Their appliances are earthen pots or hunMs,^
two metal pots called satals or tapelds and a cloth bag or jhoU
hung on a four-legged wooden frame through which they strain
their colours. They are in easy circumstances. They consider
themselves Shudras and do not know whether they are Shaivs or
Vaishnavs. They have house images of the usual Deccan gods but
their chief objects of worship are Baldji or Krishna and Hingldjmata.
They keep the usual fasts and feasts and believe in the power of spirits
and ghosts. Their priest is a Deshasth Brahman whom they greatly

Deccan.]

POONA.

823

respect. On the evening of the fifth day after the birth of a child in

the mother's room a grindstone or pdta is laid near the mother's cot,

and on the stone a picture of the goddess Satvdi or Mother Sixth

is traced with grains of rice, and a small silver or gold metal plate

called tak with an image of SatvAi impressed on it is set close by,

A goat is killed in front of the plate and its head is laid beside the

tracing of Satvai on the grindstone, and all are worshipped. A feast

is held but no liquor is driink. The house women watch the whole

. night so that the goddess may not take the child away. Then till the

eleventh day no ceremony is performed but the mother is considered

unclean and is not touched. On the eleventh day the house is

cowdunged, and the mother, child, cot, and clothes are washed and

the uncleanliness ceases. On the twelfth day either five or seven

pebbles are set in a line in the house or on the roadside in front of

the house and worshipped by the mother, who ofEers rice, curds,

and wheat bread. Girls are named on the twelfth and boys on the

thirteenth day after birth, the name being given by the women in

the house. The expense during the thirteen days after a birth

varies from £1 4s. to £4 10s. (Rs. 12 -45). They shave a boy's head

when he is one to three months old, and girls who have a brother not

more than three years old have their hair shaved along with the boy.

If a girl is not born until after the brother next to her has been shaved

only a few of her hairs are cut with scissors on her wedding day. On

thehair-cuttingday the child is seated on its father's ormother's knee,

and the barber sits in front and shaves the head and is paid 2s. Qd.

(Rs. 1 J). The hair- cutting ends with a dinner to near relations, the

expenses varying from 6s. to £1 (Rs. 3 - 10) . Girls are married from

the time they are in the cradle till they are ten or twelve, and boys

from ten to twenty or twenty -five. The boy's father looks out for a

wife for his son. When he has found a suitable match he takes with

him a couple of near relations or friends and formally asks the girl's

father if he will give his daughter in marriage-to his boy. If the girl's

father agrees the boy's father asks his family priest to name a lucky

day, and on that day he goes to the girl's taking a few near relations

and friends and his family priest. After they are seated the

girl is called and takes her seat near the priest. The priest marks

.her brow with redpowder, presses her brow with a silver coin

generally a rupee, and gives the coin into her hands.. Sweetmeats

worth 4s. to 8s. (Rs. 2-4) and betel^ packets are .served and the

guests retire. This is called the redpowder rubbing or kunhu^

lavne; it costs the boy's father 10s. to 14«. (Rs. 6-7). Their asking

or mdgni is the same as the Kunbi asking and the turmeric-rubbing

, lasts five to seven days. The boy and girl are rubbed with turmeric

-at their homes. On the first day five married women grind

. turmeric and rub it on the boy's body, and, taking some to the girl's

house with a new green robe and bodice, accompanied by kinswomen

and music, rub the girl with it, dress her in the new clothes^ and

return with a present of a turban and sash for the boy. The

turmeric rubbing is repeated both at the boy's and girl's during each

of the next five or six days, and during those days no other

ceremony is performed. Marriage booths are built at both the houses

and an earthen altar is set lip at the girl's with five earthen jariS

Chapter III.
Population.

C»A?TSMBN.

SedrsJita,

[Bombay Gazetteer,

324

DISTRICTS.

Chapter III.

Population.

Ckaptsmbit.
BsArsdRS.

ranged TOlind it. Their marriage guardian or devakis the leaves of

four figs, i^icns religiosa, F. glomerata/F.indica, and P. infectora, and

of the mango. In the evening of the marriage day, accompanied

by kinspeople and friends, the boy goes on horseback to Mdruti's

temple in the, girFs village and takes his seat on the veranda.

The girl's party come to the temple, present the boy with a turban

and sash, put new shoes on his feet, and bring him to the girl's.

Before the boy enters the marriage hall an elderly woman waves

rice and curds round his head and throws them on one side. The

girl's father leads him into the marriage hall and makes him stand

on a wooden stool, blanket, or carpet, in front of the girl, and a

cloth is held between them. The priest repeats verses and at the

end throws grains of rice over their heads, and the boy and girl

are husband and wife. Their .right wrists are tied -with seven

rounds of -yellow cotton or kankan thread to which a piece of

turmeric root is fastened. The sacred fire is lit on the altar by

both the boy and girl, and fed with butter and parched rice. The

boy's father presents the girl's brother with a turban. He ties

together the skirt of the boy's and girl's robes and they are led to

the village Mdruti's temple, bow to him, and return. The day ends

with a dinner. Next evening exchange presents of clothes are

made between the two houses and the boy takes his wife in a

procession accompanied by kinspeople, friends, and music, to

his father's house. A marriage costs the boy's father £15 to

£35 (Rs. 160-350), and the girl's father £5 to £10 (Rs. 50-100).

When a girl comes of age she is seated by herself for four days.

On the morning of the fifth she is bathed, presented with a new

robe and bodice, and her lap is filled with betelnut and leaves,

plantains, almonds, and rice or wheat. The girl's mother

presents the boy with a turban and sash and the girl with a robe

and bodice. The observance ends with a dinner to near relations

and friends. A girl's coming of age costs her husband's father £1

to £8 (Rs. 10-30) and her own father 16s. to £1 I2s. (Rs. 8-16).

They ha ye no ceremony during a woman's first, pregnancy.

They try to keep her pleased and feed her on a variety of dishes.

When a person dies, relations, friends, and castefellows are told, '

the body is brought out of the house and laid on the house steps,

and warm water is poured over it. A piece of cloth is rolled round

its loins ; it is laid on a bier, and sweet flowers are strewn over the

body. The bier is carried on the shoulders of four men, and the

chief mourner walks in front carrying an earthen pot with burning

cowdung cakes. On the way to the burning ground, the body isrested

. and pieces of bread are left for the evil spirits to eat. At the

burning ground a pile is raised, the body is laid on the pile, and the

pile is kindled by the chief mourner. When the pile is completely

burnt the chief mourner walks thrice round it witk an earthen jar

full of water. At the end of the third turn he dashes the jar on

the ground and cries aloud beating his mouth with the back of

his right hand. The mourners return home. On the third day the

chief mourner goes to the burning ground, removes the ashes,

shaves his moustache, bathes, and sprinkles cow's urine and dung on

the. ashes. . On the spot where the body was burned he sets three

Deccau.}

POONA.

825

earthen jars filled with cooked rice curds honey and milk, and
after bathing returns home. They mourn ten days and on the
eleventh the chief mourner goes to the river side, prepares ten
wheatflour balls, offers one to the crows, and throws the rest into
water. On the eleventh or twelfth day the memorial or shrdddh
ceremony is performed at the mourner's house, and either on the
twelfth or thirteenth day the caste is feasted chiefly on sweet cakes
or puran-polis. The whole ceremony costs £1 to £4 (Rs. 10-40).
They have a caste council and settle their social disputes at
meetings of the castemen. The punishments vary from making a
bow to the caste to giving them a feast. They send their boys to
school, but do not keep them at school for any length of time. As
a class they are fairly off.

Buruds, or Bamboo-workers, are returned as numbering 858 and
as found all over the district. They say they came into the district
upwards of two hundred years ago from Aurangabad, Nagar, and
Satdra. Their story is that they are Mar^thds who were put out of
caste because they made a bamboo basket for Pd.rvati's flowers and
fruit when she was going to worship the vad tree on the June or
Jyeshth full-moon. They are divided into Jdts, Kanddis, Lingayats,
Mardthds, Parvaris, and Tailangs, who do not eat together or
intermarry. The following particulars apply to the Maratha Buruds,
Their surnames are Bhovare, Ohinchavle, Ghorpade, Jagtd.p, Kene,
Mohite, More, Povdr, Sanavle, Shelk^, Shinde, and Vartab. People
bearing the same surname do not intermarry. The names in
common use among men are, Bhd,nii, Bahiru, Govind, Ithu, Mdruti,
and Pdndu; and among women Chandrabhdga, Ganga, Girja,
Krishna, Udi, and Rama. They look like Mardth^s and speak
Marathi. They live in poor houses and have metal and earthen
vessels. They own cattle and sheep> goats, and fowls. They eat
fish and mutton and drink liquor. Their staple food is rice, millet,
and vegetables, and their feasts are of puranpolis or sweet cakes,
and shirapuris wheat-flour and sugar cooked in butter and bread.
The men dress like Mardth^s wearing the waistcloth, coat, waistcoat,
shouldercloth, and Mardtha turban ; and the women in a backed
bodice and the full Mardtha robe the end of which they draw back
between the feet and tuck into the waist behind. They wear
the same ornaments as Mar^thd,s. They are hardworking and
orderly, but fond of drink. They live by making bamboo baskets,
mats, fans, and sun-screens, the women doing as much work as the
men. They sell their mats at Qs. (Rs. 3) the hundred square feet,
> their baskets at fc?, to Qd. (i-4 as.), and their sieves or chdlnyas at
' |d to l^d. (i-1 a.). They also make cane chairs which they sell
at 6d. to Is. (4-8 as.). Their average earnings are 10s. to 14s.
(Rs. 5 - 7) and most families have at least two or three wage-earning
; members. Their chief god is Mahddev but they worship Bhav^ni,
Bahiroba, Khandoba, Krishna, MAruti, and Rd,m, They keep the
' usual Hindu fasts.and feasts and show equal respect to Brahmans
' and Jangams and call both to their houses at marriages
and deaths. They go on pilgrimage to Alandi, Pandharpur,
Tiiljapur, and Kanoba in Ahmadnagar. On the fifth day after
the birth -of a child a silver image of the goddess Satvdi is

Chapter III.

Population,

Cbaftsmeit,
BbAvbIss.

Buruds,

[Bombay &aietteer,

326

DISTRICTS.

Chapter III.
Population.

CKAFTSMKfT.
BURUDS.

CbAmbbIbs.

made, laid t)n a grindstone, and rubbed with redlead. Near it
pieces of moss or shevdl and prickly-pear or nivdung are laid,
and worsMpped by the house people. The goddess is offered
bread and split pulse, and four plates filled with split pulse
and bread are set one on each side of the grindstone and
worshipped. A dough lamp is kept burning, and the women
sing and talk the whole night. They hold a woman unclean for
twelve days after childbirth. At thq end of the twelve days the
house is washed with cowdung, the clothes are cleaned, and the
mother and child are bathed. Five pebbles are worshipped outside
of the house, and in the evening the child is laid in a cradle and
named, the name being given by the oldest person in the house.
Sometimes when the child is between three months and two years
old its hair is clipped either . at home or at a distance from the
village, a goat is killed, and a feast is given. They marry their
girls before they come of age and their boys up to twenty-five.
The proposal comes from the boy's side. His father goes to the
girl's father and asks his daughter in marriage. Their betrothals
are the same as Mar^tha betrothals. Their marriage guardian or
devdk is a mango twig which is brought and consecrated in the
same way as the Mar^tha marriage guardian. During the marriagei^
ceremony the boy and girl stand on four bamboo baskets, each resting
a foot on a basket, and a cloth is drawn between them. The Jangam
is present and the Brdhman repeats marriage verses and throws ,
grains of rice over their heads and when the verses are ended the
boy and girl are husband and wife. The Brahman kindles the
sacrificial fire and the boy followed by the girl passes five times
round it. Then the hems of their garments are tied into a knot
and they bow to the house gods. The boy carries off an image from
the god-house, and the girl's father persuades him to give it up in
exchange for a cocoanut. The day ends with a dinner. Next day
a feast is held and the villagers and the boy's relations are feasted.
In the evening the boy walks with his bride to his village
accompanied by kiuspeople and music, and the festivities eiid by
a feast at the boy's to the girl's parents kinspeople and friends and
to his own villagers. When she comes of age a girl is seated by
herself for ten days, when her lap is filled with fruit and rice or
wheat. In the seventh month of a first pregnancy a dinner, is
given and five married women are feasted- one each day. They
either bury or burn the dead with the same observances as Mardthis,
On the third day after burial the bearers are feasted and cooked rice
is sprinkled over the spot where the deceased was buried or burnt.
On the tenth day rice balls are offered tp , the spirit of the dead,
and on the thirteenth the Brahman priest is given uncooked food
and money and the caste are dined. They- allow widow marriage
and polygdmy, but not polyandry. They have no headman, and
Bettle social disputes at meetings of the castemen. They live in
fair comfort but are poor. They say their craft is falling as
baskets are now made of iron instead of bamboo. They do not
send their boys to school and do not take to new pursuits.

Cha'mbha'rs, or Tanners, aireretumed as numbering 17,260 and
as found over the whole district. There are five-classes of Chfimbhtoj

Deccan.]

POONA,

327

Dakshanisj Konkanis, Katais, Bengd,li3j and Mang MbcIiiS; who
neither eat together nor intermarry. The following particulars
apply to Dakshani or Deshi Ohdmbhars. They say their ancestors
came into the district daring the supremacy of the Peshw^s. Their
surnames are Bhosle, K^le, Pote, SdtputOj Shinde, and Sonavne, and
persons bearing the same surname cannot intermarry. The names
in common use among men are Bh^ga, Dagdu, Gohivya, Gyanu,
Kdlu, and Yamdji ; and among women Ganga^ Itha, Koyna, Rakhma,
Vanslrsi, and Yena. They are dark, and, except that they are dirtier
and less well fed, resemble cultivating Marathas both in appearance
and speech. They live in one-storied houses with mud walls and
tiled roofs. They keep sheep, goats, and fowls. Their house goods,
including earthen vessels and metal dining plates and drinking pots,
are worth 10s. to £1 10s. (Ra. 5 - 15). Their staple food is Indian
millet and millet bread, vegetables, salt, chillies, and pulse. They
eat fish and the flesh of sheep, goats, fowls, hare^ and deer, but not
the flesh of the hog. Except the followers of a pi/r named
Ddvalmanij all eat the dead bodies of cattle. They drink both
country and foreign liquor and smoke tobacco and hemp-flower.
Both men and women dress and wear ornaments like cultivating
MardthdiS. They are hardworking, dirty, and drunken. They work
in leather, cut and dye skins, and make shoes sandals and water-bags.
Their women help them. They work from seven in the morning to
twelve, and again from two to seven. Besides as leather-dressers
they work as husbandmen and labourers. They sell shoes at Is. to
3s. (Re. 4 - 1 i) the pair. Their appliances are the awl or ari worth
about %d. (4 a.), the r&'pi or knife worth ^d. to A\d. (2-3 as.), a pair
of Italbuts or shoe lasts worth 3d to 4JcJ. (2-3 as.), and kolambes
or water-pots worth about ^d. (^ a.). They buy sheep and goats'
skins from Sultinkars or Saktandars at Is. to 3s. (Rs. ^-1|) the
skin; and mend shoes at fcZ. to 3d. (J -2 as.) a pair. Their
deities are Mahddev of Shingnapur in Sd,tdra, Khandoba,
Bahiroba, and Bhavdni of Tuljdpur. They keep the usual Hindu
fasts and feasts, and make pilgrimages to Pandharpnr, Saptashringi,
Nasik, and Benares. Their priests are Deshasth Brdhmans to whom
they show great respect. They have a religious head, a Gosdvi
generally called bdva belonging to their own caste, who is greatly
respected. They cannot tell where his head-quarters are, but
he sometimes visits them, when they feast hiin and make him
presents of money varying from a penny to 6d. When a child
is born they cut the navel cord and put it under the mother's
pillow, along with a little sand and marsh grass. They keep a
lamp burning in the mother's room and feed it for ten nights with
castor oil and worship it for three days. They give the child
honey and molasses mixed with water. After the third day the
mother nurses it. On the fifth day they spread some grains of rice
on a stone slab in the lying-in room and on the rice lay a silver or
brass image of SatvAi, and lay the navel cord before the image
and the sand and sedge, and offer it rice, a piece of bread,
and pulse. They sometimes kill a goat in honour of the
goddess. la the evening a feast is held and five unmarried
girl's are fed and given packets of beteluiit and leaves. On the

Chapter III.
Population.

Cbaetsmeh'.

[Bombay Gazetteer,

328

DISTEIOTS.

Cliapter III.

Population.

. csaftsmen.
CbAmbbJbs.

seventh day they make charcoal drawings on the outer walls of
the house and worship them with red and turmeric powder and
flowers, and offer wet gram. On the twelfth day, outside of the
house, they worship seven pebbles, kill a goat, and feast seven
married women. They name their children when they are eleven or
twelve days or six weeks old, and clip the child's , hair at any time
between the third month and the third year. They marry their
boys between four and twenty-five and their girls before they are
sixteen. On the occasion of betrothal, ornaments are exchanged
between the two houses, the boy is presented with a turban and
sash, and the girl with a robe and bodice. On a lucky day, one to
three days before the marriage, the boy is rubbed with turmeric at
his house, and a little is taken to the girl's by kinswomen and
friends, where she is rubbed with it and presented with a robe and
bodice. Her lap is filled with grains of wheat,- dry cocoa-kernel,
dates, and a packet of beteliiut and leaves. On the marriage day
the boy is set on horseback and accompanied by kinspeopl©
and friends goes with music to the temple of Mdruti in the girl's
village. Here the marriage coronet or bashing is tied on his brow,
and his father-in-law presents him with a turban, a sash, a waist-
cloth, and a pair of shoes, and takes him to his house. When he
reaches the girl's house a piece of bread is waved round his head and
thrown away. The boy and girl are made to stand face to face in
two bamboo baskets, a cloth. or ^amni/ca is held between, tthem, and
the priest repeats verses and throws grains of rice and millet on the
boy and girl. At the lucky moment the cloth is snatched away,
and the guests clap their hands and throw grains of rice over the heads
of the bride and bridegroom who encircle each other's necks with
garlands of flowers and with yellow_ threads. Then on the marriage
altar or bahule the sacrificial fire or Idjdhom is kindled, and each
near relation and friend waves a copper cbin over the heads of the
boy and girl and sticks grains of rice on their brows. Except near
relations and friends, the guests retire with a betel packet,
and the day ends with a feast. Next day a goat is killed in
honour of the goddsss Jd,nd.i and a feast of mutton and liquor
is made. The boy, seated on horse-back with his bride and
accompanied by relations and friends and music, goes to his house
in procession. On the day after the boy returns to his house his
father gives a feast to all his castef ellows, the bride and bridegroom's
yellow necklaces and turmeric wristlets are untied, they are rubbed
with rice flour, and all traces of the turmeric are washed off.
Deccan Chirabh^rs allow widow marriage and polygamy, but not
polyandry. They either bury or burn the dead. In either case the
body is washed with warm water and carried on a bier on the
shoulders of four men. Half-way to the burial ground the bier is
lowered, a copper and few grains of rice are laid near the head,
and each mourner drops five pebbles over the coin. The four
bearers change places, and the body is carried to. the burning
ground. When they bury, the body is laid in the grave on its
back and the chief mourner followed by the rest throws a handfu}
sof ashes over it and the grave is filled. When they burn, the chief
mourner sets fire to the pile, and going round it thrice Yrithaa

Deccan.]

POGNA.

329

eartlieii jar filled with cold water, dashes the jar on the ground and
beats his mouth. The party bathe, return to the chief mourner's
house, and each taking a nim leaf in his mouth retires to his
home. On the third day the chief mourner levels the mound
over the grave, or if the body has been burnt, the ashes are thrown
ill to some stream or river. They mourn the dead for ten days.
On the tenth day wheat or rice balls are offered to the deceased,
one is left for the crows, and the rest are thrown into water.
The mourning ceremonies end on the thirteenth day with a dinner
to castemen, and the gift of a turban to the chief mourner. They
have a caste council, and settle social disputes according to the opinion
of the m.en of the caste. The faults againsl; caste are eating pork,
■ eating drinking or smoking out of the same pipe with a low-caste man
or a Musalman, using abusive language towards the caste council,
and having intercourse with a Mhar, M^ng, or Bhangi woman. The
punishments vary from asking pardon by bowing to the caste tO'
the giving of a feast to the whole community. They send their
boys to school till they are about twelve when they become useful
in their calling. They complain that they are growing poor because
people are taking to wearing English-shaped boots ^.n'd shoes; still
they are a steady if. not a rising class.

Paedeshi ChambhIes, generally known as Mochis, are of several
subdivisions. They claim descent from the saint Rohidds who
flourished abaut the twelfth or thirteenth century of the Christian era.
They are divided into Ahirva, Dhor, JAtve, Katai, Kulad, Ma.drdsi,
BengS,li, Jdngde, and Gujar^ti Mochis, Of these the Ahirva, Dhor,
and Jatve Mochis eat together but do not intermarry. The surnames
of the Ahir Gh^mbhdrs are Chandere, Chhane, Korbhokre, Kuche,
Phulmari, and Pole; people with the same surname cannot intermarry.
The names in common use among men are Beni, Dhansing_, Jivan,
Hanu, Ldlman, Mansing; Mohan, and N^rayan ; and among women
Devaka, Jamni, Eiriya, K-ashr, Muniya, and Puniya. They look like
low-class Pardeshis and speak Hindustani. They live in houses
with mud walls and tiled roofs. Their house goods generally include
queensmetal cups and saucers and earthen cooking vessels, a blanket,
a quilt, and a carpet, and a wooden box and cot worth altogether
10s. to £2 (Rs. 5 - 20) . They sometimes employ men of their caste in
their shops as labourers, paying them 4^d. to 9d: (4-6 as.) a day. -They
sometimes keep sheep, goats, and fowls. Their staple food is Indian
millet or millet- bread, pulse, vegetables, fish, and flesh, costing a
family of flve 16 s. to £1 (Rs.8-10) a month. They give feasts of

, wheat cakes, rice, and vegetables at births, marriages, and deaths,
a feast to "a hundred guests costing about £1 (Rs. 10). They
drink both country and foreign liquor and smoke hemp-flowers
and tobacco. The men wear MarAtha tarba,ns or headscarves,
coats, waistcoats, short waistcloths, and English or native shoes.
The women dress in a petticoat and open-backed bodice, and wear
an upper cloth drawn over the head. Women wear in the ears
silver bdlis worth Is. 6d. (12 as.), gold necklaces or tiks worth
about 4s. (Rs. 2), bracelets or todes of silver or tin, queensmetal
anklets also called todes worth about 4s. (Es. 2), and toe-riogs or

jodvis worth about 3(i. (2 as.). They keep in store spare "clothes

Chapter III.
Population.

CRAFTSMElf.

OhImbbabs.

[Bombay Gazetteer,

330

DISTRICTS.

Chapter III.

Fopulation.

Craftsmkn.
CbJmjbbJrs.

wortli £1 to £1 4s. (Rs. 10-12). They are hardworking, dirty,
drunkdn^ and ^ospitable. They make and sell boots with elastic •'
sides at 3s. to 10s. (Rs.1^-5) the pair, and shoes at Is. 9d. to 3s.-
(Rs. I - 1^) the pair. , They buy hides from Dhors at Is. 3d. to Is. 9d.
(10-14 as.) the poundj a sheep or goat's skin for Is. (8 dsi), nails
at 4\d. (3 as.) a pound, elastic at Is. 3d to Is. 6d. (10-12 as.) the
yard, thread at 9|cZ. (6^ as.) a pound, wax at Is. Qd. (14 as.) the
pound, and eight hundred rings for 7^d. (5 as.). They earn 6d. to
Is. (4-8 as.) k day more than they spend. Their women help by
twisting thread. Their boys are skilled workers at fifteen or sixteen
.and earn 3d to 4^d(2-3as.) a day. Pardeshi shoemakers sew a
pair of shoes in a day and a pair of boots in a couple of days. ■ Their
working hours are eight in the morning to six in the evening.
They believe in sorcery and witchcraft. Their family deities are
Bdlaji and Bhavani of Tuljdpur. Their priests are the ordinary
Deshasth Brdhmans, who conduct their birth, marriage, and death
ceremonies. They make pilgrimages to Pandharpur, Kondanpur,
and Tuljapnr. They fast' during the Navardtras in April,,
Janmdshlami in August, and Ganesh-chaturthi a,ndAnant^chaturdasM
iuiSeptember; and feast on 8 ankrdnt in J'd.nuarj, SMmga in March,
RdkMa'p-^urnima andNdg^panchmi in August, Basarava. OctQber,and
Divdli in November. They hold their women impure for five weeks
after a birth and never touch them during the whole of that time. The
child's navsl cord is cut by a KarAtha, or a Musalmdn midwife who,
is paid 7|d (5 as.). The midwife buries the navel cord in the
lying-in room, and on the day of birth calls the child by a name
which she is told by the Brahman priest. After the' child is bqrn
the mother is laid on a. quilt, never on a cot. On the fifth day a
lighted iron lamp, two very small copper or silver plates 'Stamped
with the image of the goddess Satvai, five wheat cakes, somre mutton,
dry fish, rice, cooked and raw vegetables, and two copper anklets
or vdles are laid in a winnowing fan and worshipped. One plats
is hung round the child's neck and the other is hung round the
mother's neck and the anklets are put on the child's feet.- The
winnowing fan is given to a Mdng wohian, and at night a
feast is held. On the tenth day boiled gram and betel packets
are served to married women. On some suitable day duriug
the child's second year they shave a child's hair for the first
time. For the first shaving the child's parents take it either to
Tuljapur or Kondanpur, employ a barber at a post of 3d (2 as.).-
to shave it while it sits on its maternal uncle's knee, and, when the
shaving is over, they kill a goat and offer the goddess cookedJ
mutton and liquor. They feast on sweet cakes mutton and liquor,
present a goat's head and a cocoanut to the temple ministrant,
throw the hair into the water, and return home. This ceremony
costs about £1 4s. (Rs.1-2). They marry their boys between ten
and twenty and their .girls between five and twelve. The families
of the boy and girl do not interchange hospitalities and no flesh or
liquor, is used. They do hot hold the cloth or antrapat between
thQ boy and the girl during the marriage ceremony, but make therai -,
walk seven times round a square pillar With in front of esioh face atf:>
pile of twenty-one earthen jars whitewashed and marked with green^

Deccau.]

POONA.

331

yellow and red. They burn the dead and mourn ten days. They
allow child and widow marriage, and practise polygamy but not
polyandry. They have a headman or chaudhari who settles social
disputes in consultation with five of the elders. They send their
boys to school till they are about twelve years of age. They are
said to be suffering from the importation of European shoes which
are better and stronger than those they make.

Gaundis, or Masons, are returned as numbering 347 and as
found in Bhimthadi, Junnar, Indapur, f'oona, and Purandhar.
They are divided into Gujaratis, Jdts, Kamdthis, Lingayats,
and Pardeshis, who neither eat together nor intermarry. The
surnames of the Gujardtis, to whom the following details
apply, are Devatval, Dhavdfej/Kundalval, and Tel pure ; people
with the same surname do not intermarry. The , names in
common use among men are Bhau, Mansaram, Nandaram,
Sakh^rdm, and Sundarji ; and among women, Anandi, God^vari,
Pdrvati, Rakhma, and Shita. They are a well-made, tall, and fair
people. The men wear the top-knot, moustache, and whiskers, but not
the beard. Their home tongue" is Marwari but with others they
speak fairly correct Mardthi. Most of them live in houses of the
better sort two or more stoides high, with walls of brick and tiled
roofs. Except two or three houses which are worth about £10,000
(Rs. 1,00,000) a Gaundi's house costs £20 to £200 (Rs. 200 - 2000) to
build. Their furniture includes metal and earthen vessels, cobs,
blankets) glass hanging lamps, and picture-frames. They keep
cows, buffaloes, horses, and parrots." Their every-day food is millet,
rice, wheat, split pulse, fish, and the flesh of goats s.heep and fowls.
The men wear a big loose turban half-Mdrwari and half-Mardthi, a
coat, waistcoat, waistcloth,shouldercloth, and Deccan Brahman shoes ;
and the women a petticoat' or lungha, a short-sleeved open-
backed bodice, and an upper robe and scarf which they fasten into
the band of the petticoat and draw over the head like a veil and
hold the end in their hand in front. They do not tie their hair in
a roll behind the head, but let it hang down the back in braids.
They do not use false hair or deck their hair with flowers. They
mark their brows with redpowder, wear glass bangles, silver
anklets or todes and toe-rings ot joduis valued at £3 to £4 (Ra. 30-40).
They neither bore their noses nor tattoo their skins. They are
hardworking, even-tempered, sober, and thrifty. They are maSons,
contractors, dealers in grain and cloth, moneychangers, writers,
husbandmen, and labourers. They also make clay images of
Ganpati and other clay figures. They are Vaishnavs a*id worship'
the usual Brahmanic gods and (goddesses. They have house images
of Bal^ji, Balkrishna, Bhavani, and Ga,npati, and their priests are
tbe ordinary Maratha Brdhmans to whom they show ffreat respect.
Their fasts and feasts are the same as thosie of other Brahmanio
Hindus. They make pilgrimages and believe in sorcery and
witchcraft. They consider a woman impure for ten days after the
birth of a child till which nothing is done in the house. On the
twelfth male and female relations, friends, and castefellows meet
at the mother's house, put the child in a cradle, and name it. Each
of the male guests is given a couple of betel leaves and a small

Chapter III.
Population.

CRAFrSMBN.

Oaundis.

[Bombay Gazetteer,

332

DISTRICTS.

Chapter III.

Population.

Cbaftsmen,
GAumns,

sweetmeat or bundi ball and each of the femaleguesta a handful of
wet gram. A birth costs £1 to £4 (Rs. 10 -40). At any time between
a child's first and third year, whether it is a boy or a girl, the hair-
clipping or jdval is performed; In the case of a girl only a few
haifs are cut with a pair of . scissors by the people of the house ;
the boy is seated on the knee of some elder either male or female,
married or widow, and the barber shaves his head except the topknot,
and is presented with a cocoanut and Qd. to 9d. (4-6 as.) in cash.
They marry their girls before they come of age and their boys before
they are twenty-five. The' asking or mdgnL is the same as the
Marathas' asking. Their marriage guardian or devak is the god
Ganpati and five hel apples which they place on a betel leaf on aheap
of rice. They make marriage porches at both the boy's and the
girl's houses. Instead of an altar at the girl's house they plant in the
middle of the marriage hall a mango post with on each face an
earthen cup like a clay lamp or hodi and cover it with another cup.
On the marriage day the boy goes on horseback in procession to the
girl's accompanied by kinspeople and music, and sits in the house
in, front of the house gods on a carpet spread for him. The boy's
father goes to where the girl is in the women's room, worships her,
and presents her with clothes and ornaments. In these the women
' of the house dress her and the boy's father goes and takes his
place in the marriage" porch. The girl's father next comes to the
boy, offers him clothes and ornaments, and leads him to the part-
of the marriage porch where the mango post is planted and Seats
him before the post on a carpet. 'The girl is now brought and seated
to, the right of the boy. . The boy's priest on behalf of the boy says
to the girl, 'Do not sit on my right but on my left.' She replies
through her priest, ' If you promise to give me presents now and then
and dp not spend money without my leave, then I will do as you wish,
otherwise I shall not'. The boy's priest promises that he will give
her presents and not spend money, and the boy in confirmation says
Yes. The girl takes her seat on the. boy's left and the priest
holds a cloth between them and the mango.post and repeats marriage
verses. At the end of the verses the priest throws grains of rice
over the heads of the boy and girl and they are man and wife.
Packets of betel leaves and nut are handed round and the guests retire.
That night the boy stays at the girl's house. Next .day, after a feast
and the exchange of presents of clothes, the boy goes in procession
with the bride to his house, and the marriage ends with a feast.
Among- them a girl is considered impure for four days when she
comes of age and on the fifth her lap is filled with a cocoanut and other
fruit, and she joins her husband. When a Gaundi dies he is bathed
in the house, dressed in a loincloth, laid on the bier and covered with
a shee,t. Near relations come with pieces of white cloth measuring
three and a half feet long and spread them on the body. The bier is
carried on the shoulders of four near relations, the usual-halt is made
on the way to the burning -ground, and, at the burning ground, the
body is burnt with the same details as at a Oujarat Vani's funeral.
On the fourth day the chief mourner grinds a handful of wheat in a
handmill from left to right that is contrarywise or ulate, and makes
the flour into three small cakes. He takes the cakes and a water-pot- ;

Deccan.]

POGNA.

333

and goes to the burning ground. On the way he leaves one cake
on the spot where the halt was made and the bier was rested. In
the burning ground he removes the ashes and throws them into water,
and after sprinkling ,a little cowdung and water Idys the two cakes
on the spot, and after a crow has pecked them returns home. On
the tenth day he goes to a stream, prepares rice balls, throws them
to the spirit of the dead in the water, and returns home. On the
eleventh day he feasts the caste. They hold caste councils and settle
, social disputes at meetings of the casteraen. Few send their boys to
school. Some of them are rich and the rest are well-to-do.

GMsa'dis, literally PolishersorTinkers,numbering444,are return-
ed as found in Indd.pur, Purandhar, and in the city of Poona. Their
name seems to come from the Mar^thi ghisne to rub. According to
their own story they are called after a certain GrhisMi who over-
came and killed "a famous gymnast. They say that they came to the
Deccan :^rom Grujard,t in search of work. They have no subdivisions
among them ; all Ghisddis eat together and intermarry. Their sur-
names are Chavan, Charvase, Kdtkar, Padvalkar, Povdr, Salunke,
•Selar, and Sinde ; persons having the same surname cannot intermarry.
The namesincommonuseamongmenare, Bhikdji, Kushdba, Mahaduba,
Malhari, Manaji, Rakhmaji, Santu, Tukardmjand Vdghu' ; and among
women GirjabAi, J^nkubai, Jayibai, Kusdbai, Erakhmd,b^i, and Tdibai.
They a,id ji as R^mjito men's names and bdi as Jankubdi to women's
names. Both at home and abroad they speak a corrupt Gujardti, a
mixture of Gujarati Marathi and Hindustani. Both men and
women dress in Marathi fashion and look like Kunbis except that
. they are a little shorter and sturdier. The men are strongly made
and many o£ them are trained gymnasts. They wear top-knots and
beards and their faces are generally covered with long thick hair.
The head hair is lank. Most of them live in poor houses or huts one
storey high with walls of brick and tiled roofs. Those of them who
wander from place to place fix two forked poles in the ground, lay
a third pole in the forks of the two uprights, and stretch a cloth or
large blanket called pal over the horizontal pole so as to form a tent
with sloping sides and open ends . The sides are pegged to the ground
and the back is closed with blankets. In their tents are generally

' a cot cradle, blanket, quilt, carpet, one or two low wooden -stools, and
clay or metal cooking vessels. They sometimes have a few cattle,
bullocks, goats, asses, or ponies, and occasionally keep a deer or a
hare as a pet, and pigeons and poultry. Their staple food is millet,

: rice, pulse, and spices. They eat goats, sheep, deer> hare, poultry, and
eggs on holidays and whenever they can afford it; they also drink
liquor and indulge in many native intoxicating drugs. They are
moderate eaters and good cooks being specially fond of pungent
dishes. They wear a waistcloth or short breeches, a shouldercloth
a jacket, a saira or loose shirt, a Mardtha turban, and shoes. The
women plait the hair in a braid and do not deck it with flowers.
Out of doors they wear the ordinary Mar^tha robe and bodice, and
at night a ' lungha^ or petticoat. As a class they are hardworking,
quarrelsome, dirty, extravagant, and fond of drink. Their chief
calling is working in irpn. Youths begin to learn from their fathers

Chapter III.

Population.

.Ckattsmen.
Qatjndis.

GhisJ-dib.

[Bombay Gazetteer,

334

DTSTEICTS.

Chapter III. or elders about ten or twelve, and when they have mastered the

Population. work they open shops of their own.

Craftsmen. - '^^^ men work from seven to twelve and again from two to eight,
Gbts^dis. '^^^ women help in blowing the bellows. They also go about selling .

the wares made by the men. They generally prepare articles for
sale at their own cost and risk. In spite of the competition of
European hardware their arti&les are in good demand, though their
profits have been reduced. They earn enough foriheir support, but
several fall into difficulties by borrowing to meet marriage and other ,
expenses. They rank themselves with Mard,thas and do not associate '
with the classes who are generally considered impure; ■ Other
classes look down on them and do not give them the position they
claim. Their slack time is during' the rains between June and
October, and all the year round they close their shops on amdiiasya
or the last day of the naonth. The family deities of Ghisadis are
Bahiri, Balaji of Giri in the Madras Presidency, Bhav^ni, Khandoba,
- SatVai, and Yamnai, and they also worship village and boundary
gods whom they offer milk and sugar without the help of a priest.
.Their family priest is a Deshasth Brahman who is called to officiate
at marriages, lap-fillings, and deaths. They make pilgrimages to
Alandi, JDehuj Jejuri, Pandharpur, and, TuljApur. They fast on.
elevenths or eJ;.ddaaAis and on all Mondays and Saturdays. Their
chief -festival isthe nine nights heioveSasa/ra in September- October. ^
They believe in and consult astrologers and soothsayers. They often
suffer from, spirit-possession. When a disease does not yield to
the ordinary cures or when the symptoms are considered to point to
spirit-possession a devrishi or exorcist is called. He takes ashes and
waves them roujid the sick together with a cocoanut, a hen, and some ,
lemons. If this does not drive away the spirit they pray to their family
gods to help them and promise to reward their gods if they grant,
their, prayers. When a woman is in child-birth a midwife is called
in. When the child is born the nndwife bathes the mother and child,
• cuts the navel cord, and buries it in an earthen pot in the spot where
the mother was bathed.- The woman is laid on a cot and given balls
of wheat flour mixed with clarified butter and sugar, and for three
days the babe is given honey and castor oil. . On the fifth day the
mother and the child are purified and their clbthes aire wash ed. They
cover the vessel in which the clothes were washed with a piece
of new cloth. Five stones are laid on the cloth, and the mother;
worships them as the abode of SatVai. Near the stones is placed au,
image of SatvAi to which the mother offers turmeric, redppwder,
sandal paste, and flowers. A goat is offered to the goddess and killed,
the head is cut off and laid before the image, and friends and relations
are called to feed on the flesh. After dinner, the women of the
house, remain awake all night and keep a light in the room. Next
day the head of the victim is cooked and eaten. On the fifth
the child is clothed in a cap and a small armless frock or huncld
somewhat peaked at the top and drawn over the head like a cow^l or
hood. On the -seventh the image of Satv^i is laid at the door of the
lying-in room and is worshipped with wet wheat and gram. • On this
day no outsider is asked to dinner.' At night neighbouring women

DeccanJ

POONA.

335

come and laying the cMld in the cradle name it and sing a cradle
song .to Ed.m or Krishna. When the song is over betel and
boiled wheat are served and the women retire. Either after the
eleventh or after the twentieth the mother goes about the house as
usual. The heads of all children, whether boys or girls, are shaved,
between their ninth month and the end of their fourth year. The
child is geated on the lap of its maternal uncle and its head ia
shaved by the barber who is paid-about 2d. ( 1 ^ anna) . Goats are killed
and friends and relations feasted. They marry their girls between
five and twenty-five and their boys between seven and thirty, "When
a father thinks it right that his son should be married he calls some
of the castemen and asks if they know any suitable match. They
discuss the different available girls and fix on one as the best match.
The boy's father with some friends goes to the girl's father and asks
if he wUl give his daughter in marriage, The girl's father consults
his wife. If the wife agrees the fathers compare their surnames and
mention their marriage connections, and if there is nothing to prevent
the marriage they agree that it shall take place. The boy's father
gives the castemen 10s. to 16s. (Rs. 5-8) and the castewomen 4s. to
6». (Rs. 2-8). These sums are spent in liquor which is drunk at a
meeting of the caste. On the first holiday after the asking or mdgni
bhe boy's parents present the girl with a new robe and bodice. Next
June or Jyeshth a basket is filled with mangoes, uncooked rice, pulse
flour, and two bodicecloths or khans, and taken to the girl's by the
women of the boy's house. They present the girl and the women of
her family with turmeric and redpowder, deck the girl's hair with
flowers, and fill her lap with rice, betelnut, almonds, and cocoanuts,
and give one bodicecloth to the girl and. the other to her motheri
In the following Skrdvan or August a Shrdvan basket, of toys
two bodicecloths and uncooked rice and pulse, is made ready in the)
boy's house and taken to the girl's with pipes and drums. The girl
is seated on a low stbol, her lap is filled with the fruit, and her brow
is marked with a circle of redpowder. Before the marriage the
: 'boy's father in presence of some of the caste has to pay the girl's
father £2 10s. to £10 (Rs. 25-100). The witnesses take £1 (Rs. 10)
in the name of the caste and spend it on liquor which all drink
together. Then the 'girl's father buys the marriage clothes, and
_ marriage porches are set up at the boy's and girl's, houses, the girl's
porch having an altar or bahule. On the day before the marriage
the bridegroom goes to the bride's with his friends and relations,
where the girl's father has prepared some place for them to live in.
The girl is first- rubbed with two or three lines, of turmeric, and the
bridegroom is next bathed and rubbed with turmeric by the washer-
woman. After being rubbed the bridegroom goes to a temple of Mdruti
with a party of friends, takes a small mango branch which has been
cut and placed near the god, and makes it his marriage guardian or
devak tying it to one of the poles in the marriage porch. Then the
3:washerwoman of each of the houses ties, by a. yellow string of five
strands, a piece of turmeric wrapped in cloth to the right wrist of
the bride and of the bridegroom, and the day ends with a feast
of telchis or cakes and gulhadhi or molasses- curry to friends and
acquaintances. On the next or marriage day the bridegroom

Chapter III,

Population.

Ceaetsmbs,
QmsUma.

[Bombay Gazetteer,

336

DISTEICTS.

Chapter III.

Popalation.

Cbaitsmen.
Gbisabis.

visits tlie temple o£ Mdruti, where the father of the bride presents
him with a shouldercloth, a turbarij and a pair of shoes and
. fastens to his brow the marriage coronet or bdshing. The
bridegroom bows to the god and follows the bride's father to' his
iouse. At the door of the marriage poreh a cocoanut is waved
round the bridegroom and broken. He then enters the porch and
stands on a low wooden stool. The bride is brought in and
made to stand facing him separated by a cloth. The Brahman
priest repeats marriage verses and when the verses are over the
boy and girl are husband and wife. The boy then fastens the lucky
stritig or mangalsutra round the girl's neck and at the same' time
his sister adorns her feet with silver toe-rings or virudhyds. ■ Then
the boy and girl are made to sit. The Brd.hman priest circles them
ten times with a thread. He cuts into two the band of ten
threads, and, passing each thread in each half of the band through a
pierced betelnut and repeating texts, ties the ten betelnuts as a
bracelet round the right wrist of the boy and the girl. They are
then seated on the altar and the girl's father presents the boy with
a copper water-pot or tdmbya and a tin cup or vdti and some other
articles. This part of the ceremony is called kanyddan-or girl-giving.
Next the Brdhman priest kiqdles a sacred fire in front of the boy and
girl who are seated pide by side and the boy throws clarified butter
over the fire. Then the boy and girl walk round the fire thrice, into
the house, and bow before the gods. ' The day ends with a feast. On
the day after the wedding the girl's father gives a caste-feast of
mutton and ca^es. In the evening the vardt literally crowd starts
from the house of the girl, when she receives a new robe and bodice
from the boy's father, and with drums and pipes is brought on horse-
back with her husband to his house. At his house the boy and girl
bow before the house gods', and in the presence of a party of married
women each unties the other's betelnut bracelets. On the next day
the boy's relations bathe him and his wife, and they dine from the
same dish in company with the boy's parents, five-married women, and
the bridesmaids or karaviis who are generally the sisters of the boy
and girl. At night the boy's father gives a mutton feast to the caste-
people and the marriage guardian or devak is taken away. When
a girl comes of age she is considered unclean and is made to sit by
herself f^r four days. On the fifth day she is presented with a
new robe and bodice, and her mother fills her lap withiruit and feasts
her son-in-law's family. During the seventh month of her first
pregnancy she is asked to dine at her mother's and presented with a
^ green robe and bodice and glass bangles. When a death occurs in
a house the castepeople are told of it and the women sit weeping
and wailing. When the mourners gather at the deceased's house one ,
or two relations go and bring what is wanted for the burial. A
bier is made ready outside of the door and an earthen vessel is filled
with water and set on a fire.- The body is taken out of the house, "
"washed with hot water, and laid on the bier. The face is kept
uncovered. The body is covered with a cloth fastened to the bier
with a string and a thread of five colours, and a roll of betel leaves
is placed in the mouth. Then the chief mourner puts burning
oowdung cakes into an earthen jar, and holding the fire-pot in a sling

Deccan.1

POONA.

337

begiii;s to walk and the bearers follow Mm. On the wayj as they
near the burning ground, the bearers stop and lay the bier on the
ground and place on the ground some balls of wheat flour. The
bearers-change places and carry the bier to the burning ground.
At the burning ground they heap the pile with dry cOwdung cakes
and lay the body on the heap. The chief mourner dips the turban
of the deceased in water and squeezes some of the water into his
month. A ball of wheat Hour is laid under the corpse's head and the
body is covered with dry cowdung cakes and set on, fire. When the
fire is kindled on all sides the chief mourner brings a pitcher of water
on his head. Along with another man he stands for a few seconds at the
feet of the dead. His companion makes a small hole in the bottom
of -the jar, and as the water begins to trickle out the mourner walks
round the pyre. He walks thrice round, his companion each time
piercing a fresh hole. At the end of the third round the chief mourner
dashes the pot on the ground, cries aloud, and beats his mouth with
the back of his right hand. The funeral party bathes and goes to
the house of the dead, where a neighbour purifies them by pouring
cow's urine over them, and they leave. On the third day kinswomen
or the widow herself cuts off her lucky necklace and breaks her
glass bangles, and, along with a winnowing fan in which two dough
cakes are laid, the chief mourner and the bearers take the necklace
and bangles and go to the burning -ground. On the way the body is
rested and the chief mourner leaves one of the cakes. At the burning
ground when the. body is consumed the ashes are gathered and
thrown into water. The spot where the body was burned is cow-
dunged and the necklace, the pieces of the bangles, and the second
dough - cake are laid on it. They go to the river where the chief
mourner rubs the shoulders of the bearers with butter and they
return to the chief mourner's house where they dine. They mourn
for ten days. On the eleventh the chief mourner is taken to
the river and is made to kindle a fire. A barber comes and
ahaves his head except the top-knot and his face except his
eyebrows. All bathe in the river and return home. The chief
mourner makes eleven dough balls and two cakes. The balls he
worghips and offers them the "cakes and a little wet wheaten flour.
He takes a ball eleven times in succession and places it at the

' Jbottom of the river or water and bathes, and a sacred fire is kindled
by a Brahman priest. The chief mourner bows to the-fire, throws
clarified butter, dates, cocoa-kernel, sesamum, and barley upon the
fire, walks round it, and salutes it. The rest of the party pour a
potful of water on the burnt offering and go home. On this day
the Brahman priest receives an umbrella, a pair of shoes, and a
blanket. CaSte-people are asked to dine at the house of mourning
but only a few come. On the twelfth the friends and relations
of the chief mourner raise a sum of money, and, buying provisions,
including pautton, feast . on them in company with the chief
mourner, and give him a cup of liquor, and some one of his relations
■presents him with a turban. On the death-day ^ a memorial or

„ghrdddh ceremony is held. The GhisMi community is very often,
disturbed by quarrels. They have no headman and their caste

' Ei3putes are settled according to the opinions of the .majority and

'' B 310-43

Chapter III.
Fopulation.

Gms^Dis.

[Bombay Gazetteer,

338

DISTRICTS.

Chapter III.
Population.

Cbaftsmen.

HalvAis.

their decisions are obeyed on pain of loss of caste. Breaches of
caste rules are puiiished by fines varying from 2s. to £1 (Rs. 1 - 10).
A woman who commits adultery is fined 9d. (6 as.) and a cAste
dinner is held to mark the eyent. Within the last eight years they
have begun to send their boys to sc\ool, but they take them away
from school and make them begin to work ■w4ien they are ten.
They do not take to new callings and on the whole are well-to*do.

Halva'iS, or Sweetmeat-sellers, are returned as numbering sixty-
seven and as found in Sirur, Purandhar, and Poona. They are
divided into Ahirs, Jains, Ling^yats, Marath^s, M^rwdris, Pardeshis,
Shimpis, and Telis. The Pdrdeshi Halvais have no surnames. The
names in common use among men are Bihydri, Dagadu, Gangdrditn,
Kisan, and £.amddsj and among women, BhAgu, Ganga,"" Jamna,
Lachhu, and Tulsa. They are Pardeshis and look and speak like
them. They -live in middle-class houses with walls of brick and
mud and tiled roofs, and have metal and earthen vessels. They
have servants whom they pay 14s. to 16s. (Rs. 7-8) a month. Their
staple food is millet, rice, wheat, pulse, butter, spices, and vegetables,
but they eat fish and flesh, and drink liquor. The men wear a
waistcloth, a waistcoat, and a headscarf or Mardtha turban, and
the women a petticoat and an Open-backed bodice and draw a
piece of cloth over the head. They are hardworking, but dirty
hot-tempered and intemperate, drinking liquor and smoking opium
and hemp. They make and sell sweetmeats at the following rupee
rates : Boiled milk made into paste two- pounds the rupee, pedhe or
balls of boiled milk two to two and a half pounds, harphi or square
pieces of boiled milk mixed with sugar and spices one and half to
two pounds, khohafyachi harphi or cocoa scrapings two and a half
to three pounds, the same mixed with saffron two to two and a
quarter pounds, sugar peas or sdhhar-phutdne mixed with sugar
and sesamum two and a half to three pounds, ^eldode or sugar carda-
mums two pounds, sugared kdju or cashewnuts two and a half
pounds, sdba,nia or sugar sticks two and a half pounds, revdya- or
sugar and sesamum cakes five and a half pounds, bundi or balls two
and quarter pounds, salt and sweet shev four pounds, and gudada/Hi
of molasses and groundnuts eight pounds.. Their women do not
help the men. Their boys begin to learn their father's craft at
twelve and are expert at twenty. A boy's marriage costs about
£20 (Rs.200), a girl's marriage about £10 (Rs. 100), and a death
about £2 10s. (Rs. 25). Their family deities are. Khandoba,
Bhavani, Krishna, and the Devi of Chatarshringi. Their priests are
Kanoj Brdhmans. They keep the regular' local fasts and feasts,
but the IshddU or June- July and the BTaritfci or October-November
ehddashis or lunar elevenths are their great fast days, and EoU in
February, Ndg-panchmiin July, Oanesh-chaturthi in August, and
Dasara and Bivdli in October are their great feast days. They
make pilgrimages to Benares, Oudh, Jejuri, Pandharpur^. Chatar-
shringi, and A'landi. They believe in sorcery and witchcraft
and consult oracles. On the fifth day after the birth of a child,
they lay five millet stems on a stone slab with a cake stuck in the
point of each, worship- them with turmeric and redpowder, and
offer them cooked rice, curry, vegetables, and boiled gram. The

Beccan.]

POONA.

339

motlier is impure for eleven days. On the twelfth and thirteenth
days she goes to some garden, worships five pebbles, feasts five
^married women, and returns home. In the evening the child is
named in presence of near relations and friends, boiled gram betel
packets and sugar are served and thei guests retire. They clip
a child's hair when it is five years old. They marry their girls
between seven and twelve, and their boys before they ^re twenty.
The day before the marriage the boy is rubbed with turmeric at
his house and what is over is sent to the girl's. Then wristlets or
kankans one a small iron ring the other a turmeric root rolled in a
piece of new yellow cloth, are fastened to the wrists of the boy and
girl and a feast is held at both houses. Their marriage guardians
or devaks are their house deities whom they send to a goldsmith,
and after being polished bring home accompanied with music. In
the ■ evening of the marriage day the boy is seated on a horse,
a dagger is placed in his hands, and he is^ taken to the girl's
accompanied by kinspeople, friends, and music. At the girl's a
lemon, a cocoanut, and a piece of bread are waved round his head
and thrown aside. The boy is taken into the house and seated on a
low wooden stool and the girl on a second (stool on his left. The
sacrificial fire is lit and the boy kindles it with dry mango leaves
and butter. The girl's father washes the boy's and girl'e feet and
touches his own eyes with the water. The girl is presented with
a nosering and silver toe-rings and a cloth is held between the
sacrificial fire and the boy and girl. Then the boy and girl together
make seven turns round the sacrificial fire, stopping and taking the
advice of the elder^ before they make the seventh turn. The priest
repeats the marriage verses and when the verses are over throws
grains of red rice over the heads of the boy and girl and they are
man and wife. The hems of their garments are tied together and
they go and bow before the house gods. The boy and girl are seated
on a horse and taken in procession to the boy's house and next day
the marriage festivities end with a feast. They burn their dead
and mourn ten days. They allow widow marriage and polygamy.

; They have a caste council and send their boys to school. As a class

■ they are well-to-do.

Jingars, a Persian term for saddle-makers whose Hindu name
s^ems to be Chitrakdrs or Painters and who style themselves
■Arya Somvanshi Kshatris or Arian Moon-branch Kshatris, are
returned as numbering 650 and as .found over the whole district
«xcept in Purandhar. The local head-quarters of the caste is the
■icity of Poena where at their caste feasts, between ten and eleven
■hundred plates are laid. They say that the Brahmand-piirdn has
the following account of their origin. The gods and sages were once
engaged in performing a sacrifice in Brihaddranya, when Janumandal,
a giant, the grandson of Vritrdsur, endowed with Brahmadev's
blessing and made invincible, appeared with the object of obstructing
the sacrifice. The gods and sages fled to Shiv. In Shiv's rage a
drop of sweat fell from his brow into his mouthi It assumed human
form and was called Mauktik or Muktddev. Muktddov fought with
Janumandal and defeated him. The gods and sages, pleased with
his prowess, enthroned him as their king and went to the forests.

Chapter III.

Fopnlation.

Ceaitsmbn.
HalyAis,

JmaARS.

[Bomljay Gazetteer,

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DISTRICTS.

ehapter III.
Population.

Ckaftsmbn,

JjOfGABS.

Muktddev married Prabhavati, the daughter of the sage Durvas/by
whom he had eight sods, who married the daughters of eight other
Eishis. He left the charge of his kingdom to his sons and with his wife
withdrew to the forest to do penance. In the height, of their power
the sons one da.y slighted the sage Lomaharshan who cursed them
saying that they would lose their royal power and their right to-
perform Vedic ceremonies and would wander in misery. Muktadev,
on coming to know of the curse, implored Shiv to have mercy on
his sons. Shiv could not recall the sage's -curse, but to lessen its
severity added that Muktadev's sons might perform the Vedic rites
stealthily, that they would be_ known from that day forward as
Aryakshatris, and would follow eight calHngs, chitragdrs or painters,
suvarndgdrs or goldsmiths, shilpk'a/rs or "artists, patakdrs or
weavers, reshim hwrmi and patvekdrs or silk- workers, lohdrs or
ivonsTinths, and mritikakars and dhdtu-mritikdkars potters and metal
and earth workers. They have no subdivisions. Their surnames
are Chavan, Dhengle, Jadhav, Malodker, Kd,mble, Navgire, and
Povar. The names in common use among men are Anantram,
Bapu, G-anpati, Ndmdev, and Sakhdr^m ;,and among women Bhima,
Lakshmi, E^dha, Sakhu, and Savitri. They have eight family
stocks or gotras, the names of six of which are Angiras, Bharadv^j,
G-autam, Kanva, Kaundanya, and Vashishth. The men are generally-
dark with regular features ; the women fair thin tall and proverbially
handsome. The men wear the top-knot and moustache, and rub sandal
on their brows. They shave their heads once a week. The local
Hajdms or barbers refuse to shave them, and they employ Paredshi
Hajdms. The women mark the brow with redpowder, and tie the hair
in a knot behind. They do not use false hair or deck their heads
with flowers, as they hold these practices fit for prostitutes or dancing
girls. They speak MardtW, and are hardworking, intelligent, clever,
self-reliant, even-tempered, hospitable, and orderly. Their skill as
craftsmen was rewarded by the Peshwds with gifts of land and houses.
They follow a variety of callings, casting metal, carving stones,
painting, making figures of clay and cloth, carving wood, and
repairing boxes padlocks and watches. Prom the calling they adopt
they are sometimes called Sonars or goldsmiths, TAmbats or
coppersmiths, Lohdrs or bla,eksmiths, and Patvekars or silk-workers.
Their houses are like those of other middle-class Hindus one or two
storeys high with walls of brick and tiled roofs. The - furniture
includes metal and earthen vessels, boxes, carpets, glass globes, and
picture frames. Some keep a cow or she-bufialoe, a pony, and
parrots. Their staple food is rice, millet and Indian millet, split
pulse, and vegetables. They do not object to eat the flesh of goats,
sheep, poultry, deer, hare, or partridges. They drink country liquor,
but not openly. The meia dress like Deccan Brahmans in a waist-
cloth and shouldercloth, a coat and waistcoat, a Brahman turban,
and shoes. A Jingar rises at five, works from six or seven to eleven
or twelve, and again from two to 'dusk. The women mind the house
and sometimes help the men in their shops. Boys begin to help
their fathers at twelve and are expert workers by sixteen or eighteen.
They are Vaishnavs in religion and. have house images of Qanpati,
.Vithoba, Bahiroba, Khandoba, and Bhavdni. Their prie'sts are the

Deccan.]

POONA.

341

village Brahmans who officiate at their houses and whom they hold
in great reverence. They keep the usual Hindu fasts and feasts.
On the morning of the fifth day after a birth the child is bathed and
rolled from head to foot in a piece of cloth and laid on the bare
ground. The mother bathes for the first time, and is seated on a
low wooden stool, and the child is given into her arms covered
with swaddling clothes. Either in the morning or evening the
midwife places in the, mother's room a grindstone or pdta and lays
on the stone a blank sheet of paper, an ink-pot,, a pen, the
knife with which the child's navel cord w:as cut, and healing
herbs and roots. The midwife then worships these articles as
the goddess Satvai, offering them grains of rice, flowers, and
cooked food. The mother lays the child on the ground in front of
the goddess, makes a low bow, and taking the child uncovers'its
face and rubs its brow with ashes. During the night the women of
the house keep awake. On the seventh day, either in the mother's
room or somewhere else in the house, seven lines each about three
inches long are drawn on the wall with a piece of charcoal and
worshipped as Satvdi and wet gram is offered. The tenth, eleventh,
and twelfth day ceremonies are the same as those observed by
Deccan Brahmans. For five months the -child is not bathed on the
day- of the week on wbich it was bom. If the child is a boy, on a
lucky day, either within eleven months from its birth or in its third
year, its hair is cut with scissors for the first time. If the child is
a girl, who is the subject of a vow, her hair is cut as if she were a
boy and with the same ceremonies which Brahmans observe. At
the age of three the boy's head is shaved for the fitst time. The
Jingars strew part of the floor with grains of rice and on the
rice spread a yellow-edged cloth, and seat the boy on the cloth in
front of the barber who shaves the boy's head leaving only the
top-knot. The boy. is anointed with oil and bathed, and dressed in
new clothes, and each of several married women waves a copper coin
round his head and presents it to the barber with the yellow-edged
cloth and the uncooked food. When a boy is five, seven, or nine,
he is girt with the sacred "thread in the month of Shrdvan or
August-September when thread-wearing Hindus yearly change their
threads a ceremony called Shrdvanya. The boy is seated with some

- men who are going to change their threads, and the officiating
Brahman is told that the boy is to be given a sacred thread. The boy,

* along with the others, marks his brow from left to right with ashes

* OT vibhut, rubs cowdung and cow^s Urine on his body, and worships
seven betelnuts set on seven small heaps of rice as the seven seers
or sapta-rishis. The sacrificial fire is lit and fed with butter and

- small pipal sticks by the boy and the others who are changing their
v-threads. Those whose fathers are dead perform the memorial or

shrdddh ceremony, and when this is over, the, priest presents each
with a sacred thread which is put on and the old one is taken off
and buried in a basil-pot. The ceremony costs the boy's father
about 4s. (Es. 2). They marry their girls before they are twelve,
and allow their boys to remain unmarried till they are thirty.
When a marriage is settled the first' ceremony is the redpowder
rnhloing ov kunJm. The boy, his father, and a few near kinsmen

Chapter III.
Population.

Ceam&men.

, JmQARS.

[Bombay Gazetteer,

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DISTRICTS.

Chapter III. go to tlie girl's with a coin or a necHace of coins, a packet of
Popnlatiofi. sugar or swlcharpuda, and betelnut and leaves. At the girl's,
Ckamsmen. ^^^^ *^^y ^^^ taken their seats, the girl's father calls the girl.
JimARs. ' When she comes the boy's father marks her brow with redpowder,
fastens the necklace of gold coins round her neck, and puts the
packet of sugar in her hands. She bows before each of the guests
and retires. The guests are served with betel, and retire. From
a day to a year rafter the redpowder rubbing comes the asking or'
mdgni, which is also called the augar-packet or sd/cAarpwdla. Th&-
boy, his parents, and a few kinspeople go with music to the girl's
house, and, after being seated, the girl is called by the boy's
father and presented with a robe and bodice which she puts on.
She is decked with ornaments and presented with a packet of sugar
or sdkharpuda. The girl's father worships the boy, and presents
him with a sash, a turban, and sugar, and after betel packets have
been served they retire. A week or two before the wedding the
boy's and girl's fathers go to the village astrologer with the two
horoscopes and settle the day and hour on which the marriage should
take place. This the astrologer notes on two papers which he hands
to the boy's father, who keeps one for himself and makes over the
other to the girl's father. Bach of the fathers gives the astrologer
l^d. to Ifd. (1-li as.) and they take him with them to the boy's house"
Here some castemen are met and the astrologer reads, the two papers
to them. The brows of the guests are marked with sandal, the boy
is presented with a sash and turban, and the guests retire with betel
packets. Three days before the marriage, unlike Deccan Brahmans,
the boy is rubbed with turmeric at his house, and married women,
with music, take what remains to the girl's with a green robe and
bodice and wet gram. The girl ia rubbed with the turmeric, bathed,
and dressed in the new robe, and the boy's party retire with a present
of a waistcloth, turban, and sash for the boy. Their marriage guardian
or devak is their house goddess or kuldevi, on whom they throw a
few gains of rice, and call her the marriage guardian. Their marriage
hall lucky-post or muhurt-medh is a pole, whose top is crowned with
hay and a yellow cloth in which are tied a few grains of red rice,
a betel packet, and a copper coin. The rest of their marriage,
puberty, and pregnancy ceremonies are the same as those observed by
Deccan Brahmans. They bum their dead, and, except that they make
small heaps of rice, their death ceremonies do not differ from those of
the Deccan Brdhmans. On the spot where a funeral pile of cowdung
cakes is to be raised the chief mourner sprinkles water and makes five
heaps of grains of rice towards the south, thirteen towards the west,
nine towards the north, and seven towards the east. In the middlje
he makes three heaps, and throws over them five cowdung cakes,
and the rest of the mourners raise a pile, lay the body on the pile,
and set the pile on fire. They have a caste council and their social
disputes are settled by meetings of the castemen. They send their
boys to school, but only tiU they are about eleven or twelve,
when they begin to work in their fathers' shops. As a class th^
well-to-do. The Jingars, or as they call themselves

are

Somvanshi Kshatriyas, hold a peculiar position among Deccan
Hindus. Though their appearance seems to entitle them to a place

Deccan.l

POONA.

343

arpong the upper classes the upper classes do not give them such a
position. They are isolated and disliked, by some even considered
impure. A few years ago the Poena barbers refused to shave the
Jingars on the ground that they were impure. This one of the

|, Jingars resented and brought an action of libel against the barber,
but the charge was thrown out. The reason alleged.-by the people
of Poona for considering the Jingars impure is that in making
saddles they have to touch leather. It is doubtful if this is the
true explanation of their isolated position. Others say that the origin
of the dislike to the Jingars is their skill as craftsmep and their
readiness to take to any new craft which offers an opening. Their
name of Panchals is generally explained as panch chdl or five
callings, namely working in silver and gold, in iron, in copper, in
stone, and in silk. This derivation is doubtful, and in different
districts the enumeration of the five callings seldom agrees. In
1869 Sir Walter Elliot gave an account of the Panchdls of the
Kamatak and South India.^ He notices the rivalry between the
PanchAls and Brd,hmans, and that the Panchals are the leaders of the
left-hand castes as the Brd,hmans are the leaders of the right-hand
castes. He thinks this division into left and right castes and the
peculiarly isolated social position of the Panchals are due to the fact
that they were once Buddhists, and perhaps in secret still practise
Buddhism. Sir Walter Elliot learned from a Panchal, over whom
he had inflaence, that though they professed the worship of the
Brahmanic gods they had priests of their own and special religious
books. The Panchal showed him an image which they worship. The
image is seated crossed-legged like a Buddha, and Sir Walter
Elliot thought it was Grautam Buddha. Still this cross-legged

' position, though Buddhist, is not solely Buddhist, and it seems
insufficient to prove that the Panchals are Buddhists at heart.
If they are Buddhists the name Panchdl may originally have been
Panchshil the Men of Five Eules, an old name for the Buddhists.
Some accounts of the Konkan and Deccan Panchals seem to show
that as in the Karnatak they have special holy books. This the
Poona Panchals deny, and attempts to gain further information

- regarding them have failed.

Ka'cha'ris, or Glass-Bangle Makers, are returned as numbering
sixty-five and as found in Haveli, Purandhar, and Poona. Of their
origin or of their coming into the district they know nothing.
They are divided into Marathds and Lingdyats who do not eat
together or intermarry. The surnames of the Lingd,yat K^haris are

' Bharte, Birje, Dokshete, Gandhi, Kadre, and Malhdre, and people
with the same surname do not intermarry. The names in common
use among men areKhandoba, Lakhoba, N^roba, Shivba, and Sit^ram;
and among women BhAgu, Elma, Gaya, Savitri, and Yamna. They
look like Lingd,yats and are dark and strong. The men wear the
top-knot, moustache, and whiskers. Their home tongue is Mardthi.
They live in houses with mud walls and tiled roofs, containing cots,
cradles, boxes, quilts, bl&,nkets, and metal and earthen

Chapter III.
Fopolation.

Craftsmen.

JlNOABS.

KlaaARis.

1 Journal of the Ethudogical Society of liOndon, I. , 1 1 1 ■ 1 1 2 .

[Bombay Gazetteer,

DISTRICTS.

Chapter III.

Fopnlatioii.

Ceaftsmen.
KJxibArjs.

KJSj^BS.

They have no servants, but sometimes keep cows, buffaloes, and she-
goats. Their staple food is millet, split pulse, and vegetables, and
they- are fond of pungent dishes. They neither eat fish or flesh nor
do they drink liquor. They smoke tobacco and hemp or gdnjd.
Both men and women dress like Mardthi Brdhmans, except that
the women do not -draw the skirt back between the feet and tuck
the end into the waist behind. They do not deck their hair with
flowers or wear false hair. They are sober, thriftyj hardworking,
and hospitable. They make black and green glass bangles. They
buy broken pieces of bangles from M^rwdr Vanis and other
hawkers, melt: them, and cast them afresh. They sell ordinary
bangles to wholesale dealers at four pounds for 2s. .(Ee.l) and iapete
or bangles joined together with wires at Is. or Is. 6d. (8-12 as.) the
thousand. Their working tools are earthen pots, a mus or pestle,
aiid an iron bar or salai. The women do not help the men. A
man can make about a thousand bangles in a day. They earn I6s.
to £1 (Rs.8-10) a month. A marriage costs £2 10s. to £20 (Rs.25'-
200), and a death 10s. (Rs. 5). - They are Lingayats and their teachers
are Jangam's. They settle social disputes at meetings of the caste-
men. They donot^end their boys to school, and suffer from the
competition of Chinese and other bangles.

Ka'sa'rs, literally Brass-makers, now Glass-Bangle Hawkers, are
returned as numbering 2755 and as found all over the district.'
They say they came into the district' from Ahmadnagar, Kolhdpur,
Sangli^ Miraj, and Satd,ra, during the Peshwa's supremacy (1713-
1817).. They are divided into Mardtha and Jain Kdsdrs. The
following details apply to the Maratha Kd,sd.rs. They are dark,
middle-sized, and_thin. They speak Marathi and most of them live
in houses of the better sort, one or two storeys high, with walls of
brick and tiled roofs. Their staple food is millet, pulse, vegetables,
and occasionally rice ; they also eat fish and th'e flesh of sheep, goats,
poultry, hares, deer, and partridges, and drink both country and
foreign liquor. They smoke tobacco and hemp. The men wear the
waistcloth, coat, waistcoat, shouldercloth, andMafdtha or Deccan
Brdhman turban and shoes. The women dress in a Mardtha bodice
and a robe whose skirt is drawn back between the feet and the
end tucked in behind. The men wear the top-knot, the moustache,
and sometimes the whiskers, but not the beard. The women tie the
hair in a knot , behind, but do not wear false hair or deck their hair
with flowers. Their clothes are both country and Europe made and
they have no special liking for gay colours. Like Mardthds they wear
ornaments of silver gold and queensmetal. They are hardworking,
thrif ty.even-tempered, hospitable, and orderly. They deal in glass and
wax bangles and make lac bracelets. In the morning and again about •
midday they move about with bundles of bracelets slung across their -
shoulders and in their handB, crying Qhya bdngdya, Have bangles.
The bangles are of many kinds, are sold single, and vary in price
from Id to £1 (f anna - Rs.lO) the dozen. • The names of the chief
sorts are ambdli, andr, andras, dsmdni, bilori, chdi,champei, ddlambi, „
ducha, gajra, galm, gandaki, ghds, guldb, gulkhdr, hiroa, jaributi, ■
jhirmi, kachekavri, kdjU, kdnji, Jcapiv, kdthva, khula, ddlimbi,
khuldmotiag koldvdtdr, morehut, morpisiy motia, motikd^iv, ndgmodi,

Deccan.;

POONA.

845

narangi, nurirat,parvdri, phulguldb, piroz, pistdi, ptvla, rdjvargi,rdshi,
sdkarka, soneri, tulshi, and vdlshet. The bangles are put on the
buyer's wrists by the seller, and if a bangle breaks while the hawker
is putting it on the loss is his. Women set great store on tight-fitting
bracelets and some Kdsd,rs can work the hand in such a way as to
force over them the most astonishingly small bracelets. Kdsar
women and children help the men in their calling, making and
selling bangles and putting them on the buyers' wrists. These
Kasdrs also make and sell copper and brass vessels. They are
Brdhmanic Hindus and .have house images. Their family god is
Khandoba and their chief goddess is Bhavani of Tuljdpur. Their
priests are Deccan Brdhmans. They make pilgrimages to Pandhar-
pur, Jejuri, and sometimes to Benares. Mahdshivrdtr a in February
and the lunar elevenths or ehddasliis of every month are their fast
days. Their feasts are Shimga or Eoli in March-April, New Year's
Day or Gudi-pddva in April, Sdg-panchmi or the Cobra's Fifth in
July, Ganesh-chaturthi or Ganpati's Fourth in August, JDasara in
X)ctober, and Bivdli in October - November. They have no spiritual
teacher or guru. When a Kasd,r's child sickens its parents set cooked
rice, curds,, an eg^, redlead, a lemon, and needles on a bamboo
basket or padli, and wave the basket round the child's face, and lay
it at the street corner, a favourite spirit haunt. Or they wave a
fowl round the sick child's head and set the fowl free. They
worship the goddess Satvai on the fifth day after the birth of a
child and name the child on the twelfth. They clip a boy's hair
between one and five, marry their girls before they are twelve, and
their boys between twelve and twenty-four. They burn their dead
and mourn ten days. They allow widow marriage, and practise
polygamy; polyandry is unknown. They have no headman and
.decide social disputes at meetings of the castemen. They send
their children to school, keeping boys at school till they are twelve
or thirteen and girls till Ihey are married. They are a steady class.

Ea'ta'ris, or Turners, numbering thirty-six, are found in the

sub-divisions of Poona and Junnar. They are like Mardtha Kunbis

dark, strong, and middle-sized. They profess to be vegetarians and

to avoid liquor, but many secretly eat flesh and drink. They dress

like Brdhmans and as a class are clean, orderly, hardworking, thrifty,

and hospitable. They are hereditary carvers and wood-painters,

but some of them are moneylenders and rich landholders. They

worship all Brdhmanic gods and keep the usual Hindu fasts and-

ieasts. They are Smarts, and their family gods are Bhavdni,

Khandoba, and Mahddev. Their priest is a Deshasth Brahman.

-Early marriage and polygamy are allowed and practised, polyandry

is unknown, and widow marriage is forbidden on pain of loss of

caste. On the fifth and twelfth days after the birth of a child the

goddess Satvdi is worshipped and the child is named on the twelfth.

The mother's impurity lasts ten days.. The boys are girt with the

sacred thread between eight and eleven and married between fifteen,

and twenty-five. The girls are married between eight and fifteen^

and the offer of marriage comes from the boy's parents. On a girl'a

.coming of age she sits apart for three days and on the fourth ia

Jbathed pregented with a, new robe and bodice, and the castepeople

' B 310-44 " • ■

Chapter III
Population.

CEArXSMEf.

KJsJrs.

KAtjIris.

[Bombay Gazetteer,

346

DISTRICTS.

Chapter III.
Population.

Ckaptsmen.

Khatris.

are feasted. The burn their dead and moam ten days. In social
matters, they form a united community and settle disputes at thefr
caste councils. They send their children to schools and are ready
to take advantage of any new openings.

Ehatris, or Weavers, are returned as numbering 460 and as found
over the whole district. They say they were originally Kshatriyas
who to avoid being slain by PairashurAm were told by the goddess
Hingldj to assume the name of Khatris and to take to weaving.
They cannot tell when and whence they, came into the district.
They are divided into Somvanshis, Surtis, and Suryavanshis, who do
not eat together or intermarry. The surnames of the Somvanshis,
to whom the following particulars belong, are Ohavhan, Gopal^
Jhdre, Khode, Khosandar, Povar, and Valnekar; people bearing
the same surname do not intermarry. Their leading family stocks'
or gotras are Bhdjiadvdj, Jdmadgani, NArad, Pardshar, Vd,lmik, and
Vashishth; people having the same gotra cannot intermarry. The
names in common use among men are Bdlkrishna, Pandu, Bdm-
chandra, and Vithal ; and among women Bhima, Lakshmi, Tuka, and
Yamuna. They do not differ from Deshasth Brdhmans in face>
figure, or bearing. The speak Marathi but their home tongue is a
mixture of MarAthi and Gujarditi. Most of them live in houses of
the better sort, mud and brick built, with one or two storeys and tiled .
roofs. Their house goods include metal and earthen vessels, cots,
boxes, blankets, carpets, and bedding. Their staple food is millet,
split pulse, vegetables, and a preparation of chillies or tikhat. Theyi
eat fish and the flesh of sheep, goats, and fowls, and drink liquor. Both «
men and women dress like Deccan Brahmans. They are clean, neat,
thrifty, sober, and hardworking. They weave robes, waistcloths, and
bodices. They sell the robes at £1 4s. to £5 (Rs. 12-50), and waist-'
ploths a,nd pitdmbars at £1 2s. to £10 (Es. 11-100), and earn 16s. to
£3 (Rs. 8-30) a m6nth. Besides weaving they string on wire or
thread gems and pearls, make fringes, threads for necklaces, tasselsj
netted work, and hand and waist ornaments. Their women and
children help .them in their calling. They work from seven to
twelve and again from two to six or seven. They worship the usual
Brdhmanic gods and goddesses and their family goddess is BhavAni
of Tuljdpur. Their priests are Deshasth Brahmans who officiate
at their houses. ^They keep the regular fasts and feasts and make
pilgrimages to Alandi, Benares, Kondanpur, Pandharpur, and
Tuljdpur. On the fifth day after the birth of a child some worshifk^
a grindstone and rolling-pin and others a clay horse with a rider* »
In front of the horse are placed five millet stems about six inches
long wrapped in rags and the whole is worshipped by the midwife
and offered sugared milk or kMr and cakes or ^ ^eZc%ffl. Five to
seven dough lamps are placed near it and outside the mother's room
On either side of the door are drawn ink or coal figures whose brows
are daubed with redpowder. These also are worshipped. On the
twelfth day five married women are asked to dine and the child is ;
laid in the cradle and named. Female relations and friends make
presents of clothes to the child and they leave with a present of
wheat and gram boiled together and packets of betelnut and leaves.
They clip a boy's hair when between one and five years old and-gird

Secca&J

POONA.

347

feitn with the sacred thread before he is ten. They marry their girla
before they are eleven and their boys before they are twenty-five,
They bum their dead, and allow widow marriage and polygamy, but
not polyandry. They hold caste councils and send their boys to
school. As a class they are well-to-do.

Eoshtis, or Weavers, are returned as numbering 2713 and as
found over the whole district except in Mdval. They say they were
Brdhmans who for refusing to give the Jain saint Pdrasnath a piece
of cloth were cursed and told they would become weavers and never
prosper. They cannot tell when or whence they came, but say they
have been in the district for the last three generations. Their surnames
are AvAd, Bhanddri,Gorpi, Kdmble, andPhdse. The names in common
use among men are Bandoba, Ghanashshdm, Jankirdm, and Khandoji;
and among women Bhima, Lakshniibdi, Radha, and Rai. Their home
tongue is Mardthi. Their houses are like those of other middle-class
Hindus except that they have unusually broad verandas. A weaver's
house can be known by the mdg or pit for working the pedals, and
by pegs, called dhorje and khute, fixed in front of the house. Their
house goods, besides one to three or four hand-looms, include earth
and metal cooking vessels. Some look and dress like Mardthas
and others like high-caste Hindus in Deccan Brdhman turbans and
shoes J the younger men wrap scarves round their heads. Like the
men the women dress like Mard,tha or Deccan Brdhman women in
a full robe and bodice, and pass the skirt of the robe back between
the feet and tuck it into the waist behind. Their staple food
includes millet bread, piilse, chillies, and vegetables, and occasion-
ally rice, fish, and the flesh of sheep, goats, and fowls. They are
forbidden country or foreign liquor on pain of a fine of 6d. to 2s.
6d. (Re.J-lj), but they smoke tobacco and hemp. They weave
both cotton and silk robes and bodicecloths. Some act as servants
to weavers earning 4s. to 1 0«. (Rs. 2 - 5) a month. Boys begin to weave
about fifteen. They become apprentices to weavers and in two or
three years are skilful workmen. The women help the men by
disentangling or clearing threads drawn over the frame or haili, by
r sizing or pdjni, by joining the threads sdndni, and sorting the
threads in the loom popati or vali. A Koshti earns 14s. to £1
(Rs. 7 - 10} a month. Their busy season is from September to June
or from Ashvin to Jyeshth. During the rains most of them do little
weaving and work in the fields. They suffer from the competition of
Europe and Bombay machine-made goods and many of them are in
debt. They have credit and borrow to meet birth, marriage, death,
and other special expenses at one and a half to two per cent a month,
^hey do not work on full-moons, no-moons, eclipses, Dasara in
September-October, or Dwdli in October-November. They worship
the usual Hindu gods and godde^es and their family gods are
the goddess Chavandeshvari of Bhalavni in Sholdpur, Khandoba,
Bahiroba, and the goddess Bhavani of Tuljdpur, Their family priest
is a Deshasth Brahman who is highly respected. Their spiritual
teacher, a Hatkar or Dhangarby caste, lives at Kolhapur, They call
him guru and he is succeeded by one of his disciples. They keep
the ordinary Hindu fasts and feasts, and their chief holiday is the
full-moon of the month of Paush or December-January in honour of

Chapter III.
Population.

KOSBTIS.

[Bombay Gazetteer,

S48

DISTRICTS.

Chapter III.

Population.

Cbaitsmen.
kosjbtis.

the goddess Ohavandeshvari. On the fifth day after the birth of a

child they place a silver image of Satvai on a stone slab ovpata along

with sand, rui Calotropis gigantea leaves, and a lighted stone lamp,

worship it with redlead, turmeric, and redpowder, and offer it boiled

gram, cooked bread, pulse, and vegetables. Five unmarried women

are feasted in honour of the goddess, and, on the morning of the

seventh day, the slab is removed and the lying-in room cowdunged

and the cot washed. For ten days the mother remains impure. If

the child is a girl she is named on the twelfth and if a boy on the

thirteenth. The child's hair is clipped for the first time on a lucky

day when the child is four months to a year old, and pieces of

cocoa-kernel are served. They marry their boys between ten and

twenty-five and their girls between five and eleven. Except in the

fallowing particulai's, their marriage customs are the same as those

of Deccan Knnbis. Their marriage guardian or devak is thejupane or

joiner, a tool which joins the threads of two pieces of cloth, and the

panchpallavs or five leaves, of four figs Ficus religiosa, glomerata,

indica, and infectoria, and of the mango, which they tie to a post in

the marriage hall. They marry their children standing in bamboo

baskets in front of each other. The details of the marriage ceremony,

the giving away of the bride, the kindling of the sacrificial fire, and

the bridegroom's theft of one of the gitl's family gods, are the same

as among Marathi Kunbis. On the second day of the marriage they

cowdung a spot of ground and lay a metal plate on it. The plate is

covered with a second raetal plate, and over the second plate is set a

water-pot full of cold water and within the neck of the pot are five

betel leaves and a cocoanut. Into the pot comes the goddess

.Chavandeshvari and round her are arranged thirteen betel packets,

each packetwiththirteenbetel leaves and an equal number of nuts,and

one copper coin. The packets are set aside for the following men of

distinction : The Kdmble who spreads a blanket before the goddess,

the Ghdte who sits fast or ghat in front of the goddess, the Tdlkar

or metal cup beater, the Bivate or torch-holder, the 5Aa)/dari or

offerer of turmeric powder or bhanddr, the Chavre or fly-scarer, the

■ Dhole or drum-beater, the Dhaval-shankhe or conch-blower, the

Upre or incense-wavei', the Kalashe or pot-setter, the Jhdde or

sweeper, the Tdtpurush who lays out the two plates, and the Gupta

or invisible. Bach of these thirteen mdnkaris or honourables, who is

present, takes a packet and the packets of those who have not come

are distributed among the guests. In the evening the boy and

girl ride on horseback to Mdruti's temple and from it are taken

to the boy's house. Before entering the house curds and rice are

waved round their heads and thrown away. When they enter the

house the girl is given an old bodice with rice, wheat, and grains

of pulse. She walks dropping the grain as far as the house go^s,

and the boy's brother follows picking it up. Near the gods eleven

gram cakes or puran-polis are piled one on the other, and near the

cakes are two brass water-pots containing molasses and water in

one of which is a two-anna silver piece. ^ The girl is asked to lift the

water-pot in. which the coin has been dropped. If she succeeds it is

well, but failure is considered ill-omened. Next day the marriage

ceremony ends with a feast. Koshtis allow child marriage and

Deccan.]

POONA.

849

polygamy, but forbid widow marriage. When a girl comes of age
she is seated for four days by herself. On the morning of the
Sfth day she is batbed, dressed in a new robe and bodice, and her
lap is filled with five kinds of fruit and with betel-packets. A
feast is given to near relations and the girl's parents present the
boy and girl with new clothes. They either bury or burn the dead.
The dead if a man or a widow is wrapt in a white sheet, and if a
maiTied woman in a green sheet. The body is laid on the bier and
carried to the burning ground. The other death ceremonies do not
differ frpm those observed by Mardtha Kunbis. They have no
headman and settle social disputes at meetings of the castemen.
They send their boys to school for a short time. They do not take
to new pursuits, and are said to be a falling people.

Kumbha'rs, or Potters, are returned as numbering 7739 and as
found over the whole district. They are divided into Marathas and
Pardeshis who do not eat together or intermarry. The surnames of
the Mard,tha Kumbhars are Chavgule, Mhetre, Sasvadkar, Urlekar,
and Vagule; families bearing the same surname do not inter-
marry. The names in common use among the men are Dagdu,
Mhadu, Ndru, Raoji, and Sambhu ; and among the women Dagdi,
Janki, Kondai, Rai, and Vithdi. They are Mardthas and look and
speak like Marathi Kunbis. Their houses are the same -as those
of Marafchag and can be known by pieces of broken jars, heaps of
ashes, and the wheel. Their staple food is millet but they eat fish and
flesh and drinkliquor. The men wear the MarAtha turban, waistcloth,
and jacket ; and the women the usual bodice and the full robe with
the skirt drawn back between the feet. They are hardworking
quiet and well-behaved. They make water-vessels called ghdgars
derds and madkis, flower-pots called kundis, great grain jars,
called 7-diijans, and children's toys. These articles sell at ^d. to Is.
{t5-S as.). They make tiles and sell them at 6s. to 10s. (Rs.3-5),
and bricks at 10s. to 18s. (Rs.5-9) the thousand. They play on a
tambourine at a Maratha's house on the thirteenth day after a
ideath and at a Brdhman's house after a marriage, when they are
asked to a feast and are given 6d. to 4s. (Rs. j-2). ' In religion
they are the same as Mardthds and their priests are Deshasth
Brdhmans. On the morning of the fifth day after the birth
of a child, a twig of the three-cornered prickly-pear - or nivdung
is laid near each of the feet of the mother's cot, and in the
evening near the mother's cot is placed a grindstone or pdta,
and over it are laid the prickly pear or nivdung, some river sand or
vdlu, some river moss or lavhMa, and sonie pomegranate or ddlvmb
flowers, and the whole is worshipped by the midwife. A goat is
killed, dressed, and eaten by the people of the house and guests whet
are invited for the occasion. On the outer walls of the house near
the front door some of the women trace seven black lines and
worship them witb flowers, red and scented powders, and rice grains,"
and offer them wet gram and mutton. This ceremony costs 6s. to'
£1 (Rs. 3-10). The mother is considered unclean for eleven days.'
In the afternoon of the twelfth five pebbles are painted red, laid in
the street -in front of the house, and worshipped by the mother
with sandal, rice grains, red and scented powders,- and flowers,

Chapter III.
Population.

CbAFTSMEKi
KOSSTIS.

KuuBB/Caa,

350

tBombay Gazetteer,

DISTRICTS.

diapter HI. frankincense and campior are burnt, and wheat cakes, cooked rice,
Population. ^^°- curds are offered at a cost of U. to 2s. (Re. \ - 1). Prom a
Cbaptsmen °^™*^ *° ^^^ months later the goddess Rdn-Saivdi is worshipped in
KuMsnJRs ^^i^v, °^ ^^^^ ^^^^' ^^'^^^ *o twelve miles from the house. Five
pebbles are painted with redlead, laid in a line, and worshipped.'
Seven of each of the following articles are offered, dates, cocoannts,'
betelnuts, almonds, turmeric roots, and plantains. A goat is killed'
before the five pebbles, dressed, cooked, and offered along with
cooked rice wheat cakes and vegetables. They then dine and
return home the ceremony costing 8s. to 16s, (Rs. 4-8), If the
child is under a vow its hair is clipped in front of the Rdn-goddessj
if the child is not the subject of a vow it is shaved at home. The child,,
whether it is a boy or a girl, is seated on the, knee of its maternal
uncle, and a few of its hairs are clipped by the uncle himself, and the
head is shaved by a barber who is given f d (^ a.) and a cocoanut.
Sometimes a goat is killed and a feast is held costing 4s. to 1 6s.
(Rs. 2-8). They marry their girls before they are sixteen and their
boys up to twenty -five. The boy's father has to give the girl's father
£1 to £10 (Rs. 10 - 100). When £1 to £.3 (Rs. 10-30) are given the.
girl's father is expected to apply it to the girl's marriage expense
only, and when £3 to £10 (Rs. 30 - 100) are given he is expected to
pay what is spent both at the boy's and at the girl's houses. Their
asking or mdgni is the same as the Mardtha asking and costs
them 6s. to £1 (Rs, 3-10). They rub the bOy and girl with turmeric
three to five days before the marriage. Their wedding guardian
or devah is a wristlet of the creeping plant called mareta which ■
grows by the sea side, the potter's wooden patter or phal,sindL a hoe
or kuddl. They make an earthen altar at the girl's and pile twenty
earthen pots and make a marriage porch both at the boy's and
at the girl's. They marry their children standing in bamboo
baskets spread with wheat. After the marriage comes the.
kanydddn or girl-giving, when the girl's father puts a four-owwc^,;
piece on the girl's outstretched hands and the boy's father an eight- '
OMwa piece, and the girl's mother pours water over them. The girl
drops the contents of her hands into the boy's hands and he lets
them fall into a metal plate, A cotton thread is passed ten times
round the necks of both the boy and the girl. It is cut into
two equal parts and tied to the right wrists, of the boy and the girl,' .
The sacrificial fire is kindled on the altar and fed with butter. The
hems of both the boy's and the girl's clothes are knotted together, f ;
and after they have bowed to the house gods the knots are untied.
The guests retire with betel packets and the day's proceedingsr
are over. On the morning of the second day, the boy and girl _
bathe and are seated near each other, and the boy keeps standingfaj
in a water tub in his wet clothes until a new waistcloth is givej^.*-,
him. In the evening the boy's parents present the girl with./,,
ornaments, and the girl's mother places on a high wooden stool a
copper or brass plate, a wooden rolling-pin or Idtne, and a box
with tooth-powder. She lifts the stool over the head of the girl's
father and mother and it becomes their property. A procession is
formed and the boy walks with his bride to her new home
accompanied by kinspeople and friends and music. The marriage

9ccauJ

POONA.

351

istivitiea end with a feast which costs the boy's father about
5 (Rs. 50) and the girl's father about £3 (Rs. 30). The ceremony
; a girl's coming of age is the same as among Mardthds and
)sts 10s. to £1 (Rs. 5-10). They generally burn their dead, mourn
lem ten days, and feast the caste on sweet cakes. They allow
idow marriage and practise polygamy but not polyandry. They
ave a headman or mhetrya who punishes breaches of caste rules
y fines. The amount of the fine which seldom exceeds 2s. (Re, 1 )
I spent on clarified butter served at a feast in any castefellow's
ouse. They do not send their boys to school and are poor.

La'klieris, or Lac Bracelet Makers, are returned as numbering
3venty-nine and as found only in Poena city. Their former home
sems to have been in Mdrwar and they believe they came to Poena
nring the time of the Peshwas. They have no subdivisions and
o surnames, and look and speak like Marwdr Vdnis. They live in
ired houses with brick and mud walls and tiled roofs, and their
taple food is millet and vegetables. They eat rice and wheat bread
nee a week, and are not put out of caste if they indulge in a glass of
iquor or eat a dish of mutton or fish. They dress like Mdrwdr
''dnis and prepare lac bracelets for wholesale dealers by whom they
re paid f d. {^ a.) the hundred. They do not overlay glass bangles
dth lac. Some of them make bracelets on their own account and
ell them at 6d. to lO^d. (4-7 as.) the hundred. Their women and
heir children after the age of fifteen help in the work. They
re Smarts, and have house images of Bd.ld.ji, Bhavani, Ganpati,
nd Ram. They have nothing like Satvd.i worship on the fifth day
ifter the birth of a child, and they name their children on any day
)etween the ninth and the thirteenth. There is no feeling about
eremonial'impurity and they touch the mother and child at any time
rfter birth. They marry their children at any age up to twenty or
wenty-five, but a girl is generally married at or before she is sixteen
.nd a boy before he is twenty-four. They have no rite corresponding
0 the installation of the marriage guardian or devalc ; they say if they
lave any guardian or devaJc it is the house image of the god Ganpati.
Lmong them the asking or mdgni comes either from the boy's or the
firl's house. When a bridegroom goes to the bride's to be married
he bride's mother waves a cocoanut round his head and dashes it on
he ground. At the marriage time, the boy and girl are seated on
arpets in a line, the hems of their garments are tied together, and
hey hold each other's hands. The priest kindles the sacrificial fire in
ront of them, repeats marriage verses, and at the end throws grains
if rice over their heads, and they are husband and wife. Next day
he bride's lap is filled with fruit and she along with the bridegroom is
aken to the boy's house where a feast on the following day ends the
eremony. The Ldkheris burn their dead and mourn twelve days.
)n the third day they go to the burning ground, remove the ashes,
.nd place cooked rice and curds on the spot for the crows to eat.
)n the tenth day they again go to the burning ground and offer teQ
ice balls. On the twelfth day they place twelve earthen jars filled
dth water on the threshold of the front door of the house, worship
hem as they worship the house gods and cast them away. The
leath ceremonies end with a feastonthe thirteenth day when, the

Chapter lit.
Population.

■Ckapismek.

LAkhsxis,

[Bombay Gazetteei-,

352

DISTEICTS.

Chapter III.
Fopulation.

Craftsmbk.

Lobars.

oliief mourner is presented with a new turban either by relations
or castefellows. They hare no headman, and they settle social
disputes at meetings of the castemeu. They send their boys to
school for. a short time. They complain that of late years their
craft has fallen owing to the cheapness of glass bangles. Formerly
when glass bangles were sold at l^d. io2\d. (l-ljas.) each lac
bracelets were much sought after. Now no one cares to buy lac
bracelets and many Ldkheris live chiefly by labour.

Loha'rs, or Blacksmiths, are returned as numbering 258 and as
found all over the district. They are divided into Maratha and Panohai
Lobars who neither eat together nor intermarry. The Panchal
Lobars do not differ from the other Panchdls of whom an account is
given under Jingars. The Maratha Lobars say that they came to the
.district during the Peshwa's supremacy from Ahmadriagarj Bombay,
Khdndesh, and SholApur. Their surnames are Bhadke, Chavdn,
Gavli, Kamble, Malvadkar, Navugire, and Suryavanshi. Persons
bearing the same surname do not intermarry. The names in
common use among men are Lakshman, Nd,r^yan, Narsu, Ramkusha,
Vishnu and Vithu ; and among women Kashi, Lakshumi, Radha, and
Rama. They look like Marathas, being dark, strong and regular-
featured. Their home tongue is Mard,thi. The men wear the top-
knot and the moustache and sometimes whiskers but never the
beard. The women tie the hair in a knot behind, and mark their
brow with redpowder. They live in middle-class houses with walls of
mud and tiled roofs which they hire at Is. to 2s. (Re. J-l) a month, I
Their goods include earthen vessels and they have neither cattle
nor servants. Their working tools are the hdtodi or hammer worth
6d. to 4s. (Rs.-J-2), the sdndsi or pincers worth 6d. to Is. (a.s-.4-8),;the
pogar or carving tool worth j anna, the kdnas or file 3d. to Is. {as. 2-8),
the airan or anvil worth 4s. to 10s. (Rs. 2-5), the bellows or bhdta,
worth Is. to 6s. (Rs. |-3),the ghan or sledge-hammer worth 2s. to 4s.
.(Rs. 1-2), and the shingdda or anvil worth 10s. to £2 (Rs. 5-20).
Their staple food is millet or wheat bread, split pulse, and vegetables.
They also eat rice and occasionally fish and flesh. They drink to
excess. Both men and women dress like Mardthas ; the men in a
three-cornered turban, a waistcloth, coat, waistcoat, shoulderclojbh,
and shoes ; and the women in a full Mardtha robe and bodice, the
skirt of the robe being passed back between the feet and tucked in
at the waist behind. They rub their brows with redpowder but do
not wear false hair or deck their head with flowers. They are
hardworking, but thriftless, quarrelsome, dirty, and drunken. They
work as blacksmiths, make and mend the iron work of ploughs iand
carts, make brass-bound boxes, and cups and saucers, plates, cement
Obexes, and looking-glass frames. They work from morning to
evening and are not helped by their women. Their boys begin to
learn at twelve and are expert workers at twenty. When learning the
craft they blow the bellows and handle such tools as they can manage j
to work and are paid l^d. to 6d. (1-4 as.) a day. They worship the ,
ordinary Hindu gods and have house images of Khandoba, Bhavd.ni, :,
Bahiroba, Mahadev, and Ganpati, Their priests are the ordinary ,
Deshasth Brahmans, to whom they show great respect and whom
they call to. officiate at their houses during births, marriages,, and

leccan.]

POONA.

353

eaths. They keep the usual Brahmanio fasts and feastSj and go on
ilgrimage to Jejuri, Kondanpur, Alandi, and Pandharpur. Except
1 the following particulars their customs do not differ from those of
farathas. Their guardian or cZei'a^ is the hammer or M^oc^i. During
lie marriage ceremony the boy and girl are made to stand face to
ice in bamboo baskets. When a girl comes of age she is fed on sweet
ishes for fifteen days,and on the sixteenth her lap is filled with wheat
nd plantains and betel packets. When a Maratha Lohar is on the
oint of death he is seated on a blanket leaning against a wall, and
i supported on both sides by near relations and the name of Ram
I repeated in his ear. When he" is dead the body is laid on a bamboo
ier and carried either to burning or to burial. They have no head-
lan and settle social disputes at mass meetings of adult castemen.
'hey send their boys to school for a short time. They suffer from
le competition of European hardware. Some have taken to day
ibour and to field work.

Lona'ris, or Lime-bumers, are returned as numbering. 885 and
s found over the whole district. They say they have been in the
istrict for more than a hundred years. They have no subdivisions,
'heir bumames are Dadare, Dhavekar, Dhone, and Gite. People
Baring the same surname do not intermarry. They say they are
[arathas, and eat and marry with them, and do not differ froni
lem in appearance, language, dwelling, food, or dress. They
re cement-makers, husbandmen, and labourers. They buy lime
odules from Hadapsar, MuhammadvMi, Phursangi; aad Vadki at
s. Gd. to ?,8. (Re.|-1) a cart. They bum the nodules mixing them,
dth charcoal and cowdung cakes in a circular brick kiln which
ikes three to six days to burn. Their boys do not begin to help
bem till they are sixteen, as the work requires strength. Their
Bligion is the same as that of the Marathas and their priests are
(eshasth Br^hmans. Except that at the time of marriage thp boy
ad girl are made to stand in bamboo baskets or shiptars, their
astoms are the same as Maratha customs. Their headman, who
i called pdtil, settles social disputes at meetings of the castemen
nd with their consent. They send their boys to school. They
omplaia that their calling is failing from the competition of well-to-
0 Pdrsis and Brdhmans and of Mhars and Mangs.

Nira'lis, or Dyers, are returned as numbering 162 and as found
3 Kbed, Poona, and Junnar. They say they came into the district
rom Ahmadnagar seventy-five or a hundred years ago. They are
ivided into Chilivant or Lingayat Niralis and Maratha Niralis, who
o not eat together or intermarry. The surnames of the Mardtha
firdlis, to whom the following particulars belong, are Ghongde,
[alaskar, Mamdekar, Mhasalkar, Misal, Nakil, and Pataskar. The
ames in common use among men are Bdlaji, Bapnji, Bhiva, Madhav,
lAruti and Vithal ; and among women Bhima, Rddha, Rakma, Rama,
tenuka, and Vithdi. They are about the middle height and are
brongly made, and shave the face and the head except the top-
not. Their home speech is MarAthi, Most of them live in housea
f the better sort, two or more storeys high, with walls of brick
B 310-45

Chapter III:
Fopulatioiir

Ceaftsmbn;

■LOBj.BSr

LojfJttis.

NiB^Lia.

[Bombay Gazetteer,

354

DISTRICTS.

Chapter III.

Fopxilatiou.

Ckabtsmen,
HfjaJiis.

and tiled roofs. Their houses contain inetal cooking vessels, boxes,

cradles, cots, blankets, and bedding, and earthen jars for preparing

colours. They sometimes keep a cow, but none keep servants either

to help in their calling or for house work. They are fond of

pungent dishes. They eat fish and the flesh of sheep, goats, hares,

deer, and domestic fowls, and drink both country and foreign liquor.

They smoke hemp flowers and tobacco and chew betelnut and

leaves. Their staple food is millet bread, split pulse, vegetables

and fish curry, and every now and then rice. They give caste feasts

on marriages and deaths, when sugar cakes and a preparation of

molasses or gulavni are made. They dress either like Mard,tha8

or Brdhmans. The men wear a top-knot and moustache, but not

whiskers or a beard. The women dress ia a full long robe

and bodice, passing the skirt of the robe between the feet and

tucking it behind and drawing the upper end over the head. Their

ornaments are like Mardtha ornaments and are not worth more than.--

£10 (Rs. 100). They are neat and clean, hardworking, honest,

hospitable, and well-behaved. In Poona all ate dyers though in

other districts most of them weave. Their women help by bringing

water, pounding colours, and dyeing cloth. Their boys begin to

work at sixteen, and are skilled workers at twenty, when they earn

6d. to 9d. (4-6 as.) a day. They buy dried safflower or kusumha'

at three to three and a half pounds the rupee, indigo or nil at two

and a half to three pounds, sappan-wood or patang at five to six

pounds, myrobalans or hvrdas at sixteen pounds, alum or turti

at seven to eight pounds, green vitriol or hirdhas at four to five

pounds, country alkali or sdjikhdr at sixteen pounds, and lime or

chuna at sixteen pounds. They dye clothes dark-red or khdrvi,

black or Mia, rose or gulabi, onion colour or pydji, a reddish colotir,.

or abdshdi, red ovhusumbi, blush or motiya, yellow or pivala, and

green or hirva. They dye both fleeting or Jcacha and fast or paJca

colours. They charge 2s. (Re. 1) for dyeing four pounds of thread

a fading black and three pounds a fast black. They also dye yarns

green, red, and yellow charging 2s. (Re. 1) for three to six pounds

weight. To dye a turban rose they charge 2s. to 4s. (Rs. 1,-2), red 2s.

to 10s. (Rs. 1-5), onion -coloured 6d. to 2s. (Re. J-l), reddish Is. to

8s. (Rs. J -4), a speckled red or shidMv l^d. (1 a.), green 6d. to 2s.

