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MACMILLAN AND CO., Limited
LONDON • BOMBAY • CALCUTTA
MADRAS • MELBOURNE
THE MACMILLAN COMPANY
NEW YORK • BOSTON • CHICAGO
DALLAS • SAN FRANCISCO
THE MACMILLAN CO. OF CANADA, Ltd.
TORONTO
o
THE
TRIBES AND CASTES
OF THE
CENTRAL PROVINCES
OF INDIA
BY
R. V. RUSSELL
OF THE INDIAN CIVIL SERVICE
SUPERINTENDENT OF ETHNOGRAPHY, CENTRAL PROVINCES
ASSISTED BY
RAI BAHADUR HlRA LAL
EXTRA ASSISTANT COMMISSIONER
PUBLISHED UNDER THE ORDERS OF THE CENTRAL
PROVINCES ADMINISTRATION
IN FOUR VOLUMES
VOL. I
MACMILLAN and CO., LIMITED
ST. MARTIN'S STREET, LONDON
I 9 I 6
vi PREFACE
Southern India, and Mr. Ananta Krishna Iyer's volumes on
Cochin, while a Glossary for the Punjab by Mr. H. A. Rose
has been partly published. The articles on Religions and
Sects were not in the original scheme of the work, but have
been subsequently added as being necessary to render it a
complete ethnological account of the population. In several
instances the adherents of the religion or sect are found only
in very small numbers in the Province, and the articles have
been compiled from standard works.
In the preparation of the book much use has necessarily
been made of the standard ethnological accounts of other
parts of India, especially Colonel Tod's Annals and An-
tiqnities of Rdjastkdn, Mr. J. D. Forbes' Rasmdla or Annals
of Gujarat, Colonel Dalton's Ethnology of Bengal, Dr.
Buchanan's Eastern India, Sir Denzil Ibbetson's Punjab
Census Report for 1881, Sir John Malcolm's Memoir of
Central India, Sir Edward Gait's Bengal and India Census
Reports and article on Caste in Dr. Hastings' Encyclopcsdia
of Religion and Ethics, Colonel (Sir William) Sleeman's
Report on the Badhaks and Rdnidseedna or Vocabulary of the
Thugs, Mr. Kennedy's Criminal Classes of the Bombay Presi-
dency, Major Gunthorpe's Criminal Tribes of Bombay, Berdr
and the Central Provinces, the books of Mr. Crooke and Sir
H. Risley already mentioned, and the mass of valuable
ethnological material contained in the Bombay Gazetteer
(Sir J. Campbell), especially the admirable volumes on
Hindus of Gujarat by Mr. Bhimbhai Kirparam, and Pdrsis
and Muhammadans of Gujardt by Khan Bahadur Fazlullah
Lutfullah Faridi, and Mr. Kharsedji Nasarvanji Seervai, J. P.,
and Khan Bahadur Bamanji Behramji Patel. Other Indian
ethnological works from which I have made quotations are
Dr. Wilson's Indian Caste {Times Press and Messrs, Black-
PREFACE vii
wood), Bishop Westcott's Kabir and the KablrpantJi (Baptist
Mission Press, Cawnpore), Mr. Rajendra Lai Mitra's Indo-
Aryans (Newman & Co., Calcutta), The Jainas by Dr. J. G.
Buhler and Mr. J. Burgess, Dr. J, N. Bhattacharya's Hindu
Castes and Sects (Thacker, Spink & Co., Calcutta), Professor
Oman's Mystics, Ascetics and Saints of India^ Cults, Customs
and Superstitions of India, and BrdJunans, Theists and
Muslims of India (T. Fisher Unwin), Mr. V. A. Smith's
Early History of India (Clarendon Press), the Rev. T. P.
Hughes' Dictionary of Islam (W. H. Allen & Co., and
Heffer & Sons, Cambridge), Mr. L. D. Barnett's Antiquities
of India, M. Andre Chevrillon's Romantic India, Mr. V.
Ball's fungle Life in India, Mr. W, Crooke's Popular Religion
and Folkloi'e of Northern India, and Things Indian, Captain
Forsyth's Highlands of Central India (Messrs. Chapman &
Hall), Messrs. Yule and Burnell's Hobson-Jobson (Mr. Crooke's
edition). Professor Hopkins' Religions of India, the Rev.
E. M. Gordon's Indian Folk-Tales (Elliot & Stock), Messrs.
Sewell and Dikshit's Indian Calendar, Mr. Brennand's Hindu
Astronomy, and the late Rev. Father P. Dehon's mono-
graph on the Oraons in the Monoirs of the Asiatic Society
of Bengal.
Ethnological works on the people of the Central Provinces
are not numerous ; among those from which assistance has
been obtained are Sir C. Grant's Central Provinces Gazetteer
of 1 87 1, Rev. Stephen Hislop's Notes on the Aboriginal
Tribes of the Central Provinces, Colonel Bloomfield's Notes
on the Baigas, Sir Charles Elliott's Hoshangdbdd Settlement
Report, Sir Reginald Craddock's Ndgpur Settlement Report,
Colonel Ward's Mandla Settlement Report, Colonel Lucie
Smith's Chdnda Settlement Report, Mr. G. W. Gayer's
Lectnres on Criminal Tribes, Mr. C. W. Montgomerie's
viii PREFACE
CJihindzodra Scttlenieiit Report^ Mr. C. E. Low's Bdlaglidt
District Gazetteer^ Mr. E. J. Kitts' Berdr Census Report of
1 88 1, and the Central Provinces Census Reports of Mr. T.
Drysdale, Sir Benjamin Robertson and Mr. J. T. Marten.
The author is indebted to Sir J. G. Frazer for his kind
permission to make quotations from The Golden Bough and
Totemism and Exogamy (Macmillan), in which the best
examples of almost all branches of primitive custom are to
be found ; to Dr. Edward Westermarck for similar permis-
sion in respect of TJie History of Human Marriage, and The
Origin and Developmetit of the Moral Ideas (Macmillan) ; to
Messrs. A. & C. Black in respect of the late Professor
Robertson Smith's Religion of the Semites; to Messrs.
Heinemann for those from M. Salomon Reinach's OrpJieus ;
and to Messrs. Hachette et Cie and Messrs. Parker of Oxford
for those from La Cite Antique of M. Fustel de Coulanges.
Much assistance has also been obtained from Sir E. B.
Tylor's Early History of Mankind and Primitive Culture,
Lord Avebury's TJie Origin of Civilisation, Mr. E. Sidney
Hartland's Primitive Paternity, and M. Salomon Reinach's
Cultes, Mythes et Religions. The labours of these eminent
authors have made it possible for the student to obtain a
practical knowledge of the ethnology of the world by the
perusal of a small number of books ; and if any of the ideas
put forward in these volumes should ultimately be so
fortunate as to obtain acceptance, it is to the above books
that I am principally indebted for having been able to
formulate them. Other works from which help has been
obtained are M. Emile Senart's Les Castes dans TInde,
Professor W. E. Hearn's The Aryan Household, and Dr.
A. H. Keane's The World's Peoples. Sir George Grierson's
great work, The Linguistic Survey of India, has now given
PREFACE ix
an accurate classification of the non-Aryan tribes according
to their languages and has further thrown a considerable
degree of light on the vexed question of their origin. I
have received from Mr. W. Crooke of the Indian Civil
Service (retired) much kind help and advice during the final
stages of the preparation of this work. As will be seen from
the articles, resort has constantly been made to his Tribes
and Castes for filling up gaps in the local information.
Rai Bahadur Hira Lai was my assistant for several
years in the taking of the census of 1901 and the prepara-
tion of the Central Provinces District Gazetteers ; he has
always given the most loyal and unselfish aid, has personally
collected a large part of the original information contained
in the book, and spent much time in collating the results.
The association of his name in the authorship is no more
than his due, though except where this has been specifically
mentioned, he is not responsible for the theories and de-
ductions from the facts obtained. Mr. Pyare Lai Misra,
barrister, Chhindwara, was my ethnographic clerk for some
years, and he and Munshi Kanhya Lai, late of the Educa-
tional Department, and Mr. Aduram Chandhri, Tahslldar,
gave much assistance in the inquiries on different castes.
Among others who have helped in the work, Rai Bahadur
Panda Baijnath, Diwan of the Patna and Bastar States,
should be mentioned first, and Babu Kali Prasanna
Mukerji, pleader, Saugor, Mr. Gopal Datta Joshi, District
Judge, Saugor, Mr. Jeorakhan Lai, Deputy-Inspector of
Schools, and Mr. Gokul Prasad, Tahslldar, may be selected
from the large number whose names are given in the foot-
notes to the articles. Among European officers whose
assistance should be acknowledged are Messrs. C. E. Low,
C. W. Montgomerie, A. B. Napier, A. E. Nelson, A. K.
X PREFACE
Smith, R. H. Crosthwaite and H. F. HalUfax, of the Civil
Service ; Lt.-Col. W. D. Sutherland, I. M.S., Surgeon-Major
Mitchell of Bastar, and Mr. D. Chisholm.
Some photographs have been kindly contributed by
Mrs. Ashbrooke Crump, Mrs. Mangabai Kelkar, Mr. G.
L. Corbett, C.S., Mr. R. L. Johnston, A.D.S.P., Mr. J. H.
Searle, C.S., Mr. Strachey, Mr. H. E. Bartlett, Professor L.
Scherman of Munich, and the Diwan of Raigarh State.
Bishop Westcott kindly gave the photograph of Kabir, which
appears in his own book.
Finally I have to express my gratitude to the Chief
Commissioner, Sir Benjamin Robertson, for the liberal
allotment made by the Administration for the publication
of the work ; and to the publishers, Messrs. Macmillan & Co.,
and the printers, Messrs. R. & R. Clark, for their courtesy
and assistance during its progress through the press.
September 191 5.
CONTENTS
PART I— VOLUME I
PAGE
Introductory Essay on Caste . . . . i
Articles on the Religions and Sects of the People
OF the Central Provinces . . . .199
Glossary of Minor Castes and other Articles,
Synonyms, Subcastes, Titles and Names of
ExoGAMous Septs or Clans . . . • 32>7
Subject Index . . . . . .419
PART II— VOLUMES II, III and IV
Descriptive Articles on the Principal Castes and
Tribes of the Central Provinces . . . i
VOL. I
DETAILED LIST OF CONTENTS
PART I
Articles on Religions and Sects
TJie articles which are considered to be of most general i7iterest
shown in capitals
PACK
Arya Samaj Religion , . . , .201
Brahmo Samaj Religion
208
Dadupanthi Sect
215
Dhami Sect
216
Jain Religion
219
Kabirpanthi Sect .
232
Lingayat Sect .
244
Muhammadan Religion
247
Nanakpanthi Sect
277
Parmarthi Sect
281
Parsi or Zoroastrian Religion
284
Saiva Sect
302
Sakta Sect
304
Satnami Sect
307
Sikh Religion .
317
Smarta Sect .
325
Swami-Narayan Sect .
326
Vaishnava Sect
330
Vam-Margi Sect
333
Wahhabi Sect .
335
Articles on Minor Castes and Miscellaneous
Notices included in the Glossary
Agamudayan.
Alia.
Arab.
Are.
Arora.
Bahelia.
Bahrupia.
Banka.
Bargah.
Bayar.
Belvvfir.
Besta.
Bhand.
Bhatia.
Bhiina.
Bhona.
Bind.
Birhor.
Bopchi.
Chenchuwar.
Chero.
DangLir.
Daraihan.
Dhalgar.
Dhera.
Dohor.
Gandli.
Girgira.
Goyanda.
Hatwa.
CONTENTS
Jasondhi.
Otari.
Jokhara.
Pabia.
Kamad.
Pahalwan.
Kamathi.
Panchal.
Kamma.
Pandra.
Kammala.
Parka.
Kandra.
Periki.
Kast.
Redka.
Khadal.
Rohilla.
Khadra.
Sais.
Kotwar.
Santal.
Kumrawat.
Satani.
Kundera.
Segidi.
Londhaii.
Siddi.
Madgi.
Sidhira.
Malyar.
Sikligar.
Mangan.
Solaha.
Marori.
Sonkar.
Medara.
Tanti.
Mirdha.
Tirmale.
Mukeri.
Tiyar.
Mutrasi.
Vellala.
Nagarchi.
Wakkaliga
PART II— VOL. II
Articles on Castes and Tribes of the Centk
Provinces in Alphabetical Order
AL
Agaria {h-on-worker-) .
Agharia {Cidtivator') .
Aghori {Religious inciidicant) .
AhIr {Herds7najt and milkmaft)
Andh {Tribe, now cultivaiois') .
Arakh {Hunte?-) .
Atari {Sreni-se//er)
Audhelia {Labourer') .
Badhak {Robbe)'-)
Bahna {Cotion-clea7ier)
Baiga {Forest tribe)
Bairagi {Religious mcndicaiits) .
Balahi {Labourer and village watchman)
Balija {Cultivator)
Bania {Merchant and moneylender)
13
18
38
40
42
45
49
69
n
93
105
108
1 1 1
CONTENTS
Agarwaki.
Agrahari.
Ajudhiabasi.
Asathi.
Charnagri.
Dhusar.
Dosar.
SUBCASTES OF BaNIA
(lahoi.
Golapurab.
Kasarwani.
Kasaundhan.
Khandelwal.
Lad.
Lingayat.
Maheshri.
Nema.
Oswal.
Par war.
Srimali.
Umre.
Banjara {Pack-ca7'ner)
Barai {Betel-vine grower and seller)
Barhai {Caj-penter)
Bari {Maker of leaf -pi ales)
Basdewa {Cattle-dealer and religious mejidicant)
Basor {Ba/nboo-worker)
Bedar {Soldier and public service)
Beldar {Digger and navvy)
Beria {Vagabond gipsy)
Bhaina {Forest tribe) .
Bhamta {Criminal tribe and labourers
Bharbhunja {Graitt-parclier)
Bharia {Forest tribe)
'QYi'KT {Bard and genealogist) .
Bhatra {Forest tribe)
BhIl {Forest tribe)
Bhilala {Landowner and cultivator)
Bhishti {Water-man)
Bhoyar {Cultivator)
Bhuiya {Foi'est tribe)
Bhulia {Weaver)
Bhunjia {Forest tribe)
Binjhwar {Cultivator)
Bishnoi {Cultivator)
Bohra {Trader)
Brahman {Priest)
SUBCASTES OF BrAHMAN
Ahivasi.
Jijhotia.
Kanaujia, Kanyakubja.
Khedawal.
Maharashtra.
Maithil.
Malwi.
Nagar.
Naramdeo.
Sanadhya.
Sarwaria.
Utkal.
PAGE
162
202
204
208
212
215
220
238
242
251
271
278
298
301
305
319
322
329
345
351
Cliadar ( Village watchman and labourer)
Chamar {Tanner and labourer)
400
403
CONTENTS
Chasa {Ctiltivator)
Chauhan ( Village %vatchinan a?id laboi/fe?-)
Chhipa {Dyer and calico-printer)
Chitari {Painter)
Chitrakathi {Picture s/ioiiiinnji) .
Cutchi {Trader atid shopkeeper)
Dahait ( Village zuatc/unan and labotn-cr)
Daharia {Cultivator)
Dangi {Landowjier and cultivator)
Dangri {Vegetable-groruer) . ■ .
Darzi {Tailor)
Dewar {Beggar and musician) .
Dhakar {Illegitimate, cultivator)
Dhangar {Shepherd)
Dhanuk {Bowman, labourer) .
Dhanwar {Forest tribe)
Dhimar {Fisherman, water-carrier, and household servant)
Dhoba {Forest tribe, cultivator)
DnoBl {Washerman) .
Dhuri {Grain-parcJier) .
Dumal {Cultivator)
Fakir {Religious mendicant)
PART II— VOL. Ill
Gadaria {Shepherd) ....
Gadba {Forest tribe) ....
Ganda ( Weaver and labourer) .
Gandhmali {Uriya village priests and temple servants)
GkKVXGXKl {Averter of hailstorms)
Gauria {Snake-charmer a?id juggler)
Ghasia {Grass-cutter) ....
Ghosi {Buffalo-herdsmaii)
Golar {Herdsman) ....
GOND {Forest tribe and cultivator)
Gond-Gowari {F-Ierdsman^
Gondhali {Religious mendicajit)
Gopal ( Vagrant crimi7ial caste)
Gosain {Religious me7tdicant) .
Gowari {//erdsman) ....
Gujar {Cultivator) ....
CONTENTS
Gurao ( Village Priest) .
Halba {Forest tribe^ laboiife?-) .
Halwai {Confectiotter) .
Hatkar {Soldier, shepherd)
HiJRA {Eunuch, mendicant)
Holia {Labotirer, ctiring hides) ,
Injhwar {Boat/nan and fisherinaii)
Jadam {Cultivator)
Jadua {Criminal caste)
Jangam {Priest of the Lingdyat sect)
Jat {La?tdo'wncr and cultivator)
Jhadi Telenga {Illegitimate, labourer)
Jogi {Religious mejidicant atid pedla7')
J OS HI {Astrologer and village priest)
Julaha {Weaver)
Kachera {Maker of glass bangles)
Kachhi {Vegetable-grower)
Kadera {Firezvork-maker)
Kahar {Palanquin-bearer and household
Kaikari {Basket-maker and vagrant)
Kalanga {Soldier, cultivator) .
Kalar {Liquor vendor)
Kamar {Forest tribe) .
Kanjar {Gipsies and p>rostitutes)
Kapewar {Cultivator) .
Karan ( Writer and clerk)
Kasai {Butcher)
Kasar {Worker in brass)
Kasbi {Prostitute)
Katia {Cotton-spittner) .
Kawar {Forest tribe and cultivator)
Kayasth ( Village accoimtant, writer and clerk)
Kewat {Boatmajt and fisher7nan)
Khairwar {Forest tribe; boilers of catechu)
Khandait {Soldier, cultivator) .
Khangar ( Village watchma7i aiid labourer)
Kharia {Forest tribe, labourer) .
Khatlk {Mutto7i-butcher)
Khatri {Merchant)
Khojah ( Trader a7id shopkeeper)
Khond {Forest tribe, cultivator)
Kir {Cultivator)
Kirar {Cultivato7-)
CONTENTS
Kohli {Ciiltivaior)
KOL {Forest tribe, labourer)
Kolam {Forest tribe, cultivator)
Kolhati {Acrobat)
Koli {Forest tribe, cultivator) .
Kolta {Landowner and cultivator)
Komti {Merchant and shopkeeper)
Kori ( Weaver and labotirer)
Korku {Forest tribe, labourer)
Korwa {Forest tribe, cultivator)
Koshti {Weaver)
PART II— VOL. IV
KUMHAR {Potter)
KUNBI {Cultivator)
Kunjra {Greengrocer)
Kuramwar {Shepherd)
KURMI {Cultivator)
Lakhera ( Worker in lac)
Lodhi {La7idoiu7ier and cultivator)
Lobar {Blacksmith)
Lorha {Growers of S3.n-hcnip) .
Mahar ( Weaver and labourei-) .
Mahli {Forest tribe)
Majhwar {Forest tribe) .
Mai {Forest tribe)
Mala {Cotton-weaver and labourei')
Mali {Gardener and vegetable-grower) .
Mallah {Boat)nan and fisherman)
Mana {Forest tribe, cultivator) .
Manbhao {Religious meitdicant)
Mang {Labourer and village musiciait) .
Mang-Garori {Criminal caste) .
Manihar {Pedlar)
Mannewar {Forest tribe)
Maratha {Soldier, cultivator and service)
MEHTAR {Sweeper and scavenger)
Meo {Tribe) ....
Mina or Deswali {Non-Aryaii tribe, cultivator)
'M.'xra.sx {Bard aftd genealogist) .
MoCHI {Shoemaker) ' .
CONTENTS
Mo war {Culitvator)
Murha {Digger ajid navvy')
Nagasia (Forest tribe) .
Nahal {Forest tribe)
Nai (Barber) ....
Naoda {Boatman a7id fisherman)
Nat {Acrobat) ....
Nunia {Salt-refiner, digger and navvy) .
0]h2L {Augur and soothsayer) .
Or AON {Forest tribe) .
Paik {Soldier, cultivator)
Panka {Labourer and village luatchman)
Panwar Rajput {Landowner and cultivator)
Pardhan {Mi?jstrel and priest) .
Pardhi {Hunter a7id fowler)
Parja {Forest tribe)
Pasi {Toddy-d)-awer and labourer)
Patwa {Maker of silk braid and thread)
Pindari {Freebooter) .
Prabhu ( PVriter and clerk)
Raghuvansi {Cultivator)
Rajjhar {Agricultural labourer)
Rajput {Soldier and landowner)
Rajput Clans
Baghel.
Bagri.
Bais.
Baksaria.
Banaphar.
Bhadauria.
Bisen.
Bundela.
Chandel.
Chauhan.
Dhakar.
Gaharwar.
Gaur.
Haihaya.
Huna.
Kachhwaha.
Nagvansi.
Nikumbh.
Paik.
Parihar.
Rathor.
Sesodia.
Solankhi.
Somvansi.
Surajvansi.
Tomara.
Yadu.
Raj war {Forest tribe) .....
Ramosi ( Village watchmett and labourers, formerly thieves)
Rangrez {Dyer) ....
Rautia {Forest tribe and cultivators, formerly soldiers)
Sanaurhia {Criminal thieving caste)
Sansia ( Vagraftt criminal tribe)
Sansia (Uria) {Mason arid digger)
Savar {Forest tribe) ....
Sonjhara {Gold-washer)
Sudh {Cultivator) ....
XIX
PAGE
259
262
283
286
294
296
299
321
352
359
371
380
385
388
399
403
405
410
470
472
477
479
483
488
496
500
509
SM
XX COjYTENTS
SUNAR {Goldsmith and silversmith)
Sundi {Liquor distiller) ....
Tamera {Coppersmith) .....
Taenia {Soldier and labourer) ....
Teli {Oilman) .....
Thug {Criminal commimity of miirdercrs by strangulation)
Turi {Bamboo-worker) .....
Velama {Cultivato}') .....
\\ViVS. {Village accountant,, clerk aiui writer)
Waghya [Religious mendicaiit) ....
Yerukala {Cri?ni;ial thieving caste)
PAGE
517
534
536
539
542
558
5S8
593
596
603
606
Note. — The Gonds are the most important of the non-Aryan or primitive
tribes, and their social customs are described in detail. The Baiga, Bhil, Kawar,
Khond, Kol, Korku and Korwa are other important tribes. The two repre-
sentative cultivating castes are the Kurmis and Kunbis, and the articles on them
include detailed descriptions of Hindu social customs, and some information en
villages, houses, dress, food and manner of life. Articles in which subjects of
general interest are treated are Darzi (clothes), Sunar (ornaments), Kachera and
Lakhera (bangles), Nai (hair), Kalar (veneration of alcoholic liquor), Bania
(moneylending and interest), Kasai (worship and sacrifice of domestic animals),
Joshi (the Hindu calendar and personal names), Bhat (suicide), Dahait
(significance of the umbrella), and Kanjar (connection of Indian and European
gipsies). The articles on Badhak, Sansia and Thug are compiled from Sir
William Sleeman's reports on these communities of dacoits and murderers, whose
suppression he achieved. For further information the Subject Index may be
consulted.
MAPS AND ILLUSTRATIONS
MAPS
Map of India 'i
Map of the Central Provin^cesJ
Map of the Central Provinces, showing principal
linguistic or racial divisions . . . .
Frontispiece
ILLUSTRATIONS
VOLUME I
1. Hindu temple of the god Siva
2. Hindu sculptures .
3. Peasant's hut
4. Group of religious mendicants
5. Drawing water from the village well
6. Gayatri or sacred verse personified as a goddess
7. Image of the god Jagannath, a form of Vishnu
8. The god Rama, an incarnation of Vishnu, with attendant
deities ....
9. Hindu bathing party
10. Pilgrims carrying Ganges water
11. A meeting of the Arya Samaj for investing boys with the
sacred thread .
12. Jain temples at Muktagiri, Betul .
13. Jain ascetics with cloth before mouth and sweeping-brush
14. Jain gods in attitude of contemplation
I 5. Jain temple in Seoni
16. Kablr ....
17. Beggar on artificial horse at the Muharram festival
18. Carrying the horse-shoe at the Muharram festival .
19. Tazia or tombs of Hussain at the Muharram festival
16
26
40
56
72
108
118
144
158
184
202
220
224
228
230
232
248
252
256
ILL US 7 'RA 1 'JONS
90. Girl in full dress and ornaments
91. Old type of sugarcane mill
92. Group of Kol women
93. Group of Kolams .
94. Korkus of the Melghat hills
95. Korku women in full dress
96. Koshti men dancing a figure, holding strings and beatinj
sticks ......
97-
98.
99.
00.
01.
02.
03.
04.
05.
06.
07.
08.
09.
10.
1 1.
12.
13-
14.
15-
16.
17-
18.
19.
20.
21.
22.
23-
24.
25-
26.
VOLUME IV
Potter at his wheel ....
Group of Kunbis .....
Figures of animals made for Pola festival
Hindu boys on stilts ....
Throwing stilts into the water at the Pola festival.
Carrying out the dead ....
Pounding rice .....
Sowing ......
Threshing .....
Winnowing .....
Women grinding wheat and husking rice .
Group of women in Hindustani dress
Coloured Plate : Examples of spangles worn by women on
the forehead .....
Weaving : sizing the warp
Winding thread .....
Bride and bridegroom with marriage crowns
Bullocks drawing water with mot .
Mang musicians with drums
Statue of Maratha leader, Bimbaji Bhonsla, in armour
Image of the god Vishnu as Vithoba
Coolie women with babies slung at the side
Hindu men showing the choti or scalp-lock
Snake-charmer with cobras
Transplanting rice ....
Group of Pardhans ....
Little girls playing ....
Gujarati girls doing figures with strings and sticks
Ornaments .....
Teli's oil-press .....
The Goddess Kali ....
Waghya mendicants ....
PRONUNCIATION
a has the sound of u in but or murviur.
a ,, „ a in bath or tar.
e ,, ,, e in icarte or ai in maid.
i ,, ., i in bit, or (as a final letter) of y in stilky
i „ ,, ee in beet.
o „ ,,0 in bore or bowl.
u „ „ u in p2it or bull.
u „ „ 00 in poor or boot.
The plural of caste names and a few common Hindustani words
is formed by adding s in the English manner according to ordinary
usage, though this is not, of course, the Hindustani plural.
Note. — The rupee contains i6 annas, and an anna is of the same
value as a penny. A pice is a quarter of an anna, or a farthing.
Rs. 1-8 signifies one rupee and eight annas. A lakh is a hundred
thousand, and a krore ten million.
PART I
INTRODUCTORY ESSAY ON CASTE
VOL. I
INTRODUCTORY ESSAY ON CASTE
LIST OF PARAGRAPHS
1. The Central Provinces.
2. Constitution of the population.
3. The word ' Caste.^
4. The meaning of the term
' Caste:
5. The subcaste.
6. Confusion of riomendature.
7. Tests of what a caste is.
8. The four traditional castes.
9. Occupational theory of caste.
to. Racial theory.
[I. Entry of the Arya?is into
India. The Aryas and
Dasyus.
[2. The Sudra.
[3. The Vaishya.
[4. Mis take f I jnoder?i idea of the
Vaishyas.
[5. Mixed unio?is of the four
classes.
[6. Hypergamy.
[7. The mixed castes. The village
menials.
[8. Social gradation of castes.
[9. Castes ranking above the
cultivators.
JO. Castes fro??i whom a Brahman
can take water. Higher
agriculturists.
2 1 . Status of the cultivator.
22. The clan and the village.
23. The ozvnership of land.
24. The cultivating status that of
the Vaishya.
25. Higher professional a7id arti-
san castes.
2 6 . Castes from ivhoin a Brahman
the
27-
28.
30-
31-
34-
35-
36.
37-
38.
39-
40.
41.
42.
43-
44.
45-
46.
47-
48.
49-
The
and
cannot take water ;
village fnenials.
The village watchmeti.
The village priests.
garde?iing castes.
Other village traders
menials.
Household servants.
Status of the village menials.
Origin of their status.
Other castes who rank with
the village menials.
The 7ion- Aryan tribes.
The Kolarians and Dra-
vidians.
Kolarian tribes.
Dravidian tribes.
Origin of the Kolarian tribes.
Of the JDravidian tribes.
Origin of the i7tipure castes.
Derivation of the impure castes
from the indigenous tribes.
Occupation the basis of the
caste-system.
Other age Jits in the for7nation
of castps.
Caste occi/pations divi/iely or-
daijied.
Subcastes, local type.
Occupational subcastes.
Subcastes fo7'7/ied fro7n social
or religious differc/ices., or
fro77i 77iixed desce7it.
Exogamous groups.
Totemistic clans.
INTRODUCTORY ESSAY ON CASTE
5°-
51-
52.
53-
54-
55-
56.
57-
58.
59-
60.
61.
62.
63-
64.
65-
66.
67.
68.
69.
70.
■71.
72.
73-
74-
Terms of relationship.
Clan kinship and totemism.
Animate Creation.
The distribution of life over
the body,
Qualities associated with
anijnals.
Primitive language.
Concrete nature of priinitive
ideas.
Words and names concrete.
The soul or spirit.
The transmissio7i of qualities.
The faculty of coutiting. Con-
fusion of the individual and
the species.
Similarity and identity.
The recurrence of events.
Controlling the future.
The common life.
The commoft life of the clan.
Living afid eating together.
The origin of exogamy.
Promiscuity atid female de-
scent.
Exogafny with female descefit.
Marriage.
Marriage by capture.
Transfer of the bride to her
husband's clan.
The exogamous clan with male
descefit and the village.
The large exogamojis dans of
the Brdhmans and Rajputs.
The Sapindas, the gens and
the yevo?.
75. Comparison of Hindu society
with that of Greece and
Rome. The gens.
76. The clients.
7 7 . The plebeians.
78. The binding social tie in the
city-states.
79. The Suovetattrilia.
80. The saciifice of the domestic
a)iimal.
81. Sacrifices of the gens and
phratry.
82. The Hindu caste-feasts.
83. Taking food at initiation.
84. Penalty feasts.
85. Sanctity of graiti-food.
86. The corn-spirit.
87. The king.
88. Other ijistatices of the co7nmon
meal as a sacrificial rite.
89. Funeral feasts.
90. The Hindu deities and the
sacrificial meal.
91. Development of the occupa-
tional caste from the tribe.
92. Veneration of the caste imple-
mefits.
93. The caste panchayat a7id its
code of offences.
94. The status of impurity.
95. Caste and Hinduism.
96. The Hindu reformers.
97. Decline of the caste system.
The territory controlled by the Chief Commissioner of the
Central Provinces and Berar has an area of 131,000 square
miles and a population of 16,000,000 persons. Situated in the
centre of the Indian Peninsula, between latitudes 17° 4.7' and
24°27'north, and longitudes 76" and 84°east, it occupies about
7-3 per cent of the total area of British India. It adjoins the
Central India States and the United Provinces to the north,
Bombay to the west, Hyderabad State and the Madras Presi-
dency to the south, and the Province of Bihar and Orissa to
the east. The Province was constituted as a separate admin-
istrative unit in 1S61 from territories taken from the Peshwa
I THE CENTRAL PROVINCES 5
in 1 8 1 8 and the Maratha State of Nagpur, which had lapsed
from failure of heirs in 1853. Bcrar, which for a considerable
previous period had been held on a lease or assignment from
the Nizam of Hyderabad, was incorporated for administrative
purposes with the Central Provinces in 1903. In 1905
the bulk of the District of Sambalpur, with five Feudatory
States inhabited by an Uriya-speaking population, were
transferred to Bengal and afterwards to the new Province
of Bihar and Orissa, while five Feudatory States of Chota
Nagpur were received from Bengal. The former territory
had been for some years included in the scope of the
Ethnographic Survey, and is shown coloured in the annexed
map of linguistic and racial divisions.
The main portion of the Province may be divided, from
north-west to south-east, into three tracts of upland, alternat-
ing with two of plain country. In the north-west the Districts
of Sangor and Damoh lie on the Vindhyan or Malwa plateau,
the southern face of which rises almost sheer from the valley
of the Nerbudda. The general elevation of this plateau
varies from 1500 to 2000 feet The highest part is that
immediately overhanging the Nerbudda, and the general
slope is to the north, the rivers of this area being tributaries
of the Jumna and Ganges. The surface of the country is
undulating and broken by frequent low hills covered with a
growth of poor and stunted forest. The second division
consists of the long and narrow valley of the Nerbudda,
walled in by the Vindhyan and Satpura hills to the north
and south, and extending for a length of about 200 miles
from Jubbulpore to Handia, with an average width of twenty
miles. The valley is situated to the south of the river, and
is formed of deep alluvial deposits of extreme richness,
excellently suited to the growth of wheat. South of the
valley the Satpura range or third division stretches across
the Province, from Amarkantak in the east (the sacred source
of the Nerbudda) to Aslrgarh in the Nimar District in the
west, where its two parallel ridges bound the narrow valley
of the Tapti river. The greater part consists of an elevated
plateau, in some parts merely a rugged mass of hills hurled
together by volcanic action, in others a succession of bare
stony ridges and narrow fertile valleys, in which the soil has
6 INTRODUCTORY ESSAY ON CASTE tart
been deposited by drainage. The general elevation of the
plateau is 2000 feet, but several of the peaks rise to 3500,
and a few to more than 4000 feet. The Satpuras form the
most important watershed of the Province, and in addition
to the Nerbudda and Tapti, the Wardha and Wainganga
rivers rise in these hills. To the east a belt of hill country
continues from the Satpuras to the wild and rugged highlands
of the Chota Nagpur plateau, on which are situated the five
States recently annexed to the Province. Extending along
the southern and eastern faces of the Satpura range lies the
fourth geographical division, to the west the plain of Berar
and Nagpur, watered by the Purna, Wardha and Wainganga
rivers, and further east the Chhattlsgarh plain, which forms
the upper basin of the Mahanadi. The Berar and Nagpur
plain contains towards the west the shallow black soil in
which autumn crops, like cotton and the large millet juari,
which do not require excessive moisture, can be successfully
cultivated. This area is the great cotton-growing tract of
the Province, and at present the most wealthy. The valleys
of the Wainganga and Mahanadi further east receive a heavier
rainfall and are mainly cropped with rice. Many small
irrigation tanks for rice have been built by the people them-
selves, and large tank and canal works are now being
undertaken by Government to protect the tract from the
uncertainty of the rainfall. South of the plain lies another
expanse of hill and plateau comprised in the zamindari
estates of Chanda and the Chhattlsgarh Division and the
Bastar and Kanker Feudatory States. This vast area,
covering about 24,000 square miles, the greater part of
which consists of dense forests traversed by precipitous
mountains and ravines, which formerly rendered it impervious
to Hindu invasion or immigration, producing only on isolated
stretches of culturable land the poorer raincrops, and sparsely
peopled by primitive Gonds and other forest tribes, was
probably, until a comparatively short time ago, the wildest
and least-known part of the whole Indian peninsula. It is
now being rapidh^ opened up by railways and good roads.
Up to a iow centuries ago the Central Provinces remained
outside the sphere of Hindu and Muhammadan conquest.
To the people of northern India it was known as Gondwana,
I HINDI - speaking Districts. —
L 1 The western tract includes the
baugor, Damoh, Jubbulpore, Narsingh-
pur, Hoshangabad, Nimar and Betvil
Districts which lie principally in the
Nerbudda Valley or on the Vindhyan
Hills north-west of the Valley. In
most of this area the language is the
Bundeh dialect of Western Hindi and
m Nimar and Betul a form of the
Rajputana dialects. The eastern tract
includes the Raipur, Bilaspur and Drug
Districts and adjacent Feudatory
Mates. This country is known aa
Chhattisgarh, and the language is the
Chhattisgarhi dialect of Eastern Hindi
MARATHI.— Amraoti, Akola,
Buldana and Yeotmal Districts
of Berar, and Nagpur, Bhandara,
Wardha and Chanda Districts of the
Nagpur Plain.
TELUGU. — Sironcha tahsil
of Chanda District. Telugu is
also spoken to some extent in the
adjacent tracts of Chanda and Bastar
States.
TRIBAL or Non- Aryan dialects.
— Mandla, Seoni, Chhindwara
and part of Balaghat Districts on
the Satpura Range in the centre,
^arguja, Jashpur, Udaipur, Korea, and
Chang Bhakar States on the Chota
Nagpur plateau to the north-east.
Bastar and Kanker States and parts
of Chanda and Drug Districts on the
hill -ranges south of the Mahanadi
Valley to the south-east. In these
areas the non-Aryan or Kolarian and
Dravidian tribes form the strongest
element in the population but many
of them have abandoned their own
languages and speak Aryan verna-
culars.
URIYA. — Sambalpur District
— and Sarangarh, Bamra, Rairak-
hol, Sonpur, Patna and Kalahandi
i^eudatory States. This area, with
the exception of Sarangarh, no longer
forms part of the Central Provinces,
havmg been transferred to Bengal in
1905, and subsequently to the new
Province of Bihar and Orissa. It was
however, included in the ethnographic
survey for some years, and is often
referred to in the text.
■ UR YA — bftm
1 and ang B
S p P an
b T
P D
mp R IT k
K d
P ang
p Ce
g ra ired
d q
Bih (10
d d m
g
hn graphi
•
I CONSTITUTION OF THE POPULATION 7
an unexplored country of inaccessible mountains and im-
penetrable forests, inhabited by the savage tribes of Gonds
from whom it took its name. Hindu kingdoms were, it is
true, established over a large part of its territory in the first
centuries of our era, but these were not accompanied by the
settlement and opening out of the country, and were subse-
quently subverted by the Dravidian Gonds, who perhaps
invaded the country in large numbers from the south between
the ninth and twelfth centuries. Hindu immigration andt
colonisation from the surrounding provinces occurred at a
later period, largely under the encouragement and auspices
of Gond kings. The consequence is that the existing popu-
lation is very diverse, and is made up of elements belong-
ing to many parts of India. The people of the northern
Districts came from Bundelkhand and the Gangetic plain, and
here are found the principal castes of the United Provinces
and the Punjab. The western end of the Nerbudda valley
and Betul were colonised from Malwa and Central India.
Berar and the Nagpur plain fell to the Marathas, and one of
the most important Maratha States, the Bhonsla kingdom,
had its capital at Nagpur. Cultivators from western India
came and settled on the land, and the existing population
are of the same castes as the Maratha country or Bombay.
But prior to the Maratha conquest Berar and the Nimar
District of the Central Provinces had been included in the
Mughal empire, and traces of Mughal rule remain in a sub-
stantial Muhammadan element in the population. To the
south the Chanda District runs down to the Godavari river,
and the southern tracts of Chanda and Bastar State are
largely occupied by Telugu immigrants from Madras. To
the east of the Nagpur plain the large landlocked area of
Chhattisgarh in the upper basin of the Mahanadi was colonised
at an early period by Hindus from the east of the United
Provinces and Oudh, probably coming through Jubbulpore.
A dynasty of the Haihaivansi Rajput clan established itself
at Ratanpur, and owing to the inaccessible nature of the
country, protected as it is on all sides by a natural rampart
of hill and forest, was able to pursue a tranquil existence
untroubled by the wars and political vicissitudes of northern
India. The population of Chhattisgarh thus constitutes tc
8 INTRODUCTORY ESSAY ON CASTE part
some extent a distinct social organism, which retained until
quite recently many remnants of primitive custom. The
middle basin of the Mahanadi to the east of Chhattlsgarh,
comprising the Sambalpur District and adjoining States, was
peopled by Uriyas from Orissa, and though this area has
now been restored to its parent province, notices of its
principal castes have been included in these volumes. Finally,
the population contains a large element of the primitive or
tnon- Aryan tribes, rich in variety, Vv'ho have retired before the
pressure of Hindu cultivators to its extensive hills and forests.
The people of the Central Provinces may therefore not unjustly
be considered as a microcosm of a great part of India, and
conclusions drawn from a consideration of their caste rules
and status may claim with considerable probability of success
to be applicable to those of the Hindus generally. For the
same reason the standard ethnological works of other
Provinces necessarily rank as the best authorities on the
castes of the Central Provinces, and this fact may explain
and excuse the copious resort which has been made to them
in these volumes.
The word ' Caste,' Dr. Wilson states,^ is not of Indian
origin, but is derived from the Portuguese casta, signifying
race, mould or quality. The Indian word for caste x?, jat or
jdti, which has the original meaning of birth or production of
a child, and hence denotes good birth or lineage, respectability
and rank. JdtJia means well-born. Thus jdt now signifies
a caste, as every Hindu is born into a caste, and his caste
determines his social position through life.
4. The The two main ideas denoted by a caste are a community
meaning of qj. persons following a common occupation, and a community
the term ^ ° ^ ' ■'
'Caste.' whose members marry only among themselves. A third
distinctive feature is that the members of a caste do not as
a rule eat with outsiders with the exception of other Hindu
castes of a much higher social position than their own.
None of these will, however, serve as a definition of a caste.
In a number of castes the majority of members have
abandoned their traditional occupation and taken to others.
Less than a fifth of the Brahmans of the Central Provinces
are performing any priestly or religious functions, and
' Indian Caslc, p. 12.
1 THE MEANING OF THE TERM 'CASTE' 9
the remaining four -fifths are landholders or engaged in
Government service as magistrates, clerks of public offices,
constables and . orderlies, or in railway service in different
grades, or in the professions as barristers and pleaders, doctors,
engineers and so on. The Rajputs and Marathas were
originally soldiers, but only an infinitely small proportion
belong to the Indian Army, and the remainder are ruling
chiefs, landholders, cultivators, labourers or in the various
grades of Government service and the police. Of the Telis ,
or oil-pressers only 9 per cent are engaged in their traditional
occupation, and the remainder are landholders, cultivators
and shopkeepers. Of the Ahirs or graziers only 20 per cent
tend and breed cattle. Only 12 per cent of the Chamars
are supported by the tanning industry, and so on. The
Bahnas or cotton-cleaners have entirely lost their occupation,
as cotton is now cleaned in factories ; they are cartmen or
cultivators, but retain their caste name and organisation.
Since the introduction of machine-made cloth has reduced
the profits of hand-loom weaving, large numbers of the
weaving castes have been reduced to manual labour as a
means of subsistence. The abandonment of the traditional
occupation has become a most marked feature of Hindu
society as a result of the equal opportunity and freedom in
the choice of occupations afforded by the British Government,
coupled with the rapid progress of industry and the spread
of education. So far it has had no. very markedly disinte-
grating effect on the caste system, and the status of a caste is
still mainly fixed by its traditional occupation ; but signs are
not wanting of a coming change. Again, several castes have
the same traditional occupation ; about forty of the castes
of the Central Provinces are classified as agriculturists, eleven
as weavers, seven as fishermen, and so on. Distinctions of
occupation therefore are not a sufficient basis for a classifica-
tion of castes. Nor can a caste be simply defined as a body
of persons who marry only among themselves, or, as it is
termed, an endogamous group ; for almost every important
caste is divided into a number of subcastes which do not
marry and frequently do not eat with each other. But it is
a distinctive and peculiar feature of caste as a social institu-
tion that it splits up the people into a multitude of these
INTRODUCTORY ESS A Y ON CASTE
divisions and bars their intermarriage ; and the real unit of
the system and the basis of the fabric of Indian society is
this endogaraous group or subcaste.
The subcastes, however, connote no real difference
of status or occupation. They are little known except
within the caste itself, and they consist of groups within the
caste which marry among themselves, and attend the
communal feasts held on the occasions of marriages, funerals
and meetings of the caste pancJidyat or committee for the
judgment of offences against the caste rules and their expiation
by a penalty feast ; to these feasts all male adults of the
community, within a certain area, are invited. In the Central
Provinces the 250 groups which have been classified as
castes contain perhaps 2000 subcastes. Except in some
cases other Hindus do not know a man's subcaste, though
they always know his caste ; among the ignorant lower castes
men may often be found who do not know whether their
caste contains any subcastes or whether they themselves
belong to one. That is, they will eat and marry with all the
members of their caste within a circle of villages, but know
nothing about the caste outside those villages, or even whether
it exists elsewhere. One subdivision of a caste may look
down upon another on the ground of some difference of
occupation, of origin, or of abstaining from or partaking of
some article of food, but these distinctions are usually con-
fined to their internal relations and seldom recognised by
outsiders. For social purposes the caste consisting of a
number of these endogamous groups generally occupies the
same position, determined roughly according to the respect-
ability of its traditional occupation or extraction.
No adequate definition of caste can thus be obtained from
community of occupation or intermarriage ; nor would it be
accurate to say that every one must know his own caste and
that all the different names returned at the census may be
taken as distinct. In the Central Provinces about 900 caste-
names were returned at the census of 1901, and these were
reduced in classification to about 250 proper castes.
In some cases synonyms are commonly used. The
caste of pan or betel-vine growers and sellers is known
indifferently as Barai, Pansari or Tamboli. The great caste
I CONFUSION OF NOMENCLA TURK 1 1
of Ahirs or- herdsmen has several synonyms — as GaoH in the
Northern Districts, Rawat or Gahra in Chhattlsgarh, Gaur
among the Uriyas, and Golkar among Telugus. Lohars arc
also called Khati and Kammari ; Masons are called Larhia,
Raj and Beldar. The more distinctly occupational castes
usually have different names in different parts of the country,
as Dhobi, Warthi, Baretha, Chakla and Parit for washermen ;
Basor, Burud, Kandra and Dhulia for bamboo-workers, and
so on. Such names may show that the subdivisions to which
they are applied have immigrated from different parts of
India, but the distinction is generally not now maintained,
and many persons will return one or other of them indiffer-
ently. No object is gained, therefore, by distinguishing them
in classification, as they correspond to no differences of status
or occupation, and at most denote groups which do not
intermarry, and which may therefore more properly be con-
sidered as subcastes.
Titles or names of offices are also not infrequently given
as caste names. Members of the lowest or impure castes
employed in the office of Kotwar or village watchmen prefer
to call themselves by this name, as they thus obtain a certain
rise in status, or at least they think so. In some localities
the Kotwars or village watchmen have begun to marry
among themselves and try to form a separate caste. Chamars
(tanners) or Mahars (weavers) employed as grooms will call
themselves Sais and consider themselves superior to the rest
of their caste. The Thethwar Rawats or AhIrs will not clean
household cooking-vessels, and therefore look down on the
rest of the caste and prefer to call themselves by this designa-
tion, as ' Theth ' means ' exact ' or ' pure,' and Thethwar is
one who has not degenerated from the ancestral calling.
Salewars are a subcaste of Koshtis (weavers), who work only
in silk and hence consider themselves as superior to the other
Koshtis and a separate caste. The Rathor subcaste of Telis
in Mandla have abandoned the hereditary occupation of oil-
pressing and become landed proprietors. They now wish to
drop their own caste and to be known only as Rathor, the
name of one of the leading Rajput clans, in the hope that
in time it will be forgotten that they ever were Telis, and
they will be admitted into the community of Rajputs. It
12 INTRODUCTORY ESSAY ON CASTE part
occurred to them that the census would be a good opportunity
of advancing a step towards the desired end, and accordingly
they telegraphed to the Commissioner of Jubbulpore before
the enumeration, and petitioned the Chief Commissioner after
it had been taken, to the effect that they might be recorded
and classified only as Rathor and not as Teli ; this method
of obtaining recognition of their claims being, as remarked by
Sir Bampfylde Fuller, a great deal cheaper than being
weighed against gold. On the other hand, a common
occupation may sometimes amalgamate castes originally
distinct into one. The sweeper's calling is well-defined and
under the generific term of Mehtar are included members of
two or three distinct castes, as Dom, Bhangi and Chuhra ;
the word Mehtar means a prince or headman, and it is
believed that its application to the sweeper by the other
servants is ironical. It has now, however, been generally
adopted as a caste name. Similarly, Darzi, a tailor, was
held by Sir D, Ibbetson to be simply the name of a profession
and not that of a caste ; but it is certainly a true caste in the
Central Provinces, though probably of comparatively late
origin. A change of occupation may transfer a whole body
of persons from one caste to another. A large section of the
Banjara caste of carriers, who have taken to cultivation, have
become included in the Kunbi caste in Berar and are known
as Wanjari Kunbi. Another subcaste of the Kunbis called
Manwa is derived from the Mana tribe. Telis or oilmen, who
have taken to vending liquor, now form a subcaste of the
Kalar caste called Teli-Kalar ; those who have become shop-
keepers are called Teli-Bania and may in time become an
inferior section of the Bania caste. Other similar subcastes
are the Ahlr-Sunars or herdsmen-goldsmiths, the Kayasth-
Darzis or tailors, the Kori-Chamars or weaver-tanners, the
Gondi Lobars and Barhais, being Gonds who have become
carpenters and blacksmiths and been admitted to these castes ;
the Mahar Mhalis or barbers, and so on.
It would appear, then, that no precise definition of a caste
can well be formulated to meet all difficulties. In classifica-
tion, each doubtful case must be taken by itself, and it must
be determined, on the information available, whether any
body of persons, consisting of one or more cndogamous
I THE FOUR TRADITIONAL CASTES 13
groups, and distinguished by one or more separate names.,
can be recognised as holding, either on account of its
traditional occupation or descent, such a distinctive position
in the social system, that it should be classified as a caste.
But not even the condition of endogamy can be accepted as
of universal application ; for Vidurs,' who are considered to
be descended from Brahman fathers and women of other
castes, will, though marrying among themselves, still receive
the offspring of such mixed alliances into the community ;
in the case of Gosains and Bairagis, who, from being religious
orders, have become castes, admission is obtained by initiation
as well as by birth, and the same is the case with several
other orders ; some of the lower castes will freely admit out-
siders ; and in parts of Chhattlsgarh social ties are of the
laxest description, and the intermarriage of Gonds, Chamars
and other low castes are by no means infrequent. But not-
withstanding these instances, the principle of the restriction
of marriage to members of the caste is so nearly universal as
to be capable of being adopted as a definition.
The well-known traditional theory of caste is that the 8. The
Aryans were divided from the beginninsr of time into four ^°"^. . ,
'' . . traditional
castes : Brahmans or priests, Kshatriyas or warriors, Vaishyas castes.
or merchants and cultivators, and Sudras or menials and
labourers, all of whom had a divine origin, being born from
the body of Brahma — the Brahmans from his mouth, the
Kshatriyas from his arms, the Vaishyas from his thighs, and
the Sudras from his feet. Intermarriage between the four
castes was not at first entirely prohibited, and a man of any
of the three higher ones, provided that for his first wife he
took a woman of his own caste, could subsequently marry
others of the divisions beneath his own. In this manner the
other castes originated. Thus the Kaivarttas or Kewats
were the offspring of a Kshatriya father and Vaishya mother,
and so on. Mixed marriages in the opposite direction, of a
woman of a higher caste with a man of a lower one, were
reprobated as strongly as possible, and the offspring of these
were relegated to the lowest position in society ; thus the
Chandals, or descendants of a Sudra father and Brahman
mother, were of all men the most base. It has been
recognised that this genealogy, though in substance the
14 INTRODUCTORY ESS A V ON CASTE part
formation of a number of new castes through mixed descent
may have been correct, is, as regards the details, an attempt
made by a priestly law-giver to account, on the lines of
orthodox tradition, for a state of society which had ceased to
correspond to them.
In the ethnographic description of the people of the
Punjab, which forms the Caste chapter of Sir Denzil
Ibbetson's Census Report of 1881, it was pointed out that
occupation was the chief basis of the division of castes, and
there is no doubt that this is true. Every separate occupa-
tion has produced a distinct caste, and the status of the caste
depends now mainly or almost entirely on its occupation.
The fact that there may be several castes practising such
important callings as agriculture or weaving does not invali-
date this in any way, and instances of the manner in which
such castes have been developed will be given subsequently.
If a caste changes its occupation it may, in the course of
time, alter its status in a corresponding degree. The
important Kayasth and Gurao castes furnish instances of this.
Castes, in fact, tend to rise or fall in social position with the
acquisition of land or other forms of wealth or dignity much
in the same manner as individuals do nowadays in European
countries. Hitherto in India it has not been the individual
who has undergone the process ; he inherits the social
position of the caste in which he is born, and, as a rule,
retains it through life without the power of altering it. It is
the caste, as a whole, or at least one of its important sections
or subcastes, which gradually rises or falls in social position,
and the process may extend over generations or even
centuries.
In the Brief Sketch of the Caste System of the North-
western Provinces and Otcdh, Mr. J. C. Nesfield puts forward
the view that the whole basis of the caste system is the
division of occupations, and that the social gradation of
castes corresponds precisely to the different periods of
civilisation during which their traditional occupations
originated. Thus the lowest castes are those allied to the
primitive occupation of hunting, Pasi, Bhar, Bahelia, because
the pursuit of wild animals was the earliest stage in the
development of human industry. Next above these come
I OCCUPATIONAL THEORY OF CASTE 15
the fishing castes, fishing being considered somewhat superior
to hunting, because water is a more sacred element among
Hindus than land, and there is less apparent cruelty in the
capturing of fish than the slaughtering of animals ; these are
the Kahars, Kewats, Dhlmars and others. Above these come
the pastoral castes — Ghosi, Gadaria, Giijar and Ahir ; and
above them the agricultural castes, following the order in
which these occupations were adopted during the progress of
civilisation. At the top of the system stands the Rajput or
Chhatri, the warrior, whose duty is to protect all the lower
castes, and the Brahman, who is their priest and spiritual
guide. Similarly, the artisan castes are divided into two
main groups ; the lower one consists of those whose occupa-
tions preceded the age of metallurgy, as the Chamars and
Mochis or tanners, Koris or weavers, the Telis or oil-pressers,
Kalars or liquor-distillers, Kumhars or potters, and Lunias or
salt-makers. The higher group includes those castes whose
occupations were coeval with the age of metallurgy, that is,
those who work in stone, wood and metals, and who make
clothing and ornaments, as the Barhai or worker in wood,
the Lobar or worker in iron, the Kasera and Thathera, brass-
workers, and the Sunar or worker in the precious metals,
ranking precisely in this order of precedence, the Sunar being
the highest. The theory is still further developed among
the trading castes, who are arranged in a similar manner,
beginning from the Banjara or forest trader, the Kunjra or
greengrocer, and the Bharbhunja or grain-parcher, up to the
classes of Banias and Khatris or shopkeepers and bankers.
It can hardly be supposed that the Hindus either con-
sciously or unconsciously arranged their gradation of society
in a scientific order of precedence in the manner described.
The main divisions of social precedence are correctly stated
by Mr. Nesfield, but it will be suggested in this essay that
they arose naturally from the divisions of the principal social
organism of India, the village community. Nevertheless Mr.
Nesfield's book will always rank as a most interesting and
original contribution to the literature of the subject, and his
work did much to stimulate inquiry into the origin of the
caste system.
In his Introduction to the Tribes and Castes of Bengal
i6 INTRODUCTORY ESSAY ON CASTE part
10. Racial Sir Herbert Risley laid stress on the racial basis of caste,
theory. showing that difference of race and difference of colour were
the foundation of the Indian caste system or division of the
people into endogamous units. There seems reason to
suppose that the contact of the Aryans with the indigenous
people of India was, to a large extent, responsible for the
growth of the caste system, and the main racial divisions may
perhaps even now be recognised, though their racial basis has,
to a great extent, vanished. But when we come to individual
castes and subcastes, the scrutiny of their origin, which has
been made in the individual articles, appears to indicate that
caste distinctions cannot, as a rule, be based on supposed
difference of race. Nevertheless Sir H. Risley's Castes and
Tribes of Bengal and Peoples of India will, no doubt, always
be considered as standard authorities, while as Census
Commissioner for India and Director of Ethnography he
probably did more to foster this branch of research in India
generally than any other man has ever done.
11. Entry M. Emilc Scuart, in his work Les Castes dans IVnde, gives
of the ^^ admirable sketch of the features marking the entry of the
Aryans . _
into India. Aryans into India and their acquisition of the country, from
"^nd ^^^^^ which the following account is largely taken. The institution
Das)'us. of caste as it is understood at present did not exist among
the Aryans of the Vedic period, on their first entry into India.
The word varna, literally ' colour/ which is afterwards used
in speaking of the four castes, distinguishes in the Vedas two
classes only : there are the Arya Varna and the Dasa Varna
— the Aryan race and the race of enemies. In other
passages the Dasyus are spoken of as black, and Indra is
praised for protecting the Aryan colour. In later literature
the black race, Krishna Varna, are opposed to the Brahmans,
and the same word is used of the distinction between Aryas
and Sudras. The word varna was thus used, in the first
place, not of four castes, but of two hostile races, one white
and the other black. It is said that Indra divided the fields
among his white-coloured people after destroying the Dasyus,
by whom may be understood the indigenous barbarian races.-'
The word Dasyu, which frequently recurs in the Vedas,
' Dr. Wilson'.s Indian Caste (Times Press and Messrs. Blackwood), 1875,
p. 88, quoting from Rig-Veda.
AV-- )ose, Collo., Derby.
HINDU TEMPLE OF THE GOD SIVA.
I ENTRY OF THE ARYANS INTO INDIA 17
probably refers to the people of foreign countries or provinces
like the Goim or Gentiles of the Hebrews. The Dasyus
were not altogether barbarians, for they had cities and other
institutions showing a partial civilisation, though the Aryas,
lately from more bracing climes than those which they
inhabited, proved too strong for them/ To the Aryans the
word Dasyu had the meaning of one who not only did not
perform religious rites, but attempted to harass their per-
formers. Another verse says, " Distinguish, O Indra, between
the Aryas and those who are Dasyus : punishing those who
perform no religious rites ; compel them to submit to the
sacrifices ; be thou the powerful, the encourager of the
sacrifices" ^
Rakshasa was another designation given to the tribes
with whom the Aryans were in hostility. Its meaning is
strong, gigantic or powerful, and among the modern Hindus
it is a word for a devil or demon. In the Satapatha
Brahmana of the white Yajur-Veda the Rakshasas are
represented as ' prohibiters,' that is ' prohibiters of the
sacrifice.' ^ Similarly, at a later period, Manu describes
Aryavarrta, or the abode of the Aryas, as the country
between the eastern and western oceans, and between the
Himalayas and the Vindhyas, that is Hindustan, the Deccan
being not then recognised as an abode of the Aryans. And
he thus speaks of the country : " From a Brahman born in
Aryavarrta let all men on earth learn their several usages."
" That land on which the black antelope naturally grazes, is
held fit for the performance of sacrifices ; but the land of
Mlechchhas (foreigners) is beyond it." " Let the three first
classes (Brahmans, Kshatriyas and Vaishyas) invariably dwell
in the above-mentioned countries ; but a Sudra distressed for
subsistence may sojourn wherever he chooses." ^
Another passage states : " If some pious king belonging
to the Kshatriya or some other caste should defeat the
Mlechchhas ^ and establish a settlement of the four castes in
their territories, and accept the Mlechchhas thus defeated as
Chandalas (the most impure caste in ancient Hindu society)
^ Dr. W^ilson's Indian Caste (Times p. 94.
Press and Messrs. Blackwood), 1875, ^ Wilson, ibidem, p. 99.
p. 88, quoting from Rig- Veda. '' Manu, ii. 17, 24.
2 Rig- Veda, i. II. ^\\'s,ox\, ibidem, 5 Barbarians or foreigners.
VOL, I C
1 8 INTRODUCTORY ESSA V ON CASTE part
as is the case in Aryavarrta, then that country also becomes
fit for sacrifice. For no land is impure of itself. A land
becomes so only by contact." This passage is quoted by a
Hindu writer with the same reference to the Code of Manu
as the preceding one, but it is not found there and appears
to be a gloss by a later writer, explaining how the country
south of the Vindhyas, which is excluded by Manu, should
be rendered fit for Aryan settlement.^ Similarly in a
reference in the Brahmanas to the migration of the Aryans
eastward from the Punjab it is stated that Agni the fire-god
flashed forth from the mouth of a priest invoking him at a
sacrifice and burnt across all the five rivers, and as far as he
burnt Brahmans could live. Agni, as the god of fire by which
the offerings were consumed, was addressed as follows : " We
kindle thee at the sacrifice, O wise Agni, the sacrificer, the
luminous, the mighty." ^ The sacrifices referred to were, in
the early period, of domestic animals, the horse, ox or goat,
the flesh of which was partaken of by the worshippers, and
the sacred Soma -liquor, which was drunk by them ; the
prohibition or discouragement of animal sacrifices for the
higher castes gradually came about at a later time, and was
probably to a large extent due to the influence of Buddhism.
The early sacrifice was in the nature of a communal
sacred meal at which the worshippers partook of the animal
or liquor offered to the god. The Dasyus or indigenous
Indian races could not worship the Aryan gods nor join in
the sacrifices offered to them, which constituted the act of
worship. They were a hostile race, but the hostility was felt
and expressed on religious rather than racial grounds, as the
latter term is understood at present.
12. The M. Senart points out that the division of the four castes
Sudra. appearing in post-Vedic literature, does not proceed on equal
lines. There were two groups, one composed of the three
higher castes, and the other of the Sudras or lowest. The
higher castes constituted a fraternity into which admission
was obtained only by a religious ceremony of initiation and
investment with the sacred thread. The Sudras were ex-
cluded and could take no part in sacrifices. The punishment
1 Sec Burnett and Hopkins, Ordi- ^ Wilson, /«^//a« Ca^/^, p. 170, quot-
nances 6/ Manu, s.v. ing Weber, Indische Studicn, i. 170.
THE SUDRA
19
for the commission of the gravest offences by a Brahman
was that he became a Sudra, that is to say an outcast. The
kilHng of a Sudra was an offence no more severe than that
of killing certain animals. A Sudra was prohibited by the
severest penalties from approaching within a certain
distance of a member of any of the higher castes. In the
Sutras ^ it is declared " that the Sudra has not the right
(Adhikara) of sacrifice enjoyed by the Brahman, Kshatriya
and Vaishya. He was not to be invested with the sacred
thread, nor permitted, like them, to hear, commit to memory,
or recite Vedic texts. For listening to these texts he ought
to have his ears shut up with melted lead or lac by way of
punishment ; for pronouncing them, his tongue cut out ; and
for committing them to memory, his body cut in two.^ The
Veda was never to be read in the presence of a Sudra ; and
no sacrifice was to be performed for him.'* The Sudras, it is
stated in the Harivansha, are sprung from vacuity, and are
destitute of ceremonies, and so are not entitled to the rites
of initiation. Just as upon the friction of wood, the cloud of
smoke which issues from the fire and spreads around is of no
service in the sacrificial rite, so too the Sudras spread over
the earth are unserviceable, owing to their birth, to their
want of initiatory rites, and the ceremonies ordained by the
Vedas.^ Again it is ordained that silence is to be observed
by parties of the three sacrificial classes when a Sudra enters
to remove their natural defilements, and thus the servile
position of the Sudra is recognised.*^ Here it appears that
the Sudra is identified with the sweeper or scavenger, the
most debased and impure of modern Hindu castes.'^ In the
Dharmashastras or law-books it is laid down that a person
taking a Sudra's food for a month becomes a Sudra and after
death becomes a dog. Issue begotten after eating a Sudra's
food is of the Sudra caste. A person who dies with Sudra's
food in his stomach becomes a village pig, or is reborn in a
Sudra's family.^ An Arya who had sexual intimacy with a
1 A collection of rules for sacrifices * Manu, iv. 99 ; iii. 17S.
and other rites, coming between the ^ Wilson, pp. 421, 422.
Vedas and the law-books, and dated by ^ wilson, p. 187, quoting from
Max Miiller between 600-200 B.C. Hiranyakeshi Sutra. ,
2 Wilson, Indian Caste, p. 182. ^ See article Mehtar in text.
3 Wilson, p. 184, quoting from ^ vVilson, p. 363, quoting from
Shrauta-sutra of Katyayana, i. 1.6. Smriti of Angira.
20 INTRODUCTORY ESS A Y ON CASTE tart
Siidra woman was to be banished ; but a Sudra having
intimacy with an Arya was to be killed. If a Sudra re-
proached a dutiful Arya, or put himself on equality with him
on a road, on a couch or on a seat, he was to be beaten with
a stick.^ A Brahman might without hesitation take the
property of a Sudra ; he, the Sudra, had indeed nothing of
his own ; his master might, doubtless, take his property."
According to the Mahabharata the Sudras are appointed
servants to the Brahmans, Kshatriyas and Vaishyas.^ A
Brahman woman having connection with a Sudra was to be
devoured by dogs, but one having connection with a Kshatriya
or Vaishya was merely to have her head shaved and be carried
round on an ass.^ When a Brahman received a gift from
another Brahman he had to acknowledge it in a loud voice ;
from a Rajanya or Kshatriya, in a gentle voice ; from a
Vaishya, in a whisper ; and from a Sudra, in his own mind.
To a Brahman he commenced his thanks with the sacred
syllable Om ; to a king he gave thanks without the sacred Om ;
to a Vaishya he whispered his thanks ; to a Sudra he said
nothing, but thought in his own mind, svasti, or 'This is good.' ^
It would thus seem clear that the Sudras were distinct from
the Aryas and were a separate and inferior race, consisting
of the indigenous people of India. In the Atharva- Veda the
Sudra is recognised as distinct from the Arya, and also the
Dasa from the Arya, as in the Rig- Veda.*" Dr. Wilson
remarks, " The aboriginal inhabitants, again, who conformed
to the Brahmanic law, received certain privileges, and were
constituted as a fourth caste under the name of Sudras,
whereas all the rest who kept aloof were called Dasyus, what-
ever their language might be." ^ The Sudras, though
treated by Manu and Hindu legislation in general as a
component, if enslaved, part of the Indian community, not
entitled to the second or sacramental birth, are not even
once mentioned in the older parts of the Vedas. They are
first locally brought to notice in the Mahabharata, along with
1 Wilson, Indian Caste, p. 195, from Vyavahdra Mayhkha.
Hiranyakeshi Sutra. ^ Wilson, p. 400, from Parashara
^ Manu, viii. 417. Smriti.
^ Wilson, p. 260, quoting Mahab- " Wilson, p. 140, quoting from
harata, viii. 1367 et scq. Atharva Veda, iv. 32. i.
^ Wilson, p. 403, quoting from ^ Wilson, p. 211.
I THE SUDRA 21
the Abhiras, dwelling on the banks of the Indus. There
are distinct classical notices of the Sudras in this very-
locality and its neighbourhood. " In historical times,"
says Lassen, " their name reappears in that of the town
Sudros on the lower Indus, and, what is especially worthy
of notice, in that of the people Sudroi, among the Northern
Arachosians." ^
" Thus their existence as a distinct nation is established
in the neighbourhood of the Indus, that is to say in the region
in which, in the oldest time, the Aryan Indians dwelt. The
Aryans probably conquered these indigenous inhabitants
first ; and when the others in the interior of the country were
subsequently subdued and enslaved, the name Sudra was
extended to the whole servile caste. There seems to have
been some hesitation in the Aryan community about the
actual religious position to be given to the Sudras. In the
time of the liturgical Brahmanas of the Vedas, they were some-
times admitted to take part in the Aryan sacrifices. Not long
afterwards, when the conquests of the Aryans were greatly
extended, and they formed a settled state of society among
the affluents of the Jumna and Ganges, the Sildras were
degraded to the humiliating and painful position which they
occupy in Manu. There is no mention of any of the Sankara
or mixed castes in the Vedas." ^
From the above evidence it seems clear that the Sudras
were really the indigenous inhabitants of India, who were
subdued by the Aryans as they gradually penetrated into
India. When the conquering race began to settle in the
land, the indigenous tribes, or such of them as did not retire
before the invaders into the still unconquered interior, became
a class of menials and labourers, as the Amalekites were to
the children of Israel. The Sudras were the same people as
the Dasyus of the hymns, after they had begun to live in
villages with the Aryans, and had to be admitted,
though in the most humiliating fashion, into the Aryan
polity. But the hostility between the Aryas and the Dasyus
or Sudras, though in reality racial, was felt and expressed
on religious grounds, and probably the Aryans had no real
1 Wilson, Indian Caste, referring to Ptolemy, vii. i. 61 and vi. 120. 3.
2 V^ilson, pp. 113, 114.
22 INTRODUCTORY ESS A V ON CASTE part
idea of what is now understood by difference of race or
deterioration of type from mixture of races. The Sudras
were despised and hated as worshippers of a hostile god.
They could not join in the sacrifices by which the Aryans
renewed and cemented their kinship with their god and with
each other ; hence they were outlaws towards whom no social
obligations existed. It would have been quite right and
proper that they should be utterly destroyed, precisely as
the Israelites thought that Jehovah had commanded them to
destroy the Canaanites. But they were too numerous, and
hence they were regarded as impure and made to live apart, so
that they should not pollute the places of sacrifice, which
among the Aryans included their dwelling-houses. It does
not seem to have been the case that the Aryans had any regard
for the preservation of the purity of their blood or colour.
From an early period men of the three higher castes might
take a Sudra woman in marriage, and the ultimate result has
been an almost complete fusion between the two races in the
bulk of the population over the greater part of the country.
Nevertheless the status of the Sudra still remains attached
to the large community of the impure castes formed from
the indigenous tribes, who have settled in Hindu villages and
entered the caste system. These are relegated to the most
degrading and menial occupations, and their touch is regarded
as conveying defilement like that of the Sudras.^ The status
of the Sudras was not always considered so low, and they were
sometimes held to rank above the mixed castes. And in
modern times in Bengal Sudra is quite a respectable term
applied to certain artisan castes which there have a fairly
good position. But neither were the indigenous tribes always
reduced to the impure status. Their fortunes varied, and
those who resisted subjection were probably sometimes
accepted as allies. For instance, some of the most prominent
of the Rajput clans are held to have been derived from the
aboriginal ^ tribes. On the Aryan expedition to southern
India, which is preserved in the legend of Rama, as related
in the Ramayana, it is stated that Rama was assisted by
1 See for the impure castes /a;-a. 40 here for convenience and not as conveying
/losi. any assertion as to the origin of the
2 The word "aboriginal" is used pre-Aryan j^opulation.
I THE VAISHYA 23
Hanuman with his army of apes. The reference is generally
held to be to the fact that the Aryans had as auxiliaries
some of the forest tribes, and these were consequently
allies, and highly thought of, as shown by the legend
and by their identification with the mighty god Hanuman.
And at the present time the forest tribes who live separately
from the Hindus in the jungle tracts are, as a rule, not
regarded as impure. But this does not impair the identifi-
cation of the Sudras with those tribes who were reduced
to subjection and serfdom in the Hindu villages, as shown
by the evidence here given. The view has also been held
that the Sudras might have been a servile class already
subject to the Aryans, who entered India with them. And
in the old Parsi or Persian community four classes existed,
the Athornan or priest, the Rathestan or warrior, the
Vasteriox or husbandman, and the Hutox or craftsman.^
The second and third of these names closely resemble those
of the corresponding Hindu classical castes, the Rajanya or
Kshatriya and the Vaishya, while Athornan, the name for
a priest, is the same as Atharvan, the Hindu name for a
Brahman versed in the Atharva-Veda. Possibly then
Hutox may be connected with Sudra, as h frequently
changes into s. But on the other hand the facts that the
Sudras are not mentioned in the Vedas, and that they
succeeded to the position of the Dasyus, the black hostile
Indians, as well as the important place they fill in the later
literature, seem to indicate clearly that they mainly consisted
of the indigenous subject tribes. Whether the Aryans
applied a name already existing in a servile class among
themselves to the indigenous population whom they subdued,
may be an uncertain point.
In the Vedas, moreover, M. Senart shows that the three js- fhe
higher castes are not definitely distinguished ; but there are
three classes — the priests, the chiefs and the people, among
whom the Aryans were comprised. The people are spoken
of in the plural as the clans who followed the chiefs to battle.
The word used is Visha. One verse speaks of the Vishas
(clans) bowing before the chief (Rajan), who was preceded by
a priest (Brahman). Another verse says : " Favour the prayer
1 Bombay Gazetteer, Parsis of Gujarat, p. 213.
Vaishya.
24 INTRODUCTORY ESSAY ON CASTE part
(Brahma), favour the service ; kill the Rakshasas, drive away
the evil ; favour the power {Jchatrd) and favour the manly
strength ; favour the cow {ciJiei^m^ the representative of
property) and favour the people (or house, visha).'' ^
Similarly Wilson states that in the time of the Vedas,
visha (related to vesha, a house or district) signified the
people in general ; and Vaishya, its adjective, was afterwards
applied to a householder, or that appertaining to an individual
of the common people. The Latin viais and the Greek
ot/co9 are the correspondents of vesha? The conclusion to
be drawn is that the Aryans in the Vedas, like other early
communities, were divided by rank or occupation into three
classes — priests, nobles and the body of the people. The
Vishas or clans afterwards became the Vaishyas or third
classical caste. Before they entered India the Aryans were
a migratory pastoral people, their domestic animals being
the horse, cow, and perhaps the sheep and goat. The horse
and cow were especially venerated, and hence were probably
their chief means of support. The Vaishyas must therefore
have been herdsmen and shepherds, and when they entered
India and took to agriculture, the Vaishyas must have
become cultivators. The word Vaishya signifies a man who
occupies the soil, an agriculturist, or merchant.^ The word
Vasteriox used by the ancestors of the Parsis, which appears
to correspond to Vaishya, also signifies a husbandman, as
already seen. Dr. Max Muller states : " The three occupa-
tions of the Aryas in India were fighting, cultivating the
soil and worshipping the gods. Those who fought the
battles of the people would naturally acquire influence and
rank, and their leaders appear in the Veda as Rajas or
kings. Those who did not share in the fighting would
occupy a more humble position ; they were called Vish,
Vaishyas or householders, and would no doubt have to
contribute towards the maintenance of the armies.^ Accord-
ing to Manu, God ordained the tending of cattle, giving
alms, sacrifice, study, trade, usury, and also agriculture for
^ Rig-Veda, 6. 3. 16, quoted by * Quoted by Wilson, p. 209. It
Wilson, Indian Caste, p. no. would seem probable, however, that
2 Wilson, p. 109. the Vaishyas must themselves have
^ Monier-Williams, Sanskrit Diction- formed the rank and file of the fight-
ary, pointed out by Mr. Crooke. ing force, at least in the early period.
THE VAISHYA
25
a Vaishya." ^ The Sutras state that agriculture, the keeping
of cattle, and engaging in merchandise, as well as learning
the Vedas, sacrificing for himself and giving alms, are the
duties of a Vaishya.'-^ In the Mahabharata it is laid down
that the Vaishyas should devote themselves to agriculture,
the keeping of cattle and liberality.^ In the same work the
god Vayu says to Bhishma : " And it was Brahma's ordinance
that the Vaishya should sustain the three castes (Brahman,
Kshatriya and Vaishya) with money and corn ; and that
the Sudra should serve them." ^
In a list of classes or occupations given in the White
Yajur-Veda, and apparently referring to a comparatively
advanced state of Hindu society, tillage is laid down as the
calling of the Vaishya, and he is distinguished from the Vani
or merchant, whose occupation is trade or weighing.^ Manu
states that a Brahman should swear by truth ; a Kshatriya
by his steed and his weapons ; a Vaishya by his cows, his
seed and his gold ; and a Sudra by all wicked deeds.*"
Yellow is the colour of the Vaishya, and it must apparently
be taken from the yellow corn, and the yellow colour of ghi
or butter, the principal product of the sacred cow ; yellow
is also the colour of the sacred metal gold, but there
can scarcely have been sufficient gold in the hands of
the body of the people in those early times to enable it to
be especially associated with them. The Vaishyas were
thus, as is shown by the above evidence, the main body of
the people referred to in the Vedic hymns. When these
settled down into villages the Vaishyas became the house-
holders and cultivators, among whom the village lands
were divided ; the Sudras or indigenous tribes, who also
lived in the villages or in hamlets adjoining them, were
labourers and given all the most disagreeable tasks in the
village community, as is the case with the impure castes
at present.
The demonstration of the real position of the Vaishyas
1 Manu, i. 90. * Mahabharata, xii. 2749 et seq.
„ ,-^., T 1- r^ u i ^ List of classes of Indian society
, T,.' , , . o- ^ given in the Purusha-Medha of the
mg from Hiranyakesni butra. ?,„ -^ ,, . -.t •, inr;!,.^., ,,,^ t^^
*= •' White vajur-Veda, Wilson, pp. 120-
3 Wilson, p. 260, quoting Mahab- 135.
harata, viii. 1367 et seq. ** Manu, viii. 113.
26 INTRODUCTORY ESS A V ON CASTE part
14. Mis- is important, because the Hindus themselves no longer
modern recognisc this. The name Vaishya is now frequently
idea of the restricted to the Bania caste of bankers, shopkeepers and
Vtiishvcis
moneylenders, and hence the Banias are often supposed
to be the descendants and only modern representatives
of the original Vaishyas. Evidence has been given in the
article on Bania to show that the existing Bania caste is
mainly derived from the Rajputs. The name Bani, a
merchant or trader, is found at an early period, but whether
it denoted a regular Bania caste may be considered as
uncertain. In any case it seems clear that this compara-
tively small caste, chiefly coming from Rajputana, cannot
represent the Vaishyas, who were the main body or people
of the invading Aryans. At that time the Vaishyas cannot
possibly have been traders, because they alone provided the
means of subsistence of the community, and if they produced
nothing, there could be no material for trade. The Vaishyas
must, therefore, as already seen, have been shepherds and
cultivators, since in early times wealth consisted almost solely
of corn and cattle. At a later period, with the increased
religious veneration for all kinds of life, agriculture apparently
fell into some kind of disrepute as involving the sacrifice of
insect life, and there was a tendency to emphasise trade as
the Vaishya's occupation in view of its greater respectability.
It is considered very derogatory for a Brahman or Rajput to
touch the plough with his own hands, and the act has hitherto
involved a loss of status : these castes, however, did not
object to hold land, but, on the contrary, ardently desired
to do so like all other Hindus. Ploughing was probably
despised as a form of manual labour, and hence an undigni-
fied action for a member of the aristocracy, just as a squire
or gentleman farmer in England might consider it beneath
his dignity to drive the plough himself. No doubt also, as
the fusion of races proceeded, and bodies of the indigenous
tribes who were cultivators adopted Hinduism, the status of
a cultivator sank to some extent, and his Vaishyan ancestry
was forgotten. But though the Vaishya himself has practically
disappeared, his status as a cultivator and member of the
village community appears to remain in that of the modern
cultivating castes, as will be shown subsequently.
LLl
I MIXED UNIONS OF THE FOUR CLASSES 27
The settlement of the Aryans in India was in villages 15. Mixed
and not in towns, and the Hindus have ever since remained ""'°"^ °'"
the four
a rural people. In 1 9 1 i less than a tenth of the population classes.
of India was urban, and nearly three-quarters of the total
were directly supported by agriculture. Apparently, there-
fore, the basis or embryo of the gradation of Hindu society
or the caste system should be sought in the village. Two
main divisions of the village community may be recog-
nised in the Vaishyas or cultivators and the Sudras or
impure serfs and labourers. The exact position held by
the Kshatriyas and the constitution of their class are not
quite clear, but there is no doubt that the Brahmans and
Kshatriyas formed the early aristocracy, ranking above the
cultivators, and a few other castes have since attained to
this position. From early times, as is shown by an ordinance
of Manu, men of the higher castes or classes were permitted,
after taking a woman of their own class for the first wife, to
have second and subsequent wives from any of the classes
beneath them. This custom appears to have been largely
prevalent. No definite rule prescribed that the children
of such unions should necessarily be illegitimate, and
in many cases no doubt seems to exist that, if not they
themselves, their descendants at any rate ultimately became
full members of the caste of the first ancestor. According
to Manu, if the child of a Brahman by a Sudra woman
intermarried with Brahmans and his descendants after him,
their progeny in the seventh generation would become
full Brahmans ; and the same was the case with the child
of a Kshatriya or a Vaishya with a Sudra woman. A
commentator remarks that the descendants of a Brahman
by a Kshatriya woman could attain Brahmanhood in the
third generation, and those by a Vaishya woman in the
fifth.-^ Such children also could inherit. According to the
Mahabharata, if a Brahman had four wives of different castes,
the son by a Brahman wife took four shares, that by a
Kshatriya wife three, by a Vaishya wife two, and by a Sudra
wife one share.^ Manu gives a slightly different distribution,
but also permits to the son by a Sudra wife a share of the
1 Hopkin's and Burnett's Code of ^ Mahabharata, xiii. 25 1 o et. seq.,
Manti, X. 64, 65, and footnotes. quoted by Wilson, p. 272.
28 INTRODUCTORY ESS A V ON CASTE part
inheritance.^ Thus the fact is clear that the son of a
Brahman even by a Sudra woman had a certain status of
legitimacy in his father's caste, as he could marry in it, and
must therefore have been permitted to partake of the sacri-
ficial food at marriage ; ^ and he could also inherit a small
share of the property.
The detailed rules prescribed for the status of legitimacy
and inheritance show that recognised unions of this kind
between men of a higher class and women of a lower
one were at one time fairly frequent, though they were
afterwards prohibited. And they must necessarily have
led to much mixture of blood in the different castes. A
trace of them seems to survive in the practice of hyper-
gamy, still widely prevalent in northern India, by which men
of the higher subcastes of a caste will take daughters in
marriage from lower ones but v/ill not give their daughters
in return. This custom prevails largely among the higher
castes of the Punjab, as the Rajputs and Khatris, and among
the Brahmans of Bengal.^ Only a few cases are found in
the Central Provinces, among Brahmans, Sunars and other
castes. Occasionally intermarriage between two castes takes
place on a hypergamous basis ; thus Rajputs are said to
take daughters from the highest clans of the cultivating
caste of Dangis. More commonly families of the lower sub-
castes or clans in the same caste consider the marriage of
their daughters into a higher group a great honour and
will give large sums of money for a bridegroom. Until
quite recently a Rajput was bound to marry his daughters
into a clan of equal or higher rank than his own, in order
to maintain the position of his family. It is not easy
to see why so much importance should be attached to
the marriage of a daughter, since she passed into another
clan and family, to whom her offspring would belong. On
the other hand, a son might take a wife from a lower
group without loss of status, though his children would be
the future representatives of the family. Another point,
' Mann, ix. 149, 157. initiation or they could not possibly
2 Manu indeed declares that such have been married in the father's caste.
children could not be initiated (x. 68),
l)ut it is clear that they must, as a ^ See article on Brahman for some
matter of fact, have been capable of further details.
I THE MIXED CASTES: THE VILLAGE MENIALS 29
possibly connected with hypergamy, is that a pecuHar rch\tion
exists between a man and the family into which his dau'diter
has married. Sometimes he will accept no food or even
water in his son-in-law's village. The word sala, signifying-
wife's brother, when addressed to a man, is also a common
and extremely offensive term of abuse. The meaning is
now perhaps supposed to be that one has violated the sister
of the person spoken to, but this can hardly have been
the original significance as sasiir or father-in-law is also con-
sidered in a minor degree an opprobrious term of address.
But though among the four classical castes it was possible 17. The
for the descendants of mixed unions between fathers of ""'^^^
castes.
higher and mothers of lower caste to be admitted into their The village
father's caste, this would not have been the general rule. "^'^"'^'^•
Such connections were very frequent and the Hindu classics
account through them for the multiplication of castes. Long
lists are given of new castes formed by the children of mixed
marriages. The details of these genealogies seem to be
destitute of any probability, and perhaps, therefore, instances
of them are unnecessary. Matches between a man of
higher and a woman of lower caste were called anulorna, or
' with the hair ' or ' grain,' and were regarded as suitable and
becoming. Those between a man of lower and a woman of
higher caste were, on the other hand, known as pratiloma or
' against the hair,' and were considered as disgraceful and
almost incestuous. The offspring of such unions are held
to have constituted the lowest and most impure castes of
scavengers, dog-eaters and so on. This doctrine is to be
accounted for by the necessity of safeguarding the morality
of women in a state of society where kinship is reckoned
solely by male descent. The blood of the tribe and clan,
and hence the right to membership and participation in the
communal sacrifices, is then communicated to the child
through the father ; hence if the women are unchaste,
children may be born into the family who have no such
rights, and the whole basis of society is destroyed. For the
same reason, since the tribal blood and life is communicated
through males, the birth and standing of the mother are of
little importance, and children are, as has been seen, easily
admitted to their father's rank. But already in Manu's
30 INTRODUCTORY ESSAY ON CASTE part
time the later and present view that both the father and
mother must be of full status in the clan, tribe or caste in
order to produce a legitimate child, has begun to prevail, and
the children of all mixed marriages are relegated to a lower
group. The offspring of these mixed unions did probably
give rise to a class of different status in the village community.
The lower-caste mother would usually have been taken into
the father's house and her children would be brought up in
it. Thus they would eat the food of the household, even if
they did not participate in the sacrificial feasts ; and a class
of this kind would be very useful for the performance of
menial duties in and about the household, such as personal
service, bringing water, and so on, for which the Sudras,
owing to their impurity, would be unsuitable. In the above
manner a new grade of village menial might have arisen
and have gradually been extended to the other village in-
dustries, so that a third group would be formed in the village
community ranking between the cultivators and labourers.
This gradation of the village community may perhaps still
be discerned in the main social distinctions of the different
Hindu castes at present. And an attempt will now be
made to demonstrate this hypothesis in connection with a
brief survey of the castes of the Province.
An examination of the social status of the castes of the
Central Provinces, which, as already seen, are representative
of a great part of India, shows that they fall into five
principal groups. The highest consists of those castes who
now claim to be directly descended from the Brahmans,
Kshatriyas or Vaishyas, the three higher of the four classical
castes. The second comprises what are generally known as
pure or good castes. The principal mark of their caste
status is that a Brahman will take water to drink from them,
and perform ceremonies in their houses. They may be
classified in three divisions : the higher agricultural castes,
higher artisan castes, and serving castes from whom a
Brahman will take water. The third group contains those
castes from whose hands a Brahman will not take water ;
but their touch does not convey impurity and they are per-
mitted to enter Hindu temples. They consist mainly of
certain cultivating castes of low status, some of them recently
I CASTES RANKING ABOVE THE CULTIVATORS 31
derived from the indigenous tribes, other functional castes
formed from the forest tribes, and a number of professional
and menial castes, whose occupations are mainly pursued in
villages, so that they formerly obtained their subsistence from
grain -payments or annual allowances of grain from the
cultivators at seedtime and harvest. The group includes also
some castes of village priests and mendicant religious orders,
who beg from the cultivators. In the fourth group are placed
the non-Aryan or indigenous tribes. Most of these cannot
properly be said to form part of the Hindu social system at
all, but for practical purposes they are admitted and are
considered to rank below all castes except those who can-
not be touched. The lowest group consists of the impure
castes whose touch is considered to defile the higher castes.
Within each group there are minor differences of status some
of which will be noticed, but the broad divisions may be con-
sidered as representing approximately the facts. The rule
about Brahmans taking water from the good agricultural and
artisan castes obtains, for instance, only in northern India.
Maratha Brahmans will not take water from any but other
Brahmans, and in Chhattlsgarh Brahmans and other high
castes will take water only from the hands of a Rawat
(grazier), and from no other caste. But nevertheless the
Kunbis, the great cultivating caste of the Maratha country,
though Brahmans do not take water from them, are on the
same level as the Kurmis, the cultivating caste of Hindustan,
and in tracts where they meet Kunbis and Kurmis are often
considered to be the same caste. The evidence of the state-
ments made as to the origin of different castes in the
following account will be found in the articles on them in
the body of the work.
The castes of the first group are noted below : ig. castes
Brahman. Khatri. Bania. Bhat. Lbovethe
Rajput. Kayasth and Prabhu. Karan. Gurao. cultivators.
The Brahmans are, as they have always been, the highest
caste. The Rajputs are the representatives of the ancient
Kshatriyas or second caste, though the existing Rajput clans
are probably derived from the Hun, Gujar and other invaders
of the period before and shortly after the commencement of
the Christian era, and in some cases from the indigenous or
32 INTRODUCTORY ESSAY ON CASTE part
non-Aryan tribes. It does not seem possible to assert in
the case of a single one of the present Rajput clans that any-
substantial evidence is forthcoming in favour of their descent
from the Aryan Kshatriyas, and as regards most of the
clans there are strong arguments against such a hypothesis.
Nevertheless the Rajputs have succeeded to the status of
the Kshatriyas, and an alternative name for them, Chhatri,
is a corruption of the latter word. They are commonly
identified with the second of the four classical castes, but
a Hindu law-book gives Rajaputra as the offspring of a
Kshatriya father and a mother of the Karan or writer
caste.^ This genealogy is absurd, but may imply the
opinion that the Rajputs were not the same as the Aryan
Kshatriyas. The Khatris are an important mercantile caste
of the Punjab, who in the opinion of most authorities are
derived from the Rajputs. The name is probably a corrup-
tion of Kshatri or Kshatriya. The Banias are the great
mercantile, banking and shopkeeping caste among the
Hindus and a large proportion of the trade in grain and gJii
(preserved butter) is in their hands, while they are also the
chief moneylenders. Most of the important Bania subcastes
belonged originally to Rajputana and Central India, which
are also the homes of the Rajputs, and reasons have been
given in the article on Bania for holding that they are
derived from the Rajputs. They, however, are now
commonly called Vaishyas by the Hindus, as, I think, under
the mistaken impression that they are descended from the
original Vaishyas. The Bhats are the bards, heralds and
genealogists of India and include groups of very varying
status. The Bhats who act as genealogists of the cultivating
and other castes and accept cooked food from their clients
may perhaps be held to rank with or even below them. But
the high-class Bhats are undoubtedly derived from Brahmans
and Rajputs, and rank just below those castes. The bard
or herald had a sacred character, and his person was inviol-
able like that of the herald elsewhere, and this has given a
special status to the whole caste.^ The Kayasths are the
writer caste of Hindustan, and the Karans and Prabhus are
1 Wilson, Indian Caste, i. 440, ^ g^g article Bhat for further dis-
quoting Brahma Vaivarrta Purdna. cussion of this point.
I HIGHER AGRICULTURISTS -^^
the corresponding castes of Orissa and Bombay. The
position of the Kayasths has greatly risen during the last
century on account of their own ability and industry and
the advantages they have obtained through their high level
of education. The original Kayasths may have been village
accountants and hence have occupied a lower position,
perhaps below the cultivators. They are an instance of a
caste whose social position has greatly improved on account
of the wealth and importance of its members. At present
the Kayasths may be said to rank next to Brahmans and
Rajputs. The origin of the Prabhus and Karans is un-
certain, but their recent social history appears to resemble
that of the Kayasths. The Guraos are another caste whose
position has greatly improved. They were priests of the
village temples of Siva, and accepted the offerings of food
which Brahmans could not take. But they also supplied
leaf- plates for festivals, and were village musicians and
trumpeters in the Maratha armies, and hence probably
ranked below the cultivators and were supported by con-
tributions of grain from them. Their social position has
been raised by their sacred character as priests of the
god Siva and they are now sometimes called Shaiva
Brahmans. But a distinct recollection of their former status
exists.
Thus all the castes of the first group are derived from
the representatives of the Brahmans and Kshatriyas, the two
highest of the four classical castes, except the Guraos, who
have risen in status owing to special circumstances. The origin
of the Kayasths is discussed in the article on that caste.
Members of the above castes usually wear the sacred thread
which is the mark of the Dwija or twice-born, the old
Brahmans, Kshatriyas and Vaishyas. The thread is not
worn generally by the castes of the second group, but the
more wealthy and prominent sections of them frequently
assume it.
The second group of good castes from whom a Brahman 20. Castes
can take water falls into three sections as already explained : from whom
■' >■ a tsranman
the higher agricultural castes, the higher artisans, and the can take
serving or menial castes from whom a Brahman takes water Htcrher
from motives of convenience. These last do not properly afrricuitur-
^ ists.
VOL. I D
34 INTRODUCTORY ESS A V ON CASTE part
belong to the second group but to the next lower one of
village menials. The higher agricultural castes or those of
the first section are noted below :
Agharia.
Daharia.
Jat.
Kurmi.
Mlna or Deswali
Ahir.
Dangi.
Khandait.
Lodhi.
Panvvar Rajput.
Bhilala.
Dumal.
Kirar.
Mali.
Raghuvansi.
Bishnoi.
Giijar.
Kolta.
Maratha.
Velama.
Chasa.
Jadum.
Kunbi.
In this division the Kurmis and Kunbis are the typical
agricultural castes of Hindustan or the plains of northern
India, and the Bombay or Maratha Deccan. Both are very
numerous and appear to be purely occupational bodies. The
name Kurmi perhaps signifies a cultivator or worker. Kunbi
may mean a householder. In both castes, groups of diverse
origin seem to have been amalgamated owing to their common
calling. Thus the Kunbis include a subcaste derived from the
Banjara (carriers), another from the Dhangars or shepherds,
and a third from the Manas, a primitive tribe. In Bombay
it is considered that the majority of the Kunbi caste are
sprung from the non-Aryan or indigenous tribes, and this
may be the reason why Maratha Brahmans do not take
water from them. But they have now become one caste
with a status equal to that of the other good cultivating
castes. In many tracts of Berar and elsewhere practically
all the cultivators of the village belong to the Kunbi caste,
and there is every reason to suppose that this was once the
general rule and that the Kunbis or 'householders ' are simply
the cultivators of the Maratha country who lived in village
communities. Similarly Sir H. Risley considered that some
Kurmis of Bihar were of the Aryan type, while others of
Chota Nagpur are derived from the indigenous tribes. The
Chasas are the cultivating caste of Orissa and are a similar
occupational group. The word Chasa has the generic
meaning of a cultivator, and the caste are said by Sir H.
Risley to be for the most part of non-Aryan origin, the
loose organisation of the caste system among the Uriyas
making it possible on the one hand for outsiders to be
admitted into the caste, and on the other for wealthy Chasas,
who gave up ploughing with their own hands and assumed
the respectable title of Mahanti, to raise themselves to
I HIGHER AGRICULTURISTS 35
membership among the lower classes of Kayasths. The
Koltas are another Uriya caste, probably an offshoot of the
Chasas, whose name may be derived from the kultJti^ pulse,
a favourite crop in that locality.
Similarly the Vellalas are the great cultivating caste of
the Tamil country, to whom by general consent the first
place in social esteem among the Tamil Sudra castes is
awarded. In the Madras Census Report of 1901 Mr.
Francis gives an interesting description of the structure of
the caste and its numerous territorial, occupational and
other subdivisions. He shows also how groups from lower
castes continually succeed in obtaining admission into the
Vellala community in the following passage : " Instances of
members of other castes who have assumed the name and
position of Vellalas are the Vettuva Vellalas, who are only
Puluvans ; the Illam Vellalas, who are Panikkans ; the
Karaiturai (lord of the shore) Vellalas, who are Karaiyans ;
the Karukamattai (palmyra leaf-stem) Vellalas, who are
Balijas ; the Guha (Rama's boatmen) Vellalas, who are
Sembadavans ; and the Irkuli Vellalas, who are Vannans.
The children of dancing- girls also often call themselves
Mudali, and claim in time to be Vellalas, and even Paraiyans
assume the title of Pillai and trust to its eventually enabling
them to pass themselves off as members of the caste."
This is an excellent instance of the good status attach-
ing to the chief cultivating caste of the locality and of the
manner in which other groups, when they obtain possession
of the land, strive to get themselves enrolled in it.
The Jats are the representative cultivating caste of the
Punjab. They are probably the descendants of one of the
Scythian invading hordes who entered India shortly before
and after the commencement of the Christian era. The
Scythians, as they were called by Herodotus, appear to have
belonged to the Mongolian racial family, as also did the
white Huns who came subsequently. The Gujar and Ahir
castes, as well as the Jats, and also the bulk of the existing
Rajput clans, are believed to be descended from these
invaders ; and since their residence in India has been
comparatively short in comparison with their Aryan pre-
^ Dolichos tinijlorus.
36 INTRODUCTORY ESSAY ON CASTE part
decessors, they have undergone much less fusion with the
general population, and retain a lighter complexion and
better features, as is quite perceptible to the ordinary
observer in the case of the Jats and Rajputs. The Jats
have a somewhat higher status than other agricultural
castes, because in the Punjab they were once dominant, and
one or two ruling chiefs belonged to the caste.^ The bulk
of the Sikhs were also Jats. But in the Central Provinces,
vvrhere they are not large landholders, and have no traditions
of former dominance, there is little distinction between them
and the Kurmis. The Gujars for long remained a pastoral
freebooting tribe, and their community was naturally recruited
from all classes of vagabonds and outlaws, and hence the
caste is now of a mixed character, and their physical type
is not noticeably distinct from that of other Hindus. Sir
G. Campbell derived the Gujars from the Khazars, a tribe
of the same race as the white Huns and Bulgars who from
an early period had been settled in the neighbourhood of
the Caspian. They are believed to have entered India
during the fifth or sixth century. Several clans of Rajputs,
as well as considerable sections of the Ahir and Kunbi
castes were, in his opinion, derived from the Gujars. In
the Central Provinces the Gujars have now settled down into
respectable cultivators. The Ahirs or cowherds and graziers
probably take their name from the Abhlras, another of the
Scythian tribes. But they have now become a purely
occupational caste, largely recruited from the indigenous
Gonds and Kawars, to whom the business of tending cattle
in the jungles is habitually entrusted. In the Central Pro-
vinces Ahirs live in small forest villages with Gonds, and
are sometimes scarcely considered as Hindus. On this
account they have a character for bucolic stupidity, as the
proverb has it : ' When he is asleep he is an AhIr and when
he is awake he is a fool.' But the Ahir caste generally has
a good status on account of its connection with the sacred
cow and also with the god Krishna, the divine cowherd.
The Marathas are the military caste of the Maratha
country, formed into a caste from the cultivators, shepherds
and herdsmen, who took service under Sivaji and subsequent
^ Sec article Jat for a more detaikd discussion of their status.
I HIGHER AGRICULTURISTS 37
Maratha leaders. The higher clans may have been con-
stituted from the aristocracy of the Deccan states, which was
probably of Rajput descent. They have now become a
single caste, ranking somewhat higher than the Kunbis, from
whom the bulk of them originated, on account of their
former military and dominant position. Their status was
much the same as that of the Jats in the Punjab. But the
ordinary Marathas are mainly engaged in the subordinate
Government and private service, and there is very little
distinction between them and the Kunbis. The Khandaits
or swordsmen (from khanda, a sword) are an Uriya caste,
which originated in military service, and the members of
which belonged for the most part to the non-Aryan Bhuiya
tribe. They were a sort of rabble, half military and half
police, Sir H. Risley states, who formed the levies of the
Uriya zamindars. They have obtained grants of land, and
their status has improved. " In the social system of Orissa
the Sreshta (good) Khandaits rank next to the Rajputs, who
are comparatively few in number, and have not that intimate
connection with the land which has helped to raise the
Khandaits to their present position." ^ The small Rautia
landholding caste of Chota Nagpur, mainly derived from the
Kol tribe, was formed from military service, and obtained a
higher status with the possession of the land exactly like
the Khandaits.
Several Rajput clans, as the Panwars of the Wainganga
Valley, the Raghuvansis, the Jadums derived from the Yadava
clan, and the Daharias of Chhattisgarh, have formed distinct
castes, marrying among themselves. A proper Rajput should
not marry in his own clan. These groups have probably
in the past taken wives from the surrounding population,
and they can no longer be held to belong to the Rajput caste
proper, but rank as ordinary agricultural castes. Other
agricultural castes have probably been formed through mixed
descent from Rajputs and the indigenous races. The
Agharias of Sambalpur say they are sprung from a clan of
Rajputs near Agra, who refused to bend their heads before
the king of Delhi. He summoned all the Agharias to
appear before him, and fixed a sword across the door at the
1 Tribes and Castes of Bengal, art. Khandait.
38 INTRODUCTORY ESSAY ON CASTE part
height of a man's neck. As the Agharias would not bend
their heads they were as a natural consequence all decapitated
as they passed through the door. Only one escaped, who
had bribed a Chamar to go instead of him. He and his
village fled from Agra and came to Chhattlsgarh, where they
founded the Agharia caste. And, in memory of this, when
an Agharia makes a libation to his ancestors, he first pours
a little water on the ground in honour of the dead Chamar.
Such stories may be purely imaginary, or may contain some
substratum of truth, as that the ancestors of the caste were
Rajputs, who took wives from Chamars and other low castes.
The Kirars are another caste with more or less mixed descent
from Rajputs. They are also called Dhakar, and this means
one of illegitimate birth. The Bhilalas are a caste formed
of the offspring of mixed alliances between Rajputs and Bhils.
In many cases in Nimar Rajput immigrants appear to have
married the daughters of Bhil chieftains and landholders, and
succeeded to their estates. Thus the Bhilalas include a
number of landed proprietors, and the caste ranks as a good
agricultural caste, from whom Brahmans will take water.
Among the other indigenous tribes, several of which have in
the Central Provinces retained the possession of large areas
of land and great estates in the wilder forest tracts, a sub-
caste has been formed of the landholding members of the
tribe. Such are the Raj-Gonds among the Gonds, the Binjhals
among Baigas, and the Tawar subtribe of the Kawar tribe of
Bilaspur, to which all the zamindars -^ belong. These last
now claim to be Tomara Rajputs, on the basis of the similar-
ity of the name. These groups rank with the good agri-
cultural castes, and Brahmans sometimes consent to take
water from them. The Dangis of Saugor appear to be the
descendants of a set of freebooters in the Vindhyan hills,
much like the Gujars in northern India. The legend of their
origin is given in Sir B. Robertson's Census Report of 1891 :
" The chief of Garhpahra or old Saugor detained the palan-
quins of twenty-two married women and kept them as his
wives. The issue of the illicit intercourse were named
Dangis, and there are thus twenty-two subdivisions of these
people. There are also three other subdivisions who claim
' Proprietois of Luge landed estates.
i
STATUS OF THE CULTIVATOR
39
descent from pure Rajputs, and who will take daughters in
marriage from the remaining twenty-two, but will not give
their daughters to them." Thus the Dangis appear to have
been a mixed group, recruiting their band from all classes
of the population, with some Rajputs as leaders. The name
probably means hillman, from dd)ig, a hill. Khet men bdvii,
gaon men Ddngi or ' A Dangi in the village is like the hole
of a snake in one's field,' is a proverb showing the estimation
in which they were formerly held. They obtained estates in
Saugor and a Dangi dynasty formerly governed part of the
District, and they are now highly respectable cultivators.
The Minas or Deswalis belonged to the predatory Mina tribe
of Rajputana, but a section of them have obtained possession
of the land in Hoshangabad and rank as a good agricultural
caste. The Lodhas of the United Provinces are placed lowest
among the agricultural castes by Mr. Nesfield, who describes
them as little better than a forest tribe. The name is perhaps
derived from the bark of the lodh tree, which was collected
by the Lodhas of northern India and sold for use as a dyeing
agent. In the Central Provinces the name has been changed
to Lodhi, and they are said to have been brought into the
District by a Raja of the Gond-Rajput dynasty of Mandla
in the seventeenth century, and given large grants of waste
land in the interior in order that they might clear it of forest.
They have thus become landholders, and rank with the higher
agricultural castes. They are addressed as Thakur, a title
applied to Rajputs, and Lodhi landowners usually wear the
sacred thread.
The above details have been given to show how the 21. Status
different agricultural castes originated. Though their origin cultivator,
is so diverse they have, to a great extent, the same status,
and it seems clear that this status is dependent on their
possession of the land. In the tracts where they reside they
are commonly village proprietors and superior tenants.
Those who rank a little higher than the others, as the Jats,
Marathas, Dangis and Lodhis, include in their body some
ruling chiefs or large landed proprietors, and as a rule were
formerly dominant in the territory in which they are found.
In primitive agricultural communities the land is the principal,
if not almost the sole, source of wealth. Trade in the
40 INTRODUCTORY ESSAY ON CASTE part
modern sense scarcely exists, and what interchange of com-
modities there is affects, as a rule, only a trifling fraction of
the population. India's foreign trade is mainly the growth
of the last century, and the great bulk of the exports are
of agricultural produce, yet in proportion to the population
the trading community is still extremely small. It thus
seems quite impossible that the Aryans could have been
a community of priests, rulers and traders, because such a
community would not have had means of subsistence. And
if the whole production and control of the wealth and food
of the community had been in the hands of the Sudras,
they could not have been kept permanently in their
subject, degraded position. The flocks and herds and the
land, which constituted the wealth of early India, must thus
have been in the possession of the Vaishyas ; and grounds of
general probability, as well as the direct evidence already
produced, make it clear that they were the herdsmen and
cultivators, and the Sudras the labourers. The status of the
modern cultivators seems to correspond to that of the
Vaishyas, that is, of the main body of the Aryan people, who
were pure and permitted to join in sacrifices. The status,
however, no longer attaches to origin, but to the possession of
the land ; it is that of a constituent m.ember of the village
community, corresponding to a citizen of the city states of
Greece and Italy. The original Vaishyas have long dis-
appeared ; the Brahmans themselves say that there are no
Kshatriyas and no Vaishyas left, and this seems to be quite
correct. But the modern good cultivating castes retain the
status of the Vaishyas as the Rajputs retain that of the
Kshatriyas. The case of the Jats and Gujars supports this
view. These two castes are almost certainly derived from
Scythian nomad tribes, who entered India long after the
Vedic Aryans. And there is good reason to suppose that a
substantial proportion, if not the majority, of the existing
Rajput clans were the leaders or aristocracy of the Jats and
Gujars. Thus it is found that in the case of these later
tribes the main body were shepherds and cultivators, and
their descendants have the status of good cultivating castes
at present, while the leaders became the Rajputs, who have
the status of the Kshatriyas ; and it therefore seems a reason-
■ > ti. ^ .A».
■. * •''.-••- *'"/^ z»-iiZ»
' ^"^1 ■ ^r-ALM
I THE CLAN AND THE VILLAGE 41
able inference that the same had previously been the case
with the Aryans themselves. It has been seen that the word
Visha or Vaishya signified one of the people or a householder.
The name Kunbi appears to have the same sense, its older
form being kutumbika, which is a householder or one who
has a family/ ?l pater familias.
It has been seen also that Visha in the plural signified 22. The
clans. The clan was the small body which lived together, '^''"' ^"''
^ o ' the village.
and in the patriarchal stage was connected by a tie of kin-
ship held to be derived from a common ancestor. Thus it
is likely that the clans settled down in villages, the cultivators
of one village being of the same exogamous clan. The
existing system of exogamy affords evidence in favour of
this view, as will be seen. All the families of the clan
had cultivating rights in the land, and were members of
the village community ; and there were no other members,
unless possibly a Kshatriya headman or leader. The Sudras
were their labourers and serfs, with no right to hold land,
and a third intermediate class of village menials gradually
grew up.
The law of Mirasi tenures in Madras is perhaps a survival
of the social system of the early village community. Under
it only a few of the higher castes were allowed to hold land,
and the monopoly was preserved by the rule that the right
of taking up waste lands belonged primarily to the cultivators
of the adjacent holdings ; no one else could acquire land un-
less he first bought them out. The pariahs or impure castes
were not allowed to hold land at all. This rule was
pointed out by Mr. Slocock, and it is also noticed by Sir
Henry Maine: "There are in Central and Southern India
certain villages to which a class of persons is hereditarily
attached, in such a manner that they form no part of the
natural and organic aggregate to which the bulk of the
villagers belong. These persons are looked upon as
essentially impure ; they never enter the village, or only
enter reserved portions of it ; and their touch is avoided as
contaminating. Yet they bear extremely plain marks of
their origin. Though they are not included in the village,
they are an appendage solidly connected with it ; they have
^ See article on Kunbi, para. i.
42 INTRODUCTORY ESS A V ON CASTE part
definite village duties, one of which is the settlement of
boundaries, on which their authority is allowed to be con-
clusive. They evidently represent a population of alien
blood whose lands have been occupied by the colonists or
invaders forming the community." ^ Elsewhere, Sir Henry
Maine points out that in many cases the outsiders were
probably admitted to the possession of land, but on an
inferior tenure to the primary holders or freemen who formed
the cultivating body of the village ; and suggests that this
may have been the ground for the original distinction
between occupancy and non- occupancy tenants. The
following extract from a description of the Maratha villages
by Grant Duff" may be subjoined to this passage: "The
inhabitants are principally cultivators, and are now either
Mirasidars or Ooprees. These names serve to distinguish
the tenure by which they hold their lands. The Oopree is
a mere tenant -at -will, but the Mirasidar is a hereditary
occupant whom the Government cannot displace so long as
he pays the assessment on his field. With various privileges
and distinctions in his village of minor consequence, the
Mirasidar has the important power of selling or transferring
his right of occupancy at pleasure. It is a current opinion
in the Maratha country that all the lands were originally of
this description."
As regards the internal relations of clans and village
groups. Sir H. Maine states : " The men who composed the
primitive communities believed themselves to be kinsmen in
the most literal sense of the word ; and, surprising as it may
seem, there are a multitude of indications that in one stage
of thought they must have regarded themselves as equals.
When these primitive bodies first make their appearance as
landowners, as claiming an exclusive enjoyment in a definite
area of land, not only do their shares of the soil appear to
have been originally equal, but a number of contrivances
survive for preserving the equality, of which the most frequent
is the periodical redistribution of the tribal domain." ^
Similarly Professor Hearn states : " The settlement of Europe
was made by clans. Each clan occupied a certain territory
1 Village Comiiiunilies, p. 127. ^ Village Co?nf>noiities, pp. 226,
- History of the A'/ardihas,vo\.\.\).2'). 227.
I THE OWNERSHIP OF LAND 43
— much, I suppose, as an Australian squatter takes up witwi
country. The land thus occupied was distributed by metes
and bounds to each branch of the clan ; the remainder, if
any, continuing the property of the clan." ^ And again : " In
those cases where the land had been acquired by conquest
there were generally some remains of the conquered popula-
tion who retained more or less interest in the lands that had
once been their own. But as between the conquerors them-
selves it was the clansmen, and the clansmen only, who were
entitled to derive any advantage from the land that the clan
had acquired. The outsiders, the men who lived with the
clan but were not of the clan, were no part of the folk, and
had no share in the folkland. No services rendered, no
participation in the common danger, no endurance of the
burden and heat of the day, could create in an outsider any
colour of right. Nothing short of admission to the clan, and
of initiation in its worship, could enable him to demand as
of right the grass of a single cow or the wood for a single
R') 2
re.
Thus it appears that the cultivating community of each 23. The
village constituted an exogamous clan, the members of which ownership
'^ s> ) of land.
believed themselves to be kinsmen. When some caste or
tribe occupied a fresh area of land they were distributed by
clans in villages, over the area, all the cultivators of a village
being of one caste or tribe, as is still the case with the Kunbis
in Berar. Sometimes several alien castes or groups became
amalgamated into a single caste, such as the Kurmis and
Kunbis ; in others they either remained as a separate caste
or became one. When the non-Aryan tribes retained
possession of the land, there is every reason to suppose that
they also were admitted into Hinduism, and either constituted
a fresh caste with the cultivating status, or were absorbed
into an existing one with a change of name. Individual
ownership of land was probably unknov/n. The patel or
village headman, on whom proprietory right was conferred
by the British Government, certainly did not possess it
previously. He was simply the spokesman and representa-
1 The Aryan Household, ed. 1891, ing that the clan was an expansion
p. 190. of the patriarchal joint family ; but the
' Ibidem, p. 228. Professor Hearn reasons against this view are given
followed Sir Henry Maine in think- subsequently.
44
INTRODUCTORY ESS A Y ON CASTE
tive of the village community in its dealings with the central
or ruling authority. But it seems scarcely likely either that
the village community considered itself to own the land.
Cases in which the community as a corporate body has
exercised any function of ownership other than that of
occupying and cultivating the soil, if recorded at all, must
be extremely rare, and I do not know that any instance is
given by Sir Henry Maine. A tutelary village god is to be
found as a rule in every Hindu village. In the Central
Provinces the most common is Khermata, that is the
goddess of the village itself or the village lands. She is a
form of Devi, the general earth-goddess. When a village is
founded the first thing to be done is to install the village god.
Thus the soil of the village is venerated as a goddess, and it
seems doubtful whether the village community considered
itself the owner. In the Maratha Districts, Hanuman or
Mahabir, the monkey god, is the tutelary deity of the village.
His position seems to rest on the belief of the villagers that
the monkeys were the lords and owners of the soil before
their own arrival. For the worship of these and the other
village gods there is usually a village priest, known as
Bhumka, Bhumia, Baiga or Jhankar, who is taken from the
non-Aryan tribes. The reason for his appointment seems to
be that the Hindus still look on themselves to some extent
as strangers and interlopers in relation to the gods of the
earth and the village, and consider it necessary to approach
these through the medium of one of their predecessors. The
words Bhumka and Bhumia both mean lord of the soil, or
belonging to the soil. As already seen, the authority of
some menial official belonging to the indigenous tribes is
accepted as final in cases of disputed boundaries, the idea
being apparently that as his ancestors first occupied the
village, he has inherited from them the knowledge of its true
extent and limits. All these points appear to tell strongly
against the view that the Hindu village community con-
sidered itself to own the village land as we understand the
phrase. They seem to have looked on the land as a god,
and often their own tutelary deity and protector. What
they held themselves to possess was a right of occupancy, in
virtue of prescriptive settlement, not subject to removal or
I THE O WNERSHIP OF LAND . 45
disturbance, and transmitted by inheritance to persons born
into the membership of the village community. Under the
Muhammadans the idea that the state ultimately owned the
land may have been held, but prior to them the existence of
such a belief is doubtful. The Hindu king did not take rent
for land, but a share of the produce for the support of his
establishments. The Rajput princes did not call themselves
after the name of their country, but of its capital town, as if
their own property consisted only in the town, as Jodhpur,
Jaipur and Udaipur, instead of Marwar, Dhundhar and
Mewar. Just as the village has a priest of the non-Aryan
tribes for propitiating the local gods, so the Rajput chief at
his accession was often inducted to the royal cushion by a
Bhil or Mina, and received the badge of investiture as if he
had to obtain his title from these tribes. Indeed the right
of the village community to the land was held sometimes
superior to that of the state. Sir J. Malcolm relates that
he was very anxious to get the village of Bassi in Indore
State repopulated when it had lain waste for thirty-six years.
He had arranged with the Bhil headman of a neighbouring
village to bring it under cultivation on a favourable lease.
The plan had other advantages, and Holkar's minister was
most anxious to put it into execution, but said that this could
not be done until every possible effort had been made to
discover whether any descendant of the former patel or of
any watanddr or hereditary cultivator of Bassi was still in
existence ; for if such were found, he said, "even we Marathas,
bad as we are, cannot do anything which interferes with their
rights." None such being found at the time, the village was
settled as proposed by Malcolm ; but some time afterwards,
a boy was discovered who was descended from the old pateVs
family, and he was invited to resume the office of headman
of the village of his forefathers, which even the Bhil, who had
been nominated to it, was forward to resign to the rightful
inheritor.^ Similarly the Maratha princes, Sindhia, Holkar
and others, are recorded to have set more store by the head-
ship of the insignificant Deccan villages, which were the
hereditary offices of their families, than by the great princi-
palities which they had carved out for themselves with the
1 Memoir of Central India, vol. ii. p. 22.
46 INTRODUCTORY ESSAY ON CASTE part
sword. The former defined and justified their position in the
world as the living link and representative of the continuous
family comprising all their ancestors and all their descendants ;
the latter was at first regarded merely as a transient, secular
possession, and a source of wealth and profit. This powerful
hereditary right probably rested on a religious basis. The
village community was considered to be bound up with its
village god in one joint life, and hence no one but they could
in theory have the right to cultivate the lands of that village.
The very origin and nature of this right precluded any
question of transfer or alienation. The only lands in which
any ownership, corresponding to our conception of the term,
was held to exist, were perhaps those granted free of revenue
for the maintenance of temples, which were held to be the
property of the god. In Rome and other Greek and Latin
cities the idea of private or family ownership of land also
developed from a religious sentiment. It was customary to
bury the dead in the fields which they had held, and here
the belief was that their spirits remained and protected
the interests of the family. Periodical sacrifices were made
to them and they participated in all the family ceremonies.
Hence the land in which the tombs of ancestors were situated
was held to belong to the family, and could not be separated
from it.^ Gradually, as the veneration for the spirits of
ancestors decayed, the land came to be regarded as the
private property of the family, and when this idea had been
realised it was made alienable, though not with the same
freedom as personal property. But the word pecunia for
money, from pecus a flock, like the Hindi dhan, which means
wealth and also flocks of goats and sheep, and feudal from
the Gaelic T^^if, cattle, point to conditions of society in which
land was not considered a form of private property or wealth.
M. Fustel de Coulanges notices other primitive races who did
not recognise property in land : " The Tartars understand
the term property as applying to cattle, but not as applying
to land. According to some authors, among the ancient
Germans there was no ownership of land ; every year each
member of the tribe received a holding to cultivate, and the
holding was changed in the following year. The German
1 La Cite antique, 2 1st ed. pp. 66, 68.
I THE OWNERSHIP OF LAND 47
owned the crop ; he did not own the soil. The same was
the case among a part of the Semitic race and certain of the
Slav peoples." ^ In large areas of the Nigeria Protectorate at
present, land has no exchangeable value at all ; but by the
native system of taxation a portion of the produce is taken
in consideration of the right of use.^ In ancient Arabia
' Baal ' meant the lord of some place or district, that is, a
local deity, and hence came to mean a god. Land naturally
moist was considered as irrigated by a god and the special
place or habitation of the god. To the numerous Canaanite
Baalims, or local deities, the Israelites ascribed all the natural
gifts of the land, the corn, the wine, and the oil, the wool
and the flax, the vines and fig trees. Pasture land was
common property, but a man acquired rights in the soil by
building a house, or, by ' quickening ' a waste place, that is,
bringing it under cultivation.^ The Israelites thought that
they derived their title to the land of Canaan from Jehovah,
having received it as a gift from Him. The association
of rights over the land with cultivation and building,
pointed out by Professor Robertson Smith, may perhaps
explain the right over the village lands which was held
to appertain to the village community. They had quickened
the land and built houses on it, establishing the local
village deity on their village sites, and it was probably
thought that their life was bound up with that of the
village god, and only they had a right to cultivate his
land. This would explain the great respect shown by the
Marathas for hereditary title to land, as seen above ; a
feeling which must certainly have been based on some
religious belief, and not on any moral idea of equity or
justice ; no such deep moral principle was possible in the
Hindu community at the period in question. The Hindu
religious conception of rights to land was thus poles apart
from the secular English law of proprietary and transfer-
able right, and if the native feeling could have been under-
stood by the early British administrators the latter would
perhaps have been introduced only in a much modified
form.
1 La Ciit' antique, 2isted. pp. 66, 6S. Revieiv, 6th April 19 12.
2 Nigeria, quoted in Saltirday ^ Religion of the Seinilcs, p. 96.
48 INTRODUCTORY ESS A V ON CASTE part
24. The The suggested conclusion from the above argument is
cultivating ^-j-^g^^ ^j^g main body of the Aryan immigrants, that is the
status that -^ 111
of the Vaishyas, settled down m villages by exogamous clans or
Vaishya. scpts. The cultivators of each village believed themselves
to be kinsmen descended from a common ancestor, and
also to be akin to the god of the village lands from which
they drew their sustenance. Hence their order had an
equal right to cultivate the village land and their children
to inherit it, though they did not conceive of the idea of
ownership of land in the sense in which we understand this
phrase.
The original status of the Vaishya, or a full member of
the Aryan community who could join in sacrifices and employ
Brahmans to perform them, was gradually transferred to the
cultivating member of the village communities. In process
of time, as land was the chief source of wealth, and was also
regarded as sacred, the old status became attached to castes
or groups of persons who obtained or held land irrespective
of their origin, and these are what are now called the good
cultivating castes. They have now practically the same
status, though, as has been seen, they were originally of most
diverse origin, including bands of robbers and freebooters,
cattle-lifters, non-Aryan tribes, and sections of any castes
which managed to get possession of an appreciable quantity
of land.
The second division of the group of pure or good castes,
or those from whom a Brahman can take water, comprises
the higher artisan castes :
Barhai. Hahvai. Komti. Sunar. Vidiir.
BharbhiJnja. Kasar. Sansia. Tamera.
The most important of these are the Sunar or gold-
smith ; the Kasar or worker in brass and bell-metal ; the
Tamera or coppersmith ; the Barhai or carpenter ; and the
Halwai and Bharbhunja or confectioner and grain-parcher.
The Sansia or stone-mason of the Uriya country may
perhaps also be included. These industries represent a
higher degree of civilisation than the village trades, and
the workers may probably have been formed into castes
at a later period, when the practice of the handicrafts was
no longer despised. The metal-working castes are now
I HIGHER PROFESSIONAL AND ARTISAN CASTES
49
usually urban, and on the average their members arc as
well-to-do as the cultivators. The Sunars especially include
a number of wealthy men, and their importance is increased
by their association with the sacred metal, gold ; in some
localities they now claim to be Brahmans and refuse to take
food from Brahmans.^ The more ambitious members abjure
all flesh-food and liquor and wear the sacred thread. But
in Bombay the Sunar was in former times one of the village
menial castes, and here, before and during the time of the
Peshwas, Sunars were not allowed to wear the sacred thread,
and they were forbidden to hold their marriages in public, as
it was considered unlucky to see a Sunar bridegroom. Sunar
bridegrooms were not allowed to see the state umbrella or to
ride in a palanquin, and had to be married at night and in
secluded places, being subject to restrictions and annoyances
from which even Mahars were free. Thus the goldsmith's
status appears to vary greatly according as his trade is a
village or urban industry. Copper is also a sacred metal,
and the Tameras rank next to the Sunars among the artisan
castes, with the Kasars or brass-workers a little below them ;
both these castes sometimes wearing the sacred thread.
These classes of artisans generally live in towns. The Barhai
or carpenter is sometimes a village menial, but most carpenters
live in towns, the wooden implements of agriculture being
made either by the blacksmith or by the cultivators themselves.
Where the Barhai is a village menial he is practically on an
equality with the Lobar or blacksmith ; but the better-class
carpenters, who generally live in towns, rank higher. The
Sansia or stone-mason of the Uriya country works, as a rule,
only in stone, and in past times therefore his principal employ-
ment must have been to build temples. He could not thus
be a village menial, and his status would be somewhat im-
proved by the sanctity of his calling. The Halwai and
Bharbhunja or confectioner and grain-parcher are castes of
comparatively low origin, especially the latter ; but they have
to be given the status of ceremonial purity in order that all
Hindus may be able to take sweets and parched grain from
their hands. Their position resembles that of the barber
^ See article Sunar for a discussion of the sanctity of gold and silver, and the
ornaments made from them.
VOL. I E
50 INTRODUCTORY ESS A Y ON CASTE part
and waterman, the pure village menials, which will be
discussed later. In Bengal certain castes, such as the Tanti
or weaver of fine muslin, the Teli or oil-presser, and the
Kumhar or potter, rank with the ceremonially pure castes.
Their callings have there become important urban industries.
Thus the Tantis made the world-renowned fine muslins of
Dacca ; and the Jagannathia Kumhars of Orissa provide the
earthen vessels used for the distribution of rice to all
pilgrims at the temple of Jagannath. These castes and
certain others have a much higher rank than that of the
corresponding castes in northern and Central India, and the
special reasons indicated seem to account for this. Generally
the artisan castes ranking on the same or a higher level than
the cultivators are urban and not rural. They were not
placed in a position of inferiority to the cultivators by accept-
ing contributions of grain and gifts from them, and this
perhaps accounts for their higher position. One special caste
may be noticed here, the Vidurs, who are the descendants of
Brahman fathers by women of other castes. These, being
of mixed origin, formerly had a very low rank, and worked
as village accountants and patwaris. Owing to their con-
nection with Brahmans, however, they are a well-educated
caste, and since education has become the door to all grades
of advancement in the public service, the Vidurs have taken
advantage of it, and many of them are clerks of offices or
hold higher posts under Government. Their social status
has correspondingly improved ; they dress and behave like
Brahmans, and in some localities it is said that even Maratha
Brahmans will take water to drink from Vidurs, though they
will not take it from the cultivating castes. There are also
several menial or serving castes from whom a Brahman
can take water, forming the third class of this group, but
their real rank is much below that of the cultivators, and
they will be treated in the next group.
26. Castes f he third main division consists of those castes from whom
a°Brahn°M ^ Brahman cannot take water, though they are not regarded
cannot as impure and are permitted to enter Hindu temples. The
the village typical castes of this group appear to be the village artisans
menials. ^nd menials and the village priests. The annexed list
shows the principal of these.
THE VILLAGE MENIALS
51
Village menials.
Lobar — Blacksmith.
Barhai — Carpenter.
Kumhar — Potter.
Nai — Barber.
Dhimar — Waterman.
Kahar — Palanqui n-bearer.
Bari — Leaf-plate maker.
Bargah — Household servant.
Dhobi — Washerman.
Darzi — Tailor.
Basor or Dhulia — Village
musician.
Bhat and Mirasi — Bard and
genealogist.
Halba — House-servant and farm-
servant.
Castes of village watchmen.
Khangar.
Chadar.
Chauhan.
Dahait.
Panka.
Village priests a?id mendicants.
Joshi — Astrologer.
Garpagari — Hail-averter.
Gondhali — Musician.
Manbhao'
V, , IWandering priests and
C-. ■ mendicants.
Satani
Waghya
Others.
Mali — Gardener and maker of
garlands.
Barai — Betel -vine grower and
seller.
Other village traders and artisans.
Kalar — Liquor-vendor.
Teli — Oil-presser.
Hatwa ^
ManiharjP^d^^'--
Banjara — Carrier.
Bahelia "i ^ , , ,
Pardhi /"bowlers and hunters.
Bahna — Cotton-cleaner.
Chhipa — Calico-printer and dyer.
Chitrakathi — Painter and picture-
maker.
Kachera — Glass bangle-maker.
Kadera — Fireworks-maker.
Nat — Acrobat.
Gadaria 1
Dhangar ^Shepherds.
KuramwarJ
Beldar^ Diggers,
MurhaV navvies, and
Nunia J salt-refiners.
The essential fact which formerly governed the status of
this group of castes appears to be that they performed various
services for the cultivators according to their different voca-
tions, and were supported by contributions of grain made to
52 INTRODUCTORY ESS A Y ON CASTE part
them by the cultivators, and by presents given to them at
seed-time and harvest. They were the cHents of the culti-
vators and the latter were their patrons and supporters, and
hence ranked above them. This condition of things survives
only in the case of a few castes, but prior to the introduction
of a metal currency must apparently have been the method
of remuneration of all the village industries. The Lobar or
blacksmith makes and mends the iron implements of agri-
culture, such as the ploughshare, axe, sickle and goad. For
this he is paid in Saugor a yearly contribution of 20 lbs. of
grain per plough of land held by each cultivator, together
with a handful of grain at sowing-time and a sheaf at harvest
frorti both the autumn and spring crops. In Wardha he gets
50 lbs. of grain per plough of four bullocks or 40 acres.
