Skip to main content

Full text of "The tribes and castes of the Central Provinces of India"

See other formats 


^ 


THE  TRIBES  AND  CASTES 

OF   THE 

CENTRAL  PROVINCES  OF  INDIA 


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 


THE 

TRIBES   AND   CASTES 


OF    THE 


CENTRAL   PROVINCES 
OF  INDIA 


BY 

R.  V.  RUSSELL 

OF  THE  INDIAN  CIVIL  SERVICE 
SUPERINTENDENT  OF  ETHNOGKAPHY,  CENTRAL  PROVINCES 


ASSISTED    BY 

RAI   BAHADUR  HIRA  LAL 

EXTRA  ASSISTANT  COMMISSIONER 


PUBLISHED  UNDER   THE  ORDEKS  OF  THE  CENTRAL 
PRO  VINCES  ADMINISTRA  TION 


IN   FOUR  VOLUMES 
VOL.    IV 


MACMILLAN    AND    CO.,    LIMITED 

ST.    MARTIN'S   STREET,    LONDON 

I  9  I  6 


COPYRIGHT 


CONTENTS    OF   VOLUME    IV 


Articles  on  Castes  and  Tribes  of  the  Central 

Provinces  in  Alphaijetical  Order 


The  articles  which  are  consitieird  to  be  of  most  i^enenil  intt 
are  shown  in  capitals 


KUiMHAR  {^Potter) 

KUNBI  {Cultivator) 

Kunjra  (Greengrocer)    . 

Kuramwar  (Shepherd)  . 

KURMI  (Cultivator) 

Lakhera  (  Worker  in  lac) 

Lodhi  (^I^andowtier  and  cultivator) 

Lobar  {Blacksmith) 

Lorha  (Growers  of  saxi-heinp)    . 

Mahar  (  Weaver  and  labourer)  . 

Mahli  (Forest  tribe) 

Majhwar  (Forest  tribe) . 

Mai  (Forest  tribe) 

Mala  (Cotton-7ueaver  and  labourer) 

Mali  (Gardener  and  vegetable-grower) 

Mallah  (Boatmati  and  fisherman) 

Man  a  (Forest  tribe,  cultivator)  . 

Manljhao  (/Religious  mendicafit) 

Mang  (Laboierer  and  village  musician) 

Mang-Garori  (Criminal  caste)   . 

Manihar  (Pedlar) 

Mannewar  (Forest  tribe) 

Maratha  (Soldier,  cultivator  and  service) 


rest 


i6 

50 
52 

55 
104 
1 12 
I  20 
126 
129 
146 
149 

153 
156 

159 
171 
172 
176 
184 
189 
193 
195 
198 


vi  CONTENTS 

Mehtar  (^Sweeper  and  scavenger') 

Meo  [Tribe) 

Mlna  or  Deswali  {Non-Aryan  tribe,  cultivator) 

Mirasi  {Bard  and  genealogist)  . 

MOCHI  (Shoemaker) 

Mo  war  [Cultivator) 

Murha  [Digger  and  }iavvy)        .        , 

Nagasia  {^Forest  tribe)  . 

Nahal  {Forest  tribe) 

Nai  (Barber)    . 

Naoda  {Boatman  and  fisherman) 

Nat  {Acrobat) . 

Nunia  {Salt-refiner,  digger  and  navvy) 

Ojha  {Augur  and  soothsayer)    . 

Oraon  {Forest  tribe)    . 

Paik  {Soldier,  cultivator) 

Panka  {Labourer  and  village  watchmaii) 

Panwar  Rajput  {Landowner  ai7d  cultiiiator) 

Pardhan  {Minstrel  and  priest)  . 

Pardhi  {Hunter  and  fowlej-) 

Parja  {Forest  tribe) 

Pasi  (  Toddy-drawer  and  labourer) 

Patwa  {Maker  of  silk  braid  and  thread) 

Pindari  {Freebooter)   . 

Prabhu  (  Writer  and  clerk) 

Raghuvansi  {Cultivator) 

Rajjhar  {Agricultural  labourer) 

Rajput  {Soldier  and  landowner) 

Rajput  Clans 


Baghel. 

Bagri. 

Bais. 

Baksaria. 

Banaphar. 

Bhadauria. 

Bisen. 

Bundela. 

Chandel, 


Chauhan. 

Dhfikar. 

Gaharwar. 

Gaur. 

Haihaya. 

Huna. 

Kachhwaha. 

Nag  van  si. 

Nikumbh. 


Paik. 

Parihar. 

Rathor. 

Sesodia. 

Solankhi. 

Somvansi. 

Surajvansi. 

Tomara. 

Yadu. 


PAGE 

235 

242 

244 
250 

2  C  2 
257 
259 
262 
283 
286 
294 
296 
299 
321 
324 
330 
352 

359 
371 
380 

385 
388 

399 
403 
405 
410 


CONTENTS  vii 

PACE 

Raj  war  {Forest  tribe)    .  .  .  .470 

Rfimosi  {yUlac^e  watchmeji  and  labourers,  formn-ly  tliic-iies)  472 

Rangrez  {Dyer)  .  .  .  -477 

V^^tMXx^,  {Forest  tribe  and  culiii'alors,  foniierly  soldiers)  .  47 cj 

Sanaurhia  {Criminal  tJneving  caste)       ....        483 

Sansia  ( Vagrant  criuiinal  tribe)  .  .  .  .488 

S?i.ns\ai  {\2 nSi)  {ATason  and  digger)  ....        496 

Savar  {Forest  tribe)      .  .  .  .500 

Sonjhara  {Gold-ivasher)  .  .  .  .  -509 

Sudh  {Cultivator)  .  .  .  .  .  .514 

SUNAR  {Goldsmith  and  silversmith)  .  .  .517 

S\.m^\  {Liqiior  distiller)  .  . '^  .  -534 

T^xnera.  {Copper stnith)  .  .  .  .  .  •        53^^ 

Taonla.  (Soldier  and  labourer)  .  .  .  -539 

Teli  {Oilman)  .  .  .  .  .542 

Thug  {Criminal  community  of  murderers  by  strangulation)  .        558 

Turi  (Bamboo-worker) .  .  .  .  .  .588 

Velama  (Cultivator)     .  .  .  .  .  -593 

\^\D'[J'R  {Village  accountant,  clerk  and  writer)     .  .  -596 

Wiighya  {Religious  mefidicant)  .  .  .603 

Yerukala  (Criminal  thieving  caste)        .  .  .  .606 


ILLUSTRATIONS   IN  VOLUME   IV 


97.  Potter  and  his  wheel 

98.  Group  of  Kunbis  .... 

99.  Figures  of  animals  made  for  Pola  festival . 
100.    Hindu  boys  on  stilts 
loi.   Throwing  stilts  into  the  water  at  the  Pola  festival 

102.  Carrying  out  the  dead 

103.  Pounding  rice      .... 

104.  Sowing    ..... 

105.  Threshing  .... 

106.  Winnowing  .... 

107.  Women  grinding  wheat  and  husking  rice  . 

108.  Group  of  women  in  Hindustani  dress 

109.  Coloured  Plate  :    Examples  of  spangles  worn  by  w( 

the  forehead      .... 
I  I  o.   Weaving  :  sizing  the  warp 

111.  Winding  thread  .... 

112.  Bride  and  bridegroom  with  marriage  crowns 

113.  Bullocks  drawing  water  with  mot . 

114.  Mang  musicians  with  drums 

115.  Statue  of  Maratha  leader,  Bimbaji  Bhonsla,  in  armour 

1 16.  Image  of  the  god  Vishnu  as  Vithoba 

1 17.  Coolie  women  with  babies  slung  at  the  side 

1 18.  Hindu  men  showing  the  choti  or  scalp-lock 

1 1 9.  Snake-charmer  with  cobras 

120.  Transplanting  rice 

121.  Group  of  Pardhans 

122.  Little  girls  playing 


I'AGE 

4 
16 
40 
42 
46 
48 
60 
84 
86 
88 
90 
92 

106 
142 
144 
166 
170 
186 
200 
248 
256 
272 
292 
340 
352 
400 


X  ILLUSTRATIONS 

123.  Gujarati  girls  doing  figures  with  strings  and  sticks 

124.  Ornaments  .  .  •  •  • 

125.  Teli's  oil-press      .  .  .  •  • 

126.  The  Goddess  Kali  .  .  .  • 

127.  Waghya  mendicants  ,  .  .  • 


PAGE 
402 

524 

544 
574 
604 


PRONUNCIATION 


a  has  the  sound  of  u  in  but  or  nmrmur. 


a         , 

a  in  bath  or  tar. 

e         , 

e  in  ecarte  or  ai  in  maid. 

i          , 

i  in  bit,  or  (as  a  final  letter)  of  y  in  sulky. 

i          , 

ee  in  beet. 

0           , 

0  in  bore  or  bowl. 

u         , 

u  in  put  or  bull. 

u         , 

00  in  /(7<9r  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    II 

ARTICLES   ON   CASTES   AND  TRIBES 
KUMHAR— YEMKALA 


VOL.  IV 


KUMHAR 

list  of  paragraphs 

1.  Traditions  of  origin.  6.  Breeding  pigs  for  sacrifices. 

2.  Caste  subdivisions.  7.  The  goddess  Demeter. 

3.  Social  Acstoms.  8.  Estimation  of  the  pig  m  India. 

4.  The    Kumhdr    as    a  village        9.  The  buffalo  as  a  corn-god. 

menial.  10.    The  Dasahra  festival. 

5.  Occupation.  il.    The  goddess  Devi. 

Kumhar,  Kumbhar. — The  caste  of  potters,  the   name  i.  Tradi- 
being  derived  from  the  Sanskrit  kunibh,  a  water-pot.      The  ''°"?  °^ 

_  ■*■  origin. 

Kumhars  numbered  nearly  120,000  persons  in  the  Central 
Provinces  in  1 9 1  i  and  were  most  numerous  in  the  northern 
and  eastern  or  Hindustani-speaking  Districts,  where  earthen 
vessels  have  a  greater  vogue  than  in  the  south.  The  caste 
is  of  course  an  ancient  one,  vessels  of  earthenware  having 
probably  been  in  use  at  a  very  early  period,  and  the  old 
Hindu  scriptures  consequently  give  various  accounts  of  its 
origin  from  mixed  marriages  between  the  four  classical 
castes.  "  Concerning  the  traditional  parentage  of  the  caste," 
Sir  H.  Risley  writes,^  "  there  seems  to  be  a  wide  difference 
of  opinion  among  the  recognised  authorities  on  the  subject. 
Thus  the  Brahma  Vaivartta  Purana  says  that  the  Kumbhakar 
or  maker  of  water-jars  {kmnbha),  is  born  of  a  Vaishya  woman 
by  a  Brahman  father  ;  the  Parasara  Samhita  makes  the  father 
a  Malakar  (gardener)  and  the  mother  a  Chamar  ;  while  the 
Parasara  Padhati  holds  that  the  ancestor  of  the  caste  was 
begotten  of  a  Tili  woman  by  a  Pattikar  or  weaver  of  silk 
cloth.  Sir  Monier  Williams  again,  in  his  Sanskrit  Dictionary, 
describes  them  as  the  offspring  of  a  Kshatriya  woman  by  a 
Brahman.      No    importance   can    of  course  be   attached    to 

'    Tribes  and  Castes  of  Bengal,  art.  Kumhar. 
3 


4  KUMHAR  part 

such  statements  as  the  above  from  the  point  of  view  of  actual 
fact,  but  they  are  interesting  as  showing  the  view  taken  of 
the  formation  of  castes  by  the  old  Brahman  writers,  and 
also  the  position  given  to  the  Kumhar  at  the  time  when  they 
wrote.  This  varies  from  a  moderately  respectable  to  a  very 
humble  one  according  to  the  different  accounts  of  his  lineage. 
The  caste  themselves  have  a  legend  of  the  usual  Brahmanical 
type  :  "  In  the  Kritayuga,  when  Maheshwar  (Siva)  intended 
to  marry  the  daughter  of  Hemvanta,  the  Devas  and  Asuras  ^ 
assembled  at  Kailas  (Heaven).  Then  a  question  arose  as  to 
who  should  furnish  the  vessels  required  for  the  ceremony, 
and  one  Kulalaka,  a  Brahman,  was  ordered  to  make  them. 
Then  Kulalaka  stood  before  the  assembly  with  folded  hands, 
and  prayed  that  materials  might  be  given  to  him  for  making 
the  pots.  So  Vishnu  gave  his  Sudarsana  (discus)  to  be  used 
as  a  wheel,  and  the  mountain  of  Mandara  was  fixed  as  a 
pivot  beneath  it  to  hold  it  up.  The  scraper  was  Adi  Kiirma 
the  tortoise,  and  a  rain-cloud  was  used  for  the  water-tub. 
So  Kulalaka  made  the  pots  and  gave  them  to  Maheshwar 
for  his  marriage,  and  ever  since  his  descendants  have  been 
known  as  Kumbhakar  or  maker  of  water-jars." 
Caste  The    Kumhars    have   a   number  of   subcastes,   many  of 

which,  as  might  be  expected,  are  of  the  territorial  type  and 
indicate  the  different  localities  from  which  they  migrated  to 
the  Central  Provinces.  Such  are  the  Malwi  from  Malwa,  the 
Telenga  from  the  Telugu  country  in  Hyderabad,  the  Pardeshi 
from  northern  India  and  the  Maratha  from  the  Maratha 
Districts.  Other  divisions  are  the  Lingayats  who  belong  to 
the  sect  of  this  name,  the  Gadhewal  or  Gadhere  who  make 
tiles  and  carry  them  about  on  donkeys  {gadha),  the  Bardia 
who  use  bullocks  for  transport  and  the  Sungaria  who  keep 
pigs  {siiar).  Certain  endogamous  groups  have  arisen  simply 
from  differences  in  the  method  of  working.  Thus  the 
Hathgarhia "  mould  vessels  with  their  hands  only  without 
using  the  wheel  ;  the  Goria  ^  make  white  or  red  pots  only 
and  not  black  ones  ;  the  Kurere  mould  their  vessels  on  a 
stone  slab  revolving  on  a  stick  and  not  on  a  wheel  ;  while 
the    Chakere    are    Kumhars   who    use    the    wheel    (chdk)   in 

'   Gods  and  demons.  ^  Hath,  hand  and  garhna,  to  make  or  mould. 

3  Gora,  white  or  red,  applied  to  Europeans. 


sub- 
divisions. 


customs. 


II  SOCIAL  CUSTOMS  5 

localities  where  other  Kumhars  do  not  use  it.  The  Chhutakia 
and  Rakhotia  are  illegitimate  sections,  being  the  offspring  of 
kept  women. 

Girls  are  married  at  an  early  age  when  their  parents  can  3-  Social 
afford  it,  the  matches  being  usually  arranged  at  caste  feasts. 
In  Chanda  parents  who  allow  a  daughter  to  become  adolesc- 
ent while  still  unwed  are  put  out  of  caste,  but  elsewhere 
the  rule  is  by  no  means  so  strict.  The  ceremony  is  of  the 
normal  type  and  a  Brahman  usually  officiates,  but  in  Betul 
it  is  performed  by  the  Sawasa  or  husband  of  the  bride's 
paternal  aunt.  After  the  wedding  the  couple  are  given 
kneaded  flour  to  hold  in  their  hands  and  snatch  from  each 
other  as  an  emblem  of  their  trade.  In  Mandla  a  bride- 
price  of  Rs.  50  is  paid. 

The  Kumhars  recognise  divorce  and  the  remarriage  of 
widows.  If  an  unmarried  girl  is  detected  in  criminal  in- 
timacy with  a  member  of  the  caste,  she  has  to  give  a  feast 
to  the  caste-fellows  and  pay  a  fine  of  Rs.  1-4  and  five  locks 
of  her  hair  are  also  cut  off  by  way  of  purification.  The 
caste  usually  burn  the  dead,  but  the  Lingayat  Kumhars 
always  bury  them  in  accordance  with  the  practice  of  their 
sect.  They  worship  the  ordinary  Hindu  deities  and  make 
an  offering  to  the  implements  of  their  trade  on  the  festival 
of  Deothan  Igaras.  The  village  Brahman  serves  as  their 
priest.  In  Balaghat  a  Kumhar  is  put  out  of  caste  if  a  dead 
cat  is  found  in  his  house.  At  the  census  of  1901  the  Kum- 
har was  ranked  with  the  impure  castes,  but  his  status  is 
not  really  so  low.  Sir  D.  Ibbetson  said  of  him  :  "  He  is  a 
true  village  menial  ;  his  social  standing  is  very  low,  far  below 
that  of  the  Lobar  and  not  much  above  the  Chamar.  His 
association  with  that  impure  beast,  the  donkey,  the  animal 
sacred  to  Sitala,  the  smallpox  goddess,  pollutes  him  and  also 
his  readiness  to  carry  manure  and  sweepings."  As  already 
seen  there  are  in  the  Central  Provinces  Sungaria  and 
Gadheria  subcastes  which  keep  donkeys  and  pigs,  and  these 
are  regarded  as  impure.  But  in  most  Districts  the  Kumhar 
ranks  not  much  below  the  Barhai  and  Lobar,  that  is  in  what 
I  have  designated  the  grade  of  village  menials  above  the 
impure  and  below  the  cultivating  castes.  In  Bengal  the 
Kumhars    have   a    much   hisrher   status   and   Brahmans  will 


KUMHAR 


4.  The 

Kumhar  as 
a  village 
menial. 


5.  Occupa- 
tion. 


take  water  from  their  hands.  But  the  gradation  of  caste  in 
Bengal  differs  very  greatly  from  that  of  other  parts  of  India. 

The  Kumhar  is  not  now  paid  regularly  by  dues  from 
the  cultivators  like  other  village  menials,  as  the  ordinary 
system  of  sale  has  no  doubt  been  found  more  convenient  in 
his  case.  But  he  sometimes  takes  the  soiled  grass  from  the 
stalls  of  the  cattle  and  gives  pots  free  to  the  cultivator  in 
exchange.  On  Akti  day,  at  the  beginning  of  the  agricultural 
year,  the  village  Kumhar  of  Saugor  presents  five  pots  with 
covers  on  them  to  each  cultivator  and  receives  2\  lbs.  of 
grain  in  exchange.  One  of  these  the  tenant  fills  with  water 
and  presents  to  a  Brahman  and  the  rest  he  reserves  for  his 
own  purposes.  On  the  occasion  of  a  wedding  also  the  bride- 
groom's party  take  the  bride  to  the  Kumharin's  house  as 
part  of  the  sohdg  ceremony  for  making  the  marriage  pro- 
pitious. The  Kumhar  seats  the  bride  on  his  wheel  and 
turns  it  round  with  her  seven  times.  The  Kumharin 
presents  her  with  seven  new  pots,  which  are  taken  back  to 
the  house  and  used  at  the  wedding.  They  are  filled  with 
water  and  are  supposed  to  represent  the  seven  seas.  If  any 
two  of  these  pots  accidentally  clash  together  it  is  supposed 
that  the  bride  and  bridegroom  will  quarrel  during  their 
married  life.  In  return  for  this  the  Kumharin  receives  a 
present  of  clothes.  At  a  funeral  also  the  Kumhar  must 
supply  thirteen  vessels  which  are  known  as  ghats,  and  must 
also  replace  the  broken  earthenware.  Like  the  other  village 
menials  at  the  harvest  he  takes  a  new  vessel  to  the  cultivator 
in  his  field  and  receives  a  present  of  grain.  Tl'iese  customs 
appear  to  indicate  his  old  position  as  one  of  the  menials 
or  general  servants  of  the  village  ranking  below  the  cultivators. 
Grant-Duff  also  includes  the  potter  in  his  list  of  village 
menials  in  the  Maratha  villages.^ 

The  potter  is  not  particular  as  to  the  clay  he  uses  and 
does  not  go  far  afield  for  the  finer  qualities,  but  digs  it  from 
the  nearest  place  in  the  neighbourhood  where  he  can  get  it 
free  of  cost.  Red  and  black  clay  are  employed,  the  former 
being  obtained  near  the  base  of  hills  or  on  high-lying  land, 
probably  of  the  laterite  formation,  and  the  latter  in  the  beds 
of  tanks  or  streams.      When  the  clay  is  thoroughly  kneaded 

'  History  of  the  Marathas,  edition  1878,  vol.  i.  p.  26. 


II  OCCUPATION  7 

and  ready  for  use  a  lump  of  it  is  placed  on  the  centre  of  the 
wheel.  The  potter  seats  himself  in  front  of  the  wheel  and 
fixes  his  stick  or  chakrait  into  the  slanting  hole  in  its  upper 
surface.  With  this  stick  the  wheel  is  made  to  revolve  very 
rapidly,  and  sufficient  impetus  is  given  to  it  to  keep  it  in 
motion  for  several  minutes.  The  potter  then  lays  aside  the 
stick  and  with  his  hands  moulds  the  lump  of  clay  into  the 
shape  required,  stopping  every  now  and  then  to  give  the 
wheel  a  fresh  spin  as  it  loses  its  momentum.  When  satisfied 
with  the  shape  of  his  vessel  he  separates  it  from  the  lump 
with  a  piece  of  string,  and  places  it  on  a  bed  of  ashes  to 
prevent  it  sticking  to  the  ground.  The  wheel  is  either  a 
circular  disc  cut  out  of  a  single  piece  of  stone  about  a  yard 
in  diameter,  or  an  ordinary  wooden  wheel  with  spokes  forming 
two  diameters  at  right  angles.  The  rim  is  then  thickened 
with  the  addition  of  a  coating  of  mud  strengthened  with 
fibre.^  The  articles  made  by  the  potter  are  ordinary  circular 
vessels  or  gharas  used  for  storing  and  collecting  water,  larger 
ones  for  keeping  grain,  flour  and  vegetables,  and  surdJiis  or 
amphoras  for  drinking-water.  In  the  manufacture  of  these 
last  salt  and  saltpetre  are  mixed  with  the  clay  to  make  them 
more  porous  and  so  increase  their  cooling  capacity.  A  very 
useful  thing  is  the  small  saucer  which  serves  as  a  lamp,  being 
filled  with  oil  on  which  a  lighted  wick  is  floated.  These 
saucers  resemble  those  found  in  the  excavations  of  Roman 
remains.  Earthen  vessels  are  more  commonly  used,  both  for 
cooking  and  eating  purposes  among  the  people  of  northern 
India,  and  especially  by  Muhammadans,  than  among  the 
Marathas,  and,  as  already  noticed,  the  Kumhar  caste  musters 
strong  in  the  north  of  the  Province.  An  earthen  vessel  is 
polluted  if  any  one  of  another  caste  takes  food  or  drink  from 
it  and  is  at  once  discarded.  On  the  occasion  of  a  death  all 
the  vessels  in  the  house  are  thrown  away  and  a  new  set 
obtained,  and  the  same  measure  is  adopted  at  the  HoH  festival 
and  on  the  occasion  of  an  eclipse,  and  at  various  other  cere- 
monial purifications,  such  as  that  entailed  if  a  member  of  the 
household  has  had  maggots  in  a  wound.  On  this  account 
cheapness  is  an  indispensable  quality  in  pottery,  and  there  is 

1  The    above    description    is    taken       on    Pottay    ami    Glassware    by    Mr. 
from  the  Central  Provinces  Monograph       Jowers,  p.  4. 


8  KUMHAR  part 

no  opening  for  the  Kumhar  to  improve  his  art.  Another 
product  of  the  Kumhar's  industry  is  the  chilani  or  pipc-bovvl. 
This  has  the  usual  opening  for  inhaling  the  smoke  but  no 
stem,  an  impromptu  stem  being  made  by  the  hands  and  the 
smoke  inhaled  through  it.  As  the  chilam  is  not  touched  by 
the  mouth,  Hindus  of  all  except  the  impure  castes  can  smoke 
it  together,  passing  it  round,  and  Hindus  can  also  smoke  it 
with  Muhammadans. 

It  is  a  local  belief  that,  if  an  earthen  pot  is  filled  with 
salt  and  plastered  over,  the  rains  will  stop  until  it  is  opened. 
This  device  is  adopted  when  the  fall  is  excessive,  but,  on 
the  other  hand,  if  there  is  drought,  the  people  sometimes 
think  that  the  potter  has  used  it  to  keep  off  the  rain, 
because  he  cannot  pursue  his  calling  when  the  clay  is  very 
wet.  And  on  occasions  of  a  long  break  in  the  rains,  they 
have  been  known  to  attack  his  shop  and  break  all  his 
vessels  under  the  influence  of  this  belief  The  potter  is 
sometimes  known  as  Prajapati  or  the  '  The  Creator,'  in 
accordance  with  the  favourite  comparison  made  by  ancient 
writers  of  the  moulding  of  his  pots  with  the  creation  of  human 
beings,  the  justice  of  which  will  be  recognised  by  any  one 
who  watches  the  masses  of  mud  on  a  whirling  wheel  growing 
into  shapely  vessels  in  the  potter's  creating  hands. 
6.  Breed-  Certain    Kumhars    as   well    as    the    Dhimars    make    the 

for  saCTi-     breeding  of  pigs  a  means  of  subsistence,  and  they  sell  these 
fices.  pigs  for  sacrifices  at  prices  varying  from  eight  annas  (8d.)  to 

a  rupee.  The  pigs  are  sacrificed  by  the  Gonds  to  their  god 
Bura  Deo  and  by  Hindus  to  the  deity  Bhainsasur,  or  the 
buffalo  demon,  for  the  protection  of  the  crops.  Bhainsasur 
is  represented  by  a  stone  in  the  fields,  and  when  crops  are 
beaten  down  at  night  by  the  wind  it  is  supposed  that  Bhain- 
sasur has  passed  over  them  and  trampled  them  down.  Hindus, 
usually  of  the  lower  castes,  offer  pigs  to  Bhainsasur  to  pro- 
pitiate him  and  preserve  their  crops  from  his  ravages,  but 
they  cannot  touch  the  impure  pig  themselves.  What  they 
have  to  do,  therefore,  is  to  pay  the  Kumhar  the  price  of  the 
pig  and  get  him  to  offer  it  to  Bhainsasur  on  their  behalf 
The  Kumhar  goes  to  the  god  and  sacrifices  the  pig  and  then 
takes  the  body  home  and  eats  it,  so  that  his  trade  is  a  profit- 
able one,  while  conversely  to  sacrifice  a  pig  without  partaking 


ir  THE  GODDESS  DE METER  9 

of  its  flesh  must  necessarily  be  bitter  to  the  frugal  Hindu 
mind,  and  this  indicates  the  importance  of  the  deity  who  is 
to  be  propitiated  by  the  offering.  The  first  question  which 
arises  in  connection  with  this  curious  custom  is  why  pigs 
should  be  sacrificed  for  the  preservation  of  the  crops  ;  and 
the  reason  appears  to  be  tiiat  the  wild  pig  is  the  animal  which, 
at  present,  mainly  damages  the  crops. 

In  ancient  Greece  pigs  were  offered  to  Demeter,  the  corn-  7.  The 
goddess,  for  the  protection  of  the  crops,  and  there  is  good  ^emet'er 
reason  to  suppose  that  the  conceptions  of  Demeter  herself 
and  the  lovely  Proserpine  grew  out  of  the  worship  of  the 
pig,  and  that  both  goddesses  were  in  the  beginning  merely 
the  deified  pig.  The  highly  instructive  passage  in  which  Sir 
J.  G.  Frazer  advances  this  theory  is  reproduced  almost  in  full:^ 
"  Passing  next  to  the  corn-goddess  Demeter,  and  remembering 
that  in  European  folklore  the  pig  is  a  common  embodiment 
of  the  corn-spirit,  we  may  now  ask  whether  the  pig,  which 
was  so  closely  associated  with  Demeter,  may  not  originally 
have  been  the  goddess  herself  in  animal  form  ?  The  pig  was 
sacred  to  her  ;  in  art  she  was  portrayed  carrying  or  accom- 
panied by  a  pig ;  and  the  pig  was  regularly  sacrificed  in  her 
mysteries,  the  reason  assigned  being  that  the  pig  injures  the 
corn  and  is  therefore  an  enemy  of  the  goddess.  But  after 
an  animal  has  been  conceived  as  a  god,  or  a  god  as  an  animal, 
it  sometimes  happens,  as  we  have  seen,  that  the  god  sloughs 
off  his  animal  form  and  becomes  purely  anthropomorphic  ; 
and  that  then  the  animal  which  at  first  had  been  slain  in  the 
character  of  the  god,  comes  to  be  viewed  as  a  victim  offered 
to  the  god  on  the  ground  of  its  hostility  to  the  deity  ;  in 
short,  that  the  god  is  sacrificed  to  himself  on  the  ground  that 
he  is  his  own  enemy.  This  happened  to  Dionysus  and  it 
may  have  happened  to  Demeter  also.  And  in  fact  the 
rites  of  one  of  her  festivals,  the  Thesmophoria,  bear  out  the 
view  that  originally  the  pig  was  an  embodiment  of  the  corn- 
goddess  herself,  either  Demeter  or  her  daughter  and  double 
Proserpine.  The  Thesmophoria  was  an  autumn  festival 
celebrated  by  women  alone  in  October,  and  appears  to  have 
represented  with  mourning  rites  the  descent  of  Proserpine 
(or  Demeter)  into  the  lower  world,  and  with  joy  her  return 

1   Golden  Bough,  ii.  pp.  299,  301. 


lo  KUMHAR  PART 

from  the  dead.  Hence  the  name  Descent  or  Ascent 
variously  applied  to  the  first,  and  the  name  Kalligeneia  (fair- 
born)  applied  to  the  third  day  of  the  festival.  Now  from 
an  old  scholium  on  Lucian  we  learn  some  details  about  the 
mode  of  celebrating  the  Thesmophoria,  which  shed  important 
light  on  the  part  of  the  festival  called  the  Descent  or  the 
Ascent.  The  scholiast  tells  us  that  it  was  customary  at  the 
Thesmophoria  to  throw  pigs,  cakes  of  dough,  and  branches 
of  pine-trees  into  '  the  chasms  of  Demeter  and  Proserpine,' 
which  appear  to  have  been  sacred  caverns  or  vaults. 

"  In  these  caverns  or  vaults  there  were  said  to  be  serpents, 
which  guarded  the  caverns  and  consumed  most  of  the  flesh 
of  the  pigs  and  dough-cakes  which  were  thrown  in.  After- 
wards— apparently  at  the  next  annual  festival — the  decayed 
remains  of  the  pigs,  the  cakes,  and  the  pine-branches  were 
fetched  by  women  called  '  drawers,'  who,  after  observing  rules 
of  ceremonial  purity  for  three  days,  descended  into  the 
caverns,  and,  frightening  away  the  serpents  by  clapping  their 
hands,  brought  up  the  remains  and  placed  them  on  the  altar. 
Whoever  got  a  piece  of  the  decayed  flesh  and  cakes,  and 
sowed  it  with  the  seed-corn  in  his  field,  was  believed  to  be 
sure  of  a  good  crop. 

"  To  explain  this  rude  and  ancient  rite  the  following 
legend  was  told.  At  the  moment  when  Pluto  carried  off 
Proserpine,  a  swineherd  called  Eubuleus  chanced  to  be 
herding  his  swine  on  the  spot,  and  his  herd  was  engulfed 
in  the  chasm  down  which  Pluto  vanished  with  Proserpine. 
Accordingly,  at  the  Thesmophoria  pigs  were  annually  thrown 
into  caverns  to  commemorate  the  disappearance  of  the  swine 
of  Eubuleus.  It  follows  from  this  that  the  casting  of  the 
pigs  into  the  vaults  at  the  Thesmophoria  formed  part  of  the 
dramatic  representation  of  Proserpine's  descent  into  the  lower 
world  ;  and  as  no  image  of  Proserpine  appears  to  have  been 
thrown  in,  we  may  infer  that  the  descent  of  the  pigs  was  not 
so  much  an  accompaniment  of  her  descent  as  the  descent 
itself,  in  short,  that  the  pigs  were  Proserpine.  Afterwards, 
when  Proserpine  or  Demeter  (for  the  two  are  equivalent) 
became  anthropomorphic,  a  reason  had  to  be  found  for  the 
custom  of  throwing  pigs  into  caverns  at  her  festival ;  and 
this  was  done  by  saying  that  when  Pluto  carried  off  Proser- 


II  ESTIMATION  OF  THE  PIG  IN  INDIA  ii 

pine,  there  happened  to  be  some  swine  browsing  near,  which 
were  swallowed  up  along  with  her.  The  story  is  obviously 
a  forced  and  awkward  attempt  to  bridge  over  the  gulf  between 
the  old  conception  of  the  corn-spirit  as  a  pig  and  the  new 
conception  of  her  as  an  anthropomorphic  goddess.  A  trace 
of  the  older  conception  survived  in  the  legend  that  when  the 
sad  mother  was  searching  for  traces  of  the  vanished  Proserpine, 
the  footprints  of  the  lost  one  were  obliterated  by  the  foot- 
prints of  a  pig  ;  originally,  we  may  conjecture,  the  footprints 
of  the  pig  were  the  footprints  of  Proserpine  and  of  Demcter 
herself.  A  consciousness  of  the  intimate  connection  of  the 
pig  with  the  corn  lurks  in  the  legend  that  the  swineherd 
Eubuleus  was  a  brother  of  Triptolemus,  to  whom  Demeter 
first  imparted  the  secret  of  the  corn.  Indeed,  according  to 
one  version  of  the  story,  Eubuleus  himself  received,  jointly 
with  his  brother  Triptolemus,  the  gift  of  the  corn  from 
Demeter  as  a  reward  for  revealing  to  her  the  fate  of  Proser- 
pine. Further,  it  is  to  be  noted  that  at  the  Thesmophoria 
the  women  appear  to  have  eaten  swine's  flesh.  The  meal, 
if  I  am  right,  must  have  been  a  solemn  sacrament  or 
communion,  the  worshippers  partaking  of  the  body  of  the 
god." 

We  thus  see  how  the  pig  in  ancient  Greece  was  wor-  8.  Estima- 
shipped  as  a  corn  -  deity  because  it  damaged  the  crops 'and  th°e"pi<r  m 
subsequently  became  an  anthropomorphic  goddess.  It  is  India, 
suggested  that  pigs  are  offered  to  Bhainsasur  by  the 
Hindus  for  the  same  reason.  But  there  is  no  Hindu 
deity  representing  the  pig,  this  animal  on  the  contrary 
being  regarded  as  impure.  It  seems  doubtful,  however, 
whether  this  was  always  so.  In  Rajputana  on  the  stone 
which  the  Regent  of  Kotah  set  up  to  commemorate  the 
abolition  of  forced  taxes  were  carved  the  effigies  of  the  sun, 
the  moon,  the  cow  and  the  hog,  with  an  imprecation  on 
whoever  should  revoke  the  edict.^  Colonel  Tod  says  that 
the  pig  was  included  as  being  execrated  by  all  classes,  but 
this  seems  very  doubtful.  It  would  scarcely  occur  to  any 
Hindu  nowadays  to  associate  the  image  of  the  impure  pig  with 
those  of  the  sun,  moon  and  cow,  the  representations  of 
three  of  his  greatest  deities.      Rather  it  gives  some  reason  for 

'  Rajasthati,  ii.  p.  524. 


buffalo  as  a 
corn-eod 


12  KUMHAR  part 

supposing  that  the  pig  was  once  worshipped,  and  the  Rajputs 
still  do  not  hold  the  wild  boar  impure,  as  they  hunt  it  and 
eat  its  flesh.  Moreover,  Vishnu  in  his  fourth  incarnation 
was  a  boar.  The  Gonds  regularly  offer  pigs  to  their  great 
god  Bura  Deo,  and  though  they  now  offer  goats  as  well,  this 
seems  to  be  a  later  innovation.  The  principal  sacrifice  of  the 
early  Romans  was  the  Suovetaurilia  or  the  sacrifice  of  a  pig, 
a  ram  and  a  bull.  The  order  of  the  words,  M.  Reinach 
remarks,^  is  significant  as  showing  the  importance  formerly 
attached  to  the  pig  or  boar.  Since  the  pig  was  the  principal 
sacrificial  animal  of  the  primitive  tribes,  the  Gonds  and 
Baigas,  its  connection  with  the  ritual  of  an  alien  and  at  one 
time  hostile  religion  may  have  strengthened  the  feeling  of 
aversion  for  it  among  the  Hindus,  which  would  naturally  be 
engendered  by  its  own  dirty  habits. 
9.  The  It  seems  possible  then  that  the  Hindus  reverenced  the  wild 

boar  in  the  past  as  one  of  the  strongest  and  fiercest  animals  of 
the  forest  and  also  as  a  destroyer  of  the  crops.  And  they 
still  make  sacrifices  of  the  pig  to  guard  their  fields  from  his 
ravages.  These  sacrifices,  however,  are  not  offered  to  any 
deity  who  can  represent  a  deified  pig  but  to  Bhainsasur,  the 
deified  buffalo.  The  explanation  seems  to  be  that  in  former 
times,  when  forests  extended  over  most  of  the  country,  the 
cultivator  had  in  the  wild  buffalo  a  direr  foe  than  the  wild 
pig.  And  one  can  well  understand  how  the  peasant,  winning 
a  scanty  subsistence  from  his  poor  fields  near  the  forest,  and 
seeing  his  harvest  destroyed  in  a  night  by  the  trampling  of  a 
herd  of  these  great  brutes  against  whom  his  puny  weapons 
were  powerless,  looked  on  them  as  terrible  and  malignant 
deities.  The  sacrifice  of  a  buffalo  would  be  beyond  the 
means  of  a  single  man,  and  the  animal  is  now  more  or  less 
sacred  as  one  of  the  cow  tribe.  But  the  annual  joint  sacri- 
fice of  one  or  more  buffaloes  is  a  regular  feature  of  the 
Dasahra  festival  and  extends  over  a  great  part  of  India.  In 
Betul  and  other  districts  the  procedure  is  that  on  the  Dasahra 
day,  or  a  day  before,  the  Mang  and  Kotwar,  two  of  the  lowest 
village  menials,  take  a  buffalo  bull  and  bring  it  to  the  village 
proprietor,  who  makes  a  cut  on  its  nose  and  draws  blood. 
Then  it  is  taken  all  round  the  village  and  to  the  shrines  of 

1   Orphdiis,  p.  152. 


II      THE  DASAHRA  FESTIVAL— THE  GODDESS  DEVI    13 

the  gods,  and  in  the  evening  it  is  killed  and  the  Mang  and 
Kotvvar  eat  the  flesh.  It  is  now  believed  that  if  the  blood 
of  a  buffalo  does  not  fall  at  Dasahra  some  epidemic  will 
attack  the  village,  but  as  there  are  no  longer  any  wild 
buffaloes  except  in  the  denser  forests  of  one  or  two  Districts, 
the  original  meaning  of  the  rite  might  naturally  have  been 
forgotten.^ 

The  Dasahra  festival  probably  marks  the  autumnal  equinox  10.  The 
and  also  the  time  v/hen  the  sowing  of  wheat  and  other  fg^t^vaP 
spring  crops  begins.  Many  Hindus  still  postpone  sowing 
the  wheat  until  after  Dasahra,  even  though  it  might  be 
convenient  to  begin  before,  especially  as  the  festival  goes  by 
the  lunar  month  and  its  date  varies  in  different  years  by 
more  than  a  fortnight.  The  name  signifies  the  tenth  day,  and 
prior  to  the  festival  a  fast  of  nine  days  is  observed,  when  the 
pots  of  wheat  corresponding  to  the  gardens  of  Adonis  are 
sown  and  quickly  sprout  up.  This  is  an  imitation  of  the 
sowing  and  growth  of  the  real  crop  and  is  meant  to  ensure  its 
success.  During  these  nine  days  it  is  said  that  the  goddess 
Devi  was  engaged  in  mortal  combat  with  the  buffalo  demon 
Mahisasur  or  Bhainsasur,  and  on  the  tenth  day  or  the 
Dasahra  she  slew  him.  The  fast  is  explained  as  being 
observed  in  order  to  help  her  to  victory,  but  it  is  really 
perhaps  a  fast  in  connection  with  the  growing  of  the  crops. 
A  similar  nine  days'  fast  for  the  crops  was  observed  by  the 
Greeks.^ 

Devi  signifies  ^  the  goddtss'  par  excellence.  She  is  often  n.  The 
the  tutelary  goddess  of  the  village  and  of  the  family,  and  is  |)°'|,'/*^^^ 
held  to  have  been  originally  Mother  Earth,  which  may  be 
supposed  to  be  correct.  In  tracts  where  the  people  of 
northern  and  southern  India  meet  she  is  identified  with 
Anna  Purna,  the  corn  -  goddess  of  the  Telugu  country  ; 
and  in  her  form  of  Gauri  or  '  the  Yellow  One  '  she  is  perhaps 
herself  the  yellow  corn.  As  Gauri  she  is  worshipped  at 
weddings  in  conjunction  with  Ganesh  or  Ganpati,  the  god  of 
Good  Fortune  ;  and  it  is  probably  in  honour  of  the  harvest 
colour    that    Hindus    of  the    upper    castes  wear  yellow    at 

^  The  sacrifice  is  now  falling  into  abeyance,  as  landowners  refuse  to  supply 
the  buffalo. 

2  Pr.  Jevons,  Introduction  to  the  History  of  Religion,  p.  368. 


14  KUMHAR  i'Art 

their  weddings  and  consider  it  lucky.  A  Brahman  also 
prefers  to  wear  yellow  when  eating  his  food.  It  has  been 
seen  ^  that  red  is  the  lucky  colour  of  the  lower  castes  of 
Hindus,  and  the  reason  probably  is  that  the  shrines  of  their 
gods  are  stained  red  with  the  blood  of  the  animals  sacrificed. 
High-caste  Hindus  no  longer  make  animal  sacrifices,  and 
their  offerings  to  Siva,  Vishnu  and  Devi  consist  of  food, 
flowers  and  blades  of  corn.  Thus  yellow  would  be  similarly 
associated  with  the  shrines  of  the  gods.  All  Hindu  brides 
have  their  bodies  rubbed  with  yellow  turmeric,  and  the 
principal  religious  flower,  the  marigold,  is  orange  -  yellow. 
Yellow  is,  however,  also  lucky  as  being  the  colour  of  Vishnu 
or  the  Sun,  and  a  yellow  flag  is  waved  above  his  great  temple 
at  Ramtek  on  the  occasion  of  the  fair.  Thus  Devi  as  the 
corn-goddess  perhaps  corresponds  to  Demeter,  but  she  is  not 
in  this  form  an  animal  goddess.  The  Hindus  worshipping 
Mother  Earth,  as  all  races  do  in  the  early  stage  of  religion, 
may  by  a  natural  and  proper  analogy  have  ascribed  the  gift  of 
the  corn  to  her  from  whom  it  really  comes,  and  have  identi- 
fied her  with  the  corn-goddess.  This  is  by  no  means  a  full 
explanation  of  the  goddess  Devi,  who  has  many  forms.  As 
Parvati,  the  hill-maiden,  and  Durga,  the  inaccessible  one,  she 
is  the  consort  of  Siva  in  his  character  of  the  mountain-god  of 
the  Himalayas  ;  as  Kali,  the  devourer  of  human  flesh,  she 
is  perhaps  the  deified  tiger  ;  and  she  may  have  assimilated 
yet  more  objects  of  worship  into  her  wide  divinity.  But 
there  seems  no  special  reason  to  hold  that  she  is  anywhere 
believed  to  be  the  deified  buffalo  ;  and  the  probable  explana- 
tion of  the  Dasahra  rite  would  therefore  seem  to  be  that  the 
buffalo  was  at  first  venerated  as  the  corn-god  because,  like 
the  pig  in  Greece,  he  was  most  destructive  to  the  crops,  and  a 
buffalo  was  originally  slaughtered  and  eaten  sacramentally 
as  an  act  of  worship.  At  a  later  period  the  divinity  attach- 
ing to  the  corn  was  transferred  to  Devi,  an  anthropomorphic 
deity  of  a  higher  class,  and  in  order  to  explain  the  customary 
slaughter  of  the  buffalo,  which  had  to  be  retained,  the  story 
became  current  that  the  beneficent  goddess  fought  and  slew 
the  buffalo-demon  which  injured  the  crops,  for  the  benefit 
of    her    worshippers,   and    the    fast  was   observed   and    the 

'    Vide  article  on  Lakhcra. 


n  THE  GODDESS  DEVI  15 

buffalo  sacrificed  in  commemoration  of  this  event.  It  is 
possible  that  the  sacrifice  of  the  buffalo  may  have  been  a 
non-Aryan  rite,  as  the  Mundas  still  offer  a  buffalo  to  Deswali, 
their  forest  god,  in  the  sacred  grove ;  and  the  Korwas 
of  Sarguja  have  i)eriodical  sacrifices  to  Kali  in  which  many 
buffaloes  are  slaughtered.  In  the  pictures  of  her  fight  with 
Bhainsasur,  Devi  is  shown  as  riding  on  a  tiger,  and  the 
uneducated  might  imagine  the  struggle  to  have  resembled 
that  between  a  tiger  and  a  buffalo.  As  the  destroyer  of 
buffaloes  and  deer  which  graze  on  the  crops  the  tiger  may 
even  be  considered  the  cultivator's  friend.  But  in  the  rural 
tracts  Bhainsasur  himself  is  still  venerated  in  the  guise  of  a 
corn-deity,  and  pig  are  perhaps  offered  to  him  as  the  animals 
which  nowadays  do  most  harm  to  the  crops. 


K  U  N  B I 


[This  article  is  based  on  the  information  collected  for  the  District  Gazetteers 
of  the  Central  Provinces,  manuscript  notes  furnished  by  Mr.  A.  K.  Smith,  C.  S., 
and  from  papers  by  Pandit  Pyare  Lai  Misra  and  Munshi  Kanhya  Lai.  The 
Kunbis  are  treated  in  the  Poona  and  Klidndesh  volumes  of  the  Bombay  Gazetlier. 
The  caste  has  been  taken  as  typical  of  the  Marathi-speaking  Districts,  and  a 
fairly  full  description  of  the  marriage  and  other  ceremonies  has  therefore  been 
given,  some  information  on  houses,  dress  and  food  being  also  reproduced  from 
the  \Va7'dha  zxi^  Yeotmal  District  Gazetteers. 'Y  • 


LIST  OF  PARAGRAPHS 


1.  Distribution  of  the  caste  and  12. 

origin  of  name.  13. 

2.  Settlement  in  the  Central  Pro-  14. 

viftces.  1 5  • 

3.  Siibcastes.  1 6. 

4.  The  cultivating  status.  1 7. 

5.  Exogamous  septs.  18. 

6.  Restrictions    on    marriage    of 

relatives.  1 9. 

7.  Betrothal  and  marriage.  20. 

8.  Polygamy  and  divorce.  21. 

9.  Widow-marriage.  22. 

10.  Customs  at  birth.  23. 

11.  Sixth-  a7id   twelfth-day    cere-  24. 

monies. 


Devices  for  procuring  children. 

Love  charms. 

Disposal  of  the  dead. 

Mourning. 

Religion. 

The  Pola  festival. 

Muham^nadan  teiidcncies  of 
Berar  Kujtbis. 

Villages  a?id  houses. 

Furnitu"re. 

Food. 

Clothes  aftd  ornaments. 

The  Kunbi  as  cultivator. 

Social  and  inoral  charac- 
teristics. 


I.  Distri- 
bution of 
the  caste 
and  origin 
of  name. 


KunM. — The  great  agricultural  caste  of  the  Maratha 
country.  In  the  Central  Provinces  and  Berar  the  Kunbis 
numbered  nearly  1,400,000  persons  in  191 1  ;  they  belong 
to  the  Nagpur,  Chanda,  Bhandara,  Wardha,  Nimar  and 
Betul  Districts  of  the  Central  Provinces.  In  Berar  their 
strength  was  800,000,  or  nearly  a  third  of  the  total  popula- 
tion. Here  they  form  the  principal  cultivating  class  over 
the  whole  area  except  in  the  jungles  of  the  north  and  south, 
but  muster  most  strongly  in  the  Buldana  District  to  the 
west,    where    in    some    taluks    nearly    half   the    population 

16 


^^    ■■*di    t'B  Tiji  ■  "*■" 


PT.  II     SETTLEMENT  IN  THE  CENTRAL  PROVINCES      17 

belongs  to  the  Kunbi  caste.  In  the  combined  Province 
they  are  the  most  numerous  caste  except  the  Gonds.  The 
name  has  various  forms  in  Hombay,  beinc;  Kunbi  or  Kulambi 
in  the  Dcccan,  Kulwadi  in  the  south  Konkan,  Kanbi  in 
Gujarat,  and  Kulbi  in  l^elgaum.  In  Sanskrit  inscriptions 
it  is  given  as  Kutumbika  (householder),  and  hence  it  has 
been  derived  from  kutmnba^  a  family.  A  chronicle  of  the 
eleventh  century  quoted  by  Forbes  speaks  of  the  Kutumbiks 
or  cultivators  of  the  grams  or  small  villages.^  Another 
writer  describing  the  early  Rajput  dynasties  says  : "  "  The 
villagers  were  Koutombiks  (householders)  or  husbandmen 
(Karshuks)  ;  the  village  headmen  were  Putkeels  (patels)." 
Another  suggested  derivation  is  from  a  Dravidian  root  kiil^ 
a  husbandman  or  labourer  ;  while  that  favoured  by  the 
caste  and  their  neighbours  is  from  kun,  a  root,  or  kan^  grain, 
and  bif  seed  ;  but  this  is  too  ingenious  to  be  probable. 

It  is  stated  that  the  Kunbis  entered  Khandesh  from  2.  Settie- 
Gujarat  in  the  eleventh  century,  being  forced  to  leave  |he"centrai 
Gujarat  by  the  encroachments  of  Rajput  tribes,  driven  Provinces. 
south  before  the  early  Muhammadan  invaders  of  northern 
India.^  From  Khandesh  they  probably  spread  into  Berar 
and  the  adjoining  Nagpur  and  Wardha  Districts.  It  seems 
probable  that  their  first  settlement  in  Nagpur  and  Wardha 
took  place  not  later  than  the  fourteenth  century,  because 
during  the  subsequent  period  of  Gond  rule  we  find  the  offices 
of  Deshmukh  and  Deshpandia  in  existence  in  this  area. 
The  Deshmukh  was  the  manager  or  headman  of  a  circle  of 
villages  and  was  responsible  for  apportioning  and  collecting 
the  land  revenue,  while  the  Deshpandia  was  a  head  patwari 
or  accountant.  The  Deshmukhs  were  usually  the  leading 
Kunbis,  and  the  titles  are  still  borne  by  many  families  in 
Wardha  and  Nagpur.  These  offices  "*  belong  to  the  Maratha 
country,  and  it  seems  necessary  to  suppose  that  their  intro- 
duction into  Wardha  and  Berar  dates  from  a  period  at  least 
as  early  as  the  fourteenth  century,  when  these  territories 
were  included  in  the  dominions  of  the  l^ahmani  kings  of 
Bijapur.      A  subsequent  large  influx  of  Kunbis  into  Wardha 

^  Rdsmdia,  i.  p.  100.  '^  Bombay   Gazetteer,  vol.   i.  part  ii. 

-  Ibidem,  p.  241.  p.  34. 

^  Khandesh  Gazetteer,  p.  62. 

VOL.  IV  C 


castes. 


1 8  KUNBI  PART 

and  Nagpur  took  place  in  the  eighteenth  century  with  the 
conquest  of  Raghuji  Bhonsla  and  the  establishment  of  the 
Maratha  kingdom  of  Nagpur.  Traces  of  these  separate 
immigrations  survive  in  the  subdivisions  of  the  caste,  which 
will  now  be  mentioned. 
3.  Sub-  The  internal  structure  of  the  Kunbi  caste  in  the  Central 

Provinces  shows  that  it  is  a  mixed  occupational  body 
recruited  from  different  classes  of  the  population.  The  Jhare 
or  jungly  ^  Kunbis  are  the  oldest  immigrants  and  have  no 
doubt  an  admixture  of  Gond  blood.  They  do  not  break 
their  earthen  vessels  after  a  death  in  the  house.  With 
them  may  be  classed  the  Manwa  Kunbis  of  the  Nagpur 
District ;  these  appear  to  be  a  group  recruited  from  the 
Manas,  a  primitive  tribe  who  were  dominant  in  Chanda 
perhaps  even  before  the  advent  of  the  Gonds.  The  Manwa 
Kunbi  women  wear  their  cloths  drawn  up  so  as  to  expose 
the  thigh  like  the  Gonds,  and  have  some  other  primitive 
practices.  They  do  not  employ  Brahmans  at  their  marriages, 
but  consult  a  Mahar  Mohturia  or  soothsayer  to  fix  the  date 
of  the  ceremony.  Other  Kunbis  will  not  eat  with  the  Manwas, 
and  the  latter  retaliate  in  the  usual  manner  by  refusing 
to  accept  food  from  them  ;  and  say  that  they  are  superior 
to  other  Kunbis  because  they  always  use  brass  vessels  for 
cooking  and  not  earthen  ones.  Among  the  other  subcastes 
in  the  Central  Provinces  are  the  Khaire,  who  take  their 
name  from  the  khair"  or  catechu  tree,  presumably  because 
they  formerly  prepared  catechu  ;  this  is  a  regular  occupa- 
tion of  the  forest  tribes,  with  whom  it  may  be  supposed  that 
the  Khaire  have  some  affinity.  The  Dhanoje  are  those  who 
took  to  the  occupation  of  tending  dhaii  ^  or  small  stock,  and 
they  are  probably  an  offshoot  of  the  Dhangar  or  shepherd 
caste  whose  name  is  similarly  derived.  Like  the  Dhangar 
women  they  wear  cocoanut-shell  bangles,  and  the  Manwa 
I  Kunbis  also  do  this  ;  these  bangles  are  not  broken  when 
I  a  child  is  born,  and  hence  the  Dhanojes  and  Manwas  are 
I  looked  down  on  by  the  other  subcastes,  who  refuse  to 
remove    their  leaf-plates  after  a  feast.       The  name  of  the 

'   VromJiJidr,  a  tree  or  shrub.  ^  Dhan  properly  means  wealth,  cj. 

the  two  meanings  of  tlie  word  stock 
^  Acacia  catechu.  in  English. 


11  SUB-CASTES  19 

Khedule  subcaste  may  be  derived  from  kheda  a  village, 
while  another  version  given  by  Mr.  Kitts  '  is  that  it  signifies 
'  A  beardless  )outh.'  The  highest  subcaste  in  the  Central 
Provinces  are  the  Tirole  or  Tilole,  who  now  claim  to  be 
Rajputs.  They  say  that  their  ancestors  came  from  Thcrol 
in  Rajputfma,  and,  taking  to  agriculture,  gradually  became 
merged  with  the  Kunbis.  Another  more  probable  deriva- 
tion of  the  name  is  from  the  ///  or  sesamum  plant.  The 
families  who  held  the  hereditary  office  of  Dcshmukh,  which 
conferred  a  considerable  local  position,  were  usually  members 
of  the  Tirole  subcaste,  and  they  have  now  developed  into  a 
sort  of  aristocratic  branch  of  the  caste,  and  marry  among 
themselves  when  matches  can  be  arranged.  They  do  not 
allow  the  remarriage  of  widows  nor  permit  their  women  to 
accompany  the  wedding  procession.  The  Wandhekars  are 
another  group  which  also  includes  some  Deshmukh  families, 
and  ranks  next  to  the  Tiroles  in  position.  Mr.  Kitts  re- 
cords a  large  number  of  subcastes  in  Berar.^  Among  them 
are  some  groups  from  northern  India,  as  the  Hindustani, 
Pardesi,  Dholewar,  Jaiswar  and  Singrore  ;  these  are  prob- 
ably Kurmis  who  have  settled  in  Eerar  and  become 
amalgamated  with  the  Kunbis.  Similarly  the  Tailanges 
and  Munurwars  appear  to  be  an  offshoot  of  the  great  Kapu 
caste  of  cultivators  in  the  Telugu  country.  The  Wanjari 
subcaste  is  a  fairly  large  one  and  almost  certainly  repre- 
sents a  branch  of  the  Banjara  caste  of  carriers,  who  have 
taken  to  agriculture  and  been  promoted  into  the  Kunbi 
community.  The  Lonhare  take  their  name  from  Lonar 
Mehkar,  the  well-known  bitter  lake  of  the  Buldana  District, 
whose  salt  they  may  formerly  have  refined.  The  Ghatole 
are  those  who  dwelt  above  the  ghats  or  passes  of  the 
Saihadri  range  to  the  south  of  the  Berar  plain.  The  Baone 
are  an  important  subcaste  both  in  Berar  and  the  Central 
Provinces,  and  take  their  name  from  the  phrase  Bawan  Berar,^ 
a  term  applied  to  the  province  by  the  Mughals  because  it 
paid  fifty-two  lakhs  of  revenue,  as  against  only  eight  lakhs 
realised  from  the  adjoining  Jhadi  or  hill  country  in  the 
Central   Provinces.      In   Chhindwara  is   found  a  small   local 

^  Berar  Census  Re/iort  {i^Zi),  \)S.ra.  '  Ibidem. 

180.  3  JBdwan  =  Mly -iwo. 


cultivatin 
status, 


20  KUNBI  PART 

subcaste  called  Gadhao  because  they  formerly  kept  donkeys, 
though  they  no  longer  do  so  ;  they  are  looked  down  on  by 
the  others  who  will  not  even  take  water  from  their  hands. 
In  Nimar  is  a  group  of  Gujarati  Kunbis  who  are  considered 
to  have  been  originally  Gujars/  Their  local  subdivisions 
are  Leve  and  Karwa  and  many  of  them  are  also  known  as 
Dalia,  because  they  made  the  ddl  or  pulse  of  Burhanpur, 
which  had  a  great  reputation  under  native  rule.  It  is  said 
that  it  was  formerly  despatched  daily  to  Sindhia's  kitchen. 
4-  The  It   appears   then   that   a   Kunbi    has   in    the    past   been 

synonymous  with  a  cultivator,  and  that  large  groups  from 
other  castes  have  taken  to  agriculture,  have  been  admitted 
into  the  community  and  usually  obtained  a  rise  in  rank. 
In  many  villages  Kunbis  are  the  only  ryots,  while  below 
them  are  the  village  menials  and  artisans,  several  of  whom 
perform  functions  at  weddings  or  on  other  occasions  denot- 
ing their  recognition  of  the  Kunbi  as  their  master  or 
employer  ;  and  beneath  these  again  are  the  impure  Mahars 
or  labourers.  Thus  at  a  Kunbi  betrothal  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  this  they  receive  small 
presents.  After  a  death  has  occurred  at  a  Kunbi's  house 
the  impurity  is  not  removed  until  the  barber  and  washer- 
man have  eaten  in  it.  At  a  Kunbi's  wedding  the  Gurao  or 
village  priest  brings  the  leafy  branches  of  five  trees,  the 
mango,  j'dinun,"  wnar^  and  two  others  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.  At  seed-time  and 
harvest  all  the  village  menials  go  to  the  cultivator's  field 
and  present  him  with  a  specimen  of  their  wares  or  make 
obeisance    to    him,  receiving   in    return    a   small   present   of 

'  Bombay     Gazetteer,     Hindus     of  ^  Eug'em'a  jai/ibolatia. 

Gujarat,  p.  490,  App.  B,  Gujar.  •'  Ficiis  glomcrata. 


n  EXOGAMOUS  SEPTS  21 

grain.  This  state  of  things  seems  to  represent  the  primitive 
form  of  Hindu  society  from  which  the  present  widely 
ramified  system  of  castes  may  have  expanded,  and  even 
now  the  outHnes  of  the  original  structure  may  be  discernible 
under  all  subsequent  accretions. 

Each  subcaste  has  a  number  of  exogamous  septs  or  clans  s-  Exo- 
which  serve  as  a  table  of  affinities  in  regulating  marriage,  septs." 
The  vernacular  term  for  these  is  kul.  Some  of  the  septs  are 
named  after  natural  objects  or  animals,  others  from  titles  or 
nicknames  borne  by  the  reputed  founder  of  the  group,  or  from 
some  other  caste  to  which  he  may  have  belonged,  while 
others  again  are  derived  from  the  names  of  villages  which 
maybe  taken  to  have  been  the  original  home  of  the  sept  or  clan. 
The  following  are  some  septs  of  the  Tirole  subcaste  :  Kole, 
jackal;  V\^nkhede,  a  village;  Kadu,  bitter;  Jagthap,  famous; 
Kadam,  atree;   Meghe,  a  cloud;   Lohekari,  a  worker  in  iron; 


Ughde,a  child  who  has  been  exposed  at  birth  ;  Shinde,  a  palm- 
tree  ;  Hagre,  one  who  suffers  from  diarrhoea  ;  Aglawe,  an 
incendiary;  Kalamkar,  a  writer;  Wani  (Bania), a  caste;  Sutar, 
a  carpenter,  and  so  on.  A  few  of  the  groups  of  the  Baone 
subcaste  are  : — Kantode,  one  with  a  torn  ear  ;  Dokarmare,  a 
killer  of  pigs  ;  Lute,  a  plunderer  ;  Titarmare,  a  pigeon-killer  ; 
and  of  the  Khedule  :  Patre,  a  leaf-plate ;  Ghoremare,  one  who 
killed  a  horse  ;  Bagmare,  a  tiger-slayer  ;  Gadhe,  a  donkey  ; 
Burade,  one  of  the  Burud  or  Basor  caste  ;  Naktode,  one  with 
a  broken  nose,  and  so  on.  Each  subcaste  has  a  number  of 
septs,  a  total  of  66  being  recorded  for  the  Tiroles  alone. 
The  names  of  the  septs  confirm  the  hypothesis  arrived  at 
from  a  scrutiny  of  the  subcastes  that  the  Kunbis  are  largely 
recruited  from  the  pre-Aryan  or  aboriginal  tribes.  Con- 
clusions as  iio  the  origin  of  the  caste  can  better  be  made  in 
its  home  in  Bombay,  but  it  may  be  noted  that  in  Canara, 
according  to  the  accomplished  author  of  A  Naturalist  on  the 
Prowl}  the  Kunbi  is  quite  a  primitive  forest-dweller,  who 
only  a  few  years  back  lived  by  scattering  his  seed  on  patches 
of  land  burnt  clear  of  vegetation,  collecting  myrobalans  and 
other  fruits,  and  snaring  and  trapping  animals  exactly  like 
the  Gonds  and  Baigas  of  the  Central  Provinces.  Similarly 
in  Nasik  it  is  stated  that  a  large  proportion  of  the  Kunbi 

'   See  the  article  entitled  'An  Anthropoid.' 


KUNBI 


6.  Restric- 
tions on 
marriage 
of  relatives. 


caste  are  probably  derived  from  the  primitive  tribes.^  Yet 
in  the  cultivated  plains  which  he  has  so  largely  occupied,  he 
is  reckoned  the  equal  in  rank  of  the  Kurmi  and  other  culti- 
vating castes  of  Hindustan,  who  in  theory  at  any  rate  are 
of  Aryan  origin  and  of  so  high  a  grade  of  social  purity  that 
Brahmans  will  take  water  from  them.  The  only  reasonable 
explanation  of  this  rise  in  status  appears  to  be  that  the 
Kunbi  has  taken  possession  of  the  land  and  has  obtained  the 
rank  which  from  time  immemorial  belongs  to  the  hereditary 
cultivator  as  a  member  and  citizen  of  the  village  community. 
It  is  interesting  to  note  that  the  Wanjari  Kunbis  of  Berar, 
who,  being  as  already  seen  Banjaras,  are  of  Rajput  descent 
at  any  rate,  now  strenuously  disclaim  all  connection  with 
the  Banjara  caste  and  regard  their  reception  into  the  Kunbi 
community  as  a  gain  in  status.  At  the  same  time  the  refusal 
of  the  Maratha  Brahmans  to  take  water  to  drink  from  Kunbis 
may  perhaps  have  been  due  to  the  recognition  of  their  non- 
Aryan  origin.  Most  of  the  Kunbis  also  eat  fowls,  which 
the  cultivating  castes  of  northern  India  would  not  usually  do. 
A  man  is  forbidden  to  marry  within  his  own  sept  or  kid,  or 
in  that  of  his  mother  or  either  of  his  grandmothers.  He  may 
marry  his  wife's  younger  sister  but  not  her  elder  sister. 
Alliances  between  first  and  second  cousins  are  also  prohibited 
except  that  a  sister's  son  may  be  married  to  a  brother's 
daughter.  Such  marriages  are  also  favoured  by  the  Maratha 
Brahmans  and  other  castes,  and  the  suitability  of  the  match 
is  expressed  in  the  saying  Ato  ghari  bhdsi  sun,  or  'At  a  sister's 
house  her  brother's  daughter  is  a  daughter-in-law.'  The 
sister  claims  it  as  a  right  and  not  unfrequently  there  are 
quarrels  if  the  brother  decides  to  give  his  daughter  to  some- 
body else,  while  the  general  feeling  is  so  strongly  in  favour 
of  these  marriages  that  the  caste  committee  sometimes 
imposes  a  fine  on  fathers  who  wish  to  break  through  the 
rule.  The  fact  that  in  this  single  case  the  marriage  of  near 
relatives  is  not  only  permitted  but  considered  almost  as  an 
obligation,  while  in  all  other  instances  it  is  strictly  prohibited, 
probably  points  to  the  conclusion  that  the  custom  is  a 
survival  of  the  matriarchate,  when  a  brother's  property  would 
pass  to  his  sister's  son.      Under  such  a  law  of  inheritance 

1  Bombay  Gazetteer,  Ndsik,  p.  26. 


II  BETROTHAL  AND  MARRIAGE  23 

he  would  naturally  desire  that  his  heir  should  be  united  to 
his  own  daughter,  and  this  union  might  gradually  become 
customary  and  at  length  almost  obligatory.  The  custom  in 
this  case  may  survive  when  the  reasons  which  justified  it 
have  entirely  vanished.  And  while  formerly  it  was  the 
brother  who  would  have  had  reason  to  desire  the  match  for 
his  daughter,  it  is  now  the  sister  who  insists  on  it  for  her  son, 
the  explanation  being  that  among  the  Kunbis  as  with  other 
agricultural  castes,  to  whom  a  wife's  labour  is  a  valuable 
asset,  girls  are  expensive  and  a  considerable  price  has  to  be 
paid  for  a  bride. 

Girls  are  usually  married  between  the  ages  of  five  and  7- 
eleven  and  boys  between  ten  and  twenty.  The  Kunbis  still  and 
think  it  a  mark  of  social  distinction  to  have  their  daughters  marriage. 
married  as  young  as  possible.  The  recognised  bride-price  is 
about  twenty  rupees,  but  much  larger  sums  are  often  paid. 
The  boy's  father  goes  in  search  of  a  girl  to  be  married  to  his 
son,  and  when  the  bride-price  has  been  settled  and  the  match 
arranged  the  ceremony  of  Mangni  or  betrothal  takes  place. 
In  the  first  place  the  boy's  father  proceeds  to  his  future 
daughter-in-law's  house,  where  he  washes  her  feet,  smears  her 
forehead  with  red  powder  and  gives  her  a  present  of  a  rupee 
and  some  sweetmeats.  All  the  party  then  eat  together. 
This  is  followed  by  a  visit  of  the  girl's  father  to  the  boy's 
house  where  a  similar  ceremony  is  enacted  and  the  boy  is 
presented  with  a  cocoanut,  2.  pagri  and  cloth,  and  a  silver  or 
gold  ring.  Again  the  boy's  relatives  go  to  the  girl's  house 
and  give  her  more  valuable  presents  of  jewellery  and  clothing. 
A  Brahman  is  afterwards  consulted  to  fix  the  date  of  the 
marriage,  but  the  poorer  Kunbis  dispense  with  his  services 
as  he  charges  two  or  three  rupees.  Prior  to  the  ceremony 
the  bodies  of  the  bride  and  bridegroom  are  well  massaged 
with  vegetable  oil  and  turmeric  in  their  respective  houses, 
partly  with  a  view  to  enhance  their  beauty  and  also  perhaps 
to  protect  them  during  the  trying  period  of  the  ceremony 
when  maleficent  spirits  are  particularly  on  the  alert.  The 
marriage-shed  is  made  of  eleven  poles  festooned  with  leaves, 
and  inside  it  are  placed  two  posts  of  the  sdleJi  {Bosivcllia 
serratd)  or  tniiar  {Ficus  gloinerata)  tree,  one  longer  than  the 
other,  to  represent  the  bride  and   bridegroom.       Two  jars 


24  KUNBI  PART 

filled  with  water  are  set  near  the  posts,  and  a  small  earthen 
platform  called  baola  is  made.  The  bridegroom  wears  a 
yellow  or  white  dress,  and  has  a  triangular  frame  of  bamboo 
covered  with  tinsel  over  his  forehead,  which  is  known  as 
bdsmg  and  is  a  substitute  for  the  maur  or  marriage-crown  of 
the  Hindustani  castes.  Over  his  shoulder  he  carries  a  pick- 
axe as  the  representative  implement  of  husbandry  with  one 
or  two  wheaten  cakes  tied  to  it.  This  is  placed  on  the  top 
of  the  marriage -shed  and  at  the  end  of  the  five  days' 
ceremonies  the  members  of  the  families  eat  the  dried  cakes 
with  milk,  no  outsider  being  allowed  to  participate.  The 
bardt  or  wedding  procession  sets  out  for  the  bride's  village, 
the  women  of  the  bridegroom's  family  accompanying  it  except 
among  the  Tirole  Kunbis,  who  forbid  the  practice  in  order  to 
demonstrate  their  higher  social  position.  It  is  received  on 
the  border  of  the  girl's  village  by  her  father  and  his  friends 
and  relatives,  and  conducted  to  the  janwdsa  or  temporary 
lodging  prepared  for  it,  with  the  exception  of  the  bridegroom, 
who  is  left  alone  before  the  shrine  of  Maroti  or  Hanuman. 
The  bridegroom's  father  goes  to  the  marriage-shed  where  he 
washes  the  bride's  feet  and  gives  her  another  present  of 
clothes,  and  her  relatives  then  proceed  to  Maroti's  temple 
where  they  worship  and  make  offerings,  and  return  bringing 
the  bridegroom  with  them.  As  he  arrives  at  the  marriage 
pavilion  he  touches  it  with  a  stick,  on  which  the  bride's 
brother  who  is  seated  above  the  shed  pours  down  some  water 
and  is  given  a  present  of  money  by  the  bridegroom.  The 
bridegroom's  feet  are  then  washed  by  his  father-in-law  and 
he  is  given  a  yellow  cloth  which  he  wears.  The  couple  are 
made  to  stand  on  two  wooden  planks  opposite  each  other 
with  a  curtain  between  them,  the  bridegroom  facing  east  and 
the  bride  west,  holding  some  Akshata  or  rice  covered  with 
saffron  in  their  hands.  As  the  sun  sets  the  officiating  Brahman 
gets  on  to  the  roof  of  the  house  and  repeats  the  marriage  texts 
from  there.  At  his  signal  the  couple  throw  the  rice  over 
each  other,  the  curtain  between  them  is  withdrawn,  and  they 
change  their  seats.  The  assembled  party  applaud  and  the 
marriage  proper  is  over.  The  Brahman  marks  their  foreheads 
with  rice  and  turmeric  and  presses  them  together.  He  then 
seats  them  on  the  earthen  platform  or  baola^  and  ties  their 


II  BETROTHAL  AND  MARRIAGE  25 

clothes  together,  this  being  known  as  the  Brahma  Ganthi  or 
Brahman's  knot.  The  wedding  usually  takes  place  on 
the  day  after  the  arrival  of  the  marriage  procession  and 
another  two  days  are  consumed  in  feasting  and  worshipping 
the  deities.  When  the  bride  and  bridegroom  return  home 
after  the  wedding  one  of  the  party  waves  a  pot  of  water 
round  their  heads  and  throws  it  away  at  a  little  distance  on 
the  ground,  and  after  this  some  grain  in  the  same  manner. 
This  is  a  provision  of  food  and  drink  to  any  evil  spirits  who 
may  be  hovering  round  the  couple,  so  that  they  may  stop  to 
consume  it  and  refrain  from  entering  the  house.  The  ex- 
penses of  the  bride's  family  may  vary  from  Rs.  60  to  Rs.  100 
and  those  of  the  bridegroom's  from  Rs.  i  60  to  Rs.  600.  A 
wedding  carried  out  on  a  lavish  scale  by  a  well-to-do  man  is 
known  as  Lrd  Biah  or  a  red  marriage,  but  when  the  parties 
are  poor  the  expenses  are  curtailed  and  it  is  then  called 
Safed  Biah  or  a  white  marriage.  In  this  case  the  bridegroom's 
mother  does  not  accompany  the  wedding  procession  and  the 
proceedings  last  only  two  days.  The  bride  goes  back  with 
the  wedding  procession  for  a  few  days  to  her  husband's  house 
and  then  returns  home.  When  she  arrives  at  maturity  her 
parents  give  a  feast  to  the  caste  and  send  her  to  her  husband's 
house,  this  occasion  being  known  as  Bolvan  (the  calling). 
The  Karwa  Kunbis  of  Nimar  have  a  peculiar  rule  for  the 
celebration  of  marriages.  They  have  a  gum  or  priest  in 
Gujarat  who  sends  them  a  notice  once  in  every  ten  or  twelve 
years,  and  in  this  year  only  marriages  can  be  performed.  It 
is  called  Singliast  ki  sal  and  is  the  year  in  which  the  planet 
Guru  (Jupiter)  comes  into  conjunction  with  the  constellation 
Sinh  (Leo).  But  the  Karwas  themselves  think  that  there  is 
a  large  temple  in  Gujarat  with  a  locked  door  to  which  there 
is  no  key.  But  once  in  ten  or  twelve  years  the  door  unlocks 
of  itself,  and  in  that  year  their  marriages  are  celebrated.  A 
certain  day  is  fixed  and  all  the  weddings  are  held  on  it 
together.  On  this  occasion  children  from  infants  in  arms  to 
ten  or  twelve  years  are  married,  and  if  a  match  cannot  be 
arranged  for  them  they  will  have  to  wait  another  ten  or 
twelve  years.  A  girl  child  who  is  born  on  the  day  fixed  for 
weddings  may,  however,  be  married  twelve  days  afterwards, 
the  twelfth   night    being    called    Mando   Rat,  and    on    this 


26  KUNBI  PART 

occasion  any  other  weddings  which  may  have  been  unavoid- 
ably postponed  owing  to  a  death  or  illness  in  the  families 
may  also  be  completed.  The  rule  affords  a  loophole  of 
escape  for  the  victims  of  any  such  contretemps  and  also 
insures  that  every  girl  shall  be  married  before  she  is  fully 
twelve  years  old.  Rather  than  not  marry  their  daughter  in 
the  Singhast  ki  sal  before  she  is  twelve  the  parents  will 
accept  any  bridegroom,  even  though  he  be  very  poor  or  younger 
than  the  bride.  This  is  the  same  year  in  which  the 
celebration  of  marriages  is  forbidden  among  the  Hindus 
generally.  The  other  Kunbis  have  the  general  Hindu  rule 
that  weddings  are  forbidden  during  the  four  months  from 
the  I  ith  Asarh  Sudi  (June)  to  the  i  ith  Kartik  Sudi  (October). 
This  is  the  period  of  the  rains,  when  the  crops  are  growing 
and  the  gods  are  said  to  go  to  sleep,  and  it  is  observed  more 
or  less  as  a  time  of  abstinence  and  fasting.  The  Hindus 
should  properly  abstain  from  eating  sugarcane,  brinjals, 
onions,  garlic  and  other  vegetables  for  the  whole  four  months. 
On  the  1 2th  of  Kartik  the  marriage  of  Tulsi  or  the  basil 
plant  with  the  Saligram  or  ammonite  representing  Vishnu  is 
performed  and  all  these  vegetables  are  offered  to  her  and 
afterwards  generally  consumed.  Two  days  afterwards,  be- 
ginning from  the  14th  of  Kartik,  comes  the  Diwali  festival. 
In  Betiil  the  bridal  couple  are  seated  in  the  centre  of  a 
square  made  of  four  plough  yokes,  while  a  leaf  of  the  pipal 
tree  and  a  piece  of  turmeric  are  tied  by  a  string  round  both 
their  wrists.  The  untying  of  the  string  by  the  local  Brahman 
constitutes  the  essential  and  binding  portion  of  the  marriage. 
Among  the  Lonhare  subcaste  a  curious  ceremony  is  per- 
formed after  the  wedding.  A  swing  is  made,  and  a  round 
pestle,  which  is  supposed  to  represent  a  child,  is  placed  on 
it  and  swung  to  and  fro.  It  is  then  taken  off  and  placed 
in  the  lap  of  the  bride,  and  the  effect  of  performing  this 
symbolical  ceremony  is  supposed  to  be  that  she  will  soon 
become  a  mother. 
8.  Poly-  Polygamy  is  permitted  but  rarely  practised,  a  second  wife 

dirorce"  being  only  taken  if  the  first  be  childless  or  of  bad  character, 
or  destitute  of  attractions.  Divorce  is  allowed,  but  in  some 
localities  at  any  rate  a  divorced  woman  cannot  marry  again 
unless   she   is    permitted    to  do   so   in    writing   by  her  first 


II  WIDOW-MARRIAGE  27 

husband.  If  a  girl  be  seduced  before  marriage  a  fine  is 
imposed  on  both  parties  and  they  are  readmitted  to  social 
intercourse,  but  are  not  married  to  each  other.  Curiously 
enough,  in  the  Tirole  and  Wandhekar,  the  highest  sub- 
castes,  the  keeping  of  a  woman  is  not  an  offence  entailing 
temporary  exclusion  from  caste,  whereas  among  the  lower 
subcastes  it  is.^ 

The  Kunbis  permit  the  remarriage  of  widows,  with  the  9-  widow- 
exception  of  the  Deshmukh  families  of  the  Tirole  subcaste  "^^'"'''^s^- 
who  have  forbidden  it.  If  a  woman's  husband  dies  she 
returns  to  her  father's  house  and  he  arranges  her  second 
marriage,  which  is  called  choli-patal,  or  giving  her  new 
clothes.  He  takes  a  price  for  her  which  may  vary  from 
twenty-five  to  five  hundred  rupees  according  to  the  age 
and  attractions  of  the  woman.  A  widow  may  marry  any 
one  outside  the  family  of  her  deceased  husband,  but  she 
may  not  marry  his  younger  brother.  This  union,  which 
among  the  Hindustani  castes  is  looked  upon  as  most  suitable 
if  not  obligatory,  is  strictly  forbidden  among  the  Maratha 
castes,  the  reason  assigned  being  that  a  wife  stands  in  the 
position  of  a  mother  to  her  husband's  younger  brothers. 
The  contrast  is  curious.  The  ceremony  of  widow-marriage 
is  largely  governed  by  the  idea  of  escaping  or  placating  the 
wrath  of  the  first  husband's  ghost,  and  also  of  its  being 
something  to  be  ashamed  of  and  contrary  to  orthodox 
Hinduism.  It  always  takes  place  in  the  dark  fortnight  of  the 
month  and  always  at  night.  Sometimes  no  women  are  present, 
and  if  any  do  attend  they  must  be  widows,  as  it  would  be 
the  worst  of  omens  for  a  married  woman  or  unmarried  girl 
to  witness  the  ceremony.  This,  it  is  thought,  would  lead  to 
her  shortly  becoming  a  widow  herself.  The  bridegroom 
goes  to  the  widow's  house  with  his  male  friends  and  two 
wooden  seats  are  set  side  by  side.  On  one  of  these  a  betel- 
nut  is  placed  which  represents  the  deceased  husband  of  the 
widow.  The  new  bridegroom  advances  with  a  small  wooden 
sword,  touches  the  nut  with  its  tip,  and  then  kicks  it  off 
the  seat  with  his  right  toe.  The  barber  picks  up  the  nut 
and  burns  it.  This  is  supposed  to  lay  the  deceased  husband's 
spirit    and    prevent    his    interference    with   the    new    union. 

1  This  is  the  rule  in  the  Nagpur  District. 


28  KUNBI  PART 

The  bridegroom  then  takes  the  seat  from  which  the  nut  has 
been  displaced  and  the  woman  sits  on  the  other  side  to  his 
left.  He  puts  a  necklace  of  beads  round  her  neck  and 
the  couple  leave  the  house  in  a  stealthy  fashion  and  go  to 
the  husband's  village.  It  is  considered  unlucky  to  see 
them  as  they  go  away  because  the  second  husband  is 
regarded  in  the  light  of  a  robber.  Sometimes  they  stop 
by  a  stream  on  the  way  home,  and,  taking  off  the  woman's 
clothes  and  bangles,  bury  them  by  the  side  of  the  stream. 
An  exorcist  may  also  be  called  in,  who  will  confine  the  late 
husband's  spirit  in  a  horn  by  putting  in  some  grains  of 
wheat,  and  after  sealing  up  the  horn  deposit  it  with  the 
clothes.  When  a  widower  or  widow  marries  a  second  time 
and  is  afterwards  attacked  by  illness,  it  is  ascribed  to 
the  illwill  of  their  former  partner's  spirit.  The  metal 
image  of  the  first  husband  or  wife  is  then  made  and  worn 
as  an  amulet  on  the  arm  or  round  the  neck.  A  bachelor 
who  wishes  to  marry  a  widow  must  first  go  through  a 
mock  ceremony  with  an  dkra  or  swallow-wort  plant,  as 
the  widow-marriage  is  not  considered  a  real  one,  and  it  is 
inauspicious  for  any  one  to  die  without  having  been  properly 
married  once.  A  similar  ceremony  must  be  gone  through 
when  a  man  is  married  for  the  third  time,  as  it  is  held  that 
if  he  marries  a  woman  for  the  third  time  he  will  quickly 
die.  The  dkra  or  swallow-wort  {Calotropis  gigajited)  is  a 
very  common  plant  growing  on  waste  land  with  mauve 
or  purple  flowers.  When  cut  or  broken  a  copious  milky 
juice  exudes  from  the  stem,  and  in  some  places  parents 
are  said  to  poison  children  whom  they  do  not  desire  to  keep 
alive  by  rubbing  this  on  their  lips. 
10.  Cus-  During  her  monthly  impurity  a  woman  stays  apart  and 

birth  '  may  not  cook  for  herself  nor  touch  anybody  nor  sleep  on 
a  bed  made  of  cotton  thread.  As  soon  as  she  is  in  this 
condition  she  will  untie  the  cotton  threads  confining  her 
hair  and  throw  them  away,  letting  her  hair  hang  down. 
This  is  because  they  have  become  impure.  But  if  there 
is  no  other  woman  in  the  house  and  she  must  continue 
to  do  the  household  work  herself,  she  does  not  throw  them 
away  until   the  last  day.^      Sin^ilarly  she  must  not  sleep  on 

'  From  ii  note  by  Mr.  A.  K.  Smith,  C.S. 


II  CUSTOMS  AT  nTRTH  29 

a  cotton  sheet  or  mattress  during  this  time  because  she  would 
defile  it,  but  she  may  sleep  on  a  woollen  blanket  as  wool  is  a 
holy  material  and  is  not  defiled.  At  the  end  of  the  period 
she  proceeds  to  a  stream  and  purifies  herself  by  bathing 
and  washing  her  head  with  earth.  When  a  woman  is  with 
child  for  the  first  time  her  women  friends  come  and  give  her 
new  green  clothes  and  bangles  in  the  seventh  month  ;  they 
then  put  her  into  a  swing  and  sing  songs.  While  she  is 
pregnant-  she  is  made  to  work  in  the  house  so  as  not  to  be 
inactive.  After  the  birth  of  a  child  the  mother  remains 
impure  for  twelve  days.  A  woman  of  the  Mang  or  Mahar 
caste  acts  as  midwife,  and  always  breaks  her  bangles  and 
puts  on  new  ones  after  she  has  assisted  at  a  birth.  If 
delivery  is  prolonged  the  woman  is  given  hot  water  and 
sugar  or  camphor  wrapped  in  a  betel-leaf,  or  they  put  a  few 
grains  of  gram  into  her  hand  and  then  someone  takes  and 
feeds  them  to  a  mare,  as  it  is  thought  that  the  woman's 
pregnancy  has  been  prolonged  by  her  having  walked  behind 
the  tethering-ropes  of  a  mare,  which  is  twelve  months  in  foal. 
Or  she  is  given  water  to  drink  in  which  a  Sulaimani  onyx 
or  a  rupee  of  Akbar's  time  has  been  washed  ;  in  the  former 
case  the  idea  is  perhaps  that  a  passage  will  be  made 
for  the  child  like  the  hole  through  the  bead,  while  the 
virtue  of  the  rupee  probably  consists  in  its  being  a  silver 
coin  and  having  the  image  or  device  of  a  powerful  king 
like  Akbar.  Or  it  may  be  thought  that  as  the  coin  has 
passed  from  hand  to  hand  for  so  long,  it  will  facilitate  the 
passage  of  the  child  from  the  womb.  A  pregnant  woman 
must  not  look  on  a  dead  body  or  her  child  may  be  still- 
born, and  she  must  not  see  an  eclipse  or  the  child  may  be 
born  maimed.  Some  believe  that  if  a  child  is  born  during 
an  eclipse  it  will  suffer  from  lung-disease  ;  so  they  make  a 
silver  model  of  the  moon  while  the  eclipse  lasts  and  hang 
it  round  the  child's  neck  as  a  charm.  Sometimes  when 
delivery  is  delayed  they  take  a  folded  flower  and  place  it  in  a 
pot  of  water  and  believe  that  as  its  petals  unfold  so  the  womb 
will  be  opened  and  the  child  born  ;  or  they  seat  the  woman 
on  a  wooden  bench  and  pour  oil  on  her  head,  her  forehead 
being  afterwards  rubbed  with  it  in  the  belief  that  as  the  oil 
falls  so  the  child  will  be  born.     If  a  child  is  a  long  time  before 


30  KUNBI  ,  PART 

learning  to  speak  they  give  it  leaves  of  the  plpal  tree  to  eat, 

because  the  leaves  of  this  tree  make  a  noise  by  rustling  in  the 

wind  ;  or  a  root  which  is  very  light  in  weight,  because  they 

think  that  the  tongue  is  heavy  and  the  quality  of  lightness 

will  thus  be  communicated  to  it.      Or  the  mother,  when  she 

has  kneaded  dough  and  washed  her  hands  afterwards,  will 

pour  a  drop  or  two  of  the  water  down   the  child's  throat. 

And    the    water  which  made   her  hands  clean   and   smooth 

will    similarly    clear    the    child's    throat    of    the    obstruction 

which    prevented   it    from    speaking.       If    a   child's   neck    is 

weak  and  its  head  rolls  about  they  make  it  look  at  a  crow 

perching   on    the   house   and   think  this  will   make  its  neck 

strong  like  the  crow's.     If  he  cannot  walk  they  make  a  little 

triangle  on  wheels  with  a  pole  called  gJmrghiiri,  and  make  him 

walk  holding  on  to  the  pole.     The  first  teeth  of  the  child  are 

thrown  on  to  the  roof  of  the  house,  because  the  rats,  who 

have  especially  good  and  sharp  teeth,  live  there,  and  it  is 

hoped  that  the  child's  second  teeth   may  grow  like  theirs. 

A    few    grains   of  rice    are    also   thrown    so    that   the   teeth 

may   be    hard   and    pointed   like  the  rice  ;    the  same  word, 

kani,  being  used   for   the   end    of  a   grain   of  rice  and  the 

tip  of  a  tooth.      Or  the  teeth  are  placed  under  a  water-pot 

in    the   hope    that    the   child's    second    teeth    may   grow    as 

fast  as  the  grass  does  under  water-pots.      If  a  child  is  lean 

some    people    take    it    to    a    place    where    asses    have    lain 

down  and  rolled  in  ashes  ;    they  roll  the  child  in  the  ashes 

similarly  and  believe  that  it  will  get  fat  like  the  asses  are. 

Or    they   may    lay   the    child    in    a   pigsty   with   the   same 

idea.      People   who  want    to   injure  a  child  get  hold  of  its 

coat  and   lay   it   out   in   the   sun  to  dry,  in   the  belief  that 

the    child's    body   will   dry    up    in   a   similar    manner.       In 

order   to  avert  the  evil    eye  they   burn   some  turmeric  and 

juari    flour   and  hold   the    newly -born    child    in   the  smoke. 

It  is  also  branded  on  the  stomach  with  a  burning  piece  of 

turmeric,   perhaps  to   keep  off  cold.      For  the  first  day  or 

two    after   birth   a   child    is    given   cow's   milk    mixed    with 

water  or  honey  and  a  little  castor  oil,  and   after  this  it  is 

suckled   by   the   mother.      But   if  she  is   unable  to  nourish 

it  a  wet-nurse  is  called  in,  who  may  be  a  woman   of  low 

caste  or  even   a   Muhammadan.     The  mother  is  given   no 


II  SIXTH-  AND  TWELFTH-DAY  CEREMONIES  31 

regular  food  for  the  first  two  days,  but  only  some  sugar  and 
spices.  Until  the  child  is  six  months  old  its  head  and 
body  arc  oiled  every  second  or  third  day  and  the  body  is 
well  hand -rubbed  and  bathed.  The  rubbing  is  meant  to 
make  the  limbs  supple  and  the  oil  to  render  the  child  less 
susceptible  to  cold.  If  a  child  when  sitting  soon  after 
birth  looks  down  through  its  legs  they  think  it  is  looking 
for  its  companions  whom  it  has  left  behind  and  that  more 
children  will  be  born.  It  is  considered  a  bad  sign  if  a 
child  bites  its  upper  teeth  on  its  underlip  ;  this  is  thought  to 
prognosticate  illness  and  the  child  is  prevented  from  doing 
so  as  far  as  possible. 

On  the  sixth  day  after  birth  they  believe  that  Chhathi  n.  Sixth- 
or  Satwai  Devi,  the  Sixth-day  Goddess,  comes  at  midnight  ^"-eifth- 
and  writes  on  the  child's  forehead  its  fate  in  life,  which  day  cere- 
writing,  it  is  said,  may  be  seen  on  a  man's  skull  when  the 
flesh  has  come  off  it  after  death.  On  this  night  the  women 
of  the  family  stay  awake  all  night  singing  songs  and  eating 
sweetmeats.  A  picture  of  the  goddess  is  drawn  with 
turmeric  and  vermilion  over  the  mother's  bed.  The  door 
of  the  birth-room  is  left  open,  and  at  midnight  she  comes. 
Sometimes  a  Sunar  is  employed  to  make  a  small  image  of 
Chhathi  Devi,  for  which  he  is  paid  Rs.  1-4,  and  it  is  hung 
round  the  child's  neck.  On  this  day  the  mother  is  given 
to  eat  all  kinds  of  grain,  and  among  flesh-eating  castes  the 
soup  of  fish  and  meat,  because  it  is  thought  that  every  kind 
of  food  which  the  mother  eats  this  day  will  be  easily  digested 
by  the  child  throughout  its  life.  On  this  day  the  mother  is 
given  a  second  bath,  the  first  being  on  the  day  of  the  birth, 
and  she  must  not  bathe  in  between.  Sometimes  after  child- 
birth a  woman  buys  several  bottles  of  liquor  and  has  a  bath 
in  it ;  the  stimulating  effect  of  the  spirit  is  supposed  to 
remedy  the  distension  of  the  body  caused  by  the  birth.  If 
the  child  is  a  boy  it  is  named  on  the  twelfth  and  if  a  girl  on 
the  thirteenth  day.  On  the  twelfth  day  the  mother's  bangles 
are  thrown  away  and  new  ones  put  on.  The  Kunbis  are 
very  kind  to  their  children,  and  never  harsh  or  quick-tempered, 
but  this  may  perhaps  be  partly  due  to  their  constitutional 
lethargy.  They  seldom  refuse  a  child  anything,  but  taking 
advantage  of  its  innocence  will  by  dissimulation  make    it 


32  KUNBI  PART 

forget  what  it  wanted.      The  time  arrives  when  this  course 
of  conduct  is  useless,  and  then  the  child  learns  to  mistrust  the 
word  of  its  parents.      Minute  quantities  of  opium  are  generally 
administered  to  children  as  a  narcotic. 
12.  Devices  If  a  woman   is  barren  and  has   no  children  one  of  the 

°'".P™"  remedies  prescribed  by  the  Sarodis  or  wandering  soothsayers 
children,  is  that  she  should  set  fire  to  somebody's  house,  going  alone 
and  at  night  to  perform  the  deed.  So  long  as  some  small 
part  of  the  house  is  burnt  it  does  not  matter  if  the  fire  be 
extinguished,  but  the  woman  should  not  give  the  alarm  her- 
self It  is  supposed  that  the  spirit  of  some  insect  which  is 
burnt  will  enter  her  womb  and  be  born  as  a  child.  Perhaps 
she  sets  fire  to  someone  else's  house  so  as  to  obtain  the 
spirit  of  one  of  the  family's  dead  children,  which  may  be 
supposed  to  have  entered  the  insects  dwelling  on  the  house. 
Some  years  ago  at  Bhandak  in  Chanda  complaints  were 
made  of  houses  being  set  on  fire.  The  police  officer  ^  sent 
to  investigate  found  that  other  small  fires  continued  to  occur. 
He  searched  the  roofs  of  the  houses,  and  on  two  or  three 
found  little  smouldering  balls  of  rolled-up  cloth.  Knowing 
of  the  superstition  he  called  all  the  childless  married  women 
of  the  place  together  and  admonished  them  severely,  and  the 
fires  stopped.  On  another  occasion  the  same  officer's  wife 
was  ill,  and  his  little  son,  having  fever,  was  sent  daily  to  the 
dispensary  for  medicine  in  charge  of  a  maid.  One  morning 
he  noticed  on  one  of  the  soles  of  the  boy's  feet  a  stain  of  the 
juice  of  the  bhilawa'^  or-  marking- nut  tree,  which  raises 
blisters  on  the  skin.  On  looking  at  the  other  foot  he  found 
six  similar  marks,  and  on  inquiry  he  learned  that  these  were 
made  by  a  childless  woman  in  the  expectation  that  the  boy 
would  soon  die  and  be  born  again  as  her  child.  The  boy 
suffered  no  harm,  but  his  mother,  being  in  bad  health,  nearly 
died  of  shock  on  learning  of  the  magic  practised  against 
her  son. 

Another  device  is  to  make  a  pradakshmia  or  pilgrimage 
round  a  pipal  tree,  going  naked  at  midnight  after  worship- 
ping Maroti  or  Hanuman,  and  holding  a  necklace  of  iulsi 
beads  in  the  hand.  The  pTpal  is  of  course  a  sacred  tree,  and 
is  the  abode  of  Brahma,  the  original  creator  of  the  world. 
1  Circle  Inspector  Ganesh  Prasad,  ^  Semicarpus  anacardium . 


II  DEVICES  FOR  PROCURING  CHILDREN  ^ 

Brahma  has  no  consort,  and  it  is  believed  that  while  all  other 
trees  are  both  male  and  female  the  pipal  is  only  male,  and  is 
capable  of  impregnating  a  woman  and  rendering  her  fertile. 
A  variation  of  this  belief  is  that  pIpal  trees  are  inhabited  by 
the  spirits  of  unmarried  Brahman  boys,  and  hence  a  woman 
sometimes  takes  a  piece  of  new  thread  and  winds  it  round 
the  tree,  perhaps  with  the  idea  of  investing  the  spirit  of  the 
boy  with  the  sacred  thread.  She  will  then  walk  round  the 
tree  as  a  symbol  of  the  wedding  ceremony  of  walking  round 
the  sacred  post,  and  hopes  that  the  boy,  being  thus  brought 
to  man's  estate  and  married,  will  cause  her  to  bear  a  son. 
But  modest  women  do  not  go  naked  round  the  tree.  The 
Amawas  or  New  Moon  day,  if  it  falls  on  a  Monday,  is 
specially  observed  by  married  women.  On  this  day  they 
will  walk  1 08  times  round  a  pIpal  tree,  and  then  give  108 
mangoes  or  other  fruits  to  a  Brahman,  choosing  a  different 
fruit  every  time.  The  number  108  means  a  hundred  and  a 
little  more  to  show  there  is  no  stint,  '  Full  measure  and  flow- 
ing over,'  like  the  customary  present  of  Rs.  1-4  instead  of  a 
rupee.  This  is  also  no  doubt  a  birth-charm,  fruit  being  given 
so  that  the  woman  may  become  fruitful.  Or  a  childless  woman 
will  pray  to  Hanuman  or  Mahabir.  Every  morning  she  will  go 
to  his  shrine  with  an  offering  of  fruit  or  flowers,  and  every 
evening  will  set  a  lamp  burning  there  ;  and  morning  and 
evening,  prostrating  herself,  she  makes  her  continuous  prayer 
to  the  god  :  '  (9/z,  Mahabir,  Mahdrdj !  hamko  ek  batcha  do, 
sirf  ek  batcha  do!  ^  Then,  after  many  days,  Mahabir,  as 
might  be  anticipated,  appears  to  her  in  a  dream  and  promises 
her  a  child.  It  does  not  seem  that  they  believe  that  Mahabir 
himself  directly  renders  the  woman  fertile,  because  similar 
prayers  are  made  to  the  River  Nerbudda,  a  goddess.  But 
perhaps  he,  being  the  god  of  strength,  lends  virile  power  to 
her  husband.  Another  prescription  is  to  go  to  the  burying- 
ground,  and,  after  worshipping  it,  to  take  some  of  the  bone- 
ash  of  a  burnt  corpse  and  wear  this  wrapped  up  in  an  amulet 
on  the  body.  Occasionally,  if  a  woman  can  get  no  children 
she  will  go  to  the  father  of  a  large  family  and  let  him  beget 
a  child  upon  her,  with  or  without  the  connivance  of  her 
husband.      But  only  the  more  immodest  women  do  this.     Or 

'    'Oh,  Lord  Mahabir,  give  nie  a  child,  only  one  child." 
VOL.  IV  D 


charms. 


34  KUNBI  PART 

she  cuts  a  piece  off  the  breast-cloth  of  a  woman  who  has 
children,  and,  after  burning  incense  on  it,  wears  it  as  an 
amulet.  For  a  stronger  charm  she  will  take  a  piece  of  such 
a  woman's  cloth  and  a  lock  of  her  hair  and  some  earth  which 
her  feet  have  pressed  and  bury  these  in  a  pot  before  Devi's 
shrine,  sometimes  fashioning  an  image  of  the  woman  out  of 
them.  Then,  as  they  rot  away,  the  child-bearing  power  of  the 
fertile  woman  will  be  transferred  to  her.  If  a  woman's  first 
children  have  died  and  she  wishes  to  preserve  a  later  one,  she 
sometimes  weighs  the  child  against  sugar  or  copper  and  dis- 
tributes the  amount  in  charity.  Or  she  gives  the  child  a 
bad  name,  such  as  Dagharia  (a  stone),  Kachria  (sweepings), 
Ukandia  (a  dunghill). 
13.  Love  If  a  woman's  husband  is  not  in  love  with  her,  a  prescrip- 

tion of  a  Mohani  or  love-charm  given  by  the  wise  women  is 
that  she  should  kill  an  owl  and  serve  some  of  its  flesh  to  her 
husband  as  a  charm.  "  It  has  not  occurred,"  Mr.  Kipling 
writes,  "  to  the  oriental  jester  to  speak  of  a  boiled  owl  in  con- 
nection with  intoxication,  but  when  a  husband  is  abjectly 
submissive  to  his  wife  her  friends  say  that  she  has  given  him 
boiled  owl's  flesh  to  eat."  ^  If  a  man  is  in  love  with  some 
woman  and  wishes  to  kindle  a  similar  sentiment  in  her  the 
following  method  is  given  :  On  a  Saturday  night  he  should 
go  to  a  graveyard  and  call  out,  '  I  am  giving  a  dinner  to- 
morrow night,  and  I  invite  you  all  to  attend.'  Then  on  the 
Sunday  night  he  takes  cocoanuts,  sweetmeats,  liquor  and 
flowers  to  the  cemetery  and  sets  them  all  out,  and  all  the 
spirits  or  Shaitans  come  and  partake.  The  host  chooses  a 
particularly  big  Shaitan  and  calls  to  him  to  come  near  and 
says  to  him,  '  Will  you  go  with  me  and  do  what  I  ask  you.' 
If  the  spirit  assents  he  follows  the  man  home.  Next  night 
the  man  again  offers  cocoanuts  and  incense  to  the  Shaitan, 
whom  he  can  see  by  night  but  not  by  day,  and  tells  him  to 
go  to  the  woman's  house  and  call  her.  Then  the  spirit  goes 
and  troubles  her  heart,  so  that  she  falls  in  love  with  the  man 
and  has  no  rest  till  she  goes  to  him.  If  the  man  afterwards 
gets  tired  of  her  he  will  again  secretly  worship  and  call  up 
the   Shaitan   and  order  him  to  turn  the  woman's  inclination 

'  Beast  and  Man  in  Iiid/'a,   j).  44.        Hindus  do    say,    'Drunk  as   an   owl' 
But,  according  to  the  same  writer,  tlic       and  also  '  Stupid  as  an  owl.' 


II  DISPOSAL  OF  THE  DEAD  35 

away.  Another  method  is  to  fetch  a  skull  from  a  graveyard 
and  go  to  a  banyan  tree  at  midnight.  There,  divesting  him- 
self of  his  clothes,  the  operator  partially  cooks  some  rice  in 
the  skull,  and  then  throws  it  against  the  tree  ;  he  gathers 
all  the  grains  that  stick  to  the  trunk  in  one  box  and  those 
that  fall  to  the  ground  in  another  box,  and  the  first  rice 
given  to  the  woman  to  eat  will  turn  her  inclination  towards 
him,  while  the  second  will  turn  it  away  from  him.  This  is 
a  sympathetic  charm,  the  rice  which  sticks  to  the  tree  having 
the  property  of  attracting  the  woman. 

The  Kunbis  either  bury  or  burn  the  dead.  In  Berar  14.  Dis- 
sepulture  is  the  more  common  method  of  disposal,  perhaps  in  [j^g^^ead 
imitation  of  the  Muhammadans.  Here  the  village  has  usually 
a  field  set  apart  for  the  disposal  of  corpses,  which  is  known 
as  Smashan.  Hindus  fill  up  the  earth  practically  level  with 
the  ground  after  burial  and  erect  no  monument,  so  that  after 
a  few  years  another  corpse  can  be  buried  in  the  same  place. 
When  a  Kunbi  dies  the  body  is  washed  in  warm  water  and 
placed  on  a  bier  made  of  bamboos,  with  a  network  of  san- 
hemp.^  Ordinary  rope  must  not  be  used.  The  mourners 
then  take  it  to  the  grave,  scattering  almonds,  sandalwood, 
dates,  betel-leaf  and  small  coins  as  they  go.  These  are 
picked  up  by  the  menial  Mahars  or  labourers.  Halfway  to 
the  grave  the  corpse  is  set  down  and  the  bearers  change  their 
positions,  those  behind  going  in  front.  Here  a  little  wheat 
and  pulse  which  have  been  tied  in  the  cloth  covering  the 
corpse  are  left  by  the  way.  On  the  journey  to  the  grave  the 
body  is  covered  with  a  new  unwashed  cloth.  The  grave  is 
dug  three  or  four  feet  deep,  and  the  corpse  is  buried  naked, 
lying  on  its  back  with  the  head  to  the  south.  After  the 
burial  one  of  the  mourners  is  sent  to  get  an  earthen  pot  from 
the  Kumhar  ;  this  is  filled  with  water  at  a  river  or  stream, 
and  a  small  piece  is  broken  out  of  it  with  a  stone  ;  one  of 
the  mourners  then  takes  the  pot  and  walks  round  the  corpse 
with  it,  dropping  a  stream  of  water  all  the  way.  Having 
done  this,  he  throws  the  pot  behind  him  over  his  shoulder 
without  looking  round,  and  then  all  the  mourners  go  home 
without  looking  behind  them.  The  stone  with  which  the 
hole  has  been  made  in  the  earthen  pot  is  held   to  represent 

^   Crotalaria  juncea. 


36  KUNBI  PART 

the  spiiit  of  the  deceased.  It  is  placed  under  a  tree  or  -on 
the  bank  of  a  stream,  and  for  ten  days  the  mourners  come 
and  offer  it  pindas  or  balls  of  rice,  one  ball  being  offered  on 
the  first  day,  two  on  the  second,  and  so  on,  up  to  ten  on  the 
tenth.  On  this  last  day  a  little  mound  of  earth  is  made, 
which  is  considered  to  represent  Mahadeo.  Four  miniature 
flags  are  planted  round,  and  three  cakes  of  rice  are  laid  on  it  ; 
and  all  the  mourners  sit  round  the  mound  until  a  crow 
comes  and  eats  some  of  the  cake.  Then  they  say  that  the 
dead  man's  spirit  has  been  freed  from  troubling  about  his 
household  and  mundane  affairs  and  has  departed  to  the  other 
world.  But  if  no  real  crow  comes  to  eat  the  cake,  they 
make  a  representation  of  one  out  of  the  sacred  kusha  grass, 
and  touch  the  cake  with  it  and  consider  that  a  crow  has 
eaten  it.  After  this  the  mourners  go  to  a  stream  and  put  a 
little  cow's  urine  on  their  bodies,  and  dip  ten  times  in  the 
water  or  throw  it  over  them.  The  officiating  Brahman 
sprinkles  them  with  holy  water  in  which  he  has  dipped  the 
toe  of  his  right  foot,  and  they  present  to  the  Brahman  the 
vessels  in  which  the  funeral  cakes  have  been  cooked  and  the 
clothes  which  the  chief  mourner  has  worn  for  ten  days.  On 
coming  home  they  also  give  him  a  stick,  umbrella,  shoes,  a 
bed  and  anything  else  which  they  think  the  dead  man  will 
want  in  the  next  world.  On  the  thirteenth  day  they  feed 
the  caste-fellows  and  the  head  of  the  caste  ties  a  new  pagri 
on  the  chief  mourner's  head  backside  foremost  ;  and  the  chief 
mourner  breaking  an  areca-nut  on  the  threshold  places  it  in 
his  mouth  and  spits  it  out  of  the  door,  signifying  the  final 
ejectment  of  the  deceased's  spirit  from  the  house.  Finally, 
the  chief  mourner  goes  to  worship  at  Maroti's  shrine,  and 
the  household  resumes  its  ordinary  life.  The  different  rela- 
tives of  the  deceased  man  usually  invite  the  bereaved  family 
to  their  house  for  a  day  and  give  them  a  feast,  and  if  they 
have  many  relations  this  may  go  on  for  a  considerable  time. 
The  complete  procedure  as  detailed  above  is  observed  only 
in  the  case  of  the  head  of  the  household,  and  for  less  im- 
portant members  is  considerably  abbreviated.  The  position 
of  chief  mourner  is  occupied  by  a  man's  eldest  son,  or  in  the 
absence  of  sons  by  his  younger  brother,  or  failing  him  by 
the  eldest  son  of  an  elder  brother,  or  failing   male  relations 


II  MOURNING  37 

by  the  widow.  The  chief  mourner  is  considered  to  have  a 
special  claim  to  the  property.  He  has  the  whole  of  his  head 
and  face  shaved,  and  the  hair  is  tied  up  in  a  corner  of  the 
grave-cloth.  If  the  widow  is  chief  mourner  a  small  lock  of 
her  hair  is  cut  off  and  tied  up  in  the  cloth.  When  the  corpse 
is  being  carried  out  for  burial  the  widow  breaks  her  viangal- 
sutravi  or  marriage  necklace,  and  wipes  off  the  kunku  or  ver- 
milion from  her  forehead.  This  necklace  consists  of  a  string 
of  black  glass  beads  with  a  piece  of  gold,  and  is  always  placed 
on  the  bride's  neck  at  the  wedding.  The  widow  does  not 
break  her  glass  bangles  at  all,  but  on  the  eleventh  day 
changes  them  for  new  ones. 

The  period  of  mourning  for  adults  of  the  family  is  ten  15.  Moum- 
days,  and  for  children  three,  while  in  the  case  of  distant  '"^' 
relatives  it  is  sufficient  to  take  a  bath  as  a  mark  of  respect 
for  them.  The  male  mourners  shave  their  heads,  the  walls 
of  the  house  are  whitewashed  and  the  floor  spread  with  cow- 
dung.  The  chief  mourner  avoids  social  intercourse  and 
abstains  from  ordinary  work  and  from  all  kinds  of  amuse- 
ments. He  debars  himself  from  such  luxuries  as  betel-leaf 
and  from  visiting  his  wife.  Oblations  are  offered  to  the 
dead  on  the  third  day  of  the  light  fortnight  of  Baisakh 
(June)  and  on  the  last  day  of  Bhadrapad  (September).  The 
Kunbi  is  a  firm  believer  in  the  action  of  ghosts  and  spirits, 
and  never  omits  the  attentions  due  to  his  ancestors.  On 
the  appointed  day  he  diligently  calls  on  the  crows,  who 
represent  the  spirits  of  ancestors,  to  come  and  eat  the  food 
which  he  places  ready  for  them  ;  and  if  no  crow  turns  up,  he 
is  disturbed  at  having  incurred  the  displeasure  of  the  dead. 
He  changes  the  food  and  goes  on  calling  until  a  crow  comes, 
and  then  concludes  that  their  previous  failure  to  appear  was 
due  to  the  fact  that  his  ancestors  were  not  pleased  with  the 
kind  of  food  he  first  offered.  In  future  years,  therefore,  he 
changes  it,  and  puts  out  that  which  was  eaten,  until  a  similar 
contretemps  of  the  non-appearance  of  crows  again  occurs. 
The  belief  that  the  spirits  of  the  dead  pass  into  crows  is  no 
doubt  connected  with  that  of  the  crow's  longevity.  Many 
Hindus  think  that  a  crow  lives  a  thousand  years,  and  others 
that  it  never  dies  of  disease,  but  only  when  killed  by  violence. 
Tennyson's  '  many-wintered  crow '  may  indicate  some  similar 


38  KUNBI  PART 

idea  in  Europe.  Similarly  if  the  Gonds  find  a  crow's  nest 
they  give  the  nestlings  to  young  children  to  eat,  and  think 
that  this  will  make  them  long-lived.  If  a  crow  perches  in 
the  house  when  a  woman's  husband  or  other  relative  is  away, 
she  says,  '  Fly  away,  crow  ;  fly  away  and  I  will  feed  you  '  ; 
and  if  the  crow  then  flies  away  she  thinks  that  the  absent 
one  will  return.  Here  the  idea  is  no  doubt  that  if  he  had 
been  killed  his  spirit  might  have  come  home  in  the  shape  of 
the  crow  perching  on  the  house.  If  a  married  woman  sees 
two  crows  breeding  it  is  considered  a  very  bad  omen,  the 
effect  being  that  her  husband  will  soon  die.  It  is  probably 
supposed  that  his  spirit  will  pass  into  the  young  crow  which 
is  born  as  a  result  of  the  meeting  which  she  has  seen. 

Mr.  A.  K.  Smith  states  that  the  omen  applies  to  men 
also,  and  relates  a  story  of  a  young  advocate  who  saw  two 
crows  thus  engaged  on  alighting  from  the  train  at  some 
station.  In  order  to  avert  the  consequences  he  ran  to  the 
telegraph  office  and  sent  messages  to  all  his  relatives  and 
friends  announcing  his  own  death,  the  idea  being  that  this 
fictitious  death  would  fulfil  the  omen,  and  the  real  death 
would  thus  become  unnecessary.  In  this  case  the  belief 
would  be  that  the  man's  own  spirit  would  pass  into  the 
young  crow. 
i6.  Reii-  The  principal  deities  of  the  caste  are  Maroti  or  Hanu- 

^'°"'  man,  Mahadeo  or  Siva,  Devi,  Satwai  and  Khandoba.    Maroti 

is  worshipped  principally  on  Saturdays,  so  that  he  may 
counteract  the  evil  influences  exercised  by  the  planet  Saturn 
on  that  day.  When  a  new  village  is  founded  Maroti  must 
first  be  brought  and  placed  in  the  village  and  worshipped, 
and  after  this  houses  are  built.  The  name  Maroti  is  derived 
from  Marut,  the  Vedic  god  of  the  wind,  and  he  is  considered 
to  be  the  son  of  Vayu,  the  wind,  and  Anjini.  Khandoba  is 
an  incarnation  of  Siva  as  a  warrior,  and  is  the  favourite 
deity  of  the  Marathas.  Devi  is  usually  venerated  in  her 
incarnation  of  Marhai  Mata,  the  goddess  of  smallpox  and 
cholera — the  most  dreaded  scourges  of  the  Hindu  villager. 
They  offer  goats  and  fowls  to  Marhai  Devi,  cutting  the 
throat  of  the  animal  and  letting  its  blood  drop  over  the 
stone,  which  represents  the  goddess  ;  after  this  they  cut  off 
a  leg  and  hang  it  to  the  tree  above  her  shrine,  and  eat  the 


II  RELIGION  39 

remainder.  Sometimes  also  they  offer  wooden  images  of 
human  beings,  which  are  buried  before  the  shrine  of  the 
goddess  and  are  obviously  substitutes  for  a  human  sacrifice  ; 
and  the  lower  castes  offer  pigs.  If  a  man  dies  of  snake- 
bite they  make  a  little  silver  image  of  a  snake,  and  then  kill 
a  real  snake,  and  make  a  platform  outside  the  village  and 
place  the  image  on  it,  which  is  afterwards  regularly  wor- 
shipped as  Nagoba  Deo.  They  may  perhaps  think  that  the 
spirit  of  the  snake  which  is  killed  passes  into  the  silver 
image.  Somebody  afterwards  steals  the  image,  but  this 
does  not  matter.  Similarly  if  a  man  is  killed  by  a  tiger 
he  is  deified  and  worshipped  as  Baghoba  Deo,  though  they 
cannot  kill  a  tiger  as  a  preliminary.  The  Kunbis  make 
images  of  their  ancestors  in  silver  or  brass,  and  keep  them 
in  a  basket  with  their  other  household  deities.  But  when 
these  get  too  numerous  they  take  them  on  a  pilgrimage  to 
some  sacred  river  and  deposit  them  in  it.  A  man  who  has 
lost  both  parents  will  invite  some  man  and  woman  on 
Akshaya  Tritiya,^  and  call  them  by  the  names  of  his  parents, 
and  give  them  a  feast.  Among  the  mythological  stories 
known  to  the  caste  is  one  of  some  interest,  explaining  how 
the  dark  spots  came  on  the  face  of  the  moon.  They  say 
that  once  all  the  gods  were  going  to  a  dinner-party,  each 
riding  on  his  favourite  animal  or  vdJian  (conveyance).  But 
the  vdhan  of  Ganpati,  the  fat  god  with  the  head  of  an 
elephant,  was  a  rat,  and  the  rat  naturally  could  not  go 
as  fast  as  the  other  animals,  and  as  it  was  very  far  from 
being  up  to  Ganpati's  weight,  it  tripped  and  fell,  and  Ganpati 
came  off.  The  moon  was  looking  on,  and  laughed  so  much 
that  Ganpati  was  enraged,  and  cursed  it,  saying,  '  Thy  face 
shall  be  black  for  laughing  at  me.'  Accordingly  the  moon 
turned  quite  black  ;  but  the  other  gods  interfered,  and  said 
that  the  curse  was  too  hard,  so  Ganpati  agreed  that  only  a 
part  of  the  moon's  face  should  be  blackened  in  revenge  for 
the  insult.  This  happened  on  the  fourth  day  of  the  bright 
fortnight  of  Bhadon  (September),  and  on  that  day  it  is  said 
that  nobody  should  look  at  the  moon,  as  if  he  does,  his 
reputation  will  probably  be  lowered  by  some  false  charge  or 

'  The  3rd  Baisakh  (May)  Siidi,  the       The  name  means,  'The  day  of  immor- 
commencement  of  the  agricultural  year.       tality.' 


40 


KUNBI 


17.  The 

Pola 

festival. 


Muham- 
madan 
tendencies 
of  Berar 
Kunbis. 


libel  being  promulgated  against  him.  As  already  stated,  the 
Kunbi  firmly  believes  in  the  influence  exercised  by  spirits, 
and  a  proverb  has  it,  '  Brahmans  die  of  indigestion,  Sunars 
from  bile,  and  Kunbis  from  ghosts '  ;  because  the  Brahman 
is  alvi^ays  feasted  as  an  act  of  charity  and  given  the  best 
food,  so  that  he  over-eats  himself,  while  the  Sunar  gets  bilious 
from  sitting  all  day  before  a  furnace.  When  somebody  falls 
ill  his  family  get  a  Brahman's  cast-off  sacred  thread,  and 
folding  it  to  hold  a  little  lamp,  will  wave  this  to  and  fro.  If 
it  moves  in  a  straight  line  they  say  that  the  patient  is 
possessed  by  a  spirit,  but  if  in  a  circle  that  his  illness  is  due 
to  natural  causes.  In  the  former  case  they  promise  an 
offering  to  the  spirit  to  induce  it  to  depart  from  the  patient. 
The  Brahmans,  it  is  said,  try  to  prevent  the  Kunbis  from 
getting  hold  of  their  sacred  threads,  because  they  think  that 
by  waving  the  lamp  in  them,  all  the  virtue  which  they  have 
obtained  by  their  repetitions  of  the  Gayatri  or  sacred  prayer 
is  transferred  to  the  sick  Kunbi.  They  therefore  tear  up 
their  cast-off  threads  or  sew  them  into  clothes. 

The  principal  festival  of  the  Kunbis  is  the  Pola,  falling 
at  about  the  middle  of  the  rainy  season,  when  they  have  a 
procession  of  plough-bullocks.  An  old  bullock  goes  first, 
and  on  his  horns  is  tied  the  vmk/iar,  a  wooden  frame  with 
pegs  to  which  torches  are  affixed.  They  make  a  rope  of 
mango-leaves  stretched  between  two  posts,  and  the  viakJiar 
bullock  is  made  to  break  this  and  stampede  back  to  the 
village,  followed  by  all  the  other  cattle.  It  is  said  that  the 
makhar  bullock  will  die  within  three  years.  Behind  him 
come  the  bullocks  of  the  proprietors  and  then  those  of  the 
tenants  in  the  order,  not  so  much  of  their  wealth,  but  of  their 
standing  in  the  village  and  of  the  traditional  position  held 
by  their  families.  A  Kunbi  feels  it  very  bitterly  if  he  is  not 
given  what  he  considers  to  be  his  proper  rank  in  this  pro- 
cession. It  has  often  been  remarked  that  the  feudal  feeling 
of  reverence  for  hereditary  rights  and  position  is  as  strong 
among  the  Maratha  people  as  anywhere  in  the  world. 

In  Wardha  and  Berar  the  customs  of  the  Kunbis  show 
in  several  respects  the  influence  of  Islam,  due  no  doubt  to 
the  long  period  of  Muhammadan  dominance  in  the  country. 
To  this  may  perhaps  be  attributed  the  prevalence  of  burial 


II     MUHAMMADAN  TENDENCIES  OF  BERAR  KUNBIS    41 

of    the   dead    instead    of   cremation,    the    more    respectable 
method   according  to    Hindu   ideas.      The   Dhanoje   Kunbis 
commonly  revere  Dawal  Malik,  a  Muhammadan  saint,  whose 
tomb  is  at  Uprai  in   Amraoti   District.      An  iincs  or   fair   is 
held    here    on    Thursdays,    the    day    commonly    sacred    to 
Muhammadan  saints,  and  on  this  account  the  Kunbis  will 
not  be  shaved    on   Thursdays.      They   also    make   vows    of 
mendicancy  at  the  Muharram  festival,  and  go  round  begging 
for  rice  and  pulse  ;  they  give  a  little  of  what  they  obtain  to 
Muhammadan  beggars  and  eat  the  rest.      At  the  Muharram 
they  tie  a  red  thread  on  their  necks  and  dance  round  the 
aldwa,  a  small  hole  in  which  fire  is  kindled  in   front  of  the 
tdzias  or  tombs  of  Hussain.      At  the  Muharram  ^   they  also 
carry  horseshoes  of  silver  or  gilt  tinsel  on  the  top  of  a  stick 
decorated  with  peacock's  feathers.     The  horseshoe  is  a  model 
of  that  of  the  horse  of  Hussain.      The  men  who  carry  these 
horseshoes  are  supposed  to  be  possessed  by  the  spirit  of  the 
saint,  and  people  make  prayers  to  them  for  anything  they 
want.      If  one  of  the  horseshoes  is  dropped  the  finder  will 
keep  it  in  his  house,  and  next  year  if  he  feels  that  the  spirit 
moves  him   will   carry  it  himself.      In   Wardha  the   Kunbis 
worship   Khwaja   Sheikh    Farld    of  Girar,  and   occasionally 
Sheikh  Farld  appears  to  a  Kunbi  in  a  dream  and  places  him 
under  a  vow.      Then   he  and  all  his   household  make  little 
imitation   beggars'  wallets  of  cloth   and  dye  them  with   red 
ochre,  and  little  hoes  on  the  model  of  those  which  saises  use 
to  drag  out  horses'  dung,  this  hoe  being  the  badge  of  Sheikh 
Farld.      Then    they   go    round    begging   to    all    the    houses 
in  the  village,  saying,  '  Dam^  Sahib,  dam.'     With  the  alms 
given   them   they   make   cakes   of  niallda,  wheat,  sugar  and 
butter,  and  give  them  to  the  priest  of  the  shrine.     Sometimes 
Sheikh  Farld  tells  the  Kunbi  in  the  dream  that  he  must  buy 
a  goat  of  a  certain   Dhangar  (shepherd),  naming  the  price, 
while  the  Dhangar  is  similarly  warned  to  sell  it  at  the  same 
price,  and  the  goat  is  then  purchased  and  sacrificed  without 
any  haggling.      At  the  end  of  the  sacrifice  the  priest  releases 
the  Kunbi  from  his  vow,  and  he  must  then  shave  the  whole  of 
his  head  and  distribute  liquor  to  the  caste-fellows  in  order  to 

'   Furnished  by  Inspector  Ganesh  Prasad. 
2  Dam  :  breath  or  life. 


and  houses. 


42  KUNBl  PART 

be  received  back  into  the  community.      The  water  of  the 
well    at    Sheikh    Farld's    shrine    at    Girar   is    considered    to 
preserve  the  crops  against  insects,  and  for  this  purpose  it  is 
carried  to  considerable  distances  to  be  sprinkled  on  them. 
19. Villages  An    ordinary  Kunbi  village  ^  contains  between    70  and 

80  houses  or  some  400  souls.  The  village  generally  lies  on 
a  slight  eminence  near  a  nullah  or  stream,  and  is  often 
nicely  planted  with  tamarind  or  pipal  trees.  The  houses  are 
now  generally  tiled  for  fear  of  fire,  and  their  red  roofs  may 
be  seen  from  a  distance  forming  a  little  cluster  on  high- 
lying  ground,  an  elevated  site  being  selected  so  as  to  keep 
the  roads  fairly  dry,  as  the  surface  tracks  in  black-soil 
country  become  almost  impassable  sloughs  of  mud  as  soon 
as  the  rains  have  broken.  The  better  houses  stand  round 
an  old  mud  fort,  a  relic  of  the  Pindari  raids,  when,  on  the 
first  alarm  of  the  approach  of  these  marauding  bands,  the 
whole  population  hurried  within  its  walls.  The  village 
proprietor's  house  is  now  often  built  inside  the  fort.  It  is 
an  oblong  building  surrounded  by  a  compound  wall  of 
unbaked  bricks,  and  with  a  gateway  through  which  a  cart 
can  drive.  Adjoining  the  entrance  on  each  side  are  rooms 
for  the  reception  of  guests,  in  which  constables,  chuprassies 
and  others  are  lodged  when  they  stay  at  night  in  the 
village.  Kothas  or  sheds  for  keeping  cattle  and  grain  stand 
against  the  walls,  and  the  dwelling-house  is  at  the  back. 
Substantial  tenants  have  a  house  like  the  proprietor's,  of  well- 
laid  mud,  whitewashed  and  with  tiled  roof ;  but  the  ordinary 
cultivator's  house  is  one-roomed,  with  an  angan  or  small 
yard  in  front  and  a  little  space  for  a  garden  behind,  in 
which  vegetables  are  grown  during  the  rains.  The  walls 
are  of  bamboo  matting  plastered  over  with  mud.  The 
married  couples  sleep  inside,  the  room  being  partitioned  off 
if  there  are  two  or  more  in  the  family,  and  the  older  persons 
sleep  in  the  verandahs.  In  the  middle  of  the  village  by  the 
biggest  temple  will  be  an  old  pipal  tree,  the  trunk  encircled 
by  an  earthen  or  stone  platform,  which  answers  to  the 
village  club.  The  respectable  inhabitants  will  meet  here 
while  the  lower  classes  go  to  the  liquor-shop  nearly  every 

'  Tliese  paragraphs  are  largely  based  on  a  description  of  a  Wardha  village  by 
Mr.  A.  K.  Smith,  C.S. 


II  FURNITURE  43 

night  to  smoke  and  chat.  The  blacksmith's  and  carpenter's 
shops  are  also  places  of  common  resort  for  the  cultivators. 
Hither  they  wend  in  the  morning  and  evening,  often  taking 
with  them  some  implement  which  has  to  be  mended,  and 
stay  to  talk.  The  blacksmith  in  particular  is  said  to  be  a 
great  gossip,  and  will  often  waste  much  of  his  customer's 
time,  plying  him  for  news  and  retailing  it,  before  he  repairs 
and  hands  back  the  tool  brought  to  him.  The  village  is 
sure  to  contain  two  or  three  little  temples  of  Maroti  or 
Mahadeo.  The  stones  which  do  duty  for  the  images  are 
daily  oiled  with  butter  or  ghl,  and  a  miscellaneous  store  of 
offerings  will  accumulate  round  the  buildings.  Outside  the 
village  will  be  a  temple  of  Devi  or  Mata  Mai  (Smallpox 
Goddess)  with  a  heap  of  little  earthen  horses  and  a  string 
of  hens'  feet  and  feathers  hung  up  on  the  wall.  The  little 
platforms  which  are  the  shrines  of  the  other  village  gods 
will  be  found  in  the  fields  or  near  groves.  In  the  evening 
the  elders  often  meet  at  Maroti's  temple  and  pay  their 
respects  to  the  deity,  bowing  or  prostrating  themselves 
before  him.  A  lamp  before  the  temple  is  fed  by  contribu- 
tions of  oil  from  the  women,  and  is  kept  burning  usually  up 
to  midnight.  Once  a  year  in  the  month  of  Shrawan  (July) 
the  villagers  subscribe  and  have  a  feast,  the  Kunbis  eating 
first  and  the  menial  and  labouring  castes  after  them.  In 
this  month  also  all  the  village  deities  are  worshipped  by  the 
Joshi  or  priest  and  the  villagers.  In  summer  the  cultivators 
usually  live  in  their  fields,  where  they  erect  temporary  sheds 
of  bamboo  matting  roofed  with  juari  stalks.  In  these  most 
of  the  household  furniture  is  stored,  while  at  a  little  distance 
in  another  funnel-shaped  erection  of  bamboo  matting  is  kept 
the  owner's  grain.  This  system  of  camping  out  is  mainly 
adopted  for  fear  of  fire  in  the  village,  when  the  cultivator's 
whole  stock  of  grain  and  his  household  goods  might  be 
destroyed  in  a  few  minutes  without  possibility  of  saving 
them.  The  women  stay  in  the  village,  and  the  men  and 
boys  go  there  for  their  midday  and  evening  meals. 

Ordinary    cultivators    have    earthen    pots     for    cooking  20.  Furni- 
purposes  and  brass  ones  for  eating  from,  while  the  well-to- 
do  have  all  their  vessels  of  brass.      The  furniture  consists  of 
a  few  stools  and   cots.      No  Kunbi  will   lie  on  the  ground, 


44  KUNBI  PART 

probably  because  a  dying  man  is  always  laid  on  the  ground 
to  breathe  his  last ;  and  so  every  one  has  a  cot  consisting  of 
a  wooden  frame  with  a  bed  made  of  hempen  string  or  of 
the  root-fibres  of  the  palds  tree  {Butea  frondosd).  These 
cots  are  always  too  short  for  a  man  to  lie  on  them  at  full 
length,  and  are  in  consequence  supremely  uncomfortable. 
The  reason  may  perhaps  be  found  in  the  belief  that  a  man 
should  always  lie  on  a  bed  a  little  shorter  than  himself  so 
that  his  feet  project  over  the  end.  Because  if  the  bed  is 
longer  than  he  is,  it  resembles  a  bier,  and  if  he  lies  on 
a  bier  once  he  may  soon  die  and  lie  on  it  a  second  time. 
For  bathing  they  make  a  little  enclosure  in  the  compound 
with  mats,  and  place  two  or  three  flat  stones  in  it.  Hot 
water  is  generally  used  and  they  rub  the  perspiration  off 
their  bodies  with  a  flat  stone  called  Jhavvar.  Most  Kunbis 
bathe  daily.  On  days  when  they  are  shaved  they  plaster 
the  head  with  soft  black  earth,  and  then  wash  it  off  and  rub 
their  bodies  with  a  little  linseed  or  sesamum  oil,  or,  if  they 
can  afford  it,  with  cocoanut  oil. 
21.  Food.  The  Kunbis  eat  three  times  a  day,  at  about  eight  in  the 

morning,  at  midday  and  after  dark.  The  morning  meal  is 
commonly  eaten  in  the  field  and  the  two  others  at  home. 
At  midday  the  cultivator  comes  home  from  work,  bathes 
and  takes  his  meal,  having  a  rest  for  about  two  hours  in  all. 
After  finishing  work  he  again  comes  home  and  has  his 
evening  meal,  and  then,  after  a  rest,  at  about  ten  o'clock  he 
goes  again  to  the  fields,  if  the  crops  are  on  the  ground,  and 
sleeps  on  the  mara  or  small  elevated  platform  erected  in  the 
field  to  protect  the  grain  from  birds  and  wild  animals  ; 
occasionally  waking  and  emitting  long-drawn  howls  or 
pulling  the  strings  which  connect  with  clappers  in  various 
parts  of  the  field.  Thus  for  nearly  eight  months  of  the 
year  the  Kunbi  sleeps  in  his  fields,  and  only  during  the 
remaining  period  at  home.  Juari  is  the  staple  food  of  the 
caste,  and  is  eaten  both  raw  and  cooked.  The  raw  pods  of 
juari  were  the  provision  carried  with  them  on  their  saddles 
by  the  marauding  Maratha  horsemen,  and  the  description  of 
Sivaji  getting  his  sustenance  from  gnawing  at  one  of  these 
as  he  rode  along  is  said  to  have  struck  fear  into  the  heart 
of  the   Nizam.      It  is  a  common   custom   among  well-to-do 


II  FOOD  45 

tenants  and  proprietors  to  invite  their  friends  to  a  picnic 
in  the  fields  when  the  crop  is  ripe  to  eat  hurda  or  the  pods 
of  juari  roasted  in  hot  ashes.  For  cooking  purposes  juari 
is  ground  in  an  ordinary  handmill  and  then  passed  through 
a  sieve,  which  separates  the  finer  from  the  coarser  particles. 
The  finer  flour  is  made  into  dough  with  hot  water  and  baked 
into  thick  flat  cJiapdtis  or  cakes,  weighing  more  than  half 
a  pound  each  ;  while  the  coarse  flour  is  boiled  in  water 
like  rice.  The  boiled  pulse  of  arhar  {Cajajius  indicus)  is 
commonly  eaten  with  juari,  and  the  chapdtis  are  either 
dipped  into  cold  linseed  oil  or  consumed  dry.  The  same- 
ness of  this  diet  is  varied  by  a  number  of  green  vegetables, 
generally  with  very  little  savour  to  a  European  palate. 
These  are  usually  boiled  and  then  mixed  into  a  salad  with 
linseed  or  sesam'um  oil  and  flavoured  with  salt  or  powdered 
chillies,  these  last  being  the  Kunbi's  indispensable  condiment. 
He  is  also  very  fond  of  onions  and  garlic,  which  are  either 
chopped  and  boiled,  or  eaten  raw.  Butter-milk  when  avail- 
able is  mixed  with  the  boiled  juari  after  it  is  cooked,  while 
wheat  and  rice,  butter  and  sugar  are  delicacies  reserved  for 
festivals.  As  a  rule  only  water  is  drunk,  but  the  caste 
^  indulge  in  country  liquor  on  festive  occasions.  Tobacco 
is  commonly  chewed  after  each  meal  or  smoked  in  leaf 
cigarettes,  or  in  chilains  or  clay  pipe-bowls  without  a  stem. 
Men  also  take  snuff,  and  a  few  women  chew  tobacco  and 
take  snuff,  though  they  do  not  smoke.  It  is  noticeable  that 
different  subdivisions  of  the  caste  will  commonly  take  food 
from  each  other  in  Berar,  whereas  in  the  Central  Provinces 
they  refuse  to  do  so.  The  more  liberal  usage  in  Berar  is 
possibly  another  case  of  Muhammadan  influence.  Small 
children  eat  with  their  father  and  brothers,  but  the  women 
always  wait  on  the  men,  and  take  their  own  food  afterwards. 
Among  the  Dalia  Kunbis  of  Nimar,  however,  women  eat 
before  men  at  caste  feasts  in  opposition  to  the  usual  practice. 
It  is  stated  in  explanation  that  on  one  occasion  when  the 
men  had  finished  their  meal  first  and  gone  home,  the  women 
on  returning  were  waylaid  in  the  dark  and  robbed  of  their 
ornaments.  And  hence  it  was  decided  that  they  should 
always  eat  first  and  go  home  before  nightfall.  The  Kunbi 
is  fairly  liberal  in  the  matter  of  food.      He  will  cat  the  flesh 


and  oma 

ments. 


46  KUNBI  PART 

of  goats,  sheep  and  deer,  all  kinds  of  fish  and  fowls,  and 
will  drink  liquor.  In  Hoshangabad  and  Nimar  the  higher 
subcastes  abstain  from  flesh  and  wine.  The  caste  will  take 
food  cooked  without  water  from  Brahmans,  Banias  and 
Sunars,  and  that  mixed  with  water  only  from  Maratha 
Brahmans.  All  castes  except  Maratha  Brahmans  will  take 
water  from  the  hands  of  a  Kunbi. 
22.  Clothes  The  dress  of  the  ordinary  cultivator  is   most  common- 

place and  consists  only  of  a  loin-cloth,  another  cloth  thrown 
over  the  shoulders  and  upper  part  of  the  body,  which  except 
for  this  is  often  bare,  and  a  third  rough  cloth  wound  loosely 
round  the  head.  All  these,  originally  white,  soon  assume  a 
very  dingy  hue.  There  is  thus  no  colour  in  a  man's  every- 
day attire,  but  the  gala  dress  for  holidays  consists  of  a  red 
pagri  or  turban,  a  black,  coloured  or  white  coat,  and  a  white 
loin-cloth  with  red  silk  borders  if  he  can  afford  it.  The 
Kunbi  is  seldom  or  never  seen  with  his  head  bare  ;  this  being 
considered  a  bad  omen  because  every  one  bares  his  head 
when  a  death  occurs.  Women  wear  lugras,  or  a  single  long 
cloth  of  red,  blue  or  black  cotton,  and  under  this  the  choli^ 
or  small  breast-cloth.  They  have  one  silk-bordered  cloth  for 
special  occasions.  A  woman  having  a  husband  alive  must 
not  wear  a  white  cloth  with  no  colour  in  it,  as  this  is  the 
dress  of  widows.  A  white  cloth  with  a  coloured  border  may 
be  worn.  The  men  generally  wear  shoes  which  are  open 
at  the  back  of  the  heel,  and  clatter  as  they  move  along. 
Women  do  not,  as  a  rule,  wear  shoes  unless  these  are 
necessary  for  field  work,  or  if  they  go  out  just  after  their 
confinement.  But  they  have  now  begun  to  do  so  in  towns. 
Women  have  the  usual  collection  of  ornaments  on  all  parts 
of  the  person.  The  head  ornaments  should  be  of  gold 
when  this  metal  can  be  afforded.  On  the  finger  they  have 
a  miniature  mirror  set  in  a  ring  ;  as  a  rule  not  more  than 
one  ring  is  worn,  so  that  the  hands  may  be  free  for  work. 
For  a  similar  reason  glass  bangles,  being  fragile,  are  worn 
only  on  the  left  wrist  and  metal  ones  on  the  right.  But  the 
Dhanoje  Kunbis,  as  already  stated,  have  cocoanut  shell 
bangles  on  both  wrists.  They  smear  a  mark  of  red  powder 
on  the  forehead  or  have  a  spangle  there.  Girls  are  generally 
tattooed    in    childhood    when    the   skin    is    tender,    and    the 


II  THE  KUNBI  AS  CULTIVATOR  47 

operation  is  consequently  less  painful.  They  usually  have 
a  small  crescent  and  circle  between  the  brows,  small  circles 
or  dots  on  each  temple  and  on  the  nose,  cheeks  and  chin, 
and  five  small  marks  on  the  back  of  the  hands  to  represent 
flies.  Some  of  the  Deshmukh  families  have  now  adopted 
the  sacred  thread  ;  they  also  put  caste  marks  on  the  fore- 
head, and  wear  the  shape  of  pagri  or  turban  formerly  dis- 
tinctive of  Maratha  Brahmans. 

The  Kunbi  has  the  stolidity,  conservative  instincts,  23.  The 
dulness  and  patience  of  the  typical  agriculturist.  Sir  R.  cultivator. 
Craddock  describes  him  as  follows  :  ^  "  Of  the  purely  agri- 
cultural classes  the  Kunbis  claim  first  notice.  They  are 
divided  into  several  sections  or  classes,  and  are  of  Maratha 
origin,  the  Jhari  Kunbis  (the  Kunbis  of  the  wild  country) 
being  the  oldest  settlers,  and  the  Deshkar  (the  Kunbis  from 
the  Deccan)  the  most  recent.  The  Kunbi  is  certainly  a 
most  plodding,  patient  mortal,  with  a  cat-like  affection  for 
his  land,  and  the  proprietary  and  cultivating  communities, 
of  both  of  which  Kunbis  are  the  most  numerous  members, 
are  unlikely  to  fail  so  long  as  he  keeps  these  characteristics. 
Some  of  the  more  intelligent  and  affluent  of  the  caste,  who 
have  risen  to  be  among  the  most  prosperous  members  of  the 
community,  are  as  shrewd  men  of  business  in  their  way  as 
any  section  of  the  people,  though  lacking  in  education.  I 
remember  one  of  these,  a  member  of  the  Local  Board,  who 
believed  that  the  land  revenue  of  the  country  was  remitted 
to  England  annually  to  form  part  of  the  private  purse  of  the 
Queen  Empress.  But  of  the  general  body  of  the  Kunbi 
caste  it  is  true  to  say  that  in  the  matter  of  enterprise, 
capacity  to  hold  their  own  with  the  moneylender,  determina- 
tion to  improve  their  standard  of  comfort,  or  their  style  of 
agriculture,  they  lag  far  behind  such  cultivating  classes  as 
the  Kirar,  the  Raghvi  and  the  Lodhi.  While,  however,  the 
Kunbi  yields  to  these  classes  in  some  of  the  more  showy 
attributes  which  lead  to  success  in  life,  he  is  much  their 
superior  in  endurance  under  adversity,  he  is  more  law- 
abiding,  and  he  commands,  both  by  reason  of  his  character 
and  his  caste,  greater  social  respect  among  the  people  at 
large.      The  wealthy  Kunbi   proprietor  is  occasionally  rather 

^  Nagpur  Settlement  Report,  para.  45. 


48 


KUNBI 


24.  Social 
and  moral 
character- 
istics. 


spoilt  by  good  fortune,  or,  if  he  continues  a  keen  culti- 
vator, is  apt .  to  be  too  fond  of  land-grabbing.  But  these 
are  the  exceptional  cases,  and  there  is  generally  no  such 
pleasing  spectacle  as  that  afforded  by  a  village  in  which  the 
cultivators  and  the  proprietors  are  all  Kunbis  living  in 
harmony  together."  The  feeling  ^  of  the  Kunbi  towards 
agricultural  improvements  has  hitherto  probably  been  some- 
thing the  same  as  that  of  the  Sussex  farmer  who  said,  *  Our 
old  land,  it  likes  our  old  ploughs '  to  the  agent  who  was 
vainly  trying  to  demonstrate  to  him  the  advantages  of  the 
modern  two-horse  iron  plough  over  ^the  great  wooden  local 
tool  ;  and  the  emblem  ascribed  to  old  Sussex  —  a  pig 
couchant  with  the  motto  '  I  wun't  be  druv ' — would  suit  the 
Kunbi  equally  well.  But  the  Kunbi,  too,  though  he  could 
not  express  it,  knows  something  of  the  pleasure  of  the  simple 
outdoor  life,  the  fresh  smell  of  the  soil  after  rain,  the  joy  of 
the  yearly  miracle  when  the  earth  is  again  carpeted  with 
green  from  the  bursting  into  life  of  the  seed  which  he  has 
sown,  and  the  pleasure  of  watching  the  harvest  of  his  labours 
come  to  fruition.  He,  too,  as  has  been  seen,  feels  some- 
thing corresponding  to  "  That  inarticulate  love  of  the  English 
farmer  for  his  land,  his  mute  enjoyment  of  the  furrow 
crumbling  from  the  ploughshare  or  the  elastic  tread  of  his 
best  pastures  under  his  heel,  his  ever-fresh  satisfaction  at 
the  sight  of  the  bullocks  stretching  themselves  as  they  rise 
from  the  soft  grass." 

Some  characteristics  of  the  Maratha  people  are  noticed 
by  Sir  R.  Jenkins  as  follows : "  "  The  most  remarkable 
feature  perhaps  in  the  character  of  the  Marathas  of  all 
descriptions  is  the  little  regard  they  pay  to  show  or  cere- 
mony in  the  common  intercourse  of  life.  A  peasant  or 
mechanic  of  the  lowest  order,  appearing  before  his  superiors, 
will  sit  down  of  his  own  accord,  tell  his  story  without  cere- 
mony, and  converse  more  like  an  equal  than  an  inferior  ; 
and  if  he  has  a  petition  he  talks  in  a  loud  and  boisterous 
tone  and  fearlessly  sets  forth  his  claims.  Both  the  peasantry 
and  the  better  classes  are  often  coarse  and  indelicate  in  their 


1  The  references  to  English  farming 
in  this  paragraph  are  taken  from  an 
article  in  the  Saturday  Review  of  22n(l 


August  1908. 

-  Report  on   the    Territories  of  the 
Rc'ija  of  Nfigpur. 


-r:^-     J'-:-     %.- 


/ 


■V 


V 


V 


II  SOCIAL  AND  MORAL  CHARACTERISTICS  49 

language,  and  many  of  the  proverbs,  which  they  are  fond  of 
introducing  into  conversation,  are  extremely  gross.  In 
general  the  Marathas,  and  particularly  the  cultivators,  are 
not  possessed  of  much  activity  or  energy  of  character,  but 
they  have  quick  perception  of  their  own  interest,  though 
their  ignorance  of  writing  and  accounts  often  renders  them 
the  dupes  of  the  artful  Brahmans."  "  The  Kunbi,"  Mr. 
Forbes  remarks,'  "  though  frequently  all  submission  and 
prostration  when  he  makes  his  appearance  in  a  revenue 
office,  is  sturdy  and  bold  enough  among  his  own  people. 
Wq  is  fond  of  asserting  his  independence  and  the  helpless- 
ness of  others  without  his  aid,  on  which  subject  he  has 
several  proverbs,  as  :  '  Wherevqr  it  thunders  there  the  Kunbi 
is  a  landholder,'  and  '  Tens  of  millions  are  dependent  on  the 
Kunbi,  but  the  Kunbi  depends  on  no  man.' "  This  sense  of 
his  own  importance,  which  has  also  been  noticed  among  the 
Jats,  may  perhaps  be  ascribed  to  the  Kunbi's  ancient  status 
as  a  free  and  full  member  of  the  village  community.  "  The 
Kunbi  and  his  bullocks  are  inseparable,  and  in  speaking  of 
the  one  it  is  difficult  to  dissociate  the  other.  His  pride  in 
these  animals  is  excusable,  for  they  are  most  admirably 
suited  to  the  circumstances  in  which  nature  has  placed  them, 
and  possess  a  very  wide-extended  fame.  But  the  Kunbi 
frequently  exhibits  his  fondness  for  them  in  the  somewhat 
peculiar  form  of  unmeasured  abuse.  *  May  the  Kathis  - 
seize  you  ! '  is  his  objurgation  if  in  the  peninsula  of  Surat ; 
if  in  the  Idar  district  or  among  the  mountains  it  is  there 
'  May  the  tiger  kill  you  ! '  and  all  over  Gujarat,  '  May  your 
master  die ! '  However,  he  means  by  this  the  animal's 
former  owner,  not  himself ;  and  when  more  than  usually 
cautious  he  will  word  his  chiding  thus — '  May  the  fellow 
that  sold  you  to  me  perish.' "  But  now  the  Kathis  raid  no 
more  and  the  tiger,  though  still  taking  good  toll  of  cattle  in 
the  Central  Provinces,  is  not  the  ever-present  terror  that 
once  he  was.  But  the  bullock  himself  is  no  longer  so  sacro- 
sanct in  the  Kunbi's  eyes,  and  cannot  look  forward  with  the 
•same  certainty  to  an  old  age  of  idleness,  thrisatened  only  by 
starvation  in  the  hot  weather  or  death  by  surfeit  of  the  new 

'   Rasmala,  ii.  242. 

-  A  fiocbooting  tribe  who  gave  their  name  to  Kalhiawar. 

VOL.  IV  E 


50  KUNJRA  PART 

moist  grass  in  the  rains  ;  and  when  therefore  the  Kunbi's 
patience  is  exhausted  by  these  aggravating  animals,  his 
favourite  threat  at  present  is,  '  I  will  sell  you  to  the  Kasais ' 
(butchers)  ;  and  not  so  very  infrequently  he  ends  by  doing 
so.  It  may  be  noted  that  with  the  development  of  the 
cotton  industry  the  Kunbi  of  Wardha  is  becoming  much 
sharper  and  more  capable  of  protecting  his  own  interests, 
while  with  the  assistance  and  teaching  which  he  now  receives 
from  the  Agricultural  Department,  a  rapid  and  decided 
improvement  is  taking  place  in  his  skill  as  a  cultivator. 

Kunjra.^ — A  caste  of  greengrocers,  who  sell  country 
vegetables  and  fruit  and  are  classed  as  Muhammadans.  Mr, 
Crooke  derives  the  name  from  the  Sanskrit  kimj\  '  a  bower  or 
arbour.'  They  numbered  about  1600  persons  in  the  Central 
Provinces  in  191 1,  principally  in  the  Jubbulpore  Division. 
The  customs  of  the  Kunjras  appear  to  combine  Hindu  and 
Muhammadan  rites  in  an  indiscriminate  medley.  It  is 
reported  that  marriage  is  barred  only  between  real  brothers 
and  sisters  and  foster  brothers  and  sisters,  the  latter  rule 
being  known  as  Dudh  bachdna^  or  '  Observing  the  tie  of  the 
milk.'  At  their  betrothal  presents  are  given  to  the  parties, 
and  after  this  a  powder  of  henna  leaves  is  sent  to  the  boy, 
who  rubs  it  on  his  fingers  and  returns  it  to  the  girl  that  she 
may  do  the  same.  As  among  the  Hindus,  the  bodies  of  the 
bridal  couple  are  anointed  with  oil  and  turmeric  at  their 
respective  houses  before  the  wedding.  A  marriage-shed  is 
made  and  the  bridegroom  goes  to  the  bride's  house  wearing 
a  cotton  quilt  and  riding  on  a  bullock.  The  barber  holds 
the  umbrella  over  his  head  and  must  be  given  a  present 
before  he  will  fold  it,  but  the  wedding  is  performed  by  the 
Kazi  according  to  the  Nikah  ceremony  by  the  repetition  of 
verses  from  the  Koran.  The  wedding  is  held  at  four  o'clock 
in  the  morning,  and  as  a  preliminary  to  it  the  bride  is  pre- 
sented with  some  money  by  the  boy's  father,  which  is 
known  as  the  Meher  or  dowry.  On  its  conclusion  a  cup 
of  sherbet  is  given    to  the   bridegroom,  of  which   he   drinks 

1  This    article     is    partly   based    on       Rao,     Headmaster,     Middle     School, 
papers  by  Nanhe  Khan,  Sub-Inspector       Seoni-Chhapara. 
of  I'olicc,  Khurai,  Saugor,  and    Kesho 


II  KUNJRA  51 

half  and  hands  the  remainder  to  the  bride.  The  gift  of  the 
Meher  is  considered  to  seal  the  marriage  contract.  When 
a  widow  is  married  the  Kazi  is  also  employed,  and  he  simply 
recites  the  Kalama  or  Muhammadan  profession  of  belief, 
and  the  ceremony  is  completed  by  the  distribution  of  dates 
to  the  elders  of  the  caste.  Divorce  is  permitted  and  is 
known  as  taldq.  The  caste  observe  the  Muhammadan 
festivals,  and  have  some  favourite  saints  of  their  own  to 
whom  they  make  offerings  of  gulgula,  a  kind  of  pudding, 
with  sacrifices  of  goats  and  fowls.  Participation  in  these 
rites  is  confined  to  members  of  the  family.  Children  are 
named  on  the  day  of  their  birth,  the  Muhammadan  Kazi 
or  a  Hindu  Brahman  being  employed  indifferently  to 
select  the  name.  If  the  parents  lose  one  or  more  children, 
in  order  to  preserve  the  lives  of  those  subsequently  born, 
they  will  allow  the  cJioti  or  scalp-lock  to  grow  on  their  heads 
in  the  Hindu  fashion,  dedicating  it  to  one  of  their  Muham- 
madan saints.  Others  will  put  a  hasli  or  silver  circlet  round 
the  neck  of  the  child  and  add  a  ring  to  this  every  year  ;  a 
strip  of  leather  is  sometimes  also  tied  round  the  neck.  When 
the  child  reaches  the  age  of  twelve  years  the  scalp-lock  is 
shaved,  the  leather  band  thrown  into  a  river  and  the  silver 
necklet  sold.  Offerings  are  made  to  the  saints  and  a  feast  is 
given  to  the  friends  of  the  family.  The  dead  are  buried, 
camphor  and  attar  of  roses  being  applied  to  the  corpse.  On 
the  Tija  and  Chdlisa,  or  third  and  fortieth  days  after  a  death,  a 
feast  is  given  to  the  caste-fellow.'^,  but  no  mourning  is  observed, 
neither  do  the  mourners  bathe  nor  perform  ceremonies  of 
purification.  On  the  Tija  the  Koran  is  also  read  and  fried 
grain  is  distributed  to  children.  For  the  death  of  a  child  the 
ordinary  feasts  need  not  be  given,  but  prayers  are  offered 
for  their  souls  with  those  of  the  other  dead  once  a  \-ear  on 
the  night  of  Shab-i-Barat  or  the  fifteenth  day  of  the  month 
Shaban,^   which    is  observed   as  a    vigil   with    prayer,  feasts 

'  Literally  '  The  Month  of  Separa-  perform  during  the  year  ;  and  all  the 
tion.'  It  is  the  eighth  month  of  the  children  of  men  who  are  to  be  born  and 
Muhammadan  year  and  is  said  to  be  die  in  the  year  are  recorded.  Though 
so  called  because  in  this  month  the  properly  a  fast,  it  is  generally  observed 
AraV)s  broke  up  their  encampments  and  with  rejoicings  and  a  display  of  fire- 
scattered  in  search  of  water.  On  the  works.  Hughes'  Dictionary  of  Islam, 
night  of  Shab-i-Barat  God  registers  all  p.  570. 
the  actions  of  men  which  they  are  to 


52  KURAMWAR  part 

and  illuminations  and  offerings  to  the  ancestors.  Kunjra 
men  are  usually  clean-shaven  with  the  exception  of  the 
beard,  which  is  allowed  to  grow  long  below  the  chin.  Their 
women  are  not  tattooed.  In  the  cities,  Mr.  Crooke  remarks,^ 
their  women  have  an  equivocal  reputation,  as  the  better- 
looking  girls  who  sit  in  the  shops  are  said  to  use  consider- 
able freedom  of  manners  to  attract  customers.  They  are 
also  very  quarrelsome  and  abusive  when  bargaining  for  the 
sale  of  their  wares  or  arguing  with  each  other.  This  is  so 
much  the  case  that  men  who  become  very  abusive  are 
said  to  be  behaving  like  Kunjras  ;  while  in  Dacca  Sir  H. 
Risley  states  '^  that  the  word  Kunjra  has  become  a  term  of 
abuse,  so  that  the  caste  are  ashamed  to  be  known  by  it,  and 
call  themselves  Mewa-farosh,  Sabzi-farosh  or  Bepari.  When 
two  women  are  having  an  altercation,  their  husbands  and 
other  male  relatives  are  forbidden  to  interfere  on  pain  of 
social  degradation.  The  women  never  sit  on  the  ground,  but 
on  small  wooden  stools  ox  pirhis.  The  Kunjras  belong  chiefly 
to  the  north  of  the  Province,  and  in  the  south  their  place  is 
taken  by  the  Marars  and  Malis  who  carry  their  own  produce 
for  sale  to  the  markets.  The  Kunjras  sell  sugarcane,  pota- 
toes, onions  and  all  kinds  of  vegetables,  and  others  deal  in 
the  dried  fruits  imported  by  Kabuli  merchants. 

KuramwaP.^ — -The  shepherd  caste  of  southern  India, 
who  are  identical  with  the  Tamil  Kurumba  and  the  Telugu 
Kuruba.  The  caste  is  an  important  one  in  Madras,  but  in 
the  Central  Provinces  is  confined  to  the  Chanda  District 
where  it  numbered  some  4000  persons  in  1 9 1  i .  The  Kuram- 
wars  are  considered  to  be  the  modern  representatives  of  the 
ancient  Pallava  tribe  whose  kings  were  powerful  in  southern 
India  in  the  seventh  century.^ 

The  marriage  rules  of  the  Kuramwars  are  interesting. 
If  a  girl  reaches  adolescence  while  still  single,  she  is  finally 
expelled  from  the  caste,  her  parents  being  also  subjected 
to  a  penalty  for  readmission.  Formerly  it  is  said  that  such 
a  girl  was  sacrificed  to  the  river-goddess  by  being  placed  in 
a  small  hut  on  the  river-bank  till  a  flood  came  and  swept 

*  Trihe:^  and  Castes  of  the  N.  IV.  P.,  taken  by  Mr.  Hira  Lai  and  by  Pyare 

art.  Kunjra.  Lai  Misra,  Ethnographic  clerk. 

2  Tribes  and  Castes  of  Bengal,  ibidem.  *  North    Arcot    Manual,    vol.    i.    p. 

^  This  article  is  compiled  from  notes  220. 


u  KURAMWAR  53 

her  away.      Now  she  is  taken  to  the  river  and  kept  in  a  hut, 
while  offerings  are  made  to  the  river-goddess,  and  she  may 
then  return  and  live  in  the  village  though  she  is  out  of  caste. 
In  Madras,  as  a  preliminary  to  the  marriage,  the  bridegroom's 
father  observes   certain   marks   or   '  curls  '   on    the   head    or 
hair  of  the  bride  proposed.      Some  of  these  are  believed  to 
forecast  prosperity  and  others  misery  to  the  family  into  which 
she  enters.      They   are  therefore  very  cautious  in   selecting 
only  such  girls  as  possess  curls  {snli)  of  good  fortune.      The 
writer  of  the  North  Arcot  Manual^  after  recording  the  above 
particulars,  remarks  :  "  This  curious  custom  obtaining  among 
this  primitive  tribe  is  observed  by  others  only  in  the  case  of 
the    purchase  of  cows,  bulls  and   horses."      In   the   Central 
Provinces,  however,  at  least  one  parallel  instance  can  be  given 
from  the  northern  Districts  where  any  mark  resembling  the 
V  on  the  head  of  a  cobra  is  considered  to  be  very  inauspicious. 
And  it  is  told  that  a  girl  who  married  into  one  well-known 
family  bore  it,  and  to  this  fact  the  remarkable  succession  of 
misfortunes  which  has  attended  the  family  is  locally  attributed. 
Among  the  Kuramwars  marriages  can  be  celebrated  only  on 
four  days  in   the  year,  the   fifth  day  of  both   fortnights  of 
Phagun  (February),  the  tenth  day  of  the  second  fortnight  of 
the  same  month  and  the  third  day  of  Baisakh  (April).      At 
the  marriage  the  bride  and   bridegroom  are  seated  together 
under  the  canopy,  with  the  shuttle  which  is  used  for  weaving 
blankets  between  them,  and  they  throw  coloured  rice  at  each 
other.     After  this  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  bride- 
groom, saying :  '  Here,  take  care  of  it,  I  am  now  going  to 
cook  food ' ;  while  after  a  time  the  boy  returns  the  doll  to 
the  girl,  saying,  '  I   must  now  weave  the  blanket  and   go  to 
tend  the  flock.'      The  proceeding  seems  a  symbolic  enact- 
ment of  the  cares  of  married  life  and  the  joint  tending  of  the 
baby,  this  sort  of  symbolism  being  particularly  noticeable  in 
the  marriage  ceremonies  of  the  people  of  Madras.      Divorce 
is  not  permitted  even  though  the  wife  be  guilty  of  adultery, 
and    if  she  runs    away  to   her   father's   house  her  husband 
cannot    use    force    to    bring    her    back    if    she    refuses    to 

'   \'ol.  i.  p.  224. 


54  KURAMWAR  part  ii 

return  to  him.  The  Kuramwars  worship  the  implements  of 
their  caUing  at  the  festival  of  Ganesh  Chaturthi,  and  if  any 
family  fails  to  do  this  it  is  put  out  of  caste.  They  also 
revere  annually  Mallana  Deva  and  Mallani  Devi  who  guard 
their  flocks  respectively  from  attacks  of  tigers  and  epidemics 
of  murrain.  The  shrines  of  these  deities  are  generally  built 
under  a  banyan  tree  and  open  to  the  east.  The  caste  are 
shepherds  and  graziers  and  also  make  blankets.  They  are 
poor  and  ignorant,  and  the  Abbe  Dubois  ^  says  of  them  : 
"  Being  confined  to  the  society  of  their  woolly  charge,  they 
seem  to  have  contracted  the  stupid  nature  of  the  animal, 
and  from  the  rudeness  of  their  nature  they  are  as  much 
beneath  the  other  castes  of  Hindus  as  the  sheep  by  their 
simplicity  and  imperfect  instruction  are  beneath  the  other 
quadrupeds."  Hence  the  proverbial  comparison  '  As  stupid 
as  a  Kuramwar.'  When  out  of  doors  the  Kuramwar  retains 
the  most  primitive  method  of  eating  and  drinking  ;  he  takes 
his  food  in  a  leaf  and  licks  it  up  with  his  tongue,  and  sucks 
up  water  from  a  tank  or  river  with  his  mouth.  They  justify 
this  custom  by  saying  that  on  one  occasion  their  god  had 
taken  his  food  out  of  the  house  on  a  leaf-plate  and  was  pro- 
ceeding to  eat  it  with  his  hands  when  his  sheep  ran  away 
and  he  had  to  go  and  fetch  them  back.  In  the  meantime  a 
crow  came  and  pecked  at  the  food  and  so  spoilt  it.  It  was 
therefore  ordained  that  all  the  caste  should  eat  their  food 
straight  off  the  leaf,  in  order  to  do  which  they  would  have  to 
take  it  from  the  cooking-pot  in  small  quantities  and  there 
would  be  no  chance  of  leaving  any  for  the  crows  to  spoil. 
The  story  is  interesting  as  showing  how  very  completely 
the  deity  of  the  Kuramwars  is  imagined  on  the  principle  that 
god  made  man  in  his  own  image.  Or,  as  a  Frenchman  has 
expressed  the  idea,  ""  Dieu  a  fait  Vhomnie  d  son  image,  mais 
riionime  le  lui  a  bie?t  rendu!  The  caste  are  dark  in  colour 
and  may  be  distinguished  by  their  caps  made  from  pieces  of 
blankets,  and  by  their  wearing  a  woollen  cord  round  the 
waist  over  the  loin-cloth.     They  speak  a  dialect  of  Canarese. 

'  Hindu  Planners,  Customs  and  Cerc/nonies, 


KURMI 


LIST  OF    PARAGRAPHS 


I. 

Numbers    and    derivation    of 

24. 

name. 

25- 

2. 

Functional    character    of    the 
caste. 

26. 

3- 

Subcastes. 

27. 

4- 

Exogamoiis  groups. 

28. 

5- 

Marriage  rules.      Betrothal. 

29. 

6; 

The    marriage-shed  or  pavil- 

3°- 

ion. 

31. 

7- 

The  marriage  cakes. 

8. 

Customs  at  the  wedding. 

32. 

9- 

Walking    7-ound    the     sacred 

post. 

33- 

lO. 

Other  ceremonies. 

34. 

II. 

Polygamy,     widow  -  marriage 

35- 

and  divorce. 

36. 

12. 

Impurity  of  women. 

37- 

13- 

Pregnancy  rites. 

38. 

14. 

Earth-eating. 

39- 

15- 

Customs  at  birth. 

40. 

16. 

Treatment  of  mother  and  child. 

41. 

17- 

Ceremonies  after  birth. 

42. 

18. 

Suckling  children. 

43. 

19. 

Beliefs  about  twins. 

44. 

20. 

Disposal  of  the  dead. 

45- 

21. 

Funeral  rites. 

46. 

22. 

Burning  the  dead. 

AP 

23- 

Burial. 

Return  of  the  soul. 

Mourning. 

Shaving.,  and  presents  to  Brah- 

tnans. 
End  of  mourning. 
Anniversaries  of  t lie  dead. 
Beliefs  in  the  hereafter. 
Religion.      Village  gods. 
Sowing  the  Jawaras  or  gardens 

of  A  do /lis. 
Rites  connected  with  the  crops. 

Customs  of  cultivation. 
Agricultural  superstitions. 
Houses. 

Superstitions  about  houses. 
Furniture. 
Clothes. 

Women's  clothes. 
Bathing. 
Food. 

Caste  feasts. 
Hospitality. 

Social  customs.      Tattooing. 
Caste  penalties. 
The  cultivating  status. 
Occupation. 
Appendix.        List     of    exogamous 

clans. 


Kurmi.^- 


-The  representative  cultivating  caste  of  Hin-  i.  Num- 
bers and 


dustan    or    the    country   comprised    roughly   in    the    United  derivation 
Provinces,   Bihar   and    the    Central    Provinces   north  of   the  of  name. 


*  In  this  article  some  account  of  the 
houses,  clothes  and  food  of  the  Hindus 
generally  of  the  northern  Districts  has 


been  inserted,  being  mainly  reproduced 
from  the  District  Gazetteers. 


55 


S6  KURMI  PART 

Nerbudda.  In  191  i  the  Kurmis  numbered  about  300,000 
persons  in  the  Central  Provinces,  of  whom  half  belonged 
to  the  Chhattlsgarh  Division  and  a  third  to  the  Jubbulpore 
Division  ;  the  Districts  in  which  they  were  most  numerous 
being  Saugor,  Damoh,  Jubbulpore,  Hoshangabad,  Raipur, 
Bilaspur  and  Drug.  The  name  is  considered  to  be 
derived  from  the  Sanskrit  krishi,  cultivation,  or  from 
kunna,  the  tortoise  incarnation  of  Vishnu,  whether  because 
it  is  the  totem  of  the  caste  or  because,  as  suggested  by 
one  writer,  the  Kurmi  supports  the  population  of  India  as 
the  tortoise  supports  the  earth.  It  is  true  that  many  Kurmis 
say  they  belong  to  the  Kashyap  gotra,  Kashyap  being  the 
name  of  a  Rishi,  which  seems  to  have  been  derived  from 
kachJiap,  the  tortoise  ;  but  many  other  castes  also  say  they 
belong  to  the  Kashyap  gotra  or  worship  the  tortoise,  and  if 
this  has  any  connection  with  the  name  of  the  caste  it  is 
probable  that  the  caste-name  suggested  the  go^ra-name  and 
not  the  reverse.  It  is  highly  improbable  that  a  large  occu- 
pational caste  should  be  named  after  an  animal,  and  the 
metaphorical  similitude  can  safely  be  rejected.  The  name 
seems  therefore  either  to  come  from  krisJii,  cultivation,  or 
from  some  other  unknown  source. 
2.  Func-  There  seems  little  reason  to  doubt  that  the  Kurmis,  like 

tionaichar-  ^j^^    Kunbis,  are   a    functional    caste.      In    Bihar   they  show 

acter  of  the  '  _  ■'  ^ 

caste.  traces  of  Aryan  blood,  and  are  a  fine-looking  race.      But  in 

Chota  Nagpur  Sir  H.  Risley  states  :  "  Short,  sturdy  and  of 
very  dark  complexion,  the  Kurmis  closely  resemble  in  feature 
the  Dravidian  tribes  around  them.  It  is  difficult  to  distinguish 
a  Kurmi  from  a  Bhumij  or  Santal,  and  the  Santals  will  take 
cooked  food  from  them."  ^  In  the  Central  Provinces  they 
are  fairly  dark  in  complexion  and  of  moderate  height,  and 
no  doubt  of  very  mixed  blood.  Where  the  Kurmis  and 
Kunbis  meet  the  castes  sometimes  amalgamate,  and  there  is 
little  doubt  that  various  groups  of  Kurmis  settling  in  the 
Maratha  country  have  become  Kunbis,  and  Kunbis  migrating 
to  northern  India  have  become  Kurmis.  Each  caste  has 
certain  subdivisions  whose  names  belong  to  the  other.  It 
has  been  seen  in  the  article  on  Kunbi  that  this  caste  is  of 
very  diverse  origin,  having  assimilated  large  bodies  of  persons 
1    'J'rihes  and  Castes  0/ Bengal,  a.x\..  Kurmi. 


II  SUBCASTES  57 

/from  several  other  castes,  and  is  probably  to  a  considerable 

fextent  recruited  from  the  local  non-Aryan  tribes  ;  if  then  the 

iKurmis  mix  so  readily  with  the  Kunbis,the  presumption  is  that 

rthey  are  of  a  similar  mixed  origin,  as  otherwise  they  should 

jconsider  themselves  superior.     Mr.  Crooke  gives  several  names 

of  subcastes  showing  the  diverse  constitution  of  the  Kurmis. 

Thus  three,  Gaharwar,  Jadon  and  Chandel  are  the  names  of 

Rajput  clans  ;  the  Kori  subcaste  must  be  a  branch  of  the  low 

weaver  caste  of  that  name  ;  and  in  the  Central  Provinces  the 

names  of  such  subcastes  as  the  Agaria  or  iron-workers,  the 

Lonhare  or  salt-refiners,  and  the  Khaira  or  catechu-collectors 

indicate  that  these  Kurmis  are  derived  from  low  Hindu  castes 

or  the  aboriginal  tribes. 

The  caste  has  a  large  number  of  subdivisions.  The  3-  Sub- 
Usrete  belonged  to  Bundelkhand,  where  this  name  is  found 
in  several  castes  ;  they  are  also  known  as  Havelia,  because 
they  live  in  the  rich  level  tract  of  the  Jubbulpore  Haveli, 
covered  like  a  chessboard  with  large  embanked  wheat-fields. 
The  name  Haveli  seems  to  have  signified  a  palace  or  head- 
quarters of  a  ruler,  and  hence  was  applied  to  the  tract 
surrounding  it,  which  was  usually  of  special  fertility,  and 
provided  for  the  maintenance  of  the  chief's  establishment 
and  household  troops.  Thus  in  Jubbulpore,  Mandla  and 
Betul  we  find  the  forts  of  the  old  Gond  rulers  dominating 
an  expanse  of  rich  plain -country.  The  Usrete  Kurmis 
abstain  from  meat  and  liquor,  and  may  be  considered  as  one 
of  the  highest  subcastes.  Their  name  may  be  derived  from 
a-sreshtha,  or  not  the  best,  and  its  significance  would  be  that 
formerly  they  were  considered  to  be  of  mixed  origin,  like 
most  castes  in  Bundelkhand.  The  group  of  Sreshtha  or 
best-born  Kurmis  has  now,  however,  died  out  if  it  ever 
existed,  and  the  Usretes  have  succeeded  in  establishing 
themselves  in  its  place.  The  Chandnahes  of  Jubbulpore 
or  Chandnahus  of  Chhattlsgarh  are  another  large  subdivision. 
The  name  may  be  derived  from  the  village  Chandnoha  in 
Bundelkhand,  but  the  Chandnahus  of  Chhattlsgarh  say  that 
three  or  four  centuries  ago  a  Rajput  general  of  the  Raja 
of  Ratanpur  had  been  so  successful  in  war  that  the  king 
allowed  him  to  appear  in  Durbar  in  his  uniform  with  his 
forehead    marked    with    sandalwood,   as    a    special    honour. 


5«  KURMI  I'AKT 

When  he  died  his  son  continued  to  do  the  same,  and  on 
the  king's  attention  being  drawn  to  it  he  forbade  him. 
But  the  son  did  not  obey,  and  hence  the  king  ordered  the 
sandalwood  to  be  rubbed  from  his  forehead  in  open  Durbar. 
But  when  this  was  done  the  mark  miraculously  reappeared 
through  the  agency  of  the  goddess  Devi,  whose  favourite  he 
was.  Three  times  the  king  had  the  mark  rubbed  out  and 
three  times  it  came  again.  So  he  was  allowed  to  wear  it 
thereafter,  and  was  called  Chandan  Singh  from  chandan, 
sandalwood  ;  and  his  descendants  are  the  Chandnahu  Kurmis. 
Another  derivation  is  from  Chandra,  the  moon.  In  Jubbul- 
pore  these  Chandnahes  sometimes  kill  a  pig  under  the  palan- 
quin of  a  newly  married  bride.  In  Bilaspur  they  are 
prosperous  and  capable  cultivators,  but  are  generally  reputed 
to  be  stingy,  and  therefore  are  not  very  popular.  Here 
they  are  divided  into  the  Ekbahinyas  and  Dobahinyas,  or 
those  who  wear  glass  bangles  on  one  or  both  arms  respect- 
ively. The  Chandraha  Kurmis  of  Raipur  are  probably  a 
branch  of  the  Chandnahus.  They  sprinkle  with  water  the 
wood  with  which  they  are  about  to  cook  their  food  in  order 
to  purify  it,  and  will  eat  food  only  in  the  chauka  or  sanctified 
place  in  the  house.  At  harvest  when  they  must  take  meals 
in  the  fields,  one  of  them  prepares  a  patch  of  ground,  clean- 
ing and  watering  it,  and  there  cooks  food  for  them  all. 

The  Singrore  Kurmis  derive  their  name  from  Singror,  a 
place  near  Allahabad.  Singror  is  said  to  have  once  been  a 
very  important  town,  and  the  Lodhis  and  other  castes  have 
subdivisions  of  this  name.  The  Desha  Kurmis  are  a  group 
of  the  Mungeli  tahsll  of  Bilaspur.  Desh  means  one's  native 
country,  but  in  this  case  the  name  probably  refers  to  Bundel- 
khand.  Mr.  Gordon  states  ^  that  they  do  not  rear  poultry 
and  avoid  residing  in  villages  in  which  their  neighbours  keep 
poultry.  The  Santore  Kurmis  are  a  group  found  in  several 
Districts,  who  grow  ja^-hemp,^  and  are  hence  looked  down 
upon  by  the  remainder  of  the  caste.  In  Raipur  the  Manwa 
Kurmis  will  also  do  this  ;  Mana  is  a  word  sometimes  applied 
to  a  loom,  and  the  Manwa  Kurmis  may  be  so  called  because 
they  grow  hemp  and  weave  sacking  from  the   fibres.      The 

'  Indian  Folk  Tales,  p.  8.  Lorha  for  a  discussion  of  the  Hindus' 

2  Crolalaria  juncea.     See  article  on       prejudice  against  tiiis  crop. 


II  EXOGAMOUS  GROUPS  59 

Pdtaria  are  an  inferior  group  in  Bilaspur,  who  are  similarly 
despised  because  they  grow  hemp  and  will  take  their  food 
in  the  fields  in  patris  or  leaf-plates.  The  Gohbaiyan  are 
considered  to  be  an  illegitimate  group  ;  the  name  is  said  to 
signify  '  holding  the  arm.'  The  Bahargaiyan,  or  '  those  who 
live  outside  the  town,'  are  another  subcaste  to  which,  children 
born  out  of  wedlock  are  relegated.  The  Palkiha  subcaste  of 
jubbulpore  are  said  to  be  so  named  because  their  ancestors 
were  in  the  service  of  a  certain  Raja  and  spread  his  bedding 
for  him  ;  hence  they  are  somewhat  looked  down  on  by  the 
others.  The  name  may  really  be  derived  from  palal,  a  kind 
of  vegetable,  and  they  may  originally  have  been  despised  for 
gi-owing  this  vegetable,  and  thus  placing  themselves  on  a  level 
with  the  gardening  castes.  The  Masuria  take  their  name 
from  the  niasnr  or  lentil,  a  common  cold-weather  crop  in  the 
northern  Districts,  which  is,  however,  grown  by  all  Kurmis 
and  other  cultivators  ;  and  the  Agaria  or  iron-workers,  the 
Kharia  or  catechu-makers,  and  the  Lonhare  or  salt-makers, 
have  already  been  mentioned.  There'  are  also  numerous 
local  or  territorial  subcastes,  as  the  Chaurasia  or  those  living 
in  a  Chaurasi  ^  estate  of  eighty -four  villages,  the  Pardeshi 
or  foreigners,  the  Bundelkhandi  or  those  who  came  from 
Bundelkhand,  the  Kanaujias  from  Oudh,  the  Gaur  from 
northern  India,  and  the  Marathe  and  Telenge  or  Marathas 
and  Telugus  ;  these  are  probably  Kunbis  who  have  been 
taken  into  the.  caste.  The  Gabel  are  a  small  subcaste  in 
Sakti  State,  who  now  prefer  to  drop  the  name  Kurmi  and 
call  themselves  simply  Gabel.  The  reason  apparently  is 
that  the  other  Kurmis  about  them  sow  j'«/z-hemp,  and  as 
they  have  ceased  doing  this  they  try  to  separate  themselves 
and  rank  above  the  rest.  But  they  call  the  bastard  group 
of  their  community  Rakhaut  Kurmis,  and  other  people  speak 
of  all  of  them  as  Gabel  Kurmis,  so  that  there  is  no  doubt 
that  they  belong  to  the  caste.  It  is  said  that  formerly  they 
were  pack-carriers,  but  have  now  abandoned  this  calling  in 
favour  of  cultivation. 

Each  subcaste  has  a  number  of  exogamous  divisions  and  4-  Exo- 

1  •  r     n  r^  1  ganious 

these  present  a  large  variety  of  all  t)'pes,      borne  groups  have  groups. 

'  There  are  several  Chaurasis,  a  grant  of  an  estate  of  this  special  size  being 
common  under  native  rule. 


6o  KURMI  PARI 

the  names  of  Brahman  saints  as  Sandil,  Bharadvvaj,  Kausil 
and  Kashyap  ;  others  are  called  after  Rajput  septs,  as 
Chauhan,  Rathor,  Panwar  and  Solanki  ;  other  names  are  of 
villages,  as  Khairagarhi  from  Khairagarh,  Pandariha  from 
Pandaria,  Bhadaria,  and  Harkotia  from  Harkoti  ;  others  are 
titular,  as  Sondeha,  gold-bodied,  Sonkharchi,  spender  of  gold, 
Bimba  Lohir,  stick-carrier,  Banhpagar,  one  wearing  a  thread 
on  the  arm,  Bhandari,  a  store-keeper,  Kumaria,  a  potter,  and 
Shikaria,  a  hunter  ;  and  a  large  number  are  totemistic, 
named  after  plants,  animals  or  natural  objects,  as  Sadaphal, 
a  fruit ;  Kathail  from  knth  or  catechu  ;  Dhorha,  from  dhor, 
cattle ;  Kansia,  the  kdns  grass  ;  Karaiya,  a  frying-pan  ; 
Sarang,  a  peacock  ;  Samundha,  the  ocean  ;  Sindia,  the  date- 
palm  tree  ;  Dudhua  from  dudh,  milk,  and  so  on.  Some 
sections  are  subdivided  ;  thus  the  Tidha  section,  supposed  to 
be  named  after  a  village,  is  divided  into  three  subsections 
named  Ghurepake,  a  mound  of  cowdung,  Dwarparke,  door- 
jamb,  and  Jangi,  a  warrior,  which  are  themselves  exogamous. 
Similarly  the  Chaudhri  section,  named  after  the  title  of  the 
caste  headman,  is  divided  into  four  subsections,  two,  Majhga- 
wan  and  Bamuria,  named  after  villages,  and  two,  Purwa 
Thok  and  Pascham  Thok,  signifying  the  eastern  and 
western  groups.  Presumably  when  sections  get  so  large  as 
to  bar  the  marriage  of  persons  not  really  related  to  each 
other  at  all,  relief  is  obtained  by  subdividing  them  in 
this  manner.  A  list  of  the  sections  of  certain  subcastes  so 
far  as  they  have  been  obtained  is  given  at  the  end  of  the 
article. 
5.  Mar-  Marriage   is  prohibited  between   members  of  the    same 

R'Ifroth"  "'  section  and  between  first  and  second  cousins  on  the  mother's 
side.  But  the  Chandnahe  Kurmis  permit  the  wedding  of  a 
brother's  daughter  to  a  sister's  son.  Most  Kurmis  forbid  a 
man  to  marry  his  wife's  sister  during  her  lifetime.  The 
Chhattlsgarh  Kurmis  have  the  practice  of  exchanging  girls 
between  two  families.  There  is  usually  no  objection  to 
marriage  on  account  of  religious  differences  within  the  pale 
of  Hinduism,  but  the  difficulty  of  a  union  between  a  member 
of  a  Vaishnava  sect  who  abstains  from  flesh  and  liquor,  and 
a  partner  who  does  not,  is  felt  and  expressed  in  the  following 
saying  : 


Betrothal, 


^mA^I^^       ^t^   -"■■^^■i^^ 

?^' 

^MMii^ 

^^^^* 

'"™'" 

^m^ 

POUNDING     RICE. 


II  THE  MARRIAGE-SHED  OR  PAVILION  6i 

Vaishnava  purtisit  avaishna7)a  nciri 
Unt  beil  ki  jot  bichdri^ 

or  '  A  Vaishnava  husband  with  a  non-Vaishnava  wife  is 
like  a  camel  yoked  with  a  bullock.'  Muliammadans  and 
Christians  are  not  retained  in  the  caste.  Girls  arc  usually 
wedded  between  nine  and  eleven,  but  well-to-do  Kurmis, 
like  other  agriculturists,  sometimes  marry  their  daughters 
when  only  a  few  months  old.  The  people  say  that  when  a 
Kurmi  gets  rich  he  will  do  three  things  :  marry  his  daughters 
very  young  and  with  great  display,  build  a  fine  house,  and 
buy  the  best  bullocks  he  can  afford.  The  second  and  third 
methods  of  spending  his  money  are  very  sensible,  whatever 
may  be  thought  of  the  first.  No  penalty  is  imposed  for 
allowing  a  girl  to  exceed  the  age  of  puberty  before  marriage. 
Boys  are  married  between  nine  and  fifteen  years,  but  the  tend- 
ency is  towards  the  postponement  of  the  ceremony.  The 
boy's  father  goes  and  asks  for  a  bride  and  says  to  the  girl's 
father,  '  I  have  placed  my  son  with  you,'  that  is,  given  him 
in  adoption  ;  if  the  match  be  acceptable  the  girl's  father 
replies,  '  Yes,  I  will  give  my  daughter  to  collect  cowdung 
for  you  '  ;  to  which  the  boy's  father  responds,  '  I  will  hold 
her  as  the  apple  of  my  eye.'  Then  the  girl's  father  sends 
the  barber  and  the  Brahman  to  the  boy's  house,  carrying  a 
rupee  and  a  cocoanut.  The  boy's  relatives  return  the  visit 
and  perform  the  '  God  bharfm,'  or  '  Filling  the  lap  of  the 
girl,'  They  take  some  sweetmeats,  a  rupee  and  a  cocoanut, 
and  place  them  in  the  girl's  lap,  this  being  meant  to  induce 
fertility.  The  ceremony  of  betrothal  succeeds,  when  the 
couple  are  seated  together  on  a  wooden  plank  and  touch 
the  feet  of  the  guests  and  are  blessed  by  them.  The  auspi- 
cious date  of  the  wedding  is  fixed  by  the  Brahman  and 
intimation  is  given  to  the  boy's  family  through  the  lagan  or 
formal  invitation,  which  is  sent  on  a  paper  coloured  yellow 
with  powdered  rice  and  turmeric.  A  bride-price  is  paid, 
which  in  the  case  of  well-to-do  families  may  amount  to  as 
much  as  Rs.  lOO  to  Rs.  400. 

Before    the   wedding  the  women  of  the   family   go    out  6.  The 
•and   fetch   new   earth   for  making   the   stoves   on    which   the  '"^'J'^g^- 

'^  sned  or 

marriage   feast   will   be   cooked.      When   about    to    dig   they  pavilion, 
worship  the  earth   by  sprinkling  water   over  it   and   offering 


62  KURMI  PART 

flowers  and  rice.  The  marriage-shed  is  made  of  the  wood 
of  the  sdleh  tree,^  because  this  wood  is  considered  to  be  alive. 
If  a  pole  of  sdleh  is  cut  and  planted  in  the  ground  it  takes 
root  and  sprouts,  though  otherwise  the  wood  is  quite  useless. 
The  wood  of  the  kekar  tree  has  similar  properties  and  may 
also  be  used.  The  shed  is  covered  with  leaves  of  the 
mango  or  jdniun  ^  trees,  because  these  trees  are  evergreen 
and  hence  typify  perpetual  life.  The  marriage-post  in  the 
centre  of  the  shed  is  called  Magrohan  or  Kham  ;  the  women 
go  and  worship  it  at  the  carpenter's  house  ;  two  pice,  a 
piece  of  turmeric  and  an  areca-nut  are  buried  below  it  in 
the  earth  and  a  new  thread  and  a  toran  or  string  of 
mango-leaves  is  wound  round  it.  Oil  and  turmeric  are 
also  rubbed  on  the  marriage-post  at  the  same  time  as  on 
the  bride  and  bridegroom.  In  Saugor  the  marriage-post 
is  often  a  four-sided  wooden  frame  or  a  pillar  with  four 
pieces  of  wood  suspended  from  it.  The  larger  the  marriage- 
shed  is  made  the  greater  honour  accrues  to  the  host,  even 
though  the  guests  may  be  insufficient  to  fill  it.  In  towns  it 
has  often  to  be  made  in  the  street  and  is  an  obstacle  to  traffic. 
There  may  be  eight  or  ten  posts  besides  the  centre  one. 
7.  The  Another   preliminary  ceremony  is  the  family  sacrament 

marriage-  ^^  ^y^^  Meher  or  marriagc-cakcs.  Small  balls  of  wheat-flour 
are  kneaded  and  fried  in  an  earthen  pan  with  sesamum  oil  by 
the  -eldest  woman  of  the  family.  No  metal  vessel  may  be 
used  to  hold  the  water,  flour  or  oil  required  for  these  cakes, 
probably  because  earthen  vessels  were  employed  before 
metal  ones  and  are  therefore  considered  more  sacred.  In 
measuring  the  ingredients  a  quarter  of  a  measure  is  always 
taken  in  excess,  such  as  a  seer  ^  and  a  quarter  for  a  seer  of 
wheat,  to  foreshadow  the  perpetual  increase  of  the  family. 
When  made  the  cakes  are  offered  to  the  Kul  Deo  or  house- 
hold god.  The  god  is  worshipped  and  the  bride  and  bride- 
groom then  first  partake  of  the  cakes  and  after  them  all 
members  of  the  family  and  relatives.  Married  daughters 
and  daughters-in-law  may  eat  of  the  cakes,  but  not  widows, 
who  are  probably  too  impure  to  join  in  a  sacred  sacrament. 
Every  person  admitted  to  partake  of  the  marriage-cakes 
is  held  to  belong  to  the  family,  so  that  all  other  members  of 

'   Hoswellia  scrrala.  ^  Eugenia  jamholana.  ^  2  lbs. 


H  CUSTOMS  AT  THE   WEDDING  63 

it   have   to   observe   impurity   for   ten   days  after   a   birth   or 

death  has  occurred  in  his  house  and  shave  their  heads  for  a 

death.      When    the    family    is    so    large    that    this    becomes 

irksome  it  is  cut  down  by  not  inviting  persons  beyond  seven 

degrees    of    relationship    to    the    Meher    sacrament.        This 

exclusion   has  sometimes  led   to  bitter  quarrels  and   actions 

for  defamation.      It  seems   likely   that    the   Meher    may    be 

a  kind  of  substitute  for  the  sacrificial  meal,  at  which   all   the 

members  of  the  clan  ate  the  body  of  the  totem  or  divine 

animal,  and  some  similar  significance  perhaps  once  attached 

to  the  wedding-cake  in  England,  pieces  of  which  are  sent  to 

relatives  unable  to  be  present  at  the  wedding. 

Before  the  wedding  the  women   of  each  party  go  and  8.  Customs 

anoint   the  village  gods  with  oil   and   turmeric,  worshippins'  ^'  ^^5 

fc>      fc>  _  ^  »  ri       b   wedding. 

them,  and  then  similarly  anoint  the  bride  and  bridegroom  at 
their  respective  houses  for  three  days.  The  bridegroom's 
head  is  shaved  except  for  his  scalp-lock  ;  he  wears  a  silver 
necklet  on  his  neck,  puts  lamp-black  on  his  eyes,  and  is 
dressed  in  new  yellow  and  white  clothes.  Thus  attired  he 
goes  round  and  worships  all  the  village  gods  and  visits 
the  houses  of  his  relatives  and  friends,  who  mark  his  fore- 
head with  rice  and  turmeric  and  give  him  a  silver  piece. 
A  list  of  the  money  thus  received  is  made  and  similar 
presents  are  returned  to  the  donors  when  they  have 
weddings.  The  bridegroom  goes  to  the  wedding  either  in  a 
litter  or  on  a  horse,  and  must  not  look  behind  him.  After 
being  received  at  the  bride's  village  and  conducted  to  his 
lodging,  he  proceeds  to  the  bride's  house  and  strikes  a 
grass  mat  hung  before  the  house  seven  times  with  a  reed- 
stick.  On  entering  the  bride's  house  the  bridegroom  is 
taken  to  worship  her  family  gods,  the  men  of  the  party 
usually  remaining  outside.  Then,  as  he  goes  through  the 
room,  one  of  the  women  who  has  tied  a  long  thread  round 
her  toe  gets  behind  him  and  measures  his  height  with  the 
thread  without  his  seeing.  She  breaks  off  the  thread  at 
his  height  and  doubling  it  once  or  twice  sews  it  round  the 
top  of  the  bride's  skirt,  and  they  think  that  as  long  as  the 
bride  wears  this  thread  she  will  be  able  to  make  her  husband 
do  as  she  likes.  If  the  girls  wish  to  have  a  joke  they 
take    one    of    the    bridegroom's    shoes    which    he    has    left 


64  KURMI  PAKT 

outside  the  house,  wrap  it  up  in  a  piece  of  cloth,  and  place 
it  on  a  shelf  or  in  a  cupboard,  where  the  family  god 
would  be  kept,  with  two  lamps  burning  before  it.  Then 
they  say  to  the  bridegroom,  '  Come  and  worship  our  household 
god'  ;  and  if  he  goes  and  does  reverence  to  it  they  unwrap 
the  cloth  and  show  him  his  own  shoe  and  laugh  at  him. 
But  if  he  has  been  to  one  or  two  weddings  and  knows 
the  joke  he  just  gives  it  a  kick.  The  bride's  younger 
brother  steals  the  bridegroom's  other  shoe  and  hides  it, 
and  will  not  give  it  back  without  a  present  of  a  rupee 
or  two.  The  bride  and  bridegroom  are  seated  on  wooden 
seats,  and  while  the  Brahman  recites  texts,  they  make  the 
following  promises.  The  bridegroom  covenants  to  live  with 
his  Avife  and  her  children,  to  support  them  and  tell  her  all 
his  concerns,  consult  her,  make  her  a  partner  of  his  religious 
worship  and  almsgiving,  and  be  with  her  on  the  night 
following  the  termination  of  her  monthly  impurity.  The 
bride  promises  to  remain  faithful  to  her  husband,  to  obey 
his  wishes  and  orders,  to  perform  her  household  duties  as 
well  as  she  can,  and  not  to  go  anywhere  without  his 
permission.  The  last  promise  of  the  bridegroom  has  refer- 
ence to  the  general  rule  among  Hindus  that  a  man  should 
always  sleep  with  his  wife  on  the  night  following  the 
termination  of  her  menses  because  at  this  time  she  is  most 
likely  to  conceive  and  the  prospect  of  a  child  being  born 
must  not  be  lost.  The  Shastras  lay  it  down  that  a  man 
should  not  visit  his  wife  before  going  into  battle,  this 
being  no  doubt  an  instance  of  the  common  custom  of 
abstinence  from  conjugal  intercourse  prior  to  some  import- 
ant business  or  undertaking ;  but  it  is  stated  that  if  on 
such  an  occasion  she  should  have  just  completed  a  period 
of  impurity  and  have  bathed  and  should  desire  him  to  come 
in  to  her,  he  should  do  so,  even  with  his  armour  on,  because 
by  refusing,  in  the  event  of  his  being  killed  in  battle,  the 
chance  of  a  child  being  born  would  be  finally  lost.  To 
Hindu  ideas  the  neglect  to  produce  life  is  a  sin  of  the  same 
character,  though  in  a  minor  degree,  as  that  of  destroying 
life  ;  and  it  is  to  be  feared  that  it  will  be  some  time  before 
this  ingrained  superstition  gives  way  to  any  considerations 
of  prudential   restraint.      Some  people   say  that  for  a  man 


II  WALKING  ROUND  THE  SACRED  POST  65 

not    to    visit    his    wife    at    this    time    is    as   great    a    sin    as 
murder. 

The   binding-   ceremony  of  the   marriage   is   the  walking  9.  walking 
seven  times  round  the  marriage-post  in  the  direction  of  the  """""^  ^'^^ 

111  sacred 

sun.  Ihe  post  probably  represents  the  sun  and  the  walk  post, 
of  the  bridal  couple  round  it  may  be  an  imitation  of  the 
movement  of  the  planets  round  the  sun.  The  reverence 
paid  to  the  marriage-post  has  already  been  noticed.  During 
the  procession  the  bride  leads  and  the  bridegroom  puts  his 
left  hand  on  her  left  shoulder.  The  household  pounding-slab 
is  near  the  post  and  on  it  are  placed  seven  little  heaps  of  rice, 
turmeric,  areca-nut,  and  a  small  winnowing-fan.  Each  time 
the  bride  passes  the  slab  the  bridegroom  catches  her  right 
foot  and  with  it  makes  her  brush  one  of  the  little  heaps  off 
the  slab.  These  seven  heaps  represent  the  seven  Rishis  or 
saints  who  are  the  seven  large  stars  of  the  constellation  of 
the  Great  Bear. 

After  the  wedding  the  bride  and  bridegroom  resume  jq  other 
their  seats  and  the  parents  of  the  bride  wash  their  feet  in  a  ^ere- 
brass  tray,  marking  their  foreheads  with  rice  and  turmeric. 
They  put  some  silver  in  the  tray,  and  other  relations  and 
friends  do  the  same.  The  presents  thus  collected  go  to  the 
bridegroom.  The  Chandnahu  Kurmis  then  have  a  ceremony 
known  as  palkachdr.  The  bride's  father  provides  a  bed  on 
which  a  mattress  and  quilt  are  laid  and  the  bride  and  bride- 
groom are  seated  on  it,  while  their  brother  and  sister  sprinkle 
parched  rice  round  them.  This  is  supposed  to  typify  the 
consummation  of  the  marriage,  but  the  ceremony  is  purely 
formal  as  the  bridal  couple  are  children.  The  bridegroom 
is  given  two  lamps  and  he  has  to  mix  their  flames,  probably 
to  symbolise  the  mixing  of  the  spirits  of  his  wife  and  him- 
self. He  requires  a  present  of  a  rupee  or  two  before  he 
consents  to  do  so.  During  the  wedding  the  bride  is  bathed 
in  the  same  water  as  the  bridegroom,  the  joint  use  of  the 
sacred  element  being  perhaps  another  symbolic  mark  of 
their  union.  At  the  feasts  the  bride  eats  rice  and  milk  with 
her  husband  from  one  dish,  once  at  her  own  house  and  once 
after  she  goes  to  her  husband's  house.  Subsequently  she 
never  cats  with  her  husband  but  always  after  him.  She 
also  sits  and  eats  at  the  wedding-feasts  with  her  husband's 
VOL.  IV  F 


66 


KURMI 


II.  Poly- 
gamy, 
widow- 
marriage 
and 
divorce. 


relations.  This  is  perhaps  meant  to  mark  her  admission 
into  her  husband's  clan.  After  the  wedding  the  Brahmans 
on  either  side  recite  Sanskrit  verses,  praising  their  respective 
families  and  displaying  their  own  learning.  The  competition 
often  becomes  bitter  and  would  end  in  a  quarrel,  but  that 
the  elders  of  the  party  interfere  and  stop  it. 

The  expenses  of  an  ordinary  wedding  on  the  bridegroom's 
side  may  be  Rs.  lOO  in  addition  to  the  bride-price,  and  on 
the  bride's  Rs.  200.  The  bride  goes  home  for  a  day  or  two 
with  the  bridegroom's  party  in  Chhattlsgarh  but  not  in  the 
northern  Districts,  as  women  accompany  the  wedding  pro- 
cession in  the  former  but  not  in  the  latter  locality.  If  she 
is  too  small  to  go,  her  shoes  and  marriage-crown  are  sent  to 
represent  her.  When  she  attains  maturity  the  chauk  or 
gauna  ceremony  is  performed,  her  husband  going  to  fetch  her 
with  a  few  friends.  At  this  time  her  parents  give  her 
clothes,  food  and  ornaments  in  a  basket  called  jhanpi  or 
tipara  specially  prepared  for  the  occasion. 

A  girl  who  becomes  pregnant  by  a  man  of  the  caste 
before  marriage  is  wedded  to  him  by  the  rite  used  for  widows. 
If  the  man  is  an  outsider  she  is  expelled  from  the  com- 
munity. Women  are  much  valued  for  the  sake  of  their 
labour  in  the  fields,  and  the  transgressions  of  a  wife  are 
viewed  with  a  lenient  eye.  In  Damoh  it  is  said  that  a  man 
readily  condones  his  wife's  adultery  with  another  Kurmi, 
and  if  it  becomes  known  and  she  is  put  out  of  caste,  he  will 
give  the  penalty  feasts  himself  for  her  admission.  If  she  is 
detected  in  a  liaison  with  an  outsider  she  is  usually  discarded, 
but  the  offence  may  be  condoned  should  the  man  be  a 
Brahman.  And  one  instance  is  mentioned  of  a  malguzar's 
wife  who  had  gone  wrong  with  a  Gond,  and  was  forgiven 
and  taken  back  by  her  husband  and  the  caste.  But  the 
leniency  was  misplaced  as  she  subsequently  eloped  with  an 
Ahlr.  Polygamy  is  usual  with  those  who  can  afford  to  pay 
for  several  wives,  as  a  wife's  labour  is  more  efficient  and  she 
is  a  more  profitable  investment  than  a  hired  servant.  An 
instance  is  on  record  of  a  blind  Kurmi  in  Jubbulpore,  who 
had  nine  wives.  A  man  who  is  faithful  to  one  wife,  and 
does  not  visit  her  on  fast-days,  is  called  a  Brahmachari  or 
saint  and  it  is  thought  that   he  will    go   to   heaven.     The 


11  IMPURITY  OF  WOMEN  67 

remarriage  of  widows  is  permitted  and  is  usual.  The  widow 
goes  to  a  well  on  some  night  in  the  dark  fortnight,  and 
leaving  her  old  clothes  there  puts  on  new  ones  which  are 
given  to  her  by  the  barber's  wife.  She  then  fills  a  pitcher 
with  water  and  takes  it  to  her  new  husband's  house.  He 
meets  her  on  the  threshold  and  lifts  it  from  her  head,  and 
she  goes  into  the  house  and  puts  bangles  on  her  wrists.  The 
following  saying  shows  that  the  second  marriage  of  widows 
is  looked  upon  as  quite  natural  and  normal  by  the  cultivating 
castes  : 

"If  the  clouds  are  like  partridge  feathers  it  will  rain, 
and  if  a  widow  puts  lamp-black  on  her  eyes  she  will  marry 
again  ;  these  things  are  certain."  -^ 

A  bachelor  marrying  a  widow  must  first  go  through  the 
ceremony  with  a  ring  which  he  thereafter  wears  on  his  finger, 
and  if  it  is  lost  he  must  perform  a  funeral  ceremony  as  if  a 
wife  had  died.  If  a  widower  marries  a  girl  she  must  wear 
round  her  neck  an  image  of  his  first  wife.  A  girl  who  is 
twice  married  by  going  round  the  sacred  post  is  called 
Chandelia  and  is  most  unlucky.  She  is  considered  as  bad 
or  worse  than  a  widow,  and  the  people  sometimes  make  her 
live  outside  the  village  and  forbid  her  to  show  them  her  face. 
Divorce  is  open  to  either  party,  to  a  wife  on  account  of  the 
impotency  or  ill-treatment  of  her  husband,  and  to  a  husband 
for  the  bad  character,  ill-health  or  quarrelsome  disposition 
of  his  wife.  A  deed  of  divorce  is  executed  and  delivered 
before  the  caste  committee. 

During  her  periodical  impurity,  which  lasts  for  four  or  five  12.  im- 
days,  a  woman  should  not  sleep  on  a  cot.  She  must  not  walk  ^vonien°^ 
across  the  shadow  of  any  man  not  her  husband,  because  it  is 
thought  that  if  she  does  so  her  next  child  will  be  like  that 
man.  Formerly  she  did  not  see  her  husband's  face  for  all  these 
days,  but  this  rule  was  too  irksome  and  has  been  abandoned. 
She  should  eat  the  same  kind  of  food  for  the  whole  period, 
and  therefore  must  take  nothing  special  on  one  day  which 
she  cannot  get  on  other  days.  At  this  time  she  will  let  her 
hair  hang  loose,  taking  out  all  the  cotton  strings  by  which 
it  is  tied    up."      These  strings,  being   cotton,  have    become 

^     Elliot,    Hoshangabad    Settlaneiit  -  The  custom  is  pointed  out  by  Mr. 

Report,  p.  115.  A.  K.  Smith,  C.S. 


68  KURMI  PART 

impure,  and  must  be  thrown  away.  But  if  there  is  no  other 
woman  to  do  the  household  work  and  she  has  to  do  it  her- 
self, she  will  keep  her  hair  tied  up  for  convenience,  and  only 
throw  away  the  strings  on  the  last  day  when  she  bathes. 
All  cotton  things  are  rendered  impure  by  her  at  this  time, 
and  any  cloth  or  other  article  which  she  touches  must  be 
washed  before  it  can  be  touched  by  anybody  else ;  but 
woollen  cloth,  being  sacred,  is  not  rendered  impure,  and  she 
can  sleep  on  a  woollen  blanket  without  its  thereby  becoming 
a  defilement  to  other  persons.  When  bathing  at  the  end  of 
the  period  a  woman  should  see  no  other  face  but  her  husband's; 
but  as  her  husband  is  usually  not  present,  she  wears  a  ring 
with  a  tiny  mirror  and  looks  at  her  own  face  in  this  as  a 
substitute. 

If  a  woman  desires  to  procure  a  miscarriage  she  eats  a 
raw  papaya  fruit,  and  drinks  a  mixture  of  ginger,  sugar, 
bamboo  leaves  and  milk  boiled  together.  She  then  has  her 
abdomen  well  rubbed  by  a  professional  masseuse,  who  comes 
at  a  time  when  she  can  escape  observation.  After  a  pro- 
longed course  of  this  treatment  it  is  said  that  a  miscarriage 
is  obtained.  It  would  seem  that  the  rubbing  is  the  only 
treatment  which  is  directly  effective.  The  papaya,  which  is 
a  very  digestible  fruit,  can  hardly  be  of  assistance,  but  may 
be  eaten  from  some  magical  idea  of  its  resemblance  to  a 
foetus.  The  mixture  drunk  is  perhaps  designed  to  be  a 
tonic  to  the  stomach  against  the  painful  effects  of  the 
massage. 
13.  Preg-  As  regards  pregnancy  Mr.  Marten  writes  as  follows  :  ^  "  A 
rk«^  woman  in  pregnancy  is  in  a  state  of  taboo  and  is  peculiarly 
liable  to  the  influence  of  magic  and  in  some  respects  danger- 
ous to  others.  She  is  exempt  from  the  observance  of  fasts, 
is  allowed  any  food  she  fancies,  and  is  fed  with  sweets  and 
all  sorts  of  rich  food,  especially  in  the  fifth  month.  She 
should  not  visit  her  neighbour's  houses  nor  sleep  in  any  open 
place.  Her  clothes  are  kept  separate  from  others.  She  is 
subject  to  a  large  number  of  restrictions  in  her  ordinary  life 
with  a  view  of  avoiding  everything  that  might  prejudice  or 
retard  her  delivery.  She  should  eschew  all  red  clothes  or  red 
things  of  any  sort,  such  as  suggest  blood,  till  the  third  or 

1   Central  Provinces  Census  Report  (191 1),  p.  153. 


II  EARTH-EATING  69 

fourth  month,  when  conception  is  certain.  She  will  be  care- 
ful not  to  touch  the  dress  of  any  woman  who  has  had  a  mis- 
carriage. She  will  not  cross  running  water,  as  it  might 
cause  premature  delivery,  nor  go  near  a  she-buffalo  or  a 
mare  lest  delivery  be  retarded,  since  a  mare  is  twelve  months 
in  foal.  If  she  does  by  chance  approach  these  animals  she 
must  propitiate  them  by  offerings  of  grain.  Nor  in  some 
cases  will  she  light  a  lamp,  for  fear  the  flame  in  some  way 
may  hurt  the  child.  She  should  not  finish  any  sowing,  pre- 
viously begun,  during  pregnancy,  nor  should  her  husband 
thatch  the  house  or  repair  his  axe.  An  eclipse  is  particularly 
dangerous  to  the  unborn  child  and  she  must  not  leave  the 
house  during  its  continuance,  but  must  sit  still  with  a  stone 
pestle  in  her  lap  and  anoint  her  womb  with  cowdung.  Under 
no  circumstances  must  she  touch  any  cutting  instrument  as 
it  might  cause  her  child  to  be  born  mutilated. 

"  During  the  fifth  month  of  pregnancy  the  family  gods 
are  worshipped  to  avoid  generally  any  difficulties  in  her 
labour.  Towards  the  end  of  that  month  and  sometimes  in 
the  seventh  month  she  rubs  her  body  with  a  preparation 
of  gram-flour,  castor-oil  and  turmeric,  bathes  herself,  and  is 
clothed  with  new  garments  and  seated  on  a  wooden  stool  in  a 
space  freshly  cleaned  and  spread  with  cowdung.  Her  lap  is 
then  filled  with  sweets  called  pakwdn  made  of  cocoanut.  A 
similar  ceremony  called  Boha  Jewan  is  sometimes  performed 
in  the  seventh  or  eighth  month,  when  a  new  sari  is  given  to 
her  and  grain  is  thrown  into  her  lap.  Another  special  rite 
is  the  Pansavaji  ceremony,  performed  to  remove  all  defects 
in  the  child,  give  it  a  male  form,  increase  its  size  and  beauty, 
give  it  wisdom  and  avert  the  influence  of  evil  spirits." 

Pregnant  women  sometimes  have  a  craving  for  eating  14.  Earth- 
earth.  They  eat  the  earth  which  has  been  mixed  with  wheat  ^-'^""S- 
on  the  threshing-floor,  or  the  ashes  of  cowdung  cakes  which 
have  been  used  for  cooking.  They  consider  it  as  a  sort  of 
medicine  which  will  prevent  them  from  vomiting.  Children 
also  sometimes  get  the  taste  for  eating  earth,  licking  it  up 
from  the  floor,  or  taking  pieces  of  lime-plaster  from  the 
walls.  Possibly  they  may  be  attracted  by  the  saltish  taste, 
but  the  result  is  that  they  get  ill  and  their  stomachs  are 
distended.      The  Panwar  women   of  Balaghat  eat    red   and 


7° 


KURMI 


15.  Cus- 
toms at 
birth. 


16.  Treat- 
ment of 
mother 
and  child. 


white  clay  in  order  that  their  children   may  be  born   with 
red  and  white  complexions. 

During  the  period  of  labour  the  barber's  wife  watches 
over  the  case,  but  as  delivery  approaches  hands  it  over  to  a 
recognised  midwife,  usually  the  Basorin  or  Chamarin,  who 
remains  in  the  lying-in  room  till  about  the  tenth  day  after 
delivery.  "  If  delivery  is  retarded,"  Mr.  Marten  continues,^ 
"  pressure  and  massage  are  used,  but  coffee  and  other  herbal 
decoctions  are  given,  and  various  means,  mostly  depending 
on  sympathetic  magic,  are  employed  to  avert  the  adverse 
spirits  and  hasten  and  ease  the  labour.  She  may  be  given 
water  to  drink  in  which  the  feet  of  her  husband  ^  or  her 
mother-in-law  or  a  young  unmarried  girl  have  been  dipped, 
or  she  is  shown  the  sivastik  or  some  other  lucky  sign,  or  the 
cJiakra-vyuha,  a  spiral  figure  showing  the  arrangement  of  the 
armies  of  the  Pandavas  and  Kauravas  which  resembles  the 
intestines  with  the  exit  at  the  lower  end." 

The  menstrual  blood  of  the  mother  during  child-birth  is 
efficacious  as  a  charm  for  fertility.  The  Nain  or  Basorin 
will  sometimes  try  and  dip  her  big  toe  into  it  and  go  to  her 
house.  There  she  will  wash  her  toe  and  give  the  water  to 
a  barren  woman,  who  by  drinking  it  will  transfer  to  herself 
the  fertility  of  the  woman  whose  blood  it  is.  The  women 
of  the  family  are  in  the  lying-in  room  and  they  watch  her 
carefully,  while  some  of  the  men  stand  about  outside.  If 
they  see  the  midwife  coming  out  they  examine  her,  and  if 
they  find  any  blood  exclaim,  '  You  have  eaten  of  our  salt 
and  will  you  play  us  this  trick '  ;  and  they  force  her  back 
into  the  room  where  the  blood  is  washed  off.  All  the  stained 
clothes  are  washed  in  the  birth-room,  and  the  water  as  well 
as  that  in  which  the  mother  and  child  are  bathed  is  poured 
into  a  hole  dug  inside  the  room,  so  that  none  of  it  may  be 
used  as  a  charm. 

The  great  object  of  the  treatment  after  birth  is  to  pre- 
vent the  mother  and  child  from  catching  cold.  They  appear 
to  confuse  the  symptoms  of  pneumonia  and  infantile  lockjaw 
in  a  disease  called  sanpdt,  to  the  prevention  of  which  their 
efforts  are  directed.  A  sigii  or  stove  is  kept  alight  under 
the  bed,  and   in   this  the  seeds  of  ajwdiii  or  coriander  are 

•   C.P.  Census  Repri  {i^ii),  \x  153.  ^  Or  his  big  toe. 


II  CEREMONIES  AFTER  BIRTH  71 

burnt.  The  mother  eats  the  seeds,  and  the  child  is  waved 
over  the  stove  in  the  smoke  of  the  burning  ajivdin.  Raw 
asafoetida  is  put  in  the  woman's  ears  wrapped  in  cotton- 
wool, and  she  eats  a  little  half-cooked.  A  freshly-dried 
piece  of  cowdung  is  also  picked  up  from  the  ground  and 
half-burnt  and  put  in  water,  and  some  of  this  water  is 
given  to  her  to  drink,  the  process  being  repeated  every  day 
for  a  month.  Other  details  of  the  treatment  of  the  mother 
and  child  after  birth  are  given  in  the  articles  on  Mehtar  and 
Kunbi.  For  the  first  five  days  after  birth  the  child  is  given 
a  little  honey  and  calf's  urine  mixed.  If  the  child  coughs 
it  is  given  bans-lochan,  which  is  said  to  be  some  kind  of 
silicate  found  in  bamboos.  The  mother  does  not  suckle  the 
child  for  three  days,  and  for  that  period  she  is  not  washed 
and  nobody  goes  near  her,  at  least  in  Mandla.  On  the 
third  day  after  the  birth  of  a  girl,  or  the  fourth  after  that  of 
a  boy,  the  mother  is  washed  and  the  child  is  then  suckled 
by  her  for  the  first  time,  at  an  auspicious  moment  pointed 
out  by  the  astrologer.  Generally  speaking  the  whole  treat- 
ment of  child-birth  is  directed  towards  the  avoidance  of 
various  imaginary  magical  dangers,  while  the  real  sanitary 
precautions  and  other  assistance  which  should  be  given  to 
the  mother  are  not  only  totally  neglected,  but  the  treatment 
employed  greatly  aggravates  the  ordinary  risks  which  a 
woman  has  to  take,  especially  in  the  middle  and  higher 
castes. 

When  a  boy  is  born  the  father's  younger  brother  or  one  17.  cere- 
of  his  friends  lets  off  a  gun  and  beats  a  brass  plate  to  pro-  "1°"'^- 

'^  .  =^f'^r  birth. 

claim  the  event.  The  women  often  announce  the  birth  of 
a  boy  by  saying  that  it  is  a  one-eyed  girl.  This  is  in  case 
any  enemy  should  hear  the  mention  of  the  boy's  birth,  and 
the  envy  felt  by  him  should  injure  the  child.  On  the  sixth 
day  after  the  birth  the  Chhathi  ceremony  is  performed  and 
the  mother  is  given  ordinary  food  to  eat,  as  described  in  the 
article  on  Kunbi.  The  twelfth  day  is  known  as  Barhon  or 
Chauk.  On  this  day  the  father  is  shaved  for  the  first  time 
after  the  child's  birth.  The  mother  bathes  and  cugs  the 
nails  of  her  hands  and  feet  ;  if  she  is  living  by  a  river  she 
throws  them  into  it,  otherwise  on  to  the  roof  of  the  house. 
The  father  and  mother  sit  in  the  chauk  or  space  marked  out 


72  KURMI  I'AKT 

for  worship  with  cowdung  and  flour  ;  the  woman  is  on  the 
man's  left  side,  a  woman  being  known  as  Bamangi  or  the 
left  limb,  either  because  the  left  limb  is  weak  or  because 
woman  is  supposed  to  have  been  made  from  man's  left  side, 
as  in  Genesis.  The  household  god  is  brought  into  the 
chauk  and  they  worship  it.  The  Bua  or  husband's  sister 
brings  presents  to  the  mother  known  as  b/iariz,  for  filling  her 
lap  :  silver  or  gold  bangles  if  she  can  afford  them,  a  coat 
and  cap  for  the  boy  ;  dates,  rice  and  a  breast-cloth  for  the 
mother ;  for  the  father  a  rupee  and  a  cocoanut.  These 
things  are  placed  in  the  mother's  lap  as  a  charm  to  sustain 
her  fertility.  The  father  gives  his  sister  back  double  the 
value  of  the  presents  if  he  can  afford  it.  He  gives  her 
husband  a  head-cloth  and  shoulder-cloth  ;  he  waves  two  or 
three  pice  round  his  wife's  head  and  gives  them  to  the 
barber's  wife.  The  latter  and  the  midwife  take  the  clothes 
worn  by  the  mother  at  child-birth,  and  the  father  gives  them 
each  a  new  cloth  if  he  can  afford  it.  The  part  of  the  navel- 
string  which  falls  off  the  child's  body  is  believed  to  have  the 
power  of  rendering  a  barren  woman  fertile,  and  is  also 
intimately  connected  with  the  child's  destiny.  It  is  there- 
fore carefully  preserved  and  buried  in  some  auspicious  place, 
as  by  the  bank  of  a  river. 

In  the  sixth  month  the  Pasni  ceremony  is  performed, 
when"  the  child  is  given  grain  for  the  first  time,  consisting  of 
rice  and  milk.  Brahmans  or  religious  mendicants  are  invited 
and  fed.  The  child's  hair  and  nails  are  cut  for  the  first  time 
on  the  Shivratri  or  Akti  festival  following  the  birth,  and  are 
wrapped  up  in  a  ball  of  dough  and  thrown  into  a  sacred 
river.  If  a  child  is  born  during  an  eclipse  they  think  that 
it  will  suffer  from  lung  disease  ;  so  a  silver  model  of  the 
moon  is  made  immediately  during  the  eclipse,  and  hung 
round  the  child's  neck,  and  this  is  supposed  to  preserve  it 
from  harm. 
i8.  Suck-  A  Hindu  woman  will  normally  suckle  her  child  for  two 

to  three  years  after  its  birth,  and  even  beyond  this  up  to  six 
years  if  it  sleeps  with  her.  But  they  think  that  the  child 
becomes  short  of  breath  if  suckled  for  so  long,  and  advise 
the  mother  to  wean  it.  And  if  she  becomes  pregnant  again, 
when  she  has  been  three  or  four  months  in  this  condition, 


children 


11        BELIEFS  ABOUT  TWINS-DISPOSAL  OF  DEAD       72> 

she  will  wean  the  child  by  putting  nim  leaves  or  some  other 
bitter  thing  on  her  breasts.  A  Hindu  should  not  visit  his 
wife  for  the  last  six  months  of  her  pregnancy  nor  until  the 
child  has  been  fed  with  grain  for  the  first  time  six  months 
after  its  birth.  During  the  former  period  such  action  is 
thought  to  be  a  sin,  while  during  the  latter  it  may  have  the 
effect  of  rendering  the  mother  pregnant  again  too  quickly, 
and  hence  may  not  allow  her  a  sufficiently  long  period  to 
suckle  the  first  child. 

Twins,  Mr.  Marten  states,  are  not  usually  considered  to  19-  Beliefs 
be  inauspicious.^  "It  is  held  that  if  they  are  of  the  same  \^r^\^^_ 
sex  they  will  survive,  and  if  they  are  of  a  different  sex  one 
of  them  will  die.  Boy  twins  are  called  Rama  and  Lachh- 
man,  a  boy  and  a  girl  Mahadeo  and  Parvati,  and  two  girls 
Ganga  and  Jamuni  or  Sita  and  Konda.  They  should  always 
be  kept  separate  so  as  to  break  the  essential  connection 
which  exists  between  them  and  may  cause  any  misfortune 
which  happens  to  the  one  to  extend  to  the  other.  Thus  the 
mother  always  sleeps  between  them  in  bed  and  never  carries 
both  of  them  nor  suckles  both  at  the  same  time.  Again, 
among  some  castes  in  Chhattlsgarh,  when  the  twins  are  of 
different  sex,  they  are  considered  to  be  pap  (sinful)  and  are 
called  Papi  and  Papin,  an  allusion  to  the  horror  of  a  brother 
and  sister  sharing  the  same  bed  (the  mother's  womb)." 
Hindus  think  that  if  two  people  comb  their  hair  with  the 
same  comb  they  will  lose  their  affection  for  each  other. 
Hence  the  hair  of  twins  is  combed  with  the  same  comb  to 
weaken  the  tie  which  exists  between  them,  and  may  cause 
the  illness  or  death  of  either  to  follow  on  that  of  the  other. 

The  dead  are  usually  burnt  with  the  head  to  the  north.  20.  Dis- 
Children  whose  ears  have  not  been  bored   and   adults  who  J^^^^J  °\ 

the  dead. 

die  of  smallpox  or  leprosy  are  buried,  and  members  of  poor 
families  who  cannot  afford  firewood.  If  a  person  has  died 
by  hanging  or  drowning  or  from  the  bite  of  a  snake,  his 
body  is  burnt  without  any  rites,  but  in  order  that  his  soul 
may  be  saved,  the  Iiojii  sacrifice  is  performed  subsequently 
to  the  cremation.  Those  who  live  near  the  Nerbudda  and 
Mahanadi  sometimes  throw  the  bodies  of  the  dead  into 
these  rivers  and  think  that  this  will  make  thep  go  to  heaven. 

1   C.P.  Ceiistts  Pc'/or/  (igi  I),  p.  15S. 


74  KURMI  PART 

The  following  account  of  a  funeral  ceremony  among  the 
middle  and  higher  castes  in  Saugor  is  mainly  furnished  by 
Major  W.  D.  Sutherland,  I. M.S.,  with  some  additions  from 
Mandla,  and  from  material  furnished  by  the  Rev.  E.  M. 
Gordon  :  ^  "  When  a  man  is  near  his  end,  gifts  to  Brahmans 
are  made  by  him,  or  by  his  son  on  his  behalf  These,  if  he 
is  a  rich  man,  consist  of  five  cows  with  their  calves,  marked 
on  the  forehead  and  hoofs  with  turmeric,  and  with  garlands 
of  flowers  round  their  necks.  Ordinary  people  give  the 
price  of  one  calf,  which  is  fictitiously  taken  at  Rs.  3-4, 
Rs.  1-4,  ten  annas  or  five  annas  according  to  their  means. 
By  holding  on  to  the  tail  of  this  calf  the  dead  man  will  be 
able  to  swim  across  the  dreadful  river  Vaitarni,  the  Hindu 
Styx.  This  calf  is  called  Bachra  Sankal  or  '  the  chain-calf,' 
as  it  furnishes  a  chain  across  the  river,  and  it  may  be  given 
three  times,  once  before  the  death  and  twice  afterwards. 
When  near  his  end  the  dying  man  is  taken  down  from  his 
cot  and  laid  on  a  woollen  blanket  spread  on  the  ground, 
perhaps  with  the  idea  that  he  should  at  death  be  in  contact 
with  the  earth  and  not  suspended  in  mid-air  as  a  man  on  a 
cot  is  held  to  be.  In  his  mouth  are  placed  a  piece  of  gold, 
some  leaves  of  the  tulsi  or  basil  plant,  or  Ganges  water,  or 
rice  cooked  in  Jagannath's  temple.  The  dying  man  keeps 
on  rejDeating  '  Ram,  Ram,  Sitaram.'  " 
21.  Funeral  As  soon   as  death  occurs  the  corpse  is  bathed,  clothed 

and  smeared  with  a  mixture  of  powdered  sandalwood, 
camphor  and  spices.  A  bier  is  constructed  of  planks,  or  if 
this  cannot  be  afforded  the  man's  cot  is  turned  upside  down 
and  the  body  is  carried  out  for  burial  on  it  in  this  fashion, 
with  the  legs  of  the  cot  pointing  upwards.  Straw  is  laid  on 
the  bier,  and  the  corpse,  covered  with  fine  white  cloth,  is  tied 
securely  on  to  it,  the  hands  being  crossed  on  the  breast, 
with  the  thumbs  and  great  toes  tied  together.  When  a 
married  woman  dies  she  is  covered  with  a  red  cloth  which 
reaches  only  to  the  neck,  and  her  face  is  left  open  to  the 
view  of  everybody,  whether  she  went  abroad  unveiled  in  her 
life  or  not.  It  is  considered  a  highly  auspicious  thing  for  a 
woman  to  die  in  the  lifetime  of  her  husband  and  children, 
and    the    corpse    is    sometimes    dressed    like    a    bride    and ' 

'   In  Indian  Folk  Tales. 


rites. 