(Re. i- 1), and yellow Qd. to 2s. (Re.i-1). To dye a robe rose they

charge Qd. (4 as.), red 2s. (Re.l), onion green yellow red white and

peddish 6d. to- Is. {as. 4-8), and a speckled red 6d. to Is. 3d. (4-10

as.). They make about 3d. to 6d. (2-4 as.) on every 2s. (Re.l)

worth of colour they use. Their busy times are the Hindu festivgla

,of Shimga in March, Dasara in October, and Bivdli in November 5

and the movable Musalmdn feast of Moharram. They worship

ihe usual Brahmanic gods and goddesses, and their family deities

are Khandoba of Jejuri and Bhavd,ni of Tuljdpur. Their priests

are Deshasth Brdhmans, who efficiate at their births marriages and

deaths. They make pilgrimages to Alandi, Jejuri, Pandharpur,

Tuljdpur, and Benares. They believe in sorcery, witchcraft, soothe

saying, and lucky and unlucky days, and consult oracles. On the

fifth day after the birth of a child they ; worship a grindstone

placing on it five lemons^ five pomegranate budSj and a lighted

jccan.]

POONA.

355

jugh lamp. On the tenth day the mother is purified and on the
eventh the child is cradled and named, when sweetmeats are
srved among friends and kinspeople. They marry their girls
sfore they come of age, and their boys before they are twenty-five,
hey allow child and widow marriage and polygamy j polyandry is
oknown. When a Nirdli dies his body is covered with a white
leet and flowers are sprinkled over it. They do not cover the
odies of married women with a shroud but dress them in a yellow
)be, and sprinkle turmeric and flowers over them. Ponnded betel
1 laid in the dead mouth, and the body is carried to the burning'
round, where it is either burnt or buried. They have a caste
juncil and settle social disputes at meetings of the oastemen.
hey send their boys to school. They are a poor people, and com-
lain that their calling suffers from the competition of European
yes. Since the famine of 1876 and 1877 they say many people
ear white instead of dyed cloth, or dye their turbans seldomer
iian before.

Ota'ris, or Casters, are returned as numbering 109 and as found
1 Haveli, Bhimthadi, Mdval, Khed, Purandhar, and the city qf
'oona. They say they are Kshatriyas and that their origin is given
1 the Padmapuran. They came into the district about two hundred
ears ago from Sdtdra. They have no divisions. Their surnames
re Ahir, Bedre, Dhangar, Gotpdgar, Magarghdt, and Mhadik.
larriage between people with the same surname is forbidden,
'he names in common use among men are Bhag^ji, ChingApa,
ikuath, Krishna, RAmji and Trimak ; and among women Chandra-
haga, Konddbai, Muktdbdi, and Umd.b5,i. Otdris look like culti-
ating Marathas and speak Mardthi. They live in ordinary middle-
lass houses with mud walls and tiled roofs, paying a monthly rent
f 6d. to 2s. (Re. i-1). Their staple food is millet bread, pulse,
nd vegetables including chillies of which they are very fond,
'hey occasionally eat rice and fish, and the flesh of sheep, goats,
lares, deer, and domestic fowls, and on Dasara Day in October they
ffer a goat to Ambdbdi of Tuljapur. It is the cost not religious
cruples that prevents them regularly using animal food. They
rink both country and foreign liquor, smoke tobacco and hemp, and.
ome take opium. Liquor- drinking and smoking are said to be
n the increase. The men wear a Mardtha turban, waistcoat, coat,.
raistcloth, and shouldercloth, and mark their brow with sandal,
'he women wear a bodice and the full robe with the skirt passed-
lack between the feet. They rub their brows with redpowder,
ut do not use false hair or deck their hair with flowers. Their
rnamerits are either of silver or of queensmetal. They wear the
losering called nath, the bracelets called got, and the anklets
ailed jodvis. They are hardworking but drunken, and fheir chief
ailing is the making of the queensmetal toerings or jodvis which
re generally worn by Mardtha, Burud, Mh£r, and other low-class
rpoor women. A few of them make molten images of Hindu gods,
'heir women help them in their calling, preparing earthen moulds
r sdches, blowing the bellows, and hawking the toe -rings. Boy»
egin to help at twelve or fourteen, and are expert workers at
i^teen or twenty'. The men hawk the toe-rings or jodvis from door

Chapter III.

Fopiilatio&f

Cbaftsmbn'*
NiRjiLiai

OtAbis.

356,

[Bombay Gazetteer,

DISTRICTS,

Cliapter III,
Population.

CbAFTSMENi

QrMtis,

to door and from village to village, or squat about the roadside, as
they cannot afford to open regular shops. Their work is not constant,^
and they have no regular hours. They rest on full-moons and no-
moons. They buy the queensmetal from coppersmiths or KdsArs at
the rate of 6d. to 7|d. the pound (8-10 as. the sher) and sell them to
■wholesale dealers at Is. to 1|«. the pound (Rs. 1 to U the sher). The
retail price of toe-rings or jodvis is 1 Jd> to 3d. (1-2 as.) a pair for a girl
and 3d. to 6d. (2-4 as.) for a woman. They buy from Gujarat Vdnia
broken or modi brass, l3orax or savdgi, charcoal, pewter or jast, and
kathU or tin. The rates are, borax .IQ^d. to Is. l^d. (7r9 as.) the
pound, charcoal twenty to twenty-five pounds the rupee, pewter
four to six pounds the rupee, tin 2s. (Re.l) a pound, and old brass
lO^d to Is. (7-8 as.) a pound. They keep the mixture which
they use secret. The details are said to be a pound of old brass,
one-eighth of - a pound . of pewter, and two tolds of tin. Their
tools are a hammer or hdtodi worth l^d. to 3d. (1-2 as.), pincers
or sdndsi worth Sd. to Is. 3d. (2-10 as.), a. file or Mnas 9d. to
Is. 6d. (6-12 as.), a rod or ddnda worth fd!. (^ifl.), and a file or
reti worth about Is. (8 as.). They carry about the toe-rings or
jodvis for sale hung on an iron ring or leather band which holds
about ninety-six rings. They are said to suffer.from the competition
of Mardthas and goldsmiths who have no gold or silver work. They'
consider themselves higher than Shudras, and say they eat only
from Brdhmans, Lingayats, and Gujarat Vdnis. They cannot tell
whether they are Shaivs or Vaishnavs. Their family goddess is
Kdlkadevi of Paithan. They have house images and worship
Bahiroba, Bhairji, Bhavdni, Phandi, Janai, Khandoba, Mdruti,
and Nagji. Their family priests are the ordinary Deshasth.
Brahmans to whom they pay great respect. They make pilgrimages
to Alandi, Jejuri, and Kondanpur. Their fasts and feasts are
Malearsankrdnt in December -January, 8hivrdtra in January -
February, Eoli in February - March, Gudipddva in March- April,
Dasara in September- October, Divdli in October -November, and the
Iqnar elevenths or ekddashis in June- July arid October-November,
When a child is born its navel cord is cut by the midwife -
who is paid 9d. to 2s. (Re. | - 1). The mother and child are
bathed and the navel cord is laid in an earthen jar, turmeric and,
redpowder are sprinkled over it, and the jar is buried somewhere
in the house. For the first two days the child is fed on honey and
castor oil and the mother on rice and butter. On the fifth red
lines are traced on a wall and under the lines is laid a stone slab
or pdta. On the slab are placed the knife with which the child's
navel cord was cut and rice pulse and cakes are offered. On the,
evening of the twelfth day the child is. named by the women
of the house, and five to seven pebbles are laid in a row and
worshipped by the mother. The child is brought before the pebbles
as the representatives of the goddess Satvai and the mother begs
them to grant the child a long life. The naming ends by offering
the goddess a dish of cakes or puran-poUs. The hair-clipping.takes
place between the second and the twelfth year, when a dinner of.
cakes or puran-polis is given. Betrothing or sdkharptida the gift
of a Bugar-cake takes place a couple of weeks to a couple of years.

Deccaa.1

POONA.

357

before marriage, when the girl is presented with a robe and bodice.
The boy and the girl are rubbed with turmeric at their houses
two or three days before the marriage and a robe or pdtal and a
green-coloured bodice are presented to the girl. On the following
day the marriage gods or devkdryas are installed, when a circular
bamboo basket or durdi and a winnowing fan are worshipped
near the house gods. On the evening of the marriage day, the
boy is seated on horseback, and, accompanied by kinspeople
and music, takes his seat at the temple of M^ruti in the girl's
village. His brother goes on to the girl's bouse and reports
the bridegroom's arrival at the temple. The brother is given a
turban, and the men and women of the bride's house, with a suit
of clothes for the boy, go with him to Mdruti's temple. The
boy is presented with the clothes, generally a turban and sash,
and is canned in procession to the girl's house. Before he enters
the marriage hall, an elderly woman waves a lemon or a cocoanut
round his head and dashes it on the ground. The boy is taken into
the marriage hall and set facing the gjrl, a cloth is held_ between
them, the BrAhman priest repeats verses and throws rice over their
heads, and they are husband and wife. They are seated on the
altar and the sacrificial fire is lit and fed with butter and parched
grain. A feast closes the day. On the folio vring day the boy goes

- to- his house on horseback with his bride in procession accom-
panied by kinspeople and music and a second feast ends the
marriage. When an Otari is on the point of death, Ganges
water or the five cow-gifts are laid in his mouth and he is
told to repeat Rdm's name. In the dying man's name money is

' given in charity to Brdhman and other beggars. When he is
dead hot water is poured on the body, and he is laid on a bier and
carried to the burning ground on the sboulders of four men. The
chief mourner walks in front of the bier holding a fire-pot. Abou^
half-way to the burning ground the bier is set on the ground, a

* copper coin is laid at the roadside and covered with pebbles, and

' the bearers changing places carry the body to the burning ground,
dip the bifr into a river or pond, and place the body on the pile.
The chief mourner walks thrice round the, pile carrying an earthen
water-pot full of water, dashes it on the ground, beats his mouth,
and sets fire to the pile. When the body is burnt, the mourners
bathe and go home. Oji the third day they go to the burning
ground, taking the five cow-gifts, three earthen jars and a cake,
and, throwing the ashes into the river or pond, put the bones in
an earthen jar and bury them. After ten days' mourning the bones
are allowed to remain buried, or they are thrown into water, or they
are taken and buried at Benares, Ndsik, or some other sacred spot,
The chief mourner sprinkles the five cow-gifts on the spot wherq
the deceased was burnt, and setting three jars filled with water and
bread for the deceased to eat, returns home. They mourn ten days,
and feast the caste on the twelfth or thirteenth. Oiie of the nearest
relations presents the chief mourner with a new turban. He puts
on„ihe turban, is taken to the village temple, bows to the god, and
returns home. The Otaris are bound together as a body, and have
a headman Called pdtil who settles social disptttes in consnltartioil

Chapter III.
Population,

OtAris^ .

[Bombay Gazetteer,

358

DISTRICTS.

Cbapter III.

Population.

Ceaptsmeit.
PAtbaryats,

RjiVLs.

witli the members of the caste. They do not send their boys to
school nor take to new pursuits. As a class they are poor.

Pa'tliarvats, or Masons, are returned as numbering 309 and
as found all over the district. They are divided into Mardtha>
Kfi.mdthi, and Telangi P^tharvats who do not eat together or
intermarry. The surnames of the MarathAs are Atnbekar/BArnd,ik',
Chdphe, Hinge, Holekar, Khage, Lugad, Randeve, and Sape ; and
families bearing the same surnames do not intermarry. The names
in common use among men are Bhd,u, Shivba, Tak&ikm, and Vennu-
nath; and among women Chandrabhaga, Lakshmi, Saka, and
Savitri. They are dark middle-sized and strong. The men wear
the top-knot moustache and whiskers, but not the beard. They
speak MarAthi and live in houses with mud and brick walls and
tiled roofs. They eat fish and flesh and drink liquor, but not at
their caste-feasts. Both men and women dress like Mardthas.
They are clean, hardworking,, frugal, orderly, and hospitable.
They are stone-masons and carvers and make excellent images of
gods and of animals, hand-mills, grindstones, and rolling pins.
Their' hand-mills cost Is. to 2g. (Re-^-l), grindstones li^d. to 4^dl
(1-3 as.), rolling pins Id. to Id. {\-^ a.), and cups called Jcundyas
or dagadyds l^d. to 3d. (1-2 as.). As foremen or mestris they draw
£1 10s. to £2 (Rs. 15 - 20) a month, and as day-workers 6d. to Is.
(4-8 OS.) a day. Their women do not help in their work, but boys
of fifteen to twenty earn 14s. to 16s. (Rs. 7-8) a month. They
worship the usual Brahmanic gods and goddesses, and their family
gods are Khandoba of Jejuri and Kevis of Tuljdpur and Khondan-
pur. Their priests either belong to their own caste or are Deshasth
Brdhmans. They make pilgrimages to Alandi, Benares, Jejuri, and
Pandharpur, and their fasts and feasts are the same as those of -
Maratha Kunbis. They believe in sorcery, witchcraft, soothsaying,
omens, and lucky and unlucky days, and consult oracles. They
worship the goddess Satvai on the fifth day after a child is born, and .
name the child on the twelfth, the name being given by the paternal
aunt. Before the child is two years old, it is laid on its maternal
uncle's knee and its hair is clipped. They gird their boys with the
sacred thread at the time of marriage, and marry their girls before
they are eleven and their boys before they are fifteen. Except that
during the ceremony the boy and the girl are each made to stand
in a bamboo basket their marriage does not differ from a Maratha
marriage. They allow widow marriage, but never celebrate them
except at night and in lonely places. The man and woman are
seated in a line on two high wooden stools, garlands are thrown',
round their necks, and red and turmeric powder are rubbed on their
brows. The hems of their garments are tied together and grains
of rice are thrown over their heads, and they are married. They
are left together for the night and after a bath return to the
husband's house. They burn their dead, hold caste meetings, and
are a steady class.

Ea'uls are returned as numbering 377 and as found
in Haveli, Bhiinthadi, Mdval, Junnar,, Khed, Ind^pur, Sirurj,
jPucandhar, and Poona city and cantonment. They do not know

Deectm.]

POONA.

359

when and from wTiere they came into the district, but believe
they were driven about two hundred years ago by a famine from
Mohol in Sholdpur and Sdsvad. They are divided into Rauls,
Gosiivis, and Bastards or Akarmases, who do not eat together or
intermarry. Their surnames are Chavdn, Chhatrabhuj, Gadade,

• • Lakhe, Povdr, and Vdghulker; and persons of the same surname
can eat together but not intermarry. The names in common use
among men are BahirunAthj Gopalnath, and Vishvanath ; and among
women Bhdgirthi, Ganga, and PHrvati. JJ^cept that they all end in
iidth the names both of men and of women are the same as those
of cultivating MardthAs. They look and speak like Marathds. Their
houses are like ordinary middle-class Hindu houses with walls of
unburnt bricks and tiled roofs. Their rules and practice about food
do not differ from the rules and practice of cultivating Mardthas.
They give dinners on the anniversaries or mind-days of their deceased
ancestors, on iV^agf-paMcfemiin August, and on Basara in October. They
have of late taken to drinking especially those in the city of Poena.
Except a few Gosavi Rduls the men all wear the top-knot as well as
the moustache and whiskers, and a few wear beards. The women
tie their hair in a knot behind the head and rub redpowder on
their brows ; they do not wear false hair or deck their hair with
flowers. As the followers or panthis of Gorakhndth they ought to
wear ochre-coloured clothes, but both men and Women dress almost ,
like Mardthds. Except that a few of the men wear brass or hora
rings in their ears, the men's and women's ornaments are like
those of MardthdiS. The men wear the earrings called bhikbdlis,
the armlet called Icade, finger-rings or angthids, and a waistchain
or kaddora ; and the women wear in the ears hvgdyds and hdlias,
in the nose the nath, on the neck the sari, thusi, vajratih, and
putli or coin necklace, and on the feet toe-rings or jovdis. They
are hardworking hospitable orderly and dirty. They are dealers in

ll grain and sellers of gunny bags, small tin boxes, and betelnut-cutters.
, They Weave strips of coarse cloth and cot and trouser tape. Those
who have turned Gosdvis play and beg, weaving as they beg from
door to door. Hduls also work in Sali's houses as weavers, some are
messengers in Government offices, and others are husbandmen and
day labourers. Though not skilful weavers they make 6d. to T^d.
(4-5 as.) a day. As husbandmen also they are wanting in skill.
Their women help in weeding and sowing. They hold themselves
higher than any caste except Gujardt Vanis, Lingayats, and
Brdhmans. Still they eat from the hands of Marathds and dine in
their company, and are considered equal to or lower than Marathas.
They are -religions and worship Mahadev, Mahadev's trident or
triskul, the ling, the dry gourd or fatdr, and silver tdhs or masks
-of Bahiroba, Devi, and Khandoba. They have house images of
Bahiroba, Bhavani of Tuljapur and Chaturshingi, Gorakhndth,
Khandoba, and Machhandranath, and of the Ndth of Sonari in
ShoMpur. They had formerly priests of their own caste, but they
.now employ ordinary Deshasth Brahmans at their marriages, births,
and deaths. They go on pilgrimage to Pandharpur, Tuljdpur, and
Parli-vaijandth in the Nizam's country- They fast on Mahd-shivrdtra
in February, Rdm-navmiia April, Ashddhi ekddashis or July lunar

Chapter IIL
Population*

CEAFTOIEIf.
ffJuLS.

CKAFTSMElf.

[Bombay Gazetteer,
360 DISTRICTS.

Chapter III, eleventtSjOnSAmwanorAugust Mondays, on Gokul-ashtamiin Angaa%
Population. ^^^ °^ Kdrtilci ekddashis or November elevenths. Their holidays are
Holiin March, Gudi-pddva in April, Ndg-panchmi in Aagust, Oanesh-
ehatuHM iu September, Dasara in October, and Bivdli in November.
Their spiritual teachers or gurus are Emnabava of Parali in the
Nizdm's country and Bhivnathsagar of Wdi in Sdtdra, who are
succeeded by their sons or disciples. Except that they worship
five dough lamps in honour of Pachvi on the" fifth day the ceremonies
during the first five days after a birth are the same as those of
Mardtha Kunbis. For seven days they consider the mother unclean.
When after a bath she has become pure, turmeric figures are drawn
on the wall of the lying-iu room and worshipped by the mother
and sweet cakes or puran-polis are offered. On the twelfth
day, the mother, taking the child in her arms, goes out of the house
near the road; lays seven pebbles in a line and worships them with
red scented and turmeric powder, lays flowers on theni, burng-j
frankincense before them, and offers them sweet cakes ot puran-polisj
In the evening the married women of the caste meet at the mother's-
house, and present the child with a cap and the mother with plantains
and betel packets. The child is laid in the cradle and given a name
chosen by the Brahman priest. Sugar and betel packets are served
and the guests withdraw. The jdval or hair-cutting comes
when the child is two years old. They marry their girls between
six and twelve and their boys between twelve and twenty -four^.
■Betrothal takes place a fortnight to a couple of years before
marriage, when the girl is presented with a packet of sugar and a
robe and bodice. Two to four days before the wedding, the boy is
rubbed with turmeric at his house, and what remains is sent to
the girl with a green robe and bodice and a chaplet of flowers
or munddvUs. Her body is rubbed with turmeric, she is dressed in
the robe and bodice, and the flower chaplet is bound on her brow.
-Next day a goat is killed and a feast held in honour of the family
guardian ordevah, which consists of mango, rui Galotropis gigantea,
and saundad Prosopis spicegerar leaves. On the marriage day
the boy is dressed in new clothes, seated on horseback, and carried
in procession to Maruti's temple and is there presented with a new
turban and sash. From the temple he is taken to the girl's house
and a marriage ornament is bound to his brow. At the girl's bouse
before he dismounts a' married woman waves a piece of bread round
his face and throws it on one side. The boy is led into the
house by the girl's father or some other near relation of the girl's
and is made to stand on a low wooden stool in front of the girl,
a cloth is held between them, and while Brahmans repeat the
marriage verses or mangaldshtaks, the musicians play, and, when .
priests have finished the wedding verses> grains of rice arethrownover
the boy's and girl's heads, the cloth is pulled on one side, and the
boy and girl are husband and wife. They are seated near each other
on the altar, the sacrificial fire is lit, the hems of their garments
Are knotted together, and they bow before the house gods. A
feast is held in the evening. Next day, after the exchange of clothes
between the two houses and the handing over of the girl to the boy's
'pju-entp with prayers to treat the girl with, kindness, the boy walkfl

eccau.l

POONA.

361

1 procession with the girl to his house, and a caste feast ends the
larriage. When a girl comes of age she is kept by herself for
iree days. On the morning of the fourth day she is bathed and
resented with a robe and bodice, and her lap is filled with wheat
ad a cocoanut. The boy is presented with a turban and a shoulder-
loth or shela, and the ceremony ends with a feast to near relations,
^hen a Edul is on the point of death a few drops of Ganges water
nd cow's urine are poured into his mouth. When he dies he is
sated in a bamboo frame or makhar and carried on the shoulders
[ four men, with a Ilaul blowing a conch-shell in front. At the
arial grounct an arched three-cornered hole is dug four feet in
iameter and four feet deep and the body is seated in the hole with
8 face to the east. The chief mourner pours a little water from
conch-shell into its mouth. Salt is heaped over the body and the
rave is filled with earth and a mound raised over it. An elder
;ands over the mound and repeats the following verses : ' Oh
Fother Earth, we make this body over to thee in presence of the
ods Brahmp, and Vishnu, who are our witnesses. Do thou protect
. Oh God Shiv, we worship thy feet with reverence.' ^ While
e is repeating these verses the rest of the mourners stand with
andfuls of dust, and as soon as the last word is repeated throw
le dust on the mound. They return home, rub ashes on their
rows, and are pure. They observe no mourning. On the morning
E the third day, they go to the burial ground and offer the dead
joked rice and cakes. On the eleventh night a flower garland is
ang from a beam of the house and under the garland is placed a
ater-pot or tdmbya, a dough lamp with butter in it is set close by,
ad a goat is offered. The spirit of the deceased comes into one of
is kinsmen, and tells what his wishes are, and how he came by hia
eath. After the spirit of the deceased has left him the possessed
arson lies senseless on the ground, and the house-people say the
Bad has reached the gates of heaven. The ceremony ends with a
iast. They allow child and widow marriage and polygamy, but
ot polyandry. -They bave a caste council and settle social disputes
b mass meetings of the caste. They send their boys to school till
ley learn to read and write. They are a steady class.

Sa'lis, or Weavers, returned as numbering 3802, are found in all
iTge towns. They are of two divisions Maratha Salis and Padma
alis who neither eat together nor intermarry. The Maratha SdliS
)ok like Mardthds, and as a class are dark, strong, and well-built,
he men shave the head except the top-knot, and the face except
le eyebrows, moustache, and whiskers. They live in middle^clasa
ouses one or two storeys high with brick walls and tiled roofs,
heir house goods include boxes, cradles, cots, mats, carpets,
lankets, and metal and earthen vessels. A few of the well-to-do
ave house servants and own cattle and pet animals. They are
loderate eaters and good cooks. They are fond of hot dishes, and
leir staple food is pulse, Indian millet bread, and fish curry. They

Chapter lit.
Population.

CRAFTSMElf.
PjiTBAarJTS.

SA-LIS,

1 The MarAthi runs : Dhariari mdi pindaku rdkh, Brahma Vishnu sdksh ; , Om
'.mas' Shivdydnamo ckaranptija pddukdku (^ ' '
B 310-46

[Bombay Gazetteer)

362

DISTRICTS.

Chapter III.
Population.

CBArTSMBN.

batte regularly before their morning meal and offer food to their
gods before they sit to eat; They have sweet cakes of wheat flour
and mutton on holidays, and when they can afford it freely eat the
flesh of goatSj poultry, and fish. They are excessively fond of
liquor, smoke opium hemp and tobacco, and drink bhang. The
men usually wear a waistcloth, a shouldercloth, a coat or a shirt
called handi, a Maratha turban, and a pair of shoes or sandals. The
women- plait their hair into braids but wear neither flowers nor false
hair. They wear a robe hanging from the waist to the ankles
with the skirt passed back between the feet, and a bodice with
short sleeves and a back. Both men and women have a store of
clothes for holiday wear. They are not fond of gay colours. Their
ornaments are like Maratha ornaments, the nosering called waf A, the
wristlets called got, the lucky necklace or mangalsutra, and the toe-
rings called jodvis. The men wear the earrings caUed bhikbdli and
finger rings. Sd,lis as a class are dirty, orderly, honest, hardworking,
thrifty, and hospitable. Their chief and hereditary calling is
weaving cotton clothes. They buy cotton and silk yarn from yarn-
dealing Mdrw^ris in the Poona market and weave them into
waistcloths, shouldercloths, and robes. The women do as much work
as the men. They arrange thread in the warp, size the warp, and
arrange the warp threads and the silk edges. Their earnings vary
from 8s. to £1 (Rs. 4-10) a month. Though to some extent he
profits by the cheapness of yarn, English and Bombay cloth press
the hand-loom weaver hard and leave him little margin of profit.
The demand is brisk during the fair season and dull in the rains.
During the fair season they work, from morning to evening with only
a very short rest. They close their shops on the ainavdsya or no-moon
of every month, on sun or moon eclipses, and during the DivdU~'ii\
October -November. They rank themselves with Mar£thas- and
never eat from Mhars or other low castes. A family of five spends
16s. to £1 4s.- (Rs. 8 - 12) a month on food and £1 to £1 10s. (Rs. 1045)
a year on clothes. Sdlis as a class are religious. Their family deities
are Bhavani> Bahiroba, Jogai, Khandoba, Mahadev, Narsoba, and
Satvai ; they , also worship all village- local and boundary gods,
Their priest is a Brahman whom they greatly respect and who is
asked to officiate at all their ceremonies. Their chief places of
pilgrimage are Jejuri, Pandharpur, and Tuljapur, -and they keep
the usual Brahmanic holidays and fasts. Their religious teacher
is a man of their own caste who lives at Benares and visits them
once or twice a year.. When he comes all the members of the caste
contribute to feed him and present him with money. The teacher's
post is elective and is given to or^e oi the last priest'-s disciples soon
after his death. They believe in witchcraft and soothsaying.
When a person is possessed the seer or devrisM is called. He
visits the sick, burns frankincense before him, and waves fruit or a
cock about him. Vows are made to the family gods and when the
sick recovers goats are slaughtered before them. Child-marriage
widow-marriage and polygamy are allowed and practised; polyandry
is unknown. Women go to, their parents . to be confined. A
midwife is called in and a pit or mori is dng for the bath-water
The midwife pours cold water on the child as soon as it is born and

Deccan.]

POONA.

363

cuts its navel cord wliich is put in an earthen pot and buried near
the pit. Both mother and child are bathed in warm water and laid
on a cot. The mother is fed on rice and clarified butter and for three
•idays the child'is made to suck one end of a rag whose other end rests
(in a cup of water and molasses. From the fourth day the mother
begins to suckle the child. On the fifth a stone slab is placed near
the bath-pit or mori. A. handful of rice is placed on the slab and
on the rice a silver image of SatvAi is set, and about the image are
scattered grains of saiid, some pieces of prickly-pear or nivdung,
some jujube tree or bor branches, and catechu and myrrh. A piece
)of squeezed sugarcane is placed at each corner of the stone slab, and
Ijbefore the slab the midwife lays turmeric powder, vermilion, sandal-
paste, and flowers. Frankincense is burnt before the -goddess, and
stuffed cakes or komavales, rice, and curds are laid before her. A
roll of betel leaves, copper coin, sandal-paste, flowers, and food are laid
in front of the image. Five married girls are asked to dine and
-the women of the house keep awake all night. The impurity caused
■ .by a birth lasts ten days. A girl is named on the twelfth day and
a boy on the thirteenth. On the twelfth out of doors five stones
are rubbed with redlead and sandal-paste, flowers are dropped over
'them, and stuffed cakes and rice mixed with curds are laid before
them, and married women are feasted. In the evening the married
women name and cradle the child and after receiving boiled gram
or ghugaris, packets of sugar, and rolls of betel leaves, they return
. to their homes. The mother puts on new glass bangles and is
allowed to perform her usual house work. The birth charges vary
from 8s. to 10s. (Rs. 4-5). The hair both of boys and of girls is
cut for the first time between the sixth month and the end of
the third year. The maternal uncle of the child is seated on a
^ow stool covered with a piece of cloth and placed on a square
parked with, lines of rice flour. The child sits on his lap and the
^village barber shaves the child's head except a tuft on the crown.
"'Married women are asked to dine and the barber is presented with
a piece of cloth, a roll of betel leaves, and a copper coin. The child
is bathed and dressed in a new suit of clothes ; a goat is slaughtered,
.and friends and relations are feasted.- The ceremony costs 4s. to 6s.
"(Rs. 2 - 3) . Boys are married between seven and twenty and girls
i between five and twelve. The offer of marriage comes from the
boy's father. If the girl's father approves, the boy's father visits
^]fche girl's house with music and a band of friends. He presents
tthe girl with a green robe and bodice, marks her brow with
vermilion, and gives her a packet of sugar. Betel is served and the
boy's father and his friends retire. The turmeric paste is first
rubbed on the bridegroom and then sent to the bride with a green
! robe and bodice. A day or two after a piece of rope used in working
the loom, a stone lanap, and telohis or oil -cakes are taken to Maruti's
temple with music and a company of friends. Flowers are sprinkled
over the god and cakes are laid before him. -The loom-rope, the
Hstone lamp, and the rice cake are taken, and they go home and tie
hlaem. to a post in the booth. These articles are the marriage
guardian or devak. A marriage altar or bahule is raised in a corner
of the -bride's booth and earthen pots are set about it. The bride-

Chapter III.
Populations

Cbaftsmen.

364

[Bombay Gazetteer,

DISTRICTS.

Chapter III.

Population.^

Ckaftsmen.
Salis.

groom is dressed in a fine suit of clothes, his brow is decked with a
paper brow-horn or bashing, and he is taken on horseback to the
bride's village. He stops at the village temple, and sends to the
bride his brother who is called the ''vardhdv a. -At the bride's her
father presents the boy's brother with, a turban to be given to the
bridegrooni. The l)estman in return hands a lucky necklace or
mangraZsMfra to a woman in the bride's house to be tied round the
bride's neck, andreturns to MAruti's temple with a suit of clothes
in which the bridegroom is dressed at the time of his marriage.
When the bridegroom reaches the bride's house rice mi3S:ed with
eurds is waved round him. He is led into the booth and he and the
girl are made to stand face to face on bamboo baskets placed on
low stools, with a curtain held between them. The priest draws
aside the curtain, throws the lucky rice or mangaldkshat over them,'
and seats them both on the altar or bahule. Seven threads are
twisted into a cord, which is passed round them, pieces of turmeric
are tied to the right wrist of the bridegroom and to the left wrist of
the bride, they throw clarified butter into the sacred fire, and the
hems of their garments are knottpd together. They go into the
house and bow before their family deities. The, bridegroom steals
one of the images and the bride's mother takes it back from him
giving him instead a cocoanut or a silver ring. The guests are
dined. Next day a caste feast is given-and sugar-cakes and rice:-
flour boiled in water and mixed with molasses are eaten. At night
the bride's father calls his friends and kinspeople to his house and
the bridegroom's father presents the bride with a rich robe and
bodice. The couple are led on horseback in procession to the
bridegroom's, and the pots that were set about the altar or bahule are
xlistributed aniong the women guests. On reaching the bridegroom's,
the neighbour women come and the couple untie each other's
marriage wristlets or hankans and caste-people are feasted at the
bridegroom's house. A marriage Costs £5 to £12 10s. (Rs. 50-126).
When a girl comes of age she is impure for three days. On the
fourth or on the sixteenth her lap is filled and the men of her
mother's house present her husband with a new turban and shoulder-
cloth. The girl's lap is again filled and she is presented With a new
bodice and robe. Friends and kinspeople are feasted at her husband's
house and the coming of age is over. The charges vary from 2«. to
£2 (Rs. 1 -20). When a SAli dies, word is sent to the caste-people
who meet at the house, bathe the dead in warm water, dress him in
a loincloth, and put a turban on his head. The body is laid on a
bier and tied to it with cord. The chief mourner holding a fire-pot
by a string walks in front followed by the bearers, who fasten.ricel
and a copper coin to the hems of the shroud. On the way they
set down the bier and leave the rice and the copper coin, change
their places, and again lift the bier. On reaching the burning
ground, they lay down the bier.and go to make ready the pile. The
chief mourner sits at the feet of the dead and has his face shaved
except the eyebrows'. The shaved hair i» laid at the feet of the
dead, the body is s6t on the pile, and the chief mourner pours water
into the dead mouth and kindles the pile. When the pile is. nearly
burnt, the chief mourner bathes, places on his shoulder an earthen

DeccauJ

POONA.

865

pot full of water, and starting from the feet of the dead begins to
walk round the pile. A man follows him and at the end of each
turn pierces a hole in the pitcher. When he has made three turns
the chief mourner throws the pitcher over his shoulder, cries aloud,
and strikes his mouth with the back of his hands. The party bathe
and return to the house of the dead to look at the lamp which has
been lighted on the spot where the spirit left the body. On the
second or third day the chief mourner makes ready three barley
cakes called sdtus, and, with sandal-powder flowers and a water-pot,
sets them in a winnowing fan and with a party of friends goes to- the
burial place. He gathers the ashes of the dead into a blanket,
bathes, and pours water over the spot where the body was burnt.
Sandal -powder, vermilion, and flowers are thrown on the spot and
the barley cakes are laid, one where the feet were, one where the
head was, and the third at the resting place or visdvydchi jdga. All
bathe and return home. The impurity lasts ten days. On the
eleventh day ten wheat-fldur balls or finds are made and worshipped
with flowers and rice grains, frankincense is burnt before them, and
the chief mourner bows down to them. Of the ten balls nine are
thrown into the river or stream and the tenth is offered to the crows.
When a crow touches the ball the men bathe and return home. On
any day between the eleventh and the thirteenth the men of the
caste are asked to dine at the house of mourning and one of his
■kinspeople presents the chief mourner with a turban. The death is
marked by a shrdddh or mind-rite, and the dead is also remembered
during the mahdlaya paksha or All Souls' fortnight in dark
Bhddrapad or September on the day which corresponds to the day on
which he died. The death charges vary from £1 to £2 (Rs.lO - 20).
Sdlis are bound together, by a strong caste feeling and settle social
disputes at meetings of adult castemen. Breaches of c^ste
discipline are punished with fines varying from 2s. to 10s. (Rs. 1 -5),
and the amouut collected is spent in caste feasts. Many set caste
decrees at defiance and have to be brought to order by temporary
loss of caste or other serious punishment. They send their children
to school and keep them at school till they are able to read and
write. They do not take to new pursuits and on the whole are a
falling class.

Sangars, or Weavers, are returned as numbering 809 and as
found over the whole district except in Haveli and Junnar. They
say they know nothing of their origin except that they believe they
were once Lingd.yats and were degraded because they took to fish
and flesh-eating and to drinking liquor. Their surnames are
Chdngle, Dhobale, Gajare, Gujare, Hingle, Kachare, and Rant, and
families bearing the same surname do not intermarry. The names
in common use among men are Amrita, Bd.baji, Jaloji, Meloji,
E^oji-, and Sddhu ; and among women Gangabai, Gujdbai, Ramd.bd,i,
Saibai, and Saku. They look like Mardthis and are dark, strong,
and middle-sized. The men wear the top-knot moustache aud
whiskers, but not the beard. The women tie the hair in a knot at.
the back of the head ; they do not wear false hair or deck their
heads with flowers. They speak Mardthi and live in houses with mud
and brick walls and tiled roofs. Their house goods- include metal

Chapter III.
Population.

Ckaftsmen.

SAL19,

Sawchm.

366

[Bombay Gazetteer,

DISTRICTS.

Chapter III.

Population.

Ceaitsmbn,
Sanoabs.

SvltJ-nkars.

and earthen vessels, cots, boxes, and blankets. The men dress like
MaratM,s in a waistcloth, waistcoat/turban, and shobsj and the
women in a short-sleeved and backed bodice and a robe hanging like
a petticoat. Their staple food is millet, pulse, and vegetables, but
when they can afford it they eat fish and flesh and drink liquor.
They are dirty, but hardworking, frugal, and orderly.- Ail earn
their living by blanket-weaving. Thay work from six to twelve and
again from two to lamplight. Their women help in cleaning and
spinning the wool and in arranging the warp, A family of five spends
14s. to £1 4s. (Es. 7-12) a month on food, and about £1 10s.
(Rs.lS) a year on clothes. . A house costs £10 to £50 (Rs. 100 -500)
to build. A birth costs 2s. to 10s. (Rs. 1 - 5), a marriage £2 10s,
to £10 (Rs.25-100), and a death £2 to £2 10s. (Rs. 20-25).
They worship the usual Brahmanic. and local gods and goddesses.
Their family deities are Bhavdni of Tuljdpur, Jan^i and Jotiba of
RatnAgiri, and Khandoba of Jejari. Their priests are Deshasth
Brdhmans who officiate at their marriages. They make pilgrimages
to Alandi, Jejuri, Pandharpur, and Ratndgiri, and their fasts and
feasts are the" same as those of Mardth^s. They believe in sorcery^
witchcraft, soothsaying, omens, and lucky and unlucky days, and
consult oracles. Their religious gnides are Jangams whom they calV
to officiate at deaths and give a money present. They worship the
goddess Satvai on the fifth: day after a child is born and name the
child on the twelfth, when two married men are asked to dine.
Their marriage rites are generally the same as the Maratha rites. '
They allow child and widow marriage. They bury their dead and
mourn them three days, with rites like those of the Lingayats.
They hold caste councils, and send their boys to school for a short
time. As a class they are poor.

Sulta'nkars, also called Alitkers or TannerSj are returned as
numbering eighty-nine and as found only in the city and cantonment
of Poena. They say the founder of their caste was Dharmrdj the
eldest of the Pandav brothers, and that -they came from Nagar in
Md.rwdr about two hundred years ago to earn a living." They have
no subdivisions and their surnames are Butele, OhSvade, Ghavan,.
Khas, Nagar, Pohdde, Sakune, Sambre, and Tepan ; persons bearing
the same surname eat together but do not intermarry. The names in
common use among men are Ambarsing, Bhavansing, Deoji, Pandit,
Ruprdm, Rakhma, and Sagun ; and among women Hema, Kesar,
Punaya, Tulsha, Sundar, and Zuma. They speak Hindustani with a,
mixture of M^rw^ri.^ They are tall and strong with a lively expres-
sion and look like Pardeshis or northerners. They live in houses one
or two storeys high with mud and brick wall^ and tiled roofs and
keep cows and goats. Their staple food is millet bread, pulse, and
vegetables, and occasionally rice. They also eat fish and the flesh
of goats, sheep, and fowls. They do not eat the hare, deei-, or wild
hog. Their holiday dishes are a mixture of wheat butter and
sugar or molasses which is called shirdpuri, and sugared milk or
khir. They kill a goat on Dasara Day in October and when they

' For come .here they say athini, for you thane, for take, this fo le, iot be-
speaks ye holeeiie, and forte has seat for you^^e thane huldydMiA.

Deccan.]

POONA.

S67

recover from an attack of small-pox. They take opium, drink both

country and foreign liquor except date-palm juice or shindi, and

smoke tobacco and hemp. Their fondness for drink is said to be

increasing. The men wear the topknot, moustache, and whiskers, and

a few wear beards. Their clothes are a waistcloth,, shouldercloth,

turban, coat, and waistcoat. The women we^ar a bodice and the

robe like a petticoat without drawing the skirt back between the feet.

They do not wear false hair or deck their hair with flowers. Their

favourite colours are yellow and red. They keep specially good

clothes worth £2 to £2 10s. (Rs. 20-25) in store for holiday use and

for marriages and other great family occasions. The women wear

round the neck a garsuli of three or a pebnchmani of five gold

beads worth about 10s. (Rs. 5), on the wrists "silver kangnyds and

gFois worth 8s. to 16s. (Rs. 4-8), and on the toes silver bichves worth

8s. to 16s. (Rs. 4-8). Their chief calling is tanning hides which

they buy from neighbouring villages and after tanning sell them to

Ch^mbh^rs and Bohoras. In tanning they use the red lac dye,

matki or mdtJi a kind of bean, salt, and the- bark of the tarvad tree.

They do not like to say what these articles cost or to tell how the

colour is prepared. Their appliances are earthen vessels or kmidyas

for steeping the hides worth 2s. to 10s. (Rs. 1-5), and an iron

scraper called sMpa or chhurpa worth l^d. to 9d. (1-6 as.) with

which they free the hides from hair. The women and children do

not help iu their work, and the woi'k is at a stand during the rains.

During the dry season they work from early morning to five in

the evening. 'They generally work with their own hands. If they

employ labourers they pay the workmen Qd. to l^d. (4-5 as.) a day.

Their family deities" are Bahiroba of Nagar. in Marwar and the

goddess Amb^bhavdni of Tuljdpur. An ordinary Mardtha Brahman

generally a Deshasth is their priest, and conducts their birth,

marriage, and death ceremonies. They have no house images but

they bow before all Brd,hmanic gods and goddesses. They observe

the usual Brdhmanic fasts and feasts, but their chief days are

Mahd-shivrdtra and. Vasant-panchmi.m February, Holi in March,

Gudi^ddva in April, Ashddhi ekddashis in July, Bdkhi-paurnima

in August, JDasara in October, and Divdli and Kdrtiki ekddashis

in November. They say that they do not believe in witchcraft,

soothsaying, or sorcery. Their wives and children are sometimes

attacked by evil spirits, and to drive out the spirit knowing men

or jdntas are consulted. An offering is made of cooked rice, a

fowl, or an egg, and a ^iece of bread with some pot-herbs and the

evil spirit goes. Their customs are the same as those of Pardeshi

leather-workers. They burn their dead, and allow ohild-matriage

widow-rmarriage and polygamy, but not polyandry. They have a

headman styled chaudhdri who settles their social disputes in

consultation with the men of the caste. They send their boys td

ecbool for a short time. They do not take to new pursuits, and

are a poor people.

Shimpis, or Tailors, are returned as numbering 8880 and as
found over the whole district. . They are divided into Chatur
Shimpis, Konkani Shimpis, Mard,tha Shimpis, Ndmdev Shimpis
Pancham Shimpis, Shr^vak Shimpis, and Shetvd,! Shimpis, who

Chapter III.

Fopnlation.

Cbaptsmbk.
SvltAnkars.

Smupia,

[Bombay Gazetteer,

368

DTSTEICTS.

Chapter III.
Population.

Craftsmen.
Sbixpis,

neither eat tog'etlier nor intermarry. The following particulars
apply to the Shrdvak or Jain Shimpis. They believe they came
into the district upwards of a hundred years ago from ShoMpur.
They have no surnames. The names in common use among men
are Anna, , A^iantraj, Neminath, Rdmlakshman, Shambhavain^th,
Shdntinath, and Tulsiram ; and among women Bhimabai, Jindb^i,
Lakshmi, Padmavati, and Rajarnati. Their home tongue is Marathi.
Their houses are like those of other middle-class Hindus with walls •
of brick and tiled roofs. Their 'chief house goods are metal and
earthen cooking and drinking vessels. They are strict vegetarians,
their staple food consisting of a millet, pulse, and vegetables. A
family of five spends 16s. to £1 10s. (Rs. 8-15) a month on food. They
never dine after dark and do not eat radishes, onions, garlic, sweet
potatoes, assafcetida, honey^ or clarified butter out of skin jars.
The men dress like Mardthds and the women do not deck their'
hair with flowers. The women we^r the earrings called bugdias^
worth £1 to £1 4s. (Rs. 10-12), the nose-ring called nath worth
£1 (Rs. 10), the necklaces caHed man galsutr a worth 4s. to 10s.
(Rs.2-5) and wayraii/cs worth 14s. to £1 10s. (Rs. 7-15), and the
toe-rings called jodvis worth 10s. to £1 (Rs. 5-10) and viravlyas
worth 4s. to 6s,. (Rs.2^3). ' They are tailors, cloth-sellers, sweetmeat-
makers, and shop-boys, earning 10s. to £1 (Rs. 5-10) a month.
A birth costs 4s. to 16s. (Rs. 2 - 8), a boy's marriage £5 to £10
(Rs. 50-100), and a girl's £1 to £2 10s. (Rs.10-25), a girl's coming
of age £1 (Rs.lO), and a death £1 to £1 10s. (Rs.lO^S).' They are
Jains by religion worshipping .^^the twenty-four Jain saints or
Tirthankars, and assert that they worship no Brdhmanic gods or
goddesses except BaUji. Their priests belong to their own caste.
The midwife is either a Shrdvak Shimpi or a MarAtha ; after a birth -■
if the midwife is a Shimpi she gets glass bangles, if a Mardtha^ •
she gets Is. to 2s. (Re.^-1) in cash. The navel cord is put in an
earthen jar and buried somewhere in the house. On the fifth day
after a birth they place a stone slab or pdta in the mother's room.
On the slab they lay the knife with which the child^s navel cord waS
cut, a gold or silver mask or tdk of the goddess Satvd,i, and an inkpot^
paper, and pen. The whole is worshipped and cooked food is offered-
to it. They consider the mother impure either for twelve days if
the child was a boy or for forty days if the child was a girl. At the
end of this time they name the child, the name being given by the
child's paternal aunt. At some time in the life of a boy between his
fifth month and his fifth year his hair is clipped with scissors and
five married women are feasted. Their boys are girt with the thread
before they are ten. In the morning before a thread-girding the
priest bathes the image of . Pdrasnath with curds, milk, honey, sugar,
and clarified batter, lays over the image the sacred thread to bewom
by the boy, and repeats sacred verses. A metal pot filled with water,
and with five betelnuts_ and a cocoanut in the mouth of it i».
worshipped, and the water from the pot and that with which thfi
image of Pdrasndth was washed is sprinkled over the boy's body.
His brow is marked with sandal, and the sacred thread is fastened
round his neck. From this time he becomes a Jain, and is strictlt
forbidden to eat after lamplight in case he should cause lossoji

>eccan.]

POONA.

369

isect life. Ttey marry their girls before they come of age, and
beir boys before they are twenty-five. They first rub turmeric
n the girl's body and afterwards on the boy's. At both the boy's
nd the girl's houses Parasnath's image is bathed with milk, curds,
loney, butter, and sugar, and worshipped. The boy starts for the
•irPs on horseback, and waits at Pdrasndth's temple in her village,
'he girl's father goes to the boy and gives him a turban, and lays
•efore the god a packet of betelnnt and leaves, and the boy starts
or the girl's house. Before entering the house the girl's relations
?ave over his head cooked rice, curds, and a cocoanut, and throw
hem away. The boy and girl are married standing face to face
n low wooden stools ; turmeric roots are tied with a piece of yellow
bread to the left wrist of the girl and to the right wrist of the boy,
.nd a sacrificial fire is lit. The skirts of the boy's and girl's clothes
re tied together and they bow before the house gods. Next
aorning either a cocoanut or a betelnut is rubbed with redlead or
hendar and worshipped as the god Kshetrap^l or the field guardian.
^he ashes of the sacrificial fire are cooled with milk and a feast is
fiven. In the evening the boy goes with his bride to his parents'
lOuse in procession and on the following morning a caste feast is
;iven. This ends the marriage. When a girl comes of age she is
eated by herself for four days. On the morning of the fifth day
he is dressed in a new robe and bodice and her lap is filled with
ruit and wheat. They burn the dead. When a Shrdvak Shimpi
3 on the point of death sacred books are read and a metal plate
n which the images of the twenty-four Tirthankars are engraved
3 washed, and the water sprinkled over the sick man's body.
Vhen life is gone if the dead is a man he is dressed in a silk waist-
loth or mukta and rolled in a white sheet ; if the dead is a widow
he is wrapped in a silk waistcloth or m»Ma and if a married
roman in a yellow robe. Half-way to the burning place the
ier is set on the ground, a copper coin, a betelnut, and some rice
re laid on the spot,- and the bearers change places. They carry
be bier to the burning ground where a pile has been raised, and the
hief mourner sets fire to the pile. After the body is consumed they
Btnrn home and mourn ten days, but neither the head nor the
loustache of the chief mourner is shaved. On the eleventh they go
3 the temple of Pdrasnath, bathe the god, put on new sacred threads,
nd return home. On the thirteenth day the image of Parasndth is
rorshipped in the house of mourning and the chief mourner's brow
! marked with sandal. A feast is given to the four corpse-bearers
nd to near kinspeople and the chief mourner is presented with a
urban. They have a headman called ehavdhar who settles social
isputes. They send their boys to school for a short time, and are
steady class.

Namdev Shimpis say that Namdev, the founder of their caste,
prang from a shell or shdmpla which his mother Gon£i found
1 her water-jar when she was filling it by the river side. They
elieve they came to the Poena district about 150 years ago, from
lidar in the Nizam's country and were known by some other name
hich they say they have forgotten, A great famine drove them
rom their homes and they spread over the West Deccan and the
B 310-47

Chapter III.
Population.

Craftsmen.

[Bombay Oazetteei^

370

DISTRICTS.

Chaptet IIL
Fopulationi

Craftsmen,
Sbimpis,

Konkan. Tkey hare no divisions. The names in common n8(

among men are Ganpati, Keshav, Lakshman, and Ramchandra ; anc

among women A'nandi, AVdi, Kdshi, and Rama. Thougli generall]

dark some are fair and regular-featured. The men wear the topkno

and mougtache, but neither the beard nor whiskers. The women

who are proverbially handsome^ tie their hair in a knot behind th(

head. Their home tongue is an incorrect Mardthi. They owi

houses with brick walls and tiled roofs. Their daily food is millet

rice, split pulse, and vegetables ; and they occasionally eat fish am

flesh and drink liquor. They dress hke Brdhmans except that thi

women sometimes allow the robe to fall like a petticoat withou

passing the skirt back between the feet. They are hardworking

quietj sober, and hospitable^ earning their living as tailors, cloth

dealers, writers, moneychangers, cultivators, and labourers. The;

work from six to ten in the morning and again from twelve t

lamplight. They make and sell coats, waistcoats, shirts, tronsers, an

caps ; they are helped by their women and by their children of fif tee

and over. They keep ready-made clothes in stock. A ready-made coe

according to the quality of the cloth sells at Is. to 2s. (id. (Rs. J- 1 i)

a waistcoat handi or pai/ran at 3d. to-7|af. (2-5 as.) ; a cap at 1^^

to 6d. (1-4 as.) J a ehanchi or bag with pockets at 6d. to 2s. ( Ke. J ■•I

If the cloth is supplied by the customer, the sewing charges ai

for a coat 9d. to 2s. 6d. (Re. |-1|), for a waistcoat 3d. to 1

(2-8 as.)j for a sleeveless jacket l^d. to Bd. (1-2 as.), for a pair (

trousers 2d. to 2s. (Re. ^-1), for a cap 3d to 6d. (2 •'4 as.), for

thanchi or a bag with pockets M. to Qd. (2-4 as.). They ha,ve slar

words for money. A rupee is navydnav,' eight annas tali, foi

annas pakdri, two annas •chaka/ri, one anna polm-dhokle, half £

anna avru-dholcnle, and a quarter anna dhukla. Two rupees are avi

hhurke, three rupees uddnu Ihurke, four rupees poku bhurke, fi'

rupees TOwZ to hhurke, six rupees sel hhurke; seven rupees pe-itru hhur)

eight rupees mangi hhurksj nine rupees tevsu hhurke, ten rupe

dnglu hhurke, eleven rupees epru hhurke, twelve rupees regi hhur)

thirteen rupees tepru hhurke, fourteen rupees chopdu hhurke, fiftei

rupees iaJi hhurke, sixteen rupees koku khduchkdte hhurke, seventei

•rupees iiddnu khduchkdte hhurke, eighteen rupees dvaru hhauchU

hhurke, nineteen rupees navydnav khduchkdte hhurke, twenty rupe

kdte hhurke, twenty-one rupees navydnav kdte hhurke, twenty-ti

rupees dvartdn kdte hhurke, twenty-three rupees teputdn kdte hhuri

twenty-four rupees chopdutdn kdte hhurke, twenty-five rupees talik

.kdte hhurke, twenty-six rupees koku khduth kdte tdn hhurke, twent

seven rupees udhdnu khduch Mte tdn hhurke, twenty-eight rupe

dvru khduch kdte tdn hhurke, twenty-nine rupees navydnav khdu

Mte tdn hhurke, thirty rupees ton kdte -hhurke, thirty-one rup(

eprue tdn kdte hhurke, forty rupees cmgul khduch kdte hhurke, fori

one rupees dvaru kdte navydnav hhurke, fifty rupees tdl hhur

sixty rupees uddnu tdn kdte hhurke, seventy rupees uddnu kai

dngul hhurke, eighty rupees kdti khduch hiti hhurke, ninety rupi

dngul khduch hiti hhurke, one hundred rupees hiti hhurke, c

thousand rupees dhakdr. They worship the ordinary Brd,hma

gods and goddesses. Their chief objects of worship are Bahiro

iBdlaji of Giri, Bhavani, Jandi, Jotiba, Khandoba, Satvi.i, «

DeccauJ

POONA.

871

Vithoba. Their priests are the ordinary Deshasth Brfihmans. They
keep the regular Hindu fasts and feasts and go on pilgrimage to
Pandharpur and Benares. On the fifth day after the birth of a child
on a grindstone in the mother's room an image of Balir^ma
is drajvn and on its cheat is placed a metal plate or tdk with an
image of. the goddess Safcv^i impressed on it and they are worshipped
by the midwife as house gods are worshipped. At night, outside
of the mother's room on the wall near the door, are traced with
charcoal two inverted or ultya sultya pictures of the goddess Satvai,
and in the mother's room seven perpendicular lines are drawn and
worshipped by the midwife. The mother is held impure for ten days
and on the twelfth or thirteenth the child is named by the women of
the house. The expenses during the first thirteen days vary from
£1 to £1 14s. (Rs.10-17). They are Shudras and do not wear the
sacred thread. Their customs closely resemble those of Marathas.
A marriage costs the boy's father £10 to £^0 (Rs. 100 - 300) and
the girl's father £2 10s. to £20 (Rs. 25 - 200). They allow widow
marriage and practise polygamy. They burn their dead spending
£1 to £2 (Rs. 10 - 20) on the funeral. They have a caste council
and decide disputes at mass meetings of the castemen. They
send their boys to school but only for a short time. The use of
sewing-machines has much reduced the demand for their work,
BtUl as a class they are fairly off.

Sona'rs, or Goldsmiths, are returned as numbering 9240 and
as found over the whole district. They are divided into Ahir,
Ldd, Konkani or Daivadnya/ Panchdl/ and Deshi Sonars, who do
aot eat together or intermarry. A'hie-SonAes, who originally
probably belonged to the Ahir or herdsman class, say that their
proper name is not Ahir but Avherl, because they at one time slighted
ivherne the Veds, and took to flesh and fish eating and widow-
marriage. It is not known when or from what part of the country
ihey came to Poena. According to one account they came from
V^adkher, about twelve miles north of Ndsik, a hundred and fifty to
two hundred years ago. Some say they came from Aurangabad and
others from Upper India or Malwa. They have no divisions. Their
surnames are A'nakai, Bh^gurkar, G^nddpiirkar, Jadhav, Patankar,
Pingle, Tegudkar, and Vaya. The names in common use among
nen are Bdlshet, Gopshet, and Rdmshet ; and among women
jopikabai, Krishna, and RAdhdbdi. Their family stocks or gotras
ire BhArgav, Jamadagni, Katyayan, and Vashisth. They closely
•esemble Gujarat Brdhmans. They are middle-sized, fair, and good-
ooking, with regular features. They speak Mardthi and use slang
)r lidu words for money, as pan for four annas, two pans for
sight annas, and mandgibdva for a rupee. Their houses are the
lame as those of other middle-class Hindus with brick walls and
liled roofs. Their chief article of furniture is metal and earthen
'■essels. They generally own a cow or two and some goats and

Chapter III.

Population,

Craftsmen.
Smstpis,

SoyjCas

' The Daivadnya Sonars claim to be Brdhmana. Thdaa Statistical Account, Bonibar
fazetteer, Xm. Part I. 139-140.

* An account of PanohAl Sondrs and Tilmbslts is given in the ShoUpur Statistical
Lccount.

[Bombay Gazettee

372

DISTRICTS.

Chapter III.
Population.

CliArTSMEN.

SoirJits.

parrots. To build a house costs £20 to £400 (JRs. 200 - 4000), an

to rent a house costs 3s. to £1 10.s.. (Rs.lJ- 15) a month. The

staple food is rice, split pulse, and vegetables, and once or twice

week fish and the flesh of sheep, goats, and domestic fowls. The

drink liquor occasionally and do not object to eat the flesh of tl

hare or the deer. They are much given to smoking tobacco ; n

goldsmith's shop is without its pipe. At their feasts, like Brdhmani

they prepare several sweet dishes, costing 6d. to 9d. (4-6 as.) a gues

A family of five spends £1 to £2 (Rs. 10-20) a month on food. Bot

men and women are clean and neat. The men dress like Mar^th

Brahmans in a waistcloth, coat, waistcoat, shoulderclqtlr, large fls

turban, and square-toed shoes. The women do not draw a sha\

over the' head, and do not deck their hair with flowers ; they sa

the wearing of flowers in the hair belongs to prostitutes and dancin

girls. They do not wear false hair, but mai-k their brows with rec

powder. Their ornaments are the same as those worn by Brahma

women. Formerly they wore silver ornaments and a gold moti i

the nose ; now they prefer either to wear hollow gold ornaments c

to go without ornaments altogether rather than wear silver nos(

rings or a gold instead of a pearl moti. A few Iteep clothes i

store, and the yearly cost of clothes varies from £4 to £7 (Rs.40- 70

They are clean, hardworking, even-tempered, hospitable, an

orderly. They make and mend gold and silver ornaments, s(

gems, and work in precious stones, and a few are moneylenders. T

open a shop a goldsmith must have at least £1 (Rs.lO). They wot

to order and make lOs. to £2 (Rs. 5-20) a month. Their craft

hereditary. Boys begin to help after ten or twelve and are skille

workers at fifteen. The names of some of the ornaments they mal

are, for the head, hehat of gold. one and half to two tolas and costin

3s. to 48. (Rs. l|--2) a tola to make; hevda of gold, one to or

and a half tolas and costing 3s. to 4s. (Rs. 1^-2) a foZa to makj

rdkhdi of gold one to two tolas and costing 2s. to 4s. (Rs. 1-1

a tola to make ; muda of gold, one to one and a half tolas costin

2s. (Re.l)*a tola to make; nag or cobra of gold one to two tolas i

weight and costing 2s. to 4s. (Rs. 1-2) a tola to make; sules or nrf(

of gold, five seven or eleven in number, together weighing one 1

two tolas and costing 4s. (Rs. 2) to make ; a pair of gold gondes: si

mdses to one tola in weight and costing 2s. (Re. 1) to make ; phirlcici

phule either of gold or silver weighing six mdses to two tolas an

costing 2s. to 4s. (Rs. 1-2) to make. For the ears, hugdis of gol

with forty to fifty sixty ninety or even as many as a hundre

pearls," six mases to one tola in weight and costing 2s. (Re.;

to make ; kdp of gold and pearls, the pearls numbering fifty i

two hundred and the gold weighing one to one and a half tolc

and costing 4s. (Rs. 2) to make; velebdlya with twenty to thirl

pearls costing 2s. (Re; 1) to make; pankhabdlya, kdsbalya, (

kdsavbdlya of gold varying in value from £1 to £10, (Rs. 10 - 10(

and costing 6d. to Is. (4-8 as.) to make; bhigabdli of gold si

mdses to one tola in weight having two pearls and one colourf

glass pendant or drop, and costing 8d. to Is. (2-8 as.) to maki

ehavkada of gold six mdses to one and a half tolas in weigl

valued at £5 to £50 (Rs. 50 - 500) and costing 2s. to 3s. (Rs. 1-1

Deccan.]

POONA.

873

\o make; kudkichi jute of goldj weighing three to nine mdsds)

having six pearls and a diamond in the middlej valued at 10s. to £10

(Rs. 5-100) and costing 3d. 9d or Is. (2, 6, or 8 as.) to make. For

the nose, nath of gold, six mdsds to two tolds in weight, with sixteen

to twenty-five pearls and a diamond in the middle, is valued at £6

to £50 (Rs. 60-600) and costs Is. to 2s. (Re. 4-1) to make. For

the neck, thusya or ghdgrya of gold four to ten tolds in weight

and costing 2». to 4s. (Rs. 1 - 2) a tola to make ; tika of gold six mases

to two foZas in weight and costing 2s. to 4s. (Rs. 1-2) to make; s'(^ri

of gold five to twenty 'foMs in weight and costing 3d. (2 as.) a

tola to make; putalydchi-mdl of gold having twelve to fifty coins

'•■f costing 3d. (2 as.) to make ; javdchi-mdl of gold three to eight tolds

in weight and costing 2s. to 4s. (Rs. 1-2) to make; bar-mal oi gold

one to two tolds in weight and costing 2s. to 4s. (Rs. 1-2) to make;

'^ Jcantha of gold five to twelve tolds in weight and costing 2s. (Re.l)

the tola to make ; pd/ivpot or tdndali of gold one to three tolds in

weight and costing 2s. (Re. 1) to make ; chinchpdtya or tamarind-leaf

of gold one to three tolds in weight having forty to two hundred

pearls and costing 2s. to 8s. (Rs. 1-4) to make ; mangalsutra or

the lucky thread of gold two mdses in weight and costing 6d.

(4 as.) to make; gop of gold weighing one sher to five shers

and costing 4s. (Rs. 2) a sher to make ; ehandrahdr of gold six

tolds to two shers in weight and costing 2s. to 4s. (Rs.1-2) a tola

to make ; kanthi of gold one to four tolds in weight having ten to

a hundred pearls and a diamond and costing 2s. to 4s. (Rs. 1-2)

a tola to make. For the hands, pdtlya of gold one to twelve tolds

ii /in weight and costing l^d. (1 a.) a tola, but if they are made hollow

2s. (Re. 1 ) a tola ; gots or kdkans of gold, twelve to twenty-four

'< tolds in weight and costing 1 ^d. (1 a.) a tola to make ; kangnya of

i, gold five to seven tolds in weight and costing 2s. (Re. 1) to make ;

^,tode of gold sixteen to twenty-six or thirty tolds in weight and

costing Qd. (4 as.) a tola to make ; dandolya or vdkya of gold eight

to sixteen tolds in weight and costing 6d. (4 as.) a tola to make';

hdjuhands of gold two to four tolds in weight and costing 2.9. (Re. 1)

- to make ; kadi of gold eight to fifty tolds in weight and costing l^d.

(1 a.) a tola to make ; dngthya of gold, set with gems, weighing

one to two tolds in weight and costing 6d. to Is. (4-8 a^.) a tola

. to make ; jodvis of gold two to four tolds in weight and costing

Is. (8 as.) a tola to make. For the feet, sdkhalya of silver

twenty-five to one hundred tolds in weight, and costing |d, to ]^d.

:;i(i-l a.) a, tola to make; vdle of silver one to ten tolds in weight

ijand costing 3d. (2 as.) a tola to make; tordya or paijan of silver

It-,' ten to twenty-five tolds in weight and costing 6d. (4 as.) a tola to

make; ran-jodvi of silver four tolds in weight and costing \^d.

(1 a.) the tola to make ; jodvis of silver eight to sixteen tolds in

weight and costing l^^d. (1 a.) a tola to make; virolya of silver

six to eight tolds in weight and costing 1 s. to 2s. (Re, ^-1) to make;

X tndsolya of silver four to six tolds in weight and costing l^d.

;Uj(l a.) a tola to make ; andphule of silver five and a half to six

A^tolds in weight and costing Ijd, (1 a.) a tola to make. The names

' of some of their tools and appliances are the airan or anvil costing

2s. to 10s. (Rs.l -5) ; Miodis or hammers costing Is. to 2», (Re.^-l);

Chapter III.
Fopalatioa.

Ceaftsmen,

SONjitS.

874

[Bombay G-azettec

DISTRICTS.

Chapter llh
Fopalation.

Cbattsmen.

TjLubats.

6&nds% or tongs costing M. (2 as>i ; savdna or nippers 3d. (2 as.'
katris or scissors 6d. to 2s. (Re.i-1) the pair; kdmokhi or ton^
Is. to 2s. (Re. ^-1) ; a jantra or wire-drawer 2s. to 4s. (Ra.1.4)
an othani or metal mould Is. to 2s. (Re. |-1) ; a kundiov stone-js
M.ioM. (2-4 as.) J &kdnas or file Gti. to 2s. (Re-^-l) ; a hhat
or earthen kiln Qd. (4 as.) ; a mus or earthen mould %d. (J a.)
a fara/w or pair of scales Is. to 2s. Qd. (Rs. \-\k); weights Is. to 4,
&d. (Rs. \ - 2|) 5 a kunchle or hrush Is. to Is. Qd. (8-12as.) ; and
chimta or pair of pincers 3d. (2 as.). Sonars generally work from si:
to twelve in the day and, again from two to seven or eight in th
evening. They spend £2 to £4 (Rs. 20-40) on the birth of a boy, ani
£1 10s. to £3 (Rs. 15-30) on the birth of a girl. A boy's namim
costs 10s. to £1 (Rs. 5-10), and a girl's 4s. to 6s. (Rs. 2-3) ^a boy'
marriage costs £20 to £40 (Es. 200-400), and a girl's £10 to £1
(Rs. 100-150) ; a girl's coming of age costs £5 to £10 (Rs. 50-100)
a first pregnancy £3 to £5 (Rs. 30-50) ; and a death £1 to £2 IOj
(Rs. 10-25). They worship goddesses rather than gods and thei
chief goddess is Saptashringi. They have house images of ;
number of gods cf brass, copper, and stone, and either emplo;
Brahman priests or perform the worship themselves. They keep thi
usual Hindu fasts and feasts, and their priests are Konkanasth Brah
mans, whom they greatly respect. They believe in sorcery, witch
craft, soothsaying, omens, and lucky and unlucky days. Exeept^ii
the following particulars their customs are the same as those o:
Mar4thas. They do not invest their boys with the sacred thread, am;
as a rule on pain of loss of caste marriage invitations must be sen:
to the houses of all castemen. At each corner of the wooden stoo
on which the toy and girl are bathed four earthen water jars are pilee
and a thread is five times passed round them and is hung round th(
necks of the boy and girl. On the marriage day, both at the boy"]
and at the girl's, five married women and other kinswomen go to thi
village temple of Maruti with five earthen jars filled with cold watei
and a winnowing fan in which another earthen jar is set and rqllec
round with thread and a piece of bodicecloth. In the shrine thej
bow to the god,, return with music, and set the earthen jars and the
winnowing fan before the house gods as the marriage guardian oi
devak. When the boy goes to the girl's house" to be, married, the
washerwoman of tlie girl's family comes forward and ties pieces oi
turmeric root to the right wrist of the boy and the left wrist of the
girl. Sondrs are bound together as a body, and they settle their
social disputes at caste meetings. During the last ten years they
have levied a marriage tax of 6s. (Rs.3), the boy's father paying two
and the girl's father one rupee. With this money they have built
a caste house and intend to build another when they have funda
enough. They send their boys to school till they are ten or twelve
and have learnt a little reading writing and counting. As a class
ihey are well-to-do.

Ta'mbatS, or Coppersmiths', are returned as numbering 1106 and
as found over the whole district. They are divided into Konkanis,
Panchdls, and Gujars, who neither eat together nor intermarry.
According to their own story the founder of theKonkani coppersmiths
was Mundh^hu whose hietory is given in the Kalikapurdn. They say

Seccan.]

POONA.

875

they came from the Konkan about a hundred years ago. The names
of their chief family stocks or gotvas are Angira, Atri, Bhdradvd,],
Bhrigu, Jdmadagni, and Kashyap. Members of the same family
stock cannot intermarry. Their surnames are Dd-ndekar, Dese^
Kadu, Karde, Ldnjekar, LombarOj Phule, Pimpale, Potphode, Salvi,
Sd.ptej and Vadke. Sameness of surname is not a bar to marriage.
The names in common use among men are Ganpat, Hari, Edghoba,
Rdoji, Savalaram^ and Vithoba ; and among women Chima, Goda,
Kashib^ij Lakshmi^ and Bddha. They are of middle stature^ stout^
and muscular. They are said to suffer from a disease of the bowels
called chip of which many of their young children die. They speak
Marathi and live in houses of the better sort one or more storeys

- high with walls of brick and tiled roofs. The furniture includes
metal and clay Tessels, cotSj bedding, boxes, and cradles. They eat
fish and flesh, and drink liquor and their staple food is millet and
vegetables. They dine in a silk or woollen waistoloth and give
feasts of sweet cakes, sugared milk, and rice flour balls. The men and
women dress like Deccan Brahman s, the men in a waistcloth, coat,

C waistcoat, shouldercloth,- and turban folded in Deccan Brdhman
fashion ; and the women in a long full Maratha robe. The names of
some of the vessels they make are, for holding water yhdgnr hdnda
andtapele; for cooking 6 agrM«e pdfele ; iov covering jhdkni, rakdbi,
and shibe ; for plates pardth and tarmdn ; for bathing ghangdl ;.
for making cakes par dt ; for drinking gadve and idmbe ; for storing
water jd/irib, jhdri, khodva, ndiid, panchpdtris, phidpdtra, rdmpdtrai
and vdiJga ; for holding things dabe and karande ; for cnps vdtya ; for

- heating water or oil kadhai; for ladles, kaltha, pal, pali, and thdvar.
They sell brass vessels at 1 s. 1 ^d. (13 as.) aud copper vessels at 'is. 6d.
(Rs. Ij) the pound. They also make small articles, children's toys,
combs, inkstands, betel boxes, chairs, tables, cots, cradlesj dolls,
stools both high and low, and kettles varying in value from |d. to
£2 (Rs. ■g-2-20). Tbey work from early morning and sometimes from

, before daybreak till noon and again after a short nap from one or two
to seven. They employ bojs. above fifteen and pay them 8s. to 12s,
(Rs.4-6) a month without food. They generally work for Marwari
V^ni and other wholesale dealers and shopkeepers and are paid
1«. to Is. 6d. (8-12 -as.) a day. , They also deal in bangles, theii*
women making lac and wire bracelets. They hold themselves as
high if not higher in rank than Deshasth Brdhmans, and far above
Konkanasths, who, they say, are Parashuram's creation. Their
women do not help them in their calling. A family of five spends
£1 to £1 12s, (Rs. 10-16) a month on food, and £2 to £3
{Rs. 20-30) a year on dress. A house costs to build £10 to £60
(Rs. 100-600) and to rent 2s. to 4s. (Rs.1-2) a month. Their house-
hold goods and furniture are worth £7 to £200 (Rs. 70- 2000). A
birth costs them 10s. to£l (Rs. 5-10), a hair-cutting 6s. to 10s,
(Rs. 3-5), a thread-girding £ I to £2 10s. (Rs. 10-25), the, marriage
of a boy £7 10s. to £10 (Rs. 75-100) and of a girl £5 to £7
(Rs.50-70), a girl's coming of age £2 to £3 (Rs. 20-30) j. and a
man's death £1 to £1 12s. (Rs.'l0-16), a widow's 16s. to £1
(Rs.8-10), an^d a married woman's £l-4s, to £1 16s. (Rs.12-18).
They worship the usual Hindu gods and goddesses. Their family

Chapter lit.
Population.

Gbaftsmbn,

TJ.MBATS,

[Bombay Gazetteer,

376

DISTRICTS.

Chapter III.
Population.

Craitsmen-.

TAUBATS.

Telis.

deities are BaHri, Bhavdni, Ohandika, Ekvira^ Khandoba, KuvArika,
and Mahalakshmi. Their family priests are Deshasth Brahmans
whom they call to perform birth,, thread-girding, marriage, death,
and anniversary ceremonies. They are more given to the worship
of goddesses than of gods, and the goddess Kdlika is their chief
object of worship. They make pilgrimages to Benares, Prayag,
Alandi, Pandharpur, and Tuljdpur; and keep all Hindu fasts
and feasts. They believe in sorcery, witchcraft, soothsaying,
pmens, and lucky and unlucky days, and consult oracles and
numbers. A woman stays at her husband's house for her first
confinement. After the child is born the mother is washed from
head to foot in warm water. The goddess Satv^i is worshipped on
the fifth or seventh day after a birth and her image is tied round
the child's neck or arm. The mother and the family are impure
for ten days. On the twelfth the child is named by some elderly
woman. Twelve dough lamps are made. Four of them are set
one near each leg of the cradle and cot, one on each side of the
mothei' when she sits near the cot on a low wooden stool, one near
the bathing pit, and one near the tulsi plant. Boys have their hair
cut with scissors before they are twelve months old, and are girt
with the sacred thread before they are eight. They marry their
girls before they are ten and their boys before they are twenty^
They allow widow marriage, but if a widow chooses she may
shave her head when she is past forty. They have a caste
council, and settle social disputes at meetings of the castemen.
They send their boys to school. The competition of foreign copper
and brass sheets has deprived IJie Tdmbats of much of their former
trade. As a class they are said not to be prosperous.

Telis, or Oilmen, are returned as numbering 8710 and as found
over the whole district. They are divided into Pardeshi, Shanvar,
Somvdr, and Lingd,yat Telis. Of these the Shanvdr Telis are Beni-
Israels, the Somvdr Telis are Mardthds who do not differ from
Maratha Kunbis, and the Lingdyat Telis do not differ from other
Lingdyats. None of these subdivisions eat together or intermarry.
The Mardtha or Somvar Telis are the same as cultivating Mardth^s,
and look and live like them. Their houses are like Maratha
houses except that on the veranda or in the back part of the
house there is an oil-mill or ghdna. A Teli's house costs £20 to
£40' (Rs. 200 - 400) to buy and Is. to 4«. (Rs. 4 - 2) a month to
rent.. They have bullocks and servants whom they pay 8s. to 12«.
(Rs. 4-6) a month. Their staple food includes millet bread and
split pulse, and occasionally rice. They eat fish and flesh and
drink liquor. A family of five spend 14s. to 16s. (Rs.7-8) a montji
on food and drink. Their feasts cost them 16s. to £2 (Rs.8-20) for
every hundred guests. They both chew and smoke tobacco. They
breakfast early, dine at noon, take a nap for about a couple of hoars,
and sup at nine. 'J'he men wear the loincloth, waistcloth, coat,
waistcoat, Brahman or Maratha turban, and shoes. The women
dress like Brdhman women in a bodice with a back and short sleeves
and a full robe whose skirt is drawn back between the feet and tuck-
ed in behind. They do not wear false hair or deck their heads with
powers. They are hardworking, sober, thrifty, and strongly made,

Deccan.]

POONA.

377

• and their women are proverbially fair and well-featured. Some
extract oil from cocoanutj sesamum, Momordica charantia or lidrla,
Oarthamus tinctorioiis or kardi, groundnuts, the fruit of the oilnut
tree or undi, and the hogplum or ambdda. Others are husbandmen,
labourers, carfcdrivers, messengers, and oilcake-sellers. To distinguish
them from Beiii-Isrd.els or Shanvar Tells that is-Saturday Oilmen, they
are called Somvdr Telis or Monday Oilmen because they are said not to
work on Mondays. Except during the rains they are employed and
earn 3c?. to Is. (2- 8 as.) a day. Their women help them and their boys
from the age of twelve oir fourteen. When they hire workmen they
pay them 3d. to 4j(i. (2-3 as.) a day without food. Few oilmen have
capital and none are rich. They sell oil in their houses or go about
kawking it. In religion, they are Smdrts and have house images of
Ganpati, Mdruti, and other Hindu gods and goddesses. They keep
all Hindu fasts and feasts and their priests are Deshasth Br^hmans.
Their customs are generally the same as the Mardtha customs. On
the fifth day after a child is born they worship the goddess Satvdi,
and they name the child on the twelfth or thirteenth day. Girls
are generally married before they come of age and boys before they
are twenty-five. They allow widow marriage and polygamy, but

: not polyandry. They burn their dead. They settle social disputes
at mass meetings of the caste. They suffer from the competition
of kerosine oil and are falling to the position of labourers.
They do not send their boys to school and at present are somewhat
depressed.

Za'rekaris, or Dust-washers, are returned as numbering twenty
and as found only in Poena and Haveli. They believe that they
came . from Aurangabad and the Nizam's country during the
Peshwa's supremacy. They have no divisions and their surnames are
Povar, Thombre, and Toke, and families bearing the same surname
do not intermarry. The names in common use among men are
Baloba, Bhdnu, Kashinath, and Eangoba ,• and among women
Bhavani, Ganga, Guna, Mana, and Kangu. They look like Marath^s
and speak Mard,thi. The men wear the top- knot, moustache, and
whiskers, but not the beard. They live in houses of the poorer sort,
one storey high, with tiled roofs. Their household furniture includes
boxes, cots, cradles, blankets, carpets, and quilts, and earthen and
metal vessels. Their staple food is millet bread, split pulse, vege-
tables, and pounded chillies. They eat fish and flesh and drink
Uquor. Their holiday dishes are mutton and sugar-cakes. Both
men and women dress like Brdhmans, but their women do not deck
their heads with flowers or use false hair. They are a hardworking
frugal people. They buy the ashes and sweepings of a goldsmith's
shop for f d. to 2s. (Re.-^- 1) a heap, wash them, and search for gold
and silver dust. They also search the ashes at the burning ground in
Poona where they find small fragments of gold or silver which have ,
been burnt with the dead, and examine market-places being
rewarded by a chance bead or a lost copper or silver coin. They
worship the usual Brahmanio gods and goddesses. Their family
god is Khandoba and their priests are Deshasth Brdhmans. They
keep the regular Hindu fasts and feasts, and make pilgrimages, to
Chatarshringi, Jejuri, and Pandharpur. They practise child-marriage

B .SlO-48

Chapter III.
Population.

craftsmen'.
Telis,

ZJ-BBKARia,

[Bombay Oazetteer,

378

DISTRICTS.

hapterlll.
'opulation.

MusaoiANs.

Obadsjis.

OVRA VS.

widow-marriage and polygamy. They have uo headman and settle
social disputes at meetings of the castemen. They do not send their
boys to' school and are a poor people.

^ Musicians included two classes ^ with a strength of 6229 or
P78 per cent of the Hindu, population. . Of these 271 (males 108,
females 163) were Ghadses, and 5958 (males 3014/ females 2944)
Guravs.

Ghadses, or Musicians, are returned as numbering 271 and as
found over the whole district, except in M^val and Junnar. They say
that when Ram was being married to Sita there were no musicians,
so RAm made.three images of sandalwood, and, bj-eathing life into
them, gave one the drum called sambal and the other two the pipes
' called sii/r and sanai. According- to another story Ravan was their
patron and ' gave the whole of the Deccan to the Ghadses. They
haVe no subdivisions. Their surnames are Bhosle, Jadhav, Jagt^p,
More, Pov^r, S^lunke, and Shinde; people with the same surname
eat together but do not intermarry .r The, names in common use
among men are Bhagnji, Bhovani, Ghima, and S^vlyaj and among
women Bh£girthi,-Ohimaj Ganga, and Rukhmini. They are generally
dark and middle-sized and look more like Mhars than Kunbis. The
men wear the top-knot, moustache, and whiskers, but not tlie beard.
Their home tongue is Marfithi, and in house food and dress they '
differ little from Kunbis. They are hardworking, even-tempered,
frugal, and hospitable, but fond of pleasure. They play on the drum
and pipes and are good singers. Their instruments are the sanai
costing 10s. (Rs. 5), the swr 4s. {Rs. 2), the sambal £1 (Rs. 10),
and the kettledrum or ytagdra £2 (Rs. 20). During the marriage
season tbey are very busy and on holidays and in the evenings
amuse people with sonigs. A family of five spends 14s. to £1
(Rs. 7-10) a month -on food, and £2 to £2 10s. (Rs. 20-25) a
year on clothes. Their furniture and goods vary in value from
£4 to JS (Rs. 40-80). A birth costs them £1 (Rs. 10), a hair-
clipping 4s. to 10s. (Rs. 2-5), the marriage of a boy £10 to £15.
(Rs. 1()0-156), the marriage of a girl £5 to £10 (Rs. 50-100), and a
death £1 to £2 10a. (Rs.iO-25). Their religious and social customs
do not differ from those of Kunbis, and, except that men who have-
married widows^ are buried, they generally burn their dead. The
unmarried are carried in a blanket or jhoU on the shoulders of two
men ; others are laid on a bier. They allow widow marriage and
practise polygamy ; polyandry is unknown. They settle disputes at
caste meetings. They are generally poor and sxe little patronised
by high-caste and, well-to-do Hindus.

Guravs are returned as numbering 5958 and as found over the,
whole district. They say they have been in the district more than'
three hundred years, but they have no tradition of their origin or of
any former settlement. They have no subdivisions. Their surnames .
are Bedse, Bohiravkar, and Borkar, who eat together and intermarry,'.
The names in common use among men are Dhondiba, Kondiba,

1 An account of NAikins is given in the Sittoa Statistical Account.

Deccan.]

POONA.

379

M^rtand, and Mah^dev j and among women Dhondi, K^shi, Kondi,
KrishnAbai, and VenuMi. They look like Marathds. Some of the men
wear the top-knot and moustache, while others dress like Gos^vis
with matted hair and beards and bodies rubbed with ashes. Their
home tongue is Mar^thi and their houses are like those of middle-
class Hindus averaging £10 to £150 (Rs. 100-1500) in value. Most
families keep a few cattle and their houses are fairly supplied with
earthen and metal . cooking and drinking vessels. Their staple
food is Indian millet millet rice and vegetables, and they neither
eat fish nor flesh nor drink liquor. A family of five spends 1 Os. to
16s. (Rs.5-8) a month on food, and £l to £3 (Rs.10-30) a year on
dress. They dress either like Deccan Br^hmans or Mard,thas. The
women wear the bodice and the full Mardtha robe passing the
skirt back between the feet and tucking it into the "waist behind.
They beg and are hereditary servants in Shiv's temple living on
the ofEerings made to the god. They are good musicians playing
the drums c&Ued pakhvdj and chaughada and the clarion or sanai at
^.marriages or as an accompaniment to dancing-girls. They make
.leaf -plates and saucers and sell them to villagers. They are
believed to have power over the god whose servants they are, and are
much respected by the lower classes. They are Shaivs in religion
and have house images of Bhav&ni, G-anpati, and Khandoba^ They

- have priests belonging to their own caste, and in their absence
call Deshasth Brdhmans to their houses. On the fifth day after the
birth of a child they worship the child's navel cord which was cut
on the first day after birth. They place it on a stone or pdta, with
sandal, turmeric, and redpowder, and lay before it cooked rice, split
pulse, -methi or fenugreek, and wheat cakes or poUs. In the
evening a drawn sword with a lemon stuck in its point is placed in

: the corner near the mother's head, or if there is no sword a small
; stalk of jvdri or Indian millet is laid near each of the legs of

- the mother's cot. The women of the house stay awake during
" the night to prevent the child being carried off by Satvdi. On

the twelfth - day the mother worships seven pebbles outside of the
house and some old woman of thehouse names the child. A boy's
hair is cut when he is one to three years old and five married women
are feasted. The expenses in the first twelve days after a death
vary from 10s. to £1 4s. (Rs. 5 - 12). They gird their boys with the
sacred thread between five and ten and spend 10s. to £5 (Rs. 5 -50)
on the ceremony. They marry their. girls between five and nine, and
their boys between ten and twenty-five. A girl's marriage costs £1
to £2 (Rs. 10 -20), and a boy's marriage £10 to £12 10s. (Rs. 100-125).
.,:They burn their dead except childreii below three whom they bury.
_iA death costs them £1 to £2 (Rs. 10 - 20). They have a headman
-or mehetrya who settles social disputes in consultation with the men
of the caste. A person who has been put out of easte is not allowed
to come back until he gives a caste feast or some betel packets.
As a class Guravs are poor.

Servants included two classes with a strength of 16,330 or
1*92 per cent of the Hindu population. Of these 10,155 (males
5252, females 4903) were Nhdvis or barbers; and 6175 (males
3068j females 3107) Parits or washermen.

Chapter III.
Population.

MUSICIAMS.
GHJ.DSB3.

Servants.

[Bombay Gaietteer,

380

DISTRICTS.

Chapter III.
Population.

■Seevants,

NHJ.TIS.

Nha'viS, or Barbers, are returned as numbering 10,155 and as
found over the -wbole district. They say the founder of their class
•was the serpent Shesh that encircled Shiv's neck and who was told
to take human form at the time of the thread ceremony of the god
Brahma. . For this reason they hold themselves superior to Brd-hmans
and other castes, even to the god Vishnu. They say it was not
Brahma who created the universe, but Shiv, for, before the creation
of the universe, Shiv and the serpent Shesh were in existenca They
are divided into Gangatirkar Nhavis, Ghati Nhdvis, Giijarati Nhavis,
Khandeshi Nhavis, Eunbi Nhavis, Madrasi Nhavis, Marwdri Nhdvis,
Pardeshi Nhavis, Tailang Nhavis, Vaideshi Nhavis, and Vajantri
Nhavis. Of these Kunbi and Ghati Nhavis eat together; noneof
the subdivisions intermarry. The Gangdtirkar or Goddvari Nhavis,
Ghati or Sahyadri Nhdvis, Kunbi or husbandman Nhavis, VAjantri or
musician Nhivis, and Vaideshi or Nhdvis from Vdi in Sdtdra, come
under Mardthi Nhavis, to whom the following particulars apply.
The surnames and the names in common use both for men and
women are the same as those of Mardthds, and Nhdvis do not
differ from other Marathds in appearance, . speech, house, food, or
dress. They are quiet orderly people, hardworking but extravagant,
showy and fond of talk and gossip. They are barbers, and as
village servants bleed and supply torches, and their women- act as
mid wives. Many enjoy the sole right of shaving in certain villages
for which the husbandmen pay them a small share of their crops.
At marriages they hold umbrellas over the heads of the bride- and
bridegroom. Besides this Gangatirkar, Kunbi, apd Vdjantri Nhavis
act as musicians at marriages and other ceremonies, and Khandeshi
Nhavis act as torch-bearers. The rates charged by barbers of
the different subdivisions vary little. ' For shaving the head
of a boy of less than twelve they charge %d: (| a), for, a
beardless youth above twelve id. (| a.), and for a man Id. or
\^d. (f-1 a.), though they are sometimes paid as much as M.
(2 as.). Their women do not help except by acting as midwives and
attending some of ths richer women of the village. Boys beginto
learn to shave when they are twelve years old. An earthen jar
is whitewashed or rubbed with wet ashes, and the boy is told to
scrape it slowly with a razor. A barber makes 14s. to £2 (Rs, 7-20)
a month. His appliances are razors or vastwras both country made
and European, a pair of pincers or ehimtas, a pair of scissors or
kdiaris, an instrument for paring the nails or ?i.arawi, a razor-strap
or paldtne of leather, a sKldi or stone, a kangva or comb, a cup or
vdti, a handkerchief or rumdl, a, looking glass or drasq, a leather-
bag or dhoMi, a bottle or hupi, a brush or burus, and soap or sdhan,
together valued at 2s. to £1 12s. {Es.1-16). A family of five spends
£1 to £2 (Rs. 10 - 20) a month on food and about £2 (Rs. 20) a year
on clothes. A house costs £10 to £30 (Rs. 100-300) to build, and
2s. (Re. 1) a month to hire. The birth of a child costs lOs.to £1
(Rs. 5-10), the marriage of a boy £& to £10 (Rs. 60 - 100)>: the
marriage of a girl £2 10s. to £5 (Rs.25-50), and a death £1
to £4 (Rs. 10-40). In religion they do not differ from KunbiS.
They claim the right to wear the sacred thread, but this right
the Brdhmans deny;. On the fifth day after the birth of a child

.'it

Deccan.]

POONA.

381

they woTsHip the goddess Satv^i with pomegranate or dalvmh
flowers, and offer her wheat bread, rice, and vegetables. On the
morning of the twelfth day the mother sprinkles water, scent, and
flowers oyer seven pebbles outside of the house. In the evening the '
child is cradled and named by married women. They clip a child^s
hair between its fourth month and its third year. They marry
thejr girls before they come of age and their boys before they are
k twenty-five. Their marriages do not differ from Maratha marriages,
and their marriage-guardian or devak is the panchpallav or the
five-leaf god the four figs and the mango. During the marriage
ceremony the bride -and bridegroom stand face to face on two
bamboo baskets. ^ They either bury or bum their dead. They
allow widow-marriage and polygamy, but not "polyandry. They
have no headman and their social disputes are settled at meetings
of the castemen. They send their boys to school for a short time.
They are steady and well-to-do but none have risen to any high
position.

The Tailanq Nhavis say that they came from the Telugu country

about a hundred years ago. They are divided into Sdjans and

Shirbajs, who neither eat together nor intermarry. They are

" dark and short. The men wear the top-knot and moustache, but

- not the beard. Their home tongue is Telugu; -with others they
jt'speak Mar^hi. They are clean, neat, hardworking, orderly, and

talkative. They eat fish and flesh and drink liquor. They are
■ fond_of sour things and their staple food is millet, rice, split pulse,

and vegetables. A family of five spend £1 4«i to £1 10s. (Rs. 12-
n 15) a month on 'food, and some shillings more (Re. i-1) on
' liquor. The men dress in a waistcloth, coat, jacket, headscarf,
' and shonldercloth ; and the women in a black or red Maratha robe

- and bodice, the skirt of the robe being drawn back between the
feet and tucked in at the waist behind, while the upper end is drawn
over the head. - They spend £1 10s. to £2 (Rs. 15 - 20) a year on
dress. They are either Shaivs or Vaishnavs, and worship the

- usual Brahmanic gods and goddesses. Their family goddesses are
^ Mhaishama and EUama whose temples are in their native country.

Their priests, who are either Jangams or Deshasth Brahmans,
oflBciate at their houses on occasions of marriage and death. When
a child is born it is laid on the cot beside its mother, and a dagger
with a lemon stuck in its point and a cane are kept near the head of
the bed. The women stay aw-ake the whole night and the mother
is considered unclean for ten days. Their children, whether boys
or girls, are named either on the twelfth or the thirteenth day after
birth and a feast is given to five married women. During the
thirteen days after a birth expenses vary from 6s. to £1 (Rs.3-10).
» When the child is between a year and a half and five years old its
head, whether it is a boy or a girl, is shaved. The child is seated
on the lap of a male relation and the hair is clipped by another, and

-five married women are feasted; the ceremony posts 2s, to 4s.
(Rs. 1-2). They marry theit girls before they come of age and
their boys before they are twenty-five. They have no marriage
guardian or devak. A day before the marriage they go to the

-^mple of the village M&rati, wave alighted lamp before him, and

Chapter III.
Fopnlation.

Servants.

NBJ.YIS.

[Bombay Gazetteer,

382

biSTRIOTS.

Chapter III.

Population,

Servakts.

NbAyis.

return home. They make no. marriage porch or altar, but in a room
in the hou'sp raise four piles of six earthen jars each. On the
marriage day they ask a c'puple of "married women to dine and
feed them on rice and pulse. After they have dined, the women
take the girl in their arms and go to the boy's without either men
or music. The boy and girl are seated on a mat face to face and
a -cloth is held between them. The Brahman priest repeats verses
and after he has throwii grains, of rice over the boy's and girl's
headsj they are husband and wife. They then change places, the
boy taking the girl's place and the girl the boy's." A cotton thread,
is passed fourteen times, round them, dyed yellow with turmeric,
■ciit, one-half tied round the boy's and the other half round the
girl's right wrist. The hems of the . boy's and girl's clothes are
knotted together and they are taken before the house gods, where
they make a bow and the knot is untied. They are served with
sugared milk or hhir in a metal plate and feed one another,-
The maternal uncle of the boy takes the girl on his shoulders and
the maternal uncle of the girl takes the boy, and they dance in front'
of the house while the sisters of both keep throwing in the air
handfuls of wheat flour and -turmeric. 2s. to 4s. (Rs. 1 - 2) of
liquor is brought and, drunk by the men. On the two following
days feasts are held at the boy's house and the sdde ceremony is
performed on the third day, the girl's father presenting the
boy with a turban and . sash, and the boy's father presenting the
girl with a robe and bodice. At night a procession is formed and
the boy and girl are seated on horses and paraded through the,
chief streets of, the village accompanied by music. Next day the
earthen jars are divided among married women, and the Brdhman
priest unties the threads from the boy's and girl's wrists. On, the
following day the girl is taken to her father's where the boy's party -
goes to dine and the marriage is over. The boy's and girl's fathers
each give 8s. 3c?. (Rs. 4^) to the caste to send invitations, and
14s. (Rs. 7) for liquor in honour of the marriage. A marriage costs
the boy's father £7 10s. to £10 (Rs. 75 -100) and, the girl's £2
10s. to £5 (Rs. 25 - 50). When a girl comes of age she is- taken to
her husband's house and seated by herself for four days, and on
the fifth day she is. bathed and her lap filled with fruit, and the
gjrl's mother presents the boy and girl with clothes. The ceremony
costs £1 to £2 (Rs. 10 - 20). When a death occurs the whole caste
is told. If the death happens after seven at night the funeral
does not take place till next morning. Sometimes if death happens
at six in the 3noming the funeral does not take place till three.
The body is washed in warm water, dressed in a flax ■waistoloth,
and seated on a wooden stool outside of the house, supported, by a
friend on each side. A flower-seller stands with garlands in his
hands, and each mourner buys one garland for about \d. (fa.).',
and fastens it round the dead neck. The body is laid on the
bier anji the chief mourner, taking an earthen jar with burning
cowdung cakes, walks in front of the bier preceded by music. About
half-way to the burning ground the bier is set down and grains of
rice are thrown over it. It is then taken to the burning ground,
and the body is either burnt or buried. When the body i» buried

)eccan.]

POONA.

383

he fire wHicli the chief moarner brought is thrown away. A lighted
amp is set on the spot where the deceased breathed his last, and
he" funeral party, coming back to the house of mourning, take grass
a their hands, and throw it near the lamp, and sit outside on the
eranda. Liquor is served and they return to their homes. On
he fourth day the chief 'mourner with two. or fonr others goes to
he burning ground with two earthen, jars containing cooked rice
,nd curds, and a metal vessel with water. If the deceased was
luried, the mourner passes his hand over the grave; if he was
lurnt, . the mourner gathers the, ashes, sprinkles cold water over
hem, offers rice balls, and does not leave till a crow has touched one
f the balls. The earthen jars with the rest of the rice and curds
re left there and the mourners bathe and return home. Oh the
ith a cook is' called in at the mourner's house, and the four bearers
re feasted and treated to.liquor. On the tenth the chief mourner's
loustache is shaved, arid, if they can aflFord.it, rice balls are offered
3 the spirit of the dead or uncooked food is given to the priest.
Jither on the twelfth or thirteenth castefellows are dined and
iquor is served. The funeral expenses vary from £1 to £2 (Rs. 10-
0), They hold a feast a year after the death, offer rice balls, and
3ast castefellows. They have a caste council and settle social
isputes at meetings of the castemen. They complain that they
re not so well off as they were, because, they say, people do not have
lieir heads so of ten shaved. With the use of palanquins and night
jumeys the use of torches has almost died out, and they say they do
ot as before get presents of old clothes, food, or money.
Parits, or Washermen, are returned, as numbering 6175 and as
)und over the whole district- They, are divided into. Mardthi,
[onkani, Pardeshi, and Kamdthi Parits, who neither eat together
or intermarry. Among Mardthi washermen the surnames and the
ames of both men and women are the same as those used by
[aratha Kunbis, and Mardthi Parits do not differ from Marathi
[unbis in look, speech, house, dress, or character. Their religious -
nd social customs are also the same. Parits generally wear articles
E dress which have been sent them to be washed as the proverb says,
he show is the washerman's, the clothes are another's.^ Their
ereditary work is washing clothes. They wash outside the village in
)me river or pond and charge fcZito 2J(i.(:i-14 as.) for each piece, or
ouble and treble this rate if they are new clothes. They are paid in
jsh or in grain either when they bring back the clothes, or once a
lonth, or once a year. In washing their clothes they nsepapadJchdr or
npure carbonate of soda, sdban or soap, nil or indigo, and kanji or
ce-starch. To wash one hundred pieces requires about one pound
E soda, a quarter of a pound of soap, one tola, or 210 grains of
idigo, and one and a quarter pounds of starch. Their appliances are
1 istdri or iron costing 10s. to £4 (Rs. 5-40), a satil or copper
3ssel costing 10». to £2 (Rs. 5 - 20), and a moga/ra or wooden
immer worth about Is. {8 as.). They are helped by their women
id children in collecting clothes, drying them, and giving them.

Chapter III«
Population.

Servants,
IfBJiris,

Pabits.

' The M»r^thi rims : 'ParUdcha daul dumryiAche pdnghrtmdwki

[Bombay Gazetteer,

384

DISTRICTS.

Chapter III.
Population.

Shkphebds.

DsJLisaAss.

back to tteir owners. A family of fiVe spends £1 to £1 4s. (Es. 10-12)
a month on food, and nothing on clothes as they wear clothes that
are sent them to wash. A house costs £10 to £20' (Rs. 100-200) to
build, and the furniture is worth £3 to £10 (Rs. 30 - 100). A birth
costs about 4s. (Rs. 2), a hair-clipping 2s. to 6s. (Rs. 1 - 3), a marriage
£5to£15(Rs. 5-150)/anda,death 10s. to£l (Rs. 5-10). They do
not send their boys to school, and are a steady people.

Shepherds included two classes with a strength of 37,601
or 4-43 per, cent of the Hindu population. Of these 35,595 (males
17746, females 17,850) were Dhangars, and 2006 (males 1070/
females 936) Gavlis.

Dhangars, apparently originally Dhenugars or Cowmen, with
a strength of 35,595, are found over the whole district. A large
number of Shivaji's most trusted Mavalis or Mardtha footmen were
west-Poona Dhangars, and many of the bravest Maratha leaders,
among whom the Holkars are the most distinguished, belonged
to this tribe. The class is commonly known as Hatgar-Dhangar
which in Mardthi is supposed to mean obstinate, but the word
is apparently of Dravidian origin. They say they came into the
district from Phaltan in Sdtd,ra where the tribe musters strong.
They have no subdivisions and their surnames are Gavde, Gbodke,
Kdmble, Kende, and Koke ; people with the same surname
do not intermarry. The names in common use among men are
Appa, Ndrayan, Pandu, Rakhm^ji, Satvdji, and Thdkujij and among
women Jan^bai, Mirdb^i, Rakhmabai, Saku, and Salu. The men are
generally dark and strong. Except the top-knot they shave the
head and -the face except the moustache and in a few cases the
whiskers. In language, house, dress, and food they resemble
Maratha husbandmen. They are dirty, but hospitable, thrifty, and
free from crime. They are Shepherds, cattle-breeders, and cattle-
sellers generally rearing buffaloes rather than cows, and they
also work as husbandmen and as day-labourers. The women help
the men spinning wool and selling milk, butter, and curds.
They consider themselves the same as Mardthas^ and _eat from
Brdhmans, Vanis, Marathds, Shimpis, Sonirs> and JIdlis ,- but not
from Atdris, Ghisadis, Buruds, Edoharis, or Sangars, whom they
consider below them. A house costs £20 to £100 (Rs. 200-1000),
to build and Is. to 10s. (Rs. |-5) a month to hire. Their house
goods vary in value, from £2 10s. to £75 (Rs. 25-750)_, and their
servants' monthly wages are 8s. to 16s. (Rs. 4-8) without food.
A famiiy of five spends about £1 (Rs. 10) a month on food and
£2 10s. to £5 (Rs. 25-50) a year on clothes. A birth costs £1 to
£1 4s. (Rs. 10-12), a hair-clipping 10s. to £1 (Rs.5-10); a boy's
marriage £10 to £12 10s. (Rs. 100-125), a girl's marriage- £7 10s.
to £10 (Rs. 75-100), a girl's coming of age £4 to £10 (Rs. 40-100),
and a death £3 to £4 (Ks. 30-40). They worship the usual
Brdhmanio gods and goddesses. Their favourite object* of worship
are Khandoba, Bhairoba, and. ancestral spirits:. They keep house
images of their gods and eniploy and respect Deshasth Brahman
priests. - Their two chief holidays are HbK or Shimga in March, and
Dasara-in' October. They make pilgrimages to Alandi, Jejup,
Kundanpur, Nasik, Pandharpur, Signapur in Phaltan, and Tuljapm-,

De ccan.l

POONA.