For new implements he must either be paid separately or at
least supplied with the iron and charcoal. In Districts where
the Barhai or carpenter is a village servant he is paid the
same as the Lobar and has practically an equal status. The
village barber receives in Saugor 20 lbs. of grain annually
from each adult male in the family, or 22^ lbs. per plough
of land besides the seasonal presents. In return for this he
shaves each cultivator over the head and face about once a
fortnight. The Dhobi or washerman gets half the annual
contribution of the blacksmith and carpenter, with the same
presents, and in return for this he washes the clothes of the
family two or three times a month. When he brings the
clothes home he also receives a meal or a wheaten cake, and
well-to-do families give him their old clothes as a present.
The Dhimar or waterman brings water to the house morning
and evening, and fills the earthen water-pots placed on a
wooden stand or earthen platform outside it. When the culti-
vators have marriages he performs the same duties for the whole
wedding party, and receives a present of money and clothes
according to the means of the family, and his food every day
while the wedding is in progress. He supplies water for drink-
ing to the reapers, receiving three sheaves a day as payment,
and takes sweet potatoes and boiled plums to the field and sells
them. The Kumhar or potter is not now paid regularly by
dues from the cultivators like other village menials, as the
ordinary system of sale has been found to be more convenient
I THE VILLAGE WATCHMEN 53
in his case. But he sometimes takes for use the soiled grass
from the stalls of the cattle and gives pots free to the culti-
vator in exchange. On Akti day, at the beginning of the
agricultural year, the village Kumhar in Saugor presents five
pots with covers on them to each cultivator and is given 2\
lbs. of grain. He presents the bride with seven new pots at
a wedding, and these are filled with water and used in the
ceremony, being considered to represent the seven seas. At
a funeral he must supply thirteen vessels which are known
as ghats, and must replace the household earthen vessels,
which are rendered impure on the occurrence of a death in the
house, and are all broken and thrown away. In the Punjab
and Maratha country the Kumhar was formerly an ordinary
village menial.
The office of village watchman is an important one, 27. The
and is usually held by a member of the indigenous tribes. '^'"''^^^
■' -^ o watchmen.
These formerly were the chief criminals, and the village
watchman, in return for his pay, was expected to detect
the crimes of his tribesmen and to make good any losses
of property caused by them. The sections of the tribes
who held this office have developed into special castes, as
the Khangars, Chadars and Chauhans of Chhattlsgarh.
These last are probably of mixed descent from Rajputs
and the higher castes of cultivators with the indigenous
tribes. The Dahaits were a caste of gatekeepers and
orderlies of native rulers who have now become village
watchmen. The Pankas are a section of the impure Ganda
caste who have embraced the doctrines of the Kablrpanthi
sect and formed a separate caste. They are now usually
employed as village watchmen and are not regarded as
impure. Similarly those members of the Mahar servile
caste who are village watchmen tend to marry among
themselves and form a superior group to the others. The
village watchman now receives a remuneration fixed by
Government and is practically a rural policeman, but in
former times he was a village menial and was maintained
by the cultivators in the same manner as the others.
The village priests are another class of this group.
The regular village priest and astrologer, the Joshi or
Parsai, is a Brahman, but the occupation has developed a
54 INTRODUCTORY ESS A V ON CASTE part
28. The separate caste. The Joshi officiates at weddings in the
pries^ts village, selects auspicious names for children according to
The gar- the constcUations under which they were born, and points
casTes^ out the auspicious moment or makfirat for weddings, name-
giving and other ceremonies, and for the commencement
of such agricultural operations as sowing, reaping, and
threshing. He is also sometimes in charge of the village
temple. He is supported by contributions of grain from
the villagers and often has a plot of land rent-free from the
proprietor. The social position of the Joshis is not very
good, and, though Brahmans, they are considered to rank
somewhat below the cultivating castes. The Gurao is
another village priest, whose fortune has been quite different.
, The caste acted as priests of the temples of Siva and were
also musicians and supplied leaf-plates. They were village
menials of the Maratha villages. But owing to the sanctity
of their calling, and the fact that they have become literate
and taken service under Government, the Guraos now rank
above the cultivators and are called Shaiva Brahmans, The
Gondhalis are the village priests of Devi, the earth-goddess,
who is also frequently the tutelary goddess of the village.
They play the kettle-drum and perform dances in her honour,
and were formerly classed as one of the village menials of
Maratha villages, though they now work for hire. The
Garpagari, or hail-averter, is a regular village menial, his
duty being to avert hail-storms from the crops, like the
'^aXa^o(pv\a^ in ancient Greece. The Garpagaris will accept
cooked food from Kunbis and celebrate their weddings with
those of the Kunbis. The Jogis, Manbhaos, Satanis, and
others, are wandering religious mendicants, who act as priests
and spiritual preceptors to the lower classes of Hindus.
With the village priests may be mentioned the Mali or
gardener. The Malis now grow vegetables with irrigation
or ordinary crops, but this was not apparently their original
vocation. The name is derived from mala, a garland, and
it would appear that the Mali was first employed to grow
flowers for the garlands with which the gods and also their
worshippers were adorned at religious ceremonies. Flowers
were held sacred and were an essential adjunct to worship
in India as in Greece and Rome. The sacred flowers of
I THE GARDENING CASTES 55
India are the lotus, the marigold and the champak} and
from their use in religious worship is derived the custom of
adorning the guests with garlands at all social functions,
just as in Rome and Greece they wore crowns on their
heads. It seems not unlikely that this was the purpose
for which cultivated flowers were first grown, at any rate
in India. The Mali was thus a kind of assistant in the
religious life of the village, and he is still sometimes placed
in charge of the village shrines and is employed as temple-
servant in Jain temples. He would therefore have been
supported by contributions from the cultivators like the
other village menials and have ranked below them, though
on account of the purity and sanctity of his occupation
Brahmans would take water from him. The Mali has now
become an ordinary cultivator, but his status is still
noticeably below that of the good cultivating castes and
this seems to be the explanation. With the Mali may be
classed the Barai, the grower and seller of the pan or betel-
vine leaf. This leaf, growing on a kind of creeper, like the
vine, in irrigated gardens roofed with thatch for protection
from the sun, is very highly prized by the Hindus. It
is offered with areca-nut, cloves, cardamom and lime rolled
up in a quid to the guests at all social functions. It is
endowed by them with great virtues, being supposed to
prevent heartburn, indigestion, and other stomachic and
intestinal disorders, and to preserve the teeth, while taken
with musk, saffron and almonds, the betel-leaf is held to
"be a strong aphrodisiac. The juice of the leaf stains the
teeth and mouth red, and the effect, though repulsive to
Europeans, is an indispensable adjunct to a woman's beauty
in Hindu eyes. This staining of the mouth red with betel-
leaf is also said to distinguish a man from a dog. The
idea that betel preserves the teeth seems to be unfounded.
The teeth of Hindus appear to be far less liable to decay
than those of Europeans, but this is thought to be because
they generally restrict themselves to a vegetable diet and
always rinse out their mouths with water after taking food.
The betel-leaf is considered sacred ; a silver ornament is
made in its shape and it is often invoked in spells and
1 Michelia champaka, a variety of the jack or bread-fruit tree.
56 INTRODUCTORY ESSAY ON CASTE part
magic. The original vine is held to have grown from a
finger-joint of Basuki, the Queen of the Serpents, and the
cobra is worshipped as the tutelary deity of the /««-garden,
which this snake is accustomed to frequent, attracted by
the moist coolness and darkness. The position of the
Barai is the same as that of the Mali ; his is really a low
caste, sometimes coupled with the contemned Telis or
oil-pressers, but he is considered ceremonially pure because
the betel-leaf, offered to gods and eaten by Brahmans and
all Hindus, is taken from him. The Barai or Tamboli was
formerly a village menial in the Maratha villages.
29. Other The castes following other village trades mainly fall
t'radfr^sand ^"^° ^^^^ g^'o^P) though they may not now be village menials.
menials. Sucli are the Kalar or liquor-vendor and Teli or oil-presser,
who sell their goods for cash, and having learnt to reckon
and keep accounts, have prospered in their dealings with
the cultivators ignorant of this accomplishment. Formerly
it is probable that the village Teli had the right of pressing
all the oil grown in the village, and retaining a certain
share for his remuneration. The liquor-vendor can scarcely
have been a village menial, but since Manu's time his trade
has been regarded as a very impure one, and has ranked
with that of the Teli. Both these castes have now become
prosperous, and include a number of landowners, and their
status is gradually improving. The Darzi or tailor is not
usually attached to the village community ; sewn clothes
have hitherto scarcely been worn among the rural popula-
tion, and the weaver provides the cloths which they drape
on the body and round the head.^ The contempt with
which the tailor is visited in English proverbial lore for
working at a woman's occupation attaches in a precisely
similar manner in India to the weaver.^ But in Gujarat
the Darzi is found living in villages and here he is also
a village menial. The Kachera or maker of the glass
bangles which every Hindu married woman wears as a
sign of her estate, ranks with the village artisans ; his
is probably an urban trade, but he has never become
^ See article Darzi for further dis- " See articles on Bhulia, Panka,
cussion of the use of sewn clothes in Kori and Julaha.
India.
I OTHER VILLAGE TRADERS AND MENIAI^S 57
prosperous or important. The Banjaras or grain-carriers
were originally Rajputs, but owing to the mixed character
of the caste and the fact that they obtained their support
from the cultivators, they have come to rank below these
latter. The Wanjari cultivators of Berar have now discarded
their Banjara ancestry and claim to be Kunbis. The Nat
or rope-dancer and acrobat may formerly have had functions
in the village in connection with the crops. In Kumaon ^
a Nat still slides down a long rope from the summit of a
cliff to the base as a rite for ensuring the success of the
crops on the occasion of a festival of Siva, Formerly if
the Nat or Badi fell to the ground in his course, he was
immediately despatched with a sword by the surrounding
spectators, but this is now prohibited. The rope on which
he slid down the cliff is cut up and distributed among
the inhabitants of the village, who hang the pieces as
charms on the eaves of their houses. The hair of the Nat
is also taken and preserved as possessing similar virtues.
Each District in Kumaon has its hereditary Nat or Badi,
who is supported by annual contributions of grain from
the inhabitants. Similarly in the Central Provinces it
is not uncommon to find a deified Nat, called Nat Baba
or Father Nat, as a village god. A Natni, or Nat woman,
is sometimes worshipped ; and when two sharp peaks of
hills are situated close to each other, it is related that there
wa*once a Natni, very skilful on the tight-rope, who performed
before the king ; and he promised her that if she would
stretch a rope from the peak of one hill to that of the other,
and walk across it, he would marry her and make her
wealthy. Accordingly the rope was stretched, but the
queen from jealousy went and cut it nearly through in the
night, and when the Natni started to walk, the rope broke,
and she fell down and was killed. Having regard to the
Kumaon rite, it may be surmised that these legends com-
memorate the death of a Natni or acrobat during the
performance of some feat of dancing or sliding on a rope
for the magical benefit of the crops. And it seems possible
that acrobatic performances may have had their origin in
this manner. The point bearing on the present argument
1 Traill's Account of Knmaon, Asiatic Researches, vol. xvi. (1S28) p. 213.
58 INTRODUCTORY ESSAY ON CASTE part
is, however, that the Nat performed special functions for
the success of the village crops, and on this account was
supported by contributions from the villagers, and ranked
with the village menials.
Some of the castes already mentioned, and one or two
others having the same status, work as household servants
as well as village menials. The Dhimar is most commonly
employed as an indoor servant in Hindu households, and is
permitted to knead flour in water and make it into a cake,
which the Brahman then takes and puts on the girdle with
his own hands. He can boil water and pour pulse into the •
cooking-pot from above, so long as he does not touch the
vessel after the food has been placed in it. He will take
any remains of food left in the cooking-pot, as this is not
considered to be polluted, food only becoming polluted
when the hand touches it on the dish after having touched
the mouth. When this happens, all the food on the dish
becomes ;>7///^ or leavings of food, and as a general rule no
caste except the sweepers will eat these leavings of food of
another caste or of another person of their own. Only a
wife, whose meal follows her husband's, will eat his leavings.
As a servant, the Dhimar is very familiar with his master ;
he may enter any part of the house, including the cooking-
place and the women's rooms, and he addresses his mistress
as ' Mother.' When he lights his master's pipe he takes the
first pull himself, to sho\y that it has not been tampered \Mith,
and then presents it to him with his left hand placed under
his right elbow in token of respect. Maid-servants frequently
belong also to the Dhimar caste, and it often happens that
the master of the household has illicit intercourse with them.
Hence there is a proverb : ' The king's son draws water and
the water-bearer's son sits on the throne,' — similar intrigues
on the part of high-born women with their servants being
not unknown. The Kahar or palanquin-bearer was probably
the same caste as the Dhimar. Landowners would maintain
a gang of Kahars to carry them on journeys, allotting to
such men plots of land rent-free. Our use of the word
' bearer ' in the sense of a body-servant has developed from
the palanquin-bearer who became a personal attendant on
his master. Well-to-do families often have a Nai or barber
STATUS OF THE VILLAGE MENIALS
59
as a hereditary family servant, the office descending in the
barber's family. Such a man arranges the marriages of the
children and takes a considerable part in conducting them,
and acts as escort to the women of the family when they go
on a journey. Among his daily duties are to rub his master's
body with oil, massage his limbs, prepare his bed, tell him
stories to send him to sleep, and so on. The barber's wife
attends on women in childbirth after the days of pollution
are over, and rubs oil on the bodies of her clients, pares
their nails and paints their feet with red dye at marriages
'and on other festival occasions. The Bari or maker of
leaf-plates is another household servant. Plates made of
large leaves fastened together with little wooden pins and
strips of fibre are commonly used by the Hindus for eating
food, as are little leaf-cups for drinking ; glazed earthenware
has hitherto not been commonly manufactured, and that
with a rougher surface becomes ceremonially impure by
contact with any strange person or thing. Metal vessels
and plates are the only alternative to those made of leaves,
and there are frequently not enough of them to go round
for a party. The Baris also work as personal servants,
hand round water, and light and carry torches at entertain-
ments and on journeys. Their women are maids to high-
caste Hindu ladies, and as they are always about the zenana
are liable to lose their virtue.
'The castes of village and household menials form a large 31. status
group between the cultivators on the one hand and the °!^,^^^
*» -i ^ village
impure and servile labourers on the other. Their status is menials.
not exactly the same. On the one hand, the Nai or barber,
the Kahar and Dhimar or watermen, the household servants,
the Bari, Ahir, and others, some of the village priests and
the gardening castes, are considered ceremonially pure and
Brahmans will take water from them. But this is a matter
of convenience, as, if they were not so held pure, they would
be quite useless in the household. Several of these castes,
as the Dhlmars, Baris and others, are derived from the
primitive tribes. Sir H. Risley considered the Baris of
Bengal as probably an offshoot from the Bhuiya or Musahar
tribe : " He still associates with the Bhuiyas at times, and
if the demand for leaf-plates and cups is greater than he
6o INTRODUCTORY ESSAY ON CASTE tart
can cope with himself, he gets them secretly made up by
his ruder kinsfolk and passes them off as his own production.
Instances of this sort, in which a non-Aryan or mixed group
is promoted on grounds of necessity or convenience to a
higher status than their antecedents would entitle them to
claim, are not unknown in other castes, and must have
occurred frequently in outlying parts of the country, where
the Aryan settlements were scanty and imperfectly supplied
with the social apparatus demanded by the theory of
ceremonial purity. Thus the undoubtedly non - Aryan
Bhuiyas have in parts of Chota Nagpur been recognised as.
Jal-Acharani (able to give water to the higher castes) and it
may be conjectured that the Kahars themselves only attained
this privilege in virtue of their employment as palanquin-
bearers." ^ The fact that Brahmans will take water from
these castes does not in any way place them on a level with
the cultivators ; they remain menial servants, ranking, if
anything, below such castes as Lobar, Teli and Kalar, from
whom Brahmans will not take water ; but these latter are,
as corporate bodies, more , important and prosperous than
the household menial castes, because their occupation confers
a greater dignity and independence.
On the other hand, one or two of the village menials,
such as the Dhobi or Avasherman, are considered to some
extent impure. This is due to specially degrading incidents
attaching to their occupation, as in the case of the Dhobi,
the washing of the clothes of women in childbirth.^ And
the Sungaria subcaste of Kumhars, who keep pigs, are not
touched, because the impurity of the animal is necessarily
communicated to its owner's house and person. Still, in
the village society there is little real difference between the
position of these castes and those of the other village
menials.
32. Origin The status of the village menial castes appears to be
of their fixed by their dependent position on the cultivators. The
latter are their patrons and superiors, to whom they look
for a livelihood. Before the introduction of a currency in
the rural tracts (an event of the last fifty to a hundred
years) the village artisans and menials were supported by
' Tribes and Castes of /bengal, art. Bfui. - rointcd out by Mr. (Jrooke.
I ORIGIN OF THEIR STA TUS 6r
contributions of grain from the cultivators. They still all
receive presents, consisting of a sowing-basketful of grain at
seed-time and one or two sheaves at harvest. The former
is known as Bij phiitni, or ' The breaking of the seed,' and
the latter as Khanvdr, or ' That which is left.' Sometimes,
after threshing, the menials are each given as much grain as
will fill a winnowing-fan. When the peasant has harvested
his grain, all come and beg 'from him. The Dhlmar brings
some water-nut, the Kachhi or market-gardener some chillies,
the Barai betel -leaf, the Teli oil and tobacco, the Kalar
liquor (if he drinks it), the Bania some sugar, and all receive
grain in excess of the value of their gifts. The Joshi or
village priest, the Nat or acrobat, the Gosain or religious
mendicant and the Fakir or Muhammadan beggar solicit
alms. On that day the cultivator is said to be like a little
king in his fields, and the village menials constitute his
court. In purely agricultural communities grain is the
principal source of wealth, and though the average Hindu
villager may appear to us to be typical of poverty rather
than wealth, such standards are purely relative. The
cultivator was thus the patron and supporter of the village
artisans and menials, and his social position was naturally
superior to theirs. Among the Hindus it is considered
derogatory to accept a gift from another person, the
recipient being thereby placed in a position of inferiority
to the donor. Some exception to this rule is made in the
case of Brahmans, though even with them it partly applies.
Generally the acceptance of a gift of any value among
Hindus is looked upon in the same manner as the taking
of money in England, being held to indicate that the
recipient is in an inferior social position to the giver. And
the existence of this feeling seems to afford strong support
to the reason suggested here for the relative status of the
cultivating and village menial castes=
The group of village menial and artisan castes comes
between the good cultivating castes who hold the status of
the Vaishyas or body of the Aryans, and the impure castes,
the subjected aborigines. The most reasonable theory of
their status seems to be that it originated in mixed descent!
As has already been seen, it was the common practice of
62 INTRODUCTORY ESSAY ON CASTE part
members of the higher classes to take lower-caste women
either as wives or concubines, and a large mixed class would
naturally result. Such children, born and brought up in
the households of their fathers, would not be full members
of the family, but would not be regarded as impure. They
would naturally be put to the performance of the menial
household duties, for which the servile castes were rendered
unsuitable through their impure status. This would corre-
spond with the tradition of the large number of castes
originating in mixed descent, which is given in the Hindu
sacred books. It has been seen that where menial castes
are employed in the household, classes of mixed descent do
as a matter of fact arise. And there are traces of a relation-
ship between the cultivators and the menial castes, which
would be best explained by such an origin. At a betrothal
in the great Kunbi cultivating caste of the Marathas, the
services of the barber and washerman must be requisitioned.
The barber washes the feet of the boy and girl and places
vermilion on the foreheads of the guests ; the washerman
spreads a sheet on the ground on which the boy and girl
sit. At the end of the ceremony the barber and washerman
take the bride and bridegroom on their shoulders and dance
to music in the marriage-shed, for which they receive small
presents. After a death has occurred at a Kunbi's house,
the impurity is not removed until the barber and washerman
have eaten in it. At a Kunbi's wedding the Gurao or village
priest brings the leafy branches of five trees and deposits
them at Maroti's ^ temple, whence they are removed by the
parents of the bride. Before a wedding, again, a Kunbi
bride must go to the potter's house and be seated on his
wheel, while it is turned round seven times for good luck.
Similarly at a wedding among the Hindustani cultivating
castes the bride visits the potter's house and is seated on his
wheel ; and the washerman's wife applies vermilion to her
forehead. The barber's wife puts red paint on her feet, the
gardener's wife presents her with a garland of flowers and
the carpenter's wife gives her a new wooden doll. At the
wedding feast the barber, the washerman and the Bari or
personal servant also eat with the guests, though sitting
' The Alarathi name for the god Hanuman.
I CASTES WHO RANK WITH THE VILLAGE MENIALS 63
apart from them. Sometimes members of the menial and
serving castes are invited to the funeral feast as if they
belonged to the dead man's caste. In Madras the barber
and his wife, and the washerman and his wife, are known
as the son and daughter of the village. And among the
families of ruling Rajput chiefs, when a daughter of the
house is married, it was customary to send with her a
number of handmaidens taken from the menial and serving
castes. These became the concubines of the bridegroom
and it seems clear that their progeny would be employed
in similar capacities about the household and would follow
the castes of their mothers. The Tamera caste of copper-
smiths trace their origin from the girls so sent with the
bride of Dharam-Pal, the Haihaya Rajput Raja of Ratanpur,
through the progeny of these girls by the Raja.
Many other castes belong to the group of those from 33. other
whom a Brahman cannot take water, but who are not '^^^^^^ ^^°
' rank with
impure. Among these are several of the lower cultivating the village
castes, some of them growers of special products, as the '"'^"'^^•
Kachhis and Mowars or market-gardeners, the Dangris or
melon-growers, and the Kohlis and Bhoyars who plant
sugarcane. These subsidiary kinds of agriculture were
looked down upon by the cultivators proper ; they were
probably carried out on the beds and banks of streams
and other areas not included in the regular holdings of the
village, and were taken up by labourers and other landless
persons. The callings of these are allied to, or developed
from, that of the Mali or gardener, and they rank on a
level with him, or perhaps a little below, as no element
of sanctity attaches to their products. Certain castes which
were formerly labourers, but have now sometimes obtained
possession of the land, are also in this group, such as
the Rajbhars, Kirs, Manas, and various Madras castes of
cultivators. Probably these were once not allowed to hold
land, but were afterwards admitted to do so. The dis-
tinction between their position and that of the hereditar}^
cultivators of the village community was perhaps the
original basis of the different kinds of tenant-right recognised
by our revenue law, though these now, of course, depend
solely on length of tenure and other incidents, and make
64 INTRODUCTORY ESSAY ON CASTE part
no distinction of castes. The shepherd castes who tend
sheep and goats (the Gadarias, Dhangars and Kuramvvars)
also fall into this group. Little sanctity attached to these
animals as compared with the cow, and the business of
rearing them would be left to the labouring castes and
non-Aryan tribes. The names of all three castes denote
their functional origin, Gadaria being from gddar, a sheep,
Dhangar from dJian or small-stock, the word signifying a
flock of sheep or goats and also wealth ; and Kuramwar
from kiirri, the Telugu word for sheep. Others belonging
to this group are the digging and earth-working castes,
the Beldars, Murhas, Nunias and so on, practically all
derived from the indigenous tribes, who wander about
seeking employment from the cultivators in the construction
and repair of field embankments and excavation of wells
and tanks ; and various fishing and boating castes, as the
Injhwars, Naodas, Murhas and Kewats, who rank as equal
to the Dhlmars, though they may not be employed in
household or village service. Such castes, almost entirely
derived from the non-Aryan tribes, may have come gradually
into existence as the wants of society developed and new
functions were specialised ; they would naturally be given
the social status already attaching to the village menial
castes.
34. The The fourth group in the scheme of precedence comprises
non-Aryan ^^^ non-Aryan or indigenous tribes, who are really outside
the caste system when this is considered as the social
organisation of the Hindus, so long at least as they continue
to worship their own tribal deities, and show no respect
for Brahmans nor for the cow. These tribes have, however,
entered the Hindu polity in various positions. The leaders
of some of them who were dominant in the early period
were admitted to the Kshatriya or Rajput caste, and the
origin of a few of the Rajput clans can be traced to the
old Bhar and other tribes. Again, the aristocratic or land-
holding sections of several existing tribes are at present,
as has been seen, permitted to rank with the good Hindu
cultivating castes. In a few cases, as the Andhs, Halbas
and Manas, the tribe as a whole has become a Hindu
caste, when it retained possession of the land in the centre
' THE KOLARIANS AND DRA VIDIANS 65
of a Hindu population. These have now the same or a
slightly higher position than the village menial castes. On
the other hand, those tribes which were subjugated and
permitted to live with a servile status in the Hindu villages
have developed into the existing impure castes of labourers,
weavers, tanners and others, who form the lowest social
group. The tribes which still retain their distinctive exist-
ence Vv^ere not enslaved in this manner, but lived apart in
their own villages in the forest tracts and kept possession
of the land. This seems to be the reason why they rank
somewhat higher than the impure castes, even though they
may utterly defile themselves according to Hindu ideas
by eating cow's flesh. Some tribes, such as the Gonds,
Binjhwars and Kawars, counted amongst them the owners
of large estates or even kingdoms, and consequently had
many Hindu cultivators for their subjects. And, as the
Hindus themselves say, they could not regard the Gonds
as impure when they had a Gond king. Nevertheless, the
Gond labourers in Hindu villages in the plains are more
despised than the Gonds who live in their own villages in
the hill country. And the conversion of the tribes as a
whole to Hinduism goes steadily forward. At each census
the question arises which of them should be classed as
Hindus, and which as Animists or worshippers of their own
tribal gods, and though the classification is necessarily very
arbitrary, the process can be clearly observed. Thus the
Andhs, Kolis, Rautias and Halbas are now all Hindus, and
the same remark applies to the Kols, Bhils and Korkus in
several Districts. By strict abstention from beef, the
adoption of Hindu rites, and to some extent of child-
marriage, they get admission to the third group of castes
from whom a Brahman cannot take water. It will be
desirable here to digress from the main argument by
noticing briefly the origin and affinities of the principal
forest tribes of the Central Provinces.
These tribes are divided into two families, the Munda 35- The
-P^ ... Kohinans
or Kolarian, named after the Kol tribe, and the Dravidian, ^nd Dra-
of which the former are generally held to be the older and vkiiaas.
more primitive. The word Kol is probably the Santfdi
hdr, a man. " This word is used under various forms, such
VOL. I F
66 INTRODUCTORY ESSAY ON CASTE part
as Jidr, hdj-a, ho and koro by most Munda tribes in order
to denote themselves. The change of r to / is familiar and
presents no difficulty." ^ The word is also found in the
alternative name Ho for the Kol tribe, and in the names
of the cognate Korwa and Korku tribes. The word Munda
is a Sanskrit derivative meaning a head, and, as stated by
Sir H. Risley, is the common term employed by the Kols
for the headman of a village, whence it has been adopted
as an honorific title for the tribe. In Chota Nagpur those
Kols who have partly adopted Hinduism and become to
some degree civilised are called Munda, while the name Ho
or Larka (fighting) Kol is reserved for the wilder section
of the tribe.
36. Koiar- The principal tribes of the Munda or Kolarian family in
lan tribes. .^^ Central Provinces are shown below :
Kol, Munda, Ho. Korwa. Mai, Male. Bhuiya.
Bhumij. Korku. Gadba. Bhaina.
Santal. Nahal. Khairwar. Bhunjia.
Kharia. Savar or Saonr. Baiga. Binjhwar.
Pfobable : Bhar, Koli, Bhll, Chero.
One large group includes the Kol, Munda or Ho tribe
itself and the Bhumij and Santals, who appear to be local
branches of the Kols called by separate names by the Hindus.
The Kharias seem to be the earliest Kol settlers in Chota
Nagpur, who were subjugated by the later comers. The name
Kol, as already seen, is probably a form of the Santali /idr, a
man. Similarly the name of the Korku tribe is simply a cor-
ruption of Koraku, young men, and that of the Korwa tribe is
from the same root. The dialects of the Korku and Korwa
tribes closely approximate to Mundari. Hence it would seem
that they were originally one tribe with the Kols, but have
been separated for so long a period that their direct connection
can no longer be proved. The disintegrating causes which
have split up what was originally one into a number of dis-
tinct tribes, are probably no more than distance and settle-
ment in different parts of the country, leading to cessation of
intermarriage and social intercourse. The tribes have then
obtained some variation in the original names or been given
separate territorial or occupational designations by the Hindus,
1 Linguistic Stwyey, vol, iv., Munda aiid Dravidian Languages, p. 7.
KOLARIAN TRIBES
67
and their former identity has gradually been forgotten. Both
the Korwas of the Chota Nagpur plateau and the Korkus of
the Satpura hills were known as Muasi, a term having- the
meaning of robber or raider. The Korwas have also a sub-
tribe called Koraku, and Mr. Crooke thinks that they were
originally the same tribe. Sir G. Grierson states that the
Korwa dialect is closely allied to Kharia. Similarly the
resemblance of the name raises a presumption that the great
Koli tribe of Gujarat and western India may be a branch of
the Kols who penetrated to the western coast along the
Satpura and Central India hill ranges. The Kolis and Bhlls
are tribes of the same country and are commonly spoken of
together. Both have entirely lost their own language and
cannot therefore be classified definitely either as Kolarian or
Dravidian, but there is a probability that they are of the
Kolarian family. The Nahals, another tribe of the western
Satpura range, are an offshoot of the Korkus. They are
coupled with the Bhils and Kolis in old Hindu accounts.
The Savars, Sawaras or Saonrs are also a widely distri-
buted tribe, being found as far west as Bundelkhand and east
in Orissa and Ganjam. In the Central Provinces they have
lost their own language and speak Hindi or Uriya, but in
Madras they still retain their original speech, which is
classified by Sir G. Grierson with Gadba as a Munda or
Kolarian dialect. The name occurs in Vedic literature, and
the tribe is probably of great antiquity. In the classical
stories of their origin the first ancestor of the Savars is some-
times described as a Bhil. The wide extension of the Savar
tribe east and west is favourable to the hypothesis of the
identity of the Kols and Kolis, who have a somewhat similar
distribution. The Gadbas of Ganjam, and the Mai or Male
Paharia tribe of Chota Nagpur seem to be offshoots of the
Savars. The Khairwars or Kharwars are an important tribe
of Mirzapur and Chota Nagpur. There is some reason for
supposing that they are an occupational offshoot of the Kols
and Cheros, who have become a distinct group through taking
to the manufacture of edible catechu from the wood of the
khair tree.^
Another great branch of the Kolarian family is that
1 Acacia catechu.
68 INTRODUCTORY ESSAY ON CASTE part
represented by the Bhuiya and Baiga tribes and their offshoots,
the Bhunjias, Bhainas and Binjhwars. The Kolarian origin
of the Bhuiyas has been discussed in the article on that tribe,
and it has also been suggested that the Baiga tribe of the
Central Provinces are an offshoot of the Bhuiyas. These
tribes have all abandoned their own languages and adopted
the local Aryan vernaculars. The name Bhuiya is a Sanskrit
derivative from bhu^ earth, and signifies ' belonging to the soil.'
Bhumij, applied to a branch of the Kol tribe, has the same
origin. Baiga is used in the sense of a village priest or a
sorcerer in Chota Nagpur, and the office is commonly held by
members of the Bhuiya tribe in that locality, as being the
oldest residents. Thus the section of the tribe in the Central
Provinces appears to have adopted, or been given, the name of
the office. The Bharias or Bharia-Bhumias of Jubbulpore seem
to belong to the great Bhar tribe, once dominant over large
areas of the United Provinces. They also hold the office of
village priest, which is there known as Bhumia, and in some
tracts are scarcely distinguished from the Baigas. Again, in
Sambalpur the Bhuiyas are known as Bhumia Kol, and are
commonly regarded as a branch of the Kol tribe. Thus it
would seem that two separate settlements of the Kolarian
races may have occurred ; the earlier one would be represented
by the Bhars, Bhuiyas, Baigas and kindred tribes who have
entirely lost their own languages and identity, and have
names given to them by the Hindus ; and a later one of the
Kols or Mundas and their related tribes, whose languages
and tribal religion and organisation, though in a decaying
state, can be fully recognised and recorded. And the
Dravidian immigration would be subsequent to both of them.
To judge from the cases in which the fissure or subdivision
of single tribes into two or more distinct ones can still be
observed, it seems quite a plausible hypothesis that the
original immigrants may have consisted only of a single tribe
on each occasion, and that the formation of new ones may
have occurred after settlement. But the evidence does not
warrant any definite assertion.
37. Dra- The principal Dravidian tribes are the Gonds, Khonds
^'.^''^" and Oraons. The Gonds were once dominant over the greater
tribes. °
part of the Central Provinces, which was called Gondwana
I ORIGIN OF THE KOLA RI AN TRIBES 69
after them. The above three names have in each case been
given to the tribes by the Hindus. The following tribes are
found in the Province :
Gond, Oraon or Kurukh, Khond, Kolam, Parja, Kamar.
Tribal Castes : Bhatra, Halba, Dhoba. Doubtful: Kawar, Dhanwar.
The Gonds and Khonds call themselves Koi or Koitur, a
word which seems to mean man or hillman. The Oraon tribe
call themselves Kurukh, which has also been supposed to be con-
nected with the Kolarian horo^ man. The name Oraon, given
to them by the Hindus, may mean farmservant, while Dhangar,
an alternative name for the tribe, has certainly this signification.
There seems good reason to suppose that the Gonds and
Khonds were originally one tribe divided through migration.^
The Kolams are a small tribe of the Wardha Valley, whose
dialect resembles those of the Gonds and Khonds. They
may have split off from the parent tribe in southern India
and come northwards separately. The Parjas appear to re-
present the earliest Gond settlers in Bastar, who were sub-
jugated by later Gond and Raj -Gond immigrants. The
Halbas and Bhatras are mixed tribes or tribal castes, de-
scended from the unions of Gonds and Hindus.
The Munda languages have been shown by Sir G. 38- Origin
Grierson to have originated from the same source as those Koianan
spoken in the Indo-Pacific islands and the Malay Peninsula, tr'bes.
" The Mundas, the Mon-Khmer, the wild tribes of the Malay
Peninsula and the Nicobarese all use forms of speech which
can be traced back to a common source though they mutually
differ widely from each other." ^ It would appear, therefore,
that the Mundas, the oldest known inhabitants of India,
perhaps came originally from the south-east, the islands of
the Indian Archipelago and the Malay Peninsula, unless
India was their original home and these countries were
colonised from it.
Sir Edward Gait states : " Geologists tell us that the
Indian Peninsula was formerly cut off from the north of Asia
by sea, while a land connection existed on the one side with
Madagascar and on the other with the Malay Archipelago ;
and though there is nothing to show that India was then
1 See article on Gond. ^ Linguistic Survey, p. 15.
70 INTRODUCTORY ESSAY ON CASTE part
inhabited, we know that it was so in palaeolithic times, when
communication was probably still easier with the countries
to the north-east and south-west than with those beyond the
Himalayas." ^ In the south of India, however, no traces of
Munda languages remain at present, and it seems therefore
necessary to conclude that the Mundas of the Central
Provinces and Chota Nagpur have been separated from the
tribes of Malaysia who speak cognate languages for an
indefinitely long period ; or else that they did not come
through southern India to these countries but by way of
Assam and Bengal or by sea through Orissa. There is
good reason to believe from the names of places and from
local tradition that the Munda tribes were once spread over
Bihar and parts of the Ganges Valley ; and if the Kolis are
an offshoot of the Kols, as is supposed, they also penetrated
across Central India to the sea in Gujarat and the hills of
the western Ghats. The presumption is that the advance of
the Aryans or Hindus drove the Mundas from the open
country to the seclusion of the hills and forests. The Munda
and Dravidian languages are shown by Sir G. Grierson to be
distinct groups without any real connection.
Though the physical characteristics of the two sets of tribes
display no marked points of difference, the opinion has been
generally held by ethnologists who know them that they
represent two distinct waves of immigration, and the absence
of connection between their languages bears out this view.
It has ahvays been supposed that the Mundas were in the
country of Chota Nagpur and the Central Provinces first,
and that the Dravidians, the Gonds, Khonds and Oraons
came afterwards. The grounds for this view are the more
advanced culture of the Dravidians ; the fact that where the
two sets of tribes are in contact those of the Munda group
have been ousted from the more open and fertile country, of
which, according to tradition, they were formerly in possession;
and the practice of the Gonds and other Dravidian tribes of
employing the Baigas, Bhuiyas and other Munda tribes for
their village priests, which is an acknowledgment that the
latter as the earlier residents have a more familiar acquaint-
ance with the local deities, and can solicit their favour and
^ Introduction to 77zt' Mundas and their Country, p. 9.
Uiavidian
tribes.
1 OF THE DR A VIDIAN TRIBES yi
protection with more prospect of success. Such a belief is
the more easily understood when it is remembered that these
deities are not infrequently either the human ancestors of the
earliest residents or the local animals and plants from which
they supposed themselves to be descended.
The Dravidian languages, Gondi, Kurukh and Khond, 39. of tin
are of one family with Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam and
Canarese, and their home is the south of India. The word
Dravida comes from an older form Damila or Dramila, and
was used in ancient Pali and Jain literature as a name for
the people of the Tamil country.^ Afterwards it came to
signify generally the people of southern India as opposed to
Gaur or northern India.
As stated by Sir Edward Gait there is at present no
evidence to show that the Dravidians came to southern India
from any other part of the world, and for anything that is
known to the contrary the languages may have originated
there. The existence of the small Brahui tribe in Baluchistan
who speak a Dravidian language but have no physical re-
semblance to other Dravidian races cannot be satisfactorily
explained, but, as he points out, this is no reason for holding
that the whole body of speakers of Dravidian languages
entered India from the north-west, and, with the excep-
tion of this small group of Brahuis, penetrated to the
south and settled there without leaving any traces of their
passage.
The Dravidian languages occupy a large area in Madras,
Mysore and Hyderabad, and they extend north into the Central
Provinces and Chota Nagpur where they die out, practically
not being found west and north of this tract. As the
languages are more highly developed and the culture of
their speakers is far more advanced in the south, it is justifi-
able to suppose, pending evidence to the contrary, that the
south is their home and that they have spread thence as far
north as the Central Provinces. The Gonds and Oraons, too,
have stories to the effect that they came from the south. The
belief has hitherto been, at least in the Central Provinces,
that both the Gonds and Baigas have been settled in this
territory for an indefinite period, that is, from prior to any
1 Li)iguistic Survey, \i. 277.
72 INTRODUCTORY ESS A Y ON CASTE . part
Aryan or Hindu immigration. Mr. H. A. Crump, C.S.,
has however pointed out that if this was the case the Munda
or Kolarian tribes, which have lost their own languages,
should have adopted Dravidian and not Hindu forms of
speech. As already seen, numerous Kolarian tribes, as the
Binjhwar, Bhaina, Bhuiya, Baiga, Bhumij, Chero, Khairwar
and the Kols themselves in the Central Provinces have
entirely lost their own languages, as well as the Bhils and
Kolis, if these are held to be Kolarian tribes. None of them
have adopted a Dravidian language, but all speak corrupt
forms of the ancient Aryan vernaculars derived from Sanskrit,
The fact seems to indicate that at the time when they
abandoned their own languages these tribes were in contact
with Hindus, and were not surrounded by Gonds, as several
of them are at present. The history of the Central Provinces
affords considerable support to the view that the Gond
immigration occurred at a comparatively late period, perhaps
in the ninth or tenth century, or even later, after a consider-
able part of the Province had been governed for some
centuries by Rajput dynasties.^ The Gonds and Oraons
still have well-defined legends about their immigration, which
would scarcely be the case if it had occurred twenty centuries
or more ago.
Any further evidence or argument as to the date of the
Dravidian immigration would be of considerable interest.
The fifth or lowest group in the scheme of precedence is
that of the impure castes who cannot be touched. If a high-
caste Hindu touches one of them he should bathe and have his
clothes washed. These castes are not usually allow~ed to live
inside a Hindu village, but have a hamlet to themselves adjoin-
ing it. The village barber will not shave them, nor the washer-
man wash their clothes. They usually have a separate well
assigned to them from vv^hich to draw water, and if the village
has only one well, one side of it is allotted to them and the
Hindus take water from the other side. Formerly they
were subjected to more humiliating restrictions. In Bombay
a Mahar might not spit on the ground lest a Hindu should
be polluted by touching it with his foot, but had to hang an
earthen pot round his neck to hold his spittle. He was
1 See for this the article on KoI, from which the above passage is abridged.
r ORIGIN OF THE IMPURE CASTES 73
made to drag a thorny branch with him to brush out his
footsteps, and when a Brahman came by had to He at a
distance on his face lest his shadow might fall on the
Brahman.^ Even if the shadow of a Mahar or Mang fell on
a Brahman he was polluted and dare not taste food and
water until he had bathed and washed the impurity away.
In Madras a Paraiyan or Pariah pollutes a high-caste Hindu
by approaching within a distance of 64 feet of him.^
The debased and servile position of the impure castes
corresponds to that which, as already seen, attached to the
Sudras of the classical period. The castes usually regarded
as impure are the tanners, bamboo-workers, sweepers, hunters
and fowlers, gipsies and vagrants, village musicians and
village weavers. These castes, the Chamars, Basors, Mahars,
Koris, Gandas and others are usually also employed as
agricultural and casual labourers. Formerly, as already
seen, they were not allowed to hold land. There is no
reason to doubt that the status of impurity, like that of the
Sudra, was originally the mark of a subjugated and inferior
race, and was practically equivalent to slavery. This was the
position of the indigenous Indians who were subjugated by
the Aryan invaders and remained in the country occupied
by them. Though they were of different races, and the dis-
tinction was marked and brought home to themselves by the
contrast in the colour of their skins, it seems probable that
the real basis for their antagonism was not social so much
as religious. The Indians were hated and despised by the
immigrants as the worshippers of a hostile god. They
could not join in the sacrifices by which the Aryans held
communion with their gods, and the sacrifice itself could not
even be held, in theory at least, except in those parts of India
which were thoroughly subdued and held to have become the
dwelling-place of the Aryan gods. The proper course pre-
scribed by religion towards the indigenous residents was to
exterminate them, as the Israelites should have exterminated
the inhabitants of Canaan. But as this could not be done,
because their numbers were too great or the conquerors not
sufficiently ruthless, they were reduced to the servile condition
1 Botiibay Gazetteer, vo\. y.n. \:>. 175. quoted in Sir H. Risley's Peoples of
2 Cochin Census Report, 1901, India, 2nd ed. p. 115.
74 INTRODUCTORY ESSAY ON CASTE part
of impurity and made the serfs of their masters Hke the
Amalekites and the plebeians and helots.
If the whole of India had been thoroughly subjugated
and settled like the Punjab and Hindustan, it may be
supposed that the same status of impurity would have been
imposed upon all the indigenous races ; but this was very
far from being the case. In central and southern India the
Aryans or subsequent immigrants from Central Asia came at
first at any rate only in small parties, and though they may
have established territorial states, did not regularly occupy the
land nor reduce the indigenous population to a condition of
servitude. Thus large bodies of these must have retained a
free position, and on their acceptance of the new religion and
the development of the caste system, became enrolled in it
with a caste status on the basis of their occupation. Their
leaders were sometimes admitted to rank as Kshatriyas or
Rajputs, as has been stated.
Subsequently, as the racial distinction disappeared, the
impure status came to attach to certain despised occupations
and to customs abhorrent to Hinduism, such as that of eating
beef But, as already seen, the tribes which have continued
to live apart from the Hindus are not usually regarded as
impure, though they may eat beef and even skin animals.
The Dhlmars, who keep pigs, still have a higher status than
the impure castes because they are employed as water-
bearers and household servants. It is at least doubtful
whether at the time when the stigma of impurity was first
attached to the Sudras the Hindus themselves did not
sacrifice cows and eat beef.^ The castes noted below are
usually regarded as impure in the Central Provinces.
The Dhobi (washerman) and Kumhar (potter) are some-
times included among the impure castes, but, as already noted,
their status is higher than that of the castes in this list.
Audhelia: Labouring caste of mixed Basor: Bamboo basket-makers and
descent who keep pigs. village musicians.
Chamar : Tanners and labourers.
Balahi : Weavers and village mes- Ganda : Weavers and village
sengers and watchmen. musicians.
1 This was permissible in the time of Asoka, circa 250 B.C. Mr. V. A.
Smith's Asoka, pp. 56, 58.
I ORIGIN OF THE IMPURE CASTES 75
Ghasia : Grass-cutters, labourers Madgi : Telugu tanners and hide-
and sweepers. curriers.
Kaikari : Vagrant basket-makers. 1.^1' ' r,, , ' ouicrs.
Mala : Telugu weavers and
Kanjar, Beria, Sansia : Gipsies and labourers.
thieves. Mang : Broom- and mat-makers
Katia: Cotton-spinners. ^f^ ^'"^^^ musicians. They
also castrate cattle.
Kori : Weavers and* labourers. Mehtar : Sweepers and scavengers.
Certain occupations, those of skinning cattle and curing
hides, weaving the coarse country cloth worn by the
villagers, making baskets from the rind of the bamboo,
playing on drums and tom-toms, and scavenging generally
are relegated to the lowest and impure castes. The hides of
domestic animals are exceedingly impure ; a Hindu is defiled
even by touching their dead bodies and far more so by
removing the skins. Drums and tom-toms made from the
hides of animals are also impure. But in the case of weaving
and basket-making the calling itself entails no defilement,
and it would appear simply that they were despised by the
cultivators, and as a considerable number of workers were
required to satisfy the demand for baskets and cloth, were
adopted by the servile and labouring castes. Basket- and
mat-making are callings naturally suited to the primitive
tribes who would obtain the bamboos from the forests, but
weaving would not be associated with them unless cloth was
first woven of tree-cotton. The weavers of the finer cotton
and silk cloths, who live in towns, rank much higher than
the village weavers, as in the case of the Koshtis and Tantis,
the latter of whom made the famous fine cotton cloth, known
as abrawdn, or ' running water,' which was supplied to the
imperial Zenana at Delhi. On one occasion a daughter of
Aurangzeb was reproached on entering the room for her
immodest attire and excused herself by the plea that she had
on seven folds of cloth over her body.^ In Bengal Brahmans
will take water from Tantis, and it seems clear that their
higher status is a consequence of the lucrative and important
nature of their occupation.
The Katias are a caste of cotton-spinners, the name
being derived from kdtna, to cut or spin. But hand-
spinning is now practically an extinct industry and the
1 Sir II. Risley's Tribes and Castes of Bengal, art. Tanti.
76 INTRODUCTORY ESS A V ON CASTE part
Katias have taken to weaving or ordinary manual labour
for a subsistence. The Kanjars and Berias are the gipsy
castes of India. They are accustomed to wander about
carrying their grass -matting huts with them. Many of
them live by petty thieving and cheating. Their women
practise palmistry and retail charms for the cure of sickness
and for exorcising evil spirits, and love-philtres. They do
cupping and tattooing and also make reed mats, cane
baskets, palm-leaf mats and fans, ropes from grass- and
tree-fibre, brushes for the cotton-loom, string-net purses and
balls, and so on ; and the women commonly dance and act
as prostitutes. There is good reason for thinking that the
Kanjars are the parents of the European gipsies, while
the Thugs who formerly infested the high-roads of India,
murdering solitary travellers and small parties by strangula-
tion, may also have been largely derived from this caste. ^
41. Deriva- It can Only be definitely shown in a few instances that
tion of the ^■^^ existing impure occupational castes were directly derived
impure o i r ^ j ^
castes from from the indigcnous tribes. The Chamar and Kori, and
the Chuhra and Bhangi, or sweepers and scavengers of
the Punjab and United Provinces, are now purely occupa-
tional castes and their original tribal affinities have entirely
disappeared. The Chamars and Mehtars or sweepers are
in some places of a superior physical type, of comparatively
good stature and light complexion ; ^ this may perhaps
be due to a large admixture of Hindu blood through their
women, during a social contact with the Hindus extending
over many centuries, and also to the fact that they eat
flesh when they can obtain it, including carrion. Such
types are, however, exceptional among the impure castes,
and there is no reason to doubt their general origin from
the non- Aryan tribes, which in a few instances can be directly
traced. Thus it seems likely that the Kanjars, Berias,
Sansias and other gipsy groups, as well as the Mirasis, the
vagrant bards and genealogists of the lower classes of
Hindus, are derived from the Dom caste or tribe of Bengal,
who are largely employed as sweepers and scavengers as
well as on ordinary labour. The evidence for the origin
^ See article Kanjar for a discus- and Thugs with the Kanjars.
sion of the connection of the gipsies '^ See article Chamar, para. i.
I OCCUPATION THE BASIS OF THE CASTE SYSTEM 77
of the above groups from the Doms is given in the article
on Kanjar. Sir H. M. Elliot considered the Doms to be
one of the original tribes of India. Again, there is no doubt
that the impure Ganda caste, who are weavers, labourers and
village musicians in the Uriya country and Chhattlsgarh
Districts of the Central Provinces, are derived from the
Pan tribe of Chota Nagpur. The Pans or Pabs arc a
regular forest tribe, and are sometimes called Ganda, while
the Gandas may be alternatively known as Pan. But the
section of the tribe who live among the Hindus and are
regarded as impure have now become a distinct caste with a
separate name. The Bhuiya tribe were once the rulers of
Chota Nagpur ; they still install the Raja of Keonjhar, and
have a traditional relation to other ruling families. But in
parts of Chota Nagpur and southern Bihar the Bhuiyas
living in Hindu villages have become a separate impure
caste with the opprobrious designation of Musahar or rat-
eater. The great Mahar caste of the Maratha country or
Bombay are weavers and labourers, and formerly cured
hides, like the Chamars and Koris of northern India. They
are regarded as impure and were the serfs or villeins of the
Kunbis, attached to the land. An alternative name for
them is Dher, and this is supposed to be a corruption of
Dharada a hillman, a name applied in Manu to all the
indigenous races of India. Though the connection cannot
be traced in all cases, there is thus no reason to doubt that
the existing impure castes represent the subjected or
enslaved section of the primitive non-Aryan tribes.
It has been seen that the old Aryan polity com- 42. Occu-
prised four classes : the Brahmans and Kshatriyas or priestly b||sjs ^f *"
and military aristocracy ; the Vaishyas or body of the the caste
Aryans, who were ceremonially pure and could join in
sacrifices ; and the Sudras or servile and impure class of
labourers. The Vaishyas became cultivators and herdsmen,
and their status of ceremonial purity was gradually trans-
ferred to the cultivating members of the village community,
because land was the main source of wealth. Between the
last two there arose another class of village menials and
craftsmen, originating principally from the offspring of
fathers of the Aryan classes and Sudra women, to whom
78 INTRODUCTORY ESSAY ON CASTE part
was left the practice of the village industries, despised by
the cultivators. In spite of the almost complete fusion of
races which the intercourse of centuries has effected, and
the multiplication and rearrangement of castes produced by
the diversity of occupation and other social factors, the
divisions of the village community can still be recognised
in the existing social gradation.
It has been seen also that occupation is the real basis
of the division and social precedence of castes in India, as
in all communities which have made any substantial progress
in civilisation and social development. Distinctions of race,
religion and family gradually disappear, and are merged in
the gradation according to wealth or profession. The
enormous majority of castes are occupational and their
social position depends on their caste calling. Thus in the
case of an important industry like weaving, there are
separate castes who weave the finer kinds of cloth, as the
Tantis and Koshtis, while one subcaste of Koshtis, the
Salewars, are distinguished as silk-weavers, and a separate
caste of Patwas embroider silk and braid on cloth ; other
castes, as the Mahars, Gandas and Koris, weave coarse cloth,
and a distinct caste of Katias existed for the spinning of
thread, and the Muhammadan caste of Bahnas for cleaning
cotton. The workers in each kind of metal have formed a
separate caste, as the Lobars or blacksmiths, the Kasars or
brass-workers, the Tameras or coppersmiths, and the Sunars
or gold- and silversmiths, while the Audhia subcaste of
Sunars ^ and the Bharewas, an inferior branch of the Kasars,
work in bell-metal. Each of these castes makes ornaments
of its own m.etal, while the Kachera caste ^ make glass
bangles, and the Lakheras make bangles from lac and clay.
In the case of agriculture, as has been seen, there is usually
a functional cultivating caste for each main tract of country,
as the Jats in the Punjab, the Kurmis in Hindustan, the
Kunbis in the Deccan, the Chasas in Orissa, the Kapus in
the Telugu country and the Vellalas in the Tamil country.
Except the Jats, who were perhaps originally a racial caste,
the above castes appear to include a number of hetero-
1 Lolia, iron ; tainba, copper ; kdnsa, brass or bell-metal ; soiia, gold.
2 KCutch, glass.
I OCCUPATION THE BASIS OF THE CASTE SYSTEM
79
geneous groups which have been welded into a single body
through the acquisition of land and the status which it
confers. Various other cultivating castes also exist, whose
origin can be traced to different sources ; on obtaining
possession of the land they have acquired the cultivatino-
status, but retained their separate caste organisation and
name. Other agricultural castes have been formed for the
growing of special products. Thus the Malis are gardeners,
and within the caste there exist such separate groups as the
Phulmalis who grow flowers, the Jire Malis cumin and the
Halde Malis turmeric.^ Hindus generally object to cultivate
j-««-hemp,^ and some special castes have been formed from
those who grew it and thus underwent some loss of status ;
such are the Lorhas and Kumrawats and Pathinas, and the
Santora subcaste of Kurmis. The dP or Indian madder-
dye is another plant to which objection is felt, and the Alia
subcastes of Kachhis and Banias consist of those who grow
and sell it. The Dangris and Kachhis are growers of melons
and other vegetables on the sandy stretches in the beds of
rivers and the alluvial land on their borders which is sub-
merged in the monsoon floods. The Barais are the growers
and sellers of the betel-vine.
Several castes have been formed from military service,
as the Marathas, Khandaits, Rautias, Taonlas and Paiks.
All of these, except the Marathas, are mainly derived from
the non-Aryan tribes ; since they have abandoned military
service and taken as a rule to agriculture, their rank depends
roughly on their position as regards the land. Thus the
Marathas and Khandaits became landowners, receiving
grants of property as a reward for, or on condition of,
military service like the old feudal tenures ; they rank with,
but somewhat above, the cultivating castes. The same is
the case, though to a less degree, with the Rautias of Chota
Nagpur, a military caste mainly formicd from the Kol tribe.
On the other hand, the Paiks or foot-soldiers and Taonlas
have not become landholders and rank below the cultivating
1 P/i?//, flower; /^a^//, turmeric ;yVrfl:, ^ Alorinda citrifoUa. The taboo
cumin. against the plant is either because the
2 Crotalaria juncea. See article red dye resembles blood, or because
Lorha for a discussion of the objections a number of insects are destroyed in
to this plant. boiling the roots to extract the dye.
castes.
80 INTRODUCTORY ESSAY ON CASTE part
castes. The Hatkars are a caste formed from Dhangars or
shepherds who entered the Maratha armies. They are now
called Bangi Dhangars or shepherds with the spears, and
rank a little above other Dhangars.
43. Other The great majority of castes have been formed from
ufe'foima- occupation, but other sources of origin can be traced.
tion of Several castes are of mixed descent, as the Vidurs, the
descendants of Brahman fathers and mothers of other
castes ; the Bhilalas, by Rajput fathers and Bhil mothers ;
the Chauhans, Audhelias, Khangars and Dhakars of Bastar,
probably by Hindu fathers and women of various indigenous
tribes ; the Kirars of mixed Rajput descent, and others.
These also now generally take rank according to their
occupation and position in the world. The Vidurs served
as village accountants and ranked below the cultivators, but
since they are well educated and have done well in Govern-
ment service their status is rapidly improving. The Bhilalas
are landholders and rank as a good cultivating caste. The
Chauhans and Khangars are village watchmen and rank as
menials below the cultivators, the Dhakars are farmservants
and labourers with a similar position, while the Audhelias
are labourers who keep pigs and are hence regarded as
impure. The Halbas or ' ploughmen ' are another mixed
caste, probably the descendants of house-servants of the
Uriya Rajas, who, like the Khandaits, formed a sort of
militia for the maintenance of the chief's authority. They
are now mainly farmservants, as the name denotes, but
where they hold land, as in Bastar, they rank higher, almost
as a good cultivating caste.
Again, very occasionally a caste may be formed from a
religious sect or order. The Bishnois were originally a
Vaishnava sect, worshipping Vishnu as an unseen god, and
refusing to employ Brahmans. They have now become
cultivators, and though they retain their sectarian beliefs,
and have no Brahman priests, are generally regarded as a
Hindu cultivating caste. The Pankas are members of the
impure Ganda caste who adhered to the Kablrpanthi sect.
They are now a separate caste and are usually employed as
village watchmen, ranking with menials above the Gandas
and other similar castes. The Lingayats are a large sect of
I SUBCASTES, LOCAL TYPE 8i
southern India, devoted to the worship of Siva and called
after the lingam or phallic emblem which they wear. They
have their own priests, denying the authority of Brahmans,
but the tendency now is for members of those castes which
have become Lingayats to marry among themselves and
retain their relative social status, thus forming a sort of
inner microcosm of Hinduism.
Occupation is the real determining factor of social 44. Caste
status in India as in all other societies of at all advanced °'^'="P^'
tions
organisation. But though in reality the status of occupations divinely
and of castes depends roughly on the degree to which they °'''^^'"^''-
are lucrative and respectable, this is not ostensibly the case,
but their precedence, as already seen, is held to be regulated
by the' degree of ceremonial purity or impurity attaching
to them. The Hindus have retained, in form at any rate,
the religious constitution which is common or universal in
primitive societies. The majority of castes are provided
with a legend devised by the Brahmans to show that their
first ancestor was especially created by a god to follow their
caste calling, or at least that this was assigned to him
by a god. The ancestors of the bearer- caste of Kahars
were created by Siva or Mahadeo from the dust to carry
his consort Parvati in a litter when she was tired ; the
first Mang was made by Mahadeo from his own sweat to
castrate the divine bull Nandi when he was fractious, and
his descendants have ever since followed the same calling,
the impiety of mutilating the sacred bull in such a manner
being thus excused by the divine sanction accorded to it.
The first Mali or gardener gave a garland to Krishna.
The first Chamar or tanner made sandals for Siva from
a piece of his own skin ; the ancestor of the Kayasth or
writer caste, Chitragupta, keeps the record of men's actions
by which they are judged in the infernal regions after death ;
and so on.
All important castes are divided into a number of 45- Sub-
subordinate groups or subcastes, which as a rule marry and j^^,^! (yp^
take food within their own circle only. Certain differences
of status frequently exist among the subcastes of the
occupational or social type, but these are usually too minute
to be recognised by outsiders. The most common type of
VOL. I ^
82 INTRODUCTORY ESSAY ON CASTE tart
subcaste is the local, named after the tract of country in
which the members reside or whence they are supposed to
have come. Thus the name Kanaujia from the town of
Kanauj on the Ganges, famous in ancient Indian history,
is borne by subcastes of many castes which have immigrated
from northern India. Jaiswar, from the old town of Jais
in the Rai Bareli District, is almost equally common.
Pardeshi or foreign, and Purabia or eastern, are also
subcaste names for groups coming from northern India or
Oudh. Mahobia is a common name derived from the town
of Mahoba in Central India, as are Bundeli from Bundel-
khand, Narwaria from Narwar and Marwari from Marwar in
Rajputana. Groups belonging to Berar are called Berari,
Warade or Baone ; those from Gujarat are called Lad, the
classical term for Gujarat, or Gujarati, and other names are
Deccani from the Deccan, Nimari of Nimar, Havelia, the
name of the wheat-growing tracts of Jubbulpore and Damoh ;
Chhattisgarhia, Kosaria, Ratanpuria (from the old town of
Ratanpur in Bilaspur), and Raipuria (from Raipur town),
all names for residents in Chhattisgarh ; and so on. Brahmans
are divided into ten main divisions, named after different
tracts in the north and south of India where they reside ; ^
and these are further subdivided, as the Maharashtra
Brahmans of the Maratha country of Bombay into the
subcastes of Deshasth (belonging to the country) applied to
those of the Poona country above the western Ghats ;
Karhara or those of the Satara District, from Karhar town ;
and Konkonasth or those of the Concan, the Bombay coast ;
similarly the Kanaujia division of the Panch-Gaur or
northern Brahmans has as subdivisions the Kanaujia proper,
the Jijhotia from Jajhoti, the old name of the Lalitpur and
Saugor tract, which is part of Bundelkhand ; the Sarwaria
or those dwelling round the river Sarju in the United
Provinces ; the Mathuria from Muttra ; and the Prayagwals
or those of Allahabad (Prayag), who act as guides and
priests to pilgrims who come to bathe in the Ganges at the
sacred city. The creation of new local subcastes seems to
arise in two ways : when different groups of a caste settle in
different tracts of country and are prevented from attending
' See article on Brahman.
I SUBCASTES, LOCAL TYPE 83
the caste feasts and assemblies, the practice of intermarriage
and taking food together gradually ceases, they form
separate endogamous groups and for purposes of distinction
are named after the territory in which they reside ; this
is what has happened in the case of Brahmans and many
other castes ; and, secondly, when a fresh body of a caste
arrives and settles in a tract where some of its members
already reside, they do not amalgamate with the latter group,
but form a fresh one and are named after the territory from
which they have come, as in the case of such names as
Pardeshi, Purabia, Gangapari (' from the other side of the
Ganges '), and similar ones already cited. In former times,
when the difficulties of communication were great, these local
subcastes readily multiplied ; thus the Kanaujia Brahmans of
Chhattlsgarh are looked down upon by those of Saugor and
Damoh, as Chhattlsgarh has been for centuries a backward
tract cut off from the rest of India, and they may be
suspected of having intermarried with the local people or
otherwise derogated from the standard of strict Hinduism.
Similarly the Kanaujia Brahmans of Bengal are split into
several local subcastes named after tracts in Bengal, who
marry among themselves and neither with other Kanaujias
of Bengal nor with those of northern India. Since the
opening of railways people can travel long distances to
marriage and other ceremonies, and the tendency to form
new subcastes is somewhat checked ; a native gentleman
said to me, when speaking of his people, that when a few
families of Khedawal Brahmans from Gujarat first settled in
Damoh they had the greatest difficulty in arranging their
marriages ; they could not marry with their caste-fellows in
Gujarat because their sons and daughters could not establish
themselves, that is, could not prove their identity as
Khedawal Brahmans ; but since the railway has been opened
intermarriage takes place freely with other Khedawals
in Gujarat and Benares. Proposals are on foot to
authorise the intermarriage of the three great subcastes of
Maratha Brahmans : Deshasth, Konkonasth and Karhara.
As a rule, there is no difference of status between the
different local subcastes, and a man's subcaste is often not
known except to his own caste-fellows. But occasionally a
84 INTRODUCTORY ESSAY ON CASTE part
certain derogatory sense may be conveyed ; in several
castes of the Central Provinces there is a subcaste called
Jharia or jungly, a term applied to the oldest residents, who
are considered to have lapsed in a comparatively new and
"barbarous country from the orthodox practices of Hinduism.
The subcaste called Deshi, or ' belonging to the country,'
sometimes has the same signification. The large majority
of subcastes are of the local or territorial type.
46. Occu- Many subcastes are also formed from slight differences of
pationai occupation, which are not of sufficient importance to create
subcastes. .
new castes. Some instances of subcastes formed from grow-
ing special plants or crops have been given. Audhia Sunars
(goldsmiths) work in brass and bell-metal, which is less
respectable than the sacred metal, gold. The Ekbeile Telis
harness one bullock only to the oil-press and the Dobeile two
bullocks. As it is thought sinful to use the sacred ox in
this manner and to cover his eyes as the Telis do, it may be
slightly more sinful to use two bullocks than one. The Udia
Ghasias (grass-cutters) cure raw hides and do scavengers'
work, and are hence looked down upon by the others ; the
Dingkuchia Ghasias castrate cattle and horses, and the
Dolboha carry dhoolies and palanquins. The Mangya
Chamars are beggars and rank below all other subcastes,
from whom they will accept cooked food. Frequently,
however, subcastes are formed from a slight distinction of
occupation, which connotes no real difference in social status.
The Hathgarhia Kumhars (potters) are those who used to
fashion the clay with their own hands, and the Chakarias
those who turned it on a wheel. And though the practice
of hand pottery is now abandoned, the divisions remain. The
Shikari or sportsmen Pardhis (hunters) are those who use
firearms, though far from being sportsmen in our sense of
the term ; the Phanse Pardhis hunt with traps and snares ;
the Chitewale use a tame leopard to run down deer, and the
Gayake stalk their prey behind a bullock. Among the sub-
castes of Dhlmars (fishermen and watermen) are the Singaria,
who cultivate the singdra or water-nut in tanks, the Tanki-
walas or sharpeners of grindstones, the Jhlngars or prawn-
catchers, the Bansias and Saraias or anglers (from bansi or
sarai, a bamboo fishing-rod), the Kasdhonias who wash the
I SUBCASTES FROM MIXED DESCENT 85
sands of the sacred rivers to find the coins thrown or dropped
into them by pious pilgrims, and the Sonjharas who wash
the sands of auriferous streams for their particles of gold.-'
The Gariwan Dangris have adopted the comparatively novel
occupation of driving carts {gdrt) for a livelihood, and the
Panibhar are water-carriers, while the ordinary occupation of
the Dangris is to grow melons in river-beds. It is unneces-
sary to multiply instances ; here, as in the case of territorial
subcastes, the practice of subdivision appears to have been
extended from motives of convenience, and the slight difference
of occupation is adopted as a distinguishing badge.
Subcastes are also occasionally formed from differences 47. Sub-
of social practice which produce some slight gain or loss of ^''*^"^^
A^, , _ 00 formed
status. Thus the Biyahut or ' Married Kalars prohibit the from social
remarriage of widows, saying that a woman is married once ^[ffg^j-e^'""^
for all, and hence rank a little higher than the others. The or from
Dosar Banias, on the other hand, are said to take their name descent
from dusra, second, because they allow a widow to marry a
second time and are hence looked upon by the others as a
second-class lot. The Khedawal Brahmans are divided into
the 'outer' and 'inner': the inner subdivision being said to
exist of those who accepted presents from the Raja of Kaira
and remained in his town, while the outer refused the presents,
quitted the town and dwelt outside. The latter rank a
little higher than the former. The Suvarha Dhlmars keep
pigs and the Gadhewale donkeys, and are considered to
partake of the impure nature of these animals. The
Gobardhua Chamars wash out and eat the undigested grain
from the droppings of cattle on the threshing-floors. The
Chungia group of the Satnami Chamars are those who smoke
the chongi or leaf-pipe, though smoking is prohibited to the
Satnamis. The Nagle or ' naked ' Khonds have only a
negligible amount of clothing and are looked down upon by
the others. The Makaria Kamars eat monkeys and are
similarly despised.
Subcastes are also formed from mixed descent. The
Dauwa Ahirs are held to be the offspring of Ahir women
who were employed as wet-nurses in the houses of Bundcla
Rajputs and bore children to their masters. The Halbas and
1 Sonjhara is a separate caste as well as a subcaste of Dhiniar.
86 INTRODUCTORY ESS A V ON CASTE part
Rautias are divided into subcastes known as Puralt or ' pure,'
and Surait or of 'mixed' descent. Many castes have a subcaste
to which the progeny of illicit unions is relegated, such as
the Dogle Kayasths, and the Lahuri Sen subcaste of Barais,
Banias and other castes. Illegitimate children in the Kasar
(brass-worker) caste form a subcaste known as Takle or
* thrown out,' Vidur or ' illegitimate,' or Laondi Bachcha, the
issue of a kept wife. In Berar the Mahadeo Kolis, called
after the Mahadeo or Pachmarhi hills, are divided into the
Khas, or ' pure,' and the Akaramase or ' mixed ' ; this latter
word means gold or silver composed of eleven parts pure
metal and one part alloy. Many subcorstes of Bania have
subcastes known as Bisa or Dasa, that is ' Twenty ' or ' Ten '
groups, the former being of pure descent or twenty-carat,
as it were, and the latter the offspring of remarried widows
or other illicit unions. In the course of some generations
such mixed groups frequently regain full status in the caste.
Subcastes are also formed from members of other castes
who have taken to the occupation of the caste in question
and become amalgamated with it ; thus the Korchamars are
Koris (weavers) adopted into the Chamar (tanner) caste ;
Khatri Chhipas are Khatris who have become dyers and
printers ; the small Dangri caste has subcastes called Teli,
Kalar and Kunbi, apparently consisting of members of
those castes who have become Dangris ; the Baman Darzis or
tailors will not take food from any one except Brahmans and
may perhaps be derived from them, and the Kaith Darzis
may be Kayasths ; and so on.
Occasionally subcastes may be formed from differences
of religious belief or sectarian practice. In northern India
even such leading Hindu castes as Rajputs and Jats have
large Muhammadan branches, who as a rule do not inter-
marry with Hindus. The ordinary Hindu sects seldom,
however, operate as a bar to marriage, Hinduism being
tolerant of all forms of religious belief Those Chamars of
Chhattlsgarh who have embraced the doctrines of the Satnami
reforming sect form a separate endogamous subcaste, and
sometimes the members of the Kablrpanthi sect within a
caste marry among themselves.
Statistics of the subcastes are not available, but their
I EXOGAMOUS GROUPS 87
numbers are very extensive in proportion to the population,
and even in the same subcaste the members Hving within a
comparatively small local area often marry among themselves
and attend exclusively at their own caste feasts, though in
the case of educated and well-to-do Hindus the construction
of railways has modified this rule and connections are kept
up between distant groups of relatives. Clearly therefore
differences of occupation or social status are not primarily
responsible for the subcastes, because in the majority of
cases no such differences really exist. I think the real reason
for their multiplication was the necessity that the members
of a subcaste should attend at the caste feasts on the occasion
of marriages, deaths and readmission of offenders, these
feasts being of the nature of a sacrificial or religious meal.
The grounds for this view will be given subsequently.
The caste or subcaste forms the outer circle within which 48. Exo-
a man must marry. Inside it are a set of further subdivisions s^^mous
-' groups.
which prohibit the marriage of persons related through males.
These are called exogamous groups or clans, and their name
among the higher castes is gotra. The theory is that all
persons belonging to the same gotra are descended from the
same male ancestor, and so related. The relationship in the
gotra now only goes by the father's side ; when a woman
marries she is taken into the clan of her husband and her
children belong to it. Marriage is not allowed within the
clan and in the course of a few generations the marriage of
persons related through males or agnates is prohibited within
a very wide circle. But on the mother's side the gotra does
not serve as a bar to marriage and the union of first cousins
would be possible, other than the children of two brothers.
According to Hindu law, intermarriage is prohibited within
four degrees between persons related through females. But
generally the children of first cousins are allowed to marry,
when related partly through females. And several castes
allow the intermarriage of first cousins, that of a brother's
daughter to a sister's son and in a less degree of a brother's
son to a sister's daughter being specially favoured. One or
two Madras castes allow a man to marry his niece, and the
small Dhoba caste of Mandla permit the union of children of
the same mother but different fathers.
88 INTRODUCTORY ESS A V ON CASTE part
Sir Herbert Risley classed the names of exogamous
divisions as eponymous, territorial or local, titular and
totemistic. In the body of this work the word clan is usually
applied only to the large exogamous groups of the Rajputs
and one or two other military castes. The small local or
titular groups of ordinary Hindu castes are called ' section,'
and the totemic groups of the primitive tribes ' sept' But
perhaps it is simpler to use the word ' clan ' throughout
according to the practice of Sir J. G. Frazer. The
vernacular designations of the clans or sections are gotra,
which originally meant a stall or cow-pen ; khero^ a village ;
dih, a village site ; baink, a title ; inul or viur, literally a
root, hence an origin ; and kul or kuri, a family. The
sections called eponymous are named after Rishis or saints
mentioned in the Vedas and other scriptures and are found
among the Brahmans and a few of the higher castes, such as
Vasishta, Garga, Bharadwaj, Vishvamitra, Kashyap and so
on. A few Rajput clans are named after kings or heroes, as
the Raghuvansis from king Raghu of Ajodhia and the
Tilokchandi Bais from a famous king of that name. The
titular class of names comprise names of offices supposed to
have been held by the founder of the clan, or titles and names
referring to a personal defect or quality, and nicknames.
Instances of the former are Kotwar (village watchman),
Chaudhri, Meher or Mahto (caste headman), Bhagat (saint),
Thakuria and Rawat (lord or prince), Vaidya (physician) ;
and of titular names and nicknames : Kuldip (lamp of the
family), Mohjaria (one with a burnt mouth), Jachak (beggar),
Garkata (cut-throat), Bhatpagar (one serving on a pittance of
boiled rice), Kangali (poor), Chlkat (dirty), Petdukh (stomach-
ache), Ghunnere (worm -eater) and so on. A special
class of names are those of offices held at the caste feasts ;
thus the clans of the Chitrakathi caste are the Atak or
Mankari, who furnish the headman of the caste panchdyat or
committee ; the Bhojin who serve the food at marriages and
other ceremonies ; the Kakra who arrange for the lighting ;
the Gotharya who keep the provisions, and the Ghorerao
{gkora, a horse) who have the duty of looking after the
horses and bullock-carts of the caste-men who assemble.
Similarly the five principal clans of the small Turi caste are
I TOTEMISTTC CLANS 89
named after the five sons of Singhbonga or the sun : the
eldest son was called Mailuar and his descendants arc the
leaders or headmen of the caste ; the descendants of the
second son, Chardhagia, purify and readmit offenders to caste
intercourse ; those of the third son, Suremar, conduct the
ceremonial shaving of such offenders, and those of the fourth
son bring water for the ceremony and are called Tirkuar.
The youngest brother, Hasdagia, is said to have committed
some caste offence, and the four other brothers took the parts
which are still played by their descendants in his ceremony
of purification. In many cases exogamous clans are named
after other castes or subcastes. Many low castes have
adopted the names of the Rajput clans, either from simple
vanity as people may take an aristocratic surname, or because
they were in the service of Rajputs, and have adopted the
names of their masters or are partly descended from them.
Other names of castes found among exogamous groups
probably indicate that an ancestor belonging to that caste
was taken into the one in which the group is found. The
Bhaina tribe have clans named after the Dhobi, Ahir, Gond,
Mali and Panka castes. The members of such clans pay
respect to any man belonging to the caste after which they
are named and avoid picking a quarrel with him ; they also
worship the family gods of the caste.
Territorial names are very common, and are taken from
that of some town or village in which the ancestor of the
clan or the members of the clan themselves resided.^ The
names are frequently distorted, and it seems probable that
the majority of the large number of clan names for which no
meaning can be discovered were those of villages. These un-
known names are probably more numerous than the total of
all those classes of names to which a meaning can be assigned.
The last class of exogamous divisions are those called 49. Totem-
totemistic, when the clan is named after a plant or animal
or other natural object. These are almost universal among
the non-Aryan or primitive tribes, but occur also in most
Hindu castes, including some of the highest. The commonest
totem names are those of the prominent animals, including
several which are held sacred by the Hindus, as bdgh or
1 See article Kurmi, appendix, for some instances of territorial names.
90 INTRODUCTORY ESS A Y ON CASTE part
nd/iar, the tiger ; bachds, the calf ; viorkuria, the peacock ;
kaclihzudJia or limudn, the tortoise ; ndgas, the cobra ; hasti,
the elephant ; bandar, the monkey ; bhainsa, the buffalo ;
richharia, the bear ; knliha, the jackal ; kuktu^a, the dog ;
karsaydl, the deer; Jieran, the black -buck, and so on.
The utmost variety of names is found, and numerous trees,
as well as rice, kodon and other crops, salt, sandalwood,
cucumber, pepper, and some household implements, such as
the pestle and rolling-slab, serve as names of clans. Names
which may be held to have a totemistic origin occur even in
the highest castes. Thus among the names of eponymous
Rishis or saints, Bharadwaj means a lark, Kaushik may be
from the kilsha grass, Agastya from the ^^^^j/z flower, Kashyap
from kachhap, a tortoise ; Taittiri from titar, a partridge,
and so on. Similarly the origin of other Rishis is attributed
to animals, as Rishishringa to an antelope, Mandavya to a
frog, and Kanada to an owl.^ An inferior Rajput clan,
Meshbansi, signifies descendants of the sheep, while the
name of the Baghel clan is derived from the tiger (bagh),
that of the Kachhwaha clan perhaps from kachhap, a tortoise,
of the Haihaivansi from the horse, of the Nagvansi from the
cobra, and of the Tomara clan from toinar, a club. The Karan
or writer caste of Orissa, similarly, have clans derived from
the cobra, tortoise and calf, and most of the cultivating and
other middle castes have clans with totemistic names. The
usual characteristics of totemism,in its later and more common
form at any rate, are that members of a clan regard them-
selves as related to, or descended from, the animal or tree
from which the clan takes its name, and abstain from killing
or eating it. This was perhaps not the original relation of
the clan to its clan totem in the hunting stage, but it is the one
commonly found in India, where the settled agricultural
stage has long been reached. The Bhaina tribe have among
their totems the cobra, tiger, leopard, vulture, hawk, monkey,
wild dog, quail, black ant, and so on. Members of a clan
will not injure the animal after which it is named, and if
they see the corpse of the animal or hear of its death they
throw away an earthen cooking-pot, and bathe and shave
themselves as for one of the family. At a wedding the bride's
1 Wilson's Indian Caste, p. 439.
I TOTE MI STIC CLANS 91
father makes an image in clay of the bird or animal of the
•groom's sept and places it beside the marriage-post. The
bridegroom worships the image, lighting a sacrificial fire
before it, and offers to it the vermilion which he afterwards
smears on the forehead of the bride. Women are often
tattooed with representations of their totem animal, and men
swear by it as their most sacred oath. A similar respect is
paid to the inanimate objects after which certain septs are
named. Thus members of the Gawad or cowdung clan will
not burn cowdung cakes for fuel ; and those of the Mircha
clan do not use chillies. One clan is named after the sun,
and when an eclipse occurs they perform the same formal
rites of mourning as others do on the death of their totem
animal. The Baghani clan of Majhwars, named after the
tiger, think that a tiger will not attack any member of their
clan unless he has committed an offence entailing temporary
excommunication from caste. Until this offence has been
expiated his relationship with the tiger as head of the clan
is in abeyance, and the tiger will eat him as he would any
other stranger. If a tiger meets a member of the clan who
is free from sin, he will run away. Members of the Khoba
or peg clan will not make a peg nor drive one into the ground.
Those of the Dumar or fig-tree clan say that their first
ancestor was born under this tree. They consider the tree
to be sacred and never eat its fruit, and worship it once a
year. Sometimes the members of the clan do not revere
the object after which it is named but some other important
animal or plant. Thus the Markam clan of Gonds, named
after the mango-tree, venerate the tortoise and do not kill it.
The Kathotia clan of Kols is named after kathota, a bowl,
but they revere the tiger. Bagheshwar Deo, the tiger-god,
resides on a little platform in their verandas. They may not
join in a tiger-beat nor sit up for a tiger over a kill. In the
latter case they think that the tiger would not come and
would be deprived of his food, and all the members of their
family would get ill. The Katharia clan take their name
from kathri, a mattress. A member of this sept must never
have a mattress in his house, nor wear clothes sewn in cross-
pieces as mattresses are sewn. The name of the Mudia or
Mudmudia clan is said to mean shaven head, but they
92 INTRODUCTORY ESSAY ON CASTE part
apparently revere the white kuinhra or gourd, perhaps
because it has some resemblance to a shaven head. They
give a white gourd to a woman on the day after she has
borne a child, and her family then do not eat this vegetable
for three years. The Kumraya sept revere the brown
kumhra or gourd. They grow this vegetable on the thatch
of their house-roof and from the time of planting it till the
fruits have been plucked they do not touch it, though of
course they afterwards eat the fruits. The Bhuwar sept are
named after bhu or bJmmi, the earth. They must always
sleep on the earth and not on cots. The Nun (salt) and
Dhan (rice) clans of Oraons cannot dispense with eating
their totems or titular ancestors. But the Dhan Oraons
content themselves with refusing to consume the scum which
thickens on the surface of the boiled rice, and the Nun sept
will not lick a plate in which salt and water have been mixed.
At the weddings of the Vulture clan of the small Bhona
caste one member of the clan kills a small chicken by biting
off the head and then eats it in imitation of a vulture.
Definite instances of the sacrificial eating of the totem animal
have not been found, but it is said that the tiger and snake
clans of the Bhatra tribe formerly ate their totems at a
sacrificial meal. The Gonds also worship the cobra as a
household god, and once a year they eat the flesh of the
snake and think that by doing so they will be immune
from snake-bite throughout the year. On the festival of
Nag-Panchmi the Mahars make an image of a snake with
flour and sugar and eat it. It is reported that the Singrore
Dhimars who work on rivers and tanks must eat the flesh
of a crocodile at their weddings, while the Sonjharas who
wash the sands of rivers for gold should catch a live crocodile
for the occasion of the wedding and afterwards put it back
into the river. These latter customs may probably have fallen
into abeyance owing to the difficulty of catching a crocodile,
and in any case the animals are tribal gods rather than totems.
Exogamy and totemism are found not only in India,
but are the characteristics of primitive social groups over
the greater part of the world. Totemism establishes a
relation of kinship between persons belonging to one clan
who are not related by blood, and exogamy prescribes that
I TERMS OF RE LA T ION SHIP 93
the persons held to be so related shall not intermarry.
Further, when terms of relationship come into existence it
is found that the}^ are applied not to members of one family,
but to all the persons of the clan who might have stood in
each particular relationship to the person addressing them.
Thus a man will address as mother not only his own mother,
but all the women of his clan who might have stood to him
in the relation of mother. Similarly he will address all the
old men and women as grandfather or grandmother or aunt,
and the boys and girls of his own generation as brother and
sister, and so on. With the development of the recognition
of the consanguineous family, the use of terms of relationship
tends to be restricted to persons who have actual kinship ;
thus a boy will address only his father's brothers as father,
and his cousins as brothers and sisters ; but sufficient traces
of the older system of clan kinship remain to attest its former
existence. But it seems also clear that some, at least, of the
terms of relationship were first used between persons really
related ; thus the word for mother must have been taught
by mothers to their own babies beginning to speak, as it is
a paramount necessity for a small child to have a name by
which to call its mother when it is wholly dependent on
her ; if the period of infancy is got over without the use of
this term of address there is no reason why it should be
introduced in later life, when in the primitive clan the child
quickly ceased to be dependent on its mother or to retain
any strong affection for her. Similarly, as shown by Sir
J. G. Frazer in Totemism and Exogatny, there is often a
special name for the mother's brother when other uncles or
aunts are addressed simply as father or mother. This name
must therefore have been brought into existence to distinguish
the mother's brother at the time when, under the system of
female descent, he stood in the relation of a protector and
parent to the child. Where the nam.es for grandfather and
grandmother are a form of duplication of those for father and
mother as in English, they would appear to imply a definite
recognition of the idea of family descent. The majority of
the special names for other relatives, such as fraternal and
maternal uncles and aunts, must also have been devised to
designate those relatives in particular, and hence there is a
94 INTRODUCTORY ESS A V ON CASTE part
probability that the terms for father and brother and sister,
which on a pTiori grounds may be considered doubtful, were
also first applied to real or putative fathers and brothers and
sisters. But, as already seen, under the classificatory system
of relationship these same terms are addressed to members
of the same clan who might by age and sex have stood in
such a relationship to the person addressing them, but are
not actually akin to him at all. And hence it seems a
valid and necessary conclusion that at the time when the
family terms of relationship came into existence, the clan
sentiment of kinship was stronger than the family sentiment ;
that is, a boy was taught or made to feel that all the women
of the clan of about the same age as his mother were as
nearly akin to him as his own mother, and that he should
regard them all in the same relation. And similarly he
looked on all the men of the clan of an age enabling them
to be his fathers in the same light as his own father, and
all the children of or about his own age as his brothers and
sisters. The above seems a necessary conclusion from the
existence of the classificatory system of relationship, which
is very widely spread among savages, and if admitted, it
follows that the sentiment of kinship within the clan was
already established when the family terms of relationship
were devised, and therefore that the clan was prior to the
family as a social unit. This conclusion is fortified by the
rule of exogamy which prohibits marriage between persons
of the same clan between whom no blood-relationship can
be traced, and therefore shows that some kind of kinship
was believed to exist between them, independent of and
stronger than the link of consanguinity. Further, Mr.
Hartland shows in Primitive Paternily^ that during the period
of female descent when physical paternity has been recognised,
but the father and mother belong to different clans, the
children, being of the mother's clan, will avenge a blood-feud
of their clan upon their own father ; and this custom seems
to show clearly that the sentiment of clan-kinship was prior
to and stronger than that of family kinship.
The same argument seems to demonstrate that the idea
of kinship within the clan was prior to the idea of descent
1 Vol. i. pp. 272, 276.
I CLAN KINSHIP AND TOTEM ISM 95
from a common ancestor, whether an animal or plant, a 51. cian
god, hero or nicknamed ancestor. Because it is obvious '"'"f'^'P
and loK.m-
that a set of persons otherwise unconnected could not ism.
suddenly and without reason have believed themselves to be
descended from a common ancestor and hence related. If
a number of persons not demonstrably connected by blood
believe themselves to be akin simply on account of their
descent from a common ancestor, it can only be because
they are an expanded family, either actually or by fiction,
which really had or might have had a common ancestor.
That is, the clan tracing its descent from a common ancestor,
if this was the primary type of clan, must have been sub-
sequent to the family as a social institution. But as already
seen the sentiment of kinship within the clan was prior to that
within the family, and therefore the genesis of the clan from
an expanded family is an impossible hypothesis ; and it
follows that the members of the clan must first have believed
themselves to be bound together by some tie equivalent to
or stronger than that of consanguineous kinship, and after-
wards, when the primary belief was falling into abeyance,
that of descent from a common ancestor came into existence
to account for the clan sentiment of kinship already existing.
If then the first form of association of human beings was in
small groups, which led a migratory life and subsisted mainly
by hunting and the consumption of fruits and roots, as the
Australian natives still do, the sentiment of kinship must first
have arisen, as stated by Mr. M'Lennan, in that small body
which lived and hunted together, and was due simply to the
fact that they were so associated, that they obtained food for
each other, and on occasion protected and preserved each
other's lives.^ These small bodies of persons were the first
social units, and according to our knowledge of the savage
peoples who are nearest to the original migratory and hunting
condition of life, without settled habitations, domestic animals
or cultivated plants, they first called themselves after some
animal or plant, usually, as Sir J. G. Frazer has shown in
Totemism and Exogamy^ after some edible animal or plant.
The most probable theory of totemism on a priori grounds
'^ Studies in Aficient History, ip. 12T,. Frazer notes that the majority are
2 See lists of totems of Australian edible animals or plants,
and Red Indian tribes. Sir J. G.
96 INTRODUCTORY ESSAY ON CASTE part
seems therefore to be that the original small bodies who lived
and hunted together, or totem-clans, called themselves after
the edible animal or plant from which they principally derived
their sustenance, or that which gave them life. While the
real tie which connected them was that of living together,
they did not realise this, and supposed themselves to be
akin because they commonly ate this animal or plant
together. This theory of totemism was first promulgated
by Professor Robertson Smith and, though much disputed,
appears to me to be the most probable. It has also been
advocated by Dr. A. C. Haddon, F.R.S.^ The Gaelic names
for family, teadhloch and cuedichc or coedichc, mean, the first,
' having a common residence,' the second, * those who eat
together.' ^ The detailed accounts of the totems of the
Australian, Red Indian and African tribes, now brought
together by Sir J. G. Frazer in Toteviisjn and Exogamy^
show a considerable amount of evidence that the early
totems were not only as a rule edible animals, but the
animals eaten by the totem-clans which bore their names.^
But after the domestication of animals and the culture of
plants had been attained to, the totems ceased to be the
chief means of subsistence. Hence the original tie of kin-
ship was supplanted by another and wider one in the tribe,
and though the totem-clans remained and continued to fulfil
an important purpose, they were no longer the chief social
group. And in many cases, as man had also by now begun
to speculate on his origin, the totems came to be regarded
as ancestors, and the totem-clans, retaining their sentiment
of kinship, accounted for it by supposing themselves to be
descended from a common ancestor. They thus also came
to base the belief in clan-kinship on the tie of consanguinity
recognised in the family, which had by now come into ex-
istence. This late and secondary form of totemism is that
which obtains in India, where the migratory and hunting
1 Address to the British Association, 112, 120, ii. p. 536, iii. pp. 100, 162 ;
1902. I had not had the advantage Native Tribes of Central Atistralia, ■p'P-
of reading the address prior to the com- 209-10; Native Tribes of Sottth- East
pletion of this work. Australia, p. 145 ; Native Tribes of
2 M'Lennan, Studies in Ancient Northern Australia (Professor Baldwin
History, p. 123, quoting from Grant's Spencer), pp. 21, 197 ; J. H. Weeks,
Origin and Descent of the Gael. Among llie Primitive Bakongo, p. 99.
3 Toteviism and Exogamy, i. pp.
I ANIMATE CREATION 97
stage has long been passed. The Indian evidence is, how-
ever, of great value because we find here in the same com- '
munity, occasionally in the same caste, exogamous clans
which trace their descent sometimes from animals and
plants, or totems, and sometimes from gods, heroes, or
titular ancestors, while many of the clans are named after
villages or have names to which no meaning can be attached.
As has been seen, there is good reason to suppose that all
these forms of the exogamous clan are developed from the
earliest form of the totem-clan ; and since this later type of
clan has developed from the totem -clan in India, it is a
legitimate deduction that wherever elsewhere exogamous
clans are found tracing their descent from a common
ancestor or with unintelligible names, probably derived from
places, they were probably also evolved from the totem-clan.
This type of clan is shown in Professor Hearn's Aryan
Hotisehold to have been the common unit of society over
much of Europe, where no traces of the existence of totemism
are established.^ And from the Indian analogy it is therefore
legitimate to presume that the totem-clan may have been
the original unit of society among several European races as
well as in America, Africa, Australia and India. Similar
exogamous clans exist in China, and many of them have the
names of plants and animals."
In order to render clear the manner in which the clan 52. Ani-
named after a totem animal (or, less frequently, a plant) came cr^gation
to hold its members akin both to each other and their totem
animals, an attempt may be made to indicate, however
briefly and imperfectly, some features of primitive man's
conception of nature and life. Apparently when they began
dimly to observe and form conscious mental impressions of
the world around them, our first ancestors made some
cardinal, though natural and inevitable, mistakes. In the
first place they thought that the whole of nature was animate,
and that every animal, plant, or natural object which they saw
around them, was alive and self-conscious like themselves.
They had, of course, no words or ideas connoting life or
consciousness, or distinguishing animals, vegetables or lifeless
1 See pp. II, 138, 190 (Edition ^ Totemism and Exogamy, ii. pp.
iSgi)- ' Zl^, 339-
VOL. T H
98 INTRODUCTORY ESS A V ON CASTE part
objects, and they were naturally quite incapable of distinguish-
ing them. They merely thought that everything they saw was
like themselves, would feel hurt and resentment if injured,
and would know what was done to it, and by whom ; when-
ever they saw the movement of an animal, plant, or other
object, they thought it was volitional and self-conscious like
their own movements. If they saw a tree waving in the
wind, having no idea or conception of the wind, they thought
the tree was moving its branches about of its own accord ;
if a stone fell, they, knowing nothing of the force of gravity,
thought the stone projected itself from one place to another
because it wished to do so. This is exactly the point of
view taken by children when they first begin to observe.
They also think that everything they see is alive like them-
selves, and that animals exercise volit-ion and have a self-
conscious intelligence like their own. But they quickly learn
their mistakes and adopt the point of view of their elders
because they are taught. Primitive man had no one to
teach him, and as he did not co-ordinate or test his observa-
tions, the traces of this first conception of the natural world
remain clearly indicated by a vast assortment of primitive
customs and beliefs to the present day. All the most
prominent natural objects, the sun and moon, the sky, the
sea, high mountains, rivers and springs, the earth, the fire,
became objects of veneration and were worshipped as gods,
and this could not possibly have happened unless they had
been believed to have life. Stone images and idols are con-
sidered as living gods. In India girls are married to flowers,
trees, arrows, swords, and so on. A bachelor is married to
a ring or a plant before wedding a widow, and the first
ceremony is considered as his true marriage. The Saligram,
or ammonite stone, is held to represent the god Vishnu,
perhaps because it was thought to be a thunderbolt and to
have fallen from heaven. Its marriage is celebrated with the
tulsi or basil-plant, which is considered the consort of Vishnu.
Trees are held to be animate and possessed by spirits, and
before a man climbs a tree he begs its pardon for the injury
he is about to inflict on it. When a tank is dug, its marriage
is celebrated. To the ancient Roman his hearth was a god ;
the walls and doors and threshold of his house were gods ;
I ANIMATE CREATION ^
the boundaries of his field were also gods.^ It is precisely
the same with the modern Hindu ; he also venerates the
threshold of his house, the cooking-hearth, the grinding-mill,
and the boundaries of his field. The Jains still think that
all animals, plants and inanimate objects have souls or
spirits like human beings. The belief in a soul or spirit is
naturally not primitive, as man could not at first conceive of
anything he did not see or hear, but plants and inanimate
objects could not subsequently have been credited with the
possession of souls or spirits unless they had previously been
thought to be alive. " The Fijians consider that if an
animal or a plant dies its soul immediately goes to Bolotoo ;
if a stone or any other substance is broken, immortality is
equally its reward ; nay, artificial bodies have equal good
luck with men and hogs and yams. If an axe or a chisel
is worn out or broken up, away flies its soul for the service
of the gods. If a house is taken down or any way destroyed,
its immortal part will find a situation on the plains of
Bolotoo. The Finns believed that all inanimate objects
had their haltia or soul." ^ The Malays think that animals,
vegetables and minerals, as well as human beings, have
souls.^ The Kav/ar tribe are reported to believe that all
articles of furniture and property have souls or spirits, and
if any such is stolen the spirit will punish the thief Theft
is consequently almost unknown among them. All the
fables about animals and plants speaking and exercising
volition ; the practice of ordeals, resting on the belief that
the sacred living elements, fire and water, will of themselves
discriminate between the innocent and guilty ; the pro-
pitiatory offerings to the sea and to rivers, such incidents
as Xerxes binding the sea with fetters, Ajax defying the
lightning, Aaron's rod that budded, the superstitions of
sailors about ships : all result from the same primitive
belief Many other instances of self-conscious life and
volition being attributed to animals, plants and natural
objects are given by Lord Avebury in Origin of Civilisa-
tion, by Dr. Westermarck in The Origin and Development
1 La Cite Atitique, p. 254. '■' W. W. Skeat, Malay Magic, pp.
- The Origin of Civilisation, ixXxe.A. 52, 53.
p. 246.
loo INTRODUCTORY ESSAY ON CASTE part
of the Moral Ideas} and by Sir J. G. Frazer in The
Golden Bough}
Thus primitive man had no conception of inanimate
matter, and it seems probable that he did not either realise
the idea of death. Though it may be doubtful whether any
race exists at present which does not understand that death is
the cessation of life in the body, indications remain that this
view was not primary and may not have been acquired for
some time. The Gonds apparently once thought that people
would not die unless they were killed by magic, and similar
beliefs are held by the Australian and African savages.
Several customs also point to the belief in the survival of
some degree of life in the body after death, apart from the
idea of the soul.
Primitive man further thought that life, instead of being
concentrated in certain organs, was distributed equally over
the whole of the body. This mistake appears also to have
been natural and inevitable when it is remembered that he
had no name for the body, the different limbs and the
internal organs, and no conception of their existence and
distribution, nor of the functions which they severally per-
formed. He perceived that sensation extended over all parts
of the body, and that when any part was hurt or wounded
the blood flowed and life gradually declined in vigour and
ebbed away. For this reason the blood was subsequently often
identified with the life. During the progress of culture many
divergent views have been held about the source and location
of life and mental and physical qualities, and the correct
one that life is centred in the heart and brain, and that the
brain is the seat of intelligence and mental qualities has only
recently been arrived at. We still talk about people being hard-
hearted, kind-hearted and heartless, and about a man's heart
being in the right place, as if we supposed that the qualities of
kindness and courage were located in the heart, and deter-
mined by the physical constitution and location of the heart.
The reason for this is perhaps that the soul was held to be
the source of mental qualities, and to be somewhere in the
1 I. p. 253. Culture, i. pp. 282, 286, 295 ; ii. pp.
^ 2nd ed. vol. i. pp. 169, 174. See 170, 181, etc.
also Sir E. B. Tylor's Primitive
I THE DISTRIBUTION OF LIFE OVER THE BODY loi
centre of the body, and hence the heart came to be identified
with it. As shown by Sir J. G. Frazer in The Golden Bough
many peoples or races have thought that the life and
qualities were centred in the whole head, not merely in the
brain. And this is the reason why Hindus will not appear
abroad with the head bare, why it is a deadly insult to
knock off a man's turban, and why turbans or other head-
gear were often exchanged as a solemn pledge of friendship.
The superstition against walking under a ladder may have
originally been based on some idea of its being derogatory
or dangerous to the head, though not, of course, from the
fear of being struck by a falling brick. Similarly, as shown
in the article on Nai, the belief that the bodily strength and
vigour were located in the hair, and to a less extent in the
nails and teeth, has had a world-wide prevalence. But this
cannot have been primary, because the hair had first to be
conceived of apart from the rest of the body, and a separate
name devised for it, before the belief that the hair was the
source of strength could gradually come into existence. The
evolution of these ideas may have extended over thousands
of years. The expression ' white-livered,' again, seems to
indicate that the quality of courage was once held to be
located in the liver, and the belief that the liver was the seat
of life was perhaps held by the Gonds. But the primary
idea seems necessarily to have been that the life was equally
distributed all over the body. And since, as will be .seen
subsequently, the savage was incapable of conceiving the
abstract idea of life, he thought of it in a concrete form as
part of the substance of the flesh and blood.
And since primitive man had no conception of inanimate
matter it followed that when any part of the body was severed
from the whole, he did not think of the separate fraction as
merely lifeless matter, but as still a part of the body to which
it had originally belonged and retaining a share of its life.
For according to his view of the world and of animate nature,
which has been explained above, he could not think of it as
anything else. Thus the clippings of hair, nails, teeth, the
spittle and any other similar products all in his view remained
part of the body from which they had been severed and
retained part of its life. In the case of the elements, earth,
I02 INTRODUCTORY ESS A V ON CASTE part
fire and water, which he considered as Hving beings and
subsequently worshipped as gods, this view was correct.
Fractional portions of earth, fire and water, when severed
from the remainder, retained their original nature and consti-
tution, and afforded some support to his generally erroneous
belief. And since he had observed that an injury done to
any part of the body was an injury to the whole, it followed
that if one got possession of any part of the body, such as the
severed hair, teeth or nails, one could through them injure that
body of which they still formed a part. It is for this reason
that savages think that if an enemy can obtain possession
of any waste product of the body, such as the severed hair or
nails, that he can injure the owner through them. Similarly
the Hindus thought that the clippings of the hair or nails, if
buried in fertile ground, would grow into a plant, through
the life which they retained, and as this plant waxed in size
it would absorb more and more of the original owner's life,
which would consequently wane and decline. The worship
of relics, such as the bones or hair of saints, is based on the
same belief that they retain a part of the divine life and
virtue of him to whom they once belonged.
It is probable that qualities were first conceived of by
being observed in animals or natural objects. Prior to the
introduction of personal names, the individuality of human
beings could neither be clearly realised nor remembered after
they were dead. But man must have perceived at an early
period that certain animals were stronger or swifter than he
was, or more cunning, and since the same quality was repro-
duced in every animal of the species, it could easily become
permanently associated with the animal. But there were no
names for qualities, nor any independent conception of them
apart from the animal or animals in which they were observed.
Supposing that strength and swiftness were mainly associated
with the horse, as was often the case, then they would be
necessarily conceived of as a part or essence of the horse
and his life, not in the way we think of them, as qualities
appertaining to the horse on account of the strength of his
muscles and the conformation of his limbs. When names
were devised for these qualities, they would be something
equivalent to horsey or horse-like. The association of
I • QUALITIES ASSOCIATED WITH ANIMALS 103
qualities with animals is still shown in such words as asinine,
owlish, foxy, leonine, mulish, dogged, tigerish, and so on ;
but since the inferiority of animals to man has long been
recognised, most of the animal adjectives have a derogatory
sense.^ It was far otherwise with primitive man, who first
recognised the existence of the qualities most necessary to
him, as strength, courage, swiftness, sagacity, cunning and
endurance, as being displayed by certain animals in a greater
degree than he possessed them himself. Birds he admired
and venerated as being able to rise and fly in the air, which
he could not do ; fish for swimming and remaining under
water when he could not ; while at the same time he had
not as yet perceived that the intelligence of animals was in
any way inferior to his own, and he credited many of them
with the power of speech. Thus certain animals were
venerated on account of the qualities associated with them,
and out of them in the course of time anthropomorphic gods
personifying the qualities were evolved. The Australian
aborigines of the kangaroo totem, when they wish to multiply
the number of kangaroos, go to a certain place where two
special blocks of stone project immediately one above the
other from the hillside. One is supposed to represent an
' old man ' kangaroo and the other a female. The stones are
rubbed and then painted with alternate red and white stripes,
the red stripes representing the red fur of the kangaroos, and
the white ones its bones. After doing this some of them open
veins in their arms and allow the blood to spurt over the
stones. The other men sing chants referring to the increase
in the numbers of the kangaroos, and they suppose that this
ceremony will actually result in producing an increased
number of kangaroos and hence an additional supply of food.
Here the inference seems to be that the stones represent the
centre or focus of the life of kangaroos, and when they are
quickened by the painting, and the supply of blood, they will
manifest their creative activity and increase the kangaroos.
If we suppose that some similar stone existed on the
Acropolis and was considered by the owl clan as the centre
1 See also Primitive Culture, i. pp. 1 19, 121, 412, 413, 514-
2 Messrs. Spencer and Gillan, Native Tribes of Central Australia (London,
Macmillan), p. 201.
I04 INTRODUCTORY ESS A V ON CASTE part
of the life of the owls which frequented the hill, then when
the art of sculpture had made some progress, and the
superiority of the human form and intellect began to be
apprehended, if a sculptor carved the stone into the semblance
of a human being, the goddess Athena would be born.
It has been seen that primitive man considered the life and
qualities to be distributed equally over the body in a physical
sense, so that they formed part of the substance and flesh.
The same view extended even to instrumental qualities or
functions, since his mental powers and vision were necessarily
limited by his language. Language must apparently have
begun by pointing at animals or plants and making some
sound, probably at first an imitation of the cry or other
characteristic of the animal, which came to connote it. We
have to suppose that language was at the commencement a
help in the struggle for life, because otherwise men, as yet
barely emerged from the animal stage, would never have
made the painful mental efforts necessary to devise and
remember the words. Words which would be distinctly
advantageous in the struggle would be names for the animals
and plants which they ate, and for the animals which ate
them. By saying the name and pointing in any direction,
the presence of such animals or plants in the vicinity would be
intimated more quickly and more accurately than by signs
or actions. Such names were then, it may be supposed,
the first words. Animals or plants of which they made no
use nor from which they apprehended any danger, would for
long be simply disregarded, as nothing was to be gained by
inventing names for them. The first words were all nouns
and the names of visible objects, and this state of things
probably continued for a long period and was the cause of
many erroneous primitive conceptions and ideas. Some
traces of the earliest form of language can still be discerned.
Thus of Santali Sir G. Grierson states : " Every word can
perform the function of a verb, and every verbal form can,
according to circumstances, be considered as a noun, an
adjective or a verb. It is often simply a matter of conveni-
ence which word is considered as a noun and which as an
adjective. . . . Strictly speaking, in Santali there is no real
verb as distinct from the other classes of words. Every
I CONCRETE NATURE OF PRIMITIVE IDEAS 105
independent word can perform the function of a verb, and
every verbal form can in its turn be used as a noun or
adjective." ^ And of the Dravidian languages he says :
" The genitive of ordinary nouns is in reality an adjective,
and the difference between nouns and adjectives is of no
great importance. . . . Many cases are both nouns and
verbs. Nouns of agency are very commonly used as verbs." ^
Thus if it be admitted that nouns preceded verbs as parts
of speech, which will hardly be disputed, these passages
show how the semi-abstract adjectives and verbs were
gradually formed from the names of concrete nouns. Of
the language of the now extinct Tasmanian aborigines it is
stated : " Their speech was so imperfectly constituted that
there was no settled order or arrangement of words in the
sentence, the sense being eked out by face, manner and
gesture, so that they could scarcely converse in the dark,
and all intercourse had to cease with nightfall. Abstract
forms scarcely existed, and while every gum-tree or wattle-
tree had its name, there was no word for ' tree ' in general,
nor for qualities such as hard, soft, hot, cold, etc. Anything
hard was ' like a stone,' anything round ' like the moon,' and
so on, the speaker suiting the action to the word, and supple-
menting the meaning to be understood by some gesture." ^
Here the original concrete form of language can be clearly
discerned. They had a sufficiency of names for all the
objects which were of use to them, and apparently verbal
ideas were largely conveyed by gesture. Captain Forsyth
states ^ that though the Korkus very seldom wash them-
selves, there exist in their language eight words for washing,
one for washing the face, another for the hands and others
for different parts of the body. Thus we see that the verbal
idea of washing was originally conceived not generally, but
separately with reference to each concrete object or noun,
for which a name existed and to which water was applied.
The primitive languages consisted only of nouns or the 56- Con-
names of visible objects, possibly with the subsequent addition mature of
primitive
1 Linguistic Survey of India, vol. 292, 294. ideas.
\v., iMujtda and Dravidian Languages, ^ T)x. A. H. Keane, The World's
pp. 40, 41, 45. Peoples, London, Hutchinson, 1908,
2 Linguistic Survey of India,-vo\.i\., p. 50.
Munda and Dravidian Lattguages, pp. ^ Niiiiar Settlement Report.
io6 INTRODUCTORY ESSAY ON CASTE part
of a few names for such conceptions as the wind and the
voice, which could be heard, but not seen. There were
no abstract nor semi-abstract terms nor parts of speech.
The resulting inability to realise any abstract conception
and the tendency to make everything concrete is a principal
and salient characteristic of ethnology and primitive religion.^
All actions are judged by their concrete aspect or effects and
not by the motives which prompted them, nor the results
which they produce. For a Hindu to let a cow die with a
rope round its neck is a grave caste offence, apparently
because an indignity is thus offered to the sacred animal,
but it is no offence to let a cow starve to death. A girl
may be married to inanimate objects as already seen, or to
an old man or a relative without any intention that she shall
live with him as a wife, but simply so that she may be married
before reaching puberty. If she goes through the ceremony
of marriage she is held to be married. Yet the motive for
infant-marriage is held to be that a girl should begin to bear
children as soon as she is physically capable of doing so, and
such a marriage is useless from this point of view. Some
castes who cannot afford to burn a corpse hold a lighted
brand to it or kindle a little fire on the grave and consider this
equivalent to cremation. Promises are considered as concrete ;
among some Hindus promises are tied up in knots of cloth,
and when they are discharged the knots are untied. Mr. S.
C. Roy says of the Oraons : " Contracts are even to this
day generally not written but acted. Thus a lease of land
is made by the lessor handing over a clod of earth (which
symbolises land) to the lessee ; a contract of sale of cattle
is entered into by handing over to the buyer a few blades of
grass (which symbolise so many heads of cattle) ; a contract
of payment of bride-price is made by the bridegroom's
father or other relative handing over a number of baris or
small cakes of pulse (which symbolise so many rupees) to
the bride's father or other relative ; and a contract of
service is made by the mistress of the house anointing
the head of the intended servant with oil, and making a
present of a few pice, and entertaining him to a feast, thus
signifying that he would receive food, lodging and some
^ See also Primitive Culture, i. p. 40S.
I CONCRETE NATURE OF PRIMITIVE IDEAS 107
pay." ^ Thus an abstract agreement is not considered suf-
ficient for a contract ; in each case it must be ratified by a
concrete act.
The divisions of time are considered in a concrete sense.
The fortnight or Nakshatra is presided over by its constella-
tion, and this is held to be a nymph or goddess, who
controls events during its course. Similarly, as shown in
Tlie Golden Bought many kinds of new enterprises should
be begun in the fortnight of the waxing moon, not in
that of the waning moon. Days are also thought to
be concrete and governed by their planets, and from this
idea come all the superstitions about lucky and unlucky
days. If a day had been from the beginning realised as
a simple division of time no such superstitions could exist.
Events, so far as they are conceived of, are also considered
in a concrete sense. The reason why omens were so
often drawn from birds ^ is perhaps that birds fly from a
distance and hence are able to see coming events on their
way ; and the hare and donkey were important animals of
augury, perhaps because, on account of their long ears, they
were credited with abnormally acute hearing, which would
enable them to hear the sound of coming events before
ordinary people. The proverb ' Coming events cast their
shadows before,' appears to be a survival of this mode of
belief, as it is obvious that that which has no substance
cannot cast a shadow.
The whole category of superstitions about the evil eye
arises from the belief that the glance of the eye is a concrete
thing which strikes the person or object towards which it is
directed like a dart. The theory that the injury is caused
through the malice or envy of the person casting the evil
eye seems to be derivative and explanatory. If a stranger's
glance falls on the food of a Ramanuji Brahman while it is
being cooked, the food becomes polluted and must be buried
in the ground. Here it is clear that the glance of the eye is
equivalent to real contact of some part of the stranger's body,
which would pollute the food. In asking for leave in order
1 The Oraons, pp. 408, 409. Thug and Index. Also !\Iiss Harri-
2 2nd ed. vol. ii. p. 457 et seq. son's Themis, pp. 98, 99.
^ For instances of omens see article
io8 INTRODUCTORY ESS A V ON CASTE part
to nurse his brother who was seriously ill but could obtain
no advantage from medical treatment, a Hindu clerk
explained that the sick man had been pierced by the evil
glance of some woman.
57. Words Similarly words were considered to have a concrete
and names force, SO that the mere repetition of words produced an
concrete. '■ '^ 1 • 1
effect analogous to their sense. The purely mechanical
repetition of prayers was held to be a virtuous act, and this
idea was carried to the most absurd length in the Buddhist's
praying - wheel, where merit was acquired by causing the
wheel with prayers inscribed on its surface to revolve in a
waterfall. The wearing of strips of paper, containing sacred
texts, as amulets on the body is based on this belief, and
some Muhammadans will wash off the ink from paper con-
taining a verse of the Koran and drink the mixture under
the impression that it will do them good. Here the belief
in the concrete virtue and substance of the written word is
very clear. The Hindus thinlc that the continued repetition
of the Gayatri or sacred prayer to the sun is a means of
acquiring virtue, and the prayer is personified as a goddess.
The enunciation of the sacred syllable Aum or Om is
supposed to have the most powerful results. Homer's phrase
' winged words ' perhaps recalls the period when the words
were considered as physical entities which actually travelled
through the air from the speaker to the hearer and were
called winged because they went so fast. A Korku clan has
the name /odo which means a piece of cloth. But the word
/odo also signifies ' to leak.' If a person says a sentence
containing the word /odo in either signification before a
member of the clan while he is eating, he will throw away
the food before him as if it were contaminated and prepare
a meal afresh. Here it is clear that the Korku pays no
regard to the sense but solely to the word or sound. This
belief in the concrete force of words has had the most
important effects both in law and religion. The earliest
codes of law were held to be commands of the god and
claimed obedience on this ground. The binding force of
the law rested in the words and not in the sense because the
words were held to be those of the god and to partake of
his divine nature. In ancient Rome the citizen had to take
Bemrose, Coilo., Derby.
THE GAYATRI OR SACRED VERSE PERSONIFIED
AS A GODDESS.
I WORDS AND NAMES CONCRETE 109
care to know the words of the law and to state them exactly.
If he used one wrong word the law gave him no assistance.
" Gains tells a story of a man whose neighbour had cut his
vines ; the facts were clear ; he stated the law applying to
his case, but he said vines, whereas the law said trees ; he lost
his suit." ^ The divine virtue attached to the sacred books
of different religions rests on the same belief Frequently
the books themselves are worshipped, and it was held that
they could not be translated because the sanctity resided in
the actual words and would be lost if other words were used.
The efficacy of spells and invocations seems to depend mainly
on this belief in the concrete power of words. If one knows
an efficacious form of words connoting a state of physical
facts and repeats it with the proper accessory conditions,
then that state of facts is actually caused to exist ; and if
one knows a man's name and calls on him with a form of
words efficacious to compel attendance, he has to come and
his spirit can similarly be summoned from the dead. When
a Malay wishes to kill an enemy he makes an image of the
man, transfixes or otherwise injures it, and buries it on the
path over which the enemy will tread. As he buries it with
the impression that he will thereby cause the enemy to die
and likewise be buried, he says :
It is not I who am burying him,
It is Gabriel who is burying him,
and thinks that the repetition of these words produces the
state of facts which they denote so that the guilt of the
murder is removed from his own shoulders to those of the
archangel Gabriel. Similarly when he has killed a deer
and wishes to be free from the guilt of his action, or as he
calls it to cast out the mischief from the deer, he says :
It is not I who cast out these mischiefs,
It is Michael who casts them out.
It is not I who cast out these mischiefs.
It is Israfel who casts them out,
and so on, freeing himself in the same manner from re-
sponsibility for the death of the deer.- Names also are
regarded as concrete. Primitive man could not regard a
1 La Citd Antique, p. 225.
•^ W. W. Skeat, Malay Magic, pp. 178, 57 1-
1 1 o IN TROD UCTOR V ESS A V ON CA S TE part
name as an abstract appellation, but thought of it as
part of the person or thing to which it was applied and
as containing part of his life, like his hair, spittle and the
rest of his body. He would have used names for a long
period before he had any word for a name, and his first idea
of the name as a part of the substantive body to which it is
applied has survived a more correct appreciation. Thus if
one knew a person's name one could injure him by working
evil on it and the part of his life contained in it, just as one
could injure him through the clippings of his hair, his spittle,
clothes or the earth pressed by his foot. This is the reason
for the common custom of having two names, one of which,
the true name, is kept secret and only used on ceremonial
occasions when it is essential, as at a wedding, while the
other is employed for everyday life. The latter, not being
the man's true name, does not contain part of his life, and
hence there is no harm in letting an enemy know it.
Similarly the Hindus think that a child's name should not
be repeated at night, lest an owl might hear it, when this
bird could injure the child through its name, just as if it got
hold of a piece of cloth worn or soiled by the child. The
practice of euphemism rests on this belief, as it was thought
that if a person's name was said and a part of him was thus
caused to be present the rest would probably follow. Hence
the rule of avoiding the use of the names of persons or
things of which one does not desire the presence. Thus
Sir E. B. Tylor says : " The Dayak will not speak of
the smallpox by name, but will call it ' The Chief,' or
'Jungle leaves,' or say, 'Has He left you?' The
euphemism of calling the Furies the Eumenides, or ' Gracious
Ones,' is the stock illustration of this feeling, and the
euphemisms for fairies and for the devil are too familiar to
quote." ^ Similarly the name of a god was considered as
part of him and hence partaking of his divine nature. It
was thus so potent that it could not be mentioned on
ordinary occasions or by common persons. Allah is only
an epithet for the name of God among the Muhammadans
and his True or Great Name is secret. Those who know
it have power over all created things. Clearly then the
' Ear/y History of Mankind, yd ed. p. 143.
J WORDS AND NAMES CONCRETE in
divine power is held to reside in the name itself. The
concealment of the name of the tutelary deity of Rome, for
divulging which Valerius Soranus is said to have paid the
penalty of death, is a case in point.^ Sir E. B. Tylor gives
many other interesting examples of the above ideas and
points out the connection clearly existing in the savage
mind between the name and the object to which it is applied.
The Muhammadans think that Solomon's name is very
efficacious for casting out devils and evil spirits. The
practice of naming children after gods or by the epithets or
titles applied to the divine being, or after the names of
saints, appears to be due to the belief that such names, by
reason of their association with the god or saint, acquire a
part of his divine life and virtue, which when given to
children the names will in turn convey to them." On the
other hand, when a Hindu mother is afraid lest her child
may die, she sometimes gives it an opprobrious name as
dirt, rubbish, sweepings, or sold for one or two cowries,
so that the evil spirits who take the lives of children
may be deceived by the name and think that such a value-
less child is not worth having. The voice was also held
to be concrete. The position of the Roman tribune was
peculiar, as he was not a magistrate chosen by divine
authority and hence could not summon people to his court ;
but the tribune had been dedicated to the city gods, and
his person was sacrosanct. He could therefore lay hands
on a man, and once the tribune touched him, the man was
held to be in the magistrate's power, and bound to obey
him. This rule extended even to those who were within
hearing of his voice ; any one, even a patrician or consul,
who heard the tribune's voice was compelled to obey him.
In this case it is clear that the voice and spoken words were
held to be concrete, and to share in the sanctity attaching to
the body.^ When primitive man could not think of a name
as an abstraction but had to think of it as an actual part of
the body and life of the person or visible object to which
it belonged, it will be realised how impossible it was for
him during a long period to conceive of any abstract
^ Ibidem, p. 125. Hindu names.
^ See article Joshi for examples of ^ La Cite Antique, p. 357.
1 1 2 INTROD UCTOR V ESS A V ON CASTE part
idea, which was only a word without visible or corporal
reality.
58. The Thus he could not at first have had any conception
riru""^ of a soul or spirit, which is an unseen thing. Savages
generally may have evolved the conception of a soul or
spirit as an explanation of dreams, according to the view
taken by Mr. E. Clodd in Myths and Dreams} Mr. Clodd
shows that dreams were necessarily and invariably con-
sidered as real events, and it could not have been other-
wise, as primitive man would have been unable to conceive
the abstract idea of a vision or fantasy. And since during
dreams the body remained immobile and quiescent, it was
thought that the spirit inside the body left it and travelled
independently. Hence the reluctance often evinced to
waking a sleeper suddenly from fear lest the absent spirit
might not have time to return to the body before its awaken-
ing and hence the man might die. Savages, not having the
conception of likeness or similarity,^ would confuse death
and sleep, because the appearance of the body is similar in
death and in sleep. Legends of the type of Rip Van
Winkle and the Sleeping Beauty, and of heroes like King
Arthur and Frederick Barbarossa lying asleep through the
centuries in some remote cave or other hiding-place, from
which they will one day issue forth to regenerate the world,
perpetuate the primitive identification of death and sleep.
And the belief long prevailed that after death the soul or
spirit remained with the body in the place where it lay,
leaving the body and returning to it as the spirit was held
to do in sleep. The spirit was also thought to be able to
quit the body and enter any other body, both during life and
after death ; most of the beliefs in spirit-possession and many
of those about the power of witches arise from this view.
The soul or spirit was commonly conceived of in concrete
form ; the Egyptians, Greeks and Hindus thought of it as
a little mannikin inside the body. After death the Hindus
often break the skull in order to allow the soul to escape.
Often an insect or a stone is thought to harbour the spirit.
As shown by Sir E. B. Tylor in Primitive Culturef the
^ p. 182, et seq. - See para. 61.
3 I. p. 430.
I ' THE TRANSMISSION OF QUALITIES 113
breath, the shadow and the pupil of the eye were sometimes
held to be or to represent the soul or spirit. Disembodied
spirits are imprisoned in a tree or hole by driving nails into
the tree or ground to confine them and prevent their exit.
When a man died accidentally or a woman in childbirth,
and fear was felt that their spirits might annoy or injure the
living, a stake might be driven through the body or a cairn
of stones piled over it in order to keep the ghost down and
prevent it from rising and walking. The genii of the
Arabian Nights were imprisoned in sealed bottles, and when
the bottle was opened they appeared in a cloud of vapour.
There seems every reason to suppose, as the same author
suggests, that man first thought he had a spirit himself and as
a consequence held that animals, plants and inanimate objects
also contained spirits. Because the belief that the human
body had a spirit can easily be accounted for, but there •
seems to be no valid reason why man should have thought
that all other visible objects also contained spirits, except
that at the period when he conceived of the existence of a
soul or spirit he still held them to be possessed of life and
self-conscious volition like himself. But certain beliefs, such
as the universal existence of life, and of its distribution all
over the body and transmission by contact and eating, the
common life of the species, and possibly totemism itself,
appear to have been pre-animistic or prior to any conception of
or belief in a soul or spirit either in man himself or in nature.
Primitive man thought that the life and all qualities, S9- The
mental and physical, were equally distributed over the body eion^of
as part of the substance of the flesh. He thus came to qualities,
think that they could be transferred from one body or
substance to another in two ways : either by contact of the
two bodies or substances, or by the eating or assimilation of
one by the other. The transmission of qualities by contact
could be indicated through simply saying the two names of
the objects in contact together, and transmission by eating
through saying the two names with a gesture of eating.
Thus if one ate a piece of tiger's flesh, one assimilated
an equivalent amount of strength, ferocity, cruelty, yellow-
ness, and any other qualities which might be attributed to
the tiger. Warriors and youths are sometimes forbidden
VOL. I ^
1 14 INTRODUCTOR V ESS A V ON CASTE part
to eat deer's flesh because it will make them timid, but
they are encouraged to eat the flesh of tigers, bears, and
other ferocious animals, because it will make them brave.
The Gonds, if they wish a child to be a good dancer, cause
it to eat the flesh of a kind of hawk, which hangs gracefully
poised over the water, with its wings continually flapping,
on the look-out for its prey. They think that by eating
the flesh the limbs of the child will become supple like the
wings of the bird. If a child is slow in learning to speak,
they give it to eat the leaves of the pipal tree, which rustle
continually in the wind and are hence supposed to have the
quality of making a noise. All qualities, objective and
instrumental, were conceived of in the same manner, because
in the absence of verbs or abstract terms their proper relation
to the subject and object could not be stated or understood.
Thus if a woman's labour in child-birth is prolonged she is
given to drink water in which the charred wood of a tree
struck by lightning has been dipped. Here it is clear that
the quality of swiftness is held to have been conveyed by
the lightning to the wood, by the wood to the water, and
by the water to the woman, so as to give her a swift delivery.
By a similar train of reasoning she is given to drink the
water of a swiftly-flowing stream which thus has the quality
of swiftness, or water poured through a gun-barrel in which
the fouling of a bullet is left. Here the quality of swiftness
appertaining to the bullet is conveyed by the soiling to the
barrel and thence to the water and to the woman who drinks
the water. In the above cases all the transfers except that
to the woman are by contact. The belief in the transfer
of qualities by contact may have arisen from the sensations
of the body and skin, to which heat, cold and moisture are
communicated by contact. It was applied to every kind of
quality. A familiar instance is the worship of the marks on
rocks or stone which are held to be the footprints left by a
god. Here a part of the god's divine virtue and power has
been communicated through the sole of his foot to the rock
dented by the latter. Touching for the king's evil was
another familiar case, when it was thought that a fraction
of the king's divine life and virtue was communicated by
contact to the person touched and cured him of his ailment.
I THE TRANSMISSION OF QUALITIES 115
The wearing of amulets where these consist of parts of the
bodies of animals is based on the same belief. When a
man wears on his person the claws of a tiger in an amulet,
he thinks that the claws being the tiger's principal weapon
of offence contain a concentrated part of his strength, and
that the wearer of the claws will acquire some of this by
contact. The Gonds carry the shoulder-bone of a tiger, or
eat the powdered bone-dust, in order to acquire strength,
The same train of reasoning applies to the wearing of the
hair of a bear, a common amulet in India, the hair being
often considered as the special seat of strength.^ The
whole practice of wearing ornaments of the precious metals
and precious stones appears to have been originally due to
the same motive, as shown in the article on Sunar.
If the Gonds want a child to become fat, they put it in
a pigsty or a place where asses have rolled, so that it may
acquire by contact the quality of fatness belonging to the
pigs or asses. If they wish to breed quarrels in an enemy's
house, they put the seeds of the amaltds or the quills of the
porcupine in the thatch of the roof. The seeds in the dried
pods of this tree rattle in the wind, while the fretful
porcupine raises its quills when angry. Hence the seeds
will impart the quality of noise to the house, so that its
inmates will be noisy, while the quills of the porcupine
will similarly breed strife between them. The effects pro-
duced by weapons and instruments are thought of in the
same manner. We say that an arrow is shot from a bow
with such force as to penetrate the body and cause a wound.
The savage could not think or speak in this way, because
he had no verbs and could not think of nouns in the
objective case. He thought of the arrow as an animate
thing having a cutting or piercing quality. When placed in
a suitable position to exercise its powers, it flew, of its own
volition, through the air to the target, and communicated to
it by contact some of the above quality. The idea is more
easily realised in the case of balls, pieces of bone or other
missiles thrown by magicians. Here the person whom it is
intended to injure may be miles away, so that the object could
not possibly strike him merely through the force imparted to
1 See article on Nai.
ii6 INTRODUCTORY ESSAY ON CASTE part
it by the thrower. But when the magician has said charms
over the missile, communicating to it the power and desire
to do his will, he throws it in the proper direction and
savages believe that it will go of its own accord to the person
against whom it is aimed and penetrate his body. To pre-
tend to suck pieces of bone out of the body, which are
supposed to have been propelled into the victim by an
enemy, is one of the commonest magical methods of curing
an illness. The following instances of this idea are taken
from the admirable collection in The Golden Bough ^ : " (In
Suffolk) if a man cuts himself with a bill-hook or a scythe
he always takes care to keep the weapon bright, and oils it
to prevent the wound from festering. If he runs a thorn or,
as he calls it, a bush into his hand, he oils or greases the
extracted thorn. A man came to a doctor with an inflamed
hand, having run a thorn into it while he was hedging. On
being told that the hand was festering, he remarked : ' That
didn't ought to, for I greased the bush well after I pulled it
out.' If a horse wounds its foot by treading on a nail, a
Suffolk groom will invariably preserve the nail, clean it and
grease it every day to prevent the wound from festering."
Here the heat and festering of the wounds are held to
be qualities of the axe, thorn or nail, which have been
communicated to the person or animal wounded by contact.