II  BURNING  THE  DEAD  75 

ornaments  put  on  it.  The  corpse  of  a  widow  or  girl  is 
wrapped  in  a  white  cloth  with  the  head  covered.  At  the 
head  of  the  funeral  procession  walks  the  son  of  the  deceased, 
or  other  chief  mourner,  and  in  his  hand  he  takes  smouldering 
cowdung  cakes  in  an  earthen  pot,  from  which  the  pyre  will 
be  kindled.  This  fire  is  brought  from  the  hearth  of  the 
house  by  the  barber,  and  he  sometimes  also  carries  it  to 
the  pyre.  On  the  way  the  mourners  change  places  so  that 
each  may  assist  in  bearing  the  bier,  and  once  they  set  the 
bier  on  the  ground  and  leave  two  pice  and  some  grain  where 
it  lay,  before  taking  it  up  again.  After  the  funeral  each 
person  who  has  helped  to  carry  it  takes  up  a  clod  of  earth 
and  with  it  touches  successively  the  place  on  his  shoulder 
where  the  bier  rested,  his  waist  and  his  knee,  afterwards 
dropping  the  clod  on  the  ground.  It  is  believed  that  by  so 
doing  he  removes  from  his  shoulder  the  weight  of  the  corpse, 
which  would  otherwise  press  on  it  for  some  time. 

At  the  cremation-ground  the  corpse  is  taken  from  the  22.  Burn- 
bier  and  placed  on  the  pyre.  The  cloth  which  covered  it  IJ^I^]  ^ 
and  that  on  which  it  lay  are  given  to  a  sweeper,  who  is 
always  present  to  receive  this  perquisite.  To  the  corpse's 
mouth,  eyes,  ears,  nostrils  and  throat  is  applied  a  mixture 
of  barley-flour,  butter,  sesamum  seeds  and  powdered  sandal- 
wood. Logs  of  wood  and  cowdung  cakes  are  then  piled  on 
the  body  and  the  pyre  is  fired*  by  the  son,  who  first  holds  a 
burning  stick  to  the  mouth  of  the  corpse  as  if  to  inform  it 
that  he  is  about  to  apply  the  fire.  The  pyre  of  a  man  is 
fired  at  the  head  and  of  a  woman  at  the  foot.  Rich  people 
burn  the  corpse  with  sandalwood,  and  others  have  a  little 
of  this,  and  incense  and  sweet-smelling  gum.  Nowadays 
if  the  rain  comes  on  and  the  pyre  will  not  burn  they  use 
kerosine  oil.  When  the  body  is  half-consumed  the  son 
takes  up  a  piece  of  wood  and  with  it  strikes  the  skull  seven 
times,  to  break  it  and  give  exit  to  the  soul.  This,  however, 
is  not  always  done.  The  son  then  takes  up  on  his  right 
shoulder  an  earthen  pot  full  of  water,  at  the  bottom  of  which 
is  a  small  hole.  He  walks  round  the  pyre  three  times  in 
the  direction  of  the  sun's  course  and  stands  facing  to  the 
south,  and  dashes  the  pot  on  the  ground,  crying  out  in  his 
grief,  *  Oh,  my  father.'      While   this   is  going  on  mantras  or 


76  KURMI  PART 

sacred  verses  are  recited  by  the  officiating  Brahman.  When 
the  corpse  is  partly  consumed  each  member  of  the  assembly 
throws  the  Pdnch  lakariya  (five  pieces  of  wood  or  sprigs  of 
basil)  on  to  the  pyre,  making  obeisance  to  the  deceased  and 
saying,  '  Swarg  ko  jao,'  or  'Ascend  to  heaven.'  Or  they  may 
say,  '  Go,  become  incarnate  in  some  human  being.'  They 
stay  by  the  corpse  for  i^  pahars  or  watches  or  some  four 
hours,  until  either  the  skull  is  broken  by  the  chief  mourner 
or  breaks  of  itself  with  a  crack.  Then  they  bathe  and  come 
home  and  after  some  hours  again  return  to  the  corpse,  to  see 
that  it  is  properly  burnt.  If  the  pyre  should  go  out  and  a 
dog  or  other  animal  should  get  hold  of  the  corpse  when  it 
is  half-burnt,  all  the  relatives  are  put  out  of  caste,  and  have 
to  give  a  feast  to  all  the  caste,  costing  for  a  rich  family 
about  Rs.  50  and  for  a  poor  one  Rs.  10  to  Rs.  15.  Then 
they  return  home  and  chew  nim  leaves,  which  are  bitter  and 
purifying,  and  spit  them  out  of  their  mouth,  thus  severing 
their  connection  with  the  corpse.  When  the  mourners  have 
left  the  deceased's  house  the  women  of  the  family  bathe, 
the  bangles  of  the  widow  are  broken,  the  vermilion  on  the 
parting  of  her  hair  and  the  glass  ornament  {tikli)  on  her 
forehead  are  removed,  and  she  is  clad  in  white  clothing  of 
coarse  texture  to  show  that  henceforth  she  is  only  a  widow. 
On  the  third  day  the  mourners  go  again  and  collect  the 
ashes  and  throw  them  into  the  nearest  river.  The  bones 
are  placed  in  a  silken  bag  or  an  earthen  pot  or  a  leaf  basket, 
and  taken  to  the  Ganges  or  Nerbudda  within  ten  days  if 
possible,  or  otherwise  after  a  longer  interval,  being  buried 
meantime.  Some  milk,  salt  and  calf's  urine  are  sprinkled 
over  the  place  where  the  corpse  was  burnt.  These  will  cool 
the  place,  and  the  soul  of  the  dead  will  similarly  be  cooled, 
and  a  cow  will  probably  come  and  lick  up  the  salt,  and  this 
will  sanctify  the  place  and  also  the  soul.  When  the  bones 
are  to  be  taken  to  a  sacred  river  they  are  tied  up  in  a  little 
piece  of  cloth  and  carried  at  the  end  of  a  stick  by  the  chief 
mourner,  who  is  usually  accompanied  by  several  caste-fellows. 
At  night  during  the  journey  this  stick  is  planted  in  the 
ground,  so  that  the  bones  may  not  touch  the  earth. 
23.  Burial.  Gravcs    are   always   dug   from    north    to    south.       Some 

people  say  that  heaven  is  to  the  north,  being  situated  in  the 


u  RETURN  OF  THE  SOUL  77 

Himalayas,  and  others  that  in  the  Satyug  or  Golden  Age  the 
sun  rose  to  the  north.  I'he  digging  of  the  grave  only  com- 
mences on  the  arrival  of  the  funeral  party,  so  there  is  of 
necessity  a  delay  of  several  hours  at  the  site,  and  all  who  attend 
a  funeral  are  supposed  to  help  in  digging.  It  is  considered 
to  be  meritorious  to  assist  at  a  burial,  and  there  is  a  saying 
that  a  man  who  has  himself  conducted  a  hundred  funerals 
will  become  a  Raja  in  his  next  birth.  When  the  grave 
has  been  filled  in  and  a  mound  raised  to  mark  the  spot,  each 
person  present  makes  five  small  balls  of  earth  and  places 
them  in  a  heap  at  the  head  of  the  grave.  This  custom  is 
also  known  as  PdncJi  lakariya,  and  must  therefore  be  an 
imitation  of  the  placing  of  the  five  sticks  on  the  pyre ;  its 
original  meaning  in  the  latter  case  may  have  been  that  the 
mourners  should  assist  the  family  by  bringing  a  contribution 
of  wood  to  the  pyre.  As  adopted  in  burial  it  seems  to  have 
no  special  significance,  but  somewhat  resembles  the  European 
custom  of  the  mourners  throwing  a  little  dust  into  the  grave. 

On  the  third  day  the  pindas  or  sacrificial  cakes  are  24.  Return 
offered  and  this  goes  on  till  the  tenth  day.  These  cakes  °^  '^'^  '°"'- 
are  not  eaten  by  the  priest  or  Maha-Brahman,  but  are  thrown 
into  a  river.  On  the  evening  of  the  third  day  the  son  goes, 
accompanied  by  a  Brahman  and  a  barber,  and  carrying  a 
key  to  avert  evil,  to  a  pipal  ^  tree,  on  whose  branches  he 
hangs  two  earthen  pots  :  one  containing  water,  which  trickles 
out  through  a  hole  in  the  bottom,  and  the  other  a  lamp. 
On  each  succeeding  night  the  son  replenishes  the  contents 
of  these  pots,  which  are  intended  to  refresh  the  spirit  of  the 
deceased  and  to  light  it  on  its  way  to  the  lower  world.  In 
some  localities  on  the  evening  of  the  third  day  the  ashes  of 
the  cooking-place  are  sifted,  and  laid  out  on  a  tray  at  night 
on  the  spot  where  the  deceased  died,  or  near  the  cooking- 
place.  In  the  morning  the  layer  of  ashes  is  inspected,  and 
if  what  appears  to  be  a  hand-  or  footprint  is  seen,  it  is  held 
that  the  spirit  of  the  deceased  has  visited  the  house.  Some 
people  look  for  handprints,  some  for  footprints,  and  some 
for  both,  and  the  Nais  look  for  the  print  of  a  cow's  hoof, 
which  when  seen  is  held  to  prove  that  the  deceased  in  con- 
sideration of  his  singular  merits  has  been  reborn  a  cow.      If 

1  Fiais  R. 


78  KURMI  PART 

a  woman  has  died  in  child-birth,  or  after  the  birth  of  a  child 
and  before  the  performance  of  the  sixth-day  ceremony  of 
purification,  her  hands  are  tied  with  a  cotton  thread  when 
she  is  buried,  in  order  that  her  spirit  may  be  unable  to  rise 
and  trouble  the  living.  It  is  believed  that  the  souls  of  such 
women  become  evil  spirits  or  Chiirels.  Thorns  are  also 
placed  over  her  grave  for  the  same  purpose. 

25.  Mourn-  During   the   days    of  mourning   the   chief  mourner   sits 
'"^'            apart  and  does  no  work.      The  others  do  their  work  but  do 

not  touch  any  one  else,  as  they  are  impure.  They  leave  their 
hair  unkempt,  do  not  worship  the  gods  nor  sleep  on  cots, 
and  abjure  betel,  milk,  butter,  curds,  meat,  the  wearing  of 
shoes,  new  clothes  and  other  luxuries.  In  these  days  the 
friends  of  the  family  come  and  comfort  the  mourners  with 
conversation  on  the  shortness  and  uncertainty  of  human  life 
and  kindred  topics.  During  the  period  of  mourning  when 
the  family  go  to  bathe  they  march  one  behind  the  other  in 
Indian  file.  And  on  the  last  day  all  the  people  of  the  village 
accompany  them,  the  men  first  and  after  they  have  returned 
the  women,  all  marching  one  behind  the  other.  They  also 
come  back  in  this  manner  from  the  actual  funeral,  and  the 
idea  is  perhaps  to  prevent  the  dead  man's  spirit  from  follow- 
ing them.  He  would  probably  feel  impelled  to  adopt  the 
same  formation  and  fall  in  behind  the  last  of  the  line,  and 
then  some  means  is  devised,  such  as  spreading  thorns  in  the 
path,  for  leaving  him  behind. 

26.  Shav-  On  the  ninth,  tenth  or  eleventh  day  the  males  of  the  family 
ing,  and      ]-^ave  the  front  of  the  head  from  the  crown,  and  the  beard  and 

presents  to 

Brahmans.  moustaches,shaved  in  token ofmourning.  The  Maha-Brahman 
who  receives  the  gifts  for  the  dead  is  shaved  with  them. 
This  must  be  done  for  an  elder  relation,  but  a  man  need  not 
be  shaved  on  the  death  of  his  wife,  sister  or  children.  The 
day  is  the  end  of  mourning  and  is  called  Gauri  Ganesh, 
Gauri  being  Parvati  or  the  wife  of  Siva,  and  Ganesh  the  god 
of  good  fortune.  On  the  occasion  the  family  give  to  the 
Maha-Brahman  '  a  new  cot  and  bedding  with  a  cloth,  an 
umbrella  to  shield  the  spirit  from  the  sun's  rays,  a  copper 
vessel  full  of  water  to  quench  its  thirst,  a  brass  lamp  to 
guide  it  on  its  journey,  and  if  the  family  is  well-to-do  a 
1  He  is  also  known  as  Katia  or  Kattaha  Brahman  and  as  Mahapatra. 


II     END  OF  MOURNING— ANNIVERSARIES  OF  DEAD    79 

horse  and  a  cow.  All  these  things  are  meant  to  be  for  the 
use  of  the  dead  man  in  the  other  world.  It  is  also  the 
Brahman's  business  to  eat  a  quantity  of  cooked  food,  which 
will  form  the  dead  man's  food.  It  is  of  great  spiritual 
importance  to  the  dead  man's  soul  that  the  Brahman  should 
finish  the  dish  set  before  him,  and  if  he  does  not  do  so  the 
soul  will  fare  badly.  He  takes  advantage  of  this  by  stop- 
ping in  the  middle  of  the  meal,  saying  that  he  has  eaten  all 
he  is  capable  of  and  cannot  go  on,  so  that  the  relations  have 
to  give  him  large  presents  to  induce  him  to  finish  the  food. 
These  Maha-Brahmans  are  utterly  despised  and  looked  down 
on  by  all  other  Brahmans  and  by  the  community  generally, 
and  arc  sometimes  made  to  live  outside  the  village.  The 
regular  priest,  the  Malai  or  Purohit,  can  accept  no  gifts  from 
the  time  of  the  death  to  the  end  of  the  period  pf  mourning. 
Afterwards  he  also  receives  presents  in  money  according  to 
the  means  of  his  clients,  which  it  is  supposed  will  benefit  the 
dead  man's  soul  in  the  next  world  ;  but  no  disgrace  attaches 
to  the  acceptance  of  these. 

When  the  mourning  is  complete  on  the  Gauri-Ganesh  27.  End  of 
day  all  the  relatives  take  their  food  at  the  chief  mourner's  mourning. 
house,  and  afterwards  the  pancJidyat  invest  him  with  a  new 
turban  provided  by  a  relative.  On  the  next  bazar  day  the 
members  of  the  panchdyat  take  him  to  the  bazar  and  tell  him 
to  take  up  his  regular  occupation  and  earn  his  livelihood. 
Thereafter  all  his  relatives  and  friends  invite  him  to  take 
food  at  their  houses,  probably  to  mark  his  accession  to  the 
position  of  head  of  the  family. 

Three  months,  six  months  and  twelve  months  after  the  28.  Anni- 
death  presents  are  made  to  a  Brahman,  consisting  of  Sidha,  [he^dead.° 
or  butter,  wheat  and  rice  for  a  day's  food.  The  anniversaries 
of  the  dead  are  celebrated  during  Pitripaksh  or  the  dark 
fortnight  of  Kunwar  (September-October).  If  a  man  died  on 
the  third  day  of  any  fortnight  in  the  year,  his  anniversary  is 
celebrated  on  the  third  day  of  this  fortnight  and  so  on.  On 
that  day  it  is  supposed  that  his  spirit  will  visit  his  earthly 
house  where  his  relatives  reside.  But  the  souls  of  women 
all  return  to  their  homes  on  the  ninth  day  of  the  fortnight, 
and  on  the  thirteenth  day  come  the  souls  of  all  those  who 
have  met  with  a  violent  death,  as  by  a  fall,  or  have  been 


8o 


KURMI 


29.  Beliefs 
in  the 
hereafter. 


30.  Reh- 
gion. 
Village 
gods. 


killed  by  wild  animals  or  snakes.  The  spirits  of  such  persons 
are  supposed,  on  account  of  their  untimely  end,  to  entertain 
a  special  grudge  against  the  living. 

As  regards  the  belief  in  the  hereafter  Mr.  Gordon  writes  :  ^ 
"  That  they  have  the  idea  of  hell  as  a  place  of  punishment 
may  be  gathered  from  the  belief  that  when  salt  is  spilt  the 
one  who  does  this  will  in  Fatal  or  the  infernal  region  have 
to  gather  up  each  grain  of  salt  with  his  eyelids.  Salt  is  for 
this  reason  handed  round  with  great  care,  and  it  is  considered 
unlucky  to  receive  it  in  the  palm  of  the  hand  ;  it  is  therefore 
invariably  taken  in  a  cloth  or  vessel.  There  is  a  belief  that 
the  spirit  of  the  deceased  hovers  round  familiar  scenes  and 
places,  and  on  this  account,  whenever  possible,  a  house  in 
which  any  one  has  died  is  destroyed  or  deserted.  After  the 
spirit  has  wandered  round  restlessly  for  a  certain  time  it  is 
said  that  it  will  again  become  incarnate  and  take  the  form 
either  of  man  or  of  one  of  the  lower  animals."  In  Mandla 
they  think  that  the  soul  after  death  is  arraigned  and  judged 
before  Yama,  and  is  then  chained  to  a  flaming  pillar  for  a 
longer  or  shorter  period  according  to  its  sins.  The  gifts 
made  to  Brahmans  for  the  dead  somewhat  shorten  the  period. 
After  that  time  it  is  born  again  with  a  good  or  bad  body 
and  human  or  animal  according  to  its  deserts. 

The  caste  worship  the  principal  Hindu  deities.  Either 
Bhagwan  or  Parmeshwar  is  usually  referred  to  as  the  supreme 
deity,  as  we  speak  of  God.  Bhagwan  appears  to  be  Vishnu 
or  the  Sun,  and  Parmeshwar  is  Siva  or  Mahadeo.  There 
are  few  temples  to  Vishnu  in  villages,  but  none  are  required 
as  the  sun  is  daily  visible.  Sunday  or  Raviwar  is  the  day 
sacred  to  him,  and  some  people  fast  in  his  honour  on  Sundays, 
eating  only  one  meal  without  salt.  A  man  salutes  the  sun 
after  he  gets  up  by  joining  his  hands  and  looking  towards 
it,  again  when  he  has  washed  his  face,  and  a  third  time  when 
he  has  bathed,  by  throwing  a  little  water  in  the  sun's  direc- 
tion. He  must  not  spit  in  front  of  the  sun  nor  perform  the 
lower  functions  of  the  body  in  its  sight.  Others  say  that 
the  sun  and  moon  are  the  eyes  of  God,  and  the  light  of  the 
sun  is  the  effulgence  of  God,  because  by  its  light  and  heat 
all  moving  and  immobile  creatures  sustain  their  life  and  all 
^  Indian  Folk  Tales,  p.  54. 


II  RELIGION:   VILLAGE  GODS  8l 

corn  and  other  products  of  the  earth  grow.  In  his  incarna- 
tions of  Rama  and  Krishna  there  are  temples  to  Vishnu  in 
large  villages  and  towns.  Khermata,  the  mother  of  the 
village,  is  the  local  form  of  Devi  or  the  earth-goddess.  She 
has  a  small  hut  and  an  image  of  Devi,  either  black  or  red. 
She  is  worshipped  by  a  priest  called  Panda,  who  may  be  of 
any  caste  except  the  impure  castes.  The  earth  is  worshipped 
in  various  ways.  A  man  taking  medicine  for  the  first  time 
in  an  illness  sprinkles  a  few  drops  on  the  earth  in  its  honour. 
Similarly  for  the  first  three  or  four  times  that  a  cow  is  milked 
after  the  birth  of  a  calf  the  stream  is  allowed  to  fall  on  the 
ground.  A  man  who  is  travelling  offers  a  little  food  to  the 
earth  before  eating  himself  Devi  is  sometimes  considered 
to  be  one  of  seven  sisters,  but  of  the  others  only  two  are 
known,  Marhai  Devi,  the  goddess  of  cholera,  and  Sitala  Devi, 
the  goddess  of  smallpox.  When  an  epidemic  of  cholera 
breaks  out  the  Panda  performs  the  following  ceremony  to 
avert  it.  He  takes  a  kid  and  a  small  pig  or  chicken,  and 
some  cloth,  cakes,  glass  bangles,  vermilion,  an  earthen  lamp, 
and  some  country  liquor,  which  is  sprinkled  all  along  the 
way  from  where  he  starts  to  where  he  stops.  He  proceeds 
in  this  manner  to  the  boundary  of  the  village  at  a  place 
where  there  are  cross-roads,  and  leaves  all  the  things  there. 
Sometimes  the  animals  are  sacrificed  and  eaten.  While  the 
Panda  is  doing  this  every  one  collects  the  sweepings  of  his 
house  in  a  winnowing -fan  and  throws  them  outside  the 
village  boundary,  at  the  same  time  ringing  a  bell  continu- 
ously. The  Panda  must  perform  his  ceremony  at  night  and, 
if  possible,  on  the  day  of  the  new  moon.  He  is  accompanied 
by  a  iQ.\v  other  low-caste  persons  called  Gunias.  A  Gunia 
is  one  who  can  be  possessed  by  a  spirit  in  the  temple  of 
Khermata.  When  possessed  he  shakes  his  head  up  and 
down  violently  and  foams  at  the  mouth,  and  sometimes 
strikes  his  head  on  the  ground.  Another  favourite  godling  is 
Hardaul,  who  was  the  brother  of  Jujhar  Singh,  Rfija  of  Orchha, 
and  was  suspected  by  Jujhar  Singh  of  loving  the  latter's 
wife,  and  poisoned  in  consequence  by  his  orders.  Hardaul 
has  a  platform  and  sometimes  a  hut  with  an  image  of  a 
man  on  horseback  carrying  a  spear  in  his  hand.  His  shrine 
is  outside  the  village,  and  two  days  before  a  marriage  the 
VOL.  IV  G 


82  KURMI  PART 

women  of  the  family  visit  his  shrine  and  cook  and  eat  their 
food  there  and  invite  him  to  the  wedding.  Clay  horses  are 
offered  to  him,  and  he  is  supposed  to  be  able  to  keep  off  rain 
and  storms  during  the  ceremony.  Hardaul  is  perhaps  the 
deified  Rajput  horseman.  Hanuman  or  Mahablr  is  repre- 
sented by  an  image  of  a  monkey  coloured  with  vermilion, 
with  a  club  in  his  hand  and  a  slain  man  beneath  his  feet. 
He  is  principally  worshipped  on  Saturdays  so  that  he  may 
counteract  the  evil  influences  exercised  by  the  planet  Saturn 
on  that  day.  His  image  is  painted  with  oil  mixed  with  ver- 
milion and  has  a  wreath  of  flowers  of  the  cotton  tree ;  and  g'uo-al 
or  incense  made  of  resin,  sandalwood  and  other  ingredients  is 
burnt  before  him.  He  is  the  deified  ape,  and  is  the  god  of 
strength  and  swiftness,  owing  to  the  exploits  performed  by 
him  during  Rama's  invasion  of  Ceylon.  Dulha  Deo  is 
another  godling  whose  shrine  is  in  every  village.  He  was  a 
young  bridegroom  who  was  carried  off  by  a  tiger  on  his  way 
to  his  wedding,  or,  according  to  another  account,  was  turned 
into  a  stone  pillar  by  a  flash  of  lightning.  Before  the  start- 
ing of  a  wedding  procession  the  members  go  to  Dulha  Deo 
and  offer  a  pair  of  shoes  and  a  miniature  post  and  marriage- 
crown.  On  their  return  they  offer  a  cocoanut.  Dulha  Deo 
has  a  stone  and  platform  to  the  east  of  the  village,  or 
occasionally  an  image  of  a  man  on  horseback  like 
Hardaul.  Mirohia  is  the  god  of  the  field  boundary.  There 
is  no  sign  of  him,  but  every  tenant,  when  he  begins  sowing 
and  cutting  the  crops,  offers  a  little  curds  and  rice  and  a 
cocoanut  and  lays  them  on  the  boundary  of  the  field,  saying 
the  name  of  Mirohia  Deo.  It  is  believed  among  agriculturists 
that  if  this  godling  is  neglected  he  will  flatten  the  corn  by 
a  wind,  or  cause  the  cart  to  break  on  its  way  to  the  threshing- 
floor. 
31.  Sowing  The  sowing  of  the  Jawaras,  corresponding  to  the 
the  gardens  of  Adonis,  takes  place  during  the  first  nine   days 

Jawaras        ^  ,  I     -rr  -  ^      r^7    •        /o  1 

or  Gardens  of  the  months  of  Kunwar  and  Chait  (September  and 
of  Adonis.  ]y[arch).  The  former  is  a  nine  days'  fast  preceding  the 
Dasahra  festival,  and  it  is  supposed  that  the  goddess  Devi 
was  during  this  time  employed  in  fighting  the  buffalo- 
demon  (Bhainsasur),  whom  she  slew  on  the  tenth  day. 
The  latter  is  a  nine  days'  fast  at  the  new  year,  preceding 


II     so  WING  THE  J  A  WARAS  OR  GARDENS  OF  ADONIS    83 

the  triumphant  entry  of  Rama  into  Ajodhia  on  the  tenth 
day  on  his  return  from  Ceylon.  The  first  period  comes 
before  the  sowing  of  the  spring  crop  of  wheat  and  other 
grains,  and  the  second  is  at  the  commencement  of  the  harvest 
of  the  same  crop.  In  some  localities  the  Jawaras  are  also 
grown  a  third  time  in  the  rains,  probably  as  a  preparation 
for  the  juari  sowings,^  as  juari  is  planted  in  the  baskets 
or  '  gardens  '  at  this  time.  On  the  first  day  a  small  room 
is  cleared  and  whitewashed,  and  is  known  as  the  dizvdla  or 
temple.  Some  earth  is  brought  from  the  fields  and  mixed 
with  manure  in  a  basket,  and  a  male  member  of  the  family 
sows  wheat  in  it,  bathing  before  he  does  so.  The  basket  is 
kept  in  the  diwdla  and  the  same  man  attends  on  it  through- 
out the  nine  days,  fasting  all  day  and  eating  only  milk  and 
fruit  at  night,  A  similar  nine  days'  fast  was  observed  by 
the  Eleusinians  before  the  sacramental  eating  of  corn  and 
the  worship  of  the  Corn  Goddess,  which  constituted  the 
Eleusinian  mysteries."  During  the  period  of  nine  days,  called 
the  Naoratra,  the  plants  are  watered,  and  long  stalks  spring 
up.  On  the  eighth  day  the  hom  or  fire  offering  is  performed, 
and  the  Gunias  or  devotees  are  possessed  by  Devi.  On  the 
evening  of  the  ninth  day  the  women,  putting  on  their  best 
clothes,  walk  out  of  the  houses  with  the  pots  of  grain  on 
their  heads,  singing  songs  in  praise  of  Devi.  The  men 
accompany  them  beating  drums  and  cymbals.  The  devotees 
pierce  their  cheeks  with  long  iron  needles  and  walk  in  the 
procession.  High-caste  women,  who  cannot  go  themselves, 
hire  the  barber's  or  waterman's  wife  to  go  for  them.  The 
pots  are  taken  to  a  tank  and  thrown  in,  the  stalks  of  grain 
being  kept  and  distributed  as  a  mark  of  amity.  The  wheat 
which  is  sown  in  Kunwar  gives  a  forecast  of  the  spring 
crops.  A  plant  is  pulled  out,  and  the  return  of  the  crop 
will  be  the  same  number  of  times  the  seed  as  it  has  roots. 
The  woman  who  gets  to  the  tank  first  counts  the  number  of 
plants  in  her  pot,  and  this  gives  the  price  of  wheat  in  rupees 
per  mdiii}  Sometimes  marks  of  red  rust  appear  on  the 
plants,  and  this  shows  that  the  crop  will  suffer  from  rust. 
The  ceremony  performed  in  Chait   is  said  to  be  a  sort  of 

^  Sorghiiiii  vulgare,  a  large  millet.  History  of  Religion,  p.  365. 

^  Dr.    Jevons,    Introduction    to   the  "^  A  measure  of  400  lbs. 


84  KURMI  PART 

harvest  thanksgiving.  On  the  ninth  day  of  the  autumn 
ceremony  another  celebration  called  '  Jhinjhia  '  or  '  Norta  ' 
takes  place  in  large  villages.  A  number  of  young  unmarried 
girls  take  earthen  pots  and,  making  holes  in  them  and 
placing  lamps  inside,  carry  them  on  their  heads  through  the 
village,  singing  and  dancing.  They  receive  presents  from 
the  villagers,  with  which  they  hold  a  feast.  At  this  a  small 
platform  is  erected  and  two  earthen  dolls,  male  and  female, 
are  placed  on  it ;  rice  and  flowers  are  offered  to  them  and 
their  marriage  is  celebrated. 
32.  Rites  The  following  observances  in  connection  with  the  crops 

connected    ^j.g  practised  by  the  agricultural  castes  in  Chhattlsgarh  : 

with  the  ^  -'  °  .  ^ 

crops.  The  agricultural  year  begins  on  Akti  or  the  3rd  day  of 

^^^j;°^"^jj^°f  Baisakh  (April-May).  On  that  day  a  cup  made  oi  palds^ 
leaves  and  filled  with  rice  is  offered  to  Thakur  Deo.  In 
some  villages  the  boys  sow  rice  seeds  before  Thakur  Deo's 
shrine  with  little  toy  ploughs.  The  cultivator  then  goes  to 
his  field,  and  covering  his  hand  with  wheat-flour  and  turmeric, 
stamps  it  five  times  on  the  plough.  The  malguzar  takes 
five  handfuls  of  the  seed  consecrated  to  Thakur  Deo  and 
sows  it,  and  each  of  the  cultivators  also  sows  a  little.  After 
this  regular  cultivation  may  begin  on  any  day,  though 
Monday  and  Friday  are  considered  auspicious  days  for  the 
commencement  of  sowing.  On  the  Hareli,  or  festival  of 
the  fresh  verdure,  which  falls  on  the  i  5th  day  of  Shrawan 
(July-August),  balls  of  flour  mixed  with  salt  are  given  to  the 
cattle.  The  plough  and  all  the  implements  of  agriculture 
are  taken  to  a  tank  and  washed,  and  are  then  set  up 
in  the  courtyard  of  the  house  and  plastered  with  cowdung. 
The  plough  is  set  facing  towards  the  sun,  and  butter  and 
sugar  are  offered  to  it.  An  earthen  pot  is  whitewashed 
and  human  figures  are  drawn  on  it  with  charcoal,  one  upside 
down.  It  is  then  hung  over  the  entrance  to  the  house  and 
is  believed  to  avert  the  evil  eye.  All  the  holes  in  the  cattle- 
sheds  and  courtyards  are  filled  and  levelled  with  gravel. 
While  the  rice  is  growing,  holidays  are  observed  on  five 
Sundays  and  no  work  is  done.  Before  harvest  Thakur  Deo 
must  be  propitiated  with  an  offering  of  a  white  goat  or  a 
black  fowl.     Any  one  who  begins  to  cut  his  crop  before  this 

'  Btitea  froiidosa. 


^4f^ 


II    ■  RITES  CONNECTED   WITH  CROPS  85 

offering  has  been  made  to  Thakur  Deo  is  fined  the  price  of 
a  goat  by  the  village  community.  Before  threshing  his 
corn  each  cultivator  offers  a  separate  sacrifice  to  Thakur 
Deo  of  a  goat,  a  fowl  or  a  broken  cocoanut.  Each  evening, 
on  the  conclusion  of  a  day's  threshing,  a  wisp  of  straw  is 
rubbed  on  the  forehead  of  each  bullock,  and  a  hair  is  then 
pulled  from  its  tail,  and  the  hairs  and  straw  made  into  a 
bundle  are  tied  to  the  pole  of  the  threshing-floor.  The 
cultivator  prays,  *  O  God  of  plenty  !  enter  here  full  and  go 
out  empty.'  Before  leaving  the  threshing-floor  for  the 
night  some  straw  is  burnt  and  three  circles  are  drawn  with 
the  ashes,  one  round  the  heap  of  grain  and  the  others 
round  the  pole.  Outside  the  circles  are  drawn  pictures  of 
the  sun,  the  moon,  a  lion  and  a  monkey,  or  of  a  cart  and  a 
pair  of  bullocks.  Next  morning  before  sunrise  the  ashes 
are  swept  away  by  waving  a  winnowing-fan  over  them. 
This  ceremony  is  called  anj'afi  chadJiana  or  placing  lamp- 
black on  the  face  of  the  threshing-floor  to  avert  the  evil 
eye,  as  women  put  it  on  their  eyes.  Before  the  grain  is 
measured  it  must  be  stacked  in  the  form  of  a  trapezium  with 
the  shorter  end  to  the  south,  and  not  in  that  of  a  square  or 
oblong  heap.  The  measurer  stands  facing  the  east,  and 
having  the  shorter  end  of  the  heap  on  his  left  hand.  On 
the  larger  side  of  the  heap  are  laid  the  kalara  or  hook, 
a  winnowing-fan,  the  datiri,  a  rope  by  which  the  bullocks 
are  tied  to  the  threshing-pole,  one  or  three  branches  of 
the  ber  or  wild  plum  tree,  and  the  twisted  bundle  of  straw 
and  hair  of  the  bullocks  which  had  been  tied  to  the 
pole.  On  the  top  of  the  heap  are  placed  five  balls  of 
cowdung,  and  the  ho)n  or  fire  sacrifice  is  offered  to  it.  The 
first  kdtJia  ^  of  rice  measured  is  also  laid  by  the  heap.  The 
measurer  never  quite  empties  his  measure  while  the  work 
is  going  on,  as  it  is  feared  that  if  he  does  this  the  god  of 
abundance  will  leave  the  threshing-floor.  While  measuring 
he  should  always  wear  a  turban.  It  is  considered  unlucky 
for  any  one  who  has  ridden  on  an  elephant  to  enter  the 
threshing-floor,  but  a  person  who  has  ridden  on  a  tiger 
brings  luck.  Consequently  the  Gonds  and  Baigas,  if 
they  capture  a  young  tiger  and  tame  it,  will  take  it  round 

'  A  measure  containing  9  lb.  2  oz.  of  rice. 


86 


KURMI 


33-  Agri- 
cultural 
supersti- 
tions. 


the  country,  and  the  cultivators  pay  them  a  little  to  give 
their  children  a  ride  on  it.  To  enter  a  threshing-floor 
with  shod  feet  is  also  unlucky.  Grain  is  not  usually 
measured  at  noon  but  in  the  morning  or  evening. 

The   cultivators    think    that    each   grain    should   bear  a 
hundredfold,  but  they  do  not  get  this  as  Kuvera,  the  treasurer 
of  the  gods,  or  Bhainsasur,  the  buffalo  demon  who  lives  in 
the  fields,  takes  it.      Bhainsasur  is  worshipped  when  the  rice 
is    coming   into   ear,   and   if  they   think  he  is   likely  to   be 
mischievous   they   give   him   a   pig,  but  otherwise  a  smaller 
offering.      When   the   standing  corn  in   the  fields   is  beaten 
down  at  night  they  think  that  Bhainsasur  has   been  passing 
over  it.      He  also  steals  the  crop  while  it  is  being  cut  and 
is  lying  on  the  ground.      Once  Bhainsasur  was  absent  while 
the    particular  field   in  the  village  from  which  he  stole  his 
supply  of  grain  was  cut  and  the  crop  removed,  and   after- 
wards  he  was   heard  crying   that  all  his  provision   for  the 
year  had    been    lost.      Sometimes    the    oldest   man    in   the 
house  cuts  the  first  five   bundles  of  the  crop,  and   they  are 
afterwards  left  in  the  field  for  the  birds  to  eat.      And  at  the 
end  of  harvest  the  last  one  or  two  sheaves  are  left  standing 
in  the  field,  and   any  one  who  likes  can  cut  and  carry  them 
away.      In  some  localities  the  last  stalks  are  left  standing 
in  the  field  and  are  known  as  barJiona  or  the  giver  of  increase. 
Then  all   the  labourers  rush  together  at  this  last  patch  of 
corn  and  tear  it  up  by  the  roots  ;  everybody  seizes  as  much 
as    he  can    and    keeps    it,    the    master   having   no    share   in 
this    patch.      After    the  barhona   has  been    torn   up  all  the 
labourers    fall   on   their    faces    to   the   ground    and   worship 
the  field.      In   other  places  the  barhona  is  left  standing  for 
the    birds    to    eat.       This    custom    arises    from    the    belief 
demonstrated  by  Sir  J.  G.  Frazer  in  The  Golden  Bough  that 
the  corn-spirit  takes  refuge  in  the  last  patch  of  grain,  and 
that  when  it  is  cut  he  flies  away  or  his  life  is  extinguished. 
And   the  idea   is   supported  by  the  fact  that  the  rats  and 
other  vermin,  who  have  been  living  in  the  field,  seek  shelter 
in   the   last    patch  of    corn,  and   when    this   is    cut  have  to 
dart  out  in   front  of  the  reapers.      In   some  countries  it  is 
thought,  as  shown  by  Sir  J.  G.  Frazer,  that  the   corn-spirit 
takes  refuge  in  the  body  of  one  of  these  animals. 


HOUSES 


87 


The  house  of  a  malguzar  or  good   tenant  stands  in   a  34- 
courtyard  or  angan  45  to  60  feet  square  and  surrounded  by 
a  brick  or  mud  wall. 


below  :- 


The  plan  of  a  typical  house  is  shown 


Dalan. 

Dalan. 

Cattle-shed  (Sar). 

Sar. 

Living-room. 

Veranda. 

Veranda. 

Living-room. 

Veranda. 

Living- 

rooms. 

' 

The  ddldn  or  hall  is  for  the  reception  of  visitors.  One 
of  the  living-rooms  is  set  apart  for  storing  grain.  Those 
who  keep  their  women  secluded  have  a  door  at  the  back  of 
the  courtyard  for  their  use.  Cooking  is  done  in  one  of  the 
rooms,  and  there  are  no  chimneys,  the  smoke  escaping 
through  the  tiles.  They  bathe  either  in  the  cliauk  or  central 
courtyard,  or  go  out  and  bathe  in  a  tank  or  river  or  at  a 
well.  The  family  usually  sleep  inside  the  house  in  the 
winter  and  outside  in  the  hot  weather.  A  poor  malguzar 
or  tenant  has  only  two  rooms  with  a  veranda  in  front,  one 
of  which  is  used  by  the  family,  while  cattle  are  kept  in  the 
other  ;  while  the  small  tenants  and  labourers  have  only  one 
room  in  which  both  men  and  cattle  reside.  The  walls  are 
of  bamboo  matting  plastered  on  both  sides  with  mud,  and 
the  roof  usually  consists  of  single  small  tiles  roughly  baked  in 
an  improvised  kiln.  The  house  is  surrounded  by  a  mud  wall 
or    hedge,   and  sometimes    has    a  garden   behind    in    which 


88  KURMI  PART 

tobacco,  maize  or  vegetables  are  grown.  The  interior  is 
dark,  for  light  is  admitted  only  by  the  low  door,  and  the 
smoke-stained  ceiling  contributes  to  the  gloom.  The  floor 
is  of  beaten  earth  well  plastered  with  cowdung,  the  plastering 
being  repeated  weekly. 
35.  Super-  The  following  are  some  superstitious  beliefs  and  customs 

stitions        about  houses.      A   house  should  face  north  or  east  and  not 

about 

houses.  south  or  wcst,  as  the  south  is  the  region  of  Yama,  the  god 
of  death,  who  lives  in  Ceylon,  and  the  west  the  quarter  of 
the  setting  sun.  A  Muhammadan's  house,  on  the  other 
hand,  should  face  south  or  west  because  Mecca  lies  to  the 
south-west.  A  house  may  have  verandas  front  and  back, 
or  on  the  front  and  two  sides,  but  not  on  all  four  sides. 
The  front  of  a  house  should  be  lower  than  the  back,  this 
shape  being  known  as  gai-vinkh  or  cow-mouthed,  and  not 
higher  than  the  back,  which  is  singh-miikh  or  tiger-mouthed. 
The  front  and  back  doors  should  not  be  in  a  straight  line, 
which  would  enable  one  to  look  right  through  the  house. 
The  angan  or  compound  of  a  house  should  be  a  little  longer 
than  it  is  wide,  no  matter  how  little.  Conversely  the  build- 
ing itself  should  be  a  little  wider  along  the  front  than  it  is 
long  from  front  to  rear.  The  kitchen  should  always  be  on 
the  right  side  if  there  is  a  veranda,  or  else  behind.  When 
an  astrologer  is  about  to  found  a  house  he  calculates  the 
direction  in  which  Shesh  Nag,  the  snake  on  whom  the 
world  reposes,  is  holding  his  head  at  that  time,  and  plants 
the  first  brick  or  stone  to  the  left  of  that  direction,  because 
snakes  and  elephants  do  not  turn  to  the  left  but  always  to 
the  right.  Consequently  the  house  will  be  more  secure  and 
less  likely  to  be  shaken  down  by  Shesh  Nag's  movements, 
which  cause  the  phenomenon  known  to  us  as  an  earthquake. 
Below  the  foundation-stone  or  brick  are  buried  a  pice,  an 
areca-nut  and  a  grain  of  rice,  and  it  is  lucky  if  the  stone 
be  laid  by  a  man  who  has  been  faithful  to  his  wife.  There 
should  be  no  echo  in  a  house,  as  an  echo  is  considered  to 
be  the  voice  of  evil  spirits.  The  main  beam  should  be 
placed  in  position  on  a  lucky  day,  and  the  carpenter  breaks 
a  cocoanut  against  it  and  receives  a  present.  The  width  of 
the  rooms  along  the  front  of  a  house  should  be  five  cubits 
each,  and   if  there  is  a   staircase  it  must  have  an    uneven 


II  SUPERSTITIONS  ABOUT  HOUSES  89 

number  of  steps.  The  door  should  be  low  so  that  a  man 
must  bend  his  head  on  entering  and  thus  show  respect  to 
the  household  god.  The  floor  of  the  verandas  should  be 
lower  than  that  of  the  room  inside  ;  the  Hindus  say  that 
the  compound  should  not  see  the  veranda  nor  the  veranda 
the  house.  But  this  rule  has  of  course  also  the  advantage 
of  keeping  the  house-floor  dry.  If  the  main  beam  of  a 
house  breaks  it  is  a  very  bad  omen,  as  also  for  a  vulture 
or  kite  to  perch  on  the  roof;  if  this  should  happen  seven 
days  running  the  house  will  inevitably  be  left  empty  by 
sickness  or  other  misfortune.  A  dog  howling  in  front  of 
the  house  is  very  unlucky,  and  if,  as  may  occasionally 
happen,  a  dog  should  get  on  to  the  roof  of  the  house  and 
bark,  the  omen  is  of  the  worst  kind.  Neither  the  pipal  nor 
banyan  trees  should  be  planted  in  the  yard  of  a  house, 
because  the  leavings  of  food  might  fall  upon  them,  and  this 
would  be  an  insult  to  the  deities  who  inhabit  the  sacred 
trees.  Neither  is  it  well  to  plant  the  7il)n  tree,  because  the 
ni7n  is  the  tree  of  anchorites,  and  the  frequent  contemplation 
of  it  will  take  away  from  a  man  the  desire  of  offspring  and 
lead  to  the  extinction  of  his  family.  Bananas  should  not 
be  grown  close  to  the  house,  because  the  sound  of  this  fruit 
bursting  the  pod  is  said  to  be  audible,  and  to  hear  it  is  most 
unlucky.  It  is  a  good  thing  to  have  a  giilar^  tree  in  the 
yard,  but  at  a  little  distance  from  the  house  so  that  the 
leavings  of  food  may  not  fall  upon  it ;  this  is  the  tree  of 
the  saint  Dattatreya,  and  will  cause  wealth  to  increase  in 
the  house.  A  plant  of  the  sacred  tulsi  or  basil  is  usually 
kept  in  the  yard,  and  every  morning  the  householder  pours 
a  vessel  of  water  over  it  as  he  bathes,  and  in  the  evening 
places  a  lamp  beside  it.  This  holy  plant  sanctifies  the  air 
which  passes  over  it  to  the  house. 

No  one  should  ever  sit  on  the  threshold  of  a  house  ;  this 
is  the  seat  of  Lakshmi,  the  goddess  of  wealth,  and  to  sit  on 
it  is  disrespectful  to  her.  A  house  should  never  be  swept 
at  twilight,  because  it  is  then  that  Lakshmi  makes  her 
rounds,  and  she  would  curse  it  and  pass  by.  At  this  time 
a  lamp  should  be  lighted,  no  one  should  be  allowed  to  sleep, 
and  even  if  a  man  is  sick  he  should  sit  up  on  his  bed.      At 

^   FicHS  glomcrata. 


go  KURMI  PART 

this  time  the  grinding-mill  should  not  be  turned  nor  grain  be 
husked,  but  reverence  should  be  paid  to  ancestors  and  to  the 
household  deities.  No  one  must  sit  on  the  grinding-mill  ;  it 
is  regarded  as  a  mother  because  it  gives  out  the  flour  by 
which  the  family  is  fed.  No  one  must  sit  on  cowdung  cakes 
because  they  are  the  seat  of  Saturn,  the  Evil  One,  and  their 
smell  is  called  Samchar  ke  bds.  No  one  must  step  on  the 
chrdha  or  cooking-hearth  nor  jar  it  with  his  foot.  At  the 
midday  meal,  when  food  is  freshly  cooked,  each  man  will  take 
a  little  fire  from  the  hearth  and  place  it  in  front  of  him,  and 
will  throw  a  little  of  everything  he  eats  on  to  the  fire,  and 
some  ghi  as  an  offering  to  Agni,  the  god  of  fire.  And  he 
will  also  walk  round  the  hearth,  taking  water  in  his  hand 
and  then  throwing  it  on  the  ground  as  an  offering  to 
Agni.  A  man  should  not  sleep  with  his  feet  to  the  south, 
because  a  corpse  is  always  laid  in  that  direction.  He  should 
not  sleep  with  his  feet  to  the  east,  nor  spit  out  water  from 
his  mouth  in  the  direction  of  the  east. 
36.  Furni-  Of  furniture  there  is  very  little.      Carefully  arranged  in 

their  places  are  the  brass  cooking- pots,  water -pots  and 
plates,  well  polished  with  mud  and  water  applied  with 
plenty  of  elbow-grease  by  the  careful  housewife.  Poor 
tenants  frequently  only  have  one  or  two  brass  plates  and 
cups  and  an  iron  girdle,  while  all  the  rest  of  their  vessels  are 
of  earthenware.  Each  house  has  several  chulkas  or  small 
horseshoe  erections  of  earth  for  cooking.  Each  person  in 
the  house  has  a  sleeping-cot  if  the  family  is  comfortably  off, 
and  a  spare  one  is  also  kept.  These  must  be  put  out  and 
exposed  to  the  sun  at  least  once  a  week  to  clear  them  of 
fleas  and  bugs.  It  is  said  that  the  Jains  cannot  adopt  this 
method  of  disinfecting  their  beds  owing  to  the  sacrifice  of 
insect  life  thereby  involved  ;  and  that  there  are  persons  in 
Calcutta  who  make  it  their  profession  to  go  round  and  offer 
to  lie  on  these  cots  for  a  time  ;  they  lie  on  them  for  some 
hours,  and  the  little  denizens  being  surfeited  with  their 
blood  subsequently  allow  the  owner  of  the  cot  to  have  a 
quiet  night.  A  cot  should  always  be  shorter  than  a  man's 
length,  so  that  his  legs  project  over  the  end  ;  if  it  is  so  long 
as  to  contain  his  whole  length  it  is  like  a  bier,  and  it  is  feared 
that  lying  on  a  cot  of  this  kind  will  cause  him  shortly  to  lie 


ture, 


II  CLOTHES  91 

on  a  bier.  Poor  tenants  do  not  usually  have  cots,  but  sleep 
on  the  ground,  spreading  kodon- straw  on  it  for  warmth. 
They  have  no  bedding  except  a  gudri  or  mattress  made  of 
old  rags  and  clothes  sewn  together.  In  winter  they  put  it 
over  them,  and  sleep  on  it  in  summer.  They  will  have  a 
wooden  log  to  rest  their  heads  on  when  sleeping,  and  this 
will  also  serve  as  a  seat  for  a  guest.  Malguzars  have  a 
razai  or  quilt,  and  a  doria  or  thick  cloth  like  those  used  for 
covering  carts.  Clothes  and  other  things  are  kept  in  jhdvipis 
or  round  bamboo  baskets.  For  sitting  on  there  are  machnis 
or  four-legged  stools  about  a  foot  high  with  seats  of  grass 
rope  or  pir/iis,  little  wooden  stools  only  an  inch  or  two  from 
the  ground.  For  lighting,  wicks  are  set  afloat  in  little 
earthen  saucers  filled  with  oil. 

Landowners  usually  have  a  long  coat  known  as  angarkJia  37- 
reaching  to  the  knees,  with  flaps  folding  over  the  breasts  and 
tied  with  strings.      The  bandi  is  a  short  coat  like  this  but 
coming  only  to  the  hips,  and  is  more  popular  with  cultivators. 
In  the  cold  weather  it  is  frequently  stuffed  with  cotton  and 
dyed  dark  green  or  dark  blue  so  as  not  to  show  the  dirt. 
For  visits  of  ceremony  a  pair  oi  paijdmas  are  kept,  but  other- 
wise the  dhoti  or  loin-cloth  is  commonly  worn.     Wearing  the 
dhoti  pulled  half-way  up  to  the  thighs  is  called  '  cultivator's 
fashion.'     A  shirt  may  be  worn  under  the  coat  ;  but  cultivators 
usually  have  only  one  garment,  nowadays  often  a  sleeveless 
coat  with  buttons  in  front.      The  proper  head-dress   is  the 
pagri,  a  piece  of  coloured  cloth  perhaps  30  feet  long  and  a 
foot  wide,  twisted  tightly  into  folds,  which  is  lifted  on  and 
off  the  head  and  is  only  rarely  undone.      Twisting  the  pagri 
is  an  art,  and  a  man  is  usually  hired  to  do  it  and  paid  four 
annas.      The  pagris  have  different  shapes  in  different  parts 
of  the  country,  and  a  Hindu  can  tell  by  the  shape  of  a  man's 
pagri   where    he    comes    from.       But    nowadays    cultivators 
usually  wear  a  dupatta  or  short  piece  of  cloth  tied   loosely 
round  the  head.      The  tenant  arranges  his  head-cloth  with  a 
large  projection  on  one  side,  and  in   it  he  carries  his  chilain 
or  pipe-bowl,  and  also  small  quantities  of  vegetables,  salt  or 
condiments  purchased  at  the  bazar.      In  case  of  necessity  he 
can  transform  it  into  a  loin-cloth,  or  tie  up  a  bundle  of  grass 
with   it,  or  tie   his   lota  to  it   to   draw   water   from   a   well. 


92  KURMI  PART 

'  What  can  the  washerman  do  in  a  village  where  the  people 
live  naked  ?  '  is  a  Chhattisgarhi  proverb  which  aptly  indicates 
that  scantiness  is  the  most  prominent  feature  of  the  local 
apparel.  Here  a  cloth  round  the  loins,  and  this  usually  of 
meagre  dimensions,  constituted,  until  recently,  the  full  dress 
of  a  cultivator.  Those  who  have  progressed  a  stage  farther 
throw  a  cloth  loosely  over  one  shoulder,  covering  the  chest, 
and  assume  an  apology  for  a  turban  by  wrapping  another 
small  rag  carelessly  round  the  head,  leaving  the  crown 
generally  bare,  as  if  this  part  of  the  person  required  special 
sunning  and  ventilation,  Hindus  will  not  be  seen  out-of- 
doors  with  the  head  bare,  though  the  Gonds  and  other  tribes 
only  begin  to  wear  head-cloths  when  they  are  adopting 
Hinduism.  The  Gondi  fashion  was  formerly  prevalent  in 
Chhattlsgarh.  Some  sanctity  attaches  to  the  turban, 
probably  because  it  is  the  covering  of  the  head.  To  knock 
off  a  man's  turban  is  a  great  insult,  and  if  it  drops  off  or  he 
lets  it  fall,  it  is  a  very  bad  omen. 
38.  Women  in  the  northern   Districts  wear  a  skirt  made  of 

Women's     coarsc  cloth,  usually  red  or  blue,  and  a  shoulder-cloth  of  the 

clothes.  . 

same  material.  Hand-woven  cloth  is  still  commonly  used 
in  the  interior.  The  skirt  is  sometimes  drawn  up  through 
the  legs  behind  so  as  to  give  it  a  divided  appearance  ;  this 
is  called  kachJiota.  On  the  upper  part  of  the  body  they 
wear  an  angia  or  breast-cloth,  that  is  a  short,  tight,  sleeveless 
jacket  reaching  only  to  below  the  breasts.  The  ajigia  is 
tied  behind,  while  the  Maratha  cJioli,  which  is  the  same  thing, 
is  buttoned  or  tied  in  front.  High-caste  women  draw  their 
shoulder-cloth  right  over  the  head  so  that  the  face  cannot 
be  seen.  When  a  woman  goes  before  a  person  of  position 
she  covers  her  head,  as  it  is  considered  immodest  to  leave 
it  bare.  Women  of  respectable  families  wear  a  sheet  of  fine 
white,  yellow,  or  red  cloth  drawn  over  the  head  and  reaching 
to  the  ankles  when  they  go  on  a  journey,  this  being  known 
as  pichhova.  In  Chhattlsgarh  all  the  requirements  of  fashion 
among  women  are  satisfied  by  one  cloth  from  8  to  i  2  yards 
long  and  about  a  yard  wide,  which  envelops  the  person  in 
one  fold  from  tiie  waist  to  below  the  knee,  hanging  some- 
what loosely.  It  is  tied  at  the  waist,  and  the  remaining  half 
is  spread  over  the  breast  and  drawn  across  the  right  shoulder. 


II  BATHING— FOOD  93 

the  end  covering  the  head  like  a  sheet  and  falling  over  the 
left  shoulder.  The  simplicity  of  this  solitary  garment  dis- 
plays a  graceful  figure  to  advantage,  especially  on  festival 
days,  when  those  who  can  afford  it  are  arrayed  in  tasar  silk. 
When  a  girl  is  married  the  bridegroom's  family  give  her 
expensive  clothes  to  wear  at  festivals  and  her  own  people 
give  her  ordinary  clothes,  but  usually  not  more  than  will  last 
a  year.  Whenever  she  goes  back  to  her  father's  house  after 
her  marriage,  he  gives  her  one  or  two  cloths  if  he  can  afford 
it.  Women  of  the  middle  and  lower  classes  wear  ornaments 
of  bell-metal,  a  mixture  of  copper  and  zinc,  which  are  very 
popular.  Some  women  wear  brass  and  zinc  ornaments,  and 
well-to-do  persons  have  them  of  silver  or  gold. 

Hot  water  is  not  used  for  bathing  in  Saugor,  except  by  39-  Bath- 
invalids,  but  is  customary  in  Betul  and  other  Districts.  '"^' 
The  bathing-place  in  the  court}'ard  is  usually  a  large  square 
stone  on  which  the  bather  sits  ;  he  has  a  big  circular  brass 
vessel  by  him  called  gangdl}  and  from  this  he  takes  water 
either  in  a  cup  or  with  his  hands  and  throws  it  over  himself, 
rubbing  his  body.  Where  there  is  a  tank  or  stream  people  go 
to  bathe  in  it,  and  if  there  is  none  the  poorer  classes  some- 
times bathe  at  the  village  well.  Each  man  or  woman  has 
two  body-  or  loin-cloths,  and  they  change  the  cloth  whenever 
they  bathe — going  into  the  water  in  the  one  which  they  have 
worn  from  the  previous  day,  and  changing  into  the  other 
when  they  come  out  ;  long  practice  enables  them  to  do  this 
in  public  without  any  undue  exposure  of  the  body.  A  good 
tank  or  a  river  is  a  great  amenity  to  a  village,  especially  if  it 
has  a  gJidt  or  flight  of  stone  steps.  Many  people  will  spend 
an  hour  or  so  here  daily,  disporting  themselves  in  the  water 
or  on  the  bank,  and  wedding  and  funeral  parties  are  held  by 
it,  owing  to  the  facilities  for  ceremonial  bathing. 

People  who  do  not  cultivate  with  their  own  hands  have  40.  Food, 
only  two  daily  meals,  one  at  midday  and  the  other  at  eight 
or  nine  in  the  evening.  Agriculturists  require  a  third  meal 
in  the  early  morning  before  going  out  to  the  fields.  Wheat 
and  the  millets  juari  and  kodon  are  the  staple  foods  of  the 
cultivating  classes  in  the  northern  Districts,  and  rice  is  kept 
for  festivals.      The  millets   are  made  into  thick  cJiapdtis  or 

1   From  Ganga,  or  the  Ganges,  and  ala  a  pot. 


94  KURMI  PART 

cakes,  their  flour  not  being  sufficiently  adhesive  for  thin  ones, 
and  are  eaten  with  the  pulses,  lentils,  arhar,^  mung^  and  urad.^ 
The  pulses  are  split  into  half  and  boiled  in  water,  and  when 
they  get  soft,  chillies,  salt  and  turmeric  are  mixed  with 
them.  Pieces  of  chapdti  are  broken  off  and  dipped  into  this 
mixture.  Various  vegetables  are  also  eaten.  When  pulse 
is  not  available  the  chapdtis  are  simply  dipped  into  butter- 
milk. If  chapdtis  cannot  be  afforded  at  both  meals,  ghorna 
or  the  flour  of  kodon  or  juar  boiled  into  a  paste  with  water 
is  substituted  for  them,  a  smaller  quantity  of  this  being 
sufficient  to  allay  hunger.  Wheat -cakes  are  fried  in  ghi 
(clarified  butter)  as  a  luxury,  and  at  other  times  in  sesamum 
oil.  Rice  or  ground  gram  boiled  in  buttermilk  are  other 
favourite  foods. 

In  Chhattlsgarh  rice  is  the  common  food  :  it  is  eaten 
with  pulses  at  midday  and  with  vegetables  cooked  in  ghi  in 
the  evening.  In  the  morning  they  drink  a  rice-gruel,  called 
bdsi,  which  consists  of  the  previous  night's  repast  mixed  with 
water  and  taken  cold.  On  festivals  rice  is  boiled  in  milk. 
Milk  is  often  drunk  at  night,  and  there  is  a  saying,  "  He  who 
drinks  water  in  the  morning  and  milk  at  night  and  takes 
harra  before  he  sleeps  will  never  need  a  doctor."  A  little 
powdered  harra  or  myrobalan  acts  as  an  aperient.  The 
food  of  landowners  and  tenants  is  much  the  same,  except 
that  the  former  have  more  butter  and  vegetables,  according 
to  the  saying,  '  Rdj'a  praja  ka  ekhi  khdna^  or  '  The  king  and 
peasant  eat  the  same  food.'  Those  who  eat  flesh  have  an 
occasional  change  of  food,  but  most  Kurmis  abstain  from  it. 
Farmservants  eat  the  gruel  of  rice  or  kodon  boiled  in  water 
when  they  can  afford  it,  and  if  not  they  eat  mahua  flowers. 
These  are  sometimes  boiled  in  water,  and  the  juice  is  then 
strained  off  and  mixed  with  half-ground  flour,  and  they  are 
also  pounded  and  made  into  chapdtis  with  flour  and  water. 
The  leaves  of  the  young  gram-plants  make  a  very  favourite 
vegetable  and  are  eaten  raw,  either  moist  or  dried.  In  times 
of  scarcity  the  poorer  classes  eat  tamarind  leaves,  the  pith 
of  the  banyan  tree,  the  seeds  of  the  bamboo,  the  bark  of  the 
semar  tree,'*  the  fruit  of  the  babur^  and   other  articles.      A 

^  Cajanus  indiais.  '^  Phaseolus  niungo.  ^  Phaseolus  radiatus. 

*  Bombax  malabaricum,  ^  Acacia  arabica. 


II  CASTE-FEASTS  95 

cultivator  will  eat  2  lbs.  of  grain  a  day  if  he  can  get  it,  or 
more  in  the  case  of  rice.  Their  stomachs  get  distended 
owing  to  the  large  quantities  of  boiled  rice  eaten  at  one 
time.  The  leaves  of  the  chirota  or  chakora,  a  little  plant  ^ 
which  grows  thickly  at  the  commencement  of  the  rains  near 
inhabited  sites,  are  also  a  favourite  vegetable,  and  a  resource 
in  famine  time.  The  people  call  it  '  Gaon  ka  tJidkiirl  or 
'  lord  of  the  village,'  and  have  a  saying  : 

r 

Aiiiarbel  aur  kamalgaia, 
Gao?t  ka  thCikiir^  gat  ka  inatha^ 
Nagar  sowdsan,  tinmen  /nilai, 
Khiij,  dad,  sehua  inlt  jawe. 

Amarbel  is  an  endless  creeper,  with  long  yellow  strings 
like  stalks,  which  infests  and  destroys  trees  ;  it  is  called 
amarbel  or  the  immortal,  because  it  has  no  visible  root. 
Kamalgata  is  the  seed  of  the  lotus  ;  gai  ka  viatJia  is  butter- 
milk ;  nagar  sowdsan,  *  the  happiness  of  the  town,'  is 
turmeric,  because  married  women  whose  husbands  are  alive 
put  turmeric  on  their  foreheads  every  day  ;  k]idj\  dad  and 
sehua  are  itch,  ringworm  and  some  kind  of  rash,  perhaps 
measles  ;  and  the  verse  therefore  means  : 

"  Eat  amarbel,  lotus  seeds,  chirota,  buttermilk  and 
turmeric  mixed  together,  and  you  will  keep  off  itch,  ring- 
worm and  measles."      Chirota  is  good  for  the  itch. 

At  the  commencement  of  a  marriage  or  other  ceremonial  41.  Caste- 
feast  the  host  must  wash  the  feet  of  all  the  guests  himself  '^^'^'^'^'^■ 
If  he  does  not  do  this  they  will  be  dissatisfied,  and,  though 
they  will  eat  at  his  house,  will  consider  they  have  not  been 
properly  welcomed.  He  takes  a  large  brass  plate  and 
placing  the  feet  of  his  guest  on  it,  pours  water  over  them 
and  then  rubs  and  dries  them  ;  the  water  is  thrown  away 
and  fresh  water  poured  out  for  the  next  guest  unless  they 
should  be  brothers.  Little  flat  stools  about  three  inches 
high  are  provided  for  the  guests,  and  if  there  are  not  enough 
of  them  a  carpet  is  spread  ;  or  baitJikis  or  sitting-mats 
plaited  from  five  or  six  large  leaves  are  set  out.  These 
serve  as  a  mark  of  attention,  as  it  would  be  discourteous  to 
make  a  man  sit  on  the  ground,  and  they  also  prevent  the  body- 

^   Cassia  tora. 


96  KURMI  PART 

cloth  from  getting  wet.  The  guests  sit  in  the  chaiik  or  yard 
of  the  house  inside,  or  in  the  angan  or  outside  yard,  either  in 
lines  or  in  a  circle  ;  members  of  the  same  caste  sit  with 
their  crossed  knees  actually  touching  those  of  the  man  on 
either  side  of  them  to  emphasise  their  brotherhood  ;  if  a 
man  sat  even  a  few  inches  apart  from  his  fellows  people 
would  say  he  was  out  of  caste — and  this  is  how  a  man  who 
is  put  out  of  caste  actually  does  sit.  Before  each  guest  may 
be  set  two  plates  of  leaves  and  eight  donas  or  leaf-cups.  On 
the  plates  are  heaped  rice,  cakes  of  wheat  fried  in  butter, 
and  of  husked  urad  pulse  cooked  with  tilli  or  sesamum  oil, 
and  the  pulse  of  gram  and  lentils.  In  the  cups  will  be 
sugar,  ghi^  dahi  or  curded  milk,  various  vegetables,  pumpkins, 
and  besin  or  ground  gram  cooked  with  buttermilk.  All  the 
male  members  of  the  host's  family  serve  the  food  and  they 
take  it  round,  heaping  and  pouring  it  into  each  man's  plates 
or  cups  until  he  says  enough  ;  and  they  continue  to  give 
further  helpings  as  required.  All  the  food  is  served  at  once 
in  the  different  plates  and  cups,  but  owing  to  the  number  of 
guests  a  considerable  time  elapses  before  all  are  fully  served, 
and  the  dinner  lasts  about  two  hours.  The  guests  eat  all 
the  different  dishes  together  with  their  fingers,  taking  a  little 
of  each  according  to  their  fancy.  Each  man  has  his  lota  or 
vessel  of  water  by  him  and  drinks  as  he  eats.  When  the 
meal  is  finished  large  brass  plates  are  brought  in,  one  being 
given  to  about  ten  guests,  and  they  wash  their  hands  over 
these,  pouring  water  on  them  from  their  vessels.  A  fresh 
carpet  is  then  spread  in  the  yard  and  the  guests  sit  on  it, 
and  betel-leaf  and  tobacco  are  distributed.  The  huqqa  is 
passed  round,  and  cJiilams  and  chongis  (clay  pipe-bowls  and 
leaf-pipes)  are  provided  for  those  who  want  them.  The 
women  do  not  appear  at  the  feast  but  stay  inside,  sitting  in 
the  ajigan  or  inner  court,  which  is  behind  the  purda. 
42.  Hospi-  The   people  still  show   great  hospitality,  and   it   is    the 

taiity.  custom  of  many  malguzars,  at  least  in  Chhattisgarh,  to  afford 

food  and  a  night's  rest  to  all  travellers  who  may  require  it. 
When  a  Brahman  comes  to  the  village  such  malguzars  will 
give  him  one  or  two  annas,  and  to  a  Pandit  or  learned  man 
as  much  as  a  rupee.  Formerly  it  is  said  that  when  any 
stranger  came  through  the  village  he  was  at  once  offered  a 


II  SOCIAL  CUSTOMS:    TATTOOING  97 

cup  of  milk  and  told  to  drink  it  or  throw  it  away.  But 
this  custom  has  died  out  in  Chhattlsgarh,  though  one  has 
met  with  it  once  or  twice  in  Sambalpur.  When  District 
Officers  go  on  tour,  well-to-do  landowners  ask  to  be  allowed 
to  supply  free  provisions  for  the  whole  camp  at  least  for  a 
day,  and  it  is  difficult  to  refuse  them  gracefully.  In  Mandla, 
]?anias  and  malguzars  in  villages  near  the  Nerbudda  some- 
times undertake  to  give  a  pound  of  grain  to  cvexy  parikrama- 
zvdsi  or  pilgrim  perambulating  the  Nerbudda.  And  as  the 
number  of  these  steadily  increases  in  consequence,  they 
often  become  impoverished  as  a  result  of  such  indiscriminate 
charity. 

The  Kurmis  employ  Brahmans  for  their  ceremonies.  43.  Social 
They  have  gurus  or  spiritual  preceptors  who  may  be  Brah-  !^^tt°'"r 
mans  or  Bairagis  ;  the  guru  is  given  from  8  annas  to  Rs.  5 
when  he  initiates  a  neophyte,  as  well  as  his  food  and  a  new 
white  cloth.  The  gurii  is  occasionally  consulted  on  some 
religious  question,  but  otherwise  he  does  nothing  for  his 
disciple  except  to  pay  him  an  occasional  visit,  when  he 
is  hospitably  entertained.  The  Kurmis  of  the  northern 
Districts  do  not  as  a  rule  eat  meat  and  also  abstain  from 
alcohol,  but  in  Chhattlsgarh  they  eat  the  flesh  of  clean 
animals  and  fish,  and  also  of  fowls,  and  drink  country 
liquor.  Old  men  often  give  up  flesh  and  wine  as  a  mark 
of  piety,  when  they  are  known  as  Bhagat  or  holy.  They 
will  take  food  cooked  with  water  only  from  Brahmans,  and 
that  cooked  without  water  from  Rajputs,  Banias  and 
Kayasths  as  well.  Brahmans  and  Rajputs  will  take  water 
from  Kurmis  in  the  northern  Districts  though  not  in 
Chhattlsgarh.  Here  the  Kurmis  do  not  object  to  eating 
cooked  food  which  has  been  carried  from  the  house  to  the 
fields.  This  is  called  rengai  rati,  and  castes  which  will  eat 
it  are  considered  inferior  to  those  who  always  take  their 
food  in  the  chaiika  or  purified  place  in  the  house.  They 
say  '  Ram,  Ram  '  to  each  other  in  greeting,  and  the  Raipur 
Kurmis  swear  by  a  dog  or  a  pig.  Generally  they  do  not 
plough  on  the  new  or  full  moon  days.  Their  women  are 
tattooed  after  marriage  with  dots  on  the  cheeks,  marks  of 
flies  on  the  fingers,  scorpions  on  the  arms,  and  other  devices 
on  the  legs. 

VOL.  IV  -  H 


98  KURMI  PART 

44.  Caste  Permanent  expulsion  from  caste  is  inflicted  for  a  change 
penalties.     Qf  rcHgion,  taking  food  or  having  sexual  intercourse  with  a 

member  of  an  impure  caste,  and  for  eating  beef  For  killing 
a  man,  a  cow,  a  buffalo,  an  ass,  a  horse,  a  squirrel,  a  cat  or 
a  monkey  a  man  must  purify  himself  by  bathing  in  the 
Ganges  at  Allahabad  or  Benares  and  giving  a  feast  to  the 
caste.  It  will  be  seen  that  all  these  are  domestic  animals 
except  the  monkey,  who  is  the  god  Hanuman.  The  squirrel 
is  counted  as  a  domestic  animal  because  it  is  always  about 
the  house,  and  the  souls  of  children  are  believed  to  go  into 
squirrels.  One  household  animal,  the  dog,  is  omitted,  and 
he  appears  to  be  less  sacred  than  the  others.  For  getting 
maggots  in  a  wound  the  offender  must  bathe  in  a  sacred 
river,  such  as  the  Nerbudda  or  Mahanadi,  and  give  a  feast 
to  the  caste.  For  eating  or  having  intercourse  with  a 
member  of  any  caste  other  than  the  impure  ones,  or  for  a 
liaisofi  within  the  caste,  or  for  divorcing  a  wife  or  marrying  a 
widow,  or  in  the  case  of  a  woman  for  breaking  her  bangles 
in  a  quarrel  with  her  husband,  a  penalty  feast  must  be 
given.  If  a  man  omits  to  feast  the  caste  after  a  death  in 
his  family  a  second  feast  is  imposed,  and  if  he  insults  the 
panchdyat  he  is  fined. 

45.  The  The  social   status  of  the  Kurmi  appears  to  be  that  of 
cultivating   {-^g  cultivator.      He  is  above  the  menial  and  artisan  castes 

of  the  village  and  the  impure  weaving  and  labouring  castes  ; 
he  is  theoretically  equal  to  the  artisan  castes  of  towns,  but 
one  or  two  of  these,  such  as  the  Sunar  or  goldsmith  and 
Kasar  or  brass-worker,  have  risen  in  the  world  owing  to  the 
prosperity  or  importance  of  their  members,  and  now  rank 
above  the  Kurmi.  The  Kurmi's  status  appears  to  be  that 
of  the  cultivator  and  member  of  the  village  community,  but 
a  large  proportion  of  the  Kurmis  are  recruited  from  the 
non-Aryan  tribes,  who  have  obtained  land  and  been 
admitted  into  the  caste,  and  this  tends  to  lower  the  status 
of  the  caste  as  a  whole.  In  the  Punjab  Kurmis  apparently 
do  not  hold  land  and  are  employed  in  grass-cutting,  weav- 
ing, and  tending  horses,  and  are  even  said  to  keep  pigs.^ 
Here  their  status  is  necessarily  very  low  as  they  follow  the 
occupations    of  the    impure   castes.      The    reason    why    the 

*  Punjab  Census  Report  (1881),  p.  340. 


status. 


II  THE  CULTIVATING  STATUS  99 

Kurini  as  cultivator  ranks  above  the  village  handicraftsmen 
may  perhaps  be  that  industrial  pursuits  were  despised  in 
early  times  and  left  to  the  impure  Sudras  and  to  the  castes 
of  mixed  descent  ;  while  agriculture  and  trade  were  the 
occupations  of  the  Vaishya.  Further,  the  village  artisans 
and  menials  were  supported  before  the  general  use  of 
current  coin  by  contributions  of  grain  from  the  cultivators 
and  by  presents  of  grain  at  seed-time  and  harvest ;  and 
among  the  Hindus  it  is  considered  very  derogatory  to 
accept  a  gift,  a  man  who  does  so  being  held  to  admit  his 
social  inferiority  to  the  giver.  Some  exception  to  this  is 
made  in  the  case  of  Brahmans,  though  even  with  them  the 
rule  partly  applies.  Of  these  two  reasons  for  the  cultivator's 
superiority  to  the  menial  and  artisan  castes  the  former  has 
to  a  large  extent  lost  its  force.  The  handicrafts  are  no 
longer  considered  despicable,  and,  as  has  been  seen,  some 
of  the  urban  tradesmen,  as  the  Sunar  and  Kasar,  now  rank 
above  the  Kurmi,  or  are  at  least  equal  to  him.  Perhaps 
even  in  ancient  times  these  urban  artificers  were  not 
despised  like  the  village  menials,  as  their  skill  was  held 
in  high  repute.  But  the  latter  ground  is  still  in  full  force 
and  effect  in  the  Central  Provinces  at  least :  the  village 
artisans  are  still  paid  by  contributions  from  the  cultivator 
and  receive  presents  from  him  at  seed-time  and  harvest. 
The  remuneration  of  the  village  menials,  the  blacksmith, 
carpenter,  washerman,  tanner,  barber  and  waterman  is  paid 
at  the  rate  of  so  much  grain  per  plough  of  land  according 
to  the  estimated  value  of  the  work  done  by  them  for  the 
cultivators  during  the  year.  Other  village  tradesmen,  as 
the  potter,  oilman  and  liquor-vendor,  are  no  longer  paid  in 
grain,  but  since  the  introduction  of  currency  sell  their  wares 
for  cash  ;  but  there  seems  no  reason  to  doubt  that  in  former 
times  when  no  money  circulated  in  villages  they  were  re- 
munerated in  the  same  manner.  They  still  all  receive 
presents,  consisting  of  a  sowing-basketful  of  grain  at  seed- 
time and  one  or  two  sheaves  at  harvest.  The  former  are 
known  as  Bijphuti,  or  '  the  breaking  of  the  seed,'  and  the 
latter  as  Khanvdr,  or  '  that  which  is  left'  In  Bilaspur  the 
Kamias  or  village  menials  also  receive  as  much  grain  as  will 
fill  a  winnowing-fan  when  it  has  been  threshed.     When  the 


lOO  KURMI  PART 

peasant  has  harvested  his  grain  all  come  and  beg  from  him. 

The  Dhlmar  brings  waternut,  the  Kachhi  or  market-gardener 

some  chillies,  the  Teli  oil  and  tobacco,  the  Kalar  some  liquor 

if  he  drinks  it,  the  Bania  some  sugar,  and  all  receive  grain 

in   excess  of  the  value  of  their  gifts.      The  village  menials 

come  for  their  customary  dues,  and  the  Brahman,  the  Nat 

or  acrobat,  the  Gosain  or  religious  mendicant,  and  the  Fakir 

or   Muhammadan    beggar   solicit    alms.      On    that   day   the 

cultivator  is  like  a  little  king  in  his  fields,  and  it  is  said  that 

sometimes  a  quarter  of  the  crop   may  go  in  this  way  ;  but 

the  reference  must  be  only  to  the  spring  crop  and  not  to  the 

whole  holding.      In  former  times  grain  must  have  been  the 

principal   source  of  wealth,  and   this   old   custom    gives   us 

a  reason  for  the  status  of  the  cultivator  in   Hindu  society. 

There  is  also  a  saying  : 

Uttam  kheti,  madhyam  ban, 
Kanisht  chdkri,  bhik  niddn, 

or  '  Cultivation  is  the  best  calling,  trade  is  respectable,  service 
is  menial,  and  begging  is  degraded.' 
46.  Occu-  The  Kurmi  is  the  typical  cultivator.      He  loves  his  land, 

pation.  ^j^^  |-Q  jQgg  j|.  jg  ^Q  break  the  mainspring  of  his  life.  His  land 
gives  him  a  freedom  and  independence  of  character  which  is 
not  found  among  the  English  farm-labourers.  He  is  in- 
dustrious and  plodding,  and  inured  to  hardship.  In  some 
Districts  the  excellent  tilth  of  the  Kurmi's  fields  well  portrays 
the  result  of  his  persevering  labour,  which  he  does  not  grudge 
to  the  land  because  it  is  his  own.  His  wife  is  in  no  way 
behind  him  ;  the  proverb  says,  "  Good  is  the  caste  of  the 
Kurmin  ;  with  a  hoe  in  her  hand  she  goes  to  the  fields  and 
works  with  her  husband."  The  Chandnahu  Kurmi  women 
arc  said  to  be  more  enterprising  than  the  men,  keeping  them 
up  to  their  work,  and  managing  the  business  of  the  farm  as 
well  as  the  household. 

APPENDIX 
List  of  Exogamous  Clans 

Sections  of  the  Chandnahu  subcaste  : 
Chdnwar  bainbar  .      Fly  fan. 

^andil        .         .  .     Name  of  a  Rishi. 


APPENDIX 


Gai?td 

Saddphal    . 
Sondcha 
Sonkharchi 
K at  hail 
Kdshi 


Dhorha 

Stiiner 

Chatur  Midalia 

Bhdradwaj 

Kousil 

Islnuar 

Sanmnd  Karkari 

AkCilcJiuiua 

Padel 

Bdghmdr    . 

Hardfiba    . 

Kdnsia 

Ghiu  Sdgar 

D/iara/n  D/m? 

Singiidha 

Chimattgarhia 

Khairagarhia 

Gotam 

KdsJiyap 

Pandariha 

Paipakhdr . 

Bdnhpakhdr 

Chauria 

Sd/id  Sathi 

Sing/ii 

Agra — Chandan 

Tek  Sanichar 

Karaiya 

Pukharia   . 

Dhubinha  . 

Pdiuanbare 

Modganga . 


mdc 


Ball. 

A  fruit. 

Gold-bodied. 

Spender  of  gold. 

Kai/i,  wood,  or  kaihtJiii^  catechu. 

Benares.     The  Desha  Kurmis  are  all  of  this 

gotra.      It  may  also  be  a  corruption  of 

Kachhap,  tortoise. 
Dhor,  cattle. 
A  mountain. 
C/iatur,  clever. 

After  the  Rishi  of  that  name  ;  also  a  bird. 
Name  of  a  Rishi. 
God. 

A  particle  in  an  ocean. 
Akdl,  famine. 
Fallow. 
Tiger-slayer. 
Green  grass. 
Kd7is,  a  kind  of  grass. 
Ocean  oi  ghi. 
Most  charitable. 
Singh,  a  lion. 
Belonging  to  Chimangarh. 
Belonging  to  Khairagarh. 
A  Rishi. 
A  Rishi. 

From  Pandaria,  a  village. 
One  who  washes  feet. 
One  who  washes  arms. 
Chaurai,  a  vegetable. 
Sdnd,  bullock. 
Singh,  lion  or  horn. 
Sandalwood. 
Saturday. 
Frying-pan. 
Pond. 

Dhobi,  a  caste. 
Pdiuan,  air. 
Ganges. 


Sections  of  the  (}abel  subcaste  : 

Ganges  water. 

Bearer  of  a  lathi  (stick). 


Gangajal    . 
Biinba  Lohir 
Sarang 
Rdja  Rdtuat 
Singdr 
Bdnh  pagar 
Samundha 
Parasrdm  . 


Peacock. 

Royal  prince. 

Beauty. 

With  a  thread  on  the  arm. 

Ocean. 

Rishi. 


KURMI 


Katarmal  . 
ChatcJid7i     . 
Pdtmi 
Gajinani     . 
Deori  Suiner 
Lahura  Samudra 
Hansbinih'aon 
Sunwani    . 


Katdr,  dagger. 
Sept  of  Rajputs. 
Village. 
Elephant. 
Village. 
Small  sea. 
Haus,  goose. 
Purifier. 


Sections  of  the  Santora  subcaste  : 

Narvaria   .  .  .      Narwar,  a  town  in  Gwalior  State. 


Mimdharia 

Naigaiyan 

Pipraiya 

Dmdoria 

Baheria 

Bdndha 

Ktjnilsar 


Mundhra,  a  village. 

Naogaon,  a  town  in  Bundelkhand. 

Piparia,  a  village. 

Dindori,  a  village  in  Mandla  District. 

A  village. 

Bd7td/iy  embankment. 

Wooden  pestle. 


Sections  of  the  Tirole  subcaste 


BagJide 

Bdgh,  tiger,  or  a  sept  of  Rajputs 

RCithor 

Clan  of  Rajputs. 

Pan-iVar 

Clan  of  Rajputs. 

Solanki 

Clan  of  Rajputs. 

Atclia 

Aonla,  a  fruit-bearing  tree. 

Sindia 

Sindi,  date-palm  tree. 

Khusia 

Khiisiy  happiness. 

Sanoria 

Saji,  hemp. 

Gora 

Fair-coloured. 

Bkdkrya 

BMkar,  a  thick  bread. 

tions  of  the  Gaur  subcc 

iste  : 

B/ta?tddri   . 

Storekeeper. 

Dudhua 

Diidh,  milk. 

Patele 

A  headman. 

Lonia 

Salt-maker. 

Kutnarta    . 

A  potter. 

Stoma 

Seoni  town. 

Chhafiari'a  . 

Chhapara,  a  town. 

Bijoria 

A  tree. 

Simra 

A  village. 

Ketharia     . 

Ket/iy  a  fruit. 

Usargaiymi 

Perhaps  a  village. 

B/tadofia    . 

Village. 

Rurgaiynn . 

Village. 

Musrcic 

Mfisar,  a  pestle. 

Sections  of  tlie  Usrete  subcaste  : 

Shikdrc      .  .  .      Hunter. 

Na/inr        .  .     Tiger. 


APPENDIX 


103 


Gtcrsaraiyan 
Bardia 
Scmdia 
Sinuaiyufi . 
Itguhan 

Sengaiyaii  ox  Sin. 
Harkotia    . 

Larent 

Rabia 

Lakhaiiria 


Dhandkonya 

Badgaiyan 

Kotia 

Bilwdr 

Thutha 


raiyan 


Gursarai,  a  town. 

A  village. 

Sand,  a  bull. 

Sirwai,  a  village. 

A  village. 

Scngai,  a  village. 

Harkoti,  a  village. 

Norai,  a  village. 

Lareti,  a  village. 

Rabai,  a  village. 

(Lakori  village.  It  is  said  that  whoever 
utters  the  name  of  this  section  early  in 
the  morning  is  sure  to  remain  hungry 
the  whole  day,  or  at  least  will  get  into 
some  trouble  that  day.) 

Dhundakna,  to  roll. 

Badagaon,  a  large  village. 

Kot,  a  fort. 

Billt,  cat. 

Stump  of  a  tree. 


Sections  of  the  Kanaujia  subcaste  : 

Tidha. — From  Tidha,   a   village.     This   section  is  subdivided  into 

{a)  Ghureparke  (of  the  cow-dung  hill)  ;  ijf)  Dzudrpurke  (of  the 

door)  ;  and  (t)  Jangi  (warrior). 

Chamania. — From    Chamyani    (village) 

into  : 

(a)  Gomarhya. 
{b)  Mathuria  (Muttra  town). 
Chmidhri  (caste  headman).      This  is  divided  as  follows  : 


This    is   also    subdivided 


{a)  MajhgaiiJdn 
{b)  Ptin'a  thok . 

(c)  Pashcliim  thok 

(d)  Bainurya 
Rdwat 

Malha 
Chilolidn  . 
Dhaniiiyiiii 


.     A  village. 

Eastern  group. 

Western  group. 

A  village. 
Title. 

Perhaps  sailor  or  wrestler. 
Chiloli,  a  village. 
Dhanu  Kheda,  a  village. 


I.  General 
notice. 


LAKHERA 

LIST  OF  PARAGRAPHS 

1.  Ge7ieral  notice.  5.  Red^  a  lucky  colour. 

2.  Social  customs.  6.    Veruiilioti  and  spangles. 

3.  The  lac  industry.  7.  Red  dye  on  the  feet. 

4.  Lac  bangles.  8.  Red  threads. 

9.  Lac  toys. 

Lakhera,  Laheri. — The  small  caste  whose  members 
make  bangles  and  other  articles  of  lac.  About  3000 
persons  were  shown  as  belonging  to  the  caste  in  the  Central 
Provinces  in  191  i,  being  most  numerous  in  the  Jubbulpore, 
Chhindwara  and  Betul  Districts.  From  Berar  150  persons 
were  returned,  chiefly  from  Amraoti.  The  name  is  derived 
from  the  Sanskrit  laksJia-kara,  a  worker  in  lac.  The 
caste,  are  a  mixed  functional  group  closely  connected  with 
the  Kacheras  and  Patwas  ;  no  distinction  being  recognised 
between  the  Patwas  and  Lakheras  in  some  localities  of  the 
Central  Provinces.  Mr,  Baillie  gives  the  following  notice  of 
them  in  the  Census  Report  of  the  North-  Westcni  Provinces 
(1891):  "The  accounts  given  by  members  of  the  caste 
of  their  origin  are  very  various  and  sometimes  ingenious. 
One  story  is  that  like  the  Patwas,  with  whom  they  are 
connected,  they  were  originally  Kayasths.  According  to 
another  account  they  were  made  from  the  dirt  washed  from 
Parvati  before  her  marriage  with  Siva,  being  created  by  the 
god  to  make  bangles  for  his  wife,  and  hence  called  Deobansi. 
Again,  it  is  stated,  they  were  created  by  Krishna  to  make 
bangles  for  the  Gopis  or  milkmaids.  The  most  elaborate 
account  is  that  they  were  originally  Yaduvansi  Rajputs, 
who  assisted  the  Kurus  to  make  a  fort  of  lac,  in  which 
the   Pandavas  were  to  be  treacherously   burned.      For  this 

104 


1-AKTii      SOCIAL  CUSTOMS— THE  LAC  INDUSTRY  105 

traitorous    conduct    they    were    degraded    and    compelled 
eternally  to  work  in  lac  or  glass." 

The  bulk  of  these  artisan  and  manufacturing  castes  tell  2.  Social 
stories  showing  that  their  ancestors  were  Kayasths  and 
Rajputs,  but  no  importance  can  be  attached  to  such  legends, 
which  are  obviously  manufactured  by  the  family  priests  to 
minister  to  the  harmless  vanity  of  their  clients.  To  support 
their  claim  the  Lakheras  have  divided  themselves  like  the 
Rajputs  into  the  Surajvansi  and  Somvansi  subcastes  or  those 
who  belong  to  the  Solar  and  Lunar  races.  Other  sub- 
divisions are  the  Marwari  or  those  coming  from  Marwar 
in  Rajputana,  and  the  Tarkhera  or  makers  of  the  large 
earrings  which  low-caste  women  wear.  These  consist  of  a 
circular  piece  of  wood  or  fibre,  nearly  an  inch  across,  which 
is  worked  through  a  large  hole  in  the  lobe  of  the  ear.  It 
is  often  the  stalk  of  the  anibdri  fibre,  and  on  the  outer 
end  is  fixed  a  slab  decorated  with  little  pieces  of  glass.  The 
exogamous  sections  of  the  Lakheras  are  generally  named  after 
animals,  plants  and  natural  objects,  and  indicate  that  the 
caste  is  recruited  from  the  lower  classes  of  the  population. 
Their  social  customs  resemble  those  of  the  middle  and  lower 
Hindustani  castes.  Girls  are  married  at  an  early  age  when 
the  parents  can  afford  the  expense  of  the  ceremony,  but 
no  penalty  is  incurred  if  the  wedding  is  postponed  for  want 
of  means.  The  remarriage  of  widows  and  divorce  are  per- 
mitted. They  eat  flesh,  but  not  fowls  or  pork,  and  some  of 
them  drink  liquor,  while  others  abstain.  Rajputs  and  Banias 
will  take  water  from  them,  but  not  Brahmans.  In  Bombay, 
however,  they  are  considered  to  rank  above  Kunbis. 

The  traditional  occupation  of  the  Lakheras  is  to  make  3.  The  lac 
and  sell  bangles  and  other  articles  of  lac.  Lac  is  regarded  '°  "^"^^' 
with  a  certain  degree  of  superstitious  repugnance  by  the 
Hindus  because  of  its  red  colour,  resembling  blood.  On 
this  account  and  also  because  of  the  sin  committed  in 
killing  them,  no  Hindu  caste  will  propagate  the  lac  insect, 
and  the  calling  is  practised  only  by  Gonds,  Korkus  and  other 
primitive  tribes.  Even  Gonds  will  often  refuse  employment 
in  growing  lac  if  they  can  make  their  living  by  cultivation. 
Various  superstitions  attach  to  the  propagation  of  the  insects 
to  a  fresh  tree.      This  is  done  in  Kunwar  (September)  and 


io6  LAKHERA  part 

always  by  men,  the  insects  being  carried  in  a  leaf-cup  and 
placed  on  a  branch  of  an  uninfected  tree,  usually  the  kusum} 
It  is  said  that  the  work  should  be  done  at  night  and  the 
man  should  be  naked  when  he  places  the  insects  on  the 
tree.  The  tree  is  fenced  round  and  nobody  is  allowed  to 
touch  it,  as  it  is  considered  that  the  crop  would  thus  be 
spoiled.  If  a  woman  has  lost  her  husband  and  has  to  sow 
lac,  she  takes  her  son  in  her  arms  and  places  the  cup 
containing  the  insects  on  his  head  ;  on  arriving  at  the  tree 
she  manages  to  apply  the  insects  by  means  of  a  stick,  not 
touching  the  cup  with  her  own  hands.  All  this  ritual 
attaches  simply  to  the  infection  of  the  first  tree,  and  after- 
wards in  January  or  February  the  insects  are  propagated  on 
to  other  trees  without  ceremony.  The  juice  of  onions  is 
dropped  on  to  them  to  make  them  healthy.  The  stick-lac 
is  collected  by  the  Gonds  and  Korkus  and  sold  to  the 
Lakheras  ;  they  clear  it  of  wood  as  far  as  possible  and 
then  place  the  incrusted  twigs  and  bark  in  long  cotton  bags 
and  heat  them  before  a  fire,  squeezing  out  the  gum,  which 
is  spread  out  on  flat  plates  so  as  to  congeal  into  the  shape 
of  a  pancake.  This  is  again  heated  and  mixed  with  white 
clay  and  forms  the  material  for  the  bangles.  They  are 
coloured  with  ckapra,  the  pure  gum  prepared  like  sealing- 
wax,  which  is  mixed  with  vermilion,  or  arsenic  and  turmeric 
for  a  yellow  colour.  In  some  localities  at  least  only  the 
Lakheras  and  Patwas  and  no  higher  caste  will  sell  articles 
made  of  lac. 
4.  Lac  The  trade  in   lac  bangles  has   now  greatly  declined,  as 

bangles,  ^y^^y  have  been  supplanted  by  the  more  ornamental  glass 
bangles.  They  are  thick  and  clumsy  and  five  of  them  will 
cover  a  large  part  of  the  space  between  the  elbow  and  the 
wrist.  They  may  be  observed  on  Banjara  women.  Lac 
bangles  are  also  still  used  by  the  Hindus,  generally  on 
ceremonial  occasions,  as  at  a  marriage,  when  they  are  pre- 
sented to  and  worn  by  the  bride,  and  during  the  month  of 
Shrawan  (July),  when  the  Hindus  observe  a  fast  on  behalf 
of  the  growing  crops  and  the  women  wear  bangles  of  lac. 
For  these  customs  Mr.  Hira  Lai  suggests  the  explanation 
that  lac  bangles  were   at  one  time  generally  worn   by  the 

^   Schleichcra  irijiiga. 


0 


11  RED,  A  LUCKY  COLOUR  107 

Hindus,  while  glass  ones  are  a  comparatively  recent  fiishion 
introduced  by  the  Muhammadans.  In  support  of  this  it 
may  be  urged  that  glass  bangles  are  largely  made  by  the 
Muhammadan  Turkari  or  Sisgar,  and  also  that  lac  bangles 
must  have  been  worn  prior  to  glass  ones,  because  if  the  latter 
had  been  known  the  clumsy  and  unornamental  bracelet  made 
of  lac  and  clay  could  never  have  come  into  existence.  The 
wearing  of  lac  bangles  on  the  above  occasions  would  there- 
fore be  explained  according  to  the  common  usage  of  adhering 
on  religious  and  ceremonial  occasions  to  the  more  ancient 
methods  and  accessories,  which  are  sanctified  by  association 
and  custom.  Similarly  the  Holi  pyre  is  often  kindled  with 
fire  produced  by  the  friction  of  wood,  and  temples  are 
lighted  with  vegetable  instead  of  mineral  oil. 

It  may  be  noted,  however,  that  lac  bangles  are  not  s-  Ked,  a 
always  worn  by  the  bride  at  a  wedding,  the  custom  being  colour. 
unknown  in  some  localities.  Moreover,  it  appears  that  glass 
was  known  to  the  Hindus  at  a  period  prior  to  the  Muham- 
madan invasions,  though  bangles  may  not  have  been  made 
from  it.  Another  reason  for  the  use  of  lac  bangles  on  the 
occasions  noticed  is  that  lac,  as  already  seen,  represents 
blood.  Though  blood  itself  is  now  repugnant  to  the  Hindus, 
yet  red  is  pre-eminently  their  lucky  colour,  being  worn  at 
weddings  and  generally  preferred.  It  is  suggested  in  the 
Bombay  Gazetteer  ^  that  blood  was  lucky  as  having  been  the 
first  food  of  primitive  man,  who  learnt  to  suck  the  blood 
of  animals  before  he  ate  their  flesh.  But  it  does  not  seem 
necessary  to  go  back  quite  so  far  as  this.  The  earliest  form 
of  sacrifice,  as  shown  by  Professor  Robertson  Smith,""^  was 
that  in  wbiich  the  community  of  kinsmen  ate  together  the 
flesh  of  their  divine  or  totem  animal  god  and  drank  its 
blood.  When  the  god  became  separated  from  the  animal 
and  was  represented  by  a  stone  at  the  place  of  worship  and 
the  people  had  ceased  to  eat  raw  flesh  and  drink  blood,  the 
blood  was  poured  out  over  the  stone  as  an  offering  to  the 
god.  This  practice  still  obtains  among  the  lower  castes 
of  Hindus  and  the  primitive  tribes,  the  blood  of  animals 
offered  to  Devi  and  other  village  deities  being  allowed  to 
drop  on  to  the  stones   representing  them.      But  the  higher 

•   Iliiiiiiis  0/  Ctijanlf,  A\^\^.,Ax\..  Vaghii,  footnote.         -  Religion  of  lite  Semites. 


lo8  LAKHERA  part 

castes  of  Hindus  have  abandoned  animal  sacrifices,  and 
hence  cannot  make  the  blood  -  offering.  In  place  of  it 
they  smear  the  stone  with  vermilion,  which  seems  obviously 
a  substitute  for  blood,  since  it  is  used  to  colour  the  stones 
representing  the  deities  in  exactly  the  same  manner.  Even 
vermilion,  however,  is  not  offered  to  the  highest  deities  of 
Neo- Hinduism,  Siva  or  Mahadeo  and  Vishnu,  to  whom 
animal  sacrifices  would  be  abhorrent.  It  is  offered  to 
Hanuman,  whose  image  is  covered  with  it,  and  to  Devi  and 
Bhairon  and  to  the  many  local  and  village  deities.  In  past 
times  animal  sacrifices  were  offered  to  Bhairon,  as  they  still 
are  to  Devi,  and  though  it  is  not  known  that  they  were 
made  to  Hanuman,  this  is  highly  probable,  as  he  is  the  god 
of  strength  and  a  mighty  warrior.  The  Manbhao  mendicants, 
who  abhor  all  forms  of  bloodshed  like  the  Jains,  never  pass 
one  of  these  stones  painted  with  vermilion  if  they  can  avoid 
doing  so,  and  if  they  are  aware  that  there  is  one  on  their 
road  will  make  a  circuit  so  as  not  to  see  it.^  There  seems, 
therefore,  every  reason  to  suppose  that  vermilion  is  a  sub- 
stitute for  blood  in  offerings  and  hence  probably  on  other 
occasions.  As  the  places  of  the  gods  were  thus  always 
coloured  red  with  blood,  red  would  come  to  be  the  divine 
and  therefore  the  propitious  colour  among  the  Hindus  and 
other  races. 
6.  Ver-  Among  the  constituents  of  the  Sohag  or  lucky  trousseau 

mihonand  vvithout  which  no  Hiudu  girl  of  good  caste  can  be  married 
are  sendur  or  vermilion,  kunku  or  red  powder  or  a  spangle 
itikli),  and  mahdwar  or  red  balls  of  cotton-wool.  In 
Chhattlsgarh  and  Bengal  the  principal  marriage  rite  is  usually 
the  smearing  of  vermilion  by  the  bridegroom  on  the  parting 
of  the  bride's  hair,  and  elsewhere  this  is  commonly  done  as 
a  subsidiary  ceremony.  Here  also  there  is  little  reason  to 
doubt  that  vermilion  is  a  substitute  for  blood  ;  indeed,  in 
some  castes  in  Bengal,  as  noted  by  Sir  H.  Risley,  the  blood 
of  the  parties  is  actually  mixed.^  This  marking  of  the  bride 
with  blood  is  a  result  of  the  sacrifice  and  communal  feast  of 
kinsmen  already  described  ;  only  those  who  could  join  in  the 
sacrificial  meal  and  cat  the  flesh  of  the  sacred   animal   god 

1   Mackintosh,  Neport  on  the  Miin-  ^  See     articles    on     Khaiiwar     and 

bhaos.  Kewat. 


II  VERMILION  AND  SPANGLES  109 

were  kin  to  it  and  to  each  other  ;  but  in  quite  early  times  the 
custom  prevailed  of  taking  wives  from  outside  the  clan  ; 
and  consequently,  to  admit  the  wife  into  her  husband's  kin, 
it  was  necessary  that  she  also  should  drink  or  be  marked 
with  the  blood  of  the  god.  The  mixing  of  blood  at  marriage 
appears  to  be  a  relic  of  this,  and  the  marking  of  the  fore- 
head with  vermilion  is  a  substitute  for  the  anointing  with 
blood.  Kimkti  is  a  pink  powder  made  of  turmeric,  lime- 
juice  and  borax,  which  last  is  called  by  the  Hindus  '  the 
milk  of  Anjini,'  the  mother  of  Hanuman.  It  seems  to  be  a 
more  agreeable  substitute  for  vermilion,  whose  constant  use 
has  probably  an  injurious  effect  on  the  skin  and  hair.  Kunku 
is  used  in  the  Maratha  country  in  the  same  way  as  vermilion, 
and  a  married  woman  will  smear  a  little  patch  on  her  fore- 
head every  day  and  never  allow  her  husband  to  see  her 
without  it.  She  omits  it  only  during  the  monthly  period  of 
impurity.  The  iikli  or  spangle  is  worn  in  the  Hindustani 
Districts  and  not  in  the  south.  It  consists  of  a  small  piece 
of  lac  over  which  is  smeared  vermilion,  while  above  it  a  piece 
of  mica  or  thin  glass  is  fixed  for  ornament.  Other  adorn- 
ments may  be  added,  and  women  from  Rajputana,  such  as 
the  Marwari  Banias  and  Banjaras,  wear  large  spangles  set 
in  gold  with  a  border  of  jewels  if  they  can  afford  it.  The 
spangle  is  made  and  sold  by  Lakheras  and  Patwas  ;  it  is 
part  of  the  Sohag  at  marriages  and  is  affixed  to  the  girl's 
forehead  on  her  wedding  and  thereafter  always  worn  ;  as  a 
rule,  if  a  woman  has  a  spangle  it  is  said  that  she  does  not 
smear  vermilion  on  her  forehead,  though  both  may  occasionally 
be  seen.  The  name  tikli  is  simply  a  corruption  of  tlka,  which 
means  a  mark  of  anointing  or  initiation  on  the  forehead  ;  as 
has  been  seen,  the  basis  of  the  tikli  is  vermilion  smeared  on 
lac-clay,  and  it  is  made  by  Lakheras  ;  and  there  is  thus  good 
reason  to  suppose  that  the  spangle  is  also  a  more  ornamental 
substitute  for  the  smear  of  vermilion,  the  ancient  blood-mark 
by  which  a  married  woman  was  admitted  into  her  husband's 
clan.  At  her  marriage  a  bride  must  always  receive  the  glass 
bangles  and  the  vermilion,  kunku,  or  spangle  from  her  husband, 
the  other  ornaments  of  the  Sohag  being  usually  given  to  her 
by  her  parents.  Unmarried  girls  now  also  sometimes  wear 
small  ornamental  spangles,  and  put  kufiku  on 'their  foreheads. 


no  LA  K HERA  part 

But  before  marriage  it  is  optional  and  afterwards  compulsory. 
A  widow  may  not  wear  vermilion,  kunkii,  or  spangles, 

7.  Red  dye  The  Lakheras  also  sell  balls  of  red  cotton-wool  known 
on  the  feet,  ^g  vidJuiT  ki  gulcU  OX  iiiahdwar.     The  cotton-wool  is  dipped  in 

the  melted  lac-gum  and  is  rubbed  on  to  the  feet  of  women  to 
colour  them  red  or  pink  at  marriages  and  festivals.  This 
is  done  by  the  barber's  wife,  who  will  colour  the  feet  of  the 
whole  party,  at  the  same  time  drawing  lines  round  the 
outside  of  the  foot  and  inward  from  the  toes.  The 
mahdwar  is  also  an  essential  part  of  the  Sohag  of  marriage. 
Instead  of  lac  the  Muhammadans  use  viehndi  or  henna,  the 
henna-leaves  being  pounded  with  catechu  and  the  mixture 
rubbed  on  to  the  feet  and  hands.  After  a  little  time  it  is 
washed  off  and  a  red  dye  remains  on  the  skin.  It  is  supposed 
that  the  similar  custom  which  prevailed  among  the  ancient 
Greeks  is  alluded  to  in  the  epithet  of  *  rosy-fingered  Aurora.' 
The  Hindus  use  henna  dye  only  in  the  month  Shrawan 
(July),  which  is  a  period  of  fasting  ;  the  auspicious  kunku  and 
mahdwar  are  therefore  perhaps  not  considered  suitable  at 
such  a  time,  but  as  special  protection  is  needed  against  evil 
spirits,  the  necessary  red  colouring  is  obtained  from  henna. 
When  a  married  woman  rubs  henna  on  her  hands,  if  the 
dye  comes  out  a  deep  red  tinge,  the  other  women  say  that 
her  husband  is  not  in  love  with  her  ;  but  if  of  a  pale  yellowish 
tinge,  that  he  is  very  much  in  love. 

8.  Red  The    Lakheras  and    Patwas  also  make  the  kardora    or 
threads.       waist-band  of  red  thread.      This  is  worn  by  Hindu  men  and 

women,  except  Maratha  Brahmans.  After  he  is  married,  if 
a  man  breaks  this  thread  he  must  not  take  food  until  he  has 
put  on  a  fresh  one,  and  the  same  rule  applies  to  a  woman 
all  her  life.  Other  threads  are  the  rdkhis  tied  round  the 
wrists  for  protection  against  evil  spirits  on  the  day  of 
Rakshabandhan,  and  the  necklets  of  silk  or  cotton  thread 
wound  round  with  thin  silver  wire,  which  the  Hindus  put  on 
at  Anant  Chaudas  and  frequently  retain  for  the  whole  year. 
The  colour  of  all  these  threads  is  generally  red  in  the  first 
place,  but  they  soon  get  blackened  by  contact  with  the  skin. 

9.  Lac  Toys  of    lac   are  especially    made    during    the    fast    of 
toys.           Shrawan  (July).      At  this  time  for  five  years  after  her  mar- 
riage a   Hindu  bride  receives  annually  from  her  husband  a 


n  LAC  TOYS  in 

present  called  Shraoni,  or  that  which  is  i^iven  in  Shrawan.  It 
consists  of  a  cJtakri  or  reel,  to  which  a  string  is  attached,  and 
the  reel  is  thrown  up  into  the  air  and  wound  and  unwound 
on  the  string  ;  a  bJtora  or  wooden  top  spun  by  a  string  ;  a 
bafisuli  or  wooden  flute  ;  a  stick  and  ball,  lac  bangles  and  a 
spangle,  and  cloth,  usually  of  red  chintz.  All  these  toys  are 
made  by  the  carpenter  and  coloured  red  with  lac  by  the 
Lakhera,  with  the  exception  of  the  bangles  which  may  be 
yellow  or  green.  For  five  years  the  bride  plays  with  the 
toys,  and  then  they  are  sent  to  her  no  longer  as  her  childhood 
has  passed.  It  is  probable  that  some,  if  not  all  of  them,  are 
in  a  manner  connected  with  the  crops,  and  supposed  to  have 
a  magical  influence,  because  during  the  same  period  it  is  the 
custom  for  boys  to  walk  on  stilts  and  play  at  swinging  them- 
selves ;  and  in  these  cases  the  original  idea  is  to  make  the 
crops  grow  as  high  as  the  stilts  or  swing.  As  in  the  other 
cases,  the  red  colour  appears  to  have  a  protective  influence 
against  evil  spirits,  who  are  more  than  usually  active  at  a 
time  of  fasting. 


LODHI 


LIST  OF  PARAGRAPHS 

1 .  Origin  and  traditions.  7.    Widow-marriage  and  puberty 

2.  Positioji    in    the    Central   Pro-  rite. 

vi7tces.  8.  Mourning  impurity. 

3.  Subdivisions.  9.   Social  customs. 

4.  Exogamous  groups.  10.   Greetings      and     method     of 

5.  Marriage  customs.  address. 

6.  The    Gaufia     ceremony.  Fa'-       1 1 .   Sacred     thread     and     social 

tility  rites.  status. 

I.  Origin  Lodhl,  Lodha. — An   important  agricultural  caste  resid- 

^"■^l. .  ing  principally  in  the  Vindhyan  Districts  and  Nerbudda 
valley,  whence  they  have  spread  to  the  Wainganga  valley 
and  the  Khairagarh  State  of  Chhattlsgarh.  Their  total 
strength  in  the  Province  is  300,000  persons.  The  Lodhis 
are  immigrants  from  the  United  Provinces,  in  whose 
Gazetteers  it  is  stated  that  they  belonged  originally  to  the 
Ludhiana  District  and  took  their  name  from  it.  Their  proper 
designation  is  Lodha,  but  it  has  become  corrupted  to  Lodhi 
in  the  Central  Provinces.  A  number  of  persons  resident  in 
the  Harda  tahsll  of  Hoshangabad  are  called  Lodha  and  say 
that  they  are  distinct  from  the  Lodhis.  There  is  nothing  to 
support  their  statement,  however,  and  it  is  probable  that  they 
simply  represent  the  separate  wave  of  immigration  which 
took  place  from  Central  India  into  the  Hoshangabad  and 
Bctul  Districts  in  the  fifteenth  century.  They  spoke  a 
different  dialect  of  the  group  known  as  Rajasthani,  and  hence 
perhaps  the  caste-name  did  not  get  corrupted.  The  Lodhis 
of  the  Jubbulpore  Division  probably  came  here  at  a  later 
date  from  northern  India.  The  Mandla  Lodhis  are  said  to 
have  been  brought  to  the  District  by  Raja  Hirde  Sah  of  the 
Gond-Rajput  dynasty  of  Garha-Mandla  in   the  seventeenth 


PART  II      POSITION  IN  THE  CENTRAL  PROVINCES  113 

century,  and  they  were  given  large  grants  of  the  waste  land 
in  the  interior  in  order  that  they  might  clear  it  of  forest.' 
The  Lodhis  are  a  good  instance  of  a  caste  who  have  obtained 
a  great  rise  in  social  status  on  migrating  to  a  new  area.  In 
northern  India  Mr.  Nesfield  places  them  lowest  among  the 
agricultural  castes  and  states  that  they  are  little  better  than 
a  forest  tribe.  He  derives  the  name  from  lod,  a  clod,  accord- 
ing to  which  Lodhi  would  mean  clodhopper."  Another 
suggestion  is  that  the  name  is  derived  from  the  bark  of  the 
lodJi  tree,^  which  is  collected  by  the  Lodhas  in  northern  India 
and  sold  for  use  as  a  dyeing  agent.  In  Bulandshahr  they  are 
described  as  "  Of  short  stature  and  uncouth  appearance,  and 
from  this  as  well  as  from  their  want  of  a  tradition  of  immi- 
gration from  other  parts  they  appear  to  be  a  mixed  class 
proceeding  from  aboriginal  and  Aryan  parents.  In  the 
Districts  below  Agra  they  are  considered  so  low  that  no  one 
drinks  water  touched  by  them  ;  but  this  is  not  the  case  in 
the  Districts  above  Agra."  "^  In  Hamlrpur  they  appear  to 
have  some  connection  with  the  Kurmis,  and  a  story  told  of 
them  in  Sanger  is  that  the  first  Lodhi  was  created  by  Mahadeo 
from  a  scarecrow  in  a  Kurmi  woman's  field  and  given  the 
vocation  of  a  farmservant.  But  the  Lodhis  themselves 
claim  Rajput  ancestry  and  say  that  they  are  descended  from 
Lava,  the  eldest  of  the  two  sons  of  Raja  Ramchandra  of 
Ajodhya. 

In  the  Central  Provinces  they  have  become  landholders  2.  Position 
and  are  addressed  by  the  honorific  title  of  Thakur,  rankino:  11?  '^^*^ , 

•'  '  "^   Central 

with  the  higher  cultivating  castes.  Several  Lodhi  land-  Provinces, 
holders  in  Damoh  and  Saugor  formerly  held  a  quasi- 
independent  position  under  the  Muhammadans,  and  subse- 
quently acknowledged  the  Raja  of  Panna  as  their  suzerain, 
who  conferred  on  some  families  the  titles  of  Raja  and  Diwan. 
They  kept  up  a  certain  amount  of  state  and  small  contingents 
of  soldiery,  attended  by  whom  they  went  to  pay  their  respects 
to  the  representative  of  the  ruling  power.  "  It  would  be 
difficult,"  says  Grant,^  "  to  recognise  the  descendants  of  the 

'  Colonel    Ward's    Mandla    Settle-  *  Raja  I-achman  Singh's  j9;//:/;/^j/;a^r 

ment  Report,  p.  29.  Aleiiio,  p.  182,  quoted  in  Mr.  Crooke's 

■^  Brief  Vieiv  of  the   Caste  System,  Tribes  and  Castes,  art.  Lodha. 

p.  14.  ^  Narsint^hpur    Settlement     Report 

•^  Symplocos  racemosa.  (1866),  p.  28. 

VOL.  IV  I 


114  LODHI  PART 

peaceful  cultivators  of  northern  India  in  the  strangely- 
accoutred  Rajas  who  support  their  style  and  title  by  a  score 
of  ragged  matchlock-men  and  a  ruined  mud  fort  on  a  hill- 
side." Sir  B.  Fuller's  Danioh  Settlement  Report  says  of 
them  :  "  A  considerable  number  of  villages  had  been  for  long 
time  past  in  the  possession  of  certain  important  families, 
who  held  them  by  prescription  or  by  a  grant  from  the  ruling 
power,  on  a  right  which  approximated  as  nearly  to  the 
English  idea  of  proprietorship  as  native  custom  permitted. 
The  most  prominent  of  these  families  were  of  the  Lodhi 
caste.  They  have  developed  tastes  for  sport  and  freebooting 
and  have  become  decidedly  the  most  troublesome  item  in  the 
population.  During  the  Mutiny  the  Lodhis  as  a  class  were 
openly  disaffected,  and  one  of  their  proprietors,  the  Talukdar 
of  Hindoria,  marched  on  the  District  headquarters  and  looted 
the  treasury."  Similarly  the  Ramgarh  family  of  Mandla 
took  to  arms  and  lost  the  large  estates  till  then  held 
by  them.  On  the  other  hand  the  village  of  Imjhira  in 
Narsinghpur  belonging  to  a  Lodhi  malguzar  was  gallantly 
defended  against  a  band  of  marauding  rebels  from  Saugor. 
Sir  R.  Craddock  describes  them  as  follows  :  "  They  are  men 
of  strong  character,  but  their  constant  family  feuds  and  love 
of  faction  militate  against  their  prosperity.  A  cluster  of 
Lodhi  villages  forms  a  hotbed  of  strife  and  the  nearest 
relations  are  generally  divided  by  bitter  animosities.  The 
Revenue  Officer  who  visits  them  is  beset  by  reckless  charges 
and  counter-charges  and  no  communities  are  less  amenable 
to  conciliatory  compromises.  Agrarian  outrages  are  only 
too  common  in  some  of  the  Lodhi  villages."  ^  The  high 
status  of  the  Lodhi  caste  in  the  Central  Provinces  as 
compared  with  their  position  in  the  country  of  their  origin 
may  be  simply  explained  by  the  fact  that  they  here  became 
landholders  and  ruling  chiefs. 
3.  Sub-  In    the  northern   Districts  the   landholding    Lodhis  are 

divisions.  (jivi(5ej  into  a  number  of  exogamous  clans  who  marry  with 
each  other  in  imitation  of  the  Rajputs.  These  are  the 
Mahdele,  Kerbania,  Dongaria,  Narwaria,  Bhadoria  and  others. 
The  name  of  the  Kerbanias  is  derived  from  Kerbana,  a  village 
in  Damoh,  and  the  Balakote  family  of  that  District  are  the 

'  Nagpur  Settkmejtl  Report,  p.  24. 


II  SUBDIVISIONS  115 

head  of  the  clan.  The  Mahdeles  are  the  highest  clan  and 
have  the  titles  of  Raja  and  Diwan,  while  the  others  hold 
those  of  Rao  and  Kunwar,  the  terms  Diwan  and  Kunwar 
being  always  applied  to  the  younger  brother  of  the  head 
of  the  house.  These  titles  are  still  occasionally  conferred 
by  the  Raja  of  Panna,  whom  the  Lodhi  clans  looked  on 
as  their  suzerain.  The  name  of  the  Mahdeles  is  said  to 
be  derived  from  the  meJmdi  or  henna  plant.  The  above 
clans  sometimes  practise  hypergamy  among  themselves  and 
also  with  the  other  Lodhis,  taking  daughters  from  the  latter 
on  receipt  of  a  large  bridegroom-price  for  the  honour  con- 
ferred by  the  marriage.  This  custom  is  now,  however, 
tending  to  die  out.  There  are  also  several  endogamous 
subcastes  ranking  below  the  clans,  of  whom  the  principal 
are  the  Singrore,  Jarha,  Jangra  and  Mahalodhi.  The 
Singrore  take  their  name  from  the  old  town  of  Singraur 
or  Shrengera  in  northern  India,  Singrore,  like  Kanaujia, 
being  a  common  subcaste  name  among  several  castes.  It 
is  also  connected  more  lately  with  the  Singram  Ghat  or 
ferry  of  the  Ganges  in  Allahabad  District,  and  the  title  of 
Rawat  is  said  to  have  been  conferred  on  the  Singrore 
Lodhis  by  the  emperor  Akbar  on  a  visit  there.  The 
Jarha  Lodhis  belong  to  Mandla.  The  name  is  probably  a 
form  of  Jharia  or  jungly,  but  since  the  leading  members 
of  the  caste  have  become  large  landholders  they  repudiate 
this  derivation.  The  Jangra  Lodhis  are  of  Chhattlsgarh, 
and  the  Mahalodhis  or  '  Great  Lodhis '  are  an  inferior  group 
to  which  the  offspring  of  irregular  unions  are  or  were 
relegated.  The  Mahalodhis  are  said  to  condone  adultery 
either  by  a  man  or  woman  on  penalty  of  a  feast  to  the  caste. 
Other  groups  are  the  Hardiha,  who  grow  turmeric  {Jialdi),  and_ 
the  Gwalhare  or  cowherds.  The  Lodhas  of  Hoshangabad 
may  also  be  considered  a  separate  subcaste.  They  disclaim 
connection  with  the  Lodhis,  but  the  fact  that  the  parent 
caste  in  the  United  Provinces  is  known  as  Lodha  appears 
to  establish  their  identity.  They  abstain  from  flesh  and 
liquor,  which  most  Lodhis  consume. 

This  division  of  the  superior  branch  of  a  caste  into  large 
exogamous  clans  and  the  lower  one  into  endogamous  sub- 
castes  is  only  found,  so  far  as  is  known,  among  the  Rajputs 


Ii6  LODHI  PART 

and  one  or  two  landholding  castes  who  have  imitated  them. 

Its  origin  is  discussed  in  the  Introduction. 

4.  Exo-  The   subcastes    are   as    usual    divided    into   exogamous 

gamous  gj.Qupg    q{    j-j^g    territorial,    titular    and     totemistic    classes. 

Among  sections  named   after  places  may  be  mentioned   the 

Chandpuria   from   Chandpur,  the  Kharpuria  from   Kharpur, 

and    the    Nagpuriha,    Raipuria,    Dhamonia,    Damauha    and 

Shahgariha    from    Nagpur,    Raipur,    Dhamoni,   Damoh    and 

Shahgarh.      Two-thirds  of  the  sections  have  the  names  of 

towns    or   villages.      Among    titular   names    are    Saulakhia, 

owner  of   100  lakhs,  Bhainsmar,  one  who  killed  a  buffalo, 

Kodonchor,  one  who  stole  kodon,^  Kumharha  perhaps  from 

Kumhar    a    potter,    and    Rajbhar    and    Barhai    (carpenter), 

names  of  castes.     Among  totemistic  names  are  Baghela,  tiger, 

also  the  name  of  a  Rajput  sept  ;   Kutria,  a  dog  ;   Khajuria, 

the  date-palm  tree  ;   Mirchaunia,  chillies ;   Andwar,  from  the 

castor-oil  plant  ;   Bhainsaiya,  a  buffalo  ;  and  Nak,  the  nose. 

5.  Mar-  A  man  must  not  marry  in  his  own  section  nor  in  that  of 

riage       j-^jg  mother.      He  may  marry  two  sisters.      The  exchange  of 

customs.  -         ...  .  ,        .         ^  1  -n-1- 

girls  between  families  is  only  m  force  among  the  Bilaspur 
Lodhis,  who  say,  '  Eat  with  those  who  have  eaten  with  you 
and  marry  with  those  who  have  married  with  you.'  Girls 
are  usually  wedded  before  puberty,  but  in  the  northern 
Districts  the  marriage  is  sometimes  postponed  from  desire 
to  marry  into  a  good  family  or  from  want  of  funds  to  pay  a 
bridegroom-price,  and  girls  of  twenty  or  more  may  be  un- 
married. A  case  is  known  of  a  man  who  had  two  daughters 
unmarried  at  twenty-two  and  twenty-three  years  old,  because 
he  had  been  waiting  for  good  partis,  with  the  result  that  one 
of  them  went  and  lived  with  a  man  and  he  then  married  off 
,the  other  in  the  Singhast  ^  year,  which  is  forbidden  among  the 
Lodhis,  and  was  put  out  of  caste.  The  marriage  and  other 
ceremonies  of  the  Lodhis  resemble  those  of  the  Kurmis, 
except  in  Chhattlsgarh  where  the  Maratha  fashion  is  followed. 
Here,  at  the  wedding,  the  bride  and  bridegroom  hold  between 
them  a  doll  made  of  dough  with  2 1  cowries  inside,  and  as 
the  priest  repeats  the  marriage  texts  they  pull  it  apart  like 
a  cracker  and  see  how  many  cowries  each  has  got.      It  is 

'  A  small  millet.  Jupiter  is  in  conjunction  with  the  con- 

2  Every  twelfth  year  when  ihe  planet       .stcllation  Sinh  (Leo). 


II  rilE  GAUNA   CEREMONY:  FERTIIJTY  RITES       117 

considered  auspicious  if  the  bridegroom  has  the  larger 
number.  The  priest  is  on  the  roof  of  the  house,  and  before 
the  wedding  he  cries  out  : 

*  Are  the  king  and  queen   here  ?  '      And   a  man   below 
answers,  '  Yes.' 

*  Have  they  shoes  on  their  feet  ?  '      '  Yes.' 

*  Have  they  bracelets  on  their  hands  ?  '      '  Yes.' 
'  Have  they  rings  in  their  ears  ?  '      '  Yes.' 

'  Have  they  crowns  on  their  heads  ?  '      '  Yes.' 

'  Has  she  glass  beads  round  her  neck  ?  '      '  Yes.' 

'  Have  they  the  doll  in  their  hands  ?  '  '  Yes.' 
And  the  priest  then  repeats  the  marriage  texts  and  beats 
a  brass  dish  while  the  doll  is  pulled  apart.  In  the 
northern  Districts  after  the  wedding  the  bridegroom  must 
untie  one  of  the  festoons  of  the  marriage-shed,  and  if  he 
refuses  to  do  this,  it  is  an  indelible  disgrace  on  the  bride's 
party.  Before  doing  so  he  requires  a  valuable  present,  such 
as  a  buffalo. 

When  the  girl  becomes  mature  the  Gauna  or  going-away  6.  The 
ceremony  is  performed.      In  Chhattlsgarh  before  leaving  her  ^^emony 
home  the  bride  goes  out  with  her  sister  and  worships  a  palds  Fertility 
tree.^      Her  sister  waves  a  lighted  lamp  seven  times  over  it,  '^'  ^^' 
and  the  bride  goes  seven  times  round  it  in  imitation  of  the 
marriage  ceremony.      At  her  husband's  house  seven  pictures 
of  the  family  gods  are  drawn  on  a  wall  inside  the  house  and 
the  bride  worships  these,  placing  a  little  sugar  and  bread  on 
the  mouth  of  each  and  bowing  before  them.      She  is  then 
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  bab}-,' 
amid  loud  laughter.      Then  she  gives  the  stone  to  the  bride- 
groom 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. 

The  higher  clans  of  Lodhis  in  Damoh  and  Saugor  pro- 

*  Buteafrondosa.  -  This  is  known  as  lodha. 


ii8 


LODHI 


7.  Widow- 
marriage 
and 

puberty 
rite. 


8.  Mourn- 
ing 
impurity. 


g.  Social 
customs. 


hibit  the  remarriage  of  widows,  but  instances  of  it  occur.  It 
is  said  that  a  man  who  marries  a  widow  is  relegated  to  the 
Mahalodhi  subcaste  or  the  Lahuri  Sen,  an  illegitimate  group, 
and  the  Lodhis  of  his  clan  no  longer  acknowledge  his  family. 
But  if  a  girl's  husband  dies  before  she  has  lived  with  him 
she  may  marry  again.  The  other  Lodhis  freely  permit 
widow-marriage  and  divorce.  When  a  girl  first  becomes 
mature  she  is  secluded,  and  though  she  may  stay  in  the 
house  cannot  enter  the  cook-room.  At  the  end  of  the  period 
she  is  dressed  in  red  cloth,  and  a  present  of  cocoanuts  stripped 
of  their  shells,  sweetmeats,  and  a  little  money,  is  placed  in 
her  lap,  while  a  few  women  are  invited  to  a  feast.  This  rite 
is  also  meant  to  induce  fertility,  the  kernel  of  the  cocoanut 
being  held  to  resemble  an  unborn  baby. 

The  higher  clans  consider  themselves  impure  for  a  period 
of  12  days  after  a  birth,  and  if  the  birth  falls  in  the  Mul 
asterism  or  Nakshatra,  for  27  days.  After  death  they 
observe  mourning  for  10  days  ;  on  the  loth  day  they  offer 
ten  pindas  or  funeral  cakes,  and  on  the  1 1  th  day  make  one 
large  pinda  or  cake  and  divide  it  into  eleven  parts  ;  on  the 
1 2th  day  they  make  sixteen /m^T^ia;.?  and  unite  the  spirit  of  the 
dead  man  with  the  ancestors  ;  and  on  the  i  3th  day  they  give  a 
feast  and  feed  Brahmans  and  are  clean.  The  lower  subcastes 
only  observe  impurity  for  three  days  after  a  birth  and  a  death. 
Their  funeral  rites  are  the  same  as  those  of  the  Kurmis. 

The  caste  employ  Brahmans  for  weddings,  but  not 
necessarily  for  birth  and  death  ceremonies.  They  eat  flesh 
and  fish,  and  the  bulk  of  the  caste  eat  fowls  and  drink  liquor, 
but  the  landowning  section  abjures  these  practices.  They 
will  take  food  cooked  with  water  from  Brahmans,  and  that 
cooked  without  water  also  from  Rajputs,  Kayasths  and 
Sunars.  In  Narsinghpur  they  also  accept  cooked  food  from 
such  a  low  caste  as  Rajjahrs,^  probably  because  the  Rajjhars 
are  commonly  employed  by  them  as  farmservants,  and  hence 
have  been  accustomed  to  carry  their  master's  food.  A 
similar  relation  has  been  found  to  exist  between  the  Panwar 
Rajputs  and  their  Gond  farmservants.  The  higher  class 
Lodhis    make    an    inordinate    show  of  hospitality  at   their 

'  The    Rajjhars    arc   a  low  caste    of   farmservants    and    labourers,  probably 
an  offshoot  of  the  Bhar  tribe. 


II  GREETINGS  AND  METHOD  OF  ADDRESS  119 

weddings.  The  plates  of  the  guests  are  piled  up  profusely 
with  food,  and  these  latter  think  it  a  point  of  honour  never 
to  refuse  it  or  say  enough.  When  melted  butter  is  poured 
out  into  their  cups  the  stream  must  never  be  broken  as  it 
passes  from  one  guest  to  the  other,  or  it  is  said  that  they 
will  all  get  up  and  leave  the  feast.  Apparently  a  lot  of 
butter  must  be  wasted  on  the  ground.  The  higher  clans 
seclude  their  women,  and  these  when  they  go  out  must  wear 
long  clothes  covering  the  head  and  reaching  to  the  feet. 
The  women  are  not  allowed  to  wear  ornaments  of  a  cheaper 
metal  than  silver,  except  of  course  their  glass  bangles.  The 
Mahalodhis  will  eat  food  cooked  with  water  in  the  cook-room 
and  carried  to  the  fields,  which  the  higher  clans  will  not  do. 
Their  women  wear  the  j-^7r/ drawn  through  the  legs  and  knotted 
behind  according  to  the  Maratha  fashion,  but  whenever  they 
meet  their  husband's  elder  brother  or  any  other  elder  of  the 
family  they  must  undo  the  knot  and  let  the  cloth  hang  down 
round  their  legs  as  a  mark  of  respect.  They  wear  no  breast- 
cloth.  Girls  are  tattooed  before  adolescence  with  dots  on 
the  chin  and  forehead,  and  marks  on  one  hand.  Before  she 
is  tattooed  the  girl  is  given  sweets  to  eat,  and  during  the 
process  the  operator  sings  songs  in  order  that  her  attention 
may  be  diverted  and  she  may  not  feel  the  pain.  After  she 
has  finished  the  operator  mutters  a  charm  to  prevent  evil 
spirits  from  troubling  the  girl  and  causing  her  pain. 

The  caste  have  some  strict  taboos    on    names    and    on  10.  Greet- 
conversation  between  the  sexes.      A  man  will  only  address  '"S^/^"'^ 

■'  method  of 

his  wife,  sister,  daughter,  paternal  aunt  or  niece  directly.  If  address. 
he  has  occasion  to  speak  to  some  other  woman  he  will 
take  his  daughter  or  other  female  relative  with  him  and  do 
his  business  through  her.  He  will  not  speak  even  to  his  own 
women  before  a  crowd.  A  woman  will  similarly  only  speak 
to  her  father,  son  or  nephew,  and  father-,  son-  or  younger 
brother-in-law.  She  will  not  speak  to  her  elder  brother-in- 
law,  and  she  will  not  address  her  husband  in  the  presence  of 
his  father,  elder  brother  or  any  other  relative  whom  he 
reveres.  A  wife  will  never  call  her  husband  by  his  name, 
but  always  address  him  as  father  of  her  son,  and,  if  she  has 
no  son,  will  sometimes  speak  to  him  through  his  younger 
brother.      Neither  the  father  nor  mother  will  call  their  eldest 


I20  LOriAR  I'ART 

son  by  his  name,  but  will  use  some  other  name.  Similarly 
a  daughter-in-law  is  given  a  fresh  name  on  coming  into  the 
house,  and  on  her  arrival  her  mother-in-law  looks  at  her 
for  the  first  time  through  a  guna  or  ring  of  baked  gram-flour. 
A  man  meeting  his  father  or  elder  brother  will  touch  his 
feet  in  silence.  One  meeting  his  sister's  husband,  sister's 
son  or  son-in-law,  will  touch  his  feet  and  say,  *  Sahib,  salaam! 
II.  Sacred  The  higher  clans    invest   boys  with   the   sacred    thread 

thread  and  either  when  they  are  initiated  by  a  Guru  or  spiritual  pre- 
status.  ceptor,  or  when  they  are  married.  The  thread  is  made  by  a 
Brahman  and  has  five  knots.  Recently  a  large  landholder 
in  Mandla,  a  Jarha  Lodhi,  has  assumed  the  sacred  thread 
himself  for  the  first  time  and  sent  round  a  circular  to  his 
caste-men  enjoining  them  also  to  wear  it.  His  family  priest 
has  produced  a  legend  of  the  usual  type  showing  how  the 
Jarha  Lodhis  are  Rajputs  whose  ancestors  threw  away  their 
sacred  threads  in  order  to  escape  the  vengeance  of  Parasurama. 
Generally  in  social  position  the  Lodhis  may  be  considered 
to  rank  with,  but  slightly  above,  the  ordinary  cultivating 
castes,  such  as  the  Kurmis.  This  superiority  in  no  way 
arises  from  their  origin,  since,  as  already  seen,  they  are  a  very 
low  caste  in  their  home  in  northern  India,  but  from  the  fact 
that  they  have  become  large  landholders  in  the  Central 
Provinces  and  in  former  times  their  leaders  exercised  quasi- 
sovereign  powers.  Many  Lodhis  are  fine-looking  men  and 
have  still  some  appearance  of  having  been  soldiers.  They 
are  passionate  and  quarrelsome,  especially  in  the  Jubbulpore 
District.  This  is  put  forcibly  in  the  saying  that  *  A  Lodhi's 
temper  is  as  crooked  as  the  stream  of  a  bullock's  urine.' 
They  are  generally  cultivators,  but  the  bulk  of  them  are  not 
very  prosperous  as  they  are  inclined  to  extravagance  and 
di.splay  at  weddings  and  on  other  ceremonial  occasions. 

I.  Legends        Lohap,  Khatl,  Ghantra,  Ghisari,  Panchal. — The  occu- 
ofthe  national  caste  of  blacksmiths.      The  name  is  derived  from 

caste.  i 

the  Sanskrit  Lauha-kdra,  a  worker  in  iron.  In  the  Central 
Provinces  the  Lobar  has  in  the  past  frequently  combined  the 
occupations  of  carpenter  and  blacksmith,  and  in  such  a 
capacity  he  is  known  as  Khati.  The  honorific  designations 
applied  to  the  caste  are  Karlgar,  which  means  skilful,  and 


II  LEGENDS  OF  THE  CASTE  121 

Mistri,  a  corruption  of  the  English  'Master'  or  'Mister.' 
In  191  I  the  Lohars  numbered  about  180,000  persons  in 
the  Central  Provinces  and  Berar.  The  Lobar  is  indispens- 
able to  the  village  economy,  and  the  caste  is  found  over 
the  whole  rural  area  of  the  Province. 

"  Practically  all  the  Lohars,"  Mr.  Crooke  writes,^  "  trace 
their  origin  to  Visvakarma,  who  is  the  later  representative 
of  the  Vedic  Twashtri,  the  architect  and  handicraftsman  of 
the  gods,  *  The  fashioner  of  all  ornaments,  the  most  eminent 
of  artisans,  who  formed  the  celestial  chariots  of  the  deities, 
on  whose  craft  men  subsist,  and  whom,  a  great  and  immortal 
god,  they  continually  worship.'  One "  tradition  tells  that 
Visvakarma  was  a  Brahman  and  married  the  daughter  of  an 
Ahir,  who  in  her  previous  birth  had  been  a  dancing-girl  of  the 
gods.  By  her  he  had  nine  sons,  who  became  the  ancestors 
of  various  artisan  castes,  such  as  the  Lobar,  Barhai,  Sunar, 
and  Kasera," 

The  Lohars  of  the  Uriya  country  in  the  Central  Pro- 
vinces tell  a  similar  story,  according  to  which  Kamar,  the 
celestial  architect,  had  twelve  sons.  The  eldest  son  was 
accustomed  to  propitiate  the  family  god  with  wine,  and  one 
day  he  drank  some  of  the  wine,  thinking  that  it  could  not 
be  sinful  to  do  so  as  it  was  offered  to  the  deity.  But  for  this 
act  his  other  brothers  refused  to  live  with  him  and  left  their 
home,  adopting  various  professions  ;  but  the  eldest  brother 
became  a  worker  in  iron  and  laid  a  curse  upon  the  others 
that  they  should  not  be  able  to  practise  their  calling  except 
with  the  implements  which  he  had  made.  The  second 
brother  thus  became  a  woodcutter  (Barhai),  the  third  a 
painter  (Maharana),  the  fourth  learnt  the  science  of  vaccina- 
tion and  medicine  and  became  a  vaccinator  (Suthiar),  the 
fifth  a  goldsmith,  the  sixth  a  brass-smith,  the  seventh  a 
coppersmith,  and  the  eighth  a  carpenter,  while  the  ninth 
brother  was  weak  in  the  head  and  married  his  eldest  sister, 
on  account  of  which  fact  his  descendants  are  known  as 
Ghantra.^      The  Ghantras  are  an  inferior  class  of  blacksmiths, 

1    Tribes  and  Castes  of  the  N.W.  P.  course    with    another.     The     Ghantra 

and  Ondh,  art.  Lobar.  Lohars   are   thus  probably   of  bastard 

^  Dowson,  Classical  Dictionary,  s.v.  origin,  like  the  groups  known  as  half- 

^  In    Uriya    the    term    Ghantrabcla  castes  and  others  wliich  are  frequently 

means  a  person  who  has  illicit  inter-  found. 


122  LOHAR  part 

probably  an  offshoot  from  some  of  the  forest  tribes,  who  are 
looked  down  on  by  the  others.  It  is  said  that  even  to  the 
present  day  the  Ghantra  Lobars  have  no  objection  to  eating 
the  leavings  of  food  of  their  wives,  whom  they  regard  as 
their  eldest  sisters. 
2.  Social  The  above   story   is    noticeable   as    indicating  that   the 

of  the°'^  social  position  of  the  Lobar  is  somewhat  below  that  of  the 
Lohar.  other  artisan  castes,  or  at  least  of  those  who  work  in  metals. 
This  fact  has  been  recorded  in  other  localities,  and  has  been 
explained  by  some  stigma  arising  from  his  occupation,  as  in 
the  following  passage  :  "  His  social  position  is  low  even  for 
a  menial,  and  he  is  classed  as  an  impure  caste,  in  so  far 
that  Jats  and  others  of  similar  standing  will  have  no  social 
communion  with  him,  though  not  as  an  outcast  like  the 
scavenger.  His  impurity,  like  that  of  the  barber,  washerman 
and  dyer,  springs  solely  from  the  nature  of  his  employment ; 
perhaps  because  it  is  a  dirty  one,  but  more  probably  because 
black  is  a  colour  of  evil  omen.  It  is  not  improbable  that 
the  necessity  under  which  he  labours  of  using  bellows  made 
of  cowhide  may  have  something  to  do  with  his  impurity."  ^ 

Mr.  Nesfield  also  says  :  "  It  is  owing  to  the  ubiquitous 
industry  of  the  Lobar  that  the  stone  knives,  arrow-heads  and 
hatchets  of  the  indigenous  tribes  of  Upper  India  have  been 
so  entirely  superseded  by  iron-ores.  The  memory  of  the 
stone  age  has  not  survived  even  in  tradition.  In  con- 
sequence of  the  evil  associations  which  Hinduism  has 
attached  to  the  colour  of  black,  the  caste  of  Lobar  has  not 
been  able  to  raise  itself  to  the  same  social  level  as  the  three 
metallurgic  castes  which  follow."  The  following  saying  also 
indicates  that  the  Lobar  is  of  evil  omen  : 

Ar,  Dhar,  ChucJikdr. 

In  tinon  se  bachdwe  Kartdr. 

Here  Ar  means  an  iron  goad  and  signifies  the  Lobar  ; 
Dhdr  represents  the  sound  of  the  oil  falling  from  the  press 
and  means  a  Teli  or  oilman  ;  CJiuchkdr  is  an  imitation  of 
the  sound  of  clothes  being  beaten  against  a  stone  and 
denotes  the  Dhobi  or  washerman  ;  and  the  phrase  thus  runs, 
'  My  Friend,  beware  of  the  Lobar,  Teli,  and  Dhobi,  for  they 

1  Punjab  Census  Report  (i88l),  para.  624.      (Ibbetson.) 


11  CASTE  SUBDIVISIONS  123 

are  of  evil  oinen.'  It  is  not  quite  clear  why  this  disrepute 
should  attach  to  the  Lohar,  because  iron  itself  is  lucky, 
though  its  colour,  black,  may  be  of  bad  omen.  But  the 
low  status  of  the  Lohar  may  partly  arise  from  the  fact  of 
his  being  a  village  menial  and  a  servant  of  the  cultivators  ; 
whereas  the  trades  of  the  goldsmith,  brass -smith  and 
carpenter  are  of  later  origin  than  the  blacksmith's,  and  are 
urban  rather  than  rural  industries  ;  and  thus  these  artisans 
do  not  commonly  occupy  the  position  of  village  menials. 
Another  important  consideration  is  that  the  iron  industry  is 
associated  with  the  primitive  tribes,  who  furnished  the  whole 
supply  of  the  metal  prior  to  its  importation  from  Europe  : 
and  it  is  hence  probable  that  the  Lohar  caste  was  originally 
constituted  from  these  and  would  thus  naturally  be  looked 
down  upon  by  the  Hindus.  In  Bengal,  where  io.^  or  no 
traces  of  the  village  community  remain,  the  Lohar  ranks  as 
the  equal  of  Koiris  and  Kurmis,  and  Brahmans  will  take 
water  from  his  hands  ;  ^  and  this  somewhat  favours  the 
argument  that  his  lower  status  elsewhere  is  not  due  to 
incidents  of  his  occupation. 

The  constitution  of  the  Lohar  caste  is  of  a  heterogeneous  3-  Caste 
nature.  In  some  localities  Gonds  who  work  as  blacksmiths  divisions. 
are  considered  to  belong  to  the  caste  and  are  known  as 
Gondi  Lobars.  But  Hindus  who  work  in  Gond  villages 
also  sometimes  bear  this  designation.  Another  subdivision 
returned  consists  of  the  Agarias,  also  an  offshoot  of  the 
Gonds,  who  collect  and  smelt  iron-ore  in  the  Vindhyan  and 
Satpura  hills.  The  Panchals  are  a  class  of  itinerant  smiths 
in  Berar.  The  Ghantras  or  inferior  blacksmiths  of  the 
Uriya  country  have  already  been  noticed.  The  Ghisaris 
are  a  similar  low  class  of  smiths  in  the  southern  Districts 
who  do  rough  work  only,  but  sometimes  claim  Rajput  origin. 
Other  subcastes  are  of  the  usual  local  or  territorial  type,  as 
Mahulia,  from  Mahul  in  Berar  ;  Jhade  or  Jhadia,  those  living 
in  the  jungles  ;  Ojha,  or  those  professing  a  Brahmanical 
origin;  Maratha,  Kanaujia,  Mathuria,  and  so  on. 

Infant-marriage  is  the  custom  of  the  caste,  and  the  4.  Mar- 
ceremony  is  that  prevalent  among  the  agricultural  castes  of  "j^^^^" 
the  locality.      The  remarriage  of  widows  is  permitted,  and  customs. 

'   Tribes  atui  Castes  of  Bengal,  art.  Lohar. 


124  LOHAR  part 

they  have  the  privilege  of  selecting  their  own  husbands,  or 
at  least  of  refusing  to  accept  any  proposed  suitor.  A  widow 
is  always  married  from  her  father's  house,  and  never  from 
that  of  her  deceased  husband.  The  first  husband's  property 
is  taken  by  his  relatives,  if  there  be  any,  and  they  also 
assume  the  custody  of  his  children  as  soon  as  they  are  old 
enough  to  dispense  with  a  mother's  care.  The  dead  are 
both  buried  and  burnt,  and  in  the  eastern  Districts  some 
water  and  a  tooth-stick  are  daily  placed  at  a  cross-road  for 
the  use  of  the  departed  spirit  during  the  customary  period 
of  mourning,  which  extends  to  ten  days.  On  the  eleventh 
day  the  relatives  go  and  bathe,  and  the  chief  mourner  puts 
on  a  new  loin-cloth.  Some  rice  is  taken  and  seven  persons 
pass  it  from  hand  to  hand.  They  then  pound  the  rice,  and 
making  from  it  a  figure  to  represent  a  human  being,  they 
place  some  grain  in  its  mouth  and  say  to  it,  '  Go  and 
become  incarnate  in  some  human  being,'  and  throw  the 
image  into  the  water.  After  this  the  impurity  caused  by 
the  death  is  removed,  and  they  go  home  and  feast  with 
their  friends.  In  the  evening  they  make  cakes  of  rice,  and 
place  them  seven  times  on  the  shoulder  of  each  person  who 
has  carried  the  corpse  to  the  cemetery  or  pyre,  to  remove 
the  impurity  contracted  from  touching  it.  It  is  also  said 
that  if  this  be  not  done  the  shouldei  will  feel  the  weight  of 
the  coffin  for  a  period  of  six  months.  The  caste  endeavour 
to  ascertain  whether  the  spirit  of  the  dead  person  returns  to 
join  in  the  funeral  feast,  and  in  what  shape  it  will  be  born 
again.  For  this  purpose  rice-flour  is  spread  on  the  floor  of 
the  cooking-room  and  covered  with  a  brass  plate.  The 
women  retire  and  sit  in  an  adjoining  room  while  the  chief 
mourner  with  a  few  companions  goes  outside  the  village, 
and  sprinkles  some  more  rice-flour  on  the  ground.  They 
call  to  the  deceased  person  by  name,  saying,  '  Come,  come,' 
and  then  wait  patiently  till  some  worm  or  insect  crawls  on 
to  the  floor.  Some  dough  is  then  applied  to  this  and  it  is 
carried  home  and  let  loose  in  the  house.  The  flour  under 
the  brass  plate  is  examined,  and  it  is  said  that  they  usually 
see  the  footprints  of  a  person  or  animal,  indicating  the 
corporeal  entity  in  which  the  deceased  soul  has  found  a 
resting-place.      During  the  period  of  mourning  members  of 


tion. 


II  OCCUPATION  125 

the  bereaved  family  do  not  follow  their  ordinary  business, 
nor  eat  flesh,  sweets  or  other  delicate  food.  They  may  not 
make  offerings  to  their  deities  nor  touch  any  persons  outside 
the  family,  nor  wear  head-cloths  or  shoes.  In  the  eastern 
Districts  the  principal  deities  of  the  Lohars  are  Dulha  Deo 
and  Somlai  or  Devi,  the  former  being  represented  by  a 
knife  set  in  the  ground  inside  the  house,  and  the  latter  by 
the  painting  of  a  woman  on  the  wall.  Both  deities  are  kept 
in  the  cooking-room,  and  here  the  head  of  the  family  offers 
to  them  rice  soaked  in  milk,  with  sandal-paste,  flowers, 
vermilion  and  lamp-black.  He  burns  some  melted  butter 
in  an  earthen  lamp  and  places  incense  upon  it.  If  a  man 
has  been  affected  by  the  evil  eye  an  exorcist  will  place 
some  salt  on  his  hand  and  burn  it,  muttering  spells,  and  the 
evil  influence  is  removed.  They  believe  that  a  spell  can  be 
cast  on  a  man  by  giving  him  to  eat  the  bones  of  an  owl, 
when  he  will  become  an  idiot. 

In  the  rural  area  of  the  Province  the  Lobar  is  still  a  5.  Occupa- 
village  menial,  making  and  mending  the  iron  implements  of 
agriculture,  such  as  the  ploughshare,  axe,  sickle,  goad  and 
other  articles.  For  doing  this  he  is  paid  in  Saugor  a  yearly 
contribution  of  twenty  pounds  of  grain  per  plough  of  land  ^ 
held  by  each  cultivator,  together  with  a  handful  of  grain  at 
sowing-time  and  a  sheaf  at  harvest  from  both  the  autumn 
and  spring  crops.  In  Wardha  he  gets  fifty  pounds  of  grain 
per  plough  of  four  bullocks  or  forty  acres.  For  making  new 
implements  the  Lobar  is  sometimes  paid  separately  and  is 
always  supplied  with  the  iron  and  charcoal.  The  hand- 
smelting  iron  industry  has  practically  died  out  in  the 
Province  and  the  imported  metal  is  used  for  nearly  all 
purposes.  The  village  Lohars  are  usually  very  poor,  their 
income  seldom  exceeding  that  of  an  unskilled  labourer.  In 
the  towns,  owing  to  the  rapid  extension  of  milling  and 
factory  industries,  blacksmiths  readily  find  employment  and 
some  of  them  earn  very  high  wages.  In  the  manufacture  of 
cutlery,  nails  and  other  articles  the  capital  is  often  found  by 
a  Bhatia  or  Bohra  merchant,  who  acts  as  the  capitalist  and 
employs  the  Lohars  as  his  workmen.  The  women  help  their 
husbands  by  blowing  the  bellows  and  dragging  the  hot  iron 
'   About  15  acres. 


126  LORHA  PAKT 

from  the  furnace,  while  the  men  wield  the  hammer.  The 
Panchals  of  Berar  are  described  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.  They 
move  from  place  to  place  with  buffaloes,  donkeys  and  ponies 
to  carry  their  kit.^  Another  class  of  wandering  smiths, 
the  Ghisaris,  are  described  by  Mr.  Crooke  as  follows : 
"  Occasional  camps  of  these  most  interesting  people  are  to 
be  met  with  in  the  Districts  of  the  Meerut  Division.  They 
wander  about  with  small  carts  and  pack-animals,  and,  being 
more  expert  than  the  ordinary  village  Lobar,  their  services 
are  in  demand  for  the  making  of  tools  for  carpenters,  weavers 
and  other  craftsmen.  They  are  known  in  the  Punjab  as 
Gadiya  or  those  who  have  carts  {gddi,  gdri).  Sir  D.  Ibbetson" 
says  that  they  come  up  from  Rajputana  and  the  North- 
western Provinces,  but  their  real  country  is  the  Deccan.  In 
the  Punjab  they  travel  about  with  their  families  and  imple- 
ments in  carts  from  village  to  village,  doing  the  finer  kinds 
of  iron-work,  which  are  beyond  the  capacity  of  the  village 
artisan.  In  the  Deccan  ^  this  class  of  wandering  black- 
smiths are  called  Saiqalgar,  or  knife-grinders,  or  Ghisara,  or 
grinders  (Hindi,  ghisdna,  '  to  rub ').  They  wander  about 
grinding  knives  and  tools." 

Lorha.* — A  small  caste  of  cultivators  in  the  Hoshangabad 
and  Nimar  Districts,  whose  distinctive  occupation  is  to  grow 
san-heva^^  {Crotalaria  junced)  and  to  make  sacking  and 
gunny-bags  from  the  fibre.  A  very  strong  prejudice  against 
this  crop  exists  among  the  Hindus,  and  those  who  grow  it 
are  usually  cut  off  from  their  parent  caste  and  become  a 
separate  community.  Thus  we  have  the  castes  known  as 
Kumrawat,  Patblna  and  Dangur  in  different  parts  of  the 
Province,  who  are  probably  offshoots  from  the  Kurmis  and 
Kunbis,  but  now  rank  below  them  because  they  grow  this 
crop  ;  and  in  the  Kurmi  caste  itself  a  subcaste  of  Santora 
(hemp -picking)    Kurmis   has    grown    up.      In    Bilaspur   the 

1  Berdr  Census  Report,  \'i>'i\{yj\\.i'A).  *  This    article    is    partly    based    on 

„    ,       .  ,    ^  ,  ,  ,  papers  by  Mr.    P.  B.  Telancr,  Muiisiff 

'■  Piwidb  Eilnio'jraphy.  i^ara.  624.  J,  ''    ■   ,.-,  ,    i>,      -.vt-  ,, 

•^  .s     y   ^»  1  t  Seoul- Malwa,   and    Mr.    Wanian   Kao 

^  Bombay  Gazetteer^  xvi.  82.  Mandloi,  naib-tahslldar,  Harda. 


II  LOR  HA  127 

Patharia  Kurmis  will  grow  J^^^w-hemp  and  ret  it,  but  will  not 
spin  or  weave  the  fibre  ;  while  the  Atharia  Kurmis  will  not 
grow  the  crop,  but  will  spin  the  fibre  and  make  sacking. 
The  Saugor  Kewats  grow  this  fibre,  and  here  Brahmans  and 
other  high  castes  will  not  take  water  from  Kewats,  though 
in  the  eastern  Districts  they  will  do  so.  The  Narsinghpur 
Mallahs,  a  branch  of  the  Kewats,  have  also  adopted  the 
cultivation  of  j-crw-hemp  as  a  regular  profession.  The  basis 
of  the  prejudice  against  the  Jcz//-hemp  plant  is  not  altogether 
clear.  The  Lorhas  themselves  say  that  they  are  looked 
down  upon  because  they  use  wheat-starch  {lapsi)  for  smooth- 
ing the  fibre,  and  that  their  name  is  somehow  derived  from 
this  fact.  But  the  explanation  does  not  seem  satisfactory. 
Many  of  the  country  people  appear  to  think  that  there  is 
something  uncanny  about  the  plant  because  it  grows  so 
quickly,  and  they  say  that  on  one  occasion  a  cultivator  went 
out  to  sow  hemp  in  the  morning,  and  his  wife  was  very  late 
in  bringing  his  dinner  to  the  field.  He  grew  hungry  and 
angry,  and  at  last  the  shoots  of  the  hemp-seeds  which  he 
had  sown  in  the  morning  began  to  appear  above  the  ground. 
At  this  he  was  so  enraged  that  when  his  wife  finally  came 
he  said  she  had  kept  him  waiting  so  long  that  the  crop  had 
come  up  in  the  meantime,  and  murdered  her.  Since  then 
the  Hindus  have  been  forbidden  to  grow  j'rt;/-hemp  lest  they 
should  lose  their  tempers  in  the  same  manner.  This  story 
makes  a  somewhat  excessive  demand  on  the  hearer's  credulity. 
One  probable  cause  of  the  taboo  seems  to  be  that  the  process 
of  soaking  and  retting  the  stalks  of  the  plant  pollutes  the 
water,  and  if  carried  on  in  a  tank  or  in  the  pools  of  a  stream 
might  destroy  the  village  supply  of  drinking-water.  In 
former  times  it  may  have  been  thought  that  the  desecration 
of  their  sacred  element  was  an  insult  to  the  deities  of  rivers 
and  streams,  which  would  bring  down  retribution  on  the 
offender.  It  is  also  the  case  that  the  proper  separation  of 
the  fibres  requires  a  considerable  degree  of  dexterity  which 
can  only  be  acquired  by  practice.  Owing  to  the  recent 
increase  in  the  price  of  the  fibre  and  the  large  profits  which 
can  now  be  obtained  from  hemp  cultivation,  the  prejudice 
against  it  is  gradually  breaking  down,  and  the  Gonds,  Korkus 
and  lower  Hindu  castes  have  waived  their  religious  scruples 


128  LOR  HA  PART  II 

and  are  glad  to  turn  an  honest  penny  by  sowing  hemp  either 
on  their  own  account  or  for  hire.  Other  partially  tabooed 
crops  are  turmeric  and  dl  or  Indian  madder  {Morinda  citri- 
folia),  while  onions  and  garlic  are  generally  eschewed  by 
Hindu  cultivators.  For  growing  turmeric  and  dl  special 
subcastes  have  been  formed,  as  the  Alia  Kunbis  and  the 
Hardia  Malis  and  Kachhis  (from  Jialdi,  turmeric),  just  as  in 
the  case  of  j'<a:;z-hemp.  The  objection  to  these  two  crops  is 
believed  to  lie  in  the  fact  that  the  roots  which  yield  the 
commercial  product  have  to  be  boiled,  and  by  this  process  a 
number  of  insects  contained  in  them  are  destroyed.  But  the 
preparation  of  the  hemp-fibre  does  not  seem  to  involve  any 
such  sacrifice  of  insect  life.  The  Lorhas  appear  to  be  a 
mixed  group,  with  a  certain  amount  of  Rajput  blood  in  them, 
perhaps  an  offshoot  of  the  Kirars,  with  whose  social  customs 
their  own  are  said  to  be  identical.  According  to  another 
account,  they  are  a  lower  or  illegitimate  branch  of  the  Lodha 
caste  of  cultivators,  of  whose  name  their  own  is  said  to  be 
a  corruption.  The  Nimar  Gujars  have  a  subcaste  named 
Lorha,  and  the  Lorhas  of  Hoshangabad  may  be  connected 
with  these.  They  live  in  the  Seoni  and  Harda  tahslls  of 
Hoshangabad,  the  j-(^;2-hemp  crop  being  a  favourite  one  in 
villages  adjoining  the  forests,  because  it  is  not  subject  to  the 
depredations  of  wild  animals.  Cultivators  are  often  glad  to 
sublet  their  fields  for  the  purpose  of  having  a  crop  of  hemp 
grown  upon  them,  because  the  stalks  are  left  for  manure  and 
fertilise  the  ground.  String  and  sacking  are  also  made  from 
the  hemp -fibre  by  vagrant  and  criminal  castes  like  the 
Banjaras  and  Bhamtas,  who  formerly  required  the  bags  for 
carrying  their  goods  and  possessions  about  with  them. 


MAHAR 

LIST  OF  PARAGRAPHS 


I. 

General  notice. 

7- 

Childbirth. 

n 

Length    of   residence    in    the 

8. 

Names. 

Central  Proviiices. 

9- 

Religion. 

3- 

Legend  of  origin. 

lO. 

Adoption  of  foreign  religions. 

4- 

Subcastes. 

1 1. 

Superstitions. 

5- 

Exogainous  groups  and  mar- 

12. 

Social  rules. 

riage  customs. 

13. 

Social  subjection. 

6. 

Funeral  rites. 

14- 

Their  position  improving. 

1 5 .   Occupation. 

Mahap,  Mehra,  Dhed. — The  impure  caste  of  menials,  i.  General 
labourers  and  village  watchmen  of  the  Maratha  country,  "°"'^^- 
corresponding  to  the  Chamars  and  Koris  of  northern  India. 
They  numbered  nearly  1,200,000  persons  in  the  combined 
Province  in  191  i,  and  are  most  numerous  in  the  Nagpur, 
Bhandara,  Chanda  and  Wardha  Districts  of  the  Central 
Provinces,  while  considerable  colonies  are  also  found  in 
Balaghat,  Chhindwara  and  Betul.  Their  distribution  thus 
follows  largely  that  of  the  Marathi  language  and  the  castes 
speaking  it.  Berar  contained  400,000,  distributed  over  the 
four  Districts.  In  the  whole  Province  this  caste  is  third  in 
point  of  numerical  strength.  In  India  the  Mahars  number 
about  three  million  persons,  of  whom  a  half  belong  to 
I^ombay.  I  am  not  aware  of  any  accepted  derivation  for 
the  word  Mahar,  but  the  balance  of  opinion  seems  to  be 
that  the  native  name  of  Bombay,  Maharashtra,  is  derived 
from  that  of  the  caste,  as  suggested  by  Wilson.  Another 
derivation  which  holds  it  to  be  a  corruption  of  Maha 
Rastrakuta,  and  to  be  so  called  after  the  Rashtrakuta  Rajput 
dynasty  of  the  eighth  and  ninth  centuries,  seems  less  probable 
because    countries    are    very    seldom    named     after    ruling 

VOL.  IV  129  K 


1 30.  MAHAR  part 

dynasties.^  Whereas  in  support  of  Maharashtra  as  '  The 
country  of  the  Mahars,'  we  have  Gujarashtra  or  Gujarat,  the 
country  of  the  Gujars,  and  Saurashtra  or  Surat,  the  country 
of  the  Sauras.  According  to  Platts'  Dictionary,  however, 
Maharashtra  means  '  the  great  country,'  and  this  is  what  the 
Maratha  Brahmans  themselves  say.  Mehra  appears  to  be 
a  variant  of  the  name  current  in  the  Hindustani  Districts, 
while  Dheda,  or  Dhada,  is  said  to  be  a  corruption  of 
Dharadas  or  hillmen.'^  In  the  Punjab  it  is  said  to  be  a 
general  term  of  contempt  meaning  '  Any  low  fellow.'  ^ 

Wilson  considers  the  Mahars  to  be  an  aboriginal  or  pre- 
Aryan  tribe,  and  all  that  is  known  of  the  caste  seems  to 
point  to  the  correctness  of  this  hypothesis.  In  the  Bombay 
Gazetteer  the  writer  of  the  interesting  Gujarat  volume 
suggests  that  the  Mahars  are  fallen  Rajputs  ;  but  there 
seems  little  to  support  this  opinion  except  their  appearance 
and  countenance,  which  is  of  the  Hindu  rather  than  the 
Dravidian  type.  In  Gujarat  they  have  also  some  Rajpiit 
surnames,  as  Chauhan,  Panwar,  Rathor,  Solanki  and  so  on, 
but  these  may  have  been  adopted  by  imitation  or  may 
indicate  a  mixture  of  Rajput  blood.  Again,  the  Mahars  of 
Gujarat  are  the  farmservants  and  serfs  of  the  Kunbis. 
"  Each  family  is  closely  connected  with  the  house  of  some 
landholder  ox  pattiddr  (sharer).  For  his  master  he  brings 
in  loads  from  the  fields  and  cleans  out  the  stable,  receiving 
in  return  daily  allowances  of  buttermilk  and  the  carcases 
of  any  cattle  that  die.  This  connection  seems  to  show 
traces  of  a  form  of  slavery.  Rich  pattiddrs  have  always  a 
certain  number  of  Dheda  families  whom  they  speak  of  as 
ours  {hamm-a),  and  when  a  man  dies  he  distributes  along 
with  his  lands  a  certain  number  of  Dheda  families  to  each 
of  his  sons.  An  old  tradition  among  Dhedas  points  to  some 
relation  between  the  Kunbis  and  Dhedas.  Two  brothers, 
Leva  and  Deva,  were  the  ancestors,  the  former  of  the 
Kunbis,  the  latter  of  the  Dhedas."  *      Such  a  relation  as  this 

1   This  derivation   is  also  negatived  '^  Bombay  Gazetteer,  Gujarat  Hitidiis, 

by  the  fact  that   the  name   Mahuratta       p.  338. 

was  known  in  the  third  century  B.C.  ^  Ibbetson,   Funjab    Census    Report 

or  long  before  the  Riistrakutas  became       (1881). 

prominent.  *  Bovibay    Gazetteer,    I.e.    text    and 

footnote  by  R.  v.  J.  S.  Taylor. 


II   LENGTH  OF  RESIDENCE  IN  CENTRAL  PROVINCES^  131 

in  Hindu  society  would  imply  that  many  Mahar  women 
held  the  position  of  concubines  to  their  Kunbi  masters,  and 
would  therefore  account  for  the  resemblance  of  the  Mahar 
to  Hindus  rather  than  the  forest  tribes.  But  if  this  is  to 
be  regarded  as  evidence  of  Rajput  descent,  a  similar  claim 
would  have  to  be  allowed  to  many  of  the  Chamars  and 
sweepers.  Others  of  the  lowest  castes  also  have  Rajput 
sept  names,  as  the  Pardhis  and  Bhils  ;  but  the  fact  can  at 
most  be  taken,  I  venture  to  think,  to  indicate  a  connection 
of  the  '  Droit  dc  Seigneur '  type.  On  the  other  hand,  the 
Mahars  occupy  the  debased  and  impure  position  which  was 
the  lot  of  those  non-Aryan  tribes  who  became  subject  to 
the  Hindus  and  lived  in  their  villages  ;  they  eat  the  flesh 
of  dead  cattle  and  this  and  other  customs  appear  to  point 
decisively  to  a  non-Aryan  origin. 

Several  circumstances  indicate  that  the  Mahar  is  recog-  2.  Length 
nised  as   the  oldest  resident  of  the  plain   country  of  Berar  °^'''-'^': 

^  J  dence  in 

and  Nagpur.  In  Berar  he  is  a  village  servant  and  is  the  the  Central 
referee  on  village  boundaries  and  customs,  a  position  imply-  '^°^'"'^^^- 
ing  that  his  knowledge  of  them  is  the  most  ancient.  At 
the  Holi  festival  the  fire  of  the  Mahars  is  kindled  first  and 
that  of  the  Kunbis  is  set  alight  from  it.  The  Kamdar 
Mahar,  who  acts  as  village  watchman,  also  has  the  right  of 
bringing  the  toran  or  rope  of  leaves  which  is  placed  on  the 
marriage-shed  of  the  Kunbis  ;  and  for  this  he  receives  a 
present  of  three  annas.  In  Bhandara  the  Telis,  Lobars, 
Dhlmars  and  several  other  castes  employ  a  Mahar  Mohturia 
or  wise  man  to  fix  the  date  of  their  weddings.  And  most 
curious  of  all,  when  the  Pan  war  Rajputs  of  this  tract  cele- 
brate the  festival  of  Narayan  Deo,  they  call  a  Mahar  to 
their  house  and  make  him  the  first  partaker  of  the  feast 
before  beginning  to  eat  themselves.  Again  in  Berar  ^  the 
Mahar  officiates  at  the  killing  of  the  buffalo  on  Dasahra. 
On  the  day  before  the  festival  the  chief  Mahar  of  the  village 
and  his  wife  with  their  garments  knotted  together  bring 
some  earth  from  the  jungle  and  fashioning  two  images  set 
one  on  a  clay  elephant  and  the  other  on  a  clay  bullock. 
The  images  are  placed  on  a  small  platform  outside  the 
village  site  and  worshipped  ;  a  young  he-buffalo  is  bathed 

1  Kitts'  Berar  Census  Report  (1881),  p.  143. 


132, 


MAHAR 


and  brought  before  the  images  as  though  for  the  same 
object.  The  Patel  wounds  the  buffalo  in  the  nose  with  a 
sword  and  it  is  then  marched  through  the  village.  In  the 
evening  it  is  killed  by  the  head  Mahar,  buried  in  the 
customary  spot,  and  any  evil  that  might  happen  during  the 
coming  year  is  thus  deprecated  and,  it  is  hoped,  averted. 
The  claim  to  take  the  leading  part  in  this  ceremony  is  the 
occasion  of  many  a  quarrel  and  an  occasional  affray  or  riot. 
Such  customs  tend  to  show  that  the  Mahars  were  the 
earliest  immigrants  from  Bombay  into  the  Berar  and  Nagpur 
plain,  excluding  of  course  the  Gonds  and  other  tribes,  who 
have  practically  been  ousted  from  this  tract.  And  if  it  is 
supposed  that  the  Panwars  came  here  in  the  tenth  century, 
as  seems  not  improbable,^  the  Mahars,  whom  the  Panwars 
recognise  as  older  residents  than  themselves,  must  have  been 
earlier  still,  and  were  probably  numbered  among  the  subjects 
of  the  old  Hindu  kingdoms  of  Bhandak  and  Nagardhan. 

3.  Legend  The   Mahars  say  they  are  descended   from   Mahamuni, 
of  origin.     ^^Y\Q  was  a  foundling  picked   up  by  the  goddess  Parvati  on 

the  banks  of  the  Ganges.  At  this  time  beef  had  not  become 
a  forbidden  food  ;  and  when  the  divine  cow,  Tripad  Gayatri, 
died,  the  gods  determined  to  cook  and  eat  her  body  and 
Mahamuni  was  set  to  watch  the  pot  boiling.  He  was  as 
inattentive  as  King  Alfred,  and  a  piece  of  flesh  fell  out  of 
the  pot.  Not  wishing  to  return  the  dirty  piece  to  the  pot 
Mahamuni  ate  it  ;  but  the  gods  discovered  the  delinquency, 
and  doomed  him  and  his  descendants  to  live  on  the  flesh  of 
dead  cows.^ 

4.  Sub-  The  caste  have  a  number  of  subdivisions,  generally  of  a 
local  or  territorial  type,  as  Daharia,  the  residents  of  Dahar 
or  the  Jubbulpore  country,  Baonia  (52)  of  Berar,  Nemadya 
or  from  Nimar,  Khandeshi  from  Khandesh,  and  so  on  ;  the 
Katia  group  are  probably  derived  from  that  caste,  Katia 
meaning  a  spinner  ;  the  Barkias  are  another  group  whose 
name  is  supposed  to  mean  spinners  of  fine  thread  ;  while 
the  Lonarias  are  salt-makers.  The  highest  division  are  the 
Somvansis  or  children  of  the  moon  ;  these  claim  to  have 
taken   part  with  the   Pandavas  against  the  Kauravas  in   the 

*  See  article  on  Panwar  Rajput. 
5  Perar  Census  Report  (1881),  p.  144. 


castes. 


II       RXOGAMOUS  GROUPS  AND  MARRIAGE  GROUPS    133 

war  of  the  Mahabharata,  and  subsequently  to  have  settled 
in  Maharashtra^  But  the  Somvansi  Mahars  consent  to 
groom  horses,  which  the  Baone  and  Kosaria  subcastes  will 
not  do.  Baone  and  Somvansi  Mahars  will  take  food  together, 
but  will  not  intermarry.  The  Ladwan  subcaste  are  supposed 
to  be  the  offspring  of  kept  women  of  the  Somvansi  Mahars  ; 
and  in  Wardha  the  Dhfirmik  group  are  also  the  descendants 
of  illicit  unions  and  their  name  is  satirical,  meaning  '  virtuous.' 
As  has  been  seen,  the  caste  have  a  subdivision  named  Katia, 
which  is  the  name  of  a  separate  Hindustani  caste  ;  and 
other  subcastes  have  names  belonging  to  northern  India,  as 
the  Mahobia,  from  Mahoba  in  the  United  Provinces,  the 
Kosaria  or  those  from  Chhattlsgarh,  and  the  Kanaujia  from 
Kanauj.  This  may  perhaps  be  taken  to  indicate  that  bodies 
of  the  Kori  and  Katia  weaving  castes  of  northern  India 
have  been  amalgamated  with  the  Mahars  in  Districts  where 
they  have  come  together  along  the  Satpura  Hills  and 
Nerbudda  Valley. 

The    caste    have   also    a    large    number   of  exogamous  5.  Exo- 
groups,  the  names  of  which  are  usually  derived  from  plants,  froups\nd 
animals,    and    natural    objects.      A    few    may   be    given    as  marriage 
examples  out  of  fifty-seven  recorded  in  the  Central  Provinces, 
though  this  is  far  from  representing  the  real  total  ;  all  the 
common  animals  have  septs  named  after  them,  as  the  tiger, 
cobra,  tortoise,  peacock,  jackal,  lizard,  elephant,  lark,  scorpion, 
calf,  and  so  on  ;    while  more  curious  names   are — Darpan, 
a  mirror  ;   Khanda   Phari,  sword   and  shield  ;   Undrimaria,  a 
rat-killer  ;  Aglavi,  an   incendiary  ;    Andhare,  a  blind   man  ; 
Kutramaria,  a  dog-killer  ;   Kodu  Dudh,  sour  milk  ;   Khobra- 
gade,  cocoanut-kernel  ;  Bhajikhai,  a  vegetable  eater,  and  so  on. 

A  man  must  not  marry  in  his  own  sept,  but  may  take 
a  wife  from  his  mother's  or  grandmother's.  A  sister's  son 
may  marry  a  brother's  daughter,  but  not  vice  versa.  A  girl 
who  is  seduced  before  marriage  by  a  man  of  her  own  caste 
or  any  higher  one  can  be  married  as  if  she  were  a  widow, 
but  if  she  has  a  child  she  must  first  get  some  other  family  to 
take  it  off  her  hands.  The  custom  of  Lamjliana  or  serving 
for  a  wife  is  recognised,  and  the  expectant  bridegroom  will 
live  with  his  father-in-law  and  work  for  him  for  a  period 
^  Kitts'  Berdr  Census  Rc/ort,  p.  144. 


134  MAHAR  part 

varying  from  one  to  five  years.  The  marriage  ceremony 
follows  the  customary  Hindustani  or  Maratha  ritual  ^  as  the 
case  may  be.  In  Wardha  the  right  foot  of  the  bridegroom 
and  the  left  one  of  the  bride  are  placed  together  in  a  new 
basket,  while  they  stand  one  on  each  side  of  the  threshold. 
They  throw  five  handfuls  of  coloured  rice  over  each  other, 
and  each  time,  as  he  throws,  the  bridegroom  presses  his  toe 
on  the  bride's  foot ;  at  the  end  he  catches  the  girl  by  the 
finger  and  the  marriage  is  complete.  In  the  Central  Provinces 
the  Mohturia  or  caste  priest  officiates  at  weddings,  but 
in  Berar,  Mr.  Kitts  states,^  the  caste  employ  the  Brahman 
Joshi  or  village  priest.  But  as  he  will  not  come  to  their 
house  they  hold  the  wedding  on  the  day  that  one  takes  place 
among  the  higher  castes,  and  when  the  priest  gives  the  signal 
the  dividing  cloth  (Antarpat)  between  the  couple  is  with- 
drawn, and  the  garments  of  the  bride  and  bridegroom  are 
knotted,  while  the  bystanders  clap  their  hands  and  pelt  the 
couple  with  coloured  grain.  As  the  priest  frequently  takes 
up  his  position  on  the  roof  of  the  house  for  a  wedding  it  is 
easy  for  the  Mahars  to  see  him.  In  Mandla  some  of  the 
lower  class  of  Brahmans  will  officiate  at  the  weddings  of 
Mahars.  In  Chhindwara  the  Mahars  seat  the  bride  and 
bridegroom  in  the  frame  of  a  loom  for  the  ceremony,  and 
they  worship  the  hide  of  a  cow  or  bullock  filled  with  water. 
They  drink  togethei;  ceremoniously,  a  pot  of  liquor  being 
placed  on  a  folded  cloth  and  all  the  guests  sitting  round 
it  in  a  circle.  An  elder  man  then  lays  a  new  piece  of 
cloth  on  the  pot  and  worships  it.  He  takes  a  cup  of 
the  liquor  himself  and  hands  round  a  cupful  to  every  person 
present. 

In  Mandla  at  a  wedding  the  barber  comes  and  cuts  the 
bride's  nails,  and  the  cuttings  are  rolled  up  in  dough  and 
placed  in  a  little  earthen  pot  beside  the  marriage-post.  The 
bridegroom's  nails  and  hair  are  similarly  cut  in  his  own 
house  and  placed  in  another  vessel.  A  month  or  two  after 
the  wedding  the  two  little  pots  are  taken  out  and  thrown 
into  the  Nerbudda.  A  wedding  costs  the  bridegroom's 
party  about  Rs.  40  or  Rs.  50  and  the  bride's  about  Rs.  25. 

'  Described  in  the  articles  on  Kurmi  and  Kunbi. 
^  Loc.  cit. 


II  FUNERAL  RITES  135 

They  have  no  going-avvay  ceremony,  but  the  occasion  of 
a  girl's  coming  to  maturity  is  known  as  Bolawan.  She 
is  kept  apart  for  six  clays  and  given  new  clothes,  and  the 
caste-people  are  invited  to  a  meal.  When  a  woman's 
husband  dies  the  barber  breaks  her  bangles,  and  her  anklets 
are  taken  off  and  given  to  him  as  his  perquisite.  Her 
brother-in-law  or  other  relative  gives  her  a  new  white  cloth, 
and  she  wears  this  at  first,  and  afterwards  white  or  coloured 
clothes  at  her  pleasure.  Her  hair  is  not  cut,  and  she  may 
wear  patelas  or  flat  metal  bangles  on  the  forearm  and 
armlets  above  the  elbow,  but  not  other  ornaments.  A 
widow  is  under  no  obligation  to  marry  her  first  husband's 
younger  brother  ;  when  she  marries  a  stranger  he  usually 
pays  a  sum  of  about  Rs.  30  to  her  parents.  When  the 
price  has  been  paid  the  couple  exchange  a  ring  and  a  bangle 
respectively  in  token  of  the  agreement.  When  the  woman 
is  proceeding  to  her  second  husband's  house,  her  old  clothes, 
necklace  and  bangles  are  thrown  into  a  river  or  stream  and 
she  is  given  new  ones  to  wear.  This  is  done  to  lay  the 
first  husband's  spirit,  which  may  be  supposed  to  hang  about 
the  clothes  she  wore  as  his  wife,  and  when  they  are  thrown 
away  or  buried  the  exorcist  mutters  spells  over  them  in 
order  to  lay  the  spirit.  No  music  is  allowed  at  the  marriage 
of  a  widow  except  the  crooked  trumpet  called  singdra.  A 
bachelor  who  marries  a  widow  must  first  go  through  a  mock 
ceremony  with  a  cotton-plant,  a  sword  or  a  ring.  Divorce 
must  be  effected  before  the  caste  pancJidyat  or  committee, 
and  if  a  divorced  woman  marries  again,  her  first  husband 
performs  funeral  and  mourning  ceremonies  as  if  she  were 
dead.  In  Gujarat  the  practice  is  much  more  lax  and 
"  divorce  can  be  obtained  almost  to  an  indefinite  extent. 
Before  they  finally  settle  down  to  wedded  life  most  couples 
have  more  than  once  changed  their  partners."  ^  But  here 
also,  before  the  change  takes  place,  there  must  be  a  formal 
divorce  recognised  by  the  caste. 

The  caste  either  burn   or    bury  the    dead   and   observe  6.  Funeral 
mourning   for  three  days,^  having  their   houses  w^hitewashed  "^^^' 
and  their  faces  shaved.      On  the  tenth  day  they  give  a  feast 

^  Bombay  Gazetteer,  Gujarat  Hindus,  ^  In     Berar     for    ten    days- — Kitts' 

loc.  cit.  Berar  Census  Report,  I.e. 


136 


MAHAR 


7.  Child- 
birth. 


8.  Names. 


to  the  caste-fellows.  On  the  Akshaya  Tritia'  and  the  30th  day 
of  Kunwar  (September)  they  offer  rice  and  cakes  to  the  crows 
in  the  names  of  their  ancestors.  In  Berar  Mr.  Kitts  writes:'"^ 
"  If  a  Mahar's  child  has  died,  he  will  on  the  third  day  place 
bread  on  the  grave  ;  if  an  infant,  milk  ;  if  an  adult,  on  the 
tenth  day,  with  five  pice  in  one  hand  and  five  betel-leaves 
in  the  other,  he  goes  into  the  river,  dips  himself  five  times 
and  throws  these  things  away  ;  he  then  places  five  lighted 
lamps  on  the  tomb,  and  after  these  simple  ceremonies  gets 
himself  shaved  as  though  he  were  an  orthodox  Hindu." 

In  Mandla  the  mother  is  secluded  at  childbirth  in  a 
separate  house  if  one  is  available,  and  if  not  they  fence  in  a 
part  of  the  veranda  for  her  use  with  bamboo  screens.  After 
the  birth  the  mother  must  remain  impure  until  the  barber 
comes  and  colours  her  toe-nails  and  draws  a  line  round  her 
feet  with  red  mahur  powder.  This  is  indispensable,  and  if 
the  barber  is  not  immediately  available  she  must  wait  until 
his  services  can  be  obtained.  When  the  navel-string  drops 
it  is  buried  in  the  place  on  which  the  mother  sat  while  giving 
birth,  and  when  this  has  been  done  the  purification  may  be 
effected.  The  Dhobi  is  then  called  to  wash  the  clothes  of 
the  household,  and  their  earthen  pots  are  thrown  away.  The 
head  of  the  newborn  child  is  shaved  clean,  as  the  birth-hair 
is  considered  to  be  impure,  and  the  hair  is  wrapped  up  in 
dough  and  thrown  into  a  river. 

A  child  is  named  on  the  seventh  or  twelfth  day  after  its 
birth,  the  name  being  chosen  by  the  Mohturia  or  caste  head- 
man. The  ordinary  Hindu  names  of  deities  for  men  and 
sacred  rivers  or  pious  and  faithful  wives  for  women  are 
employed  ;  instances  of  the  latter  being  Ganga,  Godavari, 
Jamuna,  Slta,  Laxmi  and  Radha.  Opprobrious  names  are 
sometimes  given  to  avert  ill-luck,  as  Damdya  (purchased  for 
eight  cowries),  Kauria  (a  cowrie),  Bhikaria  (a  beggar),  Ghusia 
(from  ghus,  a  mallet  for  stamping  earth),  Harchatt  (refuse), 
Akali  (born  in  famine-time),  Langra  (lame),  Lula  (having  an 
arm  useless)  ;  or  the  name  of  another  low  caste  is  given,  as 
Bhangi  (sweeper),  Domari  (Dom  sweeper),  Chamra  (tanner), 
Basori  (basket-maker).    Not  infrequently  children  are  named 

'   3rd  Baisakh  (April)  Sudi,  commencement  of  agricultural  year. 
'^  Bcrdr  Census  Report,  I.e. 


II       RELIGION— ADOPTION  OF  FOREIGN  RELIGIONS    137 

after  the  month  or  day  when  they  were  born,  as  Pusau, 
born  in  Pus  (December),  Chaitii,  born  in  Chait  (March), 
Manglu  (born  on  Tuesday),  Buddhi  (born  on  Wednesday), 
Sukka  (born  on  Friday),  Sanlchra  (born  on  Saturday).  One 
boy  was  called  Mulua  or  'Sold'  {nwl-deiia).  His  mother 
had  no  other  children,  so  sold  him  for  one  pice  (farthing)  to 
a  Gond  woman.  After  five  or  six  months,  as  he  did  not  get 
fat,  his  name  was  changed  to  Jhuma  or  'lean,'  probably  as 
an  additional  means  of  averting  ill-luck.  Another  boy  was 
named  Ghurka,  from  the  noise  he  made  when  being  suckled. 
A  child  born  in  the  absence  of  its  father  is  called  Sonwa,  or 
one  born  in  an  empty  house. 

The  great  body  of  the  caste  worship  the  ordinary  deities  9.  Reii- 
Devi,  Hanuman,  Dulha  Deo,  and  others,  though  of  course  ^'°"' 
they  are  not  allowed  to  enter  Hindu  temples.  They  princi- 
pally observe  the  Holi  and  Dasahra  festivals  and  the  days 
of  the  new  and  full  moon.  On  the  festival  of  Nag-Panchmi 
they  make  an  image  of  a  snake  with  flour  and  sugar  and  eat 
it.  At  the  sacred  Ambala  tank  at  Ramtek  the  Mahars  have 
a  special  bathing-ghat  set  apart  for  them,  and  they  may 
enter  the  citadel  and  go  as  far  as  the  lowest  step  leading 
up  to  the  temples  ;  here  they  worship  the  god  and  think 
that  he  accepts  their  offerings.  They  are  thus  permitted  to 
traverse  the  outer  enclosures  of  the  citadel,  which  are  also 
sacred.  In  Wardha  the  Mahars  may  not  touch  the  shrines 
of  ]\Iahadeo,  but  must  stand  before  them  with  their  hands 
joined.  They  may  sometimes  deposit  offerings  with  their 
own  hands  on  those  of  Bhlmsen,  originally  a  Gond  god,  and 
Mata  Devi,  the  goddess  of  smallpox. 

In    Berar   and    Bombay   the  Mahars   have  some  curious  10.  Adop- 
forms    of    belief.        "  Of    the    confusion    which    obtains    in  [Q°"i°[^ 
the    Mahiir   theogony   the   names  of   six   of  their   gods   will  religions, 
afford   a   striking    example.      While   some    Mahars    worship 
Vithoba,    the    god    of    Pandharpur,    others    revere    Varuna's 
twin  sons,  Meghoni  and   Deghoni,  and   his   four  messengers, 
Gabriel,   Azrael,    Michael    and    Anadin,   all    of  whom    they 
sa}^  hail  from  Pandharpur,"  ^    The  names  of  archangels  thus 
mixed  up  with  Hindu  deities  may  most   probably  have  been 
obtained   from   the  Muhammadans,  as  they  include  Azrael  ; 

^   Ben'ir  Census  Report,  I.e. 


138  MAHAR  PART 

but  in  Gujarat  their  religion  appears  to  have  been  borrowed 
from  Christianity.  "The  Karia  Dhedas  have  some  rather 
remarkable  beliefs.  In  the  Satya  Yug  the  Dhedas  say  they 
were  called  Satyas  ;  in  the  Dvapar  Yug  they  were  called 
Meghas ;  in  the  Treta  Yug,  Elias  ;  and  in  the  Kali  Yug, 
Dhedas.  The  name  Elias  came,  they  say,  from  a  prophet 
Elia,and  of  him  their  religious  men  have  vague  stories  ;  some 
of  them  especially  about  a  famine  that  lasted  for  three  years 
and  a  half,  easily  fitting  into  the  accounts  of  Elijah  in  the 
Jewish  Scriptures.  They  have  also  prophecies  of  a  high 
future  in  store  for  their  tribe.  The  king  or  leader  of  the 
new  era,  Kuyam  Rai  by  name,  will  marry  a  Dheda  woman  and 
will  raise  the  caste  to  the  position  of  Brahmans.  They  hold 
religious  meetings  or  ochJiavas,  and  at  these  with  great  excite- 
ment sing  songs  full  of  hope  of  the  good  things  in  store  for 
them.  When  a  man  wishes  to  hold  an  ochhava  he  invites 
the  whole  caste,  and  beginning  about  eight  in  the  evening 
they  often  spend  the  night  in  singing.  Except  perhaps  for 
a  few  sweetmeats  there  is  no  eating  or  drinking,  and  the 
excitement  is  altogether  religious  and  musical.  The  singers 
are  chiefly  religious  Dhedas  or  Bhagats,  and  the  people  join 
in  a  refrain  '  Avore  Kiiydni  Rai  Raja,  Oh  !  come  Kuyam  Rai, 
our  king.'  "  ^  It  seems  that  the  attraction  which  outside  faiths 
exercise  on  the  Mahars  is  the  hope  held  out  of  ameliorating 
the  social  degradation  under  which  they  labour,  itself  an  out- 
come of  the  Hindu  theory  of  caste.  Hence  they  turn  to  Islam, 
or  to  what  is  possibly  a  degraded  version  of  the  Christian 
story,  because  these  religions  do  not  recognise  caste,  and  hold 
out  a  promise  to  the  Mahar  of  equality  with  his  co-religionists, 
and  in  the  case  of  Christianity  of  a  recompense  in  the  world 
to  come  for  the  sufferings  which  he  has  to  endure  in  this  one. 
Similarly,  the  Mahars  are  the  warmest  adherents  of  the 
Muhammadan  saint  Sheikh  Farld,  and  flock  to  the  fairs  held 
in  his  honour  at  Girar  in  Wardha  and  Partapgarh  in  Bhandara, 
where    he    is    supposed    to    have  slain   a  couple  of  giants." 

'  Bivnbav  Gazellecr,Giijarrit  Hindus.  and  had  been  annexed  by  the  Muham- 
2  It  was  formerly  suggested  that  the  madan  priests  ;  and  the  legend  of  the 
fact  of  the  Mahars  being  the  chief  giant,  who  miglit  represent  the  demon- 
worshippers  at  the  shrines  of  Sheikh  olatry  of  the  aboriginal  faith,  being  slain 
I''arid  indicated  that  the  places  them-  by  the  saint  might  be  a  parable,  so  to 
selves  had  been  previously  held  sacred,  say,  expressing    this    process.      But    in 


ii'  SUPERSTITIONS  139 

In  Berar  ^  also  they  revere  Muhammadan  tombs.  The 
remains  of  the  Muhammadan  fort  and  tank  on  Pimpardol 
hill  in  Jalgaon  taluk  are  now  one  of  the  sacred  places  of 
the  Mahars,  though  to  the  Muhammadans  they  have  no 
religious  associations.  Even  at  present  Mahars  are  inclined 
to  adopt  Islam,  and  a  case  was  recently  reported  when  a  body 
of  twenty  of  them  set  out  to  do  so,  but  turned  back  on  being 
told  that  they  would  not  be  admitted  to  the  mosque.-  A 
large  proportion  of  the  Mahars  are  also  adherents  of  the 
Kablrpanthi  sect,  one  of  the  main  tenets  of  whose  founder 
was  the  abolition  of  caste.  And  it  is  from  the  same  point 
of  view  that  Christianity  appeals  to  them,  enabling  European 
missionaries  to  draw  a  large  number  of  converts  from  this 
caste.  But  even  the  Hindu  attitude  towards  the  Mahars  is 
not  one  of  unmixed  intolerance.  Once  in  three  or  four 
years  in  the  southern  Districts,  the  Panwars,  Mahars,  Pankas 
and  other  castes  celebrate  the  worship  of  Narayan  Deo  or 
Vishnu,  the  officiating  priest  being  a  Mahar.  Members  of 
all  castes  come  to  the  Panwar's  house  at  night  for  the 
ceremony,  and  a  vessel  of  water  is  placed  at  the  door  in 
which  they  wash  their  feet  and  hands  as  they  enter  ;  and 
when  inside  they  are  all  considered  to  be  equal,  and  they 
sit  in  a  line  and  eat  the  same  food,  and  bind  wreaths 
of  flowers  round  their  heads.  After  the  cock  crows  the 
equality  of  status  is  ended,  and  no  one  who  goes  out  of  the 
house  can  enter  again.  At  present  also  many  educated 
Brahmans  recognise  fully  the  social  evils  resulting  from  the 
degraded  position  of  the  Mahars,  and  are  doing  their  best 
to  remove  the  caste  prejudices  against  them. 

They  have  various  spells  to  cure  a  man  possessed  of  an  n.  Super- 
evil  spirit,  or  stung  by  a  snake  or  scorpion,  or  likely  to  be  in 
danger  from  tigers  or  wild  bears  ;  and  in  the  Morsi  taluk  of 
Berar  it  is  stated  that  they  so  greatly  fear  the  effect  of  an  enemy 


view  of  the  way  in  which  the  Mehtars  highly  improbable  that  Sheikh  Farld, 

worship    Musalman    saints,    it    seems  a  well-known  saint  of  northern  India, 

quite  likely  that  the  Mahars  might  do  can    ever    have    been     within    several 

so  for  the  same  reason,  that  is,  because  hundred  miles  of  either  of  the  places 

Islam  partly  frees  them  from  the  utter  with  which  they  connect  him. 

degradation     imposed     by    Hinduism.  ,    „  ,,      ^    ,^ 

D  ^u     •  V  „  f  .,.u        A^  rrom  Mr.  C.  Browns  notes. 

Both  views  may  have  some  truth.      As 

regards   the   legends   themselves,   it    is  "^   C.P.  Police  Gazette. 


I40  MAHAR  PART 

writing  their  name  on  a  piece  of  paper  and  tying  it  to  a 
sweeper's  broom  that  the  threat  to  do  this  can -be  used  with 
great  effect  by  their  creditors.^  To  drive  out  the  evil  eye 
they  make  a  small  human  image  of  powdered  turmeric  and 
throw  it  into  boiled  water,  mentioning  as  they  do  so  the 
names  of  any  persons  whom  they  suspect  of  having  cast  the 
evil  eye  upon  them.  Then  the  pot  of  water  is  taken  out  at 
midnight  of  a  Wednesday  or  a  Sunday  and  placed  upside 
down  on  some  cross-roads  with  a  shoe  over  it,  and  the 
sufferer  should  be  cured.  Their  belief  about  the  sun  and 
moon  is  that  an  old  woman  had  two  sons  who  were  invited 
by  the  gods  to  dinner.  Before  they  left  she  said  to  them 
that  as  they  were  going  out  there  would  be  no  one  to  cook,  so 
they  must  remember  to  bring  back  something  for  her.  The 
elder  brother  forgot  what  his  mother  had  said  and  took 
nothing  away  with  him  ;  but  the  younger  remembered  her 
and  brought  back  something  from  the  feast.  So  when  they 
came  back  the  old  woman  cursed  the  elder  brother  and  said 
that  as  he  had  forgotten  her  he  should  be  the  sun  and  scorch 
and  dry  up  all  vegetation  with  his  beams  ;  but  the  younger 
brother  should  be  the  moon  and  make  the  world  cool  and 
pleasant  at  night.  The  story  is  so  puerile  that  it  is  only 
worth  reproduction  as  a  specimen  of  the  level  of  a  Mahar's 
intelligence.  The  belief  in  evil  spirits  appears  to  be  on  the 
decline,  as  a  result  of  education  and  accumulated  experience. 
Mr.  C.  Brown  states  that  in  Malkapur  of  Berar  the  Mahars  say 
that  there  are  no  wandering  spirits  in  the  hills  by  night  of 
such  a  nature  that  people  need  fear  them.  There  are  only 
tiny  pari  or  fairies,  small  creatures  in  human  form,  but 
with  the  power  of  changing  their  appearance,  who  do  no 
harm  to  any  one. 
12.  Social  When  an  outsider  is  to  be  received  into  the  community 

all  the  hair  on  his  face  is  shaved,  being  wetted  with  the  urine 
of  a  boy  belonging  to  the  group  to  which  he  seeks  admission. 
Mahars  will  eat  all  kinds  of  food  including  the  flesh  of 
crocodiles  and  rats,  but  some  of  them  abstain  from  beef. 
There  is  nothing  peculiar  in  their  dress  except  that  the  men 
wear  a  black  woollen  thread  round  their  necks.^  The 
women    may    be     recognised    by    their    bold    carriage,    the 

'  Kitts,  I.e.  2  ihideni. 


rules. 


II  SOCIAL  RULES  141 

absence  of  nose-rings  and  the  large  irregular  dabs  of  ver- 
milion on  the  forehead.  Mahar  women  do  not,  as  a  rule, 
wear  the  choli  or  breast-cloth.  An  unmarried  girl  does  not 
put  on  vermilion  nor  draw  her  cloth  over  her  head.  Women 
must  be  tattooed  with  dots  on  the  face,  representations  of 
scorpions,  flowers  and  snakes  on  the  arms  and  legs,  and  some 
dots  to  represent  flies  on  the  hands.  It  is  the  custom  for  a 
girl's  father  or  mother  or  father-in-law  to  have  her  tattooed 
in  one  place  on  the  hand  or  arm  immediately  on  her  marriage. 
Then  when  girls  are  sitting  together  they  will  show  this 
mark  and  say,  '  My  mother  or  father-in-law  had  this  done,' 
as  the  case  may  be.  Afterwards  if  a  woman  so  desires 
she  gets  herself  tattooed  on  her  other  limbs.  If  an  un- 
married girl  or  widow  becomes  with  child  by  a  man  of  the 
Mahar  caste  or  any  higher  one  she  is  subjected  after  delivery 
to  a  semblance  of  the  purification  by  fire  known  as 
Agnikasht.  She  is  taken  to  the  bank  of  a  river  and  there 
five  stalks  of  juari  are  placed  round  her  and  burnt.  Having 
fasted  all  day,  at  night  she  gives  a  feast  to  the  caste-men  and 
eats  with  them.  If  she  offends  with  a  man  of  lower  caste 
she  is  finally  expelled.  Temporary  exclusion  from  caste 
is  imposed  for  taking  food  or  drink  from  the  hands  of  a 
Mang  or  Chamar  or  for  being  imprisoned  in  jail,  or  on  a 
Mahar  man  if  he  lives  with  a  woman  of  any  higher  caste  ; 
the  penalty  being  the  shaving  of  a  man's  face  or  cutting  off 
a  lock  of  a  woman's  hair,  together  with  a  feast  to  the 
caste.  In  the  last  case  it  is  said  that  the  man  is  not  re- 
admitted until  he  has  put  the  woman  away.  If  a  man  touches 
a  dead  dog,  cat,  pony  or  donkey,  he  has  to  be  shaved  and 
give  a  feast  to  the  caste.  And  if  a  dog  or  cat  dies  in  his 
house,  or  a  litter  of  puppies  or  kittens  is  born,  the  house  is 
considered  to  be  defiled  ;  all  the  earthen  pots  must  be  thrown 
away,  the  whole  house  washed  and  cleaned  and  a  caste  feast 
given.  The  most  solemn  oath  of  a  Mahar  is  by  a  cat  or  dog 
and  in  Yeotmal  by  a  black  dog.^  In  Berar,  the  same  paper 
states,  the  pig  is  the  only  animal  regarded  as  unclean,  and 
they  must  on  no  account  touch  it.  This  is  probably  owing 
to  Muhammadan  influence.  The  worst  social  sin  which  a 
Mahar  can  commit  is  to  get  vermin  in  a  wound,  which  is 
1  Stated  by  Mr.  C.  Brown. 


142  MAHAR  part 

known  as  Deogan  or  being  smitten  by  God.  While  the 
affliction  continues  he  is  quite  ostracised,  no  one  going  to  his 
house  or  giving  him  food  or  water  ;  and  when  it  is  cured  the 
Mahars  of  ten  or  twelve  surrounding  villages  assemble  and 
he  must  give  a  feast  to  the  whole  community.  The  reason 
for  this  calamity  being  looked  upon  with  such  peculiar 
abhorrence  is  obscure,  but  the  feeling  about  it  is  general 
among  Hindus. 
13.  Social  The  social  position  of  the  Mahars  is  one  of  distressing 

subjection,  (jegj-adation.  Their  touch  is  considered  to  defile  and  they  live 
in  a  quarter  by  themselves  outside  the  village.  They  usually 
have  a  separate  well  assigned  to  them  from  which  to  draw 
water,  and  if  the  village  has  only  one  well  the  Mahars  and 
Hindus  take  water  from  different  sides  of  it.  Mahar  boys 
were  not  until  recently  allowed  to  attend  school  with  Hindu 
boys,  and  when  they  could  not  be  refused  admission  to 
Government  schools,  they  were  allotted  a  small  corner  of 
the  veranda  and  separately  taught.  When  Dher  boys  were 
first  received  into  the  Chanda  High  School  a  mutiny  took 
place  and  the  school  was  boycotted  for  some  time.  The 
people  say,  '  Malidr  sarva  jdticlia  bdhar,'  or  '  The  Mahar  is 
outside  all  castes.'  Having  a  bad  name,  they  are  also 
given  unwarrantably  a  bad  character  ;  and  '  Mahar  Jdtichd'  is 
a  phrase  used  for  a  man  with  no  moral  or  kindly  feelings. 
But  in  theory  at  least,  as  conforming  to  Hinduism,  they  were 
supposed  to  be  better  than  Muhammadans  and  other  unbe- 
lievers, as  shown  by  the  following  story  from  the  Rasmala  :  ^ 
A  Muhammadan  sovereign  asked  his  Hindu  minister 
which  was  the  lowest  caste.  The  minister  begged  for  leisure 
to  consider  his  reply  and,  having  obtained  it,  went  to  where 
the  Dhedas  lived  and  said  to  them  :  "  You  have  given  offence 
to  the  Padishah.  It  is  his  intention  to  deprive  you  of  caste 
and  make  you  Muhammadans."  The  Dhedas,  in  the  greatest 
terror,  pushed  off  in  a  body  to  the  sovereign's  palace,  and 
standing  at  a  respectful  distance  shouted  at  the  top  of  their 
lungs  :  "  If  we've  offended  your  majesty,  punish  us  in  some 
other  way  than  that.  Beat  us,  fine  us,  hang  us  if  you  like, 
but  don't  make  us  Muhammadans."  The  Padishah  smiled, 
and  turning  to  his  minister  who  sat  by  him  affecting  to  hear 

1  Vol.  ii.  p.  237. 


Hetnrose,  Coilo.,  Derby. 

WEAVING-SIZING    THE    WARP. 


SOCIAL  SUBJECTION  143 

nothing,  said,  *  So  the  lowest  caste  is  that  to  which  I  belong.' 
But  of  course  this  cannot  be  said  to  represent  the  general 
view  of  the  position  of  Muhammadans  in  Hindu  eyes  ;  they, 
like  the  English,  are  regarded  as  distinguished  foreigners, 
who,  if  they  consented  to  be  proselytised,  would  probably 
in  time  become  Brahmans  or  at  least  Rajputs.  A  repartee 
of  a  Mahar  to  a  Brahman  abusing  him  is  :  The  Brahman, 
^  Jdre  Mahdrya'  or  '  Avaunt,  ye  Mahar'  ;  the  Mahar,  '  Kona 
diusJii  neiti  tmnchi goburya'  or  'Some  day  I  shall  carry  cow- 
dung  cakes  for  you  (at  his  funeral) '  ;  as  in  the  Maratha 
Districts  the  Mahar  is  commonly  engaged  for  carrying  fuel 
to  the  funeral  pyre.  Under  native  rule  the  Mahar  was 
subjected  to  painful  degradations.  He  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  made  to  drag  a  thorny  branch 
with  him  to  brush  out  his  footsteps,  and  when  a  Brahman 
came  by  had  to  lie  at  a  distance  on  his  face  lest  his  shadow 
might  fall  on  the  Brahman.  In  Gujarat"  they  were  not 
allowed  to  tuck  up  the  loin-cloth  but  had  to  trail  it  along 
the  ground.  Even  quite  recently  in  Bombay  a  Mahar  was 
not  allowed  to  talk  loudly  in  the  street  while  a  well-to-do 
Brahman  or  his  wife  was  dining  in  one  of  the  houses.  In 
the  reign  of  Sidhraj,  the  great  Solanki  Raja  of  Gujarat,  the 
Dheras  were  for  a  time  at  any  rate  freed  from  such  dis- 
abilities by  the  sacrifice  of  one  of  their  number,^  The  great 
tank  at  Anhilvada  Patan  in  Gujarat  had  been  built  by  the 
Ods  (navvies),  but  Sidhraj  desired  Jusma  Odni,  one  of  their 
wives,  and  sought  to  possess  her.  But  the  Ods  fled  with 
her  and  when  he  pursued  her  she  plunged  a  dagger  into 
her  stomach,  cursing  Sidhraj  and  saying  that  his  tank  should 
never  hold  water.  The  Raja,  returning  to  Anhilvada,  found 
the  tank  dry,  and  asked  his  minister  what  should  be  done 
that  water  might  remain  in  the  tank.  The  Pardhan,  after 
consulting  the  astrologers,  said  that  if  a  man's  life  were 
sacrificed  the  curse  might  be  removed.  At  that  time  the 
Dhers  or  outcastes  were  compelled  to  live  at  a  distance  from 

1  Bombay  Gazetteer,  \'o\.  xii.  p.  175.  •'  The  following  passage  is  taken  from 

2  ^Q^v.K.T<^y\ov\n  Bombay  Gazetteer,       Forbes,  A'asma/a,  i.  p.  112. 
Gujarat  Hindus,  p.  341  f. 


144 


MAHAR 


14.  Their 

position 

improving. 


15.  Occu- 
pation. 


the  towns  ;  they  wore  untwisted  cotton  round  their  heads 
and  a  stag's  horn  as  a  mark  hanging  from  their  waists  so 
that  people  might  be  able  to  avoid  touching  them.  The 
Raja  commanded  that  a  Dher  named  Mayo  should  be 
beheaded  in  the  tank  that  water  might  remain.  Mayo  died, 
singing  the  praises  of  Vishnu,  and  the  water  after  that  began 
to  remain  in  the  tank.  At  the  time  of  his  death  Mayo  had 
begged  as  a  reward  for  his  sacrifice  that  the  Dhers  should 
not  in  future  be  compelled  to  live  at  a  distance  from  the 
towns  nor  wear  a  distinctive  dress.  The  Raja  assented  and 
these  privileges  were  afterwards  permitted  to  the  Dhers  for 
the  sake  of  Mayo. 

From  the  painful  state  of  degradation  described  above 
the  Mahars  are  gradually  being  rescued  by  the  levelling  and 
liberalising  tendency  of  British  rule,  which  must  be  to  these 
depressed  classes  an  untold  blessing.  With  the  right  of 
acquiring  property  they  have  begun  to  assert  themselves, 
and  the  extension  of  railways  more  especially  has  a  great 
effect  in  abolishing  caste  distinctions.  The  Brahman  who 
cannot  afford  a  second-class  fare  must  either  not  travel  or 
take  the  risk  of  rubbing  shoulders  with  a  Mahar  in  a 
third-class  carriage,  and  if  he  chooses  to  consider  himself 
defiled  will  have  to  go  hungry  and  thirsty  until  he  gets  the 
opportunity  of  bathing  at  his  journey's  end.  The  observance 
of  the  rules  of  impurity  thus  becomes  so  irksome  that  they 
are  gradually  falling  into  abeyance. 

The  principal  occupations  of  the  Mahars  are  the  weaving 
of  coarse  country  cloth  and  general  labour.  They  formerly 
spun  their  own  yarn,  and  their  fabrics  were  preferred  by  the 
cultivators  for  their  durability.  But  practically  all  thread 
is  now  bought  from  the  mills  ;  and  the  weaving  industry  is 
also  in  a  depressed  condition.  Many  Mahars  have  now 
taken  to  working  in  the  mills,  and  earn  better  wages  than 
they  could  at  home.  In  Bombay  a  number  of  them  are 
employed  as  police-constables.^  They  are  usually  the  village 
watchmen  of  the  Maratha  Districts,  and  in  this  capacity 
were  remunerated  by  contributions  of  grain  from  the  tenants, 
the  hides  and  flesh  of  animals  dying  in  the  village,  and  plots 
of  rent-free  land.      For  these  have  now  been  substituted  in 

1  Bombay  Gazetteer,  vol.  xi.  p.  73. 


II  OCCUPATION  145 

the  Central  Provinces  a  cash  payment  fixed  by  Government. 
In  Berar  the  corresponding  ofiicial  is  known  as  the  Kamdar 
Mahar.  Mr.  Kitts  writes  of  him  :  ^  As  fourth  bahiteddr 
on  the  village  establishment  the  Mahar  holds  a  post  of  great 
importance  to  himself  and  convenience  to  the  village.  To 
the  patel  (headman),  patwari  and  big  men  of  the  village  he 
acts  often  as  a  personal  servant  and  errand-runner ;  for  a 
smaller  cultivator  he  will  also  at  times  carry  a  torch  or  act 
as  escort.  He  had  formerly  to  clean  the  horses  of  travellers, 
and  was  also  obliged,  if  required,  to  carry  their  baggage.^ 
For  the  services  which  he  thus  renders  as  pdndheivdr  the 
Mahar  receives  from  the  cultivators  certain  grain -dues. 
When  the  cut  juari  is  lying  in  the  field  the  Mahars  go 
round  and  beg  for  a  measure  of  the  ears  {bhik  paydli).  But 
the  regular  payment  is  made  when  the  grain  has  been 
threshed.  Another  duty  performed  by  the  Mahar  is  the 
removal  of  the  carcases  of  dead  animals.  The  flesh  is  eaten 
and  the  skin  retained  as  wage  for  the  work.  The  patel  and 
his  relatives,  however,  usually  claim  to  have  the  skins  of 
their  own  animals  returned  ;  and  in  some  places  where  half 
the  agriculturists  of  the  village  claim  kinship  with  the  patel 
the  Mahars  feel  and  resent  the  loss.  A  third  duty  is  the 
opening  of  grain-pits,  the  noxious  gas  from  which  sometimes 
produces  asphyxia.  For  this  the  Mahars  receive  the  tainted 
grain.  They  also  get  the  clothes  from  a  corpse  which  is 
laid  on  the  pyre,  and  the  pieces  of  the  burnt  wood  which 
remain  when  the  body  has  been  consumed.  Recent  observa- 
tions in  the  Nagpur  country  show  that  the  position  of  the 
Mahars  is  improving.  In  Nagpur  it  is  stated  :  ^  "  Looked 
down  upon  as  outcastes  by  the  Hindus  they  are  hampered 
by  no  sense  of  dignity  or  family  prejudice.  They  are  fond 
of  drink,  but  are  also  hard  workers.  They  turn  their  hands 
to  anything  and  everything,  but  the  great  majority  are 
agricultural  labourers.  At  present  the  rural  Mahar  is  in 
the  background.  If  there  is  only  one  well  in  the  village 
he  may  not  use  it,  but  has  to  get  his  water  where  he  can. 
His  sons  are  consigned  to  a  corner  in  the  village  school,  and 

'  Bombay  Gazetlecr,  vol.  xi.  p-  73-  ^  Ndgpw  Setlletnent  Report  (1899), 

2  Grant  Duff,  History  of  the  Mara-       p.  29. 
thas,  vol.  i.  p.  24. 

VOL.  IV  L 


caste. 


146  ■  MAHLI  PART 

the  schoolmaster,  if  not  superior  to  caste  prejudices,  dis- 
courages their  attendance.  Nevertheless,  Mahars  will  not 
remain  for  years  downtrodden  in  this  fashion,  and  are 
already  pushing  themselves  up  from  this  state  of  degrada- 
tion. In  some  places  they  have  combined  to  dig  wells,  and 
in  Nagpur  have  opened  a  school  for  members  of  their  own 
community.  Occasionally  a  Mahar  is  the  most  prosperous 
man  in  the  village.  Several  of  them  are  moneylenders  in 
a  small  way,  and  a  few  are  malguzars."  Similarly  in 
Bhandara  Mr.  Napier  writes  that  a  new  class  of  small 
creditors  has  arisen  from  the  Mahar  caste.  These  people 
have  given  up  drinking,  and  lead  an  abstemious  life,  wishing 
to  raise  themselves  in  social  estimation.  Twenty  or  more 
village  kotwars  were  found  to  be  carrying  on  moneylending 
transactions  on  a  small  scale,  and  in  addition  many  of  the 
Mahars  in  towns  were  exceedingly  well  off. 

I.  Origin  Mahli,  Mahili.^ — A  small  caste  of  labourers,  palanquin- 

°^*'^*^  bearers  and  workers  in  bamboo  belonging  to  Chota  Nagpur. 
In  191  I  about  300  Mahlis  were  returned  from  the  Feudatory 
States  in  this  tract.  They  are  divided  into  five  subcastes  : 
the  Bansphor-Mahli,  who  make  baskets  and  do  all  kinds  of 
bamboo-work  ;  the  Pahar-Mahli,  basket-makers  and  culti- 
vators ;  the  Sulunkhi,  cultivators  and  labourers  ;  the  Tanti 
who  carry  litters  ;  and  the  Mahli-Munda,  who  belong  to 
Lohardaga.  Sir  H.  Risley  states  that  a  comparison  of  the 
totemistic  sections  of  the  Mahlis  given  in  the  Appendix  to 
his  Tribes  and  Castes  with  those  of  the  Santals  seems  to 
warrant  the  conjecture  that  the  main  body  of  the  caste  are 
merely  a  branch  of  the  Santals.  Four  or  five  septs,  Hansda 
a  wild  goose,  Hemron,  Murmu  the  nilgai,  Saren  or  Sarihin, 
and  perhaps  Tudu  or  Turu  are  common  to  the  two  tribes. 
The  Mahlis  are  also  closely  connected  with  the  Mundas. 
Seven  septs  of  the  main  body  of  the  Mahlis,  Dumriar  the 
wild  fig,  Gundli  a  kind  of  grain,  Kerketa  a  bird,  Mahukal 
a  bird  (long-tail),  Tirki,  Tunduar  and  Turu  are  also  Munda 
septs  ;  and  the  three  septs  given  of  the  Mahli-Munda  sub- 
caste,    Bhuktuar,    Lang    Chenre,   and    Sanga    are   all    found 

'   This    article    consists    of    extracts       caste    in    the     Tribes    and    Castes    of 
from  Sir   H.    Risley's  account  of  the       Bengal. 


II  SOCIAL  CUSTOMS  147 

among  the  Mundas  ;  while  four  septs,  Hansda  a  wild  goose, 
Induar  a  kind  of  eel,  as  well  as  Kerketa  and  Tirki,  already 
mentioned,  are  common  to  the  Mahlis  and  Turis,  who  are 
also  recognised  by  Sir  H.  I'lisley  as  an  offshoot  of  the 
Munda  tribe  with  the  same  occupation  as  the  Mahlis,  of 
making  baskets/  The  Santrds  and  Mundas  were  no  doubt 
originally  one  tribe,  and  it  seems  that  the  MahHs  are  derived 
from  both  of  them,  and  have  become  a  separate  caste  owing 
to  their  having  settled  in  villages  more  or  less  of  the  open 
country,  and  worked  as  labourers,  palanquin-bearers  and 
bamboo-workers  much  in  the  same  manner  as  the  Turis. 
Probably  they  work  for  hire  for  Hindus,  and  hence  their 
status  may  have  fallen  lower  than  that  of  the  parent  tribe, 
who  remained  in  their  own  villages  in  the  jungles.  Colonel 
Dalton  notes "'  that  the  gipsy  Berias  use  Manjhi  and  Mahali 
as  titles,  and  it  is  possible  that  some  of  the  Mahlis  may 
have  joined  the  Beria  community. 

Only  a  very  few  points  from  Sir  H.  Risley's  account  of  2.  Social 
the  caste  need  be  recorded  here,  and  for  further  details  the  customs. 
reader  may  be  referred  to  his  article  in  the  Tribes  and  Castes 
of  Bengal.  A  bride-price  of  Rs.  5  is  customary,  but  it  varies 
according  to  the  means  of  the  parties.  On  the  wedding 
day,  before  the  usual  procession  starts  to  escort  the  bride- 
groom to  the  bride's  house,  he  is  formally  married  to  a 
mango  tree,  while  the  bride  goes  through  the  same  ceremony 
with  a  mahua.  At  the  entrance  to  the  bride's  house  the 
bridegroom,  riding  on  the  shoulders  of  some  male  relation 
and  bearing  on  his  head  a  vessel  of  water,  is  received  by 
the  bride's  brother,  equipped  in  similar  fashion,  and  the 
two  cavaliers  sprinkle  one  another  with  water.  At  the 
wedding  the  bridegroom  touches  the  bride's  forehead  five 
times  with  vermilion  and  presents  her  with  an  iron  armlet. 
The  remarriage  of  widows  and  divorce  are  permitted. 
When  a  man  divorces  his  wife  he  gives  her  a  rupee  and 
takes  away  the  iron  armlet  which  was  given  her  at  her 
wedding.  The  Mahlis  will  admit  members  of  any  higher 
caste  into  the  community.  The  candidate  for  admission 
must  pay  a  small   sum  to    the  caste  headman,  and   give  a 

'  See   lists    of  exoganious  septs  of      pendix  to  Tribes  and  Castes  of  Bengal. 
Mahli,  Sandal,  Munda  and  Puri  in  Ap-  *  Ethnolog}'  oj  Bengal,  p.  326. 


148  MAHLI  PART  II 

feast  to  the  MahHs  of  the  neighbourhood,  at  which  he  must 
eat  a  little  of  the  leavings  of  food  left  by  each  guest  on  his 
leaf-plate.  After  this  humiliating  rite  he  could  not,  of  course, 
be  taken  back  into  his  own  caste,  and  is  bound  to  remain 
a  Mahli. 


MAJHWAR 
list  of  paragraphs 

1.  Origin  of  the  iribe.  4.  Exogamy  and  totemisni. 

2.  The    Mir  zap  ur    Majhzuars  de-       5.   Marriage  cusioins. 

rived  from  the  Gonds.  6.   Birth  and  funeral  rites. 

3.  Connection  with  the  Kaiaars.  7.  Relig^ious  dance. 

Majhwar,  Manjhi,  Majhia.^ — ^A  small  mixed  tribe  who  i.  Origin 
have  apparently  originated  from  the  Gonds,  Mundas  and  ^^-^^^ 
Kawars.  About  14,000  Majhwars  were  returned  in  191 1 
from  the  Raigarh,  Sarguja  and  Udaipur  States.  The  word 
Manjhi  means  the  headman  of  a  tribal  subdivision,  being 
derived  from  the  Sanskrit  inadhya,  or  he  who  is  in  the  centre."^ 
In  Bengal  Manjhi  has  the  meaning  of  the  steersman  of  a  boat 
or  a  ferryman,  and  this  may  have  been  its  original  applica- 
tion, as  the  steersman  might  well  be  he  who  sat  in  the  centre.^ 
When  a  tribal  party  makes  an  expedition  by  boat,  the  leader 
would  naturally  occupy  the  position  of  steersman,  and  hence 
it  is  easy  to  see  how  the  term  Manjhi  came  to  be  applied  to 
the  leader  or  head  of  the  clan  and  to  be  retained  as  a  title 
for  general  use.  Sir  H.  Risley  gives  it  as  a  title  of  the 
Kewats  or  fishermen  and  many  other  castes  and  tribes  in 
Bengal.  But  it  is  also  the  name  for  a  village  headman 
among  the  Santals,  and  whether  this  meaning  is  derived 
from  the  prior  signification  of  steersman  or  is  of  independent 
origin  is  uncertain.  In  Raigarh  Mr.  Hira  Lai  states  that 
the  Manjhis  or  Majhias  are  fishermen  and  are  sometimes 
classed   with   the    Kewats.      They  appear  to   be    Kols  who 

'  This  article  is  based  on  papers  by       his  Tribes  and  Castes. 

Mr.  Hira  Lai  and  Surai  Baksh   Singh,  o  ^       ,  ..    ht  -u    -      „     t 

.     .  ,  „         .  ,■'  TT ,  •  '  Crooke,  art.  Majhwar,  para.  i. 

Assistant      Superintendent,      Udaipur 

State,  with  references  to  Mr.  Crooke's  ^   Tribes  and  Castes  of  Bengal,  art. 

exhaustive  article  on  the  Majhwars  in       Manjhi. 

149 


ISO 


MAJHWAR 


2.  The 

Mirzapur 
Majhwars 
derived 
from  the 
Gonds. 


have  taken  to  fishing  and,  being  looked  down  on  by  the 
other  Kols  on  this  account,  took  the  name  of  Majhia  or 
Manjhi,  which  they  now  derive  from  Machh,  a  fish.  "  The 
appearance  of  the  Majhias  whom  I  saw  and  examined  was 
typically  aboriginal  and  their  language  was  a  curious  mixture 
of  Mundari,  Santal  and  Korwa,  though  they  stoutly  repudi- 
ated connection  with  any  of  these  tribes.  They  could  count 
only  up  to  three  in  their  own  language,  using  the  Santal 
words  mit^  baria,  pia.  Most  of  their  terms  for  parts  of  the 
body  were  derived  from  Mundari,  but  they  also  used  some 
Santali  and  Korwa  words.  In  their  own  language  they 
called  themselves  Hor,  which  means  a  man,  and  is  the  tribal 
name  of  the  Mundas." 

On  the  other  hand  the  Majhwars  of  Mirzapur,  of  whom 
Mr.  Crooke  gives  a  detailed  and  interesting  account,  clearly 
appear  to  be  derived  from  the  Gonds.  They  have  five  sub- 
divisions, which  they  say  are  descended  from  the  five  sons 
of  their  first  Gond  ancestor.  These  are  Poiya,  Tekam, 
Marai,  Chika  and  Oiku.  Four  of  these  names  are  those  of 
Gond  clans,  and  each  of  the  five  subtribes  is  further  divided 
into  a  number  of  exogamous  septs,  of  which  a  large  pro- 
portion bear  typical  Gond  names,  as  Markam,  Netam,  Tekam, 
Masham,  Sindram  and  so  on.  The  Majhwars  of  Mirzapur 
also,,  like  the  Gonds,  employ  Patharis  or  Pardhans  as  their 
priests,  and  there  can  thus  be  no  doubt  that  they  are  mainly 
derived  from  the  Gonds,  They  would  appear  to  have  come 
to  Mirzapur  from  Sarguja  and  the  Vindhyan  and  Satpura 
hills,  as  they  say  that  their  ancestors  ruled  from  the  forts  of 
Mandla,  Garha  in  Jubbulpore,  Sarangarh,  Raigarh  and  other 
places  in  the  Central  Provinces.^  They  worship  a  deified 
Ahir,  whose  legs  were  cut  off  in  a  fight  with  some  Raja, 
since  when  he  has  become  a  troublesome  ghost.  "  He  now 
lives  on  the  Ahlor  hill  in  Sarguja,  where  his  petrified  body 
may  still  be  seen,  and  the  Manjhis  go  there  to  worship  him. 
His  wife  lives  on  the  Jhoba  hill  in  Sarguja.  Nobody  but  a 
Baiga  dares  to  ascend  the  hill,  and  even  the  Raja  of  Sarguja 
when  he  visits  the  neighbourhood  sacrifices  a  black  goat. 
Manjhis  believe  that  if  these  two  deities  are  duly  propitiated 
they  can  give  anything  they  need."  The  story  makes  it 
^  Crooke,  Tribes  and  Castes  of  Beui^al,  art.  Manjhi,  para.  4. 


II  CONNECTION  WITH  THE  K A  WARS  151 

probable  that  the  ancestors  of  these  Manjhis  dwelt  in 
Sarguja.  The  Manjhis  of  Mlrzapur  are  not  boatmen  or 
fishermen  and  have  no  traditions  of  having  ever  been  so. 
They  are  a  backward  tribe  and  practise  shifting  cultivation 
on  burnt-out  patches  of  forest.  It  is  possible  that  they  may 
have  abandoned  their  former  aquatic  profession  on  leaving 
the  neighbourhood  of  the  rivers,  or  they  may  have  simply 
adopted  the  name,  especially  since  it  has  the  meaning  of  a 
village  headman  and  is  used  as  a  title  by  the  Santals  and 
other  castes  and  tribes.  Similarly  the  term  Munda,  which 
at  first  meant  the  headman  of  a  Kol  village,  is  now  the 
common  name  for  the  Kol  tribe  in  Chota  Nagpur. 