383

Their cHldrenare named by a Brahman either on the fifth or on the
tenth day after birth, and in honour of the ceremony relations and
friends are feasted. At six months ojd both boys and girls have their
heads shaved. Girls are married between four months and twelve
years and boys between one and twenty years old. The boy's father
goes to the girl's and settles the marriage with her father in presence
of some members of the tribe. Betelnut and cocoa-kernel are served
and the boy's father pays £2 to £4 (Rs. 20 -40) in cash, and about
£3 (Ra. 30) in ornaments. The boy is given a turban, a waistcloth,
a pair of shoes, a brass dining dish, and a drinking vessel. The
Brahman priest gets 6s. (Rs. 3). The other details are the same
as in the case of a Marfitha marriage. Neighbours and castemen
build a porch in front of the girl's house and are repaid by a dinner.
On the marriage day the boy and girl are made to stand on two
grindstones each laid in a bamboo basjket, and on the four corners
of the basket are set blocks of umbar wood. The marriage ceremony
is in other details the same as among Marathas. After the mar-
riage the girl remains with her parents and does not go to her
new home till she comes of age. Her going is marked by a feast to
friends and relations. They either bury or burn their dead according
to the custom of the house. When the, body is burnt the ashes are
removed on the twelfth day and the bones are gathered and buried.
On the twelfth and thirteenth dinners are given. The dinner on
the twelfth is simply rice and pulse ; on the thirteenth a goat is
killed and its flesh is distributed to as many guests as possible.
Those who do not share in the meat content themselves with batter-
milk. The son of the deceased is presented with a turban or with
Sd. to 2«. (Re. |-1) in cash. Some families build a mud tomb over
the grave and set stones on it. In honour of the occasion a goat
is killed and a dinner is given of rice, split peas, and mutton. They
allow widow marriage. Except in the month of Paush or December-
January, the ceremony can be performed any day from sunrise to
sunset. Presents are made to Brd.hmans and money is paid to the first
husbajid's family without whose consent the marriage cannot take
place. A necessary part of the ceremony is the striking together of
the widow's and her new husband's heads. The children of the first
husband live with his relations, but if there is no one to take charge
of them they live with tljeir mother and her husband. The wife
and husband, as a rule, must belong to different family stocks. When
several families live together in one place, their social disputes are
bettled by a headman or pdtil chosen by the caste. They are
rather poor and have suffered by the spread of forest conservancy.
Several have of late settled as husbandmen or begun to serve as
labourers. They do not send their boys to school or take to new
pursuits.

• GavliS, or Oowkeepers, are returned as numbering 2006 and as
found over the whole district. They do not know when or whence
they came into the district. They are divided into Ahirs, Koknis,
Mard,thas, Nagarkars, and Vajarkars, who neither eat together nor
intermarry. Their surnames are Alamkhdne, Ambarkhd,ne, Bdgv^n,
Bhdkares, Dhamakde, Ganjevales, Ghanchakar, Hingmire, Kadekar,
Khane, Mahankele, Mardkar, Mongale, Naudarkar, Niz^msh^i,
B 310-49

Chapter III,
Population,

Sbephebda;

GAvirs.

[Bombay Gazetteer,

386

DISTRICTS.

Chapter III.

Population.

Shepherds.
Ga vlis.

Pharddkhdne, and Shelar ', people witb the same surname do not
intermarry. The names in common use among men are Ddmu,
Gopd,l, Laximan, MAruti, MhMu, Naru, and Savalaram ; and among
women, Bh%ubai, KondaMi, and Ramd,b^i. They are like Marathas
in appearance and are strong and dark. The men wear the topknot,
moustache, and whiskers, but no beard. They 'speak Mar^thi and
have houses one or two storeys high with walls of brick or tiled roofs.
They are dirty and ill-oared for, and their household goods
include" boxes, cots, bedding, metal vessels, blankets, and earthen
jars. They have servants, and keep cattle, dogs, and parrots.;
Their staple food is millet, Indian millet, pulse, and vegetables /
they do not eat fish or flesh, nor drink liquor. They give marriage
and death; feasts of sugar cakes. They dress like Mar^th4s in
a waistcloth, loincloth, waistcoat, blanket, and Mardtha turban;
and their women wear a bodice and a robe hanging like a petticoaie
without passing the skirt back between the feet. They are
sober, thrifty, hardworking, and even-tempered, and sell milk,
curds, butter, and whey. They sell milk at twenty pints (10
ahera) the rupee; curds at twenty-four to forty pounds (12-20
shers); butter at 2^ pounds (Ij shers) and boiled milk at four
to eight ponnds (2-4 shers). They buy she-buft'aloes from BerAi^
Musalmans at prices varying from £2 to £12 (Rs. 20-120), and
cows at £2 to £6 (Rs. 20-60). They make cowdung cakes and
sell them at 4a. to 8s. (Rs. 2-4)the thousand. A she-buffaloe
gives three to eight pints (1^-4 shers) of milk a day, and a
eow two to five pints (1-2| shers). The feed of a cow or
of a ahe-buffaloe costs 8s. to 9s. (Rs. 4-4J) a head a month,
and leaves a profit of 12s. to £1 4s. (Rs. 6-12) a month on every
ten cattle. Their women help in selling milk, butter, curds, and
whey and in bringing fodder for the cattle. Their children graze
their own and other people's cattle and are paid 3d (2 as.) a month-
for each cow they herd and 3d. to 7id. {2-5 as.) for each buffalo.
A family of, five spends 16s. to £1 10s. (Rs. 8-15) a month on food
and £1 10s. to £3 (Rs. 15-30) a year on clothes. A house^^costs
£20 to £50 (Rs. 200-500) to build and 4s. to 8s. (Rs. 2-4)a
month to rent. The servants' wages with food vary from Is. to 8s.-
(Rs. ^-4) a month. The furniture and house goods vary in
value from £2 to £7 10s. (Rs. 20-75). The birth of a son costs
2s. to 6s. (Rs. 1-3), a hair-cutting 4s. to 6s. (Rs. 2-3), a boy's
marriage £5 to £20 (Rs. 50 -200), a girl's £2 10s. to £20 (Rs. 25-200),
a girl's coming of age £1 to £2 10s. (Rs. 10-25), and a death £1 to
£1 12s. (Rs. 10-16). They worship the usual Hindu gods and
goddesses, and their family gods are the Mahadev of Signdpur,
Khandoba of Jejuri, Amba of "Tuljapur, JAndi, and Kondai. Their
priests are Jangams, but they ask Deshasth Bhahmans to ofiiciate at
their marriages. They make pilgrimages to Pandharpur, Tulj^pur,
Kondanpnr, Jejuri, Alandi, and Benares, and keep the usual Hindu,
fasts and feasts giving equal reverence to Mondays and ekddashis or
lunar elevenths. They believe in sorcery, witchcraft, soothsaying,
omens, and lucky and unlucky days, and consult oracles. Tfcey
consider their women impure for ten days after a birth. On me
eleventh a Jangam touches the mother's and the child's brow with

Deccan.]

POONA.

387

ashes and they are clean. A new Ungd/m is brought by. the Jangam^.
worshipped, and tied round the child's neck. In the evening a
new bodioecloth is brought, an image of Satvdi is placed on the
cloth, and the women of the house worship it in the mother's room
with flowers and redpowder offering millet bread. A dough lamp
is kepb burning in front of the image and on the morning of the
next day the image is tied round the child's neck. On the twelfth
day the mother and child are bathed and seven pebbles are worship-
ped on the roadside by the mother with flowers and red and yellow
powders. The child, whether a boy or a girl, is named on the
thirteenth, and wet gram is distributed. They clip children's hair
both boys' and girls' between the age of three months and five years,
and feast a Jangam. They marry their girls before they come of
age and their boys before they are twenty-five. Marriages are
settled by the women of the family. The boy's mother with other
female relations goes to the girl's house and asks the girl in marriage.
If the girl's father agrees the boy's father and other kinsmen go,
to the girl's and worship a betelnut Ganpati and present the girl
with a robe and bodice. Both a Jangam and a Brd,hm.an are requir-
ed to be present at the ceremony. A memorandum is drawn up
in which the marriage day and hour are given as well a^ the day
on which the boy and girl should be rubbed with turmeric. Their
marriage-guardian or devak is five earthen jars filled with pond
or well water, which are brought on the heads of five married,
women, and set near the house gods. On the marriage day the boy
is seated on a bullock and taken to the girl's house. Here a
piece of bread and curds are waved round his head and he is

' taken inside the house and seated on a carpet. The girl is seated
near him and in front of them are set five earthen jars and two
lighted lamps. A cloth is held between the boy and girl, and the
Brdhman priest repeats marriage verses, and at the end throws grains

, of rice over their heads, and they are husband and wife. The boy
and girl are seated on an alta:5, near relations wave a copper coin
•over their heads, and the coins are divided between the Brdhman
and the Jangam priest. On the. following day, a feast is held at the
girl's house and on the next day the boy goes with his bride to his

f father's house and the marriage ends with a feast. When a girl
comes of age she is seated by herself for three days, and on the

J fourth day her lap is filled with fruit and grains of rice. They
bury the dead, and do not hold that a death causes uncleanness.

iThey feast the caste on the third, fifth, seventh, ninth, or eleventh

l^y after death. They have a caste council, send their boys to
school, and are a steady class.

Fishers with a strength of 44,306 or 5'23 per cent of whom
; 23,439 were males and 22,867 females, included two classes. Of
these 3477 (males 1780, females 1697) were BhoiSj and 42,829 (males
21,659, females 21,170) Kolis.

BhoiS are returned as numbering 3477 and as found over the
whole district. They are divided into Kadu, Kdmathi, and Maratha
Bhois. Of these the Kadus and the Marathds eat together ; none
of the three intermarry. The surnames of the Mardtha Bhois, to
Whom the following particulars apply, are Bhokre, Ddge, Glyjlap,

Chapter III.
Population.

SUEFHBBDS,
Oa VLIS.

Fishers.

Baoia.

[Bombay Gazetteer,

388

DISTRICTS.

Chapter III.
Population.

FiSHEBS.

£bois.

JMav, Kamble, Musle, and Pordr; famUies bearing the same

surname do not intermarry. The names in common use among men

are Bdpu, Dagadu, Ganoji, GopAljand Kashirdm ; and among women,'

Dhondi, Ganga, Kashi, Lakshmi, PArvati^ and Savitri. They are

generally dark, strong, and middle-sized. The men wear the

top-knot, moustache,- and whiskers, but not the beard. Their home

tongue is Mardthi. Their houses are poor. Their house goods

include metal and earthen cooking and water vessels, fishing nets,^

blankets, and perhaps a cot, a cradle, a box, and some she-goats.

Their staple food is millet, fish, ^ and pulse. Whenever they can

afford it, they eat the flesh of sheep, goats, hare, deer, and fowls,-

and drink liquor. Both men and women dress like Maratha

Kunbis. They are hardworking, hospitable, and orderly, but dirty,^

and the women are quarrelsome. They are fishers, husbandmen,

and labourers. They worship the' usual Brdhmanio and local

gods and goddesses. Their family deities are Khandoba of

Jejuri, Bhavdni of Tuljdpur, and'Bahiroba Mhasoba and Satvdi whose

shrines are in the Konkan. Their priests are Deshasth Brdhmans

who officiate at their marriages. Their religious guides are the

slit-eared or Kdnphdte Gosdvis, whom they call lBi,vis. For her,

first lying-in a girl generally goes to her parents' house. On the

fifth day after the birth, on a grindstone in the lying-in room, the

midwife places river sand, pieces oinivdung or prickly-pear, rwi leaves,

and the knife with which the child's navel cord was cut; she also

lays near it cooked rice, pulse, and mutton. On the door of the

room she draws seven lines with a piece of charcoal and lays wet

gram in front of the lines. In the evening five married men are

asked to dine, and a fishing net is spread round the mother's cot

to net the evil spirits that may try to go into the room to steal

the child. The mother is impure for ten days. On the morning

of the eleventh, her clothes are washed and the house is cowdunged.

The mother sets five pebbles outside of the house, and lays rice pulse

and cakes before them. Five married men are feasted. On the

evening of the twelfth day the «lder women of the house, in the

presence of neighbour women, lay the child in a cradle and give it

a name which is chosen by its parents or other elders of the family.

They cut a boy's hair for" the first time between his sixth month

and his third year. The maternal uncle seats the boy on his knee,

cuts a few hairs, and puts them in a cocoa-kernel, and lays the kernel

. before the house gods. The barber shaves the boy's head leaving

only the top-knot. The cocoa-kernel and the hair are thrown into

a river or a pool. They marry their boys between sixteen and

twenty-five and their girls between ten and sixteen. Except

that at the marriage time they make the boy and girl stand face to

face in bamboo baskets, their marriage customs are the same as

those of Kunbi Marathd,s. They burn their dead. The pebble or life*

stone, with which at the pile the water jar is broken, is tied^ m

a piece of cloth near the deceased's door for ten days and is taen

thrown into water. So long as the life-stone is tied to the door the

family consider themselves in mourning. On the third day the chief

mourner goes to the burning ground, sprinkles milk curds butter

cow's urine and dung on the ashes of the dead, and throws the

Deccan.]

POONA.

389

ashes into water. He sprinkles cowdung and water on the spot
where the body was burntj and places two dough-cakes where the
head lay and one where the feet lay, he leaves flowers and turmeric,
bathes, and goes home. He rubs the shoulders of the corpse-bearers
with oil and feasts them. On the tenth day he goes to the burning
ground with eleven dough balls, throws ten in water, and sets the
eleventh for crows to eat. He does not return home till a crow has
touched the ball. On the thirteenth, castefellows are asked to
feast on fish mutton and cakes, and they present the chief mourner
with a white cloth which he folds round his head and goes to the
temple nearest his house. Bhois hold caste councils. A few send
their boys to school, but as a class they are poor and show no signs
of rising.

Kolis are returned as numbering 42,829 and as found over the
whole district. Most of them cannot tell whether they are Kolis
or Kunbis and if Kolis to what class of Kolis they belong. They
are divided into Chumbles, Konkan, and Akarmi,se Kolis, who eat
together but do not intermarry. The following particulars apply
to Konkan Kolis. They say they came from the Konkan about
seventy-five years ago. Their surnames are Chavhdn, Dalvi,
Gaikvddj Kdmble, More, and Vd,ghle. The names in common
use among men are Ganpati, Krishna, MAruti, and Rd.ma ; and
among women Bhdgu, Chima, Dhondi, and Laksfami ; people having
the same surname and guardian or devah cannot intermarry. They
look and speak like Kunbis and resemble them in house dress
and food. They are husbandmen, labourers, house-servants,
gardeners, and water-drawers. They are fruit vegetable and
grass sellers and tile-turners. The women and children help the
men in the work. Their chief family god is Khandoba of Jejuri ;
and they also worship Bahiroba, Kdlkai, Janchi, and Jokdi.
Their priests are Deshasth Brdhmans whom they show great
respect. They make pilgrimages to Alandi, Benares, Jejuri,
Pandharpur, and keep the usual Brahmanic fasts and feasts.
Kolis marry their girls between twelve and sixteen, and their
^boys before they are twenty-five. When a man thinks it is time
his son should marry he looks for a suitable girl. When he has
found a good match for his son he sends an elderly person to the
girl's house, and when they agree the boy's father goes to the girl's
and tells her parents that his relations approve of the match.
Then some elderly persons of the boy's and girl's family go to an
astrologer and giving him the boy's and the girl's names ask him
to choose lucky days for the turmeric-rubbing and for the
marriage. The astrologer consults his almanac and names lucky
days. After two or three days, the women of the boy's family go
in the evening to the girl's with pulse, molasses, and betelnut and
leaves, and, making over those things to the women of the house,
ask the girl's relations and neighbours to come to the feast, and
taking betel leaves and a little sugar lay them before the girl's
house gods. Other betel leaves and sugar are kept ready and
presented to the women of the boy's family according to the
family rank or man. When the ceremony is finished pulse and
liquor are served. A day before the turmeric-rubbing earthen

Chapter III.
Fopalatioo.

FiSHEBS,

Bbois.

Kolis,

FiSHEBS.

[Bombay Gazetteer)
390 DISTEICTS.

Chapter III. jars are bronglit from a potter's, and marked with turmeric. On the
Population. turmeric-rubbing day the boy is rubbed with turmerio and bathed and
told to bow before the house gods. A marriage porch is built in front
of the house, turmeric is powdered and laid in a cup, and as the time
named by the astrologer draws near a woman lights a lamp and sets
it in a dish along with a cup containing turmeric powder, a box of
redpowder, and a few grains of rice. Then a quartz or rice flour
square is traced on the floor, a low wooden stool is set in the square,
and mango branches are hung from one of the beams of the porch.
Five women take grains of rice, sprinkle them on the lines which
have been traced on the floor, and sing. The boy is seated on a
stool, and near him a maid of honour or haravli, generally his
sister, and five married women rub him with turmeric. When the
turmeric-rubbing is over they mark his brow with redpowder and
stick grains of rice on the powder. The women guests wave a copper
coin round the boy's head and give it to the musicians. Another
square is traced in front of the house, and a handmill is set in the
'square, a flower is tied to its handle, and about half a pound of udid
pulse is ground by married women. When they have ground the
pulse the stone is taken outside and set in the booth, and the boy and
his sister leave their seats. A quartz square is traced in one corner
of the marriage porch, and three low wooden stools are set in a line.
On the first stool the father sits dressed in a turban, waistclothi
and shouldercloth ; on the stool to his left sits the mother, and next
to her the boy. At this part of the ceremony the boy's father and
mother are specially called varmdvla and varmdvli, that is the
bridegroom's father and the bridegroom's mother. Then a married
woman brings a plate with a lighted lamp, a. box of redpowder,
betelnut and leaves, walnuts and almonds, and a few grains of
rice, and sets them on the floor in front of the boy. She next
brings one of the marked earthen jars from the house, fills it
with cold water, and setting a cocoannt in the mouth of it, hangs it
in a coir sling to one of the posts of the porch in front of the mother,
The Brahman priest touches the brows of the mother and father,
sticks grains of rice on their brows, and repeats verses, tying together
the hems of the father's and mother's clothes. A woman brings a
hatchet or hurdd, a pulse-cake or vada, and wafer-biscuits or
pdpad, and ties them to the hatchet j the father lays the
hatchet on his shoulders and walks outside of the booth followed
by his wife, who carries the plate with the lighted lamp. The
father cuts a branch of a fig-tree or umbar, and sets it in,
the ground in the booth. The Brd,hman priest repeats texts, rubs,
the branch with turmeric and redpowder, and asks the father also
to rub it. When the rubbing is over the father mother and son go
into the house, the priest retires, and the guests are feasted. All
this is done both at the girl's and at the boy's. The next ceremony
is the lap-filling or oti-bharan. In the evening a party of married
men and women from the boy's take, in a bamboo basket, the
ornaments which have been made for the girl, a cocoanut, two
betelnuts and leaves, five dates and almonds, a plate with a hghted
lamp on it, aud a cup of turmeric, and go to the girl's house with
music. At the girl's the men are seated in the booth and the

Deccan.]

POONA,

391

Tvomen are seated inside the house. Then the men tell the girl^s
father that they are come to fill the bride's lap and he asks them to
fill it. The girl is seated in a square and rubbed with the turmeric
or halad that was brought from the boy's. A lucky thread or
mangalsutra is tied round her neck, she is decked with ornaments,
and her lap is filled with articles brought from the boy's house.
The guests are served with sugar and betelnut by the boy's and
girl's fathers and they retire. Early next morning at the boy's
in the porch a square is traced. At each corner of the squai'e a
water-pot or tdmhya is set, filled with water, and the boy is seated
on a low wooden stool in the middle. Four or five married
women surround the boy and behind him stands his sister holding
her hands together with upturned palms. The five women sing
songs and pour water on to the girl's palms from which it keeps
dropping on the boy's head. This goes on till the water in the four
pots is finished when the boy puts on a fresh cloth and goes into the
house followed by the women. In the house five squares are traced
on the floor and in one of the squares a low wooden stool is set and
the boy is seated on it. Wreaths of flowers are wound round a
copper frying pan, betelnuts and leaves are laid in the pan, and it
is set in front of the boy. A piece of flax and some betel leaves are
tied to a small stick, and the five women, grasping the stick and

I singing songs, thrust it into an oil cup and touch the floor, the pan,
some article in the name of the family god, and lastly the boy's
head. A square is traced and a wooden stool is set in the middle
of the square and the boy is seated on the stool. A barber sits

ffacing the boy and asks a married woman to rub the boy's brow-
with redpowder and stick grains of rice on the powder. After
she is done the barber shaves the boy's head. After the boy's

:: head is shaved, the women guests wave a copper coin (J a.) round
the boy's head, and give it to the barber who retires. Five
married women, taking four earthen pots, go to the nearest well

. and with music draw water. Another woman traces a square in
the booth, and the women, bringing the four water-pots from the
well, set one of them at each corner of the square. A cotton thread
is passed several times round the necks of the water-pots and a
grindstone is set in the middle of the square. While the five
women sing, the boy's sister, followed by the boy, walks five times
round the square. Then the boy sits on the grindstone in the
middle of the square and is bathed while women sing. Except the
shaving, all these ceremonies take place at the girl's bouse with the
same details. The boy is next decked with jewels, and a silk-
bordered waistcloth, a coat, and a turban, and adorned with
wedding ornaments. A horse is brought to the porch door, a
square is traced in front of the horse, and a oocoannt is set in
the square. The boy is taken before the house gods and after
bowing to them bows to the horse before mounting it. When the
procession draws near the girl's they halt. The boy's family priest
goes on alone and sits on the girl's veranda and warns the girl's
people not to lose time in meeting the bridegroom as the lucky
tnoment is near. Meanwhile the procession moves on. When it

reaches the girl's house the girl's brother takes a cocoanut in his

Chapter III,
Population.

JlSBERS.

KoLia,

[Bombay Oazetteer,

392

DISTRICTS.

Chapter III.
Population.

I'iSHEES.
■KOLIS.

hands and goes to meet the bridegroom. The brother is lifted up
close to the bridegroom, he squeezes the bridgroom's ear, and they
embrace. The bridegroom alights, cuts with a knife a string which
has been hung across the doorway, walks into the booth, and is seated
on a low wooden stool. The girl's father comes with a pot of
water and another -brings a pot of oil and the father touches the
boy's feet with the two pots and presents him with a waistcloth. The
guests take their seats and a woman draws a square and in it lays a
bell-metal plate on which the boy is made to stand with his face to
the east. The astrologer marks the time with the help of a water-
clock, which is a metal cup with a hole in the bottom floating in a jar
of water. Another belUmetal plate is set in front of the boy and a
cloth is held before him. The girl is brought in and made to stand
in the second plate._ The guests stand round the boy and girl with
-grains of rice in their hands, and the priest repeats marriage verses.
At the lucky moment the priest stops, and throws grains of rice
over the heads of the boy and girl and they are husband and wife.
The guests throw grains of rice over the boy's and girl's heads and
the guests clap their hands. The boy and girl are then taken to
bow before the house gods, and after receiving packets of betel-
nut and leaves the guests retire. The boy and girl, with near
relations who have been asked to dine, feast, and tying the hems
of their gai-ments together, the boy takes hia bride to his house.
At the boy's house they bow before the house gods and return to
the girl's. Next morning the boy and girl play a game of odds and
evens with betelnuts and feed each other. A dinner is given, and
after the dinner is over the boy takes his bride and goes in
procession to his father's. When they reach the house, the boy's
sister shuts the door from within, and when the boy asks her to let
him in, she refuses until he promises to give his daughter in
marriage to her son. The gaests retire, and the marriage
ceremonies end with a feast. The boy and girl are led upstairs
and their marriage ornaments are taken off and tied to a beam.
Then the boy; and girl call one another by their names and come
downstairs. The marriage gods are bowed out, the marriage porch
is pulled down, and the marriage is over. When a girl comes of
age she is seated by herself for three days. On the fourth day
the boy's father presents her with a new robe and bodice and the
girl's parents present the boy with a new turban and sash.
After the girl has put on her new clothes the boy's mother fills
her lap with grains of rice and a cocoanut, and the boy and girl,
with the hems of their garments tied together, bow before the house
gods. As many of the elders of both houses as may be present bow
before the gods. A feast of sweet cakes or puranpolis is held
when only the near relations and friends of both the boy's and
girl's houses are called, and, after they have dined, -the boy and girl
are shut in a room and the guests retire. On the fifth day after the
birth of a child a grindstone is placed in the mother's room and
over it is laid a blank sheet of paper, a pen, some ink, and the knife
with which the child's navel cord was cut, and worshipped by one
of the elder women of the house. Close to these articles either
bread and split pulse or mutton and Jiquor are laid over the grind-

Oeccan.]

POONA.

393

stone, and dougli lamps are set and lighted near tlie four feet of the
cot on which the niother is lying. The house-people and any near
relations who have been called are asked to dine, and the mother
and midwife keep awake during the whole night. On the sixth day
the stone slab is again worshipped, bread and split pulse are offered
to itj andj except the blank sheet of paper, the pen ink penknife
and grindstone are thrown into the river. A woman is held
to be unclean for ten days after child-birth. On the eleventh, the
house is cowdunged, the clothes and the cot are washed, and the
mother and child are bathed. On the twelfth, the mother lays
five pebbles outside of the house, and worships them with flowers,
and hangs a paper cradle over the pebbles. Frankincense is
burnt before them and a goat is slain. A feast is held and in the
evening neighbour women lay the child in a cradle, and give it
four or five names. The first name that is mentioned becomes the
child's name ; the rest are known as palnyatli-ndve or cradle-names,
A song is sung and the guests retire each with a handful of wet
;gram and a pinch of sugar. A boy's hair is cut for the first
time when he is more than a month and less than two years old.
At the hair-clipping the goddess Satvdi is worshipped. A goat is
killed and its head is buried in front of thb goddess. The
ceremony ends with a feast to which the barber is asked and this
is the only payment he gets. The hair-clipping ceremony is
performed either in the house or in the outlying lands of the
village. When a Koli dies the women wail and the friends and
relations busy themselves in preparing a bier. The corpse is laid
on the bier, raised on the shoulders of four male relations, and the
chief mourner walks in front of the bier, carrying in a rope sling an
earthen jar with fire in it. When they reach the burning ground,
the mourner lays the body on the pile and sets fire to it. After the
body is burnt the mourners bathe and go to their homes. They
mourn ten days. At the end they present the priest with money,
metal vessels, an umbrella, and a pair of shoes, and all the members
of the dead man's family bathe and the mourning is over. A
Brahman sprinkles a mixture of cow's urine, dung, milk, butter, and
curds on the mourners and they are pure and feast the caste. They
hold caste councils. A few send their boys to school for a short
time, but as a class they are poor and show no signs of rising.

Labourers included seven classes with a strength of 5761 or
0-68 per cent of the Hindu population. The details are :

PoONA LaBOUBBBS.

CLisS.

Males.

Females.'

Total.

Class.

Males.

Females.

Total.

BhandSria
Chtaaparbanda ...

KaUIa

76
101
676

611

182

180

1187

Lodhis

Rajputs

EaMis

Total ...

206

2083

161

1760

867

3793

5761

8046

2716

Bhauda'ris, or Distillers, are returned as numbering 132 and as

found in Hd,veli, Bhimthadi, Maval, Khed, and Poena. They are

divided into Kites and Sindes who do not eat together or inter -

; marry. The Kites are nliddle-sized, fair, and generally good-looking.

B 310-50

Chapter III.
Population.

PiSHEBS.
KOLIS.

Labourees.

BbandJris,

[Bombay Gazetteer,

394

DISTRICTS.

Chapter III.

Population.

Labotteers.
BbandAris.

Cbhapahbands.

They speak Mar^tM both at home and abroad. They generally live
in houses with mud and brick walls and tiled roofs, and have
earthen and metal vessels, blankets, and quilts. Their staple food
is millet rice and vegetables, and they do not object to eat fish or
the flesh of goats sheep and fowls or to drink liquor. They dress
like Marathd,s, and are sober, thrifty, hospitable, and orderly. They
are in the " service of liquor-contractors as shopmen and sell
hevda^ arrak, masdbdar, and other country spirits at Is. 6d. (12 as.)
and rdshi at Is. 3c?. (10 as.) the quart. They are paid £1 10s. (Rs. 15)
a month. Besides as liquor-sellers, they work as husbandmen and
labourers. They are Hindus and worship the usual BrAhmanic
gods and goddesses, and in their religious and social customs do not
differ from Mardtha Kunbis. Most of them have come from Bombay,
and go to Bombay when they wish to get married. They settle
social disputes at meetings of the castemen. They do not send their
boys to school. They are poor. Within the last few years they have
given up their hereditary calling of palm-juice drawing and become
labourers.

Chhaparbands, or Thatchers, are returned as numbering 180
and as found in Haveli and in the city of Poona. They originally
came from Hindustan and are Eajputs, but on account of their calling
they are called Chhaparbands. They say that about a hundred and
fifty years ago, about a hundred of them including women and
children came to this part of the country in search of work. They
have no subdivisions and no surnames. The names in common use
among men are Bhavsing, Kesarsing, and Mansing ; and among
women Ganga, Bhdgirthi, Chandra, and Pdrvati. They look like
Pardeshis. The men wear the top-knot and moustache, but not
whiskers or the beard. The women tie the hair in a braid or veni and
leave it hanging down the back. They rub their brows with red-
powder and neither use false hair nor deck their heads with flowers. .
Their home tongue is Hindustani, but they speak Marathi with
strangers. They live in houses with mud walls and thatched or tiled
roofs. Almost all keep dogs, and few have cattle or employ servants.
Their women take no part in thatching, but boys begin to help
at fifteen. Their staple food is rice, millet, and wheat bread,
vegetables and pulse. They eat fish and flesh and drink liquor.
The men wear the Mardtha turban, waistcloth, waistcoat, and
shouldercloth ; and the women a bodice, a petticoat or ghdgra, and a
robe rolled round the petticoat and one end drawn over the head. The
women wear green or red but never black robes,^ and their orna-
ments are like those of Marathds. They are quiet, hardworking,
and orderly. They make thatch of saga or teak leaves, hay, and
bamboo. Their women sell firewood and cowdung cakes. They
are Hindus, and worship the usual Hindu gods and goddesses.
Their chief object of worship is Bhav^ni, whose image they keep
in their houses. Their priests are Pardeshi Brahtnans, who perform
all their religious ceremonies. Their holidays are the same as those of
other Hindus. Their women in child-birth are not allowed to lie on
a cot. On the fifth day a married woman dips the palm of her right
hand in a mixture of rice flour and water and stamps a mark on the
wall in the mother's room and lays rice and whey curry before the

Deccan.1

POONA.

3^5

mark. Od tie twelfth day they name the child, the name being given
by the child's father, and the mother's lap is filled with five plantains
or any other fruit. On a Tuesday after the twelfth, they worship
the goddess Satvd,i outside of the house or garden by placing five
pebbles in a line, and offering them cooked rice and vegetables.
They clip the child's hair when it is between two and five years old,
offer a goat and hold a feast. They marry their boys between
twelve and twenty-five, and their girls between ten and twenty.
They marry their widows, and practise polygamy but not polyandry.
They burn their dead and settle social disputes at maiss meetings of
the caste. Their calling is declining as Government does not allow
thatched roofs to remaia during the dry season. They do not send
their boys to school, and are a poor people.

Ka'ma'this are returned as numbering 1187 and as found over
the whole district except in Junnar, IndApur, and Purandhar. They
seem to be of Telugu origin and are said to have come from the Nizam's

' country about a hundred years ago. They say that when they came
the Peshwa gave them rent-free lands. The names in common use
among men are Ayalu, Br^ppa, Gang^ram, Krishna, Narsappa,
Phakira, Posheti, and Yelld,ppa ; and among women, Amalubai, Aku-
bdi, Jamanibd,i, Saitri, and Yalubai. The honour-giving appa or
father is added to men's names and bdi or lady to women's names. The
commonest surnames are DAsarkulu, Kutolu, Mandactd,lu, Pilaleli,
Pautkudolu, and Totoladu. Persons having the same surname caninter-
marry. They form one class. They are dark, tall, and well-made.
The men shave the head except the top-knot, and the face except the
moustache. They wear whiskers but not the beard. They live in
untidy middle-class houses one or two storeys high, withbrick walls and
tiled roofs. Their house goods include boxes, cradles, cots, carpets,
blankets, mats, and metal or earthen vessels. They have no house
servants, but keep cattle and pet animals. They are moderate eaters
and good cooks. Their favourite dishes are sour, and their staple
food ia Indian millet bread, pulse, and pot herbs. They do not bathe
or worship their gods every day but sit and eat their morning meal
as soon as they return from their work. They bathe every second or

, third day, and worship their gods on all lunar elevenths or eJcddashis.
On holidays and when they can afford it, they eat the Sesh of sheep,

; goats, poultry, deer, and fish, and drink liquor often to excess. They
also drink hlidng or hemp-water and eat opium and smoke gdnja or
hemp-flowers and tobacco. The women tie their hair in a knot at the
back of the head ; they wear neither flowers nor false hair. The dress
both of men and women is dirty and careless. The men wear a
waistcloth, a loincloth, a coat, a Mardtha turban, and a pair of shoes.
The women wear the robe with the skirt drawn back between the
feet in Mardthi fashion. Of ornaments men wear the earrings called
hhihhdUs and finger rings ; and women the nose-ring called iiath,
the necklace called vwjartika, the wristlets called gots, and the toeringa
called joAvis. K^mathis as a class are dirty in their habits, hard-
working, treacherous, irritable, and vain. Most are masons and house-
builders, some make cigars, and others work as labourers. Boys of
eight begin to help their fathers. Women mind the house and
work as labourers. Masons work from six to eleven, go home to

Chapter III.
Population.

Laboubejrs.

KJuJiTHIS.

[Bombay Gazetteer,

396

DISTRICTS.

!hapter III.

Population.

Labourbes.
KAmatbis.

take a meal, are back at work by two, and work till six. They are
busiest between November and June. On personal security tbey can
borrow 10s. to £5 (Rs. 5 •- 50) at twelve to twenty-four per cent a year.
They rank with Marathds, and eat from Brahmans, Marathd,s, andLin-
gdyats. Theyarereligious,worshippingBahiroba,Bhavani, Khandoba,
Lakshmi, Narsoba, Shankar, Virabhadra, and Vyankoba. They make
pilgrimages to Vithoba of Pandharpur, Dny^noba of A'landi,
Bhavdni of Tuljapur, and Vyankoba of Giri. They worship all
village, local, and boundary gods. They keep the usual Brahmanio
holidays and fasts. Their priest is a Telang Brdhman, whom they
highly respect and who officiates at all their ceremonies. They ask
him to dine, wash his hands and feet, rub his brow with, sandal paste,
present him with flower garlands and nosegays, and bow before
him. He tells them to be just in .their dealings, to give to the
poor, and to read good books. When he has finished his dinner
he is given Is. to 10s. (Rs. 1-5) in cash and takes his leave.
When the Teacher dies they choose some other pious man as his
successor. They believe in witchcraft evil spirits and soothsaying.
When a person is possessed they make vows to their gods and
fulfil them soon after the recovery of the sick. Early marriage
polygamy and widowTmarriage are allowed and practised, polyandry
is unknown. When a woman is brought to bed^a midwife is called.
She digs a pit or mori to hold the bathing water and cuts the
child's navel cord. Tarmeric paste and vermillion are scattered in
front of the pit, and the child and the mother are bathed. The navel
cord is put in an earthen vessel and buried in the pit. For three
days the child sucks one end of a rag whose other end rests in a
saucer of honey, and the mother is fed on rice and clarified butter.
On the fourth day.the mother begins to suckle the child. On the fifth,
a stone slab or 'pwia is placed near the bathing pit, a square is marked
on the slab with lines of rice, and a silver image of Satv^i is set in-
the square, a lemon is set at each corner of the stone slab and a fifth
lemon and a cocoanut are laid before the image . One of thehouse women
lays before the goddess turmeric powder, vermillion, cotton thread,
rice and pulse, or boiled mutton if the mother is a Vaishnav, as they
slaughter a goat in honour of Satvdi. Female friends and relations are
feasted, a shoe is laid under the child's pillow, and women keep watch
till morning. The impurity caused by the birth lasts ten days.
On the twelfth women neighbours meet at the house, set five wheat-
flour cakes under the cradle which is hung with ropes from the^
ceiling, and turmeric powder and vermillion are handed round. The
child is named, and the women guests are feasted. After dinner they
are given rolls of betel leaves and withdraw. After the fourteenth
day Satvai is again worshipped. Five stones are placed together
and turmeric powder and vermillion are laid before them. A goat is
killed if the mother is a Vaishnav, and friends and relations are
feasted. The mother puts on new bangles and from that ~time is
allowed to follow her every-day housework. The boy's hair is
cut for the first time when he is two years old. He is seated on
his father's lap and his head is shaved by the village barber who
receives |d to \\d. (l-la.). Boys are married between ten and
twenty-five, and girls between two and twelve. The girl's father

Deccan]

POONA.

397

plans the matcli and asks the consent of the boy's father. When
they agree to the terms, the boy's father visits the girl and presents
her with a robe and bodice. Her brow is marked with vermillion,
and a packet of sugar is placed in her hands. This is called the mdgani
or asking. One to five days before the day fixed by the priest for
the marriage, the bride is brought to the bridegroom's and rubbed
with turmeric paste. The bridegroom is rubbed after the girl, and
both are bathed in warm water. The bride is given a robe and bodice
and her brow is decked with a network of fiowers. Three earthen pots
are brought into the boy's house, two are set in front of the boy
and girl and the third behind them. All the pots are filled with
rice mixed with Vermillion, flowers turmeric paste and vermillidn are
laid before them, and they are made devaks or marriage guardians.
In the booth before the boy's house a marriage altar or hahule is
raised but no pots are placed near it. No guardian or devak is
installed at the bride's. When the lucky time draws near the
couple are made to stand face to face on the hahule or altar with a
curtain held between them. The priest, a Telang Brahman, repeats
texts and vermillion-tinged rice is thrown over the couple. Marriage
threads are passed through two silver rings and tied to the right
wrist of the bridegroom and the left wrist of the bride. The lucky
thread is fastened round the bride's neck. One man takes the bride
and another the bridegroom on his shoulder and they dance in a circle
scattering redpowder. When the dance is over the boy's and girl's
garments are knotted together and they bow before the family
gods in the house. The bridegroom's sister or sister-in-law unties
their clothes, the Brahman priest receives 2s. (Re. 1) from the
father of the bridegroom, betel is served, and the guests withdraw.
For four days friends and relations are feasted. On the fourth
the bride and bridegroom receive presents of dresses from their
fathers-in-law, and their brows are decked with palm-leaf brow-
horns or bdshings. In the evening of the wedding day the vardt or
bridegroom's procession, with music and a band of friends, starts from
the boy's house, moves through the streets, and returns. The priest
comes, the boy and girl untie each other's marriage wristlets, and,
together with silver rings, the wristlets are thrown into an earthen
vessel fiUed with water. The boy and girl are told to pick them out,
whoever is quickest is applauded and will be ruler. At night a
gondhal dance is performed, and the marriage is over. When a girl
comes of age she sits apart for three days. On the fourth she is
bathed, a cocoanut and rice are laid in her lap, she and her
husband receive presents of dress from their fathers-in-law, and
friends and relations are feasted. They either bury or burn their
dead, and except that they hold no death- day feasts they follow all
the rites observed by Mardthas. Among them a death costs 12s. to
£1 (Rs. 6-10). They have a strong caste feeling and settle social
disputes at caste meetings. Breaches of caste rules are punished
by fines of 2s. 6d to £6 (Rs. 1^-60). They send their boys and girls
to school till they learn Mardthi reading and writing. They are
pushing, ready to take to new employments, and fairly off.

Kalals, or Distillers, are returned as numbering 72 and as found
in Bhimthadi, Haveli, Khed, M^val, and in the city, and cantonment

Chapter III.

Population.

Laboubebs.
KJmJtsis,

Kalals.

FBombay Gazetteer,

398

DISTRICTS.

Chapter III.
Population.

JjABOUKEBS.

KalJ.lb,.

LoDnis.

of Poona. They say they came to the district from Hindustan sixty
or seventy years ago. They have no subdivisions. Their surnames
are Kd,shpuri, Longha, and Nagarba. The names in common use
among men are GangMin, Hir^sing, Edmdin, Ed.mbakaSj and Shiv-
parsad ; and among women Ganga, Parbati, and Radha. They look
and speak like Pardeshis and their staple foodds wheat, rice, butter,
and occasionally fish flesh and country liquor. The men dress like
Marathas, and the women in a petticoat and open-backed bodice and
upper scarf. They sell hevda, wrah, and rashi spirits, the first two
at Is. &d. (12 as^ and the rdshi at Is. Id. (8| as.) the quart
bottle. They estimate their profit at about one-eighth or. fifteen
per cent (1 pint in 1 gallon) and sell four to eight gallons a day.
Their shops are open from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. Their women take no
part in the liquor-selling, but the boys begin to help at ten or
twelve. Some serve as shopboys to Pdrsi and other liquor-sellers
and are paid 10s. to 16s. (Rs. 5-8) a month. They do not know
that they belong to any sect, and have house images of Bhavani,
Krishna, Ram, and Mahadev. They keep the usual Hindu fasts
and feasts and their priests are their own Pardeshi Brahmans.
They make pilgrimages to Alandi, Benares, Pan dharpur, and Tuljdpur,
They have no headman and settle social disputes at meetings of
the castemen. They send their boys to school. They complain
that their calling has declined since the introduction of the liquor
contract or makta system.

Lodllis are returned as numbering 367 and as found inBhimthadi,
Haveli, Khed, and Poena. They say they belong to Hindustan and
Aurangabad and came to Poona about a hundred years ago. Their
surnames are Dhatariya, Dhanariya, Papiya, Morchariya, and Shridhar.
The names in common use aiaong men are Girdhari, Govind, and
Hiraman ; and among women Bhagaya, Lachaya, Nandu, Paru, and
Tejiri. They look like Pardeshis ; the men wear the top-knot, mous-
tache, and whiskers but not the beard. The women tie the hair
in a knot behind the head ; they do not use false hair or adorn their
heads withflowers. Their home tOngue is Hindustani, but they speak
Marathi out of doors. They live in houses of the better sort one or
two storeys high with walls of brick and tiled roofs, and keep cows,
buffaloes, horses, dogs, and parrots. Their house goods are earthen
and metal vessels, boxes, cots, bedding, carpets, and cradles. They
keep servants and pay them 4s. to 6s. (Rs. 2 - 3) a month with
food. Their staple food is rice, wheat, millet, Indian millet,
vegetables except onions, batter, oil, spices,- fish, and the flesh of
goats and sheep, but not domestic fowls. They drink both
country and European liquor. The men dress either like Marathas
or like Deccan Brahmans in a -waistcloth, loincloth, coat, waistcoat
shouldercloth, a Maratha or Brahman turban, and shoes or sandals.
Their women wear a petticoat and an open-backed bodice and draw
a short robe or phadki over the upper part of the body and the head.
They are hardworking,' hot-tempered, thrifty, and hospitable. They
are moneylenders, husbandmen, labourers, and firewood charcoal and
cowdung-cake sellers. Their women and children help them in their
calling, and earn 3d. to 6d, (2 -4 as.) a day, hawking cowdung cakes and
firewood. The men earn double as much as the women, and those

Deocan.]

POONA.

399

who own firewood stores make £5 to £10 (Rs. 50-100) a month.
They consider themselves Kshatris. In religion they are Vaishnavs,
but their family deities are mothers or goddesses rather than gods.
The house deity of most is the Tuljdpnri of Tuljapur^ and of a few
the god BdUji. Their priests are Pardeshi Brdhmans to whom they
show great respect. They keep the usual Brahmanic fasts and feasts.
They believe in sorcery, witchcraftj soothsayirigj omenSj and lucky
and unlucky days. On the fifth day after a child is born the Lodhis
smear with cowdung a spot in the lying-in room and on it place two
copper anklets or vales, a piece of black thread, and a cap and frock
of Gujardt Khdrva cloth. They light a dough lamp before these
articles, and lay flowers cooked rice and curds before them. After
dinner the babe is dressed in the cap and frock and the copper
anklets are put on its feet. On that night none of the doors
and windows are allowed to be closed but are kept wide open.
The guests remain all night and do not leave till after dinner
next day. They consider the mother impure for ten days, and at
the end of the ten days wash the whole house. An hour or two after
a hole is dug in the yard near the house and on the edge of the hole
are laid four pieces of firewood and an earthen jar full of cold water.
The mother goes out and worships the jar, and her father presents
her with a new robe and bodice. A few days after, within a
month from the date of the birth of the child, the mother goes
some distance into the village waste land or jawg^aZ, and worships five
pebbles, and puts new glass bangles round her wrists and returns
home. The hair-cutting ceremony is performed at any time before
a child is three years old. They take the child to a river and
after the hair is cut put it in a dough ball and throw it into the
water. The ceremony ends with a mutton feast. They marry
their girls before they are sixteen Sad their boys before they are
twenty-five. Their marriage-guardian or devak is five pinches of
earth picked from five places, which they bring home and lay near
the house gods. A few days before a marriage the village
astrologer writes the date of a lucky day for the marriage on two
pieces of. paper, a silver two-anna piece is rolled in each, and they
are folded and given to the boy^s and girl's fathers. The boy's
father hands his packet to the girl's father saying Shri Rdm-
chandraji's vardth dli, sdvadh rahd, that is ' Shri B.amchandraji'3
bridal has come. Beware.^ The girl's father gives his packet
to the boy's father saying Bdsing balane lagnds ya, that is ' By
the might of the brow-horn come to the marriage.' Each takes
the packet and places it among their house gods, and the day ends
with a feast at both houses. Next day women are asked to dine, and
during the whole day and night, busy themselves making cakes
called telchias. On the marriage day from the boy's house are
brought to the girl a shoe, some henna or mendi, needles, Ver-
million or hingul, a robe, a petticoat, a bodice, a yellow sheet, and a
frock, and they are laid before the house gods. The girl's mother
goes to the temple of the goddess Shitald,devi and worships her sing-
ing songs. The boy's sister goes home and after rubbing the tur-
' meric goes again to the girl's house. When .she reaches the girl's
-tpuse the girl's sister rubs the girl with turmeric and the boy's and

Chapter III.
Population.

.Labourebs.

JjOBBIS.

[Bombay Gazetteer,

400

DISTRICTS.

Chapter III.
Population.

Labottkbes.

LODBIS,

girl's relations dine together. The girl's father presents the boy's
sister and his own daughter with a robe and bodice, and they re-
turn to their houses. -The boy's maternal uncle gives a dinner at
the boy's house. The uncle comes leading a bullock with a bag of
rice on its back, twenty-five earthen jars, and two flower-pots.
Redpowder is rubbed on the bullock's brow and garlands are hung
from its neck. One of the party walks into the house carrying
the grain bag followed by another who sprinkles water after him
as he walks. The bag is laid in front of the house gods. The boy's
father plants a palas branch about three feet long in his own marriage
porch and another in the girl's marriage porch. He cuts four holes
in each branch, fixes a ladle or pali in each hole, and fills the
ladles with oil and lights them. The twenly-five earthen jars,
are piled near the house gods. The boy is dressed in a new
waistcloth, coat, turban, and marriage brow-horn or hashing, he
is seated on a horse, and taken in procession to the girl's. When
the bridegroom reaches their house the girl's sister takes
the girl in her arms and makes her throw five balls of rice and
molasses at the boy's marriage ornament. The boy is taken off
the horse and the girl's father touches his brow with redpowder
and presents him with a new waistcloth and turban. Each of the
boy's near male relations is presented with a waistcloth and the
boy is taken and seated in a neighbouring house on a cot, the other
guests sitting on blankets round him. A dish of vermicelli-'
or shevaya is brought for the boy, but it is all eaten by other children,
the boy getting none of it. The girl's brother's wife comes with
a wooden pestle, and asks the boy to help her in pounding rice.
The boy touches the pestle and the girl's brother's wife stands with
the pestle repeating a song. When the boys have done eating the
vermicelli the bridegroom puts l^d. (1 a.) into the disband except the
boy and girl the guests all dine and take a nap. At daybreak the
five ladles in the palas branch are lighted and five earthen jars are
placed near them one of which is filled with cold water. In front of
the jars the priest traces a square made with lines of wheat flour and
red and yellow powder, and the boy and girl sit on the square close to
each other, the girl to the right of the boy. Then the boy's relations
present the boy with clothes and money. This is called the giving
away of the bride or kanydddn. The boy and girl go six times round
the palas branch, and stopping ask the guests if they should take the
last or seventh turn. The guests say ' Take the turn,' and as soon
as the turn is completed the priest utters the word Sdvdhdn or Beware,
and the boy and girl are husband and wife. In the evening a
feast is held. After the feast the boy goes to his house with
the girl in a palanquin, himself walking on foot with the guests.
When they reach the boy's house curds and cooked rice are waved
round their heads and the boy's father presents them with a couple
of rupees, rice is piled in a heap, and the boy kicks the heap five
times with his right foot. On the following day a feast is held at the
boy's house and the marriage wristlets are untied. When a girl
comes of age she is seated by herself for four days. On the fifth
day the boy's finger ring is hid somewhere in the house,' and the
girl is given four months to find it. When she has found it she

Deccan.]

POONA..

401

tells the house-people and on that evening the boy and girl are left
together in a room and she puts the ring on the boy's finger. If
she fails to find the ring she is allowed to try again at the end
of four months. When a Lodhi dies cold water is poured on the
body in the house where it lies.. The body is taken to another
part of the house, the spot is cowdunged, and the body is again
laid on the spot where he breathed his last. It is dressed in the
usual clothes and laid on a bier. It is carried on the shoulders
of four men, the chief mourner walking in front carrying a jar with
burniug cowdung causes. About half-way to the burning ground
the bearers stop and set the bier on the ground and lay two peb-
bles near the corpse's head. The bier is lifted and the chief mourner
hands the fire-jar to another of the party, and, until they reach the
burning ground, keeps bowing and laying himself at full length on
the ground. At the burning ground the fire-jar is dashed on the
ground,, and when the pile is raised the body is laid on it and set
fire to by the chief mourner. When it is half burnt, an earthen jar
containing butter is thrown on the corpse's head, and the mourners

, bathe and return to the deceased's house. When they reach
the house, the widow takes off all her ornaments and piles them
in a heap, and each of the mourners sprinkles water over them.
The widow never again wears ornaments. After the mourners
have gone to their homes the chief mourner and his family dine.
The family of the deceased mourns ten days. At the end of the
ten days the chief mourner goes to the burning ground, throws
the ashes into water, has his head and moustache shaved, cooks
rice a vegetable or two and oil-cakes or telchias, and serves

, them on a leaf plate. After the crows have touched the cakes
the chief mourner bathes and returns home. On the thirteenth
day a caste feast is held, the chief mourner is presented with a
white turban, and he is free to attend to his work. They have
a caste counci! and decide social disputes at meetings of the
castemen. Breaches of caste rules are punished with fine which
varies from 3d. (2 as.) to a caste feast. If an offender cannot pay
a fine he stands before the council with joined hands with their
shoes on his head. They send their boys to school, and as a class
are well-to-do;

• Rajputs, better known as Pardeshis or Upper Indian Hindustani-
speakers, are returned as numbering 3793 and as found in all
parts of the district and especially in the town of Popna. They
have no tradition of their origin, and say that they lived formerly
in Allahabad, Oawnpur, Benares, Delhi, and other parts of Upper
India and came to the Deccan within the last century or century
and a quarter, generally when their native- country was troubled by
famine. They are of two family stocks or gotras Bh^radvaj and
Mahirao. Persons belonging to the same family stock cannot
intermarry^ Their commonest surnames are Ajmode, Bagale,
Banasi, Byas, Ohavan, Gaval, Kachchhave, Rajekvdr, and Suraj.
.Families bearing the same surname intermarry. The names in
common use among men are Bapusing, Bhagvdnsing, Guradalsing,
Kisansing, and Edmsing; and among women Jamna, Radha,
Sundar, and Thagaya. Their home tongue is Hindustani; They are
B 310—51

Chapter III.

Population.

Labourers.
Looms.

SA.JPUTS.

[Bombay Oasetteer,

402

DISTRICTS.

Chapter III.

fopnlation.

Laboukebs.
Hajpvts.

stout, well-built, tall, and hardy with sallow skins. The men shave
the head except the top-knot and a lock over each ear, and their face
except the eyebrows, moustache, and whiskers. The face hair as a rule
is thick and some of them grow long beards. They mark their brow
with a circle of sandal paste. They live in middle-class houses one
storey high with walls of brick and tile roofs. They have generally
copper and brass cooking vessels, and earthen vessels for storing
grain. They own cattle and keep servants. They are great eaters
and are fond of sweet and pungent dishes. Their staple food is
wheat, rice, pulse, millet bread, butter, vegetables, and relishes or
chatnis. They also eat animal food, goats, hare, deer, and fish, and
use intoxicating drinks and drugs on Tuesdays, Fridays, and Sundays.
They consider themselves Kshatryas, and do not eat from the
hands of any Deccan Hindus. They bathe every day and worship
their family gods before they take their meals. The men wear a
tight-fitting waistcloth reaching the knee, a coat, a waistcoat, a
Mardtha turban or headscarf, and sometimes sandals. The women
tie their hair in a knot behind the head or let it hang in braids down
the back. They rub their brows with redpowder and dress either
like Marathas in the full Mardtha robe and tight-fitting short-
sleeved and full-backed bodice, or in a petticoat and open-backed
bodice with a short sash or phadki drawn over the upper part of the
body and the head. They wear no false hair and no one but girls .
adorn their hair with flowers. They are clean, neat, strong,
hardworking, and honest, but easily provoked and fond of show.
Their hereditary calling is soldiering or sipdhigiri. Lately they
have taken to tillage, labour, or house-service, to grain-dealing,
and to Government service as messengers. The grain-dealers buy
tur pulse in the Poona market, moisten it, dry it in the sun for five
days or a week, grind it coarsely, separate the husk from the grain,
and sell the grain at about 4s. the man of forty pounds. The husk is
bought by milkmen at Is. to Is. 3d. (8-10 as.) the palla, and the
chun or coarse bran is sold at 4s. to 12s. (Rs. 2-6) the palla. The
women help in drying the pulse and mind the house. Their average
monthly profits are estimated to vary from £1 10s. to £2 10s.
(Rs. 15 - 25). They are a religious class, and employ Deshasth and
other Br^hmans to officiate at their marriages, deaths, and other
ceremonies. Besides their family gods they worship local and
village gods. They make pilgrimages to Alandi, Benares,
Tuljapur, and other sacred places. They fast on all lunar elevenths
or ekddashis, the nine nights or navarq,tras, and Tuesdays or
Mangalvdrs. When a woman is in labour a midwife of their own or
of the Maratha caste is called. She cuts the navel cord and buries it
near the bathing place, bathes the mother and child, and lays them
both on a cot. On the fourth day the mother begins to suckle the child.
Ceremonial impurity lasts ten days. On the fifth a little place in the
mother's room is cleaned and cowdunged, and a bamboo arrow is laid
on it with a sword or a knife. The women in the house worship the
arrow, mark it with five lines of redlead, lay flowers vegetables and
bread close to it, and keep awake the whole night. On the eleventh
the house is cowdunged and the mother's clothes are washed. On
the thirteenth friends and relations are asked to dine, and in th©

Deccan.]

POONA.

403

evening tbe child is named and cradled. Sugar betelnut and
leaves are handed round and the guests leave. At some time
between a boy's third month and his third year, his hair is cut for
the first time. The child is seated in its mother's lap and the hair
is cut by the barber who is paid 6(i. (4 as.). Uncooked rice and
\pulse are given to a man of the caste and relations and friends
are treated to a dinner. Girls are married between eleven and
eighteen, and boys between eighteen and thirty. The offer of marriage
comes from the bridegroom's side. If the girl's father agrees, and
the family-stocks or gotras of the two fathers are different, an astro-
loger is asked to name a lucky day and preparations are made.
Two or three days- before the marriage day a mango post is set
in the ground at the houses both of the boy and the girl, and an
earthen vessel, whitewashed and filled with wheat, is tied to its top.
-The sister of the bridegroom bathes him, seats him on a low stool
near the post, and rubs his body with turmeric paste. As much of
the paste as is over is taken by married women with music to the
sbride, and she is rubbed by her sister. Next day the women of
both families go to the potter's and each party fetches a vessel
which they name Ganpati or spirit-lord, fill it with wheat, and
worship it as the devak or wedding guardian. At eight on the third
night the bridegroom is dressed in rich clothes, and, escorted by
a company of friends, is seated on horseback, and brought to the
.bride's. His brow is adorned with a flower chaplet in Muhammadan
fashion, and he holds a knife in his hand. On reaching the
bride's, a cocoanut is waved round him and broken on the ground.
He dismounts and is led to a place in the booth, where, along
with the bride's brother, he has to worship a copper pot or kalash
filled with water, resting on a square marked by lines of wheat
flour or of quartz powder. When the pot has been worshipped
the bride's brother washes the bridegroom's feet. Then the
Brahman priest leads the bridegroom to a neighbouring house
and girds him with a sacred thread. At the time named for the
marriage, the bridegroom is carried to a seat in the booth, which has
been made ready by setting two low stools in a square marked by
wheat flour or by quartz powder and covering the stools with a
'^piece of white cloth. The bride comes out and is seated close
io the right of the bridegroom, Brd,hmans repeat lucky wedding
hymns, kindle the sacred fire, and feed it with clarified butter.
The bride walks round the altar six tirues, and, at the request of the
guests, the -bridegroom joins her in the seventh turn, and ties the
'lucky thread round her neck. The girl sits on her husband's
left and the priest ties with a fivefold thread a small piece of
-turmeric round the right wrist both of the boy and the girl*
Next day the people are feasted and the father of the bridegroom
presents the bride with a suit of clothes. Her hair is divided
iinto two plaits which are drawn back, twisted together, and
'fastened at the back of the head, and redpowder is strewn along
/the parting or bhang down the middle of her head. Then with an
escort of friends and with music the bride and bridegroom are taken
.either in a carriage or on horseback to the bridegroom's where married
women take off their turmeric wristlets and the wedding Ganpati is

Chapter III.
Population.

Labourers.

£jiJJPUTS.

fBombay Gazetteer)

404

DISTEICTS.

Chapter III,

Sopulation.

Labouebes.
Sajputs,

Raddis.

bowed out. The whole' ends with a feast. "When d, gdrl comes of
age no ceremony is performed. She goes to live with her husband
as his wife from her sixteenth year, and is held to be unclean for
three da,ys in every month. When a Pardeshi Rajput dies he is
bathed in "hot or cold water and is dressed in a loincloth. The chief
mourner has his face except his eyebrows shaved and prepares
balls of wheat flour. The body is laid on a bier and tied fast to it
with a piece of string or thread, and wheat balls are placed one in
each _ hand and one on the stomach of the dead. On the way to the
burning ground the bier is laid on the gronndj a rice ball is left
on the spotj and the bearers change places and go on to the burning
ground. At the burning ground the body is again bathed, laid on
the pyrOj and burnt without further ceremony. When the pile is
nearly consumed, the chief mourner stirs the fire with a pole and each
of the funeral party throws in a cowdung cake and bathes. They
go to the house of the deceased, and each puts a seed of black
pepper in his mouth and goes home. On the third day the chief
inourner goes to the burning ground with flowers, betel leaves, milk
curds, butter, cowdung, cow's urine, and five kinds of sweet-
meats. The cow's urine is poured over the ashes and they are
gathered and thrown into water. The spot is cleaned and cow-
dunged and sweetmeats and flowers are laid on it. The family of
mourners remain impure for ten days. On the tenth day ten
wheat flour balls are made and worshipped. Nine of them are thrown
into the river, and . the tenth is left for the crows. The mourn-
ers wait till a crow has touched the balls, and then bathe and return
to their homes. On the thirteenth a dinner is giren to the caste-
people when the friends and relations of the chief mourner present "
him with a turban. In the latter half of Bhddrajoad or September,
during All Souls fortnight, a mind-feast is held in honour of the
dead. Pardeshi Rajputs form a separate community. They settle'
social disputes, which are commoner than among most Deccan castes,
according to the opinion of the majority of the castemen. Breaches
of social rules are punished by a fine which takes the form of a caste
dinner, and the authority of the caste decision is enforced by the
threat of loss of caste. They send their boys to school from nine
to fifteen. They complain of growing competition and falling profits,
are ready to take to new pursuits, and are likely to prosper.

Haddis are returned as numbering thirty and as found only
in Poona.^ They are a Telugu class and say they have come to Poena
since the beginning of British rule. They are divided into Pakpak-
Radis and Matmat-Radis, who eat together but do not intermarry.
Their surnames are Ajalu, Bhoidi, Hamuratbu, Kanelu, N^yadu,
Pitlobu, and E^jlalu ; people bearing the same . surname do not
intermarry. The names in common use among men are Ashannna,
Pochanna, Rdjanna, R-amanna, Yalanna, and lankanna, and among
women Ghinamma, Narsamma, Ponnamma, R^jamma, Shivamma.,and

■• Eaddi is said to he a corrupt form of Rotti a KAnarese word meaning the human
ai-m. According to the story the founder of the tribe got the name Rotti from the
strength of his arms. , , . ,

Oeccau^l

POONA.

405

Yelamma. They look like Telangis and are dark, tall, and muscular.
The men wear the top-knot, moustache, and whiskers, but not the
beard. -Their home speech is Telagu. Their dwellings are like
those of other middle-class Hindus one are two storeys high. They
keep goats, bullocks, and cows, and their house goods include
earthen and metal vessels, boxes, cots, bedding coverlets, blankets,
and carpets. Their staple food is millet, rice, wheat, pulse, and
vegetables, and occasionally fish, mutton, and liquor. They eat the
flesh of the hare and deer, of water fowls and domestic fowls, of the
wild boar, and of the ghorjpad or inguana. They prefer sour dishes
and are fond of tamarind. They give caste feasts in honour of
marriages and deaths, and on Dasara Day in October ofEer a goat
to the goddess Yellamma or Pochamma. They dress like Mar^thas
in a loincloth, a waistcloth or short trousers, a coat or a waistcoat,
a shouldercloth,, and a turban folded in Maratha fashion. The
women dress like Maratha women in a backed and short-sleeved
bodice, and a robe the skirt of which they pass back between the feet
and tuck into the waistband behind. They tie their hair in a roll at
the back of the head and use false hair and adorn their heads with
flowers. They are hardworking, sober, even-tempered, and orderly.
They are watermen or bhistes, carrying water on the backs of bul-
locks in leather-bags or pakhdls. They are also masons, messengers,
grocers, carpenters, cigar-sellerS, and day labourers. They are Hin-
. dus, and worship the usual Brdhmanic gods and goddesses. Their
family gods are Mahadev, Bhavani of Kondanpur in the Nizdm's
country,and Pachamma of Vaderpali in Telangan. Their family priests
are Telangan Brahmans who conduct their marriages, but their death
ceremonies are conducted by Jangams. They keep the ordinary Brah-
manic fasts and feasts and go on pilgrimage to Alandi, Jejuri,
Pandharpur, and Benares. Like other Hindus they worship JanAi,
Jokhaij^the cholera goddess Marimma, and Yellamma, and believe
in sorcery, witchcraft, soothsaying, omens, lucky and unlucky
days, and consult oracles. They worship the goddess Satvai on
the fifth day after birth, name the child on the twelfth,
and clip a boy's hair before he is three years old. They marry
their girls before they come of age, and their boys before they are
twenty-five. Instead of the boy the girl is taken on the shoulders
of her maternal uncle to the boy's house, where the boy and girl are
separately anointed with sweet-smelling oil by the barber and his
wife, bathed, and dressed. Marriage coronets or lashings are
tied to their brows and they are made to stand face to face on two
low wooden stools. The priest repeats marriage verses, and when
the verses are ended, the boy and girl are husband and wife.
Turmeric roots are tied to the right wrists of the boy and girl with
cotton and woollen thread and they bow before the house gods.
The skirts of the boy's and girl's clothes are tied together, and
they drink a mixture of milk and clarified butter. Next day the boy
and girl are seated on the shoulders of a barber and washerman who
dance to music. After a feast the boy goes in procession with
his wife in a carriage to the girl's house. In a swing hung from
the beams of the house, a wooden doll is laid and swung by the boy
and girl, while women sing songs. The marriage ends with a feast.

Chapter III

Population.

Labourers.
Saddis.

[Bombay Gazetteer,

406

DISTRICTS.

Chapter III.
Fopnlation.

Unsettled
Tbibes.

Bbrabs.

Bhils,

KAIKjiDia.

When she comes of age a girl is seated by herself for twelve days.
They either bury or bura their dead. They allow widow-marriage
and polygamy but not polyandry. They hold caste meetings, and
send their boys to school for a short time. As a class they are
poor.

Unsettled Tribes included nine classes with astrength of 30,417
or 5"59 per cent of the Hindu population. The details are :
PooNA Unsettled Tribes,

DiVISIOK.

Males.

Females.

Total.

DiVISIOH.

Males.

Femalea.

Total,

Berada
Bhils
Kaikiidis
K&thkaiis ...
PMBep4rdhi8...

45
226
583
663

42
150
622
617

87
376
1106
1080
111

R£lmoshis ...
Th&kura
VadSrs
Vanjtois

Total ...

8492
2935
1306
1395

8240
2708
1371
1211

16,732
5643
2677
2606

16,600

14,817

30,417

Berads, Bedarsor Baidarus, apparently Hunters, are returned as
numbering eighty-seven and as found in Poona, Haveli, and Ind^pur.
They appear to have come from the Karnd,tak districts where they
are found in large numbers.^ They speak Mardthi and live in huts
with little furniture except a few earthen vessels, a brass dining
plate and water-pot, a blanket, and a few quilts ©r vakals. Their
staple food is millet bread and pulse. They eat mutton, fish, fowls,
and several kinds of game. They drink to excess. They are a
poor quiet tribe doing no harm. They are fond of sport and are said
to be fearless in attacking the wild boar. They are watchmen,
husbandmen, labourers, and beggars. Their gods are Janai,
Jokhd,i, and Khandoba. They have a great respect for Brd,hmans
and for Brahman gods and have no images in their houses. They
say they do not want gods in their houses ; they have them in
numbers in the waste lands, every tree hill and watercourse is
full of gods. They ask a Brahman to name their child. They marry
their girls after they come of age and their boys before they are
twenty -five. They bury their dead, or as they say leave him, in
the bush to become a spirit. They allow widow marriage and poly-
gamy, one man sometimes having as many as five or six wives.
Polyandry is unknown. They have a headman who settles social
disputes in consultation with other members of the caste. They do
not send their boys to school as they are afraid they will leave them
and join some high caste. They are badly off.

Bhils are returned as numbering 376 and as found mostly in
Junnar. A few are returned from Khed, Shirur, Haveli, and
Poena. They are wandering labourers going from place to place in
search of work. They live in thatched huts and resemble Kunbia
in food, dress, calling, and condition.

Kaika'dis are returned as numbering 1105 and as found over the
whole district. They say they are from Telangan, and came into
the district about two hundred years ago. They are divided into

> Details are given in the Belgaum Statistical Account, 163- 165.

Deccau.]

POONA.

407

Mar^tlias and Kuchekaris wlio do not eat together or intermarry.
The surnames of the MardthAs are Jd,dhav, Malujya, Mi.ne, and
Sapdtsar. The names in common use among men are Avady^ba,
Bhiva, Dhagaba, Hamiji, Kdluba, and Shahajiba; and among women
Gundi, Kdlu, P£su, Radh^bdi, and Santu. They are dark and weak.
The men wear the top-knotj moustache, whiskers, and sometimes the
beard. Their home speech is a mixture of Kdnarese and Telugu and
out of doors they speak a corrupt Mardthi. Their houses are poor
with walls of mud and that»hed or tiled roofs. They are neither
clean nor neat, and contain a box, a cot, a cradle, a blanket or
two, and earthen vessels. They keep donkeys, cattle, and fowls, and
sometimes a servant. They are great eaters and are fond of pungent
dishes and of onions. Their staple food is millet, split pulse, and
vegetables. They give marriage and death feasts at which the chief
dishes are sugar-cakes and molasses called gulavni. They eat fish and
the flesh of the sheep, goat, deer, hare, and wild hog, and of wild
and tame fowls. They drink liquor to excess, and smoke tobacco
and hemp. The men dress in a loincloth or short trousers
reaching to the knee, a coarse waistcoat, and Mardtha turban,
and the women in a bodice and robe whose skirt they do not
draw back between their feet. They braid their hair and leave it
hanging down the back. The men^s ornaments are the gold ear-
rings called bdlis and kudJcyas and finger rings together valued at
£3 to £6 (Rs. 30 - 60). The women's ornaments are the nose-ring
called nath, the necklace called mani, the silver bracelets called
gots, and the queensmetal toelets called jodvis, together worth £1 to
£2 (Rs. 10-20). They have a bad name as thieves and are always
under the eye of the police. They make bamboo baskets of many sizes
for storing grain and other articles, bird's cages, and children's toys ;
they also show snakes. The Kuchekaris make straw brushes or
Jcuche and snares for catching game. They carry sand, earth, bricks,
tiles, and stones on their donkeys, remove sweepings and filth, and
work as husbandmen and labourers. They earn 10s. to £1 (Rs. 5-10)
a month. Their women and children help them in their work.
They are poor, but have credit enough to borrow up to £5 (Rs. 50) at
2 Jto 5 per cent a month. They consider themselves equal to Mardthd,s.
They worship the usual Brd,hmanic gods and goddesses and
keep the regular fasts and feasts. Their family gods are Khandoba
of Jejuri, Bahiroba of Sonari near Sholapur, and Bhavdni of
Tuljapur. Their priests are Deshasth Brahman? who ofiiciate at
their houses during marriages and deaths. They make pilgrimages
to Alandi, Jejuri, Sonari, Tuljapur, and Pandharpur. They have
religious teachers or gurus who are generally Gosdvis whose
advice or updesh they take. They believe in sorcery, witchcraft,
soothsaying, omens, and lucky and unlucky days, and consult oracles.
Thsy worship the goddess Satvai on the fifth day after the birth
of a child, when they ofier a goat and feast the caste. They name
their children on the twelfth day. They marry their girls when they
are sixteen, and their boys at any age up to thirty. Their marriage
guardian or devak is a mango twig which they tie along with an axe
and a piece of bread to a post of the marriage porch. They rub the
toy and girl with turmeric at their houses five days "before the mar-

Chapterll

Populatioi

Unsbttlei
Tbibes.

KaikXbis

[Bombay Gazetteer,

408

DISTEIOTS.

Chapter III.

Fopulation.

TJnsettled
Tribes.

Kaikadis.

KAthearis.

PhJ-SbpIbdms,

riage. On the marriage day the boy goes in procession on horseback
and sits on the border of the girl's village. His brother goes ahead
to the girl's house and tells her people that the boy has come. He is
presented with clothes and the girl's relations accompany him
back to his brother, jesting and knocking off his turban on the way.
After meeting the boy at the temple the girFs father leads him and
his party to his house. "When he comes near the door of the mar-
riage porch, a cocoanut is Waved round his head and dashed on the
ground. The boy and girl are made to stand in the marriage hall
on two bamboo baskets face to face and a cloth is held between
them. The priest, who is generally a Deshasth BrAhman, repeats
marriage verses, and at the end throws grain of rice over their
heads and they are married. They are seated on the altar, and a
thread is wound five times round their bodies. . It is taken off,
rubbed with turmeric {)owder, and cut in two equal parts one of which
is bound round the boy's right wrist and the other round the girl's
left wrist. A sacrificial fire is kindled and fed with grains of rice
and butter. Marriage ornaments are tied to the brows of the boy
and girl, the skirts Of their garments are knotted together, and the
girl's father fastening the knot and looking towards the boy, says
'AH this time she Was my darling now she is yoiirs.' A feast is held
and the boy goes with the girltohis house on horse back accompanied
by male and fenlale relations and music. Before they enter the
house bread and water are waved round their heads. The boy and
girl and other children dine, the chief dish being rice and milk.
Their wrist strihgs are unloosed and the marriage ceremony is over.
When ai girl comes of age she is seated by herself for five days
and sweet dishes are prepared for her. She is presented with a
new robe and bodice and her lap is filled with five turmeric roots,
lemons, betelnuts, and dry dates. They either bury or burn their
dead, and moUrn five, nine, or twelve days. On their return from the
funeral, the chief mourner asks the four oorpse^bearers to dine. Next
day they ga to the burning ground, remove the ashes, place two
earthen ja^S filled with water on the spot, and return home. On the
thirteenth thay kill a goat and feast the caste. They do not
observe death-days, and perform no mind-rite or shrdddh. They
have a caste council, and settle social disputes at meetings of the
Castemem.. Breaches of caste rules are punished by fines varying
from 3d. to 10s. (Rs.^-5) the amount being spent on drink or on
betelnut and leaves. They do not send their boys to school and
are Very poor. ,

Ka'thkaris,-' or Catechu-makers, are returned as numbering 1080
and as found in Haveli, Mdval, Junnar, Khed, and Poena. They ,
are not residents of the district, but come from the Konkan to dig
g*ronndnuts, and serve as labourers from October to May. They
fepend the rains in the Konkan. They are one of the rudest and
poorest tribes in Western India.

Pha'sepa'rdllis, or Snarers, are returned as numbering 111 and

1 Details are given in the ThAna Statistical Account, Bombay Gazetteer, XIII.
Parti, p. 158-165. - .

DeccanJ

POONA.

409

as found in Haveli, Inddpur, Sirur, and Poona. They are divided into
Pdrdhis, PMsepArdhis, and Vaghris. Phd,sepd,rdliis are black, thin,
and tall, and allow the hair to grow on the head and face. They
speak Marathi and Gujar^ti. They live outside oE villages under
bamboo frames covered with matting, or under the shade of trees
with scarcely any coveriag. They are wretchedly poor begging both
by day and night, and gather where they hear that a feast is to be
given. After the usual dinner hour they go from house to house to
pick up the remains of the food. Not satisfied with what they
get by begging they rake the spots where the dinner plates and
fragments of food are thrown and lick the plates along with dogs
and cats, the dogs barking at the beggars and the beggars driYing
off the dogs with one hand and eating with the other. They somer
times carry baskets, pieces of cloth, and earthen jars in which they
put the remains of food they pick up. They are always in rags or
half naked. The men roll a short waistcloth round their loins and
rags of cloth round their heads, and the women wear a gown and
bodice or of ten a piece of cloth round the loins like the men leaving,
the bosom bare. They are filthy, shameless, and noisy beggars.
They wander in bands of three or four families. The men go,
first carrying nets and baskets, followed by the women with the
wood of the cots and mat-huts, and the children with earthen pots
and pans. Oocasiorially there is a bullock or a buffalo loaded with
tattered blankets, baskets, bamboo stickis, and extra nets and mats.
They are very skilful in making horse-hair nooses in which they
catch birds and beasts. They are also robbers. They do not send
their boys to school and are wretchedly poor.

Ra'moshis^ or GhUdren of EAm, perhaps originally RduTdsis or
forest-dwellers, numbering 16,732, are found over the whole district.
The Poona Ramoshis seem to be the outlying northern remains of the
great Kanarese and Telugu tribe or group of tribes which are included
under the general nameof Bedars or By^darus hunters and woodsmen.
They claim to be of the samB stock as the Bedars and say that the chief
. of Shord,pur in the Nizam's territory is their head. Besides Ramoshis
they are called Ndikloks, and those of them who do not eat flesh are
styled Rdmbhakts or devotees of Ram. The division of the Poona
Rdmoshis into the two clans of Chavdns and Jadhavs makes it pro-
bable that they have some strain of northern blood, though it is
possible that they have been given the name Rdmoshi in return
for adopting Brdhmanism and have styled themselves Ohavans and
Yddavs because they took service under chiefs of those tribes. In
connection with their name the story is told that R^m, the. hero of
the Ramayan, when driven from his kingdom by his stepmother
Kaikaya, went to the forest land south of the Narbada. His brother
Bharat who had been raised "to the throne by Kaikaya could not bear
to part from Rd,m. He followed Ram to the forest, began to do
penance, and made friends with a rough but kindly forest tribe.
After Ram's restoration Bharat took the foresters with him to
Ayodhya and brought them to the notice of R^m, who appointed

Chapter III.

Population.

Unsettled
Tribes.

PmJsspJbdsis.

RAuosBia.

1 Details from CaptainiMackintosh'a Papers on Bdjnoshie (Madras Jour, of Lit.- and
Sc. [1834]) I. are giren in the SAtAra Statistical Account.

[Bombay Gazetteer,

410

DISTRICTS.

Chapter III.

Population,

Unsettled
Tribes.

RAmosbis.

them village watclimen and allowed them to be called Rd,mvan:shi
or children of Earn. In social position they rank below Kunbis and
above Mhars, Mangs, and Dhors. Of the two clans Chavans are
considered the higher. On ceremonial occasions the leader or ndik
of the Ohavans takes precedence, and the ceremony cannot go on
unless one of the Ohav^n leaders is present.

The leading Rdmoshi surnames are Ajgire, Berje, Bhandetkar,
Bhosle, Chavan, Chukati, Phokne, Gergal, Ghodgar, Gopne, Gudgulj
Jadhav, Jhavle, Jhaparde, Khirsagar, Konde, Kuluch, Lindge,
Madne, Majane, Rode, Role, Saparde, Shelar, Shinde, Shirke,
Vajmare, and Yelmar. In some cases sameness of surname ia
considered a proof of kinship and is therefore a bar to marriage.
This is not always the case. In matters of marriage the test of
badge or kinship is not sameness of surname but sameness of devak
the family god or guardian that is its badge or crest. Persons with
the same devak are brothers and cannot marry. If before st marriage
the boy's or the girl's crest is doubtful the matter is referred to and
settled by one of the ndiks or heads of the tribe. Among Rdmoshis
the crest or devak is generally some tree or a bunch of the leaves of
several trees. No one may eat the fruit of or otherwise use the tree
which is his devak. The names used by men are partly Mar^thi
partly K^narese. The Mardthi names among men are Dhondi, Itu,
Khandu, Lakshman, Ndrayan, Narsu, Pandu, Pdngya, Td,tya^
Tukdrdm, and Tulsirdm, the Kdnarese names are N^gd.pa, Shiv^pa,,
and Yeldpa. The women's names are said to be almost all Marithif
the commonest are Aija, Begu, Ghaitra, Dhondi, Kondi, Lakshumi,
and Rakhma. A Ramoshi canhardly be known fromaKunbi or other
middle or low class Mardtha- speaking Deccan Hindu.^ The features
of most are coarse and harsh though many have fine active and well-
made bodies. The faops are usually flat and broad, but the skin
perhaps from the damp and cool air of the mountains is often fair.
The women are seldom handsome, yet some are good-looking and
have pleasing faces. They dress the hair every fifteen or twenty days, ;
and as a class are considered chaste. The men wear the top-knot,
moustache, and whiskers, and let the beard grow when they have %
family dispute. Many live hale and hearty to a great age.

Though Telugu seems to have once been the Ramoshi language
they have so generally adopted Mardthi that few of them know
anything of any other language. They have also a special language
which they almost never use except when they are plundering
or telling secrets. In this language aJcul is a betel leaf ; adag:t
a trace, as adag gudsdl. You will leave a trace; adat woman or wife,:*
as Adata childa mat isa, Women and children do not tell ; ambuj a
Mdng, as Ambuj gudasdla kd khogddla, kudmuli isa an ohna, Why has
the Mdng come to our house, give him bread and let him go ; aril a
goldsmith or carpenter; hadil a stick; bangad a Vani; hokul a vessel also
a hole or opening in the wall &B,Bokul ka sitdrpddi, House-breaking or

' Like most Hindu castes, especially perhaps fighting castes, EAmoshis are of mixed
origin. They allowed Ennbis to join them and many of them took as wives and
still keep Knnbi women. Genu K^ik.

Deccau,]

POONA.

411

theft; boyAli aRdmoshi, Kd boyalis, yarvdd kdjdivdd, Well RdmosHs,
are you true Rdmosliis or Rdmoshis only in name ; chamgdd a
ChdmbMr; ehilad a child, as Chiladi ami tumacki, We ai"e your
children; ddg property; damal money or silver coin; dmnalivdli rich ;
devarami a god, the sun or day, as Devaramichi pddli God's share,
Devaram okndydche To go and see the god, Devaram kliugddle The
Bun is set ; gadgali a pot or cocoanut ; gadgalivdli a potter ; gdrdhum
an ass ; gdrdhumvdli a potter, geneli, dates also cocoa-kernel ; gereli a
hand or leg; as QereLirdtul gona Pick up and hit with a stone in the leg;
ghummad a pumpkin ; pod AiJiaf wheat ; gon to beat kill or plunder, as
Grudus gondydohe To plunder a house; Gonle tari yarvdd mdt isu naka,
Don't tell even if you are beaten or killed ; gorel a goat ; gudus a
house, as Gudusdt kakul khogddldy There is a dog in the house, or
Gudsat shit dhe ka, Is there a lamp in the house ; gudumi a hUl, as
Oudumila okna Run to the hill ; guram a horse ; is to take or give,
as katul isa Give me the sword; Jdtvdd tal gudasdt khobla dn
yarvdd isa Leave the good turban in the house and take the bad
one ; jdtik or jdtvdd, good, plentiful, rich, real, or young, as Jdtvdd
ka yarvdd Good or bad, rich or poor, high or low, young or
old, strong or weak; junnam millet; kadal gram; kddh a key;
hddli ornaments ; kakul a dog, as Gudasdt kakul khogddldy There is
a dog in the house ; kam a letter ; kan to look at, to tell, to do,,
as Kanti kd hydbddli, Is he looking at us or sleeping; much
kandydchi to commit a theft ; kanli eyes ; kapad or kapaduli
clothes ; kat to fasten to the waist, as Katun tdk, Fasten it to the
waist; katul a sword ; khohal to hide, as Kolchdt khobalTlide it
under ground ; khogdd to be, to come, or to sit, as Gudasdt kakul
khogddldy There is a dog in the house, or Ndlkya orid khogddldy,
The sepoy has come to the village ; kodle cock, hatchet, nail,
or lock; kolach earth or grain; kolgul a shoe, as Kolgulivar
fpatatydl They will find you out from your shoes ; kokanvddya an
Englishman or a sdheb ; kor a blanket, as kor tisdkva, Send the
blanket; korguli or korpade a shepherd; kos to cut; kudmuli
bread, as Kudmuli tdgdydchi To eat bread ; kundal a rabbit ;
kydbdd to sleep as Kanti kd kydbddli. Is he looking at us or
' sleepiag ; mdchulya a Kunbi as Gudus mdchulydchi kd pdrgydehi
Does the house belong to a Kunbi or to a Brdhman ; mdt to tell,
as Mdt isu naka, Don't tell ; mekal a she-goat ; mekhum a tiger ;
menuli fish; mond the penis; mudak an old man; mudkdyli Sk
mango; much theit ; muchvdd a thief; mudod father or mother ^
';:mulvdd a Musalmdn ; murel a copper coin ; nddvdd a barber ; nakul.
'a, nose; ndlkya a sepoy, as Phadvadiahya gudusa/madi ndlkya
\ khogddldy patil re pdtil The sepoy is sitting in the paiiZ's house, take-,
care he will arrest you; netal rice; nedle water, oil, liquor as Nedle-
tdgdydche To drink liquor, Nedle tdgun yarvdd vAl You will drink
and become foolish j nor mouth ; nydn gold ; nyanval clarified butter ;-,
okan to run away, to come, to go, as Gudumila okna Run towards
the hill ; orid a village, as Ndlkya orid khogddldy The sepoy has.,
come to the village ; atukli cowdung cakes ; pddli a share, as Pddli
isa dmachi Give us our share; jpc^Z blood or milk; pdrag a Brdhman;.
paroshi the Rdmoshig' language ; pat to catch, to arrest, as Patil re-
patil Take care he will arrest you ; phad great as Phad kokanvddya.

Chapter III.
Population.

UNSETTIiiD

Tribes.
RuiiioaHiSi,

[Bombay Gaietteer,

412

DISTRICTS.

Chapter III.

Population.

Unsettled
Tribes.

RUmosbis.

the great sdheh ; phadvad the headman, as Phadvad pata damali
ddga, Give the headman some money; phadur village; phakot:
moonlight ; pillad a knife, an arrow ; podgya a young goat ; pog. .
tobacco; pudhul door, box, or anything made of wood ; pwdfaZi
firewood ; pj/dr to tell, detection ; rai a dark night as Eaichach olena
Run while it is dark ; rdtul a stone, as Gereli rdtul gona Pick up and
hit with a stone in the leg ; rond two ; saj bajri ; sasna to die ; shedvad
a Mhd,r ; shit fire, alamp, to bum, as Gudusdt shit dhe ha Is there a
lamp in the house ; tal a turban ; teru a road; tiskdv to send; tuhuk
a gun~; tunkul mutton ; tupli hair, moustache, beard ; vakat one ;
yadas to tell as Pdrag yadasal tela damli adg<i The Brahman will
tell, give him money; yamkal a bone ; yarap to fear, to quench as Tarap
mdtisa Do not fear; iShit yarapli The lamp is out ; yarvdd or yerid,
bad, poor, little ; yedul ox or cow ; yenuni ears of grain.

Some live in neat, clean, and well cared for houses like Kunbi
houses either tiled or thatched, with walls of brick or earth, having
a cook-room and one or two sleeping rooms. Others live in
miserable huts outside of villages. They have a yard round their
houses, in which they stack grass and in the rainy season grow
pumpkins, beans, and vegetables. Attached to the house is a shed
in which are kept one to six pairs of bullocks, two to four cows, one
or two buffaloes, a mare or a horse, and about two hundred sheep.
All keep dogs and some keep fighting rams. The well-to-do have a
good supply of clothes and copper and brass vessels and a few have
guns. They have field servants R^moshis, Kunbis, or Mhars, and a
Dhangar shepherd. Their staple food is millet, pulse, vegetables,
curry, and sometimes fish. They occasionally eat rice and their
holiday dishes are gram cakes or puranpolis and rice flour balls
stuffed with molasses called Iddus. Except some vegetarians who
are known as Rdmbhakts or devotees of Ram, they eat the flesh of
sheep, goats, and fowls, and of wild pig and several other kinds of
game. They never eat cattle or village swine. About once a week
they eat mutton either sheep's flesh or goat's flesh, except the
devotees of the goddess BoMi who never eat the goat. They feast
the caste on mutton and liquor at marriages and when an offender
is allowed back into caste. To their birth and death feasts only
near relations and friends are asked. Except some scrupulous souls
who eat no flesh which has not been killed by a Musalmdn priest,
RAmoshis eat sheep goats and fowls slaughtered by themselves or
by a Musalm^n priest or mulla. As a rule the offerers kill and eat
the sheep or fowls which are offered to Khandoba, Bahiroba, JanAi,
and Satvdi. They are fond of .spirits ; both men and women drink to
excess when they can afford it. Formerly th^ey generally drank in the
evening before meals, and on Dasara and other holidays they drank
at any time of the day. The recent suppression of smuggling and
the rise in the price of liquor have done much to check drunkenness.
They chew betelnut and leaves, smoke tobacco, and use opium.
The men wear the waistcloth or drawers and occasionally a loin-
cloth a turban coat and blanket and . carry a stick. The women
dress like Kunbi women in the ordinary full robe and bodice. Most
of them have a spare suit of rich clothes for holiday wear. They
are frequently well dressed wearing gold and silver ornaments.

OeccanJ^

POONA.

413

The men wear the earrings called aniias, the necklace called kanthi,
and strings of Shilemanis or Sulemdni onyxs to keep ofE spirits
and the evil eye, finger rings, and silver belts round the loins. The
women wear a nosering, a necklace, silver bangles, anklets called
tpdds, a bedi worn on one leg, and toe-rings called ranjodvds on
either foot.

When out of work the Ramoshis live by stealing. Even if severely
beaten, they never confess except to their ndik as the proverb says,
To Bdmoshi ahe, He is a Ramoshi, that is he will never confess. They
are very honest among themselves, and do not betray their caste-
fellows even at the risk of their lives. Those who have entered
Government service have a great regard for their masters and are
true to their salt. A much larger number than formerly live by
Government service and husbandry, and much fewer by stealing.
They are hardworkei-s both as husbandmen and as robbers and would
never like to eat bread earned by others. Their chief calling is
Government or private service as watchmen and husbandry. Those
who are well-to-do lend money. Many are landholders and many
work as field labourers in which they are not less skilful than Kunbis.
Field labourers are paid either in corn or in cash, the usual rate
being 4,^d. to &d. (3-4 as.) a day. Many died in the 1876-77 famine.
Since then the crops have been good and they are recovering; Many
of them owe £5 to £10 (Rs. 50-100) generally on account of marriage
expenses. According to their credit they pay ;^ a. to ^ a. the rupee,
about two to three per cent, a month. They say they do not eat from
the hands of Buruds, Ghadses, Musalmans, Parits, Sondrs, Sutdrs,
and Telis, but work together with Kunbis and smoke from the same
pipe. They do not touch Mhdrs or Mdngs. Besides Ram, who is
the proper object of a Rdmoshi's adoration, they worship Mahadev
and Rdmchandra and say they cannot tell which is gfreater. Like
most Hindus they worship Musalmdn saints or pirs. In some respects
they seem to have an unusual leaning towards Isldm saying that
they and the Musalmans worship the same god, for what is the
difference between Rdm and Reim that is Rahim the Merciful. They
also respect Vetal and his spirits or mothers, Fringai, Janai, Kalai,
Mhaskya, Mukd,i, NavaMi, Tukdi, and Vaghya. They believe in fate
or hapdl, in destiny or daiv, and in chance or nashih. An English
tomb in the Loni hills about eight miles east of Poena is called Bdm-
deval or Ram^s temple. An old Ramoshi woman lives at the tomb,
pours water over it, keeps a lamp burning near it, and allows no
one to visit it who has eaten flesh since the morning. Religious
Ramoshis who are called Bdmbhakts or worshippers of Ram and
Krishna never eat flesh. But flesh-eating and non-flesh-eating
Ramoshis do not object to eat together or to intermarry. Again
some Ramoshis say that Mahadev is their great god, and that the
ling is the proper object of worship. They say they were once
Ling^yats, and, though they sometimes employ Brdhmans, that their
real priest is a Jangam or Lingdyat priest. Since they have taken
to flesh-eating, they worship the ling through Khandoba who they
say was a Lingayat V6ni before he became a god. Khandoba rides
on a horse which he shares with two women riders a Vani his wedded
wife in front of him, and B^nai a Dhangar his mistress behind him.

Chapter III.
Fopnlation.

Unsbttled

Tbibbs._
Bauosbis.

{Bombay G-azetteer,

414

DISTRICT8.

Chapter III. Khandoba once went to a Dhangars' liamlet where lived a beautiful
Population,, wonian named Banai. On seeing each other Khandoba and Banili
Unsettled ^^^^ ^ ^°^®' ^^^ when the Dhangars came with sticks to driye him
Tbibes. away Khandoba caught BAnai in his arms, lifted her on his horse, and

BUitosma. galloped to Jejuri, where he built a house for Banai near his temple,

and there they lived till in time both of them died. The Dhangars
are Khandoba'a most attached worshippers. They bring stone sheep
to Bdnd,i, and say ' Here is a sheep, give us flocks and herds.'
As turmeric or bfianddr is the vegetable abode of Khandoba the
ES,moshis swear by turmeric and hold that no other oath is binding.
The RAmoshis worship the ox, because it is Shiv's carrier and pay
it special honour on the Mondays of Shravan or August -September,
They worship the horse on Dasara Day in October, and the cobra or
nag on Ndg-panchmi or the Cobra's Fifth, They worship cows,
monkeys because they are Marutis, and crows in Bkddrapad or Sep?
tember- October on the yearly miud-season feast or All Souls tide.
In those days cooked rice is laid on the house-tops and the crows are
asked to come, eat, and be satisfied. The Ramoshis keep the ordinary
Brahmanic festivals, their chief days being Shimga in March- April,
Oudi-pddva in April, Ndgar-panchami in August - September, Dasara
in September -October, and Divdli in October -November. On the
Shimga or Moli full-moon in March- April cakes or puran-polis are
eaten, and much liquor is drunk. In the eveniug each Ramoshi
makes a little holi in front of his house. Ten to twenty cowdung
cakes are piled in a heap, and in the middle is set a piece of sugar-
cane about six inches long, together with a copper coin and five
pieces of dry cocoa-kernel. The head of the house takes a water-poC
full of water and walks five times round the fire spriakling water as
he goes. The men and boys of the house shout aloud, beat their
mouths with the backs of their hands, abuse each other, and then go
to join the rest of the people at the village holi in front of the head-
man's office at the village cross. The next day is called the dhulva£_
or dirt day. The people throw filth and dirt at each other, or they
take a big pot of water and put earth in it and if they meet a well-
dressed man they throw earth over him, and ask him to come and„
play and challenge him to wrestle. The third day is the shenma/F.r
or cowdung-pelting day, when cowdung is thrown on all well-dressed
persons. They dance all night dressed in women's clothes and sing
indecent songs. Oa the fourth day nothing is done. The fifth day is
the colour fifth or rang-panchmi when red dust and water are throwq
on all passers-by. After he gets married a Ramoshi generally
chooses some Gosavi to be his spiritual teacher. A man generally
chooses his father's teacher or if his father's teacher is dead he
— -__ chooses his disciple and successor. As Gosavis do not marry they
^e not succeeded by their sons, but they usually keep women and
adopt one another's sons. The class is almost entirely recruited from
Mard,thas or Ramoshis who have vowed, that, if they have a child op
if their child recovers from sickness, they wiU make it,a Gosavi.
When a man wishes to place himself under a spiritual teacher, or, as
the phrase is, to make a teacher, he asks the teacher to come to his
house. When the teacher comes he kindles the sacrificial fire or horn,
and feeds it with hemp, butter, and wheat flour. He reads a few

Deccau.]

POONA.

415

verses out of a sacred book and asks the novice wHether he has
become his chela or, disciple. The boy answers he has, and the
teacher tells him to walk as he bids him walk and he will prosper, to
tell no falsehood, to give no false evidence, to do no wrong, and not
to steal. A quantity of fruit is laid before the teacher who asks the
boy to give him the fruit which he likes best. The boy presents the
teacher with his favourite fruit and never again eats it. The teacher
whispers a verse into the boy's right ear which is called the ear-
cleansing or kdn-phukne. After this the teacher visits his disciple
generally once a year and stays a few days during which he is
treated with much respect.

When a child is born, if it is a boy the family rejoice and
beat a metal plate ; if it is a girl the family grieve and no plate ia
beaten. Women neighbours, Ramoshis, Kunbis, Dhangars, Gavlis,
and Kolis and even Mhars and Md.ngs, pour potfuls of water in
front of the house door. The navel cord is put by a midwife who
generally belongs to their own caste j and the child and mother are
bathed and laid on a cot. On the fifth day a grindstone is worship-
ped ; an arrow or a needle is stack in a millet stalk, and, with a knife
and alighted earthen lamp, is set in the mother's room ; and the men
and women keep awake the whole night. They do not consider
the mother unclean. On the twelfth day either five or seven
pebbles are laid in a row on the road-side in front of the house, and
turmeric-, redpowder, and flowers are dropped over them. The child
is brought out and set in front of the pebbles and is made to bow
before them. Some women, including the Rdmoshi women who poured
water over the threshold on the first day, are asked to the house.
Any Mhdr or Mdng woman who helped on the fifth day brings
handfuls of millet and in return is given four or five wheat balls.
The child is then named by a Brahman or a Jangam. If the father
can afford it a feast is given in honour of the naming, either on the
same day or some time after. The mother rests for about five weeks
before she goes about her ordinary work. When the child is two
or three months old it is taken to the temple of Satvai, Ekai, or
some other goddess in a particular village ; its head whether it is a
boy or a girl is shaved, and the hair is kept in a cocoanut-shell and
laid before the goddess. A goat is killed and a dinner is given.
Those who cannot afford to go to the goddess' temple perform the
ceremony in their own village, keeping the hair and taking it to
the goddess on the first opportunity.

Ramoshis generally marry their girls before they come of age,
and their boys between eight and twenty. A wedding generally
costs the boy's father £10 to £20 (Rs. 100 -200) and the girl's father
about the same, though a poor man may marry his daughter for
£1 to £2 (Rs. 10-20). When he has a boy growing up and can
raise money enough to meet the cost of his wedding, a Rd,moshi
looks about among his castepeople for a family which has a girl
of a suitable age for his son. When he has found a suitable match,
he starts for the house with one or two men and women. When
they arrive they tell the head of the house that they have come to
ask his daughter in marriage for their son. The girl's father says,

Chapter III.

Population.

Unsettled

Teibks.
RAuosBis-

[Bombay Oaretteer,

416

DISTRICTS.

Chapter III. j^g ^g fining ^ut that lie can fix nothing till he has seen the boy. To
Population. show that he fayours the match he presents, the boy's father and
Unsettled ^^^ people with clothes. After a few days the girl's father with one
Tbibes. or two men and women, of whom the girl's mother is never one, go

R-iuosma, to see the boy. They are fed at the boy's house and are presented
with clothes. If the girl's father approves of the boy the two fathers
go to a Lingdyat priest, or if there is no Jangam to a Brdhman,
who looks in his almanac and writes on two pieces of paper the
proper day for the turmeric-rubbing and the day and hour for the
wedding. - The two fathers take the papers and go to their homes.
On the day fixed for betrothal the boy's father takes a few
jewels, a robe, a bodice, a sash, redpowder, a cocoanut, about
a pound of sugar, and a rupee, and, with five or six friends,
goes to the girl's house. After refreshments the boy's father
seats the girl on his knee, puts sugar in her mouth, and
presents her with the clothes. The girl dresses herself in the
clothes, and, after rubbing her brow with redpowder, sits near the
boy's father, who fills her lap with five pieces of cocoa-kernel and
sugar. To seal the contract the boy's father lays a rupee on the
girl's brow. Her father takes the rupee and the boy's father pre-
sents the guests with betelnut and leaves and goes home. In well-
to-do families, music plays while the betrothal is going on. One to
four years generally pass between betrothal and marriage, the boy's
father giving the girl a yearly present of clothes. When he is able
to meet the cost of the marriage, the boy's father goes to the girl's
father and asks him to let the marriage take place'. If the girl's
father is unable to meet his share of the cost the boy's father with
one or two friends goes to the girl's house and settles what amount
is required. After a few days he again goes to the girl's house with
one or two friends and advances her father the promised sum.
A few days after arrangements have been made to meet the cost
of the wedding, the parents . of the boy and girl go together to a
Brdhman, explain the object of their visit, and tell him the names
of the boy and girl. The Brdhman consults his almanac, makes
calculations, and writes on a piece of paper their names, the month
day and hour at which, the marriage should take place, and the
name of the woman who is to begin the ceremony. He touches the
paper with redpowder, and make's it over to the girl's father, who
hands it to the boy's father. The boy's father asks and the
Brahman says on what day the turmeric-rubbing should take place,
and names the women who should rnb the turmeric. Shortly
before the day fixed by the Brdhman marriage booths are built
at both the boy's and the girl's houses. On the turmeric-rub-
bing day the boy's female relations meet at his father's, pour
turmeric powder into a metal plate, and mix it with water.
The boy is stripped naked, and, while the musicians play, the
woman who was named by the Brahman begins to rub the boy with
turmeric, and after she has begun the other women join. After being
rubbed with turmeric, the boy is bathed and one of the men of his
family takes the rest of the turmeric with music to the girl's house.
If the two families live thirty or forty miles apart the boy's father
buys %d. worth of turmeric and gives it to the girl's father

Deccan.]

POONA.