If these qualities of the instrument are reduced by cleaning
and oiling it, then that portion of them communicated to the
wound, which was originally held to be a severed part of
the life and qualities of the instrument, will similarly be
made cool and easy. It is not probable that the people of
Suffolk really believe this at present, but they retain the
method of treatment arising from the belief without being
able to explain it. Similarly the Hindus must have thought
that the results produced by the tools of artisans working on
materials, and by the plough on the earth, were communicated
by these instruments volitionally through contact ; and this is
why they worship once or twice a year the implements of their
profession as the givers of the means of subsistence. All the
stories of magic sword.-, axes, impenetrable shield.s, sandals,
lamps, carpets and so on originally arose from the same belief.
' 2nd ed. vol. i. p. 57.
I CONFUSION OF INDIVIDUAL AND SPFCIES 117
But primitive man not only considered the body as a 60. The
homogeneous mass with the life and qualities distributed 'J^'-'"\7 °*^
" ^ counting.
equally over it. He further, it may be suggested, did not Confusion
distinguish between the individual and the species. The divkiua"'
reason for this was that he could not count, and had no idea »'"• '^c
of numbers. The faculty of counting appears to have been
acquired very late. Messrs. Spencer and Gillan remark of
the aborigines of Central Australia : ^ " While in matters
such as tracking, which are concerned with their everyday
life, and upon efficiency in which they actually depend for
their livelihood, the natives show conspicuous ability, there
are other directions in which they are as conspicuously
deficient. This is perhaps shown most clearly in the matter
of counting. At Alice Springs they occasionally count,
sometimes using their fingers in doing so, up to five, but
frequently anything beyond four is indicated by the word
oknira, meaning ' much ' or ' great.' One is nintha, two
thrama or thenr, three mapitcJia^ four therankathera, five
therajtkathera-nintha!'' The form of these words is inter-
esting, because it is clear that the word for four is two and
two, or twice two, and the word for five is two and two and
one. These words indicate the prolonged and painful efforts
which must have been necessary to count as far as five, and
this though in other respects the Australian natives show
substantial mental development, having a most complicated
system of exogamy, and sometimes two personal names for
each individual. Again, the Andamanese islanders, despite
the extraordinary complexity of their agglutinative language,
have no names for the numerals beyond two." It is said
that the Majhwar tribe can only count up to three, while
among the Bhatras the qualification for being a village
astrologer, who foretells the character of the rainfall and
gives auspicious days for sowing and harvest, is the ability
to count a certain number of posts. The astrologer's
title is Meda Gantia, or Counter of Posts. The above
facts demonstrate that counting is a faculty acquired
with difficulty after considerable mental progress, and
primitive man apparently did not feel the necessity for
1 Nalive Tribes of Central Australia, - Dr. A. H. Keane, The JVorlcfs
Introduction, p. 25. Peoples, p. 62.
1 1 8 INTRODUCTORY ESS A V ON CASTE part
it.^ But if he could not count, it seems a proper deduction
that his eye would not distinguish a number of animals
of the same species together, because the ability to do
this, and to appraise distinct individuals of like appear-
ance appears to depend ultimately on the faculty of
counting. Major Hendley, a doctor and therefore a
skilled observer, states that the Bhils were unable to dis-
tinguish colours or to count numbers, apparently on account
of their want of words to express themselves.^ Now it
seems clearly more easy for the eye to discriminate
between opposing colours than to distinguish a number of
individuals of the same species together. There are a few
things which we still cannot count, such as the blades of
grass, the ears of corn, drops of rain, snowflakes, and hail-
stones. All of these things are still spoken of in the singular,
though this is well known to be scientifically incorrect. We
say an expanse of grass, a field of corn, and so on, as if
the grass and corn were all one plant instead of an in-
numerable quantity of plants. Apparently when primitive
man saw a number of animals or trees of the same species
together, the effect on him must have been exactly the same
as that of a field of grass or corn on us. He could be
conscious only of an indefinite .sense of magnitude. But he
did not know, as we do in the cases cited, that the objects
he saw were really a collection of distinct individuals. He
would naturally consider them as all one, just as children
would think a field of grass or corn to be one great plant
until they were told otherwise. But there was no one to
tell him, nor any means by which he could find out his
mistake. He had no plural number, and no definite or
indefinite articles. Whether he saw one or a hundred tigers
together, he could only describe them by the one word tiger.
It was a long time before he could even say ' much tiger,' as
the Australian natives still have to do if they see more
animals than five together, and the Andamanese if they see
more than two. The hypothesis therefore seems reasonable
that at first man considered each species of animals or
plants which he distinguished to have a separate single life,
' For counting, see Priinitir- Ctil- - Account of the Me%va7' Bhils,
ture, 5th ed. pp. 240, 254, 265, 266. J.A.S.B., vol. xxiv. (1875) P- 369-
IMAGE OF THE GOD JAGANNATH-A FORM OF VISHNU.
I CONFUSION OF INDIVIDUAL AND SPECIES 119
of which all the individuals were pieces or members. The
separation of different parts of one living body presented no
difficulties to his mind, since, as already seen, he believed
the life to continue in severed fractions of the human body.
A connection between individuals, apparently based on
the idea that they have a common life, has been noticed in
other cases. Thus at the commencement of the patriarchal
state of society, when the child is believed to derive its life
from its father, any carelessness in the father's conduct
may injuriously affect the child. Sir E. B. Tylor notes this
among the tribes of South America. After the birth of a
child among the Indians of South America the father would
cat no regular cooked food, not suitable for children, as he
feared that if he did this his child would die,^ " Among the
Arawaks of Surinam for some time after the birth of a child
the father must fell no tree, fire no gun, hunt no large game ;
he may stay near home, shoot little birds with a bow and
arrow, and angle for little fish ; but his time hanging heavy
on his hands the only comfortable thing he can do is to
lounge in his hammock." "^ On another occasion a savage
who had lately become a father, refused snuff, of which he
was very fond, because his sneezing would endanger the life
of his newly-born child. They believed that any intemper-
ance or carelessness of the father, such as drinking, eating
large quantities of meat, swimming in cold weather, riding
till he was tired and sweated, would endanger the child's life,
and if the child died, the father was bitterly reproached with
having caused its death by some such indiscretion.^ Here
the idea clearly seems to be that the father's and child's life
are one, the latter being derived from and part of the former.
The custom of the Couvade may therefore perhaps be assigned
to the early patriarchal stage. The first belief was that the
child derived its life from its mother, and apparently that the
weakness and debility of the mother after childbirth were
due to the fact that she had given up a part of her life to
the child. When the system of female descent changed to
male descent, the woman was taken from another clan into
her husband's ; the child, being born in its father's clan,
1 Early History of Mankind, p. 293.
2 Ibidem, p. 294. ^ Ibidem, p. 295.
I20 INTRODUCTORY ESSAY ON CASTE part
obviously could not draw its life from its mother, who was
originally of a different clan. The inference was that it
drew its life from its father ; consequently the father, having
parted with a part of his life to his child, had to imitate the
conduct of the mother after childbirth, abstain from any
violent exertion, and sometimes feign weakness and lie up
in the house, so as not to place any undue strain on the
severed fraction of his life in his child, which would be
simultaneously affected with his own, but was much more
fragile.
6i. Simi- Again, primitive man had no conception of likeness or
idemitv" similarity, nor did he realise an imitation as distinct from the
thing imitated. Likeness or similarity and imitation are
abstract ideas, for which he had no words, and conse-
quently did not conceive of them. And clearly if one had
absolutely no term signifying likeness or similarity, and if
one wished to indicate say, that something resembled a goat,
all one could do would be to point at the goat and the
object resembling it and say ' goat,' ' goat.' Since the name
was held to be part of the thing named, such a method would
strengthen the idea that resemblance was equivalent to
identity. This point of view can also be observed in
children, who have no difficulty in thinking that any imita-
tion or toy model is just as good as the object or animal
imitated, and playing with it as such. Even to call a thing
by the name of any object is sufficient with' children to
establish its identity with that object for the purposes of a
game or mimicry, and a large part of children's games are
based on such pretensions. They also have not yet clearly
grasped the difference between likeness and identity, and
between an imitation of an object and the object itself A
large part of the category of substituted ceremonies and
sacrifices are based on this confusion between similarity and
identity. Thus when the Hindus put four pieces of stick
into a pumpkin and call it a goat, they do not mean to
cheat the god to whom it is offered, but fancy that when
they have made a likeness of a goat and called it a goat,
it is a goat, at any rate for the purpose of sacrifice. And
when the Jains, desiring to eat after sunset against the rule
of their religion, place a lamp under a sieve and call it the
I SIMILARITY AND IDENTITY 121
sun, and eat b}' it, they are acting on the same principle and
think they have avoided committing a sin. A Baiea should
go to his wedding on an elephant, but as he cannot obtain
a real elephant, two wooden cots are lashed together and
covered with blankets, with a black cloth trunk in front, and
this arrangement passes muster for an elephant. A small
gold image of a cat is offered to a Brahman in expiation for
killing a cat, silver eyes are offered to the goddess to save
the eyes of a person suffering from smallpox, a wisp of straw
is burnt on a man's grave as a substitute for cremating the
body, a girl is married to an image of a man made of kusha
grass, and so on. In rites where blood is required vermilion
is used as a substitute for blood ; on the other hand castes
which abstain from flesh sometimes also decline to eat red
vegetables and fruits, because the red colour is held to make
them resemble and be equivalent to blood. These beliefs
survive in religious ceremonial long after the hard logic of
facts has dispelled them from ordinary life.^ Thus when an
image of a god was made it was at once the god and con-
tained part of his life. Primitive man had no idea of an
imitation or an image nor of a lifeless object, and therefore
could not conceive of the representation being anything else
than the god. Only in later times was some ceremony of
conveying life to the image considered requisite. The prohibi-
tion of sculpture among the Jews and of painting among the
Muhammadans was based on this view," because sculptures
and paintings were not considered as images or representa-
tions, but as living beings or gods, and consequently false
gods. The world-wide custom of making an image of a
man with intent to injure him arises from the same belief
Since primitive man could conceive neither of an imitation
nor of an inanimate object, the image of a man was to his
view the man ; there w^as nothing else which it could be.
And thus it contained part of the man's life, just as every
idol of a god was the god himself and contained part of the
god's life. Since the man's life was common to himself and
the image, by injuring or destroying the image it was held
' See also Primitive Culture, i. p. Muhammadan reference. The Jewish
493, ii. p. 431. reference is of course to the Second
2 See article on Mochi for the Commandment.
122 INTRODUCTORY ESSAY ON CASTE part
that the man's life would similarly be injured or destroyed,
on the analogy already explained of injury to life being
frequently observed to follow a hurt or wound of any part
of the body. Afterwards the connection between the man
and the image was strengthened by working into the material
of the latter some fraction of his body, such as severed hair
or the earth pressed by his foot. But this was not necessary
to the original belief. The objection often raised by savages
to having their photographs taken or pictures painted may
be explained in the same manner. Here the photograph
or picture cannot be realised as a simple imitation ; it is
held to be the man himself, and must therefore contain
part of his life. Hence any one in whose possession it is
can do him harm by injuring or destroying the photograph
or picture, according to the method of reasoning already
explained. The superstitions against looking in a mirror,
especially after dark, or seeing one's reflection in water, are
analogous cases. Here the reflection in the mirror or water
is held to be the person himself, because savages do not
understand the nature of the reflected image. It is the
person himself, but has no corporeal substance ; therefore
the reflection must be his ghost or spirit. But if the spirit
appears once it is an omen that it will appear again ; and in
order that it may do so the man will have to die so that the
spirit may be set free from the body in order to appear.
The special reason for not looking into a mirror at night
would thus be because the night is the usual time for the
appearance of spirits. The fable of Narcissus, who fell in
love with his own image reflected in the water and was
drowned, probably arose from the superstition against seeing
one's image reflected in water. And similarly the belief
was that a man's clothes and other possessions contained
part of his life by contact; this is the explanation of the
custom of representing a person by some implement or
article of clothing, such as performing the marriage ceremony
with the bridegroom's sword instead of himself, and sending
the bride's shoes home with the bridegroom to represent
her. A barren woman will try to obtain a piece of a
pregnant woman's breast-cloth and will burn it and eat
the ashes, thinking thereby to transfer the pregnant
I THE RECURRENCE OF EVENTS 123
woman's quality of fertility to herself When a Hindu
widow is remarried her clothes and ornaments are some-
times buried on the boundary of her second husband's
village and she puts on new clothes, because it is thought
that her first husband's spirit will remain in the old clothes
and give trouble.
A brief digression may be made here in order to suggest 62. The
an explanation of another important class of primitive ideas, ^''eventsr
These arise from the belief that when somethino- has
o
happened, that same event, or some other resembling it,
will again occur, or, more briefly, the belief in the recurrence
of events. This view is the origin of a large class of omens,
and appears to have been originally evolved simply from
the recurring phenomena of day and night and of the
months and climatic seasons. For suppose that one was
in the position of primitive man, knowing absolutely
nothing of the nature and constitution of the earth and
the heavenly bodies, or of the most elementary facts of
astronomy ; then, if the question were asked why one
expected the sun to rise to - morrow, the only possible
answer, and the answer which one would give, would be
because it had risen to-day and every day as long as one
could remember. The reason so stated might have no
scientific value, but would at any rate establish a strong
general probability. But primitive man could not have
given it in this form, because he had no memory and could
not count. Even now comparatively advanced tribes like
the Gonds have a hopelessly inaccurate memory for ordinary
incidents ; and, as suggested subsequently, the faculty of
memory was probably acquired very slowly with the
development of language. And since he could not count,
the continuous recurrence of natural phenomena had no
cumulative force with him, so that he might distinguish
them from other events. His argument was thus simply
" the sun will rise again because it rose before ; the moon
will wax and wane again because she waxed and waned
before " ; grass and leaves and fruit would grow again
because they did so before ; the animals which gave him
food would come again as before ; and so on. But these
were the only events which his brain retained at all, and
124 INTRODUCTORY ESS A V 0/V CASTE part
that only because his existence depended upon them and
they continually recurred. The ordinary incidents of life
which presented some variation passed without record in
his mind, as they still do very largely in those of primitive
savages. And since he made no distinction between the
different classes of events, holding them all to be the acts
of volitional beings, he applied this law of the recurrence of
events to every incident of life, and thought that whenever
anything happened, reason existed for supposing that the
same thing or something like it would happen again. It
was sufficient that the second event should be like the first,
since, as already seen, he did not distinguish between
similarity and identity. Thus, to give instances, the Hindus
think that if a man lies full length inside a bed, he is lying
as if on a bier and will consequently soon be dead on a
real bier ; hence beds should be made so that one's feet
project uncomfortably over the end. By a similar reasoning
he must not lie with his feet to the south because corpses
are laid in this direction. A Hindu married woman always
wears glass bangles as a sign of her state, and a widow may
not wear them. A married woman must therefore never
let her arms be without bangles or it is an omen that she
will become a widow. She must not wear wholly white
clothes, because a widow wears these. If a man places one
of his shoes over the other in the house, it is an omen that
he will go on a journey when the shoes will be in a similar
position as he walks along. A Kolta woman who desires
to ascertain whether she will have a son, puts a fish into a
pot full of water and spreads her cloth by it. If the fish
jumps into her lap, it is thought that her lap will shortly
hold another living being, that is a son. At a wedding, in
many Hindu castes, the bride and bridegroom perform the
business of their caste or an imitation of it. Among the
Kuramwar shepherds the bride and bridegroom are seated
with the shuttle which is used for weaving blankets between
them. A miniature swing is put up and a doll is placed in
it in imitation of a child and swung to and fro. The bride
then takes the doll out and gives it to the bridegroom,
saying: — " Here, take care of it, I am now going to cook
food " ; while, after a time, the boy returns the doll to the
I CONTROLLING THE FUTURE 125
girl saying, " 1 must now weave the blanket and go to tend
the flock." Thus, having performed their life's business at
their wedding, it is thought that they will continue to do so
happily as long as they live. Many castes, before sowing
the real crop, make a pretence of sowing seed before the
shrine of the god, and hope thus to ensure that the subse-
quent sowing will be auspicious. The common stories of
the appearance of a ghost, or other variety of apparition,
before the deaths of members of a particular family, are
based partly on the belief in the recurrence of associated
events. The well-known superstition about sitting down
thirteen to dinner, on the ground that one of the party
may die shortly afterwards, is an instance of the same
belief, being of course based on the Last Supper. But the
number thirteen is generally unlucky, being held to be so
by the Hindus, Muhammadans and Persians, as well as
Europeans, and the superstition perhaps arose from its
being the number of the intercalary month in the soli-lunar
calendar, which is present one year and absent the next
year. Thirteen is one more than twelve, the auspicious
number of the months of the year. Similarly seven was
perhaps lucky or sacred as being the number of the planets
which gave their names to the days of the week, and three
because it represented the sun, moon and earth. When a
gambler stakes his money on a number such as the date of
his birth or marriage, he acts on the supposition that a
number which has been propitious to him once will be so
again, and this appears to be a survival of the belief in the
recurrence of events.
But primitive man was not actuated by any abstract 63. Con-
love of knowledge, and when he had observed what appeared ^^^''"S the
to him to be a law of nature, he proceeded to turn it to
advantage in his efforts for the preservation of his life.
Since events had the characteristic of recurrence, all he had
to do in order to produce the recurrence of any particular
event which he desired, was to cause it to happen in the first
instance ; and since he did not distinguish between imitation
and reality, he thought that if he simply enacted the event
he would thus ensure its being brought to pass. And so he
assiduously set himself to influence the course of nature to
126 INTRODUCTORY ESSAY ON CASTE part
his own advantage. When the Australian aborigines are
performing ceremonies for the increase of witchetty grubs, a
long narrow structure of boughs is made which represents
the chrj'salis of the grub. The men of the witchetty grub
totem enter the structure and sing songs about the production
and growth of the witchetty grub. Then one after another
they shuffle out of the chrysalis, and glide slowly along for
a distance of some yards, imitating the emergence and move-
ments of the witchetty grubs. By thus enacting the pro-
duction of the grubs they think to cause and multiply the
real production.^ When the men of the emu totem wish to
multiply the number of emus, they allow blood from their
arms, that is emu blood, to fall on the ground until a certain
space is covered. Then on this space a picture is drawn
representing the emu ; two large patches of yellow indicate
lumps of its fat, of which the natives are very fond, but the
greater part shows, by means of circles and circular patches,
the eggs in various stages of development, some before and
some after laying. Then the men of the totem, placing on
their heads a stick with a tuft of feathers to represent the long
neck and small head of the bird, stand gazing about aimlessly
after the manner of the emu. Here the picture itself is held
to be a living emu, perhaps the source or centre from which
all emus will originate, and the men, pretending to be emus,
will cause numbers of actual emus to be produced." Before
sowing the crops, a common practice is to sow small
quantities of grain in baskets or pots in rich soil, so that it
will sprout and grow up quickly, the idea being to ensure
that the real crop will have a similarly successful growth.
These baskets are the well-known Gardens of Adonis fully
described in The Golden Bough. They are grown for nine
days, and on the tenth day are taken in procession by the
women and deposited in a river. The women may be seen
carrying the baskets of wheat to the river after the nine days'
fasts of Chait and Kunwar (March and September) in many
towns of the Central Provinces, as the Athenian women
carried the Gardens of Adonis to the sea on the day that the
expedition under Nicias set sail for Syracuse.^ The fire
^ Native Tribes of Central Australia, p. 176.
* Ibidcin, pp. 181, 182. ^ The Golden Bough, 2nd ed. ii. p. 120.
I CONTROLLING THE FUTURE 127
kindled at the Holi festival in spring is meant, as explained
by Sir J. G. Frazer, to increase the power of the sun for
the growth of vegetation. By the production of fire the
quantity and strength of the heavenly fire is increased. He
remarks : ^ — " The custom of throwing blazing discs, shaped
like suns, into the air, is probably also a piece of imitative
magic. In these, as in so many cases, the magic force is
supposed to take effect through mimicry or sympathy ; by
imitating the desired result you actually produce it ; by
counterfeiting the sun's progress through the heavens \'Ou
really help the luminary to pursue his celestial journey with
punctuality and despatch. The name ' fire of heaven,' by
which the midsummer fire is sometimes popularly known,
clearly indicates a consciousness of the connection between
the earthly and the heavenly flame." The obscene songs of
the Holi appear to be the relic of a former period of pro-
miscuous sexual debauchery, which, through the multiplied
act of reproduction, was intended to ensure that nature
should also reproduce on a generous scale. The red powder
thrown over everybody at the Holi is said to represent the
seed of life. The gifts of Easter eggs seem to be the vestige
of a rite having the same object. At a wedding in the
Lodhi caste the bride is seated before the family god while
an old woman brings a stone rolling-pin wrapped up in a
piece of cloth, which is supposed to be a baby, and the old
woman imitates a baby crying. She puts the roller in the
bride's lap, saying, " Take this and give it milk." The bride
is abashed and throws it aside. The old woman picks it up
and shows it to the assembled women, saying, " The bride
has just had a baby," amid loud laughter. Then she gives
the stone to the bridegroom, who also throws it aside. This
ceremony is meant to induce fertility, and it is supposed that by
making believe that the bride has had a baby she will quickly
have one. Similar rites are performed in several other castes,
and when a girl becomes adult her lap is filled with fruits
with the idea that this will cause it subsequently to be filled
with the fruit of her womb. The whole custom of giving dolls
to girls to play with, perhaps originated in the belief that by
doing so they would afterwards come to play with children.
1 The Golden Bough, 2nd ed. iii. p. 301.
1 28 INTRO D UCrOR Y ESS A Y ON CA S TE part
The dances of the Kol tribe consist partly of symbolical
enactments of events which they desired to be successfully
accomplished. Some variations of the dance, Colonel
Dalton states, represent the different seasons and the
necessary acts of cultivation that each brings with it. In
one the dancers, bending down, make a motion with their
hands, as though they were sowing the grain, keeping step
with their feet all the time. Then comes the reaping of
the crop and the binding of the sheaves, all done in perfect
time and rhythm, and making, with the continuous droning
of the voices, a quaint and picturesque performance.-^ The
Karma dance of the Gonds and Oraons is also connected
with the crops, and probably was once an enactment of the
work of cultivation.' The Bhils danced at their festivals
and before battles. The men danced in a ring, holding
sticks and striking them against one another. Before a
battle they had a war-dance in which the performers were
armed and imitated a combat. To be carried on the
shoulders of one of the combatants was a great honour,
perhaps because it symbolised being on horseback. TJie
object was to obtain success in battle by going through an
imitation of a successful battle beforehand. This was also
the common custom of the Red Indians, whose war-dances
are well known ; they brandished their weapons and killed
their foe in mimicry in order that they might soon do so in
reality. The Sela dance of the Gonds and Baigas, in which
they perform the figure of the grand chain of the lancers,
only that they strike their sticks together instead of clasping
hands as they pass, was probably once an imitation of a
combat. It is still sometimes danced before their communal
hunting and fishing parties. In these mimetic rehearsals
of events with the object of causing them to occur we may
perhaps discern the origin of the arts both of acting and
dancing. Another, and perhaps later form, was the re-
production of important events, or those which had
influenced history. For to the primitive mind, as already
seen, the results were not conceived of as instrumentally
caused by the event, but as part of the event itself and of
1 Section on the Kol tribe in - Mr. S. C. Roy, The Oraons, p.
Dal ton's Ethnology of Bengal. 262.
THE COMMON LIFE
129
its life and personality. Hence by the ic-enactment of the
event the beneficial results would be again obtained or at
least preserved in undiminished potency and vigour. This
was perhaps the root idea of the drama and the representa-
tion of sacred or heroic episodes on the stage.
Thus, resuming from paragraph 61, primitive man had no 64. The
difficulty in conceiving of a life as shared between two or more J^^"*""""
persons or objects, and it does not seem impossible that he
should have at first conceived it to extend through a whole
species.^ A good instance of the common life is afforded by
the gods of the Hindu and other pantheons. Each god was
conceived of as performing some divine function, guiding the
chariot of the sun, manipulating the thunder and so on ; but
at the same time thousands of temples existed throughout the
country, and in each of these the god was alive and present
in his image or idol, able to act independently, receive and
consume sacrifices and offerings, protect suppliants and
punish transgressors. No doubt at all can be entertained
that each idol was in itself held to be a living god. In
India food is offered to the idol, it goes through its ablu-
tions, is fanned, and so on, exactly like a human king. The
ideas of sanctuary and sacrilege appear to depend primarily
on the belief in the actual presence of the god in his shrine.
And in India no sanctity at all attaches to a temple from
which the idol has been removed. Thus we see the life of
the god distributed over a multitude of personalities. Again,
the same god, as Vishnu or the sun, is held to have had a
number of incarnations, as the boar, the tortoise, a man-lion,
a dwarf, Rama and Krishna, and these are venerated simul-
taneously as distinct deities. The whole Brahman caste
considered itself divine or as partaking in the life of the
god, the original reason for this perhaps being that the
Brahmans obtained the exclusive right to perform sacrifices,
and hence the life of the sacrificial animal or food passed
to them, as in other societies it passed to the king who
performed the sacrifice. A Brahman further holds that
the five gods, Indra, Brahma, Siva, Vishnu and Ganesh, are
present in different parts of his body,' and here again the
* See also Primitive Culture, Sth ed. ii. pp. 243, 244, 246.
2 See article on Brahman.
VOL. I K
I30 INTRODUCTORY ESS A V ON CASTE part
life of the god is seen to be divided into innumerable
fragments. The priests of the Vallabhacharya sect, the
Gokulastha Gosains, were all held to be possessed by the god
Krishna, so that it was esteemed a high privilege to perform
the most menial offices for them, because to touch them
was equivalent to touching the god, and perhaps assimilating
by contact a fragment of his divine life and nature.^ The
belief in a common life would also explain the veneration
of domestic animals and the prohibition against killing them,
because to kill one would injure the whole life of the species,
from which the tribe drew its subsistence. Similarly in a
number of cases the first idea of seasonal fasts is that the
people abstain from the grain or fruit which is growing or
sown in the ground. Thus in India during the rains the
vegetables growing at this period are not eaten, and are
again partaken of for the first time after the sacrificial
offering of the new crop. This rule could not possibly be
observed in the case of grain, but instead certain single fast-
days are prescribed, and on these days no cultivated grain
or fruit, but only those growing wild, should be eaten.
These rules seem to indicate that the original motive of the
fast was to avoid injuring the common life of the grain or
fruit, which injury would be caused by a consumption of
any part of it, at a time when the whole of the common
life and vigour was required for its reproduction and
multiplication. This idea may have operated to enable
the savage to restrain himself from digging up and eating
the grain sown in the ground, or slaughtering his domestic
animals for food, and a taboo on the consumption of
grain and fruits during their period of ripening may have
first begun in their wild state. The Intichiuma ceremonies
of the Australian natives are carried out with the object of
increasing the supply of the totem for food purposes. In
the Ilpirla or Manna totem the members of the clan go
to a large boulder surrounded by stones, which are held to
represent masses of Ilpirla or the manna of the inulga tree.
A Churinga stone is dug up, which is supposed to represent
another mass of manna, and this is rubbed over the boulder,
and the smaller stones are also rubbed over it. While the
' See article Bairagi.
THE COMMON LIFE
13'
leader does this, the others sing a song which is an invita-
tion to the dust produced by the rubbing of the stones to
go out and produce a plentiful supply of Ilpirla on the nmlga
trees.^ Then the dust is swept off the surface of the stones
with twigs of the mulga tree. Here apparently the large
boulder and other stones are held to be the centre or focus of
the common life of the manna, and from them the seed issues
forth which will produce a crop of manna on all the mulga
trees. The deduction seems clear that the trees are not
conceived of individually, but are held to have a common
life. In the case of the hakea flower totem they go to a
stone lying beneath an old tree, and one of the members lets
his blood flow on to the stone until it is covered, while the
others sing a song inciting the Jiakea tree to flower much
and to the blossoms to be full of honey.^ The blood is
said to represent a drink prepared from the hakea flowers, but
probably it was originally meant to quicken the stone with
the blood of a member of the totem, that is its own blood
or life, in order that it might produce abundance of flowers.
Here again the stone seems to be the centre of the common
life of the hakea flower. The songs are sung with the idea
that the repetition of words connoting a state of facts will have
the effect of causing that state of facts to exist, in accordance
with the belief already explained in the concrete virtue of words.
Sir E. B. Tylor states : " In Polynesia, if a village god
were accustomed to appear as an owl, and one of his votaries
found a dead owl by the roadside, he would mourn over the
sacred bird and bury it with much ceremony, but the god
himself would not be thought to be dead, for he remains in-
carnate in all existing owls. According to Father Geronimo
Boscana, the Acagchemen tribe of Upper California furnish
a curious parallel to this notion. They worshipped the panes
bird, which seems to have been an eagle or vulture, and each
year, in the temple of each village, one of them was solemnly
killed without shedding blood, and the body buried. Yet
the natives maintained and believed that it was the same
individual bird they sacrificed each year, and more than this,
that the same bird was slain by each of the villages." ^ An
1 Native Tribes of Central Australia, pp. 1S5, 186. ^ Jbidefti, pp. 154, 155.
3 Primitive Culture, 5th ed. ii. pp. 243, 244.
132 INTRODUCTORY ESS A V ON CASTE i'ari
account of the North American Indians quoted by the same
author states that they believe all the animals of each species
to have an elder brother, who is as it were the principle and
origin of all the individuals, and this elder brother is marvel-
lously great and powerful. According to another view each
species has its archetype in the land of souls ; there
exists, for example, a manitu or archetype of all oxen, which
animates all oxen.^
Generally in the relations between the totem-clan and
its totem-animal, and in all the fables about animals, one
animal is taken as representing the species, and it is tacitly
assumed that all the animals of the species have the same
knowledge and qualities and would behave in the same
manner as the typical one. Thus when the Majhwar says
that the tiger would run away if he met a member of the
tiger-clan who was free from sin, but would devour any
member who had been put out of caste for an offence, he
assumes that every tiger would know a member of the clan
on meeting him, and also whether that member was in or
out of caste. He therefore apparently supposes a common
knowledge and intelligence to exist in all tigers as regards
the clan, as if they were parts of one mind or intelligence.
And since the tigers know instinctively when a member of
the clan is out of caste, the mind and intelligence of the
tigers must be the same as that of the clan. The Kols of the
tiger clan think that if they were to sit up for a tiger over a
kill the tiger would not come and would be deprived of his
food, and that they themselves would fall ill. Here the evil
effects of the want of food on one tiger are apparently held to
extend to all tigers and also to all members of the tiger clan.
65. The The totem-clan held itself to partake of the life of its
common totem, and on the above hypothesis one common life would
life of the ^
clan. flow through all the animals and plants of the totem and all
the members of the clan. An Australian calls his totem
his Wingong (friend) or Tumang (flesh), and nowadays
expresses his sorrow when he has to eat it.^ If a man
wishes to injure any man of a certain totem, he kills any
1 rrimitwe Culture, 5th ed. ii. pj). of Sotith-East Australia, p. 146. In
243, 244. this case the reference seems to be to
2 Dr. A. W. Ilowitt, Native Tribes any one of several totems of a sub-class.
I THE COMMON LIFE OF THE CLAN 133
animal of that man's totem.' This clearly shows that one
common life is held to bind together all the animals of the
totem-species and all the members of the totem-clan, and
the belief seems to be inexplicable on any other hypothesis.
The same is the case with the sex-totems of the Kurnai
tribe. In addition to the clan-totems all the boys have the
Superb Warbler bird as a sex-totem, and call it their elder
brother ; and all the girls the Emu-wren, and call it their
elder sister. If the boys wish to annoy the girls, or vice
versa, each kills or injures the other's totem-bird, and such
an act is always followed by a free fight between the boys
and girls.^ Sex-totems are a peculiar development which
need not be discussed here, but again it would appear that
a common life runs through the birds of the totem and the
members of the sex. Professor Robertson Smith describes
the clan or kin as follows : " A kin was a group of persons
whose lives were so bound up together, in what must be
called a physical unity, that they could be treated as parts
of one common life. The members of one kindred looked
on themselves as one living whole, one single animated mass
of blood, flesh and bones, of which no member could be
touched without all the members suffering. This point of
view is expressed in the Semitic tongue in many familiar
forms of speech. In case of homicide Arabian tribesmen
do not say, ' The blood of M. or N. has been spilt ' (naming
the man) : they say, ' Our blood has been spilt.' In Hebrew
the phrase by which one claims kinship is, ' I am your bone
and your flesh.' Both in Hebrew and in Arabic flesh is
synonymous with * clan ' or kindred group." ^ The custom
of the blood-feud appears to have arisen from the belief in a
common life of the clan. " The blood-feud is an institution
not peculiar to tribes reckoning descent through females ;
and it is still in force. By virtue of its requirements every
member of a kin, one of whom had suffered at the hands of
a member of another kin, was bound to avenge the wrong
upon the latter kin. .Such is the solidarity between members
of a kin that vengeance might be taken upon any member
^ Dr. A. W. Howitt, Native Tribes ^ 77,^ Reh\non of the Semites, pp.
of South-East Australia, p. 145. 273, 274.
''' Ibidem, pp. 148, 149.
134 INTRODUCTORY ESSAY ON CASTE part
of the offending kin, though he might be personally quite
innocent. In the growth of civilisation vengeance has
gradually come to be concentrated upon the offender only."^
Thus the blood-feud appears to have originated from the
idea of primary retributive justice between clan and clan.
When a member of a clan had been killed, one of the
offending clan must be killed in return. Who he might be,
and whether the original homicide was justifiable or not,
were questions not regarded by primitive man ; motives
were abstract ideas with which he had no concern ; he only
knew that a piece of the common life had been lopped off, and
the instinct of self-preservation of the clan demanded that a
piece of the life of the offending clan should be cut off in
return. And the tie which united the kin was eating and
drinking together. " According to antique ideas those who
eat and drink together are by this very act tied to one
another by a bond of friendship and mutual obligation." ^
This was the bond which first united the members of the
totem -clan both among themselves and with their totem.
And the relationship with the totem could only have arisen
from the fact that they ate it. The belief in a common life
could not possibly arise in the totem-clan towards any animal
or plant which they did not eat or otherwise use. These they
would simply disregard. Nor would savages, destitute at
first of any moral ideas, and frequently on the brink of starva-
tion, abstain from eating any edible animal from sentimental
considerations ; and, as already seen, the first totems were
generally edible. They could not either have in the first
place eaten the totem ceremonially, as there would be no
reason for such a custom. But the ceremonial eating of the
domestic animal, which was the tie subsequently uniting the
members of the tribe,^ cannot be satisfactorily explained
except on the hypothesis that it was evolved from the
customary eating of the totem -animal. Primitive savages
would only feel affection towards the animals which they ate,
just as the affection of animals is gained by feeding them.
The objection might be made that savages could not feel
' Primitive Palernity, vol. i. pp. 3 gg^ paragrapli So below and the
272, 273. article on Kasai.
- ThcRelififlUoflhcSeviitcs,^. 265.
I THE COMMON LIFE OF THE CLAN 135
affection and kinship for an animal which they killed and
ate, but no doubt exists that they do.
"In British Columbia, when the fishing season com-
menced and the fish began coming up the rivers, the
Indians used to meet them and speak to them. They
paid court to them and would address them thus : ' You
fish, you fish ; you are all chiefs, you are ; you are all
chiefs,' Among the Northas when a bear is killed, it is
dressed in a bonnet, covered with fine down, and solemnly
invited to the chiefs presence." ^ And there are many
other instances." Savages had no clear realisation of
death, and they did not think that the life of the animal
was extinguished but that it passed to them with the
flesh. Moreover they only ate part of the life. In many
cases also the totem -animal only appeared at a certain
season of the year, in consequence of the habit of hiberna-
tion or migration in search of food, while trees only bore
fruit in their season. The savage, regarding all animals
and plants as possessed of self-conscious life and volition,
would think that they came of their own accord to give him
subsistence or life. Afterwards, when they had obtained
the idea of a soul or spirit, and of the survival of the soul
after death, and when, on the introduction of personal names,
the personality of individuals could be realised and re-
membered after death, they frequently thought that the spirits
of ancestors went back to the totem-animal, whence they
derived their life. The idea of descent from the totem
would thus naturally arise. As the means of subsistence
increased, and especially in those communities which had
domesticated animals or cultivated plants, the conception of
the totem as the chief source of life would gradually die
away and be replaced by the belief in descent from it ; and
when they also thought that the spirits of ancestors were
in the totem, they would naturally abstain from eating it.
Perhaps also the Australians consider that the members
of the totem -clan should abstain from eating the totem
for fear of injuring the common life, as more advanced
communities abstained from eating the flesh of domestic
^ The Origin of Civilisation, p. 240.
2 See The Golden Bough, ii. p. 396 et scq.
136 INTRODUCTORY ESSAY ON CASTE part
animals. This may be the ground for the rule that they
should only eat sparingly of the totem. To the later period
may be ascribed the adoption of carnivorous animals as
totems ; when these animals came to be feared and also
venerated for their qualities of strength, ferocity and courage,
warriors would naturally wish to claim kinship with and
descent from them.
When the members of the totem-clan who lived together
recognised that they owed something to each other, and that
the gratification of the instincts and passions of the individual
must to a certain degree be restrained if they endangered
the lives and security of other members of the clan, they
had taken the first step on the long path of moral and social
progress. The tie by which they supposed themselves to
be united was quite different from those which have con-
stituted a bond of union between the communities who
have subsequently lived together in the tribe, the city-state
and the country. These have been a common religion,
common language, race, or loyalty to a common sovereign ;
but the real bond has throughout been the common good or
the public interest. And the desire for this end on the part
of the majority of the members of the community, or the
majority of those who were able to express their opinions,
though its action was until recently not overt nor direct, and
was not recognised, has led to the gradual evolution of the
whole fabric of law and moral feeling, in order to govern
and control the behaviour and conduct of the individual in
his relations with his family, neighbours and fellow-citizens
for the public advantage. The members of the totem-clan
would have been quite unable to understand either the
motives by which they were themselves actuated or the ab-
stract ideas which have united more advanced communities ;
but they devised an even stronger bond than these, in sup-
posing that they were parts or fractions of one common body
or life. This was the more necessary as their natural im-
pulses were uncontrolled by moral feeling. They conceived
the bond of union in the concrete form of eating together.
As language improved and passing events were recorded in
speech and in the mind, the faculty of memory was perhaps
concurrently developed. Then man began to realise the
I THE ORIGIN OF EXOGAMY 137
insecurity of his life, the dangers and misfortunes to which
he was subject, the periodical failure or irregularity of the
supply of food, and the imminent risks of death. Memory
of the past made him apprehensive for the future, and holding
that every event was the result of an act of volition, he began
to assume an attitude either of veneration, gratitude, or fear
towards the strongest of the beings by whom he thought his
destinies were controlled — the sun, moon, sky, wind and rain,
the ocean and great rivers, high mountains and trees, and
the most important animals of his environment, whether they
destroyed or assisted to preserve his life. The ideas of
propitiation, atonement and purification were then imparted
to the sacrifice, and it became an offering to a god.^ But the
primary idea of eating or drinking together as a bond of
union was preserved, and can be recognised in religious and
social custom to an advanced period of civilisation.
Again, Dr. Westermarck shows that the practice of 57. The
exogamy or the avoidance of intermarriage did not at first °l^'o'"n°y
arise between persons recognised as blood relations, but
between those who lived together. " Facts show that the
extent to which relatives are not allowed to intermarry is
nearly connected with their close living together. Generally
speaking the prohibited degrees are extended much further
among savage and barbarous peoples than in civilised
societies. As a rule the former, if they have not remained
in the most primitive social condition of man, live not in
separate families but in large households or communities, all
the members of which dwell in very close contact with each
other." " And later, after adducing the evil results of self-
fertilisation in plants and close interbreeding in animals, Dr.
Westermarck continues : " Taking all these facts into con-
sideration, I cannot but believe that consanguineous marriages,
in some way or other, are more or less detrimental to the
species. And here I think we may find a quite sufficient
explanation of the horror of incest ; not because man at an
early stage recognised the injurious influence of close inter-
marriage, but because the law of natural selection must
1 This view of sacrifice was first Religion of (he Semites.
enunciated by Professor Robertson 2 History of Human Marriage, p.
Smith in the article on Sncrifice in 324.
the Encyclop(rdia Britannica, and The
138 INTRODUCTORY ESS A V ON CASTE part
inevitably have operated. Among the ancestors of man, as
among other animals, there was no doubt a time when blood
relationship was no bar to sexual intercourse. But variations
here, as elsewhere, would naturally present themselves ; and
those of our ancestors who avoided in-and-in breeding would
survive, while the others would gradually decay and ultimately
perish. Thus an instinct would be developed, which would
be powerful enough as a rule to prevent injurious unions.
Of course it would display itself simply as an aversion on
the part of individuals to union with others with whom
they lived ; but these as a matter of fact would be blood
relations, so that the result would be the survival of the
fittest."
68. Pro- The instinct of exogamy first developed in the totem-
anTfemaie ^'^" whcn it was migratory and lived by hunting, at least
descent. among the Australians and probably the American Indians.
The first condition of the clan was one of sexual
promiscuity, and in Totemisni and Exogamy Sir J. G.
Frazer has adduced many instances of periodical promiscuous
debauchery which probably recall this state of things.^ The
evil results which would accrue from in-breeding in the con-
dition of promiscuity may have been modified by such
incidents as the expulsion of the young males through the
spasmodic jealousy of the older ones, the voluntary segrega-
tion of the old males, fights and quarrels leading to the
rearrangement of groups, and the frequent partial destruction
of a group, when the survivors might attach themselves to a
new group. Primitive peoples attached the utmost import-
ance to the rule of exogamy, and the punishments for the
breach of it were generally more severe than those for the
violation of the laws of affinity in civilised countries. The
Australians say that the good spirit or the wise men prescribed
to them the rule that the members of each totem-clan should
not marry with each other." Similarly the Gonds say that
their divine hero. Lingo, introduced the rule of exogamy and
the division into clans before he went to the gods.
At first, however, the exogamous clan was not con-
stituted by descent through males, but through females.
' Many instances are also given by ^ jsfativc Tiihcs of Sotilh-East Aiis-
^fr. I fart land in Priviilii'c Patcrnify. tralia, p. 48 1.
I PROMISCUITY AND FEMALE DESCENT 139
The hypothesis that female everywhere preceded male
descent is strongly supported by natural probability. In
the first instance, the parentage of children was no more
observed and remembered than that of animals. When first
observed, it was necessarily through the mother, the identity
of the father being wholly uncertain. The mother would
also be the first parent to remember her children, her
affection for them being based on one of the strongest
natural instincts, whereas the father neither knew nor cared
for his children until long afterwards. Sir J. G. Frazer
has further shown that even now some of the Australian
aborigines are ignorant of the physical fact of paternity and
its relation to sexual intercourse. That such ignorance
could have survived so long is the strongest evidence in
favour of the universal priority of female to male descent.
It is doubtful, however, whether even the mother could
remember her children after they had become adult, prior
to the introduction of personal names. Mr. M'Lennan
states : " The tie between mother and child, which exists as
a matter of necessity during infancy, is not infrequently
found to be lost sight of among savages on the age of
independence being reached." ^ Personal names were
probably long subsequent to clan -names, and when they
were first introduced the name usually had some reference
to the clan. The Red Indians and other races have
totem-names which are frequently some variant of the
name of the totem.^ When personal names came to be
generally introduced, the genesis of the individual family
might soon follow, but the family could scarcely have come
into existence in the absence of personal names. As a rule,
in the exogamous clan with female descent no regard was
paid to the chastity of women, and they could select their
partners as they pleased. Mr. Hartland has shown in
Primitive Paternity that in a large number of primitive
communities the chastity of women was neither enforced nor
desired by the men, this state of things being probably a
* Primitive Marriage, p. 135, foot- Churinga names, the Churingas appar-
note. ently representing the spirits of an-
2 Tote77iisinand Exogamy, li-Yi- ^73, cestors which have returned to the
iii. pp. 34, 76, loi, 225, 272, 308, totem. (Spencer and Gillan, ibidem,
360. The Australians have secret Appendix A.)
I40 INTRODUCTORY ESS A V ON CASTE part
relic of the period of female descent. Thus exogamy first
arose through the women of the clan resorting to men out-
side it. When we consider the extreme rigour of life and
the frequent danger of starvation to which the small clans
in the hunting stage must have been exposed, it does not
seem impossible that the evil effects of marriage within
the clan may have been noticed. At that time probably
only a minority even of healthy children survived, and
the slight congenital weakness produced by in - breeding
might apparently be fatal to a child's chance of life.
Possibly some dim perception may have been obtained of
the different fates of the children of women who restricted
their sexual relations to men within the clan and those who
resorted to strangers, even though the nature of paternity
may not have been understood. The strength of the feeling
and custom of exogamy seems to demand some such
recognition for its satisfactory explanation, though, on the
other hand, the lateness of the recognition of the father's
share in the production of children militates against this
view. The suggestion may be made also that the belief
that the new life of a child must be produced by a spirit
entering the woman, or other extraneous source, does not
necessarily involve an ignorance of the physical fact of
paternity ; the view that the spirits of ancestors are
reborn in children is still firmly held by tribes who have
long been wholly familiar with the results of the commerce
of the sexes. The practice of exogamy was no doubt, as
shown by Dr. Westermarck, favoured and supported by the
influence of novelty in sexual attraction, since according
to common observation and experience sexual love or
desire is more easily excited between strangers or slight
acquaintances than between those who have long lived
together in the same household or in familiar intercourse.
In the latter case the attraction is dulled by custom and
familiarity.
The exogamous clan, with female descent, was, however,
an unstable social institution, in that it had no regular pro-
vision for marriage nor for the incorporation of married
couples. The men who associated with the women of the
clan were not necessarily, nor as a rule, admitted to it, but
I EXOGAMY WITH FEMALE DESCENT i^r
remained in their own clans. How this association took
place is not altogether clear. At a comparatively late period
in Arabia, according to Professor Robertson Smith/ the
woman would have a tent, and could entertain outside men
for a shorter or longer period according to her inclination.
The practice of serving for a wife also perhaps dates from
the period of female descent. The arrangement would have
been that a man went and lived with a woman's family and
gave his services in return for her conjugal society.
Whether the residence with the wife's family was permanent
or not is perhaps uncertain. When Jacob served for Leah
and Rachel, society seems to have been in the early
patriarchal stage, as Laban was their father and he was
Laban's sister's son. But it seems doubtful whether his
right was then recognised to take his wives away with him,
for even after he had served fourteen years Laban pursued
him, and would have taken them back if he had not been
warned against doing so in a vision. The episode of
Rachel's theft of the images also seems to indicate that she
intended to take her own household gods with her and not
to adopt those of her husband's house. And Laban's chief
anxiety was for the recovery of the images. A relic of
the husband's residence with his wife's family during the
period of female descent may perhaps be found in the
Banjara caste, who oblige a man to go and live with his wife's
father for a month without seeing her face. Under the
patriarchal system this rule of the Banjaras is meaningless,
though the general practice of serving for a wife survives as
a method of purchase.
Among the Australian aborigines apparently the clans,
or sections of them, wander about in search of food and
game, and meet each other for more or less promiscuous
intercourse. This may perhaps be supposed to have been the
general primitive condition of society after the introduction
of exogamy combined with female descent. And its
memory is possibly preserved in the tradition of the Golden
Age, golden only in the sense that man was not troubled
either by memory or anticipation, and lived only for the
day. The entire insecurity of life and its frequent end by
1 Kinship and Marriage in Early Arabia, pp. 198, 200.
142 INTRODUCTORY ESSAY ON CASTE i'art
starvation or a violent death did not therefore trouble him
any more than is the case with animals. He took no
thought for the morrow, nor did the ills of yesterday
oppress his mind. As when one of a herd of deer is shot
by a hunter and the others stand by it pityingly as it lies
dying on the ground, uncertain of its mishap, though they
would help it if they could ; yet when they perceive the
hunter they make quickly off and in a few minutes are
again grazing happily a mile or two away : little or no
more than this can primitive man be supposed to have been
affected by the deaths of his fellows. But possibly, since
he was carnivorous, the sick and old may have been killed
for food, as is still the practice among some tribes of
savages. In the natural course, however, more or less
permanent unions, though perhaps not regular marriages,
must have developed in the female exogamous clan, which
would thus usually have men of other clans living with it.
And since identification of individuals would be extremely
difficult before the introduction of personal names, there
would be danger that when two clans met, men and women
belonging to the same totem-clan would have sexual inter-
course. This offence, owing to the strength of the feeling
for exogamy, was frequently held to entail terrible evils for
the community, and was consequently sometimes punished
with death as treason. Moreover, if we suppose a number
of small clans, A, B, C, D and E, to meet each other again
and again, and the men and women to unite promiscuously,
it is clear that the result would be a mixture of relationships
of a very incestuous character. The incest of brothers and
sisters by the same father would be possible and of almost
all other relations, though that of brothers and sisters by the
same mother would not be caused. This may have been
the reason for the introduction of the class system among
the Australians and Red Indians, by which all the clans
of a certain area were divided into two classes, and the
men of any clan of one class could only marry or have inter-
course with the women of a clan of the other class. By
such a division the evil results of the mixture of totems
in exogamous clans with female descent would be avoided.
The class system was sometimes further strengthened by
I EXOGAMY WITH FEMALE DESCENT 143
the rule, in Australia, that different classes should, when
they met, encamp on opposite sides of a creek or other
natural division ^ ; whilst among the Red Indians, the classes
camp on opposite sides of the road, or live on different sides
of the same house or street.^ In Australia, and very occa-
sionally elsewhere, the class system has been developed into
four and eight sub-classes. A man of one sub-class can only
marry a woman of one other, and their children belong to one
of those different from either the father's or mother's. This
highly elaborate and artificial system was no doubt, as stated
by Sir J. G. Frazer, devised for the purpose of preventing
the intermarriage of parents and children belonging to
different clans where there are four sub-classes, and of first
cousins where there are eight sub-classes.^ The class system,
however, would not appear to have been the earliest form of
exogamy among the Australian tribes. Its very complicated
character, and the fact that the two principal classes some-
times do not even have names, seem to preclude the idea of
its having been the first form of exogamy, which is a strong
natural feeling, so much so that it may almost be described
as an instinct, though of course not a primitive animal instinct.
And just as the totem clan, which establishes a sentiment of
kinship between people who are not related by blood, was
prior to the individual family, so exogamy, which forbids
the marriage of people who are not related by blood, must
apparently have been prior to the feeling simply against con-
nections of persons related by blood or what we call incest.
If the two-class system was introduced in Australia to pro-
hibit the marriage of brothers and sisters at a time when they
could not recognise each other in adult life, then on the intro-
duction of personal names which would enable brothers and
sisters to recognise and remember each other, the two-class
system should have been succeeded by a modern table of
prohibited degrees, and not by clan exogamy at all. It is sug-
gested that the two-class system was a common and natural
form of evolution of a society divided into exogamous totem
clans with female descent, when a man was not taken into
1 Native Tribes of Central Aus- ^ Totemism and E.xo:^a»ty, iii. pp.
tralia, p. 70; Natives of Australia, 93, 120, 122, 124, 226, ii. p. 6.
Mr. N. W. Thomas, p. 75. ^ Totemism and Exogamy, vol. iv.
144 INTRODUCTORY ESSAY ON CASTE tart
the clan of the woman with whom he lived. The further sub-
division into four and eight sub-classes is almost peculiar to
the Australian tribes ; its development may perhaps be attri-
buted to the fact that these tribes have retained the system of
female descent and the migratory hunting method of life for
an abnormally long period, and have evolved this special
institution to prevent the unions of near relatives which are
likely to occur under such conditions. The remains of a two-
class system appear to be traceable among the Gonds of the
Central Provinces. In one part of Bastar all the Gond clans
are divided into two classes without names, and a man cannot
marry a woman belonging to any clan of his own class, but
must take one from a clan of the other class. Elsewhere
the Gonds are divided into two groups of six -god and
seven-god worshippers among whom the same rule obtains.
Formerly the Gonds appear in some places to have had seven
groups, worshipping different numbers of gods from one to
seven, and each of these groups was exogamous. But after
the complete substitution of male for female kinship in the
clan, and the settlement of clans in different villages, the
classes cease to fulfil any useful purpose. They are now
disappearing, and it is very difficult to obtain any reliable
information about their rules. The system of counting
kinship through the mother, or female descent, has long
been extinct in the Central Provinces and over most of
India. Some survival of it, or at least the custom of
polyandry, is found among the Nairs of southern India and
in Thibet. Elsewhere scarcely a trace remains, and this
was also the condition of things with the classical races of
antiquity ; so much so, indeed, that even great thinkers like
Sir Henry Maine and M. Fustel de Coulanges, with the
examples only of India, Greece and Rome before them, did
not recognise the system of female descent, and thought that
the exogamous clan with male descent was an extension of
the patriarchal family, this latter having been the original
unit of society. The wide distribution of exogamy and
the probable priority of the system of female to that of
male descent were first brought prominently to notice by
Mr. M'Lennan. Still a distinct trace of the prior form
survives here in the special relationship sometimes found to
EXOGAMY WITH FEMALE DESCENT 145
exist between a man and his sister's children. This is a
survival of the period when a woman's children, under the
rule of female descent, belonged to her own family and her
husband or partner in sexual relations had no proprietary
right or authority over them, the place and authority of a
father belonging in such a condition of society to the mother's
brother or brothers. Among the Halbas a marriage is
commonly arranged when practicable between a brother's
daughter and a sister's son. And a man always shows a
special regard and respect for his sister's son, touching the
latter's feet as to a superior, while whenever he desires to
make a gift as an offering of thanks and atonement, or as a
meritorious action, the sister's son is the recipient. At his
death he usually leaves a substantial legacy, such as one or
two buffaloes, to his sister's son, the remainder of the property
going to his own family. Similarly among the Kamars the
marriage of a man's children with his sister's children is
considered the most suitable union. If a man's sister is
poor, he will arrange for the weddings of her children. He
will never beat his sister's children however much they may
deserve it, and he will not permit his sister's son or daughter
to eat from the dish from which he eats. The last rule, it
is said, also applies to the maternal aunt. The Kunbis, and
other Maratha castes, have a saying : ' At the sister's house
the brother's daughter is a daughter-in-law.' The Gonds
call the wedding of a brother's daughter to a sister's son
Diidh lautdna, or * bringing back the milk.' The reason why
a brother was formerly anxious to marry his daughter to
his sister's son was that the latter would be his heir under
the matriarchal system ; but now that inheritance is through
males, and girls are at a premium for marriage, a brother is
usually more anxious to get his sister's daughter for his son,
and on the analogy of the opposite union it is sometimes
supposed, as among the Gonds, that he also has a right to
her. Many other instances of the special relation between
a brother and his sister's children are given by Sir J. G.
Frazer in Toteniism and Exogamy. In some localities also
the Korkus build their villages in two long lines of houses on
each side of the road, and it may be the case that this is a
relic of the period when two or more clans with female
VOL. I L
riase.
146 INTRODUCTORY ESS A V ON CASTE part
descent lived in the same village, and those belonging to each
class who could not marry or have sexual relations among
themselves occupied one side of the road.
70. Mar- The transfer of the reckoning of kinship and descent from
the mother's to the father's side may perhaps be associated
with the full recognition of the physical fact of paternity.
Though they may not have been contemporaneous in all
or even the majority of societies, it would seem that the
former was in most cases the logical outcome of the latter,
regard being had also to the man's natural function as pro-
tector of the family and provider of its sustenance. But
this transition from female to male kinship was a social
revolution of the first importance. Under the system of
female descent there had been generally no transfer of clan-
ship ; both the woman and her partner or husband retained
their own clans, and the children belonged to their mother's
clan. In the totemic stage of society the totem-clan was
the vital organism, and the individual scarcely realised his
own separate existence, but regarded himself as a member
of his totem-clan, being a piece or fraction of a common life
which extended through all the members of the clan and
all the totem animals of the species. They may have
thought also that each species of animals and plants had a
different kind of life, and consequently also each clan whose
life was derived from, and linked to, that of its totem-species.
For the name, and life, and qualities, and flesh and blood
were not separate conceptions, but only one conception ; and
since the name and qualities were part of the life, the life of
one species could not be the same as that of another, and every
species which had a separate name must have been thought
to have a different kind of life. Nor would man have been
regarded as a distinct species in the early totem-stage, and
there would be no word for man ; but each totem-clan would
regard itself as having the same life as its totem-species.
With the introduction of the system of male kinship came
also the practice of transferring a woman from her own clan to
that of her husband. It may be suggested that this was the
origin of the social institution of marriage. Primitive society
had no provision for such a procedure, which was opposed to
its one fundamental idea of its own constitution, and in-
I MARRIAGE BY CAPTURE 147
volved a change of the life and personality of the woman
transferred.
The view seems to have been long held that this transfer 71. Mar-
could only be effected by violence or capture, the manner in "^^e by
Capture,
which presumably it was first practised. Marriage by cap-
ture is very widely prevalent among savage races, as shown
by Mr. M'Lennan in Primitive Marriage, and by Dr.
Westermarck in The History of Hitman Marriage. Where
the custom has given place to more peaceable methods of
procuring a wife, survivals commonly occur. In Bastar
the regular capture of the girl is still sometimes carried
out, though the business is usually arranged by the couple
beforehand, and the same is the case among the Kolams
of Wardha. A regular part of the marriage procedure
among the Gonds and other tribes is that the bride
should weep formally for some hours, or a day before the
wedding, and she is sometimes taught to cry in the proper
note. At the wedding the bride hides somewhere and has
to be found or carried off by the bridegroom or his brother.
This ritualistic display of grief and coyness appears to be of
considerable interest. It cannot be explained by the girl's
reluctance to marriage as involving the loss of her virginity,
inasmuch as she is still frequently not a virgin at her
wedding, and to judge from the analogy of other tribes,
could seldom or never have been one a few generations
back. Nor is affection for her family or grief at the
approaching separation from them a satisfactory motive.
This would not account for the hiding at all, and not
properly for the weeping, since she will after all only live
a few miles away and will often return home ; and sometimes
she does not only weep at her own house but at all the
houses of the village. The suggestion may be made that
the procedure really indicates the girl's reluctance to be
severed from her own clan and transferred to another ; and
that the sentiment is a survival of the resistance to marriage
by capture which was at first imposed on the women by the
men from loyalty to the clan totem and its common life,
and had nothing to do with the conjugal relationship of
marriage. But out of this feeling the sexual modesty of
women, which had been non-existent in the matriarchal
INTRODUCTORY ESS A V ON CASTE
72. Trans-
fer of the
bride to
her
husband's
clan.
condition of society, was perhaps gradually developed. The
Chamars of Bilaspur have sham fights on the approach
of the wedding party, and in most Hindu castes the bride-
groom on his arrival performs some militant action, such
as striking the marriage-shed or breaking one of its festoons.
After the marriage the bride is nearly always sent home
with the bridegroom's party for a few days, even though she
may be a child and the consummation of the marriage im-
possible. This may be in memory of her having formerly
been carried off, and some analogous significance may attach
to our honeymoon. When the custom of capture had died
down it was succeeded by the milder form of elopement, or
the bride was sold or exchanged against a girl from the bride-
groom's family or clan, but there is usually a relic of a formal
transfer, such as the Hindu Kanyaddn or gift of the virgin, the
Roman Tradltio in maniiin or her transfer from her father's
to her husband's power, and the giving away of the bride.
These customs seem to mark the transfer of the woman
from her father's to her husband's clan, which was in the
first instance effected forcibly and afterwards by the free gift
of her father or guardian, and the change of surname would
be a relic of the change of clan. Among the Hindus a
girl is never called by her proper name in her husband's
house, but always by some other name or nickname. This
custom seems to be a relic of the period when the name
denoted the clan, though it no longer has any reference
either to the girl's clan or family. Another rite portraying
the transfer in India is the marking of the bride's forehead
with vermilion, which is no doubt a substitute for blood.
The ceremony would be a relic of participation in the clan
sacrifice when the bride would in the first place drink the
blood of the totem animal or tribal god with the bride-
groom in sign of her admission to his clan and afterwards
be marked with the blood as a substitute. This smear of
vermilion a married woman always continues to wear as a
sign of her state, unless she wears pink powder or a spangle
as a substitute.^ Where this pink powder {kunkii) or
spangles are used they must always be given by the bride-
^ See article Lakhcra for further discussion of the marking with vermilion
and its substitutes.
I TRANSFER OF BRIDE TO HER HUS RAND'S CLAN 149
groom to the bride as part of the So/idg or trousseau. At
a Bhaina wedding the bride's father makes an image in clay
of the bird or animal of the groom's sept and places it beside
the marriage-post. The bridegroom worships the image,
lighting a sacrificial fire before it, or offers to it the vermilion
which he afterwards smears upon the forehead of the bride.
The Khadals at their marriages worship their totem animal
or tree, and offer to it flowers, sandalwood, vermilion, un-
cooked rice, and the new clothes and ornaments intended
for the bride, which she may not wear until this cere-
mony has been performed. Again, the sacrament of the
Meher or marriage cakes is sometimes connected with the
clan totem in India. These cakes are cooked and eaten
sacramentally by all the members of the family and their
relatives, the bride and bridegroom commencing first.
Among the Kols the relatives to whom these cakes are
distributed cannot intermarry, and this indicates that the
eating of them was formerly a sacrament of the exogamous
clan. The association of the totem with the marriage cakes is
sometimes clearly shown. Thus in the Dahait caste members
of the clans named after certain trees, go to the tree at the
time of their weddings and invite it to be present at the cere-
mony. They offer the marriage cakes to the tree. Those
of the Nagotia or cobi'a clan deposit the cakes at a snake's
hole. Members of the Singh (lion) and Bagh (tiger) clans
draw images of these animals on the wall at the time of their
weddings and offer the cakes to them. The Basors of the
Kulatia or somersault clan do somersaults at the time of eating
the cakes ; those of the Karai Nor clan, who venerate a well,
eat the cakes at a well and not at home. Basors of the
Lurhia clan, who venerate a grinding-stone, worship this
implement at the time of eating the marriage cakes.
M. Fustel de Coulanges states that the Roman Confar-
reatio, or eating of a cake together by the bride and
bridegroom in the presence of the family gods of the
latter, constituted their holy union or marriage. By this
act the wife was transferred to the gods and religion of
her husband.^ Here the gods referred to are clearly held
to be the family gods, and in the historical period it
1 La Cit^ Antique, Paris, Librairie Hachette, 21st ed. p. 4.
I50 INTRODUCTORY ESSAY ON CASTE part
seems doubtful whether the Roman gens was still exo-
gamous. But if the patriarchal family developed within
the exogamous clan tracing descent through males, and
finally supplanted the clan as the most important social unit,
then it would follow that the family gods were only a substi-
tute for the clan gods, and the bride came to be transferred
to her husband's family instead of to his clan. The mar-
riage ceremony in Greece consisted of a common meal
of a precisely similar character,^ and the English wedding-
cake seems to be a survival of such a rite. At their wed-
dings the Bhils make cakes of the large millet juari, calling
it Juari Mata or Mother Juari. These cakes are eaten at
the houses of the bride and bridegroom by the members of
their respective clans, and the remains are buried inside the
house as sacred food. Dr. Howitt states of the Kurnai
tribe : " By and by, when the bruises and perhaps wounds
received in these fights (between the young men and women)
had healed, a young man and a young woman might meet,
and he, looking at her, would say, for instance, ' Djiitgun ! ^
What does the Djiitgun eat ? ' The reply would be * She
eats kangaroo, opossum,' or some other game. This con-
stituted a formal offer and acceptance, and would be
followed by the elopement of the couple as described in
the chapter on Marriage." ^ There is no statement that
the question about eating refers to the totem, but this
must apparently have been the original bearing of the
question, which otherwise would be meaningless. Since this
proposal of marriage followed on a fight between the boys
and girls arising from the fact that one party had injured
the other party's sex-totem, the fight may perhaps really
have been a preliminary to the proposal and have repre-
sented a symbolic substitute for or survival of marriage by
capture. Among the Santals, Colonel Dalton says, " the
social meal that the boy and girl eat together is the most
important part of the ceremony, as by the act the girl
ceases to belong to her father's tribe and becomes a member
of the husband's family." Since the terms tribe and family
1 La Citi Antique, p. 45. their sex-totem, the emu-wren.
2 This word seems to mean elder •* Native Tribes of S.-E. Australia,
sister, and is applied hy the girls to p. 149.
I TRANSFER OF BRIDE TO HER HUSBAND'S CLAN 151
are obviously used loosely in the above statement, we may
perhaj^s substitute clan in both cases. Many other instances
of the rite of eating together at a wedding are given by
Dr. Westermarck.^ If, therefore, it be supposed that the
wedding ceremony consisted originally of the formal transfer
of the bride to the bridegroom's clan, and further that the
original tie which united the totem-clan was the common
eating of the totem animal, then the practice of the bride
and bridegroom eating together as a symbol of marriage
can be fully understood. When the totem animal had
ceased to be the principal means of subsistence, bread,
which to a people in the agricultural stage had become the
staff or chief support of life, was substituted for it, as argued
by Professor Robertson Smith in The Religion of the Semites.
If the institution of marriage was thus originally based on
the forcible transfer of a woman from her own to her
husband's clan, certain Indian customs become easily
explicable in the light of this view. We can understand
why a Brahman or Rajput thought it essential to marry his
daughter into a clan or family of higher status than his
own ; because the disgrace of having his daughter taken
from him by what had been originally an act of force, was
atoned for by the superior rank of the captor or abductor.
And similarly the terms father-in-law and brother-in-law
would be regarded as opprobrious because they originally
implied not merely that the speaker had married the sister
or daughter of the person addressed, but had married her
forcibly, thereby placing him in a position of inferiority.
A Rajput formerly felt it derogatory that any man should
address him either as father- or brother-in-law. And the
analogous custom of a man refusing to take food in the
house of his son-in-law's family and sometimes even refusing
to drink water in their village would be explicable on
precisely the same grounds. This view of marriage would
also account for the wide prevalence of female infanticide.
Because in the primitive condition of exogamy with male
descent, girls could not be married in their own clan, as
this would transgress the binding law of exogamy, and they
could not be transferred from their own totem-clan and
' History of Human Marriage, pp. 418-420.
152 /NTRODUCTORY ESSAY ON CASTE part
married in another except by force and rape. Hence it
was thought better to kill girl children than to suffer the
ignominy of their being forcibly carried off. Both kinds
of female infanticide as distinguished by Sir H. Risley ^
would thus originally be due to the same belief The
Khond killed his daughter because she could not be married
otherwise than by forcible abduction ; not necessarily be-
cause he was unable to protect her, but because he could
not conceive of her being transferred from one totem-clan
to another by any other means ; and he was bound to
resist the transfer because by acquiescing in it, he would
have been guilty of disloyalty to his own totem, whose
common life was injured by the loss of the girl. The
Rajput killed his daughter because it was a disgrace to him
to get her married at all outside his clan, and she could not
be married within it. Afterwards the disgrace was removed
by marrying her into a higher clan than his own and by
lavish expenditure on the wedding ; and the practice of
female infanticide was continued to avoid the ruinous
outlay which this primitive view of marriage had originally
entailed. The Hindu custom of the Swayamvara or armed
contest for the hand of a Rajput princess, and the curious
recognition by the Hindu law-books of simple rape as
a legitimate form of marriage would be explained on the
same ground.
73. The It has been seen that the exogamous clan with female
exogamous desccut Contained no married couples, and therefore it was
clan with , 1 1 t • 1 •
male neccssary either that outside men should live with it, or that
descent |.j^g clans should continually meet each other, or that two or
and the ■' '
village. more should live in the same village. With the change to
male descent and the transfer of women to their husbands'
clans, this unstable characteristic was removed. Henceforth
the clan was self-contained, having its married couples, both
members of it, whose children would also be born in and
belong to it. Since the clan was originally a body of
persons who wandered about and hunted together, its
character would be maintained by living together, and
there is reason to suppose that the Indian exogamous
clan with male descent took its special character because its
' The People of India (Tliacker & Co.), pp. 171, 173.
I EXOGAMOUS CLAN WITH MALE DESCENT 153
members usually lived in one or more villages. This fact
would account for the large number and multiplication of
clans in India as compared with other places. As already
seen one of the names of a clan is khera, which also
means a village, and a large number of the clan names are
derived from, or the same, as those of villages. Among the
Khonds all the members of one clan live in the same
locality about some central village. Thus the Tupa clan
are collected about the village of Teplagarh in Patna State,
the Loa clan round Sindhekala, the Borga clan round
Bangomunda and so on. The Nunias of Mirzapur, Mr.
Crooke remarks,^ have a system of local subdivisions called
dtk, each subdivision being named after the village which is
supposed to be its home. The word dih itself means a site
or village. Those who have the same dIh do not intermarry.
In the villages first settled by the Oraons, Father Dehon
states,^ the population is divided into three khmtts or
branches, the founders of the three branches being held to
have been sons of the first settler. Members of each branch
belong to the same clan or got. Each kJmnt or branch has
a share of the village lands. The Mochis or cobblers have
forty exogamous sections or gotras, mostly named after
Rajput clans, and they also have an equal number of kheras
or groups named after villages. The limits of the two
groups seem to be identical ; and members of each group
have an ancestral village from which they are supposed to
have come. Marriage is now regulated by the Rajput sept-
names, but the probability is that the kheras were the
original divisions, and the Rajput gotras have been more
recently adopted in support of the claims already noticed.
The Parjas have totemistic exogamous clans and marriage
is prohibited in theory between members of the same clan.
But as the number of clans is rather small, the rule is not
adhered to, and members of the same clan are permitted to
marry so long as they do not come from the same village.
The Minas of Rajputana are divided into twelve exogamous
pals or clans ; the original meaning of the word pal was a
1 Tribes and Castes of the N.-W. P. Oraons, Memoirs, As. Socy. of Bengal,
and Oudh, art. Nunia. vol. i. No. 9.
^ Religion and Customs of the
154 INTRODUCTORY ESSAY ON CASTE part
defile or valley suitable for defence, where the members of
the clan would live together as in a Scotch glen.
Thus among the cultivating castes apparently each
exogamous clan consisted originally of the residents of one
village, though they afterwards spread to a number of
villages. The servile labouring castes may also have arranged
their clans by villages as the primitive forest-tribes did. How
the menial castes formed exogamous clans is not altogether
clear, as the numbers in one village would be only small.
But it may be supposed that as they gradually increased,
clans came into existence either in one large village or a
number of adjacent ones, and sometimes traced their descent
from a single family or from an ancestor with a nickname.
As a rule, the artisan castes do not appear to have formed
villages of their own in India, as they did in Russia, though
this may occasionally have happened. When among the
cultivating castes the lands were divided, separate joint
families would be constituted ; the head only of each family
would be its representative in the clan, as he would hold the
share of the village land assigned to the family, which was
their joint means of subsistence, and the family would live
in one household. Thus perhaps the Hindu joint family
came into existence as a subdivision of the exogamous clan
with male descent, on which its constitution was modelled.
In Chhattisgarh families still live together in large enclosures
with separate huts for the married couples. A human
ancestor gradually took the place of the totem as the giver
of life to the clan. The members thought themselves bound
together by the tie of his blood which flowed through all
their veins, and frequently, as in Athens, Rome and Scotland,
every member of the clan bore his name. In this capacity,
as the source of the clan's life, the original ancestor was
perhaps venerated, and on the development of the family
system within the clan, the ancestors of the family were
held in a similar regard, and the feeling extended to the
living ancestor or father, who is treated with the greatest
deference in the early patriarchal family. Even now Hindu
boys, though they may be better educated and more intel-
ligent than their father, will not as a rule address him at
meals unless he speaks to them first, on account of their
I EXOGAMOUS CLAN WITH MALE DESCENT 155
traditional respect for him. The regard for the father may
be strengthened by his position as the stay and support of
the family, but could scarcely have arisen solely from this
cause.
Dr. Westermarck's view that the origin of exogamy lay in
the feeling against the marriage of persons who lived together,
receives support from the fact that a feeling of kinship still
subsists between Hindus living in the same village, even
though they may belong to different castes and clans. It
is commonly found that all the households of a village
believe themselves in a manner related. A man will address
all the men of the generation above his own as uncle, though
they may be of different castes, and the children of the
generation below his own as niece and nephew. When a
girl is married, all the old men of the village call her husband
' son-in-law.' This extends even to the impure castes who
cannot be touched. Yet owing to the fact that they live
together they are considered by fiction to be related. The
Gowari caste do not employ Brahmans for their weddings,
but the ceremony is performed by the bhdnja or sister's son
either of the girl's father or the boy's father. If he is not
available, any one whom either the girl's father or the boy's
father addresses as bhdnja or nephew in the village, even
though he may be no relation and may belong to another
caste, may perform the ceremony as a substitute. Among
the Oraons and other tribes prenuptial intercourse between
boys and girls of the same village is regularly allowed. It
is not considered right, however, that these unions should
end in marriage, for which partners should be sought from
other villages.^ In the Maratha country the villagers have
a communal feast on the occasion of the Dasahra festival,
the Kunbis or cultivators eating first and the members of
the menial and labouring castes afterwards.
The Brahmans and Rajputs, however, and one or two
other military castes, as the Marathas and Lodhis, do not
have the small exogamous clans (which probably, as has
been seen, represented the persons who lived together in a
village), but large ones. Thus the Rajputs were divided
into thirty-six royal races, and theoretically all these should
1 Mr. S. C. Roy, The Oraons, p. 247.
is6
INTRODUCTORY ESSAY ON CASTE
74. The
large exo-
gamous
clans of
the Brah-
nians and
Rajputs.
The
Sapindas,
the gens
and the
have been exogamous, marrying with each other. Each
great clan was afterwards, as a rule, .split into a number of
branches, and it is probable that these became exogamous ;
while in cases where a community of Rajputs have settled
on the land and become ordinary cultivators, they have
developed into an endogamous subcaste containing small
clans of the ordinary type. It seems likely that the Rajput
clan originally consisted of those who followed the chief to
battle and fought together, and hence considered themselves
to be related. This was, as a matter of fact, the case.
Colonel Tod states that the great Rathor clan, who said
that they could muster a hundred thousand swords, spoke
of themselves as the sons of one father. The members of
the Scotch clans considered themselves related in the same
manner, and they were probably of similar character to
the Rajpiit clans.^ I do not know, however, that there is
any definite evidence as to the exogamy of the Scotch
clans, which would have disappeared with their conversion
to Christianity. The original Rajput clan may perhaps
have lived round the chief's castle or headquarters and been
supported by the produce of his private fief or demesne.
The regular Brahman gotras are also few in number,
possibly because they were limited by the paucity of
eponymous saints of the first rank. The word gotra means
a stall or cow-pen, and would thus originally signify those
who lived together in one place like a herd of cattle. But
the gotras are now exceedingly large, the same ones being
found in most or all of the Brahman subcastes, and it is
believed that they do not regulate marriage as a rule.
Sometimes ordinary surnames have taken the place of clan
names, and persons with the same surname consider them-
selves related and do not marry. But usually Brahmans
prohibit marriage between Sapindas or persons related to
each other within seven degrees from a common ancestor.
The word Sapinda signifies those who partake together of
the pindas or funeral cakes offered to the dead. The
Sapindas are also a man's heirs in the absence of closer
relations ; the group of the Sapindas is thus an exact
replica within the gotra of the primitive totem clan which
' See article on Rajput, para. 9.
I COMPARISON OF HINDU SOCIETY 157
was exogamous and constituted by the tic of living and
eating together. Similarly marriage at Rome was prohibited
to seven degrees of relationship through males within the
gens} and this exogamous group of kinsmen appear to have
been the body of agnatic kinsmen within the gens who are
referred to by Sir H. Maine as a man's ultimate heirs.^ At
Athens, when a contest arose upon a question of in-
heritance, the proper legal evidence to establish kinship
was the proof that the alleged ancestor and the alleged heir
observed a common worship and shared in the same repast
in honour of the dead.^ The distant heirs were thus a
group within the Athenian <^kvo<i corresponding to the
Sapindas and bound by the same tie of eating together.
Professor Hearn states that there is no certain evidence that
the Roman gens and Greek 761^09 were originally exogamous,
but we find that of the Roman matrons whose names are
known to us none married a husband with her own Gentile
name ; and further, that Plutarch, in writing of the Romans,
says that in former days men did not marry women of their
own blood or, as in the preceding sentence he calls them,
kinswomen {av^^evLha<;), just as in his own day they did
not marry their aunts or sisters ; and he adds that it was
long before they consented to wed with cousins.^ Professor
Hearn's opinion was that the Hindu gotra, the Roman gens
and the Greek 76^09 were originally the same institution, the
exogamous clan with male descent, and all the evidence
available, as well as the close correspondence in other
respects of early Hindu institutions with those of the Greek
and Latin cities would tend to support this view.
In the admirable account of the early constitution of 75'.^°"^;
-^ panson of
the city-states of Greece and Italy contained in the work of Hindu
M. Fustel de Coulanges, La Cite Antique, a close resemblance ^"tMhat
may be traced with the main strata of Hindu society given of Greece
earlier in this essay. The Roman state was composed of ^j^^ „.^,^^ '
a number of gentes or clans, each gens tracing its descent
1 Professor W. E. Hearn's Aryan tioned in Early Law and Custom, pp.
Household (London, Longmans, Green 238, 239, but not directly as heirs.
& Co.), p. 160. ^ Aryaii Household, p. 28, quoting
2 At first the whole gens were the Becker's Charicles, p. 394.
heirs, Ancient Law, p. 221. The * Aryan Household, }^. xbo, Q;^\o\\x\g
group of agnatic kinsmen are men- Plutarch, Quaestiones Romanae, c. 6.
158 INTRODUCTORY ESS A V ON CASTE part
from a common ancestor, whose name it usually bore. The
termination of the Gentile name in ius signified descendant,
as Claudius, Fabius, and so on. Similarly the names of the
Athenian yivr} or clans ended in z'des or ades, as Butades,
Phytalides, which had the same signification.^ The Gentile
or clan name was the nomeji or principal name, just as the
personal names of the members of the totem-clans were at
first connected with the totems. The members of the gens
lived together on a section of the city land and cultivated it
under the control of the head of the gens. The original ager
Koinanus is held to have been i i 5 square miles or about
74,000 acres,^ and this was divided up among the clans.
The heads of clans originally lived on their estates and went
in to Rome for the periodical feasts and other duties. The
principal family or eldest branch of the gens in the descent
from a common ancestor ranked above the others, and its
head held the position of a petty king in the territory of the
gens. In Greece he was called ava^ or ^acrCkev^.^ Originally
the Roman Senate consisted solely of the heads of gentes,
and the consuls, flamens and augurs were also chosen
exclusively from them ; they were known as patres ; after
the expulsion of the kings, fresh senators were added from
the junior branches of the gentes, of which there were at this
period 160, and these were known as patres conscripti^
The distinction between the eldest and junior branches of the
gentes may have corresponded to the distinction between
the Kshatriyas and Vaishyas, though as practically nothing
is known of the constitution of the original Kshatriyas, this
can only be hypothetical.
76. The Within the gens, and living in the household or house-
holds of its members, there existed a body of slaves, and also
another class of persons called clients.^ The client was a
servant and dependant ; he might be assigned a plot of land
by his patron, but at first could not transmit it nor hold it
against his patron. It is probable that originally he had no
right of property of his own, but he gradually acquired it.
First he obtained a right of occupancy in his land and of its
1 La Citd Antique, 2ist ed. I'aris, ■' La Cite' An/ique, p. 299.
Hachette et Cie. '' Za Cit^ Antique, p. 304.
* Aryan Household, p. 215. ^ Ibidem, pp. 128, 129.
clients.
THE CLIENTS
159
devolution to his son if he had one. Finally he was given
the power of making a will. But he was still obliged to con-
tribute to such expenses of the patron as ransom in war,
fines imposed by the courts, or the dowry of a daughter.'
The client was considered as a member of the family and
bore its name." But he was not a proper member of the
family or gens, because his pedigree never ascended to a
pater or the head of a gens? It was incumbent on the
patron to protect the client, and guard his interests both in
peace and war. The client participated in the household
and Gentile sacrifices and worshipped the gods of the gens?
At first the people of Rome consisted of three classes, the
patricians, the clients and the plebeians. In course of time,
as the rights and privileges of the plebeians increased after
the appointment of tribunes, their position, from having
originally been much inferior, became superior to that of the
clients, and the latter preferred to throw off the tie uniting
them to their patrons and become merged in the plebeians.
In this manner the intermediate class of clients at length
entirely disappeared.^ These clients must not be confused
with the subsequent class of the same name, who are
found during the later period of the republic and the empire,
and were the voluntary supporters or hangers-on of rich men.
It would appear that these early clients corresponded very
closely to the household servants of the Indian cultivators,
from whom the village menial castes were developed. The
Roman client was sometimes a freed slave, but this would
not have made him a member of the family, even in a sub-
ordinate position. Apparently the class of clients may have
to a great extent originated in mixed descent, as the Indian
household and village menials probably did. This view
would account satisfactorily for the client's position as a
member of the family but not a proper one. From the fact
that they were considered one of the three principal divisions
of the people it is clear that the clients must at one time
have been numerous and important.
Below the clients came the plebeians, whose position, as
1 Ibidem, p. 318. * Ibidem, p. 129.
^ Ibidem, p. 129. ''' Ibidem, p. 320.
^ Ibidem, p. 273.
i6o
INTRODUCTORY ESSAY ON CASTE
77. The
plebeians.
M. Fustel de Coulanges himself points out, corresponded
very closely to that of the Sudras. The plebeians had no
religion and no ancestors ; they did not belong to a family
or a gens} They were a despised and abject class, who
lived like beasts outside the proper boundary of the city.
The touch of the plebeian was impure." " When tribunes
were created a special law was necessary to protect their life
and liberty, and it was promulgated as follows : ' It is
forbidden to strike or kill a tribune, as if he was an ordinary
plebeian.' It would appear then that a patrician had the
right to strike or kill an ordinary plebeian, or at least that
he was amenable to no legal punishment for doing so." ^
Similarly in the ancient Greek cities the citizens were known
as dyadoi or good, and the plebeians as KaKoi or bad.
This latter class is described by the poet Theognis as having
had aforetime neither tribunals nor laws ; they were not
allowed even to enter the town, but lived outside like wild
beasts. They had no part in the religious feasts and could
not intermarry with the proper citizens.'^
This position corresponds exactly with that of the
Sudras and the existing impure castes, who have to live
outside the village and cannot enter or even approach
Hindu temples.
M. de Coulanges considers that the plebeians were to
a large extent made up of conquered and subjected
peoples. An asylum was also established at Rome for
broken men and outlaws from other cities, with a view
to increasing the population and strength of the state.
Subsequently the class of clients became absorbed among
the plebeians.
Thus the gradation of society in the city - states of
Greece and Italy, the account given above being typical of
in the city- them all, is seen to correspond fairly closely with that of
states. ^j^ Hindus, as exemplified in the Hindu classics and the
microcosm of Hindu society, the village community. It is
desirable, therefore, to inquire what was the tie which united
the members of the gens, the curia or phratry, and the city,
and which distinguished the patricians from the plebeians.
73. The
binding
social tie
' La CM Attfifjtfe, p. 279.
'■^ Ibidem, pp. 281, 282.
•* Ibidevt, p. 281.
* Ibidem, p. 320.
I THE BINDING SOCIAL TIE IN THE CITY-STATES i6i
On this point M. Fustel de Coulanges leaves us in no doubt
at all. The bond of union among all these bodies was a
common sacrifice or sacrificial meal, at which all the members
had to be present. " The principal ceremony of the religion
of the household was a meal, which was called a sacrifice.
To eat a meal prepared on an altar was, according to all
appearance, the first form of religious worship." ' " The
principal ceremony of the religion of the city was also a
public feast ; it had to be partaken of communally by all
the citizens in honour of the tutelary deities. The custom
of holding these public feasts was universal in Greece ; and
it was believed that the safety of the city depended on
their accomplishment." ^ M. de Coulanges quotes from the
Odyssey an account of one of these sacred feasts at which
nine long tables were set out for the people of Pylos ; five
hundred citizens were seated and nine bulls were slaughtered
for each table. When Orestes arrived at Athens after the
murder of his mother, he found the people, assembled round
their king, about to hold the sacred feast. Similar feasts
were held and numerous victims were slaughtered in
Xenophon's time.^ At these meals the guests were crowned
with garlands and the vessels were of a special form and
material, such as copper or earthenware, no doubt dating
from the antique past.^ As regards the importance and
necessity of being present at the Gentile sacrificial feast, the
same author states : " The Capitol was blockaded by the
Gauls ; but Fabius left it and passed through the hostile
lines, clad in religious garb, and carrying in his hand the
sacred objects ; he was going to offer a sacrifice on the
altar of his gens which was situated on the Ouirinal. In
the second Punic war another Fabius, he who was called the
buckler of Rome, was holding Hannibal in check ; it was
assuredly of the greatest importance to the Republic that
he should not leave his army ; he left it, however, in the
hands of the imprudent Minucius ; it was because the
anniversary day of the sacrifice of his gens had come and it
was necessary that he should hasten to Rome to perform
the sacred rite." In Greece the members of the gens were
1 La Citt< Antique, p. 1 79. ^ Ibidem.
2 Ibidem. ^ Ibidem, p. 181.
VOL. I M
Suove
taurilia.
1 62 INTROD UCTOR V ESS A Y ON CAS TE part
known by the fact that they performed communal sacrifices
together from a remote period.^ As already seen, a com-
munal sacrifice meant the eating together of the sacred food,
whether the flesh of a victim or grain.
79. The The Roman city sacrifice of the Suovetaurilia, as
described by M. de Coulanges, is of the greatest interest.
The magistrate whose duty it was to accomplish it, that is
in the first place the king, after him the consul, and after
him the censor, had first to take the auspices and ascertain
that the gods were favourable. Then he summoned the
people through a herald by a consecrated form of words.
On the appointed day all the citizens assembled outside the
walls ; and while they stood silent the magistrate proceeded
three times round the assembly, driving before him three
victims — a pig, a ram and a bull. The combination of
these three victims constituted with the Greeks as well as
the Romans an expiatory sacrifice. Priests and attendants
followed the procession : when the third round had been
accomplished, the magistrate pronounced a prayer and
slaughtered the victims. From this moment all sins were
expiated, and neglect of religious duties effaced, and the
city was at peace with its gods.
There were two essential features of this ceremony : the
first, that no stranger should be present at it ; and the
second, that no citizen should be absent from it. In the
latter case the whole city might not have been freed from
impurity. The Suovetaurilia was therefore preceded by a
census, which was conducted with the greatest care both
at Rome and Athens. The citizen who was not enrolled
and was not present at the sacrifice could no longer be a
member of the city. He could be beaten and sold as a
slave, this rule being relaxed only in the last two centuries
of the Republic. Only male citizens were present at the
sacrifice, but they gave a list of their families and belongings
to the censor, and these were considered to be purified
through the head of the family.'
This sacrifice was called a lustratio or purification, and
in the historical period was considered to be expiatory.
But it does not seem probable that this was its original
1 La CiU Antique, p. 113. - Ibidem, pp. 1 86- 188.
I THE SACRIFICE OF THE DOMESTIC ANIMAL 163
significance. For there would not in that case have been
the paramount necessity for every citizen to be present. All
females and children under power were purified through the
list given to the censor, and there seems no reason why
absent citizens could not have been purified in the same
manner. . But participation in this sacrifice was itself the
very test and essence of citizenship. And it has been seen
that a public meal was the principal religious rite of the
city. The conclusion therefore seems reasonable that the
Suovetaurilia was originally also a sacrificial meal of which
each citizen partook, and that the eating of the deified
domestic animals in common was the essence of the rite
and the act which conferred the privilege of citizenship.
The driving of the sacrificial animals round the citizens
three times might well be a substitute for the previous
communal meal, if for any reason, such as the large
number of citizens, the practice of eating them had
fallen into abeyance. The original ground for the taking
of a census was to ensure that all the citizens were
present at the communal sacrifice ; and it was by the
place which a man occupied on this day that his rank in
the city was determined till the next sacrifice. If the
censor counted him among the senators, he remained a
senator ; if among the equites, he remained a knight ; if
as a simple member of a tribe, he belonged henceforward
to the tribe in which he was counted. If the censor
refused to enumerate him, he was no longer a citizen.^
Such was the vital importance of the act of participation in
the sacrifice.
The Roman sacrifice of the Suovetaurilia was in no way 80. The
peculiar, similar rites being found in other Greek and Latin of^he'^^
cities. Some instances are recorded in the article on Kasai, domestic
and in Themis ^ Miss Jane Harrison gives an account of a "'"'^ '
sacrifice at Magnesia in which a bull, ram and he- and she-
goats were sacrificed to the gods and, partaken of commun-
ally by the citizens. As already seen, the act of participa-
tion in the sacrifice conferred the status of citizenship.
The domestic animals were not as a rule eaten, but their
milk was drunk, and they were used for transport, and
1 La Citi Antique^ ibidem. 2 pp, i^j^ 15^.
i64 INTRODUCTORY ESS A V ON CASTE part
clothes were perhaps sometimes made from their hair and
skins. Hence they were the principal source of life of the
tribe, as the totem had been of the clan, and were venerated
and deified. One common life was held to run through
all the members of the tribe and all the domestic animals
of the species which was its principal means of support. In
the totem or hunting stage the clan had necessarily been
small, because a large collection of persons could not subsist
together by hunting and the consumption of roots and fruits.
When an additional means of support was afforded by the
domestication of an important animal, a much larger number
of persons could live together, and apparently several clans
became amalgamated into a tribe. The sanctity of the
domestic animals was much greater than that of the totem
because they lived with man and partook of his food, which
was the strongest tie of kinship ; and since he still endowed
them with self-consciousness and volition, he thought they
had come voluntarily to aid him in sustaining life. Both
on this account and for fear of injuring the common life
they were not usually killed. But it was necessary to
primitive man that the tie should take a concrete form and
that he should actually assimilate the life of the sacred
animal by eating its flesh, and this was accordingly done
at a ceremonial sacrifice, which was held annually, and often
in the spring, the season of the renewal and increase of life.
Since this renewal of the communal life was the concrete tie
which bound the tribe together, any one who was absent from
it could no longer be a member of the tribe. The whole of
this rite and the intense importance attached to it are inex-
plicable except on the supposition that the tie which had
originally constituted the totem-clan was the eating of the
totem-animal, and that this tie was perpetuated in the tribe
by the communal eating of the domestic animal. The com-
munal sacrifice of the domestic animal was, as already seen,
typical of society in the tribal or pastoral stage. But one very,
important case, in addition to those given above and in the
article on Kasai, remains for notice. The Id-ul-Zoha or Bakr-
Id festival of the Muhammadans is such a rite. In pre-Islamic
times this sacrifice was held at Mecca and all the Arab tribes
went to Mecca to celebrate it. The month in which the
I SACRIFICES OF THE GENS AND PHRATRY 165
sacrifice was held was one of those of truce, when the feuds
between the different clans were in abeyance so that they
could meet at Mecca. Muhammad continued the sacrifice of
the Id-ul-Zoha and it is this sacrifice which a good Muham-
madan takes the pilgrimage to Mecca to perform. He must
be at Mecca on the tenth day of the month of Z'ul ?Iijjah
and perform the sacrifice there, and unless he does this there
is no special merit in making the journey to Mecca. It is
incumbent on every Muhammadan who can afford it to make
the pilgrimage to Mecca or the Hajj once in his life and
perform the sacrifice there ; and though as a matter of fact
only a very small minority of Muhammadans now carry out
the rule, the pilgrimage and sacrifice may yet be looked
upon as the central and principal rite of the Muhammadan
religion. All Muhammadans who cannot go to Mecca
nevertheless celebrate the sacrifice at home at the Indian
festival of the Id-ul-Zoha and the Turkish and Egyptian
Idu-Bairam. At the Id-ul-Zoha any one of four domestic
animals, the camel, the cow, the sheep or the goat, may be
sacrificed ; and this rule makes it a connecting link between
the two great Semitic sacrifices described in the article on
Kasai, the camel sacrifice of the Arabs in pre-Islamic times
and the Passover of the Jews. At the present time one-
third of the flesh of the sacrificial animal should be given
to the poor, one -third to relations, and the remainder to
the sacrificer's own family.^ Though it has now become a
household sacrifice, the communal character thus still partly
survives.
Both in Athens and Rome there was a division known 81. Sacri-
as phratry or curia. This apparently consisted of a collec- ^^^^^ ^^^
tion of gentes, r^evq or clans, and would correspond roughly phratry.
to a Hindu subcaste. The evidence does not show, how-
ever, that it was endogamous. The bond which united the
phratry or curia was precisely the same as that of the gens
or clan and the city. It consisted also in a common meal,
which was prepared on the altar, and was eaten with the
recitation of prayers, a part being offered to the god, who
was held to be present. At Athens on feast-days the members
1 The above account of the festival T. P. Hughes' Dictionary of Islam,
and pilgrimage is taken from the Rev. articles Idu-1-Azha and Ilajj.
i66 INTRODUCTORY ESSA Y ON CASTE part
of the phratry assembled round their altar, A victim was
sacrificed and its flesh cooked on the altar, and divided
among the members of the phratry, great care being taken
that no stranger should be present. A young Athenian was
presented to the phratry by his father, who swore that the
boy was his son. A victim was sacrificed and cooked on
the altar in the presence of all the members of the phratry ;
if they were doubtful of the boy's legitimacy, and hence
wished to refuse him admittance, as they had the right to do,
they refused to remove the flesh from the altar. If they did
not do this, but divided and partook of the flesh with the
candidate, he was finally and irrevocably admitted to the
phratry. The explanation of this custom, M. de Coulanges
states, is that food prepared on an altar and eaten by a
number of persons together, was believed to establish between
them a sacred tie which endured through life,^ Even a
slave was to a certain degree admitted into the family by
the same tie of common eating of food. At Athens he was
made to approach the hearth ; he was purified by pouring
water on his head, and ate some cakes and fruit with the
members of the family. This ceremony was analogous to
those of marriage and adoption. It signified that the new
arrival, hitherto a stranger, was henceforth a member of the
family and participated in the family worship.^
82. The The analogy of Greece and Rome would suggest the
Hindu probability that the tie uniting the members of the Indian
caste- f J &
feasts, caste or subcaste is also participation in a common sacrificial
meal, and there is a considerable amount of evidence to
support this view. The Confarreatio or eating together of
the bride and bridegroom finds a close parallel in the family
sacrament of the MeJier or marriage cakes, which has already
been described. This would appear formerly to have been a
clan rite, and to have marked the admission of the bride to
the bridegroom's clan. It is obligatory on relations of the
families to attend a wedding and they proceed from great
distances to do so, and clerks and other officials are much
aggrieved if the exigencies of Government business prevent
them from obtaining leave. The obligation seems to be of
the same character as that which caused Fabius to leave the
^ La Citi Antique, p. 134. - Ibidem, p. 127.
I THE HINDU CASTE EEASTS 167
army in order to attend his Gentile sacrifice at Rome. If
he did not attend the Gentile sacrifice he was not a member
of the gcfis, and if a Hindu did not attend the feast of his
clan in past times perhaps he did not remain a member of
the clan. Among the Maratha Brahmans the girl-bride eats
with her husband's relations on this day only to mark her
admission into their clan, and among the Bengali Brahmans,
when the wedding guests are collected, the bride comes and
puts a little sugar on each of their leaf-plates, which they eat
in token of their recognition of her in her new status of
married woman. The members of the caste or subcaste
also assemble and eat together on three occasions : at a
marriage, which will have the effect of bringing new life into
the community ; at a death, when a life is lost ; and at the
initiation of a new member or the readmission of an offender
temporarily put out of caste. It is a general rule of the
caste feasts that all members of the subcaste in the locality
must be invited, and if any considerable number of them do
not attend, the host's position in the community is impugned.
For this reason he has to incur lavish expenditure on the
feast, so as to avoid criticism or dissatisfaction among his
guests. These consider themselves at liberty to comment
freely on the character and quality of the provisions offered
to them. In most castes the feast cannot begin until all
the guests have assembled ; the Maheshri Banias and one
or two other castes are distinguished by the fact that they
allow the guests at the pangat or caste feast to begin eating
as they arrive. Those who bear the host a grudge purposely
stay away, and he has to run to their houses and beg them
to come, so that his feast can begin. When the feast has
begun it was formerly considered a great calamity if any
accident should necessitate the rising of the guests before
its conclusion. Even if a dog or other impure animal should
enter the assembly they would not rise. The explanation
of this rule was that it would be disrespectful to Um Deo,
the food-god, to interrupt the feast. At the feast each man
sits with his bare crossed knees actually touching those of
the men on each side of him, to show that they are one
brotherhood and one body. If a man sat even a few inches
apart from his fellows, people would say he was out of caste ;
1 68 INTRODUCTORY ESS A V ON CASTE part
and in recent times, since those out of caste have been
allowed to attend the feasts, they sit a little apart in this
manner. The Gowaris fine a man who uses abusive language
to a fellow-casteman at a caste feast, and also one who
gets up and leaves the feast without the permission of the
caste headman. The Hatkars have as the names of two
exogamous groups Wakindr, or one who left the Pangat or
caste feast while his fellows were eating ; and Polya, or one
who did not take off his turban at the feast. It has been
seen also ^ that in one or two castes the exogamous sections
are named after the offices which their members hold or the
duties they perform at the caste feast. Among the Halbas
the illegitimate subcaste Surait is also known as Chhoti
Pangat or the inferior feast, with the implication that its
members cannot be admitted to the proper feast of the
caste, but have an inferior one of their own.
When an outsider is admitted to the caste the rite is
usually connected with food. A man who is to be admitted
to the Dahait caste must clean his house, break his earthen
cooking-vessels and buy new ones, and give a feast to the
caste-fellows in his house. He sits and takes food with
them, and when the meal is over he takes a grain of rice
from the leaf-plate of each guest and eats it, and drinks a
drop of water from his leaf-cup. After this he cannot be
readmitted to his own caste. A new Mehtar or sweeper
gives water to and takes bread from each casteman. In
Mandla a new convert to the Panka caste vacates his house
and the caste panchdyat or committee go and live in it, in
order to purify it. He gives them a feast inside the house,
while he himself stays outside. Finally he is permitted to
eat with the pancJidyat in his own house in order to mark
his admission into the caste. A candidate for admission
in the Mahli caste has to eat a little of the leavings of the
food of each of the castemen at a feast. The community
of robbers known as Badhak or Baoria formerly dwelt in
the Oudh forests. They were accustomed to take omens
from the cry of the jackal, and they may probably have
venerated it as representing the spirit of the forest and as a
fellow-hunter. They were called jackal-eaters, and it was
1 Para. 48 above.
I PENALTY FEASTS 169
said that when an outsider was admitted to one of their bands
he was given jackal's flesh to cat.
Again, the rite of initiation or investiture with the sacred
thread appears to be the occasion of the admission of a
boy to the caste community. Before this he is not really
a member of the caste and may eat any kind of food. The
initiation is called by the BrShmans the second birth, and
appears to be the birth of the soul or spirit. After it the
boy will eat the sacrificial food at the caste feasts and be
united with the members of the caste and their god. The
bodies of children who have not been initiated are buried
and not burnt. The reason seems to be that their spirits
will not go to the god nor be united with the ancestors,
but will be born again. Formerly such children were often
buried in the house or courtyard so that their spirits might
be born again in the same family. The lower castes some-
times consider the rite of ear-piercing as the initiation and
sometimes marriage. Among the Panwar Rajputs a child is
initiated when about two years old by being given cooked
rice and milk to eat. The initiation cannot for some reason
be performed by the natural father, but must be done by a
gtcru or spiritual father, who should thereafter be regarded
with a reverence equal to or even exceeding that paid to
the natural father.
When a man is readmitted to caste after exclusion for 84. Penalty
some offence, the principal feature of the rite is a feast at
which he is again permitted to eat with his fellows. There
are commonly two feasts, one known as the Maili Rati or
impure meal, and the other as Chokhi or pure, both being
at the cost of the offender. The former is eaten by the
side of a stream or elsewhere on neutral ground, and by it
the offender is considered to be partly purified ; the latter
is in his own house, and by eating there the castemen
demonstrate that no impurity attaches to him, and he is
again a full member. Some castes, as the Dhobas, have
three feasts : the first is eaten at the bank of a stream, and
at this the offender's hair is shaved and thrown into the
stream ; the second is in his yard ; and the third in his
house. The offender is not allowed to partake of the first
two meals himself, but he joins in the third, and before it
I70 INTRODUCTORY ESS A V ON CASTE part
begins the head of the pajichdyat gives him water to drink
in which gold has been dipped as a purificatory rite.
Among the Gonds the flesh of goats is provided at the first
meal, but at the second only grain cooked with water, which
they now, in imitation of the Hindus, consider as the sacred
sacrificial food. Frequently the view obtains that the head
of the caste panchajat takes the offender's sins upon himself
by commencing to eat, and in return for this a present of
some rupees is deposited beneath his plate. Similarly
among some castes, as the Bahnas, exclusion from caste is
known as the stopping of food and water. The Gowaris
readmit offenders by the joint drinking of opium and water.
One member is especially charged with the preparation of
this, and if there should not be enough for all the castemen
to partake of it, he is severely punished. Opium was also
considered sacred by the Rajputs, and the chief and his
kinsmen were accustomed to drink it together as a pledge
of amity.^
85. Sane- Grain cooked with water is considered as sacred food by
^^^y°^^ ^ the Hindus. It should be eaten only on a space within the
gram-food. •' '■
house called chaiika purified with cowdung, and sometimes
marked out with white quartz-powder or flour. Before taking
his meal a member of the higher castes should bathe and
worship the household gods. At the meal he should wear
no sewn clothes, but only a waist-cloth made of silk or wool,
and not of cotton. The lower castes will take food cooked
with water outside the house in the fields, and are looked
down upon for doing this, so that those who aspire to raise
their social position abandon the practice, or at least pretend
to do so. Sir J. G. Frazer quotes a passage showing that
the ancient Brahmans considered the sacrificial rice-cakes
cooked with water to be transformed into human bodies.^
The Urdu word bali means a sacrifice or offering, and is
applied to the portion of the daily meal which is offered to
the gods and to the hearth-fire. Thus all grain cooked with
water is apparently looked upon as sacred or sacramental
food, and it is for this reason that it can only be eaten
after the purificatory rites already described. The grain is
' See article on Rajput, para. 9.
'^ The Magic Ait, ii. p. 89, quuting Salapatha Brahmana.
I THE CORN-SPIRIT 171
venerated as the chief means of subsistence, and the com-
munal eating of it seems to be analogous to the sacrificial
eating of the domestic animals, such as the camel, horse, ox
and sheep, which is described above and in the article on
Kasai. Just as in the hunting stage the eating of the totem-
animal, which furnished the chief means of subsistence, was
the tie which united the totem-clan : and in the pastoral
stage the domestic animal which afforded to the tribe its
principal support, not usually as an article of food, but
through its milk and its use as a means of transport, was
yet eaten sacrificially owing to the persistence of the belief
that the essential bond which united the tribe was the com-
munal eating of the flesh of the animal from which the tribe
obtained its subsistence : so when the community reaches
the agricultural stage the old communal feast is retained as
the bond of union, but it now consists of grain, which is the
principal support of life.
The totem-animal was regarded as a kinsman, and the 86. The
domestic animal often as a god.^ But in Jaoth these cases ^°''"'^P"'''-
the life of the kinsman and god was sacrificed in order that
the community might be bound together by eating the body
and assimilating the life. Consequently, when grain came
to be the sacrificial food, it was often held that an animal or
human being must be sacrificed in the character of the corn-
god or spirit, whether his own flesh was eaten or the sacred
grain was imagined to be his flesh. Numerous instances of
the sacrifice of the corn-spirit have been adduced by Sir
J. G, Frazer in TJie Golden Bough, and it was he who
brought this custom prominently to notice. One of the
most important cases in India was the Meriah-sacrifice of
the Khonds, which is described in the article on that tribe.
Two features of the Khond sacrifice of a human victim
as a corn-spirit appear to indicate its derivation from the
sacrifice of the domestic animal and the eating of the totem-
animal, the ties uniting the clan and tribe : first, that the
flesh was cut from the living victim, and, second, that the
sacrifice was communal. When the Meriah-victim was
bound the Khonds hacked at him with their knives while life
remained, leaving only the head and bowels untouched, so
1 See article on Kasai.
172 INTRODUCTORY ESS A V ON CASTE part
that each man might secure a strip of flesh. This rite
appears to recall the earliest period when the members of
the primitive group or clan tore their prey to pieces and ate
and drank the raw flesh and blood. The reason for its
survival was apparently that it was the actual life of the
divine victim, existing in concrete form in the flesh and
blood which they desired to obtain, and they thought that
this end was more certainly achieved by cutting the flesh off
him while he was still alive. In the sacrifice of the camel
in Arabia the same procedure was followed ; the camel was
bound on an altar and the tribesmen cut the flesh from the
body with their knives and swallowed it raw and bleeding.^
M. Salomon Reinach shows how the memory of similar
sacrifices in Greece has been preserved in legend : ^ " Actaeon
was really a great stag sacrificed by women devotees, who
called themselves the great hind and the little hinds ; he
became the rash hunter who surprised Artemis at her bath
and was transformed into a stag and devoured by his own
dogs. The dogs are a euphemism ; in the early legend
they were the human devotees of the sacred stag who tore
him to pieces and devoured him with their bare teeth. These
feasts of raw flesh survived in the secret religious cults of
Greece long after uncooked food had ceased to be consumed
in ordinary life. Orpheus {pphreus, the haughty), who
appears in art with the skin of a fox on his head, was
originally a sacred fox devoured by the women of the fox
totem-clan ; these women call themselves Bassarides in the
legend, and bassareus is one of the old names of the fox.
Hippolytus in the fable is the son of Theseus who repels
the advances of Phaedra, his stepmother, and was killed by
his runaway horses because Theseus, deceived by Phaedra,
invoked the anger of a god upon him. But Hippolytus in
Greek means ' one torn to pieces by horses.' Hippolytus is
himself a horse whom the worshippers of the horse, calling
themselves horses and disguised as such, tore to pieces and
devoured." All such sacrifices in which the flesh was taken
from the living victim may thus perhaps be derived from the
common origin of totemism. The second point about the
Khond sacrifice is that it was communal ; every householder
^ See account in article on Kasai. ^ Orphctts, pp. 123, 125.
I THE CORN-SPIRIT 173
desired a piece of the flesh, and for those who could not be
present at the sacrifice relays of messengers were posted to
carry it to them while it was still fresh and might be sup-
posed to retain the life. They did not eat the strips of flesh,
but each householder buried his piece in his field, which they
believed would thereby be fertilised and caused to produce
the grain which they would eat. The death of the victim
was considered essential to the life of the tribe, which would
be renewed and strengthened by it as in the case of the
sacrifice of the domestic animal. Lord Avcbury gives in
The Origin of Civilisation ^ an almost exact parallel to the
Khond sacrifice in which the flesh of the victim actually
was eaten. This occurred among the Marimos, a tribe of
South Africa much resembling the Bechuanas. The cere-
mony was called ' the boiling of the corn.' A young man,
stout but of small stature, was usually selected and secured
by violence or by intoxicating him with yaala. " They then
lead him into the fields, and sacrifice him in the fields,
according to their own expression, for seed. His blood,
after having been coagulated by the rays of the sun, is
burned along with the frontal bone, the flesh attached to it
and the brain. The ashes are then scattered over the fields
to fertilise them and the remainder of the body is eaten."
In other cases quoted by the same author an image only
was made of flour and eaten instead of a human being : "
" In Mexico at a certain period of the year the priest of
Quetzalcoatl made an image of the Deity, of meal mixed
with infants' blood, and then, after many impressive cere-
monies, killed the image by shooting it with an arrow, and
tore out the heart, which was eaten by the king, while the
rest of the body was distributed among the people, every
one of whom was anxious to procure a piece to eat, however
small." Here the communal sacrificial meal, the remaining
link necessary to connect the sacrifice of the corn-spirit with
that of the domestic animal and clan totem, is present.
Among cases of animals sacrificed as the corn-spirit in India
that of the buffalo at the Dasahra festival is the most
important. The rite extends over most of India, and a full
and interesting account of it has recently been published
' 7th ed. p. 300. 2 Of'igin of Civilisation, 7th ed. p. 299.
174 INTRODUCTORY ESSAY ON CASTE part
by Mr. W, Crooke.^ The buffalo is probably considered
as the corn-spirit because it was the animal which mainly
damaged the crops in past times. Where the sacrifice still
survives the proprietor of the village usually makes the first
cut in the buffalo and it is then killed and eaten by the
inferior castes, as Hindus cannot now touch the flesh. In
the Deccan after the buffalo is killed the Mahars rush on
the carcase and each one secures a piece of the flesh. This
done they go in procession round the walls, calling on the
spirits and demons, and asking them to accept the pieces of
meat as offerings, which are then thrown to them backwards
over the wall.^ The buffalo is now looked upon in the light
of a scape-goat, but the procedure described above cannot
be satisfactorily explained on the scape -goat theory, and
would appear clearly to have been substituted for the former
eating of the flesh. In the Maratha Districts the lower
castes have a periodical sacrifice of a pig to the sun ; they
eat the flesh of the pig together, and even the Panwar
Rajputs of the Waringanga Valley join in the sacrifice and
will allow the impure caste of Mahars to enter their houses
and eat of this sacrifice with them, though at other times
the entry of a Mahar would defile a Panwar's house.^ The
pig is sacrificed either as the animal which now mainly
injures the crops or because it was the principal sacrificial
animal of the non-Aryan tribes, or from a combination of
both reasons. Probably it may be regarded as the corn-
spirit because pigs are sacrificed to Bhanisasur or the buffalo
demon for the protection of the crops.
87. The When the community reached the national or agricultural
stage some central executive authority became necessary for
its preservation. This authority usually fell into the hands
of the priest who performed the sacrifice, and he became a
king. Since the priest killed the sacrificial animal in which
the common life of the community was held to be centred,
it was thought that the life passed to him and centred in his
person. For the idea of the extinction of life was not
properly understood, and the life of a human being or animal
1 The Dasa/u-a : an Autumn Festi- the article on Kumhar.
val of the Hindus, Folk-lore, March ^ Crooke, loc. at. p. 41.
1915. Some notice of the Dasahra in
the Central Provinces is contained in ^ See also article Mahar.
kin
I THE KING ,75
might pass by contact, according to primitive ideas, to the
person or even the weapon which killed it, just as it could
pass by assimilation to those who ate the flesh. In most of
the city-states of Greece and Italy the primary function of
the kings was the performance of the communal or national
sacrifices. Through this act they obtained political power
as representing the common life of the people, and its per-
formance was sometimes left to them after their political
power had been taken away.^ After the expulsion of the
kings from Rome the duty of performing the city sacrifices
devolved on the consuls. In India also the kings performed
sacrifices. When a king desired to be paramount over his
neighbours he sent a horse to march through their territories.
If it passed through them without being captured they
became subordinate to the king who owned the horse.
Finally the horse was sacrificed at the Ashva-medha, the
king paramount making the sacrifice, while the other kings
performed subordinate parts at it." Similarly the Raja of
Nagpur killed the sacrificial buffalo at the Dasahra festival.
But the common life of the people was sometimes conveyed
from the domestic animal to the king by other methods than
the performance of a sacrifice. The king of Unyoro in
Africa might never eat vegetable food but must subsist
on milk and beef. Mutton he might not touch, though he
could drink beer after partaking of meat. A sacred herd
was kept for the king's use, and nine cows, neither more nor
less, were daily brought to the royal enclosure to be milked
for his majesty. The boy who brought the cows from the
pasture to the royal enclosure must be a member of a par-
ticular clan and under the age of puberty, and was subject
to other restrictions. The milk for the king was drawn into
a sacred pot which neither the milkman nor anybody else
might touch. The king drank the milk, sitting on a sacred
stool, three times a day, and any which was left over must
be drunk by the boy who brought the cows from pasture.
Numerous other rules and restrictions are detailed by Sir
J. G. Frazer, and it may be suggested that their object
was to ensure that the life of the domestic animal and with
1 La Citd Antique, pp. 202, 204.
2 Imperial Gazetteer of India, ii. p. 312.
176 INTRODUCTORY ESSAY ON CASTE part
it the life of the people should be conveyed pure and unde-
filed to the king through the milk. The kings of Unyoro had
to take their own lives while their bodily vigour was still
unimpaired. When the period for his death arrived the king
asked his wife for a cup of poison and drank it. " The public
announcement of the death was made by the chief milkman.
Taking a pot of the sacred milk in his hands he mounted
the house-top and cried, ' Who will drink the milk ? ' With
these words he dashed the pot on the roof ; it rolled off and
falling to the ground was broken in pieces. That was the
signal for war to the death between the princes who aspired
to the throne. They fought till only one was left alive.
He was the king." ^ After completing the above account,
of which only the principal points have been stated. Sir
J. G. Frazer remarks : " The rule which obliged the kings
of Unyoro to kill themselves or be killed before their strength
of mind and body began to fail through disease or age is
only a particular example of a custom which appears to have
prevailed widely among barbarous tribes in Africa and to
some extent elsewhere. Apparently this curious practice
rests on a belief that the welfare of the people is sympathetic-
ally bound up with the welfare of their king, and that to
suffer him to fall into bodily or mental decay would be to
involve the whole kingdom in ruin." ^ Other instances con-
necting the life of the king with the ox or other domestic
animal are given in Totemism and Exogamy and The Golde7t
Bough? Among the Hereros the body of a dead chief was
wrapped up in the hide of an ox before being buried.^ In
the Vedic horse-sacrifice in India the horse was stifled in
robes. The chief queen approached him ; a cloak having
been thrown over them both, she performed a repulsively
obscene act symbolising the transmission to her of his
fructifying powers.^ In other cases the king was identified
with the corn-spirit, and in this manner he also, it may be
suggested, represented the common life of the people.
The belief that the king was the incarnation of the
' Totemism and Exogamy, vol. ii. iii. p. 407.
pp. 528, 530. '• Dr. A. H. Keane, The World'' s
2 Ibidem. Peoples, p. 138.
3 Totemism a7id Exogamy, vol. ii. p. •'' IMr. L. D. Barnetl's Antiquities
608; The Golden Bough, 2nd ed. vol. of India, t^. 171.
I THE KING 177
common life of the people led to the most absurd
restrictions on his liberty and conduct, a few instances of
which from the large collection in TJie Golden Bouoh
have been quoted in the article on Nai. Thus in an old
account of the daily life of the Mikado it is stated : " In
ancient times he was obliged to sit on the throne for some
hours every morning, with the imperial crown on his head,
but to sit altogether like a statue, without stirring either
hands or feet, head or eyes, nor indeed any part of his
body, because, by this means, it was thought that he could
preserve peace and tranquillity in his empire ; for if, un-
fortunately, he turned himself on one side or the other,
or if he looked a good while towards any part of his
dominions, it was apprehended that war, famine, fire or
some great misfortune was near at hand to desolate the
country." ^ Here it would appear that by sitting absolutely
immobile the king conferred the quality of tranquillity on
the common life of his people incarnate in his person ; but
by looking too long in any one direction he would cause
a severe disturbance of the common life in the part to
which he looked. And when the Israelites were fighting
with the Amalekites, so long as Moses held up his hands
the Israelites prevailed ; but when his hands hung down
they gave way before the enemy. Here apparently the
common life was held to be centred in Moses, and when
he held his arms up it was vigorous, but declined as he
let them down. Similarly it was often thought that the
king should be killed as soon as his bodily strength showed
signs of waning, so that the common life might be renewed
and saved from a similar decay. Even the appearance of
grey hair or the loss of a tooth were sometimes con-
sidered sufficient reasons for putting the king to death in
Africa.^ Another view was that any one who killed the
king was entitled to succeed him, because the life of the
king, and with it the common life of the people, passed
to the slayer, just as it had previously passed from the
domestic animal to the priest-king who sacrificed it. One
or two instances of succession by killing the king are given
1 The Golden Bough, 2nd ed. vol. i. pp. 234, 235.
2 Ibidem, vol. ii. pp. 9, 10.
VOL. I N
178
INTRODUCTORY ESS A V ON CASTE
88. Other
instances
of the
common
meal as a
sacrificial
rite.
in the article on Bhil. Sometimes the view was that the
king should be sacrificed annually, or at other intervals, like
the corn-spirit or domestic animal, for the renewal of the
common life. And this practice, as shown by Sir J. G.
Frazer, tended to result in the substitution of a victim,
usually a criminal or slave, who was identified with the king
by being given royal honours for a short time before his
death. Sometimes the king's son or daughter was offered
as a substitute for him, and such a sacrifice was occasionally
made in time of peril, apparently as a means of strengthen-
ing or preserving the common life. When Chitor, the
home of the Sesodia clan of Rajpiats, was besieged by the
Muhammadans, the tradition is that the goddess of their
house appeared and demanded the sacrifice of twelve chiefs
as a condition of its preservation. Eleven of the chiefs sons
were in turn crowned as king, and each ruled for three days,
while on the fourth he sallied out and fell in battle. Lastly,
the Rana offered himself in order that his favourite son,
Ajeysi, might be spared and might perpetuate the clan.
In reality the chief and his sons seem to have devoted
themselves in the hope that the sacrifice of the king might
bring strength and victory to the clan. The sacrifice of
Iphigenia and possibly of Jephthah's daughter appear to
be parallel instances. The story of Alcestis may be an
instance of the substitution of the king's wife. The position
of the king in early society and the peculiar practices and
beliefs attaching to it were brought to notice and fully
illustrated by Sir J. G. Frazer. The argument as to the
clan and the veneration of the domestic animal follows that
outlined by the late Professor Robertson Smith in T/ie
Religion of the Semites.
Some other instances of the communal eating of grain
or other food as a sacramental rite and bond of union have
been given in the articles. Thus at a Kabirpanthi Chauka
or religious service the priest breaks a cocoanut on a stone,
and the flesh is cut up and distributed to the worshippers
with betel-leaf and sugar. Each receives it on his knees,
tal-cing the greatest care that none falls on the ground. The
cocoanut is commonly regarded by the Hindus as a
substituted offering for a human head. The betel-leaves
1 THE COMMON MEAL AS A SACRIFICIAL RITE 179
which are distributed have been specially consecrated by the
head priest of the sect, and are held to represent the body
of Kablr.i
Similarly, Guru Govind Singh instituted a prasdd or
communion among the Sikhs, in which cakes of flour, butter
and sugar are made and consecrated with certain ceremonies
while the communicants sit round in prayer, and are then
distributed equally to all the faithful present, to whatever
caste they may belong. At a Guru-Mata or great council
of the Sikhs, which was held at any great crisis in the
affairs of the state, these cakes were laid before the Sikh
scriptures and then eaten by all present, who swore on the
scriptures to forget their internal dissensions and be united.
Among the Rajpiits the test of legitimacy of a member of
the chiefs family was held to depend on whether he had
eaten of the chief's food. The rice cooked at the temple of
Jagannath in Orissa may be eaten there by all castes
together, and, when partaken of by two men together, is held
to establish a bond of indissoluble friendship between them.
Members of several low castes of mixed origin will only
take food with their relatives, and not with other families of
the caste with whom they intermarry." The Chaukhutia
Bhunjias will not eat food cooked by other members of the
same community, and will not take it from their own
daughters after the latter are married. At a feast among
the Dewars uncooked food is distributed to the guests, who
cook it for themselves ; parents will not accept cooked food
either from married sons or daughters, and each family
with its children forms a separate commensal group. Thus
the taking of food together is a more important and sacred
tie than intermarriage. In most Hindu castes a man is not
put out of caste for committing adultery with a woman of
low caste, but for taking cooked food from her hands ;
though it is assumed that if he lives with her openly he must
necessarily have accepted cooked food from her. Opium
and alcoholic liquor or wine, being venerated on account
of their intoxicating qualities, were sometimes regarded
^ Other features of the sacramental Westcott's Kabir and the Kablrpanth.
rite, strengthening this hypothesis, are - See articles Dewar, Ehunjia,
given in the article Kabirpanthi Sect. Gauria, Sonjhara, Malyar.
The account is taken from Bishop
i8o INTRODUCTORY ESSAY ON CASTE part
as substitutes for the sacrificial food and partaken of
sacramentally.^
8g. An important class of communal meals remaining for
Funeral discussion consists in the funeral feasts. The funeral feast
feasts.
seems a peculiar and unseasonable observance, but several
circumstances point to the conclusion that it was originally-
held in the dead man's own interest. He or his spirit was
indeed held to participate in the feast, and it seems to have
been further thought that unless he did so and ate the
sacred food, his soul would not proceed to the heaven or
god, but would wander about as an unquiet spirit or meet
with some other fate. Many of the lower Hindu castes,
such as the Kohlis and Bishnois, take food after a funeral,
seated by the side of the grave. This custom is now con-
sidered somewhat derogatory, perhaps in consequence of
a truer realisation of the fact of death. At a Baiga
funeral the mourners take one white and one black fowl to a
stream and kill and eat them there, setting aside a portion
for the dead man. The Gonds also take their food and
drink liquor at the grave. The Lobars think that the spirit
of the dead man returns to join in the funeral feast.
Among the Telugu Koshtis the funeral party go to the
grave on the fifth day, and after the priest has worshipped
the image of Vishnu on the grave, the whole party take
their food there. After a Panka funeral the mourners bathe
and then break a cocoanut over the grave and distribute it
among themselves. On the tenth day they go again and
break a cocoanut, and each man buries a little piece of it in
the earth over the grave. Among the Tameras, at the feast
with which mourning is concluded, a leaf-plate containing a
portion for the deceased is placed outside the house with a
pot of water and a burning lamp to guide his spirit to the
food. On the third day after death the Kolhatis sometimes
bring back the skull of a corpse and, placing it on the bed,
offer to it powder, dates and betel-leaves, and after a feast
lasting for three days it is again buried. It is said that the
members of the Lingayat sect formerly set up the corpse in
their midst at the funeral feast and sat round it, taking their
food, but the custom is not known to exist at present.
' Some instances are given in the article on Kalar and on Rajput, para. 9.
I HINDU DEITIES AND THE SACRIFICIAI MEAL i8i
Among the Bangalas, an African negro tribe, at a great
funeral feast lasting for three days in honour of the chiefs
son, the corpse was present at the festivities tied in a chair.'
Thus there seems reason to suppose that the caste- 90. The
tie of the Hindus is the same as that which united fijitjesand
the members of the city-states of Greece and Italy, that the sacri-
is the eating of a sacramental food together. Among
the Vedic Aryans that country only was considered pure
and fit for sacrifice in which the Aryan gods had taken
up their residence." Hindustan was made a pure country
in which Aryans could offer sacrifices by the fact that
Agni, the sacrificial god of fire, spread himself over it.
But the gods have changed. The old Vedic deities Indra,
the rain-god, Varuna, the heaven-god, the Maruts or winds,
and Soma, the divine liquor, have fallen into neglect. These
were the principal forces which controlled the existence of a
nomad pastoral people, dependent on rain to make the grass
grow for their herds, and guiding their course by the sun and
stars. The Soma or liquor apparently had a warming,
exhilarating effect in the cold climate of the Central Asian
steppes, and was therefore venerated. Since in the hot
plains of India abstinence from alcoholic liquor has become
a principal religious tenet of high-caste Hindus, Soma is
naturally no more heard of. Agni, the fire-god, was also
one of the greatest deities to the nomads of the cold uplands,
as the preserver of life against cold. But in India, except
as represented by the hearth, for cooking, little regard is
paid to him, since fires are not required for warmth. New
gods have arisen in Hinduism. The sun was an important
Vedic deity, both as Mitra and under other names. Vishnu
as the sun, or the spirit of whom the sun is the visible
embodiment, has become the most important deity in his
capacity of the universal giver and preserver of life. He is
also widely venerated in his anthropomorphic forms of Rama,
the hero-prince of Ajodhia and leader of the Aryan expedi-
tion to Ceylon, and Krishna, the divine cowherd, perhaps
some fabled hero sprung from the indigenous tribes. Siva
is the mountain-god of the Himalayas and a moon-deity,
1 Dr. A. H. Keane, The IVorlls Peoples, pp. 129, 130.
2 Para. 1 1 .
i82 INTRODUCTORY ESS A V ON CASTE part
and in his character of god of destruction the lightning and
cobra are associated with him. But he is really worshipped
in his beneficent form of the phallic emblem as the agent
of life, and the bull, the fertiliser of the soil and pro-
vider of food. Devi, the earth, is the great mother goddess.
Sprung from her are Hanuman, the monkey -god, and
Ganpati, the elephant-god, and in one of her forms, as the
terrible goddess Krdi, she is perhaps the deified tiger.^
Lachmi, the goddess of wealth, and held to have been
evolved from the cow, is the consort of Vishnu. It was
thus not the god to whom the sacrifice was offered, but the
sacrifice itself that was the essential thing, and participation
in the common eating of the sacrifice constituted the bond
of union. In early times a sacrifice was the occasion for
every important gathering or festivity, as is shown both in
Indian history and legend. And the caste feasts above
described seem to be the continuation and modern form of
the ancient sacrifice.
91. De- The Roman population, as already seen, consisted of
oftTe"'^"^ a set of clans or gentes. The clans were collected in tribal
occupa- groups such as the curia, but it does not appear that these
from the^^^ latter were endogamous. The rite which constituted a
tribe. Roman citizen was participation in the Suovetaurilia, the
communal sacrifice of the domestic animals, the pig, the
ram, and the bull. Since all the Roman citizens at first
lived in a comparatively small area, they were all able to
be present at the sacrifice. The other states of Greece and
Italy had an analogous constitution, as stated by M. Fustel
de Coulanges. It may be supposed that the Aryans were
similarly divided into clans and tribes. The word visha,
the substantive root of Vaishya, originally meant a clan."