Again  the  Manjhis  appear  to  be  connected  with  the  3-  Con- 
Kawar  tribe.  Mr.  Hira  Lai  states  that  in  Raigarh  they  will  "v^|^h"the 
take  food  with  Kewats,  Gonds,  Kawars  and  Rawats  or  Ahirs,  Kawars. 
but  they  will  not  eat  rice  and  pulse,  the  most  important  and 
sacred  food,  with  any  outsiders  except  Kawars ;  and  this 
they  explain  by  the  statement  that  their  ancestors  and  those 
of  the  Kawars  were  connected.  In  Mlrzapur  the  Kaurai 
Ahirs  will  take  food  and  water  from  the  Majhwars,  and  these 
AhIrs  are  not  improbably  derived  from  the  Kawars.^  Here 
the  Majhwars  also  hold  an  oath  taken  when  touching  a 
broadsword  as  most  binding,  and  the  Kawars  of  the  Central 
Provinces  worship  a  sword  as  one  of  their  principal  deities."'^ 
Not  improbably  the  Manjhis  may  include  some  Kewats,  as 
this  caste  also  use  Manjhi  for  a  title  ;  and  Manjhi  is  both 
a  subcaste  and  title  of  the  Khairwars.  The  general  con- 
clusion from  the  above  evidence  appears  to  be  that  the  caste 
is  a  very  heterogeneous  group  whose  most  important  con- 
stituents come  from  the  Gond,  Munda,  Santal  and  Kawar 
tribes.  Whether  the  original  bond  of  connection  among  the 
various  people  who  call  themselves  Manjhi  was  the  common 
occupation  of  boating  and  fishing  is  a  doubtful  point. 

The  Manjhis  of  Sarguja,  like  those  of  Raigarh,  appear  4.  Exo- 
to  be   of   Munda   and   Santal    rather    than   of   Gond   origin.  fo""mism. 
They  have  no  subdivisions,  but  a  number  of  totemistic  septs. 
Those  of  the  Bhainsa  or  buffalo  sept  are  split  into  the  Lotan 
and  Singhan  subsepts,  lotan  meaning  a  place  where  buffaloes 

^  Crooke,  Tribes  and  Castes  of  Bengal,  art.  Manjhi,  para.  63. 
2  Ibidem,  para.  54. 


152  MAJHWAR  part 

wallow  and  singh  a  horn.  The  Lotan  Bhainsa  sept  say- 
that  their  ancestor  was  born  in  a  place  where  a  buffalo  had 
wallowed,  and  the  Singhan  Bhainsa  that  their  ancestor  was 
born  while  his  mother  was  holding  the  horn  of  a  buffalo. 
These  septs  consider  the  buffalo  sacred  and  will  not  yoke  it 
to  a  plough  or  cart,  though  they  will  drink  its  milk.  They 
think  that  if  one  of  them  killed  a  buffalo  their  clan  would 
become  extinct.  The  Baghani  Majhwars,  named  after  the 
bdgJi  or  tiger,  think  that  a  tiger  will  not  attack  any  member 
of  their  sept  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 
his  sept  is  in  abeyance  and  the  tiger  will  eat  him  as  he 
would  any  other  stranger.  If  a  tiger  meets  a  member  of 
the  sept  who  is  free  from  sin,  he  will  run  away.  When  the 
Baghani  sept  hear  that  any  Majhwar  has  killed  a  tiger  they 
purify  their  houses  by  washing  them  with  cowdung  and 
water.  Members  of  the  Khoba  or  peg  sept  will  not  make 
a  peg  or  drive  one  into  the  ground.  Those  of  the  Dumar  ^ 
or  fig-tree  sept  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.  Members  of  the 
sept  named  after  the  sJiiroti  tree  worship  the  tree  every 
Sunday. 
5.  Mar-  Marriage    within   the   sept    is   prohibited    and   for    three 

nage         generations     between     persons     related     through     females. 

customs.      o  J.  o 

Marriage  is  adult,  but  matches  are  arranged  by  the  parents 
of  the  parties.  At  betrothal  the  elders  of  the  caste  must 
be  regaled  with  cheora  or  parched  rice  and  liquor.  A  bride- 
price  of  Rs.  10  is  paid,  but  a  suitor  who  cannot  afford  this 
may  do  service  to  his  father-in-law  for  one  or  two  years  in 
lieu  of  it.  At  the  wedding  the  bridegroom  puts  a  copper 
ring  on  the  bride's  finger  and  marks  her  forehead  with 
vermilion.  The  couple  walk  seven  times  round  the  sacred 
post,  and  seven  little  heaps  of  rice  and  pieces  of  turmeric 
are  arranged  so  that  they  may  touch  one  of  them  with  their 
big  toes  at  each  round.  The  bride's  mother  and  seven  other 
women  place  some  rice  in  the  skirts  of  their  cloths  and  the 
bridegroom   throws   this    over  his    shoulder.      After  this  he 

'  Fictis  irlonierala. 


and  funeral 
rites. 


ous  dance. 


II  MAL  153 

picks  up  the  rice  and  distributes  it  to  all  the  women  present, 
and  the  bride  goes  through  the  same  ceremony.  The  rice 
is  no  doubt  an  emblem  of  fertility,  and  its  presentation  to 
the  women  may  perhaps  be  expected  to  render  them  fertile. 

On  the  birth  of  a  child  the  navel-string  is  buried  in  front  6.  Birth 
of  the  house.  When  a  man  is  at  the  point  of  death  they 
place  a  little  cooked  rice  and  curds  in  his  mouth  so  that  he 
may  not  go  hungry  to  the  other  world,  in  view  of  the  fact  that 
he  has  probably  eaten  very  little  during  his  illness.  Some 
cotton  and  rice  are  also  placed  near  the  head  of  the  corpse 
in  the  grave  so  that  he  may  have  food  and  clothing  in  the 
next  world.  Mourning  is  observed  for  five  days,  and  at  the 
end  of  this  period  the  mourners  should  have  their  hair  cut, 
but  if  they  cannot  get  it  done  on  this  day,  the  rite  may  be 
performed  on  the  same  day  in  the  following  year. 

The  tribe  worship  DCilha  Ueo,  the  bridegroom  god,  and  7.  Reiigi 
also  make  offerings  to  their  ploughs  at  the  time  of  eating 
the  new  rice  and  at  the  Holi  and  Dasahra  festivals.  They 
dance  the  karma  dance  in  the  months  of  Asarh  and  Kunwar 
or  at  the  beginning  and  end  of  the  rains.  When  the  time 
has  come  the  Gaontia  headman  or  the  Baiga  priest  fetches 
a  branch  of  the  karma  tree  from  the  forest  and  sets  it  up 
in  his  yard  as  a  notice  and  invitation  to  the  village.  After 
sunset  all  the  people,  men,  women  and  children,  assemble 
and  dance  round  the  tree,  to  the  accompaniment  of  a  drum 
known  as  Mandar.  The  dancing  continues  all  night,  and  in 
the  morning  the  host  plucks  up  the  branch  of  the  karma 
tree  and  consigns  it  to  a  stream,  at  the  same  time  regaling 
the  dancers  with  rice,  pulse  and  a  goat  This  dance  is  a 
religious  rite  in  honour  of  Karam  Raja,  and  is  believed  to 
keep  sickness  from  the  village  and  bring  it  prosperity.  The 
tribe  eat  flesh,  but  abstain  from  beef  and  pork.  Girls  are 
tattooed  on  arrival  at  puberty  with  representations  of  the 
tnlsi  or  basil,  four  arrow-heads  in  the  form  of  a  cross,  and 
the  foot-ornament  known  as  pairi. 

Mai,    Male,    Maler,    Mai   Paharia.^  —  A   tribe   of   the 
Rajmahal    hills,    who    may    be    an    isolated    branch    of    the 

^  Based  entirely  on  Colonel  Dalton's       and  Sir  II.  Risley's  in  the  Tribes  and 
account  in  the  Ethnology  of  Bengal,       Castes  of  Bengal. 


154  MAL  part 

Savars,  In  191  i  about  1700  Mais  were  returned  from 
the  Chota  Nagpur  Feudatory  States  recently  transferred 
to  the  Central  Provinces.  The  customs  of  the  Mais 
resemble  those  of  the  other  hill  tribes  of  Chota  Nagpur. 
Sir  H.  Risley  states  that  the  average  stature  is  low,  the 
complexion  dark  and  the  figure  short  and  sturdy.  The 
following  particulars  are  reproduced  from  Colonel  Dalton's 
account  of  the  tribe  : 

"  The  hill  lads  and  lasses  are  represented  as  forming 
very  romantic  attachments,  exhibiting  the  spectacle  oi  real 
lovers  '  sighing  like  furnaces,'  and  the  cockney  expression 
of  *  keeping  company '  is  peculiarly  applicable  to  their 
courtship.  If  separated  only  for  an  hour  they  are  miserable, 
but  there  are  apparently  few  obstacles  to  the  enjoyment  of 
each  other's  society,  as  they  work  together,  go  to  market 
together,  eat  together,  and  sleep  together !  But  if  it  be 
found  that  they  have  overstepped  the  prescribed  limits  of 
billing  and  cooing,  the  elders  declare  them  to  be  out  of  the 
pale,  and  the  blood  of  animals  must  be  shed  at  their  expense 
to  wash  away  the  indiscretion  and  obtain  their  readmission 
into  society. 

"  On  the  day  fixed  for  a  marriage  the  bridegroom  with 
his  relations  proceeds  to  the  bride's  father's  house,  where 
they  are  seated  on  cots  and  mats,  and  after  a  repast  the 
bride's  father  takes  his  daughter's  hand  and  places  it  in  that 
of  the  bridegroom,  and  exhorts  him  to  be  loving  and  kind 
to  the  girl  that  he  thus  makes  over  to  him.  The  groom 
then  with  the  little  finger  of  his  right  hand  marks  the  girl 
on  the  forehead  with  vermilion,  and  then,  linking  the  same 
finger  with  the  little  finger  of  her  right  hand,  he  leads  her 
away  to  his  own  house. 

"  The  god  of  hunting  is  called  Autga,  and  at  the  close 
of  every  successful  expedition  a  thank-offering  is  made  to 
him.  This  is  the  favourite  pastime,  and  one  of  the  chief 
occupations  of  the  Malers,  and  they  have  their  game  laws, 
which  are  strictly  enforced.  If  a  man,  losing  an  animal 
which  he  has  killed  or  wounded,  seeks  for  assistance  to  find 
it,  those  who  aid  are  entitled  to  one-half  of  the  animal  when 
found.  Another  person  accidentally  coming  on  dead  or 
wounded  game  and  appropriating  it,  is  subjected  to  a  severe 


11  MAL  155 

fine.  The  Manjhi  or  headman  of  the  village  is  entitled  to  a 
share  of  all  game  killed  by  any  of  his  people.  Any  one 
who  kills  a  hunting  dog  is  fined  twelve  rupees.  Certain  parts 
of  an  animal  are  tabooed  to  females  as  food,  and  if  they 
infringe  this  law  Autga  is  offended  and  game  becomes  scarce. 
When  the  hunters  are  unsuccessful  it  is  often  assumed  that 
this  is  the  cause,  and  the  augur  never  fails  to  point  out 
the  transgressing  female,  who  must  provide  a  propitiatory 
offering.  The  Malers  use  poisoned  arrows,  and  when  they 
kill  game  the  flesh  round  the  wound  is  cut  off  and  thrown 
away  as  unfit  for  food.  Cats  are  under  the  protection  of  the 
game  laws,  and  a  person  found  guilty  of  killing  one  is  made 
to  give  a  small  quantity  of  salt  to  every  child  in  the  village. 

"  I  nowhere  find  any  description  of  the  dances  and  songs 
of  the  Paharias.  Mr.  Atkinson  found  the  Malers  extremely 
reticent  on  the  subject,  and  with  difficulty  elicited  that  they 
had  a  dancing-place  in  every  village,  but  it  is  only  when 
under  the  inHuence  of  God  Bacchus  that  they  indulge  in  the 
amusement.  All  accounts  agree  in  ascribing  to  the  Paharias 
an  immoderate  devotion  to  strong  drink,  and  Buchanan  tells 
us  that  when  they  are  dancing  a  person  goes  round  with 
a  pitcher  of  the  home-brew  and,  without  disarranging  the 
performers,  who  are  probably  linked  together  by  circling 
or  entwining  arms,  pours  into  the  mouth  of  each,  male  and 
female,  a  refreshing  and  invigorating  draught.  The  beverage 
is  the  universal  pacJnvai,  that  is,  fermented  grain.  The  grain, 
either  maize,  rice  or  janera  {Holcns  sorgJmiii),  is  boiled  and 
spread  out  on  a  mat  to  cool.  It  is  then  mixed  with  a 
ferment  of  vegetables  called  takar,  and  kept  in  a  large 
earthen  vessel  for  some  days  ;  warm  water  may  at  any  time 
be  mixed  with  it,  and  in  a  few  hours  it  ferments  and  is  ready 
for  use." 

When  the  attention  of  English  officers  was  first  drawn 
to  them  in  1770  the  Males  of  the  Rajmahal  hills  were  a 
tribe  of  predatory  freebooters,  raiding  and  terrorising  the 
plain  country  fro;n  the  foot  of  the  hills  to  the  Ganges.  It 
was  Mr.  Augustus  Cleveland,  Collector  of  Bhagalpur,  who 
reduced  them  to  order  by  entering  into  engagements  with 
the  chiefs  for  the  prevention  and  punishment  of  offences 
among  their  own  tribesmen,  confirming  them  in  their  estates 


156  MALA  part 

and  jurisdiction,  and  enrolling  a  corps  of  Males,  which  became 
the  Bhagalpur  Hill  Rangers,  and  was  not  disbanded  till  the 
Mutiny.  Mr.  Cleveland  died  at  the  age  of  29,  having  suc- 
cessfully demonstrated  the  correct  method  of  dealing  with 
the  wild  forest  tribes,  and  the  Governor-General  in  Council 
erected  a  tomb  and  inscription  to  his  memory,  which  was 
the  original  of  that  described  by  Mr.  Kipling  in  The  Tomb  of 
his  AiicestoT's,  though  the  character  of  the  first  John  Chinn  in 
the  story  was  copied  from  Outram.^ 

Mala. — A  low  Telugu  caste  of  labourers  and  cotton- 
weavers.  They  numbered  nearly  14,000  persons  in  the 
Central  Provinces  in  191 1,  belonging  mainly  to  the  Chanda, 
Nagpur,  Jubbulpore,  and  Yeotmal  Districts,  and  the  Bastar 
State.  The  Marathas  commonly  call  them  Telugu  Dhers, 
but  they  themselves  prefer  to  be  known  as  '  Telangi  Sadar 
Bhoi,'  which  sounds  a  more  respectable  designation.  They 
are  also  known  as  Mannepuwar  and  Netkani.  They  are 
the  Pariahs  of  the  Telugu  country,  and  are  regarded  as 
impure  and  degraded.  They  may  be  distinguished  by  their 
manner  of  tying  the  head-cloth  more  or  less  in  a  square 
shape,  and  by  their  loin-cloths,  which  are  worn  very  loose 
and  not  knotted.  Those  who  worship  Narsinghsvvami,  the 
man-lion  incarnation  of  Vishnu,  are  called  Namaddar,  while 
the  followers  of  Mahadeo  are  known  as  Lingadars.  The 
former  paint  their  foreheads  with  vertical  lines  of  sandal- 
paste,  and  the  latter  with  horizontal  ones.  The  Malas  were 
formerly  zealous  partisans  of  the  right-handed  sect  in 
Madras,  and  the  description  of  this  curious  system  of  faction 
given  by  the  Abbe  Dubois  more  than  a  century  ago  may  be 
reproduced  : " 

"  Most  castes  belong  either  to  the  left-hand  or  right-hand 
faction.  The  former  comprises  the  Vaishyas  or  trading 
classes,  the  Panchalas  or  artisan  classes  and  some  of  the 
low  Sudra  castes.  It  also  contains  the  lowest  caste,  viz.  the 
Chaklas  or  leather-workers,  who  are  looked  upon  as  its  chief 
support.  To  the  right-hand  faction  belong  most  of  the 
higher  castes   of  Sudras.      The  Pariahs  (Malas)  are   also   its 

'  See  The  KhCtndesh  Bhil  Corps,  by  ^  Hindu     Manners,     Czistovis    mid 

Mr.  A.  II.  A.  Simcox,  p.  62.  Ceremonies,  ed.  1897,  pp.  25,  26. 


II  MALA  157 

great  support,  as  a  proof  of  which  they  glory  in  the  title  of 
Valangai  Maugnttar  or  Friends  of  the  Right  Hand.  In  the 
disputes  and  conflicts  which  so  often  take  place  between 
the  two  factions  it  is  always  the  Pariahs  who  make  the 
most  disturbance  and  do  the  most  damage.  The  Brahmans, 
Rajas  and  several  classes  of  Sudras  are  content  to  remain 
neutral  and  take  no  part  in  these  quarrels.  The  opposition 
between  the  two  factions  arises  from  certain  exclusive 
privileges  to  which  both  lay  claim.  But  as  these  alleged 
privileges  are  nowhere  clearly  defined  and  recognised,  they 
result  in  confusion  and  uncertainty,  and  are  with  difficulty 
capable  of  settlement.  When  one  faction  trespasses  on  the 
so-called  right  of  the  other,  tumults  arise  which  spread 
gradually  over  large  tracts  of  territory,  afford  opportunity 
for  excesses  of  all  kinds,  and  generally  end  in  bloody 
conflicts.  The  Hindu,  ordinarily  so  timid  and  gentle  in 
all  other  circumstances  of  life,  seems  to  change  his  nature 
completely  on  occasions  like  these.  There  is  no  danger 
that  he  will  not  brave  in  maintaining  what  he  calls  his  rights, 
and  rather  than  sacrifice  a  little  of  them  he  will  expose 
himself  without  fear  to  the  risk  of  losing  his  life.  The 
rights  and  privileges  for  which  the  Hindus  arc  ready  to 
fight  such  sanguinary  battles  appear  highly  ridiculous, 
especially  to  a  European.  Perhaps  the  sole  cause  of  the 
contest  is  the  right  to  wear  slippers  or  to  ride  through  the 
streets  in  a  palanquin  or  on  horseback  during  marriage 
festivals.  Sometimes  it  is  the  privilege  of  being  escorted 
on  certain  occasions  by  armed  retainers,  sometimes  that  of 
having  a  trumpet  sounded  in  front  of  a  procession,  or  of 
being  accompanied  by  native  musicians  at  public  cere- 
monies." The  writer  of  the  Madras  Census  Report  of  1871 
states :  ^  "It  is  curious  that  the  females  of  two  of  the 
inferior  castes  should  take  different  sides  to  their  husbands 
in  these  disputes.  The  wives  of  the  agricultural  labourers 
side  with  the  left  hand,  while  their  husbands  help  in  fighting 
the  battles  of  the  right,  and  the  shoemakers'  wives  also  take 
the  side  opposed  to  their  husbands.  During  these  festival 
disturbances,  the  ladies  who  hold  political  views  opposed  to 
those  of  their  husbands  deny  to  the  latter  all  the  privileges 

^   Page  130. 


158  MALA  PART  II 

of  the  connubial  state."  The  same  writer  states  that  the 
right-hand  castes  claimed  the  prerogative  of  riding  on  horse- 
back in  processions,  of  appearing  with  standards  bearing 
certain  devices,  and  of  erecting  twelve  pillars  to  sustain  their 
marriage  booths  ;  while  the  left-hand  castes  might  not  have 
more  than  eleven  pillars,  nor  use  the  same  standards  as  the 
right.  The  quarrels  arising  out  of  these  small  differences  of 
opinion  were  so  frequent  and  serious  in  the  seventeenth  cen- 
tury that  in  the  town  of  Madras  it  was  found  necessary  to 
mark  the  respective  boundaries  of  the  right-  and  left-hand 
castes,  and  to  forbid  the  right-hp.nd  castes  in  their  processions 
from  occupying  the  streets  of  the  left  hand  and  vice  versa. 
These  disturbances  have  gradually  tended  to  disappear  under 
the  influence  of  education  and  good  government,  and  no 
instance  of  them  is  known  to  have  occurred  in  the  Central 
Provinces.  The  division  appears  to  have  originated  among 
the  members  of  the  Sakta  sect  or  the  worshippers  of  Sakti 
as  the  female  principle  of  life  in  nature.  Dr.  L.  D.  Barnett 
writes  :  ^ — "  The  followers  of  the  sect  are  of  two  schools.  The 
'  Walkers  in  the  Right  Way  '  {Daks kin dchdri)  pay  a  service  of 
devotion  to  the  deity  in  both  male  and  female  aspects,  and 
except  in  their  more  pronounced  tendency  to  dwell  upon  the 
horrific  aspects  of  the  deity  (as  Kali,  Durga,  etc.),  they  differ 
little  from  ordinary  Saivas  and  Vaishnavas.  The  '  Walkers 
in  the  Left  Way  '  (  Vdmdchdri),  on  the  other  hand,  concentrate 
their  thought  upon  the  godhead  in  its  sexually  maternal  aspect, 
and  follow  rites  of  senseless  magic  and — theoretically  at  least 
— promiscuous  debauchery."  As  has  been  seen,  the  religious 
differences  subsequently  gave  rise  to  political  factions. 

^  Hinduism,  in  '  Religions  Ancient  and  Modern '  Series,  p.  26. 


position. 


MALI 


LIST  OF  PARAGRAPHS 

1.  General    notice    of   the   caste,         7.    Wtdoiv-marnage,  divorce  and 

and  its  social  position.  polygamy. 

2.  Caste  legend.  8.  Disposal  of  the  dead. 

3.  Flowers  offered  to  the  gods.  9.  Religion. 

4.  Custom  of  7uearitig  garlands.  10.  Occupation. 

5 .  Subcastes.  1 1 .  Traits  a?id  characters. 

6.  Marriage.  12.  Other  functions  of  the  Mali. 

I  3.   Physical  appearance. 

Mali,  Marar,  Maral.^ — The  functional  caste  of  vegetable  i.  General 
and  flower-rardeners.      The  terms  Mali  and  Marar  appear  to  """^"^  °^ 

^  ^  ^  the  caste, 

be  used  indifferently  for  the  same  caste,  the  former  being  and  its 
more  common  in  the  west  of  the  Province  and  the  latter  in  !°':':?!_ 
the  eastern  Satpura  Districts  and  the  Chhattlsgarh  plain. 
In  the  Nerbudda  valley  and  on  the  Vindhyan  plateau  the 
place  of  both  Mali  and  Marar  is  taken  by  the  Kachhi  of 
Upper  India."  Marar  appears  to  be  a  Marathi  name,  the 
original  term,  as  pointed  out  by  Mr.  Hira  Lai,  being  Malal, 
or  one  who  grows  garden-crops  in  a  field  ;  but  the  caste  is 
often  called  Mali  in  the  Maratha  country  and  Marar  in  the 
Hindi  Districts.  The  word  Mali  is  derived  from  the 
Sanskrit  iiidla,  a  garland.  In  191  i  the  Malis  numbered 
nearly  360,000  persons  in  the  present  area  of  the  Central 
Provinces,  and  200,000  in  Berar.  A  German  writer  remarks 
of  the  caste  ^  that  :  "  It  cannot  be  considered  to  be  a  very 
ancient  one.  Generally  speaking,  it  may  be  said  that  flowers 
have  scarcely  a  place  in  the  Veda.      Wreaths  of  flowers,  of 

^  This  article  is  based  principally  on  -   C.P.   Census  Report  (1891),  paia. 

Mr.   Low's  description  of  the   Marars  180. 

in  the  Balaghat  District   Gazetteer  and  3  Schroder,  Prehistoric  Atitiquities, 

on    a    paper    by     Major    Sutherland,  121,  quoted   in   Crooke's   Tribes   and 

LM.S.  Castes,  art.  Mali. 

159 


i6o  MALI  PART 

course,  are  used  as  decorations,  but  the  separate  flowers  and 
their  beauty  are  not  yet  appreciated.  That  lesson  was  first 
learned  later  by  the  Hindus  when  surrounded  by  another 
flora.  Amongst  the  Homeric  Greeks,  too,  in  spite  of  their 
extensive  gardening  and  different  flowers,  not  a  trace  of 
horticulture  is  yet  to  be  found."  It  seems  probable  that  the 
first  Malis  were  not  included  among  the  regular  cultivators 
of  the  village  but  were  a  lower  group  permitted  to  take  up 
the  small  waste  plots  of  land  adjoining  the  inhabited  area  and 
fertilised  by  its  drainage,  and  the  sandy  stretches  in  the  beds 
of  rivers,  on  which  they  were  able  to  raise  the  flowers  required 
for  offerings  and  such  vegetables  as  were  known.  They  still 
hold  a  lower  rank  than  the  ordinary  cultivator.  Sir  D. 
Ibbetson  writes  ^  of  the  gardening  castes  :  "  The  group  now 
to  be  discussed  very  generally  hold  an  inferior  position  among 
the  agricultural  community  and  seldom  if  ever  occupy  the 
position  of  the  dominant  tribe  in  any  considerable  tract  of 
country.  The  cultivation  of  vegetables  is  looked  upon  as 
degrading  by  the  agricultural  classes,  why  I  know  not,  unless 
it  be  that  night-soil  is  generally  used  for  their  fertilisation  ; 
and  a  Rajput  would  say  :  '  What !  Do  you  take  me  for  an 
Arain  ? '  if  anything  was  proposed  which  he  considered 
derogatory."  But  since  most  Malis  in  the  Central  Provinces 
strenuously  object  to  using  night-soil  as  a  manure  the 
explanation  that  this  practice  has  caused  them  to  rank  below 
the  agricultural  castes  does  not  seem  sufficient.  And  if  the 
use  of  night-soil  were  the  real  circumstance  which  determined 
their  social  position,  it  seems  certain  that  Brahmans  would 
not  take  water  from  their  hands  as  they  do.  Elsewhere  Sir 
D.  Ibbetson  remarks :  ^  "  The  Malis  and  Sainis,  like  all 
vegetable  growers,  occupy  a  very  inferior  position  among  the 
agricultural  castes  ;  but  of  the  two  the  Sainis  are  probably 
the  higher,  as  they  more  often  own  land  or  even  whole 
villages,  and  are  less  generally  mere  market-gardeners  than 
are  the  Malis."  Here  is  given  what  may  perhaps  be  the  true 
reason  for  the  status  of  the  Mali  caste  as  a  whole.  Again 
Sir  C.  Elliot  wrote  in  the  Hoshangdbdd  Settlement  Report : 
"  Garden  crops  are  considered  as  a  kind  of  fancy  agriculture 
and    the    true    cultivator,    the    Kisan,    looks    on    them    with 

1   J^unjab  Census  Report  (iSSi),  para.  483.  -  Ibidem,  para.  484. 


II  GENERAL  NOTICE  OF  THE  CASTE  i6i 

contempt  as  little  peddling  matters  ;  what  stirs  his  ambition 
is  a  fine  large  wheat-field  eighty  or  a  hundred  acres  in 
extent,  as  flat  as  a  billiard-table  and  as  black  as  a  Gond." 
Similarly  Mr.  Low  ^  states  that  in  Balaghat  the  Panwars, 
the  principal  agricultural  caste,  look  down  on  the  Marars 
as  growers  of  petty  crops  like  sama  and  kutki.  In  Wardha 
the  Dangris,  a  small  caste  of  melon  and  vegetable  growers, 
are  an  offshoot  of  the  Kunbis  ;  and  they  will  take  food 
from  the  Kunbis,  though  these  will  not  accept  it  from 
them,  their  social  status  being  thus  distinctly  lower  than  that 
of  the  parent  caste.  Again  the  Kohlis  of  Bhandara,  who  grow 
sugarcane  with  irrigation,  are  probably  derived  from  an 
aboriginal  tribe,  the  Kols,  and,  though  they  possess  a  number 
of  villages,  rank  lower  than  the  regular  cultivating  castes. 
It  is  also  worth  noting  that  they  do  not  admit  tenant-right 
in  their  villages  among  their  own  caste,  and  allot  the  sugar- 
cane plots  among  the  cultivators  at  pleasure.^  In  Nimar 
the  Malis  rank  below  the  Kunbis  and  Gujars,  the  good  agri- 
cultural castes,  and  it  is  said  that  they  grow  the  crops  which 
the  cultivators  proper  do  not  care  to  grow.  The  Kachhis, 
the  gardening  caste  of  the  northern  Districts,  have  a  very 
low  status,  markedly  inferior  to  that  of  the  Lodhis  and  Kurmis 
and  little  if  any  better  than  the  menial  Dhimars.  Similarly,  as 
will  be  seen  later,  the  Alarars  themselves  have  customs  point- 
ing clearly  to  a  non-Aryan  origin.  The  Bhoyars  of  Betul, 
who  grow  sugarcane,  are  probably  of  mixed  origin  from 
Rajput  fathers  and  mothers  of  the  indigenous  tribes  ;  they 
eat  fowls  and  are  much  addicted  to  liquor  and  rank  below  the 
cultivating  castes.  The  explanation  seems  to  be  that  the 
gardening  castes  are  not  considered  as  landholders,  and  have 
not  therefore  the  position  which  attaches  to  the  holding 
of  land  among  all  early  agricultural  peoples,  and  which  in 
India  consisted  in  the  status  of  a  constituent  member  of  the 
village  community.  So  far  as  ceremonial  purity  goes  there  is 
no  difference  between  the  Malis  and  the  cultivating  castes,  as 
Ikahmans  will  take  water  from  both.  It  may  be  surmised 
that  this  privilege  has  been  given  to  the  Malis  because  they 
grow   the   flowers   required   for   offerings   to  the   gods,    and 

^  Balaghat  District  Gazetteer,  para.  -  Mr.  '^tv^xcx'?,  Bha7idar a  Settlement 

59.  Report,  quoted  in  article  on  Kohli. 

VOL.  IV  M 


1 62  MALI  PART 

sometimes  officiate  as  village  priests  and  temple  servants  ; 
and  their  occupation,  though  not  on  a  level  with  regular 
agriculture,  is  still  respectable.  But  the  fact  that  Brahmans 
will  take  water  from  them  does  not  place  the  Malis  on  an 
equality  with  the  cultivating  castes,  any  more  than  it  does  the 
Nais  (barbers)  and  Dhimars  (watermen),  the  contemned 
menial  servants  of  the  cultivators,  from  whom  Brahmans 
will  also  take  water  from  motives  of  convenience. 
2.  Caste  The  Malis  have  a  Brahmanical  legend  of  the  usual  type 

legend.  indicating  that  their  hereditary  calling  was  conferred  and 
ratified  by  divine  authority/  This  is  to  the  effect  that  the 
first  Mali  was  a  garland-maker  attached  to  the  household  of 
Raja  Kansa  of  Mathura.  One  day  he  met  with  Krishna, 
■  and,  on  being  asked  by  him  for  a  chaplet  of  flowers,  at 
once  gave  it.  On  being  told  to  fasten  it  with  string,  he, 
for  want  of  any  other,  took  off  his  sacred  thread  and  tied 
it,  on  which  Krishna  most  ungenerously  rebuked  him  for 
his  simplicity  in  parting  with  his  patia,  and  announced 
that  for  the  future  his  caste  would  be  ranked  among  the 
Sudras. 

The  above  story,  combined  with  the  derivation  of  Mali 
from  7ndla,  a  garland,  makes  it  a  plausible  hypothesis  that  the 
calling  of  the  first  Malis  was  to  grow  flowers  for  the  adorn- 
ment of  the  gods,  and  especially  for  making  the  garlands 
with  which  their  images  were  and  still  are  decorated.  Thus 
the  Malis  were  intimately  connected  with  the  gods  and 
naturally  became  priests  of  the  village  temples,  in  which 
capacity  they  are  often  employed.  Mr.  Nesfield  remarks  of 
the  Mali  :  ^  "  To  Hindus  of  all  ranks,  including  even  the 
Brahmans,  he  acts  as  a  priest  of  Mahadeo  in  places  where 
no  Gosain  is  to  be  found,  and  lays  the  flower  offerings  on 
the  lingam  by  which  the  deity  is  symbolised.  As  the  Mali 
is  believed  to  have  some  influence  with  the  god  to  whose 
temple  he  is  attached,  none  objects  to  his  appropriating  the 
fee  which  is  nominally  presented  to  the  god  himself  In  the 
worship  of  those  village  godlings  whom  the  Brahmans  disdain 
to  recognise  and  whom  the  Gosain  is  not  permitted  to  honour 
the  Mali  is  sometimes  employed  to  present  the  offering.      He 

'    Tribes  and  Casks  of  Bengal,  art.  ^  Brief  View  of  the   Caste  System, 

Mali.  p.  15. 


II  FLOWERS  OFFERED  TO  THE  GODS  163 

is  thus  the  recognised  hereditary  priest  of  the  lower  and 
more  ignorant  classes  of  the  population."  In  the  Central 
Provinces  Malis  are  commonly  employed  in  the  temples  of 
Devi  because  goats  are  offered  to  the  goddess  and  hence  the 
worship  cannot  be  conducted  by  Brahmans.  They  also  work 
as  servants  in  Jain  temples  under  the  priest.  They  sweep 
the  temple,  clean  the  utensils,  and  do  other  menial  business. 
This  service,  however,  does  not  affect  their  religion  and  they 
continue  to  be  Hindus. 

His  services  in  providing  flowers  for  the  gods  would  be 
remunerated  by  contributions  of  grain  from  the  cultivators,  the 
acceptance  of  which  would  place  the  Mali  below  them  in  the 
rank  of  a  village  menial,  though  higher  than  most  of  the 
class  owing  to  the  purity  of  his  occupation.  His  status  was 
probably  much  the  same  as  that  of  the  Guraos  or  village 
priests  of  Mahadeo  in  the  Maratha  country.  And  though  he 
has  now  become  a  cultivator,  his  position  has  not  improved 
to  the  level  of  other  cultivating  castes  for  the  reasons 
already  given.  It  was  probably  the  necessity  of  regularly 
watering  his  plants  in  order  to  obtain  a  longer  and  more 
constant  supply  of  blooms  which  first  taught  the.  Mali  the 
uses  of  irrigation. 

Flowers  are  par  excellence  suited  for  the  offerings  and  3.  Flowers 
adornment  of  the  gods,  and  many  Hindus  have  rose  or  other  offered  to 
plants  m  their  houses  whose  flowers  are  destmed  to  the  house- 
hold god.  There  is  little  reason  to  doubt  that  this  was  the 
purpose  for  which  cultivated  flowers  were  first  grown.  The 
marigold,  lotus  and  champak  are  favourite  religious  flowers, 
while  the  tulsi  or  basil  is  itself  worshipped  as  the  consort 
of  Vishnu  ;  in  this  case,  however,  the  scent  is  perhaps 
the  more  valued  feature.  In  many  Hindu  households  all 
flowers  brought  into  the  house  are  offered  to  the  household 
god  before  being  put  to  any  other  use.  A  Brahman  school- 
boy to  whom  I  had  given  some  flowers  to  copy  in  drawing 
said  that  his  mother  had  offered  them  to  the  god  Krishna 
before  he  used  them.  When  faded  or  done  with  they  should 
be  consigned  to  the  sacred  element,  water,  in  any  stream  or 
river.  The  statues  of  the  gods  are  adorned  with  sculptured 
garlands  or  hold  them  in  their  hands.  A  similar  state  of 
things  prevailed  in  classical  antiquity  : 


1 64  MALI  PART 

Who  are  these  coming  to  the  sacrifice  ? 

To  what  green  altar,  O  mysterious  priest, 
Lead'st  thou  that  heifer  lowing  at  the  skies. 

And  all  her  silken  flanks  with  garlands  drest  ? 

And, 

Fairer  than  these,  though  temple  thou  hast  none, 

Nor  altar  decked  with  flowers. 
Nor  virgin  choir  to  make  delicious  moan 
Upon  the  midnight  hours. 

M.  Fustel  de  Coulanges  describes  the  custom  of  wearing 
crowns  or  garlands  of  flowers  in  ancient  Rome  and  Greece 
as  follows :  "  It  is  clear  that  the  communal  feasts  were 
religious  ceremonies.  Each  guest  had  a  crown  on  the  head  ; 
it  was  an  ancient  custom  to  crown  oneself  with  leaves  or 
flowers  for  any  solemn  religious  act."  "  The  more  a  man  is 
adorned  with  flowers,"  they  said,  "  the  more  pleasing  he  is  to 
the  gods  ;  but  they  turn  away  from  him  who  wears  no  crown 
at  his  sacrifice."  And  again,  '  A  crown  is  the  auspicious 
herald  which  announces  a  prayer  to  the  gods.'  ^ 

Among  the  Persians  the  flowers  themselves  are  wor- 
shipped :  ^  "  When  a  pure  Iranian  sauntered  through  (the 
Victoria  Gardens  in  Bombay)  ...  he  would  stand  awhile 
and  meditate  over  every  flower  in  his  path,  and  always  as  in 
a  vision  ;  and  when  at  last  the  vision  was  fulfilled,  and  the 
ideal  flower  found,  he  would  spread  his  mat  or  carpet  before 
it,  and  sit  before  it  to  the  going  down  of  the  sun,  when  he 
would  arise  and  pray  before  it,  and  then  refold  his  mat  or 
carpet  and  go  home  ;  and  the  next  night,  and  night  after 
night,  until  that  bright  particular  flower  faded  away,  he 
would  return  to  it,  bringing  his  friends  with  him  in  ever- 
increasing  numbers,  and  sit  and  sing  and  play  the  guitar  or 
lute  before  it — and  anon  they  all  would  arise  together  and 
pray  before  it  ;  and  after  prayers,  still  sit  on,  sipping  sherbet 
and  talking  the  most  hilarious  and  shocking  scandal,  late 
into  the  moonlight." 
4.  Custom  From  the  custom  of  placing  garlands  on  the  gods  as  a 

of  wearing   mark  of   houour    has    no   doubt    arisen   that  of  garlanding 
guests.       This  is  not  confined    to    India    but    obtained   in 

1  La  CM  antique, 'z\'?,\.  Q.(\.,  p.  181.       Sir    G.    Birdwood   (Society    of    Arts, 
'^   The  Antiquity  of  Oriental  Carpets,       6th  November  1908). 


II  SUJl  CASTES  165 

Rome  and  probably  in  other  countries.  The  word  '  chaplet '  ^ 
originally  meant  a  garland  or  wreath  to  be  worn  on  the 
head  ;  and  a  garland  of  leaves  with  four  flowers  at  equal 
distances.  Dryden  says,  '  With  chaplcts  green  upon  their 
foreheads  placed.'  The  word  vidla  originally  meant  a  garland, 
and  subsequently  a  rosary  or  string  of  beads.  From  this  it 
seems  a  legitimate  deduction  that  rosaries  or  strings  of  beads 
of  a  sacred  wood  were  substituted  for  flower-garlands  as  orna- 
ments for  the  gods  in  view  of  their  more  permanent  nature. 
Having  been  thus  sanctified  they  may  have  come  to  be 
worn  as  a  mark  of  holiness  by  saints  or  priests  in  imitation 
of  the  divine  images,  this  being  a  common  or  universal  fashion 
of  Hindu  ascetics.  Subsequently  they  were  found  to  serve  as  a 
useful  means  of  counting  the  continuous  repetition  of  prayers, 
whence  arose  the  phrase  *  telling  one's  beads.'  Like  the  Sans- 
krit iiidlay  the  English  word  rosary  at  first  meant  a  garland  of 
roses  and  subsequently  a  string  of  beads,  probably  made  from 
rose-wood,  on  which  prayers  were  counted.  From  this  it  may 
perhaps  be  concluded  that  the  images  of  the  deities  were 
decorated  with  garlands  of  roses  in  Europe,  and  the  develop- 
ment of  the  rosary  was  the  same  as  the  Indian  mala.  If 
the  rose  was  a  sacred  flower  we  can  more  easily  understand 
its  importance  as  a  badge  in  the  Wars  of  the  Roses. 

The  caste  has  numerous  endogamous  groups,  varying  in  5.  Sub- 
dififerent  localities.  The  Phiilmalis,who  derive  their  name  from  '^^^^^^• 
their  occupation  of  growing  and  selling  flowers  {phill),  usually 
rank  as  the  highest.  The  Ghase  Malis  are  the  only  subcaste 
which  will  grow  and  prepare  turmeric  in  Wardha;  but  they  will 
not  sell  milk  or  curds,  an  occupation  to  which  the  Phulmalis, 
though  the  highest  subcaste,  have  no  objection.  In  Chanda 
the  Kosaria  Malis,  who  take  their  name  from  Kosala,  the 
classical  designation  of  the  Chhattisgarh  country,  are  the  sole 
growers  of  turmeric,  while  in  Berar  the  Halde  subcaste, 
named  after  the  plant,  occupy  the  same  position.  The  Kosaria 
or  Kosre  subcaste  abstain  from  liquor,  and  their  women  wear 
glass  bangles  only  on  one  hand  and  silver  ones  on  the  other. 
The  objection  entertained  to  the  cultivation  of  turmeric  by 
Hindus  generally  is  said  to  be  based  on  the  fact  that  when 
the  roots  are  boiled  numbers  of  small  insects  are  necessarily 

'  Tlie  derivations  of  chcxplct  and  rosary  are  taken  from  Ogilv}''s  Dictionary. 


1 66  MALI  PART 

destroyed  ;  but  the  other  Malis  relate  that  one  of  the  ancestors 
of  the  caste  had  a  calf  called  Hardulia,  and  one  day  he  said 
to  his  daughter,  Haldi  pakd,  or  '  Cook  turmeric'  But  the 
daughter  thought  that  he  said  '  cook  Hardulia,'  so  she  killed 
and  roasted  the  calf,  and  in  consequence  of  this  her  father  was 
expelled  from  the  caste,  and  his  descendants  are  the  Ghase  or 
Halde  subcaste.  Ever  since  this  happened  the  shape  of  a 
calf  may  be  seen  in  the  flower  of  turmeric.  This  legend  has, 
however,  no  real  value  and  the  meaning  of  the  superstition 
attaching  to  the  plant  is  obscure.  Though  the  growing  of 
turmeric  is  tabooed  yet  it  is  a  sacred  plant,  and  no  Hindu 
girl,  at  least  in  the  Central  Provinces,  can  be  married  without 
having  turmeric  powder  rubbed  on  her  body.  Mr.  Gordon 
remarks  in  Indian  Folk-Tales:  "I  was  once  speaking  to  a 
Hindu  gardener  of  the  possibility  of  turmeric  and  garlic 
being  stolen  from  his  garden.  These  two  vegetables  are 
never  stolen,'  he  replied,  '  for  we  Hindus  believe  that  he 
who  steals  turmeric  and  garlic  will  appear  with  six  fingers  in 
the  next  birth,  and  this  deformity  is  always  considered  the 
birth  -  mark  of  a  thief.' "  The  Jire  Malis  are  so  named 
because  they  were  formerly  the  only  subcaste  who  would 
grow  cumin  {j'ira),  but  this  distinction  no  longer  exists  as 
other  Malis,  except  perhaps  the  Phulmalis,  now  grow  it. 
Other  subcastes  have  territorial  names,  as  Baone  from 
Berar,  Jaipuria,  Kanaujia,  and  so  on.  The  caste  have  also 
exogamous  septs  or  bargas,  with  designations  taken  from 
villages,  titles  or  nicknames  or  inanimate  objects. 
6.  Mar-  Marriage  is  forbidden  between  members  of  the  same  sept 

and  between  first  and  second  cousins.  Girls  are  generally 
betrothed  in  childhood  and  should  be  married  before  maturity. 
In  the  Uriya  country  if  no  suitable  husband  can  be  found  for 
a  girl  she  is  sometimes  made  to  go  through  the  marriage 
ceremony  with  a  peg  of  mahuawood  driven  into  the  ground  and 
covered  over  with  a  cloth.  She  is  then  tied  to  a  tree  in  the 
forest  and  any  member  of  the  caste  may  go  and  release  her, 
when  she  becomes  his  wife.  The  Marars  of  Balaghat  and 
Bhandara  have  the  lamjJmna  form  of  marriage,  in  which  the 
prospective  husband  serves  for  his  wife  ;  this  is  a  Dravidian 
custom  and  shows  their  connection  with  the  forest  tribes.  The 
marriage  ceremony  follows  the  standard   form  prevalent  in 


riage. 


\\ 


II       WIDOW-MARRIAGE,  DIVORCE  AND  POLYGAMY     167 

the  locality.  In  Betul  the  couple  go  seven  times  round  a 
slab  on  which  a  stone  roller  is  placed,  with  their  clothes 
knotted  together  and  holding  in  their  hands  a  lighted  lamp. 
The  slab  and  roller  may  be  the  implements  used  in  powdering 
turmeric.  "  Among  the  Marars  of  Balaghat  ^  the  maternal 
uncle  of  the  bridegroom  goes  to  the  village  of  the  bride  and 
brings  back  with  him  the  bridal  party.  The  bride's  party  do 
not  at  once  cross  the  boundary  of  the  bridegroom's  village, 
but  will  stay  outside  it  for  a  few  hours.  Word  is  sent  and 
the  bridegroom's  party  will  bring  out  cooked  food,  which  they 
eat  with  the  bride's  party.  This  done,  they  go  to  the  house 
of  the  bridegroom  and  the  bride  forthwith  walks  five  times 
round  a  pounding-stone.  Next  day  turmeric  is  applied  to  the 
couple,  and  the  caste  people  are  given  a  feast.  The  essential 
portion  of  the  ceremony  consists  in  the  rubbing  of  vermilion 
on  the  foreheads  of  the  couple  under  the  cover  of  a  cloth. 
The  caste  permit  the  practice  of  i-alla-palla  or  exchanging 
sisters  in  marriage.  They  are  said  to  have  a  custom  at 
weddings  known  as  kondia,  according  to  which  a  young  man 
of  the  bridegroom's  party,  called  the  Sand  or  bull,  is  shut  up 
in  a  house  at  night  with  all  the  women  of  the  bride's  party  ; 
he  is  at  liberty  to  seize  and  have  intercourse  with  any  of 
them  he  can  catch,  while  they  are  allowed  to  beat  him  as 
much  as  they  like.  It  is  said  that  he  seldom  has  much  cause 
to  congratulate  himself"  But  the  caste  have  now  become 
ashamed  of  this  custom  and  it  is  being  abandoned.  In 
Chhattlsgarh  the  Marars,  like  other  castes,  have  the  forms  of 
marriage  known  as  the  Badi  Shddi  and  Chhoti  Shddi  or  great 
and  small  weddings.  The  former  is  an  elaborate  form  of 
marriage,  taking  place  at  the  house  of  the  bride.  Those  who 
cannot  afford  the  expense  of  this  have  a  '  Small  Wedding ' 
at  the  house  of  the  bridegroom,  at  which  the  rites  are 
curtailed  and  the  expenditure  considerably  reduced. 

Widow  -  marriage    is    permitted.      The  widower,    accom-  7.  widow- 
panied  by  his  relatives  and  a  horn-blower,  goes  to  the  house  IJI^Q^ce^^' 
of  the  widow,  and  here  a  space  is  plastered  with  cowdung  and  and  poiy- 
the  couple  sit  on  two  wooden  boards  while  their  clothes  are  ^^™^' 
knotted  together.      In  Balaghat-  the  bridegroom  and  bride 

^  Balaghat  District  Gazetteer  (C.  E.  Low),  para.  59. 
^  Ibidem,  loc.  cit. 


1 68  MALI  PART 

bathe  in  a  tank  and  on  emerging  the  widow  throws  away  her 
old  cloth  and  puts  on  a  new  one.  After  this  they  walk  five 
times  round  a  spear  planted  in  the  ground.  Divorce  is 
permitted  and  can  be  effected  by  mutual  consent  of  the 
parties.  Like  other  castes  practising  intensive  cultivation 
the  Malis  marry  several  wives  when  they  can  afford  it,  in 
order  to  obtain  the  benefit  of  their  labour  in  the  vegetable 
garden  ;  a  wife  being  more  industrious  and  honest  than  a 
hired  labourer.  But  this  practice  results  in  large  families 
and  household  dissensions,  leading  to  excessive  subdivision 
of  property,  and  wealthy  members  of  the  caste  are  rare. 
The  standard  of  sexual  morality  is  low,  and  if  an  unmarried 
girl  goes  wrong  her  family  conceal  the  fact  and  sometimes 
try  to  procure  an  abortion.  If  these  efforts  are  unsuccessful 
a  feast  must  be  given  to  the  caste  and  a  lock  of  the  woman's 
hair  is  cut  off  by  way  of  punishment.  A  young  hard-working 
wife  is  never  divorced,  however  bad  her  character  may  be, 
but  an  old  woman  is  sometimes  abandoned  for  very  little 
cause. 

8.  Disposal  The  dead  may  be  either  buried  or  burnt ;  in  the  former 
dead^         case  the  corpse  is  laid  with  the  feet  to  the  north.      Mourning 

is  observed  only  for  three  days  and  propitiatory  offerings  are 
made  to  the  spirits  of  the  dead.  If  a  man  is  killed  by 
a  tiger  his  family  make  a  wooden  image  of  a  tiger  and 
worship  it. 

9.  Reii-  Devi  is  the  principal  deity  of  the  Malis.      Weddings  are 
^'°°'           celebrated   before   her   temple   and  large   numbers   of  goats 

are  sacrificed  to  the  favourite  goddess  at  her  festival  in  the 
month  of  Magh  (January).  Many  of  the  Marars  of  Balaghat 
are  Kablrpanthis  and  wear  the  necklace  of  that  sect  ;  but 
they  appear  none  the  less  to  intermarry  freely  with  their 
Hindu  caste-fellows.^  After  the  birth  of  a  child  it  is  stated 
that  all  the  members  of  the  sept  to  which  the  parents  belong 
remain  impure  for  five  days,  and  no  one  will  take  food  or 
water  from  them. 

10.  Occu-  The    Mali    combines    the   callings   of   a    gardener    and 
pation.        nurseryman.      "  In  laying  out  a  flower-garden  and  in  arrang- 
ing beds,"  Mr.  Sherring  remarks,"  "the  Mali  is  exceedingly 

^  Balaghat  District  Gazetteer,  para.  59. 
'^  Hindu  Castes,  vol.  i.  p.  327. 


n  OCCUPATION  169 

expert.  His  powers  in  this  respect  are  hardly  surpassed  by 
gardeners  in  England.  He  lacks  of  course  the  excellent 
botanical  knowledge  of  many  English  gardeners,  and  also 
the  peculiar  skill  displayed  by  them  in  grafting  and  crossing, 
and  in  watching  the  habits  of  plants.  Yet  in  manipulative 
labour,  especially  when  superintended  by  a  European,  he  is, 
though  much  slower  in  execution,  almost  if  not  quite  equal 
to  gardeners  at  home."  They  are  excellent  and  very 
laborious  cultivators,  and  show  much  skill  in  intensive 
cultivation  and  the  use  of  water.  Malis  are  the  best  sugar- 
cane growers  of  Betul  and  their  holdings  usually  pay  a  higher 
rental  than  those  of  other  castes.  "  In  Balaghat,"  Mr.  Low 
remarks,^  "  they  are  great  growers  of  tobacco  and  sugarcane, 
favouring  the  alluvial  land  on  the  banks  of  rivers.  They 
mostly  irrigate  by  a  dhekli  or  dipping  lift,  from  temporary 
wells  or  from  water-holes  in  rivers.  The  pole  of  the  lift  has 
a  weight  at  one  end  and  a  kerosene  tin  suspended  from  the 
other.  Another  form  of  lift  is  a  hollowed  tree  trunk  worked 
on  a  fulcrum,  but  this  only  raises  the  water  a  foot  or  two. 
The  Marars  do  general  cultivation  as  well  ;  but  as  a  class  are 
not  considered  skilled  agriculturists.  The  proverb  about 
their  cultivating  status  is  : 

Mardr,  Mali  jote  tali 
Tali  ina7-gayi,  dhare  ktidali, 

or,  *  The  Marar  yokes  cows  ;  if  the  cow  dies  he  takes  to  the 
pickaxe '  ;  implying  that  he  is  not  usually  rich  enough  to 
keep  bullocks."  The  saying  has  also  a  derogatory  sense,  as 
no  good  Hindu  would  yoke  a  cow  to  the  plough.  Another 
form  of  lift  used  by  the  Kachhis  is  the  Persian  wheel.  In 
this  two  wheels  arc  fixed  above  the  well  or  tank  and  long 
looped  ropes  pass  over  them  and  down  into  the  well,  between 
which  a  line  of  earthen  pots  is  secured.  As  the  ropes  move 
on  the  wheels  the  pots  descend  into  the  well,  are  filled  with 
water,  brought  up,  and  just  after  they  reach  the  apex  of  the 
wheel  and  turn  to  descend  again,  the  water  pours  out  to  a 
hollow  open  tree-trunk,  from  which  a  channel  conveys  it  to 
the  field.  The  wheel  which  turns  the  rope  is  worked  by  a 
man  pedalling,  but  he  cannot  do  more  than  about  three  hours 

'  Bdlaphdt  District  Gazetteer,  loc.  cil. 


and 
character. 


170  MALI  PART 

a  day.  The  common  lift  for  gardens  is  the  mot  or  bag  made 
of  the  hide  of  a  bullock  or  buffalo.  This  is  usually  worked 
by  a  pair  of  bullocks  moving  forwards  down  a  slope  to  raise 
the  mot  from  the  well  and  backwards  up  the  slope  to  let  it 
down  when  empty. 

11.  Traits  "  It  is  ncccssary,"  the  account  continues,  "  for  the  Marar's 
business  for  one  member  at  least  of  his  family  to  go  to  market 
with  his  vegetables  ;  and  the  Mararin  is  a  noteworthy  feature 

in  all  bazars,  sitting  with  her  basket  or  garment  spread  on  the 
ground,  full  of  white  onions  and  garlic,  purple  brinjals  and 
scarlet  chillies,  with  a  few  handfuls  of  strongly  flavoured  green 
stuff.  Whether  from  the  publicity  which  it  entails  on  their 
women  or  from  whatever  cause,  the  Mararin  does  not  bear 
the  best  of  reputations  for  chastity ;  and  is  usually  con- 
sidered rather  a  bold,  coarse  creature.  The  distinctive 
feature  of  her  attire  is  the  way  in  which  she  ties  up  her 
body-cloth  so  as  to  leave  a  tail  sticking  up  behind  ;  whence 
the  proverb  shouted  after  her  by  rude  little  boys  :  '  Jump 
from  roof  to  roof,  Monkey.  Pull  the  tail  of  the  Mararin, 
Monkey.'  She  also  rejoices  in  a  very  large  tikli  or  spangle 
on  her  forehead  and  in  a  peculiar  kind  of  angia  (waistcoat). 
The  caste  are  usually  considered  rather  clannish  and  morose. 
They  live  in  communities  by  themselves,  and  nearly  always 
inhabit  a  separate  hamlet  of  the  village.  The  Marars  of  a 
certain  place  are  said  to  have  boycotted  a  village  carpenter 
who  lost  an  axe  belonging  to  one  of  their  number,  so  that 
he  had  to  leave  the  neighbourhood  for  lack  of  custom." 

12.  Other  Many  Malis  live  in  the  towns  and   keep  vegetable-  or 
the'^M™f°   flower-gardens   just   outside.       They    sell    flowers,    and    the 

Mali  girls  are  very  good  flower-sellers,  Major  Sutherland 
says,  being  famous  for  their  coquetry.  A  saying  about 
them  is  :  "  The  crow  among  birds,  the  jackal  among  beasts, 
the  barber  among  men  and  the  Malin  among  women  ;  all 
these  are  much  too  clever."  The  Mali  also  prepares  the 
manr  or  marriage-crown,  made  from  the  leaves  of  the  date- 
palm,  both  for  the  bride  and  bridegroom  at  marriages.  In 
return  he  gets  a  present  of  a  rupee,  a  piece  of  cloth  and  a 
day's  food.  He  also  makes  the  garlands  which  are  used 
for  presentation  at  entertainments,  and  supplies  the  daily 
bunches    of    flowers    which    are    required    as    offerings    for 


II  MALL  AH  171 

Mahadeo.  The  Mali  keeps  garlands  for  sale  in  the  bazar, 
and  when  a  well-to-do  person  passes  he  goes  up  and  puts 
a  garland  round  his  neck  and  expects  a  present  of"  a  pice 
or  two. 

"  Physically,"  Mr.  Low  states,  "  the  Marar  is  rather  a  13.  Physi- 
poor-looking  creature,  dark  and  undersized  ;  but  the  women  ^^ce^'^'^^'^' 
are  often  not  bad  looking,  and  dressed  up  in  their  best  at 
a  wedding,  rattling  their  castanets  and  waving  light-coloured 
silk  handkerchiefs,  give  a  very  graceful  dance.  The  caste 
are  not  as  a  rule  celebrated  for  their  cleanliness.  A  polite 
way  of  addressing  a  Marar  is  to  call  him  Patel." 

Mallah,  Malha/ — A  small  caste  of  boatmen  and  fisher- 
men in  the  Jubbulporc  and  Narsinghpur  Districts,  which 
numbered  about  5000  persons  in  191 1.  It  is  scarcely 
correct  to  designate  the  Mallahs  as  a  distinct  caste,  as  in 
both  these  Districts  it  appears  from  inquiry  that  the  term 
is  synonymous  with  Kewat.  Apparently,  however,  the 
Mallahs  do  form  a  separate  endogamous  group,  and  owing 
to  many  of  them  having  adopted  the  profession  of  growing 
hemp,  a  crop  which  respectable  Hindu  castes  usually  refuse 
to  cultivate,  it  is  probable  that  they  would  not  be  allowed 
to  intermarry  with  the  Kewats  of  other  Districts.  In  the 
United  Provinces  Mr.  Crooke  states  that  the  Mallahs, 
though,  as  their  Arabic  name  indicates,  of  recent  origin, 
have  matured  into  a  definite  social  group,  including  a 
number  of  endogamous  tribes.  The  term  Mallah  has 
nothing  to  do  with  the  Mulla  or  Muhammadan  priest 
among  the  frontier  tribes,  but  comes  from  an  Arabic 
word  meaning  '  to  be  salt,'  or,  according  to  another  deriva- 
tion, '  to  move  the  wings  as  a  bird.' "  The  Mallahs  of  the 
Central  Provinces  are  also,  in  spite  of  their  Arabic  name,  a 
purely  Hindu  caste.  In  Narsinghpur  they  say  that  their 
original  ancestor  was  one  Bali  or  Baliram,  who  was  a  boat- 
man and  was  so  strong  that  he  could  carry  his  boat  to  the 
river  and  back  under  his  armpit.  On  one  occasion  he 
ferried   Rama  across   the  Ganges  in   Benares,  and   it  is  said 

^  This    article   is    based    on   papers       Misra,  Ethnographic  clerk, 
by    Mr.    Shyamacharan,    B.A.,    B.  L.,  -  Crooke's  Tribes  and  Castes  of  the 

Pleader,   Narsinghpur,  and  Pyare  Lai       N.W.P.  and  OuJh,  art.  Mallah. 


172  MANA  part 

that  Rama  gave  him  a  horse  to  show  his  gratitude  ;  but 
BaHram  was  so  ignorant  that  he  placed  the  bridle  on  the 
horse's  tail  instead  of  the  head.  And  from  this  act  of 
Baliram's  arose  the  custom  of  having  the  rudder  of  a  boat 
at  the  stern  instead  of  at  the  bow.  The  Mallahs  in  the 
Central  Provinces  appear  from  their  family  names  to  be 
immigrants  from  Bundelkhand.  Their  customs  resemble 
those  of  lower-class  Hindus.  Girls  are  usually  married 
under  the  age  of  twelve  years,  and  the  remarriage  of  widows 
is  permitted,  while  divorce  may  be  effected  in  the  presence 
of  the  panchdyat  or  caste  committee  by  the  husband  and 
wife  breaking  a  straw  between  them.  They  are  scantily 
clothed  and  are  generally  poor.  A  proverb  about  them 
says  : 

Jahdn  betJicjt  Malao 
Tahan  luge  alao, 

or,  '  Where  Mallahs  sit,  there  is  always  a  fire.'  This  refers 
to  their  custom  of  kindling  fires  on  the  river-bank  to  protect 
themselves  from  cold.  In  Narsinghpur  the  Mallahs  have 
found  a  profitable  opening  in  the  cultivation  of  hemp,  a 
crop  which  other  Hindu  castes  until  recently  tabooed  on 
account  probably  of  the  dirty  nature  of  the  process  of 
cleaning  out  the  fibre  and  the  pollution  necessarily  caused 
to  the  water-supply.  They  sow  and  cut  hemp  on  Sundays 
and  Wednesdays,  which  are  regarded  as  auspicious  days. 
They  also  grow  melons,  and  will  not  enter  a  melon-field 
with  their  shoes  on  or  allow  a  woman  during  her  periodical 
impurity  to  approach  it.  The  Mallahs  are  poor  and 
illiterate,  but  rank  with  Dhlmars  and  Kewats,  and  Brahmans 
will  take  water  from  their  hands. 

Mana.^ — A  Dravidian  caste  of  cultivators  and  labourers 
belonging  to  the  Chanda  District,  from  which  they  have 
spread  to  Nagpur,  Bhandara  and  Balaghat.  In  191 1  they 
numbered  nearly  50,000  persons,  of  whom  34,000  belonged 
to  Chanda.  The  origin  of  the  caste  is  obscure.  In  the 
Chanda  Settlement  Report  of  1869  Major  Lucie  Smith 
wrote  of  them  :   "  Tradition   asserts  that  prior  to  the  Gond 

1  This  article  is  based  on  papers  by  Mr.  I  lira  Lul  and  G.  Padaya  Naidu  of 
the  Gazetteer  Office. 


II  MAN  A  173 

conquest  the  Manas  reigned  over  the  country,  having  their 
strongholds  at  Surajgarh  in  Ahiri  and  at  Manikgarh  in  the 
Miinikgarh  hills,  now  of  Hyderabad,  and  that  after  a  troubled 
rule  of  two  hundred  years  they  fell  before  the  Gonds.  In 
appearance  they  are  of  the  Gond  type,  and  are  strongly 
and  stoutly  made  ;  while  in  character  they  are  hardy,  in- 
dustrious and  truthful.  Many  warlike  traditions  still  linger 
among  them,  and  doubtless  in  days  gone  by  they  did  their 
duty  as  good  soldiers,  but  they  have  long  since  hung  up 
sword  and  shield  and  now  rank  among  the  best  cultivators 
of  rice  in  Chanda."  Another  local  tradition  states  that  a 
line  of  Mana  princes  ruled  at  Wairagarh.  The  names  of 
three  princes  are  remembered  :  Kurumpruhoda,  the  founder 
of  the  line  ;  Surjat  Badwaik,  who  fortified  Surjagarh  ;  and 
Gahilu,  who  built  Manikgarh.  As  regards  the  name  Manik- 
garh, it  may  be  mentioned  that  the  tutelary  deity  of  the 
Nagvansi  kings  of  Bastar,  who  ruled  there  before  the 
accession  of  the  present  Raj-Gond  dynasty  in  the  fourteenth 
century,  was  Manikya  Devi,  and  it  is  possible  that  the  chiefs 
of  Wairagarh  were  connected  with  the  Bastar  kings.  Some 
of  the  Manas  say  that  they,  as  well  as  the  Gowaris,  are 
offshoots  of  the  Gond  tribe ;  and  a  local  saying  to  the 
effect  that  '  The  Gond,  the  Gowari  and  the  Mana  eat  boiled 
juari  or  beans  on  leaf-plates '  shows  that  they  are  associated 
together  in  the  popular  mind.  Hislop  states  that  the  Ojhas, 
or  soothsayers  and  minstrels  of  the  Gonds,  have  a  sub- 
division of  Mana  Ojhas,  who  lay  claim  to  special  sanctity, 
refusing  to  take  food  from  any  other  caste.^  The  Gonds 
have  a  subdivision  called  Mannewar,  and  as  war  is  only 
a  Telugu  suffix  for  the  plural,  the  proper  name  Manne 
closely  resembles  Mana.  It  is  shown  in  the  article  on  the 
Parja  tribe  that  the  Parjas  were  a  class  of  Gonds  or  a  tribe 
akin  to  them,  who  were  dominant  in  Bastar  prior  to  the 
later  immigration  under  the  ancestors  of  the  present  Bastar 
dynasty.  And  the  most  plausible  hypothesis  as  to  the  past 
history  of  the  Manas  is  that  they  were  also  the  rulers  of 
some  tracts  of  Chanda,  and  were  displaced  like  the  Parjas 
by  a  Gond  invasion  from  the  south. 

In  Bhandara,  where  the  Manas  hold  land,  it  is  related 

1  Papers  on  the  Aboriginal  Tribes  of  the  Central  Provinces,  p.  6. 


174  MANA  I'AKi 

that  in  former  times  a  gigantic  kite  lived  on  the  hill  of 
Ghurkundi,  near  Sakoli,  and  devoured  the  crops  of  the 
surrounding  country  by  whole  fields  at  a  time.  The  king 
of  Chanda  proclaimed  that  whoever  killed  the  kite  would  be 
granted  the  adjoining  lands.  A  Mana  shot  the  kite  with  an 
arrow  and  its  remains  were  taken  to  Chanda  in  eight  carts, 
and  as  his  reward  he  received  the  grant  of  a  zamlndari. 
In  appearance  the  Manas,  or  at  least  some  of  them,  are 
rather  fine  men,  nor  do  their  complexion  and  features  show 
more  noticeable  traces  of  aboriginal  descent  than  those  of 
the  local  Hindus.  But  their  neighbours  in  Chanda  and 
Bastar,  the  Maria  Gonds,  are  also  taller  and  of  a  better 
physical  type  than  the  average  Dravidian,  so  that  their 
physical  appearance  need  not  militate  against  the  above 
hypothesis.  They  retained  their  taste  for  fighting  until 
within  quite  recent  times,  and  in  Katol  and  other  towns 
below  the  Satpura  hills,  Manas  were  regularly  enlisted  as  a 
town  guard  for  repelling  the  Pindari  raids.  Their  descend- 
ants still  retain  the  ancestral  matchlocks,  and  several  of 
them  make  good  use  of  these  as  professional  shikaris  or 
hunters.  Many  of  them  are  employed  as  servants  by  land- 
owners and  moneylenders  for  the  collection  of  debts  or  the 
protection  of  crops,  and  others  are  proprietors,  cultivators 
and  labourers,  while  a  few  even  lend  money  on  their  own 
account.  Manas  hold  three  zamlndari  estates  in  Bhandara 
and  a  few  villages  in  Chanda  ;  here  they  are  considered  to 
be  good  cultivators,  but  have  the  reputation  as  a  caste  of 
being  very  miserly,  and  though  possessed  of  plenty,  living 
only  on  the  poorest  and  coarsest  food.^  The  Mana  women 
are  proverbial  for  the  assistance  which  they  render  to  their 
husbands  in  the  work  of  cultivation. 

Owing  to  their  general  adoption  of  Maratha  customs, 
the  Manas  are  now  commonly  regarded  as  a  caste  and  not  a 
forest  tribe,  and  this  view  may  be  accepted.  They  have 
two  subcastcs,  the  Badwaik  Manas,  or  soldiers,  and  the 
Khad  Manas,  who  live  in  the  plains  and  are  considered  to 
be  of  impure  descent.  Badwaik  or  '  The  Great  Ones '  is  a 
titular  term  applied  to  a  person  carrying  arms,  and  assumed 
by  certain   Rajputs  and   also  by  some  of  the  lower  castes. 

'    Rev.  A.  Wood  in  Chanda  District  Gazetteer,  para.  96. 


II  MAN  A  175 

A  third  group  of  Manas  are  now  amalgamated  with  the 
Kunbis  as  a  regular  subdivision  of  that  caste,  though  they 
are  regarded  as  somewhat  lower  than  the  others.  They 
have  also  a  number  of  exogamous  septs  of  the  usual  titular 
and  totemistic  types,  the  few  recognisable  names  being 
Marathi.  It  is  worth  noticing  that  several  pairs  of  these 
septs,  as  Jamare  and  Gazbe,  Narnari  and  Chudri,  Wagh  and 
Rawat,  and  others  are  prohibited  from  intermarriage.  And 
this  may  be  a  relic  of  some  wider  scheme  of  division  of  the 
type  common  among  the  Australian  aborigines.  The  social 
customs  of  the  Manas  are  the  same  as  those  of  the  other 
lower  Maratha  castes,  as  described  in  the  articles  on  Kunbi, 
Kohli  and  Mahar.  A  bride-price  of  Rs.  12-8  is  usually 
paid,  and  if  the  bridegroom's  father  has  the  money,  he  takes 
it  with  him  on  going  to  arrange  for  the  match.  Only  one 
married  woman  of  the  bridegroom's  family  accompanies  him 
to  the  wedding,  and  she  throws  rice  over  him  five  times. 
Four  days  in  the  year  are  appointed  for  the  celebration  of 
weddings,  the  festivals  of  Shivratri  and  of  Akhatij,  and 
a  day  each  in  the  months  of  Magh  (January)  and  Phagun 
(February).  This  rule,  however,  is  not  universal.  Brahmans 
do  not  usually  officiate  at  their  ceremonies,  but  they  employ 
a  Brahman  to  prepare  the  rice  which  is  thrown  over  the 
couples.  Marriage  within  the  sept  is  forbidden,  as  well  as 
the  union  of  the  children  of  two  sisters.  But  the  practice 
of  marrying  a  brother's  daughter  to  a  sister's  son  is  a  very 
favourite  one,  being  known  as  Mahunchar,  and  in  this 
respect  the  Manas  resemble  the  Gonds.  When  a  widow  is 
to  be  remarried,  she  stops  on  the  way  by  the  bank  of  a 
stream  as  she  is  proceeding  to  her  new  husband's  house,  and 
here  her  clothes  are  taken  off  and  buried  by  an  exorcist 
with  a  view  to  laying  the  first  husband's  spirit  and  prevent- 
ing it  from  troubling  the  new  household.  If  a  woman  goes 
wrong  with  a  man  of  another  caste  she  is  not  finally  cast 
out,  but  if  she  has  a  child  she  must  first  dispose  of  it  to 
somebody  else  after  it  is  weaned.  She  may  then  be  re- 
admitted into  caste  by  having  her  hair  shaved  off  and  giving 
three  feasts  ;  the  first  is  prepared  by  the  caste  and  eaten 
outside  her  house,  the  second  is  prepared  by  her  relatives 
and    eaten    within    her   house,   and    at    the   third    the   caste 


176  MANBHAO  i-akt 

reinstate  her  by  partaking  of  food  cooked  by  herself.  The 
dead  are  either  buried  or  burnt  ;  in  the  former  case  a 
feast  is  given  immediately  after  the  burial  and  no  further 
mourning  is  observed  ;  in  the  latter  the  period  of  mourning 
is  three  days.  As  among  the  Gonds,  the  dead  are  laid  with 
feet  to  the  north.  A  woman  is  impure  for  seven  days  after 
child-birth. 

The  Manas  have  Bhats  or  genealogists  of  their  own 
caste,  a  separate  one  being  appointed  for  each  sept.  The 
Bhat  of  any  sept  can  only  accept  gifts  from  members  of  that 
sept,  though  he  may  take  food  from  any  one  of  the  caste. 
The  Bhats  are  in  the  position  of  beggars,  and  the  other 
Manas  will  not  take  food  from  them.  Every  man  must 
have  a  Bhat  for  his  family  under  penalty  of  being  tempor- 
arily put  out  of  caste.  It  is  said  that  the  Bhats  formerly 
had  books  showing  the  pedigrees  of  the  different  families, 
but  that  once  in  a  spirit  of  arrogance  they  placed  their  shoes 
upon  the  books  ;  and  the  other  Manas,  not  brooking  this 
insolence,  burnt  the  books.  The  gravity  of  such  an  act  may 
be  realised  when  it  is  stated  that  if  anybody  even  threatens 
to  hit  a  Mana  with  a  shoe,  the  indignity  put  upon  him  is  so 
great  that  he  is  temporarily  excluded  from  caste  and  penal- 
ised for  readmission.  Since  this  incident  the  Bhats  have  to 
address  the  Manas  as  '  Brahma,'  to  show  their  respect,  the 
Marra  replying  '  Ram,  Ram.'  Their  women  wear  short  loin- 
cloths, exposing  part  of  the  thigh,  like  the  Gonds.  They 
eat  pork  and  drink  liquor,  but  will  take  cooked  food  only 
from  Brahmans. 

I.  History  Manbhao/ — A   religious  sect  or  order,  which   has  now 

and  nature  ^gcome  a  caste,  belonging  to  the  Maratha  Districts  of  the 

of  the  sect. 

Central  Provinces  and  to  Berar.  Their  total  strength  in 
India  in  191 1  was  10,000  persons,  of  whom  the  Central 
Provinces  and  Berar  contained  4000.  The  name  would 
appear  to  have  some  such  meaning  as  '  The  reverend 
brothers.'      The   Manbhaos  are  stated   to  be  a  Vaishnavite 

1  Tliis  article  is  compiled  from  notes  burgh  ;  Captain  Mackintosh's  Accotmt 

on    the    caste    drawn    up    by   Colonel  ^ Me  j)/i2«(^//rt^j' (India  Office  Tracts) ; 

Mackenzie    and     contributed    to    the  and    a    paper    by    Pyare    Lai    Misra, 

Pioneer    newspaper    by    Mrs.     Ilors-  Ethnographic  clerk. 


II  HISTORY  AND  NATURE  OF  THE  SECT  177 

order  founded  in  Berar  some  two  centuries  ago.^  They 
themselves  say  that  their  order  is  a  thousand  years  old  and 
that  it  was  founded  by  one  Arjun  Bhat,  who  lived  at 
Domegaon,  near  Ahmadnagar.  He  was  a  great  Sanskrit 
scholar  and  a  devotee  of  Krishna,  and  preached  his  doctrines 
to  all  except  the  impure  castes.  Ridhpur,  in  Berar,  is  the 
present  headquarters  of  the  order,  and  contains  a  monastery 
and  three  temples,  dedicated  to  Krishna  and  Dattatreya,^ 
the  only  deities  recognised  by  the  Manbhaos.  Each  temple 
is  named  after  a  village,  and  is  presided  over  by  a  Mahant 
elected  from  the  celibate  Manbhaos.  There  are  other 
Mahants,  also  known  after  the  names  of  villages  or  towns 
in  which  the  monasteries  over  which  they  preside  are 
located.  Among  these  are  Sheone,  from  the  village  near 
Chandur  in  Amraoti  District  ;  Akulne,  a  village  near 
Ahmadnagar  ;  Lasorkar,  from  Lasor,  near  Aurangabad  ; 
Mehkarkar,  from  Mehkar  in  Buldana  ;  and  others.  The 
order  thus  belongs  to  Berar  and  the  adjoining  parts  of 
India.  Colonel  Mackenzie  describes  Ridhpur  as  follows  : 
"  The  name  is  said  to  be  derived  from  rzdh,  meaning  blood, 
a  Rakshas  or  demon  having  been  killed  there  by  Para- 
surama,  and  it  owes  its  sanctity  to  the  fact  that  the  god 
lived  there.  Black  stones  innumerable  scattered  about  the 
town  show  where  the  god's  footsteps  became  visible.  At 
Ridhpur  Krishna  is  represented  by  an  ever-open,  sleeplessly 
watching  eye,  and  some  Manbhaos  carry  about  a  small 
black  stone  disk  with  an  eye  painted  on  it  as  an  amulet." 
Frequently  their  shrines  contain  no  images,  but  are  simply 
chabiitras  or  platforms  built  over  the  place  where  Krishna 
or  Dattatreya  left  marks  of  their  footprints.  Over  the 
platform  is  a  small  veranda,  which  the  Manbhaos  kiss, 
calling  upon  the  name  of  the  god.  Sukli,  in  Bhandara, 
is  also  a  headquarters  of  the  caste,  and  contains  many 
Manbhao  tombs.  Here  they  burn  camphor  in  honour  of 
Dattatreya  and  make  offerings  of  cocoanuts.  They  make 
pilgrimages  to  the  different  shrines  at  the  full  moons  of 
Chait  (IMarch)  and  Kartik  (October).  They  pay  reverence 
to  no  deities  except  Krishna  and  Dattatreya,  and  observe 

1  Berar  Census  Report  (i2>Si),Y).  62.       devotee  who  has   been  deified   as  an 
'•^  Dattatreya  was  a  celebrated  Sivite       incarnation  of  Siva. 

VOL.  IV  N 


178  MANBHAO  part 

the  festivals  of  Gokul  Ashtami  in  August  and  Datta- 
Jayantri  in  December.  They  consider  the  month  of  Aghan 
(November)  as  holy,  because  Krishna  called  it  so  in  the 
Bhagavat-Glta.  This  is  their  sacred  book,  and  they  reject 
the  other  Hindu  scriptures.  Their  conception  of  Krishna  is 
based  on  his  description  of  himself  to  Arjun  in  the  Bhaga- 
vat-Gita  as  follows  :  " '  Behold  things  wonderful,  never  seen 
before,  behold  in  this  my  body  the  whole  world,  animate 
and  inanimate.  But  as  thou  art  unable  to  see  with  these 
thy  natural  eyes,  I  will  give  thee  a  heavenly  eye,  with  which 
behold  my  divine  connection.' 

"  The  son  of  Pandu  then  beheld  within  the  body  of  the 
god  of  gods  standing  together  the  whole  universe  divided 
forth  into  its  vast  variety.  He  was  overwhelmed  with 
wonder  and  every  hair  was  raised  on  end.  '  But  I  am  not 
to  be  seen  as  thou  hast  seen  me  even  by  the  assistance  of 
the  Vedas,  by  mortification,  by  sacrifices,  by  charitable  gifts  : 
but  I  am  to  be  seen,  to  be  known  in  truth,  and  to  be 
obtained  by  that  worship  which  is  offered  up  to  me  alone  : 
and  he  goeth  unto  me  whose  works  are  done  for  me  :  who 
esteemeth  me  supreme  :  who  is  my  servant  only  :  who  hath 
abandoned  all  consequences,  and  who  liveth  amongst  all 
men  without  hatred.'  " 

Again  :  "  He  my  servant  is  dear  to  me  who  is  free  from 
enmity,  the  friend  of  all  nature,  merciful,  exempt  from  all 
pride  and  selfishness,  the  same  in  pain  and  in  pleasure, 
patient  of  wrong,  contented,  constantly  devout,  of  subdued 
passions  and  firm  resolves,  and  whose  mind  and  under- 
standing are  fixed  on  me  alone." 
2.  Divi-  The   Manbhaos  are  now  divided  into  three  classes  :  the 

the"order  Brahmachari  ;  the  Gharbari  ;  and  the  Bhope.  The  Brahma- 
chari  are  the  ascetic  members  of  the  sect  who  subsist  by 
begging  and  devote  their  lives  to  meditation,  prayer  and 
spiritual  instruction.  The  Gharbari  are  those  who,  while 
leading  a  mendicant  life,  wearing  the  distinctive  black  dress 
of  the  order  and  having  their  heads  shaved,  are  permitted 
to  get  married  with  the  permission  of  their  Mahant  or  guru. 
The  ceremony  is  performed  in  strict  privacy  inside  a  temple. 
A  man  sometimes  signifies  his  choice  of  a  spouse  by  putting 
his77/<?/^  or  beggar's  wallet  upon  hers;   if  she  lets  it  remain 


II  DIVISIONS  OF  THE  ORDER  179 

there,  the  betrothal  is  complete.  A  woman  may  show  her 
preference  for  a  man  by  bringing  a  pair  of  garlands  and 
placing  one  on  his  head  and  the  other  on  that  of  the  image 
of  Krishna.  The  marriage  is  celebrated  according  to  the 
custom  of  the  Kunbis,  but  without  feasting  or  music. 
Widows  are  permitted  to  marry  again.  Married  women 
do  not  wear  bangles  nor  toe-rings  nor  the  customary  neck- 
lace of  beads  ;  they  put  on  no  jewellery,  and  have  no  cJioli 
or  bodice.  The  Bhope  or  Bhoall,  the  third  division  of  the 
caste,  are  wholly  secular  and  wear  no  distinctive  dress, 
except  sometimes  a  black  head-cloth.  They  may  engage 
in  any  occupation  that  pleases  them,  and  sometimes  act  as 
servants  in  the  temples  of  the  caste.  In  Berar  they 
are  divided  into  thirteen  bas  or  orders,  named  after  the 
disciples  of  Arjun  Bhat,  who  founded  the  various  shrines. 
The  Manbhaos  are  recruited  by  initiation  of  both  men 
and  women  from  any  except  the  impure  castes.  Young 
children  who  have  been  vowed  by  their  parents  to  a  reli- 
gious life  or  are  left  without  relations,  are  taken  into  the 
order.  Women  usually  join  it  either  as  children  or  late  in 
life.  The  celibate  members,  male  or  female,  live  separately 
in  companies  like  monks  and  nuns.  They  do  not  travel 
together,  and  hold  services  in  their  temples  at  different  times. 
A  woman  admitted  into  the  order  is  henceforward  the  disciple 
of  the  woman  who  initiated  her  by  whispering  the  guru 
mantra  or  sacred  verse  into  her  ear.  She  addresses  her 
preceptress  as  mother  and  the  other  women  as  sisters.  The 
Manbhaos  are  intelligent  and  generally  literate,  and  they 
lead  a  simple  and  pure  life.  They  are  respectable  and  are 
respected  by  the  people,  and  a  guru  or  spiritual  teacher  is 
often  taken  from  them  in  place  of  a  Brahman  or  Gosain. 
They  often  act  as  priests  or  gurus  to  the  Mahars,  for  whom 
Brahmans  will  not  perform  these  services.  Their  honesty 
and  humility  are  proverbial  among  the  Kunbis,  and  are  in 
pleasing  contrast  to  the  character  of  many  of  the  Hindu 
mendicant  orders.  They  consider  it  essential  that  all  their 
converts  should  be  able  to  read  the  Bhagavat-Glta  or  a 
commentary  on  it,  and  for  this  purpose  teach  them  to  read 
and  write  during  the  rainy  season  when  they  are  assembled 
at  one  of  their  monasteries. 


i8o  MANBHAO  part 

3.  Reiigi-  One  of  the  leading  tenets  of  the  Manbhaos  is  a  respect 

vances^^'^     for  all  forms  of  animal   and  even  vegetable  life,  much  on  a 
and  par  with  that  of  the  Jains.      They  strain  water  through  a 

cus  oms.  f~.\Q<^  before  drinking  it,  and  then  delicately  wipe  the  cloth 
to  preserve  any  insects  that  may  be  upon  it.  They  should 
not  drink  water  in,  and  hence  cannot  reside  in,  any  village 
where  animal  sacrifices  are  offered  to  a  deity.  They  will 
not  cut  down  a  tree  nor  break  off  a  branch,  or  even  a  blade 
of  grass,  nor  pluck  a  fruit  or  an  ear  of  corn.  Some,  it  is 
said,  will  not  even  bathe  in  tanks  for  fear  of  destroying 
insect-life.  For  this  reason  also  they  readily  accept  cooked 
food  as  alms,  so  that  they  may  avoid  the  risk  of  the  destruc- 
tion of  life  involved  in  cooking.  The  Manbhaos  dislike  the 
din  and  noise  of  towns,  and  live  generally  in  secluded  places, 
coming  into  the  towns  only  to  beg.  Except  in  the  rains 
they  wander  about  from  place  to  place.  They  beg  in  the 
morning,  and  then  return  home  and,  after  bathing  and 
taking  their  food,  read  their  religious  books.  They  must 
always  worship  Krishna  before  taking  food,  and  for  this 
purpose  when  travelling  they  carry  an  image  of  the  deity 
about  with  them.  They  will  take  food  and  water  from  the 
higher  castes,  but  they  must  not  do  so  from  persons  of  low 
caste  on  pain  of  temporary  excommunication.  They  neither 
smoke  nor  chew  tobacco.  Both  men  and  women  shave  the 
head  clean,  and  men  also  the  face.  This  is  first  done  on 
initiation  by  the  village  barber.  But  the  sendJii  or  scalp- 
lock  and  moustaches  of  the  novice  must  be  cut  off  by  his 
guru,  this  being  the  special  mark  of  his  renunciation  of  the 
world.  The  scalp-locks  of  the  various  candidates  are  pre- 
served until  a  sufficient  quantity  of  hair  has  been  collected, 
when  ropes  are  made  of  it,  which  they  fasten  round  their 
loins.  This  may  be  because  Hindus  attach  a  special  efficacy 
to  the  scalp-lock,  perhaps  as  being  the  seat  of  a  man's 
strength  or  power.  The  nuns  also  shave  their  heads,  and 
generally  eschew  every  kind  of  personal  adornment.  Both 
monks  and  nuns  usually  dress  in  black  or  ashen-grey  clothes 
as  a  mark  of  humility,  though  some  have  discarded  black  in 
favour  of  the  usual  Hindu  mendicant  colour  of  red  ochre. 
The  black  colour  is  in  keeping  with  the  complexion  of 
Krishna,    their    chief   god.       They    dye    their    cloths    with 


II  HOSTILITY  BETWEEN  MANBHAOS  i'^  BRAHMANS  i8i 

lamp-black  mixed  with  a  little  water  and  oil.  They  usually 
sleep  on  the  ground,  with  the  exception  of  those  who  are 
Mahants,  and  they  sometimes  have  no  metal  vessels,  but  use 
bags  made  of  strong  cloth  for  holding  food  and  water. 
Men's  names  have  the  suffix  Boa,  as  Datto  Boa,  Kesho  Boa, 
while  those  of  boys  end  in  da,  as  Manoda,  Raojida,  and 
those  of  women  in  Bai,  as  Gopa  Bai,  Som  Bai.  The  dead 
are  buried,  not  in  the  common  burial-grounds,  but  in  some 
waste  place.  The  corpse  is  laid  on  its  side,  facing  the  east, 
with  head  to  the  north  and  feet  to  the  south.  A  piece  of  silk  ■ 
or  other  valuable  cloth  is  placed  on  it,  on  which  salt  is 
sprinkled,  and  the  earth  is  then  filled  in  and  the  ground 
levelled  so  as  to  leave  no  trace  of  the  grave.  No  memorial 
is  erected  over  a  Manbhao  tomb,  and  no  mourning  nor  cere- 
mony of  purification  is  observed,  nor  are  oblations  offered 
to  the  spirits  of  the  dead.  If  the  dead  man  leaves  any 
property,  it  is  expended  on  feeding  the  brotherhood  for  ten 
days  ;  and  if  not,  the  Mahant  of  his  order  usually  does  this 
in  his  name. 

The  Manbhaos  are  dissenters  from  orthodox   Hinduism,  4.  Hostility 
and  have  thus  naturally  incurred  the  hostility  of  the  Brah-  Msnbhaos 
mans.      Mr.  Kitts  remarks  of  them  :  ^   "  The   Brahmans  hate  and 
the  Manbhaos,  who  have  not  only  thrown  off  the  Brahmanical     ^^  '"^"^' 
yoke  themselves,  but   do   much  to  oppose  the  influence  of 
Brahmans  among  the  agriculturists.      The  Brahmans  repre- 
sent them  as  descended  from  one  Krishna  Bhat,  a  Brahman 
who  was  outcasted  for  keeping  a  beautiful  Mang  woman  as 
his   mistress.      His   four  sons   were  called    the   Mdug-bhaos 
or  Mang  brothers."      This  is  an  excellent   instance  of  the 
Brahman  talent  for  pressing  etymology  into  their  service  as 
an    argument,  in  which   respect  they  resemble  the  Jesuits. 
By  asserting  that  the  Manbhaos  are  descended  from  a  Mang 
woman,  one  of  the  most  despised   castes,  they  attempt  to 
dispose  of  these  enemies  of  a  Brahman  hegemony  without 
further  ado. 

Another  story  about  their  wearing  black  or  ashen- 
coloured  clothes  related  by  Colonel  Mackenzie  is  that 
Krishna  Bhat's  followers,  refusing  to  believe  the  aspersions 
cast   on   their  leader  by  the  Brahmans,  but    knowing    that 

'  Berar  Census  Report  (iSSi),  p.  62. 


1 82  MANBHAO  i'Art 

some  one  among  them  had  been  guilty  of  the  sin  imputed 
to  him,  determined  to  decide  the  matter  by  the  ordeal  of 
fire.  Having  made  a  fire,  they  cast  into  it  their  own  clothes 
and  those  of  their  guru,  each  man  having  previously  written 
his  name  on  his  garments.  The  sacred  fire  made  short  work 
of  all  the  clothes  except  those  of  Krishna  Bhat,  which  it 
rejected  and  refused  to  burn,  thereby  forcing  the  unwilling 
disciples  to  believe  that  the  finger  of  God  pointed  to  their 
revered  guru  as  the  sinner.  In  spite  of  the  shock  of  thus 
discovering  that  their  idol  had  feet  of  very  human  clay,  they 
still  continued  to  regard  Krishna  Bhat's  precepts  as  good 
and  worthy  of  being  followed,  only  stipulating  that  for  all 
time  Manbhaos  should  wear  clothes  the  colour  of  ashes,  in 
memory  of  the  sacred  fire  which  had  disclosed  to  them  their 
guru's  sin. 

Captain  Mackintosh  also  relates  that  "About  A.D.  1780, 
a  Brahman  named  Anand  Rishi,  an  inhabitant  of  Paithan  on 
the  Godavari,  maltreated  a  Manbhao,  who  came  to  ask  for 
alms  at  his  door.  This  Manbhao,  after  being  beaten,  pro- 
ceeded to  his  friends  in  the  vicinity,  and  they  collected  a 
large  number  of  brethren  and  went  to  the  Brahman  to 
demand  satisfaction  ;  Anand  Rishi  assembled  a  number 
of  Gosains  and  his  friends,  and  pursued  and  attacked  the 
Manbhaos,  who  fled  and  asked  Ahalya  Bai,  Rani  of  Indore, 
to  protect  them  ;  she  endeavoured  to  pacify  Anand  Rishi 
by  telling  him  that  the  Manbhaos  were  her  gurus  ;  he  said 
that  they  were  Mangs,  but  declared  that  if  they  agreed  to 
his  proposals  he  would  forgive  them  ;  one  of  them  was  that 
they  were  not  to  go  to  a  Brahman's  house  to  ask  for  alms, 
and  another  that  if  any  Brahman  repeated  Anand  Rishi's 
name  and  drew  a  line  across  the  road  when  a  Manbhao  was 
advancing,  the  Manbhao,  without  saying  a  word,  must  return 
the  road  he  came.  Notwithstanding  this  attempt  to  prevent 
their  approaching  a  Brahman's  house,  they  continue  to  ask 
alms  of  the  Brahmans,  and  some  Brahmans  make  a  point  of 
supplying  them  with  provisions." 

This  story  endeavours  to  explain  a  superstition  still 
observed  by  the  caste.  This  is  that  when  a  Manbhao  is 
proceeding  along  a  road,  if  any  one  draws  a  line  across  the 
road  with  a  stick   in   front  of  him  the  Manbhao  will  wait 


11   HOSTILITY  BETWEEN  MANBHAOS  ^  BRAHMANS   183 

without  passing  the  line  until  some  one  else  comes  up  and 
crosses  it  before  him.  In  reality  this  is  probably  a  primitive 
superstition  similar  to  that  which  makes  a  man  stop  when  a 
snake  has  crossed  the  road  in  front  of  him  and  efface  its 
track  before  proceeding.  It  is  said  that  the  members  of  the 
order  also  carry  their  sticks  upside  down,  and  a  saying  is 
repeated  about  them  : 

MCmbJiao  Jiokar  kale  kaprc  dCirhi  DtiicJii  micndhata  Jiai^ 
Ulti  lakri  hath  men  pakri  ivoh  kya  Sahib  iiiilta  hai j 

or,  "  The  Manbhao  wears  black  clothes,  shaves  his  face  and 
holds  his  stick  upside  down,  and  thinks  he  will  find  God  that 
way." 

This  saying  is  attributed  to  Kablr. 


mAng 

LIST  OF   PARAGRAPHS 

1.  Origin  ajid  traditions.  4.    Widow-marriage. 

2.  Subdivisions.  5.  Burial. 

3.  Marriage.  6.    Occupation. 

7.   Religio7i  and  social  status. 

I.  Origin  Mang".^ — A  low  impure  caste  of  the  Maratha  Districts, 

^"^,. .         who   act   as   villasre   musicians   and   castrate   bullocks,  while 

traditions.  ^  .  1     •  r^ 

their  women  serve  as  midwives.  The  Mangs  are  also  some- 
times known  as  Vajantri  or  musician.  They  numbered 
more  than  90,000  persons  in  191 1,  of  whom  30,000 
belonged  to  the  Nagpur  and  Nerbudda  Divisions  of  the 
Central  Provinces,  and  60,000  to  Berar.  The  real  origin 
of  the  Mangs  is  obscure,  but  they  probably  originated  from 
the  subject  tribes  and  became  a  caste  through  the  adoption 
of  the  menial  services  which  constitute  their  profession.  In 
a  Maratha  book  called  the  Shudra  Kamlakar,^  it  is  stated 
that  the  Mang  was  the  offspring  of  the  union  of  a  Vaifieh 
man  and  an  Ambashtha  woman.  A  Vaideh  was  the  ille- 
gitimate child  of  a  Vaishya  father  and  a  Brahman  mother, 
and  an  Ambashtha  of  a  Brahman  father  and  a  Vaishya 
mother.  The  business  of  the  Mang  was  to  play  on  the 
flute  and  to  make  known  the  wishes  of  the  Raja  to  his 
subjects  by  beat  of  drum.  He  was  to  live  in  the  forest  or 
outside  the  village,  and  was  not  to  enter  it  except  with  the 
Raja's  permission.  He  was  to  remove  the  dead  bodies  of 
strangers,  to  hang  criminals,  and  to  take  away  and  appro- 
priate the  clothes  and  bedding  of  the  dead.  The  Mangs 
themselves  relate  the  following  legend  of  their  origin  as 
given  by  Mr.  Sathe  :   Long  ago  before  cattle  were  used  for 

'  This  article   is  based   partly  on  a       Extra  Assistant  Commissioner. 
paper  by  Mr.  Achyut  Sitaram  Sathe,  ^  P.  389. 

184 


I'A RT  1 1  5  UBDI  VISIONS  185 

ploughing,  there  was  so  terrible  a  famine  upon  the  earth 
that  all  the  grain  was  eaten  up,  and  there  was  none  left  for 
seed.  Mahadeo  took  pity  on  the  few  men  who  were  left 
alive,  and  gave  them  some  grain  for  sowing.  In  those  days 
men  used  to  drag  the  plough  through  the  earth  themselves. 
But  when  a  Kunbi,  to  whom  Mahadeo  had  given  some  seed, 
went  to  try  and  sow  it,  he  and  his  family  were  so  emaciated 
by  hunger  that  they  were  unable,  in  spite  of  their  united 
efforts,  to  get  the  plough  through  the  ground.  In  this 
pitiable  case  the  Kunbi  besought  Mahadeo  to  give  him 
some  further  assistance,  and  Mahadeo  then  appeared,  and, 
bringing  with  him  the  bull  Nandi,  upon  which  he  rode,  told 
the  Kunbi  to  yoke  it  to  the  plough.  This  was  done,  and 
so  long  as  Mahadeo  remained  present,  Nandi  dragged  the 
plough  peaceably  and  successfully.  But  as  soon  as  the  god 
disappeared,  the  bull  became  restive  and  refused  to  work 
any  longer.  The  Kunbi.  being  helpless,  again  complained 
to  Mahadeo,  when  the  god  appeared,  and  in  his  wrath  at 
the  conduct  of  the  bull,  great  drops  of  perspiration  stood 
upon  his  brow.  One  of  these  fell  to  the  ground,  and  im- 
mediately a  coal-black  man  sprang  up  and  stood  ready  to 
do  Mahadeo's  bidding.  He  was  ordered  to  bring  the  bull 
to  reason,  and  he  went  and  castrated  it,  after  which  it 
worked  well  and  quietly  ;  and  since  then  the  Kunbis  have 
always  used  bullocks  for  ploughing,  and  the  descendants  of 
the  man,  who  was  the  first  Mang,  are  employed  in  the  office 
for  which  he  was  created.  It  is  further  related  that  Nandi, 
the  bull,  cursed  the  Mang  in  his  pain,  saying  that  he  and 
his  descendants  should  never  derive  any  profit  from  plough- 
ing with  cattle.  And  the  Mangs  say  that  to  this  day  none 
of  them  prosper  by  taking  to  cultivation,  and  quote  the 
following  proverb:  ^  Keli  kheti,  Zhdli  viati'  or,  '  If  a  Mang 
sows  grain  he  will  only  reap  dust.' 

The    caste    is    divided     into    the    following     subcastes :  2.  Sub- 
Dakhne,  Khandeshe  and  Berarya,  or  those  belonging  to  the  ^'^'^'O"''- 
Deccan,    Khandesh    and    Berar ;    Ghodke,    those   who    tend 
horses;     Dafle,     tom-tom     players;      Uchle,     pickpockets; 
Pindari,  descendants    of  the   old    freebooters ;   Kakarkadhe, 
stone-diggers  ;  Holer,  hide-curers  ;  and  Garori     The  Garoris  ^ 

1  See  also  separate  article  Mang-Garori. 


1 86  MANG  part 

are  a  sept  of  vagrant  snake-charmers  and  jugglers.      Many 
are  professional  criminals. 
3.  Mar-  The   caste    is   divided    into    exogamous    family   groups 

riage.  named  after  animals  or  other  objects,  or  of  a  titular  nature. 
One  or  two  have  the  names  of  other  castes.  Members  of 
the  same  group  may  not  intermarry.  Those  who  are  well- 
to-do  marry  their  daughters  very  young  for  the  sake  of 
social  estimation,  but  there  is  no  compulsion  in  this  matter. 
In  families  which  are  particularly  friendly,  Mr.  Sathe 
remarks,  children  may  be  betrothed  before  birth  if  the  two 
mothers  are  with  child  together.  Betel  is  distributed,  and 
a  definite  contract  is  made,  on  the  supposition  that  a  boy 
and  girl  will  be  born.  Sometimes  the  abdomen  of  each 
woman  is  marked  with  red  vermilion.  A  grown-up  girl 
should  not  be  allowed  to  see  her  husband's  face  before 
marriage.  The  wedding  is  held  at  the  bride's  house,  but  if 
it  is  more  convenient  that  it  should  be  in  the  bridegroom's 
village,  a  temporary  house  is  found  for  the  bride's  party, 
and  the  marriage-shed  is  built  in  front  of  it.  The  bride 
must  wear  a  yellow  bodice  and  cloth,  yellow  and  red  being 
generally  considered  among  Hindus  as  the  auspicious  colours 
for  weddings.  When  she  leaves  for  her  husband's  house 
she  puts  on  another  or  going-away  dress,  which  should  be 
as  fine  as  the  family  can  afford,  and  thereafter  she  may  wear 
any  colour  except  white.  The  distinguishing  marks  of  a 
married  woman  are  the  niangal-sutrani  or  holy  thread,  which 
her  husband  ties  on  her  neck  at  marriage  ;  the  garsoli  or 
string  of  black  beads  round  the  neck  ;  the  silver  toe-rings 
and  glass  bangles.  If  any  one  of  these  is  lost,  it  must  be 
replaced  at  once,  or  she  is  likely  soon  to  be  a  widow.  The 
food  served  at  the  wedding-feast  consists  of  rice  and  pulse, 
but  more  essential  than  these  is  an  ample  provision  of  liquor. 
It  is  a  necessary  feature  of  a  Mang  wedding  that  the  bride- 
groom should  go  to  it  riding  on  a  horse.  The  Mahars, 
another  low  caste  of  the  Maratha  Districts,  worship  the 
horse,  and  between  them  and  the  Mangs  there  exists  a  long- 
standing feud,  so  that  they  do  not,  if  they  can  help  it,  drink 
of  the  same  well.  The  sight  of  a  Mang  riding  on  a  horse  is 
thus  gall  and  wormwood  to  the  Mahars,  who  consider  it  a 
terrible    degradation    to    the    noble    animal,    and    this    fact 


■k 


(■ 


II  WIDOlV-iMARRIAGE— BURIAL— OCCUPATION        187 

inflaming  their  natural  enmity,  formerly  led  to  riots  between 
tiic  castes.  Under  native  rule  the  Mangs  were  public 
executioners,  and  it  was  said  to  be  the  proudest  moment 
of  a  Mang's  life  when  he  could  perform  his  office  on  a 
Mahar. 

The  bride  proceeds  to  her  husband's  house  for  a  short 
visit  immediately  after  the  marriage,  and  then  goes  home 
again.  Thereafter,  till  such  time  as  she  finally  goes  to  live 
with  him,  she  makes  brief  visits  for  festivals  or  on  other 
social  occasions,  or  to  help  her  mother-in-law,  if  her  assist- 
ance is  required.  If  the  mother-in-law  is  ill  and  requires 
somebody  to  wait  on  her,  or  if  she  is  a  shrew  and  wants 
some  one  to  bully,  or  if  she  has  strict  ideas  of  discipline  and 
wishes  personally  to  conduct  the  bride's  training  for  married 
life,  she  makes  the  girl  come  more  frequently  and  stay 
longer. 

The  remarriage  of  widows  is  permitted,  and  a  widow  4.  widow- 
may  marry  any  one  except  persons  of  her  own  family  group  ™^"'^g^- 
or  her  husband's  elder  brother,  who  stands  to  her  in  the 
light  of  a  father.  She  is  permitted,  but  not  obliged,  to  marry 
her  husband's  younger  brother,  but  if  he  has  performed  the 
dead  man's  obsequies,  she  may  not  marry  him,  as  this  act 
has  placed  him  in  the  relation  of  a  son  to  her  deceased 
husband.  More  usually  the  widow  marries  some  one  in 
another  village,  because  the  remarriage  is  always  held  in 
some  slight  disrepute,  and  she  prefers  to  be  at  a  distance 
from  her  first  husband's  family.  Divorce  is  said  to  be  per- 
mitted only  for  persistent  misconduct  on  the  part  of  the 
wife. 

The  caste  always  bury  the  dead  and  observe  mourning  5.  Burial, 
only  for  three  days.  On  returning  from  a  burial  they  all 
get  drunk,  and  then  go  to  the  house  of  the  deceased  and 
chew  the  bitter  leaves  of  the  film  tree  {Melia  indicci).  These 
they  then  spit  out  of  their  mouths  to  indicate  their  complete 
severance  from  the  dead  man. 

The  caste  beat   drums  at  village   festivals,  and   castrate  6.  Occupa- 
cattle,  and  they  also  make  brooms   and   mats   of  date-palm  ^'°"- 
and    keep    leeches    for   blood-letting.       Some    of    them    are 
village  watchmen   and   their  women   act   as   midwives.      As 
soon  as  a  baby  is   born,  the   midwife  blows   into  its  mouth, 


1 88  MANG  PART 

ears  and  nose  in  order  to  clear  them  of  any  impediments. 
When  a  man  is  initiated  by  a  guru  or  spiritual  preceptor,  the 
latter  blows  into  his  ear,  and  the  Mangs  therefore  say  that 
on  account  of  this  act  of  the  midwife  they  are  the  gurus  of 
all  Hindus.  During  an  eclipse  the  Mangs  beg,  because  the 
demons  Rahu  and  Ketu,  who  are  believed  to  swallow  the 
sun  and  moon  on  such  occasions,  were  both  Mangs,  and 
devout  Hindus  give  alms  to  their  fellow-castemen  in  order 
to  appease  them.  Those  of  them  who  are  thieves  are  said 
not  to  steal  from  the  persons  of  a  woman,  a  bangle-seller,  a 
Lingayat  Mali  or  another  Mang.^  In  Maratha  villages  they 
sometimes  take  the  place  of  Chamars,  and  work  in  leather, 
and  one  writer  says  of  them  :  "  The  Mang  is  a  village 
menial  in  the  Maratha  villages,  making  all  leather  ropes, 
thongs  and  whips,  which  are  used  by  the  cultivators  ;  he 
frequently  acts  as  watchman  ;  he  is  by  profession  a  thief 
and  executioner ;  he  readily  hires  himself  as  an  assassin, 
and  when  he  commits  a  robbery  he  also  frequently  murders." 
In  his  menial  capacity  he  receives  presents  at  seed-time  and 
harvest,  and  it  is  said  that  the  Kunbi  will  never  send  the 
Mang  empty  away,  because  he  represents  the  wrath  of 
Mahadeo,  being  made  from  the  god's  sweat  when  he  was 
angry. 
7.  Reii-  The  caste  especially  venerate  the  goddess  Devi.      They 

S'°"     .  ,    apparently   identify    Devi   with    Saraswati,  the    goddess    of 

and  social        rrjj  »  & 

status.  wisdom,  and  they  have  a  story  to  the  effect  that  once 
Brahma  wished  to  ravish  his  daughter  Saraswati.  She  fled 
from  him  and  went  to  all  the  gods,  but  none  of  them  would 
protect  her  for  fear  of  Brahma.  At  last  in  despair  she  came 
to  a  Mang's  house,  and  the  Mang  stood  in  the  door  and 
kept  off  Brahma  with  a  wooden  club.  In  return  for  this 
Saraswati  blessed  him  and  said  that  he  and  his  descendants 
should  never  lack  for  food.  They  also  revere  Mahadeo,  and 
on  every  Monday  they  worship  the  cow,  placing  vermilion 
on  her  forehead  and  washing  her  feet.  The  cat  is  regarded 
as  a  sacred  animal,  and  a  Mang's  most  solemn  oath  is  sworn 
on  a  cat.  A  house  is  defiled  if  a  cat  or  a  dog  dies  or  a  cat 
has  kittens  in  it,  and  all  the  earthen  pots  must  be  broken. 
If  a  man  accidentally  kills  a  cat  or  a  dog  a  heavy  penance  is 

'  Berar  Census  Report  (1881),  p.  147. 


II  MANG-GARORI  189 

exacted,  and  two  feasts  must  be  given  to  the  caste.  To  kill 
an  ass  or  a  monkey  is  a  sin  only  less  heinous.  A  man  is 
also  put  out  of  caste  if  kicked  or  beaten  with  a  shoe  by  any 
one  of  another  caste,  even  a  Brahman,  or  if  he  is  struck  with 
the  kathri  or  mattress  made  of  rags  which  the  villagers  put 
on  their  sleeping-cots.  Mr.  Gayer  remarks  ^  that  "  The 
Mangs  show  great  respect  for  the  bamboo ;  and  at  a 
marriage  the  bridal  couple  are  made  to  stand  in  a  bamboo 
basket.  They  also  reverence  the  7ilin  tree,  and  the  Mangs 
of  Sholapur  spread  Jiaridli''  grass  and  nini  leaves  on  the 
spot  where  one  of  their  caste  dies."  The  social  status  of 
the  Mangs  is  of  the  lowest.  They  usually  live  in  a  separate 
quarter  of  the  village  and  have  a  well  for  their  own  use. 
They  may  not  enter  temples.  It  is  recorded  that  under 
native  rule  the  Mahars  and  Mangs  were  not  allowed  within 
the  gates  of  Poona  between  3  P.M.  and  9  A.M.,  because 
before  nine  and  after  three  their  bodies  cast  too  long  a 
shadow  ;  and  whenever  their  shadow  fell  upon  a  Brahman 
it  polluted  him,  so  that  he  dare  not  taste  food  or  water  until 
he  had  bathed  and  washed  the  impurity  away.  So  also  no 
low-caste  man  was  allowed  to  live  in  a  walled  town  ;  cattle 
and  dogs  could  freely  enter  and  remain  but  not  the  Mahar 
or  Mang.^  The  caste  will  eat  the  flesh  of  pigs,  rats, 
crocodiles  and  jackals  and  the  leavings  of  others,  and  some 
of  them  will  eat  beef  Men  may  be  distinguished  by  the 
senai  flute  which  they  carry  and  by  a  large  ring  of  gold  or 
brass  worn  in  the  lobe  of  the  ear.  A  Mang's  sign-manual 
is  a  representation  of  his  bhall-singdra  or  castration-knife. 
Women  are  tattooed  before  marriage,  with  dots  on  the 
forehead,  nose,  cheeks  and  chin,  and  with  figures  of  a  date- 
palm  on  the  forearm,  a  scorpion  on  the  palm  of  the  hand, 
and  flies  on  the  fingers.  The  caste  do  not  bear  a  good 
character,  and  it  is  said  of  a  cruel  man,  '  Mdng-Nirdayil 
or  *  Hardhearted  as  a  Mang.' 

Mang-Garori.  —  This   is  a  criminal    subdivision    of  the 
Mang  caste,  residing  principally  in   Berar.      They  were  not 

^  Lectures  on  the    Cn'niiiial   Tribes  ^  Dr.  Murray   Mitchell's   Great  Re- 

of  the  Central  Provinces,  p.  79.  ligions  of  India,  p.  63. 

^  Cynodon  dactylou. 


190 


MANG-GARORI 


separately  recorded  at  the  census.     The  name  Garori  appears 
to  be  a  corruption  of  Garudi,  and  signifies  a  snake-charmer.^ 
Garuda,  the  Brahminy  kite,  the  bird  on  which  Vishnu  rides, 
was  the  great  subduer  of  snakes,  and  hence  probably  snake- 
charmers    are    called    Garudi.      Some   of  the   Mang-Garoris 
are   snake-charmers,  and   this   may  have  been  the  original 
occupation  of  the  caste,  though  the  bulk  of  them  now  appear 
to  live  by  dealing  in   cattle  and    thieving.      The  following 
notice  of  them  is  abstracted  from  Major  Gunthorpe's  Notes 
on  Criminal  Tribes?     They  usually  travel  about  with  small 
pals   or   tents,   taking   their    wives,    children,   buffaloes    and 
dogs   with    them.       The    men    are    well    set    up    and    tall. 
Their  costume  is  something  like  that  worn  by  professional 
gymnasts,    consisting    of    light    and    short    reddish -brown 
drawers    {chaddi),    a   waistband    with   fringe    at    either    end 
{katchke),   and    a    sheet   thrown    over   the    shoulders.       The 
Naik  or  headman   of  the  camp  may  be  recognised  by  his 
wearing  some  red  woollen  cloth  about  his  person  or  a  red 
shawl    over    his    shoulders.       The  women    have   short  saris 
(body-cloths),  usually  of  blue,  and  tied  in  the  Telugu  fashion. 
They  are  generally  very  violent  when  any  attempt  is   made 
to    search    an    encampment,    especially    if    there    is    stolen 
property  concealed  in   it.       Instances  have  been   known  of 
their  seizing  their  infants  by  the  ankles  and  swinging  them 
round  their  heads,  declaring  they  would  continue  doing  so 
till  the  children   died,  if  the  police  did  not  leave  the  camp. 
Sometimes  also  the  women  of  a  gang  have   been   known  to 
throw  off  all  their  clothing  and  appear  in  a  perfect  state  of 
nudity,  declaring  they  would  charge  the  police  with  violating 
their  modesty.      Men  of  this  tribe  are  expert  cattle-lifters, 
but  confine  themselves  chiefly  to  buffaloes,  which  they  steal 
while  out  grazing  and  very  dexterously  disguise  by  trimming 
the  horns  and   firing,  so  as  to   avoid    recognition   by   their 
rightful  owners.      To  steal  goats  and  sheep  is  also  one  of 
their  favourite  occupations,  and   they  will   either  carry  the 
animals  off  from  their  pens  at  night  or  kill  them  while  out 
grazing,  in  the  following  manner  :  having  marked  a  sheep  or 
goat  which  is  feeding  farthest  away  from  the  flock,  the  thief 
awaits  his  opportunity  till    the    shepherd's    back   is  turned, 
'  From  a  note  by  Mr.  Hira  Lai.  '^  Times  Press,  Bombay,  1882. 


II  MANG-GARORI  191 

when  the  animal  is  quickly  captured.  Placing  his  foot  on 
the  back  of  the  neck  near  the  head,  and  seizing  it  under  the 
chin  with  his  right  hand,  the  thief  breaks  the  animal's  neck 
by  a  sudden  jerk  ;  he  then  throws  the  body  into  a  bush  or 
in  some  dip  in  the  ground  to  hide  it,  and  walks  away, 
watching  from  a  distance.  The  shepherd,  ignorant  of  the 
loss  of  one  of  his  animals,  goes  on  leisurely  driving  his  flock 
before  him,  and  when  he  is  well  out  of  sight  the  Mang- 
Garori  removes  the  captured  carcase  to  his  encampment. 
Great  care  is  taken  that  the  skin,  horns  and  hoofs  should  be 
immediately  burnt  so  as  to  avoid  detection.  Their  ostensible 
occupation  is  to  trade  in  barren  half-starved  buffaloes  and 
buffalo  calves,  or  in  country  ponies.  They  also  purchase 
from  Gaoli  herdsmen  barren  buffaloes,  which  they  profess 
to  be  able  to  make  fertile  ;  if  successful  they  return  them 
for  double  the  purchase-money,  but  if  not,  having  obtained 
if  possible  some  earnest-money,  they  abscond  and  sell  the 
animals  at  a  distance.^  Like  the  Bhamtas,  the  Mang-Garoris, 
Major  Gunthorpe  states,  make  it  a  rule  not  to  give  a  girl  in 
marriage  until  the  intended  husband  has  proved  himself  an 
efficient  thief  Mr.  Gayer  '^  writes  as  follows  of  the  caste  : 
"  I  do  not  think  Major  Gunthorpe  lays  sufficient  emphasis  on 
the  part  taken  by  the  women  in  crimes,  for  they  apparently 
do  by  far  the  major  part  of  the  thieving.  Sherring  says  the 
men  never  commit  house-breaking  and  very  seldom  rob  on 
the  highway :  he  calls  them  '  wanderers,  showmen,  jugglers 
and  conjurors,'  and  describes  them  as  robbers  who  get  their 
information  by  performing  before  the  houses  of  rich  bankers 
and  others.  Mang-Garori  ^  women  steal  in  markets  and 
other  places  of  public  resort.  They  wait  to  see  somebody 
put  down  his  clothes  or  bag  of  rupees  and  watch  till  his 
attention  is  attracted  elsewhere,  when,  walking  up  quietly 
between  the  article  and  its  owner,  they  drop  their  petticoat 
either  over  or  by  it,  and  manage  to  transfer  the  stolen  pro- 
perty into  their  basket  while  picking  up  the  petticoat.  If 
an  unfavourable  omen  occurs  on  the  way  when  the  women 
set  out  to  pilfer  they  place  a  stone  on  the  ground  and  dash 

1  Kennedy,  Criminal  Classes  of  the  ^  This    passage    is   quoted    by    Mr. 
Bombay  Presidency,  p.  122.  Gayer    from    the    Supplement    to    the 

2  Lectures  on  some  Criminal  Tribes  Central    Provinces    Police    Gazette    of 
of  India.  24th  January  1905. 


192  MANG-GARORI  part 

another  on  to  it  saying,  '  If  the  obstacle  is  removed,  break '  ; 
if  the  stone  struck  is  broken,  they  consider  that  the  obstacle 
portended  by  the  unfavourable  omen  is  removed  from  their 
path,  and  proceed  on  their  way  ;  but  if  not,  they  return. 
Stolen  articles  are  often  bartered  at  liquor-shops  for  drink, 
and  the  Kalars  act  as  receivers  of  stolen  property  for  the 
Mang-Garoris," 

The  following  are  some  particulars  taken  from  an  old 
account  of  the  criminal  Mangs  :  ^  Their  leader  or  headman 
was  called  the  ndik  and  was  elected  by  a  majority  of  votes, 
though  considerable  regard  was  paid  to  heredity.  The 
ndik's  person  and  property  were  alike  inviolable ;  after  a 
successful  foray  each  of  the  gang  contributed  a  quarter  of 
his  share  to  the  ndik,  and  from  the  fund  thus  made  up  were 
defrayed  the  expenses  of  preparation,  religious  offerings  and 
the  triumphal  feast.  A  pair  of  shoes  were  usually  given 
to  a  Brahman  and  alms  to  the  poor.  To  each  band  was 
attached  an  informer,  who  was  also  receiver  of  the  stolen 
goods.  These  persons  were  usually  bangle-  or  perfume- 
sellers  or  jewellers.  In  this  capacity  they  were  admitted 
into  the  women's  apartments  and  so  enabled  to  form  a 
correct  notion  of  the  topography  of  a  house  and  a  shrewd 
guess  as  to  the  wealth  of  its  inmates.  Like  all  barbarous 
tribes  and  all  persons  addicted  to  criminal  practices  the 
Mangs  were  extremely  superstitious.  They  never  set  out 
on  an  expedition  on  a  Friday.  After  the  birth  of  a  child 
the  mother  and  another  woman  stood  on  opposite  sides  of 
the  cradle,  and  the  former  tossed  her  child  to  the  other, 
commending  it  to  the  mercy  of  Jai  Gopal,  and  waited  to 
receive  it  back  in  like  manner  in  the  name  of  Jai  Govind. 
Both  Gopal  and  Govind  are  names  of  Krishna.  The  Mangs 
usually  married  young  in  life.  If  a  girl  happened  to  hang 
heavy  on  hand  she  was  married  at  the  age  of  puberty  to 
the  deity.  In  other  words,  she  was  attached  as  a  prostitute 
to  the  temple  of  the  god  Khandoba  or  the  goddess  Yellama. 
Those  belonging  to  the  service  of  the  latter  were  wont  in 
the  month  of  February  to  parade  the  streets  in  a  state  of 
utter  nudity.      When  a  bachelor  wished  to  marry  a  widow 

^  Mutton's      Thui^s,      Dacoits     and       i68,  quoting  an   account   hy   Captain 
Gang-robbers  of  India  (1857),  pp.  164-       Barr. 


II  MANIHAR  193 

he  was  first  united  to  a  swallow-wort  plant,  and  this  was 
immediately  dug  up  and  transplanted,  and  withering  away 
left  him  at  liberty  to  marry  the  widow.  If  a  lady  survived 
the  sorrow  caused  by  the  death  of  two  or  three  husbands  she 
could  not  again  enter  the  holy  state  unless  she  consented  to 
be  married  with  a  fowl  under  her  armpit  ;  the  unfortunate 
bird  being  afterwards  killed  to  appease  the  manes  of  her 
former  consorts. 

Manihar.^ — A  small  caste  of  pedlars  and  hawkers.  In 
northern  India  the  Manihars  are  makers  of  glass  bangles, 
and  correspond  to  the  Kachera  caste  of  the  Central  Provinces. 
Mr,  Nesfield  remarks "  that  the  special  industry  of  the 
Manihars  of  the  United  Provinces  is  the  making  of  glass 
bangles  or  bracelets.  These  arc  an  indispensable  adjunct  to 
the  domestic  life  of  the  Hindu  woman  ;  for  the  glass  bangle 
is  not  worn  for  personal  ornament,  but  as  the  badge  of  the 
matrimonial  state,  like  the  wedding-ring  in  Europe.  But 
in  the  Central  Provinces  glass  bangles  are  made  by  the 
Kacheras  and  the  Muhammadan  Turkaris  or  Sisgars,  and 
the  Manihars  are  petty  hawkers  of  stationery  and  articles 
for  the  toilet,  such  as  miniature  looking-glasses,  boxes, 
stockings,  needles  and  thread,  spangles,  and  imitation 
jewellery  ;  and  Hindu  Jogis  and  others  who  take  to  this 
occupation  are  accustomed  to  give  their  caste  as  Manihar. 
In  191 1  nearly  700  persons  belonging  to  the  caste  were 
returned  from  the  northern  Districts  of  the  Central  Provinces. 
The  Manihars  are  nominally  Muhammadans,  but  they  retain 
many  Hindu  customs.  At  their  weddings  they  erect  a 
marriage-tent,  anoint  the  couple  with  oil  and  turmeric  and 
make  them  wear  a  kankan  or  wrist-band,  to  which  is  attached 
a  small  purse  containing  a  little  mustard-seed  and  a  silver 
ring.  The  mustard  is  intended  to  scare  away  the  evil 
spirits.  When  the  marriage  procession  reaches  the  bride's 
village  it  is  met  by  her  people,  one  of  whom  holds  a  bamboo 
in  his  hands  and  bars  the  advance  of  the  procession.  The 
bridegroom's   father  thereupon   makes  a  present  of  a  rupee 

1  This  article  is  based  on  papers  by       Munshi  I'yare  Lai  Misra  of  the  Gazet- 
Rai  Sahib  Nanakchand,  15. A.,  Head-       teer  office, 
master,     Saugor     High    School,     and  ^  Brief  View,  p.  30. 

VOL.  IV  O 


194  MANIHAR  part 

to  the  village  panchdyat,  and  his  people  are  allowed  to 
proceed.  When  the  bridegroom  reaches  the  bride's  house 
he  finds  her  younger  sister  carrying  a  kalds  or  pot  of  water 
on  her  head  ;  he  drops  a  rupee  into  it  and  enters  the  house. 
The  bride's  sister  then  comes  holding  above  her  head  a 
small  frame  like  a  tdzia  ^  with  a  cocoanut  core  hanging 
inside.  She  raises  the  frame  as  high  as  she  can  to  prevent 
the  bridegroom  from  plucking  out  the  cocoanut  core,  which, 
however,  he  succeeds  in  doing  in  the  end.  The  girl  applies 
powdered  ineJindi  or  henna  to  the  little  finger  of  the 
boy's  right  hand,  in  return  for  which  she  receives  a  rupee 
and  a  piece  of  cloth.  The  Kazi  then  recites  verses  from  the 
Koran  which  the  bridegroom  repeats  after  him,  and  the 
bride  does  the  same  in  her  turn.  This  is  the  Nikah  or 
marriage  proper,  and  before  it  takes  place  the  bridegroom's 
father  must  present  a  nose-ring  to  the  bride.  The  parents 
also  fix  the  Meher  or  dowry,  which,  however,  is  not  a  dowry 
proper,  but  a  stipulation  that  if  the  bridegroom  should  put 
away  his  wife  after  marriage  he  will  pay  her  a  certain  agreed 
sum.  After  the  Nikah  the  bridegroom  is  given  some  spices, 
which  he  grinds  on  a  slab  with  a  roller.  He  must  do  the 
grinding  very  slowly  and  gently  so  as  to  make  no  noise,  or 
it  is  believed  that  the  married  life  of  the  couple  will  be 
broken  by  quarrels.  A  widow  is  permitted  to  marry  the 
younger  brother  of  her  deceased  husband,  but  not  his  elder 
brother.  The  caste  bury  their  dead  with  the  head  to  the 
north.  The  corpse  is  first  bathed  and  wrapped  in  a  new 
white  sheet,  with  another  sheet  over  it,  and  is  then  laid  on 
a  cot  or  in  a  jandza  or  coffin.  While  it  is  being  carried  to 
the  cemetery  the  bearers  are  changed  every  few  steps,  so  that 
every  man  who  accompanies  the  funeral  may  carry  the  corpse 
for  a  short  distance.  When  it  is  lowered  into  the  grave 
the  sheet  is  taken  off  and  given  to  a  Fakir  or  beggar.  When 
the  body  is  covered  with  earth  the  priest  reads  the  funeral 
verses  at  a  distance  of  forty  steps  from  the  grave.  Feasts 
are  given  to  the  caste-fellows  on  the  third,  tenth,  twentieth 
and  fortieth  days  after  the  death.  The  Manihars  observe 
the    Shabrat    festival    by   distributing   to    the    caste -fellows 

'  The  tdzias  are  ornamental  reprc-       which  the  Muhammadans  make  at  the 
sentations  of    the    tomb   of    llussain,       Muharram  festival. 


II  MANNEWAR  195 

Juilua  or  a  mixtuie  of  melted  butter  and  flour.  The  Shabrat 
is  the  middle  night  of  the  month  Shaban,  and  Muhammad 
declared  that  on  this  night  God  registers  the  actions  which 
every  man  will  perform  during  the  following  year,  and  all 
those  who  are  fated  to  die  and  the  children  who  are  to  be 
born.  Like  Hindu  widows  the  Manihar  women  break  their 
bangles  when  their  husband's  corpse  is  removed  to  the 
burial-ground.  The  Manihars  eat  flesh,  but  not  beef  or  pork  ; 
and  they  also  abstain  from  alcoholic  liquor.  If  a  girl  is 
seduced  and  made  pregnant  before  marriage  either  by  a 
man  of  the  caste  or  an  outsider,  she  remains  in  her  father's 
house  until  her  child  has  been  born,  and  may  then  be 
married  either  to  her  paramour  or  any  other  man  of  the 
caste  by  the  simple  repetition  of  the  Nikah  or  marriage 
verses,  omitting  all  other  ceremonies.  The  Manihars  will 
admit  into  their  community  converted  Hindus  belonging 
even  to  the  lowest  castes. 

Mannewar/ — A  small  tribe  belonging  to  the  south  or 
Telugu-speaking  portion  of  the  Chanda  District,  where  they 
mustered  about  1600  persons  in  191 1.  The  home  of  the 
tribe  is  the  Hyderabad  State,  where  it  numbers  22,000 
persons,  and  the  Mannewars  are  said  to  have  once  been 
dominant  over  a  part  of  that  territory.  The  name  is 
derived  from  a  Telugu  word  inannem^  meaning  forest,  while 
war  is  the  plural  termination  in  Telugu,  Mannewar  thus 
signifying  '  the  people  of  the  forest.'  The  tribe  appear  to 
be  the  inferior  branch  of  the  Koya  Gonds,  and  they  are 
commonly  called  Mannewar  Koyas  as  opposed  to  the  Koya 
Doras  or  the  superior  branch,  Dora  meaning  '  lord '  or 
master.  The  Koya  Doras  thus  correspond  to  the  Raj- 
Gonds  of  the  north  of  the  Province  and  the  Mannewar 
Koyas  to  the  Dhur  or  '  dust '  Gonds."  The  tribe  is  divided 
into  three  exogamous  groups  :  the  Nalugu  Velpulu  worship- 
ping four  gods,  the  Ayidu  Velpulu  worshipping  five,  and  the 
Anu  Velpulu  six.  A  man  must  marry  a  woman  of  one  of 
the  divisions  worshipping  a  different  number  of  gods  from  his 

'  This    article    is    based    on  a  note  -  From  a  glossary  published  by  Mr. 

furnished  by  Mr.  M.  Aziz,  Officiating  Gupta,  Assistant  Director  of  Ethnology 
Naib-Tahsildar,  Sironcha.  for  India. 


196  MANNEWAR  part 

own,  but  the  Mannevvars  do  not  appear  to  know  the  names 
of  these  gods,  and  consequently  no  veneration  can  be  paid 
to  them  at  present,  and  they  survive  solely  for  the  purpose 
of  regulating  marriage.  When  a  betrothal  is  made  a  day 
is  fixed  for  taking  an  omen.  In  the  early  morning  the  boy 
who  is  to  be  married  has  his  face  washed  and  turmeric 
smeared  on  his  feet,  and  is  seated  on  a  wooden  seat  inside 
the  house.  The  elders  of  the  village  then  proceed  outside 
it  towards  the  rising  sun  and  watch  for  any  omen  given  by 
an  animal  or  bird  crossing  their  path.  If  this  is  good  the 
marriage  is  celebrated,  and  if  bad  the  match  is  broken  off. 
In  the  former  case  five  of  the  elders  take  their  food  on 
returning  from  the  search  for  the  omen  and  immediately 
proceed  to  the  bride's  village.  Here  they  are  met  by  the 
Pesamuda  or  village  priest,  and  stay  for  three  days,  when  the 
amount  of  the  dowry  is  settled  and  a  date  fixed  for  the 
wedding.  The  marriage  ceremony  resembles  that  of  the 
low  Telugu  castes.  The  couple  are  seated  on  a  plough- 
yoke,  and  coloured  rice  is  thrown  on  to  their  heads,  and  the 
bridegroom  ties  the  mangalya  or  bead  necklace,  which  is 
the  sign  of  marriage,  round  the  neck  of  the  bride.  If  a  girl 
is  deformed,  or  has  some  other  drawback  which  prevents  her 
from  being  sought  in  marriage,  she  is  given  away  with  her 
sister  to  a  first  cousin  ^  or  some  other  near  relative,  the  two 
sisters  being  married  to  him  together.  A  widow  may 
marry  any  man  of  the  tribe  except  her  first  husband's 
brothers.  If  a  man  takes  a  widow  to  his  house  without 
marrying  her  he  is  fined  three  rupees,  while  for  adultery 
with  a  married  woman  the  penalty  is  twenty  rupees.  A 
divorce  can  always  be  obtained,  but  if  the  husband  demands 
it  he  is  mulcted  of  twenty  rupees  by  the  caste  committee, 
while  a  wife  who  seeks  a  divorce  must  pay  ten  rupees. 
The  Mannewars  make  an  offering  of  a  fowl  and  some  liquor 
to  the  ploughshare  on  the  festival  of  Ganesh  Chaturthi. 
After  the  picking  of  the  flowers  of  the  mahua  ^  they  worship 
that  tree,  offering  to  it  some  of  the  liquor  distilled  from  the 
new  flowers,  with  a  fowl  and  a  goat.  This  is  known  as  the 
Burri  festival.  At  the  Holi  feast  the  Mannewars  make  two 
human  figures  to  represent  Kami  and  Rati,  or  the  god  of 
1  Generally  the  paternal  aunt's  son.  ^  Bassia  latifolia. 


II  MANNEWAR  197 

love  and  his  wife.  The  male  figure  is  then  thrown  on  to 
the  Holi  fire  with  a  live  chicken  or  an  egg.  This  may  be 
a  reminiscence  of  a  former  human  sacrifice,  which  was  a 
common  custom  in  many  parts  of  the  world  at  the  spring 
festival.  The  caste  usually  bury  the  dead,  but  are  beginning 
to  adopt  cremation.  They  do  not  employ  Brahmans  for 
their  ceremonies  and  eat  all  kinds  of  food,  including  the 
flesh  of  pigs,  fowls  and  crocodiles,  but  in  view  of  their  having 
nominally  adopted  Hinduism,  they  abstain  from  beef. 


MARATHA 


LIST  OF   PARAGRAPHS 


Numerical  statistics.  9. 
Dotible    meaning   of  the    term 

Marat  ha.  i  o. 

Origin    and  position    of    the  1 1 . 

caste.  1 2 . 

Exogamous  clans.  13. 

Other  subdivisions.  1 4. 

Social  customs.  i  $ . 

Religion.  1 6. 
Prese7it  positio7i  of  the  caste. 


Natitre  of  the  Mardtha  insur- 
rection. 

Mardtha  wome7i  in  past  times. 

The  Mardtha  horseman. 

Cavalry  in  the  field. 

Military  administration. 

Sittitig  Dharna. 

The  i?ifantry. 

Character  of  the  Mardtha 
armies. 


I.  Numeri- 
cal 
statistics. 


2.  Double 
meaning  of 
the  term 
Maratha. 


Maratha,  Mahratta. — The  military  caste  of  southern 
India  which  manned  the  armies  of  Sivaji,  and  of  the  Peshwa 
and  other  princes  of  the  Maratha  confederacy.  In  the 
Central  Provinces  the  Marathas  numbered  34,000  persons 
in  191 1,  of  whom  Nagpur  contained  9000  and  Wardha 
8000,  while  the  remainder  were  distributed  over  Raipur, 
Hoshangabad  and  Nimar.  In  Berar  their  strength  was 
60,000  persons,  the  total  for  the  combined  province  being 
thus  94,000.  The  caste  is  found  in  large  numbers  in 
Bombay  and  Hyderabad,  and  in  1901  the  India  Census 
tables  show  a  total  of  not  less  than  five  million  persons 
belonging  to  it. 

It  is  difficult  to  avoid  confusion  in  the  use  of  the  term 
Maratha,  which  signifies  both  an  inhabitant  of  the  area  in 
which  the  Marathi  language  is  spoken,  and  a  member  of  the 
caste  to  which  the  general  name  has  in  view  of  their  historical 
importance  been  specifically  applied.  The  native  name  for 
the  Marathi-speaking  country  is  Maharashtra,  which  has 
been  variously  interpreted  as  *  The  great  country '  or  '  The 
country  of  the  Mahars.'  ^  A  third  explanation  of  the  name 
'   Sir  II.  Risley's  India  Census  Report  (1901),  Ethnographic  Appendices,  p.  93. 

198 


PART  II        ORIGIN  AND  POSITION  OF  THE  CASTE  199 

is  from  the  Rashtrakuta  dynasty  which  was  dominant  in 
this  area  for  some  centuries  after  A.D.  750.  The  name 
Rashtrakuta  was  contracted  into  Rattha,  and  with  the 
prefix  of  Maha  or  Great  might  evolve  into  the  term  Maratha. 
The  Rashtrakutas  have  been  conjecturally  identified  with 
the  Rathor  Rajputs.  The  Ndsik  Gazetteer^  states  that  in 
246  I5.C.  Maharatta  is  mentioned  as  one  of  the  places  to 
which  Asoka  sent  an  embassy,  and  Maharashtraka  is  recorded 
in  a  Chalukyan  inscription  of  A.D.  580  as  including  three 
provinces  and  99,000  villages.  Several  other  references  are 
given  in  Sir  J,  Campbell's  erudite  note,  and  the  name  is 
therefore  without  doubt  ancient.  But  the  Marathas  as  a 
people  do  not  seem  to  be  mentioned  before  the  thirteenth  or 
fourteenth  century."  The  antiquity  of  the  name  would 
appear  to  militate  against  the  derivation  from  the  Rashtra- 
kuta dynasty,  which  did  not  become  prominent  till  much 
later,  and  the  most  probable  meaning  of  Maharashtra 
would  therefore  seem  to  be  '  The  country  of  the  Mahars.' 
Maharatta  and  INIaratha  are  presumably  derivatives  from 
Maharashtra. 

The  Marathas  are  a  caste  formed  from  military  service,  3.  Origin 
and  it  seems  probable  that  they  sprang  mainly  from  the  ^^^^  q°^'" 
peasant  population  of  Kunbis,  though  at  what  period  they  the  caste, 
were  formed  into  a  separate  caste  has  not  yet  been  deter- 
mined. Grant  -  Duff  mentions  several  of  their  leading 
families  as  holding  offices  under  the  Muhammadan  rulers 
of  Bijapur  and  Ahmadnagar  in  the  fifteenth  and  sixteenth 
centuries,  as  the  Nimbhalkar,  Gharpure  and  Bhonsla  ;  ^  and 
presumably  their  clansmen  served  in  the  armies  of  those 
states.  But  whether  or  no  the  designation  of  Maratha  had 
been  previously  used  by  them,  it  first  became  prominent 
during  the  period  of  Sivaji's  guerilla  warfare  against  Aurang- 
zeb.  The  Marathas  claim  a  Rajput  origin,  and  several  of 
their  clans  have  the  names  of  Rajput  tribes,  as  Chauhan, 
Panwar,  Solanki  and  Suryavansi.  In  1836  Mr.  Enthoven 
states,"*  the  Sesodia  Rana  of  Udaipur,  the  head  of  the  purest 
Rajput  house,  was  satisfied  from  inquiries  conducted  by  an 

'  P.  48,  footnote.  but   Blionsla   is   adopted   in  deference 

-  Ndsik  Gazetteer,  ibidem.  Elphin-       to  established  usage, 
stone's  History,  p.  246.  ^  Bombay    Census   Report    (1901), 

3  The    proper    spelling    is  Bhosle,       pp.   184-185.' 


200  MARATHA  part 

agent  that  the  Bhonslas  and  certain  other  families  had  a 
right  to  be  recognised  as  Rajputs.  Colonel  Tod  states  that 
Sivaji  was  descended  from  a  Rajput  prince  Sujunsi,  who  was 
expelled  from  Mewar  to  avoid  a  dispute  about  the  succession 
about  A.D.  1300.  Sivaji  is  shown  as  13th  in  descent 
from  Sujunsi.  Similarly  the  Bhonslas  of  Nagpur  were  said 
to  derive  their  origin  from  one  Bunbir,  who  was  expelled 
from  Udaipur  about  1541,  having  attempted  to  usurp  the 
kingdom.^  As  Rajput  dynasties  ruled  in  the  Deccan  for 
some  centuries  before  the  Muhammadan  conquest,  it  seems 
reasonable  to  suppose  that  a  Rajput  aristocracy  may  have 
taken  root  there.  This  was  Colonel  Tod's  opinion,  who 
wrote  :  "  These  kingdoms  of  the  south  as  well  as  the  north 
were  held  by  Rajput  sovereigns,  whose  offspring,  blending 
with  the  original  population,  produced  that  mixed  race  of 
Marathas  inheriting  with  the  names  the  warlike  propensities 
of  their  ancestors,  but  who  assume  the  names  of  their  abodes 
as  titles,  as  the  Nimalkars,  the  Phalkias,  the  Patunkars, 
instead  of  their  tribes  of  Jadon,  Tuar,  Pilar,  etc."  ^  This 
statement  would,  however,  apply  only  to  the  leading  houses 
and  not  to  the  bulk  of  the  Maratha  caste,  who  appear  to  be 
mainly  derived  from  the  Kunbis.  In  Sholapur  the  Marathas 
and  Kunbis  eat  together,  and  the  Kunbis  are  said  to  be 
bastard  Marathas.^  In  Satara  the  Kunbis  have  the  same 
division  into  96  clan's  as  the  Marathas  have,  and  many 
of  the  same  surnames.*  The  writer  of  the  Satdj^a  Gazetteer 
says  :  ^  "  The  census  of  1 8  5  i  included  the  Marathas  with 
the  Kunbis,  from  whom  they  do  not  form  a  separate  caste. 
Some  Maratha  families  may  have  a  larger  strain  of  northern 
or  Rajput  blood  than  the  Kunbis,  but  this  is  not  always  the 
case.  The  distinction  between  Kunbis  and  Marathas  is 
almost  entirely  social,  the  Marathas  as  a  rule  being  better 
off,  and  preferring  even  service  as  a  constable  or  messenger 
to  husbandry."  Exactly  the  same  state  of  affairs  prevails 
in  the  Central  Provinces  and  Berar,  where  the  body  of  the 
caste  are  commonly  known  as  Maratha  Kunbis.  In  Bombay 
the  Marathas  will  take  daughters  from  the  Kunbis  in  mar- 
riage for  their  sons,  though  they  will  not  give  their  daughters 

'   Rt'ijaslhdfi,  i.  269.  ^  Ibidem,  ii.  420.  ^  Sholapur  Gazetteer,  p.  87. 

"^  Satara  Gazetteer,  p.  64.  *<  Ibidem,  p.  75. 


STATUE    OF     MARATHA     LEADER,     BIMBAJI 
BHONSLA.     IN     ARMOUR. 


II  EXOGAMOUS  CLANS  201 

in  return.  But  a  Kunbi  who  has  got  on  in  the  world  and 
become  wealthy  may  by  sufficient  payment  get  his  sons 
married  into  Maratha  families,  and  even  be  adopted  as  a 
member  of  the  caste.'  In  1798  Colonel  Tone,  who  com- 
manded a  regiment  of  the  Peshwa's  army,  wrote  ^  of  the 
Marathas :  "  The  three  great  tribes  which  compose  the 
Maratha  caste  are  the  Kunbi  or  farmer,  the  Dhangar  or 
shepherd,  and  the  Goala  or  cowherd  ;  to  this  original  cause 
may  perhaps  be  ascribed  that  great  simplicity  of  manner 
which  distinguishes  the  Maratha  people." 

It  seems  then  most  probable  that,  as  already  stated,  the\ 
Maratha  caste  was  of  purely  military  origin,  constituted  from 
the  various  castes  of  Maharashtra  who  adopted  military 
service,  though  some  of  the  leading  families  may  have  had 
Rajputs  for  their  ancestors.  Sir  D.  Ibbetson  thought  that  a 
similar  relation  existed  in  past  times  between  the  Rajpijts^ 
and  Jats,  the  landed  aristocracy  of  the  Jat  caste  being 
gradually  admitted  to  Rajput  rank.  The  Khandaits  or 
swordsmen  of  Orissa  are  a  caste  formed  in  the  same 
manner  from  military  service.  In  the  Imperial  Gazetteer 
Sir  H.  Risley  suggests  that  the  Maratha  people  were  of 
Scythian  origin  : 

"  The  physical  type  of  the  people  of  this  region  accords 
fairly  well  with  this  theory,  while  the  arguments  derived 
from  language  and  religion  do  not  seem  to  conflict  with  it. 
.  .  .  On  this  view  the  wide-ranging  forays  of  the  Marathas, 
tlieir  guerilla  methods  of  warfare,  their  unscrupulous  deal- 
ings with  friend  and  foe,  their  genius  for  intrigue  and  their 
consequent  failure  to  build  up  an  enduring  dominion,  might 
well  be  regarded  as  inherited  from  their  Scythian  ancestors." 

In  the  Central  Provinces  the  Marathas  are  divided  into  4-  i^-^o- 
96  exogamous  clans,  known  as  the  Chhanava  Kule,  which  %^^^^_ 
marry  with  one  another.  During  the  period  when  the 
Bhonsia  family  were  rulers  of  Nagpur  they  constituted  a 
sort  of  inner  circle,  consisting  of  seven  of  the  leading  clans, 
with  whom  alone  they  intermarried  ;  these  are  known  as  the 
Satghare  or  Seven  Houses,  and  consist  of  the  Bhonsia, 
Gujar,   Ahirrao,    Mahadik,  Sirke,    Palke    and    Mohte   clans. 

^  Bombay    Census    Report    (1907),  ^  J^etter    on    the    Marathas    (India 

ibidem.  Office  Tracts). 


202  MAR  AT  HA  part 

These  houses  at  one  time  formed  an  endogamous  group, 
marrying  only  among  themselves,  but  recently  the  restriction 
has  been  relaxed,  and  they  have  arranged  marriages  with 
other  Maratha  families.  It  may  be  noted  that  the  present 
representatives  of  the  Bhonsla  family  are  of  the  Gujar  clan  to 
which  the  last  Raja  of  Nagpur,  Raghuji  III.,  belonged  prior 
to  his  adoption.  Several  of  the  clans,  as  already  noted, 
have  Rajput  sept  names  ;  and  some  are  considered  to  be 
derived  from  those  of  former  ruling  dynasties  ;  as  Chalke, 
from  the  Chalukya  Rajput  kings  of  the  Deccan  and  Carnatic; 
More,  who  may  represent  a  branch  of  the  great  Maurya 
dynasty  of  northern  India  ;  Salunke,  perhaps  derived  from 
the  Solanki  kings  of  Gujarat ;  and  Yadav,  the  name  of  the 
kings  of  Deogiri  or  Daulatabad.^  Others  appear  to  be 
named  after  animals  or  natural  objects,  as  Sinde  from  sindi 
the  date-palm  tree,  Ghorpade  from  ghorpad  the  iguana  ;  or 
to  be  of  a  titular  nature,  as  Kale  black,  Pandhre  white, 
Bhagore  a  renegade,  Jagthap  renowned,  and  so  on.  The 
More,  Nimbhalkar,  Ghatge,  Mane,  Ghorpade,  Dafle,  Jadav 
and  Bhonsla  clans  are  the  oldest,  and  held  prominent  posi- 
tions in  the  old  Muhammadan  kingdoms  of  Bijapur  and 
Ahmadnagar.  The  Nimbhalkar  family  were  formerly  Panwar 
Rajputs,  and  took  the  name  of  Nimbhalkar  from  their 
ancestral  village  Nimbalik.  The  Ghorpade  family  are  an 
offshoot  of  the  Bhonslas,  and  obtained  their  present  name 
from  the  exploit  of  one  of  their  ancestors,  who  scaled  a  fort 
in  the  Konkan,  previously  deemed  impregnable,  by  passing 
a  cord  round  the  body  of  a  ghorpad  or  iguana.^  A  notice- 
able trait  of  these  Maratha  houses  is  the  fondness  with 
which  they  clung  to  the  small  estates  or  villages  in  the 
Deccan  in  which  they  had  originally  held  the  office  of  a  patel 
or  village  headman  as  a  zvatan  or  hereditary  right,  even  after 
they  had  carved  out  for  themselves  principalities  and  states 
in  other  parts  of  India.  The  present  Bhonsla  Raja  takes 
his  title  from  the  village  of  Deor  in  the  Poona  country.  In 
former  times  we  read  of  the  Raja  of  Satara  clinging  to  the 
watans  he  had  inherited  from  Sivaji  after  he  had  lost  his 
crown   in   all   but  the    name  ;    Sindhia   was    always    termed 

^   Saldra  Gazetteer,  p.  75- 
2  Grant-Duff,  4th  edition  (1878),  vol.  i.  pp.  70-72. 


II  OTHER  SUBDIVISIONS—SOCIAL  CUSTOMS  203 

patcl  or  village  headman  in  the  revenue  accounts  of  the 
villages  he  acquired  in  Nimfir  ;  while  it  is  said  that  Ilolkar 
and  the  Panwar  of  Dhar  fought  desperately  after  the  British 
conquest  to  recover  the  pateli  rights  of  Deccan  villages 
which  had  belonged  to  their  ancestors.^ 

Besides  the  96  clans  there  are  now  in  the  Central  5.  Other 
Provinces  some  local  subcastes  who  occupy  a  lower  position  ^"visions 
and  do  not  intermarry  with  the  Marathas  proper.  Among 
these  are  the  Deshkar  or  '  Residents  of  the  country '  ;  the 
Waindesha  or  those  of  Berar  and  Khandesh  ;  the  Gangthade 
or  those  dwelling  on  the  banks  of  the  Godavari  and  Wain- 
ganga ;  and  the  Ghatmathe  or  residents  of  the  Mahadeo 
plateau  in  Berar.  It  is  also  stated  that  the  Marathas  are 
divided  into  the  K/iasi  or  '  pure  '  and  the  KJiarcJii  or  the 
descendants  of  handmaids.  In  Bombay  the  latter  are  known 
as  the  Akarmashes  or  i  i  vidshas,  meaning  that  as  twelve 
mdshas  make  a  tola,  a  twelfth  part  of  them  is  alloy. 

A  man  must  not  marry  in  his  own  clan  or  that  of  his  6.  Social 
mother.  A  sister's  son  may  be  married  to  a  brother's 
daughter,  but  not  vice  versa.  Girls  are  commonly  married 
between  five  and  twelve  years  of  age,  and  the  ceremony  re- 
sembles that  of  the  Kunbis.  The  bridegroom  goes  to  the 
bride's  house  riding  on  horseback  and  covered  with  a  black 
blanket.  When  a  girl  first  becomes  mature,  usually  after 
marriage,  the  Marathas  perform  the  Shantik  ceremony.  The 
girl  is  secluded  for  four  days,  after  which  she  is  bathed  and 
puts  on  new  clothes  and  dresses  her  hair  and  a  feast  is  given 
to  the  caste-fellows.  Sometimes  the  bridegroom  comes  and 
is  asked  whether  he  has  visited  his  wife  before  she  became 
mature,  and  if  he  confesses  that  he  has  done  so  a  small 
fine  is  imposed  on  him.  Such  cases  are,  however,  believed 
to  be  rare.  The  Marathas  proper  forbid  widow-marriage, 
but  the  lower  groups  allow  it.  If  a  maiden  is  seduced  by 
one  of  the  caste  she  may  be  married  to  him  as  if  she  were  a 
widow,  a  fine  being  imposed  on  her  family  ;  but  if  she  goes 
wrong  with  an  outsider  she  is  finally  expelled.  Divorce 
is  not  ostensibly  allowed  but  may  be  concluded  by  agree- 
ment between  the  parties.  A  wife  who  commits  adultery  is 
cast  off  and  expelled  from  the  caste.      The  caste  burn  their 

'   Forsyth,  Ni/iiar  Settlement  Report. 


204  MARATHA  part 

dead  when  they  can  afford  it  and  perform  the  shrdddh 
ceremony  in  the  month  of  Kunwdr  (September),  when 
oblations  are  offered  to  the  dead  and  a  feast  is  given  to  the 
caste-fellows.  Sometimes  a  tomb  is  erected  as  a  memorial 
to  the  dead,  but  without  his  name,  and  is  surmounted  usually 
by  an  image  of  Mahadeo.  The  caste  eat  the  flesh  of  clean 
animals  and  of  fowls  and  wild  pig,  and  drink  liquor.  Their 
rules  about  food  are  liberal  like  those  of  the  Rajputs,  a  too 
great  stringency  being  no  doubt  in  both  cases  incompatible 
with  the  exigencies  of  military  service.  They  make  no 
difference  between  food  cooked  with  or  without  water,  and 
will  accept  either  from  a  Brahman,  Rajput,  Tirole  Kunbi, 
Lingayat  Bania  or  Phulmali. 

The  Marathas  proper  observe  the  parda  system  with 
regard  to  their  women,  and  will  go  to  the  well  and  draw 
water  themselves  rather  than  permit  their  wives  to  do 
so.  The  women  wear  ornaments  only  of  gold  or  glass 
and  not  of  silver  or  any  baser  metal.  They  are  not  per- 
mitted to  spin  cotton  as  being  an  occupation  of  the  lower 
classes.  The  women  are  tattooed  in  the  centre  of  the  fore- 
head with  a  device  resembling  a  trident.  The  men  com- 
monly wear  a  turban  made  of  many  folds  of  cloth  twisted 
into  a  narrow  rope  and  large  gold  rings  with  pearls  in  the 
upper  part  of  the  ear.  Like  the  Rajputs  they  often  have 
j  their  hair  long  and  wear  beards  and  whiskers.  They  assume 
j  the  sacred  thread  and  invest  a  boy  with  it  when  he  is  seven 
or  eight  years  old  or  on  his  marriage.  Till  then  they  let  the 
hair  grow  on  the  front  of  his  head,  and  when  the  thread 
ceremony  is  performed  they  cut  this  off  and  let  the  cJioti  or 
scalp-lock  grow  at  the  back.  In  appearance  the  men  are 
often  tall  and  well-built  and  of  a  Hght  wheat-coloured 
complexion. 
7.  Reii-  The    principal    deity    of  the  Marathas    is    Khandoba,    a 

sio'i-  warrior  incarnation  of  Mahadeo.  He  is  supposed  to  have 
been  born  in  a  field  of  millet  near  Poona  and  to  have  led  the 
people  against  the  Muhammadans  in  early  times.  He  had  a 
watch-dog  who  warned  him  of  the  approach  of  his  enemies, 
and  he  is  named  after  the  kJianda  or  sword  which  he  always 
carried.  In  Bombay^  he  is  represented  on  horseback  with 
^  Bombay  Gazetteer,  vol.  xviii.  part  i.  pp.  413-414. 


II  PRESENT  POSITION  OF  THE  CASTE  205 

two  women,  one  of  the  Bania  caste,  his  wedded  wife,  in  front 
of  him,  and  another,  a  Uhangarin,  his  kept  mistress,  behind. 
He  is  considered  the  tutelary  deity  of  the  Maratha  country, 
and  his  symbol  is  a  bag  of  turmeric  powder  known  as  bJianddr. 
The  caste  worship  Khandoba  on  Sundays  with  rice,  flowers 
and  incense,  and  also  on  the  21st  day  of  Magh  (January), 
which  is  called  CJiaiupa  SasJitJii  and  is  his  special  festival. 
On  this  day  they  will  catch  hold  of  any  dog,  and  after  adorn- 
ing him  with  flowers  and  turmeric  give  him  a  good  feed 
and  let  him  go  again.  The  Marathas  are  generally  kind  to 
dogs  and  will  not  injure  them.  At  the  Dasahra  festival  the 
caste  worship  their  horses  and  swords  and  go  out  into  the 
field  to  see  a  blue-jay  in  memory  of  the  fact  that  the  Maratha 
marauding  expeditions  started  on  Dasahra.  On  coming  back 
they  distribute  to  each  other  leaves  of  the  shami  tree 
[BaiiJiinia  raceinosd)  as  a  substitute  for  gold.  It  was  formerly 
held  to  be  fitting  among  the  Hindus  that  the  warrior 
should  ride  a  horse  (geldings  being  unknown)  and  the 
zamindar  or  landowner  a  mare,  as  more  suitable  to  a  man 
of  peace.  The  warriors  celebrated  their  Dasahra,  and 
worshipped  their  horses  on  the  tenth  day  of  the  light  fort- 
night of  Kunwdr  (September),  while  the  cultivators  held  their 
festival  and  worshipped  their  mares  on  the  ninth  day.  It  is 
recorded  that  the  great  Raghuji  Bhonsla,  the  first  Raja  of 
Nagpur,  held  his  Dasahra  on  the  ninth  day,  in  order  to 
proclaim  the  fact  that  he  was  by  family  an  agriculturist  and 
only  incidentally  a  man  of  arms.' 

The  Marathas  present  the  somewhat  melancholy  spec-  8.  Present 
tacle  of  an  impoverished  aristocratic  class  attempting  to  fhT caste° 
maintain  some  semblance  of  their  former  position,  though 
they  no  longer  have  the  means  to  do  so.  They  flourished 
during  two  or  three  centuries  of  almost  continuous  war,  and 
became  a  wealthy  and  powerful  caste,  but  they  find  a  diffi- 
culty in  turning  their  hands  to  the  arts  of  peace.  Sir 
R.  Craddock  writes  of  them  in  Nagpur  : 

"  Among  the  Marathas  a  large  number  represent  connec- 
tions of  the  Bhonsla  family,  related  by  marriage  or  by 
illegitimate  descent  to  that  house.  A  considerable  propor- 
tion of  the  Government  political   pensioners  are  Marathas. 

^  Elliott,  HoshatigabCid  Settlement  Report. 


2o6  MAR  AT  HA  i'art 

Many  of  them  own  villages  or  hold  tenant  land,  but  as  a 
rule  they  are  extravagant  in  their  living  ;  and  several  of  the 
old  Maratha  nobility  have  fallen  very  much  in  the  world. 
Pensions  diminish  with  each  generation,  but  the  expenditure 
shows  no  corresponding  decrease.  The  sons  are  brought 
up  to  no  employment  and  the  daughters  are  married  with 
lavish  pomp  and  show.  The  native  army  does  not  much 
attract  them,  and  but  few  are  educated  well  enough  for  the 
dignified  posts  in  the  civil  employ  of  Government.  It  is  a 
question  whether  their  pride  of  race  will  give  way  before 
the  necessity  of  earning  their  livelihood  soon  enough  for 
them  to  maintain  or  regain  some  of  their  former  position. 
Otherwise  those  with  the  largest  landed  estates  may  be  saved 
by  the  intervention  of  Government,  but  the  rest  must  gradu- 
ally deteriorate  till  the  dignities  of  their  class  have  become 
a  mere  memory.  The  humbler  members  of  the  caste  find 
their  employment  as  petty  contractors  or  traders,  private 
servants,  Government  peons,  sowars,  and  hangers-on  in  the 
retinue  of  the  more  important  families. 

"  What  ^  little  display  his  means  afford  a  Maratha  still 
tries  to  maintain.  Though  he  may  be  clad  in  rags  at  home, 
he  has  a  spare  dress  which  he  himself  washes  and  keeps  with 
great  care  and  puts  on  when  he  goes  to  pay  a  visit.  He 
will  hire  a  boy  to  attend  him  with  a  lantern  at  night,  or  to 
take  caVe  of  his  shoes  when  he  goes  to  a  friend's  house  and 
hold  them  before  him  when  he  comes  out.  Well-to-do 
Marathas  have  usually  in  their  service  a  Brahman  clerk  known 
as  divdnji  or  minister,  who  often  takes  advantage  of  his 
master's  want  of  education  to  defraud  him.  A  Maratha 
seldom  rises  early  or  goes  out  in  the  morning.  He  will  get 
up  at  seven  or  eight  o'clock,  a  late  hour  for  a  Hindu,  and 
attend  to  business  if  he  has  any  or  simply  idle  about  chewing 
or  smoking  tobacco  and  talking  till  ten  o'clock.  He  will  then 
bathe  and  dress  in  a  freshly-washed  cloth  and  bow  before 
the  family  gods  which  the  priest  has  already  worshipped. 
He  will  dine,  chew  betel  and  smoke  tobacco  and  enjoy  a 
short  midday  rest.  Rising  at  three,  he  will  play  cards,  dice 
or  chess,  and  in  the  evening  will  go  out  walking  or  riding  or 

'  The  following  description  is  taken       Sir  II.  II,  Risley's  India  Census  Report 
from  the  Ethnographic  Appendices  to       of  190 1. 


II  THE  MARATHA  HORSEMAN  207 

pay  a  visit  to  a  friend.  He  will  come  back  at  eight  or  nine 
and  go  to  bed  at  ten  or  eleven.  But  Marathas  who  have 
estates  to  manage  lead  regular,  fairly  busy  lives." 

Sir  D.  Ibbetson  drew  attention  to  the  fact  that  the  rising  9.  Nature 
of  the  Marathas  against  the  Muhammadans  was  almost  the  ^^a'rtha 
only  instance  in  Indian  history  of  what  might  correctly  be  insurrec- 
called  a  really  national  movement.  In  other  cases,  as  that 
of  the  Sikhs,  though  the  essential  motive  was  perhaps  of 
the  same  nature,  it  was  obscured  by  the  fact  that  its  osten- 
sible tendency  was  religious.  The  gurus  of  the  Sikhs  did 
not  call  on  their  followers  to  fight  for  their  country  but  for  a 
new  religion.  This  was  only  in  accordance  with  the  Hindu 
intellect,  to  which  the  idea  of  nationality  has  hitherto  been 
foreign,  while  its  protests  against  both  alien  and  domestic 
tyrannies  tend  to  take  the  shape  of  a  religious  revolt.  A 
similar  tendency  is  observable  even  in  the  case  of  the 
Marathas,  for  the  rising  was  from  its  inception  largely 
engineered  by  the  Maratha  Brahmans,  who  on  its  success 
hastened  to  annex  for  themselves  a  leading  position  in  the 
new  Poona  state.  And  it  has  been  recorded  that  in  calling 
his  countrymen  to  arms,  Sivaji  did  not  ask  them  to  defend 
their  hearths  and  homes  or  wives  and  children,  but  to  rally 
for  the  protection  of  the  sacred  persons  of  Brahmans  and 
cows. 

Although  the   Marathas  have  now  in   imitation  of  the  10. 
Rajputs  and  Muhammadans  adopted  the  parda  system,  this  wo^meatn 
is   not  a  native  custom,  and   women  have  played   quite  an  past  times, 
important  part  in  their  history.      The  women  of  the  house- 
hold have  also  exercised  a  considerable  influence  and  their 
opinions    are   treated    with    respect    by   the    men.      Several 
instances  occur  in  which  women  of  high  rank  have  success- 
fully acted  as  governors  and  administrators.      In  the  Bhonsla 
family   the    Princess   Baka   Bfii,  widow   of  Raghuji    II.,  is   a 
conspicuous  instance,  while  the  famous  or  notorious  Rani  of 
Jhansi  is  another  case  of  a  Maratha  lady  who  led  her  troops 
in  person,  and  was  called   the  best  man  on  the  native  side 
in  the  Mutiny. 

This  article  may  conclude  with  one  or  two  extracts  to  n.  The 
give  an  idea  of  the  way  in  which  the  Maratha  soldiery  took  i^orseman 
the  field.      Grant  Duff  describes  the  troopers  as  follows  : 


in  the 
field. 


208  MARATHA  part 

"The  Maratha  horsemen  are  commonly  dressed  in  a 
pair  of  hght  breeches  covering  the  knee,  a  turban  which 
many  of  them  fasten  by  passing  a  fold  of  it  under  the  chin, 
a  frock  of  quilted  cotton,  and  a  cloth  round  the  waist,  with 
which  they  generally  gird  on  their  swords  in  preference  to 
securing  them  with  their  belts.  The  horseman  is  armed 
with  a  sword  and  shield  ;  a  proportion  in  each  body  carry 
matchlocks,  but  the  great  national  weapon  is  the  spear,  in  the 
use  of  which  and  the  management  of  their  horse  they  evince 
both  grace  and  dexterity.  The  spearmen  have  generally  a 
sword,  and  sometimes  a  shield  ;  but  the  latter  is  unwieldy 
and  only  carried  in  case  the  spear  should  be  broken.  The 
trained  spearmen  may  always  be  known  by  their  riding  very 
long,  the  ball  of  the  toe  touching  the  stirrup  ;  some  of  the 
matchlockmen  and  most  of  the  Brahmans  ride  very  short 
and  ungracefully.  The  bridle  consists  of  a  single  headstall 
of  cotton-rope,  with  a  small  but  very  severe  flexible  bit." 
12.  Cavalry  The  following  account  of  the  Maratha  cavalry  is  given 

in  General  Hislop's  Summary  of  tJie  MardtJia  and  Pinddri 
Campaigns  of  i  8 1 7- 1 8  1 9  : 

"  The  Marathas  possess  extraordinary  skill  in  horseman- 
ship, and  so  intimate  an  acquaintance  with  their  horses,  that 
they  can  make  their  animals  do  anything,  even  in  full  speed, 
in  halting,  wheeling,  etc.;  they  likewise  use  the  spear  with 
remarkable  dexterity,  sometimes  in  full  gallop,  grasping 
their  spears  short  and  quickly  sticking  the  point  in  the 
ground  ;  still  holding  the  handles,  they  turn  their  horse 
suddenly  round  it,  thus  performing  on  the  point  of  a  spear 
as  on  a  pivot  the  same  circle  round  and  round  again.  Their 
horses  likewise  never  leave  the  particular  class  or  body  to 
which  they  belong  ;  so  that  if  the  rider  should  be  knocked 
off,  away  gallops  the  animal  after  its  fellows,  never  separating 
itself  from  the  main  body.  Every  Maratha  brings  his  own 
horse  and  his  own  arms  with  him  to  the  field,  and  possibly 
in  the  interest  they  possess  in  this  private  equipment  we 
shall  find  their  usual  shyness  to  expose  themselves  or  even 
to  make  a  bold  vigorous  attack.  But  if  armies  or  troops 
could  be  frightened  by  appearances  these  horses  of  the 
Marathas  would  dishearten  the  bravest,  actually  darkening 
the  plains  with  their  numbers  and  clouding  the  horizon  with 


1 1  MIL  IT  A  R  V  A  D  MINIS  TRA  TION  209 

dust  for  miles  and  miles  around.  A  little  fighting,  however, 
goes  a  great  way  with  them,  as  with  most  others  of  the 
native  powers  in  India." 

On  this  account  the  Marathas  were  called  razdJi-bazdn 
or  lance-wielders.  One  Muhammadan  historian  says  :  "  They 
so  use  the  lance  that  no  cavalry  can  cope  with  them.  Some 
20,000  or  30,000  lances  are  held  up  against  their  enemy 
so  close  together  as  not  to  leave  a  span  between  their  heads. 
If  horsemen  try  to  ride  them  down  the  points  of  the  spears 
are  levelled  at  the  assailants  and  they  are  unhorsed.  While 
cavalry  are  charging  them  they  strike  their  lances  against 
each  other  and  the  noise  so  frightens  the  horses  of  the 
enemy  that  they  turn  round  and  bolt."  ^  The  battle-cries  of 
the  Marathas  were, '  Har^  Har  Mahddeo,'  and  '  Gopdl,  Gopdl!  ^ 

An  interesting  description  of  the  internal  administration  13. 
of  the   Maratha  cavalry  is  contained    in   the   letter  on   the  ^"^'''"^7 
Marathas  by  Colonel  Tone  already  quoted.      But  his  account  tration. 
must  refer  to  a  period   of  declining  efficiency  and   cannot 
represent  the  military  system  at  its  best  : 

"  In  the  great  scale  of  rank  and  eminence  which  is  one 
peculiar  feature  of  Hindu  institutions  the  Maratha  holds  a 
very  inferior  situation,  being  just  removed  one  degree  above 
those  castes  which  are  considered  absolutely  unclean.  He 
is  happily  free  from  the  rigorous  observances  as  regards 
food  which  fetter  the  actions  of  the  higher  castes.  He  can 
eat  of  all  kinds  of  food  with  the  exception  of  beef ;  can 
dress  his  meal  at  all  times  and  seasons  ;  can  partake  of  all 
victuals  dressed  by  any  caste  superior  to  his  own  ;  washing 
and  praying  are  not  indispensable  in  his  order  and  may  be 
practised  or  omitted  at  pleasure.  The  three  great  tribes  ! 
which  compose  the  Maratha  caste  are  the  Kunbi  or  farmer, 
the  Dhangar  or  shepherd  and  the  Goala  or  cowherd  ;  to 
this  original  cause  may  perhaps  be  ascribed  that  great 
simplicity  of  manner  which  distinguishes  the  Maratha 
people.  Homer  mentions  princesses  going  in  person  to  the 
fountain  to  wash  their  household  linen.  I  can  affirm  having 
seen  the  daughters  of  a  prince  who  was  able  to  bring  an 
army  into  the   field  much  larger  than  the  whole  Greek  con- 

*  Irvine's    Army   of  the    JMughah,  -  Ibido/i,  p.  232.     Gopal  is  a  name 

p.  82.  of  Krishna. 

VOL.  IV  P 


2 1 o  MA RA  THA  part 

federacy,  making  bread  with  their  own  hands  and  otherwise 
employed  in  the  ordinary  business  of  domestic  housewifery. 
I  have  seen  one  of  the  most  powerful  chiefs  of  the  Empire, 
after  a  day  of  action,  assisting  in  kindling  a  fire  to  keep 
himself  warm  during  the  night,  and  sitting  on  the  ground 
on  a  spread  saddle-cloth  dictating  to  his  secretaries. 

"  The  chief  military  force  of  the  Marathas  consists  in 
their  cavalry,  which  may  be  divided  into  four  distinct 
classes  :  First  the  Khasi  Pagah  or  household  forces  of  the 
prince  ;  these  are  always  a  fine  well-appointed  body,  the 
horses  excellent,  being  the  property  of  the  Sirkar,  who  gives 
a  monthly  allowance  to  each  trooper  of  the  value  of  about 
eight  rupees.  The  second  class  are  the  cavalry  furnished 
by  the  Silladars,^  who  contract  to  supply  a  certain  number 
of  horse  on  specified  terms,  generally  about  Rs.  35a  month, 
including  the  trooper's  pay.  The  third  and  most  numerous 
description  are  volunteers,  who  join  the  camp  bringing  with 
them  their  own  horse  and  accoutrements ;  their  pay  is 
generally  from  Rs.  40  to  Rs.  50  a  month  in  proportion  to 
the  value  of  their  horse.  There  is  a  fourth  kind  of  native 
cavalry  called  Pindaris,  who  are  mere  marauders,  serve  with- 
out any  pay  and  subsist  but  by  plunder,  a  fourth  part 
of  which  they  give  to  the  Sirkar  ;  but  these  are  so  very 
licentious  a  body  that  they  are  not  employed  but  in  one  or 
two  of  the  Maratha  services. 

"  The  troops  collected  in  this  manner  are  under  no  dis- 
cipline whatever  and  engage  for  no  specific  period,  but  quit 
the  army  whenever  they  please ;  with  the  exception  of 
furnishing  a  picquet  while  in  camp,  they  do  no  duty  but  in 
the  day  of  battle. 

"  The  Maratha  cavalry  is  always  irregularly  and  badly 
paid  ;  the  household  troops  scarcely  ever  receive  money,  but 
are  furnished  with  a  daily  allowance  of  coarse  flour  and 
.some  other  ingredients  from  the  bazar  which  just  enable 
them    to    exist.       The    Silladar    is    very    nearly    as    badly 

1  Lit.     armour-bearers.        Colonel  kind    of  coat -of- mail    worn    by    the 

Tone  writes  :   "  I  apprehend  from  the  Maratha  horsemen,  known  as  a  betita, 

meaning  of  this  term  that  it  was  for-  which  resembles  our  ancient  hauberk  ; 

merly   the   custom   of   this  nation,    as  it  is  made  of  chain  work,  interlinked 

was  the  case  in   Europe,  to  appear  in  throughout,  fits  close  to  the  body  and 

armour.       I    have    frequently    seen    a  adapts  itself  to  all  its  motions." 


II  MILITARY  ADMINISTRA  TION  21 1 

situated.  In  his  arrangements  with  the  State  he  has  allotted 
to  him  a  certain  proportion  of  jungle  where  he  pastures  his 
cattle  ;  here  he  and  his  family  reside,  and  his  sole  occupa- 
tion when  not  on  actual  service  is  increasing  his  Pagah  or 
troop  by  breeding  out  of  his  marcs,  of  which  the  Maratha 
cavalry  almost  entirely  consist.  There  are  no  people  in  the 
world  who  understand  the  method  of  rearing  and  multiply- 
ing the  breed  of  cattle  equal  to  the  Marathas.  It  is  by  no 
means  uncommon  for  a  Sillildar  to  enter  a  service  with  one 
mare  and  in  a  {qv^  years  be  able  to  muster  a  very  respect- 
able Pagah.  They  have  many  methods  of  rendering  the 
animal  prolific  ;  they  back  their  colts  much  earlier  than  v/e 
do  and  they  are  consequently  more  valuable  as  they  come 
sooner  on  the  cfTective  strength. 

"  When  called  upon  for  actual  service  the  Silladar  is 
obliged  to  give  muster.  Upon  this  occasion  it  is  always 
necessary  that  the  Brahman  who  takes  it  should  have  a 
bribe  ;  and  indeed  the  Hazri,  as  the  muster  is  termed,  is  of 
such  a  nature  that  it  could  not  pass  by  any  fair  or  honour- 
able means.  Not  only  any  despicable  tattiis  are  substituted 
in  the  place  of  horses  but  animals  are  borrowed  to  fill  up 
the  complement.  Heel-ropes  and  grain-bags  are  produced 
as  belonging  to  cattle  supposed  to  be  at  grass  ;  in  short 
every  mode  is  practised  to  impose  on  the  Sirkar,  which 
in  turn  reimburses  itself  by  irregular  and  bad  payments  ; 
for  it  is  always  considered  if  the  Silladars  receive  six 
months'  arrears  out  of  the  year  that  they  are  exceedingly 
well  paid.  The  Volunteers  who  join  the  camp  are  still 
worse  situated,  as  they  have  no  collective  force,  and  money 
is  very  seldom  given  in  a  Maratha  State  without  being 
extorted.  In  one  word,  the  native  cavalry  are  the  worst- 
paid  body  of  troops  in  the  world.  But  there  is  another 
grand  error  in  this  mode  of  raising  troops  which  is  pro- 
ductive of  the  worst  effects.  Every  man  in  a  Maratha 
camp  is  totally  independent ;  he  is  the  proprietor  of  the 
horse  he  rides,  which  he  is  never  inclined  to  risk,  since  with- 
out it  he  can  get  no  service.  This  single  circumstance 
destroys  all  enterprise  and  spirit  in  the  soldier,  whose  sole 
business,  instead  of  being  desirous  of  distinguishing  himself, 
is  to  keep  out  of  the  way  of  danger  ;  for  notwithstanding 


Dharna. 


212  MARATHA  part 

every  horseman  on  entering  a  service  has  a  certain  value 
put  upon  his  horse,  yet  should  he  lose  it  even  in  action  he 
never  receives  any  compensation  or  at  least  none  propor- 
tioned to  his  loss.  If  at  any  time  a  Silladar  is  disgusted 
with  the  service  he  can  go  away  without  meeting  any 
molestation  even  though  in  the  face  of  an  enemy.  In  fact 
the  pay  is  in  general  so  shamefully  irregular  that  a  man  is 
justified  in  resorting  to  any  measure,  however  apparently 
unbecoming,  to  attain  it.  It  is  also  another  very  curious 
circumstance  attending  this  service  that  many  great  Silladars 
have  troops  in  the  pay  of  two  or  three  chiefs  at  the  same 
time,  who  are  frequently  at  open  war  with  each  other. 
14.  Sitting  "  To  recover  an  arrear  of  pay  there  is  but  one  known 

mode  which  is  universally  adopted  in  all  native  services,  the 
Mughal  as  well  as  the  Maratha ;  this  is  called  Dharna,^ 
which  consists  in  putting  the  debtor,  be  he  who  he  will,  into 
a  state  of  restraint  or  imprisonment,  until  satisfaction  be 
given  or  the  money  actually  obtained.  Any  person  in  the 
Sirkar's  service  has  a  right  to  demand  his  pay  of  the  Prince 
or  his  minister,  and  to  sit  in  Dharna  if  it  be  not  given  ;  nor 
will  he  meet  with  the  least  hindrance  in  doing  so  ;  for  none 
would  obey  an  order  that  interfered  with  the  Dharna,  as  it 
is  a  common  cause  ;  nor  does  the  soldier  incur  the  slightest 
charge  of  mutiny  for  his  conduct,  or  suffer  in  the  smallest 
manner  in  the  opinion  of  his  Chief,  so  universal  is  the 
custom.  The  Dharna  is  sometimes  carried  to  very  violent 
lengths  and  may  either  be  executed  on  the  Prince  or  his 
minister  indifferently,  with  the  same  effect  ;  as  the  Chief 
always  makes  it  a  point  of  honour  not  to  eat  or  drink  while 
his  Diwan  is  in  duress  ;  sometimes  the  Dharna  lasts  for 
many  days,  during  which  time  the  party  upon  whom  it  is 
exercised  is  not  suffered  to  eat  or  drink  or  wash  or  pray,  or 
in  short  is  not  permitted  to  move  from  the  spot  where  he 
sits,  which  is  frequently  bare-headed  in  the  sun,  until  the 
money  or  security  be  given  ;  so  general  is  this  mode  of 
recovery  that  I  suppose  the  Maratha  Chiefs  may  be  said  to 
be  nearly  one-half  of  their  time  in  a  state  of  Dharna. 

'  In    order    to    obtain    redress    by  would  be  held   to  have  committed  a 

Dharna  the  creditor  or  injured  person  mortal  sin  and  would  be  haunted  by  his 

would  sit  starvinp;  himself  outside  his  ghost  ;  see  also  article  on  Ehat.      The 

debtor's  door,  and  if  he  died  the  latter  accounthere  given  must  be  exaggerated. 


armies. 


11  CHARACTER  OF  THE  MARATHA  ARMIES  213 

"In  the  various  Maratha  services  there  arc  very  little  15.  The 
more  than  a  bare  majority  who  are  Marathas  by  caste,  and  '"  ^""^^" 
very  few  instances  occur  of  their  ever  entering  into  the 
infantry  at  all.  The  sepoys  in  the  pay  of  the  different 
princes  are  recruited  in  Hindustan,  and  principally  of  the 
Rajput  and  Purbia  caste  ;  these  are  perhaps  the  finest  race 
of  men  in  the  world  for  figure  and  appearance ;  of  lofty 
stature,  strong,  graceful  and  athletic  ;  of  acute  feelings, 
high  military  pride,  quick,  apprehensive,  brave,  prudent  and 
economic ;  at  the  same  time  it  must  be  confessed  they  are 
impatient  of  discipline,  and  naturally  inclined  to  mutiny. 
They  are  mere  soldiers  of  fortune  and  serve  only  for  their 
pay.  There  are  also  a  great  number  of  Musalmans  who 
serv5  in  the  different  Maratha  armies,  some  of  whom  have 
very  great  commands. 

"  The   Maratha    cavalry   at   times   make  very    long  and  16.  Char- 
rapid   marches,  in  which   they  do   not   suffer  themselves  to  ^^^^^^ 
be  interrupted   by  the   monsoon  or  any  violence  of  weather.  Maratha 
In  very  pressing  exigencies   it   is   incredible   the    fatigue   a, 
Maratha  horseman  will  endure  ;  frequently  many  days  pass 
without    his    enjoying    one    regular    meal,    but    he    depends 
entirely  for  subsistence  on  the  different  corn-fields  through 
which  the  army    passes  :    a   {q.\n   heads   of  juari,  which  he 
chafes  in  his  hands  while  on  horseback,  will   serve  him   for 
the    day  ;    his  horse   subsists   on    the    same  fare,   and   with 
the    addition    of    opium,    which    the    Marathas    frequently 
administer  to  their  cattle,  is   enabled  to  perform   incredible 
marches." 

The  above  analysis  of  the  Maratha  troops  indicates  that 
their  real  character  was  that  of  freebooting  cavalry,  largely 
of  the  same  type  as,  though  no  doubt  greatly  superior  in  tone 
and  discipline  to  the  Pindaris.  Like  them  they  lived  by 
plundering  the  country.  "  The  Marathas,"  Elphinstone  re- 
marked, "  are  excellent  foragers.  Every  morning  at  day- 
break long  lines  of  men  on  small  horses  and  ponies  are  seen 
issuing  from  their  camps  in  all  directions,  who  return  before 
night  loaded  with  fodder  for  the  cattle,  with  firewood  torn 
down  from  houses,  and  grain  dug  up  from  the  pits  where  it 
had  been  concealed  by  the  villagers  ;  while  other  detach- 
ments go  to  a  distance  for  some  days  and  collect  proper- 


214  MARATHA  part  II 

tionately  larger  supplies  of  the  same  kind."  ^  They  could 
thus  dispense  with  a  commissariat,  and  being  nearly  all 
mounted  were  able  to  make  extraordinarily  long  marches, 
and  consequently  to  carry  out  effectively  surprise  attacks 
and  when  repulsed  to  escape  injury  in  the  retreat.  Even  at 
PanTpat  where  their  largest  regular  force  took  the  field  under 
Sadasheo  Rao  Bhao,  he  had  70,000  regular  and  irregular 
cavalry  and  only  15,000  infantry,  of  whom  9000  were  hired 
sepoys  under  a  Muhammadan  leader.  The  Marathas  were 
at  their  best  in  attacking  the  slow-moving  and  effeminate 
Mughal  armies,  while  during  their  period  of  national  ascend- 
ancy under  the  Peshwa  there  was  no  strong  military  power 
in  India  which  could  oppose  their  forays.  When  they  were 
by  the  skill  of  their  opponents  at  length  brought  to  a  set 
battle,  their  fighting  qualities  usually  proved  to  be  distinctly 
poor.  At  Panipat  they  lost  the  day  by  a  sudden  panic  and 
flight  after  Ibrahim  Khan  Gardi  had  obtained  for  them  a 
decided  advantage ;  while  at  Argaon  and  Assaye  their  per- 
formances were  contemptible.  After  the  recovery  from 
Panipat  and  the  rise  of  the  independent  Maratha  states,  the 
assistance  of  European  officers  was  invoked  to  discipline 
and  train  the  soldiery.^ 

^  Elphinstone's  Histojy,  7th  ed.  p.  748.  ^  Ibidem,  p.  753. 


MEHTAK 


\Bibliop-aphy :  Mr.  R.  Greeven's  Knights  of  the  Broom,  Benares,  1894 
(pamphlet) ;  Mr.  Crooke's  Tribes  and  Castes,  art.  lihangi  ;  Sir  H.  Risley's 
Tribes  and  Castes,  art.  Ilari  ;  Sir  K.  Maclagan's  Punjab  Censtts  Report,  1S91 
(Sweeper  Sects)  ;  Sir  D.  Ibbetson's  Punjab  Census  Report,  1881  (art.  Chuhra)  ; 
Bombay  Gazetteer,  Hindus  of  Gujarat,  Mr.  Bhimbhai  Kirparam.] 

LIST  OF  PARAGRAPHS 

1.  Introductory  notice.  10.  Childbirth. 

2.  Caste  stibdivisiojis.  1 1 .  Treatment  of  the  mothe?: 

3.  Social  organisation.  1 2.  Protcctijtg  the  lives  of  children. 

4.  Caste  j>iinisJuncnts.  13.  I7ifa?}tile  diseases. 

5.  Admission  of  outsiders.  14.  Religio?i.      Valmlki. 

6.  Marriage  customs.  I  5 .  Ldlbeg. 

7.  Disposal  of  the  dead.  16.  Adoption  of  foreigJi  religions. 

8.  Deinces  for  procuring  children.       17.  Social  status. 

9.  Divi7tatio7i  of  sex.  18.  Occupation. 

19.    Occupation  {continued). 

Mehtar,  Bhang-i,  Hari,^  Dom,  Lalbegi. — The  caste  of  i  imro- 
svveepers  and  scavengers.  In  191 1  persons  returning  them-  notice." 
selves  as  Mehtar,  Bhangi  and  Dom  were  separately  classified, 
and  the  total  of  all  three  was  only  30,000.  In  this 
Province  they  generally  confine  themselves  to  their  hereditary 
occupation  of  scavenging,  and  are  rarely  met  with  outside 
the  towns  and  large  villages.  In  most  localities  the  supply 
of  sweepers  does  not  meet  the  demand.  The  case  is  quite 
different  in  northern  India,  where  the  sweeper  castes — the 
Chuhra  in  the  Punjab,  the  Bhangi  in  the  United  Provinces 
and  the  Dom  in  Bengal — are  all  of  them  of  great  numerical 
strength.  With  these  castes  only  a  small  proportion  are 
employed   on   scavengers'  work   and    the  rest  arc   labourers 

^  Some  information  has  been  obtained  from  a  paper  by  Mr.  Ilarbans  Rai, 
Clerk  of  Court,  Damoh. 

215 


2i6  MEHTAR  part 

like  the  Chamars  and  Mahars  of  the  Central  Provinces. 
The  present  sweeper  caste  is  made  up  of  diverse  elements, 
and  the  name  Mehtar,  generally  applied  to  it,  is  a  title 
meaning  a  prince  or  leader.  Its  application  to  the  caste, 
the  most  abject  and  despised  in  the  Hindu  community,  is 
perhaps  partly  ironical  ;  but  all  the  low  castes  have  honorific 
titles,  which  are  used  as  a  method  of  address  either  from 
ordinary  politeness  or  by  those  requiring  some  service,  on  the 
principle,  as  the  Hindus  say,  that  you  may  call  an  ass  your 
uncle  if  you  want  him  to  do  something  for  you.  The  regular 
caste  of  sweepers  in  northern  India  are  the  Bhangis,  whose 
name  is  derived  by  Mr.  Crooke  from  the  Sanskrit  bhanga^ 
hemp,  in  allusion  to  the  drunken  habits  of  the  caste.  In 
support  of  this  derivation  he  advances  the  Beria  custom  of 
calling  their  leaders  Bhangi  or  hemp-drinker  as  a  title  of 
honour.^  In  Mr.  Greeven's  account  also,  Lalbeg,  the  patron 
saint  of  the  sweepers,  is  described  as  intoxicated  with  the 
hemp  drug  on  two  occasions."  Mr.  Bhimbhai  Kirparam 
suggests  ^  that  Bhangia  means  broken,  and  is  applied  to  the 
sweepers  because  they  split  bamboos.  In  Kaira,  he  states,  the 
regular  trade  of  the  Bhangias  is  the  plaiting  of  baskets  and 
other  articles  of  split  bamboo,  and  in  that  part  of  Gujarat  if 
a  Koli  is  asked  to  split  a  bamboo  he  will  say,  *  Am  I  to  do 
Bhangia's  work  ?  '  The  derivation  from  the  hemp-plant  is, 
however,  the  more  probable.  In  the  Punjab,  sweepers  are 
known  as  Chuhra,  and  this  name  has  been  derived  from 
their  business  of  collecting  and  sweeping  up  scraps  {chiira- 
jhdrna).  Similarly,  in  Bombay  they  are  known  as  Olganas 
or  scrap-eaters.  The  Bengal  name  Hari  is  supposed  to 
come  from  haddi,  a  bone  ;  the  Hari  is  the  bone-gatherer,  and 
was  familiar  to  early  settlers  of  Calcutta  under  the  quaint 
designation  of  the  '  harry-wench.'  *  In  the  Central  Provinces 
sections  of  the  Ghasia,  Mahar  and  Dom  castes  will  do 
sweepers'  work,  and  are  therefore  amalgamated  with  the 
Mehtars.  The  caste  is  thus  of  mixed  constitution,  and  also 
forms  a  refuge  for  persons  expelled  from  their  own  societies 
for  social   offences.      But  though  called  by  different  names, 

1  Rajendra    Lai    Mitra,    (juoted    in  ^  Oj>.  cit.  p.  334. 

art.  on  ]5cria.  *  Gieeven,     p.     66,    quoting    from 

2  Greeven,  op.  cit.  pp.  29,  33.  Echoes  of  Old  Calcutta. 


II        CASTE  SUBDIVISIONS—SOCIAL  ORGANISATION    217 

the  sweeper  community  in  most  provinces  appears  to  have 
the  same  stock  of  traditions  and  legends.  The  name  of 
Mehtar  is  now  generally  employed,  and  has  therefore  been 
taken  as  the  designation  of  the  caste. 

Mr.   Greeven   gives  seven    main    subdivisions,  of    which  2.  Caste 

.  h 

the  Lalbegis  or  the  followers  of  Lalbeg,  the  patron  saint  of  ^"yjsiong 
sweepers,  are  the  most  important.  The  Rawats  appear  to 
be  an  aristocratic  subdivision  of  the  Lalbegis,  their  name 
being  a  corruption  of  the  Sanskrit  Rajputra,  a  prince.  The 
Shaikh  Mehtars  are  the  only  real  Muhammadan  branch,  for 
though  the  Lalbegis  worship  a  Musalman  saint  they  remain 
Hindus.  The  Haris  or  bone-gatherers,  as  already  stated, 
are  the  sweepers  of  Bengal.  The  Helas  may  either  be 
those  who  carry  baskets  of  sweepings,  or  may  derive  their 
name  from  Jiela,  a  cry  ;  and  in  that  case  they  are  so  called 
as  performing  the  office  of  town-criers,  a  function  which  the 
Bhangi  usually  still  discharges  in  northern  India.^  The  other 
subcastes  in  his  list  are  the  Dhanuks  or  bowmen  and  the 
Bansphors  or  cleavers  of  bamboos.  In  the  Central  Provinces 
the  Shaikh  Mehtars  belong  principally  to  Nagpur,  and 
another  subcaste,  the  Makhia,  is  also  found  in  the  Maratha 
Districts  and  in  Berar  ;  those  branches  of  the  Ghasia  and 
Dom  castes  who  consent  to  do  scavengers'  work  now  form 
separate  subcastes  of  Mehtars  in  the  same  locality,  and 
another  group  are  called  Narnolia,  being  said  to  take  their 
name  from  a  place  called  Narnol  in  the  Punjab.  The 
Lalbegis  are  often  considered  here  as  Muhammadans  rather 
than  Hindus,  and  bury  their  dead.  In  Saugor  the  sweepers 
are  said  to  be  divided  into  Lalbegis  or  Muhammadans  and 
Doms  or  Hindus.  The  Lalbegi,  Dom  or  Dumar  and  the 
Hela  are  the  principal  subcastes  of  the  north  of  the  Province, 
and  Chuhra  Mehtars  are  found  in  Chhattlsgarh.  Each  sub- 
caste  is  divided  into  a  number  of  exogamous  sections  named 
after  plants  and  animals. 

In    Benares   each   subdivision,    Mr.   Greeven   states,  has  3.  Social 
an   elaborate   and    quasi -military    organisation.       Thus    the 
Lalbegi  sweepers  have  eight  companies  or  berJias,  consisting 
of   the  sweepers  working  in   different  localities  ;    these  are 
the  Sadar,  or  those  employed  by  private  residents  in  canton- 

^  Crooke,  op.  cit. 


organisa- 
tion. 


2i8  MEHTAR  part 

ments  ;  the  Kali  Paltan,  who  serve  the  Bengal  Infantry  ; 
the  Lai  Kurti,  or  Red-coats,  who  are  employed  by  the 
British  Infantry  ;  the  Teshan  (station),  or  those  engaged  at 
the  three  railway  stations  of  the  town  ;  the  Shahar,  or 
those  of  the  city ;  the  Ramnagar,  taking  their  name  from 
the  residence  of  the  Maharaja  of  Benares,  whom  they  serve.; 
the  Kothlwal,  or  Bungalow  men,  who  belong  to  residents 
in  the  civil  lines  ;  and  lastly  the  Genereli,  who  are  the 
descendants  of  sweepers  employed  at  the  military  head- 
quarters when  Benares  was  commanded  by  a  General  of 
Division.  This  special  organisation  is  obviously  copied 
from  that  of  the  garrison  and  is  not  found  in  other  localities, 
but  deserves  mention  for  its  own  interest.  All  the  eight 
companies  are  commanded  by  a  Brigadier,  the  local  head 
of  the  caste,  whose  office  is  now  almost  hereditary ;  his 
principal  duty  is  to  give  two  dinners  to  the  whole  caste  on 
election,  with  sweetmeats  to  the  value  of  fourteen  rupees. 
Each  company  has  four  officers — a  Jamadar  or  president,  a 
Munsif  or  spokesman,  a  Chaudhari  or  treasurer  and  a  Naib 
or  summoner.  These  offices  are  also  practically  hereditary, 
if  the  candidate  entitled  by  birth  can  afford  to  give  a  dinner 
to  the  whole  subcaste  and  a  turban  to  each  President  of  a 
company.  All  the  other  members  of  the  company  are 
designated  as  Sipahis  or  soldiers.  A  caste  dispute  is  first 
considered  by  the  inferior  officers  of  each  company,  who 
report  their  view  to  the  President  ;  he  confers  with  the  other 
Presidents,  and  when  an  agreement  has  been  reached  the 
sentence  is  formally  confirmed  by  the  Brigadier.  When 
any  dispute  arises,  the  aggrieved  party,  depositing  a  process- 
fee  of  a  rupee  and  a  quarter,  addresses  the  officers  of  his 
company.  Unless  the  question  is  so  trivial  that  it  can  be 
settled  without  caste  punishments,  the  President  fixes  a  time 
and  place,  of  which  notice  is  given  to  the  messengers  of 
the  other  companies  ;  each  of  these  receives  a  fee  of  one 
and  a  quarter  annas  and  informs  all  the  Sipahis  in  his 
company. 
4.  Caste  Only  worthy  members  of  the  caste,  Mr.  Greeven  con- 

punish-  tjmues,  are  allowed  to  sit  on  the  tribal  matting  and  smoke  the 
tribal  pipe  (huqqa).  The  proceedings  begin  with  the  out- 
spreading (usually  symbolic)  of  a  carpet  and  the  smoking  of 


ments. 


II  ADMISSION  OF  OUTSIDERS  219 

a  water-pipe  handed  in  turn  to  each  clansman.  For  this 
purpose  the  members  sit  on  the  carpet  in  three  Hnes,  the 
officers  in  front  and  the  private  soldiers  behind.  The  parties 
and  their  witnesses  are  heard  and  examined,  and  a  decision 
is  pronounced.  The  punishments  imposed  consist  of  fines, 
'Compulsory  dinners  and  expulsion  from  the  caste  ;  expulsion 
being  inflicted  for  failure  to  comply  with  an  order  of  fine  or 
entertainment.  The  formal  method  of  outcasting  consists 
in  seating  the  culprit  on  the  ground  and  drawing  the 
tribal  mat  over  his  head,  from  which  the  turban  is  removed  ; 
after  this  the  messengers  of  the  eight  companies  inflict  a 
few  taps  with  slippers  and  birch  brooms.  It  is  alleged  that 
unfaithful  women  were  formerly  tied  naked  to  trees  and 
flogged  with  birch  brooms,  but  that  owing  to  the  fatal 
results  that  occasionally  followed  such  punishment,  as  in 
the  case  of  the  five  kicks  among  Chamars  (tanners)  and  the 
scourging  with  the  clothes  line  which  used  to  prevail  among 
Dhobis  (washermen),  the  caste  has  now  found  it  expedient 
to  abandon  these  practices.  When  an  outcaste  is  readmitted 
on  submission,  whether  by  paying  a  fine  or  giving  a  dinner, 
he  is  seated  apart  from  the  tribal  mat  and  does  penance  by 
holding  his  ears  with  his  hands  and  confessing  his  offence. 
A  new  huqqa,  which  he  supplies,  is  carried  round  by  the 
messenger,  and  a  few  whiffs  are  taken  by  all  the  officers  and 
Sipahis  in  turn.  The  messenger  repeats  to  the  culprit  the 
council's  order,  and  informs  him  that  should  he  again  offend 
his  punishment  will  be  doubled.  With  this  warning  he 
hands  him  the  water-pipe,  and  after  smoking  this  the 
offender  is  admitted  to  the  carpet  and  all  is  forgotten  in  a 
banquet  at  his  expense. 

The  sweepers  will  freely  admit  outsiders  into  their  5.  Admis- 
community,  and  the  caste  forms  a  refuge  for  persons  o°t"iders. 
expelled  from  their  own  societies  for  sexual  or  moral 
offences.  Various  methods  are  employed  for  the  initiation 
of  a  neophyte  ;  in  some  places  he,  or  more  frequently  she, 
is  beaten  with  a  broom  made  of  wood  taken  from  a  bier, 
and  has  to  give  a  feast  to  the  caste ;  in  others  a  slight 
wound  is  made  in  his  body  and  the  blood  of  another  sweeper 
is  allowed  to  flow  on  to  it  so  that  they  mix  ;  and  a  glass  of 
sherbet  and  sugar,  known  as  the  cup  of  nectar,  is  prepared 


riage 
customs. 


220  MEHTAR  PART 

by  the  priest  and  all  the  members  of  the  committee  put 
their  fingers  into  it,  after  which  it  is  given  to  the  candidate 
to  drink ;  or  he  has  to  drink  water  mixed  with  cowdung 
into  which  the  caste-people  have  dipped  their  little  fingers, 
and  a  lock  of  his  hair  is  cut  off.  Or  he  fasts  all  day  at  the 
shrine  of  Lalbeg  and  in  the  evening  'drinks  sherbet  after* 
burning  incense  at  the  shrine  ;  and  gives  three  feasts,  the 
first  on  the  bank  of  a  tank,  the  second  in  his  courtyard  and 
the  third  in  his  house,  representing  his  gradual  purification 
for  membership  ;  at  this  last  he  puts  a  little  water  into 
every  man's  cup  and  receives  from  him  a  piece  of  bread, 
and  so  becomes  a  fully  qualified  caste-man.  Owing  to  this 
reinforcement  from  higher  castes,  and  perhaps  also  to  their 
flesh  diet,  the  sweepers  are  not  infrequently  taller  and  stronger 
as  well  as  lighter  in  colour  than  the  average  Hindu. 
6.  Mar-  The  marriage  ceremony  in  the  Central  Provinces  follows 

the  ordinary  Hindu  ritual.  The  lagan  or  paper  fixing  the 
date  of  the  wedding  is  written  by  a  Brahman,  who  seats 
himself  at  some  distance  from  the  sweeper's  house  and 
composes  the  letter.  This  paper  must  not  be  seen  by  the 
bride  or  bridegroom,  nor  may  its  contents  be  read  to  them, 
as  it  is  believed  that  to  do  so  would  cause  them  to  fall  ill 
during  the  ceremony.  Before  the  bridegroom  starts  for  the 
wedding  his  mother  waves  a  wooden  pestle  five  times  over 
his  head,  passing  it  between  his  legs  and  shoulders.  After 
this  the  bridegroom  breaks  two  lamp-saucers  with  his  right 
foot,  steps  over  the  rice-pounder  and  departs  for  the  bride's 
house  without  looking  behind  him.  The  sawdsas  or  relatives 
of  the  parties  usually  officiate  at  the  ceremony,  but  the  well- 
to-do  sometimes  engage  a  Brahman,  who  sits  at  a  distance 
from  the  house  and  calls  out  his  instructions.  When  a 
man  wishes  to  marry  a  widow  he  must  pay  six  rupees  to 
the  caste  committee  and  give  a  feast  to  the  community. 
Divorce  is  i:)crmitted  for  incompatibility  of  temper,  or 
immorality  on  the  part  of  the  wife,  or  if  the  husband 
suffers  from  leprosy  or  impotence.  Among  the  Lalbegis, 
when  a  man  wishes  to  get  rid  of  his  wife  he  assembles  the 
brethren  and  in  their  presence  says  to  her,  '  You  are  as  my 
sister,'  and  she  answers,  '  You  are  as  my  father  and  brother.'  ^ 
'  Crooke,  op.  cit.  para.  52. 


II  DEVICES  FOR  PROCURING  CHILDREN  221 

The  dead  are  usually  buried,  but  the  well-to-do  some-  7.  Disposal 
times  cremate  them.  In  Benares  the  face  or  hand  of  the  °^^^^ 
corpse  is  scorched  with  fire  to  symbolise  cremation  and  it 
is  then  buried.  In  the  Punjab  the  ghosts  of  sweepers  are 
considered  to  be  malevolent  and  are  much  dreaded  ;  and 
their  bodies  are  therefore  always  buried  or  burnt  face 
downwards  to  prevent  the  spirit  escaping  ;  and  riots  have 
taken  place  and  the  magistrates  have  been  appealed  to  to 
prevent  a  Chuhra  from  being  buried  face  upwards.^  In 
Benares  as  the"  body  is  lowered  into  the  grave  the  sheet  is 
withdrawn  for  a  moment  from  the  features  of  the  departed 
to  afford  him  one  last  glimpse  of  the  heavens,  while  with 
Muhammadans  the  face  is  turned  towards  Mecca.  Each 
clansman  flings  a  handful  of  dust  over  the  corpse,  and  after 
the  earth  is  filled  in  crumbles  a  little  bread  and  sugar-cake 
and  sprinkles  water  upon  the  grave.  A  provision  of  bread, 
sweetmeats  and  water  is  also  left  upon  it  for  the  soul  of  the 
departed."  In  the  Central  Provinces  the  body  of  a  man  is 
covered  with  a  white  winding-sheet  and  that  of  a  woman 
with  a  red  one.  If  the  death  occurs  during  the  lunar 
conjunction  known  as  Panchak,  four  human  images  of  flour 
are  made  and  buried  with  the  dead  man,  as  they  think 
that  if  this  is  not  done  four  more  deaths  will  occur  in  the 
family. 

If   a  woman   greatly  desires   a  child  she  will   go  to    a  8.  Devices 
shrine  and  lay  a  stone  on  it  which  she  calls  the  dJiavna  or   '^l^^^T 
deposit  or  pledge.      Then  she  thinks  that  she  has  put  the  children. 
god  under  an  obligation  to  give  her  a  child.      She  vows  that 
if  she  becomes  pregnant  within  a  certain  period,  six  or  nine 
months,  she  will   make  an  offering  of  a  certain  value.      If 
the   pregnancy  comes  she  goes  to  the  temple,  makes    the 
offering  and  removes  the  stone.      If  the  desired  result  does 
not  happen,  however,  she  considers  that  the  god  has  broken 
his   obligation    and   ceases   to   worship   him.       If   a   barren 
woman  desires  a   child  she  should  steal  on  a  Sunday  or  a 
Wednesday  a  strip  from  the  body-cloth  of  a  fertile  woman 
when  it  is  hung  out  to  dry  ;  or  she  may  steal  a  piece  of  rope 
from  the  bed  in   which  a  woman   has  been  delivered  of  a 
child,  or  a  piece  of  the  baby's  soiled  swaddling  clothes  or  a 

^  Ibbetson,  op.  cit,  para.  227.  2  Qreeven,  op.  cit.  p.  21. 


222  MEHTAR  PART 

piece  of  cloth  stained  with  the  blood  of  a  fertile  woman. 
This  last  she  will  take  and  bury  in  a  cemetery  and  the 
others  wear  round  her  waist ;  then  she  will  become  fertile 
and  the  fertile  woman  will  become  barren.  Another  device 
is  to  obtain  from  the  midwife  a  piece  of  the  navel-string  of  a 
newborn  child  and  swallow  it.  For  this  reason  the  navel- 
string  is  always  carefully  guarded  and  its  disposal  seen  to. 

9.  Divina-  If  a  pregnant  woman  is  thin  and  ailing  they  think  a  boy 

tionofsex.    ^jjj   ^^   ^^^^.^^  .    ^^^  j^  ^^j.  ^^^^   ^^^j^   ^j^^^    j^.    ^yjjj    y^^    ^    gjj.|_        ^^ 

order  to  divine  the  sex  of  a  coming  child  they  pour  a  little 
oil  on  the  stomach  of  the  woman  ;  if  the  oil  flows  straight 
down  it  is  thought  that  a  boy  will  be  born  and  if  crooked  a 
girl.  Similarly  if  the  hair  on  the  front  of  her  body  grows 
straight  they  think  the  child  will  be  a  boy,  but  if  crooked  a 
girl  ;  and  if  the  swelling  of  pregnancy  is  more  apparent  on 
the  right  side  a  boy  is  portended,  but  if  on  the  left  side  a 
girl.  If  delivery  is  retarded  they  go  to  a  gunmaker  and 
obtain  from  him  a  gun  which  has  been  discharged  and  the 
soiling  of  the  barrel  left  uncleaned  ;  some  water  is  put  into 
the  barrel  and  shaken  up  and  then  poured  into  a  vessel  and 
given  to  the  woman  to  drink,  and  it  is  thought  that  the 
quality  of  swift  movement  appertaining  to  the  bullet  which 
soiled  the  barrel  will  be  communicated  to  the  woman  and 
cause  the  swift  expulsion  of  the  child  from  her  womb, 

10.  Child-  When    a    woman    is    in    labour   she    squats    down  with 
birth.          j^gj.  jggg  apart  holding  to  the  bed  in  front  of  her,  while  the 

midwife  rubs  her  back.  If  delivery  is  retarded  the  midwife 
gets  a  broom  and  sitting  behind  the  woman  presses  it  on 
her  stomach,  at  the  same  time  drawing  back  the  upper 
part  of  her  body.  By  this  means  they  think  the  child  will 
be  forced  from  the  womb.  Or  the  mother  of  the  woman  in 
labour  will  take  a  grinding-stone  and  stand  holding  it  on 
her  head  so  long  as  the  child  is  not  born.  She  says  to 
her  daughter,  '  Take  my  name,'  and  the  daughter  repeats 
her  mother's  name  aloud.  Here  the  idea  is  apparently  that 
the  mother  takes  on  herself  some  of  the  pain  which  has  to 
be  endured  by  the  daughter,  and  the  repetition  of  her  name 
by  the  daughter  will  cause  the  goddess  of  childbirth  to 
hasten  the  period  of  delivery  in  order  to  terminate  the 
unjust  sufferings  of  the   mother  for  which  the  goddess  has 


11  PROrECTING  THE  LIVES  OF  CHILDREN  223 

become  responsible.  The  mother's  name  exerts  pressure  or 
influence  on  the  fjoddcss  who  is  at  the  time  occupied  with 
the  daughter  or  perhaps  sojourning  in  her  bod)-. 

If  a  child  is  born  in  the  morning  they  will  give  the  n.  Treat- 
mother  a  little  sugar  and  cocoanut  to  eat  in  the  evening,  u,e"niother. 
but  if  it  is  born  in  the  evening  they  will  give  her  nothing 
till  next  morning.  Milk  is  given  only  sparingly  as  it  is 
supposed  to  produce  coughing.  The  main  idea  of  treat- 
ment in  childbirth  is  to  prevent  either  the  mother  or  child 
from  taking  cold  or  chill,  this  being  the  principal  danger 
to  which  they  are  thought  to  be  exposed.  The  door  of  the 
birth  chamber  is  therefore  kept  shut  and  a  fire  is  continually 
burning  in  it  night  and  day.  The  woman  is  not  bathed  for 
several  days,  and  the  atmosphere  and  general  insanitary 
conditions  can  better  be  imagined  than  described.  With  the 
same  end  of  preventing  cold  they  feed  the  mother  on  a  hot 
liquid  produced  by  cooking  thirty-six  ingredients  together. 
Most  of  these  are  considered  to  have  the  quality  of  produ- 
cing heat  or  warmth  in  the  body,  and  the  following  are  a  few 
of  them  :  Pepper,  ginger,  azgan  (a  condiment),  turmeric, 
nutmeg,  ajivdvi  (aniseed),  dates,  almonds,  raisins,  cocoanut, 
wild  singdra  or  water-nut,  cumin,  chironji}  the  gum  of  the 
babiil'  or  khairf  asafoetida,  borax,  saffron,  clarified  butter 
and  sugar.  The  mixture  cannot  be  prepared  for  less  than 
two  rupees  and  the  woman  is  fed  on  it  for  five  days  beginning 
from  the  second  day  after  birth,  if  the  family  can  afford  the 
expense. 

If  the  mother's  milk  runs  dry,  they  use  the  dried  bodies  12.  Pro- 
of the   little  fish  caught  in   the  shallow  water  of  fields  and  Jectmg  the 

^  lives  of 

tanks,  and  sometimes  supposed  to  have  fallen  down  with  the  children. 
rain.  They  are  boiled  in  a  little  water  and  the  fish  and 
water  are  given  to  the  woman  to  consume.  Here  the  idea 
is  apparently  that  as  the  fish  has  the  quality  of  liquidness 
because  it  lives  in  water,  so  by  eating  it  this  will  be 
communicated  to  the  breasts  and  the  milk  will  flow  again. 
If  a  woman's  children  die,  then  the  next  time  she  is  in  labour 
they  bring  a  goat  all  of  one  colour.  When  the  birth  of 
the  child  takes  place  and  it  falls  from  the  womb  on  to  the 

^  The  fruit  of  the  achar  {Buchanania  laiifolia). 
2  Acacia  arabica.  3  Acacia  catechu. 


fantile 
diseases, 


224  MEHTAR  PART 

ground  no  one  must  touch  it,  but  the  goat,  which  should  if 
possible  be  of  the  same  sex  as  the  child,  is  taken  and  passed 
over  the  child  twenty-one  times.  Then  they  take  the  goat  and 
the  after-birth  to  a  cemetery  and  here  cut  the  goat's  throat 
by  the  haldl  rite  and  bury  it  with  the  after-birth.  The 
idea  is  thus  that  the  goat's  life  is  a  substitute  for  that  of 
the  child.  By  being  passed  over  the  child  it  takes  the 
child's  evil  destiny  upon  itself,  and  the  burial  in  a  cemetery 
causes  the  goat  to  resemble  a  human  being,  while  the  after- 
birth communicates  to  it  some  part  of  the  life  of  the  child. 
If  a  mother  is  afraid  her  child  will  die,  she  sells  it  for  a  few 
cowries  to  another  woman.  Of  course  the  sale  is  only  nominal, 
but  the  woman  who  has  purchased  the  child  takes  a  special 
interest  in  it,  and  at  the  naming  or  other  ceremony  she  will 
give  it  a  jewel  or  such  other  present  as  she  can  afford.  Thus 
she  considers  that  the  fictitious  sale  has  had  some  effect  and 
that  she  has  acquired  a  certain  interest  in  the  child. 
13.  In-  If  a  baby,  especially  a  girl,  has  much  hair  on   its  body, 

they  make  a  cake  of  gram-flour  and  rub  it  with  sesamum 
oil  all  over  the  body,  and  this  is  supposed  to  remove  the 
hair. 

If  a  child's  skin  dries  up  and  it  pines  away,  they  think 
that  an  owl  has  taken  away  a  cloth  stained  by  the  child 
when  it  was  hung  out  to  dry.  The  remedy  is  to  obtain 
the  "liver  of  an  owl  and  hang  it  round  the  child's  neck. 

For  jaundice  they  get  the  flesh  of  a  yellow  snake 
which  appears  in  the  rains,  and  of  the  roJiu  fish  which  has 
yellowish  scales,  and  hang  them  to  its  neck  ;  or  they 
get  a  verse  of  the  Koran  written  out  by  a  Maulvi  or 
Muhammadan  priest  and  use  this  as  an  amulet ;  or  they  catch 
a  small  frog  alive,  tie  it  up  in  a  yellow  cloth  and  hang  it  to 
the  child's  neck  by  a  blue  thread  until  it  dies.  For  tetanus 
the  jaws  are  branded  outside  and  a  little  musk  is  placed 
on  the  mother's  breast  so  that  the  child  may  drink  it  with  the 
milk.  When  the  child  begins  to  cut  its  teeth  they  put 
honey  on  the  gums  and  think  that  this  will  make  the  teeth 
slip  out  early  as  the  honey  is  smooth  and  slippery.  But 
as  the  child  licks  the  gums  when  the  honey  is  on  them  they 
fear  that  this  may  cause  the  teeth  to  grow  broad  and  crooked 
like  the  tongue.      Another  device  is  to  pass  a  piece  of  gold 


II  RELIGION:   VALMIKI  225 

round  the  child's  gums.  If  they  want  the  child  to  have 
pretty  teeth  its  maternal  uncle  threads  a  number  of  grains 
of  rice  on  a  piece  of  string  and  hangs  them  round  its  neck, 
so  that  the  teeth  may  grow  like  the  rice.  If  the  child's 
navel  is  swollen,  the  maternal  uncle  will  go  out  for  a  walk 
and  on  his  return  place  his  turban  over  the  navel.  For 
averting  the  evil  eye  the  liver  of  the  Indian  badger  is  worn 
in  an  amulet,  this  badger  being  supposed  to  haunt  ceme- 
teries and  feed  on  corpses  ;  some  hairs  of  a  bear  also  form 
a  very  favourite  amulet,  or  a  tiger's  claws  set  in  silver,  or 
the  tail  of  a  lizard  enclosed  in  lac  and  made  into  a  ring. 

The  religion  of  the  sweepers  has  been  described  at  14.  Reii- 
length  by  Mr.  Greevcn  and  Mr.  Crooke.  It  centres  round  v?j'J,^j^j 
the  worship  of  two  saints,  Lalbcg  or  Bale  Shah  and  Balnck 
or  Balmik,  who  is  really  the  huntsman  Valmiki,  the  reputed 
author  of  the  Ramayana.  Bfdmlk  was  originally  a  low- 
caste  hunter  called  Ratnakar,  and  when  he  could  not  get 
game  he  was  accustomed  to  rob  and  kill  travellers.  But 
one  day  he  met  Brahma  and  wished  to  kill  him  ;  but  he 
could  not  raise  his  club  against  Brahma,  and  the  god  spoke 
and  convinced  him  of  his  sins,  directing  him  to  repeat  the 
name  of  Rama  until  he  should  be  purified  of  them.  But  the 
hunter's  heart  was  so  evil  that  he  could  not  pronounce  the 
divine  name,  and  instead  he  repeated  '  Mara,  Mara '  {struck, 
struck),  but  in  the  end  by  repetition  this  came  to  the  same 
thing.  Mr.  Greeven's  account  continues  :  "As  a  small  spark 
of  fire  burneth  up  a  heap  of  cotton,  so  the  word  Rama 
cleaneth  a  man  of  all  his  sins.  So  the  words  '  Ram,  Ram,' 
were  taught  unto  Ratnakar  who  ever  repeated  them  for 
sixty  thousand  years  at  the  self- same  spot  with  a  heart 
sincere.  All  his  skin  was  eaten  up  by  the  white  ants.  Only 
the  skeleton  remained.  Mud  had  been  heaped  over  the  body 
and  grass  had  grown  up,  yet  within  the  mound  of  mud  the 
saint  was  still  repeating  the  name  of  Rama.  After  sixty 
thousand  years  Brahma  returned.  No  man  could  he  see, 
yet  he  heard  the  voice  of  Ram,  Ram,  rising  from  the  mound 
of  mud.  Then  Brahma  bethought  him  that  the  saint  was 
beneath.  He  besought  Indra  to  pour  down  rain  and  to  wash 
away  the  mud.  Indra  complied  with  his  request  and  the  rain 
washed  away  the  mud.      The  saint  came  forth.      Nought  save 

VOL.  IV  Q 


226  MEHTAR  part 

bones  remained.  Brahma  called  aloud  to  the  saint.  When 
the  saint  beheld  him  he  prostrated  himself  and  spake : 
'  Thou  hast  taught  me  the  words  "  Ram,  Ram,"  which  have 
cleansed  away  all  my  sins.'  Then  spake  Brahma  :  '  Hitherto 
thou  wast  Ratnakar.  From  fo-day  thy  name  shall  be  Valmlki 
(from  valinik,  an  ant-hill).  Now  do  thou  compose  a  Rama- 
yana  in  seven  parts,  containing  the  deeds  and  exploits  of 
Rama.' "  Valmiki  had  been  or  afterwards  became  a  sweeper 
and  was  known  as  '  cooker  of  dog's  food  '  (Swapach),  a  name 
applied  to  sweepers,^  who  have  adopted  him  as  their  epony- 
mous ancestor  and  patron  saint. 
15.  Laibeg.  Lalbeg,  who  is  still  more  widely  venerated,  is  considered 

to  have  been  Ghazi  Miyan,  the  nephew  of  Sultan  Muhammad 
of  Ghazni,  and  a  saint  much  worshipped  in  the  Punjab.  Many 
legends  are  told  of  Lalbeg,  and  his  worship  is  described  by 
Mr.  Greeven  as  follows :  ^  "  The  ritual  of  Lalbeg  is  con- 
ducted in  the  presence  of  the  whole  brotherhood,  as  a  rule 
at  the  festival  of  the  Diwali  and  on  other  occasions  when 
special  business  arises.  The  time  for  worship  is  after 
sunset  and  if  possible  at  midnight.  His  shrine  consists  of  a 
mud  platform  surrounded  by  steps,  with  four  little  turrets  at 
the  corners  and  a  spire  in  the  centre,  in  which  is  placed  a 
lamp  filled  with  clarified  butter  and  containing  a  wick  of 
twisted  tow.  Incense  is  thrown  into  the  flame  and  offerings 
of  cakes  and  sweetmeats  are  made.  A  lighted  huqqa  is 
placed  before  the  altar  and  as  soon  as  the  smoke  rises  it  is 
understood  that  a  whiff  has  been  drawn  by  the  hero."  A 
cock  is  offered  to  Lalbeg  at  the  Dasahra  festival.  When  a 
man  is  believed  to  have  been  affected  by  the  evil  eye  they 
wave  a  broom  in  front  of  the  sufferer  muttering  the  name  of 
the  saint.  In  the  Damoh  District  the  guru  or  priest  who  is 
the  successor  of  Lalbeg  comes  from  the  Punjab  every  year 
or  two.  He  is  richly  clad  and  is  followed  by  a  sweeper 
carrying  an  umbrella.  Other  Hindus  say  that  his  teaching 
is  that  no  one  who  is  not  a  Lalbeg!  can  go  to  heaven,  but 
those  on  whom  the  dust  raised  by  a  Lalbegi  sweeping  settles 
acquire  some    modicum   of  virtue.      Similarly   Mr.   Greeven 

*   Some  writers  consider  that  Balmik,  the  sweeper-saint,  and  Valmlki,  the  author 
of  the  Ramayana,  are  not  identicah 
2  Page  38. 


II  ADOPTION  OF  FOREIGN  RELIGIONS  227 

remarks : '  "  Sweepers  by  no  means  endorse  the  humble 
opinion  entertained  with  respect  to  them  ;  for  they  allude  to 
castes  such  as  Kunbis  and  Chamars  as  petty  {chJiotd),  while 
a  common  anecdote  is  related  to  the  effect  that  a  Lalbegi, 
when  asked  whether  Muhammadans  could  obtain  salvation, 
replied  :  '  I  never  heard  of  it,  but  perhaps  they  might  slip 
in  behind  Lalbeg.'" 

On  the  whole  the  religion  of  the  Lrdbegis  appears  to  16.  Adop- 
be  monotheistic  and  of  a  sufficiently  elevated  character,  |-o°ei°n 
resembling  that  of  the  Kablrpanthis  and  other  reforming  religions, 
sects.  Its  claim  to  the  exclusive  possession  of  the  way  of 
salvation  is  a  method  of  revolt  against  the  menial  and 
debased  position  of  the  caste.  Similarly  many  sweepers 
have  become  Muhammadans  and  Sikhs  with  the  same  end 
in  view,  as  stated  by  Mr.  Greeven  :  -  "  As  may  be  readily 
imagined,  the  scavengers  are  merely  in  name  the  disciples  of 
Nanak  Shah,  professing  in  fact  to  be  his  followers  just  as 
they  are  prepared  at  a  moment's  notice  to  become  Christians 
or  Muhammadans.  Their  object  is,  of  course,  merely  to 
acquire  a  status  which  may  elevate  them  above  the  utter 
degradation  of  their  caste.  The  acquaintance  of  most  of 
them  with  the  doctrines  of  Nanak  Shah  is  at  zero.  They 
know  little  and  care  less  about  his  rules  of  life,  habitually 
disregarding,  for  instance,  the  prohibitions  against  smoking 
and  hair-cutting.  In  fact,  a  scavenger  at  Benares  no  more 
becomes  a  Sikh  by  taking  Nanak  Shah's  motto  than  he 
becomes  a  Christian  by  wearing  a  round  hat  and  a  pair 
of  trousers."  It  was  probably  with  a  similar  leaning 
towards  the  more  liberal  religion  that  the  Lalbegis,  though 
themselves  Hindus,  adopted  a  Muhammadan  for  their 
tutelary  saint.  In  the  Punjab  Muhammadan  sweepers  who 
have  given  up  eating  carrion  and  refuse  to  remove  night- 
soil  rank  higher  than  the  others,  and  are  known  as  Musalli.^ 
And  in  Saugor  the  Muhammadans  allow  the  sweepers  to 
come  into  a  mosque  and  to  stand  at  the  back,  whereas, 
of  course,  they  cannot  approach  a  Hindu  temple.  Again 
in  Bengal  it  is  stated,  "  The  Dom  is  regarded  with  both 
disgust    and    fear    by   all    classes    of   Hindus,    not   only   on 

1   Page  8.  -  Page  54. 

3  Punjab  Census  Report  (1881),  para.  599. 


228  MEHTAR  part 

account  of  his  habits  being  abhorrent  and  abominable,  but 
also  because  he  is  believed  to  have  no  humane  or  kindly- 
feelings  " ;  and  further,  "  It  is  universally  believed  that 
Doms  do  not  bury  or  burn  their  dead,  but  dismember  the 
corpse  at  night  like  the  inhabitants  of  Thibet,  placing  the 
fragments  in  a  pot  and  sinking  them  in  the  nearest  river  or 
reservoir.  This  horrid  idea  probably  originated  from  the 
old  Hindu  law,  which  compelled  the  Doms  to  bury  their 
dead  at  night."  ^  It  is  not  astonishing  that  the  sweepers 
prefer  a  religion  whose  followers  will  treat  them  somewhat 
more  kindly.  Another  Muhammadan  saint  revered  by  the 
sweepers  of  Saugor  is  one  Zahir  Pir.  At  the  fasts  in  Chait 
and  Kunwar  (March  and  September)  they  tie  cocoanuts 
wrapped  in  cloth  to  the  top  of  a  long  bamboo,  and  marching 
to  the  tomb  of  Zahir  Pir  make  offerings  of  cakes  and 
sweetmeats.  Before  starting  for  his  day's  work  the  sweeper 
does  obeisance  to  his  basket  and  broom. 
17  Social  The   sweeper  stands  at  the  very  bottom   of  the  social 

status.  ladder  of  Hinduism.  He  is  considered  to  be  the  repre- 
sentative of  the  Chandala  of  Manu,^  who  was  said  to  be 
descended  of  a  Sudra  father  and  a  Brahman  woman.  "  It 
was  ordained  that  the  Chandala  should  live  without  the 
town  ;  his  sole  wealth  should  be  dogs  and  asses  ;  his  clothes 
should  consist  of  the  cerecloths  of  the  dead  ;  his  dishes 
should  be  broken  pots  and  his  ornaments  rusty  iron.  No 
one  who  regarded  his  duties  should  hold  intercourse  with 
the  Chandalas  and  they  should  marry  only  among  them- 
selves. By  day  they  might  roam  about  for  the  purposes 
of  work,  but  should  be  distinguished  by  the  badges  of  the 
Raja,  and  should  carry  out  the  corpse  of  any  one  who  died 
without  kindred.  They  should  always  be  employed  to 
slay  those  who  by  the  law  were  sentenced  to  be  put  to 
death,  and  they  might  take  the  clothes  of  the  slain,  their 
beds  and  their  ornaments."  Elsewhere  the  Chandala  is 
said  to  rank  in  impurity  with  the  town  boar,  the  dog,  a 
woman  during  her  monthly  illness  and  a  eunuch,  none  of 
whom  must  a  Brahman  allow  to  see  him  when  eating.^ 
Like  the  Chandala,  the  sweeper  cannot  be  touched,  and  he 

1  Sir  II.  Risley,  I.e.,  art.  Dom.  3  Jbidem,   iv.   239,  quoted  by  Mr. 

'■^  hislittUes,  X.  12-29-30.  Crooke,  art.  Dom. 