417

when the Brahman fixes the turmeric day. After the boy
and the girl have been rubbed the women of the house make a
cloth and a few grains of Indian millet yellow with turmeric, and
taking a sprouting, literally a child-bearing, lehruvdM, root of
turmeric, tie it in the cloth and fasten it round the neck of a stone
handmill. Five married women mix wheat, millet, and turmeric,
grind them in the same stone handmill into about a pound of
flour, and make them into a few cakes. Five ear-bearing plants
of Indian millet or javdr are dug out of the ground, bound
together by a thread, and with the roots covered with earth are set
upright near the family gods and daily sprinkled with water.
Between the turmeric-rubbing and the wedding the boy and his
little sister, if he has a sister or if not some other girl, are feasted
by relations and castefellows. At each house to which he is asked
the boy is rubbed with turmeric and bathed and sometimes feasted.
Then the family gods are worshipped. Four betelnuts, representing
the gods Khandoba and Bahiroba and the goddesses Bhav^ni and
NavMi, are rubbed with turmeric or hhanddr and redpowder or
kunhu, and enough sheep are sacrificed in front of the booth to feast
the guests. The next ceremony is consecrating the branches of
certain trees as devaks or wedding guardians. During the day on
which the animals are sacrificed, the village temple ministrant or
jgurav cuts leafy branches of the mango Mangifera indica, umbar
,Ficus glomerata, and jdmbhul Syzigium jambolanum, and of the
rui Calatropis gigantea and shami shrubs, and a few stalks of
grass, and sets them in Hanuman's temple. In the evening the
boy's father and mother start for Hanuman's temple with music
and a party of friends and relations. The boy's mother holds a
basket with a hatchet and a cake of flour. The ends of their
robes are tied together and fastened to a cloth, which four men
of their family hold over their heads as a canopy. On reaching the
temple they set a betelnut and five betel leaves before Hanuman
and ask his blessing. They then take the branches and the grass
and lay them in the basket. When they come home they take the
branches and the grass out of the basket, tie them together, and
fasten them to the front post of the booth five or six feet from the
ground. Early in the evening they feast on the sheep that were
sacrificed, and drink liquor. This is the only meal during the
wedding at which meat is eaten as the booth is held to be consecrated
to the tree branches and marriage gods. After the feast is over
there is a dance, when the dancer, with an accompaniment on the
samal or drum, iaZ or cymbals, and feniwne or one-stringed hand-
harp, recites stories of celebrated chiefs. During the night
the boy's father takes five sugarcanes or five millet stalks and
five cakes. The canes are tied together by a loose string, so that
when they are set upright on the floor and the lower eiids are
pulled somewhat apart, the cakes can be hung in the middle. On
the floor, immediately below the cakes, some grains of wheat and
millet are spread in a square which is divided into four parts by
lines drawn from opposite corners. A copper pot filled with water
is set on the grain, and a piece of cocoanut and betelnut and betel
leaves are laid on the top of the waterpot. The dancer's iron lamp

B 310—53

Chapter III.
Population.

Unsettled
Tribes.

RJ.MOSHtS.

[Bombay Gazetteer,

418

DISTRICTS.

Chapter III.

Population.

Unsettled
Tribes.

■BJmoshis,

is set near the waterpot and the dancer begins to recite. At the
end of the recitation the guests are given some pieces of sugar-
cane and bread, and the dancer some food and 2s. (Re,]) in cash.
The same ceremonies are performed at the girl's house. In
addition, either on the wedding or on the day before the wedding,
an earthen altar called bahule seven cubits long according to the
measurement of the girFs arm, with a step to the east, is raised
opposite the entrance to the marriage booth. The village potter
brings twenty earthen pots of different sizes, whitewashed, and
specked with red green and yellow, with lids on two of them.
The potter piles five of these vessels one over the other, and
with a lid on the topmost, close to the four corners of the altar
opposite the step. The carpenter is called to build a canopy or
sdbra over the altar. He makes the canopy and is presented with
a set of men's clothes. A large earthen water vessel called tdnjan
is set near the entrance for the use of the guests, and a betelnut is
tied in yellow cloth and fastened round the neck of the waterpot.
Neither the altar, canopy, nor waterpots are set up in the boy's
booth. At the boy's house on ,the afternoon of the wedding day
the bridal party start at an hour fixed so that they may reach
Hanumd.n's temple in the girl's village an hour before sunset. The
boy, who is mounted on a horse and holds a dagger in his hand, is
dressed in rich red clothes and wears a coronet or bashing of red
'or yellow paper ornamented with tinsel. He takes a second
fioronet with him for the girl and starts accompanied by male and
female friends or by musicians. When the party reach the girl's
village the Mhdr comes out and waves a lighted lamp before the
boy's face and is presented with clothes or a sash or shela. On reach-
ing Hanumdn's temple the boy's brother or vardhdva, with a few
friends and with music, rides on to tell the girl's people that the
bridegroom has come. • He is asked to dismount and eat a dish of ver-
micelli or shevaya mixed with milk which is set on a stool before him.
While he eats the girl's brother or her sister gently draws the stool
away and lets the dish fall on the ground. Then the girl's relations
break wafer biscuits or papads, over his head "and pelt him with the
pieces so that he has to retire. After the bestman has been driven
from the house, the girl's father, with a party of men and women and
with music, goes to. Hanumdn's temple. He presents the boy with
a turban, a sash or shela, and a pair of shoes, and asks him to his
house. The boy mounts the horse holding a dagger injiis hand^
and the groom's maid or karasli, who generally is his younger
sister, is seated behind him holding on her head a small copperpot
with five ears of millet. Several men of the boy's party hold stict^
with bright cloth tied to their ends. The proces^sion moves slowly, the
musicians playing, and the women throwing on the boy's head Indian
millet steeped in turmeric. At the girl's marriage booth one of the
women of her family^ with a potfnl of water on her head, comes to
ineet the bridegroom. The bride's mother comes out with a wheat
flour lamp in a bi'ass plate, and waves it round the bridegroom's face,
who presents her with a robe and a bodice. Then a coooanut is waved
round the bridegroom's head and smashed on the ground, leaving
the pieces to be taken by the village Mhar. He then dismounts and

Deccan.]

POONA.

419

enters the booth followed by the guests. The priest enters the booth
after the bridegroom and is presented with the paper fixing the hour
for the different ceremonies. He reads it and repeats texts and the
musicians play. A Brahman piles two heaps of rice near the altar,
and a curtain called G-anga-Jamna is held beteen the heaps. The
bridegroom stands on one heap, facing the west, with a dagger in
one hand and a cocoanut in the other, and a relation stands close by
holding a naked sword over the boy's head. The girl is brought
from the house by her brother or sister, and is made to stand opposite
the bridegroom, facing east, slightly bowed, and with her hands
joined and held in front. Behind her stands her maternal uncle.
Yellow rice is handed to the guests. The Brahman repeats a few
verses, and, as soon as the lucky moment comes, the curtain is drawn
on one side and the girl gives her right hand to the boy ; the guests
throw yellow rice over the boy and girlj music plays, and guns
are fired. The boy sits on the heap of rice on which the girl stood,
and the girl sits on the heap on which the boy stood, and the cere-
mony ends by handing the guests betelnut and leaves. The
Brdrhman passes a thi'ead four times round the neck and shoulder;
and four times round the waist of the bride and bridegroom, and is
paid a few pence to a few shillings (^- J anna to Rs. 3 --4) according
to the family's means. Then the Brdhman breaks the thread
which he wound round the bride and bridegroom's necks. He
steeps it in turmeric water, twists it, and ties a sprouting or
%mhevala turmeric to it; and fastens it to the boy's right wrist. The
thread that was wound round their waists he twists and fastens round
the girl's right wrist, and warns them that so long as the turmeric is
ronnd their wrists they must eat no flesh. The girl's father places the
lucky necklace or mangalsutra of three or four yellow threads and two
gold and five dark glass beads in the boy's hand, and the boy fastens
it round. the girl's neck, and two silver toe-rings or jodvis are put on
her feet. The next ceremony, which immediately follows the last, is
the maiden-giving or kanyddan. A brass plate is brought, and the
girl's mother, taking a copper pot full of water, pours the water on
the boy's feet and the girl's father washes them. Then the girl's
mother lays her head on the boy's feet and tells him that she has
jnade over her daughtei: to his care. The Brdhman is presented
with money and tells the boy and girl to seat themselves op the altar.
The boy lifts his wife, and resting her on his hip, sets his right foot
on the altar step and seats himself on the altar with his wife on his
right. Some stalks of surti Citysus cajan, of sonkari Orotolaria
jnncea, or of jovd/r are lighted, and the boy throws butter on the
fire, while the girl keeps touching his hand with hers in sign that
she is helping him. Then the Brahman or some relation ties
together the hems of their garments and the boy lifts his wife and
walks five times round the fire, and they go into the house and fall
before the girl's house gods. They sit down before a brass or silver
jplate with an embossed face of Khandoba, stretch forward their
clasped hands, and bow till their heads touch their hands. While
bowing before the gods, the bridegroom stretches out his handsj
Seizes one of the gods, and hides it under his robe. They come out
into the booth and walk once round the altar, keeping the altar ok

Chapter IIL

Population.

Unsettled
Tribes. .

RXmosbjS.

[Bombay Gazetteer,

420

DISTEICTS.

Chapter III.

Population.

Uksettled
Tribes.

EJ.MOSBlk.

tlieir right, the boy going first and the girl folio-wing. When they
have finished making the turn, they sit on the altar, the girl on the
boy's left. The bride's people come up and demand the god and
the boy refuses to part with it till they give him money. The
knot in their garments is untied by one of the kinswomen
to whom the boy promises a robe or a bodice. The feast
to the guests is served in the booth, the boy and his groom's
maid or karavli eating on the altar, while the girl dines with
the rest of the women in the house. None of them eat till the
boy has begun. Before they begin the guests ask the boy ' Have
you not got your dinner.' He says '1 have got it.' They say ' What
order have you to give.' He says 'Bat.' While the guests are eating
the bride's father and mother move amongthem to see that all are well
served. When the men are finished the women dine and some
dinner is sent to the boy's house for his father and mother. Then
the girl is called and she and the boy are seated together on the floor.
In front of them yellow rice is piled in ten or eleven small heaps
and a betelnut is put in the middle. The boy is asked to tell his
wife's name and he repeats it, Gopi, Gopi, each time touching one of
the yellow rice heaps and ending with a loud Gopi and a smart blow
on the central nut. Then the girl has to say her husband's name,
touch the rice heaps, and come down with a sharp blow on the betel-
nut. Then the bride's maids have to mention their husband's name
and all the other guests have to name their husband or their wife. The
spice of impropriety in this mentioning of husband's and wife's names
causes much merriment. After dinner the guests leave, the boy's part^
going to some house in the village which has been set apart for theit
use. The boy remains all night in the marriage booth. Next
morning the boy and girl, with a party of their friends are mounted
on the horse on which the boy rode the day before. They stop under
some trees and the boy retir.es and then the girl retires and they
come back in procession reaching the house about ten. In the
afternoon the girl's mother, with a few kinswomen and the
village washerman, goes with music to the boy's lodging to bring
him and his relations to the girl's house. When they come near the
house the village washerman spreads a sheet on the ground, and
the women walk on the sheet, the washerman picking up one sheet
and laying it in front of them as they walk. The bridegroom
and the men of the party walk at some distance behind. The boy's
father, accompanied by a Brahman, takes some clothes, dry dates,
jewelry, wheat flour, rice, cocoa-kernel, sugar, betel leaves and nut
with him in a copper plate, and seating the boy and girl side by side
fills the girl's lap with the clothes and other articles. The
relations and other castefellows come towards the bride and bride-
groom bringing a few grains of rice in their joined hands and drop
the rice on the head of the bridegroom and bride, and, taking a
copper coin, wave it round their faces. These coppers become the
property of the village gurav who sits close by with a plate^ The
Brd,hman is presented with 2s. to 4s. (Rs. I -2) which is called the
booth-fee or mdndavkhadani, and presents are given to the pdUl
and others who have claims. Those of the boy's relations who can
afford it, present his parents with clothes Or money, and the relations

Deccan.]

POONA,

421

of the girl present her parents witli clothes according to their means.
The girl's father presents the boy with a small copper pot and a
plate. The musicians play all this time in front of the booth. Then
foar metal pots full of water are set so as to make a square outside
of the booth. The bride and bridegroom sit in the middle of the
four pots on a plank of wood, the boy wearing a cloth or pancha
hanging from the waist and the girl an old robe and bodice. Some
one takes a brass plate, puts redpowder or hmku on it, pours on water,
and lays a betelnut in the water. The bride takes the betelnut and
holds it in her clasped hands and the bridegroom lays her hands on
the ground and with his left liand tries to force out the nut, which
after a short struggle he succeeds in doing. He then holds the
nut in his left hand and after a struggle the bride succeeds in forcing
it out. These trials of strength cause much merriment among the
guests. Then the bay rises, and the girl stands in front of him and
he lays his hands on her head and the groom's- maid or karavU throws
water over him and the bridesmaid throws water over the bride.
Then the bride and bridegroom blow water from their mouths at
each other. Then the boy sits down with the edge of a metal plate
under his toe, and the girl's brother comes up and pushes him over
on his back. The people laugh, but the boy takes no oflfence as it is all
done according to rule. Then the boy gets up and stands with one
foot in the metal pot and the other on the stool till fresh clothes are
brought. The girl is carried into the house. Then the boy dresses
in fresh clothes and goes into the marriage booth and sits on the
altar. In the house the girl puts on a green robe or pdtal and a
green bodice and her bridesmaid rubs turmeric on her body. When
the turmeric-rubbing is finished the bride draws a cloth over her head
like a veil, rubs redpowder on her brow, and ties a munddval round
her head. Then the groom's maid rubs the boy with turmeric as
ho sits on the altar. He is dressed in a short coat and turban
and his brow is marked with red. The marriage coronet is tied
fco his turban and his feet are rubbed with redpowder. Then the
bride comes out and is seated on the altar on her husband's
xight. Ten or twelve little dough lamps are lighted and placed
in the middle of the altar. When they touch the small heaps
of rice the bridegroom and bride repeat each other's names.
When the naming is oyer betelnuts and leaves are laid in a plate,
and all the ]Jarty, except the bride, with the bridegroom at its
head and with music, go to the village office or chdvadi where
villagers of every class are gathered. Here the bridegrooni formally
presents his offering to the head of the village. Then the headman
tells his assistant or chaughula to ask the Rdmoshi why he has
brought the betelnut. The boy's father answers, 'My child is
being married, I brought it for the people. What shall I give you
to eat'? The assistant says, 'Give a dinner to the village.' If
the father is a rich man he feeds the village ; if a poor man he
pays £1 to £2 (Rs.10-20); if a pauper he holds up his hands and
is allowed to go. Then the headman gives the Ramoshis leave to gO
and they return to their marriage booth. In the evening all the
castepeople are seated and the boy's father gives them betelnut.
He asks the guests what dinner he will give them, and says he has

Chapter III.

Population.

TTnsettled
Tribes.

[Bombay Gazetteer,

422

DISTRICTS.

Chapter III.

Population.

Unsettled
Xbebes.

RJ.M0SB18.

pulse and bread. Ttey say, 'Pulse and bread are no good. We
want four goats, mangoes, rice, and liquor.' The goats are brouglit
to the booth and their throats are cut by a Musalmdn priest. All
eat except the bridegroom and bride who cannot eat flesh because
of the turmeric tied to their wrists. When the food is ready and
the guests are seated, the liquor is brought and given to the headmaiu
or naik, who goes round with the bottle and pours liquor into a
leaf cup which is set beside each guest. The host's family follow
the headman and lay leaf plates iu front of each guest and help
them to the different dishes. This dinner is called gdv-jevan or
the village-feast. The guests often take too much liquor and get
quarrelsome, and the girl's father goes to them and begs them not
to disgrace his child's wedding by fighting. When the men have
finished the women dine and some of them also take liquor. It is a
noisy merry scene and goes on till night. Next morning the bride
is dressed in a new robe and bodice. A priest is called, a Lingayat
priest if possible, and all the people gathet in the booth. The boy
who holds a rich robe and bodice in his hand and the girl are seated
facing the priest and the boy hands the clothes to the priest. Then
her bridesmaid carries the gfirl into the house and her green robe is
taken off and the new robe put on. She does not draw the end of
the robe over her head, but spreads it across her lap and puts in it
five pieces of turmeric, five pieces of cocoa-kernel, and five pieces of
betelnut. She also lays in her robe wheat and rice called karandcir
phani and ties the ends of her robe at her back. She comes out
and sits behind her husband ; the priest repeats texts, and the boy
and girl are seated on the altar. The ends of their robes are
tied together and they go into the house. In the house they fall at
the feet of Khandoba, the family god, and the girl's mother gives
one plate of vermicelli or shevaya to the bridegroom and another to
the bride. They sit together and eat. Meanwhile in the booth
the aher or present-giving goes on. A representative of the boy
and of the girl sit in front of the priest and the boy's friends give
clothes to the boy's representative and the girl's friends to the girl's
representative. There is much merry-making. When the present-
giving is over, the priest calls ' Kanyddan' or the girl-giving. Then
the bride's mother's brother and his wife come with their clothes
tied together, and the wife puts a cloth over her head and holds ar
plate in her hand, and comes before the priest who repeats textsi'
The boy and girl are called and the boy's toes are put in the
plate, water is poured over the boy's toes, and the girl's uncle sipC
the water and says, ' I give you my sister's child. She is now id'
your keeping, see that you care for her.' The water -is thrown away
and the girl's sister keeps the plate. The boy's father brings a
robe and bodice before the priest who gives them to the girl's-
maternal aunt. This ends the wedding.

The boy's people should leave the girl's house on the third, the
fifth, or the seventh day of a wedding. Thoy should leave on an odd
day, not on an even day. The girl's father asks the boy's father
to stay but he refuses, and cakes and other eatables are tied up for
their use. Before they go all sit in the booth and the boy his

Deccan,]

POONA.

423

mother and father are seated in a row. The girl brings molasses
from the house and drops a little into the mouths of the boy's father
and mother. Then the girl's father and after him the girl's mother
lift the girl and lay her first in the boy's father's and then in the boy's
mother's lap saying, ' She was mine, now she is yours.' When this
is over the women guests rise and the women of the boy's party make
a rush for the pots which are piled at the corners of the altar, and
carry them off, often-breaking them in their haste. Then all go to
the house where the bridegroom has been lodging and the bride's
mother and he make the owner a present. The boy's party start for
their village taking with them the bride -and one or two of her
nearest friends. The bride and bridegroom ride and the rest
travel in carts. They start with music which is kept up till they
have passed the boundary of the girl's village. On reaching the
boundary of the boy's village the boy and girl and one or two attend-
ants stay in the temple of Hanumd,n and the rest go to the boy's
house and make ready pulse and bread. About seven o'clock they
bring musicians, set the boy and girl on the horse, and forming a
procession go round the village, the householders as they pass offering
sugar to the bride and bridegroom. When they reach the boy's
house the boy and girl go in together and worship Khandoba the
house god. They then come out and two metal pots are brought and
the bride' s-maid and the groom's-maid wash them in warm water and
the marriage mitre is taken off. When they are bathed and dressed
the groom's-maid holds a cloth in front of the boy and refuses to let
him pass till he promises to marry his child to hers. Then five men
come in front of them, each of them holding a betelnut. The boy
tells them they must give him the nuts. They say. Why ? He
answers, ' To feed and clothe my wife.' They agree, but instead of
giving them each of them eats his betelnut. Then a dinner of bread
and pulse is given to the marriage party. On the fifth day the girl
opens the end of her robe and distributes the betelnuts and cocoa-
kernel to the people of the house. She draws the end of her robe
over her head and on the next day goes back to her father's. A
Eamoshi marriage costs £5 to £20 (Rs. 50-200).

Widow-marriage is allowed and practised. Still a feeling of
disgrace attaches to widow-marriage. If a woman is left a widow
with three or four children she tells her parents she must get another
husband. They call a caste meeting and some widower who wishes
to avoid the expense of marrying a maiden agrees to marry the
widow. He must give her toe-rings, a nose-ring, four bracelets, and
a suit of clothes. They are married in the evening by a Lingayat
priest who reads in a low tone. Only men attend. It is very unlucky
for a married woman to hear any of the service and the neighbour's
houses are for the day deserted. A dinner is given to the caste.
The husband and wife separate in the evening and do not see
each other or any one of the caste for a day. They then live
together. If a woman has lost three husbands and wishes to marry
a fourth, when the ceremony is being performed, she keeps a cock
under her left arm, and the priest reads the ceremony in the name
first of the cock and then of the man ; so that if the evil in the
woman causes a death the cock loses his, life, not- the fourth

Chapter III.

Population.

Unsettled.
Tribes.

RAnosBia,

[Bombay Gazetteer,

424

DISTKIOTS.

Chapter III.

Population.

Unsettled,
Tribes.

MJ-Mosais,

husband.'^ The expenses attending a second marriage, which is
called motdr or pat^ including the Brdhman's fee and the marriage
feast, average ^62 to £3 (Rs.20-30).

When a sick man is on the point of death, the son or some other
relation lays the dying man's head on his thigh, and awaits the
moment of death. A Jangam or Brdhman is sometimes called and
presented with alms. After death the body is laid in the veranda,
the son sitting close to it. When the bier is ready the body is taken
outside of the house and washed, and betelnut, betel leaf, basil leaf,
and sometimes a little gold are dropped into the mouth, and the body
is laid on the bier. It is covered with a new cloth, to one of the
corners of which a handful of rice and a copper coin are tied. The son
puts on the father's turban, takes in his hand a pot with burning
cowdung cakes, and walks in front of the body never looking back.
The unmarried dead are tied to a bamboo not carried on a bier. The
burying ground is by itself outside of the village. On the way, the
bier is laid on the ground, a few stones are gathered, the rice and
the copper which were tied in the cloth are laid under the stonesi
and the bearers change places, and turn the body so that the head
faces the opposite direction from what it faced before. The grave
is about five feet deep, two feet broad, and about five feet long.
The chief mourner loosens the body from the bier and goes to a
neighbouring stream and bathes with his turban on. He then goes
to the grave and squeezes one end of the wet turban so that the
water drops into the dead mouth. He then breaks the corpse's waistr
string, beats his mouth with his hand, and crying aloud comes out
of the grave and throws earth over the body and large stones and-
thorns are laid on the grave.* The funeral party go to a stream to
wash their feet or bathe, and return home each carrying in his hand
a few blades of durva grass. On reaching the house, a lamp is shown
to them and they sit down and throw the grass on the housetop.
Next day all of them go to the grave taking cowdung and urine.
The cowdung is spread over the grave and the urine is sprinkled over
it, and the grave made clean. The son bathes and fills with water
the pot which held fire on the previous day, sets it on his shoulders,
and piercing it with five holes lets the water trickle on the ground
as he walks round the grave. He dashes the pot on the ground
at the head of the grave and calls aloud beating bis mouth with
his hand. He shaves his head except the top-knot and his face
except his eyebrows. . Rice is boiled, and each person present
lays small balls and a little butter on leaves near the grave. They
watch till a crow eats from one of the leaves. Then they go home
each carrying a few blades of grass. The mourning lasts for only
seven days. Relations are told of the death and come to the house
of mourning on the seventh day. A goat is killed and a dinner is.
given. The four bearers and the chief mourners eat from the same

' Though the RAmoshis do not admit it, the evil in the -woman probably is the spirit
of her former husbands, or rather it is the spirit of the first husband who killfd
numbers two and three for meddling with his property.

'' Some Rimoshis make tombs over their forefathers. They pay a mason £1 tt>,
£1 4s. (Rs. 10 - 12) to carve an image of a man or a horse with a weapon in his hand.'

Deccau.]

POONA.

425

disb. The Jangam or Brdhman is given alms including some fruit
or vegetable wliich the chief mourner has determined not to eat
during the year in honour of the deceased. The guests give the
chief mourner Is. to 10«. (Rs. J-5) and a new turban is bound
round his head.

The Edmoshis have four chiefs or naiks and a head chief or
sarndik. The head chief is a Mardtha, Tatia Sahib of the Jddhav
clan, who marries with Mardthas bat comes to Ramoshi weddings.
The ndiks settle caste disputes and hear charges of ^breaches of
caste rules. The commonest breach of rules is eating with Mhars
and Mdngs and other classes with whom a Ramoshi ought not ta»
eat. The whole caste ought to be present at the meeting and the,
four ndiks and the sarndik ought to preside, hear the charge and the
answers, and settle the case. The hearing of disputes used to go on
for days and the expense of feeding the meeting was met by one
■of the headmen and recovered from the fines inflicted on offenders
which were sometimes as high as £5 to £10 (Rs. 50-100). Such
heavy fines are not now levied. The people are poorer and there
are seldom big disputes. The heads are still asked to settle disputes
about the crests or devdks of different families, and at marriage
dinners they distribute the liquor. Otherwise the heads have little
power.

They do not send their boys to school. "When a child is seven or
eight years old he must steal something. If he goes to prison
the people are delighted, fall at his feet when he comes out, and are
anxious to get him to marry their daughters,

Tlia'kurs, or Lords, are returned as numbering 5643 and as
found over the whole district, especially in Junnar and Khed.

':■ They have no story of their origin and have no memory of any
earlier place of abode than Poena. The name suggests that they
are a hill-tribe who at some past time Were joined by Rajput
fugitives and have a strain of Rajput blood. Their surnames are
the same as those of Mard,thd,s, G^ikwad, Jddhav, Kamble, Shelke,
and Shinde. People with the same surname do not intermarry.
The names of both men and women are the same as Mardtha
names. They are a dark somewhat stunted tribe, but it is often
not easy to distinguish a ThAkur from a Koli or a West Poena
Kunbi. The men wear the top-knot and moustache and some wear
whiskers and the beard. Their home tongue is Marathi. They
live in small huts with low mud and stone walls and thatched roofs,
and have metal and earthen vessels. Their food is j'vdri, sdvi,
ndchni, bdjri, fruits, roots, herbs, spices, fish, the flesh of sheep goats
hare deer and the wild hog, and liquor. The men wear a loin-
cloth, a waistcloth, a blanket, and a piece of cloth or a Mai-dtha
turban wound round the head. The women wear the robe drawn

i tightly back between the legs and wound round the waist leaving
most of the leg bare. They sometimes leave the breast bare and
sometimes cover it with a scanty bodice and bead necklaces. Except
a jfew of the well-to-do who have gold ornaments, their jewelry is
of brass and tin. They are a hardworking people and work as
thusbandmen, and labo.nrers, and gather and sell firewood and hay
B 310—54

Chapter III.
Fopnlation.

TJsrSETTI.EI<

Teiebs.

R^SOSBIS.

TbIkuss.

[Bombay Gazetteer,

426

DISTRICTS.

Chapter III.
Fopitlation.

tTNSBTTLBD

Tkibbs.

TBjKtFBS,

Vadabs.

and sometimes fruits and roots. They say they worship Brahma,-
Vishnu, and Shiv, and all other Hindu gods, and keep their feasts.
Their priests are Deshasth Brahmans. They have great faith in
the Tiger god or Vaghya, and believe in sorcery, witchcraft, sooth-
saying, omens, and lucky and unlucky days, and consult oracles. On
the fifth day after the birth of a child they dip a hand in red-
powder water and make the mark of a hand on the wall of the
mother's room and worship it offering it a goat or a cock. They
name the child on the twelfth day. Their girls are married before
they are sixteen and their boys before they are twenty-four. The
offer or asking in marriage, mdgni, comes from the "boy's side and is
the same as among MardthAs. The day before the marriage the boy
and girl are rubbed with turmeric at their homes. On the marriage"
day the boy, either .seated on horseback or on foot, goes to the girl's
house accompanied by male and female relations, friends, and music.
At the girl's house marriage-coronets or bashings are tied round
the heads of the boy and girl and they are made to stand face to
face and a cloth is held between them. The BrAhman priest
repeats verses and at the end throws grains of rice over their heads
and they are husband and wife. A feast is held and the guests go
back to their homes. Next day the boy goes in procession with his
wife to his father's and the marriage ceremony ends with a feast.
They bury the dead and foed crows in their honour. They have a
caste council and decide social disputes at meetings of the castemen.
They do not send their boys to school and are poor.

Vadars are returned as numbering 2677, and as found over the
whole district. Their origin is unknown, but their names, and home
speech show that they are of Telugu extraction.^ They say they came
into the district twenty-five or thirty years ago, but from where they
cannot tell. The names in common use among men are Babu,
Chima, Hanmant, Naga, Piraji, TopAji, and Timana; and among
women Baya, Sataya, Tima, Yama, and Vasari. Their surnames are
Jadhav, Nalvade, Pavar, and Shelvade. Persons bearing the same
surnames cannot intermarry. Their family deities are EUamma, Janai,-
Satv^i, and Vyankoba of Giri. Vadars include three divisions, Gadi-
vadars or cartmen, Jate-vaddrs or grindstone men, and Mati-vadd,rs
or quarrymen. These three classes eat together but do not intermarry.
Their home speech is a corrupt Telugu and their outdoor speech
Marathi. As a class they are dark, tall, strong, and well-made.
The men shave the head except the top-knot and the face except the
eyebrows -moustache and whiskers. Some live in one-storied houses
with mud walls and tiled or thatched roofs, and many in bamboo
huts thatched with the grass called survadi. Their houses are very
dirty. Their belongings include cots, blankets, boxes, and metal and
earthen vessels. They have no house servants, but own cattle, asses,
pigs, and poultry. They are moderate eaters and good coobss
Their staple food is Indian millet bread, pulse, _ and onions. Oi
Sundays, Tuesdays, and Saturdays'fchey always bathe before their,
morning meal. They may use animal food and liquor on any day.

' Details are given in the Bijipur Statistical Account,

Deccan.]

POONA.

427

They eat pork and rats and are looked down on by Mardtha and
other middle-class Hindus. The women tie their hair in a knot at
the back of the head, and wear a robe which hangs from the waist
to the ankle without having the skirt drawn back between the feet.
A Vadar woman who wears a bodice is turned out of caste. The men
wear a waistcloth or a loincloth or a pair of tight drawers, a coat or
a shirt called bandi, a Maratha turban, and a pair of sandals or shoes.
Women wear no earrings. Their usual ornaments are toe-rings or
jodvis, a nose-ring called mof-ijand silver wristlets called gots. As a
class they are dirty, hardworking, irritable, thrifty, and hospitable.
They are stone-cutters and quarry men, and some are contractors
who supply stones for public buildings. The JMdtivadars or earth-
men carry on their asses the earth wanted for buildings, repair
rice dams, and take earthwork contracts on roads and railways.
During the fair months they are well employed. They are excellent
workers, almost always working by the piece. A family of five
spends 8s. to 16s. (Rs. 4-8) a month on food and 10s. to 16s. (Rs. 5-8)
a year on clothes. A Vadar's hut or cottage costs 10s. to £5 (Rs. 5 - 50)
to build and their house goods are worth £2 to £7 10s. (Rs. 20- 75). A
birth costs 4s. to 10s. (Rs. 2-5), a marriage £2 10s. to £10 (Rs. 25-100),
and a death 10s. to 14s. (Rs. 5-7). They worship local gods. Their
family deities are BUamma, Jan^i, Satvd.i, and Vyaukoba of Giri.
They keep the usual Brd,hmanic holidays and fasts. They believe
in witchcraft, soothsaying, and evil spirits, but they say they
are not troubled by ghosts, as the pork which they eat and keep in
their houses scares ghosts. Child-marriage, widow-marriage, and
polygamy are allowed and practised. When a woman is brought
to bed, a Vadar woman cuts the child's navel cord and is given a
pair of glass bangles. On the twelfth a Brdhman priest names the
child and is paid 2d. (IJ as.). Ceremonial impurity lasts fifteen
days. After a fortnight and before the end of the fourth month,
a clay idol of Satv^i is made and the mother lays before the image
turmeric powder, vermillion, and flowers; frankincense is burnt,
and a goat is slain. A cocoanut, a copper coin, wheat cakes, pulse, and
pot-herbs are laid before the image, and a cradle is hung over it.
In a day or two the head of the child is shaved, and the caste-
people are treated to liquor and meat. Boys are married between
three and twenty-five and girls between three and eighteen. When
the parents of the boy and girl have agreed to the marriage terms,
the boy's father pays 10s. (Rs. 5) to the girl's father, and after a
day or two a caste feast known as the sdkharpdn or sugar and betel
feast is given. At noon on the Saturday after the priest has named
the lucky day for the wedding, they lay flowers, vermillion or sandal,
rice, sugar, and a cocoanut before their family gods. They haye
no separate marriage guardians or devalca. Booths or porches are
raised before the boy's and girl's houses with a branch of the wild
fig or umhar tied to one of the posts and worshipped by the
haravali, who is the sister either of the bridegroom or bride. At their
own houses five threads, twisted into a cord and smeared with
turmeric powder, are passed round a turmeric root and tied to the
wrist of the boy and the girl. Some of the turmeric powder is rubbed
on the boy, and the rest is sent with music and women to be rubbed
on the girl. The bridegroom is dressed and with music, friends, aad

Chapter III.

Population.

Unsettled
Tbibes.

VA.DAR3.

[Bombay Gazetteer,

428

DISTRICTS.

Chapter III.
Population.

Y,4P4BSI.

VASjJBia.

kinspeople is taken .to the girl's village Mdruti. Prom Maruti's temple,

his brother is sent in front to the bride's and brings back a suit oi

clothes for the bridegroom. The boy is, then brought to the bride's

booth, a piece of bread is waved round him, and.. thrown away as an

offering to the evil spirits. He passes into the booth and is seated on a

blanket spread on the ground with his bride before him face to face.

They are rubbed with turmeric paste five times and are husband

and wife. The guests throw lucky rice or mangalakshats over them

saying in a loud voice Savadhdn, Be careful. Their brows are

'marked with vermillion and rice, and copper coins are waved round

them. They are bathed by five mai'ried women, and dressed in dry

clothes. On the next day and the day after the couple are bathed

in hot water and dressed, and friends and kinspeople are feasted.

They go to Maruti's temple on foot, burn frankincense before him,

and break a cocoanut in his honour. Each unties the other's thread

wristlet or kanhin and they are taken to the bridegroom's with music

and kinspeople, and the whole ends with a caste feast. When a girl

comes of age she^^sits apart for three days, and her lap is filled with a,

cocoanut and fruit. On the twelfth or thirteenth day the girl and

her husband receive presents of clothes from their fathers-in-law and

she joins her husband. They bury their dead and mourn twelve

days and on the thirteenth treat the castepeople to a cup of liquor.

They form a united community and settle caste disputes at meetings

of the castemen called panchas. They do not send their boys to

school or take to new pursuits. They are a poor class.

Vauja'riS, or Gra,in-dealers, are returned as numbering 2606 and

as found all over the district.. They have no story of their origin and

no memory of former settlements or of the reason or the date of their

settling in Popna. They belong to two classes, Marathi and Kongadi

Vanjdria, who dine together but do not intermarry. The surnames of

the Maratha Vanjaris are Andhle, Darode, Ghule, Palane, Sabale, and

Thorave. The names in common use among men are Rdmbhdu,

Sakhdram, Satvaji, and Tukaram ; and among women Bhagirathi,

Bhima, Gangabai, Rahi,-and Raji. As a class they are tall, strong,

well-made, and dark. The men shajVe the head except the top-knbt

and the face except the moustache and whiskers. Their head hair

is long and black and the face hair thick and short. They speak

Marathi both at home and abroad, and live in houses with walls of

brick and stones and tiled roofs. Their furniture includes cots,

cradles, boxes, carpets, blankets, and metal vessels. They own cattle

and keep hares and parrots as pets. They are moderate eaters and

their staple food includes pulse, rice, vegetables, and Indian millet

bread. A man spends on his food 2id. to Sd. (ij-? as.) a day. They

are careful to bathe before they take their morning meal. Caste

feasts are given in honoiy of marriage and other ceremonies. When

they can afford it they eat the flesh of goats, fish, poultry, deer,

and hare. "CTiey drink liquor, smoke hemp-flower or ganja, and eat

opium. The men wear a waistcloth, a shoulderoloth, a shirt or lanfA,

a turban, and Deccan shoes. The women plait their hair into braids

and wear a bodice with a back and short sleeves and the full Maratha

robe whose skirt is drawn back between the feet. Neither men nor

women have any store of fi»e clothes for holiday wear, but giv8

Deccaj],.]

POONA.

429

their usual clothes a special washing. As a class they are dirty, hard-
working, frugal, irritable, and hospitable. Their chief hereditary
calling is carrying rice, pulse, and other grain on pack-bullocks.
Since the opening of cart roads and railways the pack-bullock
trade has much declined and many have had to seek other
employment. Some are husbandmen and some constables and
messengers, some deal in fodder, and some deal in wood. Of those
who have taken to husbandry some show much skill both in
field-work and in gardening, and others deal in milk and
clarified butter. Thoir women help in hoeing and cutting
grass and their children in watching and bird -scaring . As
a class the Vanjdri landholders are not prosperous. They can
borrow on their personal credit £20 to £50 (Rs. 200-600) at yearly
rates varying from twelve to thirty-six per cent. A Vanjdri eats
from no one but a Brd,hman or a Mard.tha. They rank themselves
with MarathAs but Marathas look down on them and object to dine
with them. Vanjdris are religious. Some worship Shiv and
others Vishnu, but their chief objects of worship are their
lamily deities Bahiroba, Bhavdni, and Khandoba. Their priest is a
Deshasth Brahman, whom they call to their houses during their
marriage death and other ceremonies. They make pilgrimages to
Alandi, Jejuri, Pandharpur, Singanapur, TuIjApur, and other sacred
places. They keep the fasts and feasts observed by other Brd,hmanic
Hindus, and fast on ekddashis or lunar elevenths. They have no
special guide but most of them become the disciples of some Gosavi.
Their women and children occasionally suffer from spirit possession.
VVhen they think that any sickness has been caused by spirits an
exorcist or deverishi is called in who repeats some verses and waves a
lemon and a fowl round the possessed person's head and drives out the
, spirit. When a woman is in labour a midwife is called. She comes
and prepares a place for bathing the woman. She cuts the child's
navel cord and buries it under the spot where the woman was bathed
and the mother is laid on a cot. On the fifth day a coooanut and
lemon are laid on a grindstone and worshipped by men who sit up the
whole night. The ceremonial impurity lasts for ten days. On the
twelfth Satvai is worshipped and the child is named by elderly
persons in the house. Between the time when a boy is twelve
inonths and three years old, the hair-cutting or jdval takes place. If
the child is the subject of a vow a goat is sacrificed in the name of
some god. The child is seated in its maternal uncle's lap in the presence
of a company of friends and relations. After the hair has been
clipped the head of the child is shaved except a small tuft or shendi
on the top of the head. New clothes are given to the child and
Jriends and relations are feasted.

The offer of marriage comes from the boy's side. The boy's father
goes with some frieuds l^o the girl's house and asks her father
whether he will give his daughter in marriage to his son. If the
father agrees a formal offer is made. Then follow as among other
MarAthas the turmeric-rubbing, the installation of the wedding-
guardian or devak, and the making of wedding porches. Ou the
marriage day the bridegroom is dressed in nefr clothes, a marriage
ornament called bashing is tied to his brow atiji he is takeu on horse-

Chapter III.
Fopulatioii.

Tribes.
TJJfJJRIiS.

[Bombay (^aeetteer,

430

DISTRICTS.

Chapter III. back with friends and music to tile temple of Marati in the girl's

Population. village. The bridegroom is seated in the temple and his brother

Unsettled mounts the horse and goes to the bride's. Her father gives him a

Tribes. turban and scarf and these he takes to the temple and gives to the

Vawjabis. bridegroom to wear. Then the bridegroom is seated on the horse

and led to the bride's. He is taken into the wedding porch and made

-to stand on a carpet or sacking. The bride is led oat and is made to

stand facing the bridegroom. A piece of cloth is held between them,

the Brdhman priest hands to the guests rice mixed with turmeric

powder, and gives the bride and bridegroom a roll of betel leaves to

hold. He then recites the wedding verses ending with Siva lagnctj

sobvadhcma, May the wedding be lucky, Beware. He throws lucky

rice five times over the couple, and the guests throw the rice which

they have in their hands. Then the couple are seated and the

bridegroom ties the lucky thread round the bride's neck. The

washerman brings a piece of fresh- washed white cloth. This is cut in

two and in each part a turmeric, betelnut, and cloves are rolled and

one is fastened round the right arm of the bridegroom and the other

round the right arm of the bride; When the couple are seated on the

altar the priest lights a sacred fire. When the fire is kindled and

verses have been read the couple each in turn throw clarified butter

aaad rice into the fire. Then the guests wave copper coins round the

bride and bridegroom and throw them away. The skirts of the

boy's and girl's robes are knotted together and they go and bow to

the family gods. When the worship of the house gods is over they

fall at the feet of the bride's mother, who unties their clothes. The

day ' ends with a feast. On the day after the wedding a

second caste feast is given. On the third day the bridegroom

and the bride are bathed and made to dine from the same dish in

the presence of friends and relations. The guests as on the wedding

-day wave , copper coins round the bridegroom and the bride and

throw them away. The coppers are given to the priest or the

pipers, or th6y are changed into silver and made into finger rings

for the bride and bridegroom. Then with music the bride and

bridegroom start in procession for the bridegroom's house, where

a feast of cakes and flesh is given and the wedding guardian or

devak is bowed out. When a girl comes of age she sits by herself

for four days and on the fifth she is bathed. On the sixteenth the

girl's father with music fetches her husband and asks him to put

fruits and nuts into the girl's lap and presents the girl with a robe

and bodice and her husband With a turban. The day ends with a

feast. The Vanjaris have no pregnancy ceremony. When a

Vanjari dies his friends and relations or caste-people meet and'

prepare a bier. A fire is kindled and some water is heated . in a

new earthen pot. The body is taken out of the house, bathed

in hot water and dressed in a loincloth, laid on the bier, and

covered with a new white cloth. Then the chief mourner starts

carrying the fire-pot and the bearers follow. On the way to the

burning ground they rest the bier, lay on the ground a copper coin

and some rice, change places, and carry on the body to the burning

ground. At the burning ground they lay down the bier and

-unfasten the body. The chief mourner has his face, including th^

Deccan.]

POONA.

431

moustache, shaved, washes in cold water, and with the help of
others begins to heap up the funeral pile. When the pile is ready
the body, is laid on it and the chief mourner squeezes some water into
the dead mouth and kindles the pyre. When the body is nearly
consumed the son walks thrice round the pyre with the dripping
earthen water jar, dashes it on the ground, beats his mouth, and
cnes aloud. All go to the river to bathe and return to the house
of mourning in wet clothes. At the house of mourning they are
given some nim leaves to eat. They then look at the lamp which has
been set over the place where the deceased died and go to their
homes. On the third day the chief mourner, accompanied by a priest
and a few relatives, takes a winnowing basket and two or three
small earthen pots, with ihilk, curds, clarified butter, and cow's urine,
and five millet cakes, and goes to the burning ground. At
the burning ground the cow's urine, milk, and curds are poured
over the ashes, which are gathered in a blanket and thrown into the
river. Milk, curds, and cow's urine are again poured over the place
where the ashes were, and two earthen jars are set where the head lay
and one where the feet lay when the dead was burned. The jars
are filled with water and covered with the five millet cakes, and
worshipped with flowers and sandal powder. When this is over
the winnowing basket is thrown away and the people return home.
Ceremonial impurity lasts ten days. On the tenth, ten balls of
wheat flour are prepared and worshipped and one is offered to the
crows and the rest are thrown into the river. After a crow has
touched the ball the mourners bathe and go home. On the eleventh,
they wash their clothes and cowdung the house where the death
took place. On the twelfth and thirteenth caste feasts are given when
relations present the chief mourner with a mourning suit or dukhavata.
A shriiddha or mind-feast is performed every year in September.
There is no single community of Vanjdris. Each group holds
meetings and settles social disputes without any headman. Offences
against caste rules are punished by fines varying from M. to 2s. Qd.
(Re. i-H). ' If a man refuses to pay the fine, he is put out of
caste and not allowed back till he has given a caste feast. Both
boys and girls are sent to school and kept there till they are about
twelve. Some of them take to new callings and their prospects on
the whole are good.

Depressed Classes included four castes with a strength of
90,281 (males 43,827, females 46,454) or 10-62 per cent of the Hindu
population. The following table gives the details :
PooNA Depressed Classes.

DiVISIOH.

Hales.

Females.

Total.

Division.

Males.

Females.

Total.

Dhors
Haiaikhors ...

MMre

550

512

36,071

5.?4

492

38,482

1104

1004

74,553

Total ...

6694

6926

13,620

43,827

46,464

90,281

Dhors are returned as numbering 1104 and as found over the
whole district except Purandhar. They have a tradition that they
came into the district from Ndsik about a hundred years ago. The

Chapter III.

Population.

Unsettled
Tbiees.

VanjjCris,

Depeessed
Classes,

Dbors.

[Bombay Gazetteer,

432

DISTRICTS.

Chapter III.
Population.

Defkesskd
Classes.

Dbobs.

names in common use among men are Bhau, Devba, Kushdba,
N4mdji, Edma, Sakru/ and Vithu j and among women, Chimana,
Griraja, Kusa, Mukta, Manjula, Saguna, and Vitha. Bdji and rdct
are, added to men's names and bdi , to women's names. In"
addressing elders the respectful term tiravanji is used. Their
surnames are Gdvare, Kalamkar, Ndr^yane, Rdpiri, Sadd,phale,
Salanke,^ Sinde, and Trimak. Persons bearing the same surnames
cannot intermarry. They have no divisions. Their family gods
are Bahiroba, Bhavd,ni of Kondanpur and Tuljapur, Jan^i,
Khandoba of Jejuri, Mahddev, 'and Vithoba of Pandharpur. They
look like Mardthds and speak a corrupt Mar4thi both, at home and
abroad. A Dhor may be generally known by his red fingers^,
stained by the dye he uses in making leather. As a class they are
dark, middle-sized, and well-made. The men shave the head except',
the topknot and the face except the moustache and whiskers. They
live in common and generally dirty one-storied houses with brick
walls and tiled roofs. They have no house servants, but own cattle
and pet animals. Their staple food is Indian millet bread, rice
and chopped chillies or pot-herbs. They usually bathe before
their morning meal, worship their family gods, water the sweet
basil plant before their door, and offer the gods food cooked in the
house. At their marriage feasts they have stuffed cakes o^
puranpolis, rice-flour cakes fried in oil called telachis, and bojled
mutton. They eat the flesh of the sheep," goat, deer, hare, wild pig,>
pigeon, and poultry, and on holidays drink country liquor or
European spirits. They drink to excess, take opium, drink bhdng,
or hemp-flower, and smoke tobacco and hemp-flower or gdnja. Tlaei.
women tie their hair into a knot at the back of the head and never
wear flowers, or false hair. Both men and women are clean and
neat in their dress. The men wear a loincloth or a waistcloth, a shirt
or handi, a shouldercloth, a Maratha turban, and a pair of sandals
or shoes. The women dress in a robe hanging like a petticoat from
the waist to the ankles, and a bodice with a back and short sleeves.^
Neither men nor women have a special set of clothes for holiday
wear; they give their every-day clothes a special washing. They
buy their clothes in Poona and other district towns. As a clas^
Dhors are dirty, hardworking, orderly, thrifty, goodnatured, and,
hospitable. Their principal and hereditary calling is tanning hides.
They buy skins from Mh^rs, and steep them for four days in an
earthen pot filled with lime-water. On the fourth they take them
out and put them in boiled water mixed with pounded bdbhul bark
and hirdds or myrobalans. After being left three days in the watel^
they are taken out and dried in the sun. The women help the men'
in preparing the lime and bdbhul bark water- and mind the hous^|
Most Dhors carry on their trade with their own capital. Tanning
is brisk all the year round, but the cold weather is better than the
hot, as in hot weather the skins rot quickly when dipped in water
and are often spoiled. The Dhors do not rest on any day in the
year except Shimga or Eoli in March- April and Dasara in September-
October. In spite of good earnings most of them are in debt,
borrowing £2 10s. to £10 (Rs. 25-100) at twenty-four per cent
interest to meet marriage and other charges, and being seldom able

Decean.]

POONA.

433

to clear off their debts. Some of them work as labourers and live
from hand to month. They rank one degree higher than Mhars
and eat from the hands of Brdhmans, MardtMs, and Lingdyats.
The Dhors are a religious class. Their family deities are Bahiroba,
Bhavani of Tuljapur and Kondanpur, Janai, Khandoba of Jejuri,
Mahddev of Signdpur, and Vithoba of Pandharpm-. Their priest
is a Jangam, who officiates at all their ceremonies ; at the same time
they pay great respect to Brahmans. They are worshippers of
Shiv and hold him in special reverence. They keep the usual
Brahmanic and local holidays and fa^ts, their great days beings
Navardtra in September -October and Shivardtra in January-
February. Their religious teacher is a slit^eared or Kdnphatya
Gosdvi, who visits their homes and receives a yearly tribute either
in cash or in clothes. They worship the usual Brahmanic and early
village gods, boundary gods, and local gods, and believe in witch-
'oraft, soothsaying, and evil spirits. When any one is possessed by
an evil spirit they call in a devarishi or seer skilled in incantations
and charms. The seer visits the sick person, burns frankincense
before him, repeats a charm over a pinch of ashes, and rubs the
ashes on the sick person's brow, waves a cocoanut round his head,
sacrifices a goat or a cock, and the sick recovers. Early marriage
widow-marriage and polygamy are allowed and practised ; polyandry
is unknown. When a woman is brought to bed a midwife is called.
She cuts the child's navel cord, bathes both mother and child in
warm water, and lays them on a cot. The navel cord is buried under
the threshold and the nurse is paid 2d, to I5S. (lJ-10 a«.). For
the first three days the child is fed on honey and the mother on
rice mixed with clarified butter. On the fourth the mother suckles
the child. On the fifth a gold or silver image of Satvdi is placed in
■the lying-in room on a stone slab or pata. Some sand, prickly -pear
•or nivadung, and the knife used in cutting the navel cord are laid on
the stone. The midwife or some other woman of the family lays
before the image turmeric powder, vermillion, cotton thread, and
redlead. Frankincense is burnt before it, and goats are slaughtered
in the name of the goddess and boiled mutton is offered to
her. Four stalks of Indian millet are placed at the four corners of
the cot and the women of- the family keep awake during the whole
night. On the seventh the lying-in room is washed with cowdung
and the mother is given new clothes, and is again laid on the cot.
Ceremonial impurity lasts ten days. On the eleventh the house is
cowdunged, and the mother is bathed and dressed in new clothes.
She sets five stones outside of the door in the field and worships
them with turmeric powder, vermillion, and pomegranate
flowers in the name of Satvai. Lastly the goddess is offered A
cocoanut and rice and pulse, and the silver image which was
i worshipped on the fifth is tied round the child's neck. The child
is named on the fifteenth or twenty-first day, when castewomen
meet at the child's house, and, after asking the inmates, lay the child
in a cradle and name it. Handfuls of boiled gram, betel packets,
and sugar are served and the guests 'leave. A boy's head is
shaved for the first time between one and five. He is seated on
his maternal uncle's lap, who cuts a little of the hair, and the cutting
B 310—55

Chapter IIL

Population.

Dbpebssed
Classes.

tBombay Gaaetteer,

434

DISTRICTS.

Chapter III,

Population.

Depressed
Classes,

Dbobs.

is finished by tlie men of the house. Goats are slaughtered and friends
and-relations are feasted. Betel leaves and nuts are handed and
the guests take their leave. Next day the boy's head is shaved
except a tuft on the crown. A hair-cutting or javal costs 4s. to 8s.
(Rs. 2-4). They marry their boys between five and twenty -and
their girls between three and sixteen. As a rule the offer of
marriage comes from the boy's father to the girl's father, who accepts
it if in his opinion- the match is a good one. On a lucky day comes
the mdgani or asking. The boy's father with masio and friends goes
to the girl's and presents her with a new robe and bodice and &
packet of sugar. A Jangara priest marks her brow with vermillioii
and she is dressed in the suit presented to her by her future father-in-
law. Her lapis filled with rice and a cocoanut, and rolls of betel leaves
are served to the people who are present. Marriage comes within four
years of the asking day. The first sign of the wedding is the making of
turmeric paste. Some of the paste is rubbed on thebridegroom,and the
rest with music and friends and a bodice and robe aftd flower wreaths
is sent to be rubbed on the bi'ide. Two days before the marriage the
leaves of five trees are taken to the temple of Marutij preceded
by drummers and followed by friends and relations. They are laid
before the god, brought back to the bridegroom's booth, tied
to one of its posts, and made the marriage guardian or devah.
Goats are slaughtered and friends and kinspeople are asked to
dine. On the marriage day leaves of the same five trees are
with the same ceremonies tied to a posb in the bride's' booth
and a marriage altar or hahule is raised. The bridegroom • is
seated on horseback and led i^i procession to the temple of Mdruti
in the bride's village.- His brother or vavdlidva goes in front to the
house of the bride and returns with a turban for the bridegroom,
whose head is decked with a brow-horn or hashing and he is brought
with pomp to the house of the bride. At the entrance to the booift,
rice mixed with curds is waved round him and is' thrown as an
offering to evil spirits. He passes into the - booth and is seated
in a bamboo basket with the bride standing fronting him in
another basket hid by a curtain or jamanika. A Jangamiaad
a Brdhman repeat lucky texts or mangdldshtaks and throw lucky
rice or mangaldkshdta over thel couple, Five cotton threads are
twisted into a cord and bits of turmeric are tied to each of
its ends. It is cut in two and one-half fastened round the
bridegroom's right wrist and the other half round the bride's left
wrist. The priest lights the horn fire. Round the bride's neck
is fastened the lucky necklace and she is told to walk five
times round the altar with her husband. After the five turns are
finished the hems of the couple's garments are knotted together,
and they go to the house and lay a cocoanut before the famify
deities and bow before them. The bridegroom takes the cocoaiijnt
with him and they return to the booth and are seated on the altar
or hahule. Friends and kinspeople are feasted on fried rice flour
cakes or telachis, and the wedding or vardt procession taking the
couple to the bridegroom's house starts next morning from tte
house of the bride. When they reach the bridegroom's, five married
women fill the lap of the bride and the couple visit the temple d

Beccan.}

POONA.

435

Mdruti and bow before the god. Next day they are rubbed with
tartneric paste and are bathed in warm water. Lastly each unties the
other's marriage wristlet or kanlcaii and the wristlets are thrown into
a copper vessel filled with water. When a Dhor dies, he is bathed
in warm water, dressed in a loincloth, and laid on a bier. A turban
is put on his head and his face is covered with a piece of white
cloth. The Jangam priest comes and rubs ashes on his brow, and
flower garlands, betel leaves, and redpowdor or guldl are thrown
Qver the body. The son or the chief mourner holds in his hand the fire-
pot and starts for the burying ground followed by the bearers. On the
way they stop, set down the bier, leave some rice and a copper coin
near by, change places; lift the bier, and go to the burying ground.
A pit is- dug and the body is lowered into the pit in a sitting
position. The right hand is laid on the left hand and the pit is
filled with earth. The Jangam drops hel leaves over the grave and
says that the dead has become one with Shiv. All bathe and each
gives the Jangam a copper coin and he rubs their brows with ashes. On
returning to the house of mourning they "cleanse their mouths, eat a
limb tree Melia azadirachta leaf and go home. On the third day they
go to the burial ground with a winnowing fan containing three
small cakes of wheat flour rubbed with clarified butter, cocoa-kernel,
molasses, and three small earthen pots filled with cow's milk, cards,
and cow's urine. A cake is left at the rest-place or visdvyachi jdga
where the body was rested. The two other cakes, with the pots of
milk and curds, are set on the grave, and the ground is
sprinkled with cow's urine from the third pot. The party bathe,
and return home. They mourn the dead ten days. On the tenth, the
face of the son or chief mourner is shaved except the eyebrows, and as
directed by the Jangam priest he prepares ten wheat-flour balls. Of
the ten balls nine are thrown into water and the tenth is given to a crow.
On the eleventh friends and kinspeople are feasted. Nothing is done
on the yearly death-day, but the dead is remembered on the lunar
iay that corresponds to the day of death in the Mahdlaya Paksha
or All Souls fortnight in dark Bhddrapad or August -September.
A death costs about £1 10s. (Rs, 15). Dhors form a united social
body. Social disputes are settled at meetings of castemen. Smaller
lareaches of caste rules are condoned by fines varying from 6rf. to 10s.
'Ils.j-5) or by caste feasts. Some send their boys to schools, where
they remain till they are able to read and write. They take to no
lew pursuits and have still hardly recovered from the 1877 famine.

Halalkhors are returned as numbering 1004, and as found over
;he whole district except Khed and Inddpur. They are known as
Ealalkhors or all-eaters, Bhangis perhaps bamboo-splitters, Dhedis or
jrujarat tanners, and Mhetars or princes. They are also called L^l
Begis or the followers of Ldl Beg, their religious head or guru.
According to the Hindu books Halalkhors are the offspring of a Shudra
"ather by a Brahman widow. They may have been recruited from
dastards and other unfortunates, but the basis of the class seems to
)e degraded Indian Rajputs. Their traditional founder is Supd,rukha
vho belonged to one of the eighty -four castes whom the god Ram
•nee invited to a feast given by his wife Sita who had cooked
lifferent di§hes with her own hands. Supdrukha instead of eating

Chapter III.

Population.

Depresseu
Classes.

Dhors.

Halalkhors.

[Bombay Gazetteer,

436

DISTRICTS.

Chapter IIL

Fopulatibn.

Depressed
Classes.

HalJIjKBOSS.

eacli dish separately mixed all the dishes into one mess and ate
it in five mouthfula. Annoyed by his want of- manners Sita
said to him, ' You will henceforth eat food mixed with dirt y
you will lire on the refuse of food thrown into the street ; you
will take to the lowest callings; and instead of associating
with you people will shun you.' They say they came to Poona
from Grujardt during the Peshwa's supremacy. They are divided
into Lai Begs and Shaikhs, who eat together and intermarry.
Their commonest surnames are Araya, Bar^ya, Chan, Madya,
Md,nji, and MemddMdi ; people with the same surname do not
intermarry. The names in common use among men are Bdpu and
Khushdl ; and among women Aka, Baina, Bhima, Bima, and
Rama. The men wear the moustache, some wear the top-knot, and
others whiskers and the beard. The women tie the hair in a ball
behind the head. Their home speech is a mixture of Hindustani
GujarAti and Marathi. They live either in wattle and daub hutsi
or in houses with mud walls and tiled roofs, and have a cot, a box,.'
earthen and metal vessels, blankets, carpets, and quilts. Their broom
and basket are kept either outside or in the house in a corner in the
front or back veranda. They are fond of parrots, dogs, and other pets,;
and keep goats, pigeons, ducks, and domestic fowls. They eat then
leavings of all, whether Hindus or Musalmdns, and their staple food,
is millet rice, wheat, split pulse, vegetables, and occasionally fish audi
the flesh of goats, sheep,and domestic fowls. They do not eat the fleshi
of a hare because Ld,l Beg was suckled by a female hare. TheyJ
smoke tobacco, hemp, and opium, and drink liquor. At their raarriage»J
they give feasts of sugared rice or sdkharbhdt, split pulse and rice or<
ddlbhdt and khichdi, mutton vice or pvldv, yrheat cakes and wheat*
and sugar called shirdpuri, sweetmeats or anarse and karanja,
shevaya or vermicelli, and mutton; Their holiday dishes during;
Shrdyan or August are shirdpuri and khichdi, in the Bivdli hoUdays
in November karanja and anarse sweetmeats, and during Shimga
vermicelli and sugared rice. They seldom have holiday or marriagitf:
dinners without flesh and liquor. The men dress in a loinclot^
trousers, or Waistcloth, headscarfs of different colours, or a Maratba
turban, a jacket, a coat, and English or native shoes, and they carry?
a silk handkerchief carelessly wound .round the neck or thrown
over the shoulders generally with silk and silver tassels at t^.
corners. The women wear either the petticoat bodice and headsoa*
or the robe reaching to the knee with the skirt drawn back between
the feet and a small tight-fitting bodice with short sleeves and no
back. They are generally sluggish, weak, timid, and drunken, buta
honest and orderly. The men are fond of show and pleasure. When
a Halalkhor is in his holiday dress, it is almost impossible to say to-
what caste he belongs. , They are scavengers and nightsoil men
cleaning the town from morning to eleven. Before startmg on thetfj
day's work they bow to the basket and broom, and on Dasara Day m
October burn frankincense before them, and offer them flowers,
blades of rice, and dpta leaves. Children begin to learn at eight and
are expert workers at sixteen, though they seldom begin tiie heavy
head-carrying work before they are eighteen or twenty. Boys earn
Us. (Rs. 7) a month, women 16». (Rs. 8), and men 18». to £1 10«-

Deccan.}

POONA.

437'

(Rs. 9-15), A family of five spends 14s. to 18s. (Rs. 7-9) a month
on food and £1 to £2 (Rs. 10-20) a year on clothes. Their houses
cost £10 to £'20 (Rs. 100-200) to build ; their furniture and goods
are worth £2 to £4 (Rs. 20-40) ; their animals and birds £2 to £3
(Rs. 20-30); and their clothes and ornaments £5 to £20 (Rs. 50-200).
A birth costs them 2s. to 8s. (Rs. 1 ^4) ; the marriage of a son £10
to £15 (Rs. 100-150); the marriage of a daughter 10s. to £1
(.Rs. 5-10); and a death £1 (Rs. 10). In religion they are half
Musalmdns half Hindus, going to mosques and repeating prayers
and at the same time having as family deities Khoriyal of Gujarat,
Khandoba of Jejuri, Khajapir, Baba Makdumba, and the goddesses
Kalsari and Grhochati. They pay equal respect to Musaltadn saints
and to Hindu gods and offer them fowls whose throat has been cut
by a Musalman. Their priests are the strange half-Hindu half-
MusalmdiU Hussaini Brahmans who officiate at their weddings. They
keep both Hindu and Musalman fasts and festivals. Their special
day is the chhadi navmi, which falls in the month of Shrdvan or
August. This is the anniversary of the death of Joherpir, a royal
saint who lived during the reign of Firozsha, the Emperor of Delhi
(1356-1388), and worked miracles. One day Joher's cousins entered
his country with a large army and called on him either to fight or
pay them half his revenue. Joher's mother advised him to agree to
their demands. But he attacked the army single-handed and killed
the leading traitor. On his return his mother instead of praising
him ordered him to leave her presence, and he enraged at her
behaviour, stamped on the ground and was swallowed up. On the
day when Joher disappeared Hindus do not object to touch Halal-
khors. Many of the flalalkhors make vows at Joher's shrine and
some weep for the saint and lash themselves with ropes, but by the
power of the saint suffer no harm. Their religpious teachers or gurus
are either men of their own caste or belong to the school of Ndnak-
panthi beggars. The teacher tells the disciple a mantra or text.
They believe in sorcery, witchcraft, soothsaying, omens, and lucky
ajid unlucky days, and consult oracles. It is considered lucky to
meet a Halalkhor, especially when he has a full basket on his
head. On the third day after the birth of a child they ask their
priests for a name and call the child by the name he suggests. On
the fifth day they cowdunga spot of ground near the mother's cot
and spread a child's bodycloth or bdlote over it. On the cloth they
lay a millet cake and a ball of tamarind flowers, molasses and butter,
and the midwife, who is generally of their own caste, worships them :
as the goddess Chhati. They keep awake all night to prevent the
goddess carrying off the child. A family in which a birth takes
place is considered impure for eleven days, during which they do not
touch their caste-people. On the twelfth day the mother and her
child are bathed, the house is cowdunged and sprinkled with cow's
urine, and the clothes are washed. The mother takes the child in
her arms and with a few near relations goes to some distance from
the house and lays five pebbles in a line on the ground, worships
them, offers them cooked rice, mutton, and liquor, and retires with
a bow. They clip a child's hair when it is a month and a quarter
to three months old, the clipping being performed by the child's

Chapter III-

Population.

Dbpkbssbd
Classes.

Hal^lkbobs.

[Bombay Gazetteer,

438

DISTRICTS.

Chapter III.
Population.

Depkebsed

Clashes.

HalAlkhobs.

maternal anclej who is presented with a cocoanut. They marry
their girls between seven and twelve and their, boys before they
are twenty. The asking comes from the boy's house, and when the
match is settled both fathers pafc sugar into one another's mouths.
A few days before the marriage the girFs father gives a feast to the
boy's relations, when sugared rice or sdkharbhdt is prepared. The
girl is presented with a new robe and bodice and a flower garland
is hung round her neck, betelnut leaves and cheroots are handed
round and the guests retire. A couple of days before a marriage a
dough image of Ganpati is made and is put in a new earthen jar
and worshipped by the house women and hung in a coir sling some-
where in the house. An image of Ganpati is traced with red paint
on a wall in the house and worshipped by the women. The boy and
girl at their respective houses are seated on low wooden stools and
rabbed with turmeric by the women of their family. The day
before the marriage a feast is held at both the boy's and the girl's
houses, and a gel fruit, Gardenia dumetorum, is tied to the i-ight
wrists of both the boy and girl. On the marriage day the hof
accompanied by" kinspeople friends and music, goes either on
horseback or on foot to the girl's, where her mother marks his
brow with redpowder or JmnJcu, throws grains of rice over hia '
head, leads him into the marriage porch, and seats him on a
square mango bench or mdeholi. The girl is then led out by her
mother and seated on a quilt close to the- boy. In front of thenl
a square is traced, a new earthen jar is set on each corner of the
square, and cotton thread is passed five times round the jars. The
priest lights a sacrificial fire in front of the boy and girl, and the boy
and girl throw grains of rice over the fire and the jar. The mother
or other elderly woman ties the hems of their garments together, and
they go round the earthen jars four times and take their seats as before.
The priest repeats marriage verses or mangaldshtaJcs, and when the
verses are ended closes the ceremony by throwing grains of rice over
the heads of the bride and bridegroom. A feast is held and the boy
and girl are seated on horseback and taken in procession to the
boy's house. Here the boy and girl sit in front of the house gods
and worship' them by throwing flowers and grains of rice over them.
Next day the boy and girl go on foot to the girl's and after washing
their mouths toothpowder or ddtvan is rubbed on their teeth and
they are made black. A dish of vermicelli or shevaya is prepared
and the boy and girl feast. The boy leaves the girl at her parents'
and returns home. A couple or four days after, the girl is taken to
the boy's house and the boy's mother puts glass bangles round her '
wrists. The marriage festivities end with a feast at the boy's house.
When a girl comes of age she is seated by herself for three days.
No rites are performed. When a Halalkhor dies, if a man, the body
is washed at the burying ground, and, if a woman, at home. The
body is carried on a bamboo bier on the shoulders of four near
kinsmen. On the way to the burial ground the bier is rested on
the ground, and a gram and sugar or hundi ball and copper coin
are placed at the road side, they say, for the spirit of the dead. ..
They dig a grave, seat the deceased in it, and making a small hole ,
in front of the body place a lighted dough lamp in it. The chief

Deccan.]

POONA.

439

mourner followed by the others pours a little water into the dead
mouthy and after the chief mourner has thrown in a handful of
earthj the rest fill the grave, bathe and go to the deceased's house.
At the house each takes a mouthful of wa.ter and after rinsing his
mouth goes home. On the third day the chief mourner's moustache
is shaved and he goes to the burial ground, lights a dough laiupj
burns frankincense, and lays a flower garland on the grave. On his
return home he lights another dough lamp, burns frankincense, and
lays flowers on the spot where the dead breathed his last. They
mourn twelve days, during which they are considered impure and
do not touch their castefellows. On the morning of the twelfth
day seven dough and seven rice balls are prepared and worshipped
and thrown into a stream or into a pond, A caste feast at the end
of a month completes the death ceremonies. Haldlkhors are bound
together by a strong caste feeling and settle social disputes at
meetings of the castemen in presence of their headmen or pdtils.
An adulteress is fined £4 (Rs. 40), and if she becomes with child
without letting any one know, she is fined £6 (Rs. CO). Before he is
allowed to marry a wido.w the husband has to give the caste £1 Ss.
(Rs. 14). If a marriage is broken off after a settlement has been
made the offending party has to pay the caste a fine of 10s. (Rs. 5),
and on every marriage there is a caste fee of 8s. (Rs. 4). A woman
who leaves her husband and lives with another man has to pay £2
^Rs. 20). They send their boys to school untH they are able to
read and write a little Marathi. They are a steady people.

Mha'rs are returned as numbering 74,553 and as found over the
whole district. They say that once when Parvati was bathing her
touch turned some drops of blood on a bel leaf into a handsome
babe. She took the child home and showed him to Mahadev who
named him Mahdmuni. One day, while still young, the child
orawled out of the house and seeing a dead cow began to eat it.
Mahddev was horrified and cursed the child, saying that he would
live outside of villages, that his food would be carcasses, that nobody
would have anything to do with him, would look at him, or would
allow his shadow to fall on anything pure. Parvati, who took great
interest in her child^ begged her lord to have pity on him, and
Shiv agreed that people should employ him to supply mourners
with wood and dried cowdung cakes to burn the dead. As the
child's appetite was so great he turned his name into Mahahari or
the great eater. Mhars are divided into Andhvans, Daules,
Lddvdns, Pans, Somvanshis, Silvdns, and Surtis, who do not eat
together. Their commonest surnames are Bhalerdo, Bhoii-, Chavan,
Dasture, Graikvd,d, Javle, Jadhav, Lokhande, Madar, Shelar, and
Somvane ; people with the same surname do not intermarry. Th6
names in common use among men are Govinda, Hari, Krishna,
Mahi,dev, Ramchandra, and Vishnu; and among women Eshoda,
Ganga, Jaya, Rd,dha, and Yamna. They speak Mardthi, those who
know how to read and write speaking it purely.^ Mhdrs are

Chapter III.
Fopnlation.

Dbpressed

Classes.

HalAlkbors.

MhIrs, _

■ Among themselves they have a few peculiarities. They say nahi for ndhi no,
lofta for tujhe thine, and nagu or nai payaje for nako do not want.

[Bombay Gazetteer,

44.0

DISTRICTS.

Chapter III,

Fopnlation.

, Depressed
Classes.

MbIrs.

generally tall, strong, muscular, and dark with regular features.
Most of them live outside of villages in small houses with tiled roofs
and mud and brick walls. The neighbourhood of their houses is
generally dirty, but the inside of the houses and the ground close to
the doors are fairly clean. Except a few which are of metal, the
.cooking, dining, and water vessels are of earth. The well-to-do rear
cattle and the poor sheep and fowls. They are great eaters of
pungent dishes and their food is millet, Indian millet, rice, split
pulse, vegetables, and occasionally fish. When cattle, sheep, or fowls
die they feed on their carcasses, eating strips of the flesh roasted
over a fire, often with nothing else but sometimes washed down by
liquor. They do not eat pork. They giVe feasts in honour of
marriages, deaths, and anniversaries costing £1 to £2 10s. (Rs. 10-25)
for a hundred guests. It is the cost and not any religious scruple
that prevents them using animal food every day. They say the men
bathe daily before meals, and the women once a week. They do
not eat from Buruds, Mangs, Mochis, or Bhangis. They drink to
excess and smoke hemp flowers and tobacco. The men dress in a
loincloth, a waistcloth, a pair of short drawers or cholnds, a shoulders
cloth, a coat, a waistcoat, a cap, a turban folded in MarAtha fashion,
and shoes or sandals. They have spare clothes in store such as a
turban and a silk-bordered waistcloth. The women tie the hair in
a knot behind the head and wear the bodice and full Maratha robe
the skirt of which they pass back between the feet.^ The orna-
ments worn by rich women are the earrings called bugdya worth
£\ -to £2 (Rs. 10-20), the gold nosering called nath worth 14s.
to £2 10s. (Rs. 7-25), a necklace called sari worth £1 to £2 lOsi.
(Rs. 10-25), a gold necklace called pdnpot worth £1 10s. to £4
(Rs. 15-40), a gold necklace called vajratik worth £1 to £3
(Rs. 10-30), and a gold necklace called, mangalsutra or mani worth
Is. to 4s. (Rs. J - 2) ; silver bracelets called ella worth £1 10s.
"to £6 (Rs. 15-60), silver gots worth 12s. to 16«. (Rs. 6-8), silver
.bangles worth 8s. to,£l 12s. (Rs. 4-16) and bellmetal anklets or
Jod/vis worth Sd.to 6d. (2-4 as.). The ornaments of rich men are the
gold earrings called bJiikbdlis worth 4s. io 10s. (Rs. 2-5) and gold
antias or kudkias worth £1 to £4 (Rs. 10 -40),- an armlet called kade
worth 10s. to £2 (Rs. 5 - 20) j silver finger rings called dngthi worth
)9A to 2s. (Re. 1-1), and gold rings worth 2s, to 16s. (Rs. 1-8);
a silver waistbelt or /car^oj^o- wo«Eth.£I to £2 10s. (Rs. 10-25) and
a small belt for a -boy worth 4s. to 16s. (Rs. 2 - B) ; an anklet of
silver called tode, if for one leg worth £1 to £2 (Rs. 10 - 20) and
if for two legs worth £1 to £6 (Rs. 10-60). They are hardworking,
hospitable, honest, and thrifty, but dirty and drunken. They are
village servants, carriers of dead animals, husbandmen, messengefS^*'

, = _ . . ' ' _^^ -y ^

' A well-to-do MhAr generally has a pair of waistoloths worth 2s. to 3«. (Ks. 1- li) i
a turban worth 1«. 6d. to 10s. (Ea. i-5); two coats worth 1«. 6d. to is. (Bs. |-2);
two waistcoats worth 1». 3d. to 2s. (Re. g- 1) ; a pair of shoes worth Is. to 2s. 6d.
(Rs. J-IJ) ; three jackets or kudtans for a child worth 2s. to 4s. (Rs. 1-2) ; two
chaddis worth &d. to Is. (4 -8 as.) ; a square loincloth or iMiigoti worth IJd (I a-);
a cap worth Zd. to 6a!. (2 - 4 as.) ; and a shouldercloth worth 6d. (4 as.). A woman's
clothes are two robes worth 4s. to £1 (Rs. 2-10); two bodices worth ^^d■ to Is.
(5 ■ 8 as.) ; and sandals or cheplya worth 9d. to Is. (6 - 8 as.)

Decc&n.]

POONA.

441

labourers, scavengers, sellers of firewood and cowdung cakes, and
feieggars. The men earn 8s. to £1 (Rs. 4- IG), tlie women 4s. to 10s*
(Rs. 2 - 5), and the children 2s. to. 4s. (Rs. 1-2) a month. They
make about 1 |d. to 3d. (1-2 as.) profit upon each 2s. (Re. 1) worth
of firewood or cowdung cakes. They charge Is. to 10s. (Rs. -1-5)
for carrying a dead horse, 6d. to 2s. (Re. J- 1) for carrying a dead cow,
and 6d. toSs. (Rs. J - 1 ^) for carrying a dead buffalo. They are a steady
class of people, and few of them are in debt, except some who have
been forced to borrow to meet their children's wedding expenses.
They have credit and can borrow IDs. to £5 (Rs. 5 - 50) at two per
cent a month. They hold a low position among Hindus, and are
both hated and feared. Their touch, even the touch of their shadow,
is thought to defile, and in some outlying villages, in the early
morning, the Mhdr as he passes the village well, may be seen
crouching,. that his shadow may not fall on the water-drawers. To
build a house costs £2 to £8 (Rs. 20 - 80), and to rent it 6d. to Is.
(4- 8 as.). The house property varies from £2 to £7 10s. (Rs. 20 -
7o). A birth costs 4s. to 6e. (Rs. 2 - 3), naming 2s. (Re. 1), shaving
or jdval 4s. (Rs. 2) and if a goat is offered 7s. (Rs. 3^), a boy's
marriage £2 to £10 (Rs. 20-100) and a girl's £1 to £2 (Rs. 10 - 20),
a girl's coming of age 8s. to 10s. (Rs. 4-5), a death 8s. to 16s.
(Rs. 4-8) for a man, 4s. to 6s. (Rs. 2-3) for a widow, and 16s. to
£l(Rs. 8-10) for married' woman. They are Shaivs, pay great
respect to Mahadey, and have house images of Bhavdni, Bahiroba,
Chedoba,Chokhoba,Khandoba,Marid,i, andMhaskoba. They worship
metal masks or tdhs as emblems of deceased ancestors. Their
priests are the ordinary Deshasth Brdhmans and in their absence
vdchaks or readers belonging to their own caste officiate at their
marriages. They make pilgrimages to Pandharpur, Alandi, Jejuri,
and Hahd,dev of Sign^pur. They keep the usual Hindu fasts and
feasts. They are a religious people, and spend much of their time
in reciting sacred books or hearing them read. They have singing
clubs where they sing in praise of the Hindu gods. Among them
both men and women sing with much skill an3. go in bands of two
or more singing and begging. They have a religious teacher or
guru belonging to their own caste, whose advice they are required
to take. Both boys and girls before they are a year old are taken
to the teacher with a cocoanut, a waistcloth, rice grains, flowers,
and frankincense. The child's father marks the teacher's brow with
sandal paste, worships him, and presents him with a waistcloth and
3d to 2s. (Re. ^ - 1) in cash. The teacher takes the child on his knee,
breathes into both his ears, and mutters some mystic words into his
right ear. At this time either the priest covers himself and the
child with a blanket or cloth, or a curtain is held between him and
the rest of the people, who sing loudly in praise of the gods. They
believe in sorcery, witchcraft, soothsaying, omens, lucky and unlucky
days, and consult oracles. When a person is possessed by a spirit h©
js seated in front of the house gods, and frankincense is burnt
before him. If the patient remains sitting the possessing spirit is
thought to be a Hindu bhut. When the people are satisfied that
it is a Hindu bhut chilly stems and seeds are burnt before him and.
he is asked his name. If he does not tell his name he is slapped
B 310-56

Chapter IIL
Population.

Depressed

Classes.

[Bombay Gazetteer,

DISTRICTS.

Chapter III. with shoes, his little finger Is squeezecl, and he is caned. In spite
Population. ^^ *^^® *^® possessed person persists in keeping silence, his case is
Dbpressbb referred to a devm/w or exorcist. If the possessed person speaks.
Classes. *"®, ^P^"* '^ asked his name, and the reason of this body-seizing

Mh^rs. °^ dngdharne. The spirit says ' I was hungry and it was midday,

and as this man was passing at the time I entered his body.' He
is asked how he will leave the sick man. The bhut says ' I want a
fowl or a goat and rice.' He is asked where the food should be-
left for him, and answers ' At the corner of the lane.' If the bhut is
a female one she is called a hddal,, and generally asks for sweet-
smelling rice or dmbe mohordche hhdt, pickles, and butter lonkade
tup ; along with this are placed turmeric roots, redpowder, and
betelnut or chikni supdri. If the spirit is a male, curds and rice,
betel leaves, and a small thick cake or damti of wheat mixed with oil,
or of Indian millet mixed with pulse and oil are made ready. The cake
ifi rubbed on one side with black of the frying pan and on the other
side with turmeric and redpowder. The cooked rice and bread are
put in a leaf plate and waved over the head of the possessed and
left on the spot named by the spirit. A man is sent to leave the
articles at the place named, and after washingh.is hands and feet, and
rubbing water on his eyes, he returns home. He takes a pinch of.
dust off his feet, rubs it between the eyebrowp of the possesssif
person, and the spirit leaves his body. If the spirit is a Musalm^ :
spirit, hog's hair is tied in a box round the possessed person's neck/
and the spirit at once leaves the body. A short time before her
delivery the woman is bathed in cold water, and immediately after
delivery both the mother and child are washed in hot water and laid
on a blanket on the ground. The mother is fed for the first threfe
days on rice, sweet oil, and molasses, and is considered impure
for twenty-one days. On the fifth' day the goddess Satvdi is
worshipped and a lamp is kept burning the whole night. In order
that the lamp may not go out and the goddess come and steal the
child, the child is watched both by the mother and the midwife. 0»
the twelfth day the child is laid in a cradle and named, the name being(
given by the village astrologer. They marry their dhildren at any
time between a few months to twenty years x)f age and the boy'^ "
father has to give the girl'sfather 7s-. to £2 10s. (Es. 3 j -25). Marriage -
ceremonies last three to eleven days. The boy is rubbed witfat
turmeric and the rest is sent to the girl with a new robe and bodice.'
They have several marriage guardians or devaks. One is a silver mask
or tdk, which is brought by a newly married couple from a goldsmith's!
shop and placed among the household gods and worshipped ; anothee
is a wooden grain measure ; a third is the leaves of the five trees ai
panch palavs ; and a fourth is a piece of bread tied to a post in the'
marriage haU. Their marriage customs are in most particulars the
same as those of Mard,thd,s. The chief exception is that the boyaiflt..
girl are made to stand in two bamboo baskets at the time of marriage,:
and that a yellow thread is passed seven times round their necks*
They bury their dead. When a MhAr is on the point of death
a few drops of water in which a Brahman's feet h#P^! been washed
are put into his mouth, and when ho dies he is carried to iMs,;
burning ground and buried sitting. A few bel leaves are scattered

Deccan.]

POONA.

443

on his headj and the chief mourner, going thrice round the grave
with an earthen water jar, dashes it on the ground and beats his
mouth. On the third day he again goes to the burning, ground,
lays some cooked food, for the crows, and feasts the caste on the
tlurteenth. The mourner is presented with a turban and the
mourning is over. Mhdrs allow widow-marriage and practise
polygamy, but not polyandry. They have a caste council and settle
social disputes at meetings of the castemen. They send their
boys to school. Some of them are well taught and are able to read
aniinterpret sacred books. As a class they are poor.

Ma'ngS are returned as numbering 13,620 and as found all over
the district. They say the founder of their caste was MahAmdra
son of Mahddev and that they came to the district from HastinSpur
or Delhi. They have no tradition of when they came. They
are probably the remnants of an early tribe of Telugu or
Kanarese origin. They have no subdivisions except that illegiti-
mate children are termed Akarmdses and do not eat or marry with
the rest. Their surnames are Admd,ni, Ohavan, Gaikvdd, More,
Sinde, and Vairagar; people with the same surname do not
intermarry. The names in common use among men are BApu,
Bhagu, Ithu, Krishna, Kushd,ba, Laksha, and Mahadu ; and among
women Bh^gu, Chanda, Ganga, JAi, Rakhma, Sugana, and Tnlsi.
They are dark and stout with regular features. The men wear the
top-knot and moustache, and sometimes the whiskers and beard.
They speak Mardthi. They live in houses with mud or brick walls
and tiled roofs. Except a water jar and dining plate of bellmetal,
their cooking vessels are mostly of earth. They own sheep and
domestic fowls. Their staple food is Indian millet, millet, split pulse,
chillies, onions, salt, and spices. They eat fish and the flesh of sheep,
goats, fowls, ducks, cattle, and hogs, but not of horses or donkeys,

■• They drink liquor and smoke tobacco and hemp-flowers. They
are hardworking and trustworthy, but dirty, unthrifty, passionate,
revengeful, and greatly feared as sorcerers. They make and sell
leather ropes called nddds worth lid. to 2s. (Re. ^- 1), date leaf
brooms worth ^d. to Id. (i -| as.), and slingsor nhinkes worth Id. to ^d.
(i - i a.). They are musicians, songsters, scavengers, husbandmen,
messengers, beggars, and hangmen, and they also geld cattle. The
proudest moment of a Mang's life is said to be when he hangs a
Mhar, the hereditary rivals and enemies of his tribe. Formerly

; th,ey did not eat from Mhars, now, excepting Halalkhors, Dheds,

■ and Bhangis, they eat from all and think themselves antyajas, that'
is, the lowest of Hindus. They are Shaivs and their chief god
is Mahddev. Their house deities are Ambdbdi, Bahiri, Jandi,
Khandoba, Mariai, Tuki, "Vithoba, and Yam^i. Their priests are
ordinary Maratha Brdhmans, and they make pilgrimages to Alandi,
Kondanpur, Dehu, Pandharpur, and Sign£pur near Phaltan. They
keep the chief fasts and feasts, Mahdshivrdtra in Pebruaiy, Holi
in March, Bdmnavmi in April, Ashddhi Ekddashi in July,

' Gokulashtarm and Mondays and Saturdays of Shrdvan in^ August,
Dasara in October, and Divdli and Kdrtiki EJcddashi in
November. On the fifth day after a child is bom they worship
a dough image of Satvai or simply five pebbles arranged in

Chapter III.
Population.

Dbpkessed

Classes,

MAnos.

[Bombay Oixetteer,

Chapter III.
Population.

Depkbssbb
Classes.

MJ.NQS,

BKaGAKS.

AiUdhis.

444

DISTRICTS.

a line m the motter'e room and offer them cooked rice and split
pulse or ddlbhdt. Two dough lamps are kept burning, the whole
night and a feast is held. On the twelfth day seven pebbles are
placed outside the house in a line and worshipped by the mother
m the name of the goddess Satvdi. They name the child on the
same day, the name being given by the Brahman astrologer. They
marry their children standing in two bamboo baskets face to face
and with a cloth held between them. The priest standing at some
distance repeats verses and at the end throws grains of rice over the
boy and girl^ and they are husband and wife. A feast is held the
next day and the boy takes the bride to his house on horseback
accompanied by musicj kinspeopld, and friends. When a sick perso:ti
is on the point of death sweet milk is put into his mouth so that he
may die happy. They bury their dead, and mourn thirteen days. On
the morning of the thirteenth they go to the burning ground,
shave the chief mourner's head and moustache, and bathe. The
mourner places thirteen leaf cups or drones side by side, fills them
with water, returns home and feasts the caste. The ceremony ends
with the present of a white turban to the chief mourner. The
Mdngs have a headman or mehetrya belonging to their own caste
who settles caste disputes in consultation with the adult male
members of the caste. A few send their children to a Mardthi
school. They are a poor people.

Beggars, included twenty-three classes with a strength of 10,477
or 1 23 per cent of the Hindu population. The details are :

POONA BeQSARB.

Division.

Males.

Females

Total.

DiVIBIOH.

Males.

Females

Total.

A'ridhis

KolMtis ... .:.

163

. 232

396

BhSmtas

131

M4nbh4»s

128

222

BharSdis

470

479

949

P&nguls

BMts

120

Sarvade Joshis

} 811

812

Bhutes

Sahadev Joshis ...

1623

Chitrakdthia

148

Tirm&lis

Oondhlis ...

313

^ 370

683

Vaghes and Murlis .

GosSvis

2002

1707

3709

Vaidus

261

262

628

Holars

■259

243

602

Vasudeva

•25

17-

Jangams

498

418

917

Virs

17.

Jogtins

Joh&ris

"so

"eo

iio

K&nphfttes

123

Total ...

5399

5078

10,477

A'ra'dMs, or Praying Beggars, are returned as numbering sixty-
one and as found over the whole district. They are a mixed clais
of men and women and include members of all castes of Hindus from
Brdhmans to Mhars and Mdngs. Even Musalmdns are Aradhis.
The men are generally tall thiu and womanish, many of them either
being eunuchs or copying eunuchs' ways. Those who are well-to-do
have to beg, at least at five houses, once a week, on Tuesday, Friday,
or Sunday and eat such food as is given them. They worship all
Hindu gods and goddesses and observe the usual fasts and feasts.
Their priests are Deshasth Brdhmans who oflBciate at birth, marriage,
and death ceremonies. A childless man prays to Bhav^ni and vows
that if she hears his prayer and blesses him with a child, it will be
set apart for a religious life. Others stricken \dth dropsy, leprosy,
pr consumption vow that if they recover thej will become Arddhis

Seccan.l

POONA.

445

in honour of Bbavdni. Men wlio are vowed to be Aradhis either by
their fa4;hers or by themselves mai-ry with women of their own caste.
Praying girls or Arddhinis are considered devoted to their patron
goddess and remain single. When a man wishes to become an A'radhi,
he goes to one of the brotherhood and tells him his wish. He is asked
whose Aradhi he wishes to become whether of the Bhavdni of
TuljApur, of Kondanpur, of E^san, of Kurkumbj of Nhyavar, or of
Chatarshingi. He names one of these Bhavanis and is advised to go
and visit his patron goddess. . If he is not able to undertake the
journey, he is asked to bring about a pound of rice, turmeric, red-
powder, betelnut and leaves, flowers and flower garlands, molasses,
a yard of new white cloth, a cocoanut, five turmeric roots, five dry
dates, five pieces of dry cocoa-kernel, five, lemons, five sugarcanes, or
in their absence five stalks of Indian millet, five dough-cakes, frank-
incense, camphor, and money. A few neighbouring ArSdhis both
men and women are called, a spot of ground is cowdunged, and a low
jrooden stool is set in the spot. Over the stool the white cloth is
spread and the rice is heaped on the cloth. On the rice is set a water-
pot or ghat filled with water, five betelnuts, ten betel leaves, and
l^d. to 2s. (Re. -j^ - 1) in cash. The month is closed with a cocoanut.
Then five sugarcanes or five millet stalks are tied together and made
to stand over the stool. At each corner of the stool are placed
betelnuts, lemons, dates, turmeric roots, dry cocoa-kernels, and one
pi each is laid in front of the water-pot. The presiding Arddhi is
termed guru and worships the water-pot or ghat. A dough cake
and a flower garland are dropped from the sugarcanes over the water
pot ; cooked rice and wheat bread and molasses are offered to the
god ; frankincense and camphor are burnt before it ; and the teacher
and other Arddhis four times repeat the word udava or Arise. The
officiating Aradhi places a thick unlighted roll of oiled rags on the
novice's head, throws a shell necklace over his shoulder so that it falls
on his right side, marks his brow with ashes or angdrika, and gives
him two baskets to hold in his right hand. After the novice has made
alow bow before -the goddess and the Arddhis, he presents the guru
with 7|d. to 2s.6d.(Re.-5^-l J),feaststhe brotherhood, and is declared
an Arddhi. The initiation costs the novice 2s. to £2 (Rs.l-20)»
When they beg the Arddhi women wear their ordinary dress. The
men wear a waistcloth or trousers, and a long coat reaching to the
. ankles besmeared with oil. They tie their hair in a knot behind
the head like women use false hair, and deck their heads with
, flowers and ornaments, generally of brass. They wear nose and ear-

^jrings of brass and false pearls, brass and shell bangles, and wristlets.
.,They wear a garland of Jcavdi shells hanging like sacred thread from
, the left shoulder down the right side. The shells, which are known
as Bhavdni havd/ya or Bhavlni's cowries are yellow marked with
/patches of red. The necklace costs ^\d. to Qd. (3-4 as.), and is
composed of thirty-five to forty shells. Besides the necklace they wear

.shell ornaments round the head, neck, arms, and fingers. They
carry two bamboo baskets worth about 3d. (2 as.). One of the
baskets is small called Parashrdm with five shells stuck to it, the
other is large and has no other name except basket or pardi. Prom
one of their shell necklaces hangs a cloth bag stuck round with shells

Chapter IIL
Population,

Beggars.

AAJ.DBI8.

[Bombay Qazetteei;,

DISTRICTS.

Chapter III.

Population.

Beggars,
■AbJb'sis.

Bbautas.
Bbaradis.

m which they carry ashes or angmika, which they rub on the brows
of the charitable. On their head rests a thick rope of rags soaked
m oil but not lighted. Dressed in this way they start begging afc six
in the morning and beg till noon. Their chief begging days are
Tuesdays, I'ridays.and Sundays. When they come near a house they
call out Emdi Tukmcha Jogva, that is Alms in the name of Emili and
Tukai. Sometimescfour or five go in a band with drums or samels,
metal cups or tdls, and the one-stringed fiddle or hintune, and their
baskets, and beg singing and dancing. When they go singly they
do not get one pound of grain in a day ; when they go in bands with
music they get three or four pounds besides old clothes and coppers.
Except that their shell necklace and bamboo baskets are laid near
the head and burnt or buried with them when they die, their
marriage, birth, and death ceremonies are the same as those of the
caste to which they belong.. The Afddhis have a council and their
disputes are settled by their religious head or -gwu. They do not
send their boys to school and are a falling people.

Bha'mta's. See Uchles.

Bbara'diS are returned as numbering 920 and as found in small
numbers all over the district. They are said to be descended from
a Kunbi who, after being long childless, vowed that if he was blessed-
with sons he would devote one of them to the gods. . They are a
class of wandering beggars who chant verses in honour of Ambabai
or Saptashringi, playing on a iourglass-shaped drum called
damaru or datur, and dancing with lighted torches in their hands.
The names in common use among men and women are the same as
among Kunbis. Their surnames are Chavdn, Graikvdd, Jadhav,
and Sinde ; and their family gods are Devi Ambabdi of Tuljdpnr in
the Nizdm's country, Jotiba of Ratndgiri, and Khandoba of Jejuri
in Poena. Their home tongue is a corrupt Maratha. They have two
divisions God literally sweet that is pure Bharadis and Kadu
literally sour that is bastard Bharddis. These classes neither eat
together nor intermarry. They are dark and strong with regular
features and live in one-storeyed houses with mud walls and
thatched or flat roofs. Their house goods include low stoolSjf
blankets, quilts, and vessels of metal and earth. They have no
servants but own bullocks and other beasts of burden, and dogs,
They are poor cooks and great eaters, and their staple food is
millet bread, pulse, and Vegetables. Their special dishes includet
sweet wheat cakes or polis and fried rice cakes or teleMsi
with gulavani or rice flour boiled in water mixed with cocoa-milk
and molasses. They eat fish and flesh except beef and pork, and
drink country wines. They are given to smoking tobacco and hemp-
flower or gdnja. They shave the head except the top-knot and the
face except the moustache and whiskers. The women tie their hair
in knots, but have no taste for false hair or flowers. Men's every*
day dress includes a loincloth or waistcloth, a shouldercloth, a
shirt, and a many-coloured headscarf folded in puckers about ths;,
head, with a pair of sandals or shoes. The women dress in a
Maratha robe and bodice but do not draw the skirt back between
the feet. Both men and women have a store of ornaments aaa

Deccan.]

POONA.

447

clothes like those of Kunbis. While they perform men wear a long
and loose coat falling to the heels and smeared with oil with a light
scarf or shela, a string of cowries about their neck, and jingling bells
about their feet. As a class they are clean, idle, and orderly. They
are professional beggars, going about beating their drum. They
perform the gondhal dance chanting songs in honour of Tulaja
Bhavdni, accompanied by the double drum or samel and the one-
stringed fiddle or tuniune. They spend their mornings in begging
and the rest of the day in idleness. The villagers pay them yearly
allowances in grain for performing the gondhal dance in the local
temples during the navardtra feast, Bhav^ni's nine nights which
end in Dasara in September -October. The women mind the house
and weave girdles or kdchds. They live from hand to mouth. They
worship all Brahmanic and local gods and have special reverence for
their family gods whose images they keep in their houses. They
keep all Hindu feasts and fasts and ask the village Joshi to ofiBciate
at their marriage and death ceremonies. They belong to the ndth
sect and make pilgrimages to Alandi, Jejuri,- Mdhur, Pandharpur,
and Tuljapur. Their religious teacher is a Kdnph^tya Gosavi.
They believe in witchcraft, soothsaying, and in the power of evil
spirits. Early marriage, polygamy, and widow-marriage are allowed
and practised ; polyandry is unknown. Their customs are the same as
Kunbi customs. Every child between five and eight must go through
the ceremouy of wearing mudrds that is brass or horn earrings ;
the lobe is cut with a knife, so that the drops of blood fall on the
ground apparently to satisfy the evil spirits, and a ring or mudra
is passed through the hole so made. They have a caste council
and settle their disputes at caste meetings under the presidency
of their headman or pdtil. They send their children to school, but
have no taste for learning, and are a falling class.

Bha'tS, or Bards, are returned as numbering 120 and as found
wandering all over the district. They belong to two divisions,
Maratha and Gujar^ti Bhats, who eat together but do not intermarry.
Mardtha Bhats who form the bulk of the Bhdt population are like
Mardtha Kunbis and do not differ from them in dwelling, food, or
drink. They are good cooks and moderate eaters. Their staple
food is millet bread, pulse; onions, and fish curry. They eat flesh
and drink liquor and hemp-water or bhdng. Both men and women
dress Uke Maratha Kunbis and have a store of clothes for holiday
wear. As a class they are clean, orderly, thrifty, and hospitable.
They are hereditary beggars, but some work as masons, others as
husbandmen, and many as field labourers or house servants. Bhdts
are usually asked to join Mdlis and Kunbis in their thirteenth
day death feast. Their duty is to call out the names of those who
make presents to the chief mourner. The women mind the house,
wather the grain which the villagers give them, watch the fields,
j.nd fetch firewood. They are said to be badly off as the villagers
ire less free than they used to be in their gifts of grain. They rank
with Maratha Kunbis and do not differ from them in religion -or
justoms, - They worship all Kunbi gods and keep the usual fasts
md feasts. They believe in witchcraft and soothsaying. Early

Chaptet III.
FopiiLatioiu

Beooabs.
BhabJdis,

BbAts.

[Bombay Gazetteer,

448

Chapter III.
Fopiilation.

Bbqgabs.

Sbutss.

OStTRAKiiTBIS.

DISTRICTS.

polyandry is unknown. They are bound together by a strong caste
feeling, and settle social disputes; at meetings of adult castemen.
They send their children to school but do not take to new pursuits.
They are a falling class.

Bhutes, or Devotees of Goddesses, are returned as numbering
twelve and as found only in Haveli. They are followers of the
goddess Bhav^ni and go begging from door to door and village to
village with a lighted torch in their hands, and playing metal cups
or tdls, the one-stringed fiddle or tuntune, and the drum or samel.-
They coyer themselves with shells from head to foot, mark their
brows with redpowder or pmjar, and have a square breastplate
or tdk hung from their necks. While begging they dance, sing
songs, and touch their bodies with the lighted torch or pot. In
appearance, speech, dress, food, and customs they do not differ from
Mardthds. They have a caste council, do not send their boys to
school, and are poor.

Chitraka'this, or Picture Showmen, are returned as numbering,
148 and as found over the whole district except in IndApur, Pnrau-
dhar, and Poona. They take their name from chitra a picture and
hatha a story, because they show pictures of heroes and gods and
entertain their audience by telling them stories from the Purans.
According to their own account they formerly lived at Singnd.pur in
Sholapur and came to Poona during the time of Shahu E^ja (1708-
1749). They have no divisions. Their surnames are Jadhav, More,
PovAr, Salunkhe, Sinde, and Thombre, and families bearing the
same surname eat together but do not intermarry. The names in
common use among men are, Hanmanta,Md.nia,Santu,andRethu; and
among women Bhimabdi, JAnkibai, Rakhma, Sakhu, and Vithabai..
Fdtel is added to men's names, and bdi to women's names as Md,ma
Patel and Ramji Patel, Sakhubd.i and Rakhmabai. They speak
Marathi both at home and abroad. In appearance they do not
fJiffer from ordinary local Maratha Kunbis. The men shave the
head except the top-knot and the face except the moustache and
whiskers. They live in houses of the poorer class with walls of clay
and thatched roofs. Their house goods include blankets, quilts*
cradle?, boxes, and metal and earthen vessels. They own cattle bat
have no servants. They are moderate eaters and are fond of iot
dishes. Their staple food is millet or ndchni bread, vegetables, and
ndchni porridge or ambil. They bathe before they take their morning
meal, and do not leave the house if they eat without bathing. They
use animal food when they can afford it, which is not often. They
eat the flesh of sheep and goats, fish, and poultry, drink liquor, and
smoke hemp or goMJa and opium. The men wear a loincloth, ^
shouldercloth, a Maratha turban, and a pair of shoes. The women
wear the hair in a knot behind: the head and neither wear flowers
nor false hair. They wear the full Maratha robe, passing the skirt'
back between the feet and a bodice with a back and short sleeves. '
Neither men nor women have any store of fine clothes for holiday
As a rule Chitrakdthis are dirty, thrifty, and hospitable.

wear.

' Their chief calling is begging by showing pictures of gods and heroef
and reciting stories and songs abouj them. They also show wooden

Bccan.]

POONA.