But as pointed out by M. Senart, they did not form city-
states in India, but settled in villages over a large area of
country. Their method of government was by small states
under kings, and probably they had a kind of national
constitution, of which the king was the centre and em-
bodiment. But these states gradually lost their indi-
' For further notice of Vishnu and article Ahir ; for Ganpati, article
Siva see articles Vaishnava and Saiva Bania.
sects; for Devi see article Kumhar, ~ See above, para. 13.
and for Kali, article Thug; for Krishna,
I DEVELOPMENT OF THE OCCUPATIONAL CASTE 183
viduality, and were merged in large empires, where the
king could no longer be the centre of the state or of the
common life of his people, nor perform a sacrifice at which
they could all be present, as the Roman kings did. This
religious idea of nationality, based on participation in a
common sacrifice, was the only one which existed in early
times. Thus apparently the Aryans retained their tribal
constitution instead of expanding it into a national one,
and the members of clans within a certain local area
gathered for a communal sacrifice. But there was a great
class, that of the Sudras or indigenous inhabitants, who
could not join in the sacrifices at all. And between the
Sudras and the Vaishyas or main body of the Aryans there
gradually grew up another mixed class, which also could not
properly participate in them. The priests and rulers,
Brahmans and Kshatriyas, tended to form exclusive bodies,
and in this manner a classification by occupation gradually
grew up, the distinction being marked by participation in
separate sacrificial feasts. The cause which ultimately broke
down the religious distinctions of the Roman and Greek
states was the development of a feeling of nationality. In
the common struggle for the preservation of the city the
prejudices of the patricians weakened, and after a long
internal conflict, the plebeians were admitted to full rights
of citizenship. The plebeians were employed as infantry
in the Roman armies, while the patricians rode, and the
increased importance of infantry in war was one great cause
of the improvement in the position of the plebeians.^ In
India, in the absence of any national feeling, and with the
growth of a large and powerful priestly order, religious
barriers and prejudices became accentuated rather than
weakened. The class distinctions grew more rigid, and
gradually, as the original racial line of cleavage was fused
by intermarriage and the production of groups of varying
status, these came to arrange themselves on a basis of
occupation. This is the inevitable and necessary rule in all
societies whose activities and mode of life are at all com-
plicated. Racial distinctions cannot be preserved unless in
the most exceptional cases, where they are accentuated by
^ La Citi Antique, p. 341.
1 84 INTRODUCTOR V ESS A Y ON CASTE part
the difference of colour, and such a moral and social gulf
as that which exists between the whites and negroes in
North America. In primitive society there is no such
mental cleavage to render the idea of fusion abhorrent to
the superior race ; the bar is religious, and while it places
the inferior race in a despised and abject position, there
is no prohibition of illicit unions nor any such moral feeling
or principle as would tend to restrict them. The ideas of
the responsibilities and duties of parentage in connection
with heredity, or the science of eugenics, are entirely modern,
and have no place at all in ancient society. As racial and
religious distinctions fade away, and social progress takes
place, a fresh set of divisions by wealth and occupation
grows up. But though this happened also in the Greek
and Italian cities, the old religious divisions were not trans-
ferred to the new occupational groups, but fell slowly into
abeyance, and the latter assumed the simply social char-
acter which they have in modern communities. The main
reason for the obliteration of religious barriers, as already
stated, was the growth of the idea of nationality and the
public interest. But in India the feeling of nationality
never arose. The Hindu states and empires had no national
basis, since at the period in question the only way in which
the idea of nationality could be conceived, was by participa-
tion of the citizens in a common sacrifice, and this participa-
tion is only possible to persons living in a small local area.
Hence Hindu society developed on its own lines independ-
ently of the form of government to which it was subject,
and in the new grouping by occupation the old communal
sacrifices were preserved and adapted to the fresh divisions.
The result was the growth of the system of occupational
castes which still exists. But since the basis of society was
the participation of each social group in a communal meal,
the group could not be extended to take in persons of the
same occupation over a large area, and as a result the widely
ramified system of subcastes came into existence. The sub-
caste or commensal group was the direct evolutionary pro-
duct of the pre-existing tribe. Its size was limited by the
fact that its members had to meet at the periodical sacrificial
feasts, by which their unity and the tie which bound them
I VENERATION OF THE CASTE IMPLEMENTS 185
together was cemented and renewed. As already seen,
when members of a subcaste migrated to a fresh local area,
and were cut off from communication with those remaining
behind, they tended as a rule to form a fresh endogamous
and commensal group. Since the tie between the members
of the subcaste was participation in a sacrificial meal of
grain cooked with water, and as this food was held to be
sacred, the members of the subcaste came to refuse to eat
it except with those who could join in the communal feast ;
and as the idea gradually gained acceptance, that a legiti-
mate child must be the offspring of a father and mother
both belonging to the commensal group, the practice of
endogamy within the subcaste became a rule.
Since all the citizens of the Roman State participated in a 92. Vcnei
common sacrifice, they might be considered as a sinsfle caste. ''^"°" °^
. t> ' the caste
or even a subcaste or commensal group. The Hindu castes impie-
have a common ceremony which presents some analogy to '"^"'^•
that of the Roman state. They worship or pay homage
once or twice a year to the implements of their profession.
The occasions for this rite are usually the Dasahra festival
in September and the fast after the Holi festival in March.
Both these are festivals of the goddess Devi or Mother Earth,
when a fast is observed in her honour, first before sowing the
spring crops and secondly before reaping them. On each
occasion the fast lasts for nine days and the Jawaras or pots
of wheat corresponding to the Gardens of Adonis are sown.
The fasts and festivals thus belong primarily to the agri-
cultural castes, and they worship the earth-mother, who
provides them with subsistence. But the professional and
artisan castes also take the occasion to venerate the imple-
ments of their profession. Thus among the Kasars or brass-
workers, at the festival of Mando Amawas or the new
moon of Chait (March), every Kasar must return to the
community of which he is a member and celebrate the feast
with them. And in default of this he will be expelled from
the caste until the next Amawas of Chait comes round.
They close their shops and worship the implements of their
profession on this day. The rule is thus the same as that
of the Roman Suovetaurilia. He who does not join in the
sacrificial feast ceases to be a member of the community.
1 86 INTRODUCTORY ESS A V ON CASTE part
And the object of veneration is the same ; the Romans
venerated and sacrificed the domestic animals which in the
pastoral stage had been their means of subsistence. The
Kasars and other occupational castes worship the implements
of their profession which are also their means of livelihood,
or that which gives them life. Formerly all these implements
were held to be animate, and to produce their effect by their
own power and volition. The Nats or acrobats of Bombay
say that their favourite and only living gods are those which
give them their bread : the drum, the rope and the balancing-
pole. The Murha or earth-digger invokes the implements of
his trade as follows : " O, my lord the basket, my lord the
pickaxe shaped like a snake, and my lady the hod ! Come
and eat up those who do not pay me for my work ! "
Similarly the Dhlmar venerates his fishing-net, and will not
wear shoes of sewn leather, because he thinks that the sacred
thread which makes his net is debased if used for shoes.
The Chamar worships his currier's knife ; the Ghasia or
groom his horse and the peg to which the horse is secured
in the stable ; the Rajput his horse and sword and shield ;
the writer his inkpot, and so on. The Pola festival of the
Kunbis has a feature resembling the Suovetaurilia. On this
occasion all the plough - bullocks of the cultivators are
mustered and go in procession to a ioran or arch constructed of
branches and foliage. The bullock of the village proprietor
leads the way, and has flaming torches tied to his horns.
The bullocks of the other cultivators follow according to the
status of each cultivator in the village, which depends upon
hereditary right and antiquity of tenure, and not on mere
wealth. A Kunbi feels bitterly insulted if his bullocks are
not awarded the proper place in the procession. A string
across the arch is broken by the leading bullock, and the
cattle are then all driven helter-skelter through the arch and
back to the village. The rite would appear to be a relic
of the communal sacrifice of a bullock, the torches tied to
the proprietor's bullock signifying that he was formerly
killed and roasted. It is now said that this bullock is full of
magic, and that he will die within three years. The rite
may be compared to the ncedfire as practised in Russia
when all the horses of the village were driven between
I CASTE PANCHAYAT AND ITS CODE OF OFFENCES 187
two fires, or through fire, and their bridles thrown into the
fire and burnt. The burning of the bridles would appear
to be a substitute for the previous sacrifice of the horse.^
The Pola ceremony of the Kunbis resembles the Roman
Suovetaurilia inasmuch as all the cultivators participate
in it according to their status, just as the rank of Roman
citizens was determined by their position at the ceremony.
Formerly, if a bull was sacrificed and eaten sacramcntally
it would have been practically an exact parallel to the
Roman rite.
The tribunal for the punishment of caste offences is known 93- Ti^e
as the panchdyat, because it usually consists of five persons 'tancMyat
{pdnch, five). As a rule a separate /<rr;/^//cr;'(7^ exists for every and its
subcaste over an area not too large for all the members of offences,
it to meet. In theory, however, the panchdyat is only the
mouthpiece of the assembly, which should consist of all the
members of the subcaste. Some castes fine a member who
absents himself from the meeting. The panchdyat may
perhaps be supposed to represent the hand acting on
behalf of the subcaste, which is considered the body. The
panchdyat, however, was not the original judge. It was at
first the god before whom the parties pleaded their cause,
and the god who gave judgment by the method of trial by
ordeal. This was probably the general character of primitive
justice, and in some of the lower castes the ordeal is still
resorted to for decisions. The tribe or subcaste attended as
jurors or assessors, and carried out the proceedings, perhaps
after having united themselves to the god for the purpose by
a sacrificial meal. The pancJidyat, having succeeded the god
as the judge, is held to give its decisions by divine inspiration,
according to the sayings : ' God is on high and the pancJi on
earth,' and ' The voice of the pancJidyat is the voice of God.' "
The headship of the panchdyat and the subcaste commonly
descends in one family, or did so till recently, and the utmost
deference is shown to the person holding it, even though he
may be only a boy, for the above reason. The offences in-
^ Early History of Mankind, pp. form, any more than in the case of the
259, 260. The needfire, as described Suovetaurilia or Pola ceremonies,
by Sir E. B. Tyler, had the character 2 Mr. J. T. Marten's Central Pro-
of a purificatory rite, but it may be vinces Census Report, p. 238.
doubted whether this was its oricinal
i88 INTRODUCTORY ESSAY ON CASTE part
volving temporary or permanent excommunication from
caste are of a somewhat peculiar kind. In the case of both
a man and woman, to take food from a person of a caste
from whom it is forbidden to do so, and especially from one
of an impure caste, is a very serious offence, as is also that
of being beaten by a member of an impure caste, especially
with a shoe. It is also a serious offence to be sent to jail,
because a man has to eat the impure jail food. To be hand-
cuffed is a minor offence, perhaps by analogy with the major
one of being sent to jail, or else on account of the indignity
involved by the touch of the police. As regards sexual
offences, there is no direct punishment for a man as a rule,
but if he lives with a low-caste woman he is temporarily
expelled because it is assumed that he has taken food from
her hands. Sometimes a man and woman of the caste com-
mitting adultery together are both punished. A married
woman who commits adultery should in the higher and
middle castes, in theory at least, be permanently expelled,
but if her husband does not put her away she is sometimes
readmitted with a severe punishment. A girl going wrong
with an outsider is as a rule expelled unless the matter can
be hushed up, but if she becomes pregnant by a man of the
caste, she can often be readmitted with a penalty and married
to him or to some other man. There are also some religious
crimes, such as killing a cow or a cat or other sacred domestic
animal ; and in the case of a woman it is a very serious
offence to get the lobe of her ear torn apart at the large
perforation usually made for earrings ; ^ while for either a
man or a woman to get vermin in a wound is an offence of
the first magnitude, entailing several months' exclusion and
large expenditure on readmission. Offences against ordinary
morality are scarcely found in the category of those entailing
punishment. Murder must sometimes be expiated by a
pilgrimage to the Ganges, but other criminal offences against
the person and property are not taken cognisance of by the
caste committee unless the offender is sent to jail. Both in its
negative and positive aspects the category of offences affords
interesting deductions on the basis of the explanation of
the caste system already given. The reason why there is
' For further notice of this offence see article Sunar under Eai"-piercing.
I CASTE PANCHAYAT AND ITS CODE OF OEEENCES 1S9
scarcely any punishment for offences against ordinary
morality is that the caste organisation has never developed
any responsibility for the maintenance of social order and
the protection of life and property. It has never exercised
the function of government, because in the historical Hindu
period India was divided into large military states, while
since then it has been subject to foreign domination. The
social organisation has thus maintained its pristine form,
neither influenced by the government nor affording to it any
co-operation or support. And the aims of the caste tribunal
have been restricted to preserving its own corporate exist-
ence free from injury or pollution, which might arise mainly
from two sources. If a member's body was rendered impure
either by eating impure food or by contact with a person of
impure caste it became an unfit receptacle for the sacred food
eaten at the caste feast, which bound its members together
in one body. This appears to be the object of the rules
about food. And since the blood of the clan and of the
caste is communicated by descent through the father under
the patriarchal system, adultery on the part of a married
woman would bring a stranger into the group and under-
mine its corporate existence and unity. Hence the severity
of the punishment for the adultery of a married woman,
which is a special feature of the patriarchal system. It has
already been seen that under the rule of female descent, as
shown by Mr. Hartland in Primitive Paternity, the chastity
of women was as a rule scarcely regarded at all or even
conceived of. After the change to the patriarchal system a
similar laxity seems to have prevailed for some period, and
it was thought that any child born to a man in his house or
on his bed was his own, even though he might not be the
father. This idea obtained among the Arabs, as pointed
out by Professor Robertson Smith in Kinship and Marriage
in Early Arabia, and is also found in the Hindu classics,
and to some extent even in modern practice. It was perhaps
based on the virtue assigned to concrete facts ; just as the
Hindus think that a girl is properly married by going through
the ceremony with an arrow or a flower, and that the fact of
two children being suckled by the same woman, though she
is not their mother, establishes a tie akin to consanguinity
igo INTRODUCTORY ESS A V ON CASTE part
between them, so they might have thought that the fact of
a boy being born in a man's house constituted him the
man's son. Subsequently, however, the view came to be
held that the clan blood was communicated directly
through the father, to whom the life of the child was
solely assigned in the early patriarchal period. And the
chastity of married women then became of vital import-
ance to the community, because the lack of it would
cause strangers to be born into the clan, which now based
its tie of kinship on descent from a common male ancestor.
Thus the adultery of women became a crime which would
undermine the foundations of society and the state, and as
such was sometimes punished with death among communities
in the early patriarchal stage. It is this view, and not
simply moral principle, which has led to the severe caste
penalties for the offence. Some of the primitive tribes care
nothing about the chastity of unmarried girls, but punish
unfaithful wives rigorously. Among the Maria Gonds a
man will murder his wife for infidelity, but girls are commonly
unchaste. Another rule sometimes found is that an un-
married girl becoming with child by an outsider is put out
of caste for the time. When her child, which does not
belong to the caste, has been born, she must make it over to
some outside family, and she herself can then be readmitted
to the community. Out of the view of adultery as a religious
and social offence, a moral regard for chastity is however
developing among the Hindus as it has in other societies.
g^ i"!^^ It has been seen that the SUdras as well as the plebeians
stilus of were regarded as impure, and the reason was perhaps that
they were considered to belong to a hostile god. By their
participation in the sacrifice and partaking of the sacrificial
food, the Indian Aryans and other races considered that
they were not only in fellowship with, but actually a part
of the god. And similarly their enemies were part of the
substance of a hostile god, whose very existence and contact
were abhorrent to their own. Hence their enemies should
as far as possible be completely exterminated, but when
this was impossible they must dwell apart and not pollute
by contact of their persons, or in any other way, the sacred
soil on which the gods dwelt, nor the persons of those who
impurity.
THE STATUS OF IMPURITY
191
became part of the substance of the god by participation in
the sacrificial meal. For this reason the plebeians had to
live outside the Roman city, which was all sacred ground,
and the Sudras and modern impure castes have to live out-
side the village, which is similarly sacred as the abode of
the earth-goddess in her form of the goddess of the land of
that village. For the same reason their contact had to be
avoided by those who belonged to the village and were
united to the goddess by partaking of the crops which she
brought forth on her land. As already seen, the belief
existed that the life and qualities could be communicated
by contact, and in this case the worshippers would assimilate
by contact the life of a god hostile to their own. In the
same manner, as shown by M. Salomon Reinach in Cults,
Myths and Religions, all the weapons, clothes and material
possessions of the enemy were considered as impure, perhaps
because they also contained part of the life of a hostile god.
As already seen,^ a man's clothing and weapons were con-
sidered to contain part of his life by contact, and since the
man was united to the god by partaking of the sacrificial
feast, all the possessions of the enemy might be held
to participate in the life of the hostile god, and hence
they could not be preserved, nor taken by the victors
into their own houses or dwellings. This was the offence
which Achan committed when he hid in his tent part of
the spoils of Jericho ; and in consequence Jehovah ceased
to be with the children of Israel when they went up against
Ai, that is ceased to be in them, and they could not stand
before the enemy. Achan and his family were stoned and his
property destroyed by fire and the impurity was removed. For
the same reason the ancient Gauls and Germans destroyed
all the spoils of v.'ar or burned them, or buried them in lakes
where they are still found. At a later stage the Romans,
instead of destroying the spoils of war, dedicated them to
their own gods, perhaps as a visible sign of the conquest and
subjection of the enemy's gods ; and they were hung in
temples or on oak-trees, where they could not be touched
except in the very direst need, as when Rome was left
without arms after Cannae. Subsequently the spoils were
1 Para. 61.
192 INTRODUCTORY ESS A V ON CASTE part
permitted to decorate the houses of the victorious generals,
where they remained sacred and inviolable heirlooms.^
95. Caste In Tlic Religions of India M. Barth defined a Hindu as
^]1^ , ■ a man who has a caste : ' The man who is a member of a
caste is a Hindu ; he who is not, is not a Hindu.' His
definition remains perhaps the best. There is practically no
dogma which is essential to Hinduism, nor is the veneration
of any deity or sacred object either necessary or heretical.
As has often been pointed out, there is no assembly more
catholic or less exclusive than the Hindu pantheon. Another
writer has said that the three essentials of a Hindu are to
be a member of a caste, to venerate Brahmans, and to hold
the cow sacred. Of the latter two, the veneration of
Brahmans cannot be considered indispensable ; for there are
several sects, as the Lingayats, the Bishnois, the Manbhaos,
the Kablrpanthis and others, who expressly disclaim any
veneration for Brahmans, and, in theory at least, make no
use of their services ; and yet the members of these sects
are by common consent acknowledged as Hindus. The
sanctity of the bull and cow is a more nearly universal
dogma, and extends practically to all Hindus, except the
impure castes. These latter should not correctly be classed
as Hindus ; the very origin of their status is, as has been
seen, the belief that they are the worshippers of gods
hostile to Hinduism. But still they must now practically
be accounted as Hindus. They worship the Hindu gods,
standing at a distance when they are not allowed to enter
the temples, perform their ceremonies by Hindu rites, and
employ Brahmans for fixing auspicious days, writing the
marriage invitation and other business, which the Brahman
is willing to do for a consideration, so long as he does not
have to enter their houses. Some of the impure castes eat
beef, while others have abandoned it in order to improve
their social position. At the other end of the scale are
many well-educated Hindu gentlemen who have no objection
to eat beef and may often have done so in England, though
in India they may abstain out of deference to the prejudices
of their relatives, especially the women. And Hindus of all
' "Tarpeia" in M. Salomon Reinach's Culls, Myths and Religions (English
edition, London, David Nutt, 191 2).
I THE HINDU REFORMERS 193
castes are beginning to sell worn-out cattle to the butchers
for slaughter without scruple — an offence which fifty years
ago would have entailed permanent expulsion from caste.
The reverence for the cow is thus not an absolutely essential
dogma of Hinduism, though it is the nearest approach to one.
As a definition or test of Hinduism it is, however, obviously
inadequate. Caste, on the other hand, regulates the whole
of a Hindu's life, his social position and, usually, his occupa-
tion. It is the only tribunal which punishes religious and
social offences, and when a man is out of caste he has, for
so long as this condition continues, no place in Hinduism.
Theoretically he cannot eat with any other Hindu nor marry
his child to any Hindu. If he dies out of caste the
caste-men will not bury or burn his body, which is regarded
as impure. The binding tie of caste is, according to
the argument given above, the communal meal or feast
of grain cooked with water, and this, it would therefore
seem, may correctly be termed the chief religious function
of Hinduism. Caste also obtains among the Jains and Sikhs,
but Sikhism is really little more than a Hindu sect, while
the Jains, who are nearly all Banias, scarcely differ from
Vaishnava Hindu Banias, and have accepted caste, though
it is not in accordance with the real tenets of their religion.
The lower industrial classes of Muhammadans have also
formed castes in imitation of the Hindus. Many of these
are however the descendants of converted Hindus, and nearly
all of them have a number of Hindu practices.
There have not been wanting reformers in Hinduism, and 96. The
the ultimate object of their preaching seems to have been ^mdu
r^ reformers.
the abolition of the caste system. The totem-clans, perhaps,
supposed that each species of animals and plants which they
distinguished had a different kind of life, the qualities of each
species being considered as part of its life. This belief may
have been the original basis of the idea of difference of blood
arising from nobility of lineage or descent, and it may also
have been that from which the theory of caste distinctions
was derived. Though the sacrificial food of each caste is
the same, yet its members may have held themselves to be
partaking of a different sacrificial feast and absorbing a
different life ; just as the sacrificial feasts and the gods of
VOL. I O
194 INTRODUCTORY ESS A V ON CASTE part
the different Greek and Latin city-states were held to be
distinct and hostile, and a citizen of one state could not
join in the sacrificial feast of another, though the gods and
sacrificial animals might be as a matter of fact the same.
And the earth-goddess of each village was a separate form
or part of the goddess, so that her land should only be
tilled by the descendants of the cultivators who were in
communion with her. The severe caste penalties attached
to getting vermin in a wound, involving a long period of
complete ostracism and the most elaborate ceremonies of
purification, may perhaps be explained by the idea that the
man so afflicted has in his body an alien and hostile life
which is incompatible with his forming part of the common
life of the caste or subcaste. The leading feature of the
doctrines of the Hindu reformers has been that there is only
one kind of life, which extends through the whole of creation
and is all equally precious. Everything that lives has a
spark of the divine life and hence should not be destroyed.
The belief did not extend to vegetable life, perhaps because
the true nature of the latter was by then partly realised,
while if the consumption of vegetable life had been pro-
hibited the sect could not have existed. The above doctrine
will be recognised as a comparatively simple and natural
expansion of the beliefs that animals have self-conscious
volitional life and that each species of animals consists of one
common life distributed through its members. If the true
nature of individual animals and plants had been recognised
from the beginning, it is difficult to see how the idea of
one universal life running through them all could have been
conceived and have obtained so large a degree of acceptance.
As the effect of such a doctrine was that all men were of
the same blood and life, its necessary consequence was the
negation of caste distinctions. The transmigration of souls
followed as a moral rule apportioning reward and punishment
for the actions of men. The soul passed through a cycle of
lives, and the location or body of its next life, whether an
animal of varying importance or meanness, or a human being
in different classes of society, was determined by its good or
evil actions in previous lives. Finally, those souls which had
been purified of all the gross qualities appertaining to the
I THE HINDU REFORMERS ic)z^
body were released from the cycle of existence and reabsorbed
into the divine centre or focus of life. In the case of the
Buddhists and Jains the divine centre of life seems to have
been conceived of impersonally. The leading authorities on
Buddhism state that its founder's doctrine was pure atheism,
but one may suggest that the view seems somewhat improbable
in the case of a religion promulgated at so early a period. And
on such a hypothesis it is difficult to understand either the stress
laid on the escape from life as the highest aim or the sanctity
held to attach to all kinds of animal life. But these doctrines
follow naturally on the belief in a divine centre or focus of
life from which all life emanates for a time, to be ultimately
reabsorbed. The Vaishnava reformers, who arose subse-
quently, took the sun or the spirit of the sun as the divine
source of all life. They also preached the sanctity of animal
life, the transmigration of souls, and the final absorption of
the purified soul into the divine centre of life. The abolition
of caste was generally a leading feature of their doctrine and
may have been its principal social aim. The survival of the
individual soul was not a tenet of the earlier reformers,
though the later ones adopted it, perhaps in response to the
growing perception of individuality. But even now it is
doubtful how far the separate existence of the individual soul
after it has finally left the world is a religious dogma of the
Hindus. The basis of Hindu asceticism is the necessity of
completely freeing the soul or spirit from all the appetites
and passions of the body before it can be reabsorbed into
the god. Those who have so mortified the body that the
life merely subsists in it, almost unwillingly as it were, and
absolutely unaffected by human desires or affections or
worldly events, have rendered their individual spark of life
capable of being at once absorbed into the divine life and
equal in merit to it, while still on earth. Thus Hindu
ascetics in the last or perfect stage say, * I am God,' or ' I am
Siva,' and are revered by their disciples and the people as
divine. Both the Buddhists and Jains lay the same stress
on the value of asceticism as enabling the soul to attain
perfection through complete detachment from the appetites
and passions of the body and the cares of the world ; and
the deduction therefore seems warranted that the end of the
196 INTRODUCTORY ESSAY ON CASTE part
perfect soul would be a similar reabsorption in the divine
soul.
97. Decline The castc systcm has maintained its vigour unimpaired
of the either by the political vicissitudes and foreign invasions of
ciiste
system. India or by Muhammadan persecution. Except where it
has been affected by European education and inventions,
Hindu society preserved until recently a remarkably close
resemblance to that of ancient Greece and Rome in the
classical period. But several signs point to the conclusion
that the decay of caste as the governing factor of Indian
society is in sight. The freedom in selection of occupation
which now obtains appears to strike at the root of the
caste system, because the relative social status and gradation
of castes is based on their traditional occupations. When
in a large number of the principal castes the majority of the
members have abandoned their traditional occupation and
taken freely to others, the relative status of castes becomes
a fiction, which, though it has hitherto subsisted, cannot
apparently be indefinitely maintained. The great extension
of education undertaken by Government and warmly ad-
vocated by the best Indian opinion exercises an analogous
influence. Education is free to all, and, similarly, in the
careers which it opens to the most successful boys there is
no account of caste. Thus members of quite low castes
obtain a good social position and, as regards them person-
ally, the prejudices and contempt for their caste necessarily
fall into abeyance. The process must, probably, in time
extend to general social toleration. The educated classes
are also coming to regard the restrictions on food and
drink, and on eating and drinking with others, as an irk-
some and unnecessary bar to social intercourse, and are
gradually abandoning them. This tendency is greatly
strengthened by the example and social contact of Euro-
peans. Finally, the facilities for travelling and the demo-
cratic nature of modern travel have a very powerful effect. The
great majority of Hindus of all castes are obliged by their
comparative poverty to avail themselves of the cheap third-
class fares, and have to rub shoulders together in packed
railway carriages. Soon they begin to realise that this does
them no harm, and get accustomed to it, with the result
I DECLINE OF THE CASTE SYSTEM ic)y
that the prejudices about bodily contact tend to disappear.
The opinion has been given that the decline of social cx-
clusiveness in England was largely due to the introduction
of railway travelling. Taking account of all these influences,
and assuming their continuance, the inference may safely be
drawn that the life of the Indian caste system is limited,
though no attempt can be made to estimate the degree of
its vitality, nor to predict the form and constitution of the
society which will arise on its decay.
PART I
ARTICLES ON RELIGIONS AND SECTS
ARYA SAMAJ
YBibliography : Sir E. D. Maclagan's Punjab Cetisus Repori of iSgi ; Mr-
R. Burn's United Provinces Censtis Report of igoi ; Professor J. C. Oman's
Cults, Customs and Superstitions of India.'\
LIST OF PARAGRAPHS
1. The f 01177 der of the sect. Day a- 3. Tefiets of the Smndj.
nand Sdraswati. 4. Modernising tendencies.
2. His methods and the scientific 5. Aims and educational i?istitu-
ititerpretatio7i of the Vedas. tions.
6. Prospects of the sect.
Arya Samaj Religion. — This important reforming sect of 1. The
Hinduism numbered nearly 2 50,000 persons in India in 1 9 1 1, [^g"g^[ °^
as against 92,000 in 1901. Its adherents belong principally Dayanand
to the Punjab and the United Provinces. In the Central saraswati.
Provinces 974 members were returned. The sect was
founded by Pandit Dayanand Saraswati, a Gujarati Brahman,
born in 1824. According to his own narrative he had been
carefully instructed in the Vedas, which means that he had
been made to commit a great portion of them to memory,
and had been initiated at an early age into the Saiva sect
to which his family belonged ; but while still a mere boy
his mind had revolted against the practices of idolatry. He
could not bring himself to acknowledge that the image of
Siva seated on his bull, the helpless idol, which, as he
himself observed in the watches of the night, allowed the
mice to run over it with impunity, ought to be worshipped
as the omnipotent deity.^ He also conceived an intense
aversion to marriage, and fled from home in order to avoid
the match which had been arranged for him. He was
attracted by the practice of Yoga, or ascetic philosophy, and
' Cults, Custo/ns, p. I ^o.
ARTICLES ON RELIGIONS AND SECTS
2. His
methods
and the
scientific
interpreta-
tion of the
\'edas.
studied it with great ardour, claiming to have been initiated
into the highest secrets of Yoga Vidya. He tells in one of
his books of his many and extensive travels, his profound
researches in Sanskritic lore, his constant meditations and
his ceaseless inquirings. He tells how, by dissecting in his
own rough way a corpse which he found floating on a river,
he finally discerned the egregious errors of the Hindu medical
treatises, and, tearing up his books in disgust, flung them into
the river with the mutilated corpse. By degrees he found
reason to reject the authority of all the sacred books of the
Hindus subsequent to the Vedas. Once convinced of this,
he braced himself to a wonderful course of missionary effort,
in which he formulated his new system and attacked the
existing orthodox Hinduism/ He maintained that the
Vedas gave no countenance to idolatry, but inculcated
monotheism, and that their contents could be reconciled
with all the results of modern science, which indeed he held
to be indicated in them. The Arya Samaj was founded
in Lahore in 1877, and during the remainder of his life
Dayanand travelled over northern India continually preach-
ing and disputing with the advocates of other religions, and
founding branches of his sect. In 1883 he died at Ajmer,
according to the story of his followers, from the effects of
poison administered to him at the instigation of a prostitute
against whose profession he had been lecturing."
Dayanand's attempt to found a sect which, while not
going entirely outside Hinduism, should prove acceptable to
educated Hindus desiring a purer faith, appears to have
been distinctly successful. The leaders of the Brahmo
Samaj were men of higher intelligence and ability than he,
and after scrupulously fair and impartial inquiry were led to
deny the infallibility of the Vedas, while they also declined
to recognise caste. But by so doing they rendered it im-
possible for a man to become a Brahmo and remain a Hindu,
and their movement has made little hcadwa)-. By retaining
the tenet of the divine authority of the Vedas, Dayanand
made it possible for educated Hindus to join his sect without
absolutely cutting themselves adrift from their old faith.
^ Maclagan, Punjab Census Report,
p. 174.
^ Burn, United Provinces Censtts
Report, p. 82.
I AJ^VA SAM Ay 203
But Dayanand's contention that the Vedas should be
figuratively interpreted, and are so found to foreshadow
the discoveries of modern science, will naturally not bear
examination. The following instances of the method arc
given by Professor Oman : " At one of the anniversary
meetings of the society a member gravely stated that the
Vedas mentioned /«;r fire, and as pure fire was nothing but
electricity, it was evident that the Indians of the Vedic period
were acquainted with electricity. A leading member of the
sect, who had studied science in the Government college,
discovered in two Vedic texts, made up of on/y eighteen
words in all, that oxygen and hydrogen with their char-
acteristic properties were known to the writers of the Rig
Veda, who were also acquainted with the composition of
water, the constitution of the atmosphere, and had anticipated
the modern kinetic theory of gases." ^ Mr. Burn gives the
following parallel versions of a verse of the Rig Veda by
Professor Max Muller and the late Pandit Guru Datt, M.A.,
of the Arya Samaj :
Professor Max Miiller. — " May Mitra, Varuna, Aryaman,
Ayu, Indra, the Lord of the Ribhus, and the Maruts not
rebuke us because we shall proclaim at the sacrifice the
virtues of the swift horse sprung from the Gods."
Pandit Guru Datt. — " We shall describe the power-
generating virtues of the energetic horses endowed with
brilliant properties (or the virtues of the vigorous force of
heat) which learned or scientific men can evoke to work for
purposes of appliances. Let not philanthropists, noble men,
judges, learned men, rulers, wise men and practical mechanics
ever disregard these properties." In fact, the learned Pandit
has interpreted horse as horse-power.
Nevertheless the Arya Samaj does furnish a haven for 3. Tenets
educated Hindus who can no longer credit Hindu mythology, gamaj.
but do not wish entirely to break away from their religion ;
a step which, involving also the abandonment of caste, would
in their case mean the cessation to a considerable extent
of social and family intercourse. The present tenets and
position of the Arya Samaj as given to Professor Oman by
Lala Lajpat Rai " indicate that, while tending towards the
1 Cults, Customs, p. 144. 2 Ibidem, pp. 176, 177.
204 ARTICLES ON RELIGIONS AND SECTS part
complete removal of the over-swollen body of Hindu ritual
and the obstacles to social progress involved in the narrow
restrictions of the caste system, the sect at present permits
a compromise and does not require of its proselytes a full
abjuration. In theory members of any religion may be
admitted to the Samaj, and a few Muhammadans have been
initiated, but unless they renounce Islam do not usually
participate in social intercourse. Sikhs are freely admitted,
and converts from any religion who accept the purified
Hinduism of the Samaj are welcome. Such converts go
through a simple ceremony of purification, for which a
Brahman is usually engaged, though not required by rule.
Those who, as Hindus, wore the sacred thread are again
invested with it, and it has also been conferred on converts,
but this has excited opposition. A few marriages between
members of different subcastes have been carried out, and
in the case of orphan girls adopted into the Samaj caste,
rules have been set aside and they have been married to
members of other castes. Lavish expenditure on weddings
is discouraged. Vishnu and Siva are accepted as alternative
names of the one God ; but their reputed consorts Kali,
Durga, Devi, and so on, are not regarded as deities. Brah-
mans are usually employed for ceremonies, but these may
also, especially birth and funeral ceremonies, be performed
by non-Brahmans. In the Punjab members of the Samaj
of different castes will take food together, but rarely in the
United Provinces. Dissension has arisen on the question of
the consumption of flesh, and the Samaj is split into two
parties, vegetarians and meat-eaters. In the United Pro-
vinces, Mr. Burn states, the vegetarian party would not
object to employ men of low caste as cooks, excepting such
im[)ure castes as Chamars, Doms and sweepers, so long as
they were also vegetarians. The Aryas still hold the
doctrine of the transmigration of souls and venerate the cow,
but they do not regard the cow as divine. In this respect
their position has been somewhat modified from that of
Dayanand, who was a vigorous supporter of the Gaoraksha
or cow-protection movement.
4. Modern- Again Dayanand enunciated a very peculiar doctrine on
'Sing Niyoga or the custom of childless women, either married or
tendencies. -' ^ '
I A/^VA SAMAJ 205
widows, resorting to men other than their husbands for
obtaining an heir. This is permitted under certain circum-
stances by the Hindu lawbooks. Dayanand laid down that
a Hindu widow might resort in succession to five men until
she had borne each of them two children, and a married
woman might do the same with the consent of her husband,
or without his consent if he had been absent from home for
a certain number of years, varying according to the purpose
for which he was absent.^ Dayanand held that this rule
would have beneficial results. Those who could restrain
their impulses would still be considered as following the
best way ; but for the majority who could not do so, the
authorised method and degree of intimacy laid down by him
would prevent such evils as prostitution, connubial unfaithful-
ness, and the secret liaisons of widows, resulting in practices
like abortion. The prevalence of such a custom would,
however, certainly do more to injure social and family life
than all the evils which it was designed to prevent, and it is
not surprising to find that the Samaj does not now consider
Niyoga an essential doctrine ; instead of this they are trying
in face of much opposition to introduce the natural and
proper custom of the remarriage of widows. The principal
rite of the Samaj is the old Hom sacrifice of burning clarified
butter, grain, and various fragrant gums and spices on the
sacred fire, with the repetition of Sanskrit texts. They now
explain this by saying that it is a sanitary measure, designed
to purify the air.
The Samaj does not believe in any literal heaven and
hell, but considers these as figurative expressions of the
state of the soul, whether in this life or the life to come.
The Aryas therefore do not perform the sJiradJiJi ceremony
nor offer oblations to the dead, and in abolishing these they
reduce enormously the power and influence of the priesthood.
The above account indicates that the Arya Samaj is 5. Aims
tending to become a vaguely theistic sect. Its religious ^"^
fc> fc> y » educa-
observances will probably fall more and more into the back- tionai in-
ground, and its members will aspire to observe in their ^" " '°"^"
conduct the code of social morality obtaining in Europe,
and to regulate their habit of life by similar considerations
^ Cults, Customs, pp. 148, 149.
2o6 ARTICLES ON RELIGIONS AND SECTS part
of comfort and convenience. Already the principal aims of
the Samaj tend mainly to the social improvement of its
members and their fellow-Indians. It sets its face against
child-marriage, and encourages the remarriage of widows.
It busies itself with female education, with orphanages and
schools, dispensaries and public libraries, and philanthropic
institutions of all soi'ts.^ Its avowed aim is to unite and
regenerate the peoples of Aryavarrta or India.
As one of its own poets has said : ^
Ah! long have ye slept, Sons of India, too long !
Your country degenerate, your morals all wrong.
Its principal educational institutions are the Dayanand
Anglo-Vedic College at Lahore and the Anglo- Vedic School
at Meerut, a large orphanage at Bareilly, smaller ones at
Allahabad and Cawnpore, and a number of primary schools.
It employs a body of travelling teachers or Upadeshaks to
make converts, and in the famine of 1900 took charge of as
many famine orphans as the Local Governments would
entrust to it, in order to prevent them from being handed
over to Christian missionaries. All members of the Samaj
are expected to contribute one per cent of their incomes to
the society, and a large number of them do this. The Arya
Samaj has been accused of cherishing political aims and of
anti-British propaganda, but the writers quoted in this article
unite in acquitting it of such a charge as an institution,
though some of its members have been more or less
identified with the Extremist party. From the beginning,
however, and apparently up to the present time, its religious
teaching has been directed to social and not to political
reform, and so long as it adheres to this course its work must
be considered to be useful and praiseworthy. Nevertheless
some danger may perhaps exist lest the boys educated in its
institutions may with youthful intemperance read into the
instruction of their teachers more than it is meant to convey,
and divert exhortations for social improvement and progress
to political ends.
5. Pros- The census of 1 9 1 i showed the Arya Samaj to be in
pects of flourishing and progressive condition. There seems good
the sect. b r- & a
1 Maclagan, I.e. ^ Ibidem.
I AI?VA SAM A J 207
reason to suppose that its success may continue, as it meets
a distinct religious and social requirement of educated Hindus.
Narsinghpur is the principal centre of the sect in the Central
Provinces, and here an orphanage is maintained with about
thirty inmates ; the local members have an ata fund, to which
they daily contribute a handful of flour, and this accumulates
and is periodically made over to the orphanage. There is
also a Vedic school at Narsinghpur, and a Sanskrit school
has been started at Drug.^
1 J. T. Marten, Census Report (191 1).
BRAHMO SAMAJ
\Bibliog7-aphy : Professor J. C. Oman's Brdhmaiis, Theists and Mttsliins of
India (1907) ; Cults, Customs a7id Superstitions of India (1908) ; Rev. F.
Lillingston's Brahmo Samdj and Arya Samaj (1901). The following brief
account is simply compiled from the above works and makes no pretence to be
critical.]
LIST OF PARAGRAPHS
1. Riivi Mohan Roy, foi/ndc?- of
the sect.
2. Much esteemed by the English.
3. Foundation of the lirahnio
Saniaj.
4. Debc7idra Ndth Tagorc.
5. Keshiib Chandar Se>t.
6. The Civil Marriage Act.
7. Keshub Chandar' s relapse into
niysticisvi.
8. Recent history of the SanidJ.
9. Character of the movement.
I. Ram Brahmo Samaj Religrion. — This monotheistic sect of
Mohan Bengal numbered only thirty-two adherents in the Central
founder of Provinccs in 191 I, of whom all or nearly all were probably
the sect. Bengalis. Nevertheless its history is of great interest as
representing an attempt at the reform and purification of
Hinduism under the influence of Christianity. The founder
of the sect, Ram Mohan Roy, a Brahman, was born in 1772
and died in England in 1833. He was sent to school at
Patna, where under the influence of Muhammadan teachers
he learnt to despise the extravagant stories of the Puranas.
At the age of sixteen he composed a tract against idolatry,
which stirred up such a feeling of animosity against him that
he had to leave his home. He betook himself first to
Benares, where he received instruction in the Vedas from the
Brahmans. From there he went to Tibet, that he might
learn the tenets of Buddhism from its adherents rather than
its opponents ; his genuine desire to form a fair judgment
of the merits of every creed being further evidenced by his
' learning the language in which each of these finds its
expression : thus he learnt Sanskrit that he might rightly
208
PART I BRAIIMO SAMAJ 209
understand the Vedas, Pali that he might read the l>uddhi.st
Tripitaka, Arabic as the key to the Koran, and Hebrew
and Greek for the Old and New Testaments.^ In 181 9, after
a diligent study of the Bible, he published a book entitled
The Precepts of Jesus, the Guide to Peace and Ilappuiess.
Although this work was eminently appreciative of the character
and teaching of Christ, it gave rise to an attack from the
missionaries of Serampore. Strange to say. Ram Mohan
Roy so far converted his tutor Mr. Adam (himself a mission-
ary) to his own way of thinking that that gentleman
relinquished his spiritual office, became editor of the Indian
Gazette, and was generally known in Calcutta as ' The second
fallen Adam.' ^
Ram Mohan Roy was held in great esteem by his English 2. Much
contemporaries in India. He dispensed in charities the bulk b^'^jhe^'^
of his private means, living himself with the strictest economy English,
in order that he might have the more to give away. It was
to a considerable extent due to his efforts, and more especially
to his demonstration that the practice of Sati found no
sanction in the Vedas, that this abominable rite was declared
illegal by Lord William Bentinck in 1829. The titular
emperor of Delhi conferred the title of Raja upon him in
1830 and induced him to proceed to England on a mission
to the Home Government. He was the first Brahman who
had crossed the sea, and his distinguished appearance,
agreeable manners, and undoubtedly great ability, coupled
with his sympathy for Christianity, procured him a warm
welcome in England, where he died in 1833.^
Ram Mohan Roy, with the help of a few friends and 3. I'ounda-
disciples, founded, in 1830, the Brahmo Samaj or Society of prahmo
God. In the trust deed of the meeting-house it was laid Samaj.
down that the society was founded for " the worship and
adoration of the eternal, unsearchable and immutable Being
who is the Author and Preserver of the Universe, but not by
1 Lillingston, p. 45, on the author- a book in Persian and knew English
ity of Max Miiller. Professor Oman well.
states, however, that he had but little ^ Oman, quoting from Dr. George
acquaintance with the Vedas {Brah- Smith's Life of Dr. Alexander Dtiff,
mans, Theisis, p. 103), and if this was vol. i. p. 118.
so it would seem likely that his know- ^ Oman, quoting Mary Carpenter's
ledge of the other ancient languages was Last Days in En,^land of the RCxja
not very profound. But he published RCnii Mohan. Roy, p. 67.
VOL. I r
2IO ARTICLES ON RELIGIONS AND SECTS part
any other name, designation or title peculiarly used by any
men or set of men ; and that in conducting the said worship
and adoration, no object, animate or inanimate, that has been
or is or shall hereafter become ... an object of worship by
any men or set of men, shall be reviled or slightingly or
contemptuously spoken of or alluded to either in preaching,
or in the hymns or other mode of worship that may be
delivered or used in the said messuage or building." ^ This
well exemplifies the broad toleration and liberality of the sect.
The service in the new theistic church consisted in the recital
of the Vedas by two Telugu Brahmans, the reading of texts
from the Upanishads, and the expounding of the same in
Bengali. The Samaj, thus constituted, based its teaching
on the Vedas and was at this time, though unorthodox, still
a Hindu sect, and made no attempt a:t the abolition of caste.
" Indeed, in establishing this sect. Ram Mohan Roy professed
to be leading his countrymen back to the pure, uncorrupted,
monotheistic religion of their Vedic ancestors ; but his
monotheism, based, as it was, essentially upon the Vedanta
philosophy, was in reality but a disguised Pantheism, enriched
as regards its ethics by ideas derived from Muslim and
Christian literature and theology." ^
4- Deben- After the death of its founder the sect languished for a
period of ten years until it was taken in hand by Debendra
Nath Tagore, whose father Dwarka Nath had been a friend
and warm admirer of Ram Mohan Roy, and had practically
maintained the society by paying its expenses during the
interval. In 1843 Debendra drew up a form of initiation
which involved the renunciation of idolatry. He established
branches of the Brahmo Samaj in many towns and villages
of Bengal, and in 1845 he sent four Pandits to Benares
to copy out and make a special study of the Vedas. On
their return to Calcutta after two years Debendra Nath
devoted himself with their aid to a diligent and critical
study of the sacred books, and eventually, after much con-
troversy and even danger of disruption, the Samaj, under
his guidance, came to the important decision that the
teaching of the Vedas could not be reconciled with the
conclusions of modern science or with the religious con-
' Lilliiigston, p. 5'- " Ih-dlLiiiaiis, Thcisis, p. 105.
dra Nath
Tagore.
BRA HMO SAM A J 211
victions of the Brahmos, a result which soon led to an open
and public denial of the infallibility of the Vedas,
" There is nothing," Professor Oman remarks, " in the
Brahmic movement more creditable to the parties concerned
than this honest and careful inquiry into the nature of the
doctrines and precepts of the Vedas." ^
The tenets of the Brahmo Samaj consisted at this time s- Keshub
of a pure theism, without special reliance on the Hindu sacred se^n^"''""
books or recognition of such Hindu doctrines as the trans-
migration of souls. But in their ordinary lives its members
still conformed generally to the caste practices and reli-
gious usages of their neighbours. But a progressive party
now arose under the leadership of Keshub Chandar Sen,
a young man of the Vaidya caste, which desired to break
altogether with Hinduism, abolish the use of sect marks
and the prohibition of intermarriage between castes, and
to welcome into the community converts from all religions.
Meanwhile Debendra Nath Tagore had spent three years
in seclusion in the Himalayas, occupied with meditation
and prayer ; on his return he acceded so far to the views
of Keshub Chandar Sen as to celebrate the marriage of his
daughter according to a reformed theistic ritual ; but when
his friend pressed for the complete abolition of all caste
restrictions, Debendra Nath refused his consent and retired
once more to the hills.'^ The result was a schism in the
community, and in 1866 the progressive party seceded and
set up a Samaj of their own, calling themselves the Brahmo
Samaj of India, while the conservative group under Debendra
Nath Tagore was named the Adi or original Samaj. In
1905 the latter was estimated to number only about 300
persons.^
Keshub Chandar Sen had been educated in the Presi-
dency College, Calcutta, and being more familiar vv'ith
English and the Bible than with the Sanskrit language and
Vedic literature, he was filled with deep enthusiastic ad-
miration of the beauty of Christ's character and teaching.^
He had shown a strong passion for the stage and loved
nothing better than the plays of Shakespeare. He was
1 Bnihiiians, Thcisls, p. ill. ^ Braktiiaiis, Theists, p. 116.
2 Lillingston, p. 73. "* Ibidem, p. 113.
212 ARTICLES ON RELIGIONS AND SECTS tart
fond of performing himself, and especially delighted in
appearing in the role of a magician or conjurer before his
family and friends. The new sect took up the position that
all religions were true and worthy of veneration. At the
inaugural meeting, texts from the sacred scriptures of the
Christians, Hindus, Muhammadans, Parsis and Chinese
were publicly read, in order to mark and to proclaim to
the world the catholicity of spirit in which it was formed.^
Keshub by his writings and public lectures kept himself
prominently before the Indian world, enlisting the sympathies
of the Viceroy (Sir John Lawrence) by his tendencies towards
Christianity,
6. The By this time several marriages had been performed
^r' • accordinij to the revised ritual of the Brahmic Church, which
Marriage "^ '
Act. had given great offence to orthodox Hindus and exposed
the participators in these novel rites to much obloquy.
The legality of marriages thus contracted had even been
questioned. To avoid this difficulty Keshub induced
Government in 1872 to pass the Native Marriage Act,
introducing for the first time the institution of civil marriage
into Hindu society. The Act prescribed a form of marriage
to be celebrated before the Registrar for persons who did
not profess either the Hindu, the Muhammadan, the Farsi,
the Sikh, the Jaina or the Buddhist religion, and who were
neither Christians nor Jews ; and fixed the minimum age
for a bridegroom at eighteen and for a bride at fourteen. Only
six years later, however, Keshub Chandar Sen committed the
fatal mistake of ignoring the law which he had himself been
instrumental in passing : he permitted the marriage of his
daughter, below the age of fourteen, to the young Maharaja of
Kuch Bihar, who was not then sixteen years of age." This
event led to a public censure of Keshub Chandar Sen by his
community and the secession of a section of the members, who
formed the Sadharan or Universal Brahmo Samaj, The creed
of this body consisted in the belief in an infinite Creator, the
immortality of the soul, the duty and necessity of the spiritual
worship of God, and disbelief in any infallible book or man
as a means of salvation.^
1 Brdhntans, Theists, p. 1 1 8. 2 Lillingston, p. 96.
^ Brdhmaiis, Theists, p. 133.
I BRAHMO SAM A J 213
From about this period, or a little before, Kcshub 7. Keshub
Chandar Sen appears to have attempted to make a wider ^-'^•""'•^'''s
appeal to Indians by developing the emotional side of his into mysti-
religion. And he gradually relapsed from a pure unitarian '^'^'"'
theism into what was practically Hindu pantheism and the
mysticism of the Yogis. At the same time he came to
consider himself an inspired prophet, and proclaimed him-
self as such. The following instances of his extravagant
conduct are given by Professor Oman.^
"In 1873 he brought forward the doctrine of Adesh
or special inspiration, declaring emphatically that inspira-
tion is not only possible, but a veritable fact in the lives of
many devout souls in this age. The following years witnessed
a marked development of that essentially Asiatic and
perhaps more especially Indian form of religious feeling,
which finds its natural satisfaction in solitary ecstatic con-
templation. As a necessary consequence an order of
devotees was established in 1876, divided into three main
classes, which in ascending gradation were designated
Shabaks, Bhaktas and Yogis. The lowest class, divided
into two sections, is devoted to religious study and the
practical performance of religious duties, including doing
good to others. The aspiration of the Bhakta is . . .
' Inebriation in God. He is most passionately fond of God
and delights in loving Him and all that pertains to Him.
. . . The very utterance of the divine name causes his
heart to overflow and brings tears of joy to his eyes.' As for
the highest order of devotees, the Yogis, ' They live in the
spirit-world and readily commune with spiritual realities.
They welcome whatever is a help to the entire subjugation
of the soul, and are always employed in conquering selfish-
ness, carnality and worldliness. They are happy in prayer
and meditation and in the study of nature.'
" The new dispensation having come into the world to
harmonise conflicting creeds and regenerate mankind, must
have its outward symbol, its triumphal banner floating
proudly on the joyful air of highly-favoured India. A flag
was therefore made and formally consecrated as ' The Banner
of the New Dispensation.' This emblem of ' Regenerated
1 Brdhmans, Theists, pp. 131, 139, 140.
214 ARTICLES ON RELIGIONS AND SECTS i-akt
and saving theism ' the new prophet himself formed with
a yak's tail and kissed with his own inspired lips. In
orthodox Hindu fashion his missionaries — apostles of the
new Dispensation — went round it with lights in their hands,
while his less privileged followers respectfully touched the
sacred pole and humbly bowed down to it. In a word, the
banner was worshipped as Hindu idols are worshipped any
day in India. Carried away by a spirit of innovation,
anxious to keep himself prominently before the world, and
realising no doubt that since churches and sects do not
flourish on intellectual pabulum only, certain mystic rites
and gorgeous ceremonials were necessary to the success of
the new Dispensation, Keshub introduced into his Church
various observances which attracted a good deal of attention
and did not escape criticism. On one occasion he went
with his disciples in procession, singing hymns, to a stagnant
tank in Calcutta, and made believe that they were in
Palestine and on the side of the Jordan. Standing near
the tank Keshub said, ' Beloved brethren, we have come
into the land of the Jews, and we are seated on the bank of
the Jordan. Let them that have eyes see. Verily, verily,
here was the Lord Jesus baptised eighteen hundred years
ago. Behold the holy waters wherein was the Son of God
immersed.' We learn also that Keshub and his disciples
attempted to hold communication with saints and prophets
of the olden time, upon whose works and teaching they
had been pondering in retirement and solitude. On this
subject the following notice appeared in the Sjinday
Mirror :
" ' It is proposed to promote communion with departed
saints among the more advanced Brahmos. With a view
to achieve this object successfully ancient prophets and
saints will be taken one after another on special occasions
and made the subject of close study, meditation and prayer.
Particular places will also be assigned to which the devotees
will resort as pilgrims. There for hours together they will
try to draw inspiration from particular saints. We believe
a spiritual pilgrimage to Moses will be shortly undertaken.
Only earnest devotees ought to join.' "
Keshub Chandar Sen died in 1884, ^"tl the Brahmo
I DAD UP ANT HI SECT 215
Samaj seems subsequently to luive returned more or less 8. Recunt
to its first position of pure theism coupled with Hindu 'l'^'"''^ "'^.
'■ ^ llie .Saniilj.
social reform. His successor in the leadership of the sect
was Babu P. C. Mazumdar, who visited America and created
a favourable impression at the Parliament of Religions at
Chicago. Under his guidance the Samaj seems to have
gradually drifted towards American Unitarianism, and to
have been supported in no slight degree by funds from
the United States of America.^ He died in 1905, and
left no one of prominent character and attainments to
succeed to the leadership. In 191 i the adherents of the
different branches of the Samaj numbered at the census
only 5500 persons.
The history of the Brahmo Samaj is of great interest, 9. Char-
because it was the first attempt at the reform and purifica- ^^^'^ °^
^ 1 the move-
tion of Hinduism made under the influence of Christianity, ment.
the long line of Vaishnavite reformers who strove to abrogate
Hindu polytheism and the deadening restrictions of caste,
having probably been inspired by the contemplation of Islam.
The Samaj is further distinguished by the admirable tolera-
tion and broadness of view of its religious position, and by
having had for its leaders three men of exceptional character
and attainments, two of whom, and especially Keshub Chandar
Sen, made a profound impression in England among all classes
of society. But the failure of the Samaj to attract anj' large
number of converts from among the Hindus was only what
might have been expected. For it requires its followers
practically to cut themselves adrift from family and caste ties
and offers nothing in return but an undefined theism, not
calculated to excite any enthusiasm or strong feeling in
ordinary minds. Its efforts at social reform have probably,
however, been of substantial value in weakening the rigidity
of Hindu rules on caste and marriage.
Dadupanthi Sect." — One of the sects founded by
Vaishnava reformers of the school of Kabir ; a few of its
members are found in the western Districts of the Central
1 BrdJwians, Theists, p. 148. Maclagan's Punjab Census Report,
2 This article is compiled from the 189 1 ; and Mr. Bhimbhai Kirparam's
notices in Wilson's Hindu Sects, As. Hindus of Gujarat, Bombay Gazetteer,
Res. vol. xvi. pp. 79-81 ; Sir E. vol. ix.
2i6 ARTICLES ON RELIGIONS AND SECTS part
Provinces. Dadu was a Pinjara or cotton-cleaner by caste.
He was born at Ahmadabad in the sixteenth century, and
died at Narayana in the Jaipur State shortly after A.D. 1600.
He is said to have been the fifth successor in spiritual
inspiration from Kablr, or the sixth from Ramanand. Dadu
preached the unity of God and protested against the
animistic abuses which had grown up in Hinduism. " To
this day," writes Mr. Coldstream, " the Dadupanthis use the
words Sat Ram, the True God, as a current phrase expressive
of their creed. Dadu forbade the worship of idols, and did
not build temples ; now temples are built by his followers,
who say they worship in them the Dadubani or Sacred
Book." This is what has been done by other sects such
as the Sikhs and Dhamis, whose founders eschewed the
veneration of idols ; but their uneducated followers could
not dispense with some visible symbol for their adoration,
and hence the sacred script has been enthroned in a temple.
The worship of the Dadupanthis, Professor Wilson says,
is addressed to Rama, but it is restricted to the Japa or
repetition of his name, and the Rama intended is the deity
negatively described in the Vedanta theology. The chief
place of worship of the sect is Narayana, where Dadu died.
A small building on a hill marks the place of his disappear-
ance, and his bed and the sacred books are kept there as
objects of veneration.
Like other sects, the Dadupanthis are divided into
celibate or priestly and lay or householder branches. But
they have also a third offshoot, consisting in the Naga
Gosains of Jaipur, nearly naked ascetics, who constituted
a valuable part of the troops of Jaipur and other States.
It is said that the Nagas always formed the van of the
army of Jaipur. The sect have white caps with four
corners and a flap hanging down at the back, which each
follower has to make for himself. To prevent the destruc-
tion of animal life entailed by cremation, the tenets of the
sect enjoin that corpses should be laid in the forests to be
devoured by birds and beasts. This rule, however, is not
observed, and their dead are burnt at early dawn.
Dhami, Prannathi Sect. — A small religious sect or order.
I DHAMI SECT -17
having its headquarters in the Panna State of Bundelkhand.
A few members of the sect are found in the Saugor and
Damoh Districts of the Central Provinces. The name
Dhami is simply a derivative from dlidm, a monastery, and
in northern India they are called Prannathi after their
founder. They are also known as Sathi Bhai, brothers
in religion, or simply as Bhai or brothers. The sect takes
its origin from one Prannath, a Rajpiit who lived in the
latter part of Aurangzeb's reign towards the end of the
seventeenth century. He is said to have acquired great
influence with Chatra Sal, Raja of Panna, by the discovery
of a diamond mine there, and on this account Panna was
made the home of the sect. Prannath was well acquainted
with the sacred books of Islam, and, like otlier Hindu
reformers, he attempted to propagate a faith which should
combine the two religions. To this end he composed
a work in Gujarati called the Kulzam Sarup, in which texts
from the Koran and the Vedas are brought together and
shown not to be incompatible. His creed also proclaimed
the abolition of the worship of idols, and apparently of
caste restrictions and the supremacy of Brahmans. As
a test of a disciple's assent to the real identity of the
Hindu and Muhammadan creeds, the ceremony of initiation
consists in eating in the society of the followers of both
religions ; but the amalgamation appears to be carried
no further, and members of the sect continue to follow
generally their own religious practices. Theoretically they
should worship no material objects except the Founder's
Book of Faith, which lies on a table covered with gold
cloth in the principal temple at Panna. But in fact they
adore the boy Krishna as he was at Mathura, and in some
temples there are images of Radha and Krishna, while in
others the decorations are so arranged as to look like an
idol from a distance. All temples, however, contain a copy
of the sacred book, round which a lighted lamp is waved
in the morning and evening. The Dhamis now say also
that their founder Prannath was an incarnation of Krishna,
and they observe the Janam-Ashtami or Kri.shna's birth-
day as their principal festival. They wear the Radha
Vallabhi tilak or sect-mark, consisting of two white lines
3i8 ARTICLES ON RELIGIONS AND SECTS part i
drawn down the forehead from the roots of the hair, and
curving to meet at the top of the nose, with a small red
dot between them. On the cheeks and temples they make
rosette-like marks by bunching up the five fingers, dipping
them in a solution of sandalwood and then applying them
to the face.^ They regard the Jumna as a sacred river and
its water as holy, no doubt because Mathura is on its banks,
but pay no reverence to the Ganges. Their priests observe
celibacy, but do not practise asceticism, and all the Dhamis
are strict vegetarians.
There is also a branch of the sect in Gujarat, where the
founder is known as Meheraj Thakur. He appears to have been
identical with Prannath, and instituted a local headquarters
at Surat." It is related by Mr. Bhimbhai Kirparam that
Meheraj Thakur was himself the disciple of one Deo Chand,
a native of Amarkot in Sind. The latter was devoted to
the study of the Bhagvvat Puran, and came to Jamnagar in
Kathiawar, where he founded a temple to Radha and
Krishna. As there is a temple at Panna consecrated to
Deo Chand as the Guru or preceptor of Prannath, and as
the book of the faith is written in Gujarati, the above
account would appear to be correct, and it follows that the
sect originated in the worship of Krishna, and was refined
by Prannath into a purer form of faith. A number ot
Cutchis in Surat are adherents of the sect, and usually visit
the temple at Panna on the full -moon day of Kartik
(October). Curiously enough the sect has also found a
home in Nepal, having been preached there, it is said,
by missionary Dhamis in the time of Raja Ram Bahadur
Shah of Nepal, iibout 150 years ago. Its members there
are known as Pranami or Parnami, a corruption of Pran-
nathi, and they often come to Panna to study the sacred
book. It is reported that there are usually about forty
Nepalis lodging in the premises of the great temple at
Panna.^
' Captain C. E. Luard, in Cetttral p. 545.
India Census Report {\<)o\), p. 88. •' This information was kindly fur-
2 Bombay Gazetteer, Hindus of nished l)y the Diwan of Panna, through
Gujarat (Mr. Bhimbhai Kirparam), the Political Agent at Bundelkhand.
JAIN RELIGION
[^Bibliography : The Jainas, by Dr. J. G. Buhler and J. Burgess, London,
1903; The Religions of India, Professor E. W. Hopkins; 7/^1? Religions of
India, Professor A. Barth ; Punjab Census Report (1891), Sir E. D. Maclagan ;
article on Jainism in Dr. Hastings' Encyclopaedia of Religion and Ethics.^
LIST OF PARAGRAPHS
1. Numbers atid dtstribi(tio?i. 8. Jam subcastes of Banias.
2. The Jain religion. Its con nee- 9. Rules ajid customs of ihe laity.
tio7i with Buddhism. 10. Connectio7i with Hinduism.
3. The Jain tenets. The Tirthakdrs. 11. Temples and car festival.
4. The transmigratio?! of souls. 12. Images of the Tirthakdrs.
5. Strict rules against taking life. 13. Religious observances.
b. Jain sects. 14. Tetiderness for animal life,
y. Jain ascetics. 15. Social condition of the Jains.
Jain. — The total number of Jains in the Central Provinces i. Num-
in 191 I was 71,000 persons. They nearly all belong to the |i|'s\ribu^
Bania caste, and are engaged in moneylending and trade tion.
like other Banias. They reside principally in the Vindhyan
Districts, Saugor, Damoh and Jubbulpore, and in the
principal towns of the Nagpur country and Berar.
The Jain tenets present marked features of resemblance 2. The
to Buddhism, and it was for some time held that Jainism J^'"*"^'-
was merely a later offshoot from that religion. The more its connec-
generally accepted view now, however, is that the Jina or buddhism,
prophet of the Jains was a real historical personage, who
lived in the sixth century B.C., being a contemporary of
Gautama, the Buddha. Vardhamana, as he was commonly
called, is said to have been the younger son of a small
chieftain in the province of Videha or Tirhut. Like Sakya-
Muni the Buddha or enlightened, Vardhamana became an
ascetic, and after twelve years of a wandering life he
appeared as a prophet, proclaiming a modification of the
219
220 ARTICLES ON RELIGIONS AND SECTS part
doctrine of his own teacher Parsva or Parasnath. From
this time he was known as Mahavira, the great hero, the
same name which in its famiHar form of Mahablr is appHed
to the god Hanuman. The title of Jina or victorious, from
which the Jains take their name, was subsequently conferred
on him, his sect at its first institution being called Nirgrantha
or ascetic. There are very close resemblances in the tradi-
tions concerning the lives of Vardhamana and Gautama or
Buddha. Both were of royal birth ; the same names recur
among their relatives and disciples ; and they lived and
preached in the same part of the country, Bihar and Tirhijt.^
Vardhamana is said to have died during Buddha's lifetime,
the date of the latter's death being about 480 B.C.^ Their
doctrines also, with some important differences, present, on
the whole, a close resemblance. Like the Buddhists, the
Jains claim to have been patronised by the Maurya princes.
While Asoka was mainly instrumental in the propagation
of Buddhism over India, his grandfather Chandragupta is
stated to have been a Jain, and his grandson Sampadi also
figures in Jain tradition, A district which is a holy land
for one is almost always a holy land for the other, and their
sacred places adjoin each other in Bihar, in the peninsula
of Gujarat, on Mount Abu in Rajputana and elsewhere.^
The earliest of the Jain books belongs to the sixth century
A.D., the existence of the Nirgrantha sect in Buddha's life-
time being proved by the Cingalese -books of the Buddhists,
and by references to it in the inscriptions of Asoka and
others."* While then M. Barth's theory that Jainism was
simply a later sect of Buddhism has been discarded by
subsequent scholars, it seems likely that several of the
details of Vardhamana's life now recorded in the Jain books
are not really authentic, but were taken from that of Buddha
with necessary alterations, when the true facts about their
own prophet had been irrevocably lost.
3. The Like the Buddhists, the Jains recognise no creator of
Jain tenets, j-j^^ world, and supposc it to have existed from eternity.
Tirthakars. Similarly, they had originally no real god, but the Jina or
1 Barth, p. 148. " Earth, p. 149-
2 Hopkins, p. 310, and Tlie Jains, * Tlie Jaiitas, pp. 38-47.
p. 40.
I JAIN RELIGION 221
victor, like the Buddha or Enlightened One, was held to
have been an ordinary mortal man, who by his own pcnvcr
had attained to omniscience and freedom, and out of pity
for suffering mankind preached and declared the way of
salvation which he had found.^ This doctrine, however, was
too abstruse for the people, and in both cases the prophet
himself gradually came to be deified, l-'urther, in order
perhaps to furnish objects of worship less distinctively
human and to whom a larger share of the attributes of deity
could be imputed, in both religions a succession of mythical
predecessors of the prophet was gradually brought into
existence. The Buddhists recognise twenty-five Buddhas
or divine prophets, who appeared at long epochs of time and
taught the same system one after another ; and the Jains
have twenty-four Tirthakars or Tirthankars, who similarly
taught their religion. Of these only Vardhamana, its real
founder, who was the twenty-fourth, and possibly Parsva or
Parasnath, the twenty-third and the founder's preceptor, are
or may be historical. The other twenty-two Tirthakars are
purely mythical. The first, Rishaba, was born more than
100 billion years ago, as the son of a king of Ajodhya ; he
lived more than 8 million years, and was 500 bow-lengths
in height. He therefore is as superhuman as any god, and
his date takes us back almost to eternity. The others
succeeded each other at shorter intervals of time, and show
a progressive decline in stature and length of life. The
images of the Tirthakars are worshipped in the Jain temples
like those of the Buddhas in Buddhist temples. As with
Ikiddhism also, the main feature of Jain belief is the trans-
migration of souls, and each successive incarnation depends on
the sum of good and bad actions or karinan in the previous
life. They hold also the primitive animistic doctrine that souls
exist not only in animals and plants but in stones, lumps of
earth, drops of water, fire ami wind, and the human soul ma}-
pass even into these if its sins condemn it to such a fate."
The aim which Jainism, like l^uddhism, sets before its i- I'le
disciples is the escape from the endless round of successive m'igration
.of souls.
' The writer is inclined to doubt theism ; but the above is the view of
whether either Buddhism or Jainism the best authorities.
were really atheistic, and to think that
they were perhaps rather forms of pan- ^ I'he Jaiitas, \i. 10.
222 ARTICLES ON RELIGIONS AND SECTS part
existences, known as Samsara, through the extinction of the
karman or sum of actions. This is attained by complete
subjection of the passions and destruction of all desires and
appetites of the body and mind, that is, by the most rigid
asceticism, as well as by observing all the moral rules pre-
scribed by the religion. It was the J In a or prophet who
showed this way of escape, and hence he is called Tirthakar
or * The Finder of the Ford,' through the ocean of existence.^
But Jainism differs from Buddhism in that it holds that the
soul, when finally emancipated, reaches a heaven and there
continues for ever a separate intellectual existence, and is
not absorbed into Nirvana or a state of blessed nothingness.
5 Strict The moral precepts of the Jains are of the same type as
rules those of Buddhism and Vaishnavite Hinduism, but of an
taking life, excessive rigidity, at any rate in the case of the Yatis or Jatis,
the ascetics. They promise not to hurt, not to speak un-
truths, to appropriate nothing to themselves without per-
mission, to preserve chastity and to practise self-sacrifice.
But these simple rules are extraordinarily expanded on the
part of the Jains. Thus, concerning the oath not to hurt,
on which the Jains lay most emphasis : it prohibits not
only the intentional killing or injuring of living beings,
plants or the souls existing in dead matter, but requires
also the utmost carefulness in the whole manner of life, and
a watchfulness also over all movements and functions of the
body by which anything living might be hurt. It demands,
finally, strict watch over the heart and tongue, and the avoid-
ance of all thoughts and words which might lead to disputes
and quarrels, and thereby do harm. In like manner the
rule of sacrifice requires not only that the ascetic should
have no houses or possessions, but he must also acquire a
complete unconcern towards agreeable or disagreeable im-
pressions, and destroy all feelings of attachment to anything
living or dead." Similarly, death by voluntary starvation is
prescribed for those ascetics who have reached the Kewalin
or brightest stage of knowledge, as the means of entering
their heaven. Owing to the late date of the Jain scriptures,
any or all of its doctrines may have been adopted from
l^uddhism between the commencement of the two religions
' 77te Jaiitas, p. 6. ^ Ibidem, p. lo.
I JAIN RELIGION 223
and the time when they were compiled. The Jains did not
definitely abolish caste, and hence escaped the persecution to
which Buddhism was subjected during the period of its
decline from the fifth or sixth century A.i). On account of
this trouble many Buddhists became Jains, and hence a
further fusion of the doctrines of the rival sects may have
ensued. The Digambara sect of Jains agree with the Buddhists
in holding that women cannot attain Nirvana or heaven,
while the Swetambara sect say that they can, and also admit
women as nuns into the ascetic order. The Jain scripture,
the Yogashastra, speaks of women as the lamps that burn
on the road that leads to the gates of hell.
The Jains are divided into the above two principal sects, 6. Jain
the Digambara and the Swetambara. The Digambara are ^'^'^'^'
the more numerous and the stricter sect. According to
their tenets death by voluntary starvation is necessary for
ascetics who would attain heaven, though of course the rule
is not now observed. The name Digambara signifies sky-clad,
and Swetambara white - clad. Formerly the Digambara
ascetics went naked, and were the gymnosophists of the
Greek writers, but now they take off their clothes, if at all,
only at meals. The theory of the origin of the two sects is
that Parasnath, the twenty-third Tirthakar, wore clothes,
while Mahavira the twenty-fourth did not, and the two sects
follow their respective examples. The Digambaras now
wear ochre-coloured cloth, and the Swetambaras white. The
principal difference at present is that the images in
Digambara temples are naked and bare, while those of the
Swetambaras are clothed, presumably in white, and also
decorated with jewellery and ornaments. The Digambara
ascetics may not use vessels for cooking or holding their
food, but must take it in their hands from their disciples
and eat it thus ; while the Swetambara ascetics may use
vessels. The Digambara, however, do not consider the
straining-cloth, brush, and gauze before the mouth essential
to the character of an ascetic, while the Swetambara insist
on them. There is in the Central Provinces another small
sect called Channagri or Samaiya, and known elsewhere as
Dhundia. These do not put images in their temples at all,
but only copies of the Jain sacred books, and pay reverence
224 ARTICLES ON RELIGIONS AND SECTS tart
to them. They will, -however, worship in regular Jain
temples at places where there are none of their own.
7. Jain The initiation of a Yati or Jati, a Jain ascetic, is thus
ascetics, described : It is frequent for Banias who have no children
to vow that their first-born shall be a Yati. Such a boy
serves a novitiate with a guru or preceptor, and performs
for him domestic offices ; and when he is old enough and
has made progress in his studies he is initiated. P'or this
purpose the novice is carried out of the tower with music
and rejoicing in procession, followed by a crowd of Sravakas
or Jain laymen, and taken underneath the banyan, or any
other tree the juice of which is milky. His hair is pulled
out at the roots with five pulls ; camphor, musk, sandal,
saffron and sugar are applied to the scalp ; and he is then
placed before his guru, stripped of his clothes and with his
hands joined. A text is whispered in his ear by the guru,
and he is invested with the clothes peculiar to Yatis ; two
cloths, a blanket and a staff; a plate for his victuals and a
cloth to tie them up in ; a piece of gauze to tie over his
mouth to prevent the entry of insects ; a cloth through
which to strain his drinking-water to the same end ; and a
broom made of cotton threads or peacock feathers to sweep
the ground before him as he walks, so that his foot may not
crush any living thing. The duty of the Yati is to read
and explain the sacred books to the Sravakas morning
and evening, such functions being known as Sandhya. His
food consists of all kinds of grain, vegetables and fruit
produced above the earth ; but no roots such as yams or
onions. Milk and g/il are permitted, but butter and honey
are prohibited. Some strict Yatis drink no water but what has
been first boiled, lest they should inadvertently destroy any
insect, it being less criminal to boil them than to destroy
them in the drinker's stomach. A Yati having renounced
the world and all civil duties can have no family, nor does
he perform any office of mourning or rejoicing.^ A Yati
was directed to travel about begging and preaching for
eight months in the year, and during the four rainy months
to reside in some village or town and observe a fast. The
rules of conduct to be observed by him were extremely
^ 'biloor's Iliiidti Itifaii/uide, pp. 175-176.
Beinrosc, Collp., Derby.
JAIN ASCETICS WITH CLOTH BEFORE MOUTH
AND SWEEPING-BRUSH.
I JAImN RELIGION 225
strict, as has already been seen. Those who observed them
successfully were believed to acquire miraculous powers.
He who was a Siddh or victor, and had overcome his
Karma or the sum of his human actions and affections,
could read the thoughts of others and foretell the future.
He who had attained Kewalgyan, or the state of perfect
knowledge which preceded the emancipation of the soul and
its absorption into paradise, was a god on earth, and even
the gods worshipped him. Wherever he went all plants
burst into flower and brought forth fruit, whether it was
their season or not. In his presence no animal bore
enmity to another or tried to kill it, but all animals lived
peaceably together. This was the state attained to by each
Tirthakar during his last sojourn on earth. The number
of Jain ascetics seems now to be less than formerly and
they are not often met with, at least in the Central
Provinces. They do not usually perform the function of
temple priest.
Practically all the Jains in the Central Provinces are of s. Jain
the Bania caste. There is a small subcaste of Jain Kalars, subcastes
•' 'of Banias.
but these are said to have gone back to Hinduism. Of
the Bania subcastes who are Jains the principal are the
Parwar, Golapurab, Oswal and Saitwal. Saraogi, the name
for a Jain layman, and Charnagar, a sect of Jains, are also
returned as subcastes of Jain Banias. Other important
subcastes of Banias, as the Agarwal and Maheshri, have a
Jain section. Nearly all Banias belong to the Digambara
sect, but the Oswal are Swetambaras. They are said
to have been originally Rajpiits of Os or Osnagar in
Rajputana, and while they were yet Rajputs a Swetambara
ascetic sucked the poison from the wound of an Oswal boy
whom a snake had bitten, and this induced the community
to join the Swetambara sect of the Jains."'
The Jain laity are known as Shrawak or Saraogi, learners. 9. Rules
There is comparatively little to distinguish them from their ^^g^J^^g oc
Hindu brethren. Their principal tenet is to avoid the the laity,
destruction of all animal, including insect life, but the
Hindu Banias are practically all Vaishnavas, and observe
' '^V.w'iQVi.C.r. Census Rcpori{\(^\i), ^ Maclagan, /'w/yafJ Census Report
p. 67. (1S91), p. 183.
VOL. I Q
226
ARTICLES ON RELIGIONS AND SECTS
lo. Con-
nection
with
Hinduism.
almost the same tenderness for animal life as the Jains.
The Jains are distinguished by their separate temples and
method of worship, and they do not recognise the authority
of the Vedas nor revere the lingajii of Siva. Consequently
they do not use the Hindu sacred texts at their weddings,
but repeat some verses from their own scriptures. These
weddings arc said to be more in the nature of a civil contract
than of a religious ceremony. The bride and bridegroom
walk seven times round the sacred post and are then seated
on a platform and promise to observe certain rules of conduct
towards each other and avoid offences. It is said that
formerly a Jain bride was locked up in a temple for the first
night and considered to be the bride of the god. But as
scandals arose from this custom, she is now only locked up
for a minute or two and then let out again. Jain boys are in-
vested with the sacred thread on the occasion of their weddings
or at twenty-one or twenty-two if they are still unmarried at
that age. The thread is renewed annually on the day before
the full moon of Bhadon (August), after a ten days' fast in
honour of Anant Nath Tirthakar. The thread is m.ade by
the Jain priests of tree cotton and has three knots. At
their funerals the Jains do not shave the moustaches off as
a rule, and they never shave the choti or scalp-lock, which
they wear like Hindus. They give a feast to the caste-
fellows and distribute money in charity, but do not perform
the Hindu sJirdddJi or offering of sacrificial cakes to the dead.
The Agarwal andKhandelwal Jains, however, invoke the spirits
of their ancestors at weddings. Traces of an old hostility be-
tween Jains and Hindus survive in the Hindu saying that one
should not take refuge in a Jain temple, even to escape from a
mad elephant ; and in the rule that a Jain beggar will not
take alms from a Hindu unless he can perform some service
in return, though it may not equal the value of the alms.
In other respects the Jains closely resemble the Hindus.
Brahmans are often employed at their weddings, they reverence
the cow, worship sometimes in Hindu temples, go on pilgrim-
ages to the Hindu sacred places, and follow the Hindu law
of inheritance. The Agarwal Bania Jains and Hindus will
take food cooked with water together and intermarry in
Ikjndclkhand, although it is doubtful whether they do this
I JAIN RELIGION 227
in the Central Provinces. In such a case each party pays a
fine to the Jain temple fund. In respect of caste distinctions
the Jains are now scarcely less strict than the Hindus. The
different Jain subcastes of Banias coming from Bundelkhand
will take food together as a rule, and those from Marwar will
do the same. The Khandelwal and Oswal Jain Banias will
take food cooked with water together when it has been
cooked by an old woman past the age of child-bearing, but
not that cooked by a young woman. The spread of educa-
tion has awakened an increased interest among the Jains in
their scriptures and the tenets of their religion, and it is quite
likely that the tendency to conform to Hinduism in caste
matters and ceremonies may receive a check on this account.^
The Jains display great zeal in the construction of temples n.
in which the images of the Tirthakars are enshrined. The '^'-''"P^'^^
and car •
temples are commonly of the same fashion as those of the festival.
Hindus, with a short, roughly conical spire tapering to
a point at the apex, but they are frequently adorned
with rich carved stone and woodwork. There are fine
collections of temples at Muktagiri in Betul, Kundalpur
in Damoh, and at Mount Abu, Girnar, the hill of Parasnath
in Chota Nagpur, and other places in India. The best
Jain temples are often found in very remote spots, and it
is suggested that they were built at times when the Jains
had to hide in such places to avoid Hindu persecution. And
wherever a community of Jain merchants of any size has
been settled for a generation or more several fine temples
will probably be found. A Jain Bania who has grown rich
considers the building of one or more temples to be the best
method of expending his money and acquiring religious
merit, and some of them spend all their fortune in this
manner before their death. At the opening of a new temple
the ratli or chariot festival should be held. Wooden cars
are made, sometimes as much as five stories high, and
furnished with chambers for the images of the Tirthakars.
In these the idols of the hosts and all the guests are placed.
Each car should be drawn by two elephants, and the pro-
cession of cars moves seven times round the temple or
pavilion erected for the ceremony. For building a temple
1 Mr. Marten's Central Provinces Census Report, 191 1.
of the
Tirthakars
228 ARTICLES ON RELIGIONS AND SECTS part
and performing this ceremony honorary and hereditary titles
are conferred. Those who do it once receive the designation
of Singhai ; for carrying it out twice they become Sawai
Singhai ; and on a third occasion Seth. In such a ceremony
performed at Khurai in Saugor one of the participators was
already a Seth, and in recognition of his great liberality a
new title was devised and he became Srimant Seth. It is
said, however, that if the car breaks and the elephants refuse
to move, the title becomes derisive and is either ' Lule
Singhai,' the lame one, or ' Arku Singhai,' the stumbler. If
no elephants are available and the car has to be dragged by
men, the title given is Kadhore Singhai.
Images In the temples are placed the images of Tirthakars, either
of brass, marble, silver or gold. The images may be small
or life-size or larger, and the deities are represented in a
sitting posture with their legs crossed and their hands lying
upturned in front, the right over the left, in the final attitude
of contemplation prior to escape from the body and attain-
ment of paradise. There may be several images in one
temple, but usually there is only one, though a number of
temples are built adjoining each other or round a courtyard.
The favourite Tirthakars found in temples are Rishab Deva,
the first; Anantnath, the fourteenth; Santnath, the sixteenth;
Nemnath, the twenty-second ; Parasnath, the twenty-third ;
and Vardhamana or Mahavira, the twenty-fourth.^ As already
stated only Mahavira and perhaps Parasnath, his preceptor,
were real historical personages, and the remainder are
mythical. It is noticeable that to each of the Tirthakars is
attached a symbol, usually in the shape of an animal, and
also a tree, apparently that tree under which the Tirthakar
is held to have been seated at the time that he obtained
release from the body. And these animals and trees are in
most cases those which are also revered and held sacred by
the Hindus. Thus the sacred animal of Rishab Deva is the
bull, and his tree the banyan ; that of Anantnath is the
falcon or bear, and his tree the holy Asoka ; " that of
Santnath is the black-buck or Indian antelope, and his tree
the tun or cedar ; ^ the symbol of Nemnath is the conch
' The particulars about the Tirthakars and the animals and trees associated
with them are taken from The Jainas.
- Jonesia Asoka. ^ Qedrela (oona.
I JAIN RELIGION 229
shell (sacred to Vishnu), but his tree, the vciasa, is not known ;
the animal of Parasnath is the serpent or cobra and his tree
the dhdtaki ; ^ and the animal of Mahfivlra is the lion or
tiger and his tree the teak tree. Among the symbols of the
other Tirthakars are the elephant, horse, rhinoceros, boar,
ape, the Brahmani duck, the moon, the pipal tree, the lotus
and the swasiik figure ; and among their trees the mango,
\.\\Q jdviun'^ and the chaiiipak? Most of these animals and
trees are sacred to the Hindus, and the elephant, boar, ape,
cobra and tiger were formerly worshipped themselves, and
are now attached to the principal Hindu gods. Similarly
the asoka, pipal, banyan and mango trees are sacred, and
also the Brahmani duck and the swastik sign. It cannot be
supposed that the Tirthakars simply represent the deified
anthropomorphic emanations from these animals, because the
object of Vardhamana's preaching was perhaps like that of
Buddha to do away with the promiscuous polytheism of the
Hindu religion. But nevertheless the association of the
sacred animals and trees with the Tirthakars furnished a
strong connecting link between them and the Hindu gods,
and considerably lessens the opposition between the two
systems of worship. The god Indra is also frequently found
sculptured as an attendant guardian in the Jain temples.
The fourteenth Tirthakar, Anantnath, is especially revered
by the people because he is identified with Gautama Buddha.
The priest of a Jain temple is not usually a Yati or 13. Reiigi-
ascetic, but an ordinary member of the community. He
receives no remuneration and carries on his business at the
same time. He must know the Jain scriptures, and makes
recitations from them when the worshippers are assembled.
The Jain will ordinarily visit a temple and see the god every
morning before taking his food, and his wife often goes with
him. If there is no temple in their own town or village
they will go to another, provided that it is within a practicable
distance. The offerings made at the temple consist of rice,
almonds, cocoanuts, betel-leaves, areca, dates, cardamoms,
cloves and similar articles. These are appropriated by the
Hindu Mali or gardener, who is the menial servant em-
1 Griska tomeutosa. ^ Eitgeiiia jambolana.
3 Michelia champaka.
ous observ-
2 JO ARTICLES ON RELIGIONS AND SECTS part
ployed to keep the temple and enclosures clean. The Jain
will not take back or consume himself anything which has
been offered to the god. Offerings of money are also made,
and these go into the bhanddr or fund for maintenance
of the temple. The Jains observe fasts for the last week
before the new moon in the months of Phagun (February),
Asarh (June) and Kartik (October). They also fast on the
second, fifth, eighth, eleventh and fourteenth days in each
fortnight of the four months of the rains from Asarh to
Kartik, this being in lieu of the more rigorous fast of the
ascetics during the rains. On these days they eat only
once, and do not eat any green vegetables. After the
week's fast at the end of Kartik, at the commencement of
the month of Aghan, the Jains begin to eat all green
vegetables.
14, Ten- The great regard for animal life is the most marked
animal life, feature of the Jain religion among the laity as well as the
clergy. The former do not go to such extremes as the
latter, but make it a practice not to eat food after sunset or
before sunrise, owing to the danger of swallowing insects.
Now that their beliefs are becoming more rational, however,
and the irksome nature of this rule is felt, they sometim.es
place a lamp with a sieve over it to produce rays of light,
and consider that this serves as a substitute for the sun. For-
merly they maintained animal hospitals in which all kinds
of animals and reptiles, including monkeys, poultry and
other birds were kept and fed, and any which had broken a
limb or sustained other injuries were admitted and treated.
These were known as pinjrapol or places of protection.^ A
similar institution was named jivuti, and consisted of a
small domed building with a hole at the top large enough
for a man to creep in, and here weevils and other insects
which the Jains might find in their food were kept and pro-
vided with grain.' In Rajputana, where rich Jains probably
had much influence, considerable deference was paid to their
objections to the death of any living thing. Thus a Mewar
edict of A.D. 1693 directed that no one might carry animals
for slaughter past their temples or houses. Any man or
' Crooke, Things Indian, art. Pinjrapol.
- Moor, Hindu Infanticide, p. 1S4.
rase, Collo., Derhy.
JAIN TEMPLE IN SEONI.
I JAIN RELIGION 231
animal led past a Jain house for the purpose of being killed
was thereby saved and set at liberty. Traitors, robbers or
escaped prisoners who fled for sanctuary to the dwelling of a
Jain Yati or ascetic could not be seized there by the officers
of the court. And during the four rainy months, when
insects were most common, the potter's wheel and Teli's oil-
press might not be worked on account of the number of
insects which would be destroyed by them.^
As they are nearly all of the Bania caste the Jains are 15. Social
usually prosperous, and considering its small size, the standard '^o"^'"°"
of wealth in the community is probably very high for India, Jains,
the total number of Jains in the country being about half a
million. Beggars are rare, and, like the Parsis and Europeans,
the Jains feeling themselves a small isolated body in the
midst of a large alien population, have a special tenderness
for their poorer members, and help them in more than the
ordinary degree. Most of the Jain Banias are grain-dealers
and moneylenders like other Banias. Cultivation is pro-
hibited by their religion, owing to the destruction of animal
life which it involves, but in Saugor, and also in the north
of India, many of them have now taken to it, and some
plough with their own hands. Mr. Marten notes " that the
Jains are beginning to put their wealth to a more practical
purpose than the lavish erection and adornment of temples.
Schools and boarding-houses for boys and girls of their
religion are being opened, and they subscribe liberally for
the building of medical institutions. It may be hoped that
this movement will continue and gather strength, both for
the advantage of the Jains themselves and the country
generally.
1 Rdjasthdn, vol. i. p. 449, and pp. 696, 697, App.
2 Central Provimes CeJistis Report, 191 1.
KABIRPANTHI
\Bibliography : Right Reverend G. H. Westcott, Kahir and the R'abirpanth,
Cawnpore, 1907 ; Asiatic Researches, vol. xvi. pp. 53-75 (Wilson's Hindu Sects) ;
Mr. Crooke's Tribes and Castes, article Kablrpanlhi ; Central Provinces Census
Report {iSg I), Sir B. Robertson.]
LIST OF PARAGRAPHS
1 . Li/e of Kablr. 5 . Tlie religious service.
2. Kabir's teachings. 6. Iftitiation.
3. His sayings. 7. Funeral rites.
4. The Kabirpa7ithi sect i7i the 8. Idol worship.
Central Provinces. 9. Statistics of the sect.
I. Life of KabiPpanthi Sect. — A well-known religious sect founded
Kabir. y-^y ^^ reformer Kabir, who flourished in the fifteenth cen-
tury, and is called by Dr. Hunter the Luther of India. The
sect has now split into two branches, the headquarters of
one of these being at Benares, and of the other at Kawardha,
or Damakheda in Raipur. Bishop Westcott gives the date
of Kabir's life as A.D. 1440-15 18, while Mr. Crooke states
that he flourished between 1488 and 15 12. Numerous
legends are now told about him ; thus, according to one of
these, he was the son of a virgin Brahman widow, who had
been taken at her request to see the great reformer Ramanand.
He, unaware of her condition, saluted her with the benedic-
tion which he thought acceptable to all women, and wished
her the conception of a son. His words could not be
recalled, and the widow conceived, but, in order to escape
the disgrace which would attach to her, exposed the child,
who was Kabir. He was found by a Julaha or Muham-
madan weaver and his wife, and brought up by them. The
object of this story is probably to connect Kabir with
Ramanand as his successor in reformation and spiritual
heir ; because the Ramanandis are an orthodox Vaishnava
232
TAUT 1 KABIRPANTin 233
sect, while the Kabirpanthi.s, if they adhered to all Kabii's
preaching, must be considered as quite outside the pale c)f
Hinduism. To make out that Kablr came into the world
by Ramanand's act provides him at any rate with an
orthodox spiritual lineage. For the same reason ^ the date of
Kablr's birth is sometimes advanced as early as 139S in
order to bring it within the period of Ramanand's lifetime
{circa 1300-1400). Another story is that the deity took
mortal shape as a child without birth, and was found by a
newly-married weaver's wife lying in a lotus flower on a
tank, like Moses in the bulrushes. Bishop Westcott thus
describes the event : " A feeling of thirst overcame Nima,
the newly-wedded wife of Niru, the weaver, as after the
marriage ceremony she was making her way to her husband's
house. She approached the tank, but was much afraid
when she there beheld the child. She thought in her heart,
* This is probably the living evidence of the shame of some
virgin widow.' Niru suggested that they might take the
child to their house, but Nima at first demurred, thinking
that such action might give rise to scandal. Women would
ask, ' Who is the mother of a child so beautiful that its eyes
are like the lotus ? ' However, laying aside all fears, they
took pity on the child. On approaching the house they
were welcomed with the songs of women, but when the
women saw the child dark thoughts arose in their heads, and
they began to ask, ' How has she got this child ? ' Nima
replied that she had got the child without giving birth to it,
and the women then refrained from asking further questions."
It is at any rate a point generally agreed on that Kabir was
brought up in the house of a Muhammadan weaver. It is
said that he became the chela or disciple of Ramanand, but
this cannot be true, as Ramanand was dead before his birth.
It seems probable that he was married, and had two children
named Kamal and Kamali. Bishop Westcott states - that
the Kabir Kasauti explains the story of his supposed mar-
riage by the fact that he had a girl disciple named Loi, a
foundling brought up by a holy man ; she followed his
precepts, and coming to Benares, passed her time in the
service of the saints. Afterwards Kabir raised two children
1 Westcott, op. cit. p. 3. - Op. cit. p. 12.
234 ARTICLES ON RELIGIONS AND SECTS part
from the dead and gave them to Loi to bring up, and the
ignorant suppose that these were his wife and children.
Such a statement would appear to indicate that Kablr was
really married, but after his sect had become important, this
fact was felt to be a blot on his claim to be a divine prophet,
and so was explained away in the above fashion.
The plain speaking of Kabir and his general disregard
for religious conventions excited the enmity of both Hindus
and IMuhammadans, and he was accused before the Emperor
Sikandar Lodi, by whose orders various attempts were made
to kill him ; but he was miraculously preserved in each case,
until at last the Emperor acknowledged his divine character,
asked his forgiveness, and expressed his willingness to
undergo any punishment that he might name. To this
Kabir replied that a man should sow flowers for those who
had sown him thorns. Bishop Westcott continues : — " All
accounts agree that the earthly life of Kabir came to a close
at Maghar, in the District of Gorakhpur. Tradition relates
that Kabir died in extreme old age, when his body had
become infirm and his hands were no longer able to produce
the music with which he had in younger days celebrated the
praises of Rama.
" A difficulty arose with regard to the disposal of his
body after death. The Muhammadans desired to bury it
and the Hindus to cremate it. As the rival parties dis-
cussed the question with growing warmth Kabir himself
appeared and bade them raise the cloth in which the body
lay enshrouded. They did as he commanded, and lo !
beneath the cloth there lay but a heap of flowers. Of these
flowers the Hindus removed half and burnt them at
Benares, while what remained were buried at Maghar by
the Muhammadans."
2. Kabir s The religion preached by Kabir was of a lofty character.
teachings, jj^ rejected the divine inspiration of the Vedas and the
whole Hindu mythology. He taught that there was no
virtue in outward observances such as shaving the head,
ceremonial purity and impurity, and circumcision among
Muliammadans. He condemned the worship of idols and
the use of sect - marks and religious amulets, but in all
ordinary matters allowed his followers to conform to usage
I KABIRPANTHl 235
in order to avoid giving offence. He abolished distinctions
of caste. He enjoined a virtuous life, just conduct and
kindly behaviour and much meditation on the virtues of
God. He also condemned the love of money and gain. In
fact, in many respects his creed resembles Christianity, just
as the life of Kablr contains one or two episodes parallel to
that of Christ. He prescribed obedience to the Guru or
spiritual preceptor in all matters of faith and morals. His
religion appears to have been somewhat of a pantheistic
character and his idea of the deity rather vague. But he
considered that the divine essence was present in all human
beings, and apparently that those who freed themselves from
sin and the trammels of worldly desires would ultimately be
absorbed into the godhead. It does not seem that Kabir
made any exact pronouncement on the doctrine of the trans-
migration of souls and re-birth, but as he laid great stress on
avoiding the destruction of any animal life, a precept which
is to some extent the outcome of the belief in transmigra-
tion, he may have concurred in this tenet. Some Kablr-
panthis, however, have discarded transmigration. Bishop
Westcott states that they do believe in the re-birth of the
soul after an intervening period of reward or punishment, but
always apparently in a human body.
He would seem never to have promulgated any definite 3- i^'s
account of his own religion, nor did he write anything him- "
self. He uttered a large number of Sakhis or apothegms
which were recorded by his disciples in the Bijak, Sukhani-
dhan and other works, and are very well known and often
quoted by Kablrpanthis and others. The influence of Kablr
extended beyond his own sect. Nanak, the founder of the
Nanakpanthis and Sikhs, was indebted to Kablr for most of
his doctrine, and the Adi - Granth or first sacred book of
the Sikhs is largely compiled from his sayings. Other sects
such as the Dadupanthis also owe much to him. A small
selection of his sayings from those recorded by Bishop
Westcott may be given in illustration of their character :
I. Adding cowrie to cowrie he brings together lakhs
and crores.
At the time of his departure he gets nothing at all, even
his loin-cloth is plucked away.
236 ARTICLES ON RELIGIONS AND SECTS part
2. Fire does not burn it, the wind does not carry it away,
no thief comes near it ; collect the wealth of the name of
Rama, that wealth is never lost.
3. By force and love circumcision is made, I shall not
agree to it, O brother. If God will make me a Turk by
Him will I be circumcised ; if a man becomes a Turk by
being circumcised what shall be done with a woman ? She
must remain a Hindu.
4. The rosaries are of wood, the gods are of stone, the
Ganges and Jumna are water. Rama and Krishna are dead.
The four Vedas are fictitious stories.
5. If by worshipping stones one can find God, I shall
worship a mountain ; better than these stones (idols) are the
stones of the flour-mill with which men grind their corn.
6. If by immersion in the water salvation be obtained,
the frogs bathe continually. As the frogs so are these men,
again and again they fall into the womb.
7. As long as the sun does not rise the stars sparkle ;
so long as perfect knowledge of God is not obtained, men
practise rites and ceremonies.
8. Brahma is dead with Siva who lived in Kashi ; the
immortals are dead. In Mathura, Krishna, the cowherd, died.
The ten incarnations (of Vishnu) are dead. Machhandranath,
Gorakhnath, Dattatreya and Vyas are no longer living.
Kablr cries with a loud voice. All these have fallen into
the slip-knot of death.
9. While dwelling in the womb there is no clan nor
caste ; from the seed of Brahm the whole of creation is made.
Whose art thou the Brahman ? Whose am I the Sudra?
Whose blood am I ? Whose milk art thou ?
Kabir says, ' Who reflects on Brahm, he by me is made
a Brahman.'
10. To be truthful is best of all if the heart be truthful.
A man may speak as much as he likes ; but there is no
pleasure apart from truthfulness.
11. If by wandering about naked union with Hari be
obtained ; then every deer of the forest will attain to God.
If by shaving the head perfection is achieved, the sheep is
saved, no one is lost.
If salvation is got by celibacy, a eunuch should be the
I KABIRPANTHI 237
first saved. Kablr says, ' Hear, O Man and Brother ; without
the name of Rama no one has obtained salvation,'
The resemblance of some of the above ideas to the
teaching of the Gospels is striking, and, as has been seen,
the story of Kablr's birth might have been borrowed from
the Bible, while the Kabirpanthi Chauka or religious service
has one or two features in common with Christianity.
These facts raise a probability, at any rate, that Kabir or
his disciples had some acquaintance with the l^ible or with
the teaching of Christian missionaries. If such a supposi-
tion were correct, it would follow that Christianity had in-
fluenced the religious thought of India to a greater extent
than is generally supposed. Because, as has been seen, the
Nanakpanthi and Sikh sects are mainly based on the teach-
ing of Kabir. Another interesting though accidental re-
semblance is that the religion of Kabir was handed down in
the form of isolated texts and sayings like the Logia of
Jesus, and was first reduced to writing in a connected form
by his disciples. The fact that Kabir called the deity by
the name of Rama apparently does not imply that he
ascribed a unique and sole divinity to the hero king of
Ajodhia. He had to have some name which might convey
a definite image or conception to his uneducated followers,
and may have simply adopted that which was best known
and most revered by them.
The two principal headquarters of the Kabirpanthi sect are 4. The
at Benares and at Kawardha, the capital of the State of that ^^^^^^^ gg^t
name, or Damakheda in the Raipur District. These appear in the
to be practically independent of each other, the head provinces.
Mahants exercising separate jurisdiction over members of
the sect who acknowledge their authority. The Benares
branch of the sect is known as Bap (father) and the
Kawardha branch as Mai (mother). In 1901 out of
850,000 Kablrpanthis in India 500,000 belonged to the
Central Provinces. The following account of the practices
of the sect in the Province is partly compiled from local
information, and it differs in some minor, though not in
essential, points from that given by Bishop Westcott. The
Benares church is called the Kablrchaura Math and the
Kawardha one the Dharam Das Math.
238 ARTICLES ON RELIGIONS AND SECTS part
One of the converts to Kablr's teaching was Dharam
Das, a Kasaundhan Bania, who distributed the whole of his
wealth, eighteen lakhs of rupees, in charity at his master's
bidding and became a mendicant. In reward for this Kablr
promised him that his family should endure for fort\^-two
generations. The Mahants of Kawardha claim to be the
direct descendants of Dharam Das. They marry among
Kasaundhan Banias, and their sons are initiated and succeed
them. The present Mahants Dayaram and Ugranam are
twelfth and thirteenth in descent from Dharam Das. Kablr
not only promised that there should be forty-two Mahants,
but gave the names of each of them, so that the names of all
future Mahants are known. ^ Ugranam was born of a Marar
woman, and, though acclaimed as the successor of his father,
was challenged by Dhlrajnam, whose parentage was legiti-
mate. Their dispute led to a case in the Bombay High
Court, which was decided in favour of Dhlrajnam, and he
accordingly occupied the seat at Kawardha. Dayaram is
his successor. But Dhlrajnam was unpopular, and little
attention was paid to him. Ugranam lives at Damakheda,
near Simga," and enjoys the real homage of the followers of
the sect, who say that Dhlraj was the official Mahant but
Ugra the people's Mahant. Of the previous Mahants, four
are buried at Kawardha, two at Kudarmal in Bilaspur, the
site of a Kablrpanthi fair, and two at Mandla. Under the
head Mahant are a number of subordinate Mahants or Gurus,
each of whom has jurisdiction over the members of the sect
in a certain area. The Guru pays so much a year to the
head Mahant for his letter of jurisdiction and takes all the
offerings himself. These subordinate Mahants may be
celibate or married, and about two-thirds of them are married.
A dissenting branch called Nadiapanthi has now arisen in
Raipur, all of whom are celibate. The Mahants have a
high peaked cap somewhat of the shape of a mitre, a long
sleeveless white robe, a chauri or whisk, cJiauba or silver
stick, and a staff called kuari or aska. It is said that on
one occasion there was a very high flood at Puri and the
sea threatened to submerge Jagannath's temple, but Kablr
planted a stick in the sand and said, * Come thus far and
' Kabir and the Kabirpaiith, pp. 115 and 116. - Kaipur District.
I KABlRPANTHI 239
no further,' and the flood was sta}'cd. In memory of this
the Mahants carry the crutched staff, which also serves as a
means of support. When officiating they wear a small
embroidered cap. Each Mahant has a Diwan or assistant,
and he travels about his charge during the open season,
visiting the members of the sect. A Mahant should not
annoy any one by begging, but rather than do so should
remain hungry. He must not touch any flesh, fish or
liquor. And if any living thing is hungry he should give it
of his own food.
A Kablrpanthi religious service is called Chauka, the 5. The
name given to the space marked out for it with lines of wheat- '"^''S'ous
'^ - '^ , service.
flour, 5 or 7^ yards square. In the centre is made a pattern
of nine lotus-flowers to represent the sun, moon and seven
planets, and over this a bunch of real flowers is laid. At
one corner is a small hollow pillar of dough serving as
a candle-stick, in which a stick covered with cotton-wool
burns as a lamp, being fed with butter. The Mahant sits
at one end and the worshippers sit round. BJiajans or
religious songs are sung to the music of cymbals by one or
two, and the others repeat the name of Kablr counting on
their kmiiJii or necklace of beads. The Mahant lights a
piece of camphor and waves it backwards and forwards in
a dish. This is called Arti, a Hindu rite. He then breaks
a cocoanut on a stone, a thing which only a Mahant may
do. The flesh of the cocoanut is cut up and distributed to
the worshippers with betel-leaf and sugar. Each receives
it on his knees, taking the greatest care that none fall on
the ground. If any of the cocoanut remain, it is kept by
the Mahant for another service. The Hindus think that the
cocoanut is a substitute for a human head. It is supposed
to have been created by Viswamitra and the bucJi or tuft of
fibre at the end represents the hair. The Kablrpanthis
will not eat any part of a cocoanut from other Hindus from
which this tuft has been removed, as they fear that it may
have been broken off in the name of some god or spirit.
Once the biicJi is removed the cocoanut is not an acceptable
offering, as its likeness to a human head is considered to be
1 The description of the Chaukg, service is mainly taken from Bishop West-
cott's full and detailed account.
240 ARTICLES ON RELIGIONS AND SECTS part
destroyed. After this the Mahant gives an address and an
interval occurs. Some little time afterwards the worshippers
reassemble. Meanwhile, a servant has taken the dough
candle-stick and broken it up, mixing it with fragments of
the cocoanut, butter and more flour. It is then brought
to the Maliant, who makes it into little puris or wafers.
The Mahant has also a number of betel-leaves known
as parwdna or message, which have been blessed by the
head guru at Kawardha or Damakheda. These are cut
up into small pieces for delivery to each disciple and
are supposed to represent the body of Kablr. He has
also brought CJiaran Amrita or Nectar of the Feet, consisting
of water in which the feet of the head gum have been
washed. This is mixed with fine earth and made up into
pills. The worshippers reassemble, any who may feel
unworthy absenting themselves, and each receives from the
Mahant, with one hand folded beneath the other, a wafer
of the dough, a piece of the pm^zvana or betel-leaf, and a
pill of the foot-nectar. After partaking of the sacred food
they cleanse their hands, and the proceedings conclude
with a substantial meal defrayed either by subscription
or by a well-to-do member. Bishop Westcott states that
the parzvdna or betel-leaf is held to represent Kabir's bod}%
and the Kablrpanthis say that the flame of the candle is
the life or spirit of Kablr, so that the dough of the candle-
stick might also be taken to symbolise his body. The
cocoanut eaten at the preliminary service is undoubtedly
offered by Hindus as a substitute for a human body, though
the Kablrpanthis may now disclaim this idea. And the
foot-nectar of the guru might be looked upon as a substitute
for the blood of Kablr.
6. iniiia- The initiation of a proselyte is conducted at a similar
service, and he is given cocoanut and betel-leaf. He solemnly
vows to observe the rules of the sect, and the Mahant whispers
a text into his ear and hangs a necklace of wooden
beads of the wood of the tiilsi or basil round his neck.
This kantlii or necklace is the mark of the Kablrpanthi,
but if lost, it can be replaced by any other necklace, not
necessarily of tulsi. One man was observed with a necklace
of pink beads bought at Allahabad. Sometimes only a
tion.
I KABIRPANTHI 241
single tulsi bead is worn on a string. The convert is also
warned against eating the fruit of the giilar ^ fig-tree, as these
small figs are always full of insects. Kablr condemned sect-
marks, but many Kabirpanthis now have them, the mark
usually being a single broad streak of white sandalwood from
the top of the forehead to the nose.
The Kabirpanthis are usually buried. Formerly, the 7. Funeral
bodies of married people both male and female were buried ''"'^^'
inside the compound of the house, but this is now prohibited
on sanitary grounds. A cloth is placed in the grave
and the corpse laid on it and another cloth placed over
it covering the face. Over the grave a little platform is
made on which the Mahant and two or three other persons
can sit. On the twenty-first day after the death, if possible,
the Mahant should hold a service for the dead. The form
of the service is that already described, the Mahant sitting
on the grave and the cJiauka being made in front of it.
He lays a cocoanut and flowers on the grave and lights the
lamp, afterwards distributing the cocoanut. The Kabir-
panthis think that the soul of the dead person remains
in the grave up to this time, but when the lamp is burnt
the soul mingles with the flame, which is the soul of Kablr,
and is absorbed into the deity. When breaking a cocoanut
over the grave of the dead the Kabirpanthis say, ' I am
breaking the skull of Yama,' because they think that the
soul of a Kablrpanthi is absorbed into the deity and there-
fore is not liable to be taken down to hell and judged
by Chitragupta and punished by Yama. From this it
would appear that some of them do not believe in the
transmigration of souls.
Ordinarily the Kabirpanthis have no regular w^orship 8. idol
except on the occasion of a visit of XkiO. guru. But sometimes ^^°^^ 'P'
in the morning they fold their hands and say ' Sat Sahib,'
or the ' True God,' two or three times. They also clean
a space with cowdung and place a lighted lamp on it and
say ' Jai Kablr Kil or ' Victory to Kablr.' They conceive
of the deity as consisting of light, and therefore it seems
probable that, like the other Vaishnava sects, they really
take him to be the Sun. Kablr prohibited the worship
^ Ficus gloincrata.
VOL. I R
242 ARTICLES ON RELIGIONS AND SECTS part
of all idols and visible symbols, but as might be expected
the illiterate Kabirpanthis cannot adhere strictly to this.
Some of them worship the Bijak, the principal sacred book
of their sect. At Rudri near Dhamtari on the Mahanadi
one of the Gurus is buried, and a religious fair is held there.
Recently a platform has been made with a footprint of
Kablr marked on it, and this is venerated by the pilgrims.
Similarly, Kudarmal is held to contain the grave of
Churaman, the first guru after Dharam Das, and a religious
fair is held here at which the Kabirpanthis attend and
venerate the grave. Dharam Das himself is said to be
buried at Puri, the site of Jagannath's temple, but it seems
doubtful whether this story may not have been devised in
order to give the Kabirpanthis a valid reason for going
on pilgrimage to Puri. Similarly, an arch and platform in
the court of the temple of Rama at Ramtek is considered
to belong to the Kabirpanthis, though the Brahmans of
the temple say that the arch was really made by the
daughter of a Surajvansi king of the locality in order to
fasten her swing to it. Once in three years the Mahar
Kabirpanthis of Mandla make a sacrificial offering of a
goat to Dulha Deo, the bridegroom god, and eat the flesh,
burying the remains beneath the floor. On this occasion
they also drink liquor. ^ Other Kabirpanthis venerate
Brahma, Vishnu and Siva, and light a lamp and burn
camphor in their names, but do not make idols of them.
They will accept the cooked food offered to Vishnu as
Satnarayan and a piece of the cocoanut kernel offered to
Devi, but not the offerings to any other deities. And
a number even of illiterate Kabirpanthis appear to abstain
from any kind of idol-worship.
9. Statistics About 600,000 Kabirpanthis were returned in the
c tesect. (^gj^|-j.^i Provinces in 191 i, this being equivalent to an
increase of 19 per cent since the previous census. As this
was less than the increase in the total population the sect
appears to be stationary or declining in numbers. The
weaving castes are usually Kabirpanthis, because Kablr was
a weaver. The Brahmans call it ' The weaver's religion.' Of
the Panka caste 84 per cent were returned as members of
the sect, and this caste appears to be of sectarian formation.
I KABlRPANTJU 243
consisting- of Tans or Gandas who have become Kablr-
panthis. Other weaving castes such as Balahis, Koris,
Koshtis and Mahars belong to the sect in considerable
numbers, and it is also largely professed by other low castes
as the Telis or oilmen, of whom 16 per cent adhere to it,
and by Dhobis and Chamars ; and by some castes from
whom a Brahman will take water, as the Ahlrs, Kurmis,
Lodhis and Kachhis. Though there seems little doubt that
one of the principal aims of Kablr's preaching was the
abolition of the social tyranny of the caste system, which is
the most real and to the lower classes the most hateful and
burdensome feature of Hinduism, yet as in the case of so
many other reformers his crusade has failed, and a man
who becomes a Kablrpanthi does not cease to be a member
of his caste or to conform to its observances. And a few
Brahmans who have been converted, though renounced by
their own caste, have, it is said, been compensated by
receiving high posts in the hierarchy of the sect. Formerly
all members of the sect took food together at the conclusion
of each Chauka or service conducted by a Mahant, But
this is no longer the case, and presumably different Chaukas
are now held for communities of different castes. Only on
the 13th day of Bhadon (August), which was the birthday
of Kablr, as many Kabirpanthis as can meet at the head-
quarters of the Guru take food together without distinction
of caste in memory of their Founder's doctrine. Otherwise
the Kabirpanthis of each caste make a separate group
within it, but among the lower castes they take food and
marry with members of the caste who are not Kabirpanthis.
These latter are commonly known as Saktaha, a term which
in Chhattlsgarh signifies an eater of meat as opposed to a
Kablrpanthi who refrains from it. The Mahars and Pankas
permit intermarriage between Kablrpanthi and Saktaha
families, the wife in each case adopting the customs and
beliefs of her husband. Kabirpanthis also wear the cJioti
or scalp-lock and shave the head for the death of a relative,
in spite of Kablr's contempt of the custom. Still, the sect
has in the past afforded to the uneducated classes a some-
what higher ideal of spiritual life than the chaotic medley
of primitive superstitions and beliefs in witchcraft and
244 ARTICLES ON RELIGIONS AND SECTS part
devil worship, from which the Brahmans, carint^ only for
the recognition of their social supremacy, made no attempt
to raise them.
Ling"ayat Sect. — ^A sect devoted to the worship of Siva
which has developed into a caste. The Lingayat sect is
supposed ^ to have been founded in the twelfth century by
one Basava, a Brahman minister of the king of the Carnatic.
He preached the equality of all men and of women also by
birth, and the equal treatment of all. Women were to be
treated with the same respect as men, and any neglect or
incivility to a woman would be an insult to the god whose
image she wore and, with whom she was one. Caste dis-
tinctions were the invention of Brahmans and consequently
unworthy of acceptance. The Madras Census Report" of
1 87 1 further states that Basava preached the immortality
of the soul, and mentions a theory that some of the traditions
concerning him might have been borrowed from the legends
of the Syrian Christians, who had obtained a settlement
in Madras at a period not later than the seventh century.
The founder of the sect thus took as his fundamental tenet
the abolition of caste, but, as is usual in the history of
similar movements, the ultimate result has been that the
Ivingayats have themselves become a caste. In Bombay
they have two main divisions, Mr. Enthoven states : ^ the
Panchamsalis or descendants of the original converts from
13rahmanism and the non-Panchamsalis or later converts.
The latter are further subdivided into a number of groups,
apparently endogamous. Converts of each caste becoming
Lingayats form a separate group of their own, as Ahir
Lingayats, Bania Lingayats and so on, severing their con-
nection with the parent caste. A third division consists of
members of unclean castes attached to the Lingayat com-
munity by reason of performing to it menial service. A
marked tendency has recently been displayed by the
community in liombay to revert to the original Brahmanic
configuration of society, from which its founder sought to
' ':^hQxv\ng, Hindu Cas/cs and Trilies, ^ Bombay Census Report, 1901, pp
iii. |)p. 96, 123. 181-183.
- Uy Surgeon-Major Cornisli.
I LING A YA T SECT 245
free it. On the occasion of the census a complete scheme
was supplied to the authorities professing to show the
division of the Lingayats into the four groups of Brahman,
Kshatriya, Vaishya and Sudra.
In the Central Provinces Lingayats were not shown as
a separate caste, and the only return of members of the sect
is from the Bania caste, whose subcastes were abstracted.
Lingayat was recorded as a subcaste by 8000 Banias, and
these form a separate endogamous group. But members
of other castes as Gaolis, Malis, Patwas and the Telugu
Balijas are also Lingayats and marry among themselves.
A child becomes a Lingayat by being invested with the
liui^ain or phallic sign of Siva, seven days after its birth, by
the Jangam priest. This is afterwards carried round the
neck in a small casket of silver, brass or wood throughout
life, and is buried with the corpse at death. The corpse
of a Lingayat cannot be burnt because it must not be
separated from the lingain^ as this is considered to be the
incarnation of Siva and must not be destroyed in the fire.
If it is lost the owner must be invested with a fresh one by
the Jangam in the presence of the caste. It is worshipped
three times a day, being washed in the morning with the
ashes of cowdung cakes, while in the afternoon leaves of the
bel tree and food are offered to it. When a man is initiated
as a Lingayat in after-life, the Jangam invests him with the
lingain, pours holy water on to his head and mutters in his
ear the sacred text, ^ Ahain so ahavil or ' I and you are now
one and the same.' The Lingayats are strict vegetarians,
and will not expose their drinking water to the sun, as they
think that by doing this insects would be bred in it and
that by subsequently swallowing them they would be guilty
of the destruction of life. They are careful to leave no
remains of a meal uneaten. Their own priests, the Jangams,
officiate at their weddings, and after the conclusion of the
ceremony the bride and bridegroom break raw cakes of
pulse placed on the other's back, the bride with her foot
and the bridegroom with his fist. Widow-marriage is
allowed. The dead are buried in a sitting posture with
their faces turned towards the east. Water sanctified by
the Jangam having dipped his toe into it is placed in the
246 ARTICLES ON RELIGIONS AND SECTS part i
mouth of the corpse. The Jangam presses down the earth
over the grave and then stands on it and refuses to come
off until he is paid a sum of money varying with the means
of the man, the minimum payment being Rs. 1-4. In some
cases a platform with an image of Mahadeo is made over
the grave. When meeting each other the Lingayats give
the salutation Sharndt, or, ' I prostrate myself before you.'
They address the Jangam as Maharaj and touch his feet
with their head. The Lingayat Banias of the Central
Provinces usually belong to Madras and speak Telugu in
their houses. As they deny the authority of Brahmans,
the latter have naturally a great antipathy for them, and
make various statements to their discredit. One of these
is that after a death the Lingayats have a feast, and, setting
up the corpse in the centre, arrange themselves round it
and eat their food. But this is not authenticated. Similarly
the Abb6 Dubois stated : ^ " They do not recognise the
laws relating to defilement which are generally accepted by
other castes, such, for instance, as those occasioned by a
woman's periodical ailments, and by the death and funeral
of relations. Their indifference to all such prescriptive
customs relating to defilement and cleanliness has given
rise to a Hindu proverb which says, 'There is no river for
a Lingayat,' meaning that the members of the sect do not
recognise, at all events on many occasions, the virtues and
merits of ablutions." The same author also states that
they entirely reject the doctrine of migration of souls, and
that, in consequence of their peculiar views on this point,
they have no tithis or anniversary festivals to commemorate
the dead. A Lingayat is no sooner buried than he is
forgotten. In view of these remarks it must be held to be
doubtful whether the Lingayats have the doctrine of the
immortality of the soul.
' Hindu Manners^ Customs and Ceremonies, p. 1 1 7.
MUHAMMADAN RELIGION
{Bibliography : Rev. T. ^ P. Hughes, N»ies on Mtihammadanism, and
Dictionary of Islam, London, W. H. Allen, 1895 > Bombay Gazetteer, vol. ix.
Part II. Muhauimadans of Gujariit, by Khan Bahadur Fazalullah Lutfullah
Faridi ; Qaiiun-i-Islain, G. A. Herklots, Madras, Iligginbothani, reprint 1S95 >
Aluhaminadanism and Early Developments of AluhamtnadaniiVi, by Professor
D. S. Margoliouth ; Life of Mahomet, by Sir. W. Muir ; Mr. J. T. Marten's
Central Provinces Census Report, 191 1. This article is mainly compiled from
the excellent accounts in the Bombay Gazetteer and the Dictionary of I slain. "[
LIST OF PARAGRAPHS
8.
9-
10.
II.
12.
13-
14.
15-
Statistics and distribution. 1 6.
Occupations.
Miihammadan castes. 17.
The four tribal divisions. 18.
Marriage. 1 9.
Polygamy, divo7'ce arid widow- 2 o.
remarriage. 2 1 .
Devices for procuring childreri, 1 2 .
atid beliefs about them. 23.
Pregfiancy rites. 24.
Childbirth and naming 25.
children. 26.
The Uklka sacrifice. 27.
Shaving the hair and ear- 28.
piercing. 2 g.
Birthdays. 30.
Circumcision, and maturity of 31.
girls. 32.
Funer'al 7-ites. 33.
Muhanimadan sects. Shiah 34.
and Sunni. 35.
36. Muhammadan
Leading religious observances.
Prayer.
The fast of Ramazan.
TJie pilgrimage to Mecca.
Festivals, The Miiharntm
Ld-ul-Fitr.
Ld-ul-Zoha.
Mosques.
The Friday service.
Priests. ALulla and Maulvi.
The Kdzi.
General features of Lsldm.
The Koran.
The Traditions.
The schools of law.
Food.
Dress.
Social rules. Salutations.
Customs.
Position of women.
Lnterest on money,
education.
Muhammadan Religion. — The Muhammadans numbered
nearly 600,000 persons in the Central Provinces in 191 1, or
about 3 per cent of the population. Of these about two-
fifths belong to Berar, the Amraoti and Akola Districts con-
247
I. Statistics
and dis-
tribution.
248 ARTICLES ON RELIGIONS AND SECTS part
taining more than 70,000 each; while of the 350,000 rcturnep
from the Central Provinces proper, about 40,000 reside in
each of the Jubbulpore, Nagpur and Nimar Districts. Berar
was for a long period governed by the Muhammadan Bahmani
dynasty, and afterwards formed part of the Mughal empire,
passing to the Mughal Viceroy, the Nizam of Hyderabad,
when he became an independent ruler. Though under
British administration, it is still legally a part of Hyderabad
territory, and a large proportion of the official classes as well
as many descendants of, retired soldiers are Muhammadans.
Similarly Nimar was held by the Muhammadan FarSki
dynasty of Khandesh for 200 years, and was then included
in the Mughal empire, Burhanpur being the seat of a viceroy.
At this period a good deal of forcible conversion probably
took place, and a considerable section of the Bhils nominally
became Muhammadans.
When the Gond Raja of Deogarh embraced Islam
after his visit to Delhi, members of this religion entered his
service, and he also brought back with him various artificers
and craftsmen. The cavalry of the Bhonsla Raja of Nagpur
was largely composed of Muhammadans, and in many cases
their descendants have settled on the land. In the Chhattls-
garh Division and the Feudatory States the number of
Muhammadans is extremely small, constituting less than one
per cent of the population.
No less than 37 per cent of the total number of
Muhammadans live in towns, though the general proportion
of urban population in the Provinces is only 7^- per
cent. The number of Muhammadans in Government service
excluding the police and army, is quite disproportionate to
their small numerical strength in the Provinces, being 20
per cent of all persons employed. In the garrison they
actually outnumber Hindus, while in the police they form
■^yj per cent of the whole force. In the medical and teaching
professions also the number of Muhammadans is com-
paratively large, while of persons of independent means a
proportion of 29 per cent are of this religion. Of persons
employed in domestic services nearly 14 per cent of the
total are Muhammadans, and of beggars, vagrants and
prostitutes 23 per cent. Muhammadans are largely engaged
I MU HA MM AD AN RELIGION 249
in making and selling clothes, outnumbering the Hindus in
this trade ; they consist of two entirely different classes, the
Muhammadan tailors who work for hire, and the Bohra and
Khoja shopkeepers who sell all kinds of cloth ; but both
live in towns. Of dealers in timber and furniture 36 per
cent are Muhammadans, and they also engage in all branches
of the retail trade in provisions. The occupations of the
lower-class Muhammadans are the manufacture of glass
bangles and slippers and the dyeing of cloth.^
About 14 per cent of the Muhammadans returned caste 3. Muhnm-
names. The principal castes are the Bohra and Khoja "^stcg"
merchants, who are of the Shiah sect, and the Cutchis or
Memans from Gujarat, who are also traders ; these classes
are foreigners in the Province, and many of them do not
bring their wives, though they have now begun to settle
here. The resident castes of Muhammadans are the
Bahnas or cotton-cleaners ; Julahas, weavers ; Kacheras, glass
bangle-makers ; Kunjras, greengrocers ; Kasais, butchers ;
and the Rangrez caste of dyers who dye with safflower. As
already stated, a section of the Bhils are at least nominally
Muhammadans, and the Fakirs or Muhammadan beggars are
also considered a separate caste. But no caste of good
standing such as the Rajput and Jat includes any consider-
able number of Muhammadans in the Central Provinces,
though in northern India large numbers of them belong to
this religion, while retaining substantially their caste usages.
The Muhammadan castes in the Central Provinces probably
consist to a large extent of the descendants of Hindu con-
verts. Their religious observances present a curious mixture
of Hindu and Muhammadan rites, as shown in the separate
articles on these castes. Proper Muhammadans look down
on them and decline to take food or intermarry with them.
The Muhammadans proper are usually divided into four 4. The
classes. Shaikh, Saiyad, Mughal and Pathan. Of these the JJj^f^n'i!'
Shaikhs number nearly 300,000, the Pathans nearly i 50,000,
the Saiyads under 50,000, and the Pathans about 9000 in
the Central Provinces. The term Saiyad properly means a
descendant of Ali, the son-in-law, and the lady Fatimah, the
^ Mr. Marten's C.P. Census Report (191 1), Subsidiary Table, ix., Occupation,
p. 276.
250 ARTICLES ON RELIGIONS AND SECTS part
daughter of the Prophet. They use the title Saiyad or Mir ^
before, and sometimes Shah after, their name, while women
employ that of Begum. Many Saiyads act as Plrs or
spiritual guides to other Muhammadan families. The ex-
ternal mark of a Saiyad is the right to wear a green turban,
but this is of course no longer legally secured to them. The
title Shaikh properly belongs only to three branches of the
Ouraish tribe or that of Muhammad : the Siddlkis, who
claim descent from Abu Bakr Siddlk,^ the father-in-law of
the Prophet and the second Caliph ; the Farukis claiming it
from Umar ul Faruk, the third Caliph, and also the father-
in-law of the Prophet ; and the Abbasis, descended from
Abbas, one of the Prophet's nine uncles. The Farukis are
divided into two families, the Chistis and Faridls. Both
these titles, however, and especially Shaikh, are now arrogated
by large numbers of persons who cannot have any pretence
to the above descent. Sir D. Ibbetson quotes a proverb,
' Last year I was a butcher ; this year I am a Shaikh ; next
year if prices rise I shall become a Saiyad.' And Sir
H. M. Elliot relates that much amusement was caused in
i860 at Gujarat by the Sherishtadar or principal officer of
the judicial department describing himself in an official
return as Saiyad Hashimi Quraishi, that is, of the family and
lineage of the Prophet. His father, who was living in
obscurity in his native town, was discovered to be a Lobar or
blacksmith.^ The term Shaikh means properly an elder,
and is freely taken by persons of respectable position.
Shaikhs commonly use either Shaikh or Muhammad as their
first names. The Pathans were originally the descendants
of Afghan immigrants. The name is probably the Indian
form of the word Pushtun (plural Pushtanah), now given to
themselves by speakers of the Pushtu language.' The men
add Khan to their names and the women Khatun or
Khatu. It is not at all likely either that the bulk of the
Muhammadans who returned themselves as Pathans in
the Central Provinces are really of Afghan descent. The
' Short for Amir or Prince. ^ Supplemental Glossary, vol. i. p.
2 Siddlk means veracious or truthful, 195.
and he was given the name on account ■* Mr. A. M. T. Jackson in Bomb.
of his straightforward character {Horn- Caz. Miih. Git/', p. 10.
bay Gazelteer).
I MUHAMMADAN RELIGION 251
Mughals proper are of two classes, Irani or Persian, who
belong to the Shiah sect, and Turani, Turkish or Tartar, who
are Sunnis. Mughals use the title Mirza (short for Amlrzacla,
son of a prince) before their names, and add Beg after them.
It is said that the Prophet addressed a Mughal by the title
of Beg after winning a victory, and since then it has always
been used. Mughal women have the designation Khanum
after their names.^ Formerly the Saiyads and Mughals
constituted the superior class of Muhammadan gentry, and
never touched a plough themselves, like the Hindu Brahmans
and RajpUts. These four divisions are not proper subcastes,
as they are not endogamous. A man of one group can
marry a woman of any other and she becomes a member of
her husband's group ; but the daughters of Saiyads do not
usually marry others than Saiyads. Nor is there any real
distinction of occupation between them, the men following
any occupation indifferently. In fact, the divisions are now
little more than titular, a certain distinction attaching to the
titles Saiyad and Shaikh when borne by families who have
a hereditary or prescriptive right to use them.
The census returns of 191 i show that three-fourths of 5- ^^ar-
Muhammadan boys now remain unmarried till the age of '^'^^'^'
20; while of girls 31 per cent are unmarried between 15
and 20, but only 13 per cent above that age. The age of
marriage of boys may therefore be taken at 18 to 25 or
later, and that of girls at 10 to 20. The age of marriage
both of girls and boys is probably getting later, especially
among the better classes.
Marriage is prohibited to the ordinary near relatives, but
not between first cousins. A man cannot marry his foster-
mother or foster-sister, unless the foster-brother and sister
were nursed by the same woman at intervals widely separated.