II  SOCIAL  STATUS  229 

himself  acquiesces  in  this  and  walks  apart.  In  large  towns 
he  sometimes  carries  a  kite's  wing  in  his  turban  to  show  his 
caste,  or  goes  aloof  saying  pois,  which  is  equivalent  to  a 
warning.  When  the  sweeper  is  in  company  he  will  efface 
himself  as  far  as  possible  behind  other  people.  He  is 
known  by  his  basket  and  broom,  and  men  of  other  castes 
will  not  carry  these  articles  lest  they  should  be  mistaken 
for  a  sweeper.  The  sweeper's  broom  is  made  of  bamboo, 
whereas  the  ordinary  house-broom  is  made  of  date-palm 
leaves.  The  house-broom  is  considered  sacred  as  the  imple- 
ment of  Lakshhmi  used  in  cleaning  the  house.  No  one  should 
tread  upon  or  touch  it  with  his  foot.  The  sweeper's  broom 
is  a  powerful  agent  for  curing  the  evil  eye,  and  mothers  get 
him  to  come  and  wave  it  up  and  down  in  front  of  a  sick 
child  for  this  purpose.  Nevertheless  it  is  lucky  to  see  a 
sweeper  in  the  morning,  especially  if  he  has  his  basket  with 
him.  In  Gujarat  Mr.  Bhimbhai  Kirparam  writes  of  him  : 
"  Though  he  is  held  to  be  lower  and  more  unclean,  the 
Bhangia  is  viewed  with  kindlier  feelings  than  the  Dhed 
(Mahar).  To  meet  the  basket-bearing  Bhangia  is  lucky,  and 
the  Bhangia's  blessing  is  valued.  Even  now  if  a  Govern- 
ment officer  goes  into  a  Bhangia  hamlet  the  men  with 
hands  raised  in  blessing  say  :  '  May  your  rule  last  for  ever.'  " 
A  sweeper  will  eat  the  leavings  of  other  people,  but  he  will 
not  eat  in  their  houses  ;  he  will  take  the  food  away  to  his 
own  house.  It  is  related  that  on  one  occasion  a  sweeper 
accompanied  a  marriage  party  of  Lodhis  (cultivators),  and 
the  Lodhi  who  was  the  host  was  anxious  that  all  should 
share  his  hospitality  and  asked  the  sweeper  to  eat  in  his 
house  ;  ^  but  he  repeatedly  refused,  until  finally  the  Lodhi 
gave  him  a  she-buffalo  to  induce  him  to  eat,  so  that  it  might 
not  be  said  that  any  one  had  declined  to  share  in  his  feast. 
No  other  caste,  of  course,  will  accept  food  or  water  from  a 
sweeper,  and  only  a  Chamar  (tanner)  will  take  a  cJiilani 
or  clay  pipe-bowl  from  his  hand.  The  sweeper  will  eat 
carrion  and  the  flesh  of  almost  all  animals,  including  snakes, 
lizards,  crocodiles  and  tigers,  and  also  the  leavings  of  food 
of    almost    any    caste.      Mr.     Greeven     remarks  : "'     "  Only 

'   Probably  not  within  the  house  but  in  the  veranda  or  courtyard. 
-  Ibidem. 


230  MEHTAR  part 

Lalbegis  and  Rawats  eat  food  left  by  Europeans,  but  all 
eat  food  left  either  by  Hindus  or  Muhammadans  ;  the  Sheikh 
Mehtars  as  Muhammadans  alone  are  circumcised  and  reject 
pig's  flesh.  Each  subcaste  eats  uncooked  food  with  all  the 
others,  but  cooked  food  alone."  From  Betul  it  is  reported 
that  the  Mehtars  there  will  not  accept  food,  water  or 
tobacco  from  a  Kayasth,  and  will  not  allow  one  to  enter 
their  houses. 
i8.  Occu-  Sweeping  and  scavenging  in  the  streets  and   in   private 

pation.  houses  are  the  traditional  occupations  of  the  caste,  but  they 
have  others.  In  Bombay  they  serve  as  night  watchmen, 
town-criers,  drummers,  trumpeters  and  hangmen.  Formerly 
the  office  of  hangman  was  confined  to  sweepers,  but  now 
many  low-caste  prisoners  are  willing  to  undertake  it  for 
the  sake  of  the  privilege  of  smoking  tobacco  in  jail  which 
it  confers.  In  Mlrzapur  when  a  Dom  hangman  is  tying  a 
rope  round  the  neck  of  a  criminal  he  shouts  out,  '  Dohai 
Mahdrdni,  Dohai  Sarkdr,  Dohai  Judge  Sahib'  or  '  Hail 
Great  Queen  !  Hail  Government !  Hail  Judge  Sahib  ! '  in 
order  to  shelter  himself  under  their  authority  and  escape  any 
guilt  attaching  to  the  death.^  In  the  Central  Provinces  the 
hangman  was  accompanied  by  four  or  five  other  sweepers 
of  the  caste  panchdyat,  the  idea  being  perhaps  that  his 
act  should  be  condoned  by  their  presence  and  approval  and 
he  should  escape  guilt.  In  order  to  free  the  executioner 
from  blame  the  prisoner  would  also  say  :  "  Dohai  Sarkar 
ke,  Dohai  Kampani  ke ;  jaisa  maim  khun  kiya  waisa  apne 
khiin  ko  pahunchha"  or  "  Hail  to  the  Government  and  the 
Company  ;  since  I  caused  the  death  of  another,  now  I  am 
come  to  my  own  death  "  ;  and  all  the  PancJies  said,  '  Ram, 
Rdm.'  The  hangman  received  ten  rupees  as  his  fee,  and  of 
this  five  rupees  were  given  to  the  caste  for  a  feast  and  an 
offering  to  Lalbeg  to  expiate  his  sin.  In  Bundelkhand 
sweepers  are  employed  as  grooms  by  the  Lodhis,  and  may 
put  everything  on  to  the  horse  except  a  saddle-cloth.  They 
are  also  the  village  musicians,  and  some  of  them  play  on 
the  rustic  flute  called  sJiaJinai  at  weddings,  and  receive  their 
food  all  the  time  that  the  ceremony  lasts.  Sweepers  are, 
as  a  rule,  to  be  found  only  in  large  villages,  as  in  small  ones 
1  Crooke,  Tribes  and  Castes,  art.  Dom,  para.  34. 


II  '  OCCUPATION  231 

there  is  no  work  for  them.  The  caste  is  none  too  numerous 
in  the  Central  Provinces,  and  in  villages  the  sweeper  is  often 
not  available  when  wanted  for  cleaning  the  streets.  The 
Chamars  of  Bundelkhand  will  not  remove  the  corpses  of  a 
cat  or  a  dog  or  a  squirrel,  and  a  sweeper  must  be  obtained 
for  the  purpose.  These  three  animals  are  in  a  manner  holy, 
and  it  is  considered  a  sin  to  kill  any  one  of  them.  But 
their  corpses  are  unclean.  A  Chamar  also  refuses  to  touch 
the  corpse  of  a  donkey,  but  a  Kumhar  (potter)  will  some- 
times do  this  ;  if  he  declines  a  sweeper  must  be  fetched. 
When  a  sweeper  has  to  enter  a  house  in  order  to  take  out 
the  body  of  an  animal,  it  is  cleaned  and  whitewashed  after 
he  has  been  in.  In  Hoshangabad  an  objection  appears  to 
be  felt  to  the  entry  of  a  sweeper  by  the  door,  as  it  is  stated 
that  a  ladder  is  placed  for  him,  so  that  he  presumably  climbs 
through  a  window.  Or  where  there  are  no  windows  it  is 
possible  that  the  ladder  may  protect  the  sacred  threshold 
from  contact  with  his  feet.  The  sweeper  also  attends  at 
funerals  and  assists  to  prepare  the  pyre ;  he  receives  the 
winding-sheet  when  this  is  not  burnt  or  buried  with  the 
corpse,  and  the  copper  coins  which  are  left  on  the  ground 
as  purchase-money  for  the  site  of  the  grave.  In  Bombay 
in  rich  families  the  winding-sheet  is  often  a  worked  shawl 
costing  from  fifty  to  a  hundred  rupees.^  When  a  Hindu 
widow  breaks  her  bangles  after  her  husband's  death,  she 
gives  them,  including  one  or  two  whole  ones,  to  a  Bhangia 
woman."  A  letter  announcing  a  death  is  always  carried  by 
a  sweeper.^  In  Bengal  a  funeral  could  not  be  held  without 
the  presence  of  a  Dom,  whose  functions  are  described  by 
Mr.  Sherring  ^  as  follows :  "  On  the  arrival  of  the  dead 
body  at  the  place  of  cremation,  which  in  Benares  is  at  the 
basis  of  one  of  the  steep  stairs  or  ghats,  called  the  Burning- 
Ghat,  leading  down  from  the  streets  above  to  the  bed  of  the 
river  Ganges,  the  Dom  supplies  five  logs  of  wood,  which  he 
lays  in  order  upon  the  ground,  the  rest  of  the  wood  being 
given  by  the  family  of  the  deceased.  When  the  pile  is 
ready  for  burning  a  handful  of  lighted  straw  is  brought  by 

1  Bombay  Gazetteer,  I.e.  Bombay  Gazetteer,  I.e. 

2  Ibidem.  *  Hindu  Tribes  and  Castes,  quoted 
■^  Punjab  Census  Report  (iSSi),  and       by  Sir  H.  Risley,  art.  Dom. 


MEHTAR 


19.  Occu- 
pation 

(con- 
tinued). 


the  Doin,  and  is  taken  from  him  and  applied  by  one  of  the 
chief  members  of  the  family  to  the  wood.  The  Dom  is  the 
only  person  who  can  furnish  the  light  for  the  purpose  ;  and 
if  for  any  reason  no  Dom  is  available,  great  delay  and 
inconvenience  are  apt  to  arise.  The  Dom  exacts  his  fee 
for  three  things,  namely,  first  for  the  five  logs,  secondly  for 
the  bunch  of  straw,  and  thirdly  for  the  light." 

During  an  eclipse  the  sweepers  reap  a  good  harvest  ; 
for  it  is  believed  that  Rahu,  the  demon  who  devours  the  sun 
and  moon  and  thus  causes  an  eclipse,  was  either  a  sweeper 
or  the  deity  of  the  sweepers,  and  alms  given  to  them  at  this 
time  will  appease  him  and  cause  him  to  let  the  luminaries 
go.  Or,  according  to  another  account,  the  sun  and  moon  are 
in  Rahu's  debt,  and  he  comes  and  duns  them,  and  this  is  the 
eclipse ;  and  the  alms  given  to  sweepers  are  a  means  of 
paying  the  debt.  In  Gujarat  as  soon  as  the  darkening  sets 
in  the  Bhangis  go  about  shouting,  '  Garhanddn,  Vastraddn, 
Rupdddnl  or  '  Gifts  for  the  eclipse,  gifts  of  clothes,  gifts  of 
silver.'  ^  The  sweepers  are  no  doubt  derived  from  the 
primitive  or  Dravidian  tribes,  and,  as  has  been  seen,  they  also 
practise  the  art  of  making  bamboo  mats  and  baskets,  being 
known  as  Bansphor  in  Bombay  on  this  account.  In  the 
Punjab  the  Chuhras  are  a  very  numerous  caste,  being 
exceeded  only  by  the  Jats,  Rajputs  and  Brahmans.  Only 
a  small  proportion  of  them  naturally  find  employment  as 
scavengers,  and  the  remainder  are  agricultural  labourers,  and 
together  with  the  vagrants  and  gipsies  are  the  hereditary 
workers  in  grass  and  reeds.^  They  are  closely  connected 
with  the  Dhanuks,  a  caste  of  hunters,  fowlers  and  village 
watchmen,  being  of  nearly  the  same  status.^  And  Dhanuk, 
again,  is  in  some  localities  a  complimentary  term  for  a  Basor 
or  bamboo-worker.  It  has  been  seen  that  Valmiki,  the 
patron  saint  of  the  sweepers,  was  a  low-caste  hunter,  and 
this  gives  some  reason  for  the  supposition  that  the  primary 
occupations  of  the  Chuhras  and  Bhangis  were  hunting  and 
working  in  grass  and  bamboo.  In  one  of  the  legends  of 
the  sweeper  saint  Balmlk  or  Valmiki  given  by  Mr.  Greeven,* 
Balmlk  was  the  youngest  of  the  five  Pandava  brothers,  and 


1  Bombay  Gazetteer,  I.e. 
'^  Ibbetson,  I.e.  para.  596. 


•^  Ibidem,  para.  601. 
*  L.c.  pp.  25,  26. 


II  MEO  233 

was  persuaded  by  the  others  to  remove  the  body  of  a  calf 
which  had  died  in  their  courtyard.  But  after  he  had  done 
so  they  refused  to  touch  him,  so  he  went  into  the  wilderness 
with  the  body  ;  and  when  he  did  not  know  how  to  feed 
himself  the  carcase  started  into  life  and  gave  him  milk  until 
he  was  full  grown,  when  it  died  again  of  its  own  accord. 
Balmlk  burst  into  tears,  not  knowing  how  he  was  to  live 
henceforward,  but  a  voice  cried  from  heaven  saying,  "  Of 
the  sinews  (of  the  calfs  body)  do  thou  tie  winnows  {siif), 
and  of  the  caul  do  thou  plait  sieves  {chalni)."  Balmlk 
obeyed,  and  by  his  handiwork  gained  the  name  of  Supaj  or 
the  maker  of  winnowing-fans.  These  are  natural  occupa- 
tions of  the  non-Aryan  forest  tribes,  and  are  now  practised 
by  the  Gonds. 

Meo,  Mewati. — The  Muhammadan  branch  of  the  Mina 
tribe  belonging  to  the  country  of  Mewat  in  Rajputana  which 
is  comprised  in  the  Alwar,  Bharatpur  and  Jaipur  States  and 
the  British  District  of  Gurgaon.  A  few  Meos  were  returned 
from  the  Hoshangabad  and  Nimar  Districts  in  191 1,  but 
it  is  doubtful  whether  any  are  settled  here,  as  they  may 
be  wandering  criminals.  The  origin  of  the  Meo  is  discussed 
in  the  article  on  the  Mina  tribe,  but  some  interesting  re- 
marks on  them  by  Mr.  Channing  and  Major  Powlett  in  the 
Rajputana  Gazetteer  may  be  reproduced  here.  Mr.  Channing 
writes  :  ^ 

"The  tribe,  which  has  been  known  in  Hindustan  accord- 
ing to  the  Kutub  Tavvarikh  for  850  years,  was  originally 
Hindu  and  became  Muhammadan.  Their  origin  is  obscure. 
They  themselves  claim  descent  from  the  Rajput  races  of 
Jadon,  Kachhwaha  and  Tuar,  and  they  may  possibly  have 
some  Rajput  blood  in  their  veins  ;  but  they  are  probably, 
like  many  other  similar  tribes,  a  combination  from  ruling 
and  other  various  stocks  and  sources,  and  there  is  reason  to 
believe  them  very  nearly  allied  with  the  Minas,  who  are 
certainly  a  tribe  of  the  same  structure  and  species.  The 
Meos  have  twelve  clans  or  pdls^  the  first  six  of  which  are 
identical  in  name  and  claim  the  same  descent  as  the  first  six 
clans  of  the  Minas.      Intermarriage  between  them  both  was 

'  Rajputana  Gazetteer,  vol.  i.  p.  165. 


234  MEO  PART 

the  rule  until  the  time  of  Akbar,  when  owing  to  an  affray  at 
the  marriage  of  a  Meo  with  a  Mina  the  custom  was  discon- 
tinued. Finally,  their  mode  of  life  is  or  was  similar,  as  both 
tribes  were  once  notoriously  predatory.  It  is  probable  that 
the  original  Meos  were  supplemented  by  converts  to  Islam 
from  other  castes.  It  is  said  that  the  tribe  were  conquered 
and  converted  in  the  eleventh  century  by  Masud,  son  of  Amir 
Salar  and  grandson  of  Sultan  Mahmud  Subaktagin  on  the 
mother's  side,  the  general  of  the  forces  of  Mahmud  of  Ghazni. 
Masud  is  still  venerated  by  the  Meos,  and  they  swear  by  his 
name.  They  have  a  mixture  of  Hindu  and  Muhammadan 
customs.  They  practise  circumcision,  nikdJi}  and  the  burial 
of  the  dead.  They  make  pilgrimages  to  the  tomb  of  Masud 
in  Bahraich  in  Oudh,  and  consider  the  oath  taken  on  his 
banner  the  most  binding.  They  also  make  pilgrimages  to 
Muhammadan  shrines  in  India,  but  never  perform  the  Haj. 
Of  Hindu  customs  they  observe  the  Holi  or  Diwali  ;  their 
marriages  are  never  arranged  in  the  same  got  or  sept ;  and 
they  permit  daughters  to  inherit.  They  call  their  children 
indiscriminately  by  both  Muhammadan  and  Hindu  names. 
They  are  almost  entirely  uneducated,  but  have  bards  and 
musicians  to  whom  they  make  large  presents.  These  sing 
songs  known  as  Ratwai,  which  are  commonly  on  pastoral 
and  agricultural  subjects.  The  Meos  are  given  to  the  use  of 
intoxicating  drinks,  and  are  very  superstitious  and  have  great 
faith  in  omens.  The  dress  of  the  men  and  women  resembles 
that  of  the  Hindus.  Infanticide  was  formerly  common  among 
them,  but  it  is  said  to  have  entirely  died  out.  They  were 
also  formerly  robbers  by  avocation  ;  and  though  they  have 
improved  they  are  still  noted  cattle-lifters." 

In  another  description  of  them  by  Major  Powlett  it  is 
stated  that,  besides  worshipping  Hindu  gods  and  keeping 
Hindu  festivals,  they  employ  a  Brahman  to  write  the  Plli 
Chhitthi  or  yellow  note  fixing  the  date  of  a  marriage.  They 
call  themselves  by  Hindu  names  with  the  exception  of  Ram  ; 
and  Singh  is  a  frequent  affix,  though  not  so  common  as  Khan. 
On  the  Amawas  or  monthly  conjunction  of  the  sun  and 
moon,  Meos,  in  common  with  Hindu  Ahlrs  and  Gujars,  cease 
from  labour  ;  and  when  they  make  a  well  the  first  proceeding 
'  A  Muhammadan  form  of  marriage. 


II  MiNA  235 

is  to  erect  a  chabutra  (platform)  to  Bhaironji  or  Hanuman. 
However,  when  plunder  was  to  be  obtained  they  have  often 
shown  little  respect  for  Hindu  shrines  and  temples  ;  and 
when  the  sanctity  of  a  threatened  place  has  been  urged,  the 
retort  has  been,  '  Tuin  to  Deo,  Hani  Meol  or  '  You  may  be  a 
Deo  (God),  but  I  am  a  Meo.' 

Meos  do  not  marry  in  their  pal  or  clan,  but  they  are 
lax  about  forming  connections  with  women  of  other  castes, 
whose  children  they  receive  into  the  community.  As  already 
stated,  Brahmans  take  part  in  the  formalities  preceding  a 
marriage,  but  the  ceremony  itself  is  performed  by  a  Kazi. 
As  agriculturists  Meos  are  inferior  to  their  Hindu  neighbours. 
The  point  in  which  they  chiefly  fail  is  in  working  their  wells, 
for  which  they  lack  patience.  Their  women,  whom  they  do 
not  confine,  will,  it  is  said,  do  more  field-work  than  the  men  ; 
indeed,  one  often  finds  women  at  work  in  the  crops  when  the 
men  are  lying  down.  Like  the  women  of  low  Hindu  castes 
they  tattoo  their  bodies,  a  practice  disapproved  by  Musalmans 
in  general.  Abul  Fazl  writes  that  the  Meos  were  in  his  time 
famous  runners,  and  one  thousand  of  them  were  employed 
by  Akbar  as  carriers  of  the  post. 

Mina,  Deswali,  Maina. — A  well-known  caste  of  Rajputana  i-  The 
which  is  found  in  the  Central  Provinces  in  the  Hoshangabad,  locaiiy 
Nimar  and   Saugor  Districts.      About   8000  persons  of  the  termed 

,    .  ^T,,  -         ,  .      Deswalis. 

caste  were  returned  m  191  i.  ihe  proper  name  lor  them  is 
Mina,  but  here  they  are  generally  known  as  Deswali,  a  term 
which  they  probably  prefer,  as  that  of  Mina  is  too  notorious. 
A  large  part  of  the  population  of  the  northern  Districts  is 
recruited  from  Bundelkhand  and  Marwar,  and  these  tracts 
are  therefore  often  known  among  them  as  '  Desh '  or  native 
country.  The  term  Deswali  is  applied  to  groups  of  many 
castes  coming  from  Bundelkhand,  and  has  apparently  been 
specially  appropriated  as  an  alias  by  the  Minas.  The  caste 
are  sometimes  known  in  Hoshangabad  as  Maina,  which 
Colonel  Tod  states  to  be  the  name  of  the  highest  division  of 
the  Minas.  The  designation  of  Pardeshi  or  '  foreigner '  is 
also  given  to  them  in  some  localities.  The  Deswalis  came 
to  Harda  about  A.D.  1750,  being  invited  by  the  Maratha 
Amil  or  governor,  who  gave  one  family  a  grant  of  three 


236  MINA  PAR'j 

villages.  They  thus  gained  a  position  of  some  dignity,  and 
this  reaching  the  ears  of  their  brothers  in  Jaipur  they  also 
came  and  settled  all  over  the  District.^  In  view  of  the 
history  and  character  of  the  Minas,  of  which  some  account 
will  be  given,  it  should  be  first  stated  that  under  the  regime 
of  British  law  and  order  most  of  the  Deswalis  of  Hoshangabad 
have  settled  down  into  steady  and  honest  agriculturists, 
2.  Histori-  The  Minas  were  a  famous  robber  tribe  of  the  country  of 

'^f'th°\r     M^wat  in  Rajputana,  comprised  in  the  Alwar  and  Bharatpur 
tribe.  States  and  the  British  District  of  Gurgaon."      They  are  also 

found  in  large  numbers  in  Jaipur  State,  which  was  formerly 
held  by  them.  The  Meos  and  Minas  are  now  considered  to 
be  branches  of  one  tribe,  the  former  being  at  least  nominally 
Muhammadans  by  religion  and  the  latter  Hindus.  A 
favourite  story  for  recitation  at  their  feasts  is  that  of  Darya 
Khan  Meo  and  Sasibadani  Mini,  a  pair  of  lovers  whose 
marriage  led  to  a  quarrel  between  the  tribes  to  which  they 
belonged,  in  the  time  of  Akbar.  This  dispute  caused  the 
cessation  of  the  practice  of  intermarriage  between  Meos  and 
Minas  which  had  formerly  obtained.  Both  the  Meos  and 
Minas  are  divided  into  twelve  large  clans  called  pdl^  the  word 
pal  meaning,  according  to  Colonel  Tod,  *  a  defile  in  a  valley 
suitable  for  cultivation  or  defence.'  In  a  sandy  desert  like 
Rajputana  the  valleys  of  streams  might  be  expected  to  be 
the-  only  favourable  tracts  for  settlement,  and  the  name 
perhaps  therefore  is  a  record  of  the  process  by  which  the 
colonies  of  Minas  in  these  isolated  patches  of  culturable  land 
developed  into  exogamous  clans  marrying  with  each  other. 
The  Meos  have  similarly  twelve  pdls^  and  the  names  of  six  of 
these  are  identical  with  those  of  the  Mlnas.^  The  names  of 
'CiXQpdls  are  taken  from  those  of  Rajput  clans,''  but  the  recorded 
lists  differ,  and  there  are  now  many  other  gots  or  septs 
outside  the  pals.  The  Minas  seem  originally  to  have  been 
an  aboriginal  or  pre-Aryan  tribe  of  Rajputana,  where  they 

'   P^Iliott's    Hoshangabad  Settleinoit  clans— Chhirkilta,  Dalat,  Dermot,  Nai, 

Report,  p.  63.  Pundelot  ;    five    Tuar    clans  —  Balot, 

2  Cunningham's  Archaeological  Sur-  Darwar,  Kalesa,  Lundavat,  Rattawat  ; 

vey  Reports,  xx.  p.  24.  ""^    Kachhwaha    clan-Dingal ;     one 

Bargjuar  clan — bingal.      Besides  these 

Ibidem.  there  is  one  miscellaneous  or  half-blood 

*  General  Cunningham's  enumeration  clan,  Palakra,  making  up  the  common 

of  the  pals  is  as  follows  :   Five  Jadon  total  of  I2i  clans. 


II  HISTORICAL  NOTICE  OF  THE  MiNA   TRIBE         237 

are  still  found  in  considerable  numbers.  The  Raja  of  Jaipur 
was  formerly  marked  on  the  forehead  with  blood  taken 
from  the  great  toe  of  a  Mina  on  the  occasion  of  his  instal- 
lation. Colonel  Tod  records  that  the  Amber  or  Jaipur  State 
was  founded  by  one  Dholesai  in  A.D.  967  after  he  had 
slaughtered  large  numbers  of  the  Minas  by  treachery. 
And  in  his  time  the  Minas  still  possessed  large  immunities 
and  privileges  in  the  Jaipur  State.  When  the  Rajputs 
settled  in  force  in  Rajputana,  reducing  the  Minas  to  sub- 
jection, illicit  connections  would  naturally  arise  on  a  large 
scale  between  the  invaders  and  the  women  of  the  conquered 
country.  For  even  when  the  Rajputs  only  came  as  small 
isolated  parties  of  adventurers,  as  into  the  Central  Provinces, 
we  find  traces  of  such  connections  in  the  survival  of  castes 
or  subcastes  of  mixed  descent  from  them  and  the  indigenous 
tribes.  It  follows  therefore  that  where  they  occupied  the 
country  and  settled  on  the  soil  the  process  would  be  still 
more  common.  Accordingly  it  is  generally  recognised  that 
the  Minas  are  a  caste  of  the  most  mixed  and  impure  descent, 
and  it  has  sometimes  been  supposed  that  they  were  them- 
selves a  branch  of  the  Rajputs.  In  the  Punjab  when  one 
woman  accuses  another  of  illicit  intercourse  she  is  said 
'  Mltia  dena^  or  to  designate  her  as  a  Mlna.^  Further  it 
is  stated  ^  that  "  The  Minas  are  of  two  classes,  the  Zamlndari 
or  agricultural  and  the  Chaukldari  or  watchmen.  These 
Chaukldari  Minas  are  the  famous  marauders."  The  office 
of  village  watchman  was  commonly  held  by  members  of 
the  aboriginal  tribes,  and  these  too  furnished  the  criminal 
classes.  Another  piece  of  evidence  of  the  Dravidian  origin 
of  the  tribe  is  the  fact  that  there  exists  even  now  a  group 
of  Dhedia  or  impure  Minas  who  do  not  refuse  to  eat  cow's 
flesh.  The  Chaukldari  Minas,  dispossessed  of  their  land, 
resorted  to  the  hills,  and  here  they  developed  into  a  com- 
munity of  thieves  and  bandits  recruited  from  all  the  outcastes 
of  society.  Sir  A.  Lyall  wrote  ^  of  the  caste  as  "  a  Cave  of 
Adullam  which  has  stood  open  for  centuries.  With  them 
a  captured  woman  is  solemnly  admitted  by  a  form  of  adoption 

*  Ibbetson's  Punjab  Census  Report,       pression  referred  to  the  Mina  caste, 
para.  582.      Sir  D.  Ibbetson  considered  -  Mz^ox  Vo\\\&\.t,  Gazetteer  of  A  huai: 

it  doubtful,  however,  whether  the  ex-  ^  Asiatic  Studies,  vol.  i.  p.  162. 


238  MINA  PAR-i 

into  one  circle  of  affinity,  in  order  that  she  may  be  lawfully 
married  into  another."  With  the  conquest  of  northern 
India  by  the  Muhammadans,  many  of  the  Minas,  being 
bound  by  no  ties  to  Hinduism,  might  be  expected  to  em- 
brace the  new  and  actively  proselytising  religion,  while 
their  robber  bands  would  receive  fugitive  Muhammadans  as 
recruits  as  well  as  Hindus.  Thus  probably  arose  a  Musal- 
man  branch  of  the  community,  who  afterwards  became 
separately  designated  as  the  Meos.  As  already  seen,  the 
Meos  and  Minas  intermarried  for  a  time,  but  subsequently 
ceased  to  do  so.  As  might  be  expected,  the  form  of  Islam 
professed  by  the  Meos  is  of  a  very  bastard  order,  and  Major 
Powlett's  account  of  it  is  reproduced  in  a  short  separate 
notice  of  that  tribe. 
3.  Their  The  Crimes  and  daring  of  the  Minas  have  obtained  for 

robberies,  them  a  Considerable  place  in  history.  A  Muhammadan 
historian,*  Zia-ud-din  Bami,  wrote  of  the  tribe  :  ^  "At  night 
they  were  accustomed  to  come  prowling  into  the  city  of  Delhi, 
giving  all  kinds  of  trouble  and  depriving  people  of  their  rest, 
and  they  plundered  the  country  houses  in  the  neighbourhood 
of  the  city.  Their  daring  was  carried  to  such  an  extent 
that  the  western  gates  of  the  city  were  shut  at  afternoon 
prayer  and  no  one  dared  to  leave  it  after  that  hour,  whether 
he  travelled  as  a  pilgrim  or  with  the  display  of  a  king.  At 
afternoon  prayer  they  would  often  come  to  the  Sarhouy,  and 
assaulting  the  water-carriers  and  girls  who  were  fetching 
water  they  would  strip  them  and  carry  off  their  clothes.  In 
turn  they  were  treated  by  the  Muhammadan  rulers  with  the 
most  merciless  cruelty.  Some  were  thrown  under  the  feet 
of  elephants,  others  were  cut  in  halves  with  knives,  and  others 
again  were  flayed  alive  from  head  to  foot."  Regular 
campaigns  against  them  were  undertaken  by  the  Muham- 
madans,^ as  in  later  times  British  forces  had  to  be  des- 
patched to  subdue  the  Pindaris.  Babar  on  his  arrival  at 
Agra'  described  the  Mewati  leader  Raja  Hasan  Khan  as  '  the 
chief  agitator  in  all  these  confusions  and  insurrections '  ;  and 
Firishta    mentions    two    terrible   slaughters    of   Mewatis    in 

'  Quoted     in     Dovvson's      Elliott's       283,  quoted  in   Crooke's    Tribes   and 
History  of  India,  iii.  p.  103.  Castes. 

2  Dowson's  Elliott,  iv.  pp.   60,   75, 


II  TIIRIR  ROBBERIES  239 

A.D.  1259  and  1265.  In  1857  Major  Powlctt  records  that  in 
Alwar  they  assembled  and  burnt  the  State  ricks  and  carried 
off  cattle,  though  they  did  not  succeed  in  plundering  any 
towns  or  villages  there.  In  British  territory  they  sacked 
Firozpur  and  other  villages,  and  when  a  British  force  came  to 
restore  order  many  were  hanged.  Sir  D.  Ibbetson  wrote  of 
them  in  the  Punjab  :  ^ 

"  The  Minas  are  the  boldest  of  our  criminal  classes. 
Their  headquarters  so  far  as  the  Punjab  is  concerned  are  in 
the  village  of  Shahjahanpur,  attached  to  the  Gurgaon  District 
but  surrounded  on  all  sides  by  Rajputana  territory.  There 
they  until  lately  defied  our  police  and  even  resisted  them 
with  armed  force.  Their  enterprises  are  on  a  large  scale, 
and  they  are  always  prepared  to  use  violence  if  necessary. 
In  Marwar  they  are  armed  with  small  bows  which  do  con- 
siderable execution.  They  travel  great  distances  in  gangs 
of  from  twelve  to  twenty  men,  practising  robbery  and  dacoity 
even  as  far  as  the  Deccan.  The  gangs  usually  start  off 
immediately  after  the  Diwali  feast  and  often  remain  absent 
the  whole  year.  They  have  agents  in  all  the  large  cities  of 
Rajputana  and  the  Deccan  who  give  them  information,  and 
they  are  in  league  with  the  carrying  castes  of  Marwar. 
After  a  successful  foray  they  offer  one-tenth  of  the  proceeds 
at  the  shrine  of  Kali  Devi." 

Like  other  criminals  they  were  very  superstitious,  and 
Colonel  Tod  records  that  the  partridge  and  the  maloli  or 
wagtail  were  their  chief  birds  of  omen.  A  partridge 
clamouring  on  the  left  when  he  commenced  a  foray  was 
a  certain  presage  of  success  to  a  Mina.  Similarly,  Mr. 
Kennedy  notes  that  the  finding  of  a  dried  goatskin,  either 
whole  or  in  pieces,  among  the  effects  of  a  suspected  criminal 
is  said  to  be  an  infallible  indication  of  his  identity  as  a 
Mina,  the  flesh  of  the  goat's  tongue  being  indispensable  in 
connection  with  the  taking  of  omens.  In  Jaipur  the  Mlnas 
were  employed  as  guards,  as  a  method  of  protection  against 
their  fellows,  for  whose  misdeeds  they  were  held  responsible. 
Rent-free  lands  were  given  to  them,  and  they  were  alwa}'s 
employed  to  escort  treasure.  Here  they  became  the  most 
faithful  and  trusted  of  the  Raja's  servants.  It  is  related 
1   Census  Report  (1881),  para.  582. 


240 


MiNA 


4.  The 
Deswalis 
of  the 
Central 
Provinces. 


that  on  one  occasion  a   Mina  sentinel    at    the    palace   had 
received  charge  of  a  basket  of  oranges.      A   friend  of  the 
same  tribe  came  to  him  and  asked  to  be  shown  the  palace, 
which  he  had  never  seen.     The  sentinel   agreed  and  took 
him  over   the   palace,  but  when    his    back   was  turned    the 
friend  stole  one  orange  from  the  basket.      Subsequently  the 
sentinel  counted  the  oranges  and  found  one  short  ;  on  this 
he  ran  after  his  friend  and  taxed  him  with  the  theft,  which 
being  admitted,  the   Mina  said  that  he  had  been   made  to 
betray  his  trust  and  had  become  dishonoured,  and  drawing 
his  sword  cut  off  his  friend's  head.      The  ancient  treasure  of 
Jaipur  or  Amber  was,  according  to  tradition,  kept  in  a  secret 
cave  in  the  hills  under  a  body  of  Mina  guards  who  alone 
knew  the  hiding-place,  and  would  only  permit  any  part  of 
it  to  be  withdrawn  for  a  great  emergency.      Nor  would  they 
accept  the  orders  of  the  Raja  alone,  but  required  the  consent 
of  the  heads  of  the  twelve  principal  noble  families  of  Amber, 
branches  of  the  royal  house,  before  they  would  give  up  any 
part    of    the    treasure.      The    criminal    Minas   are    said    to 
inhabit  a  tract  of  country  about  sixty-five  miles  long  and 
forty  broad,  stretching  from   Shahpur  forty  miles  north  of 
Jaipur  to  Guraora  in  Gurgaon  on  the  Rohtak  border.      The 
popular  idea  of  the  Mina,  Mr.  Crooke  remarks,^  is  quite  in 
accordance   with  his  historical  character ;   his  niggardliness 
is    shown    in    the    saying,    'The    Meo    will    not    give    his 
daughter  in  marriage  till  he  gets  a  mortar  full  of  silver '  ; 
his    pugnacity  is  expressed   in,  '  The    Meo's  son  begins   to 
avenge  his  feuds  when  he  is  twelve  years  old '  ;    and    his 
toughness  in,  '  Never  be  sure  that  a  Meo  is  dead  till  you  see 
the  third-day  funeral  ceremony  performed.' 

As  already  stated,  the  Deswalis  of  the  Central  Provinces 
have  abandoned  the  wild  life  of  their  ancestors  and  settled 
down  as  respectable  cultivators.  Only  a  few  particulars 
about  them  need  be  recorded.  Girls  are  usually  married 
before  they  are  twelve  years  old  and  boys  at  sixteen  to 
twenty.  A  sum  of  Rs.  24  is  commonly  paid  for  the  bride, 
and  a  higher  amount  up  to  Rs.  7 1  may  be  given,  but  this 
is  the  maximum,  and  if  the  father  of  the  girl  takes  more 
he  will  be  fined  by  the  caste  and  made  to  refund  the 
1   Tribes  and  Castes  of  the  N.  W.P.  art.  Meo. 


II       THE  DRSWALIS  OF  THE  CENTRAL  PROVINCES    241 

balance.  A  triangle  with  some  wooden  models  of  birds 
is  placed  on  the  marriage-shed  and  the  bridegroom  strikes 
at  these  with  a  stick  ;  formerly  he  fired  a  gun  at  them  to 
indicate  that  he  w^as  a  hunter  by  profession.  A  Brahman 
is  employed  to  celebrate  the  marriage.  A  widow  is  usually 
taken  by  her  late  husband's  younger  brother,  but  if  there 
be  none  the  elder  brother  may  marry  her,  contrary  to  the 
general  rule  among  Hindus.  The  object  is  to  keep  the 
woman  in  the  famil}',  as  wives  are  costly.  If  she  is 
unwilling  to  marry  her  brother-in-law,  however,  no  com- 
pulsion is  exercised  and  she  may  wed  another  man. 
Divorce  is  allowed,  and  in  Rajputana  is  very  simply  effected. 
If  tempers  do  not  assimilate  or  other  causes  prompt  them 
to  part,  the  husband  tears  a  shred  from  his  turban  which 
he  gives  to  his  wife,  and  with  this  simple  bill  of  divorce, 
placing  two  jars  of  water  on  her  head,  she  takes  whatever 
path  she  pleases,  and  the  first  man  who  chooses  to  ease 
her  of  her  load  becomes  her  future  lord.  '' JeJiur  nikdlal 
'  Took  the  jar  and  went  forth,'  is  a  common  saying  among 
the  mountaineers  of  Merwara.^ 

The  dead  are  cremated,  the  corpse  of  a  man  being 
wrapped  in  a  white  and  that  of  a  woman  in  a  coloured 
cloth.  They  have  no  sJirdddJi  ceremony,  but  mourn  for 
the  dead  only  on  the  last  day  of  Kartik  (October),  when 
they  offer  water  and  burn  incense.  Deswalis  employ  the 
Parsai  or  village  Brahman  to  officiate  at  their  ceremonies, 
but  owing  to  their  mixed  origin  they  rank  below  the 
cultivating  castes,  and  Brahmans  will  not  take  water  from 
them.  In  Jaipur,  however.  Major  Powlett  says,  their 
position  is  higher.  They  are,  as  already  seen,  the  trusted 
guards  of  the  palace  and  treasury,  and  Rajputs  will  accept 
food  and  water  from  their  hands.  This  concession  is  no 
doubt  due  to  the  familiarity  induced  by  living  together  for 
a  long  period,  and  parallel  instances  of  it  can  be  given,  as 
that  of  the  Panwars  and  Gonds  in  the  Central  Provinces. 
The  Deswalis  eat  flesh  and  drink  liquor,  but  abstain  from 
fowls  and  pork.  When  they  are  invited  to  a  feast  they  do 
not  take  their  own  brass  vessels  with  them,  but  drink  out 
of  earthen    pots    supplied    by   the   host,    having   the    liquor 

1  RajasthCin,  i.  p.  589. 
VOL.  IV  R 


242 


MIRASI 


poured  on  to  their  hands  held  to  the  mouth  to  avoid  actual 
contact  with   the  vessel.       This   is   a   Marvvari   custom   and 
the  Jats  also  have  it.      Before    the  commencement   of  the 
feast  the  guests  wait  until  food  has  been  given  to  as  many 
beggars    as    like    to    attend.       In    Saugor   the    food    served 
consists  only  of  rice  and  pulse  without  vegetables  or  other 
dishes.      It  is  said  that  a  Mina  will  not  eat  salt  in  the  house 
of  another  man,  because  he  considers  that  to  do  so  would 
establish  the  bond  of  Nimak-khai  or  salt-eating  between 
them,  and  he  would   be  debarred  for  ever  from  robbing  that 
man  or  breaking  into  his  house.      The  guests  need   not  sit 
down  together  as  among  other   Hindus,  but  may  take  their 
food    in    batches  ;    so   that    the    necessity   of    awaiting   the 
arrival    of   every    guest    before    commencing    the    feast    is 
avoided.      The  Deswalis  will  not  kill  a  black-buck  nor  eat 
the  flesh  of  one,  but  they  assign  no  reason  for  this  and  do 
not  now  worship  the  animal.      The  rule  is  probably,  how- 
ever, a   totemistic  survival.      The  men   may  be  known    by 
their  manly  gait  and  harsh  tone  of  voice,  as  well  as  by  a 
peculiar  method  of  tying  the  turban  ;    the  women  have  a 
special   ornament  called  rdkJidi  on  the  forehead  and  do  not 
wear  spangles  or  toe-rings.      They  are  said  also  to  despise 
ornaments  of  the  baser  metals  as  brass  and  pewter.      They 
are  tattooed  with  dots  on  the  face  to  set  off  the  fair-coloured 
skin,  by   contrast,    in    the    same    manner  as    patches   were 
carried    on    the  face  in   Europe  in   the  eighteenth   century. 
A  tattoo  dot  on  a  fair  face  is  likened   by  a  Hindu  poet  to 
a  bee  sitting  on  a  half-opened  mango. 

Mirasi. — A  Muhammadan  caste  of  singers,  minstrels  and 
genealogists,  of  which  a  few  members  are  found  in  the  Central 
Provinces,  General  Cunningham  says  that  they  are  the 
bards  and  singers  of  the  Meos  or  Mewatis  at  all  their  marriages 
and  festivals.-^  Mr.  Crooke  is  of  opinion  that  they  are  un- 
doubtedly an  offshoot  of  the  great  Dom  caste  who  are  little 
better  than  sweepers.-  The  word  Mirasi  is  derived  from  the 
Arabic  inirds,  inheritance,  and  its  signification  is  supposed 
to  be  that  the  Mirasis  are  the  hereditary  bards  and  singers 

1  Archaeological    Reports,    vol.    xx.  ''■  Tribes  and  Castes  of  the  North- 

p,  26.  Western  Provinces,  vol.  iii.  p.  496. 


II  M IRA  SI  243 

of  the  lower  castes,  as  the  Bhat  is  of  the  Rajputs.  Mints 
as  a  word  may,  however,  be  used  of  any  hereditary  right,  as 
that  of  the  village  headman  or  Karnam,  or  even  those  of  the 
village  watchman  or  temple  dancing-girl,  all  of  whom  may 
have  a  viirdsi  right  to  fees  or  perquisites  or  plots  of  land 
held  as  remuneration  for  service.^  The  Mirasis  are  also 
known  as  Pakhawaji,  from  the  pakJiaivaj  or  timbrel  which 
they  play  ;  as  Kawwal  or  one  who  speaks  fluently,  that  is  a 
professional  story-teller  ;  and  as  Kalawant  or  one  possessed 
of  art  or  skill.  The  Mirasis  are  most  numerous  in  the 
Punjab,  where  they  number  a  quarter  of  a  million.  Sir  D. 
Ibbetson  says  of  them  :  -  "  The  social  position  of  the  Mirasi 
as  of  all  minstrel  castes  is  exceedingly  low,  but  he  attends 
at  weddings  and  similar  occasions  to  recite  genealogies. 
Moreover  there  are  grades  even  among  Mirasis.  The  out- 
caste  tribes  have  their  Mirasis,  who  though  they  do  not  eat 
with  their  clients  and  merely  render  their  professional 
services  are  considered  impure  by  the  Mirasis  of  the  higher 
castes.  The  Mirasi  is  generally  a  hereditary  servant  like 
the  Bhat,  and  is  notorious  for  his  exactions,  which  he  makes 
under  the  threat  of  lampooning  the  ancestors  of  him  from 
whom  he  demands  fees.  The  Mirasi  is  almost  always  a 
Muhammadan."  They  are  said  to  have  been  converted  to 
Islam  in  response  to  the  request  of  the  poet  Amir  Khusru, 
who  lived  in  the  reign  of  Ala-ud-dln  Khilji  (a.d.  1295). 
The  Mirasi  has  two  functions,  the  men  being  musicians,  story- 
tellers and  genealogists,  while  the  women  dance  and  sing,  but 
only  before  the  ladies  of  the  zenana.  Mr.  Nesfield  ^  says 
that  they  are  sometimes  regularly  entertained  as  jesters  to 
help  these  ladies  to  kill  time  and  reconcile  them  to  their 
domestic  prisons.  As  they  do  not  dance  before  men  they  are 
reputed  to  be  chaste,  as  no  woman  who  is  not  a  prostitute 
will  dance  in  the  presence  of  men,  though  singing  and 
playing  are  not  equally  condemned.  The  implements  of  the 
Mirasis  are  generally  the  small  drum  (dholak),  the  cj'mbals 
{majlra)  and  the  gourd  lute  [kingri)} 

^  Baden   Powell's  Land  Systems  of  ^  Brief  Viezv,  p.  43. 

British  India,  vol.  iii.  p.   1 1 6. 

2  Punjab  Ethnography,  p.  289.  *   Crooke,  loc.  cit. 


MOCHT 


LIST  OF   PARAGRAPHS 

1.  General  notice.  4.   Antagonism     of    Mochis     and 

.      J.      .    .  Chamdrs. 

2.  Leg-ends  of  origin.  ,     zr  ^      j.. 

i>  J       t>  5,  Exoganwiis  groups. 

3.  Art  among  the  Hindus.  6.   Social  customs. 

7.   Shoes. 

I.  General  Mochi,  Muchi,  Jiiigar,  Jirayat,  Jildg-ar,  Chitrakar, 
notice.  Chitevari,  Musabir. — The  occupational  caste  of  saddlers  and 
cobblers.  In  191 1  about  4000  Mochis  and  2000  Jingars 
were  returned  from  the  Central  Provinces  and  Berar,  the 
former  residing  principally  in  the  Hindustani  and  the  latter 
in  the  Marathi-speaking  Districts.  The  name  is  derived  from 
the  Sanskrit  mocJuka  and  the  Hindustani  viojna,  to  fold,  and 
the  corhmon  name  mojah  for  socks  and  stockings  is  from  the 
same  root  (Platts).  By  origin  the  Mochis  are  no  doubt  an 
offshoot  of  the  Chamar  caste,  but  they  now  generally  disclaim 
the  connection.  Mr.  Nesfield  observes  '^  that,  "  The  industry 
of  tanning  is  preparatory  to  and  lower  than  that  of  cobblery, 
and  hence  the  caste  of  Chamar  ranks  decidedly  below  that  of 
Mochi.  The  ordinary  Hindu  does  not  consider  the  touch  of 
a  Mochi  so  impure  as  that  of  the  Chamar,  and  there  is  a 
Hindu  proverb  to  the  effect  that  '  Dried  or  prepared  hide  is 
the  same  thing  as  cloth,'  whereas  the  touch  of  the  raw  hide 
before  it  has  been  tanned  by  the  Chamar  is  considered  a 
pollution.  The  Mochi  does  not  eat  carrion  like  the  Chamar, 
nor  does  he  eat  swine's  flesh  ;  nor  does  his  wife  ever  practise 
the  much-loathed  art  of  midwifery."  In  the  Central  Pro- 
vinces, as  in  northern  India,  the  caste  may  be  considered  to 

'  This    article    is    partly    based    on       and    Mr.    Shamsuddin,   Sub-Inspector, 
pa])ers     by     Mr.     Gopal     J'arnianand,       City  Police,  Saugor. 
Deputy  InsjJector  of  Schools,  Saugor,  '^  Brief  View. 

244 


PART  II  LEGENDS  OF  ORIGIN  i/^t^ 

have  two  branches,  the  lower  one  consisting  of  the  Mochis 
who  make  and  cobble  shoes  and  arc  admittedly  descended 
from  Chamars  ;  while  the  better-class  men  either  make  saddles 
and  harness,  when  they  arc  known  as  Jingar  ;  or  bind  books, 
when  they  are  called  Jildgar  ;  or  paint  and  make  clay  idols, 
when  they  are  given  the  designation  either  of  Chitrakar, 
Chitevari  or  Murtikar.  In  Berar  some  Jingars  have  taken 
up  the  finer  kinds  of  iron-work,  such  as  mending  guns,  and 
are  known  as  Jirayat.  All  these  are  at  great  pains  to  dis- 
sociate themselves  from  the  Chamar  caste.  They  call  them- 
selves Thakur  or  Rajput  and  have  exogamous  sections  the 
names  of  which  are  identical  with  those  of  the  Rajput  septs. 
The  same  people  have  assumed  the  name  of  Rishi  in  Bengal, 
and,  according  to  a  story  related  by  Sir  H.  Risley,  claim  to 
be  debased  Brahmans  ;  while  in  the  United  Provinces  Mr. 
Crooke  considers  them  to  be  connected  with  the  Srivastab 
Kayasths,  with  whom  they  intermarry  and  agree  in  manners 
and  customs.  The  fact  that  in  the  three  Provinces  these 
workers  in  leather  claim  descent  from  three  separate  high 
castes  is  an  interesting  instance  of  the  trouble  which  the  lower- 
class  Hindus  will  take  to  obtain  a  slight  increase  in  social 
consideration  ;  but  the  very  diversity  of  the  accounts  given 
induces  the  belief  that  all  Mochis  were  originally  sprung  from 
the  Chamars.  In  Bombay,  again,  Mr.  Enthoven  ^  writes  that 
the  caste  prefers  to  style  itself  Arya  Somavansi  Kshatriya 
or  Aryan  Kshatriyas  of  the  Moon  division  ;  while  they  have 
all  the  regular  Brahmanical  gotras  as  Bharadwaja,  Vasishtha, 
Gautam  and  so  on. 

The  following  interesting  legends  as  to  the  origin  of  the  2.  Legends 
caste  adduced  by  them  in  support  of  their  Brahmanical  °f  origin. 
descent  are  related  "  by  Sir  H.  Risley  :  "  One  of  the  Praja- 
pati,  or  mind-born  sons  of  Brahma,  was  in  the  habit  of  pro- 
viding the  flesh  of  cows  and  clarified  butter  as  a  burnt-offering 
{Ahuti)  to  the  gods.  It  was  then  the  custom  to  eat  a  portion 
of  the  sacrifice,  restore  the  victim  to  life,  and  drive  it  into  the 
forest.  On  one  occasion  the  Praja-pati  failed  to  resuscitate 
the  sacrificial  animal,  owing  to  his  wife,  who  was  pregnant  at 
the   time,  having  clandestinely   made   away   with   a   portion. 

'  Bombay      Et/itioj^raphic      Snrz'ey  ^   Tribes  and  Castes  of  Bengal,  art. 

Draft  Monograph  on  Jingar,  Mochi. 


246  MO  CHI  PART 

Alarmed  at  this  he  summoned  all  the  other  Praja-patis,  and 
they  sought  by  divination  to  discover  the  cause  of  the  failure. 
At  last  they  ascertained  what  had  occurred,  and  as  a  punish- 
ment the  wife  was  cursed  and  expelled  from  their  society. 
The  child  which  she  bore  was  the  first  Mochi  or  tanner,  and 
from  that  time  forth,  mankind  being  deprived  of  the  power 
of  reanimating  cattle  slaughtered  for  food,  the  pious  aban- 
doned the  practice  of  killing  kine  altogether.  Another  story 
is  that  Muchiram,  the  ancestor  of  the  caste,  was  born  from 
the  sweat  of  Brahma  while  dancing.  He  chanced  to  offend 
the  irritable  sage  Durvasa,  who  sent  a  pretty  Brahman 
widow  to  allure  him  into  a  breach  of  chastity.  Muchiram 
accosted  the  widow  as  mother,  and  refused  to  have  anything 
to  do  with  her  ;  but  Durvasa  used  the  miraculous  power  he 
had  acquired  by  penance  to  render  the  widow  pregnant  so 
that  the  innocent  Muchiram  was  made  an  outcaste  on 
suspicion.  From  her  two  sons  are  descended  the  two  main 
branches  of  the  caste  in  Bengal." 
3.  Art  In  the  Central  Provinces  the  term   Mochi  is  often   used 

among  the  ^      ^j^    wholc  castc  in  the  northern   Districts,  and  Jingar  in 

Hindus.  _  J      ^ 

the  Maratha  country  ;  while  the  Chitrakars  or  painters  form 
a  separate  group.  Though  the  trades  of  cobbler  and  book- 
binder are  now  widely  separated  in  civilised  countries,  the 
connection  between  them  is  apparent  since  both  work  in 
leather.  It  is  not  at  first  sight  clear  why  the  painter  should 
be  of  the  same  caste,  but  the  reason  is  perhaps  that  his 
brushes  are  made  of  the  hair  of  animals,  and  this  is  also 
regarded  as  impure,  as  being  a  part  of  the  hide.  If  such  be 
the  case  a  senseless  caste  rule  of  ceremonial  impurity  has 
prevented  the  art  of  painting  from  being  cultivated  by  the 
Hindus  ;  and  the  comparatively  poor  development  of  their 
music  may  perhaps  be  ascribed  to  the  same  cause,  since  the 
use  of  the  sinews  of  animals  for  stringed  instruments  would 
also  prevent  the  educated  classes  from  learning  to  play  them. 
Thus  no  stringed  instruments  are  permitted  to  be  used  in 
temples,  but  only  the  gong,  cymbal,  horn  and  conch-shell. 
And  this  rule  would  greatly  discourage  the  cultivation  of 
music,  which  art,  like  all  the  others,  has  usually  served  in  its 
early  period  as  an  appanage  to  religious  services.  It  has  been 
held   that  instruments  were  originally  employed   at  temples 


II  ART  A^rONG  THE  HIND  US  247 

and  shrines  in  order  to  scare  away  evil  spirits  by  their  noise 
while  the  god  was  being  fed  or  worshipped,  and  not  for  the 
purpose  of  calling  the  worshippers  together  ;  since  noise  is 
a  recognised  means  of  driving  away  spirits,  probably  in 
consequence  of  its  effect  in  frightening  wild  animals.  It 
is  for  the  same  end  that  music  is  essential  at  weddings, 
especially  during  the  night  when  the  spirits  are  more  potent ; 
and  this  is  the  primary  object  of  the  continuous  discordant  din 
which  the  Hindus  consider  a  necessary  accompaniment  to  a 
wedding. 

Except  for  this  ceremonial  strictness  Hinduism  should 
have  been  favourable  to  the  development  of  both  painting  and 
sculpture,  as  being  a  polytheistic  religion.  In  the  early  stages 
of  society  religion  and  art  are  intimately  connected,  as  is  shown 
by  the  fact  that  images  and  paintings  are  at  first  nearly  always 
of  deities  or  sacred  persons  or  animals,  and  it  is  only  after 
a  considerable  period  of  development  that  secular  subjects 
are  treated.  Similarly  architecture  is  in  its  commencement 
found  to  be  applied  solely  to  sacred  buildings,  as  temples  and 
churches,  and  is  only  gradually  diverted  to  secular  buildings. 
The  figures  sculptured  by  the  Mochis  are  usually  images  for 
temples,  and  those  who  practise  this  art  are  called  Murtikar, 
from  murti,  an  image  or  idol  ;  and  the  pictures  of  the 
Chitrakars  were  until  recently  all  of  deities  or  divine  animals, 
though  secular  paintings  may  now  occasionally  be  met 
with.  And  the  uneducated  believers  in  a  polytheistic  religion 
regularly  take  the  image  for  the  deity  himself,  at  first  scarcely 
conceiving  of  the  one  apart  from  the  other.  Thus  some 
Bharewas  or  brass-workers  say  that  they  dare  not  make  metal 
images  of  the  gods,  because  they  are  afraid  that  the  badness 
of  their  handiwork  might  arouse  the  wrath  of  the  gods  and 
move  them  to  take  revenge.  The  surmise  might  in  fact  be 
almost  justifiable  that  the  end  to  which  figures  of  men  and 
animals  were  first  drawn  or  painted,  or  modelled  in  clay  or 
metal  was  that  they  might  be  worshipped  as  images  of  the 
deities,  the  savage  mind  not  distinguishing  at  all  between 
an  image  of  the  god  and  the  god  himself.  For  this  reason 
monotheistic  religions  would  be  severely  antagonistic  to 
the  arts,  and  such  is  in  fact  the  case.  Thus  the  Muham- 
madan  commentary,  the  Hadith,  has  a  verse :    "  Woe  to  him 


MOCHI 


4.  An- 
tagonism 
of  Mochis 
and 
Chamars. 


5.  Exo- 
gamous 
groups. 


who  has  painted  a  living  creature !  At  the  day  of  the  last 
judgment  the  persons  represented  by  him  will  come  out  of 
the  tomb  and  join  themselves  to  him  to  demand  of  him  a 
soul.  Then  that  man,  unable  to  give  life  to  his  work,  will 
burn  in  eternal  flames."  And  in  Judaism  the  familiar  pro- 
hibition of  the  Second  Commandment  appears  to  be  directed 
to  the  same  end. 

Hindu  sculpture  has  indeed  been  fairly  prolific,  but  is 
not  generally  considered  to  have  attained  to  any  degree  of 
artistic  merit.  Since  sculpture  is  mainly  concerned  with 
the  human  form  it  seems  clear  that  an  appreciation  of  the 
beauty  of  muscular  strength  and  the  symmetrical  develop- 
ment of  the  limbs  is  an  essential  preliminary  to  success  in 
this  art  ;  and  such  a  feeling  can  only  arise  among  a  people 
who  set  much  store  on  feats  of  bodily  strength  and  agility. 
This  has  never  been  the  character  of  the  Hindus,  whose 
religion  encourages  asceticism  and  mortification  of  the  body, 
and  points  to  mental  self-absorption  and  detachment  from 
worldly  cares  and  exercises  as  the  highest  type  of  virtue. 

As  a  natural  result  of  the  pretensions  to  nobility  made 
by  the  Mochis,  there  is  no  love  lost  between  them  and  the 
Chamars  ;  and  the  latter  allege  that  the  Mochis  have  stolen 
their  rdinpi,  the  knife  with  which  they  cut  leather.  On 
this  account  the  Chamars  will  neither  take  water  to  drink 
from  -the  Mochis  nor  mend  their  shoes,  and  will  not  even 
permit  them  to  try  on  a  new  pair  of  shoes  until  they  have 
paid  the  price  set  on  them  ;  for  they  say  that  the  Mochis 
are  half-bred  Chamars  and  therefore  cannot  be  permitted  to 
defile  the  shoes  of  a  true  Chamar  by  trying  them  on  ;  but 
when  they  have  been  paid  for,  the  maker  has  severed 
connection  with  them,  and  the  use  to  which  they  may  be 
put  no  longer  affects  him. 

In  the  Central  Provinces  the  Mochis  are  said  to  have 
forty  exogamous  sections  or  gotras,  of  which  the  bulk  are 
named  after  all  the  well-known  Rajput  clans,  while  two  agree 
with  those  of  the  Chamars.  And  they  have  also  an  equal 
number  of  kheras  or  groups  named  after  villages.  The  limits 
of  the  two  groups  seem  to  be  identical  ;  thus  members  of 
the  sept  named  after  the  Kachhwaha  Rajputs  say  that  their 
kJicra  or  village  name  is  Mungavali   in    Gwalior  ;    those   of 


IMAGE    OF    THE    GOD    VISHNU     AS    VITHOBA. 


II  SOCIAL  CUSTOMS—SHOES  249 

the  Ghangere  sept  give  Chanderi  as  their  khera,  the  Sitawat 
sept  Dhamoni  in  Saugor,  the  Didoria  Chhatarpur,  the 
Narcle  Narwar,  and  so  on.  The  names  of  the  village  groups 
have  now  been  generally  forgotten  and  they  are  said  to  have 
no  influence  on  marriage,  which  is  regulated  by  the  Rajput 
sept  names  ;  but  it  seems  probable  that  the  kJieras  were  the 
original  divisions  and  the  Rajput  gotras  have  been  more 
recently  adopted  in  support  of  the  claims  already  noticed. 

The  Mochis  have  adopted  the  customs  of  the  higher  Flindu  6.  Social 
castes.  A  man  may  not  take  a  wife  from  his  own  gotra,  his 
mother's  gotra  or  from  a  family  into  which  a  girl  from  his 
own  family  has  married.  They  usually  marry  their 
daughters  in  childhood  and  employ  Brahmans  in  their  cere- 
monies, and  no  degradation  attaches  to  these  latter  for  serving 
as  their  priests.  In  minor  domestic  ceremonies  for  which  the 
Brahman  is  not  engaged  his  place  is  taken  by  a  relative, 
who  is  called  sazvdsa,  and  is  either  the  sister's  husband, 
daughter's  husband,  or  father's  sister's  husband,  of  the  head 
of  the  family.  They  permit  widow-remarriage  and  divorce, 
and  in  the  southern  Districts  effect  a  divorce  by  laying  a 
pestle  between  the  wife  and  husband.  They  burn  their 
dead  and  observe  mourning  for  the  usual  period.  After  a 
death  they  will  not  again  put  on  a  coloured  head-cloth  until 
some  relative  sets  it  on  their  heads  for  the  first  time  on  the 
expiry  of  the  period  of  mourning.  They  revere  the  ordinary 
Hindu  deities,  and  like  the  Chamars  they  have  a  family  god, 
known  as  Mair,  whose  representation  in  the  shape  of  a  lump 
of  clay  is  enshrined  within  the  house  and  worshipped  at 
marriages  and  deaths.  In  Saugor  he  is  said  to  be  the 
collective  representative  of  the  spirits  of  their  ancestors.  In 
some  localities  they  eat  flesh  and  drink  liquor,  but  in  others 
abstain  from  both.  Among  the  Hindus  the  Mochis  rank 
considerably  higher  than  the  Chamars  ;  their  touch  does 
not  defile  and  they  are  permitted  to  enter  temples  and  take 
part  in  religious  ceremonies.  The  name  of  a  Saugor 
Mochi  is  remembered  who  became  a  good  drawer  and  painter 
and  was  held  in  much  esteem  at  the  Peshwa's  court.  In 
northern  India  about  half  the  Mochis  are  Muhammadans, 
but  in  the  Central  Provinces  they  are  all  Hindus. 

In    view   of  the    fact    that    many   of   the    Mochis  were  7.  Shoes. 


250  MO  WAR  PART 

Muhammadans  and  that  slippers  arc  mainly  a  Muhammadan 
article  of  attire  Buchanan  thought  it  probable  that  they  were 
brought  into  India  by  the  invaders,  the  Hindus  having 
previously  been  content  with  sandals  and  wooden  shoes. 
He  wrote :  "  Many  Hindus  now  use  leather  slippers,  but 
some  adhere  to  the  proper  custom  of  wearing  sandals,  which 
have  wooden  soles,  a  strap  of  leather  to  pass  over  the  instep, 
and  a  wooden  or  horn  peg  with  a  button  on  its  top.  The 
foot  is  passed  through  the  strap  and  the  peg  is  placed 
between  two  of  the  toes."  ^  It  is  certain,  however,  that 
leather  shoes  and  slippers  were  known  to  the  Hindus 
from  a  fairly  early  period :  "  The  episode  related  in  the 
Ramayana  of  Bharata  placing  on  the  vacant  throne  of 
Ajodhya  a  pair  of  Rama's  slippers,  which  he  worshipped 
during  the  latter's  protracted  exile,  shows  that  shoes  were 
important  articles  of  wear  and  worthy  of  attention.  In  Manu 
and  the  Mahabharata  slippers  are  also  mentioned  and  the 
time  and  mode  of  putting  them  on  pointed  out.  The  Vishnu 
Purana  enjoins  all  who  wish  to  protect  their  persons  never 
to  be  without  leather  shoes.  Manu  in  one  place  expresses 
great  repugnance  to  stepping  into  another's  shoes  and 
peremptorily  forbids  it,  and  the  Puranas  recommend  the 
use  of  shoes  when  walking  out  of  the  house,  particularly  in 
thorny  places  and  on  hot  sand."  ^  Thus  shoes  were  certainly 
worn  by  the  Hindus  before  Muhammadan  times,  though 
loose  slippers  may  have  been  brought  into  fashion  by  the 
latter.  And  it  seems  possible  that  the  Mochis  may  have 
adopted  Islam,  partly  to  obtain  the  patronage  of  the  followers 
of  the  new  religion,  and  also  to  escape  from  the  degraded 
position  to  which  their  profession  of  leather-working  was 
relegated  by  Hinduism  and  to  dissociate  themselves  from 
the  Chamars. 

Mowar. — A  small  caste  of  cultivators  found  in  the 
Chhattlsgarh  country,  in  the  Raipur  and  Bilaspur  Districts 
and  the  Raigarh  State.  They  numbered  2500  persons  in 
1 90 1.  The  derivation  of  the  name  is  obscure,  but  they 
themselves  say  that  it  is  derived   from  Mow  or  Mowagarh, 

'    Eastern  India,  vol.  iii.  p.   105. 
2  Rajendra  Lai  Mitra,  Indo-Aryans,  vol.  i.  pp.  222,  223. 


11  MO  WAR  251 

a  town  in  the  Jhansi  District  of  the  United  Provinces,  and 
they  also  call  themselves  Mahuwar  or  the  inhabitants  of 
Mow.  They  say  that  the  Raja  of  Mowagarh,  under  whom 
they  were  serving,  desired  to  marry  the  daughter  of  one  of 
their  Sirdars  (headmen),  because  she  was  extremely  beautiful, 
but  her  father  refused,  and  when  the  Raja  persisted  in  his 
desire  they  left  the  place  in  a  body  and  came  to  Ratanpur 
in  the  time  of  Raja  Blmbaji,  in  A.D.  1770.  A  Bilaspur 
writer  states  that  the  Mowars  are  an  offshoot  from  the 
Rajwar  Rajputs  of  Sarguja  State.  Colonel  Dalton  writes  ^ 
of  the  Rajwar  Rajputs  of  Sarguja  and  other  adjoining  States 
that  they  are  peaceably  disposed  cultivators,  who  declare 
themselves  to  be  fallen  Kshatriyas  ;  but  he  remarks  later 
that  they  are  probably  aborigines,  as  they  do  not  conform  to 
Hindu  customs,  and  they  are  skilled  in  a  dance  called  Chailo, 
which  he  considers  to  be  of  Dravidian  origin.  In  another 
place  he  remarks  that  the  Rajwars  of  Bengal  admit  that  they 
are  derived  from  the  miscegenation  of  Kurmis  and  Kols. 
The  fact  that  the  Mowars  of  Sarangarh  make  a  representation 
of  a  bow  and  arrow  on  their  documents,  instead  of  signing 
their  names,  affords  some  support  to  the  theory  that  they 
are  probably  a  branch  of  one  of  the  aboriginal  tribes.  The 
name  may  be  derived  from  luowa,  a  radish,  as  the  Mowars  of 
Bilaspur  are  engaged  principally  in  garden  cultivation. 

The  Mowars  have  no  subcastes,  but  are  divided  into  a 
number  of  exogamous  groups,  principally  of  a  totemistic 
nature.  Those  of  the  Surajha  or  sun  sept  throw  away 
their  earthen  pots  on  the  occasion  of  an  eclipse,  and  those 
of  the  Hataia  or  elephant  sept  will  not  ride  on  an  elephant 
and  worship  that  animal  at  the  Dasahra  festival.  Members 
of  other  septs  named  after  the  cobra,  the  crow,  the  monkey 
and  the  tiger  will  not  kill  their  totem  animal,  and  when  they 
see  the  dead  body  of  one  of  its  species  they  throw  away 
their  earthen  cooking-pots  as  a  sign  of  mourning.  The 
marriage  of  persons  belonging  to  the  same  sept  and  also 
that  of  first  cousins  is  prohibited.  If  an  unmarried  girl  is 
seduced  by  a  man  of  the  caste  she  becomes  his  wife  and 
is  not  expelled,  but  the  caste  will  not  eat  food  cooked  by 
her.  But  a  girl  going  wrong  with  an  outsider  is  finally  cast 
'   Ethnology  of  Bengal,  p.  326. 


caste. 


252  MURHA  PART 

out.  The  marriage  and  other  social  customs  resemble  those 
of  the  Kurmis,  The  caste  employ  Brahmans  at  their  cere- 
monies and  have  a  great  regard  for  them.  Their  gurus  or 
spiritual  preceptors  are  Bairagis  and  Gosains.  They  eat  the 
flesh  of  clean  animals  and  a  few  drink  liquor,  but  most  of 
them  abstain  from  it.  Their  women  are  tattooed  on  the 
arms  and  hands  with  figures  intended  to  represent  deer, 
flies  and  other  animals  and  insects.  The  caste  say  that  they 
were  formerly  employed  as  soldiers  under  the  native  chiefs, 
but  they  are  now  all  cultivators.  They  grow  all  kinds  of 
grain  and  vegetables,  except  turmeric  and  onions.  A  few  of 
them  are  landowners,  and  the  majority  tenants.  Very  few 
are  constrained  to  labour  for  hire.  In  appearance  the  men 
are  generally  strong  and  healthy,  and  of  a  dark  complexion. 

I.  Origin  Murha. —  A   Dravidian   caste  of  navvies  and  labourers 

°^*'''^  found  in  Jubbulpore  and  the  adjoining  Districts,  to  the 
number  of  about  1500  persons.  The  name  Murha  has  been 
held  to  show  that  the  caste  are  connected  with  the  Munda 
tribe.  The  Murhas,  however,  call  themselves  also  Khare 
Bind  Kewat  and  Lunia  or  Nunia  (salt- maker),  and  in 
Jubbulpore  they  give  these  two  names  as  subdivisions  of 
the  caste.  And  these  names  indicate  that  the  caste  are 
an  offshoot  of  the  large  Bind  tribe  of  Bengal  and  northern 
India,  though  in  parts  of  the  Central  Provinces  they  have 
probably  been  recruited  from  the  Kols  or  Mundas.  Sir 
H.  Risley  ^  records  a  story  related  by  the  Binds  to  the 
effect  that  they  and  the  Nunias  were  formerly  one,  and 
that  the  existing  Nunias  are  descended  from  a  Bind  who 
consented  to  dig  a  grave  for  a  Muhammadan  king  and  was 
put  out  of  caste  for  doing  so.  And  he  remarks  that  the 
Binds  may  be  a  true  primitive  tribe  and  the  Nunias  a 
functional  group  differentiated  from  them  by  taking  to  the 
manufacture  of  earth  salt.  This  explanation  of  the  relation- 
.ship  of  the  Binds  and  Nunias  seems  almost  certainly  correct. 
In  the  United  Provinces  the  Binds  are  divided  into  the  Khare 
and  Dhusia  or  first  and  second  subcastes,  and  the  Khare 
Binds    also    call    themselves    Kewat."      And   the   Murhas  of 

'    7'yibes  and  Castes  of  Bcnjfa!,  nrt.  -  Crooke's    Tribes   and   Castes,   art. 

Bind.  Bind. 


II  MARRIAGE  CUSTOMS  253 

Narsinghpur  call  themselves  Khare  Bind  Kevvats,  though  the 
other  Kewats  repudiate  all  connection  with  them.  There 
seems  thus  to  be  no  doubt  that  the  Murhas  of  these  Provinces 
are  another  offshoot  of  the  Bind  tribe  like  the  Nunias,  who 
have  taken  up  the  profession  of  navvies  and  earthworkers 
and  thus  become  a  separate  caste.  Mr.  Hira  Lai  notes  that 
the  Narsinghpur  District  contains  a  village  Nonia,  which  is 
inhabited  solely  by  Murhas  who  call  themselves  Khare  Bind 
Kewat.  As  the  village  is  no  doubt  named  Nonia  or  Nunia 
after  them,  we  thus  have  an  instance  of  all  the  three  designa- 
tions being  applied  to  the  same  set  of  persons.  The  Murhas 
say  that  they  came  into  Narsinghpur  from  Rewah,  and  they 
still  speak  the  Bagheli  dialect,  though  the  current  vernacular 
of  the  locality  is  Bundeli.  The  Binds  themselves  derive  their 
name  from  the  Vindhya  (Bindhya)  hills.^  They  relate  that 
a  traveller  passing  by  the  Vindhya  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.  In 
Mandia  the  Murhas  say  that  the  difference  between  them- 
selves and  the  Nunias  is  that  the  latter  make  field-embank- 
ments and  other  earthwork,  while  the  Murhas  work  in  stone 
and  build  bridges.  According  to  their  own  story  they  were 
brought  to  Mandia  from  their  home  in  Eastern  Oudh  more 
than  ten  generations  ago  by  a  Gond  king  of  the  Garha- 
Mandla  dynasty  for  the  purpose  of  building  his  fort  or  castle. 
He  gave  them  two  villages  for  their  maintenance  which  they 
have  now  lost.  The  caste  has,  however,  probably  received 
some  local  accretions  and  in  Mandia  some  Murhas  appear 
to  be  Kols  ;  members  of  this  tribe  are  generally  above  the 
average  in  bodily  strength  and  are  in  considerable  request 
for  employment  on  earth-  and  stone-work. 

In  Narsinghpur  the  Murhas  appear  to  have  no  regular  2.  Mar- 
exogamous  divisions.      Some  of  them  remember  the  names  of  '"'^^'^ 

.'^  .  customs. 

their  kJieros  or  ancestral  villages  and  do  not  marry  with 
families  belonging  to  the  same  khero,  but  this  is  not  a  regular 
rule  of  the  caste.  Generally  speaking,  persons  descended 
through  males  from  a  common  ancestor  do  not  intermarry 
so  long  as  they  remember  the  relationship.     In  Mandia  they 

'   Tribes  and  Castes  of  Bengal,  loc.  cil. 


254  MURHA  PART 

have  five  divisions,  of  which  the  highest  is  Purbia,  The 
name  Purbia  (Eastern)  is  commonly  apphed  in  the  Central 
Provinces  to  persons  coming  from  Oudh,  and  in  this  case 
the  Purbia  Murhas  are  probably  the  latest  immigrants  from 
home  and  have  a  superior  status  on  this  account.  Up  till 
recently  they  practised  hypergamy  with  the  other  groups, 
taking  daughters  from  them  in  marriage,  but  not  giving 
their  daughters  to  them.  This  rule  is  now,  however,  breaking 
down  on  account  of  the  difficulty  they  find  in  getting  their 
daughters  married.  The  children  of  brothers  and  sisters 
may  marry  in  some  places,  but  in  others  neither  they  nor 
their  children  may  marry  with  each  other.  Anta  Santa  or 
the  exchange  of  girls  between  two  families  is  permitted. 
The  bridegroom's  father  has  to  pay  from  five  to  twenty 
rupees  as  a  chari  or  bride-price  to  the  girl's  father,  which 
sum  is  regarded  as  the  remuneration  of  the  latter  for  having 
brought  up  his  daughter.  In  the  case  of  the  daughter  of  a 
headman  the  bride-price  is  sometimes  as  high  as  Rs.  150. 
In  Damoh  a  curious  survival  of  marriage  by  capture  remains. 
The  bridegroom's  party  give  a  ram  or  he-goat  to  the  bride's 
party  and  these  take  it  to  their  shed,  cut  its  head  off  and 
hang  it  by  the  side  of  the  khdm  or  marriage-pole.  The 
brother-in-law  of  the  bridegroom  or  of  his  father  then  sallies 
forth  to  bring  back  the  head  of  the  animal,  but  is  opposed 
by  the  women  of  the  bride's  party,  who  belabour  him  and 
his  friends  with  sticks,  brooms  and  rolling-pins.  But  in  the 
end  the  head  is  always  taken  avva)\  The  binding  portion 
of  the  marriage  is  the  bhdnwar  or  walking  round  the  sacred 
post.  When  the  bride  is  leaving  for  her  husband's  house 
the  women  of  her  party  take  seven  balls  of  flour  with 
burning  wicks  thrust  into  them,  and  place  them  in  a 
winnowing-fan.  They  wave  this  round  the  bride's  head  and 
then  throw  the  balls  and  after  them  the  fan  over  the  litter 
in  which  the  bride  is  seated.  The  bridegroom's  party  must 
catch  the  fan,  and  if  they  let  it  fall  to  the  ground  they  are 
much  laughed  at  for  their  clumsiness.  When  the  pair  arrive 
at  the  bridegroom's  house,  the  fan  is  again  waved  over  their 
heads  ;  and  a  cloth  is  spread  before  the  house,  on  which 
seven  burning  wicks  are  placed  like  the  previous  ones.  The 
bride   walks    quickly  over    the   cloth   to   the  house   and   the 


II  FUNERAL  RITES— OCCUPATION  255 

bridegroom  must  keep  pace  with  her,  picking  up  the  burning 
flour  balls  as  he  goes.  When  the  pair  arrive  at  the  house 
the  bridegroom's  sister  shuts  the  door  and  will  not  open  it 
until  she  is  given  a  present.  Divorce  and  the  remarriage  of 
widows  are  permitted. 

The  caste  worship  the  ordinary  Hindu  deities.  Well-  3.  Funeral 
to-do  members  burn  their  dead  and  the  poorer  ones  bury  ""''^" 
them.  The  corpse  is  usually  placed  with  the  head  to  the 
south  as  is  the  custom  among  the  primitive  tribes,  but  in 
some  localities  the  Hindu  fashion  of  laying  the  head  to  the 
north  has  been  adopted.  Two  pice  are  thrown  down  by 
the  grave  or  h\xx\\\\\o.gkat  to  buy  the  site,  and  these  are 
taken  by  the  sweeper.  The  ashes  are  collected  on  the  third 
day  and  thrown  into  a  river.  The  usual  period  of  mourning 
is  only  three  days,  but  it  is  sometimes  extended  to  nine 
days  when  the  chief  mourner  is  unable  to  feed  the  caste- 
fellows  on  the  third  day,  and  the  feast  may  in  case  of 
necessity  be  postponed  to  any  time  within  six  months  of 
the  death.  The  chief  mourner  puts  on  a  new  white  cloth 
and  eats  nothing  but  rice  and  pulse  without  salt. 

The  caste  are  employed  on  all  kinds  of  earthwork,  such  4.  Occupa- 
as  building  walls,  excavating  trenches,  and  making  embank-  '°"' 
ments  in  fields.  Their  trade  implements  consist  of  a  pick- 
axe, a  basket,  and  a  thin  wooden  hod  to  fill  the  earth  into 
the  basket.  The  Murha  invokes  these  as  follows  :  "  Oh  !  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  !  "  The  Murhas  are  strict  in  their  rules  about 
food  and  will  not  accept  cooked  food  even  from  a  Brahman, 
but  notwithstanding  this,  their  social  position  is  so  low  that 
not  even  a  sweeper  would  take  food  from  them.  The  caste 
eat  flesh  and  drink  liquor,  but  abstain  from  fowls,  pork  and 
beef.  They  engage  Brahmans  on  the  occasion  of  births  and 
marriages,  but  not  usually  for  funerals.  The  women  tattoo 
their  bodies  after  marriage,  and  the  charge  for  this  should 
always  be  paid  by  the  maternal  uncle's  wife,  the  paternal 
aunt,  or  some  other  similar  relation  of  the  girl.  The  fact 
that  among  most  Hindus  a  girl  must  be  tattooed  before 
leaving  for  her  husband's  house,  and  that  the  cost  of  the 
operation  must  always  be  paid  for  by  her  own  family,  seems 


Women's 
song 


256  MURHA  PART 

to  indicate  that  tattooing  was  formerly  a  rite  of  puberty  for 
the  female  sex.  A  wife  must  not  mention  the  name  of  her 
husband  or  of  any  person  who  stands  in  the  relation  of 
father,  mother,  uncle  or  aunt  to  him.  Parents  do  not  call 
their  eldest  son  by  his  proper  name,  but  by  some  pet  name. 
Women  are  impure  for  five  days  during  menstruation  and 
are  not  allowed  to  cook  for  that  period.  The  Murhas  have 
a  caste  panchdyat  or  committee,  the  head  of  which  is  known 
as  Patel  or  Mukhia,  the  office  being  hereditary.  He  receives 
a  part  of  all  fines  levied  for  the  commission  of  social  offences. 
In  appearance  the  caste  are  dark  and  short  of  stature,  and 
have  some  resemblance  to  the  Kols. 
5-  In  conclusion,  I  reproduce  one  of  the   songs  which  the 

women  sing  as  they  are  carrying  the  basketfuls  of  earth  or 
stones  at  their  work  ;  in  the  original  each  line  consists  of 
two  parts,  the  last  words  of  which  sometimes  rhyme  with 
each  other : 

Our  mother  Nerbudda  is  very  kind  ;  blow,  wind,  we  are  hot  with  labour. 

He  said  to  the  Maina  :   Go,  carry  my  message  to  my  love. 

The  red  ants  climb  up  the  mango-tree  ;  and  the  daughter  follows  her 

mother's  way. 
I  have  no  money  to  give  her  even  lime  and  tobacco  ;  I  am  poor,  so  how 

can  I  tell  her  of  my  love. 
The  boat  has  gone  down  on  the  flood  of  the  Nerbudda  ;   the  fisher- 
woman  is  weeping  for  her  husband. 
She  ^has  no  bangles  on  her  arm  nor  necklace  on  her  neck  ;  she  has  no 

beauty,  but  seeks  her  lovers  throughout  the  village. 
Bread  from   the   girdle,   curry  from  the  lota  ;    let  us  go,   beloved,   the 

moon  is  shining. 
The  leaves  of  gram  have  been  plucked  from  the  plants  ;   I  think  much 

on  Dadaria,  but  she  does  not  come. 
The  love  of  a  stranger  is  as  a  dream  :  think  not  of  him,  beloved,  he 

cannot  be  yours. 
Twelve  has  struck  and  it  is  thirteen  time  (past  the  time  of  labour)  ;  oh, 

overseer,  let  your  poor  labourers  go. 
The  betel-leaf  is  pressed  in  the  mouth  (and  gives  pleasure)  ;  attractive 

eyes  delight  the  heart. 
Catechu,  areca  and  black  cloves  ;  my  heart's  secret  troubles  me  in  my 

dreams. 
The  Nerbudda  came  and  swept  away  the  rubbish  (from  the  works) ;  fly 

away,  bees,  do  not  perch  on  my  cloth. 
The  colour  does  not  come  on  the  wheat  ;  her  youth  is  passing,  but  she 

cannot  yet  drape  her  cloth  on  her  body. 
Like  the  sight  of  rain-drops  splashing  on  the  ground  ;  so  beautiful  is 

she  to  look  upon. 


NAG  ASIA 


257 


It  rains  and  the  hidden  streams  in  the  woodland  are  filled  (and  come 

to  view)  ;  hide  as  long  as  you  may,  some  day  you  must  be  seen. 
The  mahua  flowers  are  falling  from  the  trees  on  the  hill  ;    leave  me 

your  cloth  so  that  I  may  know  you  will  return. 
He  went  to  the  bazar  and  brought  back  a  cocoanul  ;  it  is  green  without, 

but  insects  are  eating  the  core. 
He  went  to  the  hill  and  cut  strings  of  bamboo  ;  you  cannot  drape  your 

cloth,  you  have  wound  it  round  your  body. 
The  coral  necklace  hangs  on  the  peg  ;  if  you  become  the  second  wife 

of  my  husband  I  shall  give  you  clothes. 
She  put  on  her  clothes  and  went  to  the  forest  ;  she  met  her  lover  and 

said  you  are  welcome  to  me. 
He  went  to  the  bazar  and  bought  potatoes  ;  but  if  he  had  loved  me  he 

would  have  brought  me  liquor. 
The  fish  in  the  river  are  on  the  look-out  ;  the  Brahman's  daughter  is 

bathing  with  her  hair  down. 
The  arhar-stumps  stand  in  the  field  ;   I  loved  one  of  another  caste,  but 

must  give  him  up. 
He  ate  betel  and  coloured  his  teeth  ;  his  beloved  came  from  without 

and  knew  him. 
The  ploughmen  are  gone  to  the  field  ;  my  clever  writer  is  gone  to  the 

court-house. 
The  Nerbudda  flows  like  a  bent  bow  ;  a  beautiful  youth   is  standing  in 

court.^ 
The  broken  areca-nuts  lie  in  the  forest  ;  when  a  man  comes  to  mis- 
fortune no  one  will  help  him. 
The  broken  areca-nuts  cannot  be  mended  ;  and  two  hearts  which  are 

sundered  cannot  be  joined. 
Ask  me  for  five  rupees  and  I  will  give  you  twenty-five  ;  but  I  will  not 

give  my  lover  for  the  whole  world. 
I   will  put  bangles  on   my  arm  ;  when  the  other  wife  sees  me  she  will 

die  of  jealousy. 
Break  the  bangles  which  your  husband  gave  you  ;  and  put  others  on 

your  wrists  in  my  name. 

0  my   lover,    give   me  bangles  ;   make  me  armlets,   for  I   am  content 

with  you. 
My  lover  went  to  the  bazar  at  Lakhanpur  ;  but  he  has  not  brought  me 
even  a  choli-  that  I  liked. 

1  had  gone  to  the  bazar  and  bought  fish  ;  she  is  so  ugly  that  the  flies 

would  not  settle  on  her. 

Nagfasia,  Naksia. — A  primitive  tribe  found  principally 
in  the  Chota  Nagpur  States.  They  now  number  16,000 
persons  in  the  Central  Provinces,  being  returned  almost 
entirely  from  Jashpur  and  Sarguja.  The  census  returns  are, 
however,  liable  to  be  inaccurate  as  the  Nagasias  frequently 
call  themselves  Kisan,  a  term  which  is  also  applied  to  the 

'  The  clever  writer  referred  to  in  the  preceding  line.  ^  Breast-cloth. 

VOL.  IV  S 


258  NAG  ASIA  PART 

Oraons.  The  Nagasias  say  that  they  are  the  true  Kisans 
whereas  the  Oraons  are  only  so  by  occupation.  The  Oraons, 
on  the  other  hand,  call  the  Nagasias  Kisada.  The  tribe 
derive  their  name  from  the  Nag  or  cobra,  and  they  say  that 
somebody  left  an  infant  in  the  forest  of  Setambu  and  a  cobra 
came  and  spread  its  hood  over  the  child  to  protect  him  from 
the  rays  of  the  sun.  Some  Mundas  happened  to  pass  by 
and  on  seeing  this  curious  sight  they  thought  the  child  must 
be  destined  to  greatness,  so  they  took  him  home  and  made 
him  their  king,  calling  him  Nagasia,  and  from  him  the  tribe 
are  descended.  The  episode  of  the  snake  is,  of  course,  a 
stock  legend  related  by  many  tribes,  but  the  story  appears 
to  indicate  that  the  Nagasias  are  an  offshoot  of  the  Mundas  ; 
and  this  hypothesis  is  strengthened  by  the  fact  that  Nagbasia 
is  often  used  as  an  alternative  name  for  the  Mundas  by 
their  Hindu  neighbours.  The  term  Nagbasia  is  supposed  to 
mean  the  original  settlers  {basia)  in  Nag  (Chota  Nagpur). 

The  tribe  are  divided  into  the  Telha,  Dhuria  and 
Senduria  groups.  The  Telhas  are  so  called  because  at  the 
marriage  ceremony  they  mark  the  forehead  of  the  bride  with 
tel  (oil),  while  the  Dhurias  instead  of  oil  use  dust  {dhur) 
taken  from  the  sole  of  the  bridegroom's  foot,  and  the 
Sendurias  like  most  Hindu  castes  employ  vermilion  {sendur) 
for  this  purpose.  The  Telhas  and  Dhurias  marry  with  each 
other,-  but  not  with  the  Sendurias,  who  consider  themselves 
to  be  superior  to  the  others  and  use  the  term  Nagbansia  or 
'  Descendants  of  the  Snake '  as  their  tribal  name.  The 
Telha  and  Dhuria  women  do  not  wear  glass  bangles  on  their 
arms  but  only  bracelets  of  brass,  while  the  Sendurias  wear 
glass  bangles  and  also  armlets  above  the  elbow.  Telha 
women  do  not  wear  nose-rings  or  tattoo  their  bodies,  while 
the  Sendurias  do  both.  The  Telhas  say  that  the  tattooing 
needle  and  vermilion,  which  they  formerly  employed  in 
their  marriages,  were  stolen  from  them  by  Wagdeo  or  the 
tiger  god.  So  they  hit  upon  sesamum  oil  as  a  substitute, 
which  must  be  pressed  for  ceremonial  purposes  in  a  bamboo 
basket  by  unmarried  boys  using  a  plough-yoke.  This  is 
probably,  Mr.  Hira  Lai  remarks,  merely  the  primitive  method 
of  extracting  oil,  prior  to  the  invention  of  the  Teli's  ghdni 
or  oil-press  ;  and  the  practice  is  an  instance  of  the  common 


II  NAHAL  259 

rule  that  articles  employed  in  ceremonial  and  religious  rites 
should  be  prepared  by  the  ancient  and  primitive  methods 
which  for  ordinary  purposes  have  been  superseded  by  more 
recent  labour-saving  inventions. 

Nahal,    Nihal.^ — A    forest    tribe    who    are    probably    a  i.  The 
mixture  of  Bhils   and    Korkus.      In    igii    they   numbered  f"^^ f"'^ 

-^  ■'  _  Its  sub- 

I  2,000  persons,  of  whom  8000  belonged  to  the  Hoshangabad,  divisions. 
Nimar  and  Bctul  Districts,  and  nearly  4000  to  Berar.  They 
were  classed  at  the  census  as  a  subtribe  of  Korkus,  Accord- 
ing to  one  story  they  are  descended  from  a  Bhll  father  and 
a  Korku  mother,  and  the  writer  of  the  KhdndesJi  Gazetteer 
calls  them  the  most  savage  of  the  Bhils.  But  in  the  Central 
Provinces  their  family  or  sept  names  are  the  same  as  those 
of  the  Korkus,  and  they  speak  the  Korku  language.  Mr. 
Kitts "  says  that  the  Korkus  who  first  went  to  Berar  found 
the  Nahals  in  possession  of  the  Melghat  hills.  Gradually 
the  latter  caste  lost  their  power  and  became  the  village 
drudges  of  the  former.  He  adds  that  the  Nahals  were  fast 
losing  their  language,  and  the  younger  generation  spoke 
only  Korku.  The  two  tribes  were  very  friendly,  and  the 
Nahals  acknowledged  the  superior  position  of  the  Korkus. 
This,  if  it  accurately  represents  the  state  of  things  prevailing 
for  a  long  period,  and  was  not  merely  an  incidental  feature 
of  their  relative  position  at  the  time  Mr.  Kitts'  observations 
were  made,  would  tend  to  show  that  the  Nahals  were  the 
older  tribe  and  had  been  subjected  by  the  Korkus,  just  as 
the  Korkus  themselves  and  the  Baigas  have  given  way  to  the 
Gonds.  Mr.  Crosthwaite  also  states  that  the  Nahal  is  the 
drudge  of  the  Korku  and  belongs  to  a  race  which  is 
supposed  to  have  been  glorious  before  the  Korku  star  arose, 
and  which  is  now  fast  dying  out.  In  any  case  there  is  no 
doubt  that  the  Nahals  are  a  very  mixed  tribe,  as  they  will 
even  now  admit  into  the  community  Gonds,  Korkus  and 
nearly  all  the  Hindu  castes,  though  in  some  localities  they 
will  not  eat  from  the  other  tribes  and  the  lower  Hindu  castes 
and  therefore  refuse  to  admit  them.      There  are,  moreover, 

^  This    article    is    mainly    compiled       Records,  Betul. 
from  papers  by  Mr.  Hira  Lai  and  15;ibu  ^  Berar    Census    Report     (1881), 

Gulab  Singh,  Superintendent  of  Land       p.  158. 


26o  NAHAL  part 

two  subdivisions  of  the  caste  called  Korku  and  Marathi 
Nahals  respectively.  The  latter  are  more  Hinduised  than 
the  former  and  disclaim  any  connection  with  the  Korkus. 
The  Nahals  have  totemistic  exogamous  septs.  Those  of  the 
Kasa  sept  worship  a  tortoise  and  also  a  bell-metal  plate, 
which  is  their  family  god.  They  never  eat  off  a  bell-metal 
plate  except  on  one  day  in  the  month  of  Magh  (January), 
when  they  worship  it.  The  members  of  the  Nagbel  sept 
worship  the  betel-vine  or  '  snake-creeper,'  and  refrain  from 
chewing  betel-leaves,  and  they  also  worship  the  Nag  or 
cobra  and  do  not  kill  it,  thus  having  a  sort  of  double  totem. 
The  Bhawaria  sept,  named  after  the  bJiaunr  or  black  bee,  do 
not  eat  honey,  and  if  they  see  a  person  taking  the  honey- 
comb from  a  nest  they  will  run  away.  The  Khadia  sept 
worship  the  spirits  of  their  ancestors  enshrined  in  a  heap  of 
stones  {khad),  or  according  to  another  account  they  worship 
a  snake  which  sits  on  a  heap  of  pebbles.  The  Surja  sept 
worship  Surya  or  the  sun  by  offering  him  a  fowl  in  the 
month  of  Pus  (December-January),  and  some  members  of 
the  sept  keep  a  fast  every  Sunday.  The  Saoner  sept 
worship  the  san  or  flax  plant. 

2.  Mar-  Marriage  is  prohibited  between    members  of  the  same 
riage.       sept,  but  there  are  no  other  restrictions   and    first  cousins 

may  marry.  Both  sexes  usually  marry  when  adult,  and 
sexual  license  before  wedlock  is  tolerated.  A  Brahman  is 
employed  only  for  fixing  the  date  of  the  ceremony.  The 
principal  part  of  the  marriage  is  the  knotting  together  of 
the  bride's  and  bridegroom's  clothes  on  two  successive  days. 
They  also  gamble  with  tamarind  seeds,  and  it  is  considered 
a  lucky  union  if  the  bridegroom  wins.  A  bride-price  is 
usually  paid  consisting  of  Rs.  1-4  to  Rs.  5  in  cash,  some 
grain  and  a  piece  of  cloth  for  the  bride's  mother.  The 
remarriage  of  widov/s  is  allowed,  and  the  couple  go  five 
times  round  a  bamboo  stick  which  is  held  up  to  represent  a 
spear,  the  ceremony  being  called  barchhi  se  bhdnwar  phirna 
or  the  marriage  of  the  spear. 

3.  Rdi-  The  Nahals  worship  the  forest  god  called  Jharkhandi  in 
gion.       ^}^g  month  of  Chait,  and  until  this  rite  has  been  performed 

they  do  not  use  the  leaves  or  fruits  of  the  palds}  aonld  ^  or 

'   Butea  fro7tdosa.  '  Phyllanthiis  emblica. 


II  OCCUPATION—SOCIAL  STATUS  261 

mango  trees.  When  the  god  is  worshipped  they  collect 
branches  and  leaves  of  these  trees  and  offer  cooked  food  to 
them  and  thereafter  commence  using  the  new  leaves,  and  the 
fruit  and  timber.  They  also  worship  the  ordinary  village 
godlings.  The  dead  are  buried,  except  in  the  case  of 
members  of  the  Surja  or  sun  sept,  whose  corpses  are  burnt. 
Cooked  food  is  offered  at  the  grave  for  four  days  after  the 
death. 

The  Nahals  were  formerly  a  community  of  hill-robbers,  4.  Occupa- 
*  Nahal,  Bhil,  Koli '  being  the  phrase  generally  used  in  old  "°"' 
documents  to  designate  the  marauding  bands  of  the  western 
Satpura  hills.  The  Raja  of  Jitgarh  and  Mohkot  in  Nimar 
has  a  long  account  in  his  genealogy  of  a  treacherous  massacre 
of  a  whole  tribe  of  Nahals  by  his  ancestor  in  Akbar's  time, 
in  recognition  of  which  the  Jitgarh  pargana  was  granted  to 
the  family.  Mr.  Kitts  speaks  of  the  Nahals  of  Berar  as 
having  once  been  much  addicted  to  cattle-lifting,  and  this 
propensity  still  exists  in  a  minor  degree  in  the  Central 
Provinces,  accentuated  probably  by  the  fact  that  a  consider- 
able number  of  Nahals  follow  the  occupation  of  graziers. 
Some  of  them  are  also  village  watchmen,  and  another  special 
avocation  of  theirs  is  the  collection  of  the  oil  of  the  marking- 
nut  tree  {Semecarpus  anacardiuin).  This  is  to  some  extent  a 
dangerous  trade,  as  the  oil  causes  swellings  on  the  body, 
besides  staining  the  skin  and  leaving  a  peculiar  odour.  The 
workers  wrap  a  fourfold  layer  of  cloth  round  their  fingers  with 
ashes  between  each  fold,  while  the  rest  of  the  body  is  also 
protected  by  cloth  when  gathering  the  nuts  and  pounding 
them  to  extract  the  oil.  At  the  end  of  the  day's  work 
powdered  tamarind  and  ghi  are  rubbed  on  the  whole  body. 
The  oil  is  a  stimulant,  and  is  given  to  women  after  delivery 
and  to  persons  suffering  from  rheumatism. 

The  social  status  of  the  Nahals  is  very  low  and  they  cat  5.  Social 
the  flesh  of  almost  all  animals,  while  those  who  graze  cattle  ^'''^'"^• 
eat  beef.  Cow-killing  is  not  regarded  as  an  offence.  They 
are  also  dirty  and  do  not  bathe  for  weeks  together.  To  get 
maggots  in  a  wound  is,  however,  regarded  as  a  grave  offence, 
and  the  sufferer  is  put  out  of  the  village  and  has  to  live  alone 
until  he  recovers. 


NAI 


LIST  OF  PARAGRAPHS 

1.  Structure  of  the  caste.  12.  Significance  of  removal  of  t]ie 

2.  Marriage  and  other  custotns.  hair  a?td  shavi?ig  the  head. 

3.  Occicpation.  13.  Shaving  the  head  by  moui'ners. 

4.  Other  services.  14.  Hair  offerings. 

5.  Duties  at  weddings.  15.  Keeping  hair  tmshorn  during 

6.  The  barber-surgeon.  a  vow. 

7.  A  barber  at  the  court  of  Otidh.  1 6.  Disposal  of  cut  hair  and  nails. 

8.  Character  and  position  of  the  17.  St/pcrstitions    about    shaving 

barber.  the  hair. 

9.  Beliefs  about  hair.  1 8.   Reasons    why    the    hair   was 

10.  Hair  of  kings  and  priests.  co?tsidered     the     source    of 

1 1 .  The  beard.  strength. 

I.  struc-  Nai,  Nao,  Mhali,  Hajjam,  Bhandari,  Mangrala/ — The 

ture  of        occupational    caste    of  barbers.      The    name    is    said    to   be 

ine  caste.  _  ^ 

derived  from  the  Sanskrit  ndpita,  according  to  some  a 
corruption  of  sndpitri,  one  who  bathes.  In  Bundelkhand  he 
is  also  known  as  Khawas,  which  was  a  title  for  the  attendant 
on  a  grandee  ;  and  Birtiya,  or  '  He  that  gets  his  maintenance 
iyritti)  from  his  constituents.'  ^  Mhali  is  the  Marathi  name 
for  the  caste,  Bhandari  the  Uriya  name  and  Mangala  the 
Telugu  name.  The  caste  numbered  nearly  1 90,000  persons 
in  the  Central  Provinces  in  191 1,  being  distributed  over  all 
Districts.  Various  legends  of  the  usual  type  are  related  of 
its  origin,  but,  as  Sir.  H.  Risley  observes,  it  is  no  doubt 
wholly  of  a  functional  character.  The  subcastes  in  the 
Central   Provinces  entirely   bear  out  this  view,  as  they  are 

'  This     article    is     compiled     from  First      Assistant     Master,      Sironcha, 

papers    by     Mr.      Chatteiji,      retired  Chanda ;      and      from     the      Central 

E.A.C.,  Jubbulpore  ;    Professor  Sadii-  Provinces  District  Gazetteers, 
shiva  Jairam,   M.A.,    Hislop  College,  '^  Mr.  Crooke's   Tribes  and   Castes, 

Nagpur ;  and  Mr.  C.  Shrinivas  Naidu,  art.  Nai. 

262 


PART  II  MARRIAGE  AND  OTHER  CUSTOMS  263 

very  numerous  and  principally  of  the  territorial  type : 
Telange  of  the  Telugu  country,  Marathe,  Pardeshi  or 
northerners,  Jharia  or  those  of  the  forest  country  of  the 
Wainganga  Valley,  Bandhaiya  or  those  of  Bandhogarh, 
Barade  of  Berar,  Bundelkhandi,  Marwari,  Mathuria  from 
Mathura,  Gadhwaria  from  Garha  near  Jubbulpore,  Lanjia 
from  Lanji  in  Balaghat,  Malwi  from  Malwa,  Nimari  from 
Nimar,  Deccanc,  Gujarati,  and  so  on.  Twenty-six  divisions 
in  all  are  given.  The  exogamous  groups  are  also  of  different 
types,  some  of  them  being  named  after  Brahman  saints,  as 
Gautam,  Kashyap,  Kosil,  Sandil  and  Bharadwaj  ;  others 
after  Rajput  clans  as  Surajvansi,  Jaduvansi,  Solanki  and 
Panwar ;  while  others  are  titular  or  totemistic,  as  Naik, 
leader  ;  Seth,  banker;  Rawat,  chief;  Nagesh,  cobra  ;  Bagh,  a 
tiger  ;  Bhadrawa,  a  fish. 

The  exogamous  groups  are  known  as  kJiero  or  kid,  and  2.  Mar- 
marriage  between  members  of  the  same  group  is  prohibited,  oth^r^" 
Girls  are  usually  wedded  between  the  ages  of  eight  and  customs, 
twelve  and  boys  between  fifteen  and  twenty.  A  girl  who 
goes  wrong  before  marriage  is  finally  expelled  from  the  caste. 
The  wedding  ceremony  follows  the  ritual  prevalent  in  the 
locality  as  described  in  the  articles  on  Kurmi  and  Kunbi. 
At  an  ordinary  wedding  the  expenses  on  the  girl's  side 
amount  to  about  Rs.  150,  and  on  the  boy's  to  Rs.  200. 
The  remarriage  of  widows  is  permitted.  In  the  northern 
Districts  the  widow  may  wed  the  younger  brother  of  her 
deceased  husband,  but  in  the  Maratha  country  she  may  not 
be  married  to  any  of  his  relatives.  Divorce  may  be  effected 
at  the  instance  of  the  husband  before  the  caste  committee, 
and  a  divorced  woman  is  at  liberty  to  marry  again.  The 
Nais  worship  all  the  ordinary  Hindu  deities.  On  the 
Dasahra  and  Diwali  festivals  they  wash  and  revere  their 
implements,  the  razor,  scissors  and  nail-pruners.  They  pay 
regard  to  omens.  It  is  unpropitious  to  sneeze  or  hear  the 
report  of  a  gun  when  about  to  commence  any  business  ;  and 
when  a  man  is  starting  on  a  journey,  if  a  cat,  a  squirrel,  a 
hare  or  a  snake  should  cross  the  road  in  front  of  him  he  will 
give  it  up  and  return  home.  The  bodies  of  the  dead  are 
usually  burnt.  In  Chhattisgarh  the  poor  throw  the  corpses 
of  their  dead  into  the  Mahanadi.  and  the  bodies  of  children 


264  NAI  PART 

dying  under  one  year  of  age  were  until  recently  buried  in 
the  courtyard  of  the  house.  The  period  of  mourning  for 
adults  is  ten  days  and  for  children  three  days.  The  chief 
mourner  must  take  only  one  meal  a  day,  which  he  cooks 
himself  until  the  ceremony  of  the  tenth  day  is  perform.ed. 
3.  Occupa-  "  The  barber's  trade,"  Mr.  Crooke  states,^  "  is  undoubtedly 

tion.  Q^  great  antiquity.      In  the  Veda  we  read,  '  Sharpen  us  like 

the  razor  in  the  hands  of  the  barber ' ;  and  again,  '  Driven 
by  the  wind,  Agni  shaves  the  hair  of  the  earth  like  the 
barber  shaving  a  beard.' "  In  early  times  they  must  have 
enjoyed  considerable  dignity ;  Upali  the  barber  was  the 
first  propounder  of  the  law  of  the  Buddhist  church.  The 
village  barber's  leather  bag  contains  a  small  mirror  {drst),  a 
pair  of  iron  pincers  {chiinta),  a  leather  strap,  a  comb  {kattght), 
a  piece  of  cloth  about  a  yard  square  and  some  oil  in  a  phial. 
He  shaves  the  faces,  heads  and  armpits  of  his  customers,  and 
cuts  the  nails  of  both  their  hands  and  feet.  He  uses  cold 
water  in  summer  and  hot  in  winter,  but  no  soap,  though  this 
has  now  been  introduced  in  towns.  For  the  poorer  cultivators 
he  does  a  rapid  scrape,  and  this  process  is  called  '■  asudJiaV 
or  a  '  tearful  shave,'  because  the  person  undergoing  it  is  often 
constrained  to  weep.  The  barber  acquires  the  knowledge  of 
his  art  by  practice  on  the  more  obliging  of  his  customers, 
hence  the  proverb,  '  The  barber's  son  learns  his  trade  on  the 
heads  of  fools.'  The  village  barber  is  usually  paid  by  a 
contribution  of  grain  from  the  cultivators,  calculated  in  some 
cases  according  to  the  number  of  ploughs  of  land  possessed 
by  each,  in  others  according  to  the  number  of  adult  males  in 
the  family.  In  Saugor  he  receives  20  lbs.  of  grain  annually 
for  each  adult  male  or  22!-  lbs.  per  plough  of  land,  besides 
presents  of  a  basket  of  grain  at  seed-time  and  a  sheaf  at 
harvest.  Cultivators  are  usually  shaved  about  once  a  fort- 
night. In  towns  the  barber's  fee  may  vary  from  a  pice  to 
two  annas  for  a  shave,  which  is,  as  has  been  seen,  a  much 
more  protracted  operation  with  a  Hindu  than  with  a  European. 
It  is  said  that  Berfir  is  now  so  rich  that  even  ordinary 
cultivators  can  afford  to  pay  the  barber  two  annas  (2d.)  for 
a  single  shave,  or  the  same  price  as  in  the  suburbs  of 
London. 

'    Tribes  and  Castes,  art.  Nai,  para.  5- 


ir  OTHER  SERVICES— DUTIES  AT  WEDDINGS        265 

After  he  has  shaved  a  client  the  barber  pinches  and  rubs  4.  Other 
his  arms,  presses  his  fingers  together  and  cracks  the  joints  ''^'■^"='^^- 
of  each  finger,  this  last  action  being  perhaps  meant  to  avert 
evil  spirits.  He  also  does  massage,  a  very  favourite  method 
of  treatment  in  India,  and  also  inexpensive  as  compared 
with  Europe.  For  one  rupee  a  month  in  towns  the  barber 
will  come  and  rub  a  man's  legs  five  or  ten  minutes  every 
day.  Cultivators  have  their  legs  rubbed  in  the  sowing 
season,  when  the  labour  is  intensely  hard  owing  to  the 
necessity  of  sowing  all  the  land  in  a  short  period.  If  a 
man  is  well-to-do  he  may  have  his  whole  head  and  body 
rubbed  with  scented  oil.  Landowners  have  often  a  barber 
as  a  family  servant,  the  office  descending  from  father  to 
son.  Such  a  man  will  light  his  master's  diilain  (pipe-bowl) 
or  huqqa  (water-pipe),  clean  and  light  lamps,  prepare  his 
bed,  tell  his  master  stories  to  send  him  to  sleep,  act  as 
escort  for  the  women  of  the  family  Vv-hen  they  go  on  a 
journey  and  arrange  matches  for  the  children.  The  barber's 
wife  attends  on  women  in  child-birth  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  barber  has  also  numerous  and  important  duties  ^  in  5.  Duties 
connection  with  marriages  and  other  festival  occasions.  He  \2^^ 
acts  as  the  Brahman's  assistant,  and  to  the  lower  castes, 
who  cannot  employ  a  Brahman,  he  is  himself  the  matrimonial 
priest.  The  important  part  which  he  plays  in  marriage 
ceremonies  has  led  to  his  becoming  the  matchmaker  among 
all  respectable  castes.  He  searches  for  a  suitable  bride  or 
bridegroom,  and  is  often  sent  to  inspect  the  other  party  to 
a  match  and  report  his  or  her  defects  to  his  clients.  He 
may  arrange  the  price  or  dowry,  distribute  the  invitations 
and  carry  the  presents  from  one  house  to  the  other.  He 
supplies  the  leaf-plates  and  cups  which  are  used  at  weddings, 
as  the  family's  stock  of  metal  vessels  is  usually  quite 
inadequate  for  the  number  of  guests.  The  price  of  these 
is  about  4  annas  (4d.)  a  hundred.  He  also  provides  the 
torans  or  strings  of  leaves  which  are  hung  over  the  door  of 

^  The  following  account  is   largely  taken  from  Mr.  Nesfield's  Brief  View  of 
the  Caste  System,  pp.  42,  43. 


266  NAI  PART 

the  house  and  round  the  marriage-shed.  At  the  feast  the 
barber  is  present  to  hand  to  the  guests  water,  betel-leaf  and 
pipes  as  they  may  desire.  He  also  partakes  of  the  food, 
seated  at  a  short  distance  from  the  guests,  in  the  intervals 
of  his  service.  He  lights  the  lamps  and  carries  the  torches 
during  the  ceremony.  Hence  he  was  known  as  Masalchi 
or  torch-bearer,  a  name  now  applied  by  Europeans  to  a 
menial  servant  who  lights  and  cleans  the  lamps  and  washes 
the  plates  after  meals.  The  barber  and  his  wife  act  as 
prompters  to  the  bride  and  bridegroom,  and  guide  them 
through  the  complicated  ritual  of  the  wedding  ceremony, 
taking  the  couple  on  their  knees  if  they  are  children,  and 
otherwise  sitting  behind  them.  The  barber  has  a  pre- 
scriptive right  to  receive  the  clothes  in  which  the  bride- 
groom goes  to  the  bride's  house,  as  on  the  latter's  arrival 
he  is  always  presented  with  new  clothes  by  the  bride's 
father.  As  the  bridegroom's  clothes  may  be  an  ancestral 
heirloom,  a  compact  is  often  made  to  buy  them  back  from 
the  barber,  and  he  may  receive  as  much  as  Rs.  50  in  lieu 
of  them.  When  the  first  son  is  born  in  a  family  the  barber 
takes  a  long  bamboo  stick,  wraps  it  round  with  cloth  and 
puts  an  earthen  pot  over  it  and  carries  this  round  to  the 
relatives,  telling  them  the  good  news.  He  receives  a  small 
present  from  each  household. 
6.  The  The  barber  also  cleans  the  ears  of  his  clients  and  cuts 

their  nails,  and  is  the  village  surgeon  in  a  small  way.  He 
cups  and  bleeds  his  patients,  applies  leeches,  takes  out 
teeth  and  lances  boils.  In  this  capacity  he  is  the  counter- 
part of  the  barber-surgeon  of  mediaeval  Europe.  The  Hindu 
physicians  are  called  Baid,  and  are,  as  a  rule,  a  class  of 
Brahmans.  They  derive  their  knowledge  from  ancient 
Sanskrit  treatises  on  medicine,  which  are  considered  to  have 
divine  authority.  Consequently  they  think  it  unnecessary 
to  acquire  fresh  knowledge  by  experiment  and  observation, 
as  they  suppose  the  perfect  science  of  medicine  to  be  con- 
tained in  their  sacred  books.  As  these  books  probably  do 
not  describe  surgical  operations,  of  which  little  or  nothing 
was  known  at  the  time  when  they  were  written,  and  as 
surgery  involves  contact  with  blood  and  other  impure 
substances,  the  Baids  do  not  practise  it,  and  the  villagers 


barber- 
surgeon. 


II  A  BARBER  AT  THE  COURT  OF  OUDII  267 

are  left  to  get  on  as  best  they  can  with  the  ministrations  of 
the  barber.  It  is  interesting  to  note  that  a  similar  state 
of  things  appears  to  have  prevailed  in  Europe.  The  monks 
were  the  early  practitioners  of  medicine  and  were  forbidden 
to  practise  surgery,  which  was  thus  left  to  the  barber- 
chirurgeon.  The  status  of  the  surgeon  was  thus  for  long 
much  below  that  of  the  physician.^  The  mediaeval  barber 
of  Europe  kept  a  bottle  of  blood  in  his  window,  to  indicate 
that  he  undertook  bleeding  and  the  application  of  leeches, 
and  the  coloured  bottles  in  the  chemist's  window  may  have 
been  derived  from  this.  It  is  also  said  that  the  barber's 
pole  originally  served  as  a  support  for  the  patient  to  lean 
on  while  he  was  being  bled,  and  those  barbers  who  did  the 
work  of  bleeding  patients  painted  their  poles  in  variegated 
red  and  white  stripes  to  show  it. 

Perhaps  the  most  successful  barber  known  to  Indian  7.  a 
history  was  not  a  Hindu  at  all,  but  a  Peninsular  and  Oriental  j^^'j^^'" 
Company's  cabin-boy,  who  became  the  barber  of  one  of  the  court 
last  kings  of  Oudh,  NasIr-ud-Din,  in  the  early  part  of  the 
nineteenth  century,  and  rose  to  the  position  of  a  favourite 
courtier.  He  was  entrusted  with  the  supply  of  every 
European  article  used  at  court,  and  by  degrees  became  a 
regular  guest  at  the  royal  table,  and  sat  down  to  take  dinner 
with  the  king  as  a  matter  of  right ;  nor  would  his  majesty 
taste  a  bottle  of  wine  opened  by  any  other  hands  than  the 
barber's."  This  was,  however,  a  wise  precaution  as  it  turned 
out,  since  after  he  had  finally  been  forced  to  part  with  the 
barber  the  king  was  poisoned  by  his  own  relatives.  The 
barber  was  also  made  keeper  of  the  royal  menagerie,  for 
which  he  supplied  the  animals  and  their  food,  and  made 
enormous  profits.  The  following  is  an  account  of  the  pre- 
sentation of  the  barber's  monthly  bill  of  expenses :  ^  "It 
was  after  tiffin,  or  lunch,  when  we  usually  retired  from  the 
palace  until  dinner-time  at  nine  o'clock,  that  the  favourite 
entered  with  a  roll  of  paper  in  his  hand.  In  India,  long 
documents,  legal  and  commercial,  are  usually  written,  not 
in  books  or  on  successive  sheets,  but  on  a  long  roll,  strip 

^  Eighteenth    Centiny  Middle-Class  -  Private  Life  of  an  Eastern  King, 

Life,  by  C.   S.    Torres,  in   the  Nine-       p.  17. 
tee  nth  Century  and  After,  Sept.  1910.  ^  Lb  idem,  \x  107. 


268 


NAI 


8.  Char- 
acter and 
position 
of  the 
barber. 


being  joined  to  strip  for  that  purpose,  and  the  whole  rolled 
up  like  a  map. 

" '  Ha,  Khan  ! '  said  the  king,  observing  him  ;  '  the 
monthly  bill,  is  it  ? ' 

"  '  It  is,  your  majesty,'  was  the  smiling  reply. 

" '  Come,  out  with  it  ;  let  us  see  the  extent.  Unrol  it, 
Khan.' 

"  The  king  was  in  a  playful  humour  ;  and  the  barber 
was  always  in  the  same  mood  as  the  king.  He  held  the 
end  of  the  roll  in  his  hand,  and  threw  the  rest  along 
the  floor,  allowing  it  to  unrol  itself  as  it  retreated.  It 
reached  to  the  other  side  of  the  long  apartment — a 
goodly  array  of  items  and  figures,  closely  written  too. 
The  king  wanted  it  measured.  A  measure  was  brought 
and  the  bill  was  found  to  be  four  yards  and  a  half  long. 
I  glanced  at  the  amount  ;  it  was  upwards  of  Rs.  90,000,  or 
;^9000  ! "  ♦ 

The  barber,  however,  encouraged  the  king  in  every  form 
of  dissipation  and  excess,  until  the  state  of  the  Oudh  court 
became  such  a  scandal  that  the  king  was  forced  by  the 
British  Government  to  dismiss  him.^  He  retired,  it  was 
said,  with  a  fortune  of  ^^240,000. 

The  barber  is  also,  Mr.  Low  writes,^  the  scandal-bearer 
and  gossip-monger  of  the  village.  His  cunning  is  proverbial, 
and  he  is  known  as  Chliattisa  from  the  saying — 

Nai  hat  chJiattisa 
Khai  an  ka  pisa, 

or  *  A  barber  has  thirty-six  talents  by  which  he  eats  at  the 
expense  of  others.'  His  loquacity  is  shown  in  the  proverb, 
'  As  the  crow  among  birds  so  the  barber  among  men.'  The 
barber  and  the  professional  Brahman  are  considered  to  be 
jealous  of  their  perquisites  and  unwilling  to  share  with  their 
caste-fellows,  and  this  is  exemplified  in  the  proverb,  "  The 
barber,  the  dog  and  the  Brahman,  these  three  snarl  at 
meeting  one  of  their  own  kind."  The  joint  association  of 
the  Brahman  priest  and  the  barber  with  marriages  and 
other    ceremonies    has    led    to    the    saying,    "  As  there    are 


'  Private  Life  of  an  Eastern  King, 
P-  330. 


2  In   the    Baldghi'it   District   Gazet- 
teer. 


II         CHARACTER  AND  POSITION  OF  THE  TAR  HER     269 

always  reeds  in  a  river  so  there  is  always  a  barber  with  a 
Brrihman."  The  barber's  astuteness  is  alluded  to  in  the 
saying,  '  Nine  barbers  are  equal  to  seventy -two  tailors.' 
The  fact  that  it  is  the  barber's  duty  to  carry  the  lights  in 
marriage  processions  has  led  to  the  proverb,  "  At  the  barber's 
wedding  all  arc  gentlemen  and  it  is  awkward  to  have  to 
ask  somebody  to  carry  the  torch."  The  point  of  this  is 
clear,  though  no  English  equivalent  occurs  to  the  mind. 
And  a  similar  idea  is  expressed  by  '  The  barber  washes 
the  feet  of  others  but  is  ashamed  to  wash  his  own.'  It 
would  appear  from  these  proverbs  that  the  Nai  is  considered 
to  enjoy  a  social  position  somewhat  above  his  deserts. 
Owing  to  the  nature  of  his  duties,  which  make  him  a 
familiar  inmate  of  the  household  and  bring  him  into  contact 
with  the  persons  of  his  high-caste  clients,  the  caste  of  the 
Nai  is  necessarily  considered  to  be  a  pure  one  and  Brahmans 
will  take  water  from  his  hands.  But,  on  the  other  hand, 
his  calling  is  that  of  a  village  menial  and  has  also  some 
elements  of  impurity,  as  in  cupping  which  involves  contact 
with  blood,  and  in  cutting  the  nails  and  hair  of  the  corpse 
before  cremation.  He  is  thus  looked  down  upon  as  a 
menial  and  also  considered  as  to  some  extent  impure.  No 
member  of  a  cultivating  caste  would  salute  a  barber  first  or 
look  upon  him  as  an  equal,  though  Brahmans  put  them  on 
the  same  level  of  ceremonial  purity  by  taking  water  from 
both.  The  barber's  loquacity  and  assurance  have  been  made 
famous  by  the  Arabian  Nights,  but  they  have  perhaps  been 
affected  by  the  more  strenuous  character  of  life,  and  his  con- 
versation does  not  flow  so  freely  as  it  did.  Often  he  now 
confines  himself  to  approving  and  adding  emphasis  to  any 
remarks  of  the  patron  and  greeting  any  of  his  little  witticisms 
with  bursts  of  obsequious  laughter.  In  Madras,  Mr.  Pandian 
states,  the  village  barber,  like  the  washerman,  is  known  as  the 
son  of  the  village.  If  a  customer  does  not  pay  him  his  dues, 
he  lies  low,  and  when  he  has  begun  to  shave  the  defaulter 
engages  him  in  a  dispute  and  says  something  to  excite  his 
anger.  The  latter  will  then  become  abusive  to  the  barber, 
whom  he  regards  as  a  menial,  and  perhaps  strike  him,  and 
this  gives  the  barber  an  opportunity  to  stop  shaving  him 
and  rush  off  to  lay  a  complaint  at  the  village  court-house, 


270  NAI  PART 

leaving   his   enemy    to    proceed    home    with    half    his  head 
shaved  and  thus  exposed  to  general  ridicule.^ 
9.  Beliefs  Numerous  customs  appear  to  indicate  that  the  hair  was 

about  bair.  j-gg^rded  as  the  special  seat  of  bodily  strength.  The  Rajput 
warriors  formerly  wore  their  hair  long  and  never  cut  it,  but 
trained  it  in  locks  over  their  shoulders.  Similarly  the 
Maratha  soldiers  wore  their  hair  long.  The  Hatkars,  a 
class  of  Maratha  spearmen,  might  never  cut  their  hair 
while  engaged  on  military  service.  A  Sikh  writer  states  of 
Guru  Govind,  the  founder  of  the  militant  Sikh  confederacy  : 
"  He  appeared  as  the  tenth  Avatar  (incarnation  of  Vishnu). 
He  established  the  Khalsa,  his  own  sect,  and  by  exhibiting 
singular  energy,  leaving  the  hair  on  his  head,  and  seizing 
the  scimitar,  he  smote  every  wicked  person." "  As  is  well 
known,  no  Sikh  may  cut  his  hair,  and  one  of  the  five 
marks  of  the  Sikh  is  the  kajiga  or  comb,  which  he  must 
always  carry  in  order  to  keep  his  hair  in  proper  order.  A 
proverb  states  that  '  The  origin  of  a  Sikh  is  in  his  hair.'  ^ 
The  following  story,  related  by  Sir  J.  Malcolm,  shows  the 
vital  importance  attached  by  the  Sikh  to  his  hair  and 
beard  :  "  Three  inferior  agents  of  Sikh  chiefs  were  one  day 
in  my  tent.  I  was  laughing  and  joking  with  one  of  them, 
a  Khalsa  Sikh,  who  said  he  had  been  ordered  to  attend  me 
to  Calcutta.  Among  other  subjects  of  our  mirth  I  rallied 
him  -on  trusting  himself  so  much  in  my  power.  '  Why, 
what  is  the  worst,'  he  said,  '  that  you  can  do  to  me  ? '  I 
passed  my  hand  across  my  chin,  imitating  the  act  of 
shaving.  The  man's  face  was  in  an  instant  distorted  with 
rage  and  his  sword  half-drawn.  '  You  are  ignorant,'  he  said 
to  me,  '  of  the  offence  you  have  given  ;  I  cannot  strike  you 
who  are  above  me,  and  the  friend  of  my  master  and  the 
state ;  but  no  power,'  he  added,  indicating  the  Khalsa 
Sikhs,  '  shall  save  these  fellows  who  dared  to  smile  at  your 
action.'  It  was  with  the  greatest  difficulty  and  only  by  the 
good  offices  of  some  Sikh  Chiefs  that  I  was  able  to  pacify 
his    wounded   honour."  *      These  instances   appear  to  show 

'   D.    B.    Pandian,    Indian     Village  ^  Quoted     in     Sir     D.      Ibbetson's 

Life,  under  Barber.  account  of  the  Sikhs  in  Punjab  Census 

^  Quoted    in    Malcohii's    Sketch    of  Report  {x^Zi). 
the  Sikhs,  Asiatic  Researches,  vol.  .\i.,  ■•  Sketch  of  the   Sikhs,   ibidem,   pp. 

1810,  p.  289.  284,  285. 


II  BELIEFS  ABOUT  HAIR  271 

clearly  that  the  Sikhs  considered  their  hair  of  vital  im- 
portance ;  and  as  fighting  was  their  object  in  life,  it  seems 
most  probable  that  they  thought  their  strength  in  war  was 
bound  up  in  it.  Similarly  when  the  ancient  Spartans  were 
on  a  military  expedition  purple  garments  were  worn  and 
their  hair  was  carefully  decked  with  wreaths,  a  thing  which 
was  never  done  at  home.^  And  when  Leonidas  and  his 
three  hundred  were  holding  the  pass  of  Thermopylae,  and 
Xerxes  sent  scouts  to  ascertain  what  the  Greeks  were  doing 
in  their  camp,  the  report  was  that  some  of  them  were  engaged 
in  gymnastics  and  warlike  exercises,  while  others  were  merely 
sitting  and  combing  their  long  hair.  If  the  hypothesis 
already  suggested  is  correct,  the  Spartan  youths  so  engaged 
were  perhaps  not  merely  adorning  themselves  for  death,  but, 
as  they  thought,  obtaining  their  full  strength  for  battle. 
"  The  custom  of  keeping  the  hair  unshorn  during  a  dangerous 
expedition  appears  to  have  been  observed,  at  least  occasion- 
ally, by  the  Romans.  Achilles  kept  unshorn  his  yellow  hair, 
because  his  father  had  vowed  to  offer  it  to  the  river  Sperchius 
if  ever  his  son  came  home  from  the  wars  beyond  the  sea." " 
When  the  Bhils  turned  out  to  fight  they  let  down  their 
long  hair  prior  to  beginning  the  conflict  with  their  bows 
and  arrows.^  The  pirates  of  Surat,  before  boarding  a  ship, 
drank  bhang  and  hemp-liquor,  and  when  they  wore  their 
long  hair  loose  they  gave  no  quarter.^  The  Mundas  appear 
to  have  formerly  worn  their  hair  long  and  some  still  do. 
Those  who  are  converted  to  Christianity  must  cut  their  hair, 
but  a  non-Christian  Munda  must  always  keep  the  cJmndi  or 
pigtail.  If  the  cJiundi  is  very  long  it  is  sometimes  tied  up 
in  a  knot.^  Similarly  the  Oraons  wore  their  hair  long  like 
women,  gathered  in  a  knot  behind,  with  a  wooden  or  iron 
comb  in  it.  Those  who  are  Christians  can  be  recognised 
by  the  fact  that  they  have  cut  off  their  pigtails.  A  man  of 
the  low  Pardhi  caste  of  hunters  must  never  have  his  hair 
touched  by  a  razor  after  he  has  once  killed  a  deer.  As 
already  seen,  every    orthodox    Hindu  wore  till    recently    a 

1  Professor  Bliimners,  Home  Life  of     J.A.S.B.  vol.  xxxiv.,  1S75,  P-  S^^- 
the  Ancient  Greeks,  translation,  p.  455.  *  Bombay     Gazetteer,     Hindus     of 

2  Golden   Bough,    2nd    ed.    vol.    iii.        Gujarat,  p.  528. 

p.  370.  ^  S.    C.    Roy,    The    Mundas    and 

■*  Hendley,    Account   of  the   Bhils,       their  Country,  p.  369. 


272  NAI  PART 

dioti  or  scalp-lock,  which  should  theoretically  be  as  long  as 
a  cow's  tail.  Perhaps  the  idea  was  that  for  those  who  were 
not  warriors  it  was  sufficient  to  retain  this  and  have  the 
rest  of  the  head  shaved.  The  cJioti  was  never  shaved  off  in 
mourning  for  any  one  but  a  father.  The  lower  castes  of 
Muhammadans,  if  they  have  lost  several  children,  will  allow 
the  scalp-lock  to  grow  on  the  heads  of  those  subsequently 
born,  dedicating  it  to  one  of  their  Muhammadan  saints. 
The  Kanjars  relate  of  their  heroic  ancestor  Mana  that 
after  he  had  plunged  a  bow  so  deeply  into  the  ground  that 
no  one  could  withdraw  it,  he  was  set  by  the  Emperor  of 
Delhi  to  wrestle  against  the  two  most  famous  Imperial 
wrestlers.  These  could  not  overcome  him  fairly,  so  they 
made  a  stratagem,  and  while  one  provoked  him  in  front 
the  other  secretly  took  hold  of  his  choti  behind.  When 
Mana  started  forward  his  choti  was  thus  left  in  the  wrestler's 
hands,  and  though  he  conquered  the  other  wrestler,  showing 
him  the  sky  as  it  is  said,  the  loss  of  his  choti  deprived  him 
for  ever  after  of  his  virtue  as  a  Hindu  and  in  no  small 
degree  of  his  renown  as  an  ancestor.^  Thus  it  seems  clear 
that  a  special  virtue  attaches  to  the  choti.  Before  every 
warlike  expedition  the  people  of  Minahassa  in  Celebes  used 
to  take  the  locks  of  hair  of  a  slain  foe  and  dabble  them 
in  boiling  water  to  extract  the  courage  ;  this  infusion  of 
bravery  was  then  drunk  by  the  warriors.^  In  a  modern  Greek 
folk-tale  a  man's  strength  lies  in  three  golden  hairs  on  his 
head.  When  his  mother  plucks  them  out,  he  grows  weak  and 
timid  and  is  slain  by  his  enemies.^  The  Red  Indian  custom 
of  taking  the  scalp  of  a  slain  enemy  and  sometimes  wearing 
the  scalps  at  the  waist-belt  may  be  due  to  the  same  relief. 

In  Ceram  the  hair  might  not  be  cut  because  it  was  the 

seat  of  a  man's  strength  ;  and  the  Gaboon  negroes  for  the 

same  reason  would  not  allow  any  of  their  hair  to  pass  into 

the  possession  of  a  stranger,'* 

lo.  Hair  If  thc  hair  was  considered   to   be  the  special  source  of 

and'"^^      strength  and  hence  frequently  of  life,  that  of  the  kings  and 

priests.        priests,  in  whose  existence  the  primitive  tribe  believed   its 

>   W.  Kirkpatrick  mJ.A.S.B.,  July  ^   g^  q^  jj-d  ed.,  Balder  the  BeatUi- 

191 1,  ]).  438.  fill,  vol.  ii.  p.   103. 

^   Golden  Bough,   3rd  cd.   vol.    viii.  ^  Dr.    Jevons,    Introduction    to    the 

p.  153.  History  of  Religion,  p.  45. 


< 
o 

Cd 

O 

K 
0 

0 

LU 

I 
1- 


II  HAIR  OF  KINGS  AND  PRIESTS  273 

own  communal  life  to  be  bound  up,  would  naturally  be  a 
matter  of  peculiar  concern.  That  it  was  so  has  been 
shown  in  the  Golden  Bough.  Two  hundred  years  ago  the 
hair  and  nails  of  the  Mikado  of  Japan  could  only  be  cut 
when  he  was  asleep.^  The  hair  of  the  Flamcn  Dialis  at  Rome 
could  be  cut  only  by  a  freeman  and  with  a  bronze  knife, 
and  his  hair  and  nails  when  cut  had  to  be  buried  under 
a  lucky  tree."  The  Prankish  kings  were  never  allowed  to 
crop  their  hair  ;  from  their  childhood  upwards  they  had  to 
keep  it  unshorn.  The  hair  of  the  Aztec  priests  hung  down 
to  their  hams  so  that  the  weight  of  it  became  very  trouble- 
some ;  for  they  might  never  crop  it  so  long  as  they  lived,  or 
at  least  till  they  had  been  relieved  from  their  office  on  the 
score  of  old  age.^  In  the  Male  Paharia  tribe  from  the  time 
that  any  one  devoted  himself  to  the  profession  of  priest  and 
augur  his  hair  was  allowed  to  grow  like  that  of  a  Nazarite  ; 
his  power  of  divination  entirely  disappeared  if  he  cut  it.^ 
Among  the  Bawarias  of  India  the  Bhuva  or  priest  of  Devi 
may  not  cut  or  shave  his  hair  under  penalty  of  a  fine  of  Rs. 
I  o.  A  Parsi  priest  or  Mobed  must  never  be  bare-headed  and 
never  shave  his  head  or  face.''  Professor  Robertson  Smith 
states  :  "  As  a  diadem  is  in  its  origin  nothing  more  than  a 
fillet  to  confine  hair  that  is  worn  long,  I  apprehend  that  in  old 
times  the  hair  of  Hebrew  princes  like  that  of  a  Maori  chief, 
was  taboo,  and  that  Absalom's  long  locks  (2  Sam.  xiv.  26) 
were  the  mark  of  his  political  pretensions  and  not  of  his 
vanity.  When  the  hair  of  a  Maori  chief  was  cut,  it  was 
collected  and  buried  in  a  sacred  place  or  hung  on  a  tree  ; 
and  it  is  noteworthy  that  Absalom's  hair  was  cut  annually  at 
the  end  of  the  year,  in  the  sacred  season  of  pilgrimage,  and 
that  it  was  collected  and  weighed."  ^ 

The  importance  attached  by  other  races  to  the  hair  of  n.  The 
the  head  seems  among  the  Muhammadans  to  have  been  con- 
centrated specially  in  the  beard.      The  veneration  displayed 
for  the  beard  in  this  community  is  well  known.      The  Prophet 
ordained  that  the  minimum  length  of  the  beard  should  be 

1  Golden  Bough, 2x\<kti\.yo\.\.'p.2Tfi\.  ^  Bombay      Gazetteer,      Barsis      of 

2  Ibidem,  vol.  i.  p.  242.  Gujarat,  p.  226. 

^  Ibidem,  vol.  i.  pp.  368,  369.  ^  Beh'gion  of  the  Semites,  note  i.  pp. 

*  Dalton,   Ethnology  of  Bengal,    p.  483,  484. 

270. 

VOL.  IV  T 


beard. 


274  A"^/  PART 

the  breadth  of  five  fingers.  When  the  beard  is  turning  grey 
they  usually  dye  it  with  henna  and  sometimes  with  indigo  ; 
it  may  be  thought  that  a  grey  beard  is  a  sign  of  weakness. 
The  Prophet  said,  '  Change  the  whiteness  of  your  hair,  but 
not  with  anything  black.'  It  is  not  clear  why  black  was 
prohibited.  It  is  said  that  the  first  Caliph  Abu  Bakar  was 
accustomed  to  dye  his  beard  red  with  henna,  and  hence 
this  practice  has  been  adopted  by  Muhammadans.^  The 
custom  of  shaving  the  chin  is  now  being  adopted  by  young 
Muhammadans,  but  as  they  get  older  they  still  let  the  beard 
grow.  A  very  favourite  Muhammadan  oath  is,  '  By  the  beard 
of  the  Prophet '  ;  and  in  Persia  if  a  man  thinks  another  is 
mocking  him  he  says, '  Do  you  laugh  at  my  beard  ?  '  Neither 
Hindus  nor  Muhammadans  have  any  objection  to  becoming 
bald,  as  the  head  is  always  covered  by  the  turban  in  society. 
But  when  a  man  wishes  to  grow  a  beard  it  is  a  serious  draw- 
back if  he  is  unable  to  do  it;  and  he  will  then  sometimes  pluck 
the  young  wheat-ears  and  rub  the  juice  over  his  cheeks  and 
chin  so  that  he  may  grow  bearded  like  the  wheat.  Among 
the  Hindus,  Rajputs  and  Marathas,  as  well  as  the  Sikhs, 
commonly  wore  beards,  all  of  these  being  military  castes. 
Both  the  beard  and  hair  were  considered  to  impart  an  aspect 
of  ferocity  to  the  countenance,  and  when  the  Rajputs  and 
Muhammadans  were  going  into  battle  they  combed  the  hair 
and"  trained  the  beard  to  project  sideways  from  the  face. 
When  a  Muhammadan  wears  a  beard  he  must  have  hair  in 
the  centre  of  his  chin,  whereas  a  Hindu  shaves  this  part. 
A  Muhammadan  must  have  his  moustache  short  so  that  it 
may  not  touch  and  defile  food  entering  the  mouth.  It  is 
related  that  a  certain  Kazi  had  a  small  head  and  a  very  long 
beard  ;  and  he  had  a  dream  that  a  man  with  a  small  head 
and  a  long  beard  must  be  a  fool.  When  he  woke  up  he 
thought  this  was  applicable  to  himself  As  he  could  not 
make  his  head  larger  he  decided  to  make  his  beard  smaller, 
and  looked  for  scissors  to  cut  part  of  it  off.  But  he  could 
not  find  any  scissors,  and  being  in  a  hurry  to  shorten  his 
beard  he  decided  to  burn  away  part  of  it,  and  set  it  alight. 
But  the  fire  consumed  the  whole  of  his  beard  before  he  could 
put  it  out,  and  he  then  realised  the  truth  of  the  dream. 

'  Bombay  Gazetteer,  Muhainiiiadans  of  Gujarat,  p.  52, 


II  SIGNIFICANCE  OF  REMOVAL  OF  HAIR  275 

If  the  hair  was  considered  to  be  the  source  of  a  man's  12.  Signi- 
strength  and  vigour,  the  removal  of  it  would  involve  the  renio'^^°of 
loss  of  this  and  might  be  considered  esi^ecially  to  debar  him  the  hair 
from  fighting  or  governing.  The  instances  given  from  the  j^g  the 
Golden  Bough  have  shown  the  fear  felt  by  many  people  of  head, 
the  consequences  of  the  removal  of  their  hair.  The  custom 
of  shaving  the  head  might  also  betoken  the  renunciation 
of  the  world  and  of  the  pursuit  of  arms.  This  may  be  the 
reason  why  monks  shaved  the  head,  a  practice  which  was 
followed  by  Buddhist  as  well  as  Christian  monks.  A  very 
clear  case  is  also  given  by  Sir  James  Frazer :  "  When  the 
wicked  brothers  Clptaire  and  Childebert  coveted  the  king- 
dom of  their  dead  brother  Clodomir,  they  inveigled  into 
their  power  their  little  nephews,  the  two  sons  of  Clodomir  ; 
and  having  done  so,  they  sent  a  messenger  bearing  scissors 
and  a  naked  sword  to  the  children's  grandmother,  Queen 
Clotilde,  at  Paris.  The  envoy  showed  the  scissors  and  the 
sword  to  Clotilde,  and  bade  her  choose  whether  the  children 
should  be  shorn  and  live,  or  remain  unshorn  and  die.  The 
proud  queen  replied  that  if  her  grandchildren  were  not  to 
come  to  the  throne  she  would  rather  see  them  dead  than 
shorn.  And  murdered  they  were  by  their  ruthless  uncle 
Clotaire  with  his  own  hand."  ^  In  this  case  it  appears  that 
if  their  hair  was  shorn  the  children  could  not  come  to  the 
throne  but  would  be  destined  to  become  monks.  Similarly, 
in  speaking  of  the  Georgians,  Marco  Polo  remarks  that 
they  cut  their  hair  short  like  churchmen."  When  a  member 
of  the  religious  order  of  the  Manbhaos  is  initiated  his  head 
is  shaved  clean  by  the  village  barber,  and  the  scalp-lock  and 
moustache  must  be  cut  off  by  his  guru  or  preceptor,  this 
being  perhaps  the  special  mark  of  his  renunciation  of  the 
world.  The  scalp-locks  are  preserved  and  made  into  ropes 
which  some  of  them  fasten  round  their  loins.  Members  of 
the  Hindu  orders  generally  shave  their  scalp-locks  and  the 
head  on  initiation,  probably  for  the  same  reason  as  the 
Manbhaos.  But  afterwards  they  often  let  the  whole  of 
their  hair  grow  long.  These  men  imagine  that  by  the 
force  of  their   austerities  they  will   obtain   divine   power,   so 

^   Golden  Bough,  2nd  ed.  vol.    i.   p.  2  Yule's  ed.  i.  50,  quoted  in  Bombay 

368.  Gazetteer,  Hindus  of  Gujarat,  p.  470. 


276  NAI  PART 

their  religious  character  appears  to  be  of  a  different  order 
from  monasticism.  Perhaps,  therefore,  they  wear  their  hair 
long  in  order  to  increase  their  spiritual  potency.  They 
themselves  now  say  that  they  do  it  in  imitation  of  the  god 
Siva  and  the  ancient  ascetics  who  had  long  matted  locks. 
The  common  Hindu  practice  of  shaving  the  heads  of 
widows  may  thus  be  interpreted  as  a  symbol  of  their 
complete  renunciation  of  the  world  and  of  any  idea  of 
remarriage.  It  was  accompanied  by  numerous  other  rules 
designed  to  make  a  widow's  life  a  continual  penance.  This 
barbarous  custom  was  formerly  fairly  general,  at  least 
among  the  higher  castes,  but  is  rapidly  being  abandoned 
except  by  one  or  two  of  the  stricter  sections  of  Brahmans. 
Shaving  the  head  might  also  be  imposed  as  a  punishment. 
Thus  in  the  time  of  the  reign  of  the  Emperor  Chandraguptra 
Maurya  in  the  fourth  century  B.C.  it  is  stated  that  ordinary 
wounding  by  mutilation  was  punished  by  the  corresponding 
mutilation  of  the  offender,  in  addition  to  the  amputation  of 
his  hand.  The  crime  of  giving  false  evidence  was  visited 
with  mutilation  of  the  extremities  ;  and  in  certain  un- 
specified/ cases,  serious  offences  were  punished  by  the 
shaving  of  the  offender's  hair,  a  penalty  regarded  as 
specially  infamous.^  The  cutting  off  of  some  or  all  of  the 
hair  is  at  the  present  time  a  common  punishment  for 
caste  offences.  Among  the  Korkus  a  man  and  woman 
caught  in  adultery  have  each  a  lock  of  hair  cut  off.  If 
a  Chamar  man  and  woman  are  detected  in  the  same 
offence,  the  heads  of  both  are  shaved  clean  of  hair.  A 
Dhlmar  girl  who  goes  wrong  before  marriage  has  a  lock 
of  her  hair  cut  off  as  a  penalty,  the  same  being  done  in 
several  other  castes. 
13.  Shav-  The  exact  significance  which  is  to   be  attached  to  the 

head  by  I'cmoval  by  mourners  of  their  hair  after  a  death  is  perhaps 
mourners,  doubtful.  Sir  James  Frazer  shows  that  the  Australian 
aborigines  are  accustomed  to  let  their  own  blood  flow  on  to 
the  corpse  of  a  dead  kinsman  and  to  place  their  cut  hair  on 
the  corpse.  He  suggests  that  in  both  cases  the  object  is  to 
strengthen  the  feeble  spirit  within  the  corpse  and  sustain  its 
life,  in  order  that  it  may  be  born  again.      As  a  development 

'   Mr.  V.  A.  Smith,  Early  History  of  India,  2nd  ed.  p.  128. 


II  HAIR  OFFERINGS  277 

of  such  a  rile  the  hair  might  have  become  an  offering  to 
the  dead,  and  later  still  its  removal  might  become  a  sacrifice 
and  indication  of  grief.  In  this  manner  the  common  custom 
of  tearing  the  hair  in  token  of  grief  and  mourning  for  the 
dead  would  be  accounted  for.  •  Whether  the  Hindu  custom 
of  shaving  the  heads  of  mourners  was  also  originally  a 
sacrifice  and  offering  appears  to  be  uncertain.  Professor 
Robertson  Smith  considered  ^  that  in  this  case  the  hair  is 
shaved  off  as  a  means  of  removing  impurity,  and  quotes 
instances  from  the  Bible  where  lepers  and  persons  defiled 
by  contact  with  the  dead  are  purified  by  shaving  the  hair.^ 
As  the  father  of  a  child  is  also  shaved  after  its  birth,  and 
the  shaving  must  here  apparently  be  a  rite  of  purification,  it 
probably  has  the  same  significance  in  the  case  of  mourners  ; 
it  is  not  clear  whether  any  element  of  sacrifice  is  also 
involved.  The  degree  to  which  the  Hindu  mourner  parts 
with  his  hair  varies  to  some  extent  with  the  nearness  of  the 
relationship,  and  for  females  or  distant  relatives  they  do  not 
always  shave.  The  mourners  are  shaved  on  the  last  day  of 
the  impurity,  when  presents  are  given  to  the  Maha-Brahman, 
and  the  latter,  representing  the  dead  man,  is  also  shaved 
with  them.  When  a  Hindu  is  at  the  point  of  death,  before 
he  makes  the  gifts  for  the  good  of  his  soul  the  head  is 
shaved  with  the  exception  of  his  cJioti  or  scalp-lock,  the 
chin  and  upper  lip.  Often  the  corpse  is  also  shaved  after 
death. 

Another  case  of  the  hair  offering  is  that  made  in  fulfil-  14.  Hair 
ment  of  a  vow  or  at  a  temple.  In  this  case  the  hair  appears  °ff'2'''"gs. 
to  be  a  gift-offering  which  is  made  to  the  god  as  representing 
the  life  and  strength  of  the  donor  ;  owing  to  the  importance 
attached  to  the  hair  as  the  source  of  life  and  strength,  it 
was  a  verj^  precious  sacrifice.  Sir  James  Frazer  also 
suggests  that  the  hair  so  given  would  impart  life  and 
strength  to  the  god,  of  which  he  stood  in  need,  just  as  he 
needed  food  to  nourish  him.  Among  the  Hindus  it  is  a 
common  practice  to  take  a  child  to  some  well-known  temple 
to  have  its  hair  cut  for  the  first  time,  and  to  offer  the 
clippings  of  hair  to  the  deity.  If  they  cannot  go  to  the 
temple    to    have    the   hair    cut    they   have   it    cut    at    home, 

1   Religion  0/  the  Sernites,  p.  33.  -   Lev.  xiv.  9  and  Deut.  xxi.   12. 


278  NAI  PART 

and  either  preserve  the  whole  hair  or  a  lock  of  it,  until  an 
opportunity  occurs  to  offer  it  at  the  temple.  In  some 
castes  a  Brahman  is  invited  at  the  first  cutting  of  a  child's 
hair,  and  he  repeats  texts  and  blesses  the  child  ;  the  first 
lock  of  hair  is  then  cut  by  the  child's  maternal  uncle,  and 
its  head  is  shaved  by  the  barber.  A  child's  hair  is  cut  in 
the  first,  third  or  fifth  year  after  birth,  but  not  in  the 
second  or  fourth  year.  Among  the  Muhammadans  when  a 
child's  hair  is  cut  for  the  first  time,  or  at  least  on  one 
occasion  in  its  life,  the  hair  should  be  weighed  against  silver 
or  gold  and  the  amount  distributed  in  charity.  In  these 
cases  also  it  would  appear  that  the  hair  as  a  valuable 
part  of  the  child  is  offered  to  the  god  to  obtain  his 
protection  for  the  life  of  the  child.  If  a  woman  has  no 
child  and  desires  one,  or  if  she  has  had  children  and 
lost  them,  she  will  vow  her  next  child's  hair  to  some  god 
or  temple.  A  small  patch  known  as  chench  is  then  left 
unshorn  on  the  child's  head  until  it  can  be  taken  to  the 
temple. 
15.  Keep-  It  was  also  the  custom  to  keep  the  hair  unshorn  during 

unshorn  "^^^  performance  of  a  vow.  "  While  his  vow  lasted  a 
during  Nazarite  might  not  have  his  hair  cut :  '  All  the  days 
of  the  vow  of  his  separation  there  shall  no  razor  come 
upon  his  head.'^  The  Egyptians  on  a  journey  kept  their 
hair"  uncut  till  they  returned  home."  Among  the  Chatti 
tribe  of  the  ancient  Germans  the  young  warriors  never 
clipped  their  hair  or  their  beard  till  they  had  slain  an 
enemy.  Six  thousand  Saxons  once  swore  that  they  would 
not  clip  their  hair  nor  shave  their  beards  until  they  had 
taken  vengeance  on  their  enemies."  ^  Similarly,  Hindu 
religious  mendicants  keep  their  hair  long  while  they  are 
journeying  on  a  pilgrimage,  and  when  they  arrive  at  the 
temple  which  is  their  goal  they  shave  it  all  off  and  offer  it 
to  the  god.  In  this  case,  as  the  hair  is  vowed  as  an  offering, 
it  clearly  cannot  be  cut  during  the  performance  of  the  vow, 
but  must  be  preserved  intact.  When  the  task  to  be 
accomplished  for  the  fulfilment  of  a  vow  is  a  journey  or  the 
slaying  of  enemies,  the  retention  of  the  hair  is  probably  also 

1   Golden  Bough,   2nd  ed.    vol.  i.  p.  ^  Ibidem,  2nd  ed.  vol.  i.  p.  370. 

37^-  •'  Ibidem,  2nd  ed.  vol.  i.  p.  371. 


a  vow. 


II  DISPOSAL  OF  CUT  HAIR  AND  NAILS  279 

meant  to  support  and  increase  the  wearer's  strength  for  the 
accomj)h'shment  of  his  purpose. 

If  the  hair  contained  a  part  of  the  wearer's  Hfe  and  16.  Dis- 
strength  its  disposal  would  be  a  matter  of  great  importance,  cmtia^r 
because,  according  to  primitive  belief,  these  qualities  would  and  nails. 
remain  in  it  after  it  had  been  severed.  Hence,  if  an  enemy- 
obtained  it,  by  destroying  the  hair  or  some  analogous 
action  he  might  injure  or  destroy  the  life  and  strength  of 
the  person  to  whom  it  belonged.  The  Hindus  usually 
wrap  up  a  child's  first  hair  in  a  ball  of  dough  and  throw 
it  into  a  running  stream,  with  the  cuttings  of  his  nails. 
Well-to-do  people  also  place  a  rupee  in  the  ball,  so  that  it 
is  now  regarded  as  an  offering.  The  same  course  is  some- 
times followed  with  the  hair  and  nails  cut  ceremoniously  at 
a  wedding,  and  possibly  on  one  or  two  other  occasions,  such 
as  the  investiture  with  the  sacred  thread  ;  but  the  belief  is 
decaying,  and  ordinarily  no  care  is  taken  of  the  shorn  hair. 
In  Berar  when  the  Hindus  cut  a  child's  hair  for  the  first 
time  they  sometimes  bury  it  under  a  water-pot  where  the 
ground  is  damp,  perhaps  with  the  idea  that  the  child's 
hair  will  grow  thickly  and  plentifully  like  grass  in  a 
damp  place.  It  is  a  common  belief  that  if  a  barren 
woman  gets  hold  of  a  child's  first  hair  and  wears  it  round 
her  waist  the  fertility  of  the  child's  mother  will  be  trans- 
ferred to  her.  The  Sarwaria  Brahmans  shave  a  child's 
hair  in  its  third  year.  A  small  silver  razor  is  made 
specially  for  the  occasion,  costing  a  rupee  and  a  quarter, 
and  the  barber  first  touches  the  child's  hair  with  this  and 
then  shaves  it  ceremoniously  with  his  own  razor.^  The 
Halbas  think  that  the  severed  clippings  of  hair  are  of  no  use 
for  magic,  but  if  a  witch  can  cut  a  lock  of  hair  from  a  man's 
head  she  can  use  it  to  work  magic  on  him.  In  making  an 
image  of  a  person  with  intent  to  injure  or  destroy  him,  it 
was  customary  to  put  a  little  of  his  hair  into  the  image,  by* 
which  means  his  life  and  strength  were  conveyed  to  it.  A 
few  years  ago  a  London  newspaper  mentioned  the  case  of 
an  Essex  man  entering  a  hairdresser's  and  requesting  the 
barber  to  procure  for  him  a  piece  of  a  certain  customer's 
hair.      When  asked   the  reason   for  this  curious  demand,  he 

1  Mr.  Crooke's  Tribes  and  Castes,  art.  Sarwaria. 


28o  NAT  PART 

stated  that  the  customer  had  injured  him  and  he  wished  tc 
'  work  a  spell '  against  him.^  In  the  Parsi  Zend-Avesta 
it  is  stated  that  if  the  clippings  of  hair  or  nails  are  allowed 
to  fall  in  the  ground  or  ditches,  evil  spirits  spring  up  frcm 
them  and  devour  grain  and  clothing  in  the  house.  It  was 
therefore  ordained  for  the  Parsis  through  their  prophet 
Zarathustra  that  the  cuttings  of  hair  or  nails  should  be  buried 
in  a  deep  hole  ten  paces  from  a  dwelling,  twenty  paces 
from  fire,  and  fifty  paces  from  the  sacred  bundles  called 
baresmdn.  Texts  should  be  said  over  them  and  the  hole 
filled  in.  Many  Parsis  still  bury  their  cut  hair  and  nails 
four  inches  under  ground,  and  an  extracted  tooth  is  disposed 
of  in  the  same  manner.^  Some  Hindus  think  that  the  nail- 
parings  should  always  be  thrown  into  a  frequented  place, 
where  they  will  be  destroyed  by  the  traffic.  If  they  are 
thrown  on  to  damp  earth  they  will  grow  into  a  plant  which 
will  ruin  the  person  from  whose  body  they  came.  It  is 
said  that  about  twenty  years  ago  a  man  in  Nagpur  was 
ruined  by  the  growth  of  a  piece  of  finger-nail,  which 
had  accidentally  dropped  into  a  flower-pot  in  his  house. 
Apparently  in  this  case  the  nail  is  supposed  to  contain 
a  portion  of  the  life  and  strength  of  the  person  to  whom  it 
belonged,  and  if  the  nail  grows  it  gradually  absorbs  more 
and  more  of  his  life  and  strength,  and  he  consequently 
becomes  weaker  and  weaker  through  being  deprived  of  it. 
The  Hindu  superstition  against  shaving  the  head  appears  to 
find  a  parallel  regarding  the  nails  in  the  old  English  saying  : 

Cut  no  horn 

On  the  Sabbath  morn. 

Among  some  Hindus  it  is  said  that  the  toe-nails  should  not 

be  cut  at  all  until  a  child  is  married,  when   they  are  cut 

ceremoniously  by  the  barber. 

17.  Super--        Since  the  removal  of  the  hair  is  held  to  involve  a  certain 

aborn^       ^'^^^  °^  strength  and  power,  it  should  only  be  effected    at 

shaving      certain   seasons  and  not  on  auspicious  days.      A  man  who 

has    male    children    should   not    have    his    head    shaved    on 

Monday,  as  this   may  cause  his   children   to   die.      On    the 

•   Occult  Review,  October  1909.  Gazetteer,     Parsis     of     Gujarat,      p. 

'^  Orphitis,     p.     99,     and     Bombay       220. 


n         SUPERSTITIONS  ABOUT  SHAVING  THE  HAIR      281 

other  hand,  a  man  who  has  no  cliiUlrcn  will  fast   on  Sunday 

in  the  hope  of  gettini^  them,  and  therefore  he  will  neither 

shave  his   head   nor  visit  his  wife  on   that  day.      A  Hindu 

must  not  be  shaved  on  Thursday,  because  this  is  the  day  of 

the  planet  Jupiter,  which  is  also  known  as  Guru,  and  his  act 

would    be    disrespectful    to   his     own    guric    or    preceptor. 

Tuesday  is  Devi's  day,  and  a  man  will  not  get  shaved  on  that 

day  ;    nor  on  Saturday,  because  it  is  Hanuman's  day.^      On 

Sundays,  Wednesdays  and   Fridays  he  may  be  shaved,  but 

not  if  the  day  happens  to  be  the  new  moon,  full  moon,  or 

the    Ashtami  or   Ekadashi,  that  is    the  eighth  or  eleventh 

day  of  the  fortnight.      He  should  not  shave  on  the  day  that 

he  is  going  on  a  journey.      If  all  these  rules  were  strictly 

observed  there  would  be  very  few  days  on  which  one  could 

get  shaved  but  many  of  them  are  necessarily  more  honoured 

in  the  breach.      Wednesdays  and  Fridays  are  the  best  days 

for  shaving,  and  by  shaving  on  these  days  a  man  will  see  old 

age.      Debtors  are  shaved  on  Wednesdays,  as  they  think  that 

this  will  help  them  to  pay  off  their  debts.      Some  Brahmans 

are  not  shaved   during  the  month  of  Shrawan   (July),  when 

the   crops    are   growing,  nor  during   the    nine   days   of  the 

months  of  Kunwar  (September)  and  Chait  (March),  when  a 

fast  is  observed   and  the  jazvaras "  are  sown.      After  they 

have   been   shaved    high-caste    Hindus  consider  themselves 

impure  till   they  have    bathed.      They  touch  no  person  or 

thing  in  the  house,  and  sometimes  have  the  water  thrown 

on    them    by    a    servant   so    as    to  avoid   contact   with    the 

vessels.      They  will   also  neither  eat,  drink  nor  smoke  until 

they   have  bathed.      Sometimes  they  throw  so  much  water 

over  the  head  in  order  to  purify  themselves  as  to  catch  a  bad 

cold.      In  this  case,  apparently,  the  impurity  accrues  from  the 

loss  of  the  hair,  and  the  man  feels  that  virtue  has  gone   out 

of  him.      Women   never  shave  their   hair   with  a  razor,  as 

they  think   that  to  do  so  would   make  the   body  so  heavy 

after    death   that    it   could   not  be  carried    to    the    place  of 

cremation.      They  carefully   pluck    out   the    hair    under  the 

armpits    and    the    pubic    hair    with    a   pair   of   pincers.       A 

^  Hanuman   is   worshipped  on   this  ^  pots    in    which   wheat -stalks    are 

day    in    order    to    counteract  the   evil  sown  and  tended  for  nine  days,  corre- 

influence  of  the  planet  Saturn,  whose  sponding  to  the  Gardens  of  Adonis, 
day  it  really  is. 


282  NAT  PAK'i- 

girl's  hair  may  be  cut  with  scissors,  but  not  after  she  is 
ten  years  old  or  is  married.  Sometimes  a  girl's  hair  is  not 
cut  at  all,  but  her  father  will  take  a  pearl  and  entwine  it 
into  her  hair,  where  it  is  left  until  she  is  married.  It  is  con- 
sidered very  auspicious  to  give  away  a  girl  in  marriage 
with  hair  which  has  never  been  cut,  and  a  pearl  in  it.  After 
marriage  she  will  take  out  the  pearl  and  wear  it  in  an 
ornament. 
18.  The  above  evidence  appears  to  indicate  that  the  belief 

Reasons      ^f  ^  man's  strength  and  vigour  being  contained   in   his   hair 

wh)'  the  ==  ^  ,  . 

hair  was      is   by  uo  means   confined   to   the   legend   of  Samson,  but   is 
considered   gpj-g^d  all  over  the  world.      This  has  been   pointed  out  by 

the  source       ^  ^  •' 

of  strength.  Profcssof  Robcrtsou  Smith,  Professor  Wilken  and  others. 
Sir  J.  G.  Frazer  also  adduces  several  instances  in  the 
Golden  Bough  to  show  that  the  life  or  soul  was  believed  to 
be  contained  in  the  hair.  This  may  well  have  been  the 
case,  but  the  hair  was  also  specialised,  so  to  speak,  as  the 
seat  of  bodily  vigour  and  strength.  The  same  idea  appears 
to  have  applied  in  a  minor  measure  to  the  nails  and  teeth. 
The  rules  for  disposing  of  the  cut  hair  usually  apply  to 
the  parings  of  nails,  and  the  first  teeth  are  also  deposited 
in  a  rat's  hole  or  on  the  roof  of  the  house.  As  suggested 
by  Professor  Robertson  Smith  it  seems  likely  that  the 
strength  and  vigour  of  the  body  was  believed  to  be  located 
in  th^  hair,  and  also  to  a  less  extent  in  the  nails  and  teeth, 
because  they  grew  more  visibly  and  quickly  than  the  body 
and  continued  to  do  so  after  it  had  attained  to  maturity. 
The  hair  and  nails  continue  to  grow  all  through  life,  and 
though  the  teeth  do  not  grow  when  fully  formed,  the  second 
teeth  appear  when  the  body  is  considerably  developed  and 
the  wisdom  teeth  after  it  is  fully  developed.  The  hair 
grows  much  more  palpably  and  vigorously  than  the  nails 
and  teeth,  and  hence  might  be  considered  especially  the 
source  of  strength.  Other  considerations  which  might 
confirm  the  idea  are  that  men  have  more  hair  on  their 
bodies  than  women,  and  strongly  built  men  often  have  a 
large  quantity  of  hair.  Some  of  the  stronger  wild  animals 
have  long  hair,  as  the  lion,  bear  and  wild  boar  ;  and  the 
horse,  often   considered  the  embodiment  of  strength,  has  a 

1  Religion  of  the  Semites,  p.  324. 


II  NAODA  283 

long  mane.  And  when  anger  is  excited  the  hair  sometimes 
appears  to  rise,  as  it  were,  from  the  skin.  The  nails  and 
teeth  were  formerly  used  on  occasion  as  weapons  of  offence, 
and  hence  might  be  considered  to  contain  part  of  the 
strength  and  vigour  of  the  body. 

Finally,  it  may  be  suggested  as  a  possibility  that  the 
Roundheads  cut  their  hair  short  as  a  protest  against  the 
superstition  that  a  soldier's  hair  must  be  long,  which 
originated  in  the  idea  that  strength  is  located  in  the  hair 
and  may  have  still  been  current  in  their  time.  We  know 
that  the  Puritans  strove  vainly  against  the  veneration  of 
the  Maypole  as  the  spirit  of  the  new  vegetation,'  and 
against  the  old  nature -rites  observed  at  Christmas,  the 
veneration  of  fire  as  the  preserver  of  life  against  cold,  and 
the  veneration  of  the  evergreen  plants,  the  fir  tree,  the 
holly,  and  the  mistletoe,  which  retained  their  foliage  through 
the  long  night  of  the  northern  winter,  and  were  thus  a 
pledge  to  man  of  the  return  of  warmth  and  the  renewal  of 
vegetation  in  the  spring.  And  it  therefore  seems  not 
altogether  improbable  that  the  Puritans  may  have  similarly 
contended  against  the  superstition  as  to  the  wearing  of 
long  hair. 

Naoda.- — A  small  caste  found  in  the  Nimar  District 
and  in  Central  India.  The  name  means  a  rower  and  is 
derived  from  nao^  a  boat.  The  caste  are  closely  connected 
with  the  Mallahs  or  Kewats,  but  have  a  slightly  distinctive 
position,  as  they  are  employed  to  row  pilgrims  over  the 
Nerbudda  at  the  great  fair  held  at  Siva's  temple  on  the 
island  of  Mandhata.  They  say  that  their  ancestors  were 
Rajputs,  and  some  of  their  family  names,  as  Solanki,  Rawat 
and  Mori,  are  derived  from  those  of  Rajput  septs.  But 
these  have  probably  been  adopted  in  imitation  of  their 
Kshatriya  ^overlords.  The  caste  is  an  occupational  one. 
They  have  a  tradition  that  in  former  times  a  Naoda  boatman 
recovered  the  corpse  of  a  king's  daughter,  who  had  drowned 

1   Golden  Bough,   2nd  ed.  vol.  i.    p.  India  in  1S91,  but  in    1901    they  were 

203.  amalgamated    with     the     Mallalis    or 

-  In    191 1    the    Naodas    numbered  Kewats.      Tiiis  article   is  based   on  a 

700  persons  in  the  Central  Provinces.  paper  by  Mr.    P.    K.    Kaipitia,   Forest 

About   1000  were  returned  in  Central  Ransrer. 


284  NAODA  PART 

herself  in  the  river  wearing  costly  jewels,  and  the  king  as 
a  reward  granted  them  the  right  of  ferrying  pilgrims  at 
Mandhata,  which  they  still  continue  to  enjoy,  keeping  their 
earnings  for  themselves.  They  have  a  division  of  impure 
blood  called  the  Gate  or  bastard  Naodas,  who  marry  among 
themselves,  and  any  girl  who  reaches  the  age  of  puberty 
without  being  married  is  relegated  to  this.  In  the  case 
of  a  caste  whose  numbers  are  so  small,  irregular  connections 
with  outsiders  must  probably  be  not  infrequent.  Another 
report  states  that  adult  unmarried  girls  are  not  expelled  but 
are  married  to  a  pipal  tree.  But  girls  are  sought  after,  and 
it  is  customary  to  pay  a  bride-price,  the  average  amount 
of  which  is  Rs.  25.  Before  the  bridegroom  starts  for  his 
wedding  his  mother  takes  and  passes  in  front  of  him, 
successively  from  his  head  to  his  feet,  a  pestle,  some  stalks 
of  riisa  grass,  a  churning  rod  and  a  winnowing-fan.  This 
is  done  with  the  object  of  keeping  off  evil  spirits,  and  it  is 
said  that  by  her  action  she  threatens  to  pound  the  spirits 
with  the  pestle,  to  tie  them  up  with  the  grass,  to  churn  and 
mash  them  with  the  churning-rod,  and  to  scatter  them  to 
the  winds  with  the  winnowing-fan.  When  a  man  wishes 
to  divorce  his  wife  he  simply  turns  her  out  of  the  house  in 
the  presence  of  four  or  five  respectable  men  of  the  caste. 
The  marriage  of  a  widow  is  celebrated  on  a  Sunday  or 
Tuesday,  the  clothes  of  the  couple  being  tied  together  by 
another  widow  at  night.  The  following  day  they  spend 
together  in  a  garden,  and  in  the  evening  are  escorted  home 
by  their  relatives  with  torches  and  music.  Next  morning 
the  woman  goes  to  the  well  and  draws  water,  and  her 
husband,  accompanying  her,  helps  her  to  lift  the  water-pots 
on  to  her  shoulder. 

The  caste  worship  the  ordinary  Hindu  deities  and 
especially  Bhairon,  the  guardian  of  the  gate  of  Mahadeo's 
temple.  They  have  a  nail  driven  into  the  bow  of  their 
boat  which  is  called  '  Bhairon's  nail,'  and  at  the  Dasahra 
festival  they  offer  to  this  a  white  pumpkin  with  cocoanuts, 
vermilion,  incense  and  liquor.  The  caste  hold  in  special 
reverence  the  cow,  the  dog  and  the  tamarind  tree.  The 
dog  is  sacred  as  being  the  animal  on  which  Bhairava  rides, 
and  their  most  solemn  oaths  are  sworn  by  a  dog  or  a  cow. 


n  NAODA  285 

They  will  on  no  account  cut  or  burn  the  tamarind  tree, 
and  the  women  veil  their  faces  before  it.  They  cannot 
explain  this  sentiment,  which  is  probably  due  to  some 
forgotten  belief  of  the  nature  of  totemism.  To  kill  a  cow 
or  a  cat  intentionally  involves  permanent  exclusion  from 
the  caste,  while  the  slaughter  of  a  squirrel,  dog,  horse, 
buffalo  or  monkey  is  punished  by  temporary  exclusion,  it 
being  equally  sinful  to  allow  any  of  these  animals  to  die 
with  a  rope  round  its  neck.  The  Naodas  eat  the  flesh  of 
pigs  and  fowls,  but  they  occupy  a  fairly  good  social  position 
and  Brahmans  will  take  water  from  their  hands. 


NAT 

LIST    OF    PARAGRAPHS 

1.  The  Nats  7iot  a  proper  caste.  4.   Acrobatic  performances. 

2.  Muhammada?!  Nats.  5.   Sliding  or  walking  on  ropes  as 

3.  Social    customs    of    the    Nats.  a  charm  for  the  crops. 

Their  low  status.  6.   Siiake-charmers. 

I.  The  Nat,^  Badi,  Dangf-Charha,  Karnati,  Bazig-ar,  Sapepa. — 

Nats  not  -p^^^  \_Qxm   Nat  (Sanskrit    Nata — a    dancer)  appears   to  be 

a  proper  ^  /       1  x 

caste.  applied  indefinitely  to  a  number  of  groups  of  vagrant 
acrobats  and  showmen,  especially  those  who  make  it  their 
business  to  do  feats  on  the  tight-rope  or  with  poles,  and 
those  who  train  and  exhibit  snakes.  Badi  and  Bazigar 
mean  a  rope-walker,  Dang-Charha  a  rope-climber,  and 
Sapera  a  snake-charmer.  In  the  Central  Provinces  the 
Garudis  or  snake-charmers,  and  the  Kolhatis,  a  class  of 
gipsy  acrobats  akin  to  the  Berias,  are  also  known  as  Nat, 
and  these  are  treated  in  separate  articles.  It  is  almost 
certain  that  a  considerable  section,  if  not  the  majority,  of 
the  Nats  really  belong  to  the  Kanjar  or  Beria  gipsy  castes, 
who  themselves  may  be  sprung  from  the  Doms.^  Sir  D. 
Ibbetson  says :  "  They  wander  about  with  their  families, 
settling  for  a  few  days  or  weeks  at  a  time  in  the  vicinity 
of  large  villages  or  towns,  and  constructing  temporary 
shelters  of  grass.  In  addition  to  practising  acrobatic  feats 
and  conjuring  of  a  low  class,  they  make  articles  of  grass, 
straw  and  reeds  for  sale  ;  and  in  the  centre  of  the  Punjab 
are  said  to  act  as  Mirasis,  though  this  is  perhaps  doubtful. 
They  often  practise  surgery  and  physic  in  a  small  way  and 

•  This    article    is    partly    compiled    from    notes    furnished    by    Mr.    Aduram 
Chaudhri  and  Mr.  Jagannath  Prasad,  Naib-TahsUdars.  2  g^g  j^jj_  Kanjar. 

286 


PART  II  THE  NATS  NOT  A  PROPER  CASTE  287 

are  not  free  from  suspicion  of  sorcery."  ^  This  account 
would  just  as  well  apply  to  the  Kanjar  gipsies,  and  the 
Nat  women  sometimes  do  tattooing  like  Kanjar  or  Beria 
women.  In  Jubbulpore  also  the  caste  is  known  as  Nat 
Beria,  indicating  that  the  Nats  there  are  probably  derived 
from  the  Beria  caste.  Similarly  Sir  H.  Risley  gives  Bazigar 
and  Kabutari  as  groups  of  the  Berias  of  Bengal,  and  states 
that  these  are  closely  akin  to  the  Nats  and  Kanjars  of 
Hindustan.-  An  old  account  of  the  Nats  or  Bazigars  ^ 
would  equally  well  apply  to  the  Kanjars  ;  and  in  Mr. 
Crooke's  detailed  article  on  the  Nats  several  connecting 
links  are  noticed.  The  Nat  women  are  sometimes  known 
as  Kabutari  or  pigeon,  either  because  their  acrobatic  feats 
are  like  the  flight  of  the  tumbler  pigeon,  or  on  account 
of  the  flirting  manner  with  which  they  attract  their  male 
customers.'*  In  the  Central  Provinces  the  women  of  the 
small  Gopal  caste  of  acrobats  arc  called  Kabutari,  and 
this  further  supports  the  hypothesis  that  Nat  is  rather 
an  occupational  term  than  the  name  of  a  distinct  caste, 
though  it  is  quite  likely  that  there  may  be  Nats  who 
have  no  other  caste.  The  Badi  or  rope-dancer  group  again 
is  an  offshoot  of  the  Gond  tribe,  at  least  in  the  tracts 
adjoining  the  Central  Provinces.  They  have  Gond  septs 
as  Marai,  Netam,  Wlka,^  and  they  have  the  damrii  or  drum 
used  by  the  Gaurias  or  snake-charmers  and  jugglers  of 
ChhattTsgarh,  who  are  also  derived  from  the  Gonds.  The 
Chhattisgarhi  Dang-Charhas  are  Gonds  who  say  they 
formerly  belonged  to  Panna  State  and  were  supported  by 
Raja  Aman  Singh  of  Panna,  a  great  patron  of  their  art. 
They  sing  a  song  lamenting  his  death  in  the  flower  of  his 
youth.  The  Karnatis  or  Karnataks  are  a  class  of  Nats  who 
are  supposed  to  have  come  from  the  Carnatic.  Mr.  Crooke 
notes  that  they  will  eat  the  leavings  of  all  high  castes,  and 
are  hence  known  as  Khushhaliya  or  '  Those  in  prosperous 
circumstances.'  *" 

One  division  of  the  Nats  are  Muhammadans  and  seem  to  2.  Muham- 

niadan 

1  Punjab     Census    Report    (1881),  ^  Asiatic  Researches,  \o\.  \\\.,  \'iQ2),   Nats, 
para.  588.                                                         by  Captain  Richardson. 

*   Tribes  and  Castes,  art.  Nat. 

2  Tribes  and  Castes  of  Bengal,  art.  ^  Crooke,  I.e.,  art.  Nat. 
Beria.  ^  Ibidem. 


NAT 


3.  Social 

customs  of  ^  Qf  ^j^g  population. 

the  Nats.  o  jr    jr 

Their  low 

status. 


4.  Acro- 
Ijatic  per- 
formances. 


be  to  some  extent  a  distinctive  group.  They  have  seven 
gotras — Chicharia,  Damaria,  Dhalbalki,  Purbia,  Dhondabalki, 
Karimki  and  Kalasia.  They  worship  two  Birs  or  spirits, 
Halaila  Bir  and  Sheikh  Saddu,  to  whom  they  sacrifice  fowls 
in  the  months  of  Bhadon  (August)  and  Baisakh  (April). 
Hindus  of  any  caste  are  freely  admitted  into  their  com- 
munity, and  they  can  marry  Hindu  girls. 

Generally  the  customs  of  the  Nats  show  them  to  be  the 
There  is  no  offence  which  entails 
permanent  expulsion  from  caste.  They  will  eat  any  kind 
of  food  including  snakes,  crocodiles  and  rats,  and  also  take 
food  from  the  hands  of  any  caste,  even  it  is  said  from 
sweepers.  It  is  not  reported  that  they  prostitute  their 
women,  but  there  is  little  doubt  that  this  is  the  case  ;  in  the 
Punjab  ^  when  a  Nat  woman  marries,  the  first  child  is 
either  given  to  the  grandmother  as  compensation  for  the  loss 
of  the  mother's  gains  as  a  prostitute,  or  is  redeemed  by  a 
payment  of  Rs.  30.  Among  the  Chhattlsgarhi  Dang-Charhas 
a  bride-price  of  Rs.  40  is  paid,  of  which  the  girl's  father 
only  keeps  ten,  and  the  remaining  sum  of  Rs.  30  is  expended 
on  a  feast  to  the  caste.  Some  of  the  Nats  have  taken  to 
cultivation  and  become  much  more  respectable,  eschewing  the 
flesh  of  unclean  animals.  Another  group  of  the  caste  keep 
trained  dogs  and  hunt  the  wild  pig  with  spears  like  the 
Kolhatis  of  Berar.  The  villagers  readily  pay  for  their 
services  in  order  to  get  the  pig  destroyed,  and  they  sell  the 
flesh  to  the  Gonds  and  lower  castes  of  Hindus.  Others 
hunt  jackals  with  dogs  in  the  same  manner.  They  eat  the 
flesh  of  the  jackals  and  dispose  of  any  surplus  to  the 
Gonds,  who  also  eat  it.  The  Nats  worship  Devi  and  also 
Hanuman,  the  monkey  god,  on  account  of  the  acrobatic 
powers  of  monkeys.  But  in  Bombay  they  say  that  their 
favourite  and  only  living  gods  are  their  bread-winners  and 
averters  of  hunger,  the  drum,  the  rope  and  the  balancing- 
pole.^ 

The  tight-rope  is  stretched  between  two  pairs  of  bamboos, 
each  pair  being  fixed  obliquely  in  the  ground  and  crossing 
each  other  at  the  top  so  as  to  form  a  socket  over  which  the 


'   Ihbet.son,    Punjab   Census   Report 
(1886),  para.  588. 


2  Bombay  Gazetteer,  vol.  xx.  p.  186, 
quoted  in  Mr.  Crooke's  article. 


II  SLIDING  OR   WALKING  ON  ROPES  289 

rope  passes.  The  ends  of  the  rope  are  taken  over  the 
crossed  bamboos  and  firmly  secured  to  the  t^round  by  heavy 
pegs.  The  performer  takes  another  balancing-pole  in  his 
hands  and  walks  along  the  rope  between  the  poles  which  are 
about  1 2  feet  high.  Another  man  beats  a  drum,  and  a 
third  stands  under  the  rope  singing  the  performer's  praises 
and  giving  him  encouragement.  After  this  the  performer 
ties  two  sets  of  cow  or  buffalo  horns  to  his  feet,  which  are 
secured  to  the  back  of  the  skulls  so  that  the  flat  front  between 
the  horns  rests  on  the  rope,  and  with  these  he  walks  over 
the  rope,  holding  the  balancing-rod  in  his  hands  and  descends 
again.  Finally  he  takes  a  brass  plate  and  a  cloth  and 
again  ascends  the  rope.  He  places  the  plate  on  the  rope 
and  folds  the  cloth  over  it  to  make  a  pad.  He  then  stands 
on  his  head  on  the  pad  with  his  feet  in  the  air  and  holds  the 
balancing-rod  in  his  hands  ;  two  strings  are  tied  to  the  end 
of  this  rod  and  the  other  ends  of  the  strings  are  held  by  the 
man  underneath.  With  the  assistance  of  the  balancing-rod 
the  performer  then  jerks  the  plate  along  the  rope  with  his 
head,  his  feet  being  in  the  air,  until  he  arrives  at  the  end  and 
finally  descends  again.  This  usually  concludes  the  perform- 
ance, which  demands  a  high  degree  of  skill.  Women 
occasionally,  though  rarely,  do  the  same  feats.  Another 
class  of  Nats  walk  on  high  stilts  and  the  women  show  their 
confidence  by  dancing  and  singing  under  them.  A  saying 
about  the  Nats  is  :  Nat  ka  bachcha  to  kaldbazi  hi  karega  ; 
or  '  The  rope-dancer's  son  is  always  turning  somersaults.'  ^ 

The   feats  of  the   Nats  as  tight-rope  walkers  used  ap-  5.  Sliding 


parently  to  make  a  considerable  impression  on  the  minds  ^^^  ^^ 
of  the  people,  as  it  is  not  uncommon  to  find  a  deified  Nat,  as  a  char 
called  Nat  Baba  or  Father  Nat,  as  a  village  god.      A  Natni  crops.*^ 
or  Nat  woman  is  also  sometimes  worshipped,  and  where  two 
sharp  peaks  of  hills  are  situated  close  to  each  other,  it  is 
related  that  in  former  times  there  was  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 

*  Temple  and  Fallon's  Hindustani  Proverbs,  p.  171. 
VOL.  IV  U 


2go 


NAT 


half  through  in  the  night,  and  when  the  Natni  started  to 
walk  the  rope  broke  and  she  fell  down  and  was  killed. 
She  was  therefore  deified  and  worshipped.  It  is  probable 
that  this  legend  recalls  some  rite  in  which  the  Nat  was 
employed  to  walk  on  a  tight-rope  for  the  benefit  of  the 
crops,  and,  if  he  failed,  was  killed  as  a  sacrifice  ;  for  the 
following  passage  taken  from  Traill's  account  of  Kumaon  ^ 
seems  clearly  to  refer  to  some  such  rite : 

"  Drought,  want  of  fertility  in  the  soil,  murrain  in  cattle, 
and  other  calamities  incident  to  husbandry  are  here  in- 
variably ascribed  to  the  wrath  of  particular  gods,  to  appease 
which  recourse  is  had  to  various  ceremonies.  In  the  Kumaon 
District  offerings  and  singing  and  dancing  are  resorted  to 
on  such  occasions.  In  Garhwal  the  measures  pursued  with 
the  same  view  are  of  a  peculiar  nature,  deserving  of  more 
particular  notice.  In  villages  dedicated  to  the  protection  of 
Mahadeva  propitiatory  festivals  are  held  in  his  honour.  At 
these  Badis  or  rope-dancers  are  engaged  to  perform  on  the 
tight-rope,  and  slide  down  an  inclined  rope  stretched  from  the 
summit  of  a  cliff  to  the  valley  beneath  and  made  fast  to  posts 
driven  into  the  ground.  The  Badi  sits  astride  on  a  wooden 
saddle,  to  which  he  is  tied  by  thongs  ;  the  saddle  is  similarly 
secured  to  the  bast  or  sliding  cable,  along  which  it  runs, 
by  means  of  a  deep  groove  ;  sandbags  are  tied  to  the  Badi's 
feet  -sufficient  to  secure  his  balance,  and  he  is  then,  after 
various  ceremonies  and  the  sacrifice  of  a  kid,  started  off;  the 
velocity  of  his  descent  is  very  great,  and  the  saddle,  however 
well  greased,  emits  a  volume  of  smoke  throughout  the  greater 
part  of  his  progress.  The  length  and  inclination  of  the 
bast  necessarily  vary  with  the  nature  of  the  cliff,  but  as  the 
Badi  is  remunerated  at  the  rate  of  a  rupee  for  every  hundred 
cubits,  hence  termed  a  tola,  a  correct  measurement  always 
takes  place  ;  the  longest  bast  which  has  fallen  within  my 
observation  has  been  twenty-one  tolas,  or  2 1 00  cubits  in 
length.  From  the  precautions  taken  as  above  mentioned 
the  only  danger  to  be  apprehended  by  the  Badi  is  from 
breaking  of  the  rope,  to  provide  against  which  the  latter, 
commonly  from  one  and  a  half  to  two  inches  in  diameter,  is 
made  wholly  by  his  own  hand  ;   the  material   used   is  the 

1  As.  Res.  vol.  xvi.,  1S2S,  p.  213. 


11  SNAKE-CHARMERS  291 

bhdbar  grass.  Formerly,  if  a  Badi  fell  to  the  ground  in  his 
course,  he  was  immediately  despatched  with  a  sword  by  the 
surrounding  spectators,  but  this  practice  is  now,  of  course, 
prohibited.  No  fatal  accident  has  occurred  from  the  perform- 
ance of  this  ceremony  since  181 5,  though  it  is  probably 
celebrated  at  not  less  than  fifty  villages  in  each  year.  After 
the  completion  of  the  sliding,  the  bast  or  rope  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  Badi  is  also  taken  and  preserved  as  possessing  similar 
virtues.  He  being  thus  made  the  organ  to  obtain  fertility 
for  the  lands  of  others,  the  Badi  is  supposed  to  entail 
sterility  on  his  own  ;  and  it  is  firmly  believed  that  no  grain 
sown  with  his  hand  can  ever  vegetate.  Each  District  has 
its  hereditary  Badi,  who  is  supported  by  annual  contributions 
of  grain  from  the  inhabitants,"  It  is  not  improbable  that 
the  performance  of  the  Nat  is  a  reminiscence  of  a  period 
when  human  victims  were  sacrificed  for  the  crops,  this  being 
a  common  practice  among  primitive  peoples,  as  shown  by 
Sir  J.  G.  Frazer  in  Atlis,  Adonis,  Osiris.  Similarly  the 
spirits  of  Nats  which  are  revered  in  the  Central  Provinces 
may  really  be  those  of  victims  killed  during  the  performance 
of  some  charm  for  the  good  of  the  crops,  akin  to  that  still 
prevalent  in  the  Himalayas,  The  custom  of  making  the 
Nat  slide  down  a  rope  is  of  the  same  character  as  that  of 
swinging  a  man  in  the  air  by  a  hook  secured  in  his  flesh, 
which  was  formerly  common  in  these  Provinces,  But  in 
both  cases  the  meaning  of  the  rite  is  obscure. 

The  groups  who  practise  snake-charming  are  known  as  6.  Snake- 
Sapera  or  Garudi  and  in  the  Maratha  Districts  as  Madari,  •^'^^""^•'S' 
Another  name  for  them  is  Nag-Nathi,  or  one  who  seizes  a 
cobra.  They  keep  cobras,  pythons,  scorpions,  and  the 
iguana  or  large  lizard,  which  they  consider  to  be  poisonous. 
Some  of  them  when  engaged  with  their  snakes  wear  two 
pieces  of  tiger-skin  on  their  back  and  chest,  and  a  cap  of 
tiger-skin  in  which  they  fix  the  eyes  of  various  birds.  They 
have  a  hollow  gourd  on  which  they  produce  a  kind  of  music 
and  this  is  supposed  to  charm  the  snakes.  When  catching 
a  cobra  they  pin  its  head  to  the  ground  with  a  stick  and 
then  seize  it  in  a  cleft  bamboo  and  prick  out  the  poison- 


292  NA  T  PART 

fangs  with  a  large  needle.  They  thhik  that  the  teeth  of 
the  iguana  are  also  poisonous  and  they  knock  them  out 
with  a  stick,  and  if  fresh  teeth  afterwards  grow  they  believe 
them  not  to  contain  poison.  The  python  is  called  Ajgar, 
which  is  said  to  mean  eater  of  goats.  In  captivity  the 
pythons  will  not  eat  of  themselves,  and  the  snake-charmers 
chop  up  pieces  of  meat  and  fowls  and  placing  the  food  in 
the  reptile's  mouth  massage  it  down  the  body.  They  feed 
the  pythons  only  once  in  four  or  five  days.  They  have 
antidotes  for  snake-bite,  the  root  of  a  creeper  called  kalipdr 
and  the  bark  of  the  karheya  tree.  When  a  patient  is 
brought  to  them  they  give  him  a  little  pepper,  and  if  he 
tastes  the  pungent  flavour  they  think  that  he  has  not  been 
affected  by  snake-poison,  but  if  it  seems  tasteless  that  he 
has  been  bitten.  Then  they  give  him  small  pieces  of  the 
two  antidotes  already  mentioned  with  tobacco  and  2-|-  leaves 
of  the  711111  tree  ^  which  is  sacred  to  Devi.  On  the  festival 
of  Nag-Panchmi  (Cobra's  Fifth)  they  worship  their  cobras 
and  give  them  milk  to  drink  and  then  take  them  round  the 
town  or  village  and  the  people  also  worship  and  feed  the 
snakes  and  give  a  present  of  a  few  annas  to  the  Sapera. 
In  towns  much  frequented  by  cobras,  a  special  adoration  is 
paid  to  them.  Thus  in  Hatta  in  the  Damoh  District  a 
stone  image  of  a  snake,  known  as  Nag-Baba  or  Father 
Cobra  is  worshipped  for  a  month  betore  the  festival  of  Nag- 
Panchmi.  During  this  period  one  man  from  every  house 
in  the  village  must  go  to  Nag-Baba's  shrine  outside  and 
take  food  there  and  come  back.  And  on  Nag-Panchmi  the 
whole  town  goes  out  in  a  body  to  pay  him  reverence,  and  it 
is  thought  that  if  any  one  is  absent  the  cobras  will  harass 
him  for  the  whole  year.  But  others  say  that  cobras  will 
only  bite  men  of  low  caste.  The  Saperas  will  not  kill  a 
snake  as  a  rule,  but  occasionally  it  is  said  that  they  kill  one 
and  cut  off  the  head  and  eat  the  body,  this  being  possibly 
an  instance  of  eating  the  divine  animal  at  a  sacrificial  meal. 
The  following  is  an  old  account  of  the  performances  of 
snake-charmers  in  Bengal  : '" 

"  Hence,  on   many  occasions    throughout   the  year,  the 

1  Melia  iiidica.  by  the  Rev.    Bihari  Lai  De,  Calcutta 

2  Bengali   Festivals   and   Holidays,       Review,  vol.  v,  pp.  59,  60. 


iiiJinosc.  Coiio.,    Dtti'y. 

SNAKE-CHARMER    WITH     COBRAS. 


SNA  KE-  CI  I  A  RMERS 


J93 


dread  Manasa  Devi,  the  queen  of  snakes,  is  propitiated  by 
presents,  vows  and  religious  rites.  In  the  month  of  Shrabana 
the  worship  of  the  snake  goddess  is  celebrated  with  great 
eclat.  An  image  of  the  goddess,  seated  on  a  water-lily, 
encircled  with  serpents,  or  a  branch  of  the  snake -tree  (a 
species  of  Euphorbia),  or  a  pot  of  water,  with  images  of 
serpents  made  of  clay,  forms  the  object  of  worship.  Men, 
women  and  children,  all  offer  presents  to  avert  from  them- 
selves the  wrath  of  the  terrific  deity.  The  Mais  or  snake- 
catchers  signalise  themselves  on  this  occasion.  Temporary 
scaffolds  of  bamboo  work  are  set  up  in  the  presence  of  the 
goddess.  Vessels  filled  with  all  sorts  of  snakes  are  brought 
in.  The  Mais,  often  reeling  with  intoxication,  mount  the 
scaffolds,  take  out  serpents  from  the  vessels,  and  allow  them 
to  bite  their  arms.  Bite  after  bite  succeeds  ;  the  arms  run 
with  blood  ;  and  the  Mais  go  on  with  their  pranks,  amid 
the  deafening  plaudits  of  the  spectators.  Now  and  then  they 
fall  off  from  the  scaffold  and  pretend  to  feel  the  effects  of 
poison,  and  cure  themselves  by  their  incantations.  But  all  is 
mere  pretence.  The  serpents  displayed  on  the  occasion  and 
challenged  to  do  their  worst,  have  passed  through  a  pre- 
paratory state.  Their  fangs  have  been  carefully  extracted 
from  their  jaws.  But  most  of  the  vulgar  spectators  easily 
persuade  themselves  to  believe  that  the  Mais  are  the  chosen 
servants  of  Siva  and  the  favourites  of  Manasa.  Although 
their  supernatural  pretensions  are  ridiculous,  yet  it  must  be 
confessed  that  the  Mais  have  made  snakes  the  subject  of 
their  peculiar  study.  They  are  thoroughly  acquainted  with 
their  qualities,  their  dispositions,  and  their  habits.  They 
will  run  down  a  snake  into  its  hole,  and  bring  it  out  thence 
by  main  force.  Even  the  terrible  cobra  is  cowed  down  by 
the  controlling  influence  of  a  Mai.  When  in  the  act  of  bring- 
ing out  snakes  from  their  subterranean  holes,  the  Mais  are 
in  the  habit  of  muttering  charms,  in  which  the  names  of 
Manasa  and  Mahadeva  frequently  occur  ;  superstition  alone 
can  clothe  these  unmeaning  words  with  supernatural  potency. 
But  it  is  not  inconsistent  with  the  soundest  philosophy  to 
suppose  that  there  may  be  some  plants  whose  roots  are 
disagreeable  to  serpents,  and  from  which  they  instinctively 
turn  away.      All  snake-catchers  of  Bengal  are  provided  with 


294  NUN  I  A  PART 

a  bundle  of  the  roots  of  some  plant  which  they  carefully 
carry  along  with  them,  when  they  set  out  on  their  serpent- 
hunting  expeditions.  When  a  serpent,  disturbed  in  its  hole, 
comes  out  furiously  hissing  with  rage,  with  its  body  coiled, 
and  its  head  lifted  up,  the  Mai  has  only  to  present  before  it 
the  bundle  of  roots  above  alluded  to,  at  the  sight  of  which 
it  becomes  spiritless  as  an  eel.  This  we  have  ourselves 
witnessed  more  than  once." 

These  Mais  appear  to  have  been  members  of  the 
aboriginal  Male  or  Male  Paharia  tribe  of  Bengal. 

Nunia,  Lunia.^ — A  mixed  occupational  caste  of  salt- 
makers  and  earth -workers,  made  up  of  recruits  from  the 
different  non- Aryan  tribes  of  northern  India.  The  word 
non  means  salt,  and  is  a  corruption  of  the  Sanskrit  lavana, 
'  the  moist,'  which  first  occurs  as  a  name  for  sea-salt  in  the 
Atharva  Veda.^  In  the  oldest  prose  writings  salt  is  known 
as  Saindhava  or  '  that  which  is  brought  from  the  Indus,' 
this  perhaps  being  Punjab  rock-salt.  The  Nunias  are  a 
fairly  large  caste  in  Bengal  and  northern  India,  numbering 
800,000  persons,  but  the  Central  Provinces  and  Berar  contain 
only  3000,  who  are  immigrants  from  Upper  India.  Here 
they  are  navvies  and  masons,  a  calling  which  they  have 
generally  adopted  since  the  Government  monopoly  has  inter- 
fered with  their  proper  business  of  salt-refining.  The  mixed 
origin  of  the  caste  is  shown  by  the  list  of  their  subdivisions 
in  the  United  Provinces,  which  includes  the  names  Mallah, 
Kewat,  Kuchbandhia,  Bind,  Musahar,  Bhuinhar  and  Lodha, 
all  of  which  are  distinct  castes,  besides  a  number  of  terri- 
torial subcastes.  A  list  of  nearly  thirty  subcastes  is  given 
by  Mr.  Crooke,  and  this  is  an  instance  of  the  tendency  of 
migratory  castes  to  split  up  into  small  groups  for  the 
purpose  of  arranging  marriages,  owing  to  the  difficulty  of 
ascertaining  the  status  and  respectability  of  each  other's 
families,  and  the  unwillingness  to  contract  alliances  with 
those  whose  social  position  may  turn  out  to  be  not  wholly 
satisfactory.  "  The  internal  structure  of  the  caste,"  Mr. 
Crooke   remarks,  "  is  far  from   clear  ;  it  would   appear  that 

'   Based  on  papers  by  Munshi  Kan-  -  Mr.   Crooke's    lyibcs  and  Castes, 

hya  Lai  of  the  (lazelleer  Office,  and       art.  Lunia. 
Mr.  Mir  I'atcha,  Tahslldar,  I'.ilaspur. 


II  NUN/ A  295 

they  arc  still  in  a  state  of  transition,  and  the  different 
endogamous  subcastes  are  not  as  yet  fully  recognised."  In 
Bilaspur  the  Nunias  have  three  local  subcastes,  the  Band- 
haiya,  the  Ratanpuria  and  the  Kharodhia.  The  two  last, 
deriving  their  names  from  the  towns  of  Ratanpur  and 
Kharod  in  Bilaspur,  are  said  to  have  been  employed  in 
former  times  in  the  construction  of  the  temples  and  other 
buildings  which  abound  in  these  localities,  and  have  thus 
acquired  a  considerable  degree  of  professional  skill  in 
masonry  work  ;  while  the  Bandhaiya,  who  take  their  name 
from  Bandhogarh,  confine  themselves  to  the  excavation  of 
tanks  and  wells.  The  exogamous  divisions  of  the  caste  are 
also  by  no  means  clearly  defined  ;  in  Mlrzapur  they  have 
a  system  of  local  subdivisions  called  dih,  each  subdivision 
being  named  after  the  village  which  is  supposed  to  be  its 
home.  The  word  dlh  itself  means  a  site  or  village.  Those 
who  have  a  common  dih  do  not  intermarry.^  This  fact  is 
interesting  as  being  an  instance  of  the  direct  derivation  of 
the  exogamous  clan  from  residence  in  a  parent  village  and 
not  from  any  heroic  or  supposititious  ancestor. 

The  caste  have  a  legend  which  shows  their  mixed  origin. 
Some  centuries  ago,  they  say,  a  marriage  procession  con- 
sisting of  Brahmans,  Rajputs,  Banias  and  Gosains  went  to 
a  place  near  Ajodhya.  After  the  ceremony  was  over  the 
bride,  on  being  taken  to  the  bridegroom's  lodging,  scraped 
up  a  little  earth  with  her  fingers  and  put  it  in  her  mouth. 
She  found  it  had  a  saltish  taste,  and  spat  it  out  on  the  ground, 
and  this  enraged  the  tutelary  goddess  of  the  village,  who 
considered  herself  insulted,  and  swore  that  all  the  bride's 
descendants  should  excavate  salt  in  atonement  ;  and  thus 
the  caste  arose. 

In  Bilaspur  the  caste  permit  a  girl  to  be  married  to  a 
boy  younger  than  herself.  A  price  of  five  rupees  has  to  be 
paid  for  the  bride,  unless  her  family  give  a  girl  in  exchange. 
The  bridegroom  is  taken  to  the  wedding  in  a  palanquin 
borne  by  Mahfirs.  After  its  conclusion  the  couple  are 
carried  back  in  the  litter  for  some  distance,  after  which  the 
bridegroom  gets  out  and  walks  or  rides.  When  he  goes  to 
fetch  his  wife  on  her  coming  of  age  the  bridegroom   wears 

1  Mr.  Crooke's  Tribes  and  Castes,  art.  Lunia. 


296  OJHA  PART 

white  clothes,  which  is  rather  peculiar,  as  white  is  not  a 
lucky  colour  among  the  Hindus.  The  Nunias  employ 
Brahmans  at  their  ceremonies,  and  they  have  a  caste 
panchdyat  or  committee,  whose  headman  is  known  as 
Kurha.  The  Bilaspur  section  of  the  caste  has  two  Kurhas. 
Here  Brahmans  take  water  from  them,  but  not  in  all  places. 
They  consider  their  traditional  occupation  to  have  been 
the  extraction  of  salt  and  saltpetre  from  saline  earth.  At 
present  they  are  generally  employed  in  the  excavation  of 
tanks  and  the  embankment  of  fields,  and  they  also  sink 
wells,  build  and  erect  houses,  and  undertake  all  kinds  of 
agricultural  labour. 

Ojha. — The  community  of  soothsayers  and  minstrels  of 
the  Gonds.  The  Ojhas  may  now  be  considered  a  distinct 
subtribe,  as  they  are  looked  down  upon  by  the  Gonds  and 
marry  among  themselves.  They  derive  their  name  from  the 
word  ojh,  meaning  '  entrail,'  their  original  duty  having  been, 
like  that  of  the  Roman  augurs,  to  examine  the  entrails  of  the 
victim  immediately  after  it  had  been  slain  as  an  offering  to 
the  gods.  In  191 1  the  Ojhas  numbered  about  5000  persons 
distributed  over  all  Districts  of  the  Central  Provinces.  At 
present  the  bulk  of  the  community  subsist  by  beggary. 
The  word  Ojha  is  of  Sanskrit  and  not  of  Gond  origin  and  is 
applied  by  the  Hindus  to  the  seers  or  magicians  of  several 
of  the  primitive  tribes,  while  there  is  also  a  class  of  Ojha 
Brahmans  who  practise  magic  and  divination.  The  Gond 
Ojhas,  who  are  the  subject  of  this  article,  originally  served 
the  Gonds  and  begged  from  them  alone,  but  in  some  parts 
of  the  western  Satpuras  they  are  also  the  minstrels  of  the 
Korkus.  Those  who  beg  from  the  Korkus  play  on  a  kind 
of  drum  called  dhiiJtk,  while  the  Gond  Ojhas  use  the  kingri 
or  lyre.  Some  of  them  also  catch  birds  and  are  therefore 
known  as  Moghia.  Mr.  Hislop  ^  remarks  of  them:  "The 
Ojhas  follow  the  two  occupations  of  bard  and  fowler.  They 
lead  a  wandering  life  and  when  passing  through  villages  they 
sing  from  house  to  house  the  praises  of  their  heroes,  dancing 
with  castanets  in  their  hands,  bells  at  their  ankles  and  long 
feathers   of  jungle  birds    in   their  turbans.      They  sell   live 

'   Papets  relating  to  the  Aboriginal  Tribes  of  the  C.P.,  p.  6. 


II  OJIIA  297 

quails  and  the  skins  of  a  species  of  Buceros  named  Dhan- 
chiria  ;  these  are  used  for  makinc^  caps  and  for  hanc^ing  up 
in  houses  in  order  to  secure  wealth  {dha)/),  while  the  thigh- 
bones of  the  same  bird  vv^hcn  fastened  round  the  waists 
of  children  are  deemed  an  infallible  preservative  against  the 
assaults  of  devils  and  other  such  calamities.  Their  wives  tattoo 
the  arms  of  Mindu  and  Gond  women.  Among  them  there 
is  a  subdivision  known  as  the  Mana  Ojhas,  who  rank  higher 
than  the  others.  Laying  claim  to  unusual  sanctity,  they 
refuse  to  eat  with  any  one,  Gonds,  Rajputs  or  even  Brahmans, 
and  devote  themselves  to  the  manufacture  of  rings  and  bells 
which  are  in  request  among  their  own  race,  and  even  of 
lingas  (phallic  emblems)  and  7iandts  (bull  images),  which  they 
sell  to  all  ranks  of  the  Hindu  community.  Their  wives  are 
distinguished  by  wearing  the  cloth  of  the  upper  part  of  the 
body  over  the  right  shoulder,  whereas  those  of  the  common 
Ojhas  and  of  all  the  other  Gonds  wear  it  over  the  left." 

Mr.  Tawney  wrote  of  the  Ojhas  as  follows :  ^  "  The 
Ojha  women  do  not  dance.  It  is  only  men  who  do  so,  and 
when  thus  engaged  they  put  on  special  attire  and  wear 
anklets  with  bells.  The  Ojhas  like  the  Gonds  are  divided 
into  six  or  seven  god  gots  (classes  or  septs),  and  those 
with  the  same  number  of  gods  cannot  intermarry.  They 
worship  at  the  same  Deokhala  (god's  threshing-floor)  as  the 
Gonds,  but  being  regarded  as  an  inferior  caste  they  are  not 
allowed  so  near  the  sacred  presence.  Like  the  Gonds  they 
incorporate  the  spirits  of  the  dead  wath  the  gods,  but  their 
manner  of  doing  so  is  somewhat  different,  as  they  make  an 
image  of  brass  to  represent  the  soul  of  the  deceased  and 
keep  this  with  the  household  gods.  As  with  the  Gonds,  if  a 
household  god  makes  himself  too  objectionable  he  is  quietly 
buried  to  keep  him  out  of  mischief  and  a  new  god  is  intro- 
duced into  the  family.  The  latter  should  properly  bear  the 
same  name  as  his  degraded  predecessor,  but  very  often 
does  not.  The  Ojhas  are  too  poor  to  indulge  in  the  luxury 
of  burning  their  deceased  friends  and  therefore  invariably 
bury  them." 

The  customs  of  the  Ojhas  resemble  those  of  the  Gonds. 

^  Note  by  Mr.   Tawney  as  Deputy       in  Central  Provinces  Census  Report  of 
Commissioner  of  Chhindwara,  quoted        1S81  (Mr.  Diysdale). 


298  OJHA  PART  II 

They  take  the  bride  to  the  bridegroom's  house  to  be  married, 
and  a  widow  among  them  is  expected,  though  not  obliged, 
to  wed  her  late  husband's  younger  brother.  They  eat  the 
flesh  of  fowls,  pigs,  and  even  oxen,  but  abstain  from  that  of 
monkeys,  crocodiles  and  jackals.  They  will  not  touch  an 
ass,  a  cat  or  a  dog,  and  consider  it  sinful  to  kill  animals 
which  bark  or  bray. 

They  will  take  food  from  the  hands  of  all  except  the 
most  impure  castes,  and  will  admit  into  the  community 
any  man  who  has  taken  an  Ojha  woman  to  live  with  him, 
even  though  he  be  a  sweeper,  provided  that  he  will  submit 
to  the  prescribed  test  of  begging  from  the  houses  of  five 
Gonds  and  eating  the  leavings  of  food  of  the  other  Ojhas. 
They  will  pardon  the  transgression  of  one  of  their  women 
with  an  outsider  of  any  caste  whatever,  if  she  is  able  and 
willing  to  provide  the  usual  penalty  feast.  They  have  no 
sutak  or  period  of  impurity  after  a  death,  but  merely  take 
a  mouthful  of  liquor  and  consider  themselves  clean.  In 
physical  appearance  the  Ojhas  resemble  the  Gonds  but 
are  less  robust.  They  rank  below  the  Gonds  and  are  con- 
sidered as  impure  by  the  Hindu  castes.  In  1865,  an  Ojha 
held  a  village  in  Hoshangabad  District  which  he  had 
obtained  as  follows  :  ^  "  He  was  singing  and  dancing  before 
Raja  Raghuji,  when  the  Raja  said  he  would  give  a  rent-free 
village  to  any  one  who  would  pick  up  and  chew  a  quid  of 
betel-leaf  which  he  (the  Raja)  had  had  in  his  mouth  and  had 
spat  out.      The  Ojha  did  this  and  got  the  village." 

The  Maithil  or  Tirhut  Brahmans  who  are  especially 
learned  in  Tantric  magic  are  also  sometimes  known  as  Ojha, 
and  a  family  bearing  this  title  were  formerly  in  the  service  of 
the  Gond  kings  of  Mandla.  They  do  not  now  admit  that 
they  acted  as  augurs  or  soothsayers,  but  state  that  their 
business  was  to  pray  continuously  for  the  king's  success 
when  he  was  engaged  in  any  battle,  and  to  sit  outside  the 
rooms  of  sick  persons  repeating  the  sacred  Gayatri  verse  for 
their  recovery.  This  is  often  repeated  ten  times,  counting 
by  a  special  method  on  the  joints  of  the  fingers  and  is  then 
known  as  Jap.  When  it  is  repeated  a  larger  number  of 
times,  as  54  or  108,  a  rosary  is  used. 

'  ,Sir  C.  A.  Elliott's  Hoshangabad  Settlentait  Report,  p.  70. 


ORAON 


^Authorities  :  Tlie  most  complcle  account  of  llie  Oraons  is  a  monograph 
entitled,  The  Kclii^ion  and  Ciistovis  of  the  Oraons,  by  the  late  Rev.  Father 
P.  Dehon,  published  in  1906  in  the  Memoirs  of  the  Asiatic  Society  of  Bengal, 
vol.  i.  No.  9.  The  tribe  is  also  described  at  length  by  Colonel  Dalton  in  The 
Eth)tosp-aphy  of  Bengal,  and  an  article  on  it  is  included  in  Mr.  (Sir  H.)  Risley's 
Tribes  and  Castes  of  Bengal.  References  to  the  Oraons  are  contained  in  Mr. 
Bradley-Birt's  Chota  Nagpitr,  and  Mr.  '^TAWJitngle  Life  in  India.  The  Kurukh 
language  is  treated  by  Dr.  Grierson  in  the  volume  of  the  Linguistic  Survey  on 
Mitnda  and  Dravidian  Lattgiiages.  The  following  article  is  principally  made 
up  of  extracts  from  the  accounts  of  Father  Dehon  and  Colonel  Dalton.  Papers 
have  also  been  received  from  Mr.  Ilira  Lai,  Mr.  Baliiram  Nand,  Deputy  Inspector 
of  Schools,  Saml)alpur,  Mr.  Jeorakhan  Lai,  Deputy  Inspector  of  Schools,  Bilaspur, 
and  Munshi  Kanhya  Lai  of  the  Gazetteer  Office.] 

LIST  OF   PARAGRAPHS 

Minor  i^odlings. 

Hiiinaii  sacrifice. 

Christitwity. 

Fcsfivals.        The     Karvia     or 

May-day. 
The  Sal  floiver festival. 
The  harvest  festival. 
Fast  for  the  cj'ofs. 
Physical  appeara7ice  a7id  cos- 

titiiie  of  the  Oraons. 
D}'ess  of  ivomen. 
Dances. 
Social  cttstonis. 
Social  rules. 
Character. 
29.  Language. 

Oraon,    Uraon,    Kurukh,    Dhangar,    Kuda,    Kisan. —  i.  General, 
The  Oraons  are  an   important  Dravidian   tribe  of  the  Chota  "°"'^^- 
Nagpur  plateau,  numbering  altogether  about  750,000  persons, 
of  whom  85,000  now  belong  to  the  Central  Provinces,  being 
residents  of  the  Jashpur  and  Sarguja  States  and  the  neigh- 

299 


I. 

General  notice. 

16. 

2. 

Settlement  itt  Chota  Nagpitr. 

17- 

3- 

Sill/divisions. 

18. 

4- 

Pre-nnptial  licence. 

19. 

5- 

Betrothal. 

6. 

Marriage  cejrinony. 

20. 

7. 

Special  customs. 

21. 

8. 

\Vido7U-re  marriage  and  di7>07-ce' 

22, 

9- 

Customs  at  birth. 

23- 

10. 

Naming  a  child. 

1 1. 

Branding  and  tattooing. 

24. 

12. 

Dormitory  discipline. 

25. 

13- 

Disposal  of  the  dead. 

26. 

14. 

Worship  of  ancestors. 

27. 

15- 

Religio7i.      The  sitp7r/7ie  deity. 

28. 

300  OR  AON  PART 

bouring  tracts.  They  are  commonly  known  in  the  Central 
Provinces  as  Dhangar  or  Dhangar-Oraon.  In  Chota  Nagpur 
the  word  Dhangar  means  a  farmservant  engaged  according  to 
a  special  customary  contract,  and  it  has  come  to  be  applied 
to  the  Oraons,  who  are  commonly  employed  in  this  capacity. 
Kuda  means  a  digger  or  navvy  in  Uriya,  and  enquiries  made 
by  Mr.  B.  C.  Mazumdar  and  Mr.  Hira  Lai  have  demonstrated 
that  the  1 8,000  persons  returned  under  this  designation  from 
Raigarh  and  Sambalpur  in  1901  were  really  Oraons.  The 
same  remark  applies  to  33,000  persons  returned  from  Sambal- 
pur as  Kisan  or  cultivator,  these  also  being  members  of  the 
tribe.  The  name  by  which  the  Oraons  know  themselves  is 
Kurukh  or  Kurunkh,  and  the  designation  of  Oraon  or  Orao 
has  been  applied  to  them  by  outsiders.  The  meaning  of 
both  names  is  obscure.  Dr.  Halm  ^  was  of  opinion  that  the 
word  ktirukh  might  be  identified  with  the  Kolarian  horo,  man, 
and  explained  the  term  Oraon  as  the  totem  of  one  of  the 
septs  into  which  the  Kurukhs  were  divided.  According  to 
him  Oraon  was  a  name  coined  by  the  Hindus,  its  base  being 
orgordn,  hawk  or  cunny  bird,  used  as  the  name  of  a  totemistic 
sept.  Sir  G.  Grierson,  however,  suggested  a  connection  with 
the  Kaikari,  iirupai,  man  ;  Burgandi  urapo^  man  ;  iirdng,  men. 
The  Kaikaris  are  a  Telugu  caste,  and  as  the  Oraons  are 
believed  to  have  come  from  the  south  of  India,  this  deriva- 
tion sounds  plausible.  .  In  a  similar  way  Sir.  G.  Grierson 
states,  Kurukh  may  be  connected  with  Tamil  kurugu,  an  eagle, 
and  be  the  name  of  a  totemistic  clan.  Compare  also  names, 
such  as  Korava,  Kurru,  a  dialect  of  Tamil,  and  Kudagu.  In 
the  Nerbudda  valley  the  farmservant  who  pours  the  seed 
through  the  tube  of  the  sowing-plough  is  known  as  Oraya  ; 
this  word  is  probably  derived  from  the  verb  urna  to  pour,  and 
means  '  one  who  pours.'  Since  the  principal  characteristic  of 
the  Oraons  among  the  Hindus  is  their  universal  employment 
as  farmservants  and  labourers,  it  may  be  suggested  that  the 
name  is  derived  from  this  term.  Of  the  other  names  by 
which  they  are  known  to  outsiders  Dhangar  means  a  farm- 
servant,  Kuda  a  digger,  and  Kisan  a  cultivator.  The  name 
Oraon  and  its  variant  Orao  is  very  close  to  Oraya,  which, 
as  already  seen,  means  a  farmservant.      The  nasal  seems  to 

'  Linguistic  Sui~i>ey,  vol.  iv.  p.  406. 


II  SETTLEMENT  IN  CI /OTA  NACPUR  301 

be   often   added   or  omitted    in   this  part   of  the   country,  as 
Kurukh  or  Kurunkh. 

According  to  their  own  traditions,  Mr.  Gait  writes/  2.  Setiic- 
"  The  Kurukh  tribe  originally  lived  in  the  Carnatic,  whence  "\'^"* '" 
they  went  up  the  Nerbudda  river  and  settled  in  Bihar  on  the  Xagpur. 
banks  of  the  Son.  Driven  out  by  the  Muhammadans,  the 
tribe  split  into  two  divisions,  one  of  which  followed  the 
course  of  the  Ganges  and  finally  settled  in  the  Rajmahal 
hills  :  while  the  other  went  up  the  Son  and  occupied  the 
north-western  portion  of  the  Chota  Nagpur  plateau,  where 
many  of  the  villages  they  occupy  are  still  known  by  Mundari 
names.  The  latter  were  the  ancestors  of  the  Oraons  or 
Kurukhs,  while  the  former  were  the  progenitors  of  the  Male 
or  Saonria  as  they  often  call  themselves."  Towards  Lohar- 
daga  the  Oraons  found  themselves  among  the  Mundas  or 
Kols,  who  probably  retired  by  degrees  and  left  them  in 
possession  of  the  country.  "  The  Oraons,"  Father  Dehon 
states,  "  are  an  exceedingly  prolific  tribe  and  soon  become 
the  preponderant  element,  while  the  Mundas,  being  con- 
servative and  averse  to  living  among  strangers,  emigrate 
towards  another  jungle.  The  Mundas  hate  zamlndars,  and 
whenever  they  can  do  so,  prefer  to  live  in  a  retired  corner 
in  full  possession  of  their  small  holding  ;  and  it  is  not  at 
all  improbable  that,  as  the  zamlndars  took  possession  of  the 
newly-formed  villages,  they  retired  towards  the  east,  while 
the  Oraons,  being  good  beasts  of  burden  and  more  accus- 
tomed to  subjection,  remained."  In  view  of  the  fine 
physique  and  martial  character  of  the  Larka  or  Fighting 
Kols  or  Mundas,  Dalton  was  sceptical  of  the  theory  that 
they  could  ever  have  retired  before  the  Oraons  ;  but  in 
addition  to  the  fact  that  many  villages  in  which  Oraons 
now  live  have  Mundari  names,  it  may  be  noted  that  the 
headman  of  an  Oraon  village  is  termed  Munda  and  is 
considered  to  be  descended  from  its  founder,  while  for  the 
Pahan  or  priest  of  the  village  gods,  the  Oraons  always 
employ  a  Munda  if  available,  and  it  is  one  of  the  Pahan's 
duties  to  point  out  the  boundary  of  the  village  in  cases 
of  dispute  ;  this  is  a  function  regularly  assigned  to  the 
earliest    residents,  and    seems    to   be   strong    evidence    that 

*  Bengal  Census  Report  ( 1 90 1 ). 


302 


OR  AON 


the  Oraons  found  the  Mundas  settled  in  Chota  Nagpur 
when  they  arrived  there.  It  is  not  necessary  to  suppose 
that  any  conquest  or  forcible  expropriation  took  place ; 
and  it  is  probable  that,  as  the  country  was  opened  up,  the 
Mundas  by  preference  retired  to  the  wilder  forest  tracts, 
just  as  in  the  Central  Provinces  the  Korkus  and  Baigas 
gave  way  to  the  Gonds,  and  the  Gonds  themselves  relinquished 
the  open  country  to  the  Hindus.  None  of  the  writers  quoted 
notice  the  name  Munda  as  applied  to  the  headman  of  an 
Oraon  village,  but  it  can  hardly  be  doubted  that  it  is  con- 
nected with  that  of  the  tribe  ;  and  it  would  be  interesting  also 
to  know  whether  the  Pahan  or  village  priest  takes  his  name 
from  the  Pans  or  Gandas.  Dalton  says  that  the  Pans  are 
domesticated  as  essential  constituents  of  every  Ho  or  Kol 
village  community,  but  does  not  allude  to  their  presence 
among  the  Oraons.  The  custom  in  the  Central  Provinces, 
by  which  in  Gond  villages  the  village  priest  is  always  known 
as  Baiga,  because  in  some  localities  members  of  the  Baiga 
tribe  are  commonly  employed  in  the  office,  suggests  the 
hypothesis  of  a  similar  usage  here.  In  villages  first  settled 
by  Oraons,  the  population.  Father  Dehon  states,  is  divided 
into  three  khunts  or  branches,  named  after  the  Munda, 
Pahan  and  Mahto,  the  founders  of  the  three  branches  being 
held  to  have  been  sons  of  the  first  settler.  Members  of  each 
branch  belong  therefore  to  the  same  sept  or  got.  Each 
khiint  has  a  share  of  the  village  lands. 
3.  Sub-  The   Oraons  have  no  proper  subcastes    in    the   Central 

divisions.  Provinces,  but  the  Kudas  and  Kisans,  having  a  distinctive 
name  and  occupation,  sometimes  regard  themselves  as 
separate  bodies  and  decline  intermarriage  with  other  Oraons. 
In  Bengal  Sir  H.  Risley  gives  five  divisions,  Barga,  Dhanka, 
Kharia,  Khendro  and  Munda  ;  of  these  Kharia  and  Munda 
are  the  names  of  other  tribes,  and  Dhanka  may  be  a  variant 
for  Dhangar.  The  names  show  that  as  usual  with  the  tribes  of 
this  part  of  the  country  the  law  of  endogamy  is  by  no  means 
strict.  The  tribe  have  also  a  large  number  of  exogamous 
septs  of  the  totemistic  type,  named  after  plants  and  animals. 
Members  of  any  sept  commonly  abstain  from  killing  or  eat- 
ing their  sept  totem.  A  man  must  not  marry  a  member  of 
his  own  sept  nor  a  first  cousin  on  the  mother's  side. 