449

oils wtom tliey make to dance and fight to represent tlie wars of
le heroes and demons. These puppet shows have ceased to be
Qpular, and they now seldom do anything but show pictures by
hich they make 8s. to 10s. (Rs. 4 - 5) a month. A boy begins to
3t as showman at twelve and in two years has mastered his work.
. Chitrakdthi's stock generally includes forty pictures of Rdm worth
Os. to 12s. (Rs.-5 - 6), thirty-five of BabhruvAhan the son of Arjun
ae of the five Pdndavs worth 8s. to 10s. (Rs. 4 - 5), thirty-five of
bhimanyu another son of -Arjun worth 10s. to 12s. (Rs.6-6), forty of
ita and Ravan worth 10s. to 12s. (Rs.5-6)j forty of Harishchandra
ing of Oudh, and forty of the Pandav brothers worth 10s. to 12s.
ils. 5 - 6) . They paint these pictures themselves and offer them for
lie, and they have a caste rule that on pain of fine every house must
ave a complete set of pictures. The women mind the house and
ever help the men to show pictures. They fetch firewood, beg,
ad cook. As they get paid in grain their monthly food expenses
"e small. A birth costs 2s. to 6s. (Rs. 1-3), a hair-cutting 2s. to 6s.
Els. 1-3), a marriage 10s. to £2 (Rs.5-20), a girl's coming of age
?. to 2s. (Ee.^'-l), and a death 4s. to 6s. (Rs.2-3). They are a
iligious people. Their family deities are Bhavani of TuljApur and
!handoba of Jejuri. They employ a Brd,hraan of any class or sect
) ofiiciate at their marriages and deaths. They are nominally fol-
iwers of Vishnu but their favourite deity is Bhavani. They make
ilgrimages to Alandi, Jejuri, Pandharpur, and Tulj^pur, and their
ists and feasts are the same as those of cultivating Marathas.
iter the birth of a child the mother is bathed, and the child's
ivel cord is cut and it is bathed. Sometimes the mother does
lis herself; in other cases a woman is called to help; Bedding

spread on the floor and the woman lies down with the child
ssideher. The child is given water mixed with raw sugar and the
other is fed on oil and rice. On the fifth day a grindstone is
aced where the mother and child were bathed, and before it are laid
)wers, redpowder, and turmeric. An earthen pot full of ndchni
•uel and -millet is set on the stone and in front of the stone a wheat
)ur lamp is filled with oil and lighted. On the seventh day the house
Gowdunged. Impurity in consequence of a birth lasts ten days.
1 the eleventh the house is again cleaned. On the twelfth some
iighbouring women are called ^nd the child is named. Packets of
stel leaves and of whole boiled millet grains called ghugaris are
rved and the guests retire. After this the mother is free to move
lOut the house as usual. On some day when a child, whether a
ly or a girl, is about seven months old the hair-cutting or jdval

performed. For the hair-cutting they have to go to Jejuri,
iljapnr, or some other place of pilgrimage, where agoat is killed,
e child bows before the god, the victim is cooked, and the
remony ends with a feast. They marry their girls between three
d twenty and their boys between three -and twenty-five or thirty,
le offer of marriage comes from the boy's side. The father of the
y goes to the parents ot the girl and asks them to give their
ughter in marriage to his son. If the girl's parents are willing
3 boy's father calls the castemen and asks their approval. If

Chapter III.
Population.

Bbggaes.

CmTBAKATBXS.

[Bombay Gazetteer,

450

DISTRICTS.

Chapter III.

Population.

Beqoabs.

CnlTRAKATHIS..

GomiBLis.

time far the marriage and preparations are begun. Wedding porches
or mdndavs are built in front of the bride's and bridegroom's
houses, a lucky pillar or muhurt-medh is set up in each porch, but
no altar or bahule is raised in the girl's porch. Next day the
bridegroom is led on foot in procession to the bride's and made to
stand in the wedding porch on a spot strewn with rice. The bride
is brought and made to stand facing the bridegroom and a cloth
or antarpdt is held between them. The Brahman priest repeats
marriage verses and at the end the couple are man and
wife. Then the priest winds a thread of five strands round
two pieces of turmeric and ties one piece to the wrist of the bride"
and the other to the wrist of the bridegroom. The skirts of their
clothes are knotted together and they go and bow before the
house gods. The girl's mother loosens their garments, a feast
is given, and the guests witbdraw leaving the bridegroom who
spends the night at the bride's. Next day a new robe is given to
the bride, and the bride and bridegroom are carried to the boy's
house each seated on a man's hip. On entering the boy's house
they bow to his house gods and each takes off the other's turmeric
bracelets. A feast is given, the marriage guardian or devak is
thrown into the river, and the wedding observances are at an end.
When a girl comes of age she is considered unclean and is kept
by herself for four days. On the seventh she is given a new robe
and a bodice and at any time after goes to live with her husband.
After death the body is washed in hot water and dressed in a
loincloth, sandal paste and turmeric powder are rubbed on the
brow, and if he is a man his turban is put on. He is seated ou a
blanket with some cooked rice tied to one of its comers. The
chief mourner starts carrying an earthen pot with cooked rice
in it ; the bearers lift the body in a blanket and follow. Before
they reach the burial ground the body is rested on the ground an^
the bearers change hands. At the burying ground the chief
mourner turns over a little earth and the bearers dig a grave and
lay the body in it. Earth is thrown in and on the top the chief
mourner strews the boiled rice which he brought in the earthen jar.
All bathe in the river, go to the house of the dead, and return home.
On the third day three cakes are baked and the chief mourner lays
one at the place where the body was rested, and of the other twp
one is laid at the head and the other at the foot of the grave. They
do not have their moustaches shaved and they do not offer balls of
rice to the dead. On the thirteenth a caste feast is held, when goats
are sometimes killed and others give pulse bread and rice. Their only
memorial ceremony in honour of the "dead is during the mahdl or
All Saints' fortnight in the latter half of Bhddrapad or September.
They have no headman, but settle social disputes at meetings of
castemen. Persons convicted of breaches of caste rules are made
to give food to five boys or men. As a class the ChitrakAthis are
badly off and are growing poorer.

Gondhlis, or Performers of the gondhal dance, are returned aS
numbering 683 and as found in Haveli, Bhimthadi, Maval, Junnar,
Inddpur, Khed, Sirur, Purandhur, and Poena City. They say the

Deccau.]

POONA.

451

founders of their oaste were the sage Jamdagiri and his spouse
.Eenuka, and that they came into the district two or three hundred
years ago from Mahur and Tuljdpur in the Nizdm's country.
They are divided into Brd,hman-gondhIis, Kumbhdr-gondhlis,
■Kadamrai-gondhlis, Renurdi^gondhlis, and Akarmasi-gondhlis, who
neither eat togethernor intermarry. The foUowingparticulara apply to
Kumbh^r-gondhlis. Their surnames are Badge, Dhemhe, Gangdvan,
Garud, Jugle, Jadhav, PanchAngi, Thite, Vaid, and Var^de. Families
bearing the same surname cannot intermarry. The names in common
use among men are Appa, Bapu, Bhd,guji, Haibatrao, and Khandu;
and among women Anandi, Jago, Kondd^i, Bhai, Kama, and Saku.
They look like Mardthas and speak Marathi. In house, food, drink,
and dress they resemble Mardthds. They are beggars begging from
door to door for grain, clothes, and money, singing, dancing, and
playing on a drum called samhal, the stringed fiddle or tuntune,
and metal cups or tdls. They also perform the gondhal dance and
entertain people with their songs. The gondhal dance is
performed among Brdhmans in honour of the goddess Bhavani on
the occasion of a thread ceremony, of a marriage, and of the seventh
month of a woman's first pregnancy. Among Mardthds and other
castes such as Shimpis and Sonars the gondhal dance is performed
only at marriages either before or after the ceremony. The dance
, always takes place at night. During the day a feast is given, the
dancers, who generally perform in companies of three to five,
being the chief guests. At night the dancers come back bringing
their musical instruments, a torch or divti, and the dress of the
chief dancer. On a wooden stool in the largest room of the
house they spread a bodicecloth or cholkhan, and on it lay thirty-six

? inches of rice, and sprinkle the rice with turmeric and redpowder.
n the middle of these pinches of rice a water-pot or tdmbya is set
and filled with milk and water, and lines of sandal are drawn over
the pot. In the mouth of the jar betel leaves are laid and the whole
is closed with a cocoanut. Over the cocoanut a flower garland hangs
from a triangle formed of three sugarcanes. On the stool in front
of the pot are laid betelnuts, plantains, dates, and lemons.
With the help of the chief Gondhli the head of the family worships
the water-pot as the goddess Tuljabhavd.ni, offering it flowers and
rice, waving before it a lighted butter lamp, and burning camphor
and frankincense. Five male members of the family light
five torches and go five times round the goddess shouting the
words Ai Bhavani Jagadamba, Mother Bhay^ni, Mother of the
World. The head dancer, dressed in a long white oily coat reaching
to his ankles, and wearing cowry-shell necklaces and jingling
! bell anklets, takes his stand in front of the goddess. A second of the
I;; troop stands to the right of the headman holding a lighted torch
■■; and three others stand behind him playing on a drum, a fiddle, and
cymbals. On either side of the Gondhli troop sit the house-people,
men on one side women on the other. The head dancer touches
■ the lighted torch with sandal paste, bows low before it, and calls,
^.Khandoba of Jejuri come to the gondhal i Tukai, Yamd,i, mother-

Chapter ni.
Population.

■Beggars.

CfONVSLIS.

[Bombay Gazetteer,

452

DISTEIGTS.

Chapter III.
Population.

Beggabs.

QOSDBtlS.

OosJvis,

Holers.

Bhavani come to the gmidhal.^ He begins singing and dancing
going forwards and backwards, the musicians play their drum,
fiddle, and cymbals, and the torch-bearer serves as a butt for
the dancer's jokes. The chief after dancing at a slow pace
■without turning round and with little movement of the feet, repeats
a story from the Edmayan and explains its meaning. The
performance lasts from a few minutes to several hours; it sometimes
is kept up with frantic enthusiasm till daybreak. Occasionally
one of the guests becomes possessed and a spirit in him says why
he has entered his body. At the end of the dance a lighted
lamp is waved round the goddess and the dancers retire with a
present of 2s. 6d. (Rs. IJ). On a lucky day when a Gondhli boy is
about ten years old the men of the caste come and fasten a cowry
garland round his neck. The guests after witnessing the ceremony
retire each with a handful of sugar and a betel packet. Gondhlis
get all their food and clothes by begging. Their house goods are
worth 4s. to £2 (Rs. 2-20).^ A boy's marriage costs about £5 (Rs. 50),
a girl's about £2 (Rs. 20), and a death about 14s. (Rs. 7). They
reverence the usual Hindu gods and goddesses, but their chief object
of worship is the goddess Renuka of Mdhurgadinthe Nizam's couUtry.
Their priests are ordinary Deshasth Brahmans.- On Tuesdays and
Fridays they eat only once, and keep the regular Hindu fasts and feasts.
The nine nights or Navardtra which end in Dasara Day in October
is their biggest festival. Because their family goddess sleeps ou a
cot at Mahurgad, they do not allow their women in child-bed to
lie on a cot but on the ground. They marry their boys before they
are twenty-four, and their girls before they are sixteen. Their
badge. or devak is the leaves of five trees, the mango, savandad, palas,
wmhar, and rwi,- which they tie up during a marriage. They also tie in
the marriage hall a drum or samhal, a chavah or one-stringed fiddle,
a garland of cowry shells, and their begging bag. Their marriage
ceremonies last three days. On the first day they feast the caste in
honour of the family gods, and on the second the marriage
ceremony is performed^, the boy and girl being made to stand face
to face on leaf plates or patrdvlis. A feast on the third day ends
the ceremony. They either bury or bum their dead, and mourn ten
days. They have a caste council. They do not send their boys to
school and are a steady class.

Gosa'vis, properly Gosvdmis or Passion Lords, are returned as
numbering 3709 and as found over the whole district. Though many
live by begging and are poor, some are well-to-do, and a few are
rich living as moneylenders, as dealers in pearls, cloth, shawls, and
musk, as writers, and as husbandmen. Many Gosdvis enlisted in
the Peshwa's army and Gosdvis formed a portion of most hill fort
garrisons. • Details are given in the Poena City account.

Holars, apparently the Kanarese Holeyars or men of the soil,>
are returned as numbering 502 and as found in Poena City only.

1 The Marithi runs : J^uridhya Khandoha gondhala ye j Tuhii, Yamdi At Bhavdni
gondhla ye.

Beccau.]

POONA.,

453

They say they came into the district about the time of BdMji
Vishvandth Peshwa (1714-1720), and their name seems to point
to a Karndtak origin. They have no divisions and their surnames
are Edve, Govdre, Povdr, and Sonvaue ; persons bearing the same
surname cannot intermarry. They look and speak like Mhdrs.
They live in houses with mud walls and tiled roofs. Their house
goods include earthen cooking pots, wooden plates, and a couple, of
brass dishes and drinking pots, blankets and quilts, together worth
about £1 (Rs. 10). Their staple food is millet, Indian millet, pulse,
and vegetables, and occasionally rice, fish, flesh, and liquor. They
smoke both tobacco and hemp-flowers. They dress like Mhars and
are an orderly people. They are musicians and, songsters, and

- play upon a bamboo pipe or alguj, a sanai of wood with brass top
" and bottom, a sur or long wooden pipe, and a drum or daf.

A band of these musicians, inclndes a drummer and three pipers
of whom two play the brass pipe or sanai and the third the wooden

- pipe or sur. They play at Mardtha marriages and are paid 4s. to
i£l (Rs. 2 - 10) for a marriage.. Their busy season ia from Kdrtik
or November to Chaitra that is March or Jyeshth that is May.
Daring the rest of the year they go about playing on their pipes,
singing, and begging. Their songs are much patronized by people
who are fond of amusement, and their playing on the alguj or bamboo
pipe is very popular. Their women do not help them in their
begging and playing, but boys above twelve go with them playing
the wooden or sur pipe, which is easier to play than either the drum
or the brass pipe. They worship the usual Hindu gods and have house
images of Khandoba, Bahiroba, and Janai. Their fasts and feasts are
the same as those of Mhars, and their priests are ordinary Deshastfa
BrAhmans. They go on . pilgrimage to Pandharpur, Tuljdpur^ and
Alandi. When a child is born ibs navel cord is cut by an elderly
woman of the house, and it is fed for three days on molasses mixed
with water called gulavani. After the third day the mother nurses
it and to increase her milk she is given a mixture of limh juice and
Icarle oil. On the fifth day two figures are traced in charcoal on
the door of the lying-in room' and an elderly woman worships them
as the goddess Satvai. The figures of the goddess are offered wheat

= bread and rice, and the mother brings her child and bows before
them and the ceremony is over.. On the twelfth day, the mother
worships five pebbles out of doors, and offers them bread and rice.
A child is named when it is a month old, the name being given by a
Brdhman priest. Their children's hair is clipped any day between
four months and a year after birth. Five pebbles are worshipped
at some distance from the house or in the bush,, a goat is offered,
and they return and feast. They marry their girls between seven
and sixteen, and their boys between ten and twenty-five.. Their
I' marriage ceremonies are the same as those of Mhd,rs.. When the
ceremony is being performed the bride and bridegrom stand on
bamboo baskets. Their coming of age ceremony is the same as
that of the Mhdrs. They bury their dead, and mourn thirteen days.
They have a caste council,, and settle social disputes at caste meet-
ings. They do not send their boys to school,, and are not a steady
people.

Chapter III.
Population'.

BSGGABS.
HOLARS-.

[Bombay Gazetteer,

454)

DISTRICTS.

Chapter III,

Population.

Begqabs.
Janqams.

Jangams, or Moveable that is Incarnate Lings, the priests of the
Lingd,yatSj are returned as numbering 917 and as found over the whole
district. They are said to have come from the K^narese districts in
search of work about a hundred and fifty years ago. The names in
ordinary use among men are Ohinaj Ramchandra, and Vitthal ; and
among women, Gaya, Jankib^i, Kdshibdij and Umd;bai. Their sur-
names are Brahmani, Patavekar, and Shivurkar, and their family gods
Ekorama Pandita, Marul, Revajsiddha, and Siddha Pinditar^tya.
They are divided into priests and laymen, who eat together and some-
times intermarry. Their family stocks are Bhringi, Nandi, Matsarup,
Virabhadra, and Vrishabh. Persons bearing the sam^e surnames
cannot intermarry. Their home tongue is a corrupt Marathi. As a
class they are dark, strong, and muscular. The laymen shave the
head except the top-knot and the face except the moustache and
whiskers. The priests let the beard grow and wear no top-knot.
They live in two-storeyed houses of the better class with brick walls
and tiled roofs and their house goods include boxes, carpets, and
metal vessels. They own cattle but keep ho servants. They are
moderate eaters and good cooks, and are fond of hot dishes. Their
staple food is rice, pulse-sauce, and bread. They regularly bathe
before they take their morning meals and worship Shiv's emblem
the ling with flowers and some of the food they are going to eat.
They do not use animal food or liquor but they have no objection to
Smoke hemp-flower or gdnja. The women tie their hair in a knot
at the back of the head, but do not wear false hair. Both men and
women wear clean and neat clothes and are fond of gay colours.
The men dress in a waistcloth, a shouldercloth, a coat, and a
Deccan Brd,hman turban, with a pair of shoes or sandals. The
women dress in a long Mardtha robe and a full -backed bodice with
short sleeves. Both men and women have a store of clothes for
special ceremonies, and of ornaments made in Deccan fashion. As
a class Jangams are clean, orderly, lazy, thrifty, and honest, but not
hospitable. Their principal and hereditary calling is begging alms
from lay Lingdyats. They belong to the Shaiv sect. Their chief
holidays are Shimga in March, Akshatritvym in May, and Difvdli
in October. They keep Mondays and- ekddashis or lunar elevenths,
and all fast on Mahdshivrdtra or Shiv's Great Night in February.
They have their own religious teacher who lives in the Karnatak
and occasionally visits villages where Jangams are settled. They
say they do not believe in witchcraft or in the power of evil spirits.
Early marriage and polygamy are allowed ; polyandry is unknown.
As soon as a child is bom word is sent to the priest, who rubs the
mother's brow with cowdung ashes and invests the child with the
ling either at once or on the fifth or thirteenth day. In investing a
child the priest touches its neck with the ling and gives the ling to
the mother. The mother's impurity lasts five days. At the end of
the fifth day, as among Brdhmanical Hindus, an embossed image
of Satvdi is worshipped. ' The child is named on the twelfth.
The diksha or initiation ceremony of the child, whether male or ,
female, is performed between twelve and fifteen, The teacher
is asked and seated on a low stools his hands and feet are washed,
and part of the water is sipped by the novice. Sweetmeats and bel

Deccan.]

POONA.

455

leaves are offered to the teacher who whispers a verse or rncmtra in.
the novice's ear and, is treated to a sumptuous dinner with the friends
and relations of the houseowner. Boys are married between eight
and thirty and girls between five and twelve. The marriage and
other rites performed by the Poena Jangams are partly Brdhmanical
and partly Lingayat. They do not differ much from those in use
among Belgaum. Jangams. Their religious peculiarities seem to
tone down in districts where the bulk of the people are attached to
Brahmanism. Among Bijdpur Jangams, women in their monthly
sickness are not considered impure; in Poona they sit apart for
three days. All SouPs fortnight in Bhddrapad or September is not
observed in Bijapur ; it is observed in Poona. They have a caste
council and settle social disputes at meetings of adult castemen.
They send their children to school, take to new pursuits, and show a
tendency to rise in wealth and position.

Jogtius are recruited from all classes and castes of Hindus. If
a man is childless or has a child sick of some serious disease he vows
that if Yelamma him gives a child or cures the child he will dedicate
it to her. Boys who have been dedicated to Yelamma in this way
are called Jogtis. When they come of age they are allowed to marry
girls of their own caste. But dedicated girls, who are called
Jogtins, are not allowed to marry. They look like Marathd,s, mark
their brows with redpowder, speak Marathi, and live eat and dress
Like Marathds. They are beggars, begging in the name of the
- goddess Yellamma whose shrine is at Saiindatti near Dhd,rw^r.
They worship the usual Brdhmanic gods and goddesses and have
house images of Yellamma and Parashuram. Their chief holiday
is Dasara in October and the nine previous nights. The teacher or
guru of the class who .may be either a man or a woman settles social
disputes and fines offenders 2d. to 2s. (Ee.^^ - 1). From every IJ
anna of the fine the teacher keeps f d. {^ a.) to himself and spends
the rest in sweetmeats or betel which are served to the members of
the class. They are a steady people.

Joha'ris, or Jewellers, are returned as numbering 120 and as
found in large towns. They are said to have come from M^rwdr
about seventy years ago for purposes of trade. They are like
Upper India Pardeshis and do not differ from them in dwell-
ing, food, drink, or dress. They are strict vegetarians and take
no liquor, thoagh some eat opium and drink hemp-water or bhang.
The men have taken to the Mardtha dress but the women keep
to the full northern petticoat and open-backed bodice. As a
class they are clean, hardworking, and thrifty. They are hereditary
beggars who deal in old lace and ribands, and profess a knowledge
of physic. They live from hand to mouth. The women mind
the house and offer metal pots in exchange for old clothes or
lace, hawking them from door to door. They are religious, wor-
shipping family gods and Krishna, Maruti, Ramchandra, and tulas
or the sweet basil plant, and keeping the usual Brdhmanic fasts
and feasts. They have a great reverfence for Kdm the seventh
incarnation of Vishnu and the heio of the Ramayan. Their great
holidays are Rdm-navami in April, Gokul-ashtami in August, and

Chapter III.
Population.

Begcaks..

JAN0AMS.

Jogtins^

JohJbis.

[Bomlbay Gazetteer,

456

DISTRICTS.

Chapter IIL
Fopnlation.

Beggahs.

JOB^RIS.

KJ.NPB2TBS.

and Gokul-Vrindavdn. They profess not to believe in witchcraft
or in evil spirits; Early marriage and polygamy are allowed, widow-
marriage is forbidden, and polyandry is unknown. On the third
and fifth days after the birth of a child the goddess Satvdi ig
worshipped, and the child is named on the twelfth day. The
mother's ioapurity lasts twelve days. Boys are girt with the sacred
thread between five and eight and married between eight and
thirty-; girls are married between five and twelve. A Pardeshi
Brahman priest officiates at the marriage and performs the same
rites as among Pardeshi Brahmans. They burn their dead and
mourn ten days. The crows are fed on the tenth and on the eleventh ,
the kinsmen of the dead purify themselves by sipping the five cow-
gifts. On the twelfth the caste-people are asked to dine in the name
of the dead and a rice ball is offered to the dead. Their mind-rites
are the same as those in use among Pardeshi Brahmans. They mark
the death-day by a mind-rite or shrdddh. They are bound together
by a strong caste feeling and settle social disputes at meetings of
adult castemen. 'They send their children to school and take to new
pursuits. They are said to be still burdened by debts incurred
during the 1876-77 famine. .

Ka'nplia'tes, or Slit Bar Gosdvis, are returned as numbering
123 and as found in Haveli, Bhimthadi^ and Poena. They have no
subdivisions. Their surnames are Chavhanj Rathod, Ghatge, Mule,
Silunke, Shinde, and Shitale. The names in common use among
men are Sambhu, Kashinath, Bhivnath, Rama, and Vithal j and
among, women Bhima, Ganga, Nira, and Sita. They are a tall dark
strong and robust, people. The men wear the moustache, whiskers,
and beard. They speak both Hindustani and Mard,thi. They
live in huts of matting «et on bamboo sticks. Except the dining
plate and water-pot their vessels are of earth.. They are a
wandering class and move from village to i village carrying
their huts and goods on ponies and buffaloes. They always keep"
dogs. They eat fish and the flesh of sheep, goats, hare, deer, the
wild hog, fowls, and partridges, and drink liquor. They are given to .
smoking hemp or gdnja and eating opium. The men dress in an
ochre-coloured Maratha turban, a loin or waistcloth, a shouldercloth,,
and sometimes a coarse waistcloth. They wear large thick ivory, clay,
bone, or fish-scale earrings in the lobes of their ears and a necklace
of rudrdksha beads. The women wear a petticoat and bodice and'
braid their hair leaving it hanging down the back in plaits. They
wear glass and queensmetal bangles and toef-rings, and a marriage--
string or mangalsutra of black glass beads. They are beggars and*
earn their living by singing and playing on the guitar, Raja Gopi-^^
chand being generally the hero of their songs. They are religions
and their chief gods are Gorakhnath and Machhandranath. They
keep the usual Brahmanic fasts and feasts and their priests are
Deshasth Brahmans to whom they show great respect. They believe
in sorcery and witchcraft and travel from place to place visiting
all the chief places of pilgrimage. On the fifth day after a birth
they feast five married women and ask a Brdhman to give them a
name for the child. They marry their girls after they come of age,
and their boys when they are above twenty-five. The boy and girl'

Deccan.]

POONA.

457

are seated face to face on a quilt and the priest repeats marriage
verses or mangaldsthaks, and when the verses are finished throws
grains of rice over their heads and ties together the hems of their
garments. This knot is called Brahmagdth or Brahma's knot ; after
it is tied nothing can separate them. They do not hold the cloth or
antarpat between the boy and girl at the time of marrying them.
Their widows marry and they allow polygamy, but not polyandry.
They bury their dead and mourn twelve days. They are bound
together as a body, have a headman or pdtil, do not send their boys
to school, and are poor.

KoUia'tis, or Tumblers, are returned as numbering 395 and as
found all over the district except in Khed. They are divided into
Dakar or Potre Kolhatis and P^l or Kdm Kolh^tis who do not
eat together or intermarry. The surnames of the Pd.1 Kolhdtis are
Anudhare, Jadhav, Kachare, Musale, Povd,r, and Shinde ; families
bearing the same surname can not intermarry. The names in com-
mon use among men are Ddda, Khandu, Lakshu, Malu, Nhano,
Vitu, and Vaghu ; and among women Bhima, Dhandbdi, Gulabo, and
Kangu. They are a goodlooking class, particularly the women. They
Speak a mixture of Kdnarese, Mardthi, Gujardti, and Hindust^ni.^
They live in huts of mat or grass or in houses with mud walls and
grass roofs. They are a wandering tribe and carry their huts on
their heads or on donkey-back. Their goods include a few
earthen pots and pans, some blankets, and a cot. They keep
donkeys, sheep, and fowls, and their staple food is Indian millet,
millet, split pulse, and sometimes rice, fish, and flesh. In ad-
dition to this, the Dukar Kolhdtis eat beef and pork. They
drink liquor, and smoke tobacco and hemp-flowers. A family of
five spends £1 to £1 10s. (Rs. 10-15) a month on food. The
men wear a pair of short breeches or chadis, a waistoloth and
shouldercloth, and a waistcoat, and roll a scarf or a Maratha turban
round their heads. They wear the topknot, moustache, and whiskers.
The women tie their hair in a knot at the back of the head, and
those who are prostitutes wear false hair and decorate their heads
with flowers. AH wear a tight-fitting bodice with sleeves and back,
and the full Maratha robe with the skirt passed back between
the feet and fastened into the waistband behind. Those who act as
prostitutes have a store of rich clothes worth £5 to £15 (Rs. 100-150)
and a number of gold silver and pearl ornaments worth £5 to £15
(Rs.50-150).^ Women who are not prostitutes wear bracelets or gots
worth about Si. (2 as^ and queensmetal toe-rings or jodvis worth
about 4i^d. (3 as.). They are dirty and lazy and maintain themselves
by showing feats of strength and by rope-dancing and begging. As
prostitutes they earn 6d. to 1«. (4-8 as.) a day. They are tanght
to jump and tumble from the age of eight, and at sixteen are good
gymnasts. A family of five spends 16s. to £1 (Rs. 8- 10) a month on

Chapter III.

Population.

Beggabs.

KolsAtis.

' For Come here they say Yame ava ; for Where have you been, Kdme gaya thiya ;
for Bread Rati ; iat Marriage Bihav ; and for Sleep Nind.

^ Their head ornaments are the rdkhdi, kevdd, and ketak ; then: nose ornament is the
nath ; their earrings are the antyd, bdli, dork, and vajratik ; their bracelets are goU

[Bombay Gazetteer,

458

DISTRICTS.

Chapter III.

Population.

Beogabs.
KolhJtis.

food, and 10s.to£l (Rs. 5-10) ayearon clotles. Abirth costs about
4s. (Rs. 2), a marriage 10s. to £2 10s. (Rs. 5-25), a girl's coining of
age 4s. (Rs. 2), a girPs starting in life as aprostitute about £1 (Rs; 10);
anda death 10s. to £1 10s. (Rs. 5-15). Tbey are Hindus and their
chief god is Khandoba of Pali in Satara. They pay great respect
to Mariai the Cholera Goddess, Jotiba, and Bahiroba. They fast on
Shivrdtra in February, on Ashddhi ekadashis in July, on Gokul-
ushtami in August, ahd on Kartiki ekadashis in November. Their
holidays are Sankrdnt in January, Shimga in March, Gudipddva in
April, Ndgpanchmi in August, Dasara in October, and DivdU in
November, Their priests are Deshasth Brdhmans whom they
call to their weddings. They respect Musalman saints or .pirs, and
have great, faith in soothsaying, sorcery, and the evil eye. A
woman is held to beimpure for five days after childbirth. On the
fifth day they worship seven pebbles in honour of the goddess Satv^i
outside the house and lay before them wet gram and wheat-cakes or
mutkes. They name their children about five weeks after birth, the
name being given by a Brahman. Kolhatis marry their boys before
they are twenty-five and their girls before they come of age;
The boy's father goes with five men and two or three women
to the girl's and presents her with a packet of sugar. The
guests are taken by the boy's father to .a liquor-shop and treated
to liquor. The marriage ceremony lasts five days. On the first
day, which is generally a Sunday, they have ih.Q devak or
marriage-guardian ceremony, when, both at the boy's and the girl's,
.a metal water-pot is pla,ced in a qaeensmetal plate and filled with
water. Five betelnuts and turmeric powder are dropped into it,
tind the mouth of the pot is closed with a cocoanut. Frankincense
is burnt before the pot, the cocoanut is broken to pieces, and all
present eat it. Pui-ing, the whole time these rites are going on one
of the party plays a drum or dhol. On the second day they
rub the boy with turmeric at his house and send the rest to.
the girl. Nothing is done on the third or fourth day except
feasting. On the fifth the boy goes to the girl's and they are
seated on cots near each other. The skirts of the boy's and
.girl's cloths are tied together by men of the caste and this is
; the whole marriage ceremony. After they are married this caste-
men advise the boy to take care of his wife. The ceremony ends
.next day with a feast. When a girl comes of age she is seated by
herself for five days. On-the morning of the sixth she is bathed
and her lap is filled with five dry datespfive turmeric roots, five piece^.
of cocoa-kernel, and five wheat cakes or mutkis. If a girl choose|:
to become a prostitute her choice is respected.. She puts herself
under the protection of some one not of the caste, who keeps her
for a time paying 10s, to £10 (Rs. 5 - 100). Kolhatis do not rank
.among the impure castes. They are touched by Brdhmans and
other high-caste Hindus and by P^rsis and Musalmdns. They do
not receive visits from Mtd.rs or other low-caste Hindus. The
children of a Kolhdti prostitute, whether they are boys or girls,,
though they are not outcastes, cannot marry with legitimate Kolhati
; children. The Kolhd,tis bary the dead. The body is carried «n%
cot or hdj by four men. Near the burial ground they lower the cotf

Deccau.]

POONA.

459

the bearers change places, and set a stone where the cot was laid and
carry the body to the burial ground and bury it. After burying it
they return to their houses. On the third day they go to the burial
ground, raise a mound on the spot where the body was buried, and
going to the spot where they left the stone, cook a dish of rice oil
and molasses, offer a little to the crows, themselves eat a little,
and return home. The chief mourner is impure for three days, and
at the end of a month feasts the caste. They have a caste council.
They do not send their boys to school, and are a poor people.

Ma'nblia'vS, probably meaning men of learning, are returned as
numbering 222 and as found over the whole district except in Mdval
and Poena. They speak Marathi, and are wandering beggars.
Both men and women shave their heads and live together in reli-
; gious houses or maths. They are vegetarians and wear black
clothes. They are a sect of Krishna-worshippers and hate Brdhmans
and their gods. They bury their dead and do not bathe in case it
should cause loss of insect life. Their religious head is a wandering
guru whom they call Mahant. He is succeeded by his chief disciple
who always stays with him.

Murlis. See VIghees.

Fa'ng^Ills are returned as numbering eighty-eight and as found
over the whole district. They are said to be the descendants of a
lame mau or pangala whose parents devoted him to the service of
the god Shankar because the god blessed them with children after the
usual time for child-bearing had passed. The names in common
use among men and women are the same as Mard.tha Kunbi names.
Their surnames are Bachakire, Badhake, Dhumd,le, Hing^mire,
Jadhav, Sinde, J^te, and V^ghamode. Persons bearing the same
surnames do not intermarry. Their family gods are Bhavdni of
Tuljapur, Jandi of Paithan, and Khandoba of Pdli and Jejuri in

;. Poona, Mahddev of Sijanapur, and Satvdi of Mdnakeshvar. Their
illegitimate children eat with them but do not marry with them.
In look, dwelling, food, and drink they do not differ from local
Mardtha Kunbis. As a class they are dirty, orderly, hardworking,
thrifty, and hospitable. They are a class of wandering beggars, but
they also deal in wood and poultry. They repeat the names of their
family gods and move begging from door to door from six to ten in
the morning, and return home at noon. The women mind the house
and work as labourers or house servants ; children above six beg in
the street. As a class they are very poor. They spend more than
they can afford and are encumbered with debt. They rank below
Mardtha Kunbis and above the impure classes. They are religious,
worshipping family and local gods, and keeping all fasts and feasts.
They are Shaivs by sect and their priest is a Deshasth BrAhman who
is called to their marriages. They visit all Hindu sacred places in
the Deccan, and believe in soothsaying and witchcraft. Early
marriage, widow-marriage, and polygamy are allowed and practis-
ed ; polyandry is unknown. On the fifth day after the birth of a
child the goddess Satvdi is worshipped and the women of the house
sit up all night. The mother's impurity lasts ten days and she is

nnrifiBd on the eleventh da^ bv takinar the five cow-eifts ! iha

Chapter III.
Population.

BBfiGABS.

MANBHA.VS.

Murlis.
Pan&uls.

[Bombay Gazetteer*

460

DISTRICTS.

Chapter III.
Population.

BEaOABS,

SdB VADE.JOSBIS.

child's hair is clipped before it is a year old, when Satvai is again
worshipped and a goat is slaia in her honour. Boys are married
between twelve and twenty-five and girls between three and
twelve. The boy pays the price of the girl and the sanction of the
castepeople is given before the agreement is final. Their marriage
and death rites are the same as those of Maratha Knnbis. They
burn the dead and mourn ten days. The death day is marked by a
mind-rite or shraddh and the dead are again remembered on the
day in the Mahdlaya Paksh or All Souls' Fortnight in BMdrapdd
or September which corresponds to the day of death. They are
bound together by a strong caste feeling and settle social disputef
at meetings of castemen. They send their children to school and
show a tendency to improve.

Sarvade Joshis are returned as numbering 1623 and as found
over the whole district. They cannot tell why they are called
Sai'vades, or when and why they came into the district. They believe
they came about a hundred years ago. Their surnames are Bhosle;
Chavd.nj More, Sinde, and S^lunke ; persons bearing the same
surname cannat intermarry. They look like Marathas ; the men
are tall, thin, and dark, and wear moustaches and whiskers and
occasionally the beard. Their home speech is Mardthi, They are
wandering .beggars and live either in or outside of villages in
thatched huts. Their household goods are two or three earthen
vessels, a brass dining plate, and a couple of drinking pots. They
eat anything that is given them in alms and have no objection to
fish and the flesh of goats, sheep, hare, and deer ; they seldom drink:
liquor. The men dress like Mardth^s, except that their begging
coats are rather long. They generally wear a white Maratha turban,
waistcloth, and shouldercloth, and Brahman shoes or sandals.
When begging they carlfy asmall drum called hudlci slung on their
back, and an old almanac in their pocket which they do not know
how to read. Their women dress like Mard,tha women and both
men and women have no clothes in store and no ornaments. They
are a poor, patient, sober, thrifty, and orderly class of beggars, and
tell fortunes with great solemnity. They do not admit that they
beg. In the Satya Yug they told the gods their fortunes, and what
they now get is in reward for this and is not given in charity.
They are astrologers and foi-tune-tellers and travel with their families.
They start in the beginning of November and return before May.
Before starting on their begging tours they make a low bow to their
drum or hudlci, the bread-winner. Their women and children
accompany them on their tours but do not go with them when they
beg. They are Shaivs in religion and have house-images of Jand,i,
Jokhai, Elama, and Khandoba. Their priests are Deshasth Brdhmans
to whom they show great respect, and their fasts and feasts are the
same as those of Mardtha Kunbis. When a child is born a man or
woman of the house cuts its navel cord and burys it in the lying-in
room along with a copper coin. The coin is afterwards dug out and
spent in buying oil to rub on the -child's head. On the seventh
day a grindstone is laid on the spot where the navel cord is buried,
and Indian millet and a betelnut and two leaves are offered to it.
The mother and child bow before the stone and retire. Their

Deccan]

POONA.

461

women do not consider themselves unclean after cliildbirth. Both
boys and girls are named on the twelfth day. When the child is a
couple of months old whether it is a boy or a girl they clip its hair
with their owli hands, but perform no other ceremony. They
marry their children whether boys or girls at any age. A marriage
costs £1 to £2 (Rs. 10-20) of which 1«. or Is. 3d. (8-10 as.) go to the
priest 'who marries them. Marriage dinners do not include more
than ten or twenty guests and do not cost more than 4s. (Rs. 2).
Their women are not kept by themselves when they come of a,ge, and
the occasion is not marked by any ceremonies. A month later
they are kept by themselves and if married go to live with their
husbands. They bury their dead and allow the dying to breathe
their last on their beds. The chief mourner does not shave
his moustache but on the third day near relations go to the
burying ground and lay some pinches of earth on the spot where
the dead was buried and return home. They mourn seven days
and end the mourning with a feast to the four corpse-bearers. On
the deceased's death-day a dinner is given to a few near relations
and crows, and the Brahman priest is presented with uncooked
food or shidha. They have a caste-council and settle social disputes
at meetings of the castemen. They do not send their boys to
school but teach them their craft from the age of eight. They are
daily growing poorer as people are not so liberal as they used to
be in giving them alms. They seldom get old clothes or money,
and grain is given them by pinches instead of by handfuls. Their
prophesies are not believed, and they are driven from the door.

Sahadev Joshis orHussaini Bra'hmans, are found in Poena.
They say they are descended from Sahadev, the grandson of Kdlid^s
the great poet. Kalidds is said to have had by a Mardtha husband-
man's daughter a son named Devidas who mamed one Bhddli by
whom he had a son named Sahadev, the father of the Sahadev
Joshis. The Sahadevs cannot tell when, whence, or why they
came into the district. They believe they were formerly settled at
Aurangabad and came to Poena about a hundred years ago. Their
surnames are Botludas, Bhagdde, Gachkeshvar, Nayakil, iand
Renukddas. They are dark, weak, and middle-sized ; the men wear
the top-knot, moustache, and whiskers, but not the beard. They
live in houses of the poorer class, and have metal and earthen vessels,
blankets, carpets, and bedding, but neither servants nor domestic
animals. TJheir staple food is millet, rice, pulse, vegetables, curds,
and whey, and they are fond of sour dishes. They eat the flesh of
goats and sheep and drink liquor once a year in October on Dasara
Day after offering it to the goddess Bhavani. They dress like Deccan
Brdhmans in a waistcloth, coat, shouldercloth, and Brdhman
turban and shoes. Their women wear the short-sleeved and backed

• bodice and the full Mardtha robe, the skirt of which they pass l)ack
between the feet and tuck into the waist behind; They tie

: their hair in a ball at the back of the head and do not deck it
with flowers. They are quiet orderly and hospitable, and make
their living as beggars and astrologers. A boy's marriage costs
£7to.£10 (Rs. 70-100), a girl's marriage £3 to £5 (Rs. 30-50),

Chapter III-

Population.

Beooabs.
Sabvads Joshis,

Sabadev Joshis.

[Bombay Gazetteer,

462

DISTRICTS.

Chapter III.

Fopixlation.

Beoqabs.
Sahadev Joshis.

and local gods and goddesses. Their familjr goddesses are the
Mothers of Saptashringi and TuljApur whom they visit when they
can afford it. They keep the regular Brdhmanic fasts and feasts.
Their priests are Deshasth Brdhmans who officiate at their houses.
They believe in sorcery, witchcraft, soothsaying, omens, and lucky
and unlucky days, and consult oracles. On the fifth day after
the birth of a child they put a silver mask of the goddess Satvai in
a cocoa-kernel, place, it on a stone slab in the mother's room, and
worship it with red and scented powder, flowers, and pulse cakes.
They hold the mother impure for ten days and name the child if a
boy on the twelfth and if a girl on the thirteenth. They clip a boy's
hair when he is between seven and twelve months old. The hair is
laid before the house-gods and then either tied to a tree or thrown
into a river or pond. The barber is given about 3d. (2 as.) and cooked
food, and five married women are feasted, the chief dish being pulse
cakes. They marry their girls before they are sixteen and their boys
before they are twenty-five. The boy's father has to seek a wife
for his son. When he has found a suitable snatch he goes to the
girl's house with a few near relations, worships a betelnut along
with the girl's father, and presents the girl with a new robe and
bodice and sticks a rupee on her brow. The village astrologer
writes two. notes naming the lucky days and hours for rubbing
the children with turmeric and marrying them, and each of the
fathers keeps a copy of the note. Packets of betelnut and leaves
are handed and the guests retire. Their guardian or demk is the
leaves of five trees or panchpalldp which they tie to a post of the
marriage hall in a piece of yellow cloth. On the marriage day the
boy goes on horseback, with relations and music, to the girl's, and
a married woman of the girl's family goes with a water jar and pours
the water in front of the horse. The girl's relations present her with
a bodice. Cooked rice and curds are waved round the boy's head
and thrown on one side, and the boy dismounts and walks into the
marriage porch. In the house he is seated on a carpet, a second
thread is put round his neck, and the girl is brought in. When the
girl comes she and the boy either stand or sit on low wooden stools
face to face with a cloth held between them. The priest repeats
marriage verses, and at the end of the verses throws grains of rice
over the boy and girl and seats them near each other on the altar.
The sacrificial fire is lighted and they are married. The hems of
their garments are knotted together and they bow before the house
gods. They are again seated on an altar and- either the girl's
maternal uncle or her father washes their feet and presents the boy
with five metal vessels including a lamp, a water-pot, a cup,, and a
plate. Money is given to Brdhmans and other beggars, and, after a
feast and betel, the guests leave. Next day the boy goes with the
bride in procession to his house and the marriage festivities end
with a feast. They allow widow-marriage and polygamy, but not
polyandry. A day or two before a man's death his moustache and
top-knot are shaved and he is made an ascetic or sanydsi. When
lie dies he is laid on a bamboo bier and carried by four men on their
shoulders, and buried sitting. The chief mourner pours water over
Ms mouth, walks five times round the grave with an earthen jar o^:4

Deccanl

POONA.

463

his shoulders, and dashing the jar on the ground beats his mouth with
the back of his right hand and calls aloud. The grave is filled and
after a bath the mourners return to their homes. On the third day
they sprinkle the grave with cow's urine and dung and lay on it
three wheat cakes and threp earthen jars filled with cold water. On
the tenth day they throw eleven rice balls in the river in honour
of the dead and the mourning is over. Either on the twelfth or
thirteenth day they feast the caste. They have a caste council and
send their boys to school. They are a poor people.

Tirma'liS, also called Ka'shi Ka'padis,are returned as number-
ing seventy and as found wandering all over the district. The names
in common use among men are Apaiya, Chalaiya, Chandraiya, Eraiya,
Guraiya, Niraiya, and Venkaiya ; and among women A-chamma,
Gangamma, Jagamma, Kavaimma, and Laksmanamma. Their sur-
names are Kanare, Maydkalla, Medur, Nandale, Sanku, Shebul, and
Vasardi. All belong to the Kdshyap stock or gotra. Their family
deities are Amb^bai, Charbalaji of Tirupatij Durga Bhavd/ui, and

■' Ganpati in Telangan. Persons bearing the same surnames do not
intermarry, but sameness of stock is no bar to marriage. They
have no subdivisions. Their home tongue is a corrupt Telugu,
and they speak broken Mardlhi abroad. They are strong, dark, tall,
and well-built^ and live in one-storeyed houses with brick walls and
tiled roofs. They are moderate eaters and good cooks. Their staple
food includes millet bread, pulse sauce, vegetables, and fish curry.
Sweet wheat-flour cakes and spiced dishes are their chief dainties.
They eat flesh except beef and pork, and drink liquor on any day
except fast and feast days. Both men and women dress like local
Maritha Kunbis and have a similar store of ornaments and holiday
clothes. As a class they are clean, orderly, hardworking, honest,
and thrifty, but fond of show and hospitable: Their chief and
hereditary calling is door-to-door begging. They also sell sacred
threads ot j6/rvavds,la.6iY rudrdksha berries Eleocarpus lanceolatus or
gravitrus, whetstones, pieces of sandalwood, and sweet basil rosaries.

: They deal in sandalwood dolls and offer their wares in exchange
either for cash or clothes. The women dam second-hand clothes and
mind the shop when the men are away. Men go begging from six to
eleven, dine at noon either at home or at some rich Brahman's, rest
till two, and sit in their shops till dark. They are poor and burdened
with debt. They are a religious class worshipping their family gods
and all local gods and keeping all fasts and feasts. They ask a
Telangi Brahman to ofiBciate at their ceremonies and make pilgrim-
ages to Alandi, Dehu in Poena, and Pandharpur in ShoMpur.

' They belong to the Shaiv sect. They believe in witchcraft^
soothsaying, and evil spirits. Early marriage, widow-marriage, and
polygamy are allowed and practised ; polyandry is unknown. Their
customs do not differ from those of Mardtha Kunbis. After sunset
on the fifth day after the birth of a child the women of the house
place a leather shoe or sandal under the pillow of the child to keep
ofE evil spirits, worship a plate with an embossed figure of the goddess
Satvdi, and keep awake till morning. The mother's impurity lasts
ten davs, and she and the child are bathed and purified on the

Chapter III.
Population.

Bbgoaks.

TlBMALia.

[Bombay Gazetteer;^^

464

DISTRICTS.

Chapter III.
Population,

UOHLllS.

asked'to the house and friends and kinspeople are feasted. Boys
are married between five and twenty and girls between five and
eleven. Widow-marriage is allowed. They burn their dead and
mourn ten days. Crows and Brahmans are fed on the tenth or
eleventh by the chief mourner, and caste-people are feasted in
honour of the dead. They remember the dead on their anniversary
and on the day in the Mahdlaya Paksha or All Soul's Fortnight in
dark BhMrapad or September corresponding to the death day. They
have a caste council and settle social disputes at meetings of.
castemen. They send their children to school but do not take to
new pursuits or show signs of improving.

Uchlia'Sj^or Lifters, also called Blia'mta's and Gantha'cliors
that is Bundle-thieves, probably number about 2000. They are found
in Bhimthadi, Haveli, Khed, and Sirur. The nucleus of the Poena
Uchlias seems to have come from the Telugu districts either of
Madras or of the Nizam's country. Their home speech is a broken
Telugu, and many of their names have a southern or eastern form.
They are found spread through the Deccan, the Berdrs, Gujardt,
and other parts of Western India. They have no idea when and
.why they left their native country and no memory of having belonged
to any other class of Hindus. Some, apparently correctly, state
that they have been living in villages round Poona for four or five
generations. The Poona Uohlia though called Bhamtas, are not
true Bhdmt^s. . The proper Bh^mtdiS come not from the east or
south-east but from the north. They.are of Eajput descent. Their
features are regular and pleasing, their skin is fair, and they are
generally well-made, sturdy, and active. They adopt many disguises.
Even in their own villages, one dresses as a Mdrwar Vani, another
as a Grujardt Shrdvak or Jain, a third as a Brahman, a fourth as a
Rajput. They keep to some particular disguise for years and often
travel hundreds of miles entering and stealing from the houses of
the class of people whose dress they adopt. • They sometimes
give a false name for themselves and their village and take service >
with a merchant or trader of the caste to which they profess to
belong. They act honestly for a time and take advantage of theii"
employer's trust in them to make away with some large amount
of property. Sometimes two or three Bhamtds visit a large fair
and go to the river-side which is crowded with bathers and
worshippers. One of the party dresses as a Brahman. ,He chooses
a spot near the person whom he means to rob and while washing
and repeating verses keeps his eye on the ornament he intends-
to steal. When the chance comes he moves close to the ornament
and begins to spread out a cloth to dry. "When he is near enough '
he catches the ornament in his toes, drags it with him, and buries it
in the sand some distance off. The accomplices who are in waiting,
walk close bye, loiter about for a time, and move on. When his
victim misses his ornament and raises an outcry the Bhdmta
questions and grieves with him. He points out the accomplices
and says he noticed them loitering about, perhaps it may be as well ,

From materials supplied by^JSIr,' S. Kyte, Police Inspector of Poona City.

Seccau.!

POONA.

465

to look after thorn. The victim starts in pursuit, and the Bhdmta

digs the ornament out of the sand and makes off. At these holy

bathing places women generally tie their ornaments in a bundle or

put them in a box and sit close bye and take their meals. When

they see a woman sitting with a bundle close to her a couple of

Bhd,mtas come up. One of them walks close to the woman, the other

stops a few yards off and sits down as if to ease himself. The woman

turns in the other direction and the comrade whips off the bundle

and buries it in the sand. If a Bhdmta is caught nothing is found

and he has to be set free.

., The city of Poena is infested with Uchlias or southern Bhdmtds,

i[ They are also found in the villages round Poena chiefly in Vadgdy,

^ Bhdtgav, Karja, Phugya's Vadi, Pabal, Bopudi, Kanersar, Kondve,

i;; Mundhav, Talegaon, and Dhamdri. Their numbers vary as some of

_ them are always on their travels. A rough estimate of the Uchlids

of these villages gives about 260 at Vadgdv, 200 at Bhatgdv, 150

at Karja, 75 at Phugyaohivddi, 300 at Pabal, 50 at Bopudi, 150

at Kanersar, 20 at Kondve, 50 at Mundhav, 75 at Telegaon, and

^ about lOO at Dhamari, or a total strength of about 1420. All Poona

Uchlias belong to one of two clans, Gaikvdd and Jadhav. Except

such low castes as Mdngs, Mhdrs, Chambhdrs, Dhors, Buruds, and

Telis, Uchlias admit all Hindus and Musalmdns. In well known

cases, Brdhmans, Marwdr Vanis, Sondrs, Shimpis, and other upper

and middle class Hindus have joined the Uchlias. If a good-casto

Hindu or a Musalman wishes to become an Uchlia he makes a fi-iend

of some leading member of the caste and tells him that he wishes to

* become an Uchlia. If the Uchlia cares to have the candidate as a

member of his family he takes him himself or he makes him over to

r any person who cares to have him. The candidate passes through

two ceremonies, admission to the caste and adoption into a family of

the caste. If an Uchlia who is a Jddhav takes the man who is to be

initiated into his family, the new-comer claims to be and becomes a

JAdhav ; if the new-comer is taken into a GdikvM family he claims

to be and becomes a GAikvdd. They cannot explain how they

came to be divided into Gd,ikvdds and Jadhavs. Their forefathers,

pthey say, may have been Mardtha members of those two clans, or

£they may have taken service with Gaikvad and Jd,dhav Mardtha

chiefs and adopted their patrons' clan names. When an Uchlia

"agrees to adopt an outsider he calls a caste meeting and tells the

castemen that if they allow the outsider to become an Uchlia he

will adopt him into his family. The castemen fix the admission

fee which generally varies from £1 10s. to £2 10s. (Rs. 15 - 25) and

retire. Next day musicians are called, the candidate is bathed and

dressed in new clothes, and, in proof of admission into the caste,

one of the elders, without repeating any text or verse, drops turmeric

and sugar into the candidate's mouth. A feast follows during which

two or three of the caste elders sit with the novice and eat from the

same plate with him. This completes the admission ceremony.

Unless the new member is adopted into some family no UchHa will

give him his daughter in marriage. If the new-comer is adopted

by a Jadhav a Gdikvad will give him his daughter, and if a Gdikvdd

Chapter III.

Population.

Begoabs.
UoHLiUay

ItA^-^l-r, 1.^w

[Bombay Gaestteen

466

DISTRICTS.

Chapter IIL
Population.

Beogabs.

same clan-name may not intermarry. The adoption ceremony 19
performed by the person who adopts. He calls the caste to his
hons© and in their presence seats the new-comer on his knee. The
caste elders drop a pinch of turmeric powder or bhanddr into his
mouth and each of the other guests drops a little sugar into his
month. Music is played and the guests retire with betel and leaves.
The names in common use among men are Bapu, Chindpa>
Chandrya, Dolya, Dhagya, Bllapa, Gid^pa, Gitu, Kushanna, Mdnku,
Mukirya, Marya^ Nathya, Phakirya, Parashya^ Rama, Satpa,
Satva, and Sirdlya ; and among women Aku, Bhdgi, Dolu, Dhondi,
EUi, Jogi, Mukti, Mari, Masaki, Navli, R^i, Rami, Rakhmi, Saki, Satvi,
aind Tuki. The Poona Uchlids are dark and of a Telugu or Dravid
cast of face. People who know them say that their bodies are stiff
from frequent beatings and that the water has been drained out of
their eyes so that they cannot shed a tear. They have this saying
regarding Uchlids because, even when caught in the act-of thieving,
no amount of kicking or slippering will draw a tear from the eye or
a word from the tongue of an Uchlia except a profession of innocence^

The men wear the topknot, moustache, and whiskers, and sometimes
a lock of hair over each ear. None wear the beard. Their home
speech is a corrupt Telugu mixed with Marathi. No is lera, bread
is impal, split-pulse pwpu, vegetables kura, butter nei, a turban
talhata, a coat angi, the face nor, the nose mMfcM,.the lips lata, and the
hair antkal. Why do you run is Yaduparav, Have you work to do
Phani undaya, Are you going to dinner Impadati nimpmye, Don't
get angry Siii gadak, What have you brought Demti sakindsti.
Have yon forgot a rupee Rupayachi kaya. They live in houses
built of stone or brick with tiled roofs. Some have two-storeyed
houses and generally their dwellings are as good as those of an
average vi llager. Their houses are clean. Their house goods include'
6opper and brass vessels of which they have more than enough for
their wants. Some have only a few boxes and a grindstoiie and
earthen pots piled one on the other in which they keep grain and
condiments. An ordinary country-made cot with a carpet and
pillow and bedding is , their sleeping furniture. They keep cows,
buffaloes, ponies, fowls, and hogs, and cowdung their- houses
once a week on Tuesdays, Fridays, or Sundays. When rich and
successful they make no show of wealth. Their aim is to seem
fairly off, so as neither to attract the special notioe of the. police
nor to arouse the jealousy of their neighbours. They eat the usual
kinds of animal food including the flesh, both of the tame pig
and of the wild boar. They rear pigs. Bach Uchlia keeps a few
pigs within walled enclosures or straying about the village. Pork
is not used at caste feasts nor on religious or -festive occasions ; it
is kept as a delicacy for small feasts. They catch wild pig either by
noosing them or with the help of dogs. When the pig is secured
its legs are tied and it is killed either by stoning or by blows of a
plub below the ear. It is roasted over a slow fire, skinned, cut in
small pieces, and served with salt and chillies. They never kill the
cow and never eat its flesh. They drink liquor to excess. Their
staple food is millet bread, vegetables,^and spices. A family of five

Deecaa.}

POONA.

467

spends 12a. to 1 6s. (Rs.6 -8) a montli on food. Their only feasts are in
honour of marriages when they make cakes of sugar and oil. They
copy the dress and manners of the villagers among whom they live,
so that strangers may take them for ordinary husbandmen. The
men wear a coat, waistcloth, shouldercloth, shoes, and a loosely
folded Maratha turban. The men's ornaments are the earrings
called kudki and hili, the necklace called kanthi, the wristlet
called i^f^c^, and the waistband called kaddora. The women dress
like Maratha women in a bodice with a back and short sleeves, and
a full robe whose skirt corner is drawn back between the feet. They
mark their brows with redpowder but do not wear false hair of
Seek their heads with flowers. They have clothes in store for big
days worth £2 to £3 (Rs. 20-30). The women's jewelry includes
ear, nose, neck,' arm, feet, and toe ornaments, worth £1 to £2
^Rs. 10-20). The Uchlids show an honourable loyalty to one
another. They never rob each other or tell on each other. If thje
police find stolen property in an Uchlia's house and the property
does not belong to the owner of the house, the real Uchlia owner
will come forward and take the blame on himself. Another rule
_ , ihey are careful to keep is that if an Uchlia manages to escape
from prison he must not come back among his friends lest he
should bring them into trouble. An Uchlia is never guilty of house-
breaking or of gang-robbery with arms. These forms of crime he
leaves to the Maags and Rdmoshis. If an Uchlia takes part in an
armed gang robbery he is at once put out of caste. They are
' professional thieves and pocket-slitters, stealing between sunrise
and sunset. They do not rob or steal after nightfall. They will
not steal from a man when he is asleep in a house nor will they steal
by breaking into a house at night. At fairs and other large gatherings
. they mix with the crowd, and thieve. They are not particular as to
what they steal They pick an ornament off the wearer's body either
by cutting it or opening it. They slip it away so light-fin geredly
, that some time passes before the owner knows that his ornament
is gone. A favourite find is a bundle in front of a booth, laid
down by some one close by, whose energies are centered in beating
the booth-keeper in bargaining. However poor and unpromising
, the bundle the Uchlia does not despise it. His principle is to neglect
nothing that fortune throws in his way. Before a party of Uchli^s
start on a thieving trip thqy consult and follow the advice of their
t headman who is called Pdtil or Thelungya, apparently the head of
'„. the thai or sthal that is the camping ground, for the Uchlids nsed
; to be wanderers. On their return they hand him an eighth of
the spoil or two annas in the rupee. If everything goes well
and the theft is not traced the headman spends his share on a
caste feast with plenty of liquor, or if one of the thieves is caught
the headman's share is spent on feeing a pleader to defend the
accused. Sundays and Tuesdays are bad days for thieving;
Uchlds often let them pass without attempting a theft. If any
, friend of the tribe happens to be robbed he will get his property
vfcack.ifhe satisfies the headman that he has befriended some
one of the tribe. The man's plea of friendship is laid before a
mrv or vanchd/uat. The iurv will not admit the plea unless one of

Chapter III.
Fopulatioa.

'Begoabs.

UOBLIAS.

[Bombay Gaaetteer,

468

DISTEICTS.

Chapter III.
Population.

BEOeARS.
UOELlJ-S.

the tribe comes forward and declares that the claimant is a friend of
the tribe. If some one comes forward the property is handed to the
claimant, and the thief's loss is made good from public funds. Their
code of honour is extremely high. Any breach of loyalty^ any tale-,
telling against a brother Uchlia meets with the sharpest punishment*"
If one Uchlia charges another with telling against him the headman
calls the castemen together. The accused is brought before the
meeting and asked what he has done. If he can prove that the man
he told was a friend of the tribe, even though the friend may be a
constable, no notice is taken. If the tale-bearing is traced to spite,
iilwill, or jealousy, the informer is forced to pay the value of the
property stolen and is marked as a traitor. If the accused denies that
he told any one his innocence is tested by the oiUcaldron or tel-kadcd.
Before the heads of the caste agree to refer the dispute to the oil-
caldron they make the accused enter into a written agreement that
if the ordeal proves him a traitor, he will pa,y a fine to be fixed by
the head of the caste. The fine is generally heavy, sometimes as
much as £100 (Rs. 1000). When the caste-leaders agree to refer
the matter to the caldron they ask a potter to make a kadoii that is
a large earthen caldron with a bowl-shaped body and a broad flat
rim. For one kadai the potter is paid as much as 3s. (Rs. 1|).
The reason of this high price is that the, sacred caldron has to be
made with the greatest care. The potter must wash before he
begins to make it. He must bake it in a special kiln and see that
nothing impure touches it. When the jar is ready the potter sends
word and the caste-council go to his yard and take it from his
hands. The potter does not perform any ceremony on the caldron
after it is baked nor does he tie anything round its neck. He, is
not recognized by the Uchlids as a priest nor does he perform any
ceremonies for them in times of cholera. When the jar has been
taken to the Uchlia's hamlet a quantity of sesamum-seed or tU is
brought and seven married women of good character are called.
They are made to bathe, are dressed in new clothes, and have their
brows marked with redpowder, and their arms with turmeric
powder. They sit in a line and clean the oil-seed fasting the
whole day. When the seed is clean it is handed to the oil-presser
or Teli. The oilman is made to wash himself, to clean his mill,
and put in a new crusher, and for this he is paid 14s. (Rs. 7). When
the oil is crushed the crusher is taken out, broken in pieces, and
used as firewood for boiling the oil. The caste-leaders choose
some lonely spot at which to hold the ordeal and a large body of the
caste perhaps fifty friends of the accused and fifty friends of the
accusei'j both men and women, go to the spot accompanied by the
accused, the umpires, and music. When the spot is reached the
accused is seated by himself fasting in a tent or booth. A fire is
kindled, the caldron is set on the fire, and the oil, which is
never less than ten pounds (5 shers), is poured in. When the oil
begins to boil the accused is called. He comes from the tent
v^ith music accompanied by the umpires. When the accused
comes put of the tent, he bathes, but worships no god nor is any
image of any god put near, the caldron. When the accused comes
clo^e to the boiling caldron a round stone of the size of a pigeon's

DeccanJ

POONA.

469

egg is dropped into the oil. The accused calls in a lond voice, ' If
I have spoken the truth may the oil be to me as milk.' The
accuser answers in a loud voice, ' If he has told a lie may the
boiling oil be to him as fire or as worse than fire.' The accused
plunges his arm into the oil and draws out the stone. He shows
the stone to the head of the caste and throws it behind his own
back. The fire is allowed to burn out and the accused is led to
his tent and watched to see if he is siaffering. After twenty-four
hours the caste-leaders call on him to wash his hand with cow's
urine, oowdung, and ^and. When his hand has been washed it is
closely examined. If it has taken no harm the accused is acquitted
and brought back to the viUaga If the accuser is not satisfied
that the hand has escaped unhurt a goat is killed and the accused
is made to use his hand in pulling oS the skin. During the time
of the ordeal, which generally lasts ten to fifteen days, the accuser
feeds one-half of the company and the accused feeds the other half
of the company. At the end the person who wins the ordeal is
paid, all his expenses by the person who loses, and, at the same
time, is presented with a lace-bordered shouldercloth and a turban
together worth £12 to £24 (Es. 120-240). The loser further pays the
caste council a fine of £6 (Rs. 60), which is spent on a caste feast.
Oil-ordeals come off sometimes twice sometimes as often as ten
times in the year aoxjording as disputes happen to be many or few.
Cases of injury from the boiling oil are rare. The accused almost
always comes off unhurt.

Uohlias go thieving in couples or in bands of six to twelve, some-
times all men, sometimes all women, and sometimes half men and half
women. They do not wait to strip a victim of all his ornaments. Even
if it is a child one ornament only is taken. The stolen property is
never kept by the man who stole it. It is at once made over to the
thief s partner, and, with the least possible delay, without stipulating
any value, is left by him with some Mdrwar Vdni or Brahman
receiver of stolen goods. After a time the Uchlia comes to. the
receiver and takes what he gives him without a grumble, even
though he is paid less than one-tenth of its value. This is the
road which leads many a Mdrwdri to wealth. Widows and other
women who haveno man to support them thieve. Women thieves,
sometimes three or four together, attend fairs and big markets.
They mark some child with ornaments and watch till the child's
parents are in" a throng watching a show or driving a bargain. Two
or three Uchlia women come pressing up watching the show with
their eyes, aiud, with their hands, or the lancet they carry in their
mouths, loosening the ornament. The thief passes the ornament to
her friend who makes off while the thief loiters about safe and
unconcerned for if she is caught nothing is found. When they
see no one about Uchlia women sometimes go into houses and take
away clothes left to dry. If they find some one in the house they
ask if so-and-so does not live here or where so and so lives.
Most of the Uchlias are well-to-do. Almost none are in debt
and only the few clumsy-fingered are badly off. In case of need
they borrow from Marwar and Gujai'at Vdnis or from some one of -

Chapter III.
Population.

Seggars.

UoaLiJs%

[Bombay Qazetteer,

470

DISTRICTS.

Chapter III.

Population.

Beggars.
VcHLiUs.

to raise a loan. A few of them are moneylenders, lending money
m a quiet way to their fellow-villagers. They have a good middle
class social position. They are liked by their neighbours. They
never steal from a house in their own village and many of the
villagers directly or indirectly share in their gains. They claim
and enjoy the standing of respectable Kunbis. Their humble-
mindedness and wish to please win the favour of the office-bearers
and of the other leading men of the village.

Except that he seldom does any work, the home life of an Uchlia
does not differ from that of an ordinary husbandman. The Uchlia's
special life begins when he leaves his village for cities, market-towns,
or fairs. After a few days' idling in the village one or two of them
talk over the next big fair, agree on some thieving programme, and
fix how the booty is to be shared. After making what they can out
pf,the fair they generally spend much of their gains on liquor and
return half-drunk to their homes. An Uchlia's expenses and his way
of living do not differ frdm those of an ordinary Kunbi. A house
costs £5 to £20 (Rs. 50-200) to build and Qd. to Is. (4-8 as.) a
month to rent. Their house goods vary in value from £2 10s,
to £5 (Rs. 2.5-50) ; and the yeariy cost of clothing a family of five
varies from £1 10s. to £2 (Rs. 16-20). A birth costs 10s. (Rs. 5),
a naming 8s. (Rs. 4), a hair-clipping 4s. to 6s. (Rs. 2-3), a boy's
marriage £5 to £10 (Rs. 50-100), a girl's marriage £2 10s. to
£5 (Rs. 25-50), a girl's coming of age 10s. to £1 (Rs. 6-10), a
pregnancy Qd. to 2s. (Re. \ - 1), and a death 16s. to £1 4s. (Rs. 8-12).
They worship the ordinary Brahmanic gods and goddesses. Their
favourite deities are Bahiroba, Bhav^ni, Khandoba, Marid,i, Mhasoba,
Vetal,and Yellama ; those who worship Bahiroba fast on Friday, those
who worship.Bhavini on Tuesday, and those who worship Khandoba
on Sunday. The Bhavani of Tuljdpur and Yellamma of Saundatti are
most venerated by the majority of Uchlias. They have no particular
form of worship. They visit the ordinary temples of these deities,
bathe, and fall at the feet of the god and ask for health and good
fortune. Their rites are performed under the guidance of the ^
temple ministrant who gives them holy ashes or udi, and if
they have been unsuccessful, advises them to offer a goat, give
a feaet, or be more regular in visiting the temple. They occasion-
ally suffer from spirit-possession. When an Uchlia is attacked by
a spirit the patient's friends call any one who is expert in casting
out devils. Some Uchlias have a great name as devil-scarers.
When one of these exorcists is asked to cure a person who is
suffering from a spirit attack, he washes and, puts on fresh- clothes.
He goes to the patient's house and drops incense or ud into a fire
in front of him. The fumes of the incense scare the spirit and ,
make him say who he is and what he wants. If a promise is
given that his wishes will be, granted the spirit generally leaves.
They make pilgrimages to Alandi, Pandharpur, Jejuri, Bhimd-
shankar, or wherever there is likely to be a crowd. They keep the
usual Brdhmanic and local fasts and feasts. For five days after
the birth of a child the mother is held to be unclean and to make
unclean any person or thing she touches. During each of these
days, the midwife rubs, the mother and child with turmeric paste,

Seccan-I

POONA,

oil, and scraps of cocoa-^kernel bruised on a stone slab, bathes

them in warm water, and lays them on bedding spread on the

ground instead of on a cot. The time a mother remains apart

Taries from five days to a fortnight or even three months according

to her husband's wish. During this time she is fed on rice and oil.

On the fifth day a small silver plate with an embossed image of the

goddess Satvd,i or Mother Sixth is laid in a new winnowing basket

and in front of it are placed dry dates, a piece of turmeric root, a bit

of dry cocoa-keriuel, two betel leaves and a nut, and a little wooden

box with redpowder. *8ome sweet food is laid before the image and

all night long a lamp is kept burning before it. From this day the

mother may move about the house and do the housework, but in

well-to-do families she remains apart for several weeks. Instead

of worshipping Satvdi in the house on the fifth day some rub the

mother's hands and feet with turmeric powder, cover her with a

blanket, and take her to the village temple or some other spot

where is a stone image of the goddess Satv^i. The mother rubs red

and turmeric powders on the goddess, offers seven different fruits,

and bows before her with joined hands. On the twelfth day

female friends and kinswomen are called and the mother and child are

bathed and the child is presented with clothes, named, and cradled.

The child's name is chosen by relations. Each woman present

is given two betel leaves and a nut, a handful of gram, and

grains of wheat boiled whole. In the third month the parents of

the child with their friends and relations go into a grove or garden

outside of the village and worship the goddess Ran Satv^i or the

Forest Satvai, who lives in seven stones placed under a bdbhul or

gum acacia tree. In the grove or garden they kill a goat, cook it

and worship the goddess. The. seven stones are marked with

turmeric-powder redlead and vermillion, a cocoanut and a

pomegranate are set close to them, frankincense is burned, and ricef

mutton and Indian or Italian millet bread are laid before the stones.

The party sit to dinner and when dinner is over return home. What

remains of the dinner is generally left in the grove or garden. On

returning they sit for a while atthe host's house and go to their homes.

When a boy or girl is two or three years old its hair is cut for the first

time. Most mothers promiseto perform a vow in honour of some deity,

generally of SatvAi, if the child is brought safe through the first two

or three years of its life. If the child reaches the age named its parents

visit the shrine and pay the vow. On their return they call a barber

and he cuts the child's hair. Some, goats are slaughtered and the

dressed flesh is offered to the deity. The ceremony ends with a caste

feast. Uchliaboys are married between ten and twenty and Uchlia

girls between seven and sixteen. When a man thinks of marrying

his ^on, his friends and relations go to a family who have a daughter

likely to make a suitable match. If they like the girl, they ask her

in marriage in the name of the boy's father. If he thinks the

match favourable, the girl's father gives an evasive answer, and

jsends some friends and relations to see the boy. If they approve of

the boy, the girl's father sends the boy's father word that he agrees to

the match. The boy's parents start for the girl's with, music and traya

-of fniit a,Tid betel leaf . At the erirl's the caste are tnet~ji.-nd all flia

Chapter III.
Fopulatioa.

BEOaABS.

UobujCs,

[Bombay Oazetteen

472

DISTRICTS.

Chapter III.
Population.

Beooars,

women of the caste rub the girl's forehead with redpowder. The
boy's parents present the girl with a suit of clothes and fix the
date for the mamage without asking an astrologer. The marriage
settlement consists of the boy's father paying £5 (Rs. 50) to the
girl's maternal uncle. Besides this the boy's parents have to pay
the girl's parents £10 to £20 (Rs. 100-200). Unlike most Poena
Hindus Uchlids never consult a Brdhman j they never ask Brdhmans
to oflBciate at any of their ceremonies. When everything is settled
and the marriage day is fixed, the boy'« father goes with his party
to the girl's village and stays at a jdnvas-ghar or lodging provided for
him by the girl's father. After the boy's party reaches the village,
two marriage booths are built, one at the bride's the other at the bride-
groom's. The booth is covered with a floor cloth, adorned with
festoons of mango twigs, and consecrated by breaking a cocoanut
and sprinkling rice and curds. On the turmeric-rubbing day a square
of rice is traced by the male guests. The bride and bridegroom are
made to sit in the square. They are rubbed with turmeric paste, and
their brows are decked with flower wreaths. This turmeric-rubbing
is repeated five times during the day. During each rubbing a
Holar beats a drum and women sing. At six in the evening of
the same day the boy goes in procession to the village temple of
Mdruti. He is then brought to the girl's where the boy and girl
bathe in the booth. After their bath they are dressed in new
clothes and made to sit on a blanket on a rice-traced square, the
bride sitting to the left of the bridegroom. ' The brows of both
are decked with "tinsel chapletS and thread bracelets or A;a)i&ans
are bound round their wrists. While they are seated one of the
guests asks the girl's father whether he has anything to say against
the boy's parents ; if he has nothing to say against the boy's '
parents the girl's father ties together the hems of the bride's and
bridegroom's garments. The guests call out words like JVaZefcAai!,
telehhdl, burehhdl, samhandh baidk, ichandagard, jsen'yafa, apparently
Tamil or Telugu, and throw yellow rice over their heads, and they are
husband and wife. Copper coins are waved about their faces and
given to the bridegroom's sister or Jcarmili or to the women who
sang during the marriage. At night the family deity is taken out
of the house shrine and set in the booth, and a drinking pot filled
with water is set before it. The mouth of the pot is covered with
mango leaves and a cocoanut with anearof milletislaidover the leaves.
The guests and the married couple take their seats in the booth and
Gondhalis perform the gondhal dance before the house deity .^ The
Gondhalis sing hymns in praise of the goddess Amba-Bhavini, and
amuse the audience with Idvanis or love songs and pavddds or
ballads. The Gondhalis stay the whole night singing and dancing.
About daybreak the bridegtooni stands before the house deity,
holding a platter with a burning lamp. One by one, the guests
wave a copper coin about the bridegroom's face and drop the coin into
the platter ; 2s, 6d. (Rs. 1^) is added and the whole is handed to the

' A gondhal dance is described at p. 4S1. There is nothing special in an Uchlia'ii
gondhal.

Deccan.]

POONA.

473

Grondhalis. On the same day a feast is given when goats are sacrificed
to the family deity and their dressed flesh is served to the guests.
After dinner, the bride is hid in a neighbour's house and the bride-
groom is made to search for her. When he finds her he lifts her in
his arms and with music carries her to the marriage booth. In the
booth nearly an hour is spent in watching the boy and girl rub
each other with turmeric paste, in untying their thread kankans^
and in bathing them. On the third day a caste feast is given and
the bridegroom is allowed to return to his village with his bride and
party. As the procession crosses the boundary of the bridegroom's
village a cocoanut is broken and rice and curds are mixed together
and scattered as an offering to evil spirits. His son's wedding costs
an Uchlia about £30 (Rs. 300). He presents the girl with the

. manimangalsutra or luck-giving necklace, gots or silver bracelets,
putlydcki m-dl or a gold coin necklace, todds or silver anklets^ and
three lugdds or robes of varying value according to the giver's wealth
and perhaps each averaging about 16s. (Rs. 8). The girl's father gives
the bridegroom a turban worth on an average about 12s. (Rs. 6), a coat
worth 4s. (Rs. 2), a waistcloth worth 4s. (Rs. 2), and a pair of
Mardtha shoes. TJchlias allow widow-marriage and divorce.

When a girl comes of age she is held to be unclean for five days,
and is made to sit by herself. During these five days she is fed on
sweet dishes brought by her mother. On the fifth day she is bathed
and dressed in new clothes. She and her husband are made to sit
in a bower of four young plantain trees. When they are seated the
boy's father presents the girl with a green robe and bodice, and the
girl's father presents the boy with a turban and a waistcloth ; and
a married woman fills the girl's lap with five halves of cocoa-kernel,
five dry dates, turmeric roots, betelnuts, rice, and a bodicecloth, a
Holar all the time beating a drum. The ceremony is marked with
a feast of wheat cakes stuffed with raw sugar ; it costs £2 to £2 lOs.
(Rs. 20-25).

TJchlias burn the dead. When an Uchlia dies the body is washed
and shrouded in a new white cloth. It is sprinkled with red-
powder, flowers, and betel leaves, laid on a bier, and carried to
the burning ground on the shoulders of four bearers preceded by
music and the chief mourner carrying an earthen firepot. When a
woman dies before her husband she is dressed in a green robe and

i bodice, her brow is marked with a horizontal stripe of vermillion, and
her head is decked with a network of flowers, and a bit of gold and
a packet of betelnut and leaves are put into the dead mouth. Her
three ornaments, the galsari or necklace of black glass beads, the
nose-ring, and the toe-rings, all three emblems of the married state,
are put on and taken off at the burning ground. On their return
from the grave the spot where the dead breathed his last is cleansed
with cowdung, and sprinkled with sand, and the dead man's
favourite food is cooked and laid close bye with a vessel of water.
The whole is covered over with a large basket. The food is
so arranged that it leaves bare a portion of the sand-strewn floor.
Next morning the basket is lifted and if the palm of a hand is
found on the sand it is a good omen, for the dead is pleased and from

Chapter III.
Population.

31SGGABS.

[Bombay Gazetteer,

474

DISTRICTS-

Chapter III.
JPopulation.

Begoaes.

VOHLlJ.8.

and the chief mourner's moustache is shaved, .When a woman'
dies in childbirth, rdla grains are thrown behind her body as it
is borne to the burning ground, and a nail is driven into the
threshold of the house to keep her , ghost from coming in. In an
ordinary funeral at the time of lifting the bier, the daughter,
daughter-in-law, or wife of the deceased waves a lamp round the
dead face. Some grains of rice are tied to the sMrt of the
shroud. This rice is laid on the visdva or resting-place where-
the bier is set down and the bearers change shoulders. When
the body is laid on the pyre, the son drops water into the mouth,
walks five times round the pyre, and again drops a little water
into the mouth by squeezing a wet cloth. He kindles the pyre
and sits there with the people who accompanied the funeral till the
skull cracks. They then bathe and return home. The children
mourn for three days and are held impure. On the third day the
son with the four corpse-bearers and other near relations throws
the ashes into water, and with a nim twig sprinkles the bearer's
shoulders with cow's urine in the belief that the cow-urine eases
the aching shoulders. Goats are slain and castemen and women
are asked to dine on the river-bank in the burning ground* Before
sitting to dinner they offer dressed food to the dead. After dinner
all bathe in the river, wash their clothes, and return leaving behind
them any food that remains. On the thirteenth day the son or
other chief mourner shaves his face. The son makes a rice ball or
pind, sets it in a winnowing basket, pours in oil, and with his friends
and relations takes it to the burning ground. At the burning groun^l
he makes a lump of earth in a roughly human shape and on the earth
figure sets the winnowing basket with the burning lamp in it.
Before the image red and scented powders are thrown. At the close
of the worship, each person present pours a little water on the rude
image and the son leaps into the water and leaves the basket and the
ball under water. Next morning a cock is slain in the name of
the dead, its flesh is dressed, and laid on a rui tree with some boiled
rice as an offering to the crows. After the crows have eaten the
company, with the son and other mourners, go to a river, bathe, and
return home.

When a man or a woman is charged with adultery the men of the
caste meet and hear the evidence. If they consider the guilt of the
couple is proved they are taken to a river bank and the man's face
and the woman's head are shaved. On the way back the culprits
are pelted with balls of cowdung. A large dinner is given at the
man's expense and he is made to touch the food before it is served
to the caste-people. If the accused denies the charge in the teeth of
good evidence an appeal is made to the oil-caldron. The tell-tale
ordeal and the adultery ordeal differ in some details. In preparing
the adultery oil-caldron the oil-mill is washed with water and
rubbed with turmeric powder and Vermillion. The biHock which is
to drive the mill is made to fast and like the mill is rubbed with
turmeric powder and vermillion. Fourteen married women, seven
for the man and seven for the woman, fast all day and each drops
a handful of sesamum into the mill. The oil- pressor is also obliged
to fast. While the oil is being pressed the two accused stand, near

Dec can-]

POONA.

475

tlie mill and are asked whether they have committed the crime.
They deny, and if their denial is true, oil does not oose from the seed ;
if what they say is false, oil flows freely. The roller of the mill is
split and burnt under a pan and the oil is boiled. When it is
boiling a copper coin or a stone is dropped into the oil, and the
': accused is forced to deny the charge brought against him and to
pick out the coin or the stone. The accused is made to sit in
a tent and is fed on rice, milk, and maccaroni. If the hand is
found unharmed the person is declared innocent and presented with
a turban and shouldercloth, and the accuser is made to. pay the
cost of the ordeal, which generally amounts to £35 (Rs. 350).
If the hand is damaged the accused bears the whole cost
besides any additional fine the caste-leaders choose to name.
From the fine 14s. (Rs. 7) are paid to the Teli or oil-presser and a
caste feast is given. When a charge is proved by ordinary
evidence the accused parties, though they may deny the charge, are
m.ade to give a caste feast. Among the Uchlias the oflBce of
headman or thelungya is hereditary. There is also a punch or
council chosen by the caste. On marriage and on other festive
occasions, the headman gets a turban, uncooked food, and a cocoanut,
and a goat's head if a goat is killed. The members of the council
are recognized as the caste leaders, but no honours are paid them
except giving them the chief seats at caste meetings. Though
Mhdrs, Mdngs, Rd,moshis, Chd,mbhars, and Buruds are not allowed
to join the Uchlias men of these tribes are said occasionally to try
to become Uchlias by passing themselves off as Mard,thas, Shimpisj
or other respectable Hindus. If a candidate's caste is challenged
the matter is referred to the oil-caldron. Cases are known in which
Shimpis, Mdrwar Vanis, and Brdhmans have joined the caste,
remained with them, and married Uchla woman. Uchlias will eat
from a Brdhman, a Mardtha, or other good caste Hindu if they are
strangers. If a man of one of the latter classes comes and settles
among them, they will not eat from him till he has undergone the
regular entrance ceremony. Uchlids are not considered impure.
In moving about on their thieving trips they never disguise
themselves. They travel by rail as far as Madras or Calcutta and
often rob their fellow-passengers. At a station an Uchlia watches
the passengers. When he sees any likely person with property he
buys a ticket for the place the likely passenger is going to. His
comrades buy tickets for intermediate stations, choosing a station
which the train will reach after dark. If the theft is committed
sooner than was intended the Uchlia alights at the first station
and makes over the property to his comrade or he takes his seat in
a fresh carriage, or he gets out and lets the train go and follows
by the next train. In picking or rather slitting pockets the Uchlia
uses a small very carefully sharpened sickle-shaped knife. The
knife, which is called uUimukh, is carried under the tongue or in
the cheek, the flesh being first toughened by carrying a lump of
salt in the mouth. An expert pocket-slitter will talk, eat, and sleep
with his lancet in his mouth. UchMs have strict rules to prevent
unchastity and adultery among their women. If a married woman is

Chapter III.
Population.

Begoars.

UOBLlAS,.

■.f ^A,-.\i^^Tr

„;i ;i

atrttaa

f.liQ f*)nQ.ycfa cilia ^liaa +.r

1 -T» ri £\vrfr\

[Bombay Gazetteer,

476

DISTRICTS.

Chapter III-
Population.

Beggars.

UOBLIJS.

VJ9BES.

boiling oil ordeal. One or two cases of this kind take place every year.
If the woman confesses the man is called forward, and, according
to the woman's cleverness as a thief, he is ordered to pay the woman's
husband a fine of £35 to £70 (Rs. 350 -700). In such cases the woman
continues to live with the adulterer. The husband may if it suits
him better wait and receive from the adulterer all his wife's
earnings and £35 (Rs. 350) for each child born to him. The
husband can also at any time claim £35 to £70 (Rs. 350-700) as
damages whatever amount the caste may award him. If. an unmarried
girl is unchaste she is not allowed to marry one of the caste. A
stranger from some other caste who has joined the community may
■marry her in the irregular or motra fashion. If kinspeople are
caught committing incest the woman's head and the man's face are
shaved and they are made to sit on a donkey, or they are pelted with
balls of cowdung and forced to run to a river to bathe followed by
a hooting band of caste-people.- On their way back from the river
they are again chased by a hooting crowd. A large pot of food .is
made ready and touched by the culprits and the contents are eaten
by the caste. No fine is levied, but the name mdngutia or cut-
throat, the worst name which a man can get, sticks to the incestuous
for life. Uchlias almost never steal from each other. When one
Uchlia steals from another, however small the value of the article
stolen, the thief is fined £6 (Rs. 60). The number of Uchlias is
yearly increasing. Some, besides pocket-slitting, own fields which
they either till themselves or let to husbandmen on the crop-share
system. Within the past ten years a few of their boys have begun
to attend village schools. Except under compulsion Dchli^s are
not likely to give up so safe, respectable, and gainful a calling as
pocket-slitting. If the provisions of the Criminal Tribes Act
(XXVII of 1871) were enforced against them, the Uchlias might be
driven to honest work. Their thieving might also be made more
difficult and less profitable by forcing them, whenever they leave
their village, to take a passport and report themselves to a police
officer when they reach their journey's end.

Va'glies are returned as numbering five and as found only ia
Purandhar. The males are called Vdghes, the females Murlis. A
childless Hindu generally of the Kunbi caste sometimes vows that
if Khandoba blesses him with a child he will set the child apart to
worship and attend upon him. Vdghes do not differ from Kunbis
in look, speech, food, or dress. They are beggars who sing
songs in praise of Khandoba of Jejuri and ballads or iMnis for the
amusement of pleasure-seekers. Murlis, literally flutes, are girls
wedded to Khandoba the lord of Jejuri. If a woman is childless she
Vows that if Khandoba blesses her with a girl she will be set apart
for life to worship and attend on him. When she is born her father
takes her to Jejuri and on a somvati or Monday full-moon in Mdgh
that is February or Chaitra that is March the girl is rubbed with
turmeric, dressed in a green robe and bodice, her brow is marked
with redpowderj flower garlands are wound round her head, and she
is made to stand in front of Khandoba, A cloth is held between
the girl and the god and marriage verses are repeated by the priest
of the temple. Turmeric powder is thrown on the heads of the

Deccan.]

POONA.

477

girl and of the god and a nine-cowrie necklace is tied round her
neck and she is called Khandoba's wife. The temple priest is paid
2s. 6d. (Rs. I5) as her fee^ the girl is called a Murlij and marries no
other husband but the god. Their names and surnames are the
same as those of Mardithds. In look, speechj house, food, and
dress they are like Mardthas. Some of them stay at Jejuri, while
the rest wander about the district and as far as Bombay, in bands
of three or four men and women, begging, singing songs, and
playing on bells or ghols. Except their marriage with the god
Khandoba they have no special ceremony or custom. Their social
disputes are settled by the temple priest or gv/rav at Jejuri. As a
class they are fairly off.

Vaidus, or Physicians, are returned as numbering 523 and as
found in Haveli, Khed, and Sirur. They are divided into Jholivdles or
Bag-man, Ghataivdles or Mat-men, and Dddhivdles or Beard-men who
neither eat together nor intermarry. The surnames of the Jholivales
or Bag-men, to whom the following particulars belong, are Akpra,
Ambile, Chitkal, Kodganti, Manpati, Metkal, Parkanti, and Shingdde,
and persons bearing the same surname do not intermarry. They
are dark, stout, and strongly made. The men wear the top-knot,
moustache, whiskers, and sometimes the beard. Their home speech
is Telugu, but out of doors they speak incorrect Mard,thi and Hin-
- dust^ni. They are a wandering people and camp outside of towns
in. cloth tents or pals which they carry with them on bullocks or
donkeys. They keep dogs and domestic fowls. They eat fish and
flesh except beef and pork, and drink liquor. Their staple food is
millet, vegetables, and occasionally wheat and rice and clarified
butter. They are frugal in their use of clarified butter. However
well-to-do a family is clarified butter is always served by dipping
cotton in it and squeezing the cotton over the dining plate. The
men wear the loincloth, an ochre -coloured cloak, waistcloth, or
pair of short breeches, a headscarf or a red or white turban, and
a necklace of coloured glass, stone, or coral beads, gold or brass
earrings, and silver or brass finger rings. Their women wear a
loose bodice with short sleeves and a back and the full Mar^tha robe,
the skirt of which they pass back between the feet and tuck into
the waist behind. They rub powder on their brows, wear false
hair, and sometimes deck their heads with flowers. They are
dealers in drugs and. medicines, and, under the pretence of working
cures deceive ignorant and simpleminded people, especially women.
Both men and women generally visit the chief towns in the
Poona district once a year, and disappear after disposing of their
drugs and medicines either retail to villagers or wholesale to
shopkeepers. They pretend to heal any disease from a simple cough
or headache to hopeless dropsy or consumption. Besides gathering
and hawking healing herbs, barks, and roots, they use many
mineral medicines and poisons, and they and their women beg for
bread. The women, in addition, as they walk plait date-mats, three
feet by six, and sell them at about l|d. (1 a.). On halting at
a village or town the men and women walk through the streets
and lanes with one or two ochre-coloured cloth bags hung

Chapter IIH
Population.

Beggaer.

VJ-GBBS.

Vaidus,

[Bombay Gazetteer,

478

DISTRICTS.

Chapter III.

Population.

Beggars.

Vaidus.

lizards, porcupine quills, tigers' claws, bears' hair and teeth,
foxes' heads, and deadly poisons. The cloth sacks in which these
articles are carried are tied either to both ends or fco one end of
a stick which is carried over the shoalder. As they move along, the
Vaidus shout, Nddipariksha Vaid the Pulse-feeling Doctor, Mandur-
Vaid the Medicine-selling Doctor, Garmi-vaid the Heat-caring
Doctor, Pitta Vadd the Bile-curing Doctor, and so on, shouting the
names of men's and women's diseases. They also bleed, both by
cupping and by applying leeches. They are Hindus and worship
the usual Brdhmauic and local gods and goddesses. Their
family gods are Venkoba and Mariamma and Yallamma. On their
big day, Dasara in October, they kill a sheep and drink liquor
to their heart's content. They believe in sorcery, witchcraft,
soothsaying, omens, and lucky and unlucky days, and consult
oracles. A woman is unclean ten days after the birth of a child.
On the fifth day she worships five pebbles near a well or stream
and feasts five married women with gram cakes'. They marry their
girls after they come of age and their boys after they are sixteen.
On the marriage day the boy goes with his relations and friends
to the girl's and is seated on a mat. The girl is brought in and
seated on the boy's left. After the elders have made the boy promise
to protect the girl and never to forsake her, five married women,
three from the boy's side and two from the girl's, approach the boy
and girl and mark their brows with cowdung ashes or hhaam, and the
day ends with a feast. Next morning the .boy and girl are seated
on a mat and the five married women tie a marriage string or
garsoU round the girl's neck. The skirts of their garments are
knotted together and they are taken to the boy's house, where the
knot is untied"' and the marriage ceremony is over. They either
bury or burn their dead. If the deceased was a married man he is
buried sitting, if unmarried he is laid on his back. They mourn the
dead ten days. On the eleventh a Jangam blows a conch-shell and
rings a bell in the deceased's house, and after receiving l^d. (1 a.)
retires. A feast of mutton ends the death ceremony. They allow
widow-marriage and polygamy, but not polyandry. A boy's
marriage costs them£l to £2 (Rs. 10 -20), a girl's marriage 10s.tol2s.
(Rs.5-6), and a death about IDs. (Rs.5). They have a headman or
pdtil who settles social disputes at meetings of the castemen. If
a person beats another with a shoe he is fined Is. to Is. 3d. (8-10
as.); a daughter abusing her mother-in-law is fined 4^^. (3 as.) and
in addition has to wash her mother-in-law's hands and feet, put a
pinch of dust on her own head, and beg forgiveness; if she beats her
mother-in-law she is fined Is. Qd. (12 as.) ; and if she steals she is
branded with a hot copper coin. If a man eats beef he is put out of
caste and not allowed to come back. If a woman commits adultery
with a Brdbman or other high-caste Hindu she is fined lOs. (Rs. 5),
her husband is fined 6s. (Rs. 3), and her parents 8s. (Rs. 4), and
she is let back into caste. If she has intercourse with a Mhar or
Mdng or any other low-caste man she is put out of caste and never
let back. They are not allowed to work as labourers. Any one
found working for hire is put out of caste and not allowed back
until he feasts the whole caste. The Jholiyales do not send their
bovs to school. The nstabliahment of Government and other

Deccan.1

POONA.

479

charitable dispensaries, the increase in the number of medical
practitioners, and the growing trust in English drugs, haye ruined
the Vaidns. They are now little better than beggars.

Da'dhivaleVaidus or Bearded Doctors are divided into Dhan gars,
Jhingabhois, Kolis, Khulekars, Ravals, and Vagmudis. The names in
Common use among men are Rdma, Malaka, Sayana, Govinda, Ismal,
and Mutya ; and among women Mukti, Talli, Malli, Mukti, Rakhma,
Thaki, Chimi, S.d,dha, Kamu, and Lingi. They are black, ugly, and
extremely wild-looking. Excepting beef they eat anything, and
excepting a rag round their middle the men are naked, and the
Women wear no clothes except a cloth rolled round the waist
and one end drawn across the breast. When they hawk their herba
and roots and barks they call Vdila okhdd, A cure for wind ; Sardila
okhdd, A cure for cold ; Ndrula okhdd, A cure for guineaworm,
and so on cures for all diseases which flesh inherits or acquires.
Their wives grind quartz into the powder called rdngoli, of which
spirits stand in awe, and sell it at l^d. to 2\d. (1 -IJ as.) a pound.
The marriage of a boy or girl costs them about 10s. (Rs. S) and a
death 6s. to 8s. (Rs. 3-4). They seem to have no idea of a god,
do not keep fasts or feasts, and marry their women at any age.
They make the couple stand face to face on a piece of cloth, a
necklace is tied to the girl's neck, red rice is thrown on their heads
by a Brdhman, and the marriage is over. They bury their dead,
mourn five days, and offer cooked food to the deceased on the
house-tops, and feast caste-people with cakes and rice. They have
a caste council who settle social disputes. They do not send their
boys to school and are miserably poor.

Va'SUdevs are returned as numbering forty-two and as
Wandering all over the district. They are said to have come from
Dwarka in West Kathiawdr and to have settled in Poena about a
hundred years ago. The names in common use both among men
and women are the same as those used by local Kunbis. Their
surnames are Hande, Kolavane, Konhere, Paigude, Sumalkar, and
Vatsdr j persons bearing the same surnames cannot intermarry.
They are divided into Maratha Vasudevs and Kadu or Bitter
that is Bastard Vdsudevs, who eat together but do not intermarry.
They are dark strong and well-made, and speak a corrupt Marathi.
In look food and drink they do not differ from local Kunbis.;
They bathe every second day and worship with sandal-paste and
rice the coronet of peacock feathers which they wear on their
head while they go begging. As a class they are dirty, orderly,
thrifty, and hospitable. They are hereditary beggars. They rise
early, wash their hands and feet, put on a long coat reaching to the
ankles, and a turban with a peacock coronet. They wrap a piece of
ted cloth round the waist, throw a wallet over the left shoulder, and
take the cymbals or chiplis which they beat while they sing and
move about the streets begging. The women mind the house and
fetch firewood for sale. They never work and are very poor.
They worship their family gods Bahiroba, Pringai in the town of
Poona, Khandoba of Jejuri, and Mahddev of Signdpur in Poena.
They^are Shaivs by sect and make^pilgrimages to A'landi, Jejuri,

Chapter III.

Population.

Beooabs,
Vaidus.

VASUDsrs.

[Bombay Gazetteer,

480

DISTRICTS.

Chapter III.

Population.

Beggars.
vjsudevs.

ViRS,

at their marriages, and their religious teacher is a Maratha Gosavi,
They worship all local gods, keep all Hindu fasts and feasts, and
believe m soothsaying, witchcraft, and evil spirits. On the fifth
day after the birth of a child the goddess SatvAi is worshipped and
the child is named on the twelfth. The mother's term of impurity
lasts six is days. Boys are married between seven and twenty-five
and girls between three and twelve. Their marriage and death
rites do not differ from those performed among Mardtha Kunbis.
They bury the dead and mourn seven days. They set a lamp on the
spot where the dead breathed his last. On the return of the funeral
party from the burning -ground, they examine ashes strewn on the
floor near the lamp, searching for the prints or marks of the animal
into which the soul of the dead has passed. The death-day is marked
by a mind-rite or shrdddh and the dead are also remembered
on the day in Mahdlaya Paknh or All Souls' Fortnight in dark
Bhadrapad or September which corresponds to the day of their
death. The community is bound together by a strong caste feeling,
and they settle social disputes at meetings of adult castemen.
Breaches of caste discipline are punished with fine which takes the
form of a caste feast. They do not send their children to school,
nor do they take to new callings or show any sign of improving.

Virs are returned as numbering twenty-eight and as found in
Turandhar only. They are divided into two classes, Virs proper
and DAngat Virs, who eat together and intermarry. Their home
tongue is a corrupt Mardthi. They live in middle class houses one
or two storeys high, with stone or brickwalls and tiled roofs. Their
houses, which are often dirty, cost £2 10s. to £40 (Rs. 25 - 400),
They have a store of copper and brass vessels worth 10s. to £5
(Rs. 5-50). They employ no servants but own cattle. They are
great eaters and bad cooks. They are fond of pungent dishes and
their staple food is bread, pulse, and vegetables. On. their holidays
they eat wheat cakes stuffed with boiled pulse mixed with molasses. '
A family of five spends 16s. to £1 10s. (Rs. 8-15) a month on
food.i They are careful to bathe before they take their food- When
they can afford it they freely use strong drinks and eat the flesh
of goats, sheep, fowls, and fish. They offer goats to their gods,
kill the victims, and eat the flesh. They drink moderately and
take opium and hemp-flowers. The men shave the head except
the topknot, and the women tie their hair in a knot behind. They
do not wear false hair or flowers. The men wear a loincloth
or waistcloth, a shouldercloth, a cap or a turban, and a pair of
shoes. The women wear a robe hanging from the waist like a
petticoat to the ankles and a short-sleeved loose bodice with a
back. Neither men nor women keep clothes in store, and both use
the same ornaments as cultivating MardthAs. They spend no

1 These and the other estimates of monthly cost of living are framed on the basis
that the family has to buy retail the grain and other articles it uses. The actual
cash payments of the bulk of the middle and lower orders who either grow grain
or are wholly or partly paid in grain must therefore be considerably less than the
estimates . The figures mentioned in the text are not more than rough estimates of
the value of the articles which under ordinary circumstances the different classes of
the people consume,

Deccan.]

POONA.

481

money on clothes as they get presents from rich visitors to
Khandoba's shrine at Jejuri. Their hereditary and only calling is
begging. Men women and children of ten and over beg either at
their own village or in neighbouring towns and earn enough to keep
them in fair comfort. As a class they are dirty and lazy, but honest,
orderly, frugal, and hospitable. They rank themselves with Marathds
but Marathas look down on them. They take their seats at
Khandoba's temple at Jejuri and beg alms from pilgrims visiting
the placOj offering them the god's turmeric or bhanddr. Their
chief busy times are during the fairs in honour of Khandoba in
Chaitra or April, Margashirsh or November, Paush or December,
and Mdgh or January. As a class they are religious. Their family
god is Khandoba. Their family priest is a Brahman, whom they
highly respect and who is asked to oflBciate at marriage and other
ceremonies. They worship Khandoba and visit no sacred place
except his temple. Their religious teacher is a Gosdvi, who belongs
either to the Giri, Puri, or Bhdrati sect. He does not eat from
their hands, but they wait upon him, get themselves initiated as
his disciples, and present him with silver coins. He chooses his
successor and a large number of ignorant and illiterate people follow
him. They keep the usual Brdhmanic holidays and fasts, worship
local or village deities, and boundary gods and spirits, and
offer them rice and pulse or meat. Their chief holiday is the
bright sixth of Mdgh or January known as Ohampd-shashthi, on
which the silver image of Khandoba is dressed and worshipped
with great pomp. Their customs do not differ from the customs of
Mard,tha Kunbis. Early marriage, widow-marriage, and polygamy
are allowed, and polyandry is unknown. They form a separate
community and settle caste disputes at meetings of the castemen
under some wise elder who is chosen for the purpose. The decisions
of the majority have the force of law on pain of loss of caste. Small
offences are condoned by fines and serious offences by a caste feast.
They send their boys and girls to school but do not take to new
pursuits. They complain that pilgrims are stingier and less religions
than they used to be. On the whole they are a falling class.

Musalma'ns'^ numbered 42,036 or 4-66 per cent of the
population. They include twenty-nine divisions, fourteen of which
marry together and form the main body of regular Musalm^ns, and
fifteen form distinct communities.

As far as the knowledge of the Poena Musalmans has been
ascertained no trace remains of the conversions to Islam either
under the Daulatabad (1318-1347), the Bahmani (1347-1490),
Nizdmshdhi (1490-1636), or Bijd,pur (1636-1686) kings. Almost
all claim to have been converted by Aurangzeb. This is probably
a mistake. It is perhaps doubtful whether any of the' Deccan
dynasties made converts by force. But there were enthusiastic and
successful missionaries who can hardly have failed to persuade
certain classes of Hindus to embrace Isldm, Of the number of

Chapter III.

Population.

Beooab,s.

ViRS.

MusalmAns,-

iFrom materials collected by Messrs. Syed Dtod of the Bombay Municipality and
Abdnl K^sam, abkAri inspector of Belgaum.

[Bombay Gazetteer,
*82 DISTEICTS.

Chapter III. Musalmdris under the Peshwa no record has been traced. Especially

Population. ^ *^® °i*y ^^^ cantonment of Poonia it is evident that many classes

MusALMANs' °* Musalmfos have settled since the beginning of British rule.