A man may not marry his wife's sister during his wife's life-
time unless she has been divorced. A Muhammadan cannot
marry a polytheist, but he may marry a Jewess or a Christian.
No specific religious ceremony is appointed, nor are any rites
essential for the contraction of a valid marriage. If both
persons are legally competent, and contract marriage with
each other in the presence of two male or one male and
^ Bombay Gazetteer, ibidem.
252 ARTICLES ON RELIGIONS AND SECTS part
two female witnesses, it is sufficient. And the Shiah law-
even dispenses with witnesses. As a rule the Kazi performs
the ceremony, and reads four chapters of the Koran with
the profession of belief, the bridegroom repeating them after
him. The parties then express their mutual consent, and
the Kazi, raising his hands, says, " The great God grant that
mutual love may reign between this couple as it existed
between Adam and Eve, Abraham and Sarah, Joseph and
Zuleika, Moses and Zipporah, His Highness Muhammad
and Ayesha, and His Highness Ali and Fatimah." ^ A
dowry or mehcr must be paid to the wife, which under the
law must not be less than ten silver dirliams or drachmas ;
but it is customary to fix it at Rs. 17, the dowry of Fatimah,
the Prophet's favourite daughter, or at Rs. 750, that of the
Prophet's wife, Ayesha." The wedding is, however, usually
accompanied by feasts and celebrations not less elaborate or
costly than those of the Hindus. Several Hindu ceremonies
are also included, such as the anointing of the bride and
bridegroom with oil and turmeric, and setting out earthen
vessels, which are meant to afford a dwelling-place for the
spirits of ancestors, at least among the lower classes.^
Another essential rite is the rubbing of the hands and
feet of the bridegroom with meJindi or red henna. The
marriage is usually arranged and a ceremony of betrothal
held at least a year before it actually takes place.
6. Poly- A husband can divorce his wife at pleasure by merely
dfTOfce repeating the prescribed sentences. A wife can obtain
and widow- divorce from her husband for impotence, madness, leprosy
remarriage. ^^ non-payment of the dowry. A woman who is divorced
can claim her dowry if it has not been paid. Polygamy is
permitted among Muhammadans to the number of four
wives, but it is very rare in the Central Provinces. Owing
to the fact that members of the immigrant trading castes
leave their wives at home in Gujarat, the number of married
women returned at the census was substantially less than that
of married men. A feeling in favour of the legal prohibition
of polygamy is growing up among educated Muhammadans,
and many of them sign a contract at marriage not to take
1 Hughes' Dictionary of Islam, s.v. '-^ Bomb. Gaz. Muh. Giij. p. l66.
Marriage. ^ Ibidem, p. 66.
I MUHAMMADAN RELIGION 253
a second wife during the lifetime of the first. There is no
prohibition on the remarriage of widows in Muhammadan
law, but the Hindu rule on the subject has had considerable
influence, and some Muhammadans of good position object
to the marriage of widows in their family. The custom
of the seclusion of women also, as Mr. Marten points out,
operates as a bar to a widow finding a husband for herself
Women who desire children resort to the shrines of 7. Devices
saints, who are supposed to be able to induce fertility. ^<^''P'"°"
' ^" J curing
" Blochmann notes that the tomb of Saint Sallm-i-Chishti children,
at Fatehpur-Sikri, in whose house the Emperor Jahanglr ^^^m^'*^ ^
was born, is up to the present day visited by childless them.
Hindu and Musalman women. A tree in the compound
of the saint Shaih Alam of Ahmedabad yields a peculiar
acorn-like fruit, which is sought after far and wide by those
desiring children ; the woman is believed to conceive from
the moment of eating the fruit. If the birth of a child
follows the eating of the acorn, the man and woman who
took it from the tree should for a certain number of years
come at every anniversary of the saint and nourish the tree
with a supply of milk. In addition to this, jasmine and
rose-bushes at the shrines of certain saints are supposed to
possess issue-giving properties. To draw virtue from the
saint's jasmine the woman who yearns for a child bathes
and purifies herself and goes to the shrine, and seats herself
under or near the jasmine bush with her skirt spread out.
As many flowers as fall into her lap, so many children will
she have. In some localities if after the birth of one child
no other son is born, or being born does not live, it is sup-
posed that the first-born child is possessed by a malignant
spirit who destroys the young lives of the new-born brothers
and sisters. So at the mother's next confinement sugar and
sesame-seed are passed seven or nine times over the new-
born infant from head to foot, and the elder boy or girl is
given them to eat. The sugar represents the life of the
young one given to the spirit who possesses the first-born.
A child born with teeth already visible is believed to exer-
cise a very malignant influence over its parents, and to render
the early death of one of them almost certain." ^
' Bomb. Gaz. Muh. Guj. pp. 147, 14S, from which ihe whole paragraph is taken.
254 ARTICLES ON RELIGIONS AND SECTS i-akt
8. Preg- In the seventh or ninth month of pregnancy a fertiHty
nancy rites. ^-^^^ j^ performed as among the Hindus. The woman is
dressed in new clothes, and her lap is filled with fruit and
vegetables by her friends. In some localities a large number
of pots are obtained, and a little water is placed in each of
them by a fertile married woman who has never lost a child.
Prayers are repeated over the pots in the names of the male
and female ancestors of the family, and especially of the
women who have died in childbirth. This appears to be a
propitiation of the spirits of ancestors.^
9. Child- A woman goes to her parents' home after the last
birth and nreonancv rite and stays there till her confinement is over.
naming l o j j
children. The ritcs performed by the midwife at birth resemble those
of the Hindus. When the child is born the azati or summons
to prayer is uttered aloud in his right ear, and the takbir or
Muhammadan creed in his left. The child is named on the
sixth or seventh day. Sometimes the name of an ancestor
is given, or the initial letter is selected from the Koran at
a venture and a name beginning with that letter is chosen.
Some common names are those of the hundred titles of God
combined with the prefix abd or servant. Such are Abdul
Aziz, servant of the all-honoured ; Ghani, the everlasting ;
Karim, the gracious ; Rahim, the pitiful ; Rahman, the
merciful ; Razzak, the bread-giver ; Sattar, the concealer ;
and so on, with the prefix Abdul, or servant of, in each
case. Similarly Abdullah, or servant of God, was the
name of Muhammad's father, and is a very favourite one.
Other names end with Baksh or ' given by,' as Haidar
Baksh, given by the lion (Ali) ; these are similar to the
Hindu names ending in Prasad. The prefix Ghulam, or
slave of, is also used, as Ghulam Hussain, slave of Hussain ;
and names of Hebrew patriarchs mentioned in the Koran
are not uncommon, as Ayub Job, Harun Aaron, Ishaq Isaac,
Musa Moses, Yakub Jacob, Yusaf Joseph, and so on."
10. The After childbirth the mother must not pray or fast, touch
Ukika |.]^g Koran or enter a mosque for forty days ; on the expiry
sacnhce. , , '■ j j ^ i. j
of this period she is bathed and dressed in good clothes, and
her relatives bring presents for the child. Some people do
' /io»ib. G11Z. A I nil. Guj. p. 150.
2 Temple's ProJ^er Na?nes of the Punjabis, pp. 41, 43.
I MUHAMMAD AN RELIGION 255
not let her oil or comb her hair during these days. The
custom would seem to be a relic of the period of impurity
of women after childbirth. On the fortieth day the child is
placed in a cradle for the first time. In some localities a
rite called Uklka is performed after the birth of a child. It
consists of a sacrifice in the name of the child of two he-
goats for a boy and one for a girl. The goats must be above
a year old, and without spot or blemish. The meat must be
separated from the bones so that not a bone is broken, and
the bones, skin, feet and head are afterwards buried in the
earth. When the flesh is served the following prayer is said
by the father : " O, Almighty God, I offer in the stead of
my own offspring life for life, blood for blood, head for head,
bone for bone, hair for hair, and skin for skin. In the name
of God do I sacrifice this he-goat." This is apparently a
relic of the substitution of a goat for Ishmael when Abraham
was offering him as a sacrifice. The Muhammadans say
that it was Ishmael instead of Isaac who was thus offered,
and they think that Ishmael or Ismail was the ancestor of
all the Arabs.^
Either on the same day as the Uklka sacrifice or soon n. Shav-
afterwards the child's hair is shaved for the first time. By j"JrVnd
the rich the hair is weighed against silver and this sum is ear-
distributed to beggars. It is then tied up in a piece of P"^^'^'"^"
cloth and either buried or thrown into a river, or sometimes
set afloat on a little toy raft in the name of a saint.
Occasionally tufts of hair or even the whole head may be
left unshaven in the name of a saint, and after one or more
years the child is taken to the saint's tomb and the hair
shaved there ; or if this cannot be done it is cut off at home
in the name of the saint.^
When a girl is one or two years old the lobes of her
ears are bored. By degrees other holes are bored along the
edge of the ear and even in the centre, till by the time she
has attained the age of two or three years she has thirteen
holes in the right ear and twelve in the left. Little silver
rings and various kinds of earrings are inserted and worn in the
holes. But the practice of boring so many holes has now
been abandoned by the better-class Muhammadans.
' Qaiifin-i- Islam, p. 20. '^ Ihidei>i.
256
ARTICLES ON RELIGIONS AND SECTS
12. Birth-
days.
13. Cir-
cumcision,
and
maturity
of girls.
14. Funeral
rites.
The child's birthday i.s known as sdl-girah and i.s cele-
brated by a feast. A knot is tied in a red thread and
annually thereafter a fresh knot to mark his age, and prayers
are offered in the child's name to the patriarch Noah, who is
believed to have lived to five hundred or a thousand years,
and hence to have the power of conferring longevity on the
child. When a child is four years, four months and four
days old the ceremony of liismillah or taking the name of
God is held, which is obligatory on all Muhammadans.
Friends are invited, and the child is dressed in a flowered
robe {sahrd) and repeats the first chapters of the Koran
after his or her tutor.^
A boy is usually circumcised at the age of six or seven,
but among some classes of Shiahs and the Arabs the opera-
tion is performed a few days after birth. The barber
operates and the child is usually given a little bJidng or
other opiate. Some Muhammadans leave circumcision till
an age bordering on puberty, and then perform it with a
pomp and ceremony almost equalling those of a marriage.
When a girl arrives at the age of puberty she is secluded
for seven days, and for this period eats only butter, bread
and sugar, all fish, flesh, salt and acid food being prohibited.
In the evening she is bathed, warm water is poured on her
head, and among the lower classes an entertainment is
given to friends.^
The same word jajidzaJi is used for the corpse, the bier
and the funeral. When a man is at the point of death a
chapter of the Koran, telling of the happiness awaiting the
true believer in the future life, is read, and some money or
sherbet is dropped into his mouth. After death the body is
carefully washed and wrapped in three or five cloths for a
male or female respectively. Some camphor or other sweet-
smelling stuff is placed on the bier. W^omcn do not usually
attend funerals, and the friends and relatives of the deceased
walk behind the bier. There is a tradition among some
Muhammadans that no one should precede the corpse, as
the angels go before. To carry a bier is considered a very
meritorious act, and four of the relations, relieving each other
in turn, bear it on their shoulders. Muhammadans carry
1 QCinfin-i-Ish'im, pp. 26, 27. - Ibidem, pp. 30, 35.
■k*.^
,!«?;
Be'itrose, Collo., Derby,
TAZIAS OR TOMBS OF HUSSAIN AT THE
MUHARRAM FESTIVAL.
I MUHAMMADAN RELIGION 2^7
their dead quickly to the place of interment, for Muhammad
is stated to have said that it is good to carry the dead
quickly to the grave, so as to cause the righteous person to
attain the sooner to bliss ; and, on the other hand, in the case
of a bad man it is well to put wickedness away from one's
shoulders. Funerals should always be attended on foot, for
it is said that Muhammad once rebuked people who were
following a bier on horseback, saying, " Have you no shame,
since God's angels go on foot and you go upon the backs of
quadrupeds ? " It is a highly meritorious act to attend a
funeral whether it be that of a Muslim, a Jew or a Christian.
The funeral service is not recited in the cemetery, this being
too polluted a place for so sacred an office, but either in a
mosque or in some open space close to the dwelling of the
deceased person or to the graveyard. The nearest relative
is the proper person to recite the service, but it is usually
said by the family priest or the village Kazi. The grave
sometimes has a recess at the side, in which the body is laid
to prevent the earth falling upon it, or planks may be laid
over the body slantwise or supported on bricks for the same
purpose. Coffins are only used by the rich. When the
body has been placed in the grave each person takes up a
clod of earth and pronouncing over it a verse of the Koran,
' From earth we made you, to earth we return you and out
of earth we shall raise you on the resurrection day,' places
it gently in the grave over the corpse.^ The building of
stone or brick tombs and writing verses of the Koran on
them is prohibited by the Traditions, but large masonry
tombs are common in all Muhammadan countries and very
frequently they bear inscriptions. On the third day a feast
is given in the morning and after it trays of flowers with a
vessel containing scented oil are handed round and the
guests pick flowers and dip them into the oil. They then
proceed to the grave, where the oil and flowers are placed.
Maulvis are employed to read the whole of the Koran over
the grave, which they accomplish by dividing it into sections
and reading them at the same time. Rich people some-
times have the whole Koran read several times over in this
manner. A sheet of white or red cloth is spread over the
' Hughes, Notes on Muhanwtadanisni, pp. 122, 1 3 1.
VOL. I S
258
ARTICLES ON RELIGIONS AND SECTS
IS-
Muliam-
madan
sects.
Shiah and
Sunni.
grave, green being usually reserved for Fakirs or saints. On
the evening of the ninth day another feast is given, to which
friends and neighbours, and religious and ordinary beggars
are invited, and a portion is sent to the Fakir or mendicant
in charge of the burying-ground. Some people will not eat
any food from this feast in their houses but take it outside.^
On the morning of the tenth day they go again to the grave
and repeat the offering of flowers and scented oil as before.
Other feasts are given on the fortieth day, and at the expira-
tion of four, six and nine months, and one year from the
date of the death, and the rich sometimes spend large sums
on them. None of these observances are prescribed by the
Koran but have either been retained from pre-Islamic times
or adopted in imitation of the Hindus. For forty days all
furniture is removed from the rooms and the whole family
sleep on the bare ground. Sometimes a cup of water and a
wheaten cake are placed nightly for forty days on the spot
where the deceased died, and a similar provision is sent to
the mosque. When a man dies his mother and widow break
their glass bangles. The mother can get new ones, but the
widow does not wear glass bangles or a nose-ring again
unless she takes a second husband. For four months and
ten days the widow is strictly secluded and does not leave
the house. Prayers for ancestors are offered annually at the
Shab-i-Barat or Bakr-Id festival.^ The property of a de-
ceased Muhammadan is applicable in the first place to the
payment of his funeral expenses ; secondly, to the discharge
of his debts ; and thirdly, to the payment of legacies up to
one-third of the residue. If the legacies exceed this amount
they are proportionately reduced. The remainder of the
property is distributed by a complicated system of shares to
those of the deceased's relatives who rank as sharers and
residuarics, legacies to any of them in excess of the amount
of their shares being void. The consequence of this law is
that most Muhammadans die intestate.'^
Of the two main sects of Islam, ninety-four per cent of
the IMuhamn.adans in the Central Province were returned as
being Sunnis in 191 i and three per cent as Shiahs, while
' Q('i)iuii-i-/sldni, p. 286. 2 Dictionary of Islam, art. Inherit-
- Bomb. Gaz. Mali. Giij. pp. 168, ance.
170.
I MUHAMMADAN RELIGION 259
the remainder gave no sect. Only the Cutchi, Bohra and
Khoja immigrants from Gujarat are Shiahs and practically
all other Muhammadans are Sunnis. With the exception
of Persia, Oudh and part of Gujarat, the inhabitants of
which are Shiahs, the Sunni sect is generally prevalent in
the Muhammadan world. The main difference between the
Sunnis and Shiahs is that the latter think that according to
the Koran the Caliphate or spiritual headship of the
Muhammadans had to descend in the Prophet's family and
therefore necessarily devolved on the Lady Fatimah, the
only one of his children who survived him, and on her
husband Ali the fourth Caliph. They therefore reject the
first three Caliphs after Muhammad, that is Abu Bakr, Omar
and Othman. After Ali they also hold that the Caliphate
descended in his family to his two sons Hasan and Hussain,
and the descendants of Hussain. Consequently they reject
all the subsequent Caliphs of the Muhammadan world, as
Hussain and his children did not occupy this position.
They say that there are only twelve Caliphs, or Imams, as
they now prefer to call them, and that the twelfth has never
really died and will return again as the Messiah of whom
Muhammad spoke, at the end of the world. He is known
as the Mahdi, and the well-known pretender of the Soudan,
as well as others elsewhere, have claimed to be this twelfth
or unrevealed Imam. Other sects of the Shiahs, as the
Zaidiyah and Ismailia, make a difference in the succession
of the Imamate among Hussain's descendants. The central
incident of the Shiah faith is the slaughter of Hussain, the
son of Ali, with his family, on the plain of Karbala in Persia
by the sons of Yazld, the second Caliph of the Uniaiyad
dynasty of Damascus, on the loth day of the month
Muharram, in the 6 1st year of the Hijra or A.D. 680. The
martyrdom of Hussain and his family at Karbala is cele-
brated annually for the first ten days of the month of
Muharram by the Shiahs. Properly the Sunnis should take
no part in this, and should observe only the tenth day of
Muharram as that on which Adam and Eve and heaven and
hell were created. But in the Central Provinces the Sunnis
participate in all the Muharram celebrations, which now
have rather the character of a festival than of a season of
26o
ARTICLES ON RELIGIONS AND SECTS
1 6. Lead-
ing religi-
ous observ-
ances.
Prayer.
17. The
fast of
Ramazan,
mourning. The Shiahs also reject the four great schools
of tradition of the Sunnis, and have separate traditional
authorities of their own. They count the month to begin
from the full moon instead of the new moon, pray three
instead of five times a day, and in praying hold their hands
open by their sides instead of folding them below the breast.
The word Shiah means a follower, and Sunni one proceed-
ing on the sumiaJi^ the path or way, a term applied to the
traditions of the Prophet. The two words have thus almost
the same signification. Except when otherwise stated, the
information in this article relates to the Sunnis.
The five standard observances of the Muhammadan
religion are the Kalima, or creed ; Sula, or the five daily
prayers ; Roza, or the thirty-day fast of Ramazan ; Zakab,
the legal alms ; and Hajj, the pilgrimage to Mecca, which
should be performed once in a lifetime. The Kalima, or
creed, consists simply in the sentence, ' There is but one
God and Muhammad is His prophet,' which is frequently on
the lips of Muhammadans. The five periods for prayer are
Fajr ki namaz, in the morning before sunrise ; Zohar, or
the midday prayer, after the sun has begun to decline ;
Asur, or the afternoon prayer, about four ; Maghrib, or the
evening prayer, immediately after sunset ; and Aysha, or
the evening prayer, after the night has closed in. These
prayers are repeated in Arabic, and before saying them the
face, hands and feet should be washed, and, correctly speak-
ing, the teeth should also be cleaned. At the times of
prayer the Azan or call to prayer is repeated from the
mosque by the muezzan or crier in the following terms :
'• God is great, God is great, God is great, God is great !
I bear witness that there is no God but God ! (twice). I
bear witness that Muhammad is the Apostle of God !
(twice). Come to prayers ! Come to prayers ! Come to
salvation ! Come to salvation ! God is great ! There is no
other God but God." In the early morning the following
sentence is added, ' Prayers are better than sleep.' ^
The third necessary observance is the fast in the month
of Ramazan, the ninth month of the Muhammadan year.
The fast begins when the new moon is seen, or if the sky is
1 Hughes, Notes on Miihaiiimadaiiism, ])p. 63, 75.
Belli) OiC, Collo., Derby.
FAMOUS TAZIA AT KHANDWA.
I MUHAMMADAN RELIGION 261
clouded, after thirty days from the beginning of the previous
month. During its continuance no food or water must be
taken between sunrise and sunset, and betel-leaf, tobacco
and conjugal intercourse must be abjured for the whole
period. The abstention from water is a very severe penance
during the long days of the hot weather when Ramazan
falls at this season. Mr, Hughes thinks that the Prophet
took the thirty days' fast from the Christian Lent, which
was observed very strictly in the Eastern Church during
the nights as well as days. In ordaining the fast he said
that God ' would make it an ease and not a difficulty,' but
he may not have reflected that his own action in discarding
the intercalary month adopted by the Arabs and reverting
to the simple lunar months would cause the fast to revolve
round the whole year. During the fast people eat before
sunrise and after sunset, and dinner-parties are held lasting
far into the night.
It is a divine command to give alms annually of money,
cattle, grain, fruit and merchandise. If a man has as much
as eighty rupees, or forty sheep and goats, or five camels, he
should give alms at specified rates amounting roughly to
two and a half per cent of his property. In the case of
fruit and grain the rate is one -tenth of the harvest for
unirrigated, and a twentieth for irrigated crops. These
alms should be given to pilgrims who desire to go to Mecca
but have not the means ; and to religious and other beggars
if they are very poor, debtors who have not the means to
discharge their debts, champions of the cause of God,
travellers without food and proselytes to Islam. Religious
mendicants consider it unlawful to accept the zakdt or legal
alms unless they are very poor, and they may not be given
to Saiyads or descendants of the Prophet.
The Hajj or pilgrimage to Mecca is incumbent on all 18. The
men and women who have sufficient means to meet the f'fV^rf^
to Mecca.
expenses of the journey and to maintain their families at
home during their absence. Only a very small proportion
of Indian Muhammadans, however, now undertake it.
Mecca is the capital of Arabia and about seventy miles
from the Red Sea. The pilgrimage must be performed
during the month Zu'l Hijjah, so that the pilgrim may be
262 ARTICLES ON RELIGIONS AND SECTS part
at Mecca on the festival of Id-ul-Zoha or the Bakr-Id. At
the last stage near Mecca the pilgrims assume a special
dress, consisting of two seamless wrappers, one round the
waist and the other over the shoulders. Sandals of wood
may also be worn. Formerly the pilgrim would take with
him a little compass in which the needle in the shape of
a dove pointed continually towards Mecca in the west. On
arrival at Mecca he performs the legal ablutions, proceeds
to the sacred mosque, kisses the black stone, and encom-
passes the Kaaba seven times. The Kaaba or ' Cube ' is a
large stone building and the black stone is let into one
of its walls. He drinks the water of the sacred well Zem-
Zem from which Hagar and Ishmael obtained water when
they were dying of thirst in the wilderness, and goes
through various other rites up to the day of Id-ul-Zoha,
when he performs the sacrifice or kurbdn, offering a ram
or he-goat for every member of his family, or for every
seven persons a female camel or cow. The flesh is dis-
tributed in the same manner as that of the ordinary Bakr-Id
sacrifice.^ He then gets himself shaved and his nails pared,
which he has not done since he assumed the pilgrim's garb,
and buries the cuttings and parings at the place of the
sacrifice. The pilgrimage is concluded after another circuit
of the Kaaba, but before his departure the pilgrim should visit
the tomb of Muhammad at Medina. One who has performed
the pilgrimage to Mecca thereafter has the title of Haji.
19. Festi- The principal festivals are the Muharram and the two
Ids. The month of Muharram is the first of the year,
and the first ten days, as already stated, are devoted to
mourning for the death of Hussain and his family. This
is observed indifferently by Sunnis and Shiahs in the
Central Provinces, and the proceedings with the Sunnis at
any rate have now rather the character of a festival than
a time of sorrow. Models of tlie tomb of Hussain, called
tdzia, are made of bamboo and pasteboard and decorated
with tinsel. Wealthy Shiahs have expensive models, richly
decorated, which are permanently kept in a chamber of
the house called the Imambara or Imam's place, but this
' See post. The account is compiled mainly from the Dictionary of Isldi/i,
articles Idu-1-Azha and Hajj.
vals. The
Muharram
I MUHAMMADAN RELIGION 263
is scarcely ever done in the Central Provinces. As a rule
the tdzias are taken in procession and deposited in a river
on the last and great day of the Muharram. Women who
have made vows for the recovery of their children from an
illness dress them in green and send them to beg ; and men
and boys of the lower classes have themselves painted as
tigers and go about mimicking a tiger for what they can
get from the spectators. It seems likely that the repre-
sentations of tigers may be in memory of the lion which
is said to have kept watch over the body of Hussain after
he had been buried. In Persia a man disguised as a tiger
appears on the tomb of Hussain in the drama of his murder
at Karbala, which is enacted at the Muharram. In Hindu
mythology the lion and tiger appear to be interchangeable.
During the tragedy at Karbala, Kasim, a young nephew of
Hussain, was married to his little daughter Sakinah, Kasim
being very shortly afterwards killed. It is supposed that
the cast shoe of Kasim's horse was brought to India, and at
the Muharram models of horse-shoes are made and carried
fixed on poles. Men who feel so impelled and think that
they will be possessed by the spirit of Kasim make these
horse-shoes and carry them, and frequently they believe
themselves to be possessed by the spirit, exhibiting the
usual symptoms of a kind of frenzy, and women apply to
them for children or for having evil spirits cast out.^
The Id-ul-Fitr, or the breaking of the fast, is held on 20. id-ui-
Fitr
the first day of the tenth month, Shawwal, on the day after
the end of the fast of Ramazan. On this day the people
assemble dressed in their best clothes and proceed to the
Id-Gah, a building erected outside the town and consisting
of a platform with a wall at the western end in the direction
of Mecca. Here prayers are offered, concluding with one
for the King-Emperor, and a sermon is given, and the people
then return escorting the Kazi or other leading member of
the community and sometimes paying their respects in a
body to European officers. They return to their homes
and spend the rest of the day in feasting and merriment, a
kind of vermicelli being a special dish eaten on this day.
The Idu-1-Azha or Id-ul-Zoha, the feast of sacrifice,
1 Bomb. Gaz. Muh. Git;, p. 138.
264 ARTICLES ON RELIGIONS AND SECTS part
21. id-ui- also called the Bakr-Id or cow - festival, is held on the
tenth day of the last month, Zu'l Hijjah. It is the principal
day of the Muhammadan year, and pilgrims going to
Mecca keep it there.^ At this time also the Arabs were
accustomed to go to Mecca and offer animal sacrifices
there to the local deities. According to tradition, when
Abraham (Ibrahim) founded Mecca the Lord desired him to
prepare a feast and to offer his son Ishmael (Ismail). But
when he had drawn the knife across his son's throat the
angel Gabriel substituted a ram and Ishmael was saved, and
the festival commemorates this. As already stated, the
Arabs believe themselves to be descended from Ishmael or
Ismail. According to a remarkable Hadls or tradition,
related by Ayesha, Muhammad said : " Man hath not done
anything on the Id-ul-Zoha more pleasing to God than
spilling blood in sacrifice ; for, verily, its blood reacheth the
acceptance of God before it falleth upon the ground, there-
fore be joyful in it." " On this day, as on the other Id, the
people assemble for prayers at the Id-Gah. On returning
home the head of a family takes a sheep, cow or camel to
the entrance of his house and sacrifices it, repeating the
formula, ' In the name of God, God is great,' as he cuts its
throat. The flesh is divided, two-thirds being kept by the
family and one-third given to the poor in the name of God.
This is the occasion on which Muhammadans offend Hindu
feeling by their desire to sacrifice cows, as camels are un-
obtainable or too valuable, and the sacrifice of a cow has
probably more religious merit than that of a sheep or goat.
But in many cases they abandon their right to kill a cow in
order to avoid stirring up enmity.
22. The entrance to a Muhammadan mosque consists of a
Mosques, g^one gateway, bearing in verse the date of its building ; this
leads into a paved courtyard, which in a large mosque may
be 40 or 50 yards long and about 20 wide. The court-
yard often contains a small tank or cistern about 20 feet
square, its sides lined with stone seats. Beyond this lies the
building itself, open towards the courtyard, which is on its
eastern side, and closed in on the other three sides, with a
roof. The floor is raised about a foot above the level of the
' Hughes, Didionary of Isliiin, s.v. Idii-l-Azlia. - Hughes, ibidem.
I MUHAMMADAN RELIGION 265
courtyard. In the back wall, which is opposite the court-
yard to the west in the direction of Mecca, is an arched
niche, and close by a wooden or masonry pulpit raised four
or five feet from the ground. Against the wall is a wooden
staff, which the preacher holds in his hand or leans upon
according to ancient custom.^ The walls are bare of decora-
tions, images and pictures having been strictly prohibited
by Muhammad, and no windows are necessary ; but along
the walls are scrolls bearing in golden letters the name of
the Prophet and the first four Caliphs, or a chapter of the
Koran, the Arabic script being especially suitable for this
kind of ornamental writing.^ The severe plainness of the
interior of a mosque demonstrates the strict monotheism of
Islam, and is in contrast to the temples and shrines of
most other religions. The courtyard of a mosque is often
used as a place of resort, and travellers also stay in it.
A service is held in the principal mosque on Fridays 23. The
about midday, at which public prayers are held and a sJrvice.
sermon or khutbah is preached or recited. Friday is known
as Jumah, or the day of assembly. Friday was said by
Muhammad to have been the day on which Adam was
taken into paradise and turned out of it, the day on which
he repented and on which he died. It will also be the
day of Resurrection. The Prophet considered that the Jews
and Christians had erred in transferring their Sabbath from
Friday to Saturday and Sunday respectively.''
The priest in charge of a mosque is known as Mulla. 24. Priests.
Any one can be a Mulla who can read the Koran, and say Mauivi.
the prayers, and the post is very poorly paid. The Mulla
proclaims the call to prayer five times a day, acts as Imam
or leader of the public prayers, and if there is no menial
servant keeps the mosque clean. He sometimes has a little
school in the courtyard in which he teaches children the
Koran. He also sells charms, consisting of verses of the
Koran written on paper, to be tied round the arm or hung
on the neck. These have the effect of curing disease and
keeping off evil spirits or the evil eye. Sometimes there
is a mosque servant who also acts as sexton of the local
' Bomb. Gaz. Muh. Ghj.^. \T,\. ^ Professor Margolioutli's /J/zz/^awwai/a^uw.
^ Bomb. Caz. Muh. Guj. p. 13 1.
266 ARTICLES ON RELIGIONS AND SECTS part
cemetery. The funds of the mosque and any endowment
attached to it are in charge of some respectable resident,
who is known as Mutawalli or churchwarden. The principal
religious officer is the Maulvi, who corresponds to the Hindu
Guru or preceptor. These men are frequently intelligent
and well-educated. They are also doctors of law, as all
Muhammadan law is based on the Koran and Traditions
and the deductions drawn from them by the great com-
mentators. The Maulvi thus acts as a teacher of religious
doctrine and also of law. He is not permanently attached to a
mosque, but travels about during the open season, visiting his
disciples in villages, teaching and preaching to them, and also
treating the sick. If he knows the whole of the Koran by
heart he has the title of Hafiz, and is much honoured, as it
is thought that a man who has earned the title of Hafiz
frees twenty generations of his ancestors and descendants
from the fires of hell. Such a man is much in request during
the month of Ramazan, when the leader of the long night
prayers is expected to recite nightly one of the thirty sections
of the Koran, so as to complete them within the month.^
25. The The Kazi was under Muhammadan rule the civil and
'^'' criminal judge, having jurisdiction over a definite local area,
and he also acted as a registrar of deeds. Now he only
leads the public prayers at the Id festivals and keeps
registers of marriages and divorces. He does not usually
attend marriages himself unless he receives a special fee,
but pays a deputy or ndib to do so." The Kazi is still,
however, as a rule the leading member of the local Muham-
madan community, the office being sometimes elective and
sometimes hereditary.
26. In proclaiming one unseen God as the sole supernatural
feamres t)eing, Muhammad adopted the religion of the Jews of Arabia,
of Islam, with whose sacred books he was clearly familiar. He looked
on the Jewish prophets as his predecessors, he himself being
the last and greatest. The Koran says, "We believe in God,
and that which hath been sent down to us, and that which
was sent down unto Abraham, and Ishmael and Isaac, and
Jacob, and the tribes, and that which was delivered unto
1 Boiii/i. Gaz. Mnh. Gtij. \)\^. 132, 135.
2 Bomb. Gaz., ibidem.
I MUHAMMADAN RELIGION 267
Moses, and Jesus and the prophets from the Lord, and
we make no distinction between any of them." Thus
Muhammad accepted the bulk of the Old but not of the
New Testament, which the Jews also do not receive. His
deity was the Jewish Jehovah of the Old Testament, though
called Allah after the name of a god worshipped at Mecca.
The six prophets who brought new laws were Adam, the
chosen of God ; Noah, the preacher of God ; Abraham, the
friend of God ; Moses, one who conversed with God ; Jesus,
the Spirit of God ; and Muhammad, the Messenger of God.
His seven heavens and his prophecy of a Messiah and Day of
Judgment were Jewish beliefs, though it is supposed that he
took the idea of the Sirat or narrow bridge over the midst of
hell, sharper than the edge of a sword, over which all must
pass, while the wicked fall from it into hell, from Zoro-
astrianism. Muhammad recognised a devil, known as Iblis,
while the Jinns or Genii of pagan Arabia became bad angels.
The great difference between Islam and Judaism arose from
Muhammad's position in being obliged continually to fight
for his own existence and the preservation of his sect. This
circumstance coloured the later parts of the Koran and gave
Islam the character of a religious and political crusade, a
kind of faith eminently fitted to the Arab nature and train-
ing. And to this character may be assigned its extra-
ordinary success, but, at the same time, probably the religion
itself might have been of a somewhat purer and higher
tenor if its birth and infancy had not had place in a
constant state of war. Muhammad accomplished most
beneficent reforms in abolishing polytheism and such
abuses as female infanticide, and at least regulating poly-
gamy. In forbidding both gambling and the use of alcohol
he set a very high standard to his disciples, which if
adhered to would remove two of the main sources of vice.
His religion retained fewer relics of the pre-existing animism
and spirit-worship than almost any other, though in practice
uneducated Indian Muhammadans, at least, preserve them in
a large measure. And owing to the fact that the Muham-
madan months revolve round the year, its festivals have been
dissociated from the old pagan observances of the changes of
the sun and seasons and the growth of vegetation. At the
Koran.
268 ARTICLES ON RELIGIONS AND SECTS part
same time the religious sanction given to polygamy and
slavery, and the sensual nature of the heaven promised to
true believers after death, must be condemned as debasing
features ; and the divine authority and completeness ascribed
to the Koran and the utterances of the Prophet, which were
beyond criticism or question, as well as the hostility towards
all other forms of religion and philosophy, have necessarily
had a very narrowing influence on Muhammadan thought.
While the formal and lifeless precision of the religious ser-
vices and prayers, as well as the belief in divine interference
in the concerns of everyday life, have produced a strong
spirit of fatalism and resignation to events.
27. The The word Kuran is derived from kuraa, to recite or
proclaim. The Muhammadans look upon the Koran as the
direct word of God sent down by Him to the seventh or
lowest heaven, and then revealed from time to time to the
Prophet by the angel Gabriel. A few chapters are supposed
to have been delivered entire, but the greater part of the
book was given piecemeal during a period of twenty-three
years. The Koran is written in Arabic prose, but its
sentences generally conclude in a long -continued rhyme.
The language is considered to be of the utmost elegance
and purity, and it has become the standard of the Arabic
tongue. Muhammadans pay it the greatest reverence, and
their most solemn oath is taken with the Koran placed on
the head. Formerly the sacred book could only be touched
by a Saiyad or a Mulla, and an assembly always rose when
it was brought to them. The book is kept on a high shelf
in the house, so as to avoid any risk of contamination, and
nothing is placed over it. Every chapter in the Koran
except one begins with the invocation, ' Bisniillah-nirrahmdn-
nimiJiinil or ' In the name of God, the Compassionate, the
Merciful ' ; and nearl}' all Muhammadan prayers and religious
writings also begin with this. As the Koran is the direct
word of God, any statement in it has the unquestioned and
complete force of law. On some points, however, separate
utterances in the work itself are contradictory, and the
necessity then arises of determining which is the later and
more authoritative statement.^
' Professor Margoliouth's Mukammadanisin and the Dictio]iary of IslCitn.
I MUHAMMADAN RELIGION 269
Next to the Koran in point of authority come the 28. The
Traditions of the sayings and actions of the Prophet, which ''''■*"^'"°"^-
are known as Hadis or Sunnah. These were eagerly
collected as the jurisdiction of Islam was extended, and
numerous cases arose for decision in which no ruling was
provided by the Koran. For some time it was held
necessary that a tradition should be oral and not have been
reduced to writing. When the necessity of collecting and
searching for the Traditions became paramount, indefatigable
research was displayed in the work. The most trustworthy
collection of traditions was compiled by Abu Abdullah
Muhammad, a native of Bokhara, who died in the Hijra
year 256, or nearly 250 years after Muhammad. He
succeeded in amassing no fewer than 600,000 traditions,
of which he selected only 7275 as trustworthy. The
authentic traditions of what the Prophet said and did were
considered practically as binding as the Koran, and any
case might be decided by a tradition bearing on it. The
development of Moslem jurisdiction was thus based not on
the elucidation and exposition of broad principles of law
and equity, but on the record of the words and actions of
one man who had lived in a substantially less civilised
society than that existing in the countries to which Muham-
madan law now came to be applied. Such a state of things
inevitably exercised a cramping effect on the Moslem
lawyers and acted as a bar to improvement. Thus, because
the Koran charged the Jews and Christians with having
corrupted the text of their sacred books, it was laid down
that no Jew or Christian could be accepted as a credible
witness in a Moslem lawsuit ; and since the Prophet had
forbidden the keeping of dogs except for certain necessary
purposes, it was ruled by one school that there was no
property in dogs, and that if a man killed a dog its owner
had no right to compensation.^
After the Koran and Traditions the decisions of certain 29. The
lawyers during the early period of Islam were accepted as ^'^^°°'^
authoritative. Of them four schools are recognised by the
Sunnis in different countries, those of the Imams Abu
Hanifa, Shafei, Malik, and Hambal. In northern India
1 Early Developments 0/ Mtihanniiadamsvt, pp. 87, 97.
270 ARTICLES ON RELIGIONS AND SECTS part
the school of Abu Hanifa is followed. He was born at
Kufa, the capital of Irak, in the Hijra year 8o, when four
of the Prophet's Companions were still alive. He is the
great oracle of jurisprudence, and with his two pupils was
the founder of the Hanifi code of law. In southern India
the Shafei school is followed.^ The Shiahs have separate
collections of traditions and schools of law, and they say
that a Mujtahid or doctor of the law can still give decisions
of binding authority, which the Sunnis deny. Except as
regards marriage, divorce and inheritance and other personal
matters, Muhammadan law is of course now superseded by
the general law of India.
30. Food. An animal only becomes lawful food for Muhammadans
if it is killed by cutting the throat and repeating at the
time the words, ' Bismillah Allaho Akbar,' or 'In the name
of God, God is great.' But in shooting wild animals, if the
invocation is repeated at the time of discharging the arrow
or firing the gun, the carcase becomes lawful food. This
last rule of Sunni law is, however, not known to, or not
observed by, many Muhammadans in the Central Provinces,
who do not eat an animal unless its throat is cut before
death. Fish and locusts may be eaten without being killed
in this manner. The animal so killed by Zabh is lawful
food when slain by a Moslem, Jew or Christian, but not if
slaughtered by an idolater or an apostate from Islam.
Cloven-footed animals, birds that pick up food with their
bills, and fish with scales are lawful, but not birds or beasts
of prey. It is doubtful whether the horse is lawful.
Elephants, mules, asses, alligators, turtles, crabs, snakes and
frogs are unlawful, and swine's flesh is especially prohibited.
Muhammadans eat freely of mutton and fish when they
can afford it, but some of them abstain from chickens in
imitation of the Hindus. Their favourite drink is sherbet,
or sugar and water with cream or the juice of some fruit.
Wine is forbidden in the Koran, and the prohibition is held
to include intoxicating drugs, but this latter rule is by no
means observed. According to his religion a Muhammadan
need have no objection to eat with a Christian if the food
eaten is of a lawful kind; but he should not eat with Hindus,
' Notes on MiihaDunadanisin, p. 168.
I MUHAMMAD AN RELIGION 271
as they are idolaters. In practice, however, many Muham-
madans have adopted the Hindu rule against eating food
touched by Christians, while owing to long association
together they will partake of it when cooked by Hindus.^
The most distinctive feature of Muhammadan dress is 31- Uress.
that the men always wear trousers or pyjamas of cotton,
silk or chintz cloth, usually white. They may be either
tight or loose below the knee, and are secured by a string
round the waist. A Muhammadan never wears the Hindu
dhoti or loin-cloth. He has a white, sleeved muslin shirt,
made much like an English soft-fronted shirt, but usually
without a collar, the ends of which hang down outside the
trousers. Over these the well-to-do have a waistcoat of
velvet, brocade or broadcloth. On going out he puts on
a long coat, tight over the chest, and with rather full skirts
hanging below the knee, of cotton cloth or muslin, or some-
times broadcloth or velvet. In the house he wears a small
cap, and on going out puts on a turban or loose headcloth.
But the fashion of wearing the small red fez with a tassel
is now increasing among educated Muhammadans, and this
serves as a distinctive mark in their dress, which trousers
no longer do, as the Hindus have also adopted them. The
removal of the shoes either on entering a house or mosque
is not prescribed by Muhammadan law, though it has
become customary in imitation of the Hindus. The Prophet
in fact said, * Act the reverse of the Jews in your prayers,
for they do not pray in boots or shoes.' But he himself
sometimes took his shoes off to pray and sometimes not.
The following are some of the sayings of the Prophet with
regard to dress : ' Whoever wears a silk garment in this
world shall not wear it in the next.' ' God will not have
compassion on him who wears long trousers (below the
ankle) from pride.' ' It is lawful for the women of my
people to wear silks and gold ornaments, but it is unlawful
for the men.' ' Wear white clothes, because they are the
cleanest and the most agreeable, and bury your dead in
white clothes.' Men are prohibited from wearing gold
ornaments and also silver ones other than a signet ring.
A silver ring, of value sufficient to produce a day's food in
^ Dictionary of Islam, s.v. Food,
272
ARTICLES ON RELIGIONS AND SECTS
32. Social
rules.
Saluta-
tions.
case of need, should always be worn. The rule against
ornaments has been generally disregarded, and gold and
silver ornaments have been regularly worn by men, but the
fashion of wearing ornaments is now going out, both among
Muhammadan and Hindu men. A rich Muhammadan
woman has a long shirt of muslin or net in different colours,
embroidered on the neck and shoulders with gold lace, and
draping down to the ankles. Under it she wears silk
pyjamas, and over it an angia or breast-cloth of silk, brocade
or cloth of gold, bordered with gold and silver lace. On
the head she has a shawl or square kerchief bordered with
lace. A poor woman has simply a bodice and pyjamas,
with a cloth round the waist to cover their ends. Women
as a rule always wear shoes, even though they do not go
out, and they have a profusion of ornaments of much the
same character as Hindu women.^
There are certain social obligations known as Farz or im-
perative, but if one person in eight or ten perform them it is as
if all had done so. These are, to return a salutation ; to visit
the sick and inquire after their welfare ; to follow a bier on foot
to the grave ; to accept an invitation ; and that when a person
sneezes and says immediately, ' AlJianid ul lillaJi ' or ' God be
praised,' one of the party must reply, ' Yar Jianiak Allah ' or
' God have mercy on you.' The Muhammadan form of salu-
tation is ' Salam u alaikum ' or ' The peace of God be with
you,' and the reply is ' Wo alaikum as saldm ' or * And on
you also be peace.' "^ From this form has come the common
Anglo-Indian use of the word Salaam.
When invitations are to be sent for any important
function, such as a wedding, some woman who does not
observe parda is employed to carry them. She is dressed
in good clothes and provided with a tray containing betel-
leaf biras or packets, cardamoms wrapped in red paper,
sandalwood and sugar. She approaches any lady invited
with great respect, and says : " So-and-so sends her best
compliments to you and embraces you, and says that ' as
to-morrow there is a little gaiety about to take place in my
' Bomb. Gaz. Muh. Guj. pp. 100-
103, and Dictionary of Islam, art.
Dress and Ornaments.
- Hughes, Azotes on Muhammad-
anism.
I MUHAMMADAN RELIGION 273
house, and I wish all my female friends by their presence
to grace and ornament with their feet the home of this
poor individual, and thereby make it a garden of roses,
you must also positively come, and by remaining a couple
of hours honour my humble dwelling with your company."
If the invitation is accepted the woman carrying it applies
a little sandalwood to the neck, breast and back of the
guest, puts sugar and cardamoms into her mouth, and gives
her a betel-leaf. If it is declined, only sandalwood is
applied and a betel-leaf given.^
Next day dhoolies or litters are sent for the guests, or if the
hostess is poor she sends women to escort them to the house
before daybreak. The guests are expected to bring presents.
If any ceremony connected with a child is to be performed
they give it clothes or sweets, and similar articles of higher
value to the bride and bridegroom in the case of a wedding.
Certain customs known as Fi trail are supposed to have 33. Cus-
existed among the Arabs before the time of the Prophet, ^'^^^'
and to have been confirmed by him. These are : To keep
the moustache clipped short so that food or drink cannot
touch them when entering the mouth ; not to cut or shave
the beard ; to clean the teeth with a miswdk or wooden
toothbrush ; this should really be done at all prayers, but
presumably once or twice a day are held sufficient ; to clean
the nostrils and mouth with water at the time of the usual
ablutions ; to cut the nails and clean the finger-joints ; and
to pull out the hair from under the armpits and the pubic
hair. It is noticeable that though elaborate directions are
given for washing the face, hands and feet before each
prayer, there is no order to bathe the whole body daily, and
this may probably not have been customary in Arabia owing
to the scarcity of water."-^ And while many Muhammadans
have adopted the Hindu custom of daily bathing, yet others
in quite a respectable position have not, and only bathe
once a week before going to the mosque. Gambling as
well as the drinking of wine is prohibited in the Koran
according to the text : " O believers ! Surely wine and
^ Qdnfin-i-Isld/n, pp. 24, 25. This been abandoned,
account is a veiy old one, and the - Hughes, Dictionary of Isldiii, s.v.
elaborate procedure may now have Fitrah.
VOL. I T
274 ARTICLES ON RELIGIONS AND SECTS part
games of chance and statues and the divining-arrows are an
abomination of Satan's work." Statues as well as pictures
were prohibited, because at this time they were probably
made only as idols to be worshipped, the prohibition
being exactly analogous to that contained in the Second
Commandment. The Koran enjoins a belief in the exist-
ence of magic, but forbids its practice. Magic is considered
to be of two kinds, that accomplished with the help of the
Koran and the names of prophets and saints, which is divine
or good, and evil magic practised with the aid of genii and
evil spirits which is strongly condemned. Divining-rods
apparently belong to the latter class. Perfection in divine
magic consists in the knowledge of the Ismi Aazam or
Great Name, a knowledge first possessed by the prophet
Sulaiman or Solomon, and since Solomon transmitted only
to those who are highly favoured by Providence. This
appears to be the true name of God, which is too awful
and potent to be known or used by the commonalty ;
hence Allah, really an epithet, is used instead. It was
in virtue of engraving the great name on his ring that
Solomon possessed dominion over men and genii, and over
the winds and birds and beasts. The uttering of Solomon's
own name casts out demons, cures the sick, and raises the
dead. The names of certain prophets and holy men have
also a special virtue, and written charms of mj^sterious
numerical combinations and diagrams have power for good.^
Both kinds of magic are largely practised by Muhammadans.
Muhammad disapproved of whistling, apparently because
whistling and clapping the hands were part of the heathen
ritual at Mecca. Hence it is considered wrong for good
Muhammadans to whistle.-
The inferior status of women in Islam is inherited from
tioiii^of Arabian society before the time of Muhammad. Among
the pagan Arabs a woman was a mere chattel, and descended
by inheritance. Hence the union of men with their step-
mothers and mothers-in-law was common. Muhammad
forbade these incestuous marriages, and also the prevalent
practice of female infanticide. He legalised polygamy,
' Bomb. Gaz. Muh. Guj. pp. 143, ^ Hughes, Dictionary of Islam, s.v.
144. Whistling.
34. Posi-
1 MUHAMMADAN RELIGION 275
but limited it to four wives, and taught that women as well
as men could enter paradise. It would have been quite
impossible to abolish polygamy in Arabia at the time when
he lived, nor could he strike at the practice of secluding
women even if he had wished to do so. This last custom
has shown an unfortunate persistence, and is in full force
among Indian Muhammadans, from whom the higher castes
of Hindus in northern India have perhaps imitated it.
Nor can it be said to show much sign of weakening at
present. It is not universal over the Islamic world, as in
Afghanistan women are not usually secluded. As a matter
of fact both polygamy and divorce are very rare among
Indian Muhammadans. Mr. Hughes quotes an interesting
passage against polygamy from a Persian book on marriage
customs: "That man is to be praised who confines himself
to one wife, for if he takes two it is wrong and he will
certainly repent of his folly. Thus say the seven wise
women :
Be that man's life immersed in gloom
Who weds more wives than one,
With one his cheeks retain their bloom.
His voice a cheerful tone ;
These speak his honest heart at rest.
And he and she are always blest ;
But when with two he seeks his joy.
Together they his soul annoy ;
With two no sunbeam of delight
Can make his day of misery bright."
Adultery was punished by stoning to death in accordance
with the Jewish custom.
Usury or the taking of interest on loans was prohibited 35. inter-
by the Prophet. This precept was adopted from the Mosaic
law and emphasised, and while it has to all appearance
been discarded by the Jews, it is still largely adhered to
by Moslems. In both cases the prohibition was addressed
to a people in the pastoral stage of culture when loans were
probably very rare and no profit could as a rule be made
by taking a loan, as it would not lead to any increase.
Loans would only be made for subsistence, and as the
borrower was probably always poor, he would frequently
be unable to pay the principal much less the interest, and
est on
monev.
276
ARTICLES ON RELIGIONS AND SECTS
36.
Muham-
madan
education.
would ultimately become the slave of the creditor in lieu
of his debt. Usury would thus result in the enslavement
of a large section of the free community, and would be
looked upon as an abuse and instrument of tyranny. As
soon as the agricultural stage is reached usury stands on
a different footing. Loans of seed for sowing the land
and of cattle or money for ploughing it then become
frequent and necessary, and the borrower can afford to pay
interest from the profit of the harvest. It is clearly right
and proper also that the lender should receive a return for
the risk involved in the loan and the capacity of gain thus
conferred on the borrower, and usury becomes a properly
legitimate and necessary institution, though the rate, being
probably based on the return yielded by the earth to the
seed, has a tendency to be very excessive in primitive
societies. The prohibition of interest among Muhammadans
is thus now a hopeless anachronism, which has closed to
those who observe it some of the most important professions.
A tendency is happily visible towards the abrogation of
the rule, and Mr. Marten notes that the Berar Muhammadan
Council has set an example by putting out its own money
at interest.^
The Indian Muhammadans have generally been con-
sidered to be at a disadvantage in modern India as compared
with the Hindus, owing to their unwillingness to accept
regular English education for their sons, and their adherence
to the simply religious teaching of their own Maulvis. How-
ever this may have been in the past, it is doubtful whether
it is at all true of the present generation. While there is no
doubt that Muhammadans consider it of the first importance
that their sons should learn Urdu and be able to read the
Koran, there are no signs of Muhammadan boys being kept
away from the Government schools, at least in the Central
Provinces. The rationalising spirit of Sir Saiyad Ahmad,
the founder of the Ali;i;-arh College, and the general educa-
tional conference for Indian Muhammadans has, through the
excellent training given by the College, borne continually
increasing fruit. A new class of educated and liberal-minded
Muhammadan gentlemen has grown up whose influence on
* C.P. Census Report, 191 1, p. 66.
I NANAKPANTHI SECT 277
the aims and prejudices of the whole Muhammadan com-
munity is gradually becoming manifest. The statistics of
occupation given at the commencement of this article show
that the Muhammadans have a much larger share of all
classes of administrative posts under Government than they
would obtain if these were awarded on a basis of population.
Presumably when it is asserted that Muhammadans are less
successful than Hindus under the British Government, what
is meant is that they have partly lost their former position
of the sole governing class over large areas of the country.
The community are now fully awake to the advantages of
education, and their Anjumans or associations have started
high schools which educate students up to the entrance of
the university on the same lines as the Government schools.
Where these special schools do not exist, Muhammadan boys
freely enter the ordinary schools, and their standard of
intelligence and application is in no way inferior to that of
Hindu boys.
Nanakpanthi ^ Sect, Nanakshahi, Udasi, Suthra Shahi. i. Account
— The Nanakpanthi sect was founded by the well-known ° ^ e sect.
Baba Nanak, a Khatri of the Lahore District, who lived
between 1469 and 1538-39. He is the real founder of
Sikhism, but this development of his followers into a
military and political organisation was the work of his
successors, Har Govind and Govind Singh. Nanak him-
self was a religious reformer of the same type as Kablr
and others, who tried to abolish the worship of idols and
all the body of Hindu superstition, and substitute a belief
in a single unseen deity without form or special name. As
with most of the other Vaishnava reformers, Nanak's creed
was largely an outcome of his observation of Islam.
" There is nothing in his doctrine," Sir E. D. Maclagan
says, " to distinguish it in any marked way from that of
the other saints who taught the higher forms of Hinduism
in northern India. The unity of God, the absence of
any real distinction between Hindus and Musalmans, the
uselessness of ceremonial, the vanity of earthly wishes,
1 This article is compiled from Sir of 1881, and Sir E. D. Maclagan's
Denzil Vohtison's Punjab Censtis Report Punjab Cettsus Report of 1891.
278 ARTICLES ON RELIGIONS AND SECTS part
even the equality of castes, are topics common to Nanak
and the Bhagats ; and the Adi - Granth or sacred book
compiled by Nanak is full of quotations from elder or
contemporary teachers, who taught essentially the same
doctrine as Nanak himself" It was partly, he explains,
because Nanak was the first reformer in the Punjab, and
thus had the field practically to himself, and partly in
consequence of the subsequent development of Sikhism,
that his movement has been so successful and his adherents
now outnumber those of any other reformer of the same
period. Nanak's doctrines were also of a very liberal
character. The burden of his teaching was that there is
no Hindu and no Muhammadan. He believed in trans-
migration, but held that the successive stages were but
purifications, and that at last the soul, cleansed from sin,
went to dwell with its maker. He prescribed no caste
rules or ceremonial observances, and indeed condemned
them as unnecessary and even harmful ; but he made no
violent attack on them, he insisted on no alteration in
existing civil and social institutions, and was content to
leave the doctrine of the equality of all men in the sight
of God to work in the minds of his followers. He respected
the Hindu veneration of the cow and the Muhammadan
abhorrence of the hog, but recommended as a higher rule
than either total abstinence from flesh. Nothing could
have been gentler or less aggressive than his doctrine,
nothing more unlike the teaching of his great successor
Govind.^ Two other causes contributed to swell the
numbers of the Nanakpanthis. The first of these was that
during the late Mughal Empire the Hindus of the frontier
tracts of the Punjab were debarred by the fanaticism of
their Muhammadan neighbours from the worship of idols ;
and they therefore found it convenient to profess the faith
of Nanak which permitted them to declare themselves as
worshippers of one God, while not forcing them definitely
to break with caste and Hinduism. The second was that
Guru Govind Singh required the absolute abandonment of
caste as a condition of the initiation of a Sikh ; and hence
many who would not consent to this remained Nanakpanthis
^ IbbcUon, i)ara. 260.
I NANAKPANTHl SECT 279
without adopting Sikhism. The Nanakpanthis of the present
day are roughly classified as Sikhs who have not adopted
the term Singh, which is attached to the names of all true
Sikhs ; they also do not forbid smoking or insist on the
adoption of the five Kakkas or K's which are in theory
the distinguishing marks of the Sikh ; the Kes or uncut
hair and unshaven beard ; the Kachh or short drawers
ending above the knee ; the Kara or iron bangle ; the
Khanda or steel knife ; and the Kanga or comb. The
Nanakpanthi retains the Hindu custom of shaving the whole
head except the ckoti or scalp - lock, and hence is often
known as a Munda or shaven Sikh.^ The sect do not
prohibit the consumption of meat and liquor, but some of
them eat only the flesh of animals killed by the Sikh
method of Jatka, or cutting off the head by a blow on the
back of the neck. Their only form of initiation is the
ordinary Hindu practice of drinking the foot-nectar or sugar
and water in which the toe of the guru has been dipped,
and this is not very common. It is known as the Charan
ka pdhul or foot - baptism, as opposed to the Khande ka
pdhul or sword-baptism of the Govindi Sikhs." Baba Nanak
himself, Sir E. Maclagan states, is a very favourite object
of veneration among Sikhs of all kinds, and the picture
of the guru with his long white beard and benevolent
countenance is constantly met with in the sacred places
of the Punjab.
In 1 90 1 about 13,000 persons returned themselves as 2. Nanak-
Nanakpanthis in the Central Provinces, of whom 7000 were fhe"centmi
Banjaras and the remainder principally Kunbis, Ahirs and Provinces.
Telis. The Banjaras generally revere Nanak, as shown in
the article on that caste. A certain number of Mehtars
or sweepers also profess the sect, being attached to it, as to
the Sikh religion, by the abolition of caste restrictions and
prejudices advocated by their founders ; but this tolerance
has not been perpetuated, and the unclean classes, such as
the Mazbi or scavenger Sikhs, are as scrupulously avoided
and kept at a distance by the Sikh as by the Hindu, and
are even excluded from communion, and from the rites and
holy places of their religion.^
1 Maclagan, para. 88. ^ Maclagan, lor. cit. ^ Ibbetson, para. 265.
28o
ARTICLES ON RELIGIONS AND SECTS
3. Udasis.
4. Siithra
Shahis.
The Udasis are a class of ascetics of the Nanakpanthi
or Sikh faith, whose order was founded by Sri Chand, the
younger son of Nanak. They are recruited from all castes
and will eat food from any Hindu. They are almost all
celibates, and pay special reverence to the Adi-Granth of
Nanak, but also respect the Granth of Govind Singh and
attend the same shrines as the Sikhs generally. Their
service consists of a ringing of bells and blare of instru-
ments, and they chant hymns and wave lights before the
Adi-Granth and the picture of Baba Nanak. In the Central
Provinces members of several orders which have branched
off from the main Nanakpanthi community are known as
Udasi. Thus some of them say they do not go to any
temples and worship Nirankal or the deity without shape
or form, a name given to the supreme God by Nanak,
In the Punjab the Nirankaris constitute a separate order
from the Udasis.^ These Udasis wear a long rope of
sheep's wool round the neck and iron chains round the
wrist and waist. They carry half a cocoanut shell as
a begging-bowl and have the chameta or iron tongs, which
can also be closed and used as a poker. Their form of
salutation is ' Matha Tek^ or ' I put my head at your
feet.' They never cut their hair and have a long string of
wool attached to the cJioti or scalp-lock, which is coiled up
under a little cap. They say that they worship Nirankal
without going to temples, and when they sit down to pray
they make a little fire and place ghi or sweetmeats upon
it as an offering. When begging they say ' Alakh,' and
they accept any kind of uncooked and cooked food from
Brahmans.
Another mendicant Nanakpanthi order, whose members
visit the Central Provinces, is that of the Suthra Shahis.
Here, however, they often drop the special name, and call
themselves simply Nanakshahi. The origin of the order is
uncertain, and Sir E. Maclagan gives various accounts. Here
they say that tlicir founder was a disciple of Nanak, who
visited Mecca and brought back the Seli and Syahi which
are their distinctive badges. The Seli is a rope of black
wool which they tie round their heads like a turban, and
' Maclagan, para. 95.
I PARMARTHI sect 281
Syahi the ink with which they draw a black Hne on their
foreheads, though this is in fact usually made with charcoal.
They carry a wallet in which these articles are kept, and also
the two small ebony sticks which they strike against each
other as an accompaniment to their begging -songs. The
larger stick is dedicated to Nanak and the smaller to the
Goddess Kali. They are most importunate beggars, and
say that the privilege of levying a pice (farthing) was given
to them by Aurangzeb. They were accustomed in former
times to burn their clothes and stand naked at the door of
any person who refused to give them alms. They also have
a bahi or account - book in which the gifts they receive,
especially from Banias, are recorded. Mr. Crooke states
that " They indulge freely in intoxicants and seldom cease
from smoking. Their profligacy is notorious, and they are
said to be composed mainly of spendthrifts who have lost
their wealth in gambling. The}' are recruited from all
castes and always add the title Shah to their names. A
proverb says in allusion to their rapacity :
Kehu marc^ Kehu jtye,
Suthra gur batdsa piye;
or, ' Others may live or die, but the Suthra Shahi must have
his drink of sugar and water.' ^
Parmartlii Sect. — A Vishnuite sect of which 26,000
persons were returned as members in the census of 1901.
Nearly all of these belonged to the Uriya State of Kalahandi,
since transferred to Bihar and Orissa. The following account
of the sect has been furnished by Rai Bahadur Panda Baij-
nath, formerly Diwan of Kalahandi State.
This sect penetrated the State from the Orissa side, and
seems to belong to Bengal. In the beginning it consisted
only in pure devotion to the worship of Krishna, but later it
has been degraded by sexual indulgence and immorality, and
this appears to be the main basis of its ritual at present.
Outwardly its followers recite the Bhagavad Gita and pretend
to be persons of very high morals. Their secret practices
were obtained from one of his officials who had entered
^ Tribes and Castes, article Suthra Shahi.
282 ARTICLES ON RELIGIONS AND SECTS part
the sect in the lowest grade. On the day of initiation there
is a great meeting of members at the cost of the neophyte.
A text is taught to him, and the initiation is completed by
all the members partaking together of a feast without dis-
tinction of caste. The food eaten at this is considered to be
Mahaprasad, or as if offered to Vishnu in his form of Jagannath
at Puri, and to be therefore incapable of defilement. The
mantra or text taught to the disciple is as follows :
O Hari, O Krishna, O Hari, O Krishna,
O Krishna, O Krishna, O Hari, O Hari,
O Hari, O Ramo, O Hari, O Ramo,
O Ramo, O Ramo, O Hari, O Hari.
The disciple is enjoined to repeat this text a prescribed
number of times, io8 or more, every day. To those pupils
who show their devotional ardour by continual repetition of
the first text others are taught.
The next step is that the disciple should associate him-
self or herself with some other Parmarthi of the opposite sex
and tend and serve them. This relation, which is known as
Asra-patro, cannot exist between husband and wife, some
other person having to be chosen in each case, and it results
of course in an immoral connection. Following this is the
further rite of Alnw-Samarpana or offering of oneself, in
which the disciple is required to give his wife to the Guru
or preceptor as the acme of self-sacrifice. The gtcru calls
the disciple by a female name of one of the milkmaids of
Brindaban to indicate that the disciple regards Krishna with
the same devotion as they did. Sometimes the guru and a
woman personate Krishna and Radha, but reverse the names,
the guru calling himself Radha and the woman Krishna.
The other disciples wait upon and serve them, and they per-
form an immoral act in public. Parmarthi women some-
times have the mantra or text, ' O Hari, O Krishna,'
tattooed on their breasts.
The Parmarthis often deny the accusation of immorality,
and the above statements may not be true of all of them ;
but they are believed to be true as regards a considerable
part of the sect at any rate. " With all his cleanliness,
vegetarianism and teetotal ism," one writer remarks, "the
Vaishnava is perhaps the most dangerous in the whole list
I PARMARTHI SECT 283
of Hindu sects. He has done very good service in civilising
the lower classes to some extent and in suppressing the
horrors of the Tantric worship. But the moral laxity which
the Vaishnava encourages by the stories of the illicit loves
between the God and Goddess, and by the strong tendency
to imitate them which his teachings generate, outweigh the
good done by him." This statement applies, however, prin-
cipally to one or two sects devoted to Krishna, and by no
means to all nor to the majority of the Vaishnava sects.
pArsi or zoroastrian religion
\Bibliography of works quoted : Dr. Martin Haug's Essays on the Par sis,
Trtibner's Oriental Series; Bombay Gazetteer, vol. ix. part ii., Pdrsis of
Gujarat, by the late Mr. Kharsedji Nasarvanji Seervai, J. P., and Khan Bahadur
Bamanji Behramji Patel ; M. Salomon Reinach's Orphhts ; Rev. J. Murray
Mitchell's Great Religions of India. The whole account of the customs and
social life of the Parsis is taken from the excellent description in the Bombay
Gazetteer. 1
LIST OF PARAGRAPHS
1. Introductory. 9. Their migration to India and
2. The Zoroastrian religion. settlement there.
3. The Zend-Avesta. 10. Their wealth and prosperity.
4. The Zend-Avesta and the Vedas. 11. Marriage customs.
5. Reasons for the schis7n between 12. Religion. Worship of fire.
the Persia?i and hidian 13. The Hoiiia liquor.
Aryans. 14. Parsi priests.
6. The dual principle and the con- i 5 . The sacred shirt and cord.
flict between good and evil. 1 6. Disposal of the dead.
7. The dual priftciple derived from 17. Previous exposure of the dead,
the antagofiis7n of light attd and migration of souls,
darkness. 18. Clothes, food and ceremonial
8. The Zoroastriafis in Persia. observances.
r. Intro- The numbcr of Parsis in the Central Provinces in 191 i
ductory. ^^^g about I 800. Thcy are immigrants from Bombay, and
usually reside in large towns, where they are engaged in
different branches of trade, especially in the manufacture and
vend of liquor and the management of cotton mills and
factories.' The word Parsi means a resident of the province
of Fars or Pars in Persia, from which the name of the country
is also derived.
2. The Also known as Mazdaism, the Zoroastrian religion was
Zoroastrian j-j-jj^^ ^f ^^ ancient Magi or fire -worshippers of Persia,
mentioned in Scripture. It is supposed that Zoroaster or
Spitama Zarathustra, if he was a historical personage, effected
1 C.P. Census Report (191 1), p. 69.
284
PART I PARS/ OR ZOROASTRIAN RELIGION 285
a reformation of this religion and placed it on a new basis
at some time about 11 00 B.C. It is suggested by Haug^
that Zarathustra was the designation of the high priests of
the cult, and Spitama the proper name of that high priest
who carried out its distinctive reformation, and perhaps
separated the religion of the Persian from the Indian Aryans.
This would account for the fact that the sacred writings,
which, according to the testimony of Greek and Roman
authors, were of great extent, their compilation probably
extending over several centuries, were subsequently all
ascribed to one man, or to Zarathustra alone. The Zend-
Avesta or sacred book of the Parsis does not mention the fire
priests under the name of Magi, but calls them Athravan, the
same word as the Sanskrit Atharva-Veda. The reason for
this, M. Reinach suggests, is that the Magi had rebelled against
Cambyses, the son of Cyrus, in the sixth century B.C., during
his absence in Egypt, and placed a rival creature of their own
on the throne. Darius, the son of Hystaspes, overthrew him
and re-established the Persian kingdom in 523 B.C., and this
may have discredited the Magian priests and caused those of
the reformed religion to adopt a new name." It is certain
that Cyrus conformed to the precept of the Avesta against
the pollution of the sacred element water, when he diverted
the course of the river Gyndanes in order to recover the body
of a horse which had been drowned in it, and that Darius I.
invokes in his inscriptions Ormazd or Ahura Mazda, the
deity of the Avesta.^ On the subversion of the Persian
empire by Alexander, and the subsequent conquest of Persia
by the Arsacid Parthian dynasty, the religion of the fire-
worshippers fell into neglect, but was revived on the establish-
ment of the Sassanian dynasty of Ardeshir Babegan or
Artaxerxes in A.D. 226, and became the state religion, warmly
supported by its rulers, until the Arab conquest in A.D. 652.
It was at the beginning of this second period of prosperity
that the Zend-Avesta as it still exists was collected and
reduced to writing, but it is thought that the greater part ot
the remains of the ancient texts recovered at the time were
again lost during the Arab invasion, as the original literature
is believed to have been very extensive.
1 P. 276. ^ Orpheus, p. 94. ^ Ibidem.
286 ARTICLES ON RELIGIONS AND SECTS part
-. The i he language of the Zend-Avesta is the ancient east
Zend- Iranian or Bactrian dialect, which probably died out finally
in the third century B.C., modern Persian being descended
from the west Iranian or Median tongue. The Bactrian
language of the Zend-Avesta is, Haug states, a genuine
sister of Sanskrit, Greek, Latin and Gothic. " The relation-
ship of the Avesta language to the most ancient Sanskrit,
the so-called Vedic dialect, is as close as that of the different
dialects of the Greek language, Aeolic, Ionic, Doric or Attic,
to each other. The languages of the sacred hymns of the
Brahmans, and of those of the Parsis, are only the two
dialects of two separate tribes of one and the same nation.
As the lonians, Dorians, Aetolians, etc., were different tribes
of the Greek nation whose general name was Hellenes, so the
ancient Brahmans and Parsis were two tribes of the nation
which is called Aryas both in the Veda and Zend-Avesta." ^
The sections of the Zend-Avesta which remain are about
equal in size to the Bible. They consist of sacrificial hymns,
prayers and accounts of the making of the world, in the
form of conversations between Ahura Mazda and Zoroaster.
The whole arrangement is, however, very fragmentary and
chaotic, and much of the matter is of a trivial character. It
cannot be compared in merit with the Old Testament.
4. The ^ cuneiform inscription discovered in the centre of Asia
Zend- Minor at Ptorium proves that about 1400 B.C. certain tribes
the Vedas. ^ho had relations with the Hittite empire had for their deities
Mitra, Indra, Varuna and the Nasatyas. The first two
names are common to the Persian and Indian Aryans, while
the last two are found only in India. It appears then
that at this time the ancestors of the Hindus and Iranians
were not yet separated." Certain important contrasts
between the ancient Zoroastrian and Vedic religions have
led to the theory that the separation was the result of
a religious and political schism. The words Deva and Asura
have an exactly opposite significance in the two religions.
Deva ^ is the term invariably used for the gods of the
Hindus in the whole Vedic and Brahmanical literature. In
the Zend-Avesta, on the other hand, Deva (Pers. dh<) is the
general name of an evil spirit, a fiend, demon or devil, who
1 Haug, loc. cit. pp. 69, 70. - Oiphhis, pp. 91, 92. •' liaug, pp. 267, 268.
I PARS! OR ZOROASTRIAN RELIGION 2S7
is inimical to all that is good and comes from God. The part
of the Avesta called the Vendidad, consisting of a collec-
tion of spells and incantations, means vi-daevo-ddta or given
against the Devas or demons. The Devas, Dr. Haug states,
are the originators of all that is bad, of every impurity, of
death ; and are constantly thinking of causing the destruction
of the fields and trees, and of the houses of religious men.
" Asura, occurring as Ahura in the first part of Ahura-Mazda
(Hormazd), is the name of God among the Parsis ; and
the Zoroastrian religion is distinctly called the Ahura
religion, in strict opposition to the Deva religion. But
among the Hindus Asura has assumed a bad meaning, and
is applied to the bitterest enemies of their Devas (gods),
with whom the Asuras are constantly waging war. This
is the case throughout the whole Puranic literature and as far
back as the later parts of the Vedas ; but in the older parts
of the Rig- Veda Sanhita we find the word Asura used in as
good and elevated a sense as in the Zend-Avesta. The
chief gods, such as Indra, Varuna, Agni, Savitri, Rudra or
Siva, are honoured with the epithet ' Asura,' which means
' living, spiritual,' and signifies the divine in its opposition to
human nature.
" In a bad sense we find Asura only twice in the older
parts of the Rig-Veda, in which passages the defeat of the
'sons or men of the Asura' is ordered or spoken of; but
we find the word more frequently in this sense in the last
book of the Rig- Veda (which is only an appendix to the
whole made in later times), and in the Atharva - Veda,
where the Rishis are said to have frustrated the tricks of
the Asuras and to have the power of putting them down.
In the Brahmanas or sacrificial books belonging to each of
the Vedas we find the Devas always fighting with the
Asuras. The latter are the constant enemies of the Hindu
gods, and always make attacks upon the sacrifices offered
by devotees. To defeat them, all the craft and cunning of
the Devas were required ; and the means of checking them
was generally found in a new sacrificial rite." ^
Professor Haug adduces other arguments in this con-
nection from resemblance of metres. Again the principal
1 Haug, p. 269.
288 ARTICLES ON RELIGIONS AND SECTS part
Vedic God, Indra, is included in the list of Devas or
demons in the Zoroastrian scripture, the Vendidad. Siva
and the Nasatyas or Ashvlns, the divine horsemen of the
Vedas, are also said to be found in the list of Devas or
demons. Others of the Vedic gods as Mitra the sun,
Aryaman, either another name for the sun or his constant
associate and representative, Vayu the wind, and one or two
more are found as Yazatas or angels in the Zend-Avesta.^
5. Reasons Profcssor Haug's suggestion as to the cause of the
for the schism between the Iranian and Indian branches of the
schism . . TT 1 • 1 1
between Aryans is very mterestmg. He thmks that the Aryan tribes
'^^^^""^1^" after they had left their original home, which was in all
Aryans. likclihood a cold country, led mainly a pastoral life, and
cultivated only occasionally some patches of land for their
own support. But when they arrived in the tract between
the Oxus and Jaxartes rivers, and the highlands of Bactria,
which were suitable for permanent settlement, certain of
them, who were the ancestors of the Iranian branch, forsook
the pastoral life of their ancestors and became agriculturists.
Others, the ancestors of the Indian Aryans, retained their
nomadic habits, and took to the practice of making
predatory incursions into the territories of the settled
communities. Hence arose a bitter hostility between them ;
and as the success of the raiders was attributed to their
religious spells and incantations, and especially to the
consumption of the Soma liquor under the auspices of the
God Indra, this part of their joint religion became hateful
to the Iranians and led to the founding of the reformed
Zoroastrian religion, in which special stress is laid on the
virtue obtained from bringing land under cultivation, making
enclosures and permanent settlements and protecting
agricultural cattle. This is forcibly expressed in the saying,
' He who cultivates barley cultivates righteousness,' and
others." Finally the nomadic tribes left the common
residence in the Central Asian highlands and migrated into
India. It is not certain that scholars generally accept the
above hypothesis.
The most prominent feature of the religion of
Zarathustra is the dual principle of good and evil and the
' Hauy, pp. 272, 273. - Ureal Kcligioiis of India.
I PARS! OA' ZOROylSTRfylN RELRIION 289
conflict between them. Ahura Ma/.da is the supreme deity, 6. riie
the creator of the world, and Ahriman or Anf{ro Mainvush 'l"^' f^''"'
o J ciple and
is the evil one, his constant opponent. A perpetual the conflict
struggle proceeds between them, extending over the whole ^^j^^T^^d
of creation, and will continue for a period of 1 2,000 years, evil.
The virtuous lives and prayers and sacrifices of men help
the cause of Ahura Mazda, while every bad action and all
kinds of ceremonial impurity constitute an assistance rendered
by them to Ahriman. Not only virtue, courage, charity
humility and kindness to animals, when displayed by men,
are held to reinforce Ahura Mazda, but also such useful acts
as cleaning a field for cultivation, digging a canal or building
a bridge. The animals are also divided into good and bad,
the latter being considered the creation of Ahriman and
designated the seed of the serpent. The bad animals include
tigers, snakes, cats, wolves, frogs, mice, ants and others, and
to kill them is to perform a virtuous act in the cause of
Ahura Mazda. Among good animals dogs and agricultural
cattle appear to be the chief. The division is very imperfect,
and it would seem that the classification does not extend to
birds and fish. Most trees are good, but their bark is evil.
Hail, snow and all kinds of diseases are believed to be the
work of Ahriman and his evil spirits." As all ceremonial
impurity renders assistance to the evil one, the Parsis are
very careful in such matters, as will be noticed subsequently.
Ahura Mazda is assisted in his struggle for the good by six
Amesha-Spentas or good spirits, who are something like
archangels. They consist of the spirits of cattle, fire,
metals, the earth, health and immortality. With the first
four of these some moral quality or attribute as truth,
wisdom and the curing of diseases is now associated.
Another great spirit Sraosha is the judge of the dead.
Similarly Ahriman is assisted by six arch-fiends and a whole
host of evil spirits (Deva and Druj) of all kinds, against
whom men have to be perpetually on their guard. One of
the principal bad spirits is Aeshma Deva, the roaring demon,
who appears to be the Asmodeus mentioned in the
Apocrypha. At the end of the period of struggle Ahura
Mazda will engage in a final contest with Ahriman and will
1 Great Religions of India.
VOL. I U
290
ARTICLES ON RELIGIONS AND SECTS
7. The
dual
principle
derived
from the
antagon-
ism of
light and
darkness.
conquer with the help of the Archangel Sraosha, who will
overcome the demon Aeshma. A virgin will then conceive
and bring forth the second Zoroaster as a Messiah, who will
cause the resurrection of the dead. The good will be
separated from the bad, but the punishment of the latter
will not be eternal ; and after the purification of the world
by a general conflagration all humanity will unite in the
adoration of Ahura Mazda.^ Meanwhile after death the
souls of all men are weighed and have to pass over a narrow
bridge called Chinvad. The good souls, lightened by the
absence of sin, find it a broad and easy path to heaven,
while to the bad ones, weighed down with their sins, it
becomes narrow as a razor's edge, and they fall over into
hell. M. Salomon Reinach points out that their beliefs have
several points of resemblance with those of Judaism, but it is
not easy to say which religion has borrowed from the other.^
The word paradise, according to Dr. Haug, comes from pairi-
daeza in the Zend-Avesta and means a park or beautiful
garden protected by a fence.
It is noticeable that Ahura Mazda is considered as
luminous and good, and Ahriman as gloomy and bad.
Ahura Mazda, according to Darmesteter, can be traced back-
to Asura, the supreme god of Indo-Iranian times, and is
the representative of Varuna, Zeus or Jupiter, that is the
sky or heavens. Similarly Ahura Mazda is described in
the Zend-Avesta as righteous, brilliant, glorious, the origin-
ator of the spirit of nature, of the luminaries and of the self-
shining brightness which is in the luminaries. Again he is
the author of all that is bright and shining, good and useful
in nature, while Ahriman called into existence all that is
dark and apparently noxious. Both are complementary as
day and night, and though opposed to each other, are indis-
pensable for the preservation of creation. The beneficent
spirit appears in the blazing flame, the presence of the hurt-
ful one is marked by the wood converted into charcoal.
Ahura Mazda created the light of day and Ahriman the
darkness of night ; the former awakens men to their duties
and the latter lulls them to sleep. These features of the
good and evil spirits .seem to point to the conclusion that
' OrpMus, p. 96. ^ Ibidevt, p. 98.
I FA AS J OR ZOROASTRIAN RELIGION 291
the original antithesis which is portrayed in the conflict
between the principles of good and evil is that of night and
day or darkness and light. The light of day and all that
belongs to it is good, and the darkness of night and that
which belongs to it evil. As already seen, Ahura Mazda is
considered to be equivalent to Varuna or Zeus, that is the
god of the sky or heavens. Originally it seems likely that
this deity also comprised the sun, but afterwards the sun
was specialised, so to speak, into a separate god, perhaps in
consequence of a clearer recognition of his distinctive
attributes and functions in nature. Thus in the Zoroastrian
religion Mithra became the special sun-god, and may be com-
pared with Vishnu and Surya in India and Apollo in Greece.
In the Avesta the sun is addressed as the king.^ Ahura
Mazda speaks of the sun-deity Mithra as follows to Zoroaster :
"I created Mithra, who rules over large fields, to be of the same
rank and dignity as I myself am (for purposes' of worship)."
The only visible emblem of Ahura Mazda worshipped by
the Parsis is fire, and it would seem that the earthly fire,
which is called Ahura Mazda's son, is venerated as the off-
spring and representative of the heavenly fire or the sun.
Thus Ahura Mazda may have been originally an old god
of the heavens, and may have become the abstract spirit of
light from whom the sun in turn was derived. If, as is now
supposed, the orginal home of the Aryan race was somewhere
in northern Europe, whence the Iranian and Indian branches
migrated to the east, the religious tenets of the Parsis may
perhaps have arisen from the memory of this journey.
Their veneration of fire would be more easily understood if
it was based on the fact that they owed their lives to this
element during their wanderings across the steppes of
eastern Europe. The association of cold, darkness and
snow with Ahriman or the evil one supports this hypothesis.
Similarly among the Indian Aryans the god of fire was one
of the greatest Vedic gods, and fire was essential to the
preservation of life in the cold hilly regions beyond the
north-west of India. But in India itself fire is of far less
importance and Agiri has fallen into the background in
modern Hinduism, except for the domestic reverence of the
1 Haug, p. 199.
292
ARTICLES ON RELIGIONS AND SECTS
8. The
Zoio-
astrians in
Persia.
9. Their
migration
to India
and settle-
ment there.
hearth-fire. But Zoroastrianism has preserved the old form
of its religion without change. The narrow bridge which
spans the gulf leading to heaven and from which the wicked
fall into hell, may have originally been suggested by the
steep and narrow passes by which their ancestors must have
crossed the mountain ranges lying on their long journey,
and where, no doubt, large numbers had miserably perished ;
while their paradise, as already seen, was the comparatively
warm and fertile country to which they had so hardly
attained, where they had learnt to grow corn and where
they wanted to stay thenceforth and for ever.
In Persia itself the Zoroastrian faith is now almost
extinct, but small colonies still survive in the towns of
Yezd and Kerman. They are in a miserable and oppressed
condition and are subjected to various irritating restrictions,
as being forbidden to make wind towers to their houses for
coolness, to wear spectacles or to ride horses. In 1904
their number was estimated at 9000 persons.^
The migration of the Parsis to India dates from the
Arab conquest of Persia in A.D. 638-641. The refugees
at first fled to the hills, and after passing through a period
of hardship moved down to the coast and settled in the city
of Ormuz. Being again persecuted, a party of them set
sail for India and landed in Gujarat. There were probably
two migrations, one immediately after the Arab conquest in
641, and the second from Ormuz as described above in A.D,
750. Their first settlement was at Sanjan in Gujarat, and
from here they spread to various other cities along the
coast. During their period of prosperity at Sanjan they
would seem to have converted a large section of the Hindu
population near Thana. The first settlers in Gujarat
apparently took to tapping palm trees for toddy, and the
Parsis have ever since been closely connected with the
liquor traffic. The Portuguese writer Garcia d'Orta (A.D.
1535) notices a curious class of merchants and shopkeepers,
who were called Coaris, that is Gaurs, in Bassein, and
Esparis or Parsis in Cambay. The Portuguese called them
Jews ; but they were no Jews, for they were uncircumcised and
ate pork. Besides they came from Persia and had a curious
' Sykes' Persia and its People, p. i8o ; Great Religions of India, p. 173.
I PA RSI OR ZOROASTRIAN RELIGION 293
written character, strange oaths and many foolish supersti-
tions, taking their dead out by a special door and exposing
the bodies till they were destroyed. In i 578, at the request
of the Emperor Akbar, the Parsis sent learned priests to
explain to him the Zoroastrian faith. They found Akbar a
ready listener and taught him their peculiar rites and cere-
monies. Akbar issued orders that the sacred fire should be
made over to the charge of Abul Fazl, and that after the
manner of the kings of Persia, in whose temples blazed
perpetual fires, Abul Fazl should take care that the sacred
fire was never allowed to go out either by night or day, for
that it was one of the signs of god and one light from
among the many lights of his creation. Akbar, according
to Portuguese accounts, was invested with the sacred shirt
and girdle, and in return granted the Gujarat priest Mchcrji
Rana an estate near Naosari, v/here his descendants have
ever since been chief priests.-^
The Parsis had begun to settle in Bombay under the 10. Their
Portuguese (A.D. 1530— 1666). One of them, Dorabji pr^'ogpcrhy.
Nanabhai, held a high position in the island before its
transfer to the British in the latter year, and before the end
of the seventeenth century several more families, of whom
the Modis, Pandes, Banajis, Dadiseths and Vadias were
among the earliest, settled in the island. To the Gujarat
Parsis more than to any class of native merchants was due the
development of the trade of Bombay, especially with China.
Though many Parsis came to Bombay, almost all continued
to consider Surat or Naosari their home ; and after its
transfer to the British in 1759 the Surat Parsis rose greatly
in wealth and position. They became the chief merchants
of Surat, and their leading men were the English, Portu-
guese and Dutch brokers. Shortly afterwards, owing to the
great development of the opium and cotton trade with
China, the Parsis made large profits in commerce both at
Surat and Bombay. After the great fire at Surat in 1857
Bombay became the headquarters of the Parsis, and since
then has had as permanent settlers the largest section of
the community. The bulk of the native foreign trade fell
into their hands, and the very great liberality of some of
1 Bombay Gazetteer, vol. ix. part ii., Parsis of Gtijaral p. 190.
294 ARTICLES ON RELIGIONS AND SECTS part
the leading Parsis has made their name honourable. They
secured a large share of the wealth that was poured into
western India by the American War and the making of rail-
ways, and have played a leading part in starting and
developing the great factory industry of Bombay. Many
of the largest and best managed mills belong to Parsis,
and numbers of them find highly paid employment as
mechanical engineers, and weaving, carding and spinning
masters. Broach ranks next to l^ombay in the prosperity
of its Parsis ; they deal extensively in cotton, timber, fuel
and the manufacture of spirit from the flowers of the mahua
tree.^ From the Bombay Presidency the Parsis have spread
to other parts of India, following the same avocations ; they
are liquor and timber contractors, own and manage weaving
mills and ginning factories, and keep shops for retailing
European stores, and are the most prosperous and enter-
prising section of the native population. Two Parsis have
become members of Parliament, and others have risen to
distinction in Government service, business and the pro-
fessions. The sea -face road in Bombay in the evening,
thronged with the carriages and motor-cars of Parsi men
and ladies, is strong testimony to the success which the
ability and industry of this race have achieved under the
encouragement of peace, the protection of property and the
liberty to trade. Though they have a common Aryan
ancestry and their religion is so closely connected with
Hinduism, the Parsis feel themselves a race alien to the
Hindus and probably have no great sympathy with them.
Their wealth and position have been mainly obtained under
British rule, and the bulk of them are believed to be its
warm adherents. The Parsis now make no proselytes, and
no regular provision exists for admitting outsiders to their
religion, though it is believed that, in one or two cases,
wives taken from outside the community have been ad-
mitted. They object strongly to the adoption of any other
religion, such as Christianity, by members of their body.
The Parsis are notable for the fact that their women are very
well educated and appear quite freely in society. This is a
comparatively recent reform and may be ascribed to the
' Bombay Gazetteer, ibidem.
I PARS! OK ZOROASTRIAN RELIGION 295
English example, though the credit they deserve for having
broken through prejudice and tradition is in no way
diminished on that account. The total number of Parsis in
India in 191 i was just 100,000 persons.
Polygamy among the Parsis has been forbidden by the n. Mar-
Parsi Marriage and Divorce Act of 1865. The remarriage cus^o^s
of widows is allowed but is celebrated at midnight. If a
bachelor is to marry a widow, he first goes through a sham
rite with the branch of a tree, as among the Hindus.
Similarly before the wedding the bride and bridegroom
are rubbed with turmeric, and for the ceremony a marriage-
shed is erected. At a feast before the wedding one of the
women beats a copper dish and asks the ancestral spirits to
attend, calling them by name. Another woman comes
running in, barking like a dog. The women drive her
away, and with fun and laughing eat all the things they can
lay their hands on. Prior to the rite the bride and bride-
groom are purified in the same manner as when invested
with the sacred shirt and cord. The bridegroom wears a
long white robe reaching to his ankles and a white sash
round his waist ; he has a garland of flowers round his neck,
a red mark on his forehead, and carries a bunch of flowers
and a cocoanut in his right hand. At every street corner
on his way to the bride's home a cocoanut is waved round
his head, broken and thrown away. He sets his right foot
in the house first, and as he enters rice and water are
thrown under his feet and an egg and cocoanut are broken.
At the wedding the couple throw rice on each other, and it
is supposed that whoever is quickest in throwing the rice
will rule the other. They are then seated side by side, and
two priests stand before them with a witness on each side,
holding brass plates full of rice. The two priests pronounce
the marriage blessing in old Persian and Sanskrit, at each
sentence throwing rice on the bride's and bridegroom's
heads. At intervals in the midst of the blessing the bride-
groom and bride are asked in Persian, ' Have you chosen
her ? ' and ' Have you chosen him ? ' They answer in
Persian, or if they are too young their mothers answer for
them, ' I have chosen.' ^
1 Bombay Gazetteer, vol. ix. part ii., Parsis of Giijardt, pp. 233, 237.
296
ARTICLES ON RELIGIONS AND SECTS
12. Reli-
gion.
Worship
of fire.
13. The
Homa
liquor.
The religiou.s ritual of the Parsis con.si.sts of the worship
of fire. The fire temples are of a single storey and contain
three rooms. On reaching the outer hall the worshipper
washes his face, hands and feet, and recites a prayer. Then,
carrying a piece of sandalwood and some money for the
officiating priest, he passes to the inner hall, in which a
carpet is spread. He takes off his shoes and rings one of
four brass bells hanging at the corners of the room. The
priest also rings one of these bells at each watch when he
performs worship. He then proceeds to the threshold of
the central fire-room, kneels there, and again standing
begins to recite prayers. None may enter the fire- room
except the priests. Here the fire is kept always blazing in
a silver or copper urn on a solid stone pedestal, and is fed
day and night with sandal and other commoner woods. A
priest is always present, dressed in long white robes, his
hands covered with white cloths and his face veiled. The
worshipper lays down his offering of sandalwood at the
entrance, and the priest takes it up with a pair of tongs, and
gives him some ashes from the urn in a silver or brass ladle.
These the worshipper rubs on his forehead and eyebrows.
On concluding his prayers, which are in the Avesta language,
he walks backward to where he left his shoes and goes
home. A Parsi man never allows his hearth fire to go out,
and if he changes his residence he carries it with him to the
next place of abode.
Like the Hindus, the Iranian ancestors of the Parsis
revered the sacred liquor made from the Soma or Homa
plant. It was considered a panacea for all diseases, and
many stories about the miraculous effects obtained from
drinking the juice are contained in a hymn of the Zend-
Avesta compo.sed in its honour. According to Dr. Mitchell ^
the offering of Homa is still made at Parsi temples, though
apparently some substitute must have been obtained for the
original plant, which does not grow in the plains of India.
At any rate the offering and sacrificial drinking of the liquor
were probably continued so long as the Parsis remained in
Persia. As this is a comparatively cool country, the bad
effects of alcohol did not perhaps become apparent to the
' !'• 133-
I PARS/ OR ZOROASTRIAN RELIGION 297
Parsis as they did to the Hindus in the plains of India, and
hence the sanctity attaching to the Hquor underwent no
similar decline. From this it perhaps results that the Parsis
havq no feeling at all against alcohol, and drink it for
pleasure, like Europeans. Both the toddy of the date-palm
and mahua spirit are freely consumed at their feasts, while
the rich members of the community drink European wines
and spirits. As any dealing in alcohol is practically pro-
hibited to high-caste Hindus and also to Muhammadans,
and low - caste Hindus have hitherto scarcely ever been
literate, the Parsis on account of this peculiarity have found
a profitable opening in the wholesale liquor trade, and until
recently have had very little effective competition to face.
This is perhaps a reason for their special addiction to it,
and also for their engaging in the sale of European stores
and wines.
The Parsi priests form a hereditary caste, and are all 14. Psrsi
supposed to be descended from one Shapur Sheheriar, who P'""^^'^-
with his sons and grandsons, one of whom translated the
Zend-Avesta into Sanskrit, are believed to have been among
the first Parsi settlers of the priestly caste at Sanjan in
north Thana. The training of a priest consists of learning
substantial portions of the Zend-Avesta by heart, and in
going through elaborate ceremonies of purification, in which
the drinking of nerang and 7ierangdm^ or cow's and bull's urine,
being bathed, chewing pomegranate leaves and rubbing the
same urine and sand on his body are leading features.
Priests always dress in white and wear a full beard. They
must never shave the head or face, and never allow the head
to be bare nor wear coloured clothes. If a priest's turban
happens to fall off, or if he travels by rail or sea, his state of
purity ends, and he must go through the whole ceremony of
purification again and pass nine days in retreat at a
temple.^ The principal business of a priest, as already seen,
is the tending of the sacred fire in the temples, and he also
conducts marriage and other ceremonies.
Parsi boys and girls are received into the Zoroastrian 15- The
faith between the ages of seven and nine. The child is gfji^t ^nd
purified by being bathed, sipping bull's urine and chewing a cord.
' Bombay Gazetteei; vol. ix. part ii., rCtrsis of Gujarat, pp. 221-226.
298 ARTICLES ON RELIGIONS AND SECTS part
pomegranate leaf, and makes the profession of belief in
the faith. He or she is then invested with the sacred
shirt, sadra, and the sacred cord or thread called kusti.
The shirt is of thin muslin, with short sleeves and falling
a little below the hip. The sacred cord is of wool,
and can be made only by the wives and daughters of Parsi
priests.^
16. Dis- The Parsi method of exposing the dead in Dakhmas or
ti°e dead towcrs of silence to be devoured by vultures has often been
described. It has objectionable features, and the smaller
communities in the interior of India do not as a rule erect
towers of silence, and are content simply to bury the dead.
It seems probable that the original custom was simply to
expose the dead on waste land, the towers of silence being a
substitute which became necessary when the Parsis began to
live in towns. This hypothesis would explain some points
in their funeral customs recorded in the Bombay Gazetteer.
The dead body is washed, dressed in an old clean cloth and
laid on the floor of the house, the space being marked off.
If the floor is of earth the surface of this enclosed space is
broken up. If the floor is of cement or stone one or two
stone slabs are set on it and the body laid on them ; it is
never laid on a wooden floor, nor on stone slabs placed on
such a floor. The space where the body was laid is marked
off, and is not used for a month if the death occurs between
the eighth and twelfth months of the year, and for ten days
if the death occurs between the first and seventh months.
The last are said to be the hottest months." It would
appear that these rules are a reminiscence of the time when
the body was simply exposed. It was then naturally always
laid on earth or rock, and never on wood, hence the prohibi-
tion of a wooden floor. The fact that the spot where the
body is now laid in the house is held impure for a shorter
period during the summer months may be explained on the
ground that all traces of the decaying corpse, after it had
been devoured by wild animals and vultures, would have
been dried up by the sun more quickly at this time than
during the winter months. In the latter period, as the
' Bombay Gazcl/ccr, vol. ix. part ii., Parsis of Gitjarai, p. 231.
- Ibidem, pp. 239-242.
I PA RSI OR ZQROASTRIAN RELIGION 299
process would take longer, the place in the home is similarly
held impure for a month, as against ten days in summer,
though at present neither the sun nor weather can possibly
affect a site inside the house. The fact that when the floor
is of earth the site for the corpse is broken up may indicate
that it was formerly laid on rough waste ground, and not on
a floor beaten smooth, though it might also be simply a
means of avoiding contamination of the floor. But if this
was the object it would be simpler to avoid letting the body
come into contact with the floor at all. The corpse may
still be wrapped in an old cloth because it was originally
exposed in .the cloth worn at death. The body is carried to
the tower on an iron bier by special bearers ; if the journey
is a long one a bullock cart may be used, but in this case
the cart must be broken up and the pieces buried near the
tower. Before the funeral starts a number of priests attend
at the house and recite the prayers for the dead. During
the service a dog is brought in to look on the face of the
dead. The mourners follow in the usual manner, and on
arrival at the tower the bearers alone take the corpse inside
and lay it naked on one of the slabs, which are built in
circular terraces in the interior. The mourners must be
purified at the tower by pouring a little cow's urine into
their hands, and on returning home they wash their face
and hands, and recite a prayer before entering the house.
They must bathe and have their clothes washed before these
are again used. When a married man dies his widow
breaks her glass bangles and wears only metal bracelets,
and so long as she remains a widow she takes no part in
any festal celebrations. Every morning for three days after
a death rice is cooked and laid in the veranda for dogs to
eat. No other food is cooked in the house of death, the
family being supplied by their friends. During these three
days prayers are said for the dead several times a day by
priests, and kinsmen pay short visits of condolence. On
the third day a meeting is held in the house and prayers
are said for the dead ; trays of flowers and burning incense
are placed before the spot where the body lay, and a list of
charitable gifts made by the family in memory of the dead
man is read. On the fourth day a feast is held specially
300 ARTICLES ON RELIGIONS AND SECTS part
for priests, and friends are also asked to join in it. A little
of the food cooked on this day is sent to all relations and
friends, who make a point of eating or at least of tasting it.
On the tenth and thirtieth days after death, and on monthly
anniversaries for the first year, and subsequently on annual
anniversaries, ceremonies in honour of the dead are per-
formed.^
17. Previ- Some of these customs arc peculiar and interesting. It
""sure of ^^^^ been seen that for three days the home is impure, and no
the dead, food is cookcd in it except what is given to dogs ; and since
i^io'nof'' o" ^he third day offerings are made on the spot where the
souls. body lay, it seems to be supposed that the dead man's spirit
is still there. On the fourth day is the funeral feast, in which
all relations and friends join, and after this the house becomes
pure, it being presumably held that the dead man's spirit has
taken its departure. For these three days food is cooked in
the house and given to dogs, and immediately after the man
is dead a dog is brought in to look at his face. It has been
suggested that the manner of laying out the body recalls the
time when it was simply exposed. But when it v.'as exposed
the body would have been devoured principally by dogs and
vultures, and the customs connected with dogs seem to arise
from this. The cooked food given to dogs for three days is
perhaps a substitute for the flesh of the dead man which they
would have eaten, and the display of the body to a dog is in
substitution for its being devoured by these animals, who now
that it is exposed in a tower of silence no longer have access
to it. It has further been seen how during the marriage
rites, after an invitation has been issued to the ancestors to
attend, a woman comes in barking like a dog. The other
women drive her away and laughingly eat everything they
can lay their hands on, perhaps in imitation of the way dogs
devour their food. This custom seems to indicate that the
Parsis formerly believed that the spirits of their ancestors
went into the dogs which devoured their bodies, a belief
which would be quite natural to primitive people. Such a
hypothesis would explain the peculiar customs mentioned, and
also the great sanctity which the Parsis attach to dogs. On
the same analogy they should apparently also have believed
' Bombay Gazetteer, vol. ix. part ii., Piirsis 0/ Gujarat, pp. 241, 243.
I PARS! OR ZOROASTRIAN RELIGION 301
that the spirits of ancestors went into vultures ; but it is not
recorded that they show any special veneration for these
birds, though it must be almost certain that they do not kill
them. The explanation given for the custom of the exposure
of the dead is that none of the holy elements, earth, fire or
water, can be polluted by receiving dead bodies. But, as
already stated, towers of silence cannot be a primitive insti-
tution, and the bodies in all probability were previously
exposed on the ground. The custom of exposure probably
dates from a period prior to the belief in the extreme sanctity
of the earth. It may have been retained in order that the
spirits of ancestors might find a fresh home in the animals
which devoured their bodies ; and some platform, from which
the towers of silence subsequently developed, may have been
made to avoid defilement of the earth ; while in after times
this necessity of not defiling the earth and other elements
might be advanced as a reason justifying the custom of
exposure.
Parsi men usually wear a turban of dark cloth spotted 18.
with white, folded to stand up straight from the forehead, and ^^ °^j '.^^|j
looking somewhat as if it was made of pasteboard. This is ceremonial
very unbecoming, and younger men often abandon it and ances.
simply wear the now common felt cap. They usually have
long coats, white or dark, and white cotton trousers. Well-
to-do Parsi women dress very prettily in silks of various
colours. The men formerly shaved the head, either entirely,
or leaving a scalp-lock and two ear-locks. But now many
of them simply cut their hair short like the English. They
wear whiskers and moustaches, but with the exception of the
priests, not usually beards. Neither men nor women ever
put off the sacred shirt or the thread. They eat the flesh
only of goats and sheep among animals, and also consume
fish, fowls and other birds ; but they do not eat a cock after it
has begun to crow, holding the bird sacred, because they think
that its crowing drives away evil spirits. If Ahura Mazda
represented the sun and the light of day, the cock, the herald
of the dawn, might be regarded as his sacred bird. Sometimes
when a cock or parrot dies the body is wrapped in a sacred
shirt or thread and carefully buried. Palm-juice toddy is a
favourite drink at almost all meals in Gujarat, and mahua
302 ARTICLES ON RELIGIONS AND SECTS part
spirit is also taken. Parsis must never smoke, as this would
be derogatory to the sacred element fire.^
Saiva, Shaiva, Sivite Sect.— The name given to Hindus
who venerate Siva as their special god. Siva, whose name
signifies ' The Propitious,' is held to have succeeded to the
Vedic god Rudra, apparently a storm-god. Siva is a highly
composite deity, having the double attributes of destroyer
and creator of new life. His heaven, Kailas, is in the Hima-
layas according to popular belief. He carries the moon on
his forehead, and from the central one of his three eyes the
lightning flashes forth. He has a necklace of skulls, and
snakes are intertwined round his waist and arms. And he
has long matted hair {j'ata), from which the Ganges flows.
It seems likely that the matted locks of the god represent
the snow on the Himalayas, as the snow is in reality the
source of the Ganges ; the snow falling through the air and
covering the peaks of the mountains might well suggest the
hair of a mountain-god ; and this interpretation seems to be
accepted in Mr. Bain's In the Great God's Hair. Siva has
thus three components from which the idea of death might
be derived : First, his residence on the Himalaya mountains,
the barren, lifeless region of ice and snow, and the cause of
death to many pilgrims and travellers who ventured into it.
Secondly, he is the god of the moon, and hence of darkness
and night, which are always associated with death. In this
light he might well be opposed to Vishnu, the god of the sun
and day, and the source of growth and life ; their association
as the two supreme deities representing the preservation and
destruction of life, would thus, to some extent, correspond to
the conflict of good and bad deities representing light and
darkness among the Zoroastrians. Thirdly, Siva is a snake-
god, and the sudden death dealt out by the poisonous snake
has always excited the greatest awe among primitive people.
The cobra is widely revered in India, and it is probably this
snake which is associated with the god. In addition the
lightning, a swift, death-dealing power, is ascribed to Siva,
and this may have been one of his earliest attributes, as it
was probably associated with his Vedic prototype Rudra.
Whether Siva obtained his character as a god of destruc-
' liombay Gazetteer, Parsis of Gujarat, pp. 205, 207, 219, 220.
Beinrose, Collo., Derby.
TEMPLE OF SIVA AT BANDAKPUR, NEAR DAMOH.
SAIVA SECT
303
tion from one only of the above associations, or from a
combination of them, is probably not known. Two great
forces lend the deity his character of a god of reproduction,
the bull and the phallic emblem. The bull tills the soil and
renders it fertile and capable of bringing forth the crops
which form the sustenance of mankind ; while the phallic
emblem is worshipped as the instrument of generation. It
is believed that there is a natural tendency to associate these
two objects, and to ascribe to the bull the capacity of induc-
ing human fertility as well as the increase of the earth. It
is in these two attributes that Siva is worshipped in the rural
tract ; he is represented by the emblem referred to standing
on a circular grooved stone, which is the yoni, and in front
of him is a stone bull. And he is revered almost solely as a
beneficent deity under the name of Mahadeo or the Great God.
Thus his dual qualities of destruction and reproduction appear
to be produced by the combination in him of different objects
of worship ; the Himalayas, the moon, the cobra and the
lightning on the one hand, and the bull and the emblem of
regeneration on the other. Other interesting characteristics
of Siva are that he is the first and greatest of ascetics and
that he is immoderately addicted to the intoxicating drugs
gdnja and bhang, the preparations of Indian hemp. It may
be supposed that the god was given his character as an ascetic
in order to extend divine sanction and example to the practice
of asceticism when it came into favour. And the drugs,^ first
revered themselves for their intoxicating properties, were after-
wards perpetuated in a sacred character by being associated
with the god. Siva's throat is blue, and it is sometimes said
that this is on account of his immoderate consumption of
bhang. The nilkanth or blue-jay, which was probably vene-
rated for its striking plumage, and is considered to be a bird
of very good omen, has become Siva's bird because its blue
throat resembles his. His principal sacred tree is the bel
tree,"^ which has trifoliate leaves, and may have been held
sacred on this account. The practice of Sati or the self-
immolation of widows has also been given divine authority
by the story that Sati was Siva's first wife, and that she
committed suicide because she and her husband were not
1 See also article on Kalar. ^ Aegle marmelos.
304 ARTICLES ON RELIGIONS AND SECTS part
invited to Daksha's sacrifice.^ Siva's famous consort is
the multiform Devi, Kali or Parvati, of whom some notice
is given elsewhere.^ The cult of Siva has produced the
important Sakta sect, who, however, venerate more especially
the female principle of energy as exemplified in his consort.^
Another great sect of southern India, the Lingayats, worship
him in the character of the lingavi or phallic emblem, and
are noticeable as being a Sivite sect who have abolished
caste. The Sivite orders of Gosains or Dasnamis and Jogis
also constitute an important feature of Hinduism. All these
are separately described. Apart from them the Hindus who
call themselves Saivas because they principally venerate
Siva, do not appear to have any very special characteristics,
nor to be markedly distinguished from the Vaishnavas. They
abstain from the consumption of flesh and liquor, and think
it objectionable to take life. Their offerings to the god
consist of flowers, the leaves of the bel tree which is sacred
to him, and ripe ears of corn, these last being perhaps
intended especially for the divine bull. The sect-mark of
the Saivas consists of three curved lines horizontally drawn
across the forehead, which are said to represent the tirsul or
trident of the god. A half-moon may also be drawn. The
mark is made with Ganges clay, sandalwood, or cowdung
cakes, these last being considered to represent the dis-
integrating force of the deity.''
Sakta, Shakta Sect. — The name of a Hindu sect, whose
members worship the female principle of energy, which is
the counterpart of the god Siva. The metaphysical ideas
of Saktism are thus described by Sir Edward Gait : '^
" Saktism is based on the worship of the active producing
principle, Prakriti, as manifested in one or other of the
goddess wives of Siva (Durga, Kali, Parvati) the female
energy or Sakti of the primordial male, Purusha or Siva.
In this cult the various forces of nature are deified under
separate personalities, which are known as the divine mothers
^ Dr. Bhattacharya's Hindu Castes ^ Mr. Marten's C. P. Census Report,
and Sects, p. 371. 191 1.
^ See articles Kunihar, Thug and
Sakta sect. " India Census Report (1901), p.
•* See art. Sakta Sect. 360.
/.V-;;.'^,..i^, CoUo., Derby.
IMAGES OF SIVA AND HIS CONSORT DEVI. OR PARVATI.
WITH THE BULL AND TIGER.
I SAKTA SECT 305
or Matrigan. The ritual to be observed, the sacrifices to be
offered, and the mantras or magic texts to be uttered, in
order to secure the efficacy of the worship and to procure
the fulfihnent of the worshipper's desire, are laid down in
a series of religious writings known as Tantras. The cult
is supposed to have originated in East Bengal or Assam
about the fifth century."
Dr. Bhattacharya states ' that the practical essence of
the Sakta cult is the worship of the female organ of genera-
tion. According to a text of the Tantras the best form of
Sakti worship is to adore a naked woman, and it is said
that some Tantrics actually perform their daily worship in
their private chapels by placing before them such a woman.
A triangular plate of brass or copper may be taken as a
substitute, and such plates are usually kept in the houses
of Tantric Brahmans. In the absence of a plate of the
proper shape a triangle may be painted on a copper dish.
In public the veneration of the Saktas is paid to the goddess
Kali. She is represented as a woman with four arms. In
one hand she has a weapon, in a second the hand of the
giant she has slain, and with the two others she is en-
couraging her worshippers. For earrings she has two dead
bodies, she wears a necklace of skulls, and her only clothing
is a garland made of men's skulls. In the Kalika Puran '
the immolation of human beings is recommended, and
numerous animals are catalogued as suitable for sacrifice.
At the present time pigeons, goats, and more rarely buffaloes,
are the usual victims at the shrine of the goddess. The
ceremony commences with the adoration of the sacrificial
axe ; various mantras are recited, and the animal is then
decapitated at one stroke. As soon as the head falls to
the ground the votaries rush forward and smear their fore-
heads with the blood of the victim. It is of the utmost
importance that the ceremony should pass off without any
hitch or misadventure,^ and special services are held to
supplicate the goddess to permit of this. If in spite of
them the executioner fails to sever the head of the animal
^ Hindu Castes and Sects (Thacker, Report.
Spink & Co., Calcutta), pp. 407-413. ^ Hindu Castes and Sects.
^ Sir E. Gait's note, India Census
VOL. I X
3o6 ARTICLES ON RELIGIONS AND SECTS part i
at one stroke, it is thought that the goddess is angry and
that some great calamity will befall the family in the next
year. If a death should occur within the period, they
attribute it to the miscarriage of the sacrifice, that is to the
animal not having been killed with a single blow. If any
such misfortune should happen. Dr. Bhattacharya states, the
family generally determine never to offer animal sacrifices
again ; and in this way the slaughter of animals, as part of
the religious ceremony in private houses, is becoming more
and more rare. If a goat is sacrificed, the head is placed
before the goddess and the flesh cooked and served to the
invited guests ; but in the case of a buffalo, as respectable
Hindus do not eat the flesh of this animal, it is given to the
low -caste musicians employed for the occasion. Wine is
also offered to the goddess, and after being consecrated is
sprinkled on every kind of uncooked food brought before
her. But the worshipper and his family often drink only
a few drops. The Saktas are divided into the Dakshina-
charis and Bamacharis, or followers of the right- and left-
handed paths respectively. The Dakshinacharis have largely
abandoned animal sacrifices, and many of them substitute
red flowers or red sandalwood as offerings, to represent
blood. An account of those Bamacharis who carry sexual
practices to extreme lengths, has been given in the article
on Vam-Margi. The sect -mark of the Saktas is three
horizontal lines on the forehead made with a mixture of
charcoal and butter. Some of them have a single vertical
line of charcoal or sandalwood. In the Central Provinces
Sakta is a general term for a Hindu who eats meat, as
opposed to the VaTshnavas and Kablrpanthis, who abjure it.
The animals eaten are goats and chickens, and they are
usually sacrificed to the goddess Devi prior to being con-
sumed by the worshippers.
^■■M
satnAmi
LIST OF PARAGRAPHS
I. Origin of the sect. 5. Social profligacy.
1. Ghdsi Das, foimder of the 6. Divisiotis of the Satndmis.
Satndmi sect. 7. Customs of the Satndiiiis.
3. The message of Ghdsi Dds. 8. Character of the Satndmi move-
4. Subsequent history of the Sat- ment.
Satnami Sect^ (A worshipper of the true name of God), i. Origin
— A dissenting sect founded by a Chamar reformer in the of 'Resect.
Chhattlsgarh country of the Central Provinces. It is
practically confined to members of the Chamar caste, about
half of whom belong to it. In 1901 nearly 400,000
persons returned themselves as adherents of the Satnami
sect, of whom all but 2000 were Chamars. The Satnami
sect of the Central Provinces, which is here described, is
practically confined to the Chhattlsgarh plain, and the
handful of persons who returned themselves as Satnamis
from the northern Districts are believed to be adherents of
the older persuasion of the same name in Northern India.
The Satnami movement in Chhattlsgarh was originated by
one Ghasi Das, a native of the Bilaspur District, between
A.D. 1820 and 1830. But it is probable that Ghasi Das,
as suggested by Mr. Hira Lai, got his inspiration from a
follower of the older Satnami sect of northern India. This
was inaugurated by a Rajput, JagjTwan Das of the Bara
Banki District, who died in 1761. He preached the worship
of the True Name of the one God, the cause and creator of
all things, void of sensible qualities and without beginning
' This article is based principally on a paper by Mr. Uurga Prasad Pande,
Tahsildar, Raipur.
307
Das
founder
sect.
308 ARTICLES ON RELIGIONS AND SECTS part
or end. lie prohibited the use of meat, lentils (on account
of their red colour suggestinj^ blood) of the brinjal or egg-
plant, which was considered, probably on account of its
shape, to resemble flesh, and of intoxicating liquors. The
creed of Ghasi Das enunciated subsequently was nearly
identical with that of Jagjiwan Das, and was no doubt
derived from it, though Ghasi Das never acknowledged the
source of his inspiration.
Ghasi Ghasi Das was a poor farmservant in Girod, a village
formerly in Bilaspur and now in Raipur, near the Sonakan
of the forests. On one occasion he and his brother started on
atnami ^ pilgrimage to the temple at Puri, but only got as far as
Sarangarh, whence they returned ejaculating ' Satndin,
Saindin' From this time Ghasi Das began to adopt the
life of an ascetic, retiring all day to the forest to meditate.
On a rocky hillock about a mile from Girod is a large tendu
tree {Diospyros touientosd) under which it is said that he was
accustomed to sit. This is a favourite place of pilgrimage
of the Chamars, and two Satnami temples have been built
near it, which contain no idols. Once these temples were
annually visited by the successors of Ghasi Das. But at
present the head of the sect only proceeds to them, like the
Greeks to Delphi, in circumstances of special difficulty. In
the course of time Ghasi Das became venerated as a saintly
character, and on some miracles, such as the curing of
snake-bite, being attributed to him, his fame rapidly spread.
The Chamars began to travel from long distances to venerate
him, and those who entertained desires, such as for the birth
of a child, believed that he could fulfil them. The pilgrims
were accustomed to carry away with them the water in
which he had washed his feet, in hollow bamboos, and their
relatives at home drank this, considering it was nectar.
Finally, Ghasi Das retired to the forests for a period, and
emerged with what he called a new Gospel for the Chamars;
but this really consisted of a repetition of the tenets of
Jagjiwan Das, the founder of the Satnami sect of Upper
India, with a few additions. Mr. Chisholm ^ gave a graphic
account of the retirement of Ghasi Das to the Sonakan
forests for a period of six months, and of his reappearance
' Bilaspur Setdemenl Report (\^?>'!i), p. 45.
I SA TNAMI sect 309
and proclamation of his revelation on a fixed date before a
great multitude of Chamilrs, who had gathered from all parts
to hear him. An inquiry conducted locally by Mr. Hira
Lai in 1903 indicates that this story is of doubtful authen-
ticity, though it must be remembered that Mr. Chisholm
wrote only forty years after the event, and forty more had
elapsed at the time of Mr. Hira Lfd's investigation.^ Of the
Chamar Reformer himself Mr. Chisholm writes : " " Ghasi
Das, like the rest of his community, was unlettered. He
was a man of unusually fair complexion and rather imposing
appearance, sensitive, silent, given to seeing visions, and
deeply resenting the harsh treatment of his brotherhood by
the Hindus. He was well known to the whole community,
having travelled much among them ; had the reputation of
being exceptionally sagacious and was universally respected."
The seven precepts of Ghasi Das included abstinence 3. The
from liquor, meat and certain red vegetables, such as lentils Ghas^^Dc^*^
chillies and tomatoes, because they have the colour of blood,
the abolition of idol worship, the prohibition of the employ-
ment of cows for cultivation, and of ploughing after midday
or taking food to the fields, and the worship of the name of
one solitary and supreme God. The use of tai^oi ^ is said to
have been forbidden on account of its fancied resemblance
to the horn of the buffalo, and of the brinjal * from its
likeness to the scrotum of the same animal. The prohibition
against ploughing after the midday meal was probably
promulgated out of compassion for animals and was already
in force among the Gonds of Bastar. This precept is still
observed by many Satnamis, and in case of necessity they
will continue ploughing from early morning until the late
afternoon without taking food, in order not to violate it.
The injunction against the use of the cow for ploughing was
probably a sop to the Brahmans, the name of Gondwana
having been historically associated with this practice to its
^ Some of Mr. Chisholm's statements doubted fact, as shown by Mr. Hira
are undoubtedly inaccurate. For in- Lai and others, that Ghasi Das was
stance, he says that Ghasi Das decided born in Girod and had lived there all
on a temporary withdrawal into the his life up to the time of his proclama-
wilderness, and proceeded for this tion of his gospel,
purpose to a small village called Girod ^ Ibidem.
near the junction of the Jonk and ^ Luffa acntangula.
Mahfinadi rivers. But it is an un- * Solamim melongenum.
3IO ARTICLES ON RE UG IONS AND SECTS part
disgrace among Hindus.^ The Satnamis were bidden to
cast all idols from their homes, but they were permitted to
reverence the sun, as representing the deity, every morning and
evening, with the ejaculation ' Lord, protect me.' Caste was
abolished and all men were to be socially ecjual except the
family of Ghasi Das, in which the priesthood of the cult was
to remain hereditary.
4. Subse- The creed enunciated by their prophet was of a
qiuin creditable simplicity and purity, of too elevated a nature for
of the the Chamars of Chhattlsgarh. The crude myths which are
Satmimis. ^^^^ associated with the story of Ghasi Das and the obscenity
which distinguishes the ritual of the sect furnish a good
instance of the way in which a religion, originally of a high
order of morality, will be rapidly degraded to their own
level when adopted by a people who are incapable of living
up to it. It is related that one day his son brought Ghasi
Das a fish to eat. He was about to consume it when the
fish spoke and forbade him to do so, Ghasi Das then
refrained, but his wife and two sons insisted on eating the
fish and shortly afterwards they died.- Overcome with grief
Ghasi Das tried to commit suicide by throwing himself down
from a tree in the forest, but the boughs of the tree bent with
him and he could not fall. Finally the deity appeared,
bringing his two sons, and commended Ghasi Das for his
piety, at the same time bidding him go and proclaim the
Satnami doctrine to the world. Ghasi Das thereupon went
and dug up the body of his wife, who arose saying ' Satndm'
Ghasi Das lived till he was eighty years old and died in
1850, the number of his disciples being then more than a
quarter of a million. He was succeeded in the office of high
priest by his eldest son Balak Das. This man soon outraged
the feelings of the Hindus by assuming the sacred thread
and parading it ostentatiously on public occasions. So
bitter was the hostility aroused by him, that he was finally
assassinated at night by a party of Rajputs at the rest-house
of Amabandha as he was travelling to Raipur. The murder
was committed in i860 and its perpetrators were never
* Some of the Bundela raids in the protection of the sacred animal,
north of the Province were made on ^ Yxi^m. Mr. Durgu Prasad Pande's
the pretext of being crusades for the paper.
I SATNAMI SECT 311
discovered. Balak Das had fallen in love with the daughter
of a Chitari (painter) and married her, [)roclainiing a
revelation to the effect that the next Chamar Guru should
be the offspring of a Chitari girl. Accordingly his son by
her, Sahib Das, succeeded to the office, but the real power
remained in the hands of Agar Das, brother of Ealak Das,
who married his Chitari widow. By her Agar Das had a
son Ajab Das ; but he also had another son Agarman Das
by a legitimate wife, and both claimed the succession. They
became joint high priests, and the property has been par-
titioned between them. The chief guru formerly obtained
a large income by the contributions of the Chamars on his
tours, as he received a rupee from each household in the
villages which he visited on tour. He had a deputy, known
as Bhandar, in many villages, who brought the commission
of social offences to his notice, when fines were imposed.
He built a house in the village of Bhandar of the Raipur
District, having golden pinnacles, and also owned the village.
But he has been extravagant and become involved in debt,
and both house and village have been foreclosed by his
creditor, though it is believed that a wealthy disciple has
repurchased the house for him. The golden pinnacles were
recently stolen. The contributions have also greatly fallen off.
Formerly an annual fair was held at Bhandar to which all
the Satnamis went and drank the water in which the guru
had dipped his big toe. Each man gave him not less than
a rupee and sometimes as much as fifty rupees. But the
fair is no longer held and now the Satnamis only give the
guru a cocoanut when he goes on tour. The Satnamis also
have a fair in Ratanpur, a sacred place of the Hindus,
where they assemble and bathe in a tank of their own, as
they are not allowed to bathe in the Hindu tanks.
Formerly, when a Satnami Chamar was married, a 5. Social
ceremony called Satlok took place within three years of the i"o«'ga'-y-
wedding, or after the birth of the first son, which Mr. Durga
Prasad Pande describes as follows : it was considered to be
the initiatory rite of a Satnami, so that prior to its perform-
ance he and his wife were not proper members of the sect.
When the occasion was considered ripe, a committee of
men in the village would propose the holding of the ceremony
312 ARTICLES ON RELIGIONS AND SECTS takt
to the bridegroom ; the elderly members of his family would
also exert their influence upon him, because it was believed
that if they died prior to its performance their disembodied
spirits would continue a comfortless existence about the
scene of their mortal habitation, but if afterwards that they
would go straight to heaven. When the rite was to be held
a feast was given, the villagers sitting round a lighted lamp
placed on a water-pot in the centre of the sacred diauk or
square made with lines of wheat-flour ; and from evening
until midnight they would sing and dance. In the meantime
the newly married wife would be lying alone in a room
in the house. At midnight her husband went in to her
and asked her whom he should revere as his guru or
preceptor. She named a man and the husband went out
and bowed to him and he then went in to the woman and
lay with her. The process would be repeated, the woman
naming different men until she was exhausted. Sometimes,
if the head priest of the sect was present, he would nominate
the favoured men, who were known as gurus. Next
morning the married couple were seated together in the
courtyard, and the head priest or his representative tied a
kanthi or necklace of wooden beads round their necks,
repeating an initiatory text.^ This silly doggerel, as shown
in the footnote, is a good criterion of the intellectual
capacity of the Satnamis. It is also said that during his
annual progresses it was the custom for the chief priest to
be allowed access to any of the wives of the Satnamis whom
he might select, and that this was considered rather an
honour than otherwise by the husband. But the Satnamis
have now become ashamed of such practices, and, except in
a {q.\m isolated localities, they have been abandoned.
6. Divi- Ghasi Das or his disciples seem to have felt the want
iiie"^ ° of a more ancient and dignified origin for the sect than one
Satnamis. dating Only from living memory. They therefore say that
' This text is recorded by Mr. Durga Or
Prasad Pande as follows : <.^Ve have given up eating vegetables,
*' Bhdji chhurai bhanta chhurdi we eat no brinjals : we eat onions with
Gondii karai chhonka more relish ; we eat no more red vege-
Liil bhaji kc chhu7-aivale tables. The chatika has been placed
Gaon la viarai chauka. in the village. The true name is of God;
Sahib ke Satndmia ; ' Thonka.^^' (to which the pair replied) ' Amen.'"
I SATNAMI SECT 313
it is a branch of that founded by Rohi Das, a Chamar
disciple of the great Hberal and Vaishnavite reformer
Ramanand, who flourished at the end of the fourteenth
century. The Satnamis commonly call themselves Rohidasi
as a synonym for their name, but there is no evidence
that Rohi Das ever came to Chhattlsgarh, and there is
practically no doubt, as already pointed out, that Ghasi
Das simply appropriated the doctrine of the Satnami sect
of northern India. One of the precepts of Ghasi Das was
the prohibition of the use of tobacco, and this has led to
a split in the sect, as many of his disciples found the
rule too hard for them. They returned to their chongis
or leaf-pipes, and are hence called Chungias ; they say that
in his later years Ghasi Das withdrew the prohibition.
The Chungias have also taken to idolatry, and their villages
contain stones covered with vermilion, the representations
of the village deities, which the true Satnamis eschew.
They are considered lower than the Satnamis, and inter-
marriage between the two sections is largely, though not
entirely, prohibited. A Chungia can always become a
Satnami if he ceases to smoke by breaking a cocoanut in the
presence of his guru or preceptor or giving him a present.
Among the Satnamis there is also a particularly select
class who follow the straitest sect of the creed and are
called Jaharia from jahar, an essence. These never sleep
on a bed but always on the ground, and are said to wear
coarse uncoloured clothes and to eat no food but pulse
or rice.
The social customs of the Satnamis resemble generally 7. customs
those of other Chamars. They will admit into the com- ^^^}^^ .
•' satnamis.
munity all except members of the impure castes, as Dhobis
(washermen), Ghasias (grass-cutters) and Mehtars (sweepers),
whom they regard as inferior to themselves. Their weddings
must be celebrated only during the months of Magh
(January), Phagun (February), the light half of Chait (March)
and Baisakh (April). No betrothal ceremony can take
place during the months of Shrawan (August) and Pus
(January). They always bury the dead, laying the body
with the face downwards, and spread clothes in the grave
above and below it, so that it may be warm and comfortable
314 ARTICLES ON RELIGIONS AND SECTS tart
during the last long sleep. They obsen^e mourning for
three days and have their heads shaved on the third day
with the exception of the upper lip, which is never touched
by the razor. The Satnamis as well as the KabJrpanthis
in Chhattlsgarh abstain from spirituous liquor, and ordinary
Hindus who do not do so are known as Saktaha or Sakta
(a follower of Devi) in contradistinction to them. A Satnami
is put out of caste if he is beaten by a man of another
caste, however high, and if he is touched by a sweeper,
Ghasia or Mahar. Their women wear nose-rings, simply to
show their contempt for the Hindu social order, as this
ornament was formerly forbidden to the lower castes.
Under native dynasties any violation of a rule of this kind
would have been severely punished by the executive Govern-
ment, but in British India the Chamar women can indulge
their whim with impunity. It was also a rule of the sect
not to accept cooked food from the hands of any other
caste, whether Hindu or Muhammadan, but this has fallen
into abeyance since the famines. Another method by which
the Satnamis show their contempt for the Hindu religion
is by throwing milk and curds at each other in sport and
trampling it under foot. This is a parody of the Hindu
celebration of the Janam-Ashtami or Krishna's birthday, when
vessels of milk and curds are broken over the heads of the
worshippers and caught and eaten by all castes indiscrimin-
ately in token of amity. They will get into railway
carriages and push up purposely against the Hindus, saying
that they have paid for their tickets and have an equal
right to a place. Then the Hindus are defiled and have
to bathe in order to become clean.
8. Char- Several points in the above description point to the
acteroftiie conclusion that the Satnami movement is in essence a social
bat n ami
movement, revolt on the part of the despised Chamars or tanners.