11  PRE-NUPTIAL  LICENCE  303 

Marriage  is  adult  and  prc-nuptial   unchastity  appears  to  4.  prc- 
bc  tacitly  recognised.      Oraon  villages  have  the  institution  ""''^'^^ 

_  licence. 

of  the  Dhumkuria  or  Bachelors'  dormitory,  which  Dalton 
describes  as  follows:^  "In  all  the  older  Oraon  villages  when 
there  is  any  conservation  of  ancient  customs,  there  is  a  house 
called  the  Dhumkuria  in  which  all  the  bachelors  of  the  village 
must  sleep  under  penalty  of  a  fine.  The  huts  of  the  Oraons 
have  insufficient  accommodation  for  a  family,  so  that  separate 
quarters  for  the  young  men  are  a  necessity.  The  same  remark 
applies  to  the  young  unmarried  women,  and  it  is  a  fact  that 
they  do  not  sleep  in  the  house  with  their  parents.  They  are 
generally  frank  enough  when  questioned  about  their  habits, 
but  on  this  subject  there  is  always  a  certain  amount  of 
reticence,  and  I  have  seen  girls  quietly  withdraw  when  it  was 
mooted.  I  am  told  that  in  some  villages  a  separate  building 
is  provided  for  them  like  the  Dhumkuria,  in  which  they  con- 
sort under  the  guardianship  of  an  elderly  duenna,  but  I 
believe  the  more  common  practice  is  to  distribute  them 
among  the  houses  of  the  widows,  and  this  is  what  the  girls 
themselves  assert,  if  they  answer  at  all  when  the  question  is 
asked  ;  but  however  billeted,  it  is  well  known  that  they  often 
find  their  way  to  the  bachelors'  hall,  and  in  some  villages 
actually  sleep  there.  I  not  long  ago  saw  a  Dhumkuria  in  a 
Sarguja  village  in  which  the  boys  and  girls  all  slept  every 
night."  Colonel  Dalton  considered  it  uncertain  that  the 
practice  led  to  actual  immorality,  but  the  fact  can  hardly 
be  doubted.  Sexual  intercourse  before  marriage.  Sir  H. 
Risley  says,  is  tacitly  recognised,  and  is  so  generally  practised 
that  in  the  opinion  of  the  best  observers  no  Oraon  girl  is  a 
virgin  at  the  time  of  her  marriage.  "  To  call  this  state  of 
things  immoral  is  to  apply  a  modern  conception  to  primitive 
habits  of  life.  Within  the  tribe,  indeed,  the  idea  of  sexual 
morality  seems  hardly  to  exist,  and  the  unmarried  Oraons 
are  not  far  removed  from  the  condition  of  modified  promis- 
cuity which  prevails  among  many  of  the  Australian  tribes. 
Provided  that  the  exogamous  circle  defined  by  the  totem 
is  respected,  an  unmarried  woman  may  bestow  her  favours 
on  whom  she  will.  If,  however,  she  becomes  pregnant, 
arrangements  are  made  to  get  her   married   without  delay, 

^  Ethnography,  p.  248. 


304 


ORAON 


Betrothal. 


and  she  is  then  expected  to  lead  a  virtuous  life."  ^  Accord- 
ing to  Dalton,  however,  liaisons  between  boys  and  girls  of 
the  same  village  seldom  end  in  marriage,  as  it  is  considered 
more  respectable  to  bring  home  a  bride  from  a  distance. 
This  appears  to  arise  from  the  primitive  rule  of  exogamy 
that  marriage  should  not  be  allowed  between  those  who 
have  been  brought  up  together.  The  young  men  can  choose 
for  themselves,  and  at  dances,  festivals  and  other  social  gather- 
ings they  freely  woo  their  sweethearts,  giving  them  flowers  for 
the  hair  and  presents  of  grilled  field-mice,  which  the  Oraons 
consider  to  be  the  most  delicate  of  food.  Father  Dehon,  how- 
ever, states  that  matches  are  arranged  by  the  parents,  and 
the  bride  and  bridegroom  have  nothing  to  say  in  the  matter. 
Boys  are  usually  married  at  sixteen  and  girls  at  fourteen  or 
fifteen.  The  girls  thus  have  only  about  two  years  of  pre- 
liminary flirtation  or  Dhiimkuria  life  before  they  are  settled. 
5-  ^  The    first    ceremony   for    a   marriage    is    known    as  pan 

bandhi  or  the  settling  of  the  price  ;  for  which  the  boy's 
father,  accompanied  by  some  men  of  his  village  to  represent 
ihepanch  or  elders,  goes  to  the  girl's  house.  Father  Dehon 
states  that  the  bride-price  is  five  rupees  and  four  maunds  of 
grain.  When  this  has  been  settled  the  rejoicings  begin. 
"  All  the  people  of  the  village  are  invited  ;  two  boys  come 
and  anoint  the  visitors  with  oil.  From  every  house  of  the 
village  that  can  afford  it  a  handia  or  pot  of  rice-beer  is 
brought,  and  they  drink  together  and  make  merry.  All 
this  time  the  girl  has  been  kept  inside,  but  now  she 
suddenly  sallies  forth  carrying  a  handia  on  her  head. 
A  murmur  of  admiration  greets  her  when  stepping  through 
the  crowd  she  comes  and  stands  in  front  of  her  future 
father-in-law,  who  at  once  takes  the  handia  from  her  head, 
embraces  her,  and  gives  her  one  rupee.  From  that  time 
during  the  whole  of  the  feast  the  girl  remains  sitting  at 
the  feet  of  her  father-in-law.  The  whole  party  meanwhile 
continue  drinking  and  talking  ;  and  voices  rise  so  high  that 
they  cannot  hear  one.  another.  As  a  diversion  the  old 
women  of  the  village  all  come  tumbling  in,  very  drunk  and 
wearing  fantastic  hats  made  of  leaves,  gesticulating  like 
devils  and  carrying  a  straw  manikin  representing  the 
'   Tribes  and  Castes,  vol,  ii.  p.  141. 


II  MARRIAGE  CEREMONY  305 

bridegroom.      They   all   look   like   old    witches,  and    in   their 
drunken  state  are  very  mischievous." 

The  marriage  takes  place  after    about  two   years,  visits  6.  Mar- 
being  exchanged  twice  a  year  in  the  meantime.      When  the  "^'^^^ 

°  .  .  ceremony. 

day  comes  the  bridegroom  proceeds  with  a  large  party  of  his 
friends,  male  and  female,  to  the  bride's  house.  Most  of  the 
males  have  warlike  weapons,  real  or  sham,  and  as  they 
approach  the  village  of  the  bride's  family  the  young  men  from 
thence  emerge,  also  armed,  as  if  to  repel  the  invasion,  and  a 
mimic  fight  ensues,  which  like  a  dissolving  view  blends 
pleasantly  into  a  dance.  In  this  the  bride  and  bridegroom 
join,  each  riding  on  the  hips  of  one  of  their  friends.  After 
this  they  have  a  feast  till  late  in  the  night.  Next  morning 
bread  cooked  by  the  bride's  mother  is  taken  to  the  dari  or 
village  spring,  where  all  the  women  partake  of  it.  When 
they  have  finished  they  bring  a  vessel  of  water  with  some 
leaves  of  the  mango  tree  in  it.  Meanwhile  the  bride  and 
bridegroom  are  in  the  house,  being  anointed  with  oil  and 
turmeric  by  their  respective  sisters.  When  everybody  has 
gathered  under  the  marriage-bower  the  boy  and  girl  are 
brought  out  of  the  house  and  a  heap  is  made  of  a  plough- 
yoke,  a  bundle  of  thatching-grass  and  a  curry-stone.  The 
bride  and  bridegroom  are  made  to  stand  on  the  curry-stone, 
the  boy  touching  the  heels  of  the  bride  with  his  toes,  and  a 
long  piece  of  cloth  is  put  round  them  to  screen  them  from 
the  public.  Only  their  heads  and  feet  can  be  seen.  A 
goblet  full  of  vermilion  is  presented  to  the  boy,  who  dips  his 
finger  in  it  and  makes  three  lines  on  the  forehead  of  the  girl ; 
and  the  girl  does  the  same  to  the  boy,  but  as  she  has  to 
reach  him  over  her  shoulder  and  cannot  see  him,  the  boy 
gets  it  anywhere  on  his  face,  which  never  fails  to  provoke 
hearty  bursts  of  laughter.  "  When  this  is  complete,"  Dalton 
states, "  a  gun  is  fired  and  then  by  some  arrangement  vessels 
full  of  water,  placed  over  the  bower,  are  upset,  and  the  young 
couple  and  those  near  them  receive  a  drenching  shower- 
bath,  the  women  shouting,  '  The  marriage  is  done,  the 
marriage  is  done.'  They  now  retire  into  an  apartment 
prepared  for  them,  ostensibly  to  change  their  clothes,  but 
they  do  not  emerge  for  some  time,  and  when  they  do  appear 
they  are  saluted  as  man  and  wife." 

VOL.  IV  X 


3o6  OR  AON  PART 

7.  Special  Meanwhile    the    guests    sit    round  drinking   Jiandias   or 

customs.  earthen  pots  full  of  rice-beer.  The  bride  and  bridegroom 
come  out  and  retire  a  second  time  and  are  called  out  for  the 
following  rite.  A  vessel  of  beer  is  brought  and  the  bride 
carries  a  cupful  of  it  to  the  bridegroom's  brother,  but  instead 
of  giving  it  into  his  hand  she  deposits  it  on  the  ground  in 
front  of  him.  This  is  to  seal  a  kind  of  tacit  agreement  that 
from  that  time  the  bridegroom's  brother  will  not  touch  his 
sister-in-law,  and  was  probably  instituted  to  mark  the 
abolition  of  the  former  system  of  fraternal  polyandry, 
customs  of  an  analogous  nature  being  found  among  the 
Khonds  and  Korkus.  "  Then,"  Father  Dehon  continues, 
"  comes  the  last  ceremony,  which  is  called  khiritengna 
Jiandia  or  the  Jiandia  of  the  story,  and  is  considered  by  the 
Oraons  to  be  the  true  form  of  marriage  vvhich  has  been 
handed  down  to  them  by  their  forefathers.  The  boy 
and  girl  sit  together  before  the  people,  and  one  of  the 
elder  men  present  rises  and  addressing  the  boy  says  :  '  If 
your  wife  goes  to  fetch  sag  and  falls  from  a  tree  and  breaks 
her  leg,  do  not  say  that  she  is  disfigured  or  crippled.  You 
will  have  to  keep  and  feed  her.'  Then  turning  to  the  girl  : 
'  When  your  husband  goes  hunting,  if  his  arm  or  leg  is 
broken,  do  not  say,  "  He  is  a  cripple,  I  won't  live  with  him." 
Do  not  say  that,  for  you  have  to  remain  with  him.  If  you 
prepare  meat,  give  two  shares  to  him  and  keep  only  one  for 
yourself  If  you  prepare  vegetables,  give  him  two  parts  and 
keep  only  one  part  for  yourself  If  he  gets  sick  and  cannot 
go  out,  do  not  say  that  he  is  dirty,  but  clean  his  mat  and 
wash  him.'  A  feast  follows,  and  at  night  the  girl  is  brought 
to  the  boy  by  her  mother,  who  says  to  him,  '  Now  this  my 
child  is  yours ;  I  do  not  give  her  for  a  few  days  but  for 
ever  ;  take  care  of  her  and  love  her  well.'  A  companion 
of  the  bridegroom's  then  seizes  the  girl  in  his  arms  and 
carries  her  inside  the  house." 
8.  Widow-  It  is  uncommon  for  a  man  to  have  two  wives.     Divorce 

and^"^"^'^^^  is    permitted,  and    is    usually  effected    by   the    boy   or   girl 
divorce.       running  away  to  the   Duars  or  Assam.      Widow-remarriage 
is  a  regular  practice.     The  first  time  a  widow  marries  again, 
Father  Dehon  states,  the  bridegroom  must  pay  Rs.  3-8  for 
her;   if  successive  husbands  die  her  price  goes  down  by  a 


II  CUSTOMS  AT  BIRTH— NAMING  A  CHILI)  307 

rupee  on  each  fresh  marriage,  so  that  a  fifth  husband  would 
pay  only  eight  annas.  Cases  of  adultery  are  comparatively 
rare.  When  offenders  are  caught  a  heavy  fine  is  imposed  if 
they  are  well-to-do,  and  if  they  are  not,  a  smaller  fine  and  a 
beating. 

"  The  Oraons,"  Father  Dehon  continues,  "  are  a  very  9.  Customs 
prolific  race,  and  whenever  they  are  allowed  to  live  without  ^^  "^''' 
being  too  much  oppressed  they  increase  prodigiously.  What 
strikes  you  when  you  come  to  an  Oraon  village  is  the 
number  of  small  dirty  children  playing  everywhere,  while 
you  can  scarcely  meet  a  woman  that  does  not  carry  a  baby 
on  her  back.  The  women  seem,  to  a  great  extent,  to  have 
been  exempted  from  the  curse  of  our  first  mother  :  *  Thou 
shalt  bring  forth,  etc'  They  seem  to  give  birth  to  their 
children  with  the  greatest  ease.  There  is  no  period  of 
uncleanness,  and  the  very  day  after  giving  birth  to  a  child, 
you  will  see  the  mother  with  her  baby  tied  up  in  a  cloth  on 
her  back  and  a  pitcher  on  her  head  going,  as  if  nothing  had 
happened,  to  the  village  spring."  This  practice,  it  may  be 
remarked  in  parenthesis,  may  arise  from  the  former  observance 
of  the  Couvade,  the  peculiar  custom  prevailing  among 
several  primitive  races,  by  which,  when  a  child  is  born,  the 
father  lies  in  the  house  and  pretends  to  be  ill,  while  the 
mother  gets  up  immediately  and  goes  about  her  work. 
The  custom  has  been  reported  as  existing  among  the 
Oraons  by  one  observer  from  Bilaspur,^  but  so  far  without 
confirmation. 

"  A   child   is  named   eight   or  ten  days  after  birth,  and  10. 
on  this  day  some  men  of  the  village  and  the  members  of  the  ^^/^'I'/j" 
family  assemble  at  the  parents'  house.      Two  leaf-cups  are 
brought,  one  full   of  water  and   the  other  of  rice.      After  a 
preliminary  formula  grains  of  rice  are  let  fall   into  the  cup, 
first  in  the  name  of  the  child  and  then  successively  in  those 
of  his  ancestors  in  the  following  order:   paternal  grandfather, 
paternal  great-grandfather,  father,   paternal   uncle,  maternal 
grandfather,   other   relatives.      When   the  grain   dropped   in 
the  name  of  any   relative   meets   the    first  one  dropped   to 
represent  the  child,  he  is  given  the  name  of  that  relative  and 
is  probably  considered  to  be  a  reincarnation  of  him." 
1  Panna  Lai,  Revenue  Inspector. 


3o8 


ORAON 


II.  Brand- 
ing and 
tattooinsr. 


"  When  a  boy  is  six  or  seven  years  old  it  is  time  for 
him  to  become  a  member  of  the  Dhumkuria  or  common 
dormitory.  The  eldest  boys  catch  hold  of  his  left  arm 
and,  with  burning  cloth,  burn  out  five  deep  marks  on  the 
lower  part  of  his  arm.  This  is  done  so  that  he  may  be 
recognised  as  an  Oraon  at  his  death  when  he  goes  into  the 
other  world."  The  ceremony  was  probably  the  initiation 
to  manhood  on  arrival  at  puberty,  and  resembled  those 
prevalent  among  the  Australian  tribes.  With  this  exception 
men  are  not  tattooed,  but  this  decoration  is  profusely 
resorted  to  by  women.  They  have  three  parallel  vertical 
lines  on  the  forehead  which  form  a  distinctive  mark,  and 
other  patterns  on  the  arms,  chest,  knees  and  ankles.  These 
usually  consist  of  lines  vertical  and  horizontal  as  shown 
below : 


12.  Dor- 
mitory 
discipline. 


13.  Dis- 
jjo.sal  of 
tlio  d(!ad. 


The  marks  on  the  knees  are  considered  to  be  steps 
by  which  the  wearer  will  ascend  to  heaven  after  her  death. 
If  a  baby  cries  much  it  is  also  tattooed  on  the  nose 
and  chin. 

The  Dhumkuria  fraternity,  Colonel  Dalton  remarks,  are, 
under  the  severest  penalties,  bound  down  to  secrecy  in 
regard  to  all  that  takes  place  in  their  dormitory ;  and  even 
girls  are  punished  if  they  dare  to  tell  tales.  They  are  not 
allowed  to  join  in  the  dances  till  the  offence  is  condoned.  They 
have  a  regular  system  of  fagging  in  this  curious  institution. 
The  small  boys  serve  those  of  larger  growth,  shampoo  their 
limbs,  comb  their  hair,  and  so  on,  and  they  are  sometimes 
subjected  to  severe  discipline  to  make  men  of  them. 

The  Oraons  either  bury  or  burn  the  dead.  As  the 
corpse  is  carried  to  the  grave,  beginning  from  the  first  cross- 
roads, they  sprinkle  a  line  of  rice  as  far  as  the  grave  or  pyre. 


II  WORSHIP  OF  ANCESTORS  309 

This  is  done  so  that  the  soul  of  the  deceased  may  find  its  way 
back  to  the  house.  Before  the  burial  or  cremation  cooked 
food  and  some  small  pieces  of  money  arc  placed  in  the  mouth 
of  the  corpse.  They  are  subsequently,  however,  removed  or 
recovered  from  the  ashes  and  taken  by  the  musicians  as  their 
fee.  Some  clothes  belonging  to  the  deceased  and  a  vessel 
with  some  rice  are  either  burnt  with  the  corpse  or  placed  in 
the  grave.  As  the  grave  is  being  filled  in  they  place  a  stalk 
oiorai^  grass  vertically  on  the  head  of  the  corpse  and  gradually 
draw  it  upwards  as  the  earth  is  piled  on  the  grave.  They 
say  that  this  is  done  in  order  to  leave  a  passage  for  the  air 
to  pass  to  the  nostrils  of  the  deceased.  This  is  the  grass 
from  which  reed  pens  are  made,  and  the  stalk  is  hard  and 
hollow.  Afterwards  they  plant  a  root  of  the  same  grass 
where  the  stalk  is  standing  over  the  head  of  the  corpse.  On 
the  tenth  day  they  sacrifice  a  pig  and  fowl  and  bury  the  legs, 
tail,  ears  and  nose  of  the  pig  in  a  hole  with  seven  balls  of 
iron  dross.  They  then  proceed  to  the  grave  scattering  a 
little  parched  rice  all  the  way  along  the  path.  Cooked  rice 
is  offered  at  the  grave.  If  the  corpse  has  been  burnt 
they  pick  up  the  bones  and  place  them  in  a  pot,  which  is 
brought  home  and  hung  up  behind  the  dead  man's  house. 
At  night-time  a  relative  sits  inside  the  house  watching  a 
burning  lamp,  while  some  friends  go  outside  the  village  and 
make  a  miniature  hut  with  sticks  and  grass  and  set  fire  to  it. 
They  then  call  out  to  the  dead  man,  '  Come,  your  house  is 
being  burnt,'  and  walk  home  striking  a  mattock  and  sickle 
together.  On  coming  to  the  house  they  kick  down  the  matting 
which  covers  the  doorway  ;  the  man  inside  says,  '  Who  are 
you  ?  '  and  they  answer,  '  It  is  we.'  They  watch  the  lamp  and 
when  the  flame  wavers  they  believe  it  to  show  that  the  spirit 
of  the  deceased  has  followed  them  and  has  also  entered  the 
house.  Next  day  the  bones  are  thrown  into  a  river  and  the 
earthen  pot  broken  against  a  stone. 

The  pitras  or  ancestors  are  worshipped  at  every  festival,  14.  Wor- 
and  when  the  new  rice  is  reaped  a  hen  is  offered  to  them,  f^^ces^ors 
They  pray  to  their  dead  parents  to  accept  the  offering  and 
then    place    a   few  grains  of  rice   before    the    hen.      If  she 
eats  them,  it    is    a   sign    that   the    ancestors  have    accepted 

'  Sorghum  halepense. 


3IO  OR  AON  PART 

the  offering  and  a  man  kills  the  hen  by  crushing  its  head 
with  his  closed  fist.  This  is  probably,  as  remarked  by 
Father  Dehon,  in  recollection  of  the  method  employed  before 
the  introduction  of  knives,  and  the  same  explanation  may 
be  given  of  the  barbaric  method  of  the  Baigas  of  crushing  a 
pig  to  death  by  a  beam  of  wood  used  as  a  see-saw  across  its 
body,  and  of  the  Gond  bride  and  bridegroom  killing  a  fowl 
by  treading  on  it  when  they  first  enter  their  house  after  the 
wedding. 

15.  Reii-  The  following  account  of  the  tribal  religion  is  abridged 
gion.    The  fj-Qj^  Father  Dehon's  full  and  interesting  description  : 

supreme  °  '■ 

»   deity.  "  The  Oraons  worship  a  supreme  god  who  is  known  as 

Dharmes  ;  him  they  invoke  in  their  greatest  difficulties  when 
recourse  to  the  village  priests  and  magicians  has  proved 
useless.  Then  they  turn  to  Dharmes  and  say,  '  Now  we 
have  tried  everything,  but  we  have  still  you  who  can  help 
'  us.'  They  sacrifice  to  him  a  white  cock.  They  think  that 
god  is  too  good  to  punish  them,  and  that  they  are  not 
answerable  to  him  in  any  way  for  their  conduct  ;  they  believe 
that  everybody  will  be  treated  in  the  same  way  in  the  other 
world.  There  is  no  hell  for  them  or  place  of  punishment, 
but  everybody  will  go  to  mcrkJia  or  heaven.  The  Red 
Indians  speak  of  the  happy  hunting-grounds  and  the  Oraons 
imagine  something  like  the  happy  ploughing-grounds,  where 
everybody  will  have  plenty  of  land,  plenty  of  bullocks  to 
plough  it  with,  and  plenty  of  rice-beer  to  drink  after  his 
labour.  They  look  on  god  as  a  big  zamindar  or  landowner, 
who  does  nothing  himself,  but  keeps  a  cJiaprdsi  as  an  agent 
or  debt-collector ;  and  they  conceive  the  latter  as  having 
all  the  defects  so  common  to  his  profession.  Baranda, 
the  chaprdsi,  exacts  tribute  from  them  mercilessly,  not 
exactly  out  of  zeal  for  the  service  of  his  master,  but  out  of 
greed  for  his  talbdna  or  perquisites.  When  making  a  sacri- 
fice to  Dharmes  they  pray  :  '  O  god,  from  to-day  do  not 
send  any  more  your  cJiaprdsi  to  punish  us.  You  see  we 
have  paid  our  respects  to  you,  and  we  are  going  to  give 
him  his  dasiilj-i  (tip).' 

16.  Minor  "  ]',ut  in  the  concerns  of  this  world,  to  obtain  good 
crops  and  freedom  from  sickness,  a  host  of  minor  deities  have 
to  be  propitiated.     These  consist  of  bhilts  or  spirits  of  the 


godlings. 


II  MINOR  CODLINGS  311 

household,  the  sept,  the  villajj^c,  and  common  deities,  such 
as  the  earth  and  sun.  Chola  Pacho  or  the  lady  of  the 
grove  lives  in  the  sarna  or  sacred  grove,  which  has  been 
left  standing  when  the  forest  was  cleared.  She  is  credited 
with  the  power  of  giving  rain  and  consequently  good 
crops.  Churcl  is  the  shade  of  a  woman  who  has  died 
while  pregnant  or  in  childbirth.  She  hovers  over  her 
burial-place  and  is  an  object  of  horror  and  fright  to  every 
passer-by.  It  is  her  nature  to  look  out  for  a  companion,  and 
she  is  said  always  to  choose  that  member  of  a  family  whom 
she  liked  best  during  her  lifetime.  She  will  then  come  at 
night  and  embrace  him  and  tickle  him  under  the  arms,  making 
him  laugh  till  he  dies.  Bhula  or  the  wanderers  are  the  shades 
of  persons  who  have  died  an  unnatural  death,  either  having 
been  murdered,  hanged,  or  killed  by  a  tiger.  '  They  all  keep 
the  scars  of  their  respective  wounds  and  one  can  imagine 
what  a  weird-looking  lot  they  are.  They  are  always  on 
the  move,  and  are,  as  it  were,  the  mendicant  portion  of 
the  invisible  community.  They  are  not  very  powerful  and 
are  responsible  only  for  small  ailments,  like  nightmares  and 
slight  indispositions.  When  an  Ojha  or  spirit-raiser  dis- 
covers that  a  Bhula  has  appeared  in  the  light  of  his  lamp  he 
shows  a  disappointed  face,  and  says  :  '  Pshaw,  only  Bhula  ! ' 
No  sacrifice  is  offered  to  him,  but  the  Ojha  then  and  there 
takes  a  few  grains  of  rice,  rubs  them  in  charcoal  and  throws 
them  at  the  flame  of  his  lamp,  saying,  *  Take  this,  Bhula,  and 
go  away.'  Murkuri  is  the  thumping  bJiiit.  Europeans  to 
show  their  kindness  and  familiarity  thump  people  on  the 
back.  If  this  is  followed  by  fever  or  any  kind  of  sickness 
it  will  be  ascribed  to  the  passing  of  Murkuri  from  the  body 
of  the  European  into  the  body  of  the  native. 

"  Chordeiua  is  a  witch  rather  than  a  h/iilt.  It  is  believed 
that  some  women  have  the  power  to  change  their  soul  into 
a  black  cat,  who  then  goes  about  in  the  houses  where  there 
are  sick  people.  Such  a  cat  has  a  peculiar  way  of  mewing, 
quite  different  from  its  brethren,  and  is  easily  recognised. 
It  steals  quietly  into  the  house,  licks  the  lips  of  the  sick  man 
and  eats  the  food  which  has  been  prepared  for  him.  The 
sick  man  soon  gets  worse  and  dies.  They  say  it  is  very 
difficult  to  catch  the  cat,  as   it  has  all  the  nimbleness  of  its 


sacrifice. 


312  OR  A  ON  PART 

nature  and  the  cleverness  of  a  b/ult.  However,  they  some- 
times succeed,  and  then  something  wonderful  happens. 
The  woman  out  of  whom  the  cat  has  come  remains  insen- 
sible, as  it  were  in  a  state  of  temporary  death,  until  the  cat 
re-enters  her  body.  Any  wound  inflicted  on  the  cat  will  be 
inflicted  on  her  ;  if  they  cut  its  ears  or  break  its  legs  or  put 
out  its  eyes  the  woman  will  suffer  the  same  mutilation.  The 
Oraons  say  that  formerly  they  used  to  burn  any  woman 
who  was  suspected  of  being  a  CJwrdezva. 
17.  Human  "  There  is  also  Anna  Kuari  or  Mahadhani,  who  is  in  our 

estimation  the  most  cruel  and  repulsive  deity  of  all,  as  she 
requires  human  sacrifice.  Those  savage  people,  who  put  good 
crops  above  everything,  look  upon  her  in  a  different  light.  She 
can  give  good  crops  and  make  a  man  rich,  and  this  covers  a 
multitude  of  sins.  People  may  be  sceptical  about  it  and  say 
that  it  is  impossible  that  in  any  part  of  India  under  the  British 
Government  there  should  still  be  human  sacrifices.  Well, 
in  spite  of  all  the  vigilance  of  the  authorities,  there  are  still 
human  sacrifices  in  Chota  Nagpur.  As  the  vigilance  of  the 
authorities  increases,  so  also  does  the  carefulness  of  the 
Urkas  or  Otongas  increase.  They  choose  for  their  victims 
poor  waifs  or  strangers,  whose  disappearance  no  one  will 
notice.  April  and  May  are  the  months  in  which  the  Urkas 
are  at  work.  Dolsa,  Panari,  Kukra  and  Sarguja  have  a  very 
bad  reputation.  During  these  months  no  strangers  will  go 
about  the  country  alone  and  during  that  time  nowhere  will 
boys  and  girls  be  allowed  to  go  to  the  jungle  and  graze  the 
cattle  for  fear  of  the  Urkas.  When  an  Urka  has  found  a 
victim  he  cuts  his  throat  and  carries  away  the  upper  part  of 
the  ring  finger  and  the  nose.  Anna  Kuari  finds  votaries 
not  only  among  the  Oraons,  but  especially  among  the  big 
zamlndars  and  Rajas  of  the  Native  States.  When  a  man 
has  offered  a  sacrifice  to  Anna  Kuari  she  goes  and  lives  in 
his  house  in  the  form  of  a  small  child.  From  that  time  his 
fields  yield  double  harvest,  and  when  he  brings  in  his  paddy 
he  takes  Anna  Kuari  and  rolls  her  over  the  heap  to  double 
its  size.  But  she  soon  becomes  restless  and  is  only  pacified 
by  new  human  sacrifices.  At  last  after  some  years  she 
cannot  bear  remaining  in  the  same  house  any  more  and  kills 
every  one." 


II         CHRISTIANirY—TIIE  SAL  FLOWER  FESTIVAL     313 

In  Jashpur  State  where  the  Oraons  number  47,000  18.  Chris- 
about  half  the  total  number  have  become  Christians.  The  "^"'^>'- 
non-Christians  call  themselves  Sansar,  and  the  principal 
difference  between  them  is  that  the  Christians  have  cut  off 
the  pigtail,  while  the  Sansar  retain  it.  In  some  families  the 
father  may  be  a  Sansar  and  the  son  a  Kiristan,  and  they 
live  together  without  any  distinction.  The  Christians  belong 
to  the  Roman  Catholic  and  Lutheran  Missions,  but  though 
they  all  know  their  Church,  they  naturally  have  little  or  no 
idea  of  the  distinctions  of  doctrine. 

The  principal   festivals  are  the  Sarhul,  celebrated  when  19.  Festi- 
the  sal  tree  ■*  flowers,  the  Karma  or   May-day  when  the  rice  Kirma^r^ 
is    read}^    for    planting    out,    and    the    Kanihari    or    harvest  May-day. 
celebration. 

"  At  the  Karma  festival  a  party  of  young  people  of  both 
sexes,"  says  Colonel  Dalton,  "  proceed  to  the  forest  and  cut 
a  young  karma  tree  {Nauclca  parvifolia)  or  the  branch  of 
one ;  they  bear  this  home  in  triumph  and  plant  it  in  the 
centre  of  the  Akhara  or  wrestling  ground.  Next  morning 
all  may  be  seen  at  an  early  hour  in  holiday  array,  the  elders 
in  groups  under  the  fine  old  tamarind  trees  that  surround 
the  Akhara,  and  the  youth  of  both  sexes,  arm-linked  in  a 
huge  circle,  dancing  round  the  karma  tree,  which,  festooned 
with  garlands,  decorated  with  strips  of  coloured  cloth  and 
sham  bracelets  and  necklets  of  plaited  straw,  and  with  the 
bright  faces  and  merry  laughter  of  the  young  people 
encircling  it,  reminds  one  of  the  gift-bearing  tree  so  often 
introduced  at  our  own  great  festival."  The  tree,  however, 
probably  corresponds  to  the  English  Maypole,  and  the 
festival  celebrates  the  renewal  of  vegetation. 

At  the  SarhQl  festival  the  marriage  of  the  sun-god  and  20.  The 
earth-mother  is  celebrated,  and  this  cannot  be  done  till  the  f|!s^ji'|.°i^'^' 
sal  tree  gives  the  flowers  for  the  ceremony.  It  takes  place 
about  the  beginning  of  April  on  any  day  when  the  tree  is  in 
flower.  A  white  cock  is  taken  to  represent  the  sun  and  a 
black  hen  the  earth  ;  their  marriage  is  celebrated  by  marking 
them  with  vermilion,  and  they  are  sacrificed.  The  villagers 
then  accompany  the  Pahan  or  Baiga,  the  village  priest,  to 
the  sarna  or  sacred  grove,  a  remnant  of  the  old  sal  forest   in 

1  Shorea  robiisfa. 


314  OR  AON  I'AUT 

which  is  located  Sarna  Burhi  or  '  The  old  women  of  the 
grove.'  "  To  this  dryad,"  writes  Colonel  Dalton,  "  who  is 
supposed  to  have  great  influence  over  the  rain  (a  superstition 
not  improbably  founded  on  the  importance  of  trees  as  cloud- 
compellers),  the  party  offer  five  fowls,  which  are  afterwards 
eaten,  and  the  remainder  of  the  day  is  spent  in  feasting. 
They  return  laden  with  the  flowers  of  the  sal  tree,  and  next 
morning  with  the  Baiga  pay  a  visit  to  every  house,  carrying 
the  flowers.  The  women  of  the  village  all  stand  on  the 
threshold  of  their  houses,  each  holding  two  leaf-cups  ;  one 
empty  to  receive  the  holy  water  ;  the  other  with  rice-beer 
for  the  Baiga.  His  reverence  stops  at  each  house,  and 
places  flowers  over  it  and  in  the  hair  of  the  women.  He 
sprinkles  the  holy  water  on  the  seeds  that  have  been  kept 
for  the  new  year  and  showers  blessings  on  every  house, 
saying,  'May  your  rooms  and  granary  be  filled  with  paddy 
that  the  Baiga's  name  may  be  great'  When  this  is  accom- 
plished the  woman  throws  a  vessel  of  water  over  his  vener- 
able person,  heartily  dousing  the  man  whom  the  moment 
before  they  were  treating  with  such  profound  respect.  This 
is  no  doubt  a  rain-charm,  and  is  a  familiar  process.  The 
Baiga  is  prevented  from  catching  cold  by  being  given  the 
cup  of  rice-beer  and  is  generally  gloriously  drunk  before  he 
completes  his  round.  There  is  now  a  general  feast,  and 
afterwards  the  youth  of  both  sexes,  gaily  decked  with  the 
sal  blossoms,  the  pale  cream-white  flowers  of  which  make 
the  most  becoming  of  ornaments  against  their  dusky  skins 
and  coal-black  hair,  proceed  to  the  Akhara  and  dance  all 
night." 
21.  The  The   Kanihari,   as   described   by   Father   Dehon,  is   held 

harvest     pi-gyious  to  the  threshing  of  the  rice,  and  none  is  allowed  to 

festival,     i  ^  ' 

prepare  his  threshing-floor  until  it  has  been  celebrated.  It 
can  only  take  place  on  a  Tuesday.  A  fowl  is  sacrificed  and 
its  blood  sprinkled  on  the  new  rice.  In  the  evening  a 
common  feast  is  held  at  which  the  Baiga  presides,  and  when 
this  is  over  they  go  to  the  place  where  Mahadeo  is  wor- 
shipped and  the  Baiga  pours  milk  over  the  stone  that 
represents  him.  The  people  then  dance.  Plenty  of  rice- 
beer  is  brought,  and  a  scene  of  debauchery  takes  place  in 
which  all  restraint  is  put  aside.     They  sing  the  most  obscene 


II  PHYSICAL  APPEARANCE  AND  COSTUME  315 

songs  and  give  vent  to  all   their  passions.      On  that  clay  no 
one  is  responsible  for  any  breach  of  morality. 

Like  other  primitive  races,  and  the  Hindus  generally,  the  22.  Fast 
Oraons  observe  the  Lenten  fast,  as  explained  by  Sir  J.G.  Frazcr,  ^rons^ 
after  sowing  their  crops.  Having  committed  his  seed  with 
every  propitiatory  rite  to  the  bosom  of  Mother  Earth,  the 
savage  waits  with  anxious  expectation  to  see  whether  she 
will  once  again  perform  on  his  behalf  the  yearly  miracle  of 
the  renewal  of  vegetation,  and  the  growth  of  the  corn-plants 
from  the  seed  which  the  Greeks  typified  by  the  descent  of 
Proserpine  into  Hades  for  a  season  of  the  year  and  her 
triumphant  re-emergence  to  the  ui)pcr  air.  Meanwhile 
he  fasts  and  atones  for  any  sin  or  shortcoming  of  his 
which  may  possibly  have  offended  the  goddess  and  cause 
her  to  hold  her  hand.  From  the  beginning  of  AsdrJi 
(June)  the  Oraons  cease  to  shave,  abstain  from  eating 
turmeric,  and  make  no  leaf-plates  for  their  food,  but  eat 
it  straight  from  the  cooking-vessel.  This  they  now  say 
is  to  prevent  the  field-mice  from  consuming  the  seeds  of 
the  rice. 

"The  colour  of  most  Oraons,"  Sir   H.  Risley  states,  "is  23.  Physi- 
the  darkest  brown  approaching  to  black  ;  the  hair  being  jet-  ^^^e  anT*^" 
black,  coarse   and   rather   inclined  to  be   frizzy.      Projecting  costume 
jaws   and   teeth,  thick   lips,  low  narrow  foreheads,  and  broad  oraons 
flat  noses  are  the  features  characteristic  of  the  tribe.      The 
eyes  are  often  bright  and  full,  and  no  obliquity  is  observable 
in  the  opening  of  the  eyelids." 

"  The  Oraon  youths,"  Dalton  states,  "  though  with 
features  very  far  from  being  in  accordance  with  the  statutes 
of  beauty,  are  of  a  singularly  pleasing  class,  their  faces 
beaming  with  animation  and  good  humour.  They  are  a  small 
race,  averaging  4  feet  5  inches,  but  there  is  perfect  proportion 
in  all  parts  of  their  form,  and  their  supple,  pliant,  lithe  figures 
are  often  models  of  symmetr}^  There  is  about  the  young 
Oraon  a  jaunty  air  and  mirthful  expression  that  distinguishes 
him  from  the  Munda  or  Ho,  who  has  more  of  the  dignified 
gravity  that  is  said  to  characterise  the  North  American 
Indian.  The  Oraon  is  particular  about  his  personal  appear- 
ance only  so  long  as  he  is  unmarried,  but  he  is  in  no  hurry 
to  withdraw  from  the  Dhumkuria  community,  and   generally 


3i6  ORAON  PART 

his  first  youth  is  passed  before  he  resigns  his  decorative 
propensities. 

"  He  wears  his  hair  long  Hke  a  woman,  gathered  in  a 
knot  behind,  supporting,  when  he  is  in  gala  costume,  a  red 
or  white  turban.  In  the  knot  are  wooden  combs  and  other 
instruments  useful  and  ornamental,  with  numerous  ornaments 
of  brass.^  At  the  very  extremity  of  the  roll  of  hair  gleams 
a  small  circular  mirror  set  in  brass,  from  which,  and  also 
from  his  ears,  bright  brass  chains  with  spiky  pendants  dangle, 
and  as  he  moves  with  the  springy  elastic  step  of  youth  and 
tosses  his  head  like  a  high-mettled  steed  in  the  buoyancy  of 
his  animal  spirits,  he  sets  all  his  glittering  ornaments  in 
motion  and  displays  as  he  laughs  a  row  of  teeth,  round, 
white  and  regular,  that  give  light  and  animation  to  his 
dusky  features.  He  wears  nothing  in  the  form  of  a  coat  ; 
his  decorated  neck  and  chest  are  undraped,  displaying  how 
the  latter  tapers  to  the  waist,  which  the  young  dandies  com- 
press within  the  smallest  compass.  In  addition  to  the  cloth, 
there  is  always  round  the  waist  a  girdle  of  cords  made  of 
tasar-silk  or  of  cane.  This  is  now  a  superfluity,  but  it  is  no 
doubt  the  remnant  of  a  more  primitive  costume,  perhaps  the 
support  of  the  antique  fig-leaves. 

"  Out  of  the  age  of  ornamentation  nothing  can  be  more 
untidy  or  more  unprepossessing  than  the  appearance  of  the 
Oraon;  The  ornaments  are  nearly  all  discarded,  hair  utterly 
neglected,  and  for  raiment  any  rags  are  used.  This  applies 
both  to  males  and  females  of  middle  age. 
24.  Dress  "  The  drcss  of  the  women  consists  of  one  cloth,  six  yards 

long,  gracefully  adjusted  so  as  to  form  a  shawl  and  a  petti- 
coat. The  upper  end  is  thrown  over  the  left  shoulder  and 
falls  with  its  fringe  and  ornamented  border  prettily  over  the 
back  of  the  figure.  Vast  quantities  of  red  beads  and  a 
large,  heavy  brass  ornament  shaped  like  a  torque  are  worn 
round  the  neck.  On  the  left  hand  are  rings  of  copper,  as 
many  as  can  be  induced  on  each  finger  up  to  the  first  joint, 
on  the  right  hand  a  smaller  quantity  ;  rings  on  the  second 
toe  only  of  brass  or  bell-metal,  and  anklets  and  bracelets  of 
the   same   material  arc   also  worn."      The  women  wear  only 

'  In  Bilaspur  the  men  have  an  iron       and  two  prongs  like  a  fork.      Women 
comb  in  the  hair  with  a  circular  end       do  not  wear  this. 


of  women. 


II  DANCES  317 

metal  and  not  glass  bangles,  and  this  with  the  three  vertical 
tattoo-marks  on  the  forehead  and  the  fact  that  the  head  and 
right  arm  are  uncovered  enables  them  to  be  easily  recog- 
nised. "  The  hair  is  made  tolerably  smooth  and  amenable 
by  much  lubrication,  and  false  hair  or  some  other  substance 
is  used  to  give  size  to  the  mass  into  which  it  is  gathered  not 
immediately  behind,  but  more  or  less  on  one  side,  so  that  it 
lies  on  the  neck  just  behind  and  touching  the  right  ear  ;  and 
flowers  are  arranged  in  a  receptacle  made  for  them  between 
the  roll  of  hair  and  the  head."  Rings  are  worn  in  the  lobes 
of  the  ear,  but  not  other  ornaments.  "  When  in  dancing 
costume  on  grand  occasions  they  add  to  their  head-dress 
plumes  of  heron  feathers,  and  a  gay  bordered  scarf  is  tightly 
bound  round  the  upper  part  of  the  body." 

"  The  tribe  I  am  treating  of  are  seen  to  best  advantage  25. 
at  the  great  national  dance  meetings  called  Jatras,  which 
are  held  once  a  year  at  convenient  centres,  generally 
large  mango  groves  in  the  vicinity  of  old  villages.  As 
a  signal  to  the  country  round,  the  flags  of  each  village 
are  brought  out  on  the  day  fixed  and  set  upon  the  road 
that  leads  to  the  place  of  meeting.  This  incites  the  young 
men  and  maidens  to  hurry  through  their  morning's  work 
and  look  up  their  jatra  dresses,  which  are  by  no  means 
ordinary  attire.  Those  who  have  some  miles  to  go  put  up 
their  finery  in  a  bundle  to  keep  it  fresh  and  clean,  and 
proceed  to  some  tank  or  stream  in  the  vicinity  of  the  tryst 
grove  ;  and  about  two  o'clock  in  the  afternoon  may  be  seen 
all  around  groups  of  girls  laughingly  making  their  toilets  in 
the  open  air,  and  young  men  in  separate  parties  similarly 
employed.  When  they  are  ready  the  drums  are  beaten, 
huge  horns  are  blown,  and  thus  summoned  the  group  from 
each  village  forms  its  procession.  In  front  are  young  men 
with  swords  and  shields  or  other  weapons,  the  village 
standard-bearers  with  their  flags,  and  boys  waving  yaks' 
tails  or  bearing  poles  with  fantastic  arrangements  of  garlands 
and  wreaths  intended  to  represent  umbrellas  of  dignity. 
Sometimes  a  man  riding  on  a  wooden  horse  is  carried, 
horse  and  all,  by  his  friends  as  the  Raja,  and  others  assume 
the  form  of  or  paint  themselves  up  to  represent  certain 
beasts  of  prey.      Behind   this  motley  group  the  main   body 


Dances. 


3i8  OR  AON  PART 

form  compactly  together  as  a  close  column  of  dancers  in 
alternate  ranks  of  boys  and  girls,  and  thus  they  enter  the 
grove,  where  the  meeting  is  held  in  a  cheery  dashing  style, 
wheeling  and  countermarching  and  forming  lines,  circles  and 
columns  with  grace  and  precision.  The  dance  with  these 
movements  is  called  kharia,  and  it  is  considered  to  be  an 
Oraon  rather  than  a  Munda  dance,  though  Munda  girls  join 
in  it.  When  they  enter  the  grove  the  different  groups  join 
and  dance  the  kharia  together,  forming  one  vast  procession 
and  then  a  monstrous  circle.  The  drums  and  musical 
instruments  are  laid  aside,  and  it  is  by  the  voices  alone  that 
the  time  is  given  ;  but  as  many  hundreds,  nay,  thousands, 
join,  the  effect  is  imposing.  In  serried  ranks,  so  closed  up 
that  they  appear  jammed,  they  circle  round  in  file,  all  keeping 
perfect  step,  but  at  regular  intervals  the  strain  is  terminated 
by  a  Jmrurii,  which  reminds  one  of  Paddy's  '  huroosh '  as 
he  '  welts  the  floor,'  and  at  the  same  moment  they  all  face 
inwards  and  simultaneously  jumping  up  come  down  on  the 
ground  with  a  resounding  stamp  that  makes  the  finale  of  the 
movements,  but  only  for  a  momentary  pause.  One  voice 
With  a  startling  yell  takes  up  the  strain  again,  a  fresh  start 
is  made,  and  after  gyrating  thus  till  they  tire  of  it  the  ring 
breaks  up,  and  separating  into  village  groups  they  perform 
other  dances  independently  till  near  sunset,  and  then  go 
dancing  home." 
26.  Social  But  more  often  they  go  on  all  night.      Mr.  Ball  mentions 

customs.  |-}^cir  dance  as  follows :  ^  "  The  Oraon  dance  was  dis- 
tinct from  any  I  had  seen  by  the  Santals  or  other  races. 
The  girls,  carefully  arranged  in  lines  by  sizes,  with  the 
tallest  at  one  end  and  the  smallest  at  the  other,  firmly 
grasp  one  another's  hands,  and  the  whole  movements  are  so 
perfectly  in  concert  that  they  spring  about  with  as  much 
agility  as  could  a  single  individual."  Father  Dehon  gives 
the  following  interesting  notice  of  their  social  customs  : 
"  The  Oraons  are  very  sociable  beings,  and  like  to  enjoy 
life  together.  They  are  paying  visits  or  paJiis  to  one  another 
nearly  the  whole  year  round.  In  these  the  Jiandia  (beer-jar) 
always  plays  a  great  part.  Any  man  who  would  presume 
to  receive  visitors  without  offering  them  a  handia  would  be 

'  Jungle  Life  in  India,  p.  1 34. 


II  SOCIAL  CUSTOMS  319 

hooted  and  insulted  by  his  guests,  who  would  find  a 
sympathising  echo  from  all  the  people  of  tiie  village.  One 
may  say  that  from  the  time  of  the  new  rice  at  the  end  of 
September  to  the  end  of  the  marriage  feast  or  till  March 
there  is  a  continual  coming  and  going  of  visitors.  For 
a  marriage  feast  forty  handtas  are  prepared  by  the  groom's 
father,  and  all  the  people  of  the  village  who  can  afford  it 
supply  one  also.  Each  liandia  gives  about  three  gallons 
of  rice-beer,  so  that  in  one  day  and  a  half,  in  a  village  of 
thirty  houses,  about  200  gallons  of  rice-beer  are  despatched. 
The  Oraons  are  famous  for  their  dances.  They  delight  in 
spending  the  whole  night  from  sunset  till  morning  in  this 
most  exciting  amusement,  and  in  the  dancing  season  they 
go  from  village  to  village.  They  get,  as  it  were;  intoxicated 
with  the  music,  and  there  is  never  any  slackening  of  the 
pace.  On  the  contrary,  the  evolutions  seem  to  increase  till 
very  early  in  the  morning,  and  it  sometimes  happens  that 
one  of  the  dancers  shoots  off  rapidly  from  the  gyrating 
group,  and  speeds  away  like  a  spent  top,  and,  whirlwind-like, 
disappears  through  paddy-fields  and  ditches  till  he  falls 
entirely  exhausted.  Of  course  it  is  the  devil  who  has  taken 
possession  of  him.  One  can  well  imagine  in  what  state  the 
dancers  are  at  the  first  crow  of  the  cock,  and  when  '  Laurore 
avec  ses  doigts  de  rose  entr'ouvre  les  portes  de  I'orient,'  she  finds 
the  girls  straggling  home  one  by  one,  dishevelled,  trainaiit 
I'aile,  too  tired  even  to  enjoy  the  company  of  the  boys,  who 
remain  behind  in  small  groups,  still  sounding  their  tom-toms 
at  intervals  as  if  sorry  that  the  performance  was  so  soon 
over.  And,  wonderful  to  say  and  incredible  to  witness,  they 
will  go  straight  to  the  stalls,  yoke  their  bullocks,  and  work 
the  whole  morning  with  the  same  spirit  and  cheerfulness  as 
if  they  had  spent  the  whole  night  in  refreshing  sleep.  At 
eleven  o'clock  they  come  home,  eat  their  meal,  and  stretched 
out  in  the  verandah  sleep  like  logs  until  two,  when  poked 
and  kicked  about  unmercifully  by  the  people  of  the  house, 
they  reluctantly  get  up  with  heavy  eyes  and  weary  limbs  to 
resume  their  work." 

The  Oraons  do  not  now  admit  outsiders  into  the  tribe.  27.  Social 
There   is   no   offence   for  which   a   man   is   permanently   put  '^"'"' 
out  of  caste,  but  a  woman  living  with  any  man  other  than  an 


320  ORAON  PART 

Oraon  is  so  expelled.  Temporary  expulsion  is  awarded  for 
the  usual  offences.  The  head  of  the  c3.?,iQ  panchdyat  is  called 
Panua,  and  when  an  offender  is  reinstated,  the  Panua  first 
drinks  water  from  his  hand,  and  takes  upon  himself  the  burden 
of  the  erring  one's  transgression.  For  this  he  usually  receives 
a  fee  of  five  rupees,  and  in  some  States  the  appointment  is  in 
the  hands  of  the  Raja,  who  exacts  a  fine  of  a  hundred  rupees 
or  more  from  a  new  candidate.  The  Oraons  eat  almost  all 
kinds  of  food,  including  pork,  fowls  and  crocodiles,  but  abstain 
from  beef.  Their  status  is  very  low  among  the  Hindus  ; 
they  are  usually  made  to  live  in  a  separate  corner  of  the 
village,  and  are  sometimes  not  allowed  to  draw  water  from 
the  village  well.  As  already  stated,  the  dress  of  the  men 
consists  only  of  a  narrow  wisp  of  cloth  round  the  loins. 
Some  of  them  say,  like  the  Gonds,  that  they  are  descended 
from  the  subjects  of  Rawan,  the  demon  king  of  Ceylon  ; 
this  ancestry  having  no  doubt  in  the  first  instance  been 
imputed  to  them  by  the  Hindus.  And  they  explain  that 
when  Hanuman  in  the  shape  of  a  giant  monkey  came  to 
the  assistance  of  Rama,  their  king  Rawan  tried  to  destroy 
Hanuman  by  taking  all  the  loin-cloths  of  his  subjects  and 
tying  them  soaked  in  oil  to  the  monkey's  tail  with  a  view 
to  setting  them  on  fire  and  burning  him  to  death.  The 
device  was  unsuccessful  and  Hanuman  escaped,  but  since 
then  the  subjects  of  Rawan  and  their  descendants  have  never 
had  a  sufficient  allowance  of  cloth  to  cover  them  properly. 
28.  Char-  "  The  Oraons,"  Colonel   Dalton   says,  "  if  not  the   most 

acter.  virtuous,  are  the  most  cheerful  of  the  human   race.      Their 

lot  is  not  a  particularly  happy  one.  They  submit  to  be 
told  that  they  are  especially  created  as  a  labouring  class, 
and  they  have  had  this  so  often  dinned  into  their  ears  that 
they  believe  and  admit  it.  I  believe  they  relish  work  if  the 
taskmaster  be  not  over -exacting.  Oraons  sentenced  to 
imprisonment  without  labour,  as  sometimes  happens,  for 
offences  against  the  excise  laws,  insist  on  joining  the 
working  gangs,  and  wherever  employed,  if  kindly  treated, 
they  work  as  if  they  felt  an  interest  in  their  task.  In  cold 
weather  or  hot,  rain  or  sun,  they  go  cheerfully  about  it,  and 
after  some  nine  or  ten  hours  of  toil  (seasoned  with  a  little 
play  and  chaff  among  themselves)  they  return  blithely  home 


II  r.iiK  321 

in  flower-decked  groups  holding  each  other  by  the  hand  or 
round  the  waist  and  singing." 

The  Kurukh  language,  Dr.  Grierson  states,  has  no  139.  Langn- 
written  character,  but  the  gospels  have  been  printed  in  it  ^^^' 
in  the  Devanagri  type.  The  translation  is  due  to  the  Rev. 
F.  Halm,  who  has  also  published  a  Biblical  history,  a 
catechism  and  other  small  books  in  Kurukh.  More  than 
five-sixths  of  the  Oraons  are  still  returned  as  speaking  their 
own  language. 

Paik. — A  small  caste  of  the  Uriya  country  formed  from 
military  service,  the  \.q.xvs\  pdik  meaning  '  a  foot-soldier.'  In 
1 90 1  the  Paiks  numbered  19,000  persons  in  the  Kalahandi 
and  Patna  States  and  the  Raipur  District,  but  since  the 
transfer  of  the  Uriya  States  to  Bengal  less  than  3000  remain 
in  the  Central  Provinces.  In  Kalahandi,  where  the  bulk  of 
them  reside,  they  are  called  Nalia  Sipahis  from  the  fact 
that  they  were  formerly  armed  with  iialis  or  matchlocks 
by  the  State.  After  the  Khond  rising  of  1882  in 
Kalahandi  these  were  confiscated  and  bows  and  arrows 
given  in  lieu  of  them.  The  Paiks  say  that  they  were  the 
followers  of  two  warriors,  Kalmir  and  Jaimir,  who  conquered 
the  Krdahandi  and  Jaipur  States  from  the  Khonds  about 
a  thousand  years  ago.  There  is  no  doubt  that  they  formed 
the  rough  militia  of  the  Uriya  Rajas,  a  sort  of  rabble  half 
military  and  half  police,  like  the  Khandaits.  But  the 
Khandaits  were  probably  the  leaders  and  officers,  and,  as 
a  consequence,  thougli  originally  only  a  mixed  occupational 
group,  have  acquired  a  higher  status  than  the  Pfuks  and  in 
Orissa  rank  next  to  the  Rajputs.  The  Paiks  were  the  rank 
and  file,  mainly  recruited  from  the  forest  tribes,  and  they  are 
counted  as  a  comparatively  low  caste,  though  to  strangers 
they  profess  to  be  Rajputs.  In  Sambalpur  it  is  said  that 
Rajputs,  Sudhs,  Bhuiyas  and  Gonds  are  called  Paiks.  In 
Kalahandi  they  wear  the  sacred  thread,  being  invested  with 
it  by  a  Brfdiman  at  the  time  of  their  marriage,  and  they 
say  that  this  privilege  was  conferred  on  them  by  the 
Raja.  It  is  reported,  however,  that  social  distinctions  may 
be  purchased  in  some  of  the  Uriya  States  for  comparatively 
small   sums.       A  Bhatra   or  member   of  a   forest  tribe  was 

VOL.  IV  y 


322 


PA  IK 


observed  wearing  the  sacred  thread,  and,  on  being  ques- 
tioned, stated  that  his  grandfather  had  purchased  the  right 
from  the  Raja  for  Rs.  50.  The  privileges  of  wearing 
gold  ear  ornaments,  carrying  an  umbrella,  and  riding  on 
horseback  were  obtainable  in  a  similar  manner.  It  is  also 
related  that  when  one  Raja  imported  the  first  pair  of  boots 
seen  in  his  State,  the  local  landholders  were  allowed  to 
wear  them  in  turn  for  a  few  minutes  on  payment  of  five 
rupees  each,  as  a  token  of  their  right  thereafter  to  procure 
and  wear  boots  of  their  own.  In  Damoh  and  Jubbuipore 
another  set  of  Paiks  is  to  be  found  who  also  claim  to  be 
Rajputs,  and  are  commonly  so  called,  though  true  Rajputs 
will  not  eat  or  intermarry  with  them.  These  are  quite 
distinct  from  the  Sambalpur  Paiks,  but  have  probably  been 
formed  into  a  caste  in  exactly  the  same  manner.  The  sept 
or  family  names  of  the  Uriya  Paiks  sufficiently  indicate 
their  mixed  descent.  Some  of  them  are  as  follows  :  Dube 
(a  Brahman  title),  Chalak  Bansi  (of  the  Chalukya  royal  family), 
Chhit  Karan  (belonging  to  the  Karans  or  Uriya  Kayasths), 
Sahani  (a  sais  or  groom),  Sudh  (the  name  of  an  Uriya  caste), 
Benet  Uriya  (a  subdivision  of  the  Uriya  or  Od  mason  caste), 
and  so  on.  It  is  clear  that  members  of  different  castes  who 
became  Paiks  founded  separate  families,  which  in  time 
developed  into  exogamous  septs.  Some  of  the  septs  will 
not  eat  food  cooked  with  water  in  company  with  the  rest  of 
the  caste,  though  they  do  not  object  to  intermarrying  with 
them.  After  her  marriage  a  girl  may  not  take  food  cooked 
by  her  parents  nor  will  they  accept  it  from  her.  And  at 
a  marriage  party  each  guest  is  supplied  with  grain  and 
cooks  it  himself,  but  everybody  will  eat  with  the  bride 
and  bridegroom  as  a  special  concession  to  their  position. 
Besides  the  exogamous  clans  the  Paiks  have  totemistic  gots 
or  groups  named  after  plants  and  animals,  as  Harin  (a  deer), 
Kadamb  (a  tree),  and  so  on.  But  these  have  no  bearing  on 
marriage,  and  the  bulk  of  the  caste  have  the  Nagesh  or  cobra 
as  their  sept  name.  It  is  said  that  anybody  who  does  not 
know  his  sept  considers  himself  to  be  a  Nagesh,  and  if  he 
does  not  know  his  clan,  he  calls  himself  a  Mahanti.  Each 
family  among  the  Paiks  has  also  a  Sainga  or  title,  of  a  high- 
sounding  nature,  as  Naik  (lord),  Pujari  (worshipper),  Baidya 


II  PA  IK  323 

(physician),  Rant  (noble),  and  so  on.  Marriages  are  gener- 
ally celebrated  in  early  youth,  but  no  penalty  is  incurred  for 
a  breach  of  this  rule.  If  the  signs  of  adolescence  appear 
in  a  girl  for  the  first  time  on  a  Tuesday,  Saturday  or  Sunday, 
it  is  considered  a  bad  omen,  and  she  is  sometimes  married 
to  a  tree  to  avert  the  consequences.  Widow-marriage  and 
divorce  are  freely  permitted.  The  caste  burn  their  dead 
and  perform  the  sliraddh  ceremony.  The  women  are 
tattooed,  and  men  sometimes  tattoo  their  arms  with  figures 
of  the  sun  and  moon  in  the  belief  that  this  will  protect 
them  from  snake-bite.  The  Paiks  eat  flesh  and  fish,  but 
abstain  from  fowls  and  other  unclean  animals  and  from 
liquor.  Brahmans  will  not  take  water  from  them,  but  other 
castes  generally  do  so.  Some  of  them  are  still  employed 
as  armed  retainers  and  are  remunerated  by  free  grants  of 
land. 


caste. 


PANKA 


LIST  OF  PARAGRAPHS 

1 .  Origin  of  the  caste.  4.   Marriage. 

2.  Caste  subdivisiotis.  5.   Religion. 

3.  Endoganioiis  divisions.  6.    Other  ciistoiiis. 
7.  Occupation. 

Oricrin  Panka.^ — A  Dravidian  caste  of  weavers   and   labourers 

of  the  found  in  Mandla,  Raipur  and  Bilaspur,  and  numbering 
215,000  persons  in  191 1.  The  name  is  a  variant  on  that  of 
the  Pan  tribe  of  Orissa  and  Chota  Nagpur,  who  are  also  known 
as  Panika.ChIk,  Ganda  and  by  various  other  designations.  In 
the  Central  Provinces  it  has,  however,  a  peculiar  application  ; 
for  while  the  Pan  tribe  proper  is  called  Ganda  in  Chhat- 
tlsgarh  and  the  Uriya  country,  the  Pankas  form  a  separate 
division  of  the  Gandas,  consisting  of  those  who  have  become 
members  of  the  Kablrpanthi  sect.  In  this  way  the  name  has 
been  found  very  convenient,  for  since  Kablr,  the  founder  of 
the  sect,  was  discovered  by  a  weaver  woman  lying  on  the 
lotus  leaves  of  a  tank,  like  Moses  in  the  bulrushes,  and  as  a 
newly  initiated  convert  is  purified  with  water,  so  the  Pankas 
hold  that  their  name  is  pdni  ka  or  '  from  water.'  As  far  as 
possible  then  they  disown  their  connection  with  the  Gandas, 
one  of  the  most  despised  castes,  and  say  that  they  are 
a  separate  caste  consisting  of  the  disciples  of  Kablr. 
This  has  given   rise  to  the  following  doggerel   rhyme  about 

them  : 

Pdni  se  Patika  bhae,  bundan  rdche  sharir, 
Age  age  Panka  bhae.,  pdchhe  Das  Kablr. 

Which  may  be    rendered,    '  The   Panka  indeed   is  born   of 

1  This    article    is    compiled     from       phic  clerk,  and  Hazari  I^al,  Manager, 
papers  by  Pyarc  Lai  Misra,  Ethnogra-       Court  of  Wards,  Chanda. 

324 


PART  II  ENDOGAMOUS  DIVISIONS  325 

water,  and  his  body  is  made  of  drops  of  water,  but  there 
were  Pankas  before  Kablr.'  Or  another  rendering  of  the 
second  Hue  is,  '  First  he  was  a  Panka,  and  afterwards  he 
became  a  disciple  of  Kablr.'  Nevertheless  the  Pankas  have 
been  successful  in  obtaining  a  somewhat  higher  position  than 
the  Gfindas,  in  that  their  touch  is  not  considered  to  convey 
impurity.  This  is  therefore  an  instance  of  a  body  of  persons 
from  a  low  caste  embracing  a  new  religion  and  thereby  form- 
ing themselves  into  a  separate  caste  and  obtaining  an 
advance  in  social  position. 

Of  the  whole  caste   84   per  cent  are  Kablrpanthis   and  2.  Caste 
these  form  one  subcaste ;  but  there  are  a  few  others.      The  ^V^.'. 

'  divisions. 

Manikpuria  say  that  their  ancestors  came  from  Manikpur 
in  Darbhanga  State  about  three  centuries  ago  ;  the  Saktaha 
are  those  who  profess  to  belong  to  the  Sakta  sect,  which 
simply  means  that  they  eat  flesh  and  drink  liquor,  being 
unwilling  to  submit  to  the  restrictions  imposed  on  Kablr- 
panthis ;  the  Bajania  are  those  who  play  on  musical 
instruments,  an  occupation  which  tends  to  lower  them 
in  Hindu  eyes  ;  and  the  Dom  Pankas  are  probably  a 
section  of  the  Dom  or  sweeper  caste  who  have  somehow 
managed  to  become  Pankas.  The  main  distinction  is  how- 
ever between  the  Kabirha,  who  have  abjured  flesh  and  liquor, 
and  the  Saktaha,  who  indulge  in  them  ;  and  the  Saktaha 
group  is  naturally  recruited  from  backsliding  Kablrpanthis. 
Properly  the  Kabirha  and  Saktaha  do  not  intermarry,  but 
if  a  girl  from  either  section  goes  to  a  man  of  the  other  she 
will  be  admitted  into  the  community  and  recognised  as  his 
wife,  though  the  regular  ceremony  is  not  performed.  The 
Saktaha  worship  all  the  ordinary  village  deities,  but  some 
of  the  Kabirha  at  any  rate  entirely  refrain  from  doing  so, 
and  have  no  religious  rites  except  when  a  priest  of  their 
sect  comes  round,  when  he  gives  them  a  discourse  and  they 
sing  religious  songs. 

The  caste  have  a  number  of  exogamous  septs,  many  of  3.  Endo- 
which  are  named  after  plants  and  animals  :  as  Tandia  an  |j\']^°o^s 
earthen   pot,  Chhura  a  razor,  Neora  the  mongoose,  Parewa 
the  wild  pigeon,  and  others.      Other  septs  are  Panaria  the 
bringer  of  betel-leaf,  Kuldlp  the  lamp-lighter,  Pandwar  the 
washer  of  feet,  Ghughua  one  who  eats  the  leavings  of  the 


326  PANKA  PART 

assembly,  and  Khetgarhia,  one  who  watches  the  fields  during 
religious  worship.  The  Sonwania  or  '  Gold-water '  sept  has 
among  the  Pankas,  as  with  several  of  the  primitive  tribes, 
the  duty  of  readmitting  persons  temporarily  put  out  of 
caste  ;  while  the  Naurang  or  nine -coloured  sept  may  be 
the  offspring  of  some  illegitimate  unions.  The  Sati  sept 
apparently  commemorate  by  their  name  an  ancestress  who 
distinguished  herself  by  self-immolation,  naturally  a  very 
rare  occurrence  in  so  low  a  caste  as  the  Pankas.  Each 
sept  has  its  own  Bhat  or  genealogist  who  begs  only  from 
members  of  the  sept  and  takes  food  from  them. 
4.  Mar-  Marriage  is  prohibited   between   members  of  the    same 

"^^^'  sept  and  also  between  first  cousins,  and  a  second  sister  may 
not  be  married  during  the  lifetime  of  the  first.  Girls  are 
usually  wedded  under  twelve  years  of  age.  In  Mandla  the 
father  of  the  boy  and  his  relatives  go  to  discuss  the  match, 
and  if  this  is  arranged  each  of  them  kisses  the  girl  and 
gives  her  a  piece  of  small  silver.  When  a  Saktaha  is  going 
to  look  for  a  wife  he  makes  a  fire  offering  to  Dulha  Deo, 
the  young  bridegroom  god,  whose  shrine  is  in  the  cook- 
room,  and  prays  to  him  saying,  '  I  am  going  to  such  and 
such  a  village  to  ask  for  a  wife  ;  give  me  good  fortune,' 
The  father  of  the  girl  at  first  refuses  his  consent  as  a  matter 
of  etiquette,  but  finally  agrees  to  let  the  marriage  take  place 
within  a  year.  The  boy  pays  Rs.  9,  which  is  spent  on  the 
feast,  and  makes  a  present  of  clothes  and  jewels  to  the  bride. 
In  Chanda  a  chauka  or  consecrated  space  spread  with  cow- 
dung  with  a  pattern  of  lines  of  flour  is  prepared  and  the 
fathers  of  the  parties  stand  inside  this,  while  a  member  of 
the  Pandwar  sept  cries  out  the  names  of  the  gotras  of  the 
bride  and  bridegroom  and  says  that  the  everlasting  knot  is 
to  be  tied  between  them  with  the  consent  of  five  caste- 
people  and  the  sun  and  moon  as  witnesses.  Before  the 
wedding  the  betrothed  couple  worship  Mahadeo  and  Parvati 
under  the  direction  of  a  Brfdiman,  who  also  fixes  the  date 
of  the  wedding.  This  is  the  only  purpose  for  which  a 
Brfdiman  is  employed  by  the  caste.  Between  this  date  and 
that  of  the  marriage  neither  the  boy  nor  girl  should  be 
allowed  to  go  to  a  tank  or  cross  a  river,  as  it  is  considered 
dangerous  to  their  lives.      The  superstition  has  apparently 


II  RELIGION  2>^7 

some  connection  with  the  beHef  that  the  Pankas  are  sprung 
from  water,  but  its  exact  meaning  cannot  be  cletcrmincd. 
If  a  girl  goes  wrong  before  marriage  with  a  man  of  the 
caste,  she  is  given  to  him  to  wife  without  any  ceremony. 
Before  the  marriage  seven  small  pitchers  full  of  water  are 
placed  in  a  bamboo  basket  and  shaken  over  the  bride's  head 
so  that  the  water  may  fall  on  her.  The  principal  ceremony 
consists  in  walking  round  the  sacred  pole  called  DiagroJian, 
the  skirts  of  the  pair  being  knotted  together.  In  some 
localities  this  is  done  twice,  a  first  set  of  perambulations 
being  called  the  Kunwari  (maiden)  Bhanwar,  and  the  second 
one  of  seven,  the  Byahi  (married)  Bhanwar.  After  the 
wedding  the  bride  and  her  relations  return  with  the  bride- 
groom to  his  house,  their  party  being  known  as  Chauthia. 
The  couple  are  taken  to  a  river  and  throw  their  tinsel 
wedding  ornaments  into  the  water.  The  bride  then  returns 
home  if  she  is  a  minor,  and  when  she  subsequently  goes  to 
live  with  her  husband  the  gauna  ceremony  is  performed. 
Widow-marriage  is  permitted,  and  divorce  may  be  effected 
for  bad  conduct  on  the  part  of  the  wife,  the  husband  giving 
a  sort  of  funeral  feast,  called  Marti  jiti  ka  bhdt,  to  the  caste- 
fellows.  Usually  a  man  gives  several  warnings  to  his  wife 
to  amend  her  bad  conduct  before  he  finally  casts  her  off. 

The  Pankas  worship  only  Kablr.  They  prepare  a  5.  Reii- 
chauka  and,  sitting  in  it,  sing  songs  in  his  praise,  and  a  ^'°"' 
cocoanut  is  afterwards  broken  and  distributed  to  those  who 
are  present.  The  assembly  is  presided  over  by  a  Mahant 
or  priest  and  the  chaiika  is  prepared  by  his  subordinate 
called  the  Diwan.  The  offices  of  Mahant  and  Dlwan  are 
hereditai')^,  and  they  officiate  for  a  collection  of  ten  or  fifteen 
villages.  Otherwise  the  caste  perform  no  special  worship, 
but  observe  the  full  moon  days  of  Magh  (January),  Phagun 
(February)  and  Kartik  (October)  as  fasts  in  honour  of 
Kablr.  Some  of  the  Kabirhas  observe  the  Hindu  festivals, 
and  the  Saktahas,  as  already  stated,  have  the  same  religious 
practices  as  other  Hindus.  Thc)'  admit  into  the  community 
members  of  most  castes  except  the  impure  ones.  In  Chhat- 
tlsgarh  a  new  convert  is  shaved  and  the  other  Pankas  wash 
their  feet  over  him  in  order  to  purify  him.  Pie  then  breaks 
a  stick  in  token  of  having  given  up  his  former  caste  and  is 


328  PANKA  PART 

invested  with  a  necklace  of  tulsi^  beads.  A  woman  of  any 
such  caste  who  has  gone  wrong  with  a  man  of  the  Panka 
caste  may  be  admitted  after  she  has  Hved  with  him  for  a 
certain  period  on  probation,  during  which  her  conduct  must 
be  satisfactory,  her  paramour  also  being  put  out  of  caste  for 
the  same  time.  Both  are  then  shaved  and  invested  with 
the  necklaces  of  tulsi  beads.  In  Mandla  a  new  convert 
must  clean  and  whitewash  his  house  and  then  vacate  it  with 
his  family  while  the  Panch  or  caste  committee  come  and 
stay  there  for  some  time  in  order  to  purify  it.  While  they 
are  there  neither  the  owner  nor  any  member  of  his  family 
may  enter  the  house.  The  Panch  then  proceed  to  the  river- 
side and  cook  food,  after  driving  the  new  convert  across  the 
river  by  pelting  him  with  cowdung.  Here  he  changes  his 
clothes  and  puts  on  new  ones,  and  coming  back  again  across 
the  stream  is  made  to  stand  in  the  chauk  and  sip  the  urine 
of  a  calf.  The  chauk  is  then  washed  out  and  a  fresh  one 
made  with  lines  of  flour,  and  standing  in  this  the  convert 
receives  to  drink  the  dal^  that  is,  water  in  which  a  little 
betel,  raw  sugar  and  black  pepper  have  been  mixed  and  a 
piece  of  gold  dipped.  In  the  evening  the  Panch  again  take 
their  food  in  the  convert's  house,  while  hg  eats  outside  it  at 
a  distance.  Then  he  again  sips  the  dal,  and  the  Mahant  or 
priest  takes  him  on  his  lap  and  a  cloth  is  put  over  them 
both  ;,  the  Mahant  whispers  the  mantra  or  sacred  verse  into 
his  ear,  and  he  is  finally  considered  to  have  become  a  full 
Kabirha  Panka  and  admitted  to  eat  with  the  Panch. 
6.  Other  The    Paukas    are    strict    vegetarians    and    do   not   drink 

liquor.  A  Kabirha  Panka  is  put  out  of  caste  for  eating 
flesh  meat.  Both  men  and  women  generally  wear  white 
clothes,  and  men  have  the  garland  of  beads  round  the  neck. 
The  dead  are  buried,  being  laid  on  the  back  with  the  head 
pointing  to  the  north.  After  a  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,  A  little  cup  made  of  flour  con- 
taining a  lamp  is  placed  on  the  grave  for  three  days  after- 
wards, and  some  food  and  water  are  put  in  a  leaf  cup  outside 

'  The  basil  plant. 


ciutoms. 


II  occur  A  TION  329 

the  house  for  the  same  period.  Durinj^  these  days  the 
family  do  not  cook  for  themselves  but  are  supplied  with 
food  by  their  friends.  After  childbirth  a  mother  is  sui)posed 
not  to  eat  food  during  the  time  that  the  midwife  attends  on 
her,  on  account  of  the  impurity  caused  by  this  woman's 
presence  in  the  room. 

The  caste  are  generally  weavers,  producing  coarse  7.  Occu- 
country  cloth,  and  a  number  of  them  serve  as  village  watch-  5^^"''"- 
men,  while  others  are  cultivators  and  labourers.  They  will 
not  grow  jrtw-hemp  nor  breed  tasar  silk  cocoons.  They  are 
somewhat  poorly  esteemed  by  their  neighbours,  who  say  of 
them,  '  Where  a  Panka  can  get  a  little  boiled  rice  and  a 
pumpkin,  he  will  stay  for  ever,'  meaning  that  he  is  satisfied 
with  this  and  will  not  work  to  get  more.  Another  saying 
is,  '  The  Panka  felt  brave  and  thought  he  would  go  to  war  ; 
but  he  set  out  to  fight  a  frog  and  was  beaten  '  ;  and  another, 
'  Every  man  tells  one  lie  a  day  ;  but  the  Ahir  tells  sixteen, 
the  Chamar  twenty,  and  the  lies  of  the  Panka  cannot  be 
counted.'  Such  gibes,  however,  do  not  really  mean  much. 
Owing  to  the  abstinence  of  the  Pankas  from  flesh  and  liquor 
they  rank  above  the  Gandas  and  other  impure  castes.  In 
Bilaspur  they  are  generally  held  to  be  quiet  and  industrious.^ 
In  Chhattlsgarh  the  Pankas  are  considered  above  the 
average  in  intelligence  and  sometimes  act  as  spokesmen  for 
the  village  people  and  as  advisers  to  zamlndfus  and  village 
proprietors.  Some  of  them  become  religious  mendicants 
and  act  as  gurus  or  preceptors  to  Kablrpanthis." 

'  Bilaspur  Settle7nent Report  {i%(i2))f  ^  From  anole  by  Mr.  Gauri  Shankar, 

p.  49.  Manager,  Court  of  Wards,  Drug. 


PANWAR    RAJPUT 


LIST  OF  PARAGRAPHS 


r.  Historical  notice.  The  Agiii- 
ktila  clafis  and  the  slaughter 
of  the  Kshatriyas  by  Para- 
surdma. 

2.  The  legend  of  Parasierdaia. 

3.  77^1?  Panwdr  dytiasty  of  Dhdr 

and  Ujjaiti. 

4.  Diffusioji  of  the  Panwdrs  over 

India. 


9- 
10. 

1 1. 
12. 


The  Ndgpur  Pajtwdrs. 
.Subdivisions. 
Marriage  customs. 
Widow-marriage. 
Religiofi. 
Worship  of  the  spirits  of  those 

dying  a  violent  death. 
Funeral  rites. 
Caste  discipline. 


13- 


Social  customs. 


I.  Histori- 
cal notice. 
The 

Agnikula 
clans  and 
the 

slaughter 
of  the 
Kshatriyas 
by  Parasu- 
rama. 


Panwap/     Puar,    Ponwar,    Pramara    Rajput.  —  The 

Panwar  or  Pramara  is  one  of  the  most  ancient  and  famous 
of  the  Rajput  clans.  It  was  the  first  of  the  four  Agnikulas, 
who  were  created  from  the  fire-pit  on  the  summit  of  Mount 
Abu  after  the  Kshatriyas  had  been  exterminated  by 
Parasiirama  the  Brahman.  "  The  fire-fountain  was  kistrated 
with  the  waters  of  the  Ganges  ; "  expiatory  rites  were  per- 
formed, and  after  a  protracted  debate  among  the  gods  it  was 
resolved  that  Indra  should  initiate  the  work  of  recreation. 
Having  formed  an  image  of  dfiba  grass  he  sprinkled  it  with 
the  water  of  life  and  threw  it  into  the  fire-fountain.  Thence 
on  pronouncing  the  sajivaii  vmntr-a  (incantation  to  give 
life)  a  figure  slowly  emerged  from  the  flame,  bearing  in  the 
right  hand  a  mace  and  exclaiming,  '  Mm\  Mar ! '  (Slay, 
slay).  He  was  called  Pramar  ;  and  Abu,  Dhar  and  Ujjain 
were  assigned  to  him  as  a  territory." 

The     four    clans    known    as    Agnikula,    or    born     from 
the  fire-pit,  were  the   Panwar,  the   Chauhan,  the  Parihar  and 

*  With  the  exception  of  the  historical       reader   to   Mr.    C.    E.    Low,    Deputy 
notice,  this  article  is  principally  based       Commissioner  of  Balaghat. 
on  a  paper  by  Mr.  Muhammad  Yusuf,  -  Tod's  RdjasthCin,  ii.  p.  407. 

330 


PART  II  HISTORICAL  NOTICE  331 

the  Chalukya  or  Solanki.  Mr.  D.  R.  lihandarkar  adduces 
evidence  in  support  of  the  opinion  that  all  these  were  of 
foreign  origin,  derived  from  the  Gujars  or  other  Scythian  or 
Hun  tribes.^  And  it  seems  therefore  not  unlikely  that  the 
legend  of  the  fire-pit  may  commemorate  the  reconstitution  of 
the  Kshatriya  aristocracy  by  the  admission  of  these  tribes  to 
Hinduism  after  its  partial  extinction  during  their  wars  of 
invasion  ;  the  latter  event  having  perhaps  been  euphemised 
into  the  slaughter  of  the  Kshatriyas  by  Parasurama  the 
Brahman.  A  great  number  of  Indian  castes  date  their 
origin  from  the  traditional  massacre  of  the  Kshatriyas  by 
Parasurama,  saying  that  their  ancestors  were  Rajputs  who 
escaped  and  took  to  various  occupations  ;  and  it  would  appear 
that  an  event  which  bulks  so  largely  in  popular  tradition 
must  have  some  historical  basis.  It  is  noticeable  also  that 
Buddhism,  which  for  some  five  centuries  since  the  time  of 
Asoka  Maurya  had  been  the  official  and  principal  religion  of 
northern  India,  had  recently  entered  on  its  decline.  "  The 
restoration  of  the  Brahmanical  religion  to  popular  favour  and 
the  associated  revival  of  the  Sanskrit  language  first  became 
noticeable  in  the  second  century,  were  fostered  by  the  satraps 
of  Gujarat  and  Surashtra  during  the  third,  and  made  a 
success  by  the  Gupta  emperors  in  the  fourth  century."  The 
decline  of  Buddhism  and  the  diffusion  of  Sanskrit  proceeded 
side  by  side  with  the  result  that  by  the  end  of  the  Gupta 
period  the  force  of  I^uddhism  on  Indian  soil  had  been  nearly 
spent ;  and  India  with  certain  local  exceptions  had  again 
become  the  land  of  the  Brahman.^  The  Gupta  dynasty  as 
an  important  power  ended  about  A.D.  490  and  was  over- 
thrown by  the  Huns,  whose  leader  Toramana  was  established 
at  Malvva  in  Central  India  prior  to  A.l).  500."'*  The  revival 
of  Brahmanism  and  the  Hun  supremacy  were  therefore 
nearly  contemporaneous.  Moreover  one  of  the  Hun  leaders, 
Mihiragula,  was  a  strong  supporter  of  Brahmanism  and 
an  opponent  of  the  Buddhists.  Mr.  V.  A.  Smith  writes  : 
"  The  savage  invader,  who  worshipped  as  his  patron  deity 
Siva,  the   god   of  destruction,   exhibited    ferocious    hostility 

^  Foreign    elements    in    the    Hindu       Clarendon  Press),  3rd  ed.,  p.  303. 

population,  /«</.  ^;/^.  (January  1911),  ,    „.,  ,     ,  00 

ypj    J.]  \.  y      ^     /  3  jij^d^jii^  2nd  ed.,  p.  2SS. 

2  Early  History  of  India  (Oxford,  *  Ibidem^  p.  316. 


332 


PAN  WAR  RAJPUT 


2.  The 
legend  of 
Parasu- 
rama. 


against  the  peaceful  Buddhist  cult,  and  remorselessly  over- 
threw the  stfipas  and  monasteries,  which  he  plundered  of 
their  treasures."  ^  This  warrior  might  therefore  well  be 
venerated  by  the  Brahmans  as  the  great  restorer  of  their  faith 
and  would  easily  obtain  divine  honours.  The  Huns  also 
subdued  Rajputana  and  Central  India  and  were  dominant  here 
for  a  time  until  their  extreme  cruelty  and  oppression  led  to  a 
concerted  rising  of  the  Indian  princes  by  whom  they  were 
defeated.  The  discovery  of  the  Hun  or  Scythian  origin  of 
several  of  the  existing  Rajput  clans  fits  in  well  with  the  legend. 
The  stories  told  by  many  Indian  castes  of  their  first  ancestors 
having  been  Rajputs  who  escaped  from  the  massacre  of 
Parasurama  would  then  have  some  historical  value  as  indicat- 
ing that  the  existing  occupational  grouping  of  castes  dates 
from  the  period  of  the  revival  of  the  Brahman  cult  after  a 
long  interval  of  Buddhist  supremacy.  It  is  however  an  objec- 
tion to  the  identification  of  Parasurama  with  the  Huns  that 
he  is  the  sixth  incarnation  of  "Vishnu,  coming  before  Rama 
and  being  mentioned  in  the  Mahabharata,  and  thus  if  he  was 
in  any  way  historical  his  proper  date  should  be  long  before 
their  time.  As  to  this  it  may  be  said  that  he  might  have  been 
interpolated  or  put  back  in  date,  as  the  Brahmans  had  a  strong 
interest  in  demonstrating  the  continuity  of  the  Kshatriya  caste 
from  Vedic  times  and  suppressing  the  Hun  episode,  which 
indeed  they  have  succeeded  in  doing  so  well  that  the  foreign 
origin  of  several  of  the  most  prominent  Rajput  clans  has 
only  been  established  quite  recently  by  modern  historical 
and  archaeological  research.  The  name  Parasurama  signifies 
*  Rama  with  the  axe '  and  seems  to  indicate  that  this  hero 
came  after  the  original  Rama.  And  the  list  of  the  incarna- 
tions of  Vishnu  is  not  always  the  same,  as  in  one  list  the 
incarnations  are  nearly  all  of  the  animal  type  and  neither 
Parasurama,  Rama  nor  Krishna  appear. 

The  legend  of  Parasurama  is  not  altogether  opposed 
to  this  view  in  itself.'  He  was  the  son  of  a  Brahman  Muni 
or  hermit,  named  Jamadagni,  by  a  lady,  Renuka,  of  the 
Kshatriya  caste.  He  is  therefore  not  held  to  have  been  a 
Brahman  and  neither  was  he  a  true  Kshatriya.      This  might 

'  Early  History  of  India  (Oxford,  2   Garrett's   Classical  Dictionary'   of 

Clarendon  Press),  3rd  ed.,  p.  319.  Hinduism,  s.v.  Jamadagni  and  Rama. 


II  THE  LEGEND  OF  PARASURAMA  333 

portray  the  foreign  origin  of  the  Ilun.s.  Jamadagni  found  his 
wife  Renuka  to  be  harbouring  thoughts  of  conjugal  infidelity, 
and  commanded  his  sons,  one  by  one,  to  slay  her.  The  four 
elder  ones  successively  refused, and  being  cursed  by  Jamadagni 
lost  all  understanding  and  became  as  idiots  ;  but  the  youngest, 
Parasurama,  at  his  father's  bidding,  struck  off  his  mother's 
head  with  a  blow  of  his  axe.  Jamadagni  thereupon  was 
very  pleased  and  promised  to  give  Parasurama  whatever  he 
might  desire.  On  which  Parasurama  begged  first  for  the 
restoration  of  his  mother  to  life,  with  forgetfulness  of  his 
having  slain  her  and  purification  from  all  defilement ;  secondly, 
the  return  of  his  brothers  to  sanity  and  understanding  ;  and 
for  himself  that  he  should  live  long  and  be  invincible  in  battle  ; 
and  all  these  boons  his  father  bestowed.  Here  the  hermit 
Jamadagni  might  represent  the  Brahman  priesthood,  and  his 
wife  Renuka  might  be  India,  unfaithful  to  the  Brahmans  and 
turning  towards  the  Buddhist  heresy.  The  four  elder  sons 
would  typify  the  princes  of  India  refusing  to  respond  to  the 
exhortations  of  the  Brahmans  for  the  suppression  of  Bud- 
dhism, and  hence  themselves  made  blind  to  the  true  faith 
and  their  understandings  darkened  with  Buddhist  falsehood. 
But  Parasurama,  the  youngest,  killed  his  mother,  that  is,  the 
Huns  devastated  India  and  slaughtered  the  Buddhists  ;  in 
reward  for  this  he  was  made  invincible  as  the  Huns  were,  and 
his  mother,  India,  and  his  brothers,  the  indigenous  princes, 
regained  life  and  understanding,  that  is,  returned  to  the  true 
Brahman  faith.  Afterwards,  the  legend  proceeds,  the  king 
Karrtavlrya,  the  head  of  the  Haihaya  tribe  of  Kshatriyas,  stole 
the  calf  of  the  sacred  cow  Kamdhenu  from  Jamadagni's 
hermitage  and  cut  down  the  trees  surrounding  it.  When 
Parasurama  returned,  his  father  told  him  what  had  happened, 
and  he  followed  Karrtavlrya  and  killed  him  in  battle.  But  in 
revenge  for  this  the  sons  of  the  king,  when  Parasurama 
was  away,  returned  to  the  hermitage  and  slew  the  pious 
and  unresisting  sage  Jamadagni,  who  called  fruitlessly  for 
succour  on  his  valiant  son.  When  Parasurama  returned 
and  found  his  father  dead  he  vowed  to  extirpate  the  whole 
Kshatriya  race.  '  Thrice  times  seven  did  he  clear  the  earth 
of  the  Kshatriya  caste,'  says  the  Mahabharata.  If  the  first 
part  of  the  story  refers   to  the   Hun   conquest  of  northern 


334 


PANIVAR  RAJPUT 


3-  The 
Panvvar 
dynasty  of 
Dhar  and 
Ujjain. 


India  and  the  overthrow  of  the  Gupta  dynasty,  the  second 
may  similarly  portray  their  invasion  of  Rajputana.  The 
theft  of  the  cow  and  desecration  of  Jamadagni's  hermitage 
by  the  Haihaya  Rajputs  would  represent  the  apostasy  of  the 
RajpiJt  princes  to  Buddhist  monotheism,  the  consequent 
abandonment  of  the  veneration  of  the  cow  and  the  spoliation 
of  the  Brahman  shrines  ;  while  the  Hun  invasions  of  Raj- 
putana and  the  accompanying  slaughter  of  Rajputs  would 
be  Parasurama's  terrible  revenge. 

The  Kings  of  Malwa  or  Ujjain  who  reigned  at  Dhar 
and  flourished  from  the  ninth  to  the  twelfth  centuries  were 
of  the  Panwar  clan.  The  seventh  and  ninth  kings  of  this 
dynasty  rendered  it  famous.^  "  Raja  Munja,  the  seventh 
king  (974-995),  renowned  for  his  learning  and  eloquence, 
was  not  only  a  patron  of  poets,  but  was  himself  a  poet  of 
no  small  reputation,  the  anthologies  including  various  works 
from  his  pen.  He  penetrated  in  a  career  of  conquest  as 
far  as  the  Godavari,  but  was  finally  defeated  and  executed 
there  by  the  Chalukya  king.  His  nephew,  the  famous 
Bhoja,  ascended  the  throne  of  Dhara  about  A.D.  10 18  and 
reigned  gloriously  for  more  than  forty  years.  Like  his 
uncle  he  cultivated  with  equal  assiduity  the  arts  of  peace 
and  war.  Though  his  fights  with  neighbouring  powers, 
including  one  of  the  Muhammadan  armies  of  Mahmud  ot 
Ghaznl,  are  now  forgotten,  his  fame  as  an  enlightened  patron 
of  learning  and  a  skilled  author  remains  undimmed,  and 
his  name  has  become  proverbial  as  that  of  the  model  king 
according  to  the  Hindu  standard.  Works  on  astronomy, 
architecture,  the  art  of  poetry  and  other  subjects  are  attri- 
buted to  him.  About  A.D.  1060  Bhoja  was  attacked  and 
defeated  by  the  confederate  kings  of  Gujarat  and  Chedi, 
and  the  Panwar  kingdom  was  reduced  to  a  petty  local 
dynasty  until  the  thirteenth  century.  It  was  finally  super- 
seded by  the  chiefs  of  the  Tomara  and  Chauhan  clans,  who 
in  their  turn  succumbed  to  the  Muhammadans  in  1401." 
The  city  of  Ujjain  was  at  this  time  a  centre  of  Indian 
intellectual    life.       Some    celebrated    astronomers    made    it 


1  The  following;  extract  is  taken 
from  Mr.  V.  A.  Smith's  Early  History 
0/ India,  3rd  ed.,  pp.  395,  396.      The 


passage  has  been  somewhat  abridged 
in  reproduction. 


II  PANWAR  DYNASTY  OF  DIf A R  AND  UJJAIN        335 

their  home,  and  it  was  adopted  as  the  basis  of  the  Hindu 
ineridional  system  like  Greenwich  in  England.  The  capital 
of  the  state  was  changed  from  Ujjain  to  Dhar  or  Dharanao-ra 
by  the  Raja  Bhoja  already  mentioned;^  and  the  name  of 
Dhar  is  better  remembered  in  connection  with  the  Panwars 
than  Ujjain. 

A  saying  about  it  quoted  by  Colonel  Tod  was  : 

Jalian  PuCir  ialian  Dhar  hai; 
Aur  Dhar  jaJidn  Ptidr; 
Dhar  bma  Picar  7iahinj 
Aur  fiahin  Piidr  bina  Dhar  : 

or,  "  Where  the  Panwar  is  there  is  Dhar,  and  Dhar  is  where 
the  Panwar  is  ;  without  the  Panwars  Dhar  cannot  stand, 
nor  the  Panwars  without  Dhar."  It  is  related  that  in 
consequence  of  one  of  his  merchants  having  been  held  to 
ransom  by  the  ruler  of  Dhar,  the  Bhatti  Raja  of  Jaisalmcr 
made  a  vow  to  subdue  the  town.  But  as  he  found  the 
undertaking  too  great  for  him,  in  order  to  fulfil  his  vow  he 
had  a  model  of  the  city  made  in  clay  and  was  about  to 
break  it  up.  But  there  were  Panwars  in  his  army,  and 
they  stood  out  to  defend  their  mock  capital,  repeating  as 
their  reason  the  above  lines  ;  and  in  resisting  the  Raja 
were  cut  to  pieces  to  the  number  of  a  hundred  and  twenty.^ 
There  is  little  reason  to  doubt  that  the  incident,  if  historical, 
was  produced  by  the  belief  in  sympathetic  magic ;  the 
Panwars  really  thought  that  by  destroying  its  image  the 
Raja  could  effect  injury  to  the  capital  itself,^  just  as  many 
primitive  races  believe  that  if  they  make  a  doll  as  a  model 
of  an  enemy  and  stick  pins  into  or  otherwise  injure  it,  the 
man  himself  is  similarly  affected.  A  kindred  belief  prevails 
concerning  certain  mythical  old  kings  of  the  Golden  Age  of 
India,  of  whom  it  is  said  that  to  destroy  their  opponents  all 
they  had  to  do  was  to  collect  a  bundle  of  juari  stalks  and 

1  Malcolm,  i.  p.  26.  his  capital,  on  pledging  his  parole  that 

2  Rajasthan,  ii.  p.  215.  he  would  go  back  to  Madrid.      But  the 

delights  of  liberty  and   Pans  were  too 

3  A  similar  instance  in  Europe  is  much  for  honour ;  and  while  he 
related  by  Colonel  Tod,  concerning  wavered  a  hint  was  thrown  out  similar 
the  origin  of  the  Madrid  Restaurant  in  to  tliat  of  destroying  the  clay  city.  A 
the  Bois  de  Boulogne  at  Paris.  After  mock  Madrid  arose  in  the  Bois  de 
Francis  I.  had  been  captured  by  the  Boulogne,  to  which  Francis  retired. 
Spaniards  he  was  allowed  to  return  to  (Riijasthiin,  ii.  p.  428.) 


336  PANIVAR  RAJPUT  part 

cut  off  the  heads,  when  the  heads  of  their  enemies  flew  off 
in  unison. 

The  Panwars  were  held  to  have  ruled  from  nine  castles 
over  the  Marusthali  or  '  Region  of  death,'  the  name  given 
to  the  great  desert  of  Rajputana,  which  extends  from  Sind 
to  the  Aravalli  mountains  and  from  the  great  salt  lake  to 
the  flat  skirting  the  Garah.  The  principal  of  these  castles 
were  Abu,  Nundore,  Umarkot,  Arore,  and  Lodorva.^  And, 
'  The  world  is  the  Pramara's,'  was  another  saying  expressive 
of  the  resplendent  position  of  Dharanagra  or  Ujjain  at  this 
epoch.  The  siege  and  capture  of  the  town  by  the  Muham- 
madans  and  consequent  expulsion  of  the  Panwars  are  still 
a  well -remembered  tradition,  and  certain  castes  of  the 
Central  Provinces,  as  the  Bhoyars  and  Korkus,  say  that 
their  ancestors  formed  part  of  the  garrison  and  fled  to  the 
Satpura  hills  after  the  fall  of  Dharanagra.  Mr.  Crooke  ^ 
states  that  the  expulsion  of  the  Panwars  from  Ujjain 
under  their  leader  Mitra  Sen  is  ascribed  to  the  attack  of 
the  Muhammadans  under  Shahab-ud-din  Ghori  about 
A.D.  I  190. 
4.  Dif.  After   this    they   spread    to   various    places   in    northern 

fusion  of      India,    and    to    the    Central   Provinces    and    Bombay.      The 

the  Pan-  -r^,  _       .  ,  -n     1      1  1     1 

wars  over     modern    state    of   Dhar  is  or  was  recently  still    held  by  a 
India.  Panwar    family,    who    had    attained    high    rank    under   the 

Marathas  and  received  it  as  a  grant  from  the  Peshwa. 
Malcolm  considered  them  to  be  the  descendants  of  Rajput 
emigrants  to  the  Deccan.  He  wrote  of  them  :  ^  "In  the 
early  period  of  Maratha  history  the  family  of  Puar  appears 
to  have  been  one  of  the  most  distinguished.  They  were 
of  the  Rajput  tribe,  numbers  of  which  had  been  settled 
in  Malvva  at  a  remote  era  ;  from  whence  this  branch  had 
migrated  to  the  Deccan.  Sivaji  Puar,  the  first  of  the 
family  that  can  be  traced  in  the  latter  country,  was  a 
landholder ;  and  his  grandsons,  Sambaji  and  Kaloji,  were 
military  commanders  in  the  service  of  the  celebrated  Sivaji. 
Anand  Rao  Puar  was  vested  with  authority  to  collect  the 
Maratha  share  of  the  revenue  of  Mahva  and  Gujarat  in 
1734,  and  he  soon  afterwards  settled  at  Dhar,  which  province, 

'  Rajasthdn,  ii.  pp.  264,  265.  -   Tribes  and  Castes,  art.  Panwar. 

•'  Memoir  0/  Central  India,  \.  96. 


11  DIFFUSION  OF  THE  PAN  WANS  OVER  INDIA       337 

with  the  adjoining  districts  and  the  tributes  of  some  neigh- 
bouring Rajput  chiefs,  was  assigned  for  the  support  of  him- 
self and  his  adherents.  It  is  a  curious  coincidence  that  the 
success  of  the  Marathas  should,  by  making  Dhar  tiie  capital 
of  Anand  Rao  and  his  descendants,  restore  the  sovereignty 
of  a  race  who  had  seven  centuries  before  been  expelled  from 
the  government  of  that  city  and  territory.  But  the  present 
family,  though  of  the  same  tribe  (Puar),  claim  no  descent 
from  the  ancient  Hindu  princes  of  Malwa.  They  have, 
like  all  the  Kshatriya  tribes  who  became  incorporated  with 
the  Marathas,  adopted  even  in  their  modes  of  thinking  the 
habits  of  that  people.  The  heads  of  the  family,  with 
feelings  more  suited  to  chiefs  of  that  nation  than  Rajput 
princes,  have  purchased  the  office  of  patel  or  headman  in 
some  villages  in  the  Ueccan  ;  and  their  descendants  continue 
to  attach  value  to  their  ancient,  though  humble,  right!  of 
village  officers  in  that  quarter.  Notwithstanding  that  these 
usages  and  the  connections  they  formed  have  amalgamated 
this  family  with  the  Marathas,  they  still  claim,  both  on 
account  of  their  high  birth  and  of  being  officers  of  the 
Raja  of  Satara  (not  of  the  Peshwa),  rank  and  precedence 
over  the  houses  of  Sindhia  and  Holkar  ;  and  these  claims, 
even  when  their  fortunes  were  at  the  lowest  ebb,  were  always 
admitted  as  far  as  related  to  points  of  form  and  ceremony." 
The  great  Maratha  house  of  Nimbhalkar  is  believed  to 
have  originated  from  ancestors  of  the  Panwar  Rajput  clan. 
While  one  branch  of  the  Panwars  went  to  the  Dcccan  after 
the  fall  of  Dhar  and  marrying  with  the  people  there  became 
a  leading  military  family  of  the  Marathas,  the  destiny  of 
another  group  who  migrated  to  northern  India  was  less 
distinguished.  Here  they  split  into  two,  and  the  inferior 
section  is  described  by  Mr.  Crooke  as  follows :  ^  "  The 
Khidmatia,  Barwar  or  Chobdar  are  said  to  be  an  inferior 
branch  of  the  Panwars,  descended  from  a  low-caste  woman. 
No  high-caste  Hindu  eats  food  or  drinks  water  touched  by 
them."  According  to  the  Ain-i-Akbari "  a  thousand  men 
of  the  sept  guarded  the  environs  of  the  palace  of  Akbar, 
and   Abul   Fazl   says  of  them  :   "  The  caste  to  which  they 

'    Tribes  and  Castes,  art.  Panwar. 
2  Blockmann,  i.  252,  quoted  by  Crooke. 
VOL.  IV  Z 


338  PANJVAR  RAJPUT  part 

belong  was  notorious  for  highway  robbery,  and  former 
rulers  were  not  able  to  keep  them  in  check.  The  effective 
orders  of  His  Majesty  have  led  them  to  honesty;  they  are 
now  famous  for  their  trustworthiness.  They  were  formerly 
called  Mdwis.  Their  chief  has  received  the  title  of  Khidmat 
Rao.  Being  near  the  person  of  His  Majesty  he  lives  in 
affluence.  His  men  are  called  Khidmatias."  Thus  another 
body  of  Panwars  went  north  and  sold  their  swords  to  the 
Mughal  Emperor,  who  formed  them  into  a  bodyguard. 
Their  case  is  exactly  analogous  to  that  of  the  Scotch  and 
Swiss  Guards  of  the  French  kings.  In  both  cases  the 
monarch  preferred  to  entrust  the  care  of  his  person  to 
foreigners,  on  whose  fidelity  he  could  the  better  rely,  as 
their  only  means  of  support  and  advancement  lay  in  his 
personal  favour,  and  they  had  no  local  sympathies  which 
could  be  used  as  a  lever  to  undermine  their  loyalty. 
Buchanan  states  that  a  Panwar  dynasty  ruled  for  a  con- 
siderable period  over  the  territory  of  Shahabad  in  Bengal. 
And  Jagdeo  Panwar  was  the  trusted  minister  of  Sidhraj, 
the  great  Solanki  Raja  of  Gujarat.  The  story  of  the 
adventures  of  Jagdeo  and  his  wife  when  they  set  out 
together  to  seek  their  fortune  is  an  interesting  episode  in 
the  Rasmala.  In  the  Punjab  the  Panwars  are  found  settled 
up  the  whole  course  of  the  Sutlej  and  along  the  lower 
Indus,  and  have  also  spread  up  the  Bias  into  Jalandhar 
and  Gurdaspur.^ 
5.  The  While  the  above  extracts  have  been  given  to  show  how 

Panwars.  the  Panwars  migrated  from  Dhar  to  different  parts  of  India 
in  search  of  fortune,  this  article  is  mainly  concerned  with  a 
branch  of  the  clan  who  came  to  Nagpur,  and  subsequently 
settled  in  the  rice  country  of  the  Wainganga  Valley.  At 
the  end  of  the  eleventh  century  Nagpur  appears  to  have 
been  held  by  a  Panwar  ruler  as  an  appanage  of  the  kingdom 
of  Malwa."^  It  has  already  been  seen  how  the  kings  of  Malwa 
penetrated  to  Berar  and  the  Godavari,  and  Nagpur  may  well 
also  have  fallen  to  them.  Mr.  Muhammad  Yusuf  quotes  an 
inscription  as  existing  at  Bhandak  in  Chanda  of  the  year 
A.D.  1326,  in  which  it  is  mentioned  that  the  Panwar  of  Dhar 

'   Il)ljctson,  ]'.  C.  R.,  para.  448.  in  a  slone  inscription  dated  A. D.  1104- 

'^   His  name,  Lakshma  Dcva,  is  given        1105. 


II  THE  NAG  PUR  PAN  WARS  339 

repaired  a  statue  of  Jag  Narayan  in  that  place.^  Nothing 
more  is  heard  of  them  in  Nagpur,  and  their  rule  probably 
came  to  an  end  with  the  subversion  of  the  kingdom  of  Miihva 
in  the  thirteenth  century.  But  there  remain  in  Nagpur  and 
in  the  districts  of  Bhandara,  Brdfighat  and  Seoni  to  the  north 
and  east  of  it  a  large  number  of  Panvvars,  who  have  now 
developed  into  an  agricultural  caste.  It  may  be  surmised 
that  the  ancestors  of  these  people  settled  in  the  country  at 
the  time  when  Nagpur  was  held  by  their  clan,  and  a  second 
influx  may  have  taken  place  after  the  fall  of  Dhar.  Accord- 
ing to  their  own  account,  they  first  came  to  Nagardhan,  an 
older  town  than  Nagpur,  and  once  the  headquarters  of  the 
locality.  One  of  their  legends  is  that  the  men  who  first  came 
had  no  wives,  and  were  therefore  allowed  to  take  widows  of 
other  castes  into  their  houses.  It  seems  reasonable  to 
suppose  that  something  of  this  kind  happened,  though  they 
probably  did  not  restrict  themselves  to  widows.  The  exist- 
ing family  names  of  the  caste  show  that  it  is  of  mixed 
ancestry,  but  the  original  Rajput  strain  is  still  perfectly 
apparent  in  their  fair  complexions,  high  foreheads  and  in 
many  cases  grey  eyes.  The  Panwars  have  still  the  habit  of 
keeping  women  of  lower  castes  to  a  greater  degree  than  the 
ordinary,  and  this  has  been  found  to  be  a  trait  of  other  castes 
of  mixed  origin,  and  they  are  sometimes  known  as  Dhakar, 
a  name  having  the  sense  of  illegitimacy.  Though  they  have 
lived  for  centuries  among  a  Marathi- speaking  people,  the 
Panwars  retain  a  dialect  of  their  own,  the  basis  of  which  is 
Bagheli  or  eastern  Hindi.  When  the  Marathas  established 
themselves  at  Nagpur  in  the  eighteenth  century  some  of  the 
Panwars  took  military  service  under  them  and  accompanied 
a  general  of  the  Bhonsla  ruling  family  on  an  expedition  to 
Cuttack.  In  return  for  this  they  were  rewarded  with  grants 
of  the  waste  and  forest  lands  in  the  valley  of  the  Wainganga 
river,  and  here  they  developed  great  skill  in  the  construction 

^  The  inscription  is  said  to  be  in  one  ruler  of  Dhar,  was  the  third  repairer  of 

of  the   temples   in  Winj   Basini,    near  the  statue.     The  image  was  carved  by 

Bhandak,  in  the  Devanagri  character  Gopinath  Pandit,  inhabitant  of  Lonar 

in    Marathi,    and    to   run    as    follows:  Mehkar.      Let  this  shrine  be  the  pride 

"Consecration  of  Jagnarilyan  (the  ser-  of  all  the  citizens,  and  let  this  religious 

pent   of  the   world).     Daji'anashnaku,  act  be  notified  to  the  chief  and  other 

the  son  of  Chogneka,  he  it  was  who  officers." 
consecrated  the  god.     The  Panwar,  the 


340 


PAN  WAR  RAJ  PUT 


6.  Sub- 
divisions. 


7.  Mar- 
riage 
customs. 


of  tanks  and  the  irrigation  of  rice  land,  and  are  the  best 
agricultural  caste  in  this  part  of  the  country.  Their  customs 
have  many  points  of  interest,  and,  as  is  natural,  they  have 
abandoned  many  of  the  caste  observances  of  the  Rajputs.  It 
is  to  this  group  of  Panwars  ^  settled  in  the  Maratha  rice 
country  of  the  VVainganga  Valley  that  the  remainder  of  this 
article  is  devoted. 

They  number  about  150,000  persons,  and  include  many 
village  proprietors  and  substantial  cultivators.  The  quota- 
tions already  given  have  shown  how  this  virile  clan  of  Rajputs 
travelled  to  the  north,  south  and  east  from  their  own  country 
in  search  of  a  livelihood.  Everywhere  they  made  their  mark 
so  that  they  live  in  history,  but  they  paid  no  regard  to  the 
purity  of  their  Rajput  blood  and  took  to  themselves  wives 
from  the  women  of  the  country  as  they  could  get  them.  The 
Panwars  of  the  Wainganga  Valley  have  developed  into  a 
caste  marrying  among  themselves.  They  have  no  subcastes 
but  thirty-six  exogamous  sections.  Some  of  these  have  the 
names  of  Rajput  clans,  while  others  are  derived  from  villages, 
titles  or  names  of  offices,  or  from  other  castes.  Among  the 
titular  names  are  Chaudhri  (headman),  Patlia  (patel  or  chief 
officer  of  a  village)  and  Sonwania  (one  who  purifies  offenders 
among  the  Gonds  and  other  tribes).  Among  the  names  of 
other  castes  are  Bopcha  or  Korku,  Bhoyar  (a  caste  of  culti- 
vators), Pardhi  (hunter),  Kohli  (a  local  cultivating  caste)  and 
Sahria  (from  the  Saonr  tribe).  These  names  indicate  how 
freely  they  have  intermarried.  It  is  noticeable  that  the 
Bhoyars  and  Korkus  of  Betul  both  say  that  their  ancestors 
were  Panwars  of  Dhar,  and  the  occurrence  of  both  names 
among  the  Panwars  of  Balaghat  may  indicate  that  these 
castes  also  have  some  Panwar  blood.  Three  names,  Rahmat 
(kind),  Turukh  or  Turk,  and  Farld  (a  well-known  saint),  are 
of  Muhammadan  origin,  and  indicate  intermarriage  in  that 
quarter. 

Girls  are  usually,  but  not  necessarily,  wedded  before 
adolescence.  Occasionally  a  Panwar  boy  who  cannot  afford 
a  regular  marriage  will  enter  his  prospective  father-in-law's 


'  A  few  Panwar  Rajputs  are  found 
in  the  Saugor  iJislrict,  but  they  are 
quite  distinct  from  those  of  the  Marallia 


country,  and  marry  with  the  Bundelas. 
They  are  mentioned  in  the  article  on 
tliat  clan. 


t 


M  MARRIAGE  CUSTOMS  341 

house  and  serve  him  for  a  year  or  more,  when  he  will  obtain 
a  daughter  in  marriage.  And  sometimes  a  girl  will  contract 
a  liking  for  some  man  or  boy  of  the  caste  and  will  go  to  his 
house,  leaving  her  home.  In  such  cases  the  parents  accept 
the  accomplished  fact,  and  the  couple  are  married.  If  the 
boy's  parents  refuse  their  consent  they  are  temporarily  put 
out  of  caste,  and  subsequently  the  neighbours  will  not  pay 
them  the  customary  visits  on  the  occasions  of  family  joys 
and  griefs.  Even  if  a  girl  has  lived  with  a  man  of  another 
caste,  as  long  as  she  has  not  borne  a  child,  she  may  be  re- 
admitted to  the  community  on  payment  of  such  penalty  as 
the  elders  may  determine.  If  her  own  parents  will  not  take 
her  back,  a  man  of  the  same  gotra  or  section  is  appointed  as 
her  guardian  and  she  can  be  married  from  his  house. 

The  ceremonies  of  a  Panwar  marriage  are  elaborate. 
Marriage-sheds  are  erected  at  the  houses  both  of  the  bride 
and  bridegroom  in  accordance  with  the  usual  practice,  and 
just  before  the  marriage,  parties  are  given  at  both  houses  ; 
the  village  watchman  brings  the  toraji  or  string  of  mango- 
leaves,  which  is  hung  round  the  marriage-shed  in  the  manner 
of  a  triumphal  arch,  and  in  the  evening  the  party  assembles, 
the  men  sitting  at  one  side  of  the  shed  and  the  women  at  the 
other.  Presents  of  clothes  are  made  to  the  child  who  is  to 
be  married,  and  the  following  song  is  sung  : 

The  mother  of  the  bride  grew  angry  and  went  away  to  the  mango  grove. 
Come  soon,  come  quickly.  Mother,  it  is  tlie  time  for  giving  clothes. 
The  father  of  the  bridegroom  has  sent  the  bride  a  fold  of  cloth  from  his 

house, 
The  fold  of  it  is  like  the  curve  of  the  winnowing-fan,  and  there  is  a  bodice 

decked  with  coral  and  pearls. 

Before  the  actual  wedding  the  father  of  the  bridegroom 
goes  to  the  bride's  house  and  gives  her  clothes  and  other 
presents,  and  the  following  is  a  specimen  given  by  Mr. 
Muhammad  Yusuf  of  the  songs  sung  on  this  occasion  : 

Five  years  old  to-day  is  Bfija  Bai  the  bride  ; 

Send  word  to  the  mother  of  the  bridegroom  ; 

Her  dress  is  too  short,  send  for  the  Koshta,  Husband  ; 

The  Koshta  came  and  wove  a  border  to  the  dress. 

Afterwards  the  girl's  father  goes  and  makes  similar 
presents  to  the  bridegroom.      After  many  preliminary  cere- 


342  PAN  WAR  RAJPUT  part 

monies  the  marriage  procession  proper  sets  forth,  consisting 
of  men  only.  Before  the  boy  starts  his  mother  places  her 
breast  in  his  mouth  ;  the  maid-servants  stand  before  him 
with  vessels  of  water,  and  he  puts  a  pice  in  each.  During 
the  journey  songs  are  sung,  of  which  the  following  is  a 
specimen  : 

The  linseed  and  gram  are  in  flower  in  Chait.^ 

O  !  the  boy  bridegroom  is  going  to  another  country  ; 

O  Mother  !  how  may  he  go  to  another  country  ? 

Make  payment  before  he  enters  another  country  ; 

O  Mother  !  how  may  he  cross  the  border  of  another  country  ? 

Make  payment  before  he  crosses  the  border  of  another  country  ; 

O  Mother  !  how  may  he  touch  another's  bower .'' 

Make  payment  before  he  touches  another's  bower  ; 

O  Mother  !  how  shall  he  bathe  with  strange  water  ? 

Make  payment  before  he  bathes  with  strange  water  ; 

O  Mother  !  how  may  he  eat  another's  baiiwat  ?  "^ 

Make  payment  before  he  eats  another's  banwat ; 

O  Mother  !  how  shall  he  marry  another  woman  ? 

He  shall  wed  her  holding  the  little  finger  of  her  left  hand. 

The  bridegroom's  party  are  always  driven  to  the 
wedding  in  bullock-carts,  and  when  they  approach  the  bride's 
village  her  people  also  come  to  meet  them  in  carts.  All  the 
party  then  turn  and  race  to  the  village,  and  the  winner  obtains 
much  distinction.  The  cartmen  afterwards  go  to  the  bride- 
groom's father  and  he  has  to  make  them  a  present  of  from  one 
to  forty  rupees.  On  arriving  at  the  village  the  bridegroom 
is  carried  to  Devi's  shrine  in  a  man's  arms,  while  four  other 
men  hold  a  canopy  over  him,  a.nd  from  there  to  the  marriage- 
shed.  He  touches  a  bamboo  of  this,  and  a  man  seated  on  the 
top  pours  turmeric  and  water  over  his  head.  Five  men  of 
the  groom's  party  go  to  the  bride's  house  carrying  salt,  and 
here  their  feet  are  washed  and  the  tika  or  mark  of  anointing 
is  made  on  their  foreheads.  Afterwards  they  carry  rice  in 
the  same  manner  and  with  this  is  the  wedding-rice,  coloured 
yellow  with  turmeric  and  known  as  the  Lagun-gath.  Before 
sunset  the  bridegroom  goes  to  the  bride's  house  for  the 
wedding.  Two  baskets  are  hung  before  Dulha  Deo's  shrine 
inside  the  house,  and  the  couple  are  seated  in  these  with  a 
cloth  between  them.      The  ends  of  their  clothes  are  knotted, 

'  March.  -  Rice  boiled  with  milk  and  sugar. 


II  MAKRfAGE  CUSTOMS  343 

each  places  the  right  foot  on  the  left  foot  of  the  other  and 
holds  the  other's  ear  with  the  hand.  Meanwhile  a  Brahman 
has  climbed  on  to  the  roof  of  the  house,  and  after  saying  the 
names  of  the  bride  and  bridegroom  shouts  loudly,  *  Riivi  na- 
zvara,  Slta  nawari^  SaodJianl  or  '  Ram,  the*  Bridegroom,  and 
Sita,  the  Bride,  pay  heed.'  The  people  inside  the  house 
repeat  these  words  and  someone  beats  on  a  brass  plate  ;  the 
wedding-rice  is  poured  over  the  heads  of  the  couple,  and  a 
quid  of  betel  is  placed  first  in  the  mouth  of  one  and  then 
of  the  other.  The  bridegroom's  party  dance  in  the  marriage- 
shed  and  their  feet  are  washed.  Two  plough-yokes  are 
brought  in  and  a  cloth  spread  over  them,  and  the  couple  are 
seated  on  them  face  to  face.  A  string  of  twisted  grass  is 
drawn  round  their  necks  and  a  thread  is  tied  round  their 
marriage-crowns.  The  bride's  dowry  is  given  and  her  rela- 
tives make  presents  to  lier.  This  property  is  known  as 
kJiamora,  and  is  retained  by  a  wife  for  her  own  use,  her 
husband  having  no  control  over  it.  It  is  customary  also  in  the 
caste  for  the  parents  to  supply  clothes  to  a  married  daughter 
as  long  as  they  live,  and  during  this  period  a  wife  will  not 
accept  any  clothes  from  her  husband.  On  the  following  day 
the  maid-servants  bring  a  present  of  gulal  or  red  powder  to 
the  fathers  of  the  bride  and  bridegroom,  who  sprinkle  it  over 
each  other.  The  bridegroom's  father  makes  them  a  present 
of  from  one  to  twenty  rupees  according  to  his  means,  and 
also  gives  suitable  fees  to  the  barber,  the  washerman,  the 
Barai  or  betel-leaf  seller  and  the  Bhat  or  bard.  The  maid- 
servants then  bring  vessels  of  water  and  throw  it  over  each 
other  in  sport.  After  the  evening  meal,  the  party  go  back, 
the  bride  and  bridegroom  riding  in  the  same  cart.  As  they 
start  the  women  sing  : 

Let  us  go  to  the  basket-maker 
And  buy  a  costly  pair  of  fans  ; 
Fans  worth  a  lot  of  money  ; 
Let  us  praise  the  mother  of  the  bride. 

After   a    few    days    at    her    husband's    house    the    bride  8.  widow - 
returns  home,  and  though  she  pays  short  visits  to  his  family  "^^'"'"'^s^- 
from  lime  to  time,  she  does  not  go  to  live  with  her  husband 
until  she  is  adolescent,  when  the  \xsw7\\  patJioni  or  going-away 


344  PANWAR  RAJPUT  part 

ceremony  is  performed  to  celebrate  the  event.  The  people 
repeat  a  set  of  verses  containing  advice  which  the  bride's 
mother  is  supposed  to  give  her  on  this  occasion,  in  which  the 
desire  imputed  to  the  caste  to  make  money  out  of  their 
daughters  is  satirised.  They  are  no  doubt  libellous  as  being 
a  gross  exaggeration,  but  may  contain  some  substratum  of 
truth.  The  gist  of  them  is  as  follows  :  "  Girl,  if  you  are  my 
daughter,  heed  what  I  say.  I  will  make  you  many  sweetmeats 
and  speak  words  of  wisdom.  Always  treat  your  husband 
better  than  his  parents.  Increase  your  private  money 
{kJiajnord)  by  selling  rice  and  sugar  ;  abuse  your  sisters-in-law 
to  your  husband's  mother  and  become  her  favourite.  Get 
influence  over  your  husband  and  make  him  come  wdth  you  to 
live  with  us.  If  you  cannot  persuade  him,  abandon  your 
modesty  and  make  quarrels  in  the  household.  Do  not  fear 
the  village  officers,  but  go  to  the  houses  of  the  patel  ^  and 
Pandia  ^  and  ask  them  to  arrange  your  quarrel." 

It  is  not  intended  to  imply  that  Panwar  women  behave 
in  this  manner,  but  the  passage  is  interesting  as  a  sidelight 
on  the  joint  family  system.  It  concludes  by  advising  the 
girl,  if  she  cannot  detach  her  husband  from  his  family,  to 
poison  him  and  return  as  a  widow.  This  last  counsel  is  a 
gibe  at  the  custom  which  the  caste  have  of  taking  large  sums 
of  money  for  a  widow  on  her  second  marriage.  As  such  a 
woman  is  usually  adult,  and  able  at  once  to  perform  the 
duties  of  a  wife  and  to  work  in  the  fields,  she  is  highly  valued, 
and  her  price  ranges  from  Rs.  25  to  Rs.  1000.  In  former 
times,  it  is  stated,  the  disposal  of  widows  did  not  rest  with 
their  parents  but  with  the  Sendia  or  headman  of  the  caste. 
The  last  of  them  was  Karun  Panwar  of  Tumsar,  who  was 
empowered  by  the  Bhonsla  Raja  of  Nagpur  to  act  in  this 
manner,  and  was  accustomed  to  receive  an  average  sum  of 
Rs.  25  for  each  widow  or  divorced  woman  whom  he  gave 
away  in  marriage.  His  power  extended  even  to  the 
reinstatement  of  women  expelled  from  the  caste,  whom  he 
could  subsequently  make  over  to  any  one  who  would  pay  for 
them.  At  the  end  of  his  life  he  lost  his  authority  among  the 
people  by  keeping  a  Dhlmar  woman  as  a  mistress,  and  he 
had  no  successor.      A  Panwar  widow  must  not  marry  again 

'  Village  headman.  ^  Patwari  or  village  accountant. 


II  WIDOW-MARRIAGE  345 

until  the  expiry  of  six  months  after  her  husband's  death. 
The  stool  on  which  a  widow  sits  for  her  second  marria^c;e  is 
afterwards  stolen  by  her  husband's  friends.  After  the 
wedding  when  she  reaches  the  boundary  of  his  village  the 
axle  of  her  cart  is  removed,  and  a  new  one  made  of  teitdn  wood 
is  substituted  for  it.  The  discarded  axle  and  the  shoes  worn 
by  the  husband  at  the  ceremony  are  thrown  away,  and  the 
stolen  stool  is  buried  in  a  field.  These  things,  Mr.  Hlra  Lai 
points  out,  arc  regarded  as  defiled,  because  they  have  been 
accessories  in  an  unlucky  ceremony,  that  of  the  marriage  of  a 
widow.  On  this  point  Dr.  Jevons  writes '  that  the  peculiar 
characteristic  of  taboo  is  this  transmissibility  of  its  infection 
or  contagion.  In  ancient  Greece  the  offerings  used  for  the 
purification  of  the  murderer  became  themselves  polluted  during 
the  process  and  had  to  be  buried.  A  similar  reasoning  applies 
to  the  articles  employed  in  the  marriage  of  a  widow.  The 
wood  of  the  tetidti  or  ebony  tree  "  is  chosen  for  the  substituted 
axle,  because  it  has  the  valuable  property  of  keeping  off  spirits 
and  ghosts.  When  a  child  is  born  a  plank  of  this  wood  is  laid 
along  the  door  of  the  room  to  keep  the  spirits  from  troubling 
the  mother  and  the  newborn  infant.  In  the  same  way,  no 
doubt,  this  wood  keeps  the  ghost  of  the  first  husband  from 
entering  with  the  widow  into  her  second  husband's  village. 
The  reason  for  the  ebony-wood  being  a  spirit-scarer  seems 
to  lie  in  its  property  of  giving  out  sparks  when  burnt.  "  The 
burning  wood  gives  out  showers  of  sparks,  and  it  is  a  common 
amusement  to  put  pieces  in  a  camp  fire  in  order  to  see  the 
column  of  sparks  ascend."  ^  The  sparks  would  have  a  power- 
ful effect  on  the  primitive  mind  and  probably  impart  a  sacred 
character  to  the  tree,  and  as  they  would  scare  away  wild 
animals,  the  property  of  averting  spirits  might  come  to  attach 
to  the  wood.  The  Panwars  .seldom  resort  to  divorce,  except 
in  the  case  of  open  and  flagrant  immorality  on  the  part  of  a 
wife.  "  They  are  not  strict,"  Mr.  Low  writes,*  "  in  the  matter 
of  sexual  offences  within  the  caste,  though  they  bitterly  resent 
and  if  able  heavily  avenge  any  attempt  on  the  virtue  of  their 
women  by  an  outsider.      The   men  of  the  caste  are  on  the 

'  Introduction    to    the    History    of  ^  Gamble,      Manual      of      Indian 

Religion,  p.  59.  Timbers,  p.  461. 

2  Diospyros  tomentosa.  *  Balaghat  District  Gazetteer. 


346  PAN  WAR  RAJPUT  part 

other  hand  somewhat  notorious  for  the  freedom  with  which 
they  enter  into  relations  with  the  women  of  other  castes." 
They  not  infrequently  have  Gond  and  Ahir  girls  from 
the  families  of  their  farmservants  as  members  of  their 
households. 

9.  Reii-  The  caste  worship  the  ordinary  Hindu  divinities,  and  their 
^'°"'           household  god  is  Dulha  Deo,  the  deified  bridegroom.      He 

is  represented  by  a  nut  and  a  date,  which  are  wrapped  in  a 
cloth  and  hung  on  a  peg  in  the  wall  of  the  house  above  the  plat- 
form erected  to  him.  Every  year,  or  at  the  time  of  a  marriage 
or  the  birth  of  a  first  child,  a  goat  is  offered  to  Dulha  Deo.  The 
animal  is  brought  to  the  platform  and  given  some  rice  to  eat. 
A  dedicatory  mark  of  red  ochre  is  made  on  its  forehead  and 
water  is  poured  over  the  body,  and  as  soon  as  it  shivers  it  is 
killed.  The  shivering  is  considered  to  be  an  indication 
from  the  deity  that  the  sacrifice  is  acceptable.  The 
flesh  is  cooked  and  eaten  by  the  family  inside  the  house, 
and  the  skin  and  bones  are  buried  below  the  floor.  Narayan 
Deo  or  Vishnu  or  the  Sun  is  represented  by  a  bunch  of 
peacock's  feathers.  He  is  generally  kept  in  the  house  of  a 
Mahar,  and  when  his  worship  is  to  be  celebrated  he  is  brought 
thence  in  a  gourd  to  the  Panwar's  house,  and  a  black  goat, 
rice  and  cakes  are  offered  to  him  by  the  head  of  the  household. 
While  the  offering  is  being  made  the  Mahar  sings  and  dances, 
and  when  the  flesh  of  the  goat  is  eaten  he  is  permitted  to  sit 
inside  the  Panwar's  house  and  begin  the  feast,  the  Panwars 
eating  after  him.  On  ordinary  occasions  a  Mahar  is  not 
allowed  to  come  inside  the  house,  and  any  Panwar  who  took 
food  with  him  would  be  put  out  of  caste  ;  and  this  rite  is  no 
doubt  a  recognition  of  the  position  of  the  Mahars  as  the 
earlier  residents  of  the  country  before  the  Panwars  came  to 
it.  The  Turukh  or  Turk  sept  of  Panwars  pay  a  similar 
worship  to  liaba  Farld,  the  Muhammadan  saint  of  Girar. 
He  is  also  represented  by  a  bundle  of  peacock's  feathers,  and 
when  a  goat  is  sacrificed  to  him  a  Muhammadan  kills  it  and 
is  the  first  to  partake  of  its  flesh. 

10.  Wor-  When   a    man   has  been    killed  by  a  tiger  {birgh)  he   is 
ship  of  the   (jeified  and  worshipped  as  Bagh  Deo.      A  hut  is  made  in  the 

spirits  of  '■  ^  '^  •         1  1    •       •  J 

those  dyinf,'  yard  of  the  house,  and  an  image  of  a  tiger  is  placed  mside 
derth""'      '^^^    worshipped   on    the    anniversary   of   the    man's    death. 


II  FUNERAL  RITES  347 

The  members  of  the  household  will  not  afterwards  kill  a 
tiger,  as  they  think  the  animal  has  become  a  member  of  the 
family.  A  man  who  is  bitten  by  a  cobra  {niig)  and  dies  is 
similarly  worshipped  as  Nag  Deo.  The  image  of  a  snake 
made  of  silver  or  iron  is  venerated,  and  the  family  will  not 
kill  a  snake.  If  a  man  is  killed  by  some  other  animal,  or 
by  drowning  or  a  fall  from  a  tree,  his  spirit  is  worshipped  as 
Ban  Deo  or  the  forest  god  with  similar  rites,  being  represented 
by  a  little  lump  of  rice  and  red  lead.  In  all  these  cases  it  is 
supposed,  as  pointed  out  by  Sir  James  Frazer,  that  the  ghost 
of  the  man  who  has  come  to  such  an  untimely  end  is 
especially  malignant,  and  will  bring  trouble  upon  the 
survivors  unless  appeased  with  sacrifices  and  offerings.  A 
good  instance  of  the  same  belief  is  given  by  him  in 
Psyche^ s  Task  ^  as  found  among  the  Karens  of  Burma  : 
"  They  put  red,  yellow  and  white  rice  in  a  basket  and  leave 
it  in  the  forest,  saying :  Ghosts  of  such  as  died  by  falling 
from  a  tree,  ghosts  of  such  as  died  of  hunger  or  thirst,  ghosts 
of  such  as  died  by  the  tiger's  tooth  or  the  serpent's  fang, 
ghosts  of  the  murdered  dead,  ghosts  of  such  as  died  by 
smallpox  or  cholera,  ghosts  of  dead  lepers,  oh  ill-treat  us 
not,  seize  not  upon  our  persons,  do  us  no  harm  !  Oh  stay 
here  in  this  wood  !  We  will  bring  hither  red  rice,  yellow 
rice,  and  white  rice  for  your  subsistence." 

That  the  same  superstition  is  generally  prevalent  in  the 
Central  Provinces  appears  to  be  shown  by  the  fact  that 
among  castes  who  practise  cremation,  the  bodies  of  men 
who  come  to  a  violent  end  or  die  of  smallpox  or  leprosy 
are  buried,  though  whether  burial  is  considered  as  more 
likely  to  prevent  the  ghost  from  walking  than  cremation, 
is  not  clear.  Possibly,  however,  it  may  be  considered  that 
the  bodies  are  too  impure  to  be  committed  to  the  sacred 
fire. 

Cremation   of  the  dead   is   the  rule,   but    the   bodies  of  n.  Funeral 
those    who    have   not   died   a    natural    death    are    buried,   as  '^''^^' 
also  of  persons  who  are  believed  to  have  been  possessed   of 
the   goddess   Devi    in   their  lifetime.      The  bodies  of  small 
children  are  buried  when  the  Khir  Chatai  ceremony  has  not 

'   P.    62,    quoting    from    Bringand,       Missions     Catholicpics,     xx.      (1888), 
Les    Karens    de    la    Birinanie,     I.cs       p.  208. 


348  PAN  WAR  RAJPUT  part 

been  performed.  This  takes  place  when  a  child  is  about 
two  years  old  :  he  is  invited  to  the  house  of  some  member 
of  the  same  section  on  the  Diwali  day  and  given  to  eat 
some  Khir  or  a  mess  of  new  rice  with  milk  and  sugar,  and 
thus  apparently  is  held  to  become  a  proper  member  of  the 
caste,  as  boys  do  in  other  castes  on  having  their  ears  pierced. 
When  a  corpse  is  to  be  burnt  a  heap  of  cowdung  cakes  is 
made,  on  which  it  is  laid,  while  others  are  spread  over  it, 
together  with  butter,  sugar  and  linseed.  The  fire  with  which 
the  pyre  is  kindled  is  carried  by  the  son  or  other  chief 
mourner  in  an  earthen  pot  at  the  head  of  the  corpse.  After 
the  cremation  the  ashes  of  the  body  are  thrown  into  water, 
but  the  bones  are  kept  by  the  chief  mourner  ;  his  head  and 
face  are  then  shaved  by  the  barber,  and  the  hair  is  thrown 
into  the  water  with  most  of  the  bones  ;  he  may  retain  a  few 
to  carry  them  to  the  Nerbudda  at  a  convenient  season, 
burying  them  meanwhile  under  a  mango  or  pipal  tree.  A 
present  of  a  rupee  or  a  cow  may  be  made  to  the  barber. 
After  the  removal  of  a  dead  body  the  house  is  swept,  and 
the  rubbish  with  the  broom  and  dustpan  are  thrown  away 
outside  the  village.  Before  the  body  is  taken  away  the 
widow  of  the  dead  man  places  her  hands  on  his  breast  and 
forehead,  and  her  bangles  are  broken  by  another  widow. 
The  shrdddJi  ceremony  is  performed  every  year  in  the  month 
of  Kunwar  (September)  on  the  same  day  of  the  fortnight  as 
that  on  which  the  death  took  place.  On  the  day  before  the 
ceremony  the  head  of  the  household  goes  to  the  houses  of 
those  whom  he  wishes  to  invite,  and  sticks  some  grains  of 
rice  on  their  foreheads.  The  guests  must  then  fast  up  to 
the  ceremony.  On  the  following  day,  when  they  arrive  at 
noon,  the  host,  wearing  a  sacred  thread  of  twisted  grass, 
washes  their  feet  with  water  in  which  the  sacred  kiisa  grass 
has  been  mixed,  and  marks  their  foreheads  with  sandal- 
paste  and  rice.  The  leaf-plates  of  the  guests  are  set  out 
inside  the  house,  and  a  very  small  quantity  of  cooked  rice 
is  placed  in  each.  The  host  then  gathers  up  all  this  rice 
and  throws  it  on  to  the  roof  of  the  house  while  his  wife 
throws  up  some  water,  calling  aloud  the  name  of  the  dead 
man  whose  shraddJi  ceremony  is  being  performed,  and  after 
this  the  whole  party  take  their  dinner. 


II  CASTE  DISCIPLINE  349 

As  has  been  shown,  the  Panwars  have  abandoned  most  12.  Caste 
of  the  distinctive  Rajput  customs.  They  do  not  wear  the  '•'^'^'P''"^- 
sacred  thread  and  they  permit  the  remarriage  of  widows. 
They  eat  the  flesh  of  goats,  fowls,  wild  pig,  game-birds  and 
fish,  but  abstain  from  Hquor  except  on  such  ceremonial 
occasions  as  the  worship  of  Narayan  Deo,  when  every  one 
must  partake  of  it.  Mr.  Low  states  that  the  injurious  habit 
of  smoking  Diadak  (a  preparation  of  opium)  is  growing  in 
the  caste.  They  will  take  water  to  drink  from  a  Gond's 
hand  and  in  some  localities  even  cooked  food.  This  is  the 
outcome  of  their  close  association  in  agriculture,  the  Gonds 
having  been  commonly  employed  as  farmservants  by  Panwar 
cultivators.  A  Brahman  usually  officiates  at  their  ceremonies, 
but  his  presence  is  not  essential  and  his  duties  may  be  per- 
formed by  a  member  of  the  caste.  Every  Panwar  male  or 
female  has  a  guru  or  spiritual  preceptor,  who  is  either  a 
Brahman,  a  Gosain  or  a  Bairagi.  From  time  to  time  the 
guru  comes  to  visit  his  cliela  or  disciple,  and  on  such  occa- 
sions the  cJiauk  or  sacred  place  is  prepared  with  lines  of 
wheat-flour.  Two  wooden  stools  are  set  within  it  and  the 
guru  and  his  diela  take  their  seats  on  these.  Their  heads 
are  covered  with  a  new  piece  of  cloth  and  the  guru  whispers 
some  text  into  the  ear  of  the  disciple.  Sweetmeats  and 
other  delicacies  are  then  offered  to  the  guru,  and  the  disciple 
makes  him  a  present  of  one  to  five  rupees.  When  a  Panwar 
is  put  out  of  caste  two  feasts  have  to  be  given  on  reinstate- 
ment, known  as  the  Maili  and  Chokhi  Roti  (impure  and 
pure  food).  The  former  is  held  in  the  morning  on  the  bank 
of  a  tank  or  river  and  is  attended  by  men  only.  A  goat  is 
killed  and  served  with  rice  to  the  caste-fellows,  and  in  serious 
cases  the  offender's  head  and  face  are  shaved,  and  he  prays, 
*  God  forgive  me  the  sin,  it  will  never  be  repeated.'  The 
Chokhi  Roti  is  held  in  the  evening  at  the  offender's  house, 
the  elders  and  women  as  well  as  men  of  the  caste  being 
present.  The  Sendia  or  leader  of  the  caste  eats  first,  and 
he  will  not  begin  his  meal  unless  he  finds  a  douceur  of  from 
one  to  five  rupees  deposited  beneath  his  leaf-plate.  The 
whole  cost  of  the  ceremony  of  readmission  is  from  fifteen  to 
fifty  rupees. 

The    Panwar    women    wear    their    clothes    tied    in    the 


350  PAN  WAR  RAJPUT  part 

13.  Social  Hindustani  and  not  in  the  Maratha  fashion.  They  are 
customs,  tattooed  on  the  legs,  hands  and  face,  the  face  being  usually 
decorated  with  single  dots  which  are  supposed  to  enhance 
its  beauty,  much  after  the  same  fashion  as  patches  in 
England.  Padmakar,  the  Saugor  poet,  Mr.  Hira  Lai  re- 
marks, compared  the  dot  on  a  woman's  chin  to  a  black  bee 
buried  in  a  half-ripe  mango.  The  women,  Mr.  Low  says,  are 
addicted  to  dances,  plays  and  charades,  the  first  being 
especially  graceful  performances.  They  are  skilful  with 
their  fingers  and  make  pretty  grass  mats  and  screens  for  the 
house,  and  are  also  very  good  cooks  and  appreciate  variety 
in  food.  The  Panwars  do  not  eat  off  the  ground,  but  place 
their  dishes  on  little  iron  stands,  sitting  themselves  on  low 
wooden  stools.  The  housewife  is  a  very  important  person, 
and  the  husband  will  not  give  anything  to  eat  or  drink 
out  of  the  house  without  her  concurrence.  Mr.  Low  writes 
on  the  character  and  abilities  of  the  Panwars  as  follows  : 
"  The  Panwar  is  to  Balaghat  what  the  Kunbi  is  to  Berar  or 
the  Gujar  to  Hoshangabad,  but  at  the  same  time  he  is  less 
entirely  attached  to  the  soil  and  its  cultivation,  and  much 
more  intelligent  and  cosmopolitan  than  either.  One  of  the 
most  intelligent  officials  in  the  Agricultural  Department  is 
a  Panwar,  and  several  members  of  the  caste  have  made 
large. sums  as  forest  and  railway  contractors  in  this  District ; 
Panwar  shikaris  are  also  not  uncommon.  They  are  generally 
averse  to  sedentary  occupations,  and  though  quite  ready  to 
avail  themselves  of  the  advantages  of  primary  education, 
they  do  not,  as  a  rule,  care  to  carry  their  studies  to  a  point 
that  would  ensure  their  admission  to  the  higher  ranks  of 
Government  service.  Very  (qw  of  them  are  to  be  found  as 
patwaris,  constables  or  peons.  They  are  a  handsome  race, 
with  intelligent  faces,  unusually  fair,  with  high  foreheads, 
and  often  grey  eyes.  They  are  not,  as  a  rule,  above  middle 
height,  but  they  are  active  and  hard-working  and  by  no 
means  deficient  in  courage  and  animal  spirits,  or  a  sense  of 
humour.  They  are  clannish  in  the  extreme,  and  to  elucidate 
a  criminal  case  in  which  no  one  but  Panwars  are  concerned, 
and  in  a  Panwar  village,  is  usually  a  harder  task  than  the 
average  local  police  officer  can  tackle.  At  times  they  are 
apt  to  affect,  in   conversation   with   Government  officials,  a 


II  SOCIAL  CUSTOMS  351 

whining  and  unpleasant  tone,  especially  when  pleading  their 
claim  to  some  concession  or  other  ;  and  they  are  by  no 
means  lacking  in  astuteness  and  are  good  hands  at  a  bargain. 
But  they  are  a  pleasant,  intelligent  and  plucky  race,  not 
easily  cast  down  by  misfortune  and  always  read)'  to  attempt 
new  enterprises  in  almost  any  direction  save  those  indicated 
by  the  Agricultural  Department. 

"  In  the  art  of  rice  cultivation  they  are  past  masters. 
They  are  skilled  tank-builders,  though  perhaps  hardly  equal 
to  the  Kohlis  of  Chanda.  But  they  excel  especially  in  the 
mending  and  levelling  of  their  fields,  in  neat  transplantation, 
and  in  the  choice  and  adaptation  of  the  different  varieties 
of  rice  to  land  of  varying  qualities.  They  are  by  no  means 
specially  efficient  as  labourers,  though  they  and  their  wives 
do  their  fair  share  of  field  work  ;  but  they  are  well  able  to 
control  the  labour  of  others,  especially  of  aborigines,  through 
whom  most  of  their  tank  and  other  works  are  executed." 


I.  General 


PARDHAN 

LIST    OF    PARAGRAPHS 

1 .  General  notice.  5 .    Social  customs. 

2.  Tribal  subdivisions.  6.   Methods    of    cheating     among 

3.  Marriage.  Patharis. 

4.  Religion.  7.  Musicians  and  p7'iests. 

Pardhan,  Pathari,  Panal. — An  inferior  branch  of  the 
notice.  Gond  tribe  whose  occupation  is  to  act  as  the  priests  and 
minstrels  of  the  Gonds.  In  191 1  the  Pardhans  numbered 
nearly  120,000  persons  in  the  Central  Provinces  and  Berar. 
The  only  other  locality  where  they  are  found  is  Hyderabad, 
which  returned  8000.  The  name  Pardhan  is  of  Sanskrit 
origin  and  signifies  a  minister  or  agent.  It  is  the  regular 
designation  of  the  principal  minister  of  a  Rajput  State,  who 
often  fulfils  the  functions  of  a  Mayor  of  the  Palace.  That 
it  was  applied  to  the  tribe  in  this  sense  is  shown  by  the  fact 
that  they  are  also  known  as  Diwan,  which  has  the  same 
meaning.  There  is  a  tradition  that  the  Gond  kings  em- 
ployed Pardhans  as  their  ministers,  and  as  the  Pardhans 
acted  as  genealogists  they  may  have  been  more  intelligent 
than  the  Gonds,  though  they  are  in  no  degree  less  illiterate. 
To  themselves  and  their  Gond  relations  the  Pardhans  are 
frequently  not  known  by  that  name,  which  has  been  given 
to  them  by  the  Hindus,  but  as  Panal.  Other  names  for  the 
tribe  are  Parganiha,  Desai  and  Pathari.  Parganiha  is  a  title 
signifying  the  head  of  a  pargana,  and  is  now  applied  by 
courtesy  to  some  families  in  Chhattisgarh.  Desai  has  the 
same  signification,  being  a  variant  of  Deshmukh  or  the 
Maratha  revenue  officer  in  charge  of  a  circle  of  villages. 
Pathari  means  a  bard  or  genealogist,  or  according  to 
another  derivation  a  hillman.     On  the  Satpura  plateau  and 

352 


4lir'%^ 

GROUP    OF     PARDHANS. 


Semrost,  Cello. .   Dtrh\. 


PART  II  GENERAL  NOTICE  353 

in  Chhattlsgarh  the  tribe  is  known  as  Pardhan  Patharia. 
In  Ralaghat  they  are  also  called  Mokasi.  The  Gonds 
themselves  look  down  on  the  Pardhfins  and  say  that  the 
word  Patharia  means  inferior,  and  they  relate  that  Bura  Deo, 
their  god,  had  seven  sons.  These  were  talking  together  one 
day  as  they  dined  and  they  said  that  every  caste  had  an 
inferior  branch  to  do  it  homage,  but  they  had  none  ;  and 
they  therefore  agreed  that  the  youngest  brother  and  his 
descendants  should  be  inferior  to  the  others  and  make 
obeisance  to  them,  while  the  others  promised  to  treat  him 
almost  as  their  equal  and  give  him  a  share  in  all  the  offerings 
to  the  dead.  The  Pardhans  or  Patharias  are  the  descendants 
of  the  youngest  brother  and  they  accost  the  Gonds  with  the 
greeting  '  Babu  Johar,'  or  '  Good  luck,  sir.'  The  Gonds 
return  the  greeting  by  saying  '  Pathari  Johar,'  or  '  How  do 
you  do,  Pathari.'  Curiously  enough  Johar  is  also  the 
salutation  sent  by  a  Rajput  chief  to  an  inferior  landholder,^ 
and  the  custom  must  apparently  have  been  imitated  by  the 
Gonds.  A  variant  of  the  story  is  that  one  day  the  seven 
Gond  brothers  were  worshipping  their  god,  but  he  did  not 
make  his  appearance  ;  so  the  youngest  of  them  made  a 
musical  instrument  out  of  a  string  and  a  piece  of  wood  and 
played  on  it.  The  god  was  pleased  with  the  music  and 
came  down  to  be  worshipped,  and  hence  the  Pardhans 
as  the  descendants  of  the  youngest  brother  continue  to  play 
on  the  kingri  or  lyre,  which  is  their  distinctive  instrument. 
The  above  stories  have  been  invented  to  account  for  the 
social  inferiority  of  the  Pardhans  to  the  Gonds,  but  their 
position  merely  accords  with  the  general  rule  that  the 
bards  and  genealogists  of  any  caste  are  a  degraded  section. 
The  fact  is  somewhat  contrary  to  preconceived  ideas,  but 
the  explanation  given  of  it  is  that  such  persons  make  their 
living  by  begging  from  the  remainder  of  the  caste  and  hence 
are  naturally  looked  down  upon  by  them  ;  and  further,  that 
in  pursuit  of  their  calling  they  wander  about  to  attend  at 
wedding  feasts  all  over  the  country,  and  consequently  take 
food  with  many  people  of  doubtful  social  position.  This 
seems    a    reasonable    interpretation    of   the    rule    of  the    in- 

'    Tod's   Kcijasthcvt,  i.    p.    165.      But  Johar   is   a   common  term  of  salutation 
among  the  Hindus. 

■     VOL.  IV  2  A 


354 


PARDHAN 


2.  Tribal 
sub- 
divisions. 


feriority  of  the  bard,  which  at  any  rate  obtains  generally 
among  the  Hindu  castes. 

The  tribe  have  several  endogamous  divisions,  of  which 
the  principal  are  the  Raj  Pardhans,  the  Ganda  Pardhans  and 
the  Thothia  Pardhans.  The  Raj  Pardhans  appear  to  be  the 
descendants  of  alliances  between  Raj  Gonds  and  Pardhan 
women.  They  say  that  formerly  the  priests  of  Bura  Deo 
lived  a  celibate  life,  and  both  men  and  women  attended  to 
worship  the  god  ;  but  on  one  occasion  the  priests  ran  away 
with  some  women  and  after  this  the  Gonds  did  not  know 
who  should  be  appointed  to  serve  the  deity.  While  they 
were  thus  perplexed,  a  kingri  (or  rude  wooden  lyre)  fell  from 
heaven  on  to  the  lap  of  one  of  them,  and,  in  accordance 
with  this  plain  indication  of  the  divine  will,  he  became  the 
priest,  and  was  the  ancestor  of  the  Raj  Pardhans  ;  and  since 
this  contretemps  the  priests  are  permitted  to  marry,  while 
women  are  no  longer  allowed  to  attend  the  worship  of  Bura 
Deo.  The  Thothia  subtribe  are  said  to  be  the  descendants  of 
illicit  unions,  the  word  Thothia  meaning  *  maimed  '  ;  while 
the  Gandas  are  the  offspring  of  intermarriages  between  the 
Pardhans  and  members  of  that  degraded  caste.  Other 
groups  are  the  Mades  or  those  of  the  Mad  country  in 
Chanda  and  Bastar,  the  Khalotias  or  those  of  the  Chhattisgarh 
plain,  -and  the  Deogarhias  of  Deogarh  in  Chhindwara  ;  and 
there  are  also  some  occupational  divisions,  as  the  Kandres 
or  bamboo -workers,  the  Gaitas  who  .act  as  priests  in 
Chhattisgarh,  and  the  Arakhs  who  engage  in  service  and 
sell  old  clothes.  A  curious  grouping  is  found  in  Chanda, 
where  the  tribe  are  divided  into  the  Gond  Patharis  and 
Chor  or  'Thief  Patharis.  The  latter  have  obtained  their 
name  from  their  criminal  propensities,  but  they  are  said  to 
be  proud  of  it  and  to  refuse  to  intermarry  with  any  families 
not  having  the  designation  of  Chor  Pathari.  In  Raipur  the 
Patharis  are  said  to  be  the  offspring  of  Gonds  by  women  of 
other  castes,  and  the  descendants  of  such  unions.  The 
exogamous  divisions  of  the  Pardhans  are  the  same  as  those 
of  the  Gonds,  and  like  them  they  are  split  up  into  groups 
worshipping  different  numbers  of  gods  whose  members  may 
not  marry  with  one  another. 

A  Pardhan  wedding  is  usually  held  in  the  bridegroom's 


II  MARRIAGE— RELIGION— SOCIAL  CUSTOMS  355 

village  in  some  public  place,  such  as  the  market  or  cross-  3.  Mar- 
roads.  The  boy  wears  a  blanket  and  carries  a  dagger  in  his  ^^^^^' 
hand.  The  couple  walk  five  times  round  in  a  circle,  after 
which  the  boy  catches  hold  of  the  girl's  hand.  He  tries  to 
open  her  fist  which  she  keeps  closed,  and  when  he  succeeds 
in  this  he  places  an  iron  ring  on  her  little  finger  and  puts  his 
right  toe  over  that  of  the  girl's.  The  officiating  priest  then 
ties  the  ends  of  their  clothes  together  and  five  chickens  are 
killed.  The  customary  bride-price  is  Rs.  1 2,  but  it  varies  in 
different  localities.  A  widower  taking  a  girl  bride  has,  as  a 
rule,  to  pay  a  double  price.  A  widow  is  usually  taken  in 
marriage  by  her  deceased  husband's  younger  brother. 

As  the  priests  of  the  Gonds,  the  Pardhans  are  employed  4-  Reii- 
to  conduct  the  ceremonial  worship  of  their  great  god  Bura  ^'°"' 
Deo,  which  takes  place  on  the  third  day  of  the  bright  fort- 
night of  Baisakh  (April).  Many  goats  or  pigs  are  then 
offered  to  him  with  liquor,  cocoanuts,  betel-leaves,  flowers, 
lemons  and  rice.  Bura  Deo  is  always  enshrined  under  a  tree 
outside  the  village,  either  of  the  mahua  or  sdj  {Termiualia 
toinentosd)  varieties.  In  Chhattlsgarh  the  Gonds  say  that 
the  origin  of  Bura  Deo  was  from  a  child  born  of  an  illicit 
union  between  a  Gond  and  a  Rawat  woman.  The  father 
murdered  the  child  by  strangling  it,  and  its  spirit  then  began 
to  haunt  and  annoy  the  man  and  all  his  relations,  and 
gradually  extended  its  attentions  to  all  the  Gonds  of  the 
surrounding  country.  It  finally  consented  to  be  appeased 
by  a  promise  of  adoration  from  the  whole  tribe,  and  since 
then  has  been  installed  as  the  principal  deity  of  the  Gonds. 
The  story  is  interesting  as  showing  how  completely  devoid 
of  any  supernatural  majesty  or  power  is  the  Gond  conception 
of  their  principal  deity. 

Like  the  Gonds,  the  Pardhans  will  eat  almost  any  kind  of  5.  Social 
food,  including  beef,  pork  and  the  flesh  of  rats  and  mice,  but  '^"^^°"'^- 
they  will  not  eat  the  leavings  of  others.  They  will  take  food 
from  the  hands  of  Gonds,  but  the  Gonds  do  not  return  the 
compliment.  Among  the  Hindus  generally  the  Pardhans 
are  much  despised,  and  their  touch  conveys  impurity  while 
that  of  a  Gond  does  not.  Every  Pardhan  has  tattooed  on 
his  left  arm  near  the  inside  of  the  elbow  a  dotted  figure 
which  represents   his   totem   or   the   animal,   plant   or    other 


356  PARDHAN  part 

natural  object  after  which  his  sept  is  named.  Many  of  them 
have  a  better  type  of  countenance  than  the  Gonds,  which  is 
perhaps  due  to  an  infusion  of  Hindu  blood.  They  are  also 
generally  more  intelligent  and  cunning.  They  have  criminal 
propensities,  and  the  Patharias  of  Chhattisgarh  are  especially 
noted  for  cattle-lifting  and  thieving.  Writing  forty  years 
ago  Captain  Thomson  ^  described  the  Pardhans  of  Seoni  as 
bearing  the  very  worst  of  characters,  many  of  them  being 
regular  cattle-lifters  and  gang  robbers.  In  some  parts  of 
Seoni  they  had  become  the  terror  of  the  village  proprietors, 
whose  houses  and  granaries  they  fired  if  they  were  in  any 
way  reported  on  or  molested.  Since  that  time  the  Pardhans 
have  become  quite  peaceable,  but  they  still  have  a  bad 
reputation  for  petty  thieving, 
6.  Methods  In  Chhattisgarh  one  subdivision  is  said  to  be  known  as 

of  cheating  Sonthasfa    (sona,    gold,    and    tha^^,  a    cheat),    because    they 

among  fc>         \  '      o         '  ^  ' 

Patharis.  cheat  people  by  passing  counterfeit  gold.  Their  methods 
were  described  as  follows  in  1872  by  Captain  McNeill, 
District  Superintendent  of  Police  :  ^  "  They  procure  a 
quantity  of  the  dry  bark  of  the  pipal,^  mahua,"*  tamarind 
ox  gular^  trees  and  set  it  on  fire  ;  when  it  has  become  red- 
hot  it  is  raked  into  a  small  hole  and  a  piece  of  well-polished 
brass  is  deposited  among  the  glowing  embers.  It  is 
constantly  moved  and  turned  about  and  in  ten  or  fifteen 
minutes  has  taken  a  deep  orange  colour  resembling  gold.  It 
is  then  placed  in  a  small  heap  of  wood-ashes  and  after  a 
few  minutes  taken  out  again  and  carefully  wrapped  in 
cotton-wool.  The  peculiar  orange  colour  results  from  the 
sulphur  and  resin  in  the  bark  being  rendered  volatile.  They 
then  proceed  to  dispose  of  the  gold,  sometimes  going  to  a  fair 
and  buying  cattle.  On  concluding  a  bargain  they  suddenly 
find  they  have  no  money,  and  after  some  hesitation 
reluctantly  produce  the  gold,  and  say  they  are  willing  to  part 
with  it  at  a  disadvantage,  thereby  usually  inducing  the 
belief  that  it  has  been  stolen.  The  cupidity  of  the  owner 
of  the  cattle  is  aroused,  and  he  accepts  the  gold  at  a  rate 
which    would    be    very    advantageous   if    it    were    genuine, 

1  Seoni    Settlemenl    Report  (1867),  The  passage  is  somewhat  abridged  in 

p    ,i'5_  reproduction. 

-  From    a   collection    of    notes    on  ^  Ficus  R.  *  Bassia  latifolia. 

Patharis    by    various    police    officers.  '•'  Ficus  glomerata. 


II  MUSICIANS  AND  PRIESTS  357 

At  other  times  they  join  a  party  of  pilgrims,  to  which  some 
of  their  confederates  have  already  obtained  admission  in 
disguise,  and  offer  to  sell  their  gold  as  being  in  great  want  of 
money.  A  piece  is  first  sold  to  the  confederates  on  very 
cheap  terms  and  the  other  pilgrims  eagerly  participate."  It 
would  appear  that  the  Patharis  have  not  much  to  learn  from 
the  owners  of  buried  treasure  or  the  confidence  or  three-card 
trick  performers  of  London,  and  their  methods  are  in  striking 
contrast  to  the  guileless  simplicity  usually  supposed  to  be  a 
characteristic  of  the  primitive  tribes.  Mr.  White  states  that 
"  All  the  property  acquired  is  taken  back  to  the  village  and 
there  distributed  by  a  pancJidyat  or  committee,  whose  head 
is  known  as  Mokasi.  The  Mokasi  is  elected  by  the 
community  and  may  also  be  deposed  by  it,  though  he 
usually  holds  office  for  life  ;  to  be  a  successful  candidate  for 
the  position  of  Mokasi  one  should  have  wealth  and  experience 
and  it  is  not  a  disadvantage  to  have  been  in  jail.  The 
Mokasi  superintends  the  internal  affairs  of  the  community 
and  maintains  good  relations  with  the  proprietor  and  village 
watchman  by  means  of  gifts." 

The  Pardhans  and  Patharis  are  also,  as  already  stated,  7. 
village  musicians,  and  their  distinctive  instrument  the  kingri  anTpn^sts 
or  khigadi  is  described  by  Mr.  White  as  consisting  of  a 
stick  passed  through  a  gourd.  A  string  or  wire  is 
stretched  over  this  and  the  instrument  is  played  with  the 
fingers.  Another  kind  possesses  three  strings  of  woven 
horse-hair  and  is  played  with  the  help  of  a  bow.  The 
women  of  the  Ganda  Pardhan  subtribe  act  as  midwives. 
Mr.  Tawney  wrote  of  the  Pardhans  of  Chhindwara  :  ^ 
"  The  Raj -Pardhans  are  the  bards  of  the  Gonds  and  they 
can  also  officiate  as  priests,  but  the  Bhumka  generally  acts 
in  the  latter  capacity  and  the  Pardhans  confine  themselves 
to  singing  the  praises  of  the  god.  At  every  public  worship 
in  the  Deo-khalla  or  dwelling-place  of  the  gods,  there 
should,  if  possible,  be  a  Pardhan,  and  great  men  use  them  on 
less  important  occasions.  They  cannot  even  worship  their 
household  gods  or  be  married  without  the  Pardhans.  The 
Raj-Pardhans  are  looked  down  on  by  the  Gonds,  and 
considered  as  somewhat  inferior,  seeing  that  they  take  the 

'   Note  already  quoted. 


358  PARDHAN  part  ii 

offerings  at  religious  ceremonies  and  the  clothes  of  the 
dear  departed  at  funerals.  This  has  never  been  the  business 
of  a  true  Gond,  who  seems  never  happier  than  when 
wandering  in  the  jungle,  and  who  above  all  things  loves  his 
axe,  and  next  to  that  a  tree  to  chop  at.  There  is  nothing 
in  the  ceremonies  or  religion  of  the  Pardhans  to  distinguish 
them  from  the  Gonds." 


PARDHI 


LIST  OF   PARAGRAPHS 

1.  General  notice  of  the  caste.  7.   Methods  of  caichi?ig  birds. 

2.  Subdivisions.  2-   Hunting  with  leopards. 

3.  Marriaoe  and  funeral  customs.  ■''     J  oy  s  ags. 

10.   Hawks. 
*       ■  II.    Crocodile  fishing. 

5 .  Z>r<f JJ-,  /i?tf^/  and  social  customs.        1 2.   Other  occupations  and  crimi?ial 

6.  Ordeals.  p?-actices. 

Pardhi,^  Bahelia,  Mirshikar,  Mog-hia,  Shikari,  Takan-  i.  General 
kaP. — A  low  caste  of  \vanderin$T  fowlers  and  hunters.      Thev  notice  of 

111  •  ,         ^  ,     T^         •  '^^  caste. 

numbered  about  15,000  persons  m  the  Central  rrovmces 
and  Berar  in  1 9 1  i ,  and  are  found  scattered  over  several 
Districts.  These  figures  include  about  2000  Bahelias.  The 
word  Pardhi  is  derived  from  the  Marathi  paradh,  hunting. 
Shikari,  the  common  term  for  a  native  hunter,  is  an  alter- 
native name  for  the  caste,  but  particularly  applied  to  those 
who  use  firearms,  which  most  Pardhis  refuse  to  do.  Moghia 
is  the  Hindustani  word  for  fowler,  and  Takankar  is  the 
name  of  a  small  occupational  offshoot  of  the  Pardhis  in 
Berar,  who  travel  from  village  to  village  and  roughen  the 
household  grinding -mills  when  they  have  worn  smooth. 
The  word  is  derived  from  iakna^  to  tap  or  chisel.  The 
caste  appears  to  be  a  mixed  group  made  up  of  Bawarias  or 
other  Rajput  outcastes,  Gonds  and  social  derelicts  from  all 
sources.  The  Pardhis  perhaps  belong  more  especially  to 
the  Maratha  country,  as  they  are  numerous  in  Khandesh, 
and    many    of   them    talk    a    dialect    of    Gujarati.      In    the 

'   This     article     is    partly    compiled  ¥.\\.U'  Bcrdr  Ce}iS2is Heporf  (i^>il),  s.x\A 

from  papers  by  Mr.  Aduram  Chaudhri  Mr.  Sewell's  note  on  the  caste  quoted 

and    Pandit    Pyare    Lai    Misra    of  the  inl^lr.  (Jidiytr^s  Lectures  on  the  Criminal 

Gazetteer  Oftice,  and  extracts  from  Mr.  Tribes  of  the  Central  Provinces. 

359 


36o  PARDHI  part 

northern  Districts  their  speech  is  a  mixture  of  Marwari  and 
Hindi,  while  they  often  know  Marathi  or  Urdu  as  well. 
The  name  for  the  similar  class  of  people  in  northern  India 
is  Bahelia,  and  in  the  Central  Provinces  the  Bahelias  and 
Pardhis  merge  into  one  another  and  are  not  recognisable  as 
distinct  groups.  The  caste  is  recruited  from  the  most 
diverse  elements,  and  women  of  any  except  the  impure 
castes  can  be  admitted  into  the  community  ;  and  on  this 
account  their  customs  differ  greatly  in  different  localities. 
According  to  their  own  legends  the  first  ancestor  of  the 
Pardhis  was  a  Gond,  to  whom  Mahade'o  taught  the  art 
of  snaring  game  so  that  he  might  avoid  the  sin  of  shooting 
it  ;  and  hence  the  ordinary  Pardhis  never  use  a  gun. 
2.  Sub-  Like  other  wandering  castes  the  Pardhis  have  a  large 

divisions,  number  of  endogamous  groups,  varying  lists  being  often 
given  in  different  areas.  The  principal  subcastes  appear  to 
be  the  Shikari  or  Bhil  Pardhis,  who  use  firearms  ;  the 
Phanse  Pardhis,  who  hunt  with  traps  and  snares  ;  the 
Langoti  Pardhis,  so  called  because  they  wear  only  a  narrow 
strip  of  cloth  round  the  loins  ;  and  the  Takankars.  Both 
the  Takankars  and  Langotis  have  strong  criminal  tendencies. 
Several  other  groups  are  recorded  in  different  Districts, 
as  the  Chitewale,  who  hunt  with  a  tame  leopard  ;  the 
Gayake,  who  stalk  their  prey  behind  a  bullock  ;  the  Gosain 
Pardhis,  who  dress  like  religious  mendicants  in  ochre-coloured 
clothes  and  do  not  kill  deer,  but  only  hares,  jackals  and 
foxes  ;  the  Shishi  ke  Telwale,  who  sell  crocodile's  oil  ;  and 
the  Bandarwale  who  go  about  with  performing  monkeys. 
The  Bahelias  have  a  subcaste  known  as  Karijat,  the  members 
of  which  only  kill  birds  of  a  black  colour.  Their  exogamous 
groups  are  nearly  all  those  of  Rajput  tribes,  as  Sesodia, 
Panwar,  Solanki,  Chauhan,  Rathor,  and  so  on  ;  it  is  probable 
that  these  have  been  adopted  through  imitation  by  vagrant 
Bawarias  and  others  sojourning  in  Rajputana.  There  are 
also  a  few  groups  with  titular  or  other  names,  and  it  is 
stated  that  members  of  clans  bearing  Rajput  names  will 
take  daughters  from  the  others  in  marriage,  but  will  not 
give  their  daughters  to  them. 

Girls  appear  to  be  somewhat  scarce  in  the  caste  and  a 
bride -price    is    usually    paid,   which    is   given    as    Rs.   9    in 


II  RELIGION  361 

Chanda,  Rs.  35  in  Bilaspur,  and  Rs.  60  or  more  in  Iloshang-  3.  Mar- 
abad  and  Saugor.  If  a  girl  should  be  seduced  by  a  man  fun^^^T 
of  the  caste  she  would  be  united  to  him  by  the  ceremony  of  customs, 
a  widow's  marriage  :  but  her  family  will  require  a  bride  from 
her  husband's  family  in  exchange  for  the  girl  whose  value 
he  has  destroyed.  Even  if  led  astray  by  an  outsider  a  girl 
may  be  readmitted  into  the  caste  ;  and  in  the  extreme  case 
of  her  being  debauched  by  her  brother,  she  may  still  be 
married  to  one  of  the  community,  but  no  one  will  take  food 
from  her  hands  during  her  lifetime,  though  her  children  will 
be  recognised  as  proper  Pardhis.  A  special  fine  of  Rs.  lOO 
is  imposed  on  a  brother  who  commits  this  crime.  The 
ceremony  of  marriage  varies  according  to  the  locality  in 
which  they  reside  ;  usually  the  couple  walk  seven  times 
round  a  tdnda  or  collection  of  their  small  mat  tents.  In 
Berar  a  cloth  is  held  up  by  four  poles  as  a  canopy  over 
them  and  they  are  preceded  by  a  married  woman  carrying 
five  pitchers  of  water.  Divorce  and  the  marriage  of  widows 
are  freely  permitted.  The  caste  commonly  bury  their  dead, 
placing  the  head  to  the  north.  They  do  not  shave  their 
heads  in  token  of  mourning. 

In  Berar  their  principal  deity  is  the  goddess  Devi,  who  4.  Reii- 
is  known  by  different  names.  Every  family  of  Langoti  " 
Pardhis  has,  Mr.  Gayer  states,^  its  image  in  silver  of  the 
goddess,  and  because  of  this  no  Langoti  Pardhi  woman  will 
wear  silver  below  the  waist  or  hang  her  sari  on  a  peg,  as  it  must 
never  be  put  on  the  same  level  as  the  goddess.  They  also 
sometimes  refuse  to  wear  red  or  coloured  clothes,  one 
explanation  for  this  being  that  the  image  of  the  goddess  is 
placed  on  a  bed  of  red  cloth.  In  Hoshangabad  their 
principal  deity  is  called  Guraiya  Deo,  and  his  image,  consist- 
ing of  a  human  figure  embossed  in  silver,  is  kept  in  a  leather 
bag  on  the  west  side  of  their  tents  ;  and  for  this  reason 
women  going  out  of  the  encampment  for  a  necessary 
purpose  always  proceed  to  the  east.  They  also  sleep  with 
their  feet  to  the  east.  Goats  are  offered  to  Guraiya  Deo 
and  their  horns  are  placed  in  his  leather  bag.  In 
Hoshangabad  they  sacrifice  a  fowl  to  the  ropes  of  their 
tents  at  the  Dasahra  and  Diwali  festivals,  and  on  the  former 

^   Lectures  on  Criminal  Tribes  of  the  C.P.,  p.   I9- 


362  PARDHI  part 

occasion  clean  their  hunting  implements  and  make  offerings 
to  them  of  turmeric  and  rice.  They  are  reported  to  believe 
that  the  sun  and  moon  die  and  are  reborn  daily.  The 
hunter's  calling  is  one  largely  dependent  on  luck  or  chance, 
and,  as  might  be  expected,  the  Pardhis  are  firm  believers  in 
omens,  and  observe  various  rules  by  which  they  think  their 
fortune  will  be  affected.  A  favourite  omen  is  the  simple 
device  of  taking  some  rice  or  juari  in  the  hand  and  counting 
the  grains.  Contrary  to  the  usual  rule,  even  numbers  are 
considered  lucky  and  odd  ones  unlucky.  If  the  first  result 
is  unsatisfactory  a  second  or  third  trial  may  be  made.  If 
a  winnowing  basket  or  millstone  be  let  fall  and  drop  to  the 
right  hand  it  is  a  lucky  omen,  and  similarly  if  a  flower  from 
Devi's  garland  should  fall  to  the  right  side.  The  bellowing 
of  cows,  the  mewing  of  a  cat,  the  howling  of  a  jackal  and 
sneezing  are  other  unlucky  omens.  If  a  snake  passes  from 
left  to  right  it  is  a  bad  omen  and  if  from  right  to  left  a  good 
one.  A  man  must  not  sleep  with  his  head  on  the  threshold 
of  a  house  or  in  the  doorway  of  a  tent  under  penalty  of  a 
fine  of  Rs.  2-8  ;  the  only  explanation  given  of  this  rule  is 
that  such  a  position  is  unlucky  because  a  corpse  is  carried 
out  across  the  threshold.  A  similar  penalty  is  imposed  if 
he  falls  down  before  his  wife  even  by  accident.  A  Pardhi, 
with  Ihe  exception  of  members  of  the  Sesodia  clan,  must 
never  sleep  on  a  cot,  a  fine  of  five  rupees  being  imposed  for 
a  breach  of  this  rule.  A  man  who  has  once  caught  a  deer 
must  not  again  have  the  hair  of  his  head  touched  by  a  razor, 
and  thus  the  Pardhis  may  be  recognised  by  their  long  and 
unkempt  locks.  A  breach  of  this  rule  is  punished  with  a 
fine  of  fifteen  rupees,  but  it  is  not  observed  everywhere. 
A  woman  must  never  step  across  the  rope  or  peg  of  a  tent, 
nor  upon  the  place  where  the  blood  of  a  deer  has  flowed  on 
to  the  ground.  During  her  monthly  period  of  impurity  a 
woman  must  not  cross  a  river  nor  sit  in  a  boat.  A  Pardhi 
will  never  kill  or  sell  a  dog  and  they  will  not  hunt  wild  dogs 
even  if  money  is  offered  to  them.  This  is  probably  because 
they  look  upon  the  wild  dog  as  a  fellow-hunter,  and  consider 
that  to  do  him  injury  would  bring  ill-luck  upon  themselves. 
A  Pardhi  has  also  theoretically  a  care  for  the  preservation 
of  game.      When   he  has  caught  a  number  of  birds  in  his 


II  DJiESS,  FOOD  AND  SOCIAL  CUSTOMS  363 

trap,  he  will  let  a  pair  of  them  loose  so  that  they  may  go 
on  breeding.  Women  arc  not  permitted  to  take  any  part 
in  the  work  of  hunting,  but  are  confined  strictly  to  their 
household  duties.  A  woman  who  kicks  her  husband's  stick 
is  fined  Rs.  2-8.  The  butt  end  of  the  stick  is  employed 
for  mixing  vegetables  and  other  purposes,  but  the  meaning 
of  the  rule  is  not  clear  unless  one  of  its  uses  is  for  the 
enforcement  of  conjugal  discipline.  A  Pardhi  may  not 
swear  by  a  dog,  a  cat  or  a  squirrel.  Their  most  solemn 
oath  is  in  the  name  of  their  deity  Guraiya  Deo,  and  it  is 
believed  that  any  one  who  falsely  takes  this  oath  will  become 
a  leper.  The  Phans  Pardhis  may  not  travel  in  a  railway 
train,  and  some  of  them  are  forbidden  even  to  use  a  cart  or 
other  conveyance. 

In  dress  and  appearance  the  Pardhis  are  disreputable  5.  Dress, 
and  dirty.  Their  features  are  dark  and  their  hair  matted  and  g°^j  J 
unkempt.  They  never  wear  shoes  and  say  that  they  are  customs. 
protected  by  a  special  promise  of  the  goddess  Devi  to  their 
first  ancestor  that  no  insect  or  reptile  in  the  forests  should 
injure  them.  The  truth  is,  no  doubt,  that  shoes  would  make 
it  impossible  for  them  to  approach  their  game  without 
disturbing  it,  and  from  long  practice  the  soles  of  their  feet 
become  impervious  to  thorns  and  minor  injuries.  Similarly 
the  Langoti  Pardhis  are  so  called  because  they  wear  only  a 
narrow  strip  of  cloth  round  the  loins,  the  reason  probably 
being  that  a  long  one  would  impede  them  by  flapping  and 
catching  in  the  brushwood.  But  the  explanation  which 
they  themselves  give,^  a  somewhat  curious  one  in  view 
of  their  appearance,  is  that  an  ordinary  dhoti  or  loin-cloth 
if  worn  might  become  soiled  and  therefore  unlucky.  Their 
women  do  not  have  their  noses  pierced  and  never  wear 
spangles  or  other  marks  on  the  forehead.  The  Pardhis  still 
obtain  fire  by  igniting  a  piece  of  cotton  with  flint  and  iron. 
Mr.  Sewell  notes  that  their  women  eat  at  the  same  time 
as  the  men,  instead  of  after  them  as  among  most  Hindus. 
They  explain  this  custom  by  saying  that  on  one  occasion 
a  woman  tried  to  poison  her  husband  and  it  was  therefore 
adopted  as  a  precaution  against  similar  attempts  ;  but  no 
doubt  it  has  always  prevailed,  and  the  more  orthodox 
'  Berdr  Census  Report  (1881),  p.  135. 


364  PARDHI  PARI 

practice  would  be  almost  incompatible  with  their  gipsy 
life.  Similar  reasons  of  convenience  account  for  their 
custom  of  celebrating  marriages  all  the  year  round  and 
neglecting  the  Hindu  close  season  of  the  four  months 
of  the  rains.  They  travel  about  with  little  huts  made 
of  matting,  which  can  be  rolled  up  and  carried  off  in  a 
few  minutes.  If  rain  comes  on  they  seek  shelter  in  the 
nearest  village.^  In  some  localities  the  caste  eat  no  food 
cooked  with  butter  or  oil.  They  are  usually  considered 
as  an  impure  caste,  whose  touch  is  a  defilement  to  Hindus. 
Brahmans  do  not  officiate  at  their  ceremonies,  though  the 
Pardhis  resort  to  the  village  Joshi  or  astrologer  to  have 
a  propitious  date  indicated  for  marriages.  They  have  to 
pay  for  such  services  in  money,  as  Brahmans  usually  refuse 
to  accept  even  uncooked  grain  from  them.  After  child- 
birth women  are  held  to  be  impure  and  forbidden  to  cook 
for  their  families  for  a  period  varying  from  six  weeks 
to  six  months.  During  t^ieir  periodical  impurity  they 
are  secluded  for  four,  six  or  eight  days,  the  Pardhis 
observing  very  strict  rules  in  these  matters,  as  is  not 
infrequently  the  case  with  the  lowest  castes.  Their  caste 
meetings,  Mr.  Sewell  states,  are  known  as  Deokaria  or 
'  An  act  performed  in  honour  of  God '  ;  at  these  meetings 
arrangements  for  expeditions  are  discussed  and  caste 
disputes  decided.  The  penalty  for  social  offences  is  a  fine 
of  a  specified  quantity  of  liquor,  the  liquor  provided  by 
male  and  female  delinquents  being  drunk  by  the  men  and 
women  respectively.  The  punishment  for  adultery  in  either 
sex  consists  in  cutting  off  a  piece  of  the  left  ear  with  a  razor, 
and  a  man  guilty  of  intercourse  with  a  prostitute  is  punished 
as  if  he  had  committed  adultery.  The  Pardhi  women  are 
said  to  be  virtuous. 
6.  Ordeals.  The  Pardhis  still  preserve  the  primitive  method  of  trial 

by  ordeal.  If  a  woman  is  suspected  of  misconduct  she  is 
made  to  pick  a  pice  coin  out  of  boiling  oil  ;  or  a  pipal  leaf 
is  placed  on  her  hand  and  a  red-hot  axe  laid  over  it,  and  if 
her  hand  is  burnt  or  she  refuses  to  stand  the  test  she  is  pro- 
nounced guilty.  Or,  in  the  case  of  a  man,  the  accused  is 
made  to  dive  into  water  ;  and  as   he  dives  an  arrow  is  shot 

'    Hotnhay  Ethnographic  Survey,  art.  Pardhi. 


n  METHODS  OF  CATCHING  BIRDS  365 

from  a  bow.  A  swift  runner  fetches  and  brings  back  the 
arrow,  and  if  the  diver  can  remain  under  water  until  the 
runner  has  returned  he  is  held  to  be  innocent.  In  Nimar, 
if  an  unmarried  girl  becomes  pregnant,  two  cakes  of  dough 
are  prepared,  a  piece  of  silver  being  placed  in  one  and  a  lump 
of  coal  in  the  other.  The  girl  takes  one  of  the  cakes,  and  if 
it  is  found  to  contain  the  coal  she  is  expelled  from  the  com- 
munity, while  if  she  chooses  the  piece  of  silver,  she  is  par- 
doned and  made  over  to  one  of  the  caste.  The  idea  of  the 
ordeal  is  apparently  to  decide  the  question  whether  her 
condition  was  caused  by  a  Pardhi  or  an  outsider. 

The  Phans  Pardhis  hunt  all  kinds  of  birds  and  the  smaller  7-  Methods 
animals  with  the  phdnda  or  snare.  Mr.  Ball  describes  their  birds. "^  "^ 
procedure  as  follows :  ^  "  For  peacock,  saras  crane  and 
bustard  they  have  a  long  series  of  nooses,  each  provided 
with  a  wooden  peg  and  all  connected  with  a  long  string. 
The  tension  necessary  to  keep  the  nooses  open  is  afforded 
by  a  slender  slip  of  antelope's  horn  (very  much  resembling 
whalebone),  which  forms  the  core  of  the  loop.  Provided 
with  several  sets  of  these  nooses,  a  trained  bullock  and  a 
shield -like  cloth  screen  dyed  buff  and  pierced  with 
eye  -  holes,  the  bird  -  catcher  sets  out  for  the  jungle,  and 
on  seeing  a  flock  of  pea -fowl  circles  round  them  under 
cover  of  the  screen  and  the  bullock,  which  he  guides  by  a 
nose-string.  The  birds  feed  on  undisturbed,  and  the  man 
rapidly  pegs  out  his  long  strings  of  nooses,  and  when  all  are 
properly  disposed,  moves  round  to  the  opposite  side  of  the 
birds  and  shows  himself ;  when  they  of  course  run  off,  and 
one  or  more  getting  their  feet  in  the  nooses  fall  forwards 
and  flap  on  the  ground  ;  the  man  immediately  captures 
them,  knowing  that  if  the  strain  is  relaxed  the  nooses  will 
open  and  permit  of  the  bird's  escape.  Very  cruel  practices 
are  in  vogue  with  these  people  with  reference  to  the  cap- 
tured birds,  in  order  to  keep  them  alive  until  a  purchaser  is 
found.  The  peacocks  have  a  feather  passed  through  the 
eyelids,  by  which  means  they  are  effectually  blinded,  while 
in  the  case  of  smaller  birds  both  the  legs  and  wings  are 
broken."  Deer,  hares  and  even  pig  are  also  caught  by  a 
strong  rope  with  running  nooses.       For    smaller  birds   the 

'  Jii>tgle  Life  in  India,  pp.  586-587. 


366 


PARDHI 


8.  Hunt- 
ing with 
leopards. 


appliance  is  a  little  rack  about  four  inches  high  with  uprights 
a  'io.w  inches  apart,  between  each  of  which  is  hung  a  noose. 
Another  appliance  mentioned  by  Mr.  Ball  is  a  set  of  long 
conical  bag  nets,  which  are  kept  open  by  hooks  and  provided 
with  a  pair  of  folding  doors.  The  Pardhi  has  also  a  whistle 
made  of  deer-horn,  with  which  he  can  imitate  the  call  of 
the  birds.  Tree  birds  are  caught  with  bird-lime  as  described 
by  Sir  G.  Grierson.^  The  Bahelia  has  several  long  shafts 
of  bamboos  called  ndl  or  ndr,  which  are  tied  together  like 
a  fishing  rod,  the  endmost  one  being  covered  with  bird-lime. 
Concealing  himself  behind  his  bamboo  screen  the  Bahelia 
approaches  the  bird  and  when  near  enough  strikes  and 
secures  it  with  his  rod  ;  or  he  may  spread  some  grain  out  at 
a  short  distance,  and  as  the  birds  are  hopping  about  over  it 
he  introduces  the  pole,  giving  it  a  zig-zag  movement  and 
imitating  as  far  as  possible  the  progress  of  a  snake.  Having 
brought  the  point  near  one  of  the  birds,  which  is  fascinated  by 
its  stealthy  approach,  he  suddenly  jerks  it  into  its  breast  and 
then  drawing  it  to  him,  releases  the  poor  palpitating  creature, 
putting  it  away  in  his  bag,  and  recommences  the  same  opera- 
tion.     This  method  does  not  require  the  use  of  bird-lime. 

The  manner  in  which  the  Chita  Pardhis  use  the  hunting 
leopard  {Felis  jubata)  for  catching  deer  has  often  been  de- 
scribed." The  leopard  is  caught  full-grown  by  a  noose  in 
the  manner  related  above.  Its  neck  is  first  clasped  in  a 
wooden  vice  until  it  is  half-strangled,  and  its  feet  are  then 
bound  with  ropes  and  a  cap  slipped  over  its  head.  It  is  par- 
tially starved  for  a  time,  and  being  always  fed  by  the  same 
man,  after  a  month  or  so  it  becomes  tame  and  learns  to 
know  its  master.  It  is  then  led  through  villages  held  by 
ropes  on  each  side  to  accustom  it  to  the  presence  of  human 
beings.  On  a  hunting  party  the  leopard  is  carried  on  a 
cart,  hooded,  and,  being  approached  from  down  wind,  the 
deer  allow  the  cart  to  get  fairly  close  to  them.  The  Indian 
antelope  or  black-buck  are  the  usual  quarry,  and  as  these 
frequent  cultivated  land,  they  regard  country  carts  without 
.suspicion.      The   hood   is    then    taken    off  and    the    leopard 


•   Peasant  Life  in  Bihar,  p.  8o. 
^  See  Jerdon's  Maviinals  of  India, 


p.  97.  The  account  there  given  is 
quoted  in  the  Chhindwara  District 
Gazetteer,  pp.  16-17. 


II  DECOY  STAGS  367 

springs  forward  at  the  game  with  extreme  velocity,  perhaps 
exceeding  that  which  any  other  quadruped  possesses.  The 
accounts  given  by  Jcrdon  say  that  for  the  moment  its  speed 
is  greater  than  that  of  a  race-horse.  It  cannot  maintain  this 
for  more  than  three  or  four  hundred  yards,  however,  and  if 
in  that  distance  the  animal  has  not  seized  its  prey,  it  relin- 
quishes the  pursuit  and  stalks  about  in  a  towering  passion. 
The  Pardhis  say  that  when  it  misses  the  game  the  leopard 
is  as  sulky  as  a  human  being  and  sometimes  refuses  food  for 
a  couple  of  days.  If  successful  in  the  pursuit,  it  seizes  the 
antelope  by  the  throat  ;  the  kepeer  then  comes  up,  and  cut- 
ting the  animal's  throat  collects  some  of  the  blood  in  the 
wooden  ladle  with  which  the  leopard  is  always  fed  ;  this  is 
offered  to  him,  and  dropping  his  hold  he  laps  it  up  eagerly, 
when  the  hood  is  cleverly  slipped  on  again. 

The  conducting  of  the  cheetah  from  its  cage  to  the 
chase  is  by  no  means  an  easy  matter.  The  keeper  leads 
him  along,  as  he  would  a  large  dog,  with  a  chain  ;  and  for 
a  time  as  they  scamper  over  the  country  the  leopard  goes 
willingly  enough  ;  but  if  anything  arrests  his  attention,  some 
noise  from  the  forest,  some  scented  trail  upon  the  ground, 
he  moves  more  slowly,  throws  his  head  aloft  and  peers 
savagely  round.  A  few  more  minutes  perhaps  and  he  would 
be  unmanageable.  The  keeper,  however,  is  prepared  for  the 
emergency.  He  holds  in  his  left  hand  a  cocoanut  shell, 
sprinkled  on  the  inside  with  salt ;  and  by  means  of  a  handle 
affixed  to  the  shell  he  puts  it  at  once  over  the  nose  of  the 
cheetah.  The  animal  licks  the  salt,  loses  the  scent,  forgets 
the  object  which  arrested  his  attention,  and  is  led  quietly 
along  again.^ 

For  hunting  stags,  tame  stags  were  formerly  used  as  9.  Decoy 
decoys  according  to  the  method  described  as  follows  :  "  We  ^^^^^' 
had  about  a  dozen  trained  stags,  all  males,  with  us.  These, 
well  acquainted  with  the  object  for  which  they  were  sent 
forward,  advanced  at  a  gentle  trot  over  the  open  ground 
towards  the  skirt  of  the  wood.  They  were  observed  at 
once  by  the  watchers  of  the  herd,  and  the  boldest  of  the 
wild  animals  advanced  to  meet  them.  Whether  the  inten- 
tion was  to  welcome  them  peacefully  or  to  do  battle  for  their 

'  Private  Life  of  an  Eastern  King,  p.  75. 


368  PARDHI  PAiiT 

pasturage  I  cannot  tell  ;  but  in  a  few  minutes  the  two  parties 
were  engaged  in  a  furious  contest.  Head  to  head,  antlers 
to  antlers,  the  tame  deer  and  the  wild  fought  with  great  fury. 
Each  of  the  tame  animals,  every  one  of  them  large  and  for- 
midable, was  closely  engaged  in  contest  with  a  wild  adversary, 
standing  chiefly  on  the  defensive,  not  in  any  feigned  battle 
or  mimicry  of  war  but  in  a  hard-fought  combat.  We  now 
made  our  appearance  in  the  open  ground  on  horseback, 
advancing  towards  the  scene  of  conflict.  The  deer  on  the 
skirts  of  the  wood,  seeing  us,  took  to  flight  ;  but  those 
actually  engaged  maintained  their  ground  and  continued  the 
contest.  In  the  meantime  a  party  of  native  huntsmen,  sent 
for  the  purpose,  gradually  drew  near  to  the  wild  stags,  getting 
in  between  them  and  the  forest.  What  their  object  was  we 
were  not  at  the  time  aware  ;  in  truth  it  was  not  one  that 
we  could  have  approved  or  encouraged.  They  made  their 
way  into  the  rear  of  the  wild  stags,  which  were  still  combat- 
ing too  fiercely  to  mind  them  ;  they  approached  the  animals, 
and  with  a  skilful  cut  of  their  long  knives  the  poor  warriors 
fell  hamstrung.  We  felt  pity  for  the  noble  animals  as  we 
saw  them  fall  helplessly  on  the  ground,  unable  longer  to 
continue  the  contest  and  pushed  down  of  course  by  the 
decoy-stags.  Once  down,  they  were  unable  to  rise  again."  ^ 
lo.  Hawks.  Hawks  wcrc   also   used    in   a  very   ingenious   fashion   to 

prevent  duck  from  flying  away  when  put  upon  water  :  "  The 
trained  hawks  were  now  brought  into  requisition,  and  mar- 
vellous it  was  to  see  the  instinct  with  which  they  seconded 
the  efforts  of  their  trainers.  The  ordinary  hawking  of  the 
heron  we  had  at  a  later  period  of  this  expedition  ;  but  the 
use  now  made  of  the  animal  was  altogether  different,  and 
displayed  infinitely  more  sagacity  than  one  would  suppose 
likely  to  be  possessed  by  such  an  animal.  These  were 
trained  especially  for  the  purpose  for  which  they  were  now 
employed.  A  flight  of  ducks — thousands  of  birds — were 
enticed  upon  the  water  as  before  by  scattering  corn  over  it. 
The  hawks  were  then  let  fly,  four  or  five  of  them.  We  made 
our  appearance  openly  upon  the  bank,  guns  in  hand,  and 
the  living  swarm  of  birds  rose  at  once  into  the  air.  The 
hawks   circled    above  them,  however,   in    a  rapid   revolving 

'    Private  Life  of  an  Eastern  King^  pp.  69,  71. 


11    OTHER  OCCUPATIONS  AND  CRIMINAL  PRACTICES  369 

ilight  and  they  dared  not  ascend  high.  Thus  was  our  i^rcy 
retained  fluttering  in  mid-air,  until  hundreds  had  paid  the 
penalt}-  with  their  Hves.  Only  picture  in  your  mind's  eye 
the  circling  hawks  above  gyrating  monotonously,  the  flutter- 
ing captives  in  mid-air,  darting  now  here,  now  there  to  escape, 
and  still  coward-like  huddling  together  ;  and  the  motley 
group  of  sportsmen  on  the  bank  and  you  have  the  whole 
scene  before  you  at  once."  ' 

For  catching  crocodile,  a  method  by  which  as  already  n. 
stated  one  group  of  the  Pardhis  earn  their  livelihood,  a  large  ^5^^^°^''^ 
double  hook  is  used,  baited  with  a  piece  of  putrid  deer's 
flesh  and  attached  to  a  hempen  rope  70  or  80  feet  long. 
When  the  crocodile  has  swallowed  the  hook,  twenty  or  thirty 
persons  drag  the  animal  out  of  the  water  and  it  is  despatched 
with  axes.  Crocodiles  are  hunted  only  in  the  months  of 
Pus  (December),  Magh  (January)  and  Chait  (March), 
when  they  are  generally  fat  and  yield  plenty  of  oil.  The 
flesh  is  cut  into  pieces  and  stewed  over  a  slow  fire,  when  it 
exudes  a  watery  oil.  This  is  strained  and  sold  in  bottles 
at  a  rupee  a  seer  (2  lbs.).  It  is  used  as  an  embrocation  for 
rheumatism  and  for  neck  galls  of  cattle.  The  Pardhis  do 
not  eat  crocodile's  flesh. 

A  body  of  Pardhis  are  sometimes  employed  by  all  the  12.  Other 
cultivators  of  a  village  jointly  for  the  purpose  of  watching  ^jo'^j,"''.^"^ 
the  spring  crops  during  the  day  and  keeping  black-buck  out  criminal 
of  them.      They  do  this  perhaps   for  two  or  three   months  P'^"^'"^^^- 
and  receive  a  fixed  quantity  of  grain.      The  Takankars  are 
regularly  employed  as  village  servants  in  Berar  and  travel 
about  roughening  the  stones  of  the  household  grinding-mills 
when  their  surfaces  have  worn   smooth.      For   this   they  re- 
ceive an  annual  contribution  of  grain  from  each  household. 
The  caste  generally  have  criminal  tendencies  and  Mr.  Sewell 
states,  that  "  The  Langoti  Pardhis   and    Takankars   are  the 
worst  offenders.      Ordinarily  when  committing  dacoity  they 
are  armed  with  sticks  and  stones  only.      In  digging  through 
a  wall  they  generally  leave  a  thin  strip  at  which  the  leader 
carefully  listens  before  finally  bursting  through.     Then  when 
the  hole  has  been  made  large  enough,  he  strikes  a  match 
and  holding  it  in  front  of  him  so  that  his  features  are  shielded 
'   Private  Life  of  an  Eastern  King,  pp.  39-40. 

VOL.  IV  2   B 


370  PARDHI  part  ii 

has  a  good  survey  of  the  room  before  entering.  ...  As  a 
rule,  they  do  not  divide  the  property  on  or  near  the  scene 
of  the  crime,  but  take  it  home.  Generally  it  is  carried  by 
one  of  the  gang  well  behind  the  rest  so  as  to  enable  it  to  be 
hidden  if  the  party  is  challenged."  In  Bombay  they  openly 
rob  the  standing  crops,  and  the  landlords  stand  in  such  awe 
of  them  that  they  secure  their  goodwill  by  submitting  to  a 
regular  system  of  blackmail.^ 

'  Bombay  Ethnographic  Survey,  ibide?n. 


PARJA 

LIST  OF   PARAGRAPHS 

1 .  General  notice  of  the  tribe.  5 .  Nuptial  cereniofiy. 

2.  Exogajnous  septs.  6.  Widow-marriage  ana  divorce. 

3.  Kinship  and  marriage.  7.  Religion  and  festivals. 

4.  Marriage  dance.  8.  Disposal  of  the  dead. 

9.    Occupation  a?td  social  customs. 

Parja. — A    small    tribe/  originally    an    offshoot   of  the  i.  General 


Gonds,  who  reside  in  the  centre  and  east  of  the  Bastar 
State  and  the  adjoining  Jaipur  zamlndari  of  Madras.  They 
number  about  i  3,000  persons  in  the  Central  Provinces  and 
92,000  in  Madras,  where  they  are  also  known  as  Poroja. 
The  name  Parja  appears  to  be  derived  from  the  Sanskrit 
Parja,  a  subject.  The  following  notice  of  it  is  taken  from 
the  Madras  Census  Report'  of  1871  :  "The  term  Parja  is, 
as  Mr.  Carmichael  has  pointed  out,  merely  a  corruption  of  a 
Sanskrit  term  signifying  a  subject  ;  and  it  is  understood  as 
such  by  the  people  themselves,  who  use  it  in  contradistinc- 
tion to  a  free  hillman.  Formerly,  says  a  tradition  that  runs 
through  the  whole  tribe,  Rajas  and  Parjas  were  brothers, 
but  the  Rajas  took  to  riding  horses  or,  as  the  Barenja 
Parjas  put  it,  sitting  still,  and  we  became  carriers  of  burdens 
and  Parjas.  It  is  quite  certain  in  fact  that  the  term  Parja 
is  not  a  tribal  denomination,  but  a  class  denomination  ;  and 
it  may  be  fitly  rendered  by  the  familiar  epithet  of  ryot.  There 
is  no  doubt,  however,  that  by  far  the  greater  number  of 
these  Parjas  are  akin  to  the  Khonds  of  the  Ganjam  Maliahs. 
They  are  thrifty,  hardworking  cultivators,  undisturbed  by  the 
intestinal  broils  which  their  cousins  in  the  north  engage  in, 

'  This  article  is  based  on  papers  by  Mr.  Panda  Baijnath  and  other  officers  of 
the  Bastar  State.  -  By  Dr.  Cornish. 

371 


notice  of 
the  tribe. 


372  .     PARJA  HART 

and  they  bear  in  their  breasts  an  inalienable  reverence  for  their 
soil,  the  value  of  v^hich  they  are  rapidly  becoming  acquainted 
vi'ith.  Their  ancient  rights  to  these  lands  are  acknowledged 
by  colonists  from  among  the  Aryans,  and  when  a  dispute 
arises  about  the  boundaries  of  a  field  possessed  by  recent 
arrivals  a  Parja  is  usually  called  in  to  point  out  the  ancient 
landmarks.  Gadbas  are  also  represented  as  indigenous  from 
the  long  lapse  of  years  that  they  have  been  in  the  country, 
but  they  are  by  no  means  of  the  patriarchal  type  that 
characterises  the  Parjas." 

In  Bastar  the  caste  are  also  known  as  Dhurwa,  which 
may  be  derived  from  Dhur,  the  name  applied  to  the  body 
of  Gonds  as  opposed  to  the  Raj-Gonds.  In  Bastar,  Dhurwa 
now  conveys  the  sense  of  a  headman  of  a  village.  The 
tribe  have  three  divisions,  Thakara  or  Tagara,  Peng  and 
Mudara,  of  which  only  the  first  is  found  in  Bastar.  Thakara 
appears  to  be  a  corruption  of  Thakur,  a  lord,  and  the  two 
names  point  to  the  conclusion  that  the  Parjas  were  formerly 
dominant  in  this  tract.  They  themselves  have  a  story, 
somewhat  resembling  the  one  quoted  above  from  Madras, 
to  the  effect  that  their  ancestor  was  the  elder  brother  of  the 
first  Raja  of  Bastar  when  he  lived  in  Madras,  to  the  south 
of  VVarangal.  From  there  he  had  to  flee  on  account  of  an 
invasion  of  the  Muhammadans,  and  was  accompanied  by 
the  goddess  Danteshwari,  the  tutelary  deity  of  the  Rajas  of 
Bastar.  In  accordance  with  the  command  of  the  goddess 
the  younger  brother  was  considered  as  the  Raja  and  rode 
on  a  horse,  while  the  elder  went  before  him  carrying  their 
baggage.  At  Bhadrachallam  they  met  the  Bhatras,  and 
further  on  the  Halbas.  The  goddess  followed  them,  guiding 
their  steps,  but  she  strictly  enjoined  on  the  Raja  not  to  look 
behind  him  so  as  to  see  her.  But  when  they  came  to  the 
sands  of  the  rivers  Sankani  and  Dankani,  the  tinkle  of  the 
anklets  of  the  goddess  could  not  be  heard  for  the  sand. 
The  Raja  therefore  looked  behind  him  to  see  if  she  was 
following,  on  which  she  said  that  she  could  go  no  more  with 
him,  but  he  was  to  march  as  far  as  he  could  and  then  settle 
down.  The  two  brothers  settled  in  Bastar,  where  the 
descendants  of  the  younger  became  the  ruling  clan,  and 
those  of  the   elder  were    their   servants,  the    Parjas.       The 


II  EXOGAMOUS  SEPTS  373 

story  indicates,  perhaps,  that  the  Parjas  were  tlic  original 
Gond  inhabitants  and  rulers  of  the  country,  and  were 
supplanted  by  a  later  immigration  of  the  same  tribe,  who 
reduced  them  to  subjection,  and  became  Raj  -  Gonds. 
Possibly  the  first  transfer  of  power  was  effected  by  the 
marriage  of  an  immigrant  into  a  Parja  Raja's  family,  as  so 
often  happened  with  these  old  dynasties.  The  Parjas  still 
talk  about  the  Rani  of  Bastar  as  their  Bohu  or  '  younger 
brother's  wife,'  and  the  custom  is  probably  based  on  some 
such  legend.  The  Madras  account  of  them  as  the  arbiters 
of  boundary  disputes  points  to  the  same  conclusion,  as  this 
function  is  invariably  assigned  to  the  oldest  residents  in  any 
locality.  The  Parjas  appear  to  be  Gonds  and  not  Khonds. 
Their  sept  names  are  Gondi  words,  and  their  language  is  a 
form  of  Gondi,  called  after  them  Parji.  Parji  has  hitherto 
been  considered  a  form  of  Bhatri,  but  Sir  G.  Grierson  ^  has 
now  classified  the  latter  as  a  dialect  of  the  Uriya  language, 
while  Parji  remains  *  A  local  and  very  corrupt  variation  of 
Gondi,  considerably  mixed  with  Hindi  forms.'  While  then 
the  Parjas,  in  Bastar  at  any  rate,  must  be  held  to  be  a 
branch  of  the  Gonds,  they  may  have  a  considerable  ad- 
mixture of  the  Khonds,  or  other  tribes  in  different  localities, 
as  the  rules  of  marriage  are  very  loose  in  this  part  of  the 
country  .'- 

The  tribe  have  exogamous  totemistic  septs,  as  Bagh  a  2.  Exo- 
tiger,  Kachhim  a  tortoise,  Bokda  a  goat,  Netam  a  dog,  fgl^g""^ 
Gobi  a  big  lizard,  Pandki  a  dove  and  so  on.  If  a  man 
kills  accidentally  the  animal  after  which  his  sept  is  named, 
the  earthen  cooking-pots  of  his  household  are  thrown  away, 
the  clothes  are  washed,  and  the  house  is  purified  with  water 
in  which  the  bark  of  the  mango  or  j'dviun  ^  tree  has  been 
steeped.  This  is  in  sign  of  mourning,  as  it  is  thought  that 
such  an  act  will  bring  misfortune.  If  a  man  of  the  snake 
sept  kills  a  snake  accidentally,  he  places  a  piece  of  new  yarn 
on  his  head,  praying  for  forgiveness,  and  deposits  the  body 
on  an  anthill,  where  snakes  are  supposed  to  live.  If  a  man 
of  the  goat  sept  eats  goat's  flesh,  it    is   thought   that   he  will 

*  Linguistic  Survey,  vol.  ix.  p.  554;  were  originally  one  tribe,  and  the  fact 

vol.  ii.  part  ii.  pp.  434  ff.  that  the  Parjas  have  affinities  with  both 

2  In  the  article  on  Gond  it  is  sug-  of  them  appears  to  support  this  view. 
gested    that    the   Gonds    and     Khonds  •''  Eugenia  janilwlana. 


and 
marriage, 


374  PARJA  PARI 

become  blind  at  once.  A  Parja  will  not  touch  the  body  of 
his  totem-animal  when  dead,  and  if  he  sees  any  one  killing 
or  teasing  it  when  alive,  he  will  go  away  out  of  sight.  It  is 
said  that  a  man  of  the  Kachhim  sept  once  found  a  tortoise 
while  on  a  journey,  and  leaving  it  undisturbed,  passed  on. 
When  the  tortoise  died  it  was  reborn  in  the  man's  belly  and 
troubled  him  greatly,  and  since  then  every  Parja  is  liable  to 
be  afflicted  in  the  same  way  in  the  side  of  the  abdomen, 
the  disease  which  is  produced  being  in  fact  enlarged  spleen. 
The  tortoise  told  the  man  that  as  he  had  left  it  lying  by  the 
road,  and  had  not  devoted  it  to  any  useful  purpose,  he  was 
afflicted  in  this  way.  Consequently,  when  a  man  of  the 
Kachhim  sept  finds  a  tortoise  nowadays,  he  gives  it  to 
somebody  else  who  can  cut  it  up.  The  story  is  interesting 
as  a  legend  of  the  origin  of  spleen,  but  has  apparently  been 
invented  as  an  excuse  for  killing  the  sacred  animal. 
3.  Kinship  Marriage   is  prohibited  in   theory  between   members   of 

the  same  sept.  But  as  the  number  of  septs  is  rather  small, 
the  rule  is  not  adhered  to,  and  members  of  the  same  sept 
are  permitted  to  marry  so  long  as  they  do  not  come  from 
the  same  village ;  the  original  rule  of  exogamy  being 
perhaps  thus  exemplified.  The  proposal  for  a  match  is 
made  by  the  boy's  father,  who  first  offers  a  cup  of  liquor  to 
the  girl's  father  in  the  bazar,  and  subsequently  explains  his 
errand.  If  the  girl's  father,  after  consulting  with  his  family, 
disapproves  of  the  match,  he  returns  an  equal  quantity  of 
liquor  to  the  boy's  father  in  token  of  his  decision.  The  girl 
is  usually  consulted,  and  asked  if  she  would  like  to  marry 
her  suitor,  but  not  much  regard  is  had  to  her  opinion.  If  she 
dislikes  him,  however,  she  usually  runs  away  from  him  after 
a  short  interlude  of  married  life.  If  a  girl  becomes  pregnant 
with  a  caste-fellow  before  marriage,  he  is  required  to  take 
her,  and  give  to  the  family  the  presents  which  he  would 
make  to  them  on  a  regular  marriage.  The  man  can  sub- 
sequently be  properly  married  to  some  other  woman,  but 
the  girl  cannot  be  married  at  all.  If  a  girl  is  seduced  by  a 
man  outside  the  caste,  she  is  made  over  to  him.  It  is 
essential  for  a  man  to  be  properly  married  at  least  once, 
and  an  old  bachelor  will  sometimes  go  through  the  form  of 
being  wedded  to  his  maternal  uncle's  daughter,  even  though 


II  MARRIAGE  DANCE— NUPTIAL  CEREMONY         375 

she  may  be  an  infant.  If  no  proposal  for  marriage  is  made 
for  a  girl,  she  is  sometimes  handed  over  informally  to  any 
man  who  likes  to  take  her,  and  who  is  willing  to  give  as 
much  for  her  as  the  parents  would  receive  for  a  regular 
marriage.  A  short  time  before  the  wedding,  the  boy's 
father  sends  a  considerable  quantity  of  rice  to  the  girl's 
father,  and  on  the  day  before  he  sends  a  calf,  a  pot  of 
liquor,  fifteen  annas  worth  of  copper  coin,  and  a  new  cloth. 
The  bridegroom's  expenses  are  about  Rs.  50,  and  the  bride's 
about  Rs,  10. 

At  weddings  the  tribe  have  a  dance  called  Surcha,  for  4-  Mar- 
which  the  men  wear  a  particular  dress  consisting  of  a  long  ^'^f^e 
coat,  a  turban  and  two  or  three  scarves  thrown  loosely  over 
the  shoulders.  Strings  of  little  bells  are  tied  about  the  feet, 
and  garlands  of  beads  round  the  neck  ;  sometimes  men  and 
women  dance  separately,  and  sometimes  both  sexes  together 
in  a  long  line  or  a  circle.  Music  is  provided  by  bamboo 
flutes,  drums  and  an  iron  instrument  something  like  a  flute. 
As  they  dance,  songs  are  sung  in  the  form  of  question  and 
answer  between  the  lines  of  men  and  women,  usually  of  a 
somewhat  indecent  character.  The  following  short  specimen 
may  be  given  :■ — 

Man.  If  you  are  willing  to  go  with  me  we  will  both  follow  the 
officer's  elephant.      If  I  go  back  without  you  my  heart  can  have  no  rest. 

Woman.  Who  dare  take  me  away  from  my  husband  while  the 
Company  is  reigning.  My  husband  will  beat  me  and  who  will  pay  him 
the  compensation  ? 

Man.  You  had  better  make  up  your  mind  to  go  with  me.  I  will 
ask  the  Treasurer  for  some  money  and  pay  it  to  your  husband  as 
compensation. 

Woman.  Very  well,  I  will  make  ready  some  food,  and  will  run  away 
with  you  in  the  next  bright  fortnight. 

These  dialogues  often,  it  is  said,  lead  to  quarrels  between 
husband  and  wife,  as  the  husband  cannot  rebuke  his  wife  in 
the  assembly.  Sometimes  the  women  fall  in  love  with  men 
in  the  dance,  and  afterwards  run  away  with  them. 

The  marriage  takes  place  at  the  boy's  house,  where  two  5.  Nuptial 
marriage-sheds  are  made.      It  is  noticeable  that  the  bride  on  ^^'■s"^°"y- 
going  to  the  bridegroom's   house  to  be  married  is  accom- 
panied  only  by  her  female   relatives,  no   man  of  her  family 
being  allowed  to  be  with  her.      This  is  probably  a  reminis- 


376  PARJA  PART 

cence  of  the  old  custom  of  marriage  by  capture,  as  in  former 
times  she  was  carried  off  by  force,  the  opposition  of  her 
male  relatives  having  been  quelled.  In  memory  of  this  the 
men  still  do  not  countenance  the  wedding  procession  by 
their  presence.  The  bridal  couple  are  made  to  sit  down 
together  on  a  mat,  and  from  three  to  seven  pots  of  cold 
water  are  poured  over  them.  About  a  week  after  the 
wedding  the  couple  go  to  a  market  with  their  friends,  and 
after  walking  round  it  they  all  sit  down  and  drink  liquor. 

6.  Widow-  The  remarriage  of  widows  is  permitted,  and  a  widow  is 
marriage  practically  Compelled  to  marry  her  late  husband's  younger 
divorce.       brother,  if  he  has  one.      If  she  persistently  refuses  to  do  so, 

in  spite  of  the  strongest  pressure,  her  parents  turn  her  out 
of  their  house.  In  order  to  be  married  the  woman  goes  to 
the  man's  house  with  some  friends  ;  they  sit  together  on  the 
ground,  and  the  friends  apply  the  tika  or  sign  by  touching 
their  foreheads  with  dry  rice.  A  man  can  divorce  his  wife 
if  she  is  of  bad  character,  or  if  she  is  supposed  to  be  under 
an  unfavourable  star,  or  if  her  children  die  in  infancy.  A 
divorced  woman  can  marry  again  as  if  she  were  a  widow. 

7.  Reii-  The  Parjas  worship  the  class  of  divinities  of  the  hills 
and  forests  usually  revered  among  primitive  tribes,  as  well 
as  Danteshvvari,  the  tutelary  goddess  of  Bastar.  On  the 
day  tjiat  sowing  begins  they  offer  a  fowl  to  the  field,  first 
placing  some  grains  of  rice  before  it.  If  the  fowl  eats  the 
rice  they  prognosticate  a  good  harvest,  and  if  not  the  reverse. 
A  few  members  of  the  tribe  belong  to  the  Ramanandi  sect, 
and  on  this  account  a  little  extra  attention  is  paid  to  them. 
If  such  a  one  is  invited  to  a  feast  he  is  given  a  wooden  seat, 
while  others  sit  on  the  ground.  It  is  said  that  a  few  years 
ago  a  man  became  a  Kablrpanthi,  but  he  subsequently  went 
blind  and  his  son  died,  and  since  this  event  the  sect  is 
absolutely  without  adherents.  Most  villages  have  a  Sirha  or 
man  who  is  possessed  by  the  deity,  and  his  advice  is  taken  in 
religious  matters,  such  as  the  detection  of  witches.  Another 
official  is  called  Medha  Gantia  or  '  The  Counter  of  posts.' 
He  appoints  the  days  for  weddings,  calculating  them  by 
counting  on  his  fingers,  and  also  fixes  auspicious  days  for  the 
construction  of  a  house  or  for  the  commencement  of  sowing. 
It  is  probable  that  in  former  times  he  kept  count  of  the  days 


gion  and 
festivals. 


II  DISPOSAL  OF  THE  DEAD  377 

by  numbering  posts  or  trees.  When  rain  is  wanted  the  people 
fix  a  piece  of  wood  into  the  ground,  calling  it  Bhimsen  Deo 
or  King  of  the  Clouds,  They  pour  water  over  it  and  pray  to 
it,  asking  for  rain.  Every  year,  after  the  crops  are  harvested, 
they  worship  the  rivers  or  streams  in  the  village.  A  snake, 
a  jackal,  a  hare  and  a  dog  wagging  its  ears  are  unlucky 
objects  to  see  when  starting  on  a  journey,  and  also  a  dust 
devil  blowing  along  in  front.  They  do  not  kill  wild  dogs, 
because  they  say  that  tigers  avoid  the  forests  where  these 
reside,  and  some  of  them  hold  that  a  tiger  on  meeting  a 
wild  dog  climbs  a  tree  to  get  out  of  his  way.  Wednesday 
and  Thursday  are  lucky  days  for  starting  on  a  journey,  and 
the  operations  of  sowing,  reaping  and  threshing  should  be 
commenced  and  completed  on  one  of  these  da}-s.  When  a 
man  intends  to  build  a  house  he  places  a  number  of  sets  of 
three  grains  of  rice,  one  resting  on  the  other  two,  on  the 
ground  in  different  places.  Each  set  is  covered  by  a  leaf-cup 
with  some  earth  to  hold  it  down.  Next  morning  the  grains 
are  inspected,  and  if  the  top  one  has  fallen  down  the  site 
is  considered  to  be  lucky,  as  indicating  that  the  earth  is 
wishful  to  bear  the  burden  of  a  house  in  this  place.  A 
house  should  face  to  the  east  or  west,  and  not  to  the  north  or 
south.  Similarly,  the  roads  leading  out  of  the  village  should 
run  east  or  west  from  the  starting-point.  The  principal 
festivals  of  the  Parjas  are  the  Hareli  ^  or  feast  of  the  new 
vegetation  in  July,  the  Nawakhani  -  or  feast  of  the  new  rice 
crop  in  August  or  September,  and  the  Am  Nawakhani  or  that 
of  the  new  mango  crop  in  April  or  May.  At  the  feasts  the 
new  season's  crop  should  be  eaten,  but  if  no  fresh  rice  has 
ripened,  they  touch  some  of  the  old  grain  with  a  blade  of  a 
growing  rice-plant,  and  consider  that  it  has  become  the  new 
crop.  On  these  occasions  ancestors  are  worshipped  by 
members  of  the  family  only  inside  the  house,  and  offerings  of 
the  new  crops  are  made  to  them. 

The  dead   are  invariably  buried,  the  corpse  being  laid  s.  Disposal 
in   the  ground  with  head  to  the  east  and  feet  to  the  west.  °^^^f 

.  dead. 

This  is  probably  the  most  primitive  burial,  it  being  supposed 
that  the  region  of  the  dead  is  towards  the  west,  as  the  setting 

^   Haieli,  ///.  'the  season  of  greenness.' 
-  Nawakhani,  lit.  'the  new  eating.' 


378  PARJA  i'AKT 

sun  disappears  in  that  direction.  The  corpse  is  therefore 
laid  in  the  grave  with  the  feet  to  the  west  ready  to  start  on 
its  journey.  Members  of  the  tribe  who  have  imbibed  Hindu 
ideas  now  occasionally  lay  the  corpse  with  the  head  to  the 
north  in  the  direction  of  the  Ganges.  Rice-gruel,  water  and 
a  tooth-stick  are  placed  on  the  grave  nightly  for  some  days 
after  death.  As  an  interesting  parallel  instance,  near  home, 
of  the  belief  that  the  soul  starts  on  a  long  journey  after 
death,  the  following  passage  may  be  quoted  from  Mr.  Gom.me's 
Folklore  :  "  Among  the  superstitions  of  Lancashire  is  one 
which  tells  us  of  a  lingering  belief  in  a  long  journey  after 
death,  when  food  is  necessary  to  support  the  soul.  A  man 
having  died  of  apoplexy  at  a  public  dinner  near  Manchester, 
one  of  the  company  was  heard  to  remark,  '  Well,  poor  Joe, 
God  rest  his  soul  !  He  has  at  least  gone  to  his  long  rest 
wi'  a  belly  full  o'  good  meat,  and  that's  some  consolation  ! ' 
And  perhaps  a  still  more  remarkable  instance  is  that  of  the 
woman  buried  in  Curton  Church,  near  Rochester,  who  directed 
by  her  will  that  the  coffin  was  to  have  a  lock  and  key,  the 
key  being  placed  in  her  dead  hand,  so  that  she  might  be  able 
■  to  release  herself  at  pleasure."  ^ 

After  the  burial  a  dead  fish  is  brought  on  a  leaf-plate  to 
the  mourners,  who  touch  it,  and  are  partly  purified.  The 
meaning  of  this  rite,  if  there  be  any,  is  not  known.  After 
the  period  of  mourning,  which  varies  from  three  to  nine  days, 
is  over,  the  mourners  and  their  relatives  must  attend  the 
next  weekly  bazar,  and  there  offer  liquor  and  sweets  in  the 
name  of  the  dead  man,  who  upon  this  becomes  ranked 
among  the  ancestors. 
9.  Occupa-  The  Parjas  are  cultivators,  and  grow  rice  and  other  crops 

tion  and      jj^  4^^  Ordinary  manner.      Many  of  them  are  village  headmen, 

SOC13.I  ^  •         I         ^  1  •       1 

customs,  and  to  these  the  term  Dhurwa  is  more  particularly  applied. 
The  tribe  will  eat  fowls,  pig,  monkeys,  the  large  lizard, 
field-rats,  and  bison  and  wild  buffalo,  but  they  do  not  eat 
carnivorous  animals,  crocodiles,  snakes  or  jackals.  Some 
of  them  eat  beef  while  others  have  abjured  it,  and  they  will 
not  accept  the  leavings  of  others.  They  are  not  considered 
to  be  an  impure  caste.  If  any  man  or  wornan  belonging  to 
a  higher  caste  has  a  liaison  with  a  Parja,  and  is  on  that 
>  Folklore  as  a  Historical  Science  (G.  L.  Gomme),  pp.  191,  192. 


II  OCCUPATION  AND  SOCIAL  CUSTOMS  379 

account  expelled  from  their  own  caste,  he  or  she  can  be 
admitted  as  a  Parja.  In  their  other  customs  and  dress  and 
ornaments  the  tribe  resemble  the  Gonds  of  Bastar.  Women 
are  tattooed  on  the  chest  and  arms  with  patterns  of  dots. 
The  young  men  sometimes  wear  their  hair  long,  and  tie  it  in 
a  bunch  behind,  secured  by  a  strip  of  cloth. 


PASI 

LIST  OF   PARAGRAPHS 

1 .  The  nature  and  origin   of  the      4.   Marriage  and  other  customs. 

caste.  5.  Religion,  superstitions  and  social 

2.  Brahjnanical  legoids.  customs. 

3.  Its  mixed  composition.  6.    Occupation. 

7.    Criminal  tendencies. 

I.  The  Pasi,  Passi/ — A  Dravidian  occupational  caste  of  northern 

odX^oT"^  India,  whose  hereditary  employment  is  the  tapping  of  the 
the  caste,  pahnyra,  date  and  other  palm  trees  for  their  sap.  The 
name  is  derived  from  the  Sanskrit  pdshika,  '  One  who  uses 
a  noose,'  and  the  Wmdi  pas  or pdsa,  a  noose.  It  is  a  curious 
fact  that  when  the  first  immigrant  Parsis  from  Persia  landed 
in  Gujarat  they  took  to  the  occupation  of  tapping  palm 
trees,  and  the  poorer  of  them  still  follow  it.  The  resem- 
blance in  the  name,  however,  can  presumably  be  nothing 
more  than  a  coincidence.  The  total  strength  of  the  Pasis 
in  India  is  about  a  million  and  a  half  persons,  nearly  all 
of  whom  belong  to  the  United  Provinces  and  Bihar.  In 
the  Central  Provinces  they  number  3500,  and  reside 
principally  in  the  Jubbulpore  and  Hoshangabad  Districts. 
The  caste  is  now  largely  occupational,  and  is  connected 
with  the  Bhars,  Arakhs,  Khatiks  and  other  Dravidian  groups 
of  low  status.  But  in  the  past  they  seem  to  have  been  of 
some  importance  in  Oudh.  "  All  through  Oudh,"  Mr.  Crooke 
states,  "  they  have  traditions  that  they  were  lords  of  the 
country,  and  that  their  kings  reigned  in  the  Districts  of 
Kheri,  Hardoi  and  Unao.  Ramkot,  where  the  town  of 
Bangarmau  in  Unao  now  stands,  is  said  to  have  been  one 
of  their  chief  strongholds.      The   last   of  the   Pasi  lords  of 

*  Based  principally  on  Mr.  Crook e's  article  on  the  caste  in  his   Tribes  and 
Castes  of  (he  North- Western  Provinces  and  Oudh. 

380 


I'AKTii  BRAHMANICAL  LEGENDS  381 

Ramkot,  Raja  Santhar,  threw  off  his  allegiance  to  Kanauj 
and  refused  to  pay  tribute.  On  this  Raja  Jaichand  gave 
his  country  to  the  Banaphar  heroes  Alha  and  Udal,  and 
they  attacked  and  destroyed  Ramkot,  leaving  it  the  shape- 
less mass  of  ruins  which  it  now  is."  Similar  traditions 
prevail  in  other  parts  of  Oudh.  It  is  also  recorded  that 
the  Rajpasis,  the  highest  division  of  the  caste,  claim  descent 
from  Tilokchand,  the  eponymous  hero  of  the  Bais  Rajputs. 
It  would  appear  then  that  the  Pasis  were  a  Dravidian  tribe 
who  held  a  part  of  Oudh  before  it  was  conquered  by  the 
Rajputs.  As  the  designation  of  Pasi  is  an  occupational 
term  and  is  derived  from  the  Sanskrit,  it  would  seem  that 
the  tribe  must  formerly  have  had  some  other  name,  or  they 
may  be  an  occupational  offshoot  of  the  Bhars.  In  favour 
of  this  suggestion  it  may  be  noted  that  the  Bhars  also  have 
strong  traditions  of  their  former  dominance  in  Oudh.  Thus 
Sir  C.  Elliott  states  in  his  Chronicles  of  Unao  ^  that  after 
the  close  of  the  heroic  age,  when  Ajodhya  was  held  by  the 
Surajvansi  Rajputs  under  the  great  Rama,  we  find  after 
an  interval  of  historic  darkness  that  Ajodhya  has  been 
destroyed,  the  SiJrajvansis  utterly  banished,  and  a  large 
extent  of  country  is  being  ruled  over  by  aborigines  called 
Cheros  in  the  far  east,  Bhars  in  the  centre  and  Rajpasis  in  the 
west.  Again,  in  Kheri  the  Pasis  always  claim  kindred  with 
the  Bhars,^  and  in  Mirzapur  ^  the  local  Pasis  represent  the 
Bhars  as  merely  a  subcaste  of  their  own  tribe,  though  this 
is  denied  by  the  Bhars  themselves.  It  seems  therefore  a 
not  improbable  hypothesis  that  the  Pasis  and  perhaps  also 
the  kindred  tribe  of  Arakhs  are  functional  groups  formed 
from  the  Bhar  tribe.  For  a  discussion  of  the  early  history 
of  this  important  tribe  the  reader  must  be  referred  to  Mr, 
Crooke's  excellent  article. 

The  following  tradition  is  related  by  the  Pasis  them-  2.  Brah 
selves  in  Mirzapur  and  the  Central  Provinces  :  One  day 
a  man  was  going  to  kill  a  number  of  cows.  Parasurama 
was  at  that  time  practising  austerities  in  the  jungles.  Hear- 
ing the  cries  of  the  sacred  animals  he  rushed  to  their 
assistance,  but  the  cow-killer  was  aided   by  his  friends.      So 

^  Quoted  in  Mr.  Crooke's  Tribes  and  Castes,  art.  Bhar. 
2  Art.  Pasi,  para.  3.  •*  Art.  Bhar,  para.  4. 


manical 
lesjends. 