Among these are Memans and Bohoras from Outch and Gujarat;

Gaikasdbs from Maisur; and Attd,rs, Gaundis, Kaishgdrs, and

Momins from Ahmadnagar, Haidarabad, and ShoMpur,

Except that the men Wear the beard, the local converbs differ
little in appearance from Deccan Hiadus, The communities of
outside or of part-outside origin are larger-boned and fairer-skipned,
land have sharper and more marked features and larger eyes than
the corresponding classes of Hindus. Except fresh settlers from
Cutch and Gujardt, who speak Gujarati, and from Persia who speak
Persian, almost all Poena Musalmdns both villagers and townspeople
speak Hindustani or Urdu. At the same time all the separate
communities speak Mardthi with more or less fluency,
Food. The food eaten hy Poena Musalmd,ns varies partly according te

their means and partly according to the custom of their native
conntry. Rich and well-to-do Memans, Bohoras, and Persians,
besides a cup of coffee or tea in the morning with milk, bread, and
eggs, have two general meals, breakfast about ten or eleven, and
dinner about eight or nine in the evening. Other classes of towns-
men have only two meals, breakfast about ten or eleven and dinner
between nine and ten. Village Musalm^ns take an early cold break-
fast between five and six o'clock in the morning, a midday dinner
about one in the fields, and a third meal on reaching home about
seven in the evening. The town Musalman's staple food is wheat, rice,
and pulse, eaten with mutton or vegetable curry and fish. Among
the richer townspeople public dinners are generally of hirydni that is
a dish of rice, mutton, saffron, clarified butter, and spices; andj'arda, a,
sweet dish of rice, sugar,'almonds, pistachio nuts, and clarified butter.
Middle-class townsmen and all villagers give public dinners oipuldo,
that is rice with clarified butter and mutton curry. These dinners
are given on occasions of birth, circumcision, initiation, sacrifice,
and marriage, and on the tenth and fortieth days after a death. Th-e
men take their dinner in the men's room first, and after the men
leave, the women take their dinner in the women's room. In the
men's dining room mats and carpets are spread for the guests and
on the carpets large sheets called dastar-khvan are spread that the
carpets may not be soiled. When the dinner is ready the guests sit
in two rows facing each other. A man with a water jug and a basin
comes in, and, beginning with the Syeds, pours water over the hands
of each guest. Several young friends of the host stand between
the rows of guests and pass the dishes. When all dishes are served
the host says Bismilla that is In Alla's Name, and the guests begin
to eat, a group of two or three men eating from the same dish. All
the while the men are eating, one or two boys stand with water-pot^
ready to give water to any one who wishes it. When the dinner is
finished the dastar-khvan or floor-cloths are removed, water is poured
over the hands of each guest beginning with the Syeds, and trays
vnth betel leaves are passed. Each. guest takes a packet of betel
aves, eats it with betelnuts cement and cardamoms, and retires. At
the door stands the owner of the house to whom the guest as he

DecGanJ

POONA.

483

retires makes a t)ow or saldm, and leaves. The women take their-
dinner in the same way as the men but wait for some time after the
dinner is oTsr. To feed a hundred guests on birydni Si,Tid.jarda
costs about £4 (R8.40) and on puldo £1 10s. to £2 (Rs. 15-20). A
rich Musalmfo family of five spends 2s. to 4s. (Rs. 1-2) a day or
£3 to £6 (Rs. 30-60) a month on food ; a middle-class family 1^. to
Is. 6d. (8-12 as.) a day or £1 10s. to £1 15s. (Rs.l5-22|) amonth;
and a poor family 6d. to Is. (4-8 as.) a day or 15s. to £1 10s. (Rs.
7|-15)a month. In spite of religious rules against intoxicating
drinks most townsmen drink both imported wines and spirits and
makura spirits or hhevra. Of other stimulants and narcotics, tobacco
is smoked by almost all and snuff is used by a few old men. Opium
is used in small quantities by some beggars and servants. Hemp or
gdnja is smoked by many soldiers, constables, and beggars. In the
town of Poena there are few large Musabndn houses. But in the
cantonment Musalmdns own many large houses and residences rented
to Europeans. Many rich Bombay Persians, Memans, and Khojaa
have built costly mansions where they live from July to October..
These buildings are one to four storeys high of stone and mortar and
timber. They cost £200 to £800 (Rs. 2000-8000) to build and £2
to £8 (Rs. 20 -80) a month to rent. Poor Musalmdns live in hired
houses, or, when they can afford it, build a small one-storeyed house at
a cost of £30 to £80 (Rs. 300-800). tillage houses are seldom more
than one storey high. Except the stone and mortar mansions of rich
land proprietors they are of stone and clay and the walls are plastered
with cowdung. On the poorest not more than £5 to £7 (Rs. 50-70)
are spent; the rest cost £10 to £50 (Rs. 100-500) to build. In the
Poona cantonment Musalmans live in hired houses. In all other
parts of the district it is a point of honour with them that every
family should have a house of its own.

Town Musalmans are generally fond of furnishing their houses with
metal vessels, chiefly of copper coated with tin, and arranging them
on wooden shelves along the walls. Among their furniture also are
tables and chairs. Village Musalmans have no taste for furniture.
.Their house goods seldom go beyond copper and brass vessels, a cot,
and large bamboo grain baskets.

Town Musalmtos are fond of good and clean clothes. The men
wear a headscarf or turban, a shirt, a waistcoat, and an overcoat
reaching to the knee. The women, except Meman Bohora and
Persian women, wear the Hindu robe or sddi and the bodice or choli.
Meman women wear a long shirt called aha falling to the knee,
and a pair of loose trousers rather tight at the ankle ; Bohora women
wear a petticoat either of silk or of chintz, a headscarf or odna oyer it,
and a backless bodice. On going out they also wear a large hurkJia
or cloak which shrouds the whole body except a gauze opening, for
the eyes. Persian women wear a costly silk petticoat, a loose
short silk shirt, and embroidered slippers. Village women wear the
MarAtha robe passing the corner of the skirt back between the feet
and the backed and short-sleeved todioe with the ends tied under
the bosom. The every-day dress of the women is generally of cotton,,
and the ceremonial dress is either of silk o^" silk with sjlveI^

Chapter III.
Population.

MtrSALMAN.'!.

Dreas^

[Bombay Gazetteer.

484

DISTRICTS.

Chapter III.
Population.

MUSALMANS.

Oi'naments.

Calling.

emhtoidevj. A rich townsman's wardrobe is generally worth £20
to £30 (Rs. 200-300), and a middle class man's £5 to £7 (Rs.50- 70).
A poor man makes one or two suits worth 10s. to £1 (Rs.5-10) either
on yearly festivals or whenever the old suit is worn out. A rich
woman's wardrobe is generally worth £30 to £40 (Rs. 300-400), a
middle class woman's £6 to £10 (Rs.60-100), and a poor woman's
£1 to£2(Rs.lO-20).

Except some of the lower classes^ butchers, fruiterers, water-
carriers, and sweepers, who when they can afford it are fond of
wearing a large gold ring in the -right ear and a silver chain
weighing one or two pounds on the right foot, Mnsalman men
seldom wear ornaments. Almost all Musalm^n women begin
married life with a good store of ornaments. Their parents must
give them at least one nose-ring or nath, a set of twelve golden ear-
rings, and twenty silver finger rings, and their husbands must invest
in ornaments for the bride as much money as the amount of the
dowry which is generally £12 14s. (Rs. 127). In poor families the
women seldom keep their full stock of wedding jewels. Most
disappear by degrees to meet special expenses and to help the family
through times of scarce food or of scanty labour. Roughly a rich
woman's ornaments vary in value from £50 to £100 (Rs. 500-1000)>
a middle-class woman's from £20 to £30 (Rs. 200 -300), and a poor
woman's from £5 to £10 (Rs.50- 100).

Of town Musalmdns some are tradesmen and a good many
are craftsmen. The bulk are soldiers, constables, messengers, and
servants. Of village Musalmd,ns the greater number are
husbandmen and the rest are craftsmen. Among the regular
classes, especially among town traders soldiers constables
messengers and servants, the women add nothing to the family
income. On the other hand in many of the special communities
and among husbandmen weavers and other craftsmen and petty
shopkeepers, the women earn almost as much as the men. Though
hardworking, most servants and craftsmen and a few petty traders
are wanting ifi forethought and are excessively fond of drink and
good living. Village Musalmans, especially husbandmen, are
thrifty. Traders and some servants and craftsmen are well-to-do.
With these exceptions the Musalmans as a class are badly off.
Most of them are in debt and in some cases hereditary debt is handed
from father to son. Sameness in faith, worship, manners, and
customs binds Musalmans into one body. Except some families of
Khoj^s or Mastalian Shias and Daudi BohordiS or Ismailian Sbias,
perhaps about two hundred Poena families in all, Musalmans are
Sunnis in faith. They respect and obey the same Mzi, worship in
the same mosque, and bury in the same burial ground. Among
special or local communities the fruiterers or BAgvans, the mutton-
butchers or Kasdis, the bricklayers or Gaundis, and 4he masons or
Takdrds have such strong Hindu leanings that they do not mix with
other Musalmans. They almost never go to the mosque, they
eschew beef, keep Hindu holidays, and openly worship and offer
vows to Hindu gods.

Of the regular Musalmans perhaps about ten per cent teach their

Deccan.]

POONA.

485

children to read the Kuran. All of them are careful to circumcise
their male children, to perform the initiation or iismilla ceremony,
and to have their marriage and funeral ceremonies conducted by the
kdzi that is the judge or by his deputy or ndib. Though most do not
daily attend the mosque, almost all are present at the special services
on the Bamzdn and Bakar-Id festivals, and are careful to give alms and
to pay the kdzi his dues. Their religious officers are the kdzi or judge
but now chiefly the marriage registrar, the khatib or preacher, the
mulla or priest, and the mujdvar or beadle. The kdni, who in former
times was a judge as well as a marriage-registrar, now only registers
marriages. He is helped by his deputy or ndib who attends all
village weddings and the marriages of middle-class and poor Poena
townspeople. The marriage fee is 5s. (Rs. 2|) and the remarriage
fee 10s. (Ra. 5). The khatib or prayer-leader formerly enjoyed
grants of land. At present their office has almost disappeared and
the mosque services are led by any learned layman or by a maulvi
or law-doctor. The bdngi or crier keeps the mosque clean, shouts
the prayer-call five times a day, and calls guests to marriage and
other ceremonies.'^ They are poorly paid and live chiefly on alms and
gifts of food and clothes. The mujdvar or beadle attends at the
shrine of some saint. He keeps the shrine clean and lives on the
offerings that are made to the saint. Besides the religious officers
certain Pirzddas or sons of saints hold a high position among Musal-
mdns. They are spiritual guides and have religious followers chiefly
among weavers and the classes who live by service. These Pirzddas
live on estates granted to their forefathers by the Musalmdn rulers
of the Deccan. Carelessness and love of show have forced most of
them to part with their lands and they are now supported by their
followers.

Except Bohords and Persians, almost all Musalm^ns believe in
saints to whom they pray for children or for health and offer sacrifices
and gifts. Most craftsmen and almost all husbandmen believe
in Mhasoba, Maridi, and Satv^i, Hindu deities to whom they make
gifts and offer vows and whom they worship either publicly or
privately. To Mhasoba or Buffalo-father, after they have gathered
their last crop, husbandmen offer goats, and beKeve that he
guards their fields from being robbed. The mutton-butchers or
Kasdis, the fruiterers or Bagvd.ns, the water-carriers or Pakh^lis and
other lower classes believe that Marid,i is the goddess of cholera, they
worship her in sickness, and offer her sacrifices. Satvdi or Mother
Sixth is considered the goddess of fate. Women alone believe in
Satvd,i and worship and make offerings to her on the sixth night
after a child is bom. Town Musalmdns generally marry their boys
between sixteen and twenty and their girls between tenand fourteen.

1 He calls from the highest place in the mosque, before sunrise 'Alia is great*
'Alia is great' (this four times over) ; I bear witness, there is no God but Alia
(this twice) ; I bear witness Muhammad is His Prophet (twice). Come to pray
(twice) ; come to salvation (twice) ; prayers are better than sleep (twice); AUa is great
(twice) ; there is no God but Alia (once). Except that the words ' prayers are better
than sleep ' are left out the call to each of the other four prayers is the same. This
- is the Sunni form. Shids after the words ' come to salvation ' add ' come to a good
.act ' (twice). They never use the phrase 'prayers are better than sleep.'.

Chapter III.
Population,

MuSALMijfS.

■RtUgion.

[Bombay Gazetteer,

486

DISTRICTS.

Chapter III.

Population.

MusalmAns'.,
Customs,

Almost every One is anxious to have his daughter married before
ste comes of age. Villagers generally marry tlieir children earlier
than townspeople. The observances in towns and in villages are
the same except that in villages they are less costly. Chiefly
because of its expense the practice of betrothal has nearly died
out. A few rich or well-to-do families have a betrothal a year
or six months before the' marriage when the boy and girl are very
young, or a month or two before the marriage if the couple are of
age. If all is ready beforehand some hold the betrothal within'
a week of the marriage. A betrothal costs £4 to £8 (Rs. 40 - 80).
A few days before the marriage a lay doctor or other learned
man is asked to choose a lucky day for the wedding. He is
told the names of the boy and girl and finds out from his books
what days will be lucky for people of those names. From the
day he fixes the wedding observances begin and last six days.
The first four days are spent in rubbing the bride and bridegroom
with turmeric. This is done twice a day in the morning and in
the evening. In the afternoon of the fifth day henna is brought
from the bride's house by her sister, who sits behind a curtain
with two or three of her friends who accompany her, and rubs it
■on the bridegroom's palms and is given 4s. to 10s. (Rs. 2 - 5). Th&
henna is rubbed both on the palms of the bride's hands and on the
£oles of her feet. After the henna-marking, dinners are given at the
bridegroom's first to men and after the men leave to women. About
ten o'clock in the evening the bridegroom's friends and kinsmen set
him on horseback and escort him to the bride's in a large procession
with music and torches., The bridegroom is dressed in a large red of
white coat falling almost to the ground called jama, an embroidered '
silk red turban or mandil, and a silk waistscarf. A red cloth with
a cocoanut in it is tied on his lap or godi. Over this dress a cloak
of jasmine or other flowers covers the body from head to foot.
Before starting lemons are thrown over the bridegroom's head to
the four quarters of heaven and a cocoanut is dashed to pieces on the
ground in front of him. At the bride's, before he alights from his
horse, the bride's brother gives the bridegroom hot milk or sugared
water that his married life may be sweet. A cocoanut is dashed on
the ground before him and lemons are cut and thrown over his
head to the four quarters to scare evil spirits. The bridegroom
then enters the marriage-porch or hall which has been built a few
days before the beginning of the marriage. On the day the porch
is built, a cocoanut tied in yellow cloth is hung on the chief pole
to ward oS spirits. In this hall the bridegroom's party find a few of
the bride's kinsmen and he and his friends take their seats. The
hdzi or the deputy kdzi is called to register the marriage.. He
makes the bridegroom and the bride's father sit facing each other,
and making each hold the other's right hand, begins to register the
marriage. After the marriage is registered and the sum stipulated
for the girl's dowry is entered, the bridegroom says before all present
that he has chosen her as his wife with the said sum as dowry.
The bride's father declares that he gives his daughter to the
bridegroom in marriage with all lawful ceremonies and with a certain
sum as dowry. After this the bridegroom embraces his father-in-

Deccau.]

POONA.

487

law and sliakes hands and bows low to all present. Till two or three
in the morning the bridegroom sits in the booth or hall listening to
singing and dancing girls. About dawn the bride's brother calls the
bridegroom to the women's room. The bridegroom goes by himself
and in the women's room j&nds all unveiled except the bride, because
women need not be veiled before either a bridegroom or a king. In
the room a songstress or domni^ seats the bridegroom and the
bride on a cot on different sides of a red cloth or curtain which is
held by two women. While the dorrmi sings a piece of red thread is
thrown over the curtain and the bride and bridegroom throw rice
on each other over the curtain. When the song is ended the domni
asks the bridegroom to take down the red curtain and his bride's
face is shown him in a mirror. The bridegroom looks at her face,
reads the first verses in the Kurdn on -which his eye happens to fall,
and presents the bride with a ring or other ornament. Both come
down from the cot. A large vessel full of red water is brought
before them. A ring from the bride's hand is dropped into the
water and the bride and bridegroom are asked to see who can first
pick out the ring. Whoever is first will rule the house. The bride
is generally helped by some friend or her sister and she generally
wins ; in fact she is allowed to win. Four round bamboo or cocoa-
palm leaf sticks called chhadis, about as thick as a quill-pen and
about eighteen inches longj are covered with flower garlands
generally jasmines. Two of them are given to the bride and two
to the bridegroom, and they are asked to beat each other with
them. When the sticks are broken the women present begin to
throw slippers at the bridegroom. Besides slippers they throw onionS;^
potatoes, and brinjals. After this, the bride and bridegroom are
led into the cook-room. The bride is asked to knead wheat-flour
and the bridegroom to bake it. While they are making the cakes,
the women stand and laugh at the bridegroom. After the bridegroom
has baked one or two cakes, the bride and bridegroom are brought
back into the women's room. The bridegroom stands and bows low
to all the women present, each of whom gives him a handkerchief
and a silver or gold ring called chhala. Besides the ring and
handkerchief the mother-in-law gives a turban or a headscarf. The
whole ceremony is called jalva or rejoicing. After this the
bridegroom goes back to the men's room and sits there till he takes
his bride home in the evening. Next day two separate dinners are
given by the bride's father to men and to women. Towards evening
the bridegroom takes the bride to his house in a palanquin with the
same pomp in which he came to her house. The first five Fridays
after the marriage are kept as Jumagis or Great Fridays when a
few friends and relations are asked to dine and the women spend
the evenings in singing.

Musalmans have no observance when a girl comes of age. Most
lower class Musalmans in a woman's first pregnancy mark the
seventh month or satvasa by . bathing the girl and dressing her

Chapter III.
Population.

MtJSALMANS,

Gustoms,

' Dommis are married low-class Musalmdn women who take to singing as a way of
earning their living. They are paid 2s, to 5s. (Rs. 1 ; 2^) for singing at a wedding.

[Bombay Oazetteer,

488

DISTRICTS.

Chapter III.
Fopnlation,

MuSALMijrS.

Customs.

in her jewels and richest clothes. A few women friends are
asked to dinner. In the evening the pregnant woman and her
husband are seated side by side on a carpet in the women's
room. The women sit round singing and throw flower garlands
round the husband's and wife's neck and put them on their wrists.
They present the woman with a piece of silk or a cotton bodicecloth,
and the husband with a handkerchief. When this is done the
husband goes out, and the women spend the night in singing and
making merry. This ceremony costs £1 to £2 (Rs. 10-20).

As soon as possible after a child is born, either its father if
present, or its maternal uncle, repeats the Musalman call to prayer,
that the name of Alia may be the first sound that falls on the babe's
ear. Either a dagger or a knife is laid under the mother's pillow
and is kept there forty days. The child and the mother are washed
in water in which nim leaves have been steeped and the mother
keeps her bed twelve days. For the first three days the child
is fed on honey, and the mother on wheat-gruel prepared with
clarified butter. On the sixth day, most women keep the sixth or
Ghhati ceremony. Women bathe the child, dress it in a red or
yellow shirt, and lay it on the ground before a clarified butter lamp
with twelve wicks. Before this lamp is laid bread, boiled rice,
vegetables, curry, and the liver and heart of a goat. If the child
looks at the lamp it is considered lucky. The women spend the
rest of the night in singing and merriment. The object is to please
the fateful spirit of the sixth and persuade it to write a good future
for the child. On the twelfth day the mother takes her first bath
and from that day is considered able to walk. For forty days she
remains impure and unfit to pray.^ In the early morning of the
fortieth day the woman bathes in hot water in which nitn leaves
have been steeped and while she bathes she repeats verses from
the Kurdn. Between four and six men guests come and dine in
the men's rooms. About six o'clock after the men have gone the
women come and dine in the women's rooms. The dinner is ^ over
about eight. After the dinner is over, each of the guests presents
silver wristlets and anklets to the child and a bodice to its mother.
After the presents have been given the women sit up all night
singing, and go home before daylight. According to his means the
father of the child spends £5 to £10 (Rs. 50- 100).

When a child^ whether a boy or a girl, is four months and four
days old, or sometimes before or after that date, the sacrifice or aMka
is performed by killing one goat if the child is a girl and two goats
if the child is a boy. The goat must be without spot or blemish
and all its limbs must be perfect. A few friends and relations
are asked to dinp, and the goat is eaten by all except by the parents
of the child who may not eat the flesh of the sacrifice. A sacrifice
ceremony costs the child's father £3 to £6 (Rs. 30 - 60).

In a rich or well-to-do family, when the child is four years four

^ A lying-ia woman is held impure and is not allowed to touch the Kurdn or to
pray for forty days. During all this time she ought not to cook, but in poor
families a woman is allowed to cook after the twelfth day.

Oeccan]

POONA.

489

months and four days old, comes the Initiation or Bismilla, that is
In Alla's Name. On the day before the ceremony the boy or tho
girl is bathed and clothed in a rich dress and with great pomp is taken
in procession round the places where MusalmAns live and along the
high road. On returning home, an old maulavi or law-doctor is
called. He seats the child near him and in a loud voice repeats the
word bismilla In the Name of AUa, and tells the child to repeat it
after him. The child says bismilla and prayers are offered and
dinner is served. The women spend the night in singing and merry-
making. The cost of the ceremony is £2 to £4 (Rs. 20-40).

Every Musalmdn is anxious to circumcise his son when he is
seven years old. A circumcision is attended with as much pomp
and cost as a marriage. For two or three days before a circumcision,
as before a marriage, the boy is rubbed with turmeric and bathed.
On the fourth day about four in the af te"noon the father's friends
and kinsmen seat the child on horseback and go about the streets
with music. In the evening a barber is called and the boy is
circumcised. To dull the pain some boys are given ganja or hemp-
seed or some other drug. The barber is paid 2s. 6d. to 5s.
(Rs. 1^ - 2^) and when the boy is well is presented with rice, cocoanuts,
sweetmeats, and a suit of old clothes and money. In honour of his
recovery a grand dinner is given to friends and relations. A
circumcision costs. £4 to £20 (Rs. 40-200).

When no hope of recovery remains, the chapter of the Kuran
which tells of death and the glorious future of the believer, is read,
the creed and prayers for forgiveness are repeated, and a few
drops of honey or sugared water are dropped into the dying mouth.
As soon as life is gone the eyes and mouth are closed. Arrangements
are made for the burial. A priest or mulla is sent for and prepares
a large white sleeveless cotton shirt called Jcaphni that falls from
the neck to the feet, a waistcloth or lungi, and two sheets, and if the
dead is a woman an additional red headscarf or odhui. The body
is bathed and scented with camphor, aloe-powder, and rose or sandal
scent, and each of the family takes a last look. The mother
says, ' I withdraw all the claims I have upon you as your nurse; '
the wife says, 'I give up all claim to my marriage portion.'
Then, amid the wailing of the women, the body is laid in the bier
and raised on the shoulders of four friends who raise the cry Ld-il
laha-illa'aUdh ' There is no God but AUa.' On their way to the
burial ground the bier is taken to a mosque where all the attendants
pray and then move along the road until they reach the grave-yard.
At the burial ground the grave is dug and all present pray for the
peace of the soul, and the body is laid in a hollow dug in the side of
the grave, and left on its side the head facing Mecca or the west.
When the grave is closed the mulla or the Mxi repeats the creed,
and they return to the house of mourning where all offer a parting
prayer and withdraw. A burial costs £1 10s. to £3 (Rs. 15-30). On
the rnorning of the third day a ceremony called the ziarat or meeting
is held in the house of mourning. A large party of male and
female friends and relations meet either at the dead man's house or
in the mosque, the women sitting alone in the house in the women's
B 310-62

Chapter III.
Population.

MuSAIMii,N3.

Circumcision,

Death,

[Bombay Gazetteer)

Chapter III.

Population.

MusalmAns.
Death.

Prospects.

Divisions.

Steds.

490

DISTRICTS.

room. The Kuran is read and prayers are offered. After prayers a
tray of rose or jasmine flowers and sabja or- green leareSj and a cup
with a sweet-smelling mixture of sandalwood or rose or other sweet
oil, with aloe powder are handed among the guests. As the tray
passes him each, guest picks a flower and dips it into the cup.
The whole is then taken and poured over the grave. Parched rice
and pomegranates, plantains, oranges, and guavas are handed round
and the guests leave. The cost of the third day varies from 10s.
to £1 (Rs. 5-10), Ambng the poor a great dinner on the tenth,
costing £2 to £6 (Rs. 20-60) ends the mourning. The rich and
well-to-do offer alms and give a small feast to friends and relations
on the twentieth, thirtieth, and fortieth days, and also at the end of
six months.

During the last thirty years the spread of English education
among Hindus and Parsis has led the Poena Musalmd,ns to teach
their boys English. Many of them, especially in the cantonment,
have learnt English, and are employed as Government and railway
clerks, and have risen to high positions in the police and in the
army.

The main body of Musalmdns who intermarry and differ little- in
looks, customs, or dress, besides the four main classes of Syeds,
Shaikhs, Moghals or Persians, and Path^ns, includes ten special
communities. Of these two. Attars or perfumers and Manyars or
bracelet-sellers, are traders; seven, Barutgars, Kaf shgars, Kalaigars,
Patvegars, Rafugars, Rangrezes, and Sikalgars, are craftsmen; and
one, Mah^wats or elephant-drivers, are servants. Of the fifteen
separate communities who do not marry witb the main body of
Musalmans and differ from them in customs, tbree are outsiders,
Mehmans and Bohords, traders from Cutch and Gujardt, and
Gdokasabs or beef-butcBers from Maisur. The rest of the twelve
classes are of local origin. Three of these Bakar Kasd,bs or Lad
SultAnis mutton-butchers, Tdmbolis or betel-sellers, and Bagbans
or fruiterers are traders; five, Gaundis bricklayers, Momins
weavers, Piniard,s cotton cleaners, Saltaukers tanners, and Tak&r&s
stone-masons, are craftsmen ; and four, Bhatydr&s cooks, Dhobis
washermen, Halalkhors sweepers, and Pakhdlis water-carriers, are
servants.

Of tke four leading Musalm^n classes Syeds, Shaikhs, Moghals or
Persians, and PathSns, all except the Persians are large commu-
nities whose members are found throughout the district.

Syeds or Elders properly the descendants of Fatima the daughter
a,nd Ali the son-in-law of the Prophet Muhammad, are found in
large numbers both in towns and villages. They are said to have
settled in the Deccan from the beginning of Musalman power that
is from the close of the fourteenth century. They speak Hindustani
at home and Marathi abroad. The men take Syeds before or sha
after their names, and the women add bibi or begam to theirs.
Though by intermarriage with the women of the country they have
lost most of their peculiar appearance still Syeds are larger-boned
and better-featured than most local Musalmans. Their women
also are fair and delicate with good features. The men shave the

Deccan.}

POONA.

4§1

head, wear the beard, and dress in a headscarf, a shirt, a waistcoat
and an overcoat long enough to reach the knees. The women
wear the Hindu robe and bodice, and neither appear in public
nor add to the family income. The men are landlords, religious
teachers, soldiers, constables, and servants. They are much
given to luxury. They are Sunnis of the Hanafi school, and are
religious and careful to say their prayers. They respect and obey
the Kazi, and do not observe Hindu customs. They have no special
class organization, hut try to marry among themselves. They take
wives from Shaikhs and Path^ns but except in a few cases give their
daughters only to Syeds. They teach their boys Persian, Arabic,
and Marathi, and of late many have learnt English and secured
service as Government clerks and constables.

Shaikhs in theory take their origin from the three leading
Kuraish families, the Sidikis who claim descent from Abu Bakar
Sidik, the Farukis who claim descent from Umar-al Faruk, and the
Abbasis who claim descent from Abas one of the prophet's nine
uncles. As a matter of fact the bulk of the Shaikhs are chiefly if not
entirely of local descent. The men take Shaikh or Muhammad before
their names, and the women bibi after theirs. They do not differ
from Syeds in appearance and like them speak Hindustani at home.
The men either shave the head or let the hair grow, and wear full
beards. Townsmen dress in a headscarf, a shirt, a waistcoat,
a long overcoat, and a pair of loose trousers ; and villagers wear
either a waistcloth or a pair of tight trousers, and a shirt with,
on going out, the addition of a large Hindu turban. Their women
are also like Syed women delicate, fair, and well-featured. They wear
the Hindu robe and bodice, and except a few elderly women none
appear in public or add to the family income. Both men and women
are neat and clean in their habits. The men are husbandmen, soldiers,
constables, messengers, and servants, and are hardworking and
thrifty. They have no special class organization, and marry either
among themselves or with any of the leading classes of Musalmans.
They are Sunnis of the Hanafi school and are religious and careful
to say their prayers. They respect and obey the Kdzi and employ
him to register their marriages. They teach their children Persian
and Marathi, and of late English. Many are employed as clerks
and have risen to high posts in the army aud police.

Moghals are found in small numbers in every town and village
of Poena. They claim descent from the Moghal conquerors of the
Deccan in the seventeenth century (Ahmadnagar 1630; Bijapur
1686). By intermarriage, and probably because many of them are
local converts who took the name Moghal from their patron or
leader, they have entirely lost their foreign appearance. Among
local Moghals, the men shave the head and wear the beard full.
They dress like other Musalmdns in a headscarf or a turban, a long
overcoat, a shirt, a waistcoat, and a pair of tight trousers. The
women are like Syed and Shaikh women and like them wear the
Hindu robe and bodice. The men add mirza to their names, and
the women bibi to theirs. They are soldiers, constables, servants,
and husbandmen. In religion they are Sunnis of the Hanafi school.

Chapter III.
Population.

MusALMAsa.

Shaisbs.

MoaBALS.

[Bombay (Jazetteer«

492

DISTRICTS.

Chapter III. Some -who have learned English hare found employment as clerks

Population. ^^^ i° *^e Police.

MusalmAns. Patha'ns are found all over the district. They claim descent

PatbJns. from the Afghan mercenaries and military leaders who conquered' or

took service in the Deccan^ but most of them are probably descended
from local converts who took the name of their leader. The men
are tall or of middle height, well made, and dark or of olive colour.
They shave the head, wear the beard full, and dress in a turban or
headscarf, a shirt, a waistcoat, and a pair of tight trousers. The
women, who are like the men in face, wear the Hindu robe and
bodice, but neither add to the family income, nor appear in public.
Both men and women are neat and clean in their habits. The men
are husbandmen, soldiers, constables, servants, and messengers ;
and are hardworking and thrifty. They do not observe Hindu
customs, or differ from other Musalmans in their practices. They have
no special class organization, and marry either among themselves
or take wives from the Shaikhs and other classes of the main body.
They respect and obey the Kazi, and employ him to register their
marriages, and to settle their social disputes. They teach their boys
Hindustani and Mardthi, and of late years some have begun to send
their boys to English schools.

AttXbs. Atta>'rs, or Perfumers, are found in small numbers in almost all

towns and large villages. They are local converts, who, according
to their own account, were converted during the time of Aurangzib
(1658-1707). They are either tall or of middle height, well made,
and dark or olive-coloured. Their women are fair and delicate with
good features. The men shave the head, wear the beard full, and
dress in a Hindu-like large white or red. turban, a coat, a shirt,
and a pair of tight trousers. Their women dress in the Hindu
robe and bodice, and except the old none appear in public or add to
the family income. Both men and women are neat and clean
in their habits. The men have perfume shops selling frankincense,
agarhatti, argaja, pomatum, rose, and other flower scents, missi or
black tooth-powder, Jcunhu or redpowder for Hindu women's brow
marks, yellow and red thread called ndda and thread garlands
called sahelis which are worn both by Hindu and Musalmdji children
during the last five days of the Muharram. They are hardworking
and thrifty, but of late years have suffered from the competition of
English lavender and other scents. Most of them travel from village
to village selling their stock. Townsmen earn £20 to £30
(Rs. 200-300) a year, and can save for emergencies. The villagers
live almost from hand to mouth. Most of them have left their calling and
have taken to new pursuits, some taking service and others acting as
messengers and constables. They are Sunnis of the Hanap school, and
are said to be religious. They do not follow Hindu customs, or differ
from other Musalmdns in their manners or beliefs. They marry either
among themselves, or take wives from any of the leading Musalman
communities. They have no special class organization. They obey
and respect the Kdzi, and employ him to register their marriages
and to settle social disputes. They teach their boys MarAthi and
Hindustani, None have learned English or risen to any high post.

Deccan.]

POONA.

493

Ba'rutgars, or Firework-makers, are found in small numbers in
Poona and in some of the larger towns. They are mixed Hindu
converts, converted according to their own account by Aurangzib. The
men take the title of Shaikh. They are either tall or of middle height,
and dark or olive-skinned. The men shave the head, wear the
beard fall, and dress either in a turban or a headscarf, a waistcoat,
and a pair of tight trousers or a waistcloth. The women wear the
Hindu robe and bodice, and neither appear in public nor add to the
family income. Under native rule firework-makers were in great
demand and highly respected and were sometimes rewarded by the
grant of lands. During the last sixty years the demand for fireworks
has greatly declined. Many have become soldiers and constables,
and others farmers and petty hardware dealers. A few continue to
make the fireworks which are in demand at Hindu and Musalmd,n
marriages and other festivals. They are hardworking, thrifty,
and sober, but as a class are badly off. They marry either among
themselves or with any of the regular Musalmdn communities.
In religion, they are Sunnis of the Hanafi school, and a few of them
are said to be religious and careful to say their prayers. They
have no special class organization, and obey the regular Kazi who
is both their marriage registrar and settler of social disputes.
They seldom send their boys to school and none of them has risen
to any high post.

Kafshgars, or Shoe-makers, are found in small numbers only
in the town of Poona. They, are descended from strangers from
Kabul who are said to have come to the Deccan during
Musalmdn rule. Their names Kishwar Khdn, Dost Muhammad
Khdn, and Dilg^war Khan, point to foreign extraction, and, though
intermarriage has made great changes, both men and women are still
bigger in bone, fairer, and larger-eyed than most Poona Musalmdns.
The men shave the head, wear the beard full, and dress in a
headscarf, a shirt, a waistcoat, and a pair of tight or loose trousers.
The women wear either a petticoat, a headscarf, and a bodice, or the
Hindu robe and bodice. They appear in public, and help the
men in embroidering slippers. The only shoes which the Kafshgars
prepare are the embroidered slippers of coloured broadcloth, which
are worn by married Musalmdn women, and sometimes by young
men. A pair of women's slippers cost 4s. to £1 (Es. 2 - 10), and a
pair of men's slippers 6s. to 10s. (Rs. 3-6), They are hardworking,
but fond of good living, and spend all they earn without a thought of
the future. Most have left Poona and gone to Bombay, Haidarabad,
and other places in search of work. They marry either among
themselves, or take wives from any of the regular Musalmdn
communities. They have a special class organization, leaving the
settlement of social disputes to a headman who is generally the oldest
and richest member of their community. The headman punishes
misconduct by a fine which goes to meet the oil expenses of the
mosque, They have no special Hindu customs, and are careful to
hold the sacrifice or aldka and the initiation or bismilla ceremonies.
They are Sunnis of the Hanafi school, but few of them are religions
or careful to say their prayers, They do not send their boys to
school, and none have risen to any high post.

Chapter III.

Population.

musalmahs,
Babutsabs.

Kafshgars.

[Bombay Gazetteer,

494

DISTRICTS.

Chapter III.
Population.

MusalmAns.

KAlUiaABS,

ManyAbs.

JtAFU&ASS,

Kala'igars, or Tinsmiths, found in large numbers botli in towns
and in villageSj are local converts, wlio are said to have been turned
to IsMm by Aurangzib. Tbey rank as Shaikhs and speak Hindustani
among themselves and Marathi with others. They are tall or of
mid!dle-height, and dark or olive-skinned. The men shave the head,
and wear the beard either long or short, and dress in a turban or a
headscarf, a shirt, a waistcoat, and a pair of tight trousers. They put
on an overcoat on going out. The women are -generally delicate,
fair, and well-featured. They dress in the Mardthi robe and bodice,
do not appear in public, and do not help their husbands except
by house work. Both men and women are neat and clean in their
habits. They are tinsmiths by craft, hardworking, thrifty, and
sober and as their work is steady, they are well-to-do and able
to save. They marry either among them'selves or with any of the
regular Musalmdn communities. They have a well organized cast©
body with a headman called pdtil who is chosen from among the
richest and most respected of the community, and has power to fine
any one who breaks their class rules. Any one who joins their class
has to present the community with 10s. to £1 (Rs. 6-10) which is
spent in a dinner. They are Sunnis of the Hanafi school. The
older members are said to be religious and careful to say their
prayers. They do not send their boys to school, and as their craft
is thriving they take to no new pursuits.

Manya'rSjOr Bracelet-makers, arefound iu small numbers in most
towns and large villages. They are of mixed Hindu origin dating
according to their own account from the time of Aurangzib. They
speak Hindustani among themselves and Marathi with others. The
men are tall or of middle height, thin, and dark or olive-skinned.
They shave the head, wear the beard full, and dress either in a large
white or red Mardtha turban or a headscarf, a shirt, a waistcoat,-
and a pair of tight trousers or a waistcloth. The women are
generally delicate with regular features and fair skins. They wear
the Marathi robe and bodice, and most of them appear in public and
help the men in their work. Glass bracelet-making formerly paid
well but the competition of English and Chinese bracelets has so
lowered their profits that many have taken to retail English hard-
ware in addition to or instead of selling bracelets. Some have shops,
but most hawk their goods in streets where the higher class of
Musalmans livfe whose women will not go to a shop to be fitted
with bangles. They are hardworking, thrifty, and sober, and as a
class are well-to-do people, living on their earnings and borrowing
to meet emergencies. They have no special class union and
no peculiar customs. They marry among themselves or with any
of the regular Musalman communities. They are Sunnis of the
Hanafi school, and most of them are religious and careful to say
their prayers. . They teach their boys Mard,thi but not English.
Some have taken service and some are in the police.

Kafugars, or Cloth Darners, are found in small numbers in the
city of Poena. They are local converts of mixed Hindu origin and
ascribe their," conversion to Aurangzib. They take the title of
Shaikh and are considered high-class people. They speak Hindustani

Deccau.]

POONA.

495

among themselves, and Marathi witli others. They are generally
short, thin, and fair. The men shave the head and wear the
beard full. Their dress is a headscarf or turban, a coat, a waist-
coat, a shirt, and a pair of tight trousers. The women wear the
Marathi robe and bodice. They do not appear in public, or add to
the family income. Both men and women are clean and neat in
their habits. When rich Cashmere shawls, silk robes, and embroidered
turbans were worn neat darning was of great importance and the
Rafugars were famous for the skill and delicacy of their darns. Now
their calling is in little demand. Most have left Poena for Bombay
and other places where they have taken service as servants and
messengers. They are hardworking and sober, but most of them
are poor living from hand to mouth. They have no special class
organization, nor any headman except the regular Kdzi who acts
both as marriage registrar and as judge in settling social disputes.
They are Sunnis of the Hanafi school, and are said to be religious
and careful to say their prayers. On the whole, they are a falling
class both in numbers and in condition.

Rangrezes, or Dy ers, are found in small numbers in Poona and some
of the larger towns. They are of two divisions, descendants of local
Hindus of the same name, converted by Aurangzib, and immigrants
front Mdrwdr since the beginning of British power. The local dyers
speak Hindustani among themselves and Marathi with others ; the
Mdrwdri immigrants speak Hindustani with a mixture of Mdrwdri
words with a Mdrwdri accent. The men of both divisions shave
the head and wear beards, but differ in appearance, the Marwdris
being taller and stronger built and a little fairer than the local dyers.
The women of both classes are delicate and fair. The Marwdri
women wear a petticoat, a headscarf, and a backless bodice ; and
the local dyers wear the Marathi robe and bodice. They help the
men in their work and appear in public. As a class, the dyers are
hardworking, thrifty, and sober, and are generally well-to-do and able
to save. They dye turbans, headscarves, and silk and cotton thread
charging Is. to 2s. (Re. |-1) for a turban, 6d. to Is. (4-8 as.) for
a headscarf, and about 4s (Rs. 2) for forty pounds weight of silk.
They dye red, orange, blue, green, and other shades. Their work
is constant. Before Musalman and Hindu festivals and during the
marriage season they are so busy that they employ people to help
them in drying the clothes^paying them 6(i. (4 as.) a day. They are
Sunnis of the Hanafi school, and some of them are religious and
careful to say their prayers. They have no special class organization,
nor any headman except the Kdzi who acts as marriage registrar
and settles social disputes, They do not differ in manners and
customs from other regular Musalmd,ns and marry with them, They
do not send their boys to school nor take to new pursuits. On the
whole they are a rising class.

Malia'wats, or Elephant-drivers, are found in small numbers in
the city of Poona. They are local converts of the Hindu class of the
same name. They style themselves Shaikhs and speak Hindustani
at home and Mardthi with others. They are tall or of middle heighb
and dark. The men shave the head and wear the beard full, and

Chapter III.

Population.

musalmans.
Bafuoabs.

Ranbrszss.

MabAwat$.

[Bom'bay Gazetteeil

Chapter III.
Population.

MUSALMANS.
MAHJ.WATS.

8 IK ALGA RS,

Patvegabs.

496

DISTRICTS.

dress in a turban, a tight-fitting jacket, and a pair of tight trousers
or a waistcloth. The women wear the Marathi robe and bodice.
They appear in public, but add nothing to the family income.
Both men and women are neat and clean in their habits. They are
hardworking, thrifty, and sober,. Under the British Government
the demand for their services has fallen. They have taken to new
pursuits, some serving as constables and others as servants and
messengers. They live from hand to mouth and have to borrow to
meet emergencies. Most of the men and almost all of the women
eschew beef, and have a leaning to Hindu customs, inclining to keep
Hindu festivals and believing in Hindu gods. They have no special
class organization and no headman, and marry with any of the
regular classes of Musalmins. In religion they are Sunnis of the
Hanafi school, but few are religious or careful to say their prayers.
They respect and obey the regular Kdzi, and' employ him to register
their marriages and settle social disputes. They do not send their
boys to school, and none have risen to any high position,

Sikalgars, or Armourers, are found in small numbers in the city
of Poena and in some of the larger towns. They are the descendants
of mixed low class Hindus who are said to have been converted by
Aurangzib. They speak Hindustani- at home and Mardthi with
others. They are tall or of middle height and dark. The men shave
the head, wear full beards, and dress in a turban, a tight-fitting jacket,
and a pair of tight trousers or a waistcloth. The women wear
the Marathi robe and bodice, appear in public, and help the men in
their work. Both men and women are dirty and untidy in their
habits. Armourers or knife-grinders are hardworking and sober,
but do not earn more than 6d. to 9d. (4-6 as.) a day. They formerly
sharpened swords, -daggers, and other weapons ; at present their
work is confined to grinding knives and scissors for which they are
paid about a half-penny a pair. They grind knives on a wheel of
kurand stone turned hj a, leather strap which their women and
children work. They have no special class organization and no
headman, and marry with any low class Musalmans. They have no
special Hindu customs but are not strict Musalmans, as they perform,
neither -the initiation nor the sacrifice. They are Sunnis of the
Hanafi school but are not religious or careful to say their prayers,
They obey the Kdzi and employ him to register their marriages.
They do not send their boys to school and take to no new pursuits.,

Patvegars, or Silk Tassel-twisters, are foundinsmallnumbersboth
in the city of Poona and in other large towns. They are descended
from local Hindus of the same name, and ascribe their conversion to
Aurangzib. They speak Hindustani among themselves and Mardthi
with others. The men are tall or of middle height, thin, and
dark or olive-skinned. They either let the hair grow or shave the
head, wear the beard full, and dress in a headscarf or a turban, a
tight-fitting jacket, and a pair of tight trousers or a waistcloth.;
The women are generally delicate, olive-coloured, and regular
featured ; they wear the Maratha robe and bodice, and appear in
public, but do not add to the family income. Both men and women
are neat and clean in their habits. They twist silk tassels. They

Deccan.]

POONA.

497

are hardworking, thrifty, and sober, and though not rich are not
scrimped for food. Tbey sell silk tassels and %argotas that is the
silk cords worth l^d {\ a.) which Hindus and a few Musalmans pass
the loincloth through. Theyalsosell false hair at 3d, to Is. (2-8 as.)
the packet, fly-flappers or chavris at 1 s. to 2s. (Re. | - 1), and deck with
silk women's gold necklaces and other ornaments for which they are
paid Qd. to Is. (4-8 as.) They earn 3d to Is. (4-8 as.) a day, but their
work is not constant. They have no special class organization and
no headman, and in manners and customs do not differ from regular
Musalmans. They marry either among themselves or with any low-
class Musalmdns. They are Sunnis of the Hanafi school, and are
seldom religious or careful to say their prayers. They do not send
their boys to school, and some have sought employment as servants
and messengers.

Fifteen Separate Communities marry among themselves only, .and
have customs which differ from the customs of regular Muaalmdns.
Six, Bohords and Mehmans traders, Bd,gbd,ns fruiterers, Tambolis
betel-sellers, Bakarkasdbs mutton butchers, and Gd,okasd,bs beef
butchers, are traders and shopkeepers j five, Gaundis bricklayers,
Momins weavers, Pinjd,ras cotton-cloaners, Saltankars tanners, and
Takdras stone-masons are craftsmen ; and four, Bhatyards cooks,
Dhobis washermen, Pakhdlis water-carriers, and HaMlkhors
sweepers, are servants.

Bohora's, probably from theGujardtitJoAorayM to trade, also known
as Daudis from a pontiff of that name, are found in large numbers in
the cantonment of Poona. They are immigrants from Gujardt.
They are believed to be partly descendants or refugees from Persia
and Arabia who settled in Gujardt about 1087 on account of a
religious dispute and partly of Hindu converts of the Brahman and
Vania castes.^ They have come to Poona as traders from Bombay
since the establishment of British power. Their home tongue is
Gujar^ti, and with others they speak Hindustani and Mardthi. They
are generally active and well made, but are wanting in strength
and robustness. Their features are regular and clear, the colour
olive, and the expression gentle and shrewd. They shave the head,
and wear long thin beards with the hair on the upper lip cut close.
The men's dress consists of a white oval-shaped turban, a long white
coat falling to the knee, a waistcoat, a long shirt, and a pair of loose
trousers. Their women are generally delicate, fair-skinned, and

Chapter III.
Fopnlation.

MvsaimAss,

PATVEaj,RS.

Separate
ComuvnitieBy

BOHOBASr

^ Upon the de.ath of Jifar Sddik, according to the ShiSs the sixth Itndm, a dispute
arose whether Ismail the son of J4fer's elder son or Musi Kdzim Jdfer's second son
should succeed. The majority who supportedMusi form the orthodox community of Shiis
who, from the number of their Im^ms, the last of whom is still to come, are known as
hna asharis or the Twelvers, The supporters of Musi's nephew, who started as a distinct
body under the name of Ismdilis, especially in Egypt, rose to great power. They
remained united until in 1094, on the death of AlmustansirbiQih the succession was
disputed. Of the late Khaliffe two sons Nazar the elder at first named for the
succession, was afterwards, on account of his profligate habits, passed overinfavour of
his younger brother Almustali. A party of the Ismiilis, holding that an elder son
could not thus be deprived of his right to succeed, declared for him, and were called
Nazarians. The other party, called from the younger son Mustdlians, prevailed, and
established Mustali as successor to his fatlier. The Nazarians are at this day
represented in India by the Khojas and the MustAlians by the BohorSs,

[Bombay Gazetteer,

498

DISTRICTS.

Chapter III.

Fop^ation.

musalmans.
BohobXs

MSBUANS,

regulat- featured. Their dress is a red or a dark blue cotton or silk
scarf called odna, a backless bodice called angia or kdnchli, and a
cotton or silk petticoat. On going out they shroud themselves in a
large striped cotton or silk robe which covers the whole body except
a small gauze opening for the eyes. They keep their eyelids pencilled
with collyrium, their teeth blackened with antimony, and the palms
of their hands and the soles of their feet reddened with henna. Except
that they are goodand thrifty housewives they add nothing to thefamily
income. Both men and women are neat and clean in their habits.
Ddudi Bohords are hardworking, thrifty, and sober, and are generally
well-to^do, and spend much on marriages and other ceremonies.
They are considered honourable traders and have a high name for
honest dealing. They deal in English piecegoods, China and English
hardware, and some of the poor make tin lanterns and tinpots, and
iron oil and water buckets. The rich earn £200 to £500 (Rs. 2000-
5000) a year, the middle-class £50 to £80 (Rs. 500-800), and even the
poorest £20 to £30 (Rs. 200-300). They have a well organized body,
and a strong class feeling. The head of their sect, who is known
as the Mullah Sdheb, has his head-quarters at Surat. He has
many deputies or dais who are sent from Surat to the different
Bohora settlements. They perform marriage and other ceremonies,
settle minor social disputes, and refer difficult cases for the decision
of the head Mullah at Surat. The decision of the head Mullah
is treated with great awe, and breaches of rules are occasionally
punished by heavy fines. They marry among themselves only,
and though they do not associate with other Musalmdns, there is no
great difference in their customs and observances. In religion they
are Shias of the Mustalian branch and differ from Sunni Musalmdns
in rejecting three out of the four Im^ms and believing only in Ali
the fourth Imam, the son-in law-of the Prophet. They teach their
children Gujar^ti only, and follow no pursuit except trade.

Mehraaus, properly Momins or Believers, are found in con-
siderable numbers in Pooha cantonment. They are said to have
come to Poona as traders about sixty years ago from Bombay.
They belong to Cutch and Kathiawar where about the year a.d. 1422
their forefathers were converted by the celebrated Arab saint
Yusuf Ud-din chiefly from Lohdna Hindus. They speak Cutchi
at home and Hindustani with others. The men are well-built,
robust, and generally fair. They shave the head, wear the beard
full, and dress in a silk or embroidered headscarf, a long overcoat,
a waistcoat, a long shirt, and a pair of loose trousers rather tight
at the ankles. The women like the men are tall. Well-made, and
fair with regular features. They dress in a long shirt or aba, a
headscarf or odna, and a pair of trousers rather tight at the
anklesj all of silk. Both men and women are neat and clean in
habits. Mehmans are honourable traders and are hardworking,
thrifty, and prosperous. They deal in English piecegoods, furniture,
and other European articles. They have a good name among their
fellow traders and most of them have agents and partners in
Bombay through whom they get their supplies from England and
other foreign countries. They marry only among themselves «

Deccan.]

POONA.

499

get wives from Bombay and Outcli. Their manners and customs
do not differ from those of regular Musalmdns. They are Sunnis
of the Hanafi school, and are very religious and careful to say their
prayers. They teach their boys Gujardti only. They follow no
pursuit but trade, and on the whole are a rising class.

Ba'gba'us, or Fruiterers, are found in large numbers in almost
all large towns and villages. They are descended from local
Kunbis, and ascribe their conversion to Aurangzib. TJiey speak
Hindustani among themselves and Mard,thi with others. The men
are tall or of middle "height, well-made, and dark. They shave the
head, wear the beard either short or full, and dress in a large
Hindu turban, a tight-fitting jacket, and a waistcloth. The women,
who have the same cast of face as the men, wear the Mardthi robe
and bodice, appear in public, and help the men in their work.
They bear no good name for modesty. Both men and women are
neat and clean in their habits. They keep shops in which they
sell fruit and vegetables. Of fruit they sell local pomegranates,
oranges, figs, watermelons, plantains, guavas, and pomeloes. Of
vegetables they sell all sorts of greens, potatoes, peas, French beans,
and green spices. They buy their stock from village farmers and
bring their purchases home on their bullocks. They are hard-
working, thrifty, and sober, and most of them are well-to-do and
able to save. They marry only among themselves, and have a well
organized union under a chaudhdri or headman chosen from the
oldest and richest members. He has power to fine any one who
breaks the caste rules. They differ from the ordinary Musalmdns
in eschewing beef, keeping Hindu festivals, and offering vows to
Hindu gods. They respect and obey the Kdzi whom they employ
to register their marriages and sometimes to settle their social
disputes. They do not send their boys to school and take to no
other pursuits except selling fruit and vegetables. On the whole are
a rising class.

Ta'mbolis, or Betel-leaf sellers, are found in large numbers in
almost all large towns and villages. They are descended from local
Kunbis and ascribe their conversion to Aurangzib. They speak
Hindustani among themselves and Mardthi with others. The men
are tall or of middle height, well-made, and dark or olive skinned.
They shave the head, wear the beard full, and dress in a large
white Kunbi turban, a long tight jacket, a shirt, and a pair of
tight trousers or a waistcloth. Like the men the women are
either tall or of middle height, thin, and olive-skinned, with regular
features. They dress in the Mard,thi robe and bodice, appear in
public, and help the nien in selling betel leaf. Both men and
.women are neat and clean in their habits. They are betel leaf
sellers by trade, and are hardworking, thrifty, and sober, and generally
well-to-do, and able to save. They have fiied shops in which they
sell betel leaves, betelnuts, and some in addition sell tobacco.
They marry only among themselves and have a separate union, but
have no headman or any special rites or customs except that the
women keep many Hindu practises and festivals. They obey
•the regular Kazi and employ him to register their m£|.rriages and to

Chapter III.
Population.

MusalmIns,

TJmsolib,

[Bombay Gazetteer.

500

DISTRICTS.

Chapter III. settle their social disputes. They do not send their boys to school^

Population. ^°^ **^^ ^ ^^ ^^^ pursuits.
M0SALMANS. Bakarkasa'bs or Mutton-Butchers also known as Lad Sultanis,

Bakarkasabs. ^^^ found in large numbers throughout the district. They are
descended from local Hindu mutton-butchers and ascribe their
conversion to Haidar Ali of Maisur (1763-1782). The men are ta.ll
or of middle height, dark or olive skinned. They shave the head,-
wear the beard short or shave it, and dress in a large Kunbi turban,
a tight jacket, and a waistcloth. Some wear a large gold ring
in the right ear. The women are generally thin &a3. tall, well-
featured, and fair-skinned. They dress in the Maratha robe and
bodice, and, though they appear in public, none except the old
who sell the smaller pieces of mutton help the men in their work.
Mutton-butchers are hardworking, tlirifty, and sober, and some are
rich, and spend much on marriage and other ceremonies. They
marry only among themselves and have a separate' and well orga-'
nized class union under a headman styled ehaudhari who holds caste
meetings, settles social disputes, and fines any one who breaks caste
rules. They have no connection with other Musalmans and eschew
beef. They hold aloof from beef-butehers and deem their touch
impure. They offer vows to Brahmanic and local gods and keep
the usual Brahmanic festivals. Their only specially Musalman rite
is circumcision. Though in name Sunnis of the Hanafi school few
are religious, and they almost never go to mosques except on the
Bamzdn holidays. They do not send their boys to school and take
to no new pur.snits.

6I0KASABS. Ga'okasa'bs, or Beef-butchers, found in small numbera in the

Poena Cantonment, claim descent from Abyssinian slaves whom
Haidar Ali made beef -butchers. They are said to have come from
Maisur with General Wellesley's army in 1803. They speak
Hindustani at home and Mardthi with . others. The men are tall
or of middle-height, muscular, and dark. Some shave the head,
others wear the head hair, and all have full beards, and dress in
a headscarf or a turban, a shirt, a waistcoat, and a pair of tight
trousers. The women are either tall or of middle height and dark.
They wear the Mardtha robe and bodice, appear in public, and help
the men in selling the smaller pieces of beef. They are proverbially
quarrelsome and shameless. Both men and women are dirty and
untidy. Though hardworking beef-butchers waste most of their
earnings on good living and liquor. Few of them are rich, and most
are in debt. They kill cows and buffaloes selling the cow beef to
Europeans and Musalmdns and the buffalo beef to Musalmdns and
lower class Hindus such as Mhars and sweepers. They have shops
and when their stock is not sold in the shops, they go about the
MusalmAn and sweeper streets hawking what is left. They have a
well managed union under a headman or ehaudhari chosen from the
rich who holds caste meetings and fines any one who breaks the
rules. They marry only among themselves, and are considered low-
class Musalmans. In religion they are Sunnis of the Hanafi school,
but few are religious or careful to say their prayers ; they almost
never attend the mosque. Their rites and observances do not differ

DeccanJ

POONA.

501

from those of ordinai'y Musalmans. They respect the regular Kdzi
whom they employ to register their marriages and to settle social
disputes. They do not send their boys to school nor take to now
callings.

Graundis, or Bricklayers^ are found in considerable numbers
throughout the district. They are descended from local Hindus
af the same class and ascribe their conversion to Aurangzib. They
speak Hindustani at home arid Mardthi with others. The men are
tall or of middle height, thin, and dark. They shave the head, wear
the beard full, and dress in a large Mardtha-Kunbi turban, a tight
jacket, and a waistcloth. The women, who have the same cast
of face as the men, wear the Maratha robe and bodice, and appear
in public, but add nothing to the family income. Both men and
women are neat and clean. They are bricklayers by craft. They
are hardworking and thrifty, but as their work is not constant, they,
live from hand to mouth, and have to borrow to meet emergencies.
They have a separate union, but no special organization and no
headman. They marry among themselves only, and differ from
regular Musalmans in eschewing beef and keepyig Hindu festivals.
They are Sunnis of the Hanafi school, but few are religious or
careful to say their prayers. They respect and obey the Kdzi, and
employ him to register their marriages and to settle social disputes.
They do not send their boys to school. Most are bricklayers, but
.some earn their living as constables, messengers, and servants.

Momins, that is Believers, are weavers who are found in
considerable numbers over the whole district. They are descended
from Hindus of the Kosti and Sd,li castes, and are said to have been
converted by the saint Khwaja Syad Hussain Gaisudaraz of Gulbarga
about the year 1398 (800 h.). They speak Hindustani among
themselves and Marathi with others. The men are tall or of middle
height, thin, and dark. They shave the head, wear the beard full, and
dress in a large Maratha-Kunbi turban, a shirt, an overcoat, and a
pair of tight trousers or a waistcloth. The women are tall or of
middle height, thin, well featured, and olive-skinned. They wear
the Mardtha robe and bodice, appear in public, andj help the men
in all parts of their work including weaving. They add to the
family income as much as a man. Neither men nor women are
clean or tidy. They are weavers by craft and are hardworking and
thrifty,, but the competition of English and Bombay goods presses
them hard. The rich employ the poor to weave for them and pay
them 2s. to 4s. (Rs. 1-2) for a robe of silk or cotton, which they
make ready in four days, for a turban if of cotton 2s. (Re. 1) and if
of silk 3s, (Rs. li) woven in four days, for a striped cotton cloth
'8d. to Qd. (2-4 as.), and for a waistcloth Is. to Is. 6d. (8-12 as.).
They weave in hand looms using English or Bombay yam.
They weave cotton or silk turbans worth 6s. to £2 (Rs. 3-20),
waistcloths with silk borders worth 6s. to £1 (Rs. 3-10), cottoHr
robes worth 5s, to 8s. (Rs. 2^-4), cotton-silk robes worth 10s. to £2
(Rs.6-20), and striped cotton and silk for bodices worth Is. to 6s.
(Rs.^-3) the yard. These goods are sold either to wholesale
dealers, who send them to Bombay and Surat, or to retail dealers in

Chapter III
Population.

MusalmIns.

Oaundis.

Moifms,

[Bombay Gazetteer,

502

DISTEICTS.

Chapter III.
Fopnlatiou.

MusalmIns,

MOMINB.

PlNJARAS.

the marlet. They are extremely hardworking, weaving twelve to
fifteen hours a day, working at night by lamp-light. They marry
only among themselves, and as the women are as hardworking as
the men, some of them have two or even three wives. They have
a well managed union under a headman or fatel chosen from the
richest members, who, with the consent of the majority of the male
members, fines any one who breaks their caste rules. Their
manners and customs differ little from those of other Musalmans.
In religion they are Sunnis of the Hanafi school, and most' of the
old men are said to be religious and careful to say their prayers.
Their spiritual head is the representative of Khwaja Syad Hussain,
the saint who converted them. He visits them yearly or once
every second or third year, when they give him presents of cash
and cloth. The spiritual guide, on making a new disciple, teaches
him the creed and gives advice about conduct. Besides the religious
and moral teaching the guide gives each of the disciples a list of
his forefathers back to saint Khwaja. The disciple treats this list
with the highest respect. He keeps it and values it as dearly as
his life, and sometimes has it buried with him in the belief that
the holy names will satisfy the angels and prevent them from
torturing him in the grave.^ Some of them practise Hindu
customs by keeping the usual Brahmanic and local festivals and
offering vows to Brahmanic and local gods. Some have of late
begun to teach their children Mardthi and English, Besides as
weavers some earn their living as constables, messengers, and
servants.

Pinja'ra'S, or Cotton-cleaners, are found in small numbers in
some of the larger towns. They are said to be descended from local
Hindus of the« same class and trace their conversion to Aurangzib.
The men are either tall or of middle height, thin, and dark. They
shave the head, wear the beard full, and dress in a Kunbi turban,
a tight jacket, and a waistcloth. The women have the same cast
of face as the men. They wear the Mardtha robe and bodice and
appear in public, but do not help the men in their work. Both men
and women are dirty and untidy. Though hardworking and
thrifty, the cotton cleaners are much scrimped for food and have
been reduced to poverty by the ruin of local hand-spinniug
caused by the cheapness of English, Bombay, and ShoMpur
machine-spun yarn. Their sole occupation now is teasing cotton *
for mattresses and pillows. They walk the streets from morning to ^^
evening twanging the string of their harp-like cotton teaser somef ;^|
times earning 6d. to Is. (4-8 as.) and sometimes going home
without a farthing. Many have left their craft and found employ* :
ment as constables, messengers, and servants. They marry among

^ The MuaalmAn belief ia, that after the body is buried it is brought to Ufe and two
angels, Munkir and Nakir, visit and question the dead. They ask who is his Creator
and Ms Prophet, and what is his religion. If the dead answers that his God is the
same as theirs, hia Prophet is the Prophet Muhammad, and his religion is the religion
of Abraham whom God saved from fire, the angels retire, and, by God's will, the grave
is made a paradise in which the believer remains till the judgment day. Sinners who
fail to give satisfaictory answers are tortured by the angejs with hell fire whioji
ceaselessly burns them till the judgment day.

Dece&n.l

POONA.

503

themselves, but have no class union and no headman. . Their P —

manners and customs differ little from those of other Musalmdns. Population.
They obey and respect the Edzi, and employ him to register their MusAwiiNs.
marriages and settle their disputes. They -do not send their boys
to school, and are falling in numbers and condition.

Salta'ukars, or Tanners, who are found in small numbers in SaltAskabs.
Poona and in some of the larger towns, are said to be descended
from local Hindus of the ChdmbhAr or Mochi caste, and trace their
conversion to Anrangzib. Among themselves they speak Hindustani
and with others Mar^thi. The men are middle-sized, well-made, and
dark. They shave the head, wear either short beards or shaven
cheeks and chin, and dress in a large white or red Mar^tha-Kunbi
turban, a tight jacket, and a waistclotb. Their women who have
the same cast of face as the men wear the Maratha robe and bodice,
appear in public, and add to the family income by helping the
men in their work. Both men and women are dirty and untidy. The
Salt^nkars or tanners are hardworking and thrifty, and some of them
are well-to-do and able to save. Their proper calling is to buy goats'
skins from the butchers and dye them. Of late years rich hide and
skin merchants, Mehmans from "Bombay and Labhes from Bombay
and Madras, by agents spread all over the country, buy and carry
to Bombay the bulk of the local outturn of skins. This rivalry has
ruined the Saltdnkars' calling, and -most have, ^ven up their former
trade. They have taken to making the coarse felt-like woollen pads
called navfidds which are used as saddle-pads and to pack ice. They
also prepare the red dye called pothi which is used for colouring
sweetmeats and food. They form a separate body and have a well
managed union under a -headman chosen from the richest and
oldest members and empowered to fine any one who breaks their
rules. They marry among themselves only, and differ from the
regular Musalmans in eschewing beef, offering vows to Brahmanic
and local deities chiefly Satvai and Mardi, and keeping Brahmauical
and local festivals. They respect and obey the Kdzi but their
only purely Musalmdn custom is circumcision. They do not send
their boys to school. They have shown energy in taking to a new
and fairly paid industry and as a class are well-to-do.

Taka'ra'S, or Stone-carvers and Quarrymen, are found in large TAkJsJs.

. numbers. They are said to be descended from local Hindus of
the I>ondhphoda or stone-breaking class, and ascribe their conversion
to Aurangzib. They speak Hindustdni among themselves and
Mardthi with others. The men are tall or middle-sized, well-made,
and dark. They shave the head, wear the beard either short or full,
and dress in a large Hindu turban, a tight jacket, and a waistcloth.
The women, who are like the men in face, wear the Mardfcha robe
and bodice, and appear in public, but add nothing to the family
income. Both men and women are rather dirty and untidy in their
habits. The Takdrds or stone-masons are hardworking, thrifty,
and sober. Of late years their services have not been in much
demand. When employed as quarrymen their day's wages vary from
1a'. 6d. to 2s. (Ee. |-1). Most of them are poor, living almost
from hand to mouth. When their work as stone -quarrymen fails>

[Bombay Gazetteer,

504

DISTRICTS.

Chapter III.

Population.

musalmans.
TaxaiUs.

BBArrJiUs.

Dhobis.

they go about towns and villages roughening grindstones for
which they are paid fd. (| a.) each. Many have left their craft
and taken to new pursuits, some serving as messengers and
servants, others as labourers and carriers, and many of them have
left for Bombay and Kolhapur in search of work. They marry
among themselves only, but have no special class union and no
head. They honour and obey the Kdzi who settles social
disputes and registers marriages. Unlike the regular Musalmans
they eschew beef, offer vows to the Hindu deities Satvdi and Maridi,
and keep Hindu festivals. Though Sunnis of the Hanafi school,
they are seldom religious or careful to say their prayers.
Circumcision is their only specially Musalman rite. They do not
send their boys to school, and on the whole are falling in number
and condition.

Bhatya'ra's, or Cooks, are found in small numbers inPoona. They
are said to be descended from mixed local Hindu classes and trace
their conversion to Aurangzib. Their home speech is Hindustani,
The men are tall or of middle size, thin, and dark. They shave
the head, wear the beard either short or full, and dress in a dirty
turban or headscarf, a tight jacket or a shirt, and a pair of tight
trousers or a waistcloth. The women have the same cast of
face as the men. They wear the Maratha robe and bodice, appear
in public, and help the men in cooking. Both men and women
are dirty and untidy. They are engaged by Musalmdns to cook
public dinners, and are paid 2s. to 4s. (E.s. 1-2) to cook for a
hundred guests. They have also shops where they sell cooked food
including bread, boiled rice, mutton curry, pulse, and vegetables.
They have no fixed charges, but, according to their customers'
wants, sell quantities worth 3cZ. to 6c?. (2-4 as.). They are lazy
and fond of liquor, and, though their earnings are good, are
always poorly clad and often scrimped for food. They marry only
among themselves, but have no special class organization and no
headman. They are Sunnis of the Hanafi school but are seldom
religious or careful to say their prayers. They do not send their
boys to school. Some take service with Europeans as dressing
servants and butlers.

Dhobis, or Washermen, are found in small numbers in Poena and
in some of the larger tpwn^. They are said to be descended from
local Hindus of the same name and ascribe their conversion to
Haidar Ali of Maisur. They speak Hindustani among themselves
and Marathi with others. The men are generally middle-sized,
thin, and dark. They shave the head, wear short beards, and dress
in a headscarf, a tight jacket, and a waistcloth. The women
are like the men in face. They wear the Mardtba robe and bodice,
appear in public, and add as much to the family income as the men.
Both men and women are neat and clean. Washermen are hard-
working, but are fond of drink and spend most of their earnings on
liquor. They wash clothes generally for several families , and are
paid 4s. (Rs. 2) for a hundred pieces of unironed clothes and 8s,
(Rs. 4) for a hundred pieces of ironed clothes. When employed by
European families they earn £1 to £1 10s. (Rs. 10- 1.5) a month from

Deccan.]

POONA.

505

each family. They marry among themselves only and have a well
managed union under a chaudhari or headman, chosen from the
oldest and most respected families. Unlike regular Musalmdns they
eschew beef, offer vows to Brahmanic or local Hindu deities, Varun the
water-god and Satvai, and keep Brdhmanic and local festivals. They
are Sunnis of the Hanafi school, but are neither religious nor careful
to say their prayers. They do not send their boys to school. Their
work is constant and well paid, and they take to no new pursuits.

Fakha'lis, or Water-carriers, are found in considerable numbers
in Poena and in other large towns. They are said to be descended
from the local Hindu class of the same name, and trace their conver-
sion to Haidar Ali of Maisur (1763-1782). They speak Hindustani
among themselves and Mardthi with others. The men are tall or of
middle height, well-made, and dark. They shave the head, wear the
beard full, and dress in a large Maratha-Kanbi turban, a tight jacket,
and a waistcloth or a pair of tight trousers. The women are either
tall or of middle size, thin, and dark or olive coloured. They wear
the Hindu robe and bodice, appear in pubhc, and except when old do
not help the men in their work. Both men and women are rather
dirty and untidy. PakhdUs or water-carriers are hardworking
thrifty and sober, and some are well-to-do and able to save. They
carry water in large leather bags containing about forty gallons on
the backs of bullocks, and sometimes slung in smaller bags across
the thigh. They supply water to Musalmans, Christians, and Pdrsis,
and to a few low-class Hindus. They work for several families and
earn 4s. to 10s. (Rs. 2 - 5) a month from each family. Some who
are employed by Europeans are engaged solely by one family on
16s. to £1 4s. (Rs. 8 - 12 ) a month. They marry among themselves
only, and have a well managed union under a headman or
pdtil, who settles social disputes with the help of other members
of the community. Unlike the regular Musalmdns they eschew
beef and keep all local and Brahmanic festivals. In name they are
Sunnis of the Hanafi school but seldom attend mosques and except
circumcision have no special Musalman observances. They do not
send their boys to school and take to no new pursuits.

Halalkhors, or Sweepers, literally eaters of lawful earnings,
found in small numbers in Poena city and cantonment, are local
converts. They trace their conversion to Haidar Ali of Maisur.
They speak Hindustani among themselves and Mardthi with others.
The men are of middle height, thin, and dark. They either shave
the head or wear long hair, and keep the beard short or full.
They dress in a turban or a headscarf, a tight jacket, and a pair of
tight trousers or a waistcloth. Some men who can afford it wear a
large gold ring in the right ear. Their women are like the men in
face, appear in public, and add to the family income. Both men and
women are dirty and untidy. They are sweepers and nightsoil-men,
and are hardworking, but spend most of their earnings on liquor.
They are employed by Europeans on 8s. to 12s. (Rs. 4-6) a month, and
some in the service of the Poona Municipality as scavengers earn £1
(Es. 10) a month. They marry only among themselves and form a
B 310-64

CSiapter III.
Population.

MusalmIks.

Pakbalis.

BalAlkbors.

[Bombay Gazetteer,

506

DISTRICTS.

Chapter III.
Fopulation,

MusalmIks.

Bene-Israels.
History,

well managed union under a headman called mehtar who is chosen
from the oldest members and has power to fine any one who breaks
caste rules. The fines are spent on dinners and liquor. They are
Musalmans in little more than name and are considered a very low
class. Their one Musaltnan observance is circumcision. They do
not send their boys to school or take to new pursuits.

Bene-Israels that is Children of Israel, are also, though they
dislike the name, known as Yahudis or Jews, and, because they
press oil and keep Saturday as a day of rest, as Shanvdr Telis or
Saturday Oilmen. They are returned as numbering 597 and as
found in Bhimthadi, Haveli, M^val, Poona, and Sirur. Besides in
Bombay, where they have been settled for more than 150^ years,
Bene-Israels are found in the Koldba and Thana districts and
in the Habsan or Janjira State between Kolaba and Ratnagiri.
The origin of the Bene-Israels is doubtful. They have come to
India either from Aden or from the Persian Gulf. If from Aden
they are believed by some writers to be partly descended from
Jews taken captive in Egypt by Darius Hystaspes (b.c. 521 - 485)
and deported by him to Hejaz in Arabia.^ In the first century
before Christ one of the Tnbbaa or Hemyarite dynasty of Aden
kings, B.C. 100 -A.D. 525, was converted to Judaism and introduced
the Hebrew faith into South Arabia.^ Under these kings the settle-
ments of Jews in South Arabia were probably increased after the
dispersion of the Jews of Palestine by Titus (a.d. 79 - 81) and
Hadrian (a.d. 117-138), and the defeat of Zenobia by Aurelian
(a.d. 270 - 275).* The Jewish Hemyarite princes continued in power
till early in the sixth century (525), Dhu-Nawds by his cruel treat-
ment of the Christians of Nejrdn, provoked an invasion of the
Ethiopian king Eles Baan, who defeated Dhu-Nawas and fiercely
persecuted his Jewish subjects.^ Either at this time or about a
hundred years later, when they were hardly used by the prophet
Muhammad (a.d. 570 - 632), a body of Jews may have left Aden and
sought safety in Western India. The Babylonian Jews were the
descendants of the Jews who were carried from Palestine to Upper
Mesopotamia by Pul in B.C. 770 and by Shalmanesar about fifty
years later. They always remained a large and powerful body.
In the third century after Christ, under their leader the Prince
of the Captivity, and again in the fifth century (427) when the
Talmud was compiled, they were .in great power. In the beginning
of the sixth century the revolt of Rabbi Meir brought on them
the wrath of Cavade the king of the Persians,* and they continued
to suffer severely, till, in 638, the Persian dynasty was over-

' This is doubtful. According to Mr. Haeem Samuel they came to Bomhay in 1775.
Annual Report Anglo-Jewish Association 1875-76, p. 45. ^ Price's Arabia, 99.

' De Saoy, Mem-, de Litterature, xlviii. 735-753.

^ De Sacy, Mem. de Litterature, xlviii. 735-753.

6 MUman'a History of the Jews, III. 77 - 79, 87 - 88 ; Wilson's Lands of the Bible, II.
657-6.'58.

" Basnage's History of the Jews, 535, 563-566. The city where the Prince of the
Captivity lived was plundered and the Prince and the President of the Coundl
Jianged. For thirty years their doctors did no^ dare to appear in public.

DeccanJ

POONA.

507

thrown by the Arabs.^' At any time during the sixth centuiy a
body of Jews may have sailed from the Persian Grulf to India.
It is hard to say from which of these countries the Bene-Tsraels
have oome. In favour of an Arabian origin there is said to be in
their appearance some trace of Arab blood, they are said to use
some Arab words, and there is the modern connection with Arab
teachers. On the other hand, the close trading connection of the
Persian Gulf and India in the sixth century and the fact that Jews
bearing the surname of Bene-Israel are still found in Maskat, favour
the descent of the Western Indian Bens-Israels from' the Jews of
Babylon.^

Though there is no certainty as to the date when they came to-
India, it seems probable that it was in the sixth century. Their
own tradition, for they have no records- of any kind, states that
they came to India about fourteen hundred years ago from the-
north, and that they were wrecked ofE Navgaon a little to the
north of Thai, at the southern entrance to the Bombay harbour,
and only fourteen, seven men and seven women, were saved. Two
mounds near Ndvgaon village are said to be the sepulchres where
the shipwrecked bodies were buried. Of the history of the Bene-
Israels in KoMba nothing is known. They would seem to have
lived quietly both under Hindu and Musalman rulers, like other
immigrants almost certainly marrying with the women of the-
country, to a great extent losing the knowledge of their special
history and religion, and adopting th-e beliefs and practices of the
people around them. About two hundred years ago a Jewish,
priest, coming to Bombay from Arabia, heard of the Jews in the
country close by, and going among them won them back from
many Hindu observances and taught them the chief tenets and
practices of the Hebrew faith. He also introduced the knowledge-
of the Hebrew language. Since then the leaders of the Bene-Israel
community have shown themselves anxious to revive the worship
of their forefathers. Synagogues have been built and many Hebrew
copies of the law introduced, and most of the- leading Jewish
observances and feasts attended to. This revival owes much to the
establishment of British rule in India, ta whom from their origin
and history, from their skill and trustworthiness as craftsmen and
clerks, and from their discipline and valour as soldiers, the Bene-
Israels have always been the objects of special interest and goodwill.
The Poona Bene-Israels say they came into the district as soldiers
in British regiments but did not settle in Poona before 18.56.
They belong to two classes the white or gore and the black or lcdl&.
According to their story the white are the descendants of the original
immigrants, and the black of converts, or of the women of the
country. White and black Bene-Israels, though the same in religion
and customs, neither eat drink nor marry together.^ The names
in common use among men are Abraham, David, Moses, Solomon-,,

Chapter III*

Population.

Bbnse-Iskaels.
History.

^ Basnage's Jews, 570. ^ Welsted's Arabia, 21.

' Among Cochin Jews the black Jews are descendants of local converts and slaves.
Ind. Ant. I. 195. The black Cochin Jews are proselytes. They have grants which
date as far back as the eighth century. Burnell in Ind. Ant. VIII. 333.

[Bombay Gazetteer,

608

DISTRICTS.

Chapter III.

Population.

£bne-Israels.
Appearance.

Language.

Houses.

and Samuel j and among women Leah, Mariam, Ribka, and Eatel.
Formerly men were called Hasdji, BAMji, Eloji, and women Lddubai,
Esubdi, SakuMi, but the present generation bave given up tbe use
of Hindu names. The terms of respect for men are Azam and
Murhabi and for women Amdsdheb and Bdisaheh. Their surnames
are village names marking former settlements as Divekar, N^vgaon-
kar, Thalkar, and ZirAdkar, called after villages in the Kolaba
district ; and persons beai'ing the same surname can eat together
and intermarry. The men are of about the same colour as Mard.thds,
perhaps a little fairer. They are generally above the middle
height and strongly made, and in many cases have an expression of
much intelligence and of strong character. Their eyes are dark
brown and their hair black, and, except two tufts one over each ear
they shave the head. They wear the moustache and a short beard.
The women are generally goodlooking and fair, some of them have
a ruddy tinge in their cheeks, and have lively black eyes, straight
noses, and thin lips. Like Hindus they wear the hair tied in a
knot behind the head, and use false hair and deck their heads with
flowers. Their husbands treat them with respect and they have
much to say in family matters. Their home tongue is Mar^thi.
Among the educated the Mardthi is correct, but in most house-
holds the Marathi spoken by husbandmen and others is used. They
have also two peculiarities, r takes the place of I, and several Arab
words are in common use. They pray in Hebrew which a few read
fluently but none understand. Husbands and wives do not address
each other by name. The husband addresses the wife with the
phrase ago that is, I say ; and the wife speaks of her husband as
the housemaster or giTiarfcciri, or if he is an officer in the army by
his rank as subheddr, jamdddr, or havdlddr.

They live in houses of the better sort, two or more storeys high,

with walls of brick and tiled roofs. Their house goods include

metal and earthen vessels, tables, chairs, boxes, cots, stools, glasses,

glass globes,^ and picture frames. The only special article is, fixed

to the upper part of the right door post, a box with a small square

glass let into the front of it, and inside in a wooden or tin case,

four or five inches long and an inch wide, with a hole in the upper

part of it, a piece of parchment with carefully written verses from

Dent. vi. 4-9 and xi. 13 - 20 so placed that from the outside

through the holes in the case and box, the word Shdddya or

Almighty can be read. Both in going out and in coming in, the

members of the household touch this box with their two first right

fingers and kiss it. They have men servants and women servants

either Marathds or Musalm^ns. A Bene-Israel will drink from a

vessel belonging to a Musalmdn or to a European and wUl eat from

the hand of a Brahman or other high caste vegetarian. They do not

eat with persons belonging to other communities, and hold that a

Mhdr's touch defiles. They eat rice, wheat, millet, pulse, vegetables,

fruit, oil, butter, and salt, and, with certain restrictions, flesh

fowl and fish. No carcasses are eaten, and among four-footed

animals only such as chew the cud and divide the hoof. They so

abhor swine's flesh that a pig-eater suvar-khdu is their grossest

term of abuse. Of birds, the rule is that those may be eaten which

Deccan]

POONA,

609

do not hold their prey in their feet, and of fish, only those with
fins or scales are lawful. Neither fat nor blood may be eaten,
nor may the hind quarters of an animal nnless the sinews in the
thigh are remoyed. No lame, blind, or blemished animal can be
used as food, and even a clean animal is not lawful unless before
its death its throat has been cut with certain ceremonies, its blood
spilt on the ground, and the inside examined, and its heart
liver and lungs found to be sound and healthy. If any of
these organs are diseased the animal is declared unfit for food.
Before dressing it the flesh is washed, rubbed with salt, laid in a
bamboo basket for about half an hour, and then squeezed till all
the blood is pressed out of it. In dressing flesh, sweet oil not
butter is used. The Bene-Israels drink water, milk, tea, and cofEee.
They drink liquor, both country and European, but only in the even-
ing before supper, and they will not stir from the house after they
have taken it. They may be called temperate, drinkers, and such
of them as know English, use European not country liquor. They
have two meals a day, a morning meal between nine and ten and
an evening meal between seven and nine. Men and women eat
separately, the men first. Children sometimes eat with their
fathers and sometimes with their mothers. Except on fast days,^ when
they neither eat drink nor smoke, well-to-do and middle class Bene-
Israels have at every meal one or more dishes of fish, flesh, or fowl.
Except on feast days, the poor seldom taste animal food, their chief
article of diet being boiled pulse or ghugris.^ In April and May,
before the rainy season sets in, all classes alike, rich middle and poor,
lay in four or five months' store of grain, pulse, onions, firewood,
spices, dried fish, pickles, wafer biscuits, oil, butter, and sugar.
The ordinary monthly food expenses of a household of six persons,
a man and wife, two children, and two relations or dependants,
living well but not carelessly, would be for a rich family £3 to
£4 (Rs. 30 - 40) ; for a middle class family £2 to £3 (Rs. 20 - 30),
and for a poor family £1 10s. to £2 (Rs. 15-20). Among
Bene-Israels the chief occasions for public feasts are in honour of
the birth of a son, a circumcision, a marriage, or a death. The
feasts are either morning entertainments between nine and
twelve, or evening entertainments between seven and ten. The
guests are both men and women, one or two from each house.
They are sometimes relations only, in other cases both relations
and castefellows, but never any one who does not belong to the
caste. In giving a feast a Bene-Israel with his wife's help, makes
out a list of the guests who should be asked, has them asked by the

Chapter III.

Population.

Beke- Israels;
Food.

' Their fast days are five : Sam Oadalya, the Day of Atonement in September -
October ; Sam Tebet or the Fast in memory of the siege of Jerusalem in December -
January ; 8om Esther, the Fast of Esther, in March ; Som Tammuj the taking the
outer city in July ; and TUhdbedh the Destruction of Jerusalem, in August. Formerly
the four chief fasts, Tebet, Esther, Tammuj, and Oadalya, were known as Sabibi
Koja or Fasts of Merit.

' Their feasts are : Roih Hosdma or New Tear's Day in September, Sukoth or the
feast of Tabernacles in September - October ; Pwrim or the Esther feast in March ;
Peaa or Passover in March -April; Shdbuoth, or feast of weeks in May -June; and
Saturday, that is from 6 p.m. on Friday to 6 p.m. on Saturday, though not a feast day,
is kept as a day of rest and rejoicing, when good clothes are worn and a specially good
dinner prepared before sunset on Friday is eaten.

[Bombay Gazetteer,

510

DISTRICTS.

Chapter III,

Fopalation.

Bbne-Iseabls.
Food.

servant of the synagogue or sammdsh, collects the supplies, borrows
if necessary the caste cooking pots from the treasurer or gabdi,
and calls in friends and relations to help in the cooking. ^ When
everything is ready large copper or China platters are filled with
ricOj and, over the rice, four or five rice cakes or ghdris are laid.
As the guests come they leave their shoes in the veranda, and are
led by the host into a place in the house which is covered with
carpets or mats supplied from the synagogue. Near the host a few
places of special honour are reserved for the honourables or
mdnkaris and the minister or liajdn meaning prayer - reader of
the synagogue. When the dinner is ready large rice platters
are brought in by some of the guests who have been asked to
help, and the guests gather round the platters in groups of four
or five. The men dine first and the woiben after the men. When
the guests are seated round the platters about a quarter of a
pound of mutton is handed to each guest in a banian leaf cup.
When the feast is served, one of the elders lays two pots, one full of
water the other empty, and three or four pieces of wheat bread and
some salt before the minister. The minister pours water over his
hands, lays the bread and salt on his open palms, and says in
Hebrew either. Blessed art Thou 0 Lord, King of the Universe,
who causest bread to be produced from the earth ; or Blessed art
Thou 0 Lord King of the Universe, the Creator of different
kinds of food. The guests say Amen, and the preacher breaks
the bread, and dips it in salt, and eats it. He then breaks more
pieces of bread, dips them in salt, and hands them to the servers,
who give one piece to each group of guests, each of whom takes and
eats a piece. After mutton curry has been poured over the rice and
cakes, and eating has gone on for some time, the host asks the elders
if they think it safe to allow drinking. They think there is no danger
and engage that the guests will neither exceed nor quarrel. A cup
of wine is offered to the preacher, who blesses it saying, Blessed art
Thou Lord, King of the Universe, by whose word everything came
into existence. The people answer Amen. The minister drinks a cup
and the rest is served to the other guests. When all have drunk the
minister raising both his hands and the guests joining him repeat
from the CXLV. Psalm : The eyes of all look towards Thee and
Thou givest them all their bread. Thou openest Thine hands and
satisfiest the wants of all men. At the end when every one has
washed his hands, they say a long grace. The minister kisses a portion
of bread and salt, sends it round to the guests each of whom kisses
the bread and tastes a little of salt, and leaves. The dishes are
then taken into the inner part of the house where the women guests
are seated, and a meal is served to them in the same way as to the
men, except that there are no seniors and no preacher to bless the
food. If children are brought to these feasts they eat either with
their fathers or with their mothers. A feast for fifty guests costs
£2 to £3 (Es. 20-30).

1 The beadle or the servant goes from house to house and standing at the door
calls the householder by name and gives him the invitation. All accept whether or
iiot they mean to go.

Deccan]

POONA.

511

Bene-Tsraels are neat and tidy in their dress. Their dress is
partly Musalman partly Hindu, a turban or cap, a Hindu coat,
trousers or a waistcloth, and Hindu shoes. Indoors a rich man
leaves his feet bare, wears a cap, a waistcoat^ and a waistcloth or
trousers j and in cold weather a close woollen cap, a flapnSl waist-
coat, and stockings. Out of doors he wears a cap, a turban white
red or crimson according to taste, a cotton broadcloth or alpaca
coat, a waistcoat with silver buttons, and a silk-bordered waistcloth
or trousers. In his hand he carries a silk or cotton handkerchief,
and wears either native shoes called dpdshdi or sandals called
vahdns. His ceremonial dress is the same, except that it is geuerally
white. . As among Prabhus the young are taking to English-cut
coats, pantaloons, and boots and shoes. Their ornaments are
generally the same as those worn by middle and low class Hindus
of the same rank. A rich man wears the gold earrings called
dmblds hanging from the lobes of his ears, a gold chain or Jcanthi,
and gold finger rings, and carries a silver watch and chain hanging
from his neck. A rich Bene-Israel's wardrobe is worth £7 to £10
(Ils.70-100). The dress of the middle class and poor Bene-Israels
is the same, only that it is of cheaper and coarser materials. Out
of doors he wears a waistcoat, a waistcloth or trousers, a cap,
and sometimes a turban, the whole representing 10s. to £1
(Es. 5-10).

Bene-Israel women dress like Kunbis in a full robe and loose
bodice passing the skirt of the robe between the feet and tucking
it into the waistband behind. They do not wear black robes. The
indoor dress of a woman of a rich family is a robe or lugde, and a
loose bodice or choli with sleeves and back, generally of country cloth.
The iudoor jewelry includes head, ear, neck, and arm ornaments ;
widows are not allowed to wear glass bangles or the marriage lucky
necklace or mangalsutra. and nosering. In addition to the above
on going out of the house, except widows who are not allowed this
indulgence, the Bene-Israel woman draws over her head a shawl or
silk-bordered waistcloth or dliotar. Except that it is costlier, the
ceremonial dress of a rich woman does not differ from that worn on
ordinary occasions. Her wardrobe represents £15 to £20 (Rs. 150-200)
and her ornaments £100 to £200 (Rs. 1000 - 2000). Except that her
stock of clothes is smaller and that her ornaments are fewer and
lighter, the indoor, outdoor, and ceremonial dress of a middle
class Bene-Israel woman is the same as that of the rich. She would
have from two to four changes of raiment worth altogether £7 to
£10 (Rs. 70- 100) . The wife of a poor man borrows jewels for festive
occasions, and her stock of clothes varies in value from £2 to £3
(Rs. 20-30). Up to four years of age, rich middle and poor
children, both boys and girls, are dressed in a cotton cap called
tcltopi, covering the head and ears and tied under the chin, or a
gold embroidered skullcap or golva, a short-sleeved frock, and a
piece of cloth called bdlote, both rolled round the waist and tucked
in front. Between four and seven, both boys and girls wear indoors
a waistcoat, and out of doors a cap waistcoat and trousers. Between
seven and ten, boys wear indoors a, cap, a waistcoat, and either
a waistband langoti, or trousers, and out of doors a cap, a coat,

Chapter III.
Population-

Bbnb-Israels.
Dress,

[Bombay Gazetteer,

512

DISTRICTS.

Chapter III.

Fopnlatiou.

Bene-Isbaels.
Dress.

Condition.

trousers, and native sHoes. Girls, either at home or out of doors,
wear a bodice or waistcoat and a petticoat. As it grows up a child's
dress comes to cost as much as an adult's. For a boy the yearly
expenditure in a rich family varies from about £5 to £lO (Rs. 50 - 100) ;
in a middle class family from about £2 to £4 (Rs. 20 - 40) ; and in
a poor family from about £1 to £2 (Rs. 10 - 20). For a girl in a
rich family the expenditure varies from £4 to £7 (Rs. 40 - 70) ; in a
middle class family from about £2 10s. to £3 10s. (Rs. 25 - 35) ; and
in a poor family from 10s. to £1 (Rs. 5 - 1 0)'. A rich man's children
have a full stock of ornaments ; and few middle class or poor families
are altogether without jewelry.

Though somewhat quarrelsome and revengeful the Bene-Israels
are a well-behaved and valuable class, hardworking, sober, loyalj
and well-to-do. They are pensioned soldiers and hospital
assistants, clerks, carpenters, masons, stationers, and moneylenders.
As writers in G-overnment offices, they draw monthly salaries of
£1 10s. to £20 (Rs. 15 - 200), as pensioners 8s. to £13 (Rs. 4 - 1 30)^
and as masons and carpenters 10s. to £4 (Rs. 5 - 40) a month. On
the whole the Bene-Israels are well-to-do. They are rather fond
of drinking and their costly ceremonies and feasts force them into
debt. Still they are vigorous hardworking and prosperous. They
have no professional beggars. All their destitute are relieved by
private charity or from the Poena Benevolent Society's fund.

The Bene-Israels worship one God and use no images. In their
synagogues they have manuscript copies of the Old Testament and
consider it of divine authority. ^ They preach their religion
only to people of their own tribe. The essence of their faith is
given in the Hebrew sentence, The Lord our God He is one
Lord.^ All through life this text is in the Bene-Israel's mouth.
When he repeats it, he touches the right eye with the right thumb,
the left eye with the little finger, and the forehead with the three
middle fingers. Besides the belief in one God, the Bene-Israel
confession of faith includes thirteen articles : That God is the
Creator and Governor of the universe ; that He was, is, and will
be their only God ; that He is without form and without change ;
that He is the beginning and end of all things ; that He alone should
be worshipped ; that the Old Testament is the only true Scriptures ;
that Moses excelled all the prophets, and that his laws should be
obeyed ; that the law in their possession is the same law as was
given by God to Moses ; that it will never change ; that God knows
all men and understands their works ; that God will reward the
just and will punish the unjust ; that the promised Messiah is i6
come J and that the dead will rise and glorify Him.

The Bene-Israels have two kinds of years, a civil year and a religious
year. The civil year begins from the month of Tishri in September,
from the first of which they date the creation of the world.^ The

' When worn out, their manuscripts are buried or sunk in deep water. Their loss
is mourned as the death of a man.
' Deuteronomy, vi, 4, ' The Bene-Israel's era is the creation b.c. 3671.

Deccanl

POONA.

513

religious year begins from Nissdn whicli generally falls in Marct and
is said to mark the date when the Israelites left Egypt. The names
of the days or yome of the week are : Rishon or Sunday, Sheni
or Monday, Shalishi or Tuesday, Bebiyi or "Wednesday, Hamishi
or Thursday, 8hishi or Friday, and 8habiyi Shahbath or Saturday,
They calculate by lunar months. There are twelve months in the
year, each month with twenty-nine to thirty days.^ Every third year
an additional month called Be-Addr or the second Addr is added
which always falls after the Adar month. The names of their
months are : Tishri or September, Heshvdn or October, Kishv or
November, Tebet or December, Shebdth or January, Addr or
February, Nissdn or March, lyar or April, Sivdn or May, Tammuj
or June, Ab or July, and Elul or August. The following fasts and
feasts are observed by the Bene-Israela : The first month Tishri
falls in September and has thirty days. On the first of this month
the world was created. The feasts that fall in this month are:
1. Bosh flbsajm, or the new year's day; 2. Soni Gadalya, or the
fast of the new year; 3. Kippur, or the atonement day; and
4, Suhoth, or the tabernacle feast. Rosh Hosdna is known under
four names : (1) the new year's day, (2) the day of remembrance,^
(3) the judgment day,3 and (4) the trumpet-blowing day.* The feast
begins from sunset and lasts for the first two days of the month.
A week or so before this day the whole house is whitewashed, new
clothes are bought, and all are merry. Except that cooking is
allowed the first two days are kept as sabbaths. At three in
the morning, dressed in their best, they attend the synagogue.
When service is over, the congregation divides into two parties
facing each other, one standing and the other sitting. Those
standing read the forgiveness prayers, asking to be forgiven
their sins. Those sitting say. As we forgive you, so may
you be forgiven from on High. Then those that were standing
sit down, and those that were sitting stand, and in their turn ask
and receive forgiveness. Then they kiss each other's hands
and return home, where they kiss the hands of the women of
the house, and sit down to a rich feast of apples, dates, pumpkins,
honey, fish, and sheep's head. Early next morning they attend
service and spend the day in the same manner as the day before.
Som Qadalya, on the third of the month, is held in remembrance
of Gadalya's murder, on the anniversary of which a month before
the Bene-Israels begin morning prayers. This feast is commonly
known as the New Tear's Day feast or Navydcha Roja, when new

Chapter HI-

Population-

Benb-Isbaels.

Seligiou,

1 The day of the new moon is called the first of the month. It is not observed by
them unless it falls on a Sunday, when they keep it both in their houses and in the
synagogue repeating prayers. From the fifth to the ninth of the month, when the
moon is seen to increase, they read prayers standing on their toes and facing the moon.

' The name Day of Remembrance is given that people may remember the prophets
before God, be saved from sin, and admitted into heaven.

^ The name Judgment Day is given because on this day God judges the dead. The
names of the righteous are written in the book of life, and of the unholy in the book
of death. Those whose good and bad actions are equal are kept till the day of judg-
ment in order to allow them time to repent and be enrolled in the book of life.

■• It is the Trumpet-blowing Day because the trumpet is blown one hundred and
one times in memory of the abeep offered instead of Isaac on mount Moriah.

B 310—65

[Bombay Gazetteer,

514

DISTRICTS.

Chapter III.

Population.

Bene-Isbabls.
Religion.

rice mixed with milk and sugar is eaten. Tasting this dish is said
to please ancestral souls which come and sit on the house tops.
They hang ears of^ rice on their doors. The first ten days of
the month are spent in repenting and confessing sin. The
sabbath that follows this festival is called the Repentance Sabbath
ov Teshuha Shablath. During these days the Bene-Israels attend
service at three in the morning, repeating the forgiveness or selihot
prayers. The prayers last for about two hours. When they are
over they kiss each other's hands and go home and sit to a dinner
of sweetmeatSj mutton,^ and liquor. They offer a prayer over each
■platSj smell, the sahja and put it aside, pour liquor on the ground
to satisfy their ancestors, and make a hearty meal. In the after-
noon they bathe in cold water or tebila, plunging in seven times
and repeating prayers, or pouring water on their heads seven times
with bathing pots, and being struck by the minister seven times
across the back with a cord. When the bath is over and before
lamplight, they finish their meals. Dressing in white clothes with
the women and children in their richest robes, they go to the
synagogue. This is beautifully lighted, and all the law books are
taken out of the ark by the elders, and portions are read. The
atonement fast or Kippur on the tenth day is kept strictly. A
few families kill a cock. They spend the day and night in con-
fession and prayer. They blow trumpets in their houses, and
shutting themselves in their houses till the evening of the next
day,^ they do not talk to or even touch people of other castes. For-
merly the Bene-Israels on the atonement day worshipped the moon,
kissed their hands and bowed down to it, threw towards it a few
grains of rice some sandal-paste or gandh and sabja leaves, and
showed it a silver or gold coin which was then laid in a box. The
house Inmp was also worshipped; Now they pray for the Empress
of India, the Governor of Bombay, and others in authority. On the
eleventh day alms are given and friends and relations feasted.
On the fifteenth day the feast of Sulcoth is celebrated which lasts
seven days. A booth is built near the synagogue and covered
with branches of trees and adorned with flowers and fruit, and
in it the feast of Palms is celebrated. On the eighth day called
Simhdt Tora all the law books are taken out of the ark and placed
on the pulpit, the people dancing and jumping round it. This
goes on seven times, each time with the repetition of Hebrew
verses. This is observed as a feast of great rejoicing, men
women and children dancing and singing Hebrew, Muhammadan,
^ndMarathi songs. Wine is handed round, and all is merriment
and joy. The second month Heshvdn falls in Kdrtik or October-
November and has thirty days. This month has neither a fast
nor a feast. The third month Kislev falls in Mdrgshirsh or
November -December and has thirty days. On the twenty-fifth,
being the eighth day of the festival of Hanuka or temple cleans-
ing, they light their houses, beginning with two lamps on the first

' If they do not get the sheep's liver, which is an important part of the dish, they
use in its stead a fried egg.

2 From this the day is khowffl as the door-shutting or ddr-phalnydclia san.

Deccan.]

POONA.

515

nightj tliree on the second, and so on till tte eightli when they light
nine lamps and repair to the synagogue, where also lamps are light-
ed, and there they pray both in the morning and evening. The
fourth month Tebet falls in Paush or December - January and has
twenty-nine days. A fast is held on the tenth of the month. The fifth
month Shebdth falls in Mdgh or January - Febuary and has thirty
days. Blessings are invoked on the new leaves and vegetables are
freely eaten. The sixth month Addr falls in Phdlgun or February -
March and has twenty-nine days. On the thirteenth a fast is held
and the fourteenth is a great feast day. All Bene-Israels go
to the synagogue to hear the story of Lot or Megilla read. The
seventh month Nissdn i&X[s in Ghaitra or March- April and has
thirty days. The festival of the Passover begins on the four-
teenth. On the first two days the Bene-Israels use rice bread mixed
with vegetables and during the next six days rice bread alone. On
the first day they eat the right leg of a goat and while praying drink
wine freely. The twenty-third of this month is called Jimhag, and
is spent as a day of rejoicing. On the first and the last two days
of the month prayers are repeated in the synagogues. On the
thirtieth in everj' household all metal and glass pots are sunk in
water. If this is not done they are thought unfit for use. The first
born, whether male or female, fasts on this day. The eighth month
lyar falls in Vaishdkh or April- May and has twenty-nine days. In
this month falls the second Passover, observed by those only who
could not keep the first. The ninth month Sivdn falls in Jeshth or
May- June and has thirty days. The feast begins on the sixth of the
month. It is kept for two days in memory of God's gift of the law
to Moses, the people remaining awake at the synagogue during the
night praying. The tenth month Tammuj falls in A'shddh or June -
July and has twenty-nine days. The seventeenth is kept as a
fast in memory of the breaking of the tables of the law by Moses.
The eleventh month jf& falls in Shrdvan or July- August and has
thirty days. On the ninth the Bene-Israels fast on account of the
destruction of their temple at Jerusalem. They eat only wet
pulse or vdlhirde, do not wear the surplice, sit on the floor of the
synagogue, cover the law boxes with black cloth, and hold it as a
day of deep mourning. The twelfth month Blul falls in Bhddrapad
or August - September and has twenty-nine days. The people fast
and attend the synagogue for prayers before dawn.

The chief rites are marriage, birth, circumcision, a girl's coming
of age, and death. The marriage ceremonies are quite as important
and complicated as among Hindus and have a special interest from
the curious mixture of Hindu and Jewish customs.

Wlien the boy's family fix to ask a certain gii'l in marriage,
they send one of their nearest kinsmen and one of their nearest
kinswomen to make the offer. At the girl's house the kinsman
sits outside with the men of the house and the kinswoman sits
inside with the women of the house. After general talk the
messengers make an offer for the girl's hand. Her parents consult
together and either accept or refuse, or, if there is some question
as to the amount of dowry she should bring or the value of the

Chapter III.
Population.

Bene-Israels.

Customs.

Marriage,

516

DISTRICTS.

[Bombay Gazetteer,

Chapter III.

Population.