The fundamental tenet of the gospel of Ghasi Das, as in
the case of so inany other dissenting sects, appears to have
been the abolition of caste, and with it of the authority of
the Brahmans ; and this it was which provoked the bitter
hostility of the priestly order. It has been seen that Ghasi
Das himself had been deeply impressed by the misery and
debasement of the Chamar community ; how his successor
I SATNAMI SECT 315
Balak Das was murdered for the assumption of the sacred
thread ; and how in other ways the Satnamis try to show
their contempt for the social order which brands them
as helot outcastes. A large proportion of the Satnami
Chamars are owners or tenants of land, and this fact may
be surmised to have intensified their feeling of revolt against
the degraded position to which they were relegated by the
Hindus. Though slovenly cultivators and with little energy
or forethought, the Chamars have the utmost fondness for
land and an ardent ambition to obtain a holding, however
small. The possession of land is a hall-mark of respectability
in India, as elsewhere, and the low castes were formerly
incapable of holding it ; and it may be surmised that the
Chamar feels himself to be raised by his tenant-right above
the hereditary condition of village drudge and menial. But
for the restraining influence of the British power, the Satnami
movement might by now have developed in Chhattlsgarh
into a social war. Over most of India the term Hindu is
contrasted with Muhammadan, but in Chhattlsgarh to call
a man a Hindu conveys primarily that he is not a Chamar,
or Chamara according to the contemptuous abbreviation in
common use. A bitter and permanent antagonism exists
between the two classes, and this the Chamar cultivators
carry into their relations with their Hindu landlords by
refusing to pay rent. The records of the criminal courts
contain many cases arising from collisions between Chamars
and Hindus, several of which have resulted in riot and
murder. Faults no doubt exist on both sides, and Mr.
Hemingway, Settlement Officer, quotes an instance of a
Hindu proprietor who made his Chamar tenants cart timber
and bricks to Rajim, many miles from his village, to build a
house for him during the season of cultivation, their fields
consequently remaining untilled. But if a proprietor once
arouses the hostility of his Chamar tenants he may as well
abandon his village for all the profit he is likely to obtain
from it. Generally the Chamars are to blame, as pointed
out by Mr. Blenkinsop who knows them well, and many
of them are dangerous criminals, restrained only by their
cowardice from the worst outrages against person and
property. It may be noted in conclusion that the spread
3i6 ARTICLES ON RELIGIONS AND SECTS parti
of Christianity among the Channars is in one respect a
reph'ca of the Satnami movement, because by becoming
a Christian the Chamar hopes also to throw off the social
bondage of Hinduism. A missionary gentleman told the
writer that one of the converted Chamars, on being directed
to perform some menial duty of the village, replied : ' No,
I have become a Christian and am one of the Sahibs ; I
shall do no more bigdr (forced labour).'
SIKH RELIGION
LIST OF PARAGRAPHS
1 . Foundation of SikJdsiii — Bdba 5 . Character of the Ndnakpanthis
Ndfiak. and Sikh sects.
2. The earlier Gurus. 6. The Akdlis.
3. Guru Govind Singh. 7. The Sikh Council or Guru-
4. Sikh initiation aitd rules. Mdta. Their coviu/unal meal.
Sikh, Akali. — The Sikh religion and the history of the i. Founda-
tion of
Sikhism —
Sikhs have been fully described by several writers, and all
that is intended in this article is a brief outline of the main Haba
tenets of the sect for the benefit of those to whom the more ^"^
important works of reference may not be available. The
Central Provinces contained only 2337 Sikhs in 191 i, of
whom the majority were soldiers and the remainder probably
timber or other merchants or members of the subordinate
engineering service in which Punjabis are largely employed.
The following account is taken from Sir Denzil Ibbetson's
Census Report of the Punjab for 1 8 8 1 :
" Sikhism was founded by Baba Nanak, a Khatri of
the Punjab, who lived in the fifteenth century. But Nanak
was not more than a religious reformer like Kabir, Ramanand,
and the other Vaishnava apostles. He preached the unity
of God, the abolition of idols, and the disregard of caste
distinctions.^ His doctrine and life were eminently gentle
and unaggressive. He was succeeded by nine gurus, the
last and most famous of whom, Govind Singh, died in 1708.
" The names of the gurus were as follows :
1. Baba Nanak 1469-1538-9
2. Angad 1 539-1 552
3. Amar Das 1552-1574
1 See article Nanakpanthi for an account of Nanak's creed.
317
3i8
ARTICLES ON RELIGIONS AND SECTS
2. The
earlier
Gurus.
4-
5-
6.
7-
8.
9-
lo.
Ram Das
Arjun
Har Govind
Har Rai
Har Kishen
Teg Bahadur
Govind Sinijb
1574-1581
1581-1606
1606-1645
1645-1661
1661-1664
1664-1675
1675-1708
" Under the second Guru Angad an intolerant and ascetic
spirit began to spring up among the followers of the new
tenets ; and had it not been for the good sense and firmness
displayed by his successor, Amar Das, who excommunicated
the Udasis and recalled his followers to the mildness and
tolerance of Nanak, Sikhism would probably have merely
added one more to the countless orders of ascetics or devotees
which arc wholly unrepresented in the life of the people.
The fourth gum, Ram Das, founded Amritsar ; but it was
his successor, Arjun, that first organised his following. He
gave them a written rule of faith in the Granth or Sikh
scripture which he compiled, he provided a common rallying-
point in the city of Amritsar which he made their religious
centre, and he reduced their voluntary contributions to a
systematic levy which accustomed them to discipline and
paved the way for further organisation. He was a great
trader, he utilised the services and money of his disciples in
mercantile transactions which extended far beyond the con-
fines of India, and he thus accumulated wealth for his Church.
" Unfortunately he was unable wholly to abstain from
politics ; and having become a political partisan of the rebel
prince Khusru, he was summoned to Delhi and there im-
prisoned, and the treatment he received while in confinement
hastened, if it did not cause, his death. And thus began that
Muhammadan persecution which was so mightily to change
the spirit of the new faith. This was the first turning-point
in Sikh history ; and the effects of the persecution were
immediately apparent. Arjun was a priest and a merchant ;
his successor, Har Govind, was a warrior. He abandoned the
gentle and spiritual teaching of Nanak for the use of arms
and the love of adventure. He encouraged his followers to
eat flesh, as giving them strength and daring ; he substituted
zeal in the cause for saintlincss of life as the i)rice of salva-
tion ; and he developed the organised disciplincMvliich Arjun
I SIKH RELIGION 3,9
had initiated. He was, however, a military adventurer rather
than an enthusiastic zealot, and fought either for or against
the Muhammadan empire as the hope of immediate gain
dictated. His policy was followed by his two successors ;
and under Teg Bahadur the Sikhs degenerated into little
better than a band of plundering marauders, whose internal
factions aided to make them disturbers of the public peace.
Moreover, Teg Bahadur was a bigot, while the fanatical
Aurangzeb had mounted the throne of Delhi. Him therefore
Aurangzeb captured and executed as an infidel, a robber and
a rebel, while he cruelly persecuted his followers in common
with all who did not accept Islam.
" Teg Bahadur was succeeded by the last and greatest 3. Guru
guru, his son Govind Singh ; and it was under him that ?.°'''"'^
what had sprung into existence as a quietist sect of a purely
religious nature, and had become a military society of by no
means high character, developed into the political organisa-
tion which was to rule the whole of north-western India,
and to furnish the British arms their stoutest and most
worthy opponents. For some years after his father's execu-
tion Govind Singh lived in retirement, and brooded over his
personal wrongs and over the persecutions of the Musalman
fanatic which bathed the country in blood. His soul was
filled with the longing for revenge ; but he felt the necessity
for a larger following and a stronger organisation, and, follow-
ing the example of his Muhammadan enemies, he used his
religion as the basis of political power. Emerging from his
retirement he preached the Khalsa, the pure, the elect, the
liberated. He openly attacked all distinctions of caste, and
taught the equality of all men who would join him ; and
instituting a ceremony of initiation, he proclaimed it as the
pdhul or ' gate ' by which all might enter the society, while
he gave to its members the prasdd or communion as a
sacrament of union in which the four castes should eat of one
dish. The higher castes murmured and many of them left
him, for he taught that the Brahman's thread must be
broken ; but the lower orders rejoiced and flocked in numbers
to his standard. These he inspired with military ardour,
with the hope of social freedom and of national independence,
and with abhorrence of the hated Muhammadan. He grave
320 ARTICLES ON RELIGIONS AND SECTS part
them outward signs of their faith in the unshorn hair, the
short drawers, and the bkie dress ; he marked the military
nature of their calling by the title of Singh or ' lion,' by
the wearing of steel, and by the initiation by sprinkling of
water with a two-edged dagger ; and he gave them a feeling
of personal superiority in their abstinence from the unclean
tobacco.
" The Muhammadans promptly responded to the chal-
lenge, for the danger was too serious to be neglected ; the
Sikh army was dispersed, and Govind's mother, wife and
children were murdered at Sirhind by Aurangzeb's orders.
The death of the emperor brought a temporary lull, and a
year later Govind himself was assassinated while fighting the
Marathas as an ally of Aurangzeb's successor. He did not
live to see his ends accomplished, but he had roused the
dormant spirit of the people, and the fire which he lit was
only damped for a while. His chosen disciple Banda suc-
ceeded him in the leadership, though never recognised as
gum. The internal commotions which followed upon the
death of the emperor, Bahadur Shah, and the attacks of the
Marathas weakened the power of Delhi, and for a time
Banda carried all before him ; but he was eventually con-
quered and captured in A.D. 1 7 1 6, and a period of persecution
followed so sanguinary and so terrible that for a generation
nothing more was heard of the Sikhs. How the troubles of
the Delhi empire thickened, how the Sikhs again rose to
prominence, how they disputed the possession of the Punjab
with the Mughals, the Marathas and the Durani, and were at
length completely successful, how they divided into societies
under their several chiefs and portioned out the Province
among them, and how the genius of Ranjit Singh raised him
to supremacy and extended his rule beyond the limits of the
Punjab, are matters of political and not of religious history.
No formal alteration has been made in the Sikh religion since
Govind Singh gave it its military shape ; and though changes
have taken place, they have been merely the natural result of
time and external influences,
4- Sikh "The word Sikh is said to be derived from the common
and rules. Hiudu tcrm Scwak and to mean simply a disciple; it may
be applied thcrcfcjre t(j the followers of Nanak who held
I SIKIf RELIGION 321
aloof from Govind Singh, but in practice it is perhaps
understood to mean only the latter, while the Nanakpanthis
are considered as Hindus. A true Sikh always takes the
termination Singh to his name on initiation, and hence they
are sometimes known as Singhs in ^ distinction to the
Nanakpanthis. A man is also not born a Sikh, but must
always be initiated, and the pdhul or rite of baptism cannot
take place until he is old enough to understand it, the
earliest age being seven, while it is often postponed till
manhood. Five Sikhs must be present at the ceremony,
when the novice repeats the articles of the faith and drinks
sugar and water stirred up with a two-edged dagger.
At the initiation of women a one-edged dagger is used,
but this is seldom done. Thus most of the wives of Sikhs
have never been initiated, nor is it necessary that their
children should become Sikhs when they grow up. The
faith is unattractive to women owing to the simplicity of
its ritual and the absence of the feasts and ceremonies
so abundant in Hinduism ; formerly the Sikhs were accus-
tomed to capture their wives in forays, and hence perhaps
it was considered of no consequence that the husband and
wife should be of different faith. The distinguishing marks
of a true Sikh are the five Kakkas or Ks which he is
bound to carry about his person : the Kes or uncut hair
and unshaven beard ; the KacJih or short drawers ending
above the knee ; the Kasa or iron bangle ; the KJuuida or
steel knife ; and the Kanga or comb. The other rules of
conduct laid down by Guru Govind Singh for his followers
were to dress in blue clothes and especially eschew red or
saffron-coloured garments and caps of all sorts, to observe
personal cleanliness, especially in the hair, and practise
ablutions, to eat the flesh of such animals only as had been
killed hy j'atka or decapitation, to abstain from tobacco in
all its forms, never to blow out flame nor extinguish it with
drinking-water, to eat with the head covered, pray and recite
passages of the Granth morning and evening and before
all meals, reverence the cow, abstain from the worship of
saints and idols and avoid mosques and temples, and
worship the one God only, neglecting Brahmans and
Mullas, and their scriptures, teaching, rites and religious
VOL. I Y
322 ARTICLES ON RELIGIONS AND SECTS i'art
symbols. Caste distinctions he positively condemned and
instituted the prasdd or communion, in which cakes of
flour, butter and sugar are made and consecrated with
certain ceremonies while the communicants sit round in
prayer, and then distributed equally to all the faithful
present, to whatever caste they may belong. The above
rules, so far as they enjoin ceremonial observances, are still
very generally obeyed. But the daily reading and recital
of the Granth is discontinued, for the Sikhs are the most
uneducated class in the Punjab, and an occasional visit to
the Sikh temple where the Granth is read aloud is all
that the villager thinks necessary. Blue clothes have been
discontinued save by the fanatical Akali sect, as have been
very generally the short drawers or Kachh. The prohibi-
tion of tobacco has had the unfortunate effect of inducing
the Sikhs to take to hemp and opium, both of which
are far more injurious than tobacco. The precepts which
forbid the Sikh to venerate Brahmans or to associate
himself with Hindu worship are entirely neglected ; and
in the matter of the worship of local saints and deities,
and of the employment of and reverence for Brahmans,
there is little, while in current superstitions and superstitious
practices there is no difference between the Sikh villager
and his Hindu brother." ^
5. Char- It scems thus clear that if it had not been for the
Ni.nak^^'^^ political and military development of the Sikh movement, it
panthisand would in time have lost most of its distinctive features and
Si sects, j^^^g come to be considered as a Hindu sect of the same
character, if somewhat more distinctive than those of the
Nanakpanthis and Kablrpanthis. But this development
and the founding of the Sikh State of Lahore created
a breach between the Sikhs and ordinary Hindus wider
than that caused by their religious differences, as was
sufficiently demonstrated during the Mutiny. In their
origin both the Sikh and Nanakpanthi sects appear to
1 Here again, Sir U. Ibbetson notes, number of deities, and their answer in
it is often the women who arc the every case has been that tliey do not
original offenders : " I have often asked themselves believe in them; but their
Sikhs how it is that, believing as they women do, and to please them they are
do in only one God, they can put any obliged to pay attention to what the
faith in and render any obedience to Brfdimans say."
Ikahmans who acknowledge a largo
I SIKH RELIGION 323
have been mainly a revolt against the caste system, the
supremacy of Brahmans and the degrading mass of super-
stitions and reverence of idols and spirit-worship which the
Brahmans encouraged for their own profit. But while
Nanak, influenced by the observation of Islamic mono-
theism, attempted to introduce a pure religion only, the
aim of Govind was perhaps political, and he saw in the
caste system an obstacle 'to the national movement which
he desired to excite against the Muhammadans. So far
as the abolition of caste was concerned, both reformers
have, as has been seen, largely failed, the two sects now
recognising caste, while their members revere Brahmans
like ordinary Hindus.
The Akalis or Nihangs are a fanatical order of Sikh 6. The
ascetics. The following extract is taken from Sir E.
Maclagan's account of them : ^
" The Akalis came into prominence very early by their
stout resistance to the innovations introduced by the
Bairagi Banda after the death of Guru Govind ; but they
do not appear to have had much influence during the
following century until the days of Maharaja Ranjit Singh.
They constituted at once the most unruly and the bravest
portion of the very unruly and brave Sikh army. Their
headquarters were at Amritsar, where they constituted
themselves the guardians of the faith and assumed the
right to convoke synods. They levied offerings by force
and were the terror of the Sikh chiefs. Their good qualities
were, however, well appreciated by the Maharaja, and when
there were specially fierce foes to meet, such as the Pathans
beyond the Indus, the Akalis were always to the front.
" The Akali is distinguished very conspicuously by his
dark -blue and checked dress, his peaked turban, often
surmounted with steel quoits, and by the fact of his strutting
about like Ali Baba's prince with his ' thorax and abdomen
festooned with curious cutlery.' He is most particular in
retaining the five Kakkas, and in preserving every outward
form prescribed by Guru Govind Singh. Some of the
Akalis wear a yellow turban underneath the blue one, leaving
a yellow band across the forehead. The yellow turban is
1 Punjab Census Report (1891), para. 107.
324
ARTICLES ON RELIGIONS AND SECTS
7. The
Sikh
Council
or Guru-
Mata.
Their com
munal
meal.
worn by many Sikhs at the Basant Panchmi, and the Akalis
are fond of wearing it at all times. There is a couplet by
Bhai Gurdas which says :
Stall, Sufed, Surkh, Zardae,
Jo pahne, sot Giirbhaij
or, * Those that wear black (the Akalis), white (the Nirmalas),
red (the Udasis) or yellow, are all members of the brother-
hood of the Sikhs.'
" The Akalis do not, it is true, drink spirits or eat meat
as other Sikhs do, but they are immoderate in the consump-
tion of bhang. They are in other respects such purists
that they will avoid Hindu rites even in their marriage
ceremonies.
" The Akali is full of memories of the glorious day of
the Khalsa ; and he is nothing if he is not a soldier, a
soldier of the Guru. He dreams of armies, and he thinks in
lakhs. If he wishes to imply that five Akalis are present,
he will say that ' five lakhs are before you ' ; or if he would
explain he is alone, he will say that he is with ' one and
a quarter lakhs of the Khalsa.' You ask him how he is,
and he replies that ' The army is well ' ; you inquire where
he has come from, and he says, ' The troops marched from
Lahore.' The name Akali means ' immortal.' When
Sikhism was politically dominant, the Akalis were accus-
tomed to extort alms by accusing the principal chiefs of
crimes, imposing fines upon them, and in the event of their
refusing to pay, preventing them from performing their
ablutions or going through any of the religious ceremonies
at Amritsar."
The following account was given by Sir J. Malcolm of
the Guru-Mata or great Council of the Sikhs and their
religious meal : ^ " When a Guru-Mata or great national
Council is called on the occasion of any danger to the
country, all the Sikh chiefs assemble at Amritsar. The
assembly is convened by the Akalis ; and when the chiefs
meet upon this solemn occasion it is concluded that all
private animosities cease, and that every man sacrifices his
personal feelings at the shrine of the general good.
' Accounl of the Sikhs, Asiatic Researches.
I SMART A SECT 325
" When the chiefs and principal leaders are seated, the
Adi-Granth and Dasama Padshah Ka Granth ^ are placed
before them. They all bend their heads before the Scriptures
and exclaim, ' Wah Gtiruji ka Khdlsa ! zuah Guriiji ka
Fateh ! ' ' A great quantity of cakes made of wheat, butter
and sugar are then placed before the volumes of their sacred
writings and covered with a cloth. These holy cakes, which
are in commemoration of the injunction of Nanak to eat and
to give to others to eat, next receive the salutation of the
assembly, who then rise, while the Akalis pray aloud and
the musicians play. The Akalis, when the prayers are
finished, desire the Council to be seated. They sit down,
and the cakes are uncovered and eaten by all classes of the
Sikhs, those distinctions of tribe and caste which are on
other occasions kept up being now laid aside in token of
their general and complete union in one cause. The Akalis
proclaim the Guru-Mata, and prayers are again said aloud.
The chiefs after this sit closer and say to each other, ' The
sacred Granth is between us, let us swear by our Scriptures
to forget all internal disputes and to be united.' This
moment of religious fervour is taken to reconcile all ani-
mosities. They then proceed to consider the danger with
which they are threatened, to devise the best plans for
averting it and to choose the generals who are to lead their
armies against the common enemy." The first Guru-Mata
was assembled by Guru Govind, and the latest was called in
1805, when the British Army pursued Holkar into the
Punjab. The Sikh Army was known as Dal Khalsa, or the
Army of God, khdlsa being an Arabic word meaning one's
own.^ At the height of the Sikh power the followers of this
religion only numbered a small fraction of the population of
the Punjab, and its strength is now declining. In 191 i the
Sikhs were only three millions in the Punjab population of
twenty-four millions.
Smarta Sect. — This is an orthodox Hindu sect, the
members of which are largely Brahmans. The name is
1 Apparently the Scripture of Victory to the Guru.'
Govind, the tenth guru. '■' Sir Lepel Griffin's Life of Raiijit
^ ' Hurrah for the Guru's Khalsa, Singh.
326
ARTICLES ON RELIGIONS AND SECTS
derived from Smriti or tradition, a name given to the Hindu
sacred writings, with the exception of the Vcdas, which last
arc regarded as a divine revelation. Members of the sect
worship the five deities, Siva, Vishnu, Suraj or the sun,
Ganpati and Sakti, the divine principle of female energy
corresponding to Siva. They say that their sect was founded
by Shankar Acharya, the great Sivite reformer and opponent
of Buddhism, but this appears to be incorrect. Shankar
Acharya himself is said to have believed in one unseen God,
who was the first cause and sole ruler of the universe ; but
he countenanced for the sake of the weaker brethren the
worship of orthodox Hindu deities and of their idols.
I. The
founder.
2. Tenets
of the sect.
Swami-Narayan Sect.^ — This, one of the most modern
Vaishnava sects, was founded by Sahajanand Swami, a
Sarwaria Brahman, born near Ajodhia in the United Pro-
vinces in A.D. 1780. At an early age he became a religious
mendicant, and wandered all over India, visiting the principal
shrines. When twenty years old he was made a Sadhu of
the Ramanandi order, and soon nominated as his successor
by the head of the order. He preached with great success
in Gujarat, and though his tenets do not seem to have
differed much from the Ramanandi creed, his personal
influence was such that his followers founded a new sect and
called it after him. He proclaimed the worship of one sole
deity, Krishna or Narayana, whom he identified with the
sun, and apparently his followers held, and he inclined to
believe himself, that he was a fresh incarnation of Vishnu.
It is said that he displayed miraculous powers before his
disciples, entrancing whomsoever he cast his eyes upon, and
causing them in this mesmeric state (Samadhi) to imagine
they saw Sahajanand as Krishna with- yellow robes, weapons
of war, and other characteristics of the God, and to behold
him seated as chief in an assembly of divine beings.
His creed prohibited the destruction of animal life ; the
use of animal food and intoxicating liquors or drugs on any
occasion ; promiscuous intercourse with the other sex ;
* Based on the account of the sect Swat/ii-N'fn-aj'an SectY>a.m\A\\c\.,\)Y\r\{cd
in the volume, Hindus of Gujarat, at the Education Society's Press, Bom-
of the Bombay Gazetteer, and The bay, 1887.
I SWA MI-NARAYAN SECT 327
suicide, theft and robbery, and false accusations, I\Iuch
good was done, the Collector testified, by his preaching
among the wild Kolis of Gujarat ; ' his morality was said to
be far better than any which could be learned from the
Shastras ; he condemned theft and bloodshed ; and those
villages and Districts which had received him, from being
among the worst, were now among the best and most
orderly in the Province of Bombay, His success was great
among the lower castes, as the Kolis, Bhils and Kathis. He
was regarded by his disciples as the surety of sinners, his
position in this respect resembling that of the Founder of
Christianity, To Bishop Heber he said that while he per-
mitted members of different castes to eat separately here
below, in the future life there would be no distinction of
castes.""^ His rules for the conduct of the sexes towards
each other were especially severe. No Sadhu of the Swami-
Narayan sect might ever touch a woman, even the accidental
touching of any woman other than a mother having to be
expiated by a whole-day fast. Similarly, should a widow-
disciple touch even a boy who was not her son, she had to
undergo the same penalty. There were separate passages
for women in their large temples, and separate reading and
preaching halls for women, attended by wives of the Acharyas
or heads of the sect. These could apparently be married,
but other members of the priestly order must remain single;
while the lay followers lived among their fellows, pursuing
their ordinary lives and avocations. The strictness of the
Swami on sexual matters was directed against the licentious
practices of the Maharaj or Vallabhacharya order. He
boldly denounced the irregularities they had introduced into
their forms of worship, and exposed the vices which charac-
terised the lives of their clergy. This attitude, as well as
the prohibition of the worship of idols, earned for him the
hostility of the Peshwa and the Maratha Brahmans, and he
was subjected to a considerable degree of persecution ; his
followers were taught the Christian doctrine of suffering
1 Bishop Heber's Narrative of a because in the Bombay Gazetteer the
Journey through the Upper Proinnces, Swami is said to have prohibited the
pp. 143, 153. taking of food with low-caste people,
2 The Stvami-Narayan Sect, pp. 4, and caste pollution ; and this appears
22. The above details are given, incorrect.
328 ARTICLES ON RELIGIONS AND SECTS part
injury without retaliation, and the devotees of hostile sects
took advantage of this to beat them unmercifully, some
being even put to death.
3. Meeting In Order to protect the Swami, his followers constituted
Bishop f^rom themselves an armed guard, as shown by Bishop Ileber's
Heber. account of their meeting : " About eleven o'clock I had the
expected visit from Swami-Narayan. He came in a some-
what different guise from all which I expected, having with
him near 200 horsemen, mostly well-armed with matchlocks
and swords, and several of them with coats of mail and
spears. Besides them he had a large rabble on foot with
bows and arrows, and when I considered that I had my-
self an escort of more than fifty horses and fifty muskets
and bayonets, I could not help smiling, though my sensa-
tions were in some degree painful and humiliating, at the
idea of two religious teachers meeting at the head of
little armies, and filling the city which was the scene of
their interview with the rattling of gunners, the clash of
shields and the tramp of the war-horse. Had our troops
been opposed to each other, mine, though less numerous,
would have been doubtless far more effective from the
superiority of arms and discipline. But in moral grandeur
what a difference was there between his troop and mine.
Mine neither knew me nor cared for me ; they escorted me
faithfully and would have defended me bravely, because they
were ordered by their superiors to do so. The guards of
Swami-Narayan were his own disciples and enthusiastic
admirers, men who had voluntarily repaired to hear his
lessons, who now took a pride in doing him honour, and
would cheerfully fight to the last drop of blood rather than
suffer a fringe of his garment to be handled roughly. . . .
The holy man himself was a middle-aged, thin and plain-
looking person, about my own age, with a mild expression
of countenance, but nothing about him indicative of any
extraordinary talent. I seated him on a chair at my right
hand and offered two more to the Thakur and his son, of
which, however, they did not avail themselves without first
placing their hands under the feet of their spiritual guide
and then pressing them reverently to their foreheads."
Owing, apparently, to the high moral character of his
I SWAMI-NArAYAN SECT 329
preaching and his success in reducing to order and tran- 4- Meeting
quillity the turbulent Kolis and Bhlls who accepted his (jovernor
doctrines, Swami-Narayan enjoyed a large measure of esteem of Bombay,
and regard from the officers of Government. This will be
evidenced from the following account of his meeting with
the Governor of Bombay : ^ " On the receipt of the above two
letters, Swami-Narayan Maharaj proceeded to Rajkote to
visit the Right Honourable the Governor, and on the 26th
February 1830 was escorted as a mark of honourable
reception by a party of troops and military foot-soldiers
to the Political Agent's bungalow, when His Excellency
the Governor, the Secretary, Mr. Thomas Williamson, six
other European gentlemen, and the Political Agent, Mr.
Blane, having come out of the bungalow to meet the
Swami - Narayan, His Excellency conducted the Swami,
hand in hand, to a hall in the bungalow and made him
sit on a chair. His Excellency afterwards with pleasure
enquired about the principles of his religion, which were
communicated accordingly. His Excellency also made a
present to Swami-Narayan of a pair of shawls and other
piece-goods. Swami-Narayan was asked by the Governor
whether he and his disciples have had any harm under
British rule ; and His Excellency was informed in reply
that there was nothing of the sort, but that on the contrary
every protection was given them by all the officers in authority.
His Excellency then asked for a code of the religion of
Swami-Narayan, and the book called the Shiksapatri was
presented to him accordingly. Thus after a visit extending
to an hour Swami-Narayan asked permission to depart,
when he was sent back with the same honours with which
he had been received, all the European officers accompany-
ing him out of the door from the bungalow."
The author of the above account is not given, and it 5. Conciu-
apparently emanates from a follower of the saint, but there
seems little reason to doubt its substantial accuracy, and it
certainly demonstrates the high estimation in which he was
held. After his death his disciples erected Chauras or rest-
houses and monuments to his memory in all the villages
and beneath all the trees where he had at any time made
' The Swami- Narayan Sect, p. 25.
330 ARTICLES ON RELIGIONS AND SECTS part
any stay in Gujarat ; and here he is worshipped by the sect.
In 1 90 1 the sect had about 300,000 adherents in Gujarat.
In the Central Provinces a number of persons belong to it
in Nimar, principally of the Teli caste. The Telis of Nimar
are anxious to improve their social position, which is very
low, and have probably joined the sect on account of its
liberal principles on the question of caste.
I. Vishnu Vaishnava, Vishnuite Sect. — The name given to Hindus
as repre- ^yj^Qgg special deity is the god Vishnu, and to a number of
senting \ •' ° _ _'
the sun. sccts wliich havc adopted various special doctrines based on
the worship of Vishnu or of one of his two great incarna-
tions, Rama and Krishna. Vishnu was a personification of
the sun, though in ancient literature the sun is more often
referred to under another name, as Savitri, Surya and Aditya.
It may perhaps be the case that when the original sun-god
develops into a supreme deity with the whole heavens as
his sphere, the sun itself comes to be regarded as a separate
and minor deity. His weapon of the cliakra or discus, which
was probably meant to resemble the sun, supports the view
of Vishnu as a sun-god, and also his vdhan, the bird Garuda,
on which he rides. This is the Brahminy kite, a fine bird
with chestnut plumage and white head and breast, which
has been considered a sea-eagle. Mr. Dewar states that it
remains almost motionless at a great height in the air for
long periods ; and it is easy to understand how in these
circumstances primitive people mistook it for the spirit of
the sky, or the vehicle of the sun-god. It is propitious for
a Hindu to see a Brfdiminy kite, especially on Sunday, the
sun's day, for it is believed that the bird is then returning
from Vishnu, whom it has gone to see on the previous even-
ing.^ A similar belief has probably led to the veneration of
the eagle in other countries and its association with the god
of the sky or heavens, as in the case of Zeus, Similarly the
Gayatri, the most sacred Hindu prayer, is addressed to the
sun, and it could hardly have been considered so important
unless the luminary was identified with one of the greatest
Hindu gods. Every Brahman prays to the sun daily when
he bathes in the morning. Vishnu's character as the pre-
' Bombay Ducks, p. 194.
.'■■riiiy.KU-, Coilo., Do by.
IMAGES OF RAMA, LACHMAN, AND SFTA. WITH
ATTENDANTS.
I VAISHNAVA SECT 331
server and fosterer of life is probably derived from the sun's
generative power, so conspicuous in India.
As the sun is seen to sink every night into the earth, so 2. His
it was thought that he could come down to earth, and Vishnu J"'^''^''"^"
^_ _ ' tions.
has done this in many forms for the preservation of man-
kind.
He is generally considered to have had ten incarnations,
of which nine are past and one is still to come. The
incarnations were as follows :
1. As a great fish he guided the ark in which Manu the
primeval man escaped from the deluge.
2. As a tortoise he supported the earth and poised it in
its present position ; or according to another version he lay
at the bottom of the sea while the mountain INIeru was set
on its peak on his back, and with the serpent Vasuki as a
rope round the mountain the ocean was churned by the gods
for making the divine Amrit or nectar which gives immor-
tality.
3. As a boar he dived under the sea and raised the
earth on his tusks after it had been submerged by a
demon.
4. As Narsingh, the man-lion, he delivered the world
from the tyranny of another demon.
5. As Waman or a dwarf he tricked the King Bali, who
had gained possession over the earth and nether world and
was threatening the heavens, by asking for as much ground
as he could cover in three steps. When his request was
derisively granted he covered heaven and earth in two steps,
but on Bali's intercession left him the nether regions and
refrained from making the third step which would have
covered tlicm.
6. As Parasurama ^ he cleared the earth of the Kshat-
riyas, who had oppressed the r>ra]iman hermits and stolen
the sacred cow, bj' a slaughter of them thrice seven times
repeated.
7. As Rama, the divine king of Ajodhia or Oudh, he led
an expedition to Ceylon for the recovery of his wite Sita,
who had been abducted by Rawan, the demon king of
' For a suggested explanation of the myth of ravasur.iina sec article
Pan war RajpQt.
332 ARTICLES ON RELIGIONS AND SECTS tart
Ceylon. This story probably refers to an early expedition
of the Aryans to southern India, in which they may have
obtained the assistance of the Munda tribes, represented by
Hanuman and his army of apes.
8. As Krishna he supported the Pandavas in their war
against the Kauravas, and at the head of the Yadava clan
founded the city of Dwarka in Gujarat, where he was after-
wards killed. The popular group of legends about Krishna
in his capacity of a cowherd in the forests of Mathura was
perhaps at first distinct and afterwards combined with the
story of the Yadava prince.^ But it is in this latter char-
acter as the divine cowherd that Krishna is most generally
known and worshipped.
9. As Buddha he was the great founder of the religion
known by his name ; the Brahmans, by making Buddha an
incarnation of Vishnu, have thus provided a connecting link
between Buddhism and Hinduism.
In his tenth incarnation he will come again as Nishka-
lanki or the stainless one for the final regeneration of the
world, and his advent is expected by some Hindus, who
worship him in this form.
3. Wor- In the Central Provinces Vishnu is worshipped as
Vishnu and Narayan Deo, who is identified with the sun, or as Parmesh-
Vaishnava yy^r, the supreme beneficent god. He is also much wor-
doctrines. ..... . t-, _ •, -rr • ^ 1 1 •
shipped m his incarnations as Kama and Krishna, and their
images, with those of their consorts, Sita and Radha, are
often to be found in his temples as well as in their own.
These images are supposed to be subject to all the condi-
tions and necessities incident to living humanity. Hence in
the daily ritual they are washed, dressed, adorned and even
fed like human beings, food being daily placed before them,
and its aroma, according to popular belief, nourishing the
god present in the image.
The principal Vishnuite sects are described in the article
on Bairagi, and the dissenting sects which have branched off
from these in special articles." The cult of Vishnu and his
two main incarnations is the most prominent feature of
modern Hinduism. The orthodox Vaishnava sects mainly
' Sec also article Ahlr.
2 Kabirpanthi, Nanakpanthi, Dadupanthi, Swami-Narayan, etc.
1 VAM-MARGI sect 333
differed on the point whether the human soul or spirit was a
part of the divine soul or separate from it, and whether it
would be reabsorbed into the divine soul, or have a separate
existence after death. But they generally regarded all
human souls as of one quality, and hence were opposed to
distinctions of caste. Animals also have souls or spirits, and
the Vishnuite doctrine is opposed to the destruction of
animal life in any form. In the Bania caste the practices of
Vaishnava Hindus and Jains present so little difference that
they can take food together, and even intermarry. The
creed is also opposed to suicide.
Faithful worshippers of Vishnu will after his death be
transported to his heaven, Vaikuntha, or to Golaka, the
heaven of Krishna. The sect - mark of the Vaishnavas
usually consists of three lines down the forehead, meeting at
the root of the nose or below it. All three lines may be
white, or the centre one black or red, and the outside ones
white. They are made with a kind of clay called Gopi-
chandan, and are sometimes held to be the impress of
Vishnu's foot. To put on the sect-mark in the morning is
to secure the god's favour and protection during the day.
Vam-Margi, Bam-Marg-i, Vama-Chari Sect^ — A sect
who follow the worship of the female principle in nature and
indulge in sensuality at their rites according to the precepts
of the Tantras. The name signifies ' the followers of the
crooked or left-handed path.' Their principal sacred text is
the Rudra-Yamal-Damru Tantra, which is said to have been
promulgated by Rudra or Siva through his Damru or drum
at the end of his dance in Kailas, his heaven in the Hima-
layas. The Tantras, according to Professor Monier-Williams,
inculcate an exclusive worship of Siva's wife as the source of
every kind of supernatural faculty and mystic craft. The
principle of female energy is known as Sakti, and is personi-
fied in the female counterparts of all the Gods of the Hindu
triad, but is practically concentrated in Devi or Kali. The
five requisites for Tantra worship are said to be the five
Makaras or words beginning with M : Madya, wine ; Mansa,
1 This article is based on Professor Iccted by Munshi Kanhya Lai of the
Wilson's Hindu Sects, M. Chevrillon's Gazetteer Office.
RoDiantic India, and some notes col-
334 ARTICLES ON RELIGIONS AND SECTS part
flesh ; Matsya, fish ; Muclra, parched grain and mystic
gesticulation ; and Maithuna, sexual indulgence. Among
the Vam-Margis both men and women are said to assemble
at a secret" meeting- place, arid their rite consists in the
adoration of a naked woman who stands in the centre of the
room with a drawn sword in her hand. The worshippers
then eat fish, meat and grain, and drink liquor, and there-
after indulge in promiscuous debauchery. The followers
of the sect are mainly Brahmans, though other castes
may be admitted. The Vam-Margis usually keep their
membership of the sect a secret, but their special mark is
said to be a semicircular line or lines of red powder or
vermilion on the forehead, with a red streak half-way up the
centre, and a circular spot of red at the root of the nose.
They use a rosary of rudraksha or of coral beads, but of no
greater length than can be concealed in the hand, or they
keep it in a small purse or bag of red cloth. During
worship they wear a piece of red silk round the loins and
decorate themselves with garlands of crimson flowers. In
their houses they worship a figure of the double triangle
drawn on the ground or on a metal plate and make offerings
of liquor to it.
They practise various magical charms by which they
think they can kill their enemies. Thus fire is brought from
the pyre on which a corpse has been burnt, and on this the
operator pours water, and with the charcoal so obtained he
makes a figure of his enemy in a lonely place under a pipal
tree or on the bank of a river. He then takes an iron bar,
twelve finger-joints long, and after repeating his charms
pierces the figure with it. When all the limbs have been
pierced the man whose efifigy has been so treated will die.
Other methods will procure the death of an enemy in a
certain number of months or cause him to lose a limb.
Sometimes they make a rosary of io8 fruits of the dhatura^
and pierce the figure of the enemy through the neck after
repeating charms, and it is supposed that this will kill him
at once.
1 Dhatura alba, a plant sacred to Siva, whose seed is a powerful narcotic,
and is used to poison travellers.
I WAHHAIU SECT 335
Wahhabi Sect.' — A puritan sect of Miihammadans. The
sect was not recorded at the census, but it is probable that
it has a few adherents in the Central Provinces. The
Wahhabi sect is named after its founder, Muhammad Abdul
Wahhab, who was born in Arabia in A.D. 1691. He set
his face against all developments of Islam not warranted
by the Koran and the traditional utterances of the Com-
panions of the Prophet, afld against the belief in omens
and worship at the shrines of saints, and condemned as
well all display of wealth and luxury and the use of in-
toxicating drugs and tobacco. He denied any authority
to Islamic doctrines other than the Koran itself and the
utterances of the Companions of the Prophet who had
received instruction from his lips, and held that in the
interpretation and application of them Moslems must exer-
cise the right of private judgment. The sect met with
considerable military success in Arabia and Persia, and at
one time threatened to spread over the Islamic world. The
following is an account of the taking of Mecca by Saud,
the grandson of the founder, in 1803: "The sanctity of
the place subdued the barbarous spirit of the conquerors,
and not the slightest excesses were committed against the
people. The stern principles of the reformed doctrines
were, however, strictly enforced. Piles of green huqqas
and Persian pipes were collected, rosaries and amulets were
forcibly taken from the devotees, silk and satin dresses were
demanded from the wealthy and worldly, and the whole,
piled up into a heterogeneous mass, were burnt by the
infuriated reformers. So strong was the feeling against
the pipes and so necessary did a public example seem to
be, that a respectable lady, whose delinquency had well-
nigh escaped the vigilant eye of the Muhtasib, was seized
and placed on an ass, with a green pipe suspended from
her neck, and paraded through the public streets — a terrible
warning to all of her sex who might be inclined to indulge
in forbidden luxuries. When the usual hour of prayer
arrived the myrmidons of the law sallied forth, and with
leathern whips drove all slothful Moslems to their devotions.
1 This article consists entirely of ex- sect in the Rev. T. P. Hughes' Diction-
tracts from the article on the Wahhabi ary of Islam.
336 ARTICLES ON RELIGIONS AND SECTS part i
The mosques were filled. Never since the days of the
Prophet had the sacred city witnessed so much piety and
devotion. Not one pipe, not a single tobacco-stopper, was
to be seen in the streets or found in the houses, and the
whole population of Mecca prostrated themselves at least
five times a day in solemn adoration."
The apprehensions of the Sultan of Turkey were aroused
and an army was despatched against the Wahhabis, which
broke their political power, their leader, Saud's son, being
executed in Constantinople in 1 8 1 8. But the tenets of
the sect continued to be maintained in Arabia, and in 1822
one Saiyad Ahmad, a freebooter and bandit from Rai
Bareli, was converted to it on a pilgrimage to Mecca and
returned to preach its doctrines in India. Being a Saiyad
and thus a descendant of the Prophet, he was accepted by
the Muhammadans of India as the true Khalifa or Mahdi,
awaited by the Shiahs. Unheeded by the British Govern-
ment, he traversed our provinces with a numerous retinue
of devoted disciples and converted the populace to his
reformed doctrine by thousands, Patna becoming a centre
of the sect. In 1826 he declared 2l jihad ox religious war
against the Sikhs, but after a four years' struggle was
defeated and killed. The sect gave some trouble in the
Mutiny, but has not since taken any part in politics. Its
reformed doctrines, however, have obtained a considerable
vogue, and still exercise a powerful influence on Muham-
madan thought. The Wahhabis deny the aiithority of
Islamic tradition after the deaths of the Companions of
the Prophet, do not illuminate or pay reverence to the
shrines of departed saints, do not celebrate the birthday of
Muhammad, count the ninety-nine names of God on their
fingers and not on a rosary, and do not smoke.
PART I
(GLOSSARY OF MINOR CASTES AND OTHER ARTICLES,
SYNONYMS, SUBCASTES, TITLES AND NAMES OF
EXOGAMOUS SEPTS OR CLANS
Note. — In this Glossary the references under each heading are to the
detailed articles on castes, religions and sects, in Part \. and Part II.
of the work. The synonyms, subcastes and titles have been taken
from the main articles and are arranged here in index form as an aid
to identification. Section or clan names, however, will not usually
be found in the main articles. They have been selected from an
alphabetical list prepared separately, and are included as being of some
interest, in addition to those contained in the articles. The Glossary
also serves the purpose of indicating how subcaste and clan names are
common to several castes and tribes.
VOL. I
GLOSSARY
AbhimanchkiiL—A. section of Komti
in Chanda. They abstain from using
a preparation of lead which is
generally ground to ' powder and
applied to wounds.
Abhlra. — An immigrant nomad tribe
from which the modern Ahir caste
is believed to have originated. A
division of Maratha and Gujarati
Brahmans, so called because they
are priests of the Abhiras or the
modern Ahirs.
Abdhut. — Name for a religious mendi-
cant. Applied to Gosains, q.v.
Acharya, Acharaj. — (Superintendent of
ceremonies.) Title of the heads of
the Swami-Narayan sect. A sur-
name of Adi Gaur Brahmans in
Saugc
A subcaste of Telis
be illegitimate in
Adliia.—{\\-A\{.)
considered to
Betill.
Adhaighar^ Arhaighar. — {z\ houses.)
A subdivision of Saraswat Brahmans.
Adhali. — A name given to Malyars by
outsiders.
Adiganr. — A subdivision of Brahman,
probably a branch of the Gaur Brah-
mans, though in Saugor they are
considered to be Kanaujias.
Adkaiidh, Adikandh. — (Superior
Khonds.) A subcaste of Khonds,
being the most Hinduised section of
this tribe. A title of Khond.
Adnath, Adinath. — A subdivision of
Jogi. Adinath was the father of
Matsyendranath and grandfather of
Gorakhnath, the first great Jogi.
Aganmdayan. — A large Tamil cultivating caste, of which a few members
reside in the Central Provinces in Jubbulpore and Raipur. They are the
families of Madras sepoys who have retired from regiments stationed in these
places. The Agamudayans sometimes call themselves by the title of Pillai,
which means ' Son of a god ' and was formerly reserved to Brahmans.
Agai-wdla, Agai-wdl. — A subcaste of Ahdria. — Clan of Rajput. Synonym
Bania. See Bania-Agarwala.
Agastya. — An eponymous section of
Brahmans.
Aghorpanthi. — Synonym for Aghori.
Agnihotri. — A surname of Kanaujia
and Jijhotia Brahmans in Saugor.
(One who performs the sacrifice to
Agni or the god of fire. )
Agnikida. — A name given to four
clans of Rajputs said to have been
born from the fire-pit on Mount Abu.
See article Panwar Rajput.
Agi'ahari. — A subcaste of Bania found
chiefly in Jubbulpore District and
Raigarh State. Their name has
been connected with the cities of
Agra and Agroha.
Agrajanina. — (First-born.) A syno-
nym for Brahmans.
for Sesodia.
Ahir. — The professional caste of herds-
men. A clan of Maratha. A sub-
caste of Rawat and Salewar Koshti
in Nimar. A subcaste of Bishnoi,
Gurao, and Sunar.
Ahirwdr. — A resident of the old town
of Ahar in the Bulandshahr district.
Subcaste of Kori.
Ahivdsi, Ahiwdsi. — (From Ahiwas,
'The abode of the dragon,' the
hermitage of Sanbhari Rishi in
Mathura. ) A Brahmanical or pseudo-
Brahmanical tribe. They are said
to be sprung from a Brahman father
and a Kshatriya mother, and were
formerly pack -carriers. Found in
Jubbulpore and the Nerbudda Valley.
Alike. — (Seduced.) A sept of the
339
340
GLOSS AR V
Uika clan of Gonds in Betrd. They
are said to be so named because
their priests once seduced a Dhurwa
girl, and her son was given this name.
Aithdna. — A subcaste of Kayasth.
Ajodhia. — Subcaste of Jadam.
Ajudhiabdsi. — See Audhia.
Akali. — Order of Sikh devotees. See
article Sikh.
Akhadcti'dle. — A class of Bairagis who
do not marry. Also .known as
Nihang.
Akhroti.- — A subdivisiim of Pathans.
(From akhrot, walnut.)
Akre. — A bastard Khatik. Title of a
child a Khatik gets by a woman of
another caste.
Alia.- — A grower of the al plant. A
subcaste of Bania and Kachhi, a
synonym of Chasa,
Alia, Alkari. — These terms are derived from the dl or Indian mulberry
{Morinda citrifolia). The Alias are members of the Kachhi caste who
formerly grew the dl plant in Nimar for sale to the dyers. Its cultivation
then yielded a large profit and the Alias devoted themselves golely to it, while
they excommunicated any of their members who were guilty of selling or
giving away the seed. The imported alizarin has now almost entirely super-
seded the indigenous dye, and dl as a commercial product has been driven
from the market. Alkari is a term applied to Banias and others in the
Damoh District who were formerly engaged in the cultivation of the dl plant.
The members of each caste which took to the cultivation of this plant were
somewhat looked down upon by the others and hence became a distinct group.
The explanation generally given of the distaste for the crop is that in the
process of boiling the roots to extract the dye a number of insects have to be
killed. A further reason is that the red dye is considered to resemble or be
equivalent to blood, the second idea being a necessary consequence of the first
in primitive modes of thought, and hence to cause a certain degree of pollution
to those who prepare it. A similar objection is held to the purveying of lac-
dye as shown in the article on Lakhera. Notwithstanding this, clothes dyed
red are considered lucky, and the dl dye was far more commonly used by
Hindus than any other, prior to the introduction of aniline dyes. Tents were
also coloured red with this dye. The tents of the Mughal Emperors and
royal princes were of red cloth dyed with the roots of the dl plant.'' Simi-
larly Nadir Shah, the victor of Panipat, had his field headquarters and lived
in one small red tent. In these cases the original reason for colouring the
tents red may probably have been that it was a lucky colour for battles, and
the same belief may have led to the adoption of red as a royal and imperial
colour.
Alkari. — Synonym for Alia.
Altia. — A subcaste of Uriya Brahmans,
so named because their forefathers
grew the dlii or potato.
Anial. — A section of Komti. The
members of this section do not eat
the plantain.
Ambaddr. — (Mango-branch.) A sec-
tion of Rawat (Ahir).
Ambashta. — A subcaste of Kayasth,
Atnethia. — (From Amethi, a pargana
in Lucknow District.) A sept of
Rajputs, who are Chauhans accord-
ing to Sir II. M. Elliott, but others
say they are a branch of the Chamar
Gaur.
Amisht. — A subcaste of Kayasth.
Amndit. — Subcaste of Bhatra.
Amrite. — (From Amrit nectar.) A
section of Kirar.
Anapa. — (Leather-dealers.) Subcaste
of Madgi.
Anavala. — A subdivision of Gujarati
or Khedawal Brahmans. They
derive their name from' the village
Anaval in Baroda. They are other-
wise known as Bhatela, Desai or
Mastan.
Aiid/ira, Tailanga. — One of the five
orders of the Panch Dravid Brahmans
inhabiting the Telugu country.
An/a>~vedi. — A resident of Antarved or
the Doab, the tract of land between
the Ganges and the Jumna rivers.
Subcaste of Chamar.
Apaslavibha. — A Sutra of the Vedas.
^ Irvine, Army of the Mughals, p. i<
GLOSSARY
341
A subdivision of Brahmans following Atharvarvedi, Antlu'n-niarvcdi. — A
that Sutra and forming a caste sub- subcaste of Brahmans who follow
division. But they marry with the Atharvar- Veda and are very
Rig-Vedis, though the Sutra belongs rarely met with,
to the Black Yajur-Vedi.
Arab. — This designation is sometimes returned by the descendants of the
Arab mercenaries of the Bhonsla kings. These were at one time largely
employed by the different rulers of southern India and made the best of
soldiers. In the Maratha armies' their rate of pay was Rs. 12 a month,
while the ordinary infantry received only Rs. 5. General Ilislop stated
their character as follows : ^
" There are perhaps no troops in the world that will make a stouter or
more determined stand at their posts than the Arabs. They are entirely
unacquainted with military evolutions, and undisciplined ; but every Arab
has a pride and heart of his own that never forsakes him as long as he has
legs to stand on. They are naturally brave and possess the greatest coolness
and quickness of sight : hardy and fierce through habit, and bred to the use
of the matchlock from their boyhood : and they attain a precision and skill
in the use of it that would almost exceed belief, bringing down or wounding
the smallest object at a considerable distance, and not unfrequently birds
with a single bullet. They are generally armed with a matchlock, a couple
of swords, with three or four small daggers stuck in front of their belts, and
a shield. On common occasions of attack and defence they fire but one
bullet, but when hard pressed at the breach they drop in two, three, and
four at a time, from their mouths, always carrying in them from eight to ten
bullets, which are of a small size. We may calculate the whole number of
Arabs in the service of the Peshwa and the Berar Raja at 6000 men, a loose
and undisciplined body, but every man of them a tough and hardy soldier.
It was to the Arabs alone those Provinces looked, and placed their depend-
ence on. Their own troops fled and abandoned them, seldom or never
daring to meet our smallest detachment. Nothing can exceed the horror
and akrm with which some of our native troops view the Arab. At Nagpur
in November 181 7 the Arabs alone attacked us on the defence and reduced
us to the last extremity, when we were saved by Captain Fitzgerald's charge.
The Arabs attacked us at Koregaon and would have certainly destroyed us
had not the Peshwa withdrawn his troops on General Smith's approach.
The Arabs kept General Doveton at bay with his whole army at Nagpur for
several days, repulsing our attack at the breach, and they gained their
fullest terms. The Arabs worsted us for a month at Malegaon and saved
their credit. They terrified the Surat authorities by their fame alone. They
gained their terms of money from Sir John Malcolm at Asirgarh. They
maintained to the last for their prince their post at Alamner and nobly
refused to be bought over there. They attacked us bravely, but unfortu-
nately at Talner. They attacked Captain Spark's detachment on the defence
and destroyed it. They attacked a battalion of the 14th Madras Infantry
with 26-pounders and compelled them to seek shelter in a village ; and they
gave us a furious wind-up at Asirgarh. Yet the whole of these Arabs were
not 6000."
There is no doubt that the Arabs are one of the finest fighting races of the
world. Their ancestors were the Saracens who gained a great empire in
Europe and Asia. Their hardihood and powers of endurance are brought to
the highest pitch by the rigours of desert life, while owing to their lack of
nervous sensibility the shock and pain of wounds affect them less than
civilised troops. And in addition their religion teaches that all who die in
1 Irvine, Army of the Mnghals, p. 232.
2 Suimnary of the Maratha aiid Pinddri Campaigns, p. 264.
342
GLOSSARY
battle against the infidel are transported straight to a paradise teeming with
material and sensual delights. Arab troops are still employed in Hyderabad
State. Mr. Stevens notices them as follows in his book In India : " A gang
of half-a-dozen, brilliantly dishevelled, a faggot of daggers with an antique
pistol or two in each belt, and a six-foot matchlock on each shoulder. They
serve as irregular troops there, and it must be owned that if irregularity is
what you want, no man on earth can supply it better. The Arab irregulars
are brought over to serve their time and then sent back to Arabia ; there is
one at this moment, who is a subaltern in Hyderabad, but as soon as he crosses
the British border gets a salute of nine guns ; he is a Sheikh in his own
country near Aden."
The Arabs who have been long resident here have adopted the ways and
manners of other Musalmans. Their marriages are in the Nikah form and are
marked by only one ^ dinner, following the example of the Prophet, who gave
a dinner at the marriage of his daughter the Lady Fatimah and Ali. In
obedience to the order of the Prophet a death is followed by no signs of
mourning. Arabs marry freely with other Sunni Muhammadans and have
no special social or religious organisation. Tlie battle-cry of the Arabs at
Sitabaldi and Nagpur was ^ Din, Din, Muhammad.'
Arakh. — A caste. A subcaste of Aranya. — Name of one of the ten
Dahait, Gond and Pasi. orders of Gosains.
Are. — A cultivating caste of the Chanda District, where they numbered 2000
persons in 191 1. The caste are also found in Madras and Bombay, where
they commonly return themselves under the name of Marathi ; this name is
apparently used in the south as a generic term for immigrants from the north,
just as in the Central Provinces people coming from northern India are
called Pardeshi. Mr. (Sir H.) Stuart says- that Are is a synonym for Arya,
and is used as an equivalent of a Maratha and sometimes in a still wider
sense, apparently to designate an immigrant Aryan into the Dravidian
country of the south. The Ares of the Central Provinces appear to be
Kunbis who have migrated into the Telugu country. The names of their
subcastes are those of the Kunbis, as Khaire, Tirelle, a form of Tirole, and
Dhanoj for Dhanoje. Other subdivisions are called Kayat and Kattri, and
these seem to be the descendants of Kayasth and Khatri ancestors. The
caste admit Brahmans, Banias, and Komtis into the community and seem to
be, as shown by Mr. Stuart, a mixed group of immigrants from IMahar-
ashtra into the Telugu country. Some of them wear the sacred thread and
others do not. Some of their family names are taken from those of animals
and plants, and they bury persons who die unmarried, placing their feet
towards the north like the forest tribes.
A7-ka. — A sept of Gonds in Chanda Annachi. — (The dhaura tree.) A
who worship the saras crane. totemistic sept of Gonds.
Arora, Rora. — An important trading and mercantile caste of the Punjab, of
which a few persons were returned from the Nimar District in 1 90 1. Sir
D. Ibbetson was of opinion that the Aroras were the Khatris of Aror, the
ancient capital of Scinde, represented liy the modern Rori. He described
the Arora as follows:' "Like the Khatri and unlike the Bania he is no
mere trader ; but his social position is far inferior to theirs, partly no doubt
because he is looked down upon simply as being a Hindu in the jjortions of
the Province which are his special habitat. He is commonly known as
a Kirar, a word almost synonymous with coward, and even more contemptuous
than is the name Bania in the east of the province. The Arora is aclive and
enterprising, industrious and thrifty. . . . ' When an Arora girds up his
' Bombay Gazetteer, vol. ix. part ii. 221.
p. 16. ■' Punjab Census Rcpo7-t {\%Z\), para.
2 Madras Census Report (1891), p. 543.
GLOSSARY
loins he makes it only two miles from Jhang to Lahore' He will turn his
hand to any work, he makes a most admirable cultivator, and a larijo
proportion of the Aroras of the lower Chenab are purely agricultural in their
avocations. He is found throughout Afghanistan and even Turkistan and is
the Hindu trader of those countries ; wdiile in the western Punjab he will
sew clothes, weave matting and baskets, make vessels of brass and copper
and do goldsmith's work. But he is a terrible coward, and is so branded in
the proverbs of the countryside : The thieves were four and we eighty-four ;
the thieves came on and we ran away ; and again : To meet a Rathi armed
with a hoe makes a company of nine Kirars (Aroras) feel alone. Yet the
peasant has a wholesome dread of the Kirar when in his proper place : Vex
not the Jat in his jungle, nor the Kirar at his shop, nor the boatman at his
ferry ; for if you do tiiey will break your head. Again : Trust not a crow,
a dog or a Kirar, even when asleep. So again : You can't make a friend of
a Kirar any more than a sati of a prostitute."
Asdthi. — A subcaste of Bania. They
are both Jains and Hindus.
Ashram. — Name of one of the ten
orders of Gosains.
Ashthdna. — -A subcaste of Kayasth.
Athdradesia. — (A man of eighteen
districts.) Subcaste of Banjara.
Athbhaiya. — (Eight brothers.) A
subdivision of Saraswat Brahman in
Hoshangabad. An Athbhaiya cannot
take a wife from the Chaubhaiya
subdivision, to whom the former
give their daughters in marriage.
Athia. — A subcaste of Chadar, so
named because they worship their
goddess Devi on the 8th day
(Athain) of Kunwar (September),
and correspond to the Brahmanical
Sakta sect, as opposed to the other
Chadar subcaste Parmasuria, who
correspond to the Vaishnavas.
Atidhalia. — Synonym for Audhelia.
Andk/'a, Ajiidhiabdsi. — A resident of
Oudh. Subcaste of Bania and of
Kasar and Sunar.
Aiidichya. — A subcaste of Brahmans
coming from Oudh.
Attghad. — A subdivision of Jogi.
They resemble the Aghoris with
the difference that they may not
eat human flesh.
Aughar. — A subdivision of Jogi.
Aukule. — A subcaste of Koshtis. They
are also called Vidurs, being of
mixed descent from Koshtas and
other castes.
Aidia. — (A favourite of God.) Title of
Muhammadan saints.
Bdba. — Synonym of Gosain.
Bdbhan. — Synonym for Bhuinhar, being
the name of a landholding caste in
Bengal. Used as a title by Bhuiyas.
Bdbiidn. — Title for the descendants of
the former ruling families of the
Chero tribe.
Bachhalya, Backhap, Bachhilia. —
(From hachka, a calf) A section
of Bania, Chadar and Khangiir.
A section of Patwa in Raipur. They
do not castrate bullocks.
Bad. — (High or great.) Subcaste of
Agharia and Sudh.
Bad or Bhdnd. — A caste. Title of
Khatlk.
Bad. — (Banyan tree.) A section of
Joshi.
Badaria.- — (From badar, cloud.) A
section of Kandera.
Badgainya. — (From Badgaon [bara
gaon), a large village.) A surname
of Sarwaria Brahmans. A section
of Basdewa, Gadaria and Kurmi.
Badgfijar. — (From bada, great.) One
of the thirty-six royal races of Raj-
puts. A subcaste of Gujar, also
of Gaur Brahman. A section of
Mehtar.
Badhaiya. — (Barhai, carpenter.) A
subcaste of Lohar and Kol. A
sept of Savar.
Badhdria.- — A resident of Badhas in
Mirzapur. Subcaste of Bahna and
Dhuri.
Bddi. — (A. rope-walker.) Synonym of
Nat.
Badkur. — Title used in the Dhobi
caste.
Badwdik. — (The great ones.) A sub-
caste of Mana. A title of Dhobi
and Pan or Ganda.
Bagaria. — (A young buffalo.) A sept
of Dhanwar and Sonkar.
Bdgh, Bdghwa. — (Tiger.) A totem-
istic sept of Ahir, Bhatra, Kawar,
344
GLOSSARY
Munda, Oraon, Sonkar, Teli and
Turi.
Baghel, Baghela.—[K tiger or tiger-
cub.) A clan of Rajputs which has
given its name to Baghcllchand. A
subcasle of Audhia Sunar and
Chamar. A section of Bhilala,
Dhanwar, Gond, Lodhi, Mali, and
Panwar Rajput.
BaghmCir, Baglunarya, Bagmar. — (A
tiger-slayer.) A section of Oswal
Bania, Basor, Chamar, Dhimar,
Koilabhuti Gond, and Teli. A
subsept of Nika Gonds in Betul,
who abstain from killing tigers.
Bdgri.- — A clan of Rajputs. A sub-
caste of Jat. One of the 72^
sections of Maheshri Banias.
People belonging to the Badhak or
Bawaria, and Pardhi castes are
sometimes known by this name.
Bahargahiyan. — (From Bahar gaon,
outside the village.) A subcaste of
Kurmi.
Baharketu. — (Bush-cutter.) A sub-
caste of Korwa.
Bahelia. — The caste of fowlers and hunters in northern India. In the
Central Provinces the Bahelias are not to be distinguished from the Pardhis,
as they have the same set of exogamous groups named after the Rajput clans,
and resemble them in all other respects. The word Bahelia is derived from
the Sanskrit Vyadha, ' one who pierces or wounds,' hence a hunter. Pardhi
is derived from the MarathI paradh, hunting. The latter term is more
commonly used in the Central Provinces, and has therefore been chosen as
the title of the article on the caste.
Bdhre. — (Outside the walls.) A sub- Bahrup. — Subcaste of Banjara.
division of Khedawal Brahmans.
Bahrupia. — A small class of mendicant actors and quick-change artists. They
are recruited from all classes of the population, and though a distinct caste
of Bahrupias appears to exist, people of various castes also call themselves
Bahrupia when they take to this occupation. In Berar the Mahar, Mang
and Maratha divisions of the Bahrupias are the most common : ^ the former
two Ijegging only from the castes from which they take their name. In
Gujarat they appear to be principally Muhammadans. Sir D. Ibbetson says
of them : - " The name is derived from the Sanskrit bahu, many, and riipa,
form, and denotes an actor, a mimic or one who assumes many forms or
characters. One of their favourite devices is to ask for money, and when it
is refused to ask that it may be given if the Bahrupia succeeds in deceiving
the person who refused it. Some days later the Bahrupia will again visit
the house in the disguise of a pedlar, a milkman or what not, sell his goods
without being detected, throw off his disguise and claim the stipulated
reward." In Gujarat "they are ventriloquists and actors with a special skill
of dressing one side of their face like a man and the other side like a woman,
and moving their head about so sharply that they seem to be two persons." ^
Mr. Kitts states that " the men are by profession story-tellers and mimics,
imitating the voices of men and the notes of animals ; their male children are
also trained to dance. In payment for their entertainment they are frequently
content with cast-off clothes, which will of course be of use to them in
assuming other characters."'* Occasionally also they dress up in European
clothes and can successfully assume the character of a Eurasian.
Baid. — (Physician.) A surname of Bajania.- — (One who plays on musical
Sanadhia and Maratha Brahmans in instruments.) Subcaste of Panka.
Saugor. A section of Oswal Bania,
and Darzi.
Bairagi. — A caste or religious order.
Subcaste of Bhat.
Bais. — A clan of Rajputs.
Bajanya. — (Drummer.) A subcaste
of Panka in Balaghat.
Bajdrha. — (Bazar.) A section of
Daraiha in Bilaspur.
^ Berdr Census Report {r%Zx), p. 128.
^ Punjab Census lieport (1881), para.
529-
2 Khan Bahadur Lutfullah Faridi in
Bombay Gazetteer, Muh. Guj.
* Berdr Census Report, ibidem.
BAHRUPIA IMPERSONATING THE GODDESS KALI.
GLOSS A 7^ V
34?
Bajna, Bajgari. — (Musicians at feasts
and marriages. ) Subcaste of Ganda.
Bajpai. — (A priest ofFidating at tiie
horse sacrifice.) A surname of
Kanaujia Brahmans. A section of
Brahmans. Title of some old
families whose ancestors were sacri-
ficial priests.
Bakar Kasai. — (Goat -butcher. ) A
subcaste of Khatlk.
Bah-a. — (Goat.) A totemistic sept of
Bhatra and Halba.
Baksaria. — From Buxar in Bengal.
A clan of Rajputs. A section of
Daraiha and Lodhi.
Balla. — One of the 36 Rajkuls or
royal clans of Rajputs noted in Tod's
Rajastha)i.
Balnlk. — Subcaste of Kayasth.
BalTisiidia. — (Shaven.) Titleof Khond.
Bdlnteddr. — Name for a village menial
in Berar. Title of Dhobi.
Bahvanda. — (Quarrelsome. ) A section
of Teli.
Bain-Mdrgi. — Synonym for the Vam-
Margi sect.
Banian or Brahman. Subcaste of
Bishnoi, Darzi and Gondhali.
Bdinania. — (From Brahman.) A
section of Ahlr. They do not
touch the pipal tree. A section of
Mahar and of Rajjhar in Hoshanga-
bad.
Bdmhan Gokt or Brdhmaii Go2tr. — A
clan of Rajputs in Saugor and
Narsinghpur.
Bdmhania. — A subcaste of Kasar,
from Idamhan or Brahman. A section
of Kalia.
Bdiiuiaiha. — (Belonging to a Bralim;in.)
A section of Basor.
Bandpliar, Bandfar. — A clan of
Rajputs. A section of Daharia.
Banbhainsa. — (Wild buffalo.) A
section of Ravvat (Ahlr).
Banda. — (Tailless.) A .section of
Kirar.
Bdnda Bdgh. — (Tailless tiger. ) A
section of Teli.
Bandar. — (A rocket-thrower.) Syno-
nym of Kadera.
Banda7-wdle. — (One who catches
monkeys. ) — Subcaste of Pardhi.
Bandesia. — (A man of 52 districts.)
Subcaste of Banjara.
Bandliaiya. — A subcaste of Nunia who
confine themselves to the excavation
of tanks and wells. Also a subcaste
of Dhimar.
Bandhaiya. — (From Bandhogarh.)
Subcaste of Nai.
Bandhia — (From bdndh, an embank-
ment.) A subcaste of Darzi and
Dhimar. A section of Chamar.
Bandrele. — (Monkey.) A section of
Basor, and Barai.
Banghore. — (Wild horses.) A section
of Dom (Mehtar).
Bania. — A caste. Subcaste of Bishnoi.
A synonym of Suniir in Sambalpur.
A subcaste of Banjara. A section
of Nandvansi Gauli.
Banka. — A small caste found principally in the Kalahandl Stale which now
forms part of Bengal. The caste was formed from military service like the
Khandaits, Paiks and Marathas, and some families bear the names of
different castes, as Brahman Banka, Kumhar Biinka, and so on. They were
formerly notorious freebooters, but have now settled down to cultivation.
Each man, however, still carries a sword or knife on his person, and in
Kalahandl they are permitted to do this without taking out a licence.
Banka. — (One who frequents se- Banda. — (From band/, a red woollen
questered parts of forests.) A sept
of Korku.
Bdnsberia. — (One who performs acro-
batic feats on a stick or bamboo.)
Synonym of Kolhati.
Bansia. — (Angler.) From bansi, a
fishing-hook. Subcaste of Dhimar.
Bdnsphor. — (A breaker of bamboos.)
Synonym of Basor. Subcaste of
Mehtar and Mahli.
Bdnstalai. — (A tank with bamboo trees
on its bank.) A section of Teli.
Bant. — Subcaste of Dhimar.
blanket.) A section of 0.swal Bania.
Baone or Baonia. — From the phrase
Rdtvan Berdr, a term applied tf) the
Province by the Mughals, because it
paid fifty-two lakhs of revenue, as
against only eight lakhs realised
from the adjoining Jhadi or hilly
country in the Central Provinces.
Subcaste of Kunbi, Mahar and Mali.
Baoria. — Synonym of Badhak.
Bdra-hazdr. — (Twelve thousand.) Sub-
caste of Chero.
Barade, Berdri. — A resident of Berar.
346 GLOSS AR V part
Subcaste of Bahna, Barhai, Chamfir, Bardliia. — (From Inlf-dk, a term for
Dhangar, Dhobi, Khalik, Mant^and the edge of a weapon.) Synonym
Nai. of Sikligar.
Baram Qx Birvi. — Subcaste of Bhat. Bardia. — -One who uses bullocks for
Barapatre. — (A large leaf-plate.) A transport. Subcaste of Kunihar.
section of Koshti. Baretha. — (A washerman.) Synonym
Baraiia. — (A fisherman.) Synonym for Dhobi.
of Dhimar ; title of Dhimar. Bar^a. — Subcaste of Oraon.
Bargall,^ Bargaha, Barghat. — A small caste of cultivators belonging princi-
pally to the Bilaspur District. They appear to be immigrants from Rewah,
where the caste is numerically strong, and they are also found in the
adjacent Districts of the United Provinces and Bengal. In the United
Provinces they are employed as higher domestic servants and make leaf-
plates, while their women act as mid wives.- Here they claim kinship with
the Goala AhTrs, but in the Central Provinces and Bengal they advance
pretensions to be Rajpfits. They have a story, however, which shows their
connection with the AhTrs, to the effect that on one occasion Brahma stole
Krishna's cows and cowherds. Krishna created new ones to replace them,
exactly similar to those lost, but Brahma subsequently returned the originals,
and the Bargahas are the descendants of the artificial cowherds created by
Krishna. In Sarguja, Bargaha is used as a title by Ahirs, while in Rewah
the Bargahs are looked on as the bastard offspring of Baghel Rajputs.
Dr. Buchanan writes of them as follows:^ "In Gorakhpur the Rajput
chiefs have certain families of AhTrs, the women of which act as wet-nurses
to their children, while the men attend to their persons. These families are
called Bargaha ; they have received, of course, great favours and many of them
are very rich, but others look down upon them as having admitted their
women to too great familiarity with their chiefs." In the United Provinces
they also claim to be Rajputs, as they returned themselves as a clan of
Rajputs in i88i.'* Their position as described by Buchanan is precisely the
same as that of the Dauwa AhTrs, who are the household servants of Bundela
Rajputs in Bundelkhand, and the facts set forth above leave little or no
doubt that the Bargahs are a mixed caste, arising from the connection of
Rajputs with the AhTr women who were their personal servants. In the
Central Provinces no subdivisions of the caste exist at present, but a separate
and inferior subcaste is in process of formation from those who have been
turned out of caste. They are divided for the purpose of marriage into
cxogamous gotras or clans, the names of which correspond to those of
Rajputs, as Kaunsil, Chandel, Rana, Bundela, Rathor, Baghel, Chauhan
and others. Marriage between members of the same clan and also between
first cousins is prohibited. The custom of gui'cinwat or exchanging girls in
marriage between families is very prevalent, and as there is a scarcity of
girls in the caste, a man who has not got a daughter must pay Rs. loo to
Rs. 200 to obtain a bride for his son. On the arrival of the marriage
l^rocession the bridegroom touches with a dagger a grass mat hung in front
of the marriage-.shed. During the marriage the bridegroom's father presents
him with a grass ring, which he places on his wrist. The hands of the
ijridegroom and bride are lied one over the other with a piece of thread, and
the bride's parents catching the hands say to the bridegroom, ' We have
given you our daughter ; protect her.' The couple then walk seven times
round a sacrificial fire and a pestle and slab containing seven pieces of
turmeric, nuts and heaps of coloured rice, the bride leading and kicking over
1 In 191 1 about 3000 persons be- ^ Crooke, vol. i. p. 184.
longing to the caste were returned, mainly •' Eastern India, ii. p. 467.
from Bilaspur District, and the Korea ■' North - West Provinces Gazetteer,
and Sarguja .States. vol. xiv. , Mirzapur, p. 365.
I GLOSSARY 347
a heap of rice from the slab at each turn. Tlic other common ceremonies
are also performed. The Bargahs do not tolerate sexual ofTences and expel
a girl or married woman who goes wrong. The Bargahs are usually
cultivators in the Central Provinces, but they consider it beneath their
dignity to touch the plough with their own hands. Many of them are
malguzars or village proprietors. They take food cooked without water
from a Brahman, and water only from a Rajput. Rajputs take water from
their hands, and their social position is fairly high.
Bargandi. — Synonym for Kaikari. Bastarha. — A resident of Bastar State.
Barghat. — Synonym of Bargah. Subcaste of Ilalba.
Barki. — High. Subcaste of Rautia. Bathri. — (From bathiir, a vegetable.)
Barkia. — ^(A spinner of fine thread.) A subcaste of Dhobi and Tel i.
Subcaste of Mahar. BCithudia. — Subcaste of Bhuiya.
Bar>naiyan,Bar/iiia)t, Malaiya. — Sub- Batri. — A grower of batar, a kind
caste of Basor, Dhimar and Gadaria. of pea. Subcaste of Teli.
Baroni. — Title of a female Dhimar. Batti. — (A ball.) A subsept of the
Barora or Warka7-a. — (Wild cat.) A Uika clan of Gonds in Betrd, so
subsept of the Uika clan of Gonds named because their priest stole
in Betrd. balls of cooked mahua. They do
Barpaihi. — {Bai-, banyan tree.) A not kill or eat goats or sheep, and
sept of the Uika clan of Gonds in throw away anything smelt by
Betrd, so named because their priest them.
offered food to their gods on the Bdwan, BCiwanjaye. — (Bdwau-^2.)
leaves of a banyan tree. A subcaste of Saraswat Brahmans.
Banaa. — Synonym for Garpagari. Bdwaria. — A dweller of Bhanwargarh
One who wards off hailstones from tract in Betrd district. Subcaste of
the standing crops. Subcaste of Korku.
Jogi. Bdwisa. — (Twenty-two.) A subcaste
Bashishta. — See Vasishta. A section of Gujarati Brahmans in Iloshanga-
of Vidur. bad and Makrai State.
Bayar, Eiyar, Biar. — A small caste of labourers belonging to the eastern
Districts of the United Provinces, of whom about 200 persons were returned
from Bilaspur in 1891. They are found in the Korba zamindari, and are
professional diggers or navvies, like the Murhas. They are apparently a
mixed caste derived from the primitive tribes with some liindu blood. They
eat fowls and pork, but will not take food from any other caste. They work
by contract on the dangri system of measurement, a dangri being a piece of
bamboo five cubits long. For one rupee they dig a patch 8 dangris long by
one broad and a cubit in depth, or 675 cubic feet. But this rate does not
allow for lift or lead.
BCizigar. — (An acrobat.) Synonym of Behera. — A subcaste of Taonla. A
Nat. section of Tiy.ar. A title of
Behdr. — (Cat.) A totemislic sept of Khadal.
Kawar.
Belwar, Bilwar. — A small caste of carriers and cattle-dealers belonging to
Oudh, whose members occasionally visit the northern Districts of the Central
Provinces. They say that their ancestors v.'ere Sanadhya Brahmans, who
employed bullocks as pack-animals, and hence, being looked down on by the
rest of the caste, became a separate body, marrying among themselves.
Benaika, Binaika. — A subcaste of Beiiditadla. — Name of a minor Vish-
Parwar Bania, consisting of the nuite order. See Bairngi.
offspring of remarried widows or Benetiya, Bcnatia. — Subcaste of Chasa
illegitimate unions. Probably also and Sansia.
found among other subcastes of Bengali. — Bengali immigrants are
Bania. usually Brahmans or Kayasths.
Benatia. — A subcaste of Sansia in Bengaiii. — (Brinjal.) One of the
Sambalpur. 1444 sections of Oswal Bania.
348 GLOSSARY part
Bengldh. — An immigrant from Bengal. Dhimar, Kasar and Kunbi.
Subcaste of IJharbhunja. Bcria. — A caste of gipsies and vagrants,
Beora Basia.—{\^?L.\i\k.) A totemistic whose women are prostitutes. Hence
sept of Bhatra. sometimes used generally to signify
Berdria, Berddia. — (Belonging to a prostitute. A subcaste of Nat.
Berar.) A subcaste of Bahna, Bcsra. — (Hawk.) A totemistic sept
Barai, Barliai, Chamar, Dhangar, of Bhatra and Rawat (Ahir).
Besta. — A Telugu caste of fishermen. They are also called Bhoi and
Machchnfiik, and correspond to the Dhimars. They are found only in the
Chanda District, where they numbered 700 persons in 191 1, and their
proper home is Mysore. They are a low caste and rear pigs and eat pork,
crocodiles, rats and fowls. They are stout and strong and dark in colour.
Like the Dhimars they also act as palanquin-bearers, and hence has arisen
a saying about them, ' The Besta is a great man when he carries shoes,'
because the head of a gang of palanquin-bearers carries the shoes of the
person who sits in it. At their marriages the couple place a mixture of
cummin and jaggery on each other's heads, and then gently press their feet
on those of the other seven times. Drums are beaten, and the bridegroom
places rings on the toes of the bride and ties the mangal-sutravi or necklace
of black beads round her neck. They are seated side by side on a plough-
yoke, and the ends of their cloths are tied together. They are then taken
outside and shown the Great Bear, the stars of which are considered to be
the spirits of the seven principal Hindu Saints, and the pole-star, Arundhati,
who represents the wife of Vasishtha and is the pattern of feminine virtue.
On the following two days the couple throw flowers at each other for some
time in the morning and evening. Before the marriage the bridegroom's
toe-nails are cut by the barber as an act of purification. This custom, Mr.
Thurston ^ states, corresponds among the Siidras to the shaving of the head
among the Brahmans. The Bestas usually take as their principal deity the
nearest large river and call it by the generic term of Ganga. On the fifth
day after a death they offer cooked food, water and sesamum to the crows,
in whose bodies the souls of the dead are believed to reside. The food and
water are given to satisfy the hunger and thirst of the soul, while the sesamum
is supposed to give it coolness and quench its heat. On the tenth day tlie
ashes are thrown into a river. Tne beard of a boy whose father is alive is
shaved for the. first time before his marriage. Children are tattooed with
a mark on the forehead within three months of birth, and this serves as a
sect mark. A child is named on the eleventh day after birth, and if it is
subsequently found to be continually ailing and sickly, the name is changed
under the belief that it exercises an evil influence on the child.
Betala. — (Goblin.) One of the 1444 as of one who begs with deceit or
sections of Oswal Bania. fraud.
Bhadauria. — (From Bhadawar in Bhadune. — (From the month Bhadon.)
Gwalior State.) A clan of Rajputs. A section of Kalar.
A clan of Dangi in Saugor from Bhagat. — (Devotee.) A section of
whom Rajputs take daugliters in Ahir or Gaoli, Barai and Panwar
marriage, but do not give daughters Rajput.
to them. A surname of Sanadhia B/iams-Mdra. — (Killer of the buffalo.)
Brahman. A section of Kanjar.
Bhadoiiia. — Sul)caste of Dangi. Bhainsa. — (Buffalo.) A section of
Bhaderia. — (A drum -beater.) Sub- Chamar, Dhanwar, Ganda, Kawar,
caste of Chamar. Kanjar, Mali, Panka and Rawat
Bhadri, Bhaddari. — A synonym for (Ahir).
Joshi, having a derogatory sense, B/tatron. — (Tlie god Bhairon.) A
' Ethnographic Notes in Southern India, page 72.
GLOSS AR V
349
section of Pan war Rajput. B/iale Sultan. — (Lords of the spear.)
Bhaiya. — (Brother.) One of the 72^ A clan of Rajputs.
sections of Maheshri Bania. BhUmli, BhCiintia. — Synonyms of
Bhala. — (Spear.) One of the 72^, Bhfimta.
sections of Maheshri Bania. Bhandrc. — Named after the town of
Bhalddr.—{K spear-man.) A class of Bhandara in the Central Provinces.
Dahaits, who have commonly been Subcaste of Dhimar.
employed as village watchmen.
Bhand, Bhanr,' — A small caste of story-tellers and buffoons. The name is
derived from the Sanskrit Bhanda, a jester, and the caste are also known as
Naqqal or actor. Only a trifling number of Bhands are shown by the census
as belonging to the Central Provinces. Mr. Crooke remarks : " The Bhand
is sometimes employed in the courts of Rajas and native gentlemen of rank,
where he amuses the company at entertainments with buffoonery and a
burlesque of European and native manners, much of which is of a very coarse
nature. The Bhand is quite separate from and of a lower professional rank
than the Bahrupia. The bulk of the caste are Muhammadans, but they
have exogamous sections, some of which, as Kaithela (Kayaslh), Bamhaniya
(Brahman), Gujartha (Giijar), Nonela (Lunia), and so on, are derived from
those of Hindu castes, and indicate that the caste is a heterogeneous com-
munity recruited from different sources. There are two recognised endogamous
subcastes — the Chenr, which seems to mean little (Hindi, Chciira), and the
Kashmiri. The former trace their origin to the time of Tamarlane, who,
on the death of his son, gave himself over to mourning for twelve years.
Then one Sayyid Hasan, a courtier of the Emperor, composed a humorous
poem in Arabic, which gained him the title of Bhanr. Sayyid Hasan is
regarded as the founder of the caste. Though he was a Sayyid the present
Bhanrs are either Shaikhs or Mughals ; and the difference of faith, Sunni
and Shiah, is a bar to intermarriage. The Kashmiri Bhanrs are said to be
of quite recent origin, having been invited from Kashmir by NasIr-ud-DIn
Haidar, king of Oudh." The Bhands perform their marriages by the Nikah
form, in which a Kazi officiates. In virtue of being JNIuhammadans they
abstain from pork and liquor. Dr. Buchanan ^ quaintly described them as
" Impudent fellows, who make long faces, squeak like pigs, bark like dogs,
and perform many other ludicrous feats. They also dance and sing, mimicking
and turning into ridicule the dancing boys and girls, on whom they likewise
pass many jokes, and are employed on great occasions." The Bhand, in fact,
seems to correspond very nearly to the court jester of the Middle Ages.
Bhanddri. — (A barber, also a cook in of Brahmans. Also a section of
the Uriya country. ) A synonym for Joshi, Lobar, Prabhu, Sunar, and of
Nai. A subcaste of Gondhali. A several clans of Rajputs.
section of Oswal Bania and tialba. Bhareiua. — (From bharat, a mixture of
Title of the deputies of the chief copper and lead.) A group of brass
guru of the Satnami sect. or bell-metal workers classed with
Bhangi. — (Hemp-smoker.) Synonym the Kasar caste, but of lower social
of Mehtar. standing than the Kasars. A sub-
Bhanr. — Synonym of Bhand, a story- caste of Sunar in Raipur.
teller. Bhdrgava. — (Born of Bhrigu Rishi.)
Bhdnwar. — (A bee, also honey.) A A subcaste of Kanaujia Brfihmans.
section of Gadaria and Kawar. A section of Maratha Brahmans.
Bhaosar. — Synonym of Chhipa. Bhargava IDhusar is a subcaste of
Bkdradivdj. — (A skylark. Name of a Bania. See Bania-Dhusar.
great Brahman Rishi or saint.) One Bharia. — (From the Bhar tribe.) A
of the common eponymous sections tribe. A subcaste of Baiga in
^ This article consists of extracts from Mr. Crooke's account of the caste in his,
Tribes and Castes. ^ Eastern India, ii. 248.
350 GLOSSARY part
Mandla, and of Kol. caste of Baiga, also of Ahir.
Bharia-BhiiDiia. — Synonym of Bharia. Bluu-thi. — Name of one of the ten
Bharotia ox JMtidia. — (Shaven.) Sub- orders of Gosains.
Bhatia, — A commercial caste of Sind and Gujarat, a few of whom settlf
temporarily in the Central Provinces. Sir D. Ibbetson writes of them : *
" Tlie Bhatias are a class of Rajprits, originally coming from Bhatner,
Jaisalmer and the Rajputana desert, who have taken to domestic pursuits.
The name would seem to show that they were Bhatis (called Bhatti in the
Punjab) ; but be that as it may, their Rajput origin seems to be unquestioned.
They stand distinctly below the Khatri, and perhaps below the Arora, and
are for the most part engaged in petty shopkeeping, though the Bhatias
of Dera Ismail Khan are described as belonging to a widely-spread and
enterprising mercantile community. They are very strict Hindus, far more
so than the other trading classes of the western Punjab ; and eschew meat
and liquor. They do not practise widow-marriage."
Mr. Crooke's account ^ leaves little doubt that the Bhatias are a branch
of the Bhatti or Yaduvansi Rajpats of Jaisalmer who have gone into trade ;
and Colonel Tod expresses the same view : " The Bhattiah is also one of
the equestrian order converted into the commercial, and the exchange has
been to his advantage. His habits are like those of the Arora, next to
whom he ranks as to activity and wealth." ^ "The chief occupation of the
Bhatias," Mr. Crooke states, "is moneylending, and to this they add trade
of all kinds, agriculture, landholding and Government service. Many of
them go on expeditions to Arabia, Kabul, Bokhara and other distant places
of business. Many in Bombay carry on trade with Zanzibar, Java and the
Malay Peninsula."
Bkatnagar. — A subcaste of Kayasth. Bhilaophod. — (Those who extract oil
Bhdtpagar. — (Wage of rice. ) A section from the bhilawa nut, Semecarpus
of Katia. anacardiuni.) Subcaste of Kol.
BhikshakuiUl. — {Bhiksha, begging; Bhilsaiyan, Bhilsia, Bhilasia. — (From
hinti, lame.) A subcaste of Kape- Bhllsa, a town in Gwalior State.)
war who are the Bhats or bards of A section and surname of Jijhotia
the caste. Brahmans. A section of Purania
Bhil. — A tribe. A subcaste of Pardhi. Sunar and of Rathor Teli and Teli.
Bhima. — A small caste belonging to the Mandla and Seoni Districts. They
are musicians of the Gond tribe and dance and beg at their weddings. The
caste are an offshoot of the Gonds, their exogamous septs having Gond names,
as Marabi, Markam, Dhurwa, Parteti, Tekam and so on ; but they now
marry among themselves. They worship the Gond god, Bura Deo, their
own elders serving as priests. At their performances the men play and dance,
wearing hollow anklets of metal with little balls of iron inside to make them
tinkle. The women are dressed like Hindu women and dance without
ornaments. Their instrument is called Tuma or gourd. It consists of a
hollow piece of bamboo fixed horizontally over a gourd. Over the bamboo
a string is stretched secured to a peg at one end and passing over a bridge at
the other. Little knobs of wax are made on the bamboo so that the siring
touches them during its vibrations. The gourd acts as a sounding-board.
Bhogla. — Subcaste of Khairwar. Blioir. — Synonym for Bhoyar.
Bhoi. — (One who carries litters or Bhojni. — Subcaste of Chitrakathi.
palanquins.) Synonym of Dhlmar They serve the food at marriage
and Kahiir. A title or iionorific and other ceremonies,
name for Gonds and one by which Bholia. — (From b/u'tliia, to forget.)
they are often known. See article Synonym of Bhulia.
Kahar. A section of Binjhal.
1 Punjab Census Kc'Porl [iZZi), para. ^ Tribes and Castes, art. Bhatia.
542. ^ Rdjasi/idn, ii. p. 292.
GLOSS/IRY
351
Bhona. — A small caste of labourers in llie Mandla District. They are practically
all employed by the local Pansaris (Barai) or /(7«-gro\vers in tending their
barejas or betel-vine gardens. There is some ground for supposing that the
Bhonas are an ofishoot of the Bharia or Bharia-Bhumia tribe of Jubbuipore,
which is itself derived from the Bhars. One of the sections of the Bh.mas
is named after the vulture, and at their weddings a man of this section catches
a young chicken and bites off the head in imitation of a vulture.
Bhondih. — (From bhotid, dung-beetle.) A section of Kurmi.
A section of Ahlr. ^ Bhura.—{GxGy.) One of the sections
Bhonsla. —A clan of Marathas to which of Oswal Bania. A proper name.
the Rajas of Nagpur belong. Bhiisar. — (Lord of the earth.) A title
Bhope or Bhoall. — Subcaste of Man- of Brahman.
bhao. Bhusdrjin. — (From bhUsa, the chaff of
Bhoriya. — Synonym of Bhulia. wheat.) Subcaste of Banjara.
Bhoyar. — A caste. A subcaste of BJmskate. — (From bhiisa, fodder, one
Koshti and Marar. who supplies fodder.) A family
Bhitdt's. — (The gods on earth.) Title name.
of Brahmans. Bhuta. — A subtribe of Gond in BetCil,
BIniinhdr. — Name of a landhokling the same as Koilabhuta. They are
caste in Benares and Bengal who said to be of immoral character,
claim to be Brahmans or Rajputs. Biar. — Synonym of Bayar.
They are also known as Babhan. Bichhuiva, Bichhi. — {From bichhii,
A title of the Bhuiya tribe. See scorpion.) A section of Dhobi and
article Bhuiya. A title of the Kawar.
Bhaina tribe. Bidur. — Synonym of the Vidur caste.
Bhumia. — (Born from the land, or Biloria. — (From <5//(7;7, marble stone. )
aboriginal.) A title of the Bharia A section of Chhipa.
tribe in Jubbuipore, also a title of Bihvdr. — Synonym of Ik-lwar, a carrier
Baiga and Korku. A synonym of and cattle-dealer.
Bhuiya. A subdivision of Gond.
Bind. — A large non-Aryan caste of Bihar and the United Provinces, of which
380 persons were returned in 191 1. Sir H. Risley says of them :' "They
are a tribe employed in agriculture, earthwork, fishing, hunting, making
saltpetre and collecting indigenous drugs. Traditions current among the
caste profess to trace their origin to the Vindhya hills, and one of these
legends tells how a traveller, passing by the foot of the hills, heard a strange
flute-like sound coming out of a clump of bamboos. He cut a shoot and
took from it a fleshy substance which afterwards grew into a man, the supposed
ancestor of the Binds. Another story says that the Binds and Nunias were
formerly all Binds and that the present Nunias are the descendants of a Bind
who consented to dig a grave for a Muhammadan king and was outcasted for
doing so." A third legend tells how in the beginning of all things Mahadeo
made a lump of earth and endowed it with life. The creature thus produced
asked Mahadeo what he should eat. The god pointed to a tank and told
him to eat the fish in it and the wild rice which grew near the banks. ]\Ir.
Crooke-says that they use fish largely except in the fortnight (Pitripaksh)
sacred to the dead in the month of Kunwar, and Sir H. Risley notes that
after the rice harvest the Binds wander about the country digging up the
stores of rice accumulated by field rats in their burrows. From four to six
pounds of grain are usually found, but even this quantity is sometimes
exceeded. The Binds also feast on the rats, but they deny this, saying that
to do so would be to their own injury, as a reduction of the next year's find
of grain would thus be caused.
Binjhdl. — Synonym of Binjhwar. Binjhwdr. — A caste derived from the
1 Tribes and Castes of Bengal, art. Bind.
" Tribes and Castes of the N. W.P. and Oudh, art. Bind.
352 GLOSSARY part
Baiga tribe. A subtribe of Baiga Subcaste of Ghosi.
and Gond. A subcaste of Gowari. Birchhia. — (From /^i;r///^a, a tree.) A
Bircliheya. — (A dweller in the forest.) subcaste of Ghosi.
Birhor. — A small Kolarian tribe of whom about 150 persons were returned in
191 1 from the Chota Nagpur States. The name means a dweller in the
forest. Sir H. Risley states that the Birhors live in tiny huts made of
branches of trees and leaves, and eke out a miserable living by snaring hares
and monkeys, and collecting jungle products, especially the bark of the chob
creeper,' from which a coarse kind of rope is made. They are great adepts
at ensnaring monkeys and other small animals, and sell them alive or eat
them. Colonel Dalton described them as,^ "A small, dirty, miserable-
looking race, who have the credit of devouring their parents, and when I
taxed them with it they did not deny that such a custom had once obtained
among them. But they declared they never shortened lives to provide such
feasts and shrank with horror from the idea of any bodies but those of their
own blood-relatives being served up to them." It would appear that this
custom may be partly ceremonial, and have some object, such as ensuring
that the dead person should be born again in the family or that the survivors
should not be haunted by his gHost. It has been recorded of the Bhunjias
that they ate a small part of the flesh of their dead parents.^ Colonel Dalton
considered the Birhors to be a branch of the Kharia tribe, and this is borne
out by Dr. Grierson's statement that the specimen of the Birhor dialect
returned from the Jashpur State was really Kharia.* Elsewhere the Birhor
dialect resembles Mundari.
Birjhia, Birjia. — (One who practises Chanda.
bewar or shifting cultivation in a Bo:^am. — A name for Madrasi prosti-
forest. ) Subcaste of Binjhwar, Baiga tutes, perhaps a separate caste. Their
and Korwa. honorific title is Sani.
Bn-khandia. — From Birkhand (Sand Bohra. — A Muhammadan caste. A
of heroes), a name for Rajputana. section of Oswal Bania.
A section of Teli. Bombay. — A subdivision of Valmiki
Birtiya. — Title of Nai or barber. Kayasth.
Biseti, Bisan. — A clan of Rajput. A Bondoya.—h. resident of Jitgarh and
section of Daharia and of Panwar the Pachmarhi tract of the Central
Rajput. A section of Marar. Provinces. Subcaste of Korku.
Bobalaya. — (From Bobbili, a town in Bopchi.- — A section of Panwar Rajput.
Madras.) A section of Teli in
Bopchi. — A small caste in the Wardha District numbering a few hundred persons.
They are in reality Korkus, the name being a corruption of that of the Bon-
doya subtribe, but they have discarded their proper tribal name and formed
a separate caste. They retain some of the Korku sept names, while others
are derived from Marathi words or from the names of other castes, and these
facts indicate that the Bopchis are of mixed descent from Korkus and other
low Maratha castes with which unions have taken place. As might be
expected, they are very tolerant of sexual and social offences, and do not
expel a woman who has a liaison with a man of another caste or takes food
from him. She is readmitted to caste intercourse, but has to undergo the
penalty of washing her body with cowdung and having a lock of her hair
cut off. A man committing a similar offence has his upper lip shaved. They
employ Gosains for their gurus and their social position is very low.
Bo7-ekar. — (A mat-maker.) Synonym Ilalba.
of Gopal. B7-ah)iiacharc. — (A celibate. ) Subcaste
Borjharia. — (5or-plum.) A sept of of Manbhao.
^ Dauhinia scandens. * Linguistic Survey of India, vol. iv. ,
2 Ethnology of Bengal, pp. 158, 221. Munda and Dravidian Dialects, p.
3 See art. Bhunjia. 102.
GLOSSARY
353
Brahman Gaiir, or Bam /tan Gaiir. —
A branch of the Gaur clan of Rajputs.
A subcaste of Rhat.
Brid-dhari. — Begging Bhats. Sub-
caste of Bhat.
Brihaspati, Brahaspati. — An eponym-
ous section of Brahmans.
Bitchar. — A corruption of the English
word 'butcher.' Subcaste of Kha-
tik in Agra.
Bitdalgir. — (From bud la, a leathern
bag made for the transport and
storage of oil and^V/f (butter). ) Sub-
caste of Chamar.
Bukckari. — (A seller of scented powder
(btikka).) Synonym of Atari.
Btindela. — A clan of Rajputs of mixed
descent. Name probably from the
Vindhya hills. A subcaste of Basor.
A sept of Manihar and Rawat.
Bnndclkhandi. — A resident of Bun-
delkhand. Subcaste of Basdewa,
Barai, Basor, Chamar, Darzi, Dhobi,
Kumhar, Lobar, Nai and Sunar.
Bundhrajia. — Subcaste of Kamar.
Bunkar. — (A weaver. ) Title of Balahi.
Biu-ad. — A synonym for the Basor
caste of bamboo- workers. A section
of Koshti and Oswal Bania.
Burthia. — Subcaste of Charan Banjara.
Bn>-ud. — (A bamVjoo-worker. ) Syno-
nym for Basor in the Maratha
country.
Biitka. — (One who brings leaves. )
Subcaste of Chasa.
Byahut. — -(Married.) Subcaste of
Kalar.
Chadar. — -A caste. A subcaste of Kori.
Chakere. — (One who uses the potter's
wheel in localities where other Kum-
hars do not use it.) Subcaste of
Kumhar.
Chakla. — (A professional washerman.)
Synonym for Dhobi.
Chahikya. —A synonym for Solanki
Rajputs. (Perhaps from chhnllu or
challii, hollow of the hand.) A sub-
caste of Panwar Rajput.
Chamar, Chamara. — (From chamra,
a hide.) The well-known caste of
tanners. A subcaste of Banjara,
Barhai and Darzi.
Chamar Gaur. — (Chamar and Gaur.)
A well-known clan of Rajputs. See
Rajput-Gaur.
Chambhdr. — Name of the Chamar
caste in Berar.
VOL. I
Chamra. — A contemptuous diminutive
for the Chamar caste in Chhattls-
garh.
Chandan, Chaitdania. — (Sandalwood. )
A section of Chamar, Kawar, Khan-
gar and Kurmi.
Chandel. — A famous clan of Rajputs.
See Rajput-Chandel.
Chdndewdr. — (Belonging to Chanda.)
Subcaste of Injhwar.
Chandi. — (One who hides behind a
fishing-net.) A sept of Korku.
Chandra, Chandrdha. (From chanda,
the moon. ) A section of Gujar and
Teli.
Chandra'c'ansi or Somvansi. — • (De-
scended from the moon.) A clan
of Rajputs.
Chandravedi.- — Synonym of .Sanaurhia,
meaning ' One who observes the
moon.'
Chankhatia. — A subcaste of Bhuiya
and Chamar.
Channdgri. — A small Jain sect. A
subcaste of Bania.
Chanti. — Name derived from chiti, an
ant. Subcaste of Kawar. A section
of Kumhar.
Chdnwar. — (Whisk.) A totemistic
sept of Kawar and Pabia.
Charak. — A subdivision of Maratha
Brahman ; a section of Brahman.
Chdran. — Subcaste of Banjara and
Bhat. Title of Bhat in Rajputiina.
Chdrdeve. — A clan of Gonds worship-
ing four gods and paying special
reverence to the tortoise.
Chdrghar. — (Four houses.) A sub-
division of Saraswat Brahmans.
Chdrndgri. — A Jain sect or subcaste
of Bania.
Chatrapati. — (Lord of the umbrella.)
Title of the ancient Indian kings.
Chatri, Chhatri. — A common synonym
for a Rajput. A subcaste of Bhamta.
Chaturbhitji. — (Four-armed.) An
epithet of \'ishnu. A title of the
Chauhan clan of Rajputs. A class
of Bairagis or religious mendicants.
Chaube, Chaturz^edi. — (From Chaiur-
vedi, or one learned in the four
Vedas.) A surname for Kanaujia,
Jijhotia and other Hindustani Brah-
mans. Subcaste of Banjara.
Chanbhaiya. — (Four brothers.) A
subdivision of Saraswat Brahmans.
They take wives from the Athbhaiya
2 A
354 GLOSSARY part
subdivision, but do not give girls to wheat -flour or quartz -dust within
them in marriage. which ceremonies are performed.
Chaudhri, Chandhart, Chottdhri. — (A Chaukhutia. — A term which signifies a
headman, the first person.) Title bastard in Chhattlsgarh. Subcaste
of Kalar I'anwar, Rajput and other of Bhunjia.
castes; title of Dhobi, vice-president Chatiske. — Subcaste of Kalar. The)'
of the caste committee. A section are so called because they prohibit
of Ahlr, Maheshri Bania, Gadaria, the marriage of persons having a
Gujar, Halba and Marar (Mali). A common ancestor up to four genera-
subdivision of Kapewar. tions.
Chauhdn. — A famous clan of Rajputs. Ckaui'dsia. — Resident of a Chaurasi or
Name of a low caste of village watch- estate of eighty-four villages. Sub-
men in Chhattlsgarh, perhaps the caste of Barai and Bhoyar. A sec-
illegitimate descendants of Panwar tion of Dhimar and Kumhar. Many
Rajputs. estates are called by this name, grants
Chauka. — Title of the Kablrpanthi of eighty - four villages having been
religious service. The chatik is a commonly made under native rule,
sanctified place on the floor of the Chawara, Chaura. — One of the thirty-
house or yard, plastered with cow- six royal races of Rajputs,
dung and marked out with lines of
Chenchuwar, Chenchuwad or Chencliu.— A forest tribe of the Telugu
country of whom a few persons were returned from the Chanda District in
191 1. In Madras the tribe is known as Chenchu, and the affix tvad or
wddii merely signifies person or man.^ The marriage ceremony of the
Chenchus may be mentioned on account of its simplicity. The couple some-
times simply run away together at night and return next day as husband and
wife, or, if they perform a rite, walk round and round a bow and arrow stuck
into the ground, while their relations bless them and throw rice on their
heads. Each party to a marriage can terminate it at will without assigning
any reason or observing any formality. The bodies of the dead are washed
and then buried with their weapons.
Chenr. — (Little.) Subcaste of Bhand. or pounded rice.) Subcaste of
Cheordktda. — (One who prepares c/^t'sra Dhuri.
Chero.^ — A well-known tribe of the Munda or Kolarian family, found in small
numbers in the Chota Nagpur Feudatory States. They are believed to have
been at one time the rulers of Bihar, where numerous monuments are
attributed, according to the inquiries of Buchanan and Dalton, to the Kols and
Cheros. "In Shahabad •' also most of the ancient monuments are ascribed
to the Cheros, and it is traditionally asserted that the whole country belonged
to them in sovereignty. An inscription at Budh Gaya mentions one Phudi
Chandra who is traditionally said to have been a Chero. The Cheros were
expelled from Shahabad, some say by the Sawaras (Saonrs), some say by a
tribe called Hariha ; and the date of their expulsion is conjectured to be
between the fifth and sixth centuries of the Christian era. Both Cheros and
Sawaras were considered by the Brahmans of Shahabad as impure or
Mlechchas, but the Harihas are reported good Kshatriyas.
" The overthrow of the Cheros in Mithila and Magadha seems to have
been complete. Once lords of the Gangetic provinces, they are now found
in Shahabad and other Bihar Districts only holding the meanest offices or
concealing themselves in the woods skirting the hills occupied by their
' Caldwell's Dravidian Grammar, " This article consists only of extracts
pp. 123 and 134. Captain Glasfurd from the accounts of Colonel Dalton and
says : ' The termination war is a Telugu Sir H. Risley.
affix signifying person or man ' {Settle- ^ Dalton's Ethnology of Bengal, pp.
mcnt Report of the Upper Goddvari 126, 127.
District (1868), p. 26).
1 GLOSSARY 355
cousins, the Kharwars ; but in Palumau they retained till a recent period the
position they had lost elsewhere. A Cliero family maintained almost an
independent rule in that pargana till the accession of the iJiiiish Government ;
they even attempted to hold their castles and strong places against that
power, but were speedily subjugated, forced to pay revenue and submit to
the laws. They were, however, allowed to retain their estates ; and though
the rights of the last Raja of the race were purchased by Government in
1813, in consequence of his falling into arrears, the collateral branches of the
family have extensive estates there still. According to their own traditions
(they have no trustworthy annals) they have not been many generations in
Palamau. They invaded that country from Rohtas, and with the aid of
Rajput chiefs, the ancestors of the Thakurais of Ranka and Chainpur drove
out and supplanted a Rajput Raja of the Raksel family, who retreated into
Sarguja and established himself there.
" All the Cheros of note who assisted in the expedition obtained military
service grants of land, which they still retain. The Kharwars were then the
people of most consideration in Palamau, and they allowed the Cheros to
remain in peaceful possession of the hill tracts bordering on Sarguja. It is
popularly asserted that at the commencement of the Chero rule in Palamau
they numbered twelve thousand families, and the Kharwars eighteen thousand ;
and if an individual of one or the other is asked to what tribe he belongs,
he will say, not that he is a Chero or a Kharwar, but that he belongs to
the twelve thousand or to the eighteen thousand, as the case may be. The
Palamau Cheros now live strictly as Rajputs and wear the paiia or caste
thread."
It has been suggested in the article on Khairwar that the close connection
between the two tribes may arise from the Kharwars or Khairwars having
been an occupational offshoot of the Cheros and Santals.
In Palamau 1 the Cheros are now divided into two subcastes, the Bara-hazar
or twelve thousand, and the Terah-hazar or thirteen thousand, who are also
known as Birbandhi. The former are the higher in rank and include most
of the descendants of former ruling families, who assume the title Babuan.
The Terah - hazar are supposed to be the illegitimate offspring of the
Bara-hazar.
"The distinctive physical traits of the Cheros," Colonel Dalton states,
" have been considerably softened by the alliances with pure Hindu families,
which their ancient power and large possessions enabled them to secure ;
but they appear to me still to exhibit an unmistakable Mongolian
physiognomy. They vary in colour, but are usually of a light brown. They
have, as a rule, high cheek-bones, small eyes obliquely set, and eyebrows to
correspond, low broad noses, and large mouths with protuberant lips."
CheiTva. — Subcaste of Kawar. Chhattisgarhi, ChhattTsgarhia.- — Resi-
Cheiti. — Subcaste of Gandli. dent of Chhattisgarh or the region of
Chhachdn. — (A hawk.) A section of the thirty-six forts, a name given to
Rawat (Ahir). the eastern tract of the Central Pro-
Ckhadesia. — (A man of six districts.) vinces. Subcaste of Bahna, Darzi
Subcaste of Banjara. and Halba.
Chhadidar or Da>-wdn. — Title of the ChhehgJiar (Chhetighar). — (Members
Dahaits, who were door-keepers of of the six houses.) A hypergamous
the Rajas of Mahoba in former division of Kanaujia Brahmans.
times. They take daughters from the other
Chhanava Kule. — (The ninety - six two divisions, but do not give their
houses. ) A subcaste of Maratha. daughters to them.
Chhatakia. — An illegitimate group of Chhipa. — (A dyer.) Synonym of
the Kumhar caste. Darzi.
^ Tribes and Castes of Bengal, art. Chero.
3S6
GLOSSARY
Chhoha or Sororia. — A subcaste of
Agharia of mixed descent.
Chholia. — (Rubbish.) A section of
Rajjhar.
Chhote. — (Inferior.) Subcaste of
Agharia and Teh.
Chhoti Pangat. — A subcaste of Halba.
Synonym Surait. Chhoti Pan gat
signifies the inferior caste feast, and
the implication is that these members
cannot join in the proper feast.
Chhotki Bhir or Gorki. — (Low.)
Subcaste of Rautia.
Chhura. — (Razor.) A section of
Panka. It was their business to
shave other members of the caste
after a death.
Chichavi. — (Hawk.) — Aseptof Gonds.
Chicheria. — (From church, forelock,
which the children of this sept
wear. ) A sept of Dhimar.
Chika. — Subcaste of Majhwar.
Chikwa. — Synonym of Khatik.
Chinchkiil. — A section of Komti.
They abstain from the use of ginger
and from the juice of the bhilawa or
marking-nut tree.
Chita Piirdhi, Chitewala. — (Leopard-
hunter.) A subcaste of Pardhi.
Chitarkar, Chitrakar. — (A painter.)
Synonym for Chitari.
Chiter. — (A painter.) See Chitari.
Chitevari. — (One who makes clay
idols.) Synonym for Mochi.
Chitpawan.-^(T)\e pure in heart.) A
synonym for Konkanasth Brahman.
Chitragupta Vansi. — (Descendants of
Chitragupta.) A name for Kayasths.
Chobdar. — (A mace-bearer.) Title of
Dahait.
Chorbans. — (Family of thieves.) A
section of Chamar.
Chourdhar. — (A whisk-carrier.) A
section of Sunar.
CAM,^ra.— Subcaste of Mehtar. Name
for the sweeper caste in the Punjab.
Chungia. — (One who smokes a leaf-
pipe.) Subcaste of Chamar and
Satnami.
Chunwiha. — (From chunri, a coloured
sheet worn by women.) A section
of Tamera.
Chiirha. — (Thief.) A subcaste of
Sunar. A section of Chhipa.
Ctifchuudha. — Clan of Rajput. Syno-
nym for Kachhwaha.
Daharia. — (From Dahar, the old name
of the Jubbulpore country. ) A clan
of Rajputs which has developed into
a caste. A subcaste of Bhoyar,
Kalar, Mahar, Maratha and Teli.
A section of Chadar, Chamar and
Katia.
Dahdt. — A variant for Dahait. A
subcaste of Khangar.
Dahia. — One of the thirty-si.x royal
races of Rajputs.
Daijanya. — Subcaste of Chamar.
They are so called because their
women act as dai or midwives.
Dakhne, Dakshne, Dakshni, Dakshmi.
— (Belonging to the Deccan.) Sub-
caste of Bahna, Chamar, Gondhali,
Gurao, Kunbi, Mahar, Mang and
Nai.
Dakochia. — A synonym for Bhadri, an
astrologer.
Dal.- — (From dal, an army. ) Subcaste
of Khond.
Dalhoha, Dalbuha. — (One who carries
dhoolies or palanquins.) Subcaste of
Ghasia and Katia.
Dalia. — (From ddl or the pulse of
Burhanpur which had a great repu-
tation). Subcaste of Kunbi.
Dal KhCilsa. — (Army of God.) Title of
the Sikh army.
Dandewdla. — (One who performs acro-
batic feats on a stick or bamboo.)
Synonym for Kolhati.
Dandi. — (One who carries a stick.)
Name of a class of religious mendi-
cants. See article Gosain.
Daudseita. — (One who carries a stick.)
Subcaste of Kalar.
Dang - charha. — (A rope - climber.)
Synonym of Nat.
Ddngiwdra. — Name of part of the
Saugor District, which is called
after the Dangi caste. Subcaste of
Kadera.
Ddngita. — (A hill-dweller.) .Subcaste
of Taonla.
Dangiir. — A small caste of hemp weavers numbering about lOO persons, and
residing almost entirely in the village of IMasod in Betul District. They are
of the same standing as the caste of Kumrawat or Patbina which pursues
this occupation in other Districts, but acknowledge no connection with them
and are probably an occupational offshoot of the Kunbi caste, from whose
GLOSSAR V
357
membeis they readily accept any kind of cooked food. Like many other
small occupational castes with no definite traditions, they profess to have a
Kshatriya origin, calling themselves Bhagore Rajputs, while their families
are known by such high-sounding titles as Rathor, Cliauhan, Gaur, Solanki
and other well-known Rajput names. These pretensions have no foundation
in fact, and the DaiigCirs formerly did not abjure pork, while they still eat
fowls and drink liquor. They neither bathe nor clean their kitchens daily.
They may eat food taken from one place to another, but not if they are
wearing shoes, this being only permissible in the case when the bridegroom
takes his food wearing his marriage shoes.
Dantele. — (With teeth.) A section of Purania vSunars in Saugor.
Daraihan. — A small caste of debased Rajputs found in the Bilaspur District of
Chhatlisgarh and numbering some 2000 persons in 190 1. They say that
their ancestors were Rajputs from Upper India who settled in Chhatlisgarh
some generations back in the village of Dargaon in Raipur District. Thence
they were given the name of Dargaihan, which has been corrupted into
Daraihan. Others say that the name is derived from dari, a prostitute, but
this is perhaps a libel. In any case they do not care about the name
Daraihan and prefer to call themselves Kshatriyas. They have now no
connection with the Rajputs of Upper India, and have developed into an
endogamous group who marry among themselves. It seems likely that the
caste are an inferior branch of the Daharia cultivating caste of Chhattisgarh,
which is derived from the Daharia clan of Rajputs. ^
Like other Rajputs the Daraihans have an elaborate system of septs and
subsepts, the former having the names of Rajput clans, while the latter are
taken from the eponymous gotras of the Brahmans. There are fourteen
septs, named as a rule after the principal Rajput clans, of whom four, the
Chandel, Kachhwaha, Dhandhul and Sakrawara, rank higher than the other
ten, and will take daughters from these in marriage, but not give their
daughters in return. Besides the septs they have the standard Brahmanical
gotras, as Kausilya, Bharadwaj, Vasishtha and so on to the number of seven,
and the members of each sept are divided into these gotras. Theoretically
a man should not take a wife whose sept or gotra is the same as his own.
The marriage of first cousins is forbidden, and while the grandchildren of
two sisters may intermarry, for the descendants of a brother and a sister the
affinity is a bar till the third generation. But the small numbers of the
caste must make the arrangement of matches very difficult, and it is
doubtful whether these rules are strictly observed. They permit the practice
of Gunravat or giving a bride for a bride. In other respects the social customs
of the caste resemble those of their neighbours, the Daharias, and their rules
as to the conduct of women are strict. The men are well built and have
regular features and fair complexions, from which their Rajput ancestry may
still be recognised. They wear the sacred thread. The Daraihans are
good and intelligent cultivators, many of them being proprietors or large
tenants, and unlike the Daharias they do not object to driving the plough
with their own hands. In the poorer families even the women work in the
fields. They have a strong clannish feeling and will readily combine for
the support or protection of any member of the caste who may be in
need of it.
Darbdnia. — (Door-keeper.) Title of division of Jogi.
Khangar. Darwaii. — (A door-keeper.) Title of
Darshani. — Title of the most holy Dahait.
members of the Kanphata Jogis. Darwe or Dakve. — A subcaste of
Darshni. — (From darshan, seeing, Gonds in Chanda ; the Darwes
beholding, as of a god.) A sub- are also called Naik.
1 See also art. Daharia for a discussion of the origin of that caste.
358
GLOSSARY
Darwesk. — Persian name for a
Muhammadan Fakir or religious
mendicant.
Darzi. — A caste of tailors. Subcaste
of Ghasia.
Das. — (Servant.) Used as the
termination of their names by
Bairagis or religious mendicants.
A term applied by Pankas and
other Kablrpanthis to themselves.
Dasa. — (Ten.) A subdivision of Agar-
wala and other subcastes of Bania,
meaning those of pure blood.
Dasghar. — (Ten houses.) One of the
three subdivisions of Kanaujia
Brahmans. They give their
daughters to members of the Chhe-
ghar or six houses and receive them
from the Panchghar or five houses.
Dasnami. — A member of the ten
orders. Synonym for Gosain.
Datta or Dutt. — Surname of Bengali
Kayasths.
Datine. — A subdivision of Prabhu or
Parbhu in Nagpur, so called on
account of their living in the island
of Diu, a Portuguese possession.
Deccani. — See Dakhne.
Dehalwi. — (From Delhi.) A sub-
division of Gaur Kayasths.
Dehri. — (A worshipper.) Subcaste of
Sudh.
Dekkala. — (A genealogist.) Subcaste
of Madgi.
Delhi . — Subcaste of Kharia.
Deo.— {God.) A hereditary title
borne by certain Feudatory Chiefs.
A surname of Karhara Brahmans in
Saugor. A subcaste of Gandli in
Chanda.
Deobansi. — (A descendant of a god.)
Subcaste of Patwa.
Deogarhia or Kajktinwar. — (From
Deogarh.) A subcaste of Pardhan.
A subcaste of Audhelia made up of
prostitutes. A sept of Dhlmar.
Deokia. — Title used in the Bedar
caste.
Deoputra. — (Son of god. ) .Synonym of
Charan.
Desa or Kota. — Subcaste of Balija.
Desai. — A variant for Deshmukh or a
Maratha revenue officer. Title of
the Pardhan caste.
Desdival. — A subdivision of Brahman
in Jubbulpore. They take their
name from Disa, a town in I'alanpur
State in Bombay Presidency.
Desha, Desaha. — (Belonging to the
home country.) The name is
usually applied to immigrants from
Malwa or Hindustan. A subcaste
of Ahir, Bargah, Bari, Chamar,
Dhuri, Gadaria, Kalar, Kol,
Kurmi, Lakhera, Lobar, Mahar,
Sunar and Teli.
Deshastha. — A subcaste of Maratha
Brahmans inhabiting the country
(Desh) above the Western Ghats.
A subcaste of Gurao.
Deshkar. — (One belonging to the
country.) A subcaste of Gondhali,
Gurao, Kasar, Koshti, Kunbi,
Mahar, Mali, Maratha, Nai, Sunar
and Teli.
Deshmukh. — Under Maratha rule the
Deshmukh was a Pargana officer who
collected the revenue of the Par-
gana or small subdivision, and other
taxes, receiving a certain share.
The office of Deshmukh was gener-
ally held by a leading Kunbi of the
neighbourhood. He also held
revenue-free land in virtue of his
position. The Deshmukh families
now tend to form a separate sub-
caste of Kunbis and marry among
themselves.
Deshpande. — The Deshpande was the
Pargana accountant. He was
generally a Brahman and the right-
hand man of the Deshmukh, and
having the advantage of education
he became powerful like the Desh-
mukh. Now used as a surname by
Maratha Brahmans.
Deswali. — Synonym for Mina.
Devadasi. — (Handmaidens of the
gods.) Synonym for Kasbi.
Devarukhe. — A subdivision of Maratha
Brahmans. The word is derived
from Devarishi, a Shakha (branch)
of the Atharva Veda, or from
Devarukh, a town in Ralnagiri
District of Bombay Presidency.
Among Brahmans they hold rather
a low position.
Dewavgan. — (From the old town of
this name on the Wardha river.)
Subcaste of Koshti.
Dhaighar, — (2^ houses.) A subcaste
of Kliatri.
Dhdkaii.— {K witch.) Subcaste of
Bhat.
GLOSSARY
359
Dhdkar. — Name of a caste in Bastar. Barai, Bania and Kirar. A sept
A clan of Rajputs, A subcaste of of Ilalba.
Dhalgar. — A small occupational caste who made Icatlier shields, and are now
almost extinct as the use of shields has gone out of fashion. They arc
Muhammadans, but Mr. Crooke i considers them to be allied to the Dabgars,
who make leather vessels for holding oil and ghl and are also known as
Kuppesaz. The Dabgars are a Hindu caste whose place in the Central
Provinces is taken by the Budalgir Chamars. These receive their designation
from budla, the name of the leather bag which they make. Budlas were
formerly employed for holding .^/^i" or melted butter, oil and the liquid extract
of sugarcane, but vegetable oil is now generally carried in earthen vessels
slung in baskets, and ghl in empty kerosene tins. Small bottles of very thin
leather are still used by scent-sellers for holding their scents, though they also
have glass bottles. The song of the Leather Bottel recalls the fact that
vessels for holding liquids were made of leather in Europe prior to the intro-
duction of glass. The Dhalgars also made targets for archery practice from
the hides of buffaloes ; and the similar use of the hides of cattle in Europe
survives in our phrase of the bull's eye for the centre of the target.
Dhdnionia. — (From Dhamoni, a town Teli.
in Saugor. ) A subcaste of Sonkar. Dhamihar. — (A corrupt form of
A territorial sept of Darzi and Dhanusdhar or a holder of a bow. )
Dhobi. Synonym of Dhanwar.
Dhanak Safumdiii. — (One who rever- Dhanuk. — (A bowman.) A caste.
ences the bow.) A section of A subcaste of Mehtar.
Barai. Dhanushban. — (Bow and arrow.) A
Dhandere. — (Probably from Dhundhar, sept of Kawar.
an old name of Jaipur or Amber Dharainpuria. — (Resident of Dharam-
State.) A sept of Rajputs. pur.) Subcaste of Dhobi.
Dhangar. — (A farmservant. ) Syno- Dhare. — Title of Gowari.
nym of Oraon. Dhdri. — A subcaste of Banjara. They
Dhanka. — Perhaps a variant for are the bards of the caste.
Dhangar. Subcaste of Oraon. Dharkdr. — Subcaste of Basor.
Dhanoj, Dhanoje. — {Yxom dhangar, z. Dhannik. — (Religious or virtuous.)
shepherd.) Subcaste of Are and A subcaste of Mahar and Maratha.
Kunbi. Dhed. — Synonym for Mahar.
Dhdnpagar. — (One serving for a Dhengar. — A subcaste of Bharewa
pittance of paddy.) A section of (Kasar) and Gadaria.
Dhera.^ — A small Telugu caste of weavers, the bulk of whom reside in the
Sonpur State, transferred to Bengal in 1905. The Dheras were brought from
Orissa by the Raja of Sonpur to make clothes for the images of the gods,
which they also claim to be their privilege in Puri. Their exogamous groups
are named after animals, plants or other objects, and they practise totemism.
The members of the Surya or sun group will not eat during an eclipse. Those
of the Nalla (black) sept will not wear black clothes. Those of the Bansethi
and Bhanala septs will not use the bandi, a kind of cart from which they
consider their name to be derived. The Otals take their name from titti, a
net, from which pots are hung, and they will not use this net. Those of the
Gunda sept, who take their name [xovcv giuida, a bullet, will not eat any game
shot with a gun. Marriage within the sept is prohibited, but the Dheras
always, where practicable, arrange the marriage of a boy with his maternal
uncle's daughter. Even in childhood the members of such families address
each other as brother-in-law and sister-in-law. When the bridegroom and
bride go home after the marriage ceremony, the bridegroom's sister bars the
door of the house and will not let them in until they have severally promised
1 Tribes and Castes, art. Dhalgar.
2 From a paper by Narayan Bohidar, Schoolmaster, Sonpur State.
360
GLOSSARY
to give her their daughter for her son. A girl must be married before arriving
at adolescence on pain of permanent exclusion from the caste. If a suitable
hu.sband has not therefore been found when the period approaches, the parents
marry the girl to her elder sister's husband or any other married man. She
is not bound to enter into conjugal relations with the man to whom she is
thus united, and with his consent she may be consequently married to any
other man in the guise of a widow. If a bachelor takes such a girl to wife,
he must first be married to a Sahara tree [Streblus asper). When a betrothal is
arranged, an elderly member of the bridegroom's family proceeds to the bride's
house and asks her people three times in succession whether the betrothal is
arranged, and at each reply in the affirmative ties a knot in his cloth. He
then goes home and in the bridegroom's house solemnly unties the knots over
another cloth which is spread on the ground. This cloth is then considered
to contain the promises and it is wrapped up and carefully put away to keep
them as if they were material objects.
Dlierha. — (Brother-in-law or paternal
aunt's husband.) Title of Kharia.
Dhlinar. — A caste. Subcaste of Kori.
Dhimra. — Synonym for Dhimar.
Dhobi. — The caste of washermen. A
sept of Bharia and Bhaina.
DJiokhede. — One of doubtful parentage.
A sept of Teli.
Dhokwar. — {^xoradhola, a drum.) A
subcaste of Bhoyar and Gaoli. A
section of Basor.
Dholi. — (A minstrel.) Subcaste of
Bhat.
Dhubela. — Origin perhaps from the
Dhobi caste. Subcaste of Basor.
Dhulbajia. — (From dkol, a drum.) A
subcaste of Chamar, also known as
Daijania.
Dhtilia, Dholhi, Dholi. — (A player on
a dhol or drum. ) Synonym for the
Basor caste. A subcaste of Gond
in Chanda and Betul. A subcaste
of Mahar.
DhimakPathdn. — Synonym for Bahna.
Dhunia. — (From dhiutiia, to card
cotton.) Synonym for Bahna.
Dhtinka. — (A cotton-cleaner.) Sub-
caste of Kadera.
Dhur Gond. — (From dhtir, dust.) A
subcaste of Gonds. They are also
known as Rawanvansi or descend-
ants of Rawan.
Dhuri. — A caste of grain-parchers.
A subcaste of Dhimar.
Dhii7-ia. — Subcaste of Nagasia and
Dhimar. They are so called be-
cause they mark the forehead of
the bride with dust (dhur) taken
from the sole of the bridegroom's
foot.
Dhurwa. — The word may be derived
from dhitr, dust. Dhur is a name
given to the body of Gonds as op-
posed to the Raj -Gonds. One of the
commonest septs of Gonds. A sept
of Baiga, Kolta, Kalar and Nat. A
title of Parja.
Dhusar. — Subcaste of Bania.
Dhiisia. — Subcaste of Murha.
Digilmbari. — A sect of Jain Banias
who do not clothe their idols and
apply saffron to their feet. Also a
class of Bairagis or religious mendi-
cants.
Diharia or Kisan. — (One who lives in
a village or a cultivator.) Subcaste
of Korwa.
Dikhit, Dikshit, Dixit.— ~{J\i<t Initia-
tor.) A subcaste of Brahman. A
clan of Rajputs of the solar race
formerly dominant in the United
Provinces.
Dila. — (A pointed stick tied to a calfs
mouth to prevent him from sucking.)
A totemistic sept of Kawar. They
do not use a stick in this manntr.
A section of Ahlr.
Dillawdl. — A subcaste of Kas;lr.
Those belonging to or coming from
Delhi.
Diiighuchia. — (One who castrates
cattle and ponies.) Subcaste of
Ghasia.
Dipawdlia. — (One who supplies oil for
the lamps at Diwfdi.) A sept of
Teli.
Dlpbaus. — (Son of the lamp.) Title
of Teli.
Diwdn. — Title of the members of the
Dahait caste committee.
Dixit.— Stc Dikhit.
Dohaile. — (One who yokes two bullocks
to the oil-press. ) Subcaste of Tclis
in the Nagpur country.
I GLOSSARY 361
Doblsya. — (Two score.) Subcasle of royal races of Kajputs.
Ilalwai. Dogle. — Name applied lo Kayasths of
Doda or Dor. — One of the thirly-six illegitimate descent.
Dohor.' — A small caste of Berar, who are really Cliamars ; in the Central
Provinces the Dohors are a well-know-n subcaste of Chamars, but in Herar
they appear to have obtained a separate name, under which about 6000 persons
were returned in 1911. They work in leather like the Chamars or Mochis.
With the ambition of bettering their social status among the Hindus the caste
strictly observe the sanctity of animal life. No Dohor may molest an animal
or even pelt it with stones. A man who sells a cow or bullock to butchers
is put out of caste, but if he repents and gets the animal back before it is
slaughtered, a fine of Rs. 5 only is imposed. If, on the other hand, the
animal is killed, the culprit must give his daughter in marriage without
taking any price from the bridegroom, and must feed the whole caste and
pay a fine of Rs. 50, which is expended on liquor. Failing this he is ex-
pelled from the community. Similarly the Pardeshi Dohors rigidly enforce
infant-marriage. If a girl is not married before she is ten her family are
fined and put out of caste until the fine is paid. And if the girl has leprosy
or any other disease, which prevents her from getting married, a similar
penalty is imposed on the family. Nevertheless the Dohors are considered
to be impure and are not allowed to enter Hindu temples ; the village
barber does not shave them nor the washerman wash their clothes. A
bachelor desiring to marry a widow must first perform the ceremony with a
rtii or cotton-tree. But such a union is considered disgraceful ; the man
himself must pay a heavy fine to get back into caste, and his children are
considered as partly illegitimate and must marry with the progeny of similar
unions. Either husband or wife can obtain a divorce by a simple application
to the caste panchayat, and a divorced woman can marry again as a widow.
The caste offer sheep and goats to their deities and worship the animals
before killing them. At Dasahra they also pay reverence to the skinning-
knife, and the needle with which shoes are sewn. The caste burn the bodies
of those who die married and bury the unmarried. Before setting out for a
funeral they drink liquor and again on their return, and a little liquor is
sprinkled over the grave. When a man has been cremated his ashes are
taken and thrown into a river on the third day. The chief mourner, after
being shaved by his brother-in-law, takes the hair with some copper coins in
his hand and, diving into the river, leaves them there as an offering to the
dead man's spirit.