382  PASI  ■  PART 

Parasurama  made  five  men  out  of  kusha  grass  and  brought 
them  to  life  by  letting  drops  of  his  perspiration  fall  upon 
them.  Hence  arose  the  name  Pasi,  from  the  Hindi  paslna, 
sweat.  The  men  thus  created  rescued  the  cows.  Then 
they  returned  to  Parasurama  and  asked  him  to  provide 
them  with  a  wife.  Just  at  that  moment  a  Kayasth  girl 
was  passing  by,  and  her  Parasurama  seized  and  made  over 
to  the  Pasis.  From  them  sprang  the  Kaithwas  subcaste. 
Another  legend  related  by  Mr.  Crooke  tells  that  duiing 
the  time  Parasurama  was  incarnate  there  was  an  austere 
devotee  called  Kuphal  who  was  asked  by  Brahma  to  demand 
of  him  a  boon,  whereupon  he  requested  that  he  might  be 
perfected  in  the  art  of  thieving.  His  request  was  granted, 
and  there  is  a  well-known  verse  regarding  the  devotions  of 
Kuphal,  the  pith  of  which  is  that  the  mention  of  the  name 
of  Kuphal,  who  received  a  boon  from  Brahma,  removes  all 
fear  of  thieves  ;  and  the  mention  of  his  three  wives — Maya 
(illusion),  Nidra  (sleep),  and  Mohani  (enchantment) — deprives 
thieves  of  success  in  their  attempts  against  the  property  of 
those  who  repeat  these  names.  Kuphal  is  apparently  the 
progenitor  of  the  caste,  and  the  legend  is  intended  to  show 
how  the  position  of  the  Pasis  in  the  Hindu  cosmos  or  order 
of  society  according  to  the  caste  system  has  been  divinely 
ordained  and  sanctioned,  even  to  the  recognition  of  theft  as 
their  hereditary  pursuit. 

Whatever  their  origin  may  have  been  the  composition 
of  the  caste  is  now  of  a  very  mixed  nature.  Several  names 
of  other  castes,  as  Gujar,  Gual  or  Ahir,  Arakh,  Khatik, 
Bahelia,  Bhil  and  Bania,  are  returned  as  divisions  of  the 
Pasis  in  the  United  Provinces.  Like  all  migratory  castes 
they  are  split  into  a  number  of  small  groups,  whose  constitu- 
tion is  probably  not  very  definite.  The  principal  subcastes 
in  the  Central  Provinces  are  the  Rajpasis  or  highest  class, 
who  probably  were  at  one  time  landowners  ;  the  Kaithwas 
or  Kaithmas,  supposed  to  be  descended  from  a  Kayasth,  as 
already  related  ;  the  Tirsulia,  who  take  their  name  from  the 
trisfila  or  thrce-bladed  knife  used  to  pierce  the  stem  of  the 
palm  tree  ;  the  Bahelia  or  hunters,  and  Chiriyamar  or 
fowlers  ;  the  Ghudchadha  or  those  who  ride  on  ponies,  these 
being    probably    saises    or    horse  -  keepers ;    the    Khatik    or 


H   RELIGION,  SUPERSTITIONS  AND  SOCIAL  CUSTOMS  383 

butchers  and  Gujar  or  graziers  ;  and  the  Mangta  or  beg^^^ars, 
these  being  the  bards  and  genealogists  of  the  caste,  who  beg 
from  their  cHents  and  take  food  from  their  hands  ;  they  are 
looked  down  on  by  the  other  Pasis. 

In  the  Central  Provinces  the  tribe  have  now  no  exoga-  4.  Mar- 
mous  groups  ;  they  avoid  marriage  with  blood  relations  as  ^'^^^^  ^" 
far  back  as  their  memory  carries  them.  At  their  weddings  customs. 
the  couple  walk  round  the  srdwan  or  heavy  log  of  wood, 
which  is  dragged  over  the  fields  before  sowing  to  break  up 
the  larger  clods  of  earth.  In  the  absence  of  this  an  ordinary 
plough  or  harrow  will  serve  as  a  substitute,  though  why  the 
Pasis  should  impart  a  distinctively  agricultural  implement 
into  their  marriage  ceremony  is  not  clear.  Like  the  Gonds, 
the  Pasis  celebrate  their  weddings  at  the  bridegroom's  house 
and  not  at  the  bride's.  Before  the  wedding  the  bridegroom's 
mother  goes  and  sits  over  a  well,  taking  with  her  seven  urad 
cakes  ^  and  stalks  of  the  plant.  The  bridegroom  walks 
seven  times  round  the  well,  and  at  each  turn  the  parapet  is 
marked  with  red  and  white  clay  and  his  mother  throws 
one  of  the  cakes  and  stalks  into  the  well.  Finally,  the 
mother  threatens  to  throw  herself  into  the  well,  and  the 
bridegroom  begs  her  not  to  do  so,  promising  that  he  will 
serve  and  support  her.  Divorce  and  the  remarriage  of 
widows  are  freely  permitted.  Conjugal  morality  is  some- 
what lax,  and  Mr.  Crooke  quotes  a  report  from  Pertabgarh 
to  the  effect  that  if  a  wom.an  of  a  tribe  become  pregnant 
by  a  stranger  and  the  child  be  born  in  the  house  of  her 
father  or  husband,  it  will  be  accepted  as  a  Pasi  of  pure 
blood  and  admitted  to  all  tribal  privileges.  The  bodies  of 
adults  may  be  buried  or  burnt  as  convenient,  but  those  of 
children  or  of  persons  dying  from  smallpox,  cholera  or 
snake-bite  are  always  buried.  Mourning  is  observed  during 
ten  days  for  a  man  and  nine  days  for  a  woman,  while 
children  who  die  unmarried  are  not  mourned  at  all. 

The   Pasis  worship   all  the  ordinary  Hindu   deities.      All  5.  Reii- 
classes   of  Brahmans    will    officiate   at    their    marriages    and  •"'°"'  ,. 

o  supersli- 

other  ceremonies,  and  do  anything  for  them   which  does  not  tions  and 
involve    touching   them   or   any  article   in   their  houses.      In  customs 
Bengal,  Sir   H.  Risley  writes,  the   employment  of  Brahmans 
'   A  pulse  of  a  black  colour  {Phaseolus  radialus). 


384  PASI  part 

for  the  performance  of  ceremonies  appears  to  be  a  very 
recent  reform  for,  as  a  rule,  in  sacrifices  and  funeral  cere- 
monies, the  worshipper's  sister's  son  performs  the  functions 
of  a  priest.  "  Among  the  Pasis  of  Monghyr  this  ancient 
custom,  which  admits  of  being  plausibly  interpreted  as  a 
survival  of  female  kinship,  still  prevails  generally."  The 
social  status  of  the  Pasis  is  low,  but  they  are  not  regarded 
as  impure.  At  their  marriage  festivals,  Mr.  Gayer  notes, 
boys  are  dressed  up  as  girls  and  made  to  dance  in  public, 
but  they  do  not  use  drums  or  other  musical  instruments. 
They  breed  pigs  and  cure  the  bacon  obtained  from  them. 
Marriage  questions  are  decided  by  the  tribal  council,  which 
is  presided  over  by  a  chairman  {Chaudhri)  selected  at  each 
meeting  from  among  the  most  influential  adult  males  present. 
The  council  deals  especially  with  cases  of  immorality  and 
pollution  caused  by  journeys  across  the  black  water  {kdla 
pdni),  which  the  criminal  pursuits  of  the  tribe  occasionally 
necessitate. 
6.  Occupa-  The  traditional  occupation  of  the  Pasis,  as  already  stated, 

is  the  extraction  of  the  sap  of  palm  trees.  But  some  of 
them  are  hunters  and  fowlers  like  the  Pardhis,  and  like 
them  also  they  make  and  mend  grindstones,  while  others 
are  agriculturists  ;  and  the  caste  has  also  strong  criminal 
propensities,  and  includes  a  number  of  professional  thieves. 
Some  are  employed  in  the  Nagpur  mills  and  others  have 
taken  small  building  contracts.  Pasis  are  generally  illiterate 
and  in  poor  circumstances,  and  are  much  addicted  to  drink. 
In  climbing^  palm  trees  to  tap  them  for  their  juice  the 
worker  uses  a  heel-rope,  by  which  his  feet  are  tied  closely 
together.  At  the  same  time  he  has  a  stout  rope  passing 
round  the  tree  and  his  body.  He  leans  back  against  this 
rope  and  presses  the  soles  of  his  feet,  thus  tied  together, 
against  the  tree.  He  then  climbs  up  the  tree  by  a  series  of 
hitches  or  jerks  of  his  back  and  feet  alternately.  The  juice 
of  the  palmyra  palm  {idr)  and  the  date  palm  (Jihajfir)  is 
extracted  by  the  Pasi.  The  tar  trees,  Sir  H.  Risley  states," 
are  tapped  from  March  to  May,  and  the  date  palm  in  the 
cold    season.      The  juice   of  the    former,   known   as   tdri  or 

'   TJicse  sentences  are  taken  from  Dr.  Grierson's  Peasajit  Life  in  Behdr,  p.  79. 
'^   Tribes  and  Castes  of  Bengal,  art.  Pasi. 


tion 


II  PA  TWA  385 

toddy,  is  used  in  the  manufacture  of  bread,  and  an  intoxi- 
cating liquor  is  obtained  from  it  by  adding  sugar  and  grains 
of  rice.  Hindustani  drunkards  often  mix  dhatura  with  the 
toddy  to  increase  its  intoxicating  properties.  The  quantity 
of  juice  extracted  from  one  tree  varies  from  five  to  ten 
pounds.  Date  palm  tari  is  less  commonly  drunk,  being 
popularly  believed  to  cause  rheumatism,  but  is  extensively 
used  in  preparing  sugar. 

Eighty  years  ago,  when  General  Sleeman  wrote,  the  7.  Criminal 
Pasis  were  noted  thieves.  In  his  Journey  through  Oudh  ^  he  tendencies, 
states  that  in  Oudh  there  were  then  supposed  to  be  one 
hundred  thousand  families  of  Pasis,  who  were  skilful  thieves 
and  robbers  by  profession,  and  were  formerly  Thugs  and 
poisoners  as  well.  They  generally  formed  the  worst  part  of 
the  gangs  maintained  by  refractory  landowners,  "  who  keep 
Pasis  to  fight^for  them,  as  they  pay  themselves  out  of  the 
plunder  and  cost  little  to  their  employers.  They  are  all 
armed  with  bows  and  are  very  formidable  at  night.  They 
and  their  refractory  employes  keep  the  country  in  a  per- 
petual state  of  disorder."  Mr.  Gayer  notes  -  that  the 
criminally  disposed  members  of  the  caste  take  contracts 
for  the  watch  and  sale  of  mangoes  in  groves  distant 
from  habitations,  so  that  their  movements  will  not  be  seen 
by  prying  eyes.  They  also  seek  employment  as  roof- 
thatchers,  in  which  capacity  they  are  enabled  to  ascertain 
which  houses  contain  articles  worth  stealing.  They  show 
considerable  cunning  in  disposing  of  their  stolen  property. 
The  men  will  go  openly  in  the  daytime  to  the  receiver  and 
acquaint  him  with  the  fact  that  they  have  property  to  dis- 
pose of;  the  receiver  goes  to  the  bazar,  and  the  women 
come  to  him  with  grass  for  sale.  They  sell  the  grass  to  the 
receiver,  and  then  accompany  him  home  with  it  and  the 
stolen  property,  which  is  artfully  concealed  in  it. 

Patwa,  Patwi,  Patra,  Ilakeband. — The  occupational 
caste  of  weavers  of  fancy  silk  braid  and  thread.  In  191  i 
the   Patwas  numbered  nearly  6000   persons  in   the  Central 

1  The    following    passage    is    taken  and  Hardoi  Settlement  Reports. 
from  Mr.  Crooke's  article  on  Pasi,  and  -  Lectures  on  Criminal  Tribes  of  the 

includes  quotations  from  the   Sitaptir  Central  Provinces. 

VOL.  IV  2   C 


386  PATWA  %  PART 

Provinces,  being  returned  principally  from  the  Narsinghpur, 
Raipur,  Saugor,  Jubbulpore  and  Hoshangabad  Districts. 
About  800  were  resident  in  Berar.  The  name  is  derived 
from  the  Sanskrit  pata,  woven  cloth,  or  Hindi  pdt^  silk. 
The  principal  subcastes  of  the  Patwas  are  the  Naraina  ;  the 
Kanaujia,  also  known  as  Chhipi,  because  they  sew  marriage 
robes  ;  the  Deobansi  or  '  descendants  of  a  god,'  who  sell  lac 
and  glass  bangles  ;  the  Lakhera,  who  prepare  lac  bangles  ; 
the  Kachera,  who  make  glass  bangles  ;  and  others.  Three 
of  the  above  groups  are  thus  functional  in  character.  They 
have  also  Rajput  and  Kayastha  subcastes,  who  may  consist 
of  refugees  from  those  castes  received  into  the  Patwa  com- 
munity. In  the  Central  Provinces  the  Patwas  and  Lakheras 
are  in  many  localities  considered  to  be  the  same  caste,  as 
they  both  deal  in  lac  and  sell  articles  made  of  it ;  and  the 
account  of  the  occupations  of  the  Lakhera  caste  also  applies 
largely  to  the  Patwas.  The  exogamous  groups  of  the  caste 
are  named  after  villages,  or  titles  or  nicknames  borne  by 
the  reputed  founder  of  the  group.  They  indicate  that  the 
Patwas  of  the  Central  Provinces  are  generally  descended 
from  immigrants  from  northern  India.  The  Patwa  usually 
purchases  silk  and  colours  it  himself.  He  makes  silk  strings 
for  pyjamas  and  coats,  armlets  and  other  articles.  Among 
these  are  the  silk  threads  called  rdkhis,  used  on  the  Rak- 
shabandhan  festival,^  when  the  Brahmans  go  round  in  the 
morning  tying  them  on  to  the  wrists  of  all  Hindus  as  a 
protection  against  evil  spirits.  For  this  the  Brahman 
receives  a  present  of  one  or  two  pice.  The  rdkhi  is  made 
of  pieces  of  raw  silk  fibre  twisted  together,  with  a  knot  at 
one  end  and  a  loop  at  the  other.  It  goes  round  the  wrist, 
and  the  knot  is  passed  through  the  loop.  Sisters  also  tie  it 
round  their  brothers'  wrists  and  are  given  a  present.  The 
Patwas  make  the  phundri  threads  for  tying  up  the  hair  of 
women,  whether  of  silk  or  cotton,  and  various  threads  used 
as  amulets,  such  as  the  j'anjira,  worn  by  men  round  the  neck, 
and  the  ganda  or  wizard's  thread,  which  is  tied  round  the 
arm    after    incantations    have    been    said    over  it  ;    and   the 

1  The  word  Rakshabandhan  is  said       'binding    the    devil,'    is    perhaps    in- 
to mean  literally,  '  the  bond  of  protec-       correct, 
tion.'     Another   suggested  derivation, 


II  PATIVA  387 

necklets  of  silk  or  cotton  thread  bound  with  thin  silver  wire 
which  the  Hindus  wear  at  Anant  Chaudas,  a  sort  of  All 
Saints'  Day,  when  all  the  gods  are  worshipped.  In  this 
various  knots  are  made  by  the  Brahmans,  and  in  each  a 
number  of  deities  are  tied  up  to  exert  their  beneficent 
influence  for  the  wearer  of  the  thread.  These  are  the  bands 
which  Hindus  commonly  wear  on  their  necks.  The  Patwas 
thread  necklaces  of  gold  and  jewels  on  silk  thread,  and  also 
make  the  strings  of  cowries,  slung  on  pack-thread,  which  are 
tied  round  the  necks  of  bullocks  when  they  race  on  the 
Pola  day,  and  on  ponies,  probably  as  a  charm.  After  a 
child  is  born  in  the  family  of  one  of  their  clients,  the  Patwas 
make  tassels  of  cotton  and  hemp  thread  coloured  red,  green 
and  yellow,  and  hang  them  to  the  centre-beam  of  the  house 
and  the  top  of  the  child's  cradle,  and  for  this  they  get  a 
present,  which  from  a  rich  man  may  be  as  much  as  ten 
rupees.  The  sacred  thread  proper  is  usually  made  by 
Brahmans  in  the  Central  Provinces.  Some  of  the  Patwas 
wander  about  hawking  their  wares  from  village  to  village. 
Besides  the  silk  threads  they  sell  the  tiklis  or  large  spangles 
which  women  wear  on  their  foreheads,  lac  bangles  and  balls 
of  henna,  and  the  large  necklaces  of  lac  beads  covered  with 
tinsel  of  various  colours  which  are  worn  in  Chhattisgarh.  A 
Patwa  must  not  rear  the  tasar  silkworm  nor  boil  the  cocoons 
on  pain  of  expulsion  from  caste. 


PINDARI 

LIST  OF   PARAGRAPHS 

1.  Origin  of  the  natne.  5.   Return  from  aii  expedition. 

2.  Rise  of  the  Pinddris.  6.   Suppression  of  the  Pinddris. 

3.  Their  strength  atid  sphere  of  Death  of  Chitu. 

ope7-ations.  7.    Character  of  the  Pinddris. 

4.  Pi?idd7'i       expeditions        and        8.    The  existing  Piiiddris. 

methods.  9.   Attractions  of  a  Pinddri's  life. 

I.  Origin        Pindari,    Pindara,    Pendhari.^ — The   well-known  pro- 
^^^"^^       fessional  class  of  freebooters,  whose  descendants  now  form  a 

name.  ' 

small  cultivating  caste.  In  the  Central  Provinces  they  num- 
bered about  150  persons  in  1 9 1 1 ,  while  there  are  about  1 0,000 
in  India.  They  are  mainly  Muhammadans  but  include  some 
Hindus.  The  Pindaris  of  the  Central  Provinces  are  for  the 
most  part  the  descendants  of  Gonds,  Korkus  and  Bhils  whose 
children  were  carried  off  in  the  course  of  raids,  circumcised, 
and  brought  up  to  follow  the  profession  of  a  Pindari. 
When  the  bands  were  dispersed  many  of  them  returned  to 
their  native  villages  and  settled  down.  Malcolm  considered 
that  the  name  Pindari  was  derived  from  pinda,  an  intoxicating 
drink,  and  was  given  to  them  on  account  of  their  dissolute 
habits.  He  adds  that  Karim  Khan,  a  famous  Pindari  leader, 
had  never  heard  of  any  other  reason  for  the  name,  and  Major 
Henley  had  the  etymology  confirmed  by  the  most  intelligent 
of  the  Pindaris  of  whom  he  inquired.^  In  support  of  this 
may  be  adduced  the  name  of  Bhangi,  given  to  the  sweeper 
caste  on  account  of  their  drinking  bhang  or  hemp.      Wilson 

1  The    historical     account    of     the  notes   on    the    modern    Pindaris    have 

Pindaris  is   compiled    from   Malcolm's  been  furnished  by  Mr.  Hlra  Lai,  and 

Memoir  of  Centi-al  India,  Grant-Duffs  Mr.   Waman    Rustom  Mandloi,   Naib- 

History  of  the  ATardthas,  and  Prinscp's  Tahsildar,  liarda. 

Transactions  in   //idia  {182$).      Some  ^   Metnoir  of  Central  India,  \.  \).  ^^,1. 


PART  II  ORIGIN  OF  THE  NAME  389 

again  held  the  most  probable  derivation  to  be  from  the 
Marathi  pendlia,  in  the  sense  of  a  bundle  of  rice- straw,  and 
hara  one  who  takes,  because  the  name  was  originally  applied 
to  horsemen  who  hung  on  to  an  army  and  were  employed 
in  collecting  forage.  The  fact  that  the  existing  Findaris 
are  herdsmen  and  tenders  of  buffaloes  and  thus  might  well 
have  been  employed  for  the  collection  of  forage  may  be 
considered  somewhat  to  favour  the  above  view  ;  but  the 
authors  of  Hobson-Jobson,  after  citing  these  derivations, 
continue  :  "  We  cannot  think  any  of  the  etymologies  very 
satisfactory.  We  venture  another  as  a  plausible  sugges- 
tion merely.  Both  pitid-parna  in  Hindi  and  pindas-basnen 
in  Marathi  signify  '  to  follow,'  the  latter  being  defined 
as  '  to  stick  closely  ;  to  follow  to  the  death  ;  used  of 
the  adherence  of  a  disagreeable  fellow.'  Such  phrases 
could  apply  to  these  hangers-on  of  an  army  in  the  field  look- 
ing out  for  prey."  Mr.  W.  Irvine^  has  suggested  that  the 
word  comes  from  a  place  or  region  called  Pandhar,  which  is 
referred -to  by  native  historians  and  seems  to  have  been 
situated  between  Burhanpur  and  Handia  on  the  Nerbudda  ; 
and  states  that  there  is  good  evidence  to  prove  that  a  large 
number  of  Pindaris  were  settled  in  this  part  of  the  country. 
Mr.  D.  Chisholm  reports  from  Nimar  that  "  Pandhar  or 
Pandhar  is  the  name  given  to  a  stream  which  rises  in  the 
Gularghat  hills  of  the  AsTr  range  and  flows  after  a  very 
circuitous  course  into  the  Masak  river  by  Mandeva.  The 
name  signifies  five,  as  it  is  joined  by  four  other  small 
streams.  The  Asir  hills  were  the  haunts  of  the  Pindaris, 
and  the  country  about  these,  especially  by  the  banks  of  the 
Pandhar,  is  very  wild  ;  but  it  is  not  commonly  known  that 
the  Pindaris  derived  their  name  from  this  stream."  And  as 
the  Pindaris  are  first  heard  of  as  hangers-on  of  the  Maratha 
armies  in  the  Deccan  prior  to  A.D.  1700,  it  seems  unlikely  also 
that  their  name  can  be  taken  from  a  place  in  the  Nimar  District, 
where  it  is  not  recorded  that  they  were  settled  before  1794. 
Nor  does  the  Pandhar  itself  seem  sufficiently  important  to  have 
given  a  name  to  the  whole  body  of  freebooters.  Malcolm's  or 
Wilson's  derivations  are  perhaps  on  the  whole  the  most  prob- 
able.     Prinsep  writes  :    "  Pindara  seems  to  have    the  same 

^  Indian  Antiquary,  1900. 


39° 


PINDARI 


reference  to  Pandour  that  Kuzak  has  to  Cossack.  The  latter 
word  is  of  Turkish  origin  but  is  commonly  used  to  express 
a  mounted  robber  in  Hindustan."  Though  the  Pandours  were 
the  predatory  light  cavalry  of  the  Austrian  army,  and  had 
considerable  resemblance  to  the  Pindaris,  it  does  not  seem 
possible  to  suppose  that  there  is  any  connection  between  the 
two  words.  The  Pendra  zamindari  in  Bilaspur  is  named 
after  the  Pindaris,  the  dense  forests  of  the  Rewah  plateau 
which  includes  Pendra  having  been  one  of  their  favourite 
asylums  of  refuge. 
2.  Rise  The  Pindari  bands  appear  to  have  come  into  existence 

°^*5.     durine:  the  wars  of  the  late  Muhammadan  dynasties  in   the 

Pindaris.  ^  •' 

Deccan,  and  in  the  latter  part  of  the  seventeenth  century 
they  attached  themselves  to  the  Marathas  in  their  revolt 
against  Aurangzeb.  The  first  mention  of  the  name  occurs 
at  this  time.  During  and  after  the  Maratha  wars  many  of 
the  Pindari  leaders  obtained  grants  in  Central  India  from 
Sindhia  and  Holkar,  and  were  divided  into  two  parties  owing 
a  nominal  allegiance  to  these  princes  and  designated  as  the 
Sindhia  Shahi  and  Holkar  Shahi.  In  the  period  of  chaos 
which  reigned  at  this  time  outside  British  territories  their  raids 
in  all  directions  attended  by  the  most  savage  atrocities  became 
more  and  more  intolerable.  These  outrages  extended  from 
Bundelkhand  to  Cuddapah  south  of  Madras  and  from  Orissa 
to  Gujarat. 

When  attached  to  the  Maratha  armies,  Malcolm  states, 
the  Pindaris  always  camped  separately  and  were  not 
permitted  to  plunder  in  the  Maratha  territories  ;  they  were 
given  an  allowance  averaging  four  annas  each  a  day,  and 
further  supported  themselves  by  employing  their  small  horses 
and  bullocks  in  carrying  grain,  forage  and  wood,  for  which 
articles  the  Pindari  bazar  was  the  great  mart.  When  let 
loose  to  pillage,  which  v/as  always  the  case  some  days  before 
the  army  entered  an  enemy's  country,  all  allowances  stopped  ; 
no  restraint  whatever  was  put  upon  these  freebooters  till 
the  campaign  was  over,  when  the  Maratha  commander,  if  he 
had  the  power,  generally  seized  the  Pindari  chiefs  or  sur- 
rounded their  camps  and  forced  them  to  yield  up  the  greater 
part  of  their  booty.  A  knowledge  of  this  practice  led  the 
Pindaris    to    redouble    their   excesses,    that    they    might    be 


II  R/SE  OF  THE  FIND  Arts  391 

able  to  satisfy  without  ruin   the  expected   rapacity  of  their 
employers. 

In  1794,  Grant-Duff  writes,  Sindhia  assigned  some  lands 
to  the  Pindaris  near  the  banks  of  the  Nerbudda,  which  they 
soon  extended  by  conquests  from  the  Grassias  or  original  inde- 
pendent landholders  in  their  neighbourhood.  Their  principal 
leaders  at  that  time  were  two  brothers  named  Hiru  and.Burun, 
who  are  said  to  have  been  put  to  death  for  their  aggressions 
on  the  territory  of  Sindhia  and  of  Raghuji  Bhonsla.  The  sons 
of  Hiru  and  Burun  became  Pindari  chiefs  ;  but  Karim  Khan,  a 
Pindara  who  had  acquired  great  booty  at  the  plunder  of  the 
Nizam's  troops  after  the  battle  of  Hurdla,  and  was  distinguished 
by  superior  cunning  and  enterprise,  was  the  principal  leader 
of  this  refuse  of  the  Maratha  armies.  KarIm  got  the  district  of 
Shujahalpur  from  Umar  Khan  which,  with  some  additions, 
was  afterwards  confirmed  to  him  by  Sindhia.  During  the  war 
of  1803  and  the  subsequent  disturbed  state  of  the  country 
KarIm  contrived  to  obtain  possession  of  several  districts  in 
Malwa  belonging  to  Sindhia's  jagirdars  ;  and  his  land  revenue 
at  one  time  is  said  to  have  amounted  to  fifteen  lakhs  of  rupees 
a  year.  He  also  wrested  some  territory  from  the  Nawab  of 
Bhopal  on  which  he  built  a  fort  as  a  place  of  security  for  his 
family  and  of  deposit  for  his  plunder.  Karim  was  originally 
a  Sindhia  Shahi,  but  like  most  of  the  Pindaris,  except  about 
5000  of  the  Holkar  Shahis  who  remained  faithful,  he  changed 
sides  or  plundered  his  m.aster  whenever  it  suited  his  con- 
venience, which  was  as  often  as  he  found  an  opportunity, 
Sindhia,  jealous  of  his  encroachments,  on  pretence  of  lending 
him  some  gems  inveigled  him  to  an  interview,  made  him 
prisoner,  plundered  his  camp,  recovered  the  usurped  districts 
and  lodged  Karim  in  the  fort  of  Gwalior. 

A  number  of  leaders  started  up  after  the  confinement  of 
Karim,  of  whom  Chitu,  Dost  Muhammad,  Namdar  Khan 
and  Sheikh  Dullah  became  the  most  conspicuous.  They 
associated  themselves  with  Amir  Khan  in  1809  during  his 
expedition  to  Berar  ;  and  in  18  10,  when  Karim  Khan  pur- 
chased his  release  from  Gwalior,  they  assembled  under  that 
leader  a  body  of  25,000  horse  and  some  battalions  of  newly 
raised  infantry  with  which  they  again  proposed  to  invade 
Berar  ;    but    Chitu,  always   jealous  of  Karlm's  ascendency, 


39^ 


PINDARI 


was  detached  by  Raghuji  Bhonsla  from  the  alHance,  and 
afterwards  co-operated  with  Sindhia  in  attacking  him  ;  Karim 
was  in  consequence  driven  to  seek  an  asylum  with  his  old 
patron  Amir  Khan,  but  by  the  influence  of  Sindhia  Amir 
Khan  kept  him  in  a  state  of  confinement  until  1816. 

When  the  Marathas  ceased  to  spread  themselves  over 
India,  the  Pindaris  who  had  attended  their  armies  were  obliged 
to  plunder  the  territories  of  their  former  protectors  for  sub- 
sistence. To  the  unemployed  soldiery  of  India,  particularly 
to  the  Muhammadans,  the  life  of  a  Pindara  had  many 
allurements  ;  but  the  Maratha  horsemen  who  possessed 
hereditary  rights  or  had  any  pretensions  to  respectability  did 
not  readily  join  them.  One  of  the  above  leaders,  Sheikh 
Dullah  or  Abdullah,  apparently  became  a  dacoit  after  the 
Pindaris  had  been  dispersed,  and  he  is  still  remembered  in 
Hoshangabad  and  Nimar  in  the  following  saying : 

Niche  zamm  mcr  tipar  Allah, 

Aiir  bich  men  pliiren  Sheikh  Dullah, 

or  '  God  is  above  and  the  earth  beneath,  and  Sheikh  Dullah 

ranges  at  his  will  between.' 
3.  Their  In  I  8  1 4,  Prinsep  states,^  the  actual  military  force  at  the 

strength      disposal  of  the  Pindaris  amounted  to  40,000  horse,  inclusive 

and  sphere       ^,-r,,_  ,1  ii 

of  opera-     of    the    Pathans,    who    though    more    orderly    and     better 
tions.  disciplined  than  the  Pindaris  of  the  Nerbudda,  possessed  the 

same  character  and  were  similarly  circumstanced  in  every 
respect,  supporting  themselves  entirely  by  depredations  when- 
ever they  could  practise  them.  Their  number  would  be 
doubled  were  we  to  add  the  remainder  of  Holkar's  troops 
of  the  irregular  kind,  which  were  daily  deserting  the  service 
of  a  falling  house  in  order  to  engage  in  the  more  profitable 
career  of  predatory  enterprise  ;  and  the  loose  cavalry 
establishments  of  Sindhia  and  the  Bhonsla,  which  were 
bound  by  no  ties  but  those  of  present  entertainment,  and 
were  always  in  great  arrears  of  pay.  The  presence  of  this 
force  in  the  centre  of  India  and  able  to  threaten  each  of  the 
three  Presidencies  imposed  the  most  extensive  annual  pre- 
cautions for  defence,  in  spite  of  which  the  territories  of  our 
allies    were   continually  overrun.      On    two  occasions,    once 

'    'I'ransactioiis  in  India,  1813-23,  by  H.  T.  Prinsep. 


II    THEIR  STRENGTH  AND  SPHERE  OF  OPERA  TIONS   393 

when  they  entered  Gujarat  in  1 808-9  'i"<J  again  in  18 12 
when  the  Bengal  provinces  of  Mirzapur  and  Shahabad  were 
devastated,  they  penetrated  into  our  immediate  territories. 
Grant-Duff  records  that  in  one  raid  on  the  coast  from 
MasuHpatam  northward  they  in  ten  days  plundered  339 
villages,  burning  many,  killing  and  wounding  682  persons, 
torturing  3600  and  carrying  off  or  destroying  property  to 
the  amount  of  two  lakhs  and  a  half.  Indeed  their  reputa- 
tion was  such  that  the  mere  rumour  of  an  incursion  caused 
a  regular  panic  at  Madras  in  18  16,  of  which  General  Hislop 
gives  an  amusing  account :  ^  "In  the  middle  of  this  year  the 
troops  composing  the  garrison  of  Fort  St.  George  were 
moved  out  and  encamped  on  the  island  outside  Black  Town 
wall.  This  imprudent  step  was  taken,  as  was  affirmed,  to 
be  in  readiness  to  meet  the  Pindaris,  who  were  reported  to 
be  on  their  road  to  Madras,  although  it  was  well  known 
that  not  half  a  dozen  of  them  were  at  that  time  within  200 
miles  of  the  place.  The  native  inhabitants  of  all  classes 
throughout  Madras  and  its  vicinity  were  in  the  utmost 
alarm,  and  looked  for  places  of  retreat  and  security  for  their 
property.  It  brought  on  Madras  all  the  distresses  in  imagina- 
tion of  Hyder  All's  invasion.  It  was  about  this  period  that 
an  idle  rumour  reached  Madras  of  the  arrival  of  the  Pindaris 
at  the  Mount ;  all  was  uproar,  flight  and  despair  to  the 
walls  of  Madras.  This  alarm  originated  in  a  few  Dhobis 
and  grass-cutters  of  the  artillery  having  mounted  their 
tattus  and,  in  mock  imitation  of  the  Pindaris,  galloped  about 
and  played  with  long  bamboos  in  their  hands  in  the  vicinity 
of  the  Mount.  The  effect  was  such,  however,  that  many  of 
the  civil  servants  and  inhabitants  of  the  Mount  Road  packed 
up  and  moved  to  the  Fort  for  protection.  Troopers, 
messengers,  etc.,  were  seen  galloping  to  the  Government 
House  and  thence  to  the  different  public  authorities.  Such 
was  the  alarm  in  the  Government  House  that  on  the  after- 
noon of  that  day  an  old  officer,  anxious  to  offer  some 
advice  to  the  Governor,  rode  smartly  to  the  Government 
gardens,  and  on  reaching  the  entrance  observed  the  younger 
son  of  the  Governor  running  with  all  possible  speed  into  the 
house  ;  who  having  got  to  a  place  of  security  ventured  to 

1  Mardtha  and  Pinddri  Campaigns. 


394  PINDAR  I  part 

look  back  and  then  discovered  in  the  old  officer  a  face  which 
he  had  before  seen  ;  when  turning  back  again  he  exclaimed, 
'  Upon   my  word,  sir,   I   was  so  frightened   I   took  you  for 
a  Pindari.' " 
4.  Pindari  A   Pindari  expedition  ^  usually  started   at  the  close   of 

and^  '"°'"  ^^  rains,  as  soon  as  the  rivers  became  fordable  after  the 
methods.  Dasahra  festival  in  October,  Their  horses  were  then  shod, 
having  previously  been  carefully  trained  to  prepare  them  for 
long  marches  and  hard  work.  A  leader  of  tried  courage 
having  been  chosen  as  Luhbaria,  all  who  were  so  inclined 
set  forth  on  a  foray,  or  Luhbar  as  it  was  called  in  the  Pindari 
nomenclature,  the  strength  of  the  party  often  amounting  to 
several  thousands.  In  every  thousand  Pindaris  about  400 
were  tolerably  well  mounted  and  armed  ;  of  this  number 
about  every  fifteenth  man  carried  a  matchlock,  but  their 
favourite  weapon  was  the  ordinary  bamboo  spear  of  the 
Marathas,  from  12  to  18  feet  long.  Of  the  remaining 
600  two-thirds  were  usually  common  Lootais  or  plunderers, 
indifferently  mounted  and  armed  with  every  variety  of 
weapon  ;  and  the  rest  slaves,  attendants  and  camp- 
followers,  mounted  on  tattus  or  wild  ponies  and  keeping  up 
with  the  Luhbar  in  the  best  manner  they  could.  They  were 
encumbered  neither  by  tents  nor  baggage  ;  each  horseman 
carried  a  few  cakes  of  bread  for  his  own  subsistence  and 
some  feeds  of  grain  for  his  horse.  They  advanced  at  the 
rapid  rate  of  forty  or  fifty  miles  a  day,  neither  turning  to 
the  right  nor  to  the  left  till  they  arrived  at  their  place  of 
destination.  They  then  divided,  and  made  a  sweep  of  all 
the  cattle  and  property  they  could  find  ;  committing  at  the 
same  time  the  most  horrid  atrocities  and  destroying  what 
they  could  not  carry  away.  They  trusted  to  the  secrecy 
and  suddenness  of  the  irruption  for  avoiding  those  who 
guarded  the  frontiers  of  the  countries  they  invaded  ;  and 
before  a  force  could  be  brought  against  them  they  were  on 
their  return.  Their  chief  strength  lay  in  their  being  in- 
tangible. If  pursued  they  made  marches  of  extraordinary 
length,  sometimes  upwards  of  sixty  miles,  by  roads  almost 
impracticable  for  regular  troops.  If  overtaken  they  dispersed 
and  reassembled  at  an  appointed  rendezvous  ;   if  followed  to 

'   The  above  is  compiled  from  the  accounts  given  by  Piinsep  and  iMalcoJm. 


II  RETURN  FROM  AN  EXPEDITTON  395 

the  country  from  which  they  issued  they  broke  into  small 
parties.  The  cruelties  they  perpetrated  were  beyond  belief. 
As  it  was  impossible  for  them  to  remain  more  than  a  few 
hours  on  the  same  spot  the  utmost  despatch  was  necessary 
in  rifling  any  towns  or  villages  into  which  they  could  force 
an  entrance  ;  every  one  whose  appearance  indicated  the  prob- 
ability of  his  possessing  money  was  immediately  put  to  the 
most  horrid  torture  till  he  either  pointed  out  his  hoard  or 
died  under  the  infliction.  Nothing  was  safe  from  the 
pursuit  of  Pindari  lust  or  avarice ;  it  was  their  common 
practice  to  burn  and  destroy  what  they  could  not  carry 
away  ;  and  in  the  wantonness  of  barbarity  to  ravish  and 
murder  women  and  children  under  the  eyes  of  their  husbands 
and  parents.  The  ordinary  modes  of  torture  inflicted  by 
these  miscreants  were  to  apply  red-hot  irons  to  the  soles  of 
the  feet  ;  or  to  throw  the  victim  on  the  ground  and  place 
a  plank  or  beam  across  his  chest  on  which  two  men  pressed 
with  their  whole  weight ;  and  to  throw  oil  on  the  clothes 
and  set  fire  to  them,  or  tie  wisps  of  rag  soaked  in  oil  to 
the  ends  of  all  the  victim's  fingers  and  set  fire  to  these. 
Another  favourite  method  was  to  put  hot  ashes  into  a  horse- 
bag,  which  they  tied  over  a  man's  mouth  and  nostrils  and 
thumped  him  on  the  back  until  he  inhaled  the  ashes.  The 
effect  on  the  lungs  of  the  sufferer  was  such  that  few  long 
survived  the  operation. 

The  return  of  the  Pindaris  from  an  expedition  presented  5-  Return 
at  one  view  their  character  and  habits.  When  they  recrossed  expedition. 
the  Nerbudda  and  reached  their  homes  their  camp  became 
like  a  fair.  After  the  claims  of  the  chief  of  the  territory 
(whose  right  was  a  fourth  part  of  the  booty,  but  who  gener- 
ally compounded  for  one  or  two  valuable  articles)  had  been 
satisfied,  the  usual  share  paid  to  their  Luhbaria,  or  chosen 
leader  for  the  expedition,  and  all  debts  to  merchants  and 
others  who  had  made  advances  discharged,  the  plunder  of 
each  man  was  exposed  for  sale  ;  traders  from  every  part 
came  to  make  cheap  bargains  ;  and  while  the  women  were 
busy  in  disposing  of  their  husbands'  property,  the  men,  who 
were  on  such  occasions  certain  of  visits  from  all  their  friends, 
were  engaged  in  hearing  music,  seeing  dancers  and  drolls, 
and  in  drinking.      This  life  of  debauchery  and  excess  lasted 


396  PINDARI  part 

till  their  money  was  gone  ;  they  were  then  compelled  to 
look  for  new  scenes  of  rapine,  or,  if  the  season  was  favour- 
able, were  supported  by  their  chiefs,  or  by  loans  at  high 
interest  from  merchants  who  lived  in  their  camps,  many  of 
whom  amassed  large  fortunes.  This  worst  part  of  the  late 
population  of  Central  India  is,  as  a  separate  community, 
now  extinct.^ 
6.  Suppres-  ^^^   result  of  the  Pindari  raids  was  that  Central   India 

sion  of  the  was  being  rapidly  reduced  to  the  condition  of  a  desert,  and 
Death  of  the  peasants,  unable  to  support  themselves  on  the  land,  had 
Chitu.  no  option  but  to  join  the  robber  bands  or  starve.  It  was 
not  until  1 8 1 7  that  Lord  Hastings  obtained  authority  from 
home  to  take  regular  measures  for  their  repression  ;  and  at 
the  same  time  he  also  forced  or  persuaded  the  principal 
chiefs  of  Central  India  to  act  vigorously  in  concert  with 
him.  When  these  were  put  into  operation  and  the  principal 
routes  from  Central  India  occupied  by  British  detachments, 
the  Pindaris  were  completely  broken  up  and  scattered  in 
the  course  of  a  single  campaign.  They  made  no  stand 
against  regular  troops,  and  their  bands,  unable  to  escape 
from  the  ring  of  forces  drawn  round  them,  were  rapidly 
dispersed  over  the  country.  The  people  eagerly  plundered 
and  seized  them  in  revenge  for  the  wrongs  long  suffered  at 
their  -  hands,  and  the  Bhil  Grassias  or  border  landholders 
gladly  carried  out  the  instructions  to  hunt  them  down.  On 
one  occasion  a  native  havildar  with  only  thirty -four  men 
attacked  and  put  a  large  body  of  them  to  flight.  The 
principal  chiefs,  reduced  to  the  condition  of  hunted  outlaws 
in  the  jungles,  soon  accepted  the  promise  of  their  lives,  and 
on  surrendering  were  either  settled  on  a  grant  of  land  or 
kept  in  confinement.  The  well-known  leader  Chitu  joined 
Apa  Sahib,  who  had  then  escaped  from  Nagpur  and  was  in 
hiding  in  the  Pachmarhi  hills.  Being  expelled  from  there 
in  February  1 8 1 9  he  proceeded  to  the  fort  of  Asirgarh  in 
Nimar,  but  was  refused  admittance  by  Sindhia's  command- 
ant. He  sought  shelter  in  the  neighbouring  jungle,  and  on 
horseback  and  alone  attempted  to  penetrate  a  thick  cover 
known  to  be  infested  with  tigers.  He  was  missed  for  some 
days  afterwards  and  no  one  knew  what  had  become  of  him. 

^   Tliat  is  when  Malcohii  wrote  his  Memoir-. 


II  CHARACTER  OF  THE  PINDARIS  397 

His  horse  was  at  last  discovered  grazing  near  the  margin  of 
the  forest,  saddled  and  bridled,  and  exactly  in  the  state  in 
which  it  was  when  Chitu  had  last  been  seen  upon  it.  Upon 
search  a  bag  of  Rs.  250  was  found  in  the  saddle  ;  and 
several  seal  rings  with  some  letters  of  Apa  Sahib,  promising 
future  reward,  served  more  completely  to  fix  the  identity  of 
the  horse's  late  master.  These  circumstances,  combined 
with  the  known  resort  of  tigers  to  the  spot,  induced  a  search 
for  the  body,  when  at  no  great  distance  some  clothes  clotted 
with  blood,  and  farther  on  fragments  of  bones,  and  at 
last  the  Pindari's  head  entire  with  features  in  a  state  to 
be  recognised,  were  successively  discovered.  The  chief's 
mangled  remains  were  given  over  to  his  son  for  interment, 
and  the  miserable  fate  of  one  who  so  shortly  before  had 
ridden  at  the  head  of  twenty  thousand  horse  gave  an  awful 
lesson  of  the  uncertainty  of  fortune  and  drew  pity  even 
from  those  who  had  been  victims  of  his  barbarity  when 
living.^ 

The  Pindaris,  as  might  be  expected,  were  recruited  from  7.  Char- 
all  classes  and  castes,  and  though  many  became  Muham-  p^lfJads^  ^*^ 
madans  the  Hindus  preserved  the  usages  of  their  respective 
castes.  Most  of  the  Hindu  men  belonged  to  the  Ladul  or 
grass-cutter  class,  and  their  occupation  was  to  bring  grass 
and  firewood  to  the  camps.  "  Those  born  in  the  Durrahs  or 
camps,"  Malcolm  states,"'  "  appear  to  have  been  ignorant  in 
a  degree  almost  beyond  belief  and  were  in  the  same  ratio 
superstitious.  The  women  of  almost  all  the  Muhammadan 
Pindaris  dressed  like  Hindus  and  worshipped  Hindu  deities. 
From  accompanying  their  husbands  in  most  of  their  excur- 
sions they  became  liardy  and  masculine  ;  they  were  usually 
mounted  on  small  horses  or  camels,  and  were  more  dreaded 
by  the  villagers  than  the  men,  whom  they  exceeded  in 
cruelty  and  rapacity."  Colonel  Tod  notes  that  the  Pindaris, 
like  other  Indian  robbers,  were  devout  in  the  observance  of 
their  religion  : 

"  A  short  distance  to  the  west  of  the  Regent's  (Kotah) 
camp  is  the  Pindari-ka-chhaoni,  where  the  sons  of  Karim 
Khan,    the    chief   leader   of   those   hordes,  resided  ;    for  in 

'  This  account  is  copied  from  Prinsep's  Transactions. 
'^  Memoir,  ii.  p.  177. 


398 


PINDARI 


8.  The 
existing 
Pindaris. 


9.  Attrac- 
tions of  a 
I'indari's 
life. 


those  days  of  strife  the  old  Regent  would  have  allied  him- 
self with  Satan,  if  he  had  led  a  horde  of  plunderers.  I  was 
greatly  amused  to  see  in  this  camp  the  commencement  of 
an  Id-Gah  or  place  of  prayer  ;  for  the  villains,  while  they 
robbed  and  murdered  even  defenceless  women,  prayed  five 
times  a  day  !  "  ^ 

While  the  freebooting  Pindaris  had  no  regular  caste 
organisation,  their  descendants  have  now  become  more  or 
less  of  a  caste  in  accordance  with  the  usual  tendency  of  a 
distinctive  occupation,  producing  a  difference  in  status,  to 
form  a  fresh  caste.  The  existing  Pindaris  in  the  Central 
Provinces  are  both  Muhammadans  and  Hindus,  the  Muham- 
madans,  as  already  stated,  having  been  originally  the  chil- 
dren of  Hindus  who  were  kidnapped  and  converted.  It  is 
one  of  the  very  few  merits  of  the  Pindaris  that  they  did  not 
sell  their  captives  to  slavery.  Their  numerous  prisoners  of 
all  ages  and  both  sexes  were  employed  as  servants,  made 
over  to  the  chiefs  or  held  to  ransom  from  their  relatives,  but 
the  Pindaris  did  not  carry  on  like  the  Banjaras  a  traffic  in 
slaves.^  The  Muhammadan  Pindaris  were  said  some  time 
ago  to  have  no  religion,  but  with  the  diffusion  of  knowledge 
they  have  now  adopted  the  rites  of  Islam  and  observe  its 
rules  and  restrictions.  In  Bhandara  the  Hindu  Pindaris  are 
Garoris  or  Gowaris.  They  say  that  the  ancestors  of  the 
Pindaris  and  Gowaris  were  two  brothers,  the  business  of 
the  Pindari  brother  being  to  tend  buffaloes  and  that  of 
the  Gowari  brother  to  herd  cows.  These  Pindaris  will  beg 
from  the  owners  of  buffaloes  for  the  above  reason.  They 
revere  the  dog  and  will  not  kill  it,  and  also  worship 
snakes  and  tigers,  believing  that  these  animals  never  do 
them  injury.  They  carry  their  dead  to  the  grave  in  a 
sitting  posture,  seated  in  a  jlioli  or  wallet,  and  bury  them 
in  the  same  position.  They  wear  their  beards  and  do 
not  shave.  Some  of  these  Pindaris  are  personal  servants, 
others  cultivators  and  labourers,  and  others  snake-charmers 
and  jugglers. 

Tiie  freebooting  life  of  the  Pindaris,  unmitigated 
scoundrels  though  they  were,  no  doubt  had  great  charms, 
and  must  often  have  been  recalled  with  regret  by  those  who 

1  Rajasthdn,  ii.  p.  674.  '''  Malcolm,  ii.  p.  177. 


II  PRABHU  399 

settled  down  to  the  quiet  humdrum  existence  of  a  cultivator. 
This  feeling  has  been  admirably  depicted  in  Sir  Alfred 
Lyall's  well-known  poem,  of  which  it  will  be  permissible  to 
quote  a  short  extract : 

When  I  rode  a  Dekhani  charger  with  the  saddle-cloth  gold-laced, 

And  a  Persian  sword  and  a  twelve-foot  spear  and  a  pistol  at  my  waist. 

It's  many  a  year  gone  by  now  ;  and  yet  I  often  dream 

Of  a  long  dark  march  to  the  Jumna,  of  splashing  across  the  stream. 

Of  the  waning  moon  on  the  water  and  the  spears  in  the  dim  starlight 

As  I  rode  in  front  of  my  mother  ^  and  wondered  at  all  the  sight. 

Then  the  streak  of  the  pearly  dawn — the  flash  of  a  sentinel's  gun, 

The  gallop  and  glint  of  horsemen  who  wheeled  in  the  level  sun. 

The  shots  in  the  clear  still  morning,  the  white  smoke's  eddying  wreath. 

Is  this  the  same  land  that  I  live  in,  the  dull  dank  air  that  I  breathe  ? 

And  if  I  were  forty  years  younger,  with  my  life  before  me  to  choose, 

I  wouldn't  be  lectured  by  Kafirs  or  bullied  by  fat  Hindoos  ; 

But  I'd  go  to  some  far-off  country  where  Musalmans  still  are  men, 

Or  take  to  the  jungle  like  Chetoo,  and  die  in  the  tiger's  den. 

Prabhu,  Parbhu.  —  The  Maratha  caste  of  clerks,  i.  Histori- 
accountants  and  patwaris  corresponding  to  the  Kayasths.  "  "o^ice. 
They  numbered  about  1400  persons  in  the  southern  Dis- 
tricts of  the  Central  Provinces  and  Berar  in  191 1.  The 
Prabhus,  like  the  Kayasths,  claim  to  be  descendants  of  a 
child  of  Chandra  Sena,  a  Kshatriya  king  and  himself  a  son 
of  Arjun,  one  of  the  five  Pandava  brothers.  Chandra  Sena 
was  slain  by  Parasurama,  the  Brahman  destroyer  of  the 
Kshatriyas,  but  the  child  was  saved  by  a  Rishi,  who 
promised  that  he  should  be  brought  up  as  a  clerk.  The 
boy  was  named  Somraj  and  was  married  to  the  daughter  of 
Chitra  Gupta,  the  recorder  of  the  dead.  The  caste  thus 
claim  Kshatriya  origin.  The  name  Prabhu  signifies  '  lord,' 
but  the  Brahmans  pretend  that  the  real  name  of  the  caste 
was  Parbhu,  meaning  one  of  irregular  birth.  The  Prabhus 
say  that  Parbhu  is  a  colloquial  corruption  used  by  the  un- 
educated. The  gotras  of  the  Prabhus  are  eponymous,  the 
names  being  the  same  as  those  of  Brahmans.  In  the 
Central  Provinces  many  of  them  have  the  surname  of 
Chitnavis  or  Secretary.  Child -marriage  is  in  vogue  and 
widow- remarriage  is  forbidden.  The  wedding  ceremony 
resembles  that  of  the  Brahmans. 

*  The  Pindari's  childhood  is  recalled  here,  vide  poem. 


400  PRABHU  PART 

In  his  Description  of  a  Prabhu  viarriage  ^  Rai  Bahadur 
B.  A.  Gupte  shows  how  the  old  customs  are  being  broken 
through  among  the  educated  classes  under  the  influence  of 
modern  ideas.  Marriages  are  no  longer  arranged  without 
regard  to  the  wishes  of  the  couple,  which  are  thus  ascer- 
tained :  "  The  next  step  ^  is  to  find  out  the  inclination  of 
the  hero  of  the  tale.  His  friends  and  equals  do  that  easily- 
enough.  They  begin  talking  of  the  family  and  the  girl, 
and  are  soon  able  to  fathom  his  mind.  They  leave  on  his 
desk  all  the  photographs  of  the  girls  offered  and  watch  his 
movements.  If  he  is  sensible  he  quietly  drops  or  returns 
all  the  likenesses  except  the  one  he  prefers,  and  keeps  this 
in  his  drawer.  He  dare  not  display  it,  for  it  is  immodest  to 
do  so.  The  news  of  the  approval  by  the  boy  soon  reaches 
the  parents  of  the  girl."  Similarly  in  her  case  :  "  The  girl 
has  no  direct  voice,  but  her  likes  and  dislikes  are  carefully 
fathomed  through  her  girl  friends.  If  she  says,  'Why  is 
papa  in  such  a  hurry  to  get  rid  of  me,'  or  turns  her  face 
and  goes  away  as  soon  as  the  proposed  family  is  mentioned, 
a  sensible  father  drops  the  case  and  turns  his  attention  to 
some  other  boy.  This  is  the  direct  result  of  higher  educa- 
tion under  British  rule,  but  among  the  masses  the  girl  has 
absolutely  no  voice,  and  the  boy  has  very  little  unless  he 
revolts  and  disobediently  declines  to  accept  a  girl  already 
selected."  Similarly  the  educated  Prabhus  are  beginning  to 
dispense  with  the  astrologer's  calculations  showing  the 
agreement  of  the  horoscopes  of  the  couple,  which  are  too 
often  made  a  cloak  for  the  extortion  of  large  presents.  "  It 
very  often  happens  that  everything  is  amicably  settled 
except  the  greed  of  the  priest,  and  he  manages  to  find  out 
some  disagreement  between  the  horoscopes  of  the  marriage- 
able parties  to  vent  his  anger.  This  trick  has  been 
sufficiently  exposed,  and  the  educated  portion  of  this  ultra- 
literary  caste  have  in  most  cases  discarded  horoscopes  and 
planetary  conjunctions  altogether.  Under  these  restrictions 
the  only  thing  the  council  of  astrologers  have  to  do  is  to 
draw  up  two  documents  giving  diagrams  based  on  the 
names  of  the  parties — for   names  are   presumably  selected 

1   Pamphlet  published  in  connection  with  the  Ethnographic  Survey. 
^  A  Prablni  Marriage^  p.  3  et  seq. 


II  PRABHU  401 

according  to  the  conjunctions  of  the  stars  at  birth.  But 
they  are  often  not,  and  depend  on  the  Hking  of  the  father 
for  a  family  god,  a  mythological  hero,  a  patron  or  a  cele- 
brated/ancestor in  the  case  of  the  boy.  In  that  of  the  girl 
the  favourite  deity  or  a  character  in  the  most  recent  fable  or 
drama  the  father  has  just  read." 

According  to  custom  the  bridegroom  should  go  to  the 
bride's  house  to  be  married,  but  if  it  is  more  convenient  to 
have  the  wedding  at  the  bridegroom's  town,  the  bride  goes 
there  to  a  temporary  house  taken  by  her  father,^  and  then 
the  bridegroom  proceeds  to  a  temple  with  his  party  and  is 
welcomed  as  if  he  had  arrived  on  completion  of  a  journey. 
Mr.  Gupte  thus  describes  the  reception  of  the  bride  when 
she  has  come  to  be  married  :  "  But  there  comes  an  urgent 
telegram.  The  bride  and  her  mother  are  expected  and  in- 
formation is  given  to  the  bridegroom's  father.  In  all  haste 
preparations  are  made  to  give  her  a  grand  and  suitable 
reception.  Oh,  the  flutter  among  the  girls  assembled  in  the 
house  of  the  bridegroom  from  all  quarters.  Every  one  is 
dressed  in  her  best  and  is  trying  to  be  the  foremost  in 
welcoming  the  new  bride,  the  Goddess  Lakshmi.  The 
numerous  maidservants  of  the  house  want  to  prostrate 
themselves  before  their  future  queen  on  the  Suna  or  border- 
land of  the  city,  which  is  of  course  the  railway  station. 
Musicians  have  been  already  despatched  and  the  platform 
is  full  of  gaily  dressed  girls.  The  train  arrives,  the  party 
assemble  at  the  waiting-room,  a  maidservant  waves  rice  and 
water  to  'take  off'  the  effects  of  evil  eyes  and  they  start 
amid  admiring  eyes  of  the  passengers  and  onlookers.  As 
soon  as  the  bride  reaches  her  father's  temporary  residence 
another  girl  waves  rice  and  water  and  throws  it  away.  The 
girls  of  the  bridegroom's  house  run  home  and  come  back 
again  with  a  Kalash  (water-pot)  full  of  water,  with  its 
mouth  covered  with  mango-leaves  and  topped  over  with  a 
cocoanut  and  a  large  tray  of  sugar.  This  is  called  SakJiar 
pdni,  sugar  and  water,  the  first  to  wash  the  mouth  with  and 
the  second  to  sweeten  it.  The  girls  have  by  this  time  all 
gathered  round  the  bride  and  are  busy  cheering  her  up  with 
encouraging  remarks  :  '  Oh,  she  is  a  Rati,  the  goddess  of 
beauty,'  says  one,  and  another,  '  How  delicate,'  '  What  a  fine 
VOL.  IV  2  t) 


402  PRABHU  PART 

nose '  from  a  third,  and  '  Look  at  her  eyes '  from  a  fourth. 
All  complimentary  and  comforting.  '  We  are  glad  it  is  our 
house  you  are  coming  to,'  says  a  sister-in-law  in  prospect. 
'  We  are  happy  you  are  going  to  be  our  indlikin  (mistress)/ 
adds  a  maidservant.  As  soon  as  the  elder  ladies  have 
completed  their  courteous  inquiries  pdn-supdri  and  attar  are 
distributed  and  the  party  returns  home.  But  on  arrival 
the  girls  gather  round  the  bridegroom  to  tease  him.  '  Oh, 
you  Sudharak  (reformer),'  '  Oh,  you  Sahib  (European),  you 
have  selected  your  bride.'  '  You  have  seen  her  before 
marriage.  You  have  broken  the  rule  of  the  society.  You 
ought  to  be  excommunicated.'  *  But,'  says  another,  '  he 
will  now  have  no  time  to  speak  to  us.  His  Rati  (goddess 
of  beauty)  and  he  !  The  Sahib  and  the  Memsahib  !  We 
shall  all  be  forgotten  now.  Who  cares  for  sisters  and 
cousins  in  these  days  of  civilisation  ? '  But  all  these  little 
jokes  of  the  little  girls  are  meant  as  congratulations  to  him 
for  having  secured  a  good  girl."  At  a  wedding  among  the 
highest  families  such  as  is  described  here,  the  bridegroom 
is  presented  with  drinking  cups  and  plates,  trays  for  hold- 
ing sandalwood  paste,  betel-leaf  and  an  incense-burner,  all 
in  solid  silver  to  the  value  of  about  Rs.  looo  ;  water-pots 
and  cooking  vessels  and  a  small  bath  in  German  silver 
costing  Rs.  300  to  Rs.  400  ;  and  a  set  of  brass  vessels.-^ 
General  The  Prabhus  wear  the  sacred  thread.      In  Bombay  boys 

receive  it  a  short  time  before  their  marriage  without  the 
ceremonies  which  form  part  of  the  regular  Brahman  in- 
vestiture. On  the  fifth  day  after  the  birth  of  a  child,  the 
sword  and  also  pens,  paper  and  ink  are  worshipped,  the 
sword  being  the  symbol  of  their  Kshatriya  origin  and  the 
pens,  paper  and  ink  of  their  present  occupation  of  clerks," 
The  funeral  ceremonies,  Mr.  Enthoven  writes,  are  performed 
during  the  first  thirteen  days  after  death.  Oblations  of  rice 
are  offered  every  day,  in  consequence  of  which  the  soul  of 
the  dead  attains  a  spiritual  body,  limb  by  limb,  till  on  the 
thirteenth  day  it  is  enabled  to  start  on  its  journey.  In 
twelve  months  the  journey  ends,  and  a  shrdddh  ceremony 
is  performed   on   an   extensive  scale  on   the  anniversary  of 

^  A  Prabhu  Marriage,  pp.  26-27. 
^  Boiidtay  Ethnographic  Stn-vey,  art.  Prabhu. 


customs 


II  RAGHUVANSI  403 

the  death.  Most  of  the  Prabhus  are  in  Government  service 
and  others  are  landowners.  In  the  l^ombay  Presidency^ 
they  had  at  first  almost  a  monopoly  of  Government  service 
as  English  writers,  and  the  term  Prabhu  was  commonly 
employed  to  denote  a  clerk  of  any  caste  who  could  write 
English.  Both  men  and  women  of  the  caste  arc  generally 
of  a  fair  complexion,  resembling  the  Maratha  Brahmans. 
The  taste  of  the  women  in  dress  is  proverbial,  and  when  a 
Sunar,  Sutar  or  Kasar  woman  has  dressed  herself  in  her 
best  for  some  family  festival,  she  will  ask  her  friends, 
'  Prabhttin  distol  or  '  Do  I  look  like  a  Prabhu  ? ' 

Rag"huvansi,  Raghvi. — A  class  of  Rajputs  of  impure  i-  Histori- 
desccnt,  who  have  now  developed  in  the  Central  Provinces 
into  a  caste  of  cultivators,  marrying  among  themselves. 
Their  first  settlement  here  was  in  the  Nerbudda  Valley,  and 
Sir  C.  Elliott  wrote  of  them  : "'  "  They  are  a  queer  class,  all 
professing  to  be  Rajputs  from  Ajodhia,  though  on  cross- 
examination  thej^  are  obliged  to  confess  that  they  did  not 
come  here  straight  from  Ajodhia,  but  stopped  in  Bundel- 
khand  and  the  Gwalior  territory  by  the  way.  They  are 
obviously  of  impure  blood  as  they  marry  only  among  them- 
selves ;  but  when  they  get  wealthy  and  influential  they 
assume  the  sacred  thread,  stop  all  familiarity  with  Gujars 
and  Kirars  (with  whom  they  are  accustomed  to  smoke  the 
huqqa  and  to  take  water)  and  profess  to  be  very  high-caste 
Rajputs  indeed."  From  Hoshangabad  they  have  spread  to 
Betul,  Chhindwara  and  Nagpur  and  now  number  24,000 
persons  in  all  in  the  Central  Provinces.  Chhindwara,  on  the 
Satpura  plateau,  is  supposed  to  have  been  founded  by  one 
Ratan  Raghuvansi,  who  built  the  first  house  on  the  site, 
burying  a  goat  alive  under  the  foundations.  The  goat  is 
still  worshipped  as  the  tutelary  deity  of  the  town.  The 
name  Raghuvansi  is  derived  from  Raja  Raghu,  king  of 
Ajodhia  and  ancestor  of  the  great  Rama,  the  hero  of  the 
Ramayana.  In  Nagpur  the  name  has  been  shortened  to 
Raghvi,  and  the  branch  of  the  caste  settled  here  is  some- 
what looked  down  upon  by  their  fellows  in   Hoshangabad. 

^  Bombay  Gazetteer,  ix.  p.  68,  footnotes. 
^  Hoshangabad  Settlement  Report  {iZo"]),  p.  60. 


customs 


404  RAGHUVANSI  part 

Sir  R.  Craddock  ^  states  that  their  reh"gion  is  unorthodox 
and  they  have  gurus  or  priests  of  their  own  caste,  discarding 
Brahmans.  Their  names  end  in  Deo.  Their  origin,  how- 
ever, is  still  plainly  discernible  in  their  height,  strength  of 
body  and  fair  complexion.  The  notice  continues  :  '  What- 
ever may  happen  to  other  classes  the  Raghvi  will  never  give 
way  to  the  moneylender.  Though  he  is  fond  of  comfort  he 
combines  a  good  deal  of  thrift  with  it,  and  the  clannish 
spirit  of  the  caste  would  prevent  any  oppression  of  Raghvi 
tenants  by  a  landlord  or  moneylender  of  their  own  body." 
In  Chhindwara,  Mr.  Montgomerie  states,"  they  rank  among 
the  best  cultivators,  and  formerly  lived  in  clans,  holding 
villages  on  bhaiacJidri  or  communal  tenure.  As  malguzars 
or  village  proprietors,  they  are  very  prone  to,  absorb  tenant 
land  into  their  home-farms. 
Social  The  Raghuvansis  have  now  a  set  of  exogamous  groups 

of  the  usual  low-caste  type,  designated  after  titles,  nicknames 
or  natural  objects.  They  sometimes  invest  their  sons  with 
the  sacred  thread  at  the  time  of  marriage  instead  of  perform- 
ing the  proper  thread  ceremony.  Some  discard  the  cord  after 
the  wedding  is  over.  At  a  marriage  the  Raghuvansis  of 
Chhindwara  and  Nagpur  combine  the  Hindustani  custom  of 
walking  round  the  sacred  pole  with  the  Maratha  one  of 
throwing  coloured  rice  on  the  bridal  couple.  Sometimes 
they  have  what  is  known  as  a  gdnkar  wedding.  At  this, 
flour,  sugar  and  ghl'^  are  the  only  kinds  of  food  permissible, 
large  cakes  of  flour  and  sugar  being  boiled  in  pitchers  full 
of  ghi^  and  everybody  being  given  as  much  of  this  as  he ' 
can  eat.  The  guests  generally  over-eat  themselves,  and  as 
weddings  are  celebrated  in  the  hot  weather,  one  or  two  may 
occasionally  die  of  repletion.  The  neighbours  of  Raghu- 
vansis say  that  the  host  considers  such  an  occurrence  as 
evidence  of  the  complete  success  of  his  party,  but  this  is 
probably  a  libel.  Such  a  wedding  feast  may  cost  two  or 
three  thousand  rupees.  After  the  wedding  the  women  of 
the  bride's  party  attack  those  of  the  bridegroom's  with 
bamboo  sticks,  while  these  retaliate  by  throwing  red  powder 
on  them.      The  remarriage  of  widows  is  freely  permitted,  but 

'  Nagpur  Settlancnt  Keporl.  -  Setllcmcitl  Report. 

•*  Preserved  butler. 


II  RAJJHAR  405 

a  widow  must  be  taken  from  the  house  of  her  own  parents 
or  relatives,  and  not  from  that  of  her  first  husband  or  his 
parents.  In  fact,  if  any  members  of  the  dead  husband's 
family  meet  the  second  husband  on  the  night  of  the  wedding 
they  will  attack  him  and  a  serious  affray  may  follow.  On 
reaching  her  new  house  the  woman  enters  it  by  a  back  door, 
after  bathing  and  changing  all  her  clothes.  The  old  clothes 
are  given  away  to  a  barber  or  washerman,  and  the  presentation 
of  new  clothes  by  the  second  husband  is  the  only  essential 
ceremony.  No  wife  will  look  on  a  widow's  face  on  the 
night  of  her  second  marriage,  for  fear  lest  by  doing  so  she 
should  come  to  the  same  position.  The  majority  of  the 
caste  abstain  from  liquor,  and  they  eat  flesh  in  some 
localities,  but  not  in  others.  The  men  commonly  wear 
beards  divided  by  a  shaven  patch  in  the  centre  of  the  chin  ; 
and  the  women  have  two  body-cloths,  one  worn  like  a  skirt 
according  to  the  northern  custom.  Mr.  Crooke  states  ^  that 
"  in  northern  India  a  tradition  exists  among  them  that  the 
cultivation  of  sugar  is  fatal  to  the  farmer,  and  that  the  tiling 
of  a  house  brings  down  divine  displeasure  upon  the  owner  ; 
hence  to  this  day  no  sugar  is  grown  and  not  a  tiled  house 
is  to  be  seen  in  their  estates."  These  superstitions  do  not 
appear  to  be  known  at  all  in  the  Central  Provinces. 

Rajjhar,  Rajbhar,  Lajjhar.  —  A  caste  of  farmservants  i.  General 
found  in  the  northern  Districts.  In  1 9 1 1  they  numbered  "°"'^^' 
about  8000  persons  in  the  Central  Provinces,  being  returned 
principally  from  the  Districts  of  the  Satpura  plateau.  The 
names  Rajjhar  and  Rajbhar  appear  to  be  applied  in- 
discriminately to  the  same  caste,  who  are  an  offshoot  of  the 
great  Bhar  tribe  of  northern  India.  The  original  name 
appears  to  have  been  Raj  Bhar,  which  signifies  a  landowning 
Bhar,  like  Raj-Gond,  Raj-Korku  and  so  on.  In  Mandla  all 
the  members  of  the  caste  were  shown  as  Rajbhar  in  1891, 
and  Rajjhar  in  1901,  and  the  two  names  seem  to  be  used 
interchangeably  in  other  Districts  in  the  same  manner. 
Some  section  or  family  names,  such  as  Bamhania,  Patela, 
Barhele  and  others,  are  common  to  people  calling  themselves 
Rajjhar    and    Rajbhar.      But,    though    practically   the    same 

^    Tribes  and  Castes,  art.  Rafrhuvansi. 


4o6  RAJJHAR  part 

caste,  the  Rajjhars  seem,  in  some  localities,  to  be  more 
backward  and  primitive  than  the  Rajbhars.  This  is  also  the 
case  in  Berar,  where  they  are  commonly  known  as  Lajjhar 
and  are  said  to  be  akin  to  the  Gonds.  A  Gond  will  there 
take  food  from  a  Lajjhar,  but  not  a  Lajjhar  from  a  Gond. 
They  are  more  Hinduised  than  the  Gonds  and  have  pro- 
hibited the  killing  or  injuring  of  cows  by  some  caste 
penalties/ 

2.  Origin  The  caste  appears  to  be  in  part  of  mixed  origin  arising 
and  sub-      fj-Qm  the  unions  of  Hindu  fathers  with  women   of  the  Bhar 

divisions. 

tribe.  Several  of  their  family  names  are  derived  from  those 
of  other  castes,  as  Bamhania  (from  Brahman),  Sunarya  (from 
Sunar),  Baksaria  (a  Rajput  sept),  Ahlriya  (an  Ahir  or  cow- 
herd), and  Bisatia  from  Bisati  (a  hawker).  Other  names 
are  after  plants  or  animals,  as  Baslya  from  the  bans  or 
bamboo,  Mohanya  from  the  moJiin  tree,  Chhitkaria  from  the 
sitapJial  or  custard-apple  tree,  Hardaya  from  the  banyan 
tree,  Richhya  from  the  bear,  and  Dukhania  from  the  buffalo. 
Members  of  this  last  sept  will  not  drink  buffalo's  milk  or 
wear  black  cloth,  because  this  is  the  colour  of  their  totem 
animal.  Members  of  septs  named  after  other  castes  have 
also  adopted  some  natural  object  as  a  sept  totem  ;  thus 
those  of  the  Sunarya  sept  worship  gold  as  being  the  metal 
with  which  the  Sunar  is  associated.  Those  of  the  Bamhania 
sept  revere  the  banyan  and  pipal  trees,  as  these  are  held 
sacred  by  Brahmans.  The  Bakraria  or  Bagsaria  sept  believe 
their  name  to  be  derived  from  that  of  the  bdgJi  or  tiger,  and 
they  worship  this  animal's  footprints  by  tying  a  thread 
round  them. 

3.  Mar-  The  marriage  of  members  of  the  same  sept,  and   also 
riage.          that  of  first  cousius,  is  forbidden.      The  caste  do  not  employ 

Brahmans  at  their  marriage  and  other  ceremonies,  and  they 
account  for  this  somewhat  quaintly  by  saying  that  their 
ancestors  were  at  one  time  accustomed  to  rely  on  the  calcu- 
lations of  Brahman  priests  ;  but  many  marriages  which  the 
Brahman  foretold  as  auspicious  turned  out  very  much  the 
reverse  ;  and  on  this  account  they  have  discarded  the 
Brahman,  and  now  determine  the  suitability  or  otherwise  of 
a    projected    union    by   the    common    primitive    custom    of 

'   Kitts'  Berdr  Census  Report  (1881),  p.  157. 


n  MARRIAGE  407 

throwing  two  grains  of  rice  into  a  vessel  of  water  and  seeing 
whether  they  will  meet.  The  truth  is  probably  that  they 
are  too  backward  ever  to  have  had  recourse  to  the  Brahman 
priest,  but  now,  though  they  still  apparently  have  no  desire 
for  his  services,  they  recognise  the  fact  to  be  somewhat 
discreditable  to  themselves,  and  desire  to  explain  it  away  by 
the  story  already  given.  In  Hoshangabad  the  bride  still 
goes  to  the  bridegroom's  house  to  be  married  as  among  the 
Gonds.  A  bride-price  is  paid,  which  consists  of  four  rupees, 
a  khandi  ^  of  juari  or  wheat,  and  two  pieces  of  cloth.  This 
is  received  by  the  bride's  father,  who,  however,  has  in  turn 
to  pay  seven  rupees  eight  annas  and  a  goat  to  the  caste 
panchayat  or  committee  for  the  arrangement  and  sanction  of 
the  match.  This  last  payment  is  known  as  Sharab-ka- 
nipaya  or  liquor-money,  and  with  the  goat  furnishes  the 
wherewithal  for  a  sumptuous  feast  to  the  caste.  The 
marriage-shed  must  be  made  of  freshly-cut  timber,  which 
should  not  be  allowed  to  fall  to  the  ground,  but  must  be 
supported  and  carried  off  on  men's  shoulders  as  it  is  cut. 
When  the  bridegroom  arrives  at  the  marriage-shed  he  is  met 
by  the  bride's  mother  and  conducted  by  her  to  an  inner 
room  of  the  house,  where  he  finds  the  bride  standing.  He 
seizes  her  fist,  which  she  holds  clenched,  and  opens  her 
fingers  by  force.  The  couple  then  walk  five  times  round 
the  cJiauk  or  sacred  space  made  with  lines  of  flour  on  the 
floor,  the  bridegroom  holding  the  bride  by  her  little  finger. 
They  are  preceded  by  some  relative  of  the  bride,  who  walks 
round  the  post  carrying  a  pot  of  water,  with  seven  holes  in 
it  ;  the  water  spouts  from  these  holes  on  to  the  ground,  and 
the  couple  must  tread  in  it  as  they  go  round  the  post.  This 
forms  the  essential  and  binding  portion  of  the  marriage. 
That  night  the  couple  sleep  in  the  same  room  with  a  woman 
lying  between  them.  Next  day  they  return  to  the  bride- 
groom's house,  and  on  arriving  at  his  door  the  boy's  mother 
meets  him  and  touches  his  head,  breast  and  knees  with  a 
churning-stick,  a  winnowing-fan  and  a  pestle,  with  the  object 
of  exorcising  any  evil  spirits  who  may  be  accompanying  the 
bridal  couple.  As  the  pair  enter  the  marriage-shed  erected 
before  the  bridegroom's  house  they  are  drenched  with  water 

1  About  400  lbs. 


4o8  RAJJHAR  i-art 

by  a  man  sitting  on  the  roof,  and  when  they  come  to  the 
door  of  the  house  the  bridegroom's  younger  brother,  or  some 
other  boy,  sits  across  it  with  his  legs  stretched  out  to  prevent 
the  bride  from  entering.  The  girl  pushes  his  legs  aside  and 
goes  into  the  house,  where  she  stays  for  three  months  with 
her  husband,  and  then  returns  to  her  parents  for  a  year. 
After  this  she  is  sent  to  her  husband  with  a  basket  of  fried 
cakes  and  a  piece  of  cloth,  and  takes  up  her  residence  with 
him.  When  a  widow  is  to  be  married,  the  couple  pour 
turmeric  and  water  over  each  other,  and  then  walk  seven 
times  round  in  a  circle  In  an  empty  space,  holding  each 
other  by  the  hand.  A  widow  commonly  marries  her 
deceased  husband's  younger  brother,  but  is  not  compelled  to 
do  so.  Divorce  is  permitted  for  adultery  on  the  part  of  the 
wife, 
4.  Social  The  caste  bury  their  dead  with  the  head  pointing  to  the 

customs,  ^yggj-.  This  practice  is  peculiar,  and  is  also  followed.  Colonel 
Dalton  states,  by  the  hill  Bhuiyas  of  Bengal,  who  in  so  doing 
honour  the  quarter  of  the  setting  sun.  When  a  burial  takes 
place,  all  the  mourners  who  accompany  the  corpse  throw  a 
little  earth  into  the  grave.  On  the  same  day  some  food 
and  liquor  are  taken  to  the  grave  and  offered  to  the  dead 
man's  spirit,  and  a  feast  is  given  to  the  caste-fellows.  This 
concludes  the  ceremonies  of  mourning,  and  the  next  day  the 
relatives  go  about  their  business.  The  caste  are  usually 
petty  cultivators  and  labourers,  while  they  also  collect  grass 
and  fuel  for  sale,  and  propagate  the  lac  insect.  In  Seoni 
they  have  a  special  relation  with  the  Ahirs,  from  whom  they 
will  take  cooked  food,  while  they  say  that  the  AhIrs  will 
also  eat  from  their  hands.  In  Narsinghpur  a  similar  con- 
nection has  been  observed  between  the  Rajjhars  and  the 
Lodhi  caste.  This  probably  arises  from  the  fact  that  the 
former  have  worked  for  several  generations  as  the  farm- 
servants  of  Lodhi  or  Ahir  employers,  and  have  been  accus- 
tomed to  live  in  their  houses  and  partake  of  their  meals, 
so  that  caste  rules  have  been  abandoned  for  the  sake  of 
convenience.  A  similar  intimacy  has  been  observed  between 
the  Panwars  and  Gonds,  and  other  castes  who  stand  in  this 
relation  to  each  other.  The  Rajjhars  will  also  eat  katcha 
food  (cooked  with  water)  from  Kunbis  and   Kahars.      But  in 


II  SOCIAL  CUSTOMS  409 

Hoshangabad  some  of  them  will  not  take  food  from  any 
caste,  even  from  Brahmans.  Their  women  wear  glass 
bangles  only  on  the  right  hand,  and  a  brass  ornament 
known  as  indtJii  on  the  left  wrist.  They  wear  no  ornaments 
in  the  nose  or  cars,  and  have  no  breast-clotii.  They  are 
tattooed  with  dots  on  the  face  and  patterns  of  animals  on 
the  right  arm,  but  not  on  the  left  arm  or  legs.  A  liaison 
between  a  youth  and  maiden  of  the  caste  is  considered  a 
trifling  matter,  being  punished  only  with  a  fine  of  two  to 
four  annas  or  pence.  A  married  woman  detected  in  an 
intrigue  is  mulcted  in  a  sum  of  four  or  five  rupees,  and 
if  her  partner  be  a  man  of  another  caste  a  lock  of  her  hair 
is  cut  off.  The  caste  are  generally  ignorant  and  dirty,  and 
are  not  much  better  than  the  Gonds  and  other  forest  tribes. 


RAJPUT 


[The  following  article  is  based  mainly  on  Colonel  Tod's  classical  Annals  and 
Antiquities  of  Rdjasthan,  2nd  ed.,  Madras,  Higginbotham,  1873,  ^-^d  Mr. 
Crooke's  articles  on  the  Rajput  clans  in  his  Tribes  and  Castes  of  the  North- 
western Provinces  and  Oudh.  Much  information  as  to  the  origin  of  the  Rajput 
clans  has  been  obtained  from  inscriptions  and  worked  up  mainly  by  the  late  Mr. 
A.  M.  T.  Jackson  and  Messrs.  B.  G.  and  D.  R.  Bhandarkar  ;  this  has  been  set  out 
with  additions  and  suggestions  in  Mr.  V.  A.  Smith's  Early  History  of  India,  3rd 
ed.,  and  has  been  reproduced  in  the  subordinate  articles  on  the  different  clans. 
Though  many  of  the  leading  clans  are  very  weakly  represented  in  the  Central 
Provinces,  some  notice  of  them  is  really  essential  in  an  article  treating  generally 
of  the  Rajput  caste,  on  however  limited  a  scale,  and  has  therefore  been  included. 
In  four  cases,  Panwar,  Jadum,  Raghuvansi  and  Daharia,  the  original  Rajput  clans 
have  now  developed  into  separate  cultivating  castes,  ranking  well  below  the 
Rajputs  ;  separate  articles  have  been  written  on  these  as  for  independent  castes.] 

LIST  OF  PARAGRAPHS 


1.  Introductory  notice. 

2.  The  thirty-six  royal  races. 

3.  The  origin  of  the  Rdjpiifs. 

4.  Subdivisions  of  the  clans. 

5.  Marriage  customs. 

6.  Funeral  rites. 

7.  Religion. 

8.  Food. 


9.    Opiitni. 

\o.   Improved  training  of  Rcifptlt 
chiefs. 
Dress. 

Social  customs. 
Seclusion  of  women. 
Traditional   character  of  the 
Riifpilts. 


1 1. 
12. 
13- 

14- 


15.   Occupation. 


LIST  OF  SUBORDINATE  ARTICLES 


I. 

Baghel. 

2. 

Bagri. 

3. 

Bais. 

4. 

Baksaria. 

5- 

Banaphar. 

6. 

Bhadauria. 

7. 

Biscn. 

8. 

Bundela. 

9. 

Chandel. 

10. 

Chauhfm. 

1 1. 

Dhfxkar. 

12. 

Gaharwar,  Gherwal. 

IS- 

Gaur, Chamar-Gaur. 

M- 

Haihaya,    Haihaivansi,    Kala- 

churl. 

IS- 

Huna,  Hoon. 

16. 

Kachhwaha,  Cutchvvaha. 

17- 

Nagvansi. 

18. 

Nikumbh. 

19. 

Paik. 

20, 

Parihar. 

21. 

Rathor,  Rathaur. 

410 


-J- 


111  RAJPUT  411 

Sesodia,  Gahlot,  Aharia.  26.   Tomaia,  Tuar,  Tunwar. 

Solanklii,  Solanki,  Chalukya.         27.  Yfidu,    Yadava,    Yadu-Bhatti, 


24.  Somvansi,  Chandravansi.  Jadon. 

25.  Surajvansi. 

Rajput,  Kshatriya,  Chhatri,  Thakur. — The  Rajputs  are  i.  intro- 
the   representatives    of  the  old   Kshatriya  or  warrior  class,  '^"'^.^^'T 

>■  -'  '  notice. 

the  second  of  the  four  main  castes  or  orders  of  classical 
Hinduism,  and  were  supposed  to  have  been  made  originally 
from  the  arms  of  Brahma.  The  old  name  of  Kshatriya  is  still 
commonly  used  in  the  Hindi  form  Chhatri,  but  the  designa- 
tion Rajput,  or  son  of  a  king,  has  now  superseded  it  as  the 
standard  name  of  the  caste.  Thakur,  or  lord,  is  the  common 
Rajput  title,  and  that  by  which  they  are  generally  addressed. 
The  total  number  of  persons  returned  as  Rajputs  in  the 
Province  in  191  i  was  about  440,000.  India  has  about 
nine  million  Rajputs  in  all,  and  they  are  most  numerous  in 
the  Punjab,  the  United  Provinces,  and  Bihar  and  Orissa, 
Rajputana  returning  under  700,000  and  Central  India  about 
800,000. 

The  bulk  of  the  Rajputs  in  the  Central  Provinces  are  of 
very  impure  blood.  Several  groups,  such  as  the  Panwars  of 
the  Wainganga  Valley,  the  Raghuvansis  of  Chhindwara  and 
Nagpur,  the  Jadams  of  Hoshangabad  and  the  Daharias  of 
Chhattlsgarh,  have  developed  into  separate  castes  and  marry 
among  themselves,  though  a  true  Rajput  must  not  marry  in 
his  own  clan.  Some  of  them  have  abandoned  the  sacred 
thread  and  now  rank  with  the  good  cultivating  castes  below 
Banias.  Reference  may  be  made  to  the  separate  articles  on 
these  castes.  Similarly  the  Surajvansi,  Gaur  or  Gorai, 
Chauhan,  and  Bagri  clans  marry  among  themselves  in  the 
Central  Provinces,  and  it  is  probable  that  detailed  research 
would  establish  the  same  of  many  clans  or  parts  of  clans 
bearing  the  narne  of  Rajput  in  all  parts  of  India.  If  the 
definition  of  a  proper  Rajput  were  taken,  as  it  .should  be 
correctly,  as  one  whose  family  intermarried  with  clans  of 
good  standing,  the  caste  would  be  reduced  to  comparatively 
small  dimensions.  The  name  Dhakar,  also  shown  as  a 
Rajput  clan,  is  applied  to  a  person  of  illegitimate  birth,  like 
Vidur.  Over  100,000  persons,  or  nearly  a  quarter  of  the 
total,  did   not  return   the  name  of  any  clan   in    191 1,  and 


412  RAJPUT  PART 

these  are  all  of  mixed  or  illegitimate  descent.  They  are 
numerous  in  Nimar,  and  are  there  known  as  chhoti-tur  or  low- 
class  Rajputs.  The  Bagri  Rajputs  of  Seoni  and  the  Suraj- 
vansis  of  Betal  marry  among  themselves,  while  the  Bundelas 
of  Saugor  intermarry  with  two  other  local  groups,  the 
Panwar  and  Dhundhele,  all  the  three  being  of  impure  blood. 
In  Jubbulpore  a  small  clan  of  persons  known  as  Paik  or 
foot-soldier  return  themselves  as  Rajputs,  but  are  no  doubt  a 
mixed  low-caste  group.  Again,  some  landholding  sections 
of  the  primitive  tribes  have  assumed  the  names  of  Rajput 
clans.  Thus  the  zamindars  of  Bilaspur,  who  originally 
belonged  to  the  Kawar  tribe,  call  themselves  Tuar  or  Tomara 
Rajputs,  and  the  landholding  section  of  the  Mundas  in 
Chota  Nagpur  say  that  they  are  of  the  Nagvansi  clan. 
Other  names  are  returned  which  are  not  those  of  Rajput 
clans  or  their  offshoots  at  all.  If  these  subdivisions,  which 
cannot  be  considered  as  proper  Rajputs,  and  all  those  who 
have  returned  no  clan  be  deducted,  there  remain  not  more 
than  100,000  who  might  be  admitted  to  be  pure  Rajputs  in 
Rajputana.  But  a  close  local  scrutiny  even  of  these  would 
no  doubt  result  in  the  detection  of  many  persons  who  have 
assumed  and  returned  the  names  of  good  clans  without 
being  entitled  to  them.  And  many  more  would  come 
away-  as  being  the  descendants  of  remarried  widows. 
A  Rajput  of  really  pure  family  and  descent  is  in  fact  a 
person  of  some  consideration  in  most  parts  of  the  Central 
Provinces. 
2.  The  Traditionally   the    Rajputs   are   divided   into    thirty-six 

thirty-six      grreat   clans    or    races,   of  which   Colonel   Tod    gives    a    list 

royal  races.   ^  '  °  _ 

compiled  from  different  authorities  as  follows  (alternative 
names  by  which  the  clan  or  important  branches  of  it  are 
known  are  shov/n  in  brackets)  : 

1.  Ikshwaka  or  Surajvansi.  7.   Kachliwaha  (Cutchwaha). 

2.  Indu,  Somvansi    or    Chandra-         8.    Pramara  or  Panwar  (Mori). 

vansi.  9.   Chauhan        (Hilra,        Khichi, 

3.  Gahlot     or     Scsodia    (Raghu-  Nikumbh,  Bhadauria). 

vansi).  10.    Chalukyaor  Solankhi(Baghel). 

4.  Yadu   (Bhalti,    Jareja,    Jildon,       11.   Parihar. 

Banaphar).  12.    Chawara  or  Chaura. 

5.  Tuar  or  Tomara.  13.   Tak    or   Takshac    (Nagvansi, 

6.  Rathor.  Mori). 


THE  TfURTY-SIX  ROYAL  RACES  413 


14. 

Jit  or  Gete. 

15- 

Huna. 

16. 

Kathi. 

17. 

Balla. 

18. 

Jhalla. 

19. 

Jaitwa  or  Kamari 

20. 

Gohil. 

21. 

Sarweya. 

22. 

Silar. 

23- 

Dhfibi. 

24. 

Gaur. 

21;. 

Doda  or  Dor. 

26. 

Gherwal  or   Gaharwar    (Bun 

dela). 

27. 

IkidgTijar. 

28. 

Sengar. 

29. 

Sikarwfd. 

30- 

Bais. 

31. 

Dahia. 

32. 

Johia. 

33- 

Mohil. 

34- 

Nikumbh. 

35- 

Rajpali. 

36. 

Dahima. 

And  two  extra,  Hul  and  Daharia. 

Several  of  the  above  races  are  extinct  or  nearly  so,  and 
on  the  other  hand  some  very  important  modern  clans,  as  the 
Gautam,  Dikhit  and  Bisen,  and  such  historically  important 
ones  as  the  Chandel  and  Haihaya,  are  not  included  in 
the  thirty-six  royal  races  at  all.  Practically  all  the  clans 
should  belong  either  to  the  solar  and  lunar  branch,  that  is, 
should  be  descended  from  the  sun  or  moon,  but  the  division, 
if  it  ever  existed,  is  not  fully  given  by  Colonel  Tod.  Two 
special  clans,  the  Surajvansi  and  Chandra  or  Somvansi,  are 
named  after  the  sun  and  moon  respectively  ;  and  a  few 
others,  as  the  Sesodia,  Kachhwaha,  Gohil,  Bais  and  Badgijjar, 
are  recorded  as  being  of  the  solar  race,  descended  from 
Vishnu  through  his  incarnation  as  Rama.  The  Rathors  also 
claimed  solar  lineage,  but  this  was  not  wholly  conceded  by 
the  Bhats,  and  the  Dikhits  are  assigned  to  the  solar  branch 
by  their  legends.  The  great  clan  of  the  Yadavas,  of  v/hom  the 
present  Jadon  or  Jadumand  Bhatti  Rajputs  are  representatives, 
was  of  the  lunar  race,  tracing  their  descent  from  Krishna, 
though,  as  a  matter  of  fact,  Krishna  was  also  an  incarnation  of 
Vishnu  or  the  sun  ;  and  the  Tuar  or  Tomara,  as  well  as  the 
Jit  or  Gete,  the  Rajput  section  of  the  modern  Jats,  who  were 
considered  to  be  branches  of  the  Yadavas,  would  also  be  of 
the  moon  division.  The  Gautam  and  Bisen  clans,  who  are 
not  included  in  the  thirty-six  royal  races,  now  claim  lunar 
descent.  Four  clans,  the  Panwar,  Chauhan,  Chaluk)-a  or 
Solankhi,  and  Parihar,  had  a  different  origin,  being  held  to 
have  been  born  through  the  agency  of  the  gods  from  a  fire- 
pit  on  the  summit  of  Mount  Abu.  They  are  hence  known 
as    Agnikula  or  the  fire  races.      Several  clans,  such   as  the 


414  RAJPUT  -  PART 

Tak  or  Takshac,  the  Huna.and  the  Chaura,  were  considered 
by  Colonel  Tod  to  be  the  representatives  of  the  Huns  or 
Scythians,  that  is,  the  nomad  invading  tribes  from  Central 
Asia,  whose  principal  incursions  took  place  during  the  first 
five  centuries  of  the  Christian  era. 

At  least  six  of  the  thirty-six  royal  races,  the  Sarweya, 
Silar,  Doda  or  Dor,  Dahia,  Johia  and  Mohil,  were  extinct 
in  Colonel  Tod's  time,  and  others  were  represented  only 
by  small  settlements  in  Rajputana  and  Surat.  On  the 
other  hand,  there  are  now  a  large  number  of  new  clans, 
whose  connection  with  the  thirty-six  is  doubtful,  though  in 
many  cases  they  are  probably  branches  of  the  old  clans 
who  have  obtained  a  new  name  on  settling  in  a  different 
locality. 
3.  The  It  was  for  long  the  custom   to  regard   the   Rajputs  as 

origin  ^Yie  direct  descendants  and  representatives  of  the  old 
Rajputs.  Kshatriya  or  warrior  class  of  the  Indian  Aryans,  as  described 
in  the  Vedas  and  the  great  epics.  Even  Colonel  Tod  by 
no  means  held  this  view  in  its  entirety,  and  modern 
epigraphic  research  has  caused  its  partial  or  complete 
~  abandonment.  Mr.  V.  A.  Smith  indeed  says  :  ^  "  The  main 
points  to  remember  are  that  the  Kshatriya  or  Rajput  caste 
is  essentially  an  occupational  caste,  composed  of  all  clans 
following  the  Hindu  ritual  who  actually  undertook  the  act 
of  government  ;  that  consequently  people  of  most  diverse 
races  were  and  are  lumped  together  as  Rajputs,  and  that^ 
most  of  the  great  clans  now  in  existence  are  descended  either 
from  foreign  immigrants  of  the  fifth  or  sixth  century  A.D. 
or  from  indigenous  races  such  as  the  Gonds  and  Bhars.") 
Colonel  Tod  held  three  clans,  the  Tak  or  Takshac,  the  Huna 
and  the  Chaura,  to  be  descended  from  Scythian  or  nomad 
Central  Asian  immigrants,  and  the  same  origin  has  been  given 
for  the  Haihaya.  The  Huna  clan  actually  retains  the  name 
of  the  White  Huns,  from  whose  conquests  in  the  fifth  century 
it  probably  dates  its  existence.  The  principal  clan  of  the 
lunar  race,  the  Yadavas,  are  said  to  have  first  settled  in 
Delhi  and  at  Dwarka  in  Gujarat.  But  on  the  death  of 
Krishna,   who  was    their    prince,   they   were    expelled    from 

•  Early    Ilislory    of    India    (Oxford,    Clarendon     Press),     3rd    edition,    p. 
414.  '      ' 


II  THE  ORIGIN  OF  THE  RAJPUTS  415 

these  places,  and  retired  across  the  Indus,  settling  in 
Afghanistan.  Again,  for  some  reason  which  the  account 
does  not  clearly  explain,  they  came  at  a  later  period  to 
India  and  settled  first  in  the  Punjab  and  afterwards  in 
Rajputana.  The  Jit  or  Jat  and  the  Tomara  clans  were 
branches  of  the  Yadavas,  and  it  is  supposed  that  the  Jits  or 
Jats  were  also  descended  from  the  nomad  invading  tribes, 
possibly  from  the  Yueh-chi  tribe  who  conquered  and  occupied 
the  Punjab  during  the  first  and  second  centuries.'  The 
legend  of  the  Yadavas,  who  lived  in  Gujarat  with  their 
chief  Krishna,  but  after  his  defeat  and  death  retired  to 
Central  Asia,  and  at  a  later  date  returned  to  India, 
would  appear  to  correspond  fairly  well  with  the  Saka 
invasion  of  the  second  century  B.C.  which  penetrated  to 
Kathiawar  and  founded  a  dynasty  there.  In  A.D,  124 
the  second  Saka  king  was. defeated  by  the  Andhra  king 
Vilivayakura  II.  and  his  kingdom  destroyed.^  But  at 
about  the  same  period,  the  close  of  the  first  century, 
a  fresh  horde  of  the  Sakas  came  to  Gujarat  from  Central 
Asia  and  founded  another  kingdom,  which  lasted  until  it 
was  subverted  by  Chandragupta  Vikramaditya  about  A.D, 
390.^  The  historical  facts  about  the  Sakas,  as  given  on 
the  authority  of  Mr.  V.  A.  Smith,  thus  correspond  fairly 
closely  with  the  Yadava  legend.  And  the  later  Yueh-chi 
immigrants  might  well  be  connected  by  the  Bhats  with  the 
Saka  hordes  who  had  come  at  an  earlier  date  from  the 
same  direction,  and  so  the  Jats  ^  might  be  held  to  be  an 
offshoot  of  the  Yadavas.  This  connection  of  the  Yadava  and 
Jat  legends  with  the  facts  of  the  immigration  of  the  Sakas 
and  Yueh-chi  appears  a  plausible  one,  but  may  be  contra- 
dicted by  historical  arguments  of  which  the  writer  is 
ignorant.  If  it  were  correct  wc  should  be  justified  in 
identifying  the  lunar  clans  of  Rajputs  with  the  early 
Scythian  immigrants  of  the  first  and  second  centuries. 
Another  point  is  that  Buddha  is  said   to  be  the  progenitor 

*  Early  History  of  India,  pp.  252,  was   changed    to  Jat   by  a  section   of 

254.  them  who  also  adopted  Muhamniadan- 

-  Ibidem,  p.  210.  ism.      Colonel  Tod  also  identifies  the 

■'  Ibidem,  p.  227.  Jals     or    Jits    with    the    Vueh-chi     as 

■'  Colonel  Tod  states  that  the  proper  suggested    in    the   text  {Rdjastlidit,   i. 

name  of  the  caste  was  Jit  or  Jat,  and  p.  97). 


4i6  RAJPUT  PART 

of  the  whole  Indu  or  lunar  race.^  It  is  obvious  that  Buddha 
had  no  real  connection  with  these  Central  Asian  tribes,  as 
he  died  some  centuries  before  their  appearance  in  India. 
But  the  Yueh-chi  or  Kushan  kings  of  the  Punjab  in  the 
first  and  second  centuries  A.D.  were  fervent  Buddhists  and 
established  that  religion  in  the  Punjab.  Hence  we  can 
easily  understand  how,  if  the  Yadus  or  Jats  and  other 
lunar  clans  were  descended  from  the  Saka  and  Yueh-chi 
immigrants,  the  legend  of  their  descent  from  Buddha,  who 
was  himself  a  Kshatriya,  might  be  devised  for  them  by  their 
bards  when  they  were  subsequently  converted  from  Buddhism 
to  Hinduism,  The  Sakas  of  western  India,  on  the  other  hand, 
who  it  is  suggested  may  be  represented  by  the  Yadavas,  were 
not  Buddhists  in  the  beginning,  whether  or  not  they  became 
so  afterwards.  But  as  has  been  seen,  though  Buddha  was 
their  first  progenitor,  Krishna  was  also  their  king  while  they 
were  in  Gujarat,  so  that  at  this  time  they  must  have  been 
supposed  to  be  Hindus.  The  legend  of  descent  from 
Buddha  arising  with  the  Yueh-chi  or  Kushans  might  have 
been  extended  to  them.  Again,  the  four  Agnikula  or  fire- 
born  clans,  the  Parihar,  Chalukya  or  Solankhi,  Panwar  and 
Chauhan,  are  considered  to  be  the  descendants  of  the  White 
Hun  and  Gujar  invaders  of  the  fifth  and  sixth  centuries. 
These  clans  were  said  to  have  been  created  by  the  gods 
from  a  firepit  on  the  summit  of  Mount  Abu  for  the  re-birth 
of  the  Kshatriya  caste  after  it  had  been  exterminated  by 
the  slaughter  of  Parasurama  the  Brahman.  And  it  has 
been  suggested  that  this  legend  refers  to  the  cruel  massacres 
of  the  Huns,  by  which  the  bulk  of  the  old  aristocracy,  then 
mainly  l^ddhist,  was  wiped  out  ;  while  the  Huns  and 
Gujars,  one  at  least  of  whose  leaders  was  a  fervent  adherent 
of  Brahmanism  and  slaughtered  the  Buddhists  of  the  Punjab, 
became  the  new  fire-born  clans  on  being  absorbed  into 
Hinduism.'^  The  name  of  the  Huns  is  still  retained  in  the 
Huna  clan,  now  almost  extinct.  There  remain  the  clans 
descended    from   the  sun   through   Rama,  and  it  would    be 

'   Kajasthaii,  i.  p.  42.      Mr.  Crooke  the    names    seem   to  have  a  common 

points  out  that  the  Buddha  here  referred  origin. 
to    is    probably    the    planet    Mercury. 

But  it  is  possible  that  he  may  have  been  ^  See  also  separate  articles  on  Pan- 
identified  with  the  religious  reformer  as  war,  Rajput  and  Giijar. 


II  THE  ORIGIN  OF  THE  RAJPUTS  417 

tempting  to  suppose  that  these  are  the  representatives  of 
the  old  Aryan  Kshatriyas.  Ikit  Mr.  Jihandarkar  has  shown  ^ 
that  the  Sesodias,  the  premier  clan  of  the  solar  race  and 
of  all  Rajputs,  are  probably  sprung  from  Nagar  lirahmans 
of  Gujarat,  and  hence  from  the  Gujar  tribes  ;  and  it  must 
therefore  be  supposed  that  the  story  of  solar  origin  and 
divine  ancestry  was  devised  because  they  were  once 
Bruhmans,  and  hence,  in  the  view  of  the  bards,  of  more 
honourable  origin  than  the  other  clans.  Similarly  the 
Badgujar  clan,  also  of  solar  descent,  is  shown  by  its  name 
of  darn  or  great  Gujar  to  have  been  simply  an  aristocratic 
section  of  the  Gujars  ;  while  the  pedigree  of  the  Rathors, 
another  solar  clan,  and  one  of  those  who  have  shed  most 
lustre  on  the  Rajput  name,  was  held  to  be  somewhat 
doubtful  by  the  Bhats,  and  their  solar  origin  was  not  fully 
admitted.  Mr.  Smith  gives  two  great  clans  as  very  probably 
of  aboriginal  or  Dravidian  origin,  the  Gaharwar  or  Gherwal, 
from  whom  the  Bundelas  are  derived,  and  the  Chandel,  who 
ruled  Bundelkhand  from  the  ninth  to  the  twelfth  centuries, 
and  built  the  fine  temples  at  Mahoba,  Kalanjar  and 
Khajaraho  as  well  as  making  many  great  tanks.  This 
corresponds  with  Colonel  Tod's  account,  which  gives  no 
place  to  the  Chandels  among  the  thirty-six  royal  races,  and 
states  that  the  Gherwal  Rajput  is  scarcely  known  to  his 
brethren  in  Rajasthan,  who  will  not  admit  his  contaminated 
blood  to  mix  with  theirs,  though  as  a  brave  warrior  he  is 
entitled  to  their  fellowship."  Similarly  the  Kathi  clan  may 
be  derived  from  the  indigenous  Kathi  tribe  who  gave  their 
name  to  Kathiawar.  And  the  Surajvansi,  Somvansi  and 
Nagvansi  clans,  or  descendants  of  the  sun,  moon  and  snake, 
which  are  scarcely  known  in  Rajputana,  may  represent 
landholding  sections  of  lower  castes  or  non-Aryan  tribes 
who  have  been  admitted  to  Rajput  rank.  But  even  though 
it  be  found  that  the  majority  of  the  Rajput  clans  cannot 
boast  a  pedigree  dating  farther  back  than  the  first  five 
centuries  of  our  era,  this  is  at  any  rate  an  antiquity  to  which 
few  if  any  of  the  greatest  European  houses  can  lay  claim. 
Many  of  the  great  clans  are  now  split  up  into  a  number 

1  J.A.S.B.,  1909,  p.  167,  Giihilots.     See  also  annexed  article  on  Rajput  Sesodia. 

-  Ibidem,  i.  p.  105. 

VOL.  IV  2  E 


4i8  RAJPUT  i-AKT 

4.  Sub-  of  branches.  The  most  important  of  these  were  according 
fhrcians"^  to  locality,  the  different  sachae  or  branches  being  groups 
settled  in  separate  areas.  Thus  the  Chalukya  or  Solankhi 
had  sixteen  branches,  of  which  the  Baghels  of  Rewah  or 
Baghelkhand  were  the  most  important.  The  Panwars  had 
thirty-five  branches,  of  which  the  Mori  and  the  Dhunda,  now 
perhaps  the  Dhundele  of  Saugor,  are  the  best  known.  The 
Gahlot  had  twenty-four  branches,  of  which  one,  the  Sesodia, 
became  so  important  that  it  has  given  its  name  to  the  whole 
clan.  The  Chamar-Gaur  section  of  the  Gaur  clan  now  claim 
a  higher  rank  than  the  other  Gaurs,  though  the  name  would 
apparently  indicate  the  appearance  of  a  Chamar  in  their 
family  tree ;  while  the  Tilokchandi  Bais  form  an  aristo- 
cratic section  of  the  Bais  clan,  named  after  a  well-known 
king,  Tilokchand,  who  reigned  in  upper  India  about  the 
twelfth  century  and  is  presumably  claimed  by  them  as  an 
ancestor.  Besides  this  the  Rajputs  \va.v&  gotras,  named  after 
eponymous  saints  exactly  like  the  Brahman  gotras,  and 
probably  adopted  in  imitation  of  the  Brahmans.  Since, 
theoretically,  marriage  is  prohibited  in  the  whole  clan,  the 
gotra  divisions  would  appear  to  be  useless,  but  Sir  H.  Risley 
states  that  persons  of  the  same  clan  but  with  different  gotras 
have  begun  to  intermarry.  Similarly  it  would  appear  that 
the  different  branches  of  the  great  clans  mentioned  above 
must  intermarry  in  some  cases  ;  while  in  the  Central 
Provinces,  as  already  stated,  several  clans  have  become 
regular  castes  and  form  endogamous  and  not  exogamous 
groups.  In  northern  India,  however,  Mr.  Crooke's  accounts 
of  the  different  clans  indicate  that  marriage  within  the  clan 
is  as  a  rule  not  permitted.  The  clans  themselves  and  their 
branches  have  different  degrees  of  rank  for  purposes  of 
marriage,  according  to  the  purity  of  their  descent,  while 
in  each  clan  or  subclan  there  is  an  inferior  section  formed 
of  the  descendants  of  remarried  widows,  or  even  the  offspring 
of  women  of  another  caste,  who  have  probably  in  the  course 
of  generations  not  infrequently  got  back  into  their  father's 
clan.  Thus  many  groups  of  varying  status  arise,  and  one  of 
the  principal  rules  of  a  Rajput's  life  was  that  he  must  marry 
his  daughter,  sometimes  into  a  clan  of  equal,  or  sometimes 
into  one  of  higher  rank  than   his  own.      Hence  arose  great 


II  MARRIAGE  CUSTOMS  419 

difficulty  in  arranging  the  marriages  of  girls  and  sometimes 
the  payment  of  a  price  to  the  bridegroom  ;  while  in  order 
to  retain  the  favour  of  the  Bhats  and  avoid  their  sarcasm, 
lavish  expenditure  had  to  be  incurred  by  the  bride's  father 
on  presents  to  these  rapacious  mendicants/  Thus  a  daughter 
became  in  a  Rajput's  eyes  a  long  step  on  the  road  to  ruin, 
and  female  infanticide  was  extensively  practised.  This  crime 
has  never  been  at  all  common  in  the  Central  Provinces, 
where  the  rule  of  marrying  a  daughter  into  an  equal  or 
higher  clan  has  not  been  enforced  with  the  same  strictness 
as  in  northern  India.  But  occasional  instances  formerly 
occurred  in  which  the  child's  neck  was  placed  under  one  leg 
of  its  mother's  cot,  or  it  was  poisoned  with  opium  or  by 
placing  the  juice  of  the  dkra  or  swallow-wort  plant  on  the 
mother's  nipple. 

Properly  the  proposal  for  a  Rajput  marriage  should  5.  Mar- 
emanate  from  the  bride's  side,  and  the  customary  method  of  "us^jon^s 
making  it  was  to  send  a  cocoanut  to  the  bridegroom.  '  The 
cocoanut  came,'  was  the  phrase  used  to  intimate  that  a 
proposal  of  marriage  had  been  made.^  It  is  possible  that 
the  bride's  initiative  was  a  relic  of  the  Swayamwara  or 
maiden's  choice,  when  a  king's  daughter  placed  a  garland  on 
the  neck  of  the  youth  she  preferred  among  the  competitors 
in  a  tournament,  and  among  some  Rajputs  the  Jayamala  or 
garland  of  victory  is  still  hung  round  the  bridegroom's  neck 
in  memory  of  this  custom  ;  but  it  may  also  have  been  due 
to  the  fact  that  the  bride  had  to  pay  the  dowry.  One  tenth 
of  this  was  paid  as  earnest  when  the  match  had  been 
arranged,  and  the  boy's  party  could  not  then  recede  from  it. 
At  the  entrance  of  the  marriage-shed  was  hung  the  toran,  a 
triangle  of  three  wooden  bars,  having  the  apex  crowned  with 
the  effigy  of  a  peacock.  The  bridegroom  on  horseback, 
lance  in  hand,  proceeded  to  break  the  toran,  which  was 
defended  by  the  damsels  of  the  bride.  They  assailed  him 
with  missiles  of  various  kinds,  and  especially  with  red  powder 
made  from  the  flowers  of  the  palas  "^  tree,  at  the  same  time 
singing   songs   full   of   immoral    allusions.       At    length    the 

1  See  also  article  Bhat.  3  Puiga  frondosa.     This  powder  is 

also  used  at  the  Holi  festival  and  has 
-  Riijasthan,  i.  pp.  231,  232.  some  sexual  significance. 


420  RAJPUT  PART 

toran  was  broken  amid  the  shouts  of  the  retainers,  and  the 
fair  defenders  retired.  If  the  bridegroom  could  not  attend 
in  person  his  sword  was  sent  to  represent  him,  and  was 
carried  round  the  marriage-post  with  the  bride,  this  being 
considered  a  proper  and  valid  marriage.  At  the  rite  of 
hdtleva  or  joining  the  hands  of  the  couple  it  was  customary 
that  any  request  made  by  the  bridegroom  to  the  bride's 
father  should  meet  with  compliance,  and  this  usage  has  led 
to  many  fatal  results  in  history.  Another  now  obsolete 
custom  was  that  the  bride's  father  should  present  an  elephant 
to  his  son-in-law  as  part  of  the  dowry,  but  when  a  man 
could  not  afford  a  real  elephant  a  small  golden  image  of  the 
animal  might  be  substituted.  In  noble  families  the  bride 
was  often  accompanied  to  her  husband's  house  by  a  number 
of  maidens  belonging  to  the  servant  and  menial  castes. 
These  were  called  Devadhari  or  lamp-bearers,  and  became 
inmates  of  the  harem,  their  offspring  being  golas  or  slaves. 
In  time  of  famine  many  of  the  poor  had  also  perforce  to 
sell  themselves  as  slaves  in  order  to  obtain  subsistence,  and 
a  chief's  household  would  thus  contain  a  large  number  of 
them.  They  were  still  adorned  in  Mewar,  Colonel  Tod 
states,  like  the  Saxon  slaves  of  old,  with  a  silver  ring  round 
the  left  ankle  instead  of  the  neck.  They  were  well  treated, 
and  were  often  among  the  best  of  the  military  retainers ; 
they  took  rank  among  themselves  according  to  the  quality 
of  the  mothers,  and  often  held  confidential  places  about  the 
ruler's  person.  A  former  chief  of  Deogarh  would  appear  at 
court  with  three  hundred  golas  or  slaves  on  horseback  in  his 
train,  men  whose  lives  were  his  own.^  These  special  customs 
have  now  generally  been  abandoned  by  the  Rajputs  of  the 
Central  Provinces,  and  their  weddings  conform  to  the  usual 
Hindu  type  as  described  in  the  article  on  Kurmi.  The 
remarriage  of  widows  is  now  recognised  in  the  southern 
Districts,  though  not  in  the  north  ;  but  even  here  widows 
frequently  do  marry  and  their  offspring  are  received  into 
the  caste,  though  with  a  lower  status  than  those  who  do  not 
permit  this  custom.  Among  the  Baghels  a  full  Rajput  will 
allow  a  relative  born  of  a  remarried  widow  to  cook  his  food 
for   him,  but   not   to    add   the   salt  nor  to  eat  it  with  him. 

'   Rcijaslhdn,  i.  p.  159. 


II  FUNERAL  RITES— RELIGION  421 

Those  who  permit  the  second  marriage  of  widows  also  allow 
a  divorced  woman  to  remain  in  the  caste  and  to  marry 
again.  But  among  proper  Rajputs,  as  with  lirahmans,  a  wife 
who  goes  wrong  is  simply  put  away  and  expelled  from  the 
society.  Polygamy  is  permitted  and  was  formerly  common 
among  the  chiefs.  Each  wife  was  maintained  in  a  separate 
suite  of  rooms,  and  the  chief  dined  and  spent  the  evening 
alternately  with  each  of  them  in  her  own  quarters.  The 
lady  with  her  attendants  would  prepare  dinner  for  him  and 
wait  upon  him  while  he  ate  it,  waving  the  punkah  or  fan 
behind  him  and  entertaining  him  with  her  remarks,  which, 
according  to  report,  frequently  constituted  a  pretty  severe 
curtain  lecture. 

The  dead  are  burnt,  except  infants,  whose  bodies  are  6.  Funeral 
buried.  Mourning  is  observed  for  thirteen  days  for  a  man,  ''"^^• 
nine  days  for  a  woman,  and  three  days  for  a  child.  The 
shrdddh  ceremony  or  offering  of  sacrificial  cakes  to  the  spirit 
is  performed  either  during  the  usual  period  in  the  month  of 
Kunwar  (September),  or  on  the  anniversary  day  of  the  death. 
It  was  formerly  held  that  if  a  Kshatriya  died  on  the  battle- 
field it  was  unnecessary  to  perform  his  funeral  rites  because 
his  spirit  went  straight  to  heaven,  and  thus  the  end  to  which 
the  ceremonies  were  directed  was  already  attained  without 
them.  It  was  also  said  that  the  wife  of  a  man  dying  such  a 
death  should  not  regard  herself  as  a  widow  nor  undergo  the 
privations  imposed  on  widowhood.  But  this  did  not  apply 
so  far  as  self-immolation  was  concerned,  since  the  wives  of 
warriors  dying  in  battle  very  frequently  became  sati.  In 
the  case  of  chiefs  also  it  was  sometimes  the  custom,  probably 
for  political  reasons,  that  the  heir  should  not  observe 
mourning  ;  because  if  he  did  so  he  would  be  incapable  of 
appearing  in  an  assembly  for  thirteen  days,  or  of  taking  the 
public  action  which  might  be  requisite  to  safeguard  his 
succession.  The  body  of  the  late  chief  would  be  carried 
out  by  the  back  door  of  the  house,  and  as  soon  as  it  left  his 
successor  would  take  his  seat  on  the  gaddi  or  cushion  and 
begin  to  discharge  the  public  business  of  government. 

The  principal  deity  of  the   Rajputs   is  the  goddess  Devi  7.  Reii- 
or  Durga  in  her  more  terrible  form  as  the  goddess  of  war.  S'O"- 
Their  swords  were  sacred  to  her,  and  at  the  Dasahra  festival 


422  RAJPUT  part 

they  worshipped  their  swords  and  other  weapons  of  war  and 
their  horses.  The  dreadful  goddess  also  protected  the  virtue 
of  the  Rajput  women  and  caused  to  be  enacted  the  terrible 
holocausts,  not  infrequent  in  Rajput  history,  when  some  strong- 
hold was  besieged  and  could  hold  out  no  longer.  A  great 
furnace  was  then  kindled  in  the  citadel  and  into  this  the 
women,  young  and  old,  threw  themselves,  or  else  died  by 
their  husbands'  swords,  while  the  men,  drunk  with  bhang  and 
wearing  saffron-coloured  robes,  sallied  out  to  sell  their  lives 
to  the  enemy  as  dearly  as  possible.  It  is  related  that  on 
one  occasion  Akbar  desired  to  attempt  the  virtue  of  a  queen 
of  the  Sesodia  clan,  and  for  that  purpose  caused  her  to  lose 
herself  in  one  of  the  mazes  of  his  palace.  The  emperor 
appeared  before  her  suddenly  as  she  was  alone,  but  the  lady, 
drawing  a  dagger,  threatened  to  plunge  it  into  her  breast  if 
he  did  not  respect  her,  and  at  the  same  time  the  goddess  of 
her  house  appeared  riding  on  a  tiger.  The  baffled  emperor 
gave  way  and  retired,  and  her  life  and  virtue  were  saved. 

The  Rajputs  also  worship  the  sun,  whom  many  of  them 
look  upon  as  their  first  ancestor.  They  revere  the  animals 
and  trees  sacred  to  the  Hindus,  and  some  clans  show  special 
veneration  to  a  particular  tree,  never  cutting  or  breaking  the 
branches  or  leaves.  In  this  manner  the  Bundelas  revere 
the  kadamb  tree,  the  Panwars  the  nivi  ^  tree,  the  Rathors  the 
pipal '  tree,  and  so  on.  This  seems  to  be  a  relic  of  totemistic 
usage.  In  former  times  each  clan  had  also  a  tribal  god, 
who  was  its  protector  and  leader  and  watched  over  the 
destinies  of  the  clan.  Sometimes  it  accompanied  the  clan 
into  battle.  "  Every  royal  house  has  its  palladium,  which 
is  frequently  borne  to  battle  at  the  saddle-bow  of  the  prince. 
Rao  Bhima  Hara  of  Kotah  lost  his  life  and  protecting  deity 
together.  The  celebrated  Khichi  (Chauhan)  leader  Jai 
Singh  never  took  the  field  without  the  god  before  him. 
'  Victory  to  Bujrung '  was  his  signal  for  the  charge  so 
dreaded  by  the  Maratha,  and  often  has  the  deity  been 
sprinkled  with  his  blood  and  that  of  the  foe."  ^  It  is  said  that 
a  Rajput  should  always  kill  a  snake  if  he  sees  one,  because 
the  snake,  though  a  prince  among    Rajputs,   is  an   enemy, 

•  Melia  indica.  ^  Ficus  R. 

^  Rajasthan,  i.  p.  123. 


II  FOOD— OPIUM  .423 

and  he  should  not  let  it  live.  If  he  does  not  kill  it,  the 
snake  will  curse  him  and  bring  ill-luck  upon  him.  The 
same  rule  applies,  though  with  less  binding  force,  to  a  tiger. 

The  Rajputs  eat  the  flesh  of  clean  animals,  but  not  pigs  s.  Food, 
or  fowls.  They  are,  however,  fond  of  the  sport  of  pig- 
sticking, and  many  clans,  as  the  Bundelas  and  others,  will 
eat  the  flesh  of  the  wild  pig.  This  custom  was  perhaps 
formerly  universal.  Some  of  them  eat  of  male  animals  only 
and  not  of  females,  either  because  they  fear  that  the  latter 
would  render  them  efieminate  or  that  they  consider  the  sin 
to  be  less.  Some  only  eat  animals  killed  by  the  method  of 
jatka  or  severing  the  head  with  one  stroke  of  the  sword 
or  knife.  They  will  not  eat  animals  killed  in  the  Muham- 
madan  fashion  by  cutting  the  throat.  They  abstain  from  the 
flesh  of  the  nilgai  or  blue  bull  as  being  an  animal  of  the  cow 
tribe.  Among  the  Brahmans  and  Rajputs  food  cooked  with 
water  must  not  be  placed  in  bamboo  baskets,  nor  must 
anything  made  of  bamboo  be  brought  into  the  rasoya  or 
cooking-place,  or  the  chauka^  the  space  cleaned  and  marked 
out  for  meals.  A  special  brush  of  date-palm  fibre  is  kept 
solely  for  sweeping  these  parts  of  the  house.  At  a  Rajput 
banquet  it  was  the  custom  for  the  prince  to  send  a  little 
food  from  his  own  plate  or  from  the  dish  before  him  to  any 
guest  whom  he  especially  wished  to  honour,  and  to  receive 
this  was  considered  a  very  high  distinction.  In  Mewar  the 
test  of  legitimacy  in  a  prince  of  the  royal  house  was  the 
permission  to  eat  from  the  chiefs  plate.  The  grant  of  this 
privilege  conferred  a  recognised  position,  while  its  denial 
excluded  the  member  in  question  from  the  right  to  the 
succession.^  This  custom  indicates  the  importance  attached 
to  the  taking  of  food  together  as  a  covenant  or  sacrament. 

The  Rajputs  abstain  from  alcoholic  liquor,  though  some  9-  Opium. 
of  the  lower  class,  as  the  Bundelas,  drink  it.  In  classical 
times  there  is  no  doubt  that  they  drank  freely,  but  have 
had  to  conform  to  the  prohibition  of  liquor  imposed  by  the 
Brahmans  on  high -caste  Hindus.  In  lieu  of  liquor  they 
became  much  addicted  to  the  noxious  drugs,  opium  and 
ganja  or  Indian  hemp,  drinking  the  latter  in  the  form  of 
the  intoxicating  liquid  known  as  bhangs  which  is  prepared 
'  Rdjasthdn,  i.  pp.  267,  268. 


424  RAJPUT  PART 

from  its  leaves.  Bhang  was  as  a  rule  drunk  by  the  Rajputs 
before  battle,  and  especially  as  a  preparation  for  those  last 
sallies  from  a  besieged  fortress  in  which  the  defenders  threw 
away  their  lives.  There  is  little  reason  to  doubt  that  they 
considered  the  frenzy  and  carelessness  of  death  produced  by 
the  liquor  as  a  form  of  divine  possession.  Opium  has  con- 
tributed much  to  the  degeneration  of  the  Rajputs,  and  their 
relapse  to  an  idle,  sensuous  life  when  their  energies  were  no 
longer  maintained  by  the  need  of  continuous  fighting  for  the 
protection  of  their  country.  The  following  account  by  Forbes 
of  a  Rajput's  daily  life  well  illustrates  the  slothful  effemi- 
nacy caused  by  the  drug  :  ^  "In  times  of  peace  and  ease 
the  Rajput  leads  an  indolent  and  monotonous  life.  It  is 
usually  some  time  after  sunrise  before  he  bestirs  himself 
and  begins  to  call  for  his  hookah  ;  after  smoking  he  enjoys 
the  luxury  of  tea  or  coffee,  and  commences  his  toilet  and 
ablutions,  which  dispose  of  a  considerable  part  of  the  morn- 
ing. It  is  soon  breakfast-time,  and  after  breakfast  the  hookah 
is  again  in  requisition,  with  but  few  intervals  of  conversation 
until  noon.  The  time  has  now  arrived  for  a  siesta,  which 
lasts  till  about  three  in  the  afternoon.  At  this  hour  the  chief 
gets  up  again,  washes  his  hands  and  face,  and  prepares  for 
the  great  business  of  the  day,  the  distribution  of  the  red  cup, 
kusumba  or  opium.  He  calls  together  his  friends  into  the 
public  hall,  or  perhaps  retires  with  them  to  a  garden-house. 
Opium  is  produced,  which  is  pounded  in  a  brass  vessel  and 
mixed  with  water  ;  it  is  then  strained  into  a  dish  with  a 
spout,  from  which  it  is  poured  into  the  chief's  hand.  One 
after  the  other  the  guests  now  come  up,  each  protesting  that 
kusumba  is  wholly  repugnant  to  his  taste  and  very  injurious 
to  his  health,  but  after  a  little  pressing  first  one  and  then 
another  touches  the  chief's  hand  in  two  or  three  places, 
muttering  the  names  of  Deos  (gods),  friends  or  others,  and 
drains  the  draught.  Each  after  drinking  washes  the  chief's 
hand  in  a  dish  of  water  which  a  servant  offers,  and  after 
wiping  it  dry  with  his  own  scarf  makes  way  for  his  neighbour. 
After  this  refreshment  the  chief  and  his  guests  sit  down  in 
the  public  hall,  and  amuse  themselves  with  chess,  draughts  or 
games  of  chance,  or  perhaps  dancing-girls  are  called   in   to 

'  RdsDidla,  ii.  p.  261. 


II  OPIUM  425 

exhibit  their  monotonous  measures,  or  musicians  and  singers, 
or  the  never-failing  favourites,  the  Bhfits  and  Charans.  At 
sunset  the  torch-bearers  appear  and  supply  the  chamber  with 
light,  upon  which  all  those  who  are  seated  therein  rise  and 
make  obeisance  towards  the  chief's  cushion.  They  resume 
their  seats,  and  playing,  singing,  dancing,  story-telling  go  on 
as  before.  At  about  eight  the  chief  rises  to  retire  to  his 
dinner  and  his  hookah,  and  the  party  is  broken  up."  There 
is  little  reason  to  doubt  that  the  Rajputs  ascribed  a  divine 
character  to  opium  and  the  mental  exaltation  produced 
by  it,  as  suggested  in  the  article  on  Kalar  in  reference 
to  the  Hindus  generally.  Opium  was  commonly  offered  at 
the  shrines  of  deified  Rajput  heroes.  Colonel  Tod  states  : 
"  Uiiiul  Idr  khdna,  to  eat  opium  together,  is  the  most  inviol- 
able pledge,  and  an  agreement  ratified  by  this  ceremony  is 
stronger  than  any .  adjuration."  ^  The  account  given  by 
Forbes  of  the  manner  in  which  the  drug  was  distributed  by 
the  chief  from  his  own  hand  to  all  his  clansmen  indicates 
that  the  drinking  of  it  was  the  renewal  of  a  kind  of  pledge 
or  covenant  between  them,  analogous  to  the  custom  of  pledg- 
ing one  another  with  wine,  and  a  substitute  for  the  covenant 
made  by  taking  food  together,  which  originated  from  the 
sacrificial  meal.  It  has  already  been  seen  that  the  Rajputs 
attached  the  most  solemn  meaning  and  virtue  to  the  act  of 
partaking  of  the  chief's  food,  and  it  is  legitimate  to  infer  that 
they  regarded  the  drinking  of  a  sacred  drug  like  opium  from 
his  hand  in  the  same  light.  The  following  account "  of  the 
drinking  of  healths  in  a  Highland  clan  had,  it  may  be 
suggested,  originally  the  same  significance  as  the  distribution 
of  opium  by  the  Rajput  chief:  "  Lord  Lovat  was  wont  in  the 
hall  before  dinner  to  have  a  kind  of  herald  proclaiming  his 
pedigree,  which  reached  almost  up  to  Noah,  and  showed  each 
man  present  to  be  a  cadet  of  his  family,  whilst  after  dinner 
he  drank  to  every  one  of  his  cousins  by  name,  each  of  them 
in  return  pledging  him — the  better  sort  in  French  claret,  the 
lower  class  in  husky  (whisky)."  Here  also  the  drinking  of 
wine  together  perhaps  implied  the  renewal  of  a  pledge  of 
fealty  and   protection   between   the  chief  and  his  clansmen, 

'  Hdj'asthdn,  i.  p.  553. 
2  Reminiscences  of  Lady  Dorothy  Nevill,  Nelson's  edition,  p.  367. 


426 


RAJPUT 


lo.  Im- 
proved 
training  of 
Rajput 

chiefs. 


II.  Dress. 


all  of  whom  were  held  to  be  of  his  kin.  The  belief  in  the 
kinship  of  the  whole  clan  existed  among  the  Rajputs  exactly 
as  in  the  Scotch  clans.  In  speaking  of  the  Rathors  Colonel 
Tod  states  that  they  brought  into  the  field  fifty  thousand  men, 
Ek  bap  ka  beta,  the  sons  of  one  father,  to  combat  with  the 
emperor  of  Delhi ;  and  remarks  :  "  What  a  sensation  does  it 
not  excite  when  we  know  that  a  sentiment  of  kindred 
pervades  every  individual  of  this  immense  affiliated  body, 
who  can  point  out  in  the  great  tree  the  branch  of  his  origin, 
of  which  not  one  is  too  remote  from  the  main  stem  to  forget 
his  pristine  connection  with  it."  ^ 

The  taking  of  opium  and  wine  together,  as  already 
described,  thus  appear  to  be  ceremonies  of  the'  same 
character,  both  symbolising  the  renewal  of  a  covenant 
between  kinsmen. 

The  temptations  to  a  life  of  idleness  and  debauchery 
to  which  Rajput  gentlemen  were  exposed  by  the  cessation 
of  war  have  happily  been  largely  met  and  overcome  by 
the  careful  education  and  training  which  their  sons  now 
receive  in  the  different  chiefs'  colleges  and  schools,  and 
by  the  fostering  of  their  taste  for  polo  and  other  games. 
There  is  every  reason  to  hope  that  a  Rajput  prince's  life 
will  now  be  much  like  that  of  an  English  country  gentle- 
man, spent  largely  in  public  business  and  the  service  of  his 
country,  with  sport  and  games  as  relaxation.  Nor  are  the 
Rajputs  slow  to  avail  themselves  of  the  opportunities  for  the 
harder  calling  of  arms  afforded  by  the  wars  of  the  British 
Empire,  in  which  they  are  usually  the  first  to  proffer  their 
single-hearted  and  unselfish  assistance. 

The  most  distinctive  feature  of  a  Rajput's  dress  was 
formerly  his  turban  ;  the  more  voluminous  and  heavy  this 
was,  the  greater  distinction  attached  to  the  bearer.  The 
cloth  was  wound  in  many  folds  above  the  head,  or  cocked 
over  one  ear  as  a  special  mark  of  pride.  An  English  gentle- 
man once  remarked  to  the  minister  of  the  Rao  of  Cutch  on 
the  size  and  weight  of  his  turban,  when  the  latter  replied, 
'  Oh,  this  is  nothing,  it  only  weighs  fifteen  pounds.' "  A 
considerable  reverence  attached  to  the  turban,  probably 
becau.se  it  was  the  covering  of  the  head,  the  seat  of  life,  and 

1  Rdjasthan,  ii.  p.  3.  ^  Mrs.  Postans,  Ciitcli,  p.  35. 


II  SOCIAL  CUSTOMS  427 

the  exchanging  of  turbans  was  the  mark  of  the  closest  friend- 
ship. On  one  occasion  Shah  Jahan,  before  he  came  to  the 
throne  of  Delhi,  changed  turbans  with  the  Rana  of  Mewar 
as  a  mark  of  amity.  Shah  Jahan's  turban  was  still  pre- 
served at  Udaipur,  and  seen  there  by  Colonel  Tod  in  1820, 
They  also  wore  the  beard  and  moustaches  very  long  and 
full,  the  moustache  either  drooping  far  below  the  chin,  or 
being  twisted  out  stiffly  on  each  side  to  impart  an  aspect  of 
fierceness.  Many  Rajputs  considered  it  a  disgrace  to  have 
grey  beards  or  moustaches,  and  these  were  accustomed  to 
dye  them  with  a  preparation  of  indigo.  Thus  dyed,  how- 
ever, after  a  few  days  the  beard  and  moustache  assumed  a 
purple  tint,  and  finally  faded  to  a  pale  plum  colour,  far  from 
being  either  deceptive  or  ornamental.  The  process  of  dyeing 
was  said  to  be  tedious,  and  the  artist  compelled  his  patient 
to  sit  many  hours  under  the  indigo  treatment  with  his  head 
wrapped  up  in  plantain  leaves.^  During  the  Muhammadan 
wars,  however,  the  Rajputs  gave  up  their  custom  of  wearing 
beards  in  order  to  be  distinguished  from  Moslems,  and  now, 
as  a  rule,  do  not  retain  them,  while  most  of  them  have  also 
discarded  the  long  moustaches  and  large  turbans.  In  battle, 
especially  when  they  expected  to  die,  the  Rajputs  wore 
saffron-coloured  robes  as  at  a  wedding.  At  the  same  time 
their  wives  frequently  performed  sati,  and  the  idea  was  per- 
haps that  they  looked  on  their  deaths  as  the  occasion  of  a 
fresh  bridal  in  the  warrior's  Valhalla.  Women  wear  skirts 
and  shoulder-cloths,  and  in  Rajputana  they  have  bangles  of 
ivory  or  bone  instead  of  the  ordinary  glass,  sometimes 
covering  the  arm  from  the  shoulders  to  the  wrist.  Their 
other  ornaments  should  be  of  gold  if  possible,  but  the  rule 
is  not  strictly  observed,  and  silver  and  baser  metals  are  worn. 

The  Rajputs  wear  the  sacred  thread,  but  many  of  them  12.  Social 
have  abandoned  the  proper  npajiayana  or  thread  ceremony, 
and  simply  invest  boys  with  it  at  their  marriage.  In  former 
times,  when  a  boy  became  fit  to  bear  arms,  the  ceremony  of 
kJiarg  band(7!\  or  binding  on  of  the  sword,  was  performed, 
and  considered  to  mark  his  attainment  of  manhood.  The 
king  himself  had  his  sword  thus  bound  on  by  the  first  of  his 
vassals.      The  Rajputs  take  food  cooked  with  water  {JcatcJii) 

'   Mrs.  Postans,  Cutch,  p.  13S. 


customs. 


428  RAJPUT  PART 

only  from  Brahmans,  and  that  cooked  without  water  {pakkt) 
from  Banias,  and  sometimes  from  Lodhis  and  Dhlmars. 
Brahmans  will  take  pakki  food  from  Rajputs,  and  Nais  and 
Dhlmars  katchi  food.  When  a  man  is  ill,  however,  he  may 
take  food  from  members  of  such  castes  as  Kurmi  and  Lodhi 
as  a  matter  of  convenience  without  incurring  caste  penalties. 
The  large  turbans  and  long  moustaches  and  beards  no  longer 
characterise  their  appearance,  and  the  only  point  which  dis- 
tinguishes a  Rajput  is  that  his  name  ends  with  Singh  (lion). 
But  this  suffix  has  also  been  adopted  by  others,  especially 
the  Sikhs,  and  by  such  castes  as  the  Lodhis  and  Raj- 
Gonds  who  aspire  to  rank  as  Rajputs.  A  Rajput  is  usually 
addressed  as  Thakur  or  lord,  a  title  which  properly  applies 
only  to  a  Rajput  landholder,  but  has  now  come  into  general 
use.  The  head  of  a  state  has  the  designation  of  Raja  or 
Rana,  and  those  of  the  leading  states  of  Maharaja  or 
Maharana,  that  is,  great  king.  Maharana,  which  appears  to 
be  a  Gujarati  form,  is  used  by  the  Sesodia  family  of  Udaipur. 
The  sons  of  a  Raja  are  called  Kunwar  or  prince.  The  title 
Rao  appears  to  be  a  Marathi  form  of  Raj  or  Raja  ;  it  is  re- 
tained by  one  or  two  chiefs,  but  has  now  been  generally 
adopted  as  an  honorific  suffix  by  Maratha  Brahmans.  Rawat 
appears  to  have  been  originally  equivalent  to  Rajput,  being 
simply  a  diminutive  of  Rajputra,  the  Sanskrit  form  of  the 
latter.  It  is  the  name  of  a  clan  of  Rajputs  in  the  Punjab, 
and  is  used  as  an  honorific  designation  by  Ahirs,  Saonrs, 
Kols  and  others. 
13.  Seciu-  Women   are  strictly  secluded   by  the  Rajputs,  especially 

in  Upper  India,  but  this  practice  does  not  appear  to  have 
been  customary  in  ancient  times,  and  it  would  be  interesting 
to  know  whether  it  has  been  copied  from  the  Muhammadans. 
It  is  said  that  a  good  Rajput  in  the  Central  Provinces  must 
not  drive  the  plough,  his  wife  must  not  use  the  rehnta  or 
spinning-wheel,  and  his  household  may  not  have  the  katJiri 
or  gudri^  the  mattress  made  of  old  pieces  of  cloth  or  rag 
sewn  one  on  top  of  the  other,  which  is  common  in  the  poorer 
Hindu  households. 

The  Rajputs  as  depicted  by  Colonel  Tod  resembled  the 
knights  of  the  age  of  chivalry.  Courage,  strength  and 
endurance  were  the  virtues  most  highly  prized.      One  of  the 


sion  of 


II         TRADITIONAL  CHARACTER  OF  THE  RAJPUTS     429 

Rajput  trials  of  strength,  it  is  recorded,  was  to  gallop  at  full  14.  Tradi 
speed  under  the  horizontal  branch  of  a  tree  and  cling  to  it  character 
while  the  horse  passed  on.  This  feat  appears  to  have  been  of  the 
a  common  amusement,  and  it  is  related  in  the  annals  of  ^J'^"*^" 
Mewar  that  the  chief  of  Bunera  broke  his  spine  in  the 
attempt  ;  and  there  were  iaw  who  came  off  without  bruises 
and  falls,  in  which  consisted  the  sport.  Of  their  martial 
spirit  Colonel  Tod  writes  :  "  The  Rajput  mother  claims  her 
full  share  in  the  glory  of  her  son,  who  imbibes  at  the 
maternal  fount  his  first  rudiments  of  chivalry  ;  and  the 
importance  of  this  parental  instruction  cannot  be  better  illus- 
trated than  in  the  ever-recurring  simile,  '  Make  thy  mother's 
milk  resplendent'  One  need  not  reason  on  the  intensity  of 
sentiment  thus  implanted  in  the  infant  Rajpiit,  of  whom  we 
may  say  without  metaphor  the  shield  is  his  cradle  and 
daggers  his  playthings,  and  with  whom  the  first  command- 
ment is,  '  Avenge  thy  father's  feud.'  ^  A  Rajput  yet  loves 
to  talk  of  the  days  of  chivalry,  when  three  things  alone 
occupied  him,  his  horse,  his  lance  and  his  mistress  ;  for  she 
is  but  third  in  his  estimation  after  all,  and  to  the  first  two 
he  owed  her."  -  And  of  their  desire  for  fame  :  "  This  sacri- 
fice (of  the  Johar)  accomplished,  their  sole  thought  was  to 
secure  a  niche  in  that  immortal  temple  of  fame,  which  the 
Rajput  bard  as  well  as  the  great  minstrel  of  the  West  peoples 
'  with  youths  who  died  to  be  by  poets  sung.'  For  this  the 
Rajput's  anxiety  has  in  all  ages  been  so  great  as  often  to 
defeat  even  the  purpose  of  revenge,  his  object  being  to  die 
gloriously  rather  than  to  inflict  death  ;  assured  that  his  name 
would  never  perish,  but,  preserved  in  immortal  rhyme  by  the 
bard,  would  serve  as  the  incentive  to  similar  deeds."  ^  He 
sums  up  their  character  in  the  following  terms  :  "  High 
courage,  patriotism,  loyalty,  honour,  hospitality  and  sim- 
plicity are  qualities  which  must  at  once  be  conceded  to  them  ; 
and  if  we  cannot  vindicate  them  from  charges  to  which 
human  nature  in  every  clime  is  obnoxious  ;  if  we  are  com- 
pelled to  admit  the  deterioration  of  moral  dignity  from  con- 
tinual inroads  of,  and  their  consequent  collision  with  rapacious 
conquerors  ;  we    must   yet   admire   the   quantum    of  virtue 

1   Riyasthan,  i.  pp.  543,  544.  ~   Ibidem,  i.  p.   125. 

•*  Ibidem,  ii.  p.  52. 


430  RAJPUT  part 

which  even  oppression  and  bad  example  have  failed  to 
banish.  The  meaner  vices  of  deceit  and  falsehood,  which 
the  delineators  of  national  character  attach  to  the  Asiatic 
without  distinction,  I  deny  to  be  universal  with  the  Rajputs, 
though  some  tribes  may  have  been  obliged  from  position  to 
use  these  shields  of  the  weak  against  continuous  oppression."  ^ 
The  women  prized  martial  courage  no  less  than  the  men  : 
they  would  hear  with  equanimity  of  the  death  of  their  sons 
or  husbands  in  the  battlefield,  while  they  heaped  scorn  and 
contumely  on  those  who  returned  after  defeat.  They  were 
constantly  ready  to  sacrifice  themselves  to  the  flames  rather 
than  fall  into  the  hands  of  a  conqueror  ;  and  the  Johar,  the 
final  act  of  a  besieged  garrison,  when  the  women  threw 
themselves  into  the  furnace,  while  the  men  sallied  forth  to 
die  in  battle  against  the  enemy,  is  recorded  again  and  again 
in  Rajput  annals.  Three  times  was  this  tragedy  enacted 
at  the  fall  of  Chitor,  formerly  the  capital  fortress  of  the 
Sesodia  clan  ;  and  the  following  vivid  account  is  given  by 
Colonel  Tod  of  a  similar  deed  at  Jaisalmer,  when  the  town 
fell  to  the  Muhammadans  :  ^  "  The  chiefs  were  assembled  ; 
all  were  unanimous  to  make  Jaisalmer  resplendent  by  their 
deeds  and  preserve  the  honour  of  the  Yadu  race.  Muhaj 
thus  addressed  them  :  *  You  are  of  a  warlike  race  and  strong 
are  -your  arms  in  the  cause  of  your  prince  ;  what  heroes 
excel  you  who  thus  tread  in  the  Chhatri's  path  ?  For  the 
maintenance  of  my  honour  the  sword  is  in  your  hands  ;  let 
Jaisalmer  be  illumined  by  its  blows  upon  the  foe.'  Having 
thus  inspired  the  chiefs  and  men,  Muhaj  and  Ratan  repaired 
to  the  palace  of  their  queens.  They  told  them  to  take  the 
sohdg'^  and  prepare  to  meet  in  heaven,  while  they  gave  up 
their  lives  in  defence  of  their  honour  and  their  faith.  Smiling 
the  Rani  replied,  '  This  night  we  shall  prepare,  and  by  the 
morning's  light  we  shall  be  inhabitants  of  heaven '  ;  and 
thus  it  was  with  all  the  chiefs  and  their  wives.  The  night 
was  passed  together  for  the  last  time  in  preparation  for  the 
awful  morn.  It  came  ;  ablutions  and  prayers  were  finished 
and   at  the   royal  gate  were  convened   children,  wives  and 

1  Rajasthdn,  i.  p.  552.  milion  on  the  bride  before  a  wedding, 

'^  Vol.  ii.  p.  227.  which  is   beheved   to  bring  good  for- 

^  A     ceremony    of    smearing    ver-       tune. 


II         TRADITIONAL  CHARACTER  OF  THE  RAJPUTS     431 

mothers.  They  bade  a  last  farewell  to  all  their  kin  ;  the 
Johar  commenced,  and  twenty-four  thousand  females,  from 
infancy  to  old  age,  surrendered  their  lives,  some  by  the 
sword,  others  in  the  volcano  of  fire.  Blood  flowed  in 
torrents,  while  the  smoke  of  the  pyre  ascended  to  the;, 
heavens :  not  one  feared  to  die,  and  every  valuable  was 
consumed  with  them,  so  that  not  the  worth  of  a  straw  was 
preserved  for  the  foe.  The  work  done,  the  brothers  looked 
upon  the  spectacle  with  horror.  Life  was  now  a  burden  and 
they  prepared  to  quit  it.  They  purified  themselves  with 
water,  paid  adoration  to  the  divinity,  made  gifts  to  the  poor, 
placed  a  branch  of  the  tulsi  ^  in  their  casques,  the  sdligrdm  ^ 
round  their  neck  ;  and  having  cased  themselves  in  armour 
and  put  on  the  saffron  robe,  they  bound  the  marriage  crown 
around  their  heads  and  embraced  each  other  for  the  last 
time.  Thus  they  awaited  the  hour  of  battle.  Three 
thousand  eight  hundred  warriors,  their  faces  red  with  wrath, 
prepared  to  die  with  their  chiefs."  In  this  account  the  pre- 
paration for  the  Johar  as  if  for  a  wedding  is  clearly  brought 
out,  and  it  seems  likely  that  husbands  and  wives  looked  on 
it  as  a  bridal  preparatory  to  the  resumption  of  their  life 
together  in  heaven. 

Colonel  Tod  gives  the  following  account  of  a  Rajput's 
arms  :  ^  "  No  prince  or  chief  is  without  his  silla-kJidna  or 
armoury,  where  he  passes  hours  in  viewing  and  arranging 
his  arms.  Every  favourite  weapon,  whether  sword,  dagger, 
spear,  matchlock  or  bow,  has  a  distinctive  epithet.  The 
keeper  of  the  armoury  is  one  of  the  most  confidential  officers 
about  the  person  of  the  prince.  These  arms  are  beautiful 
and  costly.  The  sirohi  or  slightly  curved  blade  is  formed 
like  that  of  Damascus,  and  is  the  greatest  favourite  of  all 
the  variety  of  weapons  throughout  Rajputana.  The  long 
cut-and-thrust  sword  is  not  uncommon,  and  also  the  khanda 
or  double-edged  sword.  The  matchlocks,  both  of  Lahore 
and  the  country,  are  often  highly  finished  and  inlaid  with 
mother-of-pearl  and  gold  ;  those  of  Boondi  are  the  best. 
The  shield  of  the  rhinoceros-hide  offers  the  best  resistance, 
and   is   often   ornamented   with  animals  beautifully  painted 

^  The  basil  plant,  sacred  to  Vishnu.         to  be  a  form  of  Vishnu. 
-  A  round  black  stone,  considered  ^  Riijasi/u'in,  i.  p.  555. 


432  RAJPUT  PART 

and  enamelled  in  gold  and  silver.  The  bow  is  of  buffalo- 
horn,  and  the  arrows  of  reed,  which  are  barbed  in  a  variety 
of  fashions,  as  the  crescent,  the  trident,  the  snake''s  tongue, 
and  other  fanciful  forms."  It  is  probable  that  the  forms 
were  in  reality  by  no  means  fanciful,  but  were  copied  from 
sacred  or  divine  objects  ;  and  similarly  the  animals  painted 
on  the  shields  may  have  been  originally  the  totem  animals 
of  the  clan. 
15.  Occu-  The  traditional  occupation  of  a   Rajput  was  that  of  a 

pation.  warrior  and  landholder.  Their  high-flown  titles,  Bhupal 
(Protector  of  the  earth),  Bhupati  (Lord  of  the  earth),  Bhusur 
(God  of  the  earth),  Bahuja  (Born  from  the  arms),  indicate. 
Sir  H.  Risley  says,^  the  exalted  claims  of  the  tribe.  The 
notion  that  the  trade  of  arms  was  their  proper  vocation 
clung  to  them  for  a  very  long  time,  and  has  retarded  their 
education,  so  that  they  have  perhaps  lost  status  relatively 
to  other  castes  under  British  supremacy.  The  rule  that  a 
Rajput  must  not  touch  the  plough  was  until  recently  very 
strictly  observed  in  the  more  conservative  centres,  and  the 
poorer  Rajputs  were  reduced  by  it  to  pathetic  straits  for  a 
livelihood,  as  is  excellently  shown  by  Mr.  Barnes  in  the 
Kdngra  Settlement  Report :  ^  "  A  Mian  or  well-known  Rajput, 
to  preserve  his  name  and  honour  unsullied,  must  scrupu- 
lously observe  four  fundamental  maxims :  first,  he  must 
never  drive  the  plough  ;  second,  he  must  never  give  his 
daughter  in  marriage  to  an  inferior  nor  marry  himself  much 
below  his  rank  ;  thirdly,  he  must  never  accept  money  in 
exchange  for  the  betrothal  of  his  daughter  ;  and  lastly,  his 
female  household  must  observe  strict  seclusion.  The  pre- 
judice against  the  plough  is  perhaps  the  most  inveterate  of 
all  ;  that  step  can  never  be  recalled  ;  the  offender  at  once 
loses  the  privileged  salutation  ;  he  is  reduced  to  the  second 
grade  of  Rajputs  ;  no  man  will  marry  his  daughter,  and 
he  must  go  a  step  lower  in  the  social  scale  to  get  a  wife 
for  himself  In  every  occupation  of  life  he  is  made  to  feel 
his  degraded  position.  In  meetings  of  the  tribe  and  at 
marriages  the  Rajputs  undefiled  by  the  plough  will  refuse 
to  sit  at  meals  with  the  Hal   Bah  or  plough-driver  as  he  is 

•    Tribes  and  Castes  of  Ben'^al,  art.  ^  Quoted  in  Sir  D.  Ibbelson's/'w/yrt/; 

Rajput.  Census  Report  (1881),  para.  456. 


II  RAJPUT  433 

contemptuously   styled  ;    and    many   to  avoid    the   indit^nity 
of  exclusion   never  appear  at  public  assemblies.   .   .   .    It  is 
melancholy  to  see  with  what  devoted   tenacity  the   Rajput 
clings   to   these    deep-rooted    prejudices.       Their  emaciated 
looks  and   coarse    clothes  attest   the  vicissitudes  they  have 
undergone  to  maintain  their  fancied  purity.      In   the  quan- 
tity  of  waste   land    which    abounds    in    the  hills,  a    ready 
livelihood  is  offered   to  those  who  will  cultivate  the  soil  for 
their  daily  bread  ;  but  this  alternative  involves  a  forfeiture 
of  their  dearest  rights,  and  they  would   rather   follow  any 
precarious    pursuit    than    submit    to    the    disgrace.       Some 
lounge   away   their   time    on    the    tops    of   the    mountains, 
spreading  nets  for  the  capture  of  hawks  ;  many  a  day  they 
watch  in  vain,  subsisting  on  berries  and  on  game  accident- 
ally entangled  in  their  nets  ;  at  last,  when   fortune  grants 
them    success,    they    despatch    the    prize    to    their    friends 
below,  who  tame  and  instruct  the  bird   for  the  purpose  of 
sale.       Others    will   stay   at   home   and    pass    their   time    in 
sporting,  either  with  a  hawk  or,  if  they  can  afford  it,  with  a 
gun  ;  one  Rajput  beats  the  bushes  and  the  other  carries  the 
hawk  ready  to  be  sprung  after  any  quarry  that  rises  to  the 
view.      At  the  close  of  the  day  if  they  have  been  successful 
they  exchange  the  game  for  a  little  meal  and  thus  prolong 
existence  over  another  span.      The  marksman  armed  with  a 
gun  will  sit  up  for  wild  pig  returning  from  the  fields,  and  in 
the  same  manner  barter  their  flesh  for  other  necessaries   of 
life.     However,  the  prospect  of  starvation  has  already  driven 
many  to  take  the  plough,  and  the  number  of  seceders  daily 
increases.      Our  administration,  though  just  and  liberal,  has 
a  levelling  tendency  ;  service  is  no  longer  to  be  procured, 
and   to  many  the  stern  alternative  has  arrived  of  taking  to 
agriculture  and   securing  comparative  comfort,  or  enduring 
the  pangs  of  hunger  and  death.      So  long  as  any  resource 
remains  the  fatal   step  will  be  postponed,  but  it  is  easy  to 
foresee  that  the  struggle  cannot  be  long  protracted  ;  neces- 
sity is  a  hard  task-master,  and  sooner  or  later  the  pressure 
of  want  will  overcome  the  scruples   of  the  most  bigoted." 
The  objection   to  ploughing  appears  happily  to  have  been 
quite   overcome    in   the    Central    Provinces,    as    at   the    last 
census  nine-tenths  of  the  whole  caste  were  shown  as  employed 
VOL.  IV  2  F 


434  RAjPUr  PART 

in  pasture  and  agriculture,  one-tenth  of  the  Rajputs  being 
landholders,  three -fifths  actual  cultivators,  and  one -fifth 
labourers  and  woodcutters.  The  bulk  of  the  remaining  tenth 
are  probably  in  the  police  or  other  branches  of  Government 
service. 

Rajput,  Baghel. — The  Baghel  Rajputs,  who  have  given 
their  name  to  Baghelkhand  or  Rewah,  the  eastern  part  of 
Central  India,  are  a  branch  of  the  Chalukya  or  Solankhi 
clan,  one  of  the  four  Agnikulas  or  those  born  from  the  fire- 
pit  on  Mount  Abu.  The  chiefs  of  Rewah  are  Baghel 
Rajputs,  and  the  late  Maharaja  Raghuraj  Singh  has  written 
a  traditional  history  of  the  sept  in  a  book  called  the  Bhakt 
Mala}  He  derives  their  origin  from  a  child,  having  the 
form  of  a  tiger  {bdgh),  who  was  born  to  the  Solankhi  Raja  of 
Gujarat  at  the  intercession  of  the  famous  saint  Kabir.  One 
of  the  headquarters  of  the  Kabirpanthi  sect  are  at  Kawardha, 
which  is  close  to  Rewah,  and  the  ruling  family  are  members 
of  the  sect  ;  hence  probably  the  association  of  the  Prophet 
with  their  origin.  The  Bombay  Gazetteer^  states  that  the 
founder  of  the  clan  was  one  Anoka,  a  nephew  of  the 
Solankhi  king  of  Gujarat,  Kumarpal  (a.d.  ii 43-1 174). 
He  obtained  a  grant  of  the  village  Vaghela,  the  tiger's  lair, 
about  ten  miles  from  Anhilvada,  the  capital  of  the  Solankhi 
dynasty,  and  the  Baghel  clan  takes  its  name  from  this 
village.  Subsequently  the  Baghels  extended  their  power 
over  the  whole  of  Gujarat,  but  in  A.D.  1304  the  last  king, 
Karnadeva,  was  driven  out  by  the  Muhammadans,  and  one 
of  his  most  beautiful  wives  was  captured  and  sent  to  the 
emperor's  harem.  Karnadeva  and  his  daughter  fled  and  hid 
themselves  near  Nasik,  but  the  daughter  was  subsequently 
also  taken,  while  it  is  not  stated  what  became  of  Karnadeva. 
Mr.  Hira  Lai  suggests  that  he  fled  towards  Rewah,  and  that 
he  is  the  Karnadeva  of  the  list  of  Rewah  Rajas,  who  married 
a  daughter  of  the  Gond-Rajput  dynasty  of  Garha-Mandla.^ 
At  any  rate  the  Baghel  branch  of  the  Solankhis  apparently 
migrated  to   Rewah  from   Gujarat  and  founded    that  State 

1  Mr.   Crooke's  Tribes  and    Castes,  called  Pi-atdp   Vinod,  written  by  Khan 

art.  Baghel.  Bahadur  Rahmat  Ali  Khan,  and  trans- 

'^  Vol.  i.  part  i.  p.  198.  latcd  by  Thakur  Pratap  Singh,  Revenue 

3  See  also  a  history  of  the  Baghels,  Commissioner  of  Rewah. 


II  BAGRI  435 

about  the  fourteenth  century,  as  in  the  fifteenth  they  became 
prominent.  According  to  Captain  Forsyth,  the  l^aghels 
claim  descent  from  a  tiger,  and  protect  it  when  they  can  ; 
and,  probably,  as  suggested  by  Mr.  Crooke,^  the  name  is 
really  totemistic,  or  is  derived  from  some  ancestor  of  the  clan 
who  obtained  the  name  of  the  tiger  as  a  title  or  nickname, 
like  the  American  Red  Indians.  The  Baghels  are  found  in 
the  Hoshangfibad  District,  and  in  Mandla  and  Chhattisgarh 
which  are  close  to  Rewah.  Amarkantak,  at  the  source  of 
the  Nerbudda,  is  the  sepulchre  of  the  Maharajas  of  Rewah, 
and  was  ceded  to  them  with  the  Sohagpur  tahsll  of  Mandla  • 
after  the  Mutiny,  in  consideration  of  their  loyalty  and 
services  during  that  period. 

Rajput,  Bagri. — This  clan  is  found  in  small  numbers  in 
the  Hoshangabad  and  Seoni  Districts.  The  name  Bagri, 
Malcolm  says,"  is  derived  from  that  large  tract  of  plain  called 
Bagar  or  '  hedge  of  thorns,'  the  Bagar  being  surrounded  by 
ridges  of  wooded  hills  on  all  sides  as  if  by  a  hedge.  The 
Bagar  is  the  plain  country  of  the  I^ikaner  State,  and  any  Jat 
or  Rajput  coming  from  this  tract  is  called  Bagri.^  The 
Rajputs  of  Bikaner  are  Rathors,  but  they  are  not  numerous, 
and  the  great  bulk  of  the  people  are  Jats.  Hence  it  is 
probable  that  the  Bagris  of  the  Central  Provinces  were 
originally  Jats.  In  Seoni  they  say  that  they  are  Baghel 
Rajputs,  but  this  claim  is  unsupported  by  any  tradition  or 
evidence.  In  Central  India  the  Bagris  are  professed  robbers 
and  thieves,  but  these  seem  to  be  a  separate  group,  a  section 
of  the  Badhak  or  Bawaria  dacoits,  and  derived  from  the 
aboriginal  population  of  Central  India.  The  Bagris  of 
Seoni  are  respectable  cultivators  and  own  a  number  of 
villages.  They  rank  higher  than  the  local  Panwars  and 
wear  the  sacred  thread,  but  will  remove  dead  cattle  with 
their  own  hands.      They  marry  among  themselves. 

Rajput,  Bais.^ — The  Bais  are  one  of  the  thirty-six  royal 

^  Article  Baghel,  quoting  Forsyth's  ^  Punjab     Census    Report     (iSSi), 

Highlands  of  Central  India.  para.  445. 

^  Tills    article    consists    entirely    of 

-  Memoir  of  Central  India,  vol.  ii.       extracts  from   Mr.  Crooke's  article  on 
p.  479.  the  Bais  Rajputs. 


436  RAJPUT  PART 

races.  Colonel  Tod  considered  them  a  branch  of  the  Suraj- 
vansi,  but  according  to  their  own  account  their  eponymous 
ancestor  was  Salivahana,  the  mythic  son  of  a  snake,  who 
conquered  the  great  Raja  Vikramaditya  of  Ujjain  and  fixed 
his  own  era  in  A.D.  55.  This  is  the  Saka  era,  and  Saliva- 
hana was  the  leader  of  the  Saka  nomads  who  invaded 
Gujarat  on  two  occasions,  before  and  shortly  after  the 
beginning  of  the  Christian  era.  It  is  suggested  in  the 
article  on  Rajput  that  the  Yadava  lunar  clan  are  the  repre- 
sentatives of  these  Sakas,  and  if  this  were  correct  the  Bais 
would  be  a  branch  of  the  lunar  race.  The  fact  that  they  are 
snake-worshippers  is  in  favour  of  their  connection  with  the 
Yadavas  and  other  clans,  who  are  supposed  to  represent  the 
Scythian  invaders  of  the  first  and  subsequent  centuries,  and 
had  the  legend  of  being  descended  from  a  snake.  The  Bais, 
Mr.  Crooke  says,  believe  that  no  snake  has  destroyed,  or  ever 
can  destroy,  one  of  the  clan.  They  seem  to  take  no  pre- 
cautions against  the  bite  except  hanging  a  vessel  of  water 
at  the  head  of  the  sufferer,  with  a  small  tube  at  the  bottom, 
from  which  the  water  is  poured  on  his  head  as  long  as  he 
can  bear  it.  The  cobra  is,  in  fact,  the  tribal  god.  The  name 
is  derived  by  Mr.  Crooke  from  the  Sanskrit  Vaishya,  one 
who  occupies  the  soil.  The  principal  hero  of  the  Bais  was 
Tilokchand,  who  is  supposed  to  have  come  from  the  Central 
Provinces.  He  lived  about  A.D.  1400,  and  was  the  premier 
Raja  of  Oudh.  He  extended  his  dominions  over  all  the 
tract  known  as  Baiswara,  which  comprises  the  bulk  of  the 
Rai  Bareli  and  Unao  Districts,  and  is  the  home  of  the 
Bais  Rajputs.  The  descendants  of  Tilokchand  form  a 
separate  subdivision  known  as  Tilokchandi  Bais,  who  rank 
higher  than  the  ordinary  Bais,  and  will  not  eat  with  them. 
The  Bais  Rajputs  are  found  all  over  the  United  Provinces. 
In  the  Central  Provinces  they  have  settled  in  small  numbers 
in  the  northern  and  eastern  Districts. 

Rajput,  Baksaria. — A  small  clan  found  principally  in 
the  Bilaspur  District,  who  derive  their  name  from  Baxar  in 
Bengal.  They  were  accustomed  to  send  a  litter,  that  is  to 
say,  a  girl  of  their  clan,  to  the  harem  of  each  Mughal 
Emperor,  and  this  has  degraded  them.      They  allow  widow- 


II  ■     DANAPirAR  437 

marriage,  and  do  not  wear  the  sacred  thread.  It  is  prob- 
able that  they  marry  among  themselves,  as  other  Rajputs 
do  not  intermarry  with  them,  and  they  are  no  doubt  an 
impure  group  with  little  pretension  to  be  Rajputs.  The 
name  Baksaria  is  found  in  the  United  Provinces  as  a 
territorial  subcaste  of  several  castes. 

Rajput,  Banaphar. — Mr.  Crooke  states  that  this  sept  is 
a  branch  of  the  Yadavas,  and  hence  it  is  of  the  lunar  race. 
The  sept  is  famous  on  account  of  the  exploits  of  the  heroes 
Alha  and  Udal  who  belonged  to  it,  and  who  fought  for  the 
Chandel  kings  of  Mahoba  and  Khajuraha  in  their  wars 
against  Prithwi  Raj  Chauhan,  the  king  of  Delhi.  The  ex- 
ploits of  Alha  and  Udal  form  the  theme  of  poems  still  well 
known  and  popular  in  Bundclkhand,  to  which  the  sept 
belongs.  The  Banaphars  have  only  a  moderately  respect- 
able rank  among  Rajputs.^ 

Rajput,  Bhadauria. — An  important  clan  who  take  their 
name  from  the  village  of  Bhadawar  near  Ater,  south  of  the 
Jumna.  They  are  probably  a  branch  of  the  Chauhans, 
being  given  as  such  by  Colonel  Tod  and  Sir  H.  M.  Elliot.'^ 
Mr.  Crooke  remarks  ^  that  the  Chauhans  are  disposed  to 
deny  this  relationship,  now  that  from  motives  of  convenience 
the  two  tribes  have  begun  to  intermarry.  If  they  are,  as 
supposed,  an  offshoot  of  the  Chauhans,  this  is  an  instance 
of  the  subdivision  of  a  large  clan  leading  to  intermarriage 
between  two  sections,  which  has  probably  occurred  in  other 
instances  also.  This  clan  is  returned  from  the  Hoshangabad 
District. 

Rajput,  Bisen. — This  clan  belongs  to  the  United  Pro- 
vinces and  Oudh.  They  do  not  appear  in  history  before 
the  time  of  Akbar,  and  claim  descent  from  a  well-known 
Brahman  saint  and  a  woman  of  the  Surajvansi  Rajputs 
whom  he  married.  The  Bisens  occupy  a  respectable 
position  among  Rajputs,  and  intermarry  with  other  good 
clans. 

'   Mr.  Ciooke's  Tribes  and  Castes,  art.  Banaphar. 

-  RCijasthmt,  i.  p.  88,  and  Supplementary  Glossary,  s.v. 

■^   Tribes  and  Castes,  s.v. 


438  RAJPUT  PART 

Rajput,  Bundela. — A  well-known  clan  of  Rajputs  of 
somewhat  inferior  position,  who  have  given  their  name  to 
Bundelkhand,  or  the  tract  comprised  principally  in  the 
Districts  of  Saugor,  Damoh,  Jhansi,  Hamlrpur  and  Banda, 
and  the  Panna,  Orchha,  Datia  and  other  States.  The 
Bundelas  are  held  to  be  derived  from  the  Gaharwar  or 
Gherwal  Rajputs,  and  there  is  some  reason  for  supposing 
that  these  latter  were  originally  an  aristocratic  section  of 
the  Bhar  tribe  with  some  infusion  of  Rajput  blood.  But 
the  Gaharwars  now  rank  almost  with  the  highest  clans. 
According  to  tradition  one  of  the  Gaharwar  Rajas  offered  a 
sacrifice  of  his  own  head  to  the  Vindhya-basini  Devi  or  the 
goddess  of  the  Vindhya  hills,  and  out  of  the  drops  {bu7id) 
of  blood  which  fell  on  the  altar  a  boy  was  born.  He  re- 
turned to  Panna  and  founded  the  clan  which  bears  the 
name  Bundela,  from  bund,  a  drop.^  It  is  probable  that,  as 
suggested  by  Captain  Luard,  the  name  is  really  a  corrup- 
tion of  Vindhya  or  Vindhyela,  a  dweller  in  the  Vindhya 
hills,  where,  according  to  their  own  tradition,  the  clan  had 
its  birth.  The  Bundelas  became  prominent  in  the  thirteenth 
or  fourteenth  century,  after  the  fall  of  the  Chandels.  "  Orchha 
became  the  chief  of  the  numerous  Bundela  principalities  ;  but 
its  founder  drew  upon  himself  everlasting  infamy,  by  putting 
to  death  the  wise  Abul  Fazl,  the  historian  and  friend  of  the 
magnanimous  Akbar,  and  the  encomiast  and  advocate  of 
the  Hindu  race.  From  the  period  of  Akbar  the  Bundelas 
bore  a  distinguished  part  in  all  the  grand  conflicts,  to  the 
very  close  of  the  monarchy."  ^ 

The  Bundelas  held  the  country  up  to  the  Nerbudda  in 
the  Central  Provinces,  and,  raiding  continually  into  the  Gond 
territories  south  of  the  Nerbudda  on  the  pretence  of  protect- 
ing the  sacred  cow  which  the  Gonds  used  for  ploughing, 
they  destroyed  the  castle  on  Chauragarh  in  Narsinghpur  on 
a  crest  of  the  Satpuras,  and  reduced  the  Nerbudda  valley  to 
subjection.  The  most  successful  chieftain  of  the  tribe  was 
Chhatarsal,  the  Raja  of  Panna,  in  the  eighteenth  century, 
who  was  virtually  ruler  of  all  Bundelkhand  ;  his  dominions 
extending  from    Banda  in   the  north  to  Jubbulpore  in   the 

'   Mr.  Crooke's  Tribes  and  Castes,  art.  IJiindela. 
2  Rrijasthdn,  i.  p.  io6. 


II  BUNDELA  439 

south,  and  from  Rcwah  in  the  east  to  the  Betwa  River  in  the 
west.  But  he  had  to  call  in  the  help  of  the  Peshvva  to 
repel  an  invasion  of  the  Mughal  armies,  and  left  a  third 
of  his  territory  by  will  to  the  Marathas.  Chhatarsal  left 
twenty-two  legitimate  and  thirty  illegitimate  sons,  and  their 
descendants  now  hold  several  small  Bundela  States,  while 
the  territories  left  to  the  Peshwa  subsequently  became 
British.  The  chiefs  of  Panna,  Orchha,  Datia,  Chhatarpur 
and  numerous  other  small  states  in  the  Bundelkhand  agency 
are  Bundela  Rajputs.^  The  Bundelas  of  Saugor  do  not 
intermarry  with  the  good  Rajput  clans,  but  with  an  inferior 
group  of  Panwars  and  another  clan  called  Dhundhele, 
perhaps  an  offshoot  of  the  Panwars,  who  are  also  residents 
of  Saugor.  Their  character,  as  disclosed  in  a  number  of 
proverbial  sayings  and  stories  current  regarding  them,  some- 
what resembles  that  of  the  Scotch  highlanders  as  depicted 
by  Stevenson.  They  are  proud  and  penurious  to  the  last 
degree,  and  quick  to  resent  the  smallest  slight.  They  make 
good  shikaris  or  sportsmen,  but  are  so  impatient  of  discipline 
that  they  have  never  found  a  vocation  by  enlisting  in  the 
Indian  Army.  Their  characteristics  are  thus  described  in  a 
doggerel  verse  :  "  The  Bundelas  salute  each  other  from 
miles  apart,  \k\e.\x  pagris  are  cocked  on  the  side  of  the  head 
till  they  touch  the  shoulders.  A  Bundela  would  dive  into 
a  well  for  the  sake  of  a  cowrie,  but  would  fight  with  the 
Sardars  of  Government."  No  Bania  could  go  past  a 
Bundela's  house  riding  on  a  pony  or  holding  up  an  umbrella  ; 
and  all  low-caste  persons  who  passed  his  house  must  salute 
it  with  the  words,  Diwan  ji  ko  Ram  Rain.  Women  must 
take  their  shoes  off  to  pass  by.  It  is  related  that  a  few 
years  ago  a  Bundela  was  brought  up  before  the  Assistant 
Commissioner,  charged  with  assaulting  a  tahsil  process- 
server,  and  threatening  him  with  his  sword.  The  Bundela, 
who  was  very  poor  and  wearing  rags,  was  asked  by  the 
magistrate  whether  he  had  threatened  the  man  with  his  sword. 
He  replied  "  Certainly  not  ;  the  sword  is  for  gentlemen  like 
you  and  me  of  equal  position.  To  him,  if  I  had  wished  to 
beat  him  I  would  have  taken  my  shoe."  Another  story  is 
that  there  was  once  a  very  overbearing  TahsTldar,  who  had  a 

^   Imperial  Gazetteer,  articles  Bundelkhand  and  I'anna. 


440  RAJPUT  PARI 

shoe  2\  feet  long  with  which  he  used  to  collect  the  land 
revenue.  One  day  a  Bundela  malguzar  appeared  before 
him  on  some  business.  The  Tahslldar  kept  his  seat.  The 
Bundela  walked  quietly  up  to  the  table  and  said,  "  Will  the 
Sirkar  step  aside  with  me  for  a  moment,  as  I  have  something 
private  to  say."  The  Tahslldar  got  up  and  walked  aside 
with  him,  on  which  the  Bundela  said,  '  That  is  sufficient,  I 
only  wished  to  tell  you  that  you  should  rise  to  receive  me.' 
When  the  Bundelas  are  collected  at  a  feast  they  sit  with 
their  hands  folded  across  their  stomachs  and  their  eyes 
turned  up,  and  remain  impassive  while  food  is  being  put  on 
their  plates,  and  never  say,  '  Enough,'  because  they  think 
that  they  would  show  themselves  to  be  feeble  men  if  they 
refused  to  eat  as  much  as  was  put  before  them.  Much  of 
the  food  is  thus  ultimately  wasted,  and  given  to  the  sweepers, 
and  this  leads  to  great  extravagance  at  marriages  and  other 
ceremonial  occasions.  The  Bundelas  were  much  feared  and 
were  not  popular  landlords,  but  they  are  now  losing  their 
old  characteristics  and  settling  down  into  respectable 
cultivators. 

Rajput,  Chandel. — An  important  clan  of  Rajputs,  of 
which  a  small  number  reside  in  the  northern  Districts  of 
Saugor,  Damoh  and  Jubbulpore,  and  also  in  Chhattisgarh. 
The  name  is  derived  by  Mr.  Crooke  from  the  Sanskrit 
cJiandra,  the  moon.  The  Chandel  are  not  included  in  the 
thirty-six  royal  races,  and  are  supposed  to  have  been  a 
section  of  one  of  the  indigenous  tribes  which  rose  to  power. 
Mr.  V.  A.  Smith  states  that  the  Chandels,  like  several  other 
dynasties,  first  came  into  history  early  in  the  ninth  century, 
when  Nannuka  Chandel  about  A.D.  831  overthrew  a  Parihar 
chieftain  and  became  lord  of  the  southern  parts  of  Jejaka- 
bhukti  or  Bundelkhand.  Their  chief  towns  were  Mahoba  and 
Kalanjar  in  Bundelkhand,  and  they  gradually  advanced 
northwards  till  the  Jumna  became  the  frontier  between  their 
dominions  and  those  of  Kanauj.  They  fought  with  the  Gujar- 
Parihar  kings  of  Kanauj  and  the  Kalachuris  of  Chedi,  who 
had  their  capital  at  Tewar  in  Jubbulpore,  and  joined  in  re- 
sisting the  incursions  of  the  Muhammadans.  In  A.D.  11 82 
Parmal,  the  Chandel  king,  was  defeated  by  Prithwi  Raja,  the 


II  CHAN  DEL  441 

Chauhan  king  of  Delhi,  after  the  latter  had  abducted  the 
Chandel's  daughter.  This  was  the  war  in  which  Alha  and 
Udal,  the  famous  Banaphar  heroes,  fought  for  the  Chandels, 
and  it  is  commemorated  in  the  Chand-Raisa,  a  poem  still 
well  known  to  the  people  of  Bundelkhand.  In  A.D.  1203 
Kalanjar  was  taken  by  the  Muhammadan  Kutb-ud-Din 
Ibak,  and  the  importance  of  the  Chandel  rulers  came  to  an 
end,  though  they  lingered  on  as  purely  local  chiefs  until  the 
sixteenth  century.  The  Chandel  princes  were  great  builders, 
and  beautified  their  chief  towns,  Mahoba,  Kalanjar  and 
Khajuraho  with  many  magnificent  temples  and  lovely  lakes, 
formed  by  throwing  massive  dams  across  the  openings 
between  the  hills/  Among  these  were  great  irrigation  works 
in  the  Hamirpur  District,  the  forts  of  Kalanjar  and  Ajaighar, 
and  the  noble  temples  at  Khajuraho  and  Mahoba.^  Even 
now  the  ruins  of  old  forts  and  temples  in  the  Saugor  and 
Damoh  Districts  are  attributed  by  the  people  to  the  Chandels, 
though  many  were  in  fact  probably  constructed  by  the 
Kalachuris  of  Chedi. 

Mr.  Smith  derives  the  Chandels  either  from  the  Gonds 
or  Bhars,  but  inclines  to  the  view  that  they  were  Gonds. 
The  following  considerations  tend,  I  venture  to  think,  to 
favour  the  hypothesis  of  their  origin  from  the  lihars.  Accord- 
ing to  the  best  traditions,  the  Gonds  came  from  the  south, 
and  practically  did  not  penetrate  to  Bundelkhand.  Though 
Saugor  and  Damoh  contain  a  fair  number  of  Gonds  they 
have  never  been  of  importance  there,  and  this  is  almost  their 
farthest  limit  to  the  north-west.  The  Gond  States  in  the 
Central  Provinces  did  not  come  into  existence  for  several 
centuries  after  the  commencement  of  the  Chandel  dynasty, 
and  while  there  are  authentic  records  of  all  these  states,  the 
Gonds  have  no  tradition  of  their  dominance  in  Bundelkhand. 
The  Gonds  have  nowhere  else  built  such  temples  as  are  attri- 
buted to  the  Chandels  at  Khajuraho,  whilst  the  Bhars  were 
famous  builders.  "  In  Mirzapur  traces  of  the  Bhars  abound 
on  all  sides  in  the  shape  of  old  tanks  and  village  forts.  The 
bricks  found  in  the  Bhar-dlhs  or  forts  are  of  enormous 
dimensions,  and   frequently  measure    1 9  by    11    inches,  and 

'   Early  History  of  hidia,  3rcl   cdi-  -   Mr.    Crooke's   Tribes  ami  Castes, 

tion,  pp.  390-394.  ait.  Chandel. 


442  RAJPUT  PART 

are  2^  inches  thick.  In  quality  and  size  they  are  similar  to 
bricks  often  seen  in  ancient  Buddhist  buildings.  The  old 
capital  of  the  Bhars,  five  miles  from  Mirzapur,  is  said  to  have 
had  150  temples."^  Elliot  remarks  ^  that  "  common  tradi- 
tion assigns  to  the  Bhars  the  possession  of  the  whole  tract 
from  Gorakhpur  to  Bundelkhand  and  Saugor,  and  many  old 
stone  forts,  embankments  and  subterranean  caverns  in 
Gorakhpur,  Azamgarh,  Jaunpur,  Mirzapur  and  x^llahabad, 
which  are  ascribed  to  them,  would  seem  to  indicate  no  in- 
considerable advance  in  civilisation."  Though  there  are  few 
or  no  Bhars  now  in  Bundelkhand,  there  are  a  large  number 
of  Basis  in  Allahabad  which  partly  belongs  to  it,  and  small 
numbers  in  Bundelkhand ;  and  the  Pasi  caste  is  mainly 
derived  from  the  Bhars  ;  ^  while  a  Gaharwar  dynasty,  which 
is  held  to  be  derived  from  the  Bhars,  was  dominant  in 
Bundelkhand  and  Central  India  before  the  rise  of  the 
Chandels.  According  to  one  legend,  the  ancestor  of  the 
Chandels  was  born  with  the  moon  as  a  father  from  the 
daughter  of  the  high  priest  of  the  Gaharwar  Raja  Indrajit  of 
Benares  or  of  Indrajit  himself.*  As  will  be  seen,  the  Gahar- 
wars  were  an  aristocratic  section  of  the  Bhars.  Another 
legend  states  that  the  first  Chandel  was  the  offspring  of  the 
moon  by  the  daughter  of  a  Brahman  Pandit  of  Kalanjar.^ 
In  his  Notes  on  the  Bhars  of  Bundelkhand^  Mr.  Smith 
argues  that  the  Bhars  adopted  the  Jain  religion,  and 
also  states  that  several  of  the  temples  at  Khajuraho  and 
Mahoba,  erected  in  the  eleventh  century,  are  Jain.  These 
were  presumably  erected  by  the  Chandels,  but  I  have 
never  seen  it  suggested  that  the  Gonds  were  Jains  or  were 
capable  of  building  Jain  temples  in  the  eleventh  century. 
Mr.  Smith  also  states  that  Maniya  Deo,  to  whom  a  temple 
exists  at  Mahoba,  was  the  tutelary  deity  of  the  Chandels  ; 
and  that  the  only  other  shrine  of  Maniya  Deo  discovered 
by  him  in  the  Hamlrpur  District  was  in  a  village  reputed 
formerly  to  have  been  held  by  the  Bhars.'^  Two  instances  of 
intercourse  between  the  Chandels  and  Gonds  are  given,  but 

'  Shcrring's    Castes    and    Tribes,   i.  *  Crooke's    Tribes  and  Castes,   art. 

PP-  359>  360.  Chandel. 

2  Supplemental  Glossary,  art.  lihar.  r    r    <  o  *r>       1      1  •   i,q^^\ 

"  -^'  "  J.A.S.B.  vol.  xlvi.  (1577),  p.  232. 

2  See  art.  ITisi.  7   Jhjdcm,  p.  233. 


II  CHA  UHAN  443 

the  second  of  them,  that  the  Rani  Durgavati  of  Mandla  was 
a  Chandel  princess,  belongs  to  the  sixteenth  century,  and 
has  no  bearing  on  the  origin  of  the  Chandels.  The  first 
instance,  that  of  the  Chandel  Raja  Kirat  Singh  hunting  at 
Maniagarh  with  the  Gond  Raja  of  Garha-Mandla,  cannot 
either  be  said  to  furnish  any  real  evidence  in  favour  of  a 
Gond  origin  for  the  Chandels  ;  it  may  be  doubted  whether 
there  was  any  Gond  Raja  of  Garha-Mandla  till  after  the  fall 
of  the  Kalachuri  dynasty  of  Tewar,  which  is  quite  close  to 
Garha-Mandla,  in  the  twelfth  century  ;  and  a  reference  so  late 
as  this  would  not  affect  the  question/  Finally,  the  Chandels 
are  numerous  in  Mirzapur,  which  was  formerly  the  chief  seat 
of  the  Bhars,  while  the  Gonds  have  never  been  either 
numerous  or  important  in  Mirzapur.  These  considerations 
seem  to  point  to  the  possibility  of  the  derivation  of  the 
Chandels  from  the  Bhars  rather  than  from  the  Gonds  ;  and 
the  point  is  perhaps  of  some  interest  in  view  of  the  sugges- 
tion in  the  article  on  Kol  that  the  Gonds  did  not  arrive  in 
the  Central  Provinces  for  some  centuries  after  the  rise  of  the 
Chandel  dynasty  ot  Khajuraho  and  Mahoba.  The  Chandels 
may  have  simply  been  a  local  branch  of  the  Gaharwars,  who 
obtained  a  territorial  designation  from  Chanderi,  or  in  some 
other  manner,  as  has  continually  happened  in  the  case  of 
other  clans.  The  Gaharwars  were  probably  derived  from 
the  Bhars.  The  Chandels  now  rank  as  a  good  Rajput  clan, 
and  intermarry  with  the  other  leading  clans. 

Rajput,  Chauhan. — The  Chauhiin  was  the  last  of  the 
Agnikula  or  fire-born  clans.  According  to  the  legend  : 
"Again  Vasishtha  seated  on  the  lotus  prepared  incantations  ; 
again  he  called  the  gods  to  aid  ;  and  as  he  poured  forth  the 
libation  a  figure  arose,  lofty  in  stature,  of  elevated  front, 
hair  like  jet,  eyes  rolling,  breast  expanded,  fierce,  terrific, 
clad  in  armour  with  quiver  filled,  a  bow  in  one  hand  and  a 
brand  in  the  other,  quadriform  (Chaturanga),  whence  his 
name  was  given  as  Chauhan."  This  account  makes  the 
Chauhan  the  most  important  of  the  fire-born  clans,  and 
Colonel  Tod  says  that  he  was  the  most  valiant  of  the 
Agnikulas,  and   it  may  be  asserted  not  of  them  only  but  of 

1  J.A.S.B.  vol.  xlvi.  (1877),  p.  233. 


444  RAJPUT  PART 

the  whole  Rajput  race  ;  and  though  the  swords  of  the  Rahtors 
would  be  ready  to  contest  the  point,  impartial  decision  must 
assign  to  the  Chauhan  the  van  in  the  long  career  of  arms.^ 
General  Cunningham  shows  that  even  so  late  as  the  time  of 
Prithwi  Raj  in  the  twelfth  century  the  Chauhans  had  no 
claim  to  be  sprung  from  fire,  but  were  content  to  be 
considered  descendants  of  a  Brahman  sage  Bhrigu.^  Like 
the  other  Agnikula  clans  the  Chauhans  are  now  considered 
to  have  sprung  from  the  Gurjara  or  White  Hun  invaders  of 
the  fifth  and  sixth  centuries,  but  I  do  not  know  whether 
this  is  held  to  be  definitely  proved  in  their  case.  Sambhar 
and  Ajmer  in  Rajputana  appear  to  have  been  the  first  home 
of  the  clan,  and  inscriptions  record  a  long  line  of  thirty-nine 
kings  as  reigning  there  from  Anhul,  the  first  created  Chauhan. 
The  last  but  one  of  them,  Vigraha  Raja  or  Bisal  Deo,  in 
the  middle  of  the  twelfth  century  extended  the  ancestral 
dominions  considerably,  and  conquered  Delhi  from  a  chief  of 
the  Tomara  clan.  At  this  time  the  Chauhans,  according  to 
their  own  bards,  held  the  line  of  the  Nerbudda  from  Garha- 
Mandla  to  Maheshwar  and  also  Aslrgarh,  while  their 
dominions  extended  north  to  Hissar  and  south  to  the 
Aravalli  hills.^  The  nephew  of  Bisal  Deo  was  Prithwi 
Raj,  the  most  famous  Chauhan  hero,  who  ruled  at  Sambhar, 
Ajmer  and  Delhi.  His  first  exploit  was  the  abduction  of 
the  daughter  of  Jaichand,  the  Gaharwar  Raja  of  Kanauj, 
in  about  A.D,  1175.  The  king  of  Kanauj  had  claimed  the 
title  of  universal  sovereign  and  determined  to  celebrate 
the  Ashwa-Medha  or  horse-sacrifice,  at  which  all  the  offices 
should  be  performed  by  vassal  kings.  Prithwi  Raj  alone 
declined  to  attend  as  a  subordinate,  and  Jaichand  therefore 
made  a  wooden  image  of  him  and  set  it  up  at  the  gate  in 
the  part  of  doorkeeper.  But  when  his  daughter  after  the 
tournament  took  the  garland  of  flowers  to  bestow  it  on  the 
chief  whom  she  chose  for  her  husband,  she  passed  by  all 
the  assembled  nobles  and  threw  the  garland  on  the  neck  of 
the  wooden  image.  At  this  moment  Prithwi  Raj  dashed  in 
with  a  few  companions,  and  catching  her  up,  escaped  with 

'    A'djas/hriii,  i.  pp.  86,  87.  ■'   Imperial  Gazetteer,   India,  vol.   ii. 

-  Air/iaeolo,i^i(al    Reports,     ii.     255,        p.  312. 
quoted  in  Mr.  Crookc's  art.  Chaiilian. 


II  CHAUJ/AN  445 

her  from  her  father's  court.'  Afterwards,  in  1182,  Prithvvi 
Raj  defeated  the  Chandel  Raja  Parmal  and  captured  Mahoba. 
In  I  191  Prithwi  Raj  was  the  head  of  a  confederacy  of  Hindu 
princes  in  combating  the  invasion  of  Muhammad  Ghori.  He 
repelled  the  Muhammadans  at  Tarain  about  two  miles  north 
of  Delhi,  but  in  the  following  year  was  completely  defeated 
and  killed  at  Thaneswar,  and  soon  afterwards  Delhi  and 
Ajmer  fell  to  the  Muhammadans,  The  Chauhan  kingdom 
was  broken  up,  but  scattered  parts  of  it  remained,  and  about 
A.D.  1307  Aslrgarh  in  Nimar,  which  continued  to  be  held  by 
the  Chauhans,  was  taken  by  Ala-ud-Dln  Khilji  and  the  whole 
garrison  put  to  the  sword  except  one  boy.  This  boy,  Raisi 
Chauhan,  escaped  to  Rajputana,  and  according  to  the  bardic 
chronicle  his  descendants  formed  the  Hara  branch  of  the 
Chauhans  and  conquered  from  the  Minas  the  tract  known  as 
Haravati,  from  which  they  perhaps  took  their  name.-  This 
is  now  comprised  in  the  Kotah  and  Bundi  states,  ruled  by 
Hara  chiefs.  Another  well-known  offshoot  from  the  Chauhans 
are  the  Khichi  clan,  who  belong  to  the  Sind-Sagar  Doab  ; 
and  the  Nikumbh  and  Bhadauria  clans  are  also  derived  from 
them.  The  Chauhans  are  numerous  in  the  Punjab  and 
United  Provinces  and  rank  as  one  of  the  highest  Rajput 
clans.  In  the  Central  Provinces  they  are  found  principally 
in  the  Narsinghpur  and  Hoshangabad  Districts,  and  also  in 
Mandla.  The  Chauhan  Rajputs  of  Mandla  marry  among 
themselves,  with  other  Chauhans  of  Mandla,  Seoni  and 
Balaghat.  They  have  exogamous  sections  with  names 
apparently  derived  from  villages  like  an  ordinary  caste. 
The  remarriage  of  widows  is  forbidden,  but  those  widows 
who  desire  to  do  so  go  and  live  with  a  man  and  are  put  out 
of  caste.  This,  however,  is  said  not  to  happen  frequently. 
A  widow's  hair  is  not  shaved,  but  her  glass  bangles  are 
broken,  she  is  dressed  in  white,  made  to  sleep  on  the  ground, 
and  can  wear  no  ornaments.  Owing  to  the  renown  of  the 
clan  their  name  has  been  adopted  by  numerous  classes  of 
inferior  Rajputs  and  low  Hindu  castes  who  have  no  right  to 
it.  Thus  in  the  Punjab  a  large  subcaste  of  Chamars  call 
themselves  Chauhan,  and  in  the  Bilaspur  District  a  low  caste 

^  Early  History  of  India  and  Imperial  Gazetteer,  loc.  cit. 
2  Rajasthdn,  ii.  p.  419. 


446  RAJ  PUT  FART 

of  village  watchmen  go  by  this  name.  These  latter  may  be 
descendants  of  the  illegitimate  offspring  of  Chauhan  Rajputs 
by  low-caste  women. 

Rajput,  Dhakar. — In  the  Central  Provinces  this  term 
has  the  meaning  of  one  of  illegitimate  descent,  and  it  is  often 
used  by  the  Kirars,  who  are  probably  of  mixed  descent  from 
Rajputs.  In  northern  India,  however,  the  Dhakars  are  a 
clan  of  Rajputs,  who  claim  Surajvansi  origin  ;  but  this  is  not 
generally  admitted.  Mr.  Crooke  states  that  some  are  said 
to  be  emigrants  from  the  banks  of  the  Nerbudda  ;  but  the 
main  body  say  they  came  from  Ajmer  in  the  sixteenth 
century.  They  were  notorious  in  the  eighteenth  century  for 
their  lawlessness,  and  gave  the  imperial  Mughal  officers 
much  trouble  in  the  neighbourhood  of  Agra,  rendering  the 
communications  between  that  city  and  Etawah  insecure. 
In  the  Mutiny  they  broke  out  again,  and  are  generally  a 
turbulent,  ill-conducted  sept,  always  ready  for  petty  acts  of 
violence  and  cattle-stealing.  They  are,  however,  recognised 
as  Rajputs  of  good  position  and  intermarry  with  the  best 
clans.^ 

In  the  Central  Provinces  the  Dhakars  are  found  princi- 
pally in  Hoshangabad,  and  it  is  doubtful  if  they  are  proper 
Rajputs. 

Rajput,  Gaharwap,  Gherwal. —  This  is  an  old  clan. 
Mr.  V.  A.  Smith  states  that  they  had  been  dominant  in 
Central  India  about  Nowgong  and  Chhatarpur  before  the 
Parihars  in  the  eighth  century.  The  Parihar  kings  were 
subsequently  overthrown  by  the  Chandels  of  Mahoba.  In 
their  practice  of  building  embankments  and  constructing 
lakes  the  Chandels  were  imitators  of  the  Gaharwars,  who 
are  credited  with  the  formation  of  some  of  the  most 
charming  lakes  in  Bundelkhand.^  And  in  a.d.  1090  a  Raja 
of  the  Gaharwar  clan  called  Chandradeva  seized  Kanauj 
(on  the  Ganges  north-west  of  Lucknow),  and  established  his 

1  The  aljove   particulars    are  taken  ^  Early  Hislory  of  India,  3rcl  edi- 

from  Mr.  Crofike's  arlicle   Dhakara  in       tion,  p.  391. 
his  Tribes  and  Castes. 


II  a  A //AN  WAR  447 

authority   certainly  over   lienares   and  Ajodhia,  and    [icrliaps 
over    the   Delhi    territory.       Govindachandra,    grandson    of 
Chandradeva,  enjoyed  a  long  reign,  which  included  the  years 
A.D.  1 1  14  and  I  I  54.      His  numerous  land  grants  and  widely 
distributed  coins  prove  that  he  succeeded  to  a  large  extent 
in   restoring  the  glories  of  Kanauj,  and  in  making  himself 
a  power    of   considerable    importance.       The    grandson    of 
Govindachandra  was  Jayachandra,  renowned  in  the  popular 
Hindu  poems  and  tales  of  northern  India  as  Raja  Jaichand, 
whose  daughter  was  carried  off  by  the  gallant   Rai   Pithora 
or  Prithwi  Raj  of  Ajmer.      Kanauj  was  finally  captured  and 
destroyed    by    Shihab  -  ud  -  Din    in    1193,    when    Jaichand 
retired  towards  Benares  but  was  overtaken  and  slain.^      His 
grandson,  Mr.  Crooke  says,^  afterwards  fled  to  Kantit  in  the 
Mlrzapur    District    and,  overcoming  the   Bhar   Raja  of  that 
place,  founded  the  family  of  the  Gaharwar  Rajas  of  Kantit 
Bijaypur,   which   was   recently   still    in   existence.       All  the 
other  Gaharwars  trace  their  lineage  to  Benares  or  Bijaypur. 
The  predecessors  of  the  Gaharwars  in  Kantit  and  in  a  large 
tract  of  country  lying  contiguous  to  it  were  the  Bhars,  an 
indigenous  race  of  great  enterprise,  who,  though  not  highly 
civilised,  were  far  removed  from   barbarism.      According  to 
Sherring  they  have  left  numerous  evidences  of  their  energy 
and  skill  in  earthworks,  forts,  dams  and  the  like.^      Similarly 
Elliot   says   of  the   Bhars  :  "  Common  tradition   assigns  to 
them  the  possession   of  the  whole  tract  from  Gorakhpur  to 
Bundelkhand  and  Saugor,  and  the  large  pargana  of  Bhadoi 
or  Bhardai    in   Benares  is  called  after  their   name.      Many 
old   stone  forts,  embankments  and  subterranean   caverns  in 
Gorakhpur,    Azamgarh,    Jaunpur,  Mlrzapur   and   Allahabad, 
which    are   ascribed    to    them,    would    seem    to   indicate   no 
inconsiderable  advance  in   civilisation,"  ■*      Colonel   Tod  says 
of  the  Gaharwars  :   "  The  Gherwal   Rajput  is  scarcely  known 
to  his    brethren    in    Rajasthan,  who  will   not  admit  his  con- 
taminated   blood    to    mix    with   theirs,    though  as   a    brave 
warrior    he    is   entitled    to    their    fellowship."  ■'       It    is    thus 
curious  that  the  Gaharwars,  who  are  one  of  the  oldest  clans 

^  Early  Hist07y  of  India,  y  A  &A\\.\on,  ^   Tribes  and  Casies,  i.  p.  75. 

p.  385.  *  Supplementary  Glossary,  p.  33. 

'^   Tribes  and  Castes,  art.  Gaharwar.  ^  Rajasthan,  i.  p.  105. 


448  RAJPUT  PART 

to  appear  in  authentic  history,  if  they  ruled  Central  India  in 
the  eighth  century  before  the  Parihars,  should  be  considered 
to  be  of  very  impure  origin.  And  as  they  are  subsequently 
found  in  Mirzapur,  a  backward  forest  tract  which  is  also  the 
home  of  the  Bhars,  and  both  the  Gaharwars  and  Bhars  have 
a  reputation  as  builders  of  tanks  and  forts,  it  seems  likely 
that  the  Gaharwars  were  really,  as  suggested  by  Mr.  V.  A. 
Smith,  the  aristocratic  branch  of  the  Bhars,  probably  with  a 
considerable  mixture  of  Rajput  blood.  Elliot  states  that 
the  Bhars  formerly  occupied  the  whole  of  Azamgarh,  the 
pargana  of  Bara  in  Allahabad  and  Khariagarh  in  the  Kanauj 
tract.  This  widespread  dominance  corresponds  with  what 
has  been  already  stated  as  regards  the  Gaharwars,  who, 
according  to  Mr.  V.  A.  Smith,  ruled  in  Central  India,  Kanauj, 
Oudh,  Benares  and  Mirzapur.  And  the  name  Gaharwar, 
according  to  Dr.  Hoernle,  is  connected  with  the  Sanskrit 
root  gah,  and  has  the  sense  of  '  dwellers  in  caves  or  deep 
jungle.'  ^  The  origin  of  the  Gaharwars  is  of  interest  in 
the  Central  Provinces,  because  it  is  from  them  that  the 
Bundela  clan  of  Saugor  and  Bundelkhand  is  probably 
descended."^ 

The  Gaharwars,  Mr.  Crooke  states,  now  hold  a  high  rank 
among  Rajput  septs  ;  they  give  daughters  to  the  Baghel, 
Chandel  and  Bisen,  and  take  brides  of  the  Bais,  Gautam, 
Chauhan,  Parihar  and  other  clans.  The  Gaharwars  are 
found  in  small  numbers  in  the  Central  Provinces,  chiefly  in 
the  Chhattlsgarh  Districts  and  Feudatory  States. 

Rajput,  Gaur,  Chamar  Gaur.  —  Colonel  Tod  remarks 
of  this  tribe :  "  The  Gaur  tribe  was  once  respected  in 
Rajasthan,  though  it  never  there  attained  to  any  considerable 
eminence.  The  ancient  kings  of  Bengal  were  of  this  race, 
and  gave  their  name  to  the  capital,  Lakhnauti."  This  town 
in  Bengal,  and  the  kingdom  of  which  it  was  the  capital,  were 
known  as  Gauda,  and  it  has  been  conjectured  that  the  Gaur 
Brahmans  and  Rajputs  were  named  after  it.  Sir  H.  M. 
Elliot  and  Mr.  Crooke,  however,  point  out  that  the  home  of 
the   Gaur   Brahmans  and    Rajputs  and   a  cultivating  caste, 

^  Quoted  in  Mr.  Crooke's  article  on  Gaharwar. 
'^  See  art.  Rajput,  Bundela. 


1 1  GA  UR  449 

the  Gaur  Tac^as,  is  in  the  centre  and  west  of  the  United 
rrovinces,  far  removed  from  Bengal  ;  the  Gaur  Brahmans 
now  reside  principally  in  the  Meerut  Division,  and  between 
them  and  Bengal  is  the  home  of  the  Kanaujia  Brfdimans. 
General  Cunningham  suggests  that  the  country  comprised 
in  the  present  Gonda  District  round  the  old  town  of  Sravasti, 
was  formerly  known  as  Gauda,  and  was  hence  the  origin  of 
the  caste  name.^  The  derivation  from  Gaur  in  Bengal  is 
perhaps,  however,  more  probable,  as  the  name  was  best 
known  in  connection  with  this  tract.  The  Gaur  Rajputs 
do  not  make  much  figure  in  history.  "  Repeated  mention 
of  them  is  found  in  the  wars  of  Prithwi  Raj  as  leaders  of 
considerable  renown,  one  of  whom  founded  a  small  state  in 
the  centre  of  India.  This  survived  through  seven  centuries 
of  Mogul  domination,  till  it  at  length  fell  a  prey  indirectly 
to  the  successes  of  the  British  over  the  Marathas,  when 
Sindhia  in  1809  annihilated  the  power  of  the  Gaur  and 
took  possession  of  his  capital,  Supur." " 

In  the  United  Provinces  the  Gaur  Rajputs  are  divided 
into  three  groups,  the  Bahman,  or  Brahman,  the  Bhat,  and 
the  Chamar  Gaur.  Of  these  the  Chamar  Gaur,  curiously 
enough  appear  to  rank  the  highest,  which  is  accounted  for 
by  the  following  story  :  When  trouble  fell  upon  the  Gaur 
family,  one  of  their  ladies,  far  advanced  in  pregnane}^  took 
refuge  in  a  Chamar's  house,  and  was  so  grateful  to  him  for 
his  disinterested  protection  that  she  promised  to  call  her  child 
by  his  name.  The  Bhats  and  Brahmans,  to  whom  the  others 
fled,  do  not  appear  to  have  shown  a  like  chivalry,  and  hence, 
strange  as  it  may  appear,  the  subdivisions  called  after  their 
name  rank  below  the  Chamar  Gaur.'*  The  names  of  the 
subsepts  indicate  that  this  clan  of  Rajputs  is  probably  of 
mixed  origin.  If  the  Brahman  subsept  is  descended  from 
Brahmans,  it  would  be  only  one  of  several  probable  cases 
of  Rajput  clans  originating  from  this  caste.  As  regards  the 
Bhat  subcaste,  the  Charans  or  Bhats  of  Rajputana  are 
admittedly  Rajputs,  and  there  is  therefore  nothing  curious 
in  finding  a  Bhat  subsection  in  a  Rajput  clan.  What  the 
real  origin  of  the  Chamar  Gaurs  was  is  difficult  to  surmise. 

^  Quoted    in    Mr.    Crooke's    article  ^  Rajasthan,  i.  p.  105. 

Gaur  Brahman.  3  Supple  mental  Glossary,  s.v. 

VOL.  IV  2  G 


450  RAJPUT  PART 

The  Chamar  Gaur  is  now  a  separate  clan,  and  its  members 
intermarry  with  the  other  Gaur  Rajputs,  affording  an  in- 
stance of  the  subdivision  of  clans.  In  the  Central  Provinces 
the  greater  number  of  the  persons  returned  as  Gaur  Rajputs 
really  belong  to  a  group  known  as  Gorai,  who  are  considered 
to  be  the  descendants  of  widows  or  kept  women  in  the  Gaur 
clan,  and  marry  among  themselves.  They  should  really 
therefore  be  considered  a  separate  caste,  and  not  members 
of  the  Rajput  caste  proper.  In  the  United  Provinces 
the  Gaurs  rank  with  the  good  Rajput  clans.  In  the 
Central  Provinces  the  Gaur  and  Chamar -Gaur  clans 
are  returned  from  most  Districts  of  the  Jubbulpore  and 
Nerbudda  divisions,  and  also  in  considerable  numbers  from 
Bhandara. 

Rajput,  Haihaya,  Haihaivansi,  Kalachuri. — This  well- 
known  historical  clan  of  the  Central  Provinces  is  not  in- 
cluded among  the  thirty-six  royal  races,  and  Colonel  Tod 
gives  no  information  about  them.  The  name  Haihaya  is 
stated  to  be  a  corruption  of  Ahihaya,  which  means  snake- 
horse,  the  legend  being  that  the  first  ancestor  of  the  clan 
was  the  issue  of  a  snake  and  a  mare.  Haihaivansi  signifies 
descendants  of  the  horse.  Colonel  Tod  states  that  the  first 
capital  of  the  Indu  or  lunar  race  was  at  Mahesvati  on  the 
Nerbudda,  still  existing  as  Maheshwar,  and  was  founded  by 
Sahasra  Arjuna  of  the  Haihaya  tribe.^  This  Arjuna  of  the 
thousand  arms  was  one  of  the  Pandava  brothers,  and  it  may 
be  noted  that  the  Ratanpur  Haihaivansis  still  have  a  story 
of  their  first  ancestor  stealing  a  horse  from  Arjuna,  and  a 
consequent  visit  of  Arjuna  and  Krishna  to  Ratanpur  for  its 
recovery.  Since  the  Haihayas  also  claim  descent  from  a 
snake  and  are  of  the  lunar  race,  it  seems  not  unlikely  that 
they  may  have  belonged  to  one  of  the  Scythian  or  Tartar 
tribes,  the  Sakas  or  Yueh-chi,  who  invaded  India  shortly 
after  the  commencement  of  the  Christian  era,  as  it  has  been 
conjectured  that  the  other  lunar  Rajput  clans  worshipping  or 
claiming  descent  from  a  snake  originated  from  these  tribes. 
The  Haihaivansis  or  Kalachuris  became  dominant  in  the 
Nerbudda    valley    about    the    sixth  century,  their  earliest 

1  Rajasthdn,  i.  p.  36. 


II  HATHA  YA  451 

inscription  being  dated  A.D.  580.  Their  capital  was  moved 
to  Tripura  or  Tewar  near  Jubbulporc  about  A.D.  900, 
and  from  here  they  appear  to  have  governed  an  extensive 
territory  for  about  300  years,  and  were  frequently  engaged 
in  war  with  the  adjoining  kingdoms,  the  Chandels  of 
Mahoba,  the  Panwars  of  Malwa,  and  the  Chalukyas  of  the 
south.  One  king,  Gangeyadeva,  appears  even  to  have 
aspired  to  become  the  paramount  power  in  northern  India, 
and  his  sovereignty  was  recognised  in  distant  Tirhut. 
Gangeyadeva  was  fond  of  residing  at  the  foot  of  the  holy 
fig-tree  of  Prayaga  (Allahabad),  and  eventually  found  salva- 
tion there  with  his  hundred  wives.  P^rom  about  A.D.  i  100 
the  power  of  the  Kalachuri  or  Haihaya  princes  began  to 
decline,  and  their  last  inscription  is  dated  A.D.  11 96.  It  is 
probable  that  they  were  subverted  by  the  Gond  kings  of 
Garha-Mandla,  the  first  of  whom,  Jadurai,  appears  to  have 
been  in  the  service  of  the  Kalachuri  king,  and  subsequently 
with  the  aid  of  a  dismissed  minister  to  have  supplanted  his 
former  master.^  The  kingdom  of  the  Kalachuri  or  Haihaya 
kings  was  known  as  Chedi,  and,  according  to  Mr.  V.  A.  Smith, 
corresponded  more  or  less  roughly  to  the  present  area  of  the 
Central  Provinces.^ 

In  about  the  tenth  century  a  member  of  the  reigning 
family  of  Tripura  was  appointed  viceroy  of  some  territories 
in  Chhattlsgarh,  and  two  or  three  generations  afterwards 
his  family  became  practically  independent  of  the  parent 
house,  and  established  their  own  capital  at  Ratanpur  in 
Bilaspur  District  (A.D.  1050).  This  state  was  known  as 
Dakshin  or  southern  Kosala.  During  the  twelfth  century 
its  importance  rapidly  increased,  partly  no  doubt  on  the 
ruins  of  the  Jubbulpore  kingdom,  until  the  influence  of  the 
Ratanpur  princes,  Ratnadeva  II.  and  Prithwideva  II.,  may 
be  said  to  have  extended  from  Amarkantak  to  beyond  the 
Godavari,  and   from  the  confines  of  Berar  in   the  west  to 

^  The  above  notice  of  the  Kalachuri  tion,    p.    390.      This,    however,    does 

or  Haihaya  dynasty  of  Tripura  is  taken  not    only    refer    to     the     Jubbulpore 

from  the  detailed  account  in  they«^-  branch,  whose  territories  did  not  pro- 

bulpore  District  Gazetteer,  pp.  42-47,  •  bably  include  the  south  and  east  of  the 

compiled  by  Mr.  A.  E.  Nelson,  C.S.,  present  Central  Provinces,  but  includes 

and  Rai  Bahadur  Hira  Lai.  also     the    country    over    which     the 

Ratanpur  kings  subsequently  extended 

-  Early  History  of  India,  3rd  edi-  their  separate  jurisdiction. 


452  RAJPUT  PART 

the  boundaries  of  Orissa  in  the  east.^  The  Ratanpur 
kingdom  of  Chedi  or  Dakshin  Kosala  was  the  only  one  of 
the  Rajput  states  in  the  Central  Provinces  which  escaped 
subversion  by  the  Gonds,  and  it  enjoyed  a  comparatively 
tranquil  existence  till  A.D.  1740,  when  Ratanpur  fell  to  the 
Marathas  almost  without  striking  .  a  blow.  "  The  only 
surviving  representative  of  the  Haihayas  of  Ratanpur," 
Mr.  Wills  states,^  "  is  a  quite  simple-minded  Rajput  who  lives 
at  Bargaon  in  Raipur  District.  He  represents  the  junior 
or  Raipur  branch  of  the  family,  and  holds  five  villages 
which  were  given  him  revenue-free  by  the  Marathas  for  his 
maintenance.  The  malguzar  of  Senduras  claims  descent 
from  the  Ratanpur  family,  but  his  pretensions  are  doubtful. 
He  enjoys  no  privileges  such  as  those  of  the  Bargaon 
Thakur,  to  whom  presents  are  still  made  when  he  visits  the 
chiefs  who  were  once  subordinate  to  his  ancient  house." 
In  the  Ballia  District  of  the  United  Provinces  ^  are  some 
Hayobans  Rajputs  who  claim  descent  from  the  Ratanpur 
kings.  Chandra  Got,  a  cadet  of  this  house,  is  said  to  have 
migrated  northwards  in  A.D.  850^  and  settled  in  the  Saran 
District  on  the  Ganges,  where  he  waged  successful  war  with 
the  aboriginal  Cheros.  Subsequently  one  of  his  descendants 
violated  a  Brahman  woman  called  Maheni  of  the  house  of 
his  Purohit  or  family  priest,  who  burnt  herself  to  death,  and 
is  still  locally  worshipped.  After  this  tragedy  the  Hayobans 
Rajputs  left  Saran  and  settled  in  Ballia.  Colonel  Tod 
states  that,  "  A  small  branch  of  these  ancient  Haihayas  yet 
exist  in  the  country  of  the  Nerbudda,  near  the  very  top 
of  the  valley,  at  Sohagpur  in  Baghelkhand,  aware  of  their 
ancient  lineage,  and,  though  {q.\^  in  number,  are  still  cele- 
brated for  their  valour."  ^  This  Sohagpur  must  apparently 
be  the  Sohagpur  tahsll  of  Rewah,  ceded  from  Mandla  after 
the  Mutiny. 

Rajput,  Huna,  Hoon. — This  clan  retains  the  name  and 

1  Bildspur  District  Gazetteer,  chap.  ■*  The  date  is  too  early,  as  is  usual 
ii.,  in  which  a  full  and  interesting  in  these  traditions.  Though  the 
account  of  the  Ratanpur  kingdom  is  Ilaihaivansis  only  founded  Ratanpur 
given  by  Mr.  C.  U.  Wills,  C.S.  about  A.D.    1050,   their  own    legends 

2  Ibidem,  p.  49.  put  it  ten  centuries  earlier. 
'  Mr.  Crooke's   Tribes  and  Castes, 

3,rt.  riayobans,  '*  Rajasthan,  i.  p.  36. 


II  KACHHWAHA  453 

memory  of  the  Hun  barbarian  hordes,  who  invaded  India 
at  or  near  the  epoch  of  their  incursions  into  Europe.  It 
is  practically  extinct ;  but  in  his  Western  India  Colonel  Tod 
records  the  discovery  of  a  few  families  of  Hunas  in  Baroda 
State  :  "  At  a  small  village  opposite  Ometa  I  discovered 
a  few  huts  of  Huns,  still  existing  under  the  ancient  name 
of  Hoon,  by  which  they  are  known  to  Hindu  history. 
There  are  said  to  be  three  or  four  families  of  them  at  the 
village  of  Trisavi,  three  kos  from  Baroda,  and  although 
neither  feature  nor  complexion  indicate  much  relation  to 
the  Tartar-visaged  Hun,  we  may  ascribe  the  change  to 
climate  and  admixture  of  blood,  as  there  is  little  doubt  that 
they  are  descended  from  these  invaders,  who  established  a 
sovereignty  on  the  Indus  in  the  second  and  sixth  centuries 
of  the'  Christian  era,  and  became  so  incorporated  with  the 
Rajput  population  as  to  obtain  a  place  among  the  thirty-six 
royal  races  of  India,  together  with  the  Gete,  the  Kathi, 
and  other  tribes  of  the  Sacae  from  Central  Asia,  whose 
descendants  still  occup)^  the  land  of  the  sun-worshipping 
Saura  or  Chaura,  no  doubt  one  of  the  same  race." 

Rajput,  Kachhwaha,  Cutchwaha. — A  celebrated  clan 
of  Rajputs  included  among  the  thirty-six  royal  races,  to 
which  the  Maharajas  of  the  important  states  of.  Amber  or 
Jaipur  and  Alwar  belong.  They  are  of  the  solar  race  and 
claim  descent  from  Kash,  the  second  son  of  the  great 
king  Rama  of  Ajodhia,  the  incarnation  of  Vishnu.  Their 
original  seat,  according  to  tradition,  was  Rohtas  on  the 
Son  river,  and  another  of  their  famous  progenitors  was 
Raja  Nal,  who  migrated  from  Rohtas  and  founded  Narwar.-^ 
The  town  of  Damoh  in  the  Central  Provinces  is  supposed 
to  be  named  after  Damyanti,  Raja  Nal's  wife.  According 
to  General  Cunningham  the  name  Kachhwaha  is  an 
abbreviation  of  Kachhaha-ghata  or  tortoise -killer.  The 
earliest  appearance  of  the  Kachhwaha  Rajputs  in  authentic 
history  is  in  the  tenth  century,  when  a  chief  of  the  clan 
captured  Gwalior  from  the  Parihar-Gujar  kings  of  Kanauj 
and  established  himself  there.  His  dynasty  had  an  inde- 
pendent existence  till  A.D.  1128,  when  it  became  tributary 

^  Rajasthdti,  ii.  p.  319. 


454  RAJPUT-  PART 

to  the  Chandel  kings  of  Mahoba.^  The  last  prince  of 
Gwalior  was  Tejkaran,  called  Dulha  Rai  or  the  bridegroom 
prince,  and  he  received  from  his  father-in-law  the  district 
of  Daora  in  the  present  Jaipur  State,  where  he  settled.  In 
1 1  50  one  of  his  successors  wrested  Amber  from  the  Minas 
and  made  it  his  capital.  The  Amber  State  from  the  first 
acknowledged  the  supremacy  of  the  Mughal  emperors,  and 
the  chief  of  the  period  gave  his  daughter  in  marriage  to 
Akbar.  This  chiefs  son,  Bhagwan  Das,  is  said  to  have 
saved  Akbar's  life  at  the  battle  of  Sarnal.  Bhagwan  Das 
gave  a  daughter  to  Jahanglr,  and  his  adopted  son,  Man 
Singh,  the  next  chief,  was  one  of  the  most  conspicuous  of 
the  Mughal  Generals,  and  at  different  periods  was  governor 
of  Kabul,  Bengal,  Bihar  and  the  Deccan.  The  next  chief 
of  note,  Jai  Singh  I.,  appears  in  all  the  wars  of  Aur^ngzeb 
in  the  Deccan.  He  was  commander  of  6000  horse,  and 
captured  Sivaji,  the  celebrated  founder  of  the  Maratha  power. 
The  present  city  of  Jaipur  was  founded  by  a  subsequent 
chief,  Jai  Singh  II.,  in  1728.  During  the  Mutiny  the 
Maharaja  of  Jaipur  placed  all  his  military  power  at  the 
disposal  of  the  Political  Agent,  and  in  every  way  assisted 
the  British  Government.  At  the  Durbar  of  1877  his  salute 
was  raised  to  2 1  guns.  Jaipur,  one  of  the  largest  states 
in  Rajputana,  has  an  area  of  nearly  16,000  square  miles, 
and  a  population  of  2^  million  persons.  The  Alwar  State 
was  founded  about  1776  by  Pratap  Singh,  a  descendant  of 
a  prince  of  the  Jaipur  house,  who  had  separated  from  it 
three  centuries  before.  It  has  an  area  of  3000  square 
miles  and  a  population  of  nearly  a  million."  In  Colonel 
Tod's  time  the  Kachhwaha  chiefs  in  memory  of  their 
descent  from  Rama,  the  incarnation  of  the  sun,  celebrated 
with  great  solemnity  the  annual  feast  of  the  sun.  On  this 
occasion  a  stately  car  called  the  chariot  of  the  sun  was 
brought  from  Rama's  temple,  and  the  Maharaja  ascending 
into  it  perambulated  his  capital.  The  images  of  Rama  and 
Siva  were  carried  with  the  army  both  in  Alwar  and  Jaipur. 
The  banner   of  Amber  was  always    called  the  PdncJiranga 

*  Early  Ilislory  of  India,  3rd  cdi-       from  the  new /w/tv-w/Case/z'^er,  articles 
tion,  p.  381.  Jaipur  and  Alwar  States. 

2  The  above    information    is    taken 


II  NAGVANSI  455 

or  five-coloured  flag,  and  is  frequently  mentioned  in  the 
traditions  of  the  Rajput  bards.  But  it  does  not  seem  to 
be  stated  what  the  five  colours  were.  Some  of  the  finest 
soldiers  in  the  old  Sepoy  army  were  Kachhwaha  Rajputs. 
The  Kachhwahas  are  fairly  numerous  in  the  United 
Provinces  and  rank  with  the  highest  Rajput  clans.^  In 
the  Central  Provinces  they  are  found  principally  in  the 
Saugor,  Hoshangabad  and  Nimar  Districts. 

Rajput,  Nagvansi. — This  clan  are  considered  to  be  the 
descendants  of  the  Tak  or  Takshac,  which  is  one  of  the 
thirty-six  royal  races,  and  was  considered  by  Colonel  Tod 
to  be  of  Scythian  origin.  The  Takshac  were  also  snake- 
worshippers.  "  Naga  and  Takshac  are  synonymous  appella- 
tions in  Sanskrit  for  the  snake,  and  the  Takshac  is  the 
celebrated  Nagvansa  of  the  early  heroic  history  of  India. 
The  Mahabharat  describes  in  its  usual  allegorical  style  the 
war  between  the  Pandus  of  Indraprestha  and  the  Takshacs 
of  the  north.  Parikhlta,  a  prince  on  the  Pandu  side,  was 
assassinated  by  the  Takshac,  and  his  son  and  successor, 
Janamejaya,  avenged  his  death  and  made  a  bonfire  of 
20,000  snakes."  "  This  allegory  is  supposed  to  have  repre- 
sented the  warfare  of  the  Aryan  races  against  the  Sakas  or 
Scythians.  The  Tak  or  Takshac  would  be  one  of  the  clans 
held  to  be  derived  from  the  earlier  invading  tribes  from 
Central  Asia,  and  of  the  lunar  race.  The  Tak  are  scarcely 
known  in  authentic  history,  but  the  poet  Chand  mentions 
the  Tak  from  Aser  or  Aslrgarh  as  one  of  the  princes  who 
assembled  at  the  summons  of  Prithwi  Raj  of  Delhi  to  fight 
against  the  Muhammadans.  In  another  place  he  is  called 
Chatto  the  Tak.  Nothing  more  is  known  of  the  Tak  clan 
unless  the  cultivating  Taga  caste  of  northern  India  is 
derived  from  them.  But  the  Nagvansi  clan  of  Rajputs, 
who  profess  to  be  descended  from  them,  is  fairly  numerous. 
Most  of  the  Nagvansis,  however,  are  probably  in  reality 
descended  from  landholders  of  the  indigenous  tribes  who 
have  adopted  the  name  of  this  clan,  when  they  wished  to 
claim  rank  as  Rajputs.      The  change  is  rendered  more  easy  by 

^  Mr.   Crooke's   Tribes  and  Castes,  ^  Rajasthiin,  i.  p.  94  ;  Elliot's  Sup- 

art.  Kachhwaha.  plemcntal  Glossary,  art.  Gaur  Taga. 


456  RAJPUT  PART 

the  fact  that  many  of  these  tribes  have  legends  of  their  own, 
showing  the  descent  of  their  ruHng  famihes  from  snakes, 
the  snake  and  tiger,  owing  to  their  deadly  character,  being 
the  two  animals  most  commonly  worshipped.  Thus  the 
landholding  section  of  the  Kols  or  Mundas  of  Chota 
Nagpur  have  a  long  legend  ^  of  their  descent  from  a  princess 
who  married  a  snake  in  human  form,  and  hence  call  them- 
selves Nagvansi  Rajputs  ;  and  Dr.  Buchanan  states  that  the 
Nagvansi  clan  of  Gorakhpur  is  similarly  derived  from  the 
Chero  tribe.^  In  the  Central  Provinces  the  Nagvansi  Rajputs 
number  about  400  persons,  nearly  all  of  whom  are  found  in 
the  Chhattlsgarh  Districts  and  Feudatory  States,  and  are 
probably  descendants  of  Kol  or  Munda  landholding  families. 

Rajput,  Nikumbh. — The  Nikumbh  is  given  as  one  of 
the  thirty-six  royal  races,  but  it  is  also  the  name  of  a 
branch  of  the  Chauhans,  and  it  seems  that,  as  suggested  by 
Sherring,^  it  may  be  an  offshoot  from  the  great  Chauhan 
clan.  The  Nikumbh  are  said  to  have  been  given  the  title 
of  Sirnet  by  an  emperor  of  Delhi,  because  they  would  not 
bow  their  heads  on  entering  his  presence,  and  when  he 
fixed  a  sword  at  the  door  some  of  them  allowed  their  necks 
to  be  cut  through  by  the  sword  rather  than  bend  the  head. 
The  term  Sirnet  is  supposed  to  mean  headless.  A  Chauhan 
column  with  an  inscription  of  Raja  Bisal  Deo  was  erected 
at  Nigumbode,  a  place  of  pilgrimage  on  the  Jumna,  a  few 
miles  below  Delhi,  and  it  seems  a  possible  conjecture  that 
the  Nikumbhs  may  have  obtained  their  name  from  this 
place.*  Mr.  Crooke,  however,  takes  the  Nikumbh  to  be  a 
separate  clan.  The  foundation  of  most  of  the  old  forts 
and  cities  in  Alwar  and  northern  Jaipur  is  ascribed  to  them, 
and  two  of  their  inscriptions  of  the  twelfth  and  thirteenth 
centuries  have  been  discovered  in  Khandesh.  In  northern 
India  some  of  them  are  now  known  as  Raghuvansi.^  They 
are  chiefly  found  in  the  Hoshangabad  and  Nimar  Districts, 
and  may  be  connected  with  the  Raghuvansi  or  Raghwi 
caste  of  these  Provinces. 