Bbne-Iskaeis.
Marriage,

Stigar-eating.

ornaments she should receive, they put off their decision till
the point is settled. A day or two after the two families have
come to an agreement, the boy's father goes to the headman's or
mukddam's house, tells him of the agreement, and asks him to
call the girl's father to fix the settlement day or betdvan. The girl's
father comes, and the same evening is generally fixed for the
settlement. Gruests are called, many or few according to the parties'
means, and about seven in the evening meet at the headman's
house. The headman tells the elders or mdnJcaris the object of the
meeting, and one of the elders explains to the guests the marriage
that is proposed, and charges them if they know of any objection
to declare it. If no one raises an objection, the headman fixes
dates for the marriage and other observances, so that all may fall
between one Saturday evening and the next Friday noon. He
tells the parents how many dinners they should give, and how
much they should pay to the synagogue.^ Then, at the boy's
father's expense, liquor is brought in, and with some grains of
parched gram or rice, is handed to the minister who blesses the cup
and drinks it. The headman, his assistants or chaugulds, and the
fathers drink next, and when the whole party have drunk, the
minister asks a blessing, and the company, after eating betelnut
and smoking tobacco, go to their homes.

Two to eight days later comes the sugar-eating or sdkarpuda.
About seven in the morning male and female guests meet at the
boy's. When the elders are seated the father places before them,
covered with a handkerchief, a metal plate full of sugar or molasses
with a gold or silver ring hid in it. The bridegroom richly
dressed, with a boy on either side holding lighted candles and
repeating Hebrew texts,^ is led to the door and set on a richly
habited horse, and the party form into a procession with musi-
cians playing in front of them and go to the girl's. At the girl's
they are met and led into the house, where the girl richly dressed is
seated on a chair or stool covered with white cloth. When the boy
has been brought in and made to stand facing the girl the minister asks
the girl's father and the elders if the guests may eat sugar. When
the girl's father says they may, the minister, picking the ring out of
the sugar, hands it to the boy, and asks the girl to give the boy her
right hand. The boy thrice repeats the words. Behold thou art
sanctified unto me by this ring according to the law of Moses and
Israel, and gradually draws the ring on the first finger of the
girl's right hand. Then, in accordance with the minister's instruc-
tions, the boy drops sugar into the girl's mouth, and sits facing her

' Generally if the boy's parents give the synagogue £3 10s. to £4 (Rs. 35 - 40) and
the girl's parents £1 10s. to £2 (Es. 15- 20) they need give no caste dinners.

^ The texts are : A true law hath God given to His people by the hand of His prophet,
who was faithful in his house. God will never alter nor change His law for any other.
He beholdeth and knoweth all our secrets ; for He vieweth the end of a thing at its
beginning. He rewardeth the pious man according to his works and punisheth the
wicked according to his wickedness. At the end of days will He send our Anointed,
to redeem those who hope for the accomplishment of his salvation. God in His great
mercy will revive the dead ; blessed be His glorious name, praised for ever more.
These are the thirteen main articles of our faith. They are the foundations of the
decree of God and His law.

Deccan.]

POONA.

517

on a low wooden stool. She then, drops sugar into his mouth and is
led into the inner room where the women are. After some sugar
and liquor the girl's father gives the guests a feast generally of rice
and mutton and rice and sweetened cocoanut milkj they return to
the boy's house, and after more sugar and taetelnut go to their
homes.

About two days before the marriage, both at the bride's and
bridgroom's houses, five bridesmaids or haravalis are called, and
after being treated to molasses betelnut and tobacco, take baskets
of rice to the well and wash it, amusing themselves by throwing
the water at each other. In the evening they come back. Liquor
and tobacco are served to them, and, singing- Mardthi songs, they
smear the handmill with turmeric, tie mango leaves round it, and
grind all the rice into flour. Meanwhile at both the houses other
preparations go on. Supplies of rice, sugar, oil, molasses, spices,
firewood, a sheep or two, liquor, clothes, and ornaments are laid in,
and in some cases marriage booths are built.^

Early in the morning of the day before the wedding, the boy's
parents, or some members of his family, go with music, to ask their
. friends to come to the turmeric-rubbing. The women guests come
about one, the boy is seated on a cot in a front room, and seven
married women or unmarried girls with much joking and romping
rub him with turmeric. The boy who has now the brightness of G od
or khuddi nur, upon him, may not leave the house, and is placed
under the charge of two unmarried men of his family who are con-
stantly with him eating, drinking, and sleeping by his side. When
the turmeric-rubbing is finished a few unmarried girls tie the marriage
crown or shera to the boy's brow.^ After tying the marriage crown
the women take the rest of the turmeric to the bride's house, rub
her with it, and bathe her. On their return the boy is bathed and
given a meal. Betelnut and leaves are handed round and the guests
retire. They come back about seven, serve cooked rice and milk,
fetch henna, and, seating the boy on a cot, paste henna over his
hands and feet and tie them in cloth. They then go to the girl's
house, and after rubbing her hands and feet with henna, go back
to the boy's, eat a more or less sumptuous meal, and go home.

Next morning the boy's and girl's hands and feet are washed
and friends called to the ancestral dinner or nith. The bride's
family are specially invited, and with the elders and office-bearers
of the caste, are seated on a white cloth in the marriage hall. A
brass dish, filled with wheat cakes, pieces of rice bread, sugar,
cocoa-kernel, cooked rice, goat's liver, hemp, sabja leaves, a glass
of liquor, and a piece of bread with a little molasses, is set in the

Chapter III.
Fopnlation.

Bene-Iskaels.
Marriage.

Rice-Wcuhing.

TwnneriC'

Ancestral Dinner*

1 The practice of building booths is dying out.

" The marriage crown is made of beads of sandalwood powder or of paper. It is
given to the boy by his relations. Sometimes a boy gets several of them, and they
are interwoven by his father with silver chains or false pearls. The ancient Jews
crowned the married couple. The husband's crown was of salt and sulphur to
remind him, it is said, of Sodom and so incline him to cleave to his wife and avoid
nncleanness. Basnage, 472. The original choice of salt and of sulphur there seems
little doubt was because they were great spirit-scarera.

[Sombay Gazetteer>

518

DISTRICTS.

Chapter III.

Population-

Bene-Israels.
Marriage,

Pi'eeent-Making.

midst of the assembly on a folded white cloth. At the headman's
request, the preacher, after praying in Hebrew for about a quarter
of an hour, distributes the contents of the dish among the guests.
A great dinner follows. After the dinner the girFs relations
leave, and soon after invite the boy's family to their house where a
second feast is given.

About two in the afternoon the boy is seated on a cot and his head
is shaved by a barber .^ While the shaving goes on, the boy's
relations wave copper coins round his head and throw them to one
side. After the boy's the heads of his father and of his two
guardians are shaved, and the barber is paid &d. to 2s. 6c?. (Rs. \ - 1\)
besides the coins waved about the boy. The boy his father and
the two guardians are rubbed with cocoa-milk and spices and
bathed, and the boy is dressed in fresh clothes. At the girl's
a woman bangle-hawker is called in, draws three or four green
glass bangles round the girl's and some of the other women's wrists,
and is given rice cocoanuts and Qd. to 2s. 6cZ. (Rs. J - 1^) in money.

About five in the evening men and women guests begin to drop
in at the boy's house. As they come they are seated, the men in
the mai-riage hall and the women in the house. In the house two
plates are filled, one with a robe and bodice and ornaments either of
gold or silver, five pounds of sugar, five almonds, five dates, and five
betelnuts. In the other plate are five pounds of molasses, a cotton
robe worth 10s. to £1 (Rs. 5- 10), a cotton bodice worth 4s. to 6s,
(Rs. 2-8), silver ornaments, and almonds and other articles as in
the first plate. Both plates are covered with silk handkerchiefs
brought into the marriage hall and set in the midst of the guests.
Ten of the guests, some of them men and some of them women and
one elder, taking the plates on men's shoulders go with music to the
girl's house, and the men sit in the marriage hall with the plates
before them, and the women inside with the women of the house. A
low wooden stool spread with a white sheet is placed near the plates,
and the girl is brought out by her father and seated on the stool,
her father sitting behind her. The. girl's relations are called to see
the presents or haris, and when they come, about four or five of the
boy's relations remove the handkerchief from the first plate. They
examine the ornaments and the robe and the bodice, and if they are
not satisfied with their value, quarrels arise that can be stopped only
by the gift of more valuable presents. When this is arranged one of
the boy's relations drops a little sugar into the girl's and her father's
mouths, and the ornaments and clothes are presented to her. After
the second plate has been presented in the same way the girl is
taken into the house and dressed in her new clothes by the women
of the family. The boy's relations return to his father's house,
and after a light meal the boy is dressed in silk trousers, a long robe
or jama with a dagger or khanjir at the waist, a turban, a shoulder-
cloth or dupeta, and shoes.^ In his hands he holds a tinsel-dovered
cocoanut, a silk handkerchief, and flower wreaths and gold ornaments

1 This custom has lately been stopped.

2 During the five marriage days the bride and bridegroom are very
always to carry about the dagger. It is believed to keep off evil spirits.

careful

Decoan]

POONA.

519

encircle his neck, waist, arms, and fingers. On his broK? is tied tlie
marriage crown or shera, and long flower garlands cover bim from
head to foot. As he comes out of the house the guests stand up,
and, repeating texts, lead him outside and seat him on a richly
decked horse. At starting they either break a hen's egg under
the horse's right forefoot or dash a cocoanut on the ground in front
of him, and forming a procession start for the synagogue.^ Mean-
while the girl, richly dressed and covered with jewels with a shawl
over her head, and with music and nine or ten women and one or two
men, has been brought to the synagogue and seated on a chair facing
the east covered with a white cloth. Whenhe arrives the boy is led with
the singing of songs into the synagogue and made to stand facing the
girl, and the hems of their garments are tied together. Behind
them on chairs, covered with a white cloth, sit their fathers and
near kinsmen, their clothes also tied together. The rest of the
male guests sit or stand in other parts of the synagogue and the
women sit outside in the veranda. When all are in their places,
the beadle asks the guests if they agree to the marriage and they
answer they agree. The boy covers the girl with his flower garland
and ties the marriage coronet or shera on her brow. The minister
repeats Hebrew texts and the boy, standing in front of the girl,
with a silver cup in his hand containing a silver ring and grape
juice, looking towards the guests says. With your leave I perform
the ceremony. The guests answer. With God's leave. The boy
goes on : And with our elders's leave do I perform this ceremony.
The guests again say. With Grod's leave. The boy exclaims.
Praise be to the Lord for His goodness to us. The guests : And
for His infinite mercy. The boy : May joy increase among the
children of Israel. The guests : And may it spread in Jerusalem.
The boy. May the holy temple be again built and may the prophets
Elijah and Moses come and gladden the hearts of the people of
Israel. Blessed art Thou 0 Lord, King, of the Universe, that
created the fruit of the vine. Blessed art Thou 0 Lord, King of the
Universe, who hath sanctified us with Thy commandments, who hast
forbidden fornication, and restrained us from the betrothed, but hath
permitted us those who are married to us by means of the canopy
and wedlock. Blessed art thou Lord who sanctifieth Israel by
means of the canopy of wedlock. Thou Rebecca the daughter of
Mr. Awn Samuel art betrethed and married unto me Joseph David
the son of Mr. David Benjamin by this cup and by this silver ring
that is kept in the glass of wine and by all that is under my
authority in the presence of these witnesses and masters according to
the law of Moses and Israel. Praised be the Lord who created the
fruit of the vine and suffered men and women to be joined in
wedlock. Looking towards the girl and calling her by her name
he says : You have been betrothed and married to me, by this cup,
whose wine you shall drink, by the silver in the cup, and by all
that belongs to me I wed thee before these witnesses and priest, in
accordance with the laws of Moses and of the Israelites. He then

Chapter III.

Population.

Bene-Isbaels.
Marriage.

1 If there is no synagogue the procession goes to the girl's house.

[Bombay Gazetteer,

520

DISTRICTS.

Chapter III.

Population.

Bene-Isbaels.
Marriage.

drinks half the wine and says twice over : By this you are being
wed to me, and then bending pours the rest of the wine, not
leaving a single drop in the glass, into the girl's mouth. Then
taking the ring lie holds the girl's right hand, and pushing
the ring over the tip of her first finger says : See you are
married to me by this ring according to the law of Moses and the
Israelites. After this has beea thrice repeated, he takes a tumbler
with some wine in it, and a necklace of gold and black beads, puts
the necklace round the girl's neck, drinks some wine, and pouring
the rest into her mouth, dashes the glass to pieces on the floor .^
Then the priest reads the written covenant or hetuha.^ Before
reading the last sentence he takes the fringes of the four corners
of the boy's veil or sisith, and says thrice over : God commands

1 Some say the breaking of the glaas typifies the frailty of life and others that it
is done to remind the people of the destruction of Jerusalem. The original reason
probably was to prevent the glass falling into the hands of a magician.

2 In some places the reading of the marriage covenant forms the whole of the
ceremony. The marriage covenant generally runs : This ceremony is being
performed by people of good mark, in a good aeasoa, in a lucky hour, in the name
of the Great Merciful One, whose name is exalted, who is^ worthy of the greatness
who is greater than all blessings and praise. May the communication between the
bride and bridegroom and between the assembled congregation find favour with Him.
And may the bridegroom be gladdened joyful and merry, may he receive final
salvation, may he be kept from evil and may he be freed, and may his vows be
fulfilled. May both the bride and the bridegroom be joyful and pleasant, be
fruitful and multiply; may they live happily together and prosper. He who has
gained a wife has gained what is best, and has received grace from God's house.
Riches are handed down from one's father, a wise wife is a gift from God. May
your wife be as the fruitful vine by the side of your house and your children
round your table like the Jayitt. Behold the man who fears God receives
such blessings. May God bless yoxi from Sion that all the days of your life you
may wish well for Jerusalem, and wish contentment among the people of Israel
with your children's children. In this city of Poona on the river which flows
into the great sea and in the yeor (name of the year), month (name of the month),
and day (name of the day), according to our calculation of the creation, Benjamin
Daud title handsome bachelor, the son of the honourable gentleman Mr. Aaron Baud
asked the maid Rebecca, who is as the roe and a crown of beauty, the daughter of
the honourable gentleman Mr. Abraham Solomon to be his wife according to the law
of Moses and Israel. Saying, as among the people of Israel men supply their wives
with food and rich clothes by working and living in love with them, I will by the
help of God furnish you with food and clothes by working and living with you in
love. And I give you two hundred juji which are equal to the twenty-five jvji of
pure silver, being the value of your virginity. And I will give you food, clothes, and
whatever is necessary for you, and will live with you according to the way of the
world. As the virgin bride Rebecca has agreed to be his wife, and as the above
mentioned bridegroom has taken from her in his own hands and has kept in his
possession the dowry of the ornaments of silver and gold and of clothes of the value
of £15 (Es. 150) which she has brought from her father's house to the house of her
husband, he has kept the dowry with him as a debt and as goods like sheep and
iron. This is the profit or loss that may arise from it. Besides this the bridegroom
Benjamin Baud gives her, by his own will £13 (Es. 130) more as consideration for the
covenant. So the rupees of the dowry and the additional rupees together amount to
£28 (Es. 280). The above mentioned bridegroom Benjamin Baud said to us. The
responsibility of this marriage covenant is on me and my children. I agree to it, and
after me this must be paid from the best of my properties. The responsibility and
the claim of this marriage deed is on the goods that I may have bought, and that I
shall buy in future, and over that which has risk in it, and even on the coat
on my back and that is also included in it. According to the custom and
rule of the wise, whose memory is blessed, the responsibility of this marriage deed
is as the responsibility of those marriage deeds of the daughters of Israel, that
have been in practice from the times of old down to the present time. This is
not merely as a certificate or a copy. All sorts of right in the world over it are

Deccan-]

POONA.

521

that he who marries stall feed tis wife well, clothe her, and per-
form the duty of marriage. All these the boy promises to fal&l.
Then the guests invoke a blessing, and the boy signs the paper
in the presence of two witnesses and the minister.^ The minister
reads the last sentence of the marriage covenant, signs it, and
rolling it up hands it to the boy, who delivers it to the girl, saying
Take this marriage covenant, henceforth all that belongs to me
is yours. She takes it in her open hands, and makes it over to
her father. The guests then sing a song in praise of God, with
whose will the ceremony was performed, and in praise of the
bride and bridegroom. The minister then takes a glass of wine and
repeats the seven following blessings. Blessed art Thou 0 Lord
our God, King of the Universe, who created the fruit of the vine.
Blessed art Thou 0 Lord our God, King of the Universe, who hath
created every thing for Thy glory. Blessed art Thou 0 Lord our
God, King of the Universe, who hath formed man. Blessed art Thou
O Lord our God, King of the Universe, who hath formed man in
the likeness of Thy form, and prepared for him a like form of
everlasting fabric. Blessed art Thou 0 Lord our God, who formeth
man. She who was barren shall rejoice and delight at the gathering
of her children unto her with joy. Blessed art Thou O Lord, who
causeth him to rejoice with her children. Ye shall surely rejoice ye
loving companions as your Creator caused your forefathers to rejoice
in the garden of Eden. Blessed art Thou 0 Lord, who causeth the
bridegroom and bride to rejoice. Blessed art Thou 0 Lord our God,
Kjing of the Universe, who hath created joy and gladness, bride-
groom and bride, love and brotherhood, delight and pleasure, peace
and friendship. Speedily, 0 Lord our God, let there be heard in the
cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem the voice of joy and
the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom and the voice of
the bride, the voice of merriment of the bridegrooms at their
marriage feasts and the music of youth. Blessed art Thou 0 Lord
who causeth the bridegroom to rejoice with the bride and causeth
them to prosper. The minister then repeats three texts. At the
end of the third text, the guests clap their hands, and the masiciaius
catching the sound beat their drums. When the music is over the
boy is seated on the right of the girl on another chair and wine is

Chapter III.

ropulatioa-

Bbnb-Iseaels.
Marriage.

Toid. In the questions of heritage all must be done according to the custom of
the country.

At this point the reader of the covenant stops for a short time ; the signatures
of witnesses are taken. The minister says God eommands that he who marries
shall feed hia wife well, clothe her, and perform the duty of marriage. The
bridegroom says All these I will do. After the signatures are taken the reader
goes on, And we the undersigned witnesses have in a right manner made the
above mentioned bridegroom Btnja/mm Daud swear to wha,t is written and said in
this ; and all this is fair, clear, true, and steadfast.

Witnesses, at least two. The signature of the bridegroom.

The signature of the reader.

» The witnesses are chosen by the girl's father. They ask the boy whether he
approves of them as witnesses.

B 310—

[Bombay ttaaotteer,

522

DISTRICTS.

Chapter III.

Population.

Bene-Iskabls.
Marriage,

Gyft-maktrig or
Aher,

handed to all present. The minister, putting his right hand on their
heads, blesses the boy first and then the girl. He takes almonds
betelnuts and other things from one of the plates, -fills the girl's
lap with them, and a relation, either of the boy or the girl, presents
the minister with almonds, betelnuts, and other articles from the
other plate.

Next comes the gift-making or aher.^ The girl's mother hands
the minister a gold ring worth 8s. to £1 (Rs. 4- 10). The minister
calls out her name, names the present, and, putting a little sugar into
the boy's mouth, hands the ring to the boy. Others follow, each man
or woman going to the minister whispers in his ear his or her name,
and hands him the present. The minister calls oat the giver's name,
states what the present is, and putting a little sugar into the giver's
mouth makes the gift over to the boy. When all the boy's presents
are received, the girl's relations come forward, and in the same way
through the minister make presents to the girl. In the same way
the boy's and girl's fathers make presents to their relations ending
with a special present of a shilling or two to the guests for leave to
untie the knot that fastens the hems of the bride's and bridegroom's
garments. The rest of the sugar is handed round or is melted in
water and drunk. Then the boy and girl leaving their places are
taken to a table, and blessed by the minister, laying 2s. to 10s.
(Rs. 1 - 5) on the table. While the guests sing, the boy and the girl
walk round the table and kiss the tora or roll of the law. When
they come near the steps of the synagogue, the singing stops, and the
boy is set on the horse and the girl taken away either in a palanquin
or a carriage. The procession then starts with lighted torches music
and fireworks to the girl's house. At the girl's house her brother,
standing near the door, drops a little sugar into the boy's mouth,
hands him a cocoanut, and squeezes his right ear. The boy gives
him a cocoanut and he goes back into the house. Then the girl's
relations, helping the boy and girl to alight, tie the hems of their
garments, and walking together side by side they go and stand in
front of the house steps. An elderly woman brings a handful of
cooked rice or dmbat in a dish, and waving it round their heads,
throws the rice into the street. Then, with singing, the boy and girl
are taken into the house and seated side by side, the women guests
follow the pair, and the men sit in the marriage hall. In the house
the women relations o£ the girl with their husbands wash both the
boy's and girl's feet, the husbands pouring the water and the wives
washing the feet. When their feet are washed, between eleven and
twelve, the boy is led into the marriage haU and feasted with the
men, while the girl feasts with the women in the house. When the
feast is over betelnut and tobacco are handed round and the guests
take their leave. After they are gone the bridesmaids lead the
boy and girl to a separate room where they pass the night.^ Next

^ The presents are ornandents, clothes, and money . When cash presents are
made the minister is paid IJti. (1 a.) by each giver and the giver is not allowed to go
until he pays it.

' AIno^g tl}e old Jews this would seem to have been one of the duties of the
groomsman,

Deccan.]

POONA.

523

morning, the third day, the boy and girl bathe, and, dressing in their
marriage clothes, are seated face to face on a sheet. About eight
some cocoa or cow's milk with sugar is brought and they feed one
another. Two hours later guests begin to come, the boy's friends
are sent for, and a meal of rice, split peas, dry-fish, vegetables, and
pickles is served. After the meal is over most of the men leave and
the rest, sitting with the boy and girl in the marriage hall, watch
the boy and girl biting pieces of betel-leaf and cocoa-kernel out of
each other's mouths. Other married couples, even old men and
women, do the same, and the morning passes in much merriment.
Then the older people retire, and till about four the children play
at odds and evens, or hide and seek. About four, with the singing
of special songs, the girl's hair is combed and dressed with flowers,
and her wedding robes are put on. A kinswoman leads the bride's
mother and seats her near the girl, and while scofiing songs are sung,
her hair is combed, and with much laughter and mockery decked
with paper and tinsel ornaments. After the amusement has gone on
for an hour or so they retire into the house. In the evening, when
the guests begin to come, her mother fills the girl's lap with
almonds betelnuts and dates, and gives the boy a silk handkerchief
and a gold or silver ring. Five married women touch the boy's
knees shoulders^and head with grains of rice, the boy and girl stand
facing the women, and the boy bows low to each, and is given a
silk handkerchief. Then the boy and the girl pass through the
marriage hall, where the girl's father has been entertaining some
guests, and with songs are led out and the boy is set on horseback,
and the girl with her maids of honour or karavlis is carried in a
palanquin or carriage. A big silk umbrella is held' over the boy and
on either side a silver fan and a fly-flap, and to pacify evil spirits
a cocoanut is broken or an egg is smashed under the horse's right
forefoot.! The procession moves on to the synagogue with music,
lighted torches, and fireworks.^ At the synagogue door they begin
to sing and the boy and girl are taken in and made to stand near
the table before the law scrolls or sqfar tolas. The girl's father
lays 2s. to 10s. (Rs. 1-5) on the table and the minister, placing his
right hand first on the boy's and afterwards on the girl's head,
blesses them. The boy and girl pass round the table, kiss the law
scroll, and with songs are led out and the procession moves on
to the boy's house.^ At the marriage hall door some slay a
goat,* and sprinkle a line of blood from the marriage hall to the house
door, for the boy and girl to walk along. When the guests are met a
sheet is spread and the boy's father and mother are seated on it sidei
by side. Then the boy is set on his father's lap, and while the girt
is being seated on his mother's lap, the boy says to his parents,.
Take this your wealth. Then the boy's kinswomen wash the boy's
and girl's feet, the boy presenting them with 2s. to 4s. (Us. 1-2);.

Chapter Ill-
Population.

Bbne-Iskaels,
Man-iage.

' Thia custom has lately been given up.

" The expense 28. to 2». 6d. (Rs. 1 - IJ) of lighting the synagogue is borne by the
girl's father. ' If the boy belongs to another village a feast is given.

* The carcass of the goat is not eaten but throvm on. the, street to^atisfy evil spirits^
Thia is not now practised by the Bene- Israels, i

[Bombay Gazetteer,

524

DISTRICTS.

Chapter III. After a dinner to the men in the marriage hall and to the women
FopalatioB. ^^ *^® house the guests withdraw.

BENB-IsBAEta; About seveu next morning, the fourth day, in the girl's house, after

Marriage^ some biting of betel-leaf and games of chance, the boy and girl are

Fourth Day. ^^^ <^^ *^o low woodeu stoolS and bathed in cold water by five or

seven married women. The boy leans over the girl, and, filling his
rnOuth with water blows it in spray over her face, and she in the
same way blows spray over his feet.^ After the bath the boy and
girl dress with the greatest haste, vying with each other who shall
be dressed first. Eelations present the boy's and girl's mothers
with robes and bodices, and the boy and girl are led into the house
Fifth Day. and a feast is givon.^ Next morning, the fifth day, the boy and

girl bathe in hot water and feed one another. In the afternoon
they are dressed and the boy asks his wife to lend him one of her
ornaments to treat his friends to a cup of liquor. She hesitates,
asks her people, and after some delay gives him an ornament. The
boy takes a party of friends and goes to his nearest relation's house,
where a boy is dressed in woman's clothes. After some time the
girl with some other women starts in search of her husband. When
they are heard coming near the house the bridegroom hands the
ornament to the boy in woman's clothes and all lie down, cover
themselves with mats, and pretend to sleep. Presently the girl
comes in and seeing her husband calls him, and shakes him, but
he does not move. She searches for the ornament, and not finding
it searches the boy in woman's dress. When she finds it she
charges her with theft. The boy-woman denies that she is a thief and
declares that she is a prostitute and that she got the ornament from
the bridegroom as a present. When the girl hears this she asks
the woman to let her and her husband go and promises to pay her
all her dues. Then the master of the house entertains them, and
they return to the girl's. When they reach the house the girl's sister
stands at the door and refuses to let them in till her brother-in-law
promises to give his first daughter in marriage to her son. He
refuses, she persists, and in the end he agrees. This is only a form,
the agreement is seldom carried out.

siao, Dav. Next day, the sixth, after bathing dressing and feeding, the girl

is sent to draw water. When she comes back she asks her mother-
in-law to help her to put down the waterpot. The mother-in-law
is too busy and tells her son to^ help his wife. He lifts down the
waterpot and the girl carries it to the cookroom. The rest of the
day passes in biting betel-leaf and playing at odds and evens. In
the evening about seven the boy and girl are rubbed with cocoa-
milk, bathed in warm water, and led to the co6kroom, and the girl
bakes in oil ten or twelve pulse cakes or vadds. When they are

* The boy blows water on the girl's mouth that she may not be talkative, and
the girl blows water on the boy's feet to show he is her lord. The root idea is to
blow off evil, water and blowing being both modes of spirit-soaring. As in other
cases a happy symbolic explanation has saved a custom.

'This is a rich meat feast. If money has been paid into the synagogue fund,
only relations stay for it ; if no money has been paid all! the gueeta must be
entertained.

Deccan-]

POONA.

625

ready the boy takes the cakes out of the pan and going into the
outer roonij he and the girl sit facing his father and mother. A
married woman takes the marriage ornaments or shera off the boy's
and girl's brows, and, after being for a few minutes bound round
the brows of the boy's parents, they are thrown into water or
fastened to the rafter of the house roof. The day closes with
a supper. Next day, the seventh, the girl's mother comes to
the boy's house and asks the family to dine with them.' They
go, and are feasted. In the evening the girl and the boy
are taken to the cookroom, and the girl makes rice-balls,
fills them with cocoanut scrapings and molasses, and boils
them. When they are ready the boy and girl pick five or six
out with their own fingers. At the evening meal the girl's mother
presents the boy either with a silk handkerchief or a gold or silver
ring. Early next morning, the eighth, the boy and girl, with a few
relations, are sent to the boy's home. They are then taken to the
houses of such of their relations as were not able to be present at
the wedding, and to the houses of friends and neighbours of other
castes to whom sugar presents were not made during the wedding
days. Besides this, which is the last of the marriage ceremonies,
two dinners, called mamjevan and vyaMjevan, are given within a
month the first by the boy's father and the second by the girl's.
A son's marriage costs a Bene-Israel £20 to £50 (Rs. 200 - 500) and
a daughter's £10 to £20 (Rs. 100 - 200). Among Bene-Israels a
second wife may be married if the first is barren ; if her children
have died ; if all her children are girls ; if the husband dislikes
his first wife ; if her father refuse to send his daughter to her husband ;
or if the wife runs away.

After the rites during the seventh or eighth month of her first
pregnancy, of which details are given below, the young wife, who is
often not more than fourteen, is taken home by her mother. She is
fed daintily and decked with flowers and rich clothes. A midwife,
who is generally a woman known to the mother's family, attends her,
and when the girl's time comes is called in. The girl is taken to a
warm room, and one or two of the elder women of the family
gather round her. As soon as the child is born, if it is a boy a
metal plate or thdli is rung, and cold water is sprinkled over the
infant. Till the mother is washed and laid on a cot, the babe is
allowed to lie in a winnowing fan. It is then washed in warm
water, the navel-cord is cut, its head is squeezed to give it a proper
shape, its nose is pulled straight, and its ears are bent. If a
woman has lost any children the right nostril is bored, that if he is
a boy the child may look like a girl and if it is a girl her left nostril
is bored that she may look ugly or khodlele. The child is bound in
swaddling clothes, laid beside its mother generally to her right, and
to ward off evil spirits a knife is placed under its pillow. The words
Adam and Eve away from hence, or Lileth Adam's first wife, are
sometimes engraved on a silver plate and hung round a child's neck.

Chapter III.

Fopnlation.

Bene-Isbaels.
Marritige.

Seventh Day.

Birth.

^According to custom when one of the marriage families asks another to dine
with them the minister must always bring some gift however small.

[Bombay Gazetteer,

526

DISTRICTS.

Chapter III.

Population-

Bbnb-Isbabls.
BiHh.

Third Dag.

Word is sent to tlie cliild's father, and tlie midwife retires with a
present of Is. to 2s. 6d. (Rs.-|- IJ), a pound of rice, and a coooanut
A dim brass lamp is kept burning near the child's face, and, for the
rest of the day, except a few dates and a little cocoa-kernel and liquor
the mother generally fasts in the name of the earth or dharitri. For
three days she is fed on wheat paste mixed with butter and
molasses, and for forty days she drinks hot water, and after the
fourth day she is fed with chicken bj'oth and rice. For seven days
she does not leave her bedroom without tying a handkerchief round
her head and ears, throwing a blanket over her shoulders, and
wearing sandals or vahdns. Every evening the babe is rubbed with
turmeric, mixed with rice flour and the white of an egg, and bathed
in hot water. Before drying the child, the midwife, to overcome
the evil eye, takes water in a metal pot, and waving it thrice round
the child, empties it on her own feet.^

During the first day the child is fed by giving it to suck a cloth
soaked in coriander juice and honey. -The second day it is fed
on goat's milk, and it is given the breast from the third day.
To keep off evil spirits lines of ashes are drawn outside of the
mother's room. News is sent to relations and friends, and they come
to greet the mother, bringing small presents of cloves and
nutmeg. The guests are offered sugar betelnut and leaves, and
after smoking a pipe of tobacco, retire. In the afternoon of the
third day the ceremony called tikhondi is performed. The
mother fasts and a girl from the house starts to call women
relations and friends. The guests begin to come between one and
two. A lighted brass lamp and a plate with a mixture called
suthora of dry ginger, turmefio, garlic, molasses, bishop's weed or
ova, and cocoa scrapings, is prepared and placed before the guests.
The mother is bathed and with the child in her arms is seated in
the middle of the guests. The lighted lamp is brought before her
and she kisses it. Then one of the elderly women, to satisfy the
spirits called chari bori takes the plate in her hand and throws a

' Bene-Israels believe that the evil eye of jealousy harms a child if it is seen
feeding or wearing good clothes. To overcome the evil eye they go either to
a midwife or to some wise woman of their own caste. There are two kinds of_ evil
eye, the dry or suM and the wet or oli. To overcome the dry evil eye the child is
bathed in the evening and seated on a low wooden stool, and a woman, taking snme
salt and ashes in her hands, waves them fifteen to twenty times from the bhild's
head to his feet muttering charms or mantras. She throws the salt and ashes into
an oven, and, taking a pinch of ashes, touches the child's brow and the sole of the
child's left foot. If the salt thrown into the oven crackles she says the evU eye was
very strong and abuses the person whose sight had fallen on the child. To overcome
the wet or oli evil eye, against which the salt and aah cure is powerless, the child
is seated on a low wooden stool and is given a little salt, some grains of rice and
turmeric, and told to chew them. The woman places two pots near, one with fire
and the other with water, and takes in her left hand a shoe, a winnowing fan, a
broom, and a knife, and asks the child to spit what is in its mouth over the fire.
She pours the fire into the waterpot and waves it from the child's head downwards
muttering charms. The evil eye is also cured by hanging to the child's neck a metal
or cloth box or tkavij, about an inch square, ^ith a piece of paper scribed over by a
sorcerer. This box not only heals the sick and devil-ridden, out killp enemies, gives
children to barren women, work to the idle, and to every one their special wish.
According to the sorcerer's name for skill the box varies in price from a farthing or
two to as many pounds. Ministers as well as sorcerers give these charms.

Deccau-I

POONA.

527

little of the contents into each corner of the room. Songs are sung,
and each of the guests is given some of the mixture and with-
draws. On the fifth day, in honour of pdnchvi or the spirit of
the fifth, girls go round calling women friends and relations.
The guests begin to drop in between one and two, bringing
cocoanuts for the mother. As they come they are met by the elderly
women of the house and seated "on mats near the mother's room.
When the guests have arrived, amid the din of music, the mother
takes the infant in her arms, and holding in her right hand the knife
that cut the navel cord, the kdrav^ stick on which the navel cord
was cut, and a prickly pear or nilgut twig, sits on a low
wooden stool in the middle of the guests. An elderly woman
brings a brass lamp with five lighted wicks, and on the lower
part of the lamp the mother places the knife, the stick, and the
twig. She takes a few graius of rice, lays some near the knife, and
throws the rest about her. She holds both her ears, and three five
or seven times kisses the lamp, muttering to herself the prayer
Me thene, that is Two children in three years, repeated three five
or seven times. Then the mother takes her seat on a cot facing east,
and the shejbharni or grain-sticking ceremony begins. While the
guests are singing^ an elderly woman brings a winnowing fan
containing rice, a cocoanut, a betelnut, and two betel-leaves, and a
copper. She takes some grains of rice from the fan, throws some at
the mother's feet knees and shoulders, and the rest behind the
mother's back. This is repeated either five times by one woman or
in turns by five women chosen from the guests. The woman on
whom the turn last falls has, in addition, to touch both the mother's
and child's broTvs with grains of rice. Next follows the lap-filling
or otibharrd. A married woman takes about a pound and a half
of rice and fills the mother's lap with it repeating the Hebrew
words Bashim adonya that is In God's Name. After the filling
comes the waving or ovdhii when each of the women present waves
a copper coin round the mother and child and puts the coin in
the brass hanging lamp.^ Then follows the vow-taking and after
that the guests are served with boiled gram or parched rice, sugar,
liquor, and betelnut and leaves.

Next morning, the sixth day, boys go round and invite men to
come in the evening. About nine o'clock guests begin to drop in
and as they come are seated on mats spread in the veranda. Then to
a tambourine or daph accompaniment they begin to sing in Hebrew
Hindustani and Mardthi, while the rest sit quiet. Parched rice or

Chapter III.

Fopolation.

Bene-Isbakls.

Birth.

Fifth Day.

Sixth Day.

^ Kdrav is a long and slender tree used in paling and fence wort,
* The words are : Five wicks in a lamp, each with a separate flame ; such was
the lamp which was waved before the prophet Elijah. Perform the shej or
grain-sticking ceremony to this woman Sebecca now in childbed. Another song sung
about the same time runs : O sun 0 moon ye go by the way leading to the abode of the
child's grandfather. Give this our message to him, if indeed he is alive, that he
should wash his hands and feet and pray to God five instead of three times a day,
so that God may confer blessings upon the child. The words in both cases are
Mardthi.

' The whole amount from 3d, to 2s, (Re. J -1) is distributed among the girls of the
mother's family.

[Bombay Gazetteer.

528

DISTRICTS.

Chapter III. boiled gram and sugar are handed round and till dawn liquor is
Population. freely drunk. When she goes to bed the mother changes her child

Bene-Isbabls ^^°^ ^®^ '^*^^* ®^^® *° ^^^ ^^^^' ^^^ ^^ *^® child's place lays a stone
Birth ' ^^^^^^ or varvanta covered with cloth. At the dead of night the
dread spirit Sati comes to scratch from the child's brow what God
has written there in its favour, and finding a stone goes away
Seventh Day. disappointed. Next day the roller is taken away. On this day, the
seventh, the mother's room is changed and women relations and
friends are asked to come. A brass hanging lamp is lighted and
placed under a bamboo basket or ravli. The mother takes the
child in her arms, and goes several times out and in from the house
to the veranda or the street, while one of the guests keeps
repeating in Marathi, ' 0 moon 0 sun, look at our child, it is out.'
When the mother finally comes in, water and turmeric powder are
dropped on her from above the entrance door. She lays the child
in the middle of the cot on a small matress covered with a white
sheet and round the mattress .drops seven or nine pinches of
boiled gram and two pieces of cocoa-kernel. When this is ready each
boy or girl of the party goes near the child, gently catches it by
the ear, and says. Come away child, let us go to play and eat a dish
of rice cakes.-*^ Then each boy takes some of the boiled gram,
and, as he runs away, is struck with a twisted handkerchief by
another boy who stands behind the door.

Circumcision. In the synagogue,^ on the eighth day after the birth of a male

child,' whether or not it is the Sabbath, two chairs are set side by
side, one for the prophet Elijah who is Ijelieved to be present at the
cirpumcision,* and the other for the operator who is either the
minister, the boy's father, or some other man acquainted with the
details of the rite. Prom ten to eleven in the morning guests begin
to drop in. When enough have come, for at least ten should be
present, the operator goes to the chair intended for the prophet,
lifts it over his head, and muttering some Hebrew verses restores
it to its place. If the child is to be circumcised at the synagogue,
he is taken in a palanquin in his mother's arms, accompanied by
men and sometimes by women guests, and, unless it is the Sabbath
or a holiday, by music. When the party reach the synagogue the
child's maternal uncle takes him to where the guests are sitting,
and says Shalom Alekham or Hail in Grod's Name. To this the
congregation answer Alekham Shalom or In Grod's name Peace. He
hands, the child to one of the elders who has taken the prophet
Elijah's chair. The operator sits on the other chair and circnm-
cises the child, the people singing Hebrew songs, and the boy's
father sitting praying covered with a veil. Outside of the synagogue
a cock is sacrificed and taken to be cooked at the child's father's

* The Marithi rung : Tere bdla hheldya jdva dn saticM rrmtM vdtun hhdya.

' If there ia no synagogue the rite is performed in the house whore the boy was
bom.

^ Only males are circumoised. If the child is weably the rite may be put off for
a few days.

* AH Jews leave a chair for Elijah. The story is that he wished to die because the
Jews disregarded the rite and could not be comforted except by a promise from God
that the rite should always be respected. Basnage, 422-423.

Deccan.]

POONA.

529

house. Raisin wine and milk are thrice given to the child to quiet
him. The wound is dressed with brandy and oil and the child is
blessed by the minister and called by a new name chosen from the
Old Testament.^ Then, except on the Sabbath or on a fast day
when nothing but the raisin wine is used, the guests are treated
to cocoa-kernel and sugar cakes. The child is presented with
silver coins and silver and gold ornaments and the minister is
given a fee of 3c?. to Is. (2-8 as.). No record of the circumcision is
kept, but it is considered meritorious to be present at the ceremony.
The party go back to the mother and sing a hymn, and eat sugar,
parched gram, and liquor. The cock is presented to the minister
and the guests retire. If a child dies before it is circumcised, the
operation is performed after death, but no prayers are offered.
Boys, as noticed above, are named on the circumcision day. Girls
are named at any time from the fifth day to one month after birth.^
On the night fixed for the naming the minister and relations are
called, and a lighted lamp is set on a stool covered with white cloth,
near the mother's cot; close to the cot are arranged plates of fruit and
cups of milk and honey. The minister, placing his right hand on
the child's head, repeats Hebrew verses, in which the name to be
^ given to the child occurs. He retires, and the- night is spent in
singing and drinking.

On the morning of the twelfth day the mother and child are bathed
and a cocoanut is broken and its water is sprinkled on all sides.
The mother or some other woman lays the child in the cradle
repeating the Hebrew words Bashim adonya, that is In the Name
of God, and pulling the cradle by the string sings songs. Cocoa-
kernels and sugar are handed round.

On the thirteenth day a few Bene-Tsraels perform the rite of
redeeming their first-born sons. The father, taking his son and
asking his friends and relations to come with him, goes to the
synagogae, and coming before the sacrificial priest says, I present
you this my first-born son, and gives him in his hands. The cohen^
looks at the child, and, asking 4s. to £1 lOs. (Rs. 2-15), hands him
back to his father and blesses him.

On the morning of the fortieth day after a boy's birth or the
eightieth day after a girl's birth, the minister is sent for. When he

Chapter III.
Population.

Bene-Israels,
Circumcision,

Cradling.

Purification,

^ Bene-Iaraels are called either by Hebrew or Hindu names. The Hindu male
names are Bibdji, Dhondu, DharmAji, Yeaba, EAma, and Sakoba. The female
names are Yesu, Lidi, Soni, Dhoudi, and Baya. A child's first name is often changed.
If a child is dangerously ill his parents vow that if the sickness abates they will
change its name, and when a girl is married her husband's people give her a new
name. Surnames are derived from names of villages such as Agflskar, Divekar,
MAjgdvkar, Korgivkar, N4gd,vkar, Penkar, Punekar, Nagarkar, and Talegdvkar.
They call their father dba a,ud papa ; mother dya or di ; brother ddda ; sister bdya ;
dtmghter sokri ; child bdla ; brother's wife bhdbi; father-in-law and maternal uncle
mdma ; and paternal uncle, ndna and kdha.

' Some Bene-Iaraels do not ask the minister to give their girls a name and simply-
call her by some name they have chosen in the house.

' The sacrificial priest is called eohen. The post ia hereditary, but as sacrifice^
are no longer offered, the cohen's only duty is to bless the ppngregation in th^
synagogue.

B 310- 67

[Bombay Gazetteer,

530

DISTRICTS.

Chapter III.
Population.

Bene-Isbabls.

Shaving,

Mother's Return.

comes a pot full of water is placed before him. He takes a twig
of sahja, dips it into the waterpot, pronounces a blessing, and
retires. The mother and child are bathed together in hot water, and
the mother, taking the child on her lap, pours both on herself and
her child seven small pots full of the water that has been blessed by
the minister and they become pure.^

In the afternoon of the purifying day the child's head is shaved.''
Some elderly person, either a man or woman takes the child on their
lap, spreads a handkerchief over the child's knees, and the barber
shaves its head. When the shaving is over the- barber is presented
with Qd. (4 as.) in cash together with rice and half a cocoanut, the
other half being divided among the children of the house. The
fihild is bathed,^ seated on a low wooden stool, and rice flour balls
are rolled from a brass plate held over his head. In the evening a
dish filled with pieces of rice-bread and mixed with molasses and
pieces of cocoa-kernel is placed before the minister and he blesses
the bread and distributes it among the persons present. This last
rite known as malida is observed only by a few.

Three or four months after the mother is purified the father's
mother sends to ask that the child and the mother may be sent to
her house. Two or three days after the girl's mother calls her
nearest relations, and with the child and young mother, takes a
present of a robe, a bodice, child's clothes and ornaments, and a
cradle, with bedding and toys, to the girl's mother-in-law's house.
When they arrive they stand on the veranda, and a woman coming
from the house with cooked rice or dmbat bhdt, waves it round the
mother's and child's head, and throws it away to satisfy evil
spirits. The mother, with the child in her arms, walks into the
house followed by the women guests and the presents. A dinner is
served to the guests, the girl's mother is presented with a robe and
bodice, betel is handed round, and the guests leave.* When the
girl's parents live at a distance and she is confined at her husband's
house, she and her child are removed to a near relation's for a few
days, and return with gifts bought at her mother's expense.

1 When the mother has to leave the house before the proper time, the purifying
has to be twice gone through at the time of quitting the house and after the end of
the fortieth or the eightieth day as the case may be.

'' If the child is the subject of a vow its hair is allowed to grow from one to five
years. The child is then taken in procession on horseback with music to the syna-
gogue. A new handkerchief is spread on its lap, and that the hair may not weigh
heavily the barber shaves its head without using water. At the end of the shaving the
barber is presented with the handkerchief, a pound of rice, a cocoanut, a betelnut
and two leaves, and a copper coin. The child is bathed in warm water, dressed, and
seated on the pulpit or teha. Here the hair is weighed either against gold or silver and
the metal is presented to the synagogue. The priest blesses the child and the hair
is put in the mother's lap who throws it into water. When this is done the child is
piade to stand in the doorway of the synagogue and a metal plate or thdli is held
upside down over its head and rice flour balls are rolled one after another from the
-plate and scrambled for by children.

^ Bene-Israels think that a barber's touch defiles. After being shaved they do not
j^ter their synagogue until they bathe or at least untU the part shaved and their
hands and feet are washed.

< Sonjetimea the girl's mother and a relation or two are asked to stay for a couple
of days.

Deccan.]

POONA.

531

Any time after three montlis a child's ears are bored.^ A girl's
ears are bored in three places in the lobe, and in two places in
the upper cartilage. "When the ears are healed a girl's nose is
bored) generally through the right nostril, by a Hindu goldsmith,
whoj besides a present of rice receives for each hole bored |d to
1 ^d. (J - 1 a.) . The holes are kept open by fine gold rings not by
thread as among Hindus.*

The ceremonies connected with vaccination and small-pox are
generally performed with much secrecy, except in places without
a synagogue where till lately they were done openly in the
same manner as among cultivating Mardthas and other lower class
Hindus. The small-pox goddess ShitaMdevi, seven married women
or savdsins, and a boy or govla are worshipped. When the lymph
has taken, songs are sung in praise of the sores and of the goddess •
the child is considered sacred and bowed down to, and neither fish
nor flesh is eaten. Of late years special vaccination services are
said to have ceased.

When, between a year and a half and two years old, a chUd begins
to walk, the mother takes a cocoanut, breaks it in front of its feet
and divides the kernel among little children.

The first ceremony after marriage is, when the girl reaches her
twelfth year, the putting on of woman's dress. This is known as
the lucky dress, mursdda or padarsohla that is skirt-wearing.* On
the morning of the girl's twelfth birthday a woman is sent with
music from the boy's house to the girl's house, and asks the girl's
mother to return with her and bring her daughter and friends.
At the boy's house the boy and girl are bathed, dressed in rich
clothes, and seated facing each other on wooden stools covered with,
cloth. A married woman fills the girl's lap with betelnuts, dates,
almonds, and rice, and her hair is combed and decked with flowers.
Five married women, lifting from her shoulder the end of the girl's
robe, spread it on her head, and put a little sugar into the boy's and
girl's mouths. The boy retires, and for about an hour the women
sing Hindustani or Mardthi songs accompanied by a drum, and are
then dismissed with betelnut and leaves. The guests are feasted.
After spending a day or two with the boy's family the girl gets a
present and goes back to her father's house.

When a girl comes of age her mother sends word to the boy's
mother and asks her to come to her house on the eighth day, to fix
whether the age-coming ceremony shall take place at the girl's,
or at the boy's. Unless the girl's parents are rich or are willing
to undergo the expense the ceremony generally takes place at the
boy's. When the ceremony is to take place at her house the boy's
mother, on the morning of the eighth day, accompanied by music.

' In some families when the child is to be sent to the father's house the lobes of
its ears are bored before leaving.

^ In former times the Indian Bene-Israels bored the cartilage of a boy's eairs. But
when they came to pride themselves on Hebrew customs they gave up the practice
as among the old Palestine Jews a bored upper ear was the sign of a slave:

' No ceremony of this kind is performed when the girl is twelve years old at the
time of marriage.

Chapter III.
Population.

Bbnb-Israels.
Ear-boring.

Vaccination.

Foot-lifting.

SJcirt-wearing.

Puberty or
Nahdndcha
Sohla.

[Bombay Gazetteer,

532

DISTRICTS.

Chapter III.
Population

BXNE-ISRAELS.

Pregnancy or

Garvdricha

Sohla.

Death.

goes to ask the girl^s mother and other female relations. They
come between eleven and twelve. The girl is bathed in warm water,
dressed in rich clothes, and seated near the women facing east.
The boy comes richly dressed and sits facing the girl. About five
married women^ going near the girl, comb her hair aud deck it with
flowersj throw garlands round the boy's neck, sprinkle sweet-scented
oil on both, and put a nosegay into the boy's hand. Another
married woman fills the girl's lap with almonds and betelnuts, and
fire married women, taking rice in both their hands, wave them in
front of the girl's knees shoulders and head. The boy and. girl
repeat each other's names and the boy retires. Sugar is handed to
the guests, who, after a couple of hours of song-singing to a drum
accompaniment, are dismissed each with a packet of betelnut and
leaves. At bedtime the boy's mother takes the girl to the boy's
room, and leaving her there shuts the door after her.^

In the seventh or eighth month of a woman's first pregnancy
female friends and relations are called to the boy's. About
twelve, when the guests have come, the girl is bathed and seated
on a low wooden stool facing east, and five married women comb
her hair, fill her lap, and wave grains of rice round her. The
sugar is served, special songs are sung, betel is handed round, and
the guests withdraw.

A few hours before death, if the dying person is a male, a
barber is called to shave the head, and when the barber leaves
the nearest relations shave the whole body except the face. The
dying man is then bathed, dressed in clean clothes, laid on a
fresh bed, and, so long . as sense remains, the minister reads the
sacred books to him, and lays a copy under his pillow. When
at the point of death sugarcandy and grape juice are dropped
into his mouth, his eyes are closed, and he is comforted with the
promise that his children and property will be cared for. When
all is over the son rends his clothes, and the widow, dashing
them against her husband's cot, breaks her bangles and black
bead necklace. The body is covered with a white sheet, and
round the body both men and women weep and wail. The great
toes are tied together with a thread. The men sit on the veranda
or at some distance from the bed; and a friend or neighbour
goes to tell the relations of the death. The body is measured, and
a man goes with a few labourers to dig the grave. From 14s. to
£1 10s. (Rs. 7 - 15) is handed to a friend to bring what is wanted
from the market.^ When he comes back others help in making

' In honour of this event the boy's father gives his friends a present, and on a
Sabbath, after morning prayer, treats them to liquor.

" The details for a man are : Twenty-two yards of cloth worth 14s. (Es. 7) are made
into trousers, a small shirt or Tcaphni and a large shirt also called kaphni reaching the
knee,a cap, a shoulderoloth or dupeta, a turban, a waistscarf or hambarband, a cloth to
tie the hands, a cloth for the eyes, a pillow, a towel, a lungiov pair of drawers and sheet or
mot,a,sisidoT shroud worth 5s. (E,s.2i), cotton worth Jd. (Ja,), frankincense, needles and
thread, a piece of soap, and scented oil worth 3s. (Rs.l J), flowers and saftjoor henna IJii.
(1 a. ), seven earthen jars worth ls.9d. (14 as.), the grave-diggers 4s. (Rs.2), and liquor
and tobacco 5s. (Ks. 2J) total about £113s. (Es. 16J). For a woman the details are:
A pair of trousers or ydrs, a, tohe or pciiaZ, a headcloth, a large &n(i. a, sxnail kaphni ot

Ceccan.J

POONA.

533

the grave clothes, a pillow, a cap, and a pair of trousers. The cot
on which the body is laid is then removed, the ground underneath
is dug, and the cot replaced.i The body is then rubbed with
cocoanut milk, and soap, and twice washed in warm water.
Then, while the minister stands by, seven jars of water are poured
over it from the head to the feet and dashed on the ground. Then
the body is carried to another room, the wet clothes are taken
off, the body is wippd dry, laid on a mat covered with a white
sheet, and dressed in the newly made grave clothes, in which
spices are laid. Then the surplice or sisid is drawn, or a
handkerchief and a sabja twig are placed in the right hand, the
body is rolled in a broad sheet and the face left partly open
that the mourners may take a last look.^ The minister asks the
mourners to forgive the deceased any faults he may have com-
mitted. They answer. They are forgiven. Flakes of cotton
wool are laid on the eyelids, and a handkerchief is placed
over them, and the face is covered with the sheet. To keep the
sheet in its place, cloths are tied round the legs, the -waist, and
the head. Meanwhile one of the mourners has gone to the syna-
gogue and brought the coffin or doldre. He sets it in front of
the door, washes it with cold water, and spreads a white sheet
inside of it. After the minister has repeated Hebrew verses for
about fifteen minutes the body is carried, head first, out of the
house by four or five men, and laid in the coffin. A wooden frame
is dropped over the coffin, and on the frame a chintz cloth and
flower garlands and sabja leaves are spread. Headed by the priest
the deceased's four nearest relations lift the coffin on their shoulders
and, repeating Hebrew verses, walk to the burial ground, helped
at intervals by the other mourners. Within a few paces of
the graveyard the mourners halt, the. minister repeats sacred
texts and the bearers, entering the graveyard, place the coffin
near the grave. Two men go into the grave, and three others,
one holding the head, another the feet, and the third tying a
a cloth round the waist lower the body with the head to the
east.^ Bach of the mourners takes a handful of earth and stuffs
it into the pillow case. The two men in the grave fill any hollows
there are below the body, lay the pillow under its head, and
come out of the grave.* A few mourners standing near repeat

Chapter III.

Population.

Bene-Israels.
Deaths

shirt, a shawl or odni to put round the neck, a sheet or mot, a handkerchief for the
hand, a handkerchief for the eyes, a pillow, a towel for wiping the body, and a sarposk
or over-rohe. Altogether 32 yards worth 18s. (Rs. 9), a Ichol of seven yards
worth 5s. (Rs. 2i) ; incense, oils, needles, and flowers, as for a man 3s. (Ks. 1 J), cotton
worth Id. (J a.), seven earthen jars worth Is. M. (14 as.), flowers and sabja worth
IJd. (la.), grave-diggers 4s. (Rs. 2), and liquor and tobacco 5s. (Rs. 2|) ; total
about £1 17 (Rs. 18 J). For a child the details are the same as for a man or woman,
except that only about ten yards of cloth are used,

^ If the deceased has no relations it is now that he is shaved. The funeral cere-
monies should be performed by a son. All Bene-Israels greatly desire male issue.
Failing either a son or an adopted son a relation is asked to perform the ceremonies
and for a year to pray for the dead in the synagogue.

^ A woman is dressed in the same way as a man with a robe or sddi in addition.

' Formerly the grave was sprinkled with milk, water mixed with rice flour, coooa-
kemel, and rice grains.

* If any oile has dust from Jerusalem, a little of it is put into the pillow case.
This dust is sold by merchants coming from Jerusalem at 48, to 10s. (Rs, 2-5Jan

[Bombay Gazetteer,

^34

DISTEICTS.

diapter III.

Population.

Bene.Isb4els.
Death,

texts and throwing a handful of earth into the grave turn away.
The rest come and each throws a handful of earth into the grave
and goes quickly away. The diggers then fill the grave. When
it is full the mourners going to the other side and facing west
repeat prayers, and on leaving the graveyard, each thrice over
plucks a little grass with both his hands and throws it behind his
back.i The coffin is brought back on a carrier's headj and kept in its
place in the synagogue.^ The funeral party go to the dead man's house,
wash their hands and feet on- the steps, sit on the veranda, and
after smoking or drinking a draught of liquor go to their houses. In
the evening near relatives and friends bring cooked dishes and dine
with the mourners from the same dish. On the spot that was dug
under the cot where the dead breathed his last, a mat is spread and
near by are set a lighted lamp and an earthen pot filled with cold
water. The women mourners for seven days sit, sleep, and dine on
the mat, day and night feeding the lamp and keeping it a-light.'
The first seven days are kept strictly as days of mourning. The
members of the family neither go out, sit on chairs, bathe, eat
any thing- substantial, or drink liquor.* The men wear no
turbans and do not salute their friends, and every morning ten
religious-minded men read the sacred books in the house of
mourning. On the morning of the third day the minister, helped
by a few of the people repeats sacred texts. On the evening of
the sixth day he comes and is presented with a plate filled
with sweetmeats and sweet-scented flowers. Over this plate he
repeats verses and together with the mourners eats sweet-
meats. In the afternoon of the seventh day women relations and
friends with cocoanuts in their hands go to the mourner's houge,
and with cocoanut oil rub the women's and their own heads, and
after bathing them return to their own houses and themselves
bathe. Meanwhile the minister with about ten men goes to the
mourner's house, and the chief mourner, taking the waterpot
that was placed on the spot where the deceased's cot stood,
along with the minister and the others, goes to the burying
ground. He makes ^a hollow about six inches deep on the spot
where the deceased was buried, sets a stone at the head and a
smaller stone at the foot, and at the right side six stones and at
the left five. The hollow is partly filled with earth and the spot is

ounce. A little of it is kept in most Bene-Israels' houses. Earth, one of the leading
spirit-soarers, is thro-wn on the body by Je-nrs, Musalmdns, Christians, and many
Hindus.

^ This is said to mean that their people may gro-w in a number like blades of grass
or as a sign that all flesh is grass, and the glory of man like the flo-wer of the field.
The practice is observed by other Je-ws. Like the thro-wing of earth the throwing of
grass is originally -with the object of scaring spirits. The holiness or spirit-scaring
power of grass is she-wn in many Hindu ceremonies. The origin of the spirit-scaring
powerof grass is perhaps the memory that the first food- grains were grass grains suck
as Hindus eat on fast days. Or grass may have been eaten as medicine by early
men as it still is eaten by dogs and cats,

^ If a Bene- Israel dies on Friday evening he is not buried till Saturday evening.

' This is called keeping the mat alive, chatdi jagine. This practice is observed by
other Jews.

* These practices are all observed by other Jews.

Deccan :

POONA.

535

well beaten.^ Then the chief mourner, taking the waterpot in his
hand, pours water on the right side, then on the left side, and
then down the middle, always beginning from the head. When he
reaches the foot stone he dashes the pot to pieces on the ground.
He then takes a twig of sabja and plants it near the head stone
and sometimes lays pieces of cocoa-kernel all over the grave.
The mourners turn their backs on the grave, repeat prayers, eat' some
cocoakernel, smell the sdbja, smoke a pipe, and return to their homes.
At the mourner's house the jdrat is read and in the evening a
feast of meat and sweetmeats is given. To this feast guests are not
specially called, but as a rule all who hear that a jdrat is being held,
come unasked, prayers or jikhir are said, the food is blessed by the
minister, and is shared among men and women. In the evening,
either of this or of the next day, his relations and friends take the
chief mourner to the synagogue. The minister repeats texts, and in
the name of the deceased the synagogue is presented with two to
five pounds of oil. On leaving the synagogue all sit on the veranda,
and except the chief mourner subscribe for a drink.^ When the
liquor is finished the moarner is taken to his house and there
entertains the rest with drink and tobacco. After the men
have done, the women mourners are taken to a neighbour's house
and entertained with a draught of liquor. About a month after
the death the chief mourner feasts his nearest relations and three
months later another small feast is given. At the sixth and
twelfth month a feast is given to a large number of castefellows,
when both the jdrat and the jikhir are read. The chief dish is
mutton. Where there is no synagogue liquor is served, but if
there is a synagogue the liquor money is made over to the syna-
gogue fund.

In each village caste questions are settled by the headman at a
meeting of the adult members of the community. He is helped
by the hereditary minister or judge and the four elders called chau-
ghulds. All persons present at such meetings are allowed to take
part in the discussion, and, if necessary, 'to record their dissent or
petition for a new trial. In taking evidence they caution
witnesses to speak the truth, but do not exact a formal oath.
The marriage covenant is in • general strictly respected and
adultery punished by a fine varying from 2s. to 4s. (Rs. 1 -2). In
aggravated cases the innocent party is allowed a divorce and the
liberty of remarriage. In some places, in consequence of difference
of opinion, some members have left the old community or phad and
set up a new one, building a synagogue of their own if they can
afford it. To draw more persons towards it the rules of the new
synagogue are generally simple and less costly than those of the old
one.

Among the Bene-Israels each synagogue has six office bearers
ov mdnkaris ; the mukddam or headman, the chau ghula ov a,asiata,nt,
the gabdi or treasurer, the hdjdn or minister, the kdji or judge, and

Chapter III.

Population.

Benb-Israels,
Death,

CommunUy,

Mdnharii.

> If a slab is to be put on the tomb it should be done within a year. After that any
one putting up a slab must first give a feast to his castefellows.
' Where there is no synagogue the liquor is drunk at a tavern.

[Bombay Gazetteer,

536

DISTRICTS.

Chapter III.:

Populatioii.

Bene-Isbaels.
Mdnkaris.

Admission.

Cheistians,

the sammdsh or beadle. The mukddam or headman acts as president
at caste meetings. No meeting is called without his leave. His
office is hereditary. He receives a double share of any thing
distributed at caste entertainments and feasts. If each guest is
offered one cup of mutton or liquor the muMdam gets two. Some-
times a host may not entertain his relations and friends, but, how-
ever poor he may be, he must feast the headman. His office is not
essential to a synagogue. Formerly he was much dreaded, but now he
has little actual power. Chaughidds or assistants help the headmaa
and devise plans for bettering the synagogue. They are chosen by
the castemen from the old and respected members of the community.
One of these may be asked to resign in favour of another, but he is
eligible for re-election. Any one, provided he is honest, may be
chosen to fill the post. The duty of the gahdi is to recover outstand-
ings and to keep an account of the receipts and disbursements of
the synagogue fund. The minister or hajdn is a paid officer. He
conducts public services, blesses those who make offerings of oil or
money, celebrates marriages, and performs funeral and other religious
ceremonies. Any Bene-Israel who can read Hebrew pretty fluently
and lead the holiday service, may be appointed minister and paid
£1 to £3 (Rs. 10 - 30) a month. For circumcising children,
slaughtering cattle and fowls, and marrying, he is paid special fees
varying from Is. to 6s. (Rs. J - 3). Kdjis are religious teachers, the
descendants of men chosen when there were no synagogues. No
fresh Mjis are now appointed. They are not paid office bearers
like the minister, but in villages where there are no synagogues,
they perform religious ceremonies and get special fees for slaughter-
ing cattle and fowls, administering oaths at caste meetings, and
helping the headman and his assistants in settling caste disputes.
The sammdsh or servant of the synagogue has to sweep and light it,
to prepare the wine, to gather sums due to the synagogue, and to
make them over to the treasurer. He tells people of caste meetings,
of births marriages deaths and excommunications, and in a case
tried before the headman calls out the names of witnesses. He is
paid about 10s. to 16s. (Rs. 5 - 8) a month.

No man can be admitted a member of the Bene-Israel community
without being circumcised. Before either a man or woman, who
has been put out of caste,^ is again received, their back is stripped
bare, they are seated in a plate filled with cold water, and the priest
gives them thirty-nine gentle lashes with a twisted handkerchief or
korda. This ordeal is called tohat. The Bene-Israels send their
boys to school and are a well-to-do and rising class, owning proper-
ties worth £S0 to £500 (Rs. 500 - 5000).

Christians are returned at 9500, of whom 4335 are Europeans,
811 Eurasians, and 4354 Natives. Of Europeans and Eurasians who
are mostly found at military stations in the district, 2774 or more
than sixty per cent of the Europeans and 602 or more than seventy-
four per cent of the Eurasians are found in the cantonment of

^ The faults genei'ally punished by exoommumoation are adultery with a Mhir,
MAng, or other degraded Hindu, or embracing Christianity or IslAm,

Deccanl

POONA.

537

Poona. They are cMefly military officers and soldiers, ■with a few
civil officers and some Government pensioners. Of the Europeans
987 and of the Eurasians 332 belong to the Roman Catholic church
and the rest to the different Protestant churches. Of 4354 Native
Christians 2446, or more than fifty-six per cent, are found in the
cantonment of Poona. They belong to the Roman Catholic and
Protestant churches. Of 3720 Poona Native Roman Catholics,
nearly two-thirds are Goanese. They are mostly house servants
as butlers and cooks to European and Eurasian residents, a few
clerks, wine shopkeepers, petty traders, coach-builders, carpenters,
and painters. In food, drink, dress, and customs they do not differ
from their brethren of Goa. The remaining one-third, mostly
Mhars and Mdngs, are converts made by Roman Catholic mission-
aries. In food, drink, dress, and customs they differ little from
Hindu Mhdrs and Md,ngs. The Poona Protestant Native Christians
are mostly Mhdrs and Mangs with a few Br^hmans, Marathd,s, and
other high and middle-class Hindus. Brahmans, Marathas, and
other high and middle-class converts who can read and write are
teachers and catechists, and a few pastors and missionaries. Except
a few who can read and write, Mhdrs and Mangs follow their heredi-
tary calling of removing dead cattle and rope-making. They
belong to several Protestant missions the chief of which are the
Mission of the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel, the
Baptist Mission, the Church Mission of England, and the American
Mardthi Mission. The Society for the Propagation of the Gospel
in Foreign Parts was organised in 1701 under a charter from
William III. In 1817 the Society began its labours in India.
In 1827 Bishop Heber, while in Bombay, formed a committee in
connection with the Society, but it was not until 1859 that a mis-
sion was established. At Poona the Mission has a resident mis-
sionary. The Baptist Mission, which began work in India in
1793 has, at Poona, a church and two resident missionaries.
The Church Missionary Society was organised in 1799. In 1807
the Society made a grant of £150 for missionary work in India. In
1818 the Society began its work in the city of Bombay and a corre-
sponding committee was formed. The first missionary, the Reverend
R. Kenney, was sent oat in 1820. He preached in the city of
Bombay and opened schools among which was the Robert Money
Institution at Bombay. In 1846 Junnar in Poona was taken up as
a field of labour where the Society has a permanent resident mission-
ary and a bungalow. The American MarAthi Mission Society was
formed in America in 1810, and in 1812 the Society sent mission-
aries to Calcutta. The missionaries were ordered to leave the coun-
try, and two of them escaped to Bombay where they were forbidden
to preach. In 1813 the missionaries earnestly appealed to Sir Evan
Nepean, then Governor of Bombay, and obtained permission to
preach. They preached and opened schools for boys and girls. In
1842 the Reverend 0. French of this mission occupied Sirur
in Poona, where they have a church under a native pastor. In food,
drink, dress, and customs the Poona Protestant Native Christians
do not differ from Ahmadnagar Protestant Native Christians.

Chapter III-
Popnlation.

Christians.

B 310—68

[Bombay Gazetteer,

538

DISTRICTS.

Chapter III.
Population.

PArsis.

Chi:>e8e.

Pa'rsis are returned as numbering 1574 and are found mostly in
the town and cantonment of Poona. They are mostly shopkeepers,
traders and liquor-sellers, and a few clerks, contractors and house
and land owners. Most of them are well-to-do and on the whole
they are a rising class.^

Chinese, who call themselves Thongians, are returned as
numbering twenty-three and are found in Haveli and Maval and in
the city and cantonment of Poona. They say the first Chinaman
who settled in Poona was Jokwangtai-tai who came into the district
about twenty-five years ago from Bombay where he. and some others
came as sailors in Chinese ships. They say that they have a
hundred surnames. People bearing the same surname do not inter-
marry. The names in common use among men are Afuk, Ahi, Asao,
Athaun, and Aun. They have no subdivisions, and the children of a
kept woman are admitted- into caste if the father gives a caste
feast. The men are strong built and fair with flat hairless faces,
broad brows, long narrow eyes, and snub noses. Among themselves
they speak the Thanganva and Fukinva dialects of Chinese and
out-of-doors corrupt Hindustani mixed with Chinese. They own
no houses and pay 4s. to 8s. (Rs. 2 - 4) a month as rent. They cook
in metal vessels, and their furniture includes tables, chairs, china
plates, cups and saucers, forks and spoons. They do not eat with
their fingers but with two bits of sticks. They keep no domestic
fowls. Their staple food is rice, wheat, mutton, and fish. They
have no scruples about eating deer, hare, cattle, hogs, and rats. Except
crows and kites they eat the flesh of almost all birds. They drink
both country and European liquor and freely indulge in opium, both .
smoking and eating it. The men wear loose rather short trousers
jackets and English caps and have along pig-tail or top-knot which
falls down the back, sometimes to the ankle. They brought no Chi-
nese women with them to India but keep Deccan women, generally
Musalmd,ns, Mhars, or Mdngs. They are carpenters, shoemakers,
and workers in cane. They earn £2 lOs. to £3 (Rs. 25-30) a month.
They are of the Thongian religion and their chief god is JokwSngtai-
tdi. They have house images and the names of the house-gods are
Kdnkong, Taisan, Thinsan, and Phosdk. When they worship these
gods they burn frankincense sticks and candles before them, and pray
to them daily. Those who have no house-gods are not required to
offer daily prayers. They fast every full-moon and new-moon, and
on these days they live on rice and vegetables and do not touch fish
flesh or liquor. Their holidays are Cocoanut Day Channusahasi in
August, the full-moon of Bhddrapad (September), and Kaomirchhan-
gyao in Ashvin (October) . They say they believe in evil spirits but
not in sorcery, witchcraft, or soothsaying. They allow child mar-
riage, widow marriage, and polygamy, but not polyandry. They bury
their dead except the unwed, who are burnt. They say they are not
so prosperous as they were ten years ago owing to the competition
of English shoes and the opening of European shops. Still as a
class they are well-to-do.

' A detailed account of Persia is given in the Thdna Statistical Account, Bombay
Gazetteer, XIII. 246-273.

Deccau.]

APPENDIX A.

SPIEIT BASIS 0¥ THE RULE IN FAVOUR OF
OHILD-MARRIAQE.

Op all the classes of dead who are believed likely to walk and trouble Appendix A-
the living none are believed to be more troublesome and dangerous than ngrx j, mIrriage
those who die with unfulfilled wishes. The great wish of a Hindu's life
is to get married and have children. Therefore no class is so likely to
prove troublesome to the living as the ghosts of the unwed dead. As
prevention is better than cure the Hindus seem to have arranged to keep
the class of unwed dead as small as possible by, whenever they could
afford it, marrying their boys and girls in infancy or in early childhood.
The following examples show how strong and widespread is the Hindu
fear of the unmarried dead. Among the higher classes it is laid down in
the Garud Purd,n which treats of the state of the dead, and this is the
universal belief, that boys who die after threadgirding and before they
are married become those most mischievous ghosts known as munjas. Other
spirits of unmarried upper class dead are called athavars. To prevent them
becoming athavars the bodies of the unmarried dead are rubbed with
turmeric. Even the spirits of the most learned and pious high class
ascetics or hrahmaohdris are apt to become ghosts if special rites are not
performed. To prevent him becoming a ghost the Brahmachdri's body is
washed with water, rubbed with turmeric and oil, again washed, married
with the usual rites to the great spirit-scaring swallow-wort rui Calotropis
gigantea, and finally burnt along with the rui bush. Among the Mah^dev
Kolis of the Deccan an unmarried youth who dies becomes an dthavar and
receives offerings whenever a wedding takes place in his family (Mackintosh
in Trans. Bom. Geog. Soc. I. 224) , In North Gujarat the common village
ghost is the chnidel who is the unmarried daughter of the headman of the
village. The most feared spirit in the Konkan, perhaps in the Presidency, is,
the cheda, originally the same as chela a child, who is generally supposed to,
be a Dhangar or a Th4kur lad. In the K4narese districts, as in other parts
of the Presidency, the most dreaded ghost is again the ghost of the unmarried;
dead. They are called Vuikas and are as widely feared in Telugu as in
Kdnarese countries (Sir W. Elliot in Journal Ethnological Society, I. 116).
The Kurubars or shepherds, one of the chief Kdnarese tribes, make yearly
offerings of molasses red cloth and rice to please the Virikas. If no offerings
are made the Yirikas grow angry, send, sickness and bad dreams, and
strike people on the back when they walk at night (Buchanan's Mysore,
I. 397). The practice among the polyandrous Nairs of marrying the
corpses of their women to Brdhmans, or, if they cannot afford a Br^hmaUj
to a palm tree has probably its root in the fear of the unmarried dead.
(Dr. Wilson's Castes, II. 75). Few examples of the fear of the
unmarried dead have been traced in other nations. The Chinese think
that women who die unmarried become ghosts (Gray's China, II. 16).
The old English practice of strewing the path before the virgin's coffin
with flowers or of carrying a garland before her may have its source in the
same idea. (Brand's Popular Antiquities, II. 302, 311).

[Bombay Gazetteer,

540

DISTRICTS.

APPENDIX B.

Appendix B.

Widow

MaRBIA-OK.

SPIRIT BASIS OF THE RULE AGAINST WIDOW MARRIAGE,

Among early men the belief that disease and death are caused by the

spirits of the angry and unfriendly dead seems to have been universal.

This widespread if not universal belief in the spirit-origin of disease explains

why the original object of funeral rites was to keep the dead from coming

back to plague the living. In ordinary cases the Hindu ritual was believed

to be sufficient to keep the dead from coming back, or, as it was expressed

in more kindly and modern phrase, to help the dead to heaven. Still the

commormess of disease and of spirit-possession must in practice have

raised doubts of the power of the funeral rites. Certain classes of people,

those who died with unfulfilled wishes, those who died leaving objects to

which they were strongly attached, and those who died leaving much

property were specially likely to come back. The objects dearest to a man

are his wife and his favourite belongings. If he has these with him

it is probable he will not feel inclined to come back among the living.

This object was believed to be secured by burning or burying with the dead

his wife and his pet property. When the practice of sending his property

with the dead ceased, a new system was introduced. The pet property

was made over to a Brdhman and the wife was set apart for the use of the

dead husband. Of the practice of making over the ..dead man's dearest

belongings, his bed, his turban, his stick, and in some cases his books, to an

outside BrAhman, and of driving the Brahman to a distance from the dead

man's house, details have been given above under Chitpdvans. The risk of

possession by the angry spirit of the dead is what makes the acceptance by

a BrAhman, or by any one else, of a dead man's property a sin. For the

same reason, as the Brdhmans were careful to prevent any member of his

family using the dead man's property, they were careful that no one should

make use of the dead man's dearest property his wife ; they therefore set

her apart for his use. The special treatment of a widow in a high class

Hindu family which forbids widow marriage finds its explanation in the

fact that the widow is set apart for the dead husband's use. When her

husband dies the Brdhman or other high class Hindu woman has her head

shaved, her lucky necklace or mangalsutra, her nosering, her glass bangles,

and in ^ome cases her bodice stripped ofi' ; she is not allowed to wear

gay or coloured clothes or fiowers ; her brow must not be marked by

the spirit-scaring redpowder or spangle, or her eyes by the spirit-soaring

lampblack ; she must take no evening meal and must attend no lucky

ceremonies. The object of most of these rules, the stripping oflf the lucky

jieck thread and bracelets and the order against the red browmark and

the black eyesalve, seems to be to prevent the use of spirit-scaring articles

which might prevent the dead husband from taking possession of his wife,

and so annoy him and tempt him to break his wrath by bringing sickness

on the family. Among Brdhman and other high class Hindus who forbid

widow naarriage no direct proof can be given that, what is shown later

on to be a common belief among the lower classes, the marrying of the

widow is supposed to enrage the dead husband. Still the prevalence of such

a fear seems probable from the dread with which BrAhmans regard the

spirit of the dead first wife, when, as is lawful and common, her place is

supplied by a second wife, Among Gujarat Brdhmans there is said to be

Deccaul

POONA.

541

no commoner cause of family quarrel than the fear of the first ■Vvife. When
the second wife sickens she is believed to be worried by the first wife's
ghost. The friends of the second wife go to the friends of the first wife
and tell them to keep the first wife's spirit in order, and to lay it by shdnti
or soothing rites. The first wife's friends say she is quiet, Why should
she become a ghost ? We can and will do nothing. The strength of the
fear of the dead husband among Brahmans and other high class Hindus
may be judged by the strength of the fear of the dead husband among low-
class Hindus. Even those who allow widow marriage think it unlucky. The
Deccan EAmoshis allow widow marriage, but they think it unlucky if not
disgraceful. No women are allowed to attend a widow's marriage, and
pregnant women leave the village in case they may overhear some of the
words of the ceremony. The service is read in a low tone and the houses
near are deserted. The Poona Dhangars allow widow marriage but money
has first to be paid to the dead man's family [apparently to make up to
them for the risk they run in being attacked by the angry and homeless
dead]. The Lonaris, a widow-marrying Ahmadnagar class of limebumers
do not allow the widow to see any one for three days after marriage.
[Because apparently her eyes are evil as she is haunted by angry
number one whose spirit looking through her eyes may blight any
one who falls under their gaze J. The SholApur MAngs hold widow
marriage at night and will not look at the couple till the sun, the
great spirit-scarer, has been up five hours. The Belgaum Korvis, a low
class of basket-makers, do not allow a widow to be present at a wedding.
Even the Kamdtak Lingdyats who ought to believe that number one
is safe in heaven hold the widow unlucky. Again, among the widow-
marrying classes sickness in the newly married couple is believed to be
caused by the angry spirit of number one. In Belgaum when a
woman of the widow-marrying classes has married a second husband if she
sickens or if her husband sickens or if they have no children the woman
goes to an exorcist and tells him. On a no-moon night the exorcist bores
a hole in a nim tree, puts turmeric in it, and allows it to remain for three
days. On the fourth day he takes the turmeric out and enclosing it in
three 'pi/pal leaves bums the whole and mixing the ashes in water turns
them into ink. With this ink he writes on a piece of paper and tells the
woman to put the slip of paper in a box and to wear the box round her
neck. Among the Somvanshi Kshatris or Chaukalshis of AlibAg in the
Konkan the belief is strong that, when a woman marries a second
husband her first husband becomes a ghost and worries her. Whenever a
woman who has married a second husband sickens she thinks her first
husband, who is known as purushvdra or the Man Spirit is troubling her.
She tells an exorcist and asks how she can get rid of him. The exorcist
gives her charmed rice, flowers, and basil leaves, and tells her to put them
in a small copper box and wear the box round her neck. Sometimes the
exorcist gives the woman a charmed cocoanut and teUs her to worship it
daily and he sometimes tells her to make a small copper or silver image of her
husband and worship it daily. If an Ahmadnagar Mahddev KoU widow-
bride sickens or if her husband sickens they think it is the work of the
former husband. The widow-bride gives a feast and makes a silver image and
either wears it round her neck or puts it with the house-gods. (Mackintosh
in Trans. Bom. Geog. Soc. I. 224). The spirit of the dead husband is
much feared by low class Gujarat Hindus. They strive to please it by
lea^ving food for it at the meeting of four roads or near the house comer.
The Bijdpur Shimpis allow a widow to marry once. If her second husband
dies she must stay a widow for the rest of her life. [Apparently they
think that the second husband was killed by the spirit of the first

Appendix B.

Widow
Mabriaoe.

tBomMy Gazetteer,

542

DISTRICTS.

Appendix B.

Widow
Makbiage.

husband]. Among the Poona Rdmoshis if a woman who has had three
husbands all of whom have died wishes to marry a fourth husband, during
the marriage service she keeps a cock in her arms that the cock may lose
his life and the life of the fourth husband be spared. [Apparently the
object is that the spirit of number one who destroyed numbers two and
three for meddling with his property may pass into the cogk and let
number four escape]. Some examples of the belief in the unluckiness of
widow marriages in other nations besides Hindus may be given. The Ohinese
hold widow-marriage a disgrace (Gemelli Oareri [1695] Churchill's Voyages,
IV. 332 : Jour. Eth. Soc. II. 16). In Peru when a chief died his wives did
not marry, but his housewives and children remained as in his lifetime and
a statue of gold was made in his lifetime and served as if it had been alive
(Spencer's Principles of Sociology, I. 330). Other nations seem also to
share the Hindu dread of the dead- husband and set apart his widow that
the dead may go to her. In the Andamans the widow wears her husband's
skull round her neck (Spencer's Prin. of Soc. I. 326). The Motu women
of New Guinea when a husband or a child dies shave the head, lengthen
the girdle, and wear the dead husband's hair and a piece of the dead
husband's or child's bone round their neck. (Journal Anthropological
Society, VII. 485). The West African negresses throw the ashes of their
dead husbands into water that they may not come back and trouble
them (Spencer's Prin. of Soc. I. 175). i Among the Amazulu American
Indians if the widow marries and leaves the first husband's children his
ghost comes and asks "her with whom have you left my children? What
are you doing here 1 Go back to the children or I will kiU you (Ditto, 261).

^ This is important as showing the original object with which the Hindus threw
the ashes of the dead into water. Compare Note on RAmtirth Belgaum in Statistical
Account pp. 598-599.

Deocan.]

POONA. , 543

APPENDIX 0.

TRACES OF POLYANDRY.

Among the tribes of India the rules regarding marriage vary from a Appendix C
practical monogamy, through polygamy and polyandry of several forms, to potrAWDKY.
promiscuousness. One of the chief points of interest in the study of Hindu
customs is the evidence they furnish that many of the tribes and classes
•which are now monogamous or polygamous were once polyandrous. The
foUowing evidence is offered with the object of making it appear probable
that through promiscuousness and polyandry most modem Hindus have
risen to polygamy and to a practical monogamy. The Buteas of Bengal
(Dalton, 97) have no marriage ceremony and no care for the conduct of
their wives. The Tihars of Oudh (Spencer's Prin. of Soc. I. 661) have
only a nominal marriage tie. In North Arkot in Madras (Cox's
North Arcot, 301) the Irulas rarely contract marriage, the association of
man and woman ending at the wish of either. According to Captain
Taylor some tribes in the Piney HUls in Madura have few restrictions
on promiscuous intimacy (Spencer's Prin, of Soc. I. 661). The Woddas
of North Arcot allow their women to change their partners eighteen
times (Cox's North Arcot, 301), and among the Kathi Korvas of
the same district, when any man is sent to jail, the wife chooses a new
partner for the term of her husband's imprisonment (Ditto, 300).
According to Dubois (I. 5) among (1800) the Totiers of Madura, brothers
imcles nephews and other relations had the women in common. In the
Bombay Presidency many low- class Hindus in North KAnara, though
strict in punishing their wives if they associate with men of low caste,
allow them to associate with men of their own or of higher castes. The
Bd,ndis of North Kdnara (Bom. Gaz. XV. 333) allow their wives to
cohabit with any one they please except with men of impure caste. The
Atte Kunbis of "Kinara aUow adultery with caste people only. Some
Kshatris and Nairs in North Kanara allow their wives to cohabit with
Namburi Brdhmans. In North Bombay among the 'Bh.iti&a of GujarAt
the practice formerly prevailed of letting the priest pass the first night after
marriage with the bride. Wives are in this way stiU sometimes devoted
to the Mahirijis, but as a rule a money ofiering has taken the place of
the bride-offering. In ChAndod, a place of pilgrimage on the Narbada, the
local Brahmans, some of whom are of the high Nagar subdivision, at the
holy or fair seasons leave their houses and allow strangers of good caste
to live with their wives. Polyandry, the marriage of one wife to several
husbands, is practised in many parts of India. It is found among several
of the Panjdb hUl tribes (Ibbetson's 1881 Census). Among the Jte when
the younger brothers are too poor to bear the expenses of separate
weddings the wife has sometimes to accept her brothers-in-law as
joint-husbands (Hunter's History of India, 128). The polyandry
of the Ghakkars of Rdwalpindi struck the early Musalmdns (a. d.
1000). (Ditto.) In Southern India Tipu (1784) accused the Ooorgs
of practising polyandry, and, though the practice seems to have since
ceased, Wilks (Southern India, II. 532) states that in his time (1811)
the accusation was true. Polyandry is still prevalent among the Todas, the
Kapillis of Dindigal valley, and some tribes in Coorg and the Nilgiris
(Jour. Ethno. Soc. I. 119). Buchanan (Mysore, III. 17-18) mentions that
though the family of the South Kdnara Chief of Kumli professed to be
Kshatriyas from North India, the eldest daughter, who had Brahmans to

[Bombay Gazetteef ,
544 DISTRICTS.

Appendix C- live with her and changed them as often as she liked, continued the line,
— 7 According to Wilks (Southern India, I. 54) the Totiers of Madura, like the

OLYAKDEY. j^^^ ^^ ^-^^ Panj^b, when poor, have one wife for several brothers. In
Malabdr, besides among the Nairs, who furnish the best example of a
polyandrous society in India, polyandry is prevalent among the Kshatris
(Buchanan, II. 350) and the Shandrs or palm-tappers (Ditto, 417). In
places where polyandry has ceased, among certain tribes polyandrous
customs linger. Among certain Upper India tribes the rule prevails that the
widow marries the dead husband's younger brother, and this rule is followed
in the Bombay Presidency by the Ahirs and Kathis of KAthi^w^r and by the
Sikalgars or armourers of Dhdrwar. In Dhd,rw4r also among the Holayas,
a depressed class, one daughter sometimes remains unmarried, inherits her
parent's property, and has. her children received into caste. Polyandry is
found in many parts of the world besides in India. So widespread is it
that MoLellan, one of the leading authorities on the subject of Primitive
Marriage, holds that all nations have passed through a polyandrous stage.
Mr, Herbert Spencer (Prin. of Soc. I. 679), while admitting the wide
spread of the practice, prefers to hold polyandry a peculiar phase of the
marriage-relation rather than a stage through which all the higher races
have passed. In either case several facts in Indian history and custom
show that many classes which are now monogamous or polygamous have like
the British passed through polyandry. Of polyandry in Indian history there
is besides the well-known case of Draupadi, the wife of the five PAndav
brothers, the case of the Vedic deities the Ashvins or Ashvini Kumte
who had only one wife among them, of M^dhavi the daughter of Yaydti
who had four husbands, and of another holyman's daughter who had ten.
(Dabistan, II. 68). In another passage the author of the Dabistan
(I. 117) seems to have thought it was the rule that in ancient India
several men married one woman.

In a polyandrous people the maternal uncle holds the position which
in a people among whom succession passes through the male and not
through the female belongs to the father. Races and people among whom
the maternal uncle holds a position of special hon6ur may therefore
be judged to have passed through a polyandrous stage. A'ccording to
Ward (Views of the Hindus, I. 150) no Hindu may offer his maternal
uncle in sacrifice. Inquiry shows that in many monogamous or polygamous
castes in the leading family rites, first shaving or hair-cutting, thread-
girding, marriage and death, the maternal uncle holds the position which
in a commimity among whom succession had always been through the male
would be held by the father of the child. In the Bombay Deocan and
KarnAtak among five castes the maternal uncle holds a special position at
first hair-cutting or shaving. In three of these five castes the Havig
Brahmans of North Kdnara, the GhisAdis or tinkers of Poena, and the
Poena VeMlis, a Madras caste, when a child has its head shaved or its
hair cut for the first time it is set on its maternal uncle's knee. The
HaKlkhors or scavengers of Poona, a North Indian tribe, when they
first clip the child's hair also clip the maternal uncle's hair and make him a
present, and the KiHkdyats, a wandering Telugu tribe in Bijdpur, have the
child's hair cut by its maternal uncle before it is three months old.
Among three castes the maternal uncle holds a special position at the
thread-girding. Among the H'avig BrAhmans of North K^nara the
maternal uncle becomes a guide and protector of the boy in his mock
journey to Benares ; at his thread-girding the Chitpdvan boy is shaved
sitting on his uncle's knee ; and among the Shenvis of Poona the maternal
uncle advises the boy to give up a recluse life. Among siKteen Bombay
castes the maternal uncle holds a special position at marriages. Of the
sixteen castes three are high, seven middle, and six low or early.

fieccan.]

POONA. 545

Of the high castes Ohitp^van Brdhmans call at the uncle's house on their Appendix C
way back from showing the child to the village god. Shenvi maternal Polyandrit

uncles lift the bride from the marriage altar and set her on a heap of rice
and at the lucky moment the maternal uncle brings the bride's marriage
dress and ties on the wedding coronet and the wedding wristlet. Among
Poena Govardhan or bastard Br^hmans the maternal uncles carry the boy
and girl on their shoulders and dance. Of the middle classes P^tane
Prabhus, Panch Kalshis and Sondrs, maternal uncles, like Shenvi maternal
uncles, lift the bride from the marriage altar, set her on a heap of rice, and,
at the lucky moment, bring the bride's marriage dress and tie on the
wedding coronet or hashing and the wedding wristlet or kankan. The Raddi
maternal uncle, a Telugu class found in Poona, carries the girl to the
bridegroom's house on his back ; the Bangars, southern spice-sellers in
Poona, make the maternal uncles stand behind the boy and girl when the
marriage is going on ; the Jain Shimpis of Ahmadnagar have the same
custom ; the Khandesh Kunbi maternal uncle clasps the hands of the
bridegroom over the hands of the bride. Among low and early tribes the
Halepaik maternal uncle in Dhdrwar goes with the boy and girl round the
marriage shed ; the Korvis or Sanadi Korvis of Bijdpur divide the sum
paid by the boy's father equally between the girl's father and her maternal
imcle ; iu Ahmadnagar the Mochi or cobbler maternal uncles take the boy
and the girl on their shoulders and dance in a circle throwing redpowder ;
iu BijApur the Pingul maternal uncle draws ash marks on the brows of
the boy and girl ; among the RAmoshis the typical early tribe of the South
Bombay Deccan at the kanyddan or bride-giving, the priest asks ' Is the
bride to be given?' Her maternal uncle comes forward and says 'Yes,
she is to be given. ' The boy and girl are called. The boy's toes are put
in a metal plate ; water is poured over them and sipped by the uncle who
says ' I have given you my sister's child. She is now in your keeping, see
you guard her.' At their weddings the TJchlds or pick-pockets of Poona, a
tribe with Telugu ways, give the girl's maternal uncle £5 (Rs. 50). In the
funeral rites of the Khandesh Ddng and Akrini Bhils the son of the dead
man's sister receives the chief mourner's turban, and the Pdvrds, another
early Khandesh tribe, present the dead man's cow, money, and shoes to
his sister's son. Outside of Bombay in shaving the young child the
Y4nadis of North Arkot make the maternal uncle cut off a lock of hair
from the child's head and tie it to an areca or betel palm : so the Irul
maternal uncle, also in North Arcot (Oox's Stat. Account, 301) cuts a lock
of hair and ties it to a ragi tree. In marriage among the Kois of the lower
Godavari (Jour. Roy. As. Soc. XII. 421) the mother's brother, and not the
father or the mother, settles who the child is to marry. In death among the
Gurvas, an early Bengal tribe (Dalton, 63), the sister's son is the chief
mourner. Among the palm-tappiag Biluars of Mysore a man's eldest sister's
son succeeds him (Buchanan's Mysore, III. 52) ; succession also goes to the
sister's son among the upper and middle classes of Jains, Buntars, Massudis,
and Parivaradus of South Kinara (Buchanan's Mysore, III. 17). In
connection with the view that children were heirs to their maternal uncles
before they were heirs to their fathers the use of uncle as a term of respect
is worthy of note. In the Konkan among the middle and lower classes an
elder stranger is addressed not as dada or father but as mama or maternal
imcle. It is interesting to note that King Lear addresses the fool as uncle
which is perhaps a trace of the early polyandrous British form of respectful
address. In Gujard,t where the good or guardian deities are fathers
and mothers the hostile or earlier spirits or hhwts are addressed as
uncles. Sir John Lubbock has suggested that the special respect
shown in many parts of the world to dancing girls and female temple
servants has its origin in the feeling that the wives of the community,
B 310—69

[Bombay Gazetteer.
546 DISTRICTS.

Appendix C- that is those women who keep to the old fore-marriage customs, are
PoLYANDEY worthj of Special respect. At one time, says the author of the Dabistan

(II. 154), dancing girls were so highly respected in India that they were
called devkanyds or daughters of the gods. The Bombay Presidency
furnishes several examples of respect shown to dancing girls and temple
women. Dancing girls hold a position of special honour in Kdnara
Dhdrwar and other southern districts of Bombay. They take a leading part
not only in the temple service and in temple festivals but in marriage and
other family ceremonies. In Kdnara almost every wedding procession of
any importance is headed by a group of dancing girls. The KaUvants or
N^ikins of KAnara are much honoured. They trace their origin to the
heavenly nymphs whose office was to entertain the gods and to lead astray
the seers or rishis, when their penance had amassed a store of merit
dangerous to the gods. These Kal^vants or dancing girls have certain
hereditary rights in Kdnara as beginning dances in certain temples and
receiving betel leaf cigars from their own people in marriage and puberty
ceremonies. The Devlis or temple attendants of Kdnara sweep and cow-
dung the floor of the temples and wave a fly-whisk before the idols. The
Pdtradavarus or high caste courtezans of DMrwAr are treated with honour.
They are allowed into all temples and into all houses and are considered
wedded women who can never become widows. The Dharw^r LingAyats
have a female attendant or Basavi, the wife of the god Basav or bull,
who attends religious meetings holding a brass cup and helps in calling
guests. Further north Khandoba, the guardian of the Deccan, has his
■murlis but they are not held- in any special respect. Beyond Bombay
limits in Tulava or South Kdnara (Buchanan's Mysore, III. 65, 95) the
Moylars or temple women are held in great honour. Any woman of the
four castes, Brdhmans, Kshatriyas, Vaishyas, and Shudras, who is tired
cf her husband, or any widow in a caste which forbids widow marriage
may go to a temple and eat some of the rice that is offered to the idol.
She is then taken before the officers of government who call some people
of her caste to enquire into her case. If she is a Brahman, she is
offered the choice of living either in the temple or beyond its preciucts.
If she choose to live in the temple she is given a daily allowance of
rice and a yearly suit of clothes. She is to sweep the temple, fan the
idol with the Tibet cow's taiil, and confine her amours to Brdhmans. The
Bhogams or Devad^is of North Arkot are said (Cox's North Arcot,
.296) to have once been a body of vestal virgins whose duty was to sweep
ithe temple and ornament its floor with devices in rice-flour. After a
time, according to the local story, they became immoral. They dance and
sing before the idol and hold before him the sacred light or kwmbhd/rti.
So much respect is paid to these Bhogams in North Arkot that no marriage
would be considered likely to prove happy if the bride's t&li or lucky
thread and clothes were not touched by a Bhogam. The common explana-
ition of this custom is that as the Bhogams never become widows, the bride
■whose tali they touch will nev^rlose her husband. One of this class is always
i;he bride's companion or head bridesmaid and gives her hints how to secure
iher husband's favours bygraceful movements and other blandishments (Cox's
North Arcot, 296). Though, in deference to Sir John Lubbock's suggestion,
the respect for temple women has been cited as perhaps a trace of polyandrous
feeling, taken in connection with the object of other temple rites which
seems in all cases to be spirit-scaring, the holiness or luckiness of the
dancing girl or temple-woman seems to be due not to the fact that she
represents the old customs which were in force before the introduction of the
immoral monopoly of matrimony but because dancing, especially naked
dancing, has, like King David's naked dancing before the Ark, some
religious or spirit-scaring power.

Deccan.]

POONA.

547

APPENDIX D.

ORiaiN OF ORNAMENTS.

ChitpAvan women, like other Mardtha Brahman women, dress their fine
black hair with much care and neatness. The front hair, which is kept
faultlessly smooth and glossy, has a main and two smaller partings. The
main parting or hlidng runs up the middle of the head to within about an
inch of the crown. From the end of the main parting side partings, about
two inches long, are drawn back with an outward slant from the main Hne
so as to leave between the two side partings an angle of about 45°. The
hair is drawn tightly back and is generally divided into three strands which
are braided into one stout plait, i The stout plait of hair is worn in one
of two ways. Young married girls, before they come of age, occasionally
wear the plait hanging down the back. At other times young unmarried
women, and older married women at all times, catch back the tip of the
plait, and passing it through some hair close above the root or beginning of
the plait, coil it at the back of the head, so that it forms a solid ring of hair
two to three inches deep according to the quantity of hair. This circular
knot or ba.ck knot is called khopa that is a nest or buchada that is a knot or
knob. In shape it is thought to be a cobra with spread hood guarding
the back of the wearer's head.

Both the front hair and the back plait are decked with ornaments.
The ornaments worn in the front hair are, in the angle between the two,
side partings, a cobra or ndgi or a crescent moon called cJuzndrakor. The
shape of this ornament varies. A common form is a nine-headed gold
cobra seated in the hollow of a crescent moon, with, over the cobra's
head, a ring of pearl-tipped rays, and below the crescent moon a fringe of
seed-like gold beads. The whole is commonly about the size of a rupee.
The hollow of the crescent moon is sometioies filled with a plain plate-
or with some other figure than a cobra. Behind the crescent moon, almost
on the crown of the head, is a lozenge-shaped plate of gold with a
raised central boss. This plate, which is generally about two inches long,,
broadens from the pointed ends to about an. inch across at the middle..
It is known as the ketak (S.) or kevda- (M.) that is the flower of the sweet,
smelling Pandanus, which is used as a medicine and whose scent scares evil..
Behind the kefak,, at the point where the Hne of the skull begins to fall,,
a woman ought to wear a star or chdndani, ablaze with precious, stones.
Few women are rich enough to wear a jewelled star. In its; place the
usual ornament is either a gold chdndani without jewels or a rdkhdi

Appendix D-

Obkaments.

1 As, in Sanskrit, the word veni, plaited or woven hair, also means the meeting of
waters, Brdhman women have a somewhat confused idea that the point where the
three partings meet is a tri veni sangam and is typical of the famous triveni sangam,
the meeting of the Jamna, Ganges, and underground Sarasvati at Praydg or
Allahabad. When a MarAtha Brdhman woman goes with her husband on pilgrimage-
to Allahabad, she makes a hair gift or veni-ddnhy throwing into the stream the tips,
of her braided hair. The object is that the river may be pleased and the offerer
may keep her veni, that is may not lose her husband and become a shaven-headed:
widow.

[Bombay Gazetteer.

548

DISTRICTS.

Appendix D-

Ornaments,

apparently a guardian, a gold circle, perhaps intended for a stin, about
tmce as big as a nipee with a" raised ornamental central boss. On each
side of the ndg, a little above the temples, a few women of very rich
families wear two richly jewelled ornaments, surya or the sun on the right
and chandra or the moon on the left. This completes the ornaments of
the front hair. The ornaments, worn by married girls on special occasions
in the plait which hangs down the back, differ from those worn by married
women in the circular plait coiled close into the back of the head. On
festive occasions a girl who wears her back hair in a falling plait decks it
with nine golden ornaments which she gets at marriage and wears on
special occasions until she comes of age. These ornaments, which are
strung in a silk cord and braided with the back hair into a plait ending
in two red silk tassels in golden holders, are known as nag-gonde or the
trinket-tassels. They are now often made of conventional spangles called
flowers, the whole being known as phul-gonde or flower tassels. The
trinket-tassels or nag-gonde differ from each other and represent certain
plants and animals. The arrangement varies, but the following order is
not uncommon. At the root or beginning of the plait, near the nape of
the neck, the first ornament is a mud like the kolas or water-pot temple
spire with a round knob in the mouth of the water-pot. Below the mud
hang nine lucky or spirit-scaring ornaments. The first is a cobra or ndg,
the second a peacock or mor, the third a tortoise or kachha, the fourth a bull
or nandi, the fifth a fish, the sixth a chrysanthemum or ghevti, the seventh
a cowitch pod or kiliri used in medicine, the eighth a lotus, flower, and
the ninth the lotus-loving bhunga or black bee. Below the bee the end
of the braid is hidden in two red silk tassels with golden holders. Married
women and girls wear three ornaments in the circular knot of hair which
stands out from the back of the head.^ At the root of the plait there is
the mud or water-pot spire ornament, about the middle of the circle or
ring are two gold flowers, one on one side about the, size of a rupee and
one on the other side about the size of a shilling. Of these the rupee size
flower on the outer side of the plaited ring is called phwkieh&-phul or the
screw-flower, because it is screwed into its place. At the end of the braid,
which is caught badk and fastened close to the head, is a conventional
gold shevti or chrysanthemum called agraphul or end-flower.

The character of the articles used as hair ornaments suggests that hair
ornaments were originally substances which were esteemed as spirit-scarers.
The moon, the sun, the sweet pandanus, the cobra, and the tortoise are all
guardians, A comparison of the shapes and an inquiry into the names of
the metal and gem-studded ornaments worn by high class Hindus suggests
that they have their origin in the grass ornaments and in the holy fruit
or holy flower ornaments of the early Hindu tribes, and, as is shown by the
position which the durva and other grasses hold in the Br^Junan ritual,
that the origin of wearing the holy grasses, fruits, and leaves, like the origin
of the practice of wearing teeth and other parts of holy animals, was to
keep off evil spirits. The places chosen for protection were at the chief
openings by which spirits were believed to enter the body, the suture in
the skull, the ears nose and mouth, the throat which the movements of
the uvula seem to have suggested as the abode of one of the body's vital
spirits, at the wrists and ankles where the pulse beats, and at the fingers
and toes through which the spirit passed in and out.