Doha. — (Palanquin - bearer.) A sec- Di'ihe. — (A teacher and a man learned
tion of Dhimar. in two Vedas.) A common sur-
Dom. — An important caste in Bengal. name of Hindustani Brahmans. A
See article Kanjar. Used as a subcaste of Banjara.
synonym for Ganda in the Uriya Diidh.—{^\:\\V.) Dudh-Barai, a sub-
country, caste of Barai ; Dudh-Gowari, a sub-
Dotnra. — Subcaste of Turi. caste of Ahir or Gowari ; Dfidh-
Dongaria, Dongarwar. — (From don- Ka war, a subcaste of Kawar.
^«;-, a hill.) A sept of Bhil, Dhobi, Dudh ^/ia/. — (Milk - brothers.) A
Mali, Mang and Sonkar. A sur- fraternity of Gonds in BetCd, who
name of Maratha Brahmans. are apparently foster-brothers. They
/?<?;-«.— (Sahib or Lord.) Title of the do not marry, though they have
Mutrasi caste. different septs.
Dosar. — Subcaste of Bania. Dakar. —A subcaste of Kolhati. From
Z'raz'/^/a.— (Southern.) See Panch- (////w, hog, because they are accus-
Dravida. tomed to hunt the wild pig with
1 This article is based on papers by Buldana, and Mr. Khandekar, Head-
Mr. D. P. Kshirsagar, Naib-Tahsildar, master, Nandura.
362
GLOSSARY
dogs and spears when these animals
become too numerous and damage
the crops of the villagers.
Dukaria. — Title of the officer of the
Andh caste who constitutes the caste
committee.
Dulha. — (Bridegroom.) A section of
Chadar.
Dumar or Doiii. — A low caste of
sweepers in Bengal. See Kanjar.
Subcaste of Basor, Ganda, Panka
and Turi. Synonym and subcaste
of Mehtar. A section of Kawar.
Dtirgbansi. — A clan of Rajputs in
Ragnandgaon.
Ditsre. — (Second.) A subdivision of
Shrivastab, Gaur and Saksena
Kayasths, meaning those of inferior
or mixed origin as opposed to Khare
or those of pure origin.
Dwdrka. — One of the most holy places
in India, situated on or near the
sea in Gujarat. It is supposed to
have been founded by Krishna.
Site of one of the monasteries (Ash-
ram) of Sankaracharya, the founder
of the non - dualistic or Vedanta
philosophy.
Dwija. — (Twice-born. ) A title applied
to the three higher classical castes,
Biahman, Kshatriya and Vaishya, and
now especially to Brahmans.
Ekbahia. — (One-armed.) Subcaste of
Teli, so called because their women
wear glass bangles only on one arm.
Ekbaile. — One who yokes one bullock
only to the oil-press. Subcaste of
Tcli.
Elama, Elina. — Synonym for Velama.
A subcaste of Kapewar or Kapu.
Erenga. — Subcaste of Kharia in Bengal.
Erna. — (From Eran, in Saugor dis-
trict.) A .section of Teli.
Fakir. — A Muhammadan mendicant.
Synonym Sain. See article.
Farid. — Sheikh Farid was a well-
known Muhammadan saint. A sec-
tion of Panwar Rajput.
Farsi. — Persian. From the Province
of Fars. The term Farsi is also
used by the Hindus to signify foreign
or non-Aryan languages like Gondi.
Fidawi. — (A disciple.) An order of
devotees of the Khojah sect known
to the Cru-saders as Assassins. Title
of Khojah.
Cadaba. — Synonym of Gadba.
Gadaria. —A caste. Subcaste of Ahlr.
Gadha. — (An ass. ) A sept of the Uika
clan of Gonds in Betul, so named
because their priest rode on an ass
in crossing a river.
Gadhao. — ^xova gadha, an ass.) Sub-
caste of Kunbi.
Gadhewal, Gadkere, Gadhive, Gadhilla.
— (One who keeps donkeys. From
gadha, an ass.) A subcaste of
Dhimar, Katia, Koshti, Kumhar
and Sonkar. A sept of Gond and
Pardhan.
Gadhivana. — (From Garha, near Jub-
bulpore.) Subcaste of Nai.
Gddhvdn.—(K cart-driver.) Subcaste
of Dangri.
Gadri. — (From gadar, a sheep.) A
synonym of Gadaria. A subcaste of
Dhangar.
Gakanudr, Gakai-vdl, Gheriadl. — One
of the thirty - six royal races of
Rajputs chiefly found in Bilaspur
and Khairagarh. A section of
Patwas.
Gahbainya or Gahhoniya. — (Those
who hid in a village when called by
a king to his presence.) A subcaste
of Kurmi. A section of Kurmi.
Gahlot or Sesodia. — A famous clan of
Rajputs. A section of Daraiha and
Joshi.
Gahoi. — Subcaste of Bania. See
article Bania-Gahoi.
Galira. — Synonym for Ahir or herds-
man in the Uriya country.
CflZ-CiJifar?.— Subcaste of Gowari.
Gaiki. — A cowherd. (A subcaste of
Gond in Betul.) A section of
Chamar.
Gaikwdr or Gaika. — (A cowherd.) A
clan of Maratha. A section of
Ahlr, Bhil, Kunbi and Mahar.
Gaita. — Subcaste of Gond.
Gaiwdle, — (Cow-keeper.) A subcaste
of Moghia.
Gajarha. — (Gdjar, a carrot.) A sec-
tion of Teli in Mandla.
Gajjdm. — A sept of the Dhurwa clan
of Gonds in Betul named after
Gajjami. (Bow and arrows in
Gondi.)
Gdnda.—~(A messenger.) A low caste
of village watchmen. In the Uriya
country the (jandas arc known as
Dom. A subcaste of Pardhan.
Title of Kharia.
I GLOSSARY 363
Gandhi. — Ascent-seller. {Yrom.gandh, of Atari. A section of Maheshir
a Sanskrit word for scent.) Synonym Bani:i.
Gandli. — The Telugu caste of oil-pressers, numbering about 3000 jjer.sons in
the Central Provinces, in the Chilnda, Nagpur and Khandara Districts.
They are immigrants from the Godavari District of Madras and have i)cen
settled in the Central Provinces for some generations. Here many of them
have prospered so that they have abandoned the hereditary calling and
become landowners, traders and moneylenders. Like the well-to-do Telis
they are keenly desirous of bettering their social position and now repudiate
any connection with what may be known as ' the shop,' or the profession of
oil-pressing. As this ranks very low, among the more despised village
handicrafts, the progress of the Gandlis and Telis to the social standing of
Banias, to which they generally aspire, is beset with difficulties ; but the
Gandlis, in virtue of having migrated to what is practically a foreign country
so far as they are concerned, have achieved a considerable measure of success,
and may be said to enjoy a better position than any Telis. A few of them
wear the sacred thread, and though they eat flesh, they have abjured liquor
except in Chanda, where they are most numerous and the proportion of
wealthy members is smallest. Here also they are said to eat pork. Others
eat flesh and fowls.
The Gandlis are divided into the Reddi, Chetti and Telkala subcastes,
and the last are generally oil-pressers. It is probable that the Reddis are
the same as the Redu-eddu or Rendu-eddu subcaste of Madras, who derive
their name from the custom of using two bullocks to turn the oil-press, like
the Do-baile Telis of the Central Provinces. But it has been changed to
Reddi, a more respectable name, as being a synonym for the Kapu cultivating
caste. Chetti really means a trader, and is, Mr. Francis says,i "One of
those occupational or titular terms, which are largely employed as caste
names. The weavers, oil-pressers and others use it as a title, and many more
tack it on to their names to denote that trade is their occupation." Marriage
is regulated by exogamous groups, the names of which are said to be derived
from those of villages. Girls are generally married during childhood. A
noticeable point is that the ceremony is celebrated at the bridegroom's house,
to which the bride goes, accompanied by her party, including the women of
her family. The ceremony follows the Maratha form of throwing fried rice
over the bridal couple, and Brahman priests are employed to ofticiate.
Widow- marriage is permitted. The dead are both buried and burnt, and
during mourning the Gandlis refrain from eating khichri or mixed rice and
pulse, and do not take their food off plantain leaves, in addition to the other
usual observances. They have the shantik ceremony or the seclusion of a
girl on the first appearance of the signs of adolescence, which is in vogue
among the higher Maratha castes, and is followed by a feast and the consum-
mation of her marriage. They now speak Marathi fluently, but still use
Telugu in their houses and wear their head -cloths tied after the Tulugu
fashion.-
Gaitoabalu.--{^^x^A of the Ganges.) t7aw^aya^ar.— (Sea of the Ganges.) A
A family name of Ganda. section of Chitari and Kawar.
G<z«^'-a(5a5za.— (Living on the banks of C^wi.wz'aw^. — (Descended from the
the Ganges.) A section of Ahir. Ganges.) A clan of Rajputs. ^ The
Gangtlpari. — (One coming from the chief of Bamra State is a Ganga-
further side of the Ganges.) Sub- vansi.
caste of Barai, Barhai, Chamar, (Jaw^/^a^'^.— Dwellers on the banks of
Dhobi, Gondhali, Kumhar and the Godavari and Wainganga. These
Umre Bania. rivers are sometimes called Ganga
1 Madras Ce?isus Report (1901), p. ^ Dhandara Settlement Report (Mr.
i^g. A. B. Napier), p. 8.
364
GLOSSARY
or Ganges, which is used as a general
term for a great river. A subcaste
of Maratha.
Gaiinore.- — -Name of a minor Rajput
clan. Subcaste of Balahi.
Ganth-chor. — (A bundle-thief.) Title
of Bhamta.
Gaolan. — A synonym of Ahir or Gaoli,
applied to an inferior section of the
caste.
Gaoli, Gazili. — (A milkman.) Synonym
for Ahir. Subcaste of Hatkar.
Gaontia.—{S. vHiUage headman.) Title
of the head of the Kol caste com-
mittee. Title of Kol.
Garde. — (Dusty.) A surname of Kar-
hara Brahmans in Saugor.
Garg or Gargya. — The name of a
famous Rishi or saint. An epony-
mous section of Brahmans. A
section of Agarwala Banias. Gar-
gabansi is a clan of Rajputs.
Garhaivdla, Garhewdla, Garkewdr. —
A resident of Garha, an old town
near Jubbulpore which gave its name
to the Garha- Mandla dynasty, and is
a centre of weaving. A subcaste of
Katia, Koshti and Mahar, all weaving
castes. A subcaste of Binjhal.
Garkata. — (Cut-throat.) A section of
Koshti.
Gdrpagdri. — A body of Jogis or Naths
who avert hailstorms and are con-
sidered a separate caste. See article.
From gdr, hail. A subcaste of
Koshta and Kumhiir. A section of
Ghasia.
Gate. — (A bastard.) Subcaste of
Naoda.
Gaur. — The ancient name of part of
Bengal and perhaps applied also to
the tract in the United Provinces
round about the modern Gonda
District. A subcaste of Brahman
and Kayasth. A clan of Rajputs.
See articles.
Gniria, Gaiiriya. — A caste. A sub-
caste of Dliimar, Khond, Kumhar
and Uriya Sansia.
Gauripiitra. — A son of Gauri, the wife
of Mahadeo. Title of Balija.
Gautam. — A name of a famous Rishi
or saint. A common eponymous
section of Brahmans. A clan of
Rajputs. A section of Agharia,
Ahir, Maratha, I'anwar Rajput,
Rangari and Jangam.
Gdyake. — Subcaste of Pardhi, meaning
a man who stalks deer behind a
bullock.
Gaydwdl. — (From the town of Gaya on
the Ganges, a favourite place for
performing the obsequies of the
dead.) A subcaste of Brahmans
who act as emissaries for the owners
of the shrines at Gaya and wander
about the country inducing villagers
to undertake the pilgrimage and
personally conducting their con-
stituents.
Gdzuhi. — (A bangle-seller.) Subcaste
of Balija.
Gedam. — A sept of Gonds. A sept of
Baigas.
Ghadyachi Tong. — (The rim of the
pitcher. ) A section of Kirar.
Ghanta. — (Bell.) A section of Kum-
har.
Ghantra. — Name of a caste of Lohiirs
or blacksmiths in the Uriya country.
Gharbdri. — One who while leading
a mendicant life is permitted to
marry with the permission of his
gum. A householder, synonym
Grihastha. The married groups of
the Gosain, Bairagi and Manbhao
orders as distinguished from the
Nihang or celibate section.
Ghdsi yJ/(7//.— Subcaste of Mali.
Ghdtole, Ghdtode. — Those who dwell
on the ghdts or passes of the Sain-
hyadri Hills to the south of the
Berar plain. Subcaste of Bahna,
Gondhali and Kunbi.
Ghdttnathe. — (Residents of the Maha-
deo plateau in Berar.) Subcaste of
Maratha.
Ghei-wdl. — A clan of Rajputs. .Syn-
onym for Gaharwar.
Ghldoda. — (Giver o{ ghi.) A section
of Telis so named because their first
ancestors presented g/ii to the king
Bhoramdeo.
Ghisddi, Ghisdri. — A group of wander-
ing I^ohars or blacksmiths. .Synonym
for Lobar.
Ghodcrdo. — {Ghoda, a horse.) Sub-
caste of Chitrakathi. They have
the duty of looking after the horses
and bullock -carts of the castemtn
who assemble for marriage or other
ceremonies.
Ghodke. — Those who tend horses.
Subcaste of Mang.
GLOSSARY
3<^5
Ghodmaria. — (Horse -killer.) A sept
of Binjhwar.
Ghopi. — (Wild janiun tree.) A sept
of Gonds.
Ghosi. — A caste. A subcaste of Ahir.
A section of Chaniar.
Ghuckhoda. — A subcaste of Pasi, who
have become grooms. (From ghora,
a horse. )
Ghzighu, Ghughwa. — (Owl.) A section
of Ganda, Kawar, Kewat and Panka.
Pankas of the Ghughu sept are said
to have eaten the leavings of their
caste-fellows.
Ghunnere. — (Worm-eater.) A sec-
tion of Teli in Betul and Rathor
Teli.
Ghura or Giira. — (Dunghill.) A
section of Chadar and Sunar.
Ghuttin. — A sept of BhTls. They
reverence the gfilar, or fig tree.
Gingra. —A subcaste of Tiyar.
Girgira. — A small caste found in
Sonpur State and Sambalpur district.
They are fishermen, and also parch
rice. They are perhaps an offshoot
of the Kewat caste.
Giri or Gir. — {Gh\ mountain.) An
order of Gosains.
.Girnara. — -A subcaste -of Brahmans in
Jubbulpore. They are said to take
their name fromGirnar in Kathiawar,
where they were settled by Krishna
after he rose from the Damodar
reservoir in the bed of the Sonrekha
river at Junagarh. They have the
monopoly of the office of priests to
pilgrims visiting Girnar. {Bombay
Gazetteer^ ix. )
Goal or Gowdla, Gtiala. — (Sanskrit
Gopal, a cowherd.) Synonym of
AhIr, also subcaste of Ahir.
Gaoli. — (A cowherd.) Synonym for
Ahir. Subcaste of Maratha.
Gobardhtia. — (From gobar, cowdung. )
Subcaste of Chamar.
Gohia, Gohi. — (From goh or gohi, a
large lizard.) A section of Jain
Bania or Khatik. A sept of Bhatra
and Parja.
Gohil. — A well-known clan of Rajpfils
in the United Provinces.
Goia. — (From gohi, a mango -stone.)
A section of Chadar. They draw a
picture of the mango -stone at the
Maihar or distribution of sacrificial
cakes.
Gola. — Synonym of Golar.
Golak. — Synonym Govardhan or Gao-
mukh. An illegitimate group of
Maratha Brahmans.
Golalare. — A subcaste of Bania.
GoLandaz. — (An artilleryman.) Syn-
onym of Kadera.
Golapurab. — A subcaste of Bania,
Darzi and Kalar.
Golkar. — Synonym of Golar and Ahir.
Golia. — One who dyes cloth with
golikd rang, the fugitive aniline dyes.
Subcaste of Chhipa.
Golla. — Synonym of Golar.
Gollam. — Synonym of Golar.
Gotidddya. — (Gond.) Subcaste of
Otari.
Gondi. — (From the Gonds.) A sub-
caste of Ahir, Binjhwar and Lobar.
Gondia.- — Subcaste of Dhimar.
Gondi- Lohdr. — A Gond who works as
a blacksmith. Subcaste of Lobar.
Gondvajisi. — (Descendants of Gonds.)
A section of Ghasia.
Gondwaina. — Subcaste of Baiga.
Gopdl. — A caste. Synonym of Ahir
in Rajputana.
Goranda. — Synonym of Goyanda.
Gorakkndth. — A sect of Jogis. From
Guru Gorakhnath, a great Jogi.
Gorasia. — (From goras, milk.) A
section of Lonare Mali.
Gorigotvdr, Gaigowdl. — (A cowherd.)
A section of Otari and Panka.
Gosaiti, Goswdmi. — A caste. A sur-
name of Sanadhya Brahmans in
Saugor.
Gotte. — A subcaste of Gond. They
are also called Made in Chanda.
Goundia. — A class of Bairagi. Syn-
onym Madhavachari. A section of
Bharia-Bhumia.
Go7vdlvansi. — Subcaste of Ahir.
Goyanda, Goranda. —A name applied to a small class of persons in Jubbulpore,
who are descendants of Thug approvers, formerly confined there. The name is
said to mean, ' One who speaks,' and to have been applied to those Thugs who
escaped capital punishment by giving information against their confederates.
Goranda is said to be a corruption of Goyanda. The Goyandas are both
Hindus and Muhammadans. The latter commonly call themselves Deccani
Musalmans as a more respectable designation. They are said to be a gipsy
366
GLOSSARY
class of Muhammadans resembling the Kanjars. The Hindus are of different
castes, but are also believed to include some Beria gipsies. The Goyandas
are employed in making gloves, socks and strings for pyjamas, having
probably taken to this kind of work because the Thug approvers were
employed in the manufacture of tents. Their women are quarrelsome, and
wrangle over payment when selling their wares. This calling resembles that
of the Kanjar women, who also make articles of net and string, and sell them
in villages. Some of the Goyandas are employed in Government and railway
service, and Mr. Gayer notes that the latter are given to opium smuggling,
and carry opium on their railway engines.^
Grihastha, Gharbai'i. — (A house-
holder.) A name given to those
divisions of the religious mendi-
cant orders who marry and have
families.
Guar. — (From gudra ox gwdla, a milk-
man.) Subcaste of Banjara.
Gudarh or Gudar. — (From gtidra, a
rag.) A sect of the Bairagi, Gosain
and Jogi orders of mendicants.
Gudha or Giirha. — (From gndh, a pig-
sty. ) Subcaste of Basor.
Gtigaria. — One who trades in gugar,
a kind of gum. Subcaste of Ban-
jara.
Gnjar. — A caste. A subcaste of Ahir,
Darzi, Koshti and Pasi. A clan of
Maratha. A section of Khatlk.
Gujardti. — (From Gujarat.) A terri-
torial subcaste of Bahelia, Bania,
Barhai, Chhipa, Darzi, Gopal, Nai,
Sunar and Teli.
Gzirasthalu. — A synonym for the
Balija caste.
Gurbhelia. — (A ball of molasses.) A
section of Gohira Ahirs in Chanda.
Giiria. — (A preparer of ^?<r or unrefined
sugar.) Synonym of Halwai in the
Uriya country.
Giintjwdle. — A class of I'akirs or
Muhammadan beggars.
Guni-Mdta. — Title of the great council
of the Sikhs and their religious
meal.
Guru. — (A preacher or teacher or
spiritual guide.) Brahmans and
members of the religious orders,
Bairagis and Gosains, are the Gurus
of ordinary Hindus. Most Hindu
men and also women of the higher
and middle castes have a Guru,
whose functions are, however, gener-
ally confined to whispering a sacred
verse into the ear of the disciple on
initiation, and paying him a visit
about once a year ; it is not clear
what happens on these occasions, but
the Guru is entertained by this
disciple, and a little moral exhortation
may be given.
Gurusthulu. — Synonym of Balija.
Giithau. — Title of Gadba.
Gwdlbansi, Gokulbansi, Godlbansi. —
(Descended from a cowherd.) A
subcaste of AhIr or Gaoli. A sub-
caste of Khairwar.
Gwdlhare. — (Cowherd. ) A subcaste of
Lodhi.
Habshi. — Synonym of Siddi. An
Abyssinian.
Hadi. — (Sweeper or scavenger.) One
of the 72^ gotras of Meheshri Bania.
A synonym for Mangan.
Hadia. — (From hadi, bone.) A section
of Raghuvansi.
Haihaya, Hailiaivansi. — (Race of the
horse.) A clan of Rajputs of the
lunar race.
//a^V7w.— Muhammadan name for Nai
or barber.
Hakkya.—T\W^ of Hatkar.
Halai. — Subcaste of Gulch i.
Halbi. — Synonym of Halba. Subcaste
of Koshti.
Haldia, Hardiya^ Hardiha, Haldc. —
(A grower of ha/di, or turmeric.)
Subcaste of Kachhi, Lodhi, Mali,
Rajjhar and Teli. A section of
Rajjhar.
Halia. — (Ploughman.) A subcaste of
Teli in Nandgaon State.
Halua. — A subcaste of Uriya Brah-
mans, so called because they use the
plough [kal).
Hans, Hdnsi, Hdnsa. — (The swan.)
A .section of Agharia, Ahir, Mali
and .Savar.
Hansele. — (I/ausna, to laugh.) A
section of Ahlr.
Criminal Tribes of the C.P., p. 61.
I GLOSSARY 2,fij
Hatiiimdn, Hamimanta. — (The nion- Haria. — (//«/, plouj;!!.) A subcasto of
key-god Hanuman.) A section of Mahar.
Bhatra, Mahar and Mowar. Harial. — (Green pigeon'.) A section
Hara. — A clan of Rajputs, a liranch of of Ahlr.
the Chauhans. //arj/;^.— (Glad.) .Surname of Karhara
Harbola. — Derived from Ilari, a name Brahmans in Saugor.
of Vishnu or Krishna, and bolna to Hatgar. — Synonym of Hatkar.
speak. .Synonym of Basdewa and Hatghar. — Subcaste of Koshti.
also subcaste of Basdewa. Hathgarhia. — Subcaste of Kumhar,
Hardas. — A religious mendicant who meaning one who moulds vessels
travels about and tells stories with his hands only, without using
about heroes and gods accompanied the wheel as an implement.
with music. Synonym of Chitra- Hdthia, Hasti. — (From liiithi, ele-
l<athi. phant.) A section of Ahir, Chasa,
Hilri. — (A bone -gatherer.) Synonym Mehra and Mowar.
of Mehtar and subcaste of Meh- Hatkar, Hatgar.- — A caste. A su-Ii-
tar. caste of Koshta and Maratha.
Hatwa. — A small caste of pedlars and hawkers in the Uriya country, who
perambulate the village bazars or hats, from which word their name is derived.
They sell tobacco, turmeric, salt, and other commodities. The caste are in
reality a branch of the Kewats, and are also called .Semli Kewat, because their
ancestors travelled on the Mahanadi and other rivers in canoes made from the
bark of the senial tree {Bomhax Malabariaim). They were thus Kewats or
boatmen who adopted the practice of carrying small articles up and down the
river for sale in their canoes, and then beginning to travel on land as well as
on water, became regular pedlars, and were differentiated into a separate
caste. The caste originated in Orissa where river travelling has until lately
been much in vogue, and in Sambalpur they are also known as Uriyas, because of
their recent immigration into this part of the country. The Hatwas consider
themselves to be descended from the Nag or cobra, and say that they all belong
to the Nag gotra. They will not kill a cobra, and will save it from death at
the hands of others if they have the opportunity, and they sometimes pay the
snake-charmers to set free captive snakes. The oath on the snake is their
most solemn form of affirmation. For the purposes of marriage they liave a
number of exogamous sections or vargas, the names of which in some cases
indicate a military calling, as Dalai, from Dalpati, commander of an army,
and Senapati, commander-in-chief; while others are occupational, as Maha-
rana (painter), Dwari (gatekeeper) and Mangual (steersman of a boat). The
latter names show, as might be expected, that the caste is partly of functional
origin, while as regards the military names, the Hatwas say that the)' formerly
fought against the Bhonslas, under one of the Uriya chiefs. They say that
they have the perpetual privilege of contributing sixteen poles, called Naikas,
for the car of Jagannath, and that in lieu of this they hold seven villages in
Orissa revenue-free. Those of them who use pack-bullocks for carrying their
wares worship Banjari Devi, a deity who is held to reside in the sacks used
for loading the bullocks ; to her they offer sweetmeats and grain boiled with
sugar.
Havclia. — (Resident of a Haveli or subcaste of Gondhali.
fertile wheat tract.) Subcaste of Hmdnstani. — Subcaste of Kunbi.
Ghosi and Kurmi. Hira, Hirmti. — (Diamond.) A section
Hawaidar. — (A maker of fireworks.) of Bhulia and of Uriya Sansia.
Synonym of Kadera. Hirangotri. — (Hiran,dter.) A section
Hela. — (From /^e/a, a cry.) Subcaste of Agarwal Bania.
of Mehtar. Ho. — Synonym of Kol.
Hicha>ni. — (A comb.) A sept of Holer. — (A hide-curer.) Subcaste of
Maria Gonds. Mang.
Hip-a. — (A eunuch.) See article. A Holia, Holer.— K caste. A subcaste
368
GLOSS AR V
of Golar. Holer, perhaps from
Holia, a subcaste of Mang.
Hudila. — (Wolf. ) A totemistic sept
of Kawar.
Hulhidia Sahu. — A section of Chasa
so named, because as a mark of re-
spect they make the noise ' Hulhuli,'
when a king passes through the
village.
Ht'tna, Hoon oxHiin. — One of the thirty-
six royal races of Rajputs. Probably
descendants of the Hun invaders
of the fifth century. See articles
Rajput and Panwar Rajput.
Husaini. — Subcaste of Brahman.
Ikbaiiika. — A subcaste of Kurmi, so
called because their women put
bangles on one arm only.
Iksha Kul or Ikshawap Kiil. — A
section of Konati. They abstain
from using the sugarcane and the
sendia flower.
Ildkeba)id. — (From ilaqa or aldqa,
meaning connection, and bdndhna,
to bind. ) Synonym of Patwa.
higa, — Subcaste of Gowari.
Irpachi. — (Mahua flowers.) A sept of
Dhurvva Gonds in Betul.
Ivna Inde. — {hide, chicken.) A sept
of Dhurwa Gonds in Betiil. They
offer chickens to their gods.
Ivna Jaglcya. — {Jagna, to be awake.)
A sept of the Dhurwa clan of Gonds
in Betul. They are so named be-
cause they kept awake to worship
their gods at night.
Jddain, Jdduvansi, Yddava. — An im-
portant clan of Rajputs now become
a caste. Name derived from Yadu
or Yadava. A subcaste of Gujar.
A subcaste and section of Ahir ; a
section of Rathor Rajputs in Betrd.
Jadia, Jaria. — (An enameller.) A
subcaste of Sunar. They practise
hypergamy by taking wives from the
Pilariye and Sudilie subdivisions, and
giving daughters to the Sri Nagariye
and Banjar Mahuwe subdivisions.
Also an occupational term meaning
one who sets precious stones in rings.
Jddubansi, Yddubansi. — See Jadum.
A subcaste of Ahir.
Jaga. — (Awakener. ) Synonym of Bas-
dewa.
Jasondhi, KaroMa. — A small caste
cinploycil at tiie Gond and Maratha
Jagat. — (An awakener or sorcerer.) A
sept of Gond in many localities. A
section of Nat and Kasar.
Jakarta. — (From jahai-, an essence.)
Subcaste of Satnami.
Jain. — Name of a religion. See article.
A subcaste of Kalar, Kumhar and
Simpi (Darzi).
Jaina. — (One who follows tlie Jain
faith.) Subcaste of Komti, Gurao.
Jain Koshti. — Subcaste of Koshti.
Jaipuria. — (Aresident of Jaipur.) Sub-
caste of Mali.
Jairu'dr. — (From the old town of Jais
in Rai Bareli District.) A subcaste
of Chamars, who usually call them-
selves Jaiswara in preference to their
caste name. A subcaste of Barai,
Kunbi and Kalar.
Jaldlia. — A class of Fakirs or Muham-
madan beggars.
Jaitwa or Kamari. — A clan of Raj-
puts ; one of the thirty -six royal
races mentioned by Colonel Tod.
Jalldd. — (An executioner. ) Subcaste of
Kanjar.
Jamddagni. — An eponymous section of
Karhare Brahman and Agharia.
Jambu. — (From iYiQ Jdtnan tree.) A
subcaste of Brahman and Marar.
A sept of Korku.
Jambu Ddlia. — (Born in a shed made
oi jdtnan branches.) A section of
Ghasia.
Janntabdsi. — (Residing on the banks
of the Jumna.) A subcaste of
Dhobi.
Jangam. — A caste of Saiva mendicants,
who call themselves Vir Sliaiva, and
are priests of the Lingayat sect ; a
subcaste of Jogi.
Jdngra. — (Perhaps the same asjharia
or jungly.) A subcaste of Lodhi.
A section of Dhimar, Mali and
Sunar.
Jdni. — A wise man ; an exorciser.
Janta. — (Flour grinding -mill.) A
section of Panka, a sept of Kawar.
Janugiianta. — Mendicants who tie bells
to their thighs ; a kind of Jogis.
Jaria. — A totemistic section of Basor,
who worship the bcr or wild plum
tree.
Jasondhi, Dasattndhi. — A caste. A
subcaste of Bhat.
of the Narsinghpur District, who were
courts to sing \\\q jas or hymns in praise
GLOSSARY
369
of the chiefs. They may be considered as a branch of the Hhfit caste, and
some of them are said to be addicted to petty theft. Some Jasondhis,
who are also known as Karohla, now wander about as religious mendicants,
singing the praises of Devi. They carry an image of the goddess suspended
by a chain round the neck and ask for gifts of lil/i (sesamum) or other
vegetable oil, which they pour over their heads antl over the image. Their
clothes and bodies are consequently always saturated with this oil. They
also have a little cup of vermilion which they smear on the goddess and on
their own bodies after receiving an offering. They call on Devi, saying,
' Mai/'i, Maijl Maia meri, kahe ko Janam diya ' or ' Mother, mother, why
did you bring me into the world ?' Women who have no children sometimes
vow to dedicate their first-born son as a Karohla, and it is said that such
children were bound to sacrifice themselves to the goddess on attaining
manhood in one of three ways. Either they went to Benares and were cut
in two by a sword, or else to Badrinarayan, a shrine on the summit of the
Himalayas, where they were frozen to death, or to Dhaolagiri, where they
threw themselves down from a rock, and one might occasionally escape
death. Their melancholy refrain may thus be explained by the fate in
store for them. The headquarters of the order is the shrine of the Bind-
hyachal Devi in the Vindhyan Hills.
Jhara, Jhi7-a, Jhora.- — Synonym of
Sonjhara.
Jharha.— Subcasle of Lodhi.
Jharia. — (Jungly.) See Jhadi.
Jharola. — (Perhaps from the town of
Jhalor in Marwar.) A subcaste of
Brahmans in Jubbulpore.
Jhinga.- — (A prawn-catcher.) Subcaste
of Dhimar.
Jijhotia or Jiijhotia. — (From Jajhoti,
the old name of the country of
Jat. — A caste. One of the thirty-six
royal races of Rajputs. A subcaste
of Barhai, Bishnoi and Kumhar.
Jatadhari. — (With matted hair.) A
sect of celibate Manbhaos.
Jati. — Name of Jain mendicant ascetics.
Jaunpuri. — (From Jaunpur. ) A sub-
caste of Halwai and Lobar.
Jemadar. — Honorific title of Khangar
and Mehtar.
Jemdddrin. — Title of the female leaders
of the Yerukala communities of
thieves.
Jera. — (A forked stick for collecting
thorny wood.) A section of Dangi.
Jhddi, JhCide, Jharia, Jharkua.
(Jungly.) — A name often applied to
the oldest residents of a caste in any
locality of the Central Provinces.
In Berar it is used to designate the
Wainganga Valley and adjacent hill
ranges. A subcaste of Ahlr, Barai,
Barhai, Chamar, Dhangar, Dhanwar,
Dhobi, Gadaria, Gurao, Kapewar,
Kasar, Katia, Kewat, Khatik, Khond,
Kirar, Kumhar, Kunbi, Kurmi,
Mahar, Mali, Nai, Sunar, Teli and
Turi.
Jhadukar.- — (From Jkddu, a broom.)
A synonym of Mehtar.
Jkal or Jhala. — One of the thirty-six
royal races of Rajputs. A subcaste
of Raj-Gond.
Jhdnkar. — Name of a village priest in
the Uriya country. The Jhankar is
usually a Binjhwar or member of
another primitive tribe
VOL. I
Lalitpur and Saugor. ) A subcaste
of Brahmans of the Kanaujia division.
A subcaste of Ahir ; a section of
Joshi and Kumhar.
Jlldgar. — (A bookbinder.) A class of
Mochi.
Jingar. — (A saddlemaker.) A class of
Mochi. A subcaste of Chamar and
of Simpi (Darzi).
Jirdyat. — Synonym for Mochis in Berar
who have taken up the finer kinds
of ironwork, such as mending guns,
etc.
Jire-Mdli. — Formerly was the only
subcaste of Mali who would grow
cnmin ox jira.
Jiria. — (From jira, or cumin.) Sub-
caste of Kachhi.
Jogi, Jugi. A caste. A subcaste of
Dewar. A section of Chamar,
Chhipa and Lobar.
Joharia. — (From johar, a form of
salutation. ) Subcaste of Dahaits in
Bilaspur.
Johri. — A subcaste of Rajput.
2 B
370
GLOSSARY
Jokliara. — A small class of Muhammadans who breed leeches and apply ihem
to patients, the name being derived from jonk, a leech. They were not
separately classified at the census, but a few families of them are found in
Burhanpur, and they marry among themselves, because no other Muham-
madans will marry with them. In other parts of India leeches are kept
and applied by sweepers and sometimes by their women.' People suffering
from boils, toothache, swellings of the face, piles and other diseases have
leeches applied to them. For toothache the leeches are placed inside the
mouth on the gum for two days in succession. There are two kinds of
leeches known as Bhainsa-jonk, the large or buffalo-leech, and Rai-jonk,
the small leech. They are found in the mud of stagnant tanks and in
broken-down wells, and are kept in earthen vessels in a mixture of black
soil and water ; and in this condition they will go without food for months
and also breed. Some patients object to having their blood taken out of
the house, and in such cases powdered turmeric is given to the leeches to
make them disgorge, and the blood of the patient is buried inside the house.
The same means is adopted to prevent the leeches from dying of repletion.
In Gujarat the Jokharas are a branch of the Hajjam or Muhammadan barber
caste,- and this recalls the fact that the barber chirurgeon or surgeon in
medieval England was also known as the leech. It would be natural to
suppose that he was named after the insect which he applied, but Murray's
Dictionary holds that the two words were derived from separate early
English roots, and were subsequently identified by popular etymology.
Jondhara. — (Indian millet.) A totem- Chasa, Kamar and Khandait.
istic sept of Korku and Halba. Kachhotia. — Subcaste of Jadam.
Joshi, — (An astrologer. ) A caste. A
surname of Karhara Brahmans.
Juthia.—[OviQ who eats the leavings of
others.) Subcaste of Basor.
Jyotishi. — A synonym for Joshi; an
astrologer.
Kabiraya. — (Followers of Kabir. ) A
subcaste of Kori. A section of
Koshti.
Kabtrpanthi . — A member of the Kabir-
panthi sect. A subcaste of Panka
and Agharia. A class of Bairagis
or religious mendicants.
Kabra. — (Spotted.) One of the 72^
sections of Maheshri Bania.
Kabidari. — (Pigeon.) A synonym
for Kolhati. A name given to
female dancers of the Nat caste.
Kabutkunia. — (Those who find place
at the corner of the door.) A sub-
caste of Sudh in Sambalpur, being
the illegitimate issues of the Baro
.Sudh subcaste.
Kachdra. — Synonym of Kachera.
Kachchhi. — (From Cutch in Gujarat.)
A subdivision of lialmiki Kayasths
and Mathur Kayasths.
Kachhap. — (Tortoise.) A totemistic
sept of Agharia, Sudh, Bhulia,
Kachhuwa. — (The tortoise.) A totem-
istic sept of several groups of Gonds,
also of Darzi, Halba, Kol, Rawat,
Munda, J at, Kachhi and Lobar.
Kachhwaha. — (The tortoise.) One
of the thirty-six royal races of Raj-
puts, the princes of Jaipur or Amber
being of this clan. They derive the
name from Cutch, or from Kush, an
eponymous ancestor. A section of
Nandbansi Ahlr, Gadaria, Kachhi
and Nat. The Kachhwaha section
of Gadarias worship the tortoise.
Kada-kalle-bhallavi . — One who uses
donkeys for pack-carriage {bhallavi),
but stole a horse {kalle-kada). A
sept of the Dhurwa clan of Satdeve
Gonds in Betrd.
Kagar. — Synonym of Dhlmar.
Kai^waria. — P"rom kagwar, an offering
made to the ancestors in the month
of Kunwar. Subcaste of Kol.
Kaibarlta. — Synonym of Kewat.
Kaikadi. — Synonym of Kaikari.
Kainthivans .- — A subcaste of Pasi in
Saugor and Betrd, said to have
originated in a cross between a
Badhak or Baori, and a Kayasth
woman.
Kaith. — Synonym for Kayasth.
^ Buchanan, i. p. 331.
2 B.G. Muh. Guj., p. 84.
I GLOSSARY 371
K'aitha, Kaithia. — Subcaste of Khar- Muhammadan practices.
bhunja and Darzi, KnlapJthia. — (Having; black backs.)
Kakra. — One who arranges for the A subcaste of Savar.s in I'uri of
lighting at the marriage and other Orissa. They have the right of
ceremonies. Subcaste of Chitra- dragging the car of ]agann;ith.
kathi. Killmvant. — Title of Mirasi.
Kala. — (Black.) A subcaste of CJol- Kalbelia. — {Catcher of .snake.s.) A
kar (Ahir). .subcaste of Nat.
Kalachiiri. — Synonym for the Ilaihaya Kdlibclia. — {Bel, an ox.) A section
clan of Rajputs. of Cliadar. They draw a picture (jf
Kdlanga. — A caste. A subcaste of an o\ at their weddings.
Good. Kalihari. — (I5ridle. ) A section of
Kalanki. — A subdivision of Mahar- Teli in Nandgaon, so named because
ashtra Brahmans found in Nagpur. they presented a bridle to their king.
They are considered degraded, as Kalkhor. — (Castor-oil plant.) A toteni-
their name indicates. They are istic sept of the Audhalia caste,
said to have cut up a cow made of Kalutia, Kalota. — A subtribe of Gonds
flour to please a Muhammadan in Chanda and Betrd.
governor, and to follow some other Kalwar. — Synonym of Kalar.
Kamad.^ — A small caste of jugglers, who come from Rajputana and travel
about in the Hoshangabad and Nimar Districts. They were not returned
at the census, and appear to Vjelong to Rajputana. Their special entertain-
ment consists in playing with cymbals, and women are the chief performers.
The woman has eight or nine cymbals secured to her legs before and behind,
and she strikes these rapidly in turn with another held in her hand, twisting
her body skilfully so as to reach all of them, and keeping time with the
music played on guitar-like instruments by the men who accompany her.
If the woman is especially skilful, she will also hold a naked sword in her
mouth, so as to increase the difficulty of the performance.
The Kamads dress after the Rajputana fashion, and wear yellow ochre-
coloured clothes. Their exogamous sections have Rajput names, as Chauhan,
Panwar, Gudesar, Jogpal and so on, and like the Rajputs they send a
cocoanut-core to signify a proposal for marriage. But the fact that they
have a special aversion to Dhobis and will not touch them makes it possible
that they originated from the Dom caste, who share this prejudice.- Reason
has been found to suppose that the Kanjars, Kolhatis and other migrant
groups of entertainers are sprung from the Doms, and the Kamads may be
connected with these. No caste, not even the sweepers, will accept food
from the Kamads. They employ a Brahman, however, to officiate at their
marriage and death ceremonies. Like the Gosains the Kamads bury tlieir
dead in a sitting posture, a niche being hollowed out at the side of the grave
in which the corpse is placed. Crushed bread (r/ialFda) and a gourd full of
water are laid beside the corpse. The caste worship the footprints of
Ramdeo, a saint of Marwar, and pay special reverence to the goddess Hinglaj,
who is a deity of several castes in Rajputana,
Kamalbansi. — (Stock of the lotus.) Kaviari, Kaitwa. — One of the thirty-
Subcaste of Kawar. six royal races of Rajputs.
Kanial Kul. — (L.otus.) A section of Kainaria. — (From kai/ibal, blanket.)
Komti. They do not use lotus A subcaste of Ahir. A section of
roots nor yams. Dhlmar and Sonkar.
Kamathi, Kamati. — A term applied in the Maratha Districts to immigrants
from Madras. It is doubtful whether the Kamathis have become a caste,
but about 150 persons returned this name as their caste in the Central
1 This article is based on information Bengal, and of the North - VVesleni
collected by Mr. Hira Lai in Betul. Provinces and Ondh.
^ Art. Dom. in Tribes and Castes of
372 GLOSSARY part
Provinces and Berar in 191 1, and there are about 7000 in India, none, how-
ever, being recorded from the Madras Presidency. It is stated that the word
Krimalhi means ' fool ' in Tamil, and that in Bombay all Telugus are called
Kamathis, to whatever caste they may belong. Similarly, Maratha immigrants
into Madras are known by the generic name of Arya,^ and those coming from
Hindustan into the Nerbudda valley as Pardeshi, while in the same locality
the Brahmans and Rajputs of Central India are designated by the Marathas
as Rangra. This term has the signification of rustic or boorish, and is
therefore a fairly close parallel to Kamathi, if the latter word has the meaning
given above. In the Thana District of Bombay ^ people of many classes are
included under the name of Kamathi. Though they do not marry or even
eat together, the different classes of Kamathis have a strong feeling of fellow-
ship, and generally live in the same quarter of the town. In the Central
Provinces the Kamathis are usually masons and house-builders or labourers.
They speak Telugu in their houses and Marathi to outsiders. In Sholapur ^
the Kamathis dress like Kunbis. They are bound together by a strong caste
feeling, and appear to have become a regular caste. Their priests are Telugu
Brahmans, and their ceremonies resemble those of Kunbis. On the third
day after a child is born the midwife lifts it up for the first time, and it is
given a few light blows on the back. For three days the child sucks one
end of a rag the other end of which 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. Until the mother is pregnant a second time, no choti or
scalp-lock is allowed to grow on the child's head. When she becomes
pregnant, she is taken with the child before the village god, and a tuft of
hair is thereafter left to grow on the crown of its head.
Kanmia. — A large cultivating caste of the Madras Presidency, of which a few
representatives were returned from the Chanda District in 1911. They are
derived from the same Dravidian stock as the other great cultivating castes
of Madras, and, originally soldiers by profession, have now settled down to
agriculture. No description of the caste need be given here, but the following
interesting particulars may be recorded. The word Kamma means an ear
ornament, and according to tradition a valuable jewel of this kind belonging
to a Raja of Warangal fell into the hands of his enemies. One section of
the great Kapu caste, boldly attacking the foe and recovering the jewel, were
hence called Kamma, while another section, which ran away, received the
derogatory title of Velama {veli^ away). Another story says that the Kammas
and Velamas were originally one caste, and had adopted the Muhammadan
system o'i i^osha or purda. But finding that they were thus handicapped in
competition with the other cultivating castes, it was proposed that the new
custom should be abandoned. Those who agreed to this signed a bond,
which was written on a palm-leaf {kamma), and hence received their new
name. In the Central Provinces the Kammas are divided into three
subcastes, the Illuvellani or those who do not go out of the house, the
Tadakchatu or those who live within tadaks or mat screens, and the Polumtir
or those who go into the fields. Tiiese names are derived from the degrees
in which the different subdivisions seclude their women, the Illuvellani
observing strict purda and the Polumtir none whatever, while the Tadak-
chatu follow a middle course. On this account some social diflTerence exists
between the three subcastes, and when the Illuvellani dine with either of the
other two they will not eat from the plates of their hosts, but take their food
separately on a leaf. And the Tadakchatu practise a similar distinction with
the Polumtir, but the two latter divisions do not decline to eat from plates
or vessels belonging to an Illuvellani. The Kammas forbid a man to marry
1 See article Are. ^ Tha»a Gazetteer, pp. 119, 120.
^ Sholapur Gazeilecr, p. 158.
CjLOSSARY
2>72,
in the gotra or family group to which he belongs, but a wife from the same
gotra as his mother's is considered a most desirable match, and if his maternal
uncle has a daughter he should always take her in marriage. A man is even
permitted to marry his own sister's daughter, but he may not wed his mother's
sister's daughter, who is regarded as his own sister. Among the Kanmias of
the Tamil country Mr. (Sir H.) Stuart i states that a bride is often much <jlder
than her husband, and a case is cited in which a wife of twenty-two years of
age used to carry her boy-husband on her hip as a mother carries her child.
One other curious custom recorded of the caste may be noticed. A woman
dying within the lifetime of her husband is worshipped by her daughters,
granddaughters or daughters-in-law, and in their absence by her husliand's
second wife if he has one. The ceremony is performed on some festival such
as Dasahra or Til-Sankrant, when a Brahman lady, who must not be a
widow, is invited and considered to represent the deceased ancestor. .She is
anointed and washed with turmeric and saffron, and decorated with sandal-
paste and flowers ; a new cloth and breast-cloth are then presented to her
which she puts on ; sweets, fruit and betel-leaf are offered to her, and the
women of the family bow down before her and receive her benediction,
believing that it comes from their dead relative.
Kammala. — A small Telugu caste in the Chanda District. The name
Kammala is really a generic term applied to the five artisan castes of Kamsala
or goldsmith, Kanchara or brazier, Kammara or blacksmith, Vadra or
carpenter, and Silpi or stone-mason. These are in reality distinct castes, but
they are all known as Kammalas. The Kammalas assert that they are
descended from Visva Karma, the architect of the gods, and in the Telugu
country they claim equality with Brahmans, calling themselves Visva
Brahmans. But inscriptions show that as late as the year A.D. 1033 they
were considered a very inferior caste and confined to the village site.^ Mr.
(Sir H.) Stuart writes in the Madras Cettsus Report that it is not difficult
to account for the low position formerly held by the Kammalas, for it must
be remembered that in early times the military castes in India as elsewhere
looked down upon all engaged in labour, whether skilled or otherwise. With
the decline of military power, however, it was natural that a useful caste like
the Kammalas should gradually improve its position, and the reaction from this
long oppression has led them to make the exaggerated claims described above,
which are ridiculed by every other caste, high or low. The five main sub-
divisions of the caste do not intermarry. They have priests of their own and
do not allow even Brahmans to officiate for them, but they invite Bjrahnians
to their ceremonies. Girls must be married before puberty. The binding
ceremony of the marriage consists in the tying of a circular piece of gold on
a thread of black beads round the bride's neck by the bridegroom. Wid(nv-
marriage is prohibited.
Kaiiimari. — Telugu Lobars or black- have come from the town of Kanauj
smiths. in northern India, into the Central
Kamsala. — (A goldsmith.) Subcaste of Provinces. A subcaste of Ahir,
Kammala. Bahna, Bharbhilnja, Bhat, Brahman,
Kanalsia. — (Artw^///, a tile.) A section Dahait, Darzi, Dholji, Ilalwai,
of Ahir in Nimar who do not live in Lobar, Mali, Nai, Batwa, Sunar
tiled huts. and Teli.
Katiare. — (A resident of Canara.) Kanbajia or Ahinvar. — Same as
A subcaste of Dhangar. Kanaujia. Subcaste of Chamar.
Kanaiijia, Kaiikubja. — A very common Kanchara. — (A brassworker.) Sub-
subcaste name, indicating persons caste of Kammala.
whose ancestors are supposed to Kand. — (Roots or tubers of wild
1 Madras Census Report [xZ^-i.), p. 238.
"^ Ibidem, p. 280.
374
GLOSSARY
Kandhana. — Subcaste of Khoiid.
Kandhia. — (A big- beaked vullure. )
A sept of Dhanwar.
Kaiidia. — {Kandi, a shell, also a snake. )
A section of Teli in Betul.
Kandol. — A subcaste of Brahmans,
who take their name from the village
Kandol, in Kiilhiawar.
■ plants.) A section of Raghuvansi
Rajputs in Hoshangabad.
Kanda Potcl. — (One who grows roots.)
A section of Mali.
Kandc. — Subcaste of Bedar.
h'andcra. — Synonym for Kadera. Sub-
caste of Bahna.
Kaudh. — Synonym of Khond. A sub-
caste of I'aonla in Sambalpur.
Kandra. — A small caste of bamboo-workers in the Uriya country, akin to the
Basors elsewhere. Members of the caste are found in small numbers
in the Raipur and Balaghat Districts. The word Kandra may be derived
from kd)id, an arrow, just as Dhanuk, often a synonym for Basor, has the
meaning of an archer. It is not improbable that among the first articles
made of bamboo were the bow and arrow of the forest tribes, and that the
bow-maker was the parent of the modern Basor or basket-maker, bows being
a requisite of an earlier stage of civilisation than baskets. In Bhandara the
Kandras are an offshoot of Gonds. Their women do not wear their cloths
over the head, and knot their hair behind without plaiting it. They talk a
Gondi dialect and are considered an impure caste.
Kandu. — (A grain-parcher. ) A syno- Kapasia. — (From kapCis, cotton.) A
nym and subcaste of Bharbhunja. A
subcaste of Halwai.
Kandua. — (From hand, onion, as they
eat onions.) A subcaste of Bhar-
bhunja.
Kanera. — (From the kaner tree.) A
totemistic section of (janda and
Khangar.
Kangali. — (Poor.) A common sept of
Gonds.
Kanhejin. — Subcaste of Banjara.
Kanhpuria. — (From Cawnpore, which
was founded by their eponymous
hero Kanh. ) A clan of Rajputs.
Kanjar.- — A caste of gipsies. A sub-
caste of Banjara.
Kankuhja. — See Kanaujia.
Kdnnow. — A sectarian division of
Brahmans.
Kanphata. — (One who has his ears
bored or pierced.) A class of Jogi
mendicants.
Kansari. — Synonym of Kasar.
Kanwar. — Synonym of Kawar.
Kanwarbansi. — A subtribe of Khair-
war.
Kaonra or A'oj-a. — A caste. A sub-
caste of Ahlr.
Kaore. — A sept of Gonds. A surname
of Maratha Brahmans.
Kapalia. — (Covered with skulls.) A
section of Telis in Betfd.
Kaparia. — (From kapra cloth, owing
to their wearing several dresses,
which they change rapidly like the
Bahrupia. ) Synonym of Basdewa.
section of Mahar,
Kapdi. — Synonym of Basdewa.
Kapiir. — (Camphor.) A section of
Khatri.
Kaptiria. — A subdivision of Arhaighar
Saraswat Brahmans in Hoshangabad,
probably deriving their title from
being the priests of the Kapur section
of Khatris.
Karai Nor. — A section of Casor. They
perform the Meher ceremony of
eating the marriage cakes near a
well and not in the house.
Kardit. — (A poisonous snake.) A sec-
tion of Ahir, Halba and Panka.
Karan (Mahanti). — A caste. A sub-
caste of Kayasth. An eponymous
section of Binjhwar and Tanti.
Karaola. — (One who pours sesamum
oil on his clothes and begs.) Syno-
nym for Jasondhi and Bhat.
Karbal. — Subcaste of Khangar.
A'anhuli. — A clan of Rajputs, formerly
a ruling race in the Jubbulpore
country. See Rajput-Ilaihaya. A
section of Joshi and Mochi.
Karc, Karia. — (Black.) A subcaste
of Marar. A section of Binjhwar,
Ahir, Chhipa and I.odhi.
Karela. — (Bitter gourd.) A section of
Sonkar.
Karhdda. — A subcaste of Maharashtra
Brahmans deriving their name from
Karhad, near the junction of the
Krishna and Koynna rivers, about
fifteen miles from Satnra.
GLOSSARY
375
Karhaiya. — (Frying-pan.) A section
of Raghuvansi.
Karlgay. — (A workman.) An honor-
ific title of Barhai and Lobar. A
subcaste and synonym of Beldar.
Karijdt. — Subcaste of Pardhi. Tlie
members of this subcaste only kill
birds of a black colour.
Karkarkadhe. — (Stone-diggers. ) Sub-
caste of Mang.
Karnain. — Synonym of Karan, a palm-
leaf writer.
Karnaia, Karnataka.- — One of the
five orders of Panch Dravida or
southern Brahmans, inhabiting the
Canarese country.
Karnati. — (From the Carnatic.) Syno-
nym for a class of Nats or acrobats.
Karohla. — A religious mendicant who
wanders about singing praises of
Devi. See Jasondhi.
Karpachor. — (Stealer of straw.) A
sept of the Uika clan of Gonds in
Betid.
A'arsaydl. — (A deer.) A sept of the
Kawar tribe. Also a sept of Ahir,
Bhaina, Dhobi in Chhattlsgarh,
Kevvat, Lobar and Turi.
Karsi. — (From kalas, a pitcher.) A
totemistic sept of Kawar. They do
not drink water from a red jar on
the Akti festival.
Kanua. — Subcaste of Kunbi.
Karwar. — (An oar.) A section of
Dangi in Damoh. A section of
Kawar.
Kasai. — A caste of butchers. Name
applied to Banjaras.
Kasar. — A caste. A subdivision of
Audhia Sunar. A section of Kewat.
A'asanvdni. — A subcaste of Bania.
Kasaundhan. — A subcaste of Bania.
Kasda. — (One who hides himself in
the bed of the river.) A sept oi
Korku ; a man of this sept has the
privilege of directing the cerenxjny
for the readniission of an outcastc.
Kasdhonia. — A subcaste of Dhimar.
They wash the sand in the sacred
rivers for coins thrown there by pil-
grims, and dive into water to find
lost ornaments or gold.
Kasera. — Synonym of Kasar.
Kashi. — (Benares.) A section of
Agharia, Ahir, Dhuri, Kewat,
Kurmi and Mali.
Kashyap. — Name of a famous Rishi
or saint. The name may perhaps
be really derived from kachhap, a
tortoise. One of the common ejiony-
mous sections of Brahmans. Also
a section of Barai, Bari, Beldar,
Bharbhunja, Bhulia, Binjhwar,
Chandnahu Kurmi, Gond, Jangam,
Joshi, Kalar, Kasar, Kasarwani
Bania, Khangar, Nai, Rajput,
Sunar. Some castes say that they
are all of the Kashyap gotra or sec-
tion, the tortoise being considered a
common ancestor of mankind, be-
cause it supports the world.
Kasia. — (Kansa, or bell-metal.) A
section of Chamar. They draw a
picture of a bell-metal dish at their
weddings.
Kasondhi. — A subcaste of Bania.
A'assab, Kassia. — (A butcher.) Syno-
nym of Kasai.
Kast. — A small caste found in the Maratha Districts and Bombay, who appear to
be a separate or inferior group of the Kayasths. In Chanda they work as
patwaris and clerks t(j moneylenders, while some are merchants and land-
holders. Like the Kayasths, they wash their pens and inkstands on the
Dasahra festival and worship them. Their principal deity is the god Venka-
tesh, a Maratha incarnation of Vishnu. In Bombay the Kasts claim to be
Yajur-Vedi Brahmans, dress like them and keep the regular Brahman cere-
monies. ^ But they are considered to be half Marathas and half Brahmans,
and strict Deshasth and Kokanasth Brahmans hold their touch unclean. -
Katdre. — (Katdr, dagger. ) A surname name of eastern Rohilkhand. ) A
of Sanadhya Brahmans in Saugor. section of Gadaria and Kasar.
A section of Aearwal and Oswal Kathbhahia. — Subcaste of Baiga in
Bania, Chhattlsgarhi Ahir or Rawat,
Chadar and Basor. The Katare
sept of Basors worship a dagger.
Katharia. — (From Kathibar, the old
Bilaspur.
Kdthi. — A Rajput clan included in
the thirty-six royal races of Rajputs.
Originally an indigenous tribe of
■' Sat dm Gazetteer,
p. 41-
- Ndsik Gazetteer, p. 54.
376 GLOSSARY part
Gujarat, who gave tlieir name to Kaiishik. — The name of a Rishi or
Kathiawar. saint. An eponymous section of
Kathia. — Name of an Akhara or school Brahmans. A section of Ahir,
of Bairagi religious mendicants. Diiobi, Rajput, Sunar and other
See Bairagi. castes.
Kathotia. — {Kathotia, a wooden bowl.) Kavirdj. — Title of a IJhat who has the
A section of Darzi. qualification of literacy, and can
Kati or Khatti. — Subcaste of Bhuiya. therefore read the old Sanskrit
Katia. — A caste of spinners. A sub- medical works. A physician.
caste of Balahi and Mahar. Kayasth Palwa. — A subcaste of Patwa
Kattri. — Subcaste of Are. in Hoshangabad and Saugor.
Katwa. — (Yxom. kdtjia, to cut.) Syno- Kekre. — Subcaste of Gujar.
nym of Katia and Chamar. Kesaria. — (From kesar, saffron.) A
K'aiu-. — Synonym of Kawar. section of Ahir and Gadaria.
Kaiishalya. — (From Koslial, the name Kewat. — A caste. A subcaste of
of a famous Rishi or saint.) A sec- Dhimar and Mallah.
lion of Agarwal Bania, Darzi, Lodhi Khad. — Subcaste of Mana.
and Khatri Sunar. KhadCil. — A caste of palanquin-carriers.
KhadaP (honorific titles Nayak and Behera). — A small Dravidian caste of
labourers in the Uriya country. In 1901 they numbered 1200 persons and
resided principally in the Patna and Sonpur States now transferred to Bengal.
The Khadals are probably an offshoot of the great Bauri caste of Bengal,
with which the members of the caste in Patna admitted their identity, though
elsewhere they deny it. Their traditional occupations of palanquin-bearing
and field labour are identical with those of tlie Bauris, as stated by Sir H.
Risley.^ The name Khadal is a functional one, denoting persons who work
with a hoe. The Khadals have totemistic exogamous groups, the Kilasi sept
worshipping a tree, the Julsi and Kandualsi sept a snake-hole, the Balunasi
a stone and others the sun. Each sept salutes the revered object or totem
on seeing it, and those who worship trees will not burn them or stand in their
shade. When a marriage takes place they worship the totem and offer to it
flowers, sandalwood, vermilion, uncooked rice, and the new clothes and
ornaments intended for the bride, which she may not wear until this ceremony
has been performed. Another curious custom adopted by the Khadals in
imitation of the Hindus is that of marrying adult boys and girls, for whom a
partner has not been found, to a tree. But this does not occur when they
arrive at puberty as among Hindu castes, but when a boy still unmarried
becomes thirty years old and a girl twenty. In such a case he or she is
married to a mango, cotton ox jaimin tree, and after this no second ceremony
need be performed on subsequent union with a wife or husband. A widower
must pay Rs. 10, or double the usual price, for a second wife, owing to the
risk of her death being caused by the machinations of the first wife's spirit.
When a corpse has been buried or burnt the mourners each take a twig of
mango and beat about in the grass to start a grasshopper. Having captured
one they wrap it in a piece of new cloth, and coming home place it beside
the family god. This they call bringing back the life of the soul, and con-
sider that the ceremony procures salvation for the dead. The Khadals are
usually considered as impure, but those of .Sonpur have attained a somewhat
higher status.
Khadia. — (A kind of snake.) A sec- sept of Nahal.
tion of Ahir and Raghuvansi. A
Khadra,^ Khadura or Kharura. — A small Uriya caste whose occupation is
^ This account is taken from inquiries ■' From a paper by Mr. Kripasindh
made by Mr. Hira I.al in Patna. Tripathi, Headmaster, Saria Middle
- Tribes and Castes of Bengal, art. School, Sarangarh State.
Bauri.
I GLOSSARY 377
to make brass ornaments. They are immigrants from Cuttack and say that they
are called there Sankhari, so that the Khadras may not improbably l)c an ofT-
shoot of the Sankhari caste of shell-cutters of Bengal. According to their tradi-
tions their original ancestor was created by Viswakarma, the celestial archi-
tect, for the business of making a pinnacle for the temple of Jagannath at I'uri, in
which eight metals had to be combined. He left two sons, one of whom became
the ancestor of the Khadras, and the other of the Kasars, with whom the
Khadras thus claim affinity. They have no subcastes but iom goh-as or clans
called after the Nag or cobra, the Singh or lion, and Kasyap and Kachchap,
both derived from the tortoise. They also have four bargas or family names,
which are Patra (a term of respect), Das (slave), Sao (banker) and Maharana
(artificer). The groups are supposed to be descended from four families who
migrated from Cuttack. Neither bargas nor gotras are now considered in the
arrangement of marriages, which are prohibited between blood relatives for
three generations. Marriage is infant, and a girl arriving at puberty while
still unwed is permanently expelled from the caste. The Khadras still follow
the old rule of writing the lagiin or date of the marriage on a palm-leaf, with
which they send Rs. 10-4 as a bride-price to the girl's father, the accept-
ance of this constituting a confirmation of the betrothal. The marriage
ceremony resembles that of the other Uriya castes, and the Khadras have the
rite called badopani or breaking the bachelorhood. A little water brought
from seven houses is sprinkled over the bridegroom and his loin-cloth is then
snatched away, leaving him naked. In this state he runs towards his own
house, but some boys are posted at a little distance who give him a new
cloth. Widow-marriage and divorce are permitted, but the hand of a widow
must not be sought so long as she remains in her late husband's house, and
does not return to her father. When a bachelor marries a widow he must
first perform the regular ceremony with a leaf-cup filled with flowers, after
which he can take the widow as his second wife. All important agreements
are confirmed by a peculiar custom called keskdni. A deer-skin is spread on
the ground before the caste committee, and the person making the agreement
bows before it a number of times. To break an agreement made by the
heskani rite is believed to involve terrible calamities. The Khadras eat
the flesh of animals and fish but not that of birds, and they do not drink
country liquor. W^hen an estate is to be partitioned the eldest son first takes
a tenth of the whole in right of primogeniture and the remainder is then
divided equally. The Khadras rank as an artisan caste of somewhat low
status.
Khadura. — Synonym of Khadra. Khalifa. — (Lord.) An honorific title
Khaijrdha. — (A resident of Khaira, a for Darzis or tailors, and Muham-
town in Central India. ) Subcaste of madan barbers.
Chamar. Khaltaha. — Subcaste of Ghasia.
Khair, Khaira. — {^tovs\khair, catechu Khaltdti. — (Illegitimate.) Subcaste of
or the catechu tree. A maker of Andh.
catechu.) Synonym for Khairwar. Khaltia. — Subcaste of Basdewa.
Khairchura. — (Catechu preparer.) A Khamari. — (Farmservant.) A section
subcaste of Khairwar. of Kolta.
Khaire. — A subcaste of Are (Gondhali), AV^awii?.— (One who hides behind the
Kunbi and Oraon. graveyard. ) A sept of Korku.
Khairwdr. — A catechu-making caste. Khanda. — (A sword.) A section of
A section of Chamar. Panka and Mahar.
Khaiyawdre. — (AV/rt/, ditch ; owing to Khandait. — (.'\ swordsman.) An Uriya
their houses having been originally caste. A subcaste of Sansia, Taenia
built on the ditch of Hatta fort.) A and Chasa. Also a name of Koltas
section of Beldar Sonkars in Damoh. in Cuttack.
/r/%^^/.— (From /J/^rt/&, ashes.) A class Khandapaira. — [One who cleans
of Bairagi, or religious mendicants. swords.) A section of Khandwal.
378
GLOSSARY
Khandapi. — {A'haiida, a sword.) A
sept of the Dhurwa clan of Sahdeve
or six-god Gonds in Betid, named
after the sword of Raja Durga Shah
by which a victory was gained over
the Muhammadans.
Khandele. — (From khanda, sword.)
A section of Raghuvansi Rajputs in
Hosliangabad.
Khandelwal. — A subcaste of Bania.
Khandeshi. — (A resident of Khandesh. )
A territorial subcaste of Darzi, Joshi,
Mahar and Mang.
Khanne, Khanna. — A subdivision of
Chargarh Saraswat Brahmans in
Hoshangabad, probably deriving
their name from being priests of the
Khanna section of Khatris. A
section of Khatri.
Khanonkha. — (A kind of basket to
catch birds with.) A totemistic sept
of Rautia Kawars in Bilaspur.
Kharddi. — -(A turner, one who turns
woodwork on a lathe.) A synonym
of Kundera and Barhai.
Kharchi. — Bastard Mavathas forming
a separate division as distinguished
from the Khasi or pure Marathas.
Khare. — A subdivision of Srivastab,
Gaur and Saksena Kayasths, mean-
ing those of pure descent.
Khari Bind Kewat. — Title of the
Murha caste.
Khai'odia. — (A resident of Kharod in
Bilaspur.) A subcaste of Nunia.
Kharsisjha. — (Maker of cowdung
cakes.) A section of Mali.
Kharwade. — (Refuse.) A subcaste of
Simpi or Maratha Darzi (tailor)
originally formed of excommunicated
members of the caste, but now
occupying a position equal to other
subcastes in Nagpur.
Khanvdr. — Synonym of the Khairwar
tribe. Subcaste ofCheroand Kol.
Khasi. — A subdivision of Marathas,
meaning those born in wedlock.
Khasiia. — (A eunuch.) Synonym of
Ilijra.
Khdti. — (From the Sanskrit kshatri,
one who cuts.) A subcaste of Barhai
and Lobar.
Khatik. — • A caste. Synonym of
Chikwa. A subcaste of Pasi in
Saugor, said to have originated in
a cross between a Bauri and a
Khatik woman.
Khatkiidia. — (Illegitimate.) A section
of Teli in Betfd.
Khairi. — A caste. A subcaste of
Chhipa and of Sunar in Narsinghpur.
Khatiia. — (Having a cot.) A section
of the Hatwa caste.
Khatulha or Khatola. — A subtribe of
Gond.
Khattthvdr. — A subtribe of Gonds in
Chanda, the same as the Khatulha of
the northern Districts.
Khaivds. — A title of Nai or barber.
A subcaste of Dhuri. A section of
Halba.
Kkeddziidl.—K subcaste of Gujarati
Brahmans. They take their name
from Kheda or Kaira, a town in
Gujarat.
Khedule. — From kheda, a village.
Subcaste of Kunbi.
Khendro. — Subcaste of Oraon.
Kheralawdla. — An immigrant from
Kherala in Malwa. Subcaste of
Rangrez.
Kherdzvdl. — See Khedawal.
Kheti. — (Cultivation.) A section of
Dumal.
Khcwat. — Synonym of Kewat.
Khichi. — A clan of Rajputs, a branch
of the .Sesodia clan.
Khoba. — (Sticks for fencing the grain-
store. ) A sept of Kawar ; they
abstain from using these sticks.
Khoksa. — (A kind of fish.) A totem-
istic sept of Rautia Kawar in Bil-
aspur.
Kliiiiitia. — A subcaste of Agaria.
One who uses a khunti or peg to
fix the bellows in the ground for
smelting iron. A sept of Savars.
(Those wlio bury their dead on a
high place.)
Khtirsdni. — A sept of Pardhan and
Dhur Gond.
Khtitha. — (Impure.) A section of
Tamera in Mandla.
Khyatirokar. — (One who shaves, from
kshaiir, to shave.) A synonym of
Nai or Bhandari.
A'ilandya.—{A'iliia, a dog-house.) A
nickname section of Ahlr.
K'ilkila. — (The kingfisher.) A sept
of Khairwar.
Killihusiim. — (One who eats dead
animals.) A sept of Korku.
A'iiidra.- — (One who hides behind a
tree.) A sept of Korkii.
GLOSSARY
379
Kirachi or Karachi. — A sept of Gonds
of Raipur and Betul.
Kirad. — Synonym of Kirur.
Kirdhiboijir. — (A kind of fruit.) A
section of Teli in Nandgaon.
Kirdr. — A caste. Synonym Dhakar.
A subcaste of Kachhi. A section of
Khatlk.
Kirnakha. — A sept of Gonds in
Chanda.
Kii~vant or Kilvant. — A subdivision of
Maharashtra Brahmans in Khaira-
garh. The name is said to be
derived from kira, an insect, because
they kill insects in working their
betel -vine gardens. Another ex-
planation is that the name is really
Kriyavant, and that they are so
called because they conducted kriya
or funeral services, an occupation
which degraded them. A third
form of the name is Kramwant or
reciters of the Veda.
Kisd7i. — (A cultivator.) Oraons are
commonly known by this name in
Chota Nagpur and Gonds in Mandla
and other Districts. A section of
Marar, Rawat or Ahir, and Savar.
Koathia. — A section of Bais Rajputs.
Kochia. — Perhaps a name for Bahnas
or cotton cleaners.
Kodjet. — (A conqueror of crores of
people.) A section of Bhulia.
Kohistdni. — (A dweller on mountains.)
A section of Pathan.
Kohkatta. — -A sept of Gonds in Khaira-
garh.
Kohri. — A synonym for the Kohli
caste.
Koi. — A class of Gonds.
Koikopdl. — A subcaste of Gond.
Koilabhftt or KoilabJmti. — A subtribe
of Gonds. Their women are pro-
stitutes.
Koiri. — A synonym of the Murao
caste.
Koitui-. — A synonym for Gond. The
name by which the Gonds call them-
selves in many Districts.
Kokonasth or Chitpdvan. — A subcaste
of Maharashtra Brahmans inhabiting
the Konkan country. Chitpavan
means the pure in heart.
Koksinghia. — {Koka, the Brahmani
duck. ) A subsection of the Pardhan
section of Koltas.
Kol. — A tribe. Subcaste of Dahait.
Kolabhfit. — A name for Gonds.
Koldin. — A tribe. A subtribe of Gonds
in Chanda.
Kolckar. — A clan of Maratha.
Kolia. — (From kolti, oil-press.) A
section of Teli in BetCd.
Koliha. — (Jackal.) A section of Pan-
war Rajput, Chamiir and Kawar.
Kolita, Kulla. — Synonyms of Kolta.
Kolta.—h caste. A subcaste of Chasa.
Kolya. — (One who hides behind a
jackal-hole.) A sept of Korku.
Komalwdr. — {Komal, soft.) A section
of Kurumwar.
Komati. — Synonym of Komti.
Konunii. — (A story-teller. ) Subcaste of
Madgi.
Kondazvd7-. — (A'onda, a mountain.)
A section of Palewar Dhlmar and
Koshti in Chanda.
Kondjvdn or Ktmdi.- — A name of a
tract south of the Mahanadi which
is called after the Khond tribe, and
was formerly owned by them. Sub-
caste of Baiga.
Korai. — A subcaste of Aliir or Rawat
in Bilaspur.
Kordku. — (Young men.) Subcaste of
Korwa.
Koi'atkul. — A section of Komti ; they
do not eat the kiunhra or pumpkin,
A'brat'a. —Synonym of Yerukala.
Korchamdr, — A descendant of alliances
between Chamars and Koris or
weavers. Subcaste of Chamar.
Kori. — A caste. A subcaste of Balahi,
Jaiswara Chamar and Katia.
Korku. — A tribe. A subtribe of Nahal.
Korre. — (Residents of the Korai hill-
tract in Seoni. ) Subcaste of Injh war.
Kosaria. — A subcaste of Rawat or Ahir,
Barai, Dhobi, Kalar,]Mali, Pankaand
Teli ; a section of Chamar and Gond.
Koshti, Koshta. — A caste of weavers.
See article. A subcaste of Katia
and Bhulia.
Koskdti. — A subcaste of Koshti.
Kothari — (A store-keeper, from hatha,
a store-room.) A section of Oswal
and Maheshri Banias.
Kotharya. — (A store-keeper. ) Subcaste
of Chitrakathi.
A'otwdl. — (Keeper of a castle, or a
village watchman.) Honorific title
of the Khangar caste. A surname
of Yajurvedi Brahmans in Saugor.
A section of Halba.
38o GLOSSARY part
Kotwar. — A person holding the office of village watchman. This post is usually
assigned to members of the lowest or imj^ure castes derived from the aboriginal
tribes, such as the Mahars, Ramosis, Gandas, Pankas, Minas and Khangars.
Some of these were or still are much addicted to crime. The name kotwar
appears to be a corruption of kotwal, the keeper or guardian of a kot or castle.
Under native rule the kotwal was the chief of police in important towns, and
the central police office in some towns is still called the kotwali after him. In
some villages there are still to be found both a kotwal and a kotwar ; in this
case the former performs the duties of watch and ward of the village, and the
latter has the menial work of carrying messages, collecting supplies and so on.
Both are paid by fixed annual contributions of grain from the cultivators. In
Hoshangabad the kotwar is allowed to glean for a day in the fields of each
tenant after the crop has been removed. It would appear that the kotwar
was chosen from ihe criminal castes as a method of insurance. The kotwar
was held responsible for the good behaviour of his caste-fellows, and was often
under the obligation of making good any property stolen by them. And if a
theft occurred in another village and the thief was traced into the borders of
the kotwar's village he was bound to take up the pursuit and show that the
thief had passed beyond his village, or to pay for the stolen property. Thieves
were sometimes tracked by the kotwar, and sometimes in Gujarat and Central
India by a special official called Paggal,^ who measured their footprints with
a string, and in this way often followed them successfully from village to
village. 2 The rule that the kotwar had to make good all thefts occurring in
his village or perpetrated by criminals belonging to it, can only have been
enforced to a very partial extent, as unless he could trace the property he
would be unable to pay any substantial sum out of his own means. Still, it
apparently had a considerable effect in the protection of property in the
rural area, for which the regular police probably did very little. It was
similarly the custom to employ a chaukidar or night-watchman to guard
private houses when the owners could afford it, and this man was taken from
a criminal caste on the same principle.
The kotwar was also the guardian of the village boundaries, and his
opinion was often taken as authoritative in all cases of disputes about land.
This position he perhaps occupied as a representative of the pre-Aryan tribes,
the oldest residents of the country, and his appointment may have also been
partly based on the idea that it was proper to employ one of them as the
guardian of the village lands, just as the priest of the village gods of the earth
and fields was usually taken from these tribes.
In some localities those members of an impure caste such as the Mahars,
who hold the office of village watchman, obtain a certain rise in status on
account of the office, and show a tendency to marry among themselves.
Similarly persons of the impure Gunda caste, who joined the Kabirpanthi
sect and now form a separate and somewhat higher caste under the name of
Panka, usually work as village watchmen in preference to the Gandas. Under
British rule the kotwar has been retained as a village policeman, and his pay
increased and generally fixed in cash. Besides patrolling the village, he has
to report all cognisable crime at the nearest police post as well as births and
deaths occurring in the village, and must give general assistance to the regular
police in the detection of crime. Kotwar is used in Saugor as a synonym for
the Chadar caste. It is also a subcaste of the Kori caste.
KcTMa. — (A crow.) A section of Tamera Chanda used by Telugus.
and of Gond in Chanda. Kramikul. — A section of Komti. They
Koya. — A subtribe of Gond in Bastar. do not use the black radish.
Koytidu. — A synonym of Gond in Kshatriya. — Nameof the second Hindu
' From pag, a foot.
^ Malcolm, Memoir of Central India, ii. p. 21.
GLOSSARY
381
classical caste or the warrior caste.
Synonym for Rajput.
A'shirsfigar. — (Ocean of Milk.) A
section of Panwar Rajput, and a
proper name of Maratha Brahmans.
Kuch. — (A weaver's brush.) A section
of Raghuvansi Rajputs in Hoshan-
gabad.
Kuclibaitdhia, Kuiichbandhia. — (A
maker of weavers' brushes.) Syno-
nym and subcaste of Kanjar. Sub-
caste of Beldar in Chhattisgarh.
Kudaiya. — {A'odoii, a small millet.)
A section of Ahir.
Kudappa. — A sept of Gonds in Raipur
and Khairagarh.
Kiidarbohna. — A Hindu Bahna.
Kudaria. — {A'uddli, a pickaxe.) A
section of the Bharia tribe.
Kiikra. — (A dog.) A totemistic sept
of Bhatra Gonds. A section of
Kumhar.
Kukuta. — (Cock.) A sept of Gonds
in Raipur.
Kulatia. — A section of Basor. From
kulara, a somersault, because they
perform somersaults at the time of
the maihir ceremony, or eating the
marriage cakes.
Kuldip. — (The lamp of the family.)
A section of Panka in Raipur.
Kiddiya. — (Those who stop eating if
the lamp goes out at supper.) A
section of Ghasia.
Kitlin. — (Of high caste.) A well-
known class of Bengali Braliman.s.
A subdivision of Uriya Malianiis.
A section of I'anka.
A'lihhres/Ua. — (Of good family.) A
subcaste of Kayasth.
Kuinan. — Subcaste of Barai.
Kiimarrha or A'umarra. — (A bird.)
A sept of Sahdeve or six -god Gonds.
In Betul the members of tliis sept do
not eat or kill a goat or sheej), and
throw away any article smelt by
one.
Ktimarshishta. — A section of Koniii.
They do not use iitcJuidi or henna
leaves.
K'umbhar. — (Potter.) Marathi syno-
nym for Kumhar. A section of
(janda and Bhulia.
Ktiinbhoj. — (Born of a pitcher, a Rishi
or saint.) An eponymous section of
Agharia.
Kiimbhira. — (Crocodile.) A totemistic
sept of Bhulia.
Kuiiibhtvar.- — [Kunibh, a pot.) A
surname of Gandli in Chanda.
Kiiinharbans. — (Descended from a
potter.) A section of Ghasia.
Kuiiu-ayete. — {Yete, a goat.) A .sept
of the Uika clan of Sahdeve or six-
god Gonds in Betul. They do not
eat goats, and are said to have
offered human sacrifices in ancient
times.
Kjinbi. — A caste. Subcaste of Dangri,
Gondhali and Maratha.
Kumrawat,^ Patbina, Dangur. — A small caste of ja«-hemp growers and
weavers of sacking. They are called Kumrawat in the northern Districts and
Patbina {pat patti, sacking, and bimia, to weave) in Chhattisgarh. A small
colony of hemp-growers in the Betid District are known as Dangur, probably
from the da7ig or wooden steelyard which they use for weighing hemp. Both
the Kumrawats and Dangurs claim Rajput origin, and may be classed together.
The caste of Barais or betel-vine growers have a subcaste called Kumrawat,
and the Kumrawats may be an offshoot of the Barais, who split off from the
parent body on taking to the cultivation of hemp. As most Hindu castes
have until recently refused to grow hemp, the Kumrawats are often found con-
centrated in single villages. Thus a number of Patbinas reside in Darri, a
village in the Khujji zamlndari of Raipur, v.hilc the Dangurs are almost all
found in the village of Masod in Betul ; in Jubbulpore Khapa is their prin-
cipal centre, and in Seoni the village of Deori. The three divisions of the
caste known by the names given above marry, as a rule, among themselves.
For their exogamous groups the Dangurs have usually the names of diflerent
Rajput septs, the Kumrawats have territorial names, and those of the Pat-
binas are derived from inanimate objects, though they have no totemistic
practices.
1 This paper is compiled from notes taken by Mr. Hira Lai at Raj-Nandgaon
and Betul.
382
GLOSS A J^ y
The number of girls in the caste is usually insufficient, and hence they are married
at a very early age. The boy's father, accompanied by a few friends, goes to
the girl's father and addresses a proposal for marriage to him in the following
terms : " You have planted a tamarind tree which has borne friiit. I don't
know whether you will catch the fruit before it falls to the ground if I strike
it with my stick." The girl's father, if he approves of the match, says in reply,
'Why should I not catch it?' and the proposal for the marriage is then made.
The ceremony follows the customary ritual in the northern Districts. When
the family gods are worshipped, the women sit round a grinding-stone and in-
vite the ancestors of the family by name to attend the wedding, at the same
time placing a little cowdung in one of the interstices of the stone. When
they have invited all the names they can remember they plaster up the re-
maining holes, saying, 'We can't recollect anymore names.' This appears
to be a precaution intended to imprison any spirits which may have been for-
gotten, and to prevent them from exercising an evil influence on the marriage
in revenge for not having been invited. Among the Dangurs the bride and
bridegroom go to worship at Hanuman's shrine after the ceremony, and all
along the way the bride beats the bridegroom with a tamarind twig. The
dead are both buried and burnt, and mourning is observed during a period of
ten days for adults and of three days for children. But if another child has
been born to the mother after the one who has died, the full period of mourn-
ing must be observed for the latter ; because it is said that in this case the
mother does not tear off her sari or body-cloth to make a winding-sheet for the
child as she does when her latest baby dies. The Kumrawats both grow and
weave hemp, though they have no longer anything like a monopoly of its
cultivation. They make the gons or double bags used for carrying grain on
bullocks. In Chhattisgarh tlie status of the Patbinas is low, and no castes
except the most debased will take food or water from them. The Kumrawats
of Jubbulpore occupy a somewhat more respectable position and take rank
with Kachhis, though below the good cultivating castes. The Dangurs of
Betrd will take food from the hands of the Kunbis.
Kumrayete. — {Yete, a goat.) A sept
of the Uika clan of Sab d eve or six-
god Gonds in Betrd. They do not
eat goats, and are said to have
offered human sacrifices in ancient
tmies.
Kiinbi. — A caste. Subcaste of Dangri,
Gondhali and Maratha.
Ktindera. — A caste. A subcaste of the
Larhia Beldars.
Kundera, Kharadi. — A small caste of wood-turners akin to the Barhais or
carpenters. In 191 1 the caste numbered 120 persons, principally in Saugor.
When asked for the name of their caste they not infrequently say that they
are Rajputs ; but they allow widows to remarry, and their social customs and
position are generally the same as those of the Barhais. Both names of the
caste are functional, being derived from the Hindi kimd, and the Arabic
khardf, a lathe. Some of them abstain from flesh and liquor, and wear the
sacred thiead, merely with a view to improve their .social position. The
Kunderas make toys from the dftdhi {I/olarrheiia an(idysciiterita) and hutjqa
stems from the wood of the khair or catechu tree. The toys are commonly
lacquered, and the surface is smoothed with a dried leaf of the kevara tree.'
They also make chessmen, wooden flutes and other articles.
Knndgolakar. — A subdivision of de- applied to Nats.
graded Maratha Brahmans, the off- A'lDi/i or A'uti/e. — (Ktinti, lame.) A
spring of adulterous connections.
Kiinjdm. — A sept of Solaha in Raipur.
A section of Basor and Bhunjia. A
sept of Gond and Pardhan.
A'nnnaiya. — (Rope-dancer.) A name
subcaste of Kapewar, .synonym Bhik-
slia Kunti or lame beggars.
A'ltmvar. — (Prince.) A title of Rajput
ruling families. A section of Rajput
and Kawar.
' Perhaps Pandanus fascicularis.
GLOSSARY
383
Kura Sasura. — Husband's elder
brother. Title of Kharia.
Ku7-athiya, Kuratia. — (From kur, a
fowl, which they have given up eat-
ing. ) A sublribe of Gonds in Khaira-
garh.
Kurha or Sethia. — Title of the Sonkar
caste headman.
Kurkere. — One who moulds his vessels
on a stone slab revolving on a stick
and not on a wheel. Subcaste of
Kumhar.
Kurmeta. — A sept of Gonds in Chanda.
Kiirmgutia. — (From kurni, tortoise.)
A section of Mahar.
Kunni. — A caste. A subcaste of
Aghaiia in the Uriya country. A
subcaste of Barai. A sept of Pard-
han. A section of Mahar.
Kurochi.—{Knr, hen.) A sept of the
Uika clan of Sahdeve or six -god
Gonds in Betul, so named because
their priest once stole a hen.
Kiirpachi. — {Kur, hen.) A sept of
the Uika clan of Goods in Betrd, so
named because their priest offered
the contents of a hen's intestines to
the gods.
Kurru or Kiwa. — Title of Yerukala.
Kusangia. — (Of bad company. ) A sec-
tion of Lobar.
Kushbansi. — A subcaste of Ahlr.
(Descendants of Kush, one of the
two sons of Rama. )
Kush Ranjan. — A section of Brahman,
Barai, Chamar, Chandnahu Kurmi,
Rawat (Ahir), Marar and Rajbhar.
Kushta, Koshta. — Subcaste of Kori.
Kuslia. — [KusU, boat.) A subcaste
of Mali.
A'lisratn. — (Kusri, pulse.) A sept of
the Uika Gonds in Betul and
Chanda.
Labliana. — Synonym and subcaste of
Banjara.
Lad. — The old name for the territory
of Gujarat. A subcaste of Bania,
Kalar, Koshti and Sunar.
Ladainiar. — One who hunts jackals
and sells and eats their flesh. Sub-
caste of Jogi.
Ladele. — (Quarrelsome.) A section
of Shribathri Teli.
Ladjin. — Subcaste of Banjara.
Ladse or Ladvi. — Subcaste of Chamar
and Dhangar.
Ladwan, Ladvan. — A subcaste of
Mahilr. Perhaps from Lad, the
old name of Gujarat.
Lahcri. — Synonym of Lakhera.
Zrt//«7a.— Subcaste of Brahman.
Lahgera or Lah ugcra. — ( La/iatiga,
weaver.) A subcaste of Kori.
Lahuri Sett. — A subcaste of Barai in
the northern Districts who are
formed of excommunicated members
of the caste.
Lahuria. — (From Lahore.) A section
of Rathor and Chauhan Banjaras.
Lajjhar. — Synonym of Kajjhar.
Lakariha. — A subdivision of Pardhan
in Kawardha. While begging
they play a musical instrument,
hence the name from lakri, a stick.
LCda. — (A term of endearment.)
Synonym for Kayasth. A subcaste
of Chamar.
Lalbegi. — A follower of Lalbeg, patron
saint of the sweepers. Synonym of
Mehtar.
Lai Pddri. — Red priests, because they
rub ge7-u or red ochre on their
bodies. Title of Jogi.
Latnechti. — A subcaste of Bania.
Langoti. — Subcaste of Pardhi. They
wear only a narrow strip of cloth
called langoti round the loins.
Lanjia. — A subcaste of Lobar and
Nai, from Lanji in Balaghat. A
subtribe of Gonds in Khairagarh.
Ldnjiwdr. — (One living round Lanji
in Balaghat. ) Subcaste of Injhwar.
Laphangia. — (Upstart.) A section of
Kolta.
Laria, Lat-hia. — (Belonging to Chhat-
tisgarh. ) A synonym of Beldar. A
subcaste of Bhaina, Binjhwar,
Chamar, Ganda, Ghasia, Gond,
Gosain, Kalar, Kewat, Koshti,
Mahar, Marar, Mo war, Panka,
Savar, Sunar and Teli.
Lasgaria. — A class of Bairagi mendi-
cants.
Lasukar. — A subcaste of Gondhalis
who sell books and calendars.
Ldt. — Subcaste of C^hamiir.
Lave. — Subcaste of Kunbi.
Laya. — (Bird.) A section of Binjh-
war, Mahar, and Panka.
Lekha. — Subcaste of Gujar.
Lemuan, Limuan. — (Tortoise.) A
totemistic sept of Audhelia, Munda
and Oraon.
584
GLOSSARY
Lidha. — (Excrement of swine. ) Sub-
caste of Khatik in Jubbuipore.
Lilia. — (From III or nil, the indigo
plant.) Subcaste of Kachhi.
Lilorhia. — Subcaste of Gujar.
Liinba. — [Niin tree.) A totemistic
section of Dumals.
Lingayat. — A religious order which
has become a caste. See article
and subordinate article to Bania.
A subcaste of Bania and Kum-
har.
Lodha.—%^viovcjtx\ of Lodhi. Sub-
caste of Lodhi.
Loliar. — A caste of blacksmiths,
synonym Luhura. A section of
Binjhwar' and Ganda.
Lohar Barhai. — A subcaste of Barhai
in Bundelkhand.
Lohdria. — A subcaste of Ahlr.
Londria. — A salt-maker. Subcaste
of Mahar.
Lonchatia. — (Salt-licker.) A sept of
the Uika clan of Gonds. The
members of this sept lick salt on
the death of their relatives. Another
account from Betul says that they
spread salt on a platform raised in
honour of the dead and make cattle
lick it up.
Londhari. — A small caste of cultivators found in the Bhandara District. They
appear to be immigrants from northern India, as their women wear the
Hindustani dress and they speak Hindi at home. At their weddings the
bridal couple walk round the sacred post according to the northern custom.
When a widow marries again the couple worship a sword before the
ceremony. If a man is convicted of an intrigue with a low-caste woman, he
has to submit to a symbolical purification by fire. A heap of juari-stalks is
piled all round him and set alight, but as soon as the fire begins to burn he
is permitted to escape from it. This rite is known as Agnikasht. The
Londharis appear to be distinct from the Lonhare Kunbis of Betul, with
whom I was formerly inclined to connect them. These latter derive their
name from the Lonar Mehkar salt lake in the Buldana District, and are
probably so called because they once collected the [salt evaporated from
the lake. They thus belong to the Maratha country, whereas the Londharis
probably came from northern India. The name Lonhare is also found as a
subdivision of one or two other castes living in the neighbourhood of tlie
Lonar Mehkar lake.
Londhe, Londe. — (One who hides
himself behind cloth.) A section of
Kohli. A sept of Korku.
Londibacha. — A subcaste of Kasar,
including persons of illegitimate
descent.
Lonhare, Londre. — (From Lonar-
Mehkar, the well-known salt lake of
the Buldana District.) A subcaste
of Kunbi. A section of Arakh and
Ahir.
Liidhela. — A section of Basor who
worship the ludhia, a round stone
for pounding food, at the Maihar
ceremony.
Liikura. — (One who works in iron.)
Synonym of Lobar. Subcaste of
Sidhira.
Liinia. — Synonym of Murha, Nunia.
Machhanda}-. — (One who catches fish.)
Synonym of Dhimar.
Machhandra Ndth. — A subdivision of
Machkia. — (From mackhi, fish.) A
section of Dhimar and Lodhi.
Machhri. — (Fish.) A sept of Oraon.
Alada Kukuria. — (Dead dog.) A
subsection of the Viswal section of
Koltas.
A/adafikuL — A section of Komti.
They do not use red clothes, nor
the wood of the swallow - wort
tree.
Madari. — A class of Fakirs or Mu-
hammadan beggars.
Made. — A resident of the Mad
country in Chanda and Bastar.
SuVjcaste of Pardhan.
Madgi, Madiga.' — The Telugu caste of workers in leather corresponding
to the Chamars, which numbers nearly i^ millions in Madras, Mysore and
Hyderabad. In 191 1 there were nearly 6000 Madgis in the Central
' This article is compiled from papers by C. Ramiah, Kanungo, Sironcha, and
W. Cj. Padaya Naidu, clerk, District Office, Chanda.
GLOSS AR V
385
Provinces and 3000 in Berar. According to tradition, the Madigas derive
their name from that of a sage called Matanga Muni, and it is said that a
dynasty belonging to the caste once ruled in the Canarese country. The
following legend of their origin comes from Mysore :^ In former times the
sage Jambava Rishi was habitually late in attending at Siva's court. Siva
asked him why this happened, and he replied that he was occupied in tending
his children. On this Siva took pity on him and gave him the sacred cow,
Kamdhenu, from which all the needs of the children could be satislied.
But one day while Jambava was absent at Siva's court, another sage,
Sankhya, visited his hermitage and was hospitably entertained by his son,
Yugamuni. The cream which Sankhya was given was so good that he
desired to kill the cow, Kamdhenu, thinking that her flesh would taste even
better. In spite of Yugamuni's objections Sankhya killed the cow and
distributed the meat to various persons. Wliile this was in progress Jambava
returned, and, on hearing what had been done, dragged Sankhya and
Yugamuni before Siva's judgment seat. The two offenders did not enter the
court but stood outside the doorway, Sankhya on the right side and
Yugamuni on the left. Siva condemned them to become Cliandalas or
outcastes, and the descendants of Sankhya have become the right - hand
Holias, while those of Yugamuni and his wife Matangi are the left-hand caste
of Madigas. The latter were set to make shoes to expiate the sin committed
by their ancestor in killing a cow. Another story given in the Central
Provinces is that the Golla caste of cowherds, corresponding to the Ahirs
and the Madgis, are the descendants of two brothers. The brothers had
a large herd of cattle and wanted to divide them. At this time, however,
cattle disease was prevalent, and many of the herd were affected. The
younger brother did not know of this, and seeing that most of the herd were
lying on the ground, he proposed to the elder brother that he himself
should take all the cattle lying on the ground, and the elder brother all those
which were standing up, as a suitable method of division. The elder brother
agreed, but when the younger came to take his cattle which were on the
ground he found that they were all dead, and hence he had no alternative
but to take off the hides and cure and sell them. His descendants continued
his degraded profession and became the Madgi caste. In Chanda the follow-
ing six subcastes of Madgis are reported : The Nulka Chandriah or caste
priests ; the Anapa or leather dealers ; the Sindhi who are supposed to have
been performers of dramas ; the Masti or dancers ; the Kommu or tellers of
stories ; and the Dekkala or genealogists of the caste. It is said that Kommu
really means a horn and Dekka a hoof. These last two are the lowest sub-
divisions, and occupy a most degraded position. In theory they should not
sleep on cots, pluck the leaves of trees, carry loads on any animal other than
a donkey, or even cook food for themselves, but should obtain their subsistence
by eating the leavings of other Madgis or members of different castes. The
Nulka Chandriah or priests are the highest subdivision and will not take food
or water from any of the others, while the four remaining subcastes eat and
drink together, but do not intermarry. There are also a number of exogamous
groups, most of which have territorial names ; but a few are titular or totemistic,
as — Mukkidi, noseless ; Kumawar, a potter ; Nagarwar, a citizen ; Dobbulwar,
one who possesses a dobbuhi or copper coin ; Ippawar, from the mahua tree ;
Itkalwar from itkal a brick, and so on. The caste customs of the Madigas
need not be recorded in detail. They are an impure caste and eat all kinds
of food, and the leavings of others, though the higher subdivisions refuse to
accept these. They live outside the village, and their touch is considered to
convey pollution.
1 Mysore Census Report (1891), p. 205.
VOL. I 2 C
386
GLOSSARY
Madhavacharya.—h.W'sX'wmAQ. sect and
order of religious mendicants. See
Balragi.
Madhyanjan, Madhyandina. — A class
of Brahmans, the same as the Yajur-
Vedis, or a section of them.
Madia. — A class of Gonds in Bastar.
]\Iadpotwa. — (One who distils liquor.)
Subcaste of Teli.
Aladrdsi. — Subcaste of Dhobi.
Magadha. — A subcaste of Ahir or
Rawat in Chhattisgarh, who ask for
food from others and do not cook
for themselves.
Magar, Alagra. — A sept of Khangar,
Ahir or Rawat, Gond and Chadar.
Magida. — Synonym of Madgi.
Mahabrdhman. — A degraded class of
Brahmans who accept gifts for the
dead.
Mahadeva Thdkur. — (Lord Mahadeo. )
A section of Mali.
Alahajalia. — (Deceitful.) A section
of Lobar.
Mahdjan. — A banker. Title of the
Bania caste.
Mahdkul. — Synonym for Ahir.
Mahdlodhi. — (Great Lodhi.) Subcaste
of Lodhi.
Mahdnadiya. — (Those who came from
the Mahanadi river.) A subcaste of
Lodhi. A section of Ganda, Ghasia
and Panka.
ahant. — Chief of a 7nath or monas-
tery. A superior class of priest. A
section of Ahir, Panka, Chamar and
Koshta.
Mahanti. — A synonym for the Karan
or writer caste of Orissa. A section
of Chasa.
Makdpd/ra. — A subdivision of degraded
Brahmans who take funeral gifts.
An honorific title of Thanapati and
of Uriya Brahmans. A subcaste of
Bhat.
Mahdr. — A caste. A subcaste of
Balahi and Gondhali. A section of
Rawat in Raigarh.
Mahdrdj. — (Great king.) A title of
Brahmans.
Mahdrdna. — Synonym of Chitari.
Mahdrdshtra or Mardthe. — One of the
five orders of Panch Dravida Brah-
mans inhabiting the Maratha country.
They are also called Dakshini Brah-
mans. A subcaste of Kumhar, Kasar
and Lobar.
Mahedia. — A section of Basors who wor-
ship pounded rice mixed with curds.
Mahenga. — (An elephant.) A totem-
istic sept of Rautia and Kawar in
Bilaspur.
Maheshri. — Subcaste of Baina.
Makili. — Synonym for Mahli.
Alahipia, — (A drinker of curds.) A
subsection of the Viswal section of
Koltas.
Mahisur.—{l^oxA of the earth.) A
synonym of Brahmans.
Mahli-Munda. — Subcaste of Mahli.
Mahobia. — (From the town of Mahoba
in Central India.) A subcaste of
Barai, Chamar, Dangi, Ghasia,
Khangar and Mahar. A section of
Dangi, Kumhar and Kori.
Mahoda. — A subdivision of Brahmans
in Jubbulpore.
Makore, Mahure.—A subcaste of Bania,
Kori, Kumhar and Kalar,
Alahrdtta. — Synonym of Maratha.
J\fdhto, Mdhton. — A chief or village
headman. Subcaste and title of Teli
and Khairwar ; title of the leader of
the Bhuiya caste. A section of Ganda
and Rawat (Ahir).
J/a/«^r.— (Poison.) A subcaste of
Sunars in Chhindwara.
Malutre, Mahiiria. — (From Mahur, a
town in Hyderabad.) Subcaste of
Barhai and Dhangar.
Mai. — (Mother.) A division of the
Kablrpanthi sect.
Maichhor. — A small clan of Rajputs.
Perhaps from Maichuri in Jaipur.
Maihvdr. — (Dirty.) A group of Sunars
in Raipur.
Maina. — Synonym of Mina.
Mair. — A subcaste of Sunar named
after Mair, their original ancestor,
who melted down a golden demon,
Maithil. — One of the five divisions of
Panch Gaur Brahmans inhabiting
the province of Maithil or Bihar
and Tirhut.
Majarewdr. — A territorial section of
Binjhwar (from Majare in Balaghat).
Mdjhi. — (A village headman. ) Title of
Bhatra.
Mdjhia. — Synonym of Majhwar.
Majhli. — (Middle.) Subcaste of Rautia.
Makaria. — (From makad, monkey.) A
subcaste of Kamar, so called because
they eat monkeys.
Makhia. — Subcaste of Mehtar.
I GLOSSARY 387
Malaiya. — An immigrant from Malwa. Mal-Paharia. — Synonym of Mai.
Subcaste of Chhipa. MCilvi, Md/wi. — (From Malwa.) A
Male, Maler. — Synonyms of Mai. subdivision of Br.lhmans in Iloslian-
Malha. — A boatman. Synonym of gabad and Betul. A subcaste of
Mallah. Ahir, Harhai, Darzi, Diiobi, Gadaria,
J/a/^rtr.— Subcaste of Koli. Kalar, Kosiiti, Kumhar, Nai and
Mali. — (A caste. ) A section of Kalar. Sunar.
Malyar.' — A small and curious caste of workers in gold and silver in Bastar
State. They are known alternatively as Marhatia Sunar or Panchal, and
outsiders call them Adhali. The name Malyar is said to be derived from vial,
dirt, z.x\A Jar or Jaliia, to burn, the Malyars having originally been employed by
Sunars or goldsmiths to clean and polish their ornaments. No doubt can be
entertained that the Malyars are in reality Gonds, as they have a set of e.\o-
gamous septs all of which belong to the Gonds, and have Gondi names. So
far as possible, however, they try to disguise this fact and perform their mar-
riages by walking round the sacred post like the Hindustani castes. They
will take food cooked without water from Brahmans, Rajputs and Banias, but
will not eat katcha (or food cooked with water) from anybody, and not even from
members of their own caste unless they are relatives. This custom is common
to some other castes of mixed descent, and indicates that illicit connections
are frequent among the Malyars, as indeed would necessarily be the case
owing to the paucity of their numbers. But their memories are short, and the
offspring of such irregular unions are recognised as belonging to the caste
after one or two generations. An outsider belonging to any higher caste may
be admitted to the community. The caste worship Mata Devi or the goddess
of smallpox, and revere the spirit of a Malyar woman who became a Sati.
They have learned as servants of the Sunars the rudiments of their art, and
manufacture rough ornaments for the primitive people of Bastar.
Mdna Ojha. — Subcaste of Ojha. do not eat mangoes.
Mandal. — (A name for a prosperous Mandldha. — (From Mandla town.)
cultivator in Chhattisgarh.) Asection Subtribe of Gond.
of Chamar and Panka. See article Mane Kiinbi. — Subcaste of Gondhali.
Kurmi. Mdng ox Maiigia. — A caste. Subcaste
Mandilwdr. — Name derived from of Ganda, Gondhali, Bahrupia.
Mandla. Subcaste of Katia. Mangan. — (From i^/a;/i,'-/«/«/«, beggar.)
Mandkiil. — A section of Komti who A caste.
Mangan.'^ — A small caste found in Chhattisgarh and Sambalpur who are the
musicians and genealogists of the Ghasias. The term is considered oppro-
brius, as it means ' beggar,' and many Mangans probably return themselves as
Ghasias. They are despised by the Ghasias, who will not take food or
water from them. At the marriages of the former the Mangans play on a
drum called ghiinghru, which they consider as the badge of the caste, their
cattle being branded with a representation of it. The only point worth
notice about the caste is that they are admittedly of mixed descent from the
unions of members of other castes with Ghasia prostitutes. They have five
totemistic exogamous sections, about each of which a song is sung relating
its origin. The Sunani sept, which worships gold as its totem and occupies
the highest position, is said to be descended from a Brahman father and a
Ghasia mother ; the Sendaria sept, worshipping vermilion, from a Kewat
ancestor and a Ghasia woman ; the Bhainsa sept, worshipping a buffalo,
from a Gaur or Ahir and a Ghasia ; the Mahanadia sept, having the
Mahanadi for their totem, from a Gond and a Ghasia woman ; while the
1 This article is compiled from a in 191 1. The above notice is corn-
paper by Mr. Ghasinam Dani, Deputy piled from a paper by Mr. Krishna
Inspector of Schools, Bastar State. Sevvak, Naib-Tahsildar, Bargarh.
" The caste numbered 85 persons
GLOSSARY
Bagh sept, who revere the tiger, say that a cow once gave birth to two
young, one in the form of a tiger and the other of a human being ; the latter
on growing up took a Ghasia woman to himself and became the ancestor of
the sept. As might be expected from their ancestry, the Mangan women are
generally of loose character. The Mangans sometimes act as sweepers.
Mangta. — (A beggar.) A subcaste of
Pasi in Saugor, who beg from their
caste-fellows.
Maniara. — (A pedlar.) Subcaste of
Jogi-
Matiikdr. — A caste. The Manihars
are also known as Bisati. An
occupational name of Jogis.
Manikpuria. — (A resident of Manik-
pur.) Subcaste of Panka.
Mdnjhi. — (Headman.) A synonym of
Santal and Kewat. A section of
Chasa, Dhanuhar and Kolta. A
title of Chasa.
Manjur. — (Peacock.) A totemistic
sept of Munda.
Manjzvai- — Term for a boatman. In-
cluded in Kewat.
Mdnkar. — Name of a superior class of
village watchmen in Nimar District.
See article Bhil. A subcaste of
Joshi. A section of RIana and
Halba.
Manneptnvdr. — A subcaste of Mala.
Synonym, Telugu Bhoi.
Mdnwa. — Subcaste of Kunbi.
Mardbi. — A common sept of Gond.
A section of Nat.
Marai. — (A name for the goddess of
cholera, who is called Marai Mata.)
A common sept of Gond. Also a
sept of Baiga, Basor and Bhunjia.
A subcaste of Majhwar.
Mardl. — Synonym of Mali.
Marapa. — A sept of Gonds in BetGl,
who abstain from killing or eating a
goat or sheep and throw away any
article smelt by them.
Mardr. — Synonym for Mali, a gar-
dener. Also a subcaste of Kachhi.
Mardtha, Mardthe. — A caste. A sub-
caste of Barhai, Bedar, Chamar,
Dhimar, Gadaria, Kumhar, Mahar,
Mali, Mang, Nai and Teli.
l\fa)-dlhi, Mardtha, Mdrthc, Mardthe.
— ( A resident of the Maratha country. )
Subcaste of Bahrupia, Chamar,
Dhangar, Gondhali, Gopal, Injhwar,
Kaikari, Kasar, Koshti, Nahal,
Otari.
I\Iarethia.- — Resident of Bhandara or
another Maratha District. Subcaste
of Halba.
Mdria. — A well-known tribe of Gonds
in Bastar and Chanda. See article
Gond. A subcaste of Govvari. A
section of Ahir, Chamar and Kum-
har.
Markdm. — [»iarka, mango.) One of
the principal septs of Gonds. Also
a sept of Baiga, Basor, Bhunjia,
Pardhan and Solaha.
Marori.^ — A small caste of degraded Rajputs from Marwar found in the
Bhandara and Chhindwara Districts and also in Berar. The name is a local
corruption of Marwari, and is applied to them by their neighbours, though
many of the caste do not accept it and call themselves Rajputs. In Chhind-
wara they go by the name of Chhatri, and in the Tirora TahsU they are
known as Alkari, because they formerly grew the al or Indian madder for a
dye, though it has now been driven out of the market. They have been in
the Central Provinces for some generations, and though retaining certain
peculiarities of dress, which show their northern origin, have abandoned in
many respects the caste usages of Rajputs. Their women wear the Hindu-
stani ani^na tied with string behind in place of the Maratha choli or breast-
cloth, and drape their sdris after the northern fashion. They wear ornaments
of the Rajputana shape on their arms, and at their weddings they sing
Marwari songs. They have Rajput sept names, as Parihar, Rathor, Solanki,
Sesodia and otliers, which constitute exogamous groups and are called kulis.
Some of these have split up into two or three subdivisions, as, for instance,
the Pathar (stone) Panwars, the Pandhre or white Panwars and the Dhatura
or thorn-apple Panwars ; and members of these different groups may inter-
^ Based on inquiries made by Mr. Hira Lai, Assistant Gazetteer Super-
intendent in Bhandara,
GLOSSARY
389
many. The reason seems to be that it was recognised that people belonged
to the same Panwar sept who were not blood l<in to each other, and the
prohibition of marriage between them was a serious inconvenience in a small
community. They also have eponymous ,!;oiras, as Vasishtha, Balsa anil
others of the Brahmanical type, but these do not influence exogamy. The
paucity of their numbers and the influence of local usage have caused them
to relax the marriage rules adhered to by Rfijputs. Women are very scarce,
and a price varying from forty to a hundred rupees is commonly paid for a
bride, though they feel keenly the degradation attaching to the acceptance of
a bride-price. Widow-marriage is permitted, no doubt for the same reasons,
and a girl going wrong with a man of another caste may be readmitted to
the community. Divorce is not permitted, and an unfaithful wife may be
abandoned ; she cannot then marry again in the caste. Formerly, on the
arrival of the marriage procession, the bride's and bridegroom's parties let ofi"
fireworks, aiming them against each other, but tliis practice is now dis-
continued. When the bridegroom approaches the marriage-shed the bride
comes out and strikes him on the breast or forehead with a ball of dough,
a sheet being held between them ; the bridegroom throws a handful of rice
over her and strikes the festoons of the shed with a naked sword. A
bachelor espousing a widow must first be married to a ring, which he there-
after carries in his ear, and if it is lost funeral ceremonies must be performed
as for a real wife. Women are tattooed on the arms only. Children have
as many as five names, one for ordinary use, and the others for ceremonial
purposes and the arrangement of marriages. If a man kills a cow or a cat
he must have a miniature figure of the animal made of gold and give it to a
Brahman in expiation of his sin.
Marskola. — (From viat-kas, an axe.)
A common sept of Gonds and
Pardhans.
Mdrii. — Subcaste of Charan Bhats.
Mdrwdri. — A resident of Marwar or
the desert tract of Rajputana ; Mar-
war is also used as a name for
Jodhpur State. See subordinate
article Rajput -Rathor. The name
Marwari is commonly applied to
Banias coming from Marwar. See
article Bania. A subcaste of Bahna,
Gurao, Kumhar, Nai, Sunar and
Teli.
Masania. — (From masin, straw or
grass mats, or inasina, thatched
roof.) A section of Lobar. A
synonym for San Bhatras in Bastar.
Mashki.—(K water-bearer.) Synonym
of Bhishti.
Masrdm. — A common sept of Gonds.
Masti. — (Dancer.) Subcaste of Madgi.
Mz^/ra;/;. — (Mastra, brass bangles.)
A sept of Gonds in Betid. The
women of this sept wear brass
bangles.
Masiiria. — Asubcaste of Kurmi. From
masm; lentil. A section of Rajput.
Mathadhari. — (Living in a monastery. )
A celibate clan of Manbhao mendi-
cants.
Mathpati. — (Lord of the hermitage.)
A subcaste of Jangam.
Mathtir, iMat/niria. — (From Mathura
or Muttra.) A subcaste of Kayasth.
A subdivision of Brahman. A sub-
caste of Banjara, Darzi and Nai.
Matki'ida, Matkora. — (Earth - digger. )
A subcaste and synonym of Beldar.
A name for Gonds and Pardhans
who take to earthwork.
Mattha. — Corruption of Maratha. A
subcaste of Koshti, Mahar and
Teli, and a title of Teli.
Matti. — A subdivision of low -class
Brahmans returned from Khairagarh.
Also a class of Kashmiri Brahmans.
Mattvdla. — (A drinker of country
liquor. ) Subcaste of Kadera.
Maiudsi, Mirdhdn. — Subcaste of Da-
hait. Title of the headman of the
Dahait caste committee.
Mayaluar. — (Chief man of the caste.)
A subcaste of Turi.
Mayur. — (Peacock.) A totemistic
section of the Ahir, Ilatwa, Gond,
Sonjhara and Sundi castes.
MayurtHdra. — (Killer of peacock. ) A
section of Bahelia.
Meda Gantia. — (Counter of posts. )
Title of Bhatra. Official who fixes
date and hour for wedding.
390 GLOSS AR V part
Medara, Medari. — The Telugu caste of bamboo- workers and mat-makers,
con e^: ponding to the Easors. They have the same story as the Basors of the
first bamboo having been grown from the snake worn by Siva rovind his
neck, which was planted head downwards in the ground. The customs of
the Medaras, Mr. Francis says,^ differ from place to place. In one they will
employ Biahman jin7-o/u'/s (priests), and prohibit widow-marriage, while in the
next they will do neither, and will even eat rats and vermin. The better
classes among them are taking to calling themselves Balijas or Baljis, and
affixing the title of Chetti to their names.
Medari. — Synonym of Medara. Brahmans. A subcaste of Chhipn,
Mehar. — Synonym of Bhulia. Darzi, Mali and Sunar.
Meher. — A section of Malwi Ahir, a Meivdd. — Synonym of Meo. See
synonym for Bhulia. A title of article. A class of Fakirs or
Chamar. Muhammadan beggars.
J\Iehra. — Synonym for Mahar. A Mhali. — Synonym of Nai.
subcaste of Katia and Kori. AJhasia, Mhashi. — (Mhas, buffalo. )
Mehta. — A group of Brahmans. A A sept of Halba. A section of
section of Oswal Bania. Kohli.
Mehta?: — (A prince or leader.) Com- Mihir. — Synonym of Bhulia.
mon name for the sweeper caste. J\fina. — A caste. A section of Rag-
Title of the president of the Dhobi huvansis.
caste committee. Mlrdaha. — A subcaste of Dahait,
Meiiiaii. — Synonym of Cutchi. Khangar, and Nat. A section of
Meshbajisi. — (Descendant of a sheep.) Raghuvansi. Name used for the
A clan of Rajputs. mate of a gang of coolies.
Meivdda, Meivdri. — (From Meivar.) Mir- Dahait. — Title of the Mirdha
A division of Gujarati or Khedawal caste.
Mirdha. — A small caste found only in the Narsinghpur District. They are
a branch of the Khangar or Dahait caste of Saugor and Damoh. The names
of their exogamous sections tally with those of the Khangars, and they have
the same story of their ancestors having been massacred at a fort in Orchha
State and of one pregnant woman escaping and hiding under a kusiim tree
(Schleichej-a tiijuga), which consequently they revere. Like Khangars they
regard Muhammadan eunuchs and Fakirs (beggars) with special friendship,
on the ground that it was a Fakir who sheltered their ancestress when the
rest of the caste were massacred by Rajputs, and Fakirs do not beg at their
weddings. One explanation of the name is that this section of the caste
were born from a Muhammadan father and a Dahait woman, and hence
were called Mir-Dahaits or Mlrdaha, Mir being a Muhammadan title.
Mirdha is, however, as noted by Mr. Hira Lai, the name of the head of the
caste committee among the Dahaits ; and in Hoshangabad he is a servant
of the village proprietor and acts as assistant to the Kotwar or village watch-
man ; he realises the rents from the tenants, and sometimes works as a night
guard. In Gujarat the name is said to be a corruption of viir-dch or ' mason
of the village.'- Here it is said that the Mirdhas are held to be of part
foreign, part Rajput origin, and were originally official spies of the Gujarat
sultans. They are now employed as messengers and constables, and there-
fore seem to be analogous to the same class of persons in the Central
Provinces.
Mirshikar. — Synonym of Pardhi. Mistri. — (Corruption of the English
Misra ox Misar. — A surname of Kana- Mister.) A master carpenter or
ujia, Jijhotia, Sarwaria and Uriya mate of a gang. Title of Barhai,
Brahmans. Beldar and Lobar.
1 Madras Census Report {iyo\), p. i68.
2 Bombay Gazetteer, Guj. Mukh. p. i8.
GLOSSARY
39 «
Mithia. — (A preparer of sweets. ) Syn-
onym of Ilalwai.
JMochi. — (A shoemaker. ) A caste.
Subcaste of Chamfir.
Modh. — A subdivision of Khedawal or
Gujarati Brahmans who take their
name from Modhera, an ancient
place in Gujarat. A subcaste of
Gujarati Bania.
Modh-Ghaneli. — Subcaste of Teli in
Gujarat.
Moghia. — Synonym of Pardhi.
Mohania. — (Captivator. ) A section
of Rajjhar and Kirar.
Mohlaj-ia. — Title of the headman of
the Andh caste committee.
Mohiera. — • One who fixes the aus-
picious moment, hence the headman
of the caste. A titular section of
Basor.
Monas. — A subdivision of Brahmans.
Mongre., Mongri, Mongrekair. — (A
club or mallet.) A section of Ahir
or Rawat in ChhattTsgarh, and of
Chamar, Ganda, and Panka.
Mori. — A branch of the Pan war Raj-
piits.
Mor Kachhi. — One who prepares the
maur or marriage-crown for wed-
Morkiil. — A section of Komti. They
do not use asafoetida (hing) nor the
fruit of the umar fig-trcc.
l\Iolale. — (From mot, water-hag.) A
subcaste of Kiipewilr.
iMoujikul. — A section of Komti. Tiicy
do not use pepper.
Mowdr. — Subcaste of Raj war.
MoiLHisi. — A resident of the forests of
Kalibhit and Melghat known as
the Mowas. Subcaste of Korku.
Muamin. — Synonym of Cutchi.
Muilsi. — Title of Korku; subcaste of
Korwa.
Mtichi. — Synonym of Mochi.
Ahcdara. — Subcaste of Parja.
Mudgalia. — (From mudgal, Indian
club — an athlete.) A surname of
Adi Gaur Brahmans in Saugor.
Mudha. — Synonym for Munda.
Mudotia. — (From mudha, a cheat.)
A surname of Sanadhia Brahmans
in Saugor.
Mughal. — A tribal division of Muham-
madans. See article Muhammadan
Religion.
Rluhammadan. — Subcaste of Koli.
Muhjaj-ia. — (Burnt mouth.) A section
of Lodhi.
dings. Subcaste of Kachhi.
Mukeri. — Or Kasai, a small Muhammadan caste of traders in cattle and
butchers. In 1891 more than 900 were returned from the Saugor District.
Their former occupation was to trade in cattle like the Banjaras, but they
have now adopted the more profitable trade of slaughtering ihem for the
export of meat ; and as this occupation is not considered very reputable, they
have perhaps thought it desirable to abandon their caste name. The deriva-
tion of the term Mukeri is uncertain. According to one account they are
a class of Banjaras, and derive their name from Mecca, on the ground that
one of their Naiks or headmen was camping in the neighbourhood of this
town, at the time when Abraham was building it, and assisted him in the
work. When they emigrated from Mecca their illustrious name of Makkai
was corrupted into Mukeri.* A variant of this story is that their ancestor
was one Makka Banjara, who also assisted in the building of Mecca, and
that they came to India with the early Muhammadan invaders.- The
Mukeris form a caste and marry among themselves. In their marriage
ceremony they have adopted some Hindu observances, such as the anointing
of the bride and bridegroom with turmeric and the erection of a marriage-
shed. They take food from the higher Hindu castes, but will not eat with
a Kayasth, though there is no objection to this on the score of their religion.
They will admit an outsider, if he becomes a Muhammadan, but will not
give their daughters to him in marriage, at any rate until he has been for
some years a member of the caste. In other matters they follow Muham-
madan law.
Mulldji. — Title of the priests of the Bohra caste.
1 Elliott's Memoirs, vol. i. p. 54.
2 Crooke's Tribes and Castes, vol. i. p. 161.
392
GLOSSARY
Miilidni. — Subcaste and synonym of
Banjara.
Munda. — (A village headman, from
vtiinda, the head.) Title and
synonym of Kol. A subcaste of
Kharia and Oraon.
Miindela. — (Bald-headed.) A sur-
name of Jijhotia Brahmans in Saugor.
Miindle. — (Shaven ones.) Subcaste
of Gujar.
Munikid. — A section of Komti. They
do not use uiiinga beans.
Mtinjia. — Name of an Akhara or
school of Bairagi religious mendi-
cants. See Bairagi.
MiDuirivar. — Synonym of Kapewar.
Miirai, Min-ao. — (From muli, or
radish.) Subcaste of Kachhi.
Alurchulia. — (One who puts rings on
the fingers of the caste.) A section
of Ganda and Panka in Raipur.
ATtiria. — A well-known subtribe of
Gonds in Bastar and Clianda.
Mu7-li. — Synonym of Waghya.
Musdbir. — Synonym of Mochi.
Miisakar. — (x\ rat -eater.) Subcaste
and title of Bhuiya.
Milsare. — {Musar, a pestle.) A sec-
tion of Mali.
Mussali. — Title of Mehtar.
Mtitracha. — Synonym of Mutrasi.
MiUrasa. — Synonym of Mutrasi.
Mutrasi, Mutrasa, Muthrasi, Mutracha. — (From the Dravidian roots
7midi, old, and rachd, a king, or from Mutu Raja, a sovereign of some part
of the Telugu country. ) ^ A caste which is numerous in Hyderabad and
Madras, and of which a few persons are found in the Chanda District of the
Central Provinces. The Mutrasis are the village watchmen proper of
. Telingana or the Telugu country. ^ They were employed by the Vija-
yanagar kings to defend the frontier of their country, and were honoured with
the title of Paligar. Their usual honorific titles at present are Dora (Sahib
or Lord) and Naidu. As servants they are considered very faithful and cour-
ageous. Some of them have taken to masonry in Chanda, and are considered
good stone-carvers. They are a comparatively low caste, and eat fowls and
drink liquor, but they do not eat beef or pork. It is compulsory among
them to marry a girl before she arrives at adolescence, and if this is not done
her parents are put out of caste, and only readmitted on payment of a penalty.
Parja, Redka, Sulia, Sundi and
Taonla castes. Most of these castes
belong to Chhattisgarh and the Uriya
country.
Ndga. — -A clan of Gosains or mendi-
cants. See Gosain.
A^dgar. — A subcaste of Brahmans be-
longing to Gujarat ; a subcaste of
Bania ; a section of Teli.
Nagd7-cJii. — (A drum-beater.) A class
of Gonds. A subcaste of Ganda
and Ghasia.
Nabadia. — (Boatman or sailor.) A
synonym for Kewat.
Nadddf. — A synonym for Bahna or
Pinjara.
Nadha. — (Those who live on the banks
of streams. ) Subcaste of Dhlmar.
Nadia. — A clan of Dangi.
Ndg, N'agesh. — (Cobra.) A sept of
the Ahir or Rawat, Binjhal, Bhatia,
Chasa, Hatwa, Halba, Khadal,
Kawar, Khangar, Karan, Katia,
Kolta, Lobar, Mahar, Mali, Mowar,
Nagarchi. — The Nagarchis appear to be a class of Gonds, whose special
business was to beat the nakkdra or kettledrums at the gates of forts and
palaces. In some Districts they now form a special community, marrying
among themselves, and numbered about 6000 persons in 191 1. The tiagdra
or nakkdra is known in Persia as well as in India. Here the drum is made
of earthenware, of a tapering shape covered at both ends with camel-hide for
the zir or treble, and with cowhide for the bam or bass. It is beaten at the
broader end. In Persia the drums were played from the Nakkara-khana or
gateway, which still exists as an appanage of royalty in the chief cities of
Iran. They were beaten to greet the rising and to usher out the setting sun.
During the months of mourning, Safar and Muharram, they were silent.^
^ Madras Census Report (1891), p. - India Census Report [T.igi), p. 200.
303. ^ Alan, November 1909.
GLOSSARY
393
In India the nagdra were a pair of large kettledrums hound with iron hoops
and twice as large as those used in Europe. They were a mark of royalty
and were carried on one of the state elephants, the royal animal, in the
prince's soivari or cavalcade, immediately preceding him on the line of
march. The right of displaying a banner and beating kettledrums was one
of the highest marks of distinction which could be conferred on a Rajput
noble. When the titular Maratha Raja had retired to Satara and any of the
Maratha princes entered his territory, all marks of royalty were laid aside by
the latter and his nagdra or great drum of empire ceased to be beaten. ^
The stick with which the kettledrum was .struck was called danka, and the
king's jurisdiction was metaphorically held to extend so far as his kettledrums
were beaten. Angrezi rdj ka danka bajta hai or ' Where the English drum
is beaten,' means 'So far as the English empire extends.' In Egypt the
kettledrums were carried on camels. ^
Ndgaria. — (A drum-player.) A section
of Jasondhi Bhat and Teli.
Ndgbans. — (Descended from the cobra. )
A totemistic sept of Gadba, Ghasia,
and Gond.
Ndgla. — (Naked. ) Subcaste of Khond.
Ndgpure. — (From Nagpur. ) A section
of Lodhi and Kohli.
Ndgvaiisi. — A clan of Rajputs. See
article Rajput -Nagvansi. A sub-
caste and section of Sunar. A
section of Daharia or Daraiha and
Gond.
Ndhar.- — (Tiger. ) A subtribe of Baiga.
A section of Rajputs in Saugor.
Nahonia. — A clan of Dangi in Damoh
and Saugor. They were formerly
Kachhwaha Rajputs from Narwar,
but being cut off from their own
domicile they married with Dangis.
Rajputs accept daughters from them
but do not give their daughters to
Nahonias.
Naidu. — Title of the Balija, Mutrasi
and Velama castes. Often used by
Balijas as their caste name.
Ndik. — (Leader.) A subdivision of
Gond, also known as Darwe. A
title of Banjara headmen. A title
of Teli and Kolta. A section of
Ahir, Chamar, Chasa, Gadaria,
Halba, Kewat, Khond, Mali, Sudh.
Nakib. — Mace-bearer or flag-bearer in
a procession. Subcaste of Jasondhi
Bhat ajid Khangar.
Nakshbandia. — A class of Fakirs or
Muhammadan beggars.
Naksia. — ^Synonym of Nagasia.
Ndmdeo. — -A religious sect confined to
members of the Chhipa and Darzi
castes, which has become a sub-
caste.
Ndiiakshdhi. — Synonym of Nanak-
panthi.
Nandia. — (One who leads about with
him a performing bullock). From
Nandi, the bull on which Mahadeo
rides. Subcaste of Jogi.
Ndndvansi. — Subcaste of Ahir.
Nanghana. — A name given to the Kol
tribe in Hoshangabad.
Napita. — Sanskrit name for Nai or
barber.
Naqqdl. — Title of Bhand.
Naraina. — Subcaste of Patwa.
Na7-amdeo. — A subcaste of Brahmans
belonging to the Gaur branch. They
take their name from the river
Nerbudda.
Narbadi, Nannada. — (From the river
Nerbudda.) A subdivision of Mah-
arashtra Brahmans. A section of
Yajur-Vedi Brahmans. A synonym
for Naramdeo Brahmans. A section
of Agharia, Binjhal and Chamar.
Narnolia. — (From a place called Narnol
in the Punjab. ) Subcaste of Mehtar.
Narwaria. — A clan of Dangi. A sub-
caste of Ahir.
Ndta. — (A young bullock.) A section
of Ahir and Oswal Bania.
Nailuinia. — (Nose-ring.) A subcaste
of Pasi.
Navadesia. — (A man of nine districts.)
Subcaste of Banjara.
Nawaria. — A subcaste of Barhai,
Lobar, Kachera or Sisgar, Nai and
Tamera.
Ndzir. — (A cashier or usher.) Sub-
caste of Jasondhi Bhat.
1 Tone, Letter on the Mardthas (1798), India Office Tracts, p. 25.
- Lane, Modern Egyptians, p. 373.
394
GLOSSARY
Ni rail. ^Synonym of Chhlpa.
Niranjani. — Name of an Akhara or
school of Bairagis. See Bairagi.
Nirbani. — {Nir, without ; bani,
speech.) A class of Bairagis who
refrain from speech as far as pos-
sible.
Nirmohi. — A class of Bairagis.
/Vona or Lofia. — Name derived from
Nona or Lona Chamarin, a well-
known witch. Subcaste of Chamar.
Nnlkdchandriah .- — Caste priests. Sub-
caste of Madgi.
Nun. — (Salt.) A sept of Oraon.
Nunia, Nonia, Ltinia. — (Saltmaker. )
A synonym of Beldar. A section of
Binjhwar and Koli.
Od. — Synonym of Beldar.
Odde, Ud. — (From Odra the old name
of Orissa. ) Term for a digger or
navvy. A group of Beldilrs.
Odhia. — Synonym for Audhia Bania.
Odia or Uriya. — Subcaste of l-Jeldar in
Chhattisgarh.