1  See  article  on  Kol.  Nikumbh. 

2  Eastern  India,  ii.  461,  quoted  in  *   Rdjasthdn,  ii.  p.  417. 

Mr.  Crooke's  art.  Nagvansi.  ^  Mr.    Crooke's    'I'ribcs  and  Castes, 

2  Tribes    and    Castes,    vol.    i.    art.       art.  Nikumbh. 


II  PAIK  457 

Rajput,  Paik. — This  term  means  a  foot- soldier,  and  is 
returned  from  the  northern  Districts.  It  belongs  to  a  class 
of  men  formerly  maintained  as  a  militia  by  zamindars  and 
landholders  for  the  purpose  of  collecting  their  revenue  and 
maintaining  order.  They  were  probably  employed  in  much 
the  same  manner  in  the  Central  Provinces  as  in  Bengal, 
where  Buchanan  thus  describes  them  :  ^  "  In  order  to  protect 
the  money  of  landowners  and  convey  it  from  place  to  place, 
and  also,  as  it  is  alleged,  to  enforce  orders,  two  kinds  of 
guards  are  kept.  One  body  called  Burkandaz,  commanded 
by  Duffadars  and  Jemadars,  seems  to  be  a  more  recent 
establishment.  The  other  called  Paik,  commanded  by 
Mirdhas  and  Sirdars,  arc  the  remains  of  the  militia  of  the 
Bengal  kingdom.  Both  seem  to  have  constituted  the  foot- 
soldiers  whose  number  makes  such  a  formidable  appearance 
in  the  Ain-i-Akbari.  These  unwieldy  establishments  seem 
to  have  been  formed  when  the  Government  collected  rent 
immediately  from  the  farmer  and  cultivator,  and  when  the 
same  persons  managed  not  only  the  collections  but  the 
police  and  a  great  part  of  the  judicial  department.  This 
vast  number  of  armed  men,  more  especially  the  latter, 
formed  the  infantry  of  the  Mughal  Government,  and  were 
continued  under  the  zamindars,  who  were  anxious  to  have 
as  many  armed  men  as  possible  to  support  them  in  their 
depredations.  And  these  establishments  formed  no  charge, 
as  they  lived  on  lands  which  the  zamlndar  did  not  bring 
to  account."  The  Paiks  are  thus  a  small  caste  formed  from 
military  service  like  the  Khandaits  or  swordsmen  of  Orissa, 
and  are  no  doubt  recruited  from  all  sections  of  the  popula- 
tion.     They  have  no  claim  to  be  considered  as  Rajputs. 

Rajput,  Parihar. — This  clan  was  one  of  the  four  Agni- 
kulas  or  fire-born.  Their  founder  was  the  first  to  issue 
from  the  fire-fountain,  but  he  had  not  a  warrior's  mien. 
The  Brahmans  placed  him  as  guardian  of  the  gate,  and 
hence  his  name,  P rithi-ha-dwdra^  of  which  Parihar  is  sup- 
posed to  be  a  corruption."  Like  the  Chauhans  and  Solankis 
the  Parihar  clan  is  held  to  have  originated  from  the  Gurjara 
or   Gujar  invaders  who  came  with  the  white   Huns  in  the 

^  Eastern  India,  ii.  p.  919.  ^  Rdjasthan,  i.  p.  86. 


458  RAJPUT  PART 

fifth  and  sixth  centuries,  and  they  were  one  of  the  first  of 
the  Gujar  Rajput  clans  to  emerge  into  prominence.  They 
were  dominant  in  Bundelkhand  before  the  Chandels,  their 
last  chieftain  having  been  overthrown  by  a  Chandel  prince 
in  A.D.  831/  A  Parihar-Gujar  chieftain,  whose  capital  was 
at  Bhinmal  in  Rajputana,  conquered  the  king  of  Kanauj,  the 
ruler  of  what  remained  of  the  dominions  of  the  great  Harsha 
Vardhana,  and  established  himself  there  about  A.D.  816.^ 
Kanauj  was  then  held  by  Gujar-Parihar  kings  till  about 
1090,  when  it  was  seized  by  Chandradeva  of  the  Gaharwar 
RajpiJt  clan.  The  Parihar  rulers  were  thus  subverted  by  the 
Gaharwars  and  Chandels,  both  of  whom  are  thought  to  be 
derived  from  the  Bhars  or  other  aboriginal  tribes,  and  these 
events  appear  to  have  been  in  the  nature  of  a  rising  of  the 
aristocratic  section  of  the  indigenous  residents  against  the 
Gujar  rulers,  by  whom  they  had  been  conquered  and  perhaps 
taught  the  trade  of  arms.  After  this  period  the  Parihars 
are  of  little  importance.  They  appear  to  have  retired  to 
Rajputana,  as  Colonel  Tod  states  that  Mundore,  five  miles 
north  of  Jodhpur,  was  their  headquarters  until  it  was  taken 
by  the  Rahtors.  The  walls  of  the  ruined  fortress  of 
Mundore  are  built  of  enormous  square  masses  of  stone 
without  cement,  and  attest  both  its  antiquity  and  its  former 
strength.^  The  Parihars  are  scattered  over  Rajputana,  and 
a  colony  of  them  on  the  Chambal  was  characterised  as  the 
most  notorious  body  of  thieves  in  the  annals  of  Thug 
history.*  Similarly  in  Etawah  they  are  said  to  be  a 
peculiarly  lawless  and  desperate  community.'^  The  Parihar 
Rajputs  rank  with  the  leading  clans  and  intermarry  with 
them.  In  the  Central  Provinces  they  are  found  principally 
in  Saugor,  Damoh  and  Jubbulpore. 

Rajput,  Rathop,  Rathaur. — The  Rathor  of  Jodhpur  or 
Marwar  is  one  of  the  most  famous  clans  of  Rajputs,  and 
that  which  is  most  widely  dominant  at  the  present  time, 
including  as  it  does  the  Rajas  of  Jodhpur,  Bikaner,  Ratlam, 
Kishengarh  and  Idar,  as  well  as  several  smaller  states.    The 

'  Early  History  of  India,  3rd  edi-  *  Ibidem, 

tion,  p.  390. 

'^  Ihidciii,  pp.  378,  379.  ^  Mr.   Crooke's   Tribes  and  Castes, 

•^  RCtjasthdn,  i.  p.  91.  art.  Parihar. 


II  RATHOR  459 

origin  of  the  Rfithor  clan  is  uncertain.  Colonel  Tod  states 
that  they  claim  to  be  of  the  solar  race,  but  by  the  bards  of 
the  race  are  denied  this  honour ;  and  though  descended 
from  Kash,  the  second  son  of  Ivama,  are  held  to  be  the  off- 
spring of  one  of  his  progeny,  Kashyap,  by  the  daughter  of  a 
Dait  (Titan).  The  view  was  formerly  held  that  the  dynasty 
which  wrested  Kanauj  from  the  descendants  of  Harsha  Vard- 
hana,  and  held  it  from  A.D.  8io  to  1090,  until  subverted  by 
the  Gaharvvars,  were  Rathors,  but  proof  has  now  been  obtained 
that  they  were  really  Parihar-Gujars.  Mr.  Smith  suggests 
that  after  the  destruction  of  Kanauj  by  the  Muhammadans 
under  Shihab-ud-Din  Ghori  in  A.D.  1193  the  Gaharwar 
clan,  whose  kings  had  conquered  it  in  1090  and  reigned 
there  for  a  century,  migrated  to  the  deserts  of  Marwar  in 
Rajputana,  where  they  settled  and  became  known  as 
Rathors.^  It  has  also  been  generally  held  that  the  Rashtra- 
kuta  dynasty  of  Nasik  and  Malkhed  in  the  Deccan  which 
reigned  from  A.D.  753  to  973,  and  built  the  Kailasa  temples 
at  Ellora  were  Rathors,  but  Mr.  Smith  states  that  there  is  no 
evidence  of  any  social  connection  between  the  Rashtrakutas 
and  Rathors."  At  any  rate  Siahji,  the  grandson  or  nephew  of 
Jai  Chand,  the  last  king  of  Kanauj,  who  had  been  drowned  in 
the  Ganges  while  attempting  to  escape,  accomplished  with 
about  200  followers — the  wreck  of  his  vassalage — the  pilgrim- 
age to  Dwarka  in  Gujarat.  He  then  sought  in  the  sands 
and  deserts  of  Rajputana  a  second  line  of  defence  against 
the  advancing  wave  of  Muhammadan  invasion,  and  planted 
the  standard  of  the  Rathors  among  the  sandhills  of  the  Luni 
in  I  2  I  2.  This,  however,  was  not  the  first  settlement  of  the 
Rathors  in  Rajputana,  for  an  inscription,  dated  A.D.  997, 
among  the  ruins  of  the  ancient  city  of  Hathundi  or  Hasti- 
kiandi,  near  Bali  in  Jodhpur  State,  tells  of  five  Rathor  Rajas 
who  ruled  there  early  in  the  tenth  century,  and  this  fact 
shows  that  the  name  Rathor  is  really  much  older  than  the 
date  of  the  fall  of  Kanauj.^ 

In  1 38 1  Siahji's  tenth  successor,  Rao  Chonda,  took 
Mundore  from  a  I'arihar  chief,  and  made  his  possession 
secure   by    marrying    the    latter's    daughter.      A   subsequent 

1  Early  History  of  India,  3rd  edition,  p.  389.  -  Ibidem,  p.  413. 

^  Imperial  Gazetteer,  art.  Bali. 


46o  RAJPUT  PART 

chief,  Rao  Jodha,  laid  the  foundation  of  Jodhpur  in    1459, 
and  transferred  thither  the  seat  of  government.      The  site  of 
Jodhpur  was  selected  on  a  peak  known  as  Joda-gir,  or  the 
hill  of  strife,  four  miles  distant  from  Mundore  on  a  crest  of 
the  range  overlooking  the  expanse  of  the  desert  plains  of 
Marvvar.      The  position  for  the  new  city  was  chosen  at  the 
bidding  of  a  forest  ascetic,  and  was  excellently  adapted  for 
defence,  but  had  no  good  water-supply.^      Joda  had  fourteen 
sons,    of  whom    the   sixth,    Bika,   was   the    founder    of    the 
Bikaner  state.      Raja  Sur  Singh  (1595— 1620)  was   one  of 
Akbar's  greatest  generals,  and  the  emperor  Jahanglr  buckled 
the  sword  on  to  his  son  Gaj  Singh  with  his  own  hands.    Gaj 
Singh,  the  next  Raja  (1620— 1635),  was  appointed  viceroy 
of  the   Deccan,  as  was  his  successor,  Jaswant  Singh,  under 
Aurangzeb.      The  Mughal  Emperors,  Colonel  Tod  remarks, 
were  indebted  for  half  their  conquests  to  the  Lakh  Tulwar 
Rahtoran,  the  hundred  thousand  swords  which  the  Rahtors 
boasted    that    they    could    muster.^      On    another    occasion, 
when  Jahanglr  successfully  appealed  to  the  Rajputs  for  sup- 
port against  his  rebel  son  Khusru,  he  was   so  pleased  with 
the  zeal  of  the  Rathor  prince.  Raja  Gaj  Singh,  that  he  not 
only  took  the  latter's  hand,  but  kissed  it,^  perhaps  an  unpre- 
cedented honour.      But  the  constant  absence  from  his  home 
on  service  in  distant  parts  of  the  empire  was  so  distasteful 
to    Raja   Sur   Singh    that,    when    dying  in  the   Deccan,   he 
ordered  a  pillar  to  be  erected  on  his  grave  containing  his 
curse  upon  any  of  his  race  who  should  cross  the  Nerbudda. 
The  pomp  of  imperial  greatness  or  the  sunshine  of  court 
favour  was  as  nothing  with  the  Rathor  chiefs,  Colonel  Tod 
says,  when  weighed  against  the   exercise  of  their  influence 
within  their  own  cherished  patrimony.      The  simple  fare  of 
the  desert  was  dearer  to  the   Rathor  than  all  the  luxuries 
of  the  imperial  banquet,  which  he  turned  from  in  disgust  to 
the  recollection  of  the  green  pulse  of  Mundore,  or  his  favourite 
rabi  or  maize  porridge,  the  prime  dish  of  the  Rathor."^      The 
Rathor  princes  have  been  not  less  ready  in   placing  them- 
selves and  the  forces  of  their  States  at  the  disposal  of  the 
British    Government,    and    the    latest    and     perhaps    most 

*  Rajaslhan,  ii.  pp.  i6,  17.  "^  Il>ide?n,  ii.  p.  37. 

2  Ibidem,  i.  p.  Si.  *  Ibidem,  ii.  p.  35. 


II  SESODIA  461 

brilliant  example  of  their  loyalty  occurred  duriri':^  IQM. 
when  the  veteran  Sir  Partap  Singh  of  Idar  insisted  on 
proceeding  to  the  front  against  Germany,  though  over 
seventy  years  of  age,  and  was  accompanied  by  his  nephew, 
a  boy  of  sixteen. 

The  Ratlam  State  was  founded  by  Ratan  Singh,  a 
grandson  of  Raja  Udai  Singh  of  Jodhpur,  who  was  born 
about  1 6 1 8,  and  obtained  it  as  a  grant  for  good  service 
against  the  Usbegs  at  Kandahar  and  the  Persians  in 
Khorasan  about  1651  —  52.  Kishangarh  was  founded  by 
Kishan  Singh,  a  son  of  the  same  Raja  Udai  Singh,  who 
obtained  a  grant  of  territory  from  Akbar  about  16 1  i.  Idar 
State  in  Gujarat  has,  according  to  its  traditions,  been  held 
by  Rathor  princes  from  a  very  early  period.  Jodhpur  State 
is  the  largest  in  Rajputana,  with  an  area  of  35,000  square 
miles,  and  a  population  of  two  million.  The  Maharaja  is 
entitled  to  a  salute  of  twenty-one  guns.  A  great  part  of 
the  State  is  a  sandy  desert,  and  its  older  name  of  Marwar 
is,  according  to  Colonel  Tod,  a  corruption  of  Marusthan, 
or  the  region  of  death.  In  the  Central  Provinces  the  Rathor 
Rajputs  number  about  6000  persons,  and  are  found  mainly 
in  the  Saugor,  Jubbulpore,  Narsinghpur  and  Hoshangabad 
Districts.  The  census  statistics  include  about  5000  persons 
enumerated  in  Mandla  and  Bilaspur,  nearly  all  of  whom 
are  really  Rathor  Telis. 

Rajput,  Sesodia,  Gahlot,  Aharia.  —  The  Gahlot  or 
Sesodia  is  generally  admitted  to  be  the  premier  Rajput  clan. 
Their  chief  is  described  by  the  bards  as  "  The  Suryavansi 
Rana,  of  royal  race,  Lord  of  Chitor,  the  ornament  of  the 
thirty-six  royal  races."  The  Sesodias  claim  descent  from 
the  sun,  through  Loh,  the  eldest  son  of  the  divine  Rama  of 
Ajodhia.  In  token  of  their  ancestry  the  royal  banner  of 
Mewar  consisted  of  a  golden  sun  on  a  crimson  field.  Loh 
is  supposed  to  have  founded  Lahore.  His  descendants 
migrated  to  Saurashtra  or  Kathiawar,  where  they  settled  at 
Vidurbha  or  Balabhi,  the  capital  of  the  Valabhi  dynasty. 
The  last  king  of  Valabhi  was  Siladitya,  who  was  killed  by 
an  invasion  of  barbarians,  and  his  posthumous  son,  Goha- 
ditya,  ruled  in  Idar  and  the  hilly  country  in  the  south-west 


462  RAJPUT  I'ART 

of  Mcwar.  From  him  the  clan  took  its  name  of  Gohelot  or 
Gahlot.  Mr.  D.  R.  Bhandarkar,  however,  from  a  detailed 
examination  of  the  inscriptions  relating  to  the  Sesodias, 
arrives  at  the  conclusion  that  the  founders  of  the  line  were 
Nagar  Brahmans  from  Vadnagar  in  Gujarat,  the  first  of  the 
line  being  one  Guhadatta,  from  which  the  clan  takes  its 
name  of  Gahlot.-^  The  family  were  also  connected  with  the 
ruling  princes  of  Valabhi.  Mr.  Bhandarkar  thinks  that  the 
Valabhi  princes,  and  also  the  Nagar  Brahmans,  belonged  to 
the  Maitraka  tribe,  who,  like  the  Gujars,  were  allied  to  the 
Huns,  and  entered  India  in  the  fifth  or  sixth  century.  Mr. 
Bhandarkar's  account  really  agrees  quite  closely  with  the 
traditions  of  the  Sesodia  bards  themselves,  except  that  he 
considers  Guhadatta  to  have  been  a  Nagar  Brahman  of 
Valabhi,  and  descended  from  the  Maitrakas,  a  race  allied  to 
the  Huns,  while  the  bards  say  that  he  was  a  descendant  of 
the  Aryan  Kshatriyas  of  Ajodhia,  who  migrated  to  Surat 
and  established  the  Valabhi  kingdom.  The  earliest  prince 
of  the  Gahlot  dynasty  for  whom  a  date  has  been  obtained  is 
Slla,  A.D.  646,  and  he  was  fifth  in  descent  from  Guhadatta, 
who  may  therefore  be  placed  in  the  first  part  of  the  sixth 
century.  Bapa,  the  founder  of  the  Gahlot  clan  in  Mewar, 
was,  according  to  tradition,  sixth  in  descent  from  Gohaditya, 
and  he  had  his  capital  at  Nagda,  a  few  miles  to  the  north  of 
Udaipur  city.^  A  tradition  quoted  by  Mr.  Bhandarkar 
states  that  Bapa  was  the  son  of  Grahadata.  He  succeeded 
in  propitiating  the  god  Siva.  One  day  the  king  of  Chitor 
died  and  left  no  heir  to  his  throne.  It  was  decided  that 
whoever  would  be  garlanded  by  a  certain  elephant  would  be 
placed  on  the  throne.  Bapa  was  present  on  the  occasion, 
and  the  elephant  put  the  garland  round  his  neck  not  only 
once,  but  thrice.  Bapa  was  thus  seated  on  the  throne.  One 
day  he  was  suffering  from  some  eye-disease.  A  physician 
mixed  a  certain  medicine  in  alcoholic  liquor  and  applied  it 
to  his  eyes,  which  were  speedily  cured.  Bapa  afterwards 
inquired  what  the  medicine  was,  and  learnt  the  truth.  He 
trembled  like  a  reed  and  said,  "  I  am  a  Brahman,  and  you 
have  given  me  medicine  mixed  in  liquor.  I  have  lost  my 
caste."     So  saying  he  drank  molten  lead  {slsd),  and  forthwith 

*  J.A.S.B.  (1909),  vol.  V.  p.  167.  2  Imperial  Gazetteer,  loc.  cit. 


u  SESODIA  463 

died,  and  hence  arose  the  family  name  Scsodia.^  This  story, 
current  in  Rajputfina,  supports  Mr.  l^handarkar's  view  of  the 
Brahman  origin  of  the  clan.  According  to  tradition  Bapa 
went  to  Chitor,  then  held  by  the  Mori  or  Pramara  Rajputs, 
to  seek  his  fortune,  and  was  appointed  to  lead  the  Chitor 
forces  against  the  Muhammadans  on  their  first  invasion  of 
India.^  After  defeating  and  expelling  them  he  ousted  the 
Mori  ruler  and  established  himself  at  Chitor,  which  has  since 
been  the  capital  of  the  Sesodias.  The  name  Sesodia  is 
really  derived  from  Sesoda,  the  residence  of  a  subsequent 
chief  Rahup,  who  captured  Mundore  and  was  the  first  to 
bear  the  title  of  Rana  of  Mewar.  Similarly  Aharia  is 
another  local  name  from  Ahar,  a  place  in  Mewar,  which  was 
given  to  the  clan.  They  were  also  known  as  Raghuvansi, 
or  of  the  race  of  king  Raghu,  the  ancestor  of  the  divine 
Rama.  The  Raghuvansis  of  the  Central  Provinces,  an  impure 
caste  of  Rajput  origin,  are  treated  in  a  separate  article,  but 
it  is  not  known  whether  they  were  derived  from  the  Sesodias. 
From  the  fourteenth  century  the  chronicles  of  the  Sesodias 
contain  many  instances  of  Rajput  courage  and  devotion. 
Chitor  was  sacked  three  times  before  the  capital  was  removed 
to  Udaipur,  first  by  Ala-ul-Din  Khilji  in  1303,  next  by 
Bahadur  Shah,  the  Muhammadan  king  of  Gujarat  in  1534, 
and  lastly  by  Akbar  in  1567.  These  events  were  known  as 
Saka  or  massacres  of  the  clan.  On  each  occasion  the 
women  of  the  garrison  performed  the  Johar  or  general 
immolation  by  fire,  while  the  men  sallied  forth,  clad  in  their 
saffron-coloured  robes  and  inspired  by  bhang,  to  die  sword  in 
hand  against  the  foe.  At  the  first  sack  the  goddess  of  the 
clan  appeared  in  a  dream  to  the  Rana  and  demanded  the 
lives  of  twelve  of  its  chiefs  as  a  condition  of  its  preservation. 
His  eleven  sons  were  in  their  turn  crowned  as  chief,  each 
ruling  for  three  days,  while  on  the  fourth  he  sallied  out  and 
fell  in  battle.^  Lastly,  the  Rana  devoted  himself  in  order 
that  his  favourite  son  Ajeysi  might  be  spared  and  might 
perpetuate  the  clan.  At  the  second  sack  32,000  were  slain, 
and  at  the  third  30,000.     Finally  Aurangzeb  destroyed  the 

^  Bhandarkar,  loc.  cit.  p.  i8o.  from  the  article  on   Udaipur  State  in 

*  The   following   extracts   from  the       the  Imperial  Gazetteer. 
history  of  the  clan  arc  mainly  taken  ^  Rajastkan,  i.  pp.  222,  223. 


464  RAJPUT  PART 

temples  and  idols  at  Chitor,  and  only  its  ruins  remain. 
Udaipur  city  was  founded  in  1559.  The  Sesodias  resisted 
the  Muhammadans  for  long,  and  several  times  defeated  them. 
Udai  Singhj  the  founder  of  Udaipur,  abandoned  his  capital 
and  fled  to  the  hills,  whence  he  caused  his  own  territory  to 
be  laid  waste,  with  the  object  of  impeding  the  imperial 
forces.  Of  this  period  it  is  recorded  that  the  Ranas  were 
from  father  to  son  in  outlawry  against  the  emperor,  and  that 
sovereign  had  carried  away  the  doors  of  the  gate  of  Chitor, 
and  had  set  them  up  in  Delhi.  Fifty-two  rajas  and  chiefs 
had  perished  in  the  struggle,  and  the  Rana  in  his  trouble  lay 
at  nights  on  a  counterpane  spread  on  the  ground,  and  neither 
slept  in  his  bed  nor  shaved  his  hair  ;  and  if  he  perchance 
broke  his  fast,  had  nothing  better  with  which  to  satisfy  it 
than  beans  baked  in  an  earthen  pot.  For  this  reason  it 
is  that  certain  practices  are  to  this  day  observed  at  Udaipur. 
A  counterpane  is  spread  below  the  Rana's  bed,  and  his  head 
remains  unshaven  and  baked  beans  are  daily  laid  upon  his 
plate.^  A  custom  of  perhaps  somewhat  similar  origin  is 
that  in  this  clan  man  and  wife  take  food  together,  and  the 
wife  does  not  wait  till  her  husband  has  finished.  It  is  said 
that  the  Sesodia  Rajputs  are  the  only  caste  in  India  among 
whom  this  rule  prevails,  and  it  may  have  been  due  to  the 
fact  that  they  had  to  eat  together  in  haste  when  occasion 
offered  during  this  period  of  guerilla  warfare. 

In  1614  Rana  Amar  Singh,  recognising  that  further 
opposition  was  hopeless,  made  his  submission  to  the  emperor, 
on  the  condition  that  he  should  never  have  to  present  him- 
self in  person  but  might  send  his  two  sons  in  his  place. 
This  stipulation  being  accepted,  the  heir-apparent  Karan 
Singh  proceeded  to  Ajmer  where  he  was  magnanimously 
treated  by  Jahanglr  and  shortly  afterwards  the  imperial 
troops  were  withdrawn  from  Chitor.  It  is  the  pride  of  the 
Udaipur  house  that  it  never  gave  a  daughter  in  marriage 
to  any  of  the  Musalman  emperors,  and  for  many  years 
ceased  to  intermarry  with  other  Rajput  families  who  had 
formed  such  alliances.  But  Amar  Singh  II.  (1698-17 10) 
made  a  league  with  the  Maharajas  of  Jodhpur  and  Jaipur 
for  mutual  protection  against  the  Muhammadans  ;  and  it 
^  Forbes,  lidsmala,  i.  p.  400. 


II  SOLA  NK  HI  465 

was  one  of  the  conditions  of  the  compact  that  the  latter 
chiefs  should  retrain  the  privilege  of  marriage  with  the 
Udaipur  family  which  had  been  suspended  since  they  had 
given  daughters  in  marriage  to  the  emperors.  Ikit  the  Rana 
unfortunately  added  a  proviso  that  the  son  of  an  Udaipur 
princess  should  succeed  to  the  Jodhpur  or  Jaipur  States  in 
preference  to  any  elder  son  by  another  mother.  The  quarrels 
to  which  this  stipulation  gave  rise  led  to  the  conquest  of 
the  country  by  the  Marathas,  at  whose  hands  Mewar  suffered 
more  cruel  devastation  than  it  had  ever  been  subjected  to 
by  the  IMuhammadans.  Ruinous  war  also  ensued  between 
Jodhpur  and  Jaipur  for  the  hand  of  the  famous  Udaipur 
princess  Kishen  Kumari  at  the  time  when  Rajputana  was 
being  devastated  by  the  Marathas  and  Pindaris  ;  and  the 
quarrel  was  only  settled  by  the  voluntary  death  of  the 
object  of  contention,  who,  after  the  kinsman  sent  to  slay 
her  had  recoiled  before  her  young  beauty  and  innocence, 
willingly  drank  the  draught  of  opium  four  times  administered 
before  the  fatal  result  could  be  produced.^ 

The  Maharana  of  Udaipur  is  entitled  to  a  salute  of 
nineteen  guns.  The  Udaipur  State  has  an  area  of  nearly 
1 3,000  square  miles  and  a  population  of  about  a  million 
persons.  Besides  Udaipur  three  minor  states,  Partabgarh, 
Dungarpur  and  Banswara,  are  held  by  members  of  the 
Sesodia  clan.  In  the  Central  Provinces  the  Sesodias 
numbered  nearly  2000  persons  in  191 1,  being  mainly 
found  in  the  districts  of  the  Nerbudda  Division. 

Rajput,  Solankhi,  Solanki,  Chalukya. — This  clan  was 
one  of  the  Agnikula  or  fire-born,  and  are  hence  considered 
to  have  probably  been  Gurjaras  or  Gujars.  Their  original 
name  is  said  to  have  been  Chaluka,  because  they  were  formed 
in  the  palm  {chain)  of  the  hand.  They  were  not  much 
known  in  Rajputana,  but  were  very  prominent  in  the  Deccan. 
Here  they  were  generally  called  Chalukya,  though  in  northern 
India  the  name  Solankhi  is  more  common.  As  early 
as  A.D.  350  Pulakesin   I.  made  himself  master  of  the  town 

1   Rajasthan  i.  pp.  39S,  399.      The  brought  pressure  on  the  Rana  to  con- 
death  of  the  young  princess  \v;is  mainly  sent  to  it  in  order  to  save  liis  state, 
the  work  of  Anilr  Khan   I'indari  who 

VOL.  IV  2   II 


466  RAJPUT  PART 

of  Vatapi,  the  modern  Badami  in  the  Bijapur  District, 
and  founded  a  dynasty,  which  developed  into  the  most 
powerful  kingdom  south  of  the  Nerbudda,  and  lasted  for 
two  centuries,  when  it  was  overthrown  by  the  Rashtrakutas.^ 
Pulakesin  II.  of  this  Chalukya  dynasty  successfully  resisted 
an  inroad  of  the  great  emperor  Harsha  Vardhana  of  Kanauj, 
who  aspired  to  the  conquest  of  the  whole  of  India.  The 
Rashtrakuta  kings  governed  for  two  centuries,  and  in 
A.D.  973  Taila  or  Tailapa  II.,  a  scion  of  the  old  Chalukya 
stock,  restored  the  family  of  his  ancestors  to  its  former  glory, 
and  founded  the  dynasty  known  as  that  of  the  Chalukyas 
of  Kalyan,  which  lasted  like  that  which  it  superseded  for 
nearly  two  centuries  and  a  quarter,  up  to  about  A.D.  i  1 90. 
In  the  tenth  century  apparently  another  branch  of  the  clan 
migrated  from  Rajputana  into  Gujarat  and  established  a 
new  dynasty  there,  owing  to  which  Gujarat,  which  had 
formerly  been  known  as  Lata,  obtained  its  present  name.^ 
The  principal  king  of  this  line  was  Sidh  Raj  Solankhi,  who 
is  well  known  to  tradition.  From  these  Chalukya  or 
Solankhi  rulers  the  Baghel  clan  arose,  which  afterwards 
migrated  to  Rewah.  The  Solankhis  are  found  in  the 
United  Provinces,  and  a  small  number  are  returned  from 
the  Central  Provinces,  belonging  mainly  to  Hoshangabad 
and  Nimar. 

Rajput,  Somvansi,  Chandravansi. — These  two  are 
returned  as  separate  septs,  though  both  names  mean 
'  Descendants  of  the  moon.'  Colonel  Tod  considers  Suraj- 
vansi  and  Somvansi,  or  the  descendants  of  the  sun  and 
moon  as  the  first  two  of  the  thirty-six  royal  clans,  from 
which  all  the  others  were  evolved.  But  he  gives  no  account 
of  them,  nor  does  it  appear  that  they  were  regularly  recog- 
nised clans  in  Rajputana.  It  is  probable  that  both  Somvansi 
and  Chandravansi,  as  well  as  Surajvansi  and  perhaps 
Nagvansi  (Descendants  of  the  snake)  have  served  as  con- 
venient designations   for  Rajputs  of  illegitimate  birth,  or  for 

^   If    ihe    Chalukyas    were    in    the  belonged  to  an  earlier  horde. 
Deccan    in     the    fourth    century    they 

could    not    have    originated    from    the  "  Sonic  Prohloiis  of  Ancient  Indian 

Ilun  and   Gujar  invaders   of  the   fifth  IIis/o)y,     by     Dr.     Rudolf    lloernle, 

and    sixth    centuries,    but    must    have  J.R.A.S.  (1905),  pp.  I -14. 


a  SURAJVANSI  467 

landholding  sections  of  the  cultivating  castes  and  indigenous 
tribes  when  they  aspired  to  become  Rajputs.  Thus  the 
Surajvansis,  and  Somvansis  of  different  parts  of  the  country 
might  be  quite  different  sets  of  people.  There  seems  some 
reason  for  supposing  tliat  the  Somvansis  of  the  United 
Provinces  as  described  by  Mr.  Crooke  are  derived  from  the 
Bhar  tribe  ;'  in  the  Central  Provinces  a  number  of  Somvansis 
and  Chandravansis  are  returned  from  the  I'eudatory  States, 
and  are  probably  landholders  who  originally  belonged  to 
one  of  the  forest  tribes  residing  in  them.  I  have  heard  the 
name  Somvansi  applied  to  a  boy  who  belonged  to  the 
Baghel  clan  of  Rajputs,  but  he  was  of  inferior  status  on 
account  of  his  mother  being  a  remarried  widow,  or  something 
of  the  kind. 


Rajput,  Surajvansi. — The  Surajvansi  (Descendants  of 
the  Sun)  is  recorded  as  the  first  of  the  thirty-six  royal  clans, 
but  Colonel  Tod  gives  no  account  of  it,  and  it  does  not  seem 
to  be  known  to  history  as  a  separate  clan.  Mr.  Crooke 
mentions  an  early  tradition  that  the  Surajvansis  migrated 
from  Ajodhia  to  Gujarat  in  A.D.  224,  but  this  is  scarcely 
likely  to  be  authentic  in  view  of  the  late  dates  now  assigned 
for  the  origin  of  the  important  Rajput  clans.  Surajvansi 
should  properly  be  a  generic  term  denoting  any  Rajput 
belonging  to  a  clan  of  the  solar  race,  and  it  seems  likely  that 
it  may  at  different  times  have  been  adopted  by  Rajputs  who 
were  no  longer  recognised  in  their  own  clan,  or  by  families 
of  the  cultivating  castes  or  indigenous  tribes  who  aspired  to 
become  Rajputs.  Thus  Mr.  Crooke  notes  that  a  large  section 
of  the  Soiris  (Savaras  or  Saonrs)  have  entirely  abandoned  their 
own  tribal  name  and  call  themselves  Surajvansi  Rajputs  ; " 
and  the  same  thing  has  probably  happened  in  other  cases. 
In  the  Central  Provinces  the  Surajvansis  belong  mainly 
to  Hoshangabad,  and  here  they  form  a  separate  caste, 
marrying  among  themselves  and  not  with  other  RajpQt 
clans.  Hence  they  would  not  be  recognised  as  proper 
Rajputs,  and  are  probably  a  promoted  group  of  some  culti- 
vating caste. 

1   Tribes  and  Castes,  s.v.  ^  Ibidem,  art.  Soiri. 


468  RAJPUl  PART 

Rajput,  Tomara,  Tuar,  Tunwar. — This  clan  is  an  ancient 
one,  supposed  by  Colonel  Tod  to  be  derived  from  the  Yadavas 
or  lunar  race.  The  name  is  said  to  come  from  tomar,  a  club/ 
The  Tomara  clan  was  considered  to  be  a  very  ancient  one, 
and  the  great  king  Vikramaditya,  whose  reign  was  the  Hindu 
Golden  Age,  was  held  to  have  been  sprung  from  it.  These 
traditions  are,  however,  now  discredited,  as  well  as  that  of 
Delhi  having  been  built  by  a  Tomara  king,  Anang  Pal  I,,  in 
A.D.  733.  Mr.  V.  A.  Smith  states  that  Delhi  was  founded  in 
993—994,  and  Anangapala,  a  Tomara  king,  built  the  Red  Fort 
about  1050.  In  1052  he  removed  the  celebrated  iron  pillar, 
on  which  the  eulogy  of  Chandragupta  Vikramaditya  is  in- 
cised, from  its  original  position,  probably  at  Mathura,  and 
set  it  up  in  Delhi  as  an  adjunct  to  a  group  of  temples  from 
which  the  Muhammadans  afterwards  constructed  the  great 
mosque.^  This  act  apparently  led  to  the  tradition  that 
Vikramaditya  had  been  a  Tomara,  and  also  to  a  much  longer 
historical  antiquity  being  ascribed  to  the  clan  than  it  really 
possessed.  The  Tomara  rule  at  Delhi  only  lasted  about 
150  years,  and  in  the  middle  of  the  twelfth  century  the  town 
was  taken  by  Bisal  Deo,  the  Chauhan  chieftain  of  Ajmer,  whose 
successor,  Prithwi  Raj,  reigned  at  Delhi,  but  was  defeated  and 
killed  by  the  Muhammadans  in  A.D.  1192.  Subsequently, 
perhaps  in  the  reign  of  Ala-ud-Dln  Khilji,  a  Tomara  dynasty 
established  itself  at  Gwalior,  and  one  of  their  kings,  Dungara 
Singh  (1425  — 1454),  had  executed  the  celebrated  rock- 
sculptures  of  Gwalior.^  In  i  5  1 8  Gwalior  was  taken  by  the 
Muhammadans,  and  the  last  Tomara  king  reduced  to  the 
status  of  an  ordinary  jaglrdar.  The  Tomara  clan  is  numerous 
in  the  Punjab  country  near  Delhi,  where  it  still  possesses 
high  rank,  but  in  the  United  Provinces  it  is  not  so  much 
esteemed.'*  No  ruling  chief  now  belongs  to  this  clan.  In 
the  Central  Provinces  the  Tomaras  or  Tunwars  belong 
principally  to  the  Hoshangabad  District.  The  zamindars  of 
Bilaspur,  who  were  originally  of  the  Tawar  subcaste  of  the 
Kawar  tribe,  now  also  claim  to  be  Tomara  Rajputs  on  the 
strength  of  the  similarity  of  the  name. 

^  Mr.  Crooke's  Tribes  and  Castes,  ^  Elliot,  Supplemental  Glossary,  s.v. 
art,  Tomara. 

^  Early  Hist07y  of  India,  3rd  cdi-  ^  Mr.    Crooke's    T^-ibes  and  Castes, 

tion,  p.  386.  art.  Tomara. 


II  YADU  469 

Rajput,  Yadu,  Yadava,   Yadu-Bhatti,  Jadon.^  —  The 

Yadus  are  a  well-known  historical  clan.  Colonel  Tod  says 
that  the  Yadu  was  the  most  illustrious  of  all  the  tribes  of 
Ind,  and  became  the  patronymic  of  the  descendants  of  Buddha, 
progenitor  of  the  lunar  (Indu)  race.  It  is  not  clear,  even 
according  to  legendary  tradition,  what,  if  any,  connection  the 
Yadus  had  with  Buddha,  but  Krishna  is  held  to  have  been 
a  prince  of  this  tribe  and  founded  Dwarka  in  Gujarat  with 
them,  in  which  locality  he  is  afterwards  supposed  to  have 
been  killed.  Colonel  Tod  states  that  the  Yadu  after  the 
death  of  Krishna,  and  their  expulsion  from  Dwarka  and 
Delhi,  the  last  stronghold  of  their  power,  retired  by  Multan 
across  the  Indus,  founded  Ghazni  in  Afghanistan,  and  peopled 
these  countries  even  to  Samarcand.  Again  driven  back  on 
the  Indus  they  obtained  possession  of  the  Punjab  and  founded 
Salbhanpur.  Thence  expelled  they  retired  across  the  Sutlej 
and  Gara  into  the  Indian  deserts,  where  they  foundedTannote, 
Derawal  and  Jaisalmer,  the  last  in  A.D.  11  57.  It  has  been 
suggested  in  the  main  article  on  Rajput  that  the  Y^adus 
might  have  been  the  Sakas,  who  invaded  India  in  the  second 
century  A.D.  This,  is  only  a  speculation.  At  a  later  date 
a  Yadava  kingdom  existed  in  the  Deccan,  with  its  capital 
at  Deogiri  or  Daulatabad  and  its  territory  lying  between 
that  place  and  Nasik.^  Mr.  Smith  states  that  these  Yadava 
kings  were  descendants  of  feudatory  nobles  of  the  Chalukya 
kingdom,  which  embraced  parts  of  western  India  and  also 
Gujarat.  The  Yadu  clan  can  scarcely,  however,  be  a  more 
recent  one  than  the  Chalukya,  as  in  that  case  it  would  not 
probably  have  been  credited  with  having  had  Krishna  as  its 
member.  The  Yadava  dynasty  only  lasted  from  A.D.  11  50 
to  13  I  8,  when  the  last  prince  of  the  line,  Harapala,  stirred 
up  a  revolt  against  the  Muhammadans  to  whom  the  king,  his 
father-in-law,  had  submitted,  and  being  defeated,  was  flayed 
alive  and  decapitated.  It  is  noticeable  that  the  Yadu-Bhatti 
Rajputs  of  Jaisalmer  claim  descent  from  Salivahana,  who 
founded  the  Saka  era  in  A.D.  78,  and  it  is  believed  that  this 
era  belonged  to  the  Saka  dynasty  of  Gujarat,  where,  according 

^  Seealsoarticlejadum  for  a  separate  ^  Early  History  of  India,  3rd  edi- 

account  of  the  local  caste  in  the  Central       tion,  p.  434. 
Provinces. 


470  RAJ  WAR  part 

to  the  tradition  given  above,  the  Yadus  also  settled.  This 
point  IS  not  important,  but  so  far  as  it  goes  would  favour 
the  identification  of  the  Sakas  with  the  Yadavas. 

The  Bhatti  branch  of  the  Yadus  claim  descent  from 
Bhati,  the  grandson  of  Salivahana.  They  have  no  legend 
of  having  come  from  Gujarat,  but  they  had  the  title  of  Rawal, 
which  is  used  in  Gujarat,  and  also  by  the  Sesodia  clan  who 
came  from  there.  The  Bhattis  are  said  to  have  arrived  in 
Jaisalmer  about  the  middle  of  the  eighth  century,  Jaisalmer 
city  being  founded  much  later  in  A.D.  1 1  83.  Jaisalmer  State, 
the  third  in  Rajputana,  has  an  area  of  16,000  square  miles, 
most  of  which  is  desert,  and  a  population  of  about  100,000 
persons.  The  chief  has  the  title  of  Maharawal  and  receives 
a  salute  of  fifteen  guns.  The  Jareja  Rajputs  of  Sind  and 
Cutch  are  another  branch  of  the  Yadus  who  have  largely 
intermarried  with  Muhammadans.  They  now  claim  descent 
from  Jamshid,  the  Persian  hero,  and  on  this  account,  Colonel 
Tod  states,  the  title  of  their  rulers  is  Jam.  They  were 
formerly  much  addicted  to  female  infanticide.  The  name 
Yadu  has  in  other  parts  of  India  been  corrupted  into  Jadon, 
and  the  class  of  Jadon  Rajpiats  is  fairly  numerous  in  the 
United  Provinces,  and  in  some  places  is  said  to  have  become 
a  caste,  its  members  marrying  among  themselves.  This  is 
also  the  case  in  the  Central  Provinces,  where  they  are  known 
as  Jadum,  and  have  been  treated  under  that  name  in  a 
separate  article.  The  small  State  of  Karauli  in  Rajputana  is 
held  by  a  Jadon  chief. 

Rajwar.^ — A  low  cultivating  caste  of  Bihar  and  Chota 
Nagpur,  who  are  probably  an  offshoot  of  the  Bhuiyas.  In 
191 1  a  total  of  25,000  Rajwars  were  returned  in  the  Central 
Provinces,  of  whom  22,000  belong  to  the  Sarguja  State 
recently  transferred  from  Bengal.  Another  2000  persons 
are  shown  in  Bilaspur,  but  these  are  Mowars,  an  offshoot 
of  the  Rajwars,  who  have  taken  to  the  profession  of 
gardening  and  have  changed  their  name.  They  probably 
rank  a  little  higher  than  the  bulk  of  the  Rajwars. 
"  Traditionally,"  Colonel  Dalton  states,  "  the  Rajwars  appear 

'  Based  on   the  accounts  of  Sir  li.       by  Pandit  G.  L.  Palhak,  Superintend- 
Risley  and  Colonel  Dalton  and  a  paper       ent,  Korea  State. 


II  RAJWAR  471 

to  connect  themselves  with  the  Bhuiyas  ;  but  this  is  only  in 
Bihar.  The  Rajwars  in  Sarguja  and  the  adjoining  States 
are  peaceably  disposed  cultivators,  who  declare  themselves 
to  be  fallen  Kshatriyas  ;  they  do  not,  however,  conform  to 
Hindu  customs,  and  they  are  skilled  in  a  dance  called  Chailo, 
which  I  believe  to  be  of  Dra vidian  origin.  The  Rajwars  of 
Bengal  admit  that  they  are  the  descendants  of  mixed  unions 
between  Kurmis  and  Kols.  They  are  looked  upon  as  very 
impure  by  the  Hindus,  who  will  not  take  water  from  their 
hands."  The  Rajwars  of  Bihar  told  Buchanan  that  their 
ancestor  was  a  certain  Rishi,  who  had  two  sons.  From 
the  elder  were  descended  the  Rajwars,  who  became  soldiers 
and  obtained  their  noble  title  ;  and  from  the  younger  the 
Musfdiars,  who  were  so  called  from  their  practice  of  eating 
rats,  which  the  Rajwars  rejected.  The  Musfdiars,  as  shown 
by  Sir  H.  Risley,  are  probably  Bhuiyas  degraded  to  servitude 
in  Hindu  villages,  and  this  story  confirms  the  Bhuiya  origin 
of  the  Rajwars.  In  the  Central  Provinces  the  Bhuiyas  have  a 
subcaste  called  Rajwar,  which  further  supports  this  hypothesis, 
and  in  the  absence  of  evidence  to  the  contrary  it  is  reasonable 
to  suppose  that  the  Rajwars  are  an  offshoot  of  the  Bhuiyas, 
as  they  themselves  say,  in  Bihar.  The  substitution  of  Kols 
for  l^huiyas  in  Bengal  need  not  cause  much  concern  in 
view  of  the  great  admixture  of  blood  and  confused 
nomenclature  of  all  the  Chota  Nagpur  tribes.  In  Bengal, 
where  the  Bhuiyas  have  settled  in  Hindu  villages,  and 
according  to  the  usual  lot  of  the  forest  tribes  who  entered 
the  Hindu  system  have  been  degraded  into  the  servile  and 
impure  caste  of  Musahars,  the  Rajwars  have  shared  their 
fate,  and  are  also  looked  upon  as  impure.  But  in  Chota 
Nagpur  the  Bhuiyas  have  their  own  villages  and  live  apart 
from  the  Hindus,  and  here  the  Rajwars,  like  the  landholding 
branches  of  other  forest  tribes,  claim  to  be  an  inferior  class 
of  Rajputs. 

In  Sarguja  the  caste  have  largely  adopted  Hindu  customs. 
They  abstain  from  liquor,  employ  low-class  Brahmans  as 
priests,  and  worship  the  Hindu  deities.  When  a  man  wishes 
to  arrange  a  match  for  his  son  he  takes  a  basket  of  wheat- 
cakes  and  proceeding  to  the  house  of  the  girl's  father 
sets  them   down   outside.      If    the  match   is  acceptable  the 


472  RAMOSI  part 

girl's  mother  comes  and  takes  the  cakes  into  the  house  and 
the  betrothal  is  then  considered  to  be  ratified.  At  the 
wedding  the  bridegroom  smears  vermilion  seven  times  on  the 
parting  of  the  bride's  hair,  and  the  bride's  younger  sister 
then  wipes  a  little  of  it  off  with  the  end  of  the  cloth.  For 
this  service  she  is  paid  a  rupee  by  the  bridegroom.  Divorce 
and  the  remarriage  of  widows  are  permitted.  After  the  birth 
of  a  child  the  mother  is  given  neither  food  nor  water  for 
two  whole  days ;  on  the  third  day  she  gets  only  boiled  water  to 
drink  and  on  the  fourth  day  receives  some  food.  The  period 
of  impurity  after  a  birth  extends  to  twelve  days.  When  the 
navel-string  drops  it  is  carefully  put  away  until  the  next 
Dasahra,  together  with  the  child's  hair,  which  is  cut  on  the 
sixth  day.  On  the  Dasahra  festival  all  the  women  of  the 
village  take  them  to  a  tank,  where  a  lotus  plant  is  worshipped 
and  anointed  with  oil  and  vermilion,  and  the  hair  and 
navel-string  are  then  buried  at  its  roots.  The  dead  are 
burned,  and  the  more  pious  keep  the  bones  with  a  view  to 
carrying  them  to  the  Ganges  or  some  other  sacred  river. 
Pending  this,  the  bones  are  deposited  in  the  cow-house,  and 
a  lamp  is  kept  burning  in  it  every  night  so  long  as  they  are 
there.  The  Rajwars  believe  that  every  man  has  a  soul 
or  Pran,  and  they  think  that  the  soul  leaves  the  body,  not 
only  at  death,  but  whenever  he  is  asleep  or  becomes 
unconscious  owing  to  injury  or  illness.  Dreams  are  the 
adventures  of  the  soul  while  wandering  over  the  world 
apart  from  the  body.  They  think  it  very  unlucky  for  a 
man  to  see  his  own  reflection  in  water  and  carefully  avoid 
doing  so. 


I.  General  RaiYlOSi,    RaiTioshi. — A    Criminal   tribe  of  the  Bombay 

notice.  Presidency,  of  which  about  150  persons  were  returned  from 
the  Central  Provinces  and  Berar  in  191 1.  They  belong  to  the 
western  tract  of  the  Satpuras  adjoining  Khandesh.  The 
name  is  supposed  to  be  a  corruption  of  Ramvansi,  meaning 
'  The  descendants  of  Rama.'  They  say  ^  that  when  Rama, 
the  hero  of  the  Ramayana,  was  driven  from  his  kingdom  by 
his  step-mother  Kaikeyi,  he  went  to  the   forest  land   south 

1  B.  G.  Poona,  Part  I.,  p.  409. 


II  METHODS  OF  ROBBERY  473 

of  the  Nerbudda.  His  brother  Bharat,  who  had  been  raised 
to  the  throne,  could  not  bear  to  part  with  Ranna,  so  he 
followed  him  to  the  forest,  began  to  do  penance,  and  made 
friends  with  a  rough  but  kindly  forest  tribe.  After  Rama's 
restoration  Bharat  took  two  foresters  with  him  to  Ajodhia 
(Oudh)  and  brought  them  to  the  notice  of  Rama,  who 
appointed  them  village  watchmen  and  allowed  them  to  take 
his  name.  If  this  is  the  correct  derivation  it  may  be  com- 
pared with  the  name  of  Rawanvansi  or  Children  of  Rawan, 
the  opponent  of  Rama,  which  is  applied  to  the  Gonds  of 
the  Central  Provinces,  The  Ramosis  appear  to  be  a 
Hinduised  caste  derived  from  the  Bhils  or  Kolis  or  a 
mixture  of  the  two  tribes.  They  were  formerly  a  well- 
known  class  of  robbers  and  dacoits.  The  principal  scenes  of 
their  depredations  were  the  western  Ghats,  and  an  interesting 
description  of  their  methods  is  given  by  Captain  Mackintosh 
in  his  account  of  the  tribe.^  Some  extracts  from  this  are 
here  reproduced. 

They  armed  themselves  chiefly  with  swords,  taking  one,  2.  Methods 
two  or  three  matchlocks,  or  more  should  they  judge  it  of  robbery, 
necessary.  Several  also  carried  their  shields  and  a  few  had 
merely  sticks,  which  were  in  general  shod  wath  small  bars  of 
iron  from  eight  to  twelve  inches  in  length,  strongly  secured  by 
means  of  rings  and  somewhat  resembling»the  ancient  mace. 
One  of  the  party  carried  a  small  copper  or  earthen  pot  or  a 
cocoanut-shell  with  a  supply  of  gJii  or  clarified  butter  in  it, 
to  moisten  their  torches  with  before  they  commenced  their 
operations.  The  Ramosis  endeavoured  as  much  as  possible 
to  avoid  being  seen  by  anybody  either  when  they  were 
proceeding  to  the  object  of  their  attack  or  returning  after- 
wards to  their  houses.  They  therefore  travelled  during  the 
night-time  ;  and  before  daylight  in  the  morning  they  con- 
cealed themselves  in  a  jungle  or  ravine  near  some  water,  and 
slept  all  day,  proceeding  in  this  way  for  a  long  distance  till 
they  reached  the  vicinity  of  the  village  to  be  attacked. 
When  they  were  pursued  and  much  pressed,  at  times  they 
would  throw  themselves  into  a  bush  or  under  a  prickly  pear 

1  A7t    Account   of  the    Origin    and      Tracts.     Also  published  in  the  Madras 
Present    Condition    of   the     Tribe    of     Journal  of  Literature  and  Science. ) 
Ramosis  (Bombay,  1833  ;  India  Office 


474  RAMOSI  part 

plant,  coiling  themselves  up  so  carefully  that  the  chances 
were  their  pursuers  would  pass  them  unnoticed.  If  they 
intended  to  attack  a  treasure  party  they  would  wait  at  some 
convenient  spot  on  the  road  and  sally  out  when  it  came 
abreast  of  them,  first  girding  up  their  loins  and  twisting  a 
cloth  tightly  round  their  faces,  to  prevent  the  features  from 
being  recognised.  Before  entering  the  village  where  their 
dacoity  or  diirrowa  was  to  be  perpetrated,  torches  were  made 
from  the  turban  of  one  of  the  party,  which  was  torn  into 
three,  five  or  seven  pieces,  but  never  into  more,  the  pieces 
being  then  soaked  with  butter.  The  same  man  always 
supplied  the  turban  and  received  in  exchange  the  best 
one  taken  in  the  robbery.  Those  who  were  unarmed 
collected  bags  of  stones,  and  these  were  thrown  at 
any  people  who  tried  to  interfere  with  them  during  the 
dacoity.  They  carried  firearms,  but  avoided  using  them  if 
possible,  as  their  discharge  might  summon  defenders  from 
a  distance.  They  seldom  killed  or  mutilated  their  victims, 
except  in  a  fight,  but  occasionally  travellers  were  killed 
after  being  robbed  as  a  measure  of  precaution.  They 
retreated  with  their  spoils  as  rapidly  as  possible  to  the  nearest 
forest  or  hill,  and  from  there,  after  distributing  the  booty 
into  bags  to  make  it  portable,  they  marched  off  in  a  different 
direction  from  that  in  which  they  had  come.  Before 
reaching  their  homes  one  of  the  party  was  deputed  with  an 
offering  of  one,  two  or  five  rupees  to  be  presented  as  an 
offering  to  their  god  Khandoba  or  the  goddess  Bhawani  in 
fulfilment  of  a  vow.  All  the  spoil  was  then  deposited 
before  their  Naik  or  headman,  who  divided  it  into  equal 
shares  for  members  of  the  gang,  keeping  a  double  share  for 
himself. 
3.  Ramosis  In  Order  to  protect  themselves  from  the  depredations  of 

'^"^P.'ljy^^  these  gangs  the  villagers  adopted  a  system  of  hiring  a 
watchnien.  Ramosi  as  a  surety  to  be  responsible  for  their  property,  and 
this  man  gradually  became  a  Rakhwaldar  or  village  watch- 
man. He  received  a  grant  of  land  rent-free  and  other 
perquisites,  and  also  a  fee  from  all  travellers  and  gangs  of 
traders  who  halted  in  the  village  in  return  for  his  protection 
during  the  night.  If  a  theft  or  house-breaking  occurred  in 
a  village,  the  Ramosi  was  held  responsible  to  the  owner  for 


II       RAMOS  IS  EMPLOYED  AS  VILLAGE   WATCHMEN  475 

the  value  of  the  property,  unless  a  large  gang  had  been 
engaged.  If  he  failed  to  discover  the  thief  he  engaged  to 
make  the  lost  property  good  to  the  owner  within  fifteen 
days  or  a  month  unless  its  value  was  considerable.  If  a 
gang  had  been  engaged,  the  Ramosi,  accompanied  by  the 
patel  and  other  village  officials  and  cultivators,  proceeded  to 
track  them  by  their  footprints.  Obtaining  a  stick  he  cut  it 
to  the  exact  length  of  the  footprint,  or  several  such  if  a 
number  of  prints  could  be  discovered,  and  followed  the 
tracks,  measuring  the  footprints,  to  the  boundary  of  the 
village.  The  inhabitants  of  the  adjoining  village  were  then 
called  and  were  responsible  for  carrying  on  the  trail  through 
their  village.  The  measures  of  footprints  were  handed  over 
to  them,  and  after  satisfying  themselves  that  the  marks  came 
from  outside  and  extended  into  their  land  they  took  up  the 
trail  accompanied  by  the  Ramosi.  In  this  way  the  gang 
was  tracked  from  village  to  village,  and  if  it  was  run  to 
earth  the  residents  of  the  villages  to  which  it  belonged  had 
to  make  good  the  loss.  If  the  tracks  were  lost  owing  to 
the  robbers  having  waded  along  a  stream  or  got  on  to  rocky 
ground  or  into  a  public  road,  then  the  residents  of  the 
village  in  whose  borders  the  line  failed  were  considered 
responsible  for  the  stolen  property.  Usually,  however,  a 
compromise  was  made,  and  they  paid  half,  while  the  other 
half  was  raised  from  the  village  in  which  the  theft  occurred. 
If  the  Ramosi  failed  to  track  the  thieves  out  of  the  village 
he  had  to  make  good  the  value  of  the  theft,  but  he  was 
usually  assisted  by  the  village  officer.  Often,  too,  the  owner 
had  to  be  contented  with  half  or  a  quarter  of  the  amount 
lost  as  compensation.  In  the  early  part  of  the  century  the 
Ramosis  of  Poona  became  very  troublesome  and  constantly 
committed  robberies  in  the  houses  of  Europeans.  As  a 
consequence  a  custom  grew  up  of  employing  a  Ramosi  as 
chaukidar  or  watchman  for  guarding  the  bungalow  at  night 
on  a  salary  of  seven  rupees  a  month,  and  soon  became 
general.  It  was  the  business  of  the  Ramosi  watchman  to 
prevent  other  Ramosis  from  robbing  the  house.  Apparently 
this  was  the  common  motive  for  the  custom,  prevalent 
up  to  recent  years,  of  paying  a  man  solely  for  the  purpose 
of  watching    the  house  at   night,  and   it  originated,  as   in 


customs. 


476  RAMOSI  part 

Poona,  as   a  form   of  insurance  and  an   application   of  the 
proverb  of  setting  a  thief  to  catch  a  thief      The  selection 
of  village  watchmen   from  among   the  low  criminal    castes 
appears  to  have  been  made  on  the  same  principle. 
4.  Social  The  principal  deity  of  the   Ramosis   is   Khandoba,  the 

Maratha  god  of  war.^  He  is  the  deified  sword,  the  name 
being  khanda-aba  or  sword-father.  An  oath  taken  on  the 
Bhandar  or  little  bag  of  turmeric  dedicated  to  Khandoba  is 
held  by  them  most  sacred  and  no  Ramosi  will  break  this 
oath.  Every  Ramosi  has  a  family  god  known  as  Devak, 
and  persons  having  the  same  Devak  cannot  intermarry. 
The  Devak  is  usually  a  tree  or  a  bunch  of  the  leaves  of 
several  trees.  No  one  may  eat  the  fruit  of  or  otherwise 
use  the  tree  which  is  his  Devak.  At  their  weddings  the 
branches  of  several  trees  are  consecrated  as  Devaks  or 
guardians  of  the  wedding.  A  Gurao  cuts  the  leafy  branches 
of  the  mango,  nmar^  jdrmin  ^  and  of  the  rui  ^  and  shami  ^ 
shrubs  and  a  few  stalks  of  grass  and  sets  them  in  Hanu- 
man's  temple.  From  here  the  bridegroom's  parents,  after 
worshipping  Hanuman  with  a  betel-leaf  and  five  areca-nuts, 
take  them  home  and  fasten  them  to  the  front  post  of  the 
marriage-shed.  When  the  bridegroom  is  taken  before  the 
family  gods  of  the  bride,  he  steals  one  of  them  in  token 
of  his  profession,  but  afterwards  restores  it  in  return  for 
a  payment  of  mone}'.  In  social  position  the  Ramosis  rank 
a  little  above  the  Mahars  and  Mangs,  not  being  impure. 
They  speak  Marathi  but  have  also  a  separate  thieves'  jargon 
of  their  own,  of  which  a  vocabulary  is  given  in  the  account 
of  Captain  Mackintosh.  When  a  Ramosi  child  is  seven  or 
eight  years  old  he  must  steal  something.  If  he  is  caught 
and  goes  to  prison  the  people  are  delighted,  fall  at  his  feet 
when  he  comes  out  and  try  to  obtain  him  as  a  husband  for 
their  daughters.^  It  is  doubtful  whether  these  practices 
obtain  in  the  Central  Provinces,  and  as  the  Ramosis  are 
not  usually  reckoned  here  among  the  notorious  criminal 
tribes  they  may  probabl}^  have  taken  to  more  honest 
pursuits. 

1  This  paragraph  is  mainly  compiled  ^  Engc^iia  jambolana. 
from  the  Ndsik  and  Poona  volumes  of  *  Calotropis  gigantca. 
the  Bombay  Gazetteer.  6  Bauhinia  raceniosa. 

2  Ficus  glomerata,  "  Poona  Gazetteer,  part  i.  p.  425. 


II  RANG  RE  Z  477 

Rangrez.  —  The  Muhammadan  caste  of  dyers.  The 
caste  is  found  generally  in  the  northern  Districts,  and  in 
1 90 1  its  members  were  included  with  the  Chhipas,  from 
whom,  however,  they  should  be  distinguished  as  having  a 
different  religion  and  also  because  they  practise  a  separate 
branch  of  the  dyeing  industry.  The  strength  of  the  caste 
in  the  Central  Provinces  does  not  exceed  a  few  hundred 
persons.  The  Rangrez  is  nominally  a  Muhammadan  of  the 
Sunni  sect,  but  the  community  forms  an  endogamous  group 
after  the  Hindu  fashion,  marrying  only  among  themselves. 
Good-class  Muhammadans  will  neither  intermarry  with  nor 
even  take  food  from  members  of  the  Rangrez  community. 
In  Sohagpur  town  of  Hoshangabad  this  is  divided  into  two 
branches,  the  Kheralawalas  or  immigrants  from  Kherala  in 
Malwa  and  the  local  Rangrezes.  These  two  groups  will 
take  food  together  but  will  not  intermarry.  Kheralawala 
women  commonly  wear  a  skirt  like  Hindu  women  and  not 
Muhammadan  pyjamas.  In  Jubbulpore  the  Rangrez  com- 
munity employ  Brahmans  to  conduct  their  marriage  and 
other  ceremonies.  Long  association  with  Hindus  has  as 
usual  caused  the  Rangrez  to  conform  to  their  religious 
practices  and  the  caste  might  almost  be  described  as  a 
Hindu  community  with  Muhammadan  customs.  The  bulk 
of  them  no  doubt  were  originally  converted  Hindus,  but  as 
their  ancestors  probably  immigrated  from  northern  India 
their  present  leaning  to  that  religion  would  perhaps  be  not 
so  much  an  obstinate  retention  of  pre-Islamic  ritual  as  a 
subsequent  lapse  following  on  another  change  of  environ- 
ment. In  northern  India  Mr.  Crooke  records  them  as  being 
governed  mainly  by  Muhammadan  rules.  There  ^  they  hold 
themselves  to  be  the  descendants  of  one  Khwaja  Bali,  a  very 
pious  man,  about  whom  the  following  verse  is  current : 

KJiwclja  Bali  Rangrez 
Rajjge  Khitda  ki  sez  : 

'  Khwaja  Bali  dyes  the  bed  of  God.'  The  name  is  derived 
from  rang,  colour,  and  rcz,  rekhtdfi,  to  pour.  In  Bihar, 
Sir    G.    Grierson    states "   the    word    Rangrez    is    often   con- 

'    Tribes  and  Castes,  art.  Rangrez. 
2  Peasant  Life  in  Bihar,  p.  loi,  footnote. 


478  RANGREZ  part 

founded  with  '  Angrezi '  or  '  English  '  ;  and  the  English  are 
sometimes  nicknamed  facetiously  Rangrez  or  '  dyers.'  The 
saying,  '  Were  I  a  dyer  I  would  dye  my  own  beard  first,'  in 
reference  to  the  Muhammadan  custom  of  dyeing  the  beard, 
has  the  meaning  of  '  Charity  begins  at  home.'  ^ 

The  art  of  the  Rangrez  differs  considerably  from  that  of 
the  Chhipa  or  Rangari,  the  Hindu  dyer,  and  he  produces  a 
much  greater  variety  of  colours.  His  principal  agents  were 
formerly  the  safflower  {CartJiamus  tinctorius),  turmeric  and 
myrobalans.  The  fact  that  the  brilliant  red  dye  of  safflower 
was  as  a  rule  only  used  by  Muhammadan  dyers,  gives  some 
ground  for  the  supposition  that  it  may  have  been  introduced 
by  them  to  India.  This  would  account  for  the  existence  of 
a  separate  caste  of  Muhammadan  dyers,  and  in  support  of  it 
may  be  adduced  the  fact  that  the  variety  of  colours  is  much 
greater  in  the  dress  of  the  residents  of  northern  India  and 
Rajputana  than  in  those  of  the  Maratha  Districts.  The 
former  patronise  many  different  shades,  more  especially  for 
head-cloths,  while  the  latter  as  a  rule  do  not  travel  beyond 
red,  black  or  blue.  The  Rangrez  obtains  his  red  shades 
from  safflower,  yellow  from  Jialdi  or  turmeric,  green  from  a 
mixture  of  indigo  and  turmeric,  purple  from  indigo  and 
safflower,  khaki  or  dust-colour  from  myrobalans  and  iron 
filings,  orange  from  turmeric  and  safflower,  and  baddmi  or 
almond-colour  from  turmeric  and  two  wild  plants  kachora 
and  ndgarviothi,  the  former  of  which  gives  a  scent.  Cloths 
dyed  in  the  baddmi  shades  are  affected,  when  they  can  afford 
it,  by  Gosains  and  other  religious  mendicants,  who  thus 
dwell  literally  in  the  odour  of  sanctity.  Muhammadans 
generally  patronise  the  shades  of  green  or  purple,  the  latter 
being  often  used  as  a  lining  for  white  coats.  Fakirs  or 
Muhammadan  beggars  wear  light  green.  Marwari  Banias 
and  others  from  Rajputana  like  the  light  yellow,  pink  or 
orange  shades.  A  green  or  black  head-cloth  is  with  them 
a  sign  of  mourning.  Cloths  dyed  in  yellow  or  scarlet  are 
bought  by  Brahmans  and  other  castes  of  Hindus  for  their 
marriages.  Blue  is  not  a  lucky  colour  among  the  Hindus 
and  is  considered  as  on  a  level  with  black.  It  may  be  worn 
on  ordinary  occasions,  but  not  at  festivals  or  at  auspicious 
'  Temple  and  Fallon's  Hindustani  Proverbs. 


II  RA  UTIA  479 

periods.  Muhammadans  rather  affect  black  and  do  not 
consider  it  an  unlucky  colour.  I  have  seen  a  Rangrez  dye 
a  piece  of  cloth  in  about  twenty  colours  in  the  course  of 
two  or  tiiree  hours,  but  several  of  these  dyes  are  fugitive 
and  will  not  stand  washing.  The  trade  of  the  Rangrez  is 
being  undermined  by  the  competition  of  cheap  chemical 
dyes  imported  from  Germany  and  sold  in  the  form  of 
powders  ;  the  process  of  dyeing  with  these  is  absolutely 
simple  and  can  be  carried  out  by  any  one.  They  are  far 
cheaper  than  safflower,  and  this  agent  has  consequently  been 
almost  driven  from  the  market.  People  buy  a  little  dyeing 
powder  from  the  bazar  and  dye  their  own  cloths.  But  men 
will  only  wear  cloths  dyed  in  this  manner,  and  known  as 
katcJia  kapra,  on  their  heads  and  not  on  their  bodies  ; 
women  sometimes  wear  them  also  on  their  bodies.  The 
decay  in  the  indigenous  art  of  dyeing  must  be  a  matter  for 
regret. 

Rautia.^ — A  cultivating  caste  of  the  Chota  Nagpur  i.  Origin 
plateau.  In  191 1  about  12,000  Rautias  were  enumerated  °^-^l^^^ 
in  the  Province,  nearly  all  of  whom  belong  to  the  Jashpur 
State  with  a  few  in  Sarguja.  These  states  lie  outside  the 
scope  of  the  Ethnographic  Survey  and  hence  no  regular 
inquiry  has  been  made  on  the  Rautias.  The  following  brief 
notice  is  mainly  taken  from  the  account  of  the  caste  in  Sir 
H.  Risley's  Tribes  and  Castes  of  Bengal.  He  describes  the 
caste  as,  "  refined  in  features  and  complexion  by  a  large 
infusion  of  Aryan  blood.  Their  chief  men  hold  estates  on 
quit-rent  from  the  Maharaja  of  Chota  Nagpur,  and  the  bulk 
of  the  remainder  are  tenants  with  occupancy  right  and  often 
paying  only  a  low  quit-rent  or  half  the  normal  assessment." 
These  favourable  tenures  may  probably  be  explained  by 
the  fact  that  they  were  held  in  former  times  on  condition  of 
military  service,  and  were  analogous  to  the  feudal  fiefs  of 
Europe.  The  Rautias  themselves  say  that  this  was  their 
original  occupation  in  Chota  Nagpur.  The  name  Rautia 
is  a  form  of  Rawat,  and  this  latter  word  signifies  a  prince 
and  is  a  title  borne  by  relatives  of  a  Raja.      It  may  be  noticed 

'   Based  on  Sir  II.  Risley's  account       Bengal,  and   on    notes   taken   by   Mr. 
of  the  tribe  in  the  Tribes  and  Castes  of      Hua  Lai  at  Raigarh. 


48o  RA  UTIA  part 

that  Ravvat  is  the  ordinary  name  by  which  the  Ahir  caste 
is  known  in  Chhattisgarh,  the  neighbouring  country  to  Chota 
Nagpur  in  the  Central  Provinces  ;  and  further  that  the 
Rautias  will  take  food  from  a  Chhattisgarhi  Rawat.  This 
fact,  coupled  with  the  identity  of  the  name,  appears  to 
demonstrate  a  relationship  of  the  two  castes.  The  Rautias 
will  not  take  food  from  any  other  Hindu  caste,  but  they  will 
eat  with  the  Kawar  and  Gond  tribes,  at  least  in  Raigarh. 
The  Kawars  have  a  subtribe  called  Rautia  as  also  have  the 
Kols.  In  Sir  H.  Risley's  list  of  the  sept  -  names  of  the 
Rautias  ^  we  find  two  names,  Aind  the  eel,  and  Rukhi  a 
squirrel,  which  are  also  the  names  of  Munda  septs,  and  one, 
Karsayal  or  deer,  which  is  the  name  of  a  Kawar  sept.  They 
have  also  a  name  Sanwani,  which  is  probably  Sonwani  or 
'  gold-water,'  and  is  common  to  many  of  the  primitive  tribes. 
The  most  plausible  hypothesis  of  the  origin  of  the  Rautias 
on  the  above  facts  seems  to  be  that  they  were  a  tribal  militia 
in  Chota  Nagpur,  the  leaders  being  Ahirs  or  Rawats  with 
possibly  a  sprinkling  of  the  local  Rajputs,  while  the  main 
body  were  recruited  from  the  Kawar  and  Kol  tribes.  The 
Khandaits  or  swordsmen  of  Orissa  furnish  an  exact  parallel 
to  the  Rautias,  being  a  tribal  militia,  who  have  now  become 
a  caste,  and  are  constituted  mainly  from  the  Bhuiya  tribe 
with  a  proportion  of  Chasas  or  cultivators  and  Rajputs. 
They  also  have  obtained  possession  of  the  land,  and  in  Orissa 
the  Sresta  or  good  Khandaits  rank  next  to  the  Rajputs. 
The  history  and  position  of  the  Rautias  appears  to  be 
similar  to  that  of  the  Khandaits.  The  Halbas  of  Bastar  are 
probably  another  nearly  analogous  instance.  They  were 
Gonds,  who  apparently  formed  the  tribal  militia  of  the  Rajas 
of  Bastar  and  got  grants  of  land  and  consequently  a  certain 
rise  in  status  though  not  to  the  same  level  as  the  Khandaits 
and  Rautias.  It  does  not  seem  that  the  Rautias  have  any 
special  connection  with  the  Gonds,  and  their  acceptance  of 
food  from  Gonds  may  perhaps,  as  suggested  by  Mr.  Hira 
Lai,  be  due  to  the  fact  that  they  served  a  Gond  Raja. 
Sub-  The  Rautias  had  formerly  three  subdivisions,  the  Barki, 

Majhli  and  Chhotki  Bhlr  or  Gorhi,  or  the  high,  middle  and 
low  class  Rautias.      But  it  is  related   that  the  Barki  group 

1   Tribes  and  Castes  of  Bengal,  vol.  ii.  App.  I. 


divisions. 


II  MARRIAGE  481 

found  that  they  could  not  obtain  girls  in  marriage  for  their 
sons,  so  they  extended  the  privileges  of  the  connubiuin  to  the 
Majhli  group  after  taking  a  caste  feast.  Possibly  the  Barki 
Rautias  formerly  practised  hypergamy  with  the  Majhli, 
taking  daughters  in  marriage  but  not  giving  daughters,  and 
in  course  of  time  this  has  led  to  the  obliteration  of  the 
distinction  between  them.  The  different  status  of  the  three 
groups  was  based  on  their  purity  of  descent.  The  Majhli 
and  Chhotki  were  the  descendants  of  Rautia  fathers  and 
mothers  of  other  castes  ;  the  offspring  going  to  the  Majhli 
group  if  the  mother  was  a  Gond  or  Kawar  or  of  respectable 
caste,  while  the  children  of  impure  Ganda  and  Ghasia 
women  by  Rautia  fathers  were  admitted  into  the  Chhotki 
group.  These  divisions  confirm  the  hypothesis  previously 
given  of  the  genesis  of  the  Rautia  caste  ;  and  it  is  further 
worth  noting  that  the  Khandaits  have  also  Bar  and  Chhot 
Gohir  divisions  or  those  of  pure  and  mixed  blood,  and 
the  Halbas  of  Bastar  are  similarly  divided  into  the  Purait 
or  pure  Halbas,  and  the  Surait  or  descendants  of  Halba 
fathers  by  women  of  other  castes.  In  a  military  society, 
where  the  men  were  frequently  on  the  move  or  stationed  in 
outlying  forts  and  posts,  temporary  unions  and  illegitimate 
children  would  naturally  be  of  common  occurrence.  And 
the  mixed  nature  of  the  three  castes  affords  some  support 
to  the  hypothesis  of  their  common  origin  from  military 
service. 

The  tribe  have  totemistic  septs,  and  retain  some  venera- 
tion for  their  totems.  Those  of  the  Bagh  or  tiger  sept 
throw  away  their  earthen  pots  on  hearing  of  the  death  of  a 
tiger.  Those  of  the  Sand  or  bull  sept  will  not  castrate 
bullocks  themselves,  and  must  have  this  operation  per- 
formed on  their  plough-bullocks  by  others.  Those  of  the 
Kansi  sept  formerly,  according  to  their  own  account,  would 
not  root  up  the  kdns  grass  ^  growing  in  their  fields,  but  now 
they  no  longer  object  to  do  so.  Other  septs  are  Tithi  a 
bird,  Bira  a  hawk,  Barwan  a  wild  dog,  and  so  on. 

Marriage  is  forbidden   within   the  sept,  but  is  permitted  3.  Mar- 
between   the   children   of  a  brother  and   a   sister  or   of  two  ^''^^^' 
sisters.      Matches  are  arranged  at  the  caste  feasts  and   the 

1   Saccharum  spontaneum, 
.  VOL.  IV  2  T 


RA  UTIA 


4.  Funeral 
rites. 


5.  Inherit- 
ance. 


usual  bride-price  is  four  rupees  with  six  or  seven  pieces  of 
cloth  and  some  grain.  When  the  procession  arrives  at  the 
bride's  village  her  party  go  out  to  meet  it,  and  the  Gandas  or 
musicians  on  each  side  try  to  break  each  other's  drums,  but 
are  stopped  by  their  employers.  At  the  wedding  two  wooden 
images  of  the  bridegroom  and  bride  are  made  and  placed  in 
the  centre  of  the  marriage-shed.  A  goat  is  led  round  these 
and  killed,  and  the  bride  and  bridegroom  walk  round  them 
seven  times.  They  rub  vermilion  on  the  wooden  images  and 
then  on  each  other's  foreheads.  It  is  probable  that  the 
wooden  images  are  made  and  set  up  in  the  centre  of  the 
shed  to  attract  the  evil  eye  and  divert  it  from  the  real  bride 
and  bridegroom,  and  the  goat  may  be  a  substituted  sacrifice 
on  their  behalf  Divorce  and  the  remarriage  of  widows  are 
permitted. 

In  the  forest  tracts  the  tribe  bury  the  dead,  placing 
the  corpse  with  the  feet  to  the  south.  Before  being  placed 
in  the  grave  the  corpse  is  rubbed  with  oil  and  turmeric  and 
carried  seven  times  round  the  grave  according  to  the  ritual 
of  a  wedding.  This  is  called  the  CJihed  vivdJi  or  marriage  to 
the  grave.  The  Kablrpanthi  Rautias  are  placed  standing  in 
the  grave  with  the  face  turned  to  the  north.  Well-to-do 
members  of  the  caste  burn  their  dead 'and  employ  Brahmans 
to  perform  the  shrdddh  ceremony. 

The  tribe  have  some  special  rules  of  inheritance.  In 
Bengal  ^  the  eldest  son  of  the  legitimate  wife  inherits  the 
whole  of  the  father's  property,  subject  to  the  obligation  of 
making  grants  for  the  maintenance  of  his  younger  brothers. 
These  grants  decrease  according  to  the  standing  of  the 
brothers,  the  elder  ones  getting  more  and  the  younger  less. 
Sons  of  a  wife  married  by  the  ceremony  used  for  widows 
receive  smaller  grants.  But  the  widow  of  an  elder  brother 
counts  as  the  regular  wife  of  a  younger  brother  and  her  sons 
have  full  rights  of  succession.  In  the  Central  Provinces 
the  eldest  son  does  not  succeed  to  the  whole  property 
but  obtains  a  share  half  as  large  again  as  the  other  sons. 
And  if  the  father  divides  the  property  in  his  lifetime  and 
participates  in  it  he  himself  takes  only  the  share  of  a 
younger  son. 

'    Tribes  and  Castes  of  Bengal,  art.  Rautia. 


SANA  UR  HI  A  483 

Sanaurhia,    ChandravediJ — A   small    but  well-known  i.  a  band 

of 
criminals. 


community  of  criminals  in  liundelkhand.      They  claim  to  be  ^^ 


derived  from  the  Sanadhya  Brahmans,  and  it  seems  possible 
that  this  may  in  fact  have  been  their  origin  ;  but  at  present 
they  are  a  confraternity  recruited  by  the  initiation  of  promising 
boys  from  all  castes  except  sweepers  and  Chamars  ; "  and  a 
census  taken  of  them  in  northern  India  in  1872  showed 
that  they  included  members  of  the  following  castes  :  Brah- 
man, Rajput,  Teli,  Kurmi,  Ahir,  Kanjar,  Nai,  Dhobi,  Dhlmar, 
Sunar  and  Lodhi.  It  is  said,  however,  that  they  do  not  form 
a  caste  or  intermarry,  members  of  each  caste  continuing  their 
relations  with  their  own  community.  Their  regular  method 
of  stealing  is  through  the  agency  of  a  boy,  and  no  doubt  they 
pick  up  a  likely  urchin  whenever  they  get  the  chance,  as  only 
selected  boys  would  be  clever  enough  for  the  work.  Their 
trade  is  said  to  possess  much  fascination,  and  Mr.  Crooke 
quotes  a  saying,  '  Once  a  Sanaurhia  always  a  Sanaurhia '  ; 
so  that  unless  the  increased  efficiency  of  the  police  has 
caused  the  dangers  of  their  calling  to  outweigh  its  pleasures 
they  should  have  no  difficulty  in  obtaining  recruits. 

Mr.  Seagrim  ^  states    that    their  home  is    in    the   Datia  2.  Tradi- 
State  of  Bundelkhand,  and  some  of  them  live  in  the  adjoinine  ^'°"^  °^ 

■'  c>   origin. 

Alamgarh  tract  of  Indore  State.  Formerly  they  also  resided 
in  the  Orchha  and  Chanderi  States  of  Bundelkhand,  having 
six  or  eight  villages  in  each  state  *  in  their  sole  occupation, 
with  colonies  in  other  villages.  In  1857  it  was  estimated 
that  the  Tehri  State  contained  4000  Sanaurhias,  Banpur  300 
and  Datia  300.  They  occupied  twelve  villages  in  Tehri,  and 
an  officer  of  the  state  presided  over  the  community  and  acted 
as  umpire  in  the  division  of  the  spoils.  The  office  of  Mukhia 
or  leader  was  hereditary  in  the  caste,  and  in  default  of  male 
issue  descended  to  females.  If  among  the  booty  there 
happened  to  be  any  object  of  peculiar  elegance  or  value, 
it  was  ceremoniously  presented  to  the  chief  of  the  state. 
They  sa)^  that  their  ancestors  were  two  Sanadhya  Brahmans 

1  This  article  is  based  principally  on  -  Crooke's    Tribes  and  Castes,  art. 

an  account   of  the  Sanaurhias  written  Sanaurhia. 

by    Mr.    C.    ISI.    Seagrim,    Inspector-  ^  Criminal  Classes  of  Bombay  Presi- 

General    of    Police,    Indore,    and    in-  dency,  pp.  296,  297. 

eluded    in    Mr.    Kennedy's    Criminal  *  Sleeman's  Reports  on  the  Badhahs, 

Classes  of  Bombay  (\go?,).  p.  327. 


484  SANAURHIA  part 

of  the  village  of  Ramra  in  Datia  State.  They  were  both 
highly  accomplished  men,  and  one  had  the  gift  of  prophecy, 
while  the  other  could  understand  the  language  of  birds. 
One  day  they  met  at  a  river  a  rich  merchant  and  his  wife, 
who  were  on  a  pilgrimage  to  Jagannath.  As  they  were 
drinking  water  a  crow  sitting  on  a  tree  commenced  cawing, 
and  the  Sanadhya  heard  him  say  that  whoever  got  hold  of 
the  merchant's  walking-stick  would  be  rich.  The  two  Brah- 
mans  then  accompanied  the  merchant  until  they  obtained  an 
opportunity  of  making  off  with  his  stick  ;  and  they  found 
it  to  be  full  of  gold  mohurs,  the  traveller  having  adopted  this 
device  as  a  precaution  against  being  robbed.  The  Brahmans 
were  so  pleased  at  their  success  that  they  took  up  stealing  as 
a  profession,  and  opened  a  school  where  they  taught  small 
boys  of  all  castes  the  art  of  stealing  property  in  the  daytime. 
Prior  to  admission  the  boys  were  made  to  swear  by  the  moon 
that  they  would  never  commit  theft  at  night,  and  on  this 
account  they  are  known  as  Chandravedi  or  '  Those  who 
observe  the  moon.'  In  Bombay  and  Central  India  this 
name  is  more  commonly  used  than  Sanaurhia.  Another 
name  for  them  is  Uthaigira  or  '  A  picker-up  of  that  which 
has  fallen,'  corresponding  to  the  nickname  of  Uchla  or  '  Lifter ' 
applied  to  the  Bhamtas.  Mr.  Seagrim  described  them  as 
going  about  in  small  gangs  of  ten  to  twenty  persons  without 
women,  under  a  leader  who  has  the  title  of  Mukhia  or  Nal- 
band.  The  other  men  are  called  Upardar,  and  each  of  these 
has  with  him  one  or  two  boys  of  between  eight  and  twelve 
years  old,  who  are  known  as  Chauwa  (chicks)  and  do  the 
actual  stealing.  The  Nalband  or  leader  trains  these  boys  to 
their  work,  and  also  teaches  them  a  code  vocabulary  {Pdrsi) 
and  a  set  of  signals  {tent)  by  which  the  Upardar  can  convey 
to  them  his  instructions  while  business  is  proceeding.  The 
whole  gang  set  out  at  the  end  of  the  rains  and,  arriving  at 
some  distant  place,  break  up  into  small  parties  ;  the  Nalband 
remains  at  a  temporary  headquarters,  where  he  receives  and 
disposes  of  the  spoil,  and  arranges  for  the  defence  of  any 
member  of  the  gang  who  is  arrested,  and  for  the  support  of 
his  wife  and  children  if  he  is  condemned  to  imprisonment. 

3.  Methods  The    methods  of  the   Sanaurhias    as    described    by   Mr. 

of  stealing,  ggagrim  show  considerable  ingenuity.      When  they  desire  to 


II  METHODS  OF  STEALING  485 

steal  something  from  a  stall  in  a  crowded  market  two  of  the 
gang  pretend  to  have  a  violent  quarrel,  on  which  all  the 
people  in  the  vicinity  collect  to  watch,  including  probably 
the  owner  of  the  stall.  In  this  case  the  Chauwa  or  boy,  who 
has  posted  himself  in  a  position  of  vantage,  will  quickly 
abstract  the  article  agreed  upon  and  make  off.  Or  if  there 
are  several  purchasers  at  a  shop,  the  man  will  wait  until  one 
of  them  lays  down  his  bundle  while  he  makes  payment,  and 
then  pushing  up  against  him  signal  to  the  Chmiwa,  who 
snatches  up  the  bundle  and  bolts.  If  he  is  caught,  the 
Sanaurhia  will  come  up  as  an  innocent  member  of  the  crowd 
and  plead  for  mercy  on  the  score  of  his  youth  ;  and  the  boy 
will  often  be  let  off  with  a  {qw  slaps.  Sometimes  three  or 
four  Sanaurhias  will  proceed  to  some  place  of  resort  for 
pilgrims  to  bathe,  and  two  or  three  of  them  entering  the 
water  will  divert  the  attention  of  the  bather  by  pointing  out 
some  strange  object  or  starting  a  discussion.  In  the  mean- 
time the  Chatiwas  or  chicks,  under  the  direction  of  another  on 
the  bank,  will  steal  any  valuable  article  left  by  the  bather. 
The  attention  of  any  one  left  on  shore  to  watch  the  property 
is  diverted  by  a  similar  device.  If  they  see  a  man  with  ex- 
pensive clothes  the  CJiauwa  will  accidentally  brush  against 
him  and  smear  him  with  dirt  or  something  that  causes 
pollution  ;  the  victim  will  proceed  to  bathe,  and  one  of  the 
usual  stratagems  is  adopted.  Or  the  Sanaurhia  will  engage 
the  man  in  conversation  and  the  CJimnva  will  come  running 
along  and  collide  with  them  ;  on  being  abused  by  the 
Sanaurhia  for  his  clumsiness  he  asks  to  be  pardoned, 
explaining  that  he  is  only  a  poor  sweeper  and  meant  no 
harm  ;  and  on  hearing  this  the  victim,  being  polluted,  must 
go  off  and  bathe.^  Colonel  Sleeman  relates  the  following 
case  of  such  a  theft :  ^  "  While  at  Saugor  I  got  a  note  one 
morning  from  an  officer  in  command  of  a  treasure  escort 
.just  arrived  from  Narsinghpur  stating  that  the  old  Subahdar 
of  his  company  had  that  morning  been  robbed  of  his  gold 
necklace  valued  at  Rs.  150,  and  requesting  that  I  would 
assist  him  in  recovering  it.  The  old  Subahdar  brought  the 
note,  and  stated  that  he  had  undressed  at  the  brook  near  the 

'   Mr.     Gayer's    Lectures    on     some  ^  Report   on   the  Badhak  or  Bagri 

Criminal  Tribes.  Dacoits  (1849),  p.  328. 


486  SANA  URHIA  part 

cantonments,  and  placed  the  necklace  with  his  clothes,  about 
twenty  yards  from  the  place  where  he  bathed  ;  that  on  return- 
ing to  his  clothes  he  could  not  find  the  necklace,  and  the 
only  person  he  saw  near  the  place  was  a  young  lad  who  was 
sauntering  in  the  mango  grove  close  by.  This  lad  he  had 
taken  and  brought  with  him,  and  I  found  after  a  few 
questions  that  he  belonged  to  the  Sanaurhia  Brahmans  of 
Bundelkhand.  As  the  old  Subahdar  had  not  seen  the  boy 
take  the  necklace  or  even  approach  the  clothes,  I  told  him 
that  we  could  do  nothing,  and  he  must  take  the  boy  back 
to  camp  and  question  him  in  his  own  way.  The  boy,  as 
I  expected,  became  alarmed,  and  told  me  that  if  I  would  not 
send  him  back  with  the  angry  old  Subahdar  he  would  do 
anything  I  pleased.  I  bade  him  tell  me  how  he  had  managed 
to  secure  the  necklace  ;  and  he  told  me  that  while  the  Subah- 
dar turned  his  back  upon  his  clothes  in  prayer,  he  had  taken 
it  up  and  made  it  over  to  one  of  the  men  of  his  party  ;  and 
that  it  must  have  been  taken  to  their  bivouac,  which  was  in  a 
grove  about  three  miles  from  the  cantonments.  I  sent  off  a 
few  policemen,  who  secured  the  whole  party,  but  could  not 
find  anything  upon  them.  Seeing  some  signs  of  a  hole 
having  been  freshly  made  under  one  of  the  trees  they  dug 
up  the  fresh  earth  and  discovered  the  necklace,  which  the  old 
man  was  delighted  to  recover  so  easily."  Another  device 
which  they  have  is  to  beat  the  Chanwa  severely  in  the  sight 
of  a  rich  stranger.  The  boy  runs  crying  and  clings  to  the 
stranger  asking  him  for  help,  and  in  the  meantime  picks 
his  pocket.  When  the  Sanaurhias  are  convicted  in  Native 
States  and  put  into  jail  they  refuse  to  eat,  pleading  that 
they  are  poor  Brahmans,  and  pretend  to  starve  themselves 
to  death,  and  thus  often  get  out  of  jail.  In  reply  to  a  letter 
inquiring  about  these  people  from  the  Superintendent  of 
Chanderi  about  185  i,  the  Raja  of  Banpur  wrote  : 

"  I  have  to  state  that  from  former  times  these  people 
following  their  profession  have  resided  in  my  territory  and 
in  the  states  of  other  native  princes  ;  and  they  have  always 
followed  this  calling,  but  no  former  kings  or  princes  or 
authority  have  ever  forbidden  the  practice.  In  consequence 
of  these  people  stealing  by  day  only,  and  that  they  do  not 
take  life  or  distress  any  person  by  personal  ill-usage,  and  that 


u  METHODS  OF  STEALING  487 

they  do  not  break  into  houses  by  digging  walls  or  breaking 
door-locks,  but  simply  by  their  smartness  manage  to  abstract 
property  ;  owing  to  such  trifling  thefts  I  looked  upon  their 
proceedings  as  a  petty  matter  and  have  not  interfered  with 
them."  ^      This  recalls  another  famous  excuse. 

1  J.  Ilutton,  A  Popular  Accoutit  of  the  Thugs  and  Dacoits  and  Gang-robbers  of 
India  (London,  1S57). 


SANSIA 

list  of  paragraphs 

1 .  Historical  notice  of  the  caste.  5 .  Description  of  a  dacoity. 

2.  Social  ciistojus.  6.  O metis. 

3.  Taboos  of  relationship.  7.  Ordeals. 

4.  Organisation  for  dacoity.  8.  Sdnsias  at  the  present  titne. 

I.  Histori-  Sansia.^ — A  small  caste  of  wandering  criminals  of  north- 

ofthe^"^^     ern  India,  who  live  by  begging  and  dealing  in  cattle.      They 
caste.  also  Steal  and  commit  dacoities,  house-breaking  and  thefts  on 

railway  trains.  The  name  Sansia  is  borne  as  well  by  the 
Uriya  or  Od  masons  of  the  Uriya  country,  but  these  are 
believed  to  be  quite  a  distinct  group  from  the  criminal 
Sansias  of  Central  India  and  are  noticed  in  another  short 
article.  Separate  statistics  of  the  two  groups  were  not 
obtained  at  the  census.  The  Sansias  are  closely  connected 
with  the  Berias,  and  say  that  their  ancestors  were  two 
brothers  Sains  Mul  and  Sansi,  and  that  the  Berias  are 
descended  from  the  former  and  the  Sansias  from  the  latter. 
They  were  the  bards  of  the  Jat  caste,  and  it  was  their 
custom  to  chronicle  the  names  of  the  Jats  and  their 
ancestors,  and  when  they  begged  from  Jat  families  to  recite 
their  praises.  The  Sansias,  Colonel  Sleeman  states,  had 
particular  families  (of  the  Jats)  allotted  to  them,  from  whom 
they  had  not  only  the  privilege  of  begging,  but  received 
certain  dues  ;  some  had  fifty,  some  a  hundred  houses 
appointed  to  them,  and  they  received  yearly  from  the  head 
of  each  house  one  rupee  and  a  quarter  and  one  day's  food. 
When     the     Jats     celebrated     their     marriages     they    were 

^  This  article  is  based  almost  entirely  of   the    material    belongs    to   a  report 

on  a  description  of  the  Sansias  contained  drawn  up  at  Nagpur  by  Mr.  C.  Ramsay, 

in   Colonel   Slccman's    J\epoyt   on    the  Assistant  Resident,  in  1845. 
Badhak  or  BCigri  Dacoits  ( 1 849).    Most 


I'Ainii  SOCIAL  CUSTOMS  4«9 

accustomed  to  invite  the  Sansias,  who  as  their  minstrels 
recited  the  praises  of  the  ancestors  of  the  Jats,  tracinc^  them 
up  to  the  time  of  Punya  Jat ;  and  for  this  they  received 
presents,  according  to  the  means  of  the  parties,  of  cows, 
ponies  or  buffaloes.  Should  any  Jat  demur  to  paying  the 
customary  dues  the  Sansias  would  dress  up  a  cloth  figure  of 
his  father  and  parade  with  it  before  the  house,  when  the 
sum  demanded  was  generally  given  ;  for  if  the  figure  were 
fastened  on  a  bamboo  and  placed  over  the  house  the  family 
would  lose  caste  and  no  one  would  smoke  or  drink  water 
with  them.^ 

The  Sansias  say  that  their  ancestors  have  always  resided 
in  Marwar  and  Ajmer.  About  twenty-four  miles  distant  from 
Ajmer  are  two  towns,  Pisangan  and  Sagun  ;  on  their  eastern 
side  is  a  large  tank,  and  the  bones  of  all  persons  of  the 
Sansia  tribe  who  died  in  any  part  of  the  country  were 
formerly  buried  there,  being  covered  by  a  wooden  platform 
with  four  pillars.""  On  one  occasion  a  quarrel  had  arisen 
over  a  Sansia  woman,  and  a  large  number  of  the  caste  were 
killed  in  this  place.  So  they  left  Marwar,  and  some  of  them 
came  to  the  Deccan,  where  they  took  to  house-breaking  and 
dacoity  ;  and  so  successful  were  they  that  the  other  Sansias 
followed  them  and  gave  up  all  their  former  customs,  even 
those  of  reciting  the  praises  of  and  begging  from  the  Jats. 

The  Sansias  are  divided  into  two  groups,  Kalkar  and  2.  Social 
Malha ;  and  these  two  are  further  subdivided  into  eight 
and  twelve  sections  respectively.  No  one  belonging  to  the 
Kalkar  group  may  marry  another  person  of  that  group,  but 
he  may  marry  anybody  belonging  to  any  section  of  the 
Malha  group.  Thus  the  two  groups  being  exogamous  the 
sections  do  not  serve  any  purpose,  but  it  is  possible  that 
the  rules  are  really  more  complicated.  In  the  Punjab  their 
marriage  ceremony  is  peculiar,  the  bride  being  covered  by  a 
basket,  on  which  the  bridegroom  sits  while  the  nuptial  rites 
are  being  performed.^  According  to  Colonel  Sleeman,  after 
the  arrangement  of  a  match  the  caste  committee  assemble 
to  determine  the  price  to  be  paid  to  the  father  of  the  girl, 

'   Sleeman's  Report  on  the  Badhaks,  ^  Sir    D.    Ibbetson,    Punjab    Census 

p.  253.  Report  (1881),  para.  577. 

'^  Ibidem,  p.  254. 


customs. 


490  SANS/A  PART 

which  may  amount  to  as  much  as  Rs.  2000.  When  this 
is  settled  some  liquor  is  spilt  on  the  ground  in  the  name  of 
Bhagwan  or  Vishnu,  and  an  elder  pronounces  that  the  two 
have  become  man  and  wife  ;  a  feast  is  given  to  the  caste, 
and  the  ceremony  is  concluded.  After  child-birth  a  woman 
cannot  wash  herself  for  five  days,  but  on  the  sixth  she  may 
go  to  a  stream  and  wash.  Even  on  ordinary  occasions  a 
woman  must  never  wash  herself  inside  the  house,  but  must 
always  go  to  a  stream,  which  rule  does  not  apply  to  men. 
When  the  hair  of  a  child  begins  to  grow  it  is  all  shaved 
except  the  scalp-lock,  which  is  dedicated  to  Bhagwan  ;  and 
at  ten  or  twelve  years  of  age  this  lock  is  also  shaved  off  and 
a  dinner  is  given  to  members  of  the  caste.  The  last  cere- 
mony is  of  the  nature  of  a  puberty-rite,  and  if  children  die 
prior  to  its  performance  their  bodies  are  buried,  whereas 
after  it  they  have  a  right  to  cremation.  After  a  body  has 
been  burnt  the  bones  are  buried  on  the  spot  in  an  earthen 
vessel,  over  the  mouth  of  which  a  large  stone  is  placed. 
Some  pig's  flesh  is  cooked  and  sweet  cakes  prepared, 
portions  of  which  are  placed  upon  the  stone ;  and  the 
deceased  is  then  called  upon,  by  reason  of  the  usual  cere- 
■  monies  having  been  performed  at  his  death,  to  watch  over 
his  surviving  relatives.  If  any  Sansia  happened  to  commit 
a  murder  when  engaged  in  a  dacoity  he  was  afterwards 
obliged  to  make  an  offering  for  forgiveness,  and  to  spend  a 
rupee  and  a  quarter  in  liquor  for  the  caste-fellows.  If  a 
dacoit  had  himself  been  killed  and  his  body  abandoned,  his 
clothes,  with  some  new  clothes,  were  put  upon  a  sleeping- 
cot,  and  his  companions  of  the  same  caste  carried  it  to  a 
convenient  spot,  where  it  was  either  burnt  or  buried  in  the 
ground. 
3.  Taboos  Colonel    Slecman   records    some   curious    taboos   among 

siiinT^'""'  I'clations.^  A  man  cannot  go  into  the  hut  of  his  mother-in- 
law  or  of  his  son's  wife  ;  for  if  their  petticoat  should  touch 
him  he  would  be  turned  out  of  his  caste  and  would  not  be 
admitted  into  it  until  he  had  paid  a  large  sum.  "  If  we 
quarrel  with  a  woman,"  said  a  Sansia,  "  and  she  strikes  us 
with  her  petticoat  we  lose  our  caste  ;  we  should  be  allowed 
to  eat  and  drink  with  our  tribe,  but  not  to  perform  worship 

1  P.  259. 


11  DESCRIPTION  OF  A  DACOITY  491 

with  them  nor  to  assist  in  burial  rites.  If  a  woman  piles 
up  a  heap  of  stones  and  puts  her  petticoat  upon  it  and 
throws  filth  upon  it  and  says  to  any  other,  '  This  disgrace 
fell  upon  your  ancestors  for  seven  generations  back,'  both 
are  immediately  expelled  from  our  caste,  and  cannot  return 
to  it  until  they  have  paid  a  large  sum  of  money." 

As  in  the  case  of  the  Badhaks  the  arrangements  for  a  4-  Organ- 
dacoity  were  carefully  organised.  Each  band  had  a  Jemadar  forducoiiy. 
or  leader,  while  the  others  were  called  Sipahis  or  soldiers. 
A  tenth  of  all  the  booty  taken  was  given  to  the  Jemadar  in 
return  for  the  provision  of  the  spears,  torches  and  other 
articles,  and  of  the  remainder  the  Jemadar  received  two 
shares  and  the  Sipahis  one  each.  But  no  novice  was  per- 
mitted to  share  in  the  booty  or  carry  a  spear  until  he  had 
participated  in  two  or  three  successful  dacoities  ;  and  inas- 
much as  outsiders,  with  the  exception  of  the  impure  Dhers 
and  Mangs,  were  freely  admitted  to  the  Sansia  community 
in  return  for  a  small  money  payment,  some  such  apprentice- 
ship as  this  was  no  doubt  necessary.  If  a  Sipahi  was  killed 
in  a  dacoity  his  wife  was  entitled  to  a  sum  of  Rs.  350  and 
half  an  ordinary  share  in  future  dacoities  as  long  as  she 
remained  with  the  gang.  The  Sansias  never  pitched  their 
camp  in  the  vicinity  of  the  place  in  which  they  contemplated 
an  enterprise,  but  despatched  their  scouts  to  it,  themselves 
remaining  some  twenty  miles  distant. 

The  scouts,'  having  prospected  the  town  and  determined  5.  Descrip- 
the  house  to  be  exploited,  usually  that  of  the  leading  banker,  ^'°"o°tv^ 
would  then  proceed  to  it  in  the  early  morning  before  business 
began  and  ask  to  purchase  some  ornaments  or  change  some 
money  ;  by  this  request  they  often  induced  the  banker  to 
bring  out  his  cash  chest  from  the  place  of  security  where  he 
was  accustomed  to  deposit  it  at  night,  and  learnt  where  it 
should  be  looked  for.  Having  picked  up  as  much  informa- 
tion as  possible,  the  scouts  would  purchase  some  spear-heads, 
bury  them  in  a  neighbouring  ravine,  and  rejoin  the  main 
body.  The  party  would  arrive  at  the  rendezvous  in  the 
evening,  and  having  fitted  their  spears  to  bamboo  shafts, 
would  enter  the  town  carrying  them  concealed  in  a  bundle 

^  The    description   of  a    dacoity   is       pp.    257,    273    of  Colonel    Sleeman"s 
combined  from  two  accounts  given  at       Report. 


492  S ANSI  A  PART 

of  karbi  or  the  long  thick  stalks  of  the  large  millet,  juari.' 
One  man  was  appointed  to  carry  the  torch,"  and  the  oil  to 
be  poured  on  this  had  always  to  be  purchased  in  the  town 
or  village  where  the  dacoity  was  to  take  place,  the  use  of  any 
other  oil  being  considered  most  unlucky.  The  vessel  con- 
taining the  oil  was  not  allowed  to  touch  the  earth  until  its 
contents  had  been  poured  upon  the  torch,  when  it  was  dashed 
upon  the  ground.  From  this  time  until  the  completion  of  the 
dacoity  no  one  might  spit  or  drink  water  or  relieve  himself 
under  penalty  of  putting  a  stop  to  the  enterprise.  The 
Jemadar  invoked  Khandoba,  an  incarnation  of  Mahadeo,  and 
said  that  if  by  his  assistance  the  box  of  money  was  broken 
at  the  first  or  second  stroke  of  the  axe,  a  chain  of  gold 
weighing  one  and  a  quarter  tolas  would  be  made  over  to  him. 
The  party  then  approached  the  shop,  the  roads  surrounding 
it  being  picketed  to  guard  against  a  rescue,  and  the  Jemadar, 
accompanied  by  four  or  five  men  and  the  torch-bearer,  rushed 
into  the  shop  crying  Din,  Din.  The  doors  usually  gave  way 
under  a  few  heavy  blows  with  the  axe,  which  they  wielded 
with  great  expertness,  and  the  scout  pointed  out  the  location 
of  the  money  and  valuables.  Once  in  possession  of  the  pro- 
perty the  torch  was  extinguished  and  the  whole  party  made 
off  as  rapidly  as  possible.  During  their  retreat  they  tried  to 
avoid  spearing  people  who  pursued  them,  first  calling  out  to 
them  to  go  away.  If  any  member  of  the  party  was  killed 
or  so  desperately  wounded  that  he  could  not  be  removed, 
the  others  cut  off  his  head  and  carried  it  off  so  as  to  prevent 
recognition  ;  a  man  who  was  slightly  wounded  would  be 
carried  off  by  his  companions,  but  if  the  pursuit  became  hot 
and  he  had  to  be  left,  they  cut  off  his  head  also  and  took  it 
with  them,  escaping  by  this  drastic  method  the  risk  of  his 
turning  approver  with  the  consequent  danger  of  conviction 
for  the  rest  of  the  gang.  About  a  mile  from  the  place  of 
the  dacoity  they  stopped  and  mustered  their  party,  and  the 
Jemadar  called  out  to  the  god  Bhagwan  to  direct  any  pursuers 
in  the  wrong  direction  and  enable  them  to  reach  their 
families.  If  any  dacoit  had  ever  been  killed  at  this  parti- 
cular town  they  also  called  upon   his  spirit  to  assist  them, 

'  Sorghum  vulgare.  tied  with  strips  of  clotii  round  some  in- 

^   Made  of  tlie  liark  of  tlic  dale-ijaiin        llammable  wood. 


!  [  OMENS  493 

promising  to  offer  him  a  goat  or  some  liquor  ;  and  so,  throw- 
ing down  a  rupee  or  two  at  any  temple  or  stream  which 
they  might  pass  on  their  waj',  they  came  to  their  families. 
When  about  a  mile  away  from  the  camp  they  called  out 
'  Cuckoo  '  to  ascertain  if  any  misfortune  had  occurred  during 
their  absence  ;  if  they  thought  all  was  well  they  went  nearer 
and  imitated  the  call  of  the  partridge  ;  and  finall}^  when  close 
to  the  encampment  made  a  hissing  noise  like  a  snake.  On 
arrival  at  the  camp  they  at  once  mounted  their  ponies  and 
started  off,  marching  fifty  or  sixty  miles  a  day,  for  two  or 
three  days. 

The  Sansias  never  committed  a  dacoity  on  moonlight  6.  Omens. 
nights,  but  had  five  appointed  days  during  the  dark  half  of 
the  month,  the  seventh,  ninth,  eleventh,  thirteenth  and  the 
night  of  the  day  on  which  the  new  moon  was  first  seen.  If 
they  did  not  meet  with  a  favourable  omen  on  any  of  these 
nights,  no  dacoity  was  committed  that  month.  The  following 
is  a  list  of  omens  given  by  one  of  the  caste  :  ^  "If  we  see  a 
cat  when  we  are  near  the  place  where  we  intend  to  commit  a 
dacoity,  or  we  hear  the  relations  of  a  dead  person  lamenting, 
or  hear  a  person  sneeze  while  cooking  his  meal,  or  see  a  dog 
run  away  with  a  portion  of  any  person's  food,  or  a  kite 
screams  while  sitting  on  a  tree,  or  a  woman  breaks  the 
earthen  vessel  in  which  she  may  have  been  drawing  water, 
we  consider  the  omens  unfavourable.  If  a  person  drops  his 
turban  or  we  meet  a  corpse,  or  the  Jemadar  has  forgotten 
to  put  some  bread  into  his  waistbelt,  or  any  dacoit  forgets 
his  axe  or  spear  or  sees  a  snake  whether  dead  or  alive  ; 
these  omens  are  also  considered  unfavourable  and  we  do  not 
commit  the  dacoity.  Should  we  see  a  wolf  and  any  one 
of  us  have  on  a  red  turban,  we  take  this  and  tear  it  into 
seven  pieces  and  hang  each  piece  upon  a  separate  tree.  We 
then  purchase  a  rupee's  worth  of  liquor  and  kill  a  goat,  which 
is  cut  up  into  four  pieces.  Four  men  pretend  that  they  are 
wolves  and  rushing  on  the  four  quarters  of  the  meat  seize 
them,  imitating  the  howl  of  these  animals,  while  the  rest  of 
the  dacoits  pelt  them  with  the  entrails  ;  the  meat  is  after- 
wards cooked  and  eaten  in  the  name  of  Bhagwan." 

It  would    appear   that  the  explanation   of  this  curious 

'   Sleeman,  p.  263. 


494  SANS  I  A  PART 

ceremony  must  be  that  the  Sansias  thought  the  appearance 
of  the  wolf  to  be  an  omen  that  one  of  them  would  furnish 
a  meal  for  him.  The  turban  is  venerated  on  account  of 
its  close  association  with  the  head,  a  sacred  part  of  the 
body  among  Hindus,  and  in  this  case  it  probably  served 
as  a  substituted  offering  for  the  head,  while  its  red  colour 
represented  blood  ;  and  the  mimic  rite  of  the  goat  being 
devoured  by  men  pretending  to  be  wolves  fulfilled  the  omen 
which  portended  that  the  wolves  would  be  provided  with  a 
meal,  and  hence  averted  the  necessity  of  one  of  the  band 
being  really  devoured.  In  somewhat  analogous  fashion  the 
Gonds  and  Baigas  placate  or  drive  away  a  tiger  who  has 
killed  a  man  in  order  to  prevent  him  from  obtaining  further 
victims.  Some  similar  idea  apparently  underlay  the  omen 
of  the  dog  running  away  with  food.  Perhaps  the  portent  of 
hearing  the  kite  scream  on  a  tree  also  meant  that  he  looked 
on  them  with  a  prescient  eye  as  a  future  meal.  On  the 
other  hand,  meeting  a  corpse  and  seeing  a  snake  are  commonly 
considered  to  be  lucky  omens,  and  their  inclusion  in  this 
list  is  curious.-^  The  passage  continues :  "  Among  our 
favourable  omens  are  meeting  a  woman  selling  milk  ;  or  a 
person  carrying  a  basket  of  grain  or  a  bag  of  money  ;  or  if 
we  see  a  calf  sucking  its  mother,  or  meet  a  person  with  a 
vessel  of  water,  or  a  marriage  procession  ;  or  if  any  person 
finds  a  rupee  that  he  has  lost  ;  or  we  meet  a  bearer  carry- 
ing fish  or  a  pig  or  a  blue-jay  ;  if  any  of  these  occur  near 
our  camp  on  the  day  we  contemplate  a  dacoity,  we  proceed 
forthwith  to 'commit  it  and  consider  that  these  signs  assure 
us  a  good  booty.  If  a  Fakir  begs  from  us  while  we  are 
on  our  way  to  the  place  of  dacoity  we  cannot  give  him 
anything."  Another  Sansia  said  :  "  We  think  it  very 
favourable  if,  when  on  the  way  to  commit  a  dacoity,  we 
hear  or  see  the  jackal  ;  it  is  as  good  as  gold  and  silver  to 
us  ;  also  if  we  hear  the  bray  of  the  ass  in  a  village  we  con- 
sider it  to  be  lucky." 
7.  Ordeals,  The    following   is    a    description    given    by  a   Sansia  of 

their  ordeals  :  ^   If  a  Jemadar  suspects  a  Sipahi  of  secreting 
plunder  a  panchdyat  is  assembled,^  the  members  of  which 

1  But   it  is  unlucky  for  a  snake  to  2  Sleeman,  pp.  261,  262. 

cross  one's  patli  in  front.  ■*  Committee  of  five  persons. 


II  ORDEALS  495 

receive  five  rupees  from  both  parties.      Seven   pipal  '  leaves 
arc  laid  upon  his  hand  and  bound  round  with  thread,  and 
upon  these  a  heated   iron   taiva  or   plate  is  set  ;  he  is  then 
ordered   to  walk  seven  paces  and   put  the  plate  down  upon 
seven   thorns  ;  should   he  be  able  to  do  so  he  is  pronounced 
innocent,  but  if  he  is  burnt  by  the  plate  and  throws  it  down 
he  is  considered  guilty.      Another  ordeal  is  by  fixing  arrows, 
two  of  which  are  shot  off  at  once  from  one  bow,  one  in  the 
name  of  Bhagwan   (god),  and  the  other  in   the  name  of  the 
pancJiayat ;  the  place  being  on  the  bank  of  the   river.      The 
arrow  that  flies  the  farthest  is  stuck  upright  into  the  ground  ; 
upon  which  a  man  carrying  a  long  bamboo  walks   up  to  his 
breast  in  the  water  and   the   suspected  person  is  desired  to 
join  him.      One  of  the  panchayat  then  claps  his  hands  seven 
times  and  runs  off  to  pick  up  the  arrow  ;   at  this  instant  the 
suspected  person  is  obliged  to  put  his  head  under  water,  and 
if  he  can  hold  his  breath  until  the  other  returns  to  the  bank 
with  the  arrow  and  has  again  clapped  his  hands  seven  times 
he    is    pronounced    innocent.      If   he   cannot    do   so    he    is 
declared  guilty  and  punished.      A  third  form   of  ordeal  was 
as  follows  :   The  Jemadar  and  the  gang  assemble  under  a 
pIpal    tree,  and   after  knocking  off  the  neck  of  an  earthen 
pitcher  they  kill  a  goat  and  collect  its  blood  in  the  pitcher, 
and  put  some  glass  bangles  in  it.      Four  lines  are  drawn  on 
the    pitcher  with  vermilion   (representing  blood),  and    it    is 
placed  under  a  tree  and   i;|-  seers"  of  gur  (sugar)  are  tied 
up  in  a  piece  of  cloth    i^  cubits   in   length  and  hung  on 
to  a  branch  of  the  tree.     The  Jemadar  then  says,  "  I   will 
forgive  any  person  who  has  not  secreted   more  than  fifteen 
or  twenty  rupees,  but  whoever  has  stolen   more  than  that 
sum    shall    be    punished."       The    Jemadar   dips    his    finger 
in   the  pitcher  of  blood,  and   afterwards  touches  the  sugar 
and  calls  out  loudly,  '  If  I  have  embezzled  any  money  may 
Bhagwan  punish  me '  ;  and  each  dacoit  in  turn  pronounces 
the    same    sentence.       No  one  who  is  guilty  will    do   this 
but  at  once   makes   his  confession.      The  oath  pronounced 
on    \\  seers  of  sugar   tied  up  in    i;|-  cubits   of  cloth  was 
considered  the  most   solemn    and    binding  which  a   Sansia 
could  take. 

1  Ficus  rcUdosa.  2  -pj^g  g^er  =  2  lbs. 


496 


SANS/A 


8.  Sansias 
at  the 
present 
time. 


At  present,  Mr.  Kennedy  states,^  the  Sansias  travel 
about  in  gangs  of  varying  strength  with  their  families, 
bullocks,  sheep,  goats  and  dogs.  The  last  mentioned  of 
these  animals  are  usually  small  mongrels  with  a  terrier 
strain,  mostly  stolen  or  bred  from  types  dishonestly  obtained 
during  their  peregrinations.  Dacoity  is  still  the  crime  which 
they  most  affect,  and  they  also  break  into  houses  and  steal 
cattle.  Men  usually  have  a  necklace  of  red  coral  and  gold 
beads  round  the  neck,  from  which  is  suspended  a  square 
piece  of  silver  or  gold  bearing  an  effigy  of  a  man  on  horse- 
back. This  represents  either  the  deity  Ramdeo  Pir  or  one 
of  the  wearer's  ancestors,  and  is  venerated  as  a  charm. 
They  are  very  quarrelsome,  and  their  drinking-bouts  in 
camp  usually  end  in  a  free  fight,  in  which  they  also  beat 
their  women,  and  the  affray  not  infrequently  results  in  the 
death  of  one  of  the  combatants.  When  this  happens  the 
slayer  makes  restitution  to  the  relatives  by  defraying  the 
expenses  of  a  fresh  drinking-bout."  During  the  daytime 
men  are  seldom  to  be  found  in  the  encampment,  as  they 
are  in  the  habit  of  hiding  in  the  ditches  and  jungle,  where 
the  women  take  them  their  food  ;  at  night  they  return  to 
their  tents,  but  are  off  again  at  dawn. 


I.  The 
caste  and 
its  sub- 
divisions. 


Sansia,  Uria.^ — A  caste  of  masons  and  navvies  of  the 
Uriy-a  country.  The  Sansias  are  really  a  branch  of  the 
great  migratory  Ud  or  Odde  caste  of  earth-workers,  whose 
name  has  been  corrupted  into  various  forms."*  Thus  in 
Chanda  they  are  known  as  Wadewar  or  Waddar.  The  term 
Uria  is  here  a  corruption  of  Odde,  and  it  is  the  one  by  which 
the  caste  prefer  to  be  known,  but  they  are  generally  called 
Sansia  by  outsiders.  The  caste  sometimes  class  the  Sansias 
as  a  subcaste  of  Urias,  the  others  being  Benatia  Urias  and 
Khandait  Urias.  Since  the  Uriya  tract  has  been  transferred 
to  Bengal,  and  subsequently  to  Bihar  and  Orissa,  there 
remain  only  about  looo  Sansias  in  the  Chhattisgarh 
Districts  and  States.      Although  it  is  possible  that  the  name 


1  Cri»iinal  C/asscs   in   Ihe  Bombay 
Presii/encv  ;  Sansias  and  Berias. 

2  Mr.  Gayer,  Central  Provinces  Police 
Lectures,  p.  68. 

^  This  article  is  mainly  based  on  a 


paper  by  Mr.  Rama  Prasad  Bohidar, 
Assistant  Master,  Sambalpur  High 
School. 

^  See  article  Beldar  for  a  notice  of 
the  different  groups  of  earth-workers. 


II  MARRIAGE  CUSTOMS  497 

of  the  caste  may  have  been  derived  from  some  past  con- 
nection, the  Sansias  of  the  Uriya  country  have  at  present  no 
affinities  with  the  outcaste  and  criminal  tribe  of  Saiisis  or 
Sansias  of  northern  India.  They  enjoy  a  fairly  high  position 
in  Sambalpur,  and  Brahmans  will  take  water  from  them. 

They  are  divided  into  two  subcastes,  the  Benetia  and 
Khandait.  The  Benetia  are  the  higher  and  look  down  on 
the  Khandaits,  because,  it  is  said,  these  latter  have  accepted 
service  as  foot-soldiers,  and  this  is  considered  a  menial  occu- 
pation. Perhaps  in  the  households  of  the  Uriya  Rajas  the 
tribal  militia  had  also  to  perform  personal  services,  and  this 
may  have  been  considered  derogatory.  In  Orissa,  on  the 
other  hand,  the  Khandaits  have  become  landholders  and 
occupy  a  high  position  next  to  Rajputs.  The  Benetia 
Sansias  practise  hypergamy  with  the  Khandait  Sansias, 
taking  their  daughters  in  marriage,  but  not  giving  daughters 
to  them.  When  a  Benetia  is  marrying  a  Khandait 
girl  his  party  will  not  take  food  with  the  bride's  relatives, 
but  only  partake  of  some  sugar  and  curds  and  depart  with 
the  bride.  The  Sansias  have  totemistic  exogamous  septs, 
usually  derived  from  the  names  of  sacred  objects,  as  Kachhap, 
tortoise,  Sankh,  the  conch-shell,  Tulsi,  basil,  and  so  on. 

Girls  are  married  between  seven  and  ten,  and  after  she  2-  Mar- 
is twelve  years  old  a  girl  cannot  go  through  the  proper  customs, 
ceremony,  but  can  only  be  wedded  by  a  simple  rite  used 
for  widows,  in  which  vermilion  is  rubbed  on  her  forehead 
and  some  grains  of  rice  stuck  on  it.  The  marriage  proces- 
sion, as  described  by  Mr.  Rama  Prasad  Bohidar,  is  a  gorgeous 
affair :  "  The  drummers,  all  drunk,  head  the  procession, 
beating  their  drums  to  the  tune  set  by  the  piper.  Next 
in  order  are  placed  dancing-boys  between  two  rows  of  lights 
carried  on  poles  adorned  with  festoons  of  paper  flowers. 
Rockets  and  fireworks  have  their  proper  share  in  the 
procession,  and  last  of  all  comes  the  bridegroom  in  his 
wedding  apparel,  mounted  on  a  horse.  His  person  is 
studded  with  various  kinds  of  gold  necklaces  borrowed  for 
the  occasion,  and  the  fingers  of  his  right  hand  are  covered 
with  rings.  Bangles  and  chains  of  silver  shine  on  his  wrists 
and  arms.  His  forehead  is  beautifull)'  painted  with  ground 
sandalwood  divided  in   the  centre   by  a  streak  of  vermilion. 

VOL.  IV  2  K 


498  SANSIA  part 

His  head  carries  a  crown  of  palm-leaves  overlaid  with  bright 
paper  of  various  colours.  A  network  of  mdlti  flowers  hangs 
loosely  from  the  head  over  the  back  and  covers  a  portion  of 
the  loins  of  the  steed.  The  eyes  are  painted  with  collyrium 
and  the  feet  with  red  dye.  The  lips  and  teeth  are  also 
reddened  by  the  betel-leaf,  which  the  bridegroom  chews  in 
profusion.  A  silk  cloth  does  the  work  of  a  belt,  in  which  is 
fixed  a  dagger  on  the  right  side."  Here  the  red  colour 
which  predominates  in  the  bridegroom's  decorations  is  lucky 
for  the  reasons  given  in  the  article  on  Lakhera  ;  the  blacking 
of  the  eyes  is  also  considered  to  keep  off  evil  spirits  ;  betel- 
leaf  is  itself  a  powerful  agent  of  magic  and  averter  of  spirits, 
and  to  the  same  end  the  bridegroom  carries  iron  in  the 
shape  of  the  dagger.  The  ceremony  is  of  the  customary 
Uriya  type.  On  the  seventh  day  of  the  wedding  the 
husband  and  wife  go  to  the  river  and  bathe,  throwing  away 
the  sacred  threads  worn  at  the  time  of  marriage,  and  also 
those  which  have  been  tied  round  their  wrists.  On  return- 
ing home  the  wife  piles  up  seven  brass  vessels  and  seven 
stools  one  above  the  other  and  the  husband  kicks  them 
over,  this  being  repeated  seven  times.  The  husband  then 
washes  his  teeth  with  water  brought  from  the  river,  breaks 
the  vessel  containing  the  water  in  the  bride's  house,  and  runs 
away,  while  the  women  of  her  family  throw  pailfuls  of 
coloured  water  over  him.  On  the  ninth  day  the  bride 
comes  and  smears  a  mixture  of  curds  and  sugar  on  the  fore- 
head of  each  member  of  the  bridegroom's  family,  probably 
as  a  sign  of  her  admission  to  their  clan,  and  returns  home. 
Divorce  and  the  remarriage  of  widows  are  permitted. 
3.  Reii-  The  caste  worship  Viswakarma,  the  celestial  architect, 

gion  and      ^^^  ^j-j  i^^^^  principal  festivals  they  revere  their  trade-imple- 

worship  of  JT  1  J  1 

ancestors,  ments  and  the  book  on  architecture,  by  which  they  work. 
At  Dasahra  a  pumpkin  is  offered  to  these  articles  in  lieu  of 
a  goat.  They  observe  the  shraddJi  ceremony,  and  first  make 
two  offerings  to  the  spirits  of  ancestors  who  have  died  a 
violent  death  or  have  committed  suicide,  and  to  those  of 
relatives  who  died  unmarried,  for  fear  lest  these  unclean  and 
malignant  spirits  should  seize  and  defile  the  offerings  to  the 
beneficent  ancestors.  Thereafter  phidas  or  sacrificial  cakes 
arc  offered  to  three  male  and  three  female  ancestors  both  on 


II  OCCUPATION  499 

the  father's  and  mother's  side,  twelve  cakes  being  offered  in 
all.  The  Sansias  eat  the  flesh  of  clean  animals,  but  the 
consumption  of  liquor  is  strictly  forbidden,  on  pain,  it  is 
said,  of  permanent  exclusion  from  caste. 

In  Sambalpur  the  caste  are  usually  stone -workers,  4-  Occupa- 
making  cups,  mortars,  images  of  idols  and  other  articles. 
They  also  build  tanks  and  wander  from  place  to  place  for 
this  purpose  in  large  companies.  It  is  related  that  on  one 
occasion  they  came  to  dig  a  tank  in  Drug,  and  the  Raja  of 
that  place,  while  watching  their  work,  took  a  fancy  to  one 
of  the  Odnis,  as  their  women  were  called,  and  wanted  her 
to  marry  him.  But  as  she  was  already  married,  and  was 
a  virtuous  woman,  she  refused.  The  Raja  persisted  in 
his  demand,  on  which  the  whole  body  of  Sansias  from 
Chhattlsgarh,  numbering,  it  is  said,  nine  lakhs  of  persons, 
left  their  work  and  proceeded  to  Wararbandh,  near  Raj- 
Nandgaon.  Here  they  dug  the  great  tank  of  Wararbandh  ^ 
in  one  night  to  obtain  a  supply  of  water  for  themselves. 
But  the  Raja  followed  them,  and  as  they  could  not  resist 
him  by  force,  the  woman  whom  he  was  pursuing  burnt 
herself  alive,  and  thus  earned  undying  fame  in  the  caste. 
This  legend  is  perpetuated  in  the  Odni  Git,  a  popular  folk- 
song in  Chhattlsgarh.  But  it  is  a  traditional  story  of  the 
Sansias  in  connection  with  large  tanks,  and  in  another 
version  the  scene  is  laid  in  Gujarat." 

1  Said    to    be    derived    from    their  -  Story  of  Jasnia  Odni  in  Sati  Charita 

name  Waddar.  Sangrah. 


SAVAR 

LIST  OF  PARAGRAPHS 

I.   Disiribution  and  Jiistorical  4.  Alarrfage. 

notices.  5.  Death  ceremo7ttes. 

1.    Tribal  legends.  6.  Religion. 

3.    Tribal  subdivisions.  7.  Occupation. 

I.  Distri-  Savar,^   Sawara,   Savara,   Saonr,   Sahra  (and  several 

hSodcar^  other  variations.  In  Bundelkhand  the  Savars,  there 
notices.  called  Saonrs,  are  frequently  known  by  the  honorific  title  of 
Rawat).— A  primitive  tribe  numbering  about  70,000  persons 
in  the  Central  Provinces  in  191 1,  and  principally  found  in 
the  ChhattTsgarh  Districts  and  those  of  Saugor  and 
Damoh.  The  eastern  branch  of  the  tribe  belongs  chiefly 
to  the  Uriya  country.  The  Savars  are  found  in  large 
numbers  in  the  Madras  Districts  of  Ganjam  and  Vizagapatam 
and  in  Orissa.  They  also  live  in  the  Bundelkhand  Districts 
of  the  United  Provinces.  The  total  number  of  Savars 
enumerated  in  India  in  191 1  was  600,000,  of  which 
the  Bundelkhand  Districts  contained  about  100,000  and 
the  Uriya  country  the  remainder.  The  two  branches  of 
the  tribe  are  thus  separated  by  a  wide  expanse  of  terri- 
tory. As  regards  this  peculiarity  of  distribution  General 
Cunningham  says :  "  Indeed  there  seems  good  reason  to 
believe  that  the  Savaras  were  formerly  the  dominant  branch 
of  the  great  Kolarian  family,  and  that  their  power  lasted 
down  to  a  comparatively  late  period,  when  they  were 
pushed  aside  by  other  Kolarian  tribes  in  the  north  and  east, 
and   by  the   Gonds   in   the  south.      In   the   Saugor  District 

'  This  article  is  principally  based  on  Assistant  Settlement  Officer,  Sambal- 
papers  by  Munshi  Gopinath,  Naib-Tah-  pur,  and  Mr.  Hira  Lai,  Assistant 
siidar,  Sonpur,  Mr.  Kalunlm  rachore.       Gazetteer  Superintendent. 

500 


PART  II      DISTRIBUTION  AND  liTSTORrCAL  NOTICES      501 

I  was  informed  that  the  Savaras  had  formerly  fought  with 
the  Goods  and  that  the  latter  had  conquered  them  by 
treacherously  making  them  drunk."  '  Similarly  Cunningham 
notices  that  the  zamlndar  of  Suarmar  in  Raipur,  which 
name  is  derived  from  Savar,  is  a  Gond.  A  difference  of 
opinion  has  existed  as  to  whether  the  Savars  were  Kolarian 
or  Dravidian  so  far  as  their  language  was  concerned,  Colonel 
Dalton  adopting  the  latter  view  and  other  authorities  the 
former  and  correct  one.  In  the  Central  Provinces  the 
Savars  have  lost  their  own  language  and  speak  the  Aryan 
Hindi  or  Uriya  vernacular  current  around  them.  But  in 
Madras  they  still  retain  their  original  speech,  which  is 
classified  by  Sir  G.  Grierson  as  Mundari  or  Kolarian,  He 
says :  "  The  most  southerly  forms  of  Munda  speech  are 
those  spoken  by  the  Savars  and  Gadabas  of  the  north- 
east of  Madras.  The  former  have  been  identified  with  the 
Suari  of  Pliny  and  the  Sabarae  of  Ptolemy.  A  wild  tribe 
of  the  same  name  is  mentioned  in  Sanskrit  literature,  even 
so  far  back  as  in  late  Vedic  times,  as  inhabiting  the  Deccan, 
so  that  the  name  at  least  can  boast  great  antiquity." "'  As 
to  the  origin  of  the  name  Savar,  General  Cunningham 
says  that  it  must  be  sought  for  outside  the  language  of  the 
Aryans.  "  In  Sanskrit  '  savara  '  simply  means  '  a  corpse.' 
From  Herodotus,  however,  we  learn  that  the  Scythian  word 
for  an  axe  was  safaris,  and  as  '  g '  and  '  v '  are  interchange- 
able letters  savar  is  the  same  word  as  sugar.  It  seems 
therefore  not  unreasonable  to  infer  that  the  tribe  who  were 
so  called  took  their  name  from  their  habit  of  carrying 
axes.  Now  it  is  one  of  the  striking  peculiarities  of  the 
Savars  that  they  are  rarely  seen  without  an  axe  in  their 
hands.  The  peculiarity  has  been  frequently  noticed  by  all 
who  have  seen  them."  ^  The  above  opinion  of  Cunningham, 
which  is  of  course  highly  speculative,  is  disputed  by  Mr. 
Crooke,  who  says  that  "  The  word  Savara,  if  it  be,  as  some 
believe,  derived  from  sava  a  corpse,  comes  from  the  root  sav 
'  to  cause  to  decay,'  and  need  not  necessarily  therefore  be  of 
non- Aryan    origin,    while    on    the    other    hand    no    distinct 

1  Archceological    Reports,    vol.    xvii.  •''  Arcluvological  Reports,    vol.    xvii. 
pp.   120,  122.                                                      p.   1 13. 

2  India  Census  Report  ( 1 90 1 ),  p. 283. 


502  SA  VAR  PART 

inference  can  be  drawn  from  the  use  of  the  axe  by 
the  Savars,  when  it  is  equally  used  by  various  other 
Dravidian  jungle  tribes  such  as  the  Korwas,  Bhuiyas  and 
the  like."  ^  In  the  classical  stories  of  their  origin  the  first 
ancestor  of  the  Savars  is  sometimes  described  as  a  Bhil. 
The  word  Savar  is  mentioned  in  several  Sanskrit  works 
written  between  800  B.C.  and  A.D.  1200,  and  it  seems 
probable  that  they  are  a  Munda  tribe  who  occupied  the 
tracts  of  country  which  they  live  in  prior  to  the  arrival  of 
the  Gonds.  The  classical  name  Savar  has  been  corrupted 
into  various  forms.  Thus  in  the  Bundeli  dialect  '  ava ' 
changes  into  '  au '  and  a  nasal  is  sometimes  interpolated. 
Savar  has  here  become  Saunr  or  Saonr.  The  addition  of 
'  a '  at  the  end  of  the  word  sometimes  expresses  contempt, 
and  Savar  becomes  Savara  as  Chamar  is  corrupted  into 
Chamra.  In  the  Uriya  country  'v'  is  changed  into  'b' 
and  an  aspirate  is  interpolated,  and  thus  Savara  became 
Sabra  or  Sahara,  as  Gaur  has  become  Gahra.  The  word 
Sahara,  Mr.  Crooke  remarks,^  has  excited  speculation  as  to  its 
derivation  from  Arabic,  in  which  Sahara  means  a  wilder- 
ness ;  and  the  name  of  the  Savars  has  accordingly  been 
deduced  from  the  same  source  as  the  great  Sahara  desert. 
This  is  of  course  incorrect. 
2.  Tribal  Various  storics  of  the  origin  of  the  Savars  are  given  in 

legends.  Sanskrit  literature.  In  the  Aitareya  Brahmana  they  are 
spoken  of  as  the  descendants  of  Vishwamitra,  while  in  the 
Mahabharat  they  are  said  to  have  been  created  by  Kamdhenu, 
Vasishtha's  wonder-working  cow,  in  order  to  repel  the 
aggression  of  Vishwamitra.  Local  tradition  traces  their 
origin  to  the  celebrated  Seori  of  the  Ramayana,  who  is 
supposed  to  have  lived  somewhere  near  the  present  Seorl- 
narayan  in  the  Bilaspur  District  and  to  have  given  her  name 
to  this  place.  Ramchandra  in  his  wanderings  met  her 
there,  ate  the  plums  which  she  had  gathered  for  him  after 
tasting  each  one  herself,  and  out  of  regard  for  her  devotion 
permitted  her  name  to  precede  his  own  of  Narayan  in 
that  given  to  the  locality.  Another  story  makes  one  Jara 
Savar   their  original   ancestor,  who  was  said    to  have  shot 

'  Crooke's     Tribes   and    Castes    of  -   Tribes    and    Castes    of  N.JV.P,, 

N.W.r.,  art.  Savara.  art.  Savara. 


II  TRIBAL  LEGENDS  503 

Krishna  in  the  form  of  a  deer.  Another  states  that  they  were 
created  for  carrying  stones  for  the  construction  of  the  great 
temple  at  Puri  and  for  dragging  the  car  of  Jagannath,  which 
they  still  do  at  the  present  time.  Yet  another  connecting  them 
with  the  temple  of  Jagannath  states  that  their  ancestor  was 
an  old  Bhil  hermit  called  Sawar,  who  lived  in  Karod,  two 
miles  from  Seorlnarayan.  The  god  Jagannath  had  at  this 
time  appeared  in  Seorlnarayan  and  the  old  Sawar  used  to 
worship  him.  The  king  of  Orissa  had  built  the  great  temple 
at  Puri  and  wished  to  install  Jagannath  in  it,  and  he  sent  a 
Brahman  to  fetch  him  from  Seorlnarayan,  but  nobody  knew 
where  he  was  except  the  old  hermit  Sawar.  The  Brahman 
besought  him  in  vain  to  be  allowed  to  see  the  god  and  even 
went  so  far  as  to  marry  his  daughter,  and  finally  the  old  man 
consented  to  take  him  blindfold  to  the  place.  The  Brahman, 
however,  tied  some  mustard  seeds  in  a  corner  of  his  cloth  and 
made  a  hole  in  it  so  that  they  dropped  out  one  by  one  on 
the  way.  After  some  time  they  grew  up  and  served  to 
guide  him  to  the  spot.  This  story  of  the  mustard  seeds  of 
course  finds  a  place  in  the  folklore  of  many  nations.  The 
Brahman  then  went  to  Seorlnarayan  alone  and  begged  the 
god  to  go  to  Puri.  Jagannath  consented,  and  assuming 
the  form  of  a  log  of  wood  floated  down  the  Mahanadi  to 
Puri,  where  he  was  taken  out  and  placed  in  the  temple.  A 
carpenter  agreed  to  carve  the  god's  image  out  of  the  log 
of  wood  on  condition  that  the  temple  should  be  shut  up  for 
six  months  while  the  work  was  going  on.  But  some  curious 
people  opened  the  door  before  the  time  and  the  work  could 
not  proceed,  and  thus  the  image  of  the  god  is  only  half 
carved  out  of  the  wood  up  to  the  present  day.  As  a  con- 
solation to  the  old  man  the  god  ordained  that  the  place 
should  bear  the  hermit's  name  before  his  own  as  Seorlnarayan. 
Lastly  the  Saonrs  of  Bundelkhand  have  the  following 
tradition.  In  the  beginning  of  creation  Mahadeo  wished 
to  teach  the  people  how  to  cultivate  the  ground,  and  so  he 
made  a  plough  and  took  out  his  bull  Nandi  to  yoke  to  it. 
But  there  was  dense  forest  on  the  earth,  so  he  created  a 
being  whom  he  called  Savar  and  gave  him  an  axe  to  clear 
the  forest.  In  the  meantime  Mahadeo  went  away  to  get 
another  bullock.      The   Savar  after  clearing  the   forest  felt 


504  SA  VAR  PAKT 

very  hungry,  and  finding  nothing  else  to  eat  killed  Nandi 
and  ate  his  flesh  on  a  teak  leaf.  And  for  this  reason  the 
young  teak  leaves  when  rubbed  give  out  sap  which  is  the 
colour  of  blood  to  the  present  day.  After  some  time 
Mahadeo  returned,  and  finding  the  forest  well  cleared  was 
pleased  with  the  Savar,  and  as  a  reward  endowed  him  with 
the  knowledge  of  all  edible  and  medicinal  roots  and  fruits 
of  the  forest.  But  on  looking  round  for  Nandi  he  found 
him  lying  dead  with  some  of  his  flesh  cut  off.  The  Savar 
pleaded  ignorance,  but  Mahadeo  sprinkled  a  little  nectar 
on  Nandi,  who  came  to  life  again  and  told  what  had 
happened.  Then  Mahadeo  was  enraged  with  the  Savar 
and  said,  '  You  shall  remain  a  barbarian  and  dwell  for  ever 
in  poverty  in  the  jungles  without  enough  to  eat.'  And 
accordingly  this  has  always  been  the  condition  of  the 
Savar's  descendants. 

Other  old  authors  speak  of  the  Parna  or  leaf- clad 
Savars  ;  and  a  Savar  messenger  is  described  as  carrying 
a  bow  in  his  hand  "  with  his  hair  tied  up  in  a  knot  behind 
with  a  creeper,  black  himself,  and  wearing  a  loin-cloth  of 
bhilazvan  leaves  "  ;  ^  an  excellent  example  of  '  a  leaf-fringed 
legend.' 

3.  Tribal  The  Bundelkhand   Savars  have  been  so  long  separated- 

from  the  others  that  they  have  sometimes  forgotten  their 
identity  and  consider  themselves  as  a  subtribe  of  Gonds, 
though  the  better  informed  repudiate  this.  They  may  be 
regarded  as  a  separate  endogamous  group.  The  eastern 
branch  have  two  main  divisions  called  Laria  and  Uriya, 
or  those  belonging  to  ChhattTsgarh  and  Sambalpur  respect- 
ively. A  third  division  known  as  the  Kalapithia  or  '  Black 
Backs  '  are  found  in  Orissa,  and  are  employed  to  drag  the 
car  of  Jagannath.  These  on  account  of  their  sacred 
occupation  consider  themselves  superior  to  the  others, 
abstain  from  fowls  and  liquor,  and  sometimes  wear  the 
sacred  thread.  The  Larias  are  the  lowest  subdivision. 
Marriage  is  regulated  by  exogamous  septs  or  bargas.  The 
northern  Savars  say  that  they  have  52  of  these,  52 
being  a  number  frequently  adopted  to  express  the  highest 
possible  magnitude,  as  if  no  more  could  be  imagined.      The 

'    Tj-ibes  and  Castes  of  Bengal,  art.  Savar. 


sub 
divisions. 


II  •  MARRIAGE  505 

Uiiya  Savars  say  they  have  80  bargas.  Besides  the  pro- 
hibition of  marriage  within  the  same  barga,  the  union  of 
first  cousins  is  sometimes  forbidden.  Among  the  Uriya 
Savars  each  barga  has  the  two  further  divisions  of  Joria 
and  Khuntia,  the  Jorias  being  those  who  bury  or  burn  their 
dead  near  a  jor  or  brook,  and  the  Khuntias  those  who  bury 
or  burn  them  near  a  khimt  or  old  tree.  Jorias  and  Khuntias 
of  the  same  barga  cannot  intermarry,  but  in  the  case  of  some 
other  subdivisions  of  the  barga,  as  between  those  who  eat 
rice  at  one  festival  in  the  year  and  those  eating  it  at  two, 
marriage  is  allowed  between  members  of  the  two  sub- 
divisions, thus  splitting  the  exogamous  group  into  two. 
The  names  of  the  bargas  are  usually  totemistic,  and  the 
following  are  some  examples  :  Badaiya,  the  carpenter  bird  ; 
Bagh,  the  tiger  ;  Bagula,  the  heron  ;  Bahra,  a  cook  ;  Bhatia, 
a  brinjal  or  egg-plant ;  Bisi,  the  scorpion  ;  Basantia,  the 
trunk  of  the  cotton  tree  ;  Hathia,  an  elephant ;  Jancher,  a 
tree  (this  barga  is  divided  into  Bada  and  Kachcha,  the 
Bada  worshipping  the  tree  and  the  Kachcha  a  branch  of 
it,  and  marriage  between  the  two  subdivisions  is  allowed)  ; 
Jharia  (this  barga  keeps  a  lock  of  a  child's  hair  unshaved 
for  four  or  five  years  after  its  birth) ;  Juadi,  a  gambler  ; 
Karsa,  a  deer  ;  Khairaiya,  the  khair  or  catechu  tree  ;  Lodhi, 
born  from  the  caste  of  that  name  (in  Saugor)  ;  Markam, 
the  name  of  a  Gond  sept  ;  Rajhans,  a  swan  ;  Suriya  Bansia, 
from  the  sun  (members  of  this  barga  feed  the  caste-fellows 
on  the  occasion  of  a  solar  eclipse  and  throw  away  their 
earthen  pots)  ;  Silgainya  from  sil,  a  slate  ;  and  Tiparia  from 
tipari,  a  basket  (these  two  septs  are  divided  into  Kachcha 
and  Pakka  groups  which  can  marry  with  each  other)  ;  Sona, 
gold  (a  member  of  this  sept  does  not  wear  gold  ornaments 
until  he  has  given  a  feast  and  a  caste-fellow  has  placed  one 
on  his  person). 

Marriage  is  usually  adult,  but  in  places  where  the  4-  Mar- 
Savars  live  near  Hindus  they  have  adopted  early  marriage.  "^^^' 
A  reason  for  preferring  the  latter  custom  is  found  in  the 
marriage  ceremony,  when  the  bride  and  bridegroom  must 
be  carried  on  the  shoulders  of  their  relatives  from  the  bride's 
house  to  the  bridegroom's.  If  they  arc  grown  up,  this  part 
of  the   ccremon^^   entails    no    inconsiderable    labour    on    the 


5o6  SAVAR  PART 

relatives.  In  the  Uriya  country,  while  the  Khuntia  sub- 
division of  each  barga  see  nothing  wrong  in  marrying  a 
girl  after  adolescence,  the  Jorias  consider  it  a  great  sin,  to 
avoid  which  they  sometimes  marry  a  girl  to  an  arrow  before 
she  attains  puberty.  An  arrow  is  tied  to  her  hand,  and 
she  goes  seven  times  round  a  mahua  branch  stuck  on  an 
improvised  altar,  and  drinks  ghl  and  oil,  thus  creating  the 
fiction  of  a  marriage.  The  arrow  is  then  thrown  into  a 
river  to  imply  that  her  husband  is  dead,  and  she  is  after- 
wards disposed  of  by  the  ceremony  of  widow -marriage. 
If  this  mock  ceremony  has  not  been  performed  before  the 
girl  becomes  adult,  she  is  taken  to  the  forest  by  a  relative 
and  there  tied  to  a  tree,  to  which  she  is  considered  to  be 
married.  She  is  not  taken  back  to  her  father's  house  but 
to  that  of  some  relative,  such  as  her  brother-in-law  or  grand- 
father, who  is  permitted  to  talk  to  her  in  an  obscene  and 
jesting  manner,  and  is  subsequently  disposed  of  as  a  widow. 
Or  in  Sambalpur  she  may  be  nominally  married  to  an  old 
man  and  then  again  married  as  a  widow.  The  Savars 
follow  generally  the  local  Hindu  form  of  the  marriage 
ceremony.  On  the  return  of  the  bridal  pair  seven  lines 
are  drawn  in  front  of  the  entrance  to  the  bridegroom's 
house.  Some  relative  takes  rice  and  throws  it  at  the 
persons  returning  with  the  marriage  procession,  and  then 
pushes  the  pair  hastily  across  the  lines  and  into  the  house. 
They  are  thus  freed  from  the  evil  spirits  who  might  have 
accompanied  them  home  and  who  are  kept  back  by  the 
rice  and  the  seven  lines.  A  price  of  Rs.  5  is  sometimes 
paid  for  the  bride.  In  Saugor  if  the  bride's  family  cannot 
afford  a  wedding  feast  they  distribute  small  pieces  of  bread 
to  the  guests,  who  place  them  in  their  head-cloths  to  show 
their  acceptance  of  this  substitute.  To  those  guests  to 
whom  it  is  necessary  to  make  presents  five  cowries  are 
given.  Widow-marriage  is  allowed,  and  in  some  places  the 
widow  is  bound  to  marry  her  late  husband's  younger  brother 
unless  he  declines  to  take  her.  If  she  marries  somebody 
else  the  new  husband  pays  a  sum  by  way  of  compensa- 
tion either  to  her  father  or  to  the  late  husband's  family. 
Divorce  is  permitted  on  the  husband's  initiative  for  adultery 
or  serious  disacreement.      If  the  wife  wishes  for  a  divorce 


cere- 
monies. 


II  DEJiril  CEREMONIES— RELIGION  507 

she  simply  runs  away  from  her  husband.  The  Laria 
Savars  must  give  a  mdrti-jiti  kd  bJidt  or  death-feast  on  the 
occasion  of  a  divorce.  The  Uriyas  simply  pay  a  rupee  to 
the  headman  of  the  caste. 

The  Savars  both  burn  and  bury  their  dead,  placing  5.  Death 
the  corpse  on  the  pyre  vi^ith  its  head  to  the  north,  in  the 
belief  that  heaven  lies  in  that  direction.  On  the  eleventh  day 
after  the  death  in  Sambalpur  those  members  of  the  caste 
who  can  afford  it  present  a  goat  to  the  mourners.  The 
Savars  believe  that  the  souls  of  those  who  die  become 
ghosts,  and  in  Bundelkhand  they  used  formerly  to  bury  the 
dead  near  their  fields  in  the  belief  that  the  spirits  would 
watch  over  and  protect  the  crops.  If  a  man  has  died  a 
violent  death  they  raise  a  small  platform  of  earth  under  a 
teak  or  sdj  tree,  in  which  the  ghost  of  the  dead  man  is 
believed  to  take  up  its  residence,  and  nobody  thereafter  may 
cut  down  that  tree.  The  Uriya  Savars  take  no  special 
measures  unless  the  ghost  appears  to  somebody  in  a  dream 
and  asks  to  be  worshipped  as  Baghiapat  (tiger-eaten)  or 
Masan  (serpent-bitten).  In  such  cases  a  gunia  or  sorcerer 
is  consulted,  and  such  measures  as  he  prescribes  are  taken 
to  appease  the  dead  man's  soul.  If  a  person  dies  without 
a  child  a  hole  is  made  in  a  stone,  and  his  soul  is  induced  to 
enter  it  by  the  gunia.  A  few  grains  of  rice  are  placed  in 
the  hole,  and  it  is  then  closed  with  melted  lead  to  imprison 
the  ghost,  and  the  stone  is  thrown  into  a  stream  so  that 
it  may  never  be  able  to  get  out  and  trouble  the  family. 
Savars  offer  water  to  the  dead.  A  second  wife  usually 
wears  a  metal  impression  of  the  first  wife  by  way  of  pro- 
pitiation to  her. 

The  Savars  worship  Bhawani  under  various  names  and  6.  Reii- 
also  Dulha  Deo,  the  young  bridegroom  who  was  killed  by  a  '^ 
tiger.  He  is  located  in  the  kitchen  of  every  house  in  some 
localities,  and  this  has  given  rise  to  the  proverb,  \[ai  chfil/ia, 
tat  Dulha,'  or  '  There  is  a  Dulha  Deo  to  every  hearth.' 
The  Savars  are  considered  to  be  great  sorcerers.  '  Sazvara 
ke  pdfige,  Rdwat  ke  bdndhel  or  "  The  man  bewitched  b}'  a 
Savar  and  the  bullock  tied  up  by  a  Rawat  (grazier)  cannot 
escape  "  ;  and  again,  '  Verily  the  Saonr  is  a  cup  of  poison.' 
Their  charms,  called  Sabari  mantras,  are  especially  intended 


tion. 


508  SAVAR  PART  II 

to  appease  the  spirits  of  persons  who  have  died  a  violent 
death.  If  one  of  their  family  was  seriously  ill  they  were 
accustomed  formerly  to  set  fire  to  the  forest,  so  that  by 
burning  the  small  animals  and  insects  which  could  not 
escape  they  might  propitiate  the  angry  gods. 
7.  Occupa-  The  dress  of  the  Savars  is  of  the  scantiest.      The  women 

wear  khihvdn  or  pith  ornaments  in  the  ear,  and  abstain  from 
wearing  nose-rings,  a  traditional  method  of  deference  to  the 
higher  castes.  The  proverb  has  it,  '  The  ornaments  of  the 
Sawara  are  gunichi  seeds.'  These  are  the  red  and  black 
seeds  oi  Abrus precatoriusvjhxch  are  used  in  weighing  gold  and 
silver  and  are  called  7^ati.  Women  are  tattooed  and  sometimes 
men  also  to  avoid  being  pierced  with  a  red-hot  iron  by  the 
god  of  death.  Tattooing  is  further  said  to  allay  the  sexual 
passion  of  women,  which  is  eight  times  more  intense  than 
that  of  men.  Their  occupations  are  the  collection  of 
jungle  produce  and  cultivation.  They  are  very  clever  in 
taking  honeycombs  :  '  It  is  the  Savar  who  can  drive  the 
black  bees  from  their  hive.'  The  eastern  branch  of  the  caste 
is  more  civilised  than  the  Saonras  of  Bundelkhand,  who  still 
sow  juari  with  a  pointed  stick,  saying  that  it  was  the 
implement  given  to  them  by  Mahadeo  for  this  purpose.  In 
Saugor  and  Damoh  they  employ  Brahmans  for  marriage 
ceremonies  if  they  can  afford  it,  but  on  other  occasions  their 
own  caste  priests.  In  some  places  they  will  take  food  from 
most  castes  but  in  others  from  nobody  who  is  not  a  Savar. 
Sometimes  they  admit  outsiders  and  in  others  the  children 
only  of  irregular  unions  ;  thus  a  Gond  woman  kept  by  a 
Savar  would  not  be  recognised  as  a  member  of  the  caste 
herself  but  her  children  would  be  Savars.  A  woman  going 
wrong  with  an  outsider  of  low  caste  is  permanently  ex- 
communicated. 


' 


SONJHARA 

LIST  OF  PARAGRAPHS 

r.    Origin  atui  constitution  of  the           4.  Customs  at  birtJi. 

caste.  5.  Funeral  rites. 

2.  Totemism.  6.  Religion. 

3.  Marriage.  7.  Social  customs. 

8.    Occupation. 

Sonjhara,  Jhara,  Jhora,  Jhira. — A  small  occupational  i.  origin 

caste    who   wash    for   "old    in    river-beds,   belono-ine:    to   the  f",  ^^^' 
•^  '  t>      fc>  stitution  o 

Sambalpur,  Mandla,  Balaghat  and  Chanda  Districts  and  the  the  caste. 
Chota  Nagpur  Feudatory  States.  In  191 1  they  numbered 
about  I  500  persons.  The  name  probably  comes  from  sona, 
gold,  ^.r\6.  jhdt'fia,  to  sweep  or  wash,  though,  when  the  term 
Jhara  only  is  used,  some  derive  it  from  jhori,  a  streamlet. 
Colonel  Dalton  surmised  that  the  Sonjharas  were  an  offshoot 
of  the  Gonds,  and  this  appears  to  be  demonstrated  by  the  fact 
that  the  names  of  their  exogamous  septs  are  identical  with 
Gond  names  as  Marabi,  Tekam,  Netam,  Dhurwa  and  Madao. 
The  Sonjharas  of  Bilaspur  say  that  their  ancestors  were  Gonds 
who  dwelt  at  Lanji  in  Balaghat.  The  caste  relate  the 
tradition  that  they  were  condemned  by  Mahadeo  to  perpetual 
poverty  because  their  first  ancestor  stole  a  little  gold  from 
Parvati's  crown  when  it  fell  into  the  river  Jamuna  (in  Chota 
Nagpur)  and  he  was  sent  to  fetch  it  out.  The  metal  which 
is  found  in  the  river  sands  they  hold  to  be  the  remains  of  a 
shower  of  gold  which  fell  for  two  and  a  half  days  while  the 
Banaphar  heroes  Alha  and  Udal  were  fighting  their  great 
battle  with  Prithvi  Raj,  king  of  Delhi.  The  caste  is  partly 
occupational,  and  recruited  from  different  sources.  This  is 
shown  by  the  fact  that  in  Chanda  members  of  different  septs 

509 


5IO  SONJHARA  part 

will  not  eat  together,  though  they  are  obliged  to  intermarry. 
In  Sambalpur  the  Behra,  Patar,  Naik  and  Padhan  septs  eat 
together  and  intermarry.  Two  other  septs,  the  Kanar  and 
Peltrai  who  eat  fowls  and  drink  liquor,  occupy  a  lower 
position,  and  members  of  the  first  four  will  not  take  food 
from  them  nor  give  daughters  to  them  in  marriage,  though 
they  will  take  daughters  from  these  lower  groups  for  their 
sons.  Here  they  have  three  subcastes,  the  Laria  or  residents 
of  Chhattisgarh,  the  Uriya  belonging  to  the  Uriya  country, 
and  the  Bhuinhar,  who  may  be  an  offshoot  from  the  Bhuiya 
tribe. 

2.  Totem-  They  have  one  recorded  instance  of  totemism,  which  is  of 
'^"^"            some    interest.      Members   of    the   sept   named  after  a  tree 

called  kausa  revere  the  tree  and  explain  it  by  saying  that 
their  ancestor,  when  flying  from  some  danger,  sought  protec- 
tion from  this  tree,  which  thereupon  opened  and  enfolded 
him  in  its  trunk.  No  member  of  the  sept  will  touch  the 
tree  without  first  bathing,  and  on  auspicious  occasions,  such 
as  births  and  weddings,  they  will  dig  up  a  little  earth  from 
the  roots  of  the  tree  and  taking  this  home  worship  it  in  the 
house.  If  any  member  of  the  sept  finds  that  he  has  cut  off 
a  branch  or  other  part  of  this  tree  unwittingly  he  will  take  and 
consign  it  to  a  stream,  observing  ceremonies  of  mourning. 
Women  of  the  Nag  or  cobra  sept  will  not  mention  the  name 
of  this  snake  aloud,  just  as  they  refrain  from  speaking  the 
names  of  male  relatives. 

3.  Mar-  Marriage  within  the  sept  is  forbidden,  and  they  permit  the 
intermarriage  of  the  children  of  a  brother  and  sister,  but  not  of 
those  of  two  sisters,  though  their  husbands  may  be  of  different 
septs.  Marriage  is  usually  adult  except  in  Sambalpur, 
where  a  girl  must  be  provided  with  a  husband  before  reaching 
maturity  in  accordance  with  the  general  rule  among  the 
Uriya  castes.  In  Chhindwara  it  is  said  that  the  Sonjharas 
revere  the  crocodile  and  that  the  presence  of  this  animal  is 
essential  at  their  weddings.  They  do  not,  however,  kill  and 
eat  it  at  a  sacrificial  feast  as  the  Singrore  Dhlmars  are 
reported  to  do,  but  catch  and  keep  it  alive,  and  when  the 
ceremony  is  concluded  take  it  back  again  and  deposit  it  in 
a  river.  After  a  girl  has  been  married  neither  her  father 
nor  any  of  her  own  near  relatives  will  ever  take  food  again 


nase. 


at  birth. 


1 1  CUSTOMS  A  T  niR  Til  511 

in  the  house  of  her  husband's  family,  saying  that  they  would 
rather  starve.  Each  married  couple  also  becomes  a  separate 
commensal  group  and  will  not  eat  with  the  parents  of  either 
of  them.  This  is  a  common  custom  among  low  castes  of 
mixed  origin  where  every  man  is  doubtful  of  his  neighbour's 
parentage.  Divorce  and  the  remarriage  of  widows  are 
permitted,  and  a  woman  may  be  divorced  merely  on  the 
ground  of  incompetence  in  household  management  or  because 
she  does  not  please  her  husband's  parents. 

At  child-birth  they  make  a  little  separate  hut  for  the  4.  Customs 
mother  near  the  river  where  they  are  encamped,  and  she 
remains  in  it  for  two  days  and  a  half.  During  this  time  her 
husband  does  no  work  ;  he  stays  a  few  paces  distant  from 
his  wife's  hut  and  prepares  her  food  but  does  not  go  to 
the  hut  or  touch  her,  and  he  kindles  a  fire  between  them. 
During  the  first  two  days  the  woman  gets  three  handfuls 
of  rice  boiled  thin  in  water,  and  on  the  third  day  she  receives 
nothing  until  the  evening,  when  the  Sendia  or  head  of  the 
sept  takes  a  little  cowdung,  gold  and  silver  in  his  hand, 
and  pouring  water  over  this  gives  her  of  it  to  drink  as 
many  times  as  the  number  of  gods  worshipped  by  her 
family  up  to  seven.  Then  she  is  pure.  On  this  day  the 
father  sacrifices  a  chicken  and  gives  a  meal  with  liquor  to 
the  caste  and  names  the  child,  calling  it  after  one  of  his 
ancestors  who  is  dead.  Then  an  old  woman  beats  on  a 
brass  plate  and  calls  out  the  name  which  has  been  given 
in  a  loud  voice  to  the  whole  camp  so  that  they  may  all 
know  the  child's  name.  In  Bilaspur  the  Sonjharas 
observe  the  custom  of  the  Couvade,  and  for  six  days 
after  the  birth  of  a  child  the  husband  lies  prone  in 
his  house,  while  the  wife  gets  up  and  goes  to  work, 
coming  home  to  give  suck  to  the  child  when  neces- 
sary. The  man  takes  no  food  for  three  days  and  on 
the  fourth  is  given  ginger  and  raw  sugar,  thus  under- 
going the  ordinary  treatment  of  a  woman  after  child- 
birth. This  is  supposed  by  them  to  be  a  sort  of  com- 
pensation for  the  labours  sustained  by  the  woman  in 
bearing  the  child.  The  custom  obtains  among  some  other 
primitive  races,  but  is  now  rapidly  being  abandoned  by 
the  Sonjharas. 


512 


SONJHARA 


5.  Funeral 
rites. 


6.  Reli- 
gion. 


7.  Social 
customs. 


The  bodies  of  the  old  are  cremated  as  a  special  honour, 
and  those  of  other  persons  are  buried.  No  one  other  than 
a  member  of  the  dead  man's  family  may  touch  his  corpse 
under  a  penalty  of  five  rupees.  A  relative  will  remove  the 
body  and  bury  it  with  the  feet  pointing  to  the  river  or  burn 
it  by  the  water's  edge.  They  mourn  a  child  for  one  day 
and  an  adult  for  four  days,  and  "at  the  end  the  mourner  is 
shaved  and  provides  liquor  for  the  community.  If  there 
be  no  relative,  since  no  other  man  can  touch  the  corpse, 
they  fire  the  hut  over  it  and  burn  it  as  it  is  lying  or  bury 
hut  and  body  under  a  high  mound  of  sand. 

Their  principal  deities  are  Dulha  Deo,  the  boy  bride- 
groom, Nira  his  servant,  and  Kauria  a  form  of  Devi.  Nira 
lives  under  an  Tanar^  tree  and  he  and  Dulha  Deo  his  master 
are  worshipped  every  third  year  in  the  month  of  Magh 
(January).  Kauria  is  also  worshipped  once  in  three  years 
on  a  Sunday  in  the  month  of  Magh  with  an  offering  of  a 
cocoanut,  and  in  her  honour  they  never  sit  on  a  cot  nor  sleep 
on  a  stool  because  they  think  that  the  goddess  has  her  seat 
on  these  article's.  The  real  reason,  however,  is  probably 
that  the  Sonjharas  consider  the  use  of  such  furniture  an 
indication  of  a  settled  life  and  permanent  residence,  and  there- 
fore abjure  it  as  being  wanderers.  Some  analogous  customs 
have  been  recorded  of  the  Banjaras.  They  also  revere  the 
spirit  of  one  of  their  female  ancestors  who  became  a  Sati. 
They  sacrifice  a  goat  to  the  genius  loci  or  spirit  haunting 
the  spot  where  they  decide  to  start  work  ;  and  they  will  leave 
it  for  fear  of  angering  this  spirit,  which  is  said  to  appear 
in  the  form  of  a  tiger,  should  they  make  a  particularly  good 
find."  They  never  keep  dogs,  and  it  is  said  that  they  are 
defiled  by  the  touch  of  a  dog  and  will  throw  away  their 
food  if  one  comes  near  them  during  their  meal.  The  same 
rule  applies  to  a  cat,  and  they  will  throw  away  an  earthen 
vessel  touched  by  either  of  these  animals.  On  the  Diwali 
day  they  wash  their  implements,  and  setting  them  up  near 
the  huts  worship  them  with  offerings  of  a  cocoanut  and 
vermilion. 

Their    rule    is    always    to    camp   outside   a  village  at  a 


'  F.  gloDurata. 
lulldghat  Gazetteer,  C.  E.  Lo\ 


p.  20;. 


II  OCCUPATION  513 

distance  of  not  less  than  a  mile.  In  the  rains  they  make  huts 
with  a  roof  of  bamboos  sloping  from  a  central  ridge  and 
walls  of  matting.  The  huts  are  built  in  one  line  and  do 
not  touch  each  other,  at  least  a  cubit's  distance  being 
left  between  each.  Each  hut  has  one  door  facing  the 
east.  As  a  rule  they  avoid  the  water  of  village  wells 
and  tanks,  though  it  is  not  absolutely  forbidden.  Each 
man  digs  a  shallow  well  in  the  sand  behind  his  hut  and 
drinks  the  water  from  it,  and  no  man  may  drink  the  water  of 
his  neighbour's  well  ;  if  he  should  do  so  or  if  any  water  from 
his  well  gets  into  his  neighbour's,  the  latter  is  abandoned 
and  a  fresh  one  made.  If  the  ground  is  too  swampy  for 
wells  they  collect  the  water  in  their  wooden  washing-tray 
and  fill  their  vessels  from  it.  In  the  cold  weather  they 
make  little  leaf-huts  on  the  sand  or  simply  camp  out  in 
the  open,  but  they  must  never  sleep  under  a  tree.  When 
living  in  the  open  each  family  makes  two  fires  and  sleeps 
together  between  them.  Some  of  them  have  their  stomachs 
burned  and  blackened  from  sleeping  too  near  the  fire.  The 
Sonjharas  will  not  take  cooked  food  from  the  hands  of  any 
other  caste,  but  their  social  status  is  very  low,  about  equiva- 
lent to  that  of  the  parent  Gond  tribe.  They  have  no  fear  of 
wild  animals,  not  even  the  children.  Perhaps  they  think 
that  as  fellow-denizens  of  the  jungle  these  animals  are  kin 
to  them  and  will  not  injure  them. 

The  traditional  occupation  of  the  caste  is  to  wash  gold  s.  Occupa- 
from  the  sandy  beds  of  streams,  while  they  formerly  also  ^'°"- 
washed  for  diamonds  at  Hirakud  on  the  Mahanadi  near 
Sambalpur  and  at  VVairagarh  in  Chanda.  The  industry 
is  decaying,  and  in  1901  only  a  quarter  of  the  total  number 
of  Sonjharas  were  still  employed  in  it.  Some  have  become 
cultivators  and  fishermen,  while  others  earn  their  livelihood 
by  sweeping  up  the  refuse  dirt  of  the  workshops  of  gold- 
smiths and  brass-workers  ;  they  wash  out  the  particles  of 
metal  from  this  and  sell  it  back  to  the  Sunars.  The 
Mahanadi  and  Jonk  rivers  in  Sambalpur,  the  Banjar  in 
Mandla,  the  Son  and  other  rivers  in  Balaghat,  and  the 
Wainganga  and  the  eastern  streams  of  Chanda  contain 
minute  particles  of  gold.  The  washers  earn  a  miserable 
and  uncertain   livelihood,  and   indeed  appear  not  to  desire 

VOL.  IV  2  L 


514  SUDH  PART 

anything  beyond  a  bare  subsistence.  In  Bhandara  ^  it  is 
said  that  they  avoid  any  spot  where  they  have  previously 
been  lucky,  while  in  Chanda  they  have  a  superstition  that 
a  person  making  a  good  find  of  gold  will  be  childless,  and 
hence  many  dread  the  search.^  When  they  set  out  to  look 
for  gold  they  wash  three  small  trayfuls  at  three  places 
about  five  cubits  apart.  If  they  find  no  appreciable  quan- 
tity of  gold  they  go  on  for  one  or  two  hundred  yards  and 
wash  three  more  trayfuls,  and  proceed  thus  until  they  find  a 
profitable  place  where  they  will  halt  for  two  or  three  days. 
A  spot^  in  the  dry  river-bed  is  usually  selected  at  the 
outside  of  a  bend,  where  the  finer  sediment  is  likely  to  be 
found  ;  after  removing  the  stones  and  pebbles  from  above, 
the  sand  below  is  washed  several  times  in  circular  wooden 
cradles,  shaped  like  the  top  of  an  umbrella,  of  diminishing 
sizes,  until  all  the  clay  is  removed  and  fine  particles  of  sand 
mixed  with  gold  are  visible.  A  large  wooden  spoon  is 
used  to  stir  up  the  sediment,  which  is  washed  and  rubbed 
by  hand  to  separate  the  gold  more  completely  from  the 
sand,  and  a  blackish  residue  is  left,  containing  particles  of 
gold  and  mercury  coloured  black  with  oxide  of  iron.  Mercury 
is  used  to  pick  up  the  gold  with  which  it  forms  an  amalgam. 
This  is  evaporated  in  a  clay  cupel  called  a  ghariya  by  which 
the  mercury  is  got  rid  of  and  the  gold  left  behind. 

Sudh,^  Sudha,  Sudho,  Suda. — A  cultivating  caste  in 
the  Uriya  country.  Since  the  transfer  of  Sambalpur  to 
Bengal  only  a  few  Sudhs  remain  in  the  Central  Provinces. 
They  are  divided  into  four  subcastes — the  Bada  or  high 
Sudhs,  the  Dehri  or  worshippers,  the  Kabat-konia  or  those 
holding  the  corners  of  the  gate,  and  the  Butka.  These  last 
are  the  most  primitive  and  think  that  Rairakhol  is  their  first 
home.  They  relate  that  they  were  born  of  the  Pandava  hero 
Bhimsen  and  the  female  demon  Hedembiki,  and  were  origin- 
ally occupied  in  supplying  leaves  for  the  funeral  ceremonies 

1  Bhandara   Settlement   Report  (A.       cess  of  gold-washing  is  taken  from  Mr. 
J.  Lawrence),  p.  49.  Low's  Bdldi^^hat  Gazetteer,  p.  201. 

^  T..  ■     T      •    c    -.u'   nj  -    J   c  tn  *  This    article   is  compiled   from    a 

2  Maior  Lucie  Smith  sC«(?«(/«6^t?/'/'/6'-  ,        .^        ,„  -   •      , 

^  n  J.     ,  ,   c>^„\  .„,  paper     by     Mr.     Bhagirath      Fatnaik, 

ment  Report  (1869  ,  p.  105.  '   .'   .        c   t^   •  -w.  y         a   c  . 

■^  JJiwan  of    Kairakhol,  and  from  notes 

^  The  following  account  of  the  pro-       taken  by  Mr.  Ulra  Lai  at  Rairakhol. 


II  SUDH  515 

of  the  Pandava  brothers,  from  which  business  they  obtained 
their  name  of  Ikitka  or  '  one  who  brings  leaves.'  They  are 
practically  a  forest  tribe  and  carry  on  shifting  cultivation 
like  the  Khonds.  According  to  their  own  story  the 
ancestors  of  the  Butka  Sudhs  once  ruled  in  Rairakhol  and 
reclaimed  the  land  from  the  forest,  that  is  so  far  as  it  has 
been  reclaimed.  The  following  story  connects  them  with 
the  ruling  family  of  Rairakhol.  In  former  times  there  was 
constant  war  between  Bamra  and  Rairakhol,  and  on  one 
occasion  the  whole  of  the  Rairakhol  royal  family  was 
destroyed  with  the  exception  of  one  boy  who  was  hidden 
by  a  Butka  Sudh  woman.  She  placed  him  in  a  cradle 
supported  on  four  uprights,  and  when  the  Bamra  Raja's 
soldiers  came  to  seek  for  him  the  Sudhs  swore,  "If  we  have 
kept  him  either  in  heaven  or  earth  may  our  god  destroy 
us."  The  Bamra  people  were  satisfied  with  this  reply  and 
the  child  was  saved,  and  on  coming  to  manhood  he  won 
back  his  kingdom.  He  received  the  name  of  Janamani 
or  '  Jewel  among  men,'  which  the  family  still  bear.  In 
consequence  of  this  incident,  the  Butka  Sudhs  are  considered 
by  the  Rairakhol  house  as  relations  on  their  mother's  side  ; 
they  have  several  villages  allotted  to  them  and  perform 
sacrifices  for  the  ruling  family.  In  some  of  these  villages 
nobody  may  sleep  on  a  cot  or  sit  on  a  high  chair,  so  as  to 
be  between  heaven  and  earth  in  the  position  in  which  the 
child  was  saved.  The  Bada  Sudhs  are  the  most  numerous 
subdivision  and  have  generally  adopted  Hindu  customs,  so 
that  the  higher  castes  will  take  water  from  their  hands. 
They  neither  drink  liquor  nor  eat  fowls,  but  the  other 
subcastes  do  both.  The  Sudhs  have  totemistic  gotras  as 
Bhalluka  (bear),  Bagh  (tiger),  Ulluka  (owl),  and  others. 
They  also  have  bargas  or  family  names  as  Thakur  (lord), 
Danaik,  Amayat  and  Bishi.  The  Thakur  clan  say  that 
they  used  to  hold  the  Baud  kings  in  their  lap  for  their 
coronation,  and  the  Danaik  used  to  tie  the  king's  turban. 
The  Bishi  were  so  named  because  of  their  skill  in  arms, 
and  the  Amayat  collected  materials  for  the  worship  of  the 
Panch  Khanda  or  five  swords.  The  bargas  are  much  more 
numerous  than  the  totemistic  septs,  and  marriage  either 
within    the  barga   or    within    the   sept  is  forbidden.       Girls 


5i6  SUDH  PART  II 

must  be  married  before  adolescence  ;  and  in  the  absence  of 
a  suitable  husband,  the  girl  is  married  to  an  old  man  who 
divorces  her  immediately  afterwards,  and  she  may  then  take 
a   second    husband    at   any    time    by  the  form   for   widow- 
remarriage.      A  betrothal  is  sealed  by  tying  an  areca-nut  in 
a  knot  made  from  the  clothes  of  a  relative  of  each   party 
and    pounding    it    seven    times    with   a    pestle.       After   the 
marriage  a  silver  ring  is  placed  in  a  pot  of  water,  over  the 
mouth   of  which  a  leaf-plate  is   bound.       The   bridegroom 
pierces  the  leaf-plate  with  a  knife,  and  the  bride  then  thrusts 
her  hand  through  the  hole,  picks  out  the  ring  and  puts  it 
on.      The  couple  then  go  inside  the  house  and  sit  down  to 
a    meal.       The   bridegroom,  after  eating   part   of  his  food, 
throws  the    leavings    on    to   the    bride's    plate.       She   stops 
eating  in  displeasure,  whereupon   the   bridegroom   promises 
her  some  ornaments,  and  she  relents  and  eats  his  leavings. 
It    is    customary  for  a   Hindu  wife  to  eat  the  leavings    of 
food  of  her  husband  as  a  mark  of  her  veneration  for  him. 
Divorce  and  the  remarriage  of  widows  are  permitted.      The 
Sudhs  worship  the   Panch   Khanda  or  five  swords,  and   in 
the  Central  Provinces  they  say  that  these  are  a  representation 
of  the   five  Pandava   brothers,  in  whose   service    their    first 
ancestors  were  engaged.      Their  tutelary  goddess  is  Kham- 
beshwari,    represented    by   a   wooden    peg    {kJiamba).       She 
dwells  in  the  wilds  of  the  Baud   State  and  is  supposed  to 
fulfil  all  the  desires  of  the  Sudhs.      Liquor,  goats,  buffaloes, 
vermilion  and  swallow-wort  flowers  are  offered  to  her,  the 
last  two  being  in  representation  of  blood.      The  Dehri  Sudhs 
worship  a  goddess  called  Kandrapat  who  dwells  always  on 
the  summits  of  hills.      It  is  believed  that  whenever  worship 
is  concluded  the  roar  of  her  tiger  is  heard,  and  the  worshippers 
then  leave  the  place  and  allow  the  tiger  to  come  and  take 
the  offerings.      The  goddess  would  therefore  appear  to  be 
the  deified  tiger.     The  Bada  Sudhs  rank  with  the  cultivating 
castes  of  Sambalpur,  but  the  other  three  subcastes  have  a 
lower  position. 


SUNAR 


LIST  OF  PARAGRAPHS 

1 .  General  notice  of  the  caste.  9.   Beads  and  other  or7iainents. 

2.  Internal  structure.  jo.  Ear-iierciinr. 

3.  Marriaire  and  other  customs.  ,.     /-),.v,„-^  ^/-^  ,^^,-^^^v«^ 
•^                 "^                                    •          II.    Urtnn  Of  ear-piercine. 

4.  Rclirion.  ^  , 

f,    ?  ,  ,     ., .  12.    Urnatnents  ivorn  as  a7nulets. 

5.  tioctat position. 

6.  Manufacture  of  ornametits.  ^3-  -4z/^///a  5«;/Jr.-. 

7.  77/(?  sanctity  of  gold.  1 4-   ^-^^^  5«;'/^;r  aj-  mo7iey-changer. 

8.  Ornaments.        The     marriage       15.  Malpractices     of    lower-class 

ornaments.  Sundrs. 

Sunar/  Sonar,  Soni,  Hon-Potdar,  Saraf. — The  occupa-  i.  General 
tional  caste  of  goldsmiths  and  silversmiths.      The  name  is  "°'''^'^  °f 

°  the  caste. 

derived  from  the  Sanskrit  Suvarna  kdr,  a  worker  in  gold. 
In  191 1  the  Sunars  numbered  96,000  persons  in  the  Central 
Provinces  and  30,000  in  Berar.  They  live  all  over  the 
Province  and  are  most  numerous  in  the  large  towns.  The 
caste  appears  to  be  a  functional  one  of  comparatively  recent 
formation,  and  there  is  nothing  on  record  as  to  its  origin, 
except  a  collection  of  Brahmanical  legends  of  the  usual  type. 
The  most  interesting  of  these  as  related  by  Sir  H.  Risley  is 
as  follows :  ^ 

"In  the  beginning  of  time,  when  the  goddess  Devi  was 
busy  with  the  construction  of  mankind,  a  giant  called  Sonwa- 
Daitya,  whose  body  consisted  entirely  of  gold,  devoured 
her  creations  as  fast  as  she  made  them.  To  baffle  this 
monster  the  goddess  created  a  goldsmith,  furnished  him 
with  the  tools  of  his  art,  and  instructed  him  how  to  proceed. 

*  This  article  is  partly  based  on  an  the  Gold  and  Silver  Industries,  and  on 

article    by     Mr.     Raghunath    Prasad,  information  furnished  Ijy  Krishna  Rao, 

E.A.C.,     formerly      Deputy      Super-  Revenue  Inspector,  Mandla. 

intendent  of  Census,  with  extracts  from  ^   Tribes  and  Castes  of  Bengal,  art. 

the    late    Mr.   Nunn's    Monograph  on  Sunar. 

517 


5i8  SUNAR  PART 

When  the  giant  proposed  to  eat  him,  the  goldsmith  suggested 
to  him  that  if  his  body  were  polished  his  appearance  would 
be  vastly  improved,  and  asked  to  be  allowed  to  undertake 
the  job.  With  the  characteristic  stupidity  of  his  tribe  the 
giant  fell  into  the  trap,  and  having  had  one  finger  polished 
was  so  pleased  with  the  result  that  he  agreed  to  be  polished 
all  over.  For  this  purpose,  like  Aetes  in  the  Greek  legend 
of  Medea,  he  had  to  be  melted  down,  and  the  goldsmith, 
who  was  to  get  the  body  as  his  perquisite,  giving  the  head 
only  to  Devi,  took  care  not  to  put  him  together  again.  The 
goldsmith,  however,  overreached  himself.  Not  content  with 
his  legitimate  earnings,  he  must  needs  steal  a  part  of  the 
head,  and  being  detected  in  this  by  Devi,  he  and  his 
descendants  were  condemned  to  be  for  ever  poor."  The 
Sunars  also  have  a  story  that  they  are  the  descendants  of 
one  of  two  Rajput  brothers,  who  were  saved  as  boys  by  a 
Saraswat  Brahman  from  the  wrath  of  Parasurama  when  he 
was  destroying  the  Kshatriyas.  The  descendants  of  the 
other  brother  were  the  Khatris.  This  is  the  same  story  as 
is  told  by  the  Khatris  of  their  own  origin,  but  they  do  not 
acknowledge  the  connection  with  Sunars,  nor  can  the  Sunars 
allege  that  Saraswat  Brahmans  eat  with  them  as  they  do 
with  Khatris.  In  Gujarat  they  have  a  similar  legend 
connecting  them  with  Banias.  In  Bombay  they  also  claim 
to  be  Brahmans,  and  in  the  Central  Provinces  a  caste  of 
goldsmiths  akin  to  the  Sunars  call  themselves  Vishwa 
Brahmans.  On  the  other  hand,  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  bride- 
groom. 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 
frce.^  Their  raison  d'etre  may  possibly  be  found  in  the  fact 
that  the  Brahmans,  all-powerful  in  the  Poona  state,  were 
jealous  of  the  pretensions  of  the  Sunars,  and  devised  these 
rules  as  a  means  of  suppressing  them.  It  may  be  suggested 
that    the    Sunars,    being    workers    at    an    important    urban 

1  Bombay  Gazetteer,  vol.  xvii.  p.  134. 


II  INTERNAL  STRUCTURE  519 

industry,  profitable  in  itself  and  sanctified  by  its  association 
with  the  sacred  metal  gold,  aspired  to  rank  above  the  other 
artisans,  and  put  forward  the  pretensions  already  mentioned, 
because  they  felt  that  their  position  was  not  commensurate 
with  their  deserts.  But  the  Sunar  is  included  in  Grant- 
Duff's  list  of  the  twenty-four  village  menials  of  a  Maratha 
village,  and  consequently  he  would  in  past  times  have  ranked 
below  the  cultivators,  from  whom  he  must  have  accepted  the 
annual  presents  of  grain. 

The  caste  have  a  number  of  subdivisions,  nearly  all  of  2.  internal 
which  are  of  the  territorial  class  and  indicate  the  various  ^''^"'^^"'^^• 
localities  from  which  it  has  been  recruited  in  these  Provinces. 
The  most  important  subcastes  are  the  Audhia  from  Ajodhia 
or  Oudh  ;  the  Purania  or  old  settlers ;  the  Bundelkhandi 
from  Bundelkhand  ;  the  Malwi  from  Malwa  ;  the  Lad  from 
Lat,  the  old  name  for  the  southern  portion  of  Gujarat  ;  and 
the  Mair,  who  appear  to  have  been  the  first  immigrants  from 
Upper  India  and  are  named  after  Mair,  the  original  ancestor, 
who  melted  down  the  golden  demon.  Other  small  groups 
arc  the  Patkars,  so  called  because  they  allow  pat  or  widow- 
marriage,  though,  as  a  matter  of  fact,  it  is  permitted  by  the 
great  majority  of  the  caste  ;  the  Pandhare  or  '  White  Sunars  ' ; 
and  the  Ahir  Sunars,  whose  ancestors  must  presumably  have 
belonged  to  the  caste  whose  name  they  bear.  The  caste 
have  also  numerous  bainks  or  exogamous  septs,  which  differ 
entirely  from  the  long  lists  given  for  Bengal  and  the  United 
Provinces,  and  show,  as  Mr.  Crooke  remarks,  the  extreme 
fertility  with  which  sections  of  this  kind  spring  up.  In 
the  Central  Provinces  the  names  are  of  a  titular  or  territorial 
nature.  Examples  of  the  former  kind,  that  is,  a  title  or 
nickname  supposed  to  have  been  borne  by  the  sept's  founder, 
are  :  Dantele,  one  who  has  projecting  teeth ;  Kale,  black  ; 
Munde,  bald  ;  Kolhlmare,  a  killer  of  jackals  ;  and  Ladaiya, 
a  jackal  or  a  quarrelsome  person.  Among  the  territorial 
names  are  Narwaria  from  Narwar  ;  Bhilsainyan  from  Bhilsa  ; 
Kanaujia  from  Kanauj  ;  Dilllwal  from  Delhi  ;  Kfdpiwal  from 
Kalpi.  Besides  the  bainks  or  septs  by  which  marriage  is 
regulated,  they  have  adopted  the  Brahmanical  eponymous 
^(?/rrt:-names  as  Kashyap,  Garg,  Sandilya,  and  so  on.  These 
are  employed  on  ceremonial  occasions  as  when  a  gift  is  made 


520  SUNAR  part 

for  the  purpose  of  obtaining  religious  merit,  and  the  gotra- 
name  of  the  owner  is  recorded,  but  they  do  not  influence 
marriage.  The  use  of  them  is  a  harmless  vanity  analogous 
to  the  assumption  of  distinguished  surnames  by  people  who 
were  not  born  to  them. 

3.  Mar-  Marriage  is  forbidden  within  the  sept.  In  some  locali- 
othCT^"  ties  persons  descended  from  a  common  ancestor  may  not 
customs.      intermarry  for    five  generations,    but   in    others   a    brother's 

daughter  may  be  wedded  to  a  sister's  son.  A  man  is  for- 
bidden to  marry  two  sisters  while  both  are  alive,  and  after 
his  wife's  death  he  may  espouse  her  younger  sister,  but  not 
her  elder  one.  Girls  are  usually  wedded  at  a  tender  age,  but 
some  Sunars  have  hitherto  had  a  rule  that  neither  a  girl  nor 
a  boy  should  be  married  until  they  had  had  smallpox,  the  idea 
being  that  there  can  be  no  satisfactory  basis  for  a  contract  of 
marriage  while  either  party  is  still  exposed  to  such  a  danger 
to  life  and  personal  appearance  ;  just  as  it  might  be  considered 
more  prudent  not  to  buy  a  young  dog  until  it  had  had  dis- 
temper. But  with  the  spread  of  vaccination  the  Sunars  are 
giving  up  this  custom.  The  marriage  ceremony  follows  the 
Hindustani  or  Maratha  ritual  according  to  locality.^  In  Betul 
the  mother  of  the  bride  ties  the  mother  of  the  bridegroom  to  a 
pole  with  the  ropes  used  for  tethering  buffaloes  and  beats  her 
with  a  piece  of  twisted  cloth,  until  the  bridegroom's  mother 
gives  her  a  present  of  money  or  cloth  and  is  released.  The 
ceremony  may  be  designed  to  express  the  annoyance  of  the 
bride's  mother  at  being  deprived  of  her  daughter.  Polygamy 
is  permitted,  but  people  will  not  give  their  daughter  to  a 
married  man  if  they  can  find  a  bachelor  husband  for  her. 
Well-to-do  Sunars  who  desire  increased  social  distinction 
prohibit  the  marriage  of  widows,  but  the  caste  generally 
allow  it. 

4.  Reii-  The  caste  venerate  the  ordinary  Hindu  deities,  and  many 
of  them  have  sects  and  return  themselves  as  Vaishnavas, 
Saivas  or  Saktas.  In  some  places  they  are  said  to  make  a 
daily  offering  to  their  melting-furnace  so  that  it  may  bring 
them  in  a  profit.  When  a  child  has  been  born  they  make 
a  sacrifice  of  a  goat  to  Dulha  Deo,  the  marriage-god,  on  the 
following   Dasahra  festival,  and   the  body  of  this   must   be 

'  See  articles  on  Kunl;i  and  Kurmi. 


gion 


II  MANUFACTURE  OF  ORNAMENTS  521 

eaten  by  the  family  only,  no  outsider  being  allowed  to 
participate.  In  Hoshangabad  it  is  stated  that  on  the  night 
before  the  Dasahra  festival  all  the  Sunars  assemble  beside 
a  river  and  hold  a  feast.  Each  of  them  is  then  believed 
to  take  an  oath  that  he  will  not  during  the  coming  year 
disclose  the  amount  of  the  alloy  which  a  fellow-craftsman 
may  mix  with  the  precious  metals.  Any  Sunar  who  violates 
this  agreement  is  put  out  of  caste.  On  the  15th  day  of 
Jeth  (May)  the  village  Sunar  stops  work  for  five  days  and 
worships  his  implements  after  washing  them.  He  draws 
pictures  of  the  goddess  Devi  on  a  piece  of  paper  and  goes 
round  the  village  to  affix  them  to  the  doors  of  his  clients, 
receiving  in  return  a  small  present. 

The  caste  usually  burn  their  dead  and  take  the  ashes  to 
the  Nerbudda  or  Ganges ;  those  living  to  the  south  of  the 
Nerbudda  always  stop  at  this  river,  because  they  think  that 
if  they  crossed  it  to  go  to  the  Ganges,  the  Nerbudda 
would  be  offended  at  their  not  considering  it  good  enough. 
If  a  man  meets  with  a  violent  death  and  his  body  is  lost, 
they  construct  a  small  image  of  him  and  burn  this  with  all 
the  proper  ceremonies.  Mourning  is  observed  for  ten  or 
thirteen  days,  and  the  sJirdddJi  ceremony  is  performed  on 
the  anniversary  of  a  death,  while  the  usual  oblations  are 
offered  to  the  ancestors  during  the  fortnight  of  Pitr  Paksh 
in  Kunwar  (September). 

The  more  ambitious  members  of  the  caste  abjure  all  flesh  5.  Social 
and  liquor,  and  wear  the  sacred  thread.  These  will  not  p°^'^'°"- 
take  cooked  food  even  from  a  Brahman.  Others  do  not 
observe  these  restrictions.  Brahmans  will  usually  take 
water  from  Sunars,  especially  from  those  who  wear  the 
sacred  thread.  Owing  to  their  association  with  the  sacred 
metal  gold,  and  the  fact  that  they  generally  live  in  towns 
or  large  villages,  and  many  of  their  members  are  well-to-do, 
the  Sunars  occupy  a  fairly  high  position,  ranking  equal 
with,  or  above  the  cultivating  castes.  But,  as  already 
stated,  the  goldsmith  was  a  village  menial  in  the  Maratha 
villages,  and  Sir  D.  Ibbetson  thinks  that  the  Jat  really 
considers  the  Sunar  to  be  distinctly  inferior  to  himself. 

The   Sunar  makes  all   kinds  of  ornaments  of  gold  and  f^^.fy^g^of 
silver,     being     usually     supplied     with     the    metal    by    his  ornaments. 


522  SUNAR  part 

customers.  He  is  paid  according  to  the  weight  of  metal 
used,  the  rate  varying  from  four  annas  to  two  rupees  with  an 
average  of  a  rupee  per  tola  weight  of  metal  for  gold,  and  from 
one  to  two  annas  per  tola  weight  of  silver/  The  lowness  of 
these  rates  is  astonishing  when  compared  with  those  charged 
by  European  jewellers,  being  less  than  lo  per  cent  on  the 
value  of  the  metal  for  quite  delicate  ornaments.  The  reason 
is  partly  that  ornaments  are  widely  regarded  as  a  means  for 
the  safe  keeping  of  money,  and  to  spend  a  large  sum  on  the 
goldsmith's  labour  would  defeat  this  end,  as  it  would  be  lost 
on  the  reconversion  of  the  ornaments  into  cash.  Articles  of 
elaborate  workmanship  are  also  easily  injured  when  worn 
by  women  who  have  to  labour  in  the  fields  or  at  home. 
These  considerations  have  probably  retarded  the  develop- 
ment of  the  goldsmith's  art,  except  in  a  few  isolated  localities 
where  it  may  have  had  the  patronage  of  native  courts,  and 
they  account  for  the  often  clumsy  form  and  workmanship  of 
his  ornaments.  The  value  set  on  the  products  of  skilled 
artisans  in  early  times  is  nevertheless  shown  by  the  statement 
in  M'Crindle's  A7icient  India  that  any  one  who  caused  an 
artisan  to  lose  the  use  of  an  eye  or  a  hand  was  put  to  death." 
In  England  the  jeweller's  profit  on  his  wares  is  from  33  to  50 
per  cent  or  more,  in  which,  of  course,  allowance  is  made  for 
the  large  amount  of  capital  locked  up  in  them  and  the  time 
they  may  remain  on  his  hands.  But  the  difference  in  rates 
is  nevertheless  striking,  and  allowance  must  be  made  for  it  in 
considering  the  bad  reputation  which  the  Sunar  has  for  mixing 
alloy  with  the  metal.  Gold  ornaments  are  simply  hammered 
or  punched  into  shape  or  rudely  engraved,  and  are  practically 
never  cast  or  moulded.  They  are  often  made  hollow  from 
thin  plate  or  leaf,  the  interior  being  filled  up  with  lac.  Silver 
ones  are  commonly  cast  in  Saugor  and  Jubbulpore,  but  rarely 
elsewhere.  The  Sunar's  trade  appears  now  to  be  fairly  pros- 
perous, but  during  the  famines  it  was  greatly  depressed  and 
many  members  of  the  caste  took  to  other  occupations.  Many 
Sunars  make  small  articles  of  brass,  such  as  chains,  bells  and 
little  boxes.      Others  have  become  cultivators  and  drive  the 

1   Monograph  on  the  Gold  and  Silver-       rupee's  weight,  or  two-fifths  of  an  ounce. 
ware    of  the    Central    Provinces    (Mr.  '^  Journal  of  Indian  A)i,]\.\\y  i^og, 

11.  Nunn,  I.C.S.),  1904.     The  tola  is  a       p.  172. 


II  THE  SANCTITY  OF  GOLD  523 

plough  themselves,  a  practice  which  has  the  effect  of  spoiling 
their  hands,  and  also  prevents  them  from  giving  their  sons  a 
proper  training.  To  be  a  good  Sunar  the  hands  must  be 
trained  from  early  youth  to  acquire  the  necessary  delicacy  of 
touch.  The  Sunar's  son  sits  all  day  with  his  father  watching 
him  work  and  handling  the  ornaments.  Formerly  the  Sunar 
never  touched  a  plough.      Like  the  Pekin  ivory  painter — 

From  early  dawn  he  works  ; 

And  all  day  long",  and  when  night  comes  the  lamp 

Lights  up  his  studious  forehead  and  thin  hands. 

As  already  stated,  the  Sunar  obtains  some  social  distinc-  7.  The 
tion  from  working  in  gold,  which  is  a  very  sacred  metal  with  o^'g^jlf 
the  Hindus.  Gold  ornaments  must  not  on  this  account  be 
worn  below  the  waist,  as  to  do  so  would  be  considered  an 
indignity  to  the  holy  material,  Maratha  and  Khedawal 
l^rahman  women  will  not  have  ornaments  for  the  head  and 
arms  of  any  baser  metal  than  gold.  If  they  cannot  afford 
gold  bracelets  they  wear  only  glass  ones.  Other  castes  should, 
if  they  can  afford  it,  wear  only  gold  on  the  head.  And  at  any 
rate  the  nose-ring  and  small  earrings  in  the  upper  ear  should  be 
of  gold  if  worn  at  all.  When  a  man  is  at  the  point  of  death,  a 
little  gold,  Ganges  water,  and  a  leaf  of  the  tnlsi  or  basil  plant 
are  placed  in  his  mouth,  so  that  these  sacred  articles  may  ac- 
company him  to  the  other  world.  So  valuable  as  a  means  of 
securing  a  pure  death  is  the  presence  of  gold  in  the  mouth 
that  some  castes  have  small  pieces  inserted  into  a  couple  of 
their  upper  teeth,  in  order  that  wherever  and  whenever  they 
may  die,  the  gold  may  be  present  to  purify  them.^  A 
similar  idea  was  prevalent  in  Europe.  Auruni  potabile'^"  or 
drinkable  gold  was  a  favourite  nostrum  of  the  Middle  Ages, 
because  gold  being  perfect  should  produce  perfect  health  ; 
and  patients  when  in  extremis  were  commonly  given  water 
in  which  gold  had  been  washed.  And  the  belief  is  referred 
to  by  Shakespeare  : 

Therefore,  thou  best  of  gold  art  worst  of  gold  : 
Other,  less  fine  in  carat,  is  more  precious. 
Preserving  life  in  medicine  potable.-' 


^  From    a     monograph     on     rural  -  Lang,  Myth,  Ritual  atid  Religion, 

customs   in   Saugor,  by   Major  W.    D.        i.  p.  98. 
Sutherland,  LM.S.  '^  2  King  Henry  IV.  Act  IV.  Sc.  4. 


524 


SUNAR 


8.  Orna- 
ments. 
The  mar- 
riage orna- 
ments. 


The  metals  which  are  used  for  currency,  gold,  silver  and 
copper,  are  all  held  sacred  by  the  Hindus,  and  this  is  easily 
explained  on  the  grounds  of  their  intrinsic  value  and  their 
potency  when  employed  as  coin.  It  may  be  noted  that  when 
the  nickel  anna  coinage  was  introduced,  it  was  held  in  some 
localities  that  the  coins  could  not  be  presented  at  temples  as 
this  metal  was  not  sacred. 

It  can  scarcely  also  be  doubted  in  view  of  this  feeling 
that  the  wearing  of  both  gold  and  silver  in  ornaments  is  con- 
sidered to  have  a  protective  magical  effect,  like  that  attributed 
to  charms  and  amulets.  And  the  suggestion  has  been 
made  that  this  was  the  object  with  which  all  ornaments 
were  originally  worn.  Professor  Robertson  Smith  remarks  :  ^ 
"  Jewels,  too,  such  as  women  wore  in  the  sanctuary,  had  a 
sacred  character  ;  the  Syriac  word  for  an  earring  is  d  ddsha, 
'  the  holy  thing,'  and  generally  speaking,  jewels  serve  as 
amulets.  As  such  they  are  mainly  worn  to  protect  the 
chief  organs  of  action  (the  hands  and  feet),  but  especially 
the  orifices  of  the  body,  as  earrings  ;  nose-rings  hanging 
over  the  mouth  ;  jewels  on  the  forehead  hanging  down  and 
protecting  the  eyes."  The  precious  metals,  as  has  been  seen, 
are  usually  sacred  among  primitive  people,  and  when  made 
into  ornaments  they  have  the  same  sanctity  and  protective 
virtue  as  jewels.  The  subject  has  been  treated  ^  with  great 
fullness  of  detail  by  Sir  J.  Campbell,  and  the  different 
ornaments  worn  by  Hindu  women  of  the  Central  Provinces 
point  to  the  same  conclusion.  The  bindia  or  head  ornament 
of  a  Maratha  Brahman  woman  consists  of  two  chains  of 
silver  or  gold  and  in  the  centre  an  image  of  a  cobra  erect. 
This  is  Shesh-Nag,  the  sacred  snake,  who  spreads  his  hood 
over  all  the  lingas  of  Mahadeo  and  is  placed  on  the  woman's 
head  to  guard  her  in  the  same  way.  The  Kurmis  and 
other  castes  do  not  have  Shesh-Nag,  but  instead  the  centre 
of  the  bindia  consists  of  an  ornament  known  as  bija,  which 
represents  the  custard-apple,  the  sacred  fruit  of  Sita.  The 
nathni  or  nose-ring,  which  was  formerly  confined  to  high- 
caste  women,  represents  the  sun  and  moon.  The  large 
hoop  circle  is  the  sun,  and   underneath   in   the  part  below 


*  Religion  of  the  Semites,   note  B., 
P-  453- 


-  Bontlniy  Gazetteer,  Poona,Ki^'^.  D., 
Ornaments. 


LIST    OF    ORNAMENTS,    FROM    LEFT 
TO    RIGHT. 


Three   bracelets  on  top  of  board,   from   left  to  right  :■ — 
1. — Anklet  with  links  like  coils  of  a  snake. 
2. — Torn,   or  solid  anklet. 
3. — Naugrihi,   or  wristlet  of  nine  planets. 

Second   row,   from   left  to   right  :  — 
4. — Large  nathni,  or  nose-ring. 
5. — Another  nangrihi. 

6. — BTja,  or  custard  apple   worn  on  head  above  biiuiia. 
7. — Biiuiia,  or  ornament  worn   on  head. 
8. — Hamel,  or  necklace  of   rupees  with  betel-leaf  pendant. 

Third  row,    from   left  to  right  : — 

9. — Small  nathni,   or  nose-ring. 
-10. — Bora,  or  waistband  with  beads  like  smallpox  postules. 
11. — Kantha,  or  gold  necklace. 
12.     Bohta,   or  circlet  for  upper  arm. 
13. — Hasli,  or  necklet  like  collar-bone. 

Fourth  row,   from   left  to  right  : — 

14. — Karaiiphul,   or  earring  like  marigold. 

15. — Paijan,   or  hollow  tinkling  anklet. 

16. — Dhara,  or  earring  like  shield. 

17. — Another  anklet. 

18. — Another  armlet,   called  ''  koparbeUi." 


I 


II  BEADS  AND  OTHER  ORNAMENTS  525 

the  nose  is  a  small  segment,  which  is  the  crescent  moon 
and  is  hidden  when  the  ornament  is  in  wear.  On  the  front 
side  of  this  are  red  stones,  representing  the  sun,  and  on  the 
underside  white  ones  for  the  moon.  The  nathni  has  some 
mysterious  connection  with  a  woman's  virtue,  and  to  take 
off  her  nose-ring — nathni  utarna — signifies  to  dishonour  a 
woman  (Platts).  In  northern  India  women  wear  the  nose- 
ring very  large  and  sometimes  cover  it  with  a  piece  of  cloth 
to  guard  it  from  view  or  keep  it  in  parda.  It  is  possible 
that  the  practice  of  Hindu  husbands  of  cutting  off  the  nose 
of  a  wife  detected  in  adultery  has  some  similar  association, 
and  is  partly  intended  to  prevent  her  from  again  wearing 
a  nose-ring.  The  toe  ornament  of  a  high-caste  woman  is 
called  hichJiia  and  it  represents  a  scorpion  {bicJihii).  A  ring 
on  the  big  toe  stands  for  the  scorpion's  head,  a  silver  chain 
across  the  foot  ending  in  another  ring  on  the  little  toe  is 
his  body,  and  three  rings  with  high  projecting  knobs  on 
the  middle  toes  are  the  joints  of  his  tail  folded  back.  It 
is  of  course  supposed  that  the  ornament  protects  the  feet 
from  scorpion  bites.  These  three  ornaments,  the  bindia^ 
the  nathni  and  the  bicJiJiia,  must  form  part  of  the  Sohag  or 
wedding  dowry  of  every  high-caste  Hindu  girl  in  the 
northern  Districts,  and  she  cannot  be  married  without  them. 
But  if  the  family  is  poor  a  laong  or  gold  stud  to  be  worn 
in  the  nose  may  be  substituted  for  the  nose-ring.  This 
stud,  as  its  name  indicates,  is  in  the  form  of  a  clove,  which 
is  sacred  food  and  is  eaten  on  fast-days.  Burning  cloves 
are  often  used  to  brand  children  for  cold  ;  a  fresh  one  being 
employed  for  each  mark.  A  widow  may  not  wear  any  of 
these  ornaments  ;  she  is  always  impure,  being  perpetually 
haunted  by  the  ghost  of  her  dead  husband,  and  they  could 
thus  be  of  no  advantage  to  her ;  while,  on  the  other  hand, 
her  wearing  them  would  probably  be  considered  a  kind  of 
sacrilege  or  pollution  of  the  holy  ornaments. 

In  the  Maratha  Districts  an  essential  feature  of  a  wedding  9.  Beads 
is  the  hanging  of  the  mansral-sutrani  or  necklace  of  black  '''"''  °^^^\ 

!=>      o  t>  ornaments. 

beads  round  the  bride's  neck.  All  beads  which  shine  and 
reflect  the  light  are  considered  to  be  efficacious  in  averting 
the  evil  eye,  and  a  peculiar  virtue,  Sir  J.  Campbell  states, 
attaches   to    black    beads.      A    woman    wears    the    mammal- 


•526  SUNAR  PART 

sutram  or  marriage  string  of  beads  all  her  life,  and  considers 
that  her  husband's  life  is  to  some  extent  bound  up  in 
it.  If  she  breaks  the  thread  she  will  not  say  '  my  thread 
is  broken/  but  '  my  thread  has  increased ' ;  and  she  will  not 
let  her  husband  see  her  until  she  has  got  a  new  thread,  as 
she  thinks  that  to  do  so  would  cause  his  death.  The  many 
necklaces  of  beads  worn  by  the  primitive  tribes  and  the 
strings  of  blue  beads  tied  round  the  necks  of  oxen  and 
ponies  have  the  same  end  in  view.  A  similar  belief  was 
probably  partly  responsible  for  the  value  set  on  precious 
stones  as  ornaments,  and  especially  on  diamonds,  which 
sparkle  most  of  all.  The  pearl  is  very  sacred  among  the 
Hindus,  and  Madrasis  put  a  pearl  into  the  mouth  at  the 
time  of  death  instead  of  gold.  Partly  at  least  for  this 
purpose  pearls  are  worn  set  in  a  ring  of  gold  in  the  ear, 
so  that  they  may  be  available  at  need.  Coral  is  also  highly 
esteemed  as  an  amulet,  largely  because  it  is  supposed  to 
change  colour.  The  coral  given  to  babies  to  suck  may  have 
been  intended  to  render  the  soft  and  swollen  gums  at 
teething  hard  like  the  hard  red  stone.  Another  favourite 
shape  for  beads  of  gold  is  that  of  grains  of  rice,  rice  being 
a  sacred  grain.  The  gold  ornament  called  kantha  worn  on 
the  neck  has  carvings  of  the  flowers  of  the  singdra  or  water- 
nut.  This  is  a  holy  plant,  the  eating  of  which  on  fast-days 
gives  purity.  Hence  women  think  that  water  thrown  over 
the  carved  flowers  of  the  ornament  when  bathing  will  have 
greater  virtue  to  purify  their  bodies.  Another  favourite 
ornament  is  the  hamel  or  necklace  of  rupees.  The  sanctity 
of  coined  metal  would  probably  be  increased  by  the  royal 
image  and  superscription  and  also  by  its  virtue  as  currency. 
Mr.  Nunn  states  that  gold  mohur  coins  are  still  made  solely 
for  the  purpose  of  ornament,  being  commonly  engraved  with 
the  formula  of  belief  of  Islam  and  worn  by  Muhammadans 
as  a  charm.  Suspended  to  the  hamel  or  necklace  of  rupees 
in  front  is  a  silver  pendant  in  the  shape  of  a  betel-leaf,  this 
leaf  being  very  efficacious  in  magic  ;  and  on  this  is  carved 
either  the  image  of  Hanuman,  the  god  of  strength,  or  a 
peacock's  feather  as  a  symbol  of  Kartikeya,  the  god  of  war. 
The  silver  bar  necklet  known  as  Jiasli  is  intended  to 
resemble  the  collar-bone.      Children  carried  in  their  mother's 


II  BEADS  AND  OTHER  ORNA.IfENTS  527 

cloth  arc  liable  to  be  jarred  and  shaken  against  her  body, 
so  that  the  collar-bone  is  bruised  and  becomes  painful.  It 
is  thought  that  the  wearing  of  a  silver  collar-bone  will 
prevent  this,  just  as  silver  eyes  are  offered  in  smallpox  to 
protect  the  sufferer's  eyes  and  a  silver  wire  to  save  his 
throat  from  being  choked.  Little  children  sometimes  have 
round  the  waist  a  band  of  silver  beads  which  is  called  bora  ; 
these  beads  are  meant  to  resemble  the  smallpox  pustules 
and  the  bora  protects  the  wearer  from  smallpox.  There 
are  usually  84  beads,  this  number  being  lucky  among  the 
Hindus.  At  her  wedding  a  Hindu  bride  must  wear  a 
wristlet  of  nine  little  cones  of  silver  like  the  kalas  or 
pinnacle  of  a  temple.  This  is  called  nau-graJia  or  naic-giri 
and  represents  the  nine  planets  which  are  worshipped  at 
weddings — that  is,  the  sun,  moon  and  the  five  planets, 
Mars,  Mercury,  Jupiter,  Venus  and  Saturn,  which  were 
known  to  the  ancients  and  gave  their  names  to  the  days 
of  the  week  in  many  of  the  Aryan  languages  ;  while  the 
remaining  two  are  said  to  have  been  Rahu  and  Ketu,  the 
nodes  of  the  moon  and  the  demons  which  cause  eclipses. 
The  bonJita  or  bdnkra,  the  rigid  circular  bangle  on  the 
upper  arm,  is  supposed  to  make  a  woman's  arm  stronger  by 
the  pressure  exercised  on  the  veins  and  muscles.  Circular 
ornaments  worn  on  the  legs  similarly  strengthen  them  and 
prevent  a  woman  from  getting  stiffness  or  pins  and  needles 
in  her  legs  after  long  squatting  on  the  ground.  The 
c/iutka,  a  large  silver  ring  worn  by  men  on  the  big  toe,  is 
believed  to  attract  to  itself  the  ends  of  all  the  veins  and 
ligaments  from  the  navel  downwards,  and  hold  them  all 
braced  in  their  proper  position,  thus  preventing  rupture. 

On  their  feet  children  and  young  girls  wear  the  paijnn 
or  hollow  anklet  with  tinkling  balls  inside.  But  when  a 
married  woman  has  had  two  or  three  children  she  leaves  off 
the  paijan  and  wears  a  solid  anklet  like  the  tora  or  kasa. 
It  is  now  said  that  the  reason  why  girls  wear  sounding 
anklets  is  that  their  whereabouts  may  be  known  and  they 
may  be  prevented  from  getting  into  mischief  in  dark  corners. 
But  the  real  reason  was  probably  that  they  served  as  spirit 
scarers,  which  they  would  do  in  effect  by  frightening  away 
snakes,   scorpions  and   noxious  insects  ;  for  it  is  clear  that 


528  SUNAR  PART 

the  bites  of  such  reptiles  and  insects,  which  often  escape 
unseen,  must  be  largely  responsible  for  the  vast  imaginative 
fabric  of  the  belief  in  evil  spirits,  just  as  Professor  Robertson 
Smith  demonstrates  that  the  jins  or  genii  of  Arabia  were 
really  wild  animals.^  In  India,  owing  to  the  early  age  of 
marriage  and  the  superstitious  maltreatment  of  women  at 
child-birth,  the  mortality  among  girls  at  this  period  is  very 
high  ;  and  the  Hindus,  ignorant  of  the  true  causes,  probably 
consider  them  especially  susceptible  to  the  attacks  of  evil 
spirits, 
lo.  Ear-  Before  treating  of  ear-ornaments   it  will  be  convenient 

piercmg.  ^^  mention  briefly  the  custom  of  ear-piercing.  This  is 
universal  among  Hindus  and  Muhammadans,  both  male 
and  female,  and  the  operation  is  often  performed  by  the 
Sunar.  The  lower  Hindu  castes  and  the  Gonds  consider 
piercing  the  ears  to  be  the  mark  of  admission  to  the  caste 
community.  It  is  done  when  the  child  is  four  or  five  years 
old,  and  till  then  he  or  she  is  not  considered  to  be  a  member 
of  the  caste  and  may  consequently  take  food  from  anybody. 
The  Raj-Gonds  will  not  have  the  ears  of  their  children 
pierced  by  any  one  but  a  Sunar  ;  and  for  this  they  give 
him  stdha  or  a  seer  ^  of  wheat,  a  seer  of  rice  and  an  anna. 
Hindus  employ  a  Sunar  when  one  is  available,  but  if  not, 
an  old  man  of  the  family  may  act.  After  the  piercing 
a  peacock's  feather  or  some  stalks  of  grass  or  straw  are 
put  in  to  keep  the  hole  open  and  enlarge  it.  A  Hindu 
girl  has  her  ear  pierced  in  five  places,  three  being  in  the 
upper  ear,  one  in  the  lobe  and  one  in  the  small  flap  over 
the  orifice.  Muhammadans  make  a  large  number  of  holes 
all  down  the  ear  and  in  each  of  these  they  place  a  gold  or 
silver  ring,  so  that  the  ears  are  dragged  down  by  the  weight. 
Similarly  their  women  will  have  ten  or  fifteen  bangles  on 
the  legs.  The  Hindus  also  have  this  custom  in  Bhopal, 
but  if  they  do  it  in  the  Central  Provinces  they  are  chaffed 
with  having  become  Muhammadans,  In  the  upper  ear 
Hindu  women  have  an  ornament  in  the  shape  of  the  genda 
or  marigold,  a  sacred  flower  which  is  offered  to  all  the 
deities.  The  holes  in  the  upper  and  middle  ear  are  only 
large  enough  to  contain  a  small   ring,  but  that  in   the  lobe 

'  Religion  of  the  Semites,  Lecture  III.  ^2  lbs. 


II  ORIGIN  OF  EAR-PIERCING  529 

is  greatly  distended  among  the  lower  castes.  The  tarkhi 
or  Gond  ear-ornament  consists  of  a  glass  plate  fixed  on  to 
a  stem  of  auibari  fibre  nearly  an  inch  thick,  which  passes 
through  the  lobe.  As  a  consequence  the  lower  rim  is  a 
thin  pendulous  strip  of  flesh,  very  liable  to  get  torn.  But 
to  have  the  hole  torn  open  is  one  of  the  worst  social 
mishaps  which  can  happen  to  a  woman.  She  is  immediately 
put  out  of  caste  for  a  long  period,  and  only  readmitted 
after  severe  penalties,  equivalent  to  those  inflicted  for  getting 
vermin  in  a  wound.  When  a  woman  gets  her  ear  torn  she 
sits  weeping  in  her  house  and  refuses  to  be  comforted.  At 
the  ceremony  of  readmission  a  Sunar  is  sometimes  called 
in  who  stitches  up  the  ear  with  silver  thread.'  Low-caste 
Hindu  and  Gond  women  often  wear  a  large  circular 
embossed  silver  ornament  over  the  ear  which  is  known  as 
dhara  or  shield  and  is  in  the  shape  of  an  Indian  shield. 
This  is  secured  by  chains  to  the  hair  and  apparently  affords 
some  support  to  the  lower  part  of  the  ear,  which  it  also 
covers.  Its  object  seems  to  be  to  shield  and  protect  the 
lobe,  which  is  so  vulnerable  in  a  woman,  and  hence  the 
name.  A  similar  ornament  worn  in  Bengal  is  known  as 
dJienri  and  consists  of  a  shield-shaped  disk  of  gold,  worn 
on  the  lobe  of  the  ear,  sometimes  with  and  sometimes 
without  a  pendant.^ 

The  character  of  the  special  significance  which  apparently  n.  Origin 
attaches  to  the  custom  of  ear-piercing  is  obscure.  Dr. 
Jevons  considers  that  it  is  merely  a  relic  of  the  practice 
of  shedding  the  blood  of  different  parts  of  the  body  as  an 
offering  to  the  deity,  and  analogous  to  the  various  methods 
of  self- mutilation,  flagellation  and  gashing  of  the  flesh, 
whose  common  origin  is  ascribed  to  the  same  custom.  "  To 
commend  themselves  and  their  prayers  the  Quiches  pierced 
their  ears  and  gashed  their  arms  and  offered  the  sacrifice  of 
their  blood  to  their  gods.  The  practice  of  drawing  blood 
from  the  ears  is  said  by  Bastian  to  be  common  in  the 
Orient ;  and  Lippert  conjectures  that  the  marks  left  in  the 
ears  were  valued  as  visible  and  permanent  indications  that 

^   From  a  paper  on  Caste  Panchayats,  ^  Rajendra  Lai  Mitra,  InJo-Aiyans, 

by  the  Rev.  Failbus,  C.IVI.S.  Mission,       vol.  i.  p.  231. 
Mandla. 

VOL.  IV  2  M 


of  ear- 
piercing. 


530 


SUNAR 


12.  Orna- 
ments 
worn  as 

amulets. 


the  person  possessing  them  was  under  the  protection  of  the 
god  with  whom  the  worshipper  had  united  himself  by  his 
blood  offering.  In  that  case  earrings  were  originally  de- 
signed, not  for  ornament,  but  to  keep  open  and  therefore 
permanently  visible  the  marks  of  former  worship.  The 
marks  or  scars  left  on  legs  or  arms  from  which  blood  had 
been  drawn  were  probably  the  origin  of  tattooing,  as  has 
occurred  to  various  anthropologists."  ^  This  explanation, 
while  it  may  account  for  the  general  custom  of  ear-piercing, 
does  not  explain  the  special  guilt  imputed  by  the  Hindus 
to  getting  the  lobe  of  the  ear  torn.  Apparently  the  penalty 
is  not  imposed  for  the  tearing  of  the  upper  part  of  the 
ear,  and  it  is  not  known  whether  men  are  held  liable  as 
well  as  women  ;  but  as  large  holes  are  not  made  in  the  upper 
ear  at  all,  nor  by  men  in  the  lobe,  such  cases  would  very 
seldom  occur.  The  suggestion  may  be  made  as  a  speculation 
that  the  continuous  distension  of  the  lobe  of  the  ear  by  women 
and  the  large  hole  produced  is  supposed  to  have  some  sym- 
pathetic effect  in  opening  the  womb  and  making  child-birth 
more  easy.  The  tearing  of  the  ear  might  then  be  considered 
to  render  the  women  incapable  of  bearing  a  child,  and  the 
penalties  attached  to  it  would  be  sufficiently  explained. 

The  above  account  of  the  ornaments  of  a  Hindu  woman 
is  sufficient  to  show  that  her  profuse  display  of  them  is  not 
to  be  attributed,  as  is  often  supposed,  to  the  mere  desire  for 
adornment.  Each  ornament  originally  played  its  part  in 
protecting  some  limb  or  feature  from  various  dangers  of 
the  seen  or  unseen  world.  And  though  the  reasons  which 
led  to  their  adoption  have  now  been  to  a  large  extent  for- 
gotten and  the  ornaments  are  valued  for  themselves,  the 
shape  and  character  remain  to  show  their  real  significance. 
Women  as  being  weaker  and  less  accustomed  to  mix  in 
society  are  naturally  more  superstitious  and  fearful  of  the 
machinations  of  spirits.  And  the  same  argument  applies  in 
greater  degree  to  children.  The  Hindus  have  probably 
recognised  that  children  are  very  delicate  and  succumb 
easily  to  disease,  and  they  could  scarcely  fail  to  have  done 
so  when  statistics  show  that  about  a  quarter  of  all  the  babies 
born  in  India  die  in  the  first  year  of  age.      But  they  do  not 

^  Introdtiction  to  the  History  of  Religion,  3rd  ed.  p.  172. 


II  AUDHIA  SUNARS  531 

attribute  the  mortality  to  its  real  causes  of  congenital  weak- 
ness arising  from  the  immaturity  of  the  parents,  insanitary 
treatment  at  and  after  birth,  unsuitable  food,  and  the  general 
frailty  of  the  undeveloped  organism.  They  ascribe  the  loss 
of  their  offspring  solely  to  the  machinations  of  jealous  deities 
and  evil  spirits,  and  the  envy  and  admiration  of  other 
people,  especially  childless  women  and  witches,  who  cast 
the  evil  eye  upon  them.  And  in  order  to  guard  against 
these  dangers  their  bodies  are  decorated  with  amulets  and 
ornaments  as  a  means  of  protection.  But  the  result  is 
quite  other  than  that  intended,  and  the  ornaments  which  are 
meant  to  protect  the  children  from  the  imaginary  terrors  of 
the  evil  eye,  in  reality  merely  serve  as  a  whet  to  illicit 
cupidity,  and  expose  them  a  rich,  defenceless  prey  to  the 
violence  of  the  murderer  and  the  thief. 

The  Audhia  Sunars  usually  work  in  bell-metal,  an  alloy  13.  Audhia 
of  copper  or  tin  and  pewter.  When  used  for  ornaments  the  ^""^'■^• 
proportion  of  tin  or  pewter  is  increased  so  as  to  make  them 
of  a  light  colour,  resembling  silver  as  far  as  may  be.  Women 
of  the  higher  castes  may  wear  bell-metal  ornaments  only  on 
their  ankles  and  feet,  and  Maratha  and  Khedawal  Brahmans 
may  not  wear  them  at  all.  In  consequence  of  having 
adopted  this  derogatory  occupation,  as  it  is  considered,  the 
Audhia  Sunars  are  looked  down  on  by  the  rest  of  the  caste. 
They  travel  about  to  the  different  village  markets  carrying 
their  wares  on  ponies  ;  among  these,  perhaps,  the  favourite 
ornament  is  the  kara  or  curved  bar  anklets,  which  the 
Audhia  works  on  to  the  purchaser's  feet  for  her,  forcing 
them  over  the  heels  with  a  piece  of  iron  like  a  shoe-horn. 
The  process  takes  time  and  is  often  painful,  the  skin  being 
rasped  by  the  iron.  The  woman  is  supported  by  a  friend  as 
her  foot  is  held  up  behind,  and  is  sometimes  reduced  to  cries 
and  tears.  High-caste  women  do  not  much  affect  the  kara 
as  they  object  to  having  their  foot  grasped  by  the  Sunar. 
They  wear  instead  a  chain  anklet  which  they  can  work  on 
themselves.  The  Sunars  set  precious  stones  in  ornaments, 
and  this  is  also  done  by  a  class  of  persons  called  Jadia,  who 
do  not  appear  to  be  a  caste.  Another  body  of  persons 
accessory  to  the  trade  are  the  Niarias,  who  take  the  ashes 
and  sweepings  from  the  goldsmith's  shop,  paying  a  sum  of 


532  SUNAR  PART 

ten  or  twenty  rupees  annually  for  them.^      They  wash  away 
the  refuse  and  separate  the  grains  of  gold  and  silver,  which 
they  sell    back  to  the   Sunars.      Niaria  also  appears  to  be 
an  occupational  term,  and  not  a  caste. 
14.  The  Formerly  Sunars  were  employed  for  counting  and  testing 

n"o"fe-^^  money  in  the  public  treasuries,  and  in  this  capacity  they 
changer.  wcre  designated  as  Potdar  and  Saraf  or  Shroff.  Before  the 
introduction  of  the  standard  English  coinage  the  money- 
changer's business  was  important  and  profitable,  as  the 
rupee  varied  over  different  parts  of  the  country  exactly  as 
grain  measures  do  now.  Thus  the  Pondicherry  rupee  was 
worth  26  annas,  while  the  Gujarat  rupee  would  not  fetch 
\2\  annas' in  the  bazar.  In  Bengal,^  at  the  beginning  of 
the  nineteenth  century,  people  who  wished  to  make  purchases 
had  first  to  exchange  their  rupees  for  cowries.  The  Potdar 
carried  his  cowries  to  market  in  the  morning  on  a  bullock, 
and  gave  5760  cowries  for  a  new  kalddr  or  English  rupee, 
while  he  took  5920  cowries  in  exchange  for  a  rupee  when 
his  customers  wanted  silver  back  in  the  evening  to  take 
away  with  them.  The  profit  on  the  kalddr  rupee  was  thus 
one  thirty-sixth  on  the  two  transactions,  while  all  old  rupees, 
and  every  kind  of  rupee  but  the  kaldm',  paid  various  rates 
of  exchange  or  batta^  according  to  the  will  of  the  money- 
changers, who  made  a  higher  profit  on  all  other  kinds  of 
money  than  the  kalddr.  They  therefore  resisted  the  general 
introduction  of  these  rupees  as  long  as  possible,  and  when 
this  failed  they  hit  on  a  device  of  marking  the  rupees  with  a 
stamp,  under  pretext  of  ascertaining  whether  they  were  true 
or  false  ;  after  which  the  rupee  was  not  exchangeable  with- 
out paying  an  additional  batta,  and  became  as  valuable  to 
the  money-changers  as  if  it  were  foreign  coin.  As  justifica- 
tion for  their  action  they  pretended  to  the  people  that  the 
marks  would  enable  those  who  had  received  the  rupees  to  have 
them  changed  should  any  other  dealer  refuse  them,  and  the 
necessities  of  the  poor  compelled  them  to  agree  to  any  batta 
or  exchange  rather  than  suffer  delay.  This  was  apparently 
the  origin  of  the  '  Shroff-marked  rupees,'  familiar  to  readers 
of  the  Treasury  Manual;  and  the  line  in  a  Bhat  song,  'The 

^   Monograph,  loc.  cit. 
'^  This  account  is  taken  from  Buchanan's  Eastern  India,  vol.  ii.  p.   lOO. 