1 Women »ud ^rls whose hair is scanty braid into the back plait hair called gm-
gdvan said to come from the tail of a van gdy or wild cow' found in Upper India.
The practice of using false hair has of late become common ; thirty years ago it was
rare, if not unknown.

Deccanl

POONA.

549

One of the plants of spirit-scaring power, which is worn by Hindus
both in its natural state and in the form of metal ornaments, is the lidsi
or sacred basil Ocymum sanctum. This tidsi, chiefly apparently for its
value in hysteric complaints, is with many Hindus the great guardian.
A pot of itilsi is grown close to the house to keep evil from the doors ; so
every November the tulsi is married to Vishnu the Preserver, and a tulsi
wood necklace is worn by VArkaris and other devotees of Vishnu. Besides
in its natural form, the tulsi is worn in gold by Hindu women in the
ornaments known as tuhipatti or thushi. Of grass the darbha and durva,
worn as rings and in other ways, have a high place as evil-scarers in many
Brahman rites, and rings of these grasses are known as pavitris or
purifiers, that is sin or evil-spirit scarers. In the Konkan rice is the staple
grain, the chief scarer of the fiend hunger. To keep off spirits heads of
rice called hugdi were worn and are the origin of the present ear
ornaments of that name. The Malhdri Kolis of Thina, as a cure for
pimples, scratches, and other skin diseases, which they believe to be spirit-
caused, wear a necklace of gulvel Menispermum glabrum. They also wear
an armlet of the creeper called hhutamalli or spirit- wrestler to keep away
evil, and children wear a necklace of bajarbattu beads to keep off the evil
eye. The shreds of the holy palm tree, holy because liquor-yielding, are
worn by some of the early Konkan tribes and by some of the Konkan
village gods. The strip of palm leaf is the origin of the shape of one of
the favourite Hindu gold bracelet patterns.

Of guardian or spirit-scaring animals a trace of the holiness of the cow
remains in the Hindu women's ornament pdtli literally pale red or cow-
coloured. A tiger claw enclosed in gold or silver is tied round the neck
of Hindu children to guard them against spirit attacks and the ivory
pdtalis or bracelets worn by Hindu women are held to be luckier or more
spirit-scaring than any metal or gem-studded ornaments. Other things
which early men supposed to be lucky and have lasted into modem Hindu
metal ornaments are the knot and the black bead. To it the Brd,hman
knot or Brahma-granthi, the sacred thread, owes much of its spirit-scaring
power. So among the modern metal jewelry of low class Hindus is the
gdnthale or knotted necklace and the gantha or knotted earring. Beads
especially black beads are worn as spirit-scarers by the early tribes, and the
regular marriage necklace of all Hindus, the mangalsutra or lucky-thread,
is of black beads. Other traces of original black appears in the names of
gold and pearl ornaments tanmanis or life-beads and ktUi-gdnthis black
beads or black knots. It was not only, perhaps not at all, their greater
beauty that made metal and gems take the place of the old spirit-scaring
grass, fruit, and teeth. The metals are greater spirit-scarers than the
vegetables. The ashes of iron or loha-bhasma, the ashes of copper or tdrnra-
bhasma, and the ashes of silver or raupya-bhasma were found healing or
spirit-scaring and, when heated, the metals were also spirit-scaring as they
.cure disease by actual cautery. The holiness or spirit-scaring power of
copper is shown by its being put in the dead man's mouth or tied to his
skirt and by its use in exorcism. So in the Konkan a barren woman wears
a small copper box to keep off the evil spirit which possesses her and
makes her barren. So also and still more were iron, silver, and gold spirit-
scaring ; and most of all had the precious stones virtues, that is spirit-
scaring powers, a belief which was once universal in England and was strong
at the time of Butler (1640), who made pearl-wearing a cure for one form
of melancholy or bad spirits or blue devils, and still lives in the belief in the
virtues of the bishop's sapphire and the baby's coral. Hindus use precious
stones to scare fiends when they bury them to scare the place-spirit, or

Appendix D-

Oknambnts.

Oenambnts.

[Bombay Gazetteer.
550 DISTRICTS.

Appendix D. dig them in round a Ung to keep spirits from worrying the ling. On
several occasions Hindus wear ornaments to keep ofE evil rather than for
show, illustrating the rule that fear is an older passion than vanity, that
most things now done for show or shohJiesathi have their root in the wish
to scare evil-spirits or hhutdsdthi. Among the Bombay Dhruva Prabhus,
before he is girt with the sacred thread, the boy is decked with gold and
silver ornaments and his head marked with red lines. In the Chitpavan
BrAhman thread-girding when the mother presents alms to her son from
a ladle she puts a gold wristlet round the ladle's handle. At their wedding
Chitpdvans hang mango leaves and neck-ornaments round a pestle. The
Poena Kunbis put on their children a wristlet of black beads and a neck
lace of bear's hair and tiger's claws to ward off spirit-attacks. The Poona
Kunbis put necklets and anklets on their cattle to keep off evil spirits
(Trans. Bombay Lit. Society, III. 219). The Jain MArwdris of Ahmadnagar
tie a piece of lac bangle to the bride's right foot and the boy's hand.^ Some
Ndmdev Shimpis of Ahmadnagar wear a necklet of tulsi beads and put on
the babe's neck an embossed figure of SathvAi. The Bijdpur Raddis deck
the drill plough -with bangles and women's gold and silver ornaments. The
maces or oliobs carried before the GdikwAr of Baroda are at one end
ornamented with a silver bracelet and at the other end with a bell anklet.
Karndtak Shrivaishnavs fasten a sacred thread round the boy's arm as
well as round his neck. In Gujarat Musalm4n women tie black threads
round their children's wrists to keep off evil spirits, and a red thread worn
round the wrist is a common Deccan cure for fever. The DAudi Bohora
women of Gujarat put coUyrium on the eye, antimony on the teeth, and
henna on the head and feet to keep off evil. According to Dubois
(I. 470) in Southern India decency forbade that the ear should be
without ornament. Women wore necklaces of gold and chaplets of pearls
and diamonds which fell to the breast, a waistband of gold or silver, and
heavy armlets. Married women wore silver toe-rings and many fastened
above the ankles silver or gold tubes in which magic texts were written,
talismans which kept them from evil (Dubois, I. 470). That earrings are
worn to guard the ears against evil spirits is made probable by the fact
that Hindu ascetics who give up all ornaments continue to wear copper
earrings (Dubois, I. 469). The Bene-Israels scare evil by hanging a metal
or cloth-box with a piece of paper written by a sorcerer round the child's
neck. The Jews wore prayer signs or tephillin on the brow and arm.
Taking with the washing, filling, and covering with flowers, the bell-ringing
and the incense-burning, it seems probable that the original object of decking
the Hindu god with ornaments was to keep evil spirits from troubling
him. A few examples from other nations than the Hindus may be given
of the use of ornaments apparently not as decorations and therefore
probably as evil-scarers. In Egypt the holy crocodile was adorned with
crystal and gold earrings (Tide's Egyptian Eeligion, 98). The people
of the Andaman and Nikobar Islands use the bark of a creeper called rada
as a waistband and a necklace fastener (Journal Anthrop. Inst. VII. 462).
The Nikobar islanders also make necklaces of pigs' flesh and teeth (Journal
Ethno. Soc. II. 138). The Motus of New Guinea pierce their ears -with
rings of tortoiseshells and strings of small red beads or plates of tortoise-
shell ornamented with red beads (Ditto, 478). Necklaces made of small
shells are worn both by Motu men and women. A necklace much worn by
young women is made of pig's or dog's teeth strung together (Ditto, 478).
The most common neck ornament among the Motus of New Guinea is a
piece of mother-of-pearl, the shape of the moon in the first quarter
(Journal Anthrop. Inst. VII. 479). The Motus also wear ornaments made

Oeccan]

POONA.

551

of skin or some plaited material. The toe or -white-sheU armlet is one of
the most valuable ornaments they have. It is made out of the lower
segment of a conical shell and is valued because ten of these armlets is the
price of a wife (Journal Anthrop. Inst. VII. 479). The Papuans of New
Guinea wear in the large lappets of the ears shells, pieces of wood, and
animal's teeth (Earl's Papuans, 26). The Papuans of West New Guinea
wear hog's teeth in the nose, neck, arms, and waist, and bracelets of twisted
cane and necklets of plaited rushes (Ditto, 48). Over the breast they wear
necklaces of cord fringes (Ditto, 19). In their nose the Papuans wear a
nose-stick, an ebony cyUnder tipped with mother-of-pearl, or part of a
shell with human hair attached to it. They also wear boar's tusks in their
lips to make them brave (Ingle's Australian Colonies, 33). The Caroline
Islanders north of New Guinea wear fragrant flowers in the nose
(Wallace's Australasia, 538). The Solomon Islanders wear nose-ornaments
of various shapes and necklaces of shells (Ditto, 473). The buffoons of Niam-
Niam in the heart of Africa wear fantastic feathers with bits of wood and
roots and the feet of earth-pigs, tortoise shells, eagle's beaks, and bird's
claws (Schweinfurth's Heart of Africa, II. 30). The Bongos of the White
Nile wear as ornaments bits of wood, roots, and the teeth of dogs crocodiles
and jackals (Ditto, I. 296). Circular plates nearly as large as a crown
jpiece made of quartz, ivory, or horn are worn ia their lips by the Mottu
women of the White Nile (Ditto, 407). The Motu chiefs wear chains of
iron as thick as their fingers and necklaces of leather strong enough to
bind a lion (Ditto, 412). The Dyoors of the White NUe wear rings of iron
round their wrists and ankles and their women wear a great iron ring in
the nose and a number of rings in their ears (Ditto, 202). Schweinfurth
says that old Shol, the Dinka queen of the White Nile, when she came to see
him had a number of necklets of iron, brass, and copper about her neck,
also chains of iron, strips of leather, and wooden balls (Ditto, 132) . Among
the Niam-Niams of Central Africa dog's teeth strung together are worn
across the forehead (Ditto, II. 9). The king of the Source of the White
Nile used to wear a plumed hat on the top of the hair-knot. His ears were
pierced with bars of copper and his body was smeared red (Schweinfurth's
Heart of Africa, II. 45) . Among the Diukas of the White Nile men and
women bore their ears and put in iron rings and the women bore the upper
lips and put in iron pius (Ditto, 1. 152). Some West Africans wear strings
of white beads, others decorate their hair with sea-shells, and others with
coral (Park's Travels, I. 21). Dr. Livingstone says that a chief tainess in
South Africa had a number of ornaments and medicines hung round her
neck, the latter as charms (Livingstone's South Africa, 276). Women of
the Sherifs of Batnel Hadgar who go naked wear leather necklets, copper
armlets, and silver earrings (Burkhardt's Nubia, 46) . Some East African
women wear coils of brass wire round the neck and the men wear copper and
brass wristlets and armlets (Stanley, I. 254). The women of some tribes in
South Central Africa bor6 a hole in the upper Hp and put tin in it
(Livingstone, 597). In Loanda in South- West Africa Dr. Livingstone
saw a man with a necklace of twenty or thirty charms (Ditto, 435). The
Balonda women of South- West Africa, who believe in the habitual agency
of spirits, wear pieces of reed in the cartilage of the nose (Livingstone,
460). The Kafirs of South Africa wear bracelets, armlets, and anklets of
brass and feathers in their girdles (Cunningham's South Africa, 165-
167). The Wanikas of East Africa have charms on their legs, arms, neck,
and hair to cure diseases and to drive off evil spirits (News' East Africa,
106). The American Indians wear armlets made of deer horns, hyaena's,
alligator"^, and boar's teeth to keep off wild beasts (Spencer's Prin. of Soc. I.
267). Solomon had a ring half brass half iron, of which all spirits stood

Appendix D.

Ornaments.

[Bombay Gd.zetlieei'!

562

DISTRICTS.

Appendix D'

OSnaments.

Tattooing.

in awe. On the Troy Crowns was an idol of the guardian goddess of
Troy (Jones' Crowns, 13). The Greeks wore on their fingers the Dactyli
idaci which were stones of sovereign value (Joum. Ethn. Soc. I. 44). A
collar studded with jewels is worn by freemasons (Mackay's Freemasonry,
60). In Sweden till 1693 the early custom of putting the king's crown in
his coffin was continued (Jones' Crowns, 23). In Spain they make an
Easter king with a tin crown and a spit as a sceptre (Ditto, 17). The
Celts, Germans, and Slavs worshipped horses, kept them in temples, and
adorned them with earrings and anklets (Tide's Egyptian Religion, 101).
In early Christian Europe it was common to give a votive crown to the
church which was hung over the altar, and in early Christian times the
cross Was crowned (Jones' Crowns, 13). The Anglo-Saxon king is the
giver of bracelets called garters or girders (Ditto, 76). In Devonshire in
1877, a woman collected pennies till she had 4s. 6d. With this she
bought earrings and wore them to cure bad eyes (Dyer's Folklore, 152).

The original object of marking or tattooing, a practice which in later
times passed into decoration or ornaments, seems to have been for luck, that
is to scare spirits. The position of the tattoo marks near the eyes and on
the hands, the dark colour like the spirit-scaring black, and the shapes
made, the sun the tuhi and other guardian leaves and the dog and other
guardian animals, all point to the same object. The frightful gashing, tattoo-
ing, and other tortures through which the Australian and many other savage
youths passed when they reached manhood seem to have originally been
less for looks or for a test of endurance than, like the Br^man and Persian
sacred threads, as a guard against evil. The spirit-scaring power of earth
and also of black yellow and red seems to be the basis of the African and
other savage practices of rubbing the body with coloured earth. The
practice remains in India in the ascetic's ashes or yellow earth and in the brow
sect-marks of almost all Hindus. One of the chief sect-marks is red. Eed
seems originally to have been the great spirit-scarer blood, the old savage
drink, the driver of the fiend of fatigue. It was by smearing the door posts
with blood that the Israelites kept the angel of death from entering their
houses. So the Rajput chief, who like all chiefs on their crowning day, is
specially open to spirit attacks, has his brow marked with blood. This has
been supposed to show that the chief of Rajput race admitted that the
low caste man whose blood was put on his brow had a prior claim than his
own to be chief. The true explanation of this practice seems to be that a
man from one of the low tribes was formerly sacrified and the chiefs brow
smeared with his blood to keep ofi" the attacks of evil spirits. The proof
that the red mark in the chief's brow was a relic of human sacrifice comes
from Bengal. ColonelDalton (Ethnology of Bengal, 146) records that among
the Bhinyas of Kronghir in Bengal, a family holds land on condition of
furnishing a victim when a new chief succeeds. At the installation of a new
chief a man rushes forward, throws himself at the chief's feet, and has his
neck touched with a sword. He disappears for three days and comes
back as if miraculously restored to life.

Deccau-l

POONA. 55!:

APPENDIX E.

SPIRIT- POSSESSION.i

In the Deccan if a person cries or weeps incessantly, if he speaks at Appendix E-
random, if he sways his body to and fro, if he lets his hair fall loose, if he gpiKiT.p^sESsiow
spits blood, if he does not speak or if he refuses his food for several days,
and grows day by day paler and leaner, he is believed to be possessed by a
spirit. All people are liable to spirit-possession and at all times of life.
Women are very liable to spirit-seizures, children are less liable than women,
and men are less Hable than children. Women are specially liable to. spirit-
seiziu-es during their monthly sickness, in pregnancy, and in child-bed; and
barren women are at all times open to spirit attacks. Infants are most
liable to be attacked by spirits during the twelve days after birth, especially
on the fifth and sixth days and when teething. •• Spirits are divided into
two main classes gharche hhut or house-spirit and bdherche hhut or outside
spirit. The influence of the house-spirits is confined to the family to
which they belong. Unless they are molested they do not trouble outsiders.
They are generally the ghost of a member of the family who died with
some desire unfulfilled. By some they are called samandhs or connexions,
but they are usually known by the name of the deceased member of the
family whose ghosts they are, and from whom they do not differ in
appearance or character.

The chief outside spirits are Akhabusa, Asras, Brahmapurush, Brahma-
r^kshas or Khavis, Chudel, Chandk^i, Dankhin, Hadal, Jakhin, Lanv,
Mhasoba, Mhaskoba, Munja, Najis, NavUi, Nirvanshi, Pir, Rdjis, Tal-
khamba, VetAl, Vir, and Jhoting. VetAl is the king of spirits. His features
and his body are like those of a man except that his hands and feet are
turned backwards. His eyes are of a tawny green, his hair stands on end,
and he holds a cane in his right hand and a conch shell in his left. He
lives on air. When he goes his rounds, which he generally does at
midnight on no-moon and fuU-mopn days, he wears a green dress and
either sits in a palanquin or rides a horse, while some of his
attendants walk before and others walk after him, holding lighted torches
and calling aloud. Vetdl lives in large stones covered with oil and
redlead. Asrds are the ghosts of young women, who, after giving
birth to one or more children, committed suicide by drowning them-
selves. They always live in water and attack any person who comes
to their place of abode at noon, in the evening, or at midnight. When
they make their rounds they generally go in groups of three to seven.
Their chief objects of attack are young women. They always ask for one
offering for the band of spirits, each does not ask something for herself.
Their favourite offerings are cooked rice, turmeric and redpowder, and
bodicecloths. Brahmapurusha is the "ghost of a married Brdhman who,
during his lifetime, was a miser and who died miserably, his mind intent
on adding to his hoard. He lives in burning grounds, on the banks of
rivers, and in the lofts of houses. When he lives in his own house he

1 Compiled chiefly from papers on Spirit-possession received from the Assistant
Surgeons and Hospital Assistants of the Deeoan districts through the kindness of Sur-
geon-General Beatty. The most useful papers Were written by RAv SAheb V. K.
Ghollay, Assistant Surgeon, Poona, and Mr. S. V. Kantak, L.M., Assistant Surgeon,,
Pandharpur.

B 310—70

[Bombay Gazetteer,
551 DISTRICTS.

Appendix E. attacks any member of his family who spends his money, uses his clothes,
- — or does any other thing which had he been alive he would not have allowed

SpmiT-PossEssioN. j^.^ ^ ^^ Dankhin, also called DAkhin, is the ghost of a lonely woman,
especially a widow who dies without children, relations, or friends. She
haunts street-crossings, and like Jhoting wantonly attacks children. Hadal
or Hedali is the spectre of a woman who dies in pregnancy or in child-
bed. She dresses in a yellow robe and bodice, wears her hair loose, and is
said to be plump in front and a skeleton behind. She lives in wells, trees,
or in out-of-the-way nooks and house corners. She always attacks
women. In the Deccan are many stories of Hadals visiting men at night
in the guise of beautiful women, and living with them for some time till
their fiend nature or spectre body showed itself. L^nv is a female spirit
who lives in burning and burying grounds, feeding on human intestines.
She often appears in the form of a cat, dog, or goat, and suddenly turns
into a woman, frightening children into a swoon. Mhasoba or Mhaishdsur
is a male spirit, who usually lives in a red painted stone in the corner of a
field. Some villagers consider him a guardian and worship him. Sometimes
a villager who is Mhasoba's devotee makes him a vow that he will give
him a cock or some other dainty if he will attack and sicken or kUl the
devotee's enemies. In this way, though otherwise harmless, to oblige a
devotee Mhasoba sometimes causes sickness or death. Munja is the ghost
of a thread-girt but unmarried Brdhman lad. He lives in a pipal or Ficus
reKgiosa tree. He is fond of attacking women whom he torments, pricking
their eyes with thorns, scorching them with fire, or making them sick or
barren. Any one who pelts his piped with stones or otherwise disturbs
him is sure to be attacked. To appease him those whom he attacks gird
the ^ipal tree with, a, munj or sacred thread, and build a platform or ^dr
round its roots. Nijis is the spectre of a MusalmAn who died with
unfulfilled desires. When a Ndjis seizes a person the usual symptoms of
spirit-possession are not observed. He is very difficult to drive out;
Musalm^n exorcists alone can expel him. Pir is the ghost of a dead
Musalmdn who lives in his tomb and seizes only those who annoy him by
sitting on his tomb, spitting, or pelting stones at it, or doing any other
mischief. Virs are the spirits of persons who die in battle. They are not
harmful and only seize members of their family who play the coward. In
some Deccan families during the Holi holidays a family Vir is asked to
come into the head of the house. The man iato whom the spirit comes is
fed richly, dressed in war attire, and carried in procession accompanied by
friends and music to Mdruti's temple. On his way to the temple he dances
to music and becomes inspired. At the temple he worships the image of
Mdruti with flowers, redlead, oil, and frankincense, and the whole party
return home. If this rite is not observed the Vir troubles his family,
otherwise he acts as their guardian. Jhoting is the ghost of a man who
dies unmarried leaving no relation. He seizes and annoys any one
without provocation. He lives in old empty houses, burial grounds, and
old pipal trees. He is the most obstinate and faithless of spirits. His
promises and oaths have to be received with caution. He extorts offerings
of kids, chickens, cooked rice, and clothes, which he demands at most
inconvenient times, and even after getting what "he asks he will come again
and demand a fresh ofiering. Many are the pranks and tricks played by
the Jhoting. He often personates absent husbands and deceives women
for days together. He has walked long journeys with wayfarers,
conversing with them on all topics and generally leading them to a pond or
river and drowning them. He often runs alongside of post-runners and
persuades them to lay down their post bags, for, so long as the runner has
his "bag on his back, Jhoting can do him no harm.

Deccan-]

POONA. 555

The life and influence of spirits last for four generations. In the Deccan Appendix E.
the ghost of a great grandfather or mother is almost the oldest known. —

After three or four generations ghosts disappear and make room for new Spirit-Possession.
ones. In the Poona district, places which about seventy-five years ago
were haunts of devils and which were carefully shunned, are now smiHng
gardens or the sites of beautiful buildings.

People who die an unnatural death and people who die with a wish
unfulfilled, as an unmarried person or a miser who leaves his hoard
behind, and a woman who dies in child-bed, monthly sickness, or pregnancy,
are believed to come back as ghosts and trouble the living. To prevent
ghosts of this kind from coming back and troubling the family special rites
are performed. To prevent a dead person likely to become a ghost from
coming back in the Deccan rdla Panicum miliaceum grains and water
are thrown after the body from the house to the burning ground. Some-
times a handful or two of the same grain is buried or burnt with the body.
If the deceased is a woman who died in child-bed, grains of barley are used
and an old horse-shoe or iron nails are driven into the threshold of the
house that the spirit of the dead may not come back. In rare cases, among
the lower classes, needles or small nails are driven into the heads of
women who died in child-bed, and in some oases the tendons of a man who
has been hanged are cut to prevent the ghost from walking. The
attacks of outside spirits cannot be prevented by any fixed means. They
have to be appeased each time as VetAl or other guardian spirit may
dictate, or as the spirits themselves may demand.

When a person is believed to be seized by a spirit, before an exorcist is
called, several home-cures are tried. Incense is Isurnt and the head of
the person is held over it, or eggs and lime are waved round his face and
thrown on the road. If a vow has been made to any spirit or deity the
vow is fulfilled and a fresh vow is made to the household or the village god.
If all these means fail -the relations of the patient consult an exorcist, who
gives them angara or charmed ashes to be rubbed on the patient's body
or tells them to perform some other rites. The exorcists in the Deccan
are called bhagats or devotees, devrishis or divine seers, mantris or
enchanters, and panckaksharis or men of five letters. They belong to aU
classes of Hindus and Musalm^ns, but they are generally recruited from
the lower classes. Exorcists may be divided into two classes, professional
and non-professional. Non-professional exorcists are for the most part
persons who get naturally inspired by a guardian spirit or dev, or who
have been favoured with a mystic spell or incantation by a, fakir, sddhu,
or saint. Most professional exorcists learn the art of exorcism from a
guru or teacher, as it is beKeved that anything that is learnt without a
guru's help proves unavailing. Deccan Hindus have various ways of
learning exorcism. The following are the most common : The first study
is begun on a lunar or on a solar eclipse day. On such a day the teacher,
after bathing and without wiping his body or his head-hair, puts on dry
clothes and goes to the village Mdruti's temple. The candidate having
done the same also goes to the temple. He spreads a white cloth before
the god, and on one side of the cloth makes a heap of rice, and on another
side a heap of iidid Phaseolus radiatus, sprinkles redlead on the heaps,
and breaks a cocoanut in front of the idol. The teacher tells him the
mantra or incantation and he learns it by heart. An ochre-coloured fiag
is tied to a pole in front of the temple and the teacher and the candidate
return home. After this, on the first new-moon which falls on a Saturday,
the teacher and the candidate go together out of the village to a place
previously marked out by them, on the boundary of the village. A servant

[Bombay Gazetteer,
556 DISTRICTS.

Appendix E. accompanies them, who takes in a bag udid or Phaseolus radiatus, oil,
- — seven earthen lamps, lemons, cocoanuts, and redpowder. When they reach

piBiT- OSS . ^j^^ gp^^ ^Y^Q teacher and the candidate iDathe and the teacher goes to the

temple of Mdruti and sits praying to the god for the safety of the
candidate. The candidate, who has been told what to do, starts for the
boundary of the next village accompanied by the servant. On reaching
the village boundary he picks up seven pebbles, sets them in a line on the
road, and, after Hghtiag a lamp near them, worships them with flowers, red-
powder, and udid beans. Incense is burnt and a cocoanut is broken near
the pebbles which represent Vet^l and his lieutenants, and a second
cocoanut is broken for the village Mdruti. When this is over he goes to a
river, well, or other watering place, bathes, and without wiping his body
or putting on dry clothes, walks to the boundary or ves of the next
village. There he repeats what he did at the first village boundary. He
then goes to the boundary of a third village, and in this way goes to seven
villages repeating the same ceremony at each. All the while he keeps
■ muttering charms. After finishing his worship at the seventh village the
candidate returns to his own village, and going to the temple of MAruti,
visits his teacher and tells him what he has done. In this way by worship-
ping and pleasing the Vetdls of seven villages he becomes a devrishi or
exorcist. After learning to exorcise he has to keep certain rules, a slight
breach of which destroys his power as an exorcist. On every solar eclipse
he must go to the sea-shore or to a river bank, bathe in cold water, and, while
standing in the water, repeat incantations a certain number of times. Daily
after bathing he must neither wring his hair nor dry his body. While he
is taking his meals he should leave ofi' eating, if he hears a woman in her
monthly sickness speak or if a lamp goes out. The Musalmin methods
of learning exorcism are different from the Hindu methods and are rarely
studied by Hindus. One of them may be mentioned. The candidate
begins his study under the guidance of his teacher or ustdd on the last
day of the lunar month provided it falls on a Tuesday or a Sunday. The
initiation takes place in a room whose walls and floors have been plastered
with mud and daubed with sandal-paste. On the floor a white sheet is
spread and the candidate, after washing his hands and feet and putting on
a new waistcloth or turban, sits on the sheet. He lights one or two
incense-sticks and offers a white cloth and meat to one of the leading
Musalmdn saints, as Barhena, Hatila, Mehebat, or Sulaimd,n. The ustdd
or master teaches the candidate spells which are generally passages from
the Kurdn. As the course of studies which a Hindu exorcist follows
diflfers in many points from those followed by Musalmdn exorcists so the
plans and procedure adopted by the Hindu exorcists to scare spirits differ
much from those adopted by Musalmd,ns. Eleven modes of scaring spirits
are commonly practised by Deccan Hindu exorcists. 1. Limes or lemons,
which have been held over the fumes of burning incense and charmed by
repeating incantations over them, are kept under the pUlow of the person
affected. 2. Charmed ashes, healing herbs, and a paper, written with the
names of some Hindu gods, of the patient and his mother, and some
mysterious words are put in a small copper or silver box, tied round the
patient's neck or arm. 3. Charmed ashes are rubbed on the patient's brow.

4. A ruffle-feathered fowl and less commonly a goat or sheep is waved round
the patient, carried to a place named by the exorcist, and slaughtered.

5. Cooked rice and flesh, curds, eggs, cocoanuts, flowers, and redpowder ,
are put in a bamboo basket, waved round the sufferer and laid at
the crossing of four roads. 6. The exorcist takes a few grains of udii
or Phaseolus radiatus, charms them, and throws them on the sufferers
body. 7. When the patient is possessed by an Asra or Satvdi or

Deccan.]

POONA.

557

other guardian spirit, a red and yello-w cotton thread called ndddpudi
is charmed, fumigated with incense and tied round the sufferer's arm.
8. Some exorcists by the power of their charms cause the spirit to come out
of the body of the possessed and enter a bottle which the exorcist corks
and buries head down in some lonely place. 9. Some exorcists draw a
figure and write mysterious words on a leaf of the bhv/rj or Indian birch
tree, dissolve the leaf in water, and give the water to the possessed
person to drink. 10. In some cases the exorcist takes the possessed person
to a large tree, pronounces some mysterious words which force the spirit
into the tree, and fix it there by driving a naU into the tree. 11. When a
person is seized by a BrAhman spirit Brdhmans are fed and presented
with money, and, when a person is seized by Yet&l, boiled rice, curds, lime,
cocoanuts, betelnuts and leaves, a cane, a garland of rui Calotropis gigantea
flowers, camphor, incense, cocoanuts, and sometimes a goat are offered at
Vetil's stone, which is anointed with oil and redlead, and some hemp
water and leaves and some tobacco are left for Bhangya-buva, Vetdl's door-
keeper.

The Musalmdn devices for scaring spirits are fewer and simpler than the
Hindu devices. The following are the chief : 1. The name of- All^h, the
patient's name and his mother's name, and some spells are written on paper,
put in a copper or silver box of nine or sixteen compartments, and tied round
the sufferer's arm or neck. 2. Spells or verses from the Kurdn are written
on a paper which is curled into a wick and burnt, the sufferers' head
being held over the fumes. 3. The red and yellow cotton thread called
ndddpudi is charmed, held over a pot of burning incense and tied round
the sufferer's arm or neck. 4. The exorcist reads passages from the Kurcin
and blows on the possessed person. 5. The name of Allah is written on
paper, bark, brass, or on a knife blade, the article written on is washed,
and the sufferer drinks the water.

Though some classes of spirits are affected by both, the Hindu modes of
fexorcism have more effect on Hindu spirits and the Musabndn modes on
Musahniln spirits.

The following examples illustrate cases of spirit-possession and the
raodes adopted for driving out the possessing spirits. (1) Rddha the second
wife of NdirAyan, a Konkanasth Brdhman of Poona, one day on coming
home after drawing water began to cry, to shake, and to vomit. From
these symptoms her husband guessed she was possessed. He burnt incense
and hair and held her head over the fumes, and struck her with a cane, but
the spirit would not go. Ndrdyan sent for Rdghu a Mard,tha exorcist.
Ei^ghu asked for some incense, fire, and lemons. He waved the lemons
round the girl, cut them in pieces, and, putting the incense on the fire, set
it before the girl and began to mutter charm's. After he had spoken a
few words the girl came forward and sat in front of him. RAghu asked
her to say who the spirit was. The girl, answering in the spirit's name, said
that she was Ndrdyan's first wife, and that she attacked Rddha because she
had taken her place and used her things. The exorcist called on her to leave
the girl. She answered that she would leave if Rddha wore round her neck
a golden image of her, and presented women with robes and bodices in her
name. The golden image was worn and women were given robes and bodices
but Rddha did not get well. Then the exorcist asked the spirit of the
first wife whether any other spirit troubled the girl. After much hesitation
she admitted that besides herself a male spirit possessed the ^rl. The
dead wife was asked to leave the girl till the male spirit was driven out.
When the spirit of the dead wife had gone, the exorcist burnt more incense
and repeated verses. He threw water over RMha, slapped her on the face,,

Appendix E-

Spibit-Possessioit.

IBombay Gazetteer,
558 DISTKICTS.

Appendix E. and cut lemons on her head. RMha, or the man-spirit in her, began to
Spibit-Possession. speak. He said he was the son of the village accountant of Kardd in
Satdra, and that as he had failed to get £,4dha as his wife he attacked her
during her last visit to KarM, where she had gone to visit her grand,
mother. In proof that his statement was true he was asked to write all
about himself. This he did though Bddha is said not to know how to write.
He was told to go, but refused. The exorcist began to throw water over
RAdha, and to repeat charms. He cut several lemons, squeezed them over
-her head, and after a while the spirit agreed to leave. The girl was carried
to a distance from the town, and there the spirit was nailed into a tree.
Before he was nailed he was asked whether any more spirits were in the
girl. He said there were five more. The girl was then taken to Pandharpur
along with the exorcist. On holding her head over incense fumes the
exorcist found that the five spirits were two Mardtha women, one Kunbi
man, one Munja or thread-girt lad, and one drowned Brdhman. The two
Maritha women said they attacked RAdha because she happened to come
in their way one day while walking along the road. They were easily
removed, and were not nailed into the tree, as they promised not to trouble
her. The Kunbi man said that Rddha had crossed his path in his field
and he attacked her. He said that he had become a ghost because he
died from the efiects of snake-bite, and prayed that he might not be nailed
into a tree but be allowed to go to his native country. The exorcist' saw no
reason to humour the Kunbi, and nailed him into a tree. The Brillmian man
had no reason to give to explain his attack on the girl, but as he promised
never to molest" Rddha again he was allowed to go. The next spirit was the
Munja or Brdhman lad. On being asked to leave he refused. The exorcist
threw several handfuls of water over the girl and repeated charms until
the Munja agreed to go, and was nailed into a pipal tree. The exorcist then
wrote some mystic spells on a piece of paper, enclosed it in a silver box,
and after tying the box round Radha's neck sent her back to Poona.
(2) Kdshi, the daughter of Ndrdyan, an oil-maker of Poona, one day threw
some bones near a pipal tree in which a Munja lived. One Rupchand
Daulata told the girl's father, and advised him to prevent his daughter
polluting the Munja's abode. Instead of reprimanding his daughter
Ndrdyan abused the Munja. One day about nine in the morning a shower
of stones and broken tiles fell on NArayan's roof. So great was the shower
that many people came to see it. One of the spectators, who was a medium,
told Ndriyan to bring an egg atid fire. No sooner had he said this than
thirty or forty eggs and some live coals fell from the ceiling. On this
some one suggested that cow's urine should be brought and sprinkled over
the house, when suddenly a large quantity of water fell from the ceiling.
The owner of the house began to despair, when suddenly pieces of silver
anklets fell from the ceiling. Those present cheered NArAyan and said the
anklets were lucky. Ndriyan thought the pieces of anklets were his own
and asked his wife to see whether her anklets were safe in the box. . She
opened the box and found the anklets missing. All the links were gathered
and were found to make up the missing anklets, The same evening the
oil-maker's daughter became inspired, and an exorcist was called. He threw
charmed grains of udid Phaseolus radiatus over the girl, and called on the,
spirit to go. After some hesitation the spirit agreed to go, provided the
oil-maker cleansed the platform of the pipal tree where he lived, gave him,
cooked food and flowers, and fed five Brdhmans in his name. AU this
was done and the spirit ceased to give trouble.^ (3) Esu, a MarAtha

^ This case is said to have happened at Poona about four years ago and is corrobo-
rated by several persons. R^v SAheb V. R. GhoUay, Assistant Surgeon, Poona,

Deccan]

POONA. 659

woman, during her monthly sickness, went to the river Mula to wash her Appendix E-

clothes. She began to wash her clothes when the stone on which she „ ^ '

was standing upset, and she fell in water. She got up, washed her

clothes, and went home. In the evening she began to shake and cry.

She refused to eat, and continued in this state for a fortnight. Her

husband called an exorcist who gave her some ashes to rub on her

brow and promised that for a fortnight she would be untroubled.

Accordingly she was well for a fortnight. At the end of the fortnight

the exorcist came. He asked for seven pomegranates, seven almonds,

seven dry dates, seven lemons, a cocoanut, a sheep, a piece of green cloth,

redpowder, turmeric, incense, camphor, flowers, and a cotton thread dyed

black, yellow, and red. The exorcist then took Esu with her relations to

a field near the river. There he brought seven pebbles, washed them with

water and anointed them with oil and redlead, burnt incense and

camphor, and killed a sheep before them. A bamboo basket was filled

with cooked rice and the sheep's flesh, a flour-lamp was lighted and kept

over the rice, the piece of cloth, cocoanut, and other articles were kept in

the basket and the basket was floated down the river. No medicine was

given to Esu, and after a few days she was well.

It sometimes happens that even the best exorcists fail to cast out the
spirit. In such cases the patient is taken to one or other of the followiag
places : Narsoba's vddi in Kolhdpur, Alandi and Narsingpur in Poona,
Phaltan in SAtdra, and Gangdpur near ShoMpur. At Narsoba's vddi is a
famous spirit-scariug image of Guru Dattdtraya the three-headed god.
The possessed person is told to worship the idol daily and to go round the
temple three to a thousand times. At the time of drii or lamp-waving
a hghted lamp is waved round the god and drums beaten and cymbals
clashed. The possessed person becomes inspired, and cries ' Do not beat
me : I will depart.' The spirit, through the medium of the possessed person,
promises to go if it is given what it wants. Some spirits demand the
money which the possessed person owes them, some demand food, and some
Other ofierings, When the demands of the spirit are satisfied, the possessed
person throws himself into water. His relations, who accompany him,
instantly take him out of the water, and when he is taken out he is well.
At Phaltan in Sdtdra, is a temple belonging to the class of religious beggars
called MdnbhAvs.i The temple contains a sarnddh or tomb of a saint
named Aba Siheb. At the time of drti or lamp-waving round the tomb the
possessed person gets inspired and cries out ' Do not beat me.' One of the
MAnbhdv ministrants calls on the spirit to leave the person and stay in a tree
or a stone pillar in the temple yard. In the trees in the yard are many
naUs, each nail representing a spirit who has been fixed into the tree. In
the Deccan the belief in the frequency of spirit-attacks is strong, though
not so strong as in the Konkan. Among the lower classes the belief is
universal, and it is by no means uncommon among the higher classes,
especially among women. The only persons who profess not to believe in
spirit-possession are Kabir-panthis or followers of Kabir, the NAnak-panthis
or followers of NAnak, the RAmAnuj-panthis or followers of Rdmanuj, and
the Pandharpur Vdrkaris or devotees of Vithoba. LingAyats also profess
not to believe in spirit-seizure, but in practice consult exorcists as often as
other Hindus. It is universally stated that the belief in spirit-seizures is
not so strong as it was some fifty years ago, and that day by day it is growing
weaker.

1 Details of MAnbhdvs are given in the SAtAra Statistical Account, 120-122.

[Bombay Gazetteer,

DISTRICTS.

APPENDIX P.

Appendix P.

SlJN-M.tRRIAGB.

Under special circumstances one or two peculiar forms of marriage and
funeral service are performed :

Arha-vivdhn, literally sun-marriage, is the phrase used for marriage ,
with the holy rui bush Galatropis gigantea in which the sun is believed
to Uve. when a man has lost two wives it is the general belief that if
he marries a third wife either he or his bride will die soon after the
wedding. The evil is turned aside by the man marrying the sun's
daughter the rui bush before he marries his third wife. The rui bush-
marriage is performed either in the house or near a rui bush on a Saturday
or Sunday when the constellation Hasta is in the ascendancy, or a couple
of days before the marriage with the third wife. The bush should have
fruit, flowers, and leaves. A square is traced in front of the bush wi±h
lines of quartz-powder, and the bridegroom sits on a low wooden stool in
the square facing the bush. The family priest sits on another low wooden
stool to the bridegroom's right as also does the father of the girl whom
the bridegroom is afterwards to marry. The .bridegroom pours water on
the palm of his right hand, and throws it on the ground saying, I make
a sun-marriage to turn aside the evil which might fall on me if I married
a third time;' Then, as at other marriages, come the holyday-blessing or
punydhavaehcm and joyful-event spirit-worship or ndndishrdddh. The girl's
father performs the madhuparh or worships his son-in-law by ofiering him
clothes, rubs sandal-paste on his brow, throws flower garlands round his
neck, and with joined hands, looking towards the rui bush and calling
on the bush as the sun-daughter, begs her to show favour to his daughter
and her husband and to overlook his son-in-law's sin in marrying a third
time. The girl's father pours a little water over the bush, rolls a white
sheet round it, winds a cotton thread round the sheet, and lays a betel
packet and raw sugar before it. The bridegroom, standing with joined
hands in front of the bush, prays, saying ' Thou who art chief among
trees, in whom lives the sun-god Surya^Niriyan, who art a Brdhman
loved by the gods, do thou guard with care the girl I am about to wed
and be kind to us both.' The girl's father and the priest hold a cloth or
cmtarpdt between the bush and the bridegroom and as far as the girl-giving
or Jeanydddn, the service is almost the same as at an ordinary Br^man
marriage.. The only difierence is that instead of the girl's father's name
the name of Surya or the sun is repeated^ A thread is passed four times
round the bridegroom's waist and the stem of the bush, and a second
thread is wound four times round his neck and the branches of the bush.
The thread which was passed round the bridegroom's neck and the
branches is tied to the bush with a piece of turmeric, and the thread that
was passed round the bridegroom's waist and the bush-stem is tied to the
bridegroom's right wrist also with a piece of turmeric. Four waterpota
are set round the plant and on each pot an image of the god Vishnu is
placed and worshipped by the bridegroom. The bridegroom then sits
on the left of the plant, kindles a sacrificial fire, and feeds the fire with
butter. The priest repeats the shdnti sukt or peace-bringing verses. The
bridegroom leaves his place and puts on new clothes which are given him

Deecanl

POONA.

561

by the girl's father, and the clothes he wore during the ceremony are made
over to the priest along with a money present. Bri,hmans are feasted
and on leaving are presented with money or dakshana.1

Special funeral services are performed for an unmarried lad, for a
■woman who dies in her monthly sickness, for a pregnant woman, for a
lying-in woman, for a heirless man, for a child under three, and for an ascetic.
When a Brahmachdri or Brdhman lad dies after he has been girt with
the sacred thread and before the sod-munj or loosening of the munj grass
waistband, or according to others between the time he is girt with the
sacred thread and his marriage, there is no mourning. The body is laid
in the women's hall. The father sits on the ground near the body and
performs the punydhavdcJian or holyday-blessing and ndndishrdddha or
joyful-event spuit-worship. An earthen mound is raised near the body
and the father kindles a holy fire on the mound and feeds the fire with
butter. He loosens the patch of deer skin and the munj grass from the
dead loins and casts them outade of the house. If the ceremony is
performed in the house, to prevent weeping and wailing, preparations
are at once made for carrying the body to the burning ground. A bier
is made ready and the body is taken outside and laid on the bier. The
bier is raised on the shoulders of four of the nearest relations and they
start for the burning ground, the father walking in front holding an
earthen firepot. At the burning-ground the whole of the sun-marriage or
arka-vivdha is gone through.^ A twig of the rui or Calotropis gigantea is
brought and the twig and the body are bathed, rubbed with turmeric,
a yellow thread is passed round them, and each is dressed in a piece
of white cloth. An earthen mound is raised and a holy fire is kindled
and fed with butter. The father of the boy now becomes impure and
from this moment the mourning begins. The body of the boy is burnt
with the same observances as at the death of a married man. The only
difference is that on the thirteenth day thirty Brahmach4ris, or boys who
have been girt with the sacred thread but are not married, are asked to
the house of mourning and presented with loincloths or langotis, deer
skins, earrings, shoes, umbrellas, balls of gopichandan or white clay,
flower garlands, sacred threads, money, and coraL

When a woman dies in her monthly sickness, her body is carried out
and burnt without any ceremony or the repeating of any verses. On the
fourth day the bones are gathered and burnt again with the same
ceremonies as if the bones were the body. If the family objects to dispose of
the body in this way, the body is carried to the burning-ground as usual,
laid near water, and covered from head to foot with dough. The chief
mourner bathes, and, with a new winnowing fan, scoops water a hundred
and eight times from the pool so as to dash on the body and wash off the dough.
He then mixes ashes with water and pours it over the dead, then cowdung
and water, then earth and water, then darbha grass and water, and lastly the

Appendix F-

Funeral Bites.

1 The root of this sun or rui bush marriage seems to be the fear of the ghost of the
dead wife. In the lower Deccan and Konkan classes who allow widow-marriage the
fear of the dead husband leads to similar special services before widow marriage.
The fear of the husband's ghost seems to be at the root of the Hindu high caste rule
against widow marriage.

2 The root of this sun marriage is the fear of the unwed ghost. In the KAnarese
districts no spirit is more feared than the vir or ghost of the unwed. Ho belongs to the
class of uneasy ghosts who walk and worry the living, because they die with one of the
great objects of life unfulfilled. Among the Malabir Nairs the fear of the unwed
takes the curious and costly form of marrying the Nair woman's corpse to a Brdhman.

B 310—71

[Bombay Gazetteer,

562

DISTEICTS.

Appendix P- five co-w-gifts and water. The body is dressed in a new robe, the old robe
FuneraiTeites. ^® ^^^^ away, and the body is burnt with the usual ceremonies.

When a woman dies after the sixth month in pregnancy she is bathed
and decked with flowers and ornaments, and then carried to the burning-
ground. There her husband or son sprinkles water on her body from
the points of darbh or sacred grass, and says sacred verses. Then he
cuts with a sharp weapon, generally a razor, her left side below the navel
and takes out the child. Should the child be . alive, it is brought home
and taken care of, but should it be found to be dead, it is there and
then buried. Then the belly of the dead woman is filled with curds and
clarified butter, and covered with cotton threads, and is burnt with the
usual rites. Of late the practice of cutting the stomach and taking out the
child whether dead or alive is not much regarded, especially in cases in
which pregnancy is not far advanced and the hope of taking out the child
alive is little. If a pregnant woman is burnt with her child in the womb,
the chief mourner of the pregnant woman is said to commit murder and to
avoid the sin of murder the chief mourner must perform cleansing rites.

When a lying-in woman dies during the first ten days, her body is
carried out and burnt without any ceremony or the repeating of any
verses. If the family objects to dispose of the body in this way, the body
is covered from head to foot with dough of barley, and, like the dead body
of a woman in monthly sickness, is washed with water, ash-water, cowdung
water, earth water, darbh grass water, and lastly with water and the five
cow-gifts. The old robe is thrown away and the dead body is wrapped in
a new robe, and burnt.

When a child dies within the first twelve days or before the naming
ceremony, it is always buried ; and if it dies between the twelfth day
and the third year or between the naming ceremony and the first
cutting of the child's head hair it is either buried or burnt without any
ceremony or the repeating of any verses. If a boy dies after the naming
ceremony and before teething and if the body is burnt his parents are impure
for three days and other members of the family for one day ; and when
the body is buried the parents become pure after three days and other
members of the family by bathing. If a girl dies after the naming
ceremony and before teething, her parents are impure for three days
and other members of the family become pure on the first day by bath-
ing whether the body is burnt or buried. If a boy or girl dies after
teething within the third year or before the cutting of the head hair, the
parents are impure for three days and other members of the family for
one day, whether the body is burnt or buried.

When a heirless person dies, any of his castemen out of charity bum the
dead body and perform the usual death rites. To perform the death-rites
of a helpless and heirless man is considered highly meritorious. It
none of his castemen is willing to do the rites or to bum the dead body,
Hindus of any caste except the impure castes may burn the body without
any ceremony.

When a sanydsi or ascetic dies his funeral ceremonies are performed
either by his disciple or sMahija or by his son if he has a son. The sons,
or, if the son is absent, the disciple's head is shaved except the top-knot and
his face except the eyebrows. If the sanydsi has no son his disciple
cannot shave his head and face. The chief mourner pours cold water over
the body and covers it with sandal-paste. Flower and tulsi garlands are
fastened round the neck and arms and the body is seated cross-legged in a
bamboo frame, scented powder is thrown over the body, and floWers
and burning frankincense sticks are stuck round the frame, and with

Seccan]

POONA. 563

musicians friends r&lations and townspeople the body is carried at a slow Appendix P.'

pace to the burning-ground. Here a pit is dug about five and a half „ — „

feet square and deep, and in the bottom of the pit is dug a second hole ^™^'''^i' ^i'^^-

about two feet three inches square and deep. The five cow-gifts or

pmchagavya are sprinkled over both the pit and the hole and blades of

darhha grass are laid at the bottom both of the pit and of the hole.

Over the dead head the chief mourner sprinkles water from a conch-shell

and worships the dead, ofiering fiowers and burning incense. The body

is seated cross-legged in the hole, a stick or dand with three crooks or

vdnks is placed in his right hand, and the chief mourner lays his right

hand on the dead breast, eyebrows, and head. Then, as the skull of the

dead must be broken, it is struck with a conch-shell or with a hatchet.

If, either through fear or through love the mourner is unwilling to break

the skull, a lump of coarse sugar is laid on the head, and the coarse sugar is

broken with a conch-shell. Then the pit and the hole are filled with salt

and covered with earth and stones. The burial of an ascetic is believed

to give merit not only to the chief mourner but to all who attend. There

is no weeping and no mourning. When the burial is over all are careful

to bathe and rub sandal-paste on their brows and return with joy to the

mourner's house. No mourning rites are performed, but for ten days

the chief mourner does not defile himself by touching any one or by

talking with a Shudra. Either on the same or on the following day he

washes the house-gods, gathers the water in a pot, and four times

pours a ladle of water on the ground in the names of Gurudev, Parama^

gurudev, Paramesthidev, and Pardtparagurudev, as if four generations of

spiritual fathers. Then, if the death happened in the first fortnight of

the month, the first twelve of the twenty-four names of the deities are

repeated, and, if the death happened in the second fortnight, the second

twelve names are repeated by the mourner, and after each name a ladle

of water is spUt on the ground.^ For ten days the mourner goes daily to

the burning-ground, cooks rice in milk and butter, and after making on

the grave a sand or earth ling and worshipping it, ofiers the rice and

butter to the ling, and then throws it into water and returns home. On

the eleventh day he goes to the burning-ground, and sitting near the

grave or near a pool of water, repeats the name and the family name of

the dead, and says, ' I perform the ceremony of joining the dead with his

dead fathers, his father, grandfather, and great-grandfather.' He asks

five Brahmans to sit near him, and goes through the shrdddha or memorial

service, except that he offers no rice or dough balls or pinds. On returning

home he feasts the five Brahmans and dismisses them with a money present.

On the twelfth day he performs the Ndrayanbali or god-offering. He

asks thirteen Brdhmans to a feast. He seats them in a row on thirteen

low wooden stools, repeats one of the god's twelve names, and places a

blade of darbha grass in the right hand of each of the twelve Brdhmans.

The thirteen Brdhmans he takes to be the god Vishnu. He places a blade

of da/rbha grass in his right hand and in a metal plate near liim sets an

image of the god Vishnu. He washes the feet of the thirteen Brahmans,

and sitting with his face to the east makes a mound of earth, lights a holy

fire on the top of the mound, and puts in a brass pot a hundred and

fifty-two pinches of rice, washes the rice in cold water, and mixing it

with butter and mUk cooks it' on the mound. When the rice is cooked

I The god's twenty-foar names are : Keshav, Ndr^yan, Mddhav, Govind, Vishnu,
Madhusudan, Trivikram, \'4man, Shridhar, Kishikesha, PadmanAbh, Ddmodar,
Sankarshan, Vdsudev, Pradyurana, Aniruddha, Pun-shottam, Adhokshaja, Ndrasjmh,
•Achyut, Jaaitdaa, Upeadra, Hari, and Shrikrishna.

[Bombay Gazetteer,

564

DISTRICTS.

Appendix F.

TuKERAL Rites.

Symbolic
Cremation,

he throws some o£ it thirty-two times on the fire. He presents the
BrAhmans with woollen beds or dsans and waistcloths or dchhddans.
Buttered leaf plates are laid before them and dishes cooked ia the house
are served on the plates. After they have diaed the Brahmans go out,
wash their hands and mouths, and again take their seats on the low
wooden stools. The mourner makes thirteen balls of the rice that
remains and places them iu a row before him and worships them in the
name of Vishnu and of twelve of the twenty-four names of the gods.
Packets of betel and money are given to the thirteen Brahmans and
they withdraw. The family priest receives some money, the image of
Vishnu, and the plate in which the image was set and goes home, and the
ceremony of Ndrdyanbali or god-offering is over. On the thirteenth day
sixteen Brahmans or sanydsis are asked to dine. When they come they
are seated in a row on low wooden stools. ' The mourner washes their
feet ia a plate and gathers the water in a jar. The sixteen men are.
worshipped as house-gods are worshipped, and, after the worship is over,
leaf plates are spread and sweetmeats are served. When the dimier is
over they take their former seats and are given water jars, shoes, waist-
cloths, money, and betel packets. A high wooden stool is set near them,
and on the middle of the stool some grains of rice are strewn, and on the
rice a water jar is set. The chief mourner worships the water jar in the
way he worships his house-gods. He sets the jar on his head, and
followed by his brothers, sisters, and other members of the family, walks
once round the Brahmans. The Brahmans shout verses and the chief
mourner dances with the jar on his head, so as to make the water from
the jar spill over him. A Brahman takes the water jar on his head, thrice
pours a ladle of water from the jar on the mourner's hands who sips the
water. The service ends with a blessing. The service is repeated every
year instead of the usual memorial or shrdddha service.

Special funeral rites are sometimes performed when there is no body
to be burnt. This may happen either because the deceased died in a
distant land or was drowned at sea ; or the burning may be symbolic,'
done while the person is alive, to show that he is dead to his family and
caste. Sometimes when a wife has gone wrong and will not come back
to her husband, he performs her funeral rites, and from that she is to
him as one who is dead. Or if a Brahman gives up his father's
faith and becomes a Christian or a Musalmdn, either at the time of his
change or afterwards when his parents hear of his death, they perform
his funeral rites. In these cases, the chief mourner, with the family
priest and one or two near relations, go to the burning-ground and in a
comer spread the skin of a black antelope. On the skin the chief mour-
ner lays three hundred and sixty palas or Butea frondosa leaves for the
head, ten for the neck, forty for each arm, ten for the ten fingers, twenty
for the chest, forty for the stomach, sixty-five for each leg, and ten for the
ten toes. He ties the leaves by their stems iuto separate bunches with
sacred grass, and laying them in their former places, spreads grass on the
leaves, and rolls the whole into a bundle. He holds the bundle in front of
him, mixes about a pound of wheat flour, honey, and batter, and rubbing
the mixture on the bundle, fastens a piece of white cloth over it. At its
top, for the head he places a cocoanut, for the brow a plantain leaf, iot
the teeth thirty-two pomegranate or ddlvmh seeds, for the ears two pieces
of sheU-fish, for the eyes two koAidi shells their corners marked witli
redlead, for the nose sesame flower or seeds, for the navel a lotnB
flower, for the arm bones two carrots, and for the thigh bones two hrm-
jals, for the breasts* lemons and black and red gunja berries Abrus pre-
catorius, and sea shells or a carrot for the other partg. For the breata

Deccanl

POONA.

565

he puts arsenic, for tLe bile yellow pigment, for the phlegm sea foam,
for the blood honey, for the urine and. excrement cow's urine and dung,
for the seminal fluids quicksilver, for the hair of the head the hair of a
wild hog, for the hair of the body wool, and for the flesh he sprinkles the
figure with wet barley-flour, honey, and butter. He sprinkles milk, curds,
honey, butter, sugar, and water on the figure, covers the lower part with
a woollen cloth, fastens round its chest a sacred thread and round its
neck a garland of flowers, touches the brow with sandal-paste, and sets
a hghted flour-lamp on its stomach. This figure, with its cocoanut head
to the south, is sprinkled with rice and the life of the dead is brought
into it. When the lamp burns low and flickers the mourner ofEers gifts
and performs the dying ceremonies. When the lamp goes out he raises
a pile of wood and bums the figure with the usual rites. He moarns ten
days and performs the usual memorial or shrdddha rites.^

Appendix F.

Symbolic

CBEMATIGir.

1 Compare, The Mexicans after a battle made figures of the missing dead, burnt
them and buried the ashes. Spencer's Principles of Sociology, I. 328,

INDEX.

Adultery : UohliAa' punishment for, 474-476.

AgarvdlS : traders, 262-263.

Agates : 30.

Age Details -. 95.

Ahupe : hill, 4.

Ain : Terminalia tomentosa, 41.

Air : observations on the vapour in, 26-27.

Akshayatritiya : Hindu holiday, 243.

Alitkers : see SuItAnkars.

Amba : mango tree, 41 .

Amygdaloid : rock, 9-13.

Ancestor-worship : 201.

Ancestral Dinner : among Bene-Israels, 517.

Andhra : river, 8.

Anjir : fig tree, 41.

Apophylite : stone, 30.

Apta : Bauhinia racemosa, 42.

Arabi: breed of cattle, 56.

Arddhis : beggars, 444 - 446.

Area : 1.

Ark-viv41ia : sun marriage, 560-561.

Arya Somvanshi Esbatris : see Jingars.

A8ard,S : female ghosts, 553.

Aspect: 2-3.

Asses : 65.

Atonement: ceremony, 146-147.

Attars : Muaalmdn perfumers, 492.

Andichs : Gujardt BrAhmans, 163.

Avla : Phyllauthus emblica, 42.

B-

Bibhul:tree, 42.

Baddm : almond tree, 43.

Badhdis : carpenters, 314- 316.

Bdgbdns : Musalmdn fruiterers, 499.

Bahva : Cassia fistula, 43.

fiakar Easabs : mutton butchers, 500.

Baknl : Mimusops elengi, 44.

Balls : basalt, 11.

Bangars: traders, 263-265.

Banian: tree, 54.

Baobab : tree, 46.

Barbers : 380 - 383.

Baris : husbandmen, 280-283.

Barometric Pressure : mean pressure ; monthly
variations ; pressure in local civil hours ;monthly
range of pressure, 23 - 25.

Bartondi : Morinda oitrifolia, 44.

B^rutgars : Musalmdn firework makers, 493.

Basalts : columns, balls, dikes, 10 - 12.

BatrAsi : peak, 5.

Bead Necklace : ceremony of fastening tulsi, 263.

Beggars : ArAdhis, BhAmtAs, Bharidis, BhAts,
Bhutes, Chitrakathis, Gondhlis, Gosdvis, Holars,
Jangams, Jogtins, Johdris, Kdnphites, Kolh4tis,
MdnbhAvs, Pdngula, Sarvade Joshis, Sahadev
Joshia, Tirmdlis, Vdghes, Vaidus, VAsudevs,
Virs, 444-481.

Bel : ^gle^marmelos, 43.

Beld^rs : quarrymen, 316-319.

Bene-Israels : history, settlement, appearance,
language, houses, food, dress, condition, calling,
religion, customs, community, synagogue, 506
536.

Berads : unsettled tribes, 406.

Betel-Palm : 53.

Bliadbhunjd,S : grain parchers, 319 - 322.

Bhairav : village god, 289.

Bhdma : river, 7.

Bhamtds : see Uchlids.

BliandAris: distillers, 393-394.

Bhard,dis : beggars, 446-447.

BJlto : bards, 447.

Bhatyd,rd8 : Musabndn cooks, 504.

Bhityds : traders, 266.

Bhavdni : viUage goddess, 289-290.

BhAvsirs: dyers, 322-325.

Bhils : unsettled tribes, 406.

Bhima : river,rise, course, bank, bed, tributaries,
6.

BhimAshankar : hill, 4.

Bhimtbadi : breed of horses, 61-63.

Bhois: fishers, 387-389.

Bhokar : Oordia latifolia, 43.

Bhonsles : origin of, 285.

Bhutes : beggars, 448.

Bibba = i^^ marking-nut, 43.

Biroba : village god, 289-290.

568

INDEX.

Birth Ceremonies : of the Chitpdvans, 112-116

Govardhans, 161-162 ; Gujariti Brdhmans, 164
Kanojs, 168; Shenvis, 176 ; Tailangs, 181-182
Dhruv Prabhus, 186-187 ; Pitdne Prabhus, 220
222 ; Bangdrs, 264 ; Brahma Kshatris, 267 ; Kirdds,
268; Lingiyats, 271 ; Gujaidt VAnis, 275 ; Biris,
281; Kunbis, 296-298; PdhAdia, 310-311
Badhdis, 315 ; Belddrs, 317 ; Bhadbhunjis, 320
Bhdvsdrs, 323;Buruds, 325-326; ChAmbhdrs,
327, 330; Gaundis, 331; GhisAdis, 334-333
Halvais, 338; Jingars, 341; Khatris, 346
Koahtis, 348; Knmbhdrs, 349; OUris, 356
Kdula, 360; SAlia, 362 -363 ; Shimpia, 368, 371
Gurava, 379; Nhdvia, 381 ; Gavlis, 386-387
Bhois, 388; Kolia, 392-393; Chhaparbanda, 394
395 ; Edmdthis, 396 ; Lodhis, 399 ; Kajputa, 402
403 ; RAmoshia, 415 ; Vadara, 427 ; Vanj4ris,
429 ; Dhora, 433 ; Haldlkhora, 437 ; MhArs, 442
Mdnga, 443 - 444 ; Chitrakathia, 449 ; Holara,
453; Jangama, 454; Sarvade Joshis, 460
TJchliSa, 470-471 ; Musalmdns, 488 ; Bene-Iaraela,
525-528.

Birthday: ChitpAvan ceremonies on, 115-116,

Birthplace Details : 94.

Blackwood : tree, 52.

Bliad Snakes : 72,

Bohoris: Musahndns, 497-498.

Bonfire : 292 - 293.

Booth Spirit •• worship of, 200.

Bor : Zizyphus jujuba, 44.

Boundaries : !•

Bonndary : ChitpAvan worship of, 129 - 130.

Brahma-Eshatris : tradera, 266 - 267.

Brd>hmanj&is = see Vldurs.

Brihmans: CMtpAvans, Deshasths, Devrnkhes,
Dravids, Govardhans, Gujardtis, Javals, Kanojs,
Karhddis, 'Kdstha, Mirvddis, Shenvis, Tailangs,
Tirgnls, Vidurs, 98 - 185.

Brahmapumsh = Brdhman ghost, 553-554.

Branding : 300.

Bricks : 31.

Buffaloes: 60- 61.

Building Stone : 29.

Buruds : bamboo-workers, 325 - 326.

Camels: 68.

Campbell: Mr. John McLeod, 1 note 1, 33 note 1.

Carbonate of Soda : 30.

Carpet Snakes : 78.

Caste Dinners : Shenvi, 175-176; Bene-Israel,

509-510.
Cattle: breeding; disease," 54 - 69.
Census Details : 94 - 96.
Central Belt : aspect of the, 2 - 3.
Chain Vipers : snakes, 83.

Chakotar : citron, 44.

Chdmbhirs : tanners, 326 - 331.

Chandan : sandal tree, 44.

Chdpha : Michelia champaca, 45.

Chdr : Buchanania latifolia, 45.

Character: of the Chitpdvans, 108 and note 5;
Kunbis, 288 and note 1, 291 note 1, 296 note 2 ;
TJchlids, 467.

Chivand : hill, 4.

Chequered Water Snake : 76 - 77.

ChhaparbandS : thatchers, 394 - 395.

Child llarriage : origin of the custom of, 539.

Chinch : tamarind tree, 45,

Chinese: 538.

Chiplunds: see Chitpdvans.

ChitpdvanS : Brdhmans, origin, settlement, rise,
family stocks, surnames, appearance, language,
houses, furniture, food, dress, ornaments, charac<
ter, occupations, dally life, religion, birth, sixth
day, sun-showing, birthday, shaving, thread-gird-
ing, marriage, puberty, pregnancy, and death
ceremonies, 99 - 1 58.

Chitpols : see Chitpdvans.

ChitrakathiS : picture-showmen, 448 - 450.

Christians: 536.

Circumcision : ceremony of the Musalmdns, 489 ;
Bene-Israels, 528 - 529.

Climate : seasons, rainfall , source of rain - supply,
temperature, thermometer readings, barometric
pressure, vapour, (jlondiness, dews, fogs, mists,
air, winds, 13 - 28.

Cloudiness: 26.

Cobra : snake, 81.

Cobra's Hood : see Ndgphani.

Cocoa Palm : 49.

Columns : basaltic, 10 - 11 .

Common Green Grass Snake : 77.

Communities : 96 - 98.

Cooke: Dr. T., 29 note 3.

Coussmaker : Major G., 54 note 2, 68 note 2.

Convad: practice of the lying-in husband, 144

note 1.
Covenants: Bene-Israel's marriage, 520 and note

2.
Cowherds : 57 note 2.
Cows : breeds, use, keep, food, disease, sacredness,

55-60.

Cradling ■ Bene-Iarael ceremony, 529.

Craftsmen: Badhdis, Belddrs, Bhadhhunjds,
Bhdvsdrs, Buruds, Chdmbhdrs, Gaundis, Gbisd-
dis, Halvdis, Jingars, Kdchdris, Kdsdrs, Kdtdris,
Khatris, Koshtis, Kumbh4rs, Ldkheris, Lohira,
Londris, Nirdlis, Otdris, Pdtharvats, Eduls, Sdlis,
Sangars, Shimpia, Sondrs, Saltankars, Tdmbats,
Telis, Zdrekaris, 313-377.

INDEX.

569

Castard apple : tree, 53.

Customs : birth, marriage, puberty, thread-girding
and death, 112-158, 159, 161-163, 164-166
168 - 171, 176 - 180, 181 - 183, 186 - 191, 194
255, 257-261, 264-265, 267, 268-270, 271-272
275-277, 278-279, 296-309, 311-313, 315
316, 317-319, 320-321, 323-325, 326, 327
331,332-333, 334-337, 341-342, 348-349
350-351, 354-355, 356-357, 360-361,368-369
374, 376, 379, 381, 382-383, 385, 387, 389
393, 394-395, 399-401, 402-404,405-406, 407
408, 415-424, 426, 427-428, 433-435, 437-439
442-443, 444, 453, 458-459, 460-461, 478, 486
490, 515-535.

Cynophis helena : a species of snake, 75.

DadMrdle Vaidas : bearded doctors, 479-

Daily Life : of the Chitp&vans, 108 - HI ; Kunbis,
289 note 1.

Daivaduya Brdlxmaiis = see Sonirs.

Dikhiu : female spirit, 553, 554.

Ddlimb : pomegranate tree, 45.

Dancing: 293, 451-452.

Dingi : breed of cattle, 56.

Dasaia : Hindu holiday, 250-251, 294 and note 3.

Death Ceremonies : of the Chitpdvans, 147 - 158
Govardhans, 163 ; GujarAti Brdhmans, 166
Kanojs, 170-171; Shenvis, 179-180; Tailanga
183 ; Dhruv Prabhus, 191 ; Pdtdne Prabhua,
228-235; VeUlis, 259-261; Bangars, 265
Kirdds, 270 ; Lingdyats, 272 ; GujarAt Vdnis,
277 ; Bdris, 282 ■ 283 ; Kunbis, 307 - 309 ; PdhAdis,
312-313; Badh4is, 316; BeldArs, 318-319
Bhadbhnnjis, 321 ; Bhdvsdrs, 324- 325 ; Buruds
326; Ch^mbhArs, 328-329 ; Gaundis, 332-333
Ghisidis, 336-337; Jingars, 342; LAkheria,
351 ; Nirdlis, 355 ; Ot4ris, 357 ; Edula, 361
Silia, 364-365; Shimpis, 369; Nhivis, 382
383 ; Dhangars, 385 ; Bhois, 388 - 389 ; Kolis, 393
Lodhis, 401 ; Eajputa, 404 ; KaikAdis, 408
Rdmoahis, 424; VanjAris, 431; Dhors, 435
Hal^khors, 438-439; Mhirs, 442-443; MAngS;
444; Chitrakathia, 450; Kolhdtia, 458-459
Sahadev JoshiB, 462-463; Uchli^, 473-474
Vaidua, 478; Muaalmdne, 489-490; Bene-
Israela, 532-535.

Depressed Classes ■■ Dhors, HaUlkhors, Mhdra,
Mings, 431 - 444.

Desert Snakes j 77.

Deshasths : Brdhmans, 159 - 160.

Deshi : breed of cattle, 56.

Devak : guardian god, 284, 348, 353, 399, 410,
452.

Deviputras : see Kdyasth Prabhus, 193.
E 310—72

Devrakhes : Brdhmans, 160.

Dews : 26.

Dhdk : hill, 3.

Dhaman : Grewia tilisefolia, 45.

Dhangars : shepherds, 384 - 385.

Dhdvda : Conocarpus latifolia, 45.

Dhobis : Musalradn washermen, 504.

Dhors : depressed olaasea, 431 - 435.

Dhruv Prabhus : writera, 185-191.

Dikes : basalt, 11-12.

Disease : cattle, 58 ; horse, 64.

DivAli: Hindu holiday, 251-253, 294-295.

Dogs : 68.

Domestic Animals : oxen and cows, buffaloes,

horses, asses, mules, sheep, goats, elephants and

camels, dogs and cats, fowls, pigeons, 54-69,
Dravids : South India Brdhmana, 160.
Dress: of the Chitp^vans, 103-107; Kunbis, 287

and note 1 ; MusalmAns, 483 - 484 ; Bene-Israela,

511-512;
Duke's Nose '■ see Ndgphani.
Dwarf Snakes : 73.

Ear-boring : PAtdre Prabhu ceremony, 223 - 224 ;

Bene-Israel ceremony, 531 and notes 1 and 2.
Eastern Belt : aspect of the, 3.
Eclipses : beliefs about, 255.
Elliot: Sir Walter, 343,
Escarpments : lo.
Estuariue Snakes : 77.

Evil Eye : influence of the, 292, 299, 526 note 1.
Evil Spirits : 203, 553.
Exorcists : 655 - 557.

Family Gods : 161, 163, 172, 173, 176, 181, 185,
186,193,257,268, 289,291, 310, 320, 331, 3.34
345, 347, 352, 354, 356, 358, 359, 362, 376,
384, 386, 388, 389, 398, 405, 407, 413, 429,
432, 441, 459, 463, 470 ; stocks, 101 and note 2
160, 161, 167, 171, 173, 174, 175, 180, 184, 193,
262, 266, 285, 314, 319, 340, 347, 375, 401, 463.

Past Days : of the Bene-Israels, 509 note 1, 513.

Feast Days : of the Bene-Israela, 509 note 1, 513,
515.

Feet- washing : PatAne Prabhu ceremony, 207 ■
208, 210.

Field Kites : 295-296.

Fig : tree, 41.

Filleted Ground Snakes : 73-74.

Fish: 87-93.

Fishers: 387-393.

Fletcher : Mr, W. M., l note 1..

Fogs : 26.

570

INDEX.

Food : of the CMtpAifails, 102 - 103 ; Kunbis, 286 -
287 ; EAmoshis, 412 ; Musalm^ns, 482-483 ; Bene-
Israels, 508-510.

Forests = area ; history ; demarcation ; establish-
ment ; hill, river-bank and upland resen'es ; mix-
ed evergreen tvoods and teak coppice ; Junnar,
Ehed, Mdval, Haveli, Sirur, Purandhar, Bhim-
fhadi, and IndApnr reserves ; forest tribes ;
offences ; revenue ; timber trade ; minor produce,
31-39.

Fowls: 68-69.

Friday : sacredness of, 240 - 241 .

Funeral ' corpseless, 234-23.5.

Funeral Service : special, 561 - 564.

Furniture ■ of the Chitpdvans, 102 ; Kunbis,
286 and note 2.

Game Birds: 70-71.

Ganesh Chaturthi : Hindu holiday, 246-248.

Ganthd^chors : see Uchli^s.

GaokasdbS = beef -butchers, 500.

Gaundis : masons, 331 - 333 ; Musalmdn bricklayers,

501.
Gauri : Hindu holiday, 248.
Gavlis : cow-keepers, 385 - 387.
Geliela : Eandia dnmetorum, 45.
Geology : terraces ; escarpments ; columnar basalts,

basalt balls, basalt dikes, iron clay, 9 - 13.
Ghadshis : musicians, 378.
Ghir : breed of cattle, 56.
GhisAdis : tinkers, 333 - 338.
Ghod : river, 7.

Gliole : Edv Saheb V. R., 553 note 1, 558 Bote 1.
Gift-maMng : Bene-Israel marriage ceremony, 522.
Gifts : marriage, among PAtdne Prabhus, 197 ■ 198,

203-206.
Glass Bangles : varieties of, 344.
Goats : 67 - 68 ; oflfering, 195 and note 1.
God-installing : PdtAne Prabhu ceremony, 202.
Gokul Ashtami : Hindu holiday, 248,
Golaks : see Govardhans, 160 - 163.
Gondhlis : beggars, 450 - 452.

Gooseberry : tree, 47.

Gop^lr^O Hari : E^o Bahd,dur, 99 note 1, 100

note 3.
Gopradins : cow-gifts, 59 and note 2.
Gorakh-cllinch : baobab tree, 46.
GosAvis : beggars, 452.

Gourd- offerings, 201 - 202.

Govardbans : Br^hmans, 160- 163.

Grating : reserves, 39.

Guava : tree, 50.

Gudip^dva : Hindu holiday, 242.

Gujardtis : Br.lhmans, 163 - 166.

Gujardit Vdnis : traders, 273 - 277.
Guravs -. musicians, 378 - 379.

Hadal : female spirit, 553, 554.

Hadsar : fortified liill, 4.

Hair : ornaments for the, 547 - 548.

Hair-parting: ceremony, 146.

Halalkhors : scavengers, 435-439; Musalmin

sweepers, 505.
Hallian: Eriodeadrum anfractuosum, 46.
Halvdis : sweetmeat sellers, 338 - 339.
Hanam : breed of cattle, 57.
Harda : myrobalan tree, 46.
Harishchandragad : fortified hill, 3.
Hatkeshvar : peak, 4.
Haveli : forest reserves, 36.
Hedu : Nauclea cordifolia, 46.
Heliotrope : mineral, 13; stone, 30.
Hais : 3- 5.

Hinganbet : Balanites segyptiaca, 46.
Hivar : Acacia lencophloea, 46.
Holars : beggars, 452 - 453.
Holidays : 168, 241 - 255, 292- 295, 414, 513 - 515,
Honeysipping • PAtAne Prabhu ceremony, 210.
Horoscopes : "se of, 195.
Horses • nse, breeds, trade, ponies, horse-breeding

department, shows, food, diseases, worship,

unlucky peculiarities, 61 - 65,
Houses : 96.

Hura : Symplocos raeemoga, 46.
Husbandmen : Bto's, KAchis, Kunbis, M^Iis,

Pdhddis, 279 - 313.
Hussaini Brihmans : see Sahadev Joshis.

Ichthyophthalmite : mineral, 13,

Idols : stones for, 29.

Impotency : supposed cure of, 93.

Inddpur : forest reserves, 37.

Indian : lilac, 50 ; rat snake, 75 ; rook snake, 79 ■ 80.

Indrayani : river, 7.

Initiation ceremony ; of the Arddhis, 444-445 ;

Jangams, 454 ; Uchrlids, 465 - 466.
Inscription slabs : 29.
Intercalary month : 241 and note l.
Iron : 29.
Iron-clay : rock, 12.

Jack : tree, 51.
Jdmb : rose apple, 46,

INDEX.

571

Jimbhul : Syzigium Jambolanum, 47.

Jambulni : hills, 4.

Jandi : village goddess, 290.

Jangams : Lingdyat priests, 454 - 455.

Javals: Brihmans, 166-167,

Jdyphal : wild nutmeg, 46.

Jews : see Bene-Israels, 506 - 536,

Jingars : saddlers, 339- 343.

Jivdhan : fortified hill, 3,

Jogtins : beggars, 455.

Johdris : beggars, 455-456.

Joher Pir : Muealmdn saint (1356-1388), 437.

Jnnnar : forest reserves, 34.

Kichdris : glass bangle makers, 343-344.

Kdchis : husbandmen, 283 - 284.

Ka>fsllgars : MusalmAn shoemakers, 493,

Kaikidis: unsettled tribes, 406-408,

Kdju : Anacardium occidentale, 47.

Ealdigars : Musalmdu tinsmiths, 494,

KalAls : distillers, 397 -398.

Kalamb ; Nauolea parvifolia, 47.

Kamdthis : labourers, 395 - 397.

Kamrakh : gooseberry, 47.

Kanojs: Brdhmans, 167-171.

Ednphdtes = slitear beggars, 456-457.

Kantak : Mr. S. V., 553 note 1.

Karanj : Pongamia glabra, 47.

Karha: river, 9.

Karhddds : BrAhmans, 171 - 172.

Karyand : Carissa carandas, 47.

Kasirs : glass bangle hawkers, 344- 345.

KdsMkipaiiis : see.Tirmdlis.

Kd,Sths : Brihmans, 172 - 174.

Kdtiris : turners, 345-346.

Z^thkaris j catechu makers, 408,

Eavath : wood-apple, 47.

Kayasth Prabhus : writers, 192-193.

£el : plantain tree, 48.

Keyser : Mr. A., 09 note 1, 70 note 2, 96 note 1,

Ehair : Acacia catechu, 48.

Khajuri : wild date, 48.

Khandoba : country god, 290, 413-414.

Ehandul : Sterculia urens, 47.

EhdrepatMr : plateau, 6.

Ehatris : weavers, 346 - 347.

£hed : forest reserves, 35.

Eheddvils : Br&hmans, 163.

EMldri : breed of cattle, 55.

Ehondeshvar ; hill, 5,

Ehores : valleys, 2 note 1.

Eippur : Bene-Tsrael fast day, 514.

Eirdds : traders, 267-270.

Eoili : rocks, 4.

Eolhatia : tumblers, 457 - 459,

Eolis: fishers, 389-393.

Komtis : traders, 270.

Konkanasths : see Chitp^vans.

Koshtis: weavers, 347-349.

K. Eaghunithji : Mr., 98 note 2.

Kudva : peak, 5,

Eukdi : river, 8.

Eumbhars : potters, 349-351.

Eunbis : husbandmen ; origin, family names,
appearance, language, house, house-goods, food,
dress, ornaments, character, occupation, condition,
daily life, religion, beliefs, holidays, field rites,
customs, community, 284 - 309.

Eunte : Mr. M, M., 98 note 2, 112 note 1,

Eyte : Mr. S., 464 note 1,

Labourers : Bhand^ris, Ohhaparbands, KAmAthis,
Kaldls, Lodhis, Bajputs, Eaddis, 393 - 406,

L^d SultdiUis : see Bakar Kas^bs,

Lakes : 9,

L^kberis : lac bracelet makers, 351 - 352,

Lamb : Mr. W., 61 note 1.

Language : Edmoshis' special, 410 - 412 ; UchliAs'
special, 466.

Language Details : 94,

Leavetaking : PAtane Prabhu ceremony, 212.

Lemon : tree, 48.

Limb : Azadirachta indica, 50.

Limbu : lemon, 48.

Limestone :30-3l,

Lingdyats : traders, 270-272.

Lodhis : labourers, 398-401.

Lobdnds : traders, 273,

Lobars : blacksmiths, 352 - 353,

Lobgad : fortified hill, 5,

Lon^ris = lime-bumers, 353,

Lucky Dress : of the PAtAne Prabhus, 217 - 218.

Mabiwats : Musalm^n elephant-drivers, 495 - 496,
Mablung : Citrus medica, 49 .
jyii-jgaon : rock, 4.
Makar Nimbori : wild citron, 49,
MakarsankrAnt : Hindu holiday, 254,
Mdlis : gardeners, 309-310.
Illalvi ! breed of cattle, 55.
Man-bearing : pregnancy ceremony, 145, .
Manbhdvs : beggars, 459,
MdngS : depressed classes, 443 - 444.
ManyArs : Musalmto bracelet makers, 491»

572

INDEX.

T/Lax&th&S : see Kunbia.

Marriage Ceremonies : of the ChitpAvans, 121 -
139 ; Govardhans, 162 ; Gujardti BrAhmans, 164 -
165; Kanojs, 169-170; Shenvis, 177-179;
Tailangs, 182 ; Dhrnv Parbhus, 189 - 190 ; PAtAne
Prabhus, 194 - 218 ; VelAlis, 258 - 259 ; Bangars,
264 - 265 ; Kirdds, 268 - 269 ; Lingdyats, 271 - 272 ;
Gujarat YAnis, 276 ; M&tw&v Vinia, 278 - 279 ;
Biiris, 281 - 282 ; Kimbis, 300 - 307 ; Pdhddis, 311 -
312; Badhdis, 315-316; BeUldrs, 317-318;
Bhadbhnnjda, 320-321; Bhivadrs, 323-324;
Burada, 326 ; Chdmblidrs, 328, 330 ; Ganndis,
332 ; Ghiaddia, 335 - 336 ; Halvdis, 339 ; Jingars,
341 - 342 ; Kosbtis, 348 ; Kumbbdrs, 350 ; Ldkhe-
ria, 351 ; Otdria, 356 - 357 ; Pdtharvats, 358 ;
Rdula, 360 - 361 ; Sdlia, 363 - 364 ; Sbimpis, 369 ;
SonArs, 374 ; Nhdvis, 381 - 382 ; Dbangars, 385 ;
Gavlis, 387; Kolis, 389-392; KdmAthis, 396'
397; Lodhis, 399-400; Rajputs, 403; Raddia,
405; Kaikddis, 407-408; Rdmoshis, 415-423;
Thdkurs, 426 ; Vadara, 427 - 428 ; VanjAris, 430 ;
Dhors, 434-435 ; Haldlkhors, 438 ; Mbdrs, 442 ;
U&ngs, 444 ; Cbitrakathis, 450 ; Kdnpbdtes, 456-
457; Kolhdtia, 458; Sahadev Joahis, 462;
Ucblids, 472 - 473 ; Vaidua,478 ; Musalmiiiis, 486 -
487 ; Bene-Israels, 515 - 525.
Marriage Details : 95- 96.

Maruk : Ailantbua excelsa, 49.

Marnti : monkey god, 290.

Marwdris : Brdbmana, 174.

Mdrwir Vanis : traders, 278 - 279.

Maskoba ; see Mbasoba.

Mdval : Western Poona, 2 and note 1 ; forest

reserves, 35.
Mehmans : MuaabnAns, 498.
Metals : spirit-3carmg,'549.

Mhd,rs : depressed classes, 439-443.

Mhasoba : evil spirit, 290, 553, 554.

Miua"- river, 8.

Minerals : iron, trap, basalt, quartz, stilbite,
apophylite, road metal, natural salts, carbonate
of soda, sand, lime, atone, brick and tiles, 29-31.

Minor Products : forest, 39.

Minor Kanges : of biUs, 4-5.

Mists : 26.

Modhs : Gujardt Brdhmana, 163.

Moghals : Musalmdna, 491-492.

Moha : Bassia latifolia, 49.

Momins : Musalmdn weavera, 501 - 502. ]

Monday : sacredness of, 240.

Money ■ slang words for, 370.

Month Days: 238-239.

Months = Bene-Israels', 513.

Moore : Mr, J. G., 29 note 1, 40 note 1, 55 note].

Movements : 98.

Mukai : village goddess, 290.

Mula-Mutha : river, 7 - 8.

Mulberry ■■ tree, 53.

Mules : 65.

Munja : maie spirit, 553, 554, 558.

Murlis : temple servants, 476,

Musalmdns : bistory, appearance, food, bouses,
furniture, dress, ornaments, calling, religion,
cuatoms, prospects, divisions, 481-506.

Musicians: 378-379.

Mutha : river, 8.

Myrobalans : 39, 46.

NagarS : Gujarat Brdhmans, 163.

Nd,g-Chdpha : Meana ferea, 49.

Naghori : breed of cattle, 57.

Nagpanchmi : Hindu holiday, 244-245, 293.

Nagphani : cliff, 4.

NSjis : MusalmAn spirit, 553, 554.

Ndmdev Shimpis : tailors, 369-371.

Naming ceremonies : of the Chitpdvans, 114 ;
Pdtdne Prabhus, 223; Agarvils, 263; Kunbia,
298-299; SdUs, 363 ; Timbats, 376 ; Rdmoshis,
415.

Nd^na : Lagerstraemia parviflora, 49.

Naral : cocoa-palm, 49.

NArdyangad : bill-fort, 5.

Nd,ring : orange tree, 49.

Nirli-Pomima : Hindu holiday, 245.

Natural Salts : 13, 30.

Navrd,tra : Hindu holidays, 249 - 250.

Ners : valleys, 2 note 1.

Nets: fishing, 89-91.

Nhdvis : barbers, 380-383.

Nira : river, 8.

Niralis: dyers, 353-355.

Nutmeg : tree,'.46.

Oath-taking : PdtAne Prabhu ceremony, 212.

Observatory : 19.

Occupation Details : 96.

Offences : forest, 38.

Officers : forest demarcation, 32 note 2.

Old Testament : Bene-Israels' sacred boob, 612.

Orange : tree, 49.

Ordeal : boiling oil, 468-469 ; 474-476.

Ornaments : of the Chitpdvans, 104-107 ; VeUlis,

256 ; Agarvils, 262 ; Kunbis, 288 ; Bhadbbunjds,

319, 372-373; Mbdrs, 440; MusabnAns, 484;

making of, 372 - 373, origin of the use of, 106

note 1,547-552.

INDEX.

573

Otdris : casters, 355-358.

Oxen : breeds, use, keep, food, cattle disease, 55 -
60.

Fahadis : husbandmen, 310-313.

Fakhalis = Musalmdn water-carriers, 505.

Falas : Butea frondosa, 50.

Falmyra Palm •• 53.

Fanchals : Buddhist element in, 343.

Fdngd,ra : Erythrina indica, 50.

FaugalS : beggars, 459-460.

Fapai : Carica papaya, 50.

Fapuas : pomelo, 50.

Farashnram : destroyer of the Kshatriyas, 99-

100.
FaritS : washermen, 383 - 384.
Pirsis : 538.
Fdtane Frabhus : writers, settlement, appearance,

houses, food, calling, customs, religion, holidays,

193-256.
Fathans = MusalmAns, 492.
Patharvats : masons, 358,
Patvegars : Musalmin silk-tassel twisters, 496 -

497.
Fauna : river, 9.
Persia : the supposed home of the Chitpivan

Br^hmans, 100 note 2.
Pera : guava tree, 50.
Fhanas : jack tree, 51.
Phasep&rdMs : snarers, 408-409.
Pick-pockets : 464 - 476.
Pigeons : 69.

Pila Dhotra : Argemone mexioana, 51.
Pimpal : FiouB religiosa, 51.
Pinjaras : Musalmdn cotton cleaners, 502.
Fitripakslia : spirits' fortnight, 249.
Pit Vipers : snakes, S3.
Planet Worship : 202-203.
Plantain : tree, 48.
Plants: spirit-scaring, 549.
Polyandry : traces of, 300, 543 - 546.
Pomegranate : tree, 45.
Pomelo : tree, 50.
Ponies: 61-63.

Prabhus : Dhruv, Kiyasth, and Pdtdne, 185-256.
Precious Stones : spirit-scaring, 549 - 550,
Pregnancy Ceremony : of the PAtdne Prabhus,

219-220 ; Musalmdns, 488.
Price : of cows and oxen, 55 - 57.
Procession : marriage, 208-209.
Puberty Ceremonies : of the Chitpdvans, 140-144 ;

Deshasths, 159 ; Kanojs, 170; PAtine Prabhus,

218-219 ; Kunbis, 307 ; Badhdis, 316 ; Bh&vaixa,

324 ; Buruds, 326 ; Koshtis, 49 ; SAlis, 364 ;

Lodhis, 400-401 ; VanjAris, 430 ; Kolhdtis, 458-,
Uohlids, 473 ; Bene-Israels, 531 -532.

Purandhar : fort, 5 ; forest reserves, 36 ■ 37-

Pushpivati : river, 9.

Cluartz : stone, 29 - 30.
Quench-longing : ceremony, 145.

Baddis : labourers, 404 - 406.

Bafugars : Musalm4n°cloth-darners,'494- 495.

Rainfall : south-west monsoon ; rain belts ; western
belt with a heavy and certain rainfall ; central
belt with a moderate but irregular rainfall ; eas-
tern belt with an uncertain and irregular rain-
fall; rain returns (1861-1881); source of rain
supply ; south-west rain ; north-east rain ;
Poena city yearly and monthly rainfall and rain
days (1856 - 1872), 14 - 18.

B^jmdcM : hill-fort, 4.

Kajpnts : labourers, 401 - 404.

Bd^rnkdnta : Acacia ramkanta, 51.

Bdmnavmi : Hindu holiday, 242 - 243.

Bdmoshis : unsettled tribes ; origin, settlement,
divisions, surnames, appearance, language, food,
dress, ornaments, occupation, religion, holidays,
customs, community, 409 - 425.

Bdmphal : Anona reticulata, 51.

BangreZS : MusalmAn dyers, 495.

Batambi : Garcinia purpurea, 51.

Brills : tape-weavers, 358 - 361.

Beligion : m - 112, 176, 235 - 238, 289 - 291, 413 •
415, 485,512-514.

Beserves : forest, 32 - 37.

Eeservoirs : 9.

Bevenue : forest, 38.

Rice- washing : Bene-Israel marriage ceremony,

517.
Bights : fishing, 88.
Bivers : 6 - 9.
Boad metal: 29-30.
Boadside trees : 40, 41.

Boseapple : tree, 46.

Bosh Hos&na : Bene-Israel feast day, 513.

Bough Tail : snakes, 72 - 73.

Bui : Calotropis gigantea, 51 ; marriage with, 560.

Sacrifice : of a buffalo, 61.

SAg : teak, 52.

Sdgargota : Csesalpinia bonducella, 52,

Sahadev JosMs : beggars, 461 • 463.

574

INDEX.

Sahyidri Ehand : sacred book, 99 - lOl, 171.

Sahyddris : hill range, 3 - 4.

Saklmpathar : plateau, 5.

Salai : Boswellia thurifera, 52.

Salis : weavers, 361 - 365.

Saltdnkars : Mnsalmdu tanners, 505.

Salter : hill, 4.

Sand : 30.

Sandal : tree, 44.

Sand Snakes : 80.

Sangars : weavers, 365 - 366.

Sapindi - Shraddh : memorial service in honour of
seven generations of ancestors, 154 - 157.

Saptapadi : ceremony of, 212. '

Sarvade Joshis : 460-461.

Saturday : sacredness of, 241.

Satvd.i : goddess, 291.

S^yri : silk cotton tree, 52,

Sea Snakes = 81.

Seasons : 13 - 14.

Servants : 379 - 384.

Seton : Major A. R., 29 note 2.

Shaikhs : MusalmAns, 491.

Shami : Prosopis spicegera, 52.

Shdnti : quieting rites, 140 - 143, 152.

Shaving Ceremonies : of the Chitpdvans, 116 ;
Gujardti BrAhmans, 164 ; Kanojs, 168 ; Dhruv
Prabhus, 187, 206-207; Pdtdne Prabhus,
225 - 226 ; VelAlis, 257 ; Brahma Kshatris,
267 ; Gujardti Vinis, 275 ; Kunbis, 300 ;P4hAdis,
311 ; BeldArs, 317 ; BhAvsirs, 323 ; Chdmbhirs,
330 ; Gaundis, 332 ; Jingars, 341 ; Kumbhd,r3, 350 ;
SAlis, 363 ; Nhdvis, 381 ; Bhois, 388 ; Kolis, 393 ;
Lodhis, 399 ; Rajputs, 403 ; Rdmoshis ; 415 ;

. Vanjdris, 429 ; Dhors, 433 ; Uchliis, 471; Bene-
Israels, 518, 530 and note 2.

Sheep : 65 - 67.

Shenvis = BrAhmans, 175 - 180.

Shepherds : 384 - 387.

Shevga: Moringa pterygosperma, .52.

Shimga : holiday, 254 - 255, 292 - 293, 414.

Shimpis : tailors, 367 - 371.

Shinga : hill, 5.

Shivan : Gmelina arborea, 52.

Shivganga : river, 9.

Shivner : fortified hill, 4.

ShivrAtri = Hindu holiday, 254.

Short-tailed : Cowry Snake, 76.

Short Tooths : see filleted ground snakes.

Shows : horse, 63.

Shrdddh : memorial service, 232 - 234.

Shridepathir : plateau, 5.

Shrigods ■• Gujardt Brdhmans, 163.

Shrimdlis = Gujardt Brdhmans, 163.

Silk-cotton : tree, 62,

Sikalgars : Musalmdn armourers, 496.

Sinhgad : hill-fort, 5.

Siras : Albizzia lebbek, 53.

Sirur : forest reserves, 36.

Sisu : blackwood, 52.

Sit^phal : custard apple, 53.

Skirt-wearing: Beue-Israel ceremony, 531.

Small-pox : goddess, 224 - 225.

Snake-charmers : 83 - 87.

Snakes : introduction, families ; Typhlophidse ;
Uropeltidse ; Calamaridse ; Oligodontids ; Colu-
bridiE ; Natricina ; Homalopsidae ; Psammophids ;
Deudrophidse ; Dryiophidse ; Dipsadidse ; Lyco-
dontidae ; A mblycephalidse ; Pythonidse ; Bry-
cidae ; Aorochordidse ; Elapidae ; Hydrophidae ;
ViperidaB ; Crotalidse, 71-83.

Social rules : of the Vaidus, 478.

Som Gadalya : Bene-Israel feast day, 513-514.

Sonars: goldsmiths, 371-374.

Spirit : scarers, 106 note 1 ; fear, 112 ; possession,
144 and note 1, 163,168, 291-292, 334, 345,
362, 367, 429, 433, 441-442, 470, 553-559;
belief, 173, 427 ; basis of the rule in favour of
child marriage and against widow marriage,
539 - 542 ; classes of, 553 - 554.

Stillite : stone, 30.

Stallions : Government, 63.

Stone Quarries : 29.

Sub-Divisions : l.

Sugar-eating • Bene-Israel marriage ceremony,
616.

Sukoth : Bene-Israel feast day, 514.

Sultdnkars : tanners, 366-367.

Sunday : sacredness of, 239-240.

Supari : betel-palm, 53.

Surnames : lOl, 160, 161, 167, 171, 173, 174, 175,
180, 184, 185, 263, 266, 267, 270, 278, 280 283,
309, 310, 316, 319, 322, 325, 327, 329, 331,
333, 340, 343, 346, 347, 349, 352, 353, 355,
358, 359, 365, 366, 371, 375, 378, 384, 385,
387, 389, 395, 398, 401, 404, 407, 410, 425, 426,
428, 432, 436, 439, 443, 446, 448, 451, 453, 454,
456, 457, 459, 460, 461, 463, 477, 479, 508.

Sweetmeats : 338.

Syed D4ud : Mr., 481 note 1.

Syeds : Musalmdns, 490 -491.

Synagogue : constitution of the, 535- 536.

TM : palm3rra palm, 53-

TaUang Nhdvis : barbers, 381-383.

Tailangs: Brdhmans, 180-183.

TdkArds : Musalmdn stone-carvers, 503.

Tamarind : tree, 45.

T^mbats: coppersmiths, 374-376.

INDEX,

575

Tdmbolis : betel-leaf sellers, 273 ; Musalmdn, 199.
Tamhini : Ull, 4.
Tasobdi : ridge, 5.
Tattooing : 552.
Teaching : ceremony, 257.
Teak : tree, 52.

Teething ; PAtdne Prabhu ceremony, 225.
Telis: oUnien, 376-377.
Telugn : see Tailangs.
Tembhurni : Diospyros melanoxylon, 53.
Temperature ; mean temperature ; monthly and
annual mean temperatures ; monthly temperature ;
temperature in local civil hours ; highest and
lowest monthly temperature ; thermometer read-
ings, 18-23.
Terraces: 9-10.

Thdknrs : unsettled tribes, 425 - 426.
Thermometer Readings •■ 22-23.
Thread-girding Ceremonies : of the Chitpivans,
116 - 120 ; Govardhans, 162 ; GujArat Brihmans,
164; Kanoja, 169; Shenvis, 177 ; Tailangs, 182;
Dhruv Parbhus, 187 - 189 ; PAtdne Prabhus, 226-
228 ; Veldlis, 258 ; Jingars, 341 ; Shimpis, 368.
Thunderstorms : 14 and note 1.
Thursday ■ sacredness of, 240.
Tiger god : 426.
Tikona : peak, 5.
Tiles: 31.

Timber trade: 38-39.
Tirguls: Brdhmans, 184.
TirmaliS : beggars, 463 - 464.
Tools : of carpenters, 314 ; blacksmiths, 352.
Trade : iu horses, 61 note 3.

Traders : Agarvdls, Bangars, Bhdtyds, Brahma-
kshatris, Kirdds, Komtis, Lingdyats, Lohduds,
Tdmbolis, Vdnis, 261 - 279.
Trap: rock, 12-13.
Tree Snakes : 77.

Trees : Ain, Alu, Amba, Ambguli, Ambdda,
Anjir, Avla, Asan, Apta, Bdbhul, Baddm,
Bdhva, Bel, Bhokar, Bibba, Bonddra, Bor, Bakul,
Bartondi, Chakotar, Chandan, Chdr, Chinch,
Chdpha, Ddlimb, Dhdman, Dhdvda.Gehela, Gorak-
chinch, Harda, Hallian, Hedu, Hinganbet, Hivar,
Hura, Jdyphal, Jdmb, Jdmbhul, Khandul, Karanj,
Kalamb, Kamrakh, Kdju, Karvand, Kavath,
Khajuri, Kel, Kenjal, Kadu Khdrik, Khair,
Limbu, Makar-Nimbori, Maruk, Mdhlung,
Moha, Ndgchdpha, Ndna, Ndral, Ndring, Limb,
Pdngdra, Palas, Papai, Papnas, Peru, Phanas,
Pila Dhotra, Pimpal, Pimpri, Edmphal, Edm-
kdnta, Rdtambi, Rdydvla, Rui, Sdg, Sdgargota,
Salai, Sarphali, Sdvri, Shevga, Shivan, Shami,
Sisu, Siras, Sitdphal, Supdri, Tdd, Toran, Tirti,
Tut,' Tembhurni, Tivsis, Umbar, Vad, Varas,
41.54.

Tribes : forest, 37 - 38,

Tropidonotns stolatus : a species of snake, 77.

Tuesday : sacredness of, 240.

Tung : peak, 5.

Turmeric rubbing : ceremony, 198-199.

Tut : mulberry tree, 53.

Two-headed Snake : 80.

Uchlias : pick-pockets, origin, disguises, modes of
stealing, admittance into the caste, initiation
ceremony, appearance, dress, houses, food, orna-
ments, character, caste rules, customs, oil ordeal^
religion, 464-476.

TTmbar : Ficus glomerata, 53.

Unsettled Tribes : Berads, Bhils, Kaikddis,
Kdthkaris, Phdaepdrdhis, Rdmoshis, Thdkurs,
Vadars, Vanjiris, 406-431.

Vaccination : Pdtdne Prabhu ceremony, 224-225

Bene-Israel ceremony, 531,
Vad : banian tree, 54.
Vadars : unsettled tribes, 426 - 428.
Vad Pornima : Hindu holiday, 243-244.
Vighes: beggars, 476-477.
Vdghoba : tiger god, 291.
Vaidus : physicans, 477-479.
Vaishya VAnis : traders, 279.
Vajragad i peak, 5.

Vaman Dvadashi : Hindu holiday, 248 - 249,

Vdnis: traders, 273-279.

Vanjiris : grain dealers, 428-431,

Vapour: 25-26.

Varhddi : breed of cattle, 57.

VdiSUdevs : beggars, 479-480.

Vehergaon : spur, 5.

Vel : river, 7.

Veld.lis i writers, 256-261.

Vessels : copper and brass, 375.

Vetal : leader of evil spirits, 291, 553.

Vidal : Mr. G. W., 32 note 1, 71 note 1.

Vidurs : Brdhmaus, 184-185,

Villages : 96.

Vipers : snakes, 81-82.
Virs ; beggars, 480-481.
Visipur ! peak, 5.

Wallinger : Mr. W. H. A., 31 note 1, 41 note 1,
Wart Snakes : 81.
Washermen : 383 - 384,

576

INDEX.

Water-gods : 200 - 201.

Wedding Season : 194 note 1.

Wednesday : sacredness of, 240.

Week Days : 239- 241 ; of the Bene- Israels, 513.

Wenden J Mr. H., 87 note 1.

Western Belt : aspect of the, 2.

Whip Snakes : 77 - 78.

Widow Marriage : 423 ; origin of the rule against,

640 - 542.
Wild Animals : 69 - 70.
Wild Citron : tree, 49.
Wild Date -. tree, 48.
Winds : direction and duration of, 27 - 28,
Wood-apple : tree, 47.
Worship : of the goddess Shashthi, 113, 300, 350,

471 ; the sun, 115 ; boundary, 129 ; guests, 133 ;

Ganesh, 199 -201 ; ancestors, 201 ; planets, 202-
203 ; clothes, 211 ; daily worship, 235 - 238 ; ani-
mals, 294 ; trees, 208, 294 ; tombs, 413.
Writers : Dhruv, Kdyasth, and P.ltdne Prabhus,
and VelAlis, 185-261.

Yahndis : see Bene-Israels.

Year: Bene-Israels' calculation of the, 512.

Yogeshvari : Chitpavan goddess, 100.

Zamenis fasoiolatus : a species of snake, 76.
Zirekaris : dust-washers, 377.

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