Oikti. — Subtribe of Majhwar.
Ojha. — (From Ojh, entrails.) A caste
of Gond augurs, see article. A
title of Maithil Brahmans. A sub-
caste of Lohar, Nat and Savar.
Okkilyaii. — Synonym of Wakkaliga.
Omre, Umre. — A subcaste of Bania.
See Bania Umre. — A subcaste of
Teli.
Onkar N^ath. — A subdivision of Jogis.
Onkule. — Subcaste of Koshti.
Orha. — Subcaste of Chasa.
Oswdl. — A subcaste of Bania. See
subordinate article to Bania.
Ota. — (One who recites the Vedas
aloud in sacrifices.) An honorific
title of Uriya Brahmans.
Otari, Watkari. — A low caste of workers in brass in the Maratha country.
The name is derived from the Marathi verb otne, to pour or smelt. They
number about 2600 persons in the Bhandara and Chanda Districts, and in
Berar. The caste have two subcastes, Gondadya and Maratha, or the Gond
and Maratha Olaris. The latter are no doubt members of other castes who
have taken to brass- working. Members of the two subcastes do not eat with
each other. Their family names are of different kinds, and some of them are
totemistic. They employ Brahmans for their ceremonies, and otherwise their
customs are like those of the lower artisan castes. But it is reported that
they have a survival of marriage by capture, and if a man refuses to give his
daughter in marriage after being asked twice or thrice, they abduct the girl
and afterwards pay some com]3ensation to the father. They make and sell
ornaments of brass and bell-metal, such as are worn by the lower castes, and
travel from village to village, hawking their toe-rings and anklets. There is
also an Otari subcaste of Kasars.
Negi. — A vice-president of the caste
committee in the Kharia caste.
Nona or Nima. — A subcaste of Bania.
See article Bania, Nema,
Netdm. — (The dog in Gondi.) One
of the common septs of Gond. Also
a sept of Basor, Bhatra, Bhuiya,
Dewar, Kawar and Parja.
Nawdri. — (From tieivdr, thick tape
used for webbing of beds.) Sub-
caste of Bahna.
Niaria. — An occupational term applied
to persons who take the refuse and
sweepings from a Sunar's shop and
wash out the particles of gold and
silver. See article Sunar.
Nigatn, Niguin. — A subcaste of
Kayasth.
Nihdl. — Synonym of Nahal.
Nihang. — A class of Bairagis or
religious mendicants, who remain
celibate.
Nikhar. — A subcaste of Ahir, Bharewa
(Kasar), Gadaria. A clan of Rajput.
A section of Koshti.
Nikuinbh. — A clan of Rajputs included
in the thirty -six royal races. A
section of Joshi.
Nilgar. — Synonym of Chhipa.
Nilkar. — (From nil, indigo.) A sub-
caste of Darzi or Sinipi (tailors) in
Nagpur, so named because they took
up the work of dyeing in addition to
their own and formed a new subcaste.
Nlmdnandi. — A Vishnuite sect and
order of religious mendicants. See
Bairagi.
Ninidri, NiDiddi, Nimdria. — (A resi-
dent of Nimar. ) A subcaste of
Balahi, Bania, Dhobi, Mahar and
Nai.
Ni/ndwal. — A class of Bairagi.
I GLOSSARY 395
Pabaiya. — (From Pabai in Rundelkhand.) A clan of Rajputs in IIos-
hangabad.
Pabia. — A small caste in the zamindaris of the Bilaspur District, and some of
the Feudatory States, who numbered about 9000 persons in 191 1. They
appear to be Pans or Gandas, who also bear the name of Pab, and this has
been corrupted into Pabia, perhaps with a view to hiding their origin. They
are wretchedly poor and ignorant. They say that they have never been to a
Government dispensary, and would be afraid that medicine obtained from it
would kill them. Their only remedies for diseases are branding the part
affected or calling in a magician. They never send their children to school,
as they hold that educated children are of no value to their parents, and that
the object of Government in opening schools is only to obtain literate persons
to carry on its business. One curious custom may be noticed. When any one
dies in a family, all the members, as soon as the breath leaves his body, go into
another room of the house ; and across the door they lay a net opened into
the room where the corpse lies. They think that the spirit of the dead man
will follow them, and will be caught in the net. Then the net is carried away
and burnt or buried with the corpse, and thus they think that the spirit is
removed and prevented from remaining about the house and troubling the
survivors.
Pabeha. — Synonym for Dhimar. Padhdn. — (An Uriya name for a chief
Pdbudia or Mddhai. — A subcaste of or headman of a village. ) A section
Bhuiya. of Bhuiya, Chasa, Dumal, Hatwa,
Pachddhe. — (Western.) — A subdivision Kolta, Tiyar and other Uriya castes.
of Saraswat Brahman. A title of Chasa and Kolta.
Pachhhaiya. — (Five Brothers.) A Padmasdle. — Subcaste of Koshti.
section of Ahir and Audhelia. Padydl. — A subtribe of Gond in
Pada. — (A pig-eater.) A section of Chanda. A section of Marori.
Muria Gonds and Pardhans.
Pahalwan. — A small community numbering about 600 persons in the Bilaspur
District and surrounding tracts of Chhattisgarh. The word Pahalwan means
a wrestler, but Sir B. Robertson states ^ that they are a small caste of singing
beggars and have no connection with wrestling. They appear, however, to
belong to the Gopal caste, who have a branch of Pahalwans in their com-
munity. And the men returned from Bilaspur may have abandoned wrest-
ling in favour of singing and begging from trees, which is also a calling of
the Gopals. They themselves say that their ancestors were Gopals and lived
somewhere towards Berar, and that they came to Bilaspur with the Maratha
leader Chimnaji Bhonsla.
Pdhar. — Subcaste of Mahli. Pajania. — {Paijana, tinkling anklets.)
Pahdria or Benwaria. — Subcaste of A section of Kurmi.
Korwa. Pakhdli. — (From fakhdli, a leathern
Pdik. — (Afoot-soldier.) See Rajput- water-bag.) Synonym of Bhishti.
Paik. Pakhawaji. —(One who plays on the
Paikaha. — (One who follows the call- pakhawaj or timbrel.) Title of
ing of curing hides.) Synonym for MiiajjI.
Chamar. PaM/a.— (They are so called because
/'a2^arfl.— (From Pfuk, a foot-soldier.) they eat the flesh of the por or
Subcaste of Kawar. buffalo.) Subcaste of Khond. ^
Pailagia. — (Pailagi or 'I fall at your Pala5.—{Yxo\w the palds tree, Butea
feet,' is a common term of greeting frondosa.) A totemistic sept of
from an inferior to a superior.) Sub- Gonds.
caste of Dahait. Pdlewdr.—A gotra of Binjhwar ; a
Paiydm. — (From paiya, a calf.) A subcaste of Dhimar found in the
sept of Gonds in Betill. Telugu country. They are also
1 Census Report {\%^-l), p. 211.
396 GLOSSARY part
called Bhoi in Chanda. A name Palshe. — A subcaste of Maratha Biah-
for Telugu Dhimars or watermen. mans. They derive their name from
A section of Binjhvvar. Palsaoli village in Kalyan (Bombay
Palgaria. — (Sleeping on a palang or Presidency).
cot.) A sept of Bhunjia. Pampatra. — (Those who use their
Palliwdl. — A subcaste of Brahmans hands as pots.) A section of Khand-
belonging to the Kanaujia division. wal.
They take their name from Pali, a Pim. — (Name of a forest tribe.) Syn-
irading town of Marwar. A sub- onym for Ganda.
caste of Bania, whose name is de- Punch, Panchayat. — (A caste com-
rived from the same. place. mittee, so called because it is sup-
Palsa-gacha. — [Palas tree, Biitea ffon- posed to consist of five {pdnch) per-
dosa.) A totemistic sept of Pans. sons.) A section of Marar.
Panclial. — An indeterminate group of artisans engaged in any of the following
five trades : Workers in iron, known as Manu ; workers in copper or brass
called Twashtik ; workers in stone or vShilpik ; workers in wood or Maya ;
and workers in gold and silver designated as Daivagnya.^ The caste appear
to be of Telugu origin, and in Madras they are also known as Kammala.
In the Central Provinces they were amalgamated with the Sunars in 1901,
but in 1 89 1 a total of 7000 were returned, belonging to the southern
Districts ; while 2700 members of the caste are shown in Berar. The name
is variously derived, but the principal root is no doubt pdnch or five. Captain
Glasfurd writes it Panchyanun.^ In the Central Provinces the Panchals
appear generally to work in gold or brass, while in Berar they are black-
smiths. The gold-workers are an intelligent and fairly prosperous class, and
devote themselves to engraving, inlaying, and making gold beads. They
are usually hired by Sunars and paid by the piece. ^ They are intent on
improving their social position and now claim to be Vishwa Brahmans, pre-
sumably in virtue of their descent from Viswa Karma, the celestial architect.
At the census they submitted a petition begging to be classified as Brahmans,
and to support their claim they employ members of their own caste to serve
them as priests. But the majority of them permit the remarriage of widows,
and do not wear the sacred thread. In other respects their customs resemble
those of the Sunars. The Berar Panchals, on the other hand, appear to be
a much lower group. Mr. Kitts describes* them as a "wandering caste of
smiths living in grass-mat huts and using as fuel the roots of thorn bushes,
which they batter out of the ground with the back of a short-handled axe
peculiar to themselves. The Berari Panchals," he continues, "who differ
from the Dakhani division in the custom of shaving their heads and beards
on the death of a parent^ have been in the Provinces for some generations.
They live in small pdls or tents, and move from place to place with buffaloes,
donkeys, and occasionally ponies to carry their kit. The women of the Berari
division may be distinguished from those of the Dakhani Panchals by their
wearing their higras or body-cloths tucked in at the back, in the fiishion
known as kasote.'" It is no doubt from the desire to dissociate tliemselves
from the wandering blacksmiths of Berar that the Panchals of the Central
Provinces desire to drop their caste name.
Pamham. — A subcaste of Bania. A of Ghasia.
subcasteof Barai, thesameasBeraria. Pdnchdeve. — A subdivision of Gonds,
Pdnchbhai. — (Five brothers.) A sur- worshipping five gods and paying
name of Bhanara Dhimars, a section special reverence to the sdras crane.
^ From a paper by Mr. Rajaram Can- Industries of the Central Provinces.
gfidhar Deshpande, Tahsildar, Wardha. , , , , , ^ , ,
2 Settlement Report 0/ the Upper Godd- , ' Monograph on the Gold and Stiver
vari District (1868), quoted in Mr. Industries, loc. cit.
'Hunn's Monograph on the Gold and Silver * Berar Census Report [\%Z\), y>- 219.
GLOSS AR V
397
Panch Dravid. — One of the two prim-
ary divisions of Brahmans, inhabit-
ing the country south of the Vindhya
hills and Nerbudda river, and includ-
ing the following five orders : viz. ,
Karnata(Carnatic), Dravid (Madras),
Tailanga (Telugu country), Maha-
rashtra (Bombay) and Gurjara (Guja-
rat).
Panch Gatir. — One of the two primary
divisions of Brahmans inhabiting the
country north of the Vindhya hills
and Nerbudda river ; it includes the
following five orders : Saraswat
(Punjab), Kanaujia (Hindustan),
Gaur (Bengal), Utkal (Orissa) and
Maithil (Bihar or Tirhut).
Pdnchghar. — One of the three subdivi-
sions of Kanaujia Brahmans in Hos-
hangabad.
Panda. — (A priest of Devi, a wise
man.) A subcaste or title of Mali.
A subcaste and surname of Uriya
Brahmans. A subcaste of Jasondhi
Bhats.
Pandarani. — • A class of Brahman
priests.
Pande. — (A wise man.) A surname
of Kanaujia and Gaur Brahmans.
A section of Agharia, Barhai, Kewat
and Marar. A title of Joshi and
Kumhar.
Pdndhare. — (White. ) Subcaste of
Sunar.
Pandit. — (A learned man.) A title of
Brahmans.
Pandki. — (Dove.) A totemistic sept
of Bhatra, Kawar and Parja.
Pandra. — A small caste of cultivators
in the Uriya country. It is said
that one of the Rajas of Patna had
an illegitimate son to whom he gave
the village of Pandri. His descend-
ants were the Pandras.
Pandwar or Padwar. — A section of
Panka in Raipur. They are said
to be so named because they washed
the feet of others.
Pdngal. — Subcaste of Gopal. They
make mats, but in addition to this
they are mendicants begging from
trees.
Panhdra. — An occupational term
meaning a seller of pan or betel-
leaf.
Pdnibhar. — (A waterman.) Subcaste
of Dansri.
Pdnigrahi. — (Husband.) An honorific
title of Uriya ]k.^hman.s.
Panjha. — (Paw of an animal. ) A sept
of Gond.
Panka. — A weaver caste derived from
the Gandas, being Gandas who follow
the Kabirpanthi sect. See article.
In Chhattisgarh Pankas sometimes
call themselves Das, as servants of
Kabir. Panka is also a subcaste of
Ganda.
Pansdri. — (A druggist.) Synonym for
Barai.
Panwdr. — A clan of Rajput. See article
Panwar Rajput. A subcaste of Ban-
jara and Bhoyar. A section of Ahir,
Bhilala, Koshti, Maratha and
Marori.
Parasdr, Parashdr. — (Name of a
Brahmanical saint.) An eponymous
section of Brahmans. A surname
of Sanadhya and Gaur Brahmans.
A section of Basdeva, Rangari,
Sunar and "\^idur.
Paraiiha, — (From/ara, a male bufifalo
calf.) A subcaste of Basdewa who
deal in buffaloes.
Parbat. — Name of one of the ten
orders of Gosain.
ParbJni. — Synonym of Prabhu.
Pardeshi. — (A foreigner.) The name
is sometimes applied to immigrants
from Malwa, and also to those com-
ing from northern India.) A sub-
caste of the Bahna, Barai, Barhai,
Chamar, Dhimar, Dhobi, Garpagari,
Kimbi, Kasar, Kumhar, Lobar, Nai,
Rangari, Sunar and Teli castes.
Pardhdn.—[K chief.) A caste who
are priests of the Gonds. See article.
A section of Chhattisgarhi Ahir or
Rawat, Halba and Pabia. Title of
caste headman of the Kharia tribe.
Pdrdhi. — (A hunter.) A caste. See
article. A sul)caste of Khatik. A
section of Kunbi and Panwar Rajput.
Parewa. — (A pigeon.) A section of
Chhattisgarhi Ahir or Rawat, and
Panka.
Parganiha. — A synonym of Pardhan
(Gond priests) in Kawardha.
Parihdr.- — An important clan of Raj-
puts. See Rajpfit Parihar. A sec-
tion of Daharia and Daraiha, of
Panwar Rajput and Pardhi.
Parit. — Synonym for Dhobi in the
Maratha districts.
398 GLOSSARY part
Parka.' — A small caste of labourers belonging to the Jubbulpore District and
adjoining tracts, whose strength was something over 2000 persons in 1901.
Sir B. Robertson wrote ^ in 1891 that the Parkas of the three northern
Districts had been kept separate from the Panka caste in the census tables,
but that they were in all probability the same. Mr. Hira Lai points out that
several of the names of septs as Padwar, Sanwani, Gullia and Dharwa are
the same in the two castes, and that in the Districts where Parkas are found
there are no Pankas. The Panka caste was probably formed in Chhattisgarh
by the separation of those Gandas or Pans who had embraced the doctrines
of Kablr from their parent caste, and the name is a variant of Pan. In
Jubbulpore the name Panka has no understood meaning, and it may have
been corrupted into Pandka (a dove) and thence to Parka. Like the Pankas
the Parkas often act as village watchmen. Many of the Parkas are also
Kabirpanthis and, as with the Pankas, those who are not Kabirpanthis and
do not abstain from flesh and liquor are called Saktahas. Intermarriage is
not prohibited between the Parka Kabirpanthis and Saktahas. Some of the
Parkas play on drums and act as village musicians, which is a regular
occupation of the Pankas and Gandas. It may also be noted that the
Parkas will take food cooked with water from a Gond and that they worship
Bura Deo, the great god of the Gonds. Perhaps the most probable surmise
as to their origin is that they are a small mixed group made up of Pankas
and Gonds. A proverbial saying about the caste is ' Coiid Raja, Parka
Fardkdi!,'' or ' The Gond is the master and the Parka the servant,' and this
also points to their connection with the Gonds. Several of their section
names indicate their mixed origin, as Kumharia from Kumhar a potter,
Gullia from Gaolia or milkman, Bhullia from Bhulia an Uriya weaver,
Andwan a subcaste of the Mahar caste, Tilasia a sept of the Kawars, and
so on. If a Parka man forms a connection with any woman of higher caste
she will be admitted into the community, and the same privilege is accorded
to a man of any equal or higher caste who may desire to marry a Parka girl.
A girl is only cast out when she is discovered to have been living with a man
of lower caste than the Parkas. All these facts indicate their mixed origin.
As already seen, the caste are labourers, village watchmen and musicians,
and their customs resemble those of low-caste Hindus, but they rank above
the impure castes. They will eat food cooked with water from Lodhis,
many of whom are landowners in Jubbulpore, and as such no doubt stand
to the Parka in the relation of employer to servant. Every year on the
second day of Bhadon (August) they worship a four-sided iron plate and a
spear, which latter is perhaps the emblem of the village watchman. Fines
imposed for caste offences are sometimes expended in the purchase of vessels
which thereafter become common property and are lent to any one who
requires them.
Parnaiiii. — (A follower of Prannath bate Manbhaos.
of Panna.) Subcaste of Dangi. Patane. — A subcaste of Prabhu, so
Parsai. — (Village priest.) Synonym called on account of their living near
for Joshi. Patan in Gujarat.
Parsoli. — {parsa, an axe.) A section Palbina. — (From patti, sacking, and
of Ahir or Rawat in Chhattisgarh. hinna, to weave. ) Synonym of
Panvdr. — A subcaste of Bania. See Kumrawat. Subcaste of Jogi.
article Bania-Parwar. A subcaste Pa/el. — (Headman of a village.) A
of Kumhar. subcaste and title of Mali. A sur-
Pdssi. — Synonym of Pasi. name of Gaur Brahmans in Saugor
Pdtadha7-i. — (One occupying the seat andofParsis. A surname or section
of instruction.) A section of cell- of Agharia, Mahar and Kachhi.
^ Based on a paper by Mr. Ali Mustafa, Naib-Tahsildiir, Hatta.
'^ Census Report (iS<ji), p. 179.
GLOSS AR V
399
A title of the Ahir and Bhoyar
castes.
Pathak. — (Teacher.) A surname of
Kanaujia and other classes of Brah-
mans.
Pathdn. — One of the four tribes of
Muhamniadans. See article Muham-
madan Religion.
Pathdri.- — (A hillman. ) Synonym of
Pardhan. Subcaste of Katia.
Patharia, — A subcaste of Katia,
Kurmi and Mahar. A section of
Halba. A subcaste of Agaria, who
place a stone on the mouth of the
bellows to fix them in the ground
for smelting iron.
Pathmttkh.— A subsept of the Dhurwa
Goods in BetCd. They offer a young
goat to their gods and do not kill
bears.
Pathrot, Pathrdwat. — (One who makes
and sharpens millstones and grind-
stones.) Synonym of Beldar.
Pati. — (Lord.) An honorific title of
Uriya Brahmans.
Patkar. — (From pat, widow-marriage. )
A subcaste of Sunar in Wardha. A
section of Rangari.
Patlia. — (From patel.) Title of Pan-
war Rajput.
Patndik. — A surname of Karan or
Mahanti, the Uriya writer caste.
Patra. — (An Uriya word meaning
councillor.) A subcaste of Kolta
and Chasa, and title of several Uriya
castes. Also a synonym for the
Patwa caste.
Patti. — (A thread-seller. ) Subcaste of
Kaikari.
Patwa. — A caste. .See article. In
Seoni tahsTl of Iloshangabad Dis-
trict Patwa and Lakhcra appear to
be synonymous terms. A section of
Oswal Bania.
Paiwdri. — (Name of the village ac-
countant and sur\eyor, wlio is now
a salaried Government official. ) The
Kayasth caste were formerly pat-
waris by profession. See article.
Patwi. — (A dyer who colours the silk
thread which weavers use to border
their cotton cloth.) Synonym of
Patwa. Subcaste of Koshti. From
pata, a woven cloth.
Pdwanhans. — (The children of the
wind.) Synonym for Bhuiya.
Pendhd7-i. — Synonym of Pindari.
Peng. — Subcaste of Parja.
Pei2tki. — (Sheep.) A totemistic sept
of Bhulia.
Periki, Perki, Perka. — The Perikis are really a subcaste of the great Balija
or Balji caste, but they have a lower position and are considered as a
distinct group. About 4000 Perikis were returned in the Central Provinces
in 191 1 from the Nagpur, Wardha and Chanda Districts. They derive their
names from the perike or panniers in which they carried salt and grain on
bullocks and donkeys. They were thus formerly a nomadic group, and like
the Banjaras and Bhamtas they also made gunny-bags and sacking. Most of
them have now taken to cultivation, and in Madras some Perikis have become
large landholders and claim Rajput rank. In the Central Provinces the
Balijas and Naidus deny that the Perikis have any connection with the Balija
caste.
Peta. — (A trading Balija. ) Subcaste of
Balija.
Phal Barhai. — (A carpenter who only
works on one side of the wood.)
Synonym for Chitari in the Uriya
country.
Phdnse.—{K Pardhi who hunts with
traps and snares.) Subcaste of
Pardhi.
Phdnsigar. — (A strangler. ) Synonym
of Thug.
Pharsi. — (Axe.) A section of Uriya,
Ahir or Gahara.
Phopatia. — Title of the officer of the
Andh caste who summons the caste
committee.
Phttlia, Phiilmdli. — (A flower-gar-
dener.) Subcaste of Kachhi and
Mali.
Phtdjharia. — (From Phuljhar zamln-
dari in Raipur.) A territorial sub-
caste of Ahir or Rawat, Ghasia and
Panka.
Phul Kimwar. — A section of Kawar.
They use the akre or swallow-wort
flower for their marriage-crown.
P/nilsunga. — A. totemistic section of
Gadaria. They abstain from smell-
ing or touching a flower called
gadka.
Phurasti. — (.\ wanderer.) Subcaste of
Kaikari.
400
GLOSS AR V
Pindara. — Synonym of Pindari.
Pindari. — A caste. Subcaste of
Mang.
Pinjara. — (One who cards cotton.)
Synonym of Bahna.
Pipar. — (A tree.) A section of Khatik
and Kalar.
Pipariya. — (From the pipal tree, or
from Piparia, a common place-name
derived from the tree.) A clan of
Rajputs in Saugor. A section of
Sunars in Saugor.
Piria. — Subcaste of Kachhi. From
piria, the basket in which they carry
earth.
Pit. — Subcaste of Bhatra.
Pitariya. — (From pltal, brass.) A
subdivision of Pardeshi Sunars in
Nagpur. They practise hypergamy,
taking wives from the vSadihe sub-
caste, and giving daughters to the
Srinagariye, Bangar, Mahuwe and
Jadiye subcastes.
Pohni. — Subcaste of Jhadi Telenga.
Poiya. — Subcaste of Majhwar.
Polya. — (One who did not take off
his turban at the feast.) Title of
Hatkar.
Pondro. — (A tree.) One of the six
subsepts of the Marai clan of Pathari
Gonds in Khairagarh.
Poniudr. — Synonym of Panwar Rajput.
Portai. — (Basket.) A subsept of the
Uika clan of Gonds in Betul. They
do not kill the tiger or crocodile. A
sept of Dhur Gonds.
Potddr. — (A money-tester.) Synonym
and title of Sunar. A surname of
Karhara Brahmans in Saugor.
Potdukh. — (Stomach-ache.) A section
of Teli in Chanda.
Potharia. — (One to whom a certain
dirtyhabit is imputed.) Subcaste of
Korku.
Poiiva. — (A worker in tasar silk.)
Synonym for Darzi ; a subcaste of
Darzi.
Poydm. — (Worshipper of eight gods.)
A sept of Pardhan and of Maria
Gonds.
Prajapati. — Title of Kumhar.
Prdmara. — Synonym for Panwar
Rajput.
Prdnndlhi. — A follower of Prannath
of Panna. Synonym for Dhami.
Pravar. — A term for the ancestors
sharing in a sacrificial invocation.
particularly that of the Hom or fire-
sacrifice.
Praydgwdl. — (From Prayag - Allaha-
bad.) A subcaste of Brahmans who
preside at the ceremonial bathing in
the Ganges at Allahabad.
Pilar. — Synonym of Panwar Rajput.
Piijdri. — (A worshipper. ) Name for the
priest in charge of a temple. A
title of Bhatra.
Purdd. — A small mixed caste in Nag-
pur. They say that their ancestor
was a Brahman, who was crossing a
river and lost his sacred thread, on
being carried down in a flood {pur).
Therefore he was put out of caste
because the sacred thread must be
changed before swallowing the
spittle, and he had no other thread
ready. At the census the Purads
were amalgamated with Vidurs.
They are shopkeepers by profes-
sion.
Pitrdit. — (One who is of pure blood.)
A subdivision of Jharia Rawat (Ahir)
in Chhattisgarh. A subcaste of
Uhakar, Halba and Marar.
Purdnia. — (Old.) A subcaste of
Kachera or Sisgar in Saugor. The
Puranias are the Muhammadan
bangle-makers who originally prac-
tised this calling. A subcaste of
Barai, Basor, Nai and Sunar. A
section of Chamar and Darzi.
Ptirbia. — This term, which means
eastern or coming from the east, is
used in Hoshangabad and other
Districts to designate Rajputs from
Oudh and the adjoining tracts,
especially retired sepoys from the
Bengal army. They appear to
belong to different clans, but many
of them are Bais Rajputs. Some of
the Purbias say that their king,
somewhere in northern India, heard
that cows were being killed in the
Central Provinces, so he sent them
to stop the practice and they came
and stopped it and settled there. In
Gujarat this name appears to be
applied to Brahmans. A subcaste
of Barhai and Gadaria. A section
of Nat and Sunar.
Ptirkdm. — (/'«;-/'a-pumpkin.) A sept
of the Uika clan of Gonds in Betul.
Puro/iit. — (Family priest.) A com-
mon title of Brahmans.
GLOSS AR V
401
Purouti or Pudoti. — (Bowels.) A sept
of Gonds in Khairagarh.
Pusdm. — (Worshipper of five gods.)
A sept of Raj-Gond and Dhur Gond,
and of Baiga and Pardhan.
Putka. — A subcaste of Sudh, being
the illegitimate issue of the Dehri
Sudhs.
Qaivwal. — (One who speaks fluently.)
Title of Mirasi.
Rachhbandia. — (Comb -makers.) A
subcaste of Kuchhbandia (Kanjar).
Raghunathia. — A small group of
Brahmans, so called because their
ancestors are said to have received a
grant of five villages from Raghunath
Deo of Hindoli.
Rdghuvansi. — A caste formed from a
Rajput clan. See article. A sub-
caste of Ahir ; a section of Mali and
Gond.
Rdghvi. — Synonym of Raghuvansi.
Rahinat. — (Compassion.) A section
of Panwar Rajput. A Muhammadan
proper name.
Razor Raj. — Subcaste of Darzi, Kalar,
Khangar.
Rai-bhaina. — Subcaste of Baiga in
Balaghat.
Raipuria. — (From Raipur.) A sub-
caste of Dhimars who do not wear
gold ornaments. A subcaste of
Dewar in Bilaspur.
Rdj or Rai. — From Raja, a king.
This term designates the landholding
division of certain tribes, as the Raj-
Gonds, the Raj-Korkus, the Raj-
Khonds and the Rajbhars. The
Raj - Bhats, Raj - Dhuris and Rai-
Darzis are similarly subcastes of
good position in their respective
castes. Raj is also used as a
synonym for Beldar, meaning a
mason.
Rtya. — (A king.) Title of a ruling
chief, and occasionally conferred on
prominent Indian gentlemen.
Rajak. — (A washerman.) Synonym for
Dhobi.
Rsjbhar. — (A landowning Bhar. ) Syn-
onym for Rajjhar.
Rty-Bhat. — Subcaste of Bhat.
Rdj-Dhuri. — A subcaste of Dhuri, said
to be descendants of personal ser-
vants in Rajput families.
VOL. I
RCtj-Gond. — The landholding sul)-
division of the Gond tribe ; a section
of Chamar and Kachhi.
Rdj-Khond. — .Subcaste of Khond.
RdJ-A'tiJiwar, K('ij-I\i)dlidn. — A sub-
caste of Pardhan in Brdaghat.
Rdjoria. — (Kingly.) A section of
Barhai, Dangi, Khatlk and Sanadhya
Brahman.
Rdj-Pardhdn. — A subcaste of Pardhan.
They are .said to be also known as
Kunwar Pardhan or Gond Bhat ant!
to be beggars and bards of the
Gonds.
Rdj-Pdsi. — Subcaste of Pasi.
RdjpTit. — (Son of a king.) A caste,
representing the ancient Kshatriya
caste. See article. A subcaste of
Banjara, Kadera, Kumhar and
Patwa.
Rajwaria. — From the Raj war caste.
Subcaste of Uahait. Subdivision of
Kol in Mirzapur.
Rakaseya. — (From Rakas, a devil.) A
section of Katia.
Rakhotia. — An illegitimate section of
Kumhar.
Rakhwdlddr. — (Village watchman. )
Title of Ramosi.
Raksa. — (Demoniac.) A section of
Kumhar and Kawar.
Rdmdnandi. — A class of Bairagis or
religious mendicants. See article
Bairagi.
Rdindmija. — A class of Bairagis or
religious mendicants. See article
Bairagi.
Rdmgarhia. — (A resident of Ramgarh
in Mandla. ) Subcaste of Ghasia.
Rainoski. — Synonym of Ramosi.
RdJia. — A title of Sesodia Rajputs. A
section of Halba and Panwar.
Randgolak. — A subdivision of degraded
Maharashtra Brahmans, the ofispring
of illicit unions or remarried widows.
Rangd7-i. — (One who works in indigo
{nil).) Synonym for Chhlpa.
A'ao.— Synonym for Bhat. A section
of Chamar and Lobar. A title of
the Bhilala caste.
Rataiipiiria. — (A resident of Ratanpur
in Bilaspur.) Subcaste of Nunia
and Dewilr.
Ratha. — (A car for carrying a god.)
Honorific title of Uriya Brahmans.
Rdthia. — Subcaste of Kawar.
Rdthor, Rd/haiir. — A famous Rajput
2 D
402 GLOSSARY part
clan. See article Rajput- Rathor. now used as a subtribal designation
A subcaste of Banjara, Bari and of to distinguish them from Raj-Cionds.
Teli in Mandla, Betrd, Nimar and Rawanvaiisi. — Name of a clan of
other Districts. A section of Aliir, Gosain mendicants.
Bhilfda, Mochi, Nahal and Pardhi. Rawat. — A title borne by some minor
Ratna Bdnik. — (Dealer in jewels.) A Rajput chiefs. Probably a diminu-
synonym of Sunar in Sambalpur. tive of Rajputra, the original form
RaiUadi. — Subcaste of Bhuiya. of the term Rajput. An honorific
Rautele. — A subcaste of Kol. A sec- title of Gonds and Savars in Saugor
tion of Barai, Bhat, Gadaria and of and Damoh. The name by which
Sunar in Saugor. the Ahlr caste is generally known in
Ratitia. — A subcaste of Kol in several Chhattisgarh. A subcaste and title
Districts. A subcaste of Dahait. A of Khairwar. A title sometimes used
subcaste of Kawar. A section of by Sunars and Brahmans in Bundel-
Chamar and Rawat (Ahir). khand and by Lodhis. A sub-
Rawal. — Title borne by some Rajput caste of Meh tar and Mali. A section
chieftains in Western India. Probably of Arakh, Banjara, Binjhwar, Dhan-
a diminutive of Rao, the Marathi war, Kawar, Khairwar, Kunbi, Nat,
form of Raj or Raja. A section of Patwa, Panwar Rajput, and Sudh.
Chasa, Mali and Garpagari. Reddi. — A synonym for the Kapewar
Rdwanbansi. — Descendants of Rawan, or Kapu caste ; a subcaste of Kape-
the demon king of Ceylon. A name war and Gandli.
applied to the Gonds generally, and
Redka. — A small labouring caste of Sambalpur. They are apparently the
result of intermarriages between some members of the Reddi or Kapu
cultivating caste of Telingana, who came to Sambalpur during the Orissa
famine of 1866, with low-class Uriya women. They still speak Telugu
among themselves, using Uriya to outsiders. Only one curious feature of
the marriage ceremony of the Redkas need be noticed here. This is that
the officiating Brahman actually places a red-hot copper seal on the arms of
the bride and bridegroom as a symbol of sealing the marriage bond. In
other respects their customs resemble those of low-caste Uriyas.
Rekwilr. — Subcaste of Dhimar. clothes. Subcaste of Jogi.
Rig-Vedi. — Sectarian division of Brah- Rohidasi. — Honorific term foraChamar.
mans. It signifies a follower of the sect of
Rikhiasan Mahahoar. — Subcaste of Rohidas in Northern India. The
Bhuiya. Chamars often describe themselves
Ritha Biknaih. — One who prepares by this name instead of their caste
and sells soap -nuts for washing name.
Hohilla. — A Pathan tribe who have settled in Rohilkhand or the Bareilly
tract of the United Provinces. They derive their name from Roh, the
designation given to the country w-here the Pushto language is spoken by
residents of Hindustan. The word Roh, like Koh, means a mountain, and
Rohilla therefore signifies a highlander.^ The Rohilla Pathans occupied
Rohilkhand in the eighteenth century. Their name first attracted attention
when Warren Hastings was charged with hiring out British troops for their
suppression. The Rohillas say that they are of Coptic origin, and that
driven out of Egypt by one of the Pharaohs they wandered westward till
they arrived under that part of the mountains of Afghanistan known as
Sulaimani Koh.^ Parties of Rohillas visit the Central Provinces bringing
^ In the introduction to Firishta's it stretches from Hasan Abdul to Kabul.
History (Elliot, vi. p. 568), it is stated Kandahar is situated in this country.
that Roh is the name of a particular (Crooke's Hobson-Jobson, p. 766.)
moimtain (country) which extends in
length from Swat and Bajaur to the town 2 j^^. Crooke's Tribes a7id Castes,
of Siwi belonging to Rhakar. In breadth vol. iv. pp. 165, 166.
I GLOSS AR V 403
woollen cloths and dried fruits for sale. Here they formerly l)orc a bad
character, being accustomed to press the sale of their merchandise on the
villagers on credit at exorbitant interest ; and when the lime for realisation
came, to extort their money by llneals of violence, or actual assault, or, if
this was not practicable, by defiling the graves of their debtors' ancestors.
These practices have now, however, been largely suppressed.
Ro)7iya ox iVara/j'a.— Subcaste of 6V7/mrti,w.— A clan of Gonds worship-
Chamar. ping six gods and paying special
Ror. — Subcaste of Khatri. reverence to the tiger.
AVra.— Synonym of Arora. 5rt//,7«/. — (From siahi, ink.) An
Kiima. — A resident of Biisim and honorific title of Karan or Mahanti.
Gangra in Amraoti District. Sub- A subcaste of J'aik,
caste of Korku. Sahara. — Synonym for the Savar tribe.
Ruthia. — A name formed from the Sahasra Audichya. — (A thousand men
noise rut, rtit made by the oil-mill of the north.) A subdivision of
in turning. Subcaste of Tcli. Gujarati Brahmans who are said to
have accepted presents from Raja
Sahara. — Synonym for the Savar Mulraj of Anhalwara Patan at a
tribe. A section of Kawar and sacrifice, and hence to have sufiered
Teli. some degradation in rank. Audi-
Sabat. — (From saot, co-wife.) An chya probably signifies coming from
honorific title of Uriya Brahmans. Oudh.
Saddphal. — (A fruit.) A section of Sahra. — Synonym of Savar.
Chandnahu Kurmi and Sonkar. Sdhii. — (A trader.) An honorific title
Sada-Sohagal. — A class of Fakirs or of Bania. A .synonym for Sunar in
Muhammadan beggars. Sambalpur. A subdivision of Uriya
Sadhu. — (A religious mendicant.) Brahmans. A section of Khadra,
Synonym for Bairagis or Gosains. Kolta, Sundi and Teli.
Sdgar. — Name of one of the ten orders Sahukdr. — Title of Bania. See Sahu.
of Gosains. Sain. — Synonym for Fakir.
Sdgimsdle. — A group of illegitimate Saiqalgdr. — From Arabic saiqal, a
descent. Subcaste of Koshti. polisher. Synonym for Sikllgar.
Sais, — The title by which grooms or horse-keepers are usually known. The
word Sais, Colonel Temple states,^ is Arabic and signifies a nobleman ; it is
applied to grooms as an honorific title, in accordance with the common
method of address among the lower castes. Other honorific designations for
grooms, as given by Colonel Temple, are Bhagat or ' Saint,' and Panch,
'Arbitrator,' but neither of these is generally used in the Central Provinces.
Another name for Saises is Thanwar, which means a person in charge of a
stable or place where a horse is kept. Grooms from Northern India are
usually of the Jaiswara division of Chamars, who take their name from the
old town of Jais in Oudh ; but they drop the Chamar and give Jaiswara as
their caste. These men are thin and wiry and can run behind their horses
for long distances. The grooms indigenous to the Central Provinces are as
a rule promoted grass-cutters and are either of the Ghasia (grass-cutter) or
the Kori and Mahar (weaver) castes. They cannot usually run at all well.
It is believed that both the Jaiswaras and Mahars who work as grooms have
taken to marrying among themselves and tend to form separate endogamous
groups, because they consider themselves superior to the remainder of the
caste. A Sais will frequently refuse to tie up a dog with a rope or lead him
with one because he uses a rope for leading his horses. This taboo is
noticed by Sir B. Fuller as follows : " Horses in India are led not by the
bridle but by a thick cotton leading-rope which is passed over the headstall,
and such a rope is carried by every Indian groom. I asked my groom
one day to tie up with his leading rope a dog that would not follow. He
^ Proper Names of the Punjabis, p. 74.
404
GLOSSARY
absolutely refused, and I discovered that the rope was the fetish of his caste
and was formerly adored and propitiated in the course of an annual caste
festival. To touch a dog with it would have been sacrilege."' '
Saitwal. — A subcaste of Jain Eanias.
Saiyad. — One of the four IMuhamma-
dan tribes, which is supposed to com-
prise the descendants of the Prophet.
Sakadwipl. — A tribe of Brahmans tak-
ing their name from Sakadwipa, the
country of the Sakas. The Sakas
were a Central Asian tribe who in-
vaded India before the commence-
ment of the Christian era, and Sakad-
wipa is said to be the valley of the
Kabul river.
Sakarioal, Stkaitodi: — A clan of Raj-
puts whose name is said to be de-
rived from Fatehpur Sikri.
Sakscaa. — A subcaste of Kayasth,
also called Sukhsena. A subcaste
of Bharbhunja and Kachhi.
SaktaJia. — A synonym for Shakta, a
worshipper of Devi in Chhattisgarh.
Saktaha practically means a person
who eats flesh, as opposed to a
Kabirpanthi who abstains from it.
A subcaste of Panka, who are not
Kablrpanthis.
Sakitin. — A sept of Korku. (One who
hides behind a teak tree.)
Salam. — ( Worshipper of six gods. ) A
clan of Gond. A section of Dewar.
Si'dcivar. — A name for Telugu Koshtis.
A subcaste of Koshti.
Samaiya. — A sect of Jains.
San. — A subcaste of Bhatra.
Sanddhya. — A subcaste of Brahmans
belonging to the Gaur division.
Sanak-kiil . — A section of Komti.
They do not use jaiphal or nut-
meg.
Saiiaur/u'a. — Subcaste of Brahman.
Synonym for Sanadhya.
Sanbdgh. — (A little tiger.) A section
of Bhulia.
Sand. — (The bull.) A totemistic sept
of Kawar. They do not use bul-
locks for ploughing, or are supposed
not to. A section of Khangar.
They do not give a present of a
bull at weddings. A section of
Mali.
Sania. — (A grower of j'a;z-hemp. ) Sub-
caste of Kachhi.
Sanidsi. — Name for a religious mendi-
cant. Synonym for Gosain.
Sanjogi. — A class of Bairagis or mendi-
cants who marry, also called Gri-
hastha.
Sankiita. — An eponymous section of
Kanaujia Brahmans.
Sd)!p.- — (Snake.) A sept of Gond and
Kawar.
Sautal, Saonta, Sonthal. — An important tribe of Bengal, belonging to the
Munda family. The transfer of five of the Chota Nagpur States has brought
more than 10,000 Santals into the Central Provinces. They belong
principally to the Sarguja State and a few are returned from Udaipur State
and from the Bilaspur District, but in all those tracts they are known as
Saonta and appear to have been cut off from the main tribe for a considerable
period. According to Mr. Skrefsrud the name Santal is a corruption of
Saontar and was given to the tribe by the Bengalis because they lived in
the country about Saont in Midnapur. Sir H. Risley held that the tribe
might equally well have given its name to the locality, and there was no
means of ascertaining which theory was correct. The forms Santal and
Sonthal are only used by natives who have come into contact with Europeans.
Santals call themselves ' hdfko,' men, or *■ lidrhdpdn,^ man-child.-' At the
present day when a Santal is asked to what caste he belongs he will almost
invariably reply Manjhi, which means a village headman, and is the common
title of the tribe ; if further explanation is demanded, he will add Santal
Manjhi. Whether the term Santal was derived from the Saont pargana or
not, it is therefore at any rate a name conferred by the Hindus and affords no
evidence in favour of a separate origin of the tribe.
There seems good reason to hold that the Santals are only a branch of
the Kols or Mundas, who have been given a distinct designation by their
Hindu neighbours, while their customs and traditions have been modified
^ Indian Life and Sentiment, p. 99.
Linguistic Survey, vol. iv. p. 30.
GLOSSARY 405
either by long separation from the Mundas of Chota Naypiir or by contact
with Hindu influences. Sir G. Grierson's account of the two dialects Santali
and Mundfiri shows that they closely resemble each other and differ only in
minor particulars. The difference is mainly to be found in the vocabulary
borrowed from Aryan neighbours, and in the grammatical modifications
occasioned by the neighbouring Aryan forms of speech.' Of Mundari he
says: "Aspirated letters are used as in Santali, the semi-consonants are
apparently pronounced in the same way as in Santfdi ; genders and numbers
are the same, the personal pronouns are the same, the inflexion of verbs is
mainly the same." ^ Some points of difference are mentioned bySirG. Grierson,
but they appear to be of minor importance. The Mundas, like the Sanliils,
call themselves haru-ho or men. In the vocabulary of common words of
Mundari and Santali given by Colonel Dalton^ a large proportion of the words
are the same. Similarly in the list of sept-names of the tribes given by Sir
H. Risley * several coincide. Among the 15 names of main septs of the
Santals, Besra, a hawk, Murmu nilgai, or stag, and Aind, eel, are also the
names of Munda septs. The Santal sept Hansda, a wild goose, is nearly
identical with the Munda sept Hansa, a swan ; the Santal septs Kisku and
Tudu are sept-names of the Hos, a branch of the Mundas ; and in one or
two other names there is a great resemblance. The principal deity of the
Santals, Marang Buru, is a Munda god. In the inheritance' of property
both tribes have the same rule of the exclusion of daughters. In his article
on Ho, Sir H. Risley indeed states that the Santals, Hos and Mundas are
local branches of the same tribe.
The Saontas of Sarguja and Bilaspur appear to have been separated from
the parent tribe for some generations and to have assimilated some of the
customs of the Gonds. They have some Gond sept-names, as Maikam and
Dhurwa. Those of Pendra zamindari have no traditions of their origin
beyond saying that the adjoining Kenda zamindari was their original home.
They profess to revere only the sun, fire and water. In order to worship the
Jal-deota or water-god they pour water round the fire and then throw a little
butter on the fire in his name. Mr. C. U. Wills, Settlement Officer, records
of them the following curious custom : When a man is at the point of death
or actually dead, they sometimes set fire to the hut in which his body is
lying and run away, no doubt to save themselves from being haunted and
troubled by his spirit, to the attainment of which end so large a part of
funeral ritual is everywhere directed.
The following short account of them by Colonel Dalton may be repro-
duced for reference : ^
"The name Saont or Saonta directs us to the Santal branch of the Kols,
and, as I have already noticed, there is in Sarguja a small tribe so called.
They are the sole inhabitants of the magnificent tableland forming the
southern barrier of Sarguja, called the Mainpat or more correctly perhaps
the Manipat. They are a small tribe living scattered over the vast area of the
plateau in about a dozen hamlets, and they are strong in the belief that they
were especially created to dwell there, or that they and the plateau somehow
sprang into existence together, and cannot be separated. I saw a number
of them when I was last in Sarguja, and from their features I should be
inclined to class them as Kols, but they have some customs and notions
which they must have derived from the Dravidian Gonds. They acknow-
ledge Drdha Deo as a household god, and follow the customs of the Gonds
and other southerners in their marriage ceremonies.
"They worship the sun as Bhagwan, and like the Kharias offer sacrifices
1 Linguistic Sui-vey, vol. iv., Mimda ^ Ethnology of Bengal, p. 235 ei sey.
and Dravidian Languages, p. 79. * Tribes and Castes of Bengal, App. I-
2 Ibidem, pp. 84, 85. '" Ibidem, pp. 222, 223. ■
4o6 GLOSSARY part
to that luminary in an open place with an ant-hill for an altar. The Main-
pat is their Marang Burn, and as it is 1 6 miles long, 12 miles broad, and
rises 3850 feet above the sea-level, it is not unworthy of the name, but
they do not use that or any other Kol term. The great Mainpat is their
fatherland and their god. They have it all to themselves except during the
summer months, when it becomes a vast grazing field for the cattle of Mirza-
pur and Bihar.
"The Saonts are armed like the Korwas with bows and arrows, and
the peculiar battle-axe of' the country, but it is against the beasts of the
forest that these weapons are used. Formerly the Mainpat was a magnificent
hunting field, especially noted for its herds of antelope and gaur. The late
Maharaja of Sarguja strictly preserved it, but on his death it fell into the
hands of his widow, a very money-loving old lady, who allowed it to become
one of the great grazing tracts, and the pasturage alone gives her an income
of ;i^25o a year ; but the wild animals have in consequence v^ithdrawn
from it.
"The position of the Saonts is altogether very curious, and though they
now speak no language but a rude Hindi, the evidence is, on the whole,
favourable to their being a remnant of the ancient Kol aborigines of Sarguja,
cut off from connection with those people by successive inroads of other
races or tribes. Their substitution of a Hindi dialect for their own language
seems to indicate that they were first subjugated by Aryans. The Gond
chiefs only count about twenty-four generations in Sarguja, and they have
all adopted the Hindi language."
Sanyasi. — (A religious recluse.) Syno- Saraogi. — A name by which Jain lay-
nym for Gosain. men are known. Subcaste of Bania.
Sao. — (For j(7/«<, a banker, a rich man.) Sm-as. — (A large crane.) A section
A subcaste of Kalar and Teli. An of Chamar.
honorific title of Chhipa or Rangari. Saraswat. — One of the five orders of
A sept of Gond. Panch Gaur Brahmans inhabiting
Saojin. — (From sao, a banker.) Sub- the country of the river Saraswati.
caste of Banjara. One of the ten orders of Gosains.
Saonr. — Synonym of Savar. Sarati. — A sept of Gond and Pardhan.
Saonta. — Name by which the Santal Sariyam. — A subsept of the Dhurwa
tribe is known in Bilaspur. A sub- clan of Gonds in Betul, said to be
caste of Dhanwar. so called because the road to the
Sapera. — (A snake-charmer.) Name of place of the gods was swept by
a clan of Nats, who exhibit snakes. their priests.
A section of Basor and Khatik. Sarolia or Sarwaria. — (Inferior or
Sard/.- — (A money-changer and tester.) mixed.) Subcaste of Agharia.
A synonym of Sunar. Saroti. — A sept of Pardhans said to
Saraia. — (Angler.) From j<5!;m, a bam- be named after sarra, a whip, be-
boo fishing-rod. Subcaste of Dhimar. cause their priest once struck a man
Sarangarhia. — (From Sarangarh.) A with a whip.
subtribe of Gonds in Khairagarh. A Sarsatia. — (From the Saraswati river.)
subcaste of Dewar. Subcaste of Bahna.
Satani.^ — A Telugu caste of priests and mendicants of which 900 persons were
returned, principally from the Chanda District, in 191 1. In the Central
Provinces, Ayawar, Satani and Dasari have been taken as one caste, but else-
where they are considered as distinct. Ayawar is a term of respect analogous
to the Hindustani Maharaj, and is applied to the Satanis and other religious
orders. The Satanis and Dasaris are distinguished in Madras; Satani is
stated^ to be a corruption of Sattadavan, which means 'One who does not
1 This article is written from papers Schoolmaster, Chanda, and Mr. G.
by Mr, G. A. Khan, Assistant Commis- Padaya Naidu, District Officer, Chanda.
sioner, Venkatesh Tumaiya Ayawar, ^ North Arcot Manual, \. p. 200.
DASARI RELIGIOUS MENDICANT WITH DISCUS
AND CONCH-SHELL OF VISHNU.
GLOSSARY 407
wear' (c.,^. the s.icrcd thread and scalp-lock). It is a mixed religious order
recruited from any caste ex'cept the Pariahs, leather-workers and Muham-
madans. The Dasaris ^ are said to be the reputed descendants of a wealthy
Sudra of one of the northern Districts, who, being childless, vowed that if
offspring should be granted to him he would devote a son to the service of the
god. After this he had several children, one of whom he consecrated to the
deity, calling him Dasan (the obedient servant). Dasan and his offspring
made their livelihood by begging. This order, like that of the Satanis, is
reinforced by idle members of the lower Sudra castes, who become Dasaris
by being branded by the Guru of Tirupatti and other shrines. In the Central
Provinces the Dasaris are stated to be recruited from the impure Mala caste
of the Telugu country, and hence to rank below the Satanis. Many of the
Madrasi servants in European households call themselves Dasaris. Members
of the agricultural castes are usually admitted into the Satani order and its
status is almost equal to theirs. The caste, in spite of its small numbers, has
several subdivisions, as the Sale Satanis, v.ho are weavers, the Bukkas, who
are sellers of kunhi or red powder, and five other subdivisions who are all
beggars. Some of these eat together but do not intermarry. They have
exogamous family groups, usually named after sacred places in Madras or
celebrated Gurus (spiritual preceptors) or deities, as Tirupatti, Ramanujamwar,
Shaligramwar and so on. The caste marry in the ordinary way and do not
observe celibacy. Widow-marriage is allowed, but a widow must marry
a widower, and the officiating priest at the ceremony must also be a widower.
The Satanis principally revere Vishnu, whom they worship on Fridays.
Their priests are taken from their own order and form a separate subcaste
under the name of Parmastwar. A novice, on being initiated to the order, is
branded with the figures of a Sankha (conch-shell) and Chakra (discus).
They both burn and bury the dead, and the spirits of female as well as of
male ancestors are propitiated. This is done by calling a married woman by
the name of the dead female, putting red powder on her forehead and
worshipping her. Among the Satanis a widow accompanies the corpse of
her husband to the grave. They officiate at funerals, and a Satani priest
applies the caste-mark to the body of the corpse and also to that of the four
persons who are to carry it. He receives presents in the name of the dead man,
and takes the red cloth with which the corpse is covered. At the funeral
feast the Satani offers cooked food, including flesh and also liquor, to the god,
and the assembled guests then partake of them. The Satani drinks liquor
only and does not eat the food, and since he must stay to the end of the
feast he sometimes becomes intoxicated. The Satanis are priests and
mendicants. Though they do not wear the sacred thread themselves, the
manufacture of it is one of their hereditary occupations. They collect alms
in a loia or brass vessel, on which representations of the conch and discus are
drawn. The Dasaris wander about, singing hymns to a monotonous
accompaniment upon a leather instrument called tappai (perhaps a tabor).
They are engaged by some Siidra castes to sing their chants in front of the
corpse at funerals. Others exhibit what is called the Panda sewai, that is,
they become possessed by the deity and beat themselves over the body with
a flaming torch. A few train young bulls to perform tricks and travel about
exhibiting them. Some have become masons and goldsmiths. Men have
the mark of the trident on the forehead, the two outer lines being white and
the middle one red or yellow. They shave the head and face clean, not
retaining the scalp-lock. Women have a vertical streak on the forehead and
d6 not wear glass bangles nor the necklace of black beads. Neither men nor
women are tattooed. The Satanis have a fairly good social position and the
lower castes will take food from them.
^ North Arcot Manual, i. p. 242.
GLOSS AR V
Utar. — Subcaste of
forms
subcaste of
practically
Chamar.
Satpntia. — (Having seven sons.) A
section of Lonare Mali.
Satyandth. — A subcaste of Jogi or
Nath.
Savar, Savara. — A tribe.
Smvalakh. — (i^ lakhs.) A section of
Dhobi.
Sawara. — Synonym for Savar. Sub-
caste of Kol.
Sathhuiydn
Khond.
Satdeve. — A clan of Gonds worshipping
seven gods and paying special rever-
ence to the porcupine.
Satghare.- — (Seven houses.) A division
of the Maratha caste, consisting of
seven of the highest clans who marry
among themselves and sometimes take
daughters from the other ninety-six
clans.
Satndini. — A religious sect, which now
Segidi,^ Sliegadi. — The Telugu caste of toddy-drawers and distillers, of which
a few representatives were returned from the Nagpur District in 1901. They
will draw tdj'i or palm-juice only from the sindi palm {Phoenix sylvestris) and
not from the palmyra palm {Borassiis flabeliifonnis). This is the occupation
of a separate caste, the Yatas, from whom the Segidis will not even take
water. At a Segidi marriage the bride is shown the polar star, which is
believed to be the wife of Rishi Vasishtha, the model of conjugal excellence.
She is then made to step on to a stone slab to remind her how Ahalya, the
beautiful wife of Rishi Gautama, was turned to a stone for committing adultery.
Widow-marriage is permitted, and, by a very curious exception to the
ordinary rule, a widow may marry her deceased husband's elder brother but
not his younger one. The usual prohibition on a widow marrying her
husband's elder brother is based on the ground that he is looked on as her
father ; the Segidis say, on the other hand, that his younger brother is as her
son. If an unmarried adult male dies, the ceremony of marriage is performed
between the corpse and a plantain tree ; and if an unmarried woman dies she
is married to a sword. A corpse is always buried with the head to the east
and the feet to the west. This peculiar practice may be a reminiscence of
Vedic times, when the west was considered to be the abode of the departed,
the sun being the first mortal who died and went to the west as recorded
in the Rig- Veda. The Segidis are also cultivators, traders or soldiers. They
have a method of divining a boy's proper calling in his infancy. When his
mouth is touched with grain as food for the first time, they put a sword, a
pen, a book, food and other articles, being the symbols of different pro-
fessions, on the ground and place the child in front of them. And his
vocation in life is held to be determined by the article which he touches
first.
Senapali. — (General.) Honorific title
of Sundi.
Settdia. — Title of caste headman of
Panwar Rajput.
Sendur. — A section of Ahir or Rawat.
Sendziria. — Subcaste of Nagasia. They
mark the forehead of the bride with
vermilion (sendur).
Sengar. — A clan of Rajputs belonging
to Saugor and Jubbulpore.
Sesodia. — A famous clan of Rajputs.
Seth. — (Banker or moneylender.) A
title of Bania.
Setti. — A corruption of the Sanskrit
Shreshta, good. Title of Komti
caste.
Sewak. — (Servant.) The name given
to an inferior class of Brahmans who
serve in Vaishnava temples.
Shaikh, Sheikh. — One of the four tribes
of Muhammadans. A subcaste of
Mehtar.
Shaiva, Saiva. — (A worshipper of Siva. )
The term Shaiva Brahman is applied
to Guraos.
Shandi/ya, Saiidilya. — An eponymous
gotra or section of Brahmans. A
section of Darzi, Raj-Gond, Rawat
(AhIr) and Sunar.
Shegudi. — See Segidi.
Shendia. — A section of Teli and Otari
(Kasar).
^ Based on a paper by G. Pydiah Naidu of the Gazetteer Office.
I GLOSSARY 409
Shenvi. — A subcaste of Maratha Brah- Pardhi or Bahelia.
mans in Hoshangabad. Shimpi. — (A tailor.) Synonym for
Sheohare or Sivahdre. — Subcaste of Darzi in the Mariitha country.
Kalar. Shishi ke Tehodle.- — Subcaste of Pardhi.
Shiah. — One of the two great sects of They sell oil obtained from the bodies
Muhammadans. of crocodiles.
Shikari. — (A hunter.) A synonym for
Siddi, Sidi, Habshi. — The name given to Africans, whether Abyssinians or
Negroes. Habshi means one coming from El Habish, the Arabic name for
North-East Africa. Siddi is a corruption of Saiyad, the designation of a
descendant of the Prophet, and is commonly used as a term of respectful
address in North Africa, like Sahib in India. The Bombay Gazetteer states ^
that about the middle of the fifteenth century, when the Bahmani dynasty
became independent of Delhi and intercourse with Northern India ceased,
the fashion arose of bringing to Western India large numbers of Abyssinians
and other East Africans. Though most of the Habshis came to India as
slaves, their faithfulness, courage and energy often raised them to positions
of high trust in the Bahmani court. According to Orme, the successful
Abyssinians gathered round them all of their countiymen whom they could
procure either by purchase or invitation, including negroes from other parts
of Africa, as well as Abyssinians. From their marriages, first with natives
of India and afterwards among their own families, there arose a separate com-
munity, distinct from other Muhammadans in figure, colour and character.
As soon as they were strong enough they formed themselves into an aristo-
cratic republic and produced some of the most skilful and daring soldiers
and sailors of Western India. The rulers of Janjira and Sachin States in
Bombay are Siddis by descent.
They are now employed as stokers and firemen on steamers and as fitters
and mechanics in the dockyards of Bombay, and are described ^ as "A
hardy race with muscular frames, thick lips and crisp black hair — the very
last men whom you would wish to meet in a rough-and-tumble, and yet
withal a jovial people, well-disposed and hospitable to any one whom they
regard as a friend." In other parts of India the Siddis are usually beggars
and are described as ' P'ond of intoxicating drinks, quarrelsome, dirty, un-
thrifty and pleasure -loving, ol^stinacy being their leading trait.' They
worship Baba Ghor, an Abyssinian saint. ^
It is recorded that the medicine called Silajit, a nervine tonic for the
generative power, was formerly believed to be prepared from the flesh of
Abyssinian boys. Mr. Hooper writes : " Silajit is allied to another ancient
drug named Momiayi which has long been employed in the East. The
original drug is said to have been made from Egyptian mummies, and sub-
sequently to have been prepared by boiling down and extracting the essence
of Abyssinian boys. Since the last source of supply has become scarce,
several bituminous exudations are reported to have been substituted."* The
drug is now said to be made from the gum of some stone in Hardwar, and
this must be the bitumen referred to by Mr. Hooper. The virtue ascribed
to the flesh of Abyssinian boys was no doubt based on their superior bodily
strength and perhaps partly on the prolificacy of the negroes. In the case of
mummies, as the body of the mummy was believed to have retained life or
the capacity of life for many ages, its material would naturally possess extra-
ordinary vitality and should be capable of imparting this quality to others
when assimilated into their bodies.
1 Vol. xi. p. 433. 3 Bombay Gazetteer, ibidem.
■^ Mr. Edwardes, Byways of Bombay, ^ J.A.S.B., No. 3 of 1903, p. 103.
P- 79-
4IO GLOSSARY part
Sidhira, SitMra. — A small occupational caste of Sambalpur and the Uriya
States. The caste is not found elsewhere in India. They are braziers by
trade, and in spite of their small numbers say they have three subcastes, one
of which, the Luhura, works in iron. They are an impure caste, whose
touch conveys pollution in Sambalpur. They accept alms from a Munda or
Oraon on the occasion of a death in the latter's family, and have totemistic
septs. They eat fowls and rats and consume much liquor. They also
admit outsiders into the ca§te. It may be concluded, therefore, that they are
an occupational caste formed from the tribes above mentioned or others,
through adopting the calling of brass-workers. The adultery of a Sidhira
woman with a man of any higher caste is looked upon as an absolutely trifling
offence, and this is a common feature of low castes of mixed origin. As
among many primitive tribes, one particular sept performs the ceremony of
readmitting offenders to caste intercourse by sprinkling a little Ganges water
over them. The man fulfilling this office is known as the Baikar, and after
a wedding the bridal pair go to the Baikar's house and he pours two jars
full of water over their heads and bodies. They go inside the house, and the
bridegroom then comes out and gives the wet clothes to the Baikar with a
small present. This appears to be a sort of purificatory ceremony at
marriage.
Sidi. — Synonym of Siddi. of Kawar. A section of Agharia.
Silpi. — (A stone-mason.) Subcaste of Stngdria. — Those who cultivate the
Kammala. Singcira nut. Subcaste of Dhimar.
Smdhi. — (Performers of dramas. ) Sub- Singh.— {W\oxi.) The usual suffix to
caste of Madgi. the names of Rajputs, Sikhs and
Sindhupushkar.—S. subcaste of Brah- castes which claim Rajput rank, such
mans in Khairagarh State, perhaps as Lodhis.
the same as the Marwari Pushkama Singh, Singhi. — (Horn.) A totemistic
Brahmans. It is said that Sindhu sept of Dhanwar. A section of
has the meaning of a lake. Kurmi, and of Oswal and Maheshri
Singade. — (From singh, horn, and Bania.
gddna, to hnry.) Subcaste of Koli. Si^ighal. — (Ceylon.) A section of
The members of this group, when Brahmans in Damoh.
their buffaloes die, bury the horns in Singrore. ■ — Subcaste of Kunbi and
their compound. Lodhi.
Singar. — (A fish.) A totemistic sept
Sikligar, Bardhia, Saiqalgar.' — A small caste of armourers and knife-
grinders. The name Saiqalgar comes from the Arabic saigal, a polisher, and
Bardhia is from bardh, the term for the edge of a weapon. They number
only about 450 persons in the Central Provinces and Berar, and reside mainly
in the large towns, as Jubbulpore and Nagpur. The caste is partly Hindu
and partly Muhammadan, but very few members of it in the Central Pro-
vinces profess the latter religion. In Bombay - the Muhammadan Sikligars
are said to be Ghisaris or tinkers who were forcibly converted by Aurangzeb.
The writer of the Belgaum Gazetteer ^ says that they are scarcely more than
Muhammadans in name, as they practically never go to the mosque, keep
Hindu gods in their houses, eschew beef, and observe no special Muham-
madan rites other than circumcision. The Hindu Sikligars claim to be
Rajputs and have Rajput sept names, and it is not unlikely that in old times
the armourer's calling should have been adopted by the lower classes of
Rajputs. The headquarters of the caste is in Gwalior, where there is prob-
ably still some scope for their ancient trade. But in British territory the
Sikligar lias degenerated into a needy knife-grinder. Mr. Crooke * describes
' Partly based on a note by Mr. C. pur), p. 234.
J. Irwin, Assistant Commissioner, Tub- •? r> > ^ , ,
buloore liombay Gazetteer, Belgaum, p. 250.
'^ Bombay Gazetteer, vol. xvii. [Shola- * Tribes and Castes, art. Sikligar.
I GLOSSARY 411
him as " A trader of no worth. His whole stock-in-trade is a circular whet-
stone worked by a strap between two posts fixed in the ground. He
sharpens knives, razors, scissors and sometimes swords."
Sirdar. — Title of the Kawar caste. of Sravasti in Gonda district.) Sub-
Siriswdr. — (From siris, a tree.) A caste of Teli.
section of Gadaria. Sita Padri. — Title of Vaishnavamendi-
SirneL — A clan of Rajputs. cants.
Si'rzva. — (A resident of the anoient city Sithira. — Synonym of Sidhira.
Solaha.' — A very small caste numbering less than a hundred persons in the
Raipur District. The caste only deserves mention as affording an instance
of an attempt to rise in the social scale. The Solahas are certainly of Gond
origin. Their name appears to be a corruption of Tolaha, from tol, which
means leather in Gondi or .Telugu. Their exogamous sections, as Markam,
Warai, Wika, Sori, Kunjam, are also Gond names, and like the Agarias
they are an occupational offshoot of that great tribe, who have taken to the
special profession of leather-curing and primitive carpentry. But they claim
to belong to the Barhai caste and say that their ancestors immigrated from
Benares at the time of a great famine there. In pursuance of the claim some
of them employ inferior Brahmans as their priests. They also say that they
accept food only from Brahmans and Rajputs, though they eat fowls, pork
and even rats. Women of any other caste can be admitted into the com-
munity, but not men. The fact that they are not Barhais is sufficiently
shown by their ignorance of carpentering tools. They do not even know the
use of a rope for turning the drill and do it by hand with a pointed nail.
They have no planes, and smooth wood with a chisel. Their business is to
make musical instruments for the Gonds, which consist of hollow pieces of
wood covered with skin to act as single or double drums. They use sheep
and goat-skins, and after letting them dry scrape off the hair and rub them
with a paste of boiled rice and powdered iron filings and glass.
Solanki, Solankhi. — A well - known . their ancestor presented a gold plum
clan of Rajputs, also called Cha- to their Raja.
lukya. The name is perhaps Soiibukra. — (Yellow goat.) A totem.-
derived from Sidakshaiia, one bear- istic sept of Kawar.
ing an auspicious mark. A section Sondi. — [Sondi, tiger.) A sept of
of Pardhi and Giijar. Gonds in Raipur. It is said to be
Sompiira. — A subdivision of Gujarati of mixed descent from all the septs,
Brahmans in Jubbulpore. They and can intermarry with any other,
take their name from Somnath in Sondhi. — Synonym for Sundi.
Kathiawar. Songainda. — (Gold unicorn.) A sec-
Somvaiisi. — (Children of the Moon.) tion of Teli in Khairagarh, so named
Subcaste of Mahar. A clan of because they presented a golden
Rajputs. unicorn to their king Bharam Deo.
So7idr. — Synonym for Sunar in the Sonha, Sonktitta. — (Wild dog.) A
Maratha country. sept of Dhanwar, Kawar, Saonta or
Sonbarha. — (Gold pig.) A section of Santal, and Chero.
Teli in Khairagarh, so named as Soni. — Synonym for Sunar.
they presented a golden pig to their Sonjhara, Sonjhai'ia. — (One who
king Bharam Deo. washes for gold in the beds of
Sonboyir. — (Gold plum.) A section of streams.) A caste. Subcaste of
Teli in Nandgaon, so called because Binjhwar, Injhwar and Dhimar.
Sonkar. — A small caste found in the Chhattisgarh country, and also in Saugor
and Damoh. The name Sonkar is said to be a corruption of Chunkar or lime-
dealer, and the Sonkars of Saugor make their living by carrying clay and
lime on donkeys for building and whitewashing walls. In Saugor they are
also known as Beldar (navvy) and Gadhera (donkey-driver), and occupy a
1 Based on a paper by Mr. Gokul Prasad, Naib-Tahsildar, Dhamtari.
412
GLOSSARY
despised position. Possibly on this account a few of them in the northern
Districts and the whole community in Chhattlsgarh have abandoned their
traditional calling, and have taken to growing vegetables like the Malis and
Marars. Here their status is better, and they rank as a gardening caste.
Their customs resemble those of the lower castes of Chhattlsgarh. They
obtain auspicious dates for their marriages and different ceremonies from
Brahmans, but otherwise these are not employed, and the caste headman,
known as Kurha or Sethia, officiates as priest. At their weddings the sacred
post round which the couple walk must consist of a forked bough of the
mahua tree divided in a V shape, and they take much trouble to find and cut
a suitable bough. They will not take cooked food from the hands of any
other caste, even from Brahmans.
Khangar and Kasar. A sept of
Bhatra and Kawar.
Siida. — Synonym of Sudh.
Siidh. — A caste. A subcaste of Kolta
and Lobar.
Siidha. — Synonym of Sudh.
Sudho. — Synonym of Sudh.
Sildra. — The lowest of the four tradi-
tional castes. See Introduction.
There is no Sudra caste at present
in the Central Provinces. A sub-
caste of Earai.
Suibadhva. — {Sui, porcupine. ) A
totemistic sept of the Dhurwa Gonds
in Betid.
Sfiji. — (From siii, a needle.) Synonym
for Darzi.
Siikitl, Shukul. — (White.) A surname
of Kanaujia Brahmans.
Siilankhi. — Subcaste of Mahli.
Siindr. — A caste of goldsmiths. Sub-
caste of Bishnoi.
Siindhi. — Synonym of Sundi.
Stmgaria. — (One who keeps pigs.)
Subcaste of Kumhar.
Sunni. — One of the two principal sects
of Muhammadans who follow the
orthodox traditions, Sunni meaning
traditionist.
Siinri. — Synonym of Sundi.
Sitrait. — A name signifying persons of
impure or mixed descent. A sub-
Sonkarasaria. — (Impure gold.) A sec-
tion of Bhona or Bhulia.
Soiikutri. — (Bitch of the wild dog.)
A totemistic sept of Kawar.
Soitpdkar. — (A tree.) A totemistic
sept of Kawar and Chero.
Sotirataii. — (Gold jewel.) A section
of Chandnahu Kurmi.
Southaga. — (Gold-cheat.) A subdivi-
sion of Pardhans in Kawardlia.
They cheated people by passing false
gold, and hence were so named.
Sonthdl. — Synonym for Santal.
Sonwani. — {Sona-pdni, gold - water.)
This is a common sept among the
primitive tribes and castes derived
from them. The members of this
sept occupy a quasi-priestly position,
and readmit oftenders into caste by
giving them water to drink in which
gold has been dipped. They also
purify those who have got vermin in
a wound by sprinkling this water
over them. A section of Ahir and of
Rawat or Chhattlsgarh! Ahir ; a sept
of Dhoba, Dhanwar, Gond and
Kawar ; a section of Kalanga, Kum-
har, Panka and Teli.
Soj-i. — A sept of Gond and Pardhan.
Sori and Khusro are the two sub-
septs of the Markam sept.
Soyaui. — (Worshipper of seven gods.)
A division of Gond in Chanda.
Srdvaka. — A Jain layman.
Sri GaurMdla. — ( A resident of Mai wa. )
Subcaste of Barhai.
Srinidli. — (From the old city of Srimal
in Rajputana.) A subcaste of Guja-
rat! Brahman and Bania.
Srivdstab, Sriwdstab. — (From the old
city of Sravasti in the north of Oudh. )
A well-known subcaste of Kayasth.
A subcaste of Bharbhunja, Darzi and
Teli.
Sua. — (Parrot.) A section of Chadar,
caste of Dhakar and Halba. A sub-
caste of Jharia Rawat (Ahir) in
Bastar, being the offspring of Jharia
Rawat fathers by women of other
Rawat subcastes. A subcaste of
Sonkar in Ranker, consisting of the
offspring of illegitimate unions. A
subcaste of Jhadi Telenga, Kumhar
and Marar (Mali).
Sftyaj^ Surya. — (The sun.) A section
of Binjhw.ir, Gond, Khangar, Marar,
Mowar, Rawat (Ahir) and Sansia
(in Sambalpur).
GLOSSARY
413
Surajdhivaja. — A subcaste of Kayasth.
Surajvansi. — (Descendants of the
Sun. ) Name of one of the two great
divisions of Rajputs. A clan of
Rajputs. A subcaste of Baiai,
Khairwar and Kalar. A section of
Chamar, Dhanwar, Gond and Koli.
Siiratha. — A subdivision of Valmiki
Kayasth.
Sureyam. — A Gond sept named after
the sui or porcupine, because, it is
said, a porcupine passed by when
they were worshipping their god.
Stirkhi. — (Red. ) A clan of Surajvansi
Rajputs.
Siitar. — The name of a carpenter in
the Maratha Districts. Synonym of
Barhai.
Sitthra Shahi. — Synonym for Nanak-
panthi.
Sutsd/e. — (A thread- weaver.) Subcaste
of Koshti.
Suvarha. — Named after the stiar or
pig. Subcaste of Dhimar.
Swdmi ox Aiya {Iyer). — (Master.) A
title given to leaders of the religious
orders. Atitleof SanadhyaBrahmans
in Saugor. A subcaste of Jangam.
Swetainbm-i. — A sect of Jains who put
clothes on their images.
Tadvi. — A name for Muhammadan
Bhils.
Tdk, Takshac. — A clan of Rajputs, now
extinct.
Tdkankar, Tdkari. — (From tdkna, to
tap, to roughen the face of a mill-
stone.) A synonym or subcaste of
Pardhi. A synonym for the Palhrot
or Pathrawat stone-workers in lierar,
who are classed with Beldars.
Takle.- — (Fallen.) A subcaste of
Kasar, said to consist of the descend-
ants of persons excommunicated for
sexual offences.
Taindshawdla. — (Showman.) A name
given to Nats.
Tambatkar. — (A coppersmith.) Syno-
nym for Tamera.
Tamboli, Tamoli. — (A seller of the
prepared betel-leaves.) Synonym for
Barai.
Tajidan. — A subdivision of Saraswat
Brahmans in Hoshangabad, perhaps
so called from their being priests of
the Tandan Khatris.
Tditkiwdla. — (A sharpener of grind-
stones.) Subcaste of Dhimar.
Tdnti. — {Taut a, weaver's loom.) A
caste. A subcaste of Bhulia and
Mahli.
Tanti, Tatwa (from Sanskrit tantu, a fibre).- — -The great weaver caste of
Bengal and Bihar. A few Tantis were enumerated in Raipur District in
191 1. Sir H. Risley is of opinion that the Tantis are probably a functional
group developed under the pressure of the natural demand for fine woven
cloth. 1 One tradition of their origin is that the first ancestor of the caste
was begotten by the celestial architect Viswakarma on a low Sudra woman.
Viswakarma is regarded as the tutelary deity of the caste, and is worshipped
twice a year with offerings of flowers, rice and sugar. Images are sometimes
made of him, but more commonly the weaver's loom or some of the tools of
the craft are regarded as the dwelling-place or symbol of the god. In past
times the Tantis made the famous fine cotton cloth, known as abrawdn or
'running water,' which was supplied only to the imperial zenana at Delhi.
Sir H. Risley relates the following stories illustrating its gossamer texture.
On one occasion a daughter of Aurangzeb was reproached on entering the
room for her immodest attire, through which her limbs could be seen, and
excused herself by the plea that she had on seven folds of cloth over her
body. Again in the reign of Allvardi Khan (1742-56), a Dacca Tanti was
flogged and banished from the city for not preventing his cow from eating up
a piece of abrawdn cloth which had been laid out to bleach on the grass.
The famous female spinners who used to wind the fine native thread were
still to be found in 1873, but their art has now died out. In illustration of
their delicate touch it is told that one of them wound 88 yards of thread on
a reel, and the whole weight of the thread was only one rati or two grains.
Nowadays the finest thread spun weighs 70 yards to the rati. The best
cloths were woven by the Dacca Tantis, to whom the Koshtis of Burhanpur
^ Tribes and Castes of Bengal, art. Tanti.
414
GLOSSARY
in the Central Provinces stood second. Tlie Bamanmara tank in the old
village of Dhanpur in Pendra zamindari of Bilaspur is so named from the fact
that about a century ago some Brahman traders were murdered on its bank
for the sake of the fine cloths they were carrying rolled up in hollow bamboo
sticks. In Bengal the Tantis are included among the castes from whom a
Brahman can take water. Sir H. Risley is of opinion that they have to some
extent raised themselves to this position by their own influence, their trade
being prosperous and lucrative, and having long ago attained to the develop-
ment of an urban industry. The ordinary status of the weaving castes being
at the bottom of the social scale, the superior position of the Bengal Tantis
is an interesting exception. It is analogous to that of the Koshtis in the
Central Provinces, also a class of urban weavers, who rank above the impure
castes, though they have not attained to the position of the Tantis, as
Brahmans will not take water from them.
Tanwar. — A subcaste of Kawar, to
which zamindars belong.
Tanivat, Tanwatkari. — A synonym for
Panchal Sunar.
Taranc. — Synonym of Dobaile Teli.
Tasa. — Synonym of Chasa.
Tatwa. — Synonym for Tanti. (From
Sanskrit tantu, a fibre.)
Ta-vdif. — (A prostitute. ) Synonym for
Kasbi.
Tekdm. — (The teak tree.) One of the
commonest clans of Gonds. A sept
of Baiga, Bharewa, Binjhwar and
Pardhan. A subdivision of Majh-
war.
Telenga Dora. — (Telugu Lord.) A
designation used by the Velama
caste.
Telenge. — A Telugu name used by
Balijas and other Telugu castes.
Subcaste of Nai.
Telha. — Subcaste of Nagasia. The
members of this subcaste mark the
forehead of the bride with tel or oil
at the marriage ceremony.
Teli. — A caste of oil-pressers. Sub-
caste of Barhai, Dangri and Gond-
hali.
Teli-Bania. — A group of the Teli
caste who have taken to shopkeep-
ing. Subcaste of Teli.
Teli-Kaldr. — A mixed group of the
Kalar and Teli castes. Subcaste of
Teli.
Teli- Mar dr. — A subcaste of Marar.
Telkala. — Subcaste of Gandli.
Terah-hazdr or Birbandhi. — (Thirteen
thousand.) Subcaste of Chero.
Thdkiir, — (Lord.) The common title
of Rajputs. This title is also used
by Lodhis, Raj -Gonds and other
landowning castes. A surname of
Karhara Brahmans in Saugor. A
section of Ahir, Marar (Mali), Pan-
war Rajput and Sudh.
Thakiiria. — (Lordling.) A subcaste
of Murao. A subcaste of Kol and
Parja. A section of Darzi and
Katia.
Thdndpati. — ( Master of the sacred
place.) Synonym for Gandhmali.
Thdpak. ^— A surname of Sanadhia
Brahmans in Saugor. (From Stha-
pak, the consecrator of idols. )
Thapatkari. — Synonym of Beldar.
Thathdri. — A caste of coppersmiths in
Sambalpur.
Thatia. — A subtribe of Gonds, also
called Gaiki or Mahato in Betid.
Thethwdr. — (One who follows the
straight path.) A subcaste of Rawat
(Ahir) in Chhattlsgarh.
Thotia, Thothia. — (Maimed.) A sub-
division of Gonds and Pardhans,
who live by begging from the
Gonds.
71iiiria.- — Subcaste of Banjara in Sam-
balpur.
Tilokchandi. — (Bais.) A subdivision
of the Bais clan of Rajputs.
T'irelle. — (Tirole. ) Subcaste of Are.
Tirgdin. — A subsept of the Uika clan
of Gonds in Betfd. A sept of
Pardhan.
Tinnale, Tirmalle. — A small caste of wandering Telugu beggars. Nearly
400 were returned in the Central Provinces and Berar in 191 1. Tirmales
take about performing bulls. The animal is decorated with brass ornaments
and bells, and his back is covered with a patched cjuilt of different colours.
The Tirmale has a red turban with a scarf round his neck, and a follower
carries a drum. The bull is cleverly trained and performs various tricks.
I GLOSSARY 415
The caste do this in the mornings, but in the afternoon they appear as
Bairagis or ordinary beggars, and in the evening as sellers of various sacred
articles, such as sandalwood, Ganges water and rudraksha beads. They
take water from the Ganges in small phials and go down to the south of
India selling it. On this account they are known in Poona as Kashi Kawadi
or those who carry banghys from Kashi (Benares). In Telugu they are
called Gangeddulu and in Tamil Endandi, both words meaning people who
beg with bulls. They may properly be considered as a subcaste of Dasaris.i
The Tirmales travel with their families like the Banjaras, and live in tents or
sheds outside the village. Their marriages are generally celebrated in the
month of Shrawan in the rains, when they return from their wanderings.
They speak a corrupt Telugu among themselves, but Marathi to outsiders.
They eat flesh and drink liquor. The dead are buried.
Tirmalle. — Synonym of Tirmale. A section of Basor.
Tirtha. — Name of one of the ten Thvari. — (Learned in three Vedas.)
orders of Gosains. A family name of Kanaujia and
Titha. — (From titahri, a sandpiper.) Gaur Brahmans.
Tiyar. — A boating and fishing caste of Sambalpur and Bengal. In the Central
Provinces they numbered 700 in 191 1. The caste is a numerous one in
Bengal and has been fully described by Sir H. Risley,^ so that no detailed
notice of it is necessary here. The name is derived from the Sanskrit tivara,
a hunter, the Tiyars styling themselves the hunters of the sea. They came
to the Central Provinces from Angul in Orissa, and they offer to the goddess
Durga in Angul an oblation of 60 to 100 jian fish and a headload of lotus
flowers on her special festival. In honour of Durga they observe a fast on
the four Tuesdays of the months of Chait and Kunwar (March and Sep-
tember). In Chait they also worship their hooks and nets. At their
marriages when a father has selected a bride for his son he consults an
astrologer to compare their horoscopes. If the conjunction is unsatisfactory
he will change the boy's name to suit the astrological calculations. The
wedding is celebrated in the common fashion of the Uriya castes. If a
bachelor marries a widow he first goes through the form of wedlock with a
bunch of flowers. Among their caste penalties, that imposed for the killing
of a cow may be mentioned. It is called the Gocharan Brit, and the offender
is required to consort with cows for twenty-one days. He must mix and take
his meals in the cowshed, and must copy the behaviour of the cows, lying
down when they lie down, standing up when they stand up, following them
when they walk about, and so on. At the expiration of this period he
makes a pilgrimage to a certain village, and on his return partakes of the five
products of the sacred cow and gives a feast to the caste. The Tiyars are a
low caste, and eat fowls and drink liquor. They will admit a ijiember of any
higher caste on his giving a feast to the community. In the Central
Provinces they have exogamous sections within which marriage is prohibited ;
these generally have titular names, as Padhan chief, Das slave, Guru pre-
ceptor, and so on. They catch fish with the ghani benda, a large bamboo
basket covered with palm-tree bark, which is sunk under water and secured
in the bed of the stream.
lodasai. — (Worshipper of six gods.) Tumrani. — {Tu7)iria, a pumpkin.) A
A section of Raj-Gond. clan of Gond, said to be those who
Tomara, Titar, Tawar. — [Tomar, a worship six gods.
club.) A well-known clan of Raj- Turi. — A caste. A synonym for
puts. A sept of Gond. Basors or bamboo-workers. A sec-
Toriya. — A name given to Gonds who tion of Kalanga.
worship twelve gods in Chanda. Turk. — (Muhammadan.) A section
^ Madras Census Report (zgoi), p. 153.
- Tribes and Castes of Bengal, s.v.
4i6
GLOSSARY
of Panwar Rajput in Balaghat.
Turkan. — A subcaste of Bahna, so
called because their forefathers are
said to have been soldiers in the
army of the king of Delhi.
Tnrkia, Kurkanya. — A Muham-
madan group. Subcaste of Ban-
jiira, Chamar.
Uchla.—{X Hfter.) Title for Bhamta.
Uchle. — (Pickpocket.) Subcaste of
Mang.
Uchodia. — A subcaste of Bhand.
Ud. — Subcaste of Chasa. See Odde.
Udainath, — A subdivision of Jogi.
Udaipuria. — (One belonging to Udai-
pur. ) Subcaste of Dhobi.
Udasi. — A class of religious mendi-
cants. See Nanakpanthi.
Uika, Oika. — A very common clan of
Gonds, who are said to be wor-
shippers of six gods.
Ukds. — A subcaste of Barhai.
Ulhika. — (An owl.) A totemistic
sept of Sudh and Dumal.
Umre. — A subcaste of Bania. See
subordinate article to Bania. A
subcaste of Kalar, Nai and Teli.
Uiiayo, Unnaya. — (From Unao in
Oudh.) A subdivision of Nigam
Kayasth. It is also sometimes con-
sidered as a half subcaste, in addi-
tion to the twelve proper subcastes.
Unewal. — A subdivision of Khedawal
Brahmans found in Jubbulpore.
They take their name from Una, a
village in Kathiawar.
Upddhya. — (A teacher.) A surname
of Kanaujia and Sanadhya Brah-
mans. A title of Manbhao.
Upmaiiyu. — An eponymous section of
Brahmans.
Uraon. — Synonym of Oraon.
Uriya. — (A native of Orissa. ) A
synonym for the Sansia caste of
masons in Sambalpur. A subcaste
of Ganda, Ghasia, Gond, Karan,
Kewat, Koshti, Savar, Sundi and
Sunar.
Urkara, Urkare. — (From Warkora, a
wild cat in Gondi.) A section of
Sunar and Gond.
Usrete. — A subcaste of Kurmi and
Nai,
Uthaigira. — (A picker -up of that
which has fallen.) Synonym of
Sanaurhia.
Utkala. — (A resident of Orissa.) One
of the five orders of Panch Gaur
Brahmans inhabiting Orissa.
Vadarox VVadewdr. — (A stone-cutter.)
Synonym of Beldar.
Vade, Wade. — (A carpenter. ) A sept
of Maria Gonds.
Vadra. — (A carpenter.) Subcaste of
Kammala.
Vaghe. — (From vagh, a tiger.) See
Waghya.
Vaidika. — (Reciter of the Vedas.) A
title of Brahmans.
F«?5/i«at'(7.— (A worshipper of Vishnu.)
A name for the mendicant orders of
Vishnuite devotees and Bairagis.
VaisJniava Sunar. — A group of
Sunars who claim to be Brahmans.
See Panchal.
Vaishya. — Name of the third of the
four classical castes. See Intro-
duction. There is no Vaishya caste
at present, but the Bania caste are
considered, perhaps incorrectly, to
be descended from the Vaishyas.
Vajantri, Wajantri. — (Musician.) A
subcaste of Gurao. A synonym
and section of Mang.
Vallabhachdrya. — A Vishnuite sect and
order of religious mendicants. See
article Bairagi.
Vahnlka, Valmiki. — A subdivision of
Khedawal Brahmans who take their
name from the sage Valmlka. A
subcaste of Kayasths.
Vdmachari Sect. — Synonym for Vani-
Margi.
Vani, — Synonym for Bania.
Vardde, IVardde. — (A resident of
Berar, a variant of Berari, q.v.) A
subcaste of Simpi or Maratha
Darzi, A subcaste of Dhangar and
Nai.
Varendi'a or Barendra. — A subcaste
of Bengali Brahmans.
Vartdti. — (Pure.) Subcaste of Andh.
Vasishta or Vashishta.—K'Simz of a
famous saint in classical literature.
An eponymous section of Brahmans.
Vellala. — The great cultivating caste of the Tamil country, to whom by
general consent the first place in social esteem among the Tamil Sijdra castes
is awarded. They have a strength of more than 2\ millions in India ; in
GLOSSARY
417
the Central Provinces there were in 191 1 about 700 in Chanda, Nagpur
and other Districts. In the RIadras Census Report of 1 901, Mr. P'rancis
gives an interesting description of the structure of the caste and its numerous
territorial, occupational and other subdivisions. He shows also how groups
from lower castes continually succeed in obtaining admission into the
Vellala community in the following passage : " Instances of members of
other castes who have assumed the name and position of Vellalas are the
Vettuva Vellalas, who are really Vettuvans ; the Puluva Vellalas, who are
only Puluvans ; the Illam Vellalas, who are Panikkans ; the Karaiturai
(lord of the shore) Vellalas, who are Karaiyans ; the Karukamattai (palmyra
leaf stem) Vellalas, who are Balijas; the Guha (Kama's boatman) Vellalas,
who are Sembadavans ; and the Irkuli Vellalas, who are Vannans. The
children of dancing girls also often call themselves Mudali, and claim in
time to be Vellalas, and even Paraiyans assume the title of Pillai, and trust
to its eventually enabling them to pass themselves off as members of the
caste." The Vellalas will not touch the plough with their own hands.
Some of them abstain from flesh and liquor, and prohibit the remarriage of
widows with a view to raising their social status.
Vidiir. — A caste. A subcaste of
Gondhali, Kasar, Komti, Kunbi,
and Lobar, comprising persons of
illegitimate descent.
Vlr. — Subcaste of Gopal.
Virnnishti. — A class of Bairagis or
religious mendicants.
Vishmt Swdmi. — A class of Bairagis
or religious mendicants.
Vishwdmitra. — Name of a famous
saint in classical literature. An
eponymous section of Brahmans.
lyas. — A section of Brahmans and of
Agharia.
IVadda}-. — A name for Telugu Oddes
or navvies in Chanda. A subcaste
of Beldar.
IVadewm-. — Synonym of Odde or
Beldar in Chanda.
IVdghe. — (IVdgh or bdgh, a tiger.) A
section of Koshti and Mana, a
clan of Maratha.
Wdghnidre. — (Tiger-killer.) A clan
of Arakh, Gopal and Mahar.
Wakkaliga, Okkiliyan. — A Canarese caste of cultivators, of which a few
representatives were returned from Nagpur. They reside mainly in the
Madura and Coimbatore Districts. The name is derived from the Canarese
okkaht^ which means cultivation or agriculture.
IVakmar. — (One who left the pangat
or caste feast while his fellows were
eating.) Title of Hatkar.
Wdndhekar. — Subcaste of Kunbi.
Wanjdri. — Synonym for Banjara.
Subcaste of Kunbi.
Wardde. — (A resident of Berar.) Sub-
caste of Gurao.
Wdrthi. — (A washerman.) Synonym
for Dhobi in the Maratha country.
Wdsudeo, IVdsdeo. — The name of the
father of Krishna, the Hindu god.
Synonym of Basdewa. A subcaste
of Joshi.
Watka7'i. See Otari.
Wika. — -Synonym for Uika, a well-
known clan of Gonds.
Yddii, Yddava. — A well-known clan
of Rajputs.
Yddubansi. — (Of the Yadu race.) A
subcaste of Ahir.
Yddu - Bhatti. — Clan of Rajputs.
Synonym for Yadu.
Yajur- Vedi. — A subcaste of Brahmans
who follow the Yajur- Veda. They
are also known as Madhyandan
and Apastambha.
Yarande. — (One who presses the
erandi or castor-oil seed.) Subcaste
of Teli.
Yati. — (For Jati). A Jain ascetic.
Yelama. — Synonym of Velama.
Yogi. — Synonym of Jogi.
Yojna. — Subcaste of Komti.
1 Madras Census Report (1891), p. 243.
VOL. I
2 E
SUBJECT INDEX
This Index contains references to general ethnological and other subjects referred to in the
articles, either those on main castes and tribes in Part II., or those on religions and sects in
Part I. These latter are usually distinguished by the letters R. for religion or S. for sect.
Very occasionally a reference is made to one of the minor articles in the Glossary. The reference
numbers are to the paragraphs of the articles. In the few cases where no reference number is
given the subject is either treated generally in the article referred to, or the article itself is so
short that further indication is unnecessary.
Abhiras, the — Ahir 2
Aboriginal tribes, position of, in Hindu
society — Bhuiya 3
Acrobatic performances — Nat 4, 5
Address, methods of — Bairagi 11, Brah-
man 18, Gond 72, Gosain 5, Lodhi
10, Muhammadan R. 32
Admission of outsiders — Arya Samaj R.
3, Bhaina 6, Bhamta3, Bhil 11, Dahait
3, Dhanwar 11, Gond 70, Injhwar 4,
Jhadi Telenga 3, Kaikari 4, Kanjar
8, Khond 9, Mahli 2, Mehtar 5,
Panka 5, Turi 6, Vellala
Adoption— Bhamta 3
Agricultural rites— Gond 48, Kohli 4,
Kurmi 32, Oraon 21, 22
Agricultural superstitions — Kurmi 33
Akali sect, the— Sikh R. 6
Akti or Akshit tritiya festival — Chitari
6, Chitrakathi
Alcohol, prohibition of — Kalar 6
Ambagarhia Deo, worship of — Koshti 5
Amulets — Bhil 9, Sunar 12
Ancestors, reincarnation of — Chamar 7,
Dhakar 2, Gond. 37, 39, Khond 5,
Oraon 10
Ancestors, worship of — Badhak 9, Gond
38, 42, Gowari 5, Koshti 4, Oraon
14, Sansia 3, Sundi, Thug 17, Turi 4
Angad Guru — Sikh R. 2
Animal hospitals — Jain R. 14
Animal sacrifices, in Greece — Kasai 17 ;
sacrifice of buffalo — Mahar 2
Animals, kindness to — Bishnoi 3, Dohor
Animals, veneration for — Bhil 8, Gowari
5, Jain R. 14, Kasai, Oraon 20
Animism— Kasai 4
Anniversaries of the dead — Kurmi 28
Appearance and mode of life — Baiga
VOL. I 4
7, 8, Beria i, Bhil 12, Bhishti, Bhuiya
14, Chamar i, Khatri i, Kirar 4,
Kohli 5, Kol 16, Korku 10, Korvva 2,
Oraon 23, Panwar Rajput 13, Velama i
Arjun Guru — Sikh R. 2
Arts, origin of the — Mochi 3
Arya Samaj R. , prospects of — Arya
Samaj R. 6
Assassination, methods of — Thug 4, 5, 6,
7. 8
Astronomical beliefs and stories- — Bhatra
4, Dhuri 3, Dumal 4, Jadua Brahman,
JOSHI 1-16, Mahar 11, Turi 4
Baigas, a branch of the Bhuiyas —
Bhuiya 6
Balak Das — Satnami S. 4
Banda, worship of — Kharia 8
Banjari Devi, worship of — Banjara 10
Bankrupt, going (or Diwala Nikalna) —
Bhat 16
Barber. See article Nai
Barber-surgeon — Nai 6
Bathing — Gond 64, Kurmi 39
Beard, the — Nai 11
Beggars or religious mendicants. See
articles Bairagi, Fakir, Gosain, etc.
Beggmg, mode of — Aghori i, Basdewa,
Gopal, Jogi II, Waghya
Bell-metal — Kasar 4
Betel-vine, account of — Barai 5
Betrothal — Passim. See especially Ban-
jara 6, Gadaria 3, Gond, Kawar 4,
Kolta 3, Korku 4, Kunbi 7, Kurmi
5, Prabhu i, Rajput, Turi 3
Bhang — Kalar 10
Bhanwar ceremony (walking round the
sacred post at marriage) — Kirar 2,
Kurmi 9
19 2 E 2
420
SUBJECT INDEX
Bhats and Charans — Bhat 2
Birth ceremonies — Passim. See especi-
ally Ahir 10, Chamar 8, Gond 28,
29, Halba 15, Jat 11, Kawar6, Kunbi
10, II, Kurmi 15-17, Mehtar 8-11,
Muhammadan R. 7-9, Sonjhara 4 ;
ceremony of second birth — Korku 10
Birthdays — Muhammadan R. 12
Blacksmiths — Lobar 5
Blanket-weaving — Gadaria 7
Blood, smeared on images of gods —
Lakhera 5
Blood-covenant — Kewat 2, Khairwar 5
Brahmo Samaj R. , veneration of, founda-
tion of, progress of — Brahmo Samaj
Religion 2, 3, 9
Branding the body — Gond 67, Oraon 11
Bride, purchase of — Agaria 2, Audhelia
2, Banjara 6, Dahait 3, Dangi 3,
Kawar 4, Khadra, Kharia 5, Khond
4, Kir 2, Kohli 2, Kol 10, Panwar
Rajput 7, Pardhi 3, Rajjhar 3
Bridegroom, dress of a — Daharia 3,
Khangar 3, Sansia (Uria) 2
Buddhism compared with Jainism — Jain
R. 2
Buffalo, as a corn god — Kumhar 9,
Mahar 2
Bullocks, veneration for — Kunbi 24
Buradeo, worship of — Bhunjia i, Gond
38, 45, Pardhan 4
Burial — Kurmi 23
Calendar, the Hindu — Joshi 1-15
Camel, sacrifice of the— Kasai 15
Cannibalism — Aghori 2, Birhor, Gond 52
Car Festival — Jain R. 11
Carpentering and woodwork — Barhai 6
Caste customs — Badhak 8, Balahi 3,
Banjara 19, Chasa 3, Kabirpanthi S.
9, Panwar Rajput 13, Satnami S. 8.
See also Adinission of Outsiders.
Caste feasts — Kurmi 41, Intro. 82, 84
Caste Panchayat or committee — Ahir 17,
Brahman 20, Dhoba 5, Gond 73,
Gowari 7, Halba 18, Kadera 3, Kawar
12, Kol 19, Oraon 27, Pardhan 6,
Intro. 93
Caste rules and penalties — Passim. See
especially Bharia 7, Brahman 20,
Dhanwar 11, Dhimar 12, Dohor, Gond
73, 74, Gowari 7, Jat 13, Kamar 9,
Kawar 12, Kol 18, Kurmi 44, Mahar
12, Mehtar 4, Panwar Rajput 12,
Pardhi 4, Teli 11
Caste structure — Mehtar 3 ; origin of — ■
Intro. 3, 4
Cattle, castration of — Chamar 15 ;
slaughter of — Kasai 2 ; worship of —
Banjara 13, Hatkar 2
Character. See Moral Character
Charans — Banjara 2, Bhat 9, 12
Children, devices for procuring — Kunbi
12, Mehtar 8, Muhammadan R. 7 ;
superstitions about — Gond 31 ; traffic
in— Ganda 2
Choti or scalp-lock — Nai g
Circumcision — Muhammadan R. 13
Civil marriage act — Brahmo Samaj Re-
ligion 6
Clothes. See Dress
Cocoanut, legends about — Kabirpanthi
s. S
Conception, miraculous, of children —
Dhanwar i
Coppersmiths — Tamera
Counting, official counter or Medha
Gantia — Bhatra 4, Parja 7, Intro. 60
Courtesans, education of — Kasbi 4
Couvade, practice of — Oraon 9, Sonj-
hara 4, Yerukala, Intro. 60
Cow-killing, penalty for — Tiyar
Cradle songs — Chitari 5
Criminal practices — Badhak 17, Banjara
21, Beldar 6, Beria 2, Bhamta i,
Chamar 16, Kanjar 5, Pardhan 6,
Pasi 7. See also Theft
Crows, beliefs about — Kunbi 15
Cultivating status — Jat 5, Kunbi 4,
Kurmi 45, Intro. 21
Cultivation — Gond 79 ; patch cultivation
80
Dacoity — Badhak 2, 3, 4, Korwa 10,
Mang Garori, Mina 3, Pardhi 12,
Pindari 4, 5, 6, Ramosi 2, Sansia 4, 5
Daily life — Maratha 8
Dancing — Gond 76, Gondhali, Kasbi 3,
8, Kharia 12, Kol 17, Korwa 8,
Majhwar 7, Oraon 25, 26, Parja 4
Dasahra festival — Kumhar 10, Mahar
2, Sunar 4
Dauwa or wet-nurse — Ahir 7
Dayanand Saraswati — Arya Samaj R.
I, 2
Days — Joshi 9, 16 ; omens from — Kawar
10, Parja 7
Dead, beliefs about the — Kurmi 29
Death ceremonies — Passim. See especi-
ally Bedar 3, Binjhwar 6, Bishnoi 8,
Brahman 14, Chamar 7, Dhakar 3,
Gond 32-38, Gosain 10, Gujar 6,
Gurao 6, Halba 12, Kabirpanthi S.
7, Katia 4, Kawar 7, 8, Kharia 9,
Khatri 4, Khojah, Khond 6, Kirar 3,
Kol 14, Koli 6, Korku 9, Kunbi 14,
Kunjra, Kurmi 20, 21, 22, 26, Linga-
yat, Mahar 6, Muhammadan R. 14,
Panwar Rajput 11, Parsi R. 16, 17,
Rajput 6, Sonjhara 5, Intro. 89
Debendra Nath Tagore — Brahmo Samaj
Religion 4
Deo Brahman, ceremony of — Bedar 2
Demeter, the goddess — Kumhar 7
SUBJECT INDEX
421
Deshmukh and Desbpandia, offices of —
Kunbi 2
Devi, the goddess — Kumhar 11
Dhar and Ujjain — Panwar Rajput 3
Dharam Das, legend of — Kabirpanthi
5. 4
Dharna, sitting — Aghori 2, Bhat 14,
Maratha 14
Dhatura — Kalar 10
Digging earth for oven at wedding —
Kirar 2
Diseases — Mehtar 13 ; magical cure for
— Koshti 6
Disguises — Badhak 5, Bhamta i, Jadua
Brahman, Thug 7
Divorce — Binjhwar 5, Chamar 6, Dewar
3, Dhanwar 6, Dhimar 4, Gadba 2,
Gond 25, Halba 10, Katia 3, Kohli
2, Koli 4, Korku 10, Koshti 3, Kunbi
8, Mahar 5, Mina 4, Muhammadan R.
6, Panwar Rajpiit 8, Savar 4, Taenia
Diwali Festival, the — Ahir 15, Bania 15
Dog — Banjara 20 ; associated with the
god Khandoba — Maratha 7 5
Domestic animals, taboos about — Dhan-
gar 4, Mang 7, Naoda, Sonjhara 6
Doms, the — Kanjar 4
Donkey, the — Dhobi 7
Dravidian tribes, their origin and im-
migration— Kol 4, 5, Intro. 37, 39
Dress — Banjara 18, Bharia 7, Bohra 7,
Brahman 22, Darzi 4, Gadba 5, Gond
61, Gosain 4, Halba 19, Jogi 7, Kasbi
8, Kawar 11, Kol 16, Korku 10,
Koshti 7, Kunbi 22, Kurmi 37, 38,
Mahar 12, Muhammadan R. 31,
Oraon 23, 24, Pardhi 5, Parsi R. 18,
Rajput II
Dyeing clothes — Rangrez, Chhipa
Ear, tearing the — Sunar 10
Ear - piercing — Gond 62, Kachhi 5,
Muhammadan R. 11, Sunar 10, 11
Earth, beliefs about the — Bhunjia, 4
Earth-eating — Chitari 3, Kurmi 14
Earth-goddess — Kumhar 11
Eating with relatives, taboos on — Gauria
Eclipse, legends about — Mehtar 19,
Teli 8
Emasculation. See article Hijra
Eunuchs. See article Hijra
Evil eye — Bhatra 8, Chitari 4, Khangar
3, Mahar 11
Exogamous septs or clans — Passim. See
especially Bhaina 3, Brahman 8,
Chadar i, Dahait 2, Dangi 2, Gond
12, Gowari 3, Halba 4, Jhadi Telenga
2, Karan, Katia 2, Kawar 3, Kewat
2, Khond 3, Korku 3, Kunbi 5,
Kurmi 4 and Appendix, Lodhi 4,
Mahar 5, Maratha 4, Panwar Rajput
6, RajpQt 4, Savar 3, Intro. 48, 69
Extortionate practices of Bards— Bhat 7
False bride, custom of — Dhobi 2
Fasting for the crops — Kunbi 7, Oraon
22 ; other fasts — Jfiin R. 13, Thug
18
Female palanquin bearers — Kahfir 3
Festivals — Gadba 3, Gond 53, Khond
10, Maratha 7, Oraon 20, 21, Parja 7
Fighting, methods of — Gosain 9, Khond
.7' 8
Fights of animals — Kasai 21
Fishing— Dhimar 8
Flowers — Mali 3, 4, 10
Folktales — Korwa 11
Food — Baiga 8, Bania 17, Bharia 7,
Brahman 21, Gadba 5, Gond 68,
Kawar 12, Khond 9, Kol 18, Kolta 4,
Korku 10, Kunbi 21, Kurmi 40,
Lodhi 9, Mina (or Deswali) 4,
Muhammadan R. 30, Parsi R. 18,
Rajput 8, Tiyar, Intro. 85, 88 ; leavings
of food — Dhimar 10
Foreign religions, adoption of— Mahar
10, Mehtar 16
Forest ascetics — Jogi 5
Fosterage — Ahir 7
Funeral priest — Kurmi 26
Furniture — Baiga 7, Kunbi 20, Kurmi
36
Games and pastimes — Kamar, Mai,
Pardhi 7, 11
Ganja (Indian hemp) — Kalar 10, 11
Ganpati, worship of — Bania 14, Koshti
5 ; legend about — Kunbi 16
Gardening — Mali 10, Intro. 28
Ghasi Das (legends and teachings of) —
Satnami S. 2, 3, 4
Ghosts, beliefs about — Bhat 10, 11
Gipsies, origin of — Kanjar 2
Girls dedicated to temples — Kasbi 2,
Waghya
Goats and sheep — Dhangar 5 , Gadaria 6
Gods, attitude towards the — Garpagarl
4 ; making contracts with the —
Mehtar 8
Going away ceremony (or Gauna) —
Halba 9, Katia 3, Lodhi 6, Panwar
Rajput 8
Gold, sanctity of — Sunar 7 ; washing for
- — Sonjhara 8
Gondwana — Gond 2
Govind Singh, Guru — Sikh R. 3
Graveyards — Bohra 4, Kurmi 23
Grazing cattle — Ahir 19
Greeting — See Address, methods of
Grinding grain — Kanjar 9
Gur or sugar, the sacred — Thug 16
Guru or spiritual preceptor — Bairagi 13,
Daharia 3
Hailstorms, averting — Garpagari i, 4
422
SUBJECT INDEX
Hair — Gond 63, Jogi 7, Manbhao 3,
Nai passim
Hair-cutling — Nai 3
Halal (sacrifice) rites of Muhammadan,
— Atari 4, Kasai 3
Hanuman, the god — Garpagari 3, 4,
Kunbi 12
Haveli, meaning of — Kurmi 3
Heber, Bishop — Swami Narayan S. 3
Hindu R. , aversion to — Satnami S. 7.
See Religious Beliefs
Holi Festival— Bania 16, Gond 54,
Khairwar 9, Mannewar
Homosexual practices — Hijra
Horoscopes — Prabhu i
Horse — Maratha 7
Houses — Banjara 19, Bohra 7, Gond 60,
Kunbi 19, Kurmi 34, Sonjhara 7 ;
superstitions about — Gond 36, Kurmi
35, Parja 7
Human corpse, eating of — Aghori 2
Human sacrifices — Banjara 16, Gond
51, Khond 12, Oraon 17
Hun immigration, the- — Gujar i, 2,
Pan war Rajput i, 2
Hunting, methods of — Gond 81, Kol-
hati 6, Mai, Pardhi 8, 9, 10 ; cere-
monial hunting — Bhatra 7, and
Gond
Hypergamy — Brahman 10, Dangi 2,
Daraihan, Lodhi 3, Mina 4, Murha 2,
Intro. 16
Id festivals — Muhammadan R. 20, 21
Illegitimacy — Khatri 3, Vidur 3, Dhakar
Immorality of girls— Oraon 4
Impure castes — Intro. 40, 94
Incest, legend of — Lobar i
Indoor servants — Dhimar 10, Kahar 4
Infant-marriage — Dhuri 2, Khandait,
Kir 2
Infanticide — Rajput 4
Inheritance — Kamar 5, Kavvar 12,
Khairwar 8, Kol 15, Korku 12,
Kunbi 6, Rautia 5
Initiation, rites of— Bairagi 11, Bishnoi
4, Gosain 3, Kabirpanthi S. 6, Man-
bhao 2, Parmarthi S. , Satnami S. 5,
Sikh R. 4, Thug 19, Waghya, Intro.
83
Interest on money — Bania 23, Muham-
madan R. 35
Iron-working industry — Lobar 5 ; super-
stitions about iron — Lobar 2
Jain Banias — Bania 9, and Bania, Par-
war subcaste ; Jain Guraos — Gurao 8
Jasondhis, the — Bhat 8
Jawaras or Gardens of Adonis — Kurmi
31
Jhambaji — Bishnoi 2
Juari as a food — Kunbi 21
Juggling — Jadua Brahman
Kabir, legend and teachings of — Kabir-
panthi S. I, 2, 3
Kali, worship of — Sakta S. , Thug 14;
derived from the tiger — Thug 14, 16,
22
Karan, legend of — Basdewa
Karma festival — Baiga 8, Binjhwar 8,
Gond 56, Majhwar 7, Oraon 19
Kayasths, aversion to — Ghasia 8
Kazi — Muhammadan R. 25
Keshub Chandar Sen — Brahmo Samaj
R. 5. 7
Kettle-drum — Ganda 5, Nagarchi
Khandoba,' worship of — Bhil 8, Maratha
7, Waghya
Khatpati — Bhat 16
Khonds, rebellion of the — Khond 14
Kidnapping children — Banjara 17
King, legend of killing — Bhil 2
Kinship, basis of — Kasai 9, 10, 11
Kolarians and Dravidians, the — Kol 4,
Intro. 35-39
Koli caste ; derived from Kol tribes —
Kohli, I
Koran — Muhammadan R. 27
Krishna, the god — Ahir 4, 12 ; worship
of Krishna — Bairagi 7
Lac (bangles and toys) — Lakhera 4, 9 ;
industry — Lakhera 3
Lalbeg, worship of — Mehtar 15
Land, rules for occupation of — Khond
7 ; rights in — Bania 24 ; ownership
of — Intro. 23
Language — Ahir 3, Baiga 10, Bhil 14,
Gond 78, Halba 5, Kharia 14, Kol 5,
22, Kolam I, Korku 14
Leather — Chamar 11, 12, 13
Leather-workers — Mochi 4
Legends of origin — Passim. See especi-
ally Agharia, Baiga, Balahi, Bhat,
Bhoyar, Bhunjia, Brahman (Kanaujia
and Nagar sub-castes), Chamar,
Daharia, Dangi, Dhanwar, Dhimar,
Halba, Holla, Jat, Kalar, Kasar,
Kharia, Khatri, Kol, Komti, Korku,
Lobar, Mali, Mang, Panwar Rajput,
Parja, Sanaurhia, Sunar, Sundi, Teli
Levirate, the — Mang 4, Mina(orDeswali)
4, Parja 6, Sunar 3, Turi 3
Lingo, Gond hero, legend of — Gond 5-10
Liquor, drinking — Gond 69, Kalar 4, 7 ;
and preparation of — Kalar 13 ; rice-
beer — -Kol 7, Oraon 26 ; toddy or
date-palm liquor — Pasi 6
Liquor, sanctity of — Kalar 8, 9
Lizard hunting — Badhak 15
Love charms — Kunbi 13
SUBJECT INDEX
423
Lukman Hakim, worship of — Kadera 4
Madak or opium smoking — Kalar 11
Magic — Banjara 15, Bharia 6, Bhat 11,
Bhatra 8, Dhanwar 10, Gauria, Gond
46, 49, Jhadi Telenga 7, Kawar 6,
10, Kol 13, Korku 8, Teli 14, Vam-
Margi S.
Maha- Brahman, presents to — Kurmi 26
Manasa Devi— Nat 6
Maratha, derivation of name — Mahar i,
Maratha 2
Maratha immigration into the Central
Provinces — Kunbi 2, 3
Maratha soldiers — Maratha 13, 15, 16
Marriage, barber's duties at — Nai 5
Marriage between relations, restrictions
on— Balahi 2, Brahman g, Dangi 3,
Dhoba 2, Gond 15, Injhwar 3, Kai-
kari 2, Kunbi 6, Murha 2, Panka 4,
Tamera 2
Marriage by capture — Gond 22, Kolani
2, Oraon 6, Intro. 71, 72
Marriage cakes, the — Kurmi 7
Marriage crowns — Chitari 6
Marriage customs — Passim. See especi-
ally Baiga 4, Bania 11, Banjara 7,
Bhatra 5, Binjhwar 3, 4, Brahman
11, Chamar 5, Daharia 3, Gadaria 3,
Ganda 3, Gond 15-23, Halba 6, 8,
Jat 8, Jhadi Telenga 4, Kachera 3,
Kachhi 3, Kapewar, Kasbi 5, Kawar
4, Kayasth 8, Kharia 5, Khatri 4,
Khond 4, Kol 10, Kolam 2, Kolta 3,
Komti, Korku 5, Koshti 3, Kunbi 7,
Kunjra, Kurmi, Lodhi 5, Mahar 5,
Mali 6, Muhammadan R. 5, Oraon
6, Panwar Rajput 7, Parja 3, 4, 5,
Prabhu i, Raghuvansi 2, Rajput 5,
Sansia 2, Teli 5, Turi 3
Masan Baba, worship of — Teli 7
Massage — Nai 4
Mecca, pilgrimage to — Muhammadan
R. 18
Meghnath rites — Gond 55
Menstruation — Dhanwar 2, Gond 27,
Halba 14, Kamar 4, Kunbi 10, Kurmi
12, 15
Migration — Bhuiya 5, Kirar, Kohli i,
Kol 5, Kunbi 2
Military system — Arab, Maratha 11, 12,
13, 15, 16
Milk — Ahir 20
Miscarriage — Kurmi 12
Monasteries — Bairagi 14, Gosain 8
Moneychangers and testers — Sunar 14
Moneylenders — Bania 18-24
Months, the Hindu — Joshi 11, 13
Moon, legends about — Bharia 6, Kunbi
16, Turi 4 ; the moon's path and daily
mansions — Joshi 4, 8, 10, 15
Moral character, disposition, or conduct
— Badhak 16, Banjara 22, Bhil 3, 12,
Bhilala 5, Brahman 25, Chamar 17,
Dangi 5, Gond 58, 59, Gujar 3, Hijra,
Jat 4, Kohli 5, Kunbi 11, 23, 24,
Kunjra, Manbhao 2, Oraon 28, Pan-
war Rajput 13, Pardhan 5, Parja i,
Pindari 7, Rajput 9, 10, 14, Thug
II, Turi 6
Mosques — Muhammadan R. 22
Mourning — Bania 13, Brahman 14,
Chauhan, Dumal 4, Ganda 4, Gond
34, Kawar 7, Khatri 4, Kirar 3,
Kunbi 15, Kurmi 25, 27 ; shaving
hair for — Nai 15
Muhammadan and Hindu rites, mixture
of — Bishnoi 5, Kunbi 18, Kunjra,
Meo, Mukeri, Sikligar, Teli 8
Muhammadan castes — Muhammadan
R- 3
Muhammadan tribal divisions, families
and names — Muhammadan R. 4, 9
Muharram rites — Kunbi 18, Muham-
madan R. 19
Mulla, the — Bohra 3, Muhammadan
R. 24
Music, in connection with dancing —
Kasbi 3
Musical instruments — Mochi
Nails, superstitions about — Nai 16
Nakshatras, the — Joshi 7, 8, 14
Namdeo Sect — Darzi 5
Names — Agaria 4, Baiga 5, Bhatra 10,
Bhoyar 3, Chamar 8, Dhanwar 13,
Gond 30, Halba 16, Jhadi Telenga 6,
Joshi 18-21, Khond 5, Kol 20, Kol-
hati 5, Mahar 8, Sunar 2, Vidur 6
Naming of a child — Oraon 10, Vidur 6
Naming relations, taboos on— Bhatra 10,
Dhanwar 13, Gond 72, Khond 9,
Lodhi 10
Nanak — Nanakpanthi S. i, Sikh R. i
Nanakpanthi and Sikh sects, distinction
between — Sikh R. 5
Narayandeo, worship of — Koshti 5,
Panwar Rajput 9
Nudity of women — Garpagari 4
Numbers, superstitions about — Joshi
Oaths— Mahar 12
Oil-pressing — Teli 15
Omens, beliefs about— -Ahir 16, Badhak
12, Baiga 6, Gond 21, 47, Kawar 10,
Koli 3, Korku 8, Mang-Garori, Mina
3, Pardhi 4, Parja 7, Sansia 6, Thug
22, 23, 24
Opium — Kalar 10, 11, Rajput g
Ordeals — Bharia 6, Kaikari 4, Kolhati
5, Pardhi 6, Sansia 7
Ornaments — Ahir 18, Gond 61, Kimbi
22, Sunar 6, 8, 9
424
SUBJECT INDEX
Outrani, Sir James — Bhil 4
Paida ceremony — Jat 10
Palanquin or Doli — Kahar 2
Parasurama, legend of — Panwar Rajput 2
Passover, the — Kasai 18
Pavilion or the marriage-shed — Kurmi 6
Pearls — Sunar 9
Physical type. See Appearance
Pickaxe, the Sacred — Thug 15
Pigs, breeding for sacrifice and estima-
tion of — Kumhar 6, 8
Pipal tree, beliefs about — Kunbi 12
Pledge, or covenant, between married
couple — Bhatra 5 ; with the gods —
Bhat 14. See also Dhar?ia
Pola festival — Kunbi 17
Polyandry, survivals of fraternal — Bhuiya
10, Khond 4, Korku 5, Oraon 7. See
also Gowari 3
Polygamy — Agharia 3, Andh, Bania 12,
Barai 3, Dangri, Dhuri 2, Gond 26,
Kaikari 2, Kohli 2, Korwa 4, Kunbi
8, Kurmi 11, Mali 7, Muhammadan
R. 6
Prannath — Dhami S.
Pregnancy, rites during — Chitari 3, Gond
28, Halba 15, Kasbi 6, Kunbi 10,
Kurmi 13, Muhammadan R. 8
Priests, tribal — Koshti 5
Prostitution — Beria 3, Kasbi 2, 7
Proverbs — Arora, Bahna 5, Bharbhunja
3, Dhobi 7, Jogi 14, Julaha
Puberty rites — Gurao 3, Kaikari 3,
Lodhi 7
Rajput and Jat, relations of — Jat 3
Rakshabandhan festival — Patwa
Ramazan, fast of — Muhammadan R. 17
Ram Das, Guru — Sikh R. 2
Ram Mohan Roy — Brahmo Samaj R.
I, 2
Red a lucky colour — Lakhera 5
Red dye on the feet — Lakhera 7
Red threads, custom of wearing —
Lakhera 8
Relatives, taboos between — Kanjar 8,
Kharia 6. See also Marriages between
Relatives, and Naming Relatives
Religious beliefs — Fassivi. See especi-
ally collection of articles on Religions
and Sects, and caste articles on Bishnoi,
Manbhao, Bairagi and Gosain. Also
articles Baiga 6, Banjara 10, Brahman
15, 16, Chamar 9, Gond 40-56, Khond
11, Korku 6, Koshti 5, Kunbi 16,
Kurmi 30, Mahar g, Oraon 15, 16,
Thug 12; Hinduism, Intro. 90, 95, 96
Sacred thread, the — Brahman 17, Gurao
S, Kunbi 16, Lodhi 11 ; of the Jains —
Jain R. 9 ; sacred cord of the Parsis —
Parsi R. 15
Sacrifices, beliefs about and method of
— Kasai 22, 23
Sacrificial meal, the — Kasai 8, Kurmi 7,
Lakhera 5, 6
Sacrificial method of slaughter — Kasai
22
Sacrificial slaughter for food — Kasai 20
Sahajanand Swami — Swami - Narayan
S. I
Sal flower festival — Oraon 20
6'rt«-hemp — Lorha
Sankrants — Joshi 6
Sati or burning of widows — Brahman 13
Scent — Atari 4
Sculpture, Hindu — Mochi 3
Sects. For individual sects see articles
in section on Religions and Sects.
For right-hand and left-hand sects see
articles Mala and Vam-Margi S.
Self-torture— Jogi 4
Sewn clothes, wearing of — Darzi 3
Sexual morality — Gosain 11, Khond 4,
Mali 6, Oraon 4, 21
Shankar Acharya — Gosain 2, Smarta S.
Shantik ceremony — Gurao 3, Maratha 6
Sheep — Gadaria 6, Dhangar 5
Shoes — Chamar 12, 14, Mochi 7
Sikh Council ( Guru- Mata)— Sikh R. 7
Silajit — Siddi
Singaji, deified Ahir — Ahir 12
Singara or waternut — Dhimar 8
Sister's son, importance of — Bhamta 2,
Dhera, Gowari 4, Gurao 5, Halba 7,
Kamar 3, Pasi 5 ; marriage to maternal
uncle's daughter — Bhatra 5, Parja 3 ;
connection with uncle — Mehtar 13
Siva, the god. See article Saiva Sect
Sleeping-place or common dormitory —
Bhuiya 9, Gond 71, Oraon 4 ; dormi-
tory discipline — Oraon 12
Snake-bite, cure for — Gauria, Kir 3,
Nat 6
Snake -worship and snake-charmers —
Gond 43, Nat 6, Panwar Rajput 10
Social extravagance — Jat 10, Kirar 2,
Kurmi 5, Maratha 8
Social life — Kunbi 19, Muhammadan R.
32
Social status and customs — Barhai 5,
Basor 5, Bhat 4, Bhilala i, Bhunjia
5, Brahman 18, Chamar i6, Dangi 4,
Dewar 4, Halwai, Jat 5, Kahar i,
Kalar 4, Kolam 5, Koshti 8, Kumhar
3, Kunbi 5, Lodhi 2, 9, Lohar 2,
Mahar 13, 14, Mali i, Mehtar 17,
Mina (or Deswali) i, 4, Nat 3, Oraon
26, Pardhi 5, Sunar 5, Tanti, Teli 10,
13, Velania, Vidur 6
Soldiers. See articles Arab, Bhil, Khan-
dait, Maratha, Paik, Rajput, Taonla
SUBJECT INDEX
425
Soma, sacred liquor — Kalar 5 ; Homa
liquor — Parsi R. 13
Songs — Bhat 17, Bhunjia i, Chitari 5,
Dhanwar 4, Gond 77, Gondhali,
Kayasth 9, Murha 5, Panvvar Rajput
7, Parja 4
Souls of the dead recalled — Ahlr 11,
Gond 37, Kharia 10, Khond 6, Kurmi
24, Lobar 4, Oraon 13, Taonla
Spangles for the forehead — Lakhera 6
Spells — Lobar 4
Spirits, beliefs in — Badhak 10, Bhat 15,
Halba 13, Kalanga 3, Mabar 11,
Panwar Rajpiit 10
Spirits -laying — Kawar 8 (of persons
killed by tiger)
Subcastes — Passim. See especially
Brahman 5, 6, 7, Chamar 2, 3,
Dhimar 2, Gond 11, Halba 3, Kalar
2, 3, Kanjar 1-6, Kawar 2, Kayasth
7, Khond 2, Kol 2, 8, Korku 3,
Kunbi 3, Kurnii 3, Lodhi 3, Lobar
3, Mali 5, Mehtar 2, Sunar 2, Intro. 5,
45-47
Suckling children — Kurmi 18
Sudra — Intro. 1 2
Suicide — Bhat 10, 13, Jasondhi, Rajput
14 ; burning of widows — Brahman
13
Suthra Shahi — Nanakpanthi S. 4
Sweetmeats, preparation of — Halwai
Swindling practices— Jadua Brahman,
Jogi 13, Sunar 15, Yeriikala
Taboos, on food — Dhakar 3, Kharia 6 ;
of relationship — Sansia 3 ; general —
Jat 13, Thug 23
Tank building — Kohli 3, Sansia (Uria) 4
Tanning — Chamar 11
Tattooing — Bharia 7, Binjhwar 9, Brah-
man 23, Dhanwar 12, Gond 65, 66,
Gowari 8, Halba 20, Kamar 10,
Mahar 12, Oraon 11 ; suggested origin
of — Sunar 11
Teeth, disposal of — Kaikari 3, Kunbi
10, Nai 16
Theft, and detection of— Bhamta i,
Bharia 6, Mang-Garori, Ramosi 3,
Sanaurhia 3, Yerukala. See also
Criminal practices
Threads as amulets — Lakhera 8, Patwa
Thugs derived from Kanjars and Doms
—Thug 3
Tiger, worship of — Koshti i, Panwar
Rajpiit 10
Tirthakars of Jains — Jain R. 3, 12
Tobacco — Kalar 12
Tomb-stones — Gond 35
Totem, worship of — Kewat i
Totemism — Agharia 2, Andh, Audhelia
2, Barai 2, Basor 3, Bhaina 3, Bharia
2, Bhil 6, Bhoyar 2, Bhulia, Chadar,
Chasa 2, Chauhan, Dahait 2, Dhan-
war 2, Dumal 2, Gadba i, Gond 13,
14, Kalanga 2, Kawar 3, Kewat 2,
Khadal, Khadra, Khangftr 2, Kharia
4, Khond 3, Kol 9, Kurmi 4, Lodhi
4, Majhwar 4, Oraon 3, Parja 2,
kautia 2, Savar 3, Sudh, Intro. 49,
51
Traps for animals — Gond 81
Trees, spirits in — Kunbi 12
Turmeric — Mali 5
Twins, beliefs about — Kurmi 19
Udasi — Nanakpanthi S. 3
Ukika sacrifice, the — Muhammadan R.
10
Umbrella — Dahait 6, 7
Vaishnava, sect — Kasbi 7
Vaishya — Intro. 13
Valmiki, legend of — Mehtar 14
Vermilion and spangles, meaning of,
substitutes for blood — Lakhera 5, 6
Village community — Intro. 22, 23, 73
Village gods — Banjara Devi in Banjara
10, Chordewa in Oraon 16, Khermata
in Baiga 6, Kurmi 30, Maiya Andhiyari
in Dhanwar 9, Mithu Bhiikia in Ban-
jara II
Village menials — Chamar 15, Dhimar
12, Gurao i, Kahar i, Kumhar 4,
Mang 6
Village - priests (Bhumka Jhankar) —
Binjhwar 9, Korku 7, Intro. 28
Villages — Gond 60, Korku 10, Kunbi
19
Vishnu, the god. See article Vaishnava
Sect
Washerman — Dhobi 8
Washing clothes, method of — Dhobi 5,
6, Gond 64
Watchman, village — Kotwar, Ramosi 3,
Intro. 27
Weapons — Khond 7
Weeping, custom of — Bharia 3, Chauhan,
Gond 22
Widow-marriage — Passim. See especi-
ally Bania 12, Banjara 8, Brahman
12, Chamar 6, Gauria (disposal of
first husband's children), Gond 24,
Gfljar 5, Halba 10, Kirar 2, Kohli 2,
Kori 2, Koshti 3, Kunbi 9, Kurmi
II, Mahar 5, Mali 7, Muhammadan
R. 6, Panwar Rajput 8, Teli 6 ; sale
of widows — Panwar Rajput 8 ; Sati or
burning of widows — Brahman 13
Wine-drinking, legend of — Kalar 7. See
Liquor
Witchcraft — Bhatra 8, Bhil 9, Gond 50,
Kawar 10, Oraon 16
426
SUBJECT INDEX
Women, sexual morality of — Good,
Gowari ; seclusion of — Rajput 13
Wool, sanctity of — Gadaria 8 ; shearing
and weaving — Gadaria 7
Yadava tribe, the — Ahir 4
Yawning — Chitari 4
Yoga philosophy — Jogi i
Zend-Avesta — Parsi R. 3, 4
Zodiac, the — Joshi 2-7
END OF VOL. I
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