II  MALPRACTICES  OF  LOWER-CLASS  SUNARS         533 

English   have    made   current   the    kaldar  (milled)  rupee,'  is 
thus  seen  to  be  no  empty  praise. 

As    the    bulk    of   the   capital    of    the    poorer   classes    is  15.  Mai- 
hoarded  in  the  shape  of  gold  and  silver  ornaments,  these  are  practices  of 

^  °  lower-class 

regularly  pledged  when  ready  money  is  needed,  and  the  Sunars. 
Sunar  often  acts  as  a  pawnbroker.  In  this  capacity  he  too 
often  degenerates  into  a  receiver  of  stolen  property,  and  Mr. 
Nunn  suggested  that  his  proceedings  should  be  supervised 
by  license.  Generally,  the  Sunar  is  suspected  of  making 
an  illicit  profit  by  mixing  alloy  with  the  metal  entrusted  to 
him  by  his  customers,  and  some  bitter  sayings  are  current 
about  him.  One  of  his  customs  is  to  filch  a  little  gold 
from  his  mother  and  sister  on  the  last  day  of  Shrawan 
(July)  and  make  it  into  a  luck-penny.^  This  has  given 
rise  to  the  saying,  *  The  Sunar  will  not  respect  even  his 
mother's  gold ' ;  but  the  implication  appears  to  be  unjust. 
Another  saying  is  :  '  Sona  Sunar  kd,  abJiarmi  sansdr  ka^ 
or,  '  The  ornament  is  the  customer's,  but  the  gold  remains 
with  the  Sunar.'  -  Gold  is  usually  melted  in  the  employer's 
presence,  who,  to  guard  against  fraud,  keeps  a  small  piece 
of  the  metal  called  cJidsni  or  indslo,  that  is  a  sample,  and 
when  the  ornament  is  ready  sends  it  with  the  sample  to 
an  assayer  or  CJioksJii  who,  by  rubbing  them  on  a 
touchstone,  tells  whether  the  gold  in  the  sample  and  the 
ornament  is  of  the  same  quality.  Further,  the  employer 
either  himself  sits  near  the  Sunar  while  the  ornament  is 
being  made  or  sends  one  of  his  family  to  watch.  In  spite 
of  these  precautions  the  Sunar  seldom  fails  to  filch  some  of 
the  gold  while  the  spy's  attention  is  distracted  by  the 
prattling  of  the  parrot,  by  the  coquetting  of  a  handsomely 
dressed  young  woman  of  the  family  or  by  some  organised 
mishap  in  the  inner  rooms  among  the  women  of  the  house.^ 
One  of  his  favourite  practices  is  to  substitute  copper  for 
gold  in  the  interior,  and  this  he  has  the  best  chance  of  doing 
with  the  marriage  ornaments,  as  many  people  consider  it 
unlucky  to  weigh  or  test  the  quality  of  these."*  The  account 
must,  however,  be  taken  to  apply  only  to  the  small  artisans, 

^  Bombay  Gazettee?;  vol.  xii.  p.  71.  '  Bombay      Gazetteer,     Hindus     of 

Gujarat,  pp.   199,  200. 
^  Temple  and  Fallon's  Hindustani  ■*  Pandian's    Indian     Village    Folk, 

Proverbs.  P-  41- 


534  •  SUNDI  PART 

and  well-to-do  reputable  Sunars  would  be  above  such 
practices. 

The  goldsmith's  industry  has  hitherto  not  been  affected 
to  any  serious  extent  by  the  competition  of  imported  goods, 
and  except  during  periods  of  agricultural  depression  the 
Sunar  continues  to  prosper. 

A  Persian  couplet  said  by  a  lover  to  his  mistress  is, 
'  Gold  has  no  scent  and  in  the  scent  of  flowers  there  is  no 
gold  ;   but  thou  both  art  gold  and  hast  scent.' 

Sundi,  Sundhi,  Sunri  or  SondhiJ- — The  liquor-distilling 
caste  of  the  Uriya  country.  The  transfer  of  Sambalpur  and 
the  Uriya  States  to  Bihar  and  Orissa  has  reduced  their 
strength  in  the  Central  Provinces  to  about  5000,  found  in  the 
Raipur  District  and  the  Bastar  and  Chota  Nagpur  Feudatory 
States.  The  caste  is  an  important  one  in  Bengal,  numbering 
more  than  six  lakhs  of  persons  and  being  found  in  western 
Bengal  and  Bihar  as  well  as  in  Orissa.  The  word  Sundi  is 
derived  from  the  Sanskrit  Shaundik,  a  spirit-seller.  The 
caste  has  various  genealogies  of  differing  degrees  of  respecta- 
bility, tracing  their  origin  to  cross  unions  between  other 
castes  born  of  Brahmans,  Kshatriyas,  and  Vaishyas.  The 
following  story  is  told  of  them  in  Madras.^  In  ancient  times 
a  certain  Brahman  was  famous  for  his  magical  attainments. 
The  -king  of  the  country  sent  for  him  one  day  and  asked 
him  to  cause  the  water  in  a  tank  to  burn.  The  Brahman 
saw  no  way  of  doing  this,  and  returned  homewards  uneasy 
in  his  mind.  On  the  way  he  met  a  distiller  who  asked  him 
to  explain  what  troubled  him.  When  the  Brahman  told  his 
story  the  distiller  promised  to  cause  the  water  to  burn  on 
condition  that  the  Brahman  gave  him  his  daughter  in 
marriage.  This  the  Brahman  agreed  to  do,  and  the  distiller, 
after  surreptitiously  pouring  large  quantities  of  liquor  into 
the  tank,  set  fire  to  it  in  the  presence  of  the  king.  In 
accordance  with  the  agreement  he  married  the  daughter  of 
the  Brahman  and  the  pair  became  the  ancestors  of  the 
Sundi  caste.  In  confirmation  of  the  story  it  is  alleged  that 
up  to  the  present  day  the  women  of  the  caste  maintain  the 

1  This  article  is  compiled  from  a  paper  by  Mr.  D.  Mitra,  pleader,  Sambalpur. 
'^  Madras  Census  Report,  1891,  p.  301. 


II  SUNDI  535 

recollection  of  their  Brahman  ancestors  by  refusing  to  cat 
fowls  or  the  remains  of  their  husbands'  meals.  Nor  will 
they  take  food  from  the  hands  of  any  other  caste.  Sir  H. 
Risley  relates  the  following  stories  current  about  the  caste  in 
Bengal,  where  its  status  is  very  low  :  "  According  to  Hindu 
ideas,  distillers  and  sellers  of  strong  drink  rank  among  the 
most  degraded  castes,  and  a  curious  story  in  the  Vaivarta 
Furana  keeps  alive  the  memory  of  their  degradation.  It  is 
said  that  when  Sani,  the  Hindu  Saturn,  failed  to  adapt  an 
elephant's  head  to  the  mutilated  trunk  of  Ganesh  who  had 
been  accidentally  slain  by  Siva,  Viswakarma,  the  celestial 
artificer,  was  sent  for,  and  by  careful  dissection  and  manipula- 
tion he  fitted  the  incongruous  parts  together,  and  made  a 
man  called  Kedara  Sena  from  the  slices  cut  off  in  fashioning 
his  work.  This  Kedara  Sena  was  ordered  to  fetch  a  drink 
of  water  for  Bhagavati,  weary  and  athirst.  Finding  on  the 
river's  bank  a  shell  full  of  water  he  presented  it  to  her, 
without  noticing  that  a  few  grains  of  rice  left  in  it  by  a 
parrot  had  fermented  and  formed  an  intoxicating  liquid. 
Bhagavati,  as  soon  as  she  had  drunk,  became  aware  of  the 
fact,  and  in  her  anger  condemned  the  offender  to  the  vile 
and  servile  occupation  of  making  spirituous  liquors  for  man- 
kind." Like  other  castes  in  Sambalpur  the  Sundis  have 
two  subcastes,  the  Jharua  and  the  Utkal  or  Uriya,  of  whom 
the  Jharuas  probably  immigrated  from  Orissa  at  an  earlier 
period  and  adopted  some  of  the  customs  of  the  indigenous 
tribes  ;  for  this  reason  they  are  looked  down  on  by  the  more 
orthodox  Utkalis.  The  caste  say  that  they  belong  to  the 
Nagas  or  snake  gotra,  because  they  consider  themselves  to 
be  descended  from  Basuki,  the  serpent  with  a  thousand 
heads  who  formed  a  canopy  for  Vishnu.  They  also  have 
bargas  or  family  titles,  but  these  at  present  exercise  no 
influence  on  marriage.  The  Sundis  have  in  fact  outgrown 
the  system  of  exogamy  and  regulate  their  marriages  by  a 
table  of  prohibited  degrees  in  the  ordinary  manner,  the 
unions  of  sapindas  or  persons  who  observe  mourning  together 
at  a  death  being  prohibited.  The  prohibition  does  not 
extend  to  cognatic  relationship,  but  a  man  must  not  marry 
into  the  family  of  his  paternal  aunt.  The  fact  that  the  old 
bargas    or    exogamous     groups    are    still     in    existence     is 


536  T AM  ERA  part 

interesting,  and  an  intermediate  step  in  the  process  of  their 
abandonment  may  be  recognised  in  the  fact  that  some  of 
them  are  subdivided.  Thus  the  Sahu  (lord)  group  has  spHt 
into  the  Gaj  Sahu  (lord  of  the  elephant),  Dhavila  Sahu 
(white  lord),  and  Amila  Sahu  sub-groups,  and  it  need  not 
be  doubted  that  this  was  a  convenient  method  adopted  for 
splitting  up  the  Sahu  group  when  it  became  so  large  as  to 
include  persons  so  distantly  connected  with  each  other  that 
the  prohibition  of  marriage  between  them  was  obviously 
ridiculous.  As  the  number  of  Sundis  in  the  Central 
Provinces  is  now  insignificant  no  detailed  description  of  their 
customs  need  be  given,  but  one  or  two  interesting  points 
may  be  noted.  Their  method  of  observing  the  pitripaksh 
or  worship  of  ancestors  is  as  follows  :  A  human  figure  is 
made  of  kusha  grass  and  placed  under  a  miniature  straw  hut. 
A  lamp  is  kept  burning  before  it  for  ten  days,  and  every  day 
a  twig  for  cleaning  the  teeth  is  placed  before  it,  and  it  is 
supplied  with  fried  rice  in  the  morning  and  rice,  pulse  and 
vegetables  in  the  evening.  On  the  tenth  day  the  priest 
comes,  and  after  bathing  the  figure  seven  times,  places  boiled 
rice  before  it  for  the  last  meal,  and  then  sets  fire  to  the  hut 
and  burns  it,  while  repeating  sacred  verses.  On  the  eleventh 
day  after  a  death,  when  presents  for  the  use  of  the  deceased 
are  made  to  a  priest  as  his  representative,  the  priest  lies 
down  in  the  new  bed  which  is  given  to  him,  and  the 
members  of  the  family  rub  his  feet  and  attend  on  him  as  if 
he  were  the  dead  man.  He  is  also  given  a  present  sufficient 
to  purchase  food  for  him  for  a  year.  The  Sundis  worship 
Suradevi  or  the  goddess  of  wine,  whom  they  consider  as 
their  mother,  and  they  refuse  to  drink  liquor,  saying  that 
this  would  be  to  enjoy  their  own  mother.  They  worship 
the  still  and  all  articles  used  in  distillation  at  the  rice- 
harvest  and  when  the  new  mango  crop  appears.  Large 
numbers  of  them  have  taken  to  cultivation. 

I.  The  Tamera,  Tambatkar/ — The  professional  caste  of  copper- 

^^^Z^ .     smiths,  the  name  being  derived  from   tdmba,  copper.      The 

'  This  article  is  based  on  information  Damoh;  Mr.  Tarachand  Dube,  Munici- 
contributed  by  Nand  Kishore,  Nazir  of  pal  Member,  Bilaspvu";  and  Mr.  Aduram 
the     Deputy     Commissioner's     Office,       Chaudhri  of  the  Gazetteer  Office. 


u  SOCIAL  TRADITIONS  AND  CUSTOMS  S2,7 

Tamcras,  however,  like  the  Kasars  or  brass -workers,  use 
copper,  brass  and  bell-metal  indifferently,  and  in  the  northern 
Districts  the  castes  arc  not  really  distinguished,  Tamcra  and 
Kasar  being  almost  interchangeable  terms.  In  the  Maratha 
country,  however,  and  other  localities  they  are  considered  as 
distinct  castes.  Copper  is  a  sacred  metal,  and  the  copper- 
smith's calling  would  be  considered  somewhat  more  respect- 
able than  that  of  the  worker  in  brass  or  bell-metal,  just  as 
the  Sunar  or  goldsmith  ranks  above  both  ;  and  probably, 
therefore,  the  Tameras  may  consider  themselves  a  little 
better  than  the  Kasars.  As  brass  is  an  alloy  made  from 
copper  and  zinc,  it  seems  likely  that  vessels  were  made 
from  copper  before  they  were  made  from  brass.  But  copper 
being  a  comparatively  rare  and  expensive  metal,  utensils 
made  from  it  could  scarcely  have  ever  been  generally  used, 
and  it  is  therefore  not  necessary  to  suppose  that  either  the 
Tamera  or  Kasar  caste  came  into  being  before  the  adoption 
of  brass  as  a  convenient  material  for  the  household  pots  and 
pans. 

In    191 1    the   Tameras   numbered   about    5000  persons  2.  Social 
in   the  Central   Provinces    and   Berar.      They  tell   the   same  '•'^f'^'o"' 

•'  and 

Story  of  their  origin  which  has  already  been  related  in  the  customs. 
article  on  the  Kasar  caste,  and  trace  their  descent  from 
the  Haihaya  Rajput  dynasty  of  Ratanpur.  They  say  that 
when  the  king  Dharampal,  the  first  ancestor  of  the  caste,  was 
married,  a  bevy  of  1 1 9  girls  were  sent  with  his  bride  in 
accordance  with  the  practice  still  occasionally  obtaining  among 
royal  Hindu  families,  and  these,  as  usual,  became  the  con- 
cubines of  the  husband  or,  as  the  Tameras  say,  his  wives  :  and 
from  the  bride  and  her  companions  the  120  exogamous 
sections  of  the  caste  are  sprung.  As  a  fact,  however,  many  of 
the  sections  are  named  after  villages  or  natural  objects.  A 
man  is  not  permitted  to  marry  any  one  belonging  to  his  own 
section  or  that  of  his  mother,  the  union  of  first  cousins  being 
thus  prohibited.  The  caste  also  do  not  favour  Anta  sdnta  or 
the  practice  of  exchanging  girls  between  families,  the  reason 
alleged  being  that  after  the  bride's  father  has  acknowledged 
the  superiority  of  the  bridegroom's  father  by  washing  his 
feet,  it  is  absurd  to  require  the  latter  to  do  the  same,  that  is, 
to  wash  the  feet  of  his  inferior.      So  they  may  not  take  a 


538  TAMERA  part 

girl  from  a  family  to  which  they  have  given  one  of  their  own. 
The  real  reason  for  the  rule  lies  possibly  in  an  extension  of 
the  principle  of  exogamy,  whether  based  on  a  real  fear  of 
carrying  too  far  the  practice  of  intermarriage  between  families 
or  an  unfounded  superstition  that  intermarriage  between 
families  already  connected  may  have  the  same  evil  results  on 
the  offspring  as  the  union  of  blood-relations.  When  the 
wedding  procession  is  about  to  start,  after  the  bridegroom  has 
been  bathed  and  before  he  puts  on  the  kankan  or  iron  wristlet 
which  is  to  protect  him  from  evil  spirits,  he  is  seated  on  a 
stool  while  all  the  male  members  of  the  household  come  up 
with  their  choti  or  scalp-lock  untied  and  rub  it  against  that 
of  the  bridegroom.  Again,  after  the  wedding  ceremonies  are 
over  and  the  bridegroom  has,  according  to  rule,  untied  one  of 
the  fastenings  of  the  marriage-shed,  he  also  turns  over  a 
tile  of  the  roof  of  the  house.  The  meaning  of  the  latter 
ceremony  is  not  clear ;  the  significance  attaching  to  the 
cJioti  has  been  discussed  in  the  article  on  Nai. 
3.  Disposal  The  caste  burn  their  dead   except  children,  who  can  be 

buried,  and  observe  mourning  for  ten  days  in  the  case  of  an 
adult  and  for  three  days  for  a  child.  A  cake  of  flour 
containing  two  pice  (farthings)  is  buried  or  burnt  with  the 
corpse.  When  a  death  takes  place  among  the  community 
all  the  members  of  it  stop  making  vessels  for  that  day,  though 
they -will  transact  retail  sales.  When  mourning  is  over,  a 
feast  is  given  to  the  caste-fellows  and  to  seven  members  of 
the  menial  and  serving  castes.  These  are  known  as  the 
'  Sattiho  Jat '  or  Seven  Castes,  and  it  may  be  conjectured 
that  in  former  times  they  were  the  menials  of  the  village  and 
were  given  a  meal  in  much  the  same  spirit  as  prompts  an 
English  landlord  to  give  his  tenants  a  dinner  on  occasions 
of  ceremony.  Instances  of  a  similar  custom  are  noted 
among  the  Kunbis  and  other  castes.  Before  food  is  served 
to  the  guests  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. 
4.  Rdi-  The    caste    worship  the  goddess   Singhbahani    or    Devi 

gion.  riding  on  a  tiger.      They  make  an  image  of  her  in  the  most 

expensive  metal  they  can  afford,  and  worship  it  daily.    They 
will  on  no  account  swear  by  this  goddess.     They  worship 


of  the 
dead. 


11  TAONLA  539 

their  trade  implements  on  the  day  of  the  new  moon  in  Chait 
(March)  and  Bhadon  (August).  A  trident,  as  a  symbol  of 
Devi,  is  then  drawn  with  powdered  rice  and  vermilion  on 
the  furnace  for  casting  metal.  A  lamp  is  waved  over  the 
furnace  and  a  cocoanut  is  broken  and  distributed  to  the  caste- 
fellows,  no  outsider  being  allowed  to  be  present.  They 
quench  their  furnace  on  the  new  moon  day  of  every  month,  the 
Ramnaomi  and  Durgapuja  or  nine  days'  fasts  in  the  months 
of  Chait  and  Kunwar,  and  for  the  two  days  following  the 
Diwali  and  Holi  festivals.  On  these  days  they  will  not 
prepare  any  new  vessels,  but  will  sell  those  which  they  have 
ready.  The  Tameras  have  Kanaujia  Brahmans  for  their 
priests,  and  the  Brahmans  will  take  food  from  them  which 
has  been  cooked  without  water  and  salt.  On  this  account 
other  Kanaujia  Brahmans  require  a  heavy  payment  before 
they  will  marry  with  the  priests  of  the  Tameras.  The  caste 
abstain  from  liquor,  and  some  of  them  have  abjured  all  flesh 
food  while  others  partake  of  it.  They  usually  wear  the 
sacred  thread.  Brahmans  will  take  water  from  their  hands, 
and  the  menial  castes  will  eat  food  which  they  have  touched. 
They  work  in  brass,  copper  and  bell-metal  in  exactly  the 
same  manner  as  the  Kasars,  and  have  an  equivalent  social 
position. 

Taenia. — -A  small  non-Aryan  caste  of  the  Uriya  States. 
They  reside  principally  in  Bamra  and  Sonpur,  and  numbered 
about  2000  persons  in  1901,  but  since  the  transfer  of  these 
States  to  Bengal  are  not  found  in  the  Central  Provinces. 
The  name  is  said  to  be  derived  from  Talmiil,  a  village  in 
the  Angul  District  of  Orissa,  and  they  came  to  Bamra  and 
Sonpur  during  the  Orissa  famine  of  1866.  The  Taonlas 
appear  to  be  a  low  occupational  caste  of  mixed  origin,  but 
derived  principally  from  the  Khond  tribe.  Formerly  their 
profession  was  military  service,  and  it  is  probable  that  like 
the  Khandaits  and  Paiks  they  formed  the  levies  of  some  of 
the  Uriya  Rajas,  and  gradually  became  a  caste.  They  have 
three  subdivisions,  of  which  the  first  consists  of  the  Taonlas 
whose  ancestors  were  soldiers.  These  consider  themselves 
superior  to  the  others,  and  their  family  names  as  Naik 
(leader),  Padhan  (chief),  Khandait  (swordsman),  and  Behra 


540  T AON  LA  part 

(master  of  the  kitchen)  indicate  their  ancestral  profession. 
The  other  subcastes  are  called  Dangua  and  Khond ;  the 
Danguas,  who  are  hill-dwellers,  are  more  primitive  than  the 
military  Taonlas,  and  the  Khonds  are  apparently  members 
of  that  tribe  of  comparatively  pure  descent  who  marry 
among  themselves  and  not  with  other  Taonlas.  In  Orissa 
Dr.  Hunter  says  that  the  Taonlas  are  allied  to  the  Savaras, 
and  that  they  will  admit  a  member  of  any  caste,  from  whose 
hands  they  can  take  water,  into  the  community.  This  is 
also  the  case  in  Bamra.  The  candidate  has  simply  to 
worship  Kalapat,  the  god  of  the  Taonlas,  and  after  drinking 
some  water  in  which  basil  leaves  have  been  dipped,  to  touch 
the  food  prepared  for  a  caste  feast,  and  his  initiation  is 
complete.  As  usual  among  the  mixed  castes,  female 
morality  is  very  lax,  and  a  Taonla  woman  may  have  a 
liaison  with  a  man  of  her  own  or  any  other  caste  from 
whom  a  Taonla  can  take  water  without  incurring  any 
penalty  whatsoever.  A  man  committing  a  similar  offence 
must  give  a  feast  to  the  caste.  In  Sonpur  the  Taonlas 
admit  a  close  connection  with  Chasas,  and  say  that  some  of 
their  families  are  descended  from  the  union  of  Chasa  men 
and  Taonla  women.  They  will  eat  the  leavings  of  Chasas. 
The  custom  may  be  accounted  for  by  the  fact  that  the 
Taonlas  are  now  generally  farmservants  and  field-labourers, 
and  the  Chasas,  as  cultivators,  would  be  their  employers. 
A  similar  close  connection  is  observable  among  other  castes 
standing  in  the  same  position  towards  each  other  as  the 
Panwars  and  Gonds  and  the  Rajbhars  and  Lodhis. 

The  Taonlas  have  no  exogamous  divisions  as  they  all 
belong  to  the  same  gotra,  that  of  the  Nag  or  cobra.  Their 
marriages  are  therefore  regulated  by  relationship  in  the 
ordinary  manner.  If  two  families  find  that  they  have  no 
common  ancestor  up  to  the  third  generation  they  consider 
it  lawful  to  intermarry.  The  marriage  ritual  is  of  the  usual 
Uriya  form.  After  the  marriage  the  bride  and  the  bridegroom 
have  a  ceremony  of  throwing  a  mahua  branch  into  a  river 
together.  Divorce  and  widow  remarriage  are  permitted. 
When  a  woman  is  divorced  she  returns  her  bangles  to  her 
husband,  and  receives  from  him  a  chhor-chitthi  or  letter 
severing    connection.       Then     she    goes    before    the    caste 


II  TAONLA  541 

panchdyat  and  pronounces  her  husband's  name  aloud.  This 
shows  that  she  is  no  longer  his  wife,  since  so  long  as  she 
continued  to  be  so,  she  would  never  mention  his  name. 

The  tutelary  deity  of  the  caste  is  Kalapat,  who  resides 
at  Talmul  in  Angul  District.  They  offer  him  a  goat  at  the 
festival  of  Nawakhai  when  the  new  rice  is  first  eaten.  On 
this  day  they  also  worship  a  cattle-goad  as  the  symbol  of 
their  vocation.  They  revere  the  cobra,  and  will  not  wear 
wooden  sandals  because  they  think  that  the  marks  on  a 
cobra's  head  are  in  the  form  of  a  sandal.  They  believe  in 
re-birth,  and  when  a  child  is  born  they  proceed  to  ascertain 
what  ancestor  has  become  reincarnate  by  dropping  rice 
grains  coloured  with  turmeric  into  a  pot  of  water.  As  each 
one  is  dropped  they  repeat  the  name  of  an  ancestor,  and 
when  the  first  grain  floats  conclude  that  the  one  named  has 
been  born  again.  The  dead  are  both  buried  and  burnt. 
At  the  head  of  a  grave  they  plant  a  bough  of  the  jdmim 
tree  (^Eugenia  jainbold7ia)  so  that  the  departed  spirit  may 
dwell  under  this  cool  and  shady  tree  in  the  other  world  or 
in  his  next  birth.  They  have  also  a  ceremony  for  bringing 
back  the  soul.  An  earthen  pot  is  placed  upside  down  on 
four  legs  outside  the  village,  and  on  the  eleventh  day  after 
a  death  they  proceed  to  the  place,  ringing  a  bell  suspended 
to  an  iron  rod.  A  cloth  is  spread  before  the  spot  on  which 
the  spirit  of  the  deceased  is  supposed  to  be  sitting,  and  they 
wait  till  an  insect  alights  on  it.  This  is  taken  to  be  the 
soul  of  the  dead  person,  and  it  is  carefully  wrapped  up  in 
the  cloth  and  carried  to  the  house.  There  the  cloth  is  un- 
folded and  the  insect  allowed  to  go,  while  they  proceed  to 
inspect  some  rice-flour  which  has  been  spread  on  the  ground 
under  another  pot  in  the  house.  If  any  mark  is  found  on 
the  surface  of  the  flour  they  think  that  the  dead  man's  spirit 
has  returned  to  the  house.  The  carrying  back  of  the  insect 
is  thus  an  act  calculated  to  assist  their  belief,  by  the  simple 
performance  of  which  they  are  able  to  suppose  more  easily 
that  the  invisible  spirit  has  returned  to  the  house.  As 
already  stated,  the  Taonlas  are  now  generally  farmservants 
and  labourers,  and  their  social  position  is  low,  though  they 
rank  above  the  impure  castes  and  the  forest  tribes. 


lO. 

Social  statics. 

1 1. 

Social    customs    and   cast 

penalties. 

12. 

The  Rather  Tclis. 

13- 

Gujardti  Telis  of  Nimdr. 

14. 

The  Teli  an  unlucky  caste. 

15- 

Occupation.      Oilpressing. 

16. 

Trade  and  agriculture. 

Teli  benefi 

-ence. 

TELI 

LIST  OF   PARAGRAPHS 

1.  Strength  and  distribution  of      9.    Customs  at  birth  and  death. 

the  caste. 

2.  Origin  and  traditions. 

3.  Etidogamous  sub  castes. 

4.  Exogamous  divisions. 

5.  Marriage  customs. 

6.  Widow-remarriage. 

7.  Religion.      Caste  deities. 

8.  Driving  out  evil. 

17. 

I.  Strength  TgII/ — The  occupational  caste  of  oil-pressers  and  sellers, 

^"b  t'^  f  ^^^  Telis  numbered  nearly  900,000  persons  in  191 1,  being 
the  caste,  the  fifth  castc  in  the  Province  in  point  of  population.  They 
are  numerous  in  the  Chhattisgarh  and  Nagpur  Divisions, 
nearly  400,000  belonging  to  the  former  and  200,000  to  the 
latter  tract ;  while  in  Berar  and  the  north  of  the  Province 
they  are  sparsely  represented.  The  reason  for  such  a 
distribution  of  the  caste  is  somewhat  obscure.  Vegetable 
oil  is  more  largely  used  for  food  in  the  south  and  east  than 
in  the  north,  but  while  this  custom  might  explain  the  pre- 
ponderance of  Telis  in  Nagpur  and  Chhattisgarh  it  gives  no 
reason  to  account  for  their  small  numbers  in  Berar.  In 
Chhattisgarh  again  nearly  all  the  Telis  are  cultivators,  and 
it  may  be  supposed  that,  like  the  Chamars,  they  have  found 
opportunity  here  to  get  possession  of  the  land  owing  to  its 
not  being  already  taken  up  by  the  cultivating  castes  proper  ; 
but  in  the  Nagpur  Division,  with  the  exception  of  part  01 
Wardha,  the  Telis  have  had   no  such  opening  and  are  not 

'  This  article  is  based  on  papers  Pacha,  Tahsildar,  Seoni ;  Mr.  Chinta- 
by  Mr.  I'rem  Narayan,  Extra  Assist-  man  Rao,  Tahsildar,  Chanda  ;  and  Mr. 
ant  Commissioner,  Chanda ;    Mr.    Mir       K.  G.  Vaidya,  Chanda. 

542 


tions. 


PART  II  ORIGIN  AND  TRADITIONS  543 

large  landholders.  Their  distribution  thus  remains  a  some- 
what curious  problem.  \\\\\.  all  over  the  Province  the  Telis 
have  generally  abandoned  their  hereditary  trade  of  pressing 
oil,  and  have  taken  to  trade  and  agriculture,  the  number  of 
those  returned  as  oil-pressers  being  only  about  seven  per  cent 
of  the  total  strength  of  the  caste.  The  name  comes  from 
the  Sanskrit  tailika  or  taila,  oil,  and  this  word  is  derived  from 
the  tilli  or  sesamum  plant. 

The  caste  have  few  traditions  of  origin.  Their  usual  2.  Origin 
story  is  that  during  Siva's  absence  the  goddess  Parvati  felt  ^^^  ^^^^^' 
nervous  because  she  had  no  doorkeeper  to  her  palace,  and 
therefore  she  made  the  god  Ganesh  from  the  sweat  of  her 
body  and  set  him  to  guard  the  southern  gate.  But  when 
Siva  returned  Ganesh  did  not  know  him  and  refused  to  let 
him  enter  ;  on  which  Siva  was  so  enraged  that  he  cut  off 
the  head  of  Ganesh  with  a  stroke  of  his  sword.  He  then 
entered  the  palace,  and  Parvati,  observing  the  blood  on  his 
sword,  asked  him  what  had  happened,  and  reproached  him 
bitterly  for  having  slain  her  son.  Siva  was  distressed,  but 
said  that  he  could  not  replace  the  head  as  it  was  already 
reduced  to  ashes.  But  he  said  that  if  any  animal  could  be 
found  looking  towards  the  south  he  could  put  its  head  on 
Ganesh  and  bring  him  to  life.  As  it  happened  a  trader  was 
then  resting  outside  the  palace  and  had  with  him  an  elephant, 
which  was  seated  with  its  head  to  the  south.  So  Siva  quickly 
struck  off  the  head  of  the  elephant  and  placed  it  on  the  body 
of  Ganesh  and  brought  him  to  life  again,  and  thus  Ganesh 
got  his  elephant's  head.  But  the  trader  made  loud  lamenta- 
tion about  the  loss  of  his  elephant,  so  to  pacify  him  Siva 
made  a  pestle  and  mortar,  utensils  till  then  unknown,  and 
showed  him  how  to  pound  oil-seeds  in  them  and  express  the 
oil,  and  enjoined  him  to  earn  a  livelihood  in  future  by  this 
calling,  and  his  descendants  after  him  ;  and  so  the  merchant 
became  the  first  Teli.  And  the  pestle  was  considered  to  be 
Siva  and  the  mortar  Parvati.  This  last  statement  affords 
some  support  to  Mr.  Marten's  suggestion  ^  that  a  certain 
veneration  attaching  to  the  pestle  and  mortar  and  their  use 
in    marriage  ceremonies    may  be   due   to  the   idea  of  their 

^    C.  p.  Census  Report  (191 1),  p.  147,  referring  to  Professor  Karl  Pearson's 
Chances  of  Death. 


544  TELI  PART 

typifying  the  male  and  female  organs.  The  fact  that  Ganesh 
was  set  to  guard  the  southern  gate,  and  that  the  animal 
whose  head  could  be  placed  on  his  body  must  be  looking 
to  the  south,  probably  hinges  in  some  way  on  the  south  being 
the  abode  of  Yama,  the  god  of  death,  but  the  connection  has 
been  forgotten  by  the  teller  of  the  story;  it  may  also  be  noted 
that  if  the  palace  was  in  the  Himalayas,  the  site  of  Kailas 
or  Siva's  heaven,  the  whole  of  India  would  be  to  the  south. 
Another  story  related  by  Mr.  Crooke  ^  from  Mirzapur  is  that  a 
certain  man  had  three  sons  and  owned  fifty-two  mahua^  trees. 
When  he  became  aged  and  infirm  he  told  his  sons  to  divide 
the  trees,  but  after  some  discussion  they  decided  to  divide  not 
the  trees  themselves  but  their  produce.  One  of  them  fell  to 
picking  up  the  leaves,  and  he  was  the  ancestor  of  the  Bharb- 
hunjas  or  grain-parchers,  who  still  use  leaves  in  their  ovens  ; 
the  second  collected  the  flowers  and  corollas,  and  having 
distilled  liquor  from  them  became  a  Kalar ;  while  the  third 
took  the  kernels  or  fruit  and  crushed  the  oil  out  of  them, 
and  was  the  founder  of  the  Teli  caste.  The  country  spirit 
generally  drunk  is  distilled  from  the  flowers  of  the  mahua 
tree,  and  a  cheap  vegetable  oil  in  common  use  is  obtained 
from  its  seeds.  The  Telis  and  Kalars  are  also  castes  of 
about  the  same  status  and  have  other  points  of  resemblance; 
and  the  legend  connecting  them  is  therefore  of  some  interest. 
Some  groups  of  Telis  who  have  become  landed  proprietors 
or  prospered  in  trade  have  stories  giving  them  a  more  exalted 
origin.  Thus  the  landholding  Rathor  Telis  of  Mandla  say 
that  they  were  Rathor  Rajputs  who  fled  from  the  Muham- 
madans  and  threw  away  their  swords  and  sacred  threads  ; 
and  the  Telis  of  Nimar,  several  of  whom  are  wealthy  merchants, 
give  out  that  their  ancestors  were  Modh  Banias  from  Gujarat 
who  had  to  take  to  oil-pressing  for  a  livelihood  under  Muham- 
madan  rule.  But  these  legends  may  perhaps  be  considered 
a  natural  result  of  their  rise  in  the  world. 
3.  Endo-  The  caste    has   a   large   number  of  subdivisions.       The 

gamous       principal  groups  in  Chhattlsgarh  are  the  Halia,  Jharia  and 
castes.         Ekbahia  Telis.      The  Halias,  who  perhaps  take  their  name 
from  hal^  a  plough,  are  considered  to  be  the  best  cultivators, 
and  are  said  to  have  immigrated  from  Mandla  some  genera- 

'    Tribes  and  Castes,  art.  Tcli.  ^  Bassia  latijolia. 


I 


II  ENDOCAMOUS  SUBCASTES  545 

tions  ago.  Probably  the  bulk  of  the  Hindu  population  of 
Chhattisgarh  came  from  this  direction.  The  name  Jharia 
means  jungly  or  savage,  and  is  commonly  applied  to  the 
oldest  residents,  but  the  Jharia  Telis  are  the  highest  local 
subcaste.  They  require  the  presence  of  a  Brahman  at  their 
weddings,  and  abstain  generally  from  liquor,  fowls  and  pork, 
to  which  the  Halias  are  not  averse.  They  also  bathe  the 
corpse  before  it  is  burnt  or  buried,  an  observance  omitted  by 
the  Halias.  The  Jharias  yoke  only  one  bullock  to  the  oil- 
press,  and  the  Halias  two,  a  distinction  which  is  elsewhere 
sufficient  of  itself  to  produce  separate  subcastes.  The  Ekbahia 
(one-armed)  Telis  are  so  called  because  their  women  wear 
glass  bangles  only  on  the  right  hand  and  metal  ones  on  the 
left.  This  is  a  custom  of  several  castes  whose  women  do 
manual  labour,  and  the  reason  appears  to  be  one  of  con- 
venience, as  glass  bangles  on  the  working  arm  would  be 
continually  getting  broken.  Among  the  Ekbahia  Telis  it  is 
said  that  a  woman  considers  it  a  point  of  honour  to  have 
these  metal  bangles  as  numerous  and  heavy  as  her  arm  can 
bear  ;  and  at  a  wedding  a  present  of  three  bracelets  from  the 
bridegroom  to  the  bride  is  held  to  be  indispensable.  The 
Madpotwa  are  a  small  subcaste  living  near  the  hills,  who  in 
former  times  distilled  liquor ;  they  keep  pigs  and  poultry, 
and  rank  below  the  others.  Other  groups  are  the  Kosarias, 
who  are  called  after  Kosala,  the  old  name  of  Chhattisgarh, 
and  the  Chhote  or  Little  Telis,  who  are  of  illegitimate  descent. 
Children  born  out  of  wedlock  are  relegated  to  this  group. 

In  the  Nagpur  country  the  principal  subdivisions  are  the 
Ekbaile  and  Dobaile,  so  called  because  they  yoke  one  and 
two  bullocks  respectively  to  the  oil-press  ;  the  distinction  is 
still  maintained,  the  Dobaile  being  also  known  as  Tarane. 
This  seems  a  trivial  reason  for  barring  intermarriage,  but  it 
must  be  remembered  that  the  yoking  of  the  bullock  to  the 
oil-press,  coupled  as  it  is  with  the  necessity  of  blindfolding 
the  animal,  is  considered  a  great  sin  on  the  Teli's  part  and 
a  degrading  incident  of  his  profession  ;  the  Teli's  worst  fear 
is  that  after  death  his  soul  will  pass  into  one  of  his  own 
bullocks.  The  Yerande  Telis  are  so  called  because  they 
formerly  pressed  only  the  erandi  or  castor-oil  seed,  but  the 
rule   is  no  longer   maintained.      The  Yerande  women  leave 

VOL.  IV  2  N 


546  TELI  PART 

off  wearing  the  cJloH  or  breast-cloth  after  they  have  had 
one  child,  and  have  nothing  under  the  sari  or  body-cloth, 
but  they  wear  this  folded  double.  The  Ruthia  group  are 
said  to  be  so  called  from  the  noise  rut,  7'ut  made  by  the  oil- 
mill  in  turning.  They  say  they  are  descended  from  the 
Nag  or  cobra.  They  salute  the  snake  when  they  see  it  and 
refrain  from  killing  it,  and  they  will  not  make  any  drawing 
or  sign  having  the  semblance  of  a  snake  or  use  any  article 
which  may  be  supposed  to  be  like  it.  The  Sao  Telis  are 
the  highest  group  in  Wardha,  and  have  eschewed  the 
pressing  of  oil.  The  word  Sao  or  Sahu  is  the  title  of  a 
moneylender,  but  they  are  usually  cultivators  or  village 
proprietors.  A  Brahman  will  enter  a  Sao  Teli's  house,  but 
not  the  houses  of  any  other  subcaste.  Their  women  wear 
silver  bangles  on  the  right  hand  and  glass  ones  on  the  left. 
The  Batri  subcaste  are  said  to  be  so  called  from  their 
growing  the  batar,  a  kind  of  pea,  and  the  Hardia  from 
raising  the  haldi  or  turmeric.  The  Teli-Kalars  appear  to 
be  a  mixed  group  of  Kalars  who  have  taken  to  the  oilman's 
profession,  and  the  Teli-Banias  are  Telis  who  have  become 
shopkeepers,  and  may  be  expected  in  the  course  of  time  to 
develop  either  into  a  plebeian  group  of  Banias  or  an  aristocratic 
one  of  Telis.  In  Nimar  the  Gujarati  Telis,  who  have  now 
grown  wealthy  and  prosperous,  claim,  as  already  seen,  to  be 
Modh  Banias,  and  the  same  pretension  is  put  forward  by 
their  fellow-castemen  in  Gujarat  itself.  "  The  large  class  of 
oilmen  known  in  Gujarat  as  Modh-Ghanelis  were  originally 
Modh  Banias,  who  by  taking  to  making  and  selling  oil  lost 
their  position  as  Banias "  ;  ^  it  seems  doubtful,  however, 
whether  the  reverse  process  has  not  really  taken  place. 
The  Umre  Telis  also  have  the  name  of  a  subcaste  of 
Banias.  The  landholding  Rathor  Telis  of  Mandla,  who 
now  claim  to  be  Rathor  Rajputs,  will  be  more  fully  noticed 
later.  There  are  also  several  local  subcastes,  as  the  Mattha 
or  Maratha  Telis,  who  say  they  came  from  Patan  in  Gujarat, 
the  Sirwas  from  the  ancient  city  of  Sravasti  in  Gonda 
District,  and  the  Kanaujia  from  Oudh. 
4.  Exo-  Each   subcaste  is  divided  into  a  number  of  exogamous 

gamous       groups  for  the  regulation  .of  marriages.      The  names  of  the 

divisions. 

^  Hindus  of  Gujarat,  p.  72. 


II  MARRIAGE  CUSTOMS  S47 

groups  appear  to  be  taken  either  from  villages  or  titles  or 
nicknames.  Most  of  them  cannot  be  recognised,  but  the 
following  are  a  {q\v  :  Baghmare,  a  tiger-killer  ;  Deshmukh,  a 
village  officer  ;  Vaidya,  a  physician  ;  Bavvankule,  the  fifty-two 
septs  ;  Badwaik,  the  great  ones  ;  Satpute,  seven  sons  ;  Bhaji- 
khfiya,  an  eater  of  vegetables  ;  Satapaise,  seven  pice  ;  Ghore- 
madia,  a  horse-killer  ;  Chaudhri,  a  caste  headman  ;  Ardona,  a 
kind  of  gram  ;  Malghati,  a  valley;  Chandan-malagar,  one  who 
presented  sandalwood  ;  and  Sanichara,  born  on  Saturday. 
Three  septs,  Dhurwa,  Besram,  a  hawk,  and  Sonwani,  gold- 
water,  belong  to  the  Gonds  or  other  tribes.  The  clans  of 
the  Rathor  Telis  of  Mandla  are  said  to  be  named  after 
villages  in  Jubbulpore  and  Maihar  State. 

The  marriage  of  persons  of  the  same  sept  and  of  first  5.  Mar- 
cousins  is  usually  forbidden.  A  man  ma}^  marry  his  wife's  "uTtoms. 
younger  sister  while  she  herself  is  alive,  but  never  her  elder 
sister.  An  unmarried  girl  becoming  pregnant  by  a  man  of 
the  caste  is  married  to  him  by  the  ceremony  used  for  a 
widow,  and  she  may  be  readmitted  even  after  a  liaison  with 
an  outsider  among  most  Telis.  In  Chanda  the  parents  of 
a  girl  who  is  not  married  before  puberty  are  fined.  The 
proposal  comes  from  the  boy's  side  and  a  bride-price  is 
usually  paid,  though  not  of  large  amount.  The  Halia  Telis 
of  Chhattlsgarh,  like  other  agricultural  castes,  sometimes 
betroth  their  children  when  they  are  five  or  six  months  old, 
but  as  a  rule  no  penalty  attaches  to  the  breaking  of  the 
betrothal.  The  betrothal  is  celebrated  by  the  distribution 
of  one  or  two  rupees'  worth  of  liquor  to  the  neighbours  of 
the  caste.  As  among  other  low  castes,  on  the  day  before 
the  wedding  procession  starts,  the  bridegroom  goes  round  to 
all  the  houses  in  the  village  and  his  sister  dances  round 
him  with  her  head  bent,  and  all  the  people  give  him  presents. 
This  is  known  as  the  Binaiki  or  Farewell,  and  the  bride  does 
the  same  in  her  village.  Among  the  Jharia  Telis  the  women 
go  and  worship  the  marriage-post  at  the  carpenter's  house 
while  it  is  being  made.  In  this  subcaste  the  bridegroom  goes 
to  the  wedding  in  a  cart  and  not  on  horseback  or  in  a  litter  as 
among  some  castes.  The  rule  may  perhaps  be  a  recognition 
of  their  humble  station.  The  Halia  subcaste  can  dispense 
with  the  presence  of  a  Brahman  at  the  wedding,  but  not  the 


548  TELI  PART 

Jharias.  In  Wardha  the  bridegroom's  head  is  covered  with 
a  blanket,  over  which  is  placed  the  marriage-crown.  On 
the  arrival  of  the  bridegroom's  party  they  are  regaled  with 
sherbet  or  sugar  and  water  by  the  bride's  relatives,  and 
sometimes  red  pepper  is  mixed  with  this  by  way  of  a  joke. 
At  a  wedding  of  the  Gujarati  Telis  in  Nimar  the  caste- 
priest  carries  the  tutelary  goddess  Kali  in  procession,  and 
in  front  of  her  a  pot  filled  with  burning  cotton-seeds  and 
oil.  A  cloth  is  held  over  the  pot,  and  it  is  believed  that 
the  power  of  the  goddess  prevents  the  cloth  from  taking 
fire.  If  this  should  happen  some  great  calamity  would  be 
portended.  Rathor  Teli  girls,  whether  married  or  unmarried, 
go  with  their  heads  bare,  and  a  woman  draws  her  cloth  over 
her  head  for  the  first  time  when  she  begins  to  live  in  her 
husband's  house. 
6.  Widow-  Divorce     and     widow  -  marriage     are     permitted.        In 

remarriage,  (^hh^ttlsgarh  a  widow  IS  always  kept  in  the  family  if 
possible,  and  if  her  late  husband's  brother  be  only  a  boy 
she  is  sometimes  induced  to  put  on  the  bangles  and  wait 
for  him.  If  a  barandi  widow,  that  is  one  who  has  been 
married  but  has  not  lived  with  her  husband,  desires  to 
marry  again  out  of  his  family,  the  second  husband  must 
repay  to  them  the  amount  spent  on  her  first  marriage.  In 
Chanda,  on  the  other  hand,  some  Telis  do  not  permit  a 
widow  to  marry  her  late  husband's  younger  brother  at  all, 
and  others  only  when  he  is  a  bachelor  or  a  widower.  Here 
the  minimum  period  for  which  a  widow  must  remain  single 
after  her  husband's  death  is  one  month.  The  engagement 
with  a  widow  is  arranged  by  the  suitor's  female  relatives, 
and  they  pay  her  a  rupee  as  earnest  money.  On  the  day 
fixed  she  goes  with  one  or  two  other  widows  to  the  bride- 
groom's house,  and  from  there  to  the  bazar,  where  she  buys 
two  pairs  of  bell-metal  rings,  to  be  worn  on  the  second  toe 
of  each  foot,  and  some  glass  bangles.  She  remains  sitting 
in  the  bazar  till  well  after  dark,  when  some  widow  goes  to 
fetch  her  on  behalf  of  her  suitor.  They  bring  her  to  his 
house,  where  the  couple  sit  together,  and  red  powder  is 
applied  to  their  foreheads.  They  then  bathe  and  present 
their  clothes  to  the  washerman,  putting  on  new  clothes. 
The  idea  in  all  this  is  clearly  to  sever  the  widow  as  com- 


II  RELIGION :   CASTE  DEITIES  549 

pletely  as  possible  from  her  old  home  and  prevent  her  from 
being  accompanied  to  the  new  one  by  the  first  husband's 
spirit.  In  some  localities  when  a  Teli  widow  remarries  it 
is  considered  most  unlucky  for  any  one  to  see  the  face  of 
the  bride  or  bridegroom  for  twenty-four  hours,  or  as  some 
say  for  three  days  after  the  wedding.  The  ceremony  is 
therefore  held  at  night,  and  for  this  period  the  couple 
either  remain  shut  up  in  the  house  or  retire  to  the 
jungle. 

The  caste  especially  revere  Mahadeo  or  Siva,  who  gave  7.  Reii- 
them  the  oil-mill.  In  the  Nagpur  country  they  do  not  work  ^'°"j^ 
the  mill  on  Monday,  because  it  is  Mahadeo's  day,  he  having  deities, 
the  moon  on  his  forehead.  They  revere  the  oil-mill,  and 
when  the  trunk  is  brought  to  be  set  up  in  the  house,  if  there 
is  difficulty  in  moving  it  they  make  offerings  to  it  of  a  goat 
or  wheat-cakes  or  cocoanuts,  after  which  it  moves  easily. 
When  a  Teli  first  sets  the  trunk-socket  of  the  oil-press  in 
the  ground  he  buries  beneath  it  five  pieces  of  turmeric,  some 
cowries  and  an  areca-nut.  In  the  northern  Districts  the 
Telis  worship  Masan  Baba,  who  is  supposed  to  be  the  ghost 
of  a  Teli  boy.  He  is  a  boy  about  three  feet  in  height, 
black-coloured,  with  a  long  black  scalp-lock.  Some  Telis 
have  Masan  Baba  in  their  possession,  and  when  they  are 
turning  the  oil-press  they  set  him  on  top  of  it,  and  he  makes 
the  bullocks  keep  on  working,  so  that  the  master  can  go 
away  and  leave  the  press.  But  in  order  to  prevent  him  from 
getting  into  mischief  a  cake  of  flour  mixed  with  human  hair 
must  be  placed  in  front  of  the  press  ;  he  will  eat  this,  but 
will  first  pick  out  all  the  hairs  one  by  one,  and  this  will 
occupy  him  the  whole  night  ;  but  if  no  cake  is  put  for  him 
he  will  eat  all  the  food  in  the  house.  A  Teli  who  has  not 
got  Masan  must  go  to  one  who  has  and  hire  him  for 
Rs.  1-4  a  night.  They  then  both  go  to  the  owner's  oil- 
press,  and  the  hirer  says,  '  I  have  hired  you  to-night,'  and 
the  owner  says, '  Yes,  I  have  let  you  for  to-night '  ;  and  then 
the  hirer  goes  away,  and  Masan  Baba  follows  him  and  will 
turn  the  oil-mill  all  night.  A  Teli  who  has  not  got  Masan 
Baba  puts  a  stone  on  the  oil-mill,  and  then  the  bullock  thinks 
that  his  master  Masan  is  sitting  on  it,  and  will  go  on  turning 
the  press  ;  but  this  is  not  so  good  as  having   Masan  Baba. 


out  evil. 


550  TELI  PART 

Some  say  that  he  will  repay  his  hirer  the  sum  of  Rs.  1-4  by 
stealing  something  during  the  year  and  giving  it  to  him. 
Masan  may  perhaps  be  considered  as  a  divine  personification 
of  the  oil-press,  and  as  being  the  Teli's  explanation  of  the 
fact  that  the  bullock  goes  on  turning  the  press  without  being 
driven,  which  he  does  not  attribute  simply  to  the  animal's 
docility.  In  Chhattisgarh  Dulha  Deo  is  the  household  god 
of  the  caste,  and  he  is  said  not  to  have  any  visible  image  or 
symbol,  but  is  considered  to  reside  in  a  cupboard  in  the 
house.  When  any  member  of  the  family  falls  ill  it  is  thought 
that  Dulha  Deo  is  angry,  and  a  goat  is  offered  to  appease 
him.  Like  the  other  low  castes  the  Telis  of  the  Nagpur 
country  make  the  sacrifice  of  a  pig  to  Narayan  Deo  or  the 
Sun  at  intervals. 
8.  Driving  Here  on  the  third  day  after  the  Pola  festival  in  the  rains 

the  women  of  the  caste  bring  the  branches  of  a  thorny 
creeper,  with  very  small  leaves,  and  call  it  Marbod,  and 
sweep  out  the  whole  house  with  it,  saying  : 

'  /;'«,  pu'a^  khatka,  khatkira, 
Khd7isi,  kokhala^  rai,  rog, 
Miirkuto  gheimja  ga  Marbod,^ 

or,  '  Oh  Marbod  !  sweep  away  all  diseases,  pains,  coughs,  bugs, 
flies  and  mosquitoes.'  And  then  they  take  the  pot  of  sweep- 
ings and  throw  it  outside  the  village.  Marbod  is  the  deity 
represented  by  the  branch  of  the  creeper.  This  rite  takes 
place  in  the  middle  of  the  rainy  season,  when  all  kinds  of 
insects  infest  the  house,  and  colds  and  fever  are  prevalent. 
Mr.  H.  R.  Crosthwaite  sends  the  following  explanation  given 
by  a  Teli  cultivator  of  an  eclipse  of  the  sun  :  "  The  Sun  is 
indebted  to  a  sweeper.  The  sweeper  has  gone  to  collect  the 
debt  and  the  Sun  has  refused  to  pay.  The  sweeper  is  in  need 
of  the  money  and  is  sitting  dharna  at  the  Sun's  door  ;  you 
can  see  his  shadow  across  the  Sun's  threshold.  Presently 
the  debt  will  be  paid  and  the  sweeper  will  go  away."  The 
Telis  of  Nimar  observe  various  Muhammadan  practices. 
They  fast  during  the  month  of  Ramazan,  taking  their  food 
in  the  morning  before  sunrise  ;  and  at  Id  they  eat  the 
vermicelli  and  dates  which  the  Muhammadans  eat  in  memory 
of  the  time  when  their  forefathers  lived  on  this  food  in  the 


II  SOCIAL  STATUS  551 

Arabian  desert.  Such  custcms  are  a  relic  of  the  long  period 
of  Muhammadan  dominance  in  Nimar,  when  the  Hindus 
conformed  partly  to  the  religion  of  their  masters.  Many 
Talis  are  also  members  of  the  Swami-Narayan  reforming 
sect,  which  may  have  attracted  them  by  its  disregard  of  the 
distinctions  of  caste  and  of  the  low  status  which  attaches  to 
them  under  Hinduism. 

In  Patna  State  a  pregnant  woman  must  not  cross  a  river  9.  Customs 
nor  eat  any  fruit  or  vegetables  of  red  colour,  nor  wear  any  ^)j^"^e*ath 
black  cloth.  These  taboos  preserve  her  health  and  that  of 
her  unborn  child.  After  the  b)irth  of  a  child  a  woman  is  impure 
for  seven  or  nine  days  in  Chhattlsgarh,  and  is  then  permitted 
to  cook.  The  dead  are  either  buried  or  burnt,  cremation 
being  an  honour  reserved  for  the  old.  The  body  is  placed 
in  both  cases  with  the  head  to  the  north  and  face  downwards 
or  upwards  for  a  male  or  female  respectively. 

The  social  status  of  the  Telis  is  low,  in  the  group  of  castes  10.  Social 
from  which  Brahmans  will  not  take  water,  and  below  such  ^^^'^^• 
menials  as  the  blacksmith  and  carpenter.  Manu  classes  them 
with  butchers  and  liquor-vendors  :  "  From  a  king  not  born 
in  the  military  class  let  a  Brahman  accept  no  gift  nor  from 
such  as  keep  a  slaughter-house,  or  an  oil-press,  or  put  out  a 
vintner's  flag  or  subsist  by  the  gains  of  prostitutes."  This 
is  much  about  the  position  which  the  Telis  have  occupied 
till  recently.  Brahmans  will  not  usually  enter  their  houses, 
though  they  have  begun  to  do  so  in  the  case  of  the  land- 
holding  subcastes.  It  is  noticeable  that  the  Teli  has  a  much 
better  position  in  Bengal  than  elsewhere.  Sir  H.  Risley 
says  :  "  Their  original  profession  was  probably  oil-pressing, 
and  the  caste  may  be  regarded  as  a  functional  group  recruited 
from  the  respectable  middle  class  of  Hindu  society.  Oil 
is  used  by  all  Hindus  for  domestic  and  ceremonial  purposes, 
and  its  manufacture  could  only  be  carried  on  by  men  whose 
social  purity  w-as  beyond  dispute."  This  is,  however,  quite 
exceptional,  and  Mr.  Crooke,  Mr.  Nesfield  and  Sir  D.  Ibbetson 
are  agreed  as  to  his  inferior,  if  not  partly  impure,  status.  This 
is  only  one  of  several  instances,  such  as  those  of  the  barber, 
the  potter  and  the  weaver,  of  menial  castes  which  in  Bengal 
have  now  obtained  a  position  above  the  agricultural  castes. 
It  may  be  suggested   in  explanation   that  the  old   fabric  of 


552  TELI  PART 

Hindu  society,  that  is  the  village  community,  has  long  decayed 
in  Bengal  owing  to  Muhammadan  dominance,  the  concentra- 
tion of  estates  in  the  hands  of  large  proprietors  and  the 
weakening  or  lapse  of  the  customary  rights  of  tenants. 
Coupled  with  this  has  been  the  growth  of  an  important  urban 
population,  in  which  the  castes  mentioned  have  raised  them- 
selves from  their  menial  position  in  the  villages  and  attained 
wealth  and  influence,  just  as  the  Gujarati  Telis  are  now  doing 
in  Burhanpur,  while  the  agricultural  castes  of  Bengal  have 
been  comparatively  depressed.  Hence  the  urban  industrial 
castes  have  obtained  a  great  rise  in  status.  Sir  H.  Risley's 
emphasis  of  the  importance  of  oil  in  Hindu  domestic  cere- 
monial is  no  doubt  quite  true,  though  it  is  perhaps  little  used 
in  sacrifices,  butter  being  generally  preferred  as  a  product  of 
the  sacred  cow.  But  the  inference  does  not  seem  necessarily 
to  follow  that  the  producer  of  any  article  shares  exactly  in 
the  estimation  attaching  to  the  thing  itself.  Turmeric,  for 
instance,  is  a  sacred  plant  and  indispensable  at  every  wedding  ; 
but  those  who  grow  turmeric  always  incur  a  certain  stigma 
and  loss  in  social  position.  The  reason  for  the  impurity  of 
the  Teli's  calling  seems  somewhat  doubtful.  That  generally 
given  is  his  sinful  conduct  in  harnessing  the  sacred  ox  and 
blindfolding  the  animal's  eyes  to  make  it  work  continuously 
on  the  tread-mill.  The  labour  is  said  to  be  very  severe,  and 
the  bullocks  often  die  after  two  or  three  years.  As  already 
seen,  the  Teli  fears  that  after  death  his  soul  may  pass  into  one 
of  his  own  bullocks  in  retribution  for  his  treatment  of  them 
during  life.  Another  reason  which  may  be  suggested  is  that 
the  crushing  of  oil-seeds  must  involve  a  large  destruction 
of  insect  life,  many  of  the  seeds  being  at  times  infested  with 
insects.  The  Teli's  occupation  would  naturally  rank  with 
the  other  village  industries,  that  is  below  agriculture  ;  and 
prior  to  the  introduction  of  cash  coinage  he  must  have 
received  contributions  of  grain  from  the  tenants  for  supply- 
ing them  with  oil  like  the  other  village  menials.  He  still 
takes  his  oil  to  the  fields  at  harvest-time  and  gets  his  sheat 
of  grain  from  each  holding. 
II.  Social  The  Telis  will  take  cooked  food  from  Kurmis  and  Kunbis, 

ol!!i'°"^"L     and  in  some  localities  from  a  Lobar  or  Barhai.     Dhlmars  are 

ana  caste 

penalties,     the  highest  caste  which  will  take  food  from  them.     In  Mandla 


II         RATHOR  TELIS—GUJARATI  TELIS  OF  NIMAR      553 

if  a  man  docs  not  attend  the  meeting  of  the  panchdyat  when 
summoned  for  some  special  purpose,  he  is  fined.  In  Chanda 
a  Teh  beaten  with  a  shoe  by  any  other  caste  has  to  have 
his  head  shaved  and  pay  a  rupee  or  two  to  the  priest.  In 
Mandla  the  Tehs  have  made  it  a  rule  that  not  less  than  four 
puris  or  wheat-cakes  fried  in  butter  ^  must  be  given  to  each 
guest  at  a  caste-feast,  besides  rice  and  pulse.  But  if  an 
offender  is  poor  only  four  or  five  men  go  to  his  feast,  while 
if  he  is  rich  the  whole  caste  go. 

The  Rathor  Telis  of  Mandla  hold  a  number  of  villages.  12.  The 
They  now  call  themselves  Rathor,  and  entirely  disown  the  -^^^^^^ 
name  of  Teli.  They  say  that  they  came  from  the  Maihar 
State  near  Panna,  and  that  the  title  of  Mahto,  from  inahat, 
great,  which  is  borne  by  the  leading  men  of  the  caste,  was 
conferred  on  them  by  the  Raja  of  Maihar.  Another  story 
is  that,  as  already  related,  they  are  debased  Rathor  Rajputs. 
Recently  they  have  given  up  eating  fowls  and  drinking 
liquor.  They  are  good  cultivators,  borrowing  among  them- 
selves at  low  interest  and  avoiding  debt,  and  their  villages 
are  generally  prosperous. 

Again,  as  has  been  seen,  the  Gujarati  Telis  of  Burhanpur  13. 
have  taken  to  trade,  and  some  of  them  have  become  wealthy  -j-dj^'^of' 
merchants  and  capitalists  from  their  dealings  in  cotton.  The  Nimar. 
position  of  Telis  in  Burhanpur  was  apparently  one  of  peculiar 
degradation  under  Muhammadan  rule.  According  to  local 
tradition  they  had  to  remove  the  corpses  of  dead  elephants, 
which  no  other  caste  would  consent  to  do,  and  also  to  dig 
the  graves  of  Muhammadans.  It  is  also  said  that  even  now  a 
Hindu  becomes  impure  by  passing  under  the  eaves  of  a  Teli's 
house,  and  that  no  dancing-girl  may  dance  before  a  Teli,  and 
if  she  does  so  will  incur  a  penalty  of  Rs.  50  to  her  caste. 
The  Telis,  on  the  other  hand,  vigorously  repudiate  these 
allegations,  which  no  doubt  are  due  partly  to  jealousy  of  their 
present  prosperity  and  consequent  attempts  to  better  their 
status.  The  Telis  allege  that  they  were  Modh  Banias  in 
Gujarat  and  when  they  came  to  Burhanpur  adopted  the 
occupation  of  oil-pressing,  which  is  also  countenanced  by  the 
Shastras  for  a  Vaishya.  They  say  that  formerly  they  did 
not  permit  widow-marriage,  but  when  living  under  Muham- 

1  Weighing  2  oz.  each. 


SS4  TELI  PART 

madan  rule  they  were  constrained  to  get  their  widows 
married  in  the  caste,  or  the  Muhammadans  would  have 
taken  them.  The  Muhammadan  practices  already  noticed 
as  prevalent  among  them  are  being  severely  repressed,  and 
they  are  believed  to  have  made  a  caste  rule  that  any  Teli 
who  goes  to  the  house  of  a  Muhammadan  will  have  his  hair 
and  beard  shaved  and  be  fined  Rs.  50.  They  are  also 
supposed  to  have  made  offers  to  Brahmans  of  sums  of 
Rs.  500  to  Rs.  1000  to  come  and  take  their  food  in  the 
verandas  of  the  Telis'  houses,  but  hitherto  these  have  not 
been  accepted. 
14.  The  The  Teli  is  considered  a  caste  of  bad  omen.      The  pro- 

uniuck^  verb  says,  '  God  protect  me  from  a  Teli,  a  Chamar  and  a 
caste.  Dhobi '  ;  and  the  Teli  is  considered  the  most  unlucky  of 
the  three.  He  is  also  talkative  :  '  Where  there  is  a  Teli 
there  is  sure  to  be  contention.'  The  Teli  is  thought  to  be 
very  close-fisted,  but  occasionally  his  cunning  overreaches 
itself:  'The  Teli  counts  every  drop  of  oil  as  it  issues  from 
the  press,  but  sometimes  he  upsets  the  whole  pot.'  The 
reason  given  for  his  being  unlucky  is  his  practice  of  harness- 
ing and  blindfolding  bullocks  already  mentioned,  and  also 
that  he  presses  urad}  a  black-coloured  pulse,  the  oil  from 
which  is  offered  to  the  unlucky  planet  Saturn  on  Saturdays. 
'  Teli  ka  bail,'  or  *  A  Teli's  bullock,'  is  a  proverbial  expression 
for  a  man  who  has  to  slave  very  hard  for  small  pay.^  The 
Teli  is  believed  to  have  magical  powers.  A  good  magician 
in  search  of  an  attendant  spirit  will,  it  is  said,  prefer  to  raise 
the  corpse  of  a  Teli  who  died  on  a  Tuesday.  He  proceeds 
to  the  h\irmng-ghdt  with  chickens,  eggs,  some  vermilion  and 
red  cloth.  He  seats  himself  near  to  where  the  corpse  was 
burnt,  and  after  repeating  some  spells  offers  up  the  chickens 
and  eggs  and  breaks  the  cocoanut.  Then  it  is  believed  that 
the  corpse  will  gradually  rise  and  take  shape  and  be  at  the 
magician's  service  so  long  as  the  latter  may  desire.  The 
following  prescription  is  given  for  a  love-charm  :  take  the 
skull  of  a  Teli's  wife  and  cook  some  rice  in  it  under  a  babul^ 
tree  on  a  Sunday.  This  if  given  to  a  girl  to  eat  will  make 
her  fall  in  love  with  him  who  gives  it  to  her. 

^   Phaseohis  raJiatas. 
2  Mr.  Crooke's  Tribes  and  Castes,  art.  Teli.  ^  Acacta  arabica. 


II  OCCUPATION:  OIL-PRESSING  555 

The  Tcli's  oil-press  is  a  very  primitive  affair.  It  consists  15.  Occu- 
of  a  hollowed  tree-trunk  in  which  a  post  is  placed  with  oi|.'press- 
rounded  lower  end.  The  top  of  this  projects  perhaps  three  ing. 
feet  above  the  hollow  trunk  and  is  secured  by  two  pieces  of 
wood  to  a  horizontal  bar,  one  end  of  which  presses  against 
the  trunk,  while  the  bullock  is  harnessed  to  the  outer  end. 
The  yoke-bar  hangs  about  a  foot  from  the  ground,  the  inner 
end  resting  in  a  groove  of  the  trunk,  while  the  outer  is  sup- 
ported by  the  poles  connecting  it  with  the  churning-post. 
From  the  top  of  this  latter  a  rope  is  also  tied  to  the  bullock's 
horn  to  keep  the  animal  in  position.  The  press  is  usually 
set  up  inside  a  shed,  and  it  is  said  that  if  the  bullock  were 
not  blindfolded  it  would  quickly  become  too  giddy  to  work. 
The  bullock  drags  the  yoke-bar  round  the  trunk  and  this 
gives  a  circular  movement  to  the  top  of  the  churning-post, 
causing  the  lower  end  of  the  latter  to  move  as  on  a  pivot 
inside  the  trunk.  The  friction  thus  produced  crushes  the 
oil-seed,  and  the  oil  trickles  out  through  a  hole  in  the  lower 
part  of  the  trunk.  The  oil  of  ranitilli  ox  jagni  is  commonly 
burnt  for  lighting  in  villages,  and  also  that  of  the  mahua- 
seed.  Linseed-oil  is  generally  exported,  but  if  used  at  home 
it  is  mainly  as  an  illuminant.  It  is  mixed  with  food  by  the 
Maratha  castes^but  not  in  northern  India.  All  the  vegetable 
oils  are  rapidly  being  supplanted  by  kerosene,  even  in  villages  ; 
but  the  inferior  quality  generally  purchased,  burnt  as  it  is  in 
small  open  saucers,  gives  out  a  great  deal  of  smoke  and  is  said 
to  be  very  injurious  to  the  eyesight,  and  students  especially 
sustain  permanent  injury  to  the  sight  by  working  with  these 
lamps.  This  want  is,  however,  being  met,  and  cheap  lamp- 
burners  can  be  bought  in  Bombay  for  about  twelve  annas. 
Owing  to  their  having  until  recently  supplied  the  only  means 
of  illumination  the  Telis  sometimes  call  themselves  Dlpabans, 
or  '  Sons  of  the  lamp.'  Tilli  or  sesamum  is  called  sweet 
oil  ;  it  is  much  eaten  by  Brahmans  and  others  in  the  Maratha 
country,  and  is  always  used  for  rubbing  on  the  hair  and 
body.  On  the  festivals  of  Diwali  and  Til  Sankrant  all 
Hindus  rub  sesamum  oil  on  their  bodies  ;  otherwise  they  put 
it  on  their  hair  once  or  twice  a  week,  and  on  their  bodies  if 
they  get  a  chill,  or  as  a  protective  against  cold  twice  or 
thrice  a  month  in  the  winter.      The  Uriya  castes  rub  oil  on  the 


556 


TELI 


1 6.  Trade 
and  agri- 
culture. 


body  if  they  can  afford  it  every  day  after  bathing  and  say 
that  it  keeps  off  malaria.  Castor-oil  is  used  as  a  medicine, 
and  by  some  people  even  as  ordinary  food.  It  is  also  a  good 
lubricant,  being  applied  to  cart-wheels  and  machinery.  Other 
oils  mentioned  by  Mr.  Crooke  are  poppy  -  seed,  mustard, 
cocoanut  and  safflower,  and  those  prepared  from  almond 
and  the  berries  of  the  mm  ^  tree.  The  Teli's  occupation  is 
a  dirty  one,  his  house  being  filled  with  the  refuse  of  oil  and 
oil-seed,  and  Mr.  Gordon  notes  that  leprosy  is  very  prevalent 
in  the  caste.^ 

The  Telis  are  a  very  enterprising  caste,  and  the  great 
bulk  of  them  have  abandoned  their  traditional  occupation 
and  taken  to  others  which  are  more  profitable  and  respect- 
able. In  their  trade,  like  that  of  the  Kalar,  cash  payment 
by  barter  must  have  been  substituted  for  customary  annual 
contributions  at  an  early  period,  and  hence  they  learnt  to 
keep  accounts  when  their  customers  were  ignorant  of  this 
accomplishment.  The  knowledge  has  stood  them  in  good 
stead.  Many  of  them  have  become  moneylenders  in  a  small 
way,  and  by  this  means  have  acquired  villages.  In  the 
Raipur  and  Bilaspur  Districts  they  own  more  than  200 
villages  and  700  in  the  Central  Provinces  as  a  whole.  They 
are  also  shopkeepers  and  petty  traders,  travelling  about  with 
pack-bullocks  like  the  Banjaras.  Mr.  A.  K.  Smith  notes 
that  formerly  the  Teli  hired  Banjaras  to  carry  his  goods 
through  the  jungle,  as  he  would  have  been  killed  by  them 
if  he  had  ventured  to  do  so  himself.  But  now  he  travels 
with  his  own  bullocks.  Even  in  Mughal  times  Mr.  Smith 
states  Telis  occasionally  rose  to  important  positions  ;  Kavvaji 
Teli  was  sutler  to  the  Imperial  army,  and  obtained  from  the 
Emperor  Jahanglr  a  grant  of  Ashti  in  Wardha  and  an  order 
that  no  one  should  plant  betel-vine  gardens  in  Ashti  without 
his  permission.  This  rule  is  still  observed  and  any  one 
wishing  to  have  a  betel-vine  garden  makes  a  present  to  the 
patel.  Krishna  Kanta  Nandi  or  Kanta  Babu,  the  Banyan 
of  Warren  Hastings,  was  a  Teli  by  caste  and  did  much  to 
raise  their  position  among  the  Hindus,^ 

Colonel   Tod    gives    instances   in    Udaipur    of  works    of 

^   McHa  indica.  ^  Indian  Folk  Talcs,  p.  lo. 

3  Tribes  and  Castes  of  Bengal,  art.  Teli. 


cencc. 


II  TELI  BENEFICENCE  557 

beneficence  executed  by  Telis.  "  The  Tcli-ki-Sarai  or  oil-  17.  Teii 
man's  caravanserai  is  not  conspicuous  for  magnitude  ;  but  ^"^  ' 
it  is  remarkable  not  merely  for  its  utility  but  even  for  its 
elegance  of  design.  The  Tcli-ka-Pftl  or  Oilman's  Bridge  at 
Nurabad  is  a  magnificent  memorial  of  the  trade  and  deserves 
preservation.  These  Telis  perambulate  the  country  with  skins 
of  oil  on  a  bullock  and  from  hard-earned  pence  erect  the 
structures  which  bear  their  name."  ^  Similarly  the  temple 
of  Vishnu  at  Rajim  is  said  to  be  named  after  one  Rajan 
Telin,  who  discovered  the  image  lying  abandoned  by  the 
roadside.  She  placed  her  skin  of  oil  on  it  to  rest  herself 
and  on  that  day  her  oil  never  decreased,  and  when  she  had 
finished  selling  in  the  market  she  had  all  her  oil  as  well  as 
the  money.  Her  husband  suspected  her  of  evil  practices, 
but,  when  next  day  her  mother-in-law  laid  a  skinful  of  oil 
on  the  image  and  the  same  thing  happened,  it  was  seen  that 
the  god  had  made  himself  manifest  to  her,  and  a  temple  was 
built  and  named  after  her  and  the  image  enshrined  in  it. 
Similarly  the  image  of  Mahadeo  at  Pithampur  in  Bilaspur  was 
seen  buried  by  a  Teli  in  a  dream,  and  he  dug  it  up  and  made 
a  shrine  to  it  and  was  cured  of  dysentery.  So  an  annual  fair 
is  held  and  many  people  go  there  to  be  healed  of  their 
diseases. 

'  Rdjasthan,  vol.  ii.  pp.  678,  679. 


THUG 


[This  article  is  based  almost  entirely  on  Colonel  (Sir  William)  Sleeman's 
Rdmaseeana  or  Vocabulary  of  the  jy^c^j- (1S35).  A  small  work,  Hutton's  Thugs 
and  Dacoits,  has  been  quoted  for  convenience,  but  it  is  compiled  entirely  from 
Colonel  Sleeman's  Reports.  Another  book  by  Colonel  Sleeman,  Reports  on  the 
Depredations  of  the  Thug  Gangs,  is  mainly  a  series  of  accounts  of  the  journeys  of 
different  gangs  and  contains  only  a  very  brief  general  notice.] 


LIST  OF  PARAGRAPHS 


1.  Historical  notice. 

2.  Thuggee  depicted  iti  the  caves 

of  Ellora. 

3.  Ori^i7i  of  the  Thugs. 

4.  Methods  of  assassination. 

5.  Accoimt  of  certain  murders. 

6.  Special  incidejtis  {continued). 

7.  Disguises  of  the  Thugs. 

8.  Secrecy  of  their  operations. 

9.  Support   of    landholders    and 

■uillagers. 

10.  Murder  of  sepoys. 

1 1 .  Callous  nature  of  the  Thugs. 

12.  Belief  i?i  divine  support. 

13.  Theory  of  Thuggee   as   a   re- 

lii^ious  sect. 


14. 

15- 
16. 

17- 
18. 
19. 
20. 


22. 

23- 
24. 
25. 


Worship  of  Kali. 

The  sacred  pickaxe. 

The  sacred  gur  {sugar'). 

Worship  of  ancestors. 

Fasting. 

Initiation  of  a  iiovice. 

ProhibitioJi     of     murder     of 

wo)nen. 
OtJier  classes  of  perso7is   tiot 

killed. 
Belief  in  omens. 
Omens  and  taboos. 
Nature  of  the  belief  in  omens. 
Suppression  of  Thuggee. 


I.  Histori- 
cal notice. 


Thug",  Phansigfar. — The  famous  community  of  mur- 
derers who  were  accustomed  to  infest  the  high-roads  and 
strangle  travellers  for  their  property.  The  Thugs  are,  of 
course,  now  extinct,  having  been  finally  suppressed  by 
measures  taken  under  the  direction  of  Colonel  Sleeman 
between  1825  and  1850.  The  only  existing  traces  of  them 
are  a  small  number  of  persons  known  as  Goranda  or  Goyanda 
in  Jubbulpore,  the  descendants  of  Thugs  employed  in  the 
school  of  industry  which  was  established  at  that  town. 
These   work  honestly   for   their   living  and   are   believed  to 

558 


PART  II  HISTORICAL  NOTICE  559 

have  no  marked  criminal  tendencies.  In  the  course  of  his 
inquiries,  however,  Colonel  Slceman  collected  a  considerable 
mass  of  information  about  the  Thugs,  some  of  which  is  of 
ethnological  interest,  and  as  the  works  in  which  this  is  con- 
tained are  out  of  print  and  not  easily  accessible,  it  seems 
desirable  to  record  a  portion  of  it  here.  The  word  Thug 
signifies  generically  a  cheat  or  robber,  while  Phansigar,  which 
was  the  name  used  in  southern  India,  is  derived  {xo\x\  pJidiisi, 
a  noose,  and  means  a  strangler.  The  form  of  robbery  and 
murder  practised  by  these  people  was  probably  of  consider- 
able antiquity,  and  is  referred  to  as  follows  by  a  French 
traveller,  Thevenot,  in  the  sixteenth  century  : 

"  Though  the  road  I  have  been  speaking  of  from  Delhi 
to  Agra  be  tolerable  yet  it  hath  many  inconveniences.  One 
may  meet  with  tigers,  panthers  and  lions  upon  it,  and  one 
can  also  best  have  a  care  of  robbers,  and  above  all  things 
not  to  suffer  anybody  to  come  near  one  upon  the  road.  The 
cunningest  robbers  in  the  world  are  in  that  country.  They 
use  a  certain  slip  with  a  running  noose  which  they  can  cast 
with  so  much  sleight  about  a  man's  neck,  when  they  are 
within  reach  of  him,  that  they  never  fail,  so  that  they  can 
strangle  him  in  a  trice.  They  have  another  cunning  trick 
also  to  catch  travellers  with.  They  send  out  a  handsome 
woman  upon  the  road,  who  with  her  hair  dishevelled  seems 
to  be  all  in  tears,  sighing  and  complaining  of  some  misfor- 
tune which  she  pretends  has  befallen  her.  Now,  as  she 
takes  the  same  way  that  the  traveller  goes  he  falls  easily  into 
conversation  with  her,  and  finding  her  beautiful,  offers  her 
his  assistance,  which  she  accepts  ;  but  he  hath  no  sooner 
taken  her  up  behind  him  on  horseback,  but  she  throws  the 
snare  about  his  neck  and  strangles  him,  or  at  least  stuns  him 
until  the  robbers  who  lie  hid  come  running  to  her  assistance 
and  complete  what  she  hath  begun.  But  besides  that,  there 
are  men  in  those  quarters  so  skilful  in  casting  the  snare,  that 
they  succeed  as  well  at  a  distance  as  near  at  hand  ;  and  if  an 
ox  or  any  other  beast  belonging  to  a  caravan  run  away,  as 
sometimes  it  happens,  they  fail  not  to  catch  it  by  the  neck."  ^ 

This    passage    seems    to   demonstrate    an    antiquity   of 

^  Thevenot's   Travels,   Part  III.   p.  41,  quoted   in   Dr.  Sherwood's  account, 
Rdmaseeana,  p.  359. 


560  THUG  PART 

three  centuries  for  the  Thugs  down  to  1850.  But  during 
the  period  over  which  Sir  WilHam  Sleeman's  inquiries  ex- 
tended women  never  accompanied  them  on  their  expeditions, 
and  were  frequently  even,  as  a  measure  of  precaution,  left  in 
ignorance  of  the  profession  of  their  husbands. 

2.  Thuggee  The  Thugs  themselves  believed   that  the  operations  of 
depicted  in  |^|^gjj.  j-j-ade  Were  depicted  in  the  carvings  of  the  Ellora  caves, 

the  caves  ^  °  ' 

of  Ellora.  and  a  noted  leader,  Feringia,  and  other  Thugs  spoke  of  these 
carvings  as  follows  :  "  Every  one  of  the  operations  is  to 
be  seen  there :  in  one  place  you  see  men  strangling ;  in 
another  burying  the  bodies  ;  in  another  carrying  them  off 
to  the  graves.  Whenever  we  passed  near  we  used  to  go 
and  see  these  caves.  Every  man  will  there  find  his  trade 
described  and  they  were  all  made  in  one  night. 

"  Everybody  there  can  see  the  secret  operations  of  his 
trade  ;  but  he  does  not  tell  others  of  them  ;  and  no  other 
person  can  understand  what  they  mean.  They  are  the 
works  of  God.  No  human  hands  were  employed  on  them. 
That  everybody  admits." 

Another  Thug  :  "  I  have  seen  there  the  Sotha  (inveigler) 
sitting  upon  the  same  carpet  as  the  traveller,  and  in  close 
conversation  with  him,  just  as  we  are  when  we  worm  out 
their  secrets.  In  another  place  the  strangler  has  got  his 
inundl  (handkerchief)  over  his  neck  and  is  strangling  him  ; 
while,  another,  the  Chamochi,  is  holding  him  by  the  legs." 
I  do  not  think  there  is  any  reason  to  suppose  that  these 
carvings  really  have  anything  to  do  with  the  Thugs. 

3.  Origin  The  Thugs  did  not  'apparently  ever  constitute  a  distinct 
"^'^'^          caste   like   the  Badhaks,  but    were  recruited  from  different 

classes  of  the  population.  In  northern  and  southern  India 
three-fourths  or  more,  and  in  Central  India  about  a  half, 
were  Muhammadans,  whether  genuine  or  the  descendants 
of  converted  Hindus.  The  Muhammadan  Thugs  consisted 
of  seven  clans,  Bhais,  Barsote,  Kachuni,  Hattar,  Garru, 
Tandel  and  Rathur  :  "  And  these,  by  the  common  consent 
of  all  Thugs  throughout  India,  whether  Hindus  or  Muham- 
madans, are  admitted  to  be  the  most  ancient  and  the  great 
original  trunk  upon  which  all  the  others  have  at  different 
times  and  in  different  places  been  grafted."^      These  names, 

'  Sleeman,  p.  1 1. 


II  ORIGIN  OF  THE  THUGS  561 

however,  are  of  Hindu  and  not  of  Muhammadan  origin  ;  and 
it  seems  probable  that  many  of  the  Thugs  were  originally 
Banjaras  or  cattle-dealers  and  Kanjars  or  gipsies.  One  of 
the  Muhammadan  Thugs  told  Colonel  Sleeman  that,  "  The 
Arcot  gangs  will  never  intermarry  with  our  families,  saying 
that  we  once  drove  bullocks  and  were  itinerant  tradesmen, 
and  consequently  of  lower  caste."  ^  Another  man  said  ^ 
that  at  their  marriages  an  old  matron  would  sometimes 
repeat  as  she  threw  down  the  tulsi  or  basil,  "  Here's  to  the 
spirits  of  those  who  once  led  bears  and  monkeys  ;  to  those 
who  drove  bullocks  and  marked  with  the  godijii  (tattooing- 
needle)  ;  and  those  who  made  baskets  for  the  head."  These 
are  the  regular  occupations  of  the  Kanjars  and  Berias,  the 
gipsy  castes  who  are  probably  derived  from  the  Doms. 
And  it  seems  not  unlikely  that  these  people  may  have  been 
the  true  progenitors  of  the  Thugs.  There  is  at  present  a 
large  section  of  Muhammadan  Kanjars  who  are  recognised 
as  members  of  the  caste  by  the  Hindu  section.  Colonel 
Sleeman  was  of  opinion  that  the  Kanjars  also  practised 
murder  by  strangling,  but  not  as  a  regular  profession  ;  for 
this  would  have  been  too  dangerous,  as  they  were  accustomed 
to  wander  about  with  their  wives  and  all  their  belongings, 
and  the  disappearance  of  many  travellers  in  the  locality  of 
their  camps  would  naturally  excite  suspicion.  Whereas  the 
true  Thugs  resided  in  villages  and  towns  and  many  of  them 
had  other  ostensible  occupations,  their  periodical  excursions 
for  robbery  and  murder  being  veiled  under  the  pretence  of 
some  necessary  journey.  But  the  Kanjars  may  have  changed 
their  mode  of  life  on  taking  to  this  profession,  and  their 
adroitness  in  other  forms  of  crime,  such  as  killing  and  carry- 
ing off  cattle,  would  make  them  likely  persons  to  have 
discovered  the  advantages  of  a  system  of  murder  of  travellers 
by  strangulation.  The  existing  descendants  of  the  Thugs 
at  Jubbulpore  appear  to  be  mainly  Kanjars  and  Berias. 
For  such  a  life  it  is  clear  that  the  profession  of  the 
Muhammadan  religion  would  be  of  much  assistance  in 
maintaining  the  disguise  ;  for  it  set  a  man  free  from  many 
caste  obligations  and  ties  and  also  from  a  host  of  irksome 
restrictions  as  to  eating  and  drinking  with  others.  We 
1  p.  144.  2  p.  162. 

VOL.  IV  20 


562  THUG  PART 

may  therefore  conjecture,  though  without  certain  knowledge, 
that  many  of  the  Thugs  may  originally  have  become 
Muhammadans  for  convenience  ;  and  this  is  supported  by 
the  well-known  fact  that  the  principal  deity  of  all  of 
them  was  the  Hindu  goddess  Kali.  Many  bodies  of  Thugs 
were  also  recruited  from  other  Hindu  castes,  of  whom  the 
Lodhas  or  Lodhis  were  perhaps  the  most  numerous  ;  others 
of  the  fraternity  were  Rajputs,  Brahmans,  Tantis  or  weavers, 
Goalas  or  cowherds,  Multanis  or  Muhammadan  Banjaras, 
as  well  as  the  Sansias  and  Kanjars  or  criminal  vagrants 
and  gipsies.  These  seem  to  have  observed  their  caste  rules 
and  to  have  intermarried  among  themselves  ;  sometimes 
they  obtained  wives  from  other  families  who  had  no  con- 
nection with  Thuggee  and  kept  their  wives  in  ignorance 
of  their  nefarious  trade ;  occasionally  a  girl  would  be 
spared  from  a  murdered  party  and  married  to  a  son  of 
one  of  the  Thugs  ;  while  boys  were  more  frequently  saved 
and  brought  up  to  the  business.  The  Thugs  said  ^  that 
the  fidelity  of  their  wives  was  proverbial  and  they  were 
not  less  loving  and  dutiful  than  those  of  other  men,  while 
several  instances  are  recorded  of  the  strong  affection  borne 
by  fathers  to  their  children. 
4.  Methods  As  is  well  known  the  method  of  the  Thugs  was  to 
ofassassi-    a.ttach   themselves  to  travellers,  either  single  men  or  small 

nation.  .  . 

parties,  and  at  a  convenient  opportunity  to  strangle  them, 
bury  the  bodies  and  make  off  with  the  property  found  on 
them.  The  gangs  of  Thugs  usually  contained  from  ten  to 
fifty  men  and  were  sometimes  much  larger  ;  on  one  occasion 
as  many  as  three  hundred  and  sixty  Thugs  accomplished 
the  murder  of  a  party  of  forty  persons  in  Bilaspur.^  They 
pretended  to  be  traders,  soldiers  or  cultivators  and  usually 
went  without  weapons  in  order  to  disarm  suspicion  ;  and 
this  practice  also  furnished  them  with  an  excuse  for  seeking 
for  permission  to  accompany  parties  travelling  with  arms. 
There  was  nothing  to  excite  alarm  or  suspicion  in  the 
appearance  of  these  murderers  ;  but  on  the  contrary  they 
are  described  as  being  mild  and  benevolent  of  aspect,  and 
peculiarly  courteous,  gentle  and  obliging.  In  their  palmy 
days  the  leader  of  the  gang  often  travelled  on  horseback 
1  P.  147.  2  P.  205. 


II  METHODS  OF  ASSASSINATION  563 

with  a  tent  and  passed  for  a  person  of  consequence  or  a 
wealthy  merchant.  They  were  accustomed  to  get  into 
conversation  with  travellers  by  doing  them  some  service  or 
asking  permission  to  unite  their  parties  as  a  measure  of 
precaution.  They  would  then  journey  on  together,  and 
strive  to  win  the  confidence  of  their  victims  by  a  demeanour 
of  warm  friendship  and  feigned  interest  in  their  affairs. 
Sometimes  days  would  elapse  before  a  favourable  opportunity 
occurred  for  the  murder  ;  an  instance  is  mentioned  of  a 
gang  having  accompanied  a  family  of  eleven  persons  for 
twenty  days  during  which  they  had  traversed  upwards 
of  200  miles  and  then  murdered  the  whole  of  them  ; 
and  another  gang  accomplished  160  miles  in  twelve  days 
in  company  with  a  party  of  sixty  men,  women  and  children, 
before  they  found  a  propitious  occasion.^  Their  favourite 
time  for  the  murder  was  in  the  evening  when  the  whole 
party  would  be  seated  in  the  open,  the  Thugs  mingled  with 
their  victims,  talking,  smoking  and  singing.  If  their  numbers 
were  sufficient  three  Thugs  would  be  allotted  to  every 
victim,  so  that  on  the  signal  being  given  two  of  them  could 
lay  hold  of  his  hands  and  feet,  while  the  Bhurtot  or  strangler 
passed  the  rumdl  over  his  head  and  tightened  it  round  his 
neck,  forcing  the  victim  backwards  and  not  relaxing  his 
hold  till  life  was  extinct.  The  rumdl  or  *  handkerchief,' 
always  employed  for  throttling  victims,  was  really  a  loin- 
cloth or  turban,  in  which  a  loop  was  made  with  a  slip-knot. 
The  Thugs  called  it  their  sikka  or  '  ensign,'  but  it  was  not 
held  sacred  like  the  pickaxe.  When  the  leader  of  the  gang 
cleared  his  throat  violently  it  was  a  sign  to  prepare  for 
action,  and  he  afterwards  gave  \k\&  jhirni  or  signal  for  the 
murder,  by  saying  either  '  Taindkhu  khd  lol  '  Begin  chewing 
tobacco  ' ;  * Bhdnja  ko pdii  do'  *  Give  betel  to  my  nephew  '  ;  or 
'  Ayi  ho  to  gJiiri  chalo'  '  If  you  are  come,  pray  descend.' 
Their  adroitness  was  such  that  their  victims  seldom  or 
never  escaped  nor  even  had  a  chance  of  making  a  fight  for 
their  lives.  But  if  several  persons  were  to  be  killed  some 
men  were  detached  to  surround  the  camp  and  cut  down 
any  one  who  tried  to  escape.  The  Thugs  do  not  therefore 
appear  to  have  had  any  religious  objection   to  the  shedding 

1   IliUton's  Thus^s  attd  Dacoits. 


564  THUG  PART 

of  blood,  but  they  preferred  murder  by  strangling  as  being 
safer.  After  the  murder  the  bodies  were  at  once  buried, 
being  first  cut  about  to  prevent  them  from  swelling  on 
decomposition,  as  this  might  raise  the  surface  of  the  earth 
over  the  grave  and  so  attract  attention.  If  the  ground  was 
too  hard  they  were  thrown  into  a  ravine  or  down  one  of 
the  shallow  irrigation  wells  which  abound  in  north  India  ; 
and  it  was  stated  that  the  discovery  of  a  body  in  one  of 
these  wells  was  so  common  an  occurrence  that  the  cultivators 
took  no  notice  of  it.  If  there  were  people  in  the  vicinity 
so  that  it  was  dangerous  to  dig  the  graves  in  the  open  air, 
the  Thugs  did  not  scruple  to  inter  the  bodies  of  victims 
inside  their  own  tents  and  to  eat  their  food  sitting  on  the 
soil  above.  For  the  attack  of  a  horseman  three  men  were 
always  detailed,  if  practicable,  so  that  one  could  seize  the 
bridle  and  the  other  two  pull  him  out  of  the  saddle  and 
strangle  him  ;  but  if,  as  happened  occasionall}^,  a  single 
Thug  managed  to  kill  a  man  on  horseback,  he  obtained 
a  great  reputation,  which  even  descended  to  his  children. 
On  the  other  hand,  if  a  strangler  was  unlucky  or  clumsy,  so 
that  the  cloth  fell  on  the  victim's  head  or  face,  or  he  got 
blood  on  his  clothes  or  other  suspicious  signs,  and  these 
accidents  recurred,  he  was  known  as  Bisul,  and  was  excluded 
from  the  office  of  strangler  on  account  of  presumed  unfitness 
for  the  duty.  When  it  was  necessary  for  some  reason  to 
murder  a  party  on  the  march,  some  belhas  or  scouts  were 
sent  on  ahead  to  choose  a  beil  or  suitable  place  for  the 
business,  and  see  that  no  one  was  coming  in  the  opposite 
direction  ;  and  when  the  leader  said,  '  Wash  the  cup,'  it  was 
a  signal  for  the  scouts  to  go  forward  for  this  purpose.  If 
a  traveller  had  a  dog  with  him  the  dog  was  also  killed,  lest 
he  might  stay  beside  his  master's  grave  and  call  attention 
to  it.  Another  device  in  case  of  difficulty  was  for  one  of 
the  Thugs  to  feign  sickness.  The  Garru  or  man  who  did 
this  fell  down  on  a  sudden  and  pretended  to  be  taken 
violently  ill.  Some  of  his  friends  raised  and  supported 
him,  while  others  brought  water  and  felt  his  pulse  ;  and  at 
last  one  of  them  pretended  that  a  charm  would  restore  him. 
All  were  then  requested  to  sit  down,  the  pot  of  water  being 
in    the  centre  ;  all  were  desired  to  take  off  their  belts,  if 


II  ACCOUNT  OF  CERTAIN  MURDERS  565 

they  had  any,  and  uncover  their  necks,  and  lastly  to  look 
up  and  see  if  they  could  count  a  certain  number  of  stars. 
While  they  were  thus  occupied  intently  gazing  at  the  sky 
to  carry  out  the  charm  for  the  recovery  of  the  sick  man, 
the  cloths  were  passed  round  their  necks  and  they  were 
strangled. 

The  secrecy  and  adroitness  with  which  the  Thugs  con-  5.  Account 
ducted  their  murders  are  well  illustrated  by  the  narrative  of  muoiers" 
the  assassination  of  a  native  official  or  pleader  at  Lakh- 
nadon  in  Seoni  as  given  by  one  of  the  gang  :  ^  "  VVe  fell  in 
with  the  Munshi  and  his  family  at  Chhapara  between 
Nagpur  and  Jubbulpore  ;  and  they  came  on  with  us  to 
Lakhnadon,  where  we  found  that  some  companies  of  a 
native  regiment  under  European  officers  were  expected  the 
next  morning.  It  was  determined  to  put  them  all  to  death 
that  evening  as  the  Munshi  seemed  likely  to  join  the 
soldiers.  The  encampment  was  near  the  village  and  the 
Munshi's  tent  was  pitched  close  to  us.  In  the  afternoon 
some  of  the  officers'  tents  came  on  in  advance  and  were 
pitched  on  the  other  side,  leaving  us  between  them  and  the 
village.  The  klialdsis  were  all  busily  occupied  in  pitching 
them.  Nur  Khan  and  his  son  Sadi  Khan  and  a  few  others 
went  as  soon  as  it  became  dark  to  the  Munshi's  tent,  and 
began  to  play  and  sing  upon  a  sitdr  as  they  had  been 
accustomed  to  do.  During  this  time  some  of  them  took  up 
the  Munshi's  sword  on  pretence  of  wishing  to  look  at  it. 
His  wife  and  children  were  inside  listening  to  the  music 
The  j'hiyni  or  signal  was  given,  but  at  this  moment  the 
Munshi  saw  his  danger,  called  out  murder,  and  attempted  to 
rush  through,  but  was  seized  and  strangled.  His  wife  hear- 
ing him  ran  out  with  the  infant  in  her  arms,  but  was  seized 
by  Ghabbu  Khan,  who  strangled  her  and  took  the  infant. 
The  other  daughter  was  strangled  in  the  tent.  The  saises 
(grooms)  were  at  the  time  cleaning  their  horses,  and  one  of 
them  seeing  his  danger  ran  under  the  belly  of  his  horse  and 
called  murder  ;  but  he  was  soon  seized  and  strangled  as 
well  as  all  the  rest.  In  order  to  prevent  the  party  pitching 
the  officers'  tents  from  hearing  the  disturbance,  as  soon  as 
the  signal  was  given  those  of  the  gang  who  were  idle  began 

^  Sleeman,  p.  170. 


566  THUG  i>ART 

to  play  and  sing  as  loud  as  they  could  ;  and  two  vicious 
horses  were  let  loose,  and  many  ran  after  them  calling  out 
as  loud  as  they  could  ;  so  that  the  calls  of  the  Munshi  and 
his  party  were  drowned."  They  thought  at  first  of  keeping 
the  infant,  but  decided  that  it  was  too  risky,  and  threw  it 
alive  into  the  grave  in  which  the  other  bodies  had  been 
placed.  It  is  surprising  to  realise  that  in  the  above  case 
about  half  a  dozen  people,  awake  and  conscious,  were  killed 
forcibly  in  broad  daylight  within  a  few  paces  of  a  number 
of  men  occupied  in  pitching  tents,  without  their  noticing 
anything  of  the  matter  ;  and  this  may  certainly  be  charac- 
terised as  an  instance  of  murder  as  a  fine  art.  To  show 
the  absolute  callousness  of  the  Thugs  towards  their  victims 
and  the  complete  absence  of  any  feelings  of  compassion,  the 
story  of  the  following  murder  by  the  same  gang  may  be 
recorded.^  The  Thugs  were  travelling  from  Nagpur  toward 
Jubbulpore  with  a  party  consisting  of  _  Newal  Singh,  a 
Jemadar  (petty  officer)  in  the  Nizam's  army,  his  brother,  his 
two  daughters,  one  thirteen  and  the  other  eleven  years  old, 
his  son  about  seven  years  old,  two  young  men  who  were  to 
marry  the  daughters,  and  four  servants.  At  Dhuma  the 
house  in  which  the  Thugs  lodged  took  fire,  and  the  greater 
number  of  them  were  seized  by  the  police,  but  were 
released  at  the  urgent  request  of  Newal  Singh  and  his  two 
daughters,  who  had  taken  a  great  fancy  to  Khimoli,  the 
principal  leader  of  the  gang,  and  some  of  the  others. 
Newal  Singh  was  related  to  a  native  officer  of  the  British 
detachment  at  Seoni  and  obtained  his  assistance  for  the 
release  of  the  Thugs.  At  this  time  the  gang  had  with 
them  two  bags  of  silk,  the  property  of  three  carriers 
whom  they  had  murdered  in  the  great  temple  of  Kamptee, 
and  if  they  had  been  searched  by  the  police  these  must 
have  been  discovered.  On  reaching  Jubbulpore  the  Thugs 
found  a  lodging  in  the  town  with  Newal  Singh  and  his 
family.  But  the  merchants  who  were  expecting  the  silk 
from  Nagpur  and  found  that  it  had  not  arrived,  induced  the 
Kotwal  to  search  the  lodging  of  the  Thugs.  Hearing  of 
the  approach  of  the  police,  the  leader  Khimoli  again  availed 
himself  of  the  attachment  of  Newal  Singh  and  his  daughters, 
^  Sleeman,  p.  i68. 


II  SPECIAL  INCIDENTS  567 

and  the  girls  were  made  to  sit  each  upon  one  of  the  two 
bags  of  silk  while  the  police  searched  the  place.  Nothing 
was  found  and  the  party  again  set  out  ;  and  five  days  after- 
wards Newal  Singh  and  his  whole  family  were  murdered  at 
Biseni  by  the  Thugs  whom  they  had  twice  preserved  from 
arrest. 

These  murderers  looked  on  all  travellers  as  their  6.  Special 
legitimate  prey,  as  sportsmen  regard  game.  On  one  |"on.^"^^ 
occasion  the  noted  Thug,  Feringia,^  with  his  gang  were  tinued). 
cooking  their  dinners  under  some  trees  on  the  road  when 
five  travellers  came  by,  but  could  not  be  persuaded  to  stop 
and  partake  of  the  meal,  saying  they  wished  to  sleep  at  a 
place  called  Hirora  that  night,  and  had  yet  eight  miles  to 
go.  The  Thugs  afterwards  followed,  but  found  no  traces  of 
the  travellers  at  Hirora.  Fcringia  therefore  concluded  that 
they  must  have  fallen  into  the  hands  of  another  gang,  and 
suddenly  recollected  having  passed  an  encampment  of 
Banjaras  (pack-carriers)  not  far  from  the  town.  On  the 
following  morning  he  accordingly  went  back  with  a  few  of 
his  comrades,  and  at  once  recognised  a  horse  and  pony 
which  he  had  observed  in  the  possession  of  the  travellers. 
So  he  asked  the  Banjaras,  "  What  have  you  done  with  the 
five  travellers,  my  good  friends  ?  You  have  taken  from  us 
our  banij  (merchandise)."  They  apologised  for  what  they 
had  done,  pleading  ignorance  of  the  lien  of  the  other  Thugs, 
and  offered  to  share  the  booty  ;  but  Fcringia  declined,  as 
none  of  his  party  had  been  present  at  the  '  loading.'  They 
were  accustomed  to  distinguish  their  most  important  ex- 
ploits by  the  number  of  persons  who  were  killed.  Thus 
one  murder  in  the  Jubbulpore  District  was  known  as  the 
'  Sathrup,'  or  '  Sixty  soul  affair,'  and  another  in  Bilaspur  as 
the  '  Chalisrup,'  or  '  Murder  of  forty.'  At  this  time  (1807) 
the  road  between  northern  and  southern  India  through  the 
Nerbudda  valley  had  been  rendered  so  unsafe  by  the  in- 
cursions of  the  Pindaris  that  travellers  preferred  to  go 
through  Chhattl.sgarh  and  Sambalpur  to  the  Ganges.  This 
route,  passing  for  long  distances  through  dense  forest, 
offered  srreat  advantasres  to  the  Thues,  and  was  soon  infested 


*t>-^) 


*  He  was  called  Feringia  because  he       from  an  attack  on  her  village  by  troops 
was  born  while  his  mother  was  fleeing       under  European  officers  (Feringis). 


568  THUG  PART 

by  them.  In  i  806,  owing  to  the  success '  of  previous  ex- 
peditions, it  was  determined  that  all  the  Thugs  of  northern 
India  should  work  on  this  road ;  accordingly  after  the 
Dasahra  festival  six  hundred  of  them,  under  forty  Jemadars 
or  leaders  of  note,  set  out  from  their  homes,  and  having 
worshipped  in  the  temple  of  Devi  at  Bindhyachal,  met  at 
Ratanpur  in  Bilaspur.  The  gangs  split  up,  and  after  several 
murders  sixty  of  them  came  to  Lanji  in  Balaghat,  and  here 
in  two  days'  time  fell  in  with  a  party  of  thirty-one  men, 
seven  women  and  two  girls  on  their  way  to  the  Ganges, 
The  Jemadars  soon  became  intimate  with  the  principal  men 
of  the  party,  pretended  to  be  going  to  the  same  part  of 
India  and  won  their  confidence  ;  and  next  day  they  all  set 
out  and  in  four  days  reached  Ratanpur,  where  they  met  1 60 
Thugs  returning  from  the  murder  of  a  wealthy  widow  and 
her  escort.  Shortly  afterwards  another  200  men  who  had 
heard  of  the  travellers  near  Nagpur  also  came  up,  but  all 
the  different  bodies  pretended  to  be  strangers  to  each  other. 
They  detached  sixty  men  to  return  to  Nagpur,  leaving  360 
to  deal  with  the  forty  travellers.  From  Ratanpur  they  all 
journeyed  to  Chura  (Chhuri  ?),  and  here  scouts  were  sent  on 
to  select  a  proper  place  for  the  murder.  This  was  chosen 
in  a  long  stretch  of  forest,  and  two  men  were  despatched 
to  the  village  of  Sutranja,  farther  on  the  road,  to  see  that 
no  or>e  was  coming  in  the  opposite  direction,  while  another 
picket  remained  behind  to  prevent  interruption  from  the 
rear.  By  the  time  they  reached  the  appointed  place,  the 
Bhurtots  (stranglers)  and  Shamsias  (holders)  had  all  on 
some  pretext  or  other  got  close  to  the  side  of  the  persons 
whom  they  were  appointed  to  kill  ;  and  on  reaching  the 
spot  the  signal  was  given  in  several  places  at  the  same  time, 
and  thirty-eight  out  of  forty  were  immediately  seized  and 
strangled.  One  of  the  girls  was  a  very  handsome  young 
woman,  and  Pancham,  a  Jemadar,  wished  to  preserve  her  as 
a  wife  for  his  son.  But  when  she  saw  her  father  and 
mother  strangled  she  screamed  and  beat  her  head  against 
the  ground  and  tried  to  kill  herself.  Pancham  tried  in  vain 
to  quiet  her,  and  promised  to  take  great  care  of  her  and 
marry  her  to  his  own  son,  who  would  be  a  great  chief;  but 

^  Sleeman,  p.  205. 


II  DISGUISES  OF  THE  THUGS  569 

all  to  no  effect.  She  continued  to  scream,  and  at  last 
Pancham  put  the  rfiuial  (handkerchief)  round  her  neck  and 
strangled  her.  One  little  girl  of  three  years  old  was  pre- 
served by  another  Jemadar  and  married  to  his  son,  and 
when  she  grew  up  often  heard  the  story  of  the  affair 
narrated.  The  bodies  were  buried  in  a  ravine  and  the 
booty  amounted  to  Rs.  17,000.  The  Thugs  then  decided 
to  return  home,  and  arrived  without  mishap,  except  that  the 
Jemadar,  Pancham,  died  on  the  way. 

They  were  not  particular,  however,  to  ascertain  that  their  7.  Dis- 
victims  carried  valuable  property  before  disposing  of  them.  fj^'^xh° 
Eight  annas  (8d.),  one  of  them  said,^  was  sufficient  remunera- 
tion for  murdering  a  man.  On  another  occasion  two  river 
Thugs  killed  two  old  men  and  obtained  only  a  rupee's 
worth  of  coppers,  two  brass  vessels  and  their  body-cloths. 
But  as  a  rule  the  gains  were  much  larger.  It  sometimes 
happened  that  the  Thugs  themselves  were  robbed  at  night 
by  ordinary  thieves,  though  they  usually  set  a  watch.  On 
one  occasion  a  band  of  more  than  a  hundred  Thugs  fell  in 
with  a  party  of  twenty-seven  dacoits  who  had  with  them 
stolen  property  of  Rs.  13,000  in  cash,  with  gold  ornaments, 
gems  and  shawls.  The  Thugs  asked  to  be  allowed  to  travel 
under  their  protection,  and  the  dacoits  carelessly  assenting 
were  shortly  afterwards  all  murdered.^  As  already  stated, 
the  Thugs  were  accustomed  to  live  in  towns  or  villages  and 
many  of  them  ostensibly  followed  respectable  callings.  The 
following  instance  of  this  is  given  by  Sir  W.  Sleeman  :  ^ 
"  The  first  party  of  Thug  approvers  whom  I  sent  into  the 
Deccan  to  aid  Captain  Reynolds  recognised  in  the  person 
of  one  of  the  most  respectable  linen-drapers  of  the  canton- 
ment of  Hingoli,  Hari  Singh,  the  adopted  son  of  Jawahir  . 
Sukul,  Subahdar  of  Thugs,  who  had  been  executed  twenty 
years  before.  On  hearing  that  the  Hari  Singh  of  the  list 
sent  to  him  of  noted  Thugs  at  large  in  the  Deccan  was  the 
Hari  Singh  of  the  Sadar  Bazar,  Captain  Reynolds  was  quite 
astounded  ;  so  correct  had  he  been  in  his  deportment  and 
all  his  dealings  that  he  had  won  the  esteem  of  all  the  gentle- 
men of  the  station,  who  used  to  assist  him  in  procuring 
passports  for  his  goods  on  their  way  from  Bombay  ;  and 
1   Hutton,  p.  70.  2  Ibidem,  p.  71.  ^  Pp.  34,  35. 


S70  THUG  I'ART 

yet  he  had,  as  he  has  since  himself  shown,  been  carryiny^  on 
his  trade  of  murder  up  to  the  very  day  of  his  arrest  with 
gangs  of  Hindustan  and  the  Deccan  on  all  the  roads  around 
and  close  to  the  cantonments  of  Hingoli  ;  and  leading  out 
his  band  of  assassins  while  he  pretended  to  be  on  his  way 
to  Bombay  for  a  supply  of  fresh  linen  and  broad-cloth." 
Another  case  is  quoted  by  Mr.  Oman  from  Taylor's  Thirty- 
eight  Years  in  India}  "  Dr.  Cheek  had  a  child's  bearer 
who  had  charge  of  his  children.  The  man  was  a  special 
favourite,  remarkable  for  his  kind  and  tender  ways  with  his 
little  charges,  gentle  in  manner  and  unexceptionable  in  all 
his  conduct.  Every  year  he  obtained  leave  from  his  master 
and  mistress,  as  he  said,  for  the  filial  purpose  of  visiting  his 
aged  mother  for  one  month  ;  and  returning  after  the  expiry 
of  that  time,  with  the  utmost  punctuality,  resumed  with  the 
accustomed  affection  and  tenderness  the  charge  of  his  little 
darlings.  This  mild  and  exemplary  being  was  the  missing 
Thug  ;  kind,  gentle,  conscientious  and  regular  at  his  post 
for  eleven  months  in  the  year  he  devoted  the  twelfth  to 
strangulation." 
8.  Secrecy  Again,  as  regards  the  secrecy  with  which  murders  were 

perpetrated  and  all  traces  of  them  hidden,  Sir  W.  Sleeman 
writes  : "  "  While  I  was  in  civil  charge  of  the  District  of  Nar- 
singhpur,  in  the  valley  of  the  Nerbudda,  in  the  years  1822— 
1824,  no  ordinary  robbery  or  theft  could  be  committed 
without  my  becoming  aware  of  it,  nor  was  there  a  robber  or 
thief  of  the  ordinary  kind  in  the  District  with  whose  character 
I  had  not  become  acquainted  in  the  discharge  of  my  duties 
as  magistrate  ;  and  if  any  man  had  then  told  me  that  a  gang 
of  assassins  by  profession  resided  in  the  village  of  Kandeli,^ 
not  four  hundred  yards  from  my  court,  and  that  the  exten- 
sive groves  of  the  village  of  Mundesur,  only  one  stage  from 
me  on  the  road  to  Saugor  and  Bhopal,  were  one  of  the 
greatest  l?e/rs  or  places  of  murder  in  all  India,  and  that  large 
gangs  from  Hindustan  and  the  Deccan  used  to  rendezvous  in 
these  groves,  remain  in  them  for  many  days  every  year,  and 
carry  on  their  dreadful  trade  along  all  the  lines  of  road  that 

^  Sec  Culls,  Customs  and  Supcrsti-  ^  Kandcli  adjoins  the  headquarters 

tions  of  India,  p.  249.  station  of  Narsinghpur,  the  two  towns 

2  Pp.  32,  33.  being  divided  only  by  a  stream. 


of  their 
operations 


1 


II        SUPPORT  OF  LANDHOLDERS  AND   VILLAGERS     571 

pass  by  and  branch  off  from  them,  with  the  knowledge  and 
connivance  of  the  two  landholders  by  whose  ancestors  these 
groves  had  been  planted,  I  should  have  thought  him  a  fool 
or  a  madman  ;  and  yet  nothing  could  have  been  more  true. 
The  bodies  of  a  hundred  travellers  lie  buried  in  and  around 
the  groves  of  Mundesur  ;  and  a  gang  of  assassins  lived  in  and 
about  the  village  of  Kandeli  while  I  was  magistrate  of  the 
District,  and  extended  their  depredations  to  the  cities  of 
Poona  and  Hyderabad." 

The  system  of  Thuggee  reached  its  zenith  during  the  9.  Support 
anarchic  period  of  the  decline  of  the  Mughal  Empire,  when  holders' 
only  the  strongest  and  most  influential  could  obtain  any  and 
assistance  from  the  State  in  recovering  property  or  exacting  '  '^ 
reparation  for  the  deaths  of  murdered  friends  and  relatives. 
Nevertheless,  the  Thugs  could  hardly  have  escaped  consider- 
able loss  even  from  private  vengeance  had  they  been  com- 
pelled to  rely  on  themselves  for  protection.  But  this  was 
not  the  case,  for,  like  the  Badhaks  and  other  robbers,  they 
enjoyed  the  countenance  and  support  of  landholders  and 
ruling  chiefs  in  return  for  presenting  them  with  the  choicest 
of  their  booty  and  taking  holdings  of  land  at  very  high  rents. 
Sir  W,  Sleeman  wrote  ^  that,  "  The  zamlndars  and  landholders 
of  every  description  have  everywhere  been  found  ready  to 
receive  these  people  under  their  protection  from  the  desire 
to  share  in  the  fruits  of  their  expeditions,  and  without  the 
slightest  feeling  of  religious  or  moral  responsibility  for  the 
murders  which  they  know  must  be  perpetrated  to  secure 
these  fruits.  All  that  they  require  from  them  is  a  promise 
that  they  will  not  commit  murders  within  their  estates  and 
thereby  involve  them  in  trouble."  Sometimes  the  police 
could  also  be  conciliated  by  bribes,  and  on  one  occasion 
when  a  body  of  Thugs  who  had  killed  twenty-five  persons 
were  being  pursued  by  the  Thakur  of  Powai "  they  retired 
upon  the  village  of  Tigura,  and  even  the  villagers  came  out 
to  their  support  and  defended  them  against  his  attack. 
Another  officer  wrote :  ^  "  To  conclude,  there  seems  no 
doubt  but  that  this  horrid  crime  has  been  fostered  by  all 
classes    in    the    communit}'  —  the    landholders,    the    native 

'   P.  23.  3  Captain  Lowis  in  Sleeman's  Report 

'^  Near  Bilehri  in  Jubbulpore.  o«  the  Thug  Gangs  (1840). 


572  THUG  PART 

officers  of  our  courts,  the  police  and  village  authorities — all, 
I  think,  have  been  more  or  less  guilty  ;  my  meaning  is  not, 
of  course,  that  every  member  of  these  classes,  but  that  indi- 
viduals varying  in  number  in  each  class  were  concerned. 
The  subordinate  police  officials  have  in  many  cases  been 
practising  Thugs,  and  the  chauklddrs  or  village  watchmen 
frequently  so." 

10.  Mur-  A  favourite   class  of  victims  were  sepoys  proceeding  to 
gg               their  homes   on   furlough   and  carrying   their  small  savings  ; 

such  men  would  not  be  quickly  missed,  as  their  relatives 
would  think  they  had  not  started,  and  the  regimental 
authorities  would  ascribe  their  failure  to  return  to  desertion. 
So  many  of  these  disappeared  that  a  special  Army  Order 
was  issued  warning  them  not  to  travel  alone,  and  arranging 
for  the  transmission  of  their  money  through  the  Government 
treasuries.^  In  this  order  it  is  stated  that  the  Thugs  were 
accustomed  first  to  stupefy  their  victim  by  surreptitiously 
administering  the  common  narcotic  dJiatura,  still  a  familiar 
method  of  highway  robbery. 

11.  Callous  Like  the  Badhaks  and  other  Indian  robbers  and  the 
the'i'hutrs  Italian  banditti  the  Thugs  were  of  a  very  religious  or  super- 
stitious turn  of  mind.  There  was  not  one  among  them,  Colonel 
Sleeman  wrote,^  who  doubted  the  divine  origin  of  Thuggee : 
"  Not  one  who  doubts  that  he  and  all  who  have  followed  the 
trade^  of  murder,  with  the  prescribed  rites  and  observance, 
were  acting  under  the  immediate  orders  and  auspices  of  the 
goddess,  Devi,  Durga,  Kali  or  Bhawani,  as  she  is  indif- 
ferently called,  and  consequently  there  is  not  one  who  feels 
the  slightest  remorse  for  the  murders  which  he  may  have 
perpetrated  or  abetted  in  the  course  of  his  vocation.  A 
Thug  considers  the  persons  murdered  precisely  in  the  light 
of  victims  offered  up  to  the  goddess  ;  and  he  remembers  them 
as  a  priest  of  Jupiter  remembered  the  oxen  and  a  priest  of 
Saturn  the  children  sacrificed  upon  their  altars.  He  medi- 
tates his  murders  without  any  misgivings,  he  perpetrates 
them  without  any  emotions  of  pity,  and  he  recalls  them  with- 
out any  feeling  of  remorse.  They  trouble  not  his  dreams, 
nor  does  their  recollection  ever  cause  him  inquietude  in 
darkness,  in  solitude  or  in  the  hour  of  death." 

1  Pp.  15,  16.  2  p,  7^ 


1 


in  divine 
support. 


II  BELIEF  IN  DIVINE  SUPPORT  573 

And  again  :  "  The  most  extraordinary  trait  in  the  char- 
acters of  these  people  is  not  this  that  they  can  look  back 
upon  all  the  murders  they  have  perpetrated  without  any 
feelings  of  remorse,  but  that  they  can  look  forward  indif- 
ferently to  their  children,  whom  they  love  as  tenderly  as  any 
man  in  the  world,  following  the  same  trade  of  murder  or 
being  united  in  marriage  to  men  who  follow  the  trade. 
When  I  have  asked  them  how  they  could  cherish  these 
children  through  infancy  and  childhood  under  the  determina- 
tion to  make  them  murderers  or  marry  them  to  murderers, 
the  only  observation  they  have  ever  made  was  that  formerly 
there  was  no  danger  of  their  ever  being  hung  or  transported, 
but  that  now  they  would  rather  that  their  children  should 
learn  some  less  dangerous  trade. 

They  considered  that  all  their  victims  were  killed  by  the  12.  Belief 
agency  of  God  and  that  they  were  merely  irresponsible 
agents,  appointed  to  live  by  killing  travellers  as  tigers  by 
feeding  on  deer.  If  a  man  committed  a  real  murder  they 
held  that  his  family  must  become  extinct,  and  adduced  the 
fact  that  this  fate  had  not  befallen  them  as  proof  that  their 
acts  of  killing  were  justifiable.  Nay,  they  even  held  that 
those  who  oppressed  them  were  punished  by  the  goddess  :  ^ 
"  Was  not  Nanha,  the  Raja  of  Jalon,"  said  one  of  them, 
"  made  leprous  by  Devi  for  putting  to  death  Budhu  and  his 
brother  Khumoli,  two  of  the  most  noted  Thugs  of  their  day  ? 
He  had  them  trampled  under  the  feet  of  elephants,  but  the 
leprosy  broke  out  on  his  body  the  very  next  day.  When 
Mudhaji  Sindhia  caused  seventy  Thugs  to  be  executed  at 
Mathura  was  he  not  warned  in  a  dream  by  Devi  that  he 
should  release  them  ?  And  did  he  not  the  very  day  after 
their  execution  begin  to  spit  blood  ?  And  did  he  not  die 
within  three  months?"  Their  subsequent  misfortunes  and 
the  success  of  the  British  officers  against  them  they  attri- 
buted to  their  disobedience  of  the  ordinances  of  Devi  in  slay- 
ing women  and  other  classes  of  prohibited  persons  and  their 
disregard  of  her  omens.  They  also  held  that  the  spirits  of 
all  their  victims  went  straight  to  Paradise,  and  this  was  the 
reason  why  the  Thugs  were  not  troubled  by  them  as  other 
murderers  were. 

1  P.  150. 


574  THUG  PART 

13.  Theory  The   fact   that   the  Thugs  considered  themselves  to  be 

asareH^r  directed  by  the  deity,  reinforced  by  their  numerous  supersti- 
ous  sect.  tious  beliefs  and  observances,  has  led  to  the  suggestion  by 
one  writer  that  they  were  originally  a  religious  sect,  whose 
principal  tenet  was  the  prohibition  of  the  shedding  of  blood. 
There  is,  however,  no  evidence  in  support  of  this  view  in  the 
accounts  of  Colonel  Sleeman,  incomparably  the  best  authority. 
Their  method  of  strangulation  was,  as  has  been  seen,  simply 
the  safest  and  most  convenient  means  of  murder :  it  enabled 
them  to  dispense  with  arms,  by  the  sight  of  which  the  appre- 
hensions of  their  victims  would  have  been  aroused,  and  left 
no  traces  on  the  site  of  the  crime  to  be  observed  by  other 
travellers.  On  occasion  also  they  did  not  scruple  to  employ 
weapons  ;  as  in  the  murder  of  seven  treasure-bearers  near 
Hindoria  in  Damoh,  who  would  not  probably  have  allowed 
the  Thugs  to  approach  them,  and  in  consequence  were 
openly  attacked  and  killed  with  swords.^  Other  instances 
are  given  in  Colonel  Sleeman's  narrative,  and  they  were  also 
accustomed  to  cut  and  slash  about  the  bodies  of  their  victims 
after  death.  The  belief  that  they  were  guided  by  the  divine 
will  may  probably  have  arisen  as  a  means  of  excusing  their 
own  misdeeds  to  themselves  and  allaying  their  fear  of  such 
retribution  as  being  haunted  by  the  ghosts  of  their  victims. 
Similar  instances  of  religious  beliefs  and  practices  are  given 
in  the  accounts  of  other  criminals,  such  as  the  Badhaks  and 
Sansias.  And  the  more  strict  and  serious  observances  of  the 
Thugs  may  be  accounted  for  by  the  more  atrocious  character 
of  their  crimes  and  the  more  urgent  necessity  of  finding  some 
palliative. 

The  veneration  paid  to  the  pickaxe,  which  will  shortly 
be  described,  merely  arises  from  the  common  animistic  belief 
that  tools  and  implements  generally  achieve  the  results 
obtained  from  them  by  their  inherent  virtue  and  of  their 
own  volition,  and  not  from  the  human  hand  which  guides 
them  and  the  human  brain  which  fashioned  them  to  serve 
their  ends.  Members  of  practically  all  castes  worship  the 
implements  of  their  profession  and  thus  afford  evidence  of 
the  same  belief,  the  most  familiar  instance  of  which  is 
perhaps,  '  The  pestilence  that  walketh   in  the  darkness  and 

*  Sleeman's  Report  on  the  Thug  Gangs,  Introduction,  p.  vi. 


/■iiincM-,    (Oi'.'i'.,    Petiy. 


THE    GODDESS     KALI. 


II  WORSHIP  OF  KALI— THE  SACRED  PICKAXE        575 

the  arrow  that  flieth  by  noonday  '  ;  where  the  writer  intended 
no  metaphor  but  actually  thought  that  the  pestilence  walked 
and  the  arrow  flew  of  their  own  volition. 

Kali  or  Bhawani  was  the   principal  deity  of  the   Thugs,  14.  Wor- 
as  of  most  of  the  criminal  and  lower  castes  ;   and  those  who  f,".'^.°'^ 

'  kali. 

were  Muhammadans  got  over  the  difficulty  of  her  being  a 
Hindu  goddess  by  pretending  that  Fatima,  the  daughter  of 
the  Prophet,  was  an  incarnation  of  her.  In  former  times 
they  held  that  the  goddess  was  accustomed  to  relieve  them 
of  the  trouble  of  destroying  the  dead  bodies  by  devouring 
them  herself;  but  in  order  that  they  might  not  see  her 
doing  this  she  had  strictly  enjoined  on  them  never  to  look 
back  on  leaving  the  site  of  a  murder.  On  one  occasion  a 
novice  of  the  fraternity  disobeyed  this  rule  and,  unguardedly 
looking  behind  him,  saw  the  goddess  in  the  act  of  feasting 
upon  a  body  with  the  half  of  it  hanging  out  of  her  mouth. 
Upon  this  she  declared  that  she  would  no  longer  devour 
those  whom  the  Thugs  slaughtered  ;  but  she  agreed  to 
present  them  with  one  of  her  teeth  for  a  pickaxe,  a  rib  for 
a  knife  and  the  hem  of  her  lower  garment  for  a  noose,  and 
ordered  them  for  the  future  to  cut  about  and  bury  the  bodies 
of  those  whom  they  destroyed.  As  there  seems  reason  to 
suppose  that  the  goddess  Kali  represents  the  deified  tiger, 
on  which  she  rides,  she  was  eminently  appropriate  as  the 
patroness  of  the  Thugs  and  in  the  capacity  of  the  devourer 
of  corpses. 

When  the  sacred  pickaxe  used  for  burying  corpses  had  15-  The 
to  be  made,  the  leader  of  the  gang,  having  ascertained  a  l^ckate 
lucky  day  from  the  priest,  went  to  a  blacksmith  and  after 
closing  the  door  so  that  no  other  person  might  enter,  got 
him  to  make  the  axe  in  his  presence  without  touching  any 
other  work  until  it  was  completed.  A  day  was  then  chosen 
for  the  consecration  of  the  pickaxe,  either  Monday,  Tuesday, 
Wednesday  or  Friday  ;  and  the  ceremony  was  performed 
inside  a  house  or  tent,  so  that  the  shadow  of  no  living- 
thing  might  fall  on  and  contaminate  the  sacred  implement. 
A  pit  was  dug  in  the  ground  and  over  it  the  pickaxe  was 
washed  successively  wath  water,  sugar  and  water,  sour  milk, 
and  alcoholic  liquor,  all  of  which  were  poured  over  it  into 
the  pit.      Finally  it  was  marked  seven  times  with  vermilion. 


576  THUG  PART 

A  burnt  offering  was  then  made  with  all  the  usual  in- 
gredients for  sacrifice  and  the  pickaxe  was  passed  seven 
times  through  the  flames.  A  cocoanut  was  placed  on  the 
ground,  and  the  priest,  holding  the  pickaxe  by  the  point  in 
his  right  hand,  said,  '  Shall  I  strike  ?  '  The  others  replied 
yes,  and  striking  the  cocoanut  with  the  butt  end  he  broke 
it  in  pieces,  upon  which  all  exclaimed,  '  All  hail,  Devi,  and 
prosper  the  Thugs.'  All  then  partook  of  the  kernel  of  the 
cocoanut,  and  collecting  the  fragments  put  them  into  the  pit 
so  that  they  might  not  afterwards  be  contaminated  by  the 
touch  of  any  man's  foot.  Here  the  cocoanut  may  probably 
be  considered  as  a  substituted  sacrifice  for  a  human  being. 
Thereafter  the  pickaxe  was  called  Kassi  or  Mahi  instead  of 
kuddli,  the  ordinary  name,  and  was  given  to  the  shrewdest, 
cleanest  and  most  sober  and  careful  man  of  the  party,  who 
carried  it  in  his  waist-belt.  While  in  camp  he  buried  it  in 
a  secure  place  with  its  point  in  the  direction  they  intended 
to  go  ;  and  they  believed  that  if  another  direction  was  better 
the  point  would  be  found  changed  towards  it.  They  said 
that  formerly  the  pickaxe  was  thrown  into  a  well  and  would 
come  up  of  itself  when  summoned  with  due  ceremonies  ;  but 
since  they  disregarded  the  ordinances  of  Kali  it  had  lost 
that  virtue.  Many  Thugs  told  Colonel  Sleeman  ^  that  they 
had  seen  the  pickaxe  rise  out  of  the  well  in  the  morning  of 
its  awn  accord  and  come  to  the  hands  of  the  man  who 
carried  it ;  and  even  the  several  pickaxes  of  different  gangs 
had  been  known  to  come  up  of  themselves  from  the  same 
well  and  go  to  their  respective  bearers.  The  pickaxe  was 
also  worshipped  on  every  seventh  day  during  an  expedition, 
and  it  was  believed  that  the  sound  made  by  it  in  digging  a 
grave  was  never  heard  by  any  one  but  a  Thug.  The  oath 
by  the  pickaxe  was  in  their  esteem  far  more  sacred  than 
that  by  the  Ganges  water  or  the  Koran,  and  they  believed 
that  a  man  who  perjured  himself  by  this  oath  would  die  or 
suffer  some  great  calamity  within  six  days.  In  prison,  when 
administering  an  oath  to  each  other  in  cases  of  dispute,  they 
sometimes  made  an  image  of  the  pickaxe  out  of  a  piece  of 
cloth  and  consecrated  it  for  the  purpose.  If  the  pickaxe  at 
any  time  fell  from  the  hands  of  the  carrier  it  was  a  dreadful 

1  P.  142. 


II  THE  SACRED  CUR  {SUGAR)  ^77 

omen  and  portended  either  that  he  would  be  killed  that 
year  or  that  the  gang  would  suffer  some  grievous  misfortune. 
He  was  deprived  of  his  office  and  the  gang  either  returned 
home  or  chose  a  fresh  route  and  consecrated  the  i)ickaxe 
anew. 

After  each  murder  they  had  a  sacrificial  feast  of  giir  or  16.  'iiie 
unrefined  sugar.  This  was  purchased  to  the  value  of  Rs.  1-4,  ^Unc^uf^'^ 
and  the  leader  of  the  gang  and  the  other  Bhurtotes  (stranglers) 
sat  on  a  blanket  with  the  rest  of  the  gang  round  them.  A 
little  sugar  was  dropped  into  a  hole  and  the  leader  prayed 
to  Devi  to  send  them  some  rich  victims.  The  remainder  of 
the  sugar  was  divided  among  all  present.  One  of  them  gave 
the  jJiirni  or  signal  for  strangling  and  they  consumed  the 
sugar  in  solemn  silence,  no  fragment  of  it  being  lost.  They 
believed  that  it  was  this  consecrated  gur  which  gave  the 
desire  for  the  trade  of  a  Thug  and  made  them  callous  to  the 
sufferings  of  their  victims,  and  they  thought  that  if  any  out- 
sider tasted  it  he  would  at  once  become  a  Thug  and  continue 
so  all  his  life.  When  Colonel  Sleeman  asked  ^  a  young  man 
who  had  strangled  a  beautiful  young  woman  in  opposition 
to  their  rules,  whether  he  felt  no  pity  for  her,  the  leader 
Feringia  exclaimed  :  "  We  all  feel  pity  sometimes,  but  the 
gur  of  the  Tuponi  (sacrifice)  changes  our  nature.  It  would 
change  the  nature  of  a  horse.  Let  any  man  once  taste  of 
that  gur  and  he  will  be  a  Thug,  though  he  knows  all  the 
trades  and  have  all  the  wealth  in  the  world.  I  never  wanted 
food  ;  my  mother's  family  was  opulent,  her  relations  high 
in  office.  I  have  been  high  in  office  myself,  and  became  so 
great  a  favourite  wherever  I  went  that  I  was  sure  of  pro- 
motion ;  yet  I  was  always  miserable  while  absent  from  my 
gang  and  obliged  to  return  to  Thuggee.  My  father  made 
me  taste  of  that  fatal  gur  when  I  was  yet  a  mere  boy  ;  and 
if  I  were  to  live  a  thousand  years  I  should  never  be  able  to 
follow  any  other  trade." 

The  eating  of  this  gur  was  clearly  the  sacrificial  meal  of 
the  Thugs.  On  the  analogy  of  other  races  they  should  have 
partaken  of  the  body  of  an  animal  god  at  their  sacrificial 
meal,  and  if  the  goddess  Kali  is  the  deified  tiger,  they  should 
have  eaten  tiger's  flesh.      This  custom,  if  it  ever  existed,  had 

J  P.  216. 

VOL.  IV  2  P 


578  THUG  PART 

been  abandoned,  and  the  gur  would  in  that  case  be  a  sub- 
stitute ;  and  as  has  been  seen  the  eating  of  the  gur  was  held 
to  confer  on  them  the  same  cruelty,  callousness  and  desire 
to  kill  which  might  be  expected  to  follow  from  eating  tiger's 
flesh  and  thus  assimilating  the  qualities  of  the  animal. 
Since  they  went  unarmed  as  a  rule,  in  order  to  avoid  excit- 
ing the  suspicions  of  their  victims,  it  would  be  quite  im- 
possible for  them  to  obtain  tiger's  flesh,  except  by  the 
rarest  accident  ;  and  the  gur  might  be  considered  a  suitable 
substitute,  since  its  yellow  colour  would  be  held  to  make  it 
resemble  the  tiger. 

17.  Wor-  The  Thugs  also  worshipped  the  spirits  of  their  ancestors. 
ship  of        Qj^g    Q^  these  was    Dadu    Dhira,  an    ancient    Thug  of  the 

ancestors.  .  ,  1 .    • 

Barsote  class,  who  was  mvoked  at  certain  religious  cere- 
monies, when  liquor  was  drunk.  Vows  were  made  to  offer 
libations  of  ardent  spirits  to  him,  and  if  the  prayer  was 
answered  the  worshipper  drank  the  liquor,  or  if  his  caste 
precluded  him  from  doing  this,  threw  it  on  the  ground  with 
an  expression  of  thanks.  Another  deity  was  the  spirit  of 
Jhora  Naik,  who  was  a  Muhammadan.  He  and  his  servant 
killed  a  man  who  had  jewels  and  other  articles  laden  on  a 
mule  to  the  value  of  more  than  a  lakh  and  a  half  They 
brought  home  the  booty,  assembled  all  the  members  of  their 
fraternity  within  reach,  and  honestly  divided  the  whole  as 
if  all"  had  been  present.  The  Thugs  also  said  that  Nizam- 
ud-din  Aulia,  a  well-known  Muhammadan  saint,  famed  for 
his  generosity,  whose  shrine  is  near  Delhi,  had  been  a  Thug, 
at  any  rate  in  his  younger  days.  He  distributed  so  much 
money  in  charity  that  he  was  supposed  to  be  endowed  with 
a  Dustul  Ghib  or  supernatural  purse  ;  and  they  supposed 
that  he  obtained  it  by  the  practice  of  Thuggee.  Orthodox 
Muhammadans  would,  however,  no  doubt  indignantly  re- 
pudiate this. 

18.  Fast-  Whenever  they  set  out  on  a  fresh  expedition  the  first  week 
'"S-            was  known  as  Satha  (seven).      During  this  period  the  families 

of  those  who  were  engaged  in  it  would  admit  no  visitors 
from  the  relatives  of  other  Thugs,  lest  the  travellers  destined 
for  their  own  gang  should  go  over  to  these  others  ;  neither 
could  they  eat  any  food  belonging  to  the  families  of  other 
Thugs.     During  the  Satha  period  the  Thugs  engaged  in  the 


tion  of  a 
novice. 


II  INITIATION  OF  A  NOVICE  579 

expedition  ate  no  animal  food  except  fish  and  nothing  cooked 
with  gill  (melted  butter).  They  did  not  shave  or  bathe  or 
have  their  clothes  washed  or  indulge  in  sexual  intercourse,  or 
give  away  anything  in  charity  or  throw  any  part  of  their 
food  to  dogs  or  jackals.  At  one  time  they  ate  no  salt  or 
turmeric,  but  this  rule  was  afterwards  abandoned.  But  if  the 
Sourka  or  first  murder  took  place  within  the  seven  days 
they  considered  themselves  relieved  by  it  from  all  these 
restraints. 

A  Thug  seldom  attained  to  the  office  of  Bhurtote  or  19.  initia- 
strangler  until  he  had  been  on  several  expeditions  and  acquired 
the  requisite  courage  or  insensibility  by  slow  degrees.  At 
first  they  were  almost  always  shocked  or  frightened  ;  but  after 
a  time  they  said  they  lost  all  sympathy  with  the  victims.  They 
were  first  employed  as  scouts,  then  as  buriers  of  the  dead, 
next  as  Shamsias  or  holders  of  hands,  and  finally  as  stranglers. 
When  a  man  felt  that  he  had  sufficient  courage  and  insen- 
sibility he  begged  the  oldest  and  most  renowned  Thug  of  the 
gang  to  make  him  his  chela  or  disciple.  If  his  proposal  was 
accepted  he  awaited  the  arrival  of  a  suitable  victim  of  not 
too  great  bodily  strength.  While  the  traveller  was  asleep 
with  the  gang  at  their  quarters  the  guru  or  preceptor  took 
his  disciple  into  a  neighbouring  field,  followed  by  three  or 
four  old  members  of  the  gang.  Here  they  all  faced  in  the 
direction  in  which  the  gang  intended  to  move,  and  the  guru 
said,  "  Oh  Kali,  Kzinkdli,  Bhudkali}  Oh  Kali,  Mahd  Kali, 
Kalkatdwdli  !  If  it  seemeth  to  thee  fit  that  the  traveller  now 
at  our  lodging  should  die  by  the  hands  of  this  thy  slave, 
vouchsafe,  we  pray  thee,  the  omen  on  the  right."  If  they  got 
this  within  a  certain  interval  the  candidate  was  considered  to  be 
accepted, and  if  not  some  other  Thug  put  the  traveller  to  death 
and  he  had  to  wait  for  another  chance.  In  the  former  case 
they  returned  to  their  quarters  and  the  guru  took  a  hand- 
kerchief and  tied  the  slip-knot  in  one  end  of  it  with  a  rupee 
inside  it.      The  disciple   received  it  respectfully  in  his  right 

1   «0h  Kali,  Eater  of  Men,  Oh  great  found  a  widow  about  to  be  burnt  as  a 

Kali  of  Calcutta.'     The  name  Calcutta  sacrifice    to    Kali.       He   rescued  her, 

signifies  Kali-ghat  or  Kali-kota,  that  is  married  her,  and  founded  a  settlement 

Kali's  ferry   or  house.      The  story  is  on  the  site,  which  grew  into  the  town 

that  Job  Charnock   was  exploring  on  of  Calcutta, 
the  banks  of  the    Hoogly,    when    he 


58o  THUG  PART 

hand   and   stood  over  the  victim  with  the  Shamsia  or  holder 
by  his  side.      The  traveller  was   roused   on   some  pretence 
or  other   and  the  disciple  passed   the  handkerchief  over   his 
neck  and  strangled  him.      He  then  bowed  down  to  his  guru 
and  all  his  relations  and  friends  in  gratitude  for  the  honour 
he  had  obtained.     He  gave  the  rupee  from  the  knot  with  other 
money,  if  he    had    it,   to  the  guru,  and  with  this  sugar  or 
sweetmeats  were  bought    and   the   gur  sacrifice    was    cele- 
brated, the  new  strangler  taking  one  of  the  seats  of  honour 
on  the    blanket  for  the  first  time.      The  relation  between  a 
strangler  and  his  guru   was  considered   most  sacred,  and  a 
Thug  would  often  rather  betray  his  father  than  the  preceptor 
by  whom  he  had  been  initiated.      There  were  certain  classes 
of  persons    whom    they  were  forbidden    to    kill,  and    they 
considered  that  the  rapid  success  of  the  English  officers  in 
finally  breaking  up  the  gangs   was  to  be  attributed   to  the 
divine  wrath  at  breaches  of  these  rules.      The  original  rule  ^ 
was  that  the  Sourka  or  first  victim  must  not  be  a  Brahman, 
nor  a    Saiyad,  nor   any  very  poor  man,  nor  any   man   with 
gold  on  his  person,  nor  any  man  who  had  a  quadruped  with 
him,  nor  a  washerwoman,  nor  a  sweeper,  nor  a  Teli  (oilman), 
nor    a    Bhat  (bard),  nor   a    Kayasth   (writer),   nor  a  leper, 
dancing- woman,  pilgrim  or  devotee.      The  reason  for  some 
of  these  exemptions  is  obvious  :    Brahmans,   Muhammadan 
Saiyads,    bards,    religious    mendicants    and     devotees    were 
excluded  owing  to  their  sanctity  ;  and  sweepers,  washermen 
and  lepers  owing  to  their  impurity,  which  would  have  the 
same  evil  and   unlucky  effect  on    their    murderers    as    the 
holiness  of  the  first  classes.      A  man  wearing  gold  ornaments 
would  be  protected  by  the  sacred  character  of  the  metal  ;  and 
the  killing  of  a  poor  man  as  the  first  victim  would  naturally 
presage  a  lack   of  valuable   booty  during   the  remainder  of 
the  expedition.      Telis  and  Kayasths  are  often  considered  as 
unlucky  castes,  and  even   in  the  capacity  of  victims  might 
be  held  to  bring  an  evil  fortune  on  their  murderers. 
20.  Pro-  Another  list  is  given  of  persons  whom  it  was  forbidden 

to  kill  at  any  time,  and  of  these  the  principal  category 
was  women.  It  was  a  rule  of  all  Thugs  that  women 
should   not  be   murdered,    but    one  which  they    constantly 

»  P.  iri. 


liiljition  of 
murder  of 
women. 


II  PROHIBITION  OF  MURDER  OF  WOMEN  58 1 

broke,  for  few  large  parties  consisted  solely  of  men,  and 
to  allow  victims  to  escape  from  a  party  would  have  been 
a  suicidal  policy.  In  all  the  important  exploits  related 
to  Colonel  Sleeman  the  women  who  accompanied  victims 
were  regularly  strangled,  with  the  occasional  exception  of 
young  girls  who  might  be  saved  and  married  to  the  sons  of 
Thug  leaders.  The  breach  of  the  rule  as  to  the  murder  of 
women  was,  however,  that  which  they  believed  to  be  specially 
offensive  to  their  patroness  13hawani  ;  and  no  Thug,  Colonel 
Sleeman  states,  was  ever  known  to  offer  insult  either  in  act 
or  speech  to  the  women  whom  they  were  about  to  murder. 
No  gang  would  ever  dare  to  murder  a  woman  with  whom  one 
of  its  members  should  be  suspected  of  having  had  criminal 
intercourse.  The  murder  of  women  was  especially  reprobated 
by  Hindus,  and  the  Muhammadan  Thugs  were  apparently 
responsible  for  the  disregard  of  this  rule  which  ultimately 
became  prevalent,  as  shown  by  the  dispute  over  the  killing 
of  a  wealthy  old  lady,^  narrated  by  one  of  the  Thugs  as 
follows  :  "  I  remember  the  murder  of  Kali  Bibi  well  ;  I  was 
at  the  time  on  an  expedition  to  Baroda  and  not  present,  but 
Punua  must  have  been  there.  A  dispute  arose  between  the 
Musalmans  and  Hindus  before  and  after  the  murder.  The 
Musalmans  insisted  upon  killing  her  as  she  had  Rs.  4000 
of  property  with  her,  but  the  Hindus  would  not  agree.  She 
was  killed,  and  the  Hindus  refused  to  take  any  part  of  the 
booty  ;  they  came  to  blows,  but  at  last  the  Hindus  gave  in 
and  consented  to  share  in  all  but  the  clothes  and  ornaments 
which  the  woman  wore,  Feringia's  father,  Parasram  Brah- 
man, was  there,  and  when  they  came  home  Parasram's 
brother,  Rai  Singh,  refused  to  eat,  drink  or  smoke  with  his 
brother  till  he  had  purged  himself  from  this  great  sin  ;  and 
he,  with  two  other  Thugs,  a  Rajput  and  a  Brahman,  gave  a 
feast  which  cost  them  a  thousand  rupees  each.  Four  or 
five  thousand  Brahmans  were  assembled  at  that  feast.  Had 
it  rested  here  we  should  have  thrived  ;  but  in  the  affair  of 
the  sixty  victims  women  were  again  murdered  ;  in  the 
affair  of  the  forty  several  women  were  murdered  ;  and  from 
that  time  we  may  trace  our  decline." 

Another  rule  was  that  a  man  having  a  cow   with  him 

!*•  173- 


5  82  THUG  PART 

21.  Other  should  not  be  murdered,  no  doubt  on  account  of  the  sanctity 
rxTrTons^  attaching  to  the  animal.  But  in  one  case  of  a  murder 
not  killed,    of  fourteen    persons    including   women    and   a   man   with   a 

cow  at  Kotri  in  the  Uamoh  District,  the  Thugs,  having  made 
acquaintance  with  the  party,  pretended  that  they  had 
made  a  vow  to  offer  a  cow  at  a  temple  in  Shahpur  lying 
on  their  road  and  persuaded  the  cow's  owner  to  sell  her 
to  them  for  this  sacred  purpose,  and  having  duly  made  the 
offering  and  deprived  him  of  the  protection  afforded  by  the 
cow,  they  had  no  compunction  in  strangling  him  with  all  the 
travellers.  Travellers  who  had  lost  a  limb  were  also  exempted 
from  death,  but  this  rule  too  was  broken,  as  in  the  case  of 
the  native  officer  with  his  two  daughters  who  was  murdered 
by  the  Thugs  he  had  befriended  ;  for  it  is  recorded  that  this 
man  had  lost  a  leg.  Pilgrims  carrying  Ganges  water  could 
not  be  killed  if  they  actually  had  the  Ganges  water  with  them  ; 
and  others  who  should  not  be  murdered  were  washermen, 
sweepers,  oil-vendors,  dancers  and  musicians,  carpenters  and 
blacksmiths,  if  found  travelling  together,  and  religious  men- 
dicants. The  reason  for  the  exemption  of  carpenters  and 
blacksmiths  only  when  travelling  together  may  probably  have 
been  that  the  sacred  pickaxe  was  their  joint  handiwork,  having 
a  wooden  handle  and  an  iron  head  ;  and  this  seems  a  more 
likely  explanation  than  any  other  in  view  of  the  deep 
veneration  shown  for  the  pickaxe.  Maimed  persons  would 
probably  not  be  acceptable  victims  to  the  goddess,  according 
to  the  rule  that  the  sacrifice  must  be  without  spot  or  blemish. 
The  other  classes  have  already  been  discussed  under  the 
exemption  of  first  victims.  Among  the  Deccan  Thugs  if 
a  man  strangled  any  victim  of  a  class  whom  it  was  for- 
bidden to  kill,  he  was  expelled  from  the  community  and 
never  readmitted  to  it.  This  was  considered  a  most  dreadful 
crime. 

22.  Tidiif  The  Thugs  believed  that  the  wishes  of  the  deity  were  con- 
stantly indicated  to  them  by  the  appearance  or  cries  of  a 
large  number  of  wild  animals  and  birds  from  which  they  drew 
their  omens  ;  and  indeed  the  number  of  these  was  so  exten- 
sive that  they  could  never  be  at  a  loss  for  an  indication  of 
the  divine  will,  and  difficulties  could  only  arise  when  the 
omens  were  conflicting.      As  a  general  rule  the  omen  varied 


in  omens. 


11  BELIEF  IN  OMENS  583 

according  as  it  was  heard  on  the  left  hand,  known  as  Pilhao, 
or  the  right,  known  as  Thibao.  On  first  opening  an  expedi- 
tion an  omen  must  be  heard  on  the  left  and  be  followed  by 
one  on  the  right,  or  no  start  was  made  ;  it  signified  that  the 
deity  took  them  first  by  the  left  hand  and  then  by  the  right 
to  lead  them  on.  When  they  were  preparing  to  march  or 
starting  on  a  road,  an  omen  heard  on  the  left  encouraged 
them  to  go  on,  but  if  it  came  from  the  right  they  halted. 
When  arriving  at  their  camping-place  on  the  other  hand  the 
omen  on  the  right  was  auspicious  and  they  stayed,  but  if  it 
came  from  the  left  the  projected  site  was  abandoned  and  the 
march  continued.  In  the  case  of  the  calls  of  a  very  few 
animals  these  rules  were  reversed,  left  and  right  being  trans- 
posed in  each  instance.  The  howl  of  the  jackal  was  always 
bad  if  heard  during  the  day,  and  the  gang  immediately  quitted 
the  locality,  leaving  untouched  any  victims  whom  they  might 
have  inveigled,  however  wealthy.  The  jackal's  cry  at  night 
followed  the  rule  of  right  and  left.  The  jackal  was  probably 
revered  by  the  Thugs  as  the  devourer  of  corpses.  The 
sound  made  by  the  lizard  was  at  all  times  and  places  a  very 
good  omen  ;  but  if  a  lizard  fell  upon  a  Thug  it  was  bad,  and 
any  garment  touched  by  it  must  be  given  away  in  charity. 
The  call  of  the  sdras  crane  was  a  very  important  omen,  and 
when  heard  first  on  the  left  and  then  on  the  right  or  vice 
versa  according  to  the  rules  given  above,  they  expected  a  great 
booty  in  jewels  or  money.  The  call  of  the  partridge  followed 
the  same  rules  but  was  not  of  so  much  importance.  That  of 
the  large  crow  was  favourable  if  the  bird  was  sitting  on  a 
tree,  especially  when  a  tank  or  river  could  be  seen  ;  but  if 
the  crow  was  perched  on  the  back  of  a  buffalo  or  pig  or  on 
the  skeleton  of  any  animal,  it  was  a  bad  omen.  Tanks  or 
rivers  were  likely  places  for  booty  in  the  shape  of  resting 
travellers,  whose  death  the  appearance  of  the  crow  might 
portend  ;  whereas  in  the  other  positions  it  might  prognos- 
ticate a  Thtig's  own  death.  The  chirping  of  the  small  owlet 
was  considered  to  be  a  bad  omen,  whether  made  while  the 
bird  was  sitting  or  flying  ;  it  was  known  as  chiraiya,  and 
is  a  low  and  melancholy  sound  seldom  repeated.  They 
considered  it  a  very  bad  omen  to  hear  the  hare  squeaking  ; 
this,  unless   it  was   averted   by  sacrifices,  signified,  they  said, 


584  THUG  PART 

that  they  would  perish  in  the  jungles,  and  the  hare  or 
some  other  animal  of  the  forest  would  drink  water  from 
their  skulls.  "  We  know  that  the  hare  was  used  in  Brittany 
as  an  animal  of  augury  for  foretelling  the  future ;  and 
all  animals  of  augury  were  once  venerated."  ^  The  hare  has 
still  some  remnant  of  sanctity  among  the  Hindus.  Women 
will  not  eat  its  flesh,  and  men  eat  the  flesh  of  wild  hares 
only,  not  of  tame  ones.  It  seems  likely  that  the  hare  may 
have  been  considered  capable  of  foretelling  the  future  on 
account  of  its  long  ears.  The  omen  of  the  donkey  was 
considered  the  most  important  of  all,  whether  it  threatened 
evil  or  promised  good.  It  was  a  maxim  of  augury  that  the 
ass  was  equal  to  a  hundred  birds,  and  it  was  also  more 
important  than  all  other  quadrupeds.  If  they  heard  its 
bray  on  the  left  on  the  opening  of  an  expedition  and  it 
was  soon  after  repeated  on  the  right,  they  believed  that 
nothing  on  earth  could  prevent  their  success  during  that 
expedition  though  it  should  last  for  years.  The  ass  is  the 
sacred  animal  of  Sitala,  the  goddess  of  smallpox,  who  is  a 
form  of  Kali.  The  ears  and  also  the  bray  of  the  ass  would 
give  it  importance. 

The  noise  of  two  cats  heard  fighting  was  propitious  only 
during  the  first  watch  of  the  night ;  if  heard  later  in  the 
night  it  was  known  as  '  Kali  ki  inauj'  or  '  Kali's  temper,'  and 
threatened  evil,  and  if  during  the  daytime  as  ^  DJiamoni'^  ki 
vinujl  and  was  a  prelude  of  great  misfortune  ;  while  if  the 
cats  fell  from  a  height  while  fighting  it  was  worst  of  all.  The 
above  shows  that  the  cat  was  also  the  animal  of  Kali  and  is 
a  point  in  favour  of  her  derivation  from  the  tiger  ;  and  on 
this  hypothesis  the  importance  of  the  omen  of  the  cat  is 
explained.  If  they  obtained  a  good  omen  when  in  company 
with  travellers  they  believed  that  it  was  a  direct  order  from 
heaven  to  kill  them,  and  that  if  they  disobeyed  the  sign 
and  let  the  travellers  go  they  would  never  obtain  any  more 
victims.^ 
23.  Omens  If  a  marc  dropped  a  foal  in  their  camp  while  they  were 

,111(1  taboos,  travelling,  they  were  all  contaminated  or  came  under  the  Itak  ; 

*    Orphiiis,  p.  170.  the  Thugs  may  often  have  lain  there 

2  Dhamoni  is  an  old  ruined  fort  and  in   concealment    and    heard    the   tigers 

town  in  the  north  of  Saugor  District,  quarrelling  in  the  jungle. 

still  a   favourite  haunt  of  tigers  ;  and  ■*  Sleeman,  p.  196. 


II  OMENS  AND  TABOOS  585 

and  the  only  remedy  for  this  was  to  return  home  and  start 
the  journey  afresh.  Various  other  events  ^  also  produced  the 
Itak,  especially  among  the  Deccan  Thugs  ;  these  were  the 
birth  of  a  child  in  a  Thug  family  ;  the  first  courses  of  a 
Thug's  daughter  ;  a  marriage  in  a  Thug's  family  ;  a  death  of 
any  member  of  his  family  except  an  infant  at  the  breast  ; 
circumcision  of  a  boy  ;  a  buffalo  or  cow  giving  calf  or  dying  ; 
and  a  cat  or  dog  giving  a  litter  or  dying.  If  a  party  fell 
under  the  Itak  or  contamination  at  a  time  when  it  was 
extremely  inconvenient  or  impossible  to  return  home,  they 
sometimes  marched  back  for  a  few  miles  and  slept  the  night, 
making  a  fresh  start  in  the  morning,  and  this  was  considered 
equivalent  to  beginning  a  new  journey  after  getting  rid  of 
the  contamination.  If  any  member  of  the  party  sneezed  on 
setting  out  on  an  expedition  or  on  the  day's  march,  it  was  a 
bad  omen  and  required  expiatory  sacrifices  ;  and  if  they  had 
travellers  with  them  when  this  omen  occurred,  these  must  be 
allowed  to  escape  and  could  not  be  put  to  death.  Omens 
were  also  taken  from  the  turban,  without  which  no  Thug, 
except  perhaps  in  Bengal,  would  travel."  If  a  turban 
caught  fire  a  great  evil  was  portended,  and  the  gang  must,  if 
near  home,  return  and  wait  for  seven  days.  But  if  they  had 
travelled  for  some  distance  an  offering  of  gnr  (sugar)  was 
made,  and  the  owner  of  the  turban  alone  returned  home.  If  a 
man's  turban  fell  off  it  was  also  considered  a  very  bad  omen, 
requiring  expiatory  sacrifices.  The  turban  is  important  as 
being  the  covering  of  the  head,  which  many  primitive 
people  consider  to  contain  the  life  or  soul  {Golden  Bough). 
A  shower  of  rain  falling  at  any  time  except  during  the 
monsoon  period  from  June  to  September  was  also  a  bad 
omen  which  must  be  averted  by  sacrifices.  Prior  to  the 
commencement  ^  of  an  expedition  a  Brrdiman  was  employed 
to  select  a  propitious  day  and  hour  for  the  start  and  for  the 
direction  in  which  the  gang  should  proceed.  After  this  the 
auspices  were  taken  with  great  solemnity  and,  if  favourable 
omens  were  obtained,  the  party  set  out  and  made  a  few  steps 
in  the  direction  indicated  ;  after  this  they  might  turn  to  the 
right  or  left  as  impediments  or  incentives  presented  them- 
selves. If  they  heard  any  one  weeping  for  a  death  as  they 
'  r.  91.  -  r.  67.  2  r.  100. 


586  THUG  PART 

left  the  village,  it  threatened  great  evil  ;  and  so,  too,  if  they 
met  the  corpse  of  any  one  belonging  to  their  own  village, 
but  not  that  of  a  stranger.  And  it  was  also  a  bad  omen  to 
meet  an  oil-vendor,  a  carpenter,  a  potter,  a  dancing-master, 
a  blind  or  lame  man,  a  Fakir  (beggar)  with  a  brown  waist- 
band or  a  Jogi  (mendicant)  with  long  matted  hair.  Most 
of  these  were  included  in  the  class  of  persons  who  might  not 
be  killed. 
24.  Nature  The  custom  of  the  Thugs,  and  in  a  less  degree  of  ignorant 

belief  i  ^"^  primitive  races  generally,  of  being  guided  in  their  every 
omens.  action  by  the  chance  indications  afforded  from  the  voices 
and  movements  of  birds  and  animals  appears  to  the  civilised 
mind  extremely  foolish.  But  its  explanation  is  not  difficult 
when  the  character  of  early  religious  beliefs  is  realised.  It 
was  held  by  savages  generally  that  animals,  birds  and  all 
other  living  things,  as  well  as  trees  and  other  inanimate 
objects,  had  souls  and  exercised  conscious  volition  like  them- 
selves. And  those  animals,  such  as  the  tiger  and  cow,  and 
other  objects,  such  as  the  sun  and  moon  and  high  mountains 
or  trees,  which  appeared  most  imposing  and  terrible,  or 
exercised  the  most  influence  on  their  lives,  were  their 
principal  deities,  the  spirits  of  which  at  a  later  period  developed 
into  anthropomorphic  gods.  Even  the  lesser  animals  and 
birds  were  revered  and  considered  to  be  capable  of  affecting 
the  lives  of  men.  Hence  their  appearance,  their  flight  and 
their  cries  were  naturally  taken  to  be  direct  indications 
afforded  by  the  god  to  his  worshippers  ;  and  it  was  in  the 
interpretation  of  these,  the  signs  given  by  the  divine  beings 
by  whom  man  was  surrounded,  and  whom  at  one  time  he 
considered  superior  to  himself,  that  the  science  of  augury 
consisted.  "  The  priestesses  of  the  oracle  of  Zeus  at  Dodona 
called  themselves  doves,  as  those  of  Diana  at  Ephesus  called 
themselves  bees  ;  this  proves  that  the  oracles  of  the  temples 
were  formerly  founded  on  observations  of  the  flight  of  doves 
and  bees,  and  no  doubt  also  that  the  original  cult  consisted 
in  the  worship  of  these  animals."  ^  Thus,  as  is  seen  here, 
when  the  deity  was  no  longer  an  animal  but  had  developed 
into  a  god  in  human  shape,  the  animal  remained  associated 
with   him   and   partook  of  his  sanctity  ;  and  what  could  be 

1   Orphi'us  (M.  Salomon  Keinach),  p.  316. 


II  SUrPRESS/ON  OF  THUGGEE  587 

more  natural  than  that  he  should  convey  the  indications  of 
his  will  throui^h  the  appearance,  movements  and  cries  of  the 
sacred  animal  to  his  human  proteges.  The  pseudo-science 
of  omens  is  thus  seen  to  be  a  natural  corollary  of  the  venera- 
tion of  animals  and  inanimate  objects. 

When  the  suppression  of  the  Thugs  was  seriously  taken  25.  Sup- 
in  hand  by  the  Thuggee  and  Dacoity  Department  under  ^',^^^,t'°"g°'^ 
the  direction  of  Sir  William  Sleeman,  this  abominable  con- 
fraternity, which  had  for  centuries  infested  the  main  roads 
of  India  and  made  away  with  tens  of  thousands  of  helpless 
travellers,  never  to  be  heard  of  again  by  their  families  and 
friends,  was  destroyed  with  comparatively  little  difficulty.  The 
Thugs  when  arrested  readily  furnished  the  fullest  information 
of  their  murders  and  the  names  of  their  confederates  in  return 
for  the  promise  of  their  lives,  and  Colonel  Sleeman  started  a 
separate  file  or  dossier  for  every  Thug  whose  name  became 
known  to  him,  in  which  all  information  obtained  about  him 
from  different  informers  was  collected^  In  this  manner,  as 
soon  as  a  man  was  arrested  and  identified,  a  mass  of  evi- 
dence was  usually  at  once  forthcoming  to  secure  his  con- 
viction. Between  1826  and  1835  about  2000  Thugs  were 
arrested  and  hanged,  transported  or  kept  under  restraint  ; 
subsequently  to  this  a  larger  number  of  British  officers  were 
deputed  to  the  work  of  hunting  down  the  Thugs,  and  by  1 848 
it  was  considered  that  this  form  of  crime  had  been  practically 
stamped  out.  For  the  support  of  the  approver  Thugs  and 
the  families  of  these  and  others  a  labour  colony  was  instituted 
at  Jubbulpore,  which  subsequently  developed  into  the  school 
of  industry  and  was  the  parent  of  the  existing  Reformatory 
School.  Here  these  criminals  were  taught  tent  and  carpet- 
making  and  other  trades,  and  in  time  grew  to  be  ashamed  of 
the  murderous  calling  in  which  they  had  once  taken  a  pride. 


caste 


TURI 

LIST  OF   PARAGRAPHS 

1 .  Origin  of  the  caste.  4.  Fufteral  rites. 

2.  Siibdivisio7is.  5.    Occupatio7i. 

3.  Marriage.  6.  Social  status. 

Origin  Tupi. — A   iioH- Aryan    caste    of   cultivators,    workers    in 

of  the  bamboo,  and  basket- makers,  belonginsr  to  the  Chota 
Nagpur  plateau.  They  number  about  4000  persons  in 
Raigarh,  Sarangarh  and  the  States  recently  transferred  from 
Bengal.  The  physical  type  of  the  Turis,  Sir  H.  Risley 
states,  their  language,  and  their  religion  place  it  beyond 
doubt  that  they  are  a  Hinduised  offshoot  of  the  Munda 
tribe.  They  still  speak  a  dialect  derived  from  Mundari,  and 
their  principal  deity  is  Singbonga  or  the  sun,  the  great  god 
of  the  Mundas  :  "  In  Lohardaga,  where  the  caste  is  most 
numerous,  it  is  divided  into  four  subcastes — Turi  or  Kisan- 
Turi,  Or,  Dom,  and  Domra — distinguished  by  the  particular 
modes  of  basket  and  bamboo-work  which  they  practise. 
Thus  the  Turi  or  Kisan-Turi,  who  are  also  cultivators  and 
hold  bhuinhdri  land,  make  the  sup,  a  winnowing  sieve  made 
of  sirki,  the  upper  joint  of  Saccharinn  proceriim  ;  the  tokri 
or  tokiya,  a  large  open  basket  of  split  bamboo  twigs  woven 
up  with  the  fibre  of  the  leaves  of  the  tdl  palm  ;  the  sair 
and  nadua,  used  for  catching  fish.  The  Ors  are  said  to 
take  their  name  from  the  oriya  basket  used  by  the  sower, 
and  made  of  split  bamboo,  sometimes  helped  out  with  tdl 
fibre.  They  also  make  umbrellas,  and  the  chhota  dali  or 
ddla,  a  flat  basket  with  vertical  sides  used  for  handling 
grain  in  small  quantities.  Doms  make  the  Jiarka  and 
scale-pans  {tardj'u).  Domras  make  the  peti  and  fans.  Turis 
frequently  reckon    in  as    a  fifth  subcaste   the  Birhors,  who 

5S8 


PARTH  SUBDIVISIONS  589 

cut  bamboos  and  make  the  sikas  used  for  carrying  loads 
slung  on  a  shoulder-yoke  {bhangi),  and  a  kind  of  basket 
called  phanda.  Doms  and  Domras  speak  Hindi  ;  Turis,  Ors 
and  Birhors  use  among  themselves  a  dialect  of  Mundari."  ^ 

In  Raigarh  and  Sarangarh  of  the  Central  Provinces  the  2.  Sub- 
abovc  subcastes  are  not  found,  and  there  are  no  distinct  '^'^'^'°"^- 
cndogamous  groups  ;  but  the  more  Hinduised  members  of 
the  caste  have  begun  to  marry  among  themselves  and  call 
themselves  Turia,  while  they  look  down  on  the  others  to 
whom  they  restrict  the  designation  Turi.  The  names  of 
subcastes  given  by  Sir  H.  Risley  appear  to  indicate  that  the 
Turis  are  an  offshoot  from  the  Mundas,  with  an  admixture 
of  Doms  and  other  low  Uriya  castes.  Among  themselves 
the  caste  is  also  known  as  Husil,  a  term  which  signifies 
a  worker  in  bamboo.  The  caste  say  that  their  original 
ancestor  was  created  by  Singbonga,  the  sun,  and  had  five 
sons,  one  of  whom  found  a  wooden  image  of  their  deity  in 
the  Baranda  forest,  near  the  Barpahari  hill  in  Chota  Nagpur. 
This  image  was  adopted  as  their  family  deity,  and  is  revered 
to  the  present  day  as  Barpahari  Deo.  The  deity  is  thus 
called  after  the  hill,  of  which  it  is  clear  that  he  is  the 
personified  representative.  From  the  five  sons  are  descended 
the  five  main  septs  of  the  Turis.  The  eldest  was  called 
Mailuar,  and  his  descendants  are  the  leaders  or  headmen  of 
the  caste.  The  group  sprung  from  the  second  son  are 
known  as  Chardhagia,  and  it  is  their  business  to  purify  and 
readmit  offenders  to  caste  intercourse.  The  descendants 
of  the  third  son  conduct  the  ceremonial  shaving  of  such 
offenders,  and  are  known  as  Surennar,  while  those  of  the 
fourth  son  bring  water  for  the  ceremony  and  are  called 
Tirkuar.  The  fifth  group  is  known  as  Hasdagia,  and  it 
is  said  that  they  are  the  offspring  of  the  youngest  brother, 
who  committed  some  offence,  and  the  four  other  brothers 
took  the  parts  which  are  still  played  by  their  descendants 
in  his  ceremony  of  purification.  Traces  of  similar  divisions 
appear  to  be  found  in  Bengal,  as  Sir  H.  Risley  states  that 
before  a  marriage  can  be  celebrated  the  consent  of  the 
heads  of  the  Madalwar  and  Surinwar  sections,  who  are 
known  respectively  as  Raja  and  Thakur,  is  obtained,  while 

'    Tribes  and  Castes  of  Bengal,  art.  Turi. 


590  TURI  PART 

the  head  of  the  Charchagiya  section  officiates  as  priest. 
The  above  names  are  clearly  only  variants  of  those  found 
in  the  Central  Provinces.  But  besides  the  above  groups 
the  Turis  have  a  large  number  of  exogamous  septs  of  a 
totemistic  nature,  some  of  which  are  identical  with  those 
of  the  Mundas. 
3.  Mar-  Marriage  is    adult,  and    the  bride  and    bridegroom   are 

nage.  usually  about  the  same  age ;  but  girls  are  scarce  in  the 
caste,  and  betrothals  are  usually  effected  at  an  early  age, 
so  that  the  fathers  of  boys  may  obtain  brides  for  their  sons. 
A  contract  of  betrothal,  once  made,  cannot  be  broken 
without  incurring  social  disgrace,  and  compensation  in 
money  is  also  exacted.  A  small  bride-price  of  three  or 
four  rupees  and  a  piece  of  cloth  is  payable  to  the  girl's 
father.  As  in  the  case  of  some  other  Uriya  castes  the 
proposal  for  a  marriage  is  couched  in  poetic  phraseology, 
the  Turi  bridegroom's  ambassador  announcing  his  business 
with  the  phrase  :  '  I  hear  that  a  sweet-scented  flower  has 
blossomed  in  your  house  and  I  have  come  to  gather  it '  ; 
to  which  the  bride's  father,  if  the  match  be  acceptable, 
replies  :  '  You  may  take  away  my  flower  if  you  will  not 
throw  it  away  when  its  sweet  scent  has  gone.'  The  girl 
then  appears,  and  the  boy's  father  gives  her  a  piece  of  cloth 
and  throws  a  little  liquor  over  her  feet.  He  then  takes  her 
on  his-  lap  and  gives  her  an  anna  to  buy  a  ring  for  herself, 
and  sometimes  kisses  her  and  says,  '  You  will  preserve  my 
lineage.'  He  washes  the  feet  of  her  relatives,  and  the 
contract  of  betrothal  is  thus  completed,  and  its  violation 
by  either  party  is  a  serious  matter.  The  wedding  is 
performed  according  to  the  ritual  commonly  practised  by 
the  Uriya  castes.  The  binding  portion  of  it  consists  in 
the  perambulation  of  the  sacred  pole  five  or  seven  times. 
After  each  circle  the  bridegroom  takes  hold  of  the  bride's 
toe  and  makes  her  kick  away  a  small  heap  of  rice  on  which 
a  nut  and  a  pice  coin  are  placed.  After  this  a  cloth  is 
held  over  the  couple  and  each  rubs  vermilion  on  the  other's 
forehead.  At  this  moment  the  bride's  brother  appears,  and 
gives  the  bridegroom  a  blow  on  the  back.  This  is 
probably  in  token  of  his  wrath  at  being  deprived  of  his 
sister.      A  meal  of  rice  and   fowls   is  set  before  the  bride- 


II  FUNERAL  RITES  591 

groom,  but  he  feigns  displeasure,  and  refuses  to  eat  them. 
The  bride's  parents  then  present  him  with  a  pickaxe  and  a 
crooked  knife,  saying  that  these  are  the  implements  of  their 
trade,  and  will  suffice  him  for  a  livelihood.  The  bridegroom, 
however,  continues  obdurate  until  they  promise  him  a  cow 
or  a  bullock,  when  he  consents  to  eat.  The  bride's  family 
usually  spend  some  twenty  or  more  rupees  on  her  wedding, 
and  the  bridegroom's  family  about  fifty  rupees.  A  widow 
is  expected  to  marry  her  Dewar  or  deceased  husband's 
younger  brother,  and  if  she  takes  somebody  else  he  must 
repay  to  the  Dewar  the  expenditure  incurred  by  the  lattcr's 
family  on  her  first  marriage.  Divorce  is  permitted  for 
misconduct  on  the  part  of  the  wife  or  for  incompatibility 
of  temper. 

The  caste  bury  the  dead,  placing  the  head  to  the  north.  4.  Funeral 
They  make  libations  to  the  spirits  of  their  ancestors  on  the  "'^^' 
last  day  of  Phagun  (February),  and  not  during  the  fortnight 
of  Pitripaksh  in  Kunwar  (September)  like  other  Hindu 
castes.  They  believe  that  the  spirits  of  ancestors  are 
reborn  in  children,  and  when  a  baby  is  born  they  put  a 
grain  of  rice  into  a  pot  of  water  and  then  five  other  grains 
in  the  names  of  ancestors  recently  deceased.  When  one 
of  these  meets  the  grain  representing  the  child  they  hold 
that  the  ancestor  in  question  has  been  born  again.  The 
principal  deity  of  ,the  caste  is  Singbonga,  the  sun,  and 
according  to  one  of  their  stories  the  sun  is  female.  They 
say  that  the  sun  and  moon  were  two  sisters,  both  of  whom 
had  children,  but  when  the  sun  gave  out  great  heat  the 
moon  was  afraid  that  her  children  would  be  burnt  up,  so 
she  hid  them  in  a  Jiandi  or  earthen  pot.  When  the  sun 
missed  her  sister's  children  she  asked  her  where  they  were, 
and  the  moon  replied  that  she  had  eaten  them  up  ;  on 
which  the  sun  also  ate  up  her  own  children.  But  when 
night  came  the  moon  took  her  children  out  of  the  earthen 
pot  and  they  spread  out  in  the  sky  and  became  the  stars. 
And  when  the  sun  saw  this  she  was  greatly  angered  and 
vowed  that  she  would  never  look  on  the  moon's  face  again. 
And  it  is  on  this  account  that  the  moon  is  not  seen  in  the 
daytime,  and  as  the  sun  ate  up  all  her  children  there  are 
no  stars  during  the  day. 


592 


TURI 


5.  Occupa- 
tion. 


6.  Social 
status. 


The  caste  make  and  sell  all  kinds  of  articles  manu- 
factured from  the  wood  of  the  bamboo,  and  the  following 
list  of  their  wares  will  give  an  idea  of  the  variety  of  purposes 
for  which  this  product  is  utilised  :  "  Tukfia,  an  ordinary 
basket ;  dauri,  a  basket  for  washing  rice  in  a  stream;  lodhar, 
a  large  basket  for  carrying  grain  on  carts  ;  clmki,  a  small 
basket  for  measuring  grain  ;  garni  and  sikosi,  a.  small  basket 
for  holding  betel-leaf  and  a  box  for  carrying  it  in  the  pocket; 
dhitori,  a  fish-basket ;  dholi,  a  large  bamboo  shed  for  storing 
grain  ;  glmrki  and  paili,  grain  measures ;  chhanni,  a  sieve  ; 
taji,  a  balance  ;  pankha  and  bijna,  fans  ;  pelna,  a  triangular 
frame  for  a  fishing-net  ;  choniya,  a  cage  for  catching  fish  ; 
chatai,  matting  ;  chhdta,  an  umbrella  ;  chhitori,  a  leaf  hat  for 
protecting  the  body  from  rain  ;  pi7ijra,  a  cage  ;  kJmnkhiina, 
a  rattle  ;  and  guna,  a  muzzle  for  bullocks. 

Most  of  them  are  very  poor,  and  they  say  that  when 
Singbonga  made  their  ancestors  he  told  them  to  fetch  some- 
thing in  which  to  carry  away  the  grain  which  he  would  give 
them  for  their  support ;  but  the  Turis  brought  a  bamboo 
sieve,  and  when  Singbonga  poured  the  grain  into  the  sieve 
nearly  the  whole  of  it  ran  out.  So  he  reproved  them  for 
their  foolishness,  and  said,  '  Khasar,  khasar,  tin  pasar,'  which 
meant  that,  however  hard  they  should  work,  they  would 
never  earn  more  than  three  handfuls  of  grain  a  day. 

The  social  status  of  the  Turis  is  .very  low,  and  their 
touch  is  regarded  as  impure.  They  must  live  outside  the 
village  and  may  not  draw  water  from  the  common  well  ;  the 
village  barber  will  not  shave  them  nor  the  washerman  wash 
their  clothes.  They  will  eat  all  kinds  of  food,  including  the 
flesh  of  rats  and  other  vermin,  but  not  beef.  The  rules 
regarding  social  impurity  are  more  strictly  observed  in  the 
Uriya  country  than  elsewhere,  owing  to  the  predominant 
influence  of  the  Brahmans,  and  this  is  probably  the  reason 
why  the  Turis  are  so  severely  ostracised.  Their  code  of 
social  morality  is  not  strict,  and  a  girl  who  is  seduced  by  a 
man  of  the  caste  is  simply  made  over  to  him  as  his  wife,  the 
ordinary  bride-price  being  exacted  from  him.  He  must  also 
feed  the  caste-fellows,  and  any  money  which  is  received  by 
the  girl's  father  is  expended  in  the  same  manner.  Members 
of  Hindu  castes  and  Gonds  may  be  admitted  into  the  com- 


II  VELAMA  593 

munity,  but  not  the  Munda  tribes,  such  as  the  Mundas  them- 
selves and  the  Kharias  and  Korwas  ;  and  this,  though  the 
Turis,  as  has  been  seen,  are  themselves  an  offshoot  of  the 
Munda  tribe.  The  fact  indicates  that  in  Chota  Nagpur  the 
tribes  of  the  Munda  family  occupy  a  lower  social  position 
than  the  Gonds  and  others  belonging  to  the  Dravidian  family. 
When  an  offender  of  either  sex  is  to  be  readmitted  into 
caste  after  having  been  temporarily  expelled  for  some  offence 
he  or  she  is  given  water  to  drink  and  has  a  lock  of  hair  cut 
off.  Their  women  are  tattooed  on  the  arms,  breast  and  feet, 
and  say  that  this  is  the  only  ornament  which  they  can  carry 
to  the  grave. 

Velama,  Elama,  Yelama. — A  Telugu  cultivating  caste  i.  ongin 
found  in  large  numbers  in  Vizagapatam  and  Ganjam,  while  st"tus°'^''^ 
in  191 1  about  700  persons  were  returned  from  Chanda  and 
other  districts  in  the  Central  Provinces.  The  caste  frequently 
also  call  themselves  by  the  honorific  titles  of  Naidu  or  Dora 
(lord).  The  Velamas  are  said  formerly  to  have  been  one 
with  the  Kamma  caste,  but  to  have  separated  on  the  question 
of  retaining  the  custom  of  parda  or  gosha  which  they  had 
borrowed  from  the  Muhammadans.  The  Kammas  abandoned 
parda,  and,  signing  a  bond  written  on  palm-leaf  to  this  effect, 
obtained  their  name  from  kamma,  a  leaf.  The  Velamas  re- 
tained the  custom,  but  a  further  division  has  taken  place  on 
the  subject,  and  one  subcaste,  called  the  Adi  or  original 
Velamas,  do  not  seclude  their  women.  The  caste  has  at 
present  a  fairly  high  position,  and  several  important  Madras 
chiefs  are  Velamas,  as  well  as  the  zamindar  of  Sironcha  in 
the  Central  Provinces.  They  appear,  however,  to  have 
improved  their  status,  and  thus  to  have  incurred  the 
jealousy  of  their  countrymen,  as  is  evidenced  by  some 
derogatory  sayings  current  about  the  caste.  Thus  the 
Balijas  call  them  Guni  Sakalvandlu  or  hunchbacked  washer- 
men, because  some  of  them  print  chintz  and  carry  their 
goods  in  a  bundle  on  their  backs.^  According  to  another 
derivation  gilna  is  the  large  pot  in  which  they  dye  their 
cloth.  Another  story  is  that  the  name  of  the  caste  is 
Velimala,  meaning  those  who  are  above  or  better  than   the 

1  North  Arcot  Manual,  i.  p.  2 1 6. 
VOL.  IV  2  Q 


594  VELAMA  part 

Dhers,  and  was  a  title  conferred  on  them  by  the  Raja  of 
Bastar  in  recognition  of  the  bravery  displayed  by  the  Velamas 
in  his  army.      These  stories  are  probably  the  outcome  of  the 
feeling  of  jealousy  which  attaches  to  castes  which  have  raised 
themselves  in  the  social  scale.      The  customs  of  the  Velamas 
do  not  indicate  a  very  high  standard  of  ceremonial  observance, 
as  they  eat  fowls  and  pork  and  drink  liquor.      They  are  said 
to  take  food   from   Bestas   and   Dhlmars,  while  Kunbis  will 
take  it  from  them.     The  men  of  the  caste  are  tall  and  strong, 
of  a   comparatively   fair   complexion    and    of   a    bold    and 
arrogant  demeanour.      It  is  said  that  a  Velama  will   never 
do  anything  himself  which  a  servant  can  do  for  him,  and   a 
story  is  told  of  one  of  them  who  was  smoking  when  a  spark 
fell  on  his  moustache.      He  called  his  servant  to  remove  it, 
but  by  the  time  the  man  came,  his   master's  moustache  had 
been   burnt   away.      These   stories  and    the  customs  of  the 
Velamas  appear  to  indicate  that  they  are  a  caste  of  com- 
paratively low  position,  who  have  gone  up  in  the  world,  and 
are  therefore  tenacious  in  asserting  a  social  position  which  is 
not  universally  admitted.      Their  subcastes  show  that  a  con- 
siderable difference  in  standing  exists  in  the  different  branches 
of  the  caste.     Of  these  the  Racha  or  royal  Velamas,  to  whom 
the   chiefs  and   zamlndars  belong,  are  the    highest.      While 
others  are  the  Guna  Velamas  or  those  who  use  a  dyer's  pot, 
the  Eku  or  '  Cotton-skein '  who  are  weavers  and  carders,  and 
the  Tellaku  or  white  leaf  Velamas,  the  significance  of  this 
last  name  not  being  known.     It  is  probable  that  the  Velamas 
were  originally  a  branch  of  the  great  Kapu  or  Reddi  caste  of 
cultivators, corresponding  in  the  Telugu  country  to  the  Kurmis 
and  Kunbis,  as  many  of  their  section  names  are  the  same  as 
those  of  the  Kapus.     The  Velamas  apparently  took  up  the 
trades  of  weaving  and  dyeing,  and  some  of  them  engaged  in 
military   service   and    acquired    property.       These   are   now 
landowners  and  cultivators  and  breed  cattle,  while  others  dye 
and  weave  cloth.      They  will  not  engage  themselves  as  hired 
labourers,  and  they  do  not  allow  their  women  to  work  in  the 
fields. 
2.  Mar-  The    caste    are    said    to    have    ^y    exogamous    groups 

nageand     Jcsccndcd  from  the  ']']  followers  or  spearsmen  who  attended 
customs.      Raja   Rudra   Pratap   of  Bastar  when   he   was   ousted    from 


II  MARRIAGE  AND  SOCIAL  CUSTOMS  595 

Warangal.  These  section  names  are  eponj-mous,  territorial 
and  totemistic,  instances  of  the  last  kind  being  Cherukunula 
from  cJieriihi,  sugarcane,  and  Pasapunula  from  pasapu, 
turmeric,  and  nfila,  thread.  Marriage  within  the  section  or 
gotra  is  prohibited,  but  first  cousins  may  intermarry.  Marriage 
is  usually  adult,  and  the  binding  portion  of  the  ceremony 
consists  in  the  tying  of  the  inaugal-silirai)i  or  happy  thread 
by  the  bridegroom  round  the  bride's  neck.  At  the  end  of  the 
marriage  the  kankaiis  or  bracelets  of  the  bridegroom  and  bride 
are  taken  off  in  signification  that  all  obstacles  to  complete 
freedom  of  intercourse  and  mutual  confidence  between  the 
married  pair  have  been  removed.  In  past  years,  when  the 
Guna  Velamas  had  a  marriage,  they  were  bound  to  pay  the 
marriage  expenses  of  a  couple  of  the  Palli  or  fisherman  caste, 
in  memory  of  the  fact  that  on  one  occasion  when  the  Guna 
Velamas  were  in  danger  of  being  exterminated  by  their 
enemies,  the  Pallis  rescued  them  in  their  boats  and  carried 
them  to  a  place  of  safety.  But  now  it  is  considered  suffi- 
cient to  hang  up  a  fishing-net  in  the  house  when  a  marriage 
ceremony  of  the  Guna  Velamas  is  being  celebrated.^  The 
caste  do  not  permit  the  marriage  of  widows,  and  divorce  is 
confined  to  cases  in  which  a  wife  is  guilty  of  adultery. 
The  Velamas  usually  employ  Vaishnava  Brahmans  as  their 
priests.  They  burn  the  bodies  of  those  who  die  after 
marriage,  and  bury  those  dying  before  it.  Children  are 
named  on  the  twenty-first  day  after  birth,  the  child  being 
placed  in  a  swing,  and  the  name  selected  by  the  parents 
being  called  out  three  times  by  the  oldest  woman  present. 
On  this  day  the  mother  is  taken  to  a  well  and  made  to  draw 
a  bucket  of  water  by  way  of  declaration  that  she  is  fit  to  do 
household  work. 

1  Indiav  Anliqua)-y  (1879),  p.  216. 


and 

traditions. 


VIDUR 

LIST  OF   PARAGRAPHS 

I.    07-igi7t  and  traditions.  4.  Legend  of  origin. 

1.    The  Purdds^Golaks  and  Borah.  5.  Marriage. 

3.   Illegitimacy    amo7ig     Hindu-  6.  Social  rules  a7td  occupation, 
stdiii  castes. 

Origin  Vidur,^    Bidur. — A    Maratha    caste    numbering    21,000 

persons  in  the  Central  Provinces  in  191 1,  and  found  in  the 
Nagpur  Division  and  Berar.  They  are  also  returned  from 
Hyderabad  and  Bombay.  Vidur  means  a  wise  or  intelligent 
man,  and  was  the  name  of  the  younger  brother  of  Pandu,  the 
father  of  the  Pandava  brothers.  The  Vidurs  are  a  caste 
of  mixed  descent,  principally  formed  from  the  offspring  of 
Brahman  fathers  with  women  of  other  castes.  But  the 
descendants  of  Panchals,  Kunbis,  Malis  and  others  from 
women  of  lower  caste  are  also  known  as  Vidurs  and  are 
considered  as  different  subcastes.  Each  of  these  groups 
follow  the  customs  and  usually  adopt  the  occupation  of  the 
castes  to  which  their  fathers  belonged.  They  are  known  as 
Kharchi  or  Khaltatya,  meaning  '  Below  the  plate '  or 
'  Below  the  salt,'  as  they  are  not  admitted  to  dine  with  the 
proper  Vidurs.  But  the  rule  varies  in  different  places,  and 
sometimes  after  the  death  of  their  mother  such  persons 
become  full  members  of  the  caste,  and  with  each  succeeding 
generation  the  status  of  their  descendants  improves.  In 
Poona  the  name  Vidur  is  restricted  to  the  descendants  of 
Brahman  fathers,  and  they  are  also  known  as  Brahmanja 
or  '  Born  from  Brahmans.'  Elsewhere  the  Brahman  Vidurs 
arc    designated    especially    as    Krishnapakshi,   which   means 

1  This    article     is    compiled     from       Assistant  Commissioner,  Bhandara,  and 
papers  by  Mr.   W.  A.   Tucker,   Extra       Mr.  B.  M.  Deshmukh,  Pleader,  Chanda. 

596 


PART  II  THE  PURADS,  GOLAKS  AND  BORALS  597 

*  One  born  during  the  dark  fortnight.'  The  term  Krishna- 
pakshi  is  or  was  also  used  in  Bengal,  and  l^uchanan  defined 
it  as  follows  :  "  Men  of  the  Rajput,  Khatri  and  Kayasth 
tribes,  but  no  others,  openly  keep  women  slaves  of  any  pure 
tribe,  and  the  children  are  of  the  same  caste  with  their  father, 
but  are  called  Krishnapakshis  and  can  only  marry  with  each 
other."  ^  In  Bastar  a  considerable  class  of  persons  of  similar 
illegitimate  descent  also  exist,  being  the  offspring  of  the 
unions  of  immigrant  Hindus  with  women  of  the  Gond, 
Halba  and  other  tribes.  The  name  applied  to  them,  however, 
is  Dhakar,  and  as  their  status  and  customs  are  quite 
different  from  those  of  the  Maratha  Vidurs  they  are  treated 
in  a  short  separate  article. 

Another  small  group  related  to  the  Vidurs  are  the  2.  The 
Purads  of  Nagpur  ;  they  say  that  their  ancestor  was  a  Brah-  qq^')^s',^„^i 
man  who  was  carried  away  in  a  flooded  river  and  lost  his  Borais. 
sacred  thread.  He  could  not  put  on  a  new  thread  after- 
wards because  the  sacred  thread  must  be  changed  without 
swallowing  the  spittle  in  the  interval.  Hence  he  was 
put  out  of  caste  and  his  descendants  are  the  Purads,  the 
name  being  derived  from  pur,  a  flood.  These  people  are 
mainly  shopkeepers.  In  Berar  two  other  groups  are  found, 
the  Golaks  and  Borais.  The  Golaks  are  the  illegitimate 
offspring  of  a  Brahman  widow ;  if  after  her  husband's 
decease  she  did  not  shave  her  head,  her  illegitimate  children 
are  known  as  Rand  "  Golaks  ;  if  her  head  was  shaved,  they 
are  called  Mund  (shaven)  Golaks  ;  and  if  their  father  be 
unknown,  they  are  named  Kund  Golaks.  The  Golaks 
are  found  in  Malkapur  and  Balapur  and  number  about  400 
persons.  A  large  proportion  of  them  are  beggars.  A 
Boral  is  said  to  be  the  child  of  a  father  of  any  caste  and 
a  mother  of  one  of  those  in  which  widows  shave  their 
heads.  As  a  matter  of  fact  widows,  except  among  Brah- 
mans,  rarely  shave  their  heads  in  the  Central  Provinces, 
and  it  would  therefore  appear,  if  Mr.  Kitts'  definition  is 
correct,  that  the  Borais  are  the  offspring  of  women  by  fathers 
of  lower  caste  than  themselves  ;  a  most  revolting  union  to 
Hindu  ideas.  As,  however,  the  Borais  are  mostly  grocers  and 
shopkeepers,  it  is  possible  that  they  may  be  the  same  class 

1   Buchanan,  Eastern  India,  i.  p.  186.  2  Rand  =  widow  or  prostitute. 


598  VIDUR,  PART 

as  the  Purads.      In  1881  they  numbered  only  163    persons 
and  were  found  in  Darhwa,  Mehkar  and  Chikhli  taluks. 
3.  iiiegiti-  There  is  no  caste  corresponding  to  the  Vidurs  in  the 

macy  Hindi  Districts  and  the  offspring  of  unions  which  transgress 

among  . 

Hindustani  the  caste  marriage  rules  are  variously  treated.  Many  castes 
castes.  \^Q,\^  in  the  north  and  south  say  that  they  have  i  2\  sub- 
divisions and  that  the  half  subcaste  comprises  the  descend- 
ants of  illicit  unions.  Of  course  the  twelve  subdivisions 
are  as  a  rule  mythical,  the  number  of  subcastes  being  always 
liable  to  fluctuate  as  fresh  endogamous  groups  are  formed 
by  migration  or  slight  changes  in  the  caste  calling.  Other 
castes  have  a  Lohri  Sen  or  degraded  group  which  corres- 
ponds to  the  half  caste.  In  other  cases  the  illegitimate 
branch  has  a  special  name  ;  thus  the  Niche  Pat  Bundelas 
of  Saugor  and  Chhoti  Tar  Rajputs  of  Nimar  are  the  off- 
spring of  fathers  of  the  Bundela  and  other  Rajput  tribes 
with  women  of  lower  castes ;  both  these  terms  have  the 
same  meaning  as  Lohri  Sen,  that  is  a  low-caste  or  bastard 
group.  Similarly  the  Dauwa  (wet-nurse)  Ahirs  are  the 
offspring  of  Bundela  fathers  and  the  Ahir  women  who  act 
as  nurses  in  their  households.  In  Saugor  is  found  a  class 
of  persons  called  Kunwar  ^  who  are  descended  from  the 
offspring  of  the  Maratha  Brahman  rulers  of  Saugor  and 
their  kept  women.  They  now  form  a  separate  caste  and 
Hindustani  Brahmans  will  take  water  from  them.  They 
refuse  to  accept  katcJia  food  (cooked  with  water)  from 
Maratha  Brahmans,  which  all  other  castes  will  do.  Another' 
class  of  bastard  children  of  Brahmans  are  called  Dogle, 
and  such  people  commonly  act  as  servants  of  Maratha 
Brahmans  ;  as  these  Brahmans  do  not  take  water  to 
drink  from  the  hands  of  any  caste  except  their  own,  they 
have  much  difficulty  in  procuring  household  servants  and 
readily  accept  a  Dogle  in  this  capacity  without  too  close 
a  scrutiny  of  his  antecedents.  There  is  also  a  class  of 
Dogle  Kayasths  of  similar  origin,  who  are  admitted  as 
members  of  the  caste  on  an  inferior  status  and  marry 
among  themselves.  After  several  generations  such  groups 
tend  to  become  legitimised  ;  thus  the  origin  of  the  distinction 
between    the    Khare    and    Dusre    Srivastab    Kayasths    and 

'  Tlie  term  Kunwar  is  a  title  applied  to  the  eldest  son  of  a  chief. 


II         ILLEGITIMACY  AMONG  HINDUSrANI  CASTES     599 

the  Dasa  and  Bisa  Agarvvala  Banias  was  proba?jly  of 
this  character,  but  now  both  groups  arc  reckoned  as  full 
members  of  the  caste,  one  only  ranking  somewhat  below 
the  other  so  that  they  do  not  take  food  together.  The 
Parwar  Banias  have  four  divisions  of  different  social  status 
known  as  the  Bare,  Manjhile,  Sanjhile  and  Lohri  Seg 
or  Sen,  or  first,  second,  third  and  fourth  class.  A  man 
and  woman  detected  in  a  serious  social  offence  descend 
into  the  class  next  below  their  own,  unless  they  can  pay  the 
severe  penalties  prescribed  for  it.  If  either  marries  or  forms 
a  connection  with  a  man  or  woman  of  a  lower  class  they 
descend  into  that  class.  Similarly,  one  who  marries  a 
widow  goes  into  the  Lohri  Seg  or  lowest  class.  Other 
castes  have  a  similar  system  of  divisions.  Among  the  great 
jody  of  Hindus  cases  of  men  living  with  women  of  different 
caste  are  now  very  common,  and  the  children  of  such  unions 
sometimes  inherit  their  father's  property.  Though  in  such 
cases  the  man  is  out  of  caste  this  does  not  mean  that  he 
is  quite  cut  off  from  social  intercourse.  He  will  be  invited 
to  the  caste  dinners,  but  must  sit  in  a  different  row  from 
the  orthodox  members  so  as  not  to  touch  them.  As  an 
instance  of  these  mixed  marriages  the  case  of  a  private 
servant,  a  Mali  or  gardener,  may  be  quoted.  He  always 
called  himself  a  Brahman,  and  though  thinking  it  somewhat 
curious  that  a  Brahman  should  be  a  gardener,  'I  took  no 
notice  of  it  until  he  asked  leave  to  attend  the  funeral  of  his 
niece,  whose  father  was  a  Government  menial,  an  Agarwala 
Bania.  It  was  then  discovered  that  he  was  the  son  of 
a  Brfdiman  landowner  by  a  mistress  of  the  Kachhi  caste 
of  sugarcane  and  vegetable  growers,  so  that  the  profession 
of  a  private  or  ornamental  gardener,  for  which  a  special 
degree  of  intelligence  is  requisite,  was  very  suitable  to  him. 
His  sister  by  the  same  parents  was  married  to  this  Agarwala 
Bania,  who  said  his  own  family  was  legitimate  and  he  had 
been  deceived  about  the  girl.  The  marriage  of  one  of  this 
latter  couple's  daughters  was  being  arranged  with  the  son  of 
a  Brahman  father  and  Bania  mother  in  Jubbulpore  ;  while 
the  gardener  himself  had  never  been  married,  but  was  living 
with  a  girl  of  the  Gadaria  (shepherd)  caste  who  had  been 
married  in  her  caste  but  had  never  lived  with  her  husband. 


6oo  VIDUR  i-ART 

Inquiries  made  in  a  small  town  as  to  the  status  of  seventy 
families  showed  that  ten  were  out  of  caste  on  account  of 
irregular  matrimonial  or  sexual  relations  ;  and  it  may 
therefore  be  concluded  that  a  substantial  proportion  oi 
Hindus  have  no  real  caste  at  present. 

The  Vidurs  say  that  they  are  the  descendants  of  a  son 
who  was  born  to  a  slave  girl  by  the  sage  Vyas,  the  celebrated 
compiler  of  the  Mahabharata,  to  whom  the  girl  was  sent  to 
provide  an  heir  to  the  kingdom  of  Hastinapur.  This  son  was 
named  Vidur  and  was  remarkable  for  his  great  wisdom, 
being  one  of  the  leading  characters  in  the  Mahabharata  and 
giving  advice  both  to  the  Pandavas  and  the  Kauravas. 

As  already  stated,  the  Vidurs  who  are  sprung  from 
fathers  of  different  castes  form  subcastes  marrying  among 
themselves.  Among  the  Brahman  Vidurs  also,  a  social 
difference  exists  between  the  older  members  of  the  caste 
who  are  descended  from  Vidurs  for  several  generations,  and 
the  new  ones  who  are  admitted  into  it  as  being  the  offspring 
of  Brahman  fathers  from  recent  illicit  unions,  the  former 
considering  themselves  to  be  superior  and  avoiding  inter- 
marriage with  the  latter  as  far  as  possible.  The  Brahman 
Vidurs,  to  whom  this  article  chiefly  relates,  have  exogamous 
sections  of  different  kinds,  the  names  being  eponymous, 
territorial,  titular  and  totemistic.  Among  the  names  of  their 
sections  are  Indurkarfrom  Indore;  Chaurikar,  a  whisk-maker; 
Acharya  and  Pande,  a  priest  ;  Menjokhe,  a  measurer  of  wax  ; 
Mine,  a  fish  ;  Dudhmande,  one  who  makes  wheaten  cakes 
with  milk  ;  Goihe,  a  lizard  ;  Wadabhat,  a  ball  of  pulse  and 
cooked  rice ;  Diwale,  bankrupt  ;  and  Joshi,  an  astrologer. 
The  Brahman  Vidurs  have  the  same  sect  groups  as  the 
Maratha  Brahmans,  according  to  the  Veda  which  they 
especially  revere.  Marriage  is  forbidden  within  the  section 
and  in  that  of  the  paternal  and  maternal  uncles  and  aunts. 
In  Chanda,  when  a  boy  of  one  section  marries  a  girl  of 
another,  all  subsequent  alliances  between  members  of  the 
two  sections  must  follow  the  same  course,  and  a  girl  of 
the  first  section  must  not  marry  a  boy  of  the  second. 
This  rule  is  probably  in  imitation  of  that  by  which  their 
caste  is  formed,  that  is  from  the  union  of  a  man  of 
higher  with  a  woman  of  lower  caste.      As  already  stated, 


II  MARRIAGE  6oi 

the  reverse  form  of  connection  is  considered  most  dis- 
graceful by  the  Hindus,  and  children  born  of  it  could  not 
be  Vidurs.  On  the  same  analogy  they  probably  object  to 
taking  both  husbands  and  wives  from  the  same  section. 
Marriage  is  usually  infant,  and  a  second  wife  is  taken  only 
if  the  first  be  barren  or  if  she  is  sickly  or  quarrelsome.  As 
a  rule,  no  price  is  paid  either  for  the  bride  or  bridegroom. 
Vidurs  have  the  same  marriage  ceremony  as  Maratha 
Brahmans,  except  that  Puranic  instead  of  Vedic  mantras  or 
texts  are  repeated  at  the  service.  As  among  the  lower 
castes  the  father  of  a  boy  seeks  for  a  bride  for  his  son,  ■ 
while  with  Brahmans  it  is  the  girl's  father  who  makes  the 
proposal.  When  the  bridegroom  arrives  he  is  conducted 
to  the  inner  room  of  the  bride's  house  ;  Mr.  Tucker  states 
that  this  is  known  as  the  GauvigJiar  because  it  contains  the 
shrine  of  Gauri  or  Parvati,  wife  of  Mahadeo  ;  and  here  he 
is  received  by  the  bride  who  has  been  occupied  in  wor- 
shipping the  goddess.  A  curtain  is  held  between  them  and 
coloured  rice  is  thrown  over  them  and  distributed,  and  they 
then  proceed  to  the  marriage-shed,  where  an  earthen  mound 
or  platform,  known  as  Bohala,  has  been  erected.  They 
first  sit  on  this  on  two  stools  and  then  fire  is  kindled  on 
the  platform  and  they  walk  five  times  round  it.  The  Bohala 
is  thus  a  fire  altar.  The  expenses  of  marriage  amount  for 
the  bridegroom's  family  to  Rs.  300  on  an  average,  and  for 
the  bride's  to  a  little  more.  Widows  are  allowed  to  remarry, 
but  the  second  union  must  not  take  place  with  any  member 
of  the  family  of  the  late  husband,  whose  property  remains 
with  his  children  or,  failing  them,  with  his  family.  In  the 
marriage  of  a  widow  the  common  pat  ceremony  of  the 
Maratha  Districts  is  used.  A  price  is  commonly  paid  to 
the  parents  of  a  widow  by  her  second  husband.  Divorce 
is  allowed  on  the  instance  of  the  husband  by  a  written 
agreement,  and  divorced  women  may  marry  again  by  the 
pat  ceremony.  In  Chanda  it  is  stated  that  when  a  widower 
marries  again  a  silver  or  golden  image  is  made  of  the  first 
wife  and  being  placed  with  the  household  gods  is  daily 
worshipped  by  the  second  wife. 

The  Vidurs  employ  Maratha  Brahmans  for  religious  and  6.  Social 
ceremonial  purposes,  while  their  gurus  are  either  Brahmans  ocoipation. 


6o2  VIDUR  PART 

or  Bairagis.  They  have  two  names,  one  for  ceremonial  and 
the  other  for  ordinary  use.  When  a  child  is  to  be  named 
it  is  placed  in  a  cradle  and  parties  of  women  sit  on  opposite 
sides  of  it.  One  of  the  women  takes  the  child  in  her  arms 
and  passes  it  across  the  cradle  to  another  saying,  '  Take 
the  child  named  Ramchandra '  or  whatever  it  may  be.  The 
other  woman  passes  the  child  back  using  the  same  phrase, 
and  it  is  then  placed  in  the  cradle  and  rocked,  and  boiled 
wheat  and  gram  arc  distributed  to  the  party.  The  Vidurs 
burn  the  dead,  and  during  the  period  of  mourning  the  well- 
to-do  employ  a  Brahman  to  read  the  Garud  Puran  to  them, 
which  tells  how  a  sinner  is  punished  in  the  next  world  and 
a  virtuous  man  is  rewarded.  This,  it  is  said,  occupies  their 
minds  and  prevents  them  from  feeling  their  bereavement. 
They  will  take  food  only  from  Maratha  Brahmans  and  water 
from  Rajputs  and  Kunbis.  Brahmans  will,  as  a  rule,  not 
take  anything  from  a  Vidur's  hand,  but  some  of  them  have 
begun  to  accept  water  and  sweetmeats,  especially  in  the 
case  of  educated  Vidurs.  The  Vidurs  will  not  eat  flesh  of 
any  kind  nor  drink  liquor.  The  Brahman  Vidurs  did  not 
eat  in  kitchens  in  the  famine.  Their  dress  resembles  that 
of  Maratha  Brahmans.  The  men  do  not  usually  wear 
the  sacred  thread,  but  some  have  adopted  it.  In  Bombay, 
however,  boys  are  regularly  invested  with  the  sacred  thread 
before  the  age  of  ten.^  In  Nagpur  it  is  stated  that  the 
Vidurs  like  to  be  regarded  as  Brahmans."  They  are  now 
quite  respectable  and  hold  land.  Many  of  them  are  in 
Government  service,  some  being  officers  of  the  subordinate 
grades  and  others  clerks,  and  they  are  also  agents  to 
landowners,  patwaris  and  shopkeepers.  The  Vidurs  are 
the  best  educated  caste  with  the  exception  of  Brahmans, 
Kayasths  and  Banias,  and  this  fact  has  enabled  them  to 
obtain  a  considerable  rise  in  social  status.  Their  aptitude 
for  learning  may  be  attributed  to  their  Brahman  parentage, 
while  in  some  cases  Vidurs  have  probably  been  given  an 
education  by  their  Brahman  relatives.  Their  correct  position 
should  be  a  low  one,  distinctly  beneath  that  of  the  good 
cultivating  castes.  A  saying  has  it,  '  As  the  amarbel  creeper 
has  no  roots,  so  the  Vidur  has  no  ancestry.'      But  owing  to 

1  Bombay  Gazetteer,  vol.  xviii.  p.  185.         ^  Nagpur  Settlement  Report,  p.  27. 


II  WAGHYA  603 

their  education  and  official  position  the  higher  classes  of 
Vidurs  have  obtained  a  social  status  not  much  below  that 
of  Kayasths.  This  rise  in  position  is  assisted  by  their 
adherence  in  matters  of  dress,  food  and  social  practice  to 
the  customs  of  Maratha  l^rrdimans,  so  that  many  of  them 
are  scarcely  distinguishable  from  a  Brahman.  A  story  is 
told  of  a  Vidur  Tahsildar  or  Naib-Tahslldar  who  was  trans- 
ferred to  a  District  at  some  distance  from  his  home,  and  on 
his  arrival  there  pretended  to  be  a  Maratha  Ikahman.  He 
was  duly  accepted  by  the  other  Brahmans,  who  took  food 
with  him  in  his  house  and  invited  him  to  their  own.  After 
an  interval  of  some  months  the  imposture  was  discovered, 
and  it  is  stated  that  this  official  was  at  a  short  subsequent 
period  dismissed  from  Government  service  on  a  charge  of 
bribery.  The  Vidurs  are  also  considered  to  be  clever  at 
personation,  and  one  or  two  stories  are  told  of  frauds  being 
carried  out  through  a  Vidur  returning  to  some  family  in 
the  character  of  a  long-lost  relative. 

Wag'hya/  Vaghe,  Murli. — An  orderof  mendicant  devotees 
of  the  god  Khandoba,  an  incarnation  of  Siva  ;  they  belong 
to  the  Maratha  Districts  and  Bombay  where  Khandoba  is 
worshipped.  The  term  Waghya  is  derived  from  vdgJi,  a  tiger, 
and  has  been  given  to  the  order  on  account  of  the  small  bag 
of  tiger-skin,  containing  bJianddr,  or  powdered  turmeric,  which 
they  carry  round  their  necks.  This  has  been  consecrated  to 
Khandoba  and  they  apply  a  pinch  of  it  to  the  foreheads  of 
those  who  give  them  alms.  Murli,  signifying  '  a  flute '  is  the 
name  given  to  female  devotees.  Waghya  is  a  somewhat 
indefinite  term  and  in  the  Central  Provinces  does  not  strictly 
denote  a  caste.  The  order  originated  in  the  practice  followed 
by  childless  mothers  of  vowing  to  Khandoba  that  if  they 
should  bear  a  child,  their  first-born  should  be  devoted  to  his 
service.  Such  a  child  became  a  Waghya  or  Murli  according 
as  it  was  a  boy  or  a  girl.  But  they  were  not  necessarily 
severed  from  their  own  caste  and  might  remain  members 
of  it  and  marry  in  it.  Thus  there  are  Waghya  Telis  in 
Wardha,  who  marry  with  other  Telis.      The  child  might  also 

'  This   article    is    partly    based    on    a    paper    by    Pandit    Pyare    Lai    Misra, 
ethnographic  clerk. 


6o4  WAGHYA  part 

be  kept  in  the  temple  for  a  period  and  then  withdrawn,  and 
nowadays  this  is  always  done.  The  children  of  rich  parents 
sometimes  simply  remain  at  home  and  worship  Khandoba 
there.  But  they  must  beg  on  every  Sunday  from  at  least 
five  persons  all  their  lives.  Another  practice,  formerly  exist- 
ing, was  for  the  father  and  mother  to  vow  that  if  a  child  was 
born  they  would  be  swung.  They  were  then  suspended 
from  a  wooden  post  on  a  rope  by  an  iron  hook  inserted  in 
the  back  and  swung  round  four  or  five  times.  The  sacred 
turmeric  was  applied  to  the  wound  and  it  quickly  healed  up. 
Others  would  take  a  Waghya  child  to  Mahadeo's  cave  in 
Pachmarhi  and  let  it  fall  from  the  top  of  a  high  tree.  If  it 
lived  it  was  considered  to  be  a  Raja  of  Mahadeo,  and  if  it 
died  happiness  might  confidently  be  anticipated  for  it  in  the 
next  birth.  Besides  the  children  who  are  dedicated  to 
Khandoba,  a  man  may  become  a  Waghya  either  for  life  or 
for  a  certain  period  in  fulfilment  of  a  vow,  and  in  the  latter 
case  will  be  an  ordinary  member  of  his  own  caste  again  on 
its  termination.  The  Waghyas  and  Murlis  who  are  permanent 
members  of  the  order  sometimes  also  live  together  and  have 
children  who  are  brought  up  in  it.  The  constitution  of  the 
order  is  therefore  in  several  respects  indefinite,  and  it  has 
not  become  a  self-contained  caste,  though  there  are 
Waghyas  who  have  no  other  caste. 

The  following  description  of  the  dedication  of  children  to 
Khandoba  is  taken  from  the  Bombay  Gazetteer}  When  parents 
have  to  dedicate  a  boy  to  Khandoba  they  go  to  his  temple 
at  Jejuri  in  Poona  on  any  day  in  the  month  of  Chaitra  (March- 
April).  They  stay  at  a  Gurao's  house  and  tell  him  the  object 
of  their  visit.  The  boy's  father  brings  ofi'erings  and  they  go 
in  procession  to  Khandoba's  temple.  There  the  Gurao  marks 
the  boy's  brow  with  turmeric,  throws  turmeric  over  his  head, 
fastens  round  his  neck  a  deer-  or  tiger-skin  wallet  hung 
from  a  black  woollen  string  and  throws  turmeric  over  the 
god,  asking  him  to  take  the  boy.  The  Murlis  or  girls  dedi- 
cated to  the  god  are  married  to  him  between  one  and  twelve 
years  of  age.  The  girl  is  taken  to  the  temple  by  her  parents 
accompanied  by  the  Gurao  priest  and  other  Murlis.  At 
the  temple  she  is  bathed  and  her  body  rubbed  with  turmeric, 
'  Vol.  XX.  pp.  189-190. 


Bcmrost,  Colio.,  Derby. 


\NkQH'{k    MENDICANTS. 


II  WAGHYA  60s 

with  which  the  feet  of  the  idol  arc  also  anointed.  She  is 
dressed  in  a  new  robe  and  bodice,  and  green  glass  bangles 
are  put  on  her  wrists.  A  turban  and  sash  arc  presented  to 
the  god,  and  the  guru  taking  a  necklace  of  nine  cowries 
(shells)  fastens  it  round  the  girl's  neck.  She  then  stands 
before  the  god,  a  cloth  being  held  between  them  as  at  a 
proper  wedding,  and  the  priest  repeats  the  marriage  verses. 
Powdered  turmeric  is  thrown  on  the  heads  of  the  girl  and 
of  the  idol,  and  from  that  day  she  is  considered  to  be  the 
wife  of  Khandoba  and  cannot  marry  any  other  man.  When 
a  Murli  comes  of  age  she  sits  by  herself  for  four  days. 
Then  she  looks  about  for  a  patron,  and  when  she  succeeds 
in  getting  one  she  calls  a  meeting  of  her  brethren,  the 
Waghyas,  and  in  their  presence  the  patron  says,  '  I  will  fill 
the  Murli's  lap.'  The  Waghyas  ask  him  what  he  will  pay 
and  after  some  haggling  a  sum  is  agreed  on,  which  thirty 
years  ago  varied  between  twenty-five  and  a  hundred  rupees. 
If  it  is  more  than  Rs.  50  a  half  of  the  money  goes  to  the 
community,  who  spend  it  on  a  feast.  With  the  balance  the 
girl  buys  clothes  for  herself  She  lives  with  her  patron  for 
as  long  as  he  wishes  to  keep  her,  and  is  then  either  attached 
to  the  temple  or  travels  about  as  a  female  mendicant.  Some- 
times a  married  woman  will  leave  her  home  and  become 
a  Murli,  with  the  object  as  a  rule  of  leading  a  vicious  life. 

A  man  who  takes  a  vow  to  become  a  Waghya  must  be 
initiated  by  a  guru,  who  is  some  elder  member  of  the  order. 
The  initiation  takes  place  early  on  a  Sunday  morning,  and 
after  the  disciple  is  shaved,  bathed  and  newly  clad,  the  guru 
places  a  string  of  cowries  round  his  neck  and  gives  him  the 
tiger-skin  bag  in  which  the  turmeric  is  kept.  He  always 
retains  much  reverence  for  his  guru,  and  invokes  him  with 
the  exclamation,  '  Jai  Guru,'  before  starting  out  to  beg  in  the 
morning.  The  following  articles  are  carried  by  the  W^aghyas 
when  begging.  The  dapdi  is  a  circular  single  drum  of  wood, 
covered  with  goat-skin,  and  suspended  to  the  shoulder.  The 
diouka  consists  of  a  single  wire  suspended  from  a  bar  and 
passing  inside  a  hollow  wooden  conical  frame.  The  wire  is 
struck  with  a  stick  to  produce  the  sound.  The  gJuiti  is  an 
ordinary  temple  bell  ;  and  the  kutumba  is  a  metal  saucer 
which  serves  for  a  begging-bowl.      This  is  considered  sacred. 


6o6  YERUKALA  part 

and  sandalwood  is  applied  to  it  before  starting  out  in  the 
morning.  The  Waghyas  usually  beg  in  parties  of  four,  each 
man  carrying  one  of  these  articles.  Two  of  them  walk  in 
front  and  two  behind,  and  they  sing  songs  in  praise  of 
Khandoba  and  play  on  the  instruments.  Every  Waghya 
has  also  the  bag  made  of  tiger-skin,  or,  if  this  cannot  be 
had,  of  deer-skin,  and  the  cowrie  necklace,  and  a  seli  or 
string  of  goat -hair  round  the  neck.  Alms,  after  being  received 
in  the  kutitniba  or  saucer,  are  carried  in  a  bag,  and  before 
setting  out  in  the  morning  they  put  a  little  grain  in  this  bag, 
as  they  think  that  it  would  be  unlucky  to  start  with  it  empty. 
At  the  end  of  the  day  they  set  out  their  takings  on  the 
ground  and  make  a  little  offering  of  fire  to  them,  throwing  a 
pinch  of  turmeric  in  the  air  in  the  name  of  Khandoba.  The 
four  men  then  divide  the  takings  and  go  home.  Marathas, 
Murlis  and  Telis  are  the  castes  who  revere  Khandoba,  and 
they  invite  the  Waghyas  to  sing  on  the  Dasahra  and  also 
at  their  marriages.  In  Bombay  the  Waghyas  force  iron 
bars  through  their  calves  and  pierce  the  palms  of  their  hands 
with  needles.  To  the  needle  a  strip  of  wood  is  attached,  and 
on  this  five  lighted  torches  are  set  out,  and  the  Waghya  waves 
them  about  on  his  hand  before  the  god.^  Once  in  three 
years  each  Waghya  makes  a  pilgrimage  to  Khandoba's  chief 
temple  at  Jejuri  near  Poona,  and  there  are  also  local  temples 
to  this  deity  at  Hinganghat  and  Nagpur.  The  Waghyas 
eat  fliesh  and  drink  liquor,  and  their  social  and  religious 
customs  resemble  those  of  the  Marathas  and  Kunbis. 

Yerukala. — A  vagrant  gipsy  tribe  of  Madras  of  whom 
a  small  number  are  returned  from  the  Chanda  District. 
They  live  by  thieving,  begging,  fortune-telling  and  making 
baskets,  and  are  usually  treated  as  identical  with  the 
Koravas  or  Kuravas,  who  have  the  same  occupations.  Both 
speak  a  corrupt  Tamil,  and  the  Yeriikalas  are  said  to  call 
one  another  Kurru  or  Kura.  It  has  been  supposed  that 
Korava  was  the  Tamil  name  which  in  the  Telugu  country 
became  Yerukalavandlu  or  fortune-teller.  Mr.  (Sir  H.) 
Stewart  thought  there  could  be  no  doubt  of  the  identity 
of  the  two  castes,^  though  Mr.  Francis  points  out  differences 

1   Bombay  Gazetteer,  vol.  xxii.  p.  212.  -  Madras  Census  Report  (1891). 


II  YERUKALA  607 

between  them.^  The  Yerukalas  arc  expert  thieves.  They 
frequent  villai^es  on  the  pretence  of  begging,  and  rob  by 
clay  in  regular  groups  under  a  female  leader,  who  is  known 
as  Jemadarin.  Each  gang  is  provided  with  a  bunch  of 
ke}'s  and  picklocks.  They  locate  a  locked  house  in  an 
unfrequented  lane,  and  one  of  them  stands  in  front  as  if 
begging  ;  the  remainder  are  posted  as  watchers  in  the 
vicinity,  and  the  Jemadarin  picks  the  lock  and  enters  the 
house.  When  the  leader  comes  out  with  the  booty  she 
locks  the  door  and  they  all  walk  away.  If  any  one  comes 
up  while  the  leader  is  in  the  house  the  woman  at  the  door 
engages  him  in  conversation  by  some  device,  such  as  pro- 
ducing a  silver  coin  and  asking  'if  it  is  good.  She  then 
begins  to  dispute,  and  laying  hold  of  him  calls  out  to  her 
comrades  that  the  man  has  abused  her  or  been  taking 
liberties  with  her.  The  others  run  up  and  jostle  him  away 
from  the  door,  and  while  they  are  all  occupied  with  the 
quarrel  the  thief  escapes.  Or  an  old  woman  goes  from 
house  to  house  pretending  to  be  a  fortune-teller.  When  she 
finds  a  woman  at  home  alone,  she  flatters  and  astonishes 
her  by  relating  the  chief  events  in  her  life,  how  many 
children  she  has,  how  many  more  are  coming,  and  so  on. 
When  the  woman  of  the  house  is  satisfied  that  the  fortune- 
teller has  supernatural  powers,  she  allows  the  witch  to  cover 
her  face  with  her  robe,  and  shuts  her  eyes  while  the  fortune- 
teller breathes  on  them,  and  blows  into  her  ears  and  sits 
muttering  charms.  Meanwhile  one  or  two  of  the  latter's 
friends  who  have  been  lurking  close  by  walk  into  the  house 
and  carry  away  whatever  they  can  lay  their  hands  on.  When 
they  have  left  the  house  the  woman's  face  is  uncovered  and 
the  fortune-teller  takes  her  fee  and  departs,  leaving  her 
dupe  to  find  out  that  her  house  has  been  robbed."'  The 
conjugal  morals  of  these  people  are  equally  low.  They  sell 
or  pledge  their  wives  and  unmarried  daughters,  and  will 
take  them  back  on  the  redemption  of  the  pledge  with  any 
children  born  in  the  interval,  as  though  nothing  out  of  the 
ordinary  had  happened.  When  a  man  is  sentenced  to 
imprisonment  his  wife  selects  another  partner  for  the  period 

*  Afadras  Census  Report  (1901). 
2  Bombay  Gazetteer,  vol.  xxi.  pp.   170,  17 1. 


6o8  YERUKALA  part  ii 

of  her  husband's  absence,  going  back  to  him  on  his  release 
with  all  her  children,  who  are  considered  as  his.  Mr. 
Thurston  gives  the  following  story  of  a  gang  of  Koravas 
or  Yerukalas  in  Tinnevelly :  "  One  morning,  in  Tinnevelly, 
while  the  butler  in  a  missionary's  house  was  attending  to 
his  duties,  an  individual  turned  up  with  a  fine  fowl  for  sale. 
The  butler,  finding  that  he  could  purchase  it  for  about  half 
the  real  price,  bought  it,  and  showed  it  to  his  wife  with  no 
small  pride  in  his  ability  in  making  a  bargain.  But  he 
was  distinctly  crestfallen  when  his  wife  pointed  out  that  it 
was  his  own  bird,  which  had  been  lost  on  the  previous 
night.  The  seller  was  a  Korava."  ^  In  Madras  they  have 
also  now  developed  into  expert  railway  thieves.  They 
have  few  restrictions  as  to  food,  eating  cats  and  mice, 
though  not  dogs.^  The  Yerukalas  practised  the  custom 
of  the  Couvade  as  described  by  the  Rev.  John  Cain,  of 
Dumagudem:^  "Directly  the  woman  feels  the  birth-pangs 
she  informs  her  husband,  who  immediately  takes  some  of 
her  clothes,  puts  them  on,  places  on  his  forehead  the  mark 
which  the  women  usually  place  on  theirs,  retires  into  a  dark 
room  where  there  is  only  a  very  dim  lamp,  and  lies  down 
on  the  bed,  covering  himself  up  with  a  long  cloth.  When  the 
child  is  born  it  is  washed  and  placed  on  the  cot  beside  the 
father.  Asafoetida,  jaggery  and  other  articles  are  then  given, 
not  to  the  mother  but  to  the  father.  During  the  days  of 
ceremonial  impurity  the  man  is  treated  as  other  Hindus 
treat  their  women  on  such  occasions.  He  is  not  allowed 
to  leave  his  bed,  but  has  everything  needful  brought  to  him. 
"  The  Yerukalas  marry  when  quite  young.  At  the  birth 
of  a  daughter  the  father  of  an  unmarried  little  boy  often 
brings  a  rupee  and  ties  it  in  the  cloth  of  the  father  of  a 
newly-born  girl.  When  the  girl  is  grown  up  he  can  then 
claim  her  for  his  son." 

^    Tribes    and    Castes    of   Southern  ^  JVort/i  Arcot  Manual,  p.  247. 

India,  art.  Korava.  ^  Ind.  Ant.  vol,  iii.,  1874,  p.  157. 


r 


THE    END 


Printed  by  R.  ^  R.  Clark,  Limitrd,  Edinliurgk. 


Hhir 


If  I 


',■-, 


UC  SOUTHERN  REGIONAL  LIBRARY  f  ACILIIV 


AA    000  886  849    9 


C^^'H^\^^ 


University  of  California 

SOUTHERN  REGIONAL  LIBRARY  FACILITY 

305  De  Neve  Drive  -  Parking  Lot  17  •   Box  951388 

LOS  ANGELES,  CALIFORNIA  90095-1388 

Return  this  material  to  the  library  from  which  It  was  borrowed. 


i:iliii|i*ii::